The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a common bird of the swallow family, Hirundinidae. It is a long-distance migrant and breeds around the world in the northern hemisphere and winters in the southern hemisphere. The North American subspecies, Hirundo rustica erythogaster, ranges from Alaska and Greenland to Tierra delFuego. Male barn swallows are glossy blue above; the under parts vary from white to deep chestnut, depending on the subspecies. The forehead and throat are bright chestnut, bordered by a complete or partial band of blue across the chest. The tail is deeply forked, and each tail feather, except the central pair, has a white spot on its inner web. Females are similar, but slightly duller in colour, with a shorter tail. Most barn swallows now nest in man-made structures, usually near water; buildings, culverts, bridges, or even ferries though their original nest sites were probably caves and crevices in cliffs. Research Barn Swallow
Bittern is a general name for grallatorial birds of the genus Botaurus of the subfamily Botaurinae. They are wading birds related to the heron, but with shorter necks, stouter bodies and variegated brown colouration. They live in marshes and reedy swamps where they are solitary and nocturnal, feeding on frogs, small fish, mice, crayfish and other animals.
There are two British species, the common bittern (Botaurus stellaris), and the little bittern (Boyaurus minutus), a native of the south, and only a summer visitor to Britain. Both, however, are rare due to the reclamation of the marshy grounds that form their favourite haunt. The common bittern is about 71 cm in length, with a wing span of about 110 cm. The bitterns have long and loose feather on the breast and a short tail and a bill about 10 cm long. Bitterns are remarkable for their curious booming or bellowing cry, from which come the provincial names of miredrum and butter-hump, etc. The eggs which are greenish-brown in colour are laid in a batch of four or five in number. The little bittern is not more than 38 cm in length. Research Bittern
Clematis is a genus of woody climbing plants of the order Banunculaceae. The most common species, Clematis Vitalba, virgin's bower or traveller's joy, is conspicuous in the hedges both of England and the south of Scotland, first by its copious clusters of white blossoms, and afterwards by its feather-tailed silky tufts attached to the fruits. Among the exotic species in greatest favour with horticulturists are Clematis flammula, which produces abundant panicles of small white flowers, and has a fine perfume; Clematis cirrhosa, remarkable for its large greenish-white flowers; and Clematis viticella, with its festooning branches adorned with pink or purple bells. Research Clematis
Coconut (formerly Cocoa-nut, or coco-nut), IS a woody fruit of an oval shape, from 7 or 10 to 15 or 20 cm in length, covered with a fibrous husk, and lined internally with a white, firm, and fleshy kernel. The tree (Cocos nucifera) which produces the coconut is a palm, from 12 to 18 metres high. The trunk is straight and naked, and surmounted by a crown of feather-like leaves. The nuts hang from the summit of the tree in clusters of a dozen or more together. The external rind of the nuts has a smooth surface. This encloses an extremely fibrous substance, of considerable thickness, which immediately surrounds the nut. The latter has a thick and hard shell, with three black scars at one end, through one of which the embryo of the future tree pushes its way. This scar may be pierced with a pin; the others are as hard as the rest of the shell. The kernel encloses a considerable quantity of sweet and watery liquid, of a whitish colour, which has the name of milk.
This palm is a native of Africa, the East and West Indies, and South America, and is now grown almost everywhere in tropical countries. Food, clothing, and the means of shelter and protection are all afforded by the coconut tree. The kernels are used as food in various modes of dressing, and yield on pressure an oil which is largely imported into various countries. When dried before the oil is expressed they are known as copra. The fibrous coat of the nut is made into the well-known coconut matting; the coarse yarn obtained from it is called coir, which is also used for cordage. The hard shell of the nut is polished and made into a cup or other domestic utensil. The fronds are wrought into baskets, brooms, mats, sacks, and many other useful articles; the trunks are made into boats or furnish timber for the construction of houses.
By boring the tree a white sweetish liquor called toddy exudes from the wound, and yields by distillation one of the varieties of the spirit called arack. A kind of sugar called jaggery is also obtained from the juice by inspissation. Research Coconut
The crinoidea are the sea lily class of Phylum echinodermata consisting of animals attached during the whole or a portion of their lives to the sea-bottom by means of a calcareous jointed stem, from the top of which radiate feather-like flexible appendages or arms, in the centre of which is the mouth.. The body is cup shaped and attached to the substratum by a stalk. Both the mouth and anus are on the side of the body away from the stalk. The five main arms bifurcate, and on the branches are small side branches. Though comparatively few in number now, they lived in immense numbers in former ages, many carboniferous limestones being almost entirely made up of their calcareous columns and joints. Research Crinoidea
The date, is the fruit of the date palm or the tree itself, the Phoenix dactylifera. The
fruit is used extensively as an article of food by the natives of Northern Africa and of some countries of Asia. It consists of an external pericarp, separable into three portions and covering a seed which is hard and horny in consequence of the nature of the albumen in which the embryo plant is buried.
Next to the coconut tree the date is unquestionably the most interesting and useful of the palm tribe. Its stem shoots up to the height of 50 or 60 feet without branch or division, and of nearly the same thickness throughout its length. From the summit it throws out a magnificent crown of large feather-shaped leaves, and a number of spadices, each of which in the female plant bears a bunch of from 180 to 200 dates, each bunch weighing from 9 to 11 kgs. The fruit is eaten fresh or dried. Cakes of dates pounded and kneaded together are the food of the nomad Arabs who traverse the deserts. A liquor resembling wine is made from dates by fermentation. The Middle East, and the north of Africa are best adapted for the culture of the date-tree, and its fruit in these countries is an important article of food.
The Dunlin (Calidris alpina or Tringa variaibilis) is a British water bird of the sandpiper family Scolopacidae. It lives on sandy shores where it feeds on insects and larvae, sandhoppers, sandworms and small crustaceans and swims as well as wades in search of food. It is about 20 cm in length from the point of the bill to the extremity of the tail, and its plumage undergoes marked variations in summer and winter, the back passing from black with reddish edges to each feather, to an ashen gray, and the breast from mottled black to pure white. The American Tringa alpina is a frequent visitor to Scotland, and there is some ground for believing that these large birds are only varieties of the dunlin. Research Dunlin
Feather-grass is the popular name of Stipa pennnta, a native of dry places in the south of Europe. The leaves are rigid, setaceous, grooved; the awns exceedingly long, feathering to the point. It is an attractive garden plant in the summer, and is used for flower arranging in the winter when gathered before the seed is ripe, when the long feathering awns remain. Research Feather-Grass
The feather-star, (Comatula rosacea) is a beautiful crinoid star-fish occurring on the British coasts, consisting of a central body or disc, from which proceed five radiating arms, each dividing into two secondary branches, so that ultimately there are ten slender rays. Each arm is furnished on both sides with lateral processes so as to assume a feather-like appearance. It is fixed when young by a short stalk, but exists in a free condition in its adult state. Research Feather-Star
Feathers are the form which the dermal appendages assume in birds, agreeing in mode of development, but differing in form from hairs and scales. The feather consists of a stem, horny, round, strong, and hollow in the lower part, called the quill, and in the upper part, called the shaft, filled with pith. On each side of the shaft is a web composed of a series of regularly-arranged fibres called barbs. The barbs and shaft constitute the vane. On the edges of the barbs are set the barbules, which interlock with those of adjacent barbs, and thus give strength to the vane.
Feathers are generally divided into two kinds, quill feathers in the wing or tail, and plumes or clothing feathers generally diffused. The feathers of birds are periodically changed, generally once, but in some species twice a year. This is called moulting. When feathers have reached their full growth they become dry, and only the tube, or the vascular substance which it contains, continues to absorb moisture or fat. When, therefore, part of a feather is cut off, it does not grow out again;
and a bird whose wings have been clipped remains in that situation until the next moulting season, when the old stumps are shed and new feathers grow out. If, however, the stumps are pulled out sooner the feathers will be renewed in a few weeks or even days.
The feather is a very strong formation, not readily damaged, the arch of the shaft resisting pressure, while the web and fine fibres yield without suffering. Being a bad conductor of heat it preserves the high temperature of the bird, while it is so light as to be easily carried in flight. It is rendered almost impervious to wet by the oily fluid which most birds secrete at the base of the tail. Feathers traditionally formed a considerable article of commerce, particularly those of the ostrich, heron, swan, peacock, goose, etc, for plumes, ornaments, filling of beds, pens, etc. Research Feather
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Barn Swallow
