580 



ORNITHOLOGY. 



Insessores. lichens and wool firmly and curiously interwoven, and lined 

 ^^ "v"""" with a profusion of feathers. A small hole is left on two 

 opposite sides of the nest, not only for ingress and egress, 

 but also to prevent the bird during incubation from being 

 incommoded by its long tail, which then projects through 

 one of the orifices. The eggs are white, with fine red- 

 dish-brown specks upon the larger end, and usually amount 

 to ten or twelve. 1 The Parus pendulinus, a species of 

 the southern parts of Europe, constructs a purse-shaped 

 dwelling, suspended from the flexible branches of aquatic 

 plants, or interlaced among the waving reeds. This hang- 

 nest tit-mouse is often seen among the marshes of Bologna, 

 where the peasantry seem to regard it with the same kind- 

 ly affection as we do our red-breast. 



The genus Emberiza, Linn., is distinctly characterized 

 by its rather short, straight, conical bill, and the curved 

 form of the gape, produced by a narrowing of the sides of 

 the upper mandible, and a corresponding enlargement of 

 the under one. Instead of being as usual concave within, 

 the upper mandible has' a bard, rounded knob in the in- 

 side, or what is called a tuberculous palate. The species 

 commonly known by the name of buntings feed chiefly on 

 seeds and grain. The ortolan (E. kortulana), a native of 

 the central and southern provinces of Europe, has been 

 occasionally killed in England. It is much esteemed in 

 Italy and elsewhere as an article of food. It is frequent- 

 ly lean when first netted ; but if left undisturbed and well 

 fed, it will not only fatten rapidly, but even in many in- 

 stances die of repletion. The snow-bunting, and a few 

 other kinds, distinguished chiefly by the elongation of the 

 hind claw, form the genus Plectrophanes of Meyer, now 

 called lark-buntings by our English writers. 



The great genus Fringilla of Linn, has the bill also 

 conical, and more or less thickened at the base ; but the 

 commissure is not angularly curved, as in the preceding 

 group. Numerous subdivisions have been made of this 

 genus in modern times. Of these the following may be 

 taken as examples. 



In Ploceus, Cuv., the bill is rather square at the base, 

 but sharp-pointed ; the upper mandible somewhat dilated. 

 The species are known by the name of weavers, on ac- 

 count of the art with which they join together the mate- 

 rials of their nests. Several species are gregarious, even 

 during the breeding season, hanging their nests close to- 

 gether in the same tree ; and as each on building a new 

 nest forms it in close connection with the old, the final 

 result is, that an apparently solid mass is at length collect- 

 ed, consisting of numerous apartments, each tenanted by 

 a pair of birds, but having the external appearance of one 

 gigantic dwelling. Cuvier here places the species known 

 in the older systems as the Philippine gross-beak, Loxia 

 Philippina, Linn. This bird is known in India by the 

 name of baya, and may be rendered so tame as not only 

 to perch upon the hand, but to fetch and carry at com- 

 mand. It builds a very curious nest, in the shape of a 

 long cylinder, swelling out into a globose form in the mid- 

 dle, and composed of the fine fibres of leaves and grass, 

 fastened by the end to a lofty branch, generally of the 

 Palmyra or Indian fig-tree. The eggs are said to resem- 

 ble pearls, with the white part transparent even when 

 boiled, and are accounted delicious eating. This species 

 is alleged to feed on fire-flies. Another remarkable Plo- 

 ceus is the sociable gross-beak, or republican, Loxia socia, 

 Latham. It is an inhabitant of the interior of the Cape 

 country, and is thus described in Paterson's Travels: " Few 

 species of birds live together in such large societies, or 

 have such an extraordinary mode of nidification, as these ; 

 they build their nests on the mimosa trees, which grow to 



a very large size, and appear to be well calculated for the Insessores. 

 purpose, as the smoothness of their trunks prevents the x ~—N' - ~"' 

 birds from being attacked by monkeys, and other noxious 

 animals. The method in which their nests are made is 

 very curious. On one tree there could not be less than 

 from eight hundred to a thousand under one general roof. 

 I call it a roof, because it resembles that of a thatched 

 house, and projects over the entrance of the nest below 

 in a very singular manner. The industry of these birds 

 seems almost equal to that of the bee. Throughout the 

 day they appear to be busily employed in carrying a fine 

 species of grass, which is the principal material they em- 

 ploy for the purpose of erecting this extraordinary work, 

 as well as for additions and repairs. Though my short 

 stay in the country was not sufficient to satisfy me by ocu- 

 lar proof that they added to their nest as they annually 

 increased in numbers ; still, from the many trees which I 

 have seen borne down by the weight, and others which I 

 have observed with their boughs completely covered over, 

 it would appear that this is really the case. When the 

 tree which is the support of this aerial city is obliged to 

 give way to the increase of weight, it is obvious that they 

 are no longer protected, and are under the necessity of 

 rebuilding in other trees. One of these deserted nests I 

 had the curiosity to break down, to inform myself of the 

 internal structure of it, and found it equally ingenious 

 with that of the external. There are many entrances, 

 each of which forms a regular street, with nests on both 

 sides, at about two inches distance from each other. The 

 grass with which they build is called the Boshman's grass, 

 and I believe the seed of it to be their principal food, 

 though, on examining their nests, I found the wings and 

 legs of different insects. From every appearance, the nest 

 which I dissected had been inhabited for many years, and 

 some parts of it were more complete than others. This, 

 therefore, I conceive to amount nearly to a proof that the 

 animals added to it at different times, as they found neces- 

 sary, from the increase of the family, or rather of the na- 

 tion or community." 2 



The genus Pyrgita, Cuv., contains the sparrows proper- 

 ly so called, of which the common house species (P. do- 

 mestica) affords a familiar example. This bird is charac- 

 teristic of the temperate and more northern parts of Eu- 

 rope, and is scarcely known in Italy to the south of Pied- 

 mont, being replaced by a closely-allied species, P. cisal- 

 pina, which is the Passer volgare of Italian authors. Al- 

 though M. Temminck thinks that the manners of the lat- 

 ter are less domestic than those of our more northern kind, 

 and that its love of fields and country places ally it rather 

 to the P. montana, we doubt not that all who have lived 

 in Italy will be of a contrary opinion, — in agreement with 

 the following beautiful passage by Professor Savi, which 

 we shall not injure by translating. " Sembra che quest' 

 uccello non possa vivere se non con l'uomo. Eccetuate 

 quelle regioni alpestriove regnanoperpetuamente i ghiacci, 

 in qualunque altro luogo in cui l'uomo si e stabilito, la Pas- 

 sera l'ha accompagnato ; e indifferente alia prospera, o con- 

 traria fortuna, essa ha posta dimora nella dimora di lui. In 

 riva delli stagni, in mezzo alia quiete de' boschi delle Ma- 

 remme, sulla povera ed umile capanna d'un piscatore o 

 d'un pecorajo, han domicilio le passerc, le quali trovano 

 il loro cibo nella sementa di grano del piccolo campo, ne' 

 frutti dell' orticello, nello scarso becchime gettato alle gal- 

 line o a' piccioni. E nel m'odo stesso voi le vedete nel con- 

 tro delle piu grandi e clamorose citta, porre il nido fra gli 

 ornati d'una grandiosa cattedrale, o su i tetti d'un giardin 

 di delizia, e cercare le granella o miche di pane in mezzo 

 alle piazze piu popolate. Ma se l'uomo cessa d'abitare 



British Ornithology, i. 241. 



2 General Zoology, vol. ix. p. 303. 



