Homes Without Hands: Being a Description of the Habitations of Animals, Classed According to Their Principle of Construction

All naturalists are familiar with the gigantic egg laid by some bird unknown, and called by the provisional name of Æpyornis, or "tall bird." This egg makes that of the ostrich itself shrink into insignificance, for its lineal measurement is precisely double that of a large ostrich egg, and its cubic bulk is eight times as great. In fact, the æpyornis egg looks as gigantic by the side of an ostrich egg as does an ostrich egg near that of a duck. It was therefore imagined that the æpyornis must be at least eight times as large as the ostrich, and a height of sixteen feet was attributed to the unknown bird.

Now it is easy to work out this problem by the rule of three, and to give the result in figures; but when that result is compared with existing facts, it becomes startling. On paper, a height of sixteen feet for an ostrich-like bird seems rather gigantic, but does not appear to carry with it any idea of its real magnitude. The height of a very fine ostrich being about seven or eight feet, we say that the æpyornis must be twice as tall as an ostrich, and so dismiss the subject from our minds. But when we come to compare the imaginary bird with actually existing beings, we shall better understand the dimensions of a bird that measured sixteen feet in height. Sixteen feet is the average height of the adult giraffe, the females varying from thirteen to sixteen feet, and the males from fifteen to eighteen.

It is impossible to say that there never was a bird as large as a giraffe, but all our present knowledge controverts such an idea. If, however, we keep in mind the comparative dimensions of the apteryx and its egg, we must be prepared to find that the æpyornis, although necessarily a large bird, may not be larger than an ostrich, and need not be so large.

Thus, then, the comparative size of an egg is by no means an unimportant fact in natural history, and the comparison of two such birds as the apteryx and the cuckoo may at least save us from the danger of generalizing too hastily.

The second point in the history of the Cow-bird is its love for its young, which is quite equal to the affection that is manifested by the lapwing and other birds that endanger themselves in order to draw attention away from their offspring, and directly opposed to the indifference toward the young which seems to actuate the ordinary cuckoo.

IN Australia there is a large group of rather pretty birds, popularly called Honey-eaters, because they feed largely on the sweet juices of many flowers, although the staple of their diet consists of insects. They seem, indeed, to occupy in Australia the position which is taken in America by the humming-birds, and by the sunbirds of the Old World. To this group belong many familiar and interesting species, such as that which produces a sound like the tinkling of a bell, and is, in consequence, called the Bell Bird; the different species of Wattle Birds; the odd, bald-headed Friar Birds, and the splendidly decorated Poe Birds.

One species of it, which comes in the present section, is the BLUE-FACED HONEY-EATER of New South Wales, called by the natives BATIKIN (Entomyza cyanotis). It is a pretty bird, the plumage being marked boldly with black and white, and a patch of bare skin round the eyes being bright azure. This peculiarity has earned for the bird the specific title of cyanotis, or "blue-eared."

Like all the Honey-eaters, it is a most lively and interesting bird, and to the careful observer affords an endless fund of amusement. It is never still, but traverses the branches with astonishing celerity, skipping from one to another, probing every crevice with its needle-like tongue, hanging with its head downward, and even suspending itself by a single claw while it secures a tempting insect. It is generally to be found on the eucalypti, or gum-trees, and is one of the stationary birds, remaining in the same locality throughout the year.

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The generality of the Honey-eaters are skillful architects, but the Batikin seems not to share the ability of its relatives, or, at all events, not to exercise it. Mr. Gould thinks that the bird can hardly depart so far from usual custom as to be incapable of building a nest, but he has never found such a nest, nor heard of one. The Batikin is one of the parasitic group, usurping the nest of another bird, and taking possession of it in a very curious fashion.

In Australia there is a bird belonging to the genus Pomatorhinus, which somewhat resembles the bee-eater except in plumage, which is quite dull and sober. This bird builds a large, domed edifice, and appears to make a new nest every year. The deserted nests are always usurped by the Batikin, which establishes herself without any trouble. The reader would naturally imagine that when the bird finds herself in possession of so large and warm a nest, she will pass into the interior, and hatch her young under the protection of the roof. This plan, however, she does not follow, preferring to take up her abode on the very top of the nest, exposed to all the elements. She takes very little trouble about preparing her home, but merely works a suitable depression upon the soft dome, lays her eggs in it, and there hatches them.

The reader will remember that there are several birds which form a supplementary nest upon the exterior of the original domicile, and the parasitic nest of the Batikin is evidently an extension of the same principle.

In England we have many parasitic birds, one of which is the common SPARROW-HAWK (Accipiter Nisus), which is in the habit of usurping the nest of the common crow, magpie, or other bird, and laying its handsome eggs therein.

Whether it forcibly drives away the rightful owner, or whether it contents itself with a nest which has already been abandoned, is not precisely known, different naturalists inclining to opposite opinions. In all probability, therefore, both disputants are right, and the Sparrow-hawk takes a deserted nest when it can find one, and, when it can not do so, attacks birds which are in actual possession of a suitable nest, and takes possession of their home. In such a case the combat must be a sharp one, for both crow and magpie are courageous birds, nothing inferior in determination to their assailant, and armed with bills which are much larger, and quite as formidable as that of the Sparrow-hawk.

The KESTREL (Tinnunculus alaudarius) is also in the habit of laying its eggs in the nests of other birds, and may possibly eject the rightful owner by main force. This opinion is rendered probable by a fact mentioned by Mr. Peachey in the "Zoologist." A man was passing a tree, and hearing a loud screaming proceeding from a nest at the summit, he had the curiosity to climb the tree. The screams still continued, and on putting his hand into the nest, he found two birds struggling, the uppermost of which he caught. This proved to be a Kestrel; and, as soon as it was secured, the other bird, which was a magpie, flew out, evidently having been worsted by its antagonist.

Then there is the well-known STARLING (Sturnus vulgaris), which is a notably parasitic bird, delighting to take the nests of the jackdaw, pigeon, and other birds, and to use them as its own.

Every one who has a dovecote knows how apt are the Starlings to usurp the boxes intended for the pigeons, and how, in consequence, it is accused of killing the young of the pigeons and sucking their eggs, two accusations which I believe to be wholly false. Were the Starlings to be thus predaceous, the pigeons would be quite aware of their depredations, and would appear greatly disturbed whenever the robbers were seen. As, however, the pigeons in one box live in perfect amity with the Starlings in the next, it is very unlikely that the latter birds prey in any way upon the former.

THERE is a group of birds which are popularly called Grakles, and are scientifically known as Quiscalinæ. They are also called Boat-tails, because their tail-feathers are formed so as to take the shape of a canoe. One species, the PURPLE GRAKLE, or CROW BLACKBIRD (Quiscalus versicolor), is conspicuous as a parasitic bird, and selects a most extraordinary spot for its nest.

Generally the predaceous birds are avoided and feared by the rest of the feathered tribes, and if a hawk or eagle show itself, the smaller birds either hide themselves, or try to drive away the intruder by force of numbers or swiftness of wing. The Purple Grakle, however, is devoid of such fears—at all events, as far as one species of predaceous bird is concerned, and boldly takes up its abode with the osprey or fish-hawk (Pandion haliaëtus).

The nest of the osprey is a very large edifice, made of sticks, grass, sea-weed, leaves, and similar materials. The foundations are made by sticks almost as thick as broom-handles, and some two or three feet in length, on which are piled smaller sticks, until a heap some four or five feet in height is made. Interwoven with the sticks are stalks of corn and various herbs, the larger sea-weeds and large pieces of grass, the whole mass being a good load for an ordinary cart, and as much as a horse can be reasonably expected to draw. The bird retains the nest year after year, and, as has been shown from actual observation, the same spot has been occupied for so long a term that the branches of the tree became rotten, and the nest fell to the ground. In this case it is evident that a succession of birds must have occupied the same nest.

It has been observed that whenever a tree is occupied by the osprey, it dies in a short time, though no one is aware of the precise nature of the injury which kills it. Some persons say that the fish-oil which is spilled by the birds is the cause of death; but when we remember that there is no better manure than fish, we can hardly believe that the alleged cause is the real one. Other persons think that the real cause of death is the huge mass of decaying vegetable and animal substances which is placed on the branches, and that the drippings from the nest fall into casual interstices of the branches, and gradually kill it from above downward. So firmly are the materials fastened together, that when a tree falls on which an osprey nest is built, large masses of the nest hold together in spite of the shock.

The construction of the osprey nest has been described somewhat at length, because the manner in which the Purple Grakle becomes a parasite could not be understood unless the structure of the nest were comprehended.

As the sticks of which the foundation of the nest are made are very large, and not regular in form, considerable interstices are left between them, and in such spots the Grakle chooses to nidificate.

In writing of the osprey, Wilson remarks as follows: "There is one singular trait in the character of this bird which is mentioned in treating of the Purple Grakle, and which I have had many opportunities of witnessing. The Grakles, or Crow Blackbirds, are permitted by the fish-hawk to build their nests among the interstices of the sticks of which its own is constructed—several pairs of Grakles taking up their abode there, like humble vassals around the castle of their chief—laying, hatching their young, and living together in mutual harmony. I have found no less than four of these nests clustered round the sides of the former, and a fifth fixed on the nearest branch of the adjoining tree, as if the proprietor of this last, unable to find an unoccupied corner on the premises, had been anxious to share, as much as possible, the company and protection of this generous bird." In another place, the same writer remarks that the curious allies "mutually watch and protect each other's property from depredators."