Part 34

THE GREAT TUFTED OR DALMATIAN PELICAN.

The GREAT TUFTED or DALMATIAN PELICAN (Pelecanus crispus) is white, slightly tinged with greyish red, except upon the quills, which are black. In this species, the head-feathers are long and curly, forming a sort of helmet. The eye is silvery white, beak greyish yellow, bag beneath the throat blood-red veined with blue, and the foot black. The plumage of the young is greyish. The length of this bird is sixty-six inches, breadth one hundred and fourteen inches, the length of wing thirty inches, and tail eight inches. The habitat of the Great Tufted Pelican extends from the Black Sea over all the well-watered districts of Central and Southern Asia; a few penetrate annually into South China and North Africa, but in both these regions they are comparatively of rare occurrence.

The first example known of this bird was shot in 1828 in Dalmatia by Baron Fildegg, and it has been since found by Rüppell and Kittlitz in Abyssinia.

"It arrives," says the baron, "in spring and autumn, giving preference to the neighbourhood of Fort Opus, on the river Naronta, which is bordered with morasses. It comes through Bosnia, seldom alone, but generally in flocks. I have seen as many as twelve together hunting for fish. It is very cunning, and is extremely difficult to shoot."

No particulars are known respecting its habits, nidification, &c., which are supposed to resemble others of its family.

THE DIVERS (Urinatores).

THE birds belonging to this extensive order are all aquatic, and almost exclusively subsist on fishes, which they capture by diving. In conformity with this mode of life, they all present a general type of structure which is unmistakable. Their bodies are powerfully built, almost cylindrical in shape, and their legs placed far backwards. Their wings are short, feeble, and pointed, but little adapted to flight, and in many cases almost resembling fins, while their dense smooth plumage, which is impenetrable to water, admirably fits them for a residence in that element. Their beak is strong, hard, acutely pointed, and generally compressed at the sides; it is seldom much longer than the head, and its margins are usually sharp and well adapted for cutting. The foot is furnished either with three or four toes, of which the three in front are either strongly-webbed or furnished with lateral expansions of the skin, which render them efficient instruments of propulsion. The tail is often altogether wanting, or if present is always short, rounded, and generally formed of more than twelve feathers. There is much similarity in the coloration of their plumage, in which black and pure white predominate; in some species, however, variety of colour is not wanting. Generally speaking, these birds are all inhabitants of the sea; nevertheless, a few are to be met with only in inland lakes: some species have a very wide range in a great variety of climates; but the majority prefer the polar regions of the world, both north and south, from which, however, some of them migrate at stated intervals. The greater part of their lives is passed upon the surface of the water; indeed, it is only during the breeding season that they come upon dry land. Although many species fly with tolerable facility, in most instances the wings are too feeble to support the weight of their bodies, and are principally used almost like fins, to enable them to progress more rapidly when diving beneath the surface of the water, where they obtain the fishes and small crustaceans that constitute their usual food. A few diving birds build their nests solitarily; but by far the greater number congregate in innumerable hosts, and breed in company with each other upon rocks and islands that rise abruptly from the sea. The eggs are two in number.

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The GREBES (Podicipites) are only to be met with in fresh water, and accordingly are classed by some naturalists in the immediate vicinity of the Coots, to which, as far as relates to the structure of their feet, they certainly bear a considerable resemblance. Their true position, however, we consider to be undoubtedly among the Divers. Their body is remarkably broad and squat; their neck long and moderately slender; their head small and elongated; their beak long, conical, and compressed at the sides, with incurved, sharp cutting edges, the lower mandible being slightly overlapped by the upper one. The legs are placed so far backward, that they seem to be attached quite to the posterior extremity of the body, and moreover are of very peculiar conformation. The tarsi are of moderate height, and so much compressed at the sides that the front of the instep presents a sharp smooth edge. The structure of the foot is likewise remarkable; of the three front toes, the exterior is as long or longer than the middle toe, while the inner toe is by far the shortest of the three; the hinder toe, which is slightly elevated, is a mere rudiment. The three front toes are connected by a web as far as the first joint, but beyond this point they are separated, although each is furnished on both sides with a broad fold of skin, which is not scalloped, but smoothly rounded off in front, where it is further strengthened by the broad flattened claws. The wings are small, short, and narrow, the second and third quills being longer than the rest. The tail is altogether wanting, its place being occupied by a small bunch of fur-like feathers. The general plumage is everywhere very thick, and upon the lower part of the body so smooth and bright as almost to resemble satin, while on the head, neck, and hinder part of the body it has somewhat the appearance of hair. When in their nuptial plumage, the head of the adults is adorned with a remarkable collar or frill, developed from the sides of the face and neck, or provided with bunches of feathers, generally decorated with bright colours. Members of this family are to be found in the temperate zones of both hemispheres, beyond which they do not extend very far either to the north or south. Their usual habitat is on ponds or large sheets of stagnant water, and exceptionally on deep, slow-moving streams; but always where sedges and rushes are abundant. Occasionally, though rarely, they have been seen upon the sea. "Probably there are no birds," says Naumann, "better entitled to the name of water-fowl than the Grebes"--at least we know of no others that do not on some occasions make their appearance on dry land. It is only, however, under the most urgent circumstances--as, for example, when wounded--that these approach the shore, and even then they keep so close to the brink that on the slightest alarm they can at once plunge into their proper element. It would seem that whatever they do must be done in the water; they cannot even rise upon the wing without a preliminary rush over the surface of the lake: from dry land they cannot commence their flight. Their whole life is divided between swimming and diving; and even when other water-birds go on shore to sleep, the Grebes repose floating on their liquid bed. When thus sleeping upon the tranquil water, they float as buoyantly as if they were made of cork, their legs raised to the edges of their wings, and their head comfortably buried among the feathers between their back and shoulder. Should, however, a storm disturb their rest, and the boisterous elements drive them towards the shore, they at once turn round to face the blast, and are generally able, by the active movement of their paddle-like feet, to maintain themselves in the same place.

The conformation of their bodies, their tapering shape, small heads, sharp beak, and the very backward position of their feet, enable them to dive with wonderful facility; in fact, when under water they make their way more swiftly than even when swimming at the top. A man upon the shore would find it very difficult to keep pace with a diving Grebe, as, aided by wings and feet, it shoots onwards with the velocity of a rocket. When flying, their long neck is stretched out straight forwards and their feet backwards, while their small wings, by the rapidity of their movements, carry them very quickly through the air. In the absence of any tail, they steer their course by means of their feet, and are able not only to direct but to change the course of their flight with surprising facility; at the end of their journey they come down obliquely upon the surface of the water, into which they fall with a very audible splash. When alarmed they always instantly dive, and nothing but the utmost extremity of danger will compel them to take wing. The food of these birds consists of small fishes, insects, frogs, and tadpoles, in search of which they dive to the very bottom of the pond, but always bring them to the top before swallowing them. In their manner of breeding, the Grebes are in many respects peculiar. They live together in pairs, the male and the female exhibiting the greatest affection towards each other, keeping each other company even during their migrations, and always returning together to the same pond. When the time arrives, they construct a floating nest, which, instead of being built of dry materials, as in the case of other birds, is merely a mass of wet weeds, in which the eggs are kept not only constantly damp, but absolutely in the water. The weeds used in building the nest are procured by diving, from the bottom of the pond; these are put together in the most slovenly manner, so as to resemble a floating heap of rubbish rather than a nest, and are then fastened to some old upright reeds. The number of the eggs varies from three to six; they are of elongated shape, and at first of a greenish white colour, but they soon become dirty, and are then of a yellowish red or olive-brown tint, sometimes marbled.

The male and female sit upon the eggs alternately, but the female has the greater share in the business of incubation, the male often swimming around the place apparently for the purpose of keeping her company. Should, however, both be obliged to leave the nest at the same time, they carefully cover the eggs with a mass of half-rotten water-plants, brought up from the bottom for the purpose. In about three weeks the young are hatched, even from eggs which during a great part of the time have been lying in the water. From the first moment they are able to swim, and in the course of a few days to dive; they are, however, constantly accompanied by their parents, who often give them shelter under their wings. Having once quitted the nest, the young ones seldom return to it, a comfortable resting and sleeping place being afforded to them on the backs of their parents.

THE CRESTED GREBE.

The CRESTED GREBE (Podiceps cristatus), the stateliest member of the family, is a bird of considerable size, measuring from twenty-five to twenty-six inches in length, and from thirty-six to thirty-seven in breadth. The length of the wing is seven inches. During the time of its courtship this bird is furnished with a very remarkable head-dress, consisting of a large bunch of long feathers, divided above into two horn-like appendages, and also with a prominent collar or frill of hair-like plumes, on each side of the upper extremity of the neck and sides of the head. The upper parts of its body are of a shining blackish brown, a bright patch on each wing; the region of the cheeks and the throat are white; the collar around the neck rust-red, with a blackish brown margin. The under part of the body is of a glossy satiny white, speckled upon the sides with rusty red and dark grey. The eye is carmine-red, the bridles red, the beak pale red; the outer aspect of the tarsus is dark horn-colour, and the inner side yellowish grey. In its winter garb, the tufts upon the head and the collar are not developed, the brown upon the upper part of the body is mingled with deep grey, and the rust-red of the collar as well as the rust-brown of the sides is duller. The female is distinguishable from the male by her smaller size, but not by any difference in her colour. The young birds are less beautiful than are the adults in their winter dress, and are striped about the head and neck. The nestlings are at first clothed in greyish brown, streaked with black.

The Crested Grebe is to be met with wherever suitable pieces of water exist over all parts of Europe south of 60° north latitude. It is by no means scarce in Germany, and is still more abundant in lakes further to the south. In England it is principally met with in Shropshire and Lincolnshire, and is reckoned as a stationary bird even in Zetland. In the northern countries it makes its appearance early in the spring, generally in April, or shortly after the melting of the snow, and remains until October or November, when it retreats to Southern Europe and Northern Africa. In Greece and Spain it remains all through the winter; indeed, the numbers to be met with in those countries are considerably augmented by arrivals from localities further north. In North-western Africa it likewise makes its appearance at regular intervals, but in Egypt only a few solitary birds are to be met with. In Central and Northern Asia it is quite as common as it is in Europe, and there its range seems to extend from Siberia to Southern China and Japan. It is likewise abundant in North America, extending from the north of that continent to the southern provinces of the United States. In early spring these birds always make their appearance in pairs, but towards the autumn large parties of them may be seen together, consisting of fifty or sixty individuals, who keep company with each other during their migration southwards. In their migrations it is generally understood that these birds only travel by night, and that wherever large lakes or rivers are to be found, as also along the sea-coast, they make their way principally by swimming. During the summer season the Crested Grebe takes up its abode on extensive lakes, where reeds and other water-plants are abundant. Their powers of swimming and diving are quite wonderful. According to Naumann's observations, this Grebe will dive in the course of half a minute to a distance of two hundred feet. Its flight, too, when it thinks proper to take wing, is tolerably swift; it always proceeds in a straight line, and the whirring noise made by the rapid motion of its wings is audible at some distance. In its behaviour it seems to be the most circumspect and the shyest member of the family, and is not easily approached, more especially as it generally keeps in open water, where it can see to a distance. If surprised when in the vicinity of a bed of reeds, it immediately takes refuge among them, but only so long as to enable it again to plunge into deep water; if pursued it immediately dives, and when it comes up again to breathe, allows only its beak to appear above the surface, and as soon as it has taken breath dives again, until it has placed itself quite beyond the reach of danger.

The male and female are deservedly attached to each other. Should one of them accidentally stray to a distance, the other never ceases to call the wanderer back with anxious care; they generally swim about in close companionship, and often make their voice heard as they playfully caress each other. At the commencement of the breeding season each male zealously resists the intrusion of another pair within the area he has selected, so that where several pairs have taken possession of a piece of water, desperate battles are frequently fought, at the end of which the vanquished combatant has generally to have recourse to his wings in order to escape from the fury of the victor. It is only when the reeds and sedges have attained a certain height that a pair sets seriously to work upon the construction of their nest, which is always placed in the vicinity of a group of tall reeds or rushes, and frequently at a considerable distance from the shore. The nest, when constructed, is about a foot in diameter and six inches high, its cavity is extremely shallow, and it becomes gradually pressed flatter and flatter by the weight of the laying birds; even when completed, the fabric has very little the appearance of a nest, but rather resembles a heap of rotten weeds casually blown together by the winds, and left to float on the top of the water. It is wonderful that such a wet lump should bear the weight of the bird that sits upon it, and still more astonishing that it is not upset, as its occupant steps on and off a structure that possesses so little buoyancy. The normal number of eggs usually laid in this strange nest may be stated at four, sometimes there are five, sometimes only three. Out of seven nests examined by Holtz, four of them contained four eggs, one five, one three, and one two. The colour of the eggs is at first pure white, which soon, however, changes into a dirty yellow. The male and female sit upon the eggs alternately, with an unwearying assiduity, that in their case is indispensable, seeing that the eggs are actually half immersed in water; and on examining a nest from which the sitting bird has been recently driven, it will be found that not only the eggs, but the entire nest is warm throughout. Both manifest extreme attachment to their young brood; should a stranger approach, they hastily cover it up with weeds, and only retire to a little distance, returning to their charge so soon as danger has passed. It is asserted that if before incubation has commenced the eggs are abstracted one at a time, the female will lay twenty eggs or more in succession. As soon as the young are hatched, they are introduced by their parents to their proper element, and carefully defended, more especially by the male bird, who seems to take upon himself the duty of a sentinel. The nestlings are fed with insects and such small diet, at first put into their beaks, but afterwards only placed before them on the surface of the water. They soon, however, learn to dive in search of small fishes, and do not long require the supervision of their elders. The young, more especially at an early period, are elegant little creatures. "It is a treat," says Jäckel, "to watch the little family as now one, now another of the young brood, tired with the exertion of swimming or of struggling against the rippling water, mount as to a resting-place on their mother's back; to see how gently, when they have recovered their strength, she returns them to the water; to hear the anxious plaintive notes of the little wanderers when they have ventured too far from the nest; to see their food laid before them by the old birds; or to witness the tenderness with which they are taught to dive. It is only when they are eight days old that they are strong enough to enter upon this last important part of their education, which is commenced in the following manner:--The mother bird at first swims towards her little flock two or three times, holding in her beak the proffered food; but as they advance to receive it she gradually retires before them, and at last dives with it again and again, thus tempting the timid little creatures to follow her, and always at the end of the performance allowing the best swimmer to obtain the tempting prize as a reward for its exertions." The flesh of these birds is quite uneatable, but great quantities of them are destroyed annually on account of their skins.

THE LITTLE GREBE.

The LITTLE GREBE (Podiceps minor) is much more plentiful than the species last described. It is a beautiful bird, measuring nine or ten inches in length and seventeen or eighteen in breadth, the length of its wing being four inches. When in its nuptial dress, the plumage of the upper part of the body is brilliant black shimmering with brown, the under parts being greyish white, clouded with a darker shade; the throat and a place in the front of the eye are black; the head, sides of the neck, and throat, chestnut-brown; the eye is reddish brown; the bridles yellowish green; the beak yellow at its base and black towards its apex; the external aspect of the foot is blackish, internally it is of a clear horn-colour. In its autumnal plumage the upper parts of the body are more of a brownish grey, the under surface satiny white; the head and neck bright grey.

The range of this bird is pretty nearly the same as that of the species last described; it is not, however, so numerously met with during the winter season. It makes its appearance in Germany about the end of March, and remains in that country so long as the waters are free from ice; but during the winter it takes up its abode in the south of Europe. In Great Britain it is met with as far north as the Hebrides, and in the southern counties of England may be seen throughout the year.

It usually selects for its residence some large pond well provided with reeds and rushes, and it is also occasionally to be found in morasses and other swampy localities. It seems to avoid clear water; its food, which consists principally of insects and their larvæ, being more abundantly met with in ditches and muddy places. In its habits and mode of life it closely resembles other members of its family; it seems, however, to be more active than the larger species, and uses its feet with more facility in running.

In swimming and diving it may be said to excel even its congeners, but its powers of flying are very limited, owing to the shortness of its wings. Its flight, indeed, is said by Naumann to resemble that of a grasshopper. In summer time it is very shy, and can only be approached with difficulty, but in the winter its shyness diminishes, so that it will even come near villages, and at this season it frequently falls a victim to its own carelessness. When alarmed it immediately dives, and if further threatened with danger, secretes itself in the water under the shelter of the herbage, leaving nothing but its beak visible above the surface, and thus it will remain until all cause for apprehension is removed. Its voice is a short piping note that sounds like "bib" or "bibi," and this during the pairing season is repeated so rapidly that it sounds something like a "shake" upon some musical instrument.

The nest of the Little Grebe is always placed among water-plants, but is never hidden from view; more commonly, indeed, it is rather a conspicuous object; it is, however, invariably removed from the sides of the pond. In its appearance, it is just as rudely constructed, as wet and uncomfortable-looking as that of the species last described. In this floating cradle the female, towards the end of April or the beginning of May, lays from three to six elongated eggs, the colour of which seems to depend upon that of the plants of which the nest is composed. Upon these eggs, both the male and the female sit alternately for twenty or twenty-one days. As soon as the young are hatched they betake themselves to the water, where they are taught and tended by their parents in the same manner as those of the Crested Grebes described above.

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The DIVERS (Colymbi) may be regarded as the marine representatives of the Grebes, from which, however, they are at once distinguishable by their larger bodies, shorter neck, more bulky head, and stronger beak. These birds are fully webbed; their wings are short, and their quills, the second of which is the longest, hard and stiff; the tail is composed of from sixteen to twenty close-set feathers. The coloration of the thick warm plumage varies considerably at different seasons of the year. The number of species belonging to this group is very limited; of these only three are recognised as belonging to Great Britain; namely, C. glacialis, C. arcticus, and C. septentrionalis. The members of this group are essentially sea-birds, only visiting rivers or lakes of fresh water during the breeding season or in the course of their winter migrations. Like the Grebes, they transact all their business in the water. They swim with the utmost ease to very considerable distances, and rest themselves by lying as it were flat upon the surface of the sea; sometimes, however, they sink their bodies to such a depth that only a small portion of the back is visible. Now they are seen gliding leisurely along over the tranquil waves, and now with the rapidity of lightning they disappear apparently without the slightest effort, and without causing any perceptible disturbance in the water. No sooner are they submerged, than they stretch themselves out to their full length, their feathers become flat and smooth, their wings are pressed close to their sides, and thus presenting a shape beautifully adapted to their work, they shoot through the water with arrow-like speed, now in one direction, now in another; sometimes swimming along close beneath the surface, sometimes plunging to a depth of several fathoms in pursuit of the fishes upon which they feed.

"To see them from some promontory," says Mudie, "against which the air and the sea are setting full wind and tide, and driving before them myriads of herrings and other fishes, is a glorious sight. They dash along the surface, they dart under it, they bounce up again, they bore through the advancing waves, and when the billow breaks in foam and thunders over them, and the spectator naturally concludes they are buried for ever in the deep, up they spring to the surface of the unbroken water farther from the land, as though exulting in the fury of the elements." This facility for swimming and diving they enjoy from their earliest infancy, and to it they trust as a means of escape from danger. It is seldom that they set foot upon dry land; indeed, even when they visit the shore they can scarcely be said to do so, they might rather be said to slide out of the water on to the beach; as to walking, in the ordinary acceptation or the term, that is quite out of their power--indeed, they are unable to support themselves in an upright position; by the efforts of their feet and wings, aided by their neck and beak, they creep, or rather tumble over the ground until they regain their proper element. Their powers of flight are very limited, nevertheless it is a pretty sight to see them plunge from some high cliff into the waters beneath, the efforts of their wings only serving to give an oblique direction to their downward career, as they shoot headlong into the deep, and immediately disappear beneath the waves.

The Divers appear to avoid the company of other birds, and indeed seldom associate with those of their own kind, except during the breeding season--at which time they may be seen in pairs. Their food consists exclusively of fishes overtaken in the water or brought up from the bottom of the sea; of these they seem to prefer the mid-sea swimmers, but flat fishes, such as small plaice and soles, form likewise a considerable part of their diet. Graba informs us, that from his window he has often seen them bring up flounders of considerable size, in disposing of which they showed considerable dexterity. If too large to be swallowed whole, they were dropped into the water and devoured piecemeal. Even a herring seemed to be a somewhat unmanageable morsel; but the smaller fry were at once made away with. When the breeding season approaches, all the different species of Divers betake themselves to lakes of fresh water, at some little distance from the coast, and sometimes at a considerable altitude above the level of the sea. Their harsh-sounding cry is now uttered more frequently than usual, especially towards evening, at which time they come down to the shore and throw themselves from the rocks into the ocean, in order to procure a supply of food. Their nest is generally built upon some small island in the middle of the lake or pond, or should such a situation not offer itself, upon the margin, but always close to the water; it is rudely constructed of sedge-grass and reeds, negligently heaped together and frequently without the slightest attempt at concealment, insomuch as the sitting bird is rather a conspicuous object, and may be seen from a considerable distance. Upon this rude nest the female lays two eggs of an elongated shape, having a strong, coarse-grained, but somewhat polished shell. The two sexes take their turn in the incubation of the eggs, and both labour with equal zeal in the feeding and rearing of the young. The eggs are laid towards the end of May, and towards the end of June young birds may be found in the nests; but the exact period of incubation is not as yet accurately determined. Should the lake on which the nest is placed be well stocked with fish, both the parents remain constantly with their progeny; but if there is a scarcity of such a supply, and the old birds have to resort to the sea for food, they do so by turns, each of them most probably bringing to the nest a share of what they capture wherewith to feed their nestlings. These last, however, as soon as they are hatched begin to show considerable aptitude for the chase, and are able to procure food for themselves betimes. When they are fully fledged they betake themselves to the sea.

THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER.

The GREAT NORTHERN DIVER (Colymbus glacialis) is a very striking bird, measuring about three feet in length and five feet across the wings. The length of each wing is sixteen inches and tail two inches and a quarter. In its summer plumage it is principally black, enlivened with white spots; on the head and neck the feathers are greenish black, the latter being traversed by a broad longitudinal band of black and white; a similar stripe is situated on the fore part of the neck. The sides of the upper breast are black striped with white; the rest of the under surface is a rich satiny white. The eye is light brown, and beak black; the exterior of the tarsus is grey, the under surface of a reddish flesh-colour. In its winter dress the upper part and sides are blackish, and without the white spots, and the under surface white; the breast black, streaked with white. The young are clad in a similar garb, but are without the white streaks upon the breast.

The Northern Diver is common on all the coasts of the North Sea, as well as on the inland lakes of high latitudes. It appears on the coast of Great Britain in the autumn, and remains during the winter, going at the breeding season; except at that time, it lives at sea, following the shoals of herrings and sprats; it also resorts to arms of the sea and sandy bays, floating lightly, with its body deep in the water; when alarmed, it swims with astonishing swiftness, and endeavours to escape by diving.