. Elements of zoölogy. Zoology. KEEL-BREASTED BIRDS. 263 typical form, found east of the central plains of North America. They migrate in communities of millions, cov- ering every limb and branch of forests twenty or thirty miles in extent, breaking down great trees and limbs, rising in the air like clouds, darkening the sun, and creat- ing a sound with their wings like the roaring of a hurri- cane, or of distant thunder ; and so rapid is their flight that they attain a speed of more than a mile a minute. The nests are of twigs rudely placed together, often one hundred in a single tree, in whi
. Elements of zoölogy. Zoology. KEEL-BREASTED BIRDS. 263 typical form, found east of the central plains of North America. They migrate in communities of millions, cov- ering every limb and branch of forests twenty or thirty miles in extent, breaking down great trees and limbs, rising in the air like clouds, darkening the sun, and creat- ing a sound with their wings like the roaring of a hurri- cane, or of distant thunder ; and so rapid is their flight that they attain a speed of more than a mile a minute. The nests are of twigs rudely placed together, often one hundred in a single tree, in which two eggs are laid, pro- ducing generally a male and female. They are fed with a milky fluid from the stomach of the parents. Of all the pigeons of the Old World, the crowned pigeon (Goura victorce) of New Guinea and the toothed pigeon (Didun- culus sirigiros- tris), of the Nav- igator Islands, are most re- markable. The famous dodo (Didus in- eptus) (Fig. 297) lived upon the Island of Mauritius in 1598, but so com- plete is its extinction by man that it is now only known by a few pictures, bones, feathers, and other parts, in a few museums. It was a pigeon-like bird as large as a swan, with an enormous hooked bill and rudimentary feathers. The solitaire (D. solitarius) and Nazarene (D. nazare- nus) are other allies that have disappeared within com- paratively a few Fig. 297.—Dodo, an extinct giant Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Holder, Charles Frederick, 1851-1915; Holder, Joseph Bassett, 1824-1888, joint author. New York : D. Appleton and company
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
