THE NATURALIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 2069, 19 October 1893, Page 48

THE NATURALIST.

Curious Cries of Birds.

We are all familiar (says a Home paper) with the cry of tbe guinea-fowl, that unmistakable call of " Come back, come back," repeated so distinctly in some instances as to deceive even experienced people. In our woods and fields we have some curious callers. The harsh rattle of the magpie is quite a characteristic cry, and that bird, being possessed of remarkable powers of imitation, often varies its performance by mimicking the bleat of the goat, the shriek of the hawk ; in fact, any sounds of a harsh character that may strike its fancy. The greenfinch has a most melancholy cry — a sort of " tway," very long drawn out, which is uttered incessantly i\hen an intruder approaches its nest. Anything more doleful it is impossible to imagine, and, as the bird keeps out of sight, the mystery attf.cb.ing to it iB rendered doubly great. Almost a similar wail is emitted by the yellowhammer when its treasures are in danger of being discovered.

Superstitious people have attached all sorts of ill-fortune to the weird night-hoot of the owl. Heard amidst the solitude of tbe deeply-'hadowfcd woods, with the darkness and quietude of night predominating, this ghostly outbreak is enough to strike terror into ti e soul of the most venturesome nightwanderer. To people entirely unacquainted with the babirs of owls, their shriek resembles nothing po much as a mournful appeal for aid —one could easily imagine it a death-call.

A gentleman, unused to country life, declared himself unable to sleep in a certain house, becauee of the dreadful cries of the owls in an adjacent wood. It was no easy matter to assure him that the birds alone were responsible for the heart-rending wails which had annoyed him so frequently. Those pretty and striking birds, the lapwings, have earned for themselves the wellknown name of pec- wit, their cry resembling that of a whining infant. Frequenting lonely stretches of beach or moorland, the call has something decidedly uncanny about it, as the bird flaps heavily over the dreary waste; no wonder the country folks have numerous superstitions in connection with it, especially as it is incessantly vociferous during stormy weather.

An observant naturalist mentions a flock of these birds haunting certain fields before the winter season, and filling the air with their wailiDgs--. As he surmised their numbers to exceed 2000, some idea of the immensity of the huge fleck may be gained. He says : "It is their habit to ail move at once, to rise from the ground simultaneously, to turn in the air, to descend — and all so regular that their very wings seem to flap together. The effect of such a vast body of white-breasted birds uprising as one from the dark- ploughed earth was very remarkable. Such a great flock had not been seen in that district in the memory of man."

The skylark is said to have a curious cry to warn his paitner of coming danger. Poised aloft on quivering wing, pouring out bis soul's ecstasy at the gates of Heaven, he is still alive to the surroundings of his humble partner, brooding so lovingly on the brown eggs in the clover-hidden nest. The approach of a hawk or other mischief-brood-ing intruder is signalled, the singer drops like a shot from the clouds, and is beside the female bird instantly.

A denizen in tropical wood?, named the bellbird, has a note that is as remarkable as alluiing. In the solitude of ? wilight and the gloom of unfrequented woods;, its measured toll rings out with all the sweetness of a vesper bell. Being a retiring bird and eabily disturbed, its whereabouts is somewhat difficult to determine, and curiosity collectors have, it is said, fallen victims to the deadly dangers of a tropical forest in their fruitless endeavours to securp the restless pi ize.

An American bird of the night- jar species has a habit, of uttering- its most peculiar call at nightfall It is a pet feet rendering cf the sentence, " Whip-poor- Will, whip-poor- Will." Perhaps our own cuckoo's call U &s peculiar

as any, and, were the species rare, would excite much notice and comment. The notes of the female bird are said to resemble the syllables " oc-oo," while those of her partner, which are most often heard, are clear and distinct — " cuckoo."

But the welcome notes of the cuckoo are curious in another way, the bird haviug the delusive power of " throwirjg " it voice ; in oiher words, it is a feathered ventriloquist. Thus its exact position is difficult to decide : the singer may be in the copse, yet its call seems to come from the opposite hills. One moment it is clear and ringing, the next wavering and uncertain. This circumstance may have much to do with the curious tales that circulate in reference to its mysterious character.

The corn-crake is even more of a ventri • loquist, and of all birds this one is the most retiring. Its voice alone betrays it, and even this, harsh and loud as it is, is so uncertain, that it serves as a poor guide towards the movements of the owner. It can thread its way through the long grass or wheat so dexterously that scarcely a blade is shaken; moreover, its discordant "crekcrake" is deceptive because of its ventriloquial modulations ; therefore, the creature is almost unknown, even to people with whom its call is as familiar as the " chirp" of the humble sparrow.

It may, however, be enticed to the edge of the field by means of a steel pen being drawn across the teeth of a comb in imitation of its "crake." Needless to add, an experiment of this nature calls for a more than ordinary amount of patience.

A most singular cry is that of the common woodpecker. Haunting the deepest parts of old woods, its ringing laugh — almost resemblicg a burcan laugh, pitched in a high key — has somewhat of an uncanny association, the solitude of the forest and the retiring character of the bird adding to the unaccountable mystery that surrounds it. People of a timid nature, unaware of the existence of this bird, and unable to discover the performer, are apt to regard the woods in which it is heard with awe and superstition. The bird is 12in in length, and hides itself behind the branches of ancient forest trees.