Natural History in Anecdote Part 24

That the cuckoo is scarcely an amiable bird would appear from the following incident recorded by Dr. Stanley: "A young thrush, just able to feed itself, was placed in a cage. A short time after, a young cuckoo, which could not feed itself, was placed in the same cage, and fed by the owner. At length it was observed that the thrush fed it; the cuckoo opening its mouth, and sitting on the upper perch, and making the thrush hop down to fetch its food. One day, while thus expecting its supply, a worm was put into the cage, and the thrush could not resist the temptation of eating it, upon which the cuckoo descended, attacked the thrush with fury, and literally tore out one of its eyes, and then hopped back. Although so lacerated, the poor thrush meekly took up some food, and continued to do so till the cuckoo was full grown."

The Trogons.

The Trogons are among the most gorgeous of living birds; the brilliance of their plumage defying verbal description. Their main colour is "a metallic golden green, boldly contrasted with scarlet, black, and brown." "The Resplendent Trogon," says Mr. Wood, "is the most gorgeous of all this gorgeous family. Its long and gracefully curved tail is nearly three feet long, and the whole of the upper surface, and the throat, are a glowing green; the breast and under parts are bright crimson; the middle feathers of the tail black, and the outer feathers white." These birds are natives of Mexico.

The Kingfisher.

The Kingfishers are a wide-spread family, being found all over the world. There are numerous varieties, of which the Common Kingfisher and the Laughing Kingfisher are all that we can notice. The Common Kingfisher is indigenous in England where it usually lives on the banks of rivers and streams, feeding upon fish and insects. It makes burrows or holes in the banks, where it lays its eggs and rears its young; fishing from the low branches of trees which overspread the water. When the fish is caught it is beaten to death against some hard substance and then swallowed whole, head foremost. The Common Kingfisher is somewhat larger than the lark, and has a beautiful metallic coat which shimmers with a very pleasing effect as it darts among the greenery of the river bank or flies along the surface of the water. The Laughing Kingfisher belongs to Australia and is so named from its peculiar cry. It is one of the largest species of its kind. Other species belong to the Moluccas and New Guinea, and a few to America.

The Hornbill.

The Hornbill is famous for the size and shape of its bill, which is very large. There are several varieties, African and Indian. They live mostly on fruit, though some are said to eat reptiles. They have some very curious habits. Mr. Wallace describes the habit of the male Hornbill of shutting up the female during the period of incubation and feeding her through a small hole left open for the purpose.

The Goat-Suckers.

The goat-sucker is so called from the belief long entertained that it was in the habit of sucking the teat of the goat. There are several varieties and they are remarkable for the strangeness of their cries.

The Goat-sucker has sometimes been called the Night-jar from its discordant note, it is also known as the Fern Owl. Mr. Wood says:--"It may be seen at the approach of evening silently wheeling round the trees, capturing the nocturnal moths and beetles; then occasionally settling and uttering its jarring cry. When flying the bird sometimes makes its wings meet over its back, and brings them together with a smart snap. It arrives in England in the beginning of May and leaves in December. The Whip-poor-will and the Chuck-will's-widow both belong to this family."

The Whip-poor-Will.

The Whip-poor-will, which is peculiar to America, is celebrated for its singular melody, which is heard in spring to issue at night from the woods and glens of all parts of the country. It is a rapid warbling repet.i.tion of the name given to the bird, and is so distinctly p.r.o.nounced, as to seem like the voice of a human being. It is a solitary bird, remaining silent and sequestered during the day, but at night it often approaches a dwelling, and pours forth its song upon the door-step, or a neighbouring tree.

Chuck-Will's-Widow.

This bird, also peculiar to America, is about a foot in length, resembling in colour, form, and habits, the whip-poor-will. It is a solitary bird, frequenting glens and hollows, and seldom making its appearance during the day. Its song, which is uttered, like that of the whip-poor-will, at night, is a constant repet.i.tion of the sound, chuck-will's-widow, very distinctly articulated. It is common in Georgia, and is regarded by the Creek Indians with superst.i.tious awe. It is very seldom seen in the Middle or Eastern States; "but I recollect once," says an American writer, "to have known a whole village in New England in terror and amazement at hearing one of them singing its strange song on the edge of a swamp. The superst.i.tious part of the inhabitants considered it a prediction of some evil that was to befall a widow of the parish; but there was a diversity of opinion as to who the hapless Chuck-will's-widow might be."

The Swift.

The Swift, so called from the remarkable speed of his flight, is also known as "Jack screamer" from the shrillness of his voice. He winters in Africa and arrives in England about May, remaining until about the middle of August. He builds his nest under the eaves of houses and frequents steeples and other lofty edifices, forming his nest of gra.s.ses and feathers. The esculent swift, so called from the fact that its nests are edible, builds at the sides of almost inaccessible cliffs, a habit which renders the collection of these singular dainties very dangerous.

The nests are formed of mucilaginous sea-weeds and have the appearance of isingla.s.s. They are considered great delicacies in China, where they are found. They abound in Java. The swifts resemble the swallows in several particulars and have often been cla.s.sed with them, there are, however, important differences which separate them.

The Humming Bird.

There are hundreds of kinds of Humming Birds, nearly all of them natives of America, where they frequent the gardens, and sip the honey from the honeysuckle and other plants, like the hive and humble bee. The humming bird is several times larger than the latter, but flies so swiftly as almost to elude the sight. Its wings, when it is balancing over the flower, produce a humming sound, from which it takes its name. It is the smallest of the feathered race, and is one of the most beautiful in the elegance of its form, and the glossy brilliancy of its delicate plumage.

Small as it is, however, it is exceedingly courageous, and has violent pa.s.sions. The length of this bird is three inches; it lives partly on honey obtained from flowers, but devours also great quant.i.ties of very small insects. The general colour is a rich golden green on the upper parts; the breast and neck are of a dusky white. Its nest is very small, and is elegantly lined with the down of the mullein. It is covered on the outside with moss, to imitate the colour of the limb on which it is built.

ORDER III.

The Parrots.

The parrots never fail to interest, on account of their beauty of form and colour, and their apt.i.tude for imitating common sounds. There are some hundreds of species, belonging to different parts of the world, the c.o.c.katoos to Australia, the Macaws to America, and many varieties to Africa. The Macaws and some other kinds are among the most gorgeous of living birds and whether seen in their native wilds or in the aviaries of civilisation never fail to excite admiration. The c.o.c.katoo is distinguished from the true parrot by its crest; other species are differentiated by habit, size, colour, and form. The better known of these are, the Sulphur-crested c.o.c.katoo, the Ground parrot, the Macaw, the Grey parrot, the Green parrot, the Parrakeets and the Love-birds.

The Parrot's Intelligence.

Many stories are told of the remarkable powers of individual parrots and the singular appropriateness of their remarks on particular occasions.

These are often so startling as to arouse suspicion of their authenticity, and yet a moment's reflection will show that coincidence plays a large part in these demonstrations, and that many of the most astonishing examples of felicitous interjection, or repartee, are due to this, and not to any special gift of intelligence on the part of the bird. An ordinary parrot with half a dozen phrases which it is constantly repeating, will in the nature of things, often use them in singularly felicitous connection with current conversation. No notice is taken of the many instances in which the phrase is inappropriate and yet a few cases of remarkable fitness are held to demonstrate extraordinary intelligence. Teach a parrot such a simple rejoinder as "not I!" and the bird using it in answer to all sorts of questions, will often use it with apparent intelligence, but a doll might be made to show equal wit.

That parrots are taught to give certain answers to certain questions is of course true, but in these cases the questions suggest the answers and all the intelligence is shown by the interrogator. Those birds which have lived many years and acquired many phrases, will naturally, from the extent of their repertoire, the more often surprise their hearers; but that they show any greater intelligence may perhaps be doubted. That some of the parrots, and especially the Love-birds, show great feeling for each other and attachment to their owners is well known, but the claim sometimes made that they show greater intelligence than any other birds may be very safely disputed. The term "parrot-like," as applied to the repet.i.tion of lessons by rote which are not understood by those repeating them, involves no injustice to the parrot.

Famous Parrots.

There have been many famous parrots who have played their part in history if they have not rivalled the geese that saved Rome. The Emperor Basilius Macedo was induced by a Parrot, who cast a gloom over the guests at a banquet by continually calling out, "Alas, alas! poor Prince Leo", to liberate his son whom he had confined on suspicion of treason.

The Emperor observed the gloom of his guests and urged them to the pleasures of the table, when one of them is said to have responded, "How should we eat, Sire, when we are thus reproached by this bird of our want of duty to your family? The brute animal is mindful of its Lord; and we that have reason, have neglected to supplicate your Majesty in behalf of the prince, whom we all believe to be innocent, and to suffer under calumny." Whether the bird had been purposely taught this phrase, or had merely acquired it by hearing its frequent repet.i.tion does not appear. The following memorial which appeared in the London papers in October 1822 is quoted from the "Percy Anecdotes." "A few days ago, died, in Half Moon Street, Piccadilly, the celebrated parrot of Colonel O'Kelly. This singular bird sang a number of songs in perfect time and tune. She could express her wants articulately, and give her orders in a manner nearly approaching to rationality. Her age was not known; it was, however, more than thirty years, for previous to that period, Colonel O'Kelly bought her at Bristol for one hundred guineas. The Colonel was repeatedly offered five hundred guineas a year for the bird, by persons who wished to make a public exhibition of her; but this, out of tenderness to the favourite, he constantly refused. She could not only repeat a great number of sentences, but answer questions put to her.

When singing, she beat time with all the appearance of science; and so accurate was her judgment that if by chance she mistook a note, she would revert to the bar where the mistake was made, correct herself, and still beating regular time, go through the whole with wonderful exactness." A Grey parrot is said to have been sold in 1500, for a hundred guineas, to a Lord High Cardinal at Rome, on account of its ability to repeat, without error, the Apostles' Creed.

The Grey Parrot.

The Grey Parrot though less attractive in colour than other species, is perhaps the most popular of the parrot family on account of its superior accomplishments as an imitator of familiar sounds. Mr. Jesse secured from a lady friend a description of the performances of a grey parrot which resided at Hampton Court, from which we quote the following: "Her laugh is quite extraordinary, and it is impossible not to help joining in it, more especially when in the midst of it she cries out, 'Don't make me laugh so; I shall die, I shall die!' and then continues laughing more violently than before. Her crying and sobbing are curious; and if you say, 'Poor Poll, what is the matter?' she says, 'So bad, so bad; got such a cold;' and after crying some time, will gradually cease, and making a noise like drawing a long breath, say, 'Better now,' and begins to laugh." "If any one happens to cough or sneeze, she says, 'what a bad cold.' She calls the cat very plainly, saying, 'puss, puss,'

and then answers 'mew'; but the most amusing part is, that whenever I want to make her call it, and to that purpose say, 'puss, puss', myself she always answers, 'mew', till I begin mewing; and then she begins calling 'puss', as quickly as possible. She imitates every kind of noise, and barks so naturally, that I have known her to set all the dogs on the parade of Hampton Court barking, and the consternation I have seen her cause in a party of c.o.c.ks and hens, by her crowing and chuckling, has been the most ludicrous thing possible. She sings just like a child and I have more than once thought it was a human being; and it is most ludicrous to hear her make what one would call a false note and then say, 'oh la!' and burst out laughing at herself, beginning again in quite another key. She is very fond of singing 'Buy a Broom', which she says quite plainly, but if we say, with a view to make her repeat it, 'Buy a Broom', she always says 'Buy a _Brush_', and then laughs as a child might do when mischievous. She often performs a kind of exercise which I do not know how to describe, except by saying that it is like the lance exercise. She puts her claw behind her, first on one side and then on the other, then in front, and round over her head; and whilst doing so, keeps saying, 'Come on, come on!' and when finished she says 'Bravo, beautiful,' and draws herself up."

Parrot Talk.

To deny the parrot the understanding of what it says, is to relieve it of the responsibility of using bad language, and offering unsound advice, and this it surely needs. A gentleman who was in the habit of kissing his parrot and then kissing his wife, before leaving home in the morning, taught the bird to say, on being kissed, "Now kiss the missus,"

with the result that most of the gentlemen visitors who took any notice of the parrot were recommended to salute the lady of the house. Another parrot whose cage occupied a window close to a fashionable church continually accosted the pa.s.sers-by, by calling out "That's right! Go to church, keep up appearances." Such remarks must often be very embarra.s.sing, as must have been the words and actions of a parrot who frequently called out "Who kissed the pretty girl?" and then gave a perfect imitation of the sound of several kisses in succession. Perhaps no more aggravating use was ever made of a parrot's powers than that witnessed by Buffon, who says, "I have seen a parrot very ridiculously employed, belonging to a distiller who had suffered pretty severely in his circ.u.mstances from an informer who lived opposite him. This bird was taught to p.r.o.nounce the ninth commandment,--'Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour,' with a very clear, loud, articulate voice. The bird was generally placed in a cage over against the informer's house, and delighted the whole neighbourhood with its persevering exhortations."

ORDER IV.

Pigeons.

There are many varieties of pigeons, some being peculiar to certain districts, and others covering a much more extended geographical area.

Mr. Darwin divides the British varieties into four groups: I. The English carrier; the Runt, and the Barb. II. The Fantail; the African owl; the Short-faced Tumbler; the Indian Frill-back; and the Jacobin.

III. The English Pouter, and IV. The Dove-cote pigeon; the Swallow; the Spot; the Nun; the English Frill-back; the Laugher, and the Trumpeter.

The Pa.s.senger pigeon of America, the Nicobar pigeon of the Philippine Islands, the Great-crowned pigeon of New Guinea and the Hook-billed ground pigeon of Samoa are other important species.

Carrier Pigeons.

In the "Percy Anecdotes" there is a brief history of the use of carrier pigeons, which we quote as follows:--"The first mention we find made of the employment of pigeons as letter carriers is by Ovid, in his 'Metamorphoses', who tells us that Taurosthenes, by a pigeon stained with purple, gave notice of his having been victor at the Olympic games on the very same day to his father at aegina. Pliny informs us that during the siege of Modena by Marc Antony, pigeons were employed by Brutus to keep up a correspondence with the besieged. When the city of Ptolemais, in Syria, was invested by the French and Venetians, and it was ready to fall into their hands, they observed a pigeon flying over them, and immediately conjectured that it was charged with letters to the garrison. On this, the whole army raising a loud shout, so confounded the poor aerial post that it fell to the ground, and on being seized, a letter was found under its wings, from the sultan, in which he a.s.sured the garrison that 'he would be with them in three days, with an army sufficient to raise the siege.' For this letter the besiegers subst.i.tuted another to this purpose, 'that the garrison must see to their own safety, for the sultan had such other affairs pressing him that it was impossible for him to come to their succour;' and with this false intelligence they let the pigeon free to pursue his course. The garrison, deprived by this decree of all hope of relief, immediately surrendered. The sultan appeared on the third day, as promised, with a powerful army, and was not a little mortified to find the city already in the hands of the Christians. Carrier pigeons were again employed, but with better success, at the siege of Leyden, in 1675. The garrison were, by means of the information thus conveyed to them, induced to stand out, till the enemy, despairing of reducing the place, withdrew. On the siege being raised, the Prince of Orange ordered that the pigeons who had rendered such essential service should be maintained at the public expense, and that at their death they should be embalmed and preserved in the town house, as a perpetual token of grat.i.tude."

Pigeons on the Wing.

Pigeons are said to travel as fast as 2,200 yards per minute and to sustain flight for hundreds of miles at a stretch. The extraordinary manner in which they will find their way almost incredible distances has suggested all kinds of speculation as to the instinct or sense which guides them. A well known pigeon fancier, interviewed by a writer who published the results of the interview in "Chums" (Ca.s.sell & Co.) says, "The popular notion that carrier pigeons are guided by some 'direction sense,' or blind instinct, is quite as absurd as the French belief that they follow certain electrical currents. I have had to do with pigeons for over twenty years," he continued, "and I am open to demonstrate to anyone that in flight they are guided by sight alone. Of course, some pigeons are more sagacious, cleverer than others; but the fact remains, and everything tends to prove it. For example, no carrier-pigeon can find its way over a strange country: it often gets lost in a fog; and again, until taught by experience, it is often led astray by colours and objects which appear to be familiar. Quite recently, when I was trying some young birds, I had an instance of how easily they may be led astray. Close to my residence is a large red-brick building, which, to an old bird, would prove a good landmark miles away. In this case, however, the birds had not been tried before, although, of course, they had been let loose and had circled round the loft for several weeks. I took five birds with me some half-mile distant from home; and, letting them loose separately from the box, was rather surprised to see four out of the five, after circling round, fly off in an entirely opposite direction to that in which they should have gone. I soon solved the mystery, however, for, watching the birds, I saw they were making for another red-brick building, which showed up clearly in the sunlight.

Arriving there, each one evidently discovered its mistake, and, after flying back to the starting-point, found their whereabouts, and made for home--not in a straight line, however, for young birds invariably take a crooked, tortuous path, as though feeling their way. If pigeons are let loose on water (from a boat in a lake or wide river), they always make for the nearest land first; then, circling round, widening their circle and rising higher at the same time, they keep the starting-point in view until they sight some familiar object, in which direction they travel.

If a bird is dull, or 'stupid,' as we term it, and has been tried from various points of the compa.s.s, it often happens that, when taken to a distance (say thirty or forty miles), the time occupied in reaching the loft is three of four times longer than was expected; but, take it there next day, and the journey will be done quicker than a mile a minute. Why is that? Well, the birds get confused; some object which it may have seen on a former journey, may possibly stand out boldly; and, flying at once toward this, the bird may find itself just as far from finding the 'lay of the land.' Thus it may go from one familiar point to another before 'striking' for home. That is the reason why, in training a bird for a match, we take it only in the direction from which it will have to fly, increase the distance gradually, until the bird is familiar with the path it must travel and recognises each landmark as soon as it comes in sight."