THE ESCULENT SWALLOW. The Esculent Swallow is somewhat smaller than the Wren. Its bili is thick. The upper parts of the body are brown, and the under parts whitish. The tail is forked; and each feather is tipped with white. The legs are brown. The nest of this bird is exceedingly curious, and is composed of such materials, that it is not only edible, but is accounted by the epicures of Asia, among their greatest dainties. It generally weighs about half an ounce; and is, in shape, like a half-lemon, or, as some say, like a saucer with one side flatted, which adheres to the rock. The texture somewhat resembles isinglass, or fine gum-dragon; and the several layers of the component matter are very apparent; it be ing fabricated from repeated parcels of a soft, slimy substance, in the same manner as the Martins form their nests of mud. Authors differ much as to the materials of which this nest is composed: some suppose it to consist of sea-worms, of the Mollusca class; others from the sea-qualm, (a kind of Cuttle-fish,) or a glutinous sea-plant, called agal-agal. It has also been supposed that the Swallows rob other birds of their eggs, and, after breaking their shells, apply the white of them in the composition of these structures. The best sort of nests, which are perfectly free from dirt are dissolved in broth, in order to thicken it; and are said to give it an exquisite flavor. Or they are soaked in water, to soften them; then pulled to pieces; and, after being mixed with ginseng, are put into the body of a fowl. The whole is afterwards stewed in a pot, with a sufficient quantity of water, and left on the coals all night. On the following morning it is in a state to be eaten. These nests are found in vast numbers in certain caverns of islands in the Soolo Archipelago. The best kind sell in China at from one thousand to fifteen hundred dollars the picle; (about twenty-five pounds;) the black and dirty ones for only twenty dollars. It is said that the Dutch alone export from Batavia one thousand picles of these nests every year: they are brought from the islands of Cochin-China and those lying east of them. The following is the account given of the nests of the Esculent Swallow by Sir George Staunton: "In the Cass (a small island near Sumatra) were found two caverns, running horizontally into the side of the rock; and in these were a number of those bird-nests so much prized by the Chinese epicures. They seem to be composed of fine filaments, cemented together by a transparent viscous matter, not unlike what is left by the foam of the sea upon stones alternately covered by the tide, or those gelatinous animal substances that are found floating on every coast. The nests adhere to each other, and to the sides of the cavern; mostly in rows, without any break or interruption. The birds that build these nests are small gray Swallows, with bellies of a dirty white color. They were flying about in considerable numbers; but were so small, and their flight was so quick, that they escaped the THE BLACK MARTIN, OR SWIFT. 633 shot fired at them. The same sort of nests are said also to be found in deep caverns at the foot of the highest mountains in the middle of Java, and at a great distance from the sea. The Esculent Swallows feed on insects which they find hovering over stagnated pools between the mountains, and for the catching of which their wide-opening beaks are particularly adapted. They prepare their nests from the best remnants of their food. Their greatest enemy is the Kite, which often intercepts them in their passage to and from the caverns. The nests are placed in horizontal rows, at different depths, from fifty to five hundred feet. The color and value of the nests depend on the quantity and quality of the insects caught; and, perhaps, also on the situation in which they are built. Their value is chiefly ascertained by the uniform fineness and delicacy of their texture; those that are white and transparent being most esteemed, and often fetching, in China, their weight in silver. "These nests are a considerable object of traffic among the Javanese; many of whom are employed in it from their infancy. The birds, after having spent nearly two months in preparing their nests, lay each two eggs, which are hatched in about fifteen days. When the young birds become fledged, is the proper time to take the nests; and this is regularly done three times a year, and is effected by means of ladders of bamboo and reeds, by which the people descend into the caverns: but when these are very deep, rope-ladders are preferred. This operation is attended with much danger. The inhabitants of the mountains, who obtain a livelihood by collecting the nests, always begin by sacrificing a buffalo. They also pronounce certain prayers, anoint themselves with sweet-scented oil, and smoke the entrance of the cavern with gum-benjamin. Near some of the caverns a tutelar goddess is worshipped, whose priest burns incense, and lays his protecting hands on every person preparing to descend. A flambeau is, at the same time, carefully prepared, with a gum which exudes from a tree growing in the vicinity, and which is not easily extinguished by fixed air or subterraneous vapors." THE BLACK MARTIN, OR SWIFT. The legs of the Swift are so short, that the actions of walking and rising from the ground seem very difficult to it. Providence, however, has made the bird ample compensation, by furnishing it with means, in a peculiarly great extent of wing, for an easy and long-continued flight. It passes more of its time on wing than any other Swallow, and its flight is more rapid. It breeds under the eaves of houses, in steeples, and other lofty buildings; and makes its nest of grass and feathers. The feet of this bird are of a peculiar structure, all the toes standing forward. The least toes consist of only one bone; the others of two each; in which they differ from the toes of all other birds. This, however, is a construction nicely adapted to the purposes for which the feet of these birds are employed. The Swift visits England the latest, and leaves the earliest, of any bird of its tribe it does not often arrive before the begining of May, and seldom remains later than the middle of August. It is the most active of all birds; being on wing, in the height of summer, at least sixteen hours in the day; withdrawing to rest, in the longest days, about a quarter before nine in the evening, some time after all the other day-birds are gone. Just before they retire, large groups of Swifts assemble high in the air, screaming, and shooting about with wonderful rapidity. They are chiefly alert in sultry, lowering weather; when they express great alacrity, and seem to call forth all their powers. In hot mornings, the Swifts collect together, in little parties, and dash around the steeples and churches, squeaking at the same time in a very clamorous manner. These are supposed to be the males serenading the sitting hens; as they seldom make this noise till they come close to the walls or eaves, and those within always utter in return a faint note of complacency. When the hen has been occupied all the day in sitting, she rushes forth, just before it is dark, to relieve her weary limbs. She snatches a scanty meal for a few minutes, and then returns to her task of incubation. Swifts, when shot while they have young-ones, are found to have a little cluster of insects in their mouths, which they pouch and hold under their tongue. In general, they fly and feed higher in the air than any other species. They also range to vast distances; for motion is but a slight labor to them, endowed as they are with such wonderful powers of wing. Sometimes, however, in the summer they may be observed, for many successive hours, hawking very low, over pools and streams, in search of the Cadew-flies, May-flies, and Dragon flies, which frequent the banks and surface of waters, and which afford them a plentiful nourishment. Sometimes they pursue and strike at birds of prey when they are sailing about in the air; but they do not express so much vehemence and fury on these occasions as the Swallows. Swifts breed but once in the summer and produce no more than two young-ones at a time. The main body of these birds retire from this country before the middle of August, generally by the 10th, (which is but a short time after the flight of their young-ones,) and not a single straggler is to be seen on the 20th. This early retreat is totally unaccountable, as that time is often the most delightful in the year. But, what is yet more extraordinary, they begin to retire still earlier in the most southerly parts of Andalusia; where they cannot be influenced by any defect of heat, or even (as one would suppose) of food. This is one of those incidents in natural history, which not only baffle our researches, but also elude our conjectures. The voice of the Swift is a harsh scream; yet there are few ears to which it is not pleasing, from an agreeable association of ideas, since it is never heard but in the most lovely weather of summer. These birds never, unless by accident, settle on the ground, from the diffi culty they have in walking, or rather (as it may be called) in crawling; but they have a strong grasp with their feet, by which they readily THE TROGON. THE HOOPOE. 635 eling to walls and other places that they frequent. Their bodies being flat, they can enter a very narrow crevice; and where they cannot pass on their bellies, they will turn up edgewise to push them selves through. THE TROGON. The magnificent family of the Trogons stands pre-eminent in beauty and brilliancy of plumage, the usual tint being a metallic golden green, boldly contrasted with scarlet, black M and brown. The toes are placed two behind and two before, like those of the Woodpeckers. The Resplendent Trogon is the most gorgeous of all this gorgeous family. Its long and gracefully curved tail, nearly three feet long; 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. This splendid bird is an inhabitant of Mexico, and was used by RESPLENDENT TROGOVS. the Mexican nobles as an ornament to their head-dress. From the feathers of these and other Trogons the mosaic pictures of the Mexicans were made. One of these, most delicately and beau tifully executed, containing many figures, is now in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, and is there said to be made of Humming-birds' feathers. The subject is "Christ fainting under the cross." The whole picture is about the size of the palm of the hand, and the figures are barely half an inch in height. This is a very difficult bird to stuff, on account of the delicate texture of the skin, which is so fragile, that it tears almost as easily as wet blotting paper. THE HOOPOE. One of the most elegant birds that visit England is unfortunately a very rare guest, and seldom if ever, breeds there. Its beautiful crest can be raised or depressed at pleasure, but is seldom displayed unless the bird is excited from some cause. Its food consists of insects, which it first batters and moulds into an oblong mass, and then swallows with a peculiar jerk of the head. In Yarrell's British Birds, there is a very interesting account of a tame Hoopoe in the possession of Mr. Bartlett. In France Hoopoes are very common, and may be seen examining old and rotten stumps for the insects that invariably congregate in such places. There they may be seen in flocks, but they never seem to go over to England gein greater numbers than one pair at a time. M. Bechstein gives a curious account of the attitude assumed by the Hoopoe on perceiving a large bird in the air. "As soon as they perceived a Raven or even a Pigeon, they were on their bellies in the twinkling of an eye, their wings stretched out by the side of the head so that the large quill feathers touched the head, leaning on the back with the bill pointing upwards. In this curious posture they might be taken for an old rag!" НООРОЕ These birds of which he is speaking are two young Hoopoes whom HOOPOE. he had taken from the nest and was rearing. They lived for some time, but both died of civilization. The fe male had a habit of dragging her food about the floor, so that it became covered with A rubbish. This formed a hard mass nearly the size of an ordinary nut in the bird's stomach, something like the balls of hair found found in the stomach of a cow, and soon killed the poor Hoopoe. The male bird lived through the winter, but becoming attached to the warmth of the stove, its beak became so unnaturally dry, that the two manoutwards, having an The bird of course dibles separated from each other and curved interval of nearly an inch between their tips. soon died of absolute starvation. The Hoopoe lays from four to seven grey eggs in the hollow of a tree. Its length is one foot. |