Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-20


| OF pretty stories of sweetness and light In
| bird character. None. however. can be more
remarkable than the habit Of the rhinoceros
the family Is expected 1t is the custom OF
| these birds when the first symptoms
| OF broodiness come stealing over the
hollow tree and by mutual agree
ment begin period of Imprisonment
for the female and of jailorship for the
male. The rhinoceros bird is about as big
| as brown leghorn chicken, black for the
most part. and upon his nose is a white
hump three or four inches long and an
inch thick that really takes him out of the
category Of the beautiful creations OF an
| an-wise creator. What on earth the poor
| bird and his hump in the face were made
for are mysteries that we shall have to
take to heaven with us along with the
mosquito and red ants. The nest of the
rhinoceros bird is a good-sized one. into the
| construction of which a good deal Of mud
| enters,a and 1t Is usually located close to the
knot hole or other opening in the tree
through which the female enters to begin
| her patient ordeal.
AS soon as enough eggs have been laid
| to make UP the desired quota of immediate
posterity and the time comes to turn on
the heat the male begins to scoop up more
mud with his big, awkward bill and plaster
1t into the opening to the nest. This task
he keeps up until he finally closes 1t en-
tirely. with the exception Of small. OBJ
long aperture sufficient to admit air and
| light and permit the female to hold her
bill out for the food her spouse may bring
her. This he supplies faithfully. making no
russ about the marketing; bringing her the
| choicest morsels he can find until he hears
new and strange voices within the family
| prison, when he quickly tears out the wall
he has made and feasts his eyes upon his
mate and her young. This wall is not as
solid as that Balzac builds in his story of
the Infatuated husband and the discovered
paramount, and the imprisoned bird could
herself doubtless dig her way out. But 1t
keeps off marauders Of all sorts. including
| predatory and annoying insects, and prob
| ably has much to do with the safe and reg
| ular reproduction of the rhinoceros bird.
| The specimens at the Smithsonian were Sc
| cured in Borneo by Mr.. Charles 3. Adams
| who modelled the group.
The Prairie Chicken.
Gentle reader, were you ever a boy out
| west? And do you remember the delicious
early mornings Of spring. when the snow
had almost melted from the north side Of the
barn and the hollows in the cornaeld were
big ponds, alive with wild ducks, and the
heavens were pricked and spotted with end
less flights Of wild birds; and in the balmy
early morning you heard the far-off-and-
very-near booming of the prairie chickens I?
If you were. and you do, don't fail now and
then. as renewal of youth, to go down to
the Smithsonian and look at the group Of
prairie chickens In their counting scene.
This group represents an occurrence that
few people ever saw unless they were curl
Gus enough to steal noiselessly and cautious
ly toward the booming" Whoever has
| tried it has really learned something he will
never forget. The booming In the still, clear
morning seems very near, yet 1t Is as de-
ceptive as Pixies Peak If you undertake to
reach 1t in short walk. On and on you
go. and the 'boo-boo-boom" is still far
away. There are prairie chickens all around
you. but the booming is always a long dis
lance ahead. All Of sudden. just over the
fnxxa hAf@
boo boo booming is just as loud as ever
there they arei And 1t is a sight you will
never forget. The males are strutting up
and down. their brilliant red and blue and
white neck sacs distended, their brown neck
tufts jutting out and their tail plumage
spread fan-shaped The congregation of
hens stand about looking on in wide-eyed
admiration, while the cocks bow and scrape
the ground with their expanded wings, and
the resounding "boo-boo- booming Is heard
again.
Foolish Little Bird.
Two groups that will be kept at the
Smithsonian represent Carolina paroquets
feeding and sleeping. This beautiful bird.
now rarity, was once common as far
north as Maryland and has been known to
winter In Indiana and the Ohio valley. The
dense focks Of them were an annoyance to
the pioneer farmers, because of their fond
ness for green corn and small fruits. No
account was taken of their virtues, among
which was their habit of getting an honest
burs and occasionally by devouring grubs
and insects that probably would have made
q more insidious and destructive campaign
against the farmers corn and apples. The
paroquet was practically exterminated, and
his own folly lent powerful advantage to
the farmer in the unequal contest When
ever paroQuet Is shot or otherwise
manned all his brethren within hearing
tn fhA a.
about screeching and screaming until the
farmer, sitting on the top rail, can fire and
load his old gun times enough to bring the
whole flock low. They also have another
habit that often gives them dead away 1t
Is shown in one Of the stuffed groups at the
Smithsonian. where several birds are seen
asleep inside hollow tree. hanging by
The paroquets bill is provided with
a stout hook on the tip and he
simply inserts 1t in a crack or silver in the
tree, braces his tail against the wood below
and there goes to sleep as peacefully as a
new babe In a new cradle. Hundreds of
them would often line the inside of a hol-
low tree, and all the farmer had to do in
his merciless warfare on the pretty things
was to take his AK and chop down a hum
dred or two every night by the cold light
Of the IMPLYING moon.
One of the prettiest groups shows a little
pond filled with water lilies and other
aquatic plants done in wax, upon the pads
Of which are walking little family of Mex
| lean jacanas, a male and female and one
| young bird, which were obtained by Mr.. p
| L. Jouy on Lake Patzcuaro, in Michoacan.
| The jacana has long slender legs and toes
and his claws are like fine curved needles.
| Nature has thus equipped him so he can
| get his living on the water, where he spends
all his daytime, fitting about from one lily
| pad to another, all the time seeming to be
walking on the water. The jacana is some
| times seen in Texas
| The sagacity of squirrels in laying up a
| supply of food for winter is matched by the
| forehandedness of the California wood
| Of tree, which they have used as a store
| house for their acorns. Boring a hole in a
| dead tree they put in one after another a
dozen acorns. driving them in so tightly
| that they plug the hole up perfectly. Wood
| pecker trees thus driven" full Of acorns
| sometimes look as IL studded with bronze
| headed nails, the heads only being In sight.
Some saw the smart bird only uses acorns
| that contain the egg of a worm, and that
| his purpose is to let the grub grow and
| fatten on the meat Of the acorn until 1t
| rea ches the proper age and tenderness to
| make a good meal.
| building n Theater.
The bower-bird or satin-bird of Australia
| and New Guinea must be a queer member
| of the winged race. 1t is rich in color, the
| male being a blackish-blue, the female olive
| green above, the tail feathers reddish
| brown, the under parts greenish barred
| with black and the front Of the neck mark
| ed with white horizontal spots bordered
| with black 1t is a shy bird, the adults be-
/ TIC orif ic hal ol,f