The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1880-03-27

Z GIANTS AND Pl00IBs AMONG
/ Nature presents everywhere che mes,
| opposite extseoes. BietlsJ have alse
their piguiss and their siants. thai.
idlsrs aud iodefasigable workers.
Their habits display. side BY side, i'm.
bscality and intelligencs. solitude and
family life. n Il
Oftsn 10 the tropical regions, where
the sun darts his 6arcest rays. We may
80 fitting over the flowers brilliant
birds. ~hich sweep rspidly past like .
spark Of topaz OF suby; thsas arc ths
hossming birds. living diamoods,
sligLssr than come inssees. and which
oft<s bseoms the prey u huge spiders.
| rhe giant Of this group scarcely At
tsins the bisnsss ef . sparrow. snd the
smallest hardly saspsossc II size .
humble bee. Hence, 70 the hummtnR
birdes - they rarer ooGnmooljs ea13a6,
each sp~ck of The creasion Il world.
4 siopls leaf saliees for the laanb4le
of Whole family; . 6svef 81 the M
laeed thfeas % uhiuh tAs nnpeaAls
ere accomplished, and ths petals ,of its
coesolis Sprssd ont 70 fora . velvet
CANOPY which hides thsir chAste loves.
Were Ne to osnpass - siss % a1s
tesent birds. we sh0uad arrive at, won
derfal resuits.. Lacsle'1s. whod doubt-
less could cot bsast Of beisg = exact
- Arctimedes, caIeq3eted that il would
require . thousand millions Of shrev-
mice to equal > whale in weight. II
that we're true, We should also have 10
pile up some uaillieus OF huo mise
birds 10 weigh agsinst the heavy o.
trich.
We have Just spoken Of the ostrich,
but it again 10 only . puny animal
compared with two orniihologicsl mar.
vels. the recent discovery Of wi hich Ne
ows to the. illustrieus xoolo2ists. Prof
Oven and lsidore Geodty Saint Hill
aire. -
Ono Of them. the gisassic Disssis 81
New Zealaall. part of the skeleton nf
which u in the museum of the London
College Of Surgeon. was eighteen feet
high. The bone of man . Log i. only
slender spindle compared to that Of
tEis cOloasal bird,
The disappsarancv Of this ,monstrous
animal datss froo NO. very distant
epoch. end -eseEytAine attssssashst the
hsst inhabitants Of New Zealand were
perfectly acquainted with it. The an
cisnt legends Of the island tell US that
1t the tims Of its discovery it Was fall
Of birds Of appalling sire. There are
also saoisnt poems there inswhicb the
father tsaelses bic 500 hev N hnnt tie
Moa. the nams belonging ofold to this
species; in these are described the Ger.
cinonies which took place when one
had been killed. They feastsd on the
dssh and eggs, while the feathers serv.
I'D to edorn the arms Of the -vanquish-
ere. Some hills are yet strewn With
the bones of the Dinoris, the remains
Of these great fsssts Of the bunters.
Anather colossal bird, the'EphlDoris,
whieh Sosnerly ised In lGsdsG Gnecse,
must. havs been e svens oUpAtsSA -
One OF iss eggs. which 10 aDvaia tlo
mussam q PAris. b cir, iiass aalareo
- that OF the ostrich, and it hes been
calculated that to oil the cavity would
require $4,000 humning birds eggs.
lis shelf. two millimeterss (0.76742
inch) thick. could only bs hsokeu BY .
blow With hammer. What strength
then must the bssk Of the yount bird
have pseseesed 10 b Ahlerto ulalo {
hele in il!
What diaererce also in strength 10
found in birdsl
When fleeing before the hunter,
whoss Arab stssd presses closer and
closer, the alarmed and iusieas, ,ost,ish
tears he coil a ths dseset. clineine 20
il. and leaving deep narks beneath
each footatsp. while II launches afar .
alar . cloud Of sapd eod pebbles.
Wheo. On the contrary. ! flock Of hum.
ming birds. sstnc4ed ~ ~ axpandsd
aud 6oaiisg flowers Of tbe Royal VIC
.toria, play and glsam rosnd them Ike
. cnsket Of topsxes and vuties sssuek
by thu sayss of the aun. .seitbes -the
smoNh surfacs Of Che lake nsr the
beautiful dowers ase. In. tho least de-
erss dsstsrbrd. sAAd wboa one q
these winged disuhouda tstchss itell
upon pstal Of thsif, virgin eprOlla. it
does not even stir it. AGAIN; when The
fragile bird tskss fight. it, tiny CLAW
hes not injured the ,sslset eoieDsea. ct
Tie neser. Il 0iglt Aess.liebt6d ules
enc Of hs4vioss q the n1de1 oDes1i1se
plant without this taking sny alarm.
The secretary. hisd. on The cootrsry-
. powerful bird oe pEsy bslengine 70
Africa, iocoMAntJy 0ocuD6edv In. &C.,