Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-17

SehtleneSs, uses its wings in conflict with
much effect. In fact, there are few birds
OF more quarrelsome disposition or more
gwen to picking upon their weaker neigh
bors.
The pigeon is a skiiIfui boxer. guard
ing with one wing and striking with the
other. 1t strikes it's adversary about the
mead with It's 'wrist'-that is. the part
which people who are not ANTAGONISTS call
tne shoulder If you will carefully part
the feathers on the outer edge of a pig
cons wing, near the berd. Won will find a
small bare spot and a blunt, well-marked
horny prominence. 1t is with this that the
blow is inflicted.
An extinct species of pigeon was nro.
Vlded with a sort of natural siung shot,
"hich must have added not a little to the
effectiveness of the blow. This bird was
the rat and .fishtless solitaire of Rodri-
queH Island, to the north and east of NADIA
sascar 1t was a near relative of the dodo
ana ike 1t a great ungainly aberrent MEM
Der or the pigeon family. All that we know
ABOUT the solitaire has beer gathered from
the journal of Francois Leguat who saws
'hat while the birds were mating they
would not permit any of their own kind
10 approach within 200 yards The male
Vi tne pair would drive away the males,
o.
males.
Dangerous Weapon
me slung-shot arrangement which serv
GU the solitaire as weapon was simply an
enlargement of the wrist bone, brought
about by the combative habits of the birds.
me JOINT having been banged and bruised
uhtil the sort of diseased outgrowth termed
eAostosls took place. in the course of gem
erations the swelling became a constant
Characteristic of the animal
Ihere are some geese in Africa which
nave pinions peculiarly armed One of the
wrist bones projects considerably beyond
the other and is capped with a sharp spur.
Flowers are particularly remarkable for
the spurs on their wings In some species
which have small spurs the weapon in
creases in size at the breeding season. So
as 10 become available for fighting. A
small and quarrelsome kind of plover is
very abundant in northeast Africa. Its
restless habits-for night and day 1t is per-
petually on the move-are explained by an
Arab tradition to the effect that on account
of former laziness it has been condemned
to live in state of eternal unrest
The largest of the South American
spurred plovers ranges southwark to Pat
agonia, and is armed with q long vicious
looking spur just at the base of the meta
tarsus. 1 was about to say thumb but 1t
seems probable, as shall presently explain
10 you mat BIRDS long ago lost their
thumbs. and that the middle finger has
come to do duty in its place.
Among the gigantic extinct group of
reptiles called dinosaurs the thumb itself
changed in function, and, instead of aiding
the other digits to lay hold of things, was
transformed into a long, sharp spike. This
occurs in the neutrality-suspicious. in
species of these monsters. two score of
/ bt- 1ralNr no,
a gully where they remained for long ages
until brought to light by the picks of the
coal miners of Bernissart. That in this
case however. the spike did duty as a
weapon Is uncertain, and it may have
served no more harmful purpose than tina t
| of ripping off the husk of some fruit or
vegetable which formed the food of those
| mighty herbivorous lizards.
when the first iguanodons were re-
stored by naturalists, it was not known
| where these thumb spikes belonged, and the
| reptile was figured with the spike on the
end of its nose, like rhnoceros / men,
| ton these lizards because marked likenesses
! are found between them and birds in re-
spect to many structural peculiarities.
| Among the most remarkable of the spur
| winged birds are the jacanas-a family
of small birds related to the rails They
have such long and slender toes that they
run as easily over lily pads and floating
vegetation as other birds do over dry land.
! One popularity of theirs Is the activity
which they exhibit coming into the
world. On this subject 1 will read you a
passage from the writings of the naturalist
Hudson. He says:
| Soon Learned to Swim.
"'While 1 was looking closely at one Of
the eggs lying on the palm of my hand.
all at once the cracked shell parted, and
at the same moment the young bird leaped
| from my hand and fell into the water 1t
swan rapidly away to small mound, and. es-
I Gaming alad II,
the grass. lying close and perfectly mo-
tionless like a young plover. 1 am quite
sure that the birds sudden escape was the
result of violent effort to free itself in
spired by the loud and persistent screaming
of the parents. which 1t heard while In the
SHE'LL
THE South American screamers are the
most formidable of spur-winged BIRDS They
are related to the ducks though they don't
| look it. They have two spurs on each wing
one short affair, the other an ugly
three-sided, stiletto-lke blade. almost as
sharp as a needle. In fact, 1t is not unlike
part of one of those large needles used by
| sailmakers and known 'roping needles
1t could doubtless be driven clear through
a mans hand by a stroke of the bird 9
powerful wing. Yet the screamers are
| peaceable birds, associating amicably in
| large focks so that this equipment of
| spurs, like our modern ironclads, may be
| strictly in the interest of peace.
| Some birds have claws on their wings
| These appendages serve no purpose as
! weapons and apparently are of no use at
i all TO the grown-up birds. but merely to
| the young. You may, perhaps have seen
| the Florida gallinule pulling itself up some
| little incline by it's WINGS somewhat as a
bat hooks itself along. The claws on the
wings which thus serve as hooks are fire.
quent among water birds.
| without knowledge of fossil birds,
| through which we are able to trace the his
| tory and development of feathered crea-
| lures it might be hard to explain the pres
| ence of these claws. But, If we regard
rudimentary organs in existing forms as
| shadows of the past and vestiges of COM
| plete useful parts, the reason for the claws
| is clear.
| An Early Bird.
| THE earliest bird of which we know any
| thing was the archaeopteryX. A single fos-
| sill specimen has been dug out from the
| photographic slate beds of Bavaria This
| creature seems not only to have had wings
for flying but hands for climbing. In the
| wing are three well-formed clawed fingers.
by means of which the bird could undoubt-
eddy climb about very readily. 1t is long
jump from the archaeopteryx to the next
most ancient type of bird known. But, for
| trnately there is a bird still living, and rot
uncommon in parts of South America. which
goes some distance toward bridging ever
the he this hiDp6 with claws and