128. OWLS are birds of prey, distinguishable by their round head, a circular arrangement of feathers round each eye, the bill being hooked, and the nostrils being covered with bristly feathers.
These birds are of great service to farmers by devouring mice and other small animals, the uninterrupted increase of which would be extremely injurious to the fruits of the harvest. The late Rev. Gilbert White, in his Natural History of Selborne, states that he had paid considerable attention to the manner of life of a pair of white owls, which constantly bred under the eaves of the church. He says that, generally, about an hour before sunset they sallied forth in quest of mice; that he has often minuted the birds with his watch for an hour together, and found that the one or the other of them returned to the nest about once in five minutes, with a mouse in its claws.
Though serviceable in thus destroying mice, these birds also destroy young rabbits, hares, and partridges, for which they are execrated by sportsmen; and they sometimes enter pigeon-houses, where their ravenous propensities cause them to commit great devastations.
129. The GREAT or CINEREOUS SHRIKE (Lanius excubitor) is a small bird of prey, distinguished by having a straightish black bill with a notch in each mandible near the end: the back hoary, the wings black, with a white spot, and the tail white at the sides.
There is likewise a black stripe on each side of the head, extending backward from the base of the bill. The length of this bird is about eight inches.
It inhabits the woods of Europe and America.
Such are the courage and address of the cinereous shrike, that it is capable of being trained to hawk for and catch small birds. We are informed that Francis the First, king of France, was frequently in the habit of chasing the smaller kinds of game with shrikes.
In some parts of the Continent where these birds are very numerous, they are considered so useful, by waging continual war against rats and mice, and destroying great numbers of noxious insects, that the farmers will not allow them to be destroyed.
It is the singular propensity of the cinereous shrike to stick the insects on which it feeds upon the thorny branches of trees, previously to eating them. Even when confined in a cage, it often adopts a similar mode with respect to its food, by sticking it against the wires.
130. The RAVEN (Corvus corax) is a bird of the crow tribe, known by its large size, its plumage being of bluish black colour, and its tail being roundish at the end.
It is found in almost every country of Europe, Siberia, and North America.
In Egypt these birds are held nearly in equal veneration with the vultures (123), on account of their propensity to devour dead animals, and putrid substances of almost every description. They also destroy rats, mice, and small reptiles. It is said that in the Bermudas the inhabitants were, for several years, annoyed by a prodigious increase of rats, which devoured the corn and plants, and swam from island to island, committing great depredations in every place; and that, at length, they suddenly disappeared, without any other assignable cause than the unexpected presence of several flocks of ravens. By the ancients these birds were esteemed of much importance, from a notion that, by the various modulations or tones of their voice, certain future events might be predicted.
Ravens are easily domesticated, and in this state may be trained to fowling, somewhat in the same manner as falcons (127). They may also be taught to fetch and carry small objects, like spaniels; but they are so mischievous that they ought not to be trusted in any place where spoons or other valuable articles are deposited, lest they also carry them away and hide them.
The flesh of the raven is eaten by the inhabitants of Greenland; and the skin, with the feathers on, is preferred to most other substances as a warm under garment. The beak and claws are used, in that country, as amulets. With us the quills, cut to a point, were formerly much in request for what are called the jacks of harpsichords, to strike the wires in playing. They are now chiefly employed for drawing and writing with.
131. The ROOK (Corvus frugilegus) is a bird of the crow tribe, distinguished by its black and glossy colour, the base of the bill being naked and dusky, and the tail being roundish.
These birds are found in Europe and Siberia.
Notwithstanding the prejudices which are entertained, by many farmers, against these birds, arising from a supposition that they feed upon grain, and consequently are destructive to the crops, there can be little doubt that the services they perform are infinitely greater than any injury they commit. Often may flocks of them be seen following at a little distance the ploughs, to devour the grubs or caterpillars of such insects as may be thereby exposed to their attacks. These of the cockchafer are destroyed by them in thousands; and it is remarkable that the nostrils, chin, and sides of the mouth, in old rooks, are white, and bared of feathers, in consequence, as it is supposed, of their frequent habit of thrusting their bill into the ground in search of these insects. The late Mr. Stillingfleet was informed, by an intelligent farmer in Berkshire, that, one year, while his men were hoeing a field of turnips, a great number of rooks alighted in a part of it where they were not at work; and that the consequence was a remarkably fine crop in that part, while in the remainder of the field there were scarcely any turnips.
Young rooks are sometimes used as food; but it is requisite to skin them, previously to their being cooked, as otherwise they would be too strong-tasted to be eaten.
132. The RED-BELLIED TOUCAN (Ramphastos picatus) is a bird about twenty inches in length, with an enormously large bill of yellowish green colour, and serrated at the edges; the upper part of the body blackish, the breast yellow, and the belly and the tip of the tail red.
This bird is found in Africa, and in several of the eastern parts of South America.
We are assured, by travellers in South America, that the red-bellied toucans are held in great esteem by the Indians, not only on account of their flesh as food, but also for their plumage; particularly the feathers of the breast, which are used to ornament their dresses. The Indians even cut out the skin of this part, with the feathers on, and, after it has been dried, glue it to their cheeks, considering it a great addition to their beauty. We are informed by one of the French voyagers that, whilst he was off the island of St. Catherine, near the coast of Brazil, the governor, among other presents, sent on board the ship fifty skins of toucans which had been dried with the feathers on.
133. The BIRD of PARADISE (Paradisea apoda, Fig. 32) is characterized by its having a chesnut-coloured body, the neck being of a gold green colour beneath, the feathers of the sides being longer than the body, and the two middle tail-feathers very long and bristly.
These birds inhabit New Guinea and the adjacent islands of Aroo; being found on the former in the fine, and the latter in the rainy seasons.
To the inhabitants of the islands of Aroo the birds of paradise have, for many centuries, been an important article of commerce. They are shot with blunt-headed arrows; or caught by birdlime or in snares. As soon as they are killed their legs are cut off, as, by that means, the skins are more easily preserved, and also because the persons who purchase them prefer them thus. The entrails and breast-bone are taken out, and they are dried with smoke and sulphur, for exportation to Banda and other commercial settlements.
They are in great demand both in Persia and India to adorn the turbans of persons of rank, and even the handles of sabres and the trappings of horses. Many of them are also sold to the Chinese; and, a few years ago, they were a very fashionable ornament for female head-dress in England.
The appellation of birds of paradise has been given to these birds from a notion, formerly prevalent, that, destitute of feet, they were constantly in flight, even during their sleep; or that, if they did rest, it was only for a few moments together, and then suspended from the branches of trees by the long feathers of their tail: that the female deposited her eggs in a hollow place on the back of the male, and there sat upon and hatched them, that they fed only on dew: that, destitute of stomach and intestines, the whole abdominal cavity was filled with fat; and, lastly, that they never touched the earth until their death. It is somewhat difficult to account for the origin of notions so absurd, unless we are to suppose them the inventions of persons who traded in the skins of these birds, and founded merely in the very extraordinary nature of their plumage, and the circumstance of such skins being always sold without the legs.
Birds of paradise generally associate in flocks of forty or fifty together. They form their nests in trees, and feed on fruit and insects. Their legs are so short that, when they alight upon the ground, they cannot, without difficulty, rise again into the air.
134. The BEE CUCKOO, or MOROC (Cuculus indicator), is an African bird somewhat larger than a sparrow, of rusty grey colour above, and whitish beneath; it has naked and black eyelids, a yellow spot on the shoulders, and the feathers of the tail somewhat rust-coloured, marked with white.
The great partiality which these birds have to honey and the maggots of bees, as food, is the cause of their pointing out the hives of wild bees to the inhabitants of those countries in which they are found. As soon as the moroc has itself discovered a nest of bees, it utters a loud and continued cry, as if for the purpose of exciting attention to its wants. If followed by any person, it flies slowly towards the place, alighting from time to time, to give opportunity for its attendant to come up. If the hive be in the cleft of a rock, a hollow tree, or in some cavity of the earth, the moroc will hover over the spot for a short time, and then sit, at a little distance, in expectation of the result, and apparently with a view of sharing in the plunder. When the bee-hunter has taken the nest, he generally leaves a share of the comb to supply the wants and repay the services of the bird. We are informed by M. Le Vaillant that the Hottentots have so great a regard for these birds that they consider it criminal to kill them.
135. WOODPECKERS are a numerous race of birds, distinguished by having a straight, strong, and angular bill, and their tongue very long, slender, bony, hard, and jagged at the end. Their toes are formed two forward and two backward.
The English species of woodpeckers are somewhat injurious in woods and plantations, from their propensity to pick holes in trees as places for their nests. By this means the rain has admission to the wood, and often causes its speedy decay. In forming these holes the birds fix themselves firmly against the trees by their claws and tail, the feathers of which are remarkably stiff: and they are able to pierce even the soundest and hardest timber.
It does not appear that any of the English species of woodpecker are of further use than by their subsisting on such insects as are found upon the bark, or in crevices or holes of trees; but there can be no doubt that they are very serviceable, by destroying great numbers of the grubs of these timber-eating beetles, some of which bore to great depths, and have holes of considerable size.
Some of the tribes of Turguses roast these birds; then bruise their bodies, and mixing the substance thus formed with fat, cover with it the points of arrows which they use in the chase, under a notion that such animals as are struck with these arrows immediately fall dead.
Of the bills of the WHITE-BILLED WOODPECKER (Picus principalis) some of the American Indians make a kind of coronets, by setting them in a wreath with the points outward. And such is the value at which they estimate these coronets, that they frequently purchase the bills at the rate of two and even three deer's skins each.—The flesh of some of the species is accounted good eating.
136. The SONG THRUSH, or THROSTLE (Turdus musicus), is a bird known by its almost straight bill, notched near the end of the upper mandible; and its quill feathers being rust-coloured at their inner base.
This bird inhabits woods of all the temperate parts of Europe.
Although the singing birds may not, on account of their melodious notes alone, be considered of any absolute use to mankind, yet these afford us so much delight, and convey to our minds so many pleasing and cheerful emotions, that they must not be overlooked even by such persons as are in search of the useful productions of nature.
For fulness and clearness of tone, the throstle is excelled by none of the British song-birds; and in plaintiveness, compass, and execution, it is much superior to the blackbird. Its notes are heard in woods and thickets during nearly nine months of the year, but are much too powerful to be pleasant when kept in a room. Some of the inhabitants of Poland catch thrushes in such numbers as even to load small vessels with them for exportation to other countries.
During long droughts in the summer-time these birds are of great service by hunting out shell-snails, which they eagerly pull in pieces as food for their offspring.
They build their nests in thickets or orchards, and sometimes in thick hedges near the ground. The outside consists of moss interwoven with dried grass or hay, and the inside is curiously and smoothly plastered. The female generally lays five or six eggs of deep blue colour, marked with black spots.
137. The FIELDFARE (Turdus pilaris) is a bird of the thrush tribe, distinguished by the tail feathers being black, except the outermost, which, at their inner edge, are tipped with white; and by the head and upper part of the body near the tail being of a hoary colour.
These birds annually visit England at the beginning of winter, arriving in large flocks from, the northern parts of Europe. They are also found in Syria and Siberia.
By the ancients, fieldfares, with some other species of thrush, were in great esteem as food. The Roman epicures, as we are informed by Varro, had them fattened with crumbs of bread mixed with minced figs; and the people employed for this purpose kept thousands of them in successive states of preparation for the table. With us they are sometimes eaten, but they are by no means esteemed as a luxury.
Fieldfares do not breed in this country. They generally leave us about the end of February or the beginning of March, and do not return till the commencement of winter.
138. The BLACKBIRD (Turdus merula) is a species of thrush, of black colour, with the bill and eyelids yellow.
The plumage of the female is generally brownish on the under parts.
These birds are found in nearly all the countries of Europe, and in several parts of Asia.
The song of the male blackbird is much admired in woods and fields, but it is too loud for the house. In mellowness and sprightliness it is esteemed equal to that of the thrush (136), but in compass and execution it is considerably inferior. The blackbird begins its song in the first fine days of spring, and, except during the season of its moulting, or change of plumage, continues it until the commencement of winter.
Blackbirds devour vast numbers of worms and shelled snails. They form their nests in thick bushes externally of moss, roots, and other similar materials; plastering them internally with earth, and lining them with dry grass. The eggs are four or five in number, of light blue colour, with pale rust-coloured spots. Persons who rear these birds feed them as soon as they are taken from the nest with a mixture of raw meat chopped small, bread, and bruised hempseed, somewhat moistened with water.
The song of the female is very different from that of the male.
139. The BULFINCH (Loxia pyrrhula) is a species of grosbeak, of cinereous colour, with the head, wings, and tail black, the breast and under parts red, the parts near the tail and the hindermost quill feathers whiter.
This bird is common in England and other parts of Europe.
Though in considerable esteem as song bird, the bulfinch, in a state of nature, has but three cries, all of which are unpleasant. With attention, however, it may be taught to whistle almost any simple tune of moderate compass. It is even possible to instruct these birds to whistle in duet; but, in this case, the composition should be so arranged as to be in correct harmony, let the birds begin, stop, or go on in whatever parts they please. The Germans are noted for training these birds, and great numbers of them are annually imported into this country from Germany.
Bulfinches are very common in some parts of England, building their nests in bushes or low trees about the month of May. Their eggs are four or five in number, of bluish colour, with brown and faintly reddish spots towards the large end.
140. The ORTOLAN (Emberiza hortulana) is a species of bunting, known by its quill feathers being brown, the first three whitish at the edges; and the tail feathers brown, the two lateral ones black on the outer side.
It is found in most countries of the Continent, but has never been caught in England.
During the months of July, August, and September, these birds become excessively fat; and, at that season, they are in great demand by epicures on the Continent. They are caught in vast numbers at a time, are kept in dark cages, and fattened for the table with oats and millet seed.
There is a great traffic in ortolans carried on by the inhabitants of the island of Cyprus; where they are pickled in spice and vinegar, and packed in casks, each containing from 300 to 400 birds. In this state they are exported to France, Holland, and England, where they are sold at very high prices. We are informed that, in productive years, 400 such casks, or on an average 140,000 of these birds, are sacrificed, to the palate of man, in the island of Cyprus only.
By many persons ortolans are kept in cages as singing birds; and they are much esteemed on account of their song.
141. The GOLDFINCH (Fringilla carduelis) is a small bird, distinguished by having all the quill feathers, except the two outermost, marked with yellow in the middle; the front of the head red, and the crown black.
These birds are found in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and are very common in most parts of England.
As a songster this bird ranks high, but particularly on account of the vivacity and sprightliness of its tones; and, in addition to these, the beauty of its plumage, and the facility with which it may be instructed to perform many amusing tricks, have rendered it a great favourite. One of the commonest of these that they are taught is to draw up their own food and drink, in small cups formed for that purpose. If a young goldfinch be placed with any other singing bird it will readily learn its song.
Goldfinches, during the winter season, assemble in flocks; but they separate into pairs at the commencement of spring. They frequently construct their nests in orchards or large gardens; forming them externally of moss interwoven with other soft materials, in a most beautiful, compact, and artificial manner; and internally with grass, horse-hair, wool, and feathers. The eggs are five in number, and of white colour, speckled and marked with reddish brown.
142. The CANARY-BIRD (Fringilla canaria) is a species of finch, the bill and body of which are generally of straw-colour, and the quill and tail feathers greenish.
It is found wild in the Canary Islands, and also in several parts of the Continent, particularly the woods of Italy and Greece.
It was not until about the middle of the fifteenth century that these birds were first brought into notice. They were then called sugar birds, from an opinion that they were peculiarly partial to the sugar-cane as food. For some time afterwards they continued so dear that they could only be purchased by persons of fortune.
In Germany, and particularly in the Tyrol, great attention has, of late years, been paid to the breeding and rearing of canary-birds. At Ymst, in the Tyrol, there was formerly a company, who, after the breeding season was over, sent out persons to different parts of Germany and Switzerland, to purchase birds from those who bred them. Each person generally brought with him from three to four hundred birds. These were afterwards carried, for sale, through almost every country of Europe: and were usually conveyed on the backs of those who sold them.
We are informed that, in the Canary Islands, these birds have no song; and it is a well-established fact that nearly all the birds which are kept in cages are indebted for their song to parents, the progenitors of which have been bred with nightingales or tit-larks.
If canary-birds be treated with proper care they will breed three or four times in the year, and become as vigorous and healthy in this country as in their native islands. They are subject to many diseases, to prevent which the greatest care should be taken to provide them with pure water and simple food.
143. The GREY LINNET (Fringilla linota) is a species of finch, of chesnut-brown colour, whitish beneath, the wings with a longitudinal white band, and the tail feathers edged on each side with white.
It is a native of woods and thickets in most parts of Europe, and is sufficiently common in our own island.
The plumage of these birds is of obscure colour, but their song is very sweet. In compass and execution it is inferior only to that of the nightingale. And so imitative are they that they will adopt the notes of almost any other bird with which they are brought up. The experiment was tried with three nestling linnets, one of which was reared under a sky-lark (145), another with a wood-lark (146), and the third under a tit-lark, and each adhered to the song of its instructor.
Linnets, when full grown, are caught, during the summer months, by twigs smeared with birdlime, or in nets; and, if properly attended to, they soon become tame. But if it be required that they should imitate the notes of other birds, they ought to be taken from the nest when only about ten days old.
These birds generally construct their nests in some thick bush or hedge, forming the outside with dried weeds and straw, and the inside of horse-hair and such soft materials as they can pick up. They lay four or five white eggs speckled with red.
144. The COMMON SPARROW (Fringilla domestica) is mentioned in this place only under a hope, in some measure, of rescuing its character from the extreme degree of odium with which it is loaded, in consequence of the supposed injury that it commits by feeding upon corn. This bird is by no means without its utility, even to the very persons who incessantly seek its destruction. On a calculation made by the late Professor Bradley, it was ascertained that a pair of sparrows, during the time they have young ones, destroy on an average 3360 caterpillars every week. He observed the two parents to bring to the nest at least forty caterpillars in an hour; and, on a supposition that they might have been thus occupied twelve hours every day, it will yield the above number per week. But their utility is not confined to the destruction of caterpillars. They likewise feed their young ones with butterflies and other winged insects, each of which, if not thus destroyed, would be the parent of hundreds of caterpillars.
In many parts of the world sparrows are in considerable demand as articles of luxury for the table.
145. The SKY-LARK (Alauda arvensis) is a small bird with slender bill, and the hind claw very long; the upper parts of its plumage are of a varied greenish brown colour, the external webs of the two outer tail feathers are white, and the two middle feathers are rust-coloured.
These birds are found in every quarter of the world except America.
To all persons capable of experiencing pleasure from rural scenes, the notes of the lark are beyond description animating and delightful. During fine weather, from the earliest part of spring, for several succeeding months, they are every day heard. These birds sing whilst hovering in the air, and sometimes at so vast a height that they seem but a speck in the sky. In sprightliness their notes exceed those of any other bird except the goldfinch; and in compass and execution are inferior only to those of the nightingale.
Sky-larks, whilst in the nest, are fed on worms and insects; but when they are fledged they subsist chiefly on seeds, herbage, and other vegetable substances. It is remarkable, respecting them, that owing to the great length of their hinder claw they are not able to perch on trees, but always alight on the ground. Here they form their nest, generally in some hollow place, and lay four or five dusky eggs spotted with brown.
In the winter season sky-larks collect into large flocks, and are caught with different kinds of nets in vast numbers for the table. The neighbourhood of Dunstable is chiefly celebrated for them. The season commences about the 14th of September, and ends the 25th of February; and, during that time, as we are informed by Mr. Pennant, about 4000 dozen have been caught. In the country adjacent to the river Rhone, in France, as many larks have been caught by one person in a day as loaded two mules: and in Saxony, where they are liable to a tax, an average sum equal to about 900l. sterling is annually paid to the city of Leipsic, on account of the larks that are caught in that neighbourhood.
146. The WOOD-LARK (Alauda arborea) is a bird smaller than the sky-lark, with slender bill, long hind claws, and a white streak over each eye, extending backward so as to form almost a ring round the head.
It is a very common bird in this country; and is found in other parts of Europe, and in Siberia.
There is, in the song of these birds, a plaintiveness and mellowness of tone which exceed those of any English songster except the nightingale; but their execution is much inferior to that of most others. They are not only heard in the day-time, but also during the night: and not only whilst in flight, but also when perched upon trees. Wood-larks are tender birds, and not easily to be reared in a cage.
Towards the beginning of winter they become fat, and are then considered excellent eating.
They generally form their nests in a bush near the ground, and have about four eggs of pale red colour, clouded, and mottled with red and yellow.
147. The NIGHTINGALE (Motacilla luscinia) is distinguished by the rusty brown colour, tinged with olive, of its upper parts, and by an ash-coloured ring on the naked part of the thigh above the knees.
It is a migratory bird, generally arriving in this country in the month of April, and leaving it in September, and then retiring, as it is supposed, into some parts of Asia.
This bird delights in solitude, and is naturally of a wild and timid disposition. His usual resort is the side of some hill, especially if there be an echo. Here, perched upon the branch of a tree or shrub, he most delights to sing; and interrupts his warblings by short pauses, as if listening and making responses to the echo of his own voice.
The song of the nightingale is peculiarly mellow and plaintive; and its compass, such as to reach through three octaves, and sometimes even more. In sprightliness it yields to the notes of the sky-lark, the linnet, goldfinch, and even the redbreast. A nightingale in singing its whole song was remarked to have sixteen different beginnings and closes; at the same time that the intermediate notes were generally varied in their succession with so much judgment, as to produce a most pleasing variety. It is to be remarked, that nightingales in general do not, in a wild state, sing more than ten weeks in the year; whilst those in cages continue their song for nine or ten months. Notwithstanding the naturally beautiful song of these birds, they readily adopt the notes of any other. They will even modulate their voice to a given key, and that so readily, that if any person whistle a note to it, the nightingale will immediately try in its strain an unison with that note.
Delightful as the song of the nightingale is, it is certain that some people have a dislike to it. We have even been told of a person who entertained so great an abhorrence for these birds as to have all the trees in his neighbourhood cut down, that, being thus without shelter, they might be driven away. It may perhaps be worth while to remark, in addition, that this person was delighted with the croaking of frogs.
The food of nightingales consists principally of insects, small worms, and the grubs of ants. They usually build their nests near the ground, among briers, in some low tree by a hedge or bush, and have four or five eggs.
148. The WHEAT-EAR, or WHITE-RUMP (Motacilla œnanthe), is a bird about the size of a sparrow, distinguished by its back being of a hoary colour; the forehead, a line above the eyes, and the rump being white, and by having a black band through each eye.
These birds are migratory, and found in the southern parts of England from about the beginning of May till the middle or end of September. They are also found on the continent of Europe, in Asia, and Africa.
On the downs of Sussex the number of wheat-ears is sometimes so great that more than eighty dozen have been caught by one person in a day. They become fat in the autumn, and are then much esteemed for the table. During a rainy season they are fatter than in a dry one; this is accounted for by their feeding not only on insects, but on earth-worms, which come out of the ground in much greater numbers during wet than in dry weather. These birds are caught, by the shepherds, in snares made of horse-hair, and placed beneath a long turf. Part of them are eaten in the neighbourhood, part are pickled and sent to London for sale, and many are potted. When eaten fresh, they are generally roasted, wrapped up in vine leaves.
Wheat-ears breed in old rabbit-burrows, in holes of cliffs, under old timber, and in other situations on the ground. They form a large nest, and have from six to eight light blue eggs.
149. The REDBREAST (Motacilla rubecola) is distinguished by the dusky olive colour of its plumage and its red breast. It is found in nearly every country of Europe.
This interesting little bird is by no means despicable as a songster, being equal or superior to the goldfinch in every particular except the sprightliness of its notes; and its song is more valuable, as it is occasionally heard even in winter and the earliest part of spring. So quick are its powers of imitation, that a young red-breast, educated under a very fine nightingale, which began already to be out of song, and was perfectly mute in less than a fortnight, sang three parts in four of the nightingale's notes.
These birds are serviceable to mankind by the myriads of injurious insects which they devour.
They form their nests in thickets or holes of old buildings; and have from five to seven eggs of dull white colour sprinkled with reddish spots.
150. The SWALLOWS are a tribe of birds chiefly distinguished by their short and depressed bills, their long wings, and the tail being generally forked.
Only four species are found in this country. These are all migratory. The common or CHIMNEY SWALLOW (Hirundo rustica) usually appears about the middle of April, and departs about the end of October; the MARTIN (Hirundo urbica) appears in the beginning of March, and leaves us about the middle of October; the SAND MARTIN (Hirundo riparia) appears after the middle of March, and departs about the middle of September; and the SWIFT (Hirundo apus) appears before the middle of May, and departs in the beginning of September.
All the English species of swallow skim along the air in pursuit of flies, gnats, and other insects; which, if it were not for the all-wise ordination of Providence, in directing their regulation by supplying food to these and other species of birds, would soon fill the atmosphere and destroy all our comfort. Hence (to say nothing worse of it) we see how injurious it is to destroy these birds, as is frequently the case, for mere amusement, and under an idle pretext, by many persons of improving their skill in shooting game.
Chimney swallows are sold as food in the markets of France, Spain, and Italy.
151. The ESCULENT SWALLOW (Hirundo esculenta) is a very small bird, distinguished by being blackish above and whitish beneath, and having the tail tipped with white.
It is found in Sumatra, Java, and some other islands in the Eastern seas.
There is a great trade to China in the nests of these birds. They are of texture resembling isinglass, and are, in shape, somewhat like a saucer with one side flatted. Their thickness is little more than that of a silver spoon, and their weight from a quarter to half an ounce. They are very brittle, and have a shining gummy appearance internally when broken; and are wrinkled or slightly furrowed externally. The best and clearest of these nests are nearly as white as writing paper, and, semi-transparent, having a few downy feathers hanging about them; but their general colour is white inclining to red. They are usually packed one within another, to the length of twelve or fifteen inches, and secured with split canes to prevent their breaking. The use to which they are principally applied is for the thickening of soups and broths, and to these they are said to communicate an exquisite flavour. Or, after having been softened in water, they are mixed with ginseng, and put into the body of a fowl, and the whole is stewed together, and constitutes a very favourite dish with the Chinese epicures. It has been calculated that the island of Batavia alone exports to China more than twelve tons' weight of these nests annually. A few are brought into Europe as curiosities and presents.
Sir George Staunton speaks of having seen great numbers of them in two caverns which ran horizontally into the side of a rock, in the Island of Cass, near Sumatra. They adhered to each other and to the sides of the cavern, mostly in rows, without any break or interruption. The nests are not taken until after the young ones are fledged; and, in general, this is done by persons who descend to the places where they are situated, by rope ladders.
152. The WILD PIGEON, or STOCK-DOVE (Columba ænas), is distinguished by its bluish plumage, the neck being of a glossy green colour above; by the wings being marked with two black bars, and the tip of the tail blackish.
These birds are in some degree migratory; large flocks of them arriving in England from the northern regions of the Continent at the approach of winter, and returning in the spring. Many of them, however, remain in this country during the whole year, and only change their quarters to procure food. Similar, but much more extensive, flights of wild pigeons are observed in some parts of Italy, where great numbers of them are caught for sale as food.
They build their nests in the holes of rocks, in old castles, churches, and towers, and sometimes in the hollows of trees, but never on the boughs; and they lay two white eggs.
The name of Stock-dove has been given to these birds, from their being the stock or origin of our domestic pigeon. In a domesticated state artificial cavities are formed for them to breed in; and they are frequently known to have young ones eight or nine times in the year. Thus, although they have only two eggs for each brood, their increase is sometimes extremely rapid.
The uses of pigeons in cookery are well known. The young ones only are selected for this purpose; and they are generally taken just before they are fledged.
There is a mode of enticing pigeons to resort to and reside in any place, by putting there what is called a "salt cat." This is made of loam, old rubbish and salt, and is a substance they are so fond of that instances have been known of farmers having thus deprived their neighbours of their whole stock of pigeons. But, by act of parliament, this practice is now rendered illegal. The shooting of pigeons is also an offence against the law. With respect to the formation of pigeon-houses, it may not perhaps be generally known that, although a lord of a manor may build them on his own land parcel of the manor, and a freeholder on his own ground, yet a tenant cannot do this without his lord's license.
Pigeons are generally considered an injurious stock to the farmer, as they subsist almost wholly on grain, and devour, in the course of a year, infinitely more than would amount to their own value.
There are more than twenty different varieties of the domestic pigeon, of which those called carriers, tumblers, croppers, and powters, are perhaps the best known.
153. The Carrier Pigeon, which is easily distinguished from others by a broad circle of naked white skin round each eye, and by the dark bluish colour of its plumage, is remarkable for the celerity and certainty with which it has been known to convey letters from distant parts. This arises from the natural attachment which the birds have for the places where they have been bred. The mode of employing them is to take them to the spot whence intelligence is to be brought, to tie the letter under their wing, and let them loose. They rise to a great height into the air; then, by an unaccountable instinct, they dart onward in a direct line to their home. The rapidity of their motion is such that they have been known to fly at the rate of near thirty miles an hour.
154. The RING DOVE (Columba palumbus) is a species of pigeon known by its cinereous plumage, the tail feathers being black on the hind part, the first quill feathers being whitish on the outer edge, and the neck white on each side.
It is common in our woods, and is also found in most other parts of Europe.
These birds differ from the last in the habit of constructing their nests on the branches of trees, and particularly on those of the fir-tree, and not in holes of rocks and buildings. As they are of considerably larger size than the domestic pigeon, and, whilst young, are almost equally good for the table, several attempts have, at different times, been made to domesticate them, by hatching their eggs in dove-houses under pigeons; but it has always happened that as soon as they were able to fly, they have escaped to their natural haunts in the woods.
155. The CROWNED PIGEON (Columba coronata, Fig. 33) is a bird about the size of a turkey, of blueish colour, with a crest four or five inches high upon its head, and the shoulders somewhat rust-coloured.
It is found in New Guinea, and some of the adjacent islands.
By the inhabitants of New Guinea crowned pigeons are killed for food; and, from their great size, they often afford a very important supply. As they are easily domesticated, they are frequently reared in poultry yards in the East Indies; and their appearance there is highly pleasing and ornamental.
156. The PASSENGER PIGEON (Columba migratoria) is known by its long tail, the circles round the eyes being naked and blood coloured, and the breast being of reddish colour.
These birds are found in different parts of North America.
Some idea of the immense numbers of passenger pigeons may be formed by stating that one continued flight of them is calculated by Mr. Weld to have extended at least eighty miles; and that a person is known to have killed more than a hundred and twenty at one shot with a blunderbuss. They migrate, at certain seasons, from one part of the country to another in search of acorns, berries, and other food. During these migrations they are very fat, and are either killed with clubs and guns, or caught in nets extended upon the ground, into which they are allured by tame pigeons, of their own species.
Passenger pigeons are brought, for sale, in sacksful to Quebec, where they are eagerly purchased as food. Such numbers of them are killed by the American Indians that they prepare their fat so as to be eaten like butter. And we are informed that some years ago there was scarcely any Indian town in the interior of Carolina in which 100 gallons of this fat might not at any time have been purchased.
It will easily be imagined, that, in every part of the country where these pigeons feed, they must prove, beyond all calculation, injurious to the farmer, by devouring the fruits of the harvest.