THE EDINBURGH 



JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY, 



AND OF 



THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES. 



JUNE, 1838. 



ZOOLOGY. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE. THE BABOONS. 



The Cynocephali constitute a well marked section of the great tribe of the Simiae, 

 being characterized by having a muzzle somewhat like that of the Dog, whence their 

 name, terminal nostrils, large canine teeth, flattened and angular ears, cheek-pouches, 

 longitudinal streaks on the face, large callosities on the buttocks, limbs of nearly equal 

 length, and a moderately long tail. They attain a considerable size, are active and 

 vigorous, excitable, ferocious, and indomitable. 



Fig. 1. The Guinea Baboon {Cynocephalus Sphinx), which inhabits the coa<it 

 of Guinea, is of a light yellowish-brown colour, with the face black, and the carti- 

 lages of the nostrils surpassing the jaws. 



Fig. 2. Represents a young female of the same species. 



Fig. 3. The Little Baboon (C. Bahoum) is a native of Southern Africa. It 

 has the fur of a greenish- yellow tint, the face of a livid flesh-colour, the cartilage of 

 the nostrils of the same length as the upper lip. 



Fig. 4. The Chacma (C. porcarius) is of a dusky green colour above, with the 

 face dusky, and the circumference of the eyes pale. The male, which has the hairs 

 of the neck long, forming a kind of mane, is extremely ferocious. This species in- 

 habits the Cape of Good Hope. 



Fig. 5. The Dog-Faced Baboon (C llamadryas) is said to occur in the 

 neighbourhood of ftloca on the Persian Gulf, and in Arabia. Its general colour is 

 ash-grey, the face flesh-coloured, and the hands black; the hair on the neck and fore 

 part of the body elongated. It exhibits the same ferocity as the other species, becom- 

 ing unmanageable when old, although at first somewhat docile. 



Fig. 6. Represents a young female of the same species. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE THE VULTURES. 



The order of Rapacious Birds may be divided into three great sections, the Vul- 

 tures, Hawks, and Owls. The former birds are always of large size, and are easily 

 distinguished from the others by their having the head and part of the neck bare. 

 Their bill varies, being in some very strong, in others slender, but the point of the 

 upper mandible is always curved and acute. The feet are strong, but the claws are 

 not so large or curved as in Eagles and Hawks. The wings are very large, being 

 not only long, but of great breadth. The flight of these birds is accordingly powerful 

 and sustained. They often ascend to a vast height, and float as it were in circles. 

 Their sight is extremely penetrating, but their smell, although by some alleged to be 

 very acute, is by others denied to be in any way remarkable. They feed on dead 

 animals of all kinds, and are extremely useful in the warmer regions of the globe, 

 where they chiefly abound, in often disposing of putrid carcases which would other- 

 wise infect the air with noxious effluvia. Their feet are not formed for pouncing 

 upon live prey, or for currying oflf objects in their talons ; and, therefore, they gener- 

 ally remain satisfied with dead prey, which they gorge in an excessive degree when- 

 ever an opportunity occurs ; they are for this purpose furnished with a large crop ; 

 their stomach is membranous, like that of the Eagles; their intestine of moderate 

 length, and their cceca extremely small. 



The Vultures, properly so called, constitute a genus of this group, peculiar to the 

 Old Continent, and characterized by having the bill strong, straight at the base, con- 

 vex above ; the nostrils large and transverse, the head and neck destitute of feathers, 

 hut sparsely covered with a very short down ; a collar of large feathers at the lower 

 part of the neck ; the wings very Urge, the first and sixth quill nearly equal, the 

 fourth longest. Two species occur in the south of Europe, the rest in the warmer parts 

 of Asia, and in Africa. 



Fig. 1. The Aquiline Vulture ( VuUus j3£gyptius) inhabits all the northern 

 parts of Africa. 



Fig. 2. The Crested Vulture (^V. galericulatus) is a native of India. 



Fig. 3. The Pondicherky Vulture ( F, Pondicerianus) also inhabits India. 



Fig. 4. The Indian Vulture ( V. Tndicus) belongs, aa its name implies, to the 

 same region. 

 37 



BRITISH BIRDS THE CUCKOO. 



The Cuckoo arrives in the south of England about the 1 5th of Api'il, in that of 

 Scotland towards the end of the same month, and in the northern parts of Britain 

 soon after the beginning of May. The periods, however, vary considerably accord- 

 ing to the character of the season, and as the birds do not always announce their re- 

 turn by emitting their well known-cry, they may sometimes be met with at a time 

 when their presence is not suspected. There seems to be hardly any part of the 

 country which they do not visit; for while some remain in the southern counties, 

 others settle in the most remote islands of the north, and although they are met with 

 in the most cultivated districts, they also frequent the valleys of the wildest of our hilly 

 and mouniainous tracts. Perhaps the most favourite resorts of the species are the 

 parks and plantations bordered with fields and pasture-grounds, or the woods and 

 thickets of the upland glens ; but on the rocky hills of the most treeless regions, and 

 the bleak moors or fern-clad slopes of the interior, it is found often in great numbers, 

 although never in flocks, for if gregarious during its migrations, as some suppose, it 

 manifests no social disposition during its residence. 



In the maritime Highlands and Hebrides, after the time of the arrival of the 

 Wheatear, every one is on the look-out for the Cuckoo. Both birds are great 

 favourites with the Celts, the latter more especially, but both may be the harbino^ers 

 of evil as well as of good ; for should the Wheatear be first seen on a stone, or the 

 Cuckoo first heard by one who has not broken his fast, some misfortune may be ex- 

 pected, whereas, should the reverse be the case, the individual will prosper all that 

 year. Such at least is the popular creed in the North. The Saxons of the south 

 have no such fancy, and the lover of nature, Saxon or Celt, gladly hails the bird of 

 summer. 



*'• Cuckoo! Cuckoo! O welcome, welcome notes 1 



Fields, woods, and waves rejoice 



In that recovered voice, 

 As on the wind its fluty music floats, 



At that elixir strain. 



My youth resumes its reign. 

 And life's first spring comes blossoming again." 



Early in the mild mornings of May and June, and towards the close of day, he who 

 wanders along the wooded valleys will be sure to be greeted by the ever-pleasing cry 

 of the Cuckoo, unvaried though it be. as the bird perched on a rock, or lichen-crusted 

 crag, or balancing itself on the branch of some tall tree, coos aloud to its mate. You 

 hear nothing but the same hu hu^ or, if you please so to syllable it, coo coo, repeated 

 at short intervals, but if you attend better you will find that these two loud and mel- 

 low notes are preceded by a kind of churring or chuclding sound, which, if you creep 

 up unseen, you will find to consist of a low and guttural inflection of the voice, during 

 which the throat seems distended. But the Cuckoo, ever yigilant and shy, has ob- 

 served you, and flies off, followed by two small birds, which, by their mode of flying 

 and incessant cheeping notes, you know to be Meadow Pipits. They keep pace with 

 it, and when it alights on the grassy bank, they alight too, and take their stand in its 

 vicinity. You have heard that Cuckoos lay their egg in the nest of a Pipit or other 

 small bird, and you at first suppose these to be its foster-parents ; but this is not a 

 young Cuckoo, but an old grey male, just arrived from Africa mayhap. They attend 

 it, fly after it, stand beside it, and seem to be concerned about it, to be distrustful 

 of it, to watch its motions, and to indicate their dislike to it by their continued cries. 

 But Cuckoos are not always followed by Pipits, for often you may see them gliding 

 among the trees without any attendants. 



The flight of the Cuckoo is swift, gliding, even, rapid on occasion, generally sedate, 

 usually at no great height. In the hilly parts it may be seen skimming along the 

 ground, alighting on a stone or crag, balancing itself, throwing up its tail, depressing 

 its wings, and then perhaps emitting its notes. In woody districts it ghdes among 

 the trees, perches on their boughs, and makes occasional excursions into the thickets 

 around. On the ground it is not often seen, unless when cooing, and there it walks 

 in a constrained manner ; but on trees it alights with facility, clings to the twigs with 

 firmness, glides among the foliage, and by the aid of its tenacious grasp and ample tail, 



