ORNITHOLOGY. 



619 



Gralla- 

 tores. 



they are gregarious, in others solitary. In the former case 

 they build in trees, — in the latter, more frequently among 

 ' reeds or rushes. Several species afford an excellent 

 though now much-neglected article of food, and were not 

 only prized as such in England in the olden time, but were 

 objects of still higher interest and regard, as affording the 

 finest display of strength and intrepidity in the practice of 

 the noble art of falconry. Birds of this genus occur in al- 

 most every quarter of the known world. The species 

 which inhabit high northern latitudes, such as Kamts- 

 chatka and the shores of Hudson's Bay, migrate south- 

 wards before the arrival of winter. Such as breed in warm 

 or temperate climates are more stationary. 



Our common or long-necked heron (Ardea major et 

 cinerea, Linn.) affords a familiar example of the genus. 

 " Yon Cassius hath a lean and hungry look," yet when ex- 

 amined close at hand he is an elegant and beautifully plu- 

 maged species. The heron usually builds on the tops of 

 lofty and umbrageous trees, yet in an island of Loch Conn 

 we have seen its nest on pollards not more than ten feet 

 high ; and we lately noticed a large heronry among the 

 precipitous cliffs which overhang the sea about a mile out- 

 side the entrance to the Cromarty Frith, upon the northern 

 shore. We have several other British herons, the majo- 

 rity of which, however, must be regarded rather as strag- 

 glers or accidental visitors, than as truly indigenous spe- 

 cies. The egrets are beautiful crested herons, with the 

 plumage usually pure white, and in part decomposed, or 

 very loose and flowing. Of these, the little egret (Ardea 

 garzetta, Linn.) is common in Turkey, and the east of Eu- 

 rope, as well as in many parts of Asia, Africa, and the 

 islands of the Mediterranean. It is frequently alluded to 

 in the ancient household books of England ; and in the re- 

 corded bill of fare of the famous feast of Archbishop Ne- 

 ville, in the reign of Henry IV., a thousand are said to 

 have been served up at a single entertainment. It is in- 

 deed extraordinary that a bird now so rare in all the west- 

 ern countries of Europe, should have been at any time so 

 superabundant in Britain ; and Dr Fleming has judicious- 

 ly suggested that the lapwing, which is so beautifully 

 crested, may have been indicated under the old title of 

 egritte. The true egret is not even alluded to as an indi- 

 genous bird so far back as the time of Willughby and 

 Ray. The great egret (Ardea egretta, Temm.) is well known 

 in Poland and Hungary, but scarcely ever shows itself in 

 the western parts of the European continent. 



The bitterns have the plumage of the neck extremely 

 full and elongated. Their colours are usually brownish 

 yellow, radiated or spotted with black. They form the 

 modern genus Botaurus. The night-herons constitute 

 another generic group, under the title of Nycticokax. 

 The term, which signifies night-raven, has been no doubt 

 applied from the circumstance of their feeding at night, 

 and remaining in a state of comparative rest and inactivity 

 throughout the day. The European species (Ardea nycti- 

 corax, Linn., — Nye. Europeus, Stephens) is more common 

 in America than in the old world. New Holland and Af- 

 rica each possesses a species. In form, Sir William Jar- 

 dine observes, these birds are intermediate to the bitterns 

 and true herons ; the bill is short, and stronger in propor- 

 tion than in either, and the hind head is adorned with 

 (generally three) narrow feathers in the form of a crest. 

 They feed by twilight, or in clear nights, and take their 

 prey by wary watching, like the herons. They are grega- 

 rious and build on trees, and are noisy and restless during 

 the period of incubation. The prevailing colours are ash- 

 gray and black, or pale fawn and chesnut. The young are 

 always of a dingier hue than their parents, and have their 

 feathers marked with whitish spots. 



The remaining genera of the Cultrirostres form Cuvier's 

 third group. 



In the genus Ciconia, Cuv., the bill is large, without 

 nasal groove or furrow, the nostrils pierced near the base, 

 and towards the dorsal portion. The tarsi are reticulated, 

 and the anterior toes strongly palmated, especially the ex- 

 ternal. The mandibles are broad and light, and when 

 struck together produce a frequent and peculiar snapping 

 sound, almost the only one they ever utter. The best- 

 known European species is the white or common stork 

 (Ciconia alba), a bird somewhat smaller than the crane, 

 but larger than the heron. The bill and legs are red, the 

 whole plumage pure white, except the greater coverts, 

 scapulars, and quill-feathers, which are black. It is a com- 

 mon summer bird in several European countries, espe- 

 cially Holland, where it is esteemed and protected, and 

 has become so familiar as to build on the tops of houses 

 even in the centre of large towns. Its periodical migrations 

 have long excited the admiration of naturalists by their 

 extent and regularity. They are indeed beautifully and 

 wisely directed. " Yea, the stork in the heavens knoweth 

 her appointed times ; and the turtle, and the crane, and 

 the swallow, observe the time of their coming." The species 

 appears to have been regarded with peculiar favour in al- 

 most all ages and countries. By the ancient Egyptians it 

 was looked upon with a reverence only inferior to that 

 which they paid to the mystical ibis ; the same feeling still 

 preponderates in many parts of Africa and the East ; while 

 nearer home the Dutch are remarkable for their affection- 

 ate attachment to this " household bird." On the other 

 hand, the stork itself appears to reciprocate this friendly 

 feeling. Undismayed by the presence of man, it builds its 

 capacious nest upon the house-top, or on the summits of 

 " ancestral trees" in the immediate vicinity of human dwell- 

 ings, or even environed by the busiest haunts of men. " It 

 stalks," says Mr Bennet, " perfectly at ease along the busy 

 streets of the most crowded town, and seeks its food on 

 the banks of rivers, or in fens in close vicinity to his abode. 

 In numerous parts of Holland its nest, built on the chim- 

 ney top, remains undisturbed for many succeeding years, 

 and the owners constantly return with unerring sagacity 

 to the well-known spot. The joy which they manifest in 

 again taking possession of their deserted dwelling, and the 

 attachment which they testify towards their benevolent 

 hosts, are familiar in the mouths of every one. Their af- 

 fection for their young is one of the most remarkable traits 

 in their character. It is almost superfluous to repeat the 

 history of the female which, at the conflagration of Delft, 

 after repeated and unsuccessful attempts to carry off her 

 young, chose rather to perish with them in the general 

 ruin than to leave them to their fate ; and there are many 

 other and well-authenticated proofs of a similar disposition. 

 They generally lay from two to four eggs, of a dingy yel- 

 lowish white, rather longer than those of the goose, but 

 not so broad. The incubation lasts for a month, the male 

 sharing in the task during the absence of the female in 

 search of food." 1 



Of the foreign species, the gigantic stork (C. argala) 

 is well known in India by the name of adjutant. It mea- 

 sures upwards of six feet in height. A nearly allied spe- 

 cies is the marabou of Africa (C. marabou, Temm.), very 

 common in many parts of the interior. According to Ma- 

 jor Denham, it is protected by the inhabitants on account 

 of its services as a scavenger. Its appetite is most vora- 

 cious, and nothing comes amiss to its omnivorous propen- 

 sities. Mr Smeathman has given a long account of a bird 

 of this kind which regularly attended at the dining table, 

 and frequently helped itself to what it liked best. It one 

 day darted its enormous bill into a boiled fowl, which it 



Gralh- 

 tores. 



1 Zoofogi:al Garden), ii. 21. 



