The King Bird. The King Bird or Tyrant Fly-catcher of North America is small, but of a fearless disposition, attacking hawks, crows, and other larger birds, and generally having the best of the battle. The upper part of its body is black and the lower of a delicate white. Its song is a shrill twittering "resembling the jingling of a bunch of keys." It belongs to the family of the Tyrant Shrikes or Tyrannidæ. It is during the time of incubation that it shows so much ferocity. Wilson says, "I have seen the red-headed woodpecker while clinging on a rail of the fence, amuse himself with the violence of the king bird, and play 'bo-peep' with him round the rail, while the latter, highly irritated, made every attempt, as he swept from side to side, to strike him, but in vain. All his turbulence subsides as soon as his young are able to shift for themselves, and he is then as mild and peaceable as any other bird."
The Chatterers. The Chatterers, or Cotingidæ include among them, the Cock of the Rock, one of the most beautiful of South-American birds. Resembling a pigeon in size, its head is sufficiently like that of the farm-yard cock to account for its name, which is also made to indicate the nature of its haunts. Its coat is a warm saffron yellow and its crest resembles a fan. Sir Robert Schomburgh says: "While traversing the Kikiritze mountains in Guiana, we saw a number of that most beautiful bird, the cock-of-the-rock, or Rock Manakin (rupicola elegans), and I had an opportunity of witnessing an exhibition of some of its very singular antics, of which I had heard stories from the Indians, but had hitherto disbelieved them. Hearing the twittering noise so peculiar to the Rupicola, I cautiously stole near, with two of my guides, towards a spot secluded from the path from four to five feet in diameter, and which appeared to have been cleared of every blade of grass, and smoothed as by human hands. There we saw a cock-of-the-rock, capering to the apparent delight of several others, now spreading its wings, throwing up its head, or opening its tail like a fan; now strutting about, and scratching the ground, all accompanied by a hopping gait, until tired, when it gabbled some kind of note, and another relieved it. Thus three of them successively took the field, and then with self-approbation withdrew to rest on one of the low branches near the scene of action. We had counted ten cocks and two hens of the party, when the crackling of some wood, on which I had unfortunately placed my foot, alarmed and dispersed this dancing party." The Bell Bird of Brazil; the Umbrella Bird of the Amazons, the Broadbills, the Plant cutters, the Oven bird, and the Ant-Thrushes are all included in this group.
The Lyre Bird. The Lyre Bird, which according to the classification we are following, with the scrub bird, forms the fifth group of the perching birds, belongs to Australia. The Lyre Bird has been so often depicted in illustrations that its form is familiar to most people. The tail of the male bird which is composed of three different kinds of feathers so beautifully resembles the Lyre that there could be no hesitation in giving the bird its name. Since its discovery this bird has been so hunted as to considerably reduce its numbers, and the tail feathers which at one time could be purchased at a low price, have become rare and costly.
ORDER II.
Climbers and Gapers. This order includes some widely different species and is made up of Scansores, Climbers and Fissirostres, Gapers. A few of the better known species are all that we can mention.
The Woodpecker. The green Woodpecker is the variety best known in England, where it inhabits the woods and feeds upon the insects it finds in the bark of trees. Audubon writing of the "Ivory-billed" variety says:—"The birds pay great regard to the particular situation of the tree, and the inclination of its trunk; first, because they prefer retirement, and again, because they are anxious to secure the aperture against the access of water during beating rains. To prevent such a calamity the hole is generally dug immediately under the junction of a large branch with the trunk. It is first bored horizontally for a few inches, then directly downwards, and not in a spiral manner as some people have imagined. According to circumstances, this cavity is more or less deep, being sometimes more than ten inches, whilst at other times it reaches three feet downwards into the core of the tree. The average diameter of the different nests which I have examined was about seven inches within, although the entrance, which is perfectly round, is only just large enough to admit the bird." Wilson declares that during the excavation of its nest, which occupies several days, the woodpecker will often carry the chips and strew them at a distance to divert suspicion. Audubon describing the Red-headed Woodpecker says:—"With the exception of the mocking bird, I know no species so gay and frolicsome. Their whole life is one of pleasure."
The Wryneck. This bird which was known to the Greeks, and described by Aristotle, forms with its allied species a connecting link between the Woodpecker and the Cuckoo. It feeds on caterpillars and insects which it catches with its long sticky tongue, with such rapidity of movement that the eye cannot follow it.
The Cuckoo. The Cuckoo is always welcomed in England as the harbinger of Spring. Its cry is one of the most easily distinguished of bird songs, and is the nearest approach to a definite musical interval produced by any bird. The habit of the cuckoo of laying its eggs in the nests of other birds, has given rise to much speculation, ancient and modern, and now, though the fact remains, a sufficiently satisfactory reason seems as remote as ever. The nest of the Hedge-sparrow seems to be the one most often selected, though that of the wagtail is sometimes chosen. The consequences to the young of the native bird, are somewhat serious as the following will show.
The Cuckoo and the Hedge-Sparrow. Dr. Jenner, the discoverer of vaccination says:—"On the 18th of June, 1787, I examined the nest of a hedge-sparrow (Accentor modularis), which then contained a cuckoo and three hedge-sparrows' eggs. On inspecting it the day following, the bird had hatched; but the nest then contained only a young cuckoo and one hedge-sparrow. The nest was placed so near the extremity of a hedge, that I could distinctly see what was going forward in it; and, to my great astonishment, I saw the young cuckoo, though so lately hatched, in the act of turning out the young hedge-sparrow. The mode of accomplishing this was very curious; the little animal, with the assistance of its rump and wings, contrived to get the bird upon its back, and making a lodgment for its burthen by elevating its elbows, clambered backwards with it up the side of the nest till it reached the top, where, resting for a moment, it threw off its load with a jerk, and quite disengaged it from the nest. It remained in this situation for a short time, feeling about with the extremities of its wings, as if to be convinced whether the business was properly executed, and then dropped into the nest again. I afterwards put in an egg, and this, by a similar process, was conveyed to the edge of the nest and thrown out. These experiments I have since repeated several times, in different nests, and have always found the young cuckoo disposed to act in the same manner. "It sometimes happens that two cuckoos' eggs are deposited in the same nest, and then the young produced from one of them must inevitably perish. Two cuckoos and one hedge-sparrow were hatched in the same nest, and one hedge-sparrow's egg remained unhatched. In a few hours afterwards a contest began between the cuckoos for the possession of the nest, which continued undetermined till the next afternoon, when one of them, which was somewhat superior in size, turned out the other, together with the young hedge-sparrow and the unhatched egg. The combatants alternately appeared to have the advantage, as each carried the other several times to the top of the nest, and then sunk down again, oppressed by the weight of the burthen; till at length, after various efforts, the strongest prevailed, and was afterwards brought up by the hedge-sparrow." Jenner's experiences have been corroborated by repeated experiments since. Colonel Montague carried a hedge-sparrow's nest, so inhabited, into his house where he could watch it at leisure and where he saw the young cuckoo frequently oust the baby hedge-sparrow in the manner described. The cuckoo feeds on caterpillars, and insects. It may be tamed, but as a rule does not live long in confinement. Its note is heard from April to June.
The Cuckoo and the Thrush. That the cuckoo is scarcely an amiable bird would appear from the following incident recorded by Dr. Stanley: "A young thrush, just able to feed itself, was placed in a cage. A short time after, a young cuckoo, which could not feed itself, was placed in the same cage, and fed by the owner. At length it was observed that the thrush fed it; the cuckoo opening its mouth, and sitting on the upper perch, and making the thrush hop down to fetch its food. One day, while thus expecting its supply, a worm was put into the cage, and the thrush could not resist the temptation of eating it, upon which the cuckoo descended, attacked the thrush with fury, and literally tore out one of its eyes, and then hopped back. Although so lacerated, the poor thrush meekly took up some food, and continued to do so till the cuckoo was full grown."
The Trogons. The Trogons are among the most gorgeous of living birds; the brilliance of their plumage defying verbal description. Their main colour is "a metallic golden green, boldly contrasted with scarlet, black, and brown." "The Resplendent Trogon," says Mr. Wood, "is the most gorgeous of all this gorgeous family. Its long and gracefully curved tail is nearly three feet long, and the whole of the upper surface, and the throat, are a glowing green; the breast and under parts are bright crimson; the middle feathers of the tail black, and the outer feathers white." These birds are natives of Mexico.