Extinct Brevipennæ.
The order of the Brevipennæ may be held to embrace some birds which have now disappeared from the surface of the globe, but which are supposed to be contemporaneous with Man. The remains which are met with in quite modern alluvium scarcely admit of any doubt in this respect.
In the first rank of extinct birds we may place the Dodo (Didus ineptus, Linn.), [Fig. 158], which was indigenous to the Mauritius and the Isle of France, where it used to be abundant, if we may believe the testimony of the companions of Vasco de Gama, who visited there in 1497. At the end of the seventeenth century some of them still existed. Former travellers have described them; and these accounts, with skeletons and an oil-painting in the British Museum, are the only items of information which we possess.
The Dodo was a fat and heavy bird, and weighed not less than fifty pounds. This portly body was supported on short legs, and provided with ridiculously small wings, making it equally incapable of running and flying, dooming the bird to a rapid destruction. Lastly and principally, it had a stupid physiognomy, but little calculated to conciliate the sympathies of the observer. Its rear was decorated with three or four curly feathers, making a pretence of a tail, whilst in front it presented an enormous curved bill, which occupied nearly the whole of the head.
The Dodo did not even possess the merit of being useful after its death, for its flesh was disagreeable and of a bad flavour. On the whole, there is not much reason to regret its extinction.
In the island of Madagascar fossil eggs and bones were found of a bird belonging to a species probably extinct, the proportions of which must have been truly colossal. One of these eggs was equal to at least six Ostrich's eggs, and its capacity more than fifteen pints. M. Isidore Geoffroy de Saint-Hilaire, who gave it the name of Epiornis, reckoned that its height could not be less than ten or twelve feet.
Fig. 158.—The Dodo (Didus ineptus, Linn.).
In 1867, M. Joly, Professor of the Faculty of Sciences at Toulouse, published some very interesting observations on the structure and probable habits of this gigantic bird.
It cannot yet be asserted that this bird has altogether disappeared. The Malagashes state that, although very rare, some few representatives of it still remain. There is an ancient tradition among this people relative to a colossal bird which could knock down an ox, and then make a meal of it. This tradition, however, is deficient in anything like evidence of its correctness, for an examination of the pieces of bone found proves that the Epiornis possessed neither talons to seize, nor wings with which to pursue its prey; it must, therefore, have fed chiefly upon vegetable diet.
In New Zealand also some bones have been lately brought to light, which must have belonged to a species of bird allied to the Ostrich, but superior to it in size, which attained some thirteen feet in height. This bird has been designated Dinornis. Some of them probably still exist in that country; at all events, its disappearance must be very recent, for the bones which were discovered still contained a large proportion of gelatine. Rumour states that a Dinornis, more than thirteen feet in height, was seen by two Englishmen in one of the marshy forests; but they did not venture to approach near enough to kill it. We give this tale with all due reserve, as its authenticity does not appear to be satisfactorily established.
CHAPTER V.
GALLINACEOUS BIRDS.
Under this name Linnæus included a large number of birds which bear considerable analogy to the Domestic Fowl, and mostly included in the Rasores of Illiger.
The Gallinaceæ are essentially land birds, seeking their food on the surface of the soil, and frequently building their nests upon it. They delight in scratching the earth, and in rolling themselves in the dust. Walking is their habitual mode of progression, as one would at once conclude from observation of their strong legs, and their short and but slightly-bent claws. Some, like the Partridge, are swift runners, having very short wings, which render their flight at once awkward and laborious. In this order of birds we do not find more than two or three migratory species.
The Gallinaceæ have short arched beaks, which are generally very strong, and well adapted for crushing the husks of the seeds which, with the addition of grubs, insects, and grasses, form their principal nourishment. Their large and muscular gizzards, with thick lateral muscles, lined on the interior with a very tough coating or epithelium, are exactly fitted for digesting this kind of food. The triturating power of the Gallinaceæ is further increased by their habit of swallowing small pebbles, which facilitate the crushing of the grain.
In certain species (the Domestic Fowl, Pheasant, Turkey, &c.) the males are armed above the back toe with one or more tapering spikes (a kind of very stiff spur), which they use both for attack and defence. A great many of this class have their heads adorned with crests and combs of various colours. These appendages exist occasionally in the females, but with much less development.
Birds of the most brilliant plumage are to be found among the Gallinaceous tribe. The Peacock (Pavo), the Argus, the Lophophore, and the Pheasant may be said to bear the banner of their order with no mean degree of splendour, and may worthily stand in comparison with the most splendid of the Passerines. This richness of colour is the characteristic of the male bird, for the females are usually of a dull greyish hue. But if the Gallinaceæ captivate the sight, they are far from affording pleasure to the ear, their cries being shrill and discordant.
Cruel, tyrannical, and quarrelsome are the characteristics of the majority of this race. They are polygamous, and the females lay a large number of eggs, which they sit upon, unassisted by the male. They are generally divided into flocks, consisting of one male, several females, and a number of young birds; but it is rarely that several families unite to live in common.
The Gallinaceæ are of all birds the most useful to man. Certain domesticated kinds stock his poultry-yard, and supply him with eggs of an exquisite flavour; nor does their utility cease here—their flesh is a popular, wholesome, and delicate food. Those known as "game birds" are also abundant, and offer amusement to the sportsman and table delicacies for the bon vivant.
Nearly all the Gallinaceæ were originally natives of the warm regions of Asia and America; now, such as the Domestic Fowl, the Pheasant, and the Turkey are perfectly acclimated to all temperate parts of the globe.
The order of the Gallinaceæ may be divided into two great sub-orders, namely, the Gallinaceæ proper, to which the characteristics we have just enumerated specially belong; and the Columbidæ, which differ from them in certain details of organisation and habits, to be described hereafter.