CLASS II.—BIRDS. (continued 2)

182. The TAME Swan (Anas olor, Fig. 47), the largest of all British birds, is distinguished from the wild swan (181) by its larger size, and by the cere or naked skin at the base of the bill being black and not yellow.

It is an inhabitant both of Europe and Asia.

So highly were these beautiful and stately birds esteemed by our ancestors that, by an act of Edward the Fourth, no person who possessed a freehold of less yearly value than five marks was permitted to keep them. At this day the stealing of swans is considered a felonious act; and there is a penalty for stealing the eggs, of twenty shillings each.

Swans were formerly served up at almost every great feast. At Archbishop Neville's feast in the reign of Edward the Fourth, there were no fewer than 400 of these birds. At present, the cygnets, or young swans, only are eaten. Considerable numbers of these are annually fattened near Norwich, about Christmas, and chiefly for the table of the corporation of that city.

The nest of the swan is formed, about the month of February, of grass, and generally among reeds near the water. The eggs are six or eight in number, of large size and white colour.

183. The WILD GOOSE (Anas anser) is distinguished by having a somewhat cylindrical bill, the body ash-coloured above and paler beneath, and the neck striate.

Large flocks of wild geese frequent all the fenny districts of England, and are also found in the northern parts of the continents of Europe, Asia, and America.

These birds are killed on account of their flesh which is an excellent and nutritive food; and they are the stock from which our common or tame geese have been obtained.

Vast numbers of the latter are kept in the fens of Lincolnshire, and other parts of England, and chiefly for the sake of their quills and feathers. Of these they are unmercifully stripped, whilst alive, once every year for the former, and five times for the latter. The quills, or large feathers of the wings, are termed firsts, seconds, and thirds, from the order in which they grow. The last two kinds are those principally used in writing, on account of the larger size of their barrels. And as the utility and value of quills, in the making of pens, greatly depend on their firmness and elasticity, different expedients have been contrived to harden them. The most simple of these is to thrust the barrels, for a few moments, into hot sand or ashes, afterwards to press them almost flat with a penknife, and then to restore their roundness by the fingers, with the assistance of a piece of leather or woollen cloth, removing at the same time their external roughness by the friction. But when great numbers are to be prepared, other methods are adopted. Aqua-fortis is frequently employed in the preparation of quills, by which they are stained a yellow colour.

All the best feathers that are used in this country for making beds, bolsters, and pillows, are those of geese: and such as are obtained in the county of Somerset are generally esteemed the best. Great quantities of goose and other feathers are annually imported from the north of Europe; but these being insufficient for the demand, the feathers of cocks and hens, and also of ducks and turkeys, all of which are much inferior to those of geese, are frequently mixed with them. The best mode of preserving feathers is to expose them, in a room, to the rays of the sun; and, as soon as they are thoroughly dried, to put them loosely into bags, in which they should be well beaten to cleanse them from dust and filth. Of late years feathers have been manufactured into hats.

The usual weight of a fine goose is fifteen or sixteen pounds, but it is scarcely credible how far this weight may be increased, by cramming the birds with bean-meal, and other fattening diet. It some places it is customary to nail them to the floor by the webs of the feet, to prevent any possibility of action, and thus to fatten them the more readily. In Vienna the livers of geese are esteemed a great delicacy. They are eaten stewed, and some of the German poulterers have a method of making them grow to an enormous size.

In the choosing of geese for the table, care should be taken that the feet and legs be yellow, which is an indication of the bird's being young: the legs of old geese are red. If recently killed, the legs will be pliable, but if stale they will generally be found dry and stiff.

These birds are denominated green geese until they are three or four months old; and, at this immature age, they are held by many persons in great esteem for the table.

Besides the present, there are several other species of goose, which are useful on account of their quills and feathers, and likewise as supplying mankind with food.

184. The WILD DUCK (Anas boschas) is distinguished by the general cinereous colour of its plumage, by having a narrow white mark round the neck, the bill being straight, and the tail feathers of the male curved upward.

The male is called mallard, or drake, and the female has the name of duck.

Wild ducks are very common, in most of the fenny parts of England: they are also found on the continent of Europe, in Asia, and America.

One mode of catching wild ducks, in the fens of Lincolnshire and some other countries, is by what are called decoys. These are ponds, generally formed in marshy situations, and surrounded with wood or reeds, and if possible with both. The wild birds are attracted into nets placed in the ditches of the decoy, by ducks trained for the purpose, and called decoy-birds. The latter fly abroad, but regularly return, for food, to the pond of the decoy, where they mix with tame ducks, which never quit the place. When it is required to catch the wild birds a quantity of hemp-seed is thrown into the ditches. The decoy and tame ducks lead them in search of this, along the ditches, which generally have reed-skreens at certain intervals on each side, to prevent the decoy-man from being seen. And as soon as they have advanced to the part of the ditch over which the net is extended, the man appears behind. Fearful of returning past him, and unable to escape by flight, they proceed onward to the end of the net, which terminates on the land, and are there caught by a man stationed for the purpose. The trained birds return back, past the decoy-man, into the pond again. The general season for catching wild ducks is from the latter end of October until the beginning of February; and we are informed that, in ten decoys which are near Wainfleet, as many as 31,200 wild ducks, wigeon, teal, and other water fowl, were caught in a single season.

These birds are the original to which we are indebted for our valuable breed, the common or tame duck.

185. The TEAL and WIGEON (Anas crecca and penelope) are two small species of duck, of which the former has a green spot on each wing, and a white line about and beneath the eyes; and the latter has the tail somewhat pointed, the under part near the tail black, the head brown, the front white, and the back waved with ash-coloured and blackish marks.

Both these species are common in England, and are killed for the table.

186. The EIDER DUCK (Anas mollissima, Fig. 48) is about twice the size of the common duck, and known by its bill being cylindric, and the cere or naked skin at the base being divided into two parts at the back, and wrinkled.

These birds inhabit the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and America, and generally form their nests on small islands not far from the sea-shore.

The nests of eider ducks are constructed, externally, of marine plants, and lined with white down, which the birds pluck from their own breasts. This is the substance called eider down. It is collected, from the nests, by the bird-catchers, who, for that purpose, carefully remove the females, and then take away a certain portion both of down and eggs from each. More down is plucked from their breasts, and more eggs are laid to supply the place of those that have been taken. The nests are plundered in the same manner as before; and when the young ones are fledged, the whole of the down that remains is collected. It is generally reckoned that the down of one nest, after it has been picked and cleansed, will weigh about a quarter of a pound; and the bulk of the whole quantity may easily be imagined, when it is stated that three quarters of an ounce of eider down is more than sufficient to fill the crown of a large hat. The use of this down is for making beds, but, particularly, for making what are called down quilts, a kind of covering almost like a feather bed, which is used in the northern countries of Europe, as a protection against cold, instead of a common quilt, or blanket.

The flesh and the eggs of these birds are used for food, and their skins are sewed together and made into under garments by the inhabitants of Greenland.

187. The PUFFIN (Alca arctica, Fig. 49) is a marine bird about the size of a pigeon, and distinguished by having a large bill compressed at the sides and marked with four grooves; the top of the head, a ring round the throat, and all the upper parts of the plumage, black, and the under parts white.

These are birds of passage, arriving in this country about the beginning of April, and leaving it in August. They are chiefly found on rocks and elevated ground, in unfrequented places, near the sea-shore.

The breeding of puffins is encouraged in the island of Prestholme, North Wales, and other parts of the British dominions, as a source of profit. The birds, which, in some places, are numerous beyond all calculation, form their nests in holes in the ground, each nest containing only a single white egg. The young ones are seized before they are quite fledged; and, after the bones are taken out, the skin is closed round the flesh, and they are pickled in vinegar impregnated with spices. In this state they are sold as a delicacy for the table. The flesh of the old birds is rank and unpalatable, in consequence of their feeding on seaweeds and fish. We are informed, by Dr. Caius, that in Roman Catholic countries, puffins are permitted to be eaten instead of fish during Lent, and on other fast days.

188. PENGUINS (Fig 50.) are a tribe of marine birds with straight and narrow bills, furrowed at the sides; the legs situated so far back that they walk in an upright position; and the wings small, not calculated for flight, and covered with a broad and strong membrane.

Most of the penguins are found in different islands of the South Seas.

Vast numbers of these birds inhabit the Falkland islands, and, to mariners, they have sometimes afforded a very seasonable supply of food. They are in general extremely fat, and must be skinned before they are eaten. Sometimes they have been salted and packed in casks to supply the place of beef. These birds are so fearless of the approach of mankind, that there is no difficulty in knocking them down and killing them with sticks.

Penguins form their nests in holes in the ground, and generally lay one egg in each nest. The eggs are an excellent food.

189. PELECANS, or CORVORANTS, are a tribe of birds distinguished by their bills being hooked at the end, and furnished with a nail at the point and a pouch beneath, and having their face naked.

There are more than thirty known species of pelecans, some of which are found in nearly every part of the world.

Of these the most remarkable species is the great, or White Pelecan (Pelecanus onocrolalus). It is furnished with a bag attached to the lower mandible of its bill, so large as to be capable of containing a great number of fish. On these the pelecan feeds, and, by means of this bag, is enabled to convey them as food for its offspring. We are informed that the inhabitants of Mexico sometimes obtain a supply of fish by cruelly breaking the wing of a live pelecan, and then tying the bird to a tree. Its screams are said to attract other pelecans to the place, which give up a portion of the provisions they have collected to their imprisoned companion. As soon as this is observed the men, who are concealed at a little distance, rush to the spot, and take away all except a small portion, sufficient for the support of the prisoner.

The Chinese train one of the species (Pelecanus sinensis) to catch fish, and the birds are so well trained that they do not appear to swallow any, but such as are given to them for encouragement and food.

190. The Gannet (Pelecanus bassanus, Fig. 51) is a species of pelecan so numerous, and, at the same time, so important to the inhabitants of some parts of Scotland, that, in the island of St. Kilda only, more than 20,000 are said to be annually killed by the inhabitants as food. The young birds, however, alone are eatable; and, to obtain these and the eggs, the bird-catchers undergo the greatest risks. They not only climb the rocks, but even allow themselves to be lowered from the top of the most dangerous precipices, by ropes, to the ledges on which the nests are placed. As gannets and their eggs are a principal support of the inhabitants of St. Kilda throughout the year, they are preserved, for this purpose, in a frozen state, in small pyramidal stone buildings covered with turf and ashes.