Who can look on the peacock, arrayed in gorgeous plumes of azure, purple, green, and gold, spread out to the bright rays of the sun, without being filled with admiration at the spectacle? The lark, that we may see far aloft in a country walk; the goldfinch, the yellow ammer, the swallow, the wren, and a number more of which we may occasionally catch sight as we pursue our way; the swan, conspicuous for its beauty and the elegance of its attitudes, which seem as if purposely intended for display, gliding over the water with arched neck, and the plumes of its wings proudly expanded, like sails, to catch the breeze; and others, far too many to be now enumerated, have each a charm for the eye and the heart. The music of birds arose towards heaven before the creation of man. Adam and Eve could not have heard their melody without lively emotions, and from their days to ours multitudes have felt with the poet, when he said: "A few, with melody untaught, Turned all the air to music, within hearing, Could hear such concert, and not join in chorus ? Coleridge says, as he asks the nightingale to repeat her strain: Not that all birds are musical; on the contrary, they are remarkable for a very great variety of tones and qualities of voice, from the cawing of the rook, the croaking of the raven, and the monotonous scream of the eagle, to the rich and varied modulations of the nightingale. Each species has a note peculiar to itself, and it is only to certain tribes that the power of melody is given. A voice capable of rapid inflections and full of harmony was not wanted by the rapacious tyrants of the air, by the birds that play and dive among the billows of the ocean, by the wild swan, and the host of water birds that make the marsh or the dark morass their home, nor yet by the feathered tribes that yield food for man. These, therefore, only emit sounds desirable for themselves; and it is to a multitude of smaller birds, the tenants of woodlands and groves, that we must listen, if we would hear a thousand voices swelling, in mingled harmony, the hymn of praise. In a savage state of society man hunts the timid for food, and contends with the ferocious for safety; but his influence is limited; the effects are scarcely appreciable; and the loss occasioned by the destruction he makes is speedily supplied. As he advances in civilisation he extends the field of his operations. Some desert tracts excepted-some regions where the excessive cold militates against human enterprise, man, wherever he spreads his race, gradually INTRODUCTION. anodifies the surface of the earth, its state of irrigation, and the proportion of vapour dissolved in the atmosphere, thereby materially affecting the botanical and animal productions of such localities. As the forests are gradually cleared, and give way to cultivated fields; as swamps are drained, and meadows assume their place; as mountain wastes become clothed with corn by his labours, the primitive tenants gradually recede, and others take their place. He introduces plants of various kinds, and with them their parasitic insects, and other animals which depend on them for subsistence; and thus, while, within certain bounds, the zoological features of such districts become perceptibly modified, he extends his influence to the most remote regions. Man, whose mental energies have brought so many of the Mammalia under subjection, and whose influence in changing the condition of a country, as it regards even the brute creation, is manifest wherever he takes up his abode, has made a successful conquest over the birds of the air. Bending the falcon tribes to his will, he has effected a permanent subjection over such as minister to his necessities, and whose flesh yields him wholesome and nutritious food. Still, it is manifest that other triumphs await him over "the feathered fowl;" surpassing, perhaps, any that have been hitherto achieved. Never were there such shows of birds remarkable for beauty and song as those with which only recently we have become familiar. In a late report we are told that the classes exhibited were very superior. In those of Belgium, vast improvement is described as very discernible, so that there was scarcely a bad bird among them-a striking contrast to those submitted to inspection in former years. So nice has the difference in the shades of colour become, that it could only be discovered by taking the birds out of the cages, and bringing them into close proximity. The feathers were of a most brilliant gold colour, and the green markings almost black. The goldfinch mules are said to have been of themselves a show, while various Britisla songsters presented a first-rate appearance-delighting the eye, as well as gladdening the ear. Of birds called GALLINACEOUS, no fewer than 346 species have been enumerated, yet of all these we have, as yet, only made eight available for domestication; while, at least, 230 actually inhabit sufficiently temperate regions to admit of their being, more or less, acclimatised in Europe. All are able to live in confinement, and what is more, they are prolific and eatable. Hence the attempts at acclimatisation which are being made by the Zoological Society of London, especially in connection with the game birds of the Himalaya. Similar efforts are being carried on in France. The common pheasant is a comparatively modern accession to the coverts of England, and is not naturally more adapted to our climate than several other species of true pheasants which are known to inhabit Mongolia, China, and Japan. The birds brought home by Mr. John Reeves, in 1838, bred in the Society's collection without difficulty, and were only lost by the accident of their number being insufficient to guard against casualties. Those splendid birds, the Cheer, the Monal, and the three Kaleeges-the Horsfield, the Whitecrested, and the Black-backed-all breed abundantly in the Zoological Gardens. The Society has always paid great attention to collecting water-fowl, which, from their general hardiness, are adapted to acclimatisation in this country; and no fewer than forty-seven species are mentioned as observable by visitors in their last "Guide." The science of Natural History is therefore becoming of increasing importance; and to its advancement the descriptions and engravings of the present Volume, like those of the two preceding, and the one on which we shall immediately enter, will be regarded, we trust, not merely as a popular, but a truly valuable auxiliary. Well may we now adopt the genial words of a poet : "Ye birds that fly through the fields of air, "Beautiful birds of lightsome wing, Bright creatures that come with the voice of Spring; "Swift birds, that skim o'er the stormy deep, Who steadily onward your journey keep, "Sweet birds, that breathe the spirit of song, CONTENTS. THE Bird is born from an Egg-Incubation-The Structure of Birds-The Skeleton-The Brain-The Inferior Limbs-The Head and Neck-The Digestive Apparatus-The Organs of Respiration and Voice-The Growth The Condor-The King Vulture-The Egyptian Vulture-The Griffon Vulture-The Turkey Vulture-The Black Vulture-The Bearded Vulture-The Sociable Vulture-The Vulturine Caracara Eagle-The Caracara Eagle- The Imperial Eagle-The Golden Eagle-The Wedge-tailed Eagle-The Bird of Washington-The White- headed Sea Eagle-The Fish-hawk, or Osprey-The Secretary Bird-The Harpy Eagle-The Falcons- The Iceland Falcon-The Peregrine Falcon-The Merlin-The Hobby-The Kestrel-The Goshawk-The Sparrow-hawk-The Common Kite-The Swallow-tailed Kite-The Common Buzzard-The Marsh Harrier- The Hen Harrier-The Barn Owl-The Eagle Owl-The Snowy Owl-The Burrowing Owl-The Virginian The Common Goat-sucker-The Fork-tailed Goat-sucker-The Whip-poor-Will - The Swift-The Swallow -The Sand-martin-The Esculent Swallow-The Martin-The Purple Martin-The Sordid Thrush- The Green Tody-The Common Kingfisher-The Black-headed Kingfisher-The Bee-eaters-The Yellow Shrike-The Great Shrike-The Red-backed Shrike-The Pied Fly-catcher-The Collared Fly-catcher -The Tyrant Fly-catcher - The Stone-chat-The Whin-chat- The Wheatear-The Redbreast-The Nightingale The Redstart-The Fan-tail Warbler-The Tailor Bird-The Hedge Sparrow-The Grass-> hopper Warbler-The Reed Wren-The Blackcap-The Meadow Pipit-The Tree Pipit-The Willow Wren-The Water Wagtail-The Pied Wagtail-The Golden-crested Regulus-The Wren-The Thrush- The Golden Thrush-The Missel Thrush-The Rock Thrush-The Mocking Bird-The Ferruginous Mocking Bird-The Water Ouzel-The Golden Oriole-The Lyre Bird-The Blackbird-The Crested Titmouse-The Great Titmouse-The Long-tailed Titmouse-The Cole Titmouse-The Blue Titmouse- The Bearded Titmouse-The Black-cap Titmouse-The Rock Manakin-The Green Manakin-The Fork- tailed Manakin-The Crested Pardalotus-The Cotingas-The Cedar Bird-The Umbrella Bird-The Bohemian Wax-wing-The Skylark-The Shore Lark-The Short-toed Lark-The Meadow Lark-The Crested Lark-The Lapland Bunting-The Snow Bunting-The Common Bunting-The Yellow Bunting, or Yellow Ammer-The Black-headed Bunting-The Cirl Bunting-The Cow Bunting-The House Sparrow- The Tree Sparrow-The Goldfinch-The Mountain Finch-The Poy Bird-The Common Linnet-The Mountain Linnet-The Lesser Redpole-The Mealy Redpole-The Chaffinch-The Siskin-The Canary Bird -The Greenfinch-The Bullfinch-The Pine Grosbeak-The Broad-shafted Whidah Finch-The Malurus Cyaneus-The Philippine Grosbeak-The Bottle-nested Sparrow-The Sociable Grosbeak-The Loxia Bengalensis-The Abyssinian Grosbeak-The Cap-more-The Pensile Grosbeak-The Baltimore Oriole-The Orchard Oriole-The Malimbic Tanager-The Black-collared Finch-The Scarlet Tanager-The Crossbill- The Common Starling-The Red-winged Starling-The Satin Bower Bird-The Raven-The Rook-The Carrion Crow The Hooded Crow-The Jackdaw-The Alpine Crow-The Blue Jay-The Piping Crow— The Common Jay-The Nut-cracker-The Chough-The Magpie-The Rice Bird-The Honey Sucker of New Holland-The Great Emerald Bird of Paradise-The Greater Bird of Paradise-The Magnificent Bird of Paradise-The King Bird of Paradise-The Rhinoceros Hornbill-The Unicorn Hornbill-The Crescent Hornbill-The Concave Hornbill-The Violaceous Hornbill-The Abyssinian Hornbill-The Red-billed Hornbill-The Euryceros Prevostii-The Common Creeper-The Wall Creeper-The Baker-The Splendid Sun Bird--The Topaz-throated Humming Bird-The Ruby-throated Humming Bird-The Tufted-necked Humming Bird-Gould's Trochilus-The Supercilious Humming Bird-The Nuthatch-The Hoopoe- The Jacamars-The Cuckoo-The Gilded Cuckoo-The Eastern Black Cuckoo-The Golden Trogon-The Red- Headed Malcoha-The Parti-coloured Barbet-The Spotted-bellied Tamatia-The Green Woodpecker-The Greater Spotted Woodpecker-The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker-The Great Black Woodpecker-The Golden- winged Woodpecker-The Ivory-billed Woodpecker-The Varied Woodpecker-The Larger Red-crested Woodpecker-The Wryneck-The Ash-coloured or Gray Parrot-The Indian Parrot-The Great Scarlet Maccaw-The Blue and Yellow Maccaw-The Rose-crested Cockatoo-The Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo -The Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo-The Blue-bellied Parrakeet-The Carolina Parrakeet-The Pavouan Parrakeet The Papuan Lory-The Toucan-The Saffron-coloured Hill Toucan-The Plantain Eater-The The Crowned Goura Pigeon-The Carrier Pigeon—The Carunculated Ground Pigeon-The Aromatic Vinago— The Magnificent Pigeon-The Nicobar Pigeon-The Ring Dove, or Cushat-The Passenger Pigeon-The Cape Turtle The Turtle Dove-The Galeated Curassow-The Peacock-The Chinese Peacock Pheasant-The Wild Turkey-The Domestic Turkey-The Talegalla, or Brush Turkey-The Guinea Fowl-The Common Pheasant-The Ring-necked Pheasant-The Chinese Pheasant-The Silver Pheasant-The Golden Pheasant -The Argus Pheasant-The Impeyan Pheasant-The Jungle Fowl-The Frizzled and Silky Fowl-The Wallakiki Fowl-The Capercaillie-The Black Grouse-The Red Grouse-The Ptarmigan-The Pinnated Grouse The Hemipodius Tachidromus-The Partridge-The Red-legged Partridge-The Quail—The Californian Quail-The Virginian Colin-The Ostrich-The Emeu-The Cassowary-The Apterix-The The Common Crane-The Crowned Crane-The Demoiselle-The Mantchourian Crane-The Scopolaceous Heron The Mute Swan-The Black-necked Swan-The Duck-The Summer Duck-The Eider Duck-The Chinese Teal -The American Wigeon-The Common Shelldrake-The Teal-The Gray Lag-The Domestic Goose-The Bean Goose-The Egyptian Goose-The Canada Goose-The Bernicle Goose-The New Holland Cereopsis- The Goosanders-The Grebes-The Divers-The Common Skua-The Common Gull-The Guillemot-The Puffin-The Great Auk-The Penguin-The Terns-The Wandering Albatross-The Petrels-The Gannet -The Pelican-The Cormorant-The Darter-The Tropic Bird-The Frigate Bird. |