popular JBtcttonarj) of &nimatrtr $sturc. 93 



said to make use of it when attacked by 

 birds of prey, by so violently ejecting it as 

 to baffle their attacks These birds were 

 formerly seen in considerable flocks on the 

 extensive plains of Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, 

 and in parts of Yorkshire ; but as cultiva- 

 tion has advanced, they are become very 

 scarce. They arc very shy and vigilant, and 



D. (OTIS TARDA.) 



by no means easy to shoot : they run with 

 great speed, and aid their course with their 

 wings, like the ostrich. They feed on grain, 

 seed, worms, &c. ; make their nest by merely 

 scraping a hole in the earth ; and lay two 

 eggs, as large as those of a goose, of a pale 

 olive tint, with dark spots. They seldom 

 wander far from their accustomed haunts, 

 and have a great unwillingness to rise on 

 the wing ; but when once in the air, they can 

 fly several miles without resting. 



The LITTLE BUSTARD. (Otis tetrode.) 

 This bird is very uncommon in England, 

 but in France it is taken in nets, like the 

 partridge. It is a very shy and cunning 

 bird ; if disturbed, it flies two or three hun- 

 dred paces, not far from the ground, and 

 then runs away much faster than any one 

 can follow on foot. The female lays three 

 or four eggs, of ft glossy green colour, in 

 June ; and as soon as they are hatched, she 

 leads them about as a hen does her chickens. 

 The length of this bird is seventeen inches : 

 the bill is pale brown ; irides red ; the top 

 of the head black, spotted with pale rusty ; 

 the sides of the head, chin, and throat, red- 

 dish with black spots : the whole neck in 

 the male is black, encircled with an irregu- 

 lar band of white near the top and bottom ; 

 the back and wings rufous and brown, crossed 

 with fine irregular black lines : the under 

 parts of the body, and outer edges of the 

 wings, are white ; the tail tawny and white, 

 with black bands : legs grey. The thick- 

 kneed Plover is sometimes also locally named 

 " Bustard," but belongs to another order, the 

 Grallatorial Birds. [See CEuiCNEMUS.] 



BUTCHER-BIRD. [See SHRIKE.] 

 BUTEO. [See BUZZAKD.] 



BUTTERFLY. (Papilio.) The popular 

 English name of an extensive group of beau- 

 tiful insects, belonging to the order Lejn- 

 doptera, as they appear in their fully de- 

 veloped state. They are distinguished from 

 other insects by these generical characters : 

 their antennae are clubbed at the extremi- 

 ties ; their wings, when at rest, are closed 

 together over their backs ; and they fly only 

 in the day-time. Butterflies are also dis- 

 tinguished from the other Lepidoptera by 

 the superior brilliancy of their colouring, 

 and by the beauty of the under as well as 

 the upper side of the wings. " The Butter- 

 fly," as Mr. Knapp observes, " light, airy, 

 joyous, replete with life, sports in the sun- 

 shine, wantons on the flower, and trips from 

 bloom to bloom, gay as the brilliant morn, 

 and cheerful as the splendour of heaven : 

 heat and light appear to be the very prin- 

 ciple of his being ; in a cloudy or a chilly 

 atmosphere his energies become suspended, 

 and, closing his wings, he reposes like a sickly 

 thing upon some drooping flower : but let 

 the cloud disperse, the sun break out, he 

 springs again to active life ; associating with 

 the birds of day, and denizen of the same 

 scenes, he only seems of a less elevated order." 



Butterflies are very careful in depositing 

 their eggs in places where they are likely to 

 be hatched with the greatest safety and suc- 

 cess. They lie dormant through the winter ; 

 but when the sun calls forth vegetation, and 

 vivifies the various eggs of insects, cater- 



pillars are seen on various plants, eating 

 their leaves, and preparing for a state of 

 greater perfection. Their form is long and 



cylindrical, and they consist of thirteen seg- 

 ments, including the head ; they have eight 

 feet, and nine spiracles on each side. Those 

 feet which are attached in pairs to the first 

 three segments of the trunk inclose the parts 

 which are developed into the permanent legs 

 of the future Butterfly ; the remaining five 

 pairs of feet are membranous, short, and 

 thick, and are finally lost with the moultings 

 of the skin. 



The external form of the chrysalids varies 

 according to the species of Butterfly that in- 

 habits them ; in all, however, there are aper- 

 tures opposite to the thorax, by which re- 

 spiration is carried on during the whole 

 period of their inactive state. After the 

 appointed time, when the creature has ac- 

 quired sufficient vigour, the shell is broken, 

 which at once constituted " the grave of the 

 caterpillar and the cradle of the butterfly : " 

 the down already grown upon the insect has 

 completely separated it on all sides from 

 I the shell, which by the action of the head 

 | is broken opposite to that part, and affords 

 free egress to the prisoner it so long confined. 

 The wings of the Butterfly, on its first ap- 

 pearance, are closely folded ; but by the help 

 of a fluid constantly circulating through 

 them, they are soon expanded, and suffi- 

 ciently hardened, by the action of the air, 

 to endure the efforts of flying. It is then 

 that the insect enters upon a more enlarged 

 sphere of action, with increased powers : he 

 ranges from flower to flower, darting his 

 rostrum into their nectaries for the delicious 

 stores they contain. Then, too, in the full 



