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                             MRS. LOUDON’S
                       ENTERTAINING NATURALIST,
                                 BEING
                   POPULAR DESCRIPTIONS, TALES, AND
                               ANECDOTES

                             OF MORE THAN

                         FIVE HUNDRED ANIMALS.

                _A NEW EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED_.

                                  BY

                         W. S. DALLAS, F.L.S.

                                LONDON:
             BELL & DALDY, 6, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN,

                                 1867.


      LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET
                          AND CHARING CROSS.





_PREFACE._


MRS. LOUDON’S _Entertaining Naturalist_ has been so deservedly popular
that the publishers, in preparing a new edition, have striven to render
it still more worthy of the reputation it has obtained. For this
purpose, it has been very thoroughly revised and enlarged by Mr. W. S.
Dallas, Member of the Zoological Society, and Curator of the Museum of
Natural History at York, and several illustrations have been added.

In its present form, it is not only a complete Popular Natural History
of an entertaining character, with an illustration of nearly every
animal mentioned, but its instructive introductions on the
Classification of Animals adapt it well for use as an elementary Manual
of the Natural History of the Animal Kingdom for the use of the Young.







INTRODUCTION.


ZOOLOGY is that branch of Natural History which treats of animals, and
embraces not only their structure and functions, their habits,
instincts, and utility, but their names and systematic arrangement.

Various systems have been proposed by different naturalists for the
scientific arrangement of the animal kingdom, but that of Cuvier, with
some modifications, is now thought the best, and a sketch of it will be
found under the head of the Modern System in this Introduction. As,
however, the System of Linnæus was formerly in general use, and is still
often referred to, it has been thought advisable to give a sketch of it
first; that the reader may be aware of the difference between the old
system and the new one.


_LINNÆAN SYSTEM._

According to the system of Linnæus, the objects comprehended within the
animal kingdom were divided into six classes: Mammalia or Mammiferous
Animals, Birds, Amphibia or Amphibious Animals, Fishes, Insects, and
Worms, which were thus distinguished:

CLASSES.

       { With vertebræ   { Hot Blood        { Viviparous         I. MAMMALIA.
       {                 {                  { Oviparous         II. BIRDS.
  Body {                 { Cold red Blood   { With lungs       III. AMPHIBIA.
       {                                    { With gills        IV. FISHES.
       { Without vertebræ  Cold white Blood { Having antennæ     V. INSECTS.
                                            { Having tentacula  VI. WORMS.


ORDERS OF MAMMALIA.

The first class, or Mammalia, consists of such animals as produce living
offspring, and nourish their young ones with milk supplied from their
own bodies; and it comprises both the quadrupeds and the cetacea.

This class was divided by Linnæus into seven Orders: viz. _primates_,
_bruta_, _feræ_, _glires_, _pecora_, _belluæ_, and _cetacea_ (this order
was called Cete by Linnæus) or whales. The characteristics of these were
founded, for the most part, on the number and arrangement of the teeth;
and on the form and construction of the feet, or of those parts in the
seals, manati, and cetacea, which supply the place of feet:

     I. PRIMATES.--Having the upper front teeth, generally four in
     number, wedge-shaped, and parallel; and two teats situated on the
     breast, as the apes and monkeys.

     II. BRUTA.--Having no front teeth in either jaw; and the feet armed
     with strong hoof-like nails, as the elephant.

     III. FERÆ.--Having in general six front teeth in each jaw; a single
     canine tooth on each side in both jaws; and the grinders with conic
     projections, as the dogs and cats.

     IV. GLIRES.--Having in each jaw two long projecting front teeth,
     which stand close together; and no canine teeth in either jaw, as
     the rats and mice.

     V. PECORA.--Having no front teeth in the upper jaw; six or eight in
     the lower jaw, situated at a considerable distance from the
     grinders; and the feet with hoofs, as cattle and sheep.

     VI. BELLUÆ.--Having blunt wedge-shaped front teeth in both jaws;
     and the feet with hoofs, as horses.

     VII. CETACEA.--Having spiracles or breathing-holes on the head;
     fins instead of fore feet; and a tail flattened horizontally,
     instead of hind feet. This order consists of the narvals, whales,
     cachalots, and dolphins.


ORDERS OF BIRDS.

The second class, or Birds, comprises all such animals as have their
bodies clad with feathers. Their jaws are elongated, and covered
externally with a horny substance, called a bill or beak, which is
divided into two parts called mandibles. Their eyes are furnished with a
thin, whitish, and somewhat transparent membrane, that can at pleasure
be drawn over the whole external surface like a curtain. Their organs of
motion are two wings and two legs; and they are destitute of external
ears, lips, and many other parts which are important to quadrupeds. That
part of Zoology which treats of Birds is called Ornithology.

Linnæus divided this class into six Orders:


1. _Land Birds._

     I. RAPACIOUS BIRDS (_Accipitres_).--Having the upper mandible
     hooked, and an angular projection on each side near the point, as
     the eagles, hawks, and owls.

     II. PIES (_Picæ_).--Having their bills sharp at the edge, somewhat
     compressed at the sides, and convex on the top, as the crow.

     III. PASSERINE BIRDS (_Passeres_).--Having the bill conical and
     pointed, and the nostrils oval, open, and naked, as the sparrow and
     linnet.


     IV. GALLINACEOUS BIRDS (_Gallinæ_).--Having the upper mandible
     arched, and covering the lower one at the edge, and the nostrils
     arched over with a cartilaginous membrane, as the common poultry.


2. _Water Birds._

     V. WADERS (_Grallæ_).--Having a roundish bill, a fleshy tongue, and
     the legs naked above the knees, as the herons, plovers, and snipes.

     VI. SWIMMERS (_Anseres_).--Having their bills broad at the top, and
     covered with a soft skin, and the feet webbed, as ducks and geese.


ORDERS OF AMPHIBIA.

Under the third class, or Amphibia, Linnæus arranged such animals as
have a cold, and, generally, naked body, a lurid colour, and nauseous
smell. They respire chiefly by lungs, but they have the power of
suspending respiration for a long time. They are extremely tenacious of
life, and can repair certain parts of their bodies which have been lost.
They are also able to endure hunger, sometimes even for months, without
injury.

The bodies of some of them, as the turtles and tortoises, are protected
by a hard and horny shield or covering; those of others are clad with
scales, as the serpents, and some of the lizards; whilst others, as the
frogs, toads, and most of the water-lizards, are entirely naked, or have
their skin covered with warts. Many of the species shed their skins at
certain times of the year. Several of them are furnished with a poison,
which they eject into wounds that are made by their teeth. They chiefly
live in retired, watery, and marshy places; and, for the most part, feed
on other animals, though some of them eat water-plants, and many feed on
garbage and filth. None of these species chew their food; they swallow
it whole, and digest it very slowly.

The offspring of all these animals are produced from eggs, which, after
they have been deposited by the parent animals in a proper place, are
hatched by the heat of the sun. The eggs of some of the species are
covered with a shell; those of others have a soft and tough skin or
covering, not much unlike wet parchment; and the eggs of several are
perfectly gelatinous. In those few that produce their offspring alive,
as the vipers and some other serpents, the eggs are regularly formed,
but are hatched within the bodies of the females.

This class Linnæus divided into three Orders:

     I. REPTILES.--Having four legs, and walking with a crawling pace,
     as the tortoises, toads, and lizards.

     II. SERPENTS.--Having no legs, but crawling on the body.

     III. NANTES.--Living in the water, furnished with fins, and
     breathing by means of gills. These are true Fishes, principally of
     the group termed _Chondropterygii_, or Cartilaginous Fishes, by
     Cuvier.



ORDERS OF FISHES.

Fishes constituted Linnæus’s fourth class of animals. They are all
inhabitants of the water, in which they move by certain organs called
fins. Those situated on the back are called dorsal fins; those on the
sides, behind the gills, pectoral fins; those below the body, near the
head, are ventral; those behind the vent are anal; and that which forms
the tail is called the caudal fin. Fishes breathe by gills, which, in
most species, are situated at the sides of the head. Fishes rise and
sink in the water, generally by a kind of bladder in the interior of the
body, called an air-bladder. Some of them do not possess this organ, and
consequently are seldom found but at the bottom of the sea, from which
they can only rise by an effort. The bodies of these animals are usually
covered with scales, which keep them from injury by the contact of the
water.

The fishes were divided by Linnæus into four Orders:

     I. APODAL.--Having no ventral fins, as the eel.

     II. JUGULAR.--Having the ventral fins situated in front of the
     pectoral fins, as the cod, haddock, and whiting.

     III. THORACIC.--Having the ventral fins situated directly under the
     pectoral fins, as the perch and mackerel.

     IV. ABDOMINAL.--Having the ventral fins on the lower part of the
     body below the pectoral fins, as the salmon, herring, and carp.


ORDERS OF INSECTS.

The fifth class of Linnæus comprised the Insects; and the branch of
Zoology which treats of them is called Entomology. Nearly all insects go
through certain great changes at different periods of their existence.
From the egg is hatched the larva, which is a grub or caterpillar, and
destitute of wings; this afterwards changes to a pupa, or chrysalis,
wholly covered with a hard shell, or strong skin, from which the perfect
or winged insect bursts forth. Spiders and their allies, which were
included by Linnæus in the insects, issue from the egg in nearly a
perfect state.

Linnæus divided his class of insects into seven Orders:

     I. COLEOPTEROUS.--Having elytra, or crustaceous cases covering the
     wings; and which, when closed, meet in a straight line along the
     middle of the back, as the cockchafer.

     II. HEMIPTEROUS.--Having four wings, the upper ones partly
     crustaceous, and partly membranous; not divided straight down the
     middle of the back, but crossed, or incumbent on each other, as the
     cockroach.

     III. LEPIDOPTEROUS.--Having four wings covered with fine scales
     almost like powder, as the butterflies and moths.

     IV. NEUROPTEROUS.--Having four membranous and semi-transparent
     wings, veined like network; and the tail without a sting, as the
     dragon-fly and ephemera.
     V. HYMENOPTEROUS.--Having four membranous and semi-transparent
     wings, veined like network; and the tail armed with a sting, as the
     wasp and bee.

     VI. DIPTEROUS.--Having only two wings, as the common house-flies.

     VII. APTEROUS.--Having no wings, as the spiders.


ORDERS OF VERMES, OR WORMS.

The sixth and last Linnæan class consisted of Worms, or Vermes. These
are slow of motion, and have soft and fleshy bodies. Some of them have
hard internal parts, and others have crustaceous coverings. In some of
the species, eyes and ears are very perceptible, whilst others appear to
enjoy only the senses of taste and touch. Many have no distinct head,
and most of them are destitute of feet. They are, in general, so
tenacious of life, that parts which have been destroyed will be
reproduced. These animals are principally distinguished from those of
the other classes by having tentacula, or feelers, and are divided by
Linnæus into five Orders:

     I. INTESTINA.--Are simple and naked, without limbs; some of them
     live within other animals, as the ascarides and tape-worms; others
     in water, as the leeches; and a few in the earth, as the
     earth-worm.

     II. MOLLUSCA.--Are simple animals, without shells, and furnished
     with limbs, as the cuttle-fish, medusa, star-fish, and sea-urchin.

     III. TESTACEA.--Are animals similar to the last, but covered with
     shells, as oysters, cockles, snails, and limpets.

     IV. LITHOPHYTA.--Are composite Polyps, dwelling in cells in a
     calcareous base which they produce, as corals and madrepores.

     V. ZOOPHYTA.--Are usually composite animals, but do not reside in
     stony cells. The coral, sponge, and polyps are instances of this
     order, which also includes the Infusorial Animalcules.


_MODERN SYSTEM._

It will be found by reading the following sketch of the Modern System
that the greatest change has taken place in the latter two classes. The
others remain nearly the same in effect, though their distinctions are
different, and the classes are not arranged in the same order.

According to Cuvier, all animals are arranged in four great divisions,
which are subdivided into classes and orders, as follows:--

           Divisions                Classes            No. of Orders
        I. VERTEBRATA.      } 1. Mammalia         Nine.
  Four Classes. Twenty-seven Orders. } 2. Aves             Six.
                                     } 3. Reptilia         Four.
                                     } 4. Pisces           Eight.
      II. MOLLUSCA.         } 1. Cephalopoda       One.
                                     } 2. Pteropoda         One.
  Six Classes. Fifteen Orders.       } 3. Gasteropoda       Nine.
                                     } 4. Acephala          Two.
                                     } 5. Brachiopoda       One.
                                     } 6. Cirrhopoda        One.


    III. ARTICULATA.        } 1. Annelides         Three.
                                     } 2. Crustacea         Seven.
  Four Classes. Twenty-four Orders.  } 3. Arachnida         Two.
                                     } 4. Insecta           Twelve.


      IV. RADIATA.          } 1. Echinodermata     Two.
                                     } 2. Entozoa           Two.
  Five Classes. Eleven Orders.       } 3. Acalephæ          Two.
                                     } 4. Polypi            Three.
                                     } 5. Infusoria         Two.


THE VERTEBRATED ANIMALS

Have a backbone divided into vertebræ or joints, whence they take their
name. They have also separate senses for hearing, seeing, tasting,
smelling, and feeling; a distinct head, with a mouth opening by two
horizontal jaws; a muscular heart, and red blood. The four classes of
Vertebrata and their orders are as follow:--

     I. THE MAMMALIA are all furnished with mammæ, or teats, through
     which they give milk to their young, which they bring forth alive.
     They have warm blood, which all circulates from the heart through
     the lungs, and returns to the heart before it passes through the
     body. Their skins are naked, or covered with wool or hair, and
     their mouths are generally furnished with teeth. There are eleven
     orders, which are thus distinguished:--


SECTION I.--_Unguiculated Animals, or Mammalia having Nails or Claws._

     I. _Bimana_, or two-handed. This order contains only the human
     species.

     II. _Quadrumana_, or four-handed. This order contains the apes,
     baboons, and monkeys, and the lemurs.

     III. _Cheiroptera_, the bat family.

     IV. _Carnivora_, or beasts of prey. This order is divided into the
     following three tribes:--

     1. _The Insectivora_, consisting of those animals which live upon
     insects, as the hedgehog, the shrew, and the mole.

     2. _The Carnivora proper_, consisting chiefly of the cat family,
     including lions, tigers, and their allies; the bear family,
     including the badger, the coati-mondi, the racoon, &c.; the dog
     family, including the wolf and the fox; the weasel family; the
     civet-cats; and the hyæna.

     3. _The Amphibia_, consisting of the seals, and other allied
     animals.


     V. _Marsupialia_, including the opossums and the kangaroos.

     VI. _Monothrema_, containing the Echidna and Ornithorhynchus of
     Australia.

     VII. _Rodentia_, or gnawing animals. The principal of these are the
     squirrel family, mice and rats, hares and rabbits, the beaver, the
     porcupine, and the guinea-pig.

     VIII. _Edentata_, or toothless animals, that is, without front
     teeth. The principal of these are the sloths, the armadillos, and
     the ant-eaters.


SECTION II.--_Ungulated or Hoofed Mammalia._

     IX. _Pachydermata_, or thick-skinned animals. The principal of
     these are the elephant, the hippopotamus, the rhinoceros; the horse
     family, including the ass, the mule, the zebra