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RAPTORS
RAPTORS

THE CURIOUS NATURE OF

DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY

Keith L. Bildstein

Comstock Publishing Associates

a division of
Cornell University Press
Ithaca and London
Copyright © 2017 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this

book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without
permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address
Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca,
New York 14850.

First published 2017 by Cornell University Press

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Bildstein, Keith L., author
Title: Raptors : the curious nature of diurnal birds of prey / Keith L.
Bildstein.
Description: Ithaca ; London : Comstock Publishing Associates, a
division of Cornell University Press, 2017. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016044626 (print) | LCCN 2016045611 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781501705793 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781501707858
(epub/mobi) | ISBN 9781501707865 (pdf)
Subjects: LCSH: Birds of prey.
Classification: LCC QL677.78. B556 2017 (print) | LCC QL677.78
(ebook) | DDC 598.9—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016044626

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible

suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing
of its books. Such materials include vegetable-based, low-VOC inks
and acid-free papers that are recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly
composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our
website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.
 To my father, Joe,
who opened my eyes to the world of birds
when I was nine

And to the many diurnal birds of prey

who have locked my vision
on them since
 An adult Barred Forest-Falcon,
an accipiter-like, but falcon-
related, Neotropical species that
demonstrates considerable regional
variation in appearance. Note the
whitish iris of this individual, which
is typical of Barred Forest-Falcons
in the southern Andean portion
of its range. (Bolivia; photo
by Sergio Seipke)

An immature Crowned Solitary Eagle. This seldom-seen large raptor is scarce to rare throughout its
South American range. See Chapter 4 for details on rarity. (Argentina; photo by Sergio Seipke)

An adult Black Hawk-Eagle, a slender, medium-sized
Neotropical “eagle.” Note the forward facing eyes that
serve to enhance binocular vision. See Chapter 1 for
details regarding the names of raptors, and Chapter 3
for details on vision. (Ecuador; photo by Sergio Seipke)
An adult female Snail Kite carrying
an apple snail in its talons. Unlike
many raptors, which are dietary
generalists, Snail Kites are dietary
specialists that feed almost entirely
on apple snails. See Chapter 6 for
details on diet. (Argentina; photo by
Sergio Seipke)
A juvenile Snail Kite. Note the bird’s
slender, curved, upper mandible,
which has evolved to allow this
raptor to slice off and extract apple
snails from their shells. (Argentina;
photo by Sergio Seipke)
An adult Grey-faced Buzzard on
autumn migration in southern
Thailand. When photographed, this
bird was traveling southbound along
the Malay Archipelago en route to
an unknown wintering area, most
likely in Malaysia or Indonesia. See
Chapter 7 for details on migration
geography. (Thailand; photo by
Sergio Seipke)
An adult Black Baza migrating with
an insect in its talons. Many insec-
tivorous diurnal birds of prey catch
insects in the air and feed on them
while migrating. See Chapter 7 for
details on feeding during migration.
(Thailand; photo by Sergio Seipke)
Two adult Black Bazas roosting near
the Chumphon raptor-migration
watch site in southern Thailand.
These curious-looking, largely
insectivorous birds of prey, which
migrate through the region in large
flocks and roost communally in the
region’s forests at night, are believed
to mimic cuckoos. See Chapter 2
for details on plumage mimicry in
birds of prey. (Thailand; photo by
Sergio Seipke)

An adult Black Hawk-Eagle, a slender, medium-sized
Neotropical “eagle.” Note the forward facing eyes that
serve to enhance binocular vision. See Chapter 1 for
details regarding the names of raptors, and Chapter 3
for details on vision. (Ecuador; photo by Sergio Seipke)
An adult female Snail Kite carrying
an apple snail in its talons. Unlike
many raptors, which are dietary
generalists, Snail Kites are dietary
specialists that feed almost entirely
on apple snails. See Chapter 6 for
details on diet. (Argentina; photo by
Sergio Seipke)
A juvenile Snail Kite. Note the bird’s
slender, curved, upper mandible,
which has evolved to allow this
raptor to slice off and extract apple
snails from their shells. (Argentina;
photo by Sergio Seipke)
An adult Grey-faced Buzzard on
autumn migration in southern
Thailand. When photographed, this
bird was traveling southbound along
the Malay Archipelago en route to
an unknown wintering area, most
likely in Malaysia or Indonesia. See
Chapter 7 for details on migration
geography. (Thailand; photo by
Sergio Seipke)
An adult Black Baza migrating with
an insect in its talons. Many insec-
tivorous diurnal birds of prey catch
insects in the air and feed on them
while migrating. See Chapter 7 for
details on feeding during migration.
(Thailand; photo by Sergio Seipke)
Two adult Black Bazas roosting near
the Chumphon raptor-migration
watch site in southern Thailand.
These curious-looking, largely
insectivorous birds of prey, which
migrate through the region in large
flocks and roost communally in the
region’s forests at night, are believed
to mimic cuckoos. See Chapter 2
for details on plumage mimicry in
birds of prey. (Thailand; photo by
Sergio Seipke)

An adult Red-throated Caracara looking at a wild
bee. This species feeds mainly on bees, wasps,
and hornets, whose nests it crashes into at high
speeds to break open before feeding on the
inhabitants. See Chapter 6 for details on feeding
behavior. (Brazil; photo by Sergio Seipke)
An adult Crane Hawk picking up a pebble. Many raptors ingest small stones, or “rangle,” to help them
digest food mechanically in their digestive tracts. The Crane Hawk’s long feet and hyperflexible,
double-jointed legs allow it to probe deeply into the nesting holes and hiding places of small birds and
animals. (Brazil; photo by Sergio Seipke)
A captive, recently fledged Common
(aka Rock) Kestrel. The postfledging
period is considered by many to be
the most dangerous period in the
bird’s life. Note the tomial tooth on
the bird’s upper mandible. See Chap-
ter 2 for details on fledglings. (South
Africa; photo by Sergio Seipke)
An adult male Amur Falcon on the
wintering grounds in Africa. Amur
Falcons undertake what many
consider to be the most arduous
migratory journeys of all raptors.
See Chapter 7 for details. (South
Africa; photo by Sergio Seipke)
An adult Jackal Buzzard with
abnormal plumage. Note the unusual
white feathers on the top of the head,
upper back, and sides of its neck and
chest. See Chapter 2 for details on
abnormal plumage. (South Africa;
photo by Sergio Seipke)

An adult Red-throated Caracara looking at a wild
bee. This species feeds mainly on bees, wasps,
and hornets, whose nests it crashes into at high
speeds to break open before feeding on the
inhabitants. See Chapter 6 for details on feeding
behavior. (Brazil; photo by Sergio Seipke)
An adult Crane Hawk picking up a pebble. Many raptors ingest small stones, or “rangle,” to help them
digest food mechanically in their digestive tracts. The Crane Hawk’s long feet and hyperflexible,
double-jointed legs allow it to probe deeply into the nesting holes and hiding places of small birds and
animals. (Brazil; photo by Sergio Seipke)
A captive, recently fledged Common
(aka Rock) Kestrel. The postfledging
period is considered by many to be
the most dangerous period in the
bird’s life. Note the tomial tooth on
the bird’s upper mandible. See Chap-
ter 2 for details on fledglings. (South
Africa; photo by Sergio Seipke)
An adult male Amur Falcon on the
wintering grounds in Africa. Amur
Falcons undertake what many
consider to be the most arduous
migratory journeys of all raptors.
See Chapter 7 for details. (South
Africa; photo by Sergio Seipke)
An adult Jackal Buzzard with
abnormal plumage. Note the unusual
white feathers on the top of the head,
upper back, and sides of its neck and
chest. See Chapter 2 for details on
abnormal plumage. (South Africa;
photo by Sergio Seipke)
 An adult Black Harrier. Like
other harriers, this bird has owl-like
facial disks that funnel sounds to its
external ears. Field tests involving
Northern Harriers support the
hypothesis that harriers locate their
prey by sound as well as by sight. See
Chapter 3 for details. (South Africa;
photo by Robert E. Simmons)

An Osprey carrying a fish while migrating. The forward-facing orientation of the fish helps the Osprey
A wing-tagged juvenile White-head-
aerodynamically. (Florida; photo by Shawn P. Carey)
ed Vulture photographed the day
after the wing tag and a satel-
lite-tracking device had been placed
on the bird in Kruger National Park.
The brown, as opposed to white,
feathering on the head identifies
the bird as a juvenile. (South Africa;
photo by André Botha)

A parental adult Hooded Vulture

(lower right) and a recently fledged
juvenile Hooded Vulture. The short-
er (and still growing) upper bill on the
juvenile is typical of many recently
fledged birds of prey. Note the large
external ear opening behind the eye
of both birds. Although the sup-
position has yet to be tested, some
believe that Hooded Vultures locate
carcasses by listening for hyenas and
other predators bone cracking and
squabbling over their kills. (South
Africa; photo by André Botha)
Three adult Black Vultures. Although most raptors are not social, many obligate scavenging birds of
prey are, both within and outside of the breeding season. (Florida; photo by Shawn P. Carey)
 An adult Black Harrier. Like
other harriers, this bird has owl-like
facial disks that funnel sounds to its
external ears. Field tests involving
Northern Harriers support the
hypothesis that harriers locate their
prey by sound as well as by sight. See
Chapter 3 for details. (South Africa;
photo by Robert E. Simmons)

An Osprey carrying a fish while migrating. The forward-facing orientation of the fish helps the Osprey
A wing-tagged juvenile White-head-
aerodynamically. (Florida; photo by Shawn P. Carey)
ed Vulture photographed the day
after the wing tag and a satel-
lite-tracking device had been placed
on the bird in Kruger National Park.
The brown, as opposed to white,
feathering on the head identifies
the bird as a juvenile. (South Africa;
photo by André Botha)

A parental adult Hooded Vulture

(lower right) and a recently fledged
juvenile Hooded Vulture. The short-
er (and still growing) upper bill on the
juvenile is typical of many recently
fledged birds of prey. Note the large
external ear opening behind the eye
of both birds. Although the sup-
position has yet to be tested, some
believe that Hooded Vultures locate
carcasses by listening for hyenas and
other predators bone cracking and
squabbling over their kills. (South
Africa; photo by André Botha)
Three adult Black Vultures. Although most raptors are not social, many obligate scavenging birds of
prey are, both within and outside of the breeding season. (Florida; photo by Shawn P. Carey)
A recently fledged Striated Caracara flying overhead at close range while “inspecting” the photog-
rapher. Although almost all birds of prey are relatively shy, Striated Caracaras routinely approach
humans to within several meters, making them perfect subjects for photographs. Why they do so is
unclear, although some believe that it may be searching for food the humans may be carrying. See
Chapter 6 for details. (Falkland Islands [Malvinas]; photo by Scott Weidensaul, © 2011)

A photo collage of an adult male (right) and an adult female (left) Bateleur soaring above Kruger
National Park. Bateleurs display plumage dimorphism in adults, with the white on the underwing of the
female extending farther on the wing than on the male. (South Africa; photo by Sergio Seipke)
 CONTENTS

Preface ix

1 Introducing Raptors 1

2 Form and Function 20

3 Senses and Intelligence 67

4 Distribution and Abundance 83

5 Breeding Ecology 102

6 Feeding Behavior 133

7 Migration 163

8 Raptors and People 233


Appendix: Scientific Names of Raptors, Owls,
and Other Birds and their Distributions, and the
Scientific Names of Other Animals Cited in the Text 261

Glossary 277

References and Recommended Readings by Chapter 297

Index 311

Color photographs are at the end of the ebook.

8 Chapter 1

Box 1.1. Types of eagles

Sea eagles. Sea eagles, or fish eagles, are a group of ten species of large-
ly aquatic birds of prey in the genera Haliaeetus and Ichthyophaga. North
America’s Bald Eagle, Eurasia’s White-tailed Eagle, and the African Fish
Eagle, are all sea eagles. The group, which is found worldwide, excepting
Central and South America, appears to be closely related to some kites.

Snake eagles. Snake, or serpent, eagles are a group of fourteen species of

short-toed Old World eagles in the genera Circaetus, Spilornis, Dryotrior-
chis, and Eutriochis. Most snake eagles, which feed largely on snakes and
other reptiles, occur in Africa. Snake eagles appear to be closely related
to the kites, as well as to another confusingly named group of raptors, the
harrier-hawks.

Harpy or buteonine eagles. Buteonine, or buteo-like, eagles, make up a

group of six species of Pacific Island and South American birds of prey.
As their name suggests, buteo-like eagles are most closely related to the
buteos, a group of broad-winged, short-tailed diurnal raptors including
North and Central America’s Red-tailed Hawk and Europe’s Common
Buzzard.

Booted eagles. Booted, or true, eagles make up a group of about thirty

species of birds of prey whose legs and feet—unlike those of all other
eagles—are fully feathered, or “booted,” to the toes. Booted eagles, includ-
ing the circumboreal Golden Eagle, are closely related to buteos.

remains yet another unresolved issue. Nesher, the Hebrew word for eagle,
for example, is used in the Old Testament to describe both large vultures
and eagles. Today we use the word eagle to describe especially large birds
of prey, many of which weigh more than 2 kg (about 5 lb), and several of
which weigh more than 6 kg (about 15 lb).
“Hawk” is a Middle English word derived from the Old English hafoc,
as in “to have,” in the sense of to grasp or to seize. Unlike the word eagle,
there is nothing in the etymology of the word hawk that suggests size.
And, indeed, many hawks are quite small. Male Sharp-shinned Hawks,
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The brooklet came from the mountain,
As sang the bard of old,
Running with feet of silver
Over the sands of gold!

Far away in the briny ocean

There rolled a turbulent wave,
Now singing along the sea-beach,
Now howling along the cave.

And the brooklet has found the billow,

Though they flowed so far apart,
And has filled with its freshness and sweetness
That turbulent, bitter heart.

—Longfellow.

A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!

Marcellus. Peace, break thee off; look, where it comes again!

Bernardo. In the same figure, like the king that’s dead.

Marcellus. Thou art a scholar; speak to it, Horatio.

Bernardo. Looks it not like the king? mark it, Horatio.

Horatio. Most like: it harrows me with fear and wonder.

Bernardo. It would be spoke to.

Marcellus. Question it, Horatio.

Horatio. What art thou that usurp’st this time of night,

Together with that fair and warlike form
In which the majesty of buried Denmark
Did sometimes march? by heaven I charge thee, speak!
Marcellus. It is offended.

Bernardo. See, it stalks away!

Horatio. Stay! speak, speak! I charge thee, speak! [Exit Ghost.]

Marcellus. ’Tis gone, and will not answer.

Bernardo. How now, Horatio! you tremble and look pale:

Is not this something more than phantasy?
What think you on’t?

—Shakespeare.

Gloucester. Stay, you that bear the corse, and set it down.

Anne. What black magician conjures up this fiend

To stop devoted charitable deeds?

Gloucester. Villains, set down the corse; or, by Saint Paul,

I’ll make a corse of him that disobeys ...
Unmannered dog! stand thou, when I command:
Advance thy halberd higher than my breast,
Or, by Saint Paul, I’ll strike thee to my foot,
And spurn upon thee, beggar, for thy boldness.

—Shakespeare.

Brutus. What, Lucius! ho!—

I cannot, by the progress of the stars,
Give guess how near the day.—Lucius, I say!—
I would it were my fault to sleep so soundly.—
When, Lucius, when? Awake, I say! What, Lucius!

Lucius. Call’d you, my lord?

Brutus. Get me a taper in my study, Lucius:

When it is lighted, come and call me here.

Lucius. I will, my lord.

—Shakespeare.

Note: The following is good for the direct question and direct
answer:

Question. Hold you the watch to-night?

Answer. We do, my lord.

Question. Arm’d, say you?

Answer. Arm’d, my lord.

Question. From top to toe?

Answer. My lord, from head to foot.

Question. Then saw you not his face?

Answer. O, yes, my lord; he wore his beaver up.

Question. What, look’d he frowningly?

Answer. A countenance more in sorrow than in anger.

Question. Pale, or red?

Answer. Nay, very pale.

Question. And fix’d his eyes upon you?

Answer. Most constantly ...

Question. Stay’d it long?

Answer. While one with moderate haste might tell a hundred....

Question. His beard was grizzled? no?

Answer. It was, as I have seen it in his life,

A sable silver’d.

—Shakespeare (dialogue between Hamlet, Marcellus and

Bernardo).

“Yo ho, my boys!” said Fezziwig. “No more work to-night.

Christmas Eve, Dick. Christmas, Ebenezer! Let’s have the shutters
up, before a man can say Jack Robinson!”
You wouldn’t believe how those two fellows went at it! They
charged into the street with the shutters—one, two, three—had ’em
up in their places—four, five, six—barred ’em and pinned ’em—
seven, eight, nine—and came back before you could have got to
twelve, panting like race-horses.
“Hilli-ho!” cried old Fezziwig, skipping down from the high desk,
with wonderful agility. “Clear away, my lads, and let’s have lots of
room here! Hilli-ho! Dick! Chirrup, Ebenezer!”
—Dickens.

What, what, what? ill luck, ill luck?

I thank thee, good Tubal!—good news, good news! ha, ha!—

Where? In Genoa?

Exercises Developing Force and Rate of Speech

The Problem
 Here is a classification of people who speak peculiarly, or
incorrectly, as far as voice is concerned, with exercises for
correction.
1. There are those who speak too fast.
2. There are those who speak too slow.
3. There are those who speak too low.
4. There are those who speak too loud.
5. There are those who speak too short with no melody of tone.
Yet all of these may enunciate and pronounce their words well.
Besides developing distinctness, we must gain control and
adaptability of speech. It is strange, yet true, that many speakers
never increase the force or volume of their voices when addressing a
large assembly. They use the same quiet, even tone appropriate in
addressing a single person. What is the result? They generally bore
the audience, even though their thoughts may be brilliant. There is
no excuse for this, as a few hours’ study and practice will change it.
Above all things one who attempts public speaking must speak so
that he can be heard. It is essential, therefore, to give ourselves
actual practice exercises which demand force of utterance. Each
student should demand of himself daily oral drill upon certain
exercises until he has mastered his own particular difficulty.
The best means of accomplishing this is to use material from good
literature. In the following pages, under several heads, is a variety of
splendid exercises for practice. Commit all, or at least a part, to
memory. Thus, while developing your speaking power, you will be
cultivating a taste for the best that our literature affords.

To Develop Rapid Speech

Note: In developing rapid speech be careful to retain clearness
and precision of utterance.

Now clear, pure, hard, bright, and one by one, like hail-stones,
Short words fall from his lips fast as the first of a shower,
Now in two-fold column Spondee, Iamb, and Trochee,
Unbroke, firm-set, advance, retreat, trampling along,—
Now with a sprightlier springingness, bounding in triplicate syllables,
Dance the elastic Dactylics in musical cadences on;
Now their voluminous coil intertangling like huge anacondas,
Roll overwhelmingly onward the sesquipedalian words.

—Browning.
(The above should be rendered in not less than eighteen
seconds.)

You couldn’t pack a Broadwood half a mile—

You mustn’t leave a fiddle in the damp—
You couldn’t raft an organ up the Nile,
And play it in an Equatorial swamp.
I travel with the cooking-pots and pails—
I’m sandwiched ’tween the coffee and the pork—
And when the dusty column checks and tails,
You should hear me spur the rearguard to a walk!
With my “Pilly-willy-winky-winky popp!”
(Oh, it’s any tune that comes into my head!)
So I keep ’em moving forward till they drop;
So I play ’em up to water and to bed.

—Kipling.

Under his spurning feet, the road,

Like an arrowy Alpine river flow’d
And the landscape sped away behind
Like an ocean flying before the wind;
And the steed, like a bark fed with furnace fire,
Swept on, with his wild eye full of ire.
But, lo! he is nearing his heart’s desire;
He is snuffing the smoke of the roaring fray,
With Sheridan only five miles away.
 —Read.

Boot, saddle, to horse, and away!

Rescue my castle before the hot day
Brightens to blue from its silvery gray.
Boot, saddle, to horse, and away!

—Browning.

A hurry of hoofs in the village street,

A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet:
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.

—Longfellow.

So light to the croupe the fair lady he swung,

So light to the saddle before her he sprung!—
“She is won! we are gone, over bank, bush, and scaur;
They’ll have fleet steeds that follow,” quoth young Lochinvar.

There was mounting ’mong Graemes of the Netherby clan;

Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode and they ran:
There was racing and chasing, on Cannobie Lee,
But the lost bride of Netherby ne’er did they see.
So daring in love, and so dauntless in war,
Have ye e’er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar?

—Scott.
And out of the houses the rats came tumbling.
Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats,
Brown rats, black rats, gray rats, tawny rats,
Grave old plodders, gay young friskers,
Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins,
Cocking tails and pricking whiskers,
Families by tens and dozens,
Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives—
Followed the Piper for their lives.
From street to street he piped advancing,
And step for step they followed dancing,
Until they came to the river Weser,
Wherein all plunged and perished!

—Browning.

To Develop Slow Speech

Far-called, our navies melt away;

On dune and headland sinks the fire:
Lo, all the pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

—Kipling.

Do you know the pile-built village where the sago-dealers trade—

Do you know the reek of fish and wet bamboo?
Do you know the steaming stillness of the orchid-scented glade
When the blazoned, bird-winged butterflies flap through?
It is there that I am going with my camphor, net, and boxes,
To a gentle, yellow pirate that I know—
To my little wailing lemurs, to my palms and flying-foxes,
For the Red Gods call me out and I must go!
He must go—go—go away from here!
On the other side the world he’s overdue!
‘Send the road is clear before you when the Springfret comes o’er
you,
And the Red Gods call for you!

—Kipling.

Who hath desired the Sea?—the sight of salt water unbounded—

The heave and the halt and the hurl and the crash of the comber
wind-hounded?
The sleek-barreled swell before storm, gray, foamless, enormous,
and growing—
Stark calm on the lap of the Line or the crazy-eyed hurricane blowing
—
His Sea in no showing the same—his Sea and the same ’neath each
showing—
His Sea as she slackens or thrills?
So and no otherwise—so and no otherwise—hillmen desire their
Hills!

—Kipling.

Slowly the mist o’er the meadow was creeping,

Bright on the dewy buds glistened the sun,
When from his couch, while his children were sleeping,
Rose the bold rebel and shouldered his gun.

—Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this
continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal.
—Abraham Lincoln.
 On a quiet autumn morning, in the land which he loved so well,
and, as he held, served so faithfully, the spirit of Robert Edward Lee
left the clay which it had so much ennobled, and traveled out of this
world into the great and mysterious land.

It was roses, roses, all the way,

With myrtle mixed in my path like mad:
The house-roofs seemed to heave and sway,
The church-spires flamed, such flags they had,
A year ago on this very day.

—Browning.

Toll for the brave!

The brave that are no more!
All sunk beneath the wave,
Fast by their native shore!

—William Cowper.

Break, break, break,

On thy cold gray stones, O sea!
And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.

Break, break, break,

At the foot of thy crags, O sea!
But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me.

—Tennyson.

Toll! Toll!
 Toll! Toll!
All rivers seaward wend.
Toll! Toll!
Toll! Toll!
Weep for the nation’s friend.

Every home and hall was shrouded,

Every thoroughfare was still;
Every brow was darkly clouded,
Every heart was faint and chill.

...

Oh! the inky drop of poison

In our bitter draught of grief!
Oh! the sorrow of a nation
Mourning for its murdered chief!

Toll! Toll!
Toll! Toll!
Bound is the reaper’s sheaf—
Toll! Toll!
Toll! Toll!
All mortal life is brief.
Toll! Toll!
Toll! Toll!
Weep for the nation’s chief!

—Carmichael.

Beautiful was the night. Behind the black wall of the forest,
Tipping its summit with silver, arose the moon. On the river
Fell here and there through the branches a tremulous gleam of the
moonlight,
Like the sweet thoughts of love on a darkened and devious spirit.

—Longfellow.
 To Develop Loud Speech

The great bell swung as ne’er before:

It seemed as it would never cease;
And every word its ardor flung
From off its jubilant iron tongue
Was “War! War! WAR!”

—T. B. Read.

Katherine, Queen of England, come into the court.

Where is that infernal boy?
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse.
Jove with us, Jove with us!
Forward, the Light Brigade.
A light! A light! A light! A light!

The words leapt like a leaping sword:

“Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!”

Is the torrent in spate? He must ford or swim.

Has the rain wrecked the road? He must climb by the cliff.
Does the tempest cry “halt”? What are tempests to him?
The Service admits not a “but” or an “if.”
While the breath’s in his mouth, he must bear without fail,
In the name of the Empress, the Overland Mail.

—Kipling.

Ye crags and peaks, I’m with you once again!

I hold to you the hands you first beheld,
To show they still are free. Methinks I hear
A spirit in your echoes answer me,
And bid your tenant welcome home again!
Hail! Hail! Oh, sacred forms, how proud you look!
How high you lift your heads into the sky!
How huge you are! how mighty, and how free!
...
Ye are the things that tower, that shine,—whose smile
Makes glad, whose frown is terrible, whose forms,
Robed or unrobed, do all the impress wear
Of awe divine, whose subject never kneels
In mockery, because it is your boast
To keep him free! Ye guards of liberty,
I’m with you once again! I call to you
With all my voice! I hold my hands to you
To show they still are free!

—Knowles (“William Tell”).

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered.

—Tennyson.

Hurrah! the land is safe, is safe; it rallies from the shock!

Ring round, ring round, ye merry bells, till every steeple rock!
Let trumpets blow and mad drums beat! let maidens scatter flowers!
The sun bursts through the battle smoke! Hurrah! the day is ours!

Fight, gentlemen of England! fight, bold yeomen!

Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head:
Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood;
Amaze the welkin with your broken staves.
A thousand hearts are great within my bosom:
Advance our standards, set upon our foes!
Our ancient word of courage, fair Saint George,
Inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons!
Upon them! Victory sits on our helms.

To Develop Melody of Speech

Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile,

Hath not old custom made this life more sweet
Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods
More free from peril than the envious court?
Here feel we not the penalty of Adam,
The seasons’ difference,—as the icy fang
And churlish chiding of the winter’s wind,
Which, when it bites and blows upon my body,
Even till I shrink with cold, I smile and say,
“This is no flattery: these are counselors
That feelingly persuade me what I am.”
Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.

—Shakespeare.

I dip and I surge and I swing

In the rip of the racing tide,
By the gates of doom I sing,
On the horns of death I ride.
A ship-length overside,
Between the course and the sand,
Fretted and bound I bide
Peril whereof I cry.
Would I change with my brother a league inland?
(Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not I!
 —Kipling (“The Bell Buoy”).

Sometimes on lonely mountain-meres

I find a magic bark;
I leap on board: no helmsman steers:
I float till all is dark.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
Only this, and nothing more.”

—Poe.

Heigh, ho! heigh, ho! unto the green holly: most friendship is
feigning, most loving mere folly: then, heigh, ho! the holly! this life is
most jolly.
—Shakespeare.

Waken, lord and ladies gay,

On the mountains dawns the day;
All the jolly chase is here
With hawk and horse and hunting-spear;
Hounds are in their couples yelling,
Hawks are whistling, horns are knelling,
Merrily, merrily mingle they,
Waken, lords and ladies gay.

—Scott.
 And the humming-bird, that hung
Like a jewel up among
The tilted honey-suckle-horns,
They mesmerized, and swung
In the palpitating air,
Drowsed with odors strange and rare,
And, with whispered laughter, slipped away,
And left him hanging there.

...

By the brook with mossy brink

Where the cattle came to drink,
They thrilled and piped and whistled
With the thrush and bobolink,
Till the kine, in listless pause,
Switched their tails in mute applause,
With lifted heads, and dreamy eyes,
And bubble-dripping jaws.

—Riley.

It was a lover and his lass

With a hey and a ho, and a hey nonino!
That o’er the green cornfield did pass
In the spring-time, the only pretty ring-time,
When birds do sing hey ding a ding:
Sweet lovers love the Spring.

—Shakespeare.

The little bird sits at his door in the sun,

Atilt like a blossom among the leaves,
And lets his illumined being o’er-run
With the deluge of summer it receives.
 —Lowell.

O wonderful! How liquid clear

The molten gold of that ethereal tone,
Floating and falling through the wood alone,
A hermit-hymn poured out for God to hear!

—Van Dyke.

Across the narrow beach we flit,

One little sandpiper and I;
And fast I gather, bit by bit,
The scattered driftwood, bleached and dry.

The wild waves reach their hands for it,

The wild wind raves, the tide runs high,
As up and down the beach we flit,
One little sandpiper and I.

—Celia Thaxter.

If all the skies were sunshine,

Our faces would be fain
To feel once more upon them
The cooling plash of rain.

If all the world were music,

Our hearts would often long
For one sweet strain of silence,
To break the endless song.

If life were always merry,

Our souls would seek relief,
And rest from weary laughter
In the quiet arms of grief.
 —Van Dyke.

When May bedecks the naked trees

With tassels and embroideries,
And many blue-eyed violets beam
Along the edges of the stream,
I hear a voice that seems to say,
Now near at hand, now far away,
“Witchery—witchery—witchery.”

—Van Dyke.

Oh, the throb of the screw and the beat of the screw
And the swinging of the ship as she finds the sea.
Oh, the haze of the land as it sinks from view,
The land that is dear since it harbors you.

Up the airy mountain,

Down the rushy glen,
We daren’t go a-hunting
For fear of little men.

Wee folks, good folks,

Trooping all together,
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl’s feather!

Who would be
A mermaid fair,
Singing alone,
Combing her hair
Under the sea,
In a golden curl
With a comb of pearl,
 On a throne?

I would be a mermaid fair;

I would sing to myself the whole of the day;
With a comb of pearl I would comb my hair;
And still as I comb’d I would sing and say,
“Who is it loves me? who loves not me?”
I would comb my hair till my ringlets would fall
Low adown, low adown,
From under my starry sea-bud crown
Low adown and around,
And I should look like a fountain of gold
Springing alone
With a shrill inner sound,
Over the throne
In the midst of the hall;
Till that great sea-snake under the sea
From his coiled sleep in the central deeps
Would slowly trail himself sevenfold
Round the hall where I sate, and look in at the gate
With his large calm eyes for the love of me.
And all the mermen under the sea
Would feel their immortality
Die in their hearts for the love of me.

Who would be
A merman bold,
Sitting alone,
Singing alone
Under the sea,
With a crown of gold,
On a throne?

I would be a merman bold,

I would sit and sing the whole of the day;
I would fill the sea-halls with a voice of power;
But at night I would roam abroad and play
With the mermaids in and out of the rocks,
Dressing their hair with the white sea-flower;
And holding them back by their flowing locks.
I would kiss them often under the sea,
And kiss them again till they kissed me
Laughingly, laughingly;
And then we would away, away
To the pale-green sea-groves straight and high,
Chasing each other merrily.

—Tennyson.