290 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[Swallows. 



tails respecting the cavern itself and the surrounding 

 scenery. 



1320. — The Lotjg-eared Podargus 



(Podargus auritus). The genus Podargus is one 

 of the aberrant groups of the Capri mulgidae, and as 

 its structure departs to a certain extent from the 

 typical form presented by our common night-jar, so 

 also it exhibits a corresponding difference with re- 

 gard to habits and manners. Exclusively confined 

 to Australia and the islands of the Indian Archi- 

 pelago, the genus Podargus contains ten or twelve 

 recognised species, of which our Pictorial Museum 

 contains some of the principal species. They are 

 nocturnal in their habits, appearing stupified by day. 

 The formation of the wing renders their flight less 

 buoyant and undulating than in the typical night- 

 jars, though it is at the same time rapid ; and the 

 enormous gape of the beak, conjoined with its 

 strength, enables them to take in the largest insects. 

 The French give the name of Crapaud volant, or 

 flying toad, to the common night-jar, in allusion to its 

 wide gape ; but the depressed form of the head and 

 the enormous width of the gape of these birds give 

 them a much better claim to such a title, and indeed 

 without much impropriety they may be regarded as 

 representatives among the feathered race of those 

 nocturnal dusky insectivorous reptiles. 



In the genus Podargus the eyes are large and 

 staring ; the bill is robust, and the tip and margins 

 of the upper mandible fold over those of the lower ; 

 the ridge of the upper mandible is elevated and 

 arched: vibrissse scanty; tarsi short; the middle 

 claw not serrated, nor the hind toe directed forwards : 

 they perch in the ordinary manner. Many have 

 plumelets produced by the elongation of the ear- 

 tufts. The colouring of the plumage is sombre, and 

 composed of deep tones of brown, black, grey, and 

 tawny yellow brended together. 



The Jong-eared Podargus is a native of Sumatra : 

 in its aspect it is very owl-like. Its head is volu- 

 minous, its eyes large, and the gape of its bill is 

 enormous ; and the elongation of the ear-plumes 

 adds to the singularity of its appearance. It is a 

 recluse bird, and active only during the hours of 

 darkness ; hut beyond this we know nothing of its 

 economy. It forms the type of the sub-genus Ba- 

 trachostomus. 



1321. — The Papuan Podargus 

 {Podargus Papuensis). This is another species of 

 the present genus, and is destitute of elongated ear- 

 tofts. It appears to be nearly related to a Japanese 

 species, described by Dr. Horsfield under the title 

 of Podargus Javanensis, and is very characteristic of 

 the group to which it belongs. As we have already 

 observed, the night-jar is a migratory bird through- 

 out every part of Europe ; but whether the species 

 of the genus Podargus obey a similar law is not 

 very clear. It is not unlikely, however, that those 

 peculiar to' Australia pass periodically from one 

 district to another, as is the case with the greater 

 number if not all the feathered tenants of that vast 

 continent ; which, according to the statements of 

 travellers, migrate from region to region according 

 to the season, and regularly return to their summer 

 : breeding haunts, summer there answering to our 

 winter. In North America, the Night-hawk, the 

 Whip-poor-Will, and other Caprimulgidse are migra- 

 " tory. With respect to nocturnal habits, the members 

 ■ of the genus Podargus are more confused by light 

 '•than the ordinary Caprimulgidse, if we except that 

 strange bird the Guacharo : they haunt the solitudes 

 of the woods, and the sombre but intermingled tints 

 of their plumage screen them from observation. At 

 night they issue forth on their aerial chase, and 

 retire with the first streaks of day to their wonted 

 seclusion. 



1322. — The Coed-River Podargus 

 {Podargus Immeralis) This species is a native of 

 New Holland: above, it is variegated with ashy- 

 brown and yellow r ; the head and sides of the back 

 are conspicuously striped with black ; the forehead 

 and dorsal plumage lightly dotted and banded with 

 white. The plumage of the under parts is trans- 

 versely striped with narrow lines of black, on a dirty- 

 yellow ground. Total length, twenty inches. 



In the ' Zoological Proceedings' for 1840, p. 163, 

 will be found the description of a closely allied but 

 smaller species, under the name of Podargus bra- 

 ■chypterus, or Macrorhynchus, which inhabits the 

 district of the Swan River, Western Australia, but 

 without any account of its habits or manners ; indeed 

 there is much in the economy of the whole of these 

 strange-looking birds which remains yet to be ascer- 

 tained. 



1323. — The. Javanese Podakgus 

 {Podargus Javanensis, Horsfield). Chabba-wonno 

 cf the Javanese, or Burong saiang : see ' Catalogue 

 of a Collection of Birds from Malaya,' by T. C. 

 Eyton, Esq, ' Zool. Proceeds., 1839,' p. 101. The 



general colour of this bird is ferruginous or rufous, 

 with a tint of buff yellow, varied by undulating 

 transverse bands of dark brown ; a collar of pale 

 yellowish white, variegated with two narrow bands 

 of deep brown, passes round the lower part of the 

 neck, and from this collar several large irregular 

 white marks are disposed in an interrupted series 

 from the root of the wing to the middle of the back ; 

 on the breast and under parts several white feathers 

 are scattered. The tail, which is rounded, is marked 

 with strong transverse bands; the feet are rufous; 

 the claws blackish; the bill obscure, yellow, and 

 rather shining. Length, nine inches. 



This species, which is a native of Java, is of small 

 size compared with the Podargi generally, but it 

 agrees with them in form and style of colouring. It 

 tenants the depths of extensive forests, passing the 

 hours of day in sleep, and rousing up on the 

 approach of night to commence its chase of insect 

 prey : no further details of its habits have been 

 received. 



1324 — The Fork-tailed Goatsucker 



(Psalurus macropterus) . The genus Psalurus 

 closely approaches the genus Caprimulgus in its 

 principal characters : the vibrissas of the bill are 

 strong ; the tail is excessively long, and deeply 

 forked. 



This singular bird is a native of Paraguay and 

 Brazil : a bright ruddy demi-collar ornaments the 

 back part of the neck ; the two external tail-feathers 

 in the male are greatly elongated, far surpassing the 

 others ; but in the female these feathers are not so 

 excessively produced. The Fork -tailed Goatsucker 

 flies with great rapidity, expanding and closing its 

 tail as it skims along. It is crepuscular and noc- 

 turnal, and, like our Night-jar, gives chase to insects, 

 on which it feeds. 



1325. — The African Long-tailed Night-jar 



(Scotornis climahatis). In the genus Scotornis the 

 outer toe is shorter than the inner ; the vibrissse of 

 the beak are strong and numerous ; the tail is 

 lengthened and graduated. 



The present species, which is common in Senegal, 

 appears to be larger than it really is, from the great 

 length of the tail, which measures nine inches, of 

 which three inches and a quarter are occasioned by 

 the two middle tail-feathers exceeding the others. 

 The vibrissas are longer than the bill: of the quill- 

 feathers the third is longest. The groundcolour of 

 the plumage is light ferruginous brown varied with 

 dark freckles. The chin and a stripe from the 

 angle of the gape white ; the lesser wing-coverts 

 have at their tips a broad band of white, and the 

 greater have a terminal spot of cream colour much 

 smaller than the former. The ground-colour of the 

 five primary quills is entirely black, without any 

 rufous, their tips only benig freckled with grey ; but 

 they are crossed in the middle by a snowy white 

 broad band beginning in the inner web of the first 

 and terminating on the outer web of the sixth quill ; 

 the remaining quills are varied with black and 

 rufous and tipped with white. The tail is variegated 

 in the usual manner, the middle pair of feathers 

 having about twenty very slender transverse bars, 

 but much undulated, while the outer margin of the 

 exterior feather and the tips of that and of the next 

 are pure white. No grey in the plumage. Total 

 length, including the tail, thirteen inches. 



1326.— The Leona Night-Jar 

 (Macrodipteryx Africanus). Caprimulgus Macro- 

 dipterus, Afzelius ; C. longipennis, Shaw ; Pennon- 

 winged Night-jar ; Long-shafted Goatsucker. This 

 curious bird is remarkable for two long elastic 

 shafts issuing from the middle of the wing-coverts, 

 and varying in length from eight or ten to twenty 

 inches ; they are tipped with a broad web for three, 

 four, or five inches, and occur only in the male. 

 What may be their use is difficult to imagine. Mr. 

 Swainson ('Birds of Western Africa'), after stating 

 that the female is entirely destitute of these long- 

 shafted or supplementary feathers, proceeds to 

 observe that the fact is important, as " it goes far 

 to prove that they are not essential to the economy 

 of the species ; for if otherwise, both sexes would 

 possess them, unless it be contended — a supposition 

 highly improbable — that the male feeds in one 

 manner and the female in another. In the absence 

 of all information on this point, we are led to con- 

 clude that they are more ornamental than useful, 

 given to the male sex as attractive decorations to 

 the female, in a similar manner as the flowing 

 feathers of the Paradise-bird are known to distinguish 

 the male sex. In their texture they are remarkably 

 flexible, moving about with the least breath of 

 wind." The inner web at the end is two inches 

 broad in the middle ; the outer web is scarcely half 

 an inch. 



The Leona Night-jar is a small species, measuring, 

 from bill to end of tail, about eight inches. The 

 wings are long, exceeding the tip of the tail, which 



latter is even, and consists of ten feathers; the bill 

 is feeble; the vibrissa strong. The colour of the 

 plumage consists of mingled tints. Upon each web 

 of every primary quill-feather is a row of nine rufous 

 and nine black spots. The secondaiy quill-feathers 

 are black, with four rufous bands; the middle tail- 

 feathers are grey, speckled with black points, and 

 crossed by six black bars ; the outer web of the 

 lateral tail-feather on each side is fulvous white, 

 with about ten black spots at equal distances from 

 each other. Some of the scapulars have a broad 

 cream-coloured stripe, which forms a connected 

 series when the feathers lie over each other. The 

 male has a i'ew obscure white mottles about the 

 throat and ears. 

 Of the habits of this species nothing is known. 



1327.— The Nacunda 

 {Pro'ithera diurna, Swainson). Caprimulgus dhu- 

 nus, Wied. The genus Pro'ithera differs from Ca- 

 primulgus in the paucity of the vibrissa? round the 

 gape of the beak, in the great length of the wings, 

 the shortness of the tail, and the size and complete 

 nakedness of the tarsi. 



The Nacunda is a native of Brazil and Paraguay, 

 and is, to a great extent at least, diurnal in its 

 habits, being seen abroad in cloudy days in flocks 

 of fifteen or twenty, skimming over the ponds in 

 pursuit of insects, precisely in the manner of swal- 

 lows. 



The plumage above is a mixture of grey-brown, 

 yellowish red, and brownish black, with great spots 

 of blackish brown, and wide borders of yellowish 

 red. The chin is pale yellow, striped with grey 

 brown. The tail is marked with brownish black 

 and bright, yellow, and crossed by nine or ten trans- 

 verse bands speckled with brownish black. Plumage 

 beneath, white ; streaked with grey brown on the 

 chest ; below spotless. 



Family HIRUNDLNID.E (SWALLOWS). 



The present family comprises an extensive and 

 very natural group of birds, distinguished for their 

 powers of flight and insectivorous appetite. The 

 limbs are short and comparatively feeble, but the 

 toes are furnished with sharp hooked claws for the 

 purpose of clinging to walls or the sides of rocks. 

 In the swifts the toes are all directed forwards. In 

 the true swallow the hind-toe is reversible; the 

 wings are long and pointed, and the quill- feathers 

 of firm texture : the general plumage is close set, 

 always smooth, sometimes burnished and glossy : 

 the beak is small, depressed, broad at the base, and 

 with a wide gape. The food, consisting of the 

 smaller species of insects, is always taken on the 

 wing ; and they often completely fill the throat with 

 their insect prey, so as to distend it like a pouch, 

 doubtless in order that their nestlings may have a 

 full supply at each visit. The whole of the active 

 existence of these birds is, in fact, passed upon the 

 wing : they skim along with marvellous rapidity 

 quarter their ground over meadows, lakes, and 

 rivers ; wheel round barns and steeples, and dash 

 along apparently as untired when evening closes as 

 when they began their aerial evolutions with the 

 first dawn of "day. They feed and drink on the 

 wing, and pursue each other in sportive chase, per- 

 forming the most rapid and beautiful evolutions. 



The British species of this group are the Chimney- 

 Swallow (Hirundo rustica), the Martin, or Window- 

 Swallow (H. urbica), the Sand-martin (H. ripara). 

 and the Swift (Cypselus apus). We may add 

 the White-bellied Swift of Gibraltar, or Alpine 

 Swift (Cypselus Alpinus), as a rare and accidental 

 visitor. All our swallow tribe are birds of passage ; 

 they come in spring, and depart in autumn, winging 

 their way to the south, and passing the winter in 

 Africa, the great rendezvous of the migratory birds 

 of Europe. 



Fig. 1328 represents a group of British Hirundi- 

 nidse"; a, the Swallow ; b, the Martin ; c, the Sand- 

 Martin ; d, the Swift. 



1328 (a), 1329.— The Swallow 

 (Hirundo rustica). "The swallow," says Sir H. 

 Davy, "is one of my favourite birds, and a rival of 

 the nighlingale ; for "he glads my sense of seeing as 

 much as the other does my sense of hearing. He 

 is the joyous prophet of the year, the harbinger of 

 the best season ; he lives a life of enjoyment amongst 

 the loveliest forms of nature ; winter is unknown to 

 him, and he leaves the green meadows of England 

 in autumn for the myrtle and orange groves of 1 taly 

 and for the plains of Africa." 



The swallow is too well known to need a very de- 

 tailed description. It makes its appearance in our 

 island about the middle of April, though sometimes 

 a few stragglers arrive earlier, before the spring has 

 fairly opened : and, as they disappear, should the 

 weather set in cold, we are inclined to suspect that 

 they retrace their passage to a warmer latitude, and 

 return with the great body on their way northwards. 

 Who has not watched the swallow on the wing; 



