The Natural History of Cage Birds Part 19

THE BLACK BONNET, OR REED BUNTING.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Emberiza Schoeniclus, LINNaeUS; L'Ortolan de Roscaux, BUFFON; Rohrammer, BECHSTEIN.

This bird is nearly the size of the mountain sparrow, its length being five inches three-quarters, of which the tail measures two and a half; the beak, four lines in length, is black on the upper part, and whitish on the under; the iris is dark brown; the legs, nine lines high, are dark flesh-coloured. The head is black, with reddish spots; a reddish white line extends from the base of the lower mandible quite round the head; the back is black, spotted with white and red, the rump alternately grey and reddish yellow; the throat is black spotted.

The feathers on the head of the male never return to as good a black after moulting, when in the house, as in its wild state, but remain always browner, and clouded with reddish white.

The head of the female is of a rusty brown, spotted with black; her brown cheeks are encircled with a reddish white streak, which, pa.s.sing above the eyes, unites with another which commences at the base of the beak; a dark streak pa.s.ses down the sides of the throat, which, with the under part of the body, is reddish white, much streaked on the breast with light brown; the colour of the back is lighter, but less clear than that of the male.

HABITATION.--In their wild state this species is found throughout Europe and the north of Asia, flying in small flocks, and returning in March in great flights. The females follow the males, and do not remain behind, as some pretend. During winter some of these birds are met with here and there amongst the yellowhammers; they frequent moist places, the banks of ponds and rivers; they run nimbly up the stalks of aquatic plants, but rarely ascend trees.

In the house it is the custom here to let them range a room; but they may be kept in a cage.

FOOD.--When wild they feed on the seeds of rushes, bullrushes, reeds, and gra.s.ses, as well as on the numerous insects that frequent the water-side.

In the house they seem to relish the first universal paste and poppy seeds, on which food they will live five or six years; but afterwards they droop and die of atrophy or scurf, as I have remarked several times.

BREEDING.--These birds make their nests among the reeds and brambles on the water-side. They lay five or six eggs of a dusky light grey, with dark grey spots and dusky lines rather indistinctly mingled.

MODE OF TAKING.--In autumn they enter the area or decoy with the chaffinch; in spring, when there is snow, they approach the barns and dunghills, and there, as well as in open places in the fields and on the hedges, they are very easily taken with a net or bird-lime.

ATTRACTIVE QUALITIES.--Their song is alternately weak and strong.

Three or four simple tones, mingled from time to time with a sharp _r_, distinguish it from every other; it is heard all the summer, even during the night. Of all the buntings, this is the most easily tamed; it is also a great amateur of music, approaching the instrument without fear, as I have observed several times, not of one only, but of many of these birds, testifying its joy by extending its wings and tail like a fan, and shaking them so that, by this exercise the feathers have been much injured. The female sings also, but its tones are weaker than those of the male.

THE SPARROW BUNTING.

Emberiza pa.s.serina, LINNaeUS; L'Ortolan Pa.s.serin; Der Sperlingsammer, BECHSTEIN.

This species must have been confounded with the preceding, or it would have been better known, as it is not rare either in autumn or spring. It is smaller and more slender than the former, being only five inches long, of which the tail measures two and a quarter; the beak is black above and light brown below; the iris is of a dark chestnut; the feet are nine lines in height and of a dusky flesh-colour; but the plumage in general is similar to that of the female of the preceding species.

The male has the top of the head red, with a grey longitudinal streak in the middle, and many black spots arising from the deeper shade of the feathers which appears in every direction; a dusky reddish white line pa.s.ses from the nostrils above, and also a little under the eyes, and widening behind on the temples, a chestnut brown colour breaks through a deep black, which reaches the sides of the neck and becomes a spot there.

The colours of the female are in general lighter, and the black does not appear on the top of the head; a reddish white streak pa.s.ses above the eyes, another descends from the base of the beak down the sides of the neck, a third, but of a dusky black, extends from each side of the chin to beyond the middle of the neck.

When kept in the house the black disappears from the head of the male, and the upper part of the neck becomes greyish white, spotted longitudinally with dusky black.

OBSERVATIONS.--Thick woods and bushes in a mountainous country are the favourite haunts of the sparrow bunting. It is a bird of pa.s.sage, which quits us in October or November and returns in April. It is not rare in Thuringia, particularly at the time of pa.s.sage; formerly it was only known in Russia. Its food, when wild, is insects and all kinds of grain.

In the house, it is fed on the same food as the reed bunting, which it very much resembles in its song and habits: it is taken in the same manner.

THE WHIDAH BUNTING.

Emberiza paradisea, LINNaeUS; La Veuve a collier d'or, BUFFON; Der Paradiesammer, BECHSTEIN.

This beautiful and rare species is the size of a linnet. Reckoning from the beak to the end of the side tail-feathers, it is five inches and a half in length. The beak is lead-coloured; the iris chestnut; the feet are flesh-coloured; the head, chin, front of the neck, back, wings, and tail are black; the back of the neck pale orange; the breast, thighs, and upper part of the belly are white, the lower part is black; the two intermediate tail-feathers measure four inches, are very broad, and terminate in a long filament; the two that follow, above three inches long, are very broad in the middle, narrower and pointed at the end, from their shaft springs also a filament more than an inch long; the other side feathers are only two inches and a half in length; the two in the middle amongst the longest a little diverging, and arched like a c.o.c.k's, are glossy, and more brilliant than the others.

The female is entirely brown, almost black, and does not acquire its proper plumage until the third year; whilst young it very much resembles the winter plumage of the male.

This bird moults twice in the year. At the first, which takes place in November, the male loses its long tail for six months, its head is streaked with black and white, the rest of its plumage is a mixture of black and red; at the second, which takes place late in the spring, it resumes its summer dress, such as it has been described above, but the tail-feathers do not attain their full length till July and drop in November.

OBSERVATIONS.--This beautiful species comes from Angola, and other parts of Africa, and is particularly common in the kingdom of Whidah, or Juida, in Guinea, and hence it takes its name. Though it was formerly brought in great numbers into Germany, it still costs there thirty or forty rix dollars. These birds are very lively, and constantly in motion, always waving their long tail up and down, often arranging their feathers and amusing themselves with bathing.

Their feeble song, though somewhat melancholy, is however very agreeable. They may be preserved from eight to twelve years if fed on canary seed, millet, barley meal, and the like, not forgetting to add from time to time lettuce, endive, or other green food. They must be given a large cage, to prevent their spoiling their fine tail.

THE DOMINICAN BUNTING.

Emberiza serena, LINNaeUS; La Veuve Dominicaine, BUFFON; Der Dominikanerammer, BECHSTEIN.

This species, six inches and three quarters in length, is smaller, more rare, and nearly twice as dear as the preceding. It comes from Africa likewise. The beak is red; the feet grey; the upper part of the head is black, but the top is reddish white, which extends over the whole of the under part of the body, the chin, and temples, and even the under part of the tail; sometimes this tint fades into pure white: the upper part of the neck and the back are black, but the feathers are edged with dusky white; the inner wing coverts being white, give the wings the appearance of being so when folded, but they are black, the quill-feathers alone are edged with white; the tail is also black; the two middle feathers terminate in a point, and are two inches longer than the others, which gradually diminish in length the farther they are from the middle, the three first only have the points white, but the two outer ones have the beard white and the edge pale orange.

The female is entirely brown, and the tail-feathers are of equal length.

This species also moults twice in the year: the male loses its tail for six months, and the white of its plumage becomes less pure.

OBSERVATIONS.--This bird requires the same treatment as the former, and sings in the same very agreeable manner.

THE SHAFT-TAILED BUNTING.

Emberiza regia, LINNaeUS; La Veuve a quatre brins, BUFFON; Der Konigsammer, BECHSTEIN.

This is also more rare than the Whidah bunting. Its length to the end of the short feathers of the tail is nearly four inches and a half. The beak and feet are red; the upper part of the body black; the sides of the head, the eyes, neck, and under part of the body are orange.

The female is brown, and has no long feathers in the tail. The winter plumage of the male is grey, like the linnet, but rather brighter.

OBSERVATIONS.--This bird comes from Africa, and is not less admired than the preceding.

THE INDIGO BIRD.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Emberiza cyanea, LINNaeUS; Fringilla cyanea, WILSON; La Veuve bleue, or le Ministre, BUFFON; Der Indigo Ammer, BECHSTEIN.

The length of this bird is five inches. The beak dark lead-coloured; the feet brown; the whole plumage is of the most beautiful blue, deeper and still more brilliant at the top of the head; the great quill-feathers are brown edged with blue; the tail brown, with a pale tint.

The female very much resembles the linnet in its colour, as the male does during moulting, for it is only blue when in full feather; but the male may be distinguished easily at all times by the sides of the wings being of a lighter grey than in the female.

OBSERVATIONS.--This species is most commonly found in Carolina, but is not rare about New York, where it arrives the beginning of April. It frequents the orchards when they are in bloom, and appears to prefer mountainous parts. Its agreeable song, which very much resembles that of the linnet, and the beauty of its plumage, render it a favourite with bird-fanciers. Its food is canary seed, millet, poppy seed, and bruised hemp seed.

THE PAINTED BUNTING.

Emberiza Ciris, LINNaeUS; Le Pape, BUFFON; Der gemahlte Ammer, BECHSTEIN.