THE EDINBURGH 



JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY, 



AND OF 



THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES. 



DECEMBER, 1837. 



ZOOLOGY. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE. THE ORANG OUTANGS, PYGMIES, AND GIBBONS. 



The genera of the extensive order of Quadrumana represented in this plate, are those 

 which exhihit in their conformation the nearest approach to the human species. They 

 have four incisors in each jaw, a more or less prominent nose and elongated arms. 



PiTHECi. — Men-of-the- Woods, or Orang Outancs. 

 Omlt one species of this genus is known. It is that which presents the greatest 

 resemblance to Man ; and is characterized by a large and rounded head, a narrow flat- 

 tened nose, with expanded nostrils, a large projecting mouth, reddish shaggy hair, and 

 other features, which it is unnecessary to particulaiize here, as a full description will 

 be subsequently presented. 



Fig. 1. The Red Oraxg Outang (K Sati/n/s). It inhabits Cochinchina, ]\Ia- 

 acca, and the islands of the Indian Archipelago, and is said to attain a height of six 

 or more feet. The individuals brought to Europe have been young, and have never 

 attained maturity. An individual described by Dr Abel did not practise the grimaces 

 of other Apes or Monkeys, but exhibited a gravity approaching to melancholy, and 

 a mildness superior to that of almost any other animal. 



Fig. 2. The Female differs from the male chiefly in being less hairy. 

 Troolddttes. — The Pygmies. 

 Of this genus also, only a single species is known. It bears a close resemblance to 

 the Orang Outang, from which it dlfl'ers in having a prominent superciliary ridge. 



Fig. 3. The CHnirANSEE (T. niger), or Black Orang Outang, inhabits some parts 

 of Africa, and especially the coasts of .'mgola and Congo. It lives in troops, and is 

 said to be very intelligent ; but little is known respecting its habits ; and all the indi- 

 viduals brought to Europe alive have been young. 



HvLOBATES. — The Gibbons. 

 These animals are remarkable for the extreme elongation of their arms, and are fur- 

 ther distinguished from the preceding genera by having callosities on their buttocks. 



Fig. 4. The Black Gibbon {H. Lar)^ is characterized by its black fur, and ihe 

 circle of grey hairs which surrounds its face. It inhabits Coromandel. 



Fig. 5. The Female differs in wanting the grey hairs on the face. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE. — -THE HARRIERS, AND SNAKE-CATERS. 

 THE HARRIERS. CIRCTS. 



The Harriers constitute a genus of the order Accipitres or Raptores, intermediate 

 in some measure between the Hawks, properly so called, and the Owls. They are 

 generally of a slender form, with elongated wing?;, tail, and tarsi, their toes rather 

 short, their claws slender and moderately curved. The aperture of their ear is very 

 large, and their head is surrounded with a kind of ruff resembling that of the Owls, 

 but less distinct. They prey on small quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, and insects, and 

 gt-nerally attack birds while on the ground, although their flight is rapid and bouyant. 

 Fig. 1. The long-legged Harrier {Circus Acoli) is of a light greyish-blue 

 colour above, and on the fore neck, the lower parts white, transversely barred with 

 black, the cere rich orange, and the feet yellow. It inhabits Africa. 



Fig. 2. The Buson Harrier (C Bitsoii) is of a brownish red, barred with 



blackish-brown beneath, the quills and tail dusky, the latter barred with white spots. 



Fig. 3. The Indian Harrier (C tnelanolevcvs) has the upper parts and fore 



neck of dusky brown, the lower parts, smaller wing coverts, and terminal portion of 



the secondaries and their coverts, with the tail, white. 



Fig. 4. The Hen Harrier (C cyanefts) is light blue in the adult state, with the 

 rump white; but tVie female and the young, of which the latter is here represented, 

 are brownish-red with dusky markings. In this state it was formerly considered as a 

 distinct species, under the name of the Ringtail. 



the snake-eaters. — serpent A RIUS. 

 Fig. 5. The Secretary or African Snake-eater (Serpentarius Secretarius) . 

 This is the only species of the genus, which, on account of its long legs and other 

 circumstances, has by many systematists been referred to the order Grallce or waders. 

 Its true place, however, is among the Accipitres, as is shown by the form of its bill, 

 its claws, and its habits, which are essentially those of a rapacious bird. It preys es- 

 pecially on snakes, which it attacks with its wings and feet, trampling them down, and 

 raising them in the air to allow them to drop on the ground. It inhabits various 

 parts of Africa, and is particularly abundant at the Cape of Good Hope. The name 

 secretary has been given to it on account of the occipital crest suggesting the idea of 

 a clerk with his pen stuck behind the ear. 



31 



BRITISH BIRDS NO. VIII — PARTRIDGES, 



The generic name of Partridges was formerly applied to a vast number of birds, which, 

 in the present improved state of ornithology, have been arranged into several distinct 

 genera. In many respects they are very similar to the Grouse and Ptarmigans, from 

 which they differ, however, in having the tarsi always bare, and sometimes furnished 

 with a tubercle behind, and in generally having a bare space behind or about the eye, 

 while they want the coloured superciliary membranes. Properly speaking, only two 

 species are indigenous in Britain, the Common or Grey Partridge, and the Common 

 Quail ; but the Red Partridge, which is common in France, and the Virginian Quail, 

 which is peculiar to America, have been introduced, and are spreading in some coun- 

 ties of England. To the genus Perdix^ characterized by a short, strong, convex 

 bill, a bare space behind the eye, short strong tarsi anteriorly covered with two rows 

 of scutella, and in the male bearing a blunt tubercle behind, marginate toes, strong 

 compressed and arched claws, wings having the first quill longer than the seventh, 

 and a short rounded tail, belong the Red and Grey Partridges. The Virginian Colin 

 is referred to the genus Ortyx, having a short and stronger bill, rounded wings, and 

 tail of moderate length. The Quail belongs to the genus Coiuryiix^ of which the 

 species are small, have the head entirely feathered, and the tail extremely short. 



The Red Partridge, Perdix ruhroy frequently called the Guernsey or French 

 Partridge, is somewhat larger and more robust than the common species, which it 

 resembles in form and proportions, but from which it differs greatly in colour. The 

 bill, the naked space about the nye, and the feet, are bright red, as are the irides. 

 The upper parts are reddish-brown tinged with grey ; the forehead ash-grey ; the 

 throat and cheeks white ; a black band extends from the bill to the eye, and thence 

 down the neck, becoming broader on its fore part, which is spotted with the same 

 colour ; the lower parts are ash-grey and light red, the siiles transversely banded with 

 ash-grey, white, black, and red. The male has large flat tubercles on the tarsus. 

 This species is said to occur in various parts of Asia and Africa, and to be plentiful 

 in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and the South of France, where it inhabits the low grounds^ 

 feeding on seeds, grain, and insects. In England, where it is now not uncommon in 

 some places, it is said to prefer waste heathy ground to corn fields, and to afford less 

 sport than the common species, as it runs before the Dogs, the individuals composing 

 a covey dispersing, and rising one after another. It is accused, moreover, of driving 

 off the Common Partridge, which, it is feared, may in time be extirpated by it, as 

 the Black Rat has been by the larger and more mischievous brown species. 



The Gret Partridge, Pnrdix cinerea, has the bill and feet bluish-grey; tie 

 upper parts minutely mottled with ash-grey, yellowish-brown, brownish -black, and 

 brownish-red; the scapulars and wing-coverts darker, with longitudinal whitish streaks;; 

 the forehead, cheeks, and throat, light red; the neck a&h-grey, minutely undulated 

 with black ; the sides broadly banded with brownish-red, of which there is a large 

 patch on the breast. This well-known bird is generally distributed in Britain, being 

 found in all the lower parts of England and Scotland, with the exception of some of 

 the wilder districts of the latter country. Although not peculiar to cultivated land, 

 it thrives best in those parts that are most extensively covered with crops^ among, 

 which it finds comparative security during a considerable part of the year. It is of 

 rare occurrence in the narrow valleys of the moorlands, and in the heaths is seldom 

 seen unless in the immediate vicinity of corn fields. It is fond of rambUng, however,, 

 into waste or pasture grounds, which are covered with long grass, furze, or broom; 

 but it does not often enter woods, and never perches on trees. It runs with surpris- 

 ing speed when alarmed or in pursuit of its companions, squats when apprehensive of 

 danger, and in flying rises obliquely to some height, and then moves off in a direct 

 course, rapidly flapping its wings, which produce a whirring sound. Its food consists 

 of tender blades of grass or corn, grain of all kinds, seeds of various plants, insects 

 and larvge. These substances, first lodged in the crop, are subsequently ground in the 

 powerful gizzard, with the aid of numerous particles of quartz. Partridges feed prin- 

 cipally in the morning and towards night, betake themselves during the middle of the 

 day to places covered with shrubs or ferns, or bask under the hedges. In the evening, 

 before betaking themselves to rest, they are often heard in the fields uttering their 

 harsh sharp cry, apparently for the purpose of apprising each other of their position, 

 so that the stragglers may come up, or the female join her mate. They repose at 

 night on the ground, generally in an open and comparatively bare place. During 

 winter they keep together in coveys, seeking their food among the stubble ; but early 

 in spring they separate, and by the beginning of March are generally paired, although 

 the eggs are not laid until June. The place selected for their nest is various, it being 

 found in corn and grass fields, in pastures, among shrubs, by hedges, sometimes even 



