Part 19

The Jay, garrulus glandarius.—Wholly different from our American jays, and much less beautiful in plumage, the jays of Europe do not flock together. They are great chatterers, however, and great mimics also. The color of the European bird is a dark, purplish brown, with blue on the forehead and wings.

The Wood-dove, columba palumbus.—This is the largest and the handsomest of the British pigeons. It is better known perhaps to the reader, as the ring-dove, and cushat; it is a general favorite in England.

The Kestrel, falco tinunculus.—One of the smaller falcons of Europe; of reddish brown and cream-colored plumage, marked with dusky spots. Its eye is peculiarly brilliant. It is popularly called “stannel” and “windhover,” the first word meaning “stand-gale,” the last, “hoverer in the wind,” from its remarkable power of poising itself over a particular spot in spite of high winds; at such moments the play of its wings is exceedingly rapid.

The House-marten, hirundo urbica.—With one exception, the bank swallow, hirundo riparia, the swallows of Europe and America are wholly different. The house-marten of England builds very frequently about windows; it is a small bird, black and white in its plumage. Its nest is often covered with a dome, the entrance being at the side, and it is a sort of house, large enough for both birds.

The Rock-pigeon, columba livia.—This is the stock whence come our domestic pigeons, in their wild state they build in clefts or holes in cliffs, and perch on the ledges and projections. They are never known to perch on trees. Indeed, it is said that the rustling of the wind among the foliage and branches, is annoying and unpleasant to these doves. They are gregarious, and especially partial to cliffs on the sea-shore. They are not found in a wild state in America.

The Magpie, corvus pica.—Is a common bird in England, about the size of a pigeon, with a plumage of variegated black and white. Its reputation for mimicry and for thievish habits, must be well known to the reader, although on this continent, especially east of the Mississippi, it is rare. In England it is considered a bird of ill-omen when seen alone, but the reverse when collecting in a merry company and an even number. The magpies of both continents are very similar.

The Wryneck, yunx torquilla.—This is a handsome migratory bird something like a woodpecker in form, and of a yellowish brown and black plumage, mottled with arrow-shaped black spots. It derives its name from a strange trick of lengthening its neck, and twisting its head. Unknown in America.

The Jackdaw.—Is a bird of the crow tribe; lively, noisy, and familiar. It is about fourteen inches long, and of a black and gray plumage.

The Thrush, Throstle, or Mavis, turdus musicus.—A very common bird in England, and a very sweet singer. The plumage is brown above, cream- color below, marked with triangular, dusky spots. Its length is about nine inches. They feed especially on the land-snails, so common in the old world. Unknown in America.

The Missel-thrush, turdus viscivorus.—This is the largest of the English thrushes, nearly a foot in length. Its plumage is gray and white. It derives its name from its marked partiality to the leaves of the misletoe, with the slimy juice of which, it soils, or missels, its feet. The plant again takes its name apparently from the missled toes of this thrush.

The Blackbird, turdus merula.—This is another of the English thrushes, and a great singer. It is entirely black in its plumage, shy, and solitary in its habits, differing entirely, as the reader will observe, from our American blackbirds, which are allied to the crows.

The Cuckoo, cuculus cauvus.—This bird, extremely common in England, has a grayish plumage varied with black and white. Mr. Mudie seems to doubt the assertion usually made that they never build nests of their own. In the northern states we have two cuckoos, very different in their appearance and habits from those of Europe, nor are they very common birds in this country.

The Wren, troglodytes urbica.—The winter wren of America is said to resemble the common wren of Europe, more than any other of our species. In England, this little bird is a great favorite, and is familiarly called Kitty Wren.

The Halcyon, alcedo ispida.—This is the kingfisher of Europe. It is a bird of much more brilliant plumage than our American kingfisher, almost as gaudy indeed as a parrot in its tints of red, blue, and green. The term “halcyon days,” is attributed to the transparent, calm weather, in which the kingfisher delights to skim over the glassy water, looking out for his prey.

The Wagtails, motacilla.—These birds derive their name from the incessant, rapid motion of their tails; they are resident birds in England, frequenting the banks of streams and pools. There are several species; the pied, the gray, and the yellow wagtails. They run with great rapidity, and take wing with peculiar ease. Their conformation renders the movement of the tail necessary as a counterpoise, which is the cause of its constant play.

The Swift, cypselus apus.—This is the largest of the swallow tribe in Europe, and probably the strongest winged of all British birds. It lives in the air, building on the highest towers, and spires of churches and other edifices, or upon rocky pinnacles. The swifts are distinguished from the swallows by the shortness of their legs, unfitted for walking, and by the formation of their toes. Our American chimney swallow approaches very nearly to the swift of England in many particulars, though different in others.

The Goat-sucker, caprimulgus Europeus.—This is the fern owl, nightjar, or night-hawk, a bird, as an English writer has observed, particularly ill-named, its last title only being consistent with its character. When hawking for bats it flies within a few feet of the ground, but when in pursuit of moths it glides round and round the trunk of some tree, the haunt of its prey, with great perseverance. The term goat-sucker is derived from a strange notion very prevalent in olden times that this bird was in the habit of taking the milk of the goat for its own use. Our American night-hawk differs in some particulars from that of Europe.

The Bustard, otis tarda.—This is a large bird of the cursores or running tribe, four feet in length, and nine in breadth, weighing as much as thirty pounds in some instances. The plumage is reddish orange, spotted and barred with black, with the more conspicuous wing and tail feathers, brown and black. Under the neck there is a sort of skin pouch, capable of containing half a gallon. The flesh is much prized. The bustard is now a very rare bird in England, but in France they are less uncommon. They will probably soon become extinct in Great Britain, like the wood-grous, which, within the last eighty years, has disappeared from that country.

The Grous, tetrao.—There were, until recently, three well known species of grous in Great Britain. 1st. The Black Grous or heath cock, a bird of wholly black plumage, found in the heathy districts of the three kingdoms. 2d. The Red Grous, or moor fowl, very abundant in the Scotch moors, and found in no other part of Europe, being the only bird peculiar to Britain. 3d. The Wood-Grous, formerly by no means uncommon, but which has recently become quite extinct in Great Britain, although it is still found on the continent of Europe.

The Titmouse, parus.—The titmice are dispersed more or less over the whole world, excepting some portions of the southern hemisphere, as South America, and New Holland. In England, they have seven or eight different species: the great tit, p. major; colemouse, p. ater; marshtit, p. palustris; long-tailed tit, p. caudatus; blue tit, p. cæruleus; bearded tit, p. biarmicus; crested tit, p. cristatus. In the United States, we have three species: the common chicadee, p. atricapillus; the caroline titmouse, p. carolinensis; and the crested titmouse, p. bicolor. This last is found in Europe also, but in England it is very rare. All three species belong to the birds of New York.

The Nightingale, corruca luscinia.—The far-famed nightingale is a bird of a dusky brown, and gray plumage, about seven inches in length, being the largest of the warblers found in England. It is in one sense a shy bird, difficult to watch, heard more frequently than it is seen in the shady groves. The song of the nightingale has been described by one writer as “the most spirit-stirring and gleesome in nature.” The clearness of their note is said to vary much with the climate, or rather atmosphere, they chance to haunt, and as a general rule those that belong to more southern countries sing more sweetly than their brethren to the northward. The nightingales of Greece and Italy are thought to be much more exquisitely musical than those of the northern countries of Europe. In England, they only frequent particular counties, avoiding the northern and western districts; and it has been said that they have an especial partiality to those parts of the island where cowslips are most abundant.

The Starling, sturnus vulgaris.—This is a bird of the crow tribe, unknown in America. It is eight or nine inches in length, of a plumage whose general coloring is black, marked throughout, however, with triangular starlike spots of white, or cream-color, whence the name of starling. They are social, harmless birds; active, and chattering creatures, and excellent mimics.

The Fieldfare, turdus pilaris, is another bird unknown in America. It is one of the northern thrushes, visiting England in flocks, during the cold season. It is a large, meadow bird, with a grayish chestnut back, the breast and sides of a rufous yellow. The fieldfares feed on seeds, and on insects also, and are themselves considered a dainty morsel by the human epicure, the ancient Romans fattening them, it is said, on a paste made of figs and flour. They have no song, but utter a singular cry when flying.

The Raven, corvus corax.—The raven of Europe differs in some respects from that of America. In Great Britain it is not an uncommon bird. It is said if a man in England, at any moment, throw himself on the ground, in the fields, more especially if he lie motionless on his back in the position of a lifeless body, a raven will be found to draw near, and reconnoitre, though unseen a moment before. This fact would seem to confirm the opinions doubted by Mr. Knapp—that sight, and not smell, is the sense by which these birds are guided in descending on their prey, since the mere motionless feigning of death is sufficient to attract their attention. It is well known that Mr. Audubon held this opinion, confirming it by experiments with the American turkey-buzzards, which proved quite inattentive to carrion of the most offensive kind when placed immediately before them, so long as it was concealed from their sight by a cloth. Dr. James Johnson and other writers on the subject also doubt the sense of smell in birds of this habit, and other experiments like that of Mr. Audubon have had the same result.

Owing to the greater care bestowed on the health of cattle at the present day, and their less frequent deaths in the field under the modern system, ravens are said to be sensibly diminishing in England.

NOTE V. THE HOUSE FLY, (musca carnaria,) p. 151.

The speed of these familiar insects when on the wing, is very remarkable, being computed at a third of a mile in a minute. The peculiarity of their walking, apparently against the laws of gravitation, with such perfect ease, has been the subject of much investigation and controversy. Formerly it was believed that the fly walked by means of organs called suckers, which produced a vacuum at the extremity of each foot, by exhausting the air. Some lizards are known to climb walls in this way. But it is now more generally believed that the firm hold of the house fly is more simple, provided by fine, hairy appendages to the feet, by which they cling to the most minute inequalities of our walls and windows.

Flies feed chiefly on liquids, and the juice of solid substances; they are also enabled to dissolve certain solids, by means of a saliva, which they eject for the purpose, on sugar, &c. The familiar sound produced by flies, comes from their wings; but as many winged insects move silently, the air must act upon those of the fly in a peculiar manner.