The architecture of birds / [Anon].

  • James Rennie
Date:
1831
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The architecture of birds / [Anon]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Temminck and others accuse the petrels of appro- priating-, for their nests, the holes which have been abandoned by burrowing animals *; but we are not a little doubtful of the correctness of this: at least it appears that in some instances they burrow out their own holes t- Our old navigator, Wafer, was more probably right when he tells us that in the island of Juan Fernandez, they “ make holes in the ground like rabbits; ” and Father Lobat, says, “the great sulphur mountain in Guadaloupe is all bored like a rabbit-warren with the holes which these imps (Diablotins) excavate ; but as they select the steepest parts it is very dangerous to catch them. All the night we spent on that mountain, we heard the great noise made by them going out and in, calling and answering each other. By our mutual assistance, dragging each other with cords, we reached places stocked with these birds; and in three hours our four negroes took thirty-eight out of their burrows, and I myself seventeen.’’ We cannot, however, de- termine the particular species meant by these writers. We are less in doubt with respect to the manner in which the holes of several species of birds (the auks, razor-bills, puffins, and penguins,) of similar habits are burrowed out, as we have authentic details of their proceedings. The Puffin (Fratercula Arctica, Brisson) is one of the best known of these. It is remarkable for the singular form of its bill, which exactly resembles two very short blades of a knife applied one against the other by the edge, so as to form a sort of triangle, but longer than it is broad, and channelled trans- versely with three or four little furrows near the point. From the position of the feet also, which * Temminck, Manuel, p. 801. t See Linn. Trans, xiii., p. 617.
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