Homes Without Hands: Being a Description of the Habitations of Animals, Classed According to Their Principle of Construction
Mr. Gould mentions that the bird is found in the depths of virgin forests, and is most plentiful about thirty miles from Nova Fribergo in the months of July, August, September, and part of October. It is generally seen darting round the orchidaceous plants which flower so richly in that fertile climate, and is a rather noisy bird, uttering loud and piercing cries; and making a great whirring sound with its wings as it dashes through the air. It is very strong and energetic on the wing, and is seldom seen to alight. That the Sawbill feeds on insects has been satisfactorily proved by the presence of small beetles in the throat of newly-killed birds; and to judge by its actions, the hovering flight and frequent stoop like that of the falcon, the bird feeds also on flies and other winged insects.
ALTHOUGH it is necessarily impossible to describe or even enumerate one tithe of the interesting nests made by humming-birds, I must cursorily mention one or two more of the most curious examples. One of these birds is the BRAZILIAN WOOD NYMPH (Thalurania glaucopis), a species which is perhaps more persecuted than any other, its beauty causing its plumage to be sought after.
The feathers on the crown of the head and front of the throat are of the most lovely azure, and are largely used by the inmates of several convents at Rio Janeiro for the purpose of being made into the beautiful feather flowers which the nuns manufacture so skillfully. Thousands of these birds are slaughtered merely for the crest and gorget; but so prolific are they, and so ingeniously do they hide their nests, that the persecution of many years has scarcely diminished their numbers. Moreover, fortunately for the preservation of the species, the colors of the female are so dull and sober, that her feathers are of no value, and she is allowed to escape the fate that befalls the more brightly colored male. It is a lively little bird, and when alarmed utters a hurried cry, sounding like the word "Pip, pip, pip," very sharply pronounced.
The nest of the Brazilian Wood Nymph is exceedingly pretty, and is hung to the tip of some delicate twig, generally that of one of the creeping plants which trail their long stems so luxuriantly over the branches of the great forest trees. The walls of the nest are made of vegetable fibres, generally taken from the fruit of some palm, and upon the outside are fastened many patches of flat lichen, so that the whole nest, which is very long in proportion to its width, may easily escape detection.
THE second species is to be found in every collection of humming-birds, and even the glass cases of these creatures which are sold in the shops are seldom without a specimen of the RUBY AND TOPAZ HUMMING-BIRD (Chrysolampis moschitus). It derives its name from the rich ruby red which decorates the crown of the head, and the fiery topaz which blazes on the gorget. This species has a very wide range of residence, being found throughout Bahia, all the Guianas, Trinidad, and the Caraccas, and is killed by thousands for the sake of its plumage. I was about to say for the sake of its skin, but as that expression would imply that the humming-birds seen in cases are all skinned and stuffed, it can not be rightly used.
A stuffed humming-bird is very seldom seen, though thousands are annually sold under that name. In fact, the birds are so tiny, and the amount of flesh is so small, that very few persons care to take the trouble and run the risk of skinning such minute creatures, and content themselves with removing the inside, supplying its place with cotton, inserting wires, as is customary in birds stuffed according to the present fashion, fixing the birds in appropriate attitudes, and then drying them, trusting to the feathers to cover deficiencies. Of course the soft and rounded contours are lost by so rough a process, but as the general public that buys stuffed birds is too uncritical to perceive such defects, and too indifferent to trouble themselves about them, even when pointed out, the professional taxidermists have no inducement to waste their time upon tedious and unremunerative work.
WE now leave the Humming-birds, and pass to other inhabitants of America.
Still keeping to Brazil, we come upon another pensile bird, called the AZURE COEREBA (Coereba cyanea). This beautiful little creature scarcely yields to any of the gorgeous humming-birds in the glory of its plumage, and far exceeds many of them in the fiery brilliance of its hues. Blue is the chief color in this Coereba, and, strange to say, different qualities of blue are found in the same bird, without jarring with each other, so wonderfully are they dispersed and so artistically are the various shades separated by velvet-black stripes and patches. The greater part of the body is rich azure, with the exception of a velvet-black stripe that runs round the crown of the head, and widens into a patch on the back of the neck. The quill-feathers of the wing are also black, and a black streak is drawn from the corner of the mouth to the neck, enveloping the eye in its course.
Separated from the azure blue of the body by the black streak just mentioned, a large patch of feathers on the top of the head grows and flashes with metallic splendor, and is of a vivid verditer blue.
The nest of the Azure Coereba is pear-shaped in form, the hollow for the eggs and young being in the large rounded portion, and the slender part of the pear representing the "tail" of the nest, which is long and slender, like that of many birds which have already been mentioned, except that instead of being solid and pointed, it is hollow, and has the opening to the nest in the extremity. In order, therefore, to reach the nest proper, the bird is obliged to enter from below and climb up the hollow shaft, as is the case with some of the African weaver birds. The substances of which the nest is made are long vegetable fibres and slender grasses, and the manner in which these simple materials are woven into so beautiful a nest is remarkably ingenious, and may challenge comparison with the architecture of any other bird.
The Azure Cœreba is a small bird, about the size of our sparrow, but with a long, slender, and slightly-curved beak, as is mostly the case with the large and important family to which it belongs. It feeds chiefly on insects, and may be seen busily engaged among the flowers of its native land, flitting from one blossom to another, and daintily extracting the minute insects that endeavor to conceal themselves within the recesses of the petals.
Still keeping to America, we may see more examples of pensile nests. Two differently-shaped specimens are given in the following illustration, in order that they may be compared with each other.
The first in order is that of the BALTIMORE ORIOLE (Iphantes Baltimore), a pretty bird, colored with orange and black in bold contrast to each other. Its name is derived, not from any particular locality, but from the orange and black of its plumage, those being the heraldic colors of Lord Baltimore, formerly proprietor of Baltimore. It does not receive the full coloring until its third year, the orange hues being simply yellow at the end of the second year, and having no red in them until the last moult is completed. So far, indeed, is it from belonging to any particular locality, that it is spread over a very wide range of country, inhabiting the whole of America from Canada to Brazil. The Baltimore Oriole goes by many names; some, such as Golden Robin and Firebird, being in allusion to its plumage, and others, such as Hang-nest and Hanging Bird, from the beautiful pensile nest which it makes.
The general shape of these nests is much the same in every specimen, and a good idea of it may be formed from the illustration, which was taken from a nest in my own possession. It is always pensile, and is hung by the rim to the under side of some slender bough, usually at a considerable elevation from the ground. It is almost entirely made of vegetable fibres, and is so strongly constructed that, although it had been knocked about for some years in the neglected spot whence I rescued it, and was once crushed into a shapeless mass at the bottom of a wine-hamper by a careless servant, and covered with soot and dust, it has retained its form, and shows perfectly well how the fastening to the branches was managed.
Crested Cassique.
<!-- pandi-media-anchor:figure-p268-o45-9611028052197ce1 -->Baltimore Oriole.
The materials of the nest are, however, extremely variable, the bird having a natural genius for nidification, and being always ready to take advantage of any new discovery in architecture. One of these nests, described by Wilson, was deeper in proportion than the specimen which has been figured, being five inches in its widest diameter and seven in depth, the opening being contracted to two and a half inches. Various materials, such as flax, tow, hair, and wool, were woven into the walls, which were strengthened by horse-hairs, some two feet in length, sewn through and through the fabric. Cow's hair was also employed for the bottom of the nest, and, like the walls, was sewn together with long horse-hairs.
The same writer remarks, that "so solicitous is the Baltimore to procure proper materials for his nest, that in the season of building, the women in the country are under the necessity of narrowly watching their threads that may chance to be out bleaching, and the farmer to secure his young grafts; as the Baltimore, finding the former, and the strings which tie the latter, so well adapted for his purpose, frequently carries off both. Or, should the one be over-heavy, and the other too firmly tied, he will try at them for a considerable time before he gives up the attempt. Skeins of silk and hanks of thread have often been found, after the leaves were fallen, hanging round the Baltimore's nest, but so woven up and entangled as to be entirely irreclaimable.
"Before the introduction of Europeans, no such materials could have been obtained here; but, with the sagacity of a good architect, he has improved this circumstance to his advantage, and the strongest and best materials are uniformly found in those parts by which the whole is supported."
This bird is very fearless, and, like some other species, is fond of the society of mankind, building in gardens and orchards, and piping its mellow notes within the very streets, in calm defiance of the roar and rattle of town life. This fearlessness of disposition enables observers to watch its proceedings very closely, and in general the bird is found to begin its nest by working the strongest threads or strings round a forked branch, so as to mark out the entrance, and then by weaving the remainder of the nest upon the strings. The neatness and strength of construction are, however, very variable; and it is suggested by Wilson that the inferior nests are probably made by young and inexperienced birds, their architectural powers increasing with practice.
A closely allied species, the ORCHARD ORIOLE, or BOB-O'-LINK (Xanthornis varius), is equally notable for its skill in nest-building, if such a word may be used of a structure which is begun at the top and carried downward, after the fashion employed in Laputa.
It is a pretty bird, but not so pretty as the Baltimore Oriole, and the tints are very differently disposed, scarcely any two individuals having the colors in exactly the same places. Like the Baltimore Oriole, it is extremely variable in different stages of its existence, the young male bearing great resemblance to the mature female, and not attaining its full beauty until its third year. When adult, the whole of the head, neck, upper part of the back, breast, wings, and tail are deep black, and a rich ruddy chestnut hue occupies the remainder of the breast, the under parts of the body, and part of the wing-coverts, some of which are tipped with white. The young male and the adult female are yellowish-olive above instead of black, with brown wings, and yellow on the breast and abdomen; while the male of the second year has much the same colors, but is known by a patch of black over the head and on the throat, together with a few chestnut feathers on the flanks and abdomen. It is smaller than the Baltimore Oriole, and more slenderly made.