Well-known Martins

Martin is a name applied to various swallows, but with us it denotes the big purple one which in the warmer parts of the country gladly takes possession of the pretty bird-houses which many persons set on poles in their gardens.

Another smaller, sooty-brown martin, is the sand-martin, or bank-swallow, which differs from all the rest in placing its eggs on a little bed of straw and feathers at the end of a long burrow which it bores into the face of a cliff of earth beside some river, where usually a large company live as happy neighbors. This species is one of the few birds known almost all over the world.

CHAPTER XXIV
PARROTS, PIGEONS, PEA-FOWL, PHEASANTS, Etc.

The members of the parrot family are very interesting birds; in the first place because they are generally so gaily colored, in the second place because they are so easily tamed, and in the third place because many of them are such capital talkers. They nearly all spend the greater part of their lives in the trees, and if you look at their feet you will see that the first and fourth toes are turned backward while the second and third are directed forward. This gives the birds a great power of grasp, and helps them in climbing.

At least five hundred different kinds of these birds have been discovered in different parts of the world, but we shall only be able to tell you about a few of them. Let us take first a parrot, then a parrakeet, then a cockatoo, then a macaw, and then a love-bird, as representing the various groups.

The Gray Parrot

We take this parrot because it is the one which we see most often in cages. It comes from Central Africa, and, like most parrots, is generally seen in large flocks, which fly about together. During the daytime these birds often travel long distances in search of food, which consists chiefly of fruits and nuts, but in the evening they always return to their regular roosting-places.

This parrot makes no nest at all, but just lays its eggs in a hole in the trunk of a tree. Both birds sit in turns, and if danger threatens they will defend their eggs or their little ones with the greatest courage. And if they seem to be getting the worst of the fight, it is said that the rest of the flock will come to their rescue, and will nearly always succeed in driving the enemy away.

When they are kept as pets gray parrots nearly always learn to talk well, and sometimes make such suitable remarks that it really almost seems as if they must understand what they say. That they live to a very great age appears certain from the fact that they have sometimes been kept in captivity for seventy or eighty years.

Parrakeets

These birds are found in the hotter parts of Africa, Asia, and Australia, being very plentiful, for instance, in the forests of India. Perhaps the best known of them is the East Indian ring-necked parrakeet, which is green in color, the male having a red ring round his neck, with a black ring underneath it. The length of the bird is about seventeen inches, of which almost exactly half is taken up by the tail.

These parrakeets are dreadfully mischievous birds, for they visit both fields and gardens, and devour enormous quantities of grain and fruit. You can easily understand how much harm four or five hundred of them can do in a short time, and flocks of this size are often seen, while sometimes they are even larger still. They have regular roosting-places, to which they always return at night; and they lay their three or four white eggs in holes in trees.

Cockatoos

Cockatoos may easily be recognized by their feathery crests, which they can raise and lower at will. We will take the sulphur-crested cockatoo as our example.

This favorite cage-bird comes from Australia, where it is found in enormous flocks. Fancy seeing a thousand cockatoos flying about together! And fancy what it must be to listen to their screams! Yet a flock of this size is not at all uncommon. The birds are not as plentiful as they used to be, however, for they did so much mischief in the grain-fields that the planters shot them in large numbers; often, indeed, a field would be so full of cockatoos that from a little distance it looked as though it were deeply covered with snow.

As talkers cockatoos are not nearly so clever as parrots, but they soon learn to imitate all kinds of sounds, such as the barking of dogs, the mewing of cats, the cackling of fowls, and the gobbling of turkeys. Unfortunately, however, they are very fond of screaming, and make a terrible outcry if they are annoyed in any way, so that they are apt to be rather a nuisance if they are kept as pets.

Macaws

The macaws are large and handsome birds, their plumage being nearly always very brightly and even gaudily colored. In the red and blue macaw, for instance, which is one of the best known, the general color is bright vermilion red, with a patch of yellow feathers on the upper part of each wing. Then the lower part of the back, together with the quills of the wings and the outside feathers of the tail, is blue, while the central tail-feathers are scarlet with blue tips. But even this is not all, for underneath the wings and tail are golden red, varied by patches of yellow feathers tipped with green. This magnificent bird is nearly three feet long, two-thirds of that length being occupied by the tail.

Macaws are found in large flocks in the great forests of tropical America, where they may be seen sometimes flying high in air, and sometimes sitting on the topmost branches of the tallest trees. Their cries can be heard from a very long distance away.

Macaws are just as mischievous in the cornfields as parrots and cockatoos are in other parts of the world, and are much more difficult to kill; for some, before settling down to feed, post sentinels in the tops of tall trees near by, and steadily watchful, they give the alarm as soon as they see the slightest sign of danger.

Macaws lay their eggs in holes in tree-trunks, as parrots do, and are said to enlarge the holes to suit their requirements by means of their powerful beaks. They are not very wise birds, however, for when they are sitting they often leave their long tails projecting out of the hole, to be seen by every passer-by!

Love-Birds

Of all the birds which belong to the parrot family the love-birds are the smallest, being little bigger than finches. Seven different kinds are known, all found in Africa south of the Desert of Sahara.

These pretty little creatures are called love-birds because they seem so very fond of one another. If two or three are kept in a cage together, they always snuggle up as closely as possible, and will sit side by side for hours, perfectly happy in each other's company. And often, if one of a couple dies, the other will pine away in a short time and die too, apparently from sorrow.

In a wild state love-birds are generally seen in small flocks which fly very rapidly, and constantly utter their sharp screaming cry. They do not seem to make any nests for themselves, but make use of those of other birds instead. Whether they turn out the rightful owners, however, or merely take possession of nests which have been deserted, nobody seems to know.

Pigeons

We shall only be able to tell you about two members of the great pigeon family, the first of which shall be the wood-pigeon, or ring-dove, which is interesting as the wild original that has given us our domestic pigeons, so many varieties of which have been produced by fanciers.

This is a very common bird in almost all parts of the British Isles, and one can scarcely walk through a wood without startling it from its retreat in the thick foliage of some tall tree, or ramble through the fields without seeing at least one flock on its way to its feeding-grounds. Unfortunately, it does a good deal of mischief, for it has a most enormous appetite, and carries off immense quantities of grain from the cornfields. Just to give you some idea of the amount of food that it will eat, we may mention that no less than eight hundred grains of wheat have been taken from the crop of a single wood-pigeon, six hundred peas from that of another, and one hundred and eighty beechnuts from that of a third; while one naturalist tells us that the bird will sometimes pack away enough turnip-tops to fill a pint measure when they are well shaken up!

Our American turtle-dove, or mourning-dove, is much like this but nobody minds the few bits of grain it picks up. On the other hand, the wood-pigeon devours great quantities of the seeds of weeds; so although it is mischievous in one way, it is useful in another.

The nest of the wood-pigeon, which is mostly placed in the upper branches of a tall tree, is very clumsily made. Indeed, it is very little more than a platform of sticks, which are often so loosely put together, that as you look up from below you can see the eggs through the gaps between them! There are never more than two eggs, which are perfectly white.

The Passenger-Pigeon

The passenger-pigeon, or wild pigeon of North America, is remarkable for two reasons.

In the first place, it is (or rather, used to be) found in the most astonishing numbers. Flocks of these birds many miles in length have often been seen, while large tracts of forest were once so thronged with their nests that all the smaller branches and many of the larger ones were broken down. Fancy what that means when a nesting-place is thirty miles long and several miles broad, while as many as a hundred nests may be found in a single tree!

In the second place, the bird is renowned as a traveler. That is why it is called the passenger-pigeon. All over the length and breadth of the country a few years ago these vast flocks would fly, coming no man knows whence, going no man knows whither, roosting just for one night in one place, and passing on again early next morning. The flocks are not so large as they were, however, for many millions of the birds have been destroyed; and as these pigeons never lay more than two eggs, they do not multiply very fast. In fact, this pigeon is already a rare bird.

Peacocks

What a magnificent bird the peacock is, with his great train raised and spread, so as to show off all the beautiful eye-like markings! And how very proud of it he seems as he struts about to be admired, as though knowing quite well that everybody is looking at him!

People sometimes speak of this train as the "tail." But it really consists of those feathers which are called the tail-coverts, the true tail lying underneath it, and serving to support it when it is spread.

Peacocks are natives of Asia, and are found most commonly, perhaps, in India, where flocks of thirty or forty may often be seen, and one traveler tells us that he once saw quite fifteen hundred of these splendid birds all together! They are sometimes caught in a very curious way. The hunter rides up quietly to within a short distance of them as they are feeding on the ground, and then suddenly dashes at them at full speed. Of course they at once rise into the air, and just as they are passing out of reach he strikes at one of them with a very long whip, which coils round its neck like a lasso. Then all that he has to do is to pull it down to the ground.

In some parts of India, however, these birds are regarded by the natives as sacred, and no one is allowed to kill them, or even to take them alive.

Turkeys

Everybody takes an interest in the turkey—more especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas time!—and many people think that it comes from the country of Turkey, but this is quite a mistake, for it is a native of North America, in many parts of which it is still found in great abundance. The domesticated turkey probably arose from the Mexican variety rather than from the more familiar wild turkey of the Northern States.

Some of the flocks seem to consist of cock birds only, and others of hens and young, the reason being that the cocks are very fierce and quarrelsome birds, and will attack and even kill the young ones if they have an opportunity. Until long after her little ones are fledged, indeed, the mother turkey has to take the greatest care of them; for not only are they in constant danger from their unnatural father, but all kinds of other enemies, such as foxes, lynxes, and horned owls, have to be guarded against as well. So she keeps them nearly always under cover, and when at last they are big enough to be taken for a little ramble, she never brings them back to the nest by the path by which they left it.

Turkeys often travel for very long distances. When they come to a broad river they perch in the upper branches of the tallest trees they can find, and then fly across together at a given signal. They are not very strong on the wing, and usually some of them fall into the water. But by spreading out their tails and paddling hard they generally manage to make their way to shore.

Pheasants

The pheasant is a native of Southeastern Europe and Asia Minor; but it has lived in Western Europe for so long that it is fully entitled to rank among British birds. It has so many enemies, however, that if it were not carefully preserved it would very soon disappear.

Pheasants nearly always live in woods, though they often venture out into the open fields to search for food, which consists of acorns, grain, beechnuts, seeds, and small insects. During the winter, however, they have to be fed, or they would be very likely to die from starvation.

These birds do not make a regular nest, the hen merely scratching a slight hollow in the ground, and there laying her ten to fourteen olive-brown eggs. When she is sitting it is difficult to see her, for her light-brown mottled plumage looks just like the dead leaves among which she is resting, and even the sharpest eye might often pass her by.

The Red Grouse

This bird is remarkable for two reasons. The first is, that it is found only in the British Isles, and not in any other part of the world; and the second is, that it varies so very greatly in color. Sometimes it is almost entirely black, sometimes it is reddish chestnut, and sometimes nearly all the feathers are broadly tipped with white.

The red grouse is found on moors and mountainsides wherever there is plenty of heath or heather, and where it can obtain the whortleberries, cranberries, and tender shoots of cotton-grass and sedge upon which it feeds. And though it has many natural enemies, such as hawks and crows, foxes and stoats, and while it is shot in thousands by sportsmen, it never seems to decrease in abundance.

As a general rule the grouse does not fly much, but runs with great swiftness among the heather. It makes a very rough nest of straws and twigs in a hollow in the ground, and often sits so closely on its eggs that it may almost be trodden on before it will move. When the little ones are hatched they seem to know without being taught how to conceal themselves in moments of danger, and if they cannot find cover will flatten themselves against the ground, where they look so much like stones that even the sharp eye of a hawk will pass them by.

Partridges

Partridges, of which our quail is an example, are found almost everywhere, being carefully protected in most countries for purposes of sport; and they lay so many eggs that they are scarcely likely to become less plentiful. Few nests contain less than ten eggs, while fifteen or even more are frequently laid; and instances have been recorded in which as many as thirty-three eggs have been found in a single nest, but in these cases two birds have most likely laid together. The mother bird sits very closely—so closely, indeed, that when she has nested in a meadow and the grass is being mown, she often fails to move out of the way of the scythe in time, and is found lying on the ground with her head cut off after the reapers have passed by.

When the little ones are hatched, both parents go about with them, and the covey, as it is called, keeps together all through the autumn and winter.

CHAPTER XXV
OSTRICHES, HERONS, CRANES, IBISES, Etc.

The ostrich is a very remarkable bird indeed.

In the first place, it is by far the largest of all living birds, for a full-grown male ostrich is taller than a very tall man. Then its head is somewhat like that of a camel, and its neck like that of a giraffe—very long and slender, with scarcely any feathers on it. Next, its wings are so small that they cannot be used for flight. All that an ostrich does with its wings, indeed, is to spread them out when it is running, so that they may help it in keeping its balance. And, finally, its legs are as stout and as strong as those of a horse, while it has only two toes on each foot.

Ostriches live in the great desert plains of Africa, where they are mostly found in small flocks. Although they cannot fly, they can run with very great speed, and in fair chase will distance even a swift horse. But for some strange reason they always run in circles, so that all that a hunter has to do is to notice whether they are swerving to the right or to the left, and then to gallop across and cut them off.

When an ostrich is running at full speed it takes most wonderful strides, its toes scarcely touching the ground as it dashes along. By careful measurement, indeed, it has been found that there is sometimes a distance of no less than twenty-eight feet between its footmarks!

The ostrich is rather a formidable bird, for it can kick forward with terrific force. But if a man lies down when attacked by one he is fairly safe, for the kick cannot be properly delivered at a height of less than three feet. Or if he has a forked stick he can hold the bird back by pressing the fork against its neck.

Ostriches' eggs are so large that one of them will make a good meal for eight men. The bird does not make a nest, but scoops out a hollow in the sand about three feet across and a foot deep, and then arranges its eggs in it, each egg standing upright, and being lightly covered with sand. Twenty eggs or more are often hatched together, and in addition to these the bird generally lays a number round the edges of the hole, which appear to serve as food for the young. During the day the hen sits, the cock taking her place by night.

The appetite of the ostrich is proverbial, and it would really be difficult to say what an ostrich will not swallow. Stones, coins, bunches of keys, tobacco-pipes, newspapers done up for post, brickbats, old shoes, and tenpenny nails have all been taken from its crop; and it seems to be very seldom indeed that any of these things disagree with it! Its natural food, however, consists chiefly of wild melons, which also supply it with all the moisture that it needs.

Ostriches are very valuable to man, on account of the beautiful plumes which are obtained from the male. These birds are therefore kept in great numbers in ostrich-farms so that the plumes may be regularly cut once in every year. As this does not destroy the bird, it is proper to make use of these beautiful feathers as ornaments.

The Emu

In Australia the place of the ostrich is taken by the emu. It is a smaller bird, however, though a full-grown hen—which is bigger than the cock—is often six feet in height. And it has three toes upon each foot instead of two.

The emu was formerly very common in many parts of Australia, but it has been so terribly persecuted that it is fast becoming exceedingly scarce. It is generally hunted with dogs, which are trained to spring at the neck, so as to be out of reach of the terrible feet. For the emu does not kick forward, as ostriches do, but strikes sideways and backward, like a cow.

The emu only lays six or seven eggs, which are of a beautiful dark-green color, without any markings at all. They are laid in a hollow scooped in the ground. During the nesting-season the female bird utters a loud booming sound, which is due to a very curious pouch in the throat.

Rheas

There are also several ostrich-like birds in South America which are known as rheas. They inhabit the Argentine plains, and are not nearly so large as the ostrich and the emu, but are quite as swift of foot, so that it is not at all easy for a man mounted on even a fast horse to overtake them. They are generally hunted with the bolas which is a long cord with a heavy ball as each end, and is flung at the bird in such a manner as to wind round its neck and hold it prisoner.

Rheas always lay their eggs in hollows in the ground, and the number of eggs in a nest seems to vary from twenty to twenty-four. The male bird, apparently, sits upon them, the hen taking no part in the task of hatching them out. Neither does she seem to take any care of the little birds when at last they make their appearance, for they always travel about with the cock.

Cassowaries

Of these there are a good many kinds. They are formed like the ostrich and the emu, but have shorter necks, which are sometimes wattled and are marked with patches of brilliant red and blue and green. The legs are stout and the feet are perfectly enormous. But their most striking feature is an odd bony crest upon the top of the head, which is covered with naked skin.

Cassowaries are found only in Australia, New Guinea, Ceram, and some of the neighboring islands, and, unlike all the preceding birds, are dwellers in the forest. They are so shy that they are very seldom seen, so that we do not know very much about their habits. The Australian natives, however, often keep them in captivity, and treat them almost as we treat poultry. But they are rather dangerous creatures, for they can kick very hard with their great, strong feet, and are very ready to attack any one who is a stranger to them.

Cassowaries only lay from three to five eggs, and it seems that the cock bird alone sits on them, and that he also takes care of the little ones after they are hatched.

Kiwis

More curious still are the kiwis of New Zealand, whose wings are so very small, and so completely concealed under the feathers of the body, that practically they may be said to have none at all. Besides this, the beak is so long and slender that it reminds one of that of a woodcock or a snipe. The nostrils are placed at the very tip of this beak, which the bird appears to use by plunging it deeply into soft ground, and then smelling for worms.

When it finds a worm it seems to coax rather than to pull it out of the ground, and then throws up its head and swallows it whole.

Kiwis have several times been brought to the London Zoo, but hardly any one ever saw them, for all day long they were fast asleep among their straw. If the keeper took them out and woke them they would just yawn once or twice, opening their beaks to the widest possible extent, and then fall fast asleep again.

After dark, however, these birds become very lively, and will run with such speed that even a dog can scarcely overtake them. This shows that their natural habit is to go abroad and seek their food during the night.

The egg of the kiwi is enormously large. Indeed, it is almost a quarter of the size of the bird itself, and when two eggs have been laid and the bird is sitting on them, the ends project beyond the feathers on either side of its body.

Bustards

The bustards also are able to run very well, and unlike the birds belonging to the ostrich family, they are also able to fly.

The finest of these birds is the great bustard, which until about the year 1840 was found wild in Great Britain. The cock is between three and four feet in height, and the head and body together are nearly four feet long, while when the wings are fully spread they measure quite eight feet from tip to tip. The hen is a good deal smaller.

The great bustard lives in wild, open plains, and is so extremely wary that it is almost impossible to approach within gunshot. Except during the nesting season it is found in small flocks, and both by day and by night two of the party act as sentinels and stand always on the watch, ready to give the alarm at the first sign of danger. They have wonderfully sharp sight, and will detect a man long before they can be seen by him. Almost the only way to shoot them, indeed, is to dig a pit in the ground and hide inside it, covered over with branches, until they pass by.

These magnificent birds are now found chiefly in the steppes of Eastern Europe and Asia, where they feed upon seeds and grain, and also upon insects and even upon small animals. They lay two or three eggs in a hollow in the ground, in which sometimes, but not always, they place a few grass-stems by way of a nest.

Cranes

Another tall and stately bird is the crane. It is found in one or another species in all quarters of the world, living on plains and marshes, coming north to breed, and retiring southward again during the winter.

Cranes generally travel about in flocks, which nearly always fly in the form of a wedge, each bird having its long legs stretched stiffly out behind it. Each flock is under the guidance of a leader, and the birds are most careful when they alight to do so in some open place where they can see for a long distance in every direction, so as to guard against the danger of being surprised by an enemy.

Cranes are generally to be seen in marshy districts, where they can find plenty of frogs, newts, and worms. But sometimes they will make their way to a newly sown field and dig up all the grain. Their nests are generally placed on the ground, among osiers or in reed-beds, though now and then they will build on the very top of an old ruin. The little brown crane of the western plains is the most familiar American species.

The crowned crane, which is found in Northern and Western Africa, is a very odd-looking bird, for it has a large bunch of upright golden feathers on the top of its head, and a scarlet wattle on the throat. From a little distance it really looks as if it were wearing a bright yellow bonnet, tied with a bow of scarlet ribbon under its chin!

Lapwings

The European lapwing, known to every one by the familiar reference in Tennyson's "Locksley Hall," represents the world-wide family of plovers. They are beautiful birds with their black and white plumage and the tuft of long feathers at the back of the head, and very often one may see hundreds or even thousands of them together. Early in the spring one may find their four long, pointed eggs, which are olive brown in color, spotted and blotched with brownish black, and are always laid in a little hollow in the bare ground with their small ends inward in the form of a cross. But somehow or other, although they are quite large eggs, it is very difficult to see them, and you might pass close by a dozen nests, and even look straight at them, and yet never notice the eggs at all.

Often, when some one happens to find a hen lapwing sitting on her eggs, she will pretend to be wounded, and will flap and tumble along the ground in the hope of making the intruder chase her, and so of leading him away from her nest.

Sportsmen know of many other plovers, such as the golden, the ringneck, the killdee, or killdeer, and several more, both American and foreign.

The Curlew

This is another plains-bird common to both continents, which may often be noticed on moors or in marshes during the summer, or on the sea-coast in the winter. But generally one only sees it in the distance, for it is extremely wary, and takes to flight at the very slightest alarm.

All through the winter months curlews live in flocks, and one may hear them uttering their mournful cries in chorus together. But early in the spring they separate, and each pair selects some little hollow in the ground which may serve as a nest. In this they lay four pear-shaped eggs, which are olive green in color, spotted with gray and brown. When the eggs are hatched the parents take the greatest care of their little ones, and often if any one comes too near the nest they will fly round and round his head in the most excited manner, and do their very best to drive him away.

In color the curlew is pale brown above, with darker spots and streaks, and grayish white beneath. Its total length is about twenty-four inches, and the beak is long and slender, with a downward curve.

Ruffs

The ruff, a relative of the curlew, is remarkable for three reasons. In the first place, during the breeding-season, the male bird has a great frill or ruff of long feathers round his neck, which he can raise and lower at will. In the next place, two male ruffs are never colored alike, while sometimes they look so wholly different that it is quite hard to believe that they can really belong to the same species. And, in the third place, they are so dreadfully quarrelsome when the nesting-season begins, that two male ruffs can never meet without fighting. More than that, they actually have regular fighting-places, to which numbers of the birds resort when they want to settle their quarrels! But although they fight very savagely, they never seem to do each other much harm.

Ruffs are hardly known in America, except in Alaska, but at one time they were very common in the marshy parts of England.

The Woodcock

The woodcock is a bird of wooded swamps. It is valued by sportsmen, because difficult to shoot and delicate to eat. They lay their eggs in a hollow in the ground, which they line with dry grass and leaves. When the mother bird is sitting it is almost impossible to see her, for she nearly always nests among dead ferns, which are of exactly the same hues as her own plumage. Generally, indeed, it is her eyes that are noticed, and if she only had the sense to keep them shut she would probably never be detected at all.

Woodcocks are hardly ever seen unless they are disturbed, for they hide during the daytime in thick bushes in woods, and only come out to feed in the evening. Their food consists chiefly of worms, which they pull out of soft, muddy ground by means of their long, slender beaks.

If two male woodcocks meet during the nesting-season they almost always quarrel, and will fight nearly as savagely as ruffs.

The Snipe

In appearance and habits the snipe is something like the woodcock, but it is considerably smaller, and is found in damp, marshy ground instead of in woods. When it is flushed it flies away for a few yards quite straight, and then begins to twist and turn about in a most extraordinary way, changing the direction of its flight at almost every yard. In consequence of this habit it is not at all an easy bird to shoot.

The male snipe is very fond of rising to a great height in the air, and there uttering his curious cry of "chick! chick! chick-a!" over and over again. At the same time he also makes a strange drumming sound, which seems to be caused in some way by the motion of the wings, as it is only produced while he is "stooping" down toward the ground.

The snipe generally nests in the middle of a tussock of coarse grass or rushes, where it lays four buff or olive-green eggs marked with dark-brown blotches.

The Heron

One of our finest American birds is the heron, which you may often see flying high in the air, with its long legs stretched stiffly out behind it. And sometimes you may see it standing quite motionless in the shallower parts of a stream, watching for the fishes on which it feeds. After a time it will slowly stoop, plunge its long beak into the water, and draw it out again with a minnow, or a perch, or a frog struggling in its grip. Then it holds its beak almost upright, gives a gobble and a gulp—and the fish or the frog disappears!

The heron feeds largely on frogs, mice, insects, and worms, as well as upon fishes. And more than once it has been known to capture and swallow a small snake.

Herons build their nests in the upper branches of tall trees, making them of sticks and twigs, lined with grass and roots. A number of these birds generally nest together in the same clump of trees, just as rooks do, and in each nest are laid either three or four bluish-green eggs, without any markings at all.

If a heron is attacked, it uses its long, dagger-like beak with great readiness, and always tries to strike at the eyes of its enemy. Herons are of many kinds, the great blue one being the finest of the tribe.

Storks

The stork is found in most parts of Europe, and also in Asia and Northern Africa, but no stork lives in America.

When storks are migrating, they fly in great flocks, which sometimes consist of many thousand birds. As soon as they arrive, they spread themselves over the country, being especially fond of marshy districts, where they can find plenty of frogs, toads, lizards, and the other small creatures upon which they feed. But they also devour large quantities of the offal which they find in the streets of the villages and towns.

In Holland and Germany storks breed in great numbers. Their nests, which are usually placed on the tops of chimneys, are little more than clumsy piles of sticks, and as fresh sticks are added every year, they gradually get bigger and bigger until at last they reach a very great size. From three to five pure white eggs are laid, and the young birds remain in the nest until they are well able to fly.

The Ibis

Very much like storks in some ways are the ibises, which are found in many parts of Asia, Africa, and America. They are generally found in flocks, which live in marshes or on the banks of rivers and lakes, where they spend most of their time dabbling in the water with their long beaks in search of food.

One of these birds was worshiped by the Egyptians of old, who treated it with the greatest reverence during life, and carefully embalmed its body when it died. For this reason it is known as the sacred ibis, and in every large art museum you may see ibis mummies, which were taken from the tombs of the kings. In color this bird is snowy white, with a black head and neck, and long black plumes on the hinder part of the back. You may generally see it in a zoo, together with the beautiful scarlet ibis, whose plumage is bright red in color, with black tips to the wings.

CHAPTER XXVI
SWIMMING BIRDS

In the birds belonging to this group the feet are webbed, so that they may be used as paddles. And some of them are very curious indeed.

Flamingo

First of all, there is the well-known red and white flamingo, which is quite an extraordinary bird, for it has extremely long, stilt-like legs, and an extremely long, snake-like neck, which it can twist and coil about as easily as if it were just a piece of rope. There is no part of its body which a flamingo cannot reach with its beak, so that it can preen its feathers quite easily. And when it wants to feed it wades into the water, bends down its long neck, turns its head upside down, so that its forehead rests upon the bottom, and scoops up great mouthfuls of mud. Then, by means of the grooves at the sides of the bill, it gets rid of the mud, while all the grubs, etc., which were lying buried in it, are left behind to be swallowed.

The nest of the flamingo is a cone-shaped heap of mud, sometimes as much as two feet high, with a little hollow at the top to contain eggs. Thousands of these birds nest together, and when they are sitting they look just like a great rosy-white cloud resting upon the ground. And if they are startled and fly away, their nests look as though hundreds of children had been making big sand-pies on the beach and neatly arranging them in rows. But such a sight as this can now be seen only in some almost inaccessible tropical islands, for these birds have been greatly persecuted by feather-hunters and others, and are rare everywhere near civilization. They used to be common in Florida and all about the Gulf of Mexico, where now only a few exist.

Flamingoes are found in the warmer parts of all the great continents except Australia. Nine different kinds are known, some of which stand well over six feet in height.

Geese, Swans, and Ducks

Of wild geese there are at least forty species, which are found in almost all parts of the world.

The graylag goose which breeds in the British Isles, seems to be the ancestor of the domestic geese that we see in every farmyard. It lives in flocks, which frequent marshes, lakes, and boggy moors during the greater part of the year, but often visit the sea-coast in winter. Sometimes, too, they may be seen near the mouth of a great river. They are very shy birds, and when sportsmen wish to shoot them they have to resort to all kinds of tricks in order to approach them without being seen.

When wild geese fly, they generally do so in the form of a half-opened pair of compasses, with the angle in front. But now and then they may be seen in the air in an irregular wavy line. As they fly they make a curious "gaggling" cry, which can be heard from a very long distance.

The nest of this goose is made of grass and flags, and is generally placed at the base of a tussock of coarse grass. It usually contains six plain white eggs.

Swans, too, are found wild in many parts of the world, and used to be almost as numerous as ducks or geese both on the inland lakes and along the coasts of the United States, but now have become rare and shy. All the species breed in the arctic regions, and appear among us only on their migrations in spring and fall.

Swans are most graceful birds in the water, and as their limbs are set very far back they can swim with great ease. But for the same reason they are very clumsy upon dry ground, and waddle along in the most awkward way, seeming to find it very difficult to keep their balance. All those in our parks are tame; but during the nesting-season the male swan generally becomes very savage, and will attack any one who ventures too near to his nest. And as a single stroke from his wing is sufficient to break a man's arm, he is apt to be dangerous when unfriendly.

The nest of the swan is a very large structure of reeds, rushes, and grass, and is generally placed quite close to the water's edge. It contains six or seven large greenish-white eggs.

A great many kinds of duck are known, but we can only mention the common wild duck, which still visits rivers and lakes every winter in considerable numbers, a few of which remain to breed.

The male duck is called the mallard, and from October till May he is a very handsome bird, with a dark-green head and neck, a white collar round the lower part of his throat, brownish-gray wings, chestnut-brown breast, and white hinder parts. But when he moults he puts off this beautiful plumage, and for the next five months is mottled all over with brown and gray, just like his mate.

Wild ducks are found chiefly in marshes and fens, and on the borders of rivers and lakes. But when they come over in the autumn they often spend the daytime out at sea resting on the water. They make their nests of grass, lined with down from the mother bird's own breast; and the little ones are able to swim as soon as they leave the egg-shell. When they are about half grown they sometimes use their wings in diving, and you may see them flapping their way along beneath the surface, and really flying under water.

Cormorants

In Great Britain, due to its northern latitude, cormorants are commonly seen where the coast is high and rocky; but in America they are less often visible because they dwell mainly in the far north. They are very odd birds. Sitting on rocks which overhang the water, every now and then one will drop into the sea, splash about for a moment or two, and then return to his perch. Then you may be quite sure that he has caught and swallowed a fish. Sometimes you may see them swimming along with their heads under water, watching for victims in the depths below.

Cormorants are famous for their big appetites—perhaps it would be more correct to say for their horrible greediness, for they will go on eating till they simply cannot swallow another morsel, and yet will try hard to catch every fish that comes near them. The little ones feed in a most extraordinary way, for they actually poke their heads down their mother's throat, and take as much food as they want from her crop!

When these birds really feel that they have had enough to eat, they sit upon a rock for an hour or two while they digest their dinners. They also take this opportunity to dry their wings, and spread them out to the fullest extent on either side, so that they look very much like rows of black clothes hung out to dry!

In China cormorants are often trained to catch fish for their masters, a strap being fastened round the lower part of the neck to prevent them from swallowing their victims. They were formerly used in England in just the same way.

Pelicans

More curious still are their cousins the pelicans, which have a pouch of naked parchment-like skin under their long bills, capable of holding quite two gallons of water. This pouch, as a rule, is folded closely up under the beak, but when the bird is fishing, it packs victim after victim into it until it is quite full, when it really looks almost half as big as the body.

In this way pelicans carry back food for their hungry little ones. But on their way they are sometimes robbed, for there is a kind of large hawk which is very fond of eating fishes, but is not at all fond of the trouble of catching them. So he waits till he sees a pelican returning home from a fishing expedition, and then dashes at it, and begins to beat it about the head with his wings. The poor frightened pelican, thinking that it is about to be killed, opens its beak to scream. This, of course, is just what the hawk wants, and snatching a fish out of the pelican's pouch, he flies off with it in triumph.

Pelicans are very plentiful in many parts of the world, and are often seen in vast flocks. We have two kinds in the United States and Canada—the white and the brown. Both are more numerous on the marshes and around the shallow lakes of the northwestern plains than anywhere else, because they have been driven from their former coast-resorts. All the birds in a flock will sometimes go out fishing together. Arranging themselves in a great semicircle, about a yard apart, they all paddle slowly forward, and in this way will drive a great shoal of fish into shallow water, where they may be snapped up without difficulty.

Sea-Gulls

These you know very well by sight, for they are common on all parts of our coasts, and on many of our lakes, while numbers of them may be seen even on the ornamental waters in the parks of New York and other seaboard cities. In stormy weather, too, they often fly inland, and sometimes great numbers of them may be seen in newly plowed fields, hunting for worms and insects. Most of them go north for the breeding-season, some visiting certain islands and rocky cliffs in immense numbers, and making their nests of seaweed; while others, like the black-headed gull, and the ringbill nest in marshes, merely trampling down the broken tops of sedges and reeds, and so forming a slight hollow in which to lay the eggs.

At least fifty different kinds of gulls are known. But many of them are very difficult to distinguish, for their summer plumage may be quite unlike that with which they are clothed during the winter, while the young birds are not marked like their parents till they are two or even three years old. Those which are most common on the Atlantic coast are two or three kinds of herring-gulls, which formerly bred in great numbers on all our sandy shores and islets, but now have been driven to quieter regions in the far north. On the western plains, around certain shallow lakes, live great colonies of ring-billed and other small gulls, breeding in the extensive marshes.

Flying to and fro over the sea, or over a large inland lake, you may sometimes see a number of birds which look like gulls, but are much smaller, and have long, forked tails like swallows. These are terns, or sea-swallows, as they are often called, and are most elegant and graceful in their movements, gliding and sweeping through the air, and twisting and turning with the most wonderful swiftness and ease. They are summer visitors only, coming to us in May and flying south again in September, and they breed on flat shores, generally laying their two or three eggs in a small hollow in the shingle. They feed on small fishes and shrimps, and also on the sandhoppers and the various insects which are so plentiful upon the beach.