94
I P
iii■ KnitJ i;.
HR
Mi
Sieben-1
fchwantz.
Siifgen.^
Skade.
N A T U R A L H I S T O R .Y of N O R W A Y .
likerother fiffi-hunter's; of-their kind, come tq.filh for; the Winter
herrings, at the beginnings of: the feafon,
Sey-Unige. ; See ^aafe. : -•
TheSiebenlchwantzjjas it is commonlyçalled, I believe to be
the Siedén or- Seidenfchwantz,. which Hr. Klein, ,.p. ÿo} • reckons
to; be of: the Thrufh kind, .and, calls them, among .. other s; la
GriYe Bohémienne, like thofe of .Fabro, called Micro-phcenix,
perhaps becaofe we fee but one fat à time, . This Bird probably
has thé name of Siebenfchwatz from its long tail, adorned with
fine (hining feathers, red, blue, and yellow, which makes them
extremely pretty : it is called alfo the Bohemian Chatterer.
Almoft at the end of each feather On the wings, which Other-
wife are of various 'colours,-'there is a fmall red bright,{pot,
like red fealing wax.
The Siifgen a fmall dark-coloured Bird ; 'ÿre> have them in
great abundance, and .particularly where there are. pine trees.; ..
The Skade, Skiære, Skior, Pica, the Magpie,, a common well-
known Bird, which hardly needs to be defcribed : it lives about
hotifès, ;ànd is therefore called'in this country Tun-Fowl, that
a domeilic Bird. - They feed upon carriqn; andifiihqy lay^hold
of a very young kid, which they do fometiipes, the farmer is
afraid to revenge, himfelf, beingof opinion thatihi$ ,hjs jneigh-
boür has a greatér right than other Birds of prey,i and knows
how to retaliate an injury. They build, their,.neft in trees,
very carefully,, of fiudl - flicks,;apd. the like,, with, a.coyer,; and
an entrance in the fide. ? They are, very fond of their f young,
and of their eggs : if one boil the eggs, and .put them in the
néft.again, they will fit upon them till they die: if their tongue
he flit, and they are taught a little, they’ll not be -fhort of the
Parrot in ^talking.- The; Skay-Skaden, or, Wood-Magpie, are
here grëy and white, fpeckled or ftriped, with fpme red feathers ;
they do not. go near the houfes, «as the others, but mimiek the
voice of other Birds and beafls. If any one comes near their neft,
they’ll boldly fly full in their facqto prevent the taking away
their young, j •
* This fine Bird, whofe food is juniper-berries, is reckoned, by Hr. Jpk Heinr.
Zorn, to be originally of this country «, and from hence to have gone into Germany:
“ The name Bohemelein is founded upon a grpundlefs opinion that it-. is an exotic
“ Bird, and comes «from -Bqhemia, which is fuppofed ,as much. its. original .native
y,place as this; tho’, in their pafiage through Bohemia, ana on jaccount of,food,
“ they may ■ like' to ftay‘--there,; yet ’tismoft probable; they come from the more
|I .diftant northern;parts.;-; and, like other«Juniper-BirdsJ ihaye only ftraggled hither,” ,
raj H The
N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y oi N O R W A Y . 95
The Strand Skade,. which lives near the watej,. and' feeds on
fnails and oysters,, has red legs, but no back-toe : j1 this js fuppofed
to the, H^mantopuf of Pliny.
The Skarv,*the Columbus, or Loon, is a pretty large Sea-Bird ;
’tis lairger than a Duck, and has leg^and feet like them, excepting
that the outermoft .,toe is much longer than the^eft: on all^he toes
it has -long, crooked, and (harp claws; the|e, as alfothe ^hple body
of the Bird,:;ar| black ; the legs .ftand further out;; bn each fide,
than on the Duck orjpoofe; fo that they ftraddle a- great deal
wider: tffejr, neck, tail and wings, are very long,; ,on the top of
their neck there is a green bright' feather. We\ have three kinds
ofjdpem;-t^e,,firft is .called Top-Sk'^rv,^ecaufe,jt has' a* tuft on
his head; this does not coqie into the river^fbot^k^ep^.sjo the
outermoft lfiands. The other forO are larger and thefe are
diftinguifhedby a large white fpot; like a crown, ^piece, .on each
of their black .thighs, which giv|s|hem the name'of Huiidlaaring,
White Thighs! The third fort are without any fuch diftin&jon ^
but they are left thah the firft, aijd;Jarger thaix' the laft ?thisBird
keeps near the fea qn the fteepeft rocks and lay three fnow-
white eggs like Goofe^ggs^ they fit upon.them, by .turns, three
weeks; thefe eggihave this particulat quality^that they cannot be
boiled hard, but always remain .liquid. The ypring are white at
firft; they don’t .grow, black till after Ithe third wqe^; and
then they live with the old ones, which arej mighty expert at
catchingfmall filh, and dive, as the filherpien fay, veyy.'deep^eyen
ao prjlso fathoms, to fetch up all kind of finaljtfifh, of which one
fometimes finds fuch a numb.er in their craw when they ape ikiiledy'
that it is impoffible tq conceive it.;, and ftill more furprifing it muft
appear, yet neverthelefs, it is ftriftly true, and ftands confirmed
by many that have made their obfervations, that tho’ the-Loon’s
neck is;long and {lender, and it would he difficult to.thruft down
two fingers into it, yet the Bird can ftretch the. mufculous parts
of his throat fo wide, as to fwallow. a flounder half a foot
broad, fuch having ,been found in his ftomach. When the Loon
comes afhore he ftretches himfelf npon his legs agaiqftdhe wind
that he may. be thoroughly dried; bijt as this teldonj happens,,
we call, in this . country, .any body that is wet, Ilovenly, and
difagreeable, a Lpon; or if they have their doaths but feldom
dry, we fay, He is as wet as-a Loon.
* A'sMhefe togetMFin great the iarrriers ufe" this pie(& 6f
art,to dnch theih: in thejevening, whfen they are all got together, they take.dteir
boats and row under thefe. rocks, and make a large fire ; the Hidden heat and fmoak
intoxicates .them, tod they drop down m heaps, and are eafily killtdS
Skarv*.