Syndactyles.
The Syndactyles (having the toes united) have the external toe nearly as long as the middle one, and united to it up to the last articulation. The birds which constitute this group have little analogy with each other, the physical characters which we shall have occasion to notice being purely artificial as a means of classification. The family includes the Hornbills (Buceros, Linn.), the Fly-catchers (Muscicapidæ), the King-fishers (Alcedo, Linn.), the Bee-eaters (Merops, Linn.), and the Momots (Prionites, Ill.).
The Hornbills, or Calaos, are remarkable for their enormous development of beak, which is long, very wide, compressed, and more or less curved and notched, and in some species surmounted by a large helmet-like protuberance. This immense beak is nevertheless very light, being cellulose, as in the Toucans. The Hornbills have in some respects the bearing of the Crow: this led Bontius to class them among the Crows, under the name of Indian Crow (Corvus indicus). They walk with difficulty, and their flight is clumsy, their favourite position being on a perch at the summit of lofty trees. Great flocks of these haunt the forests of the warmer regions of the Old World, especially Africa, India, and the Oceanic Archipelago. They build their nests in the hollows of trees. They are omnivorous, and the fruits, seeds, and insects of those regions are their principal food; yet they feed also on flesh. In India they are domesticated, their services in destroying rats and mice being much appreciated. The plumage of the Hornbill is black or grey, of various shades; but there is a species described by Dr. Latham and Dr. Shaw, under the name of the Crimson Hornbill, which Mr. Swainson thinks may prove to be a link between Toucans and Hornbills, and thus combine the beauty of plumage of the former with the peculiarity of form of the latter. Their flesh is delicate, especially when fed on aromatic seeds. Many species are described, varying in size, among which the Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros), [Fig. 200], is the most worthy of notice. This bird is so named from the singular protuberance with which its bill is surmounted: this is a smooth horny casque or helmet, curving upwards from the bill, somewhat resembling the horn of the rhinoceros. It is a native of India and the islands of the Indian Ocean.
Fig. 200.—Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros, Gould).
The Fly-catchers (Muscicapidæ) are a family of insectivorous birds, many of which are British, comprehending, according to Temminck, the Todies (Todus), distinguished by long, broad, and very flat bills, contracting suddenly at the tip. Characteristics:—Tail short, slender, and rounded; legs long and weak; toes short, the outer one more or less united to the middle one. T. viridis, the only species, according to Temminck, has a bright green plumage above, whitish beneath; a scarlet throat; sides rose colour; and the tail-coverts yellow. It is a native of South America and the Antilles; and Sir Hans Sloane, under the name of "Green Humming-bird," describes it as "one of the most beautiful small birds he ever saw." Mr. Browne states that it is a familiar little bird, and will often let a man come within a few feet to admire it before becoming alarmed. "It keeps much about the houses in country parts," he adds, "flies slow, and probably may be easily tamed."
It lives almost entirely on the ground, feeding on insects, which it catches in the evening. It builds its nest in the crevices on river banks, or in the soft rocks, in which it hollows out a dwelling by means of its bill and feet.
The King-fishers (Alcedo), the Martin-fishers of some authors, form a highly interesting group, of which Alcedo ispida (Linn.) is the only known species indigenous to Britain. M. Vigors finds an intimate resemblance between them and the Todies. The King-fishers are very singular birds. Their bill is strong, straight, and angular, being of immense length compared with their size; the tip of both mandibles acute; the commissure perfectly straight; the head strong and elongated; wings and tail of moderate size; tarsi short, and placed far back ([Fig. 201]). The King-fisher (A. ispida) has behind each eye a patch of light orange brown, succeeded by a white one; from each corner of the mandible proceeds a line of rich blue, tinged with green; the crown of the head is deep olive green; the feathers are tipped with a verdigris shade; chin and throat with yellowish white; breast, belly, and vent with orange brown; tail a bluish green; shafts of the feathers black; and the legs a pale brick red. This beautiful bird is as interesting in manners as in appearance. Living on the banks of rivers, they feed almost exclusively on fish. The King-fisher watches patiently from a fixed station, generally a naked twig overhanging the water, or a stone projecting above the surface, for its prey: in this position it will sometimes wait for hours, absolutely immovable. When the fish comes within reach, with great rapidity it pounces upon it, seizing it in its powerful mandibles, and after destroying it by compression, or by knocking it against a stone or the trunk of a tree, it swallows it head foremost. When fish is scarce it feeds also upon aquatic insects, which it seizes on the wing. Its aërial movements are rapid and direct, but weakly maintained, being performed by a series of quick, jerking beats of the wings, generally close to the surface: the action of the wings is so rapid as to be scarcely perceptible. The short tarsi render the King-fisher a bad walker.
Fig. 201.—King-fishers (Alcedo ispida, Linn.).
The King-fisher is a solitary bird, living generally in secluded places, and is rarely seen even with birds of its own species, except in the pairing season. Like the Todies, they build their nests in the steep banks of rivers, either in the natural crevices, or in holes hollowed out by water rats; and these dwelling-places are generally disfigured by the fragments of their repast. Father and mother sit alternately, and when the young are hatched they feed them with the produce of their fishing. The bird has a shrill and piercing note, which it utters on the wing. Their flesh is very disagreeable.
The King-fisher is the Halcyon of the ancients, who attributed to it after death the power of indicating the winds. The seven days before and the seven days after the winter solstice were the Halcyon days, during which the bird was supposed to build its nest, and the sea remained perfectly calm. To its dead body the attributes of turning aside thunder-bolts, of giving beauty, peace and plenty, and other absurdities were ascribed. Even now, in some remote provinces of France, the dead birds are invested with the power of preserving woollen stuffs from the attack of the moth; hence they are called Moth Birds by drapers and shopkeepers. They are inhabitants of almost every region of the globe, and comprehend a great number of species, spread over Asia, Africa, and America.[32] Europe possesses one species not larger than a Sparrow, and which is remarkable for the rich colouring of its feathers. What, indeed, can surpass the brilliancy of the King-fisher as it suddenly darts along some murmuring brook, tracing a thread of azure and emerald? Some authors separate the King-fishers, properly so called, or riverside birds, from the Bee-eaters and other Fissirostral birds, which, while they resemble each other in many physical characteristics, differ essentially in their habits; in short, while the one haunts the river, feeds upon its inhabitants, and nests upon its margin, the other keeps to the woods and forests, feeds upon insects, and builds in holes in trees.
The Ceyx Meninting of Lesson (Alcedo Biru of Horsfield) very closely resembles the King-fisher of Europe in its habits; it darts in short, rapid flight along the surface of lakes and rivulets, emitting shrill, discordant sounds; it perches on trees on the river banks, and feeds on small fishes and aquatic insects. The tarsus is smooth, the inner toe suppressed; in other respects its habits are those of the King-fisher.
The Bee-eaters (Meropidæ) have the beak long, thin, slightly curved, and pointed, the mandible having a trenchant edge; the tarsi short; the wings long and pointed; the tail well developed, tapering, or forked. They are slender, light, and clamorous; their cries are incessant, while they skim through the air on rapid wing with well-sustained flight. Their name of Bee-eaters they take from their principal food, which consists of various Hymenoptera, especially bees and wasps. They seize their prey either on the wing, like the Swallows, or they hide themselves at the opening of their hives, and snatch up all that enter or depart. They are skilful in avoiding their sting. Living together in numerous flocks, they rapidly clear a district of wasps and wild bees.
They build their nests in the banks of rivers or rivulets, in holes which they excavate to the depth of six or seven feet. Some species are highly esteemed as table delicacies by the French.
Fig. 202.—Common Bee-eater (Merops apiaster, Sw.).
The Bee-eaters inhabit the warmer regions of the Old World, such as Bengal, the west coast of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, Morocco, and Malta. One species alone is found in Europe, the Common Bee-eater (Merops apiaster), [Fig. 202]. From the coast of Africa it migrates in small flocks into the countries skirting the northern shores of the Mediterranean. Some individuals proceed into France, Switzerland, and Germany; others spread themselves over Turkey and the southern parts of Russia. In England it is occasionally met with in Cornwall, Devonshire, and along the Hampshire coast. It has been shot in the Mull of Galloway. In France it arrives in the month of May, and remains but a short time. As a rule it rarely ventures further north than the South of France.
The Momots (Prionites, Illiger) are birds still very imperfectly known. They are remarkably massive in form, heavy and slow on the wing. They are placed by systematists near the Toucans (Ramphastos), from similarity of habits, and especially from the structure of the tongue, which is in both long, and so much ciliated at the sides as to resemble a feather. The feet, however, are totally different from those of the Toucans. In the Momots the beak is long, robust, and crenated at the edge. They are very wild, and lead an isolated life in the thick forests of South America, where they build in holes in trees.
Fig. 203.—Momot (Prionites, Sw.).