The Living Animals of the World, Volume II: Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Fishes, Jointed Animals, Molluscs, etc.

of the World486 The Living Animals

Confined to the American Continent and certain islands adjacent thereto, humming-birds range from Canada to Tierra del Fuego in a horizontal direction, and rise vertically in the mountain-range of Chimborazo to a height of 16,000 feet above the sea-level " dwelling," as Professor Newton describes it, " in a world of almost constant hail, sleet, and rain, and feeding on the insects which resort to the indigenous flowering plants." Humming-birds surpass all others in the wondrous beauty of their plumage, which depends not so much on colour as metallic lustre reflecting all the hues of the most precious stones amethyst, ruby, sapphire, emerald, and topaz gleaming and sparkling from their bodies with a fire and intensity truly marvellous. " In some cases," as Professor

Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.] [Milford-on-Sea. Newton aptly describes it, " this radiance beams

RUBY-THROATED HUMMING-BIRDS.

from the brow, in some it glows from the

About 5CO distinct species of humming-birds are known. throat, in others it shines from the tail-coverts, in others it sparkles from the tips of elongated feathers that crest the head or surround the neck as with a. frill, while again in others it may appear as a luminous streak across the cheek.... The feathers that.cover the upper parts of the body very frequently have a metallic lustre of golden green, which in other birds would be thought sufficiently beautiful, but in the [humming-birds] its sheen is overspread by the almost dazzling splendour that radiates from the spots where Nature's lapidary has set her jewels."

Besides this brilliancy of colour and variety in form variety due to the development of these crests and frills, or to the forking and elongation of the tail-feathers still further changes are brought about by the modification of the bill, which may be produced into a long straight style, longer than the body of the bird, or turned up like that of the avocet or down like that of the curlew. These changes are adaptations to the bird's methods of feeding, some seeking their food from the long tubular corollas of flowers, and requiring, therefore, very elongated beaks, others from more open and easily accessible flowers, whilst others hunt among leaves, especially the under-surfaces, the quarry consisting mainly of insects attracted by the honey secreted by the flowers, or those living on the leaves. Not only the beak but the tongue also has undergone great modification in this group, its outer sheath curling isup on each side into a thin scroll, so as to form a pair of tubes, the exact use of which unknown. The wings, like those of the swift, have undergone a certain amount of change in the relative proportion of the several regions, and in the form and number of the quill-feathers, whilst the legs have become considerably reduced in size. In some species each leg is surrounded by a little tuft of down, which may be black, brown, or snow-white in colour. In size these birds vary from 8 inches to scarcely more than 3 inches. " The beautiful nests of humming-birds," writes Professor Newton, " than which the fairies could not have conceived more delicate... will be found on examination to be very solidly and tenaciously built, though the materials are generally of the slightest cotton-wool, or some vegetable down, and spiders' webs. They vary greatly in form and ornamentation for it would seem that the portions of lichen which frequently bestud them are affixed to their exterior with that object, though probably concealment was the original intention. They are mostly cup-shaped; and the singular fact is on record, that in one instance, as the young grew, the walls were heightened by the parents, until at last the nest was more than twice as big as when the eggs were laid and hatched."

CHAPTER XI.

PARROTS, CUCKOOS, AND PLANTAIN-EATERS.

PARROTS. in his "History of Politics," "and fTni E art of taming wild animals," writes Mr. Jenks is one of the greatest discoveries of the j making them serve the purposes of man, as to its reasonableness "that world." He holds and there can be little question the domestication of animals converted the savage pack into the patriarchal tribe," and that the earliest domesticated animals were pets. How great a share, then, PARROTS may have had in this civilisation and advancement no man can tell, for it is impossible to say how long these beautiful birds may have been esteemed as pets, or how early they were introduced to the notice of the civilised peoples of past generations. Certain it is, however, that for more than 2,000 years they have been held in the highest esteem.

Modern discovery has added enormously to the list of known parrots, so that to-day more than 500 different species have been described, and these may be divided into NESTORS, LORIES,

COCKATOOS, COCKATEELS, MACAWS, and KAKAPOS.

_Wisliaw, N.S. Photo by W. Reid} KEA Also known as the Mountain-nestor. 487

Photo by D. Le Souef] [Melbourne.

NEW ZEALAND KEA.

The kea frequents the slopes of lofty snow-covered mountains.

Of the first named, the best known is the KEA, or MOUNTAIN-NESTOR, of the South Island, New Zealand. Dull in coloration, and not striking in appearance, it has earned an fact. It seems that,unenviable notoriety, which appears to rest as much upon fable as upon since the introduction of sheep into this part of the world by the settlers, this bird has isfound a diet of flesh more stimulating than one of fruit. Exactly how this came to be first has it that the birds settlednot known. Two explanations have been advanced. The on the skins of the sheep slaughtered for their wool, and picked off pieces of fat therefrom, as well as various tit-bits from the carcases of the same, and thus found out how toothsome or beaksome mutton was. From this they went a step further, and did the slaughtering till exhausted, then digfor themselves. Parties of them now go a-hunting, worry a sheep down through the back, and so wound the intestines that death results. Another explanation is that the birds in the original instance mistook the sheep's backs for the huge masses it toof lichen common to this region, of which the birds are very fond. Not finding their taste at the top, they dug deep, and soon came to the flesh, which, like the forbidden fruit, proved more palatable than that which was provided for them by a bountiful Nature. The result is, that they have become a menace to sheep-farmers, and are on this account in danger of extermination. It has, however, been denied recently that the damage inflicted is anything like so serious as was at one time reported, since on one run, where the damage was unusually large, only 1 in 300 sheep was so attacked. This bird has also been said to attack horses. Very different, in general appearance and in esteem, are the LORIES. Like the Nestors, the tip of the upper jaw, or beak, is smooth, or nearly so; and in this respect these two groups are to be distinguished from all the other parrots; but in the gorgeousness of their plumage they far eclipse their congeners. Absent in New Zealand, they are found elsewhere

Parrots, Cuckoos, and Plantain-eaters 489

throughout the Australasian region, inclusive of Polynesia, and are highly esteemed as pets, combining great beauty with a very docile disposition and considerable talking powers.

The birds of this section are also known as BRUSH-TONGUED PARROTS, from the presence of a remarkable “brush” borne on the end of the tongue. This is a special adaptation, enabling the birds to feed upon honey; some, indeed, have this brush particularly well developed, and are almost entirely honey-seekers, whilst others, wherein the brush is less developed, live largely on fruits. Professor Moseley tells us that honey literally poured from the mouths of BLUE MOUNTAIN-LORIES which he shot at Cape York.

The COCKATOOS are abundant in the Australian region, but have their headquarters in the Malay Archipelago. Besides the familiar white-crested form so commonly kept in England, the group includes an iron-grey coloured bird with a bright red head, and a huge black species, which represents the giant of the order. It is a funereal-looking bird, the largest specimens inhabiting New Guinea. One of its most striking features is the beak, which is of enormous size. Its tongue differs from that of other parrots in that it is slender and cylindrical in shape, and of a deep red colour, instead of thick, fleshy, and black. It frequents, Mr. Wallace tells us, the lower parts of the forest, feeding upon various fruits and seeds, but displaying a marked partiality for the kernel of the canary-nut, which grows on a lofty forest-tree; “and the manner in which it gets at these seeds,” writes Mr. Wallace, “shows a correlation of structure and habits which would point to the canary as its special food. The shell of this nut is so excessively hard that only a heavy hammer will crack it; it is somewhat triangular, and the outside is quite smooth. The manner in which the bird opens these nuts is very curious. Taking one end-ways in its bill, and keeping it firm by a pressure of the tongue, it cuts a transverse notch by a lateral sawing motion of the sharp-edged lower mandible. This done, it takes hold of the nut with its foot, and, biting off a piece of leaf, retains it in the deep notch by the upper mandible, and again seizing the nut, which is prevented from slipping by the elastic tissue of the leaf, fixes the edge of the lower mandible in the notch, and a powerful rip breaks off a piece of the shell. Again taking the nut in its claws, it inserts the very long and sharp point of the bill, and picks out the kernel, which is seized hold of, morsel by morsel, by the extensile tongue.”

Of the typical parrots, the best known is the common GREY AFRICAN PARROT, with a red tail, so valued on account of its great talking powers. Other species of this section which should be mentioned here are the PYGMY PARROTS, MACAWS, HAWK-BILLED PARROT, BUDGERIGARS,

and OWL-PARROT. The first named are the smallest of all the tribe, remarkable as well for the splendour of

the plumage as their size, which is less than that of the common sparrow.

The LONG-TAILED MACAWS, representing the most showy and gaudily coloured of all the Parrot Tribe, inhabit the tropical forests of South America. Mr. Bates describes a flock of scarlet-and-blue macaws, which he came across one day, as looking like a cluster of flaunting

banners among the crown of dark green leaves of a bacaba-palm.

The superb HYACINTHINE MACAW is one of the rarest of the Parrot Tribe, and was found 62

Photo by D. Le Souef] [Melbourne.

NEW ZEALAND KAKA.

The Maoris keep this bird as a lure.

The Living Animals of the World490

by Bates in the interior of Brazil. As its name implies, it is of a deep hyacinthine colour, relieved by a bare patch of pure white skin round the eyes. It feeds on the nuts of several palms, especially those of the macuja. These nuts, which are so hard as to be difficult to break without a heavy hammer, are crushed to a pulp by the powerful beak of this macaw. Crests among parrots are common enough, but only one species wears a frill; this is the HAWK-BILLED PARKOT of the Amazon Valley. It is closely related to the large and well-known AMAZON PARROTS, and has been aptly described as a most extraordinary bird. Its coloration is striking green above, with a brown head; the frill or ruff around the neck shows up in strong contrast, being dark red, with blue edges, and barred with blue. The feathers of the breast and abdomen, like the frill, are also red and blue, whilst the under-surfaces of the tail and wings are black. It is only when the bird is excited or angry that the ruff is raised.