Natural History in Anecdote Part 25

ORDER V.

Fowls.

In this order (_Gallinae_) the Grouse, the Ptarmigan, the Quail, the Peac.o.c.k, the Pheasant, the Jungle Fowl, the Guinea Fowl, and the Wild Turkey are included; as well as our Domestic Fowls to the forms of which they more or less closely approximate. The Black Grouse, and the Red Grouse are found throughout Great Britain; the Prairie Grouse in North America. The Ptarmigan is found in Scotland and in the North of the continent of Europe; it changes colour with the seasons, becoming snow-white in winter. The Quail is found in many parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa; it visits England in the early summer and leaves about October for Africa, where it winters.

The Peac.o.c.k.

The Peac.o.c.k has been famous in the East from before the days of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, and has been much affected in England in more recent years, on account of its beauty, as an adornment of English lawns, and as a royal dainty upon the festive board. It may be said still to keep its place as an ornament of the park, but it is no longer the choice of the epicure and seldom appears at the feast. It is said to have come originally from Persia and has doubtless reached the west from India where it still abounds. Colonel Williamson says that he has seen, in the pa.s.ses of the Jungletery district, as many as twelve or fifteen hundred pea-fowls of various sizes within sight of one spot. "The gorgeous plumes that adorn the Peac.o.c.k," says Mr. Wood, "do not compose the tail, as many suppose, but are only the tail-coverts. The tail feathers themselves are short and rigid, and serve to keep the train spread, as may be seen when the bird walks about in all the majesty of his expanded plumage. Although pea-fowl seek their food on the ground, they invariably roost on some elevated situation, such as a high branch, or the roof of a barn or haystack." The peac.o.c.k is swift of foot, but heavy on the wing, and remains ordinarily on the ground, where it finds its food. It has a harsh voice. The peahen is a plain, homely looking bird, lacking the gorgeous tail which adorns her lord and master.

Guillim, an old writer quoted by Captain Brown, says: "The Peac.o.c.k is so proud, that when he erecteth his fan of plumes, he admireth himself. He displayeth his plumes against the rays of the sun, that they may glister the more gloriously: and he loseth this beautiful train yearly with the fall of the leaf; at which time he becometh bashful, and seeketh corners, where he may be secret from the sight of men, until the spring of the year, when his train beginneth to be renewed. And such is the quality of many dames, who being painted and richly attired, cannot keep within doors; but being undressed, and in their own hue, they are loath any man should see them."

The Pheasant.

There are several varieties of the Pheasant, of which the Peac.o.c.k Pheasant of Burmah, the Argus Pheasant of Malacca, the Golden Pheasant of China, and the Common Pheasant are the better known species. The Common Pheasant is a native of the British Isles, where it is cultivated and preserved. Under some circ.u.mstances the c.o.c.k pheasant displays considerable pugnacity and a story is told of a young lady who when walking near Stirling was attacked by one which, "with spurs and beak began a furious a.s.sault. Seeing no escape from the enraged bird, she seized her adversary, and carried him home. He was, however, soon released, and when the door was opened, he went out without any sign of fear, and, with a deliberate step, paced backwards and forwards in front of the house, and manifested an inclination to join the fowls in the poultry yard. The only way to account for this a.s.sault is, that the lady wore a scarlet mantle, to which the pheasant may have had such an antipathy as the turkey c.o.c.k manifests to that colour; an antipathy evinced by many other birds, and various quadrupeds; and the cause of which is to us a mystery."

The Partridge.

The partridge is an interesting bird and shows great intelligence in the care of its young. Mr. Jesse mentions an instance quoted by Mr. Wood. "A gentleman who was overlooking his ploughman, saw a partridge run from her nest, almost crushed by the horses' hoofs. Being certain that the next furrow must bury the eggs and nest, he watched for the return of the plough, when to his great astonishment, the nest, previously containing twenty-one eggs, was vacant. After a search, he found the bird sitting upon the eggs under a hedge, nearly forty yards from the nest, to which place she and her mate had removed the whole number in less than twenty minutes." Mr. Markwick relates, that "as he was once hunting with a young pointer, the dog ran on a brood of very small partridges. The old bird cried, fluttered, and ran trembling along just before the dog's nose, till she had drawn him to a considerable distance; when she took wing and flew farther off, but not out of the field. On this the dog returned nearly to the place where the young ones lay concealed in the gra.s.s; which the old bird no sooner perceived, than she flew back again, settled just before the dog's nose, and a second time acted the same part, rolling and tumbling about till she drew off his attention from the brood, and thus succeeded in preserving them."

The Wild Turkey.

The Wild Turkey was at one time common in all parts of America, but it is fast diminishing, and is now seldom found except in the western territories. It is often larger than the domestic turkey; it is gregarious and feeds on grain, seeds, and fruits. It is the original stock of the domestic turkey. Mr. Lucien Bonaparte has given a long and interesting account of this bird. He says they sometimes fly across broad rivers, ascending the tallest trees on one side, and the whole flock starting together. Some of the younger and weaker birds sometimes fall into the water and either paddle to the sh.o.r.e or are drowned.

The Domestic Turkey.

The Wild Turkey was first carried to Europe and other parts of the eastern continent and domesticated in the 16th century. It is now extensively diffused over the world, and its flesh is ranked among the most delicious poultry. The c.o.c.k is a noisy fellow, strutting about, and displaying his plumage with great ostentation; he is also very quarrelsome. The hen seems to possess a more modest and retiring disposition, wandering about the fields with a melancholy and dejected air, occasionally uttering a short plaintive note. She is exceedingly attached to her young, but leads them away from danger without ever attempting to defend them by repelling an attack.

The Sagacity of the Turkey.

Of the sagacity of the Turkey Audubon says: "While at Henderson, on the Ohio, I had a fine male turkey, which had been reared from its earliest youth under my care. It became so tame that it would follow any person who called it, and was the favourite of the little village. Yet it would never roost with the tame turkeys; but regularly betook itself at night to the roof of the house, where it remained till dawn. When two years old it began to fly to the woods, where it remained for a considerable part of the day, and returned to the enclosure as night approached. It continued this practice until the following spring, when I saw it several times fly from its roosting-place to the top of a high cotton-tree on the bank of the Ohio, from which, after resting a little, it would sail to the opposite sh.o.r.e, the river being there nearly half a mile wide, and return towards night. One morning I saw it fly off, at a very early hour, to the woods in another direction, and took no particular notice of the circ.u.mstance. Several days elapsed, but the bird did not return. I was going towards some lakes near Green River, to shoot, when, having walked about five miles, I saw a fine large gobbler cross the path before me, moving leisurely along. Turkeys being then in prime condition for the table, I ordered my dog to chase it and put it up. The animal went off with great rapidity, and as it approached the turkey, I saw, with great surprise, that the latter paid little attention. Juno was on the point of seizing it, when she suddenly stopped, and turned her head towards me. I hastened to them; but you may easily conceive my surprise when I saw my own favourite bird, and discovered that it had recognised the dog, and would not fly from it, although the sight of a strange dog would have caused it to run off at once. A friend of mine, being in search of a wounded deer, took the bird on his saddle before him, and carried it home for me. The following spring it was accidentally shot, having been taken for a wild bird, and brought to me, on being recognised by the red ribband which it had round its neck."

Sitting Turkey c.o.c.ks.

The male Turkey is said to be but an indifferent father, but there are some curious ill.u.s.trations on record of his displaying maternal instincts. Captain Brown tells of a c.o.c.k Turkey near Abingdon who manifested a desire to sit and was allowed to experiment with thirteen eggs, from which in three weeks he hatched twelve fine chickens. A precisely similar incident occurred many years ago in Sweden, according to the same authority.

Domestic Fowls.

The Domestic Fowls are too well known to need description here. They are said to have descended from the Java species and have long been the subjects of systematic and careful culture. John Guillim who wrote in 1677 and whose quaint description of the peac.o.c.k we have already quoted, says: "As some account the eagle the queen, and the swallow or wagtail the lady, so may I term this (the c.o.c.k) the knight amongst birds, being both of n.o.ble courage, and also prepared evermore to the battel, having his comb for an helmet, his sharp and hooked bill for a faulchion or court-lax, to slash and wound his enemy: and as a compleat soldier armed cap-a-pe, he hath his legs armed with spurs, giving example to the valiant soldier to expell danger by fight, and not by flight. The c.o.c.k croweth when he is victor and giveth a testimony of his conquest. If he be vanquished, he shunneth the light, and society of men." The c.o.c.k is a courageous bird and in fighting with his own kind or in the defence of his family will show great gallantry and endurance. Buffon thus describes an encounter of which he was an observer. He says: "I have just witnessed a curious scene. A sparrow hawk alighted in a populous court-yard; when a young c.o.c.k, of this year's hatching, instantly darted at him, and threw him on his back. In this situation, the hawk defending himself with his talons and his bill, intimidated the hens and turkeys, which streamed tumultuously around him. After having a little recovered himself, he rose and was taking wing; when the c.o.c.k rushed upon him a second time, upset him, and held him down so long, that he was easily caught by a person who witnessed the conflict." The c.o.c.k is said to show many of the qualities which belong to knighthood. He is jealous, and has been known to kill a hen which has hatched a foreign brood; and he is chivalrous both in the treatment of his hens and in their defence against their enemies. He has a sense of justice too, which he does not hesitate to a.s.sert on occasion. Mrs. Bowdich says: "On one occasion I saw a c.o.c.k pursue a hen round the poultry-yard; and, as she had a worm in her bill, I at first thought he was so acting from a greedy desire to have the delicious morsel; but when he at last caught her, he gave her a knock on the head with his beak, and, taking up the worm which she had dropped, brought it to another hen, who stood witnessing the affray in mute expectation. A further knowledge of the habits of these birds has made me feel sure she had purloined the worm from the other, and the c.o.c.k had restored it to its rightful owner." Though natural fighters, c.o.c.ks sometimes form friendships for each other, and Captain Brown records an instance of two game c.o.c.ks, belonging to the same owner, who obstinately declined combat though all means were tried to excite mutual animosity. These same birds when placed in the ring with other c.o.c.ks fought furiously, and in both cases destroyed their antagonists.

The Common Hen.

The hen gathering her chickens under her wings is a favourite type of motherhood, and it cannot be denied that in many ways the hen shows herself a model parent. The care she will expend upon her brood, or upon a brood of ducks which she may have hatched, is well known, and the courage she will show in their defence is well attested. The following from the "Percy Anecdotes" is an ill.u.s.tration of this: "In June, 1820, a contest of rather an unusual nature took place in the house of Mr.

Collins, at Naul in Ireland. The parties concerned were, a hen of the game species, and a rat of the middle size. The hen, in an accidental perambulation round a s.p.a.cious room, accompanied by an only chicken, the sole surviving offspring of a numerous brood, was roused to madness by an unprovoked attack made by a voracious rat, on her unsuspecting companion. The shrieks of the beloved captive, while dragged away by the enemy, excited every maternal feeling in the affectionate bosom of the feathered dame: she flew at the corner whence the alarm arose, seized the lurking enemy by the neck, writhed him about the room, put out one of his eyes in the engagement, and so fatigued her opponent by repeated attacks of spur and bill, that in the s.p.a.ce of twelve minutes, during which time the conflict lasted, she put a final period to the invader's existence; nimbly turned round, in wild but triumphant distraction, to her palpitating nestling, and hugged it in her victorious bosom." In this same work there is a story of a hen, near Exeter, which devoted itself with much a.s.siduity and success to catching mice. Hens often take to other animals and have been known to show great attachment to kittens, and to dogs, instances being recorded of hens living in dogs'

kennels and laying their eggs there under canine protection. The concern shown by hens, when the ducks they may have hatched take to the water, is very amusing. Captain Brown gives an instance of a hen which had become used to this phenomena, from having been employed in hatching successive broods of ducks, and which showed equal concern when a brood of her own chickens avoided the watery element.

ORDER VI.

The Hoazin.

The Hoazin is the only bird of this order. It belongs to Brazil and Guiana and is nearly as large as the peac.o.c.k. It has been variously cla.s.sified but, differing in important characteristics from any other bird, it is deemed best to place it in an order by itself.

ORDER VII.

Birds of Prey.

This order includes the Vultures, Condors, Eagles, Kites, Falcons, Goshawks, Sparrowhawks, Buzzards, Kestrals, Owls, &c., &c. Interesting as many of these birds are the briefest possible mention is all that we can give of some of them.

The Eagle.

Whatever may be said of the claims of other birds, the Eagle is traditionally the king of the air, as the lion is king of the forest.

There are a large number of species of which the Golden Eagle, the Spotted Eagle, the Imperial Eagle and the White-headed Sea Eagle are among the best known varieties. The Golden Eagle belongs to Europe and America, and is sometimes found in Scotland and Ireland. It lives upon smaller birds and animals: hares, young lambs and deer, grouse, plovers, &c., &c. Though the eagle has often attacked children the stories of its carrying them away are generally discredited. Eagles often hunt in pairs and show great ferocity and determination in attacking their prey.

Eagle Shooting.

Mr. St. John gives the following description of a shooting expedition in which he bagged a pair of splendid birds. "On a very dark morning I sallied out with Malcolm to take a shot at the eagles, and at last I was ensconced in a hiding-place (near the dead body of a sheep) which gave me hardly room to stand, sit, or lie. It was scarcely grey dawn when a bird with a slow, flapping flight pa.s.sed, and alighted out of sight, but near, for I heard him strike the ground, and my heart beat faster. What was my disappointment, when his low, crowing croak announced a raven; he hopped and walked suspiciously round the sheep, till, supposing the coast clear, he hopped upon the carcase, and began with his cut and thrust beak to dig at the meat. Another raven soon joined him, and then two more, who, after a kind of parley, were admitted to their share of the banquet. They suddenly set up a croak of alarm, stopped feeding, and all turned their knowing eyes in one direction. At that moment I heard a sharp scream, but very distant. The black party heard it too, and instantly darted off, alighting again at a little distance. Next came a rushing noise, and the monarch of the clouds lighted at once on the sheep. He quietly folded up his wings, and, throwing back his magnificent head, looked round at the ravens, as if wondering at their impudence in approaching his breakfast; they kept a respectful silence, and hopped further away. The royal bird then turned his head in my direction, his bright eye that instant catching mine, as it glanced along the barrel of my gun. He rose, I drew the trigger, and he fell quite dead six yards from the sheep. As one eagle is always followed by a second, I remained quiet, in hopes that his mate was not within hearing of my shot. I had not waited many minutes when I saw the other eagle skimming low over the brow of the hill towards me. She did not alight at once, but her eye catching the dead body of her mate, she wheeled up into the air. I thought she was lost to me, when presently I heard her wings brush close over my head, and she wheeled round and round the dead bird, turning her head downwards to make out what had happened. At times she stooped so low that I could see the sparkle of her eye, and hear her low, complaining cry. I watched the time when she turned up her wing towards me, and dropped her actually on the body of the other. She rose to her feet, and stood gazing at me with a reproachful look, and would have done battle, but death was busy with her, and as I was loading in haste she reeled, and fell perfectly dead."

The White-Headed Eagle.

The white-headed or bald eagle, is a native of North America, and feeds equally on the produce of the sea and of the land, but is particularly fond of fish. "In procuring these," says Wilson, "he displays in a very singular manner the genius and energy of his character, which is fierce, contemplative, daring and tyrannical, attributes not exerted but on particular occasions, but when put forth overwhelming all opposition."

"Elevated," says Wilson, in his "American Ornithology," "on the high dead limb of some gigantic tree, that commands a high view of the neighbouring sh.o.r.e and ocean, he seems calmly to contemplate the motions of the various feathered tribes that pursue their busy avocations below; the snow-white gulls, slowly winnowing the air; the busy tringae, coursing along the sands; trains of ducks streaming over the surface; silent and watchful cranes, intent and wading; clamorous crows; and all the winged mult.i.tude that subsist by the bounty of this vast liquid magazine of nature. High over all these hovers one, whose action instantly arrests all attention. By his wide curvature of wing, and sudden suspension in the air, he knows him to be the fish-hawk, settling over some devoted victim of the deep. His eye kindles at the sight, and balancing himself with half-opened wings on the branch, he watches the result. Down, rapid as an arrow from heaven, descends the distant object of his attention, the roar of its wings reaching the ear as it disappears in the deep, making the surges foam around! At this moment the looks of the eagle are all ardour; and levelling his neck for flight, he sees the fish-hawk once more emerge, struggling with his prey, and mounting into the air with screams of exultation. This is the signal for the eagle, who, launching in the air, instantly gives chase, and soon gains on the fish-hawk; each exerts his utmost power to mount above the other, displaying in these rencontres the most elegant and sublime aerial evolutions. The unenc.u.mbered eagle rapidly advances, and is just on the point of reaching his opponent, when with a sudden scream, probably of despair and honest execration, the latter drops his fish; the eagle poising himself for a moment, as if to take a more certain aim, descends like a whirlwind, s.n.a.t.c.hes it in his grasp ere it reaches the water, and bears his ill-gotten booty silently away into the woods."

The Vulture.

The Vultures have been sometimes called the Hyaenas of the feathered world, and judged by their habits, they certainly justify the term. As scavengers they serve a useful purpose in Eastern lands and deserve the protection they are said to receive from the natives. The Griffin Vulture of Europe, Turkey, Persia and Africa, the Egyptian Vulture of the Nile country, and the Condor, or American Vulture, are the best known varieties.

The Condor.

The American Condor is the largest of the birds of prey, and is said to partake of the ferocity of the Eagle and the filthiness of the Vulture.

"Two of these birds, acting in concert," says an American writer, "will frequently attack a puma, a llama, a calf, or even a full-grown cow.

They will pursue the poor animal with unwearied pertinacity, lacerating it incessantly with their beaks and talons, until it falls exhausted with fatigue and loss of blood. Then, having first seized upon its tongue, they proceed to tear out its eyes, and commence their feast with these favourite morsels. The intestines form the second course of their banquet, which is usually continued until the birds have gorged themselves so fully as to render themselves incapable of using their wings in flight." This bird is said to measure from three and a half to four feet from head to tail.

The King of the Vultures.