THE EDINBURGH 



JOU 



L OF NATUEAL HI 



AND OF 



THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES. 



NOVEMBER, 1838. 



ZOOLOGY. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE. THE DEER. 



Th« Rumlnantia, so named on account of the singular faculty which they possess, of 

 subjecting to mastication a second time the food which they have hastily bruised and 

 deposited in the stomach, may be primarily divided into two groups : those destitute 

 of horns, as the Camels, Lamas, and IVIusks ; and the horned species, which again ar- 

 range themselves into two distinct families or sections, those with caducous bony 

 horns or antlers, and those with hollow persistent horns of the same texture as hoofs, 

 and moulded upon a bony core. The antlcred Ruminautia constitute the family of 

 Cervida or Deer, of which there are numerous species, some of which are found in 

 all the cantinents and large islands, excepting New Holland. The Deer are gener- 

 ally remarkable for elegance ef form, and rapidity of motion. Their body is of mo- 

 derate bulk, their limbs long and slender, their tail very short, their eyes and eari 

 large ; and the males or Stags are furnished with branched horns or antlers, which 

 are shed and renewed annually. The female of one ipecies, the Rein Deer, is also 

 horned. These appendages, varying in size and form, afford good distinctive charac- 

 ters for the species, taken in conjunction with the stature, colour, and other circum- 

 stances. The Stags represented in the accompanying plate belong to a section cha- 

 racterized by having the branches of th« horns round, and generally tapering, not 

 flattened. 



Fig. 1. The Wapiti Debk (Cervus Canadensis) is much larger than the Stag 

 of Europe, but very similar in form. It differs in not having the horns forked or 

 branched at the extremity, as well as in other particulars. The northern parts of 

 America are inhabited by this species, whose range is daily becoming more limited on 

 account of the increase of population. 



Fig. 2. The Red Deer CO. ElapKus). This beautiful and stately animal, once 

 generally distributed over Europe, still occurs in a wild state in many of the hilly 

 and wooded districts of that continent, as well as of the northern and temperate parts 

 of Asia. In Britain it is confined to some tracts of the Highlands of Scotland, where 

 it is fostered by the land proprietors. 



Fig. 3, The Bengal Deeb (C. Bengalcnsis) is about the same size as our Red 

 Deer, and inhabits various parts of India. 



Fig. 4, The Porcine Deer (C. porcinus) is a small species, so named from its 

 comparatively large body and short legs, giving it somewhat of the aspect of a hog. 

 Its horns arc very slender, with two very small antlers, on« of which is placed near 

 the summit. 



Fig. 5. The Timor Deer (C. Timor p.nsis)., of larger size, is somewhat similar 

 in form and colour, and has also two short branches on the horns, which are propor- 

 tionally stronger. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE THE PIGEON. 



The extensive family of Pigeons, ColumhidxE^ characterized by a more or less tumid 

 soft space at the base of the bill, a large double crop or dilatation of the oesophagus, 

 a strong gizzard, and two very small cceca, together with other circumstances, such as 

 their laying two white eggs, emitting a cooing or murmuring sound, and feeding their 

 young by disgorging the food partially macerated in their crop, and mixe<f with a 

 milky secretion, is divided into several groups or genera, to one of which, Columba, 

 with slender bill, the birds rtpresented in the plate belong. 



Fig, 1. The Dwarf Pigeon (^Columba nana) is a very beautiful small species, 

 in the colouring of which green and yellow predominate. 



Fig. 2. The Pearly Pigeon (C. perlata) is also green on the upper parts, with 

 the fore-neck red, and the wing-coverts marked with oblong reddish spots. 



Fig. 3. The Red-Headed Pigeon (C rvjiceps), light red, with the feathers of 

 the hind-neck edged with green. 



Fig, 4. The Banded Pigeon (C. Icptogrammica) , having the upper parts 

 light-brown and green, transversely banded with dusky. 



Fig. 5. The AsH-coLoaREo Pigeon (C. cinerea)^ female; and 

 , Fig. 6. The Female of the Diadem Pigeon (C Diadema). 



There is little of particular interest known of these beautiful birds, which do not 

 require to be technically described here, as they will be the subject of extended de- 

 scription in a subsequent part. 



BRITISH BIRDS THE CORN CRAKE. 



The Corn Crake, which, although it seldom comes under the observation of unprofes- 

 sional admirers of Nature, is yet familiarly known by its cry, insomuch, that to most peo- 

 ple it is '* vox et praterea nihil" is a small bird intermediate in size between the Quai' 

 and the Partridge, having the body much compressed, the neck rather long and slen * 

 der, the head small and oblong. The bill is somewhat shorter than the head, stout, ta- 

 pering, and much compressed ; the tongue rather short, fleshy, emarginate, and papil- 

 late at the base, flattened above, and pointed. The (Esophagus is six inches long, of 

 nearly uniform diameter and narrow, the stomach roundish, compressed, large, with 

 strong lateral muscles ; the intestines twenty-five inches long, and of moderate width ; 

 the cffica three and a quarter, being large, and, like those of the Gallinules, approach- 

 ing in form to the ccBca of the Gallinaceous birds. The eyes are bare for nearly half 

 an inch ; the tarsus is of moderate length, compressed, but stout ; the toes very long, 

 slender, and compressed ; the first very small ; the claws of moderate length, slender, 

 and sUghtly arched. The plumage is blended ; the wings short, concave, and rounded ; 

 the first quill much shorter than the second, which is slightly longer than the third; 

 the tail extremely short, arched, much rounded, of twelve very weak feathers. The 

 bill is light brown, the lower mandible whitish at the end; the iris light hazel, the 

 feet bluish flesh-colour. The upper parts are hght yellowish-brown, each feather 

 marked with an oblong central spot of brovrnish-black, and laterally tinged with grey; 

 the wing-coverts are light red, some of them imperfectly barred with white ; a broad 

 band of ash-grey passes over and behind the eye and ear, and the cheeks are tinged 

 with the same ; the face, fore-part and sides of the neck, are light yellowish-brown, 

 tinged with grey ; the sides and breast barred with light red and white ; the lower 

 wing-coverts and axillar feathers light red ; the chin and abdomen brownish-white ; 

 the quills and primary coverts light brown, the outer webs tinged with light red; 

 the edge of the wing, and outer web of the first alular feather and first quill, reddish- 

 white ; the inner secondaries, and the tail-feathers, like the back. The length is 10| 

 inches, the extended wings measure 18, the bill is eleven-twelfths, the tarsus 1^, the 

 middle toe 1^., its claw three-twelfths. 



Were we to betake ourselves on some beautiful summer morning to one of the pas- 

 tures that skirt the sandy shores of the remote Hebrides, anticipating the rising of 

 the sun, and listening as we proceed in the grey twilight to the cries of the distant 

 gulls, and the loud crash of the little wavelet, whose fall on the beach produces a 

 louder noise than the rush of the mighty billow would do in a storm, we should not 

 fail to see as well as to hear the Com Crake. Here let as crouch behind the turf 

 wall, in view of that thicket of iris, and watch. There already, dimly seen, one is 

 quietly walking along the grassy ridge, lifting high foot after foot, and sometimes 

 stooping as if to pick up something. Now it stops, stands in a crouching posture, 

 but on unbent legs, and commences its curious but monotonous song. Another is 

 observed threading its way among the short grass of the adjoining piece of meadow 

 land. The ruddy streaks in the east betoken the sun's approach to the horizon. 

 There, along tide-mark, some dark-coloured bird approaches ; it perceives us, wheels 

 round, and comes up, announcing itself by its croak as the Hooded Crow. The Crakes 

 seem to understand the warning, and immediately betake themselves to the thicket, 

 whence we can easily start them. Yet they sometimes allow you to come within a 

 yard or two before they rise, and so closely do they sit, that I have once or twice 

 seen a small pointer, which I had trained to bird-nesting, spring upon and seize one. 

 The Com Crake visits us early in May. It may seem strange that a bird appa- 

 rently so ill adapted for continued flight, should yet be capable of performing the 

 long journeys necessary for its annual visits. Its ordinary haunts are fields of corn and 

 grass, and in the less cultivated parts of the country the large patches of flags and 

 other tall herbaceous plants, which occur in moist places. It runs with great celerity, so 

 much so, that I think a man could hardly overtake it, and it seems extremely averse 

 from flying, for it seldom rises until one gets quite close to it. When it has started, 

 it flies heavily, with considerable speed, allowing its legs to hang, and soon alights. 



In an oat field in Harris, I once shot at a Rail that suddenly rose among my feet, 

 when, apparently not having been bitten, it flew off in a direct course to the sea, 

 about four hundred yards distant, where, to my surprise, it alighted and floated mo- 

 tionless, sitting hghtly on the water, like a Coot or Gallinule. Soon after, a Black- 

 backed Gull coming up, spied it, and, uttering a load chuckle of delight, descended 

 with rapidity, and carried it off in its bill. In this case, I think the bird was so 



