The World's Encyclopedia of Wonders and Curiosities

Everything a Victorian found astonishing, gathered into one enormous volume — burning springs and buried cities, freaks of storm and flood, the habits of bees and the manners of nations, filed under headings like “Curiosities Respecting Man.”

Curiosities Respecting Birds

23 pages in this part of Wonders and Curiosities.

Curiosities Respecting Birds

The Common Peacock-The Egyptian Vulture-The Secretary Vulture-The Stork- The Great Pelican-The Bird of Paradise-The Ostrich-The…

Curiosities Respecting Birds (II)

The Common Peacock-The Egyptian Vulture-The Secretary Vulture-The Stork-The Great Pelican-The Bird of Paradise-The Ostrich-The Mocking-Bird…

The Peacock

How rich the peacock! what bright glories run From plume to plume, and vary in the sun!

Curiosities Respecting Rirds

hundred and forty palfreys, with sackbuts, lorams, gilt spurs, and peacocks' crests, such as would be for his credit. We shall now…

The Stork. -the Pelican

familiar; whence Sonnerat is of opinion, that it might be made useful in some of our colonies, if encouraged, towards the destruction of…

The Ostrich

in the Papuan islands, where it is caught by the natives often by the hand, and exenterated and seared with a hot iron in the inside, and…

The Ostrich.--The Mocking-Bird

"In the summer months of July, August, and September, the greatest number of ostriches' nests are to be found; but the feathers, which are…

The Bengal Grosbeak

this therefore I conceive nearly to amount to a proof, that the animals added to it at different times, as they found necessary from the…

The Golden Eagle

rica, and is exceeded both in weight and magnitude by several species of bees.

The Golden Eagle: Bruce

Here it is proper to take notice of a very singular var ety of the Golden Eagle, described by Mr. Bruce, in his Travels in Abyssinia; for…

Chap. XX

CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS.-(Continued.) The Cuckoo-The Cormorant - The Great Bustard-The Alarm Bird-The Carrier, or Courier, Pigeon-The…

The Cuckoo

five species, and Latham forty-six. The following are the most general characteristics of the Cuckoo :- This bird is about fourteen inches…

The Great Bustard. -the Alarm-Bird

at the command of their owners, renew their divings. Two will sometimes be seen combining their efforts to secure a fish too large for the…

The Courier Pigeon.--The Wild Pigeon

carried, hoodwinked, twenty, thirty, or even a hundred miles, will find their way in a very little time to the place where they were bred…

Adventure of an Owl

huntsman returns from the Souffriere without ardently desiring to have a dozen of these birds suspended at his neck. Labat, the colleague…

The Chick in the Egg

ross. She was kept in confinement for a night and a day; when seeming perfectly contented, she was let out into the yard, where she set…

Birds' Nests

It wins my admiration, To view the structure of that little work, A bird's nest: mark it well within, without; No tool had he that wrought…

Indian Bird's Nest

The following account is principally abridged from that very interesting work, The Contemplative Philosopher. The present compiler…

Indian Bird's Nest: Barrington

In a word, Mr. Barrington is further of opinion, with some other naturalists, that the swallows do not leave this island at the end of…

Perilous Adventure of a Bird-Catcher

The engraving represents the situation of a bird-catcher at St. Kilda. A tale is told of one of these men who had entered such a cavern…

Bird-Catching. - Song of Birds

the birds nestle, and agair shoot into their haunts. In some places the birds ledge in deep recesses. The fowler will alight there…

The Song of Birds

cles of the larynx to be stronger in the nightingale than in any other bird of the same size; and in all those instances where he dissected…

Invitation to the Feathered Race

Written at Claverton, near Bath AGAIN the balmy zephyr blows, Fresh verdure decks the grove; Each bird with vernal rapture glows, And tunes…

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