286 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[Night-Jar&. 



ORDER INSESSORES (Vigors). 



That eminent ornithologist, Mr. Vigors, established 

 this extensive order for the inclusion of the Picse 

 and Passeres of Linnaeus ; groups, it must be con- 

 fessed, containing, especially the former, an ill- 

 sorted union of genera, and which Cuvier had pre- 

 viously re-arranged, not, indeed, in one order, as 

 was subsequently done by Mr. Vigors, but in two, 

 viz., " Passereaux," or "Passeres," and " Grim- 

 peurs," or " Scansores •" whereas Mr. Vigors makes 

 the Scansores (or Parrots, Cuckoos, Trogons, &c.) a 

 tribe of the Insessores. For ourselves we must say 

 that we conceive the group Scansores, whether we 

 regard it as an order or as a tribe of an order, to be 

 anything but natural ; and, to confess our opinion, 

 we think that the whole order Insessores requires 

 utterly re-modelling. It is not, however, here our 

 place to enter into any scientific disquisitions; we 

 shall, therefore, pause, merely observing that though 

 we enumerate the tribes as instituted by Mr. Vigors, 

 we shall, as we proceed, attend only to the natural 

 families into which they are resolvable, and so leave 

 any subsequent arrangement open. 



The Insessores, then, are divided by Mr. Vigors into 

 the following tribes or primary sections: — 



1. Fissirostres, including Night-jars, Swallows, 

 King-fishers, &c. 



2. Dentirostres, viz., F!ycatchers,Shrikes, Thrushes, 

 Warblers, &c. 



3. Conirostres, viz. Finches, Starlings, Crows, 

 Hornbills, &c. 



4. Scansores, viz., Toucans, Parrots, Woodpeckers, 

 Tree-creepers, and Cuckoos. 



5. Tenuirostres, viz., Sun-birds, Humming-birds, 

 Honey-suckers, Hoopoes, &c. 



The term Insessores * means " perching-birds," 

 and must be defined rather by negations than any 

 positive characters : it includes all birds which are 

 neither raptorial, nor gallinaceous, nor waders, nor 

 swimmers ; yet do its subjects feed on every kind 

 of diet, from flesh to grain, and they exhibit every 

 variety of habits and manners, from those of the vo- 

 racious raven to those of the tiny humming-bird or 

 brilliant honey-sucker ; consequently their beak, 

 plumage, limbs, and digestive organs are as diver- 

 sified as their modes of life. Take, for example, the 

 parrot and the cuckoo — and yet these are both ex- 

 amples not only of one order, but of one tribe. 



Leaving all this, however, we may proceed to 

 observe that the security and firmness with which 

 birds perch have often excited surprise, and no doubt 

 led many to conjecture that there must be some 

 peculiarity in the mechanism from which such tena- 

 city of grasp proceeds. Fig. 1306 represents a bird 

 in a perched attitude asleep, with the leg dissected, 

 after Borelli, and in which the mechanism is shown; 

 but much more clearly at Fig. 1307, the anatomy 

 of the leg of a bird at rest — nothing can be more 

 simple, yet more effective, a is a muscle which 

 arises from the haunch-bone, and becoming sud- 

 denly tendinous, passes over the outer angle of 

 the thigh-joint (analogous to our knee) at b; then 

 winding down the bone, being diverted from its 

 straight course, and firmly bound down so as not 

 to slip, it passes posteriorly over the angle of the 

 tarsal joint, c, and proceeds down the back of the 

 tarsus to the under side of the toes, d, into the 

 bones of which slips from it are respectively in- 

 serted. From this arrangement it is evident that 

 when the bones of the leg and thigh are bent to- 

 gether (the joints forming acuter angles) by the 

 weight of the sleeping bird, the tendon will be 

 stretched more and more over the angles b and c, 

 and the toes become more strongly drawn together 

 or clasped. Hence birds can rest as easily, perhaps 

 more so, on one leg than. on both, and, as is well 

 known, it is on one leg only that most sleep perched ; 

 while the flexibility of the neck allows it to be 

 turned back upon the body, and the head brought 

 under the wing, so as to throw the centre of gravity 

 more over the feet, and thereby increase the sta- 

 bility. 



Fig. 1308 relates to a different subject, and ex- 

 hibits the Vibrissae or Bristles round the base of the 

 beak of the Roller. Most birds which feed on in- 

 sects are distinguished by a fringe of bristles at the 

 base of the beak, not unlike the whiskers of the cat, 

 and evidently intended to aid them in capturing 

 their prey. These bristles are larger in the night- 

 jars than in most other birds ; but are very distinct 

 in our small insectivorous feathered tribes generally, 

 as the nightingale, red-breast, shrike, flycatcher, and 

 the roller, selected by way of example. To these 

 vibrissae we shall have to make frequent allusion. 



Family CAPRIMULGID^E (NIGHT-JARS 

 or GOATSUCKERS). 

 The birds composing the present family are crepus- 

 cular and nocturnal in their habits ; they spend the 



* Though we would not carp at terms, yet it must be acknowledged 

 that this conveys no definite or restrictive ide.i ; for eagles, hawks, 

 i.nd owls perch, as well as ravens, and better than woodpeckers. 



hours of day in repose, shrouding themselves from 

 observation in the gloom of woods, or amidst the 

 dense foliage of trees; coming forth at evening to 

 feed upon such insects as, like tnemselves, are roused 

 from inertion by the advance of darkness. They 

 take their prey upon the wing, and perform during 

 the chase the most elegant aerial evolutions. Their 

 eyes are large and of the true nocturnal character ; 

 the beak is small, but the gape is enormous, ex- 

 tending below the eyes, reminding us of the mouth 

 of a toad (see Fig. 1309, the Head of the common 

 Night-jar) ; its margin is fringed with strong vi- 

 brissae ; the wings are long and pointed ; the tarsi 

 usually very short ; the hind toe is, in some genera, 

 united close to the base of the inner toe, and di- 

 rected almost as equally forwards ; the middle of 

 the three anterior toes is the longest, and in the 

 genus Caprimulgus is armed with a long claw, 

 having a comb-like (pectinated) inner margin. (See 

 Figs. 1310 and 1311, the foot of the Night-jar.) 



The plumage is full and soft, and beautifully varie- 

 gated with dots, bars, dashes, and zigzag marks of 

 mingled grey, brown, fawn-colour, black, and white ; 

 difficult to describe and almost as difficult to imi- 

 tate. Rapid and abrupt as is the flight of these birds, 

 still it is noiseless; lesembling in that respect the 

 flight of the owl, and from the same cause — the lax- 

 ness, the want of rigidity in the quill-feathers: but, 

 from the form of the wing, the flight is of a different 

 character. Some have the sides of the head adorned 

 with tufts of soft feathers. 



1312, 1313.— The Night-Jar 



(Caprimulgus JSuropams). This is the Goatsucker, 

 Jar-owl, Churn-owl, Fern-owl, Dor-hawk, Night- 

 hawk, and Wheel-bird of various writers. ajV^ds 

 of the Greeks ; Caprimulgus of the Latins ; Calca-" 

 botto Piattaglione, Porta quaglie, Boccaccio, and 

 Cova-terra of the modern Italians ; Chotacabras of 

 the Spaniards ; Tette-chevre, Engoulevert, and 

 Crapaud volant of the French ; Milchsauger, Geiss- 

 milcher, Nacht Rabe, Nacht Shcwalbe, and Tag- 

 schlaferof the Germans ; Natskraffa, Natskarra, and 

 Quallknarren of the 'Fauna Suecica ;' Natravn, 

 Nat-skade, and Aften-bakke of Brunnich; Mucken- 

 stecker and Nachtrabb of Kramer; Aderyn y droell 

 and Rhodwr of the ancient British. 



An evil name has this beautiful bird had from 

 the earliest times, and among almost all European 

 nations. Aristotle, who describes it under the title 

 AlyoSvXn, accuses it of flying upon goats and 

 sucking them (whence its Greek name) ; and adds 

 as a common report, that the teat of the goat after- 

 wards becomes dry, and the animal itself blind. 

 iElian's version is nearly to the same effect, and so 

 also is Pliny's. In France the same erroneous 

 opinion has long been entertained, and also in Italy, 

 as well as in Germany and England : in short, it 

 seems to be a superstition of universal prevalence. 

 In our country it is not the udder of the goat, but 

 that of the cow, that it is supposed to drain (a nefa- 

 rious practice attributed also to the poor little 

 hedgehog) ; and not this only, for, as White says 

 (' Selborne'), " the country-people have a notion that 

 the fern-owl or churn-owl, or eve-jar, is very injurious 

 to weaning calves, by inflicting, as it strikes at them, 

 a fatal distemper. Thus does this harmless, ill-fated 

 bird fall under a double imputation which it by no 

 means deserves ; — in Italy, of sucking the teats of 

 goats, whence it is called Caprimulgus ; and with 

 us, of communicating a deadly disorder to cattle." 

 The disease in question is in reality occasioned by 

 the ravages beneath the skin of the maggots of a 

 species of fly (oestrus) ; and if the fern-owl was ever 

 seen making a sweep near the suffering calves, that 

 is, as it would appear, striking at them, it was in 

 order to snap at some insect, from the torments of 

 which the calf would be gladly freed. 



The night-jar preys upon moths, chaffers, and 

 other large insects, and may be often seen, when 

 the sun begins to set, darting in chase of its food, 

 displaying almost unequalled rapidity of flight, and 

 the most rapid and surprising evolutions ; yet it 

 flits along noiseless as a shadow, not a rustle is 

 heard : on many occasions, in days past by, we have 

 watched this interesting bird thus occupied, and we 

 have seen it settle, and with head depressed almost 

 to the perch on which it rested, and swollen quiver- 

 ing throat, utter its jarring vibratory note, and again 

 give chase to its prey. White says, and though we 

 never observed it ourselves, we fully believe it, that 

 " when a person approaches the haunt of the fern- 

 owls in an evening, they continue flying round the 

 head of the obtruder, and by striking their wings 

 together above their backs, in the manner that the 

 pigeons called smiters are known to do, make a 

 smart snap; perhaps at that time they are jealous 

 for their young, and their noise and gesture are in- 

 tended by way of menace." 



It is not often that this bird utters its churring 

 sound in the air ; but usually when perched, a bare 

 branch, high palings, or the ridge of any building 

 being chosen as a resting place. The fern-owl does 



not perch across the branch, as birds in general do,. 

 but lengthwise, and rests upon it, instead of grasp- 

 ing it, and that with the head low, so as almost to 

 touch it. The male sometimes utters a small squeak 

 repeated four or five times, when playfully chasing 

 his mate through the boughs of trees. 



Much has been said and written respecting the 

 pectinated claw on the middle toe of the fern-owl, 

 but its use has not yet been explicitly determined. 

 White supposed it to serve in the capture of its 

 prey ; but that the bird should strike at its prey with 

 its little feet and short legs is out of the question ; 

 when observed by White to bring its foot to its beak 

 during flight, might it not have been clearing its 

 bill and vibrissae of the hard wing-cases and limbs 

 of the beetles it had captured? In which case the 

 worthy historian of Selborne would indeed have 

 seen what he relates, incorrect as we deem his 

 inference. It is remarkable, however, that other 

 birds of very different habits, as the heron, See.,, 

 have the claws similarly pectinated : may not this 

 modification be connected with their mode of perch- 

 ing on the bare branches of trees ? These are 

 queries yet to be decided : certainly the serrations, 

 whether in the fern-owl or the heron, have nothing 

 to do with the seizure or retention of prey ; in fact, 

 the comb-like teeth are directed obliquely forwards, 

 not backwards, as they ought to be, if intended as 

 retainers of struggling or slippery captives. 



The fern-owl, or night-jar, is a bird of passage, 

 arriving on our island in May, and departing in 

 September : it is spread over "all the southern and 

 middle districts of Europe, and retires to pass the 

 winter in Africa. Woods skirting heaths, or com- 

 mon lands, plantations of oak, or rows of sycamores 

 near farm-houses, are the favourite spots which it 

 haunts. It builds no definite nest, but lays its eggs 

 on the ground among fern or heath, or under the 

 protection of shrubs; they are two in number, mar- 

 bled with white, yellowish brown, and grey. 



The plumage of this bird is beautifully diversified 

 with a rich and intricate commingling of grev, 

 black, brown, rufous, and yellowish, in dots, dashes, 

 and zigzag bars, the latter being conspicuous on the 

 under parts and tail. Length almost ten inches. 



1314. — The Great Ibijati 



(Nyctibius c/randis). Caprimulgus grandis, Latham - 

 Grand Crapaud volant de Cayenne, Buffon. The 

 principal character of the genus Nyctibius consists 

 in an obtuse tooth on each edge of the upper man- 

 dible of the beak. 



This bird is a native of South America, and in 

 general habits resembles the night-jar ; being noc- 

 turnal and insectivorous, pursuing its prey on 

 rapid pennons ; during the day it haunts hollow 

 trees, especially in the neighbourhood of water. 

 The bill is much depressed, and broad at the base ; 

 the tail is rather rounded ; the hind toe is stout and 

 flattened. The general plumage is brown, speckled 

 with black, fulvous, and white ; the ground-colour 

 is deepest on the breast ; head, neck, and lower 

 parts barred. Length nearly thirteen inches. 



1315 .—The Night-H awk 



( Chordeiles Americanus), Caprimulgus Americanus, 

 Wilson ; C. Virginianus, Prince of Musignano and 

 Canino. — Edge of beak smooth ; tail forked. This 

 bird is common in the United States of America, 

 and ranges in summer through the Fur-countries of 

 the north, even to the remotest arctic islands. It 

 is the musquito-hawk described in Parry's first 

 voyage. Its manners, as described by Wilson, 

 remind us closely of those of our own night-jar: it 

 is a bird of strong and vigorous pinions, and in dull 

 and cloudy weather is abroad during the day, 

 giving chase, like the swallow, to its insect prey, 

 sometimes at a considerable height, sometimes 

 skimming over marsh and meadow, and uttering 

 shrill squeaks as it dashes along. Often from an 

 elevation of 60 or 80 feet, will the male, hovering 

 over the female engaged in the duty of incubation, 

 dart suddenly down, head foremost, with incon- 

 ceivable rapidity, and as suddenly wheel up, utter- 

 ing, at the moment he makes the turn, a loud 

 vibratory booming sound, produced by the sudden 

 expansion of his capacious mouth as he sweeps 

 through the air. Having mounted, he again repeats 

 this aerial feat, with the same impetuosity and the 

 same sound as before. The female lays her eggs 

 on the bare ground ; these are two in number, of a 

 dirty white, thickly marbled and dashed with dark 

 olive-brown. Like our British species, this bird 

 perches lengthwise on the branches of trees, or on 

 the edge of fences. During the time the female is 

 sitting she will permit a person to approach her 

 within a foot or two, before she attempts to stir, and 

 then, like our lapwing, feigns lameness, and flutters 

 and tumbles about, keeping just before the pursuer, 

 till she has drawn him to a distance from the spot ; 

 when, just as he hopes to succeed in catching her, 

 she mounts and disappears in an instant. The 

 young when just hatched are veiy shapeless, and 



