.390 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[Pigeons. 



a lixivium of lime, in -which the nuts were steeped 

 for a certain time, was found to have the wished-for 

 effect, and to induce the germinating tendency. 

 The fruit of the banyan (ficus religiosa), the sacred 

 tree of the Hindoos, is also a favourite repast of all 

 the pigeons of this group, as well as of the stronger- 

 billed Vinago." 



1711. — The Bronze-winged Pigeon 

 (Phaps chalcoptera). We now approach a series 

 of species more or less terrestrial in their habits, 

 whence they have by some naturalists been called 

 partridge pigeons : their flight is usually low, and 

 seldom Jong sustained. 



The present beautiful species is a native of 

 Australia, and is common near Sidney from Sep- 

 tember till February. It frequents dry sandy situ- 

 ations, and is generally seen either on the ground, 

 or perched on low branches or decayed stumps 

 of trees; it is usually seen in pairs; and their 

 voice is loud and sonorous. The nest is placed 

 either in the hole of a mouldering tree or on a 

 stump. The eggs are two, and white. We have 

 seen several pairs of these birds in captivity, but 

 are not aware that they have bred in this country. 

 This and an allied species are beautifully figured by 

 Mr. Gould, in his ' Birds of Australia.' The wing- 

 coverts are remarkable for a large ovate spot of 

 metallic lustre, changing in different lights. 



1712.— The Talpicoti 

 (Chamccpelia Talpicoti). Brazil, Paraguay, and 

 other portions of South America are the native 

 countries of this little pigeon. It frequents the j 

 bordeis of woods, associating in families of four or 

 six, but never in large flocks : these perch on low 

 hushes and underwood, at a little distance from the 

 ground, to which indeed they constantly resort ; 

 they are often to be seen near houses in the country 

 and farmyards, and, when captured, speedily become 

 reconciled to the limits of an aviary, and breed freely. 

 Their nest is mostly placed in some bush ; never on 

 the branches of tall trees. Berries and grain con- 

 stitute their food. Length six inches and a quarter. 

 Top of head and back of neck grey ; cheeks and 

 throat pinkish white ; plumage above brownish 

 orange, with black marks on some of the wing- 

 coverts ; under plumage deep vivacious red ; tail 

 brownish black, the two middle feathers being 

 brownish orange. 



1713. — The B-rownbacked Peristera 



(Peristera tympanistrid) . This species is a native 

 of Southern Africa, where it is said to frequent 

 woods; but little appears to be known respecting it. 

 The plumage above is brown, slightly tinged with 

 grey on the neck ; three or four of the greater wing- 

 coverts have large spots of shining green ; forehead, 

 a streak over each eye, and all the under parts white ; 

 middle tail-feathers brown, the two exterior on each 

 side grey, with a broad black bar near the tip; 

 under surface of wings and sides pale orange-brown ; 

 under tail-coverts brown ; bill and legs grey, the 

 latter tinged with reddish ; length nine inches. 



1714. — The Wattled Ground-Pigeon 



(Geophiltts carunculatus). To the group to which 

 this bird belongs Le Vaillant has given the title of 

 Columbi-gallines, in allusion to its approach in many 

 particulars to the gallinaceous birds (the fowl tribe). 

 It would appear that these birds are almost entirely, 

 ft not altogether, terrestrial ; the tarsi are long ; the 

 tail is short ; the wings concave and rounded ; the 

 body thick and heavy. Instead of laying only two 

 eggs, the females are reported to lay eight or ten, 

 which are incubated in the ground ; and the young, 

 like those of the partridge, almost immediately fol- 

 low the parent, who broods over them, and gathers 

 them beneath her wings. They walk and run with 

 great rapidity ; and roost on bushes or the lower 

 branches of trees. 



The present species is a native of South Africa, 

 and was discovered by Le Vaillant in the Namaqua 

 country. We learn from him that the nest is com- 

 posed of twigs and the dried stems of grasses, and 

 placed in some slight hollow of the ground, and 

 there the female lays six or eight reddish-white eggs, 

 which are incubated by both the parents. The 

 young are hatched clothed with down of a reddish 

 grey, run immediately, and follow their parents, 

 which keep them together by a peculiar off-repeated 

 cry, and brood over them with their wings. Their 

 first food consists of the larvae of ants, dead insects, 

 and worms, which the parents point out to them. 

 When strong enough to find their own food, they 

 live on grain of different sorts, berries, insects, &c, 

 and keep together in coveys like the partridge and 

 other Tetraonidae till the pairing-time. Size" about 

 that of the Common Turtle, but with the body 

 stouter and more rounded. Base of the bill and 

 forehead covered with a naked red wattle ; another 

 wattle of the same hue depends from the chin, and 

 branches of it extend upwards towards the ears. 



Plumage of head, cheeks, neck, and breast purplish 

 grey ; back, scapulars, and wing-coverts pale grey ; 

 feathers bordered with white. Bell}'', upper and 

 under tail-coverts, flanks, and under wing-coverts 

 white. Tail short, rounded, deep ruddy brown, ex- 

 cept the outer feather on each side ; these have the 

 outer web white. Legs covered with hexagonal 

 scales, purplish red. Iris with a double circle, yel- 

 low and red. The female has no wattle, and her 

 colours are less pure. (Le Vaillant.) 



1715. — The Nicobar Pigeon 

 {Goiira Nicobarica, Temm.). This splendid bird, 

 of which we have seen living specimens in the 

 Gardens of the Zoological Society, is a native of 

 Java, Nicobar, Sumatra, and many of the Moluccas. 

 It is, as far as we have been enabled to determine, 

 terrestrial in its habits. Its plumage is very reful- 

 gent ; the head is of a dull slate colour, with a tinge 

 of purple ; the neck is ornamented with long flowing 

 pointed feathers like the hackles of the domestic 

 cock, of a rich green with coppery reflexions : the 

 coverts of the wings are also pointed. The whole 

 of the upper surface is burnished with bronze and 

 steel-blue reflexions on glossy green ; the under 

 surface is the same, but not quite so brilliant ; the 

 tail, which is very short and square, is pure white. 

 A fleshy tubercle rises on the base of the upper 

 mandible in the breeding season. Length about 

 fourteen inches. 



1716, 1717. — The Crowned Pigeon- 

 (Lophywis coronatus). This remarkable bird is 

 decidedly the type of a distinct group among the 

 pigeons, to which family one would hardly at first 

 sight conceive it to belong. Its limbs are like those 

 of a fowl, and so are the wings, and the head is sur- 

 mounted by a flat fan-like crest of slender feathers 

 with loose barbs. In size it exceeds a large fowl, 

 measuring in total length twenty-eight inches. It 

 is a native of Java, Banda, New Guinea, and the 

 Moluccas. Of this magnificent species living spe- 

 cimens have been kept in the menagerie of the 

 Zoological Society. In its manners it resembles 

 poultry, and walks about with firm and stately steps, 

 and with its beautiful crest expanded. In India and 

 the islands it is sometimes kept tame in the court- 

 yards among other poultry; and Sir George Staunton, 

 in his ' Embassy to China,' notices it under the title 

 of Crown Bird, and states that it is very familiar. 

 Its voice, though plaintive, is loud and sonorous, 

 and the cooing of the male is said to be accompa- 

 nied by a noise somewhat like the " gobble" of a 

 turkey-cock. 



This heavy terrestrial bird is stated to build a nest 

 in trees, the eggs being two in number. Its food 

 consists of grain and berries, and its flesh is reported 

 to be excellent. General colour deep slate blue, 

 with a patch of maroon and white on the wing; 

 quills and tail blackish ash, the latter paler at the 

 tip. Mr. Selby regards the Crowned Pigeon as re- 

 lated to the Curassows. 



ORDER RASORES. 



The characters of this order are very clear and defi- 

 nite, and at once separate between it and every 

 other into which the feathered race is divided. 



The birds composing it are all granivorous, feed- 

 ing upon the produce of the various cerealia, grasses, 

 &c, to which may be added roots, berries, and also 

 insects and their larvre: the limbs are formed for 

 terrestrial habits, and the hind-toe, as a rule, is 

 placed higher upon the tarsus than the plane of the 

 anterior toes. The wings are mostly rounded, con- 

 cave, and unfit for rapid or long continued flight, 

 though to this rule some few r species afford exceptions. 

 Formed for the ground, these birds walk well, and 

 run with considerable rapidity ; the limbs are mus- 

 cular ; the body is stout and heavy ; the beak strong 

 and horny, and at its base there is a tough mem- 

 brane, in which the nostrils are situated. Most are 

 polygamous, and the females lay several eggs. The 

 young are hatched in a state of considerable for- 

 wardness, and follow the mother, who broods over 

 them with her wings, and leads them in search of 

 food (grains and insects), which they themselves 

 pick up. Many roost in trees : others on the ground 

 exclusively. It is to this order lhat most of our 

 domestic birds, the feathered tenants of the farm- 

 yard, belong: and also most of those unreclaimed 

 by man, celebrated for the excellency of their flesh, 

 as the grouse, partridge, quail, and pheasant. The 

 breast-bone is very narrow, with a deep short keel, 

 and at each side posteriorly is a deep and extensive 

 notch, or indenture, besides which are two extensive 

 j lateral processes. The merrythought is feeble. 



1718. — A Group of Domestic Poultry 

 or Rasorial birds (Gallinaceous), constituting the 

 family Phasianidae of Vigors. — a, the Peacock; 

 b, the Turkey ; c, Cock and Hen of the Dorking 



breed ; d, Guinea-fowl ; e, Cock of the Hamburg 

 breed ; /, Game Cock and Hen ; g, Bantam Cock 

 and Hen. 



Of this group we shall commence with the com- 

 mon fowl (Gallus domesticus, Ray). Of all our 

 domestic birds, the common fowl appears to have 

 been the longest reclaimed, and is the most exten- 

 sively spread. It has ramified into numerous va- 

 rieties, a circumstance which attests not only the 

 antiquity, but the completeness of its subjugation 

 This bird is of Indian origin ; the wild stock whence 

 it has descended is, probably, the Bankiva jungle- 

 fowl, which interbreeds freely with the common 

 domestic race, and has been crossed with some of 

 the game breeds for the purpose of keeping up the 

 spirit and vigour of the stock. 



The circumstances attendant upon the primeval 

 domestication and spread of the common fowl are 

 buried in obscurity, nor know we at what period it 

 became naturalized in our island. Its introduction, 

 however, must have been at a remote epoch, as we 

 find it among the things prohibited by the Druids as 

 food. Allusions to the common fowl are abundant 

 in the earliest writings, and we know that the 

 ancient Greeks, on whose medals its figure is often 

 seen, valued it for its pugnacious disposition and 

 its prowess. Cock-fighting was one of their diver- 

 sions, and the breeds most in repute were those of 

 Rhodes and Tanagra in Boeotia. Distinguished 

 breeds were found also in Euboea, Media, and Persia, 

 as well as in Egypt. 



The Romans, whose taste for sanguinary spec- 

 tacles is notorious, were extremely partial to the 

 amusement of cock-fighting, and trained birds for 

 the purpose. Indeed "the taste for this cruel sport 

 seems to be very general : the Mussulman natives 

 of India are greatly addicted to it, and one species 

 of jungle-fowl, called Sonnerat's jungle-fowl (Gallus 

 Sonneratii), is in high request ; this bird, though 

 smaller than the domestic breed, is superior in spirit 

 and endurance, and usually proves victorious in the 

 combat. The Chinese are devoted to the sport ; and 

 the natives of Sumatra enter into it with so much 

 ardour, that instances, as it is said, have occurred 

 of men staking not only their goods and money, 

 but even their children oil the issue of a battle. 



In England the same taste long prevailed, but 

 happily the practice, more honoured in the breach 

 than the observance, is now greatly on the decline, 

 if not obsolete ; it is indeed incompatible with the 

 diffusion of knowledge, the tendency of which is to 

 humanise mankind, and lead the mind from sordid 

 and debasing pursuits to sources of intellectual en- 

 joyment. The common fowl is a hardy bird, and 

 capable of enduring considerable severity of cold ; 

 hence its extensive distribution in a domestic state. 

 The warmer and temperate latitudes, however, are 

 most congenial to it; in the high northern regions 

 it cannot be kept without, difficulty, and therefore 

 is not general in the bleak realms of Siberia ; 

 indeed it is found not to breed. 



Besides the game race, which approaches the 

 nearest in character to the wild stock, several va- 

 rieties exist in our island. One, the Friesland, has 

 the feathers curled back, the plumage having a 

 ruffled and by no means agreeable appearance. 

 Another breed, the Rumpless, or Persian, Fig. 1719, 

 is destitute not only of tail-feathers, but also of the 

 tail itself. Some breeds have the comb greatly 

 developed, in others it is small, and its place is 

 usurped by a tuft of feathers. Dorking is cele- 

 brated for a large and delicately flavoured variety, 

 distinguished by having five toes on each leg, the 

 hind-toe being doubled. The Poland (of which 

 there are the gold and silver spangled), the black 

 Spanish, and the Hamburg breeds are also excellent. 

 A small breed of fowls, termed the Bantam, (origi- 

 nally from Java), is very beautiful. The old Ban- 

 tam fowls, which are not much larger than a par- 

 tridge, are feathered to the toes, the tarsi having 

 long stiff feathers down them ; there is a small 

 variety, however, with clean legs and an elegantly 

 spangled plumage, much in request. It was brought 

 to perfection by Sir John Sebright. The tail of the 

 cock is simply folded like that of the hen, without 

 the usual recurved drooping feathers. This beauti- 

 ful bird is very spirited. 



Besides these is the silk fowl from Japan and 

 China, which is white, with the feathers decomposed 

 and silky to the sight and touch. The comb and 

 wattles are purple-lake, and the periosteum (thin 

 membrane covering the bones) is dark. There is in 

 India a small variety (Galius Morio, Temm.) which 

 has also the periosteum black, and the comb, wattles, 

 and skin dull purple. A gentleman who had this 

 breed near London presented us with a chicken for 

 j the table ; its flesh was excellent. 



One of the most remarkable of the domestic breeds 

 is that known in India by the name of the Kulm 

 fowl, of which the males stand upwards of twenty- 

 six inches in height. Some are inclined to regard 

 this as specifically distinct from the ordinary race . 



