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 fi'fy^/: ar .( ii. 
 
YOUNG FOLKS' 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATORAL HISTORY. 
 
 COMPmSINQ 
 
 DESCRIFriONS OF ANIMAL LIFE : BEBDS, MAMMALS, EEPHLES, 
 
 BATEACHIANS, AND FISHES: THEIE STRUCTURE, 
 
 HABITS AND DISTRIBUTION. 
 
 By OHAELES C. ABBOTT, M.D., 
 
 Author of "Wasteland Wanderings,'''' '■'■Upland and Meadow,'" etc., etc. 
 
 WITH OVER 500 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 A. L. BUET, :^UBLISHER, 
 
/ ^ 
 
 copyright 1895, by A. L. Bdbt. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Books on Natural History are very abundant ; books 
 that are very learned, others moderately so, and not a 
 few that are wofuUy full of error. Whatever may be 
 the reader^s decision in the case of the volume before 
 him, the author will say beforehand, it is not intended 
 to be one of the first class mentioned, and he trusts that 
 the public will not relegate it to the third class. 
 
 So vast a subject as that comprised under the name 
 of Natural History cannot be treated exhaustively by any 
 one person, and more volumes than there are pages in 
 this one would be required to give a proper account of 
 life upon the globe as we meet with it in and upon the 
 earth, in the air, and beneath the surface of the ocean 
 and rivers. On the other hand, a general idea of the 
 most prominent forms — as mammals, birds, reptiles, and 
 fishes — can possibly be given, so that those whose time 
 is too limited for systematic study can inform them- 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 selves concerning the cliaracteristic features of each, of 
 the classes named, and so feel that they are not in the 
 presence of absolute strangers when creatures from the 
 mountains, plains, rivers, or the ocean confront them. 
 
 Only at extended intervals have I added any original 
 matter, but have endeavored to select from the best 
 sources such references as give, in brief space, a clear 
 idea of what each creature is where Nature placed it. 
 
 The book has been arranged, not written, and as a 
 book to read when the mind wearies of the mountains 
 of blood-curdling novels, I hope it may prove aecept- 
 ftble. 
 
 THE AUTHOE. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Pbimatbs, OB Monkeys, .... 19 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Carnivores, or Flbsh-Eaters, . . . 40 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 UNeuiiATEs, OR Hoofed Animals, . . 92 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Rodentia, or Gnawing Animals, . . .142 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Chiroptera, or Bats, ... .164 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Insectivora, or Insbct-Eatinq Mammals, . 171 
 
 CHAPTER Vll. 
 Cetacea, or Whales, .... 180 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 The Sirenia, ..... 190 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Edentata, or Toothless Mammals, . 193 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 The Marsdpialia, or Pouched Mammals, . 202 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 The Monotremata, .... 207 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Struthionbs, or Ostriches, . . .210 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Ptiloptkri, or Penguins, . . 218 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 The CjBCOMORPH,.ffi ..... 232 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 The GtRALijM, or Wadbrs, ... 236 
 
8 ■ CONTENTS. I 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 The Chbnomorphjb;, ..... 367 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 The Hebodii, ob Herons, ... 291 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 The Steganopodbs, ..... 306 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 The Gallinje, ..... 318 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 The ConjMBiB, ob Pigeons, .... 335 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 The Accipiteks, ob Bibds op Peet, . . 341 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 The Psittaci, oe Pareots, .... 378 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 The PiCAEiiB, ..... 880 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 The Passerbs, . .... 415 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 Ophidia, or Serpents, .... 481 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 Lacertilia, or Lizards, . . .503 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 Cbocodilia, oe Alligatobs, . t . 514 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 Chelonia, ob TuetIiES, .... 530 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 CiBCILIANS AND SALAMANDEBS, . , . 530 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 Toads and Fbogs, • ■ . • . 642 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 Sharks, Skates, Rays, Etc., . gel 
 
 CHAPTER XXXli. 
 The True Fishes, • • . • . 574 
 
YOUNG FOLKS' 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 je'.a^:rt X. 
 
 MAMMALS. 
 
 It is not improbable that a great deal of the ignorance 
 concerning Katural History arises from the careless way 
 of naming those animals which are found in our own 
 neighborhoods. We call every fur -bearing creature a 
 quadruped, as though frogs and lizards had only two or 
 more than four legs, and speak of animals collectively 
 as a class very different from ourselves. Such careless 
 nomenclature necessarily leads to confusion, and must 
 be studiously avoided if one would speak correctly on 
 zoological subjects. 
 
 In the days of the early systematic writers on Natural 
 History, it was the practice to commence with those 
 creatures next to man in anatomical structure and, sup- 
 posedly, in intelligence, and describe animals in a de- 
 scending scale, considering that the (improperly called) 
 quadrupeds should lead, and birds, reptiles, and fishes 
 should follow in the order named. Now, there is not 
 now and never was much doubt, if any, about separating 
 some of these great classes. While it is true that some 
 forms of the ''old-style" quadrupeds were very peculiar 
 
10 CYCLOPMDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 and gave rise to many queries, yet they were always rec- 
 ognized as belonging in the class where the ripe research 
 of the present day places them. Such a creature as the 
 duck-billed platypus is one of these semi - doubtful 
 "quadrupeds." 
 
 Again, it is not so many years ago that in the popular 
 mind a whale was a fish, and to call it a quadruped, on 
 the other hand, is absurd ; yet in truth, whales are near- 
 er land animals than fishes. 
 
 Birds can never be mistaken. They are the only creat- 
 (ires that are clothed in feathers, and have many other 
 peculiarities that render them unmistakable. 
 
 Eeptiles, on the other hand, are less well marked in 
 some respects, and the general prejudice against them 
 us a class has had the tendency to keep the mass of peo- 
 ple in ignorance concerning them. It is nothing un- 
 common to hear frogs and toads called " reptiles," yet 
 they belong to an entirely difEerent class of the animal 
 kingdom. 
 
 It will be seen, therefore, that a very carefully consid- 
 ered nomenclature is necessary to prevent any misunder- 
 standing ; and such an one has been determined upon 
 by our best specialists in biology. This will be used 
 here, and its general adoption in ordinary conversation 
 is earnestly urged. Let the reader not be afraid of call- 
 ing objects by their right names. It has been said " a 
 rose by any other name would smell as sweet." True ; 
 but it would not be conveyed to the mind's eye correctly 
 if we called it merely a " fiower." In the same way, to 
 call a class of animals that have given characteristics 
 "quadrupeds," or four-footed animals, when we do not 
 intend to include a whole host of four-legged creatures, 
 is a palpable absurdity. What, then, have been and are 
 called quadrupeds are here referred to, and properly so, as 
 Mammals. 
 
 What, then, is the definition of a mammal ? It is 
 
MAMMALS. \\ 
 
 an animal usually with two paii-s of limbs, never more, 
 and wanting the posterior ones only in a few that live a 
 strictly aquatic life, as the whales, etc. The covering of 
 the body is usually hair, or fur, as it is called when short 
 and thickly set in the skin. Again, the young are alive 
 when born ; and being fed on milk secreted from glands 
 on the breast of the mother, they are called '"mam- 
 mals," from the Latin word mamma — a breast. Of 
 course they are subdivided to a great degree, and here 
 commences sometimes a degree of confusion on the part 
 of students, and more so among mere readers on the 
 subject. 
 
 Naturalists do not dispute concerning the great class 
 of mammals, but differences are noticeable in their treat- 
 ment of the subdivisions. These need not distract the 
 general reader. What people generally wish to know is 
 something of the habits of the animals to which their 
 attention is called and the countries wherein they are 
 found; and the propriety of placing in the systematic 
 treatises an animal in one or another subclass, order, or 
 suborder is really immaterial. 
 
 Mammals, then, we may say, are either Primates, 
 Carnivores, Ungulates, Hyi-acoidea, Proboscidians, Sire- 
 nia, Cataceans, Chiroptera, Insectivora, Eodents, Eden- 
 tates, Marsupials, or Monotremes. 
 
 These are not difficult words to pronounce ; each has 
 a definite meaning, in most cases evident to the reader 
 at a glance, and all are preferable to what are called 
 the common names of the animals characteristic of the 
 classes. 
 
 Let us now consider these several orders separately, 
 and before passing to the consideration of individuals, 
 learn a little something concerning them collectively. 
 
 First the Primates. What are their peculiar features? 
 Being animals that live largely in trees and are, neces 
 arily, expert climbers, yet have other uses for their linil;.. 
 
12 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY^ 
 
 they have their "innermost digits of both hands and 
 feet opposable — ^that is, act as thumbs. The terminal 
 joints are clothed with flat nails, rarely_ with claws." 
 Their brains are well developed, approaching most near- 
 ly to that of man, and breasts upon the jiectoral muscles 
 are always present. Primates are subdivided into two 
 classes, which are popularly known as the lemurs and 
 the monkeys. The differences in these animals are very 
 noticeable, the former bearing considerable resemblance 
 to squirrels in some cases, and even to bats ; but such 
 likeness of an animal to another has never any bearing 
 as to its real belongings. The lemurs are different from 
 monkeys in internal structure, and in some cases have a 
 human-like build and expression exceeding most of the 
 larger or so-called man-like apes. On the other hand, 
 they have features in common with the Eodents, or 
 gnawers (mice and beavers), and again are like the In- 
 sectivores, or shrews. Their noses are peculiar, the nos- 
 trils being crooked, or rather twisted, and there is a 
 claw-like nail on the first digit of the foot. They are 
 very limited in their distribution, the greater number 
 by far being found in Madagascar, and a few species in 
 Eastern Asia and Africa. 
 
 The monkeys, or anthropoidea, are, as all the world 
 knows, next to man in the scale of creation ; but there 
 are monkeys and monkeys, and a vast difference exists 
 between the pretty little marmosets, the lowest form of 
 the group, and the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orang-ou- 
 tang. The prominent anatomical features of the monk- 
 eys as a class are in the development of the brain, and 
 the structure of the skull, more particularly the orbits, 
 is more man-like. They are " human " also in so far as 
 the constant presence of the breasts upon the pectoral 
 muscles make them so. 
 
 Without going further into discussion of this matter, 
 it will be seen what forms of mammals are meant when 
 
MAiMMALS. 13 
 
 Primates are spoken of. Considering their habits, too, 
 it will also be noticed that the term " quadruped " would 
 scarcely apply to them. They are better named four- 
 handed than four-footed creatures, and indeed, this is 
 precisely what has been done. Primates are frequently 
 called the quadrumana, or four-handed animals. 
 
 The next great class of animals to which attention is 
 called is one that varies greatly in size, external appear- 
 ance, and anatomical structure, yet hare certain ever- 
 existent points of resemblance that renders it easy to 
 place them. Whether in the forest or in a menagerie, 
 vrherever a carnivorous animal is met it will be recog- 
 nized. What, then, are the features that go to make up 
 the class of Carnivores ? As the name indicates, they 
 arc flesh-eaters, and being such, their structure is mod- 
 eled, Eo to speak, to enable them to prey upon the more 
 defenseless forms of life. As a striking example, the 
 lion preys upon the antelope ; and here we have a typi- 
 cal form of a Carnivore. But Carnivores are not all 
 cats or cat-like, by any means, for they are built to prey 
 in different methods ; and the class includes, besides the 
 cats, bears, dogs, weasels, and even the seals. The den- 
 tition, or tooth arrangement, of the Carnivores is pecul- 
 iar and arranged for tearing food rather than masticat- 
 ing it. The lower jaw of a dog looks like a worn-out 
 saw with crooked spear-points at the outer ends. These 
 latter are "canine" teeth, and once they are wholly in- 
 serted in the flesh of an animal a terrible wound is made, 
 and the bitten animal can rarely escape. In some of the 
 extinct animals these canine teeth were enormously de- 
 veloped and projected beyond the fleshy covering of the 
 lips. The terrible saber-toothed lion was an example of 
 this strange dental development. 
 
 The brain of the Carnivore is, as we mi^ht suppose, 
 well developed, as their mode of life requires them to 
 be quick-witted to a degree. A stupid beast of prey 
 
14 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY 
 
 would soon starve. His eyes, ears, and nose must be of 
 the best, for speed and mere strength are not all that is 
 needed. The life that is exposed to the attacks of Car- 
 nivores is not witless, and it is often, if not always, a 
 pitting of cunning against cunning. When we come to 
 treat of the various forms of Carnivores we shall see how 
 true this is. 
 
 The next order in the descending scale is the Ungu- 
 late animals — hoofed animals, or ungulata, for such is 
 the meaning of this Latin term. Bear in mind a horse 
 or cow, and the whole class will come pretty prominently 
 before you. To be sure, the hoof varies in form, and 
 the animals that are here grouped together are as differ- 
 ent in general appearance as are bears and weasels among 
 Carnivores, but such divergence need not mislead one. 
 Among the Ungulate animals there runs a family like- 
 ness that is unmistakable. Ungulates are largely vege- 
 table feeders, and the tooth arrangement and shape of 
 the teeth is widely different from that of the class — Car- 
 nivores — which we have been considering. The flat, 
 wrinkled, grinding surfaces of the teeth of a horse or 
 cow gives us at once an idea of the prominent features 
 of the class. 
 
 !N^ext in the series is the order Hydracoidea, which 
 includes but a single animal, the " cony," so often 
 mentioned in the Jewish Scripture. 
 
 The Proboscidians come next, and this order is one 
 that naturalists have recently decided upon to include 
 the elephants, which are certainly in many respects like 
 the Ungulate animals, yet undeniably have many feat- 
 ures peculiarly their own. Certainly if animals were 
 graded by their intelligence rather than anatomical 
 structure, the elephants would not be two rourids of the 
 ladder lower than cats and dogs ; yet, following the 
 most approved systems, it appears they are so. The 
 anatomical feature that at once marks the animal and 
 
MAMMALS. 15 , 
 
 wliicli giveo name to the " order" is the trunk, or pro- 
 boscis. One cannot make a mistake in the matter oi 
 these animals. It is enough to see one ; and everybody 
 is desirous of seeing the elephant, wherever he or she 
 may be. 
 
 We come now to a class of animals concerning which 
 people generally are scantily informed, the order Sirenia, 
 which includes a very few aquatic animals that have no 
 power of locomotion except swimming. In appearance 
 they are like whales, but here the resemblance ends. In 
 their habits they are totally different. 
 
 The whales are next to be considered, and the reader 
 is, at least by name, familiar with these animals. "Whales, 
 be it remembered, while fish-shaped, are not fish, but 
 are air-breathing, warm-blooded mammals, producing 
 living young, and in all respects beasts of prey specially 
 fitted for living in the ocean. They are the largest of 
 all living creatures now existing, ■ and vary among them- 
 selves in many ways. The dolphin, porpoise, and gram- 
 pus belong to the same order. 
 
 As divergent in every form from what we are apt to 
 picture to ourselves as a typical mammal as is the 
 whale, it is no more so than the creatures grouped in 
 the next order, Chiroptera, or bats. 
 
 These creatures, so familiar to us all, are at once to 
 be recognized by possessing true organs of fiight, and 
 in this way only do they wander from place to place. 
 The most awkward creature in the world is a bat when 
 it attempts to walk. It is ludicrous to see a turtle raise 
 up as though it would walk on its hind legs, but in 
 truth such movements are graceful in comparison to 
 the helpless, trembling limp of a wing-broken bat ; but 
 once in the air with wings spread, and no bird is more 
 at home or more the embodiment of perfect ease. 
 
 The wings of a bat are thin membranes, reaching 
 from the fore to the hind limbs, and sometimes extend- 
 
16 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORy. 
 
 ing beyond the latter as far as the tail. The great sur ■ 
 face o± these wings is acquired through the enormous 
 elongate development of the fingers of the hands, or 
 fore limbs of the animal. Every feature of the animal's 
 structure shows a peculiar adaptation to aerial life, and 
 as is necessary to meet the exigencies of their mode of 
 life, the wings are extremely sensitive. Indeed, it has 
 been said that if deprived of sight, smell, and hearing, 
 it can guide itself through many obstacles without any 
 perceptible diminution of its ordinary speed. 
 
 Bats, as found in most countries, are insectivorous ; 
 but there are also fruit-eaters found in the tropical 
 regions of Asia and Africa. 
 
 A class of mammals, few in numbers but generally of 
 much interest, are the insect-eaters, or as usually desi^^, 
 nated, the Insectivora. The shrews and moles are 
 familiar examples. They have the appearance of small 
 mice and other rodents, but differ primarily in thc^ir 
 teeth, which, like the bat's, are adapted wholly to ani- 
 mal food ; hence the name now universally adopted for 
 the family. The hedgehog of Europe is another famil- 
 iar animal belonging to this class. 
 
 The shrew, which the average person in this country 
 would say o£E-hand was a mouse, is an excellent ex- 
 ample of a misleading animal. Seen at a little distance 
 the resemblance is very striking, but it is only an ex- 
 ternal one. Catch a mouse and a shrew and examine 
 their iaws, and you will at once see what a great differ- 
 ence there is between the two. 
 
 The Kodents, or gnawing animals, are familiar to us 
 all. The little house-mouse is an example ; the no less 
 familiar squirrel another. These animals are usually 
 of small size, and can readily be distinguished by the 
 enormous chisel-edged teeth at the very tips of their 
 jaws. Sometimes, indeed, they project considerably 
 beyond the lips. These gnawing teeth suggest at oik^'c 
 
MAMnrALS. 17 
 
 the character of the aiiinial's food, and so, to a certain 
 degree, the animal's habits ; but iji this, as in all matters 
 of zoology, it is unsafe to jnmii at conchisions. There 
 are no more ferocioiis animals than some of the Rodents, 
 small as they are, ar.d thsir fondness for flesh is so 
 strong that cannibalism is not uncommon among them. 
 
 Next in order among the world's brute creation, so 
 called, come the Edentates, or toothless mammals; but 
 this name must not be taken literally. Edentates have a 
 few teeth, but always want the incisors, or those long, 
 tearing teeth so v/ell marked in the Carnivores, or flesh- 
 eaters. Typical Edentates are the sloths, armadillos, 
 and ant-eaters. These are all found in South America, 
 the headquarters, it may be said, of the order. Africa 
 and India also have animals that belong to this curious 
 class of nominally toothless beasts. 
 
 Lower in the scale than even a sloth is the opossum, 
 which may be taken as a type of the Marsupials, or 
 pouched mammals. The great distinguishing mark of 
 these animals is their mode of producing their young. 
 These are not born as .perfectly formed animals, but 
 are extruded from the womb as mere dots and are 
 placed in a pouch on the breast and abdomen of the 
 mother, and grow to a recognizable shape while drawing 
 nourishment from the mother's milk-glands. The well- 
 known kangaroo is another example of a marsupial ani- 
 mal familiar to every one, at least by pictures. 
 
 Lastly we have the Monotremes, as they are called, 
 with so peculiar an anatomical structure that one is dis- 
 posed to look upon them as ''freaks of nature" — mixt- 
 ures of birds and beasts, Vv^ith not a little of the lizard. 
 The famous "duck-bill" of Australia is the best known 
 of the representatives of this the lowest form of a mam- 
 mal. 
 
 So brief a sketch of the principal divisions of the class 
 of mammals is necessarily too imperfect for others than 
 
18 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 the general reader, who requires his knowledge in a nut- 
 shell; but if what little I have stated be kept clearly \\\ 
 mind, then it will not be so very difficult to determine 
 
 {"ust where any particular animal belongs when he or she 
 lappens to read of some strange creature that has called 
 forth comment in the journal of a traveler or corre- 
 epondijnt of a newspaper. 
 
Mandrill (CynocephaluB monuon). 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 PBIMATES, OE MOIfKEYS. 
 
 As has already been stated, excluding man, the monk- 
 ^s are at the head of the animal creation. Let us con- 
 sider them in detail, dwelling at some length upon the 
 more prominent forms. 
 
 According to the dictionary, the flippant term " monk- 
 ey" is derived from the dignified Italian term ma- 
 donna — my lady. This derivation, however, is not 
 direct, but when the Primates as a class are carefully 
 observed, it will be seen that the resemblance between 
 them and humanity is something more than an accident- 
 al resemblance in anatomical structure. Monkeys are 
 man-like in many ways. It is useless, through a strange 
 prejudice, to deny this; the fact remains and the rela- 
 tionship need not be a disturbing thought. Because 
 men and monkeys have much in common, it does net 
 imply that men are monkeys any more than that monk- 
 eys can claim to be human. Each has his allotted 
 place in the world, and each unquestionably has his 
 great superiority in certain directions. The structure 
 of an ape gives it physical powers no man can lay claim 
 to; but happily for us no monkey can compete with man 
 in intellectual development. They are our poor rela- 
 tions whom we should pity and aid when we can, but 
 more than one traveler in the tropics has been pitied or 
 scorned by them, and with reason. Occasionally nature 
 turns the tables on overconfident humanity. 
 
 The highest or most man-like forms of monkeys are 
 known collectively as the apes. This name, "ape," 
 
20 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF. NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 is said to be of unknown or uncertain origin. It 
 may have been derived from some African language, 
 and the suggestion has been made that it originated in 
 an efEort to imitate the cries of the creatures. What 
 are known as the true apes are the orang, chimpanzee, 
 gorilla, and the gibbons. These are collectively known 
 to naturalists as the Simiadce, and are found only in 
 the tropical regions of the Old World. A word con- 
 cerning their anatomical peculiarities. It has been 
 stated : 
 
 " The whole of the apes, as indeed the whole of the 
 half-apes also, differ from man in having the great toe, 
 
 or (as it is called in anatomy) 
 the hallux, so constructed as 
 to be able to oppose the other 
 toes (much as our thumb can 
 oppose the fingers), instead 
 of being parallel with the 
 other toes and exclusively 
 adapted for supporting the 
 body on the ground. The 
 prehensile character of the 
 hallux is fully maintained 
 even in those forms which, 
 like the baboons, are terres- 
 trial rather than arboreal in 
 their habits and are quite 
 quadrupedal in their mode 
 of progression. It was this circumstance that led 
 Cuvier to bestow the name quadrumanes upon the apes 
 and lemurs. Now, if we accept, with Professor Owen, 
 as the definition of the word ' foot,' ' an extremity in 
 which the hallux forms the fulcrum in standing or walk- 
 ing,' then man alone has a pair of feet. But anatomic- 
 ally the foot of apes (as well as that of half-apes) agrees 
 far more with the foot of man than with his hand, and 
 
 Orang-uutaui;. 
 
MAMMALS. 21 
 
 similarly the ape's hand resembles man's hand and difEers 
 from his foot. Even estimated physiologically, or accord- 
 ing to use and employment, the hand throughout the 
 whole order remains the special prehensile organ, while 
 the predominant function of the foot, however prehensile 
 it be, is constantly locomotive. Therefore the term 
 quadrumana is apt to be misleading, since anatomically 
 as well as physiologically both apes and men have two 
 hands and a pair of feet." 
 
 The most prominent of these great apes, and the 
 first to be considered, is the well-known orang-outang 
 {Pithecus satyrus). This species is a native of Borneo 
 and Sumatra and never has been found beyond the 
 limits of those two islands. It frequents the swampy 
 forests near the coast, and is called by the natives of 
 Borneo "mits," a name which A. E. Wallace uses in 
 his admirable account of the habits of this creature. 
 Wallace found them usually in very tall trees, living on 
 the fruit thereof, and gives many accounts of specimens 
 killed while they were climbing near the tops of the 
 tallest trees. When they were attacked a favorite mode 
 of defense was to break off branches and green fruit 
 and hurl them down to the ground. The following is 
 from his work on the Malay Archipelago. Speaking 
 of orangs which he had collected, he remarks : 
 
 " One of the females with several young ones was 
 feeding on a durian tree with unripe fruit, and as 
 soon as she saw us she began breaking off branches 
 and the great spiny fruits with every appearance of 
 rage, causing such a shower of missiles as efEectively 
 kept us from approaching too near the tree. This 
 habit of throwing down branches when irritated has 
 been doubted, but I have, as here narrated, observed it 
 myself on at, least three separate occasions. It was, 
 however, always the female mias who behaved in this 
 way, apd it may be that the male, trusting more to his 
 
aa CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 gj-eat strength and his powerful canine tcctn, is not 
 afraid of any other animal and does not want to drive 
 them away, while the parental instinct of the female 
 leads her to adopt this mode of defending herself and 
 her young ones." 
 
 So entirely at home are the orangs in the thickly 
 intertwined tree-tops of the forests of Borneo, that 
 they can pass as readily from one point to another above 
 the ground as can the natives of this island tread their 
 way through the swamps. 
 
 At night they are not disposed to put up with any 
 hap-hazard nook or corner for a resting-place, but set 
 about making a comfortable bed by breaking off sticks 
 of convenient size and crossing and recrossing them 
 until a substantial platform is prepared. Leaves are 
 then used to soften this improvised couch, and at times 
 the orang takes a further step, in that he covers him- 
 self with a blanket of ferns if it be very rainy. 
 
 The orang-outang is about four feet two inches high 
 when fully grown, and has the body covered with a 
 dense growth of reddish-brown hair. The arms are of 
 enormous length, reaching to the ankle-joint. 
 
 The chimpanzee is another of these great apes, of 
 which much has been written and of which many ex- 
 aggerated stories are constantly afloat. It is larger than 
 the orang, often reaching a height of five feet, but on 
 the other hand has a more man-like appearance by 
 having much shorter arms, the hands only reaching a 
 very little below the knees when the animal assumes an 
 upright position. Like the orang, the chimp'anzee has 
 not even a trace of a tail. 
 
 It largely dwells in trees, being of course an expert 
 climber, but it can walk over the ground with compara- 
 tive ease. Id so doing it rests upon its knuckles, as 
 does the orang and gorilla. 
 
 The chimpanzee is lively and intelligent. The speci- 
 

MAMMALS. 
 
 23 
 
 mens that at different times have been kept iu zoological 
 gardens clearly demonstrated this fact. 
 
 This wonderfully ma.n-like ape is found in Western 
 Africa from the Gambia to the Benguela, and extending 
 inland to 38° east longitude. 
 
 Another African ape of which much has been written 
 is the famous gorilla, of which not a great deal was 
 known until Du Chaillu explored the country where it 
 is found. This is a comparatively narrow strip of land 
 in Western Africa lying between the Cameroon and 
 Congo rivers. 
 
 Dr. Savage, who was among the earliest writers to 
 give a reliable account of the gorilla, remarks: "Its 
 height is about five feet; it is 
 disproportionately broad across 
 the shoulders, thickly covered 
 with coarse black hair, which 
 is said to be similar in its 
 arrangement to that of the 
 chimpanzee; with age it be- 
 comes gray, which fact has 
 given rise to the report that 
 both animals are seen of dif- 
 ferent colors. 
 
 '■Head. — The prominent 
 features of the head are the 
 great width and elongation of the face, the depth of the 
 molar region, the branches of the lower jaw being very 
 deep and extending far backward, and the comparative 
 smallness of the cranial portion; the eyes are very large 
 and said to be like those of the chimpanzee, a bright hazel; 
 nose broad and flat, slightly elevated toward the root; 
 the muzzle broad, and prominent lips and chin, with 
 scattered gray hairs; the under lip highly mobile and 
 capable of great elongation when the animal is en- 
 raged, then hanging over the chin; skin of the face 
 
 Gorilla. 
 
34 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 and ears naked and of a dark brown, approaching to 
 black. 
 
 " The animal has the power of moving the scalp freely 
 backward and forward . . . so as to present an 
 indescribably ferocious aspect. Tho gait is shufHing; 
 the motion of the body, which is never upright us in 
 man, but bent forward, is somewhat rolling, or from 
 side to side. 
 
 " Their dwellings, if they may be so called, are similar 
 to those of the chimpanzee, consisting simply of a J'ow 
 sticks and leafy branches supported by the crotches and 
 limbs of trees; they afEord no shelter and are occupied 
 only at night. 
 
 " Thoy are exceedingly ferocious and always offensive 
 in their habits, ncvor running from man, as does tho 
 chimpanzee. 'J.^hijy are objects oT terror to the natives, 
 and are novc^i' (^iioountci'od by tliom except on the de- 
 fensive. 
 
 " It 1,4 said thiit when tlio male is firnt seen he gives a 
 toiTilic yell that resounds far and wide tlirough the for- 
 est, something like kli — ah! kli — alil jirolongod and 
 shrill. Mis enormous jaws are widely opened at each 
 (expiration; IiIh under lip hangs over the chin, and the 
 hairy ridge (above Uie eyes) and scalp are contracted 
 upon the brow, presenting an aspect of indescribable 
 ferocity. " 
 
 Gorillas "live iii bands, but are not so numerous rh 
 the chimpanzees. The females gcuiorally exceed tlu! 
 other sex in number." JJr. Savage's ii'iformants all 
 agreed "in the assertion that but one adult male is seen 
 in a band; that when tho young males grow up a con- 
 test takes place for mastery, and the strongest, by kill- 
 ing and driving out the others, establishes himself as 
 the head of the community." 
 
 Those peculiar apes that collectively are known as 
 gibbons are next to bo considered. The length of 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 25 
 
 their arms is the most noticeable feature. They are 
 found at present only in Southeastern Asia and the 
 Indian Archipelago. Gibbons, exclusive of their arms, 
 are really more man-like than either the orang, chim- 
 panzee, or gorilla. They haye no tails, and some of 
 them have moderately well-developed voices. They are 
 essentially vegetable feeders, but less strictly so than the 
 .preceding species, and as their 
 enormous arms indicate, they 
 are strictly arboreal in their 
 habits. Nevertheless, locomo- 
 tion upon the bare ground is 
 not impracticable, as their 
 hands reach to the ground 
 when they assume an upright 
 position, and so support the 
 body without much fatigue. 
 As a class gibbons are not sup- 
 posed to be so intelligent as 
 the apes already described, but 
 as they are gentle in captivity 
 and unquestionably recognize 
 their masters, it cannot be said 
 that they are stupid. Indeed, 
 brain development is not al- 
 ways a safe criterion in this 
 matter of animal intelligence. 
 Again, it is not improbable 
 
 that some species of gibbons are more intelligent than 
 others, and, teo,\ individuals ma^ vary in this respect. 
 
 Of a totally different appearance, in that they 
 have long tails, are those monkeys of the Old World 
 known as semnipithecoids. A prominent species of 
 this group is the proboscis monkey of Borneo, which is 
 known by its large and well-formed nose. "Wallace 
 speaks of it as "the extraordinary long-nosed monkey. 
 
 Long-armed Ape. 
 
26 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 which is as large as a three-year-old child, has a very 
 long tail and a fleshy nose, longer than that of the big • 
 gest-nosed man." When young the nose is turned up, 
 and makes the child therefore more hideous than its 
 
 It is interesting to note that in the cold, mountain- 
 ous forests of Thibet, amid snow and ice and where no 
 fruit is to be had, a somewhat similar monkey is to be 
 found. 
 
 A group of large monkeys that bear some resemblance 
 and relation to the preceding are the macac[ues. They 
 
 are Asiatic apes, and 
 have a marked feature 
 common to them in 
 the elongated muzzle. 
 Many nave stumpy 
 tails, and all have 
 those prominent cal- 
 losities upon their 
 nether parts which 
 render them so con- 
 spicuous at certain 
 seasons and under pe- 
 culiar circumstances. 
 The wanderoo, as it 
 is usually called, is a 
 member of this group. 
 Wanderoo. It is about three feet in 
 
 length, has a tufted 
 tail, is of a deep black color, and is the more conspicuous 
 from the gray or white beard that nearly encircles its 
 face. It is a native of Ceylon. Tennent, in his " Nat- 
 ural History of Ceylon," remarks: " The most numer- 
 ous in the island and one of the best known ... is 
 the wanderoo. Although common in the Southern and 
 Western provinces, it is never found at a higher elevation 
 
MAMMALS. 27 
 
 than 1,300 .feet. It is an active and intelligent creature, 
 little larger than a common bonneted macaque, and far 
 from being so mischievous as others of the monkeys in 
 the island. In captivity it is remarkable for the gravity 
 of its demeanor and for an air of melancholy in its ex- 
 pression and movements which are completely in char- 
 acter with its snowy beard and venerable aspect. In dis- 
 position it is gentle and confiding, sensible in the high- 
 est degree of Mndness, and eager for endearing atten- 
 tion, uttering a low, plaintive cry when its sympathies 
 are excited. It is particularly cleanly in its habits when 
 domesticated, and spends much of its time in trimming 
 its fur and carefully divesting its hair of particles of 
 dust." 
 
 The other apes peculiar to the Old World — ^for we 
 have yet to treat of the New World or American monk- 
 eys — are the baboons. These large apes are collectively 
 called by this name, which is asserted to be derived 
 from bahines — ^the large lips of a beast. It is not to 
 be wondered at that they acquired this name. Their 
 projecting muzzles and dog-headed crania suggest it, 
 certainly. 
 
 These apes have "strong tusks, short tails, cheek 
 pouches, small deep eyes with huge eyebrows, and 
 naked callosities on the hips. Their hind and fore 
 feet are well proportioned, so that they run easily on all- 
 fours, but they do not maintain themselves in an up- 
 right posture with facility." 
 
 All the Afi'ican monkeys are not large, however, and 
 whole troops of diminutive ones inhabit various parts of 
 that continent. These are extremely active, quick- 
 witted, and handsome, and the fact that they live in 
 companies and unitedly work to accomplish their ends 
 speaks well of their wits, whether dissection shows that 
 •hey have big or little brains. 
 
 These little monkeys belong to the genus Cerco- 
 
28 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Diana Monkey.. 
 
 pithecus, and the diana monkey here figured is a promi- 
 nent member of the group. It will be noticed that it 
 
 has a very long and 
 slender tail, but this 
 is not used, as in the 
 case of the American . 
 monkeys, as an ad- 
 ditional limb to aid 
 them i n climbing. 
 Like the Old World 
 monkeys, the diana 
 has a well-developed 
 thumb, and can walk 
 or climb as it sees fit. 
 Baboons are found 
 only in Africa and 
 Arabia. Unlike the 
 monkeys that have 
 been mentioned, these are not much given to living in 
 trees, but prefer rocks 
 and other rough coun- 
 try where they can 
 congregate in com- 
 parative safety. 
 Hence their food is 
 not simply fruits, but 
 consists of both ani- 
 mal and vegetable 
 matter. 
 
 One of the beet 
 known of the five or 
 six baboons is the 
 mandrill. The fur of 
 this ape is a pleasing 
 shade o'f rich green- 
 ish-brown, somethin^^ 
 
 MandriU, or Ribbed-nose Daboi 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 29 
 
 paler on the limbs and abdomen ; but this tinting of 
 the fur is likely to pass all unnoticed in consideration 
 of its huge, misshapen, and deeply grooved snout, which 
 reflects the colors of a midsummer rainbow. The gen- 
 eral " make-up " of the creature, however, is so repulsive 
 that no amount of gaudy decoration can make it at all 
 attractive except to its own kind. Mandrills are fero- 
 cious, at all times tricky, and have a fair degree of cun- 
 ning. That they have good memories has been proved. 
 They live gregariously, and 
 each community would ap- 
 pear to have a leader, as they 
 work together to accom- 
 plish many things which a 
 single individual could not, 
 unaided, bring about. 
 
 When we come, as we now 
 do, to consider the monkeys 
 of the New World, or South 
 American species, we find 
 that they possess, as a class, 
 many important anatomi- 
 cal features unknown to any 
 of the species we have been 
 describing. The most prom- 
 inent of these is the long, 
 prehensile tail, which may 
 well be called a fifth hand, so all-important is it to them 
 in their airy quarters among the tree-tops of the vast for- 
 ests of South America, and more particularly of Brazil, 
 which is the American ape headquarters. Another 
 marked feature is the nose. The Old World monkeys 
 have a narrow partition between the nostrils — ^in America 
 this is a broad septum, and so the face has a far less hu- 
 man-like aspect. Again, the thumb is not strongly op- 
 posable, as we have seen was the case in the man-like apes 
 
 Capucin Sapajo. 
 
30 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 of Asia and Africa. The peculiar pouches in the cheeks 
 are wanting; also the callosities upon the. hips,_ which 
 make even more hideous, if possible, creatures like the 
 mandrill. 
 
 It is not within the scope of this little volume to 
 enter minutely into the differences that separate the va- 
 rious classes or orders of animals into indefinite families, 
 genera, and species. The reader is referred to the many 
 special treatises on descriptive zoology for this. It must 
 here suffice to say that the South American monkeys 
 consist of five groups, each of which is again divided 
 into several subdivisions. The first of these groups, 
 the CeUncB, includes the well-known spider-monkeys 
 and other species. The typical American ape, or 
 sapajo, belongs here and well represents the group. 
 Sapajos are intelligent, thrive well m confinement, and 
 are capable of being taught numbers of amusing tricks. 
 The tail is not as prehensile as that of the spider-monk- 
 eys, but it is scarcely less active. It has a fairly well- 
 developed voice and "a flute-like, whistling tone." 
 There have been a score or more of these moiikeys de- 
 scribed. 
 
 The capucin sapajo has a bare, wrinkled forehead, 
 and is of a rich golden-brown color. It is a foot and 
 a half in length, and has a tail that measures about four 
 inches less than the body. It is, therefore, one of the 
 largest of this group of monkeys. 
 
 Bates, in his classical " Naturalist on the Amazons," 
 writes as follows concerning sapajos, but not of the 
 preceding species: " The light brown caiardra is pretty 
 generally distributed over the forests of the level 
 country. I saw it very frequently on the banks of the 
 Upper Amazons, where it was always a treat to watch a 
 liock leaping among the trees, for it is the most won- 
 derful performer in this line of the whole tribe. The 
 troops consist of thirty or more individuals which travel 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 31 
 
 In single file. When the foremost of the flock reaches 
 the_ outermost _ branch of an unusually lofty tree, he 
 springs forth into the air without a moment's hesita- 
 tion and alights on the dome of yielding foliage be- 
 longing to the neighboring tree, maybe fifty feet be- 
 neath; all the rest follow the example. They grasp, on 
 falling, with hands and tail, right themselves in a mo- 
 ment, and then away they go along branch and bough 
 to the next tree. The caiardra owes its name in the 
 Tupi language — macaw, or large-headed — ^to the dispro- 
 portionate size of the 
 head compared with 
 the rest of the body. 
 It is very frequent- 
 ly kept as a pet in 
 houses of natives. I 
 kept one myself for 
 about a year, which 
 accompanied me in 
 my voyages and be- 
 came very familiar, 
 coming to me always 
 on wet nights to share 
 my blanket." 
 
 The next group of 
 American monkeys to 
 which attention is 
 called is that of the 
 
 howlers. In many ways they differ from the more grace- 
 ful sapajos which have just been described. 
 
 In general bulkiness, in protruding muzzles, and gen- 
 erally heavy aspect they recall the Old World baboons. 
 These monkeys, like the preceding, have very long, 
 prehensile tails. They are often of quite bright colors, 
 and in some species the sexes are quite difiEerent in this 
 respect. There are several well-defined species of this 
 
 HowUnjf Monkey. 
 
S3 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 group. Their common name refers to a characteristio 
 which has been more frequently referred to than satis- 
 factorily described. In Agassiz' "Brazil" the brief 
 mention is made: " The forest is noisy with the howling 
 monkeys. They sound yery near and very numerous, 
 but we are told that they are deep in the forest and 
 would disappear at the slightest approach." Belt, in 
 his "N"aturalistin Nicaragua, "refers to them as follows: 
 
 "High up in one tree 
 underneath which we 
 passed were seated some 
 of the black Congo monk- 
 eys, which at times, espe- 
 cially before rain and at 
 nightfall, make a fearful 
 howling, though not so 
 loud as the Brazilian spe- 
 cies." 
 
 Im Thum, in his clas- 
 sical work on Guiana, 
 says: "The 
 monkey . . . called 
 in the colony the baboon 
 and elsewhere the red 
 howling monkey, but 
 which might much more 
 Itptly be called the red roarer, for though not bigger 
 than a setter, it roars like any jaguar, tiger, or lion. 
 Many travelers have tried but failed to describe the 
 sound produced by this extraordinary animal, and I 
 do not pretend to find the required words, though it 
 seems to me that the sound is more like that which is 
 heard when the beasts of prey in zoological gardens are 
 ted than anything else I ever heard. Why this animal 
 should make this extraordinary noise, being specially 
 provided for the purpose with a peculiar bony apparatus 
 
 ^^te?- 
 
 '■«* 
 
 Saki Cuxlo. 
 
MAMMALS. 33 
 
 in its throat, has, as far as I know, never been 
 torily explained. The effect produced in the stillness of 
 the night or in the early morning is utterly astound- 
 ing, and the noise is continued at intervals through the 
 day." 
 
 Another group of Brazilian monkeys are called sakis, 
 and these are again divided into two subgroups, one 
 being long-tailed, the other having short tails. They 
 are also remarkable for the great growth of hair, es- 
 pecially upon the head and face, which gives them the 
 appearance of a man with a flowing beard. They are 
 gregarious and fruit-eaters, and like the true howling 
 monkeys, have powerful voices. Bates, already quoted, 
 gives an interesting account of an allied species of this 
 genus, Fithecia. He remarks: "The parauacii is a 
 timid, inofEensive creature, with a long, bear-like coat of 
 harsh speckled-gray hair. The long fur hangs over the 
 head, half -concealing the pleasing diminutive face. " He 
 spe^iks, in another place, of one that " became so tame 
 in the course of a few weeks that it followed him [its 
 owner] about the streets like a dog." The man who 
 owned it was a tailor, " and the little pet used to spend 
 the greater part of the day seated on his shoulder while 
 he was at work on his board." Mr. Bates says that he 
 " saw no monkey that showed so strong a personal at- 
 tachment as this gentle, timid, silent little creature." 
 
 Other South American monkeys are the " night apes," 
 or NyctipitTieci. They are owl-like in their habits, 
 sleeping the day long in a hollow tree, and at night 
 wander in search not only of fruit, but insects. They 
 are small, and have tails that are longer than the body. 
 They have weak voices, likened by one who has studied 
 them carefully to " the suppressed barking of a dog." 
 
 The other monkeys peculiar to South America ai'e the 
 pretty marmosets. They bear a good deal of resemblance 
 to squirrels, are not much larger, and live in trees ex- 
 
34 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 clusiTely, feeding on fruit and insects. They have weak 
 voices, or as has been described, "a weak, quenilous 
 cry . . . which was sometimes prolonged so as to 
 resemble the stridulation of a grasshopper." 
 
 A curious and most interesting family of animals that, 
 if not monkeys, are at least monkej^-like, now command 
 attention. They are numerous in species, abundant 
 where found, and occur only in a very limited portion 
 of the earth's surface. They are called lemurs, a name 
 deriyed from the latin lemures — ^ghosts of the departed. 
 
 This is cheerful at the 
 outset, and will no 
 doubt add interest to 
 what may be found to 
 say of these animals. 
 
 "Their geographical 
 distribution is very pe- 
 culiar. By far the larg- 
 er proportion of species, 
 including all those to 
 _ which the term "le- 
 
 inari. mur" is now especially 
 
 restricted, are exclu- 
 sively inhabitants of Madagascar, where they are so 
 abundant and widely distributed that it is said by M. 
 Grandidier, who has contributed more than any other 
 traveler to enrich our knowledge of the structure and 
 manners of these animals, that there is not a little wood 
 in the whole island in which some of them cannot be 
 found. From Madagascar as a center, a few species 
 less typical in character extend through the African 
 continent westward as far as Senegambia, and others are 
 found in the Oriental region ^s far east as the Philip- 
 pine Islands and Celebes. 
 
 Lemurs are mostly nocturnal, but not all of them 
 are, and like our common American flying-squirrpl, the 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 35 
 
 nocturnal species take things easy during the day either 
 in or on a tree. They can curl themselves up to a mere 
 woolly ball and find safe quarters in almost any tree. 
 At night their life may be said to begin, and the trees 
 that are their beds by day become their hunting-grounds. 
 They are active creatures and their appetites good, so 
 they find a host of material palatable, and stuff fruit, 
 leaves, birds and their eggs, lizards, insects, and worms 
 indiscriminately down themselves. After such a repast 
 it is little wonder that 
 they are given to a sleep 
 as protracted as from 
 sunrise to sunset. 
 
 The indri is a well- 
 known lemur living 
 only in Madagascar. 
 The name means the 
 "man of the woods," 
 and as it has next to 
 no taU, the resemblance 
 to a man or man-like 
 ape is not so very fan- 
 ciful. It is the largest 
 of the family, measur- 
 ing about twenty-four 
 inches. The stump of a tail is less than two inches. 
 It is black and white, and lives in small troops or bands. 
 The voice is dismal, slightly human or child-like, and 
 not strong. 
 
 It is going from one extreme to the other to pass 
 from the indri to the maki, or macao, for from ajmost 
 no tail we pass to a long-tailed creature, and one that is 
 less like monkeys in its- general appearance. The an- 
 nulated coloration of the tail at once distinguishes this 
 from other species. It is twelve inches long, and with 
 the tail, or measuring from tip to tip, about twenty-one 
 
 Klngr-tailed Makl. 
 
3b 
 
 :yclopbjdia of na tural histor y. 
 
 inches in length. They are frequently kept in confine^ 
 ment and have been known to breed under these circum- 
 stances. The voice is feline, or cat-like ; hence the 
 specific scientific name, catta. 
 
 The red lemur is a large and very beautiful species. 
 The fur is loose and tufted and so gives the animal a 
 woolly appearance. It is not really red in color, but 
 seen at a little distance has a general reddish cast and 
 the different shades of rich brown which cover much of 
 the body. Beneath the animal is black. The most 
 
 striking feature of its col- 
 rat ion, however, is the 
 patch of white on the back 
 of the head and nape of the 
 neck. Measuring from the 
 nose to the tip of the tail, 
 this lemur measures nearly 
 thirty-six inches. 
 
 It is one of the nocturnal 
 species, and its habits would 
 appear to be quite imperfect- 
 ly known. That in them it 
 differs materially from the 
 other species, as the ring- 
 tailed, is not probable. Still this is not a safe inference. 
 How often it happens that two animals that bear much 
 resemblance to each other anatomically are as different 
 as possible in all their habits. It has been said of the 
 lemurs that none are aquatic and none burrow in the 
 ground. If this is true, that they all alike live arboreal 
 lives and follow much the same routine is possible, or 
 even probable j but it is not safe to infer anything in the 
 matter of the habits of animals. 
 
 An East Indian species of lemur, that varies greatly 
 from those that have, been mentioned, is known as the 
 slow lemur and also the sloth of Bengal ; but this latter 
 
 Eed Lemur. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 37 
 
 name should never be used, as it is a very misleading 
 term. No two animals could be more unlike than a 
 true sloth and one of the lemuroids. It is also called a 
 loris. It is a solitary animal, living in the remote 
 recesses of large forests, and prefers the mountainous 
 districts of the countries where it is found. Like the 
 Madagascarene lemurs, it rolls itself up into a ball, with 
 its head between its hind legs, and having chosen some 
 safe nook in or on a tree, it spends the day in a profound 
 slumber. When the sun goes down and the tempera- 
 ture is a little less op- 
 pressive, this owl-like 
 animal rouses and 
 straightway starts up- 
 on his nightly round 
 . for food. This is both 
 vegetable and animal 
 matter, and the latter 
 is living animals, such 
 as birds, mice, and in- 
 sects. Whether they 
 also feed upon dead 
 animal matter is not 
 determined. They are 
 quick - motioned and 
 cunning; approaching 
 within reach of the 
 coveted prey, it is se- 
 cured by a grasp of one of their hands. As this still- 
 hunting is almost always in the trees, it is evident that 
 no other method would be practicable. No chance is 
 offered to crouch and spring without too great a risk of 
 losing a footing and so coming to grief. 
 
 These animals can be held in captivity for a long time 
 and become comparatively tame, but do not appear to ex- 
 hibit any significant degree of intelligence. Those that 
 
 Slow Lemur. 
 
38 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 are found in zoological gardens can, without injustice, 
 be said to be stupid. Here again, however, we may be 
 mistaken. It will be necessary to watch these creatures 
 for a long time in their native haunts, and see just what 
 they do and how they do it before judgment can be 
 passed upon their wit. Many an animal when pressed 
 by hunger has proved itself cunning and thoughtful, 
 when ordinarily, with food abundant, it was apparently 
 as soulless as a mere machine. 
 
 Occasionally an animal has been discovered which set 
 the naturalists to work in- 
 deed to determine just where 
 it should go in the systems. 
 Such a one is the well-knowi 
 aye-aye of Madagascar. It 
 is something of a squirrel, 
 a little of a sloth, and has 
 hands on its hind legs. Cu- 
 vier places it among the 
 rodent animals after the 
 squirrels, although Sonnerat, 
 who discovered it, pointed 
 out its affinity to the makis, 
 or lemurs, to which family 
 it is now referred, especially 
 on account of the hand-like 
 structure of its hind feet. 
 The aye-aye is about the size 
 of a domestic cat; has a broad, rounded head and prom- 
 inent ears. These are naked. The hands are large; the 
 fingers long and thin; the claws pointed. It is Drown 
 in color; the fur long and coarse. Tail of moderate 
 length and bushy, or fox-like. 
 
 Like most of the great group to which it belongs, the 
 aye-aye is nocturnal, and is solitary or found only in 
 pairs. The forests of bamboo are their favorite haunts. 
 
 Aye-aye. 
 
MAMMALS. 39 
 
 and here they find their food, which appears to be almost 
 exclusively of a vegetable character; unless, it is true, 
 that they have a habit of devouring certain wood-boring 
 caterpillars. It is said they gnaw down to the nests of 
 these grubs, and then with their delicate middle finger 
 hook them out. 
 
 They are known to build large leaf nests which are 
 placed high up in the branches of tall trees. The name 
 aye-aye is of native origin and derived from the cry of 
 the animal. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 CAKNIVOEES, OK FLESH-EATEKS. 
 
 The flesh-eating mammals are readily recognized, and 
 although none are absolutely necessary to man, two 
 prominent forms — the dog and cat — are his constant' 
 associates. Keeping these in mind and once familiar 
 with their characteristic dentition, and the whole group 
 . can pretty easily be distinguished from other forms of ani- 
 mals. A seal might not at first sight be thought to be- 
 long to the Carnivores, but this would arise from f ormiiig 
 an opinion based upon very superficial examination, u. 
 one would know the simple truth of the matter, this 
 jumping at a conclusion must be studiously avoided. 
 
 The flesh-eating mammals are divided into the fol- 
 lowing groups or families : Fblid^, or cats, of which 
 the lion is the principal representative ; Vivekeid^, or 
 the civet cats ; Hyjestid^, or the hyenas ; Mustelid^, 
 or weasels and otters ; Procyonidjb, oi' raccoons ; Ailu- 
 EiD^, or pandas ; TJesid^, or bears ; Otaeiid^, or 
 eared seals ; Tkachbchid^, or walrus ; and lastly, 
 PHOCiDiB, or seals. 
 
 These ten groups are not only well defined readily, 
 but each one has one or more prominent members with 
 which most people are probably familiar. 
 
 I suppose nearly every one who opens this book has 
 been to a menagerie. What when there he has seen 
 among Carnivores have been representatives of one or 
 more of these groups, and that the difference between a 
 hyena and a tiger is well known to him. Equally 
 marked are the differences between the other families, 
 
MAMMALS. 41 
 
 except tliose that live in the water. To many a valrus 
 or a sea-lion might seem a sort of seal, or vice versd. 
 Here would be a case of false reasoning based upon 
 appearance. Those that are sufficiently interested in 
 Natural History to remember the most marked differ- 
 ences in the several groups, should have curiosity 
 enough to find out what constitutes the variations in 
 structure between the more closely resembling forms. 
 
 Let us consider these several families in order, and 
 again in detail the habits and peculiarities of prominent 
 members of each group. 
 
 The cats, or Felidm, are perfect Carnivores. They 
 live exclusively, in a wild state, upon the flesh of other 
 mammals or of birds, and capture and kill this food 
 themselves. Of course there are exceptions to these 
 conveniently sweeping statements. Some even of the 
 larger cats are exceedingly fond of fish and are expert 
 in catching them. It is stated, also, that one Indian 
 cat is fond of mussels. It. is to be hoped that it does 
 not go through with any impossible gymnastics in 
 getting these mollusks from their shells, such as have 
 been ascribed to the common muskrat, who likewise has 
 a fancy for this common moUusk. 
 
 Cats, whether large or small, are not socially inclined, 
 and never hunt in great troops as do the wild dogs. 
 Their favorite method is to conceal themselves until the 
 coveted prey comes within reach of a jump, when the 
 cat makes a spring and seizes the animal. The sharp, 
 curved claws characteristic of the family are effective 
 weapons and enable the cat to secure a hold from which 
 there is no escape. Cats, however, do not place entire 
 reliance upon the hold afforded by their sharp claws. 
 They also bite their victim and so completely disable 
 if they do not promptly kill it. 
 
 As a class the cats are nocturnal, but not from neces- 
 sity. It does not appear that their vision is ^t fliU 
 
42 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 defective in the brightest sunlight. Probably because 
 they can more readily secure their prey, and again, m 
 tropical countries, because their prey is mostly astir at 
 night, have the nocturnal habits of the cats been 
 brought about. This disposition to rest by day and be, 
 active at night is common to our thoroughly domes- 
 ticated cat, and all know how exceedingly active and 
 noisy it can be upon occasion. In the rural districts 
 cats frequently take to the woods and become essentially 
 wild in every way. Such cats are strictly nocturnal. 
 Cats appear to be found in every region of the globe 
 
 except Australia and 
 Madagascar ; and while 
 their habits vary to a 
 certain degree with 
 their environment, 
 there is a marked de- 
 gree of sameness. The 
 many species vary also 
 in their intelligence, a 
 fact that holds good 
 probably with every 
 class of mammals. 
 
 First to be considered 
 of the cat tribe is the 
 familiar lion — ^the king 
 of beasts, as he is often 
 called. Unquestiona- 
 T)lf it is the most majestic, as it is the largest, not only 
 of the cats, but of all carnivorous animals. 
 
 A full-grown male lion is from eight to nine feet 
 long, of a tawny yellow-brown color, and remarkable 
 for an enormous growth of hair about the neck and 
 shoulders which constitutes the mane. The tail is 
 tipped by a tuft of long coarse hair of a dark color. 
 The female has no mane and is of a less formida,ble 
 appearance, 
 
 Head of Gamblan Lion. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 43 
 
 _ Lions are found in Africa, where there are several va- 
 rieties, and in Asia, one of the latter varieties being the 
 maneless lion of Gujerat. 
 
 No animal probably, except such as are domesticated, 
 has figured more largely in literature, and the result is 
 that a somewhat exaggerated opinion is often held con- 
 cerning its strength, ferocity, bravery, and cunning. 
 Still it is unquestionable that it does possess a marked 
 degree of all these qualities. That it is an intelligent 
 animal is undeniable. 
 
 As to its strength, it is well known that it can carry 
 an ox. Drummond, in his " Large Game of Africa," 
 says of an old man-eating lion: 
 "The brute did not confine 
 himself to any one [village] 
 in particular, nor come at any 
 regular intervals, but so timed 
 his visits that no one was sure 
 of his or her life from day to 
 day. No fastenings were of 
 any use against him, as his im- 
 mense strength enabled him to 
 force an entrance if he could 
 not find one ready made, while 
 the outer ring-fence of inter- 
 woven thorns supported by 
 
 strong posts which guard all native villages, and is often 
 of great height, oft'ered no obstacle to his powers of 
 
 {'umping, a single bound being always sufficient to land 
 dm inside.'' 
 
 Elsewhere this excellent authority remarks: "The 
 public must feel some difficulty in forming a true esti- 
 mate of the prowess of the African lion from the num- 
 ber of conflicting statements made by different travelers 
 and hunters. The truth appears to be that while each 
 one has formed an opinion from the behavior of the 
 
 >!5W!-" 
 
 Head of Maneless Lioii. 
 
44 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HISTOR V. 
 
 particular animals they chanced to meet with, the fact 
 that every single lion differs from another in temper and 
 , disposition has been allowed to drop out of sight. That 
 some lions will make a point of attacking every human 
 being they see without the slightest provocation admits 
 ot no doubt, while it is at least equally certain that 
 there are others that can hardly be forced to retaliate, 
 and which, even when wounded, will always run rather 
 than show fight," 
 
 Another quotation concerning African lions from the 
 same author. Of their voice he writes as follows : ' ' Much 
 has been written about their roar, and I must confess to 
 having been disappointed in it at first, but after a time 
 I discovered that though it had no resemblance to 
 thunder or anything of that sort, it really was a very 
 awe-inspiring sound. It commences by a low, booming 
 growl, repeated two or three times, and increasing in 
 loudne^ until it becomes a roar that fills the air, and 
 then dies away again in a low muttering. Lions coming 
 from different directions will often keep it up for haS 
 an hour, answering each other, and it shows how the 
 animal is dreaded, that the moment it is heard near 
 camp there is a dead silence, more wood is hastily 
 heaped on the fire, and all the natives uneasily shift 
 their positions and take up their guns and spears. It 
 can be heard for an immense distance in the clear 
 atmosphere of the tropics, and I have frequently heard 
 it plainly when it could not have been less than two 
 miles off." 
 
 The next in size, ferocity, and general interest among 
 the FelidcB, or cats, is the well-known tiger. Like the 
 lion, it is well known because so generally exhibited in 
 menageries and is prominent in literature. Indeed, 
 the animal is of more general interest than the lion, 
 and certainly is far more dangerous to humanity. 
 
 The name "tiger" is supposed, according to one 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 45 
 
 authority, to be derived from old Persian tigrd — an 
 arrow—on account of the velocity with which the animal 
 shoots itself, as it were, on its prey. 
 
 The tiger is not taller than the lion but longer in the 
 body. The head is covered with smooth hair and is round 
 and blocky. The back and sides are rich brown, the 
 belly white, and the body and limbs are alike barred 
 with stripes of jet-black. 
 
 While in India the animal is principally found, it is 
 not confined to that country. They occur in Java and 
 Sumatra; This is 
 the limit of their 
 range. The tiger 
 is even more act- 
 ive and agile than 
 the lion, and is fe- 
 rocious beyond de- 
 scription. Like all 
 cats, they lie in 
 wait for their prey 
 and spring upon it 
 
 with a remarkably Bengal Tiger. 
 
 true aim. It is sel- 
 dom that one misses once it has sprung. Like lions, 
 when they have acquired a liking for human flesh they 
 are even more fierce than before. 
 
 The favorite food is stated to be deer, antelope, and 
 jirild hog. These he prefers to domestic cattle; but the 
 propensity to live on human beings once developed, and 
 a change is wrought in him indeed. "A single tiger is 
 known to have killed 108 people in the course of three 
 years. Another killed an average of about eighty per- 
 sons per annum. A third caused thirteen villages to be 
 abandoned and 250 square mUes of land to be thrown 
 out of cultivation. A fourth, so late as 1869, killed 127 
 people and stopped a public road for many weeks until 
 
46 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 the opportune arrival of an English sportsman, who at 
 last killed him. . . . Eewards are given by Gov- 
 ernment to native shikaris for the heads of tigers, vary- 
 ing in time and place, according to the need. In 1877, 
 819 persons and 16,137 cattle were reported to have 
 been, killed by tigers." 
 
 In Carl Bock's " Temples and Elephants," a delight- 
 ful bools: of travel in Siam, we find the following: 
 " News arrived that a tiger had been shot during the 
 night in a small village close by, whither the Chow sent 
 a dozen men to fetch it to Umang Pau. All the village 
 turned out to give the dead beast a welcome as it was 
 carried in triumph on a stretcher. . . . On its 
 head was hung one of the peculiar native talios, or 
 charmsj to keep away the evil spirits, which the people 
 believe to exist everywhere, and of which the tiger is 
 supposed to be a particularly malignant representative. 
 These talios are made of rattan or bamboo, plaited to- 
 gether like an open piece of lattice-work, and may be 
 seen hung in front of a house, or suspended from sticks in 
 the rice-fields, or by the road-side; in fact, turn where 
 you will, you will see one of these wonderful charms. 
 
 " The Chow would not allow the beast to be brought 
 inside the walls — I suppose because he had more fear 
 of the spirits than faith in the talio — so it was deposited 
 in a field just outside the town. . . . 
 
 ''The skin was, therefore, first carefully removed, 
 and then there were applicants enough for almost every 
 particle of the body. Some wanted the flesh, which was 
 roasted and eaten at a feast the same evening. The 
 Laos love to partake of this dish, from the notion that 
 it will make them strong. Others asked for the bones 
 to sell to the Chinese to be powdered and made into a 
 medicine. The intestines were also in request for a 
 similar purpose. The gall-bladder, which is also used 
 to make a highly prized and expensive Chinese drug, 
 was hurriedly snatched by my Chinese cook." 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 47 
 
 Third in the list of the giant cats is the leopard.' 
 Here again we have an animal familiar to most people, 
 because so generally exhibited in all traveling-shows. 
 
 The leopard is found in Africa and Asia both, and 
 
 farticularly in Asiatic countries, Persia, China, and 
 ndia. Like the lion and tiger, the ground color is a 
 fawn or yellowish-brown, and this is covered with circu- 
 lar black spots varying somewhat in size. There are 
 several varieties or species, but the chetah, or hunting 
 leopard, which has something the appearance of a cross 
 between a true leopard and a dog, is not one of them. 
 
 " In habits the leopard resembles the other large cat- 
 like animals, yield- , 
 ing to none in the 
 ferocity and blood- 
 thirstiness of its dis- 
 position. It is ex- 
 ceedingly quick and 
 active in its move- 
 ments, but seizes its 
 prey by waiting in 
 ambush and stealth- 
 ily approaching to 
 within springing 
 distance, when it 
 suddenly rushes upon it and tears it to the ground with 
 its powerful claws and teeth. It preys upon almost any 
 animal it can overcome, such as antelopes, deer, sheep, 
 goats, monkeys, pea-fowl, and is said to have a special 
 liking for dogs. It not unfrequently attacks human 
 beings in India, chiefly children and old women, but 
 instances have been known of a leopard becoming a 
 regular man-eater." Drummond says "the virus of 
 their bite is very great." 
 
 When young, like all cats, leopards are very playful 
 and graceful in every movements. A couple of leopard 
 
 Leopard. 
 
48 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HLSTORY. 
 
 kittens seen by Drummond growled as kittens would, 
 sprung into the air and embraced the tree-trunks with 
 their claws, "arching their backs and gamboling about 
 in a way far too interesting for me to disturb them until 
 I had watched them. . . . Sometimes they would 
 lie down facing each other, their small heads laid flat 
 between their fore paws, and remain motionless for sev- 
 eral seconds, their long bushy tails, alternately marked 
 with white and black rings, alone betraying by their 
 waving motion that they were not asleep." 
 
 Coming now to the American continent, we find thai 
 here also a large and almost lionJike cat is found. It 
 is the well-known jaguar. Jt ranges from Southern 
 Texas to Patagonia, but does not appear to be very 
 abundant anywhere. It is tawny and leopard-like in 
 appearance, but differs in that the markings are rings 
 rather than spots, and each contains an irregular black 
 spot of small size. 
 
 Jaguars vary considerably in size and also in markings, 
 some being nearly black. In Brazil, and more particu- 
 larly in the Amazonian valleys, the jaguar is larger, 
 fiercer, and more to be dreaded than elsewhere. While 
 peccaries, capybaras, and monkeys are all favorite foods 
 of this cat, it has no disposition to go hungry if these are 
 not to be had, but will feast upon ^fish and any living 
 anima,l inatter, however low in the scale of creation. 
 
 As in each of the large cats already mentioned, jaguars 
 are cunning and often exercise considerable ingenuity in 
 capturing naturally suspicious animals. 
 
 Belt refers as follows to the cunning of the jaguar : 
 " These wari [wild pigs] go in herds of from fifty to 
 one hundred. They are said to assist each other against 
 the attacks of the jaguar, but that wary animal is too 
 mtelhgent for them. He sits quietly upon a branch of 
 a tree until the wari come underneath ; then jumping 
 down kills one by breaking its neck, leaps up into the 
 
MAMMALS. 49 
 
 tree again, and waits there until the herd depai tg, when 
 he comes down and feeds on the slaughtered wari in 
 quietness." 
 
 The American cougar, or puma, next demands our 
 notice. It is the largest of cats, except the jaguar just 
 mentioned, and is of a uniform tawny color. It is also 
 called panther, but this is an undesirable and misleading 
 name, as it is properly applied only to one or more Old 
 World species of the family. In the newspapers it is 
 not unusual to find it spoken of as the Kocky Mountain 
 lion, and worse the " pain- 
 ter," a corruption evident- 
 ly of the word " panther." 
 
 While the cougar was 
 once common on the At- 
 lantic sea-board, it is now 
 quite extinct except in the 
 most inaccessible recesses^ 
 of the mountainous dis- ' 
 tricts. Its abundance 
 formerly is known from jaguar, 
 
 the early writers and the 
 
 remains that are found. Their canine teeth and claws 
 were frequently used as ornaments by the North Amer- 
 ican Indians. 
 
 The cougar is "a savage and destructive animal, yet 
 timid and cautious. In ferocity it is quite equal to 
 most of its kindred species, and kills numbers of small 
 animals for the sake of drinking their blood j and when 
 pressed by hunger attacks large quadrupeds, though 
 not always with success. When the cougar seizes a 
 sheep or calf it is by the throat, and then flinging the 
 victim over its back it dashes off with great ease and 
 celerity, to devour at leisure. Deer, hogs, sheep, and 
 calves are destroyed by the cougar whenever they are 
 within reach, and occasionally one or two of these ani- 
 
50 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF N'A TURAL fflSTOR V. 
 
 mals have committed extensive ravages among the stoci 
 of the frontier settlers. They climb— or rather spring 
 — up large trees with surprising facility and vigor, and 
 in that way are enabled, by dropping suddenly _ upon 
 deer and other quadrupeds, to secure prey which it 
 would be impossible for them to overtake. 
 
 "In the day-time the cougar is seldom seen, but its 
 peculiar cry frequently thrills the experienced traveler 
 with horror while camping in the forest at night, or he 
 
 is startled to hear the 
 cautious approaches 
 of the animal, steal- 
 ing step by step to-r 
 ward him over the 
 crackling brush and 
 leaves^ in expectation' 
 of/^pfingiflg on an 
 unguarded or sleep- 
 ing victim whom 
 nothing but a rapid " 
 flight can save. That 
 the cougar will at- 
 tack animals of large 
 size and great strength is well known to those who 
 have resided where this beast is found." (Godman's 
 Nat. Hist.) 
 
 A full-grown cougar measures as follows : From the 
 tip of the nose to the root of the tail, four feet five 
 inches ; tail, two feet four inches ; height at fore 
 shoulder, two feet four to six inches. 
 
 At present these animals are only common west of 
 the Rocky Mountains. Like the bison, elk, and ante- 
 lope, their range is becoming more and more restricted. 
 In this case it may be a matter of rejoicing, but 
 the general disappearance of wild life is not a pleasant 
 thought. In spite of all the disadvantages connected 
 
 Cougar. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 51 
 
 ;i«5^^^ 
 
 with the presence of wild beasts, they certainly do 
 lend an additional charm to a country. When there is 
 nothing to see in our woods and marshes but mice and 
 mosquitoes, it will be very stupid to wander therein. 
 
 In the Mexican ocelot we have one of those beautiful 
 arboreal tiger-cats that are exceedingly interesting to 
 watch — at a respectful distance. Pretty and harmless 
 as they look when confined in safe quarters, an intruder 
 would be very sure to come to grief. 
 
 Being a dweller of the tree-tops to a great extent, 
 ocelots are great enemies 
 of birds, and doubtless 
 destroy more than any 
 other of their furred 
 foes. They do not ig- 
 nore the ground, howev- 
 er, and wander at their 
 own sweet will by night, 
 preying upon ''small 
 deer " of many kinds. 
 
 The ocelot is from 
 three to four feet in length, exclusive of the tail. Their 
 fur is brown of various shades, spotted and barred with 
 black and darker brown. 
 
 The ocelot does not seem to have specially attracted 
 the attention of travelers in those countries where it is 
 found. Paez omits to mention it when speaking of 
 Venezuelan animals, and Orton says briefly, as to the 
 Amazon region, "tiger-cats are seldom seen." Belt, 
 describing a night in Nicaragua, writes as follows: 
 " Owls and night-jars make strange, unearthly cries. 
 ITie timid deer comes out of its close covert to feed on 
 the grassy clearings. Jaguars, ocelots, and opossums 
 slink about in the gloom." This is eminently unsatis- 
 factory when it is the only reference in the book to a 
 most interesting animal, and the habits in general of the 
 creature can only be surmised. 
 
 Ocelot. 
 
62 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The lynx and its cousin, the wild cat, must close oui 
 iist of the Felidce. There are hosts of other species, but 
 these must be omitted even by name. While each pos- 
 sesses features peculiarly its own, all are cats, and cats 
 are similar in the essential features of their lives. 
 
 The European and North American lynx, which is 
 probably the same animal, is too well known to require 
 a detailed description. It is much like our domestic 
 cat, but has longer ears and a pencil of long hairs at the 
 tips. The tail is. a mere stump, and one might well ask 
 of what use is such a short unyielding projection. 
 
 In habits the lynx", whether European or Canadian, 
 is a savage, untamable cat that lies in wait for or 
 
 rushes noiselessly 
 upon its unsuspect- 
 ing prey. While 
 birds and small 
 mammals are its usu- 
 al prey, it has been 
 known to attack and 
 kills heep and calves. 
 The bay lynx, or 
 wild cat, IS the sole 
 remaining species of 
 wild FdidcB that is 
 found in what may be called the thickly settled portion of 
 the United States. In many wild, marshy tracts and in 
 the mountains they still find sufiicient cover, and appear- 
 ing to know full well how surely they will be hunted to 
 death if seen, studiously avoid being seen. In some well- 
 hidden hollow of a tree, a deep but roomy burrow in a 
 hill-side, or crouched upon a mat of leaves and twigs in 
 the uppermost branches of a tall oak or tulip, they rest 
 by day and prowl and prey when the night falls. If food 
 is abundant they are harmless so far as man is con- 
 cerned, and will live near farm-houses for months with^ 
 
 European Lynx. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 53 
 
 out their presence iDeing suspected. In the depths af 
 ,winterj_ however, when deep snows render food-getting a 
 diflBcult problem, then the creature may show fight if 
 attacked. If there is any truth in the newspaper re- 
 
 Eorts of the occurrence of these animals about farm- 
 ouses in winter, then they have been known to attack 
 people even when unmolested by them. Such occur- 
 rences, however, must be very rare. 
 
 The family of Carnivores next in order is the Viver- 
 ridcB, consisting of the well-known civet cats and the 
 ichneumons. These animals are long, slender, weasel- 
 shaped creatures, 
 but much larger, 
 being nearly three 
 feet in length. 
 They are of a yel- 
 low-brown color, 
 thickly matted with 
 brown spots. There 
 are several species, 
 all inhabitants of 
 tropical countries, 
 being found in Af- 
 rica and the south- 
 ern portions of Asia. 
 The civet cat, as 
 it is usually called, 
 
 has a commercial value, as from it is derived the civet of 
 trade. This material is the secretion of a large double 
 gland situated at the base of the tail. These animals 
 are even kept in confinement for the sake of this sub- 
 stance, which is a perfume and highly valued by people 
 in the countries where the animal is found. On the 
 other hand, the odor arising from this glandular dis- 
 charge is not pleasing to the noses of most civilized peo- 
 ple, and they find its use, as among the Abyssinians, 
 exceedingly disagreeable. 
 
 Civet Cat. 
 
54 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The true civets have many cousins which differ more 
 or less from them. Among them is the little genet. 
 This animal, which is gray and black and has a black 
 and white banded tail, is found in the Mediterranean 
 region of Europe and Northern Africa. It has no 
 valuable scent-bags, and so has less value in the eyes of 
 the people where it lives, but appears to have proved 
 useful at V least in one respect by taking the place in 
 Constantinople of our cats and proving an equally ex- 
 pert mouser. Both civets and genets are frequently 
 seen in menageries and zoological gardens. 
 
 Better known than either of the preceding is the ich- 
 neumon, an animal much in general appearance like 
 our common weasel, but it is very different neverthe- 
 less. 
 
 The Egyptian ichneumon is about eighteen inches 
 long and is of a yellow-brown color. Other species 
 vary both in size and color, but all bear a striking re- 
 semblance to each other. They are found both in 
 Africa and Asia. The best known are the Egyptian 
 species above mentioned and the mongoose of India. 
 As a wild animal it feeds principally upon the eggs of 
 the crocodile and on snakes and lizards. 
 
 It is readily tamed and many wonderful stories have 
 been told concerning it. In Egypt and throughout 
 Northern Africa it is known as Pharaoh's rat. 
 
 Leith Adams remarks : " The ichneumon is still 
 common in Egypt and, as in many Eastern countries, is 
 often tamed. We see it introduced into the old hunting- 
 pictures ; no doubt it was trained to capture wild fowl. 
 The myth regarding the antidote it is said to have 
 recourse to in a certain plant whenever an individual is 
 bitten by a snake is believed by the fellahs of Egypt 
 as well as the natives of India." 
 
 As bearing upon this subject, the following may be 
 quoted in full from "Science Gossip:" ''It is sc 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 55 
 
 generally belieyed that the bite of the cobra is fatal to 
 all animals except the ichneumon, or mongoose, which 
 is believed to possess in its blood or to have some 
 capacity for discovering an antidote to the poison, that 
 we are glad to find some exact experiments on the point. 
 Surgeon-Major 0. E. Francis, writing in the Indian 
 Medical Gazette for April [1868], details the results of 
 some very interesting inquiries recently conducted by 
 him. These results show in the most conclusive manner 
 that the ichneumon is not possessed of any special im- 
 munity from the effects of the cobra's poison, and that 
 since it dies almost 
 immediately after it 
 has been bitten, its 
 supposed instinct for 
 the discovery of an 
 unknown herb is 
 equally a delu- 
 sion. Surgeon - Ma- 
 jor Francis, who had 
 collected seven lively 
 cobras for experi- 
 mentation, thus describes the results : ' Before commenc- 
 ing the experiment the cobra was tested, a supply of 
 fowls and small birds being retained for the purpose. 
 In each case the tested bird died shortly after being bit- 
 ten in the usual way. It faltered in its gait, limped, 
 sunk on the ground, became lethargic, and then fell into 
 convulsions, in which it was carried off. Sufficient time 
 was then allowed for a copious resecretion of the poison, 
 and the animal to be bitten was presented to the cobra. 
 As a rule the latter would not bite its victim, and it 
 became necessary to force the poison fangs into some 
 fleshy part of the latter. In the case of the mongoose 
 [ichneumon] the inner part of the thigh was selected. 
 The operation was most successfully performed in each 
 
 Egyptian Ichneumon. 
 
56 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 case by two snake-oharmers. Three mongooses were 
 operated upon, and fhey all died, at intervals varying 
 from fifteen minutes to six hours each, in precisely the 
 same way.' A positive result of this kind is worth 
 thousands of negative ones, since it really decides the 
 question definitely. "W e may state that two other inter- 
 esting facts have been arrived at by Surgeon-Major 
 Prancis : (1) That harmless snakes are just as liable to 
 the poisonous efEects of the cobra's bite as are other 
 animals, and (2) that the cobra itself is the only 
 creature which appears to be uninfluenced by the poison. 
 
 This last would 
 appear to be dem- 
 onstrated by an 
 experiment in 
 which two cobras 
 were made to mu- 
 tually wound each 
 other without any 
 apparent result 
 beyond tempora- 
 ry inconven- 
 
 _ ience." 
 
 Aard-wolf. '^' The dog-like 
 
 animals and hy- 
 enas come now under consideration, and here we have 
 creatures that are familiar to all. Every one has seen a 
 dog — often too many of them — and all know the hyena, 
 wolf, and fox at least by reputation. It is a poor show, 
 indeed, that does not possess at least one hyena, and the 
 wolf and fox are not only familiar by name, but have 
 generally been seen. 
 
 It is proper to call attention briefly to a peculiar form 
 of dog-like animal found only in South Africa. It is 
 known as the aard-wolf, or earth-wolf. It is a small 
 hyena with a civet cat's head. It is strictly nocturnal. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 57 
 
 burrows in the groundj and a regular scavenger^ eating 
 carrion as readily as such small animals as it may chance 
 to kill. 
 
 The true hyenas are probably the most utterly brutal . 
 and disgusting of all four-footed beasts. In the ac- 
 counts of travelers in those countries where these 
 animals abound but little in their favor can be found. , 
 Hyenas may be said to be cat-headed dogs. That is, 
 the skull is more cat-like than similar to the head of a 
 dog. The body is that of a large dog. There are 
 three species — the striped, spotted, and brown. All art 
 found either in Africa or Asia. They are nocturnal, 
 cave-dwellers, flesh 
 and carrion eaters. 
 
 Concerning their 
 habits we quote from 
 Drummond as fol- 
 lows: " The hyena, 
 colonially known as 
 the wolf, is exceed- 
 ingly common all 
 over the country 
 [Eastern Africa] out- 
 side the colonies, and 
 its mournful howl is to oe heard every night as one reaches 
 the more thinly populated districts. . . . Treacher- 
 ous, cowardly, and savage in their habits, as all the species 
 are, they are invariably killed whenever opportunity offers. 
 I have at different times shot specimens of the common 
 spotted kind, sometimes at night, when they have come 
 prowling round our camp in search of anything they 
 could find — despising nothing edible between a sleeping 
 child and a leathern strap; sometimes as they lumbered 
 homeward at their ungainly gallop when daylight has 
 overtaken them while still at some distance from their 
 holes, and more rarely after having put them out of some 
 
 striped Hyena. 
 
58 CYCLOPEDIA OF A' A TURA'L HIS TOR Y. 
 
 dense thicket in which they had made a temporary 
 lair. Cowardly when there is the faintest suspicion of 
 d&,nger, daring when there is none, stealthy and cunning 
 to the last degree, and provided with great powers ol 
 scent and hearing, added to immense strength, there is 
 no animal so universally hated or that causes more 
 trouble and annoyance to both hunters and peaceful 
 natives. The amount of damage they do in a season to 
 the former by breaking into their game and destroying 
 the hide when time has failed to skin it can hardly be 
 calculated, not to mention such trifles as shoes, straps, 
 and in fact everything and anything left outside the 
 camp during the night. To the villagers the number 
 of cattle they annually kill is a most serious loss." 
 Drummond relates an anecdote that well illustrates how 
 very cowardly these animals generally are : "1 remember 
 one evening severely wounding a doe impalla, one of the 
 most timid of antelopes, which, however, I was unable 
 to get from want of light. ... I followed it up 
 the first thing next morning, and before we had gone 
 far on the track ... we noticed the marks of a 
 hyena, and I gave up all hope of finding anything except 
 the bones, but ultimately we came to it, still alive, 
 though unable to stand, and untouched, though the 
 hyena had absolutely gone within a yard of it, had, in- 
 deed, walked round it, and then, seeing that it was liv- 
 ing, had slunk away, afraid to touch a harmless doe 
 antelope, so wounded that it could not stir, so long as 
 breath remained in its body." 
 
 Dogs are found in nearly every part of the world, 
 and are capable of bearing any extreme of heat or cold; 
 but this must not be construed as meaning that an Es- 
 quimau dog can be taken to Central Africa or a jackal 
 to the north pole without either suffering. 
 
 Dogs are found even yet in a perfectly wild state, 
 and it is not probable that the domestic varieties aie 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 59 
 
 Greyhound. 
 
 derived from them, but from crossing a number of 
 specieSj some of which are not now living. This fact 
 goes to show how very ancient are domesticated dogs. 
 Indeed, they ante- 
 date all history, for 
 remains of this ani- 
 mal have been 
 found in the pre- 
 historic deposits 
 known as kitchen- 
 refuse heaps. Such 
 remains are com- 
 mon in Denmark. 
 It is not strange 
 that savage man 
 should have tamed 
 the dogs of the coun- 
 tries he inhabited. It is a very tamable creature, and 
 in the earliest days of man's occupancy of the globe fear 
 of man was not a feature of wild animals; hence a dog or 
 any animal could have been more readily tamed than can 
 wild animals now. ' The dog proved not only a teachable 
 
 companion, but 
 was also used as 
 food, as it still is by 
 some savage races; 
 so it is not strange 
 that we find remains 
 of dogs associated 
 with those of man 
 thousands an'd 
 thousands of years 
 old. 
 
 As indicative of the fact that all dogs are not derived 
 from one common progenitor and have since by careful 
 selection been varied to the remarkable extent that nmr 
 
 
 Spaniel. 
 
60 CYCLOPEDIA OP NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 exists, it may be stated that the dogs of each country 
 bear a marked resemblance to the wild-dog forms, as 
 wolves, jackals^ or foxes, which are there found, it 
 cannot be doubted but that the Esquimau dogs are 
 derived from arctic wolves, and some European dogs 
 from the great wolf of that country. 
 
 It is not necessary to describe the habits of dogs 
 —all kno-vv^ them; but perhaps it is not so well 
 known tha;t all dogs do not bark. There are dogs 
 in Guinea, and in Mexico which are dumb, and 
 
 many wish, I have 
 no doubt, that this 
 feature of dumbness 
 would strike the av- 
 erage village cur. 
 It has been stated 
 _that the habit of 
 "barking can be lost 
 and reacquired. The 
 former fact gives one 
 some hopes that 
 town dogs may for- 
 get the habit even 
 yet, and then it will 
 be time to study 
 upon a plan to pre- 
 vent the disposition to its reacquirement. 
 
 Dogs figure in history earliest in the Egyptian monu- 
 ments which are anywhere from three to five thousand 
 years old. Even then many of the varieties which we 
 now have were in existence, the old Egyptians using the 
 different kinds for different purposes. Indeed, they 
 were not only very much cared for for their practical 
 value, but piously worshiped as Anubis, the genius of 
 the Nile. Many were mummied, and such bundles of 
 wrapped dog-bones are not uncommon. 
 
 
 Deer-hound. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 61 
 
 "Dogs are naturally carnivorous, preferring flesh 
 that is slightly putrid ; but they can also live on vege- 
 table food, and in countries where the dog itself is 
 eaten it is generally thus fed. In drinking it laps with 
 its tongue, and it never perspires [lucky dog!], although 
 when heated its tongue hangs from its mouth and a 
 fluid runs from it. When about to go to sleep, no 
 matter where, it turns round and round and scratches 
 the ground with its fore paws, as if to form a hollow 
 couch, and in this seem- 
 ingly senseless action it is 
 no doubt continuing a 
 habit once found use- 
 ful to its wild progeni- 
 tors. 
 
 "Its sense of smell 
 and of hearing are ex- 
 ceedingly acute, and 
 many suppose that the 
 remarkable power pos- 
 sessed by the dog, in 
 common with the cat, of 
 finding its way for great distances along unknown roads 
 may be due to the exercise of the former sense." 
 
 The long association of man with the dog has cer- 
 tainly had the effect of improving all its faculties as 
 man has himself gradually improved. It is certain that 
 . no other animal has the same degree of reasoning power, 
 as good a memory, and is as true in his attachments, 
 although the horse in some respects approaches quite 
 closely. It must not be supposed, however, that be- 
 cause dogs are so disposed to anger, jealousy, love, grief, 
 and other mental emotions, our common wild ani- 
 mals are strangers to all like impressions. Many a 
 bird, cat, and even squirrel has exhibited similar traits 
 of character, and while not wishing to belittle the 
 
 Blood-hound. 
 
63 
 
 CVCLOPBDtA OP NATlyRAL HISTORY. 
 
 mental caliber of the dog, it is no more than just t« 
 other forms of the brute creation to assert that theif, 
 too, can be favorably impressed and greatly educated if 
 the same care is exercised. Of course heredity comes 
 in to the dog's advantage, but there is little doubt that 
 many other animals besides dogs could be equally well 
 trained and developed mentally if the unremitting care 
 of unnumbered centuries was spent upon them. 
 
 Dogs are social animals, and knowing from long ex- 
 perience that there is strength in union, they hunt in 
 
 packs. This trait shows 
 even among the mon- 
 grel curs that shift for 
 themselves about the 
 outskirts of our towns. 
 Packs of these ca- 
 nines of high, low, and 
 intermediate degree oft- 
 en band together and 
 raid upon the unsus- 
 pecting farmers at dead 
 ,^ of night. They travel 
 ^almost noiselessly for 
 miles, and attack poul- 
 try and sheep indis- 
 criminately. Then, as the day dawns, or before; they 
 as stealthily return, and some of them, dogs of reputa- 
 tion, wear 0! such innocent countenances when petted, 
 and fed on dainties the next morning. 
 
 It would prove an endless job to name all the varieties 
 of dogs and describe the particular characteristics and 
 uses of each. They are too well known, in fact, to 
 make this necessary. It is apparent that the features 
 of each kind have been gradually brought out by the 
 use to which the animal was customarily put by its 
 owner. In some the finding of game by the nose 
 
 Siberian Dog. 
 
Mammals. 
 
 63 
 
 rather than the eye has led to the development of such 
 dogs as the pointer and setter. Sight and speed char- 
 acterize the greyhound and deer-hound. Other dogs 
 being required as draught animals or beasts of burden, 
 we have strength, endurance, and speed the prominent 
 features of the Esquimau and Siberian dogs. And 
 with all the varieties found among civilized races there 
 occurs what may be called the refinements of selection, 
 and the principal races of the animal are again divided 
 up. This is true of the hunting^dogs especially, and 
 small or large breeds have been evolved to meet par- 
 ticular objects. The 
 cocker is a small but 
 very well defined kind 
 of water-spaniel that 
 "is of great use to a 
 sportsman who needs 
 a dog of dash to start 
 birds from tangled or 
 marshy coverts in 
 which a setter or point- 
 er could not work to advantage. Another class or race 
 of dogs are those large-framed animals who do duty 
 so admirably as watch-dogs. The mastiff is a type of 
 such. These dogs naturally assume the care of their 
 owner's property. They learn, as mere puppies, to dis- 
 tinguish the family from strangers, and are as gentle 
 and affectionate with the former as they are suspicious 
 of the latter. A well-trained house-dog, however, soon 
 learns to discriminate between a stranger calling on 
 legitimate business and a loafer, and many amusing 
 anecdotes are extant bearing upon this very point. 
 
 We have said that the varieties of domestic dogs were 
 numerous. According to Professor Fitzinger there are 
 at least 189 distinct varieties, and when it is considered 
 that the origin of many, if not most, of these is uncer^ 
 
 Cocker. 
 
64 CYCLOPEDIA OP NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 tain, it is not surprising that considerable difference ol 
 opinion should exist as to the most natural mode of 
 grouping them together. Their arrangement into the 
 following six races, founded to a certain extent on the 
 form and development of the ears, probably affords an 
 approximation to a natural classification, viz. : Wolf- 
 dogs, Greyhounds, Spaniels, Hounds, Mastiffs, and 
 Terriers. 
 
 Dog-stories are so common, whole books of them be- 
 ing abundant even, that it is unnecessary to give the 
 reader any "specimen bricks." My belief is that no 
 one ever heard an anecdote of a dog but he thought it 
 stupid in comparison to some of his imagining, for 
 probably not one in a thousand of these anecdotes is a 
 plain, unvarnished narration of what occurred. 
 
 The wolf, a grim-visaged cousin of a surly dog, is 
 familiar, by hearsay at least, to nearly every one, and 
 there are few countries where they did not once abound, 
 if, happily, they do not now. Whether in the Old 
 World or the Ifew, the habits of this animal are about 
 the same; they are social, hunt in packs, and are ex- 
 tremely fierce and dangerous when pressed by hunger. 
 
 Godman writes as follows concerning the wolf in 
 North America: "When the aboriginal Americans 
 first gave place to European adventurers, and the forests 
 which had flourished for ages undisturbed began to fall 
 before the unsparing ax, the vicinity of the settler's 
 lonely cabin resounded with the nightly howling of 
 wolves, attracted by the refuse provision usually to be 
 found there, or by a disposition to prey upon domes- 
 tic animals. During winter, when food was most dif- 
 ficult to. be procured, packs of these famished and 
 ferocious creatures were ever at hand, to run down and 
 destroy any domestic animal found wandering beyond 
 the inclosures which their individual or combined 
 efforts could overcomei and the boldest house-dog could 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 65 
 
 aot venture far from the door of his master without in- 
 curring the risk of being killed and devoured. The 
 common wolf was then to be found in considerable 
 numbers throughout a great extent if not the whole of 
 North America; at present it is only known as a resident 
 of the remote wooded and mountainous districts, where 
 man has not fixed his abode nor laid bare the bosom of 
 the earth to the enlivening radiance of the sun. 
 
 " The common wolf of America is considered to be 
 the same species as the wolf of Europe, and in regard 
 to habits and man- 
 ners gives every evi- 
 dence of such an iden- 
 tity. Like all the wild 
 animals of the dog 
 kind, they unite in 
 packs to hunt down 
 animals which indi- 
 vidually they could 
 not master, and dur- 
 ing their sexual sea- 
 son engage in the most 
 furious combats with 
 each other for the pos- 
 session of the females. 
 
 "The common wolf is possessed of great strength 
 And fierceness and, is what is generally called a cruel 
 animal, tearing the throat of its victim, drinking its 
 blood, and rending it open for the purpose of devouring 
 its entrails. The great strength of its jaws enables the 
 wolf to carry ofE with facility an animal nearly as large 
 as itself and makes its bite exceedingly severe and 
 dangerous. . . . They gorge with much greedi- 
 ness upon all sorts of carrion, which they can discover at 
 great distances, and where such provision is to be 
 obtained in great plenty they become very fat and lose 
 their ferocitv to a sinffular dearree." 
 
 Common Wolf. 
 
66 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The common wolf is about four feet and a half in 
 length, including the tail, which is rather more than a 
 foot long. The height before is two feet three inches; 
 behind it is two feet four inches. The tail is bushy and 
 bending downward, having upon it hairs upward of 
 five inches in length. 
 
 The general color of the wolf is reddish-brown, inter- 
 mixed with ferruginous and black, but a great variety is. 
 to be observed in the coloring of the wolf as found in 
 the northern, middle, and southern regions, exhibiting 
 
 various gradations 
 from grizzly white to 
 pure black. ' 
 
 Another well-known 
 American wolf is the 
 coyote of the prairies. 
 It is a good deal small- 
 er than the preceding, 
 and of a light gray 
 color. They live in 
 troops of a considera- 
 ble number of individ- 
 uals, and are ever at 
 the heels of herds of 
 game such as were 
 formerly far more common on the prairies than now. 
 Foxes are smaller than prairie- wolves, and are still to 
 be found in the settled portions of the country. Their 
 habits and appearance are well known, and no detailed 
 description seems necessary. Perhaps no animal figures 
 more extensively in literature, and the saying "as cun- 
 ning as a fox" is frequently heard. In the United 
 States there are two varieties, the red and gray. In 
 habits these do not materially difEer. 
 
 The jackals of Asia and Africa bear much resemblance 
 to the fox and also to the dog, and give the impression 
 
 
 Jackal. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 61 
 
 of being the offspring of those two animals, but they 
 are genuine species that have characteristics peculiar to 
 them. Like others of the dog family, the jackal is 
 social and hunts in packs, but is not courageous, and 
 rarely attacks unless well assured of an easy victory. 
 They prefer rather to hang on the tracks of larger 
 beasts of prey and pick a scanty living from what may 
 be left. They are nocturnal and keep closely hidden 
 by day, and when the^ appear in the gloaming for a 
 night-long hunt, they 
 make the neighbor- 
 hood dismal by their 
 melancholy, discord- 
 ant howling. 
 
 Betwixt and be- 
 tween a wolf, fox, 
 and jackal is the 
 .thous, an African 
 dog-like animal, of 
 which there are sev- 
 eral varieties. They 
 are larger than a jack- 
 al and do not burrow. 
 "When it is said that 
 the thous dogs of Africa have the combined natures of a 
 wolf, a fox, and a jackal, it is not difficult to conceive 
 what such a creature must be, and the American reader 
 will naturally say that Africa is welcome to all such 
 dogs. 
 
 Leaving the dogs to pick bones and quarrel among 
 themselves, another family of Carnivores will be con- 
 sidered which in external appearance are certainly very 
 widely removed from the Oanidje. This is the Muste- 
 lidcB, or weasel family. 
 
 None of the family, except perhaps one species, is 
 domesticated; they are not eaten by civilized races, and 
 
 Thous Dag of Senegal. 
 
68 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HJSTOR Y. 
 
 are valued, as a race, simply for their fur. This is very 
 beautiful as a general thing, and some of the race pro- 
 duce furs of the most costly description, as the Eussian 
 sable and true ermine. 
 
 i'irst to be named of the Mustelidae is the otter. 
 This animal is "characterized by a broad and flat head, 
 which terminates in a blunt snout, small eyes, and very 
 short, rounded ears." 
 
 The American otter measures about sixty inches from 
 the nose to the tip of the tail, which is eighteen to 
 twenty inches long. The fur is very soft, fine, and 
 glossy, and of a rich brown color. 
 
 "We quote again from Grodman, who had the happy 
 
 faculty of telling just 
 what the average reader 
 wishes to know. He 
 says: " Nature appears 
 to have intended the ot- 
 ter for one among her 
 efficient checks upon the 
 increase of the finny 
 tribes, and every' pecul- 
 iarity of its conforma- 
 tion seems to have this great object in view. The 
 length of body, short and flat head, abbreviated ears, 
 dense and close fur, flattened tail, and dispropor- 
 tionately short legs with webbed feet, all conspire to 
 facilitate the otter's movements through the water. In 
 the crystal depths of the river few flsh can elude .this 
 swiftly moving and destructive animal, which unites to 
 the qualities enabling him to swim with fish-like celerity 
 and ease the peculiar sagaciousness of a class of beings 
 far superior m the intellectual scale to the proper ten- 
 ants of the flood. In vain does the pike scud before his 
 pursuer and spring into the air in eagerness to escape, 
 or the trout dart with the velocity of thought from 
 
 otter. 
 
MAMMALS. 69 
 
 shelter to shelter; in vain does the strong and supple 
 eel seek the protection of the shelving bank or the 
 tangled ooze in the bed of the stream; the otter sup- 
 plies by perseverance what may be wanting in swiftness 
 and by cunning what may be deficient in strength, and 
 his affrighted victims', though they may for a short 
 time delay, cannot avert their fate. . . . 
 
 " The residence of the otter is a burrow or excavation 
 in the bank of a stream or river, and the entrance to 
 this retreat is under water; at some distance from the 
 river an air-hole is generally to be found opening in the 
 midst of a bush or other place of concealment. The 
 burrow is frequently to be traced for a considerable dis- 
 tance, and in numerous instances leads to the widely 
 spreading roots of large trees." 
 
 A few words concerning the sea-otter. This animal 
 reaches the size of a large mastiff and a weight of seventy 
 to eighty pounds. It is a seal-like-looking creature 
 and certainly has many seal-like habits. 
 
 It is thus graphically described by Moquin Tandon: 
 "This . . . creature inhabits a great portion of the 
 North Pacific Ocean, between fifty and sixty degrees of 
 north latitude. It may often be seen lying on the float- 
 ing banks of the nereocystus (a marine plant), basking 
 in the sunshine or watching for its prey. . . . 
 The otter feeds on fish, crabs, shell-fish, and if com- 
 pelled by necessity it will eat marine plants. It plunges 
 like the seal or morse (walrus), but does not remain so 
 long under water. . . . The sea-otter lives in couples; 
 the female has but one young at a time, which she sel- 
 dom leaves, rearing it with much tenderness. A mother 
 may often be seen with her nursling and also with the 
 young one of the preceding year. She plays with them 
 on the ice and in the waves, throws theni into the sea. 
 and teaches them to swim and dive. When she sleeps 
 on the surface of the water, back downward, and 
 
70 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 abandons herself to the play of the waves, she takes 
 her little one upon her and holds it in her paws. Steller 
 has represented a mother in this position. Hunters 
 very frequently surprise these poor creatures thus aeleep 
 and almost always succeed in killing them. 
 
 "When robbed of her youn^ the sea-otter* utters 
 plaintive cries. She follows the spoiler from a distance, 
 calling her little one in a supplicating manner, and it 
 often replies by similar wailing." 
 
 Another cousin of the true weasel, and one that is 
 not well known except in a portion of our Western 
 
 country, is the clumsy 
 gray-black badger. In 
 Europe badgers are 
 more common than 
 here, and much has 
 been written concern- 
 ing them. There it is 
 "indolent and sleepy, 
 feeds by night on veg- 
 etables, small quadru- 
 peds, etc., and is very 
 fat. . . . Its flesh 
 makes good bacon. It is a wide-spread vulgar error that 
 the legs of the badger are shorter on one side than on 
 the other." 
 
 The American badger is not the same species as the 
 European one, but resembles it quite closely externally. 
 Grodman writes: "Nature has destined this animal to 
 a subterraneous and solitary mode of life, which, to- 
 gether with its timid disposition and nocturnal habits, 
 throw great difficulties in our way while endeavoring to 
 ascertain its peculiarities. It is entirely inofEensive 
 and apparently feeble, but if denied the advantages 
 of swiftness of motion or great size, it has not been 
 left entirely destitute of the means of providing for its 
 
 Badger. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 71 
 
 own safety. The long claws on its fore feet are ad- 
 mirably adapted for removing the earth, and the celerity 
 with which it can escape danger by burrowing is really 
 surprising. It 'is altogether fruitless to attempt to 
 secure the animal by digging after it, as its progress 
 is too rapid and the depth to which it descends too 
 great. . . . 
 
 " The body of the badger is thick and heavy, and its 
 movements on the ground slow and creeping. There is 
 little appearance of vivacity or intelligence in its aspect, 
 yet it does not ex- 
 hibit any appear- 
 ance of dullness or 
 stupidity." 
 
 The badger has 
 its young in sum- 
 mer, and from two 
 to four at a litter. 
 They are occasion- 
 ally brought out to 
 the opening of 
 their underground 
 home to bask in the sunshine. If the task is undertaken 
 with these animals when young, they may be made 
 quite tame. 
 
 India and the Cape of Good Hope boast of honey- 
 eating badgers that are very undesirable creatures. They 
 are called ratels, and are " celebrated for the destruction 
 they make among the nests of the wild bee, to the honey 
 of which they are very partial." 
 
 Honey-badgers are something like a skunk, of 
 which more anon, in that they have a gland near the 
 base of the tail from which, as occasion demands, they 
 can discharge a fetid fluid that suggests to the pursuer 
 to beat a rapid retreat. Still, this fluid is by no means 
 as powerful as that of the true skunk, which only 
 
 Honey-ratel. 
 
73 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 America can boast of. Honey-badgers burrow, with 
 facility, and are as methodical in finding the nests of 
 bees as any bee-hunter among men. . They are eyen 
 said to sit up on their haunches and shade their eyes 
 with one paw while on the lookout for a bee-tree. This 
 may seem a rather fishy story, but there is no reason 
 for not accepting it. The animal world is more full of 
 marvels than mankind have imagined. 
 
 Before we reach the weasels proper there is a common 
 mammal, found throughout the whole of North Ameri- 
 ca, concerning which every one should know the exact 
 
 truth, as such knowledge 
 
 would enable them to es- 
 cape a disaster which threat- 
 ens every one who loves to 
 stroll in the woods. I re- 
 fer to our common skunk. 
 As Godman very patly 
 puts it: " Inexperienced 
 persons . . . rush for- 
 ward with intent to run the 
 animal down. This appears 
 to be an easy task; in a few 
 moments it is almost overtaken; a few more strides and 
 the victim may be grasped by its long and waving tail- 
 but that tail is now suddenly curled over the back, its 
 pace is slackened, and in one instant the condition of 
 things is entirely reversed — the lately triumphant pur- 
 suer is eagerly flpng from his intended prize, involved 
 in an atmosphere of stench, gasping for breath, or 
 blinded and smarting with pain if his approach were 
 sufBciently close to allow of his being struck in the eyes 
 by the pestilent fluid of the skunk. 
 
 " The skunk is most generally found in the forests or 
 their immediate vicinity, having its den either in the 
 hollow of an old tree or stump or an excavation in the 
 
 Common Skunk. 
 
MAMMALS. 73 
 
 ground. It feeds upon the young and eggs of birds, 
 and on small quadrupeds, wild fruits, etc. ' Occasionally 
 the skunk gams access to the poultry-yard, where it 
 does much mischief by breaking and sucking the 
 eggs or by killing the fowls. When resident in the 
 Ticinity of farm-houses it remains for a long-time with- 
 out giving notice of its presence by emitting its offensive 
 fluid, which proves how ridiculous is the notion that the 
 urine of this animal is the source of its disgusting fetor; 
 for as Hearne justly observes, were this the fact the 
 whole country it inhabits would be rendered almost in- 
 supportable to every 
 other creature." 
 
 The color of the 
 skunk is black and 
 white, and the propor- 
 tion of these colors 
 varies with individuals. 
 In many there is but 
 little white fur; in oth- 
 ers broad streaks ex- Common WeaseL 
 
 tend the whole length 
 
 of the body. The adult animal measures fully twenty 
 inches in length, and the tail from six to eight inches. 
 The tail is bushy and appears, when the animal is mov- 
 ing, larger than it really is. 
 
 The true weasels are now to be very briefly considered. 
 They are, in short, slender, snake-like creatures, with 
 small heads, short, pointed tails, and dwarfed legs, 
 which together give them a curiously ivavy motion as 
 they run along the ground or slip, silently as a shadow, 
 over a stone wall or along a fence. 
 
 " The common weasel is a native of almost all the 
 temperate and cold parts of the northern ■ hemisphere, 
 and is one of the best-known British quadrupeds. . . . 
 It feeds on mice, rats, moles, and small birds, and is 
 
,?4 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 often useful as a destroyer of - vermin in ricks, bams, 
 and granaries/' 
 
 It would appear that, sniaU as they are, weasels are 
 xiot to be fooled with. I clip the following from Vol. 
 III. of " Science Gossip: " "\ am indebted to a friend 
 of mine for the following: While out walking a kestrel 
 hawk rose at his feet, which attracted his attention by 
 the strangeness of its flight. Instead of its usual hover- 
 ing, it darted, upward till almost lost to view, when it 
 suddenly descended powerless to the earth, tlpon his 
 hastening to the spot he was surprised to see a weasel 
 fetreat from the hawk, which was dead, the throat being 
 fearfully torn." 
 
 Another anecdote of this little animal, from Vol. VI. 
 if the same magazine: "It sometimes happens that 
 ire witness actions on the part of the higher mammalia 
 ffhich seem almost to indicate a reasoning faculty in 
 them, and in illustration of this I send you the follow- 
 ing observation on the weasel which happened to a 
 friend. ... Driving along a road ... he 
 saw one of these little animals crossing the road in 
 front of his horse; it was apparently an -adult specimen, 
 and before he could prevent it the horse accidentally 
 stepped on the animal and thereby injured it, appar- 
 ently in the spine, as its hind legs seemed to become 
 paralyzed. On his continuing to watch to see how much 
 it was hurt and what would happen next, he was sur- 
 prised to see another weasel come up to its assistance 
 from the other side of the road, and after carefully in- 
 specting the invalid, pick it up in its mouth and carry 
 it off to the side of the road from whence it had 
 emerged, apparently having fully comprehended its 
 companion's misfortune and its inability to get unaided 
 into a place of safety." 
 
 Another weasel, known to both Europe and North 
 America, is the ermine. In Ihigiand it is called the 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 75 
 
 as- am 
 
 stoat. The color of the fur is brown in summer and 
 white in winter; hence the two names given to the 
 same animal — stoat and ermine — the former name re- 
 ferring to the animal in its summer pelage, the latter tp 
 the animal when it is white. The fur of the ermine — 
 the white fur — is valuable, and "at one time was the 
 insignia of royalty [in Great Britain] and still is wori} 
 by judges." 
 
 Of the American ermine Godman writes: "Among 
 the small quadrupeds inhabiting this continent, few are 
 to be found equaling the ermine in beauty — perhaps 
 none that excel it in the 
 qualities pf courage, 
 graceful celerity of 
 movement, and untiring 
 activity. Its whole 
 pect inspires the behold- 
 er with an idea of its 
 character, which is well 
 supported by its actions. 
 The long and slender 
 body, bright and pierc- *Ermine 
 
 ing eyes, keen teeth, 
 
 and sharp claws clearly show that, however dimiijutive 
 the animal may appear, it is destined by nature to de- 
 stroy other creatures more numerous and less powerful 
 than those of its own race. This length and slenderness 
 of body is accompanied by a peculiar degree of flexi- 
 bility and by a strength of limb which, in so small an 
 animal, may be fairly esteemed surprising. There is 
 scarcely an opening through which its prey can enter 
 where the ermine cannot follow, and having once gained 
 access, its instinctive destructiveness is only allayed 
 when no other victim remains to be slaughtered. 
 
 " This weasel frequents the barns and outhouses of 
 plantations, and its retreat is generally well secured 
 
^6 
 
 CVCLOPSDZA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 beneath the floors or rafters, amid accumulations oi 
 timber or stone, or in similar situations. Mice and 
 various other depredators on the granary are the special 
 objects of its pursuit, and the rapid multiplication of 
 many of these devourers of grain could scarcely be suf- 
 ficiently restrained were it not that the ermine is capable 
 of tracing them throughout their labyrinths and pos- 
 sesses the disposition to destroy all that come -within 
 its reach." 
 
 So much in the animal's favor; but as our author 
 
 adds, "occasionally a 
 contribution is levied 
 on the hen-roost, and 
 the morning's light 
 exhibits an universal 
 slaughter of poultry." 
 This no farmer can 
 forgive, and not re- 
 alizing the benefit 
 done by killing rats 
 and mice, he is con- 
 firmed that ermines 
 are a nuisance, pure 
 and simple. 
 
 The mink is a member of the weasel tribe, and one 
 that is well known in the rural districts. It is aquatic 
 in its tastes, and seldom found at any great distance 
 from the water, in which it is almost as much at home 
 as is the otter. It is said to be very destructive to 
 turtles, being an accomplished egg-hunter. Its food 
 otherwise is much the same as that of the ermine. An 
 adult mink is about sixteen inches long, and has a tail 
 a fourth that length. The color varies from light to 
 dark brown and sometimes almost black. 
 
 The ferret is another form of weasel which is com- 
 paratively well known, because it is kept, for certain 
 
 Ferret. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 
 purposes, in a semi-domesticated state. They are 
 lound wild in Africa and cannot endure any exposure 
 to cold. They were long since introduced into Europe 
 and later into this country for the purpose of catching 
 rabbits by driving them from their burrows. They are 
 also used advantageously in ridding buildings of rats. 
 They are placed in the burrows of these pests and will 
 drive out or kill all that they come across. Like all 
 the members of the weasel tribe, they can squeeze 
 through any hole that gives passage to a rat, and there- 
 fore the latter has little chance of escape when once 
 pursued. 
 
 The sable, from the fact that its fur is exceedingly 
 valuable, is well 
 known as an animal, 
 yet strange to say it 
 is not so generally 
 known that it is one 
 of the weasel family. 
 Sables are Northern 
 animals, and live in 
 true weasel style by 
 burrowing in the 
 earth or making a nest among the tangled roots of large 
 trees. According to Seebohm, the Eussian sable is now 
 very rare. He says: "At one time it was hunted in the 
 forests in winter, the hunter following the tracks in the 
 snow until he lost them at the foot of a tree.. He then 
 surrounded the tree with a net whose meshes were too 
 small for the sable to pass through, and to which was 
 attached a number of little bells. Lying down within 
 sound of the bells, the hunter waited one, two, or three 
 days, until the tinkling warned him that the sable had 
 come out and was entangled in the net. Another mode 
 of securing the animal was to smoke it out of its hole 
 and then to shoot it. An anecdote was related to me of 
 
 SaWe. 
 
78 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 a hunter -who followed the track of a sable until it 
 crossed the path of a capercailzie, when both suddenly 
 disappeared. The hunter came to the conclusion that 
 the capercailzie had seized the sable and that the bird 
 had taken wing with the animal. He ascertained the 
 direction in which it had flown by blood-stains on the 
 snow, and at last he shot the sable, who had turned the 
 tables on its captor and was now feeding on the dead 
 bird." 
 
 The most unweasel-like form of all this family is the 
 wolverine, or glutton. It is found in North America, 
 in Europe and Asia, is partial to cpld climates, and 
 frequfents forests only. It looks like a small bear, and 
 for its size is a vety powerful animal, and preys upon 
 animals even larger than itself. 
 
 No animal in early times was more systematically 
 lied about than this. It is a ferocious glutton, it is 
 true, but has its match in more than one of the animals 
 found in the same regions. 
 
 The raccoon, whom ererybody is supposed to know at 
 sight, is not only a good species, but enjoys the dis- 
 tinction of being a family of himself, with one or two 
 cousins. Scientifically the "'coons" are Procyonidm 
 and in their anatomical construction are closely related 
 to the bears. 
 
 The raccoon is about the size of a small fox, but is of 
 very difEerent color, being grayish-brown. The face is 
 dark, with light bands that prettily set it off. The tail 
 is ringed. 
 
 Godman writes: "Were we to form an opinion of 
 this animal's character solely from external appearances, 
 the mingled expression of sagacity and innocence ex- 
 hibited in his aspect, his personal neatness and gentle 
 movements, might all incline us to believe that he pos- 
 sessed a guileless and placable disposition. But in this, 
 as in most other cases where judgments are foriiqed 
 
MAMMALS. 79 
 
 without sufficient examination, we should be in error, 
 and find that to the capricious mischievousnfess of the 
 monkey the raccoon adds a blood-thirsty and Tindict- 
 ive spirit peculiarly his own. In the wild state this 
 sanguinary appetite frequently leads to his own destruc- 
 tion, which his nocturnal habits might otherwise avert; 
 but as he slaughters the tenants of the poultry-yard with 
 indiscriminate ferocity, the vengeance of the plundered 
 farmer speedily retaliates on him the death so liberally 
 dealt among the feathered victims. This destructive 
 propensity of the rac- 
 coon is more remark- 
 able when we observe 
 
 that his teeth are not ^f^^^^^^^'^' ■■^s^^\^r'-- 
 unsuited for eating ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^0^ 
 fruits. When he de- ~ ' ^ 
 
 Stroyswildordomesti- ' common Raccoon. 
 
 cated birds, he puts 
 to death a great number without consuming any part 
 of them except the head or the blood, which is sucked 
 from the neck. 
 
 " The raccoon is an excellent climber, and his strong, 
 sharp claws effectually secure him from being shaken 
 off the branches of trees. In fact, so tenaciously does 
 this animal hold to any surface upon which it can make 
 an impression with its claws, that it requires a con- 
 siderable exertion of a man's strength to drag him ofE, 
 and as long as even a foot remains attached he continues 
 to cling with great force," 
 
 The scientific name of the raccoon is Procyon lotor, 
 and the term " lotor," or washer, was suggested by a 
 curious habit. " This is the habit of plunging its food 
 into water, as if for the purpose of soaking or cleansing 
 it. To account for this disposition some naturalists 
 have supposed that the raccoon is not as liberally sup- 
 plied with salivary organs as other animals, and is 
 
80 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 therefore obliged to prepare its food by softening it in 
 water. The raccoon, however, does not invariably wait 
 to subject his food to this preparation, but frequently 
 devours it in the condition he receives it, although it 
 may be nothing but dry bread and clean water be within 
 a few steps of where he stands." 
 
 Passing from North America to Northern India, we 
 find there an animal that is suggestive of cats, dogs, 
 and raccoons rather than bears, yet it is really a bear- 
 like animal when tested by the only reliable method of 
 determination — ^its anatomy. 
 
 The panda, as it is usually called, is a native of the 
 wooded districts of India, and possessing excellent 
 scansorial abilities, dwells largely in trees and preys 
 
 principally upon 
 birds. Failing to 
 find a sufficiency of 
 these, it will attack 
 and devour small 
 mammals and the 
 large and juicy in- 
 sects so abundant 
 in that region of 
 the globe. 
 
 The true Dears are 
 known to all as 
 bulky, stout-limbed, 
 and apparently clumsy animals that are distributed in 
 nearly every quarter of the globe, and while having in 
 their habits much common to all, are yet quite different 
 in many very important particulars. They are called 
 Plantigrade Carnivores from the fact that they have a 
 flat-footed method of locomotion, which, by the way, 
 pretty well accords with their general character; foi- 
 once roused to action, they, press forward with dogged 
 obstinacy and fight to the death if that proves to ba 
 
 Panda. 
 
Mammals. 
 
 8] 
 
 the issue of the moment. On the other hand, bears are 
 cunning and often consider discretion the better part of 
 valor. 
 
 Bears are abundant in Europe and America. In 
 the former continent the brown bear is the one that 
 monopolizes^ the northern countries, even to the re- 
 gions touching the home of the polar, or great white 
 bear. _ It is not a large species, measuring but four 
 feet in length and never three in height. While a 
 Carnivore, flesh is by no means even its principal 
 diet. It is a vegetarian that loves to have such 
 plain food seasoned 
 with honey, ants, 
 and an occasional 
 small mammal. In 
 winter it hibernates, 
 carefully concealing 
 itself in some safe 
 retreat, either a hol- 
 low tree or a cave 
 in the side of slop- 
 ing ground. They 
 are supposed to be 
 extremely fat when hibernation commences, and when 
 they come forth in spring are thin as snakes. If the 
 hibernation is complete of course they take no food, but 
 an opinion is still very common that they are not al- 
 ways asleep during the winter, but occasionally suck 
 their paws and so live on their own fat. 
 
 In Kamtchatka "the skin of a bear," says a traveler, 
 "forms their [the natives'] beds and their coverlets, bon- 
 nets for their Jieads, gloves for their hands, and collars 
 for their dogs. The flesh and fat are their dainties. 
 Of the intestines they make masks, or covers, for their 
 faces to protect them from the glare of the sun in the 
 spring, and use them as a substitute for glass by extend- 
 
 »- e-«^j£if.-4i.!i»Si^';'J!:T~^-i.'i 1,5.- 
 Brown Bear. 
 
83 CYCLOPEDIA OF IfATURAL HISTORY.. 
 
 ing them over their windows. Even the shoulder-blades 
 are said to be put in requisition for cutting grass." 
 This bear is readily tamed and can be taught to dance. 
 
 In North America we have three distinct species, the 
 black, the grizzly, and the white, or polar bear. 
 
 The first named is still to be found in the woods and 
 swamps quite near our largest cities, a fact which shows 
 that it is pretty cunning; for any animal of such size 
 would very soon be hunted to death if it was any way 
 careless in its going and coming. 
 
 Godman writes : " The black bear under ordinary 
 circumstances is not remarkably ferocious, nor is he in 
 the habit of attacking man without provocation. But 
 when wounded he turns on the aggressor with great fury 
 and defends himself desperately. '. . . The food of 
 the bear ig principally grapes, plums, whortleberries, 
 persimmons, bramble and other berries. . . . 
 
 " The females bring forth their young in the winter- 
 time and exhibit for them a degree of attachment which 
 nothing can surpass. They usually have two cubs, 
 which are suckled until they are full grown. The fond- 
 ness existing between the mother and cubs seems to be 
 mutual, and no danger can separate her from them nor 
 anything short of death itself 'induce her to forsake 
 them." 
 
 Of the grizzly bear Godman well says : " This bear, 
 justly considered as the most dreadful and dangerous of 
 North American quadrupeds, is the despotic and san- 
 guinary monarch of the wilds over which he ranges. 
 Gigantic in size and terrific in aspect, he unites to a 
 ferociously blood-thirsty disposition a surpassing strength 
 of limb, which gives him undisputed sypremacy over 
 every other quadruped tenant of the wilderness and 
 causes man himself to tremble at his approach. . . . 
 
 " In the desolate regions of the North, where unre- 
 lenting winter reigns in full appanage of horrors during 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 83 
 
 the greater part of the year, and even the stormy ocean 
 itself is long imprisoned by 'thick -ribbed ice,' the polar 
 bear finds his most congenial abode. There, prowling 
 over the frozen wastes, he satiates his hunger on the 
 
 , carcasses of whales deserted by adventurous fishermen, 
 or seizes on such marine animals as come up to bask 
 in open air, and when occasion calls he fearlessly 
 plunges into the sea in pursuit of his prey, as if the 
 de^ were his native and familiar element." 
 
 The polar bear has the soles of its feet densely covered 
 with hair, and so can walk with swiftness and sure.-f oot- 
 edness over the 
 smoothest ice. 
 This gives it a won- 
 derful advantage 
 when attacked by 
 man, as it can make 
 a firm stand when 
 necessary where its 
 assailant is in con- 
 
 . stant danger of 
 falling. In stealth- 
 ily approaching 
 any prey it is great- 
 ly aided by the 
 pure white of its fur, which matches so admirably with 
 its ordinary surroundings. It is known now that the 
 females seek shelter during the winter and become tor- 
 
 Eid, but this is not true of the males, they being seen 
 y arctic travelers at all times of the year. 
 When the she-bears come forth in early spring they 
 are accompanied by one or two cubs, and these, it is 
 said, are not larger than rabbits — mere midgets certainly 
 in comparison to an adult, which sometimes attains a 
 weight of 1,600 pounds. 
 " During the summer season the polar bear princi- 
 
 Polar Bear. 
 
84 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 pally resides in the ice-islands, and leaves one to visit 
 another, however great be the distance. If interrupted 
 while in the water he dives and changes his course, but 
 he neither dives very often nor does he remain under 
 water for a long time. Captain Eoss saw a polar bear 
 swimming midway in Melville Sound where the shores 
 were full forty miles apart, and no ice was in sight large 
 enough for him to have rested on.^' 
 
 Space will not permit of mentioning all the species of 
 bears found throughout the world. One other and 
 marked species can be mentioned. In the mountains of 
 
 India there is found 
 the sloth-bear, which 
 bears the native name 
 ofaswail. It is a clum- 
 sy-looking, lazy creat- 
 ure, that looks the more 
 misshapen from the 
 tep^ mass of long black hair 
 " """ which covers it. It 
 _^ lives according to the 
 
 Aswaii. excellent rule of "let 
 
 me alone and FU do 
 the same," but if attacked does' not hesitate to show fight. 
 It hates the midsummer heats of "hot high noon," 
 and has a cool, shady retreat wherein it cogitates until 
 the shades of night prevail. It is a vegetarian and has 
 a great fondness for honey, and relishes such mild ani- 
 mal diet as msect-grubs and snails. This makes its 
 flesh, perhaps, better food than is that of the average 
 bear ; at least, m the estimation of the people who have 
 a chance to partake of it, it is pronounced very good. 
 Like our common black bear, it is readily tamed if 
 taken when young. 
 
 Another family of Carnivora, and a most interesting 
 one, the Otaeid^, must now be considered, but vei^ 
 
MAMMALS. 85 
 
 briefly, however, and the curious reader must refer to 
 the elaborate monographs that have been published. 
 Keference is here made to the eared seals, or as they are 
 commonly called, sea-bears and sea-elephants. While 
 marine animals, they do not live wholly in the water, 
 and after a fashion can walk on all-fours over land. 
 The ocean, however, furnishes them with their food, .and 
 in it exclusively they seek the fish that sustain them. 
 
 Bared seals are " gregarious and polygamous, and the 
 males are usually much larger than the females, a cir- 
 cumstance which has given rise to some of the con- 
 fusion existing in the specific determination of the 
 various members of the genus." 
 
 It is the skins of these animals that furnish the 
 " seal-skin " of commerce which is so much valued by 
 the ladies when made into sacques. 
 
 Eared seals are found in many and widely separated 
 portions of the globe. The sea-lion, common in 
 zoological gardens and well-appointed menageries, is 
 one of this family of marine Carnivores. 
 
 Not unlike the above in general appearance, but 
 really- belonging to another family, is the two walruses 
 of the arctic regions. By themselves they form the 
 family Tkichechid^, and are in some respects the 
 " link " between the eared seals mentioned above and 
 the true seals, of which a brief account will next be 
 given. 
 
 According to J. A. Allen, probably the best authority 
 on the subject, there are two species of walrus — ^the At- 
 lantic and the Pacific one. They do not differ ma- 
 terially in their habits, and our account wiU be of the 
 former, only. Crantz, in his history of Greenland, 
 written when the animal was more abundant than now, 
 says the animal was called by the natives auah. "Their 
 he lies resemble a seal, but their heads are very different, 
 f' the head of this is not long, but stubbed and broad, 
 
86 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORf. 
 
 and therefore might be called a sea-lion or perhaps 
 elephant, on account of the two long tusks it has. . . . 
 The use the walrus makes of these tusks seems to be in 
 part to scrape the mussels and such kind of shell-fish 
 out of the sand and from the rocks, for these and sea- 
 grass seem to be its only food; and also to grapple and 
 get along by, for he fastens them in the ice or rocks 
 and thus draws up his unwieldy, helpless trunk; and 
 finally it is a weapon of defense both against the white 
 bear on the land and ice and the sword-fish and such 
 sorts of nimble and fierce enemies in the sea. 
 
 "In former times people killed them in great num- 
 
 Walrus. 
 
 hers with harpoons by Spitzberg, mostly on shore, where 
 they lay in large droves sleeping. They killed them 
 chiefly for the sake of their teeth, of which the artificers 
 wrought all sorts of beautiful trinkets. But after they 
 came to know that man was their most dangerous foe, 
 they are said to have made the capture more difficult 
 and rare to him by setting a watch, rendering each 
 other mutual faithful aid, and when they were wounded 
 in the water by endeavoring to overset the boat or 
 diving and striking a hole in it." 
 "The walrus," writes Allen, "like the common 
 
MAMMALS. 87 
 
 seal, is said to have its breathing-holes in the ice. 
 These are described by Dr. Kane as being similar to 
 those of the seals." 
 
 "The voice of the walrus," he also states, "is a loud 
 roaring or ' bucking ' and can be heard to a great dis- 
 tance, often giving notice of the presence of a herd 
 long before they can be seen." 
 
 Lamont, in "Seasons With the Sea- Horses," writ- 
 ing of their general appearance when the head pops 
 above the waves, states as follows: " The upper lip of the 
 walrus is thickly set with strong, transparent, bristly 
 hairs ... as thick as a crow-quill, and this terrific 
 mustache, together with his long white tusks and 
 fierce-looking blood-shot 
 eyes, gives Eosmarus 
 trichecus [walrus] alto- 
 gether a most unearthly 
 and demoniacal appear- 
 ance as he rears his head 
 above the waves. I 
 think it not unlikely that Martied seai. 
 
 the old fable of the mer- 
 maid may have originated by their grim resemblance 
 to the head of a human being when in this position." 
 
 The walrus is larger than any ox, being when full 
 grown from fifteen to twenty feet in length. Besides 
 the ivory it yields, the hide and blubber are valuable for 
 leather and oil. 
 
 The remaining family of Carnivores to be considered 
 is that of the seals, known scientifically as the Phocidje. 
 Seals are found in every sea, but they abound and are 
 the common feature of the ocean in the arctic and ant- 
 arctic regions. These animals are long, moderately 
 slender, and fish-like. The skin is covered with a short, 
 bristly, and harsh fur. Their hind feet are peculiar, and 
 instead of being under the body extend beyond the 
 
88 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 stumpy tail and act as a rudder, or better, the tail-fin 
 of a fish. 
 
 The animal makes the dreary life of an Esquimau 
 a possibility. Without them it is very doubtful if hu- 
 man beings could inhabit the polar regions, especially 
 as bears, musk-oxen, and reindeer are not sufficiently 
 abundant to supply all the needs of even so primitive z, 
 people as the Esquimaux. "They not only furnish 
 food for his table, oil for his lamp, and clothing for his 
 
 person, but even 
 the bones and skins 
 supply material for 
 his boats and sum- 
 mer tents." 
 
 There are a great 
 number of species 
 of these animals, 
 and some of them 
 are strange creat- 
 ures indeed, having 
 bizarre markings 
 and often curious 
 growths from the 
 head, which make them anything but beautiful to look 
 upon. Crantz, whom we have already quoted, says 
 tersely of seals in Greenland: 
 
 "The water is their proper element and any fish 
 they can get their food. Yet they often lie on the 
 ice or land- to bask in the sunbeams or sleep. When 
 they are sleeping they snore very loudly [how hu- 
 man!] and may easily be surprised in their sound sleep. 
 They have a lame gait or walk, but yet they can pad 
 along so fast with their fore feet and give such 
 leaps with their hind feet that a man cannot easilv 
 overtake them. Their head has pretty mucli the re- 
 semblance of a dog's head with the ears cropped, though 
 
 Hooded or Crested Seal. 
 
MAMMALS. 89, 
 
 some are rounder and others sharper. Their cry haa 
 in it something of a dog, but more of wild swine, and 
 their young ones cry like a cat. Their jaws are planted 
 with sharp teeth, and their lips with strong, hair-like 
 bristles. They have two nostrils in their nose, and are 
 obliged to come up to the surface of the water every 
 quarter of an hour to take air. They have large, fiery 
 eyes with eyelids and eyebrows; they have a small ap- 
 erture for the ear, but no flaps. Their body is bulky 
 in the middle, but runs out conical before and behind, 
 that they may make their way through the water so 
 much the easier. At the first glance they look most 
 like a mole. Their fat is from a finger to a hand 
 breadth thick; their flesh red, tender, juicy, and fat, 
 almost like the flesh of wild swine, nor does it taste so 
 filthy as the flesh of most sea-birds does." 
 
 The common harbor seal is known to the coast of the 
 United States as far south as Chesapeake Bay. Not a 
 winter passes that a few do not enter the bays and 
 come far up the rivers. They are often seen and 
 killed more than 100 miles from the ocean. When 
 in the rivers they, endeavor to keep themselves concealed 
 in the masses of floating ice, and seem to realize their 
 danger. Indeed, they are at such times so very cun-" 
 ning that it is not improbable that many come and go 
 without being seen or suspected by man. 
 
 When speaking of the walrus, mention was made of 
 the breathing-holes in the ice which these animals pro- 
 vided for themselves. Seals, too, have these breathing- 
 holes, and the ringed seal, a strictly arctic species, 
 builds a snow-hut over such an opening in the ice for the 
 accommodation of its young. This is called an igloo. 
 Kumlien, as quoted by Allen, remarks: ''As the season 
 advances and the young begin to shed their coats, the 
 roof of their igloo is often, or perhaps always, broken 
 down, and the mother and young can be seen on sunny 
 
90 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 """^ 
 
 days basking in the warm sunshine beside their atluk 
 (the seal's nursery). The mother will take_ to the 
 water when the hunter has approached within gun- 
 shot and leave the young one to shift for itself, which 
 generally ends in its staring leisurely at the hunter till 
 suddenly it finds a hook in its side." 
 
 A curious creature, at least in appearance, is the sea- 
 elephant, or elephant-seal, which gets this expressive 
 name from the fact that its nose is prolonged until it 
 
 bears a striking 
 resemblance to 
 the trunk of an 
 elephant; and 
 again, the ani- 
 mal is one of 
 the very larg- 
 est of the fam- 
 ily, sometimes 
 attaining a 
 length of thirty 
 feet and a girth 
 of from fifteen 
 to eighteen feet. No wonder that one is reminded of 
 an elephant when he sees such a creature. 
 
 " It is an inhabitant of the southern hemisphere and 
 is spread through a considerable range of country. It 
 moves southward as the summer comes on and north- 
 ward when the cold of the winter months makes its 
 more southern retreats unendurable. "' 
 
 In California is found another species of these, seals, 
 but it appears to be fast becoming extinct in its native 
 haunts, the islands off the coast of Southern California. 
 According to Captain Scammon, "the habits of these 
 huge beasts when on shore or loitering about the foam- 
 ing breakers are in many respects like those of the 
 leopard-seals. . . . When coming up out of the 
 
 Sea-elephant. 
 
MAMMALS. 91 
 
 water they were generally first seen near the line of 
 surf, then crawling up by degrees, frequently reclining 
 as if to sleep, again moving up or along the shore, ap- 
 pearing not content with their last resting-place. In 
 this manner they would ascend the ravines, or low- 
 downs, half a mile or more, congregating by hundreds. 
 . . . Notwithstanding their unwieldiness, we have 
 sometimes found them on broken and elevated ground 
 fifty or sixty feet above the sea." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 UNGULATES, OK HOOFED ANIMALS. 
 
 When we speak of hoofed animals, the mind pict- 
 ures the horse, cow, and other large animals that are 
 familiar to all — as the bison, deer, elk, or antelope. 
 But the hoof of the Ungulates varies in a hundred dif- 
 ferent ways, and one must not have in mind always the 
 solid foot of a horse or the split hoof of an ox. 
 
 The vast assemblage of animals that are collectively 
 called by this comprehensive term — Ungulata — would 
 not be held as constituting one family were living ani- 
 mals only known to us. There are wide gaps that no 
 living beasts bridge over, and the fact that such a 
 strange animal as the cony, and elephants, and horses 
 belong to the same group is derived from the study of 
 many extinct forms, or those that were once a part of 
 the fauna of the globe. 
 
 Some of these fossil remains are still in so perfect a 
 condition that a very accurate idea of the aniEoal when 
 living can be had. Illustrations of one or more of 
 these extinct forms will be given in proper place in 
 this chapter. 
 
 The hoofed mammals are divided into the following 
 groups or families : Hyracoidea, a suborder contain- 
 ing the curious conies, or hyrax, only ; Peoboscidea, 
 also a suborder, or the elephants; and the following 
 families : TAPiRiDiE, or tapirs ; RHiNOCEEONTiDiE, or 
 rhinoceroses ; Equidje, or horses ; SuiD^, or pigs ; 
 HiPPOPOTAMiD^, or the hippopotamus ; Camelid^, or 
 
MAMMALS. 93 
 
 camels ; Teagulid^e, or chevrotains ; Cervidje, or 
 deer ; CamelopardiDjE, or girafEes ; and BcviDiE, or 
 oxen. 
 
 The suborder of Hyracoidea is one that contains but 
 a few small mammals, but these are strange creatures. 
 The Cape hyrax, which is one of the principal members 
 of the httle group, in size and habits suggests the rabbit, 
 but if we go more than skin-deep into its examination, it 
 will be found to have anatomical features that allies it 
 to the rhinoceros, and again it has other features of its 
 structure in common with the hippopotamus and sloth. 
 
 They are all found in Africa except one, the Syrian 
 daman, which is generally supposed to be the "cony" 
 mentioned in the English version of the Jewish Script- 
 ure. 
 
 The African hyraces are social mammals, living in 
 colonies in " the crevices of rocks and in the caverns 
 which abound in the hilly regions they frequent, and 
 feeding on grass and other herbage, on roots, fruits, 
 and the tender shoots of plants." 
 
 The hyrax is very shy and- has much need to be so, 
 as it has a host of enemies. When feeding they are 
 said to post a sentinel to warn them of the approach of 
 danger. 
 
 The Proboscidians, or proboscis-bearing animals, now 
 demand our attention. It is probable that no animal is 
 more familiar to civilized man than the elephant, and 
 yet they are not in use among most civilized peoples. 
 A certain feature of every traveling show, and the most 
 prominent animal except possibly the lion of Africa, it 
 is sure to be brought forward whenever that country is 
 descriptively mentioned. Of terrestrial mammals it is 
 the largest. 
 
 There are two species of elephant, the African and 
 Indian. The latter is smaller and has smaller ears and 
 tusks than the former. 
 
94 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Dnimmond, writing of African elephants, remarks : 
 " Elephants would appear to exist all over Africa, and 
 not thirty [forty-five] years ago were as plentiful in our 
 Southern colonies — where they are almost now extinct — 
 as they still are in some parts of the interior. . . . 
 They frequent, as I have mentioned, the country from 
 the Pongolo northward 'during the summer season, re- 
 tiring to their fastnesses in the interior at the approach 
 ■sf winter. The general, time of their arrival is simul- 
 ianeous with the ripe»ing of the fruit of the umganu- 
 
 tree, of which they are 
 passionately fond and 
 doubtless come in 
 search of. This fruit 
 is capable of • being 
 made into a strong in- 
 toxicating drink, and 
 the elephants after eat- 
 ing it become quite 
 tipsy, staggering about, 
 playing huge antics, 
 screaming so as to be 
 heard miles off, and 
 not seldom having tre- 
 mendous fights. Native 
 hunters fear to ap- 
 proach them when m this state, but on the princi- 
 ple that it is safer t<^ quarrel with a drunken man than 
 a sober one, I consider that so long as you possess 
 sufficient nerve not to become flustered by their trum- 
 peting or by the exhibitions of strength displayed upon 
 the trees and upon one another, you have far more 
 chance at such a time of killing several, as they are not 
 go likely to take flight at the first shot." 
 
 Elephants are extremely intelligent, are readily taught, 
 and so become available as beasts of burden in countries 
 not suited to the horse, as is certain portions of Africa. 
 
 Head of ludia^ Gleptuint. 
 
MAMMALS. 95 
 
 Endless anecdotes have been related of elephants, 
 both wild and tame, and none need be repeated. One 
 fact may be gathered from them all, and that is that 
 they are of equal intelligence with the dog and far 
 exceed the horse in this respect. 
 
 A few words concerning the Asiatic elephant. In the 
 countries of this continent where elephants are found, 
 they are used very generally as beasts of hurden, and in 
 Siam they are objects of worship, especially if tKfey are 
 of a light color. Much has been written of white ele- 
 phants, but a very erroneous impression still prevails 
 concerning them. 
 
 Bock thus graphically describes what in Siam was con- 
 sidered a real white elephant : "Were I to describe him 
 as white I should lay myself open to the charge of color- 
 blindness; but he was an albino, the whole body being 
 of a pale reddish-brown color, with a few real white 
 hairs on the back. The iris of the eye, the color of 
 which is held to be a good test of an albino, was a pale 
 Naples yellow." 
 
 Elsewhere this author refers to the elephants in the 
 king's stables as follows : "AU . . . wore heavy 
 chains on their feet, and were so hobbled that they 
 could only move a few inches ; but we were warned not 
 to go too near,' as they were apt to be savage with 
 strangers, although they had been over fifty years in 
 captivity. I inquired for the world-renowned white 
 elephants, and Mr. Newman pointed out two which 
 were lighter in color than the others and had a few 
 white spots on the ears." 
 
 It is needless, therefore, to look for snow-white ele- 
 phants in a menagerie, whatever statement may be made 
 in the remarkable posters that announce the coming to 
 town of such a creature. 
 
 Ivory, so valuable in many ways, is more largely de- 
 rived from the tusks of elephants than from any other 
 
96 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 animal, and this fact has led to their indiscriminate 
 slaughter, particularly in Africa. It wiU not he long, 
 probably, before the elephant as a wild animal ■vrill have 
 ceased to exist. 
 
 At no distant day, geologically considered, there lived 
 in Europe and Northwestern North America, if not 
 over the whole continent, a species of elephant which is 
 called the mammoth. 
 
 "It was thickly covered with hair of three sorts, one 
 of these stifE like bristles, a foot in length, another 
 coarse, flexible hair, and the third a kind of wool. 
 This warm covering enabled it to endure the cold of its 
 native regions. This species differs from the living ele- 
 phants in the shape of the 
 enamel plates of its grind- 
 ers, in its large curved 
 tusks, and shaggy hair. 
 The bones and tusks of 
 the mammoth have been 
 found in great abun- 
 dance in Siberia. An en- 
 Mastodon (restored). tire carcass which had 
 been preserved in the 
 ice and latterly thawed out was discovered toward the 
 close of last century on the banks of the River Lena, in 
 Siberia, in such a perfect state that its flesh was eaten 
 by dogs, wolves, and bears. It was nine feet high and 
 about sixteen feet in length ; the tusks were nine feet 
 long measuring along the curve. This is the only in- 
 stance of a fossil animal preserved entire." 
 
 In Europe and America, also, formerly lived another 
 elephantoid animal which, from the peculiar shape of 
 the teeth, was given the name of mastodon. The 
 American mastodon was larger than the European. 
 
 " One specimen nearly perfect was found in Missouri 
 in 1840. It is now in the British Museum, and its dj- 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 97 
 
 mensions are : Extreme length 20 feet 2 inches ; height 
 9 feet 6f inches; cranium, length 3^ feet, width 2 
 feet 11 inches ; tusks, extreme length 7 feet 2 inches, 
 circumference at base 27 inches." 
 
 There is positive evidence that the Indians of our 
 Atlantic Coast States were familiar with this animal, at 
 least the earlier Indians, and probably the animal had 
 barely become extinct at the time of Columbus^ dis- 
 covery of the continent. To speak of man and the 
 mastodon living together in America is not to assume 
 the great antiquity of man at all, but to claim the 
 recent date of the disappearance of the mastodon. On 
 the other hand, the evi- 
 dence is just as conclu- 
 sive that man existed in 
 America several thou- 
 sands of years ago. 
 
 While treating of ani- 
 mals that have lived but 
 are no longer in exist- 
 ence, reference should be 
 made to that strange, ele- 
 phant-like creature, the 
 dinotherium. Itsre- 
 
 Dinotherium (restored). 
 
 mains have been unearthed in many parts of Europe. 
 It was as large as an elephant, and differed principally 
 in the tusks being curved downward and inward, much 
 like the tusks of a walrus. While it had a proboscis 
 and was so far elephantoid, it is not admitted by all 
 naturalists that it was as much like that animal as some 
 other living forms. 
 
 "Kaup regards it as intermediate between the masto- 
 dons and tapirs, and terrestrial, while Blainville and 
 Pictet regard it as allied to the sea-cows and inhabiting 
 the embouchure of great rivers, and uprooting the marsh 
 and aquatic plants which constituted its food with its 
 tnsks." 
 
98 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The family of tapirs naturally follow the considera- 
 tion of such forms as this fossil dinotherium. In this 
 group, of which but three species are known, the nose 
 projects beyond the skull and forms a short proboscis-like 
 snout. The skin is covered with hair and the general 
 appearance is pig-like, the ears being like those of that 
 animal and the neck furnished with bristles that form 
 a sort of mane. The tail is short. 
 
 Tapirs inhabit dense forest growths in most portions 
 of South America and in Sumatra. During the day 
 
 they are quiet, if not 
 asleep, and issue from 
 their mid-day haunts 
 at the close of the day 
 to feed on vegetable 
 substances. They are 
 never found far from 
 water, and delight to 
 wallow in mud as a 
 pig does. Although 
 so long known to the 
 world, the habits of 
 tapirs have never been very carefully studied, judging by 
 the meager accounts given by travelers. This is the 
 more to be wondered at, as they appear to be moderately 
 abundant. 
 
 Im Thurn, speaking of the mammals of Guiana, 
 says: " Nor is the tapir a rare animal. His tracks may 
 often be seen at the side of the river, and I once saw a 
 pond in the forest, the mud round which had been trod- 
 den by tapirs much as the edge of a pond in an English 
 farm-yard is by cattle. The animal itself is seldom 
 seen, though it frequently ventures strangely near in- 
 habited places." 
 
 All that Orton found to say of ttem is: " The tapir, 
 pr gran-bestia, as it is called, is a characteristic quadru- 
 
 Malay Tapir. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 99 
 
 ped of Soutli America. It is a clumsy-looking animal, 
 with a tough hide of iron-gray color, coTered with a 
 coat of short, coarse hair. Its flesh is dry but very 
 palatable. It has a less powerful proboscis than the 
 Malay species." 
 
 The other Sou.th American tapir is less known, being 
 confined to the Andes, and lives at a considerable eleva- 
 tion. This no doubt explains the denser and much 
 longer coat of hair that covers it. 
 
 The Malay tapir is larger than either of the Ameri- 
 can, being fully eight feet in length when fully grown. 
 Unlike the others, it is not uniformly colored, but 
 black and white, the 
 colors being distribut- 
 ed in an unusual man- 
 ner. The head, shoul- 
 ders, and legs are 
 black; the body white. 
 
 In a previous geo- 
 logical era there ex- 
 isted in Europe and 
 America a group of 
 tapiroid animals, to 
 which Cuvier gave the 
 
 name of Palseotherium. There were many species and 
 much variation in size, some being as small as a pig, 
 others as large as a horse. 
 
 An awkward and ungainly looking, but nevertheless 
 active and ferocious group of animals, next in order, 
 are the rhinoceroses, which are enormously bulky and 
 covered with a rough and folded skin that makes them 
 look like overgrown hogs in armor. The head is long, 
 triangular, and tapering, and from the nose, or from 
 immediately above it, springs one or two horns of great 
 size. In some cases these horns measure nearly three 
 feet in length. When the animal has two horns one 
 
 Palseotherium (restored). 
 
100 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 grows directly behind the other, and the hinder one is 
 
 ^^ The rhinSeros is found in the same regions as the 
 eleohant They are forest animals and feed upon vege- 
 table matter exclusively. There are at least seven 
 species, which vary in size, and also, as stated, in the 
 number — one or two — of horns. 
 
 Drummond writes as follows of the African species 
 of this animal: "The horiU, or black two-horned rhi- 
 noceros, is the smallest, most savage, and most to 
 
 Indian Kliinoceros. 
 
 be dreaded . . . The heitloa, which would better 
 deserve the name of two-horned, as its back horn, 
 which in other species is a mere stump, is in it of 
 almost equal length with that in the front, is a less 
 common and better-tempered species, slightly difloring 
 in its conformation, especially about the head, from the 
 last, which it also Surpasses in size, though its chief 
 characteristic is in the above-named peculiarity of ita 
 horns. The common white rhinoceros is the largest 
 of all [it is never white] and is remarkable for the 
 great length the front horn grows to, as well as for itb 
 
MAMMALS. 101 
 
 gentle and inoffensive disposition." The other species 
 do not present any very marked peculiarities. 
 
 Drummond further sajs: "No rhinoceros can fairly 
 be called a handsome animal; its long, protruding head 
 and neck, the total length of which is almost equal to 
 that of the entire body with the horn . . . set, like 
 that of the fabulous unicorn, in the center, its great un- 
 couth ears and small cunning eye . . . and the un- 
 wieldy size of the great carcass, set on such short legs, 
 utterly depriving it of any claim to such a title. The 
 great white species, however, which possesses all these 
 characteristics in their least unpleasing form, and 
 which in size nearly approaches to an elephant, is cer- 
 tainly a noble animal when seen, as it often is in un- 
 disturbed regions, quietly grazing amid all the beauties 
 of tropical vegetation, lopping up with its tongue the 
 rank grass in huge mouthfuls, and a whole flock of 
 rhinoceros-birds perched — half -asleep or lazily picking 
 off an occasional tick — on its broad back, while it may 
 be a little, hornless calf, a ludicrous miniature of its 
 mother, runs between its legs and is gently guided by 
 the maternal snout." 
 
 The Indian rhinoceros is a well-known one-horned' 
 species inhabiting Bengal and a considerable portion of 
 Asia. An extinct species that was woolly once inhabited 
 England. 
 
 The group known scientifically as the Equid^, but 
 commonly as horses, asses, and zebras, need not be more 
 than briefly mentioned. While wild horses and asses 
 are now known only to Africa and Asia, it is quite cer- 
 tain that they once were common — or horses, at least — 
 to America, and the abundance of fossil remains in the 
 Western Territories have enabled the pedigree of the 
 animal to be carefully and accurately traced. It is 
 probable that North America was the home of the 
 horse, and that it became extinct here long before the 
 animal was known to man in Europe. 
 
102 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 In a wild state horses live together in herds, usuallj 
 headed by an old stallion. , They are strictly herbivor- 
 ous, and so become to some extent migratory as pasture 
 fails in one district after another. There is much doubt 
 concerning the several varieties of wild horse now found 
 in Asia and elsewhere, as for instance the tarpan of 
 Northern Asia. They have been held to be strictly a 
 wild species, and yet others declare them to be the 
 
 , descendants of do- 
 mesticated horses 
 that have become 
 feral. 
 
 The history of 
 our domesticated 
 horse is involved 
 in much obscuri- 
 ty, and "it is cer- 
 tainly a hopeless 
 task in the present 
 day to attempt the 
 discovery of the 
 particular district 
 first inhabited by 
 this valuable ani- 
 mal." 
 " The ass is found wild in the same parts of Asia as 
 the horse, and it is here that we find it makes the best 
 figure in a domesticated condition. In these countries, 
 indeed, the ass appears to have been generally brought 
 into a state of servitude at an earlier period than the " 
 horse, and in the East at the present day asses are far 
 more commonly employed than horses, both for carry- 
 ing burdens and for riding." 
 
 The zebra is a well-known form of wild, horse-hke 
 animal inhabiting South Africa, and now said to be 
 nearly extinct. It is beautifully marked, being white 
 
 Tarpan of Northern Asia. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 103 
 
 Zebia. 
 
 banded by many stripes of dark brown over the body 
 and limbs. 
 
 Zebras are so- 
 cial, grazing in 
 herds in the most 
 secluded regions, 
 being ext r emely 
 shy. They are very 
 fleet and yet sure- 
 footed, so they can 
 readily take refuge 
 where pursuit is 
 well-nigh imprac- 
 ticable. 
 
 Many attempts 
 have been made to 
 tame them but 
 none were completely successful. The flesh of this 
 wild horse appears to be excellent food. Pinto, in his 
 
 work on Africa, says in 
 the course of his narra- 
 tive of a trans-continent- 
 al journey : "I succeed- 
 ed in killing a zebra, 
 which supplied us with 
 excellent meat, a good 
 deal better than that of 
 any antelope." 
 
 The quagga bears much 
 
 resemblance to a zebra, 
 
 but is less distinctly 
 
 striped and the limbs 
 
 Quagga. are of a solid color The 
 
 name is derived from the 
 
 'oice of the animal and is of Hottentot origin. 
 
 AccoTding to Harris, "the animal [quagga] was for- 
 
104 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 merly extremely commoii witiiin tlie colony, but vanish- 
 mg before the strides of civilization, is now: to be found 
 in very limited numbers and on the borders only. Be- 
 yond, on those sultry plains "which are completely taken 
 possession of by wild beasts ... it occurs in in- 
 terminable herds, and ... is almost invariably to 
 be found ranging with the white-tailed gnu and with 
 the ostrich. . . . By the roving clans of Bechuana 
 huntsmen and the voracious Bushmen hordes its dis- 
 gustingly oily, yellow flosh is . . . esteemed a 
 delicacy." In this respect, then, it would appear to 
 
 differ widely from 
 the zebra, but other 
 authorities do not 
 speak so disparag-. 
 ingly of quagga 
 meat. 
 
 A far less inters 
 esting family of 
 hoofed mammals is 
 the StriB^, or pigs, 
 yet it is one by no 
 means devoid of in- 
 terest. A pig in a pen or on a farm pasture is one 
 thing — ^the great wild boar of Europe another. 
 
 The type of the family is the common wild boar just 
 mentioned, which is the original of our tame breeds. It 
 is found in parts of Europe, in Asia generally, and in 
 Northern Africa. 
 
 The wild boar is a forest-dweller, preferring such as 
 are marshy, and here they feed upon vegetable and 
 animal matter alike, not having any marked predilec- 
 tion for any one kind of food. They are gregarious to 
 a certain extent; the old males usually living alone, ex- 
 cept at one season of the year, which they pass with' the 
 females. At such times terrific combats between these 
 old boars are apt to take place. 
 
 Wild Boar. 
 
MAMAfALS. 
 
 105 
 
 , As a domestic animal the pig is too well known to need 
 description beyond the remark that as a tamed animal 
 it has no special attractions, and indeed becomes valu- 
 able only when dead; for as a beast of burden it is not a 
 success, although in Scotland a sow was seen yoked 
 with a cow and two colts, and proved to be the best 
 draught animal of the four. This might be and yet 
 the animal not be a very good plow-beast, after all. 
 
 In very recent times the domestic hog has been made 
 of greater value 
 than formerly 
 through a careful 
 study of the art of 
 fattening it. It 
 is not unusual for 
 a pig less than 
 two years old to 
 weigh from 700 
 to 800 pounds; a 
 weight one-third 
 greater than was 
 ever recorded of 
 them, at that age, 
 twenty years ago. The little State of New Jersey has 
 the honor (?) of having raised the heaviest pork on 
 record. 
 
 In the Peninsula of Malacca and some of the West 
 Indian islands is found the babyrussa, a curious hog- 
 like animal that has teeth or tusks of the most striking 
 pattern. These canine teeth turn upward and back- 
 ward to form a semicircle. The purpose of this is not 
 known, and very probably, as in hosts of other instances, 
 it serves no purpose, good or bad. As a specimen explana- 
 tion of these curious teeth, it may be stated that writers of 
 a past century said they used them as hooks by which 
 they suspended themselves to a tree while takings nap I 
 
 Babyrussa. 
 
106 CVCLoPEDIA OP NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Head of AVart-hoff. 
 
 The babyrussa, is accounted a fierce animal, danger- 
 ous to encounter. They are gregarious, semi-noctumal, 
 and fond of the water. 
 
 In Africa there are species of wild hogs that are no 
 less forniidable than the preceding. 
 One kind is known as the wart-hog, 
 from having a large fleshy protruber- 
 ance uporf each cheek. Others have 
 a bony ridge instead of the fleshy 
 warts. Like all the hog tribe, they 
 are largely vegetarian but do not 
 reject animal food of any kind. They 
 dig up plants very readily with their 
 enormous exposed tusks, and such 
 occupation is sure to unearth a considerable variety 
 of animals, such as insects, large worms, etc. All are 
 alike devoured by this greedy, fierce, unprepossessing 
 creature. 
 
 In South America the wild boar or hog tribe is rep- 
 resented by peccaries, of which so much has been writ- 
 ten. These animals 
 are nearly related to 
 the hog. 
 
 "There are two 
 species, the one (Dico- 
 tyles torquatus,ta.2Si(ju, 
 or common peccary) 
 inhabiting the eastern 
 side of South Ameri- 
 ca, and the other (D. 
 latiatus, or white- 
 lipped peccary) in- 
 habiting Paraguay. 
 There is a glandular opening on the loins which secretes 
 a fetid humor, and which must be cut out immediately 
 after the peccary is killed or the humor infects ti»« 
 
 Collared Peccary. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 10? 
 
 whole flesh. TLe common peccary is about the size of a 
 small hog; the white-lipped peccary is considerably 
 larger," 
 
 Writing of the animals of Guiana, Im Thurn, whom 
 we have already freely quoted, says: "Bush-hogs, or 
 peccaries, of two kinds wander about in the swampy 
 parts of the forests. The smaller of these is called a 
 Douyah, the larger kairooni by the Arawaks. The 
 former kind [the collared peccary] lives in parties of 
 five and six; the latter in large herds, often of a hundred 
 head. ... In the day-time they take to the water 
 without hesitation, but if in their travels they reach the 
 edge of a river at 
 night, the herd 
 settles down, after 
 much commotion 
 and grunting, to 
 wait for daylight 
 before crossing. 
 It is sometimes 
 dangerous to at- 
 tack single-hand- 
 ed a herd of kai- 
 rooni in the forest, 
 for they are apt 
 
 to use their tusks with terrible efEect — they are even said 
 to kill large jaguars in tt 13 way — and if the attacker takes 
 refuge in a tree, the pigs squat patiently round until 
 sometimes he is either starved out or relieved by other 
 men." 
 
 The HiPPOPOTAMiD^, which contain but two species 
 at most, and probably but one, are found only in Africa 
 at the present day, but in earlier ages of the world 
 many kinds flourished in Europe-and Asia. The hip- 
 popotamus, with which most people are familiar, at 
 least by hearsay, inhabits various African rivers, and 
 
 '^^"^ 
 
 
 tifct- ^, -»•■ 
 
 Hippopotamus. 
 
11^8 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 while by no means helpless when on land, is, neverthe- 
 less, only strictly at home when in the water. 
 
 The most striking feature perhaps of this strange 
 beast is its enormous box-like snout, which gives the 
 animal a big head, but after all it is pretty much all 
 face, and the brain-pan behind it is of very modest 
 dimensions. The jaws of the hippopotamus are armed 
 with teeth, of which some are of great size and highly 
 prized as ivory. 
 
 While a vegetarian and asking only to be allowed to 
 crop the rank herbage of the banks of the rivers in 
 
 which he dwells, this huge 
 beast can display a rage 
 equal to the most ferocious 
 of the flesh-eating Carnivo- 
 ra. The accounts of trav- 
 elers in Africa teem with 
 instances of such exhibi- 
 tions of temper, and with 
 the details of very narrow 
 escapes, especially when the 
 animal has attacked a boat 
 and crushed it between his 
 enormous jaws. Thus Pin- 
 to remarks concerning 
 oanoe navigation in Africa: ■' Jfo sooner had the canoe 
 entered it [the river] and beguj. to feel the strength of 
 the current than a hippopotamus appeared blowing just 
 below us. We were thus placed between Scylla and 
 Gharybdis, and had to choose between the monster and 
 the abyss." 
 
 The camels of the eastern and llamas of the western 
 hemisphere, forming the family Oamelid^, include 
 some of the most interesting and useful of animals. 
 Prom the fact that certain species of these mammals 
 are used as beasts of burden and have been for untold 
 
 Camel. 
 
MAMMAI.S. 109 
 
 centuries, they have become in a great measure very 
 familiar to all. This is especially true of the camel and 
 dromedary of the East. Their general characteristics, 
 anatomically and physiologically, are well known. The 
 humps on the back, one or two, as the case may be; the 
 curious foot, so well adapted to treading oyer yielding 
 sand; the ability to go days without water — all these 
 have been treated of time and again, and further 
 reference is unnecessary. 
 
 The fact that the camel is thoroughly domesticated 
 and is capable of carrying burdens of from 600 to 1,000 
 pounds over sandy deserts makes him simply invaluable 
 to the inhabitants of those regions. Deprive such 
 countries of their camels and depopulation would 
 speedily ensue. 
 
 The Bactrian camel has two humps on the back and 
 is stouter and more muscular than the dromedary. 
 These elevations or humps, which suggest a distorted 
 spine, are not bony in structure, but are made up prin- 
 cipally 01 fatty tissue, and it is said that when the ani- 
 mal has suffered from want of food these humps have 
 diminished in bulk, and so lead one to the conclusion 
 that they serve as nourishment under such circum- 
 stances. Camels were introduced into Southwestern 
 America to replace horses in the arid districts, but they 
 did not flourish. 
 
 The dromedary differs principally from the Bactrian 
 camel in having but one hump. It is otherwise of the 
 same general appearance. "It is more swift of foot 
 than the camel, being capable of traveling upward of a 
 hundred miles a day and of continuing its journey at 
 that rate for several successive days. The pace of the 
 dromedary is a trot, often at the rate of nine miles an 
 hour, but the jolting to the rider is most uncomfort- 
 able." 
 
 " With regard to the power of the camel to support 
 
110 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 thirst there has generally prevailed some little exaggera- 
 tion. It has been stated that this animal will bear de- 
 privation of vrater for a period of no less than fifteen 
 days, but Burckhardt states that the time varies greatly 
 according to the breed and the country in which the 
 camels have been accustomed to travel. Thus the 
 Egyptian and Syrian camels require frequent draughts 
 during the summer months, while those which journey 
 in . the Arabian deserts will go for four days without 
 
 drinking. The 
 same author 
 says that some 
 of the African 
 caravans travel 
 for a much long- 
 er time without 
 water, but he 
 considers niae 
 or ten days to 
 be the utmost, 
 and even then 
 a good many 
 camels die on 
 the road. The 
 Dromedary. means by whlch 
 
 the creature 
 supports this long deprivation of moisture is said to be by 
 storing up in the cells of the paunch and honey-comb stom- 
 ach a sufficient supply of moisture to last for several days' 
 consumption. This has been disputed by some zoolo- 
 gists from their finding no water in these cells on dis- 
 secting camels, and Burckhardt states that no great 
 quantity of fluid is found in the stomachs of these 
 animals unless they have been drinking not long be- 
 fore. . . . There seems, however, to be little doubt 
 that there is no truth in the popular belief that when in 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 nv 
 
 great want of water the Arabs kill a camel for the sake 
 of the supply contained in its stomach, for Burckhardt" 
 never saw this plan put in practice, nor could he ever 
 hear from the Arabs of their making use of any such 
 method of supplying their necessities, although they 
 frequently entertained him with accounts of the hard- 
 ships they underwent in the deserts from this very 
 cause." 
 
 The llamas of South America are the camels of the 
 New World, but here the Old World is far ahead, as 
 the American species 
 of this family are 
 smaller, weaker, and 
 in every regard less 
 valuable. 
 
 Llamas have no 
 humps, and the foot 
 is adapted to mount- 
 ain-climbing instead 
 of sandy tracts. The :- 
 home of these ani- ■■ 
 mals is among the 
 Andes Mountains, 
 and beyond their lim- 
 its they are not disposed to stray. They are readily af- 
 fected by extreme heat, and on the other hand seem en- 
 tirely at hom£ at so great an elevation as the snow-line. 
 
 These animals have the curious habit of spitting at 
 any one who annoys them, and absurd stories have been 
 given to the world of the poisonous nature of their 
 saliva. It is with truth, however, also said of them 
 that they have ''the singular habit of always, when 
 practicable, dropping their dung in the same place, 
 so that considerable heaps of excrement are found in 
 particular spots. The wild ones have also been observed 
 to retire in the same way to a partJniilar spot to die, and 
 
 Alpaca. 
 
113 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 in some places it is said portions of tlie banks of rivers 
 may be seen almost whitened with their bones." There 
 are four species, at least, of llamas — the true llama, the 
 guanaco, the alpaca, and the vicugna. 
 
 An important species is the alpaca, a native of the 
 mountainous portions of Chili and Peru. It is about 
 the size of a sheep and is prized for its beautiful silky 
 wool, which is finer than that of any sheep. It has, in 
 
 fact, given the name 
 to certain fabrics val- 
 uable for clothing and 
 most extensively used 
 for umbrella-cover- 
 ings. 
 
 Another member of 
 this group of llamas, 
 or American camels, 
 is the wild and cham- 
 ois-like vicugna. It 
 is at home on the slopes 
 of the Andes, and 
 _ lingers mostly near the 
 Vicugna. regions of perpetual 
 
 snow. It is said that 
 attempts to reduce it to a state of domestication have 
 failed. It is highly prized for the splendidquality of 
 its fur, which is as soft as the finest silk." Their flesh 
 also is held in esteem and so the animals are quite per- 
 sistently hunted. 
 
 Those peculiar little deer-like creatures knowii as 
 chevrotains naturally follow the llamas in a systematic 
 list of the Ungulata. There are some six species, 
 and none better known, perhaps, than the little kanchil 
 of Borneo, Java, and Malacca. It is not larger than a 
 rabbit and is the smallest mammal of the whole group 
 or order of hoofed animals. It frequents the forests 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 113 
 
 of the countries mentioned and is reputed to be an ex- 
 cellent "'possumer/' feigning death when captured, 
 and if the captor is thrown off his guard will Jump and 
 run with startling suddenness. 
 
 We now come to consider that large and prominent 
 family of animals known as deer — the group Cebvid^. 
 Deer are ruminating animals characterized by antlers or 
 horns, which spring 
 from processes on the 
 frontal bone. These 
 horns are cast every 
 year after the breeding 
 season and renewed be- 
 fore its return the fol- 
 lowing year. These 
 antlers are possessed 
 only by the males, ex- 
 cept in the case of the 
 reindeer of the arctic 
 regions. The mem- 
 bers of this group of 
 mammals are very nu- 
 merous and are found 
 in nearly every quarter 
 of the globe. As in 
 all cases where there are many and widely distribut- 
 ed species, the variation among them is very great, and 
 some few have features that more or less ally them with 
 other families. 
 
 The red deer of Europe and Northern Asia may be 
 taken as a type of the deer family. This species is 
 about four feet high at the shoulders, of a reddish-brown 
 color, and with large, irregularly branched antlers which 
 sometimes weigh "as much as twenty-four pounds. 
 The time occupied in the development of this mass of 
 bony matter is rarely more than ten weeks." The red 
 deer is a forest animal, living in herds. 
 
 Bed Deer. 
 
\ t4 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 In our own country tliis species is represented by_ the 
 well-known elk. At present the range of this animal 
 is much restricted, but it was once almost as extensive 
 as the continent. 
 
 Godman writes : " The size and appearance of the 
 elk are imposing ; his air denotes confidence of great 
 strength, while his towering horns exhibit weapons 
 capable of doing much injury when offensively em- 
 ployed. The head is beautifully formed, tapering 
 to a narrow point; the ears, are large and rapidly 
 movable ; the eyes are full and dark ; the horns rise 
 loftily from the front, with numerous sharply pointed 
 branches which are curved forward, and the head is 
 sustained u-pon a neck at once slender, vigorous, and 
 graceful. The beauty of the male elk is still further 
 heightened by the long forward-curling hair which 
 forms a sort of ruff, or beard, extending from the head 
 toward the breast, where it grows short and is but little 
 different ffom the common covering. The body of the 
 elk, though large, is finely proportioned; the limbs are 
 small and apparently delicate, but are strong, sinewy, 
 and agile. The hair is of a bluish-gray color in autumn; 
 during winter it continues of a dark gray, and at the 
 approach of spring it assumes a reddish or bright brown 
 color, which is permanent throughout the summer. The 
 croup is of a pale yellowish-white or clay color, and 
 this color extends about the tail for six or seven inches 
 and is almost uniformly found in both sexes. . . . 
 
 " The elk is shy and retiring; having acute senses, he 
 receives early warning of the approa3i of any human 
 intruder. . . . 
 
 "The flesh of the elk is highly esteemed by the 
 Indians and hunters as food." 
 
 In Europe there is found a well-known representative 
 of the Cervidae known as the fallow deer, the name 
 being derived from the fallow or pale yellow color. It 
 
MAMMALS. 115 
 
 IS not so large as the red deer of that country, and the 
 branching of the antlers is different, the main stem 
 being broader at the end than at the base, and a short, 
 snag-like growth springs from the base of the antler in 
 this species. 
 
 The moose of Maine and Canada, and found also in 
 Northern Europe and Asia, is the largest of all the deer 
 tribe. It is a deep brown, nearly black color, and 
 stands nearly seven feet high at the shoulders. The 
 antlers are enormous, often weighing fifty pounds. The 
 head terminates in an enor- 
 mously broad muzzle, which 
 gives the animal a most un- 
 gainly appearance. It is 
 shy and can only be success- 
 fully hunted by those who 
 have perfect knowledge of 
 its habits and can exercise 
 a deal of patience. 
 
 Thoreau, in "Maine 
 
 Woods," thus refers to the Fallow Deer. 
 
 moose : " The track of a 
 
 full-grown moose is like that of a cow, or larger, and of the 
 young like that of a calf. Sometimes we found ourselves 
 traveling in faint paths which they had made, like cow- 
 paths in the woods, only far more indistinct, being rather 
 openings affording imperfect vistas through the dense un- 
 derwood than trodden paths, and everywhere the twigs had 
 been browsed by them, clipped as smoothly as if by a 
 knife. The bark of trees was stripped up by them to the 
 height of eight' or nine feet in long, narrow strips an 
 inch wide, still showing the distinct marks of their 
 teeth. "We expected nothing less than to meet a herd 
 of them every moment, and our Nimrod held his 
 shooting-iron in readiness; but we did not go out of our 
 waiy to look for them, and though numerous they are so 
 
X16 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 •waij that the unskillful hunter might range the forest a 
 long time before he could get sight of one. They are 
 sometimes dangerous to encounter and will not turn out 
 for the huuter, but furiously rush upon him and trample 
 him to death unless he is lucky enough to avoid them by 
 dodging around a tree. The largest are nearly as large^ 
 as a horse and weigh sometimes 1,000 pounds, and it is 
 said that they can step over a five-foot gate in their 
 ordinary walk. They are . . . exceedingly awk- 
 ward-looking animals, with their long legs and short 
 bodies, making a ludicrous figure when in full fun, but 
 making great headway nevertheless. It seemed a mys- 
 tery to us how they could 
 thread these woods, which it 
 required Sll our suppleness to 
 accomplish — climbing, stoop- 
 ing, and winding alternately. 
 They are said to drop their 
 long and branching horns, 
 which usually spread five or 
 six feet, on their backs and 
 make their way easily by the 
 weight of their bodies. Our 
 boatman said, but I know 
 not with how much truth, 
 that their horns are apt. to be gnawed away by vermin 
 while they sleep." 
 
 Another very different and far smaller species of 
 deer is the well-known roebuck of Europe and 
 parts of Asia. It prefers a mountainous country, and 
 is still found wild in the Highlands of Scotland. This 
 little deer stands but an inch or two over two feet in 
 height and weighs about as much as the antlers of the 
 moose, some fifty or sixty pounds. Boner writes: "The 
 roe pre'fers small woods interspersed with glades to ex- 
 tensive iorests. Its haunt is on the borders of the cop- 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 117 
 
 pice, when corn and linseed fields afford a dainty re- 
 past. But in winter, when the snow lies deep, it seeks 
 the young plantations and browses on the tender shoots, 
 doing thus considerable damage. Ifor in winter only, 
 for in other seasons also, when it can find them, it wUl 
 visit these and mar the growth of many a promising 
 tree. ... In the case of the roe it is a . . . 
 pretty sight to see the mother with her young, on ac- 
 count of the graceful form and bearing of the actors in 
 the nursery episode. The mother wnl play with her 
 kid, bounding now to- 
 ward and now away 
 from it, and a favorite 
 pastime seems to be to 
 pursue her little one or 
 be pursued by it round 
 the stem of a tree. 
 They thus will play at 
 bo-peep together, and 
 you may find trees in 
 the forest round the 
 stems of which a circle 
 is trodden in the ground 
 from the merty racing of 
 the happy playfellows." 
 
 Of our common Virginia deer and of the Western 
 black-tailed deer it is needless to make more than brief 
 mention. The habits, appearance, and haunts of the 
 common deer of our Atlantic Coast States are familiar 
 to all. 
 
 We pass now to the consideration of a far more inter- 
 esting and valuable animal, the reindeer of Europe and 
 Asia, and the American variety, called the caribou. 
 
 The European species "has branched, recurved, 
 round antlers, the summits of which are palmated; the 
 antlers of the male are much larger than those of the 
 
 Boebuck. 
 
118 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 female. These antlers, whicli are annually shed and 
 renewed by both sexes, are remarkable for the size of 
 the branch which comes ofi near the base, called the 
 brow antler. The body is of a thick and square form, 
 and the legs shorter in proportion than those of the red 
 deer. The size varies much according to the climate, 
 those in the higher arctic regions being the largest; 
 about four feet six inches may be given as the average 
 height of a full-grown specimen. The reindeer is keen 
 of sight, swift of foot, being capable of maintaining a 
 speed of nine or ten miles an hour for a long time, 
 and can easily draw a weight of 200- pounds, be- 
 sides the sledge to which they are usually attached when 
 used as beasts of draught. Among the Laplanders the 
 reindeer is a substitute for the horse, the cow, and the 
 sheep, as he furnishes food, clothing, and the means of 
 conveyance." 
 
 The American caribou, or reindeer, ranges from 
 Northern Maine northward to the regions about Hud- 
 son's Bay and beyond. By many it is thought that 
 there are two varieties of the animal, but sucfi is not 
 the case. Living in regions so inimicable, it would 
 seem, to animal life — at least to mammalian life — these 
 deer are forced to migrate from point to point to secure 
 a sufficiency of food. Godman says: " In their migra- 
 tions the whole herd frequently amounts to 1,000 or 
 3,000, and is separated into smaller herds, varying in 
 number from ten to 100, as chance or their fears may 
 determine them to unite' or separate. The Indians 
 have remarked that there are certain places which the 
 reindeer invariably visit in their migrations to and from 
 the coast, and that they always travel against the wind. 
 In the barren gi-ounds the principal food of this species 
 is the various lichens or mosses; the hay or dry grass 
 found in the swamps during autumn is also eaten, and 
 in the woods the mosses attached to the trees." 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 119 
 
 Speaking of the moose and caribou, Leith Adams re- 
 marks: "The former relies to the greatest extent for 
 safety on smell and hearing, while the latter has also 
 powerful, sight. . . . Acute hearing is also present 
 in the caribou, as every hunter knows full well when 
 stalking the animal; for although the twigs may be 
 cracking in all directions through intense cold, the 
 animal at once recognizes the sounds produced by the 
 hunter in contra- 
 distinction to nat- 
 ure." This ani- 
 mal, in that period 
 of the world's his- 
 tory known as the 
 Great Ice Age, in- 
 habited theUnited 
 States far south of 
 its known South- 
 ern limits, this be- 
 ing ascertained by 
 the discovery of 
 its remains in the 
 gravel deposits of 
 our river valleys. 
 They have been 
 found associated 
 with remains of 
 
 man, showing that once, as fat south as New Jersey 
 even, the same conditions existed as now do in and near 
 the arctic circle. This holds good also in Europe, where 
 a race of men once lived who were seemingly as de- 
 pendent on the reindeer as the Lapps and Finns now 
 are." 
 
 Allied to the true Ceevidjb, yet in many ways quite 
 difEerent, is the little musk-deer, from which is derived 
 the scent of thb.t name. This animal has no trace of 
 
 Beindeer, 
 
120 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 antlers, but does have, perhaps in lieu of them, the up- 
 per canine teeth developed to a wonderful extent, as 
 they reach beyond the mouth and are round, slender, 
 sharply pointed, and gently curved inward. They thus 
 become weapons capable of making very ugly wounds. 
 The "^musk "-gland of this animal, which is found 
 only in the male, is a sac about three inches in diameter 
 underneath the skin of the abdomen and just in front 
 of the hind legs. The secretion that fills this sac is of 
 
 a deep brown color and 
 pasty, but when dry i« 
 granular. This secre- 
 tion has a very powerful 
 and not pleasant scent, 
 but after much dilution 
 and manipulation is made 
 the basis of delicate per- 
 fumes more or less popu- 
 lar — but an abomination 
 nevertheless. 
 
 "The musk-deer has 
 a wide distribution over 
 the highlands of Central 
 and Eastern Asia . . . 
 always, however, at great elevations. . . . It is a 
 hardy, solitary, and retiring animal, chiefly nocturnal 
 in its habits." 
 
 The family Camelopakdid^ at present includes only 
 the girafEe of Africa, but in an earlier era the Sivalik 
 Hills of India boasted of another, and one that was a 
 monster, truly, for the head exceeded that of the ele- 
 phant in size. 
 
 The girafEe inhabits the eastern parts of Africa as 
 far north as Nubia. As it is adapted for feeding upon 
 the foliage of trees rather than upon herbs, it frequents 
 such tracts of country as are moderately well wooded. 
 
 Musk-deer. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 121 
 
 Of all ruminants this is the largest^ and the males 
 often reach a height of eighteen feet. This wonderful 
 stature is derived from length of neck and not from 
 length of limbs. The neck, however, has hut seven 
 vertehrse, but these are, of course, greatly elongated. 
 
 There has been much discussion about the origin of 
 this long neck, and Darwin's explanation — that the 
 habit of browsing among the branches of trees having 
 been acquired, the neck, 
 through use, became, aft- 
 er untold generations, as 
 long as it now is — ^is the 
 most rational. This is the 
 law (rf evolution, or one of 
 them — adaptation to en- 
 vironment : structure mod- 
 ified by habit. What is 
 generaUy called Natural 
 History is practically a 
 meaningless jumble of pet- 
 ty facts unless this law of 
 evolution is kept in mind. 
 It is the key that unlocks 
 the mysteries of the laws 
 of living beings, or more 
 properly speaking, of or- 
 ganic nature. 
 
 The long neck of the 
 giraffe is not merely a con- 
 venience for eating tree- 
 tops instead of grass. Its 
 neck serves as ,a watch- 
 tower and better enables it 
 
 to see approaching foes. /Mr. Darwin says, too : " This 
 animal also uses its long neck as a means of off ense_ or 
 defense by violently swinging its head armed with 
 stump-like horns." 
 
 GirafEe. 
 
13S cyCLOPEbtA OF tf A TURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Sir Samuel Baker writes as follows of these animals : 
 " The giraffe, although from sixteen to twenty feet in 
 height, is perfectly defenseless, and can only trust to 
 the swiftness of its pace' and the extraordinary power of 
 its yision for its means of protection. The eye of this 
 animal is the most beautiful exaggeration of that of the 
 gazelle, while the color of the reddish-orange hide, 
 mottled with darker spots, changes the tints of the skin 
 with the differing rays of light according to the mus- 
 cular movement of the body. No one who has merely 
 seen the giraffe in a cold climate can form the least idea 
 of its beauty in its native land." 
 
 The consideration of the hoofed mammals will con- 
 clude with the following-named family, the BoviD^, 
 which includes the antelopes, cattle, and sheep. But 
 let it not be forgotten for a moment that far more 
 members of the several groups or families have been 
 entirely overlooked than have been named. 
 
 In the family under consideration — ^the BoviD^ — 
 "the horns consist of a conical process of the frontal 
 bone which is covered by a sheath of horny matter. 
 . . . The horns are permanent and present with but 
 few exceptions in both sexes. The dentition is the 
 same as that of the stags." 
 
 The various species of this family vary greatly in size. 
 All are vegetable feeders and are distributed over the 
 whole world. 
 
 Just as the Botid^ as a group differ largely as to 
 size, so do the antelopes differ. Some are very small, 
 others large and even clumsy and ox-like; yet they have 
 so much in common that the subdivisions are not of 
 much importance. 
 
 Antelopes belong principally to Africa, where fifty- 
 four species are found ; to Asia, where there are a few ; 
 to Europe, which has two ; and North America, which 
 can boast of one only. 
 
MaMMaIs. 
 
 123 
 
 " In habits they are for the most part gregarious, and 
 are frequently found in immense herds inhabiting the 
 grassy plateaus and plains, while some species are ex- 
 clusively mountainous in their distribution." 
 
 The common antelope of the East Jndies may be 
 taken as a typical specimen of these beautiful animals. 
 This species is about two and one-half feet in height, 
 of a dark brown or black color above and dull white on 
 the breast and belly. It is 
 extremely active and can 
 leap from twenty to thirty 
 feet at a single bound. 
 
 This antelope is princi- 
 pally found on the salt 
 plains, as along the coast- 
 line of Guzerat and Orissa. 
 Here herds composed of 
 many females and a single 
 buck are often seen. The 
 flesh of this antelope is not 
 attractive, at least to palates 
 accustomed to savory mut- 
 ton or juicy beef, but it is 
 eaten, nevertheless, by the natives, it being " permitted 
 meat for Hindoos even of the Brahmin caste." 
 
 The gazelle, or Barbary antelope, is one that at least 
 by name is familiar to every one. Much reference is 
 made to it in poetry, and it is mentioned also in the 
 Jewish Scriptures. 
 
 The following is from Baker's work on Abyssinia : 
 " The buck gazelles so exactly resemble the color of the 
 sandy deserts which they inhabit that they are most 
 difficult to distinguish, and their extreme shyness 
 renders stalking upon foot very uncertain. I employed 
 an Arab to lead a camel, under cover of which I could 
 approach within a hundred yards. A, buck gazelle 
 
 Indian Antelope. 
 
124 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 weighs from sixty to seventy pounds and is the perfec 
 tion of muscular development. Born in the scorching 
 sun, nursed in the burning sand of the treeless and 
 shadowless wilderness, the gazelle is among the antelope 
 tribe as the Arab horse is among its brethren — ^the 
 high bred and superlative beauty of the race. The skin 
 is sleek as satin, of a color difficult to describe as it 
 varies between, the lightest mauve and yellowish-brown; 
 the belly is snow-white; the legs from the knee down- 
 ward also white and as fine as though carved from 
 
 ivory; the hoof, beauti- 
 fully shaped, tapers to a 
 sharp point. The head 
 of the buck is ornamented 
 by gracefully curved an- 
 nulated horns, perfectly 
 black and generally from 
 nine to twelve inches long 
 on the bend; the eye is 
 the well-known perfec- 
 tion — ^the full, large, soft, 
 and jet-black eye of the 
 gazelle. 
 
 '^ In the desert are numerous shallow, sandy ravines 
 in which are tufts of a herbage so coarse that as a source 
 of nourishment it would be valueless to a domestic ani- 
 mal. On this gazelles exist; are in excellent condition 
 though they never fatten; a mass of muscle and sinew; 
 it is the fastest of the antelope tribe. . . . 
 
 "The flesh, although tolerably good, has a slight 
 flavor of musk." 
 
 Another well-known form of antelope is the spring- 
 bok of Southern Africa. The name is derived from its 
 habit of leaping high in the air when startled, and to 
 its leaping gait when fleeing across the plains. 
 
 This antelope is beautifully colored, being rich brown 
 
 Gazelles. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 izs 
 
 on the back and sides and pure white on the belly. A 
 line of rich reddish-brown separates the colors on the 
 flanks. 
 
 " Barrow frequently saw from ten to fifteen thousand 
 of these antelopes collected together, intent upon an 
 incursion into the cultivated fields of the Cape colonists 
 when a dry season had reduced their supply of food in 
 the open country; and Le Vaillant calculates the num- 
 ber of a herd seen by him at a far higher rate. . . . 
 Its flesh, especially that of the young animals, is very 
 good, and a full-grown individual will weigh from sixty 
 to eighty pounds." 
 
 Mosely, in his 
 fascinating "Notes 
 of a Naturalist on 
 the Challenger," 
 writes as follows 
 concerning South 
 African antelopes : 
 " I had naturally 
 a desire to see wild 
 antelopes at the 
 Gape. I did not, 
 however, in the least expect to see one without going 
 , into the interior, and was surprised to find that antelopes 
 still exist in the Cape peninsula, and I had a shot at 
 three of them on the very Cape of Good Hope itself. I 
 had an erroneous notion concerning antelopes that they 
 , all lived in much the same way, forming vast herds that 
 roamed over flat plains and performed migrations in 
 bodies from one place to another as scarcity of food 
 necessitated. 
 
 " Now, however, I found that the various species are 
 mostly totally different in their habits. Some are 
 nocturnal, some diurnal ; some live on the mountains, 
 some on the plains, some among the bushes, some in 
 forests ; some are gregarious, others solitary. 
 
 Spring-t)Ok, 
 
126 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL mstOR'ir. 
 
 "The antelopes are all called 'bok' (goat), pro- 
 nounced in the country 'buck/ by the Cape people. 
 The two antelopes about Simons Toivn are what the 
 Dutch named, from its resemblance to that animal the 
 roebuck, ' rheebok ' and the grysbok (gray goat). 
 
 "The rheebok lives about on the stony hills and 
 
 rocks in small herds of from six to a dozen or so. . . . 
 
 " The rheebok is as large as a small fallow deer and 
 
 of a light gray color; it is extremely diflBcult to see it 
 
 at any distance, it being so like in color to the bush and 
 
 rocks. It is only as it moves 
 its tail and shows the white 
 underneath it that the hunt- 
 er catches sight of it at first; 
 the white patch under the 
 tail is certainly a very mate- 
 rial disadvantage and source 
 of danger to the animal. It 
 is very wary and difficult to 
 stalk; it feeds iii the day- 
 time. 
 
 " The grysbok, on the oth- 
 er hand, lies hid in the 
 thickest bushes or beds of 
 reed during the day, and 
 only comes out to feed at 
 night-time. It is very small, less than half the size of 
 the rheebok." 
 
 The addax is a species of larger .antelope found in 
 Northern Africa. It is . gregarious. The horns are 
 long — nearly four feet — are slightly twisted, and point 
 outward. They give the animal a fine appearance., 
 " There appears to be no doubt that the addax was the 
 strepsiceros of the ancients." The animal appears to 
 have been well known to the Egyptians. 
 
 The gnu is a curious horse-like animal in appearance, 
 
 Head of Addax. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 127 
 
 and yet is an antelope, or at least is usually considered 
 as belonging to that group, although this is disputed by 
 some naturalists, who have considered it rather as a 
 connecting link between the true antelope and the ox 
 tribe. 
 
 The gnu reaches a height of about four and one-half 
 feet, and is from eight to nine feet in extreme length. 
 The animal has a mane 
 of short hair and a 
 long bushy tail, the 
 latter being of a light 
 color. The animai is 
 
 ' horse-like in its actions 
 as well as in appear- 
 ance. "Advancing, as 
 they generally do, in 
 single file, they may 
 be seen wheeling and 
 prancing in ali direc- 
 tions, tossing their 
 heads, switching their 
 long tails, and then 
 starting off, especially 
 if alarmed by the ap- 
 pearance of a lion, at 
 a tremendous speed, raising columns of dust along 
 their track and leaving their pursuers hopelessly in the 
 rear. Should they be surprised in their gambols by the 
 sight of a caravan, their exceeding inquisitiveness im- 
 pels them to approach the intruding object, which they 
 do in a compact square> looking all the while the very 
 picture of defiance. ' During bright moonlight,' says 
 
 .Captain Harris, 'curiosity often prompted a clwrhp oi 
 gnus to approach within a few yards of our bivouac, 
 where they would stand for hours in the same position, 
 staring wildly, lashing their dark flanks, and uttering a 
 
 Gnu. 
 
128 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 subdued note resembling the harsh croaking of a frog.' 
 The noise made by the old bulls as they roam singly 
 during the rutting season is much more formidable, be- 
 ing, usually compared to the roar of a lion. . . . 
 They are by no means the formidable creatures their 
 ferocious aspect might lead one to suppose." 
 
 In iforth America we have, in the extreme Westem 
 territory, an antelope that for beauty, graceful carriage, 
 and fleetness compares well with the choicest of the 
 African forms. This is the prong-horn. Lord, in his 
 " Naturalist in British Columbia," thus writes of the 
 animal: "I am in the very paradise of the prong-buck. 
 In bands of twenty or thirty they gallop close up to the 
 mules, halt, have a good look, and suddenly scent dan- 
 ger; the leading bucks give a loud whistling snort, then 
 away they all scamper and rapidly disappear. . . . 
 
 " The size of the prong-buck when fully grown is 
 somewhat larger than the, domestic sheep, but its legs, 
 being proportionately much 'longer, give it a greater 
 altitude. The neck is also of greater length and the 
 head earned more erect. The hind legs are longer than 
 the fore ones; a wise provision (an outcome of evolu- 
 tion, rather) not only tending to give additional fleet- 
 ness, but materially assisting it in climbing steep preci- 
 pices and rocky crags, up and down which it bounds 
 with astonishing speed and security." 
 
 Like the elk and bison, the prong-horn is becoming 
 more and more restricted in its range, and seems doomed 
 to extinction at an early day. 
 
 The group of sheep and goats, which are so well 
 known to every one, follows the antelopes naturally, and 
 will next be briefly considered. Of both, there exist 
 both wild and domestic species. 
 
 The goat is readily recognized by its hollow, erect, 
 ringed horns, which are turned backward, and so pre- 
 sent a broad, curved surface, and not points, when the 
 
MAMMALS. 129 
 
 / 
 
 animal acts upon the offensive and butts, an act that is 
 better appreciated as a sudden muscular movement on the 
 part of the animal when viewed from a distance. Goats 
 generally are bearded under the chin, a feature that 
 gives them a wise look, and the average goat that flour- 
 ishes on the outskirts of large cities is by no means a 
 fool. 
 
 In a wild state they are at home in mountainous dis- 
 tricts, and are fleet and sure-footed, however rocky the 
 path may be. "The wild goat,. or pesang, of the Per- 
 sians is an inhabitant of the mountainous regions of 
 Central Asia, from the Caucasus to the Himalayas, and 
 is occasionally met with in troops at great elevations. 
 . . . The concretions known as bezoar-stones, which 
 were formerly much used in medicine and as- antidotes 
 I of poison, are believed to have been originally obtained 
 from the intestines of this species." 
 
 Among the many domestic breeds of goat, the Angora 
 and Cashmere races are best known, as their hair is of 
 great value for the manufacture of fine woolen fabrics. 
 The Kubian goat differs greatly from the others in gen- 
 eral appearance. It has very small and scarcely notice- 
 able horns, and the "lop-ears" of the variety of rab- 
 bit known by that name. Its milk is more highly 
 esteemed than that of other goats, but the milk of all 
 is valuable. As a food animal goats are not desirable, 
 the flesh being strong, stringy, and difiicult to digest. 
 The young, or kids, are of course less so, but have not 
 the merit of lamb, however skillful may be the cooking. ' 
 
 Domesticated goats antedate the dawn of history, 
 and some now living are so patriarchal ill appearance 
 that they may, for all that shows iipon their exterior, be 
 older than the Wandering Jew. 
 
 The name ibex is one applied to several species of 
 goat-like animals that are native to the mountainous 
 regions of Europe, Asia, and Africa. In th'e former 
 
130 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 continent they are now rare and their range limited to 
 the most inaccessible of mountain fastnesses. 
 
 The ibex is a beautiful creature, about two and a half 
 feet high and four feet in length. " The horns, espe- 
 cially in the male, form a striking feature; rising from 
 the crest of the skull, they bend gradually backward, 
 attaining a length, in old specimens, of about two 
 
 leet. 
 
 As the ibex lives in 
 a country literally very 
 hard to travel, and is 
 very shy, having acute 
 sight, scent, and hear- 
 ing, the hunt therefor 
 is no child's play; but 
 so strange is one feat- 
 ure of human nature, 
 it is certainly true that 
 the greater the danger 
 the more hunting is a' 
 delight. 
 
 The sheep known to 
 the civilized world are 
 as various in shape, size, 
 and comparative value 
 as the goats. They are nearly allied to goats, and the do- 
 mesticated ones are so far different from those that are 
 wild that their origin cannot be satisfactorily determined. 
 This animal is of inestimable value, not only as food 
 but as a producer of wool and of leather. Indeed, the 
 entire carcass has value and is utilized, even the 
 entrails being used as strings for various musical in- 
 struments. 
 
 " The principal varieties of the English sheep are the 
 large Leicester, the Cotswold, the South-Down, the 
 Cheviot, and the black-faced breeds." 
 
 Ibex. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 131 
 
 In the TJnited States the raising of sheep has not 
 been so extraordinarily successful as in Great Britain. 
 
 A remarkable variety of sheep is one common to 
 some parts of Asia and also to Egypt, the broad-tailed. 
 It is remarkable for its large, heavy tail, often so loaded 
 with a mass of fat as to weigh from seventy to eighty 
 pounds. In Iceland there is a variety having three, 
 four, or five horns; in Tartary a fat-rumped variety 
 which has such an accumulation of fat posteriorly 
 that the tail is hidden. 
 
 In North America we have only the " big-horn ■" 
 of the Eocky Mountains, but it is one of the finest 
 of all species of wild 
 sheep. I know of no 
 better account of them 
 than that of Ernest In- 
 gersoU, in his " Knock- 
 ing Round the Eock- 
 ies." He writes: "Lat- 
 terly we have struck 
 the big-horns, which we 
 had not seen since leav- 
 ing the Seminole 
 Mountains. They are 
 the noblest of game, 
 after all. Much like the 
 chamois or ibex, the 
 man who would get them, even though they never 
 saw the human form before, must have the stren^h 
 and agility to climb to the loftiest ledges and skill 
 to shoot at long range. Even then he may lose his 
 dead game, its body often tumbling over some preci- 
 pice utterly out of his reach. The mountains west 
 of Green Eiver are full of them, ind in making sta- 
 tions upon their summits the topographer has a good 
 chance at them. Once or twice we have had bands 
 
 <;5v 
 
 Broad-tailed Sheep. 
 
132 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 in sight for two or three hours at a time, feeding 
 upon the green hill-tops below us, where scattering 
 clumps of dwarf spruce furnished shelter when they 
 cared to rest and the young grass afEorded the best of 
 pasture. It was very interesting to watch them. An 
 old ram or two, easily distinguished by the ™mense 
 horns from ewes, whose horns are small and light, 
 would lead the flock, and there would be from ten to 
 
 fifty younger rams, 
 ewes, and kids follow- 
 ing. How they can 
 run ! Let the grourlld 
 be rough or smooth, 
 level or inclined, it 
 seems to make no dif- 
 ference, and the kids 
 will race up and down 
 the steep snow-banks 
 just for fun. The hair 
 of these mountain 
 sheep is coarse and 
 slightly crinky, and 
 when the bluish win- 
 ter coat comes out, 
 displacing gradually 
 the brown summel' 
 pelt, you may find 
 everywhere between the hairs a shorter coat — a sort 
 of undershirt — of the finest silky wool. The flesh of 
 the big-horn is tender and juicy in the autumn, when 
 the animals become fat, and has a taste between mut- 
 ton and antelope, partaking of both." 
 
 The argali is a somewhat similar wild sheep inhabit- 
 ing Siberia, Central Asia, and Kamtchatka. "It is 
 nearly as large as a moderately sized ox, being four feet 
 high at the shoulders and proportionately stout in its 
 
 Eocky Mountain Sheep. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 133 
 
 build. The horns . . . are very nearly four feef 
 in length if measured along the curve, and at their base 
 are about nineteen inches in circumference. They 
 spring from the forehead, and after rising upward for a 
 short distance, th'ey curve boldly downward till they 
 reach the chin, when they recurve upward and come 
 to a point. The argali is gregarious, living in small 
 herds." 
 
 The aoudad is another wild sheep, a native of North 
 Africa "inhabiting the loftiest and most inaccessible 
 precipices, being remark- 
 ably active. It is about 
 three feet high and the 
 horns are about two feet 
 long. The fore legs are 
 encircled by a quantity 
 of long hair resembling 
 rufaes." 
 
 Lastly, we have the most 
 curious and in many re- 
 spects the most interest- 
 ing of all the sheep in 
 the so-called musk-ox of 
 the arctic regions. This animal prefers the most barren 
 and desolate parts of this forbidding quarter of the globe, 
 "and is found," quoting Godman, "in the greatest 
 abundance in the rugged and scarcely accessible districts 
 lying nearest the north pole. This species, so far from 
 being condemned to a life of extreme privation and 
 suffering, appears to derive as much enjoyment from 
 existence as those which feed in more luxuriant pastures 
 or bask in the genial rays of a summer sun. 
 
 " In destining the musk-ox to, inhabit the don>ains of 
 frost and storm, nature has paid especial attention to its 
 security against the effects of both; first by covering 
 its body with a coat of long, dense hair, and then by 
 
 Musk-ox. 
 
134 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 the shortness of its limhs avoiding the exposure that 
 would result from a greater elevation of the trunk. 
 The projection of the orbits of the eyes, which is very 
 remarkable in this species, is thought by Parry to be 
 intended to carry the eye clear of the large quantity of 
 hair required to nreserve the warmth of the head. 
 
 " Hearne states that he has seen many herds of musk- 
 oxen in the high northern latitudes during a single day's 
 journey, and some of these herds contain from eighty 
 to a hundred individuals, of which number a very small 
 proportion were bulls, and it was quite uncommon to 
 see more than two or three full-grown males even with 
 the largest herds. The Indians had a notion that the 
 males destroy each other in combating for the females, 
 and this idea is somewhat supported by the warlike dis- 
 position manifested by these animals during their sexual 
 season. The bulls are then so jealous of everything 
 that approaches their favorites that they will not only 
 attack men or quadrupeds, but will run bellowing after 
 ravens or other large birds that venture too near the 
 cows. 
 
 " They are not commonly found at a great distance 
 from the woods, and when they feed on open grounds 
 they prefer the most rocky and precipitous situations. 
 Yet notwithstanding their bulk and apparent unwieldi- 
 ness, they climb among the rocks with all the ease and 
 agility of the goat, to which they are quite equal in Bare- 
 ness of foot. Their favorite food is grass, but when 
 this is not to be had they readily feed upon moss, the 
 tw%s of willow, or tender shoots of pine." 
 
 This was written sixty-odd years ago, and in so far as 
 their numbers are concerned, may possibly not hold 
 good. Like large animals the world over, they are 
 becoming yearly less and less abundant. 
 
 The ox and his near relatives, which collectively, 
 whether wild or domesticated, are kaown a,s cattle, con- 
 
MAMMALS. 135 
 
 elude the series, so imperfectly sketched, of the hoofed 
 animals. Of domestic cattle, or our oxen and cows, 
 yace will not permit more than the briefest notice. 
 Suflfice it to say that the origin of our cattle is not posi- 
 tively known, although a few living representatives of 
 certain wild races practically extinct may be the un- 
 changed descendants of the race from which our cattle 
 have been derived. Long domestication, however, has 
 so changed the animals of to-day that all attempts to 
 trace back to an original form are futile. The ox has 
 been under the complete dominion of man since the 
 earliest times. It probably followed close upon the 
 domestication of the dog, and long before the dawn of 
 history or tradition. 
 
 Of wild cattle the buffalo is one of the most promi- 
 nent and second to none in importance. The name is 
 given to severaL species, some of which are domesticated. 
 The Indian buffalo is larger than "the ox and with 
 stouter limbs, originally from India, but now found m 
 most of the warmer countries of the Eastern Conti- 
 nent. It is less docile than the common ox, and is 
 fond of marshy places and rivers. It is, however, used 
 in tillage, draught, and carriage in India, Italy, etc. 
 The female gives much more milk than the cow, and 
 from the milk the -ghee, or clarified butter, of India is 
 made." 
 
 No one has written more satisfactorily of the African 
 buffaloes than Hon. W. H. Drummond, whom I have 
 so frequently quoted concerning African mammals. He 
 writes: "Only one species of buffalo (Buialus Caffer) 
 is found in the Southern part of Africa (though an- 
 other, differing principally in the shape of its horns, is 
 met with further north), and it appears from the ac- 
 counts of travelers to exist all over that continent. 
 Slight modifications, however, are found in size and in 
 the shape of the horn — ^the few buffaloes tha.t inhabit 
 
136 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 the heavy timber jungles being unusually large, having 
 blacker hair and more widely spread horns. . . . 
 They are not . . . found in any great numbers in 
 the forests, preferring the more open thorns, where bet- 
 ter feeding and equally good shelter is combined; but 
 still they do exist, to a greater or less degree, wherever 
 there is cover for them, and I have come across them in 
 the most unlikely spots, as for instance in the great 
 forest? which cover the top of the Bombo Mountains." 
 To .give the reader an impression of the strength of . 
 this animal, I quote the following from one of Drum- 
 
 Head of Cape Buffalo. 
 
 Head of Indian Buffalo. 
 
 mond's hunting adventures: "The trees were huge 
 thorns, very short and thick-stemmed, and throwing 
 out long bare branches within a foot or two of the 
 ground, which interlaced with those coming from the 
 neighboring trees in such a way as to form in many 
 places an impassable barrier. All these were again 
 bound together by a net- work of tough monkey-rop«s, 
 which twined in and out among them in the direst con- 
 fusion. . . . The buffalo ... had been able 
 to quietly walk through all this, snapping branches and 
 creepers as if so much pach-thread; while it was only in 
 single file and treading where he had trod that we could 
 follow him at all." 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 137 
 
 Drummond further says: " Their habits are in gen- 
 eral much the same as those of other large game. They 
 traze, lie down, and go to water at regular intervals 
 uring the twenty-four hours." 
 
 Other than man, buffaloes have a persistent enemy in 
 the lion, and between the two they are yearly becoming 
 less numerous. 
 
 The body of a buffalo is ox-like in shape but larger, 
 and the head. is surmounted by enormous horns, the 
 shape of .which is 
 shown in the accom- 
 panying illustration. 
 
 The aurochs is a 
 species of wild bull 
 or buffalo once abun- 
 dant, "roaming in 
 herds over many parts 
 of the Continent of 
 Europe, preferring es- 
 pecially the neighbor- 
 hood of large forests. 
 The spread of popula- 
 tion has reduced its 
 numbers, and were it not for the protection afforded by 
 the Emperor of Eussia to a few herds which inhabit the 
 forests of Lithuania it would soon be extinct." 
 
 This animal, now wild to a certain degree, was in 
 
 Erehistoric times domesticated by the ancient Swiss 
 iike-dwellers. It was common then also in a feral 
 state, and is often mentioned by the earliest writers. 
 Caesar described it as common to the Hercynian forest. 
 "When fuU grown it is a gigantic animal, larger than 
 any of our native cattle, of which, however, it is sup- 
 posed by some naturalists to be the original stock. 
 Its immense size may be gathered from the fact that a 
 skuU hi the ■British Museum, found near Athol, in 
 
 Aurochs. 
 
m 
 
 CVCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Perthsh,ire, measures one yard in length, while the 
 span of the horn-cores is three feet six inches." 
 This animal is closely related to our American hison. 
 
 To Americans the bufialo of the West is too well 
 known to need any detailed description, but recent 
 statistics show that it is fast becoming extinct, and un- 
 less an effort is made to protect, in a measure, what few 
 herds remain, they will surely become, and at no dis- 
 tant day, but a memory. It should be stated primarily 
 that the term "bufEalo" is not properly applied to this 
 
 animal, the buffa- 
 loes, as we have 
 seen, being natives 
 of Africa and Asia, 
 and are quite dif- 
 ferent creatures. 
 Our native species 
 is the bison and 
 should always be 
 called so, despite 
 the tyrannical cus- 
 tom to never cor- 
 rect a blunder that 
 American Bison. exposes your igno- 
 
 rance. Ninety- 
 nine-hundredths of the people say "buffalo" because 
 the animal was supposed, when seen first, to be one, 
 and no subsequent assurance that it was something else 
 ever succeeded in doing away with the misleading name. 
 But in this case saying so does not make it so. The 
 ox-like ungulate of our Western wilds is a bison and 
 not a buffalo. 
 
 The great bushy head, the humped shoulders w^th 
 their wealth of woolly hair, the spare hind auart«rs 
 with but scanty covering, are so familiar to every o»« 
 that such details are not necessary to mention. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 139 
 
 The early history of this animal is bf much interest, 
 as.it is quite certain that it once roamed almost or quite 
 to the Atlantic coast. It was in historic times found 
 in the Carolinas, and calves were brought from there by 
 the earliest settlers and attempts made to domesticate 
 them in New Jersey. If o significant success seems to 
 have attended these efforts. 
 
 An interesting variety of the ox tribe is the zebu of 
 India. It differs not only in size, being smaller, from 
 the commoii ox of Europe, but in having a curious 
 fleshy hump upon the 
 back. The tail is con- 
 siderably shorter also. 
 These oxen are often 
 used as beasts of burden, 
 and their flesh is good as 
 food. As in the Ameri- 
 can bison, the fleshy 
 hump is considered a 
 great delicacy. 
 
 " Humped cattle are 
 found in greatest per- 
 fection in India, but they 
 extend eastward to Japan 
 and westward to the African Niger. They differ from the 
 European forms ... in the character of their voice, 
 which has been described as 'grunt-like,' and also in their 
 habits ; ' they seldom,' says Mr. Blyth, ' seek the shade, 
 and never go into the water and there stand knee-deep 
 like the cattle of Europe.' They now exist only in the 
 domesticated state, and appear to have been brought 
 under the dominion of man at a very remote period, all 
 the representations of the ox on such ancient sculptures 
 as those in the caves of Elephanta being of the humped 
 or zebu form. 
 
 " White bulls are held peculiarly sacred by the Hiu- 
 
 Zebu. 
 
140 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA 7 URAL HISTOR Y. 
 
 doos, and when they have been dedicated to Siva by the 
 branding of his image upon them, they are thenceforth 
 relieved from all labor. They go without molestation 
 wherever they choose, and may be seen about Eastern 
 bazaars helping themselves to whatever dainties they 
 prefer from the stalls of J;he faithful." 
 
 In the yak of Thibet and the Himalayan region we 
 have a form of ox that presents a number of most in- 
 teresting feat- 
 ures. It is a 
 comparative- 
 ly small animal,, 
 with smooth 
 and outwardly 
 curved horns, 
 and very notice- 
 able for the ex- 
 cessive growth 
 ■of fine hair 
 which fringes 
 its sides. The 
 tail, too, is a 
 marked feature. 
 It is even more 
 flowing than that of a horse. Add to this a pig-like, 
 grunting voice and you have the famous yak. As wild 
 animals they differ somewhat according to the enviror- 
 ment, for although in one sense having a limited hab! - 
 tat, nevertheless it is one that is far from uniform in 
 its character. 
 
 Yaks are domesticated and found a fairly good plow- 
 beast, but when crossed with other species they improve 
 as domestic animals. 
 
 The tail of the yak has already been mentioned as 
 a prominent feature of the animal. It "is in great 
 request for various ornamental purposes and forms quite 
 
 
 Tak. 
 
MAMMALS. 141 
 
 an important article of commerce. Dyed red it deco- 
 rates the caps of the Chinese, and when properly 
 mounted it is used as a fly-flapper in India under the 
 name of a chowry. Tails are also carried before certain 
 ofBcers of state, their number indicating his rank." 
 
 The reader must not think that anything approaching 
 an exhaustive sketch of hoofed animals has here been 
 given. In every group there are dozens that have not 
 s(j much as been named, but it is hoped that curiosity 
 about them has been so roused that the elaborate ac- 
 counts given by travelers and naturalists will be sought 
 and read with that care and studious attention the 
 eubject so well deserv«6. 
 
CHAPTEE rV. 
 
 BODENTIA, OB GNAWING ANIMALS. 
 
 The order known scientifically as the Eodentia is one, 
 which includes those mammals which are characterized 
 by prominent incisor teeth in the jaws and are without 
 canines, or those prominent teeth characteristic of the 
 Carnivores. 
 
 As a class these gnawers are of small size, live on the 
 land and sometiines in trees, less often are aquatic in 
 their habits. Some of them excavate extensive burrows 
 in the ground, others build substantial houses of wood 
 and earth. 
 
 "The rodents form a very compact order. . . . 
 They include by far the greatest number of species (over 
 900) and have the widest distribution of any of the 
 orders of terrestrial mammals, being in fact cosmo- 
 politan, although more abundant in some pai;ts — as in 
 South America, which may be considered their head- 
 quarters — than in others, as in Australia and Mada- 
 gascar, where representatives of a few genera of one 
 family {Muridce) only are found, thus contrasting re- 
 markably with the Insectivora, which constitute at least 
 half the mammalian fauna of Madagascar, but are 
 without living rej)resentatives in South America." 
 
 The rodents may be considered now in a somewhat 
 systematic method by first briefly mentioning that 
 curious squirrel-like animal, the anomalurus of West 
 Africa. It has the appearance of our common flying- 
 squirrel, but has large scales on the under side of the 
 tail, so arranged as to enable it to climb with the greatest 
 
-\^v*t^T*%^ 
 
 4 '^^ V V 
 
 
 .% ■ y 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 143 
 
 facility, these scales giving it an additional means of 
 holding to the limbs of trees. 
 
 We now come to the familiar squirrel, the family 
 Sciuridse. There is a strong family likeness in this 
 group, which has representatives in Europe, Asia, 
 Africa, and America. Differing to some extent in 
 structure and therefore in habits, they are divided into 
 tree-squirrels and ground- 
 squirrels. Of the true tree- 
 squirrels there are about 
 seventy-five or eighty spe- 
 cies. 
 
 In our own country the 
 gray, black, and fox squir- 
 rels are familiar to most 
 people, and the life-history 
 of the common gr^y spe- 
 cies is well known to ev- 
 ery country boy. 
 
 Webber thus pleasantly 
 writes of this squirrel: 
 "When. I went . . . 
 into the deep wood, I sat 
 down on the moss at the 
 root of an old tree to watch 
 for him. When everything was still again, I would see 
 him after a while poking his nose slyly out of the hole — 
 enuff! snuff! Then out his head would pop to rest his 
 chin upon his fore paws, and he would look all around, 
 above and below, very cunning, to see if it was all 
 right. Then out like a thought he would glide, and I 
 could see his lovely brush quickly curled and spread all 
 so grandly above his head as he sat upon a limb still for 
 a moment. Lo! there is another snuffing nose and then 
 great, shining eyes filling the round, black knot-hole, 
 and out another pops, and then another and another— 
 three of them — ^Eis brother and sistersl 
 
 Common Squirrel. 
 
144 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL BISTORT. 
 
 " Hark! listen! Qua! qua! quagh! That is anotlier 
 one over on another tree. He answers it and then snot 
 a time! Suoh whisking of tails, darting along limbs, 
 and bounding from swinging twig to rustling tree-top 
 until they all meet — two families of them! 
 
 " N"ow the frolic begins in earnest, and round and 
 round the rough trunks, rattling the bark down as they 
 chase each other. ... So they all . . . frolic, 
 chasing one and another, and one would see me and stop 
 and stamp his tiny feet and bark hoarsely at me, jerking 
 his tail in coming wrath." 
 
 Godman opeens his account of the common grej 
 squirrel with the remark that " this species, still exceed- 
 ing common [1843] throughout the tjnited States, was 
 once so excessively multiplied as to be a scourge to the 
 inhabitants, not only consuming their grain, but exhaust- 
 ing their treasury by the amount of premiums given f oi 
 their destruction." 
 
 At present it is doubtful if they are anywhere so 
 abundant as to be a nuisance, at least in the way that 
 Godman mentions. Usually their numbers are only 
 sufl&cient to add a pleasing variety to the woods, and no 
 one would be likely to complain of them did they con- 
 fine themselves to feeding upon the fruit and nuts of 
 forest trees. Unfortunately they are excessively fond 
 of birds' eggs and not infrequently feed upon the newly 
 hatched young. For this grave reason it is not to be 
 regretted that they are found in but comparatively few 
 numbers. Indeed, one wonders if birds could have 
 nested in such locations as they do now when squirrels 
 were a scourge, for the habits of the latter being the 
 same, it would scarcely have been possible for a brood 
 to have reached maturity. 
 
 Those that know the gray squirrel are very likely to 
 be familiar with the smaller and in every way more 
 attractive flying-squirrel, which differs principally in 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 145 
 
 having furry membranes extending from the front to 
 the hind legs, and by means of these it can pass through 
 the air for a long distance, or "fly" as it is generally 
 called. 
 
 There has been a good deal of discussion concerning 
 this so-called flight-power of the squirrel under con- 
 sideration, and many consider it merely' a means of 
 prolonging the progress of a leap by having so broad a 
 surface exposed to the atmosphere, which buoys the ani- 
 mal as a paraehute would ; others consider it more like 
 true flight. As the progress made is downward as well 
 as forward, except at times a slight elevation of the 
 course as the ani- 
 mal nears its resting- 
 place — for it always 
 aims at a particular 
 spot when it leaps — 
 it is probable that a 
 distinction is -prop- 
 erly arawn between 
 its "flight" and that 
 of a bat or bird. 
 
 " The European 
 flying-squirrel is a 
 native of the forests in the cooler parts of Europe and 
 Asia." ^Q our own country this animal thrives admira- 
 bly in very warm climates. " 
 
 ' Godman says of them : " During the daylight the 
 flying-squirrel is rarely to be met witii abroad unless it 
 has been disturbed. "Occasionally large troops are seen 
 together, and their sailing leaps have been said to pre- 
 sent to the inexperienced the appearance of a large 
 number of leaves blown of the trees. Their peculiar 
 construction and habits render them very unfit for 
 living on the ground, and they speedily regain the 
 nearest tree when at any time they fall short of the 
 
 European Mying-Squlrrel. 
 
146 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 object toward wliicli they may have leaped. They 
 always take adrantage of the wind when about to leap 
 to any distance, and then they appear to deserve the 
 name of flying-squirrels from the ease and velocity of 
 their movements. 
 
 " The flying-squirrel makes its nest in hollow trees, 
 where it brings forth three or four young at a litter. It 
 is very easy to ascertain whether this squlrr.el has a nest 
 in any hollow tree by knocking agaiust !;he trunk with 
 a stick or stone. As soon as the jaiim Is felt the ani- 
 mal comes to the opening and endeavor to escape." 
 
 I have not found the closing sen'-.enj3^ of *his quota- 
 tion to hold good, and no amount banging against 
 the tree has induced some of the flymg-squirrels that I 
 have found (by other means) to show themselves. In- 
 deed, when an oak is some two feet in diameter and not 
 hollow to the base, it is a slight thrill indeed that will 
 reach some roomy cavern in the upper branches. 
 
 Godman makes no mention of leaf-nests made and 
 occupied by these squirrels. They seem to be a favorite 
 resort at times, even where hollows in old trees are 
 abundant and to all appearances desirable as quarters; 
 and now, if not true of fifty years ago, they take up 
 their quarters frequently in the attics of farm-houses, 
 and make fully as much noise if they 'do not the 
 damage caused by rats. 
 
 In many localities the equally familiar and more 
 abundant ground-s(juia'rel, or chipmunk, is the only 
 representative of this family. The two species already 
 mentioned need trees, but the chipmunk asks but for a 
 chance to burrow into the ground, and he will provide 
 all that he needs for a comfortable living. StiU, the 
 town suburbs do not show him off to advantage. He is 
 the life of stone walls and worm-fences and at his best 
 when the moss-clad roots of old trees are his home and 
 playground. 
 
MAMMALS. 147 
 
 Webber sketches this pretty creature in tbese words : 
 " There was the saucy chipmunk, with black and white 
 stripes down his brown back ; he was a spry fellow, too, 
 upon the ground, and lived in the prettiest house under 
 an old stump. He would show his striped nose pushing 
 through the long moss hanging over his little hole under 
 the decaying root. How bright his soft, vivid eyes, and 
 aow his long black whiskers tremble as he pricks his 
 short ears to listen! Then quick as lightning he 
 mounts the stump, frisking his pert tail at a great rate; 
 you can see his little white bosom beating fast, like a 
 toy watch in a flurry, as he glances sharply around; 
 then away he darts, pit-a-pat ! leaping on another stump 
 to look again ; now he is satisfied the coast is clear, and 
 with a soft, chirping squeak dives down into the leaves, 
 scratching them aside and pushing under them his in- 
 quisitive nose. Ha! another soft chirp and he darts 
 back upon the stump again, and you can see that his 
 small cheeks are all pufEed out. In a moment one of 
 the acorns he has found is in his paws, and sitting up 
 straight as a little goblin-man, you can soon hear his 
 sharp teeth creak! creak! against the hull." 
 
 Our author here makes indirect mention of the 
 anatomical feature that more particularly distinguishes 
 this species from the true squirrel — the cheek -pouches. 
 They are enormously distensible and so large quantities 
 of food can be carried by these animals in a very con- 
 venient manner. This is the more desirable, as in 
 autumn they store up quantities of food in under- 
 ground magazines and have often to carry it for a con- 
 siderable distance. 
 
 In the North and "West, particularly in the prairie 
 regions, are found animals that bear some resemblaaee 
 to the foregoing. These are the spermophiles, or as 
 known locally, gophers. The most common is the thir- 
 teen-lined species, which lives in underground retreats 
 and is bright, active, and gregarious. 
 
148 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OP NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Id Europe occurs the suslik, not unlike it in some 
 respe> ;ts yet very different in others. " It is found in 
 Bohemia and as far north as Siberia, and has a jjar- 
 ticular taste for ilesh, not sparing even its own species. 
 It is named also the earless marmot." 
 
 The Western prairie-dog is one that while only too 
 well known in certain localities, is seen only in the Bast 
 in zoological gardens or menageries. They are "dogs" 
 only in name, not having any of the features common 
 
 to that family, and 
 are so called because 
 of the resemblance of 
 their voice to that of 
 a puppy or small dog. 
 These "dogs" live 
 in colonies and bur- 
 row the ground until 
 SusUk. it is fairly honey- 
 
 combed, and besides 
 that, heap up mounds of earth about their Subterranean 
 retreats, and upon these they sit and bark for hours. 
 The story of living in common, so far as their houses 
 are concerned, wi^h burrowing owls and rattlesnakes, 
 is now exploded, and the occurrence of such intruders 
 can be readily explained without reference to the mar- 
 velous. 
 
 There are two species of these prairie-dogs, or more 
 properly marmots, found in the West; one frequenting 
 the Eocky Mountain regions, and the other and better 
 known being found in the open prairie regions east- 
 ward of the range of the former. 
 
 In the Eastern States the only marmat is the well- 
 known "woodchuck," or "ground-hog" as it is usu- 
 ally called. 
 
 Godman remarks that the first glance at the ground- 
 hog is sure " to bring to mind the idea of a bear and a 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 149 
 
 rat," and the scientific name has this meaning; but in 
 its nature it is not so much a combiiiation of these two, 
 or any two animals, but a creature of itself, and with 
 peculiarities belonging to no other of the mammals 
 of the same region. 
 
 According to the author just named, "this marmot 
 is the cause of great injury, especially to the farmers 
 engaged in the cultivation of clover, as their numbers 
 become very considerable and the quantity of herbage 
 they consume is really surprising. They are more 
 capable of doing mischief from the circumstance of 
 their extreme vigilance and acute sense of hearing, as 
 well as from the security afforded them by their exten- 
 sive subterranean dwellings. 
 
 " When about to make an inroad upon a clover-field, 
 all the marmots resident in the vicinity quietly and cau- 
 tiously steal toward the spot,- being favored in their march 
 by their gravTbrown] color, which is not easily dis- 
 tinguished. While the main body are actively engaged 
 in cropping the clover-heads and gorging their ample 
 cheek-pouches, one or more individuals remain at some 
 distance in the rear 
 as sentinels. The 
 watchmen sit erect, 
 with their fore paws 
 held close to their 
 breast and their 
 heads slightly in- 
 clined to catch ev- 
 ery sound which may 
 move the air. Their 
 extreme sensibility 
 
 of ear enables fcem to distinguish the approach of an ene- 
 my long before he is sufliciently near to be dangerous, 
 and the instant the sentinel takes alarm he gives a clear, 
 sJirill whistle, which immediately disperses the troop in 
 
 Pralrle-dotr. 
 
xM CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 every direction and they speedily take refuge in their 
 deepest cares. . . . 
 
 " The habitations of marmots are formed by burrow- 
 ing into banks, the sides of hills, or other similar situa- 
 tions, and are generally inclined slightly upward from 
 the mouth, by which the access of water is preyent- 
 ed. . . . 
 
 "At the commencement of cold weather the marmot 
 goes into winter-quarters. Having blocked up the dooi 
 from within, he there remains until the return of the . 
 warm season revives him again to renew his accustomed 
 mode of life." 
 
 The common saying that this animal always appears 
 at the mouth of his burrow on the 2d of February, 
 and if he casts a shadow {i. e., it is clear) then there 
 will be six more weeks of wintry weather, is, collectively 
 and separately considered, a bit of nonsense. The origin 
 of this and other bits of "weather wisdom" isadiflBlcult 
 problem to solve. 
 
 A curious marmot-like animal is the showtJe of the 
 Nesqually Indians. It is about the size of a musk-rat, 
 of a glossy, blackish-brown color. It is a burrower and 
 is furnished with feet and claws admirably adapted for 
 digging. 
 
 John Keast Lord says : " His haunt is usually by 
 the side of a stream where the baiU;t; are sandy and the 
 underbrush grows thickly, his favorite food being fine 
 fibrous roots and the rind of such as are too hard for 
 his teeth. He spends his time in burrowing, not so 
 much for shelter and concealment as to supply himself 
 with roots. He digs with great ease and rapidity, mak- 
 ing a hole large enough for a man's arm to be insert- 
 ed." . . . 
 
 Its voice "is a sharp, ringing whistle ... so 
 piercing and clear that I could not believe it was pro- 
 duced by an animal." 
 
MAMMALS. 151 
 
 Of all the gnawing animals, none are better known, 
 at least by name, than the bearer. This creature may 
 be briefly described as two feet in length, with small 
 fore feet and larger, webbed hind feet; a blunt nose, 
 small ears, and a flat, ovate tail covered with scales on 
 Its upper surface. The fur is soft, deep brown, and so 
 Sne in quality that it is valuable. 
 
 "At one time common in the Northern regions of 
 both hemispheres, but now found in considerafle num- 
 bers only in North America. 
 
 "Its food consists of the bark of trees, leaves, roots, 
 and berries. The favorite haunts of the beavers are 
 rivers and lakes which are bordered by forests. When 
 they find a stream not sufficiently deep for their pur- 
 pose, they throw across it a dam constructed with great 
 ingenuity of wood, stones, and mud. In winter they 
 live in houses which are three to four feet high, are 
 built on the water's edge, and afford them protection 
 from wolves and other wild animals." 
 
 The value of the beaver's fur, particularly in the last 
 century, caused the animal to be persistently trapped by 
 both the Indians and settlers, and as a consequence the 
 animal was soon exterminated except at the most distant 
 and least accessible portions of the country. Cunning 
 as it is, it could not learn effectually to shun the traps 
 and outwit the persecuting hunter ; but a not very dis- 
 tant cousin, the musk-rat, has been more fortunate. Its 
 smaller size has been to its advantage, and the smaller 
 demand for its fur also, but the trapper nevertheless 
 persistently follows it up and millions are yearly^ de- 
 stroyed. In spite of this they are still comparatively 
 abundant in the most thickly settled regions of the 
 country. 
 
 " The musk-rat is the only species of its genus and 
 is peculiar to America, being extensively distributed in 
 suitable localities in the Northern part of the continent. 
 
152 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY.^ 
 
 extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the 
 Eio Grande to the barren grounds bordering the arctic 
 seas. . . . 
 
 "Musk-rats are most active at night, spending the 
 greater part of the day concealed in their burrows dug 
 out of the bank, consisting of a chamber with numer- 
 ous passages, all of which open under the surface of the 
 water." 
 
 Like all rodents they are omaiivorous in their habits, 
 and while the dentition is adapted particularly to cer- 
 tain kinds of vegetable food, they are always eager for 
 flesh as food. The mussels of our rivers are devoured 
 by them by thousands, and innumerable absurd stories 
 are afloat that these moUusks are opened always without 
 injury to the shell. Funnier than this is the assertion 
 that the animal finding a mussel with the soft parts ex- 
 truded, seizes it so quickly that these soft parts are 
 pinched and so become paralyzed, after which the shells 
 are easily parted and the animal extracted. This is all 
 absolutely untrue, and strange to say was not originally 
 offered to the reading public anonymously, as it should 
 have been. 
 
 The family of dormice has no representative in North 
 America. They occur in Europe, Asia, and through- 
 out the greater portion of Africa. A single species is 
 found in Great Britain — the one here figured. The 
 dormouse is "an active little creature, measuring about 
 three inches long, with a thick, bushy tail of nearly 
 similar length. Its posterior legs are slightly larg- 
 er than those in front, and both fore and hind feet 
 form prehensile organs, whereby the dormouse climbs 
 along the twigs of the low bushes among which it lives 
 and in which it builds a neat round nest formed of 
 leaves. It is a shy and timid animal, choosing the 
 recesses of woods for its habitation and seldom showing 
 itself by day; in confinement, however, it is readily 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 153 
 
 Common Dormouse. 
 
 tamed and becomes very familiar. It feeds ... on 
 haaels, and is also partial to berries, baws, and grain. 
 Tbese it eats eitber sitting on its bauncbes or sus- 
 pended by its bind feet and holding tbem bet^reen its 
 fore paws like a squirrel. In autumn it grows yery fat, 
 and lays up a store of food 
 for winter use — retiring at 
 tbe commencement of tbe 
 cold season to its nest and 
 curling itself up into a ball, 
 when it becomes dormant. 
 A warmer day than usual 
 restores it to temporary 
 activity, and tben it sup- 
 plies itself with food from its autumn board, again 
 becoming torpid till tbe advent of spring finally rouses 
 it. Owing to this bibernating babit it is known as 
 tbe sleeper, wbile tbe name dormouse has reference to 
 the same peculiarity." 
 
 A well-known European rodent that approaches the 
 common rat in many ways, but differs in having a short, 
 hairy tail and cheek-pouches, is tbe hamster. It 
 lives in an elaborate burrow, consisting of several com- 
 partments. In one there is a lining of straw, where 
 the animal sleeps; in the others 
 vast quantities of food are stored. 
 " In collecting this store it makes 
 use of its cheek-pouches, which are 
 said to be 'large enough to contain 
 Hamster. a quarter of an English pint, wbile 
 
 the hoard of a single individual 
 will sometimes contain about two bushels of grain. . . . 
 Like many other rodents, the hamster is exceedingly pro- 
 lific, the female producing several broods in the year, each 
 consisting of over a dozen young, and these when not 
 more than three weeks old are turned out of the parental 
 
154 CYCLOPEDIA OP NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 burrow to form underground homes for themselves. The 
 burrow of the young hamster is only about a foot in depth, 
 while that of the adult descends four or five feet be- 
 neath the surface. . . . Although feeding chiefly 
 on roots, fruits, and grain, it is also, to some extent, 
 carnivorous, attacking and feeding upon small quadru- 
 peds, lizards, and birds.. It is exceedingly fierce and 
 pugnacious, the males especially fighting with each 
 other for possession of the females. The numbers of 
 these destructive vermin are kept in check by their many 
 natural enemies, the foxes, dogs, cats, and polecats, 
 which feed upon them. The skin of the hamster is of 
 some value and its flesh is used as food." 
 
 The true mice, of which there are about 150 spe- 
 cies,' which are well represented by the common house- 
 mouse and the brown rat, are collectively a most inter- 
 esting family. As wild animals they " have for the most 
 part very strong resemblances. Nearly all are of very 
 rat-like exterior, of light and active build, with large 
 ears, bright and well-developed eyes, long and scaly 
 tails, and nearly always pi dull and inconspicuous color- 
 ation, as is suitable to their usually burrowing and noc- 
 turnal habits." They are found in nearly every nook 
 and corner of the globe. 
 
 A group of "mice" differing from the above in cer- 
 tain features of dentition and in having hairy tails are 
 the arvicoles, of which the white-footed, or deer-mouse, 
 of this country is a familiar example. (The musk-rat, 
 already considered, really belongs here, and is not so 
 closely allied to the beaver, which in habits and some- 
 what in size it resembles.) 
 
 The white-footed mouse has much in common, so far 
 as its habits are concerned, with the European dor- 
 mouse, but unlike it, does not regularly hibernate. T 
 however, it is cut off from a food-supply in winter, it 
 will sleep for many days without once stirring. In 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 155 
 
 autumn ihsj build nests in bushes or reconstruct an 
 abandoned, bird's nest; usually the latter. 
 
 A remarkable rodent, closely allied to the rat and 
 mouse, is known as the lemming, and its habits hare 
 made it Tery celebrated. " There are several species, 
 varying in size and color according to the regions they 
 inhabit. They are found in Norway, Lapland, Siberia, 
 and the Northern parts of America." Some are as large 
 as a small rat; others as diminutive as a mouse. 
 
 The common European lemming is celebrated from 
 the fact that " certain districts of the cultivated lands 
 of Norway and Sweden, 
 where in ordinary cir- 
 cumstances they are quite 
 unknown, are occasional- 
 ly and at very uncertain 
 intervals, varying from 
 five to twenty or more 
 years, literally overrun 
 by an army of these lit- 
 tle creatures, which stead- 
 ily and slowly advance, 
 always in the same di- 
 rection and regardless of all obstacles, swimming across 
 streams and even lakes of several miles in breadth, 
 and committing considerable devastation on their 
 line of march by the quantity of food they consume. 
 In their turn they are pursued and harassed by crowds 
 of beasts and birds of prey, as bears, wolves, foxes, 
 dogs, wild cats, stoats, weasels, eagles, hawks, and 
 owls, and never spared by man. . . . None ever 
 returns by the course by which they came, and the on- 
 ward march of the survivors never ceases until they 
 reach the sea, into which they plunge, and swimming 
 onward in the same direction as before, perish in the 
 waves." 
 
 Commou lienmung. 
 
156 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The jerboas of Europe, Asia, and Nortlieni Africa 
 and the jumping-mouse of North America have long 
 attracted the attention of those who are given to observ- 
 ing our smaller wild animals. The Egyptian jerboa, 
 which may be taken as a type of this group, is eight 
 inches long, and has a tail that is two inches longer 
 than the body. Its fore legs are but an inch in length; 
 the hind legs half a foot long. " When about to spring 
 it raises its body by means of the hinder extremities, 
 and supports itself at the same time upon its tail, while 
 
 the fore feet are so closely 
 pressed to the breast as to be 
 scarcely visible. ... It 
 then leaps into the air and 
 alights upon its four feet, 
 but instantaneously erecting 
 itself it makes another 
 spring, and so on in such 
 rapid succession as to appear 
 as if rather flying than run- 
 ning. It is a gregarious an- 
 imal, living in considerable 
 colonies in burrows, which 
 it excavates with its nails and teeth in the sandy soil of 
 Egypt and Arabia." 
 
 The American jumping-mouse is a very much smaller 
 animal than the above, and diSers in several important 
 particulars. Dr. Godman writes: "When not in mo- 
 tion the jumping-mouse might be mistaken for the 
 common field-mouse, as its general aspect is very simi- 
 lar. To rectify such an erroneous view it is sufficient 
 that an attempt be made to capture it, when the force 
 and celerity of its leaps soon remove it from danger, 
 and the pursuer is astonished at seeing so small a creat- 
 ure, with very slight apparent effort, eluding his most 
 eager speed by clearing five or six feet of ground at 
 
 Egyptian Jerboa. 
 
MAMMALS. 1{-1 
 
 every spring. When tlie jumping-mouse is pursued by 
 one or two persons and permitted to advance in one 
 direction, its movements resemble those of a bird rather 
 than a quadruped, so high does it leap into the air, so 
 great is the distance it measures at every bound, and so 
 light and quick is its ascent and descent. The jumping- 
 mouse, however, does not exclusively move in this man- 
 ner, but is capable of running on all its feet with con- 
 siderable speed; hence it frequently excites the wonder 
 of the countrj people or gives them much labor in vain 
 when they atrempt to run it down." 
 
 Godman concludes his account as follows : "At the 
 commencement of cool weather, or about the time frost 
 sets in, the jumping-mice go into their winter-quarters, 
 where they remain in a torpid state until the last of 
 May or first of June. They are dug up sometimes 
 during winter from a depth of twenty inches, being 
 curiously disposed in a ball of clay about an inch thick, 
 and so completely coiled into a globular form as to con- 
 ceal the figure of the animal entirely." 
 
 The compiler of this little volume has found several 
 hibernating jumping-mice, but never with clay about 
 them. Indeed, it seems impossible for this creature to 
 make an egg-shell-like case of mud, and curling up in- 
 side of it, close the entrance and then get buried to a 
 depth of twenty inches; nor do the difficulties lessen 
 if the "clay ball" is formed in the ground where 
 found. All the nests found by the writer were made of 
 long, flexible strands of grass, and so neatly interwoven 
 that no trace of an opening could be found. How the 
 animal contrives to accomplish the making of such 
 a snuggery while curled inside of it is a mystery in- 
 deed. It had every appearance of having been formed 
 about the body of the occupant by some skillful weaver. 
 On the other hand, a mass of clay would be very un- 
 comfortable quarters, even if lined with grass, and Dr. 
 
158 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Godman does not say that such clay balls were. In Ifew 
 Jersey iand southward this mouse makes its appearance 
 early in May as a rule. 
 
 The porcupines are rodents that haye a " spiny in- 
 tegument " instead of furry skin. They are terrestrial 
 or arboreal and are found in many parts of the ■world. 
 
 Godman writes : " The American porcupine exhibits 
 none" of the long and large quills which are so con- 
 spicuous and formidable in the European species, and 
 the short spines or prickles which are thickly set over 
 all the superior parts of its body are covered by a long, 
 coarse hair which almost entirely conceals them. These 
 
 spines are not more 
 than two inches and a 
 half in length, yet'form 
 a very efBLcient protec- 
 tion to our animal 
 against every other ene- 
 my but man. Too slow 
 in its movements to es- 
 cape by, flight, on the 
 approach of danger the 
 porcupine places his 
 head between his legs 
 and folds his body into 
 a globular mass, erect- 
 ing his pointed and 
 barbed spines. . . . The porcupine passes a great part 
 of its_ time in sleep^ and appears to be a solitary and 
 sluggish animal, very seldom leaving its haunts excejpt 
 in search of food, and then going but to a short dis- 
 tance. The bark and buds of trees, such as the willow, 
 piae, ash, etc., constitute its food during the winter 
 season; in summer various wild fruits are also eaten 
 by this animal." 
 
 In South America there is found a group of littlo 
 
 ChlncMUa. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 159 
 
 rodents which are known to the world principally from 
 the fact that their fur is valuable. Their name, chin- 
 chilla, is applied to each of the three species, although 
 these differ among themselves quite a good deal. 
 
 The chinchilla has a squirrel's body and a rabbit's 
 head. The fur is a peculiar gray with a slightly bluish 
 tint. It is terrestrial, living in burrows, and feeds 
 either at dawn or near the close of day. It is gre- 
 garious. 
 
 In South America and the West Indies there is found 
 a number of species of rodents that have a general ap- 
 pearance suggestive of at least a hybrid of a rabbit and 
 a pig. 
 
 Prominent among these are the agoutis. The one 
 here figured is the most common species, and is also 
 known as the yellow- 
 rumped cavy. This 
 animal is as large as 
 our common wild 
 rabbit. 
 
 Quick-motioned, a 
 vegetable f eeder,noc- 
 tuinal, and not a 
 burrower, but a trog- 
 lodyte rather, we 
 ' ha,ve in these few words about all that is known or is to be 
 said of its habits. It is said to do • ' much injury to the 
 sugar-cane, is as voracious as a pig, and makes a similar 
 grunting noise. It holds its food in its fore paws like a 
 squirrel. When scared or angry its hair is erect and it 
 strikes the ground with its hind feet. Its flesh is white 
 and well tasted." 
 
 Im Thum, speaking of the mammals of Guiana, 
 says of another of these peculiar rodents allied to the 
 foregoing : " The labba (common paca), an animal like 
 a large guinea-pig, with brown skin spotted with white, 
 
 Agouti. 
 
160 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Common Paca. 
 
 is distributed throughout the country on the banks of 
 rivers. Its flesh is more esteemed than that of any 
 other animal, not only by Indians, but also by the 
 colonists. Indeed, the latter have a proTerb that 'the 
 
 man who has eaten labba 
 and drunk creek- water will 
 never die out of the colo- 
 ny.^ The labba lives dur- 
 ing the day chiefly in hol- 
 low fallen trees, and goes 
 out to forage at night." 
 
 It has been stated to 
 burpow " like a rabbit, but 
 not so deeply, its burrow 
 being always provided with three openings." It would 
 appear that if both statements are correct its habits vary 
 in the different localities in which it is found. This 
 is no uncommon feature with almost all animals. The 
 common impression that the habits of any animal are 
 the same wherever it may be has led to no end of con- 
 fusion. 
 
 Probably every one has seen the guinea-pigs which are 
 now so common as pets, although more thoroughly uniur 
 teresting, stale, flat, 
 and unprofitable 
 creatures can hardly 
 be imagined. It is 
 well said that " the 
 name guinea-pig is a 
 sad misnomer, as the 
 animal has nothing 
 to do with Guinea, 
 and of course is not 
 related to the pig," 
 pig if it was, 
 
 Guinea-pig. 
 
 and it would be no honor to the 
 Outnea is probably derived from Guiana, 
 and pig mk;i have been suggested by the absence of a 
 tail. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 161 
 
 "It is," according to the " Encyclopedia Britannica/' 
 "a singularly inoffensive and defenseless creature, of a 
 restless disposition and greatly wanting in that intelli- 
 gence which usually characterizes domestic pets, although 
 it is said to show some discrimination." 
 
 Belonging to this group of cavies, of which the 
 guinea-pig is an exanxple, are the Patagonian, which is 
 larger than a hare; the restless, of Uruguay and Brazil; 
 the Bolivian, found high up in the mountains; the rock 
 cavy of Brazil, which is prized as food by the Indians; 
 and the Southern, 
 found on the coast 
 of Patagonia, where 
 it forms deep bar- 
 rows and is said to 
 climb trees. 
 
 Akin to the ca- 
 vies is the capyba- 
 ra. Im Thurn says 
 of this animal: 
 "The water-haas, 
 or capybara, is a 
 much larger ani- 
 mal fthan the paca], which, like the labba, resembles 
 " gumea-pig in shape, but is much larger even than 
 
 Capytara. 
 
 the labba. It lives among the roots of trees in the 
 mud at the river-side. It is a good swimmer, and it 
 may not seldom be seen in the water. The skin of 
 this animal seems to be especially adapted only for 
 frequent immersion in water, for if exposed only for 
 a short time to the sun the outer skin {epidermis), 
 with the coarse, scanty hair, peels off in sheets, leaving 
 the true skin (corium) exposed. . . . These ani- 
 mals, common as they are, are of retiring habits; and 
 the traveler, until he learns their ways and knows how 
 to find them, may go for many days without seeing « 
 single individual of any kind." 
 
162 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 It i? stated to feed " on vegetables and fish, swimming 
 after and seizing the latter like an otter. It is more 
 than three feet in length, tailless, with a large hea.d, 
 thipk, divided nose; the body, which is so thick that 
 vthe belly nearly touches the ground, is covered with 
 coa,rse, brown hair, and it has short legs and long feet, 
 which, instead of being cloven, are almost webbed. It is 
 easily tamed and its flesh is esteemed." 
 
 The list of rodents will conclude with a brief notice 
 of the hares and rabbits. In the United States there 
 
 are several species of 
 native hares, but they 
 are always, or nearly 
 always, called ". rab- 
 bits." The domesti- 
 cated rabbits, of which 
 there is bo large a va- 
 riety, are not native to 
 America. 
 
 In Europe the com- 
 mon hare is very abun- 
 dant, and in the Northern portion of the continent is 
 found, replacing the former, the varying, or mountain 
 hare. It becomes of a pure white color in winter. The 
 fur is not of much value, but the flesh is valuable as 
 food. 
 
 The common gray rabbit of the Eastern United 
 States and the marsh-rabbit of the Southern States are 
 well kn,own and do not need any extended description 
 of appearance or habits. 
 
 Although so timid and dependent upon speed entirely 
 for defense from many enemies, our little gray rabbit 
 has been wonderfully successful in holding its own even 
 in the most thickly settled regions. 
 
 Says Godman: "During the day-time the hare [our 
 common gray rabbit] remains crouched within its form, 
 
 Hare. 
 
MAMMALS. 163 
 
 trhich is a mere space of the size of the animal upon 
 the surface of the ground cleared of grass and sheltered 
 by some overarching plant, or else its habitation is in 
 the hollowed trunk of a tree or under a collection of 
 itones. . . . The best time for studying the habits 
 of the animal is during moonlight nights, when the 
 hare is to be seen sporting with its companions in un- 
 restrained gambols, frisking with delighted eagerness 
 around its mate, or busily engaged in cropping its 
 food. . . . 
 
 " The American hare never burrows in the ground 
 like the common European rabbit. . . . When 
 confined in a yard our animal has been known to 
 attempt an escape by scratching a hole in the earth near 
 the fence or wall, but there are few wild animals, what- 
 ever may be their characters, that will not do the same 
 under similar circumstances, though in their natural 
 condition they may never attempt to burrow. Such is 
 the fact in relation to the American hare, which never 
 burrows while it is a free tenant of the fields and woods. 
 It has been said that this animal also occasionally 
 ascends trees, which must be understood solely of its 
 going up within the trunks of hollow trees, which it 
 effects by pressing with its back and feet against oppo- 
 site sides of the hollow, ascending somewhat in the 
 same manner that a sweep climbs a chimney." 
 
CHAPTEE V. 
 
 CHIEOPTEKA, OB BATS. 
 
 This order of animals is one of such marked peculiar- 
 ities that they can never be mistaken for mammals of 
 other orders. It is not surprising that people should 
 mistake a shrew for a mouse, but no one can doubt the 
 identity of a bat. 
 
 The bats, then, are " volant mammals, having their 
 fore limbs specially modified for flight. ... So 
 well has this adaptation (to flight) been carried out 
 that of all animals the bats are the least terrestrial, not 
 one of them being equally well fitted, as most birds and 
 insects are, for progression on the earth." 
 
 Bats are naturally divided into two great groups: the 
 frugivorous, or fruit-eating bats, and the insect-eaters. 
 Thus in Africa there are enormous bats that live upon 
 figs, and in Asia are found " flying-foxes," One of these, 
 inhabiting Java, "measures five feet across the fully 
 extended wings, and is the largest known species of the 
 order." 
 
 While rather forbidding in appearance, these animals 
 are eaten by man when once the natural repugnance, 
 through familiarity, wears away. "Wallace writes thus 
 of the descendants of certain European settlers in the 
 Malay Archipelago: " They are almost the only people 
 in the archipelago who eat the great fruit-eating bats, 
 called by us ' flying-foxes.' These ugly creatures are 
 considered a great delicacy and are much sought after. 
 At about the beginning of the 3'^ear they come in large 
 flocks to eat fruit, and congregate during the day oa 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 166 
 
 some small islands in tlie bay, hanging by thousands on 
 the trees, especially on dead ones. They can then be 
 easily caught or knocked down with sticks, and are 
 brought home by basketfuls. They require to be care- 
 fully prepared, as the skin and fur has a rank and power- 
 ful loxy odor; but they are generally cooked with abun- 
 dance of spices and condiments and are really very good 
 eating, something like hare." 
 
 The insect-eating bats are divided into several families, 
 B& the Vespeetilionid^, in which are found the 
 several species of 
 the United States, 
 and three or four 
 others, which in- 
 clude the horrid 
 creatures that in- 
 fest principally the 
 tropical regions of 
 the earth. 
 
 The horseshoe 
 bats may be brief- 
 ly mentioned as an 
 example of these 
 carnivorous spe- 
 cies. The common 
 
 name is derived from " a nasal cutaneous appendage, 
 bearing a fancied resemblance to a horseshoe. Its use 
 is uncertain; some believe it merely serves for closing 
 the nostrils." 
 
 This family is the "most highly organized of the 
 insectivorous bats. In them the osseus and cutaneous 
 systems reach the most perfect development. Com- 
 pared with theirs, the bones of the extremities and the 
 volar membranes of other bats appear coarsely formed, 
 and even their teeth seem less perfectly fitted to crush 
 the hard bodies of insects. The very complicated 
 
 Greater Horseshoe Bat. 
 
166 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 nasal appendages, which evidently act as delicate organs 
 of special perception, here reach their highest deyelop- 
 ment." 
 
 The family of bats known as the phyllostonndae in- 
 cludes many large and very Toracious species, and as they 
 appear designed " to live on blood alone,^' many strange 
 tales have been related concerning them. Indeed, the 
 very name of vampire, which is applied to one well- 
 known species of this grouj), suggests at once all that is 
 dark, direful, and uncanny in the animal kingdom. 
 
 The truth is, however, here, as usual, the devil has 
 been painted a good deal blacker than he really is. It 
 
 has been stated that the 
 vampire is wholly fru- 
 givorous, but this is un- 
 questionably an error. 
 Bates writes as follows 
 of this bat and others 
 of allied genera: "The 
 first few nights I was 
 much troubled by bats. 
 The room where I slept 
 had not been used for 
 many months, and the 
 roof was open to the tiles and rafters. The first night 
 I slept soundly and did not perceive anything unu- 
 sual, but on the next I was aroused about midnight 
 by the rushing noise made by vast hosts of bats sweep- 
 ing about the room. The air was alive with them; 
 they had put out the lamp, and when 1 relighted it 
 the place appeared blackened with the impish multi- 
 tudes that were whirling round and round. After I had 
 laid about well with a stick for a few minutes they dis- 
 appeared among the tiles, but when all was still again 
 they returned and once more extinguished the light. 
 I took no further notice of them and went to sleep, 
 
 Vampire-bat. 
 
MAMMALS. 167 
 
 The next night several got into my hammock; I seized 
 them as they ware crawling over me and dashed them 
 against the wall. The next morning I found a wound, 
 evidently caused by a bat, on my hip. This was rather 
 unpleasant, so I set to work with the negroes and tried 
 to exterminate them. I shot a great many as they hung 
 from the rafters, and the negroes, having mounted with 
 ladders to the roof outside, routed out from beneath 
 the eaves many hundreds of them, including young 
 broods. There were altogether four species, two be- 
 longing to the genus dysopes, one to phyllostoma, and 
 the fourth to glossophaga. By far the greater number 
 belonged to the dysopes perotis, a species having very 
 large ears and measuring two feet from tip to tip of 
 the wings. The phyllostoma was a small kind, of a 
 drak gray color streaked with white down. the back, 
 and having a leaf -shaped fleshy expansion on the tip of 
 the nose. 
 
 " I was never attacked by bats except on this occasion. 
 The fact of their sucking the blood of persons sleep- 
 ing, from wounds which they make in the toes, is now 
 well established; but it is only a few persons who are 
 subject to this blood-letting. According to the negroes, 
 the phyllostoma is the only kind which attacks man. 
 Those which I caught crawling over me were dysopes, 
 and I am inclined to think many difEerent kinds of bat 
 have this propensity." 
 
 In the United States there are sixteen or eighteen 
 species of bats, most of which belong to one fam- 
 ily. The two little bats which one most commonly 
 sees during a summer evening are the red and brown 
 species.' They are innocent, busy insect-hunters and 
 nothing more. The outcry usually made that they will 
 bite, even if unmolested, and that they are covered 
 with bed-bugs are both silly stories that should be 
 heard no longer; but so long as the study of Natural 
 
168 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 History is discountenanced in public schools and a false 
 view of it is continued in schools of another sort, so . 
 long mil absurd notions be common among the ma- 
 jority. It is true a bat will bite if teased. Fool if it 
 did not. So would the reader, unless other method of 
 defense came handier; but this does not argue that bats 
 are dangerous when they enter a room. It is a com- 
 mon impression, too, that they will dive into the hair 
 of a bushy-topped individual and hold on for dear life. 
 Are the bats in such cases attracted by the insects? 
 Let US hope not — but it is not true. If bats are let 
 alone they will leave the room without molesting any 
 one, and to kill them is senseless cruelty. 
 
 Beyond the fact that bats are quite sensitive to cold, 
 and in the temperate regions also sensitive to extreme 
 heat, little is known of their habits. Certain species 
 migrate, it is said, with something like the regularity of 
 birds. 
 
 Godman gives a good summary of the ordinary 
 habits of our common species. He writes: "When 
 the gray and dusky twilight succeeds the departing 
 glories of the sun, myriads of insects, warmed into life 
 and activity by his heat, take wing in search of their 
 females to increase the innumerable hosts of their own 
 race. At the same moment the bats, which have 
 shrouded themselves during the glare of daylight, 
 emerging from subterranean recesses or the gloomy 
 vaults of time-worn ruins, speed with rapid flight along, 
 glutting a voracious appetite on insects which, but for 
 their exertions conjoined with those of other creatures, 
 would soon swarm so profusely as to render the earth 
 loathsome or uninhabitable. 
 
 "The advantages of the bat's peculiar structure are 
 now seen. His soft and velvet wings, though plied with 
 vigorous celerity, stir the air but make no sound; their 
 peculiarly delicate sensibility enables him to feel the 
 
MAMMALS. 169 
 
 proximity of every object and unerringly directs his 
 Sight; his large ears catch every hum produced by the 
 motions of his destined prey, and he noiselessly flits 
 through the gloom, gathering a plenteous meal and de- 
 stroying great numbers of insects. His strong, sharp 
 teeth and powerful jaws are employed in seizing and 
 crushing his prey with slight effort, nor does he relin- 
 quish the chase until the night is far advanced and the 
 Cravings of hunger are entirely satisfied." 
 
 "The bat flies with a tremulous, flickering move- 
 ment of its membranous wings, and its progression is 
 irregular, now rising with swiftness, then suddenly 
 darting downward or to one side with apparent capri- 
 ciousness, though it is engaged in seizing its prey, 
 which it distinguishes with great quickness." . . . 
 
 "The bat is entitled to the place it holds in our sys- 
 tematic arrangement [of the classes of animals] from 
 the circumstance of having paps, or teats, placed on 
 the chest, analogous to those of the human race. , They 
 suckle their young, who remain firmly attached to the 
 teat during the flight of the parent until they attain a 
 considerable size." 
 
 "Immediately preceding thunder-storms bats have 
 been known to take shelter in dwelling-houses in great 
 numbers. No less than thirty were recently captured in 
 the house of a friend, where they had thus entered for 
 refuge against an approaching gust." 
 
 From the attic of the compiler's home a bat was once 
 seen to issue at the peak of the roof, and then another and 
 another, until 101 were counted. The following morn- 
 ing their quarters were looked for, and a vast number 
 were found clinging to the rafters. They did not ap- 
 pear to be asleep, but squeaked continually. As a 
 family of flying-squirrels were known to be very near 
 by, it was wondered if there ever happened any clashing 
 of interests, but this could not be determined. The 
 
170 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 second morning following their discovery none was 
 seen suspended to tlie rafters, but they were heard, and 
 supposed to be between the slates and 'old shingles 
 that formed the original roof. 
 
 " The singular structure and habits of the bat have 
 long since £fflorded the poets an emblem of darkness 
 and terror, and induced them to consecrate this creat- 
 ure to Proserpine, their Queen of Hades, -^sop, with 
 his usual shrewdness of observation, has turned the bat 
 to good account in his fable of the war between the 
 birds and beasts, in which he severely reproves those 
 who in important affairs are disposed to belong to no 
 party. He represents the bat as unwilling to declare 
 for either host, but to hover between both during the 
 fight, in consequence of which it was no longer con- 
 sidered either as bird or beast, and was obliged to avoid 
 appearing abroad until other animals had gone to re- 
 pose." 
 
■I 
 
 ^ w>i\'' 
 
 
 
 
 '.J. 
 
 
 
 • V -■ 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 IKSECTIVOKA, OE IN'SECT-EATIKG MAMMALS. 
 
 The Insectivores are small mammals found in both 
 hemispheres in temperate and tropical regions. In 
 their structure and habits there exists considerable 
 diyersity, and they are found to be not only dwellers 
 upon the ground, but in it; others are aquatic, some 
 arboreal, and one a volant creature. 
 
 They are distinguished from other mammals of often 
 C[uite similar outward aspect by their dentition, which 
 is characterized by having " more than two incisors in 
 the mandible, and with enamel-coated molars having 
 tuberculated crowns and well developed roots." 
 
 This class has been separated into ten families, of 
 which two are well known to this country, the shrews 
 and moles. 
 
 These ten families are the Galeopathecid^; the 
 TuPAiiD^, or squirrel-like Insectivores; the Maceos- 
 CELiDiE, or leaping Insectivores; the Eeinaceibje, or 
 hedgehogs; the Soeicid^, or shrews; the TALPiDiE, 
 or moles; the Potamogalid^, or otter-like Insectivores; 
 the SoLEiiTODON'TiD^, Or soledons; the OEifTETiD^, and 
 the Cheysochloeid^. 
 
 There are now known over 300 species of Insectivores, 
 of which about one-half belong to the shrew family. 
 
 The galeopithecus is the single flying species of the 
 group. It is found " in the forests- of the Malay Penin- 
 sula, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Philippine Islands, 
 where they feed chiefly on the leaves of trees and prob- 
 ably also on insects. Their habits are nocturnal, and 
 
173 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OP NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 during the day-time they cling to the trunks or limbs 
 of trees head downward in a state of repose: With the 
 approach of night their season of actiyity commences, 
 when they may be occasionally seen gliding from tree 
 to tree supported on their cutaneous parachute, and 
 they have been noticed as capable of trayersing in this 
 way a space of seventy yards with a descent of only 
 about one in five." 
 
 Professor Moseley mentions them as found in the Phil- 
 ippines, saying: " Some few trees were standing isolated, 
 
 not having been as yet 
 felled in the clearing. 
 On one of these, after 
 much search, a kaguan 
 {galeopithecus) was seen 
 hanging to the shady 
 side of the tall trunk. 
 It was an object very 
 easily seen, much more 
 so than I had expected. 
 It moved up the tree 
 with a shambling, jerky 
 gait, hitching itself up 
 apparently by a series of 
 short springs. It did not seem disposed to take a flying 
 leap, so I shot it. It was a female with a young one 
 clinging to the breast. It was in a tree at least forty 
 yards distant from any other, and must have flown that 
 length to reach it. 1 understood from my guide that 
 numbers of the animals were caught when trees were 
 cut down in clearing." 
 
 The TuPAiiDJE are all "arboreal, resembling squirrels 
 closely both in habit's and external form. . . . Tu- 
 paia, with nine species, is found in India, Burmah, the 
 Malay Peninsula, Nicobars, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. 
 The species closely resemble one another, differing 
 
 Galeopithecus Tolans. 
 
MAMMALS. 173 
 
 chiefly in size and in the color and length of the fur. 
 Nearly all have long, bushy tails, which still further 
 increase their resemblance to squirrels. Their food 
 consists of insects and fruit, which the;^ usually seek 
 for in the trees, but also occasionally on the ground. 
 When feeding they often sit on their haunches, holding 
 the food, after the manner of squirrels, between their 
 fore paws." 
 
 There is found in Borneo a species called Ptilocercus, 
 which has a remarkably long tail which ic ^airless for 
 two-thirds its length and the terminal third is orna- 
 mented "with a double fringe of long hairs." 
 
 The family Maceoscelides is coniined to Africa, 
 where there are found ten species. As already men- 
 tioned, these mouse-like creatures are great leapers and 
 in a measure take the place of our jumping-mice. 
 
 The family Ekin aceid^ is that which ■ contains the 
 well-known European hedgehog, which well represents 
 the family. Besides hedgehogs proper, of which there 
 are about twenty species, there are two found in the 
 Malay and Indian Archipelagoes called GymnuriruB. 
 Little is known of their habits. 
 
 The true hedgehogs are readily recognized by their 
 "armature of spines which invests the upper surface 
 and sides of the body, and all possess the power of 
 rolling themselves up into the form of a ball protected 
 on all sides by strong spines.-" 
 
 Of the common hedgehog of Europe Gilbert "White, 
 of Selborne, writes as follows: " They abound* in my 
 gardens and fields. The manner in which they eat the 
 roots of the plantain in my grass-walks is very curious; 
 with their upper mandible, which is much longer than 
 their lower, they bore under the plant and so eat the 
 root off upward, leaving the tuft of leaves untouched. 
 In this respect they are serviceable, as they destroy a 
 very troublesome weed, but they deface the walks iu 
 
174 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATUJiAL HISTORY. 
 
 some measure by digging little round holes. It appears 
 by the dung that they drop upon the turf that beetles 
 are no inconsiderable part of their food. In June last 
 I procured a litter of four or five young hedgehogs 
 which appeared to be about five or six days old. They, 
 I find, like 'puppies, are bom blind, and could not see 
 when they came to my hands. No doubt their spines 
 are soft and fiexible at the time of their birth, or else 
 the poor dam would have but a bad time of it in the 
 critical moment of parturition; but it is plain they soon 
 
 harden, for these lit- 
 tle pigs had such 
 stiff prickles on their 
 backs and sides as 
 would easily have 
 fetched blood had 
 they not been han- 
 dled with caution. 
 Their spines are 
 quite white at this 
 age, and they have 
 little, hanging ears which I do not remember to be discern- 
 ible in the old ones. They can in part, at this age, draw 
 their skin down' over their faces, but are not able to con- 
 tract themselves into a ball as they do for the sake of de- 
 fense when full grown. The reason, I suppose, is because 
 the curious muscle that enables the creature to roll it- 
 self up in a ball was not then arrived at its full tone 
 and firmness. Hedgehogs make a deep and warm 
 hybernaculum with leaves and moss, in which they con- 
 ceal themselves for the winter, but I never could find 
 that they stored in any winter provision as some quad- 
 rupeds certainly do." 
 
 The family Soricid^, or shrews, next command 
 attention. In this group, " which includes the greater 
 part of the order, the feet are all formed for progres- 
 
 535s?n 
 
 Hedgehog. 
 
MAMMALS. 175 
 
 Bion; that is to say, the anterior members are never 
 converted into organs appropriated for digging. The 
 eyes are always perfect and readily distinguishable, and 
 the external ears, though small, are always present. 
 . . . They all . . . agree in living either on 
 the surface of the ground or upon trees, and never in a 
 complicated system of burrows such as that of the 
 moles; their jaws are always more or less elongated, and 
 the nose is usually prolonged into a movable snout. The 
 SoEiCiD^ are found in all parts of the world; they are 
 of small size, and their nourishment consists principally 
 of insects, although 
 some species feed also 
 on vegetable matters." 
 
 The common shrew 
 of Europe, or shrew- 
 mouse as it is often 
 called, " is well known 
 and generally distrib- 
 uted; it inhabits dry Common Shrew-mouse, 
 places, where it grubs 
 
 about among the herbage with its pointed snout in search 
 of insects and worms on which it feeds. It is a pugna- 
 cious little creature, and like the moles, if two of them are 
 put together they always fight until the wea;ker is killed 
 and devoured by his companion. It is remarkable that in 
 the autumn great numbers of these animals are to be 
 seen lying dead in their haunts without any apparent 
 injury; the cause of this mortality has not been ascer- 
 tamed." (Orr's " Circle of the Sciences.") 
 
 There is another British species known as the water- 
 shrew, and as might be inferred from the name, lives 
 on the banks of streams and swims with great ease. 
 
 The following from White's " Selborne " refers to a 
 curious superstition and custom: "At the fourth comer 
 of the Plestor, or area, near the church, there stood. 
 
176 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 about twenty years ago, a very old grotesque hollow 
 pollard-ash, which for ages had been looked upon with 
 no small Teneration as a shrew-ash. Now, a shrew-ash 
 is an ash whose twigs or branches, when gently applied 
 to the limbs of cattle, will immediately relieve the pains 
 which a beast sufEets from the running of a shrew- 
 mouse over the part affected; for it is supposed that a 
 shrew-mouse is of so baleful and deleterious a nature 
 that wherever it creeps over a beast, be it horse, cow, or 
 sheep, the suffering animal is afflicted with cruel anguish 
 and threatened with the loss of the use of the limb. 
 Against this accident, to which they were continually 
 liable, our provident forefathers always kept a shrew-ash 
 at hand, which, when once medicated, would maintain 
 its virtue forever. A shrew-ash was thus made : Into the 
 body of the tree a deep hole was bored with an auger, and 
 a poor, devoted shrew-mouse was thrust in alive, and 
 plugged in, no doubt, with several quaint incantations 
 long since forgotten." 
 
 While we have in the United States both shrews and 
 ash trees in abundance, the practice does not seem to 
 have been ' introduced into this country by the early 
 English settlers. 
 
 The number of shrews found in North America is 
 considerable, but just how many species there are is still 
 in doubt. 
 
 In the Eastern and Middle States the common 
 mole-shrew {Blarina brevicanda) is probably that 
 which is most frequently met with, yet it is not an 
 animal that you are at all sure to find merely because 
 you look for it. They squat in all sorts of unlikely 
 places, and are passed by quite unsuspected unless ac- 
 cidentally stumbled upon. Then, too, they are noc- 
 turnal, and take their outings when people are or are sup- 
 posed to be abed. Quick seD/?e of hearing, small size, a life 
 under cover of dead leaved, if not of earth, all cowbiuQ 
 
MAMMALS. 177 
 
 to make the shrew a stranger to most people, and the 
 general mouse-like appearance also gives one the im- 
 pression that that animal is seen when chance causes a 
 shrew to cross one's path. Unlike some of our mam- 
 mals, they lare not affected by winter, and often from 
 their underground retreats worm their way through a 
 foot of snow and scamper about on the surface. 
 
 The moles, or Talpidje, so far as this country is 
 concerned, are too well known to need any particular 
 description. As Godman says, it, " when at rest, bears 
 more resemblance to a small stuffed sack than to a liv- 
 ing animal, its head being entirely destitute of external 
 ears and elongated nearly to a point, and its eyes so ex- 
 tremely small and completely hidden by the fur that it 
 would not be surprising should a casual observer con- 
 clude this creature to be blind. But we must be con- 
 tinually guarded against hasty conclusions or idle con- 
 jectures drawn from slight observations. This apparently 
 shapeless mass is endowed with great activity and a surpris- 
 ing degree of strength, and is excellently suited for 
 deriving enjoyment from the peculiar life it is designed 
 to lead. . . . 
 
 " The shrew-mole burrows with great quickness, and 
 travels under ground with much celerity; nothing can 
 be better constructed for this purpose than its broad 
 and strong hands, or fore paws, armed with long and 
 powerful claws, which are very sharp at their > extremi- 
 ties and slightly curved on the inside. 
 
 " The favorite food of the shrew-mole is the earth- 
 worm; grubs and insects of various kinds he destroys in 
 great quantities, and it may be fairly questioned whether 
 thegood done in this way does not more than overbal- 
 ance any evil attendant on his presence." 
 
 Another species, which is less seldom seen and to 
 many quite unknown, is the star-nosed mole. It "fi'e- 
 quents the banks of riTulets and the soft soil of adjacent 
 
178 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 meadows, where their burrows are most numerous and 
 apparently interminable. ... 
 
 "The star-nosed mole is about four -inches in length 
 and of a blacking-gray color, its pelage being short 
 and very fine. Its head ' is much elongated and the 
 snout is distinguished by a remarkable disk, or naked 
 cartilaginous fringe, which surrounds the nostrils. 
 This disk has about twenty points or rays, the two 
 superior and four inferior intermediate of which are 
 united at their bases, and are situated on a plane slightly 
 in advance of the others; the surface of these fringes is 
 granalated and somewhat of a rose color." 
 
 Unlike the shrew-mole, the star-nosed species is fond 
 
 of water and swims 
 and dives with al- 
 most the ease of a 
 musk-rat. 
 
 The POTAMOGA- 
 
 LiD^ are aquatic 
 Insectivores and 
 confined to Africa 
 Affouta. and Madagascar. 
 
 The potamogale ve- 
 lox is a " most interesting species, inhabiting the banks 
 of streams in "West Equatorial Africa, and its whole 
 structure indicates an aquatic life. It is nearly two 
 feet in length, the tail measuring about half." 
 
 The SOLENODONTiDiE is a curious group of Insecti- 
 vores, found only in the islands of Ha^i and Cuba, and 
 there are but two species. 
 
 The agouta is found in Hayti, and but little appears to 
 be known of its habits. " It has the tail devoid of hair 
 and covered with scales, the eyes small, and an elon- 
 gated nose like the shrew's. All the feet terminate in 
 five toes, and the long claws are curved and evidently 
 adapted for scraping in the earth. The dentition is 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 179 
 
 unique, the grooving of the second incisor of the lower 
 jaw distinguishing this genus from all others whose 
 dental system is known. It is of the size of a rat." 
 
 The Centetid^ is another peculiar group, which 
 contains hut one species, the well known tailless ground- 
 hog of Madagascar. It attains a length of from twelve 
 to sixteen inches and is 
 the largest known Insecti- 
 vore. . ... It is prob- 
 ably the most prolific of 
 all mammals; as many as 
 twenty-one young are said 
 to have been brought forth 
 at a birth." 
 
 The tenrec is nocturnal 
 in its habits; lives in bur- 
 rows and feeds, as might be expected, upon animal 
 food, wopms, insects, land-shells, and even reptiles. 
 Although it has a strong smell of musk, it is eaten by 
 the natives of Madagascar. 
 
 The last group to be mentioned is the Chetso- 
 CHLOEID^, which is one closely allied to the pre- 
 ceding. "All the species are fossorial and restricted 
 to South Africa. . . . Nearly all the species have 
 the fur of the upper surface of a brilliant metallic lus- 
 ter, varying from golden bronze to green and violet 
 of different shades." 
 
 
 Tenrec. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CBTAOEA, OK WHALES. 
 
 The whales are so charaeterigtioally marked that they 
 cannot be confounded with any other group of mam- 
 mals. In general appearance they are like fishes, and 
 like these, swim by means of a fin-like modification' of 
 the tail, "which is provided with a pair of lateral, 
 pointed expansions of skin supported by a dense fibrous 
 tissue, called flukes, forming together a horizontally 
 placed triangular propelling organ, notched in the mid- 
 dle line behind." 
 
 "The animals of the order Cetacea abound in all 
 known seas, and some species are inhabitants of the 
 larger rivers of South America and Asia. Their or- 
 ganization necessitates their passing their life entirely in 
 the water, as on land they are absolutely helpless. 
 They have, however, to rise very frequently to the sur- 
 face for the purpose of respiration, and in relation to 
 the constant upward and downward movement in the 
 water thus necessitated, their principal instrument of 
 motion, the tail, is horizontally expanded, quite unlike 
 that of a fish, whose movements are mainly in straight- 
 forward or lateral directions. . . . 
 
 "All the Oetacea are predacious, subsisting on living 
 animal food of some kind. One genus al^ne (orca) 
 eats other warm-blooded animals, as seals, and even 
 members of its own order, both large and small. Many 
 feed on fish, others on small floating crustaceans, petro- 
 pods, and medussB, while the principal staple of the food 
 of many is constituted by various species of cephalopoda 
 
MAMMALS. 181 
 
 . . . whicli must abound in some seas in vast num- 
 bers, as they form almost the entire support of some of 
 the largest members of the order. In size the Cetacea 
 vary much^ some of the smaller dolphins scarcely, ex- 
 ceeding four feet in length, while others are the most 
 colossal of all animals. ... 
 
 " With some exceptions the Cetacea generally are timid, 
 inoffensive animals, active in their movements, and. very 
 affectionate in their disposition toward one another, 
 especially the mother toward the young, of which there 
 is usually but one, or at most two, at a time. They are 
 generally gregarious, swimming in herds 
 sometimes amounting to many thousands in numberj 
 though some spe- 
 cies have hitherto 
 only been met with 
 either singly or in 
 pairs." 
 
 The Cetacea are 
 to be considered in spermaceti WhaJe. ~ 
 
 two great groups, 
 
 the dolphins and the whales proper. The former are 
 divided again into six families; the latter into two. 
 The dolphin group contains such as the narwhal, white 
 whale, the "killers," porpoise, grampus, and sperm 
 whale; the true whales are the rorquals and the great 
 Greenland whale and others. 
 
 The family Physetebidje contains but a single 
 species, the spermaceti whale; one of the largest of liv- 
 ing animals. It often attains a length of sixty feet. 
 It derives its name from the large receptacle in its head 
 in which is found spermaceti. " Its head is of enormous 
 size, and contains a large receptacle filled with sperma- 
 ceti. Its mouth contains no whalebone, and it has 
 teeth in the lower jaw. It feeds chiefly on outtle-flshes, 
 aad lives in large troops, especially in the oceaa between 
 
182 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 the west coast of America and the eastern hemisphere. 
 Besides spermaceti it yields fine sperm-oil and amber- 
 gris." 
 
 The family Delphikid^e next demands attention. 
 It is one that is yery large in the number of species it 
 contains and remarkable for the grekt Tariation of 
 anatomical details. Probably the most marked member 
 of the group is the narwhal, or sea-unicorn. 
 
 "It IS," says Godman, "an inhabitant of the arctic 
 seas, and consequently is seldom seen except by adyent- 
 
 Narwhal, or Sea-unioom. 
 
 urous mariners who seek the spoils of the whale amid 
 the perils of polar ice and storms." 
 
 Quoting another authority, we learn that the narwhal 
 " has no teeth except two- canines in the upper jaw, 
 which are sometimes developed into enormous project- 
 ing tusks, though commonly only the one on the left 
 side is so developed, being straight, spiral, tapering to a 
 point, and in length from six to ten feet. It makes 
 excellent ivory." 
 
 It does not appear to be positively ascertained as to 
 what is the use of this remarkable spear-like projection 
 from the snout. Godman says: " It is not essential to 
 the defense of the animal, or else the young and a vast 
 majority of the females would be left unprotected. It 
 
MAMMALS. 183 
 
 has been suggested that it is employed by the animal in 
 piercing thin ice for the convenience of rising to re- 
 spire/' a suggestion that could only hold good were all 
 narwhals thus conveniently spear-snouted. 
 
 Concerning its food, it may be stated that Scoreshy 
 found one in the stomach of whidh was a large skate, 
 and that traveler suggests that the narwhal probably 
 killed the skate by transfixing it with its spear before 
 swallowing so unpromising a morsel. 
 
 The narwhal is said to be harmless, "of an active 
 disposition, and swims with considerable swiftness." 
 
 The dolphins are the best known of all the smaller 
 marine mammals. It is seldom that one visits the sea- 
 shore without a chance 
 of seeing a dolphin or 
 porpoise. In general 
 appearance the dol- 
 phin and porpoise 
 
 closely resemble each 
 
 other, the former hav- Common Dolphin. 
 
 ing a much longer and 
 
 sharper snout. They differ, too, in size, the dolphin 
 
 measuring from six to ten feet, the porpoise from five 
 
 to six. 
 
 Groode says of dolphins that "they are abundant 
 everywhere in temperate and tropical seas. They are 
 often seen in mid-ocean sporting in large schools, pursu- 
 ing the pelagic fishes, but are still more common near 
 the coast. They are from five to fifteen feet long, 
 gracefully formed, and very swift. . . . They are 
 easily distinguished from the little harbor porpoise 
 ., . . by the broad stripes of white and yelloWj upon 
 their sides." 
 
 Writes Godman: "Once in particular, on a beauti- 
 fully clear day when the sea was as strongly illuminated 
 by the sun as to render objects visible at almost any 
 
184 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 depth and our yessel was sailing swif% before a strong 
 breeze, several of these animals appeared to vie with 
 each other in showing how poor was her speed compared 
 with their own. As the little troop were merrily gam- 
 boling at a short distance from the vessel's side, one of 
 the number would dart immediately in advance of her 
 bow, and swimming with his utmost velocity, would 
 disappear in a straight line before her, and (as the 
 depth at which he swam was not more than three feet) 
 would in a minute or two be seen returning to the crew 
 of his comrades as if in triumph. This was repeated 
 
 many times, and most 
 probably by different 
 individuals. These 
 dolphins accompanied 
 us for a considerable 
 distance, and aU their 
 actions appeared in- 
 dicative of the most 
 playful and frolicsome 
 disposition." 
 
 Writes Go ode of 
 porpoises: " On the Atlantic coast occurs most abun- 
 dantly the little harbor porpoise known to fishermen as 
 'puffer,' 'snufEer,' ' snuffing-pig,' or 'herring-hog.' 
 . . . The Atlantic species occurs oif Nova Scotia 
 and probably further northward, and ranges south at 
 least to Florida. The Atlantic porpoise . . . ascends 
 rivers. They go up the St. John's in Florida to Jack- 
 sonville, and about 1850 one was taken in the Con- 
 necticut at Middletown, twenty miles from brackish 
 water." 
 
 The writer has known them to ascend the Delaware 
 as far as Trenton, New Jersey, nearly 100 mUes from 
 salt water. It is not uncommon to see them in tho 
 Delaware a very few miles below Philadelphia. 
 
 Porpoise. 
 
MAMMALS. 185 
 
 Goode continues as follows :, " They rarely exceed 
 four or four and a half feet in length. Every one has 
 seen them rolling and puffing outside of the breakers 
 or in the harbors and river mouths. . , . They 
 never spring from the water like dolphins, but their 
 motion is a rolling one and brings the back fin often 
 into sight, this always appearing shortly after the head 
 has been exposed and the little puff of spray seen and 
 the accompanying grunt heard. The rolling motion is 
 caused by the fact that to breathe throi^gh the nostrils, 
 situate on the top of the snout, they must assume a 
 somewhat erect posture, descending from which the 
 body passes through a considerable portion of a circle. 
 
 " The breeding season is in summer. . . . They 
 feed on fish, particularly on schooling species like the 
 herring and menhaden, and are responsible for an 
 enormous destruction 
 of useful food mate- 
 rial. . . . The por- 
 poise is pugnacious 
 as well as playful." 
 
 Porpoises, as has inia SoUviensis. 
 
 been stated, often as- 
 cend rivers. Certain species live therein. In Bolivia 
 there is found a variety of porpoise in the remote 
 tributaries of the Amazon, and it occurs, too, in some 
 of the lakes, of the elevated districts of Peru. This 
 species* known as the inia, ranges from seven to twelve 
 feet in length. Its snout is covered above with bristly 
 hairs. 
 
 Bates writes thus delightfully of the porpoise, ■ or 
 dolphin, of the Amazons : " The river had now sunt 
 to its lowest point and numbers of fresh-water dolphins 
 were rolling about in shoally places. There are here 
 two species, one of which ... is called the tucuxi. 
 When it comes to the surface to breathe it rises hori- 
 
18? CYCLOPEDIA 6F N-ATtlRAL HISTORY. 
 
 zontally, showing fii^st its back fin, draws an inspiration, 
 and tten dires gently down head foremost. This mode 
 of proceeding distinguishes the tucuxi at once from the 
 other species, which is called bonto, or porpoise, by the 
 natives. When this rises the top of the head is the 
 part first seen; it then blows, and immediately after- 
 ward dips head downward, its back curving over, expos- 
 ing successively the whole dorsal ridge with its fin. It 
 seems thus to pitch heels over head, but does not show 
 the tail fin. Besides this peculiar motion, it is distin- 
 guished from the tucuxi by its habit of generally going 
 in pairs. Both species are exceedingly numerous 
 throughout the Amazons and its larger tributaries, but 
 
 they are nowhere 
 more plentiful than 
 in the shoally water 
 at the mouth of the 
 Tocantins, especial- 
 ly in the dry sea- 
 son." 
 
 Great Northern Borqual. Of the whales 
 
 proper, those known 
 as rorquals, or finners, have a fin upon the back, while 
 the right whales, or those having the greatest develop- 
 ment of baleen, or " whalebone " of commerce, have 
 not this fin. Groode says of rorquals that they are "the 
 largest of whales, are very swift and slender, and are 
 believed to occur in tropical as well as temperate seas all 
 the world over." 
 
 Besides the species here figured there are several 
 others. Two are found in the Atlantic Ocean. One of 
 them is common to the New England coast. Of one, 
 Goode says it " is the^most common of the larger ceta- 
 ceans in Massachusetts Bay; and half a dozen or more 
 may be seen in an afternoon's cruise any sunny after- 
 uoon of summer. . . . They swim near the surface. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 187 
 
 often exposing the back for half its length, and I have 
 several times seen them rise within fifty feet of the 
 yacht on which I stood." 
 
 The Korthern rorqual attains to an enormous size, 
 having been reported as at least 100 feet in length. It 
 is reported, too, as ezpeedingly ferocious, and this, 
 coupled with the fact that it produces but little baleen 
 or oil, causes it to be let alone by the whalers. 
 
 The great Greenland whale is of all the most valuable 
 to mankind. It is distinguished more particularly by 
 the wonderful development of the baleen, which is thus 
 described in Orr's " Circle of the Sciences :" "Along the 
 center of the palate 
 runs a strong keel, 
 on each side of which 
 is a broad depres- 
 sion along which the 
 plates of baleen are 
 inserted. These are 
 long, flat plates, at-' 
 tached by their bases 
 to the palate, and 
 hanging down freely 
 into the cavity of the 
 mouth; they are placed transversely in the mouth, so 
 that their sides are parallel and at a very small dis- 
 tance from each other. The base and outer edge of 
 each of these perpendicular plates is composed of 
 solid whalebone, but the inner edge terminates in a 
 fringe of fibers which fill up the interior of the mouth. 
 The object of this structure is readily understood when 
 we consider the mode in which the whale procures its 
 food. This enormous animal, although strictly an ani- 
 mal feeder and provided with an immense mouth, has 
 an esophagus so small that he is compelled to nourish 
 his vast bulk by the consumption of some of the small- , 
 
 Greenland Whale. 
 
188 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 est inhabitants of the sea; his food consists, for the 
 most part, of the small, swimming moUusca and crug- 
 tacea so abundant in the arctic seas, and it is said he 
 never indulges his stomach with anything larger than a 
 herring. To procure these insignificant morsels he 
 engulfs a whole shoal of them at once in his capacious 
 jaws, where they are of course entangled among the 
 fibers of the baleen; the water is then strained off 
 . . . and the monster is thus enabled to pass his 
 diminutive prey at his leisure into his stomach. . . . 
 The lower jaw is entirely destitute of teeth and fur- 
 nished with large, fleshy lips, within which the upper 
 jaw, with its apparatus of homy plates, is received when 
 the mouth is dosed." 
 
 In the pursuit of the Greenland whale a "great 
 quantity of shipping is annually dispatched into the 
 arctic seas from different European ports, but es- 
 pecially from [G-reat Britain]." 
 
 The tail of a large whale measures about twenty or 
 twenty-five feet in breadth and five or six feet in length; 
 by the action of this powerful instrument it can dash 
 off with immense velocity when wounded or alarmed, 
 and sometimes with a single blow from it completely 
 shatters the boats of its pursuers. Its pace at ordinary 
 times is said to be about four miles an hour, and it ap- 
 pears rarely to swim at any great depth in the water. 
 At times, for amusement, these enormous creatures will 
 spring completely out of the water, and another of 
 their diversions consists in immersing the whole body 
 perpendicularly and flapping their immense tails on the 
 surface of the water, so as to produce a sound that may 
 be heard at a distance of two or three miles. 
 
 The reader must not think that reference, even bj 
 name, has been made to all of our whales. There are 
 whole groups concerning which it was not practicable 
 to make even the briefest mention. For an admirable 
 
MAMMALS^ 189 
 
 account of American species^ the reader is referred to 
 G-. Brown Goode's " History of Aquatic Animals," pub- 
 lished under the auspices of the United States Fish 
 Oommission. 
 
CHAPTEK VIII. 
 
 THE SIBENIA. 
 
 These creatures, few in species and confined to very lim- 
 ited localities, are fish-like mammals that were formerly 
 classed with the whales, and held at one time also to 
 have niuch in common with the pachydermatous mam- 
 mals, especially the elephant. ^ 
 
 The Sirenia are commonly known as sea-cows, and in 
 North America we have one species known also as the 
 
 manatee. Not until re- 
 cently has a thoroughly 
 good account of these 
 creatures been made 
 readily accessible. We 
 quote from Bates and 
 True. Of the Amazon 
 species Bates says: 
 "Once they harpooned 
 On this last-mentioned 
 holidaj"^; the canoe was 
 
 American Manatee. 
 
 a manatee, or vacca manna, 
 occasion we made quite a 
 
 stopped for six or seven hours, and all turned out 
 into the forest to help to skin and cook the animal. 
 The meat was cut into cubical slabs, and each per- 
 son skewered a dozen or so of these on a long stick. 
 Fires were made, and the spits stuck in the ground 
 and slanted over the fiames to roast. A drizzling 
 rain fell all the time, and the ground around the fires 
 swarmed with stinging ants, attracted by the entrails 
 and slime which were scattered about. The meat has 
 somewhat the taste of very coarse pork, but the fat, which 
 
MAMMALS. 191 
 
 lies in thick layers between the lean parts, is of a green- 
 ish color and of a disagreeable, fishy flavor. The ani- 
 mal was a large one, measuring nearly ten feet in length 
 and nine in girth at the broadest part. The manatee is 
 one of the few objects which excite the dull wonder and 
 curiosity of the Indians, notwithstanding its common- 
 ness. The fact of its suckling its young at the breast, 
 although an aquatic animal resembling a fish, seems to 
 strike them as something very strange. The animal, as 
 it lay on its back, with its broad, rounded head and muz- 
 zle, tapering body, and smooth, thick, lead-colored skin, 
 reminded me of 
 those Egyptian 
 tombs which are 
 made of dark, 
 smooth stone and 
 Shaped to the hu- 
 man figure. '' 
 
 In Florida there 
 is another species Dugong. 
 
 of these animals. 
 
 The breeding habits are not known. They are strictly 
 vegetable feeders. A study of references made to them 
 by various travelers since the time of Columbus shows 
 that they are steadily decreasing in numbers. 
 
 The other Sirenian animal is the dugong. According 
 to the "Encyclopedia Britannica," "the dugongs fre- 
 ^[uent the shallow waters of the tropical seas extend- 
 ing from the east coast of Africa, north of the mouth 
 of the Zambesi Eiver, along the shores of the Indian, 
 Maylayan, and Australian seas, where they may be seen 
 basking on the surface of the water or browsing on sub- 
 marine pastures of algcB and f4ci, for which the thick, 
 obtuse lips and truncated snout 'pre-eminently fit them. 
 They are gregarious, feeding in large numbers in locali- 
 ties where they are, not often disturbed. The female 
 
192 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 produces a single one at a birth., and is remarkable for 
 the great affection it shows for its offspring, so that 
 when the young dugong is caught there is no difficulty 
 in capturing the mother with it. There are two spe- 
 cies, the Indian and the Australian. The former is 
 Tety abundant along the shores of the Indian Ocean, 
 and is captured in large numbers by the Malayans, who 
 esteem its flesh as a great delicacy, while the lean por- 
 tions, especially of young specimens, are regarded by 
 Europeans even as exceflent eating. It is generally 
 taken by spearing, the main object of the hunter be- 
 ing to raise the tail out of the water, when the animal 
 becomes perfectly powerless." 
 
/ '"^^jafc 
 
 
 
OHAPTBE IX. 
 
 THE EDEITTATA, OE TOOTHLESS MAMMALS. 
 
 This nnfortunate title was given a century ago to 
 certain animals that either had no teeth or had very 
 imperfect ones; hut the group was soon found to be a 
 very indefinite one, as the most that can be said of the 
 animals composing it is that they are not as well toothed 
 as other classes. The 
 teeth of this group 
 "are never rooted 
 . . . and are never 
 present in the upper 
 or lower jaw in the 
 fore part of the 
 mouth, the situation 
 occupied by the in- 
 cisors of other mam- 
 
 Megatherium (restored). 
 
 Many species of this 
 group are now ex- 
 tinct, and these, it 
 would appear, con- 
 nect the various liv- 
 ing forms and make 
 of them all, living and extinct, a more harmonious 
 group; the extinct forms being veritable "missing 
 links." 
 
 One of the most remarkable of the fossil Edentates 
 is the megatherium, the remains of which are found in 
 the "tertiary or pampean deposits of South America. 
 
194 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 It was about eight feet high and its body twelve ia 
 eighteen feet long. Its teeth prove that it lived on 
 vegetables, and its fore feet, about a yard in length and 
 armed with gigantic claws, show that roots were its 
 chief objects of search." 
 
 The family or group Edentata contains five families, 
 representatives of some of which are well known to 
 most people. " These are the Bkadtpodid^, or sloths; 
 MYEMECOPHAGiDiE, or ant-catcrs; Dastpodid^, oi 
 armadillos; Manid^, or pangolins, or scaly ant-eaters; 
 and OeyoteeopodidvE, or aard-varks, or African ant- 
 eaters." The first three 
 families named are Amer- 
 ican, and the others be- 
 long to the Old World. 
 Let us consider briefly 
 representative species of 
 these five families in the 
 order named. 
 The bradypodidse, or 
 
 sloths, are peculiar to 
 
 Two-toed Sloth? South America, and 
 
 strange creatures they 
 truly are. These animals are covered with a coarse,, crisp 
 hair that is quite long over portions of the body. They 
 have curiously narrow and curved feet armed with two 
 or three (never more) sharp claws. Sloths are vegetable 
 feeders and live in trees. The three-toed sloth of 
 South America is a well-known species that has been 
 carefully studied by many travelers. Sloths have ac- 
 quired, their English name from the slow and clumsy 
 manner in which they get over the ground, their 
 feet enabling them only to climb with anything like 
 speed. 
 
 The female brings forth but one young at a time, 
 and this she carries about with her until its limbs are 
 
MAMMALS. 195 
 
 strong enough t© bear its own ■weight, when it is trans- 
 ferred to a. tree. 
 
 ' Bates writes as follows of the Brazilian three-toed 
 sloth, " which is clothed with shaggy gray hair. The 
 natives call it ai ybyret6, or sloth of the main-land, to 
 distinguish it from the bradypus infuscatus, which has 
 a long black and tawny stripe between the shoulders 
 and is called ai ygap6, or sloth of the flooded lands. 
 Some travelers in South America have described the 
 sloth as very nimble in its native woods and have dis- 
 puted the justness of the name which has been bestowed 
 on it. The inhabitants of the Amazons region, how- 
 ever, both Indian and descendants of the Portuguese, 
 hold to the common opinion and consider the sloth as 
 the type of laziness. . . . It is a strange sight to watch 
 the uncouth creature, fit production of these silent 
 shades, lazily moving from branch to branch. Every 
 movement betrays not indolence exactly, but extreme: 
 caution. He never looses his hold from one branch 
 without first securing himself to the next, and when 
 he does not immediately find a bough to grasp with the 
 rigid hooks into which his paws are so curiously trans- 
 formed, he raises his body, supported on his' hind legs, 
 and claws around in search of a fresh foot-hold. After 
 watching the animal for about half an hour I 'gave him 
 a charge of shot; he fell with a terrific crash, but 
 caught a bough in his descent with his powerful claws 
 and remained suspended. . . . Two days after- 
 ward I found the body of the sloth on the ground, the 
 animal having dropped on the relaxation of the- muscles 
 a few hours after death. ... I believe it is not 
 generally known that this animal takes to the water." 
 
 The habits of the different species do not materially 
 vary. 
 
 The next family of Edentates to be considered is the 
 myrmecophagidae, or ant-eaters. 
 
196 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 These animals are really toothless and remarkable for 
 their long, slender heads, terminating in a tubular 
 mouth, from which is protruded a slender, -worm-like 
 tongue, which is coated with sticky saliva. To this 
 the insects upon which it feeds adhere, and on being 
 quickly withdrawn, they are " sucked into the phar- 
 ynx." 
 
 One of the most remarkable of these animals is the 
 ant-beaar, native of the tropical portions of South 
 America. 
 
 It is recorded of it in the "Imperial Dictionary" 
 that it "is from four to five feet in length from the 
 
 tip of the long, 
 slender, toothless 
 muzzle to the ori- 
 gin of the black, 
 bushy tail, which 
 is about two feet 
 long. The body is 
 
 ^ covered with long 
 
 "Ant-b^r."" hair, particularly 
 
 along the neck 
 and back. There are four strong curved claws on the 
 fore feet, and it has five on the hind ones. With 
 these claws it tears down the ant-hills and sweeps the 
 ants into its mouth with its long, extensile glutinous 
 tongue, an action that can be repeated with marvelous 
 rapidity. It is a harmless and solitary animal and 
 spends most of its time in sleep." 
 
 Bates writes as follows of the ant-eaters of Brazil: 
 "The habits of the myrmecophaga jubata are now 
 pretty well known. It is not uncommon in the drier 
 forests of the Amazons valley, but is not found, I be- 
 lieve, in the ygap6, or flooded lands. . . . AH the 
 other species of this singular genus are arboreal. I 
 met with four species altogether. . . . One was 
 
MAMMALS. 197 
 
 brought to me alive at Oaripl, having been caught by 
 an Indian clinging motionless inside a hollow tree. I 
 kept it in the house about twenty-four hours. It had a 
 moderately long snout, curved downward, and ex- 
 tremely small eyes. It remained nearly all the time 
 without motion, except when irritated, in which case it 
 reared itself on its hind legs from the back of a chair 
 to which it clung, and clawed out with its fore paws 
 like a cat. Its manner of clinging with its claws and 
 the sluggishness of its motions gave it a great resem- 
 blance to a sloth. It uttered no sound, and remained ali 
 night on the spot where I had placed it in the morning. 
 The next day I put it on a tree in the open air and 
 at night it escaped. 
 These small taman- 
 du4s — ant-eaters — are 
 nocturnal in their 
 habits, and feed on 
 those species of term- _^ __^ 
 ites which construct '^^"'^'^^X.^t!: ■■ 
 earthy nests that look YeUow-footed Armaduio. 
 
 like ugly excrescences 
 
 on the trunks and branches of trees. The different 
 kinds of ant-eaters are thus adapted to various modes of 
 life, terrestrial and arboreal. Those which live on trees 
 are again either diurnal or nocturnal, for myrmecophaga 
 tetradactyla is seen ,moving along the main branches m 
 the day-time." 
 
 The-next family is that of the dasypodidae, or arma- 
 dillos. We learn in the " Encyclopedia Britannica " 
 that "the existing species are of small or moderate size. 
 They are mostly, though not universally, nocturnal in 
 their habits. They are omnivorous, feeding on roots, 
 insects, worms, reptiles, and carrion. They are harm- 
 less and inoffensive creatures, offering no resistance 
 when caught, their principal means of escape from their 
 
198 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 enemies being the extraordinary rapidity with which 
 they can burrow in the ground and the tenacity with 
 which they retain their hold in their subterranean re- 
 treats. Notwithstanding the shortness of their limbs 
 they can run with great rapidity. Most of the species 
 are esteemed good eating by the natives of the countries 
 in which they live. They are aU inhabitants of the 
 open plains or the forests of the tropical and temperate 
 parts of South America, with the exception of one 
 species, which ranges as far north as Texas." 
 
 The most marked feature of armadillos is the pe- 
 culiar covering, consisting of a bony case composed 
 
 in part of plates and 
 between the limbs of 
 movable transverse 
 bands. The under 
 parts are clothed with 
 coarse hair. ■ It is by 
 means of the plates that 
 the ilexibility of the 
 body is. maintained, 
 and this is sufficient to 
 enable the animal to 
 roll itself into a ball, protecting the under parts and 
 ofEering effectual resistance to most animals. 
 
 While frequent mention is made of these animals by 
 travelers in the countries where they are found, they do 
 not appear to have commanded much attention, and 
 references to them are usually quite brief. 
 
 The other species of the Edentates are quite different 
 in many respects ' and no less peculiar in their appear- 
 ance and habits. They are not, like the preceding, 
 American, but Asiatic and African forms. The first of 
 these remaining forms to be considered is the manis, or 
 pangolin, or scaly ant-eater, as it is variously called. 
 The family manidas, or pangolins, contains quite a 
 
 Foiir-toed or African Manis. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 199 
 
 iramber of species. They are readily distinguished 
 from other mammals by their long, lizard-like bodies 
 covered with • horny scales which overlap each other 
 and are quite sharp upon their edges. They recall the 
 ant-eaters of South America in a scale armor instead of 
 fur. Their habits are much like those of the ant-eaters 
 and the armadillos. "When attacked they roll them- 
 selves up like a hedgehog." 
 
 The laet family of Edentates contains the well-known 
 aard-vark, as it is called by the Dutch colonists of the 
 Cape of Good Hope. This animal has much in com- 
 mon with both the 
 ant-eater and the 
 armadillo. 
 
 Drummond gives 
 us the following 
 account of this 
 animal, which he 
 calls the ant-eater: 
 "The ant-eater, 
 like the white ant 
 on which it lives, is 
 found everywhere, but being a night-prowler is very 
 rarely seen, although evidences of its presence occur 
 every few yards in the shape of half-formed holes 
 in the ground, seemingly made for no purpose what- 
 ever, and holes in the sides of the ant-hills. I once 
 saw one while shooting on an open flat in Swazi- 
 land._ The half-bred pointer that was with me was 
 ranging rather widely, when it suddenly came to a 
 dead-point, but almost immediately afterward began 
 to draw in. I shouted to it and ran toward it as fast 
 as I could, but it paid no attention to me, and in 
 another second an animal which I did not recognize, 
 but which from its rounded back and general appear- 
 ance looked like some kind of pig, jumped up out of 
 
 ^^=1- 
 
200 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 the grass before it, and after being smartly chased 
 for a couple of hundred yards, took refuge in one 
 of the numerous holes which covered the plain. On my 
 reaching the spot I at once saw by the marks of its five-toed 
 foot that it was an ant-eater (aard-vark), and as I had 
 never seen one before. I determined to get this one out. 
 I first tried smoking it out, getting great bundles of 
 grass and shoving them down the mouth of the hole, 
 and after setting fire to them, placing my coat over the 
 outside to prevent the smoke escaping. It was no good, 
 however, though as the hole was shallow the atmos- 
 phere inside must have been something awful, and I 
 distinctly heard the beast choking once or twice. On 
 seeing that it would not bolt, I sentofE the Kaffir who was 
 with me to the wagon for another man and two spades, 
 and after clearing the entrance to the hole, I sat down 
 out of sight myself, hoping that it might bolt when 
 everything was quiet; but before the Kaffir had been 
 long gone I heard it commence scraping instead, evi- 
 dently preferring to go further in than to risk coming 
 out, and for the two hours during which I had to wait 
 the sound never ceased. As soon as the men came with 
 spades I started them to work, but after half an hour 
 we saw that unless we hit upon some better plan than 
 digging behind it, it would be dark before we overtook 
 it, if indeed we did so at all; so after listening care- 
 fully to hear where it was at work, I made the men 
 sink a perpendicular shaft about a yard in front, and 
 after an hour's work the animal, hearing the spades 
 within a few inches of its nose, turned round and at 
 last came out, when I shot it. A most curious animal 
 it looked as it lay dead, with its long, thin tongue pro- 
 truding from the toothless jaws, its bat-like ears, and its 
 pig-like skin, which is so thick that shot will hardly 
 penetrate it, covered with a few bristles. Its tail was a 
 short, flat, hairless stump, and its tremendous claws, set 
 
MAMMALS. 201 
 
 on limbs which were a mass of muscle, seemed as if 
 they would be, as report stated they were, dangerous 
 weapons to encounter at close quarters. I tasted its 
 flesh, but it was strong-smelling and as tough as leather, 
 and it is only its skin that is of any value, being, when 
 properly dressed, superior to the best pig-skin." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE MAESTJPlxLIA, OR POUCHED MAUKALS. 
 
 The feature or physiological peculiarity that stamps 
 the mammals that are grouped as Marsupials is that 
 the young "are born in an exceedingly rudimentary 
 condition and . . . are transferred to the nipple of 
 
 the mother, to which they 
 remain flrinly attached for 
 a considerable time nour- 
 ished by the milk injected 
 into the mouth by com- 
 pression of the muscles cov- 
 ering the mammary gland. 
 . . .' The existing spe- 
 cies of this group are en- 
 tirely confined to the Aus- 
 tralian region and the 
 American Continent, 
 though in former times 
 they had a more extended 
 geographical range." 
 The Marsupials are 
 grouped into six families: The Didelphid^, or opos- 
 sums; Dasturidje; Pbramelidje, or bandicoots; Mac- 
 ROPODiD^, or kangaroos; Phalangistid^, or phalan- 
 gers; and the Phascolomtid^. 
 
 The opossums are well-known animals peculiar to the 
 Northern and Southern American Continents. But 
 one species is found in the United States, and it is only 
 in the tropical regions of South America that numerous, 
 
 Virginian Opossunu 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 303 
 
 widely difEering species are found. Opossums vary 
 considerably in size and color, and also in their habits, 
 these being determined as . usual by their environment. 
 
 The common Virginian opossum, or 'possum proper 
 of the whole United States, scarcely needs any ex- 
 tended description. This species is about as large as a 
 domestic cat and of whitish-gray color, so marked as to 
 suggest a white animal that was dirty. While the iiesh 
 is fairly good food, it appears not to be popular except 
 with the negroes. The home of this animal is the 
 tall trees of the forest, 
 where it moves at per- 
 fect ease and when pur- 
 sued with considerable 
 celerity of movement. 
 It cannot run with any 
 speed when upon the 
 ground. It is often 
 stated that when 
 "caught or threatened 
 with danger the opos- 
 sum counterfeits death, 
 and ' playing 'possum ' 
 has on this account passed into a proverb as used to 
 indicate any deceitful proceeding." 
 
 This is very likely if not certainly untrue of them. 
 Prom scores of carefully conducted experiments on a 
 great number of opossums, it would seem that they 
 succumb to a paroxysm of fright rather than feign 
 death, an act which demands more intelligence than 
 opossums or any higher animals possess except man 
 himself. 
 
 An interesting form of South American opossum is 
 the marmose, or Merian's opossum. It is about six 
 inches long exclusive of the tail. " Instead of a pouch 
 this animal has tiyo longitudinal folds near the thigha 
 
 Marmose. 
 
304 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 which serve to inclose the young, which it has the sin- 
 gular habit of carrying about with it on its back." 
 
 Passing with only brief mention the family dasy- 
 uridse, which includes the large wolf-like Marsupial 
 known as the Tasmanian devil, we come to the "pera- 
 melidse, or bandicoot rats of Australia. . . . The 
 structure of the limbs is remarkable, the hind legs 
 
 being much longer than the 
 anterior pair and adapted for 
 leaping like those of the kan- 
 garoos. . . . The bandi- 
 coots are small animals which 
 inhabit different parts of Aus- 
 tralia and Van Dieman's Land. 
 They are nocturnal animals 
 which dig themselves burrows 
 in the soft ground, for which 
 purpose their claws are well 
 adapted. . . . The flesh 
 of the animal is said to resem- 
 ble that of the rabbit, but their 
 food is generally of a very dif- 
 ferent nature, consisting prin- 
 cipally of insects and grubs, 
 although some species are said 
 to have a particular predilec- 
 tion for roots and especially bulbs. Their gait consists 
 of a series of hops, in which, however, they are said, 
 like the rabbit, to use their fore feet." (Orr's' " Circle 
 of the Sciences.") 
 
 The kangaroos, or macropodidse, are readily distin- 
 guished from all other animals by the structure of the 
 hind legs. "These organs are exceedingly long and 
 powerful, and the feet, which are much elongated, rest 
 with their whole sole upon the ground; the fore legs, 
 on the contrary, are very short, and are of little use to 
 
 Kangaroo. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 205 
 
 the animal in progression, its movements consisting of 
 
 E overfill leaps effected by the extension of the hind 
 )gs. In its natural position the kangaroo sits upright 
 upon its haunches with the assistance of its powerful 
 tail, which'with the two hind feet forms a sort of tripod. 
 In opposition to this great development of the hind 
 parts of the body, all the fore parts are exceedingly 
 small, so that some fanciful observers have compared 
 the animal to a creature compounded out of portions of 
 two others of very different bulk. . . . 
 
 "The kangaroos are almost entirely confined to Aus- 
 tralia and Van Diemen's Land, but species are found in 
 the adjacent islands, 
 and even in New 
 Guinea. They ai-e 
 entirely herbivorous, 
 and live for the most 
 part in the grassy 
 plains, but some spe- 
 cies . . . are found 
 in rocky places. They 
 are timid creatures, 
 but when seized de- 
 fend themselves with 
 violent strokes of their hind feet, which, from their great 
 power and the strength of their nails, constitute formid- 
 able weapons. . . . The tree-kangaroos, of which 
 two species are found in New Guinea, differ remarkably 
 from the rest of the family by their adaptation to an 
 arboreal life. 
 
 "The size of the animals belonging to this family 
 varies greatly, some of the largest species being more 
 than four feet long in the body, while the smallest are 
 about the size of a small rabbit or a large rat." (Orr's 
 "Circle of the Sciences.") 
 The next family of Marsupials to be considered is the 
 
 Vulpine Fbalanger. 
 
306 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 phalangistidse. This group is divided into such as have 
 the tail entirely hairy and those in which the tip of the 
 tail is naked. These animals are arboreal, nocturnal, 
 and omnivorous. The vulpine phalanger is the com- 
 mon species of Australia, and is called by the colonists 
 an opossum. It is about tvi^o feet in length and 
 
 is eaten by the natives. 
 The last to be con- 
 sidered is the koala of 
 New South Wales. "It 
 is about two feet in 
 length and of an ash- 
 gray color, an excellent 
 climber, and residing 
 generally in lofty euca- 
 lyptus trees, on the buds 
 of which it feeds, 
 though occasionally de- 
 scending to the ground 
 in the night." ("Ency- 
 clopedia Britannica.") 
 "Its flesh is highly 
 esteemed by the natives of Australia, who climb the 
 highest trees in its pursuit. When the young have be- 
 come too large for their ordinary retreat in the pouch 
 of the mother, they mount upon her shoulders and are 
 Carried about by her in this position." (Orr's " Circle 
 of the Sciences.") 
 
 Koala. 
 
CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 THE MOKOTEEMATA. 
 
 •' The MoDiOtremata show most distinctly in all theii 
 characters a relationship to the oviparous vertebrata." 
 In other words, the "water-inole, or duck-bill " of 
 Australia suggests a bird with fur instead of feathers, 
 and this likeness to birds is increased from the follow- 
 ing: "Mr, W. H. Cald- 
 well, who has resided for 
 some two or three years 
 in Australia, engaged in 
 special inyestigations of 
 the mysteries connected 
 with thp mammals of 
 that country, has re- 
 corded the discovery that 
 the monotremata, or ani- 
 mals of the order of 
 which the ornithorhyn- 
 chus is a member, are 
 oviparous and lay eggs, the development of which bears 
 a close resemblance to the development of the eggs of 
 the reptilia.-" {Popiflar Science Monthly.) 
 
 The monotremes are of three species — ^the duck- 
 bill above- mentioned and two species of echidna, 
 or porcupine ant-eaters. The latter differ from the 
 duqk-bills in having a tubular snout, both jaws being 
 inclosed in a continuous, skin. ' The fui* is intermixed 
 on the ^ack with " numerous short, acute spines, very 
 
 Ornithorhynehus paradoxus. 
 
208 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 similar to those of the hedgehog." They are slow, dull, 
 nocturnal animals. 
 
 Concerning the duck-bill, I quote from Ben- 
 nett's "Gatherings of a Naturalist in Australasia"; 
 "The body of this singular animal is depressed in 
 form, and in some degree partakes of the character 
 of the otter, the mole, and the beaver. It is covered 
 by a dense coat of coarse hair of a dark brown color, 
 with shades of ligat of a silvery hue, underneath which 
 is a finer, short, and very soft fur, resembling the two 
 distinct kinds of fur found on the seal and otter. . . . 
 The only external difference of sex to be accurately dis- 
 tinguished, and indeed the only one on which any de- 
 pendence can be placed, is the spur on the hinder leg of 
 the males, the females being destitute of that append- 
 age. The legs of these animals are very short; the 
 feet are pentadactyle and webbed. In the fore feet 
 (which seem to have the greatest muscular power and 
 are principally used both for burrowing and swimming) 
 the web extends a short distance beyond the claws, is 
 loose, and falls back when the animals burrow; the 
 fore feet are thus capable of great expansion. 
 The head is rather flat, and from the mouth project 
 two flat lips or mandibles, resembling the beak of a 
 shoveler duck. . . . 
 
 " The slightest noise or movement will cause the 
 timid creature instantly to disappear, so acute are they 
 in sight or hearing, or perhaps in both, and they sel- 
 dom reappear when once frightened. ... 
 
 " These creatures are seen in the Australian rivers al 
 all seasons of the year, but are most abundant during 
 the spring and summer months, and I think a question 
 may arise whether they do not hibernate. The best 
 time for seeing them is early in the morning or late in 
 the evening." . . . 
 
 Describing the earth-retreats of this animal, Mr. 
 
MAMMALS. 
 
 Bennett remarks : " The termination of the bur- 
 row was broader than any other part, nearly oval in 
 form, and the bottom was strewn with dry river-weeds, 
 etc., a quantity of which still remained. . . . The 
 whole of the burrow was smooth, extending about 
 twenty feet in- a serpentine direction up the bank. 
 . . . The burrows have two entrances^one usually 
 at about the distance of a foot from the water's edge 
 and another under the water. It is no doubt by the 
 entrance under the water that the animal seeks refuge 
 within its burrow when it is seen to dive and not to rise 
 again, and when the poor hunted quadruped is unable 
 to enter or escape from the burrow by the upper aper- 
 ture, it has recourse to its river-entrance." 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 CHAPTEK XII. 
 
 STKUTHIONES, OR OSTRICHES. 
 
 It is unnecessary to point out the distinctions be^ 
 tween mammals and birds. The former have either 
 four limbs for progression or two and two arms, pro- 
 gressing in part or wholly by the aid of the two limbs. 
 Birds have in every case two limbs by which they walk, 
 hop, or swim; and the two forward limbs are modified 
 into wings, by which progression through the air, or 
 flight, is accomplished. In a few birds the power of 
 flight is wanting, and when species that live on land, 
 they have their legs developed to an extent that enables 
 them to run very fleetly. 
 
 The covering of birds is feathers, and as this is pecul- 
 iar to them, it is impossible to confound a bird with 
 animals of any other class. Feathers, " although they 
 agree in their nature and mode of development with the 
 hairs of the Mammalia, are of a far more complicated 
 structure. It is also to the great development of some 
 of these dermal appendages — the strong quill-feathers 
 of the wing — ^that these animals are indebted for their 
 power of flight, and the existence of similar strong 
 feathers in the tail is also of great importance to them 
 in directing their course through the air." (Orr's 
 "Circle of the Sciences.") 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 3H 
 
 There have been many classifications of birds based 
 upon their anatomy, all of which probably have much 
 in their favor, yet none can be considered as altogether 
 satisfactory. Convenience rather than scientific merit 
 leads to that arrangement in which the birds of the 
 world are grouped into fifteen orders, as follows: Steu- 
 THiosTES, or ostriches; Apteetgbs, or kiwis; Crtptuki, 
 or tinamous; Ptilopteei, or penguins; G^comoeph^, 
 or grebes, gulls, and other sea-birds; GealljE, or 
 waders, as cranes, plover, and sandpipers; Oh^no- 
 MOEPH^, or ducks and geese; Heeodii, or herons; 
 Stegastopodes, or pelicans; Galling, or fowls, pheas- 
 ants, etc. ; CoLUMB^, or pigeons; Accipitees, or birds 
 of prey; Psittaci, or 
 parrots; PiCAEiiE, or 
 wood-peckers and allied 
 forms; and Passeees, 
 or the gi-eat group of 
 sinking-birds. 
 
 The first named of the 
 above orders — Struth- 
 iones — includes not only 
 ostriches, but the emu 
 and cassowary, equally 
 interesting and no less 
 remarkable birds. The 
 commercial value of the 
 feathers of the ostrich, 
 however, has made this 
 bird the best known. 
 
 In the dry, sandy, sun- 
 ny plains of Africa and 
 Asia the ostrich proper is found. It is' the largest of all 
 living birds, being often fully eight feet high. The 
 quill-feathers of the wings and tail are very beautiful 
 and so much prized that in a wild state the bird i» 
 likely to become exterminated. 
 
 African Ostrich. 
 
313 CVCIoPeMA OP NATtfJiAL mstoRV. 
 
 Drummond remarks on this point : "The ostrich 
 among birds holds the same position that the elephant 
 does among quadrupeds, and like it is being rapidly 
 exterminated. This, however, is not of so much con- 
 sequence in its case, for besides only being valuable for 
 its feathers, it has already been domesticated, and 
 ostrich-farming has become a recognized industry in the 
 Eastern province of the Cape colony." 
 
 The wings of the ostrich are of no use as organs of 
 flight and the bird trusts to its legs as a means of loco- 
 motion, and a very swift means it is. It is seldom that 
 a horse can overtake them. The ostrich is a vegetable 
 feeder, and "to aid in the trituration of this food the 
 ostrich swallows large stones, bits of iron and glass, or 
 other hard materials that come in the way. Ostriches 
 are polygamous, each male consorting with several fe- 
 males, and they generally keep together in larger or 
 smaller flocks. The eggs are of great size, averaging 
 three pounds each in weight, and several hens often lay 
 in the same nest, which is merely a hole scraped in the 
 sand. The eggs appear to be hatched mainly by the 
 exertions of both parents, who relieve each other in 
 the task of incubation, but also partly by the heat of 
 the sun." ("Imperial Dictionary.") 
 
 In South America there are three species of ostrich, 
 which difEer from the African and are known as rheas. 
 Mr. John Ball, in "Notes of a Naturalist," writes: 
 "I was not able to ascertain positively whether the 
 .species of rJiea, or South American ostrich, found near 
 the Straits of Magellan, is exclusively the smaller species 
 (Khea Darwinii), but I believe there is no doubt that 
 the larger bird does not range so far as Patagonia. Dr. 
 Fenton has had frequent opportunities for observing 
 the habits of the bird. He finds that the nests are 
 constructed by the female birds, three or four of these 
 joining for the purpose. One of them deposits a single 
 egg in a hollow place and over this the nest is built. 
 
MJi£>S. 
 
 213 
 
 i<iach of the females deposits several eggs in the nest 
 jmd then wanders away, the male bird sitting on the 
 nest till the young birds are hatched. When this hap- 
 pens the parent clears away the nest, breaks up the egg 
 which lay beneath it, and gives it to the young birds for 
 food. The flesh is described as delicious, somewhat 
 intermediate in flavor between hare and grouse." 
 
 The Patagonian Indians capture the rhea with an 
 implement called the bola, which is a stout cord with a 
 ball at each end. Musters says: " These balls are gen- 
 erally of stone, but sometimes white metal or copper 
 balls are employed; 
 . . . iron balls also, 
 or iron ore obtained 
 and hammered into 
 the requisite shape by 
 the Tehuelches them- 
 
 Emu. 
 
 are common ; 
 these are for the round 
 striking ball . . . 
 but the oval-shaped 
 hand ball, which is 
 grasped in the hand 
 and is necessarily 
 lighter by at least one- 
 third than the other, 
 is generally made of 
 
 the soft vesicular lava which abounds in so many 
 districts. The tough, light thong for swinging balls 
 round the head is generally made ... of ostrich 
 or guanaco sinews plaited in fpur plaits, the length 
 of which should be between seven and eight feet." 
 The ostrich is secured by slinging the bola so it shall 
 wrap about the bird's neck. The chase is, of course, 
 always on horseback and much skill is required. 
 
 Quoting the " Encyclopedia Britannica," we learn that 
 "next to the ostrich, the largest of existing birds, the 
 
314 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 common emu is an inhabitant of the more open coun- 
 try, feeding on fruits, roots, and herbage, and generally 
 keeping in small companies. The nest is a shallow pit 
 scraped in the ground, and from nine to thirteen eggs, 
 in color varying from a bluish-green to a dark bottle- 
 green, are laid therein. These are hatched by the cock 
 bird, the period of incubation lasting from seventy to 
 eighty days." 
 
 This bird belongs to the Australian fauna, and is very 
 rare in many localities and quite extinct in others where 
 
 a century ago it was more 
 or less abundant. Emus, 
 like ostriches, bear cap- 
 tivity very well and have 
 been frequently known to 
 breed in confinement. 
 
 Of cassowaries there are 
 believed to be four species. 
 They are natives of the 
 Australasian Islands. The 
 species of which an illus- 
 tration is here given is 
 found in the Island of 
 Ceram and is perhaps the 
 best known of all. It is 
 five feet in height and has 
 a "helmet" on the top of its head. In its habits it 
 is essentially ostrich-like, although said to be somewhat 
 carnivorous in its tastes. 
 
 Another species, called the mooruk, has been elabo- 
 rately described by Bennett in his " Gatherings of a 
 Naturalist in New South "Wales." This author had 
 one in captivity and relates as follows : "I found the 
 bird very familiar and tame in captivity. ... It 
 sometimes rolls about its cage like a dog, its huge legs 
 being often uppermost. It sits on its rump, squatting 
 down occasionally, and is exceedingly playful." 
 
 Crested Cassowary, 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 215 
 
 Again this author states: "The mooruk has, when 
 seen in full face, a fine, eagle-like expression of counte- 
 nance, haying the same vivid, piercing eye and curved 
 beak. . . . When the carpenter was in the yard 
 making some alterations in the cage of these birds 
 . . . it was very amusing to see them squat down 
 upon their tarsi like dogs, watching the man with the 
 greatest apparent interest in all his actions, enjoying 
 the hammering noise, and occasionally picking up a nail, 
 which was not in this in- 
 stance swallowed, but again 
 dropped. One of them swal- 
 lowed his oil-stone, which 
 so alarmed the man that 
 he considered the bird had 
 committed suicide and hur- 
 ried to inform me of the 
 circumstance, when, to his 
 surprise, I told him if he did 
 not take care they would 
 swallow his hammer, nails 
 and chisel. The birds kept 
 close to the man until he 
 left for dinner, when they went about the yard as usual, 
 resuming their position near him as soon as he returned 
 to his work and not leaving until he had finished." 
 
 The apteryges, or kiwis, follow naturally the ostrich 
 family in a' popular consideration of practically wing- 
 less birds. Indeed, the name apteryx has this meaning. 
 
 The kiwi (a name given by the Maoris) is a native of 
 New Zealand. There are three species. Mr. Buller, in 
 "Birds of New Zealand," described Mantell's apteryx, 
 or kiwi, as follows: "The kiwi is in some measure 
 compensated for the absence of wings by its swiftness 
 of foot. When running it makes wide strides and 
 carries the body in an oblique position, with the neck 
 
 Apteryx. 
 
316 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Btretched to its full extent and inclined forward. In 
 the twilight it moves about cautiously and as noiselessly 
 as a rat, to which, indeed, at this time it bears some 
 outward resemblance. In a quiescent posture the body 
 generally assumes a perfectly rotund appearance, and it 
 sometimes, but only rarely, supports itself by resting 
 the point of its bill on the ground. It often yawns 
 when disturbed in the day-time, gaping its mandibles in 
 a very grotesque manner. When provoked it erects the 
 body and, raising the foot to the breast, strikes down- 
 ward with considerable force and rapidity, thus using 
 its sharp and powerful claws as weapons of defense. 
 . . . While hunting for its food the bird makes a 
 -continual sniflBng sound through the nostrils, which are 
 placed at the extremity of the upper mandible. Whether 
 it is guided as much by touch as by smell I cannot 
 safely say, but it appears to me that both senses are 
 used in the action. That the sense of touch is highly 
 developed seems quite certain, because the bird, al- 
 though it may not be audibly sniffing, will always 
 first touch an object with the point of its bill, whether 
 in the act of feeding or of surveying the ground, and 
 when shut up in a cage or confined in a room it may be 
 heard all through the night tapping softly at the walls. 
 . . . It is interesting to watch the bird in a state of 
 freedom foraging for worms, which constitute its prin- 
 cipal food. It moves about with a slow action of the 
 body, and the long, fiexible bill is driven into the soft 
 ground, generally home to the very root, and is either 
 immediately withdrawn with a worm held at the ex- 
 treme tip of the mandibles, or it is gently moved to and 
 fro by an action of the head and neck, the body of the 
 bird being perfectly steady. It is amusing to observe 
 the extreme care and deliberation vrith which the bird 
 draws the worm from its hiding-place, coaxing it out 
 as it were by degrees, instead of pulling roughly or 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 217 
 
 breaking it.. On getting the worm fairly out of the 
 ground, it throws up its nead with a jerk and swallows 
 it whole." 
 
 More hird-like birds in every respect, yet forming a 
 family of themselves, are the crypturi, or tinamous; 
 the latter name being generally used for them, and is 
 the same as that given them by the natives of the 
 country in which they are found. Of these birds, 
 which vary in size from 
 that of a large pheasant 
 to that of a small plover, 
 there is but little to be 
 said. They are strictly 
 ground birds and never 
 alight in trees. Of one 
 of the largest species Mr. 
 Hudson relates: "This 
 bird has no cover but the 
 giant grasses, through 
 which it pushes like a. 
 rail. ... It is soli- 
 tary in its habits." 
 
 Of a small species {notli- 
 ura major) Mr. Darwin 
 has written: "It appears 
 a very silly bird. A man on horseback by riding round 
 and round in a circle, or rather in a spire, so as to 
 approach closer each time, may knock on the head as 
 many as he pleases. The more common method Is to 
 catch them with a running noose, or little lazo, made 
 of the stem of an ostrich's feather fastened to the end 
 of a long stick. A boy on a quiet old horse will fre- 
 quently thus catch thirty or forty in a day. 
 
 'tW'*-'* »— 
 
 Great Tinamou. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PTILOPTEKI, OR PENGTTIITS. 
 
 The penguins are strictly marine birds, living in the 
 water or upon rocks that jut out above them. They 
 are as much at home in the ocean as pelagic fishes, and 
 as has been well said, represent among birds what the 
 seals do among mammals. The wings of penguins 
 have no feathers, but are covered with a scaly skin. Of 
 course they are useless as organs of flight, but give 
 effective aid in progressing through the water, and 
 when the birds are on land are often available as fore 
 limbs. " There are many species, which inhabit chiefly 
 high southern latitudes." 
 
 Cunningham, in his charm-ing book on the Straits 
 of Magellan, thus refers to these birds as he saw them 
 in that region: " On climbing to the summit of one of 
 the high banks, we beheld a company of penguins, 
 which, after standing erect and staring at us in a stupid 
 manner for a few moments, shuffled off; their little 
 wings hanging limp at their sides, and their dark gray 
 and white coloring and reeling movements suggesting a 
 drunk and disorderly funeral procession. When hard 
 pressed they abandoned the erect position, and crouching 
 down on all-fours, if I may be permitted the expression, 
 run along like rabbits at a very rapid rate, using their 
 wings as fore legs, till ^hey gained their burrows, fairly 
 ensconced in which they faced their pursuers, and 
 slowly turning about their heads from side to side, 
 barked and brayed in the most ridiculous manner, ofier- 
 ing a stout resistance to ht'ing captured by biting mo(>* 
 viciously with their strong bills. 
 
Penguin (Aptenodytes Chrysocome). 
 
BIRBS. 
 
 219 
 
 " While contemplating one individual in its den I was 
 suddenly startled by a loud ' Ho-ho-lio-lio-lio ' close to 
 me, and turning round perceived another bird, which 
 had boldly walked out of a neighboring burrow and 
 was thus addressing me. I succeeded at last, though 
 with much difficulty, in raking an old bird out of its 
 hole with the crook of a walking-stick, and also obtained 
 two young ones in their down." 
 
 Subsequently he refers to these 
 birds as follows: ''"We went to 
 see a collection of penguins from 
 various localities in the islands. 
 . . . Five species were repre- 
 sented . . . and they formed 
 a most amusing assemblage — 
 some prancing up and down, with 
 their little wings stuck out, with 
 an air of bustle and infinite self- 
 importance, some walking slowly 
 up to us and gazing at us with 
 solemn curiosity, while others re- 
 mained stationary and apparently 
 lost in thought. 
 
 "Of these species the rock- 
 hopper is perhaps the most com- 
 mon at the Falkland Islands, and 
 
 two large 'rookeries,' as they are called, of these birds 
 occur not very far from Stanley. . . . Circumstances 
 did not, to my regret, permit my visiting either of these, 
 but I extract the following short account from Captain 
 Mayne's ' Journal:' ' The rookery was in a sort of small 
 cove, the sides of' which, though not perpendicular, 
 were very steep and about 100 feet high; the entrance 
 to the cove was narrow and steep, with rugged blufE 
 rocks on either side, the whole making a kind of rug- 
 ged amphitheater, with water for the pit. AU the sides 
 
 Kiner Penguin. 
 
230 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 were nigged, with projecting knobs of rocks jutting out 
 in all directions, and every part of the whole of this 
 was covered ^ith penguins. My estimate of the num- 
 ber was the lowest made, and I guessed it at 20,000, but 
 there might have been any number between that and 
 50,000 or 60,000.'" 
 
 Darwin, the author of authors on zoological matters, 
 thus describes the habits of penguins: " Having placed 
 myself between a penguin and the water, I was much 
 amused by watching its habits- It was a brave bird, 
 and until reaching the sea it regularly fought and 
 drove me backward. Nothing less than heavy blows 
 would have stopped him. Every inch he gained he 
 firmly kept, standing close before me erect and de- 
 termined. When thus opposed he continually rolled 
 his head from side to side in a very odd manner, as if 
 the power of distinct vision lay only in the anterior 
 and basal part of each eye. . This bird is commonly 
 called the jackass penguin, from its habit while on 
 shore of throwing its head backward and making a 
 loud, strange noise, very like the braying of an ass; 
 but while at sea and undisturbed its note is very deep 
 and solemn and is often heard in the night-time. In 
 diving its little wings are used as fins, but on the land as 
 front legs. When crawling, it may be said on four 
 legs, through the tussocks or on the side of a grassy 
 clifE, it moves so very quickly that it might easily be 
 mistaken for a quadruped. When at sea and fishing it 
 comes to the surface for the purpose of breathing with 
 such a spring and dives again so instantaneously that 
 I defy any one at first sight to be sure that it was not a 
 fish leaping for sport." 
 
 Moseley, in his incomparable " Notes of a Naturalist 
 on the Challenger," gives many accounts of the pen- 
 guins as observed by him. Of Kerguelan's Land he 
 says: " On the talus slopes beneath the cliff, along the 
 
BIRDS. 221 
 
 whole soutL. side of Christmas Harbor, are vast penguin 
 rookeries; the penguins here nesting among the stones 
 where vegetation is entirely wanting, and to the north 
 of the harbor are those of the smaller crested penguin, 
 called 'rock-hopper^ by the sealers, the same as that at 
 Marion Island, but nesting scattered among these is 
 another kind of penguin, the macaroni of sealers." 
 
 Again he says of a cave he visited: it ''was long and 
 tunnel-like. The 'rock-hopper' penguins breed in 
 this cave. I went into it about forty yards until it was 
 quite dark; the penguins retreated still before me. I 
 had no means of getting a light to explore the cave 
 further. The small penguin of New Zealand has been 
 observed breeding in like manner in the inner chamber 
 of a dark cave, and this mode of nesting is in keeping 
 with the usual habits of this species and others of 
 breeding in deep burrows which are of course quite 
 dark." 
 
 Speaking of 'the nests of another species, he says 
 they " were, like those of the jackass penguins at the 
 Cape of Good Hope, made of small stones, raising the 
 egg about an inch from the mud." 
 
CHAPTER XrV. 
 
 THE CJBCOMOEPH^. 
 
 This group, which includes the grehes, auks, guille- 
 mots, puffins, skuas, Jaegers, gulls, terns, albatrosses, 
 and petrels, is one of almost exclusively sea-birds; the 
 grebes and gulls being those which are also found in- 
 land. Examples of the other groups occasionally are 
 found at distances from the ocean, but such are' storm- 
 driyen individuals rather than voluntary visitors. 
 
 Let us now consider these families in the order given. 
 The grebes and divers are moderately well known. 
 Few country boys who have lived near a creek or a mill- 
 pond but have seen the little brown "devil-divers," as 
 they are so frequently called, although why is not quite 
 readily explained. W hat of deviltry there is about them 
 no one has yet made plain. 
 
 The grebes proper are found in most parts of the 
 globe, and being migratory the same species is often 
 found at vast distances from its proper home, if its 
 nesting-place is to be so considered. They are divers, 
 and in this word we describe the prominent feature of 
 their lives. On land they are hopeless, awkward, and 
 ill at ease; upon the water nothing can exceed their 
 gracefulness of motion. 
 
 In the United States we have some half-dozen species 
 of grebes and divers, where they occur at different times 
 of the year: the Western grebe beiig found on the 
 Pacific coast; the red-necked grebe, breading in the 
 arctic regions and found in the U nited States in winter; 
 the horned grebe, found in the Northern hemisphere 
 
BIJ^DS. 
 
 223 
 
 iiud breeding in the Norther] i United States. Giiraud, 
 la his _" Birds of Long Island," gives it as common on 
 
 ^hell-diver." Itfre- 
 dives when pursued. 
 The eared grebe is 
 
 Horned Grebe. 
 
 Long Island and says it is called 
 quents the flooded lowlands and 
 As an article of food it is useless. 
 found on the Pacific coast, 
 the least grebe is a tropical 
 form, while the thick-billed 
 grebe, or familiar little brown 
 diver, is found in the United 
 States at about all times and ' 
 seasons. 
 
 To refer more particularly 
 to the horned grebe, it may 
 be stated that it is found more in the Northern States 
 than elsewhere, and only as far south as the Middle States 
 in winter. It has no distinctive habits apparently, but 
 
 lives as does all its race. 
 Their nests are stated to 
 be large and to float on 
 the surface of the water, 
 " with which it rises and 
 falls, being composed of 
 a mass of reeds and other 
 aquatic plants. The eggs 
 vary from two to four in 
 number." 
 
 Another species of di- 
 ver has been thus pleas- 
 antly described by Leith 
 Adams in his " Field and 
 Forest Eambles:" ''The great Northern and red-throat- 
 ed divers are characteristic objects on almost every New 
 Brunswick lake during the summer months. The red 
 throat of the latter (common to the two sexes) is often 
 entirely wanting in specimens frequenting this region, 
 
 Bed-throated Diver. 
 
^m CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL msTORV . 
 
 and £ J is usual with birds remarkable for their abund- 
 ance, ^eyeral instances of albinism have been noticed, 
 but not two together. . . . More inquisifcive even 
 than a woman is the red-throated diver. These birds 
 are a positive nuisance sometimes, coming in from miles 
 round to look at a canoe, and then circling, chatter- 
 ing, and shrieking around it. On the plains I have 
 brought them up from a great distance by standing on 
 a hummock and shouting and waving my hat. Al- 
 though there are great numbers of them I could not find 
 a nest. They are called * wobbles ' by the fishermen,' 
 who often catch them in their nets." 
 
 Of the loon, or great Iforthem diver, the same author 
 writes: "I have seen many broods of the great North- 
 em diver, but rarely more than one young one was 
 observed with the parent, although the usual number of 
 eggs seems never less than two. The chick remains for 
 a long time vrith the parent and is seldom fully fledged 
 and able to fly until toward the end of September; how- 
 ever, what it wants in this respect is made up by activity 
 in the water. During my excursion to the Schoodic 
 Lakes, in the adjoining State of Maine, as the canoe was 
 gliding along the surface of Grand Lake among the 
 numerous islets where the loon breeds, we were attracted 
 by the loud calls of two of these birds, which were 
 accompanied' by a young one not larger than a teal. It 
 was an interesting sight to observe how the parents at- 
 tempted to defend the object of their solicitude by 
 redoubling their cries and making vigorous efforts to 
 outstrip our light bark, which, however, gained steadily 
 on them until the male rose and flew toward an islet, 
 thinking perhaps that we should follow him. Then, as 
 matters began to look desperate, the female, unable to 
 remain longer, began alternately to swim away and to 
 face us until, fairly driven to extremity, she raised her 
 graceful piebald figure like a mermaid, and half-flying, 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 %%h 
 
 half-treading on the surface, and at the same time 
 splashing the water with her wings like the paddles of 
 a steamboat, shot along for some fifty yards and alighted, 
 uttering louder and wilder cries as with desperate 
 struggles she essayed to entice the fledgling to follow. 
 . . . "We ... set to work to capture the chick; 
 but soon found it was much too agile." 
 
 We_ now come to a group of birds that are strictly 
 oceanic as to their habitat—the guillemots. " These 
 birds are spread over the northern parts of Europe, 
 Asia, and America, reaching as far south as the south- 
 ern coast of England. They breed in great numbers 
 on the cliffs of Orkney and 
 Shetland, forming a source 
 of profit to the adventurous 
 inhabitants." 
 
 It is stated to breed in 
 America from the Bay of 
 Fundy "as far north as land 
 extends." In winter it is 
 found on the coasts of Long 
 Island and New Jersey. 
 
 In Baird, Brewer, and 
 Eidgway's work on "North 
 American Birds," it is stated that this species "makes 
 no nest and sits in an upright position on her single 
 ^gg, incubation lasting four weeks. The young bird 
 is at first covered with a brownish-black, bristly, hair- 
 like down, and is fed for a short time by the parent with 
 pieces of fish." 
 
 The auks differ in many ways from the preceding, 
 one species, the now extinct great auk, or geer-fowl, not 
 being able to fiy. It has been extinct probably about 
 half a century. In a volume on " Newfoundland and 
 Its Missionaries," it is stated that "half a century ago 
 the penguin (great auk) was very plenty. It is a hand- 
 
 Commou Guillemot. 
 
226 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 BazoT'^biU. 
 
 some bird about the size of a goose, with, a coal-black 
 head and back, a white belly, and a milk-white spot 
 under the right eye. They cannot fly well — ^theii* wings 
 
 are more like fans." There 
 are many and quite curious 
 references to this bird in the 
 works of old travelers. 
 
 The razor-bill is a North- 
 ern Atlantic form that in 
 winter wanders as far south 
 as the coast of New Jersey. 
 It is a resident of Greenland. 
 It is strictly an ocean bird, 
 an excellent swimmer and 
 diver, and in its habits gen- 
 erally is like the guillemots. 
 It wanders over vast expanses 
 of ocean alone, but in the breeding season vast numbers 
 congregate on their chosen nesting-grounds. 
 
 The common puffin, or sea-parrot, is pretty well 
 known to those who live 
 upon our Northern At- 
 lantic sea-coast. It is one 
 that has the ill-luck quite 
 frequently to be blown in- 
 shore during violent 
 storms in winter. And 
 such occurrences are sure 
 to be heralded in the local 
 papers with an amount of 
 wonderment concerning 
 rtie bird that only the 
 very rarest of rare birds 
 would justify. 
 
 "These birds are not only very numerous in the 
 Northern latitudes, but they range further southward 
 
 Common Puffin. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 221 
 
 in their migrations in quest of breeding-places than 
 some others of the arctic birds. They- do not nestle iu 
 holes in the rocks so much as in burrows in the sandis 
 and other soft and dry beaches, though they also can 
 accommodate themselves in rocky situations. Eabbits 
 and they are sometimes found inhabiting the same locali- 
 ties, but whether they liye in peace or dispossess each 
 other is not clearly ascertained. As is the case with 
 most other diying-birds, they lay but one egg; and as is 
 the case with other hole-birds, the female does not sit 
 so closely as do 'those species which perform their incu- 
 bations upon the open shelves. The male alternates 
 with her on the nest while 
 she is feeding. The egg 
 is white. The birds defend 
 their nest with great bold- 
 ness and resolution, and 
 the pinch that they can 
 give and the hold that 
 they can keep with their 
 bills are both very power- 
 ful, and there are few ene- 
 mies that can attack them 
 in their strongholds with 
 impunity. The people of some countries, however, 
 draw them from their burrows in considerable numbers, 
 using the young as food and the old as bait for fish." 
 (M-udie's " British Birds.") 
 
 In the minds of all familiar with the sea-coast is the 
 ever-present and often-abundant sea-gull. So large are 
 they and so conspicuously colored that the attention is 
 sure to be drawn to them whenever we chance in the. 
 vicinity of salt water. Unlike many of the birds al- 
 ready mentioned, gulls do not confine themselves to the 
 immediate vicinity of the ocean. They frequent all 
 large bodies of fresh water, often far inland, and ascend 
 all our rivers for many miles from the mouths. 
 
 Lesser Black-backed Gull. 
 
228 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 According to a recent authority there are forty-ninis 
 species of gulls, separable into five genera. Of these, 
 fifteen belong to Europe and fourteen to North America. 
 "The larger species prey fiercely on other kinds of 
 birds, while the smaller content themselves ■with a diet 
 of insects and worms." Concerning several species 
 living only in the extreme North and the antarctic re- 
 gions but little is known. 
 
 " Many of the gulls congregate in vast numbers to 
 breed, whether on rocky cliils of the sea-coast or on 
 heathy islands in inland waters. Some of the settle- 
 ments of the black-headed gull are a source of no small 
 profit to their proprietors; the eggs, which are rightly 
 accounted a great delicacy, being taken on an orderly 
 system up to a certain day and the birds carefully pro- 
 tected." ("Encyclopedia Britannica.") 
 
 Moseley describes the nesting of the dominican gull 
 of Kerguelen's Land as follows : " The gull nests 
 . . . on the open ground among grass-tufts and the 
 birds breed in considerable fiocks together, choosing 
 often some dry place on the lower slopes of a hill-side. 
 I saw two such places where there were a few nests with 
 young and remains of many more. No regular nest is 
 made. The young are brown-colored. The old birds 
 make a great deal of noise when the young are carried 
 ,off, but make no attempt to protect them. The brown 
 color of the young is closely like that of the dead grass 
 in which they lie and under which they hide on approach 
 of danger. The color is protective to them; they are 
 certainly very difficult to see among the grass." 
 
 The terns, or sea-swallows, are gulls of a smaller pat- 
 tern and with more gracefulness of form and motion. 
 It is doubtful if there is to be seen more beautiful exhi- 
 bitions of fiight-power than that shown by some species 
 of this group of birds. Like the gulls, they are cosmo- 
 politan. Some species are very abundant, others are 
 
,r-'rv&'-3^ 
 
 BIHDS. 339 
 
 extremely rare. In the United States, or at least in 
 North America, there are found twenty species of these 
 birds. 
 
 The species here figured is found on our Atlantic 
 coast and breeds on the New Jersey shore, or did when 
 there was any chance for them to do so. Of late years 
 they are comparatively scarce to what was true of them 
 twenty or thirty years ago. In their habits generally 
 they are like the gulls. 
 
 Speaking of the sooty tern, "an intertropical species 
 found in all parts of the globe," Moseley writes: "A 
 tern (sterna fuliginosa), a 
 widely spread species, the 
 well-known ' wide-awake ' 
 of Ascension Island, was 
 exceedingly abundant. The 
 stretches of fiat ground 
 above the shore-line cov- 
 ered with grass were abso- 
 lutely full of brown-fledged 
 young of this bird. Eggs 
 were already very scarce _ 
 
 (August 31st). A noddy Lesser Tern. 
 
 — a species of tern — the 
 
 same bird as that at St. PauFs Rocks and Inaccessible 
 Island, so far off in the Atlantic, makes here a rude 
 nest of twigs and grass among the low bushes, but 
 often nfsts also on the ground. There were plenty of 
 eggs of this bird, it being not so advanced in breeding 
 as the tern." 
 
 That remarkable bird, the skimmer, which has a bill 
 the lower mandible of which is longer than the upper, 
 and both with sharp, cutting edges, is found in summer 
 along the Southeastern Atlantic coast of the United 
 States, and has been known to breed in New Jersey 
 near Great Egg Harbor. Its food consists of marina 
 
230 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OP NATURAL triSTORY. 
 
 life which it gathers from the surface of the water 
 while flying, skimming the waves with the lower man- 
 dible submerged. 
 
 Darwin thus described the speeies here figured: "I 
 . . . saw a very extraordinary bird called the goissor- 
 beak. It has short legs, web feet, extremely loag- 
 pointed wings, and is of about the size of a tern. , . . 
 In a lake near Maldonado from which the water had 
 been nearly drained, and which in consequence swarmed 
 with small fry, I saw several of these birds, generally in 
 small flocks, flying rapidly backward and forward close 
 
 to the surface of the 
 lake. They kept their 
 bills wide open and the 
 lower mandible half- 
 buried in the water. 
 Thus skimming the sur- 
 face they plowed it in 
 their course. The water 
 was quite smooth, and 
 it formed a most curi- 
 ous spectacle to behold- 
 a flock, each bird leav- 
 ing its narrow wake on 
 the mirror-like surfece. 
 In their flight they frequently twist about with extreme 
 quickness, and dexterously manage with their projecting 
 lower mandible to plow up small fish, which are secured 
 by the upper and shorter half of their scissor-like bills. 
 This fact I repeatedly saw as, like swallows, they con- 
 tinued to fly backward and forward close before me. 
 Occasionally when leaving the surface of the water their 
 flight was wild, irregular, and rapid; they then uttered 
 loud, harsh cries. When these birds are fishing, the 
 advantage of the long primary feathers of their wings 
 in keeping them dry is very evident. When thus 
 
 Black Skimmer. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 231 
 
 employed their forms resemble the symbol by which 
 many artists represent marine birds. Their tails are 
 much used in steering their irregular course." 
 
 The home of the wandering albatross is the vast ex- 
 panse of ocean in. the southern hemisphere. They may 
 be said to live on the ocean and visit the islands of. the 
 sea only for nesting purposes. Their nests have been 
 described as masses of grass, which are used year after 
 year in some instances, but not necessarily by the same 
 individuals. 
 
 Moseley found the albatross nesting on Marion 
 Island, and thus describes it: "The tracts of. lower, 
 nearly flat land of Marion 
 Island skirting the sea 
 and the lower hills and 
 slopes along the shore pre- 
 sented a curious spectacle 
 as viewed from the ship 
 as it steamed in toward a 
 likely - looking sheltered 
 spot for landing. . The 
 whole place was every- 
 where dotted over with 
 albatrosses, the large white 
 albatross, or goney. The 
 birds were scattered irregularly all over the green in 
 pairs, looking in the distance not unlike geese on a 
 common. . . 
 
 " I made my way up a steep bank and over a low hill 
 to reach the plain where were most albatrosses. . . . 
 Their nests are in the style of those of the molly mauks 
 ^yellow-billed albatross), but much larger, a foot and a 
 iialf at least in diameter at the top. They are made 
 up of tufts of grass and moss, with plenty of adher- 
 ing earth beaten and packed together, and are not so 
 straight in the sides as those of the molly mauks, but 
 more conical, with broad bases." 
 
 Wandering Albatross. 
 
332 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 It seems rather strange that these hirds, in whom the 
 perfection of flight-power resides, should be so helpless 
 when on land, and should not fly away when attacked 
 by man. Mr. Moseley says: " The old birds never at- 
 tempt to fly, though persistently ill-treated or driven, 
 heavily waddling, over the ground. . . . The old 
 males tried to run away when frightened, but never 
 even raised their wings." 
 
 Of the flight of this bird the same careful observer 
 says: " I believe the albatrosses move their wings much 
 oftener than is suspected. They often have the appear- 
 ance o"f soaring for long periods after a ship without 
 
 flapping their wings at 
 all, but if they be very 
 closely watched, very 
 short but extremely 
 quick motions of the 
 wings may be detected. 
 The appearance is rather 
 as if the body of the bird 
 _ _ _ _ ,_ dropped a very short dis- 
 
 ""' — "- " - ' tance and rose again, 
 
 stormy Petrel. ^^^ movements Cannot 
 
 be seen at all unless the 
 bird is exactly on a level with the eye. A very quick 
 stroke, carried even through a very short arc, can of 
 course supply a large store of fresh momentum. In 
 perfectly calm weather albatrosses flap heavily." 
 
 The stormy petrel, or Mother Carey^s chicken, is an- 
 other of those sea-birds that are marvels of endurance 
 so far as flight-power is concerned. 
 
 Moseley says: "Of the various kinds of petrels we 
 necessarily saw a great deal. They were our constant 
 companions in the Southern Ocean, following the ship 
 day after day, dropping behind at night to roost on the 
 water and tracing the ship up again m the early morn- 
 ing by the trail of debris ileft m its wake." 
 
BIRDS. 233 
 
 The same author says, speaking of the nesting hab- 
 its of petrels: " The beaten ground beneath the 
 Azorella (Kergnelen's Land) is perforated OTeryirhere 
 with holes of various petrels. Those of the prion are 
 most numerous. They are about big enough to admit 
 the hand, but the nest and egg are nearly always far out 
 of reach, the holes going in a yard and a half some- 
 times. 
 
 " Prion is a small gray bird, a petrel from the form 
 of the nostrils, but with a broad boat-shaped bill, with 
 extremely fine horny lamellse projecting on either margin 
 of the bill inside. The bird flies like a swallow, and 
 was nearly always to be seen in flocks about the ship, 
 or cruising over the sea, or attendant on a whale to pick 
 up the droppings from its mouth. Hence it is termed 
 by sealers the 'whale-bird.' Its food, as that of all the 
 petrels except the carrion ones, seems to consist of the 
 very abundant surface animals of the South Seas, espe- 
 cially of small Crustacea. . . . The prion lays a 
 single egg." 
 
 There is a diving-petrel found in the Southern Ocean 
 ■^frhich combines peculiarities of the petrels and divers. 
 Darwin says in his "Journal of Eesearches:" "This 
 bird never leaves the quiet inland waters. "When dis- 
 turbed it dives to a distance, and on coming to the sur- 
 face, with the same movement takes flight. After fly- 
 ing by the rapid movement of its short wings for a 
 space in a straight line, it drops, as if struck dead, and 
 dives again." Its anatomy allies it closely with the 
 auks. Darwin says: "It would be mistaken for an 
 auk when seen from a distance, either on the wing or 
 when diving and quietly swimming about the retired 
 channels of Terra del Fuego." 
 
 There are ten or more species of petrel-like birds 
 found on the sea-coast of North America, called shear- 
 waters. The name is derived probably from their man- 
 ner of flight iust above the crest of the waves. 
 
234 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The habits of the European species, of which an il- 
 lustration is here given, are well described in Mudie's 
 "British Birds," from which we quote as follows: 
 "Their motion along the water is not swimming, or 
 walking, or flying, but a sort of union of all the three. 
 It is swifter than any bird could swim, and only the 
 feet touch the water — at least the under part of the 
 body does not — and the wings have always as much air 
 under them as enables the bird to use them both for 
 buoyancy and for progress. But the points of the 
 wings Up the water, and the feet and them appear to 
 keep stroke in a way which can be understood when 
 seen, but not very clearly explained, because there is 
 
 nothing analogous with 
 which to compare it. 
 They have none of the 
 splash and splutter which 
 ducks and other birds of 
 that character produce 
 when they rise or take 
 the water obliquely. 
 They seem to make the 
 same use of the water that 
 a horse does of a good and firm highway — a fulcrum 
 to spring from and nothing more — no lagging or labor- 
 ing as if it Trere miry, or even spongy and elastic. . . . 
 " They resort to the breeding-grounds about March, 
 and though the breed is but a single bird, they take 
 plenty of time in the rearing of it, as they do not de- 
 part till about August. . . . The young in par- 
 ticular are sought after with considerable assiduity, and 
 after being cured with salt the islesmen reckon them no 
 bad food." 
 
 The habits of the American species do not differ 
 
 materially from that one which we have just described. 
 
 The fulmar petrel is a Northern species that is sel- 
 
 Manx Shear-water. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 235 
 
 dom seen on the coaat of the United States, but in its 
 own habitat it is extraordinarily abundant. Thus it 
 has been stated to have been seen " passing in a con- 
 tinual stream to the northward, in numbers inferior 
 only to those seen in the flights of the passenger 
 pigeon. 
 
 " It feeds on fish, the blubber of whales, and any 
 fat, putrid, floating substance that comes in its way. 
 It makes its nest on sea-clifEs, in which it lays only one 
 egg. The natives of St. Kilda value the eggs above 
 those of any other bird, and search for them by descend- 
 ing precipices by ropes in 
 the most perilous manner. 
 The fulmar is also valued 
 for its feathers, down, and 
 the oil found in its stomach, 
 which is one of the princi- 
 pal products of St. Kilda. 
 When caught or assailed it 
 lightens itself by disgorging 
 the oil from its stomach. 
 There is another species 
 found in the Pacific Ocean." 
 ("Imperial Dictionary.") 
 
 The reader must not suppose that the birds here 
 mentioned in some detail practically covers the iijt of 
 gulls, terns, and allied forms. It does not do so by any 
 means. There are hundreds of species not even named 
 by the compiler, but from what has been given an idea 
 can be gotten of the bird-life peculiar to the oceans 
 and certain isolated tracts of sea-coast where pelagic 
 birds resort to breed. 
 
 Fulmar. 
 
CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 THE GRALLJB, OE WADERS. 
 
 The wading-birds may be familiarly said to be of all 
 shapes and sizes. The name given to the group inti- 
 mates that they are long-legged birds, frequenting the 
 shores and shallows of rivers, lakes, and the searcoast. 
 This is true of them, but some are far more aquatic 
 than others, and many live at long distances inland. 
 The reader may miss in this chapter all reference to the 
 familiar herons, bitterns, and such superlatively long- 
 legged birds. ^ They, too, truly are waders, but have 
 certain anatomical features which have led our fore- 
 most naturalists to group them by themselves. They 
 will be considered in a subsequent chapter. 
 
 In the group of wading-birds as here limited there 
 are several distinct and well defined families, which will 
 be considered in order so far as hasty comments on 
 their more marked features will accomplish this. 
 
 The sheath-bills of the South Atlantic island region and 
 of Patagonia belong in the group of waders. Moseley 
 says of them: " The birds are pure white, about the eize 
 of a very large pigeon, but with the appearance rather 
 of a fowl. They have . light pink-colored legs, with 
 partial webbing of the toes, small spurs on the inner 
 side of the wings, like the spur- winged plover, and a 
 black bill with a most curious curved lamina of horny 
 matter projecting over the nostrils. Eound the eye is a 
 tumid pink ring bare of feathers; about the head are 
 wattle-like warts. . . . 
 
 " The birds nest under fallen rocks along the cliffs, 
 
BIRDS. 237 
 
 often in places where the nest is difficult of access. 
 The nest is made of grass and bents, and the eggs are 
 usually two in number, and of the shape of those of the 
 plovers and of a somewhat similar coloring, spotted dark 
 red and brown. . . . 
 
 Elsewhere, speaking of a penguin rookery on Marion 
 Island, our author says: " At the rookery these birds 
 were living on all sorts of filth dropped by the peii- 
 guins, and were the scavengers of the place. 
 
 Again he says: "The birds eat sea- weed and shell- 
 fish, mussels and limpets, besides acting as scavengers. 
 . . . They carry quantities of the limpet and mus- 
 sel shells up to the clefts or holes under the rocks which 
 they frequent. They readily feed in confinement, and 
 we had several on board the ship, running about quite 
 at home. . . . 
 
 " The birds, though usually to be seen running on 
 the rocks, can fly remarkably well, and their flight is 
 like that of a pigeon. I have seen them flying at a 
 great height about the cliffs of Christmas Harbor." 
 
 Darwin, in his "Journal," says of the Patagonian 
 species: "This small family of birds is one of those 
 which from its varied relations to other families . . . 
 may assist in revealing the grand scheme, common to 
 the present and past ages, on which organized beings 
 have been created." 
 
 The plovers are a group of birds that are well defined, 
 and as they are not confined to any particular locality, 
 being both sea-coast and inland birds, are pretty well 
 known to every one. 
 
 The golden plover here figured is not the same as the 
 American species that is known by the same name. 
 The habits of the two, however, do not very materially 
 differ. Of the iJuropean plover, Mudie, in his work on 
 " British Birds," writes: "In the popular vocabulary, 
 and even in that of authors, the plover is a bird of 
 
338 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 many names. It has been called green, and also yellon, 
 from its colors, and whistling, irom its voice, all of 
 which are applicable at some stage or other, and yet it 
 remains all the while the saine bird. 
 
 " The length of the plover is between ten and eleven 
 inches, the extent of its wings more than a foot and a 
 half, and its weight about half a pound. 
 
 " If the native region of birds be considered, as it 
 ■ certainly should be, that in which they are produced, 
 the golden plover is a bird of cold and arid heights, 
 and never nestles on the close margin of a lake or 
 stream, or in any place among aquatic plants. . . . 
 " They generally arrive on the breeding-grounds to- 
 ward the end of March or 
 beginning of April. . . . 
 Soon after they arrive the 
 whistle of the male begins 
 to be heard at very early 
 dawn. . . . The fe- 
 male makes no nest, but 
 merely scratches and lev- 
 els the surface a little. 
 . . . The eggs are four 
 in number, of an olive- 
 gray blotched with dusky, 
 and arranged with the four small ends in the center." 
 The American golden plover, so far as the United 
 States is concerned, is strictly a migratory species. Ac- 
 cording toDr. Coues, "it appears to have no special 
 lines of migration, but passes over the country at large, 
 sometimes in vast flocks, its autumnal progress being 
 more leisurely than its advance in the spring." Their 
 appearance in the United States is very regular as to 
 dates. Thus in the island of Nantucket Rovers are 
 confidently expected on August 29th. 
 . The golden plover is much sought for by sportemen 
 and is excellent as food. 
 
 Golden Plover. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 239 
 
 In the United States are also found the black-bellied, 
 kill-deer, ring, piping, and in the West the mountain 
 plover. As a bird of the upland, of high and dry 
 fields, the noisy kill-deer is very well known. The ring 
 and piping plovers are common to the coast and in sum- 
 mer to our river shores. 
 
 Closely allied to the plovers is the beautiful and inter- 
 esting turnstone. 
 
 Of the European species Mudie says: "Turnstones 
 appear on some parts of the British shores during the 
 greater part of the year, remaining till the season is 
 considerably advanced and making their appearance 
 again as early as August. . . . Turnstones do not 
 in general inhabit the bare 
 and beaten sands, but 
 rather those places which 
 are covered with small 
 stones, and partially with 
 marine plants of the short- 
 er growth and with the 
 roots of weeds cast up by 
 the sea. They are strong 
 and energetic birds for 
 their size, and not only 
 turn over small ^ stones with their bills (as their name 
 implies) for the sake of the little animals that are 
 under them, but they scrape with their feet in the. 
 shingle and weeds in the same manner as is done by 
 poultry." 
 
 The American Atlantic coast is visited by these birds 
 in great abundance at certain seasons of the year. 
 Along the shore-line of the Middle States it is most 
 numerous in September and October. 
 
 Another much larger bird allied to the plovers is the 
 oyster-catcher. Of the bird found in Europe Mudie says: 
 "It is common on all parts of the British shores from the 
 
 Turnstone. 
 
340 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Channel to the Shetland Isles. ... The shores of 
 the sea are the proper haunts of the oyster-catchers. 
 They are found only upon these in winter, and when 
 the situation is sequestered enough they remain there to 
 breed, giving preference to any lonely, sandy islet near 
 those shores upon which they find plenty of food. 
 . . . The shelled moUusca are the principal food of 
 the oyster-catchers when on the shores, and from that 
 it gets its name, although with us it feeds less upon 
 oysters than on other species, as the oysters are gener- 
 ally beyond its depth; and though it swims occasionally 
 it is not a diver. Limpets, mussels, and cockles are 
 
 common prize with it. 
 The former it can 
 twitch from the rocks 
 with great certainty by 
 an oblique tap with its 
 bill. Bivalve - shells, 
 when closed, it opens 
 by striking them at the 
 hinge; and in the case 
 of the cockle, holding 
 the shell steady with its 
 foot and wrenching 
 with its bill as. with a 
 crow-bar." 
 On the Eastern shores of the United States the Amer- 
 ican oyster-catcher is no longer a common bird. As 
 described by those who were familiar with it fifty or 
 more years ago, it was a bird of the surf and fed by 
 probing the compact sands with its powerful bill. That 
 it is or was ever literally an oyster-catcher is doubtful. 
 There was always, too, so great an abundance of other 
 food far more easily obtained that it is scarcely likely 
 that they would systematically hunt for open oysters, 
 and when closed probably their bills even would not 
 avail much against these bivalves. 
 
 Common Oyster-oatoher. 
 
StUDS. 
 
 243 
 
 The beautiful plover-like lapwing of Europe is un- 
 known to America. Mudie truly says of it: "The 
 crpsted lapwing is one of those birds that require little 
 description^ as wherever it inhabits, especially in the 
 breeding-season, it is sure to make itself known by its 
 incessant wailing cry of peet-weet, its curious and 
 tumbling flight round the head of the visitor, and the 
 beauty of its streaming crest and the lively contrast of 
 its colors. . . . 
 
 " These birds are very common in all parts of the 
 country (Great Britain) that are adapted to their habits, 
 and their chief migration 
 is from the shores of the 
 sea to the moors in sum- 
 mer, and from the moors 
 back again to the shores 
 in the latter part of the 
 season. . . . 
 
 "Mud-worms are un- 
 derstood to be the princi- 
 pal food of the lapwings 
 in all localities, and as 
 these hide themselves 
 during the day, the birds 
 have to be at their pastures early in the morning, espec- 
 ially during the breeding-time. . . . 
 
 " Their stratagems in enticing any animal that they 
 dread away from their nests or young are often amusing. 
 They will strike with the bend of the wing so near to 
 one's head that the stroke may be distinctly heard, and 
 they actually hit crows and other prowling birds, and 
 even dogs. I was once crossing a lonely moor — half 
 heath, half quagmire — ^upon which lapwings were more 
 than usually abundant. They were also more than 
 usually clamorous, for a countryman was crossing it a 
 little before me accompanied by one of the yelping curs 
 
 Lapwing. 
 
243 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HISTOR Y. 
 
 of which country people are in some places too fond. 
 The cur seemed rery resolute in lapwing-hunting and 
 the birds as willing to give him sport. They limped 
 before him, they flew low in twitches, and came close 
 upon him, by all sorts of motions both on foot and on 
 the wing, and the dog was fatiguing itself by alternately 
 making hopeless leaps at the flyers and hopeless starts 
 after the runners. At last one came twitching down 
 and, whether with the bend of the wing or the bill I 
 cannot say, hit him an audible bang on the ear which 
 
 sent him yelping with his 
 tail between his legs to his 
 master, and he hunted 
 lapwings no more while 
 in my sight." 
 
 The swift-foot, or 
 courser, is but rarely seen 
 in Europe, into which it 
 has straggled occasionally 
 from Africa, its native 
 country. The coursers 
 are reported to live on 
 open, sandy wastes where 
 there is next to no herb- 
 age, and what it finds to 
 attract it in such localities 
 is a difficult problem to 
 solve. 
 Their long limbs are otherwise well adapted for run- 
 ning; hence its two common names already mentioned. 
 The jacanas are wading-birds that are characterized 
 by remarkably long toes from which extend equally 
 remarkably long nails, which together enable the bird to 
 walk upon the floating leaves of aquatic plants. They 
 have also a prominent spur upon the wing. They are 
 found only in tropical countries, and one species has 
 
 Brazen-winged Courser. 
 
JSIRDS. 
 
 343 
 
 been taken in Southern Texas, thus giving it a sort of 
 place among the birds of this country. They are found 
 in Cuba, Central and South America, and in portions 
 of other continents. 
 
 Belt, in a description of a Nicaraguan river, says: 
 "At a sedgy spot were some jacanas stalking about, and 
 when disturbed, rising, chattering their displeasure, and 
 showing the lemon-yellow of the under side of their 
 wings, contrasting with the deep 
 chocolate-brown of the rest of their 
 plumage." 
 
 Im Thurn, in his grand book 
 on Guiana, refers twice to jacanas. 
 Describing a pond wherein was 
 blooming the Victoria regia, he 
 says: "Dainty spur- wings ran 
 about on the lily-leaves, and one 
 of these birds had a nest on a 
 leaf." And again refers to them 
 as running through the reeds and 
 over them, like rail-birds. 
 
 Wc now come to consider more 
 familiar birds — the snipe and 
 sandpiper family — of which there 
 are so many representatives in 
 the United States. The names 
 snipe, curlew, woodcock, willet, and sandpiper are 
 familiar to all. These birds have much in common and 
 yet vary indefinitely in size and habits. Some a,re 
 strictly sea-coast birds, others wander far inland, while 
 again others, like the woodcock, are really land-birds. 
 
 The common snipe of Great Britain measures one 
 foot in length, the bill being one-fourth the total 
 length. The spread of wings is one foot two inches; 
 the weight four ounces. 
 
 "Xt is plentiful in most parts of Britain and frequents 
 
 Long-tailed Jacana. 
 
844 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL ttlSTOKY. 
 
 marshy or moist grounds. It feeds on worms, insects, 
 and small moUusks." 
 
 This about covers the habits of the bird, and the 
 same may be said of the American species, which in 
 every respect very closely resembles it. 
 
 Mudie says: "The seasonal cry of the male begins 
 in the end of March, or sometimes in April, according 
 to the place and the season, and it continues as long as 
 the female sits. JJntil he finds a mate the male often 
 cries during the day, but after pairing he is heard 
 chiefly in the evening. The call is a mixture of piping 
 and bleating, always uttered on the wing and swelled 
 
 and hurried as the bird 
 ascends. While uttering 
 it the bird, if visible, is al- 
 ways in a state of great ex- 
 citement, with the wings 
 quivering, but whether the 
 action of these upon the 
 air occasions any portion 
 of the sound," as some al- 
 lege, is a point not easily 
 denied or proved. 
 
 "The nest is hidden 
 among the thick herbage, 
 and consists of a small 
 hollow carelessly lined with withered plants. The eggs 
 are four, of a pale greenish-gray with brown blotches — 
 some lighter, some darker — and they are arranged quar- 
 terfoil. The young quit the nest immediately, at which 
 time they are covered with down of a grayish-brown 
 color." 
 
 The European woodcock is found over large areas of 
 Europe and to less extent, probabljr, in Western Asia. 
 It breeds in the northern limits of its yearly range and 
 is a winter visitor in Great Britain. 
 
 Common Snipe. 
 
BTRDS. 
 
 245 
 
 It is very naturally highly prized as a game-bird, 
 afEording excellent sport and is delicious as food. Thej 
 are crepuscular in their habits and are bewildered by 
 the bright glare of the noonday sun. 
 
 Concerning woodcocks as weather-prophets, Mudie 
 says: "Sudden . . . and capricious shifting of 
 their ground . . . shows a feeling of the changes 
 of the weather which, to our comprehension, is abso- 
 lutely prophetic; and though they must, no doubt, in 
 part be attributed to the delicate sensibility of those 
 creatures on which 
 the birds f ead, it must 
 also be in part owing 
 to the sensibility of 
 the birds themselves, 
 inasmuch as they are 
 not starved or even 
 exhausted after their 
 longest migrations. 
 
 ' 'And when we con- 
 sider how very sensi- 
 tive an organ the bill 
 of" these birds is — that 
 it answers many of the 
 purposes of a nose, an 
 eye, a tongue, and a hand — ^we may cease to be puzzled 
 about the exquisite sensibility of the birds to the most 
 minute atmospheric changes." 
 
 In the experience of the compiler, the American 
 woodcock is not so sensitive to atmospheric changes, 
 aUd certainly they are exposed to them in the Middle 
 States, arriving as they do often in February and re- 
 maining untU November. Indeed, they are resident to 
 a limited extent. 
 
 A very difEer^nt but stUl distinctly snipe-like bird is 
 the curlew. Birds of this group are of several species 
 
 Woodcock. 
 
246 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 and are all noticeable for their long, downwardly curved 
 bills. 
 
 There are three American species that are found in 
 the populated portions of 'the continent, and two others 
 are found respectively in Greenland on the one hand 
 and Alaska on the other. In England there are two 
 species, the common and the whimbrel. Of the former, 
 which is here figured, the dimensions are, maximum 
 length, eighteen inches; of bill, seven inches, or a total 
 of twenty-five inches. Extent of wings, about three 
 feet. 
 
 Mudie states: "Curlews are very common birds, 
 visiting all the flat and shelving shores in the winter 
 
 and the moist and marshy 
 moors in the breeding-sear 
 son. . . . They tend 
 much to enliven the more 
 dreary and desolate of these 
 marshy moors, as during 
 the breeding-season they 
 whistle and scream in wild 
 and varied notes, till all the 
 place rings again, accom- 
 panying their cries by wheel- 
 Common Curlew. ing fligi^tg .j^iiich are not un- 
 graceful. . . . 
 " The nest is a very rude couch of withered grass or 
 rushes; the eggs are four, of a pale brownish-green, 
 with spots of different shades of brown. They are 
 placed quarterfoil, like those of the plover. . . . 
 
 " The common name for the ciirlew in Scotland is the 
 wJiaup, which is the name also for the pod of a legu- 
 minous plant before the seeds begin to swell. The aflu- 
 sion is to the bill, or, as it is called, the neb of the bird, 
 and the term ' whaup-nebbed ' is applied to express a 
 long, thin arched hose, and also one who is cunning. It 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 247 
 
 is likewise one of the attributes of those beings with 
 which superstition peoples the night: ' ghaists an' whaup- 
 nebbed things ' are very generally associated as equally 
 to be dreaded, and there is no doubt that the allusion is 
 directly to the curlew, as it whistles and screams in 
 those places in which the ignis fatuus is most likely to 
 appear, and where, from the want of paths or land- 
 marks, the people are most likely to wander and lose 
 their way in foggy weather." 
 
 The European whimbrel is a smaller curlew than the 
 preceding species, but bears a close resemblance to it in 
 both the character of 
 its haunts and in its 
 habits. 
 
 There is nothing in 
 the habits of our 
 American species es- 
 pecially worthy of 
 note. They are found 
 over a vast extent of 
 territory, coming and 
 going at certain sea- 
 sons. Before the coast 
 of New Jersey was 
 
 §iven up, from Sandy 
 [ook to Cape May, to bath-houses, booths, board- 
 walks, and big crowds curlews and whole hosts of 
 snipe-like birds were constantly to be found there. 
 Now this coast is pretty nearly forsaken, and the surest 
 place to iind what feathered visitors it has is to visit 
 the light-houses. Bewildered by them, a few birds, 
 curlews among them, get astray in hurrying by and 
 break their necks against the tall building. It is said 
 death loves a shining mark. In this case a shining 
 mark deals death to the birds. For them there is no 
 life-saving station along the coast. 
 
 Spotted Redshank. 
 
348 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 " The natural habitat," says Mudie of the spotted 
 redshank, " is said to be on the banks of rivers, where 
 it lives in concealment during the breeding-season, sub- 
 sisting more upon the fresh-water shelled mollusca than 
 on insects or worms." 
 
 There are in America a large series of birds more or 
 less closely allied to the above, and known by a series of 
 more or less descriptive names. Such are the "yellow- 
 shanks" and "tell-tale" tattlers, the marine and inland 
 sandpipers, and others. These are separated into twenty- 
 two genera, but many of these have but few species. 
 
 One of them is a strictly inland species, the little 
 " teeter tiltup " or rather is as much at home in the 
 high and dry upland fields as along the river shore or 
 quiet mill-pond. In such localities it often nests, and 
 in every way is a land bird. It can scarcely be said to 
 sing, but its "peet-weet" is so clear and flute-like and 
 so frequently repeated that it adds much to the attrac- 
 tions of its haunts in the minds of those who require 
 birds' songs to complete their ideal of a wild-life scene. 
 
 Another small sandpiper, the "wood-tattler," is also 
 an inland species, and found at long distances from run- 
 ning water. 
 
 A well-known European form of sandpiper is the 
 dunlin, or purre. It is about eight inches in length 
 and fifteen in extent of wing. 
 
 " In winter these birds are very abundant upon all 
 the oozy and more humid sandy shores of the country, 
 where they follow the reflux of the sea and pick uji their 
 food. They are in small flocks, and when raised they 
 utter a sort of wailing scream, but when they are run- 
 ning and feeding they have a more murmuring." 
 
 The . American dunlin, or red-backed sandpiper, is a 
 very closely allied species. It has a wide distribution 
 over the continent. They are migratory and pass their 
 summers in the arctic circle and winters anywhere from 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 249 
 
 Kew Jersey soutTiward. Here, as in Europe, they go 
 in flocks of considerable size, and in the autumn are fat 
 and excellent eating. 
 
 Dr. Brewer says: "These birds usually crowd so 
 closely together when whirling about in these excursions 
 (for food along the shore) that many may be killed at a 
 single shot. Mr. Giraud mentions that on one occasion 
 no less than fifty-two were killed by the discharge of 
 both barrels of a gun into a flock. This is an unusual 
 number, but the killing of ten or twelve at a time is 
 said to be not an uncom- 
 mon thing." 
 
 Occasionally these birds 
 wander up the rivers emp- 
 tying into the Atlantic to a 
 considerable distance. Usu- 
 ally a storm drives them, or 
 at least immediately after 
 such occurrences they are 
 seen, when met with at all. 
 < Darwin recorded of the 
 American stilt as he saw it 
 in South America: " The kind of plover which appears 
 as if mounted on stilts is here common in flocks of 
 considerable size. It has been wrongfully accused of 
 inelegance; when wading about in shallow water, which 
 is its favorite resort, its gait is far from awkward- 
 These birds in a flock utter a noise that singularly re- 
 sembles the cry of a pack of small dogs in full chase. 
 Waking in the night, I have more than once been for a 
 moment startled at the distant sound." 
 
 The European stilt, which is here figured, differs 
 somewhat from the American species. " It has a long 
 straight bill, also very long wings for its size. It is a 
 bird of rare occurrence in Britain. It exhibits a gen 
 eral white color, the back and wings in the male 
 
 Dunlin. 
 
250 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 being deep black, while those of the females are of a 
 brownish-black hue. The average length of the stilt- 
 bird is about twelve or thirteen inches. The legs, 
 which are of a red color, measure from eighteen to 
 twenty inches. They are destitute of a hind toe, and 
 the three front ones are united by a membrane at their 
 bases." ("Imperial Dictionary.") 
 
 The American stilt is found from ocean to ocean from 
 early spring to the approach of winter. On the At- 
 lantic seaboard it is less 
 abundant than on the Pa- 
 cific. In Southern New 
 Jersey it now comes and 
 goes irregularly where 
 formerly it remained and 
 nested year in and year out. 
 The extreme length of 
 its legs and long wings 
 give it a rather curious ap- 
 pearance when it is flying, 
 and the tipping motion of 
 the body is greater when 
 walking than that of most 
 sandpipers; but the bird, 
 though so prominent a 
 species, possesses no 
 marked feature of its habits. The general and steady 
 destruction of all attractiveness of our sea-coast has al- 
 ready had the effect of making these birds quite rare, 
 and they will soon be quite unknown to their happy 
 haunts of half a century ago. I recently walked sev- 
 eral miles of our sea-coast without seeing even a single 
 gull! 
 
 In the happier times, ornithologically considered, of: 
 
 , seventy years ago, there was found about Cape Mav, 
 
 New Jersey, and for miles up the coast, a beautiful 
 
 ' *'-4i<g;*.r.;,."- 
 
 Stilt. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 351 
 
 nnipe-like bird which, "from its perpetual clamor/"' 
 was called the "lawyer." It is almost useless to look 
 for them — the birds, not the other things — now in the 
 same locality. In the West and South they are stijl 
 more or less common. 
 
 Dr. Brewer states: "If in the water, it stands a few 
 minutes balancing its head and neck and then stalks 
 about in search of food, sometimes running for it, and 
 occasionally swimming, or wading up to its breast with 
 its wings partially raised. ... In searching fpr 
 food they move their heads 
 to and fro sideways while 
 the bill is passing through 
 the soft mud, and when 
 the water is deep they im- 
 merse the whole head and 
 part of the neck. In pur- 
 suit of aquatic insects they 
 seize their prey by thrust- 
 ing the lower mandible be- 
 neath it, the other being 
 raised above the surface. 
 This bird is also expert in 
 
 catching flying insects, which it pursues with partially 
 expanded wings." 
 
 The European species does not differ materially in 
 habits from the American form. Mudie states of the 
 English bird that they "are restless and lively," and 
 when nesting, are given to trickery to call the intruder 
 from the vicinity of the nest by limping and dropping 
 one wing as if it were broken, and yet takes good care 
 to keep quite out of reach. 
 
 " The ruff, although a marsh-bird," says Mudie, " is 
 one in which the gallinaceous character is very con- 
 spicuous. The males are polygamous, or at all events 
 pugnacious, aiud fight as gallantly for their dames as 
 
 Avoset. 
 
252 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF N'ATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 ever tnight-errant did in those ages of cWvalry -when 
 the highest ambition of man was to imitate the conduct 
 and even assume the name of the game-cock. 
 
 " Their gallinaceous characters are indeed so striking 
 that they might with no very great impropriety be 
 called 'fen-poultry.' The males are considerably larger 
 than the females. They are furnished in the breeding 
 season with a large accession of produced and glossy 
 feathers, forming a rufE or mantle over the breast and 
 
 neck as far as the scapulars 
 and with a long erectable 
 tuft of similar feathers be- 
 hind each eye, and though 
 they have not combs and wat- 
 tles like the males of the 
 common fowl, the face be- 
 comes covered with naked, 
 fleshy tubercles of a reddish- 
 yellow color at the same time 
 that the produced feathers of 
 the rufE and ear-tufts ap- 
 pear. . . . 
 
 " The nests are rudely 
 formed of withered grass in 
 the hassocks or tufts which are separated from each other 
 by sludgy or miry places. . . . 
 
 " It does not appear that the males take any share in 
 the building of the nest, the incubation, or the feeding 
 of the female while sitting, nor have they been seen 
 tending the brood after. They are but little se^n during 
 the moulting month, and when they again make their 
 appearance they are without their insignia of war and 
 withal very peaceable birds." 
 
 Ruffs are seldom seen in this country, a few instances 
 being on record. 
 
 The cedicnemids, or thick-knees, stone-curlews, or 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 353 
 
 stone-ploTers, as they are variously called, are Old and 
 New W orld forms belonging to the intertropical regions, 
 and the former are so far migratory as to enter the 
 Southern and Eastern Counties of England. 
 
 Mudie says of those that he observed in England that 
 "they keep the open fields, avoiding copses and covers 
 of all kinds, and rarely even feeding in enclosures ex- 
 cept these are very large. . . . The cry of the male 
 is rather -loud but grating, and something resembling 
 that made by an ungreased iron axle. . . . 
 
 "In autumn they assemble in large ilocks and con- 
 tinue feeding for a greater 
 part of the day probably 
 because the darkness lasts 
 longer. . . . They 
 are noisy for even the 
 greater part of the night, 
 and if the weather is clear 
 they roam about. . . . 
 
 "In all countries which 
 they frequent they are in- 
 habitants of the arid 
 places." 
 
 The habits of the stone- 
 plover as seen in Nicaragua, are thus described by Mr. 
 Nutting: " This curious bird is gregarious and lives in 
 the pastures surrounding the hacienda, where it makes 
 itself useful by eating the various insects that annoy 
 and injure the cattle. On this account it is protected 
 by the inhabitants of the country. . . . The bird 
 is exactly like a gigantic plover in appearance and mo- 
 tions, and is frequently seen in a state of domestication 
 in the little flower-gardens which occupy the innei 
 oourts of the houses of he aristocracy, and here it workj 
 for its living by keeping the gardens clear of insect»^ 
 worms, reptiles, etc." 
 
 stone-plover. 
 
254 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The bustards are birds that are no longer aquatic ia 
 their haunts and habits. The name "bustard" is said 
 to be d, corruption of Latin avis tarda — slow bird — but 
 when these birds "get up and get," they are by no 
 means slow. 
 
 They are Old World birds, being found in Europe, 
 Asia, Africa, and one species in Australia. They are 
 now extinct in England as native birds, but occasionally 
 a straggler is seen. The great bustard of which an 
 illustration is here given, according to Newton ("En- 
 cyclopedia Bjitannica") "an adult male will measure 
 
 nearly four feet from the 
 tip of the bill to the end 
 of the tail and its wings 
 have an exparise of eight 
 feet or more, its weight 
 varying (possibly 
 through age) from 
 twenty-two to thirty- 
 two pounds. 
 The female is consider- 
 ably smaller. Compared 
 with most other birds 
 frequenting open places, the bustard has dispropor- 
 tionately short legs, yet the bulk of its body renders 
 it a conspicuous and stately object, and when on the 
 wing, to which it readily takes, its fight is not inferior 
 in majesty to that of an eagle. . . . 
 
 " The food of the b stard consists of almost any of 
 the plants natural to the open country it loves, but in 
 winter it will readily forage on those which are grown 
 by man and especially coleseed and similar green crops. 
 To this vegetable diet much animal matter is added 
 when occasion offers, and from an earth-worm to a 
 field-mouse, little that lives and moves seems to come 
 iimiss to its appetite. . . From Xenophon's days 
 
 Great Bustard. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 355 
 
 to our own the flesh of bustards has been esteemed as of 
 the highest flavor." 
 
 Efforts to reintroduce into England have not suc- 
 ceeded. 
 
 Describing the river-side birds of Guiana, Im Thurn 
 thus refers to the agami, or as he calls it, warrar-caba. 
 He says: " Occasionally a flock of warra-cabas, or 
 trumpet-birds, comes flying by, and the birds alight- 
 ing, at once begin to run about as if very busy, utter- 
 ing the oddly deep and sonorous note which has gained 
 for these birds their popular 
 name. When seen at close quar- 
 ters nothing could well be more 
 beautiful than these 
 birds, sober as they are in color; 
 their softly-shaded gray plumes, 
 long and hanging more grace- 
 fully than those of an old male 
 heron, contrast most exquisitely 
 with the metallic-looking, deep 
 purple-black feathers of the throat 
 and neck." 
 
 From Schomburgh we learn 
 that "it is found in the forests 
 all over British Guiana, and may 
 often be seen in flocks of 100 to 200 individuals. They 
 do not seem to leave the forests at all. Being unusually 
 easy to tame, they are also found in the settlements of the 
 Indians, ruling with undisputed sovereignty the other 
 poultry as also the tame quadrupeds; even the big hoc- 
 cos have to submit to their sway. Their power of flight 
 is so weak that when the flocks fly across a river of any 
 consequence, several of the birds usually fall into the 
 stream before reaching the opposite bank, in which 
 case they save themselves by swimming. - They seem to 
 prefer the moist forests near the coast to those of the 
 
 Agaml. 
 
26C CYCLOPEDIA OP NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 mteriot. Their meat is palatable. They nest on the 
 ground." 
 
 Every one is familiar with the name " crane," but a 
 Vast number of people are not correct in their impres- 
 eion of what that bird really is and call the whole tribe 
 of herons by that name; when, as a fact, there are but 
 two species m the United States, and these are no longer 
 common features of the Atlantic seaboard of our country. 
 The true cranes are found in abundance in Europe, 
 
 Asia, and Africa, and there 
 are some twelve or fifteen 
 distinct species. 
 
 The species here figured 
 is one of the two " crowned 
 cranes," so called from the 
 
 tuft of yellow feathers upon 
 
 i'v^^WK^. ^^^^ the back of the head. It 
 
 is found in !N"orthern Afri- 
 ca. 
 
 The common European 
 crane is no longer a Brit- 
 ish bird, at least has for 
 centuries ceased to be a 
 _________^__^^^ resident. It is a migratory 
 
 Crowned Crane. ^"^^ bird wherever found, its 
 journeys from one country 
 to another being of a very extended nature, "and on its 
 way from beyond the borders of the Tropic of Cancer to 
 within the arctic circle, or on the return voyage, its 
 fiocks may be descried passing overhead at a marvelous 
 height, or halting for rest and refreshment on the wide 
 meadows that border some great river, while the seem- 
 ing order with which its ranks are marshaled during 
 flight has long attracted attention." ("Encyclopedia 
 Britannica.") 
 
 Seebohm states that the common European crane 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 2511 
 
 "formerly bred throughout the whole of Europe wher- 
 ever marshes of sufficient extent and solitude were to be 
 found, and principallj^ remain at the present time in 
 Spain, Arctic Europe, and Turkey. It winters in the 
 basin of the Mediterranean. Eastward it ranges to 
 Kamtchatka, wintering in Persia, Ihdia, and China." 
 
 After reaching their chosen breeding-grounds the 
 flocks "break up into pairs, whose nuptial ceremonies 
 are accompanied by loud 
 and frequent trumpetings. 
 . . . The nest is formed 
 with little art on the ground 
 in large open marshes. 
 . . . The crane emits 
 its notes both during flight 
 and while on the ground. 
 In the latter case, the neck 
 .and bill are uplifted and the 
 mouth kept open during 
 the utterance of the blast." 
 
 In Eastern North Ameri- 
 ca the native crane offers an 
 interesting case of the 
 change that takes place 
 among the birds when the 
 country becomes thickly 
 settled. In this case the 
 cranes were not disposed to 
 accept the situation, but 
 "went West." I quote from 
 " TurnbuU's Birds of East 
 " The whooping-crane may 
 
 Whooping Crane. 
 
 Pennsylvania," as follows; 
 . be said to have dis- 
 appeared, not even a straggler having been seen for some 
 years. It . . . seems to have been once very 
 plentiful, for we read in ' Hakluyt's Voyages, ' Ed. 1589, 
 fol. 739, that Captain Philip Amadas and his fellow-ad- 
 
258 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 venturers, who visited and explored the coast (of New 
 Jersey) in 1584, ' having discharged their harquebus- 
 shot, such a flocke of cranes (the most part white) 
 arose with such a crye, redoubled by many ecchoes, as 
 if an army of men had shouted altogether*' 
 
 " The brown, or sand-hill crane, has not been seen in 
 this region for many years past, although it is still not 
 uncommon in the West." 
 
 Peter Kalm, the celebrated Swedish naturalist, re- 
 sided for some time in New Jersey in 1748-49. Under 
 date of February 17th, he states: " Cranes were some- 
 times seen flying in the day-time to the northward. They 
 commonly stop here early in the spring for a short time, 
 but they do not make their nests here, for they proceed 
 on more to the north. Certain old Swedes told me 
 that in their younger years, as the country was not 
 much cultivated, an incredible number of cranes were 
 here every spring, but at present (1749) they were not 
 so numerous. Several people who have settled here eat 
 their flesh when they can shoot them. They are said 
 to do no harm to corn or the like." 
 
 Cranes to-day may be said to occupy the interior of 
 the continent, passing to and fro up the valley of the 
 Mississippi into the far North. It can scarcely be said 
 to be occasionally seen on the New Jersey coast. The 
 latest record I find is that of Turnbull. He states: 
 " While at Beasley's Point in 1857, I saw three ofE the 
 inlet; they were very wary and could not be approached. 
 In Wilson's time it bred at Cape May." 
 
 Dr. Coues thust graphically describes the whooping- 
 crane as seen on our prairie: "This tall and stately 
 white bird, of the most imposing appearance of any of 
 this country, I have only seen on the broad prairie or 
 soaring on motionless pinion in spiral curves high over- 
 head. Its immense stature is sometimes singularly ex- 
 aggerated by that quality of the prairie air which mag- 
 
BIRDS. 259 
 
 n'lfios distant objects on the horizon, transforming some- 
 1 lines a weed into a man or making a wild turkey ex- 
 cite suspicion of a buffalo. The most fabulous ac- 
 counts 01 a crane's size might readily arise without in- 
 tentional deception. I have know-n a person to mistake 
 a sandhill crane for one of his stray mules and go in 
 search, and another enthusiastic teamster once declared 
 that some he saw were 'bigger than his six-mule team.' 
 Once, while antelope-shooting on the prairie, my com- 
 panion — a good hunter — and myself saw what we took 
 to be an antelope standing quietly feeding with his 
 broad, white stern toward us and only about five 
 hundred yards off. We attempted for at least fifteen 
 minutes to ' flag ' the creature up to us, waving a hand- 
 kerchief on a ramrod in the most approved style, This 
 proving unavailing, my friend proceeded to stalk the 
 game and crawled ... for about half the distance 
 before the ' antelope ' unfolded his broad, black-tipped 
 wings and flapped off, revealed at length as a whooping- 
 crane." 
 
 Very unlike in size and general appearante, yet not 
 widely apart in anatomical structure upon which classi- 
 flcation is to be and is based, are the cranes and the rail- 
 birds. 
 
 The water-rail, the only one to be foun(i in Europe, is 
 "about eleven inches in length, of an olive-brown color, 
 marked with black above and of a bluish ash-color be- 
 neath." It is considered a delicate article of food. 
 According to Mudie, it is called also the "water-ouzel," 
 and "velvet-runner," and various other names. 
 
 " The nest is formed in thick herbage, or in holts or 
 brakes by the side of the stream -very near the water. 
 . . . It is both a shy and a wary bird, running with 
 much swiftness in the open places, threading the herb^ 
 age like a serpent, skipping along the thin flooring of 
 aquatic leaves, wading in the shallows, running across 
 
360 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HISTOR Y. 
 
 PS vV 
 
 Water-rail. 
 
 the brook^ and plying every means of escape save that 
 
 of flying, to which it does not resort unless pressed to 
 
 the last extremity. " 
 This quotation concerning the European rail is very 
 
 largely applicable to the sev- 
 eral species which are found 
 in North America. Along 
 our Atlantic sea -board 
 we have the clapper-rail, or 
 salt-water mud-hen; along 
 the marshes of the rivers 
 are found the king-rail, the 
 Virginia rail, the little yel- 
 low, the little black, and 
 the sora. Of these the sora 
 is the one ever abundant 
 and universally well known 
 
 species. The king-rail, the finest and largest of all, 
 
 is moderately abundant in the valley of the Delaware 
 
 where it breeds; the others are scarce and rare. 
 
 Those who are accustomed to visit the sea-shore in 
 
 early summer and 
 
 have mustered up 
 
 sufficient courage 
 
 to walk over the 
 
 grassy meadows in 
 
 the "back bays," 
 
 have doubtless 
 
 seen in numbers 
 
 the "mud-hens," 
 
 as the natives call 
 
 them, and too, 
 
 have probably 
 
 found their nests, and of course, Christian-like, taken 
 
 home the whole clutch of pretty eggs as "curiosities." 
 It is a wonder that there are any left in these degen- 
 
 Clapper-rail. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 2G1 
 
 erate days. The king-rail of thie fresh-water tracts has 
 fared better and usually rears its brood, and yet it does 
 not appear to increase in numbers. The young of the 
 preceding summer do not return with their parents in 
 the following spring. I know of small tracts of mucky 
 meadow where year after year there is a single pair of 
 these birds to each meadow, but never two or more 
 pairs, yet one would think there was room enough and 
 food enough for an hun- 
 dred. 
 
 The common sora, or 
 rail - bird, is too well 
 known to need any elab- 
 orate description. Suf- 
 fice it to say that it comes 
 from the South in early 
 spring and often stops 
 for a brief time far south 
 of the range in which it 
 nests. 
 
 After breeding in the 
 NewEngland States and Sora. 
 
 northward they slip 
 
 down as far as the Delaware Eiver, and in the tide 
 marshes and springy meadows of that stream feast and 
 fatten from August to October, when those that have 
 escaped the gunners pass on to the Southern States to 
 spend the winter. 
 
 Their coming and going is so often so abrupt a pro- 
 ceeding that many absurd theories have been suggested 
 as explanatory. It is only necessary to say that these 
 birds migrate, and do not hibernate in the mud, or in 
 hollow trees, or anything else, but put themselves on 
 -their metal when the time comes to go, and fly away 
 /'like all possessed." They are sensitive to frost, but 
 .not to such an extent as has sometimes been stated. 
 
 
362 CYCLOPEDtA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 They are more senBitive to an empty stomach, and the 
 frost that is surest to send them southward in autumn 
 is that which cuts off their food supply. 
 
 Wilson relates an amusing anecdote concerning the 
 sora's mysterious disappearance. Some one curious in 
 such matters discovered "that they changed into frogs! 
 having himself found in his meadows (James Eiver, 
 Virginia) an animal of an extraordinary kind that hap- 
 pened to be neither a sora nor a frog, but, as he ex- 
 pressed it, something between the two." He could not 
 see in the creature, whatever it was, anything but the 
 sora in a state of alteration toward a frog, and verily, 
 
 did not his negroes also 
 agree with him? No fur- 
 ther confirmation was nec- 
 essary. 
 
 It is very difficult when 
 once the ignorant think 
 they have acquired certain 
 facts to convince them that 
 their apparent facts are by 
 Corncrake. no means real ones. 
 
 A curious bird and one 
 found in Europe, but only known as a straggler in this 
 country, is the corncrake. 
 
 "This bird is a summer visitor to Britain and North- 
 ern Europe generally, where its migrations extend as 
 far north as Iceland. It reaches Britain in April and 
 leaves in October, having meanwhile raised a brood of 
 young._ . . . It is a shy and timid bird, seeking 
 safety in concealment among the rank herbage which it 
 frequents, and through which it runs with amazing 
 rapidity; its note may thus be heard in quick succession 
 proceeding from the most diverse parts of the same 
 field, a circumstance which seems to nave suggested the 
 idea that the crake possessed for protective purposes a 
 
BIJiDS. 363 
 
 certain ventriloquial power. It seldom takes wing un- 
 less driven to it, and then flies slowly, with its legs 
 hanging down, to the nearest place of concealment, 
 and is thus much oftener heard than seen." (" Ency- 
 clopedia Britanniea.") 
 
 It must not be inferred from the above that ventrilo- 
 quism is not a power of any birds. Certainly our 
 American chat is not only a good ventriloquist, but very, 
 intelligently uses his power to mislead those people or 
 other enemies, real or supposed, from his nest. A 
 greater mystery than all, connected with the corncrake 
 and the little rail-bird of this country ^,lso, is, that at 
 certain times of each year it becomes possessed of a 
 flight power that enables it to pass over wide reaches of sea 
 and land; yet but the day before, as it were, these same 
 birds seemed scarcely able to lift themselves above the 
 meadow grasses. I have known our common rail-birds 
 to be so averse to flying (and so fat that running was 
 laborious), that I have been able time and again to 
 knock them over with a long switch, because they 
 could not or would not take wing. Yet a few days 
 later the marshes contained not one. Without the 
 slightest intimation (to mankind), in the silence of the 
 night, one and all took flight voluntarily, and journeyed 
 hundreds of miles without a rest. The whole matter of 
 migration has of late been invested with a deal of mys- 
 tery, but such an instance as that of the rail-birds and 
 perhaps of the corncrakes is far more wonderful than 
 anything connected with the bare fact that many birds 
 of ordinary flight-power should pass from country to 
 country annually, that they may flnd food in plenty, 
 and may breed in peace. 
 
 Allied to rail-birds are certain tropical and temperate- 
 region birds that are known collectively as gallinules, 
 but which have various other names in the different 
 countries which they frequent. These birds, so far atS 
 
364 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA Uf NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 the United States are concerned, are merely summer 
 visitors along the Atlantic coast and less often, up such 
 rivers as empty into that ocean. TurnbuU speaks of it 
 as "a very rare straggler from the South; it has heen 
 met with on the Jersey coast," and he mentions a speci- 
 men killed on League Island in the Delaware River. 
 
 Besides the one above mentioned there is another, 
 •known as the Florida gallinule. In its habits it is much 
 like the preceding, and both are essentially rail-like. 
 
 In one of the South 
 Atlantic islands,known 
 as Tristan da Cunha, is 
 found a "water-hen," 
 which is scarcely able 
 to fly, and a still smaller 
 species was reported to 
 naturalists on the Chal- 
 lenger, but they found 
 no specimens. Mose- 
 ley, in his accounb of 
 the voyage of the ex- 
 ploring steamer named, 
 remarks: " The family of gallinulidse is remarkably wide- 
 spread, and one of these birds is, in several instances, 
 the inhabitant of some isolated island group; ^several 
 occur thus in the Pacific. This is curious, since one 
 would at first perhaps think these birds bad flyers, but 
 they are not, and are not uncommonly met with on wing 
 a,t sea far from land, just as we met with water-rails 
 between Bermuda and Halifax." 
 
 The purple gallinule is found in Africa, Asia, and 
 Europe. lb is a handsome species, and does not differ 
 from the others in its habits, so far as authors have 
 stated. " It feeds on seeds and other hard substances, 
 and lives in the neighborhood of water " — all of which 
 applies to .the other species and about 10,000 other birds 
 in no way related to them. 
 
 Sultana. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 »65 
 
 " There is but one British species of gallinule, trhich 
 is also called the water-hen, the marsh-hen, the moor- 
 hen, and many other names. Like the water-rail it is 
 pernianently resident, and it is much more generally 
 distributed, numerous and frequently seen, than that 
 bird. It is also much larger and heavier, and it is 
 more a bird of the waters, swimming easily and from 
 habit in search of its food, while the rail appears to 
 swim only when driven to it." Unlike our American 
 species, which do like the salt sea waves of our sandy 
 coasts, as well as tide marshes, the British bird " inhab- 
 its the fresh waters . . . 
 and never resorts to the 
 shores of the sea." The nest 
 is always on the edge of water, 
 and the young are said to 
 be exposed to the attacks of 
 pike beneath the waves", and 
 of the herons above. 
 
 The coots are waders, that 
 swim a good deal better than 
 they walk. In their habits 
 they are more like the ducks 
 and divers, but in their anat- 
 omy they belong to the class 
 of wading birds. 
 
 The common coot of Europe "has a bald forehead, a 
 black body, and lobated toes, and is about fifteen inches 
 in length. The nests, which are very large, strong, and 
 compact, are composed of reeds and rank water herb- 
 age, built sometimes near the water's edge, and some-, 
 times on small islets at some distance from the shore. 
 Should the nests be set adrift by a rise of water, the fe- 
 male ooot seems in nowise disturbed, but sits composedly 
 on her eggs until it is stranded. The coot of India, 
 China, and Japan is said to be identical with that of 
 
 Purple GalliQule. 
 
366 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Europe, but the North American coot is now recognized 
 as a distinct species." 
 
 The common coot of America has a very vide distri- 
 bution. It is most abundant in the Southern and 
 Western States, and also throughout the northern part 
 of South America. 
 
 Along the Atlantic seaboard it is migratory, but that 
 
 it is rare or only seen abundantly in September is rot. 
 
 They are always to be found in 
 
 the valley of the Delawarej and 
 
 from April to November, and a 
 coot in mid-winter is no rara- 
 avis. 
 
 "While I have never found a 
 nest of a coot, considering the 
 times of year at which they are 
 seen, and too, that a pair of 
 coots have been known to fre- 
 quent a mill-pond for a whole season, I am led to believe 
 now that they sometimes breed in New Jersey. 
 
 According to Wilson, "this species makes its appear- 
 ance in Pennsylvania about the first of October; " so it 
 does, but such birds are those that have been summer- 
 ing further north, and his surmifee that it might breed 
 in the valley of the Delaware is probably correct. 
 
 Common Coot. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE CHEKOMOEPHiB. 
 
 By this harsh term the birds known as screamers, 
 geese, ducks, and ilamingoes are referred to, and these, 
 without further preliminary remarks, will now be men- 
 tioned and briefly described. 
 
 Of those curious birds known as the horned-scream- 
 ers there but three species. The one here figured is of 
 equal interest to the others. 
 It inhabits temperate and 
 tropical South America. It 
 is somewhat larger than 
 the domestic goose, and is 
 remarkable for the spurs 
 upon each wing, which are 
 effective weapons. From 
 its head extends a long, 
 horny appendage, slender 
 and somewhat yielding. 
 
 The bird frequents 
 marsh-land and the river 
 shores. It has a loud, 
 harsh, penetrating voice. 
 
 stances. "The nest is a shallow, light construction, 
 built of dry rushes, with a hollow on the top fw the 
 eggs. The foundation is in the water." 
 
 The geese are a well known and readily distinguished 
 group of birds, though they grade, off into the true 
 ducks, and vary among themselves to a very consider- 
 
 Homed Screamer. 
 
 Feeds on vegetable sub- 
 
268 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Canada Goose. 
 
 able degree. In North America, the common wild 
 or Canada goose, is very well known. 
 
 This goose summers in the arctic regions, where it 
 breeds, and coming southward in early autumn, re- 
 mains in the TJnited States from that time until early 
 spring. In these few words the history of the goose is 
 given, but of course there are many minor points in its 
 
 life which 
 are of inter- 
 est and well 
 worthy of 
 dilating up- 
 on. As seen 
 along OUT 
 rivers and 
 sea-coast in 
 November 
 or in March, 
 
 as a mere game-bird it is not of much interest, except 
 from a gastronomical point of view. 
 
 There are nine American species . of geese and about 
 twice as many more in the whole world. In the habits 
 of those that visit temperate regions in winter and nest 
 in the arctic region, there is no marked difference. Very 
 largely what is true of one is true of all of them. 
 
 Seebohm, in his delightful books, "Siberia in Eu- 
 rope," and "Siberia in Asia," gives several most enter- 
 taining accounts of European geese as he found them 
 in hi^ northern latitudes, as instance the following: 
 "After lunching on the baked breast of the swan I re- 
 turned to the wreck, but by a different route to that 
 which my companion had taken. I took the boat 
 across to the north twin-cape and was an hour pulling 
 half a verst against the heavy gale. I then skirted the 
 margin of a long, narrow inlet, exactly like the dried-up 
 bed of a river, that runs some miles into the tundra, 
 
BIRDS. 269 
 
 bending round almost behind the inland sea. I had 
 not gone more than a mile when I heard the cackle of 
 geese. A bend of the river's bed gave me an oppor- 
 tunity of stalking them, and when I came within sight 
 I beheld an extraordinary and interesting scene. One 
 hundred at least, old geese, and quite as many young ones, 
 perhaps even twice. or thrice that number, were marching 
 like a regiment of soldiers. The vanguard, consisting 
 of old birds, was half-way across the stream; the rear, 
 composed principally of goslings, was running down the 
 steep bank toward the water's edge as fast as their young 
 legs could carry them. Both banks of the river where 
 the geese had doubtless been feeding, were strewn with 
 feathers, and in five minutes I picked up a handful of 
 quills. The flock was evidently migrating to the in- 
 terior of the tundra, moulting as it went along." 
 
 The gray, or gray-lag, goose of the Old World, which 
 is found over an enormous extent of territory, is be- 
 lieved to be the origin of our common domestic variety. 
 " It is the only species indigenous to the British Islands, 
 and in former days bred abundantly in the English fen- 
 country, where the young were caught in large numbers 
 and kept in a more or less reclaimed condition with the 
 vast flocks of tame-bred geese." ("Encyclopedia Bri- 
 tannica.") 
 
 An interesting form of goose is found in Australia. 
 According to Bennett, ''it is allied by its external 
 anatomy more to the waders than to the geese. It is 
 about the size of the common goose, which it resembles 
 in general form excepting the bill and legs. . . . 
 Its voice is 'deep, hoarse and clanging.' It feeds on 
 grass, etc., and its flesh is said to be very good. It 
 . . . is rarely seen in the water." . . . 
 
 " This bird is so exceedingly pugnacious, quarreling 
 with the poultry in the yard as well as attacking pigs, 
 dogs, or any other animals, that many persons who 
 
270 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 have purchased the bird have been glad to get rid of 
 it." 
 
 Darwin, in his "Journal," says: "Two kinds of 
 geese frequent the Falklands. The upland species is 
 common in pairs and in small flocks throughout the 
 island. They do not migrate but bnild on the small 
 outlying islets. This is supposed to be from fear of 
 the foxes, and it is perhaps from the same cause that 
 these birds, though very tame by day, are shy and wild 
 in the dusk of the evening. They live entirely on 
 vegetable matter. The rock-goose, so called from living 
 exclusively on the sea-beach, is common both here and 
 on the west coast of America as far north as Chili. In 
 the deep and retired channels of Terra del Fuego the 
 
 snow-white gander, invari- 
 ably accompanied by his 
 darker consort, and stand- 
 ing close by each other on 
 some distant rocky point, 
 is a common feature in the 
 landscape." 
 
 There is also a group of 
 Brent Goose. geese that have certain 
 
 peculiarities which sepa- 
 rate them from such as have been already mentioned. 
 These are the brent geese, or in common parlance, 
 "brant." 
 
 "All the species ... are distinguished by their 
 dark, sooty color, relieved in some by white of greater 
 or less purity." (" Encyclopedia Britannica.") 
 
 In its habits the common " brant " of the Atlantic 
 coast offers no marked peculiarity, but so noble a game- 
 bird cannot be passed by without special mention. 
 
 Concerning its migrations as noticed in the province 
 of New Brunswick, Leith Adams writes : "I was 
 especially struck by the enormous flocks of Canada and 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 371 
 
 brent geese that pass over New Brunswick to and from 
 tlieir breeding-grounds north of the 50° parallel of 
 latitude. (Many of the gullies — ^to-wit, Tra(^adie, on 
 the northeast coast — absolutely swarm with them in 
 May and October during the migratory seasons.) Of 
 course their times of arrival and departure are subject 
 to some irregularities consequent on the degrees of 
 mildness or severity of the seasons, but taking them 
 generally, I found that in common with such birds as 
 breed in high latitudes, they tarry longer on their way 
 south in autumn than they do in spring; indeed, in the 
 case of the geese, although the main body pushes to 
 Southern Florida by the end of October, solitary indi- 
 viduals and even small flocks may be seen in the open 
 parts of Canadian rivers throughout the winter; indeed, 
 a few breed on the lakes." 
 
 The Canada goose is almost as much an inland as a 
 marine species, but 
 along the coast the 
 " brant " is essentially 
 a marine form and it 
 is seldom seen beyond 
 the bays and very wid- 
 est reaches of the riv- 
 
 ers. 
 
 Differing in one es- 
 sential manner from 
 the geese proper are 
 the swans, which are 
 
 of but few species the -wild swan. 
 
 world over. 
 
 Swans are at once to be recognized by their large size 
 and remarkably long necks. There are eight species, 
 of which four are European, two American, one Austra- 
 lian, and one found only in South America. Of the 
 wild swan of Europe, of which an illustration is here 
 
273 CYCLOPEDIA OP NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 given, Mudie states: "The wild swan is very abundant 
 upon all the large rivers, lakes, and extensive pools in 
 the more northern parts of both continents, but it 
 never breeds in the south and rarely migrates very far 
 in that direction. . . . "When on the wing these 
 birds emit a sort of cry which is perhaps a little more 
 sonorous than that of the wild goose, but it is anything 
 but musical or even whistling, unless to the same tune 
 as a fitful and thumping wind whistles through leafless 
 trees or along broken crags — whoo, whoo; hoarse, long 
 drawn out, and somewhat guttural is the music of the 
 'tuneful swan/'* 
 
 "Bewick's swan is occasionally found in winter in 
 the British Islands," according to Seebohm, from whom 
 we further quote: "It breeds on the tundras above 
 the limit of forest growth from the valley of the 
 Petchora (Sibei-ia) eastward probably to the Pacific. In 
 winter it is found in various parts of Europe and Asia 
 as far south as China. In the valley of the Petchora 
 we found it as far north as we went." 
 
 This species is smaller than the species previously 
 mentioned. 
 
 In the interior of the United States the swans are 
 more abundant than on the Atlantic coast, although in 
 November and later they are not uncommon on the 
 Chesapeake Bay and more southern waters. The Ameri- 
 can swans breed in the Northwestern Territories and 
 northward. Our American and the European swans 
 are white, and so free from other color are these birds 
 that they are typical of whiteness. This fact makes 
 the black swan of Australia a far more interesting bird 
 than it would otherwise be. Bennett's account of the 
 bird is brief and to the point. Writing about thirty 
 years ago, he says: "The black swan is still found in 
 great numbers about the rivers and lagoons of the less- 
 frequented parts of Australia, but has become very rare 
 
BIR13S. 
 
 aw 
 
 in the settled districts. This rara avis in terris is con- 
 fined, as far as we at present know, to the southern dis- 
 tricts of Australia and Tasmania. I have seen them in 
 large flocks in the interior, flying to a great height, as 
 if migrating to some other part of the country, and oc- 
 casionally passing in this manner over Sydney, where, 
 some years since, they were . so abundant that I recol- 
 lect a drove of black swans being driven up George 
 street like a flock of geese. . . . 
 
 " It is of a uniform black color, with the exception 
 of the primary and a few of the secondary quill feathers, 
 which are white. The beak 
 is of a bright-red color, with 
 a white band, and in the male 
 has a slight protuberance at 
 the base, which is deficient in 
 the female. The feet and legs 
 are of a dull ash-color. The 
 breeding season commences in 
 October and continues to the 
 middle of January. The eggs 
 are from five to eight in num- 
 ber, of a pale-green or light- 
 bluish color, stained with 
 bufly-brown. . . . The 
 nest is of large size, and formed of dry ^edges or reeds. 
 The black . . . swan, when seen upon land, is 
 waddling and awkward in gait, like all aquatic birds, 
 but when swimming in the water it is elegant and 
 graceful." 
 
 Before considering the typical ducks a few words 
 concerning certain strange forms, such as the steamer 
 duck of the Straits of Magellan. Darwin states of 
 these birds that they were called in former days, 
 "from their extraordinary manner of paddling and 
 splashing upon the water, race-horses, but now they aja 
 
 Black Swan. 
 
274 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL msrokY. 
 
 named, much more appropriately, steamers. Theh 
 wings are too small and weak to allow of flight, but by 
 their aid, partly swimming and partly flapping the sur- 
 face of the water, they move very quickly. The man- 
 ner is something like that by which the common house- 
 duck escapes when pursued by a dog, but I am nearly 
 sure that the 'steamer' moves its wings alternately 
 instead of both together as in other birds. These 
 clumsy, loggerheaded ducks make such a noise an^ 
 splashing that the effect is exceedingly curious.'' 
 
 Along the southern borders of the United States, in 
 South America, and the West Indies, are found a num- 
 ber of species of ducks that are known as tree-ducks. 
 
 The name gives a clue 
 to their peculiarity, that 
 of perching upon trees, 
 which some true ducks 
 also do. They are in- 
 land, swamp and lagoon 
 haunters, and it is stated, 
 ''when in the corn-fields, 
 upon the stalks (they 
 perch) in order to reach 
 the ears of corn." This, 
 of course, shows a perch- 
 ing power beyond that of even our common summer or 
 wood-duck. 
 
 There are four species of these tree-ducks. It is 
 stated in "History of North American Birds" that 
 "the eggs are deposited in hollow trees and branches, 
 often at the considerable distance of two miles or more 
 from water, and from eight to thirty feet above the 
 ground. They are placed on the bare wood, and are 
 from twelve to sixteen in number." 
 
 Of the true ducks, the birds that are more or less 
 familiar to every one, the mallard is the type. It may 
 
 Mallard. 
 
BIRDS. Qf^ 
 
 be said to be found anywhere north of the equator, 
 with the reservation that some localities suit it better 
 than others^ and probably in some spots it is never seen. 
 Prom it the common domestic ducks are undoubtedly 
 derived. 
 
 " It is plentiful in Britain at all seasons, merely quit- 
 ting the more expbsed situations at the approach ot 
 winter, and taking' shelter in the valleys, or, in case of 
 a severe winter, visiting the estuaries. In a wild state 
 the mallard always pairs, and during the period of in- 
 cubation the male, although he takes no part in the 
 process, always keeps in the neighborhood of the fe- 
 male, and it is singular that half-bred birds between 
 the wild and tanie varieties always exhibit the same 
 habit, although the ordinary domestic drakes are 
 polygamous, always endeavoring 
 to get as many wives as they 
 can." 
 
 Mallards are said to feed by 
 night rather than during the 
 day, and find their food by aid 
 of the sense of touch, which is 
 well developed in their beaks. _ __ 
 
 This enables the birds to feed ' Black Duck, 
 safely when they frequent pop- 
 ulous districts, but if the duck feels pretty confident of 
 his safety he will feed also in broad daylight. 
 
 A dull colored, but by no means a dull bird, is the 
 black-duck of the eastern provinces of thfe United 
 States and British America. It comes to our rivers 
 and. meadows in numbers early in autumn and stays 
 until spring, when most of them depart. But not all 
 go. There are still, in our most densely settled 
 States, quiet nooks and corners where these ducks find 
 what they need, and there they nest. They certainly 
 breed every year i-n the lower valley of the Delaware 
 
276 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 River, from the head of tide- water to the bay. As a 
 game bird it ranks high deservedly, and as an article of 
 food is usually excellent. 
 
 Of the breeding habits of this species, Leith Adams 
 -writes as follows: "One of the most common and at 
 tho same time most highly prized of 'the resident ducks 
 of our region (Province of New Brunswick) is the 
 dusky duck, which often weighs three pounds. Al- 
 though its nest, as a rule, is placed on the ground, yet 
 it occasionally builds in trees, as I am informed by Mr. 
 Boardman, who took the eggs from its nest on a birch 
 tree twenty feet above the level of a lake! The Ameri- 
 can sheldrake, hooded, and Barrow's golden eye, buffle- 
 headed duck, and that prince of beauties, the wood- 
 duck, all nestle on trees, but nob invariably." 
 The voice of the black-duck is somewhat "quacking," 
 
 but it utters also, under 
 certain circumstances, a 
 pretty clear whistle. They 
 are preferably crepuscular 
 in their habits, but often 
 feed and are usually wide 
 awake from sunrise to sun- 
 set. 
 
 In the sprigtail, or pin- 
 tail ducks, we have a spe- 
 piutaii Duck. cies that comes and goes 
 
 with charming uncertain- 
 ty. It is ordinarily most abundant from October to 
 March. As compared with the mallard it is a wilder 
 and more intelligent bird ; not easily decoyed, and sus- 
 picious of every object. It rides the water as buoyantly 
 as a cork, and when frightened, bounds from it as from 
 a cannon. Its flight is often as rapid as ninety miles 
 an hour, marvelous as such a statement may seem. It 
 is probably, at times, the most rapid flyer in existence. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 271 
 
 There are found in the same localities with the aboTC, 
 the gray duck, or gadwall, and two species of teal, be- 
 sides the wood-duck. The gadwall is found, like the 
 mallard, throughout the northern hemisphere. Along 
 the Atlantic coast probably these ducks are found more 
 commonly near the sea than inland, but they, at times, 
 are abundant on the flooded meadows of our rivers 
 when the spring freshets occur. In populous districts, 
 indeed, it is only at such times that ducks of any kind 
 are really very abundant. They soon learn of the wide 
 reaches of submerged meadows, and resort to them for 
 the food that such an "occurrence is sure to provide. 
 But they are wild! Never a moment are they caught 
 napping, and often appear to have sentinels posted. 
 Were it not that cun- 
 ningly painted decoys 
 deceive them, few would 
 fall victims to the gun- 
 ner. 
 
 The European widgeon 
 is a somewhat different 
 species from the Ameri ■ 
 can, but is not unknown 
 to this continent. It 
 has been shot very fre- 
 quently on our Atlantic 
 coast, especially in the 
 neighborhood of Long Island and on the Jersey coast. 
 Its 'proper habitat is throughout Europe and Asia, from 
 the arctic circle to as far south as Southern China and 
 Japan. 
 
 In Great Britain the widgeon is a migratory bird, ar- 
 riving from the north about the beginning of October 
 and later, according to the severity of the weather. In 
 March they pass northward again to their breeding 
 places. 
 
 Common Widgeon. 
 
278 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Unlike the mallard and other species, the widgeoiL is 
 a day-feeder, and so is active and busy while its distant 
 cousins are resting from their labors of the previous 
 night. Their utterance is a whistle that is clear and 
 penetrating, and may be heard, under favorable circum- 
 stances, for a long distance. 
 
 The American widgeon, or "bald-pate," is a very 
 similar bird, yet unquestionably a distinct species. It 
 breeds throughout British America, and in the autumn 
 comes southward, but only for a short time; the greater 
 number passing on to the Gulf States and West Indies. 
 But a few do tarry the winter through in Jiew Jersey, 
 if the winter be not too severe for them. It is not so 
 much a matter of cold per se, as of open water. If 
 
 they have this they seem 
 content, and their soft, 
 clear whistle is often heard 
 above the cawing of crows, 
 the twitter of tree-spar- 
 rows, or scream of a crab- 
 bed, fault-finding jay. 
 
 A magnificent duck that 
 
 we often see, yet never in 
 
 great abundance, is the 
 
 Shoveier. shoveler. It is one of those 
 
 happy creatures that calls 
 
 the whole world its home. At least, it is found in 
 
 pretty much every quarter and certainly in all the most 
 
 desirable and respectable portions thereof. 
 
 As a rule it nests in the northern — but not extreme 
 northern — regions, and when this duty is over takes a 
 six months' survey of the globe in general. Its flight- 
 power is excellent, and to cross a sea is little tax upon 
 its time and less upon its strength. When the meadow:- 
 are submerged in March, or a flood occurs in Novembei'. 
 it is not unusual to see a large, guadily-colored duci 
 
BIRDS. 279 
 
 alone, far out upon the water, busy, wild, suspicious oi 
 every unf eathered form of life. It tests every morsel 
 of food that it takes up between broad, flat mandibles 
 large enough to mash a frog, and yet so closely fitting 
 that not the smallest insect can escape. It is the 
 "spoon-bill" of the gunners and shoveler of those 
 happy others that know one duck from another, or even 
 a duck from a goose. 
 
 As it occurs in New Jersey inland waters it is a lonely 
 species. I have never seen a flock of them nor any 
 great number of them associated with other ducks when 
 there has occurred a " flight of fowl." 
 
 Of this duck as found in Britain, Mudie states : 
 " The shoveler, though it sometimes breeds in the 
 country and is rather plentiful in Holland and Belgium, 
 is not a very common bird with us. It inhabits more 
 inland than the sheldrake, and in the marshes and on 
 the muddy banks of rivers, feeding on worms and other 
 small animals which it dabbles for and for the capture 
 of which its bill is well adapted. . . . This bird is 
 smaller than the sheldrake or even than the common 
 wild duck. . . , The nest is formed of rushes or other 
 aquatic plants, and the eggs are from ten to twelve, of 
 a rusty-brown color." 
 
 In this country there are found three species of ducks, 
 and in Europe as many more, which are called "teal," 
 or "teal-ducks." They are small, handsome, and in 
 general not very wild wild-ducks. They love the rivers, 
 larger creeks, and even mill-ponds, and coming early in 
 autumn, sometimes tarj-ying throughout winter, and 
 appreciative of our early spring, are familiar objects 
 not only to the sportsman but the nature-loving 
 rambler. 
 
 Their habits offer nothing of special importance, and 
 the fact that they do not breed in the Middle States 
 robs them of some interest to those who dwell south of 
 their nesting-haunts. 
 
2,S0 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORV. 
 
 The blue-winged teal is mucli more tame tlian the 
 ffreen-winged, and appears to wander further from the 
 larger water-courses to feed. They frequently ioixi 
 fiocks of domestic ducks and have beeh known to folloV 
 these to the barn-yard. Again, they sometimes asso' 
 date with the summer ducks and are found about smalJ 
 creeks that thread a tortuous course through woodland. 
 The green-winged teal, while strictly migratory, io 
 one of a mighty list that does very much as it choose.i 
 concerning its coming and going. They are found ir 
 g-eatest abundance in November, it is true, bat many f 
 
 one is killed in the Mid' 
 die States in October, 
 And they are "thickest'' 
 when the March or April 
 freshets flood the river val- 
 leys, but they tarry untU 
 long after the maples are 
 done blooming. That they 
 breed except at the north 
 is highly improbable; that 
 they therefore forsake 
 wholly the regions nearer 
 their winter homes does 
 not follow. 
 The common English teal is very similar to the above, 
 beebohm says: "It is resident in the British Islands, 
 though its numbers are largely increased during the 
 winter season. There are very few countries in Europe 
 where it does not occasionally breed, and in winter it 
 has been foun'3 as far south as Abyssinia. It breeds 
 throughout SiberJA, and winters abundantly in India, 
 China, Formosa, and Japan. In the valley of the 
 Petchora we did not lind it north of the arctic circle." 
 Mudie says of it that it k'^eps we'll hidden among tho 
 reeds that margin ponds and lakes, *n^ dofis not qui> 
 
 Common Teal. 
 
SIHDS. 381 
 
 its cliosen home until the frost lias killed the foliage 
 that concealed it, and so "it often remains on the same 
 spot all the year round, and little is known of its 
 presence except the clacking whistle of the male in the 
 breeding season." 
 
 The wood-duck, or summer-duck, as it is often called, 
 is at once the handsomest and most interesting of all 
 those that frequent our fresh waters. It is the one 
 essentially resident species of the Middle and Southern 
 States, and is very abundant, though migratory, in 
 Canada and in Maine. 
 
 Leith Adams refers to them as being captured iu 
 large numbers in nets ''during their migrations when 
 the flocks are flying down the Pen- 
 obscot Eiver in Maine." 
 
 Audubon states that "the wood- 
 duck breeds in the Middle States 
 about the beginning of April, in 
 Massachusetts a month later, and 
 
 in Kova Scotia or on our northern 
 
 lakes seldom before the first days wood-duck. 
 
 of June. . . . They appear at 
 all times to prefer the hollow, broken portion of some 
 large branch, the hole of our large woodpecker, or the 
 deserted retreat of the fox-squirrel; and I have been 
 frequently surprised to see them go in and out of a hole 
 of any one of these when their bodies while on the wing 
 seemed to be nearly half as large again as the aperture 
 within which they had deposited their eggs." 
 
 In the more settled portions of the country where 
 hollow trees are scarce, but otherwise the conditions 
 attract the wood-duck, the nests are often in hollow 
 apple trees and frequently at a considerable distance 
 from running water. These nests are never exposed, 
 and the ducks are cunning in their approaching and 
 departing from the tree. Such nests have often been 
 
382 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 successfully occupied and tlieir presence remai'ied un- 
 suspected until autumn, when the gathering of the 
 fruit of the trees led to their discovery. 
 
 As Dr. Brewer has well said: "The wood-duck is 
 conspicuous for the swiftness, ease, and elegance of its 
 flight. It can pass through woods and among the 
 branches of trees with as much facility as the wild pig- 
 eon. While flying it is rarely ever heard to utter any 
 cry." 
 
 The many sea-ducks, as they are usually called, can only 
 be referred to in the most general way_. Prominent among 
 them is the canvas-back, which is found in greatest 
 abundance at certain seasons in 
 Chesapeake Bay. An allied species 
 is the equally well-known red-neck. 
 Besides these are the scaups, or 
 broad-biUs, the squaw-duck, and 
 perhaps a dozen more; some abun- 
 dant, others rare. All of these are 
 not exclusively marine in their 
 haunts. Often, particularly after 
 
 ^ storms, they wander far inland, 
 
 Canv^aTrtS!^ and again many of these same 
 ducks pass up the interior of the 
 continent, following in a general way the Mississippi 
 Valley. 
 
 One marine duck, well known, at least by name, re- 
 quires more than mere mention, the eider. This bird is 
 " famous for its down, which, from its extreme light- 
 ness and elasticity, is in great request for filling bed- 
 coverlets. This bird generally frequents low, rocky 
 islets near the coast, and in Iceland and Norway has 
 (ong been afforded every encouragement and protectio;n, 
 rt fine being inflicted for killing it during the breeding- 
 reason, or even for firing a gun near its haunts, while 
 artificial nesting places are in many localities contrived 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 283 
 
 for its further accommodation. From the care thus 
 taken of it in those countries it has become exceedingly 
 tame at its chief resorts, which are strictly regarded as 
 property, and the taking of eggs and down from them, 
 except by authorized persons, is severely punished by 
 law. 
 
 " In appearance the eider is somewhat clumsy, though 
 it flies fast and dives admirably. . . . The nest is 
 generally in some convenient corner among large stones, 
 hollowed in the soil, and furnished with a few bits ,of 
 dry grass, sea-weed, or heather. By the time that the 
 full number of eggs (which 
 rarely if ever exceeds five) 
 is laid the down is added. 
 Generally the eggs and down 
 are taken at intervals of a 
 few days by the owners of 
 the 'eider-fold,' and the 
 birds are thus kept deposit- 
 ing both during the whole 
 season, but some experience 
 is needed to insure the great- 
 est profit from each com- 
 modity. Every duck is ulti- 
 mately allowed to hatch an 
 
 egg or two to keep up the stock, and the down of the 
 last nest is gathered after the birds have left the spot. 
 The story of the drake's furnishing down after the 
 duck's supply is exhausted is a fiction. He never goes 
 near the nest." (" Encyclopedia Britannica.") 
 
 The American eider dififers slightly from that of 
 Europe. In the extreme northern regions is found the 
 king duck, which visits temperate regions in winter 
 sparingly. On the Pacific coast of this country is 
 found a species of eider, recognized by a black chevron 
 on the chin. The now supposed-to-be-extinot Labrador 
 
 Eider-duck. 
 
284 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF l^ATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 duck belonged to the eider group. This bird was per- 
 secuted from the face of the globe by the most de« 
 structive and utterly contelnptible of all brutes — ^un- 
 thinking, selfish, greedy man. 
 
 A group of ducks with narrow bills, and serrations 
 so well defined that they are often known as the " saw- 
 bills," are usually called sheldrakes. One of these, the 
 red-breasted merganser, is found pretty much erery- 
 where in the northern hemisphere. 
 According to Mudie, this species, in Great Britain, 
 
 "nestles in holes, on 
 the retired beaches, 
 and near the lower es- 
 tuaries of the rivers, 
 which it seldom quits. 
 . . . The nest is 
 usually very near the 
 water, to which the 
 young are almost im- 
 mediately led." 
 
 The bird as found in 
 America is a marine 
 species decidedly, and is a feature of the bays and such 
 spots as afforded them convenient feeding grounds. It 
 breeds in the Northern States, along the coast, but not 
 south of Maine. 
 
 The following from the "American Naturalist," by 
 William E. Barry, of Kennebunk, Maine, is of great in- 
 terest: '^As soon as, or even before the river has begun 
 to open in spring, the. sheldrade make their appearance, 
 early in the morning, but seldom before sunrise; they 
 fly from the sea, where they probably roost, up the 
 stream. Sometimes they file along one after the other; 
 more often they proceed in no regular order. When 
 they are bound a long distance up stream, they fly high 
 with regular beats, with necks outstretched^ and the 
 
 Ked-breasted Merganser. 
 
BIRDS. 285 
 
 neutral light whicli is on them would seem to suggest the 
 flock between dusk and daylight. On their return down 
 stream, often in pairs or singly, or small parties, they 
 fly close to the surface of the ice or water, and very 
 swiftly. When anything alarms them on the bank they 
 sometimes croak. If attracted, they turn at a distance, 
 retrace their flight, scale low over the water, throw out 
 their webbed feet and stop with a splash. They look 
 handsgmely, their necks deeply curved, the male with 
 such strong contrasts of black and white. They croak 
 and dive with vigor, returning to the surface in a mo- 
 ment. They arise from the water easily, and are soon 
 under good headway. I have never heard any noise 
 from their wings be their flight ever so rapid. I have 
 seen the male on alighting, thrust his bill straight into 
 the air, shake his head, croak, and swim away. This 
 niay be a token of suspicion, but it is also performed 
 when there is no particular cause for alarm. The 
 croaking noise sounds something like a duck's quack, and 
 evidently expresses a good deal, as I am persuaded from 
 observation on various occasions. One morning, after a 
 cold night, the river was covered with thin ice. Three 
 sheldrakes came up, flying low, their heads were bent 
 ■ down as if to look closely; making a circuit and scaling 
 close to the ice, they rose again, an old male croaking, 
 saying plainly, to my ears, 'we can't get in here.' 
 They swim about strongly, almost as if drawn by some 
 powerful electrical attraction, and on comiUg to the 
 surface after a dive, the head and neck are- often thrown 
 back in a very haughty manner. The very soundness 
 of the season and the frozen shore seems in them; but 
 perhaps their amative prospects may have something to 
 do with this exuberance of spirits. It seems as if they 
 could never die. Wounded birds frequently crawl upon 
 the ice, but they do not seem to walk very well. Flocks 
 will alight upon the ice before going into the water 
 
28(5 CYCLOPEDIA OF tTATURAL HISTORY, 
 
 sometimes, and it is not unusual for a pair to be seen 
 sitting on the ice by a bole wbere frost-fish are 
 taken. . . . 
 
 " Tbe sheldrakes seen on the breaking up of the rirers 
 are as nothing compared to the quantity that follow 
 along the shore a little later, when they come in flocks 
 from twelve to twenty, and even seventy-five; sometimes 
 flying steadily, two or three deep, above the reach of 
 shot, passing over the bays and headlands. The flocks 
 all go in one direction-'^-east. ... I noticed that 
 most of the flocks in spring appeared to be made up of 
 males. I was told that later the 
 females came along in large 
 flocks. . . . 
 
 "The sheldrake, swimming by 
 
 the edge of the ice, with the cold, 
 
 snowy bank for a background, is 
 
 as hardy a picture as New England 
 
 can furnish. It is a stirring sight 
 
 in spring, on a bright, breezy day. 
 
 Hooded Sheldrake. to see the male, a crimson-eyed 
 
 beauty, feeling fresh in spirits 
 
 and in costume, going over the ro(^s thinking only of 
 
 the f^te in the north." 
 
 In this country we have a black and white tufted- 
 headed sheldrake which goes under a variety of names 
 more or less descriptive of its appearance'. ' It is here 
 flgnredasthe "hooded sheldrake." It is not rare or 
 even uncommon in New Jersey in the fall and winter, 
 and often goes far up the rivers and visits inland ponds. 
 The handsome smew, on the other hand, although 
 reported as American by Wilson, ISTuttall, and Audubon, 
 appears not to be found in this country. It is a shel- 
 drake and has no peculiar habits. They are found in 
 vast numbers in winter in England. They are "shy 
 and vigilant, feeding on small fish, Crustacea, anq 
 
BikDS. 
 
 %%n 
 
 aquatic insects. These they obtain without difficulty, 
 as they are excellent divers." 
 
 A bird that once seen will never be forgotten is the 
 flamingo. Of these there are some six species in the 
 world, one of which is found, or used to be found, in 
 Southern Florida; another in Southern South America; 
 ■the others are found in the Old World. Unless con- 
 sidered as a bird having next to nothing in common 
 with others — a group of themselves — the flamingoes 
 come nearer the ducks and geese than they do with the 
 herons, with which they are often classed. Says Pro- 
 fessor Newton: "Though not a few birds have in pro- 
 portion to the size of their 
 body very long legs and a 
 very long neck, ^ yet the 
 way in which both are em- 
 ployed by the flamingo 
 seems to be absolutely sin- 
 gular. In taking its food 
 this bird reverses the or- 
 dinary position of its head 
 so as to hold the crown 
 downward and to look 
 backward. The peculiar 
 formation of the bill, which 
 to the ordinary observer 
 looks as if broken, is of 
 habit of feeding, as well as the fact that the maxilla 
 (upper jaw) is, contrary to what obtains in most birds, 
 not only highly movable, but is much smaller than the 
 mandibula (lower jaw), while the latter is practically 
 fixed. Both jaws are, however, beset with lamel'ce, as 
 in most of the duck tribe, and the food is thereby sifted 
 out of the mud as the flamingo wades with its long neck 
 stretching to the bottom of the shallow waters i* fre» 
 q^uents." ("Encyclopedia Britannica.") 
 
 Smew. 
 
 course correlated with this 
 
28-8 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 It would be. gratifying certainly to know just hom 
 this bird disposes of its legs when nesting. One author 
 of a pretentious work on "American Birds " says Wil- 
 son was wrong in asserting that they straddle their 
 nests, and yet quotes approvingly another author who 
 says the same thing. It is to be regretted that the edi- 
 tor of the posthumous volumes referred to did not clear 
 up tbe whole matter. Professor Newton, in the "En- 
 cyclopedia Baitannica/' quotes Dampier in this matter 
 
 and says that it is true. We 
 give the same quotation from 
 Dampier's "New Voyage," 
 1697. It runs as follows: 
 "They build their nests in 
 shallow ponds where there is 
 much mud, which they scrape 
 together, making little hil- 
 locks, like small islands, ap- 
 pearing out of the water a foot 
 and a half high from the bot- 
 tom,. They make the foun- 
 dation of these hillocks broad, 
 bringing them up tapering to 
 the top, where they leave a 
 small, hollow pit to lay their 
 eggs in; and when they either 
 lay their eggs or hatch them, 
 they stand all the while not on 
 the hillock, but close by it with their legs on the ground 
 and in the water, resting themselves against the hillock 
 and covering the hollow nest upon it with their rumps. 
 For their legs are very long, and building thus as they 
 do upon the ground, they could neither draw their legs 
 conveniently into their nests nor sit down upon them 
 otherwise than by resting their whole bodies there, to 
 the prejudice of their eggs or their young, were it not 
 for this admirable contrivance." . . . 
 
 Flamingo. 
 
BIRDS 389 
 
 The conflict in authority concerning this point is be- 
 wildering, and the most recent observer says the legs 
 were doubled up under the bird so that the knees pro- 
 jected beyond the tail. This was in Northern Africa, 
 May it not be that the method of incubation varies 
 with the difEerent species. Oh the mere ground of 
 probability, the "straddle" theory is more rational 
 than the "squat," yet the latter we are bound to accept 
 as true, but not to the exclusion of belief that the for- 
 mer may be true also. 
 
 "They are exceedingly gregarious iu their habits, col- 
 lecting into large troops in the marshes, where they 
 follow the rise and fall of the tide in their search for 
 food, so that they are often seen extending in single file 
 over a considerable space. . . . While the com- 
 munity is thus engaged in seeking the means of sub- 
 sistence, certain of its members are said to be employed 
 in the capacity of sentinels to give notice of the ap- 
 proach of danger; this is done by a loud cry like the 
 sound of a trumpet, on hearing which the whole troop 
 will take wing and escape to some place of greater se- 
 curity." (Orr's "Circle of the Sciences.") 
 
 In a description of a superlatively salt saline pond 
 Darwin visited in South America, he remarks: "Fla- 
 mingoes in considerable numbers inhabit this lake and 
 breed here; throughout Patagonia, in Iforthern Chili, 
 and at the Galapagos Islands, I met with these birds 
 wherever there were lakes of brine. I saw them here 
 wading about in search of food — probably for the worms 
 which burrow in the mud." 
 
 In Cunningham's book on "' Straits of Magellan and 
 Its Natural History," I find the following: "Some of 
 the officers . . . shot some duck of a crested species 
 , . . and also three flamingoes, one of which was 
 handed over to me. This was a young specimen of the 
 Phoenicopterus ignipalliatus, which is, I believe, com* 
 
290 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 mon in CMH, and the northern parts of Patagonia, and 
 the Argentine Eepublic. . . . Apparently they are 
 but rare in the neighborhood of the strait, for this was 
 the only occasion on which we observed specimens. We 
 cooked two of them but found them extremely fishy, 
 probably owing to the fat, of which there was a con- 
 siderable layer on the muscles of the breast and abdo- 
 men. The plumage was chiefly composed of sombre 
 gray and brown tints, but on the inside of the wings 
 there was a lovely pale rosy hue, recalling a dying sunset 
 flush. I was greatly interested in the examination of 
 the peculiar tongue, dishes composed of which were 
 highly esteemed in the luxurious times of the Boman 
 Empire, and whose structure has been carefully de- 
 scribed by Professor Owen, who remarks that its sub- 
 stance 'is not muscular, but is chiefly composed of an 
 abundant yielding cellular substance, with fat of w 
 almost oily consistence.' " 
 
Marabou (Leptaptilus Grumemfer). 
 
CHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 THE HBKODII, OR HEEOKS. 
 
 In a previous chapter, a family of birds — the cranes 
 — ^were briefly described, and a casual remark made 
 that every extra-long-legged bird was apt to be called 
 by that name. Certainly in general appearance the 
 cranes are like the birds constituting this group, of 
 which the ibises, storks, and herons are the prominent 
 members. It is not within the compass of this com- 
 pilation to discuss those anatomical differences upon 
 which the classification of birds is founded. Suffice it 
 to say, the cranes do not belong here if they are long- 
 legged waders. 
 
 The heron and its allies are all aquatic birds, living 
 on the banks of rivers, lakes, and in the marshy tracts 
 that have a certain amount of free water in them; but 
 this broad statement must not be taken as equally appli- 
 cable to all the race. Some of these birds find health 
 and happiness in localities that are more damp than 
 wet, and find abundance of food where others would 
 starve. None of them are beautiful on close inspection, 
 btit most are graceful in their movements when walking, 
 and many exceedingly so when on the wing. It is 
 eminently true of them that "distance lends enchant- 
 ment to the view," and the less said about the merits of 
 their singing the better. But if they do not sing, they 
 can make themselves heard, and. the united voices of a 
 hundred night-herons, migrating after the gloaming, 
 and high overhead, is, to say the least, not an inspiriting 
 sound to the lonely wayfarer who has gone astray in a 
 wildernesg. 
 
293 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 All said, towever, the whole tribe of ibises, storks, 
 and herons is one that has naturally excited a great 
 deal of interest, and to cull from the books of travelers 
 interesting matter concerning them is only difficult 
 from the embarras de richesse. 
 
 Among the many remarkable forms in this class of 
 birds, probably no one has figured more prominently in 
 literature than the sacred ibis of Africa, or more par- 
 ticularly, of Egypt. It is not 
 a large bird, nor yet strikingly 
 beautiful, "being about the 
 size of a common fowl, with 
 head and neck bare and white 
 plumage, the primaries of the 
 wings being tipped with black 
 and the secondaries being 
 bright black, glossed with 
 green and yiolet." 
 
 "The ibis is chiefly an in- 
 habitant of the Nile basin in 
 Nubia, from Dongola south- 
 ward, as well as of Kordofan 
 and Sennaar, whence about mid- 
 summer, as the river rises, it 
 moves northward to Egypt and 
 reaches the delta, passing over 
 the intermediate districts in a way not unknown else- 
 where among migratory birds." (" Encyclopedia Bri- 
 tannica.") 
 
 Leith Adams gives us the following account of this 
 bird: "Among all the birds of Egypt and Nubia, none 
 has attained to the celebrity of the sacred ibis. There 
 is good evidence to show that this bird was very common 
 up to and even subsequent to the Roman, conquest and 
 overthrow of the religious observances, in which it held 
 an exalted position, for beside the enormous numbers 
 
 Sacred Ibis. 
 
BIRDS. 293 
 
 of mummied bodies of this bird met with in tombs, 
 there are the assertions of the ancient historians to 
 prove that it wandered about unmolested in towns and 
 over the country, and was common in Egypt up to the 
 first and second centuries of the Christian era, and was 
 carried by the Eoman conquerors to the temples of the 
 capital and also the chief cities of the empire. How 
 long it lingered in Egypt and Italy we have no reliable 
 information. It appears on the walls of Pompeii, and 
 is mentioned by historians as honoring the temple of 
 Isis by its presence. In fact, from the dawn of civiliza- 
 tion in Egypt up to the decline of the Eoman Empire, 
 it was considered among the sacred animals, and was 
 reverenced and respected . not only by the ancient race, 
 but also by their European conquerors. The place oc- 
 cupied by the ibis in the religious worship of the Egyp- 
 tians testifies to the high repute wherewith it was held 
 by this people, being the emblem of Thoth, the scribe 
 or secretary of Osiris, whose duty it was to recount the 
 good and bad actions of the souls of the deceased when 
 ushered into the presence of the god," 
 
 Mr. Adams questions its occurrence of late years in 
 the delta, but probably the range as given by Professor 
 N"ewton, which we have quoted, is correct. 
 
 The food of the ibis is primarily land and fresh-water 
 shells, small fishes and such other diminutive creeping 
 life as come under its notice. That it was an expert 
 snake -catcher, as was stated by ancient historians, does 
 not appear to be true, as judged by the stomach-contents 
 of hundreds of mummied specimens. " It is probable, 
 however," as Mr. Adams has said, "that, although not 
 partial to snakes and reptiles, it never passed the smaller 
 ones by unmolested. . . . Insects seem to have 
 been its favorite food." 
 
 The other ibis found in Northern Africa, and not 
 only there but in Europe, Asia, and Southeastern 
 
294 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 America, is the glossy ibis, which has, as we see, a won- 
 derfully wide distribution. As an American bird, oi 
 of the united States, it is not prominent. Dr. Brewer 
 says, it "occurs irregularly in the eastern portion of the 
 United States, and has been known to breed in Florida." 
 The probabilities are that it is more frequently seen in 
 Florida than the above implies, and its habits and dis- 
 tribution need looking up; something true of a good 
 many of our birds. As a European bird the glossy ibis 
 is well known. In his record of migratory birds ob- 
 served in the Island of Malta, Leith Adams remarks of 
 the ibis: " This bird, singly, or in flocks, is regular in 
 
 spring and autumn. 
 . . . As usual with 
 its allied species of 
 more eastern countries, 
 it has a predilection to 
 keep company with oth- 
 er gregarious birds, 
 such as egrets, crows 
 Scarlet itis. and pigeons, even feed- 
 
 ing with and follow- 
 ing the flocks from place to place." 
 
 In America, North and South, we have, besides the 
 above, two species of ibis, which vary exceedingly 
 in general appearance; one being wholly scarlet, the 
 other purely white. It appears to be doubtful about 
 the scarlet ibis occurring in the United States, and the 
 most that can be learned from recent works on the 
 birds of North America concerning it, is whether Wil- 
 son or Audubon ever saw it. 
 
 It is a bird of South America, however, and one that 
 seems to have attracted every traveler's attention, yet 
 few have given any pithy account of its habits. The 
 only mention that Im Thurn makes of it, for instance, 
 runs as follows; "In the distance an Iodia,n canoa 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 395 
 
 appeared from behind a bend in the river. The naked 
 skins of the Indians in it literally flashed red in the in- 
 tense light. A scarlet ibis — the only one, by the way, 
 that I ever saw so high up on this river — flew by and 
 settled upon a tree between us and the approaching 
 canoe, but it hardly looked more Ted than did the In- 
 dians." 
 
 A word concerning its color: " The scarlet. . . . 
 of this splendid bird is probably not exceaded in purity 
 and intensity. It is, in 
 fact, the very perfection 
 of that color. It far sur- 
 passes the red of any pas- 
 serene bird known to us, 
 even the plumage of the 
 scarlet tanager appearing 
 dull and harsh oeside it." 
 
 In Patagonia, Darwin 
 found an ibis, of which 
 he states: "An ibis (ther- 
 isticus melanops — a spe- 
 cies said to be found in 
 Central Africa) is not un- 
 common on the most des- 
 ert parts; in their stom- 
 achs I found grasshop- 
 pers, cicadae, small lizards, and even scorpions. At one 
 time of year these birds go in flocks, at another, in 
 pairs; their cry is very loud and singular, like the neigh- 
 ing of a guanaco." 
 
 A curious "and beautiful species of heron-like bird, 
 that is a feature of North American bird-life, at least, 
 as seen in Florida, is the spoon-bill. In Europe there is 
 another, that is here figured. The difference in the two 
 is very marked, one being rosy, the other white. 
 
 Mudie says of the European species: "The white 
 
 Wlilte Spoon-blU. 
 
396 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Bpoon-bill arriyes on the southeast coast of England 
 rather more frequently than most of the other strag- 
 glers. . . . The birds live in marshy places, and 
 make their nests in trees, or in the close tufts of aquatic 
 pl9,nts." 
 
 This bird is found in most parts of Europe, and may 
 be said to b© common in Holland during the summer. 
 It is migratory and winters along the coast of Italy. 
 
 As seen in Florida, the rosy spoon-bill is "as noc- 
 turnal as the night heron (which, by the way, is not 
 very nocturnal. — Compiler), and its principal feeding 
 time is from near sunset until daylight. In procuring 
 its food the spoon-bill usually wades up to the tibiae, im- 
 merses its bill in the soft mud, with the head and even 
 the whole neck beneath the surface, moving its partly 
 open mandibles to and fro laterally, munching the small 
 fry — insects or shell-fish — before it swalloTS them. 
 When many are together one usually acts as a sentinel. " 
 (Dr. Brewer in "Birds of North America.") 
 
 Storks, like the ibises, have long figured prominently 
 in literature. They have not been persistently perse- 
 cuted in most countries, and so have lived in such prox- 
 imity to man that they could be very carefully studied, 
 and the habits of no other birds are better known. 
 
 "The storks are all large birds, which chiefly inhahit 
 the warmer regions of the earth, where they frequent 
 marshy places, feeding on reptiles, batrachians, fishes, 
 and other small animals, not excluding small quadru- 
 peds and birds. Many of them devour indiscriminately 
 almost anything that comes in their way, including 
 garbage of all kinds; hence, like the vultures and other 
 carrion-eating animals, they are regarded with great 
 favor by the inhabitants of warm climates. Several 
 species perform long migrations, visiting temperate and 
 cold climates during the summer, but the majority ap- 
 pear to be permanently resident in warm countries. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 297 
 
 "The British species are, of course, migratory in 
 their habits, and, in fact, must be regarded only as oc- 
 casional visitors to our shores, but in Holland and Ger- 
 many they are tolerably abundant. The best known 
 species is the white stork, which is about three feet and 
 a half in length, and is of a white color, with the quills 
 and coverts of the wings bla,ck, and the bill and feet 
 red. These birds visit the cen- 
 tral part of Europe in the spring, 
 and remain there during the sum- 
 mer, departing usually in the 
 month of October for their win- 
 ter quarters in Asia and Africa. 
 Their services in the countries 
 frequented by them, in the de- 
 struction of vermin of all kinds, 
 preventing their being the object 
 of any molestation, they are gen- 
 erally very fearless of man, and 
 frequently build their nests on the 
 tops of the buildings in the very 
 centers of towns; indeed, in many 
 places, the inhabitants place 
 wooden boxes or frames on the 
 tops of their houses to induce the 
 storks to build there, and the man whose house is select- 
 ed by a stork for this purpose always considers himself 
 particularly fortunate. They return annually to breed 
 in the same place, and are said to manifest great delight 
 on again taking possession of their deserted home. 
 
 "The nest is formed of amass of sticks and other 
 coarse materials, in which the bird lays three or four 
 eggs, which are hatched in about a month, and the 
 young are then attended with great care by both parents, 
 who feed them by inserting their bilk into tlic mouth of 
 the young bird and disgorging some of the half -digested 
 
 WTiite stork. 
 
298 
 
 CYCLOPEOrA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 food from their own stomachs. The old birds manifest 
 the greatest attachment to their young, which has ren- 
 dered them objects of admiration in all ages. A most 
 remarkable instance of this occurred in the conflagra- 
 tion of Delft, where a female stork was observed, after 
 repeated attempts to carry ofE her young, to prefer re- 
 maining with them to perish, rather than leave them to 
 their fate. They are also regarded as patterns of con- 
 jugal fidelity, but Professor Schinz relates a singular 
 aneedote, which, if true, shows that this rule is liable 
 to exceptions. He says that a pair of storks had bred 
 
 happily for several years in a 
 village of Switzerland, but that 
 on one occasion, soon after 
 their return to their old quar- 
 ters, it was observed that as 
 soon as the male had left the 
 nest to seek his food, a younger 
 male always advanced to make 
 his court to the female which 
 remained in the nest. At first 
 the lady received the advances 
 of her young suitor with great 
 disdain, but as he did not al- 
 low himself to be frightened 
 away by this behavior, but al- 
 ways presented himself as soon 
 as her rightful lord had taken 
 his departure, his advances 
 were gradually received Avith more and more favor, while 
 the unfortunate husband was treated with a proportional 
 degree of unkindness. At length, one day, when the 
 male had gone in search of food to a neighboring 
 meadow, his faithless spouse flew after him with her 
 new lover, and both attacking him with their sharp 
 bills soon laid him dead on the ground. The pair then 
 
 Adjutant-bird. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 ^99 
 
 returned and took possession of the nest." (Orr's 
 " Circle of the Sciences.") 
 
 The adjutants of India are storks of a remarkable 
 character and gigantic stature. The most marked 
 features of them is the bare head and neck and a disten- 
 sible pouch in the front of the neck. They devour 
 anything and everything^ and are so useful as scaven- 
 gers that they are carefully protected by the inhabitants 
 of the 'countries where they are found. 
 
 In South and Central America is found the jabiru, 
 one of the largest of the storks. It is white, except 
 the head and neck, which 
 are bare of feathers and 
 inky black. There does 
 not appear to be anjrthing 
 in its habits strikingly pe- 
 culiar, although it is not 
 as familiar and fearless of 
 man as the storks of Eu- 
 rope. Describing the sa- 
 vannah-region birds of 
 Gruiana, Im Thurn men- 
 tions the jabiru briefly as 
 follows: "On the high 
 trees near . . . ponds, 
 and on the banks of the 
 rivers, the great stork-like 
 cause of its bald, black head, builds its" nest.' 
 
 Another familiar stork-like bird of If orth America is 
 the wood-ibis. While found mostly in tropical and the 
 southern temperate regions, this bird wanders far up 
 the Mississippi Valley, and is occasionally seen on the 
 Atlantic Coast as far north as New York. It is said by 
 Bartram to be a solitary, unsocial, quiet-loving bird, 
 that associates with numbers of its fellows only during 
 the breeding season. Its favorite food is said to be 
 cray-fish. 
 
 Tuf tea TTmtier. 
 
 •negro-cop,' so called be- 
 
300 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NAI URAL HIS TOR Y. 
 
 In Africa there is a small, stork-like bird not largei 
 than a common crow, but with somewhat longer legs. 
 It has a sharply-ridged, compressed bill, with the uppei 
 mandible hooked. It is of a pretty, uniform, umber- 
 brown color, hence t\e ordinary name. 
 
 An extraordinary bird not widely removed, perhaps, 
 from the storks, is found in a limited district of Africa 
 and nowhere else. It is known scientifically as balaeni- 
 
 ceps rex — ^the king of the 
 ' '' whale-heads " — and one 
 does not wonder that the 
 name suggested itself to the 
 describer, considering the 
 size of the bird's beak. 
 
 While passing up the 
 Nile in a remote district, 
 Schweinfurth observed 
 these curious birds and re- 
 fers as follows to them: "As 
 we were making our way 
 past the enclosures which 
 lie on either side of the 
 stream, my attention was 
 arrested by the sight of a 
 nuniber of some of the most 
 remarkable birds that are 
 found in Africa. Strutting along the bank, they were 
 erflploying their broad bills to grope in the slimy mar- 
 gins of the stream for fish. The bird was the Balmni- 
 ceps rex, a curiosity of the rarest kind, known among 
 sailors as the abumarkoob (or slipper-shape), a name de- 
 rived from the peculiar form of its beak. Its scientific 
 name is due to the disproportionate magnitude of its 
 head. Before 1850 no skins of this bird had been con- 
 veyed to Europe, and it appeared unaccountable to nat- 
 uralists how a bird of such size, not less than four feet 
 
 Balaenlceps rex. 
 
sikbs. 301 
 
 high, and of a shape so remarkable, should hitherto 
 have remained unknown. They were not aware that 
 its habitat is limited to a narrow range which it 
 does not quit. Except by the Gazelle and in the 
 central district of the Bahr-el-Gebel, the balseniceps 
 has never been known to breed. ... As gener- 
 ally observed, the bird is solitary and sits in re- 
 tired spots; its broad beak reclines upon its crop, and 
 it stands upon the low ground very much. ... It 
 rarely occupies the ant-hills, which every here and there 
 rise some feet above the vegetation. The great head of 
 the bird rises over the tall blades of grass and ever be- 
 trays its position. . . . This balseniceps would 
 seem to furnish a proof that not everything in nature is 
 perfectly adapted to its end [ISTothing is perfect, and all 
 intimations and assertions to the contrary are the veriest 
 rot of mamby-pamby teleologists and folk of that ilk. 
 — Compiler. '\ for' when the birds are full grown they 
 never have their beaks symmetrical. The upper part 
 does not correspond with the lower; the two members 
 fall apart and like an old woman's jaws, go all awry. 
 . . . They seem to fly with difficulty, carrying their 
 . . . heads upon their necks at full stretch like a 
 heton. They build, in the rainy season, always close to 
 the open water, forming their great nests of ambatch- 
 stalks." 
 
 We now come to the herons proper, a class of birds 
 of nearly world-wide distribution. Iforth America is 
 well supplied, having no less than twelve species, and 
 these offer a wide range in size, color and peculiarities 
 of habits. This list of a dozen includes the two bit- 
 terns and the egrets. In the whole world there are 
 between sixty and seventy species, the difference in the 
 two numbers arising from the great variation of opinion 
 in the minds of zoologists as to what constitutes a 
 species and what a variety. 
 
303 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL ff IS TORY. 
 
 The common heron of Europe is about three feet in 
 length from the point of the bill to the end of the tail 
 The bird has a pendant crest of glossy, black feathers. 
 The body is white, or whitish, beneath; above, ashy 
 and quite dark. 
 
 Mudie says: " In the breeding-time herons are gre- 
 garious, building their heronries in trees generally near 
 some piece of water, not regarding much the seclusion 
 of the situation, though not quite so familiar as rooks. 
 
 When they once take up 
 their abode in any place 
 they do not quit it read- 
 ily, and if their trees are 
 cut down they take pos- 
 session of those that are 
 nearest; but at other sea- 
 sons they often roost in 
 situations where they do 
 not breed, if they find 
 trees to their purpose 
 near the margin of waters 
 which abound with fish. 
 They are seldom, indeed, 
 seen solitary, but in pairs 
 or larger numbers, ac- 
 cording as the places where they seek their food are 
 nearer to the breeding-places or more remote from 
 them." 
 
 Of the North American herons, the common and 
 well-known " quok," or black-crowned night-heron, is 
 perhaps the most prominent, but to many the " great 
 blue " is no less familiar. Of the smaller species, the 
 little green " fiy-up-the-creek " is the most abundant, 
 and like the " teeter-tiltup " among the sandpipers, is 
 the most terrestrial, and can rest content witli the 
 smallest of oozing springs. 
 
 Common Heron. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 303 
 
 While the night heron is, so far as the Northern 
 United States are concerned, a migratory species, it is 
 not so in the Southern and Lower Middle States, and 
 one has the opportunity of studying them carefully, 
 being found the year through in the same neighborhood. 
 It must not be thought because they are called "night" 
 herons that they are the owls of their race. Daylight 
 does not blind them and they feed, if hungry, amid the 
 glare and sparkle of summer noontide. It is true that 
 the night if not pitchy dark is their proper day, and 
 then the shallows of a creek are 
 sure to be tenanted by them, and 
 the echoes often know no rest 
 when a iit of "quoking" seizes 
 the birds. Perhaps each bird is 
 expressing his approbation or dis- 
 gust — ^perhaps each is conversing 
 with his neighbor; be it what 
 it may, cacophony runs riot, and 
 the hidden, uncanny shapes that 
 people the darkness of tangled 
 nooks near by must glory in the 
 weird sounds that reach them 
 from the creek. 
 
 As is common with many of 
 these birds, the night heron builds in trees associated 
 with dozens of his fellows likewise occupied. These 
 heronries, as they are called, have often been described. 
 As the persecution of birds has of late"^been the fashion, 
 thanks to a weak government and weaker legislators, 
 heronries are now rarely met with, and the bird finds 
 solitary nests are better for themselves and their off- 
 spring. 
 
 The other Am^jiean night heron is rare north of the 
 Carolinas, but a -few wandev as far up the coast as New 
 Jersey. On tb.« I>el3.war;A V»iver for many years a pair 
 
 Night Heron. 
 
304 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OP- MA TURaL msTOR Y. 
 
 lived, summer after summer, about two miles above 
 Trenton, New Jersey. It is presumed tbat tbey bred, 
 but no nest was ever found or young seen. Probably 
 every summer a pair or two wander up tbe river named. 
 That they have been killed on the sea-coast is unques- 
 tionable. 
 
 The prince of his race is unquestionably the great 
 
 blue heron. This species 
 is quite diurnal, and know- 
 ing how conspicuous it is, 
 is shy and very careful that 
 the coast is clear when it 
 busies itself with catching 
 the aquatic small-fry that 
 constitute its food. It nests 
 in tall trees, and when these 
 are in the vicinity of occu- 
 pied ground, the bird is 
 very cunning in its going 
 to and fro, as though more 
 afraid of showing where the 
 nest is than of exposing 
 itself. 
 
 Quoting Brewer, we learn 
 that "it will venture even 
 more fearlessly forth at 
 night in quest of food, al- 
 ways standing in the same 
 motionless posture, with 
 bill ready poised for the coming of its prey." 
 
 And he adds: "It is said that the phosphorescence of 
 the feathers of the breast are an aid to it in night-fish ' 
 ing." " It IS said," but is it? The impression is wide 
 spread and it is not our business to deny it, but we do 
 question the propriety of picturing this and othei- 
 herons with a blazing bosom that recall Nast's famous 
 
 Great Blue Heron. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 305 
 
 portraits of Tweed with a diamond that out-rivaled Old 
 Sol himself. 
 
 There are two beautiful white species in our own 
 country of birds belonging to the heron tribe — ^the 
 snowy heron and the white egret. The former of 
 moderate size and a pretty, viyacious bird; the other 
 grandly plumed, stately, tall and dignified. They are 
 strictly migratory in the Middle and Northern States 
 and resident in the Grulf States!. 
 In their habits they are much like 
 other herons and associate with 
 them. 
 
 The little green heron, or "fly- 
 up-the-creek," is very common all 
 over the United States, and is a 
 harmless, interesting and hand- 
 some bird. Why, then, it should 
 have been dubbed with a dozen 
 objectionable names and consid- 
 ered deserving of contempt and 
 persecution is a puzzle. It is 
 doubtless one of those problems 
 that can only be solved by refer- 
 ring it to the ignorance and prej- 
 udice of silly people who delight 
 in their superstitious absurdities. 
 
 In the bitterns we have a 
 series of heron-like birds that 
 have always excited considerable interest from the 
 fact that they (or some of them) have voices that are 
 peculiar and sure to attract the attention of those who 
 hear them. This sound has been called "booming," 
 has been likened to drumming, and has perhaps best 
 been described by Thoreau, when he spoke of "bitterns 
 pumping in the fens." Steam pile-drivers often pro- 
 duce an almost identical sound. 
 
 White Heron. 
 
306 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA Ofi NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Mudie says' of the European bittern : " It is a bird of 
 the wilds — almost a bird of desolation — avoiding alike 
 the neighborhood of man and the progress of man's 
 improvements. It is a bird of rude nature, where the 
 land knows no character save that which the untrained 
 working of the elements impresses upon it, so that when 
 any locality is in the course of being won to usefulness, 
 the bittern is the first to depart. ' The bittern shall 
 
 dwell there' is the 
 final curse, and im- 
 plies that the place is 
 to become uninhabited 
 and uninhabitable." 
 
 "We must confess 
 that this is hard upon 
 the poor bird and does 
 not quite apply to our 
 American species, 
 which is quite nearly 
 allied. • It is true they 
 love solitude and de- 
 sire above all things 
 to be let alone, but 
 they can tolerate a 
 little civilization and 
 the proximity of more 
 provided a few rods of untamed nature with a few frogs 
 are allowed them. Still, it is the exception, not the 
 rule, to see them. Unlike other herons, they do not 
 fly by day in companies. One may often hear them 
 night after night, yet only have the most general notion 
 of their whereabouts. 
 
 _ This does not apply to the least bittern; the least in 
 size and equal of any in beauty of form, grace of move- 
 ment and showy coloration. It is a bird of grassy 
 meadows, with enough of marshy land near by to afford 
 
 Bittern. 
 
B7RDS. 307 
 
 safe nesting among tall aquatic rushes. It is quite 
 diurnal in habit and is often flushed from the higher 
 pastures. 
 
 It builds a loosely-constructed nest of twigs and 
 coarse grasses in marshy places, and raises, possibly, 
 two broods in a season. They are common and breed 
 on the tide-meadows of the Delaw^ire Eiver. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE STEGANOPODES. 
 
 It would be hard to give a simple, comprehensive 
 term that' would be an equivalent for the scientific one 
 that heads this chapter. It is applied to a group of birds 
 that are respectively known as tropic-birds, frigate-birds, 
 
 pelicans, and the snake- 
 birds of Florida and trop- 
 ical regions. Some of 
 these, as the pelicans, are 
 known to every one, at 
 least by name, and the il- 
 lustrations that are scat- 
 tered through so many 
 " readers," text-books and 
 even almanacs. 
 
 Among all the sea-birds 
 perhaps no one is more 
 beautiful and graceful than 
 the tropic-bird. , As its 
 name implies, it is con- 
 fined to the Southern 
 Oceans, and so powerful 
 in its flight that days may 
 pass. It woulcl -seem, without its finding rest necessary. 
 • ' The flight ^f the tropic-bird is calm and peaceful, 
 performed bj frequent strokes of the wings, at times in- 
 terrupted by a brusque movement or kind of swoop. 
 These birds ^ *fy the fury of the storm; in the midst of 
 the most temi»le tempest they retain their composure. 
 
 Tropic-bird. 
 
BIRDS. 309 
 
 Tranquil and serene, they rise with the wave and descend 
 again into the abyss. Tropic-birds travel more than 500 
 miles out to sea, and yet return every evening (?) to 
 the islands or rocks where they make their home. In 
 fact, they scarcely stop even for necessary sleep. They 
 seem made to fly and fly forever." (Tandon's "World 
 of the Sea.") 
 
 When at Bermuda, Professor Moseley, in his book on 
 the "Challenger's Cruise," wrote as follows: " The birds 
 most interesting to us were the ' boatswain birds/ since 
 we now met them in numbers for the first time, though 
 we afterward became familiar with them among the Pa- 
 cific islands and elsewhere. The birds are white, a lit- 
 tle smaller than our commonest English gulls, and 
 shaped more like a sea-swallow or tern, though allied to 
 the gannets and cormorants; in their tails are two long, 
 narrow feathers of a reddish tint, which, as the bird 
 flies, are kept extended behind, and give it a curious 
 appearance. 
 
 ' ' The birds breed more or less gregariously in holes 
 in the rocks formed by weathering out of softer layers. 
 It is easy to secure them in the hole by clapping a cap 
 over its mouth, and often both male and female can be 
 caught together. It is, however, quite a different mat- 
 ter to get hold of them for stuffing; their bills are very 
 sharp and strong, and they fight furiously, screaming' 
 all the while. Only one egg is laid, and it is of a dark- 
 red color, like that of the kestrel." 
 
 Oollingwood, in "Eambles in the China Seas," says 
 of these birds, that while pelicans are a sign of land's 
 proximity, "not so, however, with the tropic birds, 
 beautiful black and white creatures, with yellow beaks, 
 and conspicuous for their long, pointed tails. Four of 
 these birds appeared about the ship on two successive 
 days in the Indian Ocean, on the second of which we 
 were 800 miles from land. As long as I was able to 
 
310 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 watch them I did not see them settle upon the water, 
 nor did they appear to attempt to catch the flying 
 fishes which at the time were on the wing in consider- 
 able numbers." 
 
 Bennett J in his " Gatherings of a Naturalist in Aus- 
 tralasia," writes of them as follows: "These birds 
 have derived their popular name from being seen by 
 navigators only in the tropical regions, ranging from 
 twenty-five degrees to twenty-eight degrees north and 
 south of the equator; they are most frequently seen in 
 
 the vicinity of uninhab- 
 ited islands, where they 
 deposit their eggs and 
 rear their young without 
 molestation. . . . 
 They are among the most 
 beautiful of all the 
 oceanic birds, and excite 
 admiration as the rays of 
 a bright sun shine upon 
 their chaste and satiny 
 plumage; they are as 
 gentle in manner as 
 graceful in flight, and 
 it is pleasing to watch their evolutions, for when soar- 
 ing to a great :levation, the action of their wings is 
 slow, accompanied by a jerking motion, rising and fall- 
 ing in the air, at the same time uttering their peculiar 
 shrill notes." 
 
 A bird of somewhat similar habits, and one associated 
 with it very frequently, if not generally, is the frigate- 
 bird, or man-of-war hawk. Although so graceful in 
 form and carriage, it is closely allied with the compara- 
 tively clumsy pelicans. Moseley (Cruise of Challenger) 
 at St. Michael's Mount found the frigate-bird, and 
 when soaring high overhead, says they looked like large 
 
 Krigat^-Wrd. 
 
BIRDS. 311 
 
 kites. They nested there. They "put their nests 
 . . . well out of harm's way, on the very verge of a 
 precipice which was quite inaccessible. I could look 
 down and see the nests, five or six of which were built 
 close together, almost touching one another, and each 
 containing a single egg." 
 
 At Eaine Island, an isolated " dot " in the South At- 
 lantic, he again found them breeding, and remarks, " It 
 is curious to see the frigate-birds, the nesting place of 
 which is usually on high clifEs, as at Fernando Norhona, 
 here, through the entire security of the locality, nesting 
 on the ground. The main body of the frigate-birds 
 remained during our stay soaring high up in the air, 
 with their eagle- like flight far above the cloud of other 
 birds beneath." 
 
 Collingwood, in his "China Seas Eambles," says, 
 speaking of the birds of Protas Island: "A large, rapa- 
 cious-looking bird, which came sailing majestically 
 within gunshot, was brought down, and turned out to 
 be the frigate-bird. . . . When it fell a strong 
 guano-like smell pervaded it, which was very disagreeable. 
 I measured its expanse of wing, which proved to be 
 nearly seven feet from tip to tip, and on opening its 
 stomacn I found, in a partially digested state, three 
 large flying-fishes and two squids." 
 
 '\The frigate-bird," says Bennett, whom we just 
 quoted, "is . . . often seen frequenting the Aus- 
 tral and other tropical islands. It somewhat resembles 
 the cormorant in its general appearance; it is also known 
 by the name of sea-hawk, . . . and from its ex- 
 ternal form and anatomical structure forms a connect- 
 ing link between the predaceous terrestrial genera and 
 the equally rapacious sea-fowl. In its mode of progres- 
 sion it closely resembles the former. . . . From 
 the formation of their feet they are incapable of alight- 
 ing and resting upon the surface of the water, and as 
 
312 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 they are seen at great distances from the land they must 
 possess an immense power of wing to enable them to 
 sustain such prolonged exertion without repose." 
 
 While adepts at catching flying-fish, the frigate-birds 
 do not depend upon them as food, but have the trick of 
 robbing gannets as they are returning to their nests, 
 with their stomachs and even their throats full of fish. 
 The frigate-birds dive down upon them, and command 
 
 them, if not to stand, at 
 least to deliver, and when 
 this is done the vomited 
 mass is caught up by the 
 robber. This is not al- 
 ways a successful dodge, 
 however, and the at- 
 tacked and attacking 
 party both find them- 
 selves in the water in- 
 stead of above it; a pre- 
 dicament that matters 
 little to the gannet, but 
 is serious, as we have 
 seen, to the frigate-bird. 
 We now come to consider the well-known pelicans, 
 which have, wherever found, attracted a great deal of 
 attention. Primarily, it may be said, that they are 
 utterly devoid of beauty, have an ungraceful, wrinkled 
 bag the whole length of their under jaw or bill, and 
 grunt as unattractively as many birds sing sweetly. 
 There are about ten species, of which two are found,' in 
 summer, in high latitudes; the others in the tropics and 
 warm temperate regions. In N"orth America there are 
 two, the white and brown. In Indian times the native 
 white pelican was not uncommon to the rive-rs and 
 coast of the Middle States, now it is unknown there, 
 except as the rarest of rare stragglers. In the Missis- 
 sippi Valley they are not uncommon. 
 
 Pelican. 
 
BIRDS. 313 
 
 In the distensible bag or pouch attached to the undei 
 bill, the food that they capture (fish) are temporarily 
 held, and in it are carried to their young during the 
 _ breeding-season. 
 
 Tandon, in his " World of the Sea,'' relates the fol- 
 lowing: " They are very plentiful on the shores of the 
 Black Sea, especially in the lagoons, or salt water lakes 
 which line its banks. Early in the morning great num^ 
 bers of the pelicans gather together for a fishing expe- 
 dition. They arrange themselves in a horseshoe form 
 looking toward shore, and they place themselves at 
 regular intervals from each other. As soon as the cor- 
 don is complete they commence striking the water with 
 their outstretched wings, and thus frighten the fish 
 shoreward. With neck outstretched the pelicans gradu- 
 ally near the land. The fish are thus hemmed in, and 
 as soon as the space is sufficiently narrowed then begins 
 the feast." 
 
 Other birds attend upon these systematic fishing ex- 
 peditions, and from the debris thrown up by the waves, 
 gulls, jackdaws, sea-swallows, and even grebes, in the 
 narrowing semi-circle snatch a "good, square meal." 
 
 In this country the pelican breeds in Florida and the 
 Par West. In Florida the eggs are laid on the bare 
 sand, no nest whatever being made. 
 
 Cormorants are pelican-like, but far more graceful in 
 general appearance and more attractively colored. They 
 are birds of very wide distribution. In the limits of 
 the United States we have six, or possibly seven, species, 
 it being probable that one has recently become extinct. 
 
 Moseley ("Cruise of Challenger") writer of these 
 birds when at the Cape of Good Hope : " ^Lbout the 
 seashore at Simon's Bay are quantities of /-ormorants, 
 or shags, as they are called. They sit in groups on all 
 the rocks about the town and bask in the «un, and at 
 times appear in vast flights darkening the sir." 
 
314 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 At Kerguelan's Land he" found cormorants and re- 
 corded of them: "The birds build on ledges of the 
 cliffs or on the higher part of steep declivities leading 
 directly down into the sea. They are especially fond of 
 the . horizontal grooves and ledges in the cliffs formed 
 where the red earth bands weather out beneath the 
 harder overlying basalt. They are gregarious in their 
 nesting, and in places small islands or projecting head- 
 lands are stained yellow-white with their droppings so 
 as to be conspicuous from a distance at sea. 
 
 "The birds make a compact, neat, round nest, raised 
 
 about a foot from the 
 ground, and coniposed of 
 mud and lined with grass. 
 "They lay either two 
 or three eggs, pale bluedn 
 color and covered with a 
 chalky substance, as are all 
 cormorants' eggs. The 
 young are ugly beasts cov- 
 ered with intensely black 
 down." 
 
 Grannets are birds of 
 v^ide distribution, four 
 species being found within 
 the limits of the United States. They are strictly ma- 
 rine, feed exclusively upon fish, and breed on rocks sur- 
 rounded by water, or on headlands. As is often the case 
 with sea-birds, they are gregarious in their nesting. 
 Moseley found two species breeding on Raine Island, in 
 the South Atlantic. One made " a slight nest of green 
 twigs and grass on the ground;" the other, "a circular 
 hole in the earth about one and one-half inches deep." 
 The anhinras, or snake-birds, are found over a wide 
 area in tropical and sub-tropical regions. " The Aus- 
 tralian darter/' says Bennett, "is a, very shy bird j it 
 
 Gannet or Solan Goose. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 315 
 
 often swims on the surface of the water, and at the 
 slightest appearance of danger sinks into the water, 
 leaving only a small portion of the head and neck 
 visible, and even this disappears on the least movement 
 of the sportsman. . . . They were sometimes seen 
 motionless upon the trees on the borders of the river, 
 either digesting a meal or watching for fish or reptiles, 
 for they feed upon both." 
 
 Im Thurn refers as follows to these birds as seen in 
 Guiana. After referring to kingfishers, he says: "Prob- 
 ably the next bird to attract 
 attention is a ducklar. This 
 is the Creole name, but the 
 bird is more usually known 
 in England as the darter, 
 or snake-bird — the former 
 because of its extraordina- 
 rily direct method of diving 
 after fish, the latter because 
 of the great length of its 
 snake-like neck as compared 
 with the length of its body. 
 Generally less abundant 
 than kingfishers, at least one ducklar is yet almost sure 
 to be flushed in each reach of the river, and in some 
 places — as I noticed, for instance, on one occasion on 
 the Takootoo River — hundreds of these birds may be 
 seen at a time sitting on the trees. " 
 
 The Gulf States, and as far north along the Atlantic 
 seaboard as North Carolina, is the range in this country 
 of the darter. Its habits are the same here as in South 
 America. It nests in bushes or trees, and " always 
 over water," and sometimes the nests are surrounded 
 by those of various species of herons. 
 
 Darter ur ouai£e-uird. 
 
CHAJPTEE XIX. 
 
 THE GALLIK^. 
 
 Tlie gallinaceous birds, whicli are scratchers, and of 
 whick the common domestic fowls may be taken as 
 
 types, are found over 
 most parts of the world, 
 or at least over aU the 
 northern and a portion 
 of the southern hemis- 
 phere. They have much 
 in common, and yet pre- 
 sent many marked feat- 
 ures by which the various 
 sub-divisions of the group 
 may, be readily recog- 
 nized. 
 
 The common feature 
 of them, from which 
 arose the old name of 
 rasores, or scratchers, is 
 the well-developed nails 
 on the toes, by which 
 they are able to scratch 
 the earth for seeds and 
 insects, for they are om- 
 nivorous and apparently 
 prefer animal to vege- 
 table food. Another 
 feature is the curved or vaulted upper mandible, "with 
 the nostrils pierced in a membranous space at its 
 
 Oallins. 
 
 1. Head and Foot of Jungle-lowl. 
 
 2. Do. 6f Common Pheasant. 3. Do. 
 
 of Wild Turkey. 4. Do. of Common 
 
 Grouse. 
 
BIRDS. 3]^ 
 
 base and covered by a cartilaginous scale." The illus- 
 tration of head and feet of different birds belonging to 
 the group gives an excellent idea of the characteristic 
 features to which attention has been called. 
 
 The gallinae are subdivided into four groups: The 
 grouse, pheasants, brush turkeys and curassows. Let 
 us now consider prominent species of these four groups. 
 
 The term " quail," originally given to the familiar 
 migratory quail of the Old World, has likewise been 
 given to the bird in this country which perhaps most 
 nearly resembles the European species, but the two are 
 very different. 
 
 The quail, of which an illustration is here given, is a 
 migratory bird, moving in 
 large bodies over wide 
 stretches of territory, and 
 finding the Mediterranean 
 not an insuperable barrier to 
 their course. 
 
 Leith Adams, in hi« 
 "Notes of a Naturalist in 
 the Nile Valley and Malta," 
 refers as follows to the mi- 
 grating quails: "The coming Common QuaU. 
 and going of quail are very 
 
 regular as to time (i. e., on Island of Malta) and their 
 rarity or abundance in spring or autumn is generally to 
 be accounted for by the prevalence or otherwise of fa- 
 vorable winds. I had great difficulty at first in account- 
 ing for the circumstance that whenever a large flight of 
 quails appeared it was often on the very opposite aspect 
 of the island one would expect them to alight at that 
 time of the year, and the same was noticed with certain 
 other gregarious birds. I observed, moreover, at differ- 
 ent seasons in spring and autumn that favorable winds 
 rarely brought us any quail, and an absence of winds or 
 
318 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 a lull had the same effect as regards the migratory spe- 
 cies generally^ from which it may be supposed that as 
 long as there is no obstruction the majority pass across 
 the Mediterranean without making any stoppage here 
 whatever, and only when fatigued by adverse winds. 
 On the other hand, it is not often I observed that birds 
 drift before the wind, perhaps for the reason that their 
 feathers get disarranged, and that they slant, as it were, 
 to use a nautical phrase, ' with the wind oh their quar- 
 ter,' and the Maltese believe that the quail keeps one 
 wing motionless, and raised like a sail, and thus cross 
 like a vessel. . . . Quail, however, may be said to 
 be regular ' tramps,' and do not in other regions sys- 
 tematically obey the calls of the seasons in their migra- 
 tions; at all events, it seems clear, as regards the south 
 of Europe, that they summer there and winter in the 
 north of Africa, although doubtless, as noticed before, 
 many remain throughout the year wherever there is 
 food. . . . The quail is so thoroughly dependent 
 on man for subsistence that its goings and comings 
 ■seem regulated entirely by the seasons of the year when 
 the crops ripen and are gathered. . . . Besides its 
 well-known dactylic call, ' wit-a-wit,wit-a-wit,wit-a-wit! ' 
 there is a sort of companion whispering that no doubt 
 keeps societies together on wing and on the ground, as 
 may be observed with flights of finches and such like. As 
 regards quail, it is a low ' chuk,' which I'have heard pass- 
 ing from one to another, through the dense vetch grain 
 covers both in India and North Africa." 
 
 The partridges, or rather the red-legged group, have 
 a wide range and are spread over temperate Europe, 
 Western and Central Asia, Maderia, the Canary Isl- 
 ands and Azores." There are some half dozen species. 
 They are noisy. Are indifferent game birds and not 
 particularly desirable as food. 
 
 In North America we are well favored with the form 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 319 
 
 Hed-legged Partridge. 
 
 of quail peculiar to this continent. In the Eastern, 
 -Middle and Southern States the common "bob white" 
 is too well known to need any detailed description. In 
 spite of constant persecution these birds hold their 
 own, and probably because, 
 of late years, a decent 
 amount of attention is paid 
 to the law for their protec- 
 tion at certain seasons. 
 Peter Kalm, 138 years ago, 
 while in New Jersey, said 
 then, " These birds are nu- 
 merous, . , . On going 
 but a little way you meet 
 with great coTeys of them. 
 However, they keep at a great distance from towns 
 [every town in the State, then, was a mere village], be- 
 ing either extirpated or frightened there by frequent 
 
 shooting. They are al- 
 ways in lesser or greater 
 coveys, do not fly very 
 much, but run in the fields 
 and keep under the bushes 
 and near the enclosures 
 where they seek their food. 
 When they sleep at night 
 they come together in a 
 heap. They scratch in 
 the bushes and upon the 
 fields like common chick- 
 ens. In spring they make 
 their nests, either under a 
 bush or in the maize 
 fields, or on the hills in the open air; they scratch some 
 hay together, into which they lay about thirteen white 
 eggs." 
 
 Quail. 
 
S20 
 
 CVCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 ' It is very evident that a greatly changed environment 
 has not altered the habits of these birds, beyond in- 
 creasing their caution in proportion as they are hunted 
 by man and trained dogs. Heavy snows in winter, how- 
 ever, are probably more fatal to quails than sportsmen, 
 or pot-hunters, and it is devoutly to be wished that 
 some fell destruction would overtake and annihilate the 
 latter. 
 
 The various forms of quails found in the Southwest 
 and on^ the Pacific coast can only be referred to by 
 
 name. Some of them are 
 almost the equals of pheas- 
 ants in the beauty of their 
 plumage. 
 
 In the northern regions 
 of this continent and of 
 Europe there are found cer- 
 tain peculiar and very hand- 
 some partridge-like birds to 
 which the name of ptarmi- 
 gan has been given. This 
 name is said to be derived 
 from Ir. tar, quick, and 
 monach, wily. In other 
 words, the " quick-shy," and 
 not a bad name, either. There are three species, all found 
 in this country, and two of them in Europe. The fact that 
 they are valuable food and to some extent a game bird 
 has caused them to be much written about, but after all 
 they possess little of special interest as mere birds. 
 They live an essentially monotonous life under very 
 unpromising circumstances. Certainly to struggle ten! 
 months in the year amid snowdrifts does not offer much 
 for consideration on the part of the student of nature. 
 One can only wonder why such noble birds should be 
 such fools as to stay where they do. However, da 
 gustiius, etc. 
 
 Ptarmigan. 
 
BIHDS. 321 
 
 In the "Voyage of the Vega," we find mention of 
 these birds as follows: " On Spitzbergen there is some- 
 times to be met with in the interior of the country, on 
 the mountain slopes, a game bird — ^the rock ptar- 
 migan. A nearly-allied type occurs on the Taimur 
 Peninsula and along the whole north coast of Asia. It 
 perhaps . therefore can scarcely be doubted that it is 
 also to be found on Novaya Zemlya, though we have not 
 hitherto seen it there. On Spitzbergen this bird had 
 only been found before 1873 in single specimens, but in 
 that year, to our glad surprise, we discoyered an actual 
 ptarmigan-fell in the neighborhood of our winter 
 colony, immediately south of the 80° latitude. It 
 formed the haunt of probably a thousand birds; at least 
 a couple of hundred were shot there in the course of 
 the winter. They probably bred there under stones in 
 summer, and creeping in among the stones pass the 
 winter there, at certain seasons doubtless in a kind of 
 torpid state." [Does any bird actually hibernate? — 
 Compiler.^ 
 
 The author quoted adds: " The mode of life of the 
 Spitzbergen ptarmigan is thus widely different from that 
 of the Scandinavian ptarmigan, and its flesh also tastes 
 differently. For the bird is exceedingly fat, and its flesh, 
 as regards flavor, is intermediate between black-cock and 
 fat goose. We may infer from this that it is a great 
 delicacy." In a foot-note is added: " Hedenstrom also 
 states that the ptarmigan winters on the New Siberian 
 Islands, and that there it is fatter and more savory than 
 on the mainland." 
 
 Seebohm, in his delightful "Siberia in Asia," re- 
 marks: "The rock ptarmigan was said to be confined 
 to Iceland, Greenland and throughout arctic America 
 until I obtained my specimens on the Ten-e-say, in 
 latitude 71-J° — the first record of the species on the 
 mainland of the polaearctic region. Beyond this we 
 
323 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 have no further particulars- of its range. This dis- 
 jcovery leads to the supposition that it is a circumpolar 
 bird." 
 
 The ptarmigans are white in winter and mottled in 
 summer; but one, the "red grouse" of the British 
 Isles, appears to be a ptarmigan that has taken to more 
 temperate latitudes and stays permanently colored, " a 
 permanently dark, southern insular form of the willow 
 grouse or white ptarmigan. 
 
 Mudie says of the "red grouse," their "haunts are 
 
 the slopes and flats where 
 the heath is of consider- 
 able length. . . . 
 Their feet are not adapted 
 for soft places, and as 
 their security from birds 
 of prey is in the heather, 
 and not on the wing, they 
 do not rise except at the 
 sight of men or quadru- 
 peds, and not always 
 then." 
 
 In Europe is found a 
 fine example of the grouse 
 that is known in England as the black-cock. " The fe- 
 male is called a gray hen, and the young are named jsom^^s. 
 It is found in various parts of England, and is abundant 
 in the highlands of Scotland, and in Germany, Prance 
 and Holland it is tolerably plentiful. In Denmark, 
 Sweden and Prussia it abounds." (" Imperial Diction- 
 ary.") 
 
 Says Mudie: "These birds inhabit the lowest slopes 
 of the hills, lonely heaths and the banks of marshes, 
 but they come upon the stubble-fields in winter when 
 these are near their haunts. They also frequent se- 
 questered woods and coppices, perching on trees during 
 
 
 Eed Grrouse. 
 
BIHDS. 
 
 323 
 
 Black-cock. 
 
 the night, and in the cold weather living upon the buds 
 
 of such trees as have them of considerable size, such as 
 
 the pines and wild alders. In 
 
 autumn they feed much upon 
 
 wild berries and the seeds 
 
 of wood and marsh plants, 
 
 though they cannot swim 
 
 and do not fly or wade for 
 
 the latter." 
 
 The largest of the Euro- 
 pean gallinaceous birds, and 
 one of the iinest of the whole 
 series the world over, is the 
 well-known capercailzie. 
 
 From Bbwden's " Natu- 
 ralist in Norway," we learn 
 that the male bird (caper- 
 cailzie) is called tiur; the female receives the name of 
 roi in Norway. Found in all parts of this country- 
 where there are pine woods; during the autumn and 
 
 winter it is by no means 
 uncommon in the woods 
 around Christiania. It 
 is a cunning and wary 
 bird, and when pursued 
 by the sportsman dodges 
 behind trees, inclines its 
 head toward the ground, 
 and listens attentively 
 for approaching foot- 
 steps. It is called by 
 some the turpentine bird 
 on account of its pecal- 
 iar flavor, Bowden 
 states: " In the early spring the flesh tastes strongly of 
 turpentine, as the bird then feeds principally on the 
 buds and spines of the pine and spruce fir." 
 
 Capercailzie. 
 
334 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 According to this author, "It breeds in the pine 
 woods, selecting a spot where water is close at hand* 
 The nest is made in a hole in the moss or heather, and 
 contains from twelve to fifteen eggs, which are of a pale 
 yellow, marked with large and small pale hrown spots. 
 The young are fed on ants, larvae, small worms and 
 caterpillars." 
 
 In our own country we are well supplied with grouse, 
 liaving some seven species and several varieties of these. 
 
 Somfe of lim- 
 ited range and 
 others more 
 widely scat- 
 tered, but as 
 yet but little 
 known be- 
 yond the great 
 Northwestern 
 Territ o r i e s . 
 The three spe- 
 cies that are 
 best known 
 are the Cana- 
 da grouse, 
 confined t o 
 
 the country from which it derives its common name — also 
 known as spruce partridge — the " prairie chickens " of 
 the West, and the familiar pheasant, or ruffled grouse. 
 The Canada grouse is essentially a northern bird, found as 
 far northward as forests extend, and never coming much 
 south of the United States boundary line. In its habits 
 it does not materially differ from the "pheasant," and 
 the peculiar "drumming," or sexual call, of the Cana- 
 dian bird is said to be louder and clearer than that of 
 the " pheasant," to which we will presently refer. 
 At present the pinnated grouse, or "prairie hen," is 
 
 Canada Grouse. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 325 
 
 a bird of the West, and scarcely one is to be found now 
 east of the Allegheny Mountains. It was not always 
 so, however, and in New Jersey this grouse was once 
 fairly abundant. Brewer puts it thus: "Along the 
 eastern coast of the United States, from Long Island to 
 Cape Cod, and further." If, as we suppose, he means 
 farther north, all well enough, but they were found 
 also much farther south, and it is possible there may be 
 a few living on the "plains" of Southern New Jersey 
 at this time. They 
 were found, a century 
 ago, in Delaware and 
 Maryland. 
 
 Wilson says this 
 bird " is extremely 
 particulai- in selecting 
 his place of residence, 
 pitching only upon 
 those tracts whose 
 features and produc- 
 tions correspond with 
 his modes of life, and 
 avoiding immense in- 
 termediate regions 
 that he never visits." 
 If strictly true, how 
 then does the bird, 
 or did the bird find 
 these out? However, the bird is now practically extinct 
 in the regions where Wilson studied it. 
 
 The "pheasant" of the Middle States, and "par- 
 tridge " of New England — and by the way, it is neither 
 — is, like the preceding, too well known to need a de- 
 tailed description of its habits. The " drumming " of 
 the "pheasant" is described by Dr. Brewer as follows: 
 " The sound is produced by the male bird only, who. 
 
 Prairie Hen. 
 
326 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 standing on a fallen log or on an elevated rock in the 
 most retired portion of the woods, lowers his wings, ex- 
 pands his tail, contracts his neck, and seems to inflate 
 his whole body. The tufts of feathers on either side of 
 the neck are elevated, and the bird struts and wheels 
 about in the most pompous manner possible to imagine. 
 After maneuvering in this manner for some time he 
 begins to strike the sides of his own body with his stif- 
 fened wings, with short and rapid strokes. These be- 
 come more and more rapid until the noise they produce 
 
 seems continuous. 
 These sounds may be 
 heard at all hours of 
 the day, but more gen- 
 erally early in the morn- 
 ing." 
 
 Other than these are 
 the Canada grouse, or 
 spruce partridge, which 
 is found in the "spruce 
 forests and swamps of 
 the Northern United 
 States to the Arctic 
 Seas, west nearly to the Eocky Mountains" [Why 
 the latter clause, when the bird is found in Alaska, is 
 not quite clear], the dusky grouse, cock of the plains, 
 and sharp-tailed grouse, beside others much less well 
 known. 
 
 Speaking of the Canada and rufled grouse together, 
 Leith Adams, in his " Field and Forest Rambles in 
 Province of New Brunswick," remarks: "More stupid 
 birds than the ruffled or birch partridge and the Canada 
 grouse in their native wilds do not exist. The early 
 settlers knocked them down with sticks. . . . Num- 
 bers of the ruffled grouse perish during rigorous winters, 
 [ts general habit of diving head-foremost into the snow 
 
 Birffled Grouse or Pheasant 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 337 
 
 and forming a burro.w, where it passes the nighty is well 
 known, but it may so happen that a sudden thaw tak- 
 ing place over night is followed by a rapid frost, when 
 the surface gets hardened, and the bird is unable to 
 force its way out. . .■ . The Canada grouse does 
 not seemingly resort to this practice in winter. As if 
 desirous of putting off the spruce and pine-top diet as 
 long as possible, both species may be seen scraping the 
 snow up to the last moment in quest of anything green 
 in the shape of grass, or devouring berries of whatever 
 tree they come across, mountain laurel included, and as 
 many persons have fallen 
 sick immediately after 
 partaking of their flesh 
 at this season, it is prob- 
 able the poisonous quali- 
 ties of the plant may have 
 been transmitted. Again, 
 like the hare, when they 
 have fed on the pine tops 
 for a week or two, their 
 flesh becomes so highly 
 tainted by turpentine as 
 to be scarcely palatable." 
 
 Near akin to pheasants proper and the peacocks is an 
 African bird, the guinea-fowl, which being domesticated 
 in this country is well known, at least as a bird about 
 the farm, and a particularly noisy one at that. 
 
 What concatenation of circumstances, conditions and 
 environments, however gradually evolved, could have 
 rendered necessary or desirable such a voice as this bird 
 possesses is surely past finding out. 
 
 The common name is derived from the country, 
 Guinea, where these birds abound, but they are not 
 . confined to that portion of Africa. 
 
 According to Professor Newton (■' Encyclopedia 
 
 Guinea-fowl. 
 
328 CYCLOPAEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Britannica ") : "The chief or only changes which 
 domestication seems to have induced in its appearance 
 are a tendency to albinism generally shown in the plum- 
 age of its lower parts, and frequently, though not 
 always, the conversion of the color of its legs and feet 
 from dark grayish-brown to bright orange." 
 
 There seems to be some doubt as to the date of the 
 - introduction of this bird into Europe. 
 
 While a domestic fowl, in one sense, the guineas have 
 never become quite so tame as chickens, and when set at 
 liberty in large tracts of woodland, very promptly take 
 on a feral condition and become a very excellent game 
 bird. Indeed, even the tamest of them are ready 
 enough to use their wings when pursued, as by a dog, 
 and we have known them to fly fully a mile when sud- 
 denly startled by a dog plunging into a covey of them 
 late in October. 
 
 There are many species beside that from which the 
 domesticated bird has been derived. 
 
 The pheasants constitute one of the most beautiful 
 groups of birds, and too, one of great value, as they 
 are all available for food. The so-called English pheas- 
 ant is probably the best known. It was introduced into 
 Great Britain about 1059 by the Romans, or so it is 
 thought. The true home of these birds, that is, pheas- 
 ants generally, is in China, India and the Malay Archi- 
 pelago. From these regions many magnificent species 
 have been brought to Europe and successfully reared, 
 but while available for ornamental and perhaps sport- 
 ing purposes, they have not been added to the poultry 
 list of the farmer. 
 
 Eemarking upon the fauna of Japan, Rein says: 
 "Among the whole group of birds, the pheasants un- 
 doubtedly attract the special interest, not merely of the 
 sportsman, but also of the naturalist. In two species, 
 . . . the kiji proper and the . . . yamadori 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 329 
 
 Golden Pheasant. 
 
 (mountain birds), we find this remarkable genus repre- 
 sented throughout all the islands of the. Japanese Em- 
 pire northward to the 
 Tsugaru Strait, though 
 the first named or green 
 pheasant is much com- 
 moner than the copper 
 pheasant. In all the 
 hilly districts, andpar- 
 ticularly on the Hara, 
 we hear in summer its 
 cry, "kiji," often from 
 five or six different spots 
 in quick succession. As 
 winter approaches many retire into the reed-beds ol 
 phragmites or other grasses 
 along the riyers and paddy 
 fields, and even into the gardens 
 of the towns, and it is then no 
 difficult feat for a huntsman 
 with a good dog to bag as many 
 as from eight to twelve head in 
 a few hours. 
 
 " Thus, then, in this respect 
 also, the Japanese island-world 
 is closely linked with Corea and 
 China, the 'realm of pheasants,' 
 par excellence." 
 
 The golden pheasant is a na- 
 tive of China; the prevailing 
 colors of its plumage are red, 
 yellow and blue, and it is dis- 
 tinguished by a crest upon its 
 head. The silver pheasant is 
 also a native of China, and receives its name from its 
 upper surface and tail being silver white with black 
 markings. 
 
 Silver Pheasant. 
 
330 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Of Malacca, among much invaluable information, 
 Wallace states: "This was the country of the great 
 argus pheasant, land we continually heard its cry. On 
 asking the old Malay to try and shoot one for me, he 
 told me that although he had been for twenty years 
 shooting birds in these forests he had neyer yei shot 
 one, and had never even seen one except after it had 
 been caught. The bir^ is so exceedingly shy and wary, 
 and runs along the ground in the densest parts of the 
 forests so quickly, that it is impossible to get near it, 
 
 and its sober colors and 
 rich eye-like spots, which 
 are so ornamental when 
 seen in museums, must 
 harmonize well with the 
 <lead leaves among which 
 it dwells, and render it 
 J y A 'H S# '*-f "^^^ inconspicuous. AU 
 \ s MsS ^E^y ^'^^ specimens sold in Ma- 
 V WSS iKg'^r lacea are caught in snares, 
 and my informant, though 
 he had shot none, had 
 snared plenty." 
 
 Writing of the wild pea- 
 cocks of Java, the same 
 author remarks: "It is a 
 singular fact in geograph- 
 ical distribution that the 
 peacock should not be 
 lound in Sumatra or Bor- 
 neo, while the superb argus, fire-backed ocellated 
 pheasants of those islands are equally unknown in 
 Java. Exactly parallel is the fact that in Ceylon 
 and Southern India, where the peacock abounds, there 
 are none of the splendid lophophori and other gorgeous 
 pheasants which inhabit Northern India." 
 
 
 Argrus Pheasant. 
 
StRDS. 
 
 331 
 
 It is said that the turkey came hy this name because 
 when introduced into Europe it was supposed to have 
 been brought from the country of that name. Errone- 
 ously enough, but so fixed has the name become that it 
 is likely to stick until the crack of doom, and the bird is 
 equally likely to survive until then,, for its value as a 
 domesticated bird is 
 such that, except as a 
 wild species, extinction 
 is impossible. 
 
 Bonaparte, writing 
 more than half a cen- 
 tury ago, says of the 
 wild turkey : " In New 
 
 England it even ap- 
 pears to have been al- 
 ready destroyed 150 
 years back. I am, how- 
 ever, credibly informed 
 that wild turkeys are 
 yet to be found in the 
 mountainous districts 
 of Sussex County, N"ew 
 Jersey." wnd Turkey. 
 
 We are not certain 
 when the last Sussex specimens were destroyed, but 
 probably very soon after Bonaparte wrote. In a long, 
 narrow stretch of marshy land, known as Bear Swamp, 
 in Mercer County, New Jersey, turkeys were once very 
 abundant, and proved somewhat of a nuisance to farmers 
 by eating the corn while "in the milk," as its half -ripe 
 stage is called. These turkeys were finally exterminated 
 about 1800. 
 
 Bonaparte says that the males, or gobblers, often 
 fight for the possession of females, and the conflict 
 sometimes terminates in the death of, one of them. It 
 
332 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 would appear from this author's account that yoiing 
 turkeys, when wild, sufiEer from excessive wet weather 
 as much as do the domestic ones, and a very stormy 
 summer led to turkeys being scarce the following 
 season. 
 
 In Honduras and Yucatan there is found a species of 
 turkey with eye-like spots on the feathers and a general 
 brilliancy of color that makes the bird as showy and 
 remarkable as the pheasants of the East. It is Tery 
 
 rare and found only in 
 limited districts of the 
 countries named. 
 
 The jungle-fowl is a bird 
 of the Australian region 
 and one possessing many 
 peculiarities, but none 
 greater than its method of 
 incubation, that "of leav- 
 ing their eggs to be hatched 
 without incubation, bury- 
 ing them in the ground (as 
 many reptiles do) or heap- 
 ing over them a mound of earth, leaves and rotten 
 wood. " This curious habit was reported to the ornithol- 
 ogists of Europe more than 300 years ago, and it took 
 them nearly 350 years to believe it. 
 
 This habit does not belong wholly to the jungle-fowl. 
 The brush-turkey, a bird nearly as large as the hen-tur- 
 key, also has this habit'. There are in all some twenty 
 species inhabiting a pretty wide range of territory, 
 mostly islands in the South Pacific. 
 
 Wallace remarks as follows concerning the nests of 
 these non-incubating birds: "A number of birds are 
 said to join in making these mounds and lay their eggs 
 together, so that sometimes forty or fifty may be found. 
 The mounds are to be met with here and there in dense 
 
 Bruah-turkey. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 333 
 
 '^'' 
 
 chickets, and are great puzzles to strangers, who cannot 
 understand who can possibly have heapied together cart- 
 loads of rubbish in such out-of-the-way places; and 
 when they inquire of the natives they are but little 
 wiser, for it almost always appears to them the wildest 
 romance to be told that it is all done by birds." 
 
 Some of these mounds, according to Wallace, are 
 "often six feet high and 
 twelve across, in the middle 
 of which they bury their 
 eggs." 
 
 The curassow is a bird 
 of South America, of large 
 size, fine appearance and 
 valuable as food. Im 
 Thurn refers but briefly to 
 it, saying: "Among the 
 game birds (of Guiana) the 
 most important are the 
 powis, or curassow, bird, 
 about the size of a turkey, 
 black everywhere but on 
 its bright yellow beak and 
 legs," etc. 
 
 Belt, in his "Nicaraguan Eambles," says: "I some- 
 times saw the fine curl-crested curassow, as large as a 
 turkey, jet black, except underneath. This kind would 
 always take to the trees, but was easy to shoot and as 
 good eating as it was noble in appearance. The female 
 IS a very different-looking bird from the male, being of 
 a fine brown color, . . . The natives call them 
 'pavones,' and often keep them tame, but I never heard 
 of their breeding in confinement." 
 
 One species of curassow has the very peculiar habit of 
 remaining throughout the day in burrows and holes in 
 the ground and only coming out at night to feed, and 
 
 Crested Curaaaow. 
 
334 CYCLOPEDTA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 then it ascends to the tops of the trees to seek its food. 
 In order to hunt them successfully, the Indians are 
 guided to their whereabouts by the voice of the bird, 
 and remain in the vicinity through the night so as to be 
 on hand to shoot them at sunrise, when the birds de- 
 scend to spend the day in their subterranean retreats. 
 
 There are many forms of gallinaceous birds to which 
 no reference could be made, and the reader is again 
 reminded that only a few of the more important mem- 
 bers of each group i& described, either as to some 
 anatomical feature that is very marked, or as to the 
 habits of the animal when these are of unusual interest. 
 
CHAPTEK XX. 
 
 THE COLUMB^, OK PIGEOlirS. 
 
 Pigeons, like swallows, are known to every one, and 
 cannot be mistaken for any other group of birds. Their 
 features need not be dwelt upon. Suffice it to say, that 
 they are found pretty much the world over, and prob- 
 ably only the intense cold of 
 the arctic circle is fatal to 
 them. 
 
 In Africa and Australia 
 pigeons are found in perfec- 
 tion, if by this we mean size 
 and brilliancy of coloring. 
 In these countries they vie 
 with other birds in the latter 
 respect, but do, not as a class 
 appear to be intelligent, live- 
 ly birds with habits that are 
 of interest. Whether in 
 flocks, or as pairs, or single 
 birds, they are generally 
 found to be merely looking 
 for food or nesting in the most prosaic manner. Pigeons 
 have a peculiar cooing, or low, whistling note which is 
 A^ery monotonous. Wallace speaks of one large fruit- 
 eating species of the Malay Archipelago as "booming." 
 They are monogamous and patterns of conjugal fidelity, 
 and what is of far more importance to most people, 
 they are good to eat. 
 
 The common domestic blue pigeoin and its endless 
 
 Pouter Pigeon. 
 
336 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HISTOR Y. 
 
 varieties are derived from the rock pigeon of Europe, a 
 plain blue bird with banded tail and a vinous-red breast. 
 Except where purely-bred varieties are carefully kept, 
 it is usual to see in the pigeons about the farm-yards 
 certain specimens which are reversions to this ancestral 
 type, and it is well known that when highly-bred varie- 
 ties of the most distinct patterns are allpwed to mate, 
 the mongrels are pretty sure to return to the plain blue 
 form, often in the second and more frequently in the 
 third generation. 
 
 It is not practicable in the limits of this compilation 
 
 to name, let alone de- 
 scribe, the various so- 
 called races of domes- 
 tic pigeons. Some of 
 them, such as the car- 
 riers, the pouters and 
 fantails are well known 
 and usually found in 
 every well-selected 
 pigeon loft; and when 
 we compare these with 
 the common blue, such 
 as is to be seen in our streets at almost every turn, one 
 wonders how it is possible that so great a change could 
 have been brought about — or did wonder until the law of 
 evolution or non-stability of species was discovered, 
 which renders the whote subject as simple and easily 
 understood as it was formerly apparently confused and 
 incomprehensible. 
 
 Of all the domestic pigeons, probably the fantail is 
 the most beautiful and popular and the carrier is the 
 most useful. The so-called " homing " instinct of the 
 latter has been long made use of in the transmission of 
 written matter, and during the recent Franco-Prussian 
 war the residents of Paris found means to communicate 
 
 Fan-tail Pigeon. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 337 
 
 with the outer world during the siege of that city when 
 all other methods of communication were effectually 
 cut off. There is a limit, however, to this means of 
 conveying messages, and the "instinct^' is not always 
 so strong as to make the bird sure when a distance of 
 over 100 miles exists between the two points of the 
 home of the bird and that where it is liberated. 
 
 In the United States there are two species of wild 
 pigeon — one a "dove" — which are -well known. The 
 passenger pigeon was once common to the whole Eastern 
 
 PaBsenger Pigeon. 
 
 Atlantic seaboard and remarkable for the vast flocks 
 which appeared periodically in many localities. It is 
 now a comparatively rare bird in the more thickly- 
 settled regions. It is a bird of the forests essentially, 
 and the destruction of these has effectually driven off 
 the pigeons. No more do we see flo^iks that namuer 
 thousp 11.^8 o^ individuals., yet this was a sight common 
 enough less than a century ago. 
 Wilson writes of the roosting-places ol these pigeons. 
 
338 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HISTORY. 
 
 as they were to be seen in the early part of the present 
 century, as follows: "(They) are always in the woods, 
 and sometimes occupy a large extent of forest. When 
 they have frequented one of these places for some time, 
 the appearance it exhibits is surprising. The ground is 
 covered to the depth of several inches with their dung> 
 all the tender grass and underwood is destroyed, the 
 surface strewed with large limbs of trees broken down 
 by the weight of the birds clustering one above another, 
 
 and the trees themselves 
 for thousands of acres 
 killed as completely as 
 if girded with an ax. 
 The marks of this deso- 
 lation remain for many 
 years on the spot, and 
 numerous places could 
 be pointed out where 
 for several years after 
 scarce a single vegetable 
 made its appearance." 
 The wonderful mi- 
 grations, so-called, of 
 these birds should be 
 called wanderings rath- 
 er, as they are not de- 
 pendent upon temper- 
 ature at all, but it is a 
 question of food. All 
 migration is on this account primarily, but so fixed has 
 the habit become, that many birds would perish with 
 cold even if food was abundant; but this is not true of 
 the passenger-pigeon. It no more minds the temper- 
 ature when at zero than when 90'' in the shade. All 
 it asks is food. 
 
 TJie turtle-dove is now better known than the pre- 
 
 Turtle-Dove. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 339 
 
 ceding in many localities where formerly it was destruc- 
 tively abundant. Unlike the pigeon, they are not 
 always gregarious, and finding plenty of food and safe 
 nesting places in the meager woodlands still left in our 
 farming districts, it is a moderately abundant bird. It 
 is only migratory in the Northern, and partly so in the 
 Ivliddle States, for numbers are to be found in Southern 
 New Jersey and Pennsylvania during the winter. These 
 are joined by others in April, and by May 1st, usually, 
 nesting is well under 
 
 way. Something of .^^-^-V/ C-vSZ/aJsL fe^J^'CA^ 
 
 course depends upon •-- --J-'^^sak, teviHii«^k_h=^=:;^.^ 
 
 the season, and oc- 
 «asionally a north- 
 east storm destroys 
 the eggs or young, as 
 the case may be. 
 
 Quoting Wilson, 
 we learn that " Their 
 flight is quick, vigor- 
 ous and always ac- 
 companied by a pe- 
 culiar whistling of 
 the wings, by which 
 they can easily be distinguished from the wild pigeoa. 
 They fly with great swiftness, alight on trees, fences, or 
 on the ground indiscriminately." 
 
 In the Samoan or Navigator's Islands is found & 
 curious bird, which is known generally, when known at 
 all, as the toothed pigeon; by naturalists as the didun- 
 culus, or little dodo, because it is thought to be the 
 nearest living ally of the extinct dodo. It is 
 eating pigeon, moje than a foot long, and of 
 reddish-brown color that appears black in 
 lights. It is a wild, wary and cunning bird. 
 
 Didunoulus strigirostris. 
 
 1, fruit- 
 a dark 
 certain 
 havir. er 
 
 become so from the persecution to which it has been 
 
340 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 subjected, not only by the natives, btit by European 
 visitors to that far-off land. Pormeply it was a ground- 
 ' dweller, and roosted within easy reach. It has, of late 
 years, after being threatened with extinction, learned 
 wisdom, and now roosts high; in consequence of which 
 change in habits it is recovering its ground as a promi- 
 nent feature of that island's fauna. 
 
 "The didunculus is possessed of considerable power 
 of wing, and flies through the air with a loud noise, 
 which, as stated by one observer, is so great when the 
 bird rises that at a distance it might be mistaken for 
 distant thunder." (D. G. Elliott.) 
 
Jugf er (Helotarsus Ecaudafes), 
 
CHAPTEE XXI. 
 
 THE ACCIPITKES, OE BIKDS OF PKEY. 
 
 The birds that are here brought together for con- 
 sideration, and which have miich in common, both in 
 anatomical structure and habits, are yet widely different 
 in many respects. Again, while asserted to be birds of 
 prey, there is one sub-group, the vultures, that are not 
 so, strictly speaking, but live upon the flesh of dead 
 animals which they have not been instrumental in de- 
 stroying; but here again, there is a difEerehce of habit, 
 and some vultures are more eagle-like than others, and 
 attack and devour disabled animals. On the other 
 hand, the group of nocturnal birds known as owls vary 
 much among themselves, and some of them are quite 
 diurnal in their habits, while one so closely resembles a 
 falcon that it might readily be mistaken for one. It is 
 not a little strange that in the same great group, as 
 here defined of vultures, eagles, hawks and owls, that 
 some have such powerful sight that it is said they can 
 gaze directly at the sun, while others can only plainly 
 distinguish objects when there is merely the little light 
 that is given by the stars and the flickering glimmer of 
 the sunset sky. Of course, when it is absolutely dark, 
 owls are as blind, for the time, as human beings. 
 
 Without further discussion of theso birds, as a group, 
 let us consider some of the representative species of 
 each kind. Of these the vultures come first, and offer 
 much of interest, but certainly, as a rule, they are not 
 attractive to others than students of nature. To the^ 
 no object is^ or can be, repulsive. 
 
342 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The secretary-bird is an African species, now becom- 
 ing very rare, where once common, "called also the 
 snake-eater, or serpent-eater. It is about three feet in 
 length; the legs are remarkably long, the beak is hooked 
 and the eyelids projecting. It has an occipital crest of 
 feathers, which can be raised or depressed at pleasure, 
 and which has been fancied to resemble quill pens stuck 
 behind a person's ear; hence the name.'' ("Imperial 
 Dictionary.") 
 
 " The secretary-bird is found in the dry plains of South 
 Africa, where it wages a constant war with the snakes 
 and other reptiles which abound in that locality. The 
 
 wings are of large size, and 
 armed with blunt spurs at the 
 wrist joint, and when ap- 
 proaching a serpent, the bird 
 holds one of its wings in front 
 of it like a shield, and keeps 
 it in continual agitation. At 
 the moment when the snake 
 is about to spring upon his 
 apsailant, the bird strikes a 
 suuden, violent blow with its 
 wing, which usually lays his 
 prey prostrate upon the 
 ground, although it is probable that a large snake may 
 sometimes require 'cn^ or three repetitions of this treat- 
 ment before he is reduced to a helpless condition." 
 (Orr's "Circle of the Sciences.") 
 
 The one vulture of the Middle States of the Union, 
 and one that is probably familiar to all who have lived 
 or been much in the country, is strangely enough 
 called a "buzzard," while the half-dozen or more of 
 true buzzards are invariably called hawks. To prevent 
 confusion, the name commonly used will be retained 
 here, but under a vigorous protest. Why objects of 
 
 Secretary-tlrd. 
 
RIUDS. 343 
 
 natural history should be dubbed with all sorts of absurd 
 names, and car language otherwise be free (compara- 
 tively) of absurdities is a problem for the reader to 
 solve for himself-— if he can. 
 
 The turkey-buzzard is found all over the United 
 States, except in New England and New York, and in 
 every portion of South America. As might be ex- 
 pected, therefore, it is not particularly sensitive to cold, 
 and in New Jersey a few are to be seen every winter. 
 Of course, the food supply is 
 much lessened at this season, 
 and so they are forced to retire. 
 
 The flight of the bird is ex- 
 ceedingly graceful and quite 
 powerful, so that when sailing 
 about, high overhead, it is a 
 charming addition to any land- 
 scape. At such a distance, the 
 unattractive features are effect- 
 ually softened, and one does 
 not think of their filthy habits 
 
 and unsavory food. . Turkey-buzzard. 
 
 The close cousin of the pre- 
 ceding is a well-known bird, but ^t is restricted to a 
 much narrower range, and except on the rarest occa- 
 sions does not come north of North Carolina. 
 
 Wilson's account, in part, runs as follows: "The 
 black vultures are indolent, and may be observed in 
 companies loitering fol* hours together in one place. 
 They are much darker in their plumage than the tur- 
 key-buzzard. Their mode of flight also varies from 
 that of the latter. The black vulture flaps its wings 
 five or six times rapidly, then sails with them ex- 
 tended nearly horizontally; the turkey-buzzard seldom 
 flaps its wings, and when sailing, they form an upward 
 angle with the body. The latter is not so impatient pf 
 
344 ^ CYCLOPEDIA OF If A TURAL msrORY. 
 
 cold as the former, and is likewise less lazy. The black 
 vulture, when walking at leisure on the ground, takes 
 great strides; when hurried, he runs and jumps awk- 
 wardly; the turkey-buzzard, though seemingly inactive, 
 moves with an even gait. The former, when springing 
 from the ground, will sometimes make a noise exactly 
 resembling the grunt of a pig." 
 
 As these vultures are scavengers and very useful, they 
 are protected by law, and tolerated rather than loved'" 
 by the people among whom they go in and out with all 
 the freedom of poultry. 
 
 It was usually stated in the school geographies and 
 
 namby-pamby ' ' readers " 
 of a half century (and less) 
 ago, that the condor was 
 the largest of all birds, 
 and that its strength and 
 flight-power were truly 
 wonderful. There was 
 some truth in all this; that 
 is, it is an enormous bird; 
 it is strong and a splendid 
 
 flyer; but then there are 
 
 ^lack Vulture. ~ other vultures and some 
 
 eagles that can outstrip it. 
 Mr. John Ball, in his recent volume of " Eambles in 
 South America," says that on that continent "the only 
 sanitary ofiicials are the carrion-eating birds. Near the 
 coast the removal of offal is chiefly accomplished by the 
 gallinazo, a large black vulture; in the \ndes the con- 
 dor takes charge of all carrion, and tra/els far in quest 
 of it." 
 
 Again, speaking of captive condors, he says: "I was 
 struck by the proceedings of two captive condors who, 
 with clipped wings, roamed about the establishment and 
 seemed to have no desire to recover the liberty which 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 345 
 
 they had lost as young birds. One of them was es- 
 pecially pertinacious in keeping to the side of the court 
 near to the dining-room and kitchen, always on the 
 lookout for scraps of meat and refuse. Contrary to 
 my expectation, the color of both birds, which were 
 females, was a nearly uniform brown, with only a few 
 white feathers beneath. They were larger than any 
 eagles, but scarcely exceeded one or two of the largest 
 ' Idmmergeier of the Alps that I have seen in confine- 
 ment." 
 
 " When the condors are wheeling in a flock round 
 and round any spot," writes Darwin, in his "Journal 
 of Researches," "their flight 
 is beautiful. Except when ris- 
 ing from the ground, I do not 
 recollect ever having se'en one 
 of these birds flap its wings. 
 Near Lima I watched several 
 nearly half an hour without 
 once taking off my eyes; they 
 moved in large curves, sweep- 
 ing in circles, descending and 
 ascending without giving a sin- 
 gle flap. As they glided close 
 over my head I intently 
 watched from an oblique position the outlines of the 
 separate and great terminal feathers of each wing, 
 and these separate feathers, if there had been the 
 least vibratory movement, would have appeared as if 
 blended together, but they were .seen distinct against 
 the blue sky. The head and neck were moved fre- 
 quently and apparently with force, and the extended 
 wings seemed to form the fulcrum on which the move- 
 ments of the neck, body and tail acted. If the birds 
 wished to descend, the wings were for a moment col- 
 lapsed; and when again expanded with an altered 
 
 Condor. 
 
346 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 inclination^ the momentum gained by the rapid descent 
 seemed to urge the birds upward with the even and 
 steady movement ol a paper kite. In the case of any 
 bird soaring, its motion must be sufficiently rapid so 
 that the action of the inclined surface of its body on 
 the atmosphere may counterbalance its gravity. The 
 force to keep up the momentum of a body nioving in a 
 horizontal plane in the air (in which there is so little 
 friction) cannot be great, and this force is all that is 
 wanted. The movement of the neck and body of the 
 
 condor, we must suppose, is 
 sufficient for this. However 
 this may be, it is truly won- 
 derful and beautiful to see 
 so great a bird hour after 
 hour, without any apparent 
 exertion, wheeling and glid- 
 ing over mountain and 
 river." 
 
 " The Egyptian vulture, 
 or ' Pharaoh's chicken,' " ac- 
 cording to Leith Adams, "is 
 well represented on the 
 monuments. This is also 
 the rakham of the Arabian 
 historians and the gier-eagle of Leviticus xi, 18. The 
 'bird and globe' on the monuments representing a 
 king, or Pharaoh (according to HorapoUa 'an eagle'), 
 is not feathered to the toes, and its slender bill and 
 general outline bear a close resemblance to this vulture. 
 It is still very common throughout the country, and 
 breeds in the lofty crags on the banks of the Nubian 
 Nile." 
 
 In discussing the migratory birds of Malta, this same 
 author says: "Now and then a solitary Egyptian vul- 
 ture finds its way to the islands. . . . The bird 
 
 Egyptian Vulture. 
 
SIRDS. 
 
 347 
 
 does not come to maturity until the commencement of 
 the fourth year." This species does not appear to have 
 any habits not common to the vulturine birds as a class. 
 
 The lammergeier, or bearded vulture of the Alps,- is 
 the largest bird of prey found in Europe, and difEers in 
 its habits, at least from true vultures, in being also a 
 preying species, and readily attacks small mammals, 
 . although never refusing such carrion as comes in its 
 way. A full-grown bird measures rather more than 
 four feet in length and has an ex- 
 panse of wings of about ten feet. 
 
 It would appear that in former 
 times this bird had a much more 
 extended range than it now has. 
 It is nowhere very common in Eu- 
 rope, but is still found abundantly 
 in portions of the Himalayan range 
 of mountains. In India, or in such 
 parts of that country as it is found, 
 it is called the golden eagle. It is 
 also found in Persia and Palestine. 
 
 According to Professor JSTewton 
 ("Encyclopedia Britannica"): 
 " The lammergeier breeds early in 
 the year. The nest is of large size, built of sticks, lined 
 with soft material and placed on a ledge of rocks — a 
 spot being chosen, and often occupied for many years, 
 which is nearly always difficult 'of access, and not un- 
 f requently quite inaccessible to man from the precipitous 
 or overhanging conformation of the cliffs. Here, in the 
 month of February, a single egg is usually laid." 
 
 Again, Professor itfewton states: "The lammergeier 
 has . . . & great partiality for bones, which when 
 small enough it swallows and slowly digests. When 
 they are too large, it is said to soar with them to a great 
 height and drop them on a rock or stone that they may 
 
 Lammergeier or Beard- 
 ed Vulture. 
 
348 
 
 CYCLOPMDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 be broken into pieces of convenient size. Hence ita 
 name ossifrage, by which the Hebrew peres is rightly- 
 translated in the authorized version of theBible; . ._ . 
 a word corrupted into osprey, and applied to a bird 
 which has no habit of the kind."' 
 
 Prom the vultures to the semi-vulturine lammergeier, 
 and now come the true eagles, a group of birds that live 
 only upon living prey (unless sorely pressed by hunger), 
 and are so fierce, tyrannical, dishonest and so contempt- 
 ible that by common consent 
 they are called the kings of 
 birds. 
 
 Perhaps the golden eagle may 
 be called the first of its race, and 
 certainly in size, bearing and 
 richness of plumage, it is the 
 superior of the others. Found 
 in Asia, Europe and North 
 America, it has everywhere at- 
 tracted considerable attention, 
 and its history is well-known. 
 So far as man is concerned it is 
 a shy bird, and studiously avoids 
 all densely-settled neighborhoods, and as a rule, nests in 
 localities, on mountains, which baffle the skill of the 
 most daring climber. 
 
 "While it constantly preys upon small mammals, and 
 has been seen to chase down such strong flyers as grouse, 
 yet it does not hesitate to eat the flesh of animals that 
 have died a natural death. Possibly this is rejected, if 
 decomposition has progressed very far, or they may 
 have developed that strange taste not unknown among 
 civilized races of mankind for "high" game. 
 
 In North America the golden eagle is rare except in 
 remote mountainous districts of the Eastern States, 
 where solitary birds or nesting couplets may be seen. 
 
 Golden Eagle. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 349 
 
 and in portions of the West, where it has been found to 
 be abundant. 
 
 As the " ring-tail " eagle (the young and immaturely 
 plumaged golden eagle), it seems somewhat better 
 known than the older and more plainly marked bird. 
 Wilson, considered it distinct. This author states: 
 " The tail feathers of this -bird (white, terminated with 
 a broad brown band) are highly valued by the various 
 tribes of American Indians, for ornamenting their calu- 
 mets or pipes of peace. Several 
 of these pipes, which were 
 brought from the remote regions 
 of Louisiana (!) by Captain 
 Lewis, were deposited in Peale'S 
 Museum (in Philadelphia) each 
 of which had a number of the 
 tail feathers of this bird attached 
 to it. The Northern as well as 
 the Southern Indians seem to 
 follow the like practice, as ap- 
 pears by the numerous calumets 
 formerly belonging to different 
 tribes." 
 
 As the capture of an eagle is 
 pretty sure to be, recorded in the 
 local newspapers„-it is possible to 
 derive some idea of the bird's 
 abundance from the frequency 
 
 during a year of such melancholy news. In the Middle 
 States, judging from such sources of information, the 
 "ring-tail" is much more common than the fuU-plumaged 
 golden eagle, and is found in the vicinity of towns and 
 closely settled farming districts much oftener in mid- 
 winter than at other seasons. At least, this is the con- 
 clusion to be formed by the examination of such "local" 
 references to the two birds for the past twelve years." 
 
 Eing'-tailed Eagle. 
 
350 CYCLOPSPIA 01^ NATURAL HlSTOKW. 
 
 The wliite-headed, or so-called " bald " eagle, on the 
 other hand, seems to be much more common, and by 
 some means does not so frequently fall a victim to that 
 pestiferous class of human beings who think_ every rare 
 bird ought to be shot as a " specimen," which, by the 
 way, is far more apt to ultimately adorn a bar-room than 
 a museum. In its habits the bald-eagle is much the same 
 as that of birds of prey generally; feeding on rabbits. 
 
 White-headed Eagle. 
 
 squirrels, young lambs and such creatures as come in 
 its way that it can readily overpower, but it is not cour- 
 ageous, and always considers discretion the better part 
 of valor. It is a fish-eater, too, and nobly secures its 
 finny prey by robbing the fish hawk whenever it can; 
 this failing, it scans the river shore for dead fish, which 
 it seizes as though skill were required, and bears ofE 
 with the proud bearing of a successful angler. 
 
 Wilson studied this bird carefully as he saw it at 
 Niagara Falls, where it formerly congregated to feed 
 upon the carcasses of such animals as were carried over 
 the precipice — a large number, in Wilson's time, when 
 forests shut in the river for miles above the falls, and 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 351 
 
 wrote of what he there saw as follows: " The eagles are 
 here seen sailing about, sometimes losing themselves in 
 this thick column (of spray) and again reappearing in 
 another place, with such ease and elegance of motion 
 as renders the whole truly sublime. 
 
 " High o'er the watery uproar, silent seen, 
 Sailiner sedate, in majesty serene. 
 Now midst the pillared spray sublimely lost, 
 And now, emerging, down the rapids tossed, 
 Glides the bald-eagle, gazing, calm and slow 
 O'er all the horrors of the scene below ; 
 Intent alone to sate himself with blood. 
 From the torn victims of the raging flood." 
 
 Of the large hawks of North America no one is more 
 sure to attract attention than the rough-legged falcon. 
 Its color, bearing and size, especially 
 when seen flying, mark it as a noble 
 bird, for although a cruel, blood- 
 thirsty creature that depends upon 
 weaker life for its subsistence, this is 
 forgotten for the time being when 
 we look at it as perched upon the top 
 of some tall tree, or see it sailing in 
 the upper air. 
 
 This hawk inhabits the whole of 
 North America, from ocean to ocean, 
 north of Mexico, and breeds only in 
 Canada probably, although a nest with 
 eggs is reported from New Jersey. 
 While it may be the habit of this bird 
 to breed in northern regions only, it 
 would be strange indeed did not cir- 
 cumstances induce it to nest in the neighborhood of its 
 winter haunts. Like scores of other migratory birds, 
 it is often seen in New Jersey — and doubtless elsewhere 
 — much later in the season than April, when the genera) 
 northwaird journey commences. 
 
 Kough-legged 
 Hawk. 
 
353 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HI STORV. 
 
 According to Wilson, they are essentially a meadow- 
 hawk, and this holds good in part of such as have been 
 seen winter after winter by us. Not always, however, 
 for they are fond of sitting on the peaks of grain stacks, 
 and nabbing every mouse that makes its appearance. 
 In this way they not only earn their living but earn 
 their right to live, something that is denied them 
 by too many, who falsely claim them to be a nui- 
 sance because of an occasional chicken 
 destroyed. The destruction of mice 
 counterbalances all this, and to have a 
 price put upon their heads, as is done in 
 some places, is a disgrace. Wilson says 
 they make a ''loud, squealing noise as 
 they arise, something resembling the 
 neighing of a colt, though in a more 
 shrill and savage tone." 
 
 The splendid black hawk is the same 
 bird as the preceding, but very different, 
 certainly, in its coloration. A recorr" 
 covering more than a decade shows thsit 
 in Central New Jersey they number 
 about one in ten as compared with the 
 typical rough-legged species. A glance 
 at the illustrations will show at once the marked 
 differences in the plumage. 
 
 Wilson supposed it to be a distinct species. He says 
 of it: " This is a remarkably shy and wary bird, found 
 most frequently along the marshy shores of our large 
 rivers; feeds on mice, frogs and moles; sails much and 
 sometimes at a great height; has been seen to kill a duck 
 on wing; sits by the side of the marshes on a stake for 
 an hour at a time in an almost perpendicular position, 
 as if dozing; flies with ease, and occasionally with great 
 swiftness, seldom flapping the wings. ... Is re- 
 markable for the great size of its eye, length of its wings 
 and shortness of its toes." 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 353 
 
 "Wilson writes as follows when treating of these hawks ' 
 and their varieties: "While traversing our sea-coast and 
 salt marshes between Cape May and Egg Harbor, I waa 
 everywhere told of a duck hawk, noted for striking down 
 ducks on wing, though flying with their usual rapidity. 
 Many extravagances were mingled with these accounts, 
 particularly that it always struck the duck with its 
 breast-bone, which was universally said to project 
 several inches, and to be strong and sharp. From the 
 best verbal descriptions I could obtain of this hawk I. 
 have strong suspicions that it is no other than- the black 
 hawk. . . . Pew gunners in that 
 quarter are unacquainted with the 
 duck hawk, as it often robs them of 
 their wounded birds before they are 
 able to reach them." 
 
 About Great Egg Harbor to-day, 
 there is still this belief in the minds 
 of the few septuagenarian gunners 
 that remain, but all agr^e that the 
 hawk is no longer as abundant as 
 "when they were young men." 
 
 The common "hen-hawk," as the 
 red-tailed buzzard is generally called, 
 appears to be much better known of 
 late than in "Wilson's time. In the 
 Middle States it is a resident species, 
 and nests in trees, and not always very high ones, 
 or such as are difficult to climb. At times it will 
 defend its nest, but not always, and thus appears to 
 show individual peculiarities, some of the birds being 
 braver than others. The cry of the hen-hawk is cat- 
 like, but wild and thrilling, so that it adds a charm to a 
 country ramble during the clear, bracing, early autumn 
 days, and in winter, when at times but few birds are 
 to be heard, this hawk's cry, coming from high over- 
 head is very exhilarating. 
 
 Bed-tailed Hawk 
 
354 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 In those localities where there are streams abounding 
 with fishj and along our sea-coast, the fish hawk is a 
 well-known bird. Happily, no one has been able to 
 trump up some absurdity concerning it, and it is free to 
 come and go, and breeds in the most exposed situations 
 without fear of molestation. It nests usually on trees, 
 but in some localities also on the bare ground. 
 
 It is migratory, and is reported to come and go with 
 great regularity, but a very careful series of observa- 
 tions, long continued, shows that there is some varying 
 from the supposed single dates of its spring arrival and 
 autumnal departure. 
 
 Those hawks that live near the ocean often capture 
 very large fish, and when by chance they drop them, 
 
 never descend to pick them 
 up. Wilson mentions the 
 remains of a shad that 
 weighed six pounds, the 
 hawk having eaten consider- 
 able of it before being dis- 
 possessed, and again men- 
 tions a flounder that was 
 dropped, large enough to 
 serve as a dinner for a 
 whole family. The fish 
 hawk, sometimes, says Wilson, " mistakes his mark 
 or overrates his strength by striking fish too large and 
 powerful for him to manage, by whom he is suddenly 
 dragged under, and though he sometimes succeeds in 
 extricating himself, after being taken three or four 
 times down, yet oftener both parties perish. The bod- 
 ies of sturgeon and several other large fish, with that of 
 the fish hawk fast grappled in them, have at different 
 times been found dead on the shore, cast up by the 
 waves." 
 Another extract from Wilson, and we have done' 
 
 Fish-Hawk. 
 
BIRDS. 355 
 
 '" When a number of hawks to the amount of twenty or 
 upward, collect together on one tree, making a loud, 
 squealing noise, there is generally a nest built soon a,fter 
 on the same tree. Probably this congressional assembly 
 were settling the right of the new pair to the premises, 
 or it might be a kind of wedding, or joyous, festive 
 meeting on the occasion." 
 
 While usually considered the same species, as the 
 European rough-legged falcon, there appears to be a 
 decided difEerence in the habits of the two birds. Ac- 
 cording to Dr. Brewer ("North American Birds"): 
 "The American is a very social bird, often living in 
 large communities during the breeding season. The 
 European is found almost invariably in solitary pairs, 
 and frequents fresh waters almost exclusively The 
 American, though found also on large rivres and 
 lakes, is much the more abundant on the seashore. 
 The European bird rarely builds on trees, the American 
 almost always. The latter rarely resorts to rocky cliffs 
 to breed, the European almost uniformly do so. There 
 is no instance on record of the American species attack- 
 ing smaller birds or inferior land animals with intent to 
 feed on them. The European species is said to prey on 
 ducks and other wild-fowl." 
 
 Marsh-hawks are found all over North America and 
 breed wherever found. They are large, graceful and 
 beautifully marked. The illustration here given, that 
 of a female, tells its own story as to the bird's appear- 
 ance. The male is of a light blue-gray color and 
 equally beautiful. 
 
 These hawks are "skimmers." They keep close to 
 the ground when flying and stir' up the small sparrows 
 that throng the weedy fields; but more than all, they 
 mark the runways of the mice and capture them by 
 the hundreds. It also alights upon the ground and 
 often walks a long distance before again taking wing. 
 
356 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 sinia. 
 
 This hawk, or a variety of it, is found in Europe and 
 it is much the same bird there as here. Seebohm says 
 of it ("Siberia in Europe"): "The hen-harrier has not 
 yet been exterminated by the gamekeepers from the 
 British Islands. It breeds in the arctic and north tem- 
 perate regions of Europe and Asia, visiting South 
 Europe principally in winter, at which season of the 
 year it is found in North Africa as far south as Abys- 
 It also winters in Persia, India and South China. 
 In the valley of the Petchora we found 
 it as far north as latitude 68^°." 
 
 The birds nest on the ground and 
 the structure varies somewhat accord- 
 ing to the locality, being a better nest 
 and lined with feathers in the north, 
 and without lining and of looser coii- 
 struction in the south. 
 
 In the Mississippi kite we have a 
 bird of prey that in its habits is total- 
 ^ly unlike any of which we have made 
 mention. It is an inhabitant of the 
 Southern and Southwestern States and 
 very rarely wanders beyond a somewhat 
 restricted range. 
 The kite is an insect-eating hawk, 
 feeding on large beetles, grasshoppers and other form^ 
 of equal size. It also seizes small snakes as it sweeps 
 over the ground, catching them up in its claws and de- 
 vouring them while on the wing. 
 
 The flight of this bird is described as exceedingly 
 powerful and graceful, resembling much that of the 
 turkey-buzzard. The nest is always in the upper 
 branches of the tallest trees, a loosely-built structure 
 resembling that of a crow, but larger. 
 
 The kite, according to Wilson, possesses great 
 strength and an unconquerable spirit. One that he 
 
 Marsh Hawk. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 357 
 
 wounded, " instantly gave battle, striking rapidly with 
 his claws, wheeling round and round as he lay partly 
 on his rump, and defending himself with great vigilance 
 and dextenty, while his dark-red eye sparkled with 
 rage." 
 
 The English kite, while bearing considerable resem- 
 blance to our own, is a bird of very different habits, 
 Mudie states that it "feeds 
 not only upon young birds 
 and small quadrupeds and 
 reptiles, but upon carrion 
 and garbage of all sorts, in 
 order to obtain which it will 
 dare much when hungry." 
 
 Without question the most 
 beautiful and graceful of 
 our American birds of prey 
 is the swallow-tailed kite, 
 or hawk, as it is more usual- 
 ly called. While found in 
 various localities in the 
 South and West, it is not 
 recorded as anywhere abund- 
 ant except in the "South- 
 western Grulf States, or 
 along the rivers and inland 
 waters." Like the Missis- 
 sippi kite, it feeds largely 
 upon insects and small 
 snakes, and nests at or near 
 
 thetops of talltrees. Wilson describes their flight as "easy 
 and graceful, with sometimes occasional sweeps among 
 the trees, the long feathers of their tail spread out and 
 each extremity of it used, alternately, to lower, elevate 
 or otherwise direct their course." 
 
 A beautiful bird of prey, found alike in the Old 
 
 Mississippi Kite. 
 
358 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 World and the New, is the " dreaded blue hen-hawk," 
 as it is called in STew England, and more usually the 
 
 iSeebohm ("Siberia in Europe") mentions shooting a 
 goshawk in that far-oil land, saying that it was the only 
 one identified on the journey, and adds: "The gos- 
 hawk is only found in the British Islands as a rare 
 straggler. It breeds in most of the hilly and wooded 
 
 districts of Europe, 
 and winters on both 
 shores of the basin 
 of the Mediterra- 
 nean. Eastward it 
 breeds as far south 
 as the Himalayas 
 and North Chiiyi, 
 occasionally strag- 
 gling into Central 
 India and South 
 China during win- 
 ter. In the valley 
 of the Petchora (Siberia) we did not meet with it north 
 of the arctic circle." 
 
 In the United States this hawk is a winter visitor, 
 and is found during the breeding season only in the 
 more Northern States and in British America. Leith 
 Adams speaks of it as "one of the most destructive 
 and daring enemies of the poultry-yard." 
 
 It is a shy and solitude-loving species, as seen in winter 
 in the Middle States, and keeps to the tall trees that are 
 scattered about meadow tracts. Here it keeps upon the 
 watch for its prey, and if perchance it comes in the 
 neighborhood of a farm-yard, it is to seize a chicken or a 
 duck and be off before the fact is realised by any but 
 the hawk itself and its victim. It is seldom, indeed, 
 that a goshawk is seen nailed to a barn, where crows 
 
 Swallow-tailed Kite. 
 
BIHDS. 
 
 359 
 
 and red-tailed buzzards are so commonly placed by the 
 irate farmer when they fall a victim to his vengeance. 
 
 According to Audubon, "Along the Atlantic coast 
 this species follows the numerous flocks of ducks that 
 are found there during autumn and winter, and greatly 
 aids in the destruction of mallards, teals, black ducks 
 and other species, in company with the peregrine falcons. 
 It is a restless bird, apparently more vigilant and indus- 
 trious than many other hawks, and seldom alights 
 'unless to devour its prey." This, we see, is not in 
 accordance with what has been stated of the few soli- 
 tary individuals that seek 
 inland tracts of meadow 
 whereat to spend a~ winter. 
 Audubon further states the 
 interesting fact that " [t is 
 extremely expert at catching 
 snipes on the wing, and so 
 well do these birds know 
 their insecurity, that on his 
 approach they prefer squat- 
 ting." 
 
 The sharp-shinned hawk 
 is " feathered lightning," 
 and how any creature escapes 
 its attack is a wonder, yet occasionally even weak-winged 
 sparrows do dodge it and no doubt wonder how it all 
 happened. A more impetuous bird can probably not be 
 found. We once found one hopelessly entangled in a 
 smilax thicket into which it chased a snow-bird. 
 
 Dr. Brewer gives the impression that small birds, 
 above all else, are preferred as food by this hawk. It is 
 an excellent and persistent mouser, and when, as is 
 usual, meadow mice are abundant, it chases theni more 
 persistently than it does the host of warblers and spar- 
 rows that throng our thickets and wooded hillsides. 
 
 Goshawk. 
 
360 
 
 CYCLOPEDIC or VATUAJL HISTORY. 
 
 Sharp-shinned Hawk. 
 
 Tlie sharp-shinned hawlt lUstN in trees and breeds 
 over the entire area of its range, which includes pretty 
 much if not all of the jfforth A^terican continent. 
 Over all North America, except a little strip along 
 
 the gulf coast, is found an exquisite little falcon, yclept 
 
 \a the United States the 
 sparrow hawk. A vari- 
 ety is found in South 
 America, differing only 
 and very slightly in its 
 coloring. It is a dainty 
 little creature that ben- 
 efits mankind by killing 
 mice, and aggravates the 
 lover of nature by des- 
 troying song-birds. Let 
 
 us shut our eyes to the latter fault, however grievous, 
 
 and consider the bird at his best. 
 Take him of a crystal-clear October morning as he 
 
 hovers over a nut-brown stubble field. He twists and 
 
 turns in a most erratic manner, 
 
 and then suddenly halts in 
 
 mid-air and hovers over some 
 
 spot for several seconds. Down 
 
 he plunges, but not to the 
 
 ground — whatever he ,saw was 
 
 too quick for him. Again and 
 
 again he thus pauses as he 
 
 wanders, and finally dashes to. 
 
 the ground with more than 
 
 usual energy, and rising, shows 
 
 a mouse in his talons. These little hawks build, or 
 
 rather occupy, a large hollow in a tree, and in May or 
 
 early June bring out a brood of four or five. These 
 
 young birds have much to learn in the matter of flight 
 
 and mouse-hunting. Hovering does not come natural 
 
 Sparrow Hawk. 
 
to them, and many and painful hours are passed in 
 practicing before they become so far accomplished as to 
 be fairly good mousers. Long after they are fairly 
 strong upon the wing they are fed by their parents.. 
 
 The sparrow hawk of England is a quite dissimilar 
 bird. It is called also the stannel and windhoyer, and 
 is qnite common. It is probably best known as the 
 kestrel. " It builds in hollow trees and in cliffs, or in 
 nests deserted by crows, magpies, etc. It feeds on mice, 
 small birds, insects, etc. The kestrel may be at once 
 recognized by its peculiar habit of hovering or sustain- 
 ing itself in the same place in 
 the air by a rapid motion of its 
 wings, always with its head to 
 the wind. The male and female 
 differ considerably in color, ash- 
 gray prevailing more in the for- 
 mer and rusty-brown in the lat- 
 ter. This hawk was regarded 
 as of a mean or base kind, and 
 hence kestrel was often used as 
 a contemptuous epithet." ("Im- Merlin, 
 
 perial Dictionary.") 
 
 A small falcon well known in Britain, called the 
 "sparrow hawk," is not like any of the American 
 species. It is said to be very destructive to pigeons 
 and small birds. 
 
 Another and still smaller species is the merlin. It 
 is very bold. "It was formerly used in hawking quails, 
 partridges, larks and such small game, and is even yet 
 occasionally trained." Mudie says: " The female mer- 
 lin is quite a ladies hawk, and would remain so if the 
 dames of England were again to temper their beauty in 
 the autumnal winds, and so secure the full life-rent of 
 it, undisturbed. It is a' little and a light bird, and for 
 spirit there is no comparison." 
 
36^ CVCtOPEbiA OF NATURAL HtSTOkV. 
 
 There is found in Great Britain, but becoming 
 rapidly extinct, adoording to Seebohm, a noble bird of 
 prey known to all as the peregrine falcon. It is, he 
 says, a circumpolar bird, but the North American form 
 is distinct. " It breeds more or less regularly in every 
 country in Europe and winters in Africa, occasionally 
 straying as far south as the cape. It also breeds 
 throughout Asia . . . wherever suitable localitie» 
 are found." 
 
 Seebohm ("Siberia in Europe") writes as follows of 
 the finding of the peregrine's nest : " On the grassy top 
 of a mound, half-way down the mud cliffs overlooking 
 the great river (Petchora) and within sight of the Arctic 
 Ocean, I came upon the eyrie of a peregrine falcon. It 
 contained four eggs, one of which was much lighter in 
 color than the others. This mound had probably been 
 used for some years as a nesting place by the falcons, 
 since the grass was much greener upon it than upon the 
 surrounding places. A little way off there rose another 
 mound just similar to it, and this was apparently the 
 falcon's dining-table, for scattered all about it were 
 feathers of grouse, of long-tailed duck, and of divers 
 sinall birds. 
 
 " While I remained near the nest the two falcons hov- 
 ered around uttering sharp cries; when I approached 
 nearer still they redoubled their screams, hovered over 
 me, closed their wings and descended perpendicularly 
 till within a few yards of my head. Their movements 
 were so rapid that I wasted half a dozen cartridges in 
 trying to secure them, and had at last to leave them, 
 baffled in the attempt." 
 
 The American peregrine inhabits the whole of North 
 and South America, but only in scattered localities is it 
 found abundantly. In Pennsylvania it nests in mount- 
 ainous districts, and visits the sea-coast of New Jersey, 
 particularly in autumn. In Canada and the provinces 
 
BIRDS. 303 
 
 it is much more frequent than elsewhere. Leith Adams 
 mentions its breeding on the rocky coast of the Bay of 
 Fundy. 
 
 George Ord, the friend and companion of Wilson, had 
 once a partly tamed peregrine, or great-footed hawk. 
 " It was a female, and was allowed the free range of a 
 stable and garden." 
 
 "My duck hawk," as he calls this species, "never 
 became sufficiently domesticated to permit me to handle 
 herj and if an attempt were made to touch her she 
 would either hop away in anger or, if prevented from 
 retreating, she would spring upon me and strike 
 
 Great-footed Hawk. 
 
 furiously with one of her powerful feet, which were 
 capable of inflicting severe wounds. Unless when very 
 hungry she would not touch cooked food ; she preferred 
 fresh-killed meat, especially tender beef and mutton, 
 generally rejecting the fat. She was fond of small 
 Mrds, but a live duck was her supreme delight; the 
 sight of one would make her almost frantic ; at such 
 times the vigor and activity of her movements and the 
 animation of her eye were truly admirable. Her antip- 
 athy to cats was great, and when one of these animals 
 approached her she manifested her displeasure by raising 
 her plumes, opening her mouth and uttering some 
 sounds which were doubtless intended as a premonition 
 
364 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA Of N-ATUkAL HISTORY. 
 
 of danger. If regardless of all these the cat got ■within 
 striking distance, one blow from the hawk was generally 
 sufficient to compel the intruder to a hasty retreat. " 
 
 Owls, as a class, like the swallows, are not readily 
 mistaken, for any other group of birds. They haye the 
 features of their family clearly stamped upon them. 
 With people generally they are associated with the night 
 rather than the day, but this 
 does not hold good at all of 
 them. They are held, too, to 
 be the denizens of hollow trees 
 and church steeples, but this 
 also is untrue of very many. 
 The truth is, owls differ very 
 much in their habits, as might 
 indeed be. inferred from the 
 fact that they occur in all parts 
 of the globe. 
 
 There can be no denial of 
 the fact now established, that 
 owls are eminently useful birds. 
 That they occasionally destroy 
 pigeons or poultry is of no sig- 
 nificance considering the im- 
 mense numbers of rats and mice 
 It will be years yet, probably, 
 before the average farmer can be taught the truth aibout 
 birds, and it would be of inestimable advantage to the 
 country, and to all countries, if birds were protected in 
 fact and not nominally. But it is too much to expect 
 in a country like our own, cursed with the fallacy of 
 universal suffrage and with a government based upon 
 the more pernicious idea that any people can govern 
 themselves. The birds will have to take their chances 
 until ignorance as to their value is finally overcome; 
 
 Burrowing Owl. 
 
 that these birds devour. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 365 
 
 and let us hope extinction will not overtake them before 
 that happy time. In the brief space allotted to the 
 subject some of our North American owls will be 
 considered. 
 
 "Venerable ruins," writes Charles Lucien Bonaparte, 
 " crumbling under the influence of time and vicissi- 
 tudes of season, are habitually associated with oui 
 recollections of the owl, or he 
 is considered as the tenant of 
 somber forests, whose nocturnal 
 gloom is rendered deeper and 
 more awful by the harsh dis- 
 sonance of his voice. In poetry 
 he has long been 'regarded as 
 the appropriate concomitant of 
 darkness and horror, . . . 
 but we are now to make the 
 reader acquainted with an owl 
 to which none of these associa- 
 tions can belong; a bird that, so 
 far from seeking refuge in the 
 ruined habitations of man, fixes 
 its residence within the earth, 
 and instead of concealing itself 
 in the solitary recesses of the 
 forest, delights to dwell on 
 open plains. . . . In- 
 stead of sailing heavily forth in the obscurity of the 
 evening or morning twilight and then retreating to 
 mope away the intervening hours, our owl enjoys the 
 broadest glare of the noon-day sun, and flying rapidly 
 along, searches for food or pleasure during the cheerful 
 light of day." 
 
 This owl is found in the Western. Territories of the 
 United States, from the plains to the Pacific, and from 
 the Eio Grande to Cape St. Lucas, Mexico. 
 
 Snowy Owl. 
 
366 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The story often told of rattle-snakes, prairie do^s 
 and these owls voluntarily and amicably occupying th« 
 same hurrow is nonsense, as has heen shown by Dr. 
 Coues, and the truth of the matter is given in full in 
 his invaluable "Birds of the Northwest." 
 
 A magnificent owl that is well known to most peof)le 
 is the. snowy owl, a bird found in northern regions gen- 
 erally. Seebohm siiys of it: " It is « 
 circumpolar bird, breeding princi- 
 pally within the arctic circle, and 
 occasionally straggling in wittte:^ to 
 the British Islands, various parts Of 
 Central Europe, South Sibei'ra, Mon- 
 golia and the Umted States of 
 America. In the valley of the Pet- 
 chora we found it as far north as 
 we went. This owl visits the Uiiited 
 States every winter, but the numbers 
 vary exceedingly. Sometimes there 
 is a large fligiit of them along the sea- 
 coast, so much of a one indeed that 
 the fact is duly heralded ill the local 
 newspapers. 
 
 "Unlike most of his tribe," writes 
 Wilson, " he hunts by day as well as 
 by twilight, and is particularly fond 
 frequenting the shores and banks of shallow rivers, 
 over the surf&,ce of which he slowly sails or sits 
 on a rock a little raised above the wateT*, watching for 
 fish. These he seizes with a sudden and instantaneous 
 stroke of the foot, seldom missing his aim." 
 
 Although strictly an arctic species, this owl beai** 
 confinement well, and does not seem to suffer from the 
 tropical heat of our summers. But it doeff not becoflie 
 tame to an extent that makes it a safe pet, and more 
 than once strangers have been severely clawed by the 
 bird on being too closely approached. 
 
 Great Horned Owl. 
 
 of 
 
BISDS. 
 
 36'?' 
 
 The great horned, or eagle owl, is the largest and 
 most nobje looting of those that are resident in the 
 United States. It is a nocturnal bird; nests in trees; 
 remarkable for its indifference to its mate, and more so 
 for its voice. Dr. Brewer thus describes it: "The 
 hooting and nocturnal cries of the grpat horned owl are 
 a remarkable feature of its habits. These are chiefly 
 during its breeding season, especially the peculiar loud 
 and vociferous cries known as its hoot- 
 ing. .At times it will utter a single 
 shriek, sounding like the yell of some 
 unearthly being,' while again it barks 
 incessantly like a dog, and the resem- 
 blance is so_ natural as to provoke a 
 rejoinder from its canine prototype. 
 Occasionally it utters sounds resem- 
 bling the half -choking cries of a person 
 neany strangled, and attracted by the 
 watch-fire of a camp, flies over it 
 shrieking a cry resembling "waugh-Jioo." 
 It is not surprising that with all these 
 combinations and variations of un- 
 earthly cries these birds should have 
 been held in awe by the aborigines, their cries being 
 sufficiently fearful to startle even the least timid." 
 
 Akin to the above is the eagle owl of Europe, which 
 Seebohm states is nearly extinct in Great Britain. It is 
 a migratory bird, and when passing from one country 
 to another "its . . . flight is high, and not much 
 inferior to that of the eagle, several of the characteristics 
 of which it combines with those of the more common 
 owls." Mudie states further: "In Norway, where they 
 abound, they are guardian angels from the countless 
 thousands of lemmings which they destroy in the deso- 
 lating marches of those destructive creatures." 
 
 Probably no one who has lived in the country, or at 
 
 Screech Owl. 
 
368 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 least in the Middle and Central States, but is perfectly 
 familiar with the little red and gray owls that rested by 
 day in the hollow apple trees, and gently "to-whooed" 
 when the sun went down, but how few realized, or ever 
 will, that this bird was conferring blessings on the farm- 
 erg, who personally or by proxy persecute CTery bird of 
 them. These little owls that only ask for the shelter of 
 hollow trees and the privilege of eating mice_ are often 
 declared guilty of the death of full-grown chickens and 
 ducks, as though minks and 
 weasels were not, and an owl, 
 however small, was a very Sam- 
 son for strength and more blood- 
 thirsty than a thug. 
 
 This is not the least of our 
 owls. There is one delightful 
 little fellow that is something 
 smaller, and differs, not only in 
 color, but has not the tufts 
 Saw-whet Owl. upon its head, which go by the 
 
 names of ears or horns, and 
 yet are neither. Those who know this little species 
 call it the saw-whet owl, because, we presume, of a 
 fancied resemblance of- its voice to the noise made by 
 filing a saw. 
 
 These little owls are more apt to be found in thick- 
 set cedars than in hollow trees, and feed upon mice and 
 large insects more than upon small birds. Of course, 
 they can do no damage, and being mousers, are bene- 
 factors. 
 
 That the species only nests in the more northern 
 United States, as has often been asserted, is not true. 
 They are resident; in the pine and cedar regions of New 
 Jersey and have been found nesting there. One nest 
 was m a cedar, some twelve feet from the ground, 
 formed wholly of sticks, and may have been the base 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 369 
 
 of a crow's nest, which the owls had taken posses- 
 sion of. 
 
 On the Pacific coast of the TJnited States, and in 
 Canada, are found several species of small owls hearing 
 more or less resemblance to the above, but some are 
 generically distinct. The habits of these are pretty 
 much the same. 
 
 The long-eared owl is a well known species, common 
 in North America, and a closely-allied species — the two 
 are varieties of one species — is found in Europe and 
 elsewhere in the Old World. With us this species is 
 quite common, resi- 
 dent, and not unfre- 
 quently seen abroad 
 during cloudy weather. 
 As its food is largely 
 mice, and these are 
 found in greatest abun- 
 dance in our meadow 
 lands, it is in such lo- 
 calities where they are 
 most likely to be found. 
 Owl-hunting, however, 
 for these birds have a 
 
 Long-eared Owl. 
 
 is a very uncertain pastime, 
 very acute sense of hearing 
 and can quickly and effectively conceal themselves or 
 the approach of an intruder. When a person i^ 
 taking a quiet stroll in their haunts, it is not an 
 uncommon occurrence to flush one of these owls, but 
 to find them as the result of a special search there- 
 for is another matter. Why this contradictory con- 
 dition should be is difficult to explain, yet it appears 
 to be a pretty uniform experience among those who 
 study birds, as birds should be studied, in the field. 
 Wilson remarks that it is not remarkable for its voice, 
 but the bird has in many localities received the name o' 
 "cat owl" because of the cat-like scream of the biiii 
 
370 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The degree of resemblance to the cry of the animal 
 mentioned either yaries much among individuals or the 
 imagination of people vary. Some will say unhesita- 
 tingly that th^ owl's notes are " just like a cat;" others 
 fail to mark more than a rather remote similarity. 
 These owls build on trees, not in them, using usually 
 the structures of other and very different birds. 
 
 The short-eared owl is one common to both conti- 
 nents. It is essentially a meadow owl, and one that 
 probably destroys more mice than ajoy of the others. 
 "It flies frequently by day," writes Wilson, "particu- 
 larly in dark, cloudy weather, takes 
 short flights, and when sitting and look- 
 ing sharply around, erects the two slight 
 feathers that constitute its horns, which 
 are at such times very noticeable, but 
 otherwise not perceivable." This spe- 
 cies nests upon the ground as a rule, 
 but in constantly wot swamps will some- 
 times occupy a roomy hollow of a decay- 
 ing tree. 
 
 Of the great baired, or "hooter," 
 as it is more frequently called, Wilson 
 wrote: "This is one of our most com- 
 mon owls." That was nearly three- 
 quarters of a century ago, and the 
 neirfiborhood referred to, in subse- 
 quent paragraphs, Philadelphia. This does not hold 
 good at present. In moderately thickly-settled districts 
 this species is not often seen, but when it is encountered 
 in or out of the woods, it is not likely to be forgotten. 
 It has a way of staring you in the face with an expres- 
 sion free of amiabilit;^, and in spite of the handsome 
 plumage and distingue mien, a timid person will pretty 
 surely vote it an uncanny bird. This is doing it 
 an injustice, however. Like several others that have 
 
 Hoot Owl. 
 
BIRDS. 371 
 
 been mentioned, this species flies abroad during the day, 
 but is always active at night, too, and then is when it 
 starts the echoes, if in woodland, with its terrible 
 voice, that has been well described as like the forced 
 laugh of a maniac. Dr. Brewer says that it is the 
 female only that gives utterance to the horricapillatory 
 screams mentioned, and the male is subdued in all that 
 he says. Good! and such things are not unknown be- 
 yond the pale of owldom. 
 
 The flight of this owl is remarkable for its noiseless- 
 ness. It will pass in perfect silence through a wood 
 and unless seen its presence would not be suspected. 
 
 The barn owl, as it is called with us, is a true citizen 
 of the world. It is true, those found in the different 
 continents show certain 
 peculiarities of plum- 
 age, but these are not of 
 special significance. The 
 barn owl of the United 
 States, to all save pro- 
 fessional ornithologists, 
 is the barn owl of Eu- 
 rope, Asia or Africa. 
 
 Wilson, it would seem. Bam Owi. 
 
 was not successful in his 
 
 search for this owl, as he states it is rarely seen in sum- 
 mer in Pennsylvania. It is by no means uncommon 
 now, whatever may have been the case then, and it de- 
 lights in solitary hollow trees standing in open fields. 
 Here it nests ahd rests during the day, but comes forth 
 in the gloaming and hunts mice industriously until his 
 wants are supplied. At such times, it is (with us) a 
 silent bird, as though to give tongue in populated dis- 
 tricts was to sound its own doom, for. here is yet another 
 instance where a useful and beautiful bird is hounded 
 to death because it is an owl 
 
373 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 In Europe as a bird of ruined castles and church 
 steeples and towers, it is too well known to need more 
 than mention. Wherever found its habits are pretty 
 much the same, varying only as the 
 environment makes absolutely neces- 
 sary. 
 
 Another species, and we close our 
 chapter on birds of prey. This is the 
 beautiful arctic species, known as: 
 the hawk owl. As the illustration 
 shows, it is a falcon-like bird, and 
 the similarity is increased by the fact 
 that it flies by day, and when, too, the 
 sun is shining on miles of untrodden 
 snow. It builds in trees, a loosely 
 constructed nest, and lays six eggs. 
 
 Occasionally in winter these birds 
 come as far south as New Jersey, and 
 stay nearer the coast than do most 
 migratory birds of prey. Their ex- 
 cessive rarity inland has given rise to the impression 
 that it is seldom even one is found so far away from its 
 proper habitat. Were they looked for more closely 
 along the coast in winter it would be found that every 
 fairly cold winter brings its stragglers. Still, ihey are 
 very rare. 
 
 Hawk Owl. 
 
Arara Cockatoo (Blicroglossus Ateniinus), 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE PSITTACI, OE PAEE0T8. 
 
 As seen by Bates in the yalley of the Amazon, or aa 
 seen by Wallace in the Malay Archipelago/ parrots, 
 macaws, cockatoos and birds of that ilk may be exceed- 
 ingly interesting, but seen as single specimens in hid- 
 eous tva. cages, or chained to a stake, they are usually 
 uninteresting, in spite of the gaudy plumage, and often 
 provie, except to their owners, intolerable nuisances. 
 
 Acoesfding to Dr. Kingsley, there are about 430 spe- 
 ciejB. They are found usually in tropical climates, but 
 a few extend beyond this limit. The single species 
 occurring in North America formerly ranged as far 
 north as Ohio. Most parrots are gaudily colored; few 
 are pleasingly so, and others are " so quiet in hue as to give 
 no offense to any Member of the Society of Friends." 
 They vary greatly in size, the "love birds" being the 
 smallest, and not larger than some sparrows, while the 
 macaws are three feet in length from tip of bill to the 
 end of the tail. They are vegetable feeders and gre- 
 garious. 
 
 Parrots are noisy birds when in their native haunts, 
 ftn# no less so when in confinement. As is well known, 
 they can be taught or teach themselves to repeat words 
 and sentences in the language of their owners. It has 
 been questioned whether or not they comprehend the 
 meaning of what they say. We will not enter upon 
 any discussion of this interesting question. Suffice it 
 to gay, that the gate-keeper of the Pennsylvania Hog- 
 |iital in Philadelphia for many years had a ta^e cockatoo, 
 
374 
 
 CYCLOPEDTA OP NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 which was well known to very many citizens of that city. 
 Any one denying that it did not know what it was talk- 
 ing about, not sometimeSj but at all times, is — well, in- 
 competent to form an opinion upon any subject. It is not 
 particularly surprising that parrots should be Tery in- 
 telligent, but their power of speech may give an errO'^ 
 neous impression as to the degree of their intelligence as 
 compared with other birds. Had all birds the same 
 development of the muscles of the throat, it would be 
 
 found that they too had their 
 wits about them. Because 
 generally they cannot ex- 
 press themselves in our lan- 
 guage is no evidence that 
 they do not keep up a deal 
 of thinking, particularly 
 when in confinement and 
 neglected or cruelly treated. 
 In proportion as we be- 
 come familiar with any or 
 all birds, or indeed any or 
 all animals, the narrower 
 becomes the gulf that sepa- 
 rates man from the lower 
 forms of life that time has evolved. 
 
 The cockatoos are prominent forms of parrots, of 
 which there are fifteen species, thirteen being white. 
 They all have crests, and the species here illustrated 
 has this tuft of feathers of three colors. Cockatoos 
 are found in Australia and the Malay Archipelago. 
 One species of these birds is black. 
 
 The lories are diminutive members of the parrot 
 tribe, found in the Malay and East Indian regions. 
 They are familiar to us as cage birds, and some at least 
 thrive very well in confinement. They are eminently 
 gregarious, and as they have pretty shrill voices, the 
 
 Tri-oolor Crested Cockatoo, 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 375 
 
 united cries of a thousand or more can be better imag- 
 ined than described. 
 
 Lories feed upon less substantial matter than fruit 
 occasionally. Wallace relates that in Batchian "the 
 handsome red lory with green wings and a yellow spot 
 in the back was not uncommon. When the jambu, or 
 rose-apple, was in flower in the village flocks of the 
 little lorikeet already met with in Gilolo came to feed 
 upon the nectar, and I ob- 
 tained as many specimens 
 as I desired." 
 
 The parrots proper are 
 well represented by the well- 
 known ring-parrot, found in 
 Africa and India. It is gre- 
 garious and noisy, and in 
 some localities becomes a 
 nuisance in consequence of 
 raiding upon grain fields. 
 
 As this species has not 
 the faculty of talking freely, 
 or of learning to do so, it is not so much in demand as a 
 cage bird. 
 
 Dr. Kingsley writes : "Apparently one species of this 
 family was known to the ancients. Onesicrites, the 
 admiral of Alexander the Great, brought from Ceylon 
 a green parrot with a red ring around its neck. . . . 
 Most people think that the common ring-parrot of India 
 . . . was the bird brought by Alexander's sailors. 
 Others more or less closely allied were brought to Greece 
 and Eome from Africa. These were the only parrots 
 then known, and from their beauty, as well as their 
 docility and powers of speech, they were great fa- 
 Torites." 
 
 We now come to a group of parrots found only in 
 South America and known as macaws. One of these 
 
 Purple-capped Lory. 
 
376 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 is known as the hyacinthine macaw from the genera] 
 color of its plumage. Of this bird Mr. Bates ("Natur- 
 alist on the Amazons") remarks: ''At Patos we stayed 
 three days. . . . We saw for the first time the hyacinthine 
 macaw (the araruna of the natives), one of the finest 
 and rarest species of the parrot family. It only occurs 
 in the interior of Brazil, from 16*" s. latitude to the 
 southern border of the AmazOns Valley. It is three 
 
 feet long from the beak to 
 the tip of the tail, and is 
 entirely of a soft hyacinthine- 
 blue color except round the 
 eyes, where the skin is naked 
 and white. It flies in pairs 
 and feeds on the hard nuts 
 of several palms^ but especial- 
 ly of the mucuja. These nuts, 
 which are so hard as to be 
 difficult to break with a heavy 
 hammer, are crushed to a 
 pulp by the powerful beak 
 of this macaw." 
 
 Again, this author says: 
 "The macaws were found 
 feeding in small flocks on the 
 fruit of the tucumd. palm. 
 . . . I found the craws of all the specimens fllled 
 with the sour paste to which the stone-like fruit had 
 been reduced." 
 
 Belt, in his capital book on Nicaragua, writes as fol- 
 lows concerning these birds: "Three gaudy macaws 
 were wheeling round and round in playful flight, now 
 showing all red on the under surface, then turning all 
 together, as if they were one body, and showing thfc 
 gorgeous blue, yellow and red of the upper side gleam- 
 ing in the sunshine, screaming meanwhile as they flew 
 
 Bose-rlneed Parrakoet. 
 
STUDS. 
 
 with harsh, discordant cries. This gaudy-colored and 
 noisy bird seems to proclaim aloud that it fears no foe. 
 Its formidable beak protects it from every danger, for 
 no hawk or predatory mammal dares attack a bird so 
 strongly armed. Here the necessity for concealment 
 does not exist, and sexual selection has had no check in 
 developing the brightest and most conspicuous . colors. 
 If such a bird was not able to defend itself from all 
 foes, its loud cries would attract them, its bright colors 
 direct them to its own destruc- 
 tion." 
 
 Im Thurn does not think that 
 macaws are so readily seen as the 
 above quotation implies. At 
 least, not by man. He says : 
 "When macaws fly over or shriek 
 from the top of some dead tree, 
 it would generally be difficult, 
 • but for the difEerence in their 
 harsh notes, to discern even 
 whether they are of the red or 
 of the blue species." He then 
 shows that some of "Waterton's 
 remarks are misleading, and 
 adds: " They are generally either 
 in pairs, or at most five oj; six fly 
 together, and even where they are most abundant I have 
 never seen above a score together, nor has any man, 
 either European or Indian, ever admitted to me that he 
 has seen larger flocks. Moreover, their colors, as J have 
 already said, are at best but barely discernible as they 
 
 The one species of parrot now found within the 
 limits of the United States is rather commonplace as 
 compared with the macaws of the southern continent; 
 but still, in its showy livery of orange, red and green. 
 
 Ked and Blue Macaw. 
 
378 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 is sure to attract attention when seen in its native 
 
 forests. As a very indifferent cage-bird- it is wel) 
 
 known. 
 
 In the early part of the present century, the Carolina 
 
 parrot was abundant in all the Southern States and 
 
 wandered up the Ohio and 
 Mississippi Valleys, but 
 now the bird is confined 
 to Florida and Texas, and 
 will no doubt be soon an 
 extinct species. Accord- 
 ing to what has been most 
 
 Carolina Parrot. 
 
 Love Bird. 
 
 recently written concerning these birds, there is yet 
 somedoubt as to their nesting habits, and if not cleared 
 up pretty soon, it will become a problem as difficult to 
 solve as the riddle of the sphynx. 
 
 A group of diminutive parrots are known as "love- 
 birds," a name derived from their amiability as cage- 
 birds and because of the afEection displayed by mated 
 birds. They are beautiful little creatures, green or blue 
 in color, and barely six inches in length. 
 
 There are several groups of parrots found in South 
 
BIRDS. 379 
 
 America, and others in the Old World, of which no 
 mention has been made. Of these, the owl-parrots of 
 New Zealand are of great interest. They are largely, 
 but not ezcluslTely, noctuinaL 
 
CHAPTER XXm. 
 
 IHE PiCAEi-a:. 
 
 It would be bewildering to the average reader to hart 
 set before him the detaus of anatomy which have led 
 naturalists to group, re-group and group a^n certain 
 kinds of birds, and exclaim at last: " This is a natural 
 arrangement." Probably every classification as yet 
 suggested has something in its favor; assuredly every 
 one is open to some objections. 
 
 Why the various species of birds here brought together 
 should be held to have closer relationship than with 
 some already described does not seem clear, but such 
 close relationship has been declared, and it is only 
 within our province to accept the statement. 
 
 The Picarise, then, are as a class tropical birds, but in 
 temperate regions there are found many prominent 
 species belonging to them, as the cuckoos, woodpeckers 
 and others. There are some eighteen hundred species, 
 and a very few of them can be mentioned here even by 
 name, preference being given to our North American 
 forms. 
 
 The plantain-eaters are found only in Africa. "They 
 have the bill of moderate size, broad at the base, com- 
 pressed, with the ridge much curved and the tip strongly 
 notched; the tarsi are stout, covered in front with broad 
 scales, and the toes are long, the outer one being capable 
 of being turned backward." . . . For this reason 
 they are placed among the Picarise, which are birds 
 having the feet peculiarly well adapted to grasping tht 
 branches of trees. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 381 
 
 "The best known species are the touracos, distin- 
 guished by having the bill of ordinary form and the 
 head ornamented with an erectile crest. These birds 
 are generally of a green color, with the quill feathers of 
 the wings and tail violet or red. They are elegant birds, 
 about the size of a pigeon, and are said to be so fearless 
 that they will accompany a man, flying from branch to 
 branch, and uttering cries which are supposed to indi- 
 cate pleasure. They feed principally upon fruits, but 
 appear also to pick up in- 
 sects. 
 
 "The touracos are found 
 in most parts of Africa, where 
 they inhabit thickly-wooded 
 places and nidificate in holes 
 of trees. They are monoga- 
 mous, and both sexes assist in 
 incubation." (Orr's "Circle 
 of the Sciences.") 
 
 An interesting fact in con- 
 nection with these birds is 
 with reference to the red col- 
 oring of their wings. This 
 red pigment is said to be 
 
 washed out during heavy showers in the rainy season, 
 leaving the parts of a pale pink, but that the deep car- 
 mine tints are restored in the course of three or four 
 daysi 
 
 Perhaps no birds are better known, by name at least, 
 than the cuckoos. Their peculiarities are so marked 
 that they have long attracted general attention, and the 
 bird figures in literature from very early times. 
 
 Cuckoos are found distributed over very wide areas, 
 and scarcely a country of the globe but possesses at 
 least one species. In the tro|)ical regions they are 
 largest an<l most abundant. 
 
 Tonraco. 
 
383 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HISTOK Y. 
 
 The common European cuckoo is about the size of a 
 small pigeon, or appearing so from the abundance and 
 loose texture .of its plumage. It appears in England in 
 April, and the voice of the bird, from which the name 
 is derived, at once attracts attention as a ''sign of 
 spring." These birds make no nests, but deposit their 
 eggs in those of other birds, '' generally in that of the 
 hedge-sparrow, meadow-pipit or pied water-wagtail. 
 The young cuckoo ejects from the nest its young com- 
 panions as soon as they are hatched. The old cuckoos 
 leave this country in the first week of July, retiring 
 
 southward, but the young 
 cuckoos remain until Sep- 
 tember. Where the mass 
 of them ^pend the winter 
 is not well ascertained." 
 
 In Africa there are found 
 some very beautiful cuck- 
 oos, and they are all para- 
 sitic. In Australia occurs 
 one of the very largest, 
 European Cuckoo. tbe channel-billed cuckoo. 
 
 Mr. Bennett writes: "A 
 few years since, a fine female specimen was shot in 
 the Botanic Garden at Sidney. The peculiarity of 
 its mode of flight induced me to mistake it for a 
 hawk, for it wheeled about, occasionally hovering 
 very high in the air, and then gradually descending, 
 continued its flight close to the top of the lofty . . . 
 trees, as if for the purpose of capturing insects, more 
 especially the . . . locusts, as they are called by 
 the colonists. ... It also whirled round the trees 
 in circles, and from branch to branch, and often darted 
 down and took its prey among the foliage and on the 
 trunks of the large eucalypti, . occasionally making a 
 Bcreaming noise and liovering with its win^p e»rpanded 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 383 
 
 to the utmost at a sHort distance above the trees, pre- 
 cisely as a hawk does." 
 
 It would be hard to conceive of a greater difference 
 in the habits of two birds than between those of the 
 Australian species just described and of our American 
 yellow-billed cuckoo, which skulks among the trees. 
 
 In the United States this \ ird is strictly migratory, 
 and not only so, but really is methodical in the matter, 
 and comes and goes according to temperature. They 
 love the hottest sunshine our 
 summer can boast, and sing 
 after the fashion,>^ith greatest, 
 gusto, when we are treated to 
 a "hot wave." Unlike the 
 cuckoos of other parts of the 
 world, ours builds a nest, and 
 until the young are able to 
 fly, give?! a proper amount of 
 attention to its offspring. 
 According to Wilson, "While 
 the female is sitting the male 
 is generally not far distant, 
 and gives the alarm by his 
 notes when any person is ap- 
 proaching. The female sits 
 
 so close that you may almost reach her with your hand, 
 and then precipitates herself to the ground, feigning 
 lameness to draw you away from the spot, fluttering, 
 trailing her wings and tumbling over, in the manner 
 of the partridge, wood-cock and many other spe<3ies. 
 Both parents unite in providirig food for the young. 
 This consists for the most part of caterpillars, particu- 
 larly such as infest apple trees." 
 
 There is another species of cuckoo found in the 
 United States, but it is not so abundant as the preced- 
 ing. This is the black-billed species. Wilson says of 
 
 Tellow-biUed Cuckoa 
 
384 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL BISTOR Y. 
 
 it that it "is particularly fond of the sides of creeks, 
 feeding on small shell-fish, snails, etc. I have also often 
 found broken pieces of oyster shells in its gizzard, 
 which, like that of the other, is covered with fine 
 downy hair. 
 
 " The nest of this bird is most commonly buUt in a 
 cedar, much in the same manner and of nearly the same 
 
 materials as that of 
 the other, but the 
 eggs are smaller, usu- 
 ally four or five in 
 number, and of a, 
 rather deeper green- 
 ish-blue.'' 
 
 Allied to the cuck- 
 oos, and a very curi- 
 ous bird, is the chap- 
 par al-cock, or "road- 
 runner," of the Pa- 
 cific States-and Mex- 
 ico. As its name in- 
 dicates, it is not a 
 bird of the trees, but 
 of the ground, and 
 certainly as it runs it 
 does not look much 
 like a cuckoo. 
 It feeds upon mice, lizards and grasshoppers,, and "is 
 very quick in its motions, active and vigilant; indeed, 
 its fleetness enables it to elude its pursuers, although 
 one may be mounted on a good horse, or a dog may be 
 in the train; but this is only for a short distance, as it 
 could soon be run down by the horse or dog were not 
 some convenient thicket or hill near from which to take 
 its flight from the latter, or conceal itself among tho 
 branches of the former," 
 
 Black-billed Cuckoo. 
 
BIRDS. 385 
 
 There is probably no truth in the statement often 
 made that these birds attack and kill rattlesnakes. At 
 least, competent observers who have studied the bird in 
 the field deny it. 
 
 The caprimulgidae, or goat-suckers, whippoorwills, 
 night- jars and what not, are curious nocturnal birds 
 that are found the wide world over. While they differ 
 considerably in size there is a remarkably strong 
 family likeness existing among them, and when any one 
 of the family is familiar to us the others will be readily 
 recognized as near relatives. 
 
 In Africa night-jars occur, with the peculiar orna- 
 mentation of long streamer-like feathers in the wing, 
 and in South America this ornamentation occurs on 
 the tail. 
 
 Im Thurn, describing a night in the forests of Gruiana, 
 remarks: "While the frogs croaked, every now and 
 then a night-jar flitted swiftly and most silentlj by, and 
 then suddenly shrieked out its loud ciy of ' worlc-worh- 
 worJc-to-helU Or another and larger speiiies began to 
 moan out the four notes of its most hideous and de- 
 pressing cry of ' who-who-who-who/ each note sounded in 
 rapid succession, the first shrill and high pitched, each 
 of the succeeding ones lower, and the last almost an in- 
 audible moan. It is only comparable to the cry of a 
 despairing and dying human being." And again, writ- 
 ing of Guiana night-jars, oui author says one or two 
 species especially affect certain river banks! These 
 birds become very "active at the beginning of the dry 
 season, for then much of the banks are exposed, and. 
 the birds lay their eggs on the bare, dry sand." Their 
 nests are so abundant that their eggs may be found at 
 every few rods. 
 
 Of the common European goat-sucker Professor New- 
 ton ("Encyclopedia Britannica") writes as follow£^ 
 "Arrives late in spring from its winter retreat in Africa, 
 
386 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTOKY. 
 
 and its presence is soon made known to us by its habit 
 of chasing its prey, consisting chiefly of moths and 
 cockchafers, in the evening twilight. As the season 
 adTances the song of the cock, from its singularity, at- 
 tracts attention amid all rural sounds. This song seems 
 to be. always uttered when the bird is at rest . 
 and is the continuous repetition of a single burring 
 note." _ 
 
 "It is one of the few birds," continues Professor 
 Newton, "that absolutely makes no nest, but lays its 
 pair of beautifully-marbled 
 eggs on the ground, generally 
 where the herbage is short, 
 and often actually on the soil. 
 So light is it that the act of 
 brooding, even where there is 
 some vegetable growth, pro- 
 duces no visible depression of 
 the grass, moss or lichens on 
 which the eggs rest, and the 
 finest sand equally fails to ex- 
 hibit a trace of the parental 
 act. Yet scarcely any . bird 
 shows greater local attach- 
 ment, and the precise site 
 chosen one year is almost certain to be occupied the 
 next." 
 
 In the above we have the description of the habits of 
 a bird much more like our night-hawk than are the 
 other species of goat-suckers found in the United States, 
 the chuck-will's-widow and the whippoorwill. 
 
 Concerning the night-hawky Thoreou wrote as fol- 
 lows, when camping on Mount Monadnock: "Early in 
 the evening the night-hawks were heard to spark and 
 boom over these bare gray rocks, and such was on: 
 serenade at first as we lay on our spruce bed. We wero 
 
 Goat-sucker, 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 387 
 
 left alone with the night-hawks. These withdrawn, 
 bare rocks must be a very suitable place for them to lay 
 their eggs, and their dry and unmusical, yet supramun- 
 dane and spirit-like voices and sounds gave fit expression 
 to the rocky mountain solitude. It struck the very key- 
 note of that stern, gray and barren region. It was a 
 thrumming of the mountain's rocky chord; strains from 
 the music of chaos, such as were heard when the earth 
 was rent and these rocks heaved up. Thus they went 
 sparking and booming while we 
 were courting the first access of 
 sleep, and I could imagine their 
 dainty, limping flight, inclining 
 over the kindred rocks with a 
 spot of white quartz in their 
 wings. No sound could be more 
 in harmony with that scenery. 
 Though common below, it seemed 
 peculiarly proper here." 
 
 Again, his journal, when at 
 Concord, runs as follows: "Vis- 
 ited my night-hawk on her nest. 
 Could hardly believe my eyes 
 when I stood within seven feet 
 and beheld her sitting on her 
 eggs, her head toward me; she 
 looked so Saturnian, so one with the earth, so sphynx- 
 like, a relic of the reign of Saturn which Jupiter did 
 not destroy, a riddle that might well cause a man to go 
 dash his head against a stone. It was not an actual liv- 
 ing creature, far less a winged creature of the air, but a 
 figure in stone or bronze, a fanciful production of art, 
 like the gryphon ox phoenix. In fact, with its breast 
 toward me, and owing to its color and size, no bill per- 
 ceptible, it looked like the end of a brand, such as are 
 com.mon in a clearing, its breast mottled, or alternately 
 
 Night-hawk, 
 
388 CYCLOPEDIA OP NA TURAL HISTOR Y. 
 
 waved with dark brown or gray, its flat, grayish, weather- 
 beaten crown, its eyes nearly closed purposely, lest 
 these bright beads should betray it, with the stony cun- 
 ning of the sphynx. A fanciful work in bronze to 
 ornament a mantle. It was enough to fill one with awe. 
 The sight of this creature sitting on its eggs impressed 
 me with the venerableness of the globe. There was 
 nothing noTel about it. All the while this seemingly 
 sleeping bronze sphynx, as motionless as the earth, was 
 watching me with intense anxiety through those narrow 
 slits in its eyelids. Another step, and it fluttered down 
 the hill, close to the ground, with a wabbling motion, 
 as if touching the ground now with the tip of one wing, 
 now with the other, so ten rods to the water, which it 
 skimmed close over a few rods, and then rose and soared 
 in the air above me. Wonderful creature, which sits mo- 
 tionless on its eggs, on the barest, most exposed hills, 
 with its eyes shut and its wings folded, and after the 
 two day's storm, when you think it has become a fit 
 symbol of the rheumatism, it suddenly r.ise8 into the 
 air, a bird, one of the most aerial, supple and graceful 
 of creatures, without stiflEness in its wings or joints." 
 
 In the New England and Middle States this bird is 
 migratory, and appears to vary a good deal as to its 
 numbers, comparmg one season with another. 
 
 The Southern "chuck-will's-widow" is no less curious 
 in its ways than the night-hawk. It, too, is a migra- 
 tory bird that never comes north of Virginia. 
 
 "It commences," says Wilson, "its singular call gen- 
 erally in the evening, soon after sunset, and continues 
 it with short, occasional interruptions for several hours. 
 In sound and articulation it seems "plainly to 
 3xpress the words which have been applied to it, pro- 
 nouncing each syllable leisurely and distinctly." 
 
 Like the night-hawk, this bird makes no nest, but 
 iays its eggs upon the ground. 
 
BIRDS. 389 
 
 Better known than the preceding, because more 
 widely distributed, is the common whippoorwill. Like 
 the others, it is migratory, coming when the weather is 
 fairly settled and frosts extremely improbable; it stays 
 until the shortening days of early autumn admonish it 
 of the fearful uncertainty of our climate, and the likeli- 
 hood, without warning, of insect-killing frost. It is a 
 bird that does not shun the proximity of man, if not mo- 
 lested, and will take up its abode often near the farmer's 
 house, if there be some gnarly old apple tree upon which 
 it can rest in peace during the day. Certainly it was 
 more sociable in this 
 respect half a century 
 ago than now, but the 
 change is due probably 
 to the difference in the 
 surroundings of farm- 
 houses, and an unwise 
 disposition t o replace 
 the old-time apple and 
 forest trees with or- Whippoorwiu. 
 
 namental shrubljery, 
 
 rather than a change in the bird's disposition. They 
 never have been so persecuted as to be made more shy 
 and wary. 
 
 Very naturally the Indians were attracted by the 
 peculiar notes of this bird, and too, by its regularity in 
 the matter of arrival in May (in the Middle States), so 
 they considered it as a herald of summer, and con- 
 sidered it safe to plant their corn ; when the bird sang 
 " wee-co-lis," they said to each other, with a significant 
 nod, " hack-i-beck," or'"plant the ground.'* 
 
 When iengthenlng shadows dim the field 
 
 And scarce a leaf Is stirred ; 
 When forest blossoms lie concealed. 
 
 And hushed is every hird ; 
 Within yon fern-clad, mossy nook, 
 
390 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 All nature else, Is still— 
 Bines, by the tireless babblingr brook. 
 The herald whlppoorwill. 
 
 Know then the Ice King's scepter falls. 
 
 Nor dread th9 north wind's wrath ; 
 He, through the a%ht. Queen Summer calls; 
 
 She follows In his path. 
 At dawn, the bloom of meadows green, 
 
 The flowers that grace the hill. 
 Welcome 8r.ew their gentle queen. 
 
 While sKops the whlppoorwill. 
 
 In Tasmania and Australia are numerous goat-sncker- 
 like birds, many of which differ much in their habits 
 from those that are found in 
 Europe and North America. 
 Some are thought to feed, to a 
 certain extent, on fruits and 
 berries, and are said, too, to 
 build a flat nest on the horizon- 
 tal branch of a tree for the re- 
 ception of their eggs, which 
 are of a spotless white. In 
 the Ethiopian and Indian re- 
 gioni, in particular, and in 
 Common EoUer. Australia, as well as (one spe- 
 
 cies) in Europe, is found a 
 family of birds, mostly of bright plumage, to which the 
 aame of "rollers "has been given. "They derive the 
 Qame from their habit of tumbling like the tumbler 
 pigeon in their ascending flight. The common roller is 
 found in Europe, Asia and Africa." (" Imperial Dic- 
 tionary.") 
 
 There are no representatives of this family found in 
 America. 
 
 The roller is only a chance visitor to the British Isl- 
 ands, but is " common in the eastern and southern part 
 of the continent." It resembles the rooks and crows 
 somewhat in its habits, but is not related to these birds. 
 
BIRDS. 391 
 
 lis has been thought. They nest in holes in ti'ees, like 
 woodpeckers, but do not excavate accommodations f oj 
 their nests. They are represented as "fierce, restless 
 and clamorous." 
 
 Bee-eaters, while a distinctly marked group of birds,^ 
 in their habits present some resemblance to the swal- 
 lows. " These birds are confined to the eastern hemi- 
 sphere, in the tropical parts of which they are most 
 abundant. They feed on insects which they capture in 
 the air, and -are especially partial to bees and wasps, 
 whence their English name of bee- 
 eaters and the French gu^piers. They 
 are beautiful birds, generally adorned 
 with bright colors, among which 
 green usually predominates. A single 
 species ... is abundant in flie 
 south of Europe, and occasionally 
 individuals stray so far north as to 
 reach this country (Great Britain). 
 . . . It is a bird of passage, its 
 actual home being on the Continent 
 
 of Africa. . . . Gregarious" in Eiiropean Bee-eater. 
 
 their habits. . . . Their socia- 
 bility lasts even during the breeding season, their nests, 
 which are excavated in banks, being frequently seen in 
 great numbers together. . . . They have a warbling 
 note, which is uttered while on the wing." (Orr's 
 " Circle of the Sciences.") 
 
 The interesting family of kingfishers next command 
 attention. These birds are widely, or rather universally 
 distributed, but on the other hand, in a very unequal 
 manner. In the eastern half of the Malay Archipelago 
 theiy are most numerous, while in Europe and in North 
 America there is but one form, but not of the same 
 species. 
 
 *' The only British species is in size not much larger 
 
392 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HISTOR Y. 
 
 than a sparrow, but in brilliancy of color rivaling the 
 finest tropical birds, blue and green being the prevail- 
 ing tints. It frequents the banks of rivers and dives 
 for fish. It is probable, though not certain, that this 
 bird is the halcyon of the ancients, of which so many 
 wonderful stories were told. " ( " Imperial Dictionary. ") 
 The spotted kingfisher is found in the Himalayan 
 regions, and is called by the natives of that country the 
 fish tiger. In its habits it does not differ essentially 
 from the common European or the American species. 
 
 The European kingfisher is a resident bird in Great 
 Britain, but is nowhere abundant. "It is a solitary 
 bird, inhabiting the banks of 
 small streams, and perching 
 upon branches of trees over- 
 hanging the water to watch 
 for its finny prey." It builds 
 in the ground, either making 
 a burrow for itself or remod- 
 eling one that has been made 
 and abandoned by some small 
 burrowing mammal. 
 
 Our American belted king- 
 fisher is too well known to 
 require a detailed notice. We 
 quote "Wilson's account in 
 part: " This is a general inhabitant of the banks 
 and shores of all our fresh-water rivers, from Hudson's 
 Bay to Mexico. . . . Like the lovelorn swains of whom 
 poets tell us, he delights in murmuring streams and 
 falling waters, not, however, merely that they may 
 soothe his ear, but for a gratification somewhat more 
 substantial. Amidst the roar of the cataract, or over 
 the foam of a torrent, he sits perched on an overhang- 
 ing bough, glancing his piercing eye in every direction 
 below for his scaly prey, which with a sudden circular 
 
 Spotted Kingfisher. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 393 
 
 plunge he sweeps from their native element and swal- 
 lows in an instant. His voice, which is not unlike the 
 twirling of a watchman's rattle, is naturally loud, harsh 
 and sudden, but is softened by the sound of the brawl- 
 ing streams and cascades among which he generally 
 rambles. He courses along the windings of the brook 
 or river, at a small height above the surface, sometimes 
 suspending himself by the rapid action of his wings, 
 like certain species of hawks, ready to pounce on the 
 prey below; now and then sitting on an old dead over- 
 hanging limb to reconnoiter. 
 Mill-dams are particularly vis- 
 ited by this feathered fisher, 
 and the sound of his pipe is as 
 well known to the miller as the 
 rattling of his own hopper. 
 Eapid streams, with high per- 
 pendicular banks, particularly 
 if they be of a hard clayey or 
 sandy nature, are also favorite 
 places of resort for this bird, 
 not only because in such places 
 the small fish are more ex- 
 . posed to view, but because 
 those steep and dry banks are 
 the chosen situations for his 
 nest. Into these he digs with 
 
 his bill and claws, horizontally, sometimes to the ex- 
 tent of four or five feet, at the distance of a foot or 
 two from the surface. The few materials he takes in 
 are not always placed at the extremity of the hole, that 
 he and his mate may have room to turn with con- 
 venience. The eggs are five, pure white, and the first 
 brood comes out about the beginning of June" in the 
 Middle States, but earlier in the South and later farther 
 North. 
 
 Belted KlngrfisheT. 
 
394 CVCLOPEDIA OP l^ATUkAL mStORV 
 
 "Amongst the ancients the most extraordinary ideas 
 were entertained with regard to the nidification of the 
 kingfisher ; and as these also pervade the writings of our 
 own older poets some account of them may not be un- 
 acceptable. It was believed that the bird made a float- 
 ing nest on the sea, and that during the period that she 
 was engaged in hatching her eggs the waters always 
 remained so smooth and calm that the mariner might 
 venture on his voyage without danger of being exposed 
 to any of the dangers of the stormy seas ; in fact, some 
 of the ancient writers attribute to this little bird the 
 power of allaying the violence of the waves. The 
 period of incubation was accordingly known as the 
 'halcyon days' (halcyon being the Greek name of the 
 bird), and the same term is still often employed meta- 
 phorically to express any period of uninterrupted hap- 
 piness. Some of the modern superstitions connected 
 with the kingfisher are scarcely less curious ; it has been 
 supposed that when the body is suspended by the bill its 
 breast will always indicate the north, that when sus- 
 pended and accurately balanced its bill will always point 
 m the direction of the wind, although the bird may be 
 kept indoors^ and that the possession of its head and 
 feathers furnish a protection against witchcraft, a secur- 
 ity for fair weather at sea, and a certain means of 
 securing the affections of a coy or disdainful sweetheart. 
 We believe these superstitiouB still hold their ground in 
 some parts of the country." 
 
 The largest kingfisher is the "laughing jackass" of 
 Australia, so called from its voice. It is not exclusively 
 a fish-eater, as are most of the family. 
 
 "The hornbills are large and clumsy birds, seldom 
 adorned with bright-colored plumage, but in many cases 
 bearing a really prodigious* bill. In this respect they 
 somewhat resemble the toucans, with which they are 
 often confounded. . , . The hornbills inhabit the 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 395 
 
 tropics of the Old World, being found in Africa, India 
 and the Indian islands. ... In the great rhinoceros 
 hombill, the bill attains perhaps its greatest size and 
 beauty, the rich hues of orange-crimson and ivory- 
 white with which it is adorned in the living bird being 
 scarcely capable of imitation. . . . Considered as 
 a whole the hornbills seem to be omnivorous, but the 
 Malayan and Indian species are almost always fruit- 
 eaters. . . . They are seldom to be seen in culti- 
 vated districts, inhabiting almost exclusively the pri- 
 meval forests, where the smaller species are often to be 
 met with in flocks of a dozen 
 or twenty, while the larger ones 
 generally go in pairs. They fly 
 very high, far above the tops of 
 the loftiest trees, with neck 
 stretched out and head bent 
 downward, progressing rapidly 
 with powerful strotes of the 
 wings, and accompanied by a 
 sound which can be heard at a 
 great distance. The noise pro- 
 duced during flight is in fact so 
 loud and peculiar that many 
 persons cannot believe it to be produced merely 
 the mechanical action of the wings on the air. It 
 may sometimes be heard a mile off, and as one of 
 the larger species rushes by overhead, it forcibly recalls 
 the old legends of griffins and dragons, the awful 
 sound of whose wings struck terror and dismay into 
 the inhabitants of the country they came to devastate. 
 . . . Most of the hornbills make their nests in 
 hollow trees, though some' of the African species are 
 said to build rude exposed nests on lofty branches. 
 . . . A remarkable habit has been recorded of at 
 least three species, which, like so many of the strange 
 
 Rhinoceros Hombill. 
 
 \ 
 
396 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 facts in nature, was for a long time considered to be a 
 fable. As soon as the female has deposited her eggs, 
 the male imprisons her in the tree by closing up the 
 entrance with clay and gummy substances, leaving only 
 a smaU hole, out of which she puts the tip of her bill 
 to receive the fruits with which he keeps her well sup- 
 plied." (Wallace in Intellectual Observer.) 
 
 The typical big-billed birds of South America are 
 the toucans. " They are distinguished by their enor- 
 mous beak, in some species more than half as long as 
 the whole body. The birds do not appear to be incom- 
 moded by the apparently un- 
 wieldy size of the powerful beak, 
 in the use of which they are 
 very expert. It is cellular in 
 structure, and much lighter than 
 would be supposed. Their plum- 
 age is brilliant, the ground color 
 being usually black, while the 
 throat, breast and rump is often 
 adorned with white, yellow and 
 red. They are natives of tropi- 
 cal America, living chiefly in 
 small companies in deep forests. 
 " In addition to the descrip- 
 tion of the toucan given, we may 
 add that the species are easily 
 tamed, can stand cold climates 
 well, thriving in captivity on rice, bread, potatoes, 
 eggs and many other kinds of food. They are re- 
 markable among birds for regurgitation of food, send- 
 ing it back into the bill to undergo a kind of masti- 
 cation analogous to rumination in quadrupeds. Some 
 of the larger species measure about twenty-seven inches 
 in length, inclusive of the bill, which is about seven 
 and one-half inches, and the tail about ten inches 
 long." ("Imperial Dictionary.") 
 
 Toucan. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 397 
 
 "Toucans," says Bates, "are . . . well known 
 to be eminently arboreal birds, and to belong to a group 
 . . . all of whose members are fruit-eaters. On the 
 Amazons, where these birds are very common, no one 
 pretends ever to have seen a toucan walking on the 
 ground in its natural state, much less acting the part of 
 a swimming or wading-bird." At certain times the 
 toucans become very tame, and " thus become an easy 
 prey to hunters, and every one at Ega (Upper Amazons 
 Valley), who can get a gun of any sort and a few charges 
 of powder and shot, or a blow-pipe, goes daily to the 
 woods to kill a few brace for 
 dinner, for . . . the peo- 
 ple of Ega live almost exclu- 
 sively on stewed and roasted 
 toucans during the months 
 of June and July." The pur- 
 pose of the long bill of the 
 toucan, Bate^ shows, . is to 
 reach the fruits that grow 
 upon the tip-ends of the up- 
 per branches of tall trees 
 and dangle by weak; flexible 
 stems. The length of the 
 bill enables them to feach 
 such fruit, as they cannot, in consequence of their 
 weight, alight very near the fruit, and could not reach 
 it in any other manner. Natural selection has brought 
 about a long bill in the case of these birds, as it length- 
 ened the legs of wading-birds and the neck of the 
 girafEe. 
 
 Bates thus describes an adventure with curl-crested 
 toucans: "\ had shot one from a rather high tree in a 
 dark glen in the forest, and leaving my gun leaning 
 against a tree-trunk in the pathway, went into the 
 thicket where the bird had fallen to secure my booty. 
 
 Eed-billed Toucan. 
 
»d8 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 It was only wounded, and on my attempting to seize it 
 it set up a loud scream. In an instant, as if by magic, 
 the shady nook seemed alive with these birds, although 
 there was certainly none visible when I entered the 
 thicket. They descended toward me, hopping from 
 bough to bough, some of them swinging on the loops 
 and cables of. woody lianas, and all croaking and flutter- 
 ing their wings like so many furies. Had I had a long 
 stick in my hand I could have knocked several of 
 them over. After killing the wounded one I rushed 
 
 out to fetch my gun, 
 but the screaming of 
 their companion having 
 ceased, they remounted 
 the trees, and before I 
 could reload every one of 
 them had disappeared." 
 Barbets are fruit-eat- 
 ing birds, having some- 
 what the habits of our 
 woodpeckers, and found 
 in Asia, Africa and trop- 
 ical South America. 
 
 The blue-throated bar- 
 bet of India is probably 
 the best known species, " It has a peculiar habit, when 
 perched, of bowing the head, accompanying each motion 
 with a single note resembling the word 'Aoo.'" "The 
 Bengalee name of this bird is bassunt bari, or ' old wo- ■ 
 man of the spring,' probably from the noise that it 
 makes at this season of the year." "All the barbets 
 nest in holes of trees, and like other birds that lay their 
 eggs in similar situations, produce white eggs. , . . 
 Besides the blue-throated barbet, some eight or nine 
 species of the same genus are found in India, About 
 mteen others are known, all of which inhabit dillerent 
 
 African Barbet. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 399 
 
 portions of the Indian region. ... In the forests 
 of Africa we again meet with numerous representatives 
 of the same family. ... It would appear that 
 there are at present known ahout twenty-five African 
 barbets. ... On crossing over the Atlantic to 
 tropical America, we. again meet with barbets of organi- 
 zation and habits nearly similar to those of the Old 
 World, but neither so widely distributed nor so abund- 
 ant in species." (Sclater in Intellectual Observer.') 
 
 Unless it be English sparrows or swallows, 
 no birds are better Enown than woodpeckers; that is, to 
 those who have not been shut 
 up during their whole lives in 
 large cities. Woodpeckers are 
 widely distributed, being found 
 in North and South America, 
 Asia, Africa and Europe. They 
 are most numerous in South 
 America and least so in Europe. 
 
 The British woodpeckers are 
 three in number, the green, and 
 the greater and lesser spotted 
 species. In their habits they 
 are precisely the same as our 
 North American forms. 
 
 From an article on British 
 woodpeckers in the Intellectual 
 Massee, we cull the following: 
 
 pecker is best known and most widely distributed. 
 During the spring months the silence of 
 the forest is often broken bv the loud, monotonous 
 cry of this bird, which once heard will never be for- 
 gotten; it is most frequently uttered before impend- 
 ing rain, and thus serves as a barometer to the 
 woodman, as does the pimpernel to the shephenJ. 
 . The great spotted woodpecker is less frequent 
 
 Great Spotted Woodpecker 
 
 'The 
 
 by 
 
 green 
 
 G. E. 
 wood- 
 
400 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 than the preceding species, which, however, it much 
 resembles in its habits, with the exception that it is 
 more frequently seen apart from woods. . . . The 
 lesser spotted woodpecker ... is the rarest as 
 well as the smallest. ... It is exceedingly shy, 
 . . . Its note is loud for so small a bird, and is like 
 the noise made by the turning of a 
 crank, whence its local name of crank- 
 bird." 
 
 In North America there are found 
 many species, twenty-two occurring 
 in the United States, and there are 
 several varieties of some of these. 
 There does not appear to be any 
 great difference in the habits of these 
 birds, although some have now the 
 faculty of thriving in a compara- 
 tively treeless country, and hunt for 
 food upon the ground at certain 
 seasons. Others are birds of heavily 
 timbered regions only, and disap- 
 pear from the country to a' great 
 extent, if not entirely, when the 
 forests are felled. Others are very 
 rare and confined to very limited 
 localities. Such is the magnificent ivory-billed wood- 
 pecker, the prince of his tribe. 
 
 Maurice Thompson thus graphically describes his im- 
 pressions of this bird as he saw it in its native woods: 
 ''As I crouched in my hiding-place and furtively watched 
 the proceedings, I remember comparing the birds and 
 their dwelling to some half-savage lord and lady and 
 their isolated castle of medieval days. A twelfth-cen- 
 tury bandit nobleman might have gloried in trigging 
 himself in such apparel as my ivory-billed woodpecker 
 wore." This species is now confined to Florida, and less 
 abundantly in the other Gul£ States. 
 
 Ivory-WUed Wood- 
 pecker. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 401 
 
 The preceding is the largest, and the little downy, or 
 sapsucker, is the smallest of the memhers of the group 
 found here. But if small, it is not lazy or stupid, and 
 wanders about our orchards and remaining woodland 
 tracts busy as a bee, and ever doing good to man while 
 seeking its own living, for it lives upon insects almost if 
 not entirely. They leave indelible traces of their pres- 
 ence in the holes they peck in the bark of trees, but it 
 has never been demonstrated that the 
 trees were injured in any way. 
 
 Like all the woodpeckers it makes 
 a deep hole in a tree for a nest, and 
 lays five or six beautifully glossy, 
 white eggs. 
 
 The little sapsucker is a resident 
 species, and seems to delight in exca- 
 vating holes, especially in dead wood, 
 when such laboriously-wrought homes 
 are not needed. They even spend 
 some time at such work in midwinter, 
 and roost in a capacious hollow in the 
 same tree. Perhaps of all our wood- 
 peckers they are the most familiar, and are often seen 
 ■ in the trees that line some of the streets of our large 
 cities. 
 
 A larger, but not livelier, species is the very common 
 "yellow-belly," or "sapsucker" jpar excellence; for it 
 is said that they not only puncture the bark, but do it 
 80 efEectually that the tree is girdled. This does not 
 often happen in the Middle States apparently, and here 
 these birds are common throughout the year. Being 
 migratory also, in November they are sometimes very 
 noticeably abundant, and when there happens to be 
 several dead limbs of trees near by, they drum upon 
 them with such vigor and concerted movement that the 
 uoise can be heaird at a long distance, and i? not unlike 
 
 Downy Wood- 
 pecker. 
 
403 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Yellow-bellied Wooapecker. 
 
 far-off thunder. They can screech loudly if they sea 
 fit, but something quite unusual seems to be needed to 
 
 induce them to give tongue. 
 Their nesting habits do not 
 differ from those of other 
 woodpeckers unless in the 
 matter of position, as their 
 nests appear to be always at 
 a greater height than those 
 of the other common species. 
 Dr. Brewer was informed 
 that these woodpeckers tried 
 drumming on tin-pails 
 which they found in a ma- 
 ple-sugar camp, but their in- 
 ability to get a comfortable 
 foothold caused them to de- 
 sist. In Ifew Jersey it is 
 no uncommon practice in the country to sun the milk- 
 pans on the garden fence. What a racket would be 
 kicked up if a pair or two of "yellow bellies" should 
 leave the trees in the woods and 
 settle upon them. It is horrifying 
 to contemplate. 
 
 Formerly, throughout all the 
 Middle and Eastern States, there 
 was found in considerable abun- 
 dance a very large woodpecker 
 known as the log cock. They were 
 found all over the United States, 
 but much territory has long since 
 been abandoned by them, and now 
 between the extreme northern 
 boundary and the Carolinas, on 
 the Atlantic coast, they are rare, where they occur at all. 
 According to Audubon, it breeds in large trees in 
 
 Log Cook. 
 
BJUDS. 
 
 403 
 
 forests where there is water, as though they felt more 
 secure in a swampy locality than upon dry land. This 
 may not he a consideration on their part, but it is on 
 the part of some species of birds, we have no doubt. 
 It would be strange indeed if birds had not before this 
 recognized that water was a barrier to many four-footed 
 foes — not an insuperable one it is true, but so far one 
 as to materially increase their own safety. 
 
 Wilson, writing seyenty-five years ago, says: "He is 
 very numerous ... in all the tracts ,of high-tim- 
 bered forests, particularly in the neighborhood of our 
 large rivers, where he is noted for 
 making a loud and almost incessant 
 cackling before wet weather; flying 
 at such times in a restless, uneasy 
 manner from tree to tree, making 
 the woods echo to his outcry.^' To 
 see and hear him now, one must go 
 to where "high-timbered tracts" 
 still remain, as in the mountainous 
 regions of North Carolina, where 
 they are, or were,, a few years ago, 
 exceedingly abundant. 
 
 Largely afEected by the deforesting 
 of the country, but not to the same 
 extent that is true of the preceding 
 species, the red-headed woodpecker is now a quite rare 
 bird, where less than a century ago it was exceedingly 
 abundant. Its brilliant plumage has ever been against 
 it, and every farm boy, shouldering his gun for the first 
 time, has sought the familiar "red-heads" as his first 
 victims. They were so common, and the average farmer 
 so indifferent and ignorant, that the destruction of "a 
 few " was held to signify nothing, and thus the species 
 was gradually persecuted off the face of the land. In 
 many localities where the scattered clamps of tall 
 
 Bed-headed Wood- 
 pecker. 
 
404 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 timber would otherwise have been occnpied by thii 
 splendid bird. Of late, the half -enforced laws protect- 
 ing small birds have had the good effect of inducing 
 some of the spring migrants to remain in localities 
 where for years none were seen^ but they still find heavy 
 timber a necessity, and seem unwilling or unable to put 
 up with saplings, or share the old apple trees with the 
 flickers and sapsuckers. 
 
 A word here concerning their movements as to the 
 seasons. While certainly a migratory bird, it is not an 
 
 uncommon occurrence to see 
 them in New Jersey and 
 Eastern Pennsylvania in win- 
 ter. It has been indirectly 
 stated that they are not 
 found in the Middle States 
 after October or November, 
 but this is an error. 
 
 No changes in the aspect 
 of the country worries the 
 lively "high hole," or flicker, 
 as he is usually called. Trees 
 are well enough in their 
 way, and the bigger the bet- 
 ter, but wanting them, fence 
 rails will do, and when these 
 have given way to hedges, 
 the bird takes to the ground, 
 and is as happy if not as -graceful as a lark. It 
 must be a marked change indeed in a neighborhood 
 that drives a flicker from it. They come boldly into 
 town and flit through our shade trees, and in one in- 
 stance at least, enlarged a knot-hole in a clap-board and 
 nested in the wall of a house that was occupied by as 
 noisy a family of children as ever the sun shone on. 
 Of all our woodpeckers, the flicker seems best adapted 
 
 Flicker. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 405 
 
 to holding its own against every change that man is 
 likely to bring about. 
 
 All early authors agree that the bird nested but a few 
 feet, six or eight, from the ground, when they wrote. 
 It would be a most interesting circumstance to know if 
 during the past half-century they have learned from 
 experience or pure reasoning that it is better to go a 
 few rounds higher up. Certainly, it is no uncommon 
 occurrence now to find their nests at a height of from 
 fifteen to twenty-five feet. Instead, too, of the trunk 
 of some stout tree, they now 
 make their home very fre- 
 qiiently in the dead limb of 
 some towering forest tree. 
 Of a series of sixty nests 
 found in four years, exactly 
 one-third were twenty-five 
 feet above the ground, or 
 higher, and but one-twelfth 
 as low as six/ feet. These 
 were all in trunks of apple 
 trees growing in out-of-the- 
 way localities, and in each 
 case surrounded by a dense growth of smilax (green 
 brier) and blackberry canes. 
 
 The flicker has a very wide distribution, being found 
 from the Gulf of Mexico to the arctic circle, ^orth of 
 New York it is largely a migratory bird. In New 
 Jersey and Pennsylvania and south it is resident. 
 
 They are "ground birds" in autumn, and expert 
 hunters of blade crickets, and these they feed to their 
 young for weeks after the latter are strong upon the 
 wing. 
 
 In Great Britain " the wryneck is a very beautiful 
 summer migrant, which comes regularly a httle before 
 the cuckoo, and distributes itself, though not abund- 
 
 Common Wryneck. 
 
406 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HISTOR Y. 
 
 antly, througli all the southeast of England, but il 
 rarely if ever passes the central heights, unless in single 
 specimens as a straggler. . . . The wryneck builds 
 in the holes of trees, after the same manner as the 
 woodpeckers, but it does noti like them, excavate a hole, 
 though it enlarges or otherwise adapts to its purpose a 
 ready-found one. . . . The adaptation of the 
 structure of the wryneck to its habits is not inferior to 
 that of the woodpecker. . . . ■Those warm, . . . 
 dry regions to which it comes abound with the minutei 
 insects, especially with aphides and the smaller tribes of 
 ants. These latter are continually careering about on 
 the boles and branches of the trees, and it is to them 
 especially that the attention of the wryneck is directed, 
 so much so as to have merited and obtained the pro- 
 vincial name of the ' emmet hunter.' These ants the 
 wryneck catches with the tongue, an organ which it 
 can protrude at least an inch, and retract again with 
 the rapidity of lightning, so that when the ants are cours- 
 ing about they are picked up, one by one, without the 
 capture producing any alarm, or even being noticed by 
 the rest. They are captured, ndt only on the stems of 
 trees, but on the ground, and they are even picked 
 from their dens and hills, especially at those times 
 when they are busy in bringing out the larvae to the sun 
 and air. Disturbing their dwelling readily brings out 
 the ants at any time if the weather is dry, and the wry- 
 neck uses both its bill and the horny point of its tongue 
 for that purpose, and when the Ixttle warriors mount 
 the breach to reconnoiter and try if they can repel the 
 enemy, the wryneck picks them up, soldier after soldier, 
 till none are left." (Mudie's " British Birds.") 
 
 The trogons are a well-defined group of magnificently 
 plumaged birds, found in abundance m South America, 
 and less abundantly in Asia and Africa. 
 
 The American forms are said to be essentially fruit- 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 407 
 
 eaters, while those of the Old World are inseotivoroua 
 as well. According to Bates, "trogons have feeble 
 wings, and a dull, inactive temperament. Their mode 
 of obtaining food is to station themselves quietly on low 
 branches in the gloomy shades of the forest, and eye 
 the fruit on the surrounding trees, darting off, as if 
 with an effort, every time they wish to seize a mouthful, 
 and returning to the same perch." 
 
 Belt, on the other hand, found these birds in Nicaragua 
 to be " general feeders. I have 
 taken from their crops the re- 
 mains of fruits, grasshoppers, 
 beetles, termites and even small 
 crabs and land-shells. . . . 
 The largest species . . . sits 
 on a branch above where the 
 army 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 break- 
 ing into the nests of the ter- 
 mites with their strong bills, and 
 eating the large, soft-bodied 
 workers." 
 
 At the Tocantins ("Valley 
 of the Amazons") Bates first 
 heard " the notes of a trogon; it was seated alone on a 
 branch, at no great elevation; a beautiful bird, with 
 glossy green back and rose-colored breast. At intervals 
 it uttered, in a complaining tone, a sound resembling 
 the words ' qud, qud. '" " Trogons difEer as to their voices, 
 however, very considerably. 
 
 The resplendent trogon, of which an illustration is 
 here given, was the royal bird of the ancient Mexicans, 
 and is now the ''national" bird of Guatemala. 
 
 Trog'on. 
 
408 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The swifts are by many considered as swallows, and 
 in this country the name is hardly known, although one 
 of our most common (both in town and country) birds 
 belongs to this family. The swifts " have an outward 
 resemblance to the swallows, but differ much from them 
 in various structural points. The common swift has the 
 greatest powers of flight of any bird that visits Britain. 
 Its color is in general a somber or sooty black, with a 
 gi'ayish- white patch under the chin. The beak is black, 
 shorter than that of the swallow, and with nt the 
 
 lateral bristles. The wings 
 are even longer than those 
 of the swallow, and are 
 sickle-shaped. The tarsi 
 are short and feathered to 
 the toes, which are all di- 
 rected forward. The swifts 
 pass most of their time in 
 the air, where they pursue 
 their insect prey." ("Im- 
 perial Dictionary.") 
 
 "The insects on which 
 they feed are very small, 
 and they generally collect 
 a considerable quantity in their mouths before swal- 
 lowing them, the prey being prevented from escaping 
 by a viscid secretion produced by peculiar glands which 
 line the interior of the mouth. From the extreme 
 shortness of the legs the swifts are almost incapacitated 
 from walking, but their feet form admirable clinging 
 organs, which are of great advantage to them in getting 
 into the holes and crannies in which their nests are 
 placed." (Orr's-" Circle of the Sciences.") 
 
 " Their flight is swift and shooting, and their scream 
 very different from the twittering of the swallow. They 
 buHd their nests in holes in the walls of houses, in 
 
 Common SwtCt. 
 
BIRDS. 409 
 
 rocks an^ sometimes in hollow trees. The swift reaches 
 its summer quarters later, and leaves earlier than the 
 swallows. Another species, the white-bellied, or Alpine 
 swift, is known in England, but it is only a rare strag- 
 gler. The weight of the swift is most disproportionately 
 small to its extent of wing, the former being scarcely 
 an ounce, the latter eighteen inches, the length of (the 
 body being near eight inches. The swift is widely 
 spread through Europe, Asia and Africa." ("Imperial 
 Dictionary.") 
 
 The swift of North America is known everywhere as 
 the chimney-swallow, a name derived 
 from its habit of nesting on the 
 inner walls of chimneys, which they 
 appear to have found better suited 
 to their purposes than hollow trees, 
 their original nesting-sites and now 
 almost wholly abandoned. 
 
 With us, chimney -swallows are 
 strictly migratory, and do not hiber- 
 nate, as has been said of them, even 
 of late years. The habits, character 
 of flight -and general appearance of chimney-swaUow. 
 our chimney-swallows are quite simi- 
 lar to the European species already described, and leave 
 little to be said concerning them. 
 
 As already intimated, the abrupt coming and going 
 of this bird in spring and autumn has given rise to 
 much speculation. It would seem that in spring these 
 birds reach their summer haunts in large flocks and do 
 not immediately disperse over a greater or less district, 
 as the case may be. Congregating about some large, 
 unused chimney, or, in times past, a hollow tree, they 
 are seen for a few days in such prodigious numbers that 
 it was supposed that they had been sleeping there the 
 winter t&ough; and in autumn when the clans gather 
 
410 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 for departure, they were supposed to stow th%inselve> 
 away in a dense mass where they happened last to roost. 
 Wflson gives several interesting accounts of these 
 "swallow trees." Just where they spend their winters 
 does not appear to be known, but it is not in their sum- 
 mer roosting-places we can rest assured. 
 
 It is true of chimney-swallows, as of many other 
 migratory birds, that they return year after year to the 
 same localities. This has been proved by marked birds. 
 When shut off from a chimney to which for years they 
 have had access, these birds are much disconcerted at 
 first, and have been known to take 
 up their quarters in barns, but if 
 no other chimney is near by, they 
 are more likely to leave the neigh- 
 borhood than -to accept a hollow 
 tree, however roomy and conve- 
 nient; yet sometimes they do and 
 seem to flourish capitally, but if 
 chimneys are available near by, 
 the following summer, they are 
 sure to take up their abode in 
 them rather than in the tree. 
 
 The humming-birds are minute 
 and beautiful creatures, so-called 
 from the sound "of their wings in 
 flight. The beak is slender, generally long, sometimes 
 straight and sometimes curved; the tongue is long, fili- 
 form, bifid at the point and capable of being protruded 
 to a considerable distance; the hyoid bones extend over 
 the back of the skull, as in the woodpecker. Some of 
 the species are the smallest of all birds. They never 
 alight to take food, but feed wbile on the wing. These 
 beautiful birds, which may be termed the gems of ani- 
 mated nature, are peculiar to America and almost exclu- 
 sively tropical, Ainong the more remarkable of these 
 
 Tufted-ueoked Hum- 
 ming-Mrd. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 411 
 
 birds is the species represented in the cut, the tufted* 
 necked humming-bird of Guiana and Northern Brazil. 
 In this species the crest, outer tail-feathers and neck- 
 plumes are reddish chestnut, the latter tipped with 
 green, the throat and upper part of the breast are 
 emerald-green, the back oronze-green." (" Imperial 
 Dictionary.") 
 
 In the United States there are found ten or eleven 
 species of humming-birds, and of these the abundant 
 ruby-throat is everywhere well known east of the Mis- 
 sissippi. Given a few 
 flowering shrubs and 
 plenty of sunshine, and 
 the "hummer" will be 
 sure to be there also, com- 
 ing in May and remaining 
 until October. 
 
 Like all of its race, it is 
 a hot-headed insect-hunt- 
 er, and gives way to a fit 
 of passion if another of 
 its kind crosses its path in 
 a seemingly intruding manner. To come behind an- 
 other when he is buried in the bell-shaped blossom of 
 the trumpet-creeper, and give him a hearty stab in the 
 rear, is the acme of humming-bird happiness. These 
 unprovoked attacks often end in a row, and the row 
 in the dangerous wounding of one or the other. Prob- 
 ably it is only the males that are so belligerent. 
 
 Professor Macfarland gives the following capital ac- 
 count of the nesting habits of our common species. He 
 found a female "hummer" feeding her young, August 
 32, 1883. "The . . . nest was on a pendent 
 limb about fifteen feet above the ground. 
 Weather was fair until August 36th, when just before 
 noon a cold easterly storm set in, accompanied by high 
 
 Humming bird. 
 
413 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL mSTORY. 
 
 wind. During this storm, which lasted till midnight, 
 the young were entirely unprotected. They lay close 
 in the nest and seemed lifeless, while the long, slender 
 limb, on the lower end of which the nest was placed, 
 swayed several feet in various directions, seemingly 
 making it impossible for anything to remain in the 
 nest. 
 
 " The next morning the sun shone brightly, and I 
 was gratified to find that the birds had not only not 
 perished, as seemed to be their destiny, but were ani- 
 mated and vigorous. By the last day of August they 
 were fledged and the beaks were quite mature. They 
 seemed very active and were now too large for the nest, 
 constantly crowding each other over the edge, on which 
 they would sit or stand a part of the time and exercise 
 themselves by rapidly vibrating their wings, and by 
 probing the nest with their long beaks, protruding the 
 tongue beyond the^ mandibles. (This observation was 
 made with a small telescope through which they appeared 
 larger than English sparrows at arm's length.) 
 
 " On September 3d, one ventured to a limb a few feet 
 away, where it remained until next day, when the other 
 joined it. They made short flights from limb to limb 
 for a few days, when I lost their whereabouts and did 
 not see them again. 
 
 "About July 20, 1884, another female was frequently 
 seen, and was soon detected at nest-building. The site 
 was near the former one, but several feet higher, and 
 less favorably situated for observation. 
 
 "The outside of this nest was complete when first 
 seen, but the bird worked two days longer, carrying 
 tufts of a white material, and each time alighted with 
 them in the nest. My only position for observation be- 
 ing beneath the tree, I could not see her operations, I 
 soon missed her,^and the nest seemed deserted. About 
 a month later, being fully convinced that it was empty, 
 
BIRDS. 413 
 
 I decided to take it down. Mounting an improvised 
 support, the limb was drawn down, and by standing on 
 tip-toe I cut it off just above the nest. To my great 
 surprise, it held two young birds but a few days old. 
 They resembled in appearance short, downy caterpillars, 
 and were about the size of a honey-bee. The nest was 
 placed near its original position, and the old bird con- 
 tinued her attention. 
 
 "It was not well secured, and soon turned, dropping 
 its occupants to the ground. I readily found one by 
 following the bird to where she fed it, but the other wag 
 lost, mth much difilculty the claws of the former 
 were loosened from the grass, to which it clung with 
 surprising tenacity, and it was again placed in the nest. 
 This time, however, the nest was not elevated to its 
 former position, but placed on a fir near by, and so low 
 that it could be handled. The mother found it at once 
 and made no objection to the new situation. 
 
 " The young bird was soon covered with green, glossy 
 feathers; even the ruby throat was well defined and 
 faintly showed its metallic luster, thus giving positive 
 evidence of the sex. It was very tame, and was well 
 contented to have its back stroked. On approaching 
 the nest, it would greet me with a musical, plaintive, 
 piping note, and beg for food in the most appealing 
 manner. 
 
 " Many visitors saw this unique nest with its superbly 
 embellished occupant, but not one would leave it until 
 his vocabulary of best adjectives was exhausted. Like 
 those of the previous year, this little fellow, too, sud- 
 denly outgrew his home, and sat on its edge preening 
 his feathers, vibrating his wings and looking excitedly 
 at the moving leaves and passing birds. He left the 
 nest September 7th. 
 
 "Early in July, 1885, a third nest was found in the 
 process of building, in the same tree, but too high for 
 observation except through a glass. 
 
414 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 " I will trouble you with but one item concerning thia 
 nest. A male bird came once and sat near, when the 
 female immediately joined him, remained a minute and 
 returned to the nest, when the male flew away. During 
 my presence this is the only time that a male bird ap- 
 proached either of the three nests, or was seen at all m 
 the vicinity. 
 
 " The nests were procured in fair condition, and are 
 alike in construction. The outer covering is of lichens, 
 used only for concealment, since they are but attached 
 to the nest proper by a material resembling cobweb, but 
 less elastic. 
 
 " The real texture of these nests, as identified by un- 
 doubted authority, consists of the cottony tufts of 
 willow and dandelion seeds mainly, the willow coma - 
 predominating. 
 
 " Many persons could not see the nests when a few 
 feet away, even though the exact locations were pointed 
 out, hence their perfect concealment may readily be 
 imagined. 
 
 " The diameter of the nest is one inch, and its weight 
 fifteen grains.'' 
 
 There are in all about 450 species of humming-birds, 
 all found in South America, West Indies and Nortb 
 America. 
 
CHAPTEE XXIV. 
 
 THE PASSEBBS. 
 
 It is pretty certain that scientific classification -will be 
 looked upon with some suspicion as to its yalue, when 
 it is found that the numerous and very different forms 
 that are here grouped are all 
 claimed to be so far akin 
 that such association is re- 
 quired. Still, it is no more 
 than fair to add that ornitholo- 
 gists are not of one mind as to 
 the value of the various classi- 
 ficatory systems that have been 
 proposed. Perhaps this one 
 has fewer objections than raost 
 others, but this, after all, mat- 
 ters nothing, as the purpose of 
 the book is to give some idea 
 of the different minor groups 
 of birds, by illustration and 
 description of prominent forms 
 — a mere sign-board, pointing 
 
 to the wealth of knowledge available to those who desire 
 to possess it. 
 
 The name Passeres, from passer, a sparrow, given to 
 this great assemblage of small birds, is intended to con- 
 vey the fact to the mind of the reader that a sparrow is 
 the type, and every bird included in the chapter has 
 
 Easserine characters to a greater or less degree. So, at. 
 !ast, it is claimed by those who have studied the ana- 
 ' tomical structure of these birds. 
 
 Lyre-bird. 
 
416 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
 
 " The'lyre-bird (meanra) finds," writes Miss Lewis in 
 the "American Naturalist," "in the southeastern por- 
 tion of Australia, a region peculiarly adapted to its 
 
 nature In these secluded haunts . 
 
 (it) hides itself from the gaze of man. It is found 
 over a large extent of territory, but is peculiar to the 
 mountain districts of Australia, and especially to those 
 on the southeastern face of the continent. Two species 
 are known. . . . 
 
 "What is especially curious is that the lyre bird, 
 while incubating its eggs in the method common to 
 birds, has a . . . habit of raising mounds pike 
 those built by the megapodius for placing its eggs an. — 
 See Megapodius], which it devotes to a wholly different 
 purpose. These elevations seem to be intended as 
 orchestras for the display of musical powers, and both 
 morning and evening they betake themselves thither, fre- 
 quently while they whistle, sing or imitate the notes of 
 other birds, raising and spreading their tails with all 
 the pride of a peacock. . . . 
 
 " Independently of its loud, full call, which can be 
 heard reverberating over the gullies at least a quarter of 
 a mile, it possesses an 'inward and varied song, the 
 lower notes of which can only be heard when the lis- 
 tener is within a few feet of the singer.' This ani- 
 mated strain frequently ceases suddenly and then recom- 
 mences with a low, snapping sound, ending in an imi- 
 tation of another Australian singer, the satin-bird, and 
 is always accompanied with a tremulous motion of the 
 tail." 
 
 In our own country we have a pretty large group of 
 flycatchers that have so dictatorial a manner in dealing 
 with the rest of the feathered world that they are well 
 named tyrants. 
 
 Of these, a Southern species, known as the scissor- 
 tail, is a well-]snow^ example. The iH^sliTgitioxi. shows 
 
BIRDS. 417 
 
 well the general appearance of the bird, and the com- 
 mon name is derived from the fact that the tail con- 
 stantly opens and shuts, like the Mades of a pair of 
 scissors, when the bird is flying about in pursuit of 
 insects. 
 
 In the Middle States the king-bird and great-crested 
 flycatchers are the prominent forms of this group. 
 They are about of a size, and difEer little in their fly- 
 catching habits, but in other respects vary remarkably* 
 
 Swallow-tailed Flycatcher. 
 
 The kin^-bird nests on the branches of deciduous 
 trees, making a neat nest, and laying beautiful white, 
 re<l-splotched eggs, while the crested bird builds in a 
 tree, and is pretty sure to have one or two snake skins 
 as part of the structure. Uglier eggs are not laid by 
 any North American bird. 
 
 One of the most noticeable characteristics of the 
 king-bird is its audacity, and not even the eagle is free 
 from his petty annoyance. But of all birds, he delights 
 
418 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 to worry the crow most, and no matter how high in 
 the air it may be, the king-bird will at least endeavor 
 to get above it, and darting down, peck at the crow's 
 back. Whether they actually pluck feathers or not 
 may be questioned, but they certainly inflict some pain, 
 if we may judge by the motions of the crow to get be- 
 yond the reach of his petty tormentor. 
 
 King-birds have been held to be bee-eaters, and so 
 justly to merit condemnation at the hands of the apia- 
 rist, but probably this un- 
 fortunate habit has been 
 made too much of, and 
 certainly, on the other 
 hand, the bird destroys a 
 vast number of hurtful 
 insects. It is a serious 
 matter to hastily condemn 
 any bird. On insuffi cient 
 grounds it has been done 
 time and again, and the 
 results have proved disas- 
 trous. "While no one can 
 reasonably demand an ab- 
 normal abundance of any 
 one species, on the other 
 hand, wholesale destruction of other kinds may cause 
 this misfortune to arise. The English sparrow, at one 
 time protected, became a pest; but it would perhaps 
 have been held in check if our own birds had been free 
 from persecution. It is unwise to a degree to kill even 
 birds of prey. Let nature keep up the relative abun- 
 dance of the various birds native to a country, and 
 man's best interests will be best protected. 
 
 Of all sounds issuing from the throats of birds, prob- 
 ably those made by the great-crested flycatcher are the 
 most unattractive, if not positively disagreeable. It is 
 
 Klug-Wrd. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 419 
 
 not possible to describe them; they must be heard. 
 One can scarcely believe that they aiford pleasure to 
 themselves, or to those for whom they are intended. 
 
 The manakins are " beautiful birds, mostly of small 
 size, of which the majority inhabit the tropical regions 
 of the American Continent, only a single species being 
 found elsewhere (Sumatra). They live in small flocks 
 in the hot, moist forests which spread over those tropical 
 countries, and feed upon insects 
 and fruits. They are exceed- 
 ingly active in their movements. 
 . .- . The largest and most 
 remarkable species is the cock of 
 the rock." rOrr's "Circle of 
 the Sciences. ) 
 
 Im Thurn, m his learned vol- 
 ume on "Guiana and Its In- 
 dians," gives us the following 
 interesting account of this beau- 
 tiful and extraordinary bird: 
 " Nothing can be more resplen- 
 dent than the male cock of the 
 rock, a bird about the size of a 
 small bantam, which is every- 
 where clothed, except at the end 
 of the tail and on the larger 
 wing feathers, in ruddy orange, so brilliant, while the 
 bird is alive and in health, that it has a glow like that 
 of fire." 
 
 Elsewhere, in the same volume, this author states: 
 " It never occurs in the lowland forests, but is abundant 
 in all places where trees and rocks are mingled. Thus 
 its home is both in the mountainous parts of the forest 
 region . . . and in the wooded mountains . . . 
 of the savannah region. It is very remarkable, not 
 only for its brilliant color and for its extraordinary 
 
 Great-crested Flyoatcher. 
 
420 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Cock of the Bock. 
 
 crest, but also for its habit of dancing. It was nevei 
 my fortune to find tbe dancing place of these birds, but 
 the brothers Sohomburgk were more fortunate, and one of 
 
 the latter thus describes 
 the scene: 'A number of 
 these splendid birds were 
 taking part in their dance 
 on a smooth slab of rock, 
 . . . some twenty birds, 
 male and female, being 
 perched on the bushes 
 around the place,_ and ut- 
 tering very peculiar cries; 
 a cock bird danced in proud 
 self-consciousness on the 
 ground — its tail, which it 
 jerked up and down, and 
 its wings extended; the dancer scratched the ground 
 and sprang vertically up into the air till, wearied with 
 its steps, it took its place, with 
 a peculiar cry, among the by- 
 standers on the bushes, then a 
 new performer appeared.'" 
 
 The bell-birds of the same 
 countries as the preceding are 
 notable for the pure white plum- 
 age of the males and the re- 
 markable song, or call, from 
 which is derived their common 
 English name. 
 
 while the voice of this bird 
 has by. some been compared to 
 the clear ringing of a finely-toned 
 
 bell, others are more moderate in their description. For 
 instance, Im Thurn states that he "never could detect 
 much resemblance in the, note of these birds to the sound 
 
 Head of Bell-biid. 
 
BiJiUS. 421 
 
 of a bell. The cry of the first species [there are two 
 in Guiana] is more like the ring produced by two pieces 
 of iron struck against each other, but the notes of the 
 male and female birds differ considerably. The cry of 
 the second species is like the sound made by the drill 
 in blasting operations." 
 
 " The song is heard at all hours of the day, and when, 
 as often happens, several of these birds are in the same 
 neighborhood, and begin singing against and answering 
 each other, a most wonderful Tocal concert is the result. 
 The araponga, as this bird is also called in Eastern 
 Brazil, often takes up its station at the highest withered 
 summit of a colossal forest tree, and pours forth its 
 loud metallic notes, out of the reach of gunshot, and at 
 the same time presenting with its lovely white plumage 
 a fine contrast to the clear blue sky." (Sclater in "In- 
 tellectual Observer.") 
 
 The larks are generally well known where they occur 
 at all; their song, their habits and perfect harmlessness 
 tending to make them favorites with all. The name 
 lark is "used in a rather general sense, the specific 
 meaning being signified by a prefix, as skylark, titlark, 
 wood-lark and so forth. ... By Englishmen, tht. 
 word lark, used without qualification, almost invariably 
 means the skylark, which as the best-known and most 
 widely-spread species throughout Europe, has been in- 
 variably considered the type of the genus. It scarcely 
 needs description. Of all birds it holds unquestionably 
 the foremost place in our literature, and there is hardly 
 a poet or poetaster who has not made it his theme, to 
 say nothing of the many writers of prose who have 
 celebrated its qualities in passages that will be remem- 
 bered as long as our language lasts. It is also one of 
 the most favorite cage birds, as it will live for many 
 years in captivity, and except in the season of moult, 
 will pour forth its thrilling song many times in an houi 
 
422 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORy. 
 
 for weeks or months together, . . , Not only doea 
 it frequent almost all unwooded districts in (Europe), 
 but, unlike most birds, its numbers increase 
 ■with the spread of agricultural improvement. . . . 
 Nesting chiefly in the growing (grain), its eggs and 
 young are protected in a great measure from all moles- 
 tation. . . . The majority of young larks seem to 
 leave their birthplace as soon as they can shift for them- 
 selves, but what immediately becomes of them is one of 
 the many mysteries of bird-life that has not yet been 
 penetrated." (Professor Newton in "Encyclopedia 
 Britannica.") 
 Many attempts have been made to introduce skylarks 
 into this country, but not 
 with a full measure of suc- 
 cess. Still, in some localities, 
 they are now occasionally 
 seen, and it is to be hoped 
 they will ultimately become 
 abundant. 
 
 The one true lark of Eastern 
 North America is the shore, 
 or horned lark, which " reach 
 the United States at the ap- 
 proach of winter. When the weather is severe in 
 the north they are seen in Massachusetts aa early as 
 October. Many spend the winter there, in the vicinity 
 of the seashore and sandy fields; others retire farther 
 south, but seldom proceed beyond Maryland on the At- 
 lantic. ... At this season they fly in their usual 
 loose manner over the fields and open grounds in search 
 of food, which now consists of seeds and the dormant 
 larvae of insects. . . . They become plump and fat 
 and afford delicious food. . . . Although they at 
 times alight on fences, I never saw one on a tree. The 
 ground, indeed, is their proper place, there they repose 
 
 Skylalrk. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 423 
 
 Horned Lark. 
 
 near tufts of dry grass in small groups until the return 
 of day, when they run about in a straggling manner, 
 If affrighted, th'e whole take wing, perform a few evolu- 
 tions, and alight on the same ground again." (Audu- 
 bon's " Birds of America.") 
 
 This bird occasionally comes earlier than October to 
 the Ifew Jersey sea- 
 coast, and spreads in- 
 land, sooner or later, 
 according to the weath- 
 er. It is apparently true 
 of them, that a few ap- 
 pear south of New En- 
 gland before they are 
 seen in that region. 
 
 "The wagtails get 
 their name from the remarkable, rapid and almost in- 
 cessant motion of their tails. There are many other birds 
 that iiirt the tail upward and downward, but perhaps 
 none that do it so habitually as the wagtails, and the 
 
 elevation is accompanied by 
 a jerking spread, which re- 
 laxes when it is depressed, 
 so that it appears to have 
 two simultaneous motions. 
 . . . They run with 
 great rapidity, and do not 
 hop or require the aid of 
 their wings in running; 
 they can run upon the 
 surface of very soft ground without sinking, and over 
 slippery pebbles by the brooks without any unsteadi- 
 ness, and when it is necessary for them to change 
 from running to flying they can take wing from either 
 of those surfaces with great ease. ... In summer 
 the wagtails hawk over the surface of the water and 
 
 Common Wagtail. 
 
434 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 catch winged insects, not by straightforward speed lik* 
 the swallow tribe, but by short and jerking flights aftei 
 the manner of the fly-catchers." (Mudie's "British 
 Birds.") 
 
 Seebohm states: "The white wagtail is a compara- 
 tively rare bird in the south of England, but is com- 
 mon on the Continent of Europe, breeding in the south 
 only at high elevations, but extending northward be- 
 yond the limit of forest growth. In some parts it is 
 said to be resident, but the arctic birds migrate into 
 South Europe and North Africa in winter. Eastward 
 it extends throughout Siberia 
 as far south as about latitude 
 59", and as far east as the water- 
 shed between the Tenesay and 
 Lena." 
 
 The only wagtail found in 
 csw/:'i^'W/-<^^^ North America occurs in Alas- 
 
 ,^-jy^^'^S^'^^gi ka, and there it is probably 
 •w* "C ^l^" "^ ^*- nothing more than a mere strag- 
 Whjte- collared Flycatcher. gler. The name "wagtail" is 
 sometimes applied, with us, to 
 the " water-thrushes," which are very different birds. 
 
 The flycatchers proper are "a purely Old World 
 family," which contains about 250 species. The name, 
 however, is so appropriate to many of our own birds 
 that it is freely used, and so some confusion is apt to arise 
 in the minds of readers, when flycatchers are spoken of 
 as birds of one quarter of the globe only. Our own fly- 
 catchers are the tyrant fly-catching birds, and their 
 allies, the greenlets, or vireos, fly-catching warblers and 
 others, of which, in proper place, we could not make 
 more than brief mention. 
 
 " The best known bird of this family is . . . the 
 spotted, or gray flycatcher. . . . It is a common 
 summer visitant to nearlv the whole of Europe, and is 
 
BIRDS. 425 
 
 found throughout Great Britain. ... It seldom 
 reaches these islands till the latter part of May, when it 
 may be seen, a small dust-colored bird, sitting on the 
 posts or railings of our gardens or fields, ever and anon 
 springing into the air, seizing with an audible snap of 
 its biU some passing insect as it flies, and returning to 
 the spot it has quitted, or taking up some similar sta- 
 tion to keep watch as before. It has no song, but 
 merely a plaintive or peevish call-note, uttered from 
 time to time with a Jerking gesture of the wings and 
 tail. It makes a neat nest, built among the small twigs ' 
 which sprout from the bole of a large tree, fixed in the 
 branches of some plant 
 trained against a wall, or 
 placed in any hole of the 
 wall itself that may be 
 left by the falling of a 
 brick or stone." (Pro- 
 fessor Newton in "En- 
 cyclopedia Britannica.") 
 Portions of the above 
 description apply to a Blue-bird, 
 
 familiar bird of our 
 
 country, the pretty blue-bird of the Eastern and Mid- 
 dle States. It, too, is an expert fly-catcher, and loves 
 to sit on fence-posts, and from them sally out to seize 
 the passing insects. But its song is no "peevish 
 cry," but a delightful warble that varies a little, be- 
 ing more clear and emphatic late in the winter and 
 early spring than during late summer and autumn. 
 The blue-bird needs no description. Not even its habits 
 need to be referred to. Having no fear of man, it fre- 
 quents our door-yards and often nests in our out-build- 
 ings. It boldly enters our largest towns and would 
 gladly do so much more freely were it not for the perse- 
 cution it suffers from hordes of foreign sparrows, which 
 a band of lunatics let loose upon us some years ago. 
 
426 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 In New England the blue-bird seems to be migratorj 
 to some extent, but in New Jersey it is strictly resident, 
 and until crowded out by foreign pests, was very abun- 
 dant. ^Now, it seems to frequent woodland and isolated 
 farms more than formerly, and to come to more thickly- 
 settled regions toward the end of summer. In New 
 Jersey October may be said to be the •blue-bird month. 
 Then, in loose flocks, it seeks our stubble fields and 
 meadows, perching on fences in preference to trees, and 
 
 acting admirably the part of a 
 typical fly-catcher. Indeed, 
 at such times, they associate 
 with about equal numbers of 
 king-birds, and are no less ac- 
 tive in the aerial chase. The 
 latter birds are strictly mi- 
 gratory, the blue-birds not, so 
 at some time in autumn, cer- 
 tainly before Indian summer 
 — ^when we have it — ^they .part 
 company, as these loose flocks 
 of the two birds are not seen 
 — in New Jersey— later than the earlier half of Oc- 
 tober, and many of the king-birds appear to depart at 
 even an earlier date. 
 
 In good old times blue-birds built in boxes put up for 
 their accommodation, and no garden was without its 
 birds, even in towns of considerable size. The house 
 wrens, it is true, often successfully contended for pos- 
 session, and thoughtful people had boxes enough for 
 both. Now these accommodations are abandoned to 
 sparrows — ^thanks to ignorance — and the blue-birds have 
 returned to their original breeding places, hollow trees. 
 The true thrushes are delightful birds, and some spe- 
 cies are celebrated and figure in poetry as prominently 
 as the skylark. The song thrush of Europe is a mag- 
 
 Song-thrusb. 
 
6IRDS. 
 
 421 
 
 nificent singer. "It does not like marshes or countries 
 that are very, open and bare, but in all places where 
 hedges, thickets and young plantations, or even orch- 
 ards and gardens with trees are to be fbund, there are 
 sure to be thrushes. They feed on slugs, worms and 
 snails, of the last of which they destroy vast numbers. 
 . . . As the season advances they have recourse to 
 wild berries — whortleberries in preference to any of 
 the others. ... In winter the birds come down to 
 the warmer lands, and beat about under the hedges and 
 in the gardens." (Mudie's " British Birds.") 
 
 Our own wood thrush, or wood robin, as it is ■ more 
 often called, is no mean 
 rival as a songster of its 
 trans- Atlantic brother. 
 Our bird is migratory and 
 quite sensitive to cold, but 
 still favors the Middle and 
 New England States with 
 several months of its 
 presence. Mere descrip- 
 tion avails nothing, when 
 we consider its song. This 
 must be heard to be ap- 
 preciated. Like many 
 another bird in this coun- 
 try, the habits vary remarkably, as is shown by the 
 great differences of the accounts given by not only 
 ornithologists but amateur observers, who treat of it 
 in magazine articles and out-of-door books. It is 
 said by many to be a bird of the woods, but a row 
 of apple trees in the lane is all that they ask in many 
 localities. They -are said by many to be shy and sus- 
 picious of man, but elsewhere they are a door-yard bird, 
 and sing day and night in the lilacs along the garden 
 fence. And so all through the range of their doings 
 
 Wood Thrush. 
 
428 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL mSTOR V. 
 
 from May to October. But in one thing all agree, that 
 they are delightful songsters, and thoroughly inoffensive 
 birds that every one must love. 
 
 The black-birds of this country are yet to be con- 
 sidered, and they are not thrushes, but the European 
 black-bird does belong to the same family as the two 
 songsters last named, and it, too, is musical, but in no 
 wise equal to some of the others of its genus. " Its 
 Bong has little compass or variety." 
 
 "The haunts and habits of the black-bird are nearly 
 the same as those of the thrush, only it is more familiar^ 
 
 and in proportion to its num- 
 bers less seen. The disposi- 
 tion of the bird is shy and 
 solitary, more so than the 
 thrushes, as the black-birds 
 separate as soon as the young 
 are able to provide for them- 
 selves, and never again as- 
 semble except in the breeding- 
 Biaok-Wrd. time. It has been said that 
 
 they do not all associate even 
 then, but that there are many solitary black-birds which 
 pass the whole year in a state of sulky celibacy." 
 (Mudie's "British Birds.") 
 A prominent bird in European ornithology is the well 
 ■ known fieldfare. It is, according to Seebohm ("Siberia 
 in Europe"), "a regular winter visitor to the British 
 Islands, having a somewhat more southerly range than 
 the redwing (another species of thrush). It breeds in 
 the arctic circle, extending up to and occasionally be- 
 yond the limit of forest growth, and frequenting also in 
 large colonies the various birch regions in north tem- 
 perate Europe and throughout Siberia, as far eastward 
 as the watershed of the Tenesay and the Lena. It win- 
 ters in Southern Europe, occurring very rarely on the 
 
BIRDS. 429 
 
 Spanish Peninsula, but crossing the Mediterranean to 
 Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Nubia. In Asia it winters 
 in Turkestan and Cashmere. In the valley of the 
 Petchora we found it up to latitude 68°." 
 
 The bird builds upon the ground. Seebohm mentions 
 finding a nest "on the ground under the edge of the 
 cliff." 
 
 Gilbert White remarks of fieldfares : "Though it sits 
 on trees in the daytime, and procures the greatest part 
 of its food from white-thorn hedges, ... yet it 
 always appears with us to 
 roost on the ground. They 
 are seen to come in flocks 
 just before it is dark, and to 
 settle and nestle among the 
 heath on our forests. And 
 beside, the larkers in drag- 
 ging their nets by night, fre- 
 quently catch them in the 
 wheat stubbles; while the bat Keidfar" 
 
 fowlers, who take many red- 
 wings in the hedges, never entangle any of this species." 
 
 Before considering our characteristic American 
 thrushes, each of which merits an extended notice, a 
 few words must be said of that remarkable bird of 
 world-wide fame, the European nightingale. Its fame 
 rests upon the song of the male bird, which is, as Pro- 
 fessor Newton remarks, "Indescribable, though 'several 
 attempts, from the time of Aristophanes to the present, 
 have been made to express in syllables the sound of its 
 many notes ; and its effect on those who hear it depends 
 so much on their personal disposition as to be as varied 
 as are its tones. To some they suggest melancholy," 
 but "sadness,"" he continues, "is certainly the last im- 
 pelling motive that can be properly assigned in this 
 case." 
 
430 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The nightingale does not visit all parts of Europe, 
 but still, in an irregular manner, wanders over a wide 
 extent of territory. In some localities being abundant, 
 in many others much less so. It winters in Iforthern 
 Africa. 
 
 " This bird ... is perhaps as dingy and homely 
 in its appearance as any of the inhabitants of the air. 
 . . . From the moment of their arrival in this 
 country, the males, which precede the females by a few 
 days, commence their song and continue it until the 
 young are hatched, which generally takes place in June. 
 During the whole season of incubation the male sings 
 at intervals during the day, and also serenades his mate 
 
 in the night when most 
 other birds have retired to 
 roost." (Orr's "Circle of 
 the Sciences.") 
 
 The following is Isaac 
 Walton's deservedly cele- 
 brated comment on the 
 song of this wonderful bird: 
 " But the nightingale, an- 
 other of my airy creatures, 
 breathes such sweet, loud 
 music out of her little instru- 
 mental throat that it might make mankind to think 
 that miracles are not ceased^ He that at midnight, 
 when the very laborer sleeps securely, should hear, as 
 I have very often, the clear airs, the sweet descants, 
 the natural rising and falling, the doubling and redoub- 
 ling of her voice, might well be lifted above earth, and 
 say, ' Lord, what music hast thou provided for the saints 
 in heaven, when thou afEordest bad men such music on 
 earth!'" 
 
 There are in a goodly list of North American thrushes 
 four species which are well known and all deservedly , 
 
 Nightingale. 
 
BIRDS. 431 
 
 popular as songsters ; and all should be equally so for 
 their value as insect-destroyers^ and yet there are to be 
 found a considerable number of persons who complain 
 because one of the four in particular has a fondness 
 for cherries ! As though the song of a cat-bird was not 
 worth a few cherries. 
 
 Let us consider these four species, the robin, cat-bird, 
 mocking-bird, and brown thrush separately, and in the 
 order named. Considering how different are the two 
 birds, it is strange that the name robin, belonging to the 
 English bird, fhould have been given by the early set- 
 tlers to the rusty-breasted thrush; yet such was the case, 
 and the name 
 is likely to be 
 continued i n 
 use. 
 
 As to the 
 bird's general 
 appearance, 
 the illustra- 
 tion tells one 
 all that is nee- 
 
 essary. Its RoWn. 
 
 merits as a 
 song-bird all know, and being a fearless bird that nests 
 in orchards and near our houses, where the shrubbery is 
 convenient, its manner and general habit is familiar 
 knowledge. To see and hear robins at their best one 
 must be awake at early dawn, for these birds are always 
 soonest awake, and open that wonderful concert at dawn 
 which is so marked a feature of our ornithology during 
 the spring and early summer. 
 
 The robin is a wandering rather than a methodically 
 migratory bird, and is resident and abundant in the 
 Middle and Southern States. In New England a few 
 remain during the winter, but the great majority pas* 
 
433 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HISTOS Y. 
 
 southward in November and return in February and 
 March. The date of their return being so early in the 
 year, it is quite evident that temperature alone has very 
 little to do with their movements. 
 
 The food of the robin is very largely animal matter, 
 and the number of angle worms alone that a single bird 
 will consume in a day is enormous. They are fond of 
 fruit, it is true, but this signifies but little in compari- 
 son to the insects and worms destroyed and good to 
 agriculture thereby effected. The saucy cat-bird, as it 
 is often called, like the robin, needs no detailed descrip- 
 tion as to habits, voice, 
 or appearance. Is it a 
 mocker? is often asked. 
 Undoubtedly it is. 
 When they reach the 
 Middle States in the last 
 week of April, their song 
 is very variable and some 
 of their notes are imita- 
 tions of sounds that no 
 other bird of this region 
 ntterp; and it is highly 
 probable that these 
 strange notes are the songs, or parts of songs, of 
 birds with which they associated during their win 
 ter sojourn in the South. But aside from all this, 
 until the nesting season is well advanced these birds 
 imitate the songs of a dozen or more equally abundant 
 species— not the entire song, perh ps, in any case, 
 but copious extracts therefrom, and so closely that 
 the mimicry is unmistakable as such. Never does the 
 cat-bird riri its of certain characteristics of voice \n 
 any of its utterances. The bird need not be seen to be 
 recognized. "Whether singing, chirping or mimicking, 
 it matters not, the mannerism of the cat-bird is as un- 
 mistakable as it is certain to be heard. 
 
 Cat-bird. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 433 
 
 None of our thruslies seem to be very sensitive to dry 
 cold, but suffer from a cold and wet storm. If tbe sum- 
 mer prove fairly wet, and this is followed by a diy and 
 warm autumn, the cat-birds remain until quite late, and 
 iu 1886 one was seen until the first week in December in 
 the valley of the Delaware River at the head of tide- 
 water, and others have been repori^ed as seen even later 
 than this in the same neighborhood. 
 
 As cat-birds love to settle for the summer near our 
 houses, they should be encouraged and not persecuted 
 because of their fondness of fruit ; but this subject need 
 not be discussed further- 
 more. They are a use- 
 ful bird, and nothing 
 more need be said. Any 
 denial arises either from 
 ignorance or obstinacy. 
 
 The justly celebrated 
 mocking-bird, still abun- 
 dant in the Southern 
 States, has ■ for the past 
 half century well nigh 
 forsaken the region lying 
 north of Virginia. Once 
 abundant in New Jer- 
 sey, they are now but 
 seldom seen, although 
 
 in certain localities a pair come year after year, but 
 their offspring do not follow the parents' example. 
 In its habits the mocking-bird is in no way remarkable. 
 It is a true thrush. Its colors are sober to a degree, and 
 its slightly larger size and paler gray tints with narrow 
 bars across the wings distinguish it from the cat-bird. 
 
 Concerning his vocal powers, we quote from Wilson 
 as follows : " Excessive fondness for variety . . . 
 injures his song. His elevated imitations of the brown 
 
 Mocklnsr-Wrd. 
 
434 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 thrush are frequently interrupted by the crowing of 
 cooks; and the 'warblings of the blue-bird, which he ex- 
 quisitely manages, are mingled with the screaming of 
 swallows or the cacMing of hens ; amidst the simple 
 melodies of the robin, we are suddenly surprised by the 
 shrill reiterations of the whippoorwill, while the notes 
 of the killdeer, blue Jay, martin, Baltimore [oriole], and 
 twenty others, succeed with such imposing reality that 
 we look round for the originals, and discoyer with aston- 
 ishment that the sole 
 performer in this 
 singular concert is 
 the admirable bird 
 now before us." 
 
 This bird seems 
 to suffer no loss of 
 vocal power in con- 
 finement, and is 
 popular with those 
 who have a fancy 
 for caged birds. 
 
 The happy folk 
 
 who are not shut up 
 
 tf , J in town all know 
 
 \A» ^iid delight in the 
 
 lively brown thrush, 
 that comes to us in 
 the Middle States in 
 April, and sings such glorious songs in May that few can 
 pass by without listening. But, of course, there are a 
 few such much-to-be-pitied people. 
 
 This bird's song is all its own. A few notes now and 
 then are a repetition of another's song, but it is mere 
 coincidence. If we listen closely it will be found that 
 there is an individuality in the entire utterance, and 
 neither Conscious nor unconscious mimicry really takes 
 
 Brown Thrush. 
 
BISDS. 435 
 
 Elace. A similarity of notes to those of other species 
 as led to the supposition that it is a mocking-bird; but 
 this similaritjr proves not as close as it seems when heard 
 without special attention being given to the matter. 
 
 A very peculiar whim of the bird is to keep very quiet 
 after nesting in many localities, while in other places it 
 sings, particularly early in the morning, all summer 
 long. It is equally whimsical about its nesting, some- 
 times choosing the ground and again often building its 
 nest twenty feet above it. 
 
 It is rather more retiring than the wood thrush, but 
 if not disturbed will often nest very near a house and 
 become quite tame. Like many 
 another, it is not disposed to suf- 
 fer continued persecution from 
 cats and meddlesome small boys, 
 
 and only when these troublesome 
 
 creatures, the one by drowning Gouen-crowned Kinglet 
 
 and the other by moral suasion, 
 
 are eliminated, can we have birds in abundance. 
 
 Two beautiful birds that spend their' summers in the 
 North, and on the mountain tops of New England, and 
 make the woods and thickets of our Middle States lively- 
 and therefore the more attractive, are the two kinglets. 
 They are wren-like in their habits, lovers of trees and 
 indefatigable insect-hunters. They are fairly good 
 singers and so fearless that one can get very near them, 
 but are so small that unless looked for might be very 
 near yet their presence be unsuspected. 
 
 It has been said of North America that it is a much 
 be-sparrowed country. It is also a be-warblered one, for 
 there are more than a score of different kinds that as a 
 rule winter in the Southern States and summer in the 
 Middle and New England States, and many further 
 north, as in Canada and the Eastern Provinces. These 
 warblers are all small, strictly, insectivorous, and manj 
 
43G 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 sing sweetly, but none have remarkable vocal powers. 
 They vary in habits to a considerable extent, some being 
 lovers qf tall trees, others of the ground; some of high 
 and dry upland fields, others are almost as aquatic ag 
 sandpipers. 
 
 In coloring they vary as much or more than in habits, 
 no two species very closely resembling each other, and 
 scarcely one but has such strongly 
 marked plumage that despite its 
 small size it is very conspicuous. 
 
 As we have already said, they 
 are a migratory race, and yet they 
 do not come together to the North 
 in spring and depart with like unity. 
 Some are early, some late, and more 
 strangely still, some take a different route in spring from 
 that of their southward journey in the previous autumn. 
 The blue and the green black-throated warblers are 
 characteristic species of this large family of small insect- 
 eating birds. To those who so far delight in studying 
 or even watching our wild birds, these and allied species 
 afford much delight. They dart rest- 
 lessly from branch to branch and 
 twig to twig of every tree, and if at 
 every step or hop they catch an in- 
 sect or find a larvee of one, then the 
 amount of this form of life destroyed 
 by these birds must indeed be enor- 
 
 Blue Black-throated 
 Warbler. 
 
 Green Blaek-throat- 
 ed Warbler. 
 
 mous. 
 
 These warblers are evidently one of nature's checks 
 to an undue increase of insects, and as they eat no fruit 
 and are unable, even if disposed, to injure man in any 
 possible manner directly or indirectly, they certainly 
 merit his protection under all circumstances, yet strange 
 to say, many are slaughtered for millinery purposes. It 
 is sufficiently strange that women should be willing to 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 437 
 
 Hooded Warbler. 
 
 wear tlie skins of these or any small birds, but even 
 more so that men can be found who are willing to make 
 their living by collecting them for this or, indeed, for any 
 purpose. It is ,no less reprehensible for ornithologists 
 to destroy scores of them to decide some wholly unim- 
 portant point as to the precise tint of some particular 
 feather, and to kill them by 
 hundreds, as has been done, 
 with the hopes that among the 
 slaughtered may be one that is 
 "new" or new to the locality. 
 A very marked species as to 
 its plumage is the beautiful 
 hooded warbler, which belongs 
 to the Southern States, but oc- 
 casionally wanders as far north as New Jersey. It is 
 very active, a good singer and an expert fly-catcher. 
 
 A lover of swamps, wet meadows and tangled thickets 
 where everything is clammy and damp, is the brown, 
 streaked and mottled worm-eating warbleri During 
 certain seasons it is exceedingly abundant, and then for 
 years it will be comparatively 
 rare or entirely wanting. When 
 it does come to the Middle States, 
 in May, it comes to stay, and 
 nests here early in June. It 
 chatters a good deal but can 
 scarcely be said to sing. 
 
 A livelier, prettier and very 
 musical warbler is, like the 
 a lover ■ of low and swampy localities, 
 /'here it"is known at all, it is called the Maryland yel- 
 low-throat, lb is exceedingly abundant in the Middle 
 States, and while migratory, is very deliberate about it, 
 and a few remain until winter "sets in," and probably a 
 few of these tarry about spring-holes until spring comes 
 
 Wonn-eatiiig' Warbler. 
 
438 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 up this way again. The song of this warbler is very 
 loud, energetic and continuous. Often one will sing for 
 an hour with but the briefest intermissions. 
 
 A curious whim of the yellow-throat is to place ita 
 nest in a skunk cabbage, which of all localities in our 
 meadows is least suggestive of "Araby the blest." 
 More beautiful than any other that I have named is 
 the restless redstart, that not only 
 catches flies while daylight lasts, 
 but finds time to sing sweetly an 
 hundred times a day. The redstart 
 is fully as active as a wren, and has 
 always seemed to many the acme 
 of bird-activity. 
 Eedstarts reach New Jersey and 
 Maryland Yellow-throat Pennsylvania early in spring, and 
 many remain in the southern por- 
 tions of these States, but the higher, cooler mountainous 
 regions, where rocks and forests mingle, seem to suit 
 them best, and there they are exceedingly abundant. In 
 May, ISS'J', about Lake Hopatcong, in Morris County, 
 New Jersey, redstarts were so numerous as to attract 
 the attention of persons who could 
 not tell one bird from another, and 
 this is a pretty fair test of a bird's 
 abundance. They appeared to not 
 only outnumber any other species 
 of bird, but outnumber all of them, He^tart. 
 
 collectively considered. 
 
 It has been thought that the name redstart was de- 
 rived from the fact that as the bird flew the red mark- 
 ings on its breast and sides became conspicuous, but this 
 is not the case. Our bird bears a close resemblance to 
 the European bird of the same name. The name is 
 really a combination of red and Anglo-Saxon steort, a 
 tail; therefore, red-tail. This European species of the 
 
BIRDS. 439 
 
 same familiar name is " nearly allied to the red-breast, 
 but having a more slender form and a more slender bill. 
 It is widely diffused over Europe, Asia and the north of 
 Africa. It is found in almost all parts of Britain as a 
 summer bird of passage. It has a soft and sweet song, 
 which is continued during the breeding season far into 
 the night." ("Imperial Dictionary.") 
 
 An American bird of unusual interest is the yellow- 
 breasted chat. It is a large warbler, and bears no re- 
 semblance to any others of this group. It is migratory, 
 and reaches the Middle States about May 1st, and New 
 England in far scantier num- 
 bers some days or weeks later. 
 It is sure to return to its 
 haunts of the preceding sum- 
 mer, and makes its presence 
 known at once by that pe- 
 culiar series of strange utter- 
 ances, which collectively we 
 may call its song. This, how- 
 ever, . is a misnomer. There European Keastart. 
 is a distinction to be drawn 
 
 between the song proper and the many other utter- 
 ances of a bird, and this difference can be pointed 
 out very readily in the case of the chat. The bird 
 loves the noon-day heat, and sings as much at noon 
 as in the early morning. The damps of evening do , 
 not depress it, and all through the gloaming it con- 
 tinues its strange utterances, and indeed, it continues 
 awake and noisy far into the night, if not until day- 
 light reappears. The statement that the night songs 
 are only heard during the nesting season is not correct. 
 The chats are as vocal during July as in May. Wil- 
 son describes its utterances thus: " First are heard a 
 repetition of short notes, resembling the whistling of 
 the wings of a duck or teal, beginning loud and rapid, 
 
440 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 and falling lower and slower until they end in detached 
 notes, then a succession of others, something like the 
 barking of young puppies, is followed by a variety of 
 hollow, guttural sounds, each eight or ten times re- 
 peated, more like those proceeding from the throat of a 
 quadruped than that of a bird, which are succeeded by 
 others not unlike the mewing of a cat, but considerably 
 hoarser. All these are uttered with great vehemence, 
 and in such different keys and with such peculiar modu- 
 lations of voice as sometimes to seem at a considerable 
 distance and instantly as if just beside you; now on this 
 
 hand, now on that, so that 
 from these maneuvers of 
 ventriloquism you are utterly 
 at a loss to ascertain from 
 what particular spot or quar- 
 ter they proceed." 
 
 The ouzels, or dippers, as 
 
 Teuow-Dreasted Chat. they are often called, are 
 
 curious birds, well known in 
 
 Europe and on the northern Pacific coast of our own 
 
 country. 
 
 The dipper has received a great many popular names; 
 thus, in England it is called the water-ouzel, the Pen- 
 rith ouzel, the water-crake, and by a variety of other 
 names; in Scotland the water-pyet, the water-craw, etc. 
 It has received the name dipper from its usual action, 
 when sitting, of bending down the head and flirting up 
 the tail at the same time." (" Imperial Dictionary.") 
 
 John Keast Lord, in his " Naturalist in Vancouver > 
 Island,"- writes as follows concerning the European and 
 American species: "(It) swims and dives with great 
 facility; the plumage, close and compact, is . . . 
 adapted to resist moisture — a wise provision, enabling 
 the bird to remain a long period in the water without 
 becoming wet. . . . Of most hermit-like and exclu- 
 
SISDS. 
 
 441 
 
 sive liabitSj the dipper loves to linger amidst the 
 wildest solitudes of nature, frequenting streams that 
 push their headlong way through mountain glens, or 
 wind in tortuous course over the heather-clad moorland. 
 It may, too, occasionally be seen briefly resting on the drip- 
 ping spokes of the wheel, when the mill stops, its low, 
 plaintive warble faintly heard above the splash of the 
 water. ... I once found the nest of the American 
 dipper built among the roots of a large cedar tree that 
 had floated down the stream and got jammed against 
 the mill-dam. . . . The 
 water, rushing over a jutting 
 ledge of rocks, formed a small 
 cascade that fell like a veil 
 of water before the dipper's 
 nest, andj it was curious to 
 see the birds dash through 
 the waterfall, rather than go 
 in the sides, and in that way 
 get behind it. . . . The 
 nest was ingeniously con- 
 structed to prevent the spray 
 irom wetting the interior, 
 the mass being so worked' 
 
 over_ the entrance as to form an admirable veranda.'" 
 Wrens are small, active, fiery-tempered birds that are 
 found in great abundance in Europe and North Amer- 
 ida. There is a strong family likeness running through 
 the whole series; yet in America the several species 
 differ very widely in some respects. The forms most 
 familiar to the people in this country are the house, 
 winter, Carolina and marsh wrens. Of the latter there 
 are two species. The common house wren needs no 
 particular description. He comes so closely to the far- 
 mer's house and sings so loudly and incessantly, that it 
 is impossible for it ever to be overlooked, even by the 
 
 Dipper. 
 
443 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OP NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 most indifferent. It is migratory, and comes in Maj 
 and departs in October as a rule. But many people in- 
 sist that it is resident, and it is not strange that they 
 should. About the time for the departure of the house 
 wren the winter wren comes from the North and often 
 occupies the quarters recently vacated by its migratory 
 cousins. The two species very strongly resemble each 
 other, but the winter wren does not sing, or very sel- 
 dom, when spending the winter in the lo'v^lands of the 
 Middle and Southern States. 
 
 The Carolina wren is a larger species — a splendid 
 songster and resident in the 
 Middle States. Its habits are 
 quite similar to those of the 
 house wren. 
 1 Jfl^^^ 'ThQ two marsh wrens are de- 
 
 -L. *«* lightful birds that live among 
 
 the^reeds and rushes of our river 
 shores and low-lying meadows 
 of the tide-water creeks. They 
 build huge globular nests of 
 coarse grass, and one species, 
 at least, raises two broods in a 
 season. 
 
 As a family of birds, none are 
 more familiar to the world gen- 
 erally than the swallows. In every literature they have 
 been a prominent feature, and like the skylark have 
 given rise to numerous poems, good, bad and indifferent. 
 " They are remarkable for their dense plumage, ex- 
 treme length of wing, and velocity of flight, while their 
 feet and legs are comparatively weak. Their food con- 
 sists of insects, which they catch in the air, and thus 
 they pass more of their time upon the wing than most 
 other birds. Their bill is short, and very broad at the 
 base, so that the gape is remarkably wide. They are 
 
 1. House Wren. 
 
 2. Winter Wren. 
 
SISPS. 
 
 443 
 
 Chimney Swallow. 
 
 The nest is cup-shaped. 
 
 found almost all over the -world. In temperate climates 
 the swallows are migratory birds, marking the arrival of 
 spring by their coming, and 
 giving notice that summer is 
 over by their departure to 
 warmer regions. A common 
 species in Britain is the chim- 
 ney swallow. It has the tail 
 very deeply forked, the two 
 outside feathers being far 
 longer than any of the others. 
 It is about eight and a half 
 inche,s in length. The upper 
 parts and a broad bar across 
 the breast are bluish-black, 
 the forehead and throat chest- 
 nut, the under surface white. 
 
 made of mud, and placed in chimneys, under open roofs^ 
 
 or in similar situations." 
 ("Imperial Dictionary.") 
 
 It will be seen from the 
 above that the chimney swal- 
 low of Europe is a very dif- 
 ferent bird from the swift of 
 this country, which goes usu- 
 ally by the same name. (See 
 page 409). The American 
 species most nearly allied in 
 general appearance to the 
 one above described is uni- 
 versally known as the barn 
 swallow. Like all of its 
 tribe, it is migratory, and 
 comes and goes with some regularity, but does not ar- 
 rive and depart according to the dates given in many 
 ornithologies. A deal of twaddle has been written 
 
 Barn SwaUow. 
 
444 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HISTOR Y. 
 
 about the great regularity of migratory movements, 
 which greater care in observation should have prevented. 
 There are half a dozen other American swallows, but 
 space will not permit of more than mere mention of 
 the purple martin, bank, cliff, white-bellied, rough- 
 winged and violet-green swallows. 
 
 " The esculent swallow (of Asia) builds nests that are 
 actually edible, being constructed of a certain sea-plant 
 that is partially digested and then disgorged by the 
 bird." 
 
 The cedar-birds or waxwings belong to a family which 
 " are for the most part inhabitants of the warmer parts 
 
 of the world. They feed on 
 fruits and insects, and many 
 of them are exceedingly beau- 
 tiful in plumage. In North 
 I ^^dBBhlh!^ America we have two species 
 
 \ T^^^fe^ — ^'^ common cedar-bird or 
 
 cherry-bird, and the Bohe- 
 mian waxwing. The latter 
 is a Northern bird which 
 rarely visits the middle 
 Cedar-bird. ^ States and is rare south of 
 Canada along the Atlantic 
 coast, but is seen in winter more frequently west of the 
 Allegheny Mountains. The familiar cedar-bird is gre- 
 garious at all times, and restless or wandering rather than 
 migratory. It hae a lisping song that would seldom be 
 heard did the flock not sing in concert, if singing it can 
 be called. Their fondness for small fruit, especially 
 cherries, has rendered them unpopular, but it cannot be 
 denied that they destroy so many insects that to perse- 
 cute them is very ill-timed. 
 
 The shrikes are found in the four continents, and all 
 possess certain marked features that render it easy to rec- 
 ognize them. In Great Britain, the red-backed species 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 445 
 
 is the most common. It is migratory, passing the win- 
 ter in Africa. "This bird, and indeed all the common 
 species of shrikes, are distinguished by a singular habit, 
 namely, that of frequently hanging their prey upon a 
 thorn, so as to pull it to pieces with more ease. They 
 retain this habit in captivity, and when food is given 
 them will force a part of it between the wires of their 
 cage, and then tugatitwith their bills." . . . InBn- 
 
 fland they are called butcher-birds and sometimes nine- 
 illers, from a popular belief that they always collect 
 nine carcasses and impale them upon thorns before be- 
 
 Eningtofeed." 
 ■r's "Circle of 
 Sciences.") 
 There are sev- 
 eral species in 
 North America, 
 one of which, a 
 
 strictly North- JM^^BBSy <bS 
 em bird that 
 
 comes to the '^SS^ ^® 
 
 New England Butcher-bird, 
 
 and the Middle 
 
 States, is very well known, and has the same common 
 names just mentioned with reference to the English 
 species. Its habits are much the same as that of 
 the European bird. In the Southern States there 
 is a slightly smaller species, which visits the Middle 
 States in summer, and as it occasionally attacks the 
 foreign sparrow it is to be hoped that its visits will in- 
 crease in frequency, and that it, too, may serve as one 
 of the checks to the disastrous increase of this terrible 
 
 In North America there are found a number of small, 
 plainly-colored flycatchers that are known collectively as 
 vireos or greenlets, the latter being the preferable name, 
 
446 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 White-eyed Greenlet. 
 
 They are all possessed of strong vocal powers, but are not 
 all equally musical. The white-eyed greenlet is a pleas- 
 ing songster, and it, with the allied " red-eje," have the 
 merit of singing all summer long, and, too, mthe middle 
 of the day, when so many birds are comparatively silent. 
 They are dainty birds that build beautiful nests, and in 
 every habit prove themselves 
 well worthy of the protection of 
 all who love the country and de- 
 light in the wealth of bird-music 
 that may be enjoyed when our 
 feathered songsters are encour- 
 aged to remain among us. 
 
 The ''white-eye" is sometimes 
 called the "politician," because 
 of its habit of using newspaper as a material for nest- 
 building. 
 
 The nuthatches are a small group of birds "found 
 principally in the Eastern hemisphere. . . . The 
 European nuthatch ... 
 is a lively little bird which 
 lives principally in woods, 
 and runs upon the trunks 
 and branches of trees in 
 search of the insects which 
 conceal themselves in the 
 crevices of the bark. This 
 it is enabled to do by the 
 great length and acuteness 
 of its curved claws; and it 
 is remarkable that it descends the trees head foremost, 
 a most unusual proceeding, in which the powerful hind 
 toe must be of great service. Besides insects, it feeds 
 on the kernels of nuts, and even chestnuts, which it 
 fixes in some convenient crevice and then breaks by 
 hanimering at them with its bUl. , , , 
 
 European Nuthatch. 
 
BIRDS. 447 
 
 " The nuthatch breeds in the holes of trees, very fre- 
 quently selecting the deserted hole of a woodpecker for 
 this purpose." (Orr's " Circle of the Sciences.") 
 
 The two familiar nuthatches of the United States, the 
 white and the red-bellied, diiier in their habits from the 
 European species in that they are more insectivorous 
 and break far fewer nuts than do their trans- Atlantic 
 cousins. When insects are plenty, probably no other 
 food is eaten. The more abundant of the two species is 
 that which is here figured. While an active and inter- 
 esting bird during the summer, the fact that it is not a 
 songster and keeps closely among the trees, then covered 
 with foliage, makes it quite inconspicuous; but in- 
 winter, when the trees are bare, it 
 at once becomes prominent, and its 
 pretty method of grub-hunting among 
 the cracks of the bark of trees, and 
 its quaint, impatient cry, cause it to 
 attract attention. It breeds in holes 
 in trees, like the European species, 
 and is often so sly in its movements 
 that a nest may be near a dwelling- 
 house without the fact being known 
 to the inmates thereof. Audubon white-beuiea Nut 
 states that they " are fond of roosting hatch, 
 
 in their own nest, to which I believe 
 many return year after year, simply clearing or deep- 
 ening it for the purpose of depositing their eggs in 
 greater security. Like others of the tribe, they hang 
 head downward to sleep, especially in a state of cap- 
 tivity." 
 
 This author further states: "Its flight is rapid and at 
 times rather protracted. If crossing a river or a large 
 field they rise high and proceed with a tolerably regular 
 motion, but when passing from one tree to another they 
 form a gently incurvated sweep. They alight on small 
 
448 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 branches or twigs, and now and then betake tbemselves 
 to the ground to search for food." 
 
 The familiar titmice "are very active little birds, 
 continually flitting, and climbing from, branch to branch, 
 suspending themselves from the sprays in all sorts of 
 positions, rending asunder the seeds on which they feed, 
 devouring insects wherever they see them, and not spar- 
 ing even small birds when they happen to find them 
 sick and are able to put an end to them. Their notes 
 are shrill and wild. They lay up stores of seeds and 
 build on trees (some of them 
 hanging nests), in the holes of 
 old trees, in walls, etc." (" Im- 
 perial Dictionary.") 
 
 Titmice are said not to con- 
 fine themselves to insect food, 
 but " will readily peck at meat 
 or even carrion, and Mr. Hep- 
 burn says he has seen the com- 
 mon blue tit descend upon the 
 meat exposed in a butcher's shop 
 in the town of Haddington. 
 . . . The great tit . . . 
 is said even to kill small birds by repeated blows upon 
 the head with his sharp bill, afterward pecking out and 
 eating the brains of his victim. They also eat seeds of 
 various kinds, especially during severe weather." 
 
 In this country there are few people to whom the 
 pretty chic-a-dee is not familiar. It is in most locali- 
 ties a bird of the year round, but like the nuthatches, 
 is more conspicuous a feature of a winter than a 
 summer landscape. It is a songster of feeble power, 
 but it puts a great deal of earnestness into its notes, 
 and when heard among the leafless branches of the 
 trees in midwinter it is a thoroughly delightful sound. 
 The crested titmouse, or "tom-tit," is a sca,rcely less 
 
BIRDS. , 449 
 
 familiar species, and its splendid clear, whistling call of 
 "here! here! here!" is a delightful feature of the wood- 
 land districts of the Middle and Southern States. There 
 are few more interesting birds found in the United 
 States than this one. They nest in trees, but probably 
 use only a natural hollow caused by the decaying of a 
 branch, or the deserted nest of a woodpecker. When 
 such holes as they select are quite large they fill them 
 up with quantities of dead leaves and grass, and so re- 
 duce the room very much. Into these comfortable 
 quarters occasionally flying squirrels find their way, and 
 then a regular pitched battle en- 
 sues which is delightful to wit- 
 ness, and very generally the tits 
 are successful in driving out the 
 intruders. 
 
 The bower-birds of Austral- 
 asia are remarkable for the habit 
 of constructing "play grounds," 
 from which fact the common 
 name, above given, is derived. 
 In the interior of New South 
 Wales, many years ago, Mr. John Crestea Tit. 
 
 Gould discovered the spotted 
 
 bower-bird. Another, the beautiful satin-bird, has been 
 longer known. The latter also erects elaborate bowers. 
 Of the former, of which an illustration is given, 
 Mr. Gould has written: "It is as exclusively an in- 
 habitant of the forests of the interior of the coun- 
 try, as the satin bower-bird is of the bushes between 
 the mountain ranges and the coast. From the ex- 
 treme shyness of its disposition the bird is seldom seen 
 by ordinary travelers, and it must be under very 
 peculiar circumstances that it can be approached so as 
 to observe its colors. It has a harsh, grating, scolding 
 note, generally uttered when its haunts are intruded on. 
 
450 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 by which its presence is detected. The situation of 
 runs or bowers varies much. They are considerably 
 longer and more avenue-like than those of the satin 
 bower-bird, being in many instances three feet in length. 
 They are outwardly built of twigs, and lined with tall 
 grasses; the decorations are very profuse, consisting of 
 bivalve shells and crania of small mammalia. Evident 
 indications of contrivance are manifest throughout the 
 whole of the bower and its decorations, particularly in 
 the manner in which the stones are arranged, apparently 
 
 to keep the grasses with 
 which it is lined fixed 
 firmly in their places. 
 A row of stones diverges 
 from the mouth of the 
 run on each side, so as 
 to form little paths, 
 while the collection of 
 decorative materials is 
 placed in a heap before 
 the entrance; this ar- 
 rangement is the same 
 at both ends. Some of 
 the larger bowers, which had evidently been resorted 
 to for many years, contained nearly half a bushel of 
 bones and shells." 
 
 According to Mr. Bennett: "For what purpose these 
 curious bowers are made is not yet understood; they are 
 certainly not used as a nest, but as a place of resort for 
 many individuals of both sexes, which run through and 
 around the bower in a sportive and playful manner, and 
 that so frequently that it is seldom entirely deserted; it 
 is probable that they are resorted to as a playing- 
 ground." 
 
 The birds of paradise "are a group of moderate- 
 sized birds, allied in their structure and habits to tlif 
 
 Bower-bird. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 4S>\ 
 
 «rows, starlingSj and to the Australian honeysuckers, 
 but they are characterized by extraordinary develop- 
 ments of plumage, which are unequaled in any other 
 family of birds." (Wallace in "Malay Archipelago.") 
 
 There are seventeen or eighteen species of these birds, 
 eleven of which are found in New Guinea. Quoting 
 again from Wallace, we learn that these birds, or the 
 most of them, "are omnivorous, feeding on fruits- and 
 insects — of the former, preferring the small figs; of the 
 latter, grasshoppers, locusts 
 and phasmas, as well as 
 cockroaches and caterpil- 
 lars." 
 
 Again, he states: "The 
 great bird of paradise is 
 very active and vigorousj 
 and seems to be in constant 
 motion all day long. It is 
 very abundant, small flocks 
 of females and young males 
 - being constantly met with, 
 and though the full-plum- 
 aged birds are less plenti- 
 ful, their loud cries, which are heard daily, show that 
 they also are very numerous. Their note is, "wawk- 
 wawk-wawk — wok-wok-wok," and is so loud and shrill, 
 as to be heard a great distance, and to form the most 
 prominent and characteristic animal sound in the Aru 
 Islands. The mode of nidiflcation is unknown, but the 
 natives told me that the nest was formed of leaves placed 
 on an ant's nest, or on some projecting limb of a very 
 lofty tree." 
 
 The jays, which are familiar birds to many people, 
 are widely distributed over the world, and are in many 
 respects a very interesting group. The common Eu- 
 ropean jay is "a woodland bird, and chooses the thickest 
 
 Great Bird of Paradise. 
 
452 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 shades of woods, and though its chatter is often heard 
 it is very seldom seen. It occurs in almost all parts of 
 the British Islands where there is cover for it. When 
 taken young it is easily tamed, becomes very docile, and 
 may be taught a number of tricks. It is capable of 
 articulating words. " ( " Imperial Dictionary. ") 
 
 " The ordinary European jay has of late years suf- 
 fered so much persecution in the British Islands as to 
 have become in many districts a rare bird. . . . No 
 truthful man, however much he may love the bird, will 
 gainsay the depredations on fruits and eggs that it at 
 times commits, but the gardeners and gamekeepers . . . 
 ■ fall into the usual error of persons 
 
 imperfectly acquainted with the 
 ways of nature, and instead of 
 taking a few simple steps to 
 guard their charge from injury, 
 or at most of punishing the indi- 
 vidual birds from which they suf- 
 fer, deliberately adopt methods 
 of wholesale destruction." (Pro- 
 fessor Newton in "Encyclopedia 
 
 Common Jay. 
 
 Britannica.") 
 3ibe 
 
 Of the Siberian jay, Seebohm 
 writes: " The old birds were very 
 tame. . . . The flight is noiseless, resembling 
 somewhat that of the owl, sailing with wings and tau 
 expanded before alighting. These birds like ascend- 
 ing from branch to branch, close by the stem of a birch 
 or fir. When they cannot hop from one bough to an- 
 other they ascend the trunk in the fashion of the wood- 
 pecker. . . . We did not hear their song, but they 
 were constant in uttering harsh, loud cries; the notes 
 of some reminded us of those of the peregrine (falcon) 
 at its nest. I thought others resembled the scream of 
 the woodpecker. During the season of incubation the 
 Siberian jay seemed shy and silent." 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 453 
 
 There are several species of jay found in our own 
 country, but space permits of notice of but one of 
 these, the common blue jay of the Eastern, Middle and 
 Southern States. In its habits it does not differ materi- 
 ally from the common European species. It is much 
 to be regretted that in the case of our own bird we 
 cannot claim it innocent of nest-robbing, for this is the 
 
 Blue Jay. 
 
 one defect of character that is to be laid at its door. 
 They do destroy eggs and young of other birds, and so 
 should not be allowed to breed where one hopes to have 
 an abundance of song-birds. If the Jays are prevented 
 from building, they will promptly quit the neighborhood 
 and betake themselves to unfrequented woodland tracts. 
 In August and later they come again to our door- 
 yards and are really an attraction, and can be enjoyed 
 
454 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 now when we know they can do no harm. There is 
 little melody, it must be confessed, in the ordinary 
 scream of the jay, but when heard of a crisp October 
 morning, while we gather chestnuts and pluck purple 
 asters, it is not harsh, but seems fitting to the time and 
 place. 
 
 Maurice Thompson says: "Once I heard a blue jay 
 sing as sweetly as the mocking-bird when trilling in a 
 tender minor key. I could hardly believe my own sight 
 and hearing as the beautiful, tricky 
 creature sat before me with droop- 
 ing crest and half-raised wings, 
 swaying his body lightly up and 
 down and uttering a low, almost be- 
 wildering flute medley full of the ca- 
 dences of dreams." 
 
 Something closely akin to this can 
 be heard occasionally in early spring 
 when the birds are looking for suit- 
 able nesting-sites, but seldom as 
 musical as Mr. Thompson describes. 
 The raven, which is the largest 
 and most celebrated of the crow 
 family, is a cosmopolitan bird, and one of a few that 
 figures extensively and prominently in literature, both 
 in prose and poetry. The raven is "entirely black, 
 the tail is rounded and the back of the upper man- 
 dible arcuated near the point. It is above two feet 
 in length from the tip of the bill to the extremity of 
 the tail, and about fifty-two inches from tip to tip of 
 the extended wings. It possesses to some extent the 
 power of imitating human speech, and in a domestic 
 state is remarkable for its destructiveness, thievishness 
 and love of glittering things. It flies high and scents 
 carrion, which is its favorite food, at the distance of 
 several miles; it feeds also on fruit and small animals. 
 
 Baven. 
 
I BIRDS. 455 
 
 It is found in every part of the globe. Eavens are 
 popularly believed to forebode death and bring infection. 
 
 " Like the sad-presaging raven that tolls 
 The sick man's passport in her hoUow teak. 
 And, in the shadow of the silent night. 
 Does shake contagion from her sable wings.— ATorloxoe." 
 
 ( ' ' Imperial Dictionary. ") 
 
 In If orth America the raven has a wide distribution, 
 but is not found in the same areas that are occupied by 
 the common crow. 
 
 Wilson writes of the raven as he observed it here: 
 " The food of this species is dead animal matter of all 
 kinds, not excepting the most putrid carrion, which it 
 devours in common with the vultures, worms, grubs, 
 reptiles and shell-fish, the last of which, in the manner 
 of the crow, it drops from a considerable height in the 
 air on the rocks in order to break the shells; it is fond 
 of birds' eggs, and is ofteh observed sneaking around 
 the farm-house in search of the eggs of the domestic 
 poultry, which it sucks with eagerness; it is likewise 
 charged with destroying young ducks and chickens, and 
 lambs which have been yeaned in a sickly state. The 
 raven, it is said, follows the hunters of deer for the pur- 
 pose of falling heir to the ofEal, and the huntsmen are 
 obliged to cover their game, when it is left in the woods, 
 with their hunting frocks to protect it from this thievish 
 connoisseur, who, if he have an opportunity, will attack 
 the region of the kidneys and mangle the saddle without 
 ceremony." 
 
 The above was written nearly eighty years ago, and is 
 in part inapplicable to the present. The average deer- 
 slayer of these times need have no fear of ravens robbing 
 him of his venison. 
 
 Writes Wilson of our common crow: "This is per- 
 haps the most generally known and least beloved of all 
 
456 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HISTOR Y. 
 
 our land birds." This was true of the bird when he 
 wrote and is true still, but in many localities something 
 like a just sentiment prevails, and the crow has been 
 found, like the devil, not so black as he has been 
 painted. This change has been brought about by care- 
 ful study of the feeding habits of the bird, and it can 
 be and has been shown that the amount of noxious 
 insect-larvae destroyed by it fully outweighs the damage 
 that it does among ordinary field-crops, particularly 
 corn. There are so many simple means of protecting 
 corn-fields that on this account alone no one need de- 
 
 Common Crow. 
 
 stroy a crow, but it has not always proved so easy to 
 keep them from the melon-patches. Their love for 
 that fruit seems to overcome all fear of scarecrows, 
 however deftly shaped. But admitting this, we have 
 reason enough to warrant our protection of these birds 
 instead of the old-time persecution. 
 
 One of the most interesting features in the habits of 
 the crow is that of selecting a suitable locality as a 
 roosting-place, and for all the birds of an extended 
 district to repair there for the night. Wilson gives us 
 graphic accounts of crow-roosts once near Philadelphia, 
 
and the subject is ably treated iu the American Natu- 
 ralist for 1886. 
 
 The jackdaw of Europe is one of the smallest of the 
 group of crows. It is usually associated with the rook ; 
 "but while (the latter) only exceptionally places its nest 
 elsewhere than on the boughs of trees and open to the 
 sky, the daw almost invariably chooses holes, whether in 
 rocks, hollow trees, rabbit burrows, or buildings. Nearly 
 every church tower and castle, ruined or not, is more or 
 less numerously occupied by daws; and if they are not 
 also tenants with us of our own dwellings, it is because 
 convenient recesses therein are 
 ordinarily wanting. Yet our 
 chimneys frequently give them 
 the accommodation they desire, 
 much to the annoyance of the 
 householder, who finds the fun- 
 nel choked by the quantity of 
 sticks brought together by the 
 birds, since their industry in 
 collecting materials for their 
 nests is as marvelous as it 
 often is futile. ... In the destruction of injurious 
 insects it is hardly inferior to the rook, and it has the 
 useful habit of ridding sheep, on whose backs it may b ■ 
 frequently seen perched, of some of their parasites." 
 (Professor Newton in "Encyclopedia Britannica.) 
 
 "The magpie appears to be a resident throughout 
 Europe and Asia north of the Himalayas, extending 
 across Behring's Straits to Western America, from 
 Alaska to California. In the extreme north it is a partial 
 migrant." (Seebohm in "Siberia in Europe.") 
 
 The following by Wilson gives us a very clear idea of 
 the magpie, as to its habits, temperaments, and degree 
 of intelligence. It " unites in its character courage and 
 cunning, turbulency and rapacity. Not inelegantly 
 
458 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 formed, and distinguished by gay as well as splendid 
 plumage, he has long been noted in those countries where 
 he .commonly resides, and his habits and manners are 
 there familiarly known. He is . . . destructive to 
 gardens and orchards; is noisy and restless, almost con- 
 stantly flying from place to place; alights on the backs 
 of the cattle to rid them of the larvae that fester in the 
 skin; is content with carrion when nothing better offers; 
 eats various kinds of vegetables, and devours greedily 
 
 grain, worms and in- 
 sects of almost every 
 description. When 
 domesticated he is 
 easily taught to imi- 
 tate the human voice 
 and to articulate words 
 pretty distinctly; has 
 all the pilfering habits 
 of his tribe, filling every 
 chink, nook and crev- 
 ice with whatever he 
 can carry ofE; is subject 
 to the epilepsy or some 
 similar disorder; and 
 is, on the whole, a 
 crafty, restless and 
 noisy bird." 
 
 John Keast Lord's 
 account of the magpie, 
 as he saw them on our Northwest (Pacific) coast, runs in 
 part as follows: "These thievish murderers are every- 
 where, from Vancouver Island to the Eocky Mountains. 
 They so very nearly resemble our British bird that one 
 would know no difference save by a careful comparison; 
 seeing them in freedom they appear to be identical. I 
 call them murderers because I have seen them kill mules. 
 
 Magpie. 
 
BIRDS. 459 
 
 and worse than that, pick the eyes out of a living animal 
 when wounded and helpless it lay down to die; and 
 pounce on maimed birds, break in their skulls and de- 
 liberately devour their brains while the muscles still 
 quivered with life. ... ' 
 
 " The magpie builds much the same kind of nest as 
 our British species, lays seven or eight eggs, and com- 
 mences nesting in March long before the snow begins to 
 thaw. Numbers winter in the interior, while others re- 
 sort to the sea- coast and feed on marine provender. They 
 grow so tame and impudent in winter that I have 
 often given them food from my hand without their 
 Bhowing any evidence of fear." 
 
 Purple Grakle. 
 
 The bird that in a small measure takes the place of 
 the magpie on our Atlantic coast, but is almost unob- 
 jectionable, is the familiar purple grakle, or crow black- 
 bird, as it is usually called. Of course, in every neigh- 
 borhood there will be" found a band of croakers, who 
 will insist that this, that and the other bird does much 
 injury to crops, and so should be exterminated. It is 
 satisfactory to know that wherever these wrong-headed 
 men have had the upper hand and caused the general 
 destruction of the grakels, they have suffered from a 
 legion of insect pests. It will probably never come to 
 pass that these birds will be ]protected by law, as they 
 should be, but they are fairly intelligent, and seem well. 
 
460 GVCLOPEDIA OF NA TVRAL HISTORY. 
 
 able to hold their own under pretty diseouraring cir- 
 cumstances. In New Jersey and southward grakles are 
 resident, but are migratory in New England, although 
 not at all affected by severely cold weather, even when 
 protracted. 
 
 Besides the species of which an illustration is given, 
 there is found here the boat-tailed and rusty grakles, 
 one larger and the other smaller than the common pur- 
 ple bird. In their habits they do not difEer materially. 
 All are omnivorous, but unquestionably -prefer insects 
 to all other food. Those who have watched a pair of 
 the common crow black-birds when they had young birds 
 
 to look after, know well how 
 vast a quantity of insect-life 
 they gathered from the fields 
 to feed their offspring, and 
 who has not often enjoyed see- 
 ing them following the plow, 
 seeking the larvae exposed in 
 the freshly-turned furrow? 
 
 " The starling is the small- 
 est of all our resident birds 
 European starUng. allied to the crow tribe," writes 
 
 Mudie in his volume on 
 "British Birds," and, he continues, "is one of the least 
 rapacious, confining itself to insects and seeds (chiefly 
 the former) like the chough, and never killing other 
 birds, or probably robbing any nest. . . . The 
 starling is not difficult to tame or to teach to articulate. 
 They are pai-tial to humid places, and do not much fre- 
 quent the elevated and arid moors, and in the cold 
 season they migrate in vast numbers to the low and 
 warm countries and to the shores of the sea. They are 
 at all seasons very lively birds, whistling, chattering and 
 gliding about on the wing, which they generally do in 
 curves and with a smooth motion. On the ground they 
 
BIRDS. 461 
 
 walk neatly, and with considerable velocity, but do not 
 hop." 
 
 In one curious respect the account given bjr Wilson of 
 our American red-winged black-bird (which m habits at 
 least resembles the preceding bird] no longer applies to 
 New Jersey, or that portion of it south of the tidal 
 limits of the Delaware Eiver. It cannot now be said to 
 be migratory. The methodical migratory movement 
 has given way to uncertain wandering (like the robin) 
 and there is no month in the year when these birds can- 
 not be found. Again, call them "maize-thieves" and 
 
 Bed-winged Black- bird. 
 
 all that, if you will, but however true this may have 
 been years ago, it is a misnomer now. They are birds 
 that do more good than harm in the Middle States, 
 twenty times over, and there is abundant reason tp 
 believe that the charges made against it during the last 
 century were grossly exaggerated. 
 
 Wilson speaks of enormous flocks of red-wings that 
 he saw in the Southern States, but does not appear to 
 have noticed nearer his home (Philadelphia). His 
 beautiful description is equally true of the valley of the 
 Delaware Eiver. His account is as follows: " I was fre- 
 quently entertained with the aerial evolutions of . . , 
 
462 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 great bodies of starlings. Sometimes they appeared drin 
 ing about like an enormous black cloud carried bef ort 
 the wind, varying its shape erery moment. Sometimes 
 suddenly rising from the fields around me with a noise 
 like thunder, while the glittering of innumerable wings 
 of the brightest vermilion amid the black cloud they 
 formed, produced on these occasions a very striking and 
 splendid effect. Then descending like a torrent, and 
 covering the branches of some detached grove, or clump 
 of trees, the whole congregated multitude commenced 
 
 Meadow Lark. 
 
 one general concert or chorus, that I have plainly dis- 
 tinguished at the distance of more than two miles, and 
 when listened to at the intermediate space of a quarter 
 of a mile, with a slight breeze of wind to swell and 
 soften the flow of its cadences, was to me grand -and 
 even sublime.^' 
 
 Another and equally beautiful bird that one naturally 
 associates with the red-wings is our common meadow 
 lark. In the southern portions of the Middle States 
 this bird is a resident species, and it is very remarkable 
 cold weather that forces it to take any other shelter than 
 what evergreen trees afford it. During unusually violen'i 
 
BIRDS. 463 
 
 snow-storms they have sought the shelter of out-build' 
 ings, but this is not a common practice with them, 
 Like quails, they are often smothered in snow-drifts. 
 These birds are, apparently, not so abundant as in Wil- 
 son's time, or indeed,_as compared with twenty-five or 
 thirty years ago. By some this is attributed to the in- 
 troduction of mowing and reaping machines, which de- 
 stroy their nests, but this inay not have anything to do 
 with it; the fact remains, however, that these birds are 
 far less numerous than formerly. 
 
 There can be no question raised about the innocence 
 of this bird; no fool has as yet risen up and claimed 
 they injured his crops or robbed him of his fruit. In 
 its habits this bird is one of extremes. It feeds upon 
 the ground, and rising up, seeks the very topmost twig 
 of the tallest tree near by to sing. Hidden among a 
 few leaves, it seems to look out at the passer-by and 
 say, " I see you — you can't see me;" and very generally 
 you cannot, either. 
 
 "At the foot of some tuft of tall, strong grass you 
 find the nest. A cavity is scooped out of the ground, 
 and in it is placed a quantity of grass, fibrous roots and 
 other materials, circularly disposed so as to resemble an 
 oven, around which leaves and the blades of the sur- 
 rounding grasses are matted together so as to cover and 
 conceal it. The entrance admits only one at a time, 
 but both birds incubate. . . . These birds are un- 
 remitting ... in the care of their offspring. 
 . . . Should one approach the nest, he immediately 
 rises on wing, passes and repasses in circles over and 
 around the spot in which the nest is, and thus fre- 
 quently leads to the hidden treasure." ' 
 
 An equally familiar bird is the lively and beautiful 
 Baltimore oriole, of which a deal of nonsense has been" 
 written concerning its migration. Undoubtedly it is a 
 migratory species, but that they have a law unto them> 
 
464 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 selves that the males shall and do precede the females 
 by from five to eight days, is simply false. The oriole 
 announces his coming by whistling in a shrilly, rather 
 than melodious manner, and his penetrating "Judic! 
 Judic! Here!" becomes absolutely tiresome before the 
 summer is over. 
 
 Their pendent, purse-shaped nests are familiar to all 
 who have lived in the country, and there need be noth- 
 ing said of the habits generally of the bird. 
 
 The orchaa-d oriole is less well known because of its 
 plainer plumage and less ohtrusive habits, but it is really 
 
 a more desirable bird be- 
 
 .^^^ cause of its finer song. 
 
 ^^DSk Neither it or the preced- 
 
 H^Bte^^ ing have any faults so far 
 
 ^ ji^^jgi^:^ as farmer or fruit-grower 
 
 ^<^^^^^^^^ ^^j^^ is concerned, all state' 
 
 ^iHl^^g^ ^^^Bg ments to the contrary 
 
 VS^ "The golden oriole 
 
 I ... is a far fi-om un- 
 
 Baitimore Oriole, , common Spring visitor to 
 
 the British Islands, but 
 the conspicuous plumage of the male . . . always 
 attracts .attention and generally brings about its death. 
 . . . The nest is a beautifully interwoven fabric, sus- 
 pended under the horizontal fork of a bough. . . . 
 On the continent it is a well-known if not an abundant 
 bird, and its range in summer extends so far to the east 
 as Irkutsk, while in winter it is found in Natal and 
 Damaraland." (" Encyclopedia Britannica.") 
 
 There are many other species of orioles, and they are 
 all brightly-plumaged, clearly-voiced birds, that as a 
 group have habits very much alike, such as have been 
 so' often described of our common American and the 
 golden species of Europe. 
 
SISDS. 
 
 465 
 
 The honey-eaters "are for the most part small birds, 
 never exceeding the size of a mistletoe thrush, and they 
 have been divided into more than twenty genera, con- 
 taining above two hundred species. . . . Most of 
 these species have a very confined range, being found 
 perhaps only on a single island, or group of islands, in 
 the region (Australian), but there are a few which are 
 more widely distributed. . . . One of the most 
 curious forms is the tui, or parson-bird, of E"ew Zea- 
 land, so called from the two tufts of white feathers 
 which hang beneath ■ its chin in great contrast to its 
 dark, silky plumage, and suggests a likeness to the 
 bands worn by ministers of 
 several religious denomina- 
 tions when officiating." 
 
 "This bird," according 
 to Mr. BuUer (" Birds of 
 New_ Zealand"), "while 
 uttering its wild notes in- 
 dulges in much gesticula- 
 tion, which adds to the sug- 
 gested resemblance, rt has 
 great power of mimicry, 
 and is a favorite cage- 
 bird both with the natives and colonists. On one 
 occasion," says this gentleman, he had addressed a 
 large meeting of Maories on a matter of considerable 
 political importance, when " immediately on the conclu- 
 sion of my speech, and before the old chief to whom 
 my arguments were chiefly addressed had time to reply, 
 a tui (parson-bird), whose netted cage hung to a rafter 
 overhead, responded in a clear, emphatic way, ' Tito ! ' 
 (false). The circumstance naturally caused much mer- 
 riment among my audience, and quite upset the gravity 
 of the venerable old chief, Nepia Taratoa. 'Friend,' 
 said he, laughing, ' your arguments are very good, but 
 
 Parson-blrd. 
 
466 CYCLOPEPIA OF NATUKAL HISTORY. 
 
 my moTcai is a very wise bird, and he is not yet con- 
 vinced.'" 
 
 Sun-Mrds *'are principally found in the islands of the 
 Eastern Archipelago and in India; a few species also in- 
 habit Africa, but none occur in the temperate regions. 
 
 " These birds appear to take the place of the hum- 
 ming-birds in tjie Eastern hemisphere; they rival even 
 those living gems in the brilliancy of their colors, and 
 their habits are very similar. In the morning and even- 
 ing they are constantly seen in great numbers in the 
 neighborhood of flowers, into which they thrust their 
 bills in search of the minute insects always found in such 
 situations; they will also pick 
 small spiders from their webs 
 and insects from the crevices of 
 the wall and trees. They are 
 also said to subsist partly on 
 the juices of flowers, whence 
 the name of sucriers, or sugar- 
 birds, applied to them by some 
 French authors. Some of these 
 also feed upon fruits, and Mr. 
 Layard states that a Ceylonese 
 species delights in the white 
 viscid berries of a plant allied 
 t© the mistletoe. Like the humming-birds, they are 
 exceedingly quarrelsome, fighting violently for the 
 possession of a flower, the vanquished bird retreating 
 from the spot with shrill cries, whilst the conqueror takes 
 up his position upon a flower or stem, and swinging his 
 little body too and fro, pours out a note of trmmph." 
 The song is said to be very agreeable. 
 
 Whoever has happened to walk in our woods, or along 
 rows of tall trees bordering a country road in winter, has 
 probably noticed an active little bird that pays far more 
 attention to the craiQks and crannies in t^e Ijwk of the 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 467 
 
 Brown Creeper. 
 
 trees than to any passer-by unless he is brutally officious. 
 
 It is the brown creeper, a bird that is found also in Eu- 
 rope, and is about the same as to 
 
 habits wherever he chances to 
 
 turn up. When it is said that 
 
 they hunt for insects lodged in 
 
 trees the history of the bird is 
 
 about given. This they do and 
 
 nothing more. 
 It nests in hollow trees, but does 
 
 not excavate accommodations for 
 
 itself. One nest that was care- 
 fully examined was between the 
 
 bark and body of an old apple 
 
 tree. The materials used were fine 
 
 grass, with an understructure of twigs neatly interwoven. 
 The wall-creener is a European species which "seeks 
 its insect-food upon rocks 
 and old walls, to which it 
 clings in the same way the 
 common creepers do to the 
 trunks of trees. It breeds 
 in clefts and holes in the 
 rocks and walls, which it or- 
 dinarily frequents. It is 
 found only in the south of 
 Europe, and always upon f;he 
 highest mountains." (Orr's 
 "Circle of the Sciences.") 
 
 The tanagers are an exclu- 
 sively American group of 
 beautiful birds in which the 
 three colors of orange, scarlet 
 and black predominate in 
 
 the full plumage of the adult males. There are 
 
 mor? th^n 300 species known, nearly all of which aire 
 
 Wall-creeper. 
 
468 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 found in tropical America, but some occur in Mexico 
 and at least three in the United States. They are 
 all, it may be said, singing birds, but some of them 
 excel others in their Tocal powers. "Writing of com- 
 mon Brazilian forms. Bates remarks- "In their 
 habits they . • . resemble the common house- 
 sparrow of Europe, which does not exist, in South Amer- 
 ica, its place" being in some measure filled by these famil- 
 iar tanagers. They are just as liyely, restless, bold and 
 wary; their notes are very similar — chirping and inhar- 
 monious, and they seem to be almost as fond of the 
 
 neighborhood of man. They 
 do not, however, build their 
 nests on houses." 
 
 In the Eastern and Middle 
 States of our own country 
 two tanagers are known as 
 summer visitors, one, the 
 scarlet, as common; the 
 other, the summer red-bird, 
 _ as rare north of New Jersey. 
 
 Scarlet Tanager. The scarlet tanager needs 
 
 no detailed description. Its 
 brilliant plumage has rendered it familiar to all, and this 
 is about all that it has to recommend it; for its song is 
 exceedingly commonplace. The fact that it is an insect- 
 eating bird must not be overlooked, and under no pre- 
 tence whatever should they ever be molested. 
 
 In concluding this very brief outline of bird-life, we 
 are brought now to consider that enormous group known 
 as finches. Being found over the whole world, it is not 
 surprising that a vast difEerence in general appearance 
 and habits should occur among them. 
 
 A very striking family of these finches are known as 
 weavers. " They are so-called from the remarkable 
 structure of their nests, which are woven in a very won- 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 469 
 
 derfiil manner of Tarious vegetable substances. Some 
 species build their nests separate and singly, and hang 
 them from slender branches of trees and shrubs, but 
 others build in companies, numerous nests suspended 
 from the branches of a tree being under one roof, though 
 each one forms a separate compartment and has a sepa- 
 rate entrance. They are natives of the warmer parts of 
 Asia, of Africa, and of Australia. The yellow-crowned 
 weaver is a native of South Africa, and constructs an 
 isolated pensile kidney-shaped nest, about seven inches 
 long by four and a half broad, with an opening in the 
 side. Naturalists are not quite agreed as to whether the 
 nests of the weaver-bird are 
 built in their own peculiar 
 manner as a means of pres- 
 ervation against- the rain 
 or against the attacks of 
 serpents and small quadru- 
 peds — probably the latter." 
 ("Imperial Dictionary.") 
 
 Another peculiar form of 
 finches found in Africa, and 
 familiar to many in this 
 country as a cage-bird, is 
 the "widow-bird." The 
 marked feature of these is 
 the pair of long, drooping 
 and graceful feathers that 
 extend beyond the tail-feathers proper. These are lost 
 at the first moult after nesting is over. The name 
 "widow" given them is probably a corruption of 
 whidah, a name derived from their native country, 
 Africa. 
 
 In Gates' "Matabele Land," the following with 
 reference to these birds, of which there are many 
 species, occurs as a foot-note: "In the winter season 
 
 STellow-crowned Weaver and 
 
 Nest. 
 
4^0 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 these birds lose their long tail-feathers and their plum- 
 age becomes a mottled brown, a great contrast to theii 
 
 striking summer dress. There 
 are many varieties of these 
 finches, one species of which, 
 a native of Transvaal, suffers 
 serious inconvenience from 
 these adornments in a high 
 wind. The long tail-feathers 
 -^^^^Mf^^^llt^/, H^ are much used by the natives 
 
 for ornaments and head- 
 
 Coming to our own coun- 
 try, one of the most remark- 
 able of finches is the dull- 
 colored and. generally unat- 
 tractive cowpen-bird. It is 
 , gregarious generally, the fe- 
 
 k l^°^ffi'^ffi'^-''°*- males occasionaUy wandering 
 
 off alone in spring to lay an 
 
 egg in the nest of some other bird. These are often 
 
 hatched by the owner of the nest — ^usually, indeed, as 
 
 the numbers of the cow- 
 pen-birds generally to be 
 
 found testifies — ^but not 
 
 always. There are some 
 
 small birds that the vaga- 
 bond cannot swindle, and 
 
 they make a new bottom 
 
 to the nest, covering u 
 
 the obnoxious egg, am 
 
 when necessary, lay a 
 
 new clutch of their own 
 
 eggs. 
 
 The cowpen-bird has no vocal powers worth speaking 
 
 of, the liquid bubbling of one or two metallic notes 
 
 Cowi)en-l3ird. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 471 
 
 being too faint to be considered as a song. Their food 
 is largely composed of insectSj and their disposition to 
 wander about with grazing sheep and cattle has had to 
 do with their common names of sheep black-bird, cow- 
 bird and cowpen bunting. They are migratory in the 
 Eastern States and New York, but not methodically so 
 in New Jersey and Southern Pennsylvania. They are 
 mostly gone by the first week in November, but re- 
 cently, notwithstanding the unusual severity of our 
 winters, " stragglers " nave been constantly seen. 
 
 Bobolink or Reed-bird. 
 
 A finch of deserved prominence, both as a songster 
 and as an article of food, is the bobolink of New En- 
 gland and reed-bird of Pennsylvania and southward. 
 Says Wilson: " Though small in size, he is not so in 
 consequence; his coming is hailed by the sportsman 
 with pleasure, while the careful planter looks upon him 
 as a devouring scourge and worse' than a plague of 
 locusts. . . . The nest is fixed on the ground, 
 generally in a field of grass; the outside is composed of 
 
473 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL fflSTORY, 
 
 dry leaves and coarse grass, the inside is lined with fine 
 stalks of the same, laid in considerable quantity. . . , 
 The song of the male, while the female is sitting,^ is 
 singular and very agreeable. Mounting and hovering 
 on wing at a small height above the field, he chants out 
 such a jingling medley of short, variable notes, uttered 
 with such seeming confusion and rapidity, and con- 
 tinued for a considerable time, that it appears as if half 
 a dozen birds of different kinds were all singing to- 
 gether. Some idea may be formed of this song by 
 striking the high keys of a piano-forte at random 
 singly and quickly, making as many sudden contrasts 
 of high and low notes as possible. Many of the tones 
 are in themselves charming, but they succeed each other 
 so rapidly that the ear can hardly separate them. 
 If evertheless, the general effect is good, and when ten 
 or twelve are all singing on the same tree, the concert 
 is singularly pleasing." 
 
 As is well known, these are strictly migratory birds, 
 that appear in May as bobolinks and depart in October 
 as reed-birds. It is as the latter they ai-e so well known 
 in the vicinity of Philadelphia, for certainly as a deli- 
 cate article of food they are unsurpassed. In the valley 
 of the Delaware they fatten on the seeds of the wild 
 rice, commencing to gather upon it about the tenth of 
 August. Then the single note of this bird is a pecu- 
 liar metallic "chink," which is so distinctly uttered 
 that it can be heard at a long distance. Occasionally 
 the flocks are of vast size and very compact, so that the 
 discharge of a gun creates great havoc. 
 
 A very differently colored bird, and one in many 
 ways widely separated from our reed-bird, or bobolink, 
 is the Java sparrow, so well known as a cage-bird. 
 They have little to commend them in confinement. In 
 their native country they are known as rice-birds from 
 the fact that this grain affords them their principal 
 food for a certain part of each yeai\ 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 473. 
 
 Java Sparrow. 
 
 A very interesting and handsomely-marked member 
 of the great finch family is our towhee bunting, swamp 
 robin, or chewink . By the last name, moderately descrip- 
 tive of the bird's chirping, it is probably best known. 
 In the Middle. States it is one of the earlier or April an- 
 rivals of our migratory birds, 
 and announces its presence 
 the moment of reoccupation 
 of last year's haunts by a 
 shrill " cho-reet, cho-reet," 
 which can never be mis- 
 taken for the utterances of 
 any other bird. 
 
 Besides appreciating an 
 abundance of insects for 
 food, this bird delights in 
 dead leaves, and is never so happy as when among a 
 pile of them in the angle of a worm-fence; he flirts 
 them hither and yon, and chirps lustily to the rattle of 
 the dry bones of last year's foliage. - Then, mounting 
 some low tree hard by, it sings a merry ditty, in every 
 
 note wholly dissimi- 
 lar to the bisyllabic 
 utterance that it re- 
 peats while on the 
 ground. 
 
 The nest is cun- 
 ningly hidden among 
 the dead leaves; a 
 Chewink. shallow hoUow, from 
 
 which the eggs cannot 
 easily roll, and safe from most intruders, but not from the 
 prying nose and eyes of weasels and chipmunks, which 
 destroy many of the chewink's eggs and young. Why, 
 indeed, any bird should nest upon the ground is some- 
 thing of a mystery. How any of them escape the 
 
474 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 clutclies of carnivorous mammals and reptiles is even 
 more difficult to imagine. 
 
 Wilson remarks that "this bird rarely winters north 
 of the State of Maryland." It would appear that when 
 he wrote, they occasionally did, and certainly of late 
 years this is not a very uncommon occurrence. Much 
 depends upon the character of the winter as to their 
 southward movement in autumn, and likewise an early 
 spring brings them to us earlier than April 20th (Wil- 
 son's date), and so, too, an even, "open" winter induces 
 some to remain in sheltered places. A very little change 
 in the character of our winters would cause them to be- 
 come a resident species in the southern section of New 
 Jersey. 
 
 Of typical sparrows, or small finches, there are many 
 species in the United States. Some have given areas 
 from which they do not wander; others are migratory. 
 Of the latter, some spend the summer in the Northern 
 States and Canada, and visit the Middle and Southern 
 States in winter; others pass the summer in the more 
 northern and central sections and winter in Southern 
 localities. 
 
 Of those that are resident in the Middle States the 
 song sparrow is perhaps the most familiar to all. Its 
 spng and perfect inofEensiveness make it rightfully a 
 very popular bird, and it is to be regretted that the 
 English sparrow has so largely driven it from its former 
 haunts about our doors. 
 
 Among th:ise that come early in April from the south 
 and enliven our dingy and dusty fields before the 
 hardiest weeds even have acquired much growth, is 
 the pretty, sweet-voiced field sparrow. It has one 
 stramge fancy, that of frequenting the dusty highways, 
 and singing cheerfully though the air be filled with 
 clouds of dust. Wilson speaks of it as more frequently 
 found in the middle of fields and orchards than are 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 475 
 
 Held Sparrow. 
 
 other sparrows, but this, as we have .seen, does not hold 
 good of them in all places. They nest upon the ground. 
 Almost as small as the above, but a more familiar 
 species, is the little fellow universally yclept the chippy. 
 It comes as near our houses as it can get, and nests in 
 bushes and trees. It is partially 
 migratory, a considerable num- 
 ber wintering in the Middle 
 States. 
 
 Early in autumn there ap- 
 pears from the north vast num- 
 bers of sparrows of several spe- 
 cies, which winter in N"ew Jer- 
 sey, Pennsylvania and southward. These are the white- 
 crowned and white-throated sparrows, the fox-colored 
 finch, tree sparrow and others. Of all these the last 
 named is probably the most abundant. In its general 
 appearance they are so like our resident sparrows that 
 they pass for such with very many people. 
 The white-crowned sparrow is a beautiful bird that is 
 
 to be found in great abun- 
 dance in winter south of 
 the Middle States, and but 
 sparingly north of them, 
 except when on its jour- 
 neys to and from its sum- 
 mer and winter quarters. 
 In New Jersey the allied 
 white-throated sparrow is 
 very abundant, and its clear 
 whistle is a marked feature 
 of our woods and hedge-rows in winter. In March they 
 are particularly vocal, and a hundred or more may often 
 be heard at one time. They are often tardy about leav- 
 ing for the north, and wait until many of our summer 
 migrants have arrived. 
 
 Whlte-orowned Sparrow. 
 
476 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF IfATURAL HISTOHY. 
 
 Snow-bird. 
 
 Another northern sparrow that winters with us is the 
 ever-abundant snow-bird. Whoj indeed, does not know 
 him? They come about October 1st and tarry until late 
 in April. A word concerning these birds. There is a 
 very prevalent idea that snow-birds are the same as 
 " chippies/' but that they change their colors, moulting 
 
 late in September. When it 
 is remembered how many peo- 
 I)le, even yet, deny the iden- 
 tity of the bobolink and reed- 
 bird, that is, in our superla- 
 tively rural districts, it is 
 strange that so absurd an im- 
 pression should have taken 
 hold of any one's mind. 
 Under many different names the common yellow-bird, 
 thistle-finch, gold-finch, or salad-bird, as it is called, is 
 very well known. Its peculiar wavy flight, cheery voice, 
 brilliant yellow and black plumage and unsuspicious 
 manner have made it a general favorite, and certainly as 
 it bends over the prickly bloom of 
 rank thistles, it is a pretty sight. It 
 is one of our resident species, and 
 while associated usually with the dog- 
 days, when it is merriest, it is not 
 disheartened by the storms of winter, 
 but sings, even then, while flying 
 from tree to tree. 
 
 There comes from the north to the 
 Eastern and Middle States in winter, 
 two curious red and black finches which deserve more 
 than passing mention. They are the common and the 
 white-winged crossbills. Their name tells at once the 
 one marked feature that separates them from the other 
 sparrows. 
 
 Of these, the white-winged is much the rarer species, 
 
 Tellow-bird. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 477 
 
 ■White-winged Crossbill 
 
 and both are quite uncertain as to their coming and 
 going in the Middle States. They have been known to 
 be so abundant that the fact was chronicled in the local 
 papers. 
 
 They feed upon "the seeds of the hemlock and white 
 pine, have a loud, sharp and not 
 unmusical note, chatter as they fly, 
 alight during the prevalence of deep 
 snows before the door of the hunt- 
 er and around the house, picking 
 ofE the clay with which the logs 
 are plastered. . . . "When kept 
 in a cage they have many of the 
 habits of the parrot, often climbing 
 along the wires, and using their feet 
 to grasp the cones in while taking 
 out the seeds." (Wilson^s "American Ornithology.") 
 As a cage-bird in this country, the bull-finch is gener- 
 ally well known. It is found in Asia, and in Central 
 and Southern Europe in win- 
 ter. It is also found in Great 
 Britain. 
 
 " It is a shy bird, not associ- 
 ating with other species, and 
 frequents well- wooded districts, 
 being very rarely seen on moors 
 or other waste lands. . . . 
 In spring and summer they 
 feed on the buds of trees and 
 bushes, choosing, it is said, 
 such only as contain the incipient blossom, and thus 
 doing immense injury to orchards and gardens. . . . 
 They can be taught to whistle a variety of tunes. It 
 breeds in confinement, and hybrids between it and the 
 canary have been produced." ("Encyclopedia Britan- 
 nica.") 
 
 Bull-flnch. 
 
478 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The last group of sparrows, or finches, to be con- 
 sidered are the grosbeaks, which are " distinguished by 
 the thickness of the bill, which ia 
 convex above and so strong as to 
 enable the birds, though of small 
 size, to break the stones of cherries, 
 olives, etc/ 
 
 Green Grosbeak. 
 
 pervades almost 
 reaches the river 
 
 The green grosbeak of Great 
 Britain is more usually called sim- 
 ply green finch. "Throughout 
 Britain, as a rule, this species is one 
 of the most plentiful birds, and is 
 found at all seasons of the year. It 
 the whole of Europe, and in Asia 
 Ob." (" Encyclopedia Britannica.") 
 In the United States there are found two grosbeaks 
 
 which among several 
 
 others merit extended 
 
 notice. These are the car- 
 
 dinal and rose-breasted 
 
 species. In the Middle 
 
 and Southern States the 
 
 former is a resident; the 
 
 latter migrates to more 
 
 northern localities to spend 
 
 its summers, and winters 
 
 about the Gulf of Mexico 
 
 and still further south. 
 
 Both are beautiful — the 
 
 cardinal deep red, with a 
 
 crest that is faced with 
 
 black; the rose-breasted is 
 
 black, white and brilliantly 
 
 red at the throat and 
 
 breast. Both are magnificent songsters, the tri-colored 
 
 species rivsiling the wood-thnjsh. 
 
 Cardinal Grosbeak. 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 479 
 
 The cardinal, wliich is also known as the Virginia 
 red-bird, the winter red-bird, and again as the red 
 jay, is so familiar to most people as a cage-bird 
 that no description of his general appearance is 
 necessary. As a wild bird he is less well known, 
 and many incorrect impressions are quite common. 
 Cardinals frequent the most densely-tangled thickets, 
 and are also partial to cedars. In either they are 
 comparatively safe from the attacks of small hawks, 
 which seem to single them out in preference to the 
 smaller sparrows. They nest in 
 tangles of blackberry briers, and 
 have the knack of keeping out 
 of sight when near their nests. 
 Both sexes sing, and occasionally 
 they (or the male alone) repeat the 
 simple notes of some other bird, 
 but this is not so marked a feature 
 of their song as to warrant their 
 being called "mocking-birds." 
 Of all our birds, they seem to 
 mind the weather least, and unlike 
 so many, they are not songsters for 
 a season only, but for the whole 
 year through. It matters not 
 whether it be June or January, 
 the cardinal is always ha.ppy and 
 sings as merrily to Jack Frost as to 
 summer blossoms. Nor are they at all shy. If once 
 they gain confidence by being undisturbed duringthe 
 breeding-season, they will remain near by their nesting- 
 site and prove as trusting and familiar as the chipping 
 sparrow. 
 
 The rose-breasted grosbeak comes to us in May and 
 remains until early autumn. It is a bird of localities 
 an^ ^ot of general distribution, being rg,re oveir wide 
 
 Kose-breasted Grosbeak. 
 
480 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Areas, and wliere found at all occurs abundantly. By 
 many it is recorded as a shy, woodland bird that can 
 ..never be heard unless we are in the forest; but in truth, 
 if suitable trees be near a dwelling, and the. birds are 
 not persecuted, they will become as familiar as cardinals. 
 The timidity of many a song-bird is your own fault. 
 Treat them with kindness and they will treat you to 
 melody. 
 
Ha wmm 
 
REPTILIA. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXV. 
 
 OPHIDIA, OE SERPENTS. 
 
 The Eeptiles, which are usually, or at least to most 
 people, a repulsive class of animals, are preatures hav- 
 ing cold blood, breathe by means of lungs, and have 
 the body protected by means of scales, or, as in the 
 turtles, by armor-like plates. One order, the serpents, 
 have no limbs; the others are provided with four. 
 
 Many are harmless to man; others dangerous from 
 their venomous bites, and a few by brute strength can 
 overcome not only man but the larger mammalia. The 
 senses of sight and hearing are well developed, and that 
 of smell also, but in a more varying degree. Eeptiles 
 are either oviparous, or deposit eggs, which are hatched 
 by means of the heat of the sun, or viviparous — bring- 
 ing forth living young. Among serpents both forms of 
 reproduction occur. 
 
 All are carnivorous, although among the turtles, vege- 
 table feeding is not uncommon. They are both aquatic 
 and terrestrial. Some 3,000 species are known, of 
 which between 300 and 400 are found in North 
 America. 
 
 Eeptiles are separable into foiir well-defined groups, 
 Ophidia, or serpents ; Lacertilia, or lizards ; Ceoco- 
 DiLiA, to alligators ; and OsELOifiA, or turtles. 
 
48^ CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The following, from Garman's " Beptiles of North 
 America" ("Kentucky Geological Surrey Memoirs") 
 gives the best general idea of serpents as a class: "The 
 elongated, spindle-shaped, or sub-cylindrical _ form of 
 the snake is a familiar one. There are species which 
 present, no distinction between head, neck and tail, and 
 there are others in which these parts are well marked. 
 The majority have no limbs; a few have rudimentary 
 hind limbs, which appear as claws on each side of the 
 vent. . . . All . . . are carnivorous. Some crush 
 their prey in the folds of the body; others kill the 
 creatures on which they feed by venomous secretions, 
 but the greater number swallow living food. During 
 the operation of swallowing small pores along the jaws 
 give out a saliva which renders the act more easy. Fre- 
 quently the snake disgorges a partly-swallowed meal to 
 change its position in the mouth, or to take breath; the 
 slimy appearance of such morsels has given rise to the 
 erroneous idea that they have been deliberately covered 
 with slime -before the attempt to dine. . . . The 
 tongue is a tactile organ; it is soft, slender, provided 
 with a pair of flexible tips, and can be retracted into a 
 sheath at the bottom of the mouth. As serpents move 
 about they are constantly feeling ahead of them with 
 the tongue, and the forward thrust and peculiar ap- 
 pearance of this organ has given rise to the false idea 
 that with it the ' stmging ' is done. . . . , 
 
 " The eggs are oblong and have a soft, leathery 
 envelope, for the rupture of which in hatching the 
 young are provided with an egg-tooth. . . . The 
 ribs are very numerous, in some species numbering 
 hundreds, and are loosely articulated to the vertebrae. 
 They furnish the main dependence in locomotion. 
 . . . Nocturnal serpents are few and belong to the 
 torrid zone. Most, if not all, are affected by a period 
 of comparative inaction; during the winter this takes 
 
REPTILIA. 483 
 
 the form of hibernation or a winter sleep. . . . 
 Certain good authorities have adopted the idea that 
 some snakes swallow their young for protection in times 
 of danger. The evidence hardly appears sufficient to 
 warrant belief." 
 
 It would be a kindness were the above remarks in- 
 corporated in every school-reader in the land, and no 
 applicant for the position of school-teacher should be 
 considered eligible who could not repeat it verbatim. 
 Once this could be brought about, and the current ab- 
 surdities concerning snakes that periodically appear in 
 our newspapers would become curiosities of the "press," 
 just as we have curiosities of literature of many other 
 forms. 
 
 Garman groups all serpents into four series, as worm 
 snakes, clawed snakes, harmless snakes and venomous 
 
 The first are "worm-like-burr owing species, which 
 feed upon worms, larvae of insects and the like, living 
 beneath the surface of the ground. . . . Worm 
 snakes belong to tropical and sub-tropical regions of 
 both hemispheres." 
 
 "The innocuous snakes comprise all the common, 
 harmless species of the ground, fresh water or trees. 
 Being not at all harmful, and feeding on mice, moles, 
 insects, etc., many of them are important aids in re- 
 straining the increase of the most destructive enemies 
 of the husbandman. The vulgar fear of these animals 
 is mainly the result of education or of prejudice, which 
 lacks foundation in fact. In reality, some of the most 
 dreaded have no existence. Such as the 'ring,' or 
 'hoop-snake,' which is said to take the end of its tail 
 in its mouth and roll over and over like a hoop, killing 
 everything it touches with its venomous horn, and the 
 * blow-snake,' the breath of which is deadly, are mere 
 fictions, "^ (Garman.) 
 
484 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Harmless, or non-venomous snakes, are again divisible 
 into ground, water and tree-snakes. Typical forms of 
 these are, of course, well marked and readily recognized, 
 but between them all there are intermediate forms, 
 which renders this sub-classification of but little Value. 
 The pythons are snakes of enormous size, often at- 
 taining a length of from twenty-five to thirty feet. 
 Their method of attacking their prey is to drop upon it 
 
 and encircling it m its 
 folds, crush it to death. 
 Often they attack animals 
 so large that it seems im- 
 possible for them to swallow 
 the victims when secured. 
 
 This habit has given rise 
 
 Pyithon. to exaggerated accounts of 
 
 their abilities, and there is 
 no truth in the statement that even a buffalo has been 
 crushed and gorged. An animal as large as a goat or 
 calf is about the limit of the largest python's capabilities 
 in the matter of swallowing. 
 
 Miss Hopley, in her excellent volume on snakes, re- 
 lates the following with reference to a young python 
 she observed in the London Zoological Gardens. It 
 " was hanging from a branch, more than half its body 
 . . . remaining motionless and quiescent, watching 
 some sparrows which the keeper had just put into the 
 cage. The birds, eying certain insects among the 
 gravel, seemed all unconscious of the pair of glistening 
 eyes looking down upon them. Suddenly a movement, 
 a flicker like the flash of a whip, and the snake had 
 changed its position. Too quick for us to follow the 
 motion, but in that flash of time it now hung like a 
 pendulum, with a sparrow almost hidden in its coils. 
 The snake had precisely measured its distance, reached 
 down and recoiled with the swiftness of an elastit 
 
REP TI LI A. 
 
 485 
 
 spring. After a few minutes, feeling that its prey was 
 dead, it prepared to swallow it, holding it encircled in a 
 portion of its body while the head was free to commence 
 the usual examination. Still hanging there, it held 
 and deToured the bird. 
 
 "On another occasion, one of the larger pythons 
 caught a guinea-pig in the same manner. This also 
 was so quick in its movements that one scarcely knew 
 what had happened until the snake was seen to have 
 changed its position . . . and 
 a quadruped was missing." 
 
 " The pythons are entirely con- 
 fined to the Old "World, and the 
 largest species . . . are found 
 only in India and the islands of 
 the Eastern Archipelago." (Orr's 
 "Circle of the Sciences.") 
 
 One of the few enormous ser- 
 pents with which most are famil- 
 iar, by name, at least, is the boa 
 constrictor. 
 
 The boas are New World species 
 of constricting serpents, of habits 
 essentially the same as those of the 
 pythons which have been described. 
 There are several species, and are 
 found over a large portion of tropical South America. 
 They vary so far in habits as to frequent different locali- 
 ties, some being found in high and dry, others in low 
 and swampy places. 
 
 ' It has often puzzled many people to understand how 
 one of these snakes, or any snakes in. fact, could swal^. 
 low an animal considerably larger than itself. Tha 
 process is readily understood when it is reinembered thai; 
 the bones of the jaws are not securely articulated, as in 
 the case of mammals, but held in place by very dis- 
 tensible ligaments. 
 
 Boa Constrictor. 
 
486 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HISTOR Y. 
 
 The water-boa is better known under the name ol 
 anaconda. It is strictly aquatic in its habits, althougU 
 active when upon the land. It feeds on fish and small 
 animals that come to the banks of rivers to drink. They 
 have been reported as reaching a length of forty feet, 
 and are the largest of existing serpents. 
 
 Speaking of snakes as found by him in Guiana, Im 
 Thurn remarks as follows: "The most dreaded of the 
 common kinds are the two species of Soa, called respect- 
 ively the land-campodi and the water-camoodi. . . . 
 
 " The land-camoodi is seldom seen and does but little 
 harm to man. The only one I ever saw in a state of 
 nature glided away at my approach. The water-ca- 
 moodi is more oft^n noticed. The largest I have ever 
 seen alive . . . was twenty feet long and three feet 
 in circumference at the thickest. But they occasionally 
 grow much larger — one, the skin of which I measured 
 and found to be thirty feet, was found in a curious 
 place. A friend of mine, living in a somewhat remote 
 place surrounded by forest, was somewhat particular 
 about having his morning coffee brought to him just at 
 dawn. His cook, when she went in the dark into the 
 shed which served as a kitchen, was in the habit of 
 striking the match to light the fire on a particular cor- 
 ner-post, but one morning she was surprised to find that 
 one match after another broke instead of catching fire. 
 At last she struck a light in a new place, and having 
 done so, she found to her great horror that a thirty- 
 foot-long camoodi was coiled round the corner-post, 
 and on this she had been rubbing her matches. Young 
 camoodis of small size are not unfrequently found in 
 houses near the forest, and when in that stage they are 
 much more beautifully colored than when adult. They 
 frequent the neighborhood of water and often swim, 
 for which reason they are much dreaded by Indian 
 bathera. The Chinese, I believe, alone of the various 
 
kEPtiLIA. 
 
 m 
 
 inhabitants of the colony, eat and relish the flesh ol 
 these snakes. It was probably a water-camoodi that 
 first taught me that snakes snore. Once, as I was wan- 
 dering according to my habit from my hammock in the 
 middle of the night to smoke a pipe in the surrounding 
 forest, my companion, who had just retired to his own 
 hammock, called to me to beware of a certain tree, for 
 he had heard a snake snore there. Curiosity, of course, 
 drove me to the tree, 
 where the sound of snor- 
 ing was plainly audible, 
 and where after some time 
 I succeeded in detecting a 
 moderate-sized snake 
 curled round a branch." 
 
 Passing from great ser- 
 pents to small snakes, and 
 from tropical to temperate 
 America, we find a well- 
 known snake of moderate 
 dimensions, which is credited with more constricting 
 power by most people than it really possesses. This is 
 the common black-snake. 
 
 The following is Holbrook's account of this species: 
 "An extremely active snake, climbing with facility and 
 running with great rapidity, whence it is not uncom- 
 monly called the 'racer.' The black-snake frequents 
 shady places covered with thick shrubs, on the margins 
 of streams or ponds of water, though it often leaves 
 these coverts and seeks the borders of old fields or rocks, 
 or even the way-side, to bask in the sun. 
 
 " It feeds on mice, toads, etc., or on small birds, and 
 as it is an excellent climber, is frequently seen on trees 
 in search of their nests. It is a bold and daring ser- 
 
 Eent, enters barns and out-houses without fear, and has 
 een known to destroy young chickens. It is said to 
 
 Black-snake. 
 
488 aVCLOPEDIA OF' NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 suffocate its prey, like the boa constrictor, in its folds, 
 which is at least doubtful. I have often seen it take its 
 prey both in the native state and in confinement, which 
 it always did by seizing it with the mouth. 
 
 " In the breeding season it is extremely irascible, and 
 will frequently attack persons passing at a distance of 
 several steps. Its tail then quivers with rage, making a 
 quick, vibratory motion which in forests and among 
 dry leaves sounds not unlike the rattle-snake; it now 
 elevates the head one or two feet from the ground, and 
 darts upon its adversary. Luckily its bite is harmless 
 and not more painful than the scratch of a pin." 
 
 Many observers, since Holbrook's time, have carefully 
 studied the habits of this snake and have not found it 
 as irascible at the breeding season as he describes. In- 
 deed, many report them to be particularly sluggish at 
 such times. It is not improbable that before the sexes 
 come together, and when the males are seeking mates, 
 that then they may resent intrusion, but later iheir ex- 
 citement in other directions blinds them to all outside 
 considerations. 
 
 Grarman remarks that several species of snakes " are 
 possessed of considerable curiosity and sometimes fol- 
 low objects that have attracted their attention. The 
 common black-snake, coluber constrictor, occasionally 
 chases men in this way, but if turned upon at once 
 seeks safety in flight." This simple fact may indeed 
 have given rise to all the impressions that observers 
 have recorded, for be one as brave as he will, there is a 
 trace of caution, if not cowardice, uppermost when in- 
 vading a snake's home, and all results of an adventurous 
 character are pretty sure to be exaggerated. 
 
 It is not necessary to refer to the matter of snakes 
 "charming" birds. It is nonsense, pure and simple, 
 but crops out periodically in the proceedings of village 
 natural history societies and country newspapers. 
 
REP TI LI A. 
 
 48S 
 
 Far more common than the black-snake and more 
 harmless, if that be possible, is the common garter- 
 snake, or rather, garter-snakes, for there are two kinds 
 — one long and slender, the other shorter and stouter. 
 The slender species is exceedingly amiable and enjoys 
 being petted; the stout one has a surly disposition and 
 even goes so far as to make believe to bite when you 
 pick it up. They both liye on insects and mice, and 
 what more could be asked of them to merit our protec- 
 tion? Yet strange to say, they are presistently chased 
 and killed by nine-tenths of every community. It is 
 shameful, but there seems to be no help for it until the 
 
 Head of Garter-snake. 
 
 prejudice against snakes shall be fought as soon as it 
 shows itself in children. It is not strange that distrust 
 and dread of these harmless snakes is an hereditary 
 trait, considering how many generations have been 
 taught from early infancy that a serpent is the type of 
 all that is terrible, both physically and metaphysically, 
 and there is no duty so incumbent as crushing a snake's 
 head with your heel. When this is weeded out from 
 children's education, the snakes will have a better 
 chance to show how useful they really are. 
 
 The common garter-snakes appear quite early in the 
 spring from their winter quarters, and spend most of 
 
490 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA Of NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 their time in the sunshine when they dare; but usually 
 they have a convenient retreat near the -range of their 
 daily wanderings into which they can take refuge when 
 the ominous tread of a man is heard, for curiously 
 enough they do not mind the tramp of cattle or of 
 galloping horses. While strictly a land snake and often 
 to be found at a long distance from water, it is also a 
 most excellent swimmer and has been seen to cross 
 rivers more than a mile wide; and in early summer, 
 when the young frogs are abundant in the low-lying 
 
 meadows, the gar- 
 ter-snakes often 
 congregate there 
 to feed upon 
 them, 
 
 Neither the 
 slender and mild, 
 or stout and cross 
 species have any 
 marked peculiari- 
 ties of habits, and 
 they can arouse 
 one's interest in 
 them more by their graceful movements than by any- 
 thing else. While so long familiar to all who have lived 
 in the country and to naturalists,, but very little beyond 
 the most superficial remarks have been recorded con- 
 cerning it. 
 
 A species of snake that was formerly more abundant 
 than now, except in districts remote from large towns, 
 is that usually known as the chain-snake — a name de- 
 rived froin the narrow white lines that cover the body 
 with link-like figures. It is, according to Holbrook, 
 " found abundantly in moist and shady places, though 
 it never takes to water or to trees. It feeds on moles, 
 small birds, or such reptiles as lizards, salamanders. 
 
 Head of Chain-snake. 
 
REPTILIA. 
 
 491 
 
 toads, etc., that may fall in its way. It is commonly 
 believed that this serpent is the ^reat enemy of the 
 rattle-snake, though I oelieve there is no great evidence 
 of the fact. My friend Dr. Binney, however, informed 
 me that he once captured a fine specimen in Georgia, 
 which he placed in a tin box with a full-grown (rattle- 
 snake). The next day, on examining the box, it was dis- 
 covered that the king-snake (chain-snake) had devoured 
 its fellow-prisoner. It would have done the same to 
 any other snake of sim- 
 ilar size under similar 
 circumstances and with 
 the same appetite." 
 
 Throughout the 
 Southern States and as 
 far north as the 
 "pines" of Southern 
 Ne^ Jersey there is 
 found a beautiful ser- 
 pent, which is known 
 as the pine-snake by 
 many, and by some, as 
 the bull-snake. It is 
 reported as sometimes 
 reaching a length of 
 twelve feet. The speci- 
 men figured by Holbrook measured 
 inches, but he says, "they 
 
 Head of Pine-snake. 
 
 seven feet three 
 reach a greater 
 size; I have seen one nine feet in length." 
 
 Professor Lockwood in the "American Naturalist," 
 describes this beautiful snake as follows: "This reptile 
 has a shiny coat of soft, creamy white, upon which is 
 laid . . . showy mottlings or blotches, which, 
 beginning at the neck, are of an intensely dark-brown 
 or chocolate color, but which toward the tail lighten up 
 into a pale, bright chestnut. . . . By the old set- 
 
493 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 tiers in the 'pines' this reptile is often called the bull- 
 snake, because of the remarkable sound it makes when 
 blowing. A case was told me of a large pine-snake be- 
 ing captured by a farmer's boy, who tied a string around 
 its tail, and having taken it home, tied the string to a 
 small bush hear the kitchen door. If ot intending any- 
 thing, the boy said nothing about it. As the family were 
 at supper, the snake commenced blowing. This waa 
 heard by the good mother, who cried out, 'There, 
 that bull's got into the cornfield again!' The boy 
 broke into laughter, and told what he had done. And 
 well do I remember my boyish terror at hearing a 
 similar sound. It was the restrained bellowing of a 
 bull, which came upon me suddenly in a field. There 
 is nothing sibilant in • this blowing of a pine-snake, 
 not the slightest hiss about it. The animal slowly fills 
 its long thorax with air, and then expels it with a bel- 
 lowing that is really formidable. . . . 
 
 "Old charcoal burners in the "pines" entertain the 
 belief that the pine-sn-ake destroys the rattle-snake, but 
 I have never found the man that had seen the pine- 
 snake kill a rattle-snake. They say that generally they 
 can tell if a rattle-snake is around by the smell, which 
 is like that of a cucumber. That the pine-snake can 
 emit an odor of a far more powerful character than the 
 rattle-snake is well known to these men. Their notion 
 is that the smell is thrown out with the breath when 
 blowing. This I think is a mistake, except the fact 
 that it may occur during the blowing, which is itself an 
 act or manifestation of rage or other high emotion. 
 , . . I am not disposed to believe that it comes 
 from the animal's mouth, however, and think that it 
 can be determined only by dissections of the posterior 
 parts. This faculty may be compensatory — a means of 
 defence for an animal naturally timid. And may it not 
 be also for sexual attraction? In this particular it is 
 
REPT^LIA. 493 
 
 profcable the pine-snake is not singular, and it is likely 
 that where this function is feeble in the other snakes it 
 is strong enough for the latter purpose." 
 
 A few words concerning a well-known snake that fails 
 to learn wisdom from experience, and by imitating 
 poisonous snakes receives the treatment invariably ac- 
 corded them. The snake referred to is the hog-nose, 
 flat-head, or blowing adder. As a matter of fact, no 
 more harmless species exists. 
 
 This hog-nosed species is a dweller in high, dry up- 
 land fields, where the soil is so slightly compacted that 
 burrowing is easy, for nothing delights it more than to 
 worm its way through light soils, coming out occasion- 
 ally to take in the "lay 
 of the land," and then 
 resuming its subterra- 
 nean progress. It is for 
 this reason that it is 
 often passed by, when in 
 reality it is pretty abun- 
 dant. But when you do „ , ^ „ ^ „ , 
 
 overtake it, and it hp Head of Hoar-nosed SnaJ.e. 
 
 no chance to run, it will 
 
 turn, coil and launch out at you in true poison-snake 
 style. And even worse, it flattens its head and swells 
 its body until it looks like half the length of a far 
 longer serpent than it is. 
 
 Black crickets and mice make up the average daily 
 bill of fare of these harmless hog-nosed snakes. Hol- 
 brook extends this list to include toads and small rep- 
 tiles. This author remarks: " It is remarkable . . . 
 that I have never seen it bite or laj hold of _ any object 
 offered it in the many times that I have tried the ex- 
 periment. It may be worried with the end of a walk- 
 mg stick or cane, or pushed roughly from place -to 
 place, yet cannot be provoked to open its mouth, 
 
494 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 though it often advances its head with a threatening 
 air toward the object of its annoyance. 
 
 "At times it exhibits the instinct of some insects, and 
 remains perfectly quiet and motionless, as if dead, to 
 elude its tormentor; in this state it will remain several 
 minutes. The first time this phenomenon came under 
 my observation, I thought the animal had been unin- 
 tentionally killed by rough handling, and it was only 
 after witnessing the same thing in many instances that 
 I came to the conclusion that' it was done at will." 
 
 One of the beautiful snakes of our Northern and 
 Eastern States is of a beautiful grass-green color, and is 
 known as the grass, or green-snake, from this fact. It 
 is very gentle, and can be tamed more readily than any 
 other of our serpents. The pretty ring-snake, with its 
 golden collar, is equally gentle, and both are, of course, 
 wholly inoffensive. The water=snake, on the other 
 hand, is quite indisposed to be handled, and 'stubbornly 
 resists all attempts to be familiar. Indeed, it will bite, 
 but the result, even when one of the very largest shows 
 fight, is but a mere pin-prick. The idea is very prev- 
 alent that it is poisonous, and wonderful occurrences 
 continually crop out in our newspapers of how a water- 
 snake, here or there, fatally stung (I) some farmer's 
 cow, or chased the small boy home, who was driving it 
 to pasture. 
 
 The majority of our snakes are oviparous, but not all; 
 in some the eggs are hatched in the oviduct, and "there 
 are those in which hatching and laying happen so 
 nearly at the same time that they are at times oviparous 
 and at others apparently viviparous." 
 
 The common snake of the British Islands corresponds 
 in some respects to those which are in this country 
 called garter-snakes. The British species is well known 
 throughput Europe. " It frequents woods, moist bogs 
 and other sheltered situations in the vicinity of water. 
 
REP Til J A. 
 
 495 
 
 The common snake (of Europe) preys upon 
 almost any small animals that come in its way, such as 
 inseciis, worms, small birds, mice, etc., but its chief 
 diet usually consists of frogs — and in pursuit of the 
 last mentioned it has frequently been known to take to the 
 water. . . . The common snakes, like all the rep- 
 tiles inhabiting temperate and cold climates, pass the 
 winter in a state of torpidity; a considerable number of 
 them usually select some suitable retreat, where they 
 remain closely coiled together until the return of mild 
 weather recalls them to activity. . . , Occasionally, 
 and especially when excited or irritated, the snake emits 
 a most intolerable odor, although at other times it oc- 
 casions no such annoyance; 
 thus Gilbert "White, in his 
 'Natural History of Sel- 
 borne,' mentions the case of a 
 tame snake, ' which was in its 
 person as sweet as any animal 
 while in good humor and un- 
 alarmed, but as soon as a 
 stranger, or a dog or cat came 
 in, fell to hissing, and filled 
 
 the room with such nauseous effluvia as rendered 
 hardly supportable.' Cuvier states that the 
 snake is eaten in some places. 
 
 " Several other species belonging to this family (the 
 harmless common snakes) are found in the southern 
 countries of Europe. The largest of these is the 
 Coluber elapMs, which sometimes attains a length of 
 upward of six feet. It is found in Italy and. the south 
 of France, and Cuvier states that it is most probably 
 the loa of Pliny. Another remarkable species Is the 
 uUsculapian-snake, which is found in great abundance in 
 the neighborhood of Rome, and is commonly repre- 
 sented by the ancients in their statutes of .^sculapius," 
 (Orr's "Circle of the Sciences,") 
 
 Common Snake. 
 
 it 
 
 common 
 
496 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
 
 We will now consider a few of the most prominent 
 venomous snakes, and of these none have been more 
 thoroughly studied than the celebrated cobra-de-capsllo. 
 This justly dreaded serpent inhabits India and_ Ceylon, 
 and although a tropical species, occurs on the Himalayas 
 at a very considerable elevation. 
 
 The most marked feature of the cobra is the elonga- 
 tion of the anterior ribs, and as these are under the 
 control of the will of the snake they can be raised at 
 pleasure, and so formed into a disc-like hood. This 
 gives distincflon to the head and neck, and renders the 
 creature as formidable in appearance as it really is. 
 When moving about in search of prey it has about 
 
 one-third of its body ele- 
 vated, and the hood out- 
 spread, and in this striking 
 attitude is well calculated 
 to terrify all creatures that 
 it meets. 
 
 The cobra's bite is usu- 
 
 "cobraSe-capeiior ally fatal. There, is no 
 
 remedy known, except the 
 mechanical ones of amputation or cauterization, and it 
 is not often that these can be applied in time. 
 
 " The cobra is the snake usually exhibited by the In- 
 dian jugglers, who show great dexterity in handling it, 
 even when not deprived of its fangs. Usually, how- 
 ever, the front fang at least, is extracted, the creature 
 being thus rendered harmless until the succeeding tooth 
 takes its place, and in many cases all the fangs, with 
 the gQrms behind, are removed — the cobra being thus 
 rendered innocuous for life. The snake-charmer usually 
 plays a few simple notes on the flute, and the cobra, ap- 
 parently delighted, rears half its length in the air, and 
 sways its head and body about, keeping time to the mu- 
 sic." ("Encyclopedia Britannica.") 
 
REP TI LI A. 497 
 
 Whether there is one or a dozen sea-serpents, certain 
 it is that there are sea-snakes, and very formidable 
 creatures they are, too. As to the sea-serpent, it is 
 denied existence by the leading naturalists, but should 
 a hona fide specimen ever turn up, they will deny they 
 ever denied its existence, and so on, for this is human 
 nature the wide world over. 
 
 " The sea-snakes," according to Garman, " have the 
 nostrils on the top of the snout and the tail compressed 
 so as to form a paddle. Three to five feet in length is 
 the common size; ten feet is a great length for the 
 largest. They are numerous in parts of the Indian 
 Ocean. . . . Sea-snakes 
 are said to approach the 
 shores only when about to 
 give birth to the young. 
 They feed upon marine ani- 
 mals of various kinds and 
 are sometimes taken in the 
 nets of fishermen, who fear 
 them very little." Sea-Bnake. 
 
 On the other hand, wc' 
 find it stated in Orr's "Circle of the Sciences" that 
 "they are exceedingly venomous and are regarded with 
 great dread by the fishermen in whose nets they are 
 not unfrequently caught. They are, however, eaten by 
 the inhabitants of some of the countries on whose shores 
 they occur." 
 
 Bennett, in his " Gatherings," etc., says: " Two sea- 
 snakes, caught on the coasts of Australia, are both 
 venomous. . . . [They] may always be known by 
 their flattened tails, but it is a singular physiological 
 fact that although' inhabiting the sea, their breathing 
 apparatus does not difEer from that of land-serpents." 
 
 The vipers are African serpents that are much to be 
 dreaded on account of their deadly venom. 
 
498 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 them, nevertlieless. 
 other of the horned 
 
 The horned viper is a serpent of the desert, where it 
 lies half -concealed in the burning sands. The peculiar 
 appendages on the snout are not true horns, but simply 
 modified scales, which "when perfect . . . curve 
 backward and upward in a rather bovine fashion." It 
 has been supposed that these "horns" were under 
 the control of the serpent and movable, but this is not 
 true. Miss Hopley says: "I have carefully watched 
 several of the horned vipers for a long while together, 
 but have never detected the slightest volitional move- 
 ment in their horns. A bird might come and peck at 
 This same author writes: "An- 
 serpents, vipera cornuta, has a 
 cluster of leaf -like scales 
 in three distinct pairs 
 decorating its nose." 
 
 The common European 
 viper is found in the 
 northern parts of Kussia 
 and in Sweden, and 
 thence southward to the 
 Mediterranean. It is the only venomous serpent found 
 in England, and curiously enough, it seems to be a 
 question whether its bite has ever proved directly fatal. 
 There are dozens of items, pro and con, in " Science 
 Gossip " discussing this matter, and the evidence is in 
 favor of the view that the bite in a healthy person is 
 readily cured if taken in hand promptly. Probably as 
 compared with our American rattle-snakes they are not 
 a very dangerous animal. It has been stated of this snake 
 that "conscious of its formidable weapons, the viper 
 stands upon the defensive on the approach of a suspected 
 enemy, unlike the common snake, which always makes 
 its escape as quickly as possible. "With the body closely 
 coiled up, and the neck and head raised and slightly 
 thrown back, the viper watches the object of its su8pi< 
 
 Homed Viper. 
 
REP TI LI A. 499 
 
 cion until the latter approaches within its reach, when 
 the head is immediately darted upon it, a wound in- 
 flicted and the poison injected with the velocity of 
 thought." (Orr's " Circle of the Sciences.") 
 
 An observer of vipers writes as follows to "Science 
 Gossip" for 1867: "I found a viper out on an open piece 
 of ground the other day, and as his home was evidently 
 at some distance, I detained him a short time for the 
 purpose of 'making observations.' He did not move 
 about much faster than I walked, and when I put my 
 stick on him to hold him back he never darted at it, 
 but hissed violently and tried to escape. Finding his 
 efforts fruitless he lay still, and 
 even when I removed the stick 
 he only coiled himself round 
 and drew back his head, follow- 
 ing the point of the stick, but 
 never aiming a blow at it. He 
 then climbed to the top of a „ ^ , „ ., ^ „ 
 
 thistle about two feet high. Head and Tan^of Common 
 
 and lying among its leaves, 
 
 treated me to another hissing performance. , The 
 climbing was done in a way that showed it to be per- 
 fectly natural to him and frequently performed. He 
 did not coil round the stem at all, but lay across the 
 leaves and branches, lifting himself from one to another. 
 I teased him from his post and he hur^-ied into a thick 
 tuft of herbage, where I left him." 
 
 It is quite evident that the English viper is a very 
 mild venomous serpent, and one that need not be greatly 
 feared. The threadbare subject of snakes swallowing 
 their young has been discussed again and again with 
 reference to this viper. The sum and substance of the 
 matter is — they don't. 
 
 North America is famous for her rattle-snakes. 
 Whether she should be proud of them, or not, is 
 
500 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Another question. In the indefinite long ago they came 
 to this goodly landj and so far as much territory is con- 
 cerned, they came to stay. But they are not, after all, 
 such terrible creatures as they have been represented. 
 For instance, Campanius, in his "History of New 
 Sweden" (New Jersey), wrote, long years ago: " There 
 is here, also, a large and horrible serpent which is called 
 a rattle-snake. It has a head like that of a dog, and 
 can bite ofE a man's leg as clear as if it had been hewn 
 down with an ax. There are horny joints in their tails, 
 which make a noise like children's rattles, and when 
 they see a man, they wind themselves in a circle, and 
 shake their heads, which can be heard at the distance of 
 
 a hundred yards, so that one 
 
 .ift-.,n,^^i^/^p^ may put himself on his 
 
 "^' (•>\;«i^V/.'/c:i.\ '•^ guard. These snakes are 
 
 three yards long, and thick 
 as the thickest part of a 
 man's leg," etc. 
 
 Well, they have certainly 
 dwindled since Campanius' 
 time — 345 years ago — and 
 now are not particularly 
 dreadful, if one Jias his wits about him when in their 
 haunts. That their bite is fatal is true, but then very 
 few people are bitten, because these snakes are not ag- 
 gressive, and warn one of their proximity. 
 
 G-arman's account is the most satisfactory of any 
 printed — a model of what natural history should be, 
 facts plainly stated. He says: " In general the venom- 
 ous snakes of North America are much less dangerous 
 than is supposed. What is fatal to the small animals 
 which form their food becomes much less troublesome 
 to larger ones. The degree of danger to men varies 
 according to the sile of the snake, the number of blood 
 vessels in the part bitten and the condition of the 
 
REP T I LI A. 501 
 
 system at this time. There is a great variation in the 
 amount of venom injected. After it has bitten several 
 times the supply of venom is reducedj so that a bite 
 from a large specimen is not attended by serious conse- 
 quences. . . . Fatal cases in which men have been 
 victims probably do not number as many as one in 
 twenty. 
 
 " The probable use of the (rattles) has given rise to a 
 great deal of discussion. Because of the resemblance of 
 the sound to the crepitation of the grasshopper and to the 
 shrilling of the cicada, or harvest fly, though much less 
 rapid in its vibrations than the latter, it is claimed that 
 it draws insect-eating birds within reach. This is pos- 
 sible, but the fact that the snakes are usually so quiet 
 when feeding, and that birds are so rarely found in 
 their stomachs, b6ars against the supposition. The idea 
 that the rattle produces terrorism in the prey is hardly 
 tenable, since it appears to be least used when feeding, 
 and frightens the game away. The rattles are used in 
 time of coupling, but not with the energy marking 
 their use in anger. In reality, the attitude of the ser- 
 pent is defensive at all times, unless it be when seeking 
 food; it prefers to economize venom and take no risk of 
 losing fangs; it does not wish to strike unless driven to 
 do so, and the rattling is a threat or warning that it is 
 ready if it must. In economizing venom and fangs the 
 rattle is undoubtedly beneficial, and prevents a great 
 many useless strokes; at the same time its action is dis- 
 advantageous in that it calls the attention of enemies 
 to its owner. A snake seems to realize how much its 
 subsistence depends on an every ready supply of venom 
 and perfect fangs, and how helpless it becomes without 
 them." 
 
 Concerning charming or fascination by these snakes, 
 of which one hears much, and indeed of this power as 
 possessed by harmless snakes, Garman remarks: "After 
 
502 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 wounding it fatally the snake watches the prey very in- 
 tently until the venom has produced the desired effect. 
 . . . This intent gazing at squirrels, birds, etc., in 
 their dying agonies has given rise to the erroneous 
 ideas concerning fascination. All there is of fascina- 
 tion or charming is to be accounted for by the fact just 
 mentioned, together with the quiet, almost impercepti- 
 ble motion of the snake and the recklessness and terror- 
 ism of the prey." 
 
, 'r%7r 
 
 
 , wef , r ' 
 
 V i 
 
 • - '^ , -1 
 
 1 *■ 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 lACEKTILIA, OE LIZARDS. 
 
 To pass from the consideration of snakes to that of 
 lizards is not a violent change of subject. These two 
 forms of reptiles have a good deal in common. For in- 
 stance, it must be remembered that there are some 
 snakes with rudiments of legs, and again there are liz- 
 ards without limbs, or next to without them. Liz- 
 ards are essentially creatures of the tropics, and but 
 comparatively few are found in the north temperate 
 regions. All such are active onW under favorable con- 
 ditions of the weather, and hibernate during winter. 
 
 There are some twenty or more families and many 
 genera, and probably nearly as many species as there 
 are of serpents. "Development of the senses varies 
 according to habits. In the serpent-tongued lizards we 
 meet with great quickness of sight, hearing, scent and 
 touch, accompanied by lack of taste — ^the tongue simply 
 being a very sensitive tactile organ. Again, in species 
 living upon vegetation, the touch is deficient and the 
 tongue is short and thick, evidently an organ of taste. 
 The keen-sighted chameleon has a tongue which is 
 probably an organ of taste as well as touch." (Garman.) 
 
 We find recorded in Gosse's "Jamaica" many inter- 
 esting references to the geckoes. He says if a traveler, 
 curious in such matters, " looks into the out-buildings 
 of the estates, the mill-house ... or the cattle- 
 sheds, a singular croaking sound above his head causes 
 him to look up, and then he sees clinging to the rafters 
 or crawling sluggishly along with the back downward. 
 
504 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 three or four lizards. ... It is the gecko, or 
 croaking-lizard, a nocturnal animal in its chief activity, 
 but always to b^ seen in these places, or in hollow trees, 
 even by day. Its appearance is repulsive, I allow, but 
 its reputation for venom is libelous and groundless." 
 Elsewhere in the same volume the author says: "It 
 is very common, ... a pair commonly living 
 either in the same hole or near together. On the ap- 
 proach of night one hears on all sides the singular 
 cracked, cackling call of these animals, somewhat like 
 the sound produced by drawing a stick across a comb. 
 M. Dumenl's suggestion that this 
 
 fiv. (J voice may be produced by the tongue 
 
 j ^k Jt& -kS smacked, as it were, in the eon- 
 ^SB •ST OTKv cavity of the palate, is the less un- 
 likely from the fact that this organ 
 is large, flexible and fleshy. . . . 
 In the woods the voice is also heard 
 at night proceeding from hollow 
 trees and continued through the 
 whole of the hours of darkness. 
 The large, prominent eye, without 
 any eyelid, whose pupil contracts 
 r-geoko. in strong light to a perpendicular 
 
 line, indicates their nocturnal habits. 
 . . . In the old mill-house at Bluefield's they are 
 numerous, and two or three pairs may be seen day after 
 day at the same spot, peeping out of their crevices and 
 remaining perfectly still for hours. Sometimes they 
 venture forth, and may be seen crawling slowly along 
 the beams and rafters, moving with excessive delibera- 
 tion and never going far from their holes, into which 
 they dart on the least alarm with rapidity." 
 
 These geckoes, it will be noticed, are spoken of as 
 climbing up smooth vertical surfaces. They are enabled 
 to do this from the fact that the toes " are dilated into 
 
REPTILIA. 505 
 
 broad oval disks, and have the under surface covered 
 ■?rith transverse laminae, the edge of each overlapping its 
 successor. Minute hooked claws, very acute, like those 
 of a cat, doubtless assist the animal in its feats of this 
 kind. I do not, however, remember to have seen this 
 gecko actually back downward." 
 
 If geckoes are not pretty, what shall be said of the 
 moloch of Australia? The whole body is covered with 
 conical spines, those on the head being particularly 
 prominent, and so takeh altogether, it is probably the 
 most repulsive creature in existence. There seems to be 
 nothing given as to the creature's habits, but that they 
 are like other lizards in 
 their general habits is 
 highly probable. That 
 they have certain pecul- 
 iarities of habit and per- 
 haps of habitat may be Moioch-iizard. 
 inferred from its spiny 
 
 coating and inconspicuous coloring, all of which may 
 be protective. 
 
 Southwestern North America can boast of nearly 
 as repulsive a lizard as the moloch, and one, too, 
 that IS venomous. It is, according to Garman, " one 
 of the largest North American lizards of the Sauria 
 proper, (and) inhabits the arid region extending from 
 Utah to Tehauntepec. It is a clumsy, slow-motioned 
 creature and presents a repulsive appearance. The skin 
 is covered with transverse series of thick plates, rounded 
 and separated somewhat on the back, quadrangular and 
 close together on the ventral surface. As if better pro- 
 tected from below, the heloderma is said to turn him- 
 self on his back when attacked. The teeth are long, 
 slender, sharp and grooved. The saliva is very irritating 
 when introduced into a wound, as is almost certain to 
 be the case when the animal is enraged. It is generally 
 
506 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HISTOR V. 
 
 considered to be fatal to the smaller animals. These 
 are probably the only Tenomous species of the Saurians. 
 They are terrestrial and carnivorons, not at all particular 
 as to kind and condition of food. Two species of the 
 genus are all that are known." 
 
 We quote Dr. Shufeldt on the strength and character 
 of the heloderma^s venom. He experimented with one 
 as follows: "It was in capital health and at first I 
 handled it with great care. ... At the close of 
 (an) examination . . . my left hand slipped slightly 
 and the now highly indignant and irritated heloderma 
 1 made a dart forward and 
 seized my right thumb, 
 inflicting a severe lacer- 
 ated wound. . . . 
 By suction with my mouth 
 I drew not a little blood 
 from the wound, but the 
 bleeding soon ceased en- 
 tirely, to be followed in a 
 few moments by very se- 
 vere shooting pains up my 
 arm and down the corresponding side. The severity of 
 these pains was so unexpected that, added to the nervous 
 shock already experienced, no doubt, and a rapid swell- 
 ' ing of the parts that now set in, caused me to become 
 so faint as to fall, and Dr. Gill's study was reached with 
 no little difficulty. The action of the skin was greatly 
 increased and the perspiration flowed profusely." The 
 wound healed quickly and all ugly symptoms soon dis- 
 appeared. Other experiments have been tried and the 
 animals into which the saliva was injected died in a very 
 short space of time, indicating that the creature is more 
 dangerous to man than Dr. Shufeldt was disposed to 
 believe, judging from his own experience. 
 A family of llew "World lizards presenting great 
 
 Heloderma. 
 
REPTILIA. 507 
 
 diversity of size, shape, general appearance and habits 
 is the iguanidse. "They are diurnal. Their eyelids 
 are yalvular and their tongues thick and slightly 
 notched." Some are vegetable feeders, as the cactus- 
 eating conolophus and a Galapagos Islands species that 
 feeds upon sea-weed. The typical iguana is a South 
 American form, found also in Mexico and the West 
 Indies. To this family also belong the so-called "horned 
 toads" of the West and our Eastern and Northern 
 "fence," or "pine-tree," lizard. 
 
 Of the common iguana, as seen by him in Gruiana, 
 Im Thurn writes as follows: "This is a large, tree- 
 dwelling, herbivorous lizard, 
 often four or four and a half 
 feet in length, of a beautiful 
 brilliant green when young, 
 but afterward of a dull, ugly 
 gray-green, made hideous, es- 
 pecially in the case of the 
 male, by a curiously jagged, 
 raised ridge along its back common iguana, 
 
 and by an enormous dew- 
 lap. They live about the banks of rivers. The flesh 
 of these lizards being like, but more delicate than 
 chicken, is much appreciated not only by Indians 
 but also by Europeans, and the aniinals are therefore 
 much sought after. In the more peopled districts 
 iguanas are now scarce, but along the rivers of the in- 
 terior, and especially on the Corentyn, long stretches of 
 which are entirely uninhabited even by Indians, they 
 are abundant. 
 
 "But it was on the Cabalebo, which is entirely unin- 
 habited, that I saw most of these animals. One or 
 more were lying on the upper branches of many of the 
 creeper-tangled bushes and low trees overhanging the 
 water, Oft^n the first notice of the presenoe of these 
 
808 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 was the loud splash which they made when, as we came 
 up, they threw themselves headlong from the top of the 
 trees into the water. Sometimes, howerer, we got neai 
 enough to shoot them, when if they were not killed 
 outright, they sank into the water and were never seen 
 again. Others were basking among the dead leaves on 
 the river-bank, and these, as we came up, raised their 
 tails and scampered off with a clatter loud enough for 
 an animal of four or five times the size. "We began to 
 find their eggs, too, buried in holes in the sand-bank, 
 and the men often dug out hundreds of eggs in the 
 course of a few hours. There are generally from thirty 
 to forty eggs, all laid by one lizard, in each nest, but 
 from the larger number in some of the holes I imagine 
 that occasionally more than one lays in the same place. 
 The holes are often very deep, so that the Indians have 
 to dig four or five feet, or even more, before reaching 
 the eggs. 
 
 " The iguanas wait to lay till the dry season, when 
 the sand-banks are uncovered. Then they either go to 
 the banks at the side of the river or swim — they are 
 capital swimmers — to those in mid-stream. They dig a 
 tunnel only just wide enough for their bodies down into 
 the sand. After laying their eggs, which are oval, 
 about the size of a pigeon's egg, and are enclosed in a 
 white, elastic skin instead of shell, they must wiggle 
 backward out of the holes — no easy task. The eggs are 
 left to hatch untended. When the germ begins to 
 develop the egg becomes irregular in shape. How long 
 a time passes before the young emerge from the egg I 
 have never been able to find out. That their instinct 
 should lead them to find their way up through the great 
 mass of overlying sand is "wonderful. . . . The 
 Indians assert that jaguars are in the habit of digging 
 out the eggs for themselves. Certainly jaguar- tracks 
 were very commonly intermingled on the sand with 
 
REPTILIA. 509 
 
 those of the iguana. But it is more probable that the 
 jaguars, knowing that these lizards are frequenting the 
 sand-banks, prowl about during the breeding season 
 to catch the old lizards than that they dig for the eggs." 
 
 There are found in the Southern and Middle States, 
 at least two species of lizards belonging to the iguana 
 family, which have much in common in their general 
 appearance. One is found over tbe large extent of ter- 
 ritory mentioned; the other is confined to PloridU. 
 
 In the "pine barren" regions of New Jersey this 
 animal is very abundant, and has not the reputation of 
 
 Pine-tree lizard. 
 
 being poisonous, for a wonder. Indeed, the village 
 school-boys find endless amusement in catching them 
 with horse-hair nooses and keeping theni as pets. 
 They becom^* very tame, and are quite intelligent, and 
 mucn more interesting than the Western so-called 
 "homed toads." 
 
 These creatures are called "pine-tree" lizards with- 
 out very good reason apparently, as they do not appear 
 to have any more marked fancy for the pine tree than 
 for scrub oaks, and where neither are found, fences and 
 stone walls suit them admirably. 
 
510 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OP NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 They are quick-motioned, it is true, but do not run 
 far at one time, seeming to prefer hiding to escaping by 
 prolonged speed; but this matter may vary somewhat in 
 accordance with the environment, as it certainly does 
 with the temperature. 
 
 The pine-tree lizard is oviparous, laying from eight to 
 ten eggs in dry sand, and leaving them to be hatched 
 by the heat of the sun. 
 An ugly and rather uninteresting lizard belonging to 
 
 this family is c^led 
 by the absurd name 
 of "horned toad." 
 Unlike the preced- 
 ing, they bring 
 forth living young. 
 There are nine spe- 
 cies, and none are 
 found east of the 
 Mississippi River, 
 "Early in August 
 the female gives 
 birth to about eight young ones. Ajits appear to form 
 their principal food, though they are not by any means 
 limited to them." (Garman.) 
 
 They are said to be quick-motioned and diflflcult to 
 catch during the hot weather, but when they make their 
 appearance in spring and in autumn, just previous to 
 hibernating, they are gluggish and easily overtaken. 
 This quite accords with what has been notieed concern- 
 ing the pine-tree lizard of the Middle States. 
 
 The chameleons proper are found in Africa and 
 Madagascar. The more marked features are a prehen- 
 sile tail; skin covered with granular folds or scales, and 
 a remarkably extensile tongue, which ends in a club- 
 shaped knob, which is viscous, and so enables the lizard 
 to secure small insects by merely touching them. The 
 
 Homed Toad. 
 
JiBPT'ILIA. 
 
 511 
 
 Chameleon. 
 
 eyes are remarkable, as the animal can with one watch 
 an object in front of him, and with the other another 
 object behind. They are arboreal and insectivorous. 
 The rapidity with which they change from one color to 
 another has been often commented upon. " They are 
 small creatures, not usually exceeding seven inches in 
 length, exclusive of the tail, 
 which in general is as long as 
 the body. . . . The lungs 
 are large and are connected 
 with air vessels distributed 
 throughout the body, by the 
 inflation of which a certain 
 transparency is given to the 
 body, as well as a plumpness, 
 which at once disappears on 
 their collapse, and this, to- 
 gether with the fact that the chameleon can live appar- 
 ently in a thriving condition for weeks without food, 
 seems to have given rise to the ancient belief that this 
 singular creature lived on air." ("Encyclopedia Bri- 
 tannica.") 
 The skinks are quite commonplace lizards as com- 
 pared with such creatures 
 as many we have men- 
 tioned, but they are ex- 
 ceedingly interesting ani- 
 mals nevertheless. They 
 ''generally have fusiform 
 or sub-cylindrical bodies, 
 and are covered with 
 gbssy scales, which are either smooth, keeled or grooved. 
 The limbs are short, the body and tail rather long. In 
 some there are no limbs, Auguis; in others there are 
 two, OpModes, and in the majority there are four. 
 . . . The tongue is slender, exsertile, and provided 
 
 Skink. 
 
512 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HISTOR Y. 
 
 with a pair of pointed extremities. In habits the 
 seines are terrestnal." (Grarman.) 
 
 The skink, of which an illustration is here given, is 
 known as the "officinal," because of its having been 
 used by charlatans, in past times, as a medicine of won- 
 derful power. Its body was dried and pulverized, and 
 prescribed for about all the ills that flesh is heir to. It 
 is a native of Africa, and delights in arid, sandy dis- 
 tricts. It is sluggish in its movements generally, but 
 when avoiding an enemy by burrowing it proves itself 
 wonderfully active on occasion. It suddenly sinks from 
 sight, burying its body frcftn tip of snout to point of 
 tail at the same time. 
 But if the African officinal skink is rather sluggish 
 
 in its movements it is by 
 no means true of the 
 American species that wan- 
 ders as far north as New 
 York, if not New En- 
 gland. This, known as the 
 blue-tailed lizard, and also 
 Amphisti8Bna. as the red-headed scorpion, 
 
 is even more active than 
 the pine-tree, or fence lizard, and will run much farther 
 before stopping. It lives in hollow trees and in crevices 
 of large rocks, finding in either case an abundance of 
 insect food. It has the reputation of being poisonous, 
 but this is not true. 
 
 Of theamphisbaenas there is one species found in the 
 Southeastern United States, the others are natives of 
 South America and the West Indies. The species, of 
 which an ■ illustration is here given, is about twenty 
 inches in length, and is of about the same general 
 measurement from head to tail. " The head is small, 
 and there can scarcely be said to be a tail, the vent 
 being close to the extremity of the body. The animal 
 
REPTILIA. 513 
 
 lives mostly underground, burrowing in soft earth, and 
 feeds on ants and other small animals. From its ap- 
 pearance, and the ease with which it moves backward, 
 the popular belief in the countries where it prevails has 
 been that the amphisbsena has two heads, and that 
 when the body is cut in two the parts seek each other 
 out and reunite. From this has arisen another popular 
 error, which attributes extraordinary curative proper- 
 ties to its flesh when dried and pulverized." ("Ency- 
 clopedia Britannica.") 
 
CHAPTEE XXVII. 
 
 CEOCODILIA, OR ALLIGATOES. 
 
 The Crocodilia, or alligators, one would very naturallj 
 suppose, from their general appearance, to be lizards, 
 the very types of the family, but the resemblance is 
 superficial and signifies little. Their v^hole internal 
 structure differs widely, and they form a family by 
 themselves, subdivided into gavials, crocodiles and alli- 
 gators. They are very widespread, inhabiting every 
 tropical country, and extending into considerable areas 
 of the temperate regions. Indeed, they can withstand a 
 considerable degree of cold, as is shown by the fact that 
 escaped individuals have taken refuge in northern 
 ponds and rivers, and remained an entire winter before 
 recapture. 
 
 The gavial of India is distinguished by its very long 
 and narrow snout. The teeth are nearly of one size 
 the whole length of the jaws, those immediately in front 
 being somewhat longer. 
 
 Gavials are really more formidable in appearance than 
 in fact, and are of much use as scavengers, consuming 
 the carcasses of drowned animals that if left undis- 
 turbed would pollute the waters to a dangerous extent. 
 They reach a length of about eighteen feet. 
 
 _ The crocodiles, like the common species of the Nile, 
 differ from the gavial in their dentition, and have 
 broader and shorter snouts. The African species just 
 mentioned sometimes reaches a length of thirty feet 
 and is probably the most ferocious inhabitant of the 
 rivers of that continent. "On land, from the diflaculty 
 
REPTILIA. 515 
 
 wHch. it experiences in turning quickly round, the croc- 
 odile is by no means dangerous, but when in the water 
 his powerful compressed tail enables him to move with 
 great rapidity and in every direction in pursuit of his 
 prey. This consists to a great extent of fish, but any 
 animal of moderate size that comes within his reach is 
 equally welcome, and many instances are on record of 
 men being carried off by crocodiles in crossing rivers." 
 (Orr's "Circle of the Sciences.") 
 
 Tennent, in his " Natural History of Ceylon," says 
 that crocodiles " literally swarm in the still waters and 
 tanks in the low coun- 
 try, but rarely frequent 
 rapid streams and nave 
 never been found in the 
 marshes among the hills. 
 . . . The instincts 
 of the crocodiles of Cey- 
 lon do not lead to any 
 
 variation from the Head of Gaviai. 
 
 habits of those found 
 in other countries. There would appear to be two 
 . . . species in the island; . . . the Indian 
 crocodile, inhabiting the rivers and estuaries through- 
 out the low countries of the coasts, attaining the 
 length of sixteen or eighteen feet, and read - to as- 
 sail man when pressed by hunger; and the marsh croc- 
 odile, which lives exclusively in fresh water, frequent- 
 ing the tanks in the northern and central pre vinces and 
 confining its attacks to the smaller animals. In length 
 it seldom exceeds twelve or thirteen feet. Sportsmen 
 complain that their dogs are constantly sie zed by both' 
 species, and water-fowl when shot frequently disappear 
 before they can be secured by the fowler. It is generally 
 believed in Ceylon that, in the case of larger ani- 
 mals, the crocodile abstains from devouring them till 
 
516 
 
 CYCLOPSDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 the commencement of decomposition facilitates the 
 operation of swallowing. To assist in this, the natives 
 assure me that the reptile contrives to fasten the carcass 
 behind the roots of a mangrove or some other convenient 
 tree, and tears ofE each piece by a backward spring. 
 . . . Generally during the extreme drought, when 
 unable to procure their ordinary food from the drying 
 up of the water-courses, they bury themselves in the 
 mud and remain in a state of torpor till released by the 
 occurrence of rains. . . . While riding across the 
 parched bed of a tank, I was shown the recess, still 
 
 bearing the form and 
 impress of a crocodile, 
 out of which the animal 
 had been seen to emerge 
 the day before. A story 
 was also related to me 
 of an officer . . . 
 who, having pitched his 
 tent in a similar posi- 
 tion, was disturbed dur- 
 ing the night by feeling 
 a movement of the 
 earth below his bed, from which on the following 
 day a crocodile emerged, making its appearance from 
 beneath the matting. . . . During our ^[ourneys 
 we had numerous opportunities of observing the 
 habits of these hideous creatures, and I am far from 
 considering them so formidable as they are usually sup- 
 posed to be. They evidently are not wantonly destruc- 
 tive; they act only under the influence of hunger, and 
 even then their motions on land are awkward and un- 
 gainly, their actions timid and their whole demeanor 
 devoid of the sagacity and courage which characterize 
 other animals of prey." 
 
 One species of crocodile is found sparingly in 
 
 Crocodile. 
 
REPTJUA. 517 
 
 Southern Florida. One captured by William A. Horn- 
 aday, in the winter of 1874, measured fourteen feet in 
 length. 
 
 "The female crocodile lays from twenty to thirty 
 eggs at a time. "With her feet and nose she scoops a 
 hole in the mud or sand on the shore, taking care to 
 select a slightly elevated situation, and in this deposits 
 her eggs in several layers, one upon another, placing a 
 coat of earth, reeds and grass over each layer. The 
 heat generated by the fermentation of this mass is sufB- 
 cient to hatch the eggs in about thirty days." (Horna- 
 day in American Naturalist.) 
 
 The alligators are strictly an American form of this 
 family. They " differ from the true crocodiles in hav- 
 ing a shorter and flatter head, in having cavities or pits 
 in the upper jaw, into which the long canine teeth of 
 the under jaw fit, and in having the feet much less 
 webbed. Their habits are less perfectly aquatic." 
 (" Imperial Dictionary.") 
 
 Those found in the Southern United States are so 
 well known that any detailed description of their habits 
 or appearance is unnecessary. >They were formerly 
 much more abundant in Florida than now, and the 
 demand for their skins, which make leather of much 
 value, at present threatens the animal with extinction 
 at no distant day. 
 
 Im Thurn writes of these animals in Guiana as fol- 
 lows: "In the coast region alligators are very numerous 
 wherever there is mud and water. They are often to 
 be seen in the trenches of estates, and in one case, not 
 long ago, one was found even in the streets of George- 
 town. Because the larger they grow the more notice- 
 able they are, only those of small size generally escape 
 detection and survive in the inhabited districts, but in 
 remote mud swamps they grow much larger. The 
 largest that came under my notice measured twenty 
 
518 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
 
 feet from snout to tail. They are rarely harmful to 
 man, though one occasionally hears stories of how an 
 arm or a leg has been snapped off by one of these rep- 
 tiles. . . . 
 
 " Generally when lying basking on the surface of the 
 water the cayman (alligator) is a sluggish animal, and it 
 is not dangerous to bathe in shallow water close by 
 them, if the bather only keeps his eye upon them and 
 is prepared to run as soon as the cayman seems about to 
 move. It is a well-known fact as regards lizards that, 
 
 not only when by some 
 accident the tail is torn 
 off does a new tail bud 
 and grow, but also that 
 even if this appendage is 
 only injured without be- 
 ing lost, a new secondary 
 tail occasionally grows 
 from the injured spot, 
 and, with the original 
 tail, forms a fork. Know- 
 ing this, I was yet sur- 
 prised one day by the 
 sight of an alligator of 
 considerable size with a 
 double tail. This animal was on a sandbank in the 
 Corentyn River, but it made its escape into the water 
 when we attempted to approach it." 
 
 On the Amazons, Bates states that "alligators were 
 rather troublesome in the dry season. During these 
 months there was almost always one or two lying in 
 wait near the bathing-place for anything that might 
 turn up at the edge of the water, dog, pig, sheep, child 
 or drunken Indian. When this visitor was about every- 
 one took extra care while bathing. I used to imitate 
 the natives in not advancing far from the bank, and in 
 
 Alllirator. 
 
REPTILIA. 519 
 
 keeping my eye fixed ou that of the monster, which 
 stares with a digusting leer along the surface of the 
 water, the body being submerged to the level of the 
 eyes, and the top of the head with part of the dorsal 
 crest the only portions visible. 
 
CHAPTEE XXVIII. 
 
 CHBLOiriA, OE TUETLES. 
 
 Turtles are animals haviag a clumsy look, which does 
 not belie them, for their bodies are not adapted to 
 graceful movements even under the most favorable cir- 
 cumstances. The vital parts of the turtle's body " are 
 inclosed in a bony case, formed by the expansion and 
 consolidation of the backbone, ribs and sternum. Per- 
 haps it might be more exact to say the shell or box is 
 formed by a union of dermal and neural skeletons." 
 (Garman — "Eeptilia of Iforth America.") 
 
 The anatomical characters of the turtles are such that 
 it is impossible to mistake them, nor are there any ex- 
 ceptions to the general rule of their structure. All 
 have box-like shells covering their bodies, a fact which 
 at once places the aniriial in this group, for there are no 
 turtle-like creatures among other classes of vertebrates. 
 
 Turtles, or tortoises, as they are often called, may 
 for convenience of study be separated into four groups: 
 Land, mud, water and sea turtles. 
 
 The land, or box tortoises, have short and stout 
 limbs, suited to walking upon land, and feet armed 
 with powerful claws that enable them to dig with con- 
 siderable facility. The head, legs and tail can be drawn 
 within the margins of the carapace, and the plastron so 
 fitted to the latter that the animal is safe from all 
 ordinary foes. The illustration here given is of the 
 European species, known also as the Greek tortoise and 
 familiar to many because so "frequently kept as a 
 household pet, and which occurs chiefly on the eastern 
 
REPTILIA. 
 
 5^1 
 
 Common or Greet Tortoise. 
 
 borders of the Mediterranean. These animals some- 
 times live to a great age (over 100 years according to 
 some) and hibernate through the colder season of the 
 year. They attain a length of twelve inches." ("Im- 
 perial Dictionary.") 
 
 A tortoise of this species that Gilbert White had 
 long under his notice was more lazy^ apparently, than 
 our American species. 
 White says of it: "This 
 creature not only goes under 
 the earth from the middle 
 of November to the middle 
 of April, but sleeps a great 
 part of the summer, for it 
 goes to bed in the longest 
 days at four o'clock in the afternoon, and often does 
 not stir in the morning till late. Besides, it retires to 
 rest for every shower, and does not move at all in the 
 wet days." [Have not a good many people studied the 
 ways of turtles like this?] 
 The American box tortoise, or "land turtle," as it is 
 generally called, is well known 
 to every one. It is so deliberate 
 in its movements, so lazy in fact 
 that one's curiosity is more roused 
 by what it does not do than by 
 anything that it accomplishes. 
 The box tortoise is an herbivor- 
 ous animal, and will thrive upon 
 soft vegetables and fruits, yet 
 there is but little doubt that it also 
 partakes of animal food to a limited extent. A stinging 
 frost sends it-into winter quarters and May sunshine in- 
 duces it to come forth again, but not to wander to any 
 great distance if food is moderately abundant. Stupid 
 as they appear to be they seem to have a liking for 
 
 Box-tortoise— Shell Closed. 
 
532 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 certain localities, and the same individual — as known by 
 its peculiar markings, or perhaps a name or date carved 
 on the plastron — will often he found, year after year, in 
 the same spot. The box tortoise, like the European 
 species already mentioned, unquestionably lives to a 
 great age, and are of very slow growth after the first 
 four or five years. 
 
 Another turtle that is found' abundantly over a wide 
 extent of territory along our Atlantic seaboard is known 
 by the name of wood tortoise, rough-backed terrapin 
 and other more or less descriptive names. Holbrook 
 remarks that it "lives in ponds and rivers," but the 
 added remark of Le Conte that it is " much more fond 
 
 Bough-backed Terrapin. 
 
 of leaving its natural element than any other aquatic 
 species, remaining even for months uninjured in dry 
 places," accords better with the experience of "tur- 
 tlers," who look for them in damp woods almost exclu- 
 sively. It is a much more active species than the pre- 
 ceding, and can travel over land with as much ease, if 
 not speed, as it can swim. They do not appear ill- 
 tempered when handled by man, but Holbrook found 
 them disposed to attack other turtles when confined 
 with them in somewhat cr,owded quarters. They are 
 prized as food and are much sought after, so much so, 
 indeed, that in the Middle States they are no longer 
 abundant. 
 
REPTtUA. 533 
 
 Wherever there is a deep mud-hole through which a 
 hifcle fresh water slowly runs, one is pretty sure to iind 
 this, the smallest and ugliest of our many fresh-water 
 turtles. It is superlatively ugly, but is not equally 
 sluggish and stupid. It travels over mud and through 
 water with considerable speed, and when it finds a 
 morsel of food it seizes it with much of the animation 
 that characterizes a squirrel when it takes up a nut. 
 They are by no means strictly herbivorous, and while 
 not quick enough to catch a fish in open water, it doea 
 surprise mud-minnows and baby cat-fish and devours 
 them with gusto. We have said it is superlatively 
 
 stinking Turtle. 
 
 Ugly — not so. It has a couple of bright yellow lines 
 that set ofE its face to some extent, and so in the matter 
 of appearance gives it some slight advantage over the 
 Pennsylvania mud turtle, or "mud-digger," a creature 
 of about the same size and habits bat of a milder dis- 
 position. The stinking turtle is crosis and bites severely 
 when incautiously handled. Wheii taken from the 
 water it emits a strong and disagreedble odor somewhat 
 resembling musk, from which comes the common name 
 mentioned. It is also called the "musk turtle." 
 
 The snapping turtle by reason of its abundance and 
 the value of its flesh as food, is a well known species. 
 
524 CVCLOPEblA OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
 
 found over wide areas of tfle United States. Its size, 
 ferocity and general digusting appearance at once call 
 attention to it, and when once seen it is not likely to be 
 forgotten. 
 
 This turtle, according to Holbrook, "is found in 
 stagnant pools, or in streams where the waters are of 
 sluggish motion. Generally they prefer deep water and 
 live at the bottom of rivers; at times, however, they 
 approach the surface, above which they elevate the tip 
 of their pointed snout, all other parts being concealed, 
 and in this way they float slowly along with the cur- 
 rent, but if disturbed they descend speedily to the bot- 
 tom. They are extremely voracious, feeding on fish. 
 
 Snapping' Turtle. 
 
 reptiles or on any animal substance that falls in their 
 way. They take the hook readily, whatever may be 
 the bait, though most attracted by pieces of fish. In this 
 way many are caught for market. It is, however, 
 necessary to have strong hooks and tackb, otherwise 
 they would be broken, for the animal puts forth great 
 strength in his struggles to escape, both with his firm 
 jaws and by bringing his anterior extremities across the 
 line. When caught, they always give out an odor of 
 musk, more or less distinct; sometimes in very old ani- 
 mals it is so strong as to be disagreeable. 
 
 " Occasionally the (snapper) leaves the water, and is 
 
REPTILIA. 525 
 
 seen on the banks of rivers or in meadows, even at a 
 distance from their accustomed element. On land his 
 motions are awkward; he walks slowly, with his head, 
 neck and long tail extended, elevating himself on 
 his legs like the alligator, which at that time he 
 greatly resembles in his motions; like the alligator also, 
 after having walked a short distance he mis on his 
 sternum to rest for a few moments, and then proceeds 
 on his journey. In captivity they prefer dark places, 
 and are exceedingly ferocious. They will seize upon and 
 bite severely anything that is offered them, and their 
 grasp upon the object with their strong jaws is so 
 tenacious that they may even be raised from the ground 
 without loosing their hold." 
 
 The snapper reaches an enormous size occasionally, 
 but specimens weighing over twenty-five pounds are 
 now no longer abundant. Dr. Holbrook was informed 
 of one that measured four feet from the snout to tip of 
 the tail. Such specimens seldom figure in the log- 
 books of turtlers nowadays. 
 
 The soft-shelled turtles, such as here figured, are 
 known as the Trionychidae. " The form of (these) re- 
 sembles a flat, orbicular disc, slightly elongated, with a 
 long, pointed head, projecting upon along, slender neck, 
 and two pairs of limbs, . . . with broad webbed 
 feet. . . . The shield is by no means entirely ossi- 
 fied, and where the ossification exists it is irregular. 
 . . . The principal habitat of the members of this 
 family is the muddy bottom of shallow waters. They 
 bury themselves in the soft mud, leaving only the head 
 or a small part of it exposed. They take breath from 
 time to time without moving the body, by raising up 
 the long neck and head and carrying the leathery snout 
 above water. They sometimes stay under water a long 
 time without taking breath; in one instance, a speci- 
 men has been seen to remain under water for more than 
 
536 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 half an hour without raising its snout aboTe the sur- 
 face. The nature of the habitat is clearly connected 
 with some of the prominent family characteristics. 
 For instance, the buried body needs not the protection 
 of the fully ossified shield which the other families 
 
 have; the long neck 
 and head, the project- 
 ing snout and the free 
 communica t i o n be- 
 tween the nasal open- 
 ings and the mouth 
 are all connected with 
 the manner of taking 
 breath. These ani- 
 mals rarely go on dry 
 land, and when they 
 do their locomotion is 
 laborious and con- 
 strained. '. 
 When these animals 
 move along on the 
 bottom, the limbs 
 move hori- 
 zontally, the web 
 striking against the 
 water and the inner 
 toes against the bot- 
 tom. They also bur- 
 row horizontally, 
 /oing under the mud only to the depth of a thin 
 layer. The habits of the Trionychidae are little 
 known. In confinement they exhibit great quickness in 
 their motions, which are abrupt and unsteady, except 
 when they swim rapidly in one direction. They then 
 dart their long, slender neck quickly forward or side 
 ways and upward, as the snakes do, and bite in the 
 
 Sof t-sheUed Mud Turtle. 
 
REPTILIA, 
 
 527 
 
 aame way, striking suddenly the objects they aim at. 
 . . . They feed upon shells, especially upon ano- 
 dontas (mussels) and paludinas (water-snails), frag- 
 ments of which I have frequently found among their 
 faeces and in their intestine. They probably grope for 
 them in the mud with their^proboscis. They lay from 
 twelve to twenty or more eggs, of a spherical form and 
 about the size of a musket ball, which they deposit on 
 shore in the sand near the water's edge." (Agassiz — 
 "Contributions to Natural History of United States.") 
 
 The largest turtles are the marine forms, and of 
 these, the trunk-back, or spar- 
 gis, attains the greatest size 
 and weight. "The form of 
 the ('trunk-backs') may be 
 compared to a flattened cone 
 with angular sides, to which 
 are appended in front a large 
 head with a pair of larger 
 naked paddles, and behind a 
 smaller pair of very broad rud- 
 ders. . . . I have seen speci- 
 mens weighing over a ton." 
 (Agassiz.) 
 
 These huge creatures are occasionally captured on 
 our Atlantic coast, and many records have been made 
 of their size, weight and other features. 
 
 Another family of large marine turtles is known as 
 the ChelonioidEe. In form they are " like a heart flat- 
 tened on one side, from the broad end of which pro- 
 jects a large head upon a thick neck, and from the 
 widening side of which protrudes, in front, a pair of 
 large, flat, wing-like, scaly flappers, and below the nar- 
 row part of which hang another pair of broad, short, 
 scaly rudders. ... In this family the dermal 
 shield is much more extended and more body than in 
 
 Hawk's-Wll Turtle. 
 
528 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL hiSTORY. 
 
 the gpharffididse; the wings and paddles are more cov' 
 ered by the shield and less free, and the body is more 
 flattened upon the sides and below. These character! 
 seem to indicate that the animal is less capable of pow 
 eriul and long-continued flight." (Agassiz.) 
 
 The hawk's-bill turtle, from which the tortoise-shell 
 of commerce is derived, is found in various parts of the 
 world, but on the Southern Atlantic coast of this country. 
 Tennent, in his " Natural History of Ceylon," states 
 the animal was "at former times taken in great num- 
 bers in the vicinity of Hambangtotte during the season 
 when they came to deposit their eggs. This gave rise 
 
 to the trade in tortoise- 
 shell at the Point de 
 Galle. . . . 
 
 "If taken from the 
 animal after death and 
 ■ -- TTt uiir— decomposition the color 
 ,i«^^^~ of the shell becomes 
 
 liogrger-head Turtle. clcuded an J milky, and 
 
 hence the cruel expedi- 
 ent is resorted to of seizing th turtles as they repair to 
 the shore to deposit their eggs, and holding them over 
 fires till heat makes the plates on the dorsal shields start 
 from the bone of the carapace, after which the creature 
 is permitted to escape to the water." 
 
 In the "Journal of the Indian Archipelago" it is 
 stated that, "At Celebes, whence the finest tortoise- 
 shell is exported to China, the natives kill the turtles 
 by blows on the head, and immerse the shell in boiling 
 water to detach the plates. Dry heat is only resorted 
 to_ by the unskillful, who frequently destroy the tor- 
 toise-shell in the operation." 
 
 The logger-head turtle is a more common species 
 than the sphargis, and is systematically hunted by 
 "turtlers" ofE the coasts of Florida. "They reach a 
 
REPTILIA. 629 
 
 weight of 400 pounds. They are said to eat almoBt 
 anything — sea-weed, sponges, Crustacea, moUusks, fish, 
 etc. A massive sponge growing around the Florida 
 Keys is called logger-head sponge, because, as the fish- 
 ermen say, the turtles are very fond of it. They take 
 conchs from their shells by biting off the small end of 
 the spiral." (Garman.) 
 
 The flesh of this species is not good for food, but the 
 eggs are considered a delicacy. 
 
 The green turtle, by virtue of the excellence of its 
 flesh, is well known in all the large cities of our sea- 
 board. The demand for 
 them is usually greater 
 than the supply, and many 
 professional turtlers are 
 occupied in capturing 
 these creatures, so much 
 
 prized by the epicure. 
 
 "The Atlantic species oc- Green Turtle, 
 
 curs all along the coast, 
 
 from Long Island Sound, where it has been taken 
 many times, but is not common, to Florida and the 
 coasts of the Gulf States." They vary greatly in size, 
 being quite small at the northern limit of their range, 
 and occasionally attain a weight of 1,000 pounds. 
 
 Goode, in his exhaustive "ifatural History of Aquatic 
 Animals," states: "The flesh of the green turtle is 
 considered an excellent article of diet, and forms the 
 basis of the well-known 'turtle soup.' Two portions 
 of the body have received special names in the language 
 of cookery. These are 'calapash,' a name for the 
 flesh which is attached to the upper shell of the turtle, 
 and is of a dull greenish color, and ' calipee,' the cor- 
 responding name for the flesh adhering to the ]ow»t 
 shell, which is of a yellowish hue." 
 
BATRACHIANS. 
 
 OHAPTEE 2CXIX. 
 
 C^CILIAKS AND SALAMANDEES. 
 
 The Batrachians are the frogs, toads, salamanders and 
 a scarcely-known form called csecilians. They differ 
 from reptiles in passing through a fish-like stage of ex- 
 istence before they assume the adult or parental form. 
 They are not poisonous, and some are of value as food. 
 
 The Batrachians are divided by naturalists into three 
 orders: one is without limbs; a second has limbs" and 
 tails; the third, limbs and no tails. The curious caeci- 
 lians represent the first order; salamanders, or " water 
 lizards," the second; and toads, frogs and hylas the 
 third. 
 
 Let us consider prominent members of each of these 
 groups with futher comment upon them collectively. 
 
 The . csecilians are found in India, Africa and South 
 America. They "are entirely destitute of limbs and 
 have quite the appearance of earthworms, because they 
 are not only very long and slender, but have also a skin 
 which is soft and naked. By earlier naturalists, and 
 even by Cuvier, they were classed with snakes. . . . 
 They have the body marked with numerous transverse 
 grooves or rings; they are utterly devoid of limbs, and 
 the head is scarcely, if at all, larger than the hinder 
 end of the body. These creatures burrow beneath the 
 
BATKACHIANS. 
 
 531 
 
 soil (which habit increases their resemblance to earth- 
 worms) and feed on worms and other small animals and 
 mould." (Mivart.) 
 
 Tennent, in his Ceylon volume already freely quoted, 
 remarks of one species of this animal: "The rocky 
 jungle bordering the higher coflEee estates provides a 
 safe retrea,t for a very singular animal, first introduced 
 to the notice of European naturalists ... by Lin- 
 naeus, who gave it the name cmcilia glutinosa, to indi- 
 cate two peculiarities manifest to the ordinary observer 
 — an apparent defect of vision, from the eyes being so 
 small and embedded as to be scarcely distinguishable, 
 and a power of secreting from minute pores in the skin 
 a viscous fluid resembling that of snails, eels and some 
 salamanders. . . . The skin is furrowed into 350 
 circular folds, in which are embedded minute scales. 
 The head is tolerably distinct, with a double row of fine 
 curved teeth for seizing the insects and worms on which 
 it is supposed to live." 
 
 The siren is a "salamander" having but two limbs 
 — ^the fore ones — ^and permanent external gills. It is 
 found as far north as Illinois, but is only abundant in 
 the Southern and Gulf States. 
 
 According to Holbrook, it "lives chiefly in mud and 
 is abundant in our rice fields, and are often thrown out 
 in great numbers at certain seasons when the ditches 
 are cleaned. Being regarded, however, as venomous by 
 the slaves, they are instantly killed or dreadfully man- 
 gled and left to serve as food for raccoons, or for turkey- 
 buzzards ever on the watch. 
 
 " Sometimes they leave the soft mud in which they 
 commonly burrow and take to the water, in which they 
 swim with great swiftness. My colleague. Professor 
 Moultrie, assures me that occasionally they afe taken 
 by persons angling for the common perch of Carolina 
 ^'*a a bait of earthworms. 
 
I' 'I < 
 
 SI 
 
BA TJiA CHIANS. 533 
 
 '• Sometimes they leave the water entirely^ like eels, 
 and are found on dry land, but whether in search of 
 food or to rid themselves of parasitic animals cannot at 
 this moment be determined." 
 
 The proteus is another example of salamandroid ani- 
 mals having permanent external gills, but differs from 
 the siren in having four legs instead of two. 
 
 " One species only has been hitherto discovered, 
 . . . which is found in subterranean lakes and caves 
 in niyria and Dalmatia. It attains a length of about 
 one foot. The body is smooth, naked and eel-like, the 
 legs four in number, small and weak, the fore feet three- 
 toed, the hinder four-toed, and in addition to perma- 
 nent external gills, it possesses lungs in the form of 
 
 Menobranchus. 
 
 slender tubes. From its habitat the power of vision is 
 unnecessary, and in point of fact its eyes are rudiment- 
 ary and covered by the skin." ("Imperial Dictionary.") 
 
 "Although apparently a weak and sluggish animal, 
 the proteus swims with considerable ease, with a leech- 
 like undulation of the body, and like the lepidosiren, 
 it is said to bury itself in the mud at the bottom of its 
 place of abode when the water happens to dry up." 
 (Orr's " Circle of the Sciences.") 
 
 The menobranchus has a half-dozen meaningless and 
 misleading names, and these need not be repeated. Ac- 
 cording to De Kay (" ISTatural History of New York"): 
 "This curious and interesting aquatic animal is common 
 in the northern and western parts of the State. It ia 
 
534 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 found in Lake Champlain, and is particularly abundant 
 at the falls of Onion Kiver and at the outlet of Lake 
 George. It inhabits Lake Erie, Seneca and other lakes 
 in the western districts of New York. It has been 
 found in the Erie Canal, and will doubtless ere long be 
 found to have reached the Hudson River." 
 
 Holbrook states: " In general it remains at the very- 
 bottom of the waters it inhabits, where it swims or 
 creeps along the ground with a slow, serpentine motion. 
 It is said rarely to leave the water and crawl to the 
 shore. . . . 
 
 Axolotl. 
 
 " The menobranchus feeds on various kinds of worms, 
 insects, sheU-fish and crustaceous animals. 
 
 " Though living almost entirely in water, it does not 
 appear that it opens its mouth or that the water passes 
 through it to the branchial arches, as in fishes, during 
 respiration, but that function seems to be performed 
 'simply by the vibratory motion of the gills in water.'" 
 
 There is a second species of this animal inhabiting 
 more southern localities, but it does not differ materially 
 in its habits. 
 
 The Mexican axolotl " inhabits the lake surrounding 
 the City of Mexico, where it attains a length of ten or 
 fifteen inches and is esteemed a great luxury. At the 
 
BATKACHIANS. 535 
 
 time of th itivasion of Mexico by Cortez it was so 
 plentiful in Uie lake that he is said to have fed his army 
 upon it for same time; and Mr. Bullock, in his account 
 of his residence in Mexico, states he saw it in thousands 
 exposed for sale in one of the markets. The axolotl is 
 of a brown or grayish color, spotted "vith black; the 
 fore feet have four toes and the hind feet five toes; on 
 each side of the neck there is a very large aperture, 
 within which are branchial arches, but the projecting 
 branched gills are attached to the opercula, or flaps, 
 which close these orifices." (Orr's "Circle of the 
 Sciences.") 
 
 Weissmann has written an elaborate essay on the 
 axolotl in which he proves that the creature is a larval 
 form, with matured breeding power, of the genus Am- 
 blystomm, which is represented in America by fuhy 
 thirty species. His belief is that the larval form and 
 aquatic habits are retained because the excessive dryness 
 of the atmosphere of the region where found is noi 
 adapted to a terrestrial life such as matured Ambly- 
 stomae lead in other parts of the American continent. 
 
 The Congo snake, or amphiuma, is a southern species 
 of salamandroid animal that is found most abundantly 
 in the low-lying districts of the Carolinas and Georgia 
 not far from the coast. A second species is found 
 further westward. The differences are important bui 
 not readily noticeable. 
 
 Holbrook says the animal lives " in muddy water or 
 in mud. Harlan says they have been found at Pensa-: 
 cola three feet or more deep in mud of the consist- 
 ence of mortar, in which tliey burrowed like earth- 
 worms. They inhabit the ditches of our rice-fields, 
 and feed on small fish and various fresh-water shells, aj 
 unio, etc. ; beetles and other insects have also been found 
 in their stomachs. Like eels they are sometimes found 
 on dry land, but for what purpose they approach it is 
 not known." 
 
£A TRA CHIANS. 537 
 
 The true salamanders — tritons, newts and water- 
 lizards, as they are usually called — are exceedingly 
 abundant and of many species in the United States. 
 They vary considerably in size — but none are very large 
 — as well as in color. Some are brightly colored, con- 
 spicuously marked and very handsome; others are dull 
 and unattractive to the last degree. All are active and 
 most are difficult to capture with the unaided hand. 
 Some are strong, others weak. One species makes a 
 show of resistance. All are absolutely harmless. 
 
 In their habits salamanders differ to a considerable 
 extent. Some are strictly aquatic — these are called 
 newts or tritons — others need much water, but not 
 sufficiently 3eep that they must swim; others, again, 
 are content with dampness. Dry surroundings are fatal 
 to all of them. 
 
 _ While the external resemblance of these creatures varies 
 little, except in the matter of color and length, there are 
 very important internal anatomical differences and 
 upon them are based the generic distinctions admitted 
 by all zoologists. A typical salamander, common in the 
 Middle and Eastern States, is a large brown, yellow- 
 blotched species known as the tiger triton. It is found 
 under rocks, logs and compacted vegetable matter, and 
 is one of the more terrestrial species. 
 
 A smaller and very beautiful species is the red sala- 
 mander, known to zoologists as the spelerpes ruber. It 
 is found under stones in running water, and in winter 
 sinks deeply into the sand about springs and there re- 
 mains, but not at all in a torpid condition. Another of 
 this genus is the two-lined eft, which is bright yellow 
 on the back, and has the same habits and is often as- 
 sociated with the red salamander. 
 
 The red-backed salamander, on the other hand, is one 
 of the most terrestrial forms, and a damp spot of ground 
 under a log is all it needs. They are often found under 
 
538 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 boards near pumps in. the country, where there is a 
 constant supply of moisture, but no running water. 
 During the day, in dry summer weather, they remain 
 Very quiet, and come out to feed only at night. The 
 young of this species remain in the larval state, that is, 
 with external gills, but for a few days, while others liv- 
 ing in running water retain these gills for weeks and 
 months. 
 
 The salamanders of Europe are few in species and of 
 terrestrial habits. They are viviparous. "The young, 
 instead of being developed in the water, are retained 
 within an enlarged part of the oviduct, where they pass 
 through the first part of their metamorphoses in an 
 
 albuminous fluid The 
 salamanders (of Europe) 
 have a large gland behmd 
 the ear, which secretes a 
 yellow matter, and small 
 glands of a similar nature 
 are scattered through the 
 skin. The matter thus 
 secreted is so abundant that 
 it was long a vulgar Super- 
 _ European Salamander. stition that the Salamander, 
 
 if put upon a fire, immedi- 
 ately discharged a quantity of water sufficient to put 
 the fire out, and many of these unfortunate amphibia 
 have no doubt been sacrificed in consequence of this be- 
 lief. The salamanders are generally of small size; none 
 are found in (Great Britain), but several occur on the 
 Continent. They rarely exceed six inches in length.'' 
 (Orr's " Circle of the Sciences.") 
 
 But in Great Britain as well as in this country there 
 do occur flat-tailed aquatic newts, efts or tritons, as 
 they are variously called, and are so numerous as to be 
 very familiar creatures. They are at home in ditches 
 
BA TRA CHIANS. 539 
 
 and ponds, but frequently leave these and seek damp 
 localities under stones, or wherever the necessary de- 
 gree of moisture is maintained. Like all the tribe, 
 they are carnivorous, and so find a vast variety of food, 
 for it is more a matter of size and practicability of 
 swallowing than anything else that decides the question. 
 Very small salamanders will sometimes try to manage 
 pretty large angle worms, and the result is ludicrous, 
 for the attacked party will assume the aggressive and 
 switch the over-confident attacking party about until it 
 is glad enough to let go its hold. There are two spe- 
 cies of newt m Great Britain, the smooth and warty. 
 These descriptive terms 
 refer to the skins of the 
 creatures. 
 
 It has been stated that 
 the tritons " do not breed 
 until they are fully three 
 years old, and that the in- 
 terval between their 
 quitting the tadpole state smooth Newt. 
 
 and retiring to the water 
 
 for the purpose of breeding is entirely spent on the 
 ground [there is some confliction of opinion in this 
 matter, as seen by comparing various authors' state- 
 ments]. During this period the young tritons conceal 
 themselves for the winter in solitary holes, often at a 
 considerable depth in the ground, but the full-groWn 
 ones frequently collect together into a mass as large as a 
 cricket-ball, and thus hibernate in company. At the 
 approach of the breeding season, which commences in 
 March or April, the tritons begin to acquire peculiar 
 appendages, consisting principally of a fin-like crest 
 running along the back and tail, and some similar mem- 
 branous appendages to the toes. When in the water 
 they are exceedingly voracious, devouring almpst all 
 
540 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Warty Newt.- 
 
 small aquatic animals, and not even sparing the tad- 
 poles of their own species. These are generally ex- 
 cluded about the months of June or July and in the 
 course of July or August the old tritons quit the 
 water and again betake themselves to a terrestrial exist- 
 ence, while the tadpoles . . . remain for the most 
 part without change until the following spring, when 
 
 they acquire legs and are 
 enabled to quit the water. 
 . . . Their (the adult 
 triton's) tenacity of life 
 is most wonderful; they 
 may be mutilated in vari- 
 ous ways, and will repro- 
 duce the lost members, 
 as proved by the experiments of Bonnet and Spallem- 
 zani. According to the testimony of other observers, 
 moreover, they may be frozen hard in the center of a 
 lump of ice, and recover their former activity as soon 
 as they are thawed, even although they may have been 
 in this close prison for some time. 
 
 " When depositing their ova they enclose them very 
 carefully in the leaves 
 of aquatic plants, ap- 
 parently in order to 
 prevent the too free 
 access of the water, 
 
 which would cause the Spotted Triton. 
 
 young to be developed 
 
 too rapidly, and no doubt lead to their destruction." 
 
 (Orr's " Circle of the Sciences.") 
 
 The little spotted newt of the Eafitern and Southern 
 United States is quite different in its habits from the 
 En^ish species, which have just been described. It is, 
 as Holbrook states, " eminently aquatic in its habits." 
 And he adds, " I have never heard of its being found on 
 
BATRACniAtfS. §41 
 
 land, and indeed, when taken from its native element, 
 its progression Js difficult, its skin becomes dry, and it 
 soon dies. In water it is very tardy, supporting great 
 cold, and is torpid only during the excessive cold of 
 winter, for I have frequently observed them under ice 
 of an inch thickness, swimming with great vivacity." 
 
GHAPTEB XJOL 
 
 TOADS ASH FBoas. 
 
 Toads, frogs and tree-toads are all more or less famil- 
 iar forms of animal life. They are not restricted to 
 country districts, marshy meadows or wUd backwoods, 
 and yet there is a great deal of error current concern- 
 ing them. Many are surprised, indeed, to learn that 
 toads deposit their ova in water, and 
 jiMiiijjIII not that the young toads are rained 
 
 ^u ^£ J down upon us from, who knows where? 
 ^KI ^^^gi^ The forms of batrachians aboye men- 
 
 tioned all lay their eggs in the water, 
 the whole number bemg held together 
 by a gelatinous secretion that completely 
 envelops them. Single eggs look like 
 the accompanying cut, whicn represents 
 the eggs or ova of the common Euro- 
 pean frog, which is almost the same as 
 our wood-frog, but the two are dis- 
 tinct species according to our best 
 authorities. Once the little one is out of the egg, it 
 becomes a tadpole, and what these are like is best told 
 by the illustration of tl.om in their various stages of ad- 
 vancement toward the adult form. It must be borne in 
 mind that the various forms here represented are all 
 fish-like creatures that breathe the water by means of 
 gills, and when finally the tail has disappeared and the 
 limbs well formed, the animal becomes an air-breather, 
 and has well-developed lungs. 
 A writer in "Science Gossip" (1886) thui pleasantly 
 
 Erog Spawn. 
 
JiA TJ<A CHI AN S. 
 
 543 
 
 relates the result of some of her observations of tadpoles 
 
 whicli she studied 
 with much skill: 
 "One day I put 
 one of my fingers 
 into the water; it 
 was soon surround- 
 ed, by my ever- 
 hungry pets, who, 
 in their efEorts to 
 
 /^^^Kf^ g^i^ nourishment 
 
 , from it, caused a 
 
 titillation not al- 
 together pleasant 
 to bear for any 
 length of time. 
 After I had tried 
 them every day for 
 a week they would 
 not come near it; 
 they were evident- 
 ly conscious from 
 past experience 
 that my finger was 
 too hard for their 
 little horny proc- 
 esses to make any 
 impression on. 
 
 " Sometimes I 
 have seen two tad- 
 poles meet and put 
 their mouths to- 
 gether and remain 
 in that attitude to- 
 ward each other for quite one minute, as if they were 
 holding some friendly communion;, then they fi^ould 
 
 Tadpoles of European Frog, from first stage 
 of change to the adult form. 
 
544 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 separate, slowly gliding past each other. Often I have 
 seen one go off at full speed, as if some sudden frenzy 
 had 'seized it, and go the round of the globe several 
 times^ and then as suddenly stop. Could it have been 
 in pursuit of anything, or could a sudden fear have 
 seized it, or only a little exuberance of spirits?" 
 
 The European frogs are few in species, and present 
 no peculiarities in habits over the many kinds that we 
 have in this country. One, as has been stated, is so 
 similar to our wood-frog that many have considered 
 
 
 Edible Frog. 
 
 them the same. Another species, common in France 
 snd in the South of Europe, is the edible frog, and is 
 quite an important article of food. The hind legs only 
 are eaten. 
 
 We quote from a writer in the "Intellectual Ob- 
 server" (1871) concerning the edible, or green frog: 
 " It would be pronounced by careless observers larger 
 than the common frog, but it is not so. It is fully as 
 large and far more handsome, its bright and beautiful 
 coloring rendering it more conspicuous, and therefore 
 
BA TRA CHI A NS. 545 
 
 apparently larger than our common species. It is 
 eminently aquatic, and in this respect differs materially 
 in habit from its British congener, which goes oftener 
 upon land, and thrives in districts far removed from 
 water. Another peculiarity of this animal is extreme 
 shyness, hence it is that those who procure frogs for the 
 market in Erance have to hunt in melancholy marshes 
 and in the meres of sequestered woody districts. . . . , 
 The green frog, in common with our own frog, passes a 
 large portion of his time in the practice of rigid absti- 
 nence. It may be that both species feed freely from 
 the beginning of June to the end of August, but it is 
 highly probable that they never touch food through all 
 the remaining nine months of the year. Indeed, I 
 never could persuade a frog to eat, except in those 
 three months, and I have kept as pets very many of all the 
 three European species. But while the desire for food is 
 upon them they eat voraciously, and should have plenty, 
 or they will be likely to die during their period of tor- 
 pidity in winter." 
 
 The cry of the edible frog, according to the author 
 (Shirley Hibberd) we have just quoted, is a ''trumpet- 
 ing with a nasal twang;" and another has described it 
 as "a loud snore, exactly like that of the barn owl." 
 
 In the United States there are several species of frogs 
 and nearly all of them are exceedingly abundant. They 
 are aquatic in habits, except the wood-frog, which is a 
 dweller in damp woods. In the Eastern and Middle 
 States no one species is more familiar than the pretty 
 leopard-frog of our meadows and meadow ditches. It 
 pipes and rattles early in spring, and later wanders 
 about the tall grass of wet pastures, making wonderful 
 leaps when you step near it, but uttering never a note 
 unless you happen to tread upon it, when it whispers a 
 sibilant protest. 
 
 A second spotted species is known as the pickerel- 
 
546 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 frog and marsh-frog, neither of which names are particu- 
 lar^ descriptive. It varies from the "leopard" in 
 having square spots rather than oval or irregular ones, 
 and is brown rather than green, but this matter of color 
 is by no means a safe guide in the determination of 
 some of our species, especially when young. 
 Again, .there is a comparatively unspotted species, 
 
 known as the green 
 or spring-frog, 
 which has one pe- 
 culiarity not dwelt 
 upon by those who 
 have studied our 
 batrachians. It 
 sings all summer, 
 and often in Sep- 
 tember its rattle, 
 or that of a hun- 
 dred, may be heard 
 in the marshes. 
 Indeed, in the 
 southern portions 
 of the Middle States these frogs continue to rattle in con- 
 cert in sheltered localities until the frost has wilted the 
 vegetation and every trace of summer has been oblit- 
 erated. 
 
 The frog, par excellence, of North America is the 
 great deep- voiced, somber-tinted "bully," as he is 
 called by the boys in the country, and when we say that 
 it is an aquatic frog, we have told pretty much its whole 
 history. Its common name is derived from a supposed 
 resemblance to the bellowing of a bull. Thoreau's 
 account of its "singing" is the best that has been 
 written — is indeed incomparable and a perfect specimen 
 of descriptive writing: "All the shore rang with the 
 trump of bull-frogs, the sturdy spirits of 'ancient wine- 
 
 LeoBard-frog. 
 
SA TRA CHIANS. 54';' 
 
 bibbers and wassailers still unrepentant trying to sing a 
 catch in their Stygian Lake — if the Walden nymphs 
 will pardon the comparison, for thongh there are almost 
 no weeds there are frogs . there — who would fain keep 
 up the hilarious rules of their old festal tables, though 
 their yoices have waxed hoarse and solemnly grave, 
 mocking at mirth, and the wine has lost its flavor and 
 become only liquor to distend their paunches, and sweet 
 intoxication never comes to drown the memory of the , 
 past, but mere saturation and waterloggedness and dis- 
 tention. The most- aldermanic, with his chin upon a 
 heart-leaf, which serves for a napkin to his drooling 
 chops, under this northern shore quafEs a deep draught 
 of the once scorned water and passes round the cup with 
 the ejaculation, 'tr-r-r-oonk,'tr-r-oo7ik,tr-r-r-OQnk!' and 
 straightway comes across the water from some distant 
 cove the same password repeated, where the next in 
 seniority and girth has gulped down to his mark; and 
 when this observance has made the circuit of the shore, 
 then ejaculates the master of ceremonies with satisfac- 
 tion, 'tr-r-r-oonk!' and each in his turn repeats the sa,me 
 down to the least distended, leakiest and flabbiest 
 paunched, that there be no mistake; and then the bowl 
 goes round and round again, until the sun disperses the 
 morning mist and only the patriarch is not under _ the 
 pond, but vainly bellowing ' troonk ' from time to time, 
 and pausing for a reply." 
 
 Our American wood-frog is a beautiful species and in 
 high and rocky localities particularly it is very abundant. 
 It is a terrestrial species, yet can never live without 
 a fair supply of moisture. It does not care to swim, 
 although not a poor swimmer, but does delight infrequent 
 bathing, or in lieu of this, to nestle among damp leaves 
 where dripping water from a little spring gives the spot 
 a refreshing coolness that many a dusty traveler might 
 snvy. The wood-frog remains vocal during the summer, 
 
548 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 but is not, unless very abundant, a particularly noisy 
 species. 
 
 
 
 ' 'i'^l'iWSHWlESBfinifiMW 
 
 Tery different from our frogs is the pretty tree-toad, 
 which leads an arboreal life as soon as its brief davs as 
 
BA TRACHIANS. 
 
 54S 
 
 a tadpole are over. This period covers from fifty-five to 
 sixty days, according to a very careful observer whose 
 results from a series of oljservations were recently pub- 
 lished. Once in a tree as an adult animal, this creature 
 becomes our champion croaker. It is said to announce 
 rain and complain when it comes. It apparently frets 
 at the hot sunshine, and certainly scolds at the chilly 
 winds that forerun a storm. There is no pleasing it- 
 
 Wood-frog. 
 
 It loves to croak, and croak it does and will whatever 
 are the conditions. 
 
 The following from Miss Hinckley^s paper, to which 
 I have alluded, will be found of much interest: ''My 
 knowledge of the little frogs after leaving the water is 
 confined almost wholly to those kept in a fernery. Some 
 of the eggs laid May 10th were placed in an aquarium. 
 All hatched at the same time; but the tadpoles within 
 
550 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 doors were longer in developing and lacked mucli of 
 the brilliancy of coloring of those grown in the pond. 
 Before the tail was resoi-bed I found them climbing the 
 sides of the aquarium. Many escaped at night. The 
 rest were secured as soon as they showed a disposition 
 to leave the water. The tail in some instances disap- 
 peared in about thirty-six hours. The green color asserted 
 itself sooner in some specimens than in others, but I 
 
 Tree-toad. 
 
 have never seen a tadpole of this species develop into 
 the frog that did not sooner or later become green. 
 After the little frogs were in the fernery they occasion- 
 ally changed to the shades of gray and brown, matching 
 the earth or the bark of the branches to which they 
 clung. This change of color steals over the frogs with 
 varying rapidity. Sometimes the change is almost 
 
BA TRA CHI AN S. 55I 
 
 instantaneous. The skin also varies in its appearance 
 from a smooth polished surface to a coarse granulated 
 one. 
 
 " Four frogs of the same age, kept in a small fernery 
 exposed to the same conditions of light and heat, pro- 
 vided with the same kind of food and clinging fre- 
 quently to the same fern or branch, wercv never found 
 of precisely the same color during the first three 
 months. The smooth, shiny patch below the eye, the 
 yellow coloring in the folds of the legs and commonly 
 the black markings on the body and limbs appeared 
 after the frogs had left the water. When about three 
 months old tints of gray became the rule and a change 
 to green the exception. The black markings have not 
 changed except to vary in distinctness. While passing 
 through the stages of development from the egg to the 
 perfect frog, more variety and brilliancy of coloring is 
 shown than by any species of hyla or rana found in this 
 locality. Twice I have found tadpoles of hyla versicolor 
 thriving in water that had become so impure that all 
 tadpoles of rana halecina, rana palustris, and even the 
 water-beetles, had died. 
 
 "At first the little frogs were fed on the green aphides 
 found on young apple growth, but soon flies became 
 their sole diet. They show wonderful agility and pre- 
 cision in capturing their food. They are sensitive to 
 atmospheric changes. The approach of rain, especially 
 when accompanied by a south wind, makes them active. 
 During the day they commonly remained motionless, 
 hidden behind the bark of the branches, with feet and 
 hands compactly folded under the body, but as soon as 
 night comes they are alert. About the first of October 
 they left the branches and nestled away in the damp 
 earth, where they now remain unless exposed to a tem- 
 perature above 60*', when they occasionally creep out 
 but soon return to their quarters." ("Proceedings 
 BostoA Society of Natural History.") 
 
553 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 A beautiful little tree-frog is one that is a dark yel- 
 lowish-clay color and has a Maltese cross upon the back. 
 It "peeps'" very shrilly in early spring and through the 
 autumn, when its melancholy voice seems to accord with 
 the surroundings of " asters, golden-rods and falling 
 leaves." It is a little creature and so may be abundant 
 and yet not conspicuous when silent. This is a wide- 
 spread species. 
 
 There is another small species that is not at all arbo- 
 real, and yet can clamber among grass and low bushes 
 if occasion renders this necessary. It is called by many 
 the "Savannah cricket," known in New Jersey as the _ 
 "peeper," and scientifically designated acris crepitans. 
 Its more noticeable note"^is perhaps the rattle, which has 
 been" likened to small pebbles shaken 
 together, but it also "peeps" shrilly. 
 It is an error to suppose the "peeping" 
 is all done by the preceding species. 
 
 "While there are certain peculiari- 
 ties of color that are persistent and char- 
 PiokSring's Hyia. acteristic of the species, these become of 
 little prominence at times, so very great 
 is the difference in the entire coloration of the aiiimal. 
 Furthermore, they change their hues with great rapid- 
 ity, and during the course of a few moments will pass 
 from an ashy paleness or clay color to an intense black, 
 with the light dorsal stripe scarcely visible, or else either a 
 glowing red or brilliant metallic green. So very beauti- 
 ful are these changes, and so different will any half- 
 dozen prove to be, that it is difficult to realize that the 
 many before you are one and the same species. Of a 
 series of six which I have long kept in confinement 
 (October 20th to January 29th) in a bottle, one speci- 
 men was taken from a ledge of pale yellow clay. The 
 "peeper" was of the same color, the post-orbital dark 
 spot and light dorsal line being scarcely discernible. 
 
BA TRA CHIANS. 553 
 
 The uniform yellow tint, however, was relieved by 
 minute round points of brilliant bronze. This indi- 
 vidual, unlike its companions, did not alter in color for 
 several weeks/ The others were very changeable, and 
 particularly so when exposed to direct sunlight. While I 
 noted several instances to the contrary, my impression 
 is that usually the colors pale in direct sunlight and 
 deepen when the animals are in deep shade. This cer- 
 tainly is true of those I have in confinement, and agrees 
 with my experience in searching for them in the past 
 autumn. One fact with reference to the subject of 
 their color is not in accordance, perhaps, with the 
 above, but should not go unrecorded. The six indi- 
 viduals which I have in a bottle will, at times, present 
 very different tints although all are subjected to like 
 surroundings. Of the six, two or three would be very 
 dark, the others pale yellow. With some the dark tri- 
 angular spot between the eyes would be very distinct, in 
 the case of others it could not be detected even in out- 
 
 'line. It must be remembered, however, that these 
 individuals were kept in most unnatural conditions, and 
 had at the time of this writing been withoiit food for 
 one hundred days, and at the same time remained as 
 active as squirrels. " (American .Naturalist, 1883. ) 
 
 Of all the , frog-like batrachians, none are more re- 
 markable than the flying tree-toad of Borneo; or, as it 
 is more frequently called, the ilying-f rog. 
 
 It was discovered by Wallace, and the following is his 
 account of it in part: " One of the most curious and 
 interesting reptiles which I met with in Borneo was a 
 large tree-frog which was brought me by one of the 
 Chinese workmen. He assured me that he had seen it 
 come down in a slanting direction from a high tree as if 
 it flew. On examining it I found the toes very long 
 and fully webbed to their very extremity, so that when 
 
 .expanded they offered a surface much larger than the 
 
654 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OP NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 body. The iore legs were also bordered by a membrane 
 and the body was capable of considerable inflation. The 
 back and limbs were of a very deep shining green color, 
 the under surface and the inner toes yellow, while the 
 webs were black rayed with yellow. The- body was 
 
 Flying-frog. 
 
 about four inches long, while the webs, of each hind 
 foot when fully expanded covered a surface of four 
 square inches, and the webs of all the feet together about 
 twelve square inches. As the extremities of the toes have 
 dilated disks for adhesion, showing the creature to be a 
 
BA TRA CHIANS. 555 
 
 true tree-frog^ it is difficult to imagine that this im- 
 mense membrane of the toes can be for the purpose of 
 swimming only, and the account of the Chinaman, that 
 it flew down from the tree, becomes more credible. 
 This is, I believe, the first instance known of a ' flying- 
 frog,^ and it is very interesting to Darwinians as show- 
 ing that the variability of the toes which have been 
 already modified for purposes of swimming and adhe- 
 sive climbing, have^ been taken advantage of to enable 
 
 Spade-foot Toad. 
 
 an allied species to pass through the air like the flying- 
 Hzard." 
 
 A very curious batrachian of North America is the 
 spade-foot toad. "In a sink-hole in a dry upland field 
 near Trenton, New Jersey, on April la, 1884, there 
 suddenly appeared a large colony of hermit spade-foot 
 toads {scapMopus holbrooki), which by their remarkable 
 cries attracted the attention of every one passing by.' 
 Indeed, the sound was so great as to frighten some 
 
556 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 horses that were driven to the . edge of the sink-hole 
 where they were, and the field could not be plowed as 
 near the water as was desired in consequence. " In 
 May, 1874, these toads appeared in like manner in the 
 same locality, remained but a few days and were gone. 
 In the intervening ten years not a specimen was seen or 
 heard, although careful search was made annually." 
 
 These toads reappeared in 1884, in June, and eggs 
 being secured, a series of observations upon the growth 
 and development of the tadpoles was made. Young 
 hatched July 2d, showed their hind limbs when but a 
 week old, and " a week later the majority had acquired 
 their front legs, and the tail had perceptibly diijiinished 
 in size, but still was used by them when moving through 
 the water. At this time,, however, the movements of 
 the animal are far less active than before or soon after, 
 and for a few days, if exposed to the attacks of any 
 enemies, would suffer far more than at any other period 
 of their lives. 
 
 "A very curious feature in the growth of these ani- 
 mals is now to be noticed. Of the specimens I had 
 under examination, in an aquarium, about five per 
 cent, did not progress beyond the condition in which 
 ail were in July 9th. These 'retarded' tadpoles proved 
 to be voracious cannibals. They seized their more 
 matured companions by their tails and legs, swallowing 
 the member and thus sustaining their own lives at the 
 expense of their fellows. They generally killed their 
 victim in the course of twenty-four hours, and often in 
 less time, and then promptly seized another. So blood- 
 thirsty were these few 'retarded' tadpoles that I was 
 compelled to protect the lives of the little hoppers, 
 their brethren, which now, in spite of stumps of tails, 
 sat in frog-like fashion on their haunches, and were in 
 all respects miniatures of the adult spade-foots that in 
 April and June made night hideous with their unearthly 
 cries. 
 
BA TRA CHIANS. 557 
 
 "Haying tested several specimens, a few days pre- 
 viously, as to their ability to assume the land-life of 
 adult scaphiopi, by placing them upon damp sand, and 
 finding that they throve fairly well, on the 25th of July 
 I removed the water in the aquarium and put in earth 
 to about an inch in depth, and very carefully smoothed 
 the surface. Upon this the young spade-foots were 
 placed, and in less than one minute many had com- 
 menced digging little burrows, into which they disap- 
 peared as the excavations deepened. In all respects 
 these burrows were like those made by adult spade- 
 foots, oval in outline, oblique in direction, and generally 
 with a slight angle in the course. In twenty minutes 
 all but two, of forty-four specimens, were below the 
 surface of the earth stratum I had placed in the 
 aquarium. 
 
 "During this simple series of observations of young 
 scaphiopi in confinement, I watched also the develop- 
 ment of those left in the sink-hole. The water there 
 soon was confined to mere puddles concealed in the 
 dead leaves, and before the young had their limbs fully 
 developed the depth was nowhere sufficient to permit of 
 swimming. Three days in advance of the maturing of 
 my confined specimens, I saw, in the sink-hole, a few 
 individuals which had fairly assumed the land-living, 
 air-breathing stage of existence. Supposing that, like 
 those I had at home, they would burrow in the earth 
 when they were, I did not visit the locality from the 
 31st to the 31st of July, on which date I made an ex- 
 haustive but unsuccessful search for them. N"ot a trace 
 of either young or adult could I discover. It cannot 
 be said that they were overlooked. My search was too 
 careful and comprehensive for this, and I believe that 
 these spade-foots, both old and young, wander farther 
 from their breeding grounds than is supposed, or else 
 dig far deeper into the earth than a depth of six or 
 eight inches, as stated to Holbrook and DeKay. 
 
558 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 "I have, already referred to the wonderful noises 
 made by these animals when they congregate in pools 
 for the purpose of spawning. At no other time do 
 they appear to be vocal, and the question naturally 
 arises, why, when the animal leads a life that requires 
 no such power except for two or three days in a year, 
 should its utterances be far louder than any and all the 
 frogs of the same locality combined? Although the 
 animal is strictly crepuscular and not diurnal, it could 
 readily find a mate guided by sight, and the purpose of 
 the deafening epithalamium is somewhat hard to deter- 
 mine. If it could be shown that they call to each other 
 from far distant points, the difficulty would disappear, 
 but this they are not known to do. Apparently it is 
 not until they are congregated in some available pool 
 that they sing, if singing it can be called. No words 
 yet in use in our language can fairly describe their ut- 
 terances, which, it may be presumed, are expressions of 
 delight at meeting." (^American Naturalist, 1884.) 
 
 One of the ugliest, yet interesting, of the toad- 
 like batrachians is the Surinam toad, of which an illus- 
 tration is given. It needs, no general, description 
 of its appearance, but one remarkable fact with regard 
 to it must be mentioned. During the breeding season 
 the creatures do not trust the eggs to water and allow 
 the tadpoles to swim for weeks while their legs are 
 growing. Instead of this, "the eggs are transferred by 
 the male to the back of the female, to which they ad- 
 here, and where they are impregnated; their presence 
 excites increased activity in the skin, it thickens, and is 
 gradually built up around each egg, which it at length 
 nearly encloses in a well-defined pouch. . . , The 
 opening which is left after the pouch is formed is at 
 length closed by an operculum, and thus the egg is shut 
 off from all direct communication with the air.°' 
 
 Of the common hop-toad there need be little said. 
 
BATRACHIANS. 
 
 559 
 
 It IS familiar to every one, and it is only to be regretted 
 that so many are somewhat prejudiced and treat the 
 creature with far less consideration than it deserves. 
 They are harmless, useful and intelligent, and to ex- 
 pect more from any creature is unreasonable. Those 
 who have overcome a natural repugnance to cold and 
 clammy creatures like the toad, and have given them 
 close attention, have invaria,bly found them possessed of 
 
 Surinam Toad. 
 
 a modicum of common sense. Indeed, they are more 
 cunning in many ways than frogs or tree-toads. 
 
 The illustration here given is of the European toad, 
 which does not differ materially in habits from our 
 American species. It "feeds upon insects and worm& 
 of every kind, but it will not eat anything that is not 
 living. When about to feed it remains motionless, with 
 its eyes fixed intently upon its intended prey, and 
 
560 
 
 CVCLOPP.DTA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 remains in this position until tlie insect moves, when the 
 tongue is instantly darted out of the mouth with the 
 rapidity of lightning, and the victim rarely escapes bcr 
 ing drawn back with it into the mouth. Mr. Bell 
 states that when the prey is taken it is slightly pressed 
 by the margins of the jaws, but as this seldom kills it, 
 unless it be a soft, tender larvae, it is generally swallowed 
 
 European Toad. 
 
 alive, and he adds that he has often seen the muscles of 
 the toad's sides twitching in the most singular manner 
 from the tickling movements of a beetle that had been 
 introduced alive into the stomach." (Orr's "Circle of 
 the Sciences.") 
 
 This is applicable, word for word, to our American 
 toad. 
 
JP^A-TIT "V. 
 FISHES. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXI. 
 
 SHARKS, SKATES, RAYS, ETC. 
 
 It is -pretty eTident that the groups of animals ordi- 
 'narilj ciassed as Fishes are as widely distinct as the rep- 
 tiles aiid batrachians, and besides true fishes, we have 
 other groaps, usually classed with them, which should 
 be separately considered. ' This is true, certainly, of the 
 sharks and rays; but as our guide in this brief sketch 
 of the great class of fishes includes them we will do like- 
 wise. 1^ evertheless, it remains a mystery why a shark 
 or a ray should be called a fish any more than a seal or a 
 whale. Because they are much nearer in their anatomi- 
 cal structure is not a sufficient reason. They are, it is 
 true, much nearer, but still not near enough. 
 
 Fishes are vertebrate, or back-boned animals, "which 
 living in water, breathe air dissolved in water by means 
 of gills or branchiae; whose heart consists of a single 
 ventricle and single atrium; whose limbs, if present, 
 are modified into fins, supplemented by unpaired 
 median fins; and whose skin is either naked or covered 
 with scales, or asseus plates, or bucklers. With few ex- 
 ceptions, fishes are oviparous." (Gunther.) 
 
 The true sharks, be they fish or merely fish-like, will 
 now receive brief consideration. The sharks are power- 
 ful, swift swinwaers, and strictly carnivorous. They 
 
562 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 are pelagic, or coast-d-wellers, and ofter congregate in 
 large numbers at points where food is abundant. They 
 are in shape, long, cylindrical, and with a tail so flexible 
 that their movements are very irregular as well as rapid, 
 and the body can readily assume more than one curve at 
 once. 
 
 The tropical regions are the headquarters of these 
 bloodthirsty creatures, and they become less abundant 
 as the cooler regions of the north pje approached. . 
 
 "Sharks have no scales like those of other fishes; 
 their integuments are covered with calcified papillas 
 
 which, under the micro- 
 scope, show a structure 
 similar to that of teeth. 
 If the papillae are small, 
 pointed and close set, the 
 skin is called 'shagreen;' 
 rarely they are larger, ap- 
 pearing as bucklers, or 
 spines, of various sizes." 
 (Gunther.) 
 
 The white shark is probably found in all but strictly 
 arctic seas. "This terrible fish attains a length of 
 twenty-five or thirty feet; its mouth is very wide, and 
 armed with acute, serrated, cutting teeth, with which, 
 if some of the accounts of travelers are to be believed, 
 it can readily bite through the body of a man. It con- 
 stantly follows ships in warm climates, apparently fpr 
 the sake of the garbage and other matters which are 
 thrown overboard, but sailors are usually averse to such 
 formidable neighbors and means are soon taken to get 
 rid of him." 
 
 The hammer-heads are so called because of the broad, 
 flattened extension of the head on each side, which 
 gives it the shape of a blacksmith's hammer. The eyes 
 are in the extremities of these projections. They are 
 
 White Shark. 
 
P'ISffES. 
 
 563 
 
 never so large as the white sharks. Pive specie* are 
 known. They are most abundant in the tropics. One 
 species of hammer-head "is found all along the coast 
 (of the United States) from Cape Cod southward, and in- 
 deed in tropical and sub-tropical seas the world over. It 
 may be easily recognized by the curious form of the 
 head. ... It attains the length of seven or eight 
 feet. Dillwyn obtained a female specimen at Swansea 
 which contained thirty-nine young ones on the point of 
 birth." (Goode.) 
 
 A second species is also found in our waters which 
 has the sides of the head 
 less projected. It is 
 called in some localities 
 the "bonnet-head." 
 
 The fox-shark, or 
 thresher, is known in 
 our own country as the 
 "swingle-tail." It is 
 recognized at once by 
 the immensely elongated 
 tail, which curves up- 
 ward and resembles the 
 blade of a scythe. It is 
 quite harmless although reaching a considerable size. 
 
 " It is the most common of the larger kinds of sharks 
 which occur on the British coasts,, and seems to be 
 equally common in other parts of the Atlantic and 
 Mediterranean, as well as on the coasts of California 
 and New Zealand. It attains to a length of fifteen 
 feet, of which the tail takes more than one-half, and is 
 quite harmless to man. It follows .the shoals of her- 
 rings, pilchards and sprats in their migrations, destroy- 
 ing incredible numbers. When feeding it uses the long 
 tail in splashing the water, whilst it swims in gradually 
 decreasing circles round a shoal of fishes, which are thus 
 
 Hammer-headed Shark. 
 
564 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 kept crowded together, falling an easy prey to their 
 enemy. Statements that it has been seen to attack 
 whales and other large cetaceans rest upon erroneous 
 observations." (Gnnther.) 
 
 The hound-fish is common to both sides of the At- 
 lantic. Goode states: "It is quite abundant on the 
 coast of Southern New England. It feeds upon crabs, 
 lobsters and other bottom-loving invertebrates, its 
 smooth, pavement-like teeth being adapted for crushing 
 the thick shells of these animals rather than for seizing 
 and holding active fishes. 
 
 "In- Bermuda this fish is known as the 'nurse-shark' 
 
 and is highly esteemed by 
 the negroes as food, and 
 is also an important bait 
 in the local fisheries. At 
 Folkestone, England, they 
 are dried and go by the 
 name of 'Folkestone 
 beef.^" 
 ^__^__ The largest species of 
 
 Fox-shark. shark found in the North 
 
 Atlantic, and one which is 
 known to both European and American fishermen, is 
 called the basking-shark from its habit of remaining 
 motionless upon the surface of the water and with a 
 portion of its body exposed. It is a harmless species 
 although often more than thirty feet long, and valuable 
 for the oil yielded by its liver. It is known in New En- 
 gland as the "bone-shark." 
 
 The Greenland shark is one that requires passing 
 notice. It is found in arctic waters, as its common 
 name indicates, "where it is one of the greatest enemies 
 of the whales, attacking and biting those enormous 
 creatures with the greatest pertinacity. When it meets 
 with a dead whale' it scoops hemispherical pieces out of 
 
FISHES. 
 
 565 
 
 the body with its enormous jaws, which border a mouth 
 of from twenty to twenty-four inches in breadth; but 
 although the sharks are constant attendants upon the 
 whale-fishers when they are engaged in cutting the 
 blubber from their captures, and ^ the men not infre- 
 quently slip into the water among them, Mr. Scoresby 
 etates that he never heard of an instance of their being 
 attacked." (Orr's "Circle of the Sciences.") 
 
 A curious form of shark is known as the angel-fish, 
 monk-fish, fiddle-fish and half a dozen 
 other names derived from fancied re- 
 Bemblances to the objects named. " It 
 is said sometimes to attain a length of 
 seven or eight feet, and is an exceedingly 
 voracious fish, swimming close to the 
 bottom of the water and feeding prin- 
 cipally on the common flat fishes which 
 are to be met with in abundance in such 
 situations. Its flesh was formerly held 
 in some esteem, but it is now considered 
 and seldom eaten. The skin, 
 used for polishing 
 also affords a fine 
 rOrr's "Circle of the Sciences.") 
 Australia and Japan there occur 
 that gives the animal the appear- 
 
 coarse 
 however, is much 
 cabinet work and 
 sort of shagreen." 
 In the waters of 
 sharks with a 
 
 Angel-flsh. 
 
 'saw 
 ance of the true " saw-fishes," which belong to the ray 
 family. They do not attain the size of the latter, and 
 are distinguishable by their lateral gill openings and "a 
 pair of long tentacles inserted at the lower side of the 
 saw." 
 
 Bennett, in his " Gatherings of a Naturalist," re- 
 marks as follows of the sharks in tropical regions: "In 
 intertropical regions during calm weather, when every 
 one appears to be listless and weary, a. state of excite- 
 ment is produced by the announcement of ' ' 
 
566 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Tentacled Saw-flsh. 
 
 and arrangements are immediately made with hooks and 
 fat salt pork to capture this formidable and voracious 
 fish. They are well named the tigers of the ocean from 
 their peculiar stealthy mode of attacking their prey and 
 the facility with which they are deterred from their 
 
 object by any noise or 
 splash in the water, re- 
 turning to the attack 
 with a quiet stealth which 
 justifies the comparison. 
 The shark is 
 omnivorous with respect 
 to diet. ' He seems, like ' 
 the ostrichj to digest 
 anything from tin-pots 
 and canvas to fat pork 
 and delicate fish, and 
 from the quantity of food often found in his stomach, 
 must have amazing powers of digestion. . . . The 
 liver in every species yields a large quantity of oil. I 
 have often remarked that sharks swim very deep when 
 satiated with food and when not in search of prey. I 
 have seen them when thus 
 swimming, during calm 
 weather, approach a bait, 
 smell and turn from the 
 proffered food without mak- 
 ing the least attempt to seize 
 upon or even nibble it." 
 
 The skates, rays and dev- 
 il-fishes are a well-marked 
 group which is sub-divided, however, and one series is 
 much more shark-like than the other. " In the typical 
 rays the body is excessively depressed and forms, with 
 the expanded pectoral fins, a circular or sub-rhomboidal 
 disk, of which the slender tail appears as a more or less 
 
 Spotted Torpedo. 
 
FISHES. 
 
 567 
 
 long appendage. . . . The mode of life of these 
 fishes IS quite in accordance with the form of their 
 body. While the species with a shark-like body and 
 muscular tail swim freely through the water and are 
 capable of executing rapid and sustained motions, the 
 true rays lead a sedentary life, moTing slowly on the 
 bottom, rarely ascending to the surface. Their tail has 
 almost entirely lost the function of an organ of locomo- 
 tion, acting in some merely as a rudder. They progress 
 solely by means of the pectoral fins, the broad and thin 
 margins of which are set in an undulating motion en- 
 tirely identical with that of the dorsal and anal fins of 
 the pletcronectidcB (flat-fish). They are exclusively car- 
 
 Saw-fish. 
 
 nivorous, like the sharks, but unable to pursue and 
 catch rapidly-moving animals, therefore they feed 
 chiefly on molluscous and crustaceous animals. How- 
 ever, the color of their integuments assimilates so 
 closely with that of their surroundings, that other fishes 
 approach them near enough to be captured by them." 
 (Gunther.) 
 
 The saw-fish, although so like a shark in general ap- 
 pearance, is really one of the rays. "The most re- 
 markable character presented by this fish consists in the 
 prolongation of the point of the' snout into a sword- 
 like organ, whicli is armed along its edges with strong, 
 
668 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY 
 
 tooth-like spines. With this formidably weapon the 
 saw-fish attacks even the largest cetaceous animals, 
 upon which it inflicts very serious injuries. The true 
 teeth are very small. . . . They often attain a 
 length of twelve or fifteen feet." (Orr's " Circle of the 
 Sciences.") 
 
 Saw-fish are abundant in tropical, and less so in sub- 
 tropical seas. The "saw" itself sometimes reaches a 
 length of six feet and a breadth of one foot. There are 
 five species known. According to Professor Goode, at 
 least one species is found on the Florida coast, and 
 stragglers are taken occasionally in the Chesapeake Bay 
 and even farther north. 'A specimen sixteen feet three 
 inches in length and four feet in width was taken at 
 Cape May {^^ Jersey) in July, 1878.'" 
 
 One of the most remarkable of all fishes is the tor- 
 pedo, or electric ray. Without giving any detailed 
 description of the anatomy of this fish's electrical 
 organs, suffice it to say that, "the electrical currents 
 created in these fishes exercise all the . . . known 
 powers of electricity; they render the needle magnetic, 
 decompose chemical compounds, and emit the spark." 
 
 Dr. Gunther, whom we have just quoted, states fur- 
 ther: "The fish gives the electric shock voluntarily, 
 when it is eixcited to do so in self-defence or intends to 
 stun or kill its prey, but to receive the shock the object 
 must complete the galvanic circuit by communicating 
 with the fish at two distinct points, either directly or 
 through the medium of some conducting body." 
 
 There are six species of torpedo found in the Atlantic 
 and Indian Oceans. Three of them are found in the 
 Mediterranean Sea. 
 
 Concerning these fishes on our Atlantic seaboard, 
 Goode states: "It is more or less abundant along the 
 Southern New England and Middle States coast." In 
 New England they are called "cramp-fish." The rays 
 
PtsjfES. 56& 
 
 proper, such as the gray skate, of which an illustration 
 is here given, are very abundant in "temperate seas," 
 and are more abundant north of the equator than south 
 of it. Dr. Gunther states that of some seven species 
 common to British 'waters "all are eatable, and some of 
 them are regularly brought to market." 
 
 There are many species of rays and skp,tes on our At- 
 lantic coast, but none appear to be popular as food- 
 fishes, although DeKay refers to them as being found 
 in the New York markets. Thus of one he remarks, 
 "they are caught along with cod-fish, aind are eaten by 
 the poorer classes, al- 
 though they are insipid, 
 gelatinous food." 
 
 Professor Goode 
 states: "Of the skates 
 . . . there are five 
 species on our Atlantic 
 coast. . . . They 
 are all troublesome to 
 the fisherman, clogging 
 his lines and pound- Gray Skate, 
 
 nets, but none of them 
 
 are of the slightest economical value, except the so-called 
 ' barn-door skate,' Raia Icevis, which is occasionally salted 
 for use by the fishermen of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 
 and which has, within the last two or three years, at- 
 tracted some notice in New York. . . . Only the 
 'wings,' or fleshy flaps to the pectoral fins, are used." 
 
 The starry ray, here figured, is a European species, 
 having the habits of the family in general, and not re- 
 markable for any peculiarities. 
 
 On the Atlantic coast of the United States there oc- 
 curs a strange form of these creatures, known as the 
 devil-fish. It has been seen as far north as the south- 
 ern extremity of New Jersey, and is not uncommon in 
 
570 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Starry Bay. 
 
 Florida. It is an enormous animal, measuring from 
 tip to tip of the flaps fully thirty feet. 
 
 Professor Goode states that "there are instances on 
 record of small vessels having been carried out to sea by 
 these fish which have become en- 
 tangled in the anchor ropes. The 
 appearance of these fish at the 
 surface, especially at the breeding 
 season, has given origin, doubt- 
 less, to some of the stories of sea- 
 serpents current on the southern 
 coast." 
 
 The Pacific coast is as well sup- 
 plieti as is the Atlantic with fishes 
 of this group, and some of them 
 appear in the markets of San 
 iVancisco, but they are not popu- 
 lar, apparently, as articles of food. 
 The chimeras are shark-like 
 fishes that form a group by themselves. They "are 
 few in number, and remain within very moderate dimen- 
 sions, probably not exceeding a length of five feet, in- 
 clusive of their long filamentous . . . tail. 
 
 " The best known species is the northern chimera, 
 . • . which is called the 
 sea-cat and king of the her- 
 rings in different localities. 
 It is three or four feet long, 
 of a silvery color, spotted 
 with brown; the snout is 
 obtusely conical, and the 
 extremity of the tail is pro- 
 duced into a very long, tapering filament. It is a native 
 of the northern seas, and usu^ly follows the shoals of 
 herrings during their periodical migrations toward the 
 shore, feeding upon these and other small fishes; it is 
 
 Chimera monstrosa. 
 
FTSHMS. 
 
 571 
 
 also said to feed on medusae and Crustacea. 
 This fish occurs occasionally on the British coasts. Its 
 fleshis coarse, and very indifferent as food, but the oil 
 furnished hy its liver is said to be employed by the 
 Norwegians in diseases of the eyes." . (Orr's "Circle of 
 the Sciences.") 
 
 A group of lizard-shaped fishes that have but few 
 living representatives are known as the lepidosiren, pro- 
 topterus and ceratodus. One occurs in South America, 
 another in Africa and others in Australia. The one of 
 which an illustration is given, is from Africa, " where 
 it abounds in many localities, but it is spread over the 
 whole of tropical Africa, and 
 forms in many districts of 
 the central parts a regular 
 article of food. 
 
 "During the dry season 
 specimens living in shallow 
 
 waters, which periodically 
 
 dry up, form a cavity in the Protopterus. 
 
 mud, the inside of which 
 they line with a protecting capsule of mucus, and from 
 which they emerge again when the rains refill the pools 
 inhabited by them. While they remain in this torpid 
 state of existence, the clay-balls containing them are 
 frequently dug out, and if the capsules are not broken 
 the fishes in them can be transported to Europe, and 
 released by being immersed in slightly tepid water. 
 Protopterus is exclusively carnivorous, feeding on water- 
 insects, frogs and fishes, and attains a length of six feet." 
 (Gunther.) 
 
 The South American species is very rare, and is said 
 by the natives " to produce a sound not unlike that of a 
 
 The ceratodi are the Australian forms, and are well 
 known. The aboriginal name is "barramunda." The 
 flesh is esteemed as food. 
 
57.2 
 
 CyCLOPMHIA OP l^ATUkAL tttSTOkV. 
 
 " The barramunda is said to be in the habit of going 
 on land, or at least on mud-flats, and this assertion 
 appears to be borne out by the fact that it is provided 
 with a lung. . . . It is also said to make a grunt- 
 ing noise, which may be heard at night for some dis- 
 tance." 
 
 The sturgeons are familiar to most people, being 
 found so generally in our large rivers, and forming 
 a source of profit to our fishermen. The flesh is fairly 
 good as food, if properly cooked, otherwise it is unutter- 
 ably poor. 
 
 These fish are found in the temperate regions of the 
 
 northern hemisphere. 
 South of the equator they 
 do not occur. They are 
 not exclusively a fresh- 
 water animal, but ascend 
 rivers to spawn therein, 
 and spend a large portion 
 of each year in the bays, 
 and probably the open 
 sea. There are about 
 twenty species known, 
 distributed among European, Asiatic and North Ameri- 
 can rivers. ^ 
 
 Besides the sturgeons proper there is found in the 
 western rivers of this continent the "paddle-fish," or 
 " duck-billed cat," a sturgeon-like fish, with the snout 
 greatly prolonged and flattened, so as to have the shape 
 of a druggist's spatula. They attain a length of from 
 four to six feet, and a weight of about thirty pounds. 
 They are of little or no value as food. 
 
 The gars, or bony pikes, common to many American 
 rivers, are of much interest in themselves, and also be- 
 cause of their close resemblance to fishes of earlier 
 geological eras. They are not found elsewhere than 
 
 sturgeon. 
 
PISITES. 573 
 
 in Northern and Central America and Cuba. They are 
 carnivorous, feeding on small fishes. The number of 
 species is quite small. It is stated by Professor Goode 
 to be worthless as food, and "said to be noxious." 
 There is a widespread opinion that the flesh is poison- 
 ous, and at certain seasons at least, this appears to be 
 
 Gar-pike. 
 
 true. If not of the flesh proper, at least of the liver 
 and perhaps all its entrails. 
 
 Another bony fish found in the rivers of the interior, 
 but not those near the coast, is the amia, or "bow-fin," 
 or "Johnny Grindle." It is smaller than the, gars, and 
 never reaches a greater length than two feet. They are 
 worthless as food, voracious and savage. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 THE TKUE FISHES. 
 
 We now come to the true fishes, such as are common 
 to the ocean, the bays, inland seas, lakes, rivers and 
 ponds. Wherever there is any considerable body of 
 water that is permanent, there we are sure to fi;nd some 
 one or more, and often many species of this form of 
 animal life. 
 
 The fresh-water perch — or, as it is called in this 
 country, the yellow perch — is the type of those spiny- 
 finned fishes that are common in the inland waters of 
 
 Europe and North Ameri- 
 ca. They are shapely in 
 outline, pretty in color, 
 active and voracious, so 
 that to the angler they af- 
 ford considerable sport, 
 although not of value as 
 Common Perch. an article of food. Not 
 
 that they are uneatable 
 by any means, but when so many other species found 
 in the same water are so much better, they are apt to 
 be held as practically of no value. 
 
 The American yellow perch does not differ much 
 from the European form, but still they are distinct. 
 "Its usual length is about a foot and its weight gen- 
 erally less than two pounds." This is the size and 
 weight of an adult fish, and the vast majority that are 
 found in our markets are considerably under this. 
 A salt-water perch that is found in our rivers also. 
 
..j>^«.«r ^ 
 
 
FISHES. 575 
 
 and has a very wide distribution on our Atlantic sea- 
 board, is known everywhere as the white perch. These 
 fish occasionally attain to a large size and weigh about 
 two pounds, but as a rule are smaller. As a "pan-fish" 
 they are considered excellent and command ready sale 
 in our markets. 
 
 The rock-fish, or striped bass, is one of our noblest 
 game fishes, and is a "game " fish in the strictest sense 
 of that term. According to Professor Goode, "the 
 striped bass is not migratory, being found along our 
 coast in winter as well as in summer, and in our markets 
 in every month of the year. . . . They appear to 
 
 striped Bass. 
 
 avoid a temperature higher than 65° or 70°, . . . 
 are not sensitive to cold, and there is good evidence that 
 they frequently, when detained throughout the winter 
 in shallow places, enter upon a state of torpidity. They 
 are very voracious feeders. Entering the rivers, they 
 prey upon small fishes. . . . The striped bass is 
 one of the most valuable of our food fishes, its flesh 
 being firm, finely flavored and hard enough to bear ex- 
 posure to the air for some time without injury. It is 
 also the most popular game fish next to the salmon." 
 
 Striped bass occasionally grow to be very large, the 
 largest on record weighing 112 pounds. The average 
 
676 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 H^eight is about twenty pounds, but it is when about 
 one-fourth this length that the fish are most valuable as 
 food, and far more are caught that weigh even less than 
 this than that exceed it. 
 
 In all our ponds, small creeks and the rivers are found 
 small perch-like fish that are known as "sun-fish," 
 "bream" and "pumpkin-seeds." They afford juvenile 
 anglers an infinite amount of sport, and some of the 
 larger species found in our rivers are really "gamy," 
 and in spite of the dictum of professional anglers are 
 excellent as food. These sun-fish are found all over the 
 United States, and while differing considerably in size and 
 color, present much in common in appearance and are 
 not readily mistaken for fishes of 
 any other family. One species 
 found in New Jersey and Maryland 
 is silvery - white with black trans- 
 verse bands. 
 
 Of diminutive size and often of 
 Sun-flsh. inconspicuous coloring are the dart- 
 
 ers, or Etheostomoids, that are so 
 abundant in most of our streams from the Atlantic coast 
 to the Mississippi Valley. The most marked peculiarity 
 of these fishes is that of resting on the bottom of the 
 stream and only moving to dart upon prey. They can 
 only progress a short distance and by the most violent 
 exertion. 
 
 " The family of darters ... is exclusively Ameri- 
 can, but none the less ancient and venerable on that 
 account, for its members in every pond and brook of our 
 Eastern United States trace back their lineage through 
 a dozen lines of descent to a primitive darter which 
 lived and loved . . . years before the time of Will- 
 iam the Conqueror. . . . The barred darter, or 
 log-perch, is the largest of the Etheostomoids. It 
 reaches a length of six or eight inches." 
 (.American Naturalist, 1876.) 
 
FISHES. 
 
 577 
 
 The smallest species is with one or two exceptions the 
 least of all fishes. 
 
 The lettered serranus is one of the sea-perches proper. 
 These fish "are found on the shores of all temperate 
 and tropical seas — most abundantly in the latter. A 
 few_ species enter brackish and even fresh water, one 
 having been found as high up the Ganges as the con- 
 fines of Nepal., However, all spawn 
 in the sea. The variety of species 
 is almost infinite, about 150 being 
 tolerably well known and many 
 more having been described. . . . Darter. 
 
 Many are most agreeably colored and 
 ornamented with spots, or cross bands, or longitudinal 
 stripes. . . . The majority remain of rather small size, 
 growing to a length of one or two feet, but not a few 
 reach more than twice that length and may even be- 
 come dangerous to man. Instances of bathers having 
 been attacked by a gigantic species not uncommon at 
 
 the Seychelles and Aden 
 are on record, the per- 
 sons having died from 
 the injuries received. 
 Almost all the species 
 are eatable and many 
 are esteemed as food." 
 (Gunther.) 
 The well-known ' ' sea- 
 bass," or " black-fish," of our Atlantip seaboard belongs 
 to this family. It is highly prized as an article of food. 
 These sea-perch, or sea-bass, are occasionally found of 
 considerable size, but specimens weighing over two 
 pounds are not common. 
 
 Besides the few representative species of perch and 
 perch-like fishes, reference should be made to our well- 
 known "black bass" of inland waters,, so deservedly 
 
 Lettered Serrauus. 
 
5r8 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 popular as a game fisli. And also the spineless percli, 
 or "pirate," which stands alone among fishes in certain 
 features. It is found only on the Atlantic seaboard, but 
 not in salt water. It is a blackish-brown, small species, 
 carnivorous and apparently nocturnal in its habits. 
 They are found from New York to New Orleans. 
 
 The archer-fish is one of the most remarkable of those 
 whose habits are known. "It has received its name 
 from its habit of throwing a drop of water at an insect 
 which it perceives close to the surface in order to make 
 it fall into it. The Malays, who call it * ikan sumpit,' 
 
 keep it in a bowl in order to 
 witness this sing-ular habit, 
 which it continues even in 
 captivity." (Gunther.) 
 
 There is another and quite 
 different fish found in Chi- 
 Archer-fish. nese Waters that is said to 
 
 have this habit, but Dr. 
 Gunther says it is not true of it. 
 
 The surmullet is one of the red mullet family, a group 
 of marine fishes of which some enter brackish waters. 
 There are some forty species mostly belonging to tropi- 
 cal .waters. 
 
 Dr. Gunther states that the most celebrated "is the 
 European species. . . . The ancient Romans called 
 it mullus, the Greeks trigli. The Romans prized it 
 above any other fish. They sought for large specimens 
 far and wide and paid ruinous prices for them. . . . 
 " Then, as nowadays, it was considered essential for 
 the enjoyment of this delicacy that the fish shouJ.d ex- 
 hibit the red color of its integuments. The Romans 
 brought it for that purpose living into the banqueting- 
 room and allowed it to die in the hands of the guests, 
 the red color appearing in all its brilliancy during the 
 death struggle of the fish." 
 
FISHES. 
 
 579 
 
 Gilthead. 
 
 In the tropical seas and also in the warme-r temperate 
 regions, there are found some twenty species of large 
 and valuable fishes, of which the chrysophrys, or "gilt- 
 head," is a typical example. ' The classical name men- 
 tioned signifies "golden eyebrow," and refers to the 
 spot of golden yellow between the eyes. Like the pre- 
 ceding it was much prized 
 by the Komans, who suc- 
 cessfully reared it in their 
 artificial fish-ponds. 
 
 " Duhamel states that it 
 stirs up the sand with the 
 tail so as to discover the 
 shell-fish concealed in it. 
 It is extremely fond of 
 mussels, and its near presence is sometimes ascertained 
 by the noise which it makes while breaking their shells 
 with its teeth. Several species (are) found on the Cape 
 of G-ood Hope." (Gunther.) 
 
 The polynemes are of many species and occur along 
 the coasts between the tropics. They enter brackish and 
 
 even fresh waters. Their 
 marked peculiarity is the long 
 thread-like rays from the 
 humeral arch near the pec- 
 toral fins. 
 
 "It is evident from the 
 whole organization of these 
 fifihes that they live on muddy 
 bottoms, or in thick water, 
 such as is found near the mouths of great rivers. Their 
 eyes are large but generally obscured by a filmy skin, so 
 that these feelers must be of great use to them in find- 
 ing their way and their food. The polynemoids are 
 very useful to man; their flesh is esteemed. . , . 
 Some of these fishes attain to a length of four feetJ' 
 (Gunther.) , - 
 
 Fovir-rayed Polyneme. 
 
580 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 " The fishes of the ' maigre ' family are chiefly coast- 
 fishes of the tropical and sub-tropical Atlantic and In- 
 dian Oceans preferring the neighborhood of the mouths 
 of large rivers, into which they freely enter, some of 
 the species having become so completely naturalized in 
 fresh water that they are never found nowadays in the 
 sea. Some of the larger species wander far from their 
 original home and are not rarely found at distant locali- 
 ties as occasional visitors. In the Pacific and on the 
 coast of Australia, where but a few large rivers enter 
 the ocean, they are extremely rare, and in the Eed Sea 
 they are absent. ^ Many attain a large size and almost all 
 are eaten." (G-unther.) 
 
 Of fishes generically the same as the "maigre" there 
 are about fifty species, some of which are found in fresh 
 
 water. The species of 
 which an illustration is 
 here given is found over a 
 wide area, as it occurs on 
 British coasts, at the Cape 
 Maigre. of Good Hope and m 
 
 Australian waters. It has 
 been known to reach a length of six feet, but such 
 specimens are extremely rare. This species makes a loud 
 "drumming" sound like the drum-fish of our own coast. 
 Much speculation has been indulged in as to the manner 
 in which this noise is produced, one author suggesting 
 that the tail was beaten against the bottoms of vessels 
 to rid them (the tails) of parasites, and so the noise 
 was caused. Professor Goode says: "M. Dufass^ has 
 investigated very thoroughly the physiological causes 
 of these sounds, which appear to depend largely upon 
 the action of the air-bladder." 
 
 There are eleven species of fishes of this group found on 
 our Atlantic coast, and some of them figure prominently 
 in our fishery interests. Probably the best known of them 
 
FISHES. 
 
 581 
 
 all, especially to summer tourists wlio deliglit in a day's 
 sport, is the weak-fish. Some dozen or more local 
 names h'ave been given to it, and Professor Goode sug- 
 gests that the Indian name be adopted and the fish 
 everywhere be called "squeteague." The name weak- 
 fish has such a hold, however, on the New Jersey coast, 
 that it is not likely to be replaced. 
 
 Groode states: "The squeteague . . . varies in 
 size with the locality. While on the coast of New ■ 
 Jersey they do not average much, over one pound, they 
 are stated to occasionally attain the weight of from six 
 to ten pounds, and have 
 even been known to weigh 
 thirty." 
 
 The bearded umbrina, 
 of which an illustration is 
 here given, is a European 
 species that has been found 
 measuring three feet in 
 length. 
 
 On the Pacific coast of the United States is found a 
 food-fish of good quality that is generically the same as 
 the bearded umbrina. It is called the yellow-finned ron- 
 cador. Mr. Jordan states that it "feeds on Crustacea 
 and spawns in Julv. . . . Many are split and 
 salted." ' 
 
 According to Dr. Gunther, " the sword-fishes are 
 pelagic. . . . Generally found in the open ocean, 
 always vigilant, and endowed with extraordinary strength 
 and velocity, they are but rarely captured, and still 
 more rarely preserved. The species found in the In- 
 dian and Pacific Oceans belong to the genus histiophorus, 
 distinguished from the common Mediterranean sword- 
 fish, xiphias, by the presence of ventral fins, which, 
 however,, are reduced to two long styliform appendages. 
 . . . Sword-fishes are the largest of acanthopterygiansi 
 
 Bearded TTmbrina. 
 
582 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Sword-fish. 
 
 (gpiny-fined) and not exceeded in size by any other 
 teleostean (true fishes); they attain to a lengtlj of ffoni 
 twelve to fifteen feet, and swords have been obtained 
 more than three feet long. . . . Sword-fishes 
 never hesitate to attack whales and other large ceta- 
 ceans, and by repeatedly 
 stabbing these animals 
 generally retire from the 
 combat victorious." 
 
 The silvery hair-tail be- 
 longs to a strictly marin^ 
 group of fishes, and this 
 one is quite widely distrib- 
 uted. The one here fig- 
 ured is a West Indian species, yet has been found on the 
 coast of England. It is known in the West Indies as 
 the " cutlass-fish." 
 
 " Its appearance is very remarkable on account of its 
 long, compressed form and its glistening silvery color. 
 It attains the length of four or five feet, although ordi- 
 narily not exceeding twen- 
 ty-five or thirty inches." 
 (Goode.) 
 
 They are considered to 
 be a good food-fish in many 
 localities. 
 
 The pilot-fish is a species 
 known only to the open 
 ocean, and in all seas except 
 those within or bordering 
 upon the arctic regions. It follows vessels, or at least 
 keeps them company, and likewise lingers about the 
 sharks, not only when they are following vessels, but at 
 all times. From these circumstances is derived its 
 common name. 
 Bennett ("Gatherings of a Naturalist") states that 
 
 Silvery Halr-tadl. 
 
FISHES. 
 
 583 
 
 PUot-flsh. 
 
 " in company with the shark it is usual to find a faith- 
 ful attendant, the pilot-fish. I have, however, ob- 
 served that if several sharks swim together, the pilot- 
 fishes are generally absent; whereas, on a solitary shark 
 being seen, it is equally rare to find it unaccompanied 
 by one or more of these reputed guides. ... Its 
 usual length is from four to 
 eight inches. It is good 
 and delicate eating, resem- 
 bling mackerel in flavor." 
 
 An important food-fish 
 of the Atlantic coast of the 
 United States is quite near- 
 ly allied to the preceding 
 
 — the blue-fish, or snapping-mackerel. " It is one of the 
 most rapacious fishes, destroying an immense number 
 of other shore fishes, and killing many more than they 
 can devour." 
 
 The "dories" are strictly marine species of wide dis- 
 tribution over the Atlantic 
 Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, 
 and also on the Japanese and 
 Australian coasts. The one 
 here figured is the familiar 
 ' ' John Dory " of Europe. Ac- 
 cording to Dr. Gunther, this 
 name "seems to be partly a 
 corruption of the Gascon ' jau,' 
 which signifies cock, 'dory' 
 being derived from the French, 
 doree, so that the entire name means gilt-cock. . . . 
 The fishermen of Eoman Catholic countries hold this 
 fish in special repect, as they recognize in a black, round 
 spot on its side the mark left by the thumb of St. Peter 
 whenjie took the piece of money from its mouth." 
 The dory is a valuable food-fish. It occasionally is 
 
 Dory. 
 
584 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 found as heavy as eight or ten pounds, but the usual 
 weight is ab9ut one-half this. 
 
 The true '" dolphins " are cetaceans, as we have 
 already seen, but the same name has, unfortunately, 
 been applied to this species of marine fishes, and the 
 distinction must be constantly borne in mind to pre- 
 vent confusion. These fish, for which no other name 
 can be suggested, except the pretty scientific one of 
 coryphaena, are strictly marine. 
 
 They swim in large companies, and prey upon the 
 flying-fish. As a food-fish they are justly prized, and 
 are caught by sailors in large numbers. They reach a 
 length of about six feet. 
 
 Because of their great economic value the Kiackerel 
 
 tribe are well known, 
 and certainly some of 
 them are unequaled as 
 food -fishes. They are 
 very widely distributed 
 over the temperate and 
 \unny. ^ tropical regions. They 
 
 are exclusively marine 
 fishes. " They are one of the four families of fishes 
 which are the most useful to man, the others being the 
 gadoids (cod), clupeoids (herring) and salmonoids 
 (salmon). 
 
 A prominent and important species of mackerel is 
 that known as the tunny. They have been caught 
 weighing over half a ton and measuring ten feet in 
 length. 
 
 According to Professor Goode, "although highly 
 prized in the Old World, from the time of the ancient 
 Bomans to the present day, they are seldom if ever used 
 for food in this country." 
 
 The same cannot be said of the common mackerel. 
 This fish is found in the !N"orth Atlantic Ocean, and 
 
J^'ISJTES. 
 
 f)85 
 
 Mackerel. 
 
 they are a migratory species, but the influenoiug caiises 
 of these movements are not altogether understood. 
 
 Professor Goode says: " The movements of the mack- 
 erei schools, like those of the menhaden, appear to be 
 regulated solely by the temperatu^re of the ocean." 
 The numbers of this fish along our coast varies from 
 year to year. 
 
 The remoras, or sucking-fishes, certainly do not look 
 much like mackerel, and yet 
 they are not very remote 
 from them. In the true 
 mackerel it will be noticed 
 that there are two fins upon 
 the back, and in the sucking- 
 fish, the foremost of these 
 fins "is modified into an adhesive disk, occupying the 
 upper side of the head and neck." 
 
 This curious fish, by nieans of the "sucker" upon 
 the top of its head, can attach itself firmly to various 
 large animals, and to vessels, and so be carried along by 
 them. This habit has given rise to wild stories about 
 
 its holding back ships, and 
 other impossible perform- 
 ances. 
 
 Bennett, in "Gather- 
 ings," says that ''in the 
 Australian seas, the suck- 
 ing-fifeh is usually observed 
 upon the shark, and I 
 never recollect seeing it upon any. other fish. . . . 
 The power of the sucker I have observed is persistent 
 even after the death of the fish, showing that its 
 attachpient is dependent as much upon mechanical as 
 upon muscular action. ... It swims with a heavy, 
 awkward, wriggling motion, propelling itself by the 
 tail in a manner similar to that by which a boat is 
 
 Remora. 
 
586 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OP NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 sculled. When cooked, I have found them of good 
 flavor." 
 
 The "wee vers" are rather slender, elongated fishes, 
 with a large, box-shaped head, " on which the eyes are 
 placed in such a manner as to look more or less up- 
 ward. . . . The strong spines with which the first 
 
 dorsal fin and the oper- 
 cula of these fishes are 
 armed enable them to in- 
 flict severe wounds upon 
 those who handle them 
 incautiously, and the ef- 
 fftcts of these wounds are 
 there is a general belief 
 the species possess some 
 
 Weever. 
 
 SO exceedingly painful that 
 
 among the fishermen that 
 
 venomous property." One species is esteemed as food, 
 
 Belonging to this group are the true " star-gazers," well 
 known fishes, both on the European and American 
 coasts. The position of the eye is as described in the 
 preceding fish, but i 
 
 they are even more di- 
 rectly pointed upward 
 than in the "weevers." 
 The star-gazers are 
 quiet fishes, lying on 
 the bottom, and con- 
 cealed by the irregu- 
 larities of the sur- 
 roundings. "The 
 delicate filament at- 
 tached to the bottom of their mouth, and playing in 
 front of it in the current of water which passes through 
 the mouth, serves to lure small animals within reach of 
 the fish." (Gunther.) 
 
 Fishing-frogs, or anglers, are coast fishes that are 
 found in shallow waters. They are common to the 
 
 Hshing.frogr. 
 
FISffES. 
 
 587 
 
 coasts of our Northern States, and as far soutTi as Mary- 
 land. 
 
 " Goose-fislies (as they are called in New England) 
 are sluggish, slow-moving animals, and are occasionally 
 seen swimming near the surface, though ordinarily 
 found upon the bottom. They feed upon other fish — 
 often on large ones, their 
 swallowing powers being 
 practically unlimited. 
 Mackerel, sculpins, sea- 
 ravens and dog-fish, crabs, 
 squibs and lobsters have 
 
 been found in their stom- Gray Gurnard. 
 
 achs. . . . They often 
 
 attempt to feed upon each other.' . , , Although 
 not commonly eaten, its flesh is very palatable. The full- 
 grown fish will yield from ten to fifteen pounds of good 
 meat." (Goode's '-'History of Aquatic Animals.") 
 The gurnards are too well known to need any detailed 
 
 description. Those of the 
 European waters differ to 
 some extent from the 
 American forms. The 
 three free, finger-like pec- 
 toral appendages, which 
 serve as organs of locomo- 
 tion as well as touch, is 
 the most prominent feat- 
 ure, and one that readily 
 distinguishes them. 
 " One of the largest and most formidable fishes of our 
 seas is the sea- wolf . ... In the British seas this 
 fish attains a length of six or seven feet, and in more 
 northern and colder latitudes it is said to grow still 
 larger. ... Its common food consists of crusta- 
 ceous and molluscous animals, for crushing which itg 
 
 Wolf-flsh. 
 
588 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 powerful apparatus of teeth i's especially adapted, and 
 the strength of its jaws is exceedingly great. When 
 captured, it defends itself vigorously, attacking the 
 fishermen with the greatest ferocity, and often inflict- 
 ing severe wounds upon those who are not very careful 
 in their approackes. Its appearance is completely in 
 accordance with its nature, for few fishes look more 
 savage than the sea- wolf." (Orr's " Circle of the 
 Sciences.") 
 
 On the sea-coasts of most countries in the temperate 
 and tropical regions the gray mullets are to be found. 
 There are about seventy species known, and all are 
 available for food, although there is considerable differ- 
 . ence in the several spe- 
 
 cies as to the value of 
 their flesh. These fish 
 are all bottom feeders, 
 and instead of assorting 
 the vast quantity of ma- 
 terial found in the ,sand 
 Common Gray Mullet. and small pebbles, they 
 
 swallow quantities of 
 these, and by an intricate arrangement of the bones 
 of the throat, assort it in the mouth, and reject such 
 matter as is uneatable. 
 
 They are extraordinarily abundant on the coasts of our 
 South Atlantic and Gulf States, and less so farther 
 north. They seldom acquire a greater weight than six 
 pounds. 
 
 The tobacco-pipe fish is well known on the Atlantic 
 seaboard of this country, although but very few of 
 them are to be seen in the brackish waters of the 
 mouths of our rivers. They are closely related to the 
 " stickle-backs," which are probably as well known as 
 the rninnows of our inland creeks. Judging from the 
 paucity of remarks concerning them by writers on 
 
FISHES. 
 
 589 
 
 Tobacco-pipe Fish. 
 
 ichthyological subjects, it is certain that practically 
 nothing is known of their habits. DeKay described 
 two species as found in the waters of New York. They 
 are — or some of them — about two feet in length, and 
 have a peculiar fila- 
 mentous growth ex- 
 tending from the tail 
 fully one foot in length. 
 Although the body is 
 of a much more fish- 
 like shape, the mouth 
 of the pretty bellows- 
 fish is the same as that 
 of the tobacco-pipe fish just mentioned. These fish are 
 weak ■ swimmers, although strictly marine species, and 
 are often driven by storms far out to ,sea, and occasion- 
 ally are found in localities to which they are strangers. 
 One species is very common in the Mediterranean Sea. 
 
 They are of no value as 
 food-fishes, and but four 
 or five inches in length. 
 "The climbing perch 
 is generally distributed 
 over the Indian region, 
 and well known from its 
 faculty of moving for 
 some distance over land 
 and even up inclined 
 surfaces. " (Gunther . ) 
 Tennent remarks, that according to Dr. Buchanan, 
 of all fish, this climbing perch "is the most tenacious 
 of life, and he has known boatmen on the Ganges to 
 keep them for five or six days in an earthen pot without 
 water, and'daily to use what they wanted, finding them 
 as lively and fresh as when caught." 
 
 "The 'wrasses' are a large family of littoral fishes, 
 
 Bellows-fish. 
 
590 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 very abundant in the temperate and tropical zones, but 
 becoming scarcer toward the arctic and antarctic circles, 
 where they disappear entirely. Many of them are 
 readily recognized by their thick lips, which are some- 
 times internally folded, a peculiarity which has given 
 to them the German term of ' lip-fishes.' They feed 
 chiefly on mollusks and crustaceans, their dentition be- 
 ing admirably adapted 
 for crushing hard sub- 
 stances. Many species 
 have a strong curved tooth 
 at the posterior extremity 
 of the intermaxillary, for 
 Wrasse. ^'^ purpose of pressing a 
 
 shell against the lateral 
 and front teeth, by which it is crushed. Other wrasses 
 feed on corals; others on zoophytes; a few are herbivorous. 
 . . . Beautiful colors prevail in this family. . . . 
 Some species remain very small, others grow to a weight 
 flf fifty pounds. The larger kinds especially are prized 
 as food, the smaller less so. " (Gunther. ) 
 
 The tantog, or black-fish, of our coast is a well .known 
 representative of this 
 family, as is also the cun- 
 aer of New England coast 
 waters. 
 
 The scarus, or parrot- 
 wrasse, is a well-known ^^S^^^^^^^^s®* 
 Mediterranean fish, and ' Scarus. 
 
 has for ages been cele- 
 brated as a food-fish. "In the time of Pliny it was 
 considered to be the first of fishes. . . ^ . It was a 
 fish, said the poets, whose very excrements the gods them- 
 selves were unwilling to reject. ... In the present 
 day the scarus of the archipelago is considered to be a 
 fish of exquisite flavor," (Gunther.) 
 
FISHES. 591 
 
 The cod family is one of the most important of all 
 groups of fishes. The amount of food they supply to 
 mankind is- enormous, and their pursuit and capture 
 gives employment to many thousands of men in both 
 Europe and North America, as well as to many tribes of 
 
 So much has been written of these fishes that they 
 have long since become quite familiar to every one. 
 They are marine forms that come to the shallow waters 
 of the coastji and have been found in even brackish 
 water, but so rarely that such occurrences are of no 
 significance. Besides the cod proper, there is the had- 
 
 Cod. 
 
 dock, whiting, pollack and hake, all of which are of 
 more or less commercial value. One species of hake 
 has the power of communicating strong electric shocks. 
 
 " The 'ling' is a very valuable species common on 
 the northern coasts of Europe, Iceland and Greenland, 
 and generally found from three to four feet long. The 
 larger number of the specimens caught are cured and 
 dried." (Grunther.) 
 
 The burbot is a fresh-water species of which much 
 has been written, and still much remains to be deter- 
 mined concerning it. It is abundant in the great lakes 
 and lakes of Western New York, and- has also been 
 
593 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 
 found in the Connecticut Kiver,,tlie Susquehanna (onca 
 reported) and once, at least, in the Delaware, 
 
 From an exhaustive account of the cod-fish in its 
 economical as well as zoological aspect, the reader is 
 referred to Goode's "History of Aquatic Animals."' 
 Indeed, for information concerning any of our food- 
 fishes, this volume is in- 
 comparably better than 
 any other yet published. 
 
 The following from 
 " Science Gossip " con- 
 cerning the sana-eel, will 
 be found of much inter- 
 est. They are occasion- 
 ally very abundant on the 
 New England coast. 
 " Of a quick-glancing, bright and silvery color is the 
 common sand-launce, sometimes called the sand or 
 hotn-eel {ammodytes lancea). It doesn't mind soiling 
 its beautiful coat a little when the tide retires, for 
 presto! as quick as thought it buries itself from half a 
 foot to two feet or so deep in the 
 soft sand. There it remains im- 
 prisoned till the waters return again 
 to the flood, when it stealthily 
 emerges and keenly searches about 
 for marine worms, etc., by way of 
 food. The jaws are very moveable, 
 very sensitive and sharp at the point, 
 and in conjunction with the small 
 head, the square and slender body, 
 muscles of the body, they prove 
 vice in enabling the fish to effectually shelter itself 
 from undesirable observation. Its movements are. 
 of lightning-like agility. It has been described as 
 the swiftest moving creature in the whole sea, and 
 
 Sand-eel. 
 
 the swift-moving 
 of eminent ser- 
 
FISHES. 593 
 
 in sooth it requires a tremendous nimbleness to have 
 any chance of escape from the onslaughts of its in- 
 numerable ferocious and indefatigable enemies. In 
 fact, the fish is perpetually encompassed by hordes of 
 murderous enemies, and of its ever-pending danger it 
 seems to be fully conscious. The beautiful mackerel, 
 the sea-trOut — indeed nearly every big fish is always 
 ready to pounce upon the launce, whether fry or mature, 
 and consume it with immense relish. The light shuttle- 
 cock-like terns with unparalleled celerity hawk at and 
 pierce it with their sharp bills. Cormorants, allergan- 
 sers, etc., mercilessly disentomb it from the tideless 
 sand and devour it with an unequivocal gusto. The 
 grand and beautiful black-backed gull, sweeping with 
 predatory intent nigh the shore, immediately spies it 
 out and hesitates not to forthwith break his fast. The 
 wallowing, somersault-throwing porpoise, with a huge 
 yawn, engulfs wholesale mouthfuls of these luscious 
 little fish, and even the renowned Irish pig on some 
 parts of the Irish seaboard resorts to the sands at low 
 water and, allured by the mouth-watering qualities of 
 the 'eel, explores it haunts with a sniffling, grunting 
 snout. Lastly, but perhaps not leastly, even to the 
 highly-organized human palate this fish furnishes a 
 morsel by no means distasteful or unwholesome, and 
 accordingly by delving in the sand, or by a kind of 
 rake, or by means of a kind of trawling-net, men and 
 women capture whole bushels and cartfuls of this ex- 
 cellent article of food; and again, by using it as a bait, 
 fishermen artificially utilize these savory qualities, for 
 there are very few fish indeed which can resist the fas- 
 cination of a dangling piece of sand-eel. 
 
 " The skin of the sand-eel is thin, but it is amply 
 furnished at the sides with scales^ one margin of which 
 is buried deeply in the derm, while the opposite margin, 
 which presents a network structure, projects upward 
 
594: CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 into the superposed portion of tlie epiderm. The body 
 and head are elongated; the dorsal fin (fifty-one rays) 
 extends nearly the whole length of the back; the anal 
 fin (twenty-five rays) is also long; the tail fin (fifteen 
 rays) is distinct and forked, not joined to dorsal and 
 anal as in the true eels {anguilla); there 'is no ventral 
 fin and the pectorals (thirteen rays) cover a large gUl 
 aperture; the eyes are small; the whole fish, which 
 measures five to eight inches long, is of a light-brown 
 sandy hue variegated with a silvery bluish-green tint 
 on the sides and back." 
 
 The flounder, or flat-fish, family is next in order if 
 not in importance, and is one that possesses great in- 
 terest for the naturalist. These fishes, as is, well known, 
 
 are always flat, and when 
 adult lie upon one side and 
 swim with a peculiar wavy 
 motion. The eyes are on 
 one side of the head, which 
 with the body is highly 
 Halibut. colored, while the other, or 
 
 down side, is white. They 
 are voracious and carnivorous. The young are sym- 
 metrical, swim in an upright position, and the eyes are 
 placed one on each side, as in ordinary lateral-eyed 
 fishes. As they grow older they lose this position 
 gradually, and the eye gradually "works round, as the 
 body leans over, until the 'flat' position is assumed and 
 both eyes look directly upward. 
 
 There are a half-dozen or more species of flat fish 
 found on our Atlantic coast which are valuable as 
 food fishes, but none of them approach the well- 
 known halibut. This species "is widely distributed 
 through the North Atlantic and North Pacific, both 
 near the shores, in shallow water and upon the off-shoro 
 banks and the edges of the continental slope down to ii 
 
FISHES. 
 
 595 
 
 depth of 200 to 250 fathoms or more. . . . Half a 
 century ago halibut were extremely abundant in Massa- 
 chusetts Bay. ... Of late years, however, few aii*e 
 found except in deep_ water on the off-shore banks. 
 . . . The halibut is surpassed in size by only three 
 of our Eastern species — the sword-fisli, the tunny and 
 the tarpum. _ There is said by experienced fishermen to 
 be a great difference in the size of the two sexes, the 
 female being much the larger. The male is said rarely 
 to exceed fifty pounds in weight; . . . the average 
 size of a full-grown female is somewhere between 100 / 
 and 150 pounds, though ' 
 
 they are sometimes much 
 heavier." (Groode.) 
 
 The European turbot is 
 one of the most valued food- 
 fishes and grows to a length 
 of three feet. 
 
 In North' America this 
 
 species is represented by the 
 
 plaice, or turbot-flounder, Turiiot. 
 
 which " is, next to the hali- 
 but, the most important flat-fish on the eastern coast. 
 . . . This fish is abundant upon the eastern coast 
 of the United States from Cape Cod to Florida, and 
 according to Mr. Stearns' report is also found along the 
 entire Gulf coast." 
 
 Besides this species, another of value as a food-fish is 
 the "flat-fish," or "winter-flounder." Its flesh is 
 solid, white and of excellent "flavor. 
 
 The cat-fish family is familiar to most people, inas- 
 much as some one or more of the many sub-groups are 
 found in almost every stream in the temperate and 
 tropical regions. They are largely fresh-water species, 
 but some are found in the ocean, though never, very far 
 from land. There are many general and innumerable 
 
596 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NA TURAL HISTOR Y. 
 
 'Wels," orSilurus. 
 
 species. In the United States tlie common cat-fish of 
 our rivers are numerous hoth in species and individuals, 
 and most of them are of considerable value as food. 
 
 The true siluri are found in Europe and Asia. The 
 species which constitutes the type of the virhole family 
 is the "wels" of the Germans. "It is found in the 
 
 fresh waters east of the 
 Ehine and is, beside the 
 sturgeons, the largest of 
 the European fresh-waiier 
 fishes and the only one of 
 this family which occurs in 
 Europe. It attains to a 
 weight of 300 to 400 pounds 
 and the flesh, especially of 
 smaller specimens, is firm, 
 flaky and well-flavored." (Gunther.) 
 
 South America is the headquarters for cat-fishes, 
 many of which are quite large, and all are very different 
 from any found in North America; but in the United 
 States there are two species that attain a greater weight 
 than one hundred pounds. They are eaten, but are not 
 veij desirable as food. 
 
 The cyprinoids, or carps, also called "shiners," 
 "roach," "dace" and 
 "minnows," are well rep- 
 resented in N'orth America 
 and the Old World. 
 
 The common carp may be 
 taken as a type of the fam- 
 ily, and a near ally, the 
 "gold-fish," is familiar to 
 every one. " The carp is originally a native of the 
 East and abounds in a wild state in China, where it has 
 been domesticated for many centuries; thence it was 
 transported to Germany and Sweden, and the year 1614 
 
 Carp. 
 
FISHES. 
 
 697 
 
 is assigned as the date of its first introduction into 
 England. It delights in tranquil waters, preferring 
 such as have a muddy bottom and the surface partially 
 shaded with plants. Its food consists of the larvae of 
 aquatic insects, minute testacea, worms and the tender 
 blades and shoots of plants. The leaves of lettuce and 
 other succulent plants of a similar kind are said to be 
 particularly agreeable to them, and to fatten them 
 sooner than any other food. Although the carp eats 
 with great voracity when its supply of aliment is abun- 
 dant, it can subsist for an astonishing length of time 
 without nourishment. In the winter, when the carpa 
 assemble in great numbers and bury themselves among 
 the mud and the roots of 
 plants, they often remain 
 for many months without 
 eating. They can also be 
 preserved alive for a con- 
 siderable length of time 
 out of the water, espec- 
 ially if care be taken to 
 moisten them occasion- 
 ally as they become dry. 
 Advantage is often taken 
 
 of this circumstance to transport them alive by pack- 
 ing them among damp herbage or damp linen, and 
 , the operation is said to be unattended with any risk to 
 the animal, especially if the precaution be taken to put 
 a piece of bread in its mouth steeped in brandy. 
 
 " The fecundity of these fishes is very great, and 
 their numbers consequently would soon become excessive 
 but for the many enemies by which their spawn is de- 
 stroyed. No fewer than 700, 000 eggs have been found in 
 the ovaries of a single carp, and that, too, by no means 
 an individual of the largest size. Their growth is very 
 rapid, more so perhaps than that of any other frest 
 
 European Boach. 
 
598 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Ctomniou Boach. 
 
 water fish, and the size which they sometimes attain is 
 very considerable. In certain lakes in Germany in- 
 dividuals are occasionally taken weighing thirty or forty 
 pounds, and Pallas relates that they occur in the Volga 
 five feet in length, and even of greater weight than the 
 . examples just alluded to." (Gunther.) 
 
 In Europe the smaller cyprinoids are roach, dace, tench, 
 minnows and the loach. These 
 names have, in part, been applied 
 to our American forms, but there is 
 no instance of the same species be- 
 ing found in both continents. For 
 instance, the English roach is a 
 very different fish from that called 
 by the same name with us. The 
 common roach, of which we have given an illustra- 
 tion, is also known as the " shiner " and " bream," the 
 latter name being also given to another and very dif- 
 ferent fish. Our finest cyprinoid is the chub, or fall- 
 fish, which at certain seasons 
 of the year is fairly good for 
 food. 
 
 The "loaches" are a pe- 
 culiar form of cyprinoids 
 confined to Europe and Asia. 
 There are about fifty species 
 in all. 
 
 "Loaches are partial to 
 fast-running streams with 
 stony bottoms, and are ex- 
 clusively animal feeders. In spite of their small size 
 they are esteemed as food where they occur in sufficient 
 abundance." (Gunther.) 
 
 In the United States the cyprinoids have been divided 
 into forty-one genera and about 250 species. Probably 
 this is excessive division, but the undoubted spec'.eS 
 must closely reach the above astonishing number. 
 
 Loach. 
 
PtSffES. 599 
 
 Before passing to the consideration of the cyprino- 
 donts, or toothed minnows, for the cyprinoids have only 
 teeth in the throat and have unarmed jaws, reference 
 should be made to those savage fishes of South America, 
 known as serrasalmonoids. Of one species, called in 
 Guiana the perai, Im Thurn writes as follows: "The 
 "The perai swarms in nearly all rivers, though not 
 within twenty miles from the sea, and is probably as 
 voracious an animal as exists. Where ducks are kept 
 by the few people living on the banks of perai-haunted 
 waters, the poor birds almost invariably soon have more 
 or less of the webs of their feet bitten off by these fish. 
 It has already been' said that the tails of iguanas are 
 almost invariably docked in the same way, and it may be 
 added that even alligators do not always escape with whole 
 tails. A perai itself, if wounded by any chance, is at 
 once attacked and devoured by its fellows. If a monkey 
 or bird, when shot, falls in the water, perai rush to- 
 gether from all quarters and carry off the prey before 
 the sportsman can reach it, and more than once, when 
 fishing in clear water, the bait having been taken by 
 some other fish, I have seen the captive as it was pulled 
 through the water toward the boat, pursued and snatched 
 by rushing perai. Again, the Indians having a habit of 
 setting night lines for haimara and other big fish, it not 
 unfrequently happens that when these are drawn up in 
 the morning, only the head and shoulders of a fish are 
 found on the line, the rest of the body having been 
 carried off by perai. On more than one occasion I have 
 known instances in which men being drowned in the 
 river their skeletons have been found, not many days 
 after, almost stripped of fiesh by perai. It is, therefore, 
 a source of danger to bathe in smooth reaches, in which 
 places perai are principally found. . . . Yet these 
 terrible fish are small enough, being rarely more than 
 two pounds in weight, but their teeth are so sharp that 
 
600 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 a jaw is carried by Indians and used to sever the pois- 
 oned point from the darts to be blown from their blow- 
 pipes. 
 
 The toothed minnows are by no means as abundant 
 in species or in individuals as the cyprinoids, but they 
 are, nevertheless, exceedingly abundant. The killi- 
 fish, or mummichogs of the coast, and barred minnows 
 of our inland streams, are representative members of 
 this widely-spread group. Closely akin to them is the 
 mud minnow, which is found over a wide area, and 
 curiously enough, probably the same species is found 
 in Hungary! We once heard a microscopical lecturer 
 and scientific merry-andrew assert that a minute worm 
 had traveled by way of Japan and the Kurile Islands 
 
 from Hungary to New Jer- 
 sey, and we suggest that 
 _ the minnow came with it, 
 
 AnaWeps. but whether the fish had 
 
 charge of the worm or the 
 worm took the fish in tow, is not determinable. The 
 ''lecturer" may ultimately be able to discover their 
 tracks and report in proper merry-andrew style. 
 
 In the waters of tropical America are found three spe- 
 cies of marine cyprinodonts which have the remarkable 
 faculty of seeing equally well both in tbe water and in 
 the world above it. These fishes are known to the 
 scientific world as analleps. Dr. Gunther states : " This . 
 fish is observed to swim frequently with half of its head 
 out of the water, and it is a fact that it can see out of 
 the water as well as in it." 
 
 The ordinary vision of fishes having their eyes on the 
 sides of the head is a direct one, although the eyes are 
 so placed as to make this seem impossible at first glance. 
 The eyeball is so placed in the socket that it can move 
 in any direction, and recently this fact, long ago ex- 
 plained by physiologists, has been dilated upon as a great 
 
PTSff£S. 
 
 601 
 
 Common Gar-flsh. 
 
 discovery, but any one who ever went fishing knows 
 that the bait is as readily detected when at the fish's 
 nose as at the side of the head. 
 
 In most of our rivers, and probably in all that empty 
 directly into the ocean, is found a beautiful fish, with 
 long, slender, snipe-like laws, which is usually called 
 the bill-fish, and in some lo- 
 calities "gar," or "gar- 
 fish." The latter name is 
 objectionable, as it is also 
 given to the "bony pike," or 
 gar proper. 
 
 " Skimming along the sur- 
 face of the water, the gar« 
 
 pike seize with these long jaws small fish as a bird 
 would seize them with its beak; but their gullet is nar- 
 row, so that they can swallow small fish only. They 
 swim with an undulating motion of the body. . . . 
 
 About fifty species are known 
 from tropical and temperate 
 seas." (Gunther.) 
 
 The bones of the gar-fish 
 are green, and so while ex- 
 cellent food-fish, it is looked 
 upon with some suspicion. 
 
 "Forty-four different spe- 
 cies of 'flying-fishes' are 
 known from tropical and sub- 
 tropical seas. Some have 
 a very wide range while others seem to remain within one 
 particular part of the ocean. . . . Their usual 
 length is about ten or twelve inches, but specimens of 
 eighteen inches have been caught. They always live in 
 shoals, and their numbers at certain times and localities 
 are immense. . . . The literature on the subject 
 of flying-fishes is very extensive, and great diversity of 
 
 Flying-flsh. 
 
602 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HlSTOkV. 
 
 opinion exists among observers as regards the mode' and 
 power of their flight; but the most reliable agree that 
 the fishes do not leave the water for the purpose of 
 catching insects (!), and that they are unable to move 
 their fins in the manner of a bat or bird, or to change 
 voluntarily the direction of their flight, or to fly be- 
 yond a very limited distance." (Gunther.) 
 
 The pike, or pickerel, family is represented by species 
 in Europe, Asia and North America. Some of these 
 grow to a large size and live to a great age. In the 
 United States the muskalonge of the great lakes is the 
 largest of the four or five species found in N"orth 
 America. These fish do not appear to be abundant ia 
 
 Pickerel. 
 
 any locality. Eighty pounds is about their maximum 
 weight. The common pickerel seldom reaches a weight 
 of more than eight pounds and usually they are much 
 less, and sportsmen consider three and four-pound fish 
 as excellent " catches." 
 
 The prince of food-fishes, if not of all fishes, is the 
 salmon, and certainly none is more prized as a luxury 
 for the table. They were formerly exceedingly abun- 
 dant in many rivers of this country where they are now 
 very rare, and the efforts at re-stocking some of our 
 streams have not been as successful as was desired. 
 The salmon has been so much discussed as to its general 
 habits, and its migratory movements are so well known, 
 that any detailed description is unnecessary. 
 
FISHES. 603 
 
 Of salmon and trout there are believed now to be 
 about eighteen species; and on our Atlantic coast the 
 salmon proper is the one species that comes up from 
 the sea; and the principal trout of our spring brooks is 
 the beautiful and equally -well-known brook trout. 
 Where these fish are found they are not, like so many 
 forms of wild life, unknown to the people of the neigh- 
 borhood. They have no secrets from the world, and 
 every boy knows the whole life-history of this deserv- 
 edly popular fish. 
 
 Trout vary much in size, and in some localities never 
 attain to one-quarter the weight that they do in others. 
 They do not often reach two pounds, and anything 
 
 Salmon. 
 
 above that makes the fish a curiosity. Still, ten-pound 
 trout are not unknown. 
 
 In clear streams of Northern Europe, of Asia and 
 of N^orth America there are found species of a salmonoid 
 fish known as the grayling. In this country we have 
 three species, one found in Montana, one in Michigan 
 and one in Alaska. These are valuable game and food- 
 fishes, and the attempt has been made to propagate the 
 species in waters that are more accessible than the 
 Michigan rivers, but the results have not been satisfac- 
 tory as yet. 
 
 According to Milner, who carefully studied these fish, 
 their food is the insects that fall or alight upon the 
 surface ai the stream. They are small fish, rarely over 
 
604 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 a foot in length. The European species are considerably 
 larger. 
 
 A smallj but by reason of its abundance, valuable 
 salmonoid is the the smelt, or frost-fish, which enters 
 our rivers in great abundance about the close of winter. 
 They are common also in many places on the coast of 
 Europe. 
 
 Dr. Gunther remarks: "In the sea it grows to a 
 length of eight inches, but sin- 
 gularly, it f reijuently migrates from 
 the sea into rivers and lakes, where 
 its growth is very much retarded. 
 That this habit is one of very old 
 Brook Trout. date is evident from the fact that 
 
 this small fresh-water form occurs 
 and is fully acclimatized in lakes which have now no 
 open communication with the sea." 
 
 The smelts that are found in the Earitan Eiver, New 
 J-^rsey, are called " cucumber-flsh," and are far finer 
 tl in the New England fish. They are never found so 
 large, either. 
 
 "The family of 'herrings' is probably unsurpassed by 
 any other in the number of 
 individuals, although 
 others comprise a much 
 
 freater variety of species, 
 'he herrings are princi- 
 pally coast fishes, or at Gra^ng. 
 least do not go far from 
 the shore; none belong to the deep-sea fauna; scarcely 
 any have pelagic habits, but many enter or live in fresh 
 waters communicating with the sea. They are . spread 
 all over the temperate and tropical zones." (Gunther.) 
 " The herring is beyond question the most important 
 of food-fishes. Distributed throughout the whole 
 of the North Atlantic, it affords occupation, during 
 
FISHES. 
 
 605 
 
 Smelt. 
 
 a portion of the year at leasts for immense fleets of 
 fishing boats, and, according to the estimate of Profes- 
 sor Huxley, the number taken every year out of the 
 North Sea and Atlantic is at least 3,000,000,000, with a 
 weight of 1,500,000,000 pounds." (Goode.) 
 
 Dr. Gunther states that the common herring is the 
 same on both sides of the Atlantic, and the celebrated 
 ''white-bait " is not a dis- 
 tinct species, "but con- 
 sists chiefly of the fry, or 
 the young of herrings, 
 and is obtained 'in per- 
 fection ' at localities where 
 these small fishes find an 
 abundance of food, as in 
 the estuary of the Thames 
 (Kiver)." 
 
 Of our American forms a celebrated one is the shad, 
 which occurs in many rivers of the Atlantic seaboard, 
 and reaches " perfection " in the upper waters of the 
 Delaware Eiver. 
 
 On our coast the mossbunker is a valuable fish for 
 
 many purposes, but even 
 a starving stomach would 
 reject an old one as food. 
 
 The pilchard is a Euro- 
 pean herring of consider- 
 able economic value, ' ' The 
 pilchard drift fishery is 
 worked in the same manner as that for herring, but rather 
 a smaller mesh is used, and herring nets which have 
 shrunk too much for their original purpose are often 
 usefully employed for the capture of pilchards. This 
 fishery begins in July and continues till September. It 
 is mostly worked on the coast of Cornwall, but during 
 the last few years a great many of these fish have been 
 
 White-bait. 
 
606 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Pilchard. 
 
 taken along almost OTery part of the south coast ol 
 Devon. .' . . The so-called sardines, caught so 
 largely in the Bay of Biscay, being nothing but young 
 pilchards, there seemed no reason why the Cornish 
 fish, if treated in the same way as the French, should 
 not turn out so good. Curing establishments were 
 therefore set up at. . . -, two places, . . . and 
 measures haTing been 
 taken to insure a thorough 
 knowledge of the French 
 mode of curing, ' Corn- 
 wall sardines,' or 'pil- 
 chards in oil,' were pre- 
 pared, and with . . . 
 (considerable) success." ("Encyclopedia Britannica.") 
 The true anchovy is a herring, but belongs to, the 
 genus engraulis and not clupea. "There are six or 
 seven species of anchovy found in the seas of Europe, of 
 tropical America and of India. . . . The common 
 anchovy is from five to seven inches long, and resembles 
 
 the sprat and sardine." 
 
 ("Encyclopedia Britan- 
 
 nica.") 
 
 On the New Jersey 
 
 coast there occurs an an- 
 Anchovy. chovy in such abundance 
 
 that a profitable business 
 might be established by preparing them as the European 
 fish is cured. 
 
 The electric eel, which often reaches a length of six 
 feet, is the most powerful of electric fishes. The fol- 
 lowing is Im Thurn's description of them, as he saw 
 them in Guiana: "Its power of inflicting an electric 
 o'hock is well known, and this shock is really very severe. 
 My first experience of this was in this way: Some In- 
 dians, having built a dam across the mouth of a small 
 
FISHES. 607 
 
 creek, were, after their manner, poisoning the water to 
 get fish, and I was standing on the dam to preTent any 
 of the larger fish from struggling over and thus escap- 
 ing, when I saw a black form in violent agitation in the 
 water close by my feet; having in my eagerness seized 
 this, I found to my great pain that it was an electric 
 eel. . . . The eels, if they are long kept in con- 
 finement, lose their electric powers; one very large one, 
 which had been in possession of a gentleman on the 
 west coast of Demerara for some fifteen years, was, I 
 found, entirely. harmless." 
 
 The eels are too well known to require description, 
 and yet the common species of our rivers, cresks and 
 mill-ponds was, until very 
 lately, a profound enigma, so 
 far as its breeding habits were 
 concerned. It is now known 
 
 that they spawn only in salt 
 
 water, and so long as they are Electric Eel. 
 
 land-locked they are barren. 
 
 Besides the above there are sea-eels, or muraenas, in 
 great abundance, and many of them are exceedingly 
 beautiful, being brightly colored, and often conspicu- 
 ously marked with bands, large spots and distinct 
 marblings. 
 
 The rare bottle-fish is a deep-sea, or pelagic form of 
 eel that attains to a length of five or six feet. It is 
 "known from three specimens only, which have been 
 found floating on the surface of the North Atlantic, 
 with their stomachs much distended, having swallowed 
 some other fish, the weight of which many times 
 exceeded that of their destroyer." (G-unther.) 
 
 The hippocampus, or sea-horse, as it is usually called, 
 is common on the coast of New Jersey and in the brack- 
 ish waters of the river mouths and bays. It belongs to 
 an order called lophobranchs, which are distinguished 
 
608 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Bottle-flsh. 
 
 by a peculiar arrangement of the gill arches, "by which 
 the gills are arranged in little tufts on each side of the 
 head under the ' cheek bones/.or gill covers. 
 But more curious is that distinction drawn from their 
 mode of reproduction, a trait so strange as to suggest 
 the seemingly abnormal habits of the marsupials, 
 
 . . . although the ec- 
 centricity of the fish is far 
 greater than that of the 
 land marsupial. 
 The parental relation of the 
 female lophobranch (sea- 
 horse) is restricted to the 
 simple emission of the un- 
 impregnated eggs. Beyond this, maternity she has none. 
 The male is really and literally father and mother to the 
 progeny, and so far as the reproductive instincts are 
 concerned, it would seem that the female manifestation 
 is summed up and exhausted in the one solitary and 
 single act of a formal consignment of the 
 ova to the' embryonal sac of the male." 
 {^American Naturalist, 1868.) 
 
 A more familiar form of this order of 
 fishes is the well-known pipe-fish, which 
 differs from the preceding in having a 
 small head and elongated body, "so that 
 at first sight they closely resemble small 
 eels." They are found pretty much every- 
 where along our coasts, keeping close to the 
 growths of eel-grass and feeding on the 
 most minute forms of marine life. They 
 are of no value even as bait for catching other fishes. 
 The balloon-fish is one of a large number of curious 
 marine forms, not one of which has any economic 
 value. They are also called "globe-fishes." Such 
 "have a short, thick, cylindrical body with well- 
 
 Hippocampus 
 
FISBJiS. 
 
 609 
 
 Great Pipe-flah. 
 
 developed fine. It is covered with a thick, scaleless skin' 
 in which, however, spines are imbedded of various sizes. ' 
 The spines are very small and but partially distributed 
 over the body in some species, while in others they stre 
 very large and occupy equally every part of the body. 
 These fishes have the 
 power of inflating their 
 body by filling their dis- 
 tensible oesophagus with 
 air, and thus assume a 
 more or less globular 
 form. The skin is then 
 stretched to its utmost 
 extent, and the spines protrude and form a more 
 or less formidable defensive armor, as in a hedge- 
 hog; therefore they are frequently called 'sea hedge- 
 bogs.' A fish thus blown out turns over and floats 
 belly upward, driving before the wind and waves. 
 
 . . . All these fishes 
 have a bad reputation and 
 they are never eaten. In- 
 deed, some of them are 
 highly poisonous and have 
 caused long-continued ill- 
 ness and death. Singu- 
 larly, the poisonous prop- 
 erties of these fishes varj 
 much as regards inten- 
 sity, only certain individ- 
 uals of a species, or in- 
 dividuals from a certain 
 locality, or caught at a certain time of the year, being 
 dangerous. Therefore is is probable that they acquire 
 their poisonous quality from their food, which consists 
 of corals and hard-shelled mollusks and crustaceans. 
 Their sharp beaJis,, with broad masticating pesteribr 
 
 Balloon-flsh. 
 
610 
 
 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 surface, are admirably adapted for breaking off branch- 
 lets of coral stocks and for crushing hard substances." 
 (Gunther.) 
 
 These ungainly creatures, called sun-fishes for no very 
 good reason, are found only in the ocean. " On our 
 own coast it may be observed every summer from the 
 banks of Newfoundland to 
 Florida. . . . It rarely 
 frequents the ITew England 
 coast except in summer. 
 . . . Sun-fishes attain a 
 length of seven or eight feet 
 and a weight of seven or eight 
 hundred pounds. They float 
 lazily with one of the bright 
 sides of the body just at the surface. As they float the 
 waves ripple and break over them, and the >hea.vy pec- 
 toral fins move slowly to and fro through the air. Thus 
 lying they are very conspicuous objects and may be seen 
 at long distances. They spend whole days in this 
 position and may be very easily 
 approached and harpooned. From 
 this habit of sunning themselves 
 they have gained the name of sun- 
 
 Fennant'B Globe-fish. 
 
 "Their food consists of the 
 jelly-fish, or sun-squalls, which 
 are so abundant along the New 
 England coast in summer. short Sun-flsh. 
 
 Nothing whatever is 
 known of the place or time of their breeding." (Goode.) 
 
 Lampreys are well known to those who are at all 
 familiar with the fishes of our rivers and sea-coast. 
 They are found in abundance in the temperate regions 
 of both northern and southern hemispheres. 
 
 Dr. Gunther says: "Their habits are incompletely 
 
FISHES. 611 
 
 knoTm, but so much, is certain that at least some of 
 them ascend rivers periodically for the purpose of 
 spawning, and that the young pass several years in 
 livers while they undergo a - metamorphosis. They 
 feed on other fishes, to which they suck themselves fast, 
 scraping off the flesh with their teeth. While thus 
 engaged they are carried about by their victim. Sal- 
 mon have been captured 
 in' the middle course of 
 the Rhine with the marine 
 lamprey attached to them. " 
 (Gunther.) 
 
 The lampreys in this 
 country are valued as food Sea-Lamprey. 
 
 by many in certain locali- 
 ties, but are not generally very popular, and strangely 
 enough by some are said to be poisonous. 
 
 These worm-like fishes belonging to the genus myxine 
 have attracted so much attention that they are known 
 by a great variety of names. They are called "hag- 
 fishes," "glutinous hags/" "borers," and in this 
 country the shine-eel. They are marine animals. Dr. 
 
 Gunther states that "they 
 are frequently found buried 
 in the abdominal cavity of 
 other fishes, especially ga- 
 doids (cods) into which they 
 Hag-flsh. penetrate to feed on their 
 
 Professor Goode states that "it is found on the At- 
 lantic coast north of Cape Cod, and in the deeper 
 waters even farther south. . . . It is a great an- 
 noyance to the fishermen, whose bait it devours, and 
 who entertain for it a superstitious dread. Little is 
 known of its habits." 
 
 The amphioxus is interesting as being the lowest and 
 
612 CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 least specialized of vertebrate animals. It has been 
 found at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Of it. 
 
 Dr. Gunther remarks: 
 
 "Its small size, its 
 
 transparency and the 
 
 rapidity with which it 
 
 Amphioxus. ig able to bury itself in 
 
 the sand, are the causes 
 
 why it escapes observation so readily, even at localities 
 
 where it is known to be common. ... It rarely 
 
 exceeds! a leng^th of three inches." 
 
INDEX 
 
 Aard-vark 199 
 
 Aard-wolf 66 
 
 Accipitres 341 
 
 Adder 126 
 
 Adjutants 299 
 
 Agami 255 
 
 Agoata 178 
 
 Agouti 159 
 
 Albatross, wandering 231 
 
 AlbatrcBs, yellow-biUed 831 
 
 Alligator 618 
 
 Alligators 614 
 
 Alpaca 112 
 
 Amphioxus 612 
 
 Amphisbaena 512 
 
 Amphiuma 535 
 
 Anableps 600 
 
 Anchovy 606 
 
 Angel-fish 665 
 
 Anhingas 314 
 
 Ant-bear 196 
 
 Ant-eater 199 
 
 Ant-eaters . . .^ 199 
 
 Antelope, Indian 123 
 
 Antelopes 1S2 
 
 Aoudad 133 
 
 Apteryx 215 
 
 Archer-fish 578 
 
 Argali 132 
 
 Armadillo 197 
 
 Ass 102 
 
 Aswail ^ 84 
 
 Auk, great 225 
 
 Auk, razor-billed 226 
 
 Auks 225 
 
 Auroch 137 
 
 Avoset 851 
 
 Axolotl.. 634 
 
 Aye-aye 38 
 
 Baboon 27, 28, 81 
 
 Babjrrussa ..« • 105 
 
 Badger, American 70 
 
 Badger, European 70 
 
 Balaeniceps rex 300 
 
 Balloon-nsh 609 
 
 Barbet, African 393 
 
 Barbet, blue-throated 398 1 
 
 Bat, brown 167 
 
 Bat, great horseshoe 185 
 
 Bat, red 167 
 
 Bats 164 
 
 Bear, black 82 
 
 Bear, grizzly 83 
 
 Bear, polar 83 
 
 Bears 81 
 
 Beaver 151 
 
 Bee-eater, European 391 
 
 Bee-eaters 391 
 
 Bell-bird 420 
 
 Bellows-fish 589 
 
 Big-horn 131 
 
 Birds 810 
 
 Birds of Prey 341 
 
 Bison, Anterican 138 
 
 Bittern, European 306 
 
 Bittern, least 306 
 
 Bitterns 305 
 
 Black-bird, European 428 
 
 Black-bird, red-winged 461 
 
 Black-cock 828 
 
 Blue-bird 425 
 
 Boa constrictor 485 
 
 Boa, water 486 
 
 Boato 186 
 
 Boatswain-bird 309 
 
 Bobolink 471 
 
 Bohemian waxwing 444 
 
 Bottle-iish 608 
 
 Bower-bird 449 
 
 Brent 270 
 
 Brown creeper 467 
 
 Brown thrush 434 
 
 Buffalo, African 135 
 
 Builalo, Indian 138 
 
 Bustard, great 854 
 
 Butcher-bird - 445 
 
 Buzzard, turkey, ,,,.,, 343 
 
614 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 a 
 
 Ceecilians . . . ! S30 
 
 Caecomorphae 23S 
 
 Caiarara 31 
 
 Camel 108 
 
 Capercailzie ... 1 3S3 
 
 Capybara 161 
 
 Caribou 118 
 
 Carnivores 40 
 
 Carp 596 
 
 Cassowary 214 
 
 Cat-bird 438 
 
 Cats 41 
 
 Cavy ; 161 
 
 Cedar-bird 444 
 
 Cetacea 180 
 
 Chameleon 510 
 
 Chaparral-cock 384 
 
 Chelonia 520 
 
 Chenomorphas 267 
 
 Chewink ■. 473 
 
 Chickadee . . . : 448 
 
 Chimera monstrosa 670 
 
 Chimpanzee > 22 
 
 Chinchilla 168 
 
 Chipmunk 147 
 
 Chiroptera 167 
 
 Chuck-will's-widow 388 
 
 Civet cat 53 
 
 Cobra de capello 496 
 
 Cocker 63 
 
 Cockatoo 373, 874 
 
 Cockof therock 419 
 
 Cod 591 
 
 Columbae 385 
 
 Condor 344 
 
 Congo monkey. 32 
 
 Congo snake '....535 
 
 Conolophus, cactus-eating 607 
 
 Coot, American 266 
 
 Coot, European . 265 
 
 Corncrake 262 
 
 Cormorant 313 
 
 Cougar 419 
 
 Courser, brazen-winged 242 
 
 Cowpen-bird 470 
 
 Coyote 66 
 
 Crane, European 256 
 
 Crane, sandhill 258 
 
 Crane, whooping 257 
 
 Cranes 256 
 
 Creeper, brown 467 
 
 Creeper, wall 467 
 
 Crocodile 514 
 
 Crocodilia 514 
 
 Crossbill, white-winged 477 
 
 Crow , , , , , , , , 455 
 
 Cuckoo, black-billed 888 
 
 Cuckoo, channel-billed 382 
 
 Cuckoo, European 3^ 
 
 Cuckoo, yellow-billed 883 
 
 Cuckoos 381 
 
 Curassow, curl-crested 333 
 
 Curlew 243 
 
 ID 
 
 Daman 93 
 
 Darter, American 316 
 
 Darter, Austrahan 314 
 
 Deer 112 
 
 Deer, red 113 
 
 Devil, Tasmanlan 204 
 
 Diana 28 
 
 Dinotherium „ 97 
 
 Dipper 441 
 
 Diver, red-throated. 223 
 
 Diving-petrel 233 
 
 Dogs 58 
 
 Dolphin 183 
 
 Dormouse 152 
 
 Dory ..: 583 
 
 Dove, turtle 338 
 
 Dromedary 110 
 
 Duck-bill 207 
 
 Duck, black 275 
 
 Duck, canvas-backed 282 
 
 Duck, dusky 276 
 
 Duck, eider 282 
 
 Duck, gad wall 277 
 
 Duck, gray 277 
 
 Duck, Labrador 283 
 
 Duck, mallard 274 
 
 Duck, red-necked 282 
 
 Duck, scaup 282 
 
 Duck,.shoveler 278 
 
 Duck, spoon-bill 279 
 
 Duck, squaw 282 
 
 Duck, steamer 273- 
 
 Duck, summer 281 
 
 Duck, wood 281 
 
 Ducks, sea 282 
 
 Ducks, tree 273 
 
 Dugong 191 
 
 Dunlin, American 348 
 
 JSi 
 
 Eagle, golden 348 
 
 Eagle, ring-tailed 349 
 
 Eagle, white-headed 350 
 
 Eagles 348 
 
 Echidna 207 
 
 E^et, white 305 
 
 Elder, American, ,,,,,,,,,,,, 283 
 
INDEX. 
 
 615 
 
 Eider, European S88 
 
 Electric eel 607 
 
 Elephant, African 93 
 
 Elephant, Asiatic 95 
 
 Elk 114 
 
 Emu 213 
 
 Ermine , 74 
 
 Falcon, peregrine 362 
 
 Falcon, rou^-legged 355 
 
 Fallow deer 114 
 
 Ferret 76 
 
 Fieldfare 428 
 
 Finch, bull 477 
 
 Finch, gold 476 
 
 Fishing-frog B86 
 
 Flamingo 387 
 
 Flicker ,^. ..."... .404 
 
 Flycatcher, gray 424 
 
 Flycatcher, great-crested 417 
 
 Flycatcher, swallow-tailed 417 
 
 Flying-fish 601 
 
 Frigate-bird 310 
 
 Frog, bull 546 
 
 Frog, edible 644 
 
 Frog, fiying 553 
 
 Frog, leopard 546 
 
 Frog, marsh 545 
 
 Frog, pickerel 545 
 
 Frog, wood i 546 
 
 Frogs 544 
 
 Fulmar .: 235 
 
 Fulmar, petrel S34 
 
 C3- 
 
 Gallinse 316 
 
 Gallinazo 344 
 
 GalUnule, Florida 264 
 
 Galhnule, purple 864 
 
 Gannet 314 
 
 Gar-pike B73 
 
 Gar-fish 601 
 
 Gavial 514 
 
 Gazelle 133 
 
 Gecko 504 
 
 Geese 2t)7 
 
 Gibbon 23 
 
 Gilt-head 579 
 
 Giraffe 120 
 
 Globe-fish, Pennant's 610 
 
 Gnu 127 
 
 Goat, Angora 129 
 
 Goat, Cashmere 129 
 
 Goat, Nubian 129 
 
 Goatsucker, European 385 
 
 Goose, Australian 269 
 
 Grose, Canada 268,371 
 
 Goose, gray 269 
 
 Goose, rock 270 
 
 Goose, upland 270 
 
 Gopher 147 
 
 Gorilla 23 
 
 Goshawk 358 
 
 Grakle, purple 459 
 
 Grayling 604 
 
 Great pipe-fish 609 
 
 Grebe, eared .y. 223 
 
 Grebe, horned 223 
 
 Grebe, least 223 
 
 Grebe, thick-billed 223 
 
 Greenlet, red-eyed 446 
 
 Greenlet, white-eyed >446 - 
 
 Grosbeak, cardinal 478 
 
 Grosbeak, green 478 
 
 Grosbeak, rose-breasted 479 
 
 Grouse, Canada 324 
 
 Grouse, pinnated 324 
 
 Grouse, red 322 
 
 "Grouse, sharp-tailed 326 
 
 Guanaco 112 
 
 Guillemot, common 225 
 
 Guillemotes 225 
 
 Guinea-fowl 327 
 
 Guinea-pig, 165 
 
 Gull, black-backed 227 
 
 Gull, common 227 
 
 Gull, dominican 2a8 
 
 Gurnard, gray 587 
 
 H 
 
 Hag-fish 611 
 
 Hair-tail, silvery 582 
 
 Halibut 594 
 
 Hamster 153 
 
 Hare 162 
 
 Hawk, black 352 
 
 Hawk, fish 354 
 
 Hawk, hen 352 
 
 Hawk, marsh 355 
 
 Hawk, rough-le|:ged 351 
 
 Hawk, sharp-shinned 359 
 
 Hawk, sparrow 361 
 
 Hawk, Sparrow, English 361 
 
 Hedge-hog 173 
 
 Hell-diver 223 
 
 Heloderma 506 
 
 Hen-harrier 356 
 
 Hen-hawk i 353 
 
 Heron, black-crowned 302 
 
 Heron, common < . . 802 
 
 Heron, great-blue 304 
 
 Heron, little green, , , , , . .305 
 
616 
 
 TNDEX. 
 
 Heron, ni^ht 302 
 
 Heron, snowy 305 
 
 Herons 291 
 
 Hippocampus 608 
 
 Hippopotamus , 107 
 
 Honey-badger 71 
 
 Honey-eaters 465 
 
 Honey-ratel : 71 
 
 Hoofed animals 02 
 
 Hom-ttill, rhinoceros 895 
 
 Horn-bills 894 
 
 Horned screamer 267 
 
 Horse 101 
 
 Hound, blood 61 
 
 Hound.deer 60 
 
 Hound, gray 59 
 
 Hummmg-birds 410 
 
 Hyena 57 
 
 Hyena, striped 57 
 
 Hyla, FiclEering's 652 
 
 Hyraces, African 98 
 
 Hyrax, cape 93 
 
 I 
 
 Ibex / 129 
 
 Ibis, elossy 294 
 
 Ibis, Patagonian 295 
 
 Ibis,sacred 292 
 
 Ibis, scarlet 294 
 
 Ibis, white 294 
 
 Ibis, wood 299 
 
 Ichneumon 64 
 
 Iguana, common 607 
 
 Indri 85 
 
 Inia, Boliviensis 185 
 
 Insectivora 171 
 
 J 
 
 Jabiru 299 
 
 Jacana 242 
 
 Jacana, lon^-tailed 243 
 
 Jaclcal 66 
 
 lackdaw 457 
 
 Jaguar 48 
 
 Jay, blue , 463 
 
 Jay, European 452 
 
 Jay, Siberian 452 
 
 Jerboa, Egyptian 156 
 
 Jumping-mouse 166 
 ungle-Fowl 332 
 
 Kaguan 172 
 
 Kangaroo 205 
 
 Kangaroos, tree 205 
 
 Kiji.„ 328 
 
 King-bird 41 r 
 
 King-fisher, belted 393 
 
 King-iisher, European 392 
 
 King-fisher, spotted 392 
 
 Kinglet, golden-crowned 435 
 
 Kite, English .367 
 
 Kite, Mississippi 357 
 
 Kite, swallow-tailed 368 
 
 Kiwi 215 
 
 Koala 206 
 
 L 
 
 Labba- 159 
 
 Lacertilia 603 
 
 Lammergeier. 347 
 
 Lapwing 241 
 
 Larl£, homed 428 
 
 Larlc, meadow 463 
 
 Larks 421 
 
 Laughing jackass '. 894 
 
 Lemming 155 
 
 Lemur, red 36 
 
 Lemur, slow 87 
 
 Lemurs • 84 
 
 Leopard 47 
 
 Lizard, pine-tree 509 
 
 Lizards 503 
 
 Lion 47 
 
 Ling 593 
 
 Llamas Ill 
 
 Loach 598 
 
 Log-cock 402 
 
 Loon 284 
 
 Lories 374 
 
 Lory, purple-capped 875 
 
 Love-bird 378 
 
 Lynx, European 53 
 
 Lynx, North American 52 
 
 Lyre bird 416 
 
 Macaque, bonneted 27 
 
 Macaques 26 
 
 Macaw, hyacinthine 876 
 
 Macaw, red and blue 377 
 
 Macaws 375 
 
 Mackerel 585 
 
 Magpie 457 
 
 Maigre 580 
 
 Maki, ring-tailed 35 
 
 Malay tapir 99 
 
 Mammoth 96 
 
 Manakins.,; 439 
 
 Manatee 2 90 
 
 Mandrill SO 
 
INDEX. 
 
 617 
 
 Manis. 198 
 
 Marmot 148 
 
 Marsh-hawk 365 
 
 Marsh-hen 266 
 
 Marsupial ' 202 
 
 Maryland yellow-throat 438 
 
 Mastodon 96 
 
 Megatherium 193 
 
 Menobranchus 533 
 
 Merganser •. .284 
 
 Merlin 361 
 
 Mice 154 
 
 Mocking-bird 433 
 
 Mole, shrew 176 
 
 Mole, star-nosed 178 
 
 Moles 177 
 
 Molly-mauks 231 
 
 Moloch 505 
 
 Monkey, red-howling 32 
 
 Monotremata 207 
 
 Moor-hen 285 
 
 Mooruk 214 
 
 Moose 116 
 
 Mouse, white-footed 154 
 
 Mud-hen 260 
 
 Mullet, gray 588 
 
 Musk-deer 120 
 
 Musk-ox 133 
 
 Musk-rat 151 
 
 Narwhal 183 
 
 Newt, smooth 539 
 
 Newt, spotted 540 
 
 Newt, warty 540 
 
 Night-hawk 386 
 
 Nightingale 430 
 
 Night-jar 385 
 
 Noddy 229 
 
 Nuthatch, European 446 
 
 Nuthatch, red-bellied 447 
 
 Nuthatch, white-bellied 447 
 
 o 
 
 Ocelot..., 51 
 
 Ophidia , 481 
 
 Opossum, Mexican 203 
 
 Opossum, Virginian 203 
 
 Opossums 202 
 
 Orang-outang. 21 
 
 Oriole, Baltimore 463 
 
 Oriole, golden 464 
 
 Oriole, orchard 464 
 
 Ostrich, African 210 
 
 Ostriches 210 
 
 Otter, American 68 
 
 Otter,sea 69 
 
 Owl, barn 371 
 
 Owl, burrowing 365 
 
 Owl, eagle 367 
 
 Owl, great-barred 370 
 
 Owl, great-horned 367 
 
 Owl, hawk 372 
 
 Owl, long-eared 369 
 
 Owl, saw-whet 368 
 
 Owl, screech 867 
 
 Owl, short-eared 370 
 
 Owl, snowy 866 
 
 Owls 364 
 
 Ox 134 
 
 Oyster-catcher. 239 
 
 Oyster-catcher, American 240 
 
 Paca 159 
 
 Falseotherium 99 
 
 Panda 80 
 
 Paradise, birds of 450 
 
 Parauacu 33 
 
 Parrakeet 376 
 
 Parrot, Carolina 378 
 
 Parrot, ring 375 
 
 Parrots 373 
 
 Parson-bird 465 
 
 Partridge, red-legged 319 
 
 Passeres 415 
 
 Peacock. 330 
 
 Peccary, common 106 
 
 Peccary, white-lipped 106 
 
 Pelican 312 
 
 Penguin, jackass .'221 
 
 Penguin.-king 219 
 
 Penguin, smaller-crested 221 
 
 Penguins 218 
 
 Perch 574 
 
 Petrel, diving 232 
 
 Petrel, stormy 233 
 
 Phalanger, vulpine 205 
 
 Pheasant, argus 330 
 
 Pheasant, golden 329 
 
 Pheasant, silver 329 
 
 Pheasants 328 
 
 Picarise 380 
 
 Pickerel 602 
 
 Pig 104 
 
 Pigeon, blue 335 
 
 Pigeon, carrier 336 
 
 Pigeon, fan-tail 336 
 
 Pigeon, passenger 337 
 
 Pigeon, pouter 335 
 
 Pigeon, rock 336 
 
 Pigeon, toothed 839 
 
 Pigeons .835 
 
618 
 
 moEx. 
 
 Pilchard. 608 
 
 Pilot-fish 683 
 
 Plantain-eaters 380 
 
 Plover, American golden 388 
 
 Plover, black-bellied 239 
 
 Plover, golden 237 
 
 Plover, killdeer 239 
 
 Plover, piping 239 
 
 Plover, ring 239 
 
 Plovers 237 
 
 Polyneme, four-rayed 579 
 
 Porcupine 168 
 
 Porpoise, harbor 184 
 
 Prairie dog 148 
 
 Prairie hen 324 
 
 Primates 19 
 
 Prion 233 
 
 Prong-hom t 128 
 
 Proteus 533 
 
 Protopterus 571 
 
 Psittaci 373 
 
 Ptarmigan 320 
 
 Ptarmigan, rock 321 
 
 Ptilocercus 173 
 
 Puffin, common 226 
 
 Purre 248 
 
 Python 484 
 
 Q 
 
 Quagga , 103 
 
 QuEul, American..., 319 
 
 Quail, common ,.,. ,,,, 317 
 
 lEt 
 
 Rabbit, European .......162 
 
 Rabbit, gray 162 
 
 Rabbit, marsh 162 
 
 Raccoon 79 
 
 Rail, clapper 260 
 
 Rail, European 260 
 
 Rail, king 260 
 
 Rail, little black .' 260 
 
 Rail, little yellow 260 
 
 Rail, salt-water 260 
 
 Rail.aora 261 
 
 Rail, Virginia ..260 
 
 Rail, water 259 
 
 Ratel, honey , 71 
 
 Raven 454 
 
 Ray, starry 570 
 
 Red-breast, European 439 
 
 Redshank, spotted ,,...,,248 
 
 Redstart .V...488 
 
 Reed-bird 471 
 
 Reindeer 119 
 
 Remora.,,.,, ,,,,, 685 
 
 Rhea 221 
 
 Rhinoceros, African 100 
 
 Rhinoceros, Indian 101 
 
 Roach 697 
 
 Robin 438 
 
 Rock-hopper 221 
 
 Rodentia 142 
 
 Roebuck 117 
 
 Roller, common 390 
 
 Rorqual, Northern 187 
 
 RufE 261 
 
 S 
 
 Sable 77 
 
 Saki cuxio 32 
 
 Sakis 33 
 
 Salamander, European 538 
 
 Salamander, red-backed 537 
 
 Salamanders 530, 637 
 
 Sand-eel 692 
 
 Sandpiper 243 
 
 Sapajo 30 
 
 Sapajo capucin ^ SO 
 
 Savannah cricket 552 
 
 Sawbills 284 
 
 Saw-fish 567 
 
 Saw-fish, tentaded 566 
 
 Scarus 590 
 
 Sea-cow 100 
 
 Sea-elephant 90 
 
 Sea-lamprey 611 
 
 Sea-otter 69 
 
 Sea-snakes 497 
 
 Sea-unicorn 182 
 
 Seal, elephant 90 
 
 Seal, harbor 89 
 
 Seal, ringed 89 
 
 Seals 89 
 
 Serranus, lettered 677 
 
 Shark, fox 664 
 
 Shark, hammer-head 663 
 
 Sharp-shinned hawk 359 
 
 Sheep, black-faced 130 
 
 ■Sheep, broad-tailed 131 
 
 Sheep, cheviot 130 
 
 Sheep, Cotswold.... 130 
 
 Sheep, Leicester 130 
 
 Sheep, Rocky Mountain 131 
 
 Sheep, Southdown 130 
 
 Shearwater 233 
 
 Shearwater, manx 234 
 
 Sheath-bill 286 
 
 Sheldrake 279 
 
 Sheldrake, hooded 286 
 
 Sheldrakes 284 
 
 Showtl 148 
 
 Shrew-mole ,,.17S 
 
INDEX. 
 
 619 
 
 Shrew-mouse, common 175 
 
 Shrews 174 
 
 Shrikes 444 
 
 Silurus 596 
 
 Siren 531 
 
 Sljates 569 
 
 Skimmer 829 
 
 Skimmer, black 830 
 
 Skink 510 
 
 Skunk 72 
 
 tloth, three-toed 194 
 loth, two-toed 194 
 
 Sloths 194 
 
 Smelt 605 
 
 Smew 286 
 
 Snake-bird 314 
 
 Snake, black 487 
 
 Snake, chain 490 
 
 Snake, common 494 
 
 Snake, Congo 535 
 
 Snake, garter 489 
 
 Snake, hog-nosed 493 
 
 Snake, rattle 500 
 
 Snipe 343 
 
 Snow-bird 476 
 
 Song-thrush, European 426 
 
 Spaniel 59 
 
 Sparrow, field 475 
 
 Sparrow, Java 473 
 
 Sparrow, tree 476 
 
 Sparrow, white-crowned 475 
 
 Sparrow, white-throated 475 
 
 Spermaceti whale 181 
 
 Spider monkey 30 
 
 Spoonbill, roseate 296 
 
 Spoonbill, white 895 
 
 Springbok 124 
 
 Squirrel, flying 144 
 
 Squirrel, European flying 145 
 
 Squirrel, gray. (.143 
 
 Squirrel, ground 14b 
 
 Starling, European 460 
 
 Steganopodes 308 
 
 Stilt, American 250 
 
 Stilt, European 249 
 
 Stone-plover 253 
 
 Stork, white 297 
 
 Storks 238 
 
 Stote 74 
 
 Striped bass 575 
 
 Sturgeon 572 
 
 Sultana 364 
 
 Sun-birds go 
 
 Sun-fish 5'8 
 
 Sun-fish,short .-610 
 
 Suslik 146 
 
 Swallow,, barn -.no 'ji? 
 
 Swallow, chimney 409, 443 
 
 Swallow, esculent 444 
 
 Swan, Bewick's 273 
 
 Swan, black 273 
 
 Swan, wild 271 
 
 Swans 271 
 
 Swift, chimney 409 
 
 Swifts 408 
 
 Sword-fish 6S> 
 
 T 
 
 Tanager, scarlet 468 
 
 Tanager, summer 468 
 
 Tanagers 467 
 
 Tapir, Malay 99 
 
 Tapir, South American 98 
 
 Tarpan 103 
 
 Teal, blue-winged 880 
 
 Teal, English 280 
 
 Teal, green- winged 280 
 
 Teeter-tilt-up 248 
 
 Tenrec 179 
 
 Tern, lesser 239 
 
 Tern, sooty 329 
 
 Terns 228 
 
 Terrapin, rough-backed -, . 533 
 
 Thous-dog 67 
 
 Thrush, song 426 
 
 Thrush, wood .437 
 
 Tiger, Bengal 44 
 
 Tinamon, great 317 
 
 Tit, blue 448 
 
 Tit, great 448 
 
 Titmice 448 
 
 Titmouse, crested 448 
 
 Toad, hop 558 
 
 Toad, horned .510 
 
 Toad, spade-foot 555 
 
 Toad , Surinam 568 
 
 Toad, tree 548 
 
 Tobacco-pipe fish 589 
 
 Torpedo..' 566 
 
 Tortoise, American box 531 
 
 Tortoise, box 620 
 
 Toucan 396 
 
 Toucan, red-billed 397 
 
 Touraco. * 3S1 
 
 Triton, spotted 540 
 
 Triton, tiger 636 
 
 Trogon 406 
 
 Tropic-bird 808 
 
 Trout 604 
 
 Trumpet-birds 355 
 
 Tucuxi 185 
 
 Tufted umber 300 
 
 Tunny 584 
 
 Turbot 695 
 
 Turkey, brush 331 
 
620 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Turkey-buzzard 343 
 
 Turkey, Honduras 332 
 
 Turnstone 239 
 
 Turtle, green S>9 
 
 Turtle, Eawk's-bill 528 
 
 Turtle, logger-head 528 
 
 Turtle, Pennsylvania mud 523 
 
 Turtle, snapping 523 
 
 Turtle, soft-shelled 625 
 
 Turtle, stinking. 623 
 
 Turtle, trunk-backed 627 
 
 XX 
 
 Umbrina, bearded 581 
 
 •V 
 
 Vampire 166 
 
 Vicugna 112 
 
 Viper, European 498 
 
 Viper, homed 498 
 
 Vulture, black 343 
 
 Vulture, -Egyptian.. :....346 
 
 ■w 
 
 Waders 236 
 
 Wagtail, common 424 
 
 Wagtail, white 423 
 
 Wwtails ; 433 
 
 WsOrus, Atlantic 85 
 
 Wanderoo 26 
 
 Wara-cabas '. : 266 
 
 Warbler, black-throated blue 436 
 
 Warbler, black-throated green 436 
 
 Warbler, hooded 487 
 
 Warbler, worm-eating 437 
 
 Wart-hog 106 
 
 Water-hen 264 
 
 Water-rail 289 
 
 Weasel, common 73 
 
 Weaver, yellow-crowned 469 
 
 Weavers 468 
 
 Weaver 586 
 
 Whale, Greenland 18!' 
 
 Whale, spermaceti .181 
 
 Whales 180 
 
 Whidah finch 470 
 
 Whidah, red-billed 470 
 
 Whimbrel 247 
 
 Whippoorwill 389 
 
 White-bait , 605 
 
 Whooping crane 257 
 
 Widgeon, American 278 
 
 Widgeon, European 278 
 
 Willet. 243 
 
 Wobbles 224 
 
 Wolf 64 
 
 Wolf , American 66 
 
 Wolfrfish 587 
 
 Wolverine 78 
 
 Woodchuck 148 
 
 Woodcock, American 246 
 
 Woodcock, European 244 
 
 Wopd-lbis 299 
 
 Woodpecker, downy 401 
 
 Woodpecker, green 399 
 
 Woodpecker, ivory-billed 400 
 
 Woodpecker, red-headed 403 
 
 Woodpecker, yellow-bellii i* 401 
 
 Woodpeckers, American 400 
 
 Woodpeckers, British. . . , , 399 
 
 Wood-tattler 248 
 
 V/rasse 590 
 
 Wren, Carolina 442 
 
 Wren, house 442 
 
 Wren, winter. 442 
 
 Wryneck 405 
 
 ~sr 
 
 Yac 140 
 
 Yamadori.... 328 
 
 Yellow-breasted chat. -.439 
 
 Yellow-bird 477 
 
 Z 
 
 Zebra 103 
 
 Zebu > ...1S9