Not long after a fern-owl was procured, which, from its habit and
shape, we suspected might resemble the cuckoo in its internal
construction. Nor were our suspicions ill-grounded; for, upon the
dissection, the crop, or craw, also lay behind the sternum,
immediately on the viscera, between them and the skin of the belly.
It was bulky, and stuffed hard with large phalaenae, moths of
several sorts, and their eggs, which no doubt had been forced out of
those insects by the action of swallowing.
Now as it appears that this bird, which is so well known to practice
incubation, is formed in a similar manner with cuckoos, Monsieur
Herissant's conjecture, that cuckoos are incapable of incubation
from the disposition of their intestines, seems to fall to the ground:
and we are still at a loss for the cause of that strange and singular
peculiarity in the instance of the cuculus canorus.
We found the case to be the same with the ring-tail hawk, in
respect to formation; and, as far as I can recollect, with the swift;
and probably it is so with many more sorts of birds that are not
granivorous.
Pages:
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326