THE TRUE DWARF OWL SWALLOW (Ægotheles Novæ Hollandiæ).
The GIANT OWL SWALLOWS (Podargus) are birds of considerable size, with large flat heads, moderately large wings, in which the first quill exceeds the rest in length, long rounded tails, and short tarsi, furnished with a foot of moderate size, the two innermost toes connected by a fold of skin. The beak is hard, powerful, much broader than it is high, slightly curved at the roof of the upper mandible, and very decidedly hooked at its tip, which fits into a corresponding groove in the lower portion of the beak; the gape extends as far as the hindermost corner of the eye. The plumage is soft, and resembles that of the Owl. The beak has but a sparse growth of bristles.
THE GIANT OWL SWALLOW.
The GIANT OWL SWALLOW (Podargus humeralis) is a bird about the size of a Crow. The upper part of the body is brown marked with greyish white and dark brown, the top of the head being streaked with blackish brown, and spotted with white. The quills are brownish black, marked with rows of spots upon the outer, and striped upon the inner web; the beak is light brown shaded with purple; the feet and eyes are yellowish brown. The many varieties of this species resemble each other both in appearance and habits.
"Like the rest of the genus, the Podargus humeralis is strictly nocturnal, sleeping throughout the day on the dead branch of a tree, in an upright position, across and never parallel to the branch, and which it so closely resembles as scarcely to be distinguishable from it. I have occasionally seen it beneath the thick foliage of the Casuarinæ; and I have been informed that it sometimes shelters itself in the hollow trunks of the Eucalypti, but I could never detect one in such a situation. I mostly found them in pairs, perched near each other on the branches of the Gums, in places not at all sheltered from the beams of the mid-day sun."—GOULD.
The sleep of the Giant Owl Swallow is so profound that one of a pair may be shot from a branch without the mate that is sleeping at its side being roused, and the heavy sluggard may be pelted with stones, or struck with a stick, without being awakened from its slumbers. Should it at last be roused to consciousness, it scarcely exhibits animation sufficient to prevent it from falling to the ground, as it slowly flutters, in a semi-torpid state, to the nearest tree, when it at once perches, and falls into a sleep as heavy as that from which it has just been disturbed. No sooner, however, has night set in, than the previously drowsy stupid bird becomes a new creature, and after carefully preening its plumage, at once proceeds to run actively and briskly up and down the branches of trees in search of Grasshoppers; it also extracts larvæ from under the bark, after the manner of Woodpeckers, or dives down holes and fissures to find any delicate morsels that may be concealed within. Its flight is not particularly good, owing to the shortness of it wings, but it passes with considerable rapidity from tree to tree, and occasionally amuses itself by a variety of manoeuvres in the air. Gould is of opinion that this species lives entirely upon insects, but Verreaux affirms that it frequents morasses during winter, when food is scarce, and consumes snails or other inhabitants of the water, and that in the breeding season it will attack young birds, kill them by repeatedly striking them against the stem of the tree, and then devour them. The pursuit of prey is carried on late in the evening, and again just before dawn, the intermediate hours being devoted to the process of digestion, combined with heavy sleep. The breeding season commences about July, and is ushered in by repeated battles between the males, whose loud voices become louder and more dissonant as they dispute possession of a female, or exert themselves to please her with their vocal efforts. Both parents co-operate in building their small, flat nest, which is most carelessly constructed of fine twigs lined with grass and feathers, and is usually placed in a forked branch at about five or six feet from the ground. The eggs are from two to four in number, their shape is elongate, and their colour pure white, so that they are often distinctly visible through the thin walls of their slightly constructed abode. Both parents assist in their incubation, the father sitting upon them during the night, and seeking food during the day, whilst the female takes her place upon the nest in his absence. Should the sun's rays prove too powerful for the young, they are carried to a shady nook or hole until mid-day is passed. By November they are fully fledged, but remain for some time longer under parental care and tuition. Gould and Verreaux both inform us that if the season be unusually cold, it is not uncommon for the Giant Owl Swallow to remain for a time in a hole, or on a branch, in a state of complete torpidity. Such of these birds as we have seen caged in Europe were extremely tame, and would not only eat from the hand, but allowed themselves to be carried about the room without any sign of fear.
