292 



PASSERES. BIRDS. CORACIAD^E. 



late in the season, that the period of migration arrives 

 before the young are able to fly, and in this case the 

 parents have been observed to leave their progeny to 

 perish by starvation. 



Occasionally, the sparrows, which take advantage of 

 every cavity about our houses for their own purposes, 

 finding the nest of a martin ready for use, take posses- 

 sion of it without ceremony ; in this case the rightful 

 owners endeavour, generally with success, to oust the 

 intruder from their domicile. Sometimes, however, 

 the sparrow in possession obstinately refuses to quit 

 his usurped abode, and then the martins have been 

 seen to adopt a very curious mode of revenging them- 

 selves, which we may describe here, as it also furnishes 

 another example of a community of action in these 

 birds. When the owners of the nest find that all their 

 endeavours are insufficient to turn out the robber, they 

 collect their friends and neighbours in great numbers, 

 and watch the moment when the sparrow is engaged 

 in the business of incubation ; then, the whole body, 

 each bearing a mass of soft earth in its bill, rushes at 

 once to the nest, and in a few moments the aperture 

 at the top is closed by a solid mass of mud, which 

 no efforts on the part of the unhappy prisoner can 

 possibly break through. So determined are they, 

 indeed, to effect their object thoroughly, that, in a case 

 recorded by the Vicomte de Tarragon, the mass of 

 cky stuffed into the aperture was " nearly of the form 

 and size of a small hen's egg, the two ends projecting 

 into and out of the nest." The sparrow was found 

 dead upon her eggs. 



About the end of September, or the beginning of 

 October, in this country, the martins collect in flocks, 

 preparatory to their departure for their winter quarters. 

 They assemble on the house-tops, and sweep about in 

 the streets, even of large towns, in such a manner as 

 must attract the attention of the most unobservant pas- 

 sengers. About the middle of October they leave this 

 country; but individuals, and even small flocks, are 

 sometimes seen at a much later period. The latest 

 on record, is that of a martin seen at Sidmouth in 

 Devonshire, by the Rev. W. F. Cornish, on the 10th 

 December, 1835. 



FAMILY IV. CORACIAD^l. 



With the present family we commence the series ot 

 groups, which, although united with the Fissirostres by 

 all modern ornithologists, present so many differences 

 from the birds forming the preceding three families, 

 that we may regard them as constituting a distinct 

 section of the fissirostral tribe. In the majority of 

 these birds, as we have already stated, the outer toe is 

 united to the middle one for the greater part of its 

 length, a character belonging to the group denomi- 

 nated by Cuvier Syndactyli. 



This syndactylous character of the feet does not, 

 however, occur in perfection in the first family of this 

 section, that of the C'oraciadce or Hollers; in these 

 birds the outer toe is sometimes free, and sometimes 

 united to the middle one only at the base, in the same 

 way as in a great number of other birds. The species 

 of this family present a considerable resemblance to some 



other forms placed in the conirostral and dentirostral 

 sections of the Passeres. In fact, in the form of the 

 body, the gait, and to a certain extent in manners, 

 they are so like some members of the corvine family, 

 that they were placed in juxtaposition with them by 

 the older writers. They possess an elongated bill, 

 which is usually broad and depressed at the base, and 

 compressed at the sides towards the tip, which is often 

 slightly hooked. The gape is wide, reaching back 

 generally as far as the eyes ; it is bordered at the base 

 of the upper mandible by a row of bristles. 



The birds of this family are often distinguished by 

 great beauty of plumage. They are for the most part 

 confined to hot countries, a few only being inhabitants 

 of the more temperate regions. Their food consists 

 principally of insects, but some of them are found to 

 subsist also wholly or in part upon vegetable sub- 

 stances. We have only a single British specieSi 

 namely 



THE COMMON ROLLER (Coracias garrula), an inha- 

 bitant of the African continent, from which, however, it 

 migrates freely in the summer into Europe, but is only 

 a rare and occasional visitor to this country (fig. 105). 

 In the south and east of Europe, and even in the great 

 forests of Germany, it is, however, not uncommon, but 

 in Asia it seems only to occur in the parts bordering 

 on Europe, namely, in Asia Minor, and the countries 

 between the Black Sea and the Caspian. On the 

 steppes of Southern Russia it is abundant, and goes by 

 the name of the Steppe Parrot, a name given to it, no 

 doubt, partly on account of its squalling voice, and 

 partly from its beautiful plumage. In the latter respect, 

 it is indeed one of the most brilliant of European birds. 

 The head, neck, and wing coverts are of a beautiful, 

 rich greenish-blue colour; the shoulders, rump, and 

 tail-coverts are blue ; he back, scapularies, and ter- 

 tials are yellowish-brown; the wing primaries and 

 secondaries are of a fine verditer blue at the base, 

 with the rest blue-black; the two middle feathers of 

 the tail are blackish-green, the remainder bluish-green, 

 the outer feathers on each side being tipped with black ; 

 the whole lower surface of the body is pale bluish- 

 green, with the throat verditer blue, and the lower sur- 

 face of the quill feathers, both of the wings and tail, is 

 rich blue. The feet are yellowish-brown ; the bill and 

 claws black. In the male the outer tail feathers are 

 slightly elongated. The whole length of the bird is 

 about thirteen inches. 



The foregoing description will give but a very im- 

 perfect notion of this beautiful bird, which is described 

 by one observer as looking " like a moving rainbow," 

 when flying in the sun. It passes the winter in Africa, 

 and probably the majority of the individuals of this 

 species dwell throughout the year on that continent, 

 for it does not appear that the northern migration is 

 by any means universal. It is not only common in 

 the islands of the Mediterranean, in passing to and 

 from its winter quarters, when it is so abundant, espe- 

 cially in Malta, that it is captured in great quantities, 

 but also stays in those localities throughout the sum- 

 mer, and breeds there. In central Europe it usually 

 inhabits the dense forests, where it builds its nest in 

 the holes of trees, generally preferring the birch for this 



