The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-05-03

That's the only bird that ever U Gated q
boom,' park keeper sal d, referrihg to a
fino large blue bird with al immense crown
of feathers waving on his head.
How so2'
Because that's the only sound 1t makes.
If you didn't see 1t you would thi nix some
one had struck bass drum quarter of a
mile away. Its regular boom-boolh and
when 1t makes the noise it bows its head,
80 that the crown sweeps the ground It's
the crowned pigeon from New Zealand,
ar q botwecn this cage and the stuffed birds
IN the Dluseum we can show nearly every
pigeon In the world, and you'd be as
tonished to see how many different kinds
there are. We have pouters, fan-tails,
nuns, carriers, and all the fancy bttcds
alive, besides wood-doves, and this crowned
fellow, and occasionally we have q big
lock OF wild pigeons here, but the spar
rows drive them Off. You wouldn't think
big bird like pigeon would run from
a sparrow, but they do. The little birds
collect in the trees in crowds, and when a
Hook of pigeons comes sweeping over they
make rush for them in body, and take
right hold, tooth and nail, and as. the
pigeons sweep down to get out Of the way
they are literally chased out of the park.
In The pigeon case In the museum are
some of the bones of that extinct and
much -maligned bird, the dodo, the giant of
pigeons, being the only specimen III; the
country. Two hundred and fifty years
ago they were found in the Mauritius
Islands in great quantities. 1t was curious
blrd-as large as swan. The bill Ia the
caso is not unpigeoDliRe, tholgh; one
hundred times the size of its modern repre-
sentative. They were sluggish birds, un-
able to fly, and laid single egg about the
size OF a turkeys. Broniius, an old Dutch
writer of the period, gives the following
quaint account OF them: srhe dronte, or
doddors, is, for bigness, of mean sizs, be-
tween an ostrich and turkey, from which
IL partly differs IN shape and partly agrees
with them, especially with the African
ostrlches. If you consider the rump quills,
and feathers, SO that it was like plgmy
among them, if you regard shortness of
legs. 1t hath great lll-tavored head. with
a kind of membrane resembling hood:
great black eyes; bending, prominent,
lat neck; an extraordinary long, strong,
blue-white bill, only the end Of each
mandible are dltferent in color-that of the
upper black, that of the neither yellowish
both sharp pointed and crooked; ils cape
huge, wide, as being naturally voracious.
Its body is fatand round, covered with
soft gray feathers, after the manner of an
ostrich S, on each side. Instead of hard
wing feathers, or quilts, it is furnished with
small soft-fealhercd wings OF yellowish
ash color, and behind the rump, instead of
tail, is adorned with five small curled
feathers of tho same color. -Four toes on
each foot-solid, long, as it were, really
pA Will In or
were at one time 80 plentiful that they
were X lied for the stones that were fonnh
III th"ir o.oraaohn, and ,u,.inh TN, o;iilOrs
sharpened their knives.
Another queer pigeon that lived at that
time, and which is now extinct, is tho soil
tar. 1t Was found on the Island of
Rodriguez. 1t was larger than turkey,
aud in general respects resembled the dodo
Another was the Nazarene, that was twice
rs large as the dodo. But the most re-
markable was the didunculus, living
relative, aud closely allied to the dodo The
bird was rather larger than our common
par ridge, and possessed the curious naked
skin surrounding the eyes which character
lied ita ancestor.
One of tho finest Of the thirty or more
different species of pigeons 10 the Oceanic
fruit bird OF the Pelen Islands They are
found in thousands, feeding on nutmegs
They bucomc very fat, and the fat, which
has strong flavor of the nutmcgs, is con-
sidcrcd great dainty Ivy many. 1t is said
that they grow so tat that when shot they
fall on the u glound, and are shattered to
pieces by the fall. Not only are they
valuable as a means of subsistence, but
they seem to have been appointed to help
carve out one of the great laws OF nature
1t il q wcll-known fact that the nutmeg
has to pass through some chemical pro-
cess before 1t will grow, and III the stomach
oil these birds the nutmeg is prepared for
reproduction.
Among this family of birdsthc passenger
pigeon is one of the most wonderful.
Wilson's description of their camping
grounds is: AS DON ts tho y. ~ were
1ully grown, and before they lett their
nests, numerous of the inhabitants from
oxen, BEDS cooking utensils, many OF
Lhom accompanied by the greater part OF
their families, and encamped for several
days at this immense nursery. Several of
them informed me that the noise in tho
woods was so great as to tcrrify their
horsca and that it was difficult Tor one
PcASoh w Acai ahotlcE SpCafA WltlDuI DaWl-
ing in his car. The ground was slrewn
with branches, broken limbs, eggs, and
young SQUAD pigeons, which had been pre-
cipltaLed from above and on which herds
OF hogs were fattcnlng. Hawke, buzzards
and eagles were sailing about in great num-
bers, and sclzlng the squads from their
nests al pleasure, while from twenty feet
upward 70 the top OF the trees the view
through the trees presented perpetual
tunult of crowdlng and luttering multi
tuIcs of pigeons, their wings roaring like
tuundcr, mingled with the frequent crash
OF falling trees 1t is utterly Impossible
TO estimate the number tnat congregate to-
gethcr. On soMe trees more than three
hundred nests were found. and the branches
were conll lua!ly falling, owing to the
weight of III. d oirds. The am c n.
suil.ed by lioc> OF IT, 9; Iii ds wonder.
fuI. Wilson calculates that, taking the
br ad b ol acoiumn Of p geons he Nv toI 10
OIL one Ill l., its le igtn 70 be- two hi l.