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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-14 20:09:29 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-14 20:09:29 -0700 |
| commit | 876e48d9a31f879e41583a99841e86e18323d8ae (patch) | |
| tree | 700117d88a1f52e897184441c6b7be7bac11c908 /38077-h | |
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diff --git a/38077-h/38077-h.htm b/38077-h/38077-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d0796bd --- /dev/null +++ b/38077-h/38077-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,19751 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of British Birds In Their Haunts, by REV. C. A. Johns, F.L.S. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + + .book {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + p {text-align: justify; text-indent: 1.5em;} + .p2 {text-indent: 0em;} + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-collapse: collapse;} + .typo td {padding-left:7px; padding-right:7px;} + .bbox {border: solid #000 1px;} + .brdbt {border-bottom: solid #000 1px;} + .pagenum {position: absolute; left: 92%; text-indent:0; font-size: 0.75em; text-align: right; color: #808080;} + .center {text-align: center;} + .figcenter {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;} + .justify {text-align: justify; margin-top: 6px;} + .text_lf {text-align: left;} + .text_rt {text-align: right;} + .text_rt2 {text-align: right; height:2em; vertical-align: top; font-style: italic;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .caption1 {font-weight: bold; font-size:2.00em; text-align: center; margin-top:0.5em; margin-bottom:0.5em;} + .caption2 {font-weight: bold; font-size:1.50em; text-align: center; margin-top:0.5em; margin-bottom:0.5em;} + .caption3 {font-weight: bold; font-size:1.15em; text-align: center; margin-top:0.5em; margin-bottom:0.5em;} + .reference {margin-left: 3em; margin-right: 2em; text-indent: -3em; text-align: justify;} + .trans_notes {background:#d0d0d0; padding: 7px; border:solid black 1px;} + .pub_list td {vertical-align: top;} + .blockquot {margin-left: 2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:justify} + .poem {margin-left: 40%; text-align: left;} + .poem2 {margin-right: 25%; text-align: right;} + .poem3 {margin-left: 55%; text-align: left;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + .hr65 {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; color: #000000; height: 2px; background:#000000; width: 65%;} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's British Birds in their Haunts, by Rev. C. A. Johns + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: British Birds in their Haunts + +Author: Rev. C. A. Johns + +Release Date: November 21, 2011 [EBook #38077] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BRITISH BIRDS IN THEIR HAUNTS *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Tom Cosmas, Lynne Smith and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + + + +<div class="book"><!-- Begin Book --> +<a name="cover" id="cover"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="388" height="600" alt="Coverpage - 1909 edition" title="Coverpage - 1909 edition" /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="trans_notes"> +<div class="caption2">Transcriber's Note</div> +<div class="center">The Table of Contents is added to facilitate the search for a particular bird or group of birds.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="TOC"></a> +<div class="caption2">Table of Contents</div> + +<table width="100%" class="center" summary="ToC"> +<tr> + <td> </td> + <td>Systematic<br />Page</td> + <td> </td> + <td>Details<br />Page</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT<br />OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS</b></td> + <td><a href="#SYSTEMATIC">v</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td>—</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>ORDER PASSERES</b></td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_PASSERES_1">v</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_PASSERES_2">1</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>ORDER PICARIÆ</b></td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_PICARIAE_1">xiii</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_PICARIAE_2">123</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>ORDER STRIGES</b></td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_STRIGES_1">xv</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_STRIGES_2">142</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>ORDER ACCIPITRES</b></td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_ACCIPITRES_1">xv</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_ACCIPITRES_2">147</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>ORDER STEGANOPODES</b></td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_STEGANOPODES_1">xviii</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_STEGANOPODES_2">165</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>ORDER HERODIONES</b></td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_HERODIONES_1">xvii</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_HERODIONES_2">170</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>ORDER ANSERES</b></td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_ANSERES_1">xviii</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_ANSERES_2">176</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>ORDER COLUMBÆ</b></td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_COLUMBAE_1">xix</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_COLUMBAE_2">203</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>ORDER PTEROCLETES</b></td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_PTEROCLETES_1">xx</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_PTEROCLETES_2">211</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>ORDER GALLINÆ</b></td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_GALLINAE_1">xx</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_GALLINAE_2">212</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>ORDER FULICARIÆ</b></td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_FULICARIAE_1">xx</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_FULICARIAE_2">228</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>ORDER ALECTORIDES</b></td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_ALECTORIDES_1">xxi</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_ALECTORIDES_2">234</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>ORDER LIMICOLÆ</b></td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_LIMICOLAE_1">xxi</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_LIMICOLAE_2">238</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>ORDER GAVIÆ</b></td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_GAVIAE_1">xxiii</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_GAVIAE_2">275</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>ORDER PYGOPODES</b></td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_PYGOPODES_1">xxiv</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_PYGOPODES_2">291</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_lf"><b>ORDER TUBINARES</b></td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_TUBINARES_1">xxv</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#ORDER_TUBINARES_2">304</a></td> +</tr> +</table> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<div class="center"> +<div class="caption1">BRITISH BIRDS IN<br /> +THEIR HAUNTS</div> + +<div class="caption2">By the late<br /> +REV. C. A. JOHNS, F.L.S.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +Author of <i>Flowers of the Field</i><br /> + +Edited, Revised, and Annotated by<br /> + +J. A. OWEN<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +Author of <i>Birds in their Seasons, etc.</i><br /> + +Collaborator in all Books by a '<span class="smcap">Son of the Marshes</span>'<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +Illustrated with 64 Coloured Plates (256 Figures) by<br /> + +WILLIAM FOSTER, M.B.O.U.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +WITH A GLOSSARY OF COMMON AND PROVINCIAL NAMES AND<br /> +OF TECHNICAL TERMS<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<img src="images/logo.png" width="80" height="102" alt="publisher's logo" title="publisher's logo" /> +<br /> +<br /> + +TWELFTH EDITION<br /> + +LONDON<br /> + +GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LIMITED<br /> + +NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.<br /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<div class="center"> +<table width="70%" summary="book list border"> +<tr> + <td class="bbox"> +<table width="100%" summary="book list"> +<tr> + <td align="center" style="padding:7px" class="bbox"> +<div class="caption2">UNIFORM WITH THIS WORK.</div> + +<div class="caption3"><i>Each with a series of Coloured Plates and +Text-illustrations.</i></div> + +FLOWERS OF THE FIELD. By <span class="smcap">C. A.<br /> +Johns</span>, F.L.S., revised by <span class="smcap">Clarence<br /> +Elliott</span>.<br /> +<br /> +BRITISH BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. By<br /> +Dr. <span class="smcap">W. E. Kirby</span>.<br /> +<br /> +BRITISH FERNS AND THEIR ALLIES. By<br /> +<span class="smcap">C. T. Druery</span>.<br /> +<br /> +BRITISH FUNGI. By <span class="smcap">George Massee</span>, of<br /> +Kew Gardens.<br /> +<br /> +BRITISH TREES AND SHRUBS. By <span class="smcap">C. A.<br /> +Johns</span>. Edited by <span class="smcap">E. T. Cook</span>.<br /> +<br /> +ILLUSTRATED NATURAL HISTORY OF<br /> +THE WORLD. By <span class="smcap">Ernest Protheroe</span>,<br /> +F.Z.S.<br /> +<br /> +ALPINE PLANTS OF EUROPE. By <span class="smcap">H. S.<br /> +Thompson</span>. With 64 coloured plates.<br /> +<br /> +<div class="center"> +<hr style="width:35%" /> +</div><br /> +GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LTD.<br /> +<br /> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="smcap center">John's Birds, edited by Owen.</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>First Edition</i>, February, 1909; <i>Reprinted</i>, July, 1910; +<i>Reprinted</i>, December, 1915; <i>Reprinted</i>, November, +1917; <i>Reprinted</i>, June, 1919; <i>Reprinted</i>, January, +1921; <i>Reprinted</i>, October, 1922; <i>Reprinted</i>, +March, 1925; <i>Reprinted</i>, August, 1928; <i>Reprinted</i>, +December, 1931; <i>Reprinted</i>, January, 1935; +<i>Reprinted</i>, January, 1938.</div> + + +<p>Printed in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Ltd., Frome and London</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">EDITOR'S PREFACE</div> + + +<p>This admirable work by the late Rev. C. A. Johns, F.L.S., which +is now offered in a new form, has already proved the making of +many a naturalist and it will be a delight and help to many more +nature lovers who wish to determine a species without recourse to +bulky scientific works.</p> + +<p>In editing the present edition I have carefully preserved all Mr. +Johns' delightful personal stories and his descriptions of the birds +and their daily life in their haunts, but I have brought the scientific +arrangement of the species up to date, as well as altered the nomenclature, +in accordance with present-day knowledge and use.</p> + +<p>We begin with the Passeres because modern ornithologists are +now nearly all agreed that this order attains the highest Avian +development.</p> + +<p>I have rectified statements as to the local distribution of various +species which, with the progress of time and local changes, no longer +apply, and have added facts here and there which I considered of +some value.</p> + +<p>The faithful and beautiful presentments made by Mr. William +Foster for this new edition have no need of our commendation to +the public.</p> + + +<div class="text_rt">J. A. OWEN.</div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span><br /></p> + +<a name="SYSTEMATIC"></a> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption1">SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS</div> + +<div class="center">(<i>Numbered in accordance with the Plates and Descriptions in this Volume.</i>)</div> + +<a name="ORDER_PASSERES_1" id="ORDER_PASSERES_1"></a> +<div class="caption1">ORDER PASSERES<br /> +(PERCHING BIRDS)</div> + +<p>Bill various; feet adapted for perching on trees or on the ground (not +for grasping, wading, or swimming); toes four, all in the same plane, three +before and one behind; claws slender, curved, and acute. Food, various; +that of the nestlings, perhaps in all instances, soft insects.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY TURDIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Thrushes</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill as long as the head, compressed at the sides; upper mandible arched +to the tip, which is not abruptly hooked, notch well marked, but not +accompanied by a tooth; gape furnished with bristles; feet long, with +curved claws. Food—insects, snails and fruits.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY TURDIDÆ</i></div> + +<p>Young in first plumage differ from adults in having the upper and under +parts spotted.</p> + +<div class="reference">Genus 1. <span class="smcap">Turdus</span> (Thrush, Blackbird, etc.) Bill moderate, compressed +at the point; upper mandible notched, bending over the lower +one; gape furnished with a few bristles; nostrils basal, lateral, +oval, partly covered by a naked membrane; tarsus longer than +the middle toe; wings and tail moderate; first primary very +short or almost abortive, second shorter than the third or fourth, +which are the longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_1">Page 1</a></div> + +<div class="reference">2. <span class="smcap">Saxícola</span> (Wheatear). Bill straight, slender, the base rather broader +than high, advancing on the forehead, compressed towards the +point; upper mandible keeled, curved, and notched; gape surrounded +by a few bristles; nostrils basal, lateral, oval, half closed +by a membrane; first primary half as long as the second, which +is shorter than the third, third and fourth longest; tarsus rather +long; claw of the hind toe short, strong and curved.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_10">Page 10</a></div> + +<div class="reference">3. <span class="smcap">Pratíncola</span> (Chats). Bill shorter and broader than in Saxicola; +bristles at the gape strongly developed. Wings and tail rather short.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_12">Page 12</a></div> + +<div class="reference">4. <span class="smcap">Ruticilla</span> (Redstarts). Bill slender, compressed towards the point, +a little deflected and very slightly emarginate; gape with tolerably +large bristles. Nostrils basal, supernal, and nearly round. Wings +moderate; the first quill short; the second equal to the sixth; +the third, fourth and fifth, nearly equal, and one of them the longest. +Legs slender, the tarsus longer than the middle toe, and covered +in front by a single scale and three inferior scutellæ.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_14">Page 14</a></div> + +<div class="reference"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span> +5. <span class="smcap">Eríthacus</span> (Redbreast). Bill rather strong, as broad as it is high +at the base, where it is depressed, slightly compressed towards +the tip; upper mandible bending over the lower and notched, +nostrils basal, oval, pierced in a membrane, partly hid by bristles +diverging from the gape; first primary half as long as the second, +fifth the longest; tail slightly forked.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_16">Page 16</a></div> + +<div class="reference">6. <span class="smcap">Daulias</span> (Nightingale). Bill rather stout, straight, as broad as +high at the base; upper mandible slightly bent over at the tip; +gape with a few short bristles; nostrils basal, round, pierced in a +membrane; first primary very short, second and fifth equal in +length, third and fourth longest; tail somewhat rounded; tarsus +elongated.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_17">Page 17</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY ACCENTORINÆ</i></div> + +<p>Bill strong and broad at base; upper mandible overlapping lower and +slightly notched at tip.</p> + +<div class="reference">7. <span class="smcap">Accentor</span> (Hedge-sparrow). Bill of moderate length, strong, +straight, tapering to a fine point; edges of both mandibles compressed +and bent inwards, the upper notched near the tip; nostrils +naked, basal, pierced in a large membrane; feet strong; claw +of the hinder toe longest, and most curved; first primary almost +obsolete, the second nearly equal to the third, which is the longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_20">Page 20</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY SYLVIINÆ</i></div> + +<p>Young on leaving nest differ slightly in colour from adults.</p> + +<div class="reference">8. <span class="smcap">Sylvia</span> (Whitethroats, Blackcap, Warblers). Bill rather stout, +short, not very broad at base; upper mandible decurved towards +point, which is slightly emarginate; nostrils basal, lateral, oval, +and exposed; gape with bristles. Wings moderate, first quill very +short. Tail with twelve feathers, generally rounded. Tarsus +scutellate in front and longer than middle toe; toes and claws short.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_21">Page 21</a></div> + +<div class="reference">9. <span class="smcap">Acrocéphalus</span> (Reed, Marsh, Sedge, and Aquatic Warblers). Bill +nearly straight, with culmen elevated, wide at base, compressed +towards tip, and slightly emarginate; edges of lower mandible +inflected; nostrils basal, oblique, oval, and exposed; moderately +developed bristles at gape. Forehead narrow, depressed. Wings +rather short, first quill minute, third usually longest. Tail rounded, +rather long. Legs long; feet large and stout, hind toe strong; +claws long and moderately curved.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_25">Page 25</a></div> + +<div class="reference">10. <span class="smcap">Locustella</span> (Grasshopper Warbler). Differs from other <i>Sylviinæ</i> +chiefly in its more rounded tail and longer under tail-coverts. The +late Professor Newton found the tendons of the tibial muscles +strongly ossified in this genus.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_28">Page 28</a></div> + +<div class="reference">11. <span class="smcap">Phyllóscopus</span> (Chiff-chaff, Willow and Wood-warblers). Bill slender, +rather short; upper mandible decurved from middle and compressed +towards tip, which is very slightly notched; nostrils basal, lateral, +oblong, partly operculate, membrane clothed with small bristle-tipped +feathers, internasal ridge very thin; gape beset with hairs. +Wings rather long, first quill comparatively large, third or fourth +longest. Tail slightly forked, twelve feathers. Tarsus scaled in +front, rather long. Toes long, claws curved.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_30">Page 30</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY REGULINÆ</i></div> + +<p>Arboreal. Each nostril covered by a single stiff feather.</p> + +<div class="reference">12. <span class="smcap">Régulus</span> (Gold and Fire-crested Wrens). Bill very slender, awl-shaped, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span>straight, compressed; cutting edges bent inwards about +the middle; nostrils partly concealed by small bristly feathers, +directed forwards; first primary very short, second much shorter +than the third, fourth and fifth longest; tail moderate; tarsus +slender, rather long.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_33">Page 33</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PARIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Tits</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill short, straight, conical, sharp-pointed, destitute of a notch; nostrils +basal, concealed by reflected bristly hairs. Small birds, remarkable for their +activity, not highly gifted with musical power, constantly flitting and climbing +about trees and bushes, which they examine for small insects, suspending +themselves in all attitudes, feeding also on grains and fruits, and not sparing +small birds when they are able to overpower them.</p> + +<div class="reference">13. <span class="smcap">Acrédula</span> (Long-tailed Tit). Bill much compressed, both mandibles +curved, upper considerably longer than lower. Eyelids with wide +bare margins. Length of wing quills increases to fourth and fifth, +which are longest. Tail very long, narrow, graduated, outer feathers +one-third length of middle pair. Tarsus long, feet moderate.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_35">Page 35</a></div> + + +<div class="reference">14. <span class="smcap">Parus</span> (Great, Blue, Cole, Marsh, and Crested Tits). Bill slightly +compressed, upper mandible hardly longer than lower. First wing +quill short, fourth or fifth longest. Tail moderate, even or slightly +rounded. Tarsus moderate, feet strong.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_37">Page 37</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PANURIDÆ<br /> +(Reedlings)</div> + +<div class="reference">15. <span class="smcap">Panúrus</span> (Bearded Tit or Reedling). Bill short, subconical; upper +mandible curved at tip and bending over lower one, which is nearly +straight; the edges of both somewhat inflected and not notched. +Nostrils basal, oval, pointed in front and partly covered by reflected +bristly feathers. Wing with ten quills, first almost obsolete, third +longest, fourth and fifth nearly equal to it. Tail very long and, +much graduated. Tarsus long and scutellate in front; feet stout; +claws not much hooked.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_42">Page 42</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY SITTIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Nuthatches</span>)</div> + +<div class="reference">16. <span class="smcap">Sitta</span> (Nuthatch). Bill moderate, strong, and slightly conical; lower +mandible ascending from angle to point. Tongue short, horny +tip abrupt and furnished with strong bristles. Nostrils basal, +rounded, in deep hollow, covered by short feathers and hairs. Wings +rather long; first quill much shorter than second, fourth or fifth +longest. Tail short, flexible, broad, nearly square. Legs short, +stout, tarsi scutellate; toes long, strong, hind toe especially, outer +toe joined at base to middle toe; claws large, much hooked.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_44">Page 44</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CERTHIIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Creepers</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill either straight and subulate or slender, long, and curved; nostrils +basal; tail never emarginate; fourth toe coalesced at first phalanx with +middle toe. Principally insectivorous.</p> + +<div class="reference">17. <span class="smcap">Certhia</span> (Creeper). Bill rather long, slender, compressed, decurved, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span>pointed; nostrils basal, lateral, elongate, partly covered by membrane. +Wings moderate, rounded, first feather short, fourth and +fifth longest. Tail of twelve feathers, long, stiff, pointed, slightly +decurved. Feet large, tarsus slender; fore toes long, united at +base as far as first joint; claws moderate, but much curved; hind +toe short, but with long curved claw. Plumage soft and thick, +especially above.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_47">Page 47</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY TROGLODYTIDÆ</div> + +<div class="reference">18. <span class="smcap">Tróglodytes</span> (Wren). Bill moderate, compressed, slightly curved, +not notched, pointed. Nostrils basal, oval, partly covered by +membrane. Wings short, concave, rounded; first quill rather +short, fourth or fifth longest. Tail generally short; its feathers +soft and rounded. Tarsus rather long and strong, middle toe united +at base to outer but not to inner toe; hind toe as long or longer +than middle toe; claws long, stout and curved. Plumage long +and soft.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_48">Page 48</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CINCLIDÆ</div> + +<div class="reference">19. <span class="smcap">Cinclus</span> (Dipper). Bill moderate, slightly ascending, angular, higher +than broad at base, straight, compressed, and rounded near tip; +upper mandible slightly decurving at point. Nostrils basal, lateral; +in depression, cleft longitudinally, partly covered by membrane. +Gape very narrow, without bristles. Wings short, broad, convex; +first quill very short, second not so long as third or fourth, which +are nearly equal. Tail short. Legs feathered to tibio-tarsal joint; +tarsus longer than middle toe; lateral toes equal in length, outer +toe slightly connected with middle. Whole body closely covered +with down.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_51">Page 51</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY ORIOLIDÆ</div> + +<p>Bill with notch in upper mandible; nostrils placed well in front of base +of bill and quite bare.</p> + +<div class="reference">20. <span class="smcap">Oriólus</span> (Oriole). Bill an elongated cone, depressed at the base; +upper mandible keeled above, notched near the point, bending +over the lower one; nostrils basal, lateral, naked, pierced horizontally +in a large membrane; tarsus not longer than the middle +toe; wings moderate; first primary very short, second shorter +than the third, which is the longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_53">Page 53</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY STURNIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Starlings</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill nearly straight, short at the base, diminishing regularly to a sharp +point, which is not distinctly notched; the ridge of the upper mandible; +ascends upon the forehead, dividing the plumage of that part; nostrils +placed low in the bill; planta tarsi entire; wings moderate, not reaching to +end of tail. An extensive and widely diffused family, comprising species for +the most part above the average size of Passerine birds, yet inferior +to the Crows. They are in general social, feeding much on the ground; +their legs and feet are robust, their gait stately, their plumage, though commonly +of dark colours, is lustrous, with reflections of steel-blue, purple, or +green.</p> + +<div class="reference">21. <span class="smcap">Sturnus</span> (Starling). Bill straight, forming an elongated cone, depressed +broad at the base, bluntish; upper mandible broader than the +lower; nostrils at the base of the bill, partly closed by an arched +membrane; first primary very short, second longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_54">Page 54</a></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span></p> + +<div class="reference">22. <span class="smcap">Pastor</span> (Rose-coloured Starling). Bill slightly arched, forming an +elongated cone, compressed; nostrils at the base of the bill partly +covered by a feathery membrane; wings with the first primary +very short, second and third longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_56">Page 56</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CORVIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Crows</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill powerful, more or less compressed at the sides; upper mandible +more or less arched to the point without distinct notch; gape nearly +straight; nostrils concealed by stiff bristles. Hallux very strong, but +with its claw not as long as the middle toe and claw. Birds of firm +and compact structure; their wings long, pointed, and powerful; their +feet and claws robust. In disposition bold and daring, extremely sagacious, +easily tamed and made familiar. Most of them have the power of imitating +various sounds, but their natural voices are harsh. They evince a remarkable +propensity for thieving and hiding brilliant and gaudy substances. In +appetite they are omnivorous.</p> + +<div class="reference">23. <span class="smcap">Pyrrhócorax</span> (Chough). Bill longer than the head, rather slender, +arched from the base, and pointed; nostrils oval; feet strong, +tarsus longer than the middle toe; wings rounded, first primary +short, fourth and fifth the longest; tail even at the end.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_56">Page 56</a></div> + +<div class="reference">24. <span class="smcap">Nucífraga</span> (Nutcracker). Bill about as long as the head, straight, +conical, the base dilated, and dividing the feathers of the forehead; +mandibles blunt, the upper somewhat the longer; nostrils +round; wings rather long and pointed; first primary shorter than +the second and third, fourth longest; tail nearly even.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_57">Page 57</a></div> + +<div class="reference">25. <span class="smcap">Gárrulus</span> (Jay). Bill shorter than the head, conical; both mandibles +equally curved, the upper notched near the tip; crown feathers +forming a crest; wings rounded, fourth, fifth, and sixth primaries +nearly equal, and the longest; tarsus longer than the middle toe; +tail moderate, slightly rounded.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_58">Page 58</a></div> + +<div class="reference">26. <span class="smcap">Pica</span> (Magpie). Bill, nostrils, and feet as in Corvus; wings short +and rounded; tail long, graduated.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_59">Page 59</a></div> + +<div class="reference">27. <span class="smcap">Corvus</span> (Raven, Crows, Rook). Bill not longer than the head, strong, +straight at the base, cutting at the edges, and curved towards +the point; nostrils oval; feet strong, tarsus longer than the middle +toe; wings pointed, first primary moderate, second and third +shorter than the fourth, which is the longest; tail moderate, rounded.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_61">Page 61</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY LANIIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Shrikes</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill strong, arched, and hooked, the upper mandible strongly notched +after the manner of the <span class="smcap">Falconidæ</span>; claws adapted for capturing insects +and even small birds. Sylvan. Young barred below.</p> + +<div class="reference">28. <span class="smcap">Lánius</span> (Shrike, or Butcher Bird). Bill short, flattened vertically +(compressed) at the sides; gape furnished with bristly feathers +directed forwards; wings with the first three primaries graduated, +the third and fourth being the longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_73">Page 73</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY AMPELIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Chatterers</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill stoat, approaching, especially in the form of the lower mandible, +to that of the Corvidæ; the upper mandible is however somewhat broad +at the base, flat, with the upper edge more or less angular and ridged, and +the tip distinctly notched. Feet usually stout, with the outer toe united +to the middle one as far as, or beyond, the first joint. They feed +principally on berries and other soft fruits, occasionally also on insects.</p> + + +<div class="reference">29. <span class="smcap">Ámpelis</span> (Waxwing). Bill as above; nostrils oval, concealed by +small feathers directed forwards; wings long and pointed; first +and second primaries longest, some of the secondaries and tertials +terminating in wax-like prolongations of their shafts.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_76">Page 76</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY MUSCICAPIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Flycatchers</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill broad, flattened horizontally (depressed), slightly toothed and adapted +for catching small flying insects; nostrils more or less covered by bristly +hairs; feet generally feeble.</p> + +<div class="reference">30. <span class="smcap">Muscícapa</span> (Flycatcher). Bill moderate, somewhat triangular, depressed +at the base, compressed towards the tip, which is slightly +curved downwards; gape armed with stiff bristles; tarsus equal +to or longer than the middle toe; side toes of equal length; wings +with the first primary very short, and the third and fourth longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_77">Page 77</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY HIRUNDINIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Swallows and Martins</span>)</div> + +<p>Beak short but broad, and more or less flattened horizontally; mouth +very deeply cleft; feet small and weak; wings with nine visible primaries, +long and powerful, and thus adapted for sustaining a protracted flight in +pursuit of winged insects, which form the sole sustenance of these birds; +tail long and usually forked; plumage close, smooth, often burnished with +a metallic gloss. Migratory birds, spending the summer in temperate climates, +but being impatient of cold, withdrawing in winter to equatorial regions.</p> + +<div class="reference">31. <span class="smcap">Hirundo</span> (Swallow). Bill short, depressed, very wide at base, commissure +straight. Nostrils basal, oval, partly closed by membrane. +Tail deeply forked, of twelve feathers, the outermost greatly elongated +and abruptly attenuated. Legs and feet slender and bare; +toes rather long, three in front, one behind; claws moderate.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_89">Page 80</a></div> + +<div class="reference">32. <span class="smcap">Chelídon</span> (Martin). Bill short, depressed, very wide at base, commissure +slightly decurved. Nostrils basal, oval, partly closed by +membrane and opening laterally. Tail forked, of twelve feathers, +outermost not abruptly attenuated. Legs and feet slender, closely +feathered above; toes rather long, three in front, one behind; claws +moderate, sharp.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_83">Page 83</a></div> + +<div class="reference">33. <span class="smcap">Cótile</span> (Sand-martin). Bill short, depressed, very wide at base, +commissure straight. Nostrils, wings and tail as in Chelidon. +Legs and feet slender, and bare except for tuft of feathers on tarsus +just above hallux; toes moderate, three in front, one behind; +claws strong.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_84">Page 84</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY FRINGILLIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Finches</span>)</div> + +<p>Remarkable for the shortness, thickness, and powerful structure of the +bill; the upper and lower mandibles are usually equally thick, and their +height and breadth are nearly alike, so that the bill when closed presents +the appearance of a short cone, divided in the middle by the gape. By its +aid they break open the hard woody capsules and fruit-stones containing +the seeds and kernels which form their chief food. At nesting-time many +species live on insect larvæ, with which the young are almost exclusively fed. +The wings have nine visible primaries. This family is one of immense extent, +consisting of relatively small birds.</p> + +<div class="reference">34. <span class="smcap">Ligurinus</span> (Greenfinch). Bill compressed towards tip, with scarcely +perceptible notch at point; nostrils basal, concealed by stiff feathers +directed forwards; wings rather pointed, first quill obsolete, second, +third and fourth nearly equal and longest. Tail rather short, +slightly forked. Tarsus scutellate in front; toes moderate; claws +arched and laterally grooved.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_86">Page 86</a></div> + +<div class="reference">35. <span class="smcap">Coccothraustes</span> (Hawfinch). Bill tapering rapidly to point, culmen +rounded; mandibles nearly equal, edges inflected and slightly indented. +Nostrils basal, lateral, oval, nearly hidden by projecting +and recurved frontal plumes. Wings with first quill obsolete, +third and fourth primaries nearly equal, sixth, seventh, and eighth +curved outwards. Tail short, and nearly square. Tarsus scutellate +in front, covered at sides with single plate, stout and short; claws +moderately curved, rather short and strong.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_87">Page 87</a></div> + +<div class="reference">36. <span class="smcap">Carduêlis</span> (Goldfinch and Siskin). Bill a rather elongated cone, +compressed at the tip, and finely pointed; wings long, pointed; +first three primaries nearly equal and the longest; tail slightly +forked</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_88">Page 88</a></div> + +<div class="reference">37. <span class="smcap">Passer</span> (Sparrows). Bill somewhat arched above; lower mandible +rather smaller than the upper; first three primaries longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_92">Page 92</a></div> + +<div class="reference">38. <span class="smcap">Fringilla</span> (Chaffinch and Brambling). Bill straight, sharp, pointed; +mandibles nearly equal; first primary a little shorter than the +second, much shorter than the third and fourth, which are nearly +equal and the longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_95">Page 95</a></div> + +<div class="reference">39. <span class="smcap">Acanthis</span> (Linnet, Redpolls, Twite). Bill a short straight cone, +compressed at the tip; wings long, pointed; third primary somewhat +shorter than the first and second, which are equal and the +longest; tail forked.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_96">Page 98</a></div> + +<div class="reference">40. <span class="smcap">Pýrrhula</span> (Bullfinch). Bill short and thick, the sides tumid; upper +mandible much arched and bending over the lower one; first +primary nearly equal to the fifth, second a little shorter than the +third and fourth, which are the longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_92">Page 101</a></div> + +<div class="reference">41. <span class="smcap">Loxia</span> (Crossbill). Bill thick at the base; both mandibles equally +curved, hooked at the tips, and crossing each other at the points.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_103">Page 103</a></div> + +<div class="reference">42. <span class="smcap">Emberiza</span> (Buntings, Yellow-hammer). Bill with upper mandible +not wider than lower, edges of both inflected and those of latter +gradually cut away (sinuated); the palate generally furnished +with a hard bony knob; wings moderate, first primary obsolete, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</a></span>second, third and fourth nearly equal. Tail rather long and slightly +forked. Claws considerably curved, that of hind toe of moderate +length.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_106">Page 106</a></div> + +<div class="reference">43. <span class="smcap">Plectrophenax</span> (Snow Bunting). Bill with upper mandible narrower +than lower, otherwise as in Emberiza. Wings long and pointed, +first primary obsolete, second and third nearly equal and longest +in wing, fourth considerably longer than fifth. Tail moderate +and slightly forked. Front claws rather long and curved; hind +claw considerably curved and elongated.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_110">Page 110</a></div> + +<div class="reference">44. <span class="smcap">Calcarius</span> (Lapland Bunting). Bill with considerably inflected +cutting edges (tomia); claws of front toes short and slightly curved; +hind claw nearly straight and elongated; other characters much +as in Plectrophenax.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_111">Page 111</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY MOTACILLIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Wagtails and Pipits</span>)</div> + +<p>Wings with nine visible primaries. Inner secondaries nearly as long as +primaries.</p> + +<div class="reference">45. <span class="smcap">Motacilla</span> (Wagtail). Cutting edges of both mandibles slightly +compressed inwards; nostrils basal, oval, partly concealed by a +naked membrane; first primary acuminate and nearly obsolete, +second and third nearly equal and longest; one of the scapulars +as long as the quills; tail long, nearly even at the end; tarsus +much longer than the middle toe.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_111">Page 111</a></div> + +<div class="reference">46. <span class="smcap">Anthus</span> (Pipit). Bill and nostrils very much as in Motacilla; two +of the scapulars as long as the closed wing; first primary acuminate +and nearly obsolete, second shorter than the third and fourth, +which are the longest; hind claw very long.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_11">Page 116</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY ALAUDIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Larks</span>)</div> + +<p>Wings with nine or more visible primaries. Planta tarsi scutellate. Granivorous +birds, frequenting open spaces, and singing during their flight; nesting +on ground and seeking their food there by running; they are 'pulverators', +i.e. they shake dust or sand into their feathers instead of bathing.</p> + +<div class="reference">47. <span class="smcap">Alauda</span> (Lark). Bill moderate, slightly compressed at edges; upper +mandible more or less arched from middle. Nostrils basal, oval, +covered by bristly feathers directed forward. Gape straight. +Wings long; first primary short but unmistakably developed; +second, third and fourth nearly equal, but third longest. Tail +moderate, slightly forked. Tarsus longer than middle toe; claws +slightly curved and moderate, except that of hind toe, which is +generally elongate and nearly straight.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_119">Page 119</a></div> + +<div class="reference">48. <span class="smcap">Otócorys</span> (Shore-lark). Bill rather short, subconic; upper mandible +slightly arched. Head—in adult male—with tuft of long, +erectile feathers on either side of occiput. Wings long; first +primary so small as at first sight to seem wanting, second longest but +third nearly its equal, fourth decidedly shorter, outer secondaries +short and emarginate at tip. Tail rather long, slightly forked. +Tarsus shorter than middle toe; claws moderate and very slightly +curved, that of hind toe being comparatively straight.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_122">Page 122</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_PICARIAE_1" id="ORDER_PICARIAE_1"></a> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[Pg xiii]</a></span></p> +<div class="caption1">ORDER PICARIÆ</div> + +<p>Opposed to the Passeres. The feet are relatively weaker and smaller.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CYPSELIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Swifts</span>)</div> + +<p>Tail of ten feathers (swallows have twelve). Gape very wide.</p> + +<div class="reference">49. <span class="smcap">Cýpselus</span> (Swift). Bill very short, flattened horizontally, triangular; +upper mandible curved downwards at the point; gape extending +beyond the eyes; legs very short; toes all directed forwards; +wings extremely long; first primary a little shorter than the second.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_125">Page 123</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CAPRIMULGIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Goatsuckers</span>)</div> + +<p>The bill in this family resembles that of the Swallows, but is shorter and +weaker; the gape is enormous and its sides are, for the most part, furnished +with long and stiff bristles, which point forwards; the wings are long, and +formed for powerful flight; the feet are small, and feathered to the toes; +plumage soft and downy, and beautifully mottled with black, brown, grey, +and white, varying in colour with the soil of their habitat; the claw of the +middle toe is dilated on one side and toothed like a comb. Tail of ten feathers. +Nocturnal birds, feeding on large insects, which they capture in their flight.</p> + +<div class="reference">50. <span class="smcap">Caprimúlgus</span> (Goatsucker or Nightjar). Bill very short, somewhat +curved, broad and flattened at the base; upper mandible curved +downwards at the tip; gape extending beyond the eyes, and armed +with strong bristles; wings long; first primary shorter than the +second, which is the longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_125">Page 125</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PICIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Woodpeckers</span>)</div> + +<p>Feet short, but of unusual strength; the rigid toes diverge from a centre, +two pointing forwards, and two backwards; claws large, much curved, +and very hard and sharp; breast-bone shallow; flight weak and undulating.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY PICINÆ</i></div> + +<p>Tail feathers stiff and pointed: nostrils covered with bristles.</p> + +<div class="reference">51. <span class="smcap">Dendrocopus</span> (Spotted Woodpeckers). Bill about as long as the +head, robust, straight, irregular, compressed, pyramidal, laterally +bevelled at the tip; tongue long and extensile, the tip barbed; +nostrils basal, oval, concealed by reflected bristly feathers; wings +with the first primary very short, fourth and fifth longest; tail-feathers +graduated, stiff and pointed. Fourth toe much longer +than third. Prevailing colours of the plumage black and white, +or black and red.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_127">Page 127</a></div> + +<div class="reference">52. <span class="smcap">Gécinus</span> (Green Woodpecker). Bill hard, broad at base, compressed +at tip; upper mandible slightly arched, ending abruptly with +shallow groove on each side running parallel to and near the culmen, +and longer than lower mandible, which is pointed and has the +gonys nearer the tip than the base and the tomia rounded. The +fourth toe equal to the third. Prevailing colour greenish, otherwise +much as in Dendrocopus.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_129">Page 129</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[Pg xiv]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY IŸNGINÆ</i></div> + +<p>Nostrils partly covered by a membrane. +Nostrils partly covered by a membrane.</p> + + +<div class="reference">53. <span class="smcap">Iÿnx</span> (Wryneck). Bill shorter than the head, straight, conical; +tongue long and extensile; nostrils without bristles, partly closed +by a membrane; wings with the second primary somewhat the +longest; tail-feathers soft and flexible.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_131">Page 131</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY ALCEDINIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Kingfishers</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill long, stout, and pointed, with angular sides, not serrated; feet small +and feeble, the outer and middle toes united to the last joint; wings rounded +and hollow, ill adapted for protracted flight; form robust, with a large +head and usually a short tail. Predatory birds, feeding on fish, insects, +and even reptiles, birds, and small quadrupeds. Scattered over the world, +but Australia and South America contain the greatest number of species.</p> + +<div class="reference">54. <span class="smcap">Alcédo</span> (Kingfisher). Bill long, straight, quadrangular, sharp; +wings short with the third primary the longest; tail very short.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_132">Page 132</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CORACIIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Rollers</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill corvine in shape; culmen rounded; nostrils near base of upper mandible +and hidden by bristly feathers; tail feathers twelve.</p> + +<div class="reference">54. <span class="smcap">Corácias</span> (Roller). Bill compressed, straight, with cutting edges; +upper mandible slightly hooked at the point; sides of the gape +bristled; tarsus short; wings long; first primary a little shorter +than the second, which is the longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_134">Page 134</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY MEROPIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Bee-eaters</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill long; culmen with sharply defined ridge; toes joined for part of length.</p> + +<div class="reference">55. <span class="smcap">Mêrops</span> (Bee-eater). Bill long, compressed, slightly curved, slender, +with cutting edges, broad at the base; upper mandible keeled, +the tip not hooked; tarsus very short; wings long, pointed, second +primary the longest; centre tail feathers elongated.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_135">Page 135</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY UPUPIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Hoopoes</span>)</div> + +<div class="reference">56. <span class="smcap">Upupa</span> (Hoopoe). Bill longer than the head, slender, slightly arched, +compressed; feathers of the head long, forming a two-ranked +crest; tail even at the extremity.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_136">Page 136</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CUCULIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Cuckoos</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill moderate, rather deeply cleft, both mandibles compressed, and more +or less curved downwards; nostrils exposed; wings for the most part short; +tail of ten feathers lengthened; toes four, two pointing backwards and +two forwards, but the outer hind toe of each foot is capable of being placed +at right angles with either the inner or outer front toe. A tropical family +of birds, many of which migrate to the temperate regions in summer. Not +so decidedly climbers as the Woodpeckers and Creepers, yet having great +power of clinging. Their flight is feeble, their food soft-bodied insects, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[Pg xv]</a></span> +varied in many cases with berries and other fruits, and some of the larger +species will occasionally prey on mice, reptiles, and the eggs and young of +birds. Most, perhaps all of the migratory species, lay their eggs in the nests +of other birds.</p> + +<div class="reference">57. <span class="smcap">Cúculus</span> (Cuckoo). Bill shorter than the head, broad, depressed +at the base, with the ridge curved and the sides compressed towards +the tip, which is entire and acute; nostrils in a membranous groove, +the opening rounded and exposed; wings pointed, third primary +longest; tail long, graduated; tarsi very short, feathered below +the heel.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_137">Page 137</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_STRIGES_1" id="ORDER_STRIGES_1"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER STRIGES<br /> +(OWLS)</div> + +<p>Head large, feathered; eyes large, dilated and projecting, each surrounded +by a concave disc formed of stiff diverging feathers, concealing the cere +and nostrils; ears large, and of elaborate construction; plumage lax and +downy, adapted for slow and quiet flight; outer toe reversible; tibia more +than double the length of tarsus. Food, small quadrupeds, birds, and insects.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY STRIGIDÆ</div> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY STRIGINÆ</i></div> + +<p>Bill somewhat elongated, bending at the tip only; head-tufts wanting +nostrils oval, oblique; facial disc large and complete; ears large, covered +by an operculum; wings long, the second primary longest; tarsi long, +feathered to the toes, which are strangely furnished with hair-like feathers; +claws long, the middle one serrated beneath.</p> + +<div class="reference">58. <span class="smcap">Strix</span> (White Owl). Characters given above.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_142">Page 142</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY SYRNIINÆ</i></div> + +<p>Bill bending from the base; tufts more or less conspicuous or wanting; +facial disc complete; ears large, covered by an operculum; legs feathered +to the claws.</p> + +<div class="reference">59. <span class="smcap">Asio</span> (Eared Owls). Nostrils oval, oblique; tufts more or less elongated; +wings long, second primary the longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_144">Page 144</a></div> + +<div class="reference">60. <span class="smcap">Syrnium</span> (Tawny Owl). Nostrils round; egrets wanting; wings short +and rounded; fourth primary longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_111">Page 146</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_ACCIPITRES_1" id="ORDER_ACCIPITRES_1"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER ACCIPITRES<br /> +(EAGLES, HAWKS, ETC.)</div> + +<p>Bill short, strong, stout at base, culmen strongly curved. Feet strong, +armed with powerful talons which are capable of being bent under the feet, +inner one stronger and more curved than others. Outer toe usually not +reversible.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY FALCONIDÆ</div> + +<p>Head covered with feathers, though sides of face are more or less bare.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY BUTEONINÆ</i></div> + +<p>Bill rather small and weak, bending from the base; cutting edge of the +upper mandible nearly straight, or but slightly festooned; cere large; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[Pg xvi]</a></span> +nostrils oval; wings long; the first four feathers deeply notched on their +inner webs; tail not forked. Hinder aspect of tarsus scutellate.</p> + +<div class="reference">61. <span class="smcap">Circus</span> (Harriers). Head surrounded by a circle of feathers; tarsi, +long and slender, feathered a little below the joint; wings long +third and fourth primaries the longest; tail long, somewhat rounded.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_147">Page 147</a></div> + +<div class="reference">62. <span class="smcap">Buteo</span> (Buzzard). Lore without feathers; tarsi short and strong, +naked or feathered; wings large, the fourth primary the longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_150">Page 150</a></div> + +<div class="reference">63. <span class="smcap">Pernis</span> (Honey Buzzard). Lore with feathers; tarsi short and +strong, naked or feathered; wings large, the fourth primary the +longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_151">Page 151</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY AQUILINÆ</i></div> + +<p>Bill stout, convex or slightly angular above, straight at the base, much +hooked at the tip, commissure simply festooned; cere bristly; nostrils +rounded or oval; wings long. Hinder aspect of tarsus reticulate.</p> + +<div class="reference">64. <span class="smcap">Aquila</span> (Eagles). Upper mandible with the cutting edge nearly +straight; tarsi feathered to the toes; claws unequal, grooved +beneath; wings with the fourth primary longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_152">Page 152</a></div> + +<div class="reference">65. <span class="smcap">Haliaëtus</span> (Sea-eagle). Bill very long; edges of the upper mandible +slightly prominent near the hook; tarsi half-feathered; +claws unequal, grooved beneath; wings with the fourth primary +longest; nostrils transverse, with bony margin all round.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_153">Page 153</a></div> + +<div class="reference">66. <span class="smcap">Pandíon</span> (Osprey). Bill short, cutting edges of the upper mandible +nearly straight; tarsi naked; outer toe reversible; claws equal, +rounded beneath; wings with the second primary longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_154">Page 154</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY ACCIPITRINÆ</i></div> + +<div class="caption3 smcap">Long-legged Hawks</div> + +<p>Bill short, strong, curved from the base; edge of the upper mandible +with a prominent festoon beyond the middle; nostrils oval; wings rounded, +short, reaching only to the middle of the tail; middle toe much the +longest.</p> + +<div class="reference">67. <span class="smcap">Accípiter</span> (Sparrow-hawk). Tarsi long and slender; fourth and fifth +primaries equal in length and the longest. Ridge of bill measured +from margin of cere is less than half middle toe (without claw).</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_111">Page 156</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY MILVINÆ</i></div> + +<p>Bill of moderate length, slightly curved from the base, upper mandible +with a slight festoon; nostrils oval, oblique; wings long; tail long and +forked.</p> + +<div class="reference">68. <span class="smcap">Milvus</span> (Kites). Tarsi feathered a little below the knee; fourth primary the longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_158">Page 158</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY FALCONINÆ</i></div> + +<p>Bill short, strong, curved from the base, upper mandible strongly toothed, +lower notched; nostrils round; tarsi strong and short; hinder aspect reticulate; +wings long and pointed, with the second primary longest, the first +and third equal in length and having the inner web notched near the +extremity.</p> + +<div class="reference">69. <span class="smcap">Falco</span> (Falcons, Merlin, Hobby and Kestrel). Characters given above.</div> +<div class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_159">Page 159</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[Pg xvii]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption1"><a name="ORDER_STEGANOPODES_1" id="ORDER_STEGANOPODES_1"></a> +ORDER STEGANOPODES</div> + +<p>Hind toe articulated on the inner surface of the tarsus, united to other +toes by a web.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PELECANIDÆ</div> + +<p>Bill strong, edges of the mandibles minutely toothed; wings long; legs +short; toes four, all connected by a membrane.</p> + +<div class="reference">70. <span class="smcap">Phalacrócorax</span> (Cormorant). Bill straight, longer than the head, +compressed; upper mandible much hooked at the point; face +and throat naked; inner edge of the middle claw serrated; tail +rounded, rigid.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_165">Page 165</a></div> + +<div class="reference">71. <span class="smcap">Sula</span> (Gannet). Bill straight, longer than the head, compressed, +tapering to a point, which is but slightly curved; face and throat +naked; inner edge of the middle claw serrated; tail graduated.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_168">Page 168</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_HERODIONES_1" id="ORDER_HERODIONES_1"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER HERODIONES</div> + +<p>Hallux free, not united to other toes by a web.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY ARDEIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Herons</span>)</div> + +<p>Hind toe on same plane as others. Bill rounded or ridged; notched, +with no hook at end. Outer toe with broad basal web, obsolete at base of +inner toe; middle claw pectinated, loral space bare; powder down patches +present.</p> + +<div class="reference">72. <span class="smcap">Árdea</span> (Herons). Edges of mandibles distinctly serrated; head +crested; nape feathers elongated and ornamented; plumes of +fore-neck not disintegrated; no dorsal train.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_173">Page 173</a></div> + +<div class="reference">73. <span class="smcap">Nyctícorax</span> (Night Heron). Bill scarcely longer than the head, +much compressed; neck rather thick and short; crest of three +very long tapering feathers. In other respects resembling Árdea.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_173">Page 173</a></div> + +<div class="reference">74. <span class="smcap">Botaurus</span> (Bittern). Bill scarcely longer than the head, much compressed; +neck thick, clothed in front with long and loose feathers. +In other respects resembling Ardea.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_173">Page 173</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CICONIIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Storks</span>)</div> + +<p>Hind toe elevated above plane of others; no powder down patches; bill +not hooked at tip.</p> + +<div class="reference">75. <span class="smcap">Cicónia</span> (Stork). Bill much longer than the head, stout, tapering to +a point; nostrils near the base, pierced in the horny substance of +the bill; tarsi very long; claws not pectinated; wings moderate, +third, fourth, and fifth primaries longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_175">Page 175</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PLATALEIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Spoonbills</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill flattened, narrow in middle, and widening out into a spoon-shaped end.</p> + +<div class="reference">76. <span class="smcap">Plataléa</span> (Spoonbill). Head partly bare, auricular orifice covered +with plumes. Nostrils elongated and in a shallow depression.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_176">Page 176</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii">[Pg xviii]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption1"><a name="ORDER_ANSERES_1" id="ORDER_ANSERES_1"></a> +ORDER ANSERES</div> + +<p>Tarsus about length of femur, reticulate at back and generally in front. +Bill straight, always with distinct nail at tip of upper mandible. Young +covered with down, and able to run or swim in a few hours after hatching.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY ANATIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Ducks, Geese, Swans, etc.</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill thick, broad, high at the base, covered with a thin membranous skin +and ending in a nail-like horny tip; edges of the mandibles cut into thin +parallel ridges, or toothed; wings moderate; legs placed not very far behind; +feet, four-toed, palmated; hind toe free, placed high on the tarsus. +Food, grass and aquatic weeds, worms, insects, molluscs, and small fish.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY ANSERINÆ</i></div> + +<div class="reference">77. <span class="smcap">Anser</span> (Geese). Bill nearly long as head, elevated and covered with +cere or skin at base; conspicuous nail at tip; under mandible +smaller than upper; nostrils lateral, near middle of bill; tail of +sixteen feathers; legs under centre of body; hind toe free, articulated +upon tarsus.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_176">Page 176</a></div> + +<div class="reference">78. <span class="smcap">Bernicla</span> (Brent and Bernicle Geese). Bill shorter than head, higher +than broad at base; culmen slightly convex, outline of lower mandible +decidedly so, leaving elliptical space displaying lamellæ; +nostrils sub-basal; neck feathers less furrowed than in Anser; tail +short, rounded; tibia feathered to joint; hind toe short and elevated.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_180">Page 180</a></div> + +<div class="reference">79. <span class="smcap">Cygnus</span> (Swans). Bill of equal length throughout, furnished with +knob at base; nostrils medial; legs short; neck exceedingly long.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_181">Page 181</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY ANATIDÆ</i></div> + +<p>Bill of equal width throughout, or broader at the top than at the base, of +about the same width as the head; legs short, placed rather behind the middle +of the body; hind toe without a pendent membrane; tarsi somewhat round.</p> + +<div class="reference">80. <span class="smcap">Tadorna</span> (Sheldrake). Bill with an elevated tubercle at the base, +depressed in the middle; nostrils large, pervious; lower portion +of tarsus in front with a row of transverse scutellæ.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_184">Page 184</a></div> + +<div class="reference">81. <span class="smcap">Anas</span> (Mallard, Gadwall). Bill long as head, broad, depressed, sides +parallel, sometimes partially dilated, both mandibles with transverse +lamellæ on inner edges; nostrils small, oval, lateral, anterior to +base of bill; wings rather long, pointed; tail wedge-shaped; legs +rather short; hind toe without lobe. Sexes differ in plumage.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_185">Page 185</a></div> + +<div class="reference">82. <span class="smcap">Spatula</span> (Shoveller). Bill much longer than head, widening towards +end, lamellæ projecting conspicuously; no soft membrane on sides +of bill towards tip; wing pointed, first and second quills longest; +tail short, graduated; legs very short.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_189">Page 189</a></div> + +<div class="reference">83. <span class="smcap">Dafila</span> (Pintail). Bill long as head, edges nearly parallel, widening a +little to end, lamellæ not strongly defined; neck long, slender; tail +sharply pointed, central rectrices considerably elongated in male; +margin of web to anterior toes slightly emarginate.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_190">Page 190</a></div> + +<div class="reference">84. <span class="smcap">Querquédula</span> (Teal). Bill long as head, lamellæ exposed along projecting +edge of upper mandible; tail of sixteen feathers, short and +rounded; hind toe very small, outer shorter than third, centre +rather long; interdigital membrane emarginate.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_191">Page 191</a></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xix" id="Page_xix">[Pg xix]</a></span></p> + +<div class="reference">85. <span class="smcap">Maréca</span> (Wigeon). Bill shorter than head, higher than broad at +base, depressed and narrowed towards point; tail short, pointed; +tibia bare for short distance; hind toe with very narrow lobe.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_192">Page 192</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY FULIGULINÆ</i></div> + +<p>Hind toe with lobated membrane; tarsi compressed.</p> + +<div class="reference">86. <span class="smcap">Fulígula</span> (Pochard, Tufted Duck, Scaup). Bill not longer than +head, slightly elevated at base, broader towards tip; edges of upper +mandible enclosing edges of lower; nostrils near base.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_193">Page 193</a></div> + +<div class="reference">87. <span class="smcap">Clangúla</span> (Goldeneye). Bill much shorter than head, depressed towards +nail, which is elliptical and decurved at tip; lamellæ hidden; +nostrils near middle of bill.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_195">Page 195</a></div> + +<div class="reference">88. <span class="smcap">Harelda</span> (Long-tailed Duck). Bill much shorter than head, tapering +rapidly to broad, decurved nail at tip. Lamellæ slightly exposed; +nostrils sub-basal. Feathering at base of bill forming +oblique line, advancing furthest forward on forehead. Wings +rather short, pointed; scapulars elongate and lanceolate in adult +male; tail short, graduated except for two central feathers, which +are long and tapering in adult male.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_196">Page 196</a></div> + +<div class="reference">89. <span class="smcap">Somateria</span> (Eider Duck). Bill swollen and elevated at base, extending +up the forehead, there divided by angular projection of feathers; +nostrils medial.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_197">Page 197</a></div> + +<div class="reference">90. <span class="smcap">Œdemia</span> (Scoters). Bill short, broad, with an elevated knob at the +base, the tip much flattened; nail large, flat, obtuse, slightly deflected; +lamellæ coarse, widely set; nostrils oval, medial; tail short, +graduated, acute.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_199">Page 199</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY MERGANINÆ</i></div> + +<div class="reference">91. <span class="smcap">Mergus</span> (Smew, Merganser, Goosander). Bill straight, slender, narrow, +approaching to cylindrical; upper mandible hooked; edges +of both mandibles armed with sharp teeth directed backwards; legs +short, placed far backward.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_201">Page 201</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_COLUMBAE_1" id="ORDER_COLUMBAE_1"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER COLUMBÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Pigeons and Doves</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill swollen at tip, convex; the upper mandible covered at the base with a +soft membrane in which lie the nostrils, with a valve over them; tarsi covered +fore and rear with hexagonal scales.</p> + +<p>The birds of this order have considerable powers of flight, and perch freely +on trees or rocks. Their food consists principally of grain, seeds, and the +leaves of herbaceous plants. The young are fed on a milky fluid secreted +in the crop of the old birds.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY COLUMBIDÆ</div> + +<p>Tail with twelve feathers; hind toe with the skin prominently expanded +on the sides.</p> + +<div class="reference">92. <span class="smcap">Columba</span> (Wood-pigeon, Stock-dove, Rock-dove). Bill moderate, +straight at base, compressed, point deflected; tail nearly even; +first primary much larger than <i>sixth</i>.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_203">Page 203</a></div> + +<div class="reference">93. <span class="smcap">Turtur</span> (Turtle-dove). Bill rather slender, tip of upper mandible +gently deflected, that of lower scarcely exhibiting the appearance +of an angle; tail rather long, graduated.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_209">Page 209</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xx" id="Page_xx">[Pg xx]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption1"><a name="ORDER_PTEROCLETES_1" id="ORDER_PTEROCLETES_1"></a> +ORDER PTEROCLETES</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PTEROCLIDÆ</div> + +<div class="reference">94. <span class="smcap">Syrrhaptes</span> (Sandgrouse). Bill small, gradually decurved; nostrils +basal, hidden; wings long, pointed, first primary largest; tail +of sixteen feathers, cuneate, central pair long; tarsi short, strong; +feathered to toes; three toes, all in front; hallux obsolete; soles +rugose; claws broad and obtuse.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_211">Page 211</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_GALLINAE_1" id="ORDER_GALLINAE_1"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER GALLINÆ</div> + +<p>Bill short and stout; culmen arched, and overhanging the mandible.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY TETRAONIDÆ</div> + +<div class="reference">95. <span class="smcap">Tetráo</span> (Black Grouse, Capercaillie). Bill strong; eyebrows naked, +adorned with scarlet papillæ; tarsi feathered, without spurs; front +toes naked, with pectinated margins; hind toe larger than the nail.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_212">Page 212</a></div> + +<div class="reference">96. <span class="smcap">Lagópus</span> (Red Grouse, Ptarmigan). Front toes feathered, nearly +smooth at the margins; hind toe shorter than the nail; in other +respects like the last.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_215">Page 215</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PHASIANIDÆ</div> + +<p>Nostrils never hidden by feathers; toes never pectinated.</p> + +<div class="reference">97. <span class="smcap">Phasiánus</span> (Pheasant). Cheeks naked, adorned with scarlet papillæ; +tail very long, of eighteen feathers.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_219">Page 219</a></div> + +<div class="reference">98. <span class="smcap">Perdix</span> (Partridge). Bill strong; orbits naked; tarsus naked, male +with a knob on the tarsus behind; tail of sixteen feathers, short, +bent down.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_222">Page 222</a></div> + +<div class="reference">99. <span class="smcap">Caccabis</span> (Red-legged Partridge). Tail of fourteen feathers; tarsi +armed with blunt spurs in male.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_225">Page 225</a></div> + +<div class="reference">100. <span class="smcap">Coturnix</span> (Quail). Bill slender; orbits feathered; wings with the +first primary longest; tail very short; almost concealed by the +tail-coverts.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_226">Page 226</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_FULICARIAE_1" id="ORDER_FULICARIAE_1"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER FULICARIÆ<br /> +(RAILS AND COOTS)</div> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY RALLIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Rails</span>)</div> + +<div class="reference">101. <span class="smcap">Crex</span> (Corn-crake). Bill shorter than the head, thick at the base, +compressed, pointed; front toes entirely divided, not margined; +second and third primaries longest. Tail pointed, rectrices narrow.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_228">Page 228</a></div> + +<div class="reference">102. <span class="smcap">Porzana</span> (Spotted and Little Crakes). Bill shorter than head; wings +shorter than in Crex; second quill longest; secondaries shorter +than primaries by length of hind toe and claw.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_229">Page 229</a></div> + +<div class="reference">103. <span class="smcap">Rallus</span> (Water-rail). Bill longer than head; wings moderate, third +and fourth quills longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_230">Page 230</a></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxi" id="Page_xxi">[Pg xxi]</a></span></p> +<div class="justify">104. <span class="smcap">Gallínula</span> (Moor-hen). Bill shorter than the head, stout, straight, +compressed; upper mandible expanding at the base and forming +a disc on the forehead; toes entirely divided, bordered by a narrow +entire membrane, middle toe longer than tarsus.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_231">Page 231</a></div> + +<div class="reference">105. <span class="smcap">Fúlica</span> (Coot). Bill shorter than the head, straight, robust, convex +above, much compressed; upper mandible dilated at the base, +and forming a naked patch on the forehead; all the toes united +at the base, and bordered by a scalloped membrane.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_233">Page 233</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_ALECTORIDES_1" id="ORDER_ALECTORIDES_1"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER ALECTORIDES</div> + +<p>Angle of the mandible always truncated, hind toe generally raised above +level of others.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY GRUIDÆ</div> + +<p>Nasal depression more than half as long as maxilla; rectrices twelve.</p> + +<div class="reference">106. <span class="smcap">Grus</span> (Crane). Upper mandible deeply channelled; nostrils medial; +wings moderate; third primary longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_234">Page 234</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY OTIDIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Bustards</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill flattened and obtuse; no hind toe; tarsi unarmed; wings very short; +rectrices sixteen to twenty.</p> + +<div class="reference">107. <span class="smcap">Otis</span> (Bustard). Legs long, naked above the knee; wings moderate, +hind quill longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_236">Page 236</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_LIMICOLAE_1" id="ORDER_LIMICOLAE_1"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER LIMICOLÆ<br /> +(WADERS)</div> + +<p>Leg and tarsus long, the lower portion of the former generally destitute +of feathers; bill long or moderate; toes three or four, more or less connected +by a membrane at the base, sometimes lobated. Primaries eleven; +fifth secondary wanting; after shaft to contour feathers present.</p> + +<p>Adapted by structure for feeding in marshes, on the muddy or sandy sea-shore, +or on the banks of lakes and rivers. Some, which feed on fish, have +unusually long legs and powerful bills; others, owing to their length of bill +and legs, are able to search muddy places for worms and insects, without +clogging their feathers; and others, again, are decidedly aquatic, and have +considerable swimming powers, thus approaching the next order; the +majority have great power of flight, and lay their eggs on the ground.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY GLAREOLIDÆ</div> + +<div class="reference">108. <span class="smcap">Glaréola</span> (Pratincole). Bill short, convex, compressed towards the +point; upper mandible curved throughout half its length; nostrils +basal, oblique; legs feathered nearly to the knee; tarsus long; +three toes in front, one behind, the latter joined on the tarsus; +wings very long; first primary longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_238">Page 238</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CHARADRIIDÆ</div> + +<p>Hind toe absent in most species; tarsus usually reticulate, sometimes +scutellate.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxii" id="Page_xxii">[Pg xxii]</a></span></p> + +<div class="reference">109. <span class="smcap">Œdicnémus</span> (Thick-knee). Bill stout, straight, longer than the head, +slightly compressed towards the end; nostrils in the middle of the +bill, narrow, with the aperture in front, pervious; toes three, united +by a membrane as far as the first joint; wings as in the last.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_239">Page 239</a></div> + +<div class="reference">110. <span class="smcap">Cursorius</span> (Courser). Bill shorter than the head, depressed at the +base, slightly curved, pointed; nostrils basal, oval, covered by +a little protuberance. Legs long, slender; toes three, very short, +divided nearly to the base, inner toe half the length of the middle +one; its claw serrated; claws very short; wings moderate; first +primary nearly as long as the second, which is the longest in the +wing.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_240">Page 240</a></div> + +<div class="reference">111. <span class="smcap">Charádrius</span> (Plover). Bill shorter than the head, slender, straight, +compressed, somewhat swollen towards the tip; nasal channel +reaching from the base through two-thirds of the bill, covered by a +membrane; nostrils basal, very narrow; tarsi moderate, slender; +toes three, the outer and middle connected by a short membrane; +wings moderate; first primary longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_240">Page 240</a></div> + +<div class="reference">112. <span class="smcap">Squatárola</span> (Grey Plover). Bill shorter than the head, straight, +swollen and hard towards the tip; nostrils basal, narrow, pierced +in the membrane of a long groove; legs slender; outer and middle +toe connected by a short membrane, hind toe rudimentary, jointed +on the tarsus, not touching the ground; wings long, pointed; first +primary longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_242">Page 242</a></div> + +<div class="reference">113. <span class="smcap">Eudromias</span> (Dotterel). Bill shorter than head, slender, compressed; +nasal channel reaching about half length of bill. Wings moderate; +inner secondaries much longer than in <i>Charádrius</i>.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_244">Page 244</a></div> + +<div class="reference">114. <span class="smcap">Ægialitis</span> (Ringed and Kentish Plovers). Bill much shorter than +head, slender, straight to end of nasal channel, which extends beyond +middle of bill, then slightly raised, but decurved at tip; wings +long, pointed.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_245">Page 245</a></div> + +<div class="reference">115. <span class="smcap">Vanellus</span> (Lapwing). Wings large, quills broad and rounded, the +fourth and fifth primaries longest. In other respects resembling +Squatarola.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_247">Page 247</a></div> + +<div class="reference">116. <span class="smcap">Hæmátopus</span> (Oyster Catcher). Bill longer than the head, stout, straight, +forming a wedge; legs moderate, stout; toes three, bordered by a +narrow membrane; wings long; first primary longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_248">Page 248</a></div> + +<div class="reference">117. <span class="smcap">Strépsilas</span> (Turnstone). Bill short, thickest at the base and tapering; +nostrils basal, narrow, pervious; legs moderate; three front +toes connected at the base by a membrane, fourth rudimentary, +jointed on the tarsus, touching the ground with its tip.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_250">Page 250</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY SCOLOPACIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Snipes, etc.</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill long and slender; toes four, the hind one weak and elevated, very +rarely wanting.</p> + +<div class="reference">118. <span class="smcap">Recurvirostra</span> (Avocet). Bill very long, slender, weak, much curved +upwards, pointed; legs long, slender; front toes connected as far +as the second joint; hind toe very small.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_252">Page 252</a></div> + +<div class="reference">119. <span class="smcap">Phaláropus</span> (Phalarope). Bill as long as the head, slender, weak, +depressed and blunt; front toes connected as far as the first joint, +and bordered by a lobed and slightly serrated membrane; hind toe +not bordered.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_253">Page 253</a></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxiii" id="Page_xxiii">[Pg xxiii]</a></span></p> + +<div class="reference">120. <span class="smcap">Scólopax</span> (Woodcock). Bill long, compressed, superior ridge elevated +at base of mandible, prominent. Legs rather short, anterior toes +almost entirely divided.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_254">Page 254</a></div> + +<div class="reference">121. <span class="smcap">Gallinágo</span> (Snipe). Bill very long; legs rather long and slender; +anterior toes divided to the base.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_256">Page 256</a></div> + +<div class="reference">122. <span class="smcap">Calidris</span> (Sanderling). Bill as long as the head, slender, straight, +soft, and flexible, dilated towards the end; nostrils basal, narrow, +pierced in the long nasal groove which reaches to the tip; legs +slender; toes three, scarcely connected by a membrane; wings +moderate; first primary longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_260">Page 260</a></div> + +<div class="reference">123. <span class="smcap">Tringa</span> (Sandpiper, Knot, Dunlin, Stint). Bill as long as the head or a +little longer, straight or slightly curved, soft and flexible, dilated, and +blunt towards point; both mandibles grooved along sides; nostrils +lateral wings moderately long, pointed, first quill longest; legs +moderately long; three toes in front, divided to origin; one behind, +small, articulated upon tarsus.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_261">Page 361</a></div> + +<div class="reference">124. <span class="smcap">Machétes</span> (Ruff). Bill straight, as long as the head, dilated and +smooth at the tip; nasal channel reaching to nearly the end of +the bill; nostrils basal; first and second primaries longest; toes +four, the outer and middle connected as far as the first joint; neck +of the male in spring furnished with a ruff.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_266">Page 266</a></div> + +<div class="reference">125. <span class="smcap">Tótanus</span> (Redshank, Sandpiper). Bill moderate, slender, soft at +the base, solid at the end; both mandibles grooved at the base, +upper channelled through half its length; nostrils pierced in the +groove; legs long, slender; toes four.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_267">Page 267</a></div> + +<div class="reference">126. <span class="smcap">Limósa</span> (Godwit). Bill very long, slender, curved upwards, soft and +flexible throughout, dilated towards the tip, and blunt; upper +mandible channelled throughout its whole length; nostrils linear, +pierced in the groove, pervious; legs long and slender; toes +four, the outer and middle connected as far as as the first joint; +wings moderate; first primary longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_272">Page 272</a></div> + +<div class="reference">127. <span class="smcap">Numenius</span> (Curlew, Whimbrel). Bill much larger than the head, +slender, curved downwards.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_273">Page 273</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_GAVIAE_1" id="ORDER_GAVIAE_1"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER GAVIÆ</div> + +<p>Front toes entirely connected by webs. Primaries, ten large and visible, +one minute and concealed.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY LARIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Gulls, Terns, Skuas</span>)</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY STERNINÆ</i></div> + +<p>Bill straight, rather slender; mandibles of about equal length.</p> + +<div class="reference">128. <span class="smcap">Hydrochelidon</span> (Black, White-winged, and Whiskered Terns). Tail +feathers rounded or slightly pointed; tail short, less than half +length of wing.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_275">Page 275</a></div> + +<div class="reference">129. <span class="smcap">Sterna</span> (Other Terns). Outer tail feathers longest, pointed; tarsus +short; tail at least half length of wing; bill compressed and slender; +tarsus never exceeds length of middle toe with claw.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_276">Page 276</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxiv" id="Page_xxiv">[Pg xxiv]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY LARINÆ</i></div> + +<p>Bill with upper mandible longer and bent over tip of under one.</p> + +<div class="reference">130. <span class="smcap">Larus</span> (Gull). Bill moderate, strong, sharp-edged above, compressed, +slightly decurved; hind toe high on the tarsus; first primary nearly +equal to the second, which is longest; tail even, or but slightly +forked.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_281">Page 281</a></div> + +<div class="reference">131. <span class="smcap">Rissa</span> (Kittiwake). Bill rather short and stout, considerably decurved; +hind toe minute and usually obsolete; first primary slightly exceeding +second; tail perceptibly forked in young, nearly square in adult.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_287">Page 287</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><i>SUB-FAMILY STERCORARIINÆ</i></div> + +<p>Bill with a cere; claws large, strong, hooked.</p> + +<div class="reference">132. <span class="smcap">Stercorarius</span> (Skua). Bill moderate, strong, rounded above, compressed +towards the tip, which is decurved; nostrils far forward, +diagonal, pervious; hind toe very small, scarcely elevated; the +middle tail-feathers more or less elongated.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_288">Page 288</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_PYGOPODES_1" id="ORDER_PYGOPODES_1"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER PYGOPODES</div> + +<p>Wings short</p> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY ALCIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Auks</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill much flattened vertically (compressed); wings short; legs placed at +the extremity of the body; feet three-toed, palmated; tail short. Food, +mostly fish, and captured by diving.</p> + +<div class="reference">133. <span class="smcap">Alca</span> (Razor-bill). Bill large, sharp-edged, the basal half feathered, +the terminal part grooved laterally; upper mandible much curved +towards the point; nostrils nearly concealed by a feathered +membrane; tail pointed.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_291">Page 291</a></div> + +<div class="reference">134. <span class="smcap">UÚria</span> (Guillemot). Bill strong, nearly straight, sharp-pointed, of +moderate length; nostrils basal, partly covered by a feathered +membrane; first primary longest.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_292">Page 292</a></div> + +<div class="reference">135. <span class="smcap">Mérgulus</span>. (Little Auk). Bill strong, conical, slightly curved, +shorter than the head; nostrils basal, partly covered by a feathered +membrane; first and second primaries equal.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_294">Page 294</a></div> + +<div class="reference">136. <span class="smcap">Fratercula</span> (Puffin). Bill shorter than head, higher than long, +ridge of upper mandible higher than crown; both mandibles much +curved throughout, transversely furrowed, notched at tip; nostrils +basal, almost closed by a naked membrane.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_295">Page 295</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY COLYMBIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Divers</span>)</div> + +<p>Bill slightly compressed, not covered with a membranous skin; edges of +the mandibles unarmed, or but slightly toothed; wings short; legs placed +far behind; tarsi very much compressed; toes four. Food, fish and other +aquatic animal substances obtained by diving. Females smaller than males.</p> + +<div class="reference">137. <span class="smcap">Colymbus</span> (Diver). Bill forming a pointed cylindrical cone; front +toes entirely palmated; tail very short.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_297">Page 297</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxv" id="Page_xxv">[Pg xxv]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PODICIPEDIDÆ<br /> +(<span class="smcap">Grebes</span>)</div> + +<p>Hallux raised above level of other toes; toes with wide lateral lobes, united +at base. Tail vestigial.</p> + +<div class="reference">138. <span class="smcap">Pódicipes</span> (Grebe). Bill forming pointed cylindrical cone; secondaries, +if any, very little shorter than primaries.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_300">Page 300</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_TUBINARES_1" id="ORDER_TUBINARES_1"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER TUBINARES</div> + +<p>External nostrils are produced into tubes; anterior toes fully webbed; +hallux small or absent.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PROCELLARIIDÆ</div> + +<p>Nostrils united exteriorly above culmen.</p> + +<div class="reference">139. <span class="smcap">Fulmarus</span> (Fulmar). Bill not so long as head; upper mandible of +four portions divided by indentations, the whole large, strong, +curving suddenly to point; under mandible grooved along sides, +bent at end; edges of mandibles sharp; nostrils prominent, united, +enclosed, somewhat hidden in tube with single external orifice; wings +rather long, first quill longest; tarsi compressed, feet moderate.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_304">Page 304</a></div> + +<div class="reference">140. <span class="smcap">Puffinus</span> (Shearwaters). Bill rather longer than head, slender; mandibles +compressed, decurved; nasal tube low, both nostrils visible +from above, directed forwards and slightly upwards; wings long, +pointed, first quill slightly the longest; tail graduated; tarsi +compressed laterally.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_305">Page 305</a></div> + +<div class="reference">141. <span class="smcap">Procellaria</span> (Storm and Fork-tailed Petrels). Bill small, robust, +much shorter than head, straight to nail, which is decurved; wings +long, narrow, second quill longest, slightly exceeding third, first +shorter than fourth; tail moderate, slightly rounded; legs moderate, +claws rather short.</div> +<div class="text_rt2"><a href="#Page_307">Page 307</a></div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_PASSERES_2"></a> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption1">ORDER PASSERES</div> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY TURDIDÆ<br /> +<span class="smcap">Sub-Family</span> TURDINÆ</div> + +<div class="caption3">THE MISTLE (OR MISSEL) THRUSH<br /> +TURDUS VISCIVORUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage ash brown; space between the bill and eye greyish white; +wing-coverts edged and tipped with greyish white; under parts white, +faintly tinged here and there with reddish yellow, marked all over with +deep brown spots, which on the throat and breast are triangular, in other +parts oval, broader on the flanks; under wing-coverts white; three +lateral tail feathers tipped with greyish white. Length eleven inches; +breadth eighteen inches. Eggs greenish or reddish white, spotted with +brownish red. Young spotted on the head and back with buff and black.</div> + + +<p>The largest British song bird, distinguished from the Song Thrush +not only by its superior size, but by having white under wing-coverts, +and the whole of the under part of the body buffish-white, +spotted with black. It is a generally diffused bird, and is known by +various local names; in the west of England its popular name is +Holm Thrush, or Holm Screech, derived most probably, not, as Yarrell +surmises, from its resorting to the oak in preference to other trees, +but from its feeding on the berries of the holly, or holm; the title +'Screech' being given to it from its jarring note when angry or alarmed, +which closely resembles the noise made by passing the finger-nail +rapidly along the teeth of a comb. Its French name, 'Draine', +and German, 'Schnarre', seem to be descriptive of the same harsh +'<i>churr</i>'. In Wales, it has from its quarrelsome habits acquired +the name of Penn y llwyn, or, master of the coppice. Another +of its names, Throstle Cock, expresses its alliance with the Thrushes, +and its daring nature; and another Storm Cock, indicates 'not +that it delights in storms more than in fine weather, but that +nature has taught it to pour forth its melody at a time of the year +when the bleak winds of winter roar through the leafless trees'. +The song of the Mistle Thrush is loud, wild, and musical, Waterton +calls it 'plaintive', Knapp 'harsh and untuneful'. I must +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> +confess that I agree with neither. This note, generally the earliest +of the Spring sounds (for the Redbreast's song belongs essentially +to winter), is to my ear full of cheerful promise amounting to +confidence—a song of exultation in the return of genial weather. +The bird sings generally perched on the topmost branch of some +lofty tree, and there he remains for hours together out-whistling +the wind and heeding not the pelting rain. This song, however, +is not continuous, but broken into passages of a few notes each, +by which characteristic it may be distinguished alike from that +of the Thrush or the Blackbird, even when mellowed by distance +to resemble either. The Mistletoe Thrush is essentially a +tree-loving bird. During winter its food mainly consists of berries, +among which those of the Mountain Ash and Yew have the preference, +though it also feeds on those of the Hawthorn, Ivy, Juniper, +and the strange plant from which it derives its name.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> Towards other +birds it is a very tyrant, selfish and domineering in the extreme; +to such a degree, indeed, that even when it has appeased its appetite +it will allow no other bird to approach the tree which it has +appropriated for its feeding ground. I have seen it take possession +of a Yew-tree laden with berries, and most mercilessly +drive away, with angry vociferations and yet more formidable +buffets, every other bird that dared to come near. Day after +day it returned, until the tree was stripped of every berry, when +it withdrew and appeared no more.</p> + +<p>As soon as the unfrozen earth is penetrable by its beak, it adds +to its diet such worms and grubs as it can discover; and, if it +be not belied, it is given to plunder the nests of other birds of +their eggs and young. It may be on this account that Magpies, +Jays, and other large woodland birds, robbers themselves, entertain +an instinctive dislike towards it. Certainly these birds are its +better enemies; but in the breeding season it eludes their animosity +by quitting the woods, and resorting to the haunts of man. +Its harsh screech is now rarely heard, for its present object is not +defiance, but immunity from danger. Yet it takes no extraordinary +pains to conceal its nest. On the contrary, it usually places +this where there is little or no foliage to shadow it, in a fork between +two large boughs of an apple, pear, or cherry tree, sometimes only +a few feet from the ground, and sometimes twenty feet or more. +The nest is a massive structure, consisting of an external basket-work +of twigs, roots, and lichens, within which is a kind of bowl of +mud containing a final lining of grass and roots. The bird is an +early builder. It generally lays five eggs and feeds its young +on snails, worms, and insects. The range of the Mistle Thrush +extends as far as the Himalayas. In Great Britain it is a resident +species.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> That this thrush feeds on the berries of the mistletoe was stated by +Yarrell, but it is not now generally believed to be a fact.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_01"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_01.png" width="434" height="697" alt="Plate_01" title="Plate_01. Missel Thrush, Song Thrush, Redwing, Fieldfare [face p. 2" /><br /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_02"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_02.png" width="409" height="698" alt="Plate_02" title="Plate_02. Blackbird [M] imm., Blackbird [F] [M], Ring Ouzel [M] [F]" /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> +<div class="caption3">THE SONG THRUSH<br /> +TURDUS MÚSICUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts brown tinged with olive; wing-coverts edged and tipped with +reddish yellow; cere yellowish; throat white in the middle, without +spots; sides of neck and breast reddish yellow with triangular dark +brown spots; abdomen and flanks pure white with oval dark brown +spots; under wing-coverts pale orange yellow; bill and feet greyish +brown. Length, eight inches and a half, breadth thirteen inches. Eggs +blue with a few black spots mostly at the larger end.</div> + +<p>The Thrush holds a distinguished place among British birds, +as contributing, perhaps, more than any other to the aggregate +charms of a country life. However near it may be, its song is never +harsh, and heard at a distance its only defect is, that it is not nearer. +It possesses, too, the charm of harmonizing with all other pleasant +natural sounds. If to these recommendations we add that the +Thrush frequents all parts of England, and resorts to the suburban +garden as well as the forest and rocky glen, we think we may +justly claim for it the distinction among birds, of being the last +that we would willingly part with, not even excepting its allowed +master in song himself, the Nightingale. Three notes are often +repeated: Did he do it? Shut the gate, Kubelik.</p> + +<p>The food of the Thrush during winter consists of worms, insects, +and snails. The first of these it picks up or draws out from +their holes, in meadows and lawns; the others it hunts for among +moss and stones, in woods and hedges, swallowing the smaller ones +whole, and extracting the edible parts of large snails by dashing +them with much adroitness against a stone. When it has once discovered +a stone adapted to its purpose, it returns to it again and +again, so that it is not uncommon in one's winter walks to come +upon a place thickly strewn with broken shells, all, most probably, +the 'chips' of one workman. As spring advances, it adds +caterpillars to its bill of fare, and as the summer fruits ripen, it +attacks them all in succession; strawberries, gooseberries, currants, +raspberries, cherries, and, on the Continent, grapes suit +its palate right well; and, when these are gone, pears and apples, +whether attached to the tree or lying on the ground, bear, too often +for the gardener, the marks of its beak on their ripest side. During +all this period it relieves the monotony of its diet by an occasional +repast on animal food; as, indeed, in winter it alternates +its food whenever opportunity occurs, by regaling itself on wild +berries. Yet, despite the mischief which it perpetrates in our +gardens by devouring and spoiling much of the choicest fruit—for +your thrush is an epicure, and tastes none but the ripest and best—the +service which it renders as a devourer of insects more than +compensates for all. So the gardener, if a wise man, will prefer the +scare-crow to the gun, the protecting net to that which captures.</p> + +<p>I know two adjoining estates in Yorkshire. On one the gardener +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> +shoots blackbirds and thrushes in fruit time. On the other +they are protected. The latter yields always more fruit than +the former.</p> + +<p>The Thrush holds a high rank, too, among birds as an architect. +Its nest is usually placed in a thorn-bush, a larch or young fir-tree, +a furze-bush, an apple or pear tree, or an ordinary hedge, at no +great elevation from the ground, and not concealed with much +attempt at art. Indeed, as it begins to build very early, it is only +when it selects an evergreen that it has much chance of effectually +hiding its retreat. The nest externally is composed of feather-moss, +intermatted with bents, twigs, and small roots, and terminates +above in a thicker rim of the same materials. Thus far +the bird has displayed her skill as basket-maker. The outer case +is succeeded by a layer of cow-dung, applied in small pellets, and +cemented with saliva. The builder, with a beak for her only trowel, +has now completed the mason's work. But she has yet to show +her skill as a plasterer; this she does by lining her cup-like chamber +with stucco made from decayed wood, pulverized and reduced to +a proper consistence, kneading it with her beak. With this for +her sole instrument, except her round breast, to give to the whole +the requisite form, she has constructed a circular bowl sufficiently +compact to exclude air and water, as true and as finely finished +as if it had been moulded on a potter's wheel, or turned on a lathe.</p> + +<p>The Thrush lays four or five eggs, and rears several broods in +the season, building a new nest for each brood. During incubation +the female is very tame, and will suffer herself to be approached +quite closely without deserting her post. In the vicinity of houses, +where she is familiar with the human form, she will even take worms +and other food from the hand.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE REDWING<br /> +TURDUS ILÍACUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage olive brown; lore black and yellow; a broad white streak +above the eye; lower plumage white, with numerous oblong dusky spots, +middle of the abdomen without spots; under wing-coverts and flanks +bright orange red; bill dusky; feet grey. Length eight inches, breadth +thirteen inches. Eggs greenish blue mottled with dark brownish red +spots.</div> + +<p>The Redwing (called in France <i>Mauvis</i>, whence an old name for +the Song-thrush, 'Mavis') is the smallest of the Thrushes with +which we are familiar. It is, like the Fieldfare, a bird of passage, +reaching us from the north about the same time with the Woodcock, +in October. It resembles the Song-thrush more than any +other bird of the family, but may readily be distinguished even at +some distance by the light stripe over the eye, and its bright red +under wing-coverts. In some parts of France it is much sought +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> +after by the fowler, its flesh being considered by many superior to +that of the Quail and Woodcock. It owes perhaps some of this +unfortunate distinction to the fact of its arriving in France in time +to fatten on grapes, for in this country it is often too lean to be +worth cooking. Being impatient of cold, it is less abundant in the +north of England than the south; but even in the mild climates +of Devon and Cornwall, where it congregates in large numbers, it +is so much enfeebled by unusually severe weather, as to be liable to +be hunted down by boys with sticks, and a Redwing starved to +death used to be no unfrequent sight in the course of a winter's +ramble. As long as the ground remains neither frozen nor snowed +up, the open meadows may be seen everywhere spotted with these +birds, but when the earth becomes so hard as to resist their efforts +in digging up worms and grubs, they repair to the cliffs which border +the sea-coast, where some sunny nook is generally to be found, to +woods in quest of berries, or to the water-courses of sheltered valleys. +At these times they are mostly silent, their only note, when +they utter any, being simple and harsh; but in France they are +said to sing towards the end of February, and even in this country +they have been known to perch on trees in mild weather, and execute +a regular song. Towards the end of April or beginning of May, +they take their departure northwards, where they pass the summer, +preferring woods and thickets in the vicinity of marshes. Mr. +Hewitson states that while he was travelling through Norway 'the +Redwing was but seldom seen, and then perched upon the summit +of one of the highest trees, pouring forth its delightfully wild note. +It was always very shy, and upon seeing our approach would drop +suddenly from its height, and disappear among the underwood. +Its nest, which we twice found with young ones (although our unceasing +endeavours to find its eggs were fruitless), was similar to that of +the Fieldfare. The Redwing is called the Nightingale of Norway, +and well it deserves the name', and Turdus Ilíacus because it +frequented in such great numbers the environs of Ilion-Troy.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE FIELDFARE<br /> +TURDUS PILÁRIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, nape, and lower part of the back dark ash colour; upper part of the +back and wing-coverts chestnut brown; lore black; a white rim above +the eyes; throat and breast yellowish red with oblong dark spots; +feathers on the flanks spotted with black and edged with white; abdomen +pure white without spots; under wing-coverts white, beak brown, +tipped with black. Length ten inches, breadth seventeen inches. +Eggs light blue, mottled all over with dark red brown spots.</div> + +<p>The Fieldfare is little inferior in size to the Missel Thrush, with +which, however, it is not likely to be confounded even at a distance, +owing to the predominant bluish tinge of its upper plumage. In +the west of England, where the Thrush is called the Greybird, to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> +distinguish it from its ally the Blackbird, the Fieldfare is known +by the name of Bluebird, to distinguish it from both. It is a +migratory bird, spending its summer, and breeding, in the north +of Europe, and paying us an annual visit in October or November. +But it is impatient of cold, even with us, for in winters of unusual +severity it migrates yet farther south, and drops in upon our meadows +a second time in the spring, when on its way to its summer +quarters. Fieldfares are eminently gregarious; not only do they +arrive at our shores and depart from them in flocks, but they keep +together as long as they remain, nor do they dissolve their society +on their return to the north, but build their nests many together +in the same wood. In this country, they are wild and cautious +birds, resorting during open weather to water-courses and damp +pastures, where they feed on worms and insects, and when frost +sets in betaking themselves to bushes in quest of haws and other +berries; or in very severe weather resorting to the muddy or +sandy sea-shore. They frequent also commons on which the +Juniper abounds, the berries of this shrub affording them an abundant +banquet. Unlike the Blackbird and Thrush, they rarely +seek for food under hedges, but keep near the middle of fields, as +if afraid of being molested by some concealed enemy. When +alarmed, they either take refuge in the branches of a high tree in +the neighbourhood, or remove altogether to a distant field. The +song of the Fieldfare I have never heard: Toussenel doubts whether +it has any; Yarrell describes it as 'soft and melodious'; Bechstein +as 'a mere harsh disagreeable warble'; while a writer in +the <i>Zoologist</i> who heard one sing during the mild January of +1846, in Devon, describes it as 'combining the melodious whistle +of the Blackbird with the powerful voice of the Mistle Thrush'. +Its call-note is short and harsh, and has in France given it the +provincial names of Tia-tia and Tchatcha. This latter name +accords with Macgillivray's mode of spelling its note, <i>yack chuck</i>, +harsh enough, no one will deny. 'Our attention was attracted +by the harsh cries of several birds which we at first supposed must +be Shrikes, but which afterwards proved to be Fieldfares. We +were now delighted by the discovery of several of their nests, and +were surprised to find them (so contrary to the habits of other +species of the genus with which we are acquainted) breeding in +society. Their nests were at various heights from the ground, +from four to thirty or forty feet or upwards; they were, for the +most part, placed against the trunk of the Spruce Fir; some were, +however, at a considerable distance from it, upon the upper surface +and towards the smaller end of the thicker branches: they +resembled most nearly those of the Ring Ouzel; the outside is +composed of sticks and coarse grass and weeds gathered wet, +matted with a small quantity of clay, and lined with a thick bed +of fine dry grass: none of them yet contained more than three +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> +eggs, although we afterwards found that five was more commonly +the number than four, and that even six was very frequent; they +are very similar to those of the Blackbird, and even more so to +the Ring Ouzel. The Fieldfare is the most abundant bird in Norway, +and is generally diffused over that part which we visited, +building, as already noticed, in society; two hundred nests or +more being frequently seen within a very small space.' Oddly +enough two hundred was just the number of a colony of nests in +Thüringen on the estate of Baron von Berlepsch, which were those +of Fieldfares he had induced to come by trimming the trunks of +a long row of Black Poplar trees so as to afford good sites for the nests. +The present editor visited these in 1906. Some few instances are +on record of the Fieldfare breeding in this country, but these are +exceptional. In general they leave us in April and May, though +they have been observed as late as the beginning of June.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE BLACKBIRD<br /> +TURDUS MERULA</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>—plumage wholly black; bill and orbits of the eyes orange yellow; feet +black. <i>Female</i>—upper plumage sooty brown; throat pale brown with +darker spots; breast reddish brown passing into dark ash brown; bill +and legs dusky. Length ten inches; breadth sixteen inches. Eggs +greenish grey, spotted and speckled with light red brown.</div> + +<p>With his glossy coat and yellow beak the Blackbird is a handsomer +bird than the Thrush; his food is much the same: he builds +his nest in similar places; he is a great glutton when gooseberries +are ripe, and his rich mellow song is highly inspiriting. But he +is suspicious and wary; however hard pressed he may be by hunger, +you will rarely see him hunting for food in the open field. He +prefers the solitude and privacy of 'the bush'. In a furze-brake, +a coppice, a wooded water-course, or a thick hedge-row, he chooses +his feeding ground, and allows no sort of partnership. Approach +his haunt, and if he simply mistrusts you, he darts out flying +close to the ground, pursues his course some twenty yards and +dips again into the thicket, issuing most probably on the other +side, and ceasing not until he has placed what he considers a safe +distance between himself and his enemy. But with all his cunning +he fails in prudence; it is not in his nature to steal away silently. +If he only suspects that all is not right, he utters repeatedly a low +cluck, which seems to say, 'This is no place for me, I must be off'. +But if he is positively alarmed, his loud vociferous cry rings out +like a bell, informing all whom it may concern that 'danger is at +hand, and it behoves all who value their safety to fly'. Most +animals understand the cry in this sense, and catch the alarm. +Many a time has the deer-stalker been disappointed of a shot, who, +after traversing half a mile on his hands and knees between rocks +and shrubs, has just before the critical moment of action started +some ill-omened Blackbird. Out bursts the frantic alarum, heard +at a great distance; the intended victim catches the alarm, once +snuffs the air to discover in what direction the foe lies concealed, +and bounds to a place of security. A somewhat similar note, not, +however, indicative of terror, real or imagined, is uttered when the +bird is about to retire for the night, and this at all seasons of the +year. He would merit, therefore, the title of 'Bellman of the woods'. +Neither of these sounds is to be confounded with the true <i>song</i> of +the Blackbird. This is a full, melodious, joyful carol, many of the +notes being remarkable for their flute-like tone—'the whistling +of the Blackbird'—and varying greatly in their order of repetition; +though I am inclined to believe that most birds of this kind have +a favourite passage, which they repeat at intervals many times +during the same performance.</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">PLATES TO BLACKBIRD.</div> + +<ol> +<li>A nest and eggs.</li> +<li>The young just emerged from the egg and an egg (June 1).</li> +<li>The day after hatching (June 2).</li> +<li>Four days later (June 4).</li> +<li>Sixth day out (June 5).</li> +<li>Ninth day out.</li> +<li>Eleventh day out.</li> +<li>Fourteenth day out.</li> +</ol> + +<div class="blockquot">We would draw attention to the extraordinary size of the bird just out +as compared with the egg. On the sixth day the feather shafts with the +tips of the encased feathers sticking out of them are quite formed, although +two days earlier they were hardly more than indicated. On the ninth day +feathers nearly cover the whole of the skin—on the eleventh day they do this +completely. In No. 8 the bird was drawn after it had flown from the nest.</div> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="Plate_03"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_03.png" width="436" height="698" alt="Plate_03" title="Plate_03 Blackbirds Nest and Eggs Just Hatched. Day after through 14th day. face p. 8." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_04"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_04.png" width="422" height="697" alt="Plate_04" title="Plate_04. Stonechat [F] [M]; Whinchat; Black Redstart [F] [M]; and Redstart [M] [F]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p> + +<p>The song of the Blackbird does not meet the approbation of +bird-fanciers: 'It is not destitute of melody,' says Bechstein, +'but it is broken by noisy tones, and is agreeable only in the open +country'. The art of teaching the Blackbird is of old date, for we +find in Pepys' Diary, May 22, 1663, the following passage: +'Rendall, the house carpenter at Deptford, hath sent me a fine +Blackbird, which I went to see. He tells me he was offered twenty +shillings for him as he came along, he do so whistle. 23d. Waked +this morning between four and five by my Blackbird, which whistled +as well as ever I heard any; only it is the beginning of many tunes +very well, but then leaves them and goes no further.'</p> + +<p>The song of the Blackbird is occasionally heard during the mild +days of winter, but it is not until spring sets in that it can be said +to be in full, uninterrupted song. It then repairs to some thick +bush or hedge, especially at the corner of a pond, and builds its +nest, a bulky structure, the framework of which is composed of +twigs and roots; within is a thin layer of mud lined with small +fibrous roots, bents, and moss. The nest contains four or five +eggs, and the young birds are fed with worms. In the breeding +season Blackbirds are far more venturesome than at any other +time, as they frequently select a garden in which to build their +nest, with the double object, perhaps, of procuring plenty of worms +for their nestlings, and of launching them when fledged where +they will have great facilities for regaling themselves on summer +fruits. In such localities the appearance of a cat near their nest +greatly excites their wrath. From being timid they become +very courageous, scolding with all their might, darting down so +near as almost to dash in her face, and generally ending by compelling +her to beat a retreat.</p> + +<p>The female Blackbird differs materially from the male, its plumage +being of a dingy brown hue, the breast light and spotted, the beak +dark brown with yellowish edges. White and pied specimens of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> +both sexes are occasionally met with. In a district of France not +far from Paris they are very numerous, and here the title to a certain +estate used to be kept up by the annual presentation of a white +Blackbird to the lord of the manor. Large flocks from the Continent +visit us in the autumn and winter.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE RING OUZEL<br /> +TURDUS TORQUATUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Plumage black edged with greyish white; a large crescent-shaped pure white +spot on the throat; bill and legs dusky. <i>Female</i> with the gorget smaller +and tinged with red and grey, and the rest of the plumage greyer. Length +ten inches. Eggs greenish white, spotted with reddish brown and grey.</div> + +<p>Ring Ouzel is hardly an appropriate name for this bird; for in +reality it does not wear a ring round its neck, but a white gorget +on its breast, the contrast between which and its black plumage +is very striking. It frequents the mountainous parts of Scotland +and hilly parts of Derbyshire, and other wild parts where moors +and hills are. Though never so abundant as the Blackbird and +Thrush are in the plains, it is far from uncommon. It is a migratory +bird, arriving in this country in April, and returning to its southern +winter quarters—Corsica and other islands of the Mediterranean—early +in autumn; not so early, however, as to miss the vintage +season of the south of Europe. In summer it travels as far north +as Sweden and Norway, where, on the authority of Mr. Hewitson, it +is often seen 'enlivening the most bleak and desolate islands with its +sweet song. It shares with the Redwing the name of Nightingale, and +often delighted us in our midnight visits amongst the islands.' +Its habits and food while it remains with us are very similar to +those of the Blackbird, and its nest, generally built among stones +and bushes, near the ground, is constructed of the same materials +with the nest of that bird. Towards the end of their sojourn in +Britain, Ring Ouzels descend to the level countries, and are not unfrequently +met with in gardens, whither they repair for the sake of +feeding on fruit and berries. In form and movements the Ring Ouzel +is a more elegantly shaped bird than the Blackbird.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE WHEATEAR (STONE-SMATCH)<a name="FNanchor_1_2" id="FNanchor_1_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a><br /> +SAXÍCOLA ŒNANTHÉ</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts, in autumn reddish brown, in spring bluish grey; wings and wing-coverts, +centre and extremity of the tail, legs and feet, bill and area which +comprises the nostrils, eyes and ears, black; base and lower portion of +the side of the tail pure white; the chin, forehead, stripe over the eyes, +and under parts are also white, and in autumn the tail-feathers are also +tipped with white. <i>Female</i>—upper parts ash-brown, tinged with yellow; +stripe over the eyes dingy; all the colours less bright. Length six and a +half inches; breadth twelve inches. Eggs pale bluish green.</div> + +<p>During a considerable portion of its stay with us, open downs +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> +near the sea are the favourite resort of this lively bird, to which +it repairs from its transmarine winter quarters towards the second +week of March. Here it may be seen for several weeks flitting from +rock to rock, and occasionally soaring to the height of about twenty +yards into the air, warbling from time to time its pleasant song, +now aloft, and now restlessly perched on a rock, or bank, or low stone +wall, calling <i>chack-chack</i>—and making itself all the more welcome +that few others among our summer visitants have as yet recovered +their voices. We need not suppose that Wheatears prolong their stay +on the coast in order to rest after their voyage. More probably +they make marine insects (for these are abundant even in early +spring) the principal portion of their food, and are taught, by the +same instinct which guided them across the sea, to remain where +their wants will be fully supplied until land insects have emerged +from their winter quarters. As the season advances many of +them proceed inland, and repair to barren districts, whether mountainous +or lowland, where they may enjoy a considerable expanse +without any great admixture of trees. A wide common studded +with blocks of stone, a rabbit-warren or sloping upland, is likely +to be more or less thickly peopled by these shy birds. Shy we +term them, because, disposed as they are to be social among themselves +(especially in spring and autumn), they are with respect +to other birds most exclusive. Travelling through the waste lands +of England, one may sometimes go on for miles and see no winged +creatures but an occasional Wheatear, which, with dipping flight, +made conspicuous by the snow-white spot at the base of its tail, +shoots ahead of us some thirty or forty yards, alights on a stone, +and, after a few uneasy upward and downward movements of +its tail, starts off again to repeat the same manœuvre, until we +begin to wonder what tempts it to stray away so far from home. +It does not ordinarily sing during these excursions, but utters its +occasional note, very different from its spring song. It builds +its nest of grass, moss, and leaves, and lines it with hair or wool, +selecting some very secret spot on the ground, a deserted rabbit-burrow +or cavity under a rock, where, beyond the reach of any +but the most cunning marauder, it lays five or six eggs. Early in +August, when the young are fully fledged, the scattered colonies +of Wheatears assemble for emigration on open downs near the +sea. We have seen a good many of them on the sandy coast of +Norfolk and of North Hales; but it is on the extensive downs of +Sussex that they collect in the largest numbers, not in flocks, but +in parties of six or eight; each party perhaps constituting a family. +They here retain their shy habits of flying off at the approach of +a human being, and are often seen to drop suddenly, where they +may remain concealed from sight behind a stone, furze-bush or +bank. The shepherds and others, whose vocation lies on the +downs, used to take advantage of the habit of these birds to conceal +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> +themselves, and construct a multitude of simple but efficacious +traps in which they capture large numbers. The method which +they adopted was to cut out from the sward an oblong piece of +turf about the size of a brick, which they inverted over the hole +from which it was taken so as to form a cross. Beneath this are +placed two running nooses of horsehair, in which the poor bird, when +it takes refuge in one of the open ends of the hole for concealment, +is easily snared. The birds being in fine condition at this season—having, +in fact, fattened themselves previously to undertaking +their long sea voyage—are highly prized as a dainty article of +food. It was formerly the custom for persons who wanted a dish +of Wheatears to supply themselves from the traps, placing a penny +in every hole from which they took a bird; but afterwards the influx +of visitors to the neighbouring watering-places so much enhanced +their value, that the shepherds allowed no such interference. We +once tried the experiment of releasing a bird and depositing the +penny-piece in the trap, when, from a neighbouring eminence, we +were assailed with such a torrent of abuse, that we declined repeating +the experiment. In September, all who have escaped the +sportsman and fowler wing their way to southern lands. It is +thought that the autumnal flocks are partially composed of birds +on their way from high latitudes, which stop to recruit their strength +on the South-downs previous to final emigration.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_2" id="Footnote_1_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Stone-smatch in Yorkshire—from the Saxon, Steinschmätzer in German.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE WHINCHAT<br /> +PRATÍNCOLA RUBÉTRA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage dusky brown, edged with reddish yellow; over the eye a broad +white streak; throat and sides of the neck white; neck and breast bright +yellowish red; a large white spot on the wings and base of the tail; +extremity of the latter and the whole of the two central feathers dusky +brown; abdomen and flanks yellowish white. <i>Female</i>—yellowish white +wherever the <i>male</i> is pure white; the white spot on the wings smaller; +the red parts dingy. Length five inches; breadth nine inches. Eggs +bluish green, often minutely speckled with light brownish red.</div> + +<p>A great deal that we have said of the Stonechat, will apply equally +to the Whinchat, as the two birds much resemble each other in +character, size, and habits. There is this difference, however, +between them, that a considerable number of Stonechats remain +in Britain during the winter, whereas the Whinchats, almost to +a bird, leave our shores in the autumn. The latter is by no means +so common, and is rarely seen except in wild places where the shrub is +abundant from which it derives its name of Whinchat, or Furzechat. +For a small bird to have black legs is, it seems, considered in France +an indication of peculiar delicacy of flesh. Both of these birds, +therefore, notwithstanding their diminutive size, are much sought +after for the table. Both are of restless habits, delighting to perch +on the summit of a furze-bush, where they keep the tail in constant +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> +motion, occasionally spring into the air after an insect, and then +dart off with a dipping flight to another post of advantage. They +repeat the call of ü-<i>tick</i>! and their short and simple song, both +while at rest and on the wing; but they are not musical, and +'their flesh is generally more esteemed than their song.' The +Whinchat may be distinguished at a considerable distance by +the white streak over the eye. Both nest and eggs of the two species +are very similar.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE STONECHAT<br /> +PRATÍNCOLA RUBÍCOLA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, throat, bill and legs, black; sides of the neck near the wing, tertial +wing-coverts and rump, white; breast bright chestnut-red, shaded into +yellowish white towards the tail; feathers of the back, wings and tail, +black, with reddish brown edges. <i>Female</i>—feathers of the head and +upper parts dusky brown, edged with yellowish red; throat black, with +small whitish and reddish spots; less white in the wings and tail; the +red of the breast dull. Length five and a quarter inches; breadth eight +and a half inches. Eggs pale blue, the larger end often faintly speckled +with reddish brown.</div> + +<p>We can scarcely pass through a furze-brake during the spring +and summer months, without having the presence of the Stonechat +almost forced on our notice. I am acquainted with no small bird +whose habits are more marked, or more easily observed. Not +even does the Skylark build its nest more invariably on the ground, +and 'soaring sings, and singing soars', than does the Stonechat +build its nest in a furze-bush, and perch on the topmost twigs of +shrubs. In the breeding season, too, it seems not to wander far +from its home: we know therefore where a pair are to be found at +any time; and they allow us to approach so close to them, that we +can readily distinguish them by the tints of their plumage.</p> + +<p>The nest of the pair may be within a few yards of the spot +on which we are standing; but the exact locality no one knows, +nor is likely to know but itself. The male is a beautiful creature, +with a black head, red breast, and several patches of pure white +on its wings, the female much more sober in her attire. Their +purpose is evidently to distract our attention from their nest. +One is clinging to the top of a Juniper, where he fidgets about +uttering his <i>twit-click-click</i>, which you can easily imitate by whistling +once sharply and knocking two stones together twice in rapid +succession. The other is perched on the top spine of a furze-bush—they +are aspiring birds and must settle on the <i>top</i> of whatever +they alight on, be it only a dock. Now one dips down and is lost +for a few seconds, to appear again, however, directly on the summit +of another bush; now they are on our right hand, now on our +left; now before us, and then behind. Are they describing a +circle round their nest for a centre, or are they trying to trick us +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> +into the belief that they are better worth caring for than their +young ones, and may be caught if we will only be silly enough to +chase them? I do not know; but whatever their thoughts may +be, <i>we</i> certainly are in them, and as certainly they are not delighted +at our presence. We walk on, and suddenly they are gone; but +presently we encounter another pair of the same birds, who if +we loiter about will treat us in exactly the same way, but, if we +pass on steadily, will take little notice of us.</p> + +<p>We have little more to say of the Stonechat. It is not often +heard to sing; the reason probably being that, when listeners are +in the way, it is too anxious about its nest to be musical. Its +food is principally insects, which it often catches on the wing. +In winter (for they do not all leave us at this season) it feeds on +worms, etc. Its nest is remarkable more from its size and position +(usually in the centre of a furze-bush), than for neatness of structure. +It lays five eggs. Its name Rubícola denotes a dweller among +brambles, and is by no means inappropriate, as it rarely perches +on any bush exceeding a bramble in size. Its names Stonechat, +Stoneclink or Stonechatter, are evidently to be traced to the similarity +between its note of alarm and the striking together of two pebbles.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE REDSTART<br /> +RUTICILLA PHŒNICURA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Forehead white; throat black; head and upper part of the back bluish grey; +breast, tail-coverts and tail (except the two central feathers, which are +brown), bright rust-red; second primary equal to the sixth. <i>Female</i>—upper +parts grey, tinged with red; larger wing-coverts edged with +yellowish red; throat and abdomen whitish; breast, flanks, and under +tail-coverts, pale red. Length, five inches and a quarter. Eggs uniform +blue.</div> + +<p>Although of no great size this summer visitor is pretty sure to +attract attention by its peculiar colouring; its red tail and white +crown being sufficient to distinguish it from every other British +bird. It is familiar, too, in its habits, commonly resorting to gardens, +and searching for its favourite food, worms and insects, on the +lawn, and in orchards. It is local rather than rare, for while there +are some places to which it regularly resorts every year, there are +others in which it is never seen. Redstarts arrive in this country +about the end of April, and soon set about the work of building +their nest. This they generally place in a hole in a wall or hollow +of a tree, but sometimes by the mossy stump or amongst the exposed +roots of a tree. Occasionally they select a quaint domicile, a garden +pot, for example, left bottom upwards, or a sea-kale bed. A still +stranger instance is that of a pair of Redstarts, who, themselves or +their descendants, were for twenty years located in the box of a wooden +pump. On one occasion, the pump being out of order, the owner +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> +employed workmen to repair it. This proceeding offended the +birds, who deserted it for three years, and then, forgetting or forgiving +the intrusion, returned to their unquiet home. Another +pair constructed their nest for ten successive years in the interior +of an earthenware fountain placed in the middle of a garden. But +though not averse to the haunts of men, the Redstart shows much +anxiety when its nest is approached, flitting about restlessly and +uttering a plaintive cry. I happened once to be walking in a friend's +garden, and heard what I supposed to be the chirping of two birds +proceed from a large apple-tree close by. As the notes were not +familiar to me, I went round the tree several times in order to +discover whence they proceeded. One of the notes was like the +noise which may be made by striking two pebbles together, the +other a querulous chirp, and they seemed to come from different +parts of the tree. The author of the music, however, allowed +me several times to come very near him, and I satisfied myself +that both sounds proceeded from the same bird, a male Redstart, +whose nest, I afterwards heard, was built in an adjoining shed. +This singular power of ventriloquizing, or making its note +apparently proceed from a distant place, is possessed also by the +Nightingale, as any one may assure himself who will quietly creep +up to within a few yards of one of these birds when singing. +The song of the Redstart is short but pleasing, and it is +emitted both while the bird is at rest and on the wing, principally +in the morning, and only during two months of the year. +Its food consists of small worms and insects, which last it is +very expert at catching on the wing; and in summer, it regales +itself on the soft fruits. Its nest is composed of fibrous roots +and moss, and is lined with hair, wool and feathers. It lays +about six eggs, which closely resemble those of the Hedge-sparrow, +only that they are smaller. In autumn, the Redstarts +retire southwards. On the African shores of the Mediterranean +they are very abundant, and are caught by the Arabs in traps +of the simplest construction. On the continent of Europe, +notably in Italy, in spite of their diminutive size, they are +highly prized for food. The number of Redstarts (both kinds), +Redbreasts Flycatchers and Nightingales taken in traps is inconceivable. +These birds being of about the same size, and equally excellent +in delicacy of flesh, are sold together in all the market towns and +are sent to the great cities. Thousands of dozens are thus annually +despatched; but this number is as nothing compared with +that consumed on the spot. In France Bird Protection has done +much to stop this cruel traffic. In the schools there the boys +and girls are now being taught to know and to care for the wild +life about them more than in our English Council Schools.</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE BLACK REDSTART<br /> +RUTICILLA TITYS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage bluish grey; bill, cheeks, throat, and breast, black, passing +into bluish beneath; tail as in the last; greater wing-coverts edged with +pure white; second primary equal to the seventh. <i>Female</i>—upper +plumage duller; lower bright ash, passing into white; wings dusky, +edged with grey; red of the tail less bright. Length, five inches and +three quarters. Eggs pure shining white.</div> + +<p>A much less frequent visitor to this country than the preceding, +but by no means ranking among our rarest birds, specimens occurring +in the winter of every year in some part of England or another, +especially in Devon and Cornwall. Its habits are much the same +as those of its congener; but it generally chooses a loftier situation +for its nest, which is placed in the walls of buildings, at an elevation +varying from a few feet to eighty or ninety. Its plumage +differs in being much darker in the fore part of the body, while the +tail is of a brighter red. The eggs are white. It generally arrives +in England about the first week in November, and remains with us +all the winter. Its nest has never been found in this country.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE REDBREAST, OR ROBIN<br /> +ERÍTHACUS RUBÉCULA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts brownish grey tinged with olive; forehead, lore, and breast red, +the red edged with ash-grey; abdomen white. <i>Female</i> like the <i>male</i>, +except that the upper parts are ash-brown, the red less bright, and the +grey surrounding it less conspicuous. Length, five inches and three +quarters. Eggs yellowish white, spotted with light reddish brown.</div> + +<p>The Redbreast is everywhere invested with a kind of sanctity +beyond all other birds. Its wonted habit of making its appearance, +no one knows whence, to greet the resting traveller in places the +most lonely—its evident predilection for the society of the out-of-door +labourer, whatever his occupation—the constancy with which +it affects human habitations—and the readiness with which, without +coaxing, or taming, or training, it throws itself on human +hospitality—engender an idea that there must be some mysterious +connexion between the two—that if there were no men, there +would be no Redbreasts. Trust on one side engenders confidence +on the other, and mutual attachment is the natural result. There +is something, too, beyond the power of explanation in the fact +that the Robin is the only bird which frequents from choice the +homes of men.</p> + +<p>The habits of the Redbreast are so well known, that to describe +them would be simply to write down what every one has seen or +may see.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_05"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_05.png" width="428" height="692" alt="Plate_05" title="Plate_05. Wheatear [F] [M]; Nightingale; and Hedge-sparrow Robin. [p. 16." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_06"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_06.png" width="426" height="696" alt="Plate_06" title="Plate_06. Whitethroat [M] [M]; Garden Warbler [F]; Lesser Whitethroat [M]; Blackcap [M]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p> + +<p>It generally builds its nest in a hole, near the bottom of a hedge +or under the stump of a tree, in an ivy-clad wall, or amidst the +creepers trained round the veranda of a cottage. I have seen it +also placed in a niche in a wall intended for the reception of a vase, +in a bee-hive stored away on the rafters of an outhouse, and under +a wisp of straw accidentally left on the ground in a garden. It is +usually composed of dry leaves, roots, bents, and moss, lined with +hair and wool, and contains five or six eggs. The young birds are +of a brown tint, and have the feathers tipped with yellow, which +gives them a spotted appearance. Until they acquire the red breast, +they are very unlike the parents, and might be mistaken for young +Thrushes, except that they are much smaller. They may be often +observed in gardens for many days after they have left the nest, +keeping together, perching in the bushes, and clamorous for food, +which the old birds bring to them from time to time. It is said, +that only one brood is reared in a year, but this I am inclined +to doubt, having observed in the same locality families of young +birds early in the spring, and late in the summer of the same year. +Towards the end of August, the young birds acquire the distinctive +plumage of their species, and are solitary in their habits until the +succeeding spring. The call-notes of the Redbreast are numerous, +and vary beyond the power of description in written words; the song +is loud, and it is needless to say, pleasing, and possesses the charm +of being continued when all our other feathered songsters are mute. +The red of the breast often has a brighter tint, it is occasionally +almost a carmine red. The late Lord Lilford told the editor such +were often birds that had been bred on the Continent. Numbers +of young birds come across the sea to us each autumn.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE NIGHTINGALE<br /> +DAULIAS LUSCÍNIA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage russet brown; tail bright rust-red; under plumage buffish +white; flanks pale ash colour. Length six and a quarter inches; +breadth nine and a half inches. Eggs uniform olive-brown.</div> + +<p>The southern, eastern, and some of the midland counties of England, +enjoy a privilege which is denied to the northern and western—an +annual visit, namely, from the Nightingale. It is easy enough +to understand why a southern bird should bound its travels northwards +by a certain parallel, but why it should keep aloof from +Devon and Cornwall, the climate of which approaches more closely +to that of its favourite continental haunts than many of the districts +to which it unfailingly resorts, is not so clear. Several reasons +have been assigned—one, that cowslips do not grow in these counties; +this may be dismissed at once as purely fanciful; another +is, that the soil is too rocky; this is not founded on fact, for both +Devon and Cornwall abound in localities which would be to Nightingales +a perfect Paradise, if they would only come; a third is, that +the proper food is not to be found there: but this reason cannot +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> +be admitted until it is proved that the portions of the island to +which the Nightingale does resort abound in some kind of insect +food which is not to be found in the extreme southern counties, +and that the Nightingale, instead of being, as it is supposed, a +general insect-eater, confines itself to that one; and this is a view +of the question which no one has ventured to take. My own +theory—and I only throw it out for consideration—is that the Nightingale +is not found in these two counties on account of their +peculiar geographical position. The continental Nightingales are +observed to take their departure in autumn, either eastward through +Hungary, Dalmatia, Greece, and the islands of the Archipelago; +or southwards across the Straits of Gibraltar, but none by the broad +part of the Mediterranean. Hence we may infer that the bird +dislikes a long sea voyage, and that when in spring it migrates +northward and westward, it crosses the English Channel at the +narrowest parts only,<a name="FNanchor_1_3" id="FNanchor_1_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> spreads itself over the nearest counties in +the direction of its migration, but is instinctively prevented from +turning so far back again to the south as the south-west peninsula +of England. From Scotland it would be naturally excluded by +its northern position, and from Ireland by the Welsh mountains +and the broad sea.</p> + +<p>For the dwellers in these unfavoured districts alone is my description +of the Nightingale intended; for, where it abounds, its +habits are too well known to need any description. Twenty-four +hours of genial May weather spent in the country with a good use +of the eyes and ears, will reveal more of the life and habits of the +bird than is contained in all the ornithological treatises that have +been written on the subject, and they are not a few.</p> + +<p>No great amount of caution is necessary in approaching the +Nightingale while singing at night. One may walk unrestrainedly +across the fields, talking in an ordinary tone of voice, and not even +find it necessary to suppress conversation when close to a singing +bird. Either he is too intent on his occupation to detect the presence +of strangers, or he is aware of the security in which he is wrapped +by the shades of night, or he is actually proud of having listeners. +In the neighbourhood of my present residence in Hertfordshire, +Nightingales are numerous. They arrive about the seventeenth of +April, and for the first few days assemble year after year in the +bushes and hedges of a certain hillside, the position of which it would +be unsafe to indicate particularly, and taking their station two or three +hundred yards apart from each other, set up a rivalry of song which +is surpassingly beautiful. At this season, one may hear five or six +chanting at once; every break in the song of the nearest being filled +up by the pipings or wailings of the more distant ones. The male +birds arrive several days before the female, and employ the interval, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> +it is fancifully said, in contending for the prize in a musical contest. +This period is anxiously watched for by bird-catchers, who have +learnt by experience that birds entrapped before they have paired +will bear confinement in a cage, but that those captured after the +arrival of their mates pine to death. The Nightingale being a +fearless bird and of an inquisitive nature is easily snared; hence, +in the neighbourhood of cities, the earliest and therefore strongest +birds fall ready victims to the fowler's art.</p> + +<p>It must not be supposed that this bird sings by night only. Every +day and all day long, from his first arrival until the young are hatched +(when it becomes his duty to provide for his family), perched in a +hedge or on the branch of a tree, rarely at any considerable height +from the ground, he pours forth his roundelay, now, however, obscured +by the song of other birds. But not even by day is he shy, for he +will allow any quietly disposed person to approach near enough +to him to watch the movement of his bill and heaving chest. At +the approach of night he becomes silent, generally discontinuing +his song about an hour before the Thrush, and resuming it between +ten and eleven. It is a disputed point whether the Nightingale's +song should be considered joyous or melancholy. This must +always remain a question of taste. My own opinion is, that the +piteous wailing note which is its most characteristic nature, casts a +shade of sadness as it were over the whole song, even those portions +which gush with the most exuberant gladness. I think, too, though +my assertion may seem a barbarous one, that if the Nightingale's +song comprised the wailing notes alone, it would be universally +shunned as the most painfully melancholy sound in nature. From +this, however, it is redeemed by the rapid transition, just when the +anguish of the bird has arrived at such a pitch as to be no longer +supportable, to a passage overflowing with joy and gladness. In the +first or second week of June he ceases his song altogether. His +cataract of sweet sounds is exhausted, and his only remaining note +is a harsh croak exactly resembling that of a frog, or the subdued +note of a raven, <i>wate-wate</i> or <i>cur-cur</i>. On one occasion only I +have heard him in full song so late as the fourth week in June: +but this probably was a bird whose first nest had been destroyed, +and whose song consequently had been retarded until the hatching +of a second brood. From this time until the end of August, when +he migrates eastward, he may often be observed picking up grubs, +worms, and ants' eggs on the garden lawn, or under a hedge in +fields, hopping from place to place with an occasional shake of the +wings and raising of the tail, and conspicuous whenever he takes one +of his short flights by his chestnut brown tail-coverts.</p> + +<p>The Nightingale's nest is constructed of dead leaves, principally +of the oak, loosely put together and placed on the ground under +a bush. Internally it is lined with grass, roots, and a few hairs. +It contains four or five eggs of a uniform olive-brown.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_3" id="Footnote_1_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> This is the opinion of Gilbert White. +<br /> +<br /> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span></div> + +<div class="caption2"><span class="smcap">Sub-Family</span> ACCENTORINÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE HEDGE SPARROW<br /> +ACCENTOR MODULÁRIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown of the head ash colour, with brown streaks; sides of the neck, throat, +and breast, bluish grey; bill strong and broad at base; wing-coverts +and feathers on the back reddish brown, with a tawny spot in the centre; +middle wing-coverts tipped with yellowish white; lower tail-coverts +brown, with a whitish border; middle of abdomen white. Length five and +a half inches. Eggs greenish blue, without spots.</div> + +<p>Inveterate custom has so attached the name of Hedge Sparrow +to this bird, that in spite of all the efforts of ornithologists to convince +the world that it is no sparrow at all (a hard-beaked, grain-eating +bird), but a true warbler, it is still more frequently called by +its popular name than by any of those that have been suggested. +The gentle, innocent, confiding, little brown bird, which creeps +like a mouse through our garden flower-beds, picks up a meagre +fare in our roads and lanes, builds its nest in our thorn hedges, and +though dingy itself, lays such brilliant blue eggs, has been known +to us from our infancy as a 'Hedge Sparrow', and we decline +any innovation: the name is a time-honoured one, and no one +will mistake us. Hedge Accentor, Hedge Warbler, and Shuffle-wing, +are names open to those who prefer them, but we adhere +to the old-fashioned designation of Hedge Sparrow. This bird +is a genuine Warbler, and one of the few belonging to the +tribe who remain with us all the winter; we should suppose, +indeed, that he never wandered far from the place of his birth. +At all seasons his habits and food appear to be the same. All +day long he is shuffling about on the ground picking up minute +atoms, whether seeds or insects, who knows? Every day, nearly +all the year round, he repairs at intervals to the nearest hedge, +where he sings a song, soft and gentle like himself; and every evening, +when the Blackbird rings his curfew bell, he fails not to respond +with his drowsy <i>cheep</i>, <i>cheep</i>, as he repairs to the bush he has +selected for his night's rest. Very early in spring, before his brother +warblers have arrived from the south, he has chosen his mate, +built his snug nest, and too probably commenced a second; for +unsuspicious in nature, he does not retire to solitary places for this +purpose, and the leafless hedges but ill conceal his labours from the +peering eyes of all-destroying ploughboys. Such are nearly all his +"short and simple annals". He quarrels with no one, he achieves +no distinction, throwing no one into ecstasies with his song, and stealing +no one's fruit; unobtrusive and innocent, he claims no notice, +and dreads no resentment; and so, through all the even tenor of +his way, he is, without knowing it, the favourite of children, and +of all the good and gentle.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2"><span class="smcap">Sub-Family</span> SYLVIINÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE WHITETHROAT<br /> +SYLVIA CINÉREA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head ash-grey; rest of the upper parts grey, tinged with rust colour; wings +dusky, the coverts edged with red; lower parts white, faintly tinged on +the breast with rose colour; tail dark brown, the outer feather white at +the tip and on the outer web, the next only tipped with white. <i>Female</i> +without the rose tint on the breast, but with the upper plumage more +decidedly tinged with red; feet brown. Length five inches and a half; +breadth eight and a half. Eggs greenish white, thickly spotted with +reddish and greenish brown. Young, leaving nest, differ very little from +adult birds.</div> + +<p>The Whitethroat is in England the most common of all the migratory +warblers, and is generally diffused. It is essentially a hedge-bird, +neither taking long flights nor resorting to lofty trees. Early in +May it may be detected in a hawthorn or other thick bush, hopping +from twig to twig with untiring restlessness, frequently descending +to the ground, but never making any stay, and all the while incessantly +babbling with a somewhat harsh but not unpleasant song, +composed of numerous rapid and short notes, which have but +little either of variety or compass. Occasionally it takes a short +flight along the hedge, generally on the side farthest from the +spectator, and proceeds to another bush a few yards on, where it +either repeats the same movements, or perches on a high twig for +a few seconds. From time to time it rises into the air, performing +curious antics and singing all the while. Its short flight completed, +it descends to the same or an adjoining twig; and so it seems to +spend its days. From its habit of creeping through the lower parts +of hedges, it has received the popular name of 'Nettle-creeper'. +From the grey tone of its plumage, it is in some districts of France +called '<i>Grisette</i>', and in others, from its continuous song, '<i>Babillarde</i>', +names, however, which are popularly applied without distinction +to this species and the next. While singing it keeps the feathers +of its head erected, resembling in this respect the Blackcap and +several of the other warblers. Though not naturally a nocturnal +musician, it does not, like most other birds, when disturbed at +night, quietly steal away to another place of shelter, but bursts +into repeated snatches of song, into which there seems to be infused +a spice of anger against the intruder.<a name="FNanchor_1_4" id="FNanchor_1_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> Its food consists of insects +of various kinds; but when the smaller fruits begin to ripen, it +repairs with its young brood to our gardens, and makes no small +havoc among raspberries, currants, and cherries. It constructs +its nest among brambles and nettles, raised from two to three feet +from the ground, of bents and the dry stems of herbs, mixed with +cobweb, cotton from the willow, bits of wool, and horsehair. It +usually lays five eggs.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_4" id="Footnote_1_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> This night song is rarely heard except in the months of May and June. +<br /> +<br /> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></div> + +<div class="caption3">THE LESSER WHITETHROAT<br /> +SYLVIA CURRÚCA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head and lore dark ash-grey; rest of the upper parts greyish ash, tinged +with brown; wings brown, edged with ash-grey; tail dusky, outer +feather as in the last, the two next tipped with white; lower parts pure +silvery white; feet deep lead colour. Length five inches and a quarter. +Eggs greenish white, spotted and speckled, especially at the larger end, +with ash and brown.</div> + +<p>Gilbert White in his charming history says, "A rare, and I think +a new little bird frequents my garden, which I have very great +reason to think is the Pettichaps; it is common in some parts of +the kingdom; and I have received formerly dead specimens from +Gibraltar. This bird much resembles the Whitethroat, but has a +more white, or rather silvery breast and belly; is restless and active, +like the Willow-wrens, and hops from bough to bough, examining +every part for food; it also runs up the stems of the crown-imperials, +and, putting its head into the bells of those flowers, sips the +liquor which stands in the nectarium of each petal. Sometimes +it feeds on the ground like the Hedge-Sparrow, by hopping about +on the grass plots and mown walks." The little bird of which the +amiable naturalist gives so interesting a description, was, there is +little doubt, that which is now called the Lesser Whitethroat, +then a 'new bird', inasmuch as it had not been made a distinct +species, and necessarily a 'rare bird', not because a few only visited +Britain, but because, until his time set the example, competent +observers of birds were rare. It differs externally from the preceding, +in its smaller size, and the darker colour of its beak, upper +plumage, and feet, and resembles it closely in its habits, though I +have never observed that it indulges in the eccentric perpendicular +flights, which have gained for its congener, the Greater Whitethroat, +the quaint sobriquet of 'singing skyrocket.' It feeds, too, on +insects, and is not found wanting when raspberries and cherries +are ripe. But no matter what number of these it consumes, it +ought with its companions to be welcomed by the gardener as one +of his most valuable friends. For it should be borne in mind, that +these birds, by consuming a portion of a crop of ripe fruit, do not +at all injure the trees, but that the countless aphides and caterpillars +which they devoured at an earlier period of the year, would, +if they had been allowed to remain, have feasted on the leaves and +young shoots, and so not only have imperilled the coming crop, +but damaged the tree so materially as to impair its fertility for some +time to come. Those birds, therefore, which in spring feed on insects +and nourish their young on the same diet, may be considered as +necessary to protect from injury the trees which are destined to +supply them with support when insect food becomes scarce. Consider +what would be the result if the proper food of birds were +leaves, or if insects were permitted to devour the foliage unchecked! +our woods would be leafless, our gardens would become deserts. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE GARDEN WARBLER<br /> +SYLVIA HORTENSIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts greyish brown, slightly tinged with olive; orbits white; below +the ear a patch of ash-grey; throat dull white; breast and flanks grey, +tinged with rust colour; rest of the under parts dull white. Length five +inches and three-quarters; breadth eight and a half. Eggs greenish +white, speckled with two shades of greenish brown.</div> + +<p>Though tolerably well dispersed throughout England, this bird +is by no means so abundant as the Blackcap, which it resembles +in size and habits, but it arrives later, coming early in May. It +is very local. Its song is little if at all inferior to that of the bird +just named, and it is far from improbable that some of the sweet +strains for which the Blackcap gets credit, particularly late in the +summer, may be produced by the Garden Warbler; I have heard its +song so late as the fifth of October. By some authors it is called the +Greater Pettychaps, by others the <i>Fauvette</i>, which latter name is +by some French ornithologists applied to the group containing this +bird and several allied species. Its nest and eggs are so like those +of the Blackcap as to be discriminated with difficulty.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE BLACKCAP<br /> +SYLVIA ATRICAPILLA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Top and back of the head black, in the <i>female</i> chocolate colour; upper parts, +wings, and tail ash-grey, slightly tinged with olive; neck light grey +passing into greyish white; bill and feet black. Length five inches and +a half; breadth eight and a half. Eggs pale greenish white, variously +mottled with several shades of brown; sometimes pinkish, mottled with +light purple, and speckled with dark purple.</div> + +<p>Whatever difference of opinion there may be as to the character +of the Nightingale's song—whether it partakes more of joyousness +or of melancholy—the gladsomeness of the Blackcap's warble is +beyond all dispute. Conceding to the Nightingale the first place +among the warblers which visit England, we do not hesitate to +claim the second for the Blackcap. Its song is inferior in power +and compass to that of the bird of night, but there is about it a +delicious eloquence which makes it irresistibly charming. White +of Selborne describes it as "full, sweet, deep, loud and wild"; high +but not unmerited praise. If there are no vocal efforts to astonish, +there are no piteous wailings to distress, and though the bird retires +to rest at a reasonable hour, it continues its song until a late period +of the season, long after that of the Nightingale has degenerated +to a croak. It has been compared to that of the Redbreast, but +it is more mellow and flute-like; to that of the Thrush, but it is +softer and of more compass; to that of the Lark, but it is more +varied. A practised ear will confound it with neither of these, though, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> +strange to say, many persons who have lived all their lives in the +country and who take much interest in its pleasant sights and +sounds, habitually confound it with the song of one or other of +these birds, not knowing to whom they are indebted for one of the +principal charms of their gardens. The Blackcap, like several +other of the migratory warblers, returns again and again to its old +haunts. For six successive years it has been known to build its +nest in a bramble which hung down from a rock in a public garden; +and for even a longer period my own garden has been annually +visited by a pair who, from unfailingly resorting to the same bushes, +must, I have little doubt, be the same pair, though I cannot say +that I have found or even searched for their nest. On its first +arrival in April, the Blackcap is in the habit of what bird-fanciers +call 'recording'—that is, practising over its song in a low tone. +During this season of rehearsal it does not care to be seen, but +hides away in a thick bush. It is nevertheless by no means shy +of being heard, as it will allow the listener to approach within a few +yards of its hiding-place without stopping its song, and if disturbed +will remove to a very little distance and recommence. After a few +days it acquires its full powers of voice.</p> + +<p>Its song is now remarkable among the full choir for sweetness, +loudness, and long continuance. Its food at this time consists of +aphides, caterpillars, and other small insects which infest roses +and fruit-trees; it rarely captures flies on the wing or descends +to feed on the ground. In June it begins to sing shorter strains, +but with no diminished power. It may then be observed flying +from branch to branch of an apple-tree, resting for a few seconds +only in the same spot, and busily occupied in collecting grubs or +aphides, then indulging in a short strain. In July, when the raspberries +ripen, the Blackcap becomes chary of its song, and introduces +its young brood to the choicest and juiciest fruit; in their attentions +to which both old and young birds are exceedingly pertinacious, +holding scarecrows in extreme contempt, and heeding clapping +of hands or the discharge of a gun as little. The young of the first +year resemble the adult female in having a chocolate-coloured crown. +The song of the Blackcap may be heard occasionally late in the +summer; in September or October both old and young take their +departure, and the Redbreast is left without a rival to assert his +superiority as a warbler, until the return of spring. The nest is +usually placed in a hedge or low bush, a few feet from the ground, +and is constructed of bents, and lined with fibrous roots and hair. +The male bird assists the female in performing the office of incubation, +and is said to relieve the monotony of his occupation by singing, +thus often betraying a well-concealed nest. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE DARTFORD WARBLER<br /> +SYLVIA UNDATA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts blackish brown; under, purplish red; middle of the abdomen +white; tail long, dark brown, the outer feather tipped with white; +wings very short; quills ash-grey on the inner web, dark brown on the +outer; feet yellowish; bill yellowish white, with a black tip. Length +five inches and a half. Eggs greenish white, speckled all over, and +especially at the larger end, with brown and ash-grey.</div> + +<p>This species received its name from having been first shot on Bexley +Heath, near Dartford in 1773. It has since been observed on +furzy commons in several of the southern and western counties, +but is local and nowhere abundant. In its habits it resembles +the Stone and Furze Chats, perching on the upper sprays of the +furze and whitehorn, but never still for a minute, throwing itself into +various attitudes, erecting its crest and tail at intervals, frequently +rising into the air with most fantastic movements, catching +insects on the wing, and either returning to the same twig, or making +a short flight to some other convenient bush. The syllables +'<i>cha cha cha</i>' are several times repeated when the bird is irritated. +Its note is commonly <i>Pitchou</i>, hence its French name. It keeps +quite aloof from human habitations, and is so timid that on the +approach of an observer, it creeps into a bush, and remains concealed +until the danger is past. The nest of goose grass and soft +bits of furze, wool and moss is placed in the fork of a furze-bush +selected for its thickness and difficulty of access. It is somewhat +wandering, but may be called a resident in the South, gradually +extending northwards. Many specimens have been observed in +mid-winter, and Rennie states that he has seen one as early as the +end of February hovering over furze and singing like a Whitethroat.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE REED WARBLER<br /> +ACROCÉPHALUS STRÉPERUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts of a uniform reddish brown, without spots; wing-feathers brown, +edged with olive; a white streak between (not over) the eye and bill; +throat white; under plumage yellowish white, the sides tinged with +reddish; tail long, rounded. Length five and a half inches; breadth +seven and a half. Eggs dull greenish white, speckled with olive and +light brown, especially towards the larger end.</div> + +<p>Both the Sedge and the Reed warblers are <i>jaseuses</i>, or chatterers, with +rounded tails; but the Sedge Warbler has its upper plumage +spotted with dark brown, and a white line above its eye, while +the upper plumage of the Reed Warbler is of a uniform pale brown, +and the light mark is absent from above the eye. The haunts and +habits of the two birds are precisely similar, but the Reed Warbler +is by far the less common of the two; for while the Sedge Warbler +is sure to be found wherever the Reed Warbler has been observed, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> +the converse by no means follows. The parts of England in which +it appears to be most frequent, are East Riding of Yorkshire, Essex, +Surrey, Kent, Suffolk, and Norfolk. In the reed-beds on the banks +of the Thames, between Erith and Greenwich, it is common.</p> + +<p>"The nest of the Reed Warbler is often elegantly built, and +generally fixed to three or four reed-stems. It is composed of +slender blades of grass, interwoven with reed-tops, dry duckweed, +and the spongy substance which covers many of the marsh ditches; +and, here and there, a long piece of sedge is wound securely around +it; the lining is of the finer flowering stems of grass, intermixed +with a little horsehair. It is a deep and solid structure, so that +the eggs cannot easily roll out; it is firmly fastened to the reeds +in tidal ditches and rivers, at the height of three or four feet from +the water, but in still ditches often not more than a foot. In windy +weather, when wading through the reed-beds, I have seen nests, +with both old and young in them, blown nearly to the surface of +the water; but the birds fix their claws firmly to the sides of the +nest, with their heads to windward, and thus ride as securely in +their cradle as a sailor does in his cot or hammock."<a name="FNanchor_1_5" id="FNanchor_1_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> The Cuckoo +occasionally chooses the Reed Warbler's nest to lay its eggs in, for +the same writer remarks—"At the latter end of July, 1829, while +reading in my garden, which adjoins a market garden, I was agreeably +surprised to see a young Cuckoo, nearly full-grown, alight on +the railings between the two, not more than a dozen yards from +where I was sitting. Anxious to see what bird had reared this +Cuckoo, I silently watched his movements, and had not waited +more than a minute, when a Reed Warbler flew to the Cuckoo, +who, crouching down with his breast close to the rail, and fluttering +his wings, opened wide his orange-coloured mouth to receive the +insect his foster-mother had brought him. This done, the Reed +Warbler flew away for a fresh supply of food. The difference in +the size of the two birds was great; it was like a pigmy feeding +a giant. While the Reed Warbler was absent, the Cuckoo shuffled +along the rail, and hopped upon a slender post to which it was +nailed, and which projected about eight inches above the rail. +The Reed Warbler soon returned with more food, and alighted +close to the Cuckoo, but on the rail beneath him; she then began +to stretch herself to the utmost to give him the food, but was unable +to reach the Cuckoo's mouth, who, like a simpleton, threw his head +back, with his mouth wide open, as before. The Reed Warbler, +by no means at a loss, perched upon the Cuckoo's broad back, +who, still holding back his head, received in this singular way the +morsel brought for him." The song of the Reed Warbler is +loudest and at its best during the evening twilight.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_5" id="Footnote_1_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Mr. W. H. Thomas, in the <i>Zoologist</i>, p. 97. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span></div> + +<div class="caption3">MARSH WARBLER<br /> +ACROCÉPHALUS PALUSTRIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts olive-green without any reddish tinge; legs and feet pale brown.</div> + +<p>The Marsh Warbler is local in its occurrence, in the south of England. +It nests in drier places than the Reed Warbler and its song is different, +being much more melodious, and uttered more boldly. Close +to low bushes, or among meadow-sweet, nettles and cow-parsnip, +you may find its nest, which is made of fine rounded stalks of grass +and lined with horsehair. There are five to seven eggs, whiter +in ground colour than those of the Reed Warbler. The Marsh +Warbler comes each spring to the neighbourhood of Taunton, but +it is still a somewhat rare species.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE SEDGE WARBLER<br /> +ACROCÉPHALUS PHRAGMÍTIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage olive-grey, the centre of each feather tinged with brown; +above the eyes a broad yellowish white stripe; under, yellowish white, +more or less tinged with red; throat white; tail rounded, of moderate +length, of a uniform ash-brown. Length four and a half inches; breadth +seven and a half. Eggs dirty white, mottled all over with dull yellowish +brown.</div> + +<p>On the banks of reedy and bushy rivers, in marshes, withy holts, +wherever, in fact, there is fresh water associated with enough +vegetation to shelter and conceal, this bustling little bird is a constant +summer visitor; restless in its habits, and courting notice +by its twittering song, from the time of its arrival to that of its +departure. It is usually first detected by its rapidly repeated note, +which it utters while performing its short flights from bush to +bush, and while creeping in and out among reeds and rushes. The +fisherman knows it well, and is often tempted to withdraw his eye +from his fly or float, to watch its movements on the opposite bank. +From its unceasing babble, ploughboys call it a 'chat', a name +which exactly answers to the French name of the group to which +it belongs—'<i>Jaseuses</i>'. Its note is remarkable neither for volume +nor sweetness, and, like that of unfeathered chatterers, seems to +carry more noise than meaning. To a certain extent the bird is +a mimic, as it imitates such notes of other birds as are within the +compass of its little throat. I was walking one morning in May +by the banks of a canal not far from a village, when I remarked +the exact resemblance between a portion of its song and the chirrup +of a House Sparrow. Intermixed with this, I detected the note +of some other bird; but, familiar though it sounded, I ransacked +my memory in vain to discover from whom it was purloined. +Pursuing my walk towards the houses, I heard the note of some +Guinea-fowls; not the 'come-back' cry, but the 'click-click' +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> +which every one knows so well. Of this the Sedge Warbler had +caught exactly both the key and the time; the two notes were in fact +identical, except that they were performed on instruments of different +calibre. Like other chatterers, who, when they have finished their +song, are easily provoked to begin again, the Sedge Warbler, if he +does occasionally retire to a bed of reeds and there holds his peace, +may be excited to repeat his whole story over again, with variations +and additions, by flinging a stone into his breathing-place. And +not content with babbling all day, he extends his loquacity far +into the night; hence he has been called the Sedge Nightingale, +but with doubtful propriety, for, with all the will perhaps to vie +with that prince of songsters, the <i>zinzinare</i> of the Nightingale is +far beyond his powers. Yet in spite of his obtrusiveness, he is an +amusing and a pleasant companion to the wanderer by the river's +side: his rivalry is devoid of malice, and his mimicry gives no one +pain. While at rest—if he is ever to be detected in this state—he +may be distinguished from all other birds frequenting similar haunts +by his rounded tail, and a light narrow mark over each eye. His +food consists of worms, insects, and fresh-water mollusks, for which +he hunts among the stems of aquatic plants. As an architect, he +displays great skill, constructing his nest among low bushes, never +at any great distance from the water, about a foot from the ground. +It is composed of stems and leaves of dead grass, moss and fine +roots, and lined with hair, wool, feathers, and the down of various +marsh plants. The structure is large, compact, and deep, suspended +from, rather than built on, its supports. The eggs are usually five +or six in number, though as many as seven have been sometimes +found.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER<br /> +LOCUSTELLA NÆVIA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts light brown, with a tinge of green, and presenting a spotted +appearance, owing to the centres of the feathers being darkest; tail long, +rounded at the extremity and tapering towards the base; under parts +whitish brown, the breast marked with darker spots; feet and toes light +brown. Length five and a half inches; breadth seven and a half. Eggs +reddish white, closely speckled with darker red.</div> + +<p>As long ago as the time when a stroll of five-and-twenty miles +fatigued me less than a journey of ten does now—when I returned +from my botanical rambles with tin boxes, hands and pockets, +laden with stores of flowers, ferns, and mosses, my homeward path +often led me through a certain valley and wood on the skirts of +Dartmoor, known by the names of Bickleigh Vale and Fancy +Wood. It often happened that twilight was fading into gloom +when I reached this stage in my wanderings—the last of the evening +songsters had hushed its note; for this county, beautiful as it +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> +is, offers not sufficient attraction to the Nightingale; yet I never +passed this way under such circumstances without feeling myself +compelled to stop once and again to listen to the monotonous whir +of what I had been told, and what I believed to be the note of the +large green grasshopper, or locust. Monotonous is, perhaps, not +the right word to use, for an acute ear can detect in the long unmusical +jar a cadence descending sometimes a semitone, and occasionally +almost a whole note; and it seemed besides to increase in +loudness for a few seconds and then to subside a little below the +ordinary pitch; this fall is chiefly at the breeding season. Whether +the difference was produced by a rising and lulling of the breeze, +or whether the musician actually altered its note and intensity of +noise (or must I call it music?), I could never decide. As long as +I fancied the performer to be an insect, I was inclined to believe +that one of the first suppositions was correct; for it seemed hardly +possible that the purely mechanical action of an insect's thighs +against its body could produce variety of sound—as well expect +varied intonations from a mill-wheel or saw-pit. Attentive +observation, and the knowledge that the noise in question proceeded +not from the exterior of an insect, but from the throat of a bird, +has led me to form another conclusion. I am not surprised at my +having fallen into the error; for the song of this bird is but an +exaggeration of the grasshopper's note, and resembles the noise +produced by pulling out the line from the winch of a fishing-rod, +no less continuous is it, nor more melodious. Many years afterwards, +when the memory of these pleasant wanderings had faded +away, I happened one evening in May to be passing across a common +in Hertfordshire, skirted by a hedge of brushwood, when the +old familiar sound fell on my ear like a forgotten nursery melody. +The trees not being in their full foliage, I was not without hope +that I might be able to get a sight of the performer, whom I now +knew to be a bird, and I crept quietly towards the spot whence +the noise proceeded. Had it been singing in a copse-wood instead +of a hedge, I should certainly have failed, for there is the same +peculiarity about its note that there is about that of the insect—you +cannot make up your mind exactly whereabouts the instrument +which makes the noise is at work. The note, when near, is continuous, +monotonous, and of equal loudness throughout; it might +be a minute spinning-wheel revolving rapidly, or a straw pipe with +a pea in it blown with a single breath and then suddenly stopping. +But whether the performance is going on exactly before you, a +little to the right, or a little to the left, it is hard to decide. I +approached to within a few yards of the hedge, and peered through +the hazel rods, now decorated with drooping tufts of plaited leaves, +but all in vain. I went a step or two nearer; the sound ceased, +and the movement of a twig directed my attention towards a particular +bush, on which I saw a little bird, about as big as a Hedge +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> +Sparrow, quietly and cautiously dropping branch by branch to +the ground. In a few minutes I observed it again a few yards off, +creeping with a movement resembling that of the Nuthatch up +another bush. Having reached to nearly the summit it became +motionless, stretched out its neck, and keeping its mandibles +continuously open and slightly elevated, commenced its trill again; +then it shuffled about for some seconds and repeated the strain. +It now seemed to descry me, and dropping to the ground as before, +reappeared a few yards off. I fancied that while actually singing +its feathers were ruffled; but in the imperfect twilight I could +not decide positively. That it kept its mandibles motionless while +singing, I had no doubt. Half an hour afterwards, at a quarter +to eight, I returned from my walk, and observed it several times +go through precisely the same manœuvres. On no occasion did +it make a long flight, but even when I scared it by throwing a stone +into the hedge near it, it merely dropped to the ground, and in a +minute or two was piping from another bush. I have not found, +as some authors say, that it resorts only to the vicinity of watery +places. The one which I saw on this occasion had located itself +for the summer several miles from a stream; and others which +I have heard night after night had settled down on the skirts of a +dry common, watered only by the clouds. Its nest I have sought for +in vain.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE CHIFF-CHAFF<br /> +PHYLLOSCOPUS RUFUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts olive-green tinged with yellow; above the eyes a narrow, faint, +yellowish, white streak; under parts yellowish white; feathers of the leg +dirty white; second primary equal to the seventh; third, fourth, fifth, +and sixth with the outer web sloped off at the extremity; under wing-coverts +primrose-yellow; feet slender; legs nearly black. Length four +inches and a half; breadth seven and a quarter. Eggs white, sparingly +spotted with dark purple.</div> + +<p>Whatever question there may be whether the name of Willow-warbler +be appropriately applied to the last species, there can +be no doubt that the Chiff-chaff is well named. Let any one be +asked in the month of May to walk into a wood and to hold up his +hand when he heard a bird call itself by its own name, 'Chiff-chaff', +he could not possibly fall into an error. The bird is so common +that it would be difficult to walk a mile in a woodland district +without passing near one or more, and having little to say, it seems +never weary of repeating its tale, 'Chiff, chaff, cheff, chiff, chaff': +the syllables have a harsh sound pronounced by human lips, +but when chanted in the silvery notes of a little bird, in the season +of primroses and wild hyacinths, and accompanied by the warble +of the Hay-bird, the full song of the Thrush, and the whistle of the +Blackbird, they contribute not a little to the harmony of the woods.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_07"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_07.png" width="401" height="690" alt="Plate_07" title="Plate_07. Wood Warbler [M]; Willow Warbler [F]; Grasshopper Warbler; Chiff Chaff [M]. [p. 30." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_08"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_08.png" width="409" height="678" alt="Plate_08" title="Plate_08. Reed Warbler; Marsh Warbler; Sedge Warbler [M]; and Dartford Warbler [F] [M]" /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p> + +<p>For two successive years a little yellowish bird, scarcely bigger +than a wren, has established himself in my garden about the middle +of April, and sedulously devoted himself to clearing away the +aphides which infested some China roses trained against the walls +of my house. Occasionally he would flutter against the windows, +and give his attention to the spiders and gnats which nestled in +the corners of the panes. The first year I took him for a Hay-bird, +but, only too grateful for his kind offices, I was careful not to molest +him. When, however, he appeared a second year, exactly at the +same season, and performed a series of manœuvres so precisely +similar that it was impossible to doubt that the bird was not +merely of the same species, but the same individual, I watched +him more closely. The dark colour of his feet, as observed from +within the house, as he was fluttering against the glass, decided +the point that he was not a Hay-bird, and when he retired to an +apple-tree hard by and treated himself to a song after his repast, +no doubt remained that he was a Chiff-chaff. It is not often that +the Chiff-chaff is thus familiar in its habits. More frequently +it makes its abode in woods and groves, resembling the Hay-bird +so closely in size, colour and habits, that to distinguish the +two is very difficult. The difference of note, however, is decisive; +and the colour of the feet (when the bird is near enough to admit +of being thus distinguished) is another certain criterion. The two +birds frequent the same trees without rivalry or jealousy. The +Chiff-chaff is the earliest of our spring visitors, arriving the middle +of March, and it sings all through the summer; I have heard it as +late as the thirtieth of September. The nests, popularly called +'wood-ovens', are alike and placed in similar situations; their eggs are +of the same size and shape, but those of the Chiff-chaff are spotted +with very dark purple instead of rust colour. A few occasionally +remain with us all the year, feeding on winter gnats and the pupæ +of small insects, but remaining wholly silent. Other names by +which it is known are 'Chip-chop' and Lesser Pettichaps.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE WILLOW-WARBLER<br /> +PHYLLOSCOPUS TRÓCHILUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts bright olive-green; a narrow streak of yellow over the eye; under +parts yellowish white, palest in the middle; feathers of the leg yellow; +second primary equal to the sixth; third, fourth, and fifth with the outer +web sloped off at the extremity; feet stoutish; legs light brown. Length +nearly five inches; breadth eight. Eggs white, more or less speckled +with rust colour.</div> + +<p>There seems to be no sufficient reason why this bird should be +named Willow-warbler or Willow-wren, as it shows no special +preference for willows, nor does it frequent watery places. The +popular name, 'Hay-bird', is, I think, the better of the two; for, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> +except in the extreme west of England, wherever there are hayfields +and trees these birds are to be found; they build their nests +principally of hay, and very frequently place it in the border of +a hay-field. But, by whatever name it is known, it is a cheerful +and active little bird, to which our woods and groves are much +indebted for their melody. It is abundant and generally diffused, +arriving in England early in April, and remaining until the middle +of September. During the greater part of this period, it may be seen +fluttering about the tops of trees, hunting the twigs and leaves for +insects, and occasionally catching flies on the wing. It often, too, +descends to the ground, and picks up insects among the herbage. +I have never heard it sing on the ground; but while employing +itself aloft, it rarely allows more than a few minutes to elapse +without going through its short and sweet song. This, though +very agreeable, possesses no great variety, and is composed of +about twenty or thirty notes, the latter ones of which are repeated +rapidly, and form a natural cadence. For many years this pleasant +little melody, or the simpler song of the Chiff-chaff, has been +the first sound I have heard to announce the arrival of the summer +birds of passage; perhaps it is on this account that it is with +me, at all seasons, a favourite rural sound.</p> + +<p>Ornithologists seem well agreed that the Willow-warbler's +food consists entirely of insects. This may be so, but I am much +mistaken if a brood of this species annually hatched in a bank +of furze adjoining my garden, do not, in conjunction with Blackcaps +and Whitethroats, pay daily visits to a certain row of red raspberries +in my garden. It may be that they come only in quest +of aphides, but I have certainly seen them in dangerous proximity +to clusters of the ripest fruit, which, when they were scared +away, bore evident marks of having been pecked by birds. The +nest of the Hay-bird resembles that of the Wood-warbler, but +it is lined with feathers. The eggs are usually from five to seven, +and of the same size and shape, but the spots are rust-coloured and +limited in number.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE WOOD-WREN<br /> +PHYLLOSCOPUS SIBILÁTRIX</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage bright yellowish green; a broad streak of sulphur-yellow over +the eye; sides of the head, throat, insertion of the wings and legs bright +yellow; rest of the under plumage pure white; second primary equal +to the fourth, third and fourth with the outer web sloped off at the +extremity; legs pale brown. Length five inches and a half; breadth +eight and three quarters. Eggs white, speckled so thickly with purplish +brown as almost to conceal the ground.</div> + +<p>The Wood-warbler, Willow-warbler, and Chiff-chaff resemble +each other so closely in size, colour, and habits, that except by + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> +a practised observer, they are likely to be mistaken for one another. +In song, however, they differ materially, and as this is begun early, +and continued till very late in the season, it affords ready means +of discriminating the species. The Wood-warbler, or Wood-wren +as it is now called, arrives in England towards the end of April, +and betakes itself to woodland districts, where it spends the greater +portion of its time among the upper branches of lofty trees, constantly +moving from place to place with rapid irregular flight, and frequently +repeating its short and peculiar song. It feeds exclusively +on insects, which it occasionally catches on the wing. Its song is +difficult to describe. The name by which it is popularly known +in some parts of France, <i>Touïte</i>, is derived from the syllable +'<i>tweet</i>', which, rapidly and continuously repeated many times, +constitutes its song. These notes are uttered in a sweet tone, and +with a tremulous accent, and are unlike those of any other bird. +Gilbert White, who appears to have been the first who noticed the +bird, describes it as "joyous, easy, and laughing". The last notes +of its strain are accompanied by a quivering of the wings and tail, +which accounts for their tremulous sound.</p> + +<p>The Wood-warbler is much less frequent than either the Willow-warbler +or Chiff-chaff, and on a close inspection may be distinguished +by its superior size, by the pure white of its under tail-coverts, +and by the bright yellow line above the eye. The nest +is composed of grass, ferns, and moss, and lined with fine grass and +hair; it is covered with a dome, an entrance being left sufficiently +large to allow its contents to be seen, and is placed on the ground, +in or near a wood, among thick herbage, or against the stump of +a tree. The eggs are from five to seven in number, almost round, +and so thickly spotted with purple-brown that the ground is almost +invisible.</p> + + +<div class="caption2"><span class="smcap">Sub-Family</span> REGULINÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE GOLD-CREST<br /> +RÉGULUS CRISTÁTUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts olive, tinged with yellow; cheeks ash colour, without streaks; +wing greyish brown, with two transverse white bands; crest bright +yellow, tipped with orange and bounded on each side by a black line; +under parts yellowish grey. In the <i>female</i> the crest is lemon colour, +and the other tints are less brilliant. Each nostril is covered by one buff +feather. Length three inches and a half. Eggs cream colour, minutely +mottled at one end.</div> + +<p>The Gold-crest, Golden-crested Regulus, or Golden-crested +Wren, though not exceeding in dimensions some of the larger +humming-birds, and though decorated with a crest equalling in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> +brilliancy of colour the gay plumage of tropical birds, is a hardy +little fellow, able to bear without shrinking the cold of an English +winter, and to keep his position among the branches of high trees +in the stormiest weather. Even during a heavy gale I have watched +Gold-crests fluttering from branch to branch, and busily hunting +for food, though the trees were waving like reeds. They are most +numerous in winter, as a considerable number migrate southwards +in October, but a great many remain with us all the year, +preferring those districts where there are fir-plantations. Their +whole life is spent in the air; I at least have never observed +one on the ground. Their food consists of the insects which infest +the leaves and twigs of trees; and I have seen them capture small +moths on the wing. While hunting for food, which appears to +be all day long, they are never still, fluttering from branch to branch, +hanging in all attitudes, and peering in all directions. From time +to time they utter their thin and wiry call-note, which is by some +compared to the cry of the Shrew. It might be mistaken for the +jarring noise made by two branches which cross one another, or +that of a damp finger rubbed lightly along a pane of glass. Early +in spring the song commences; it is composed of about fifteen short +notes, rapidly uttered at an exceedingly high pitch, and ending +with a yet more rapid cadence. By the call-note or song the vicinity +of the bird is far more frequently detected than by its actual +appearance; for the branches of firs in woods are mostly at a +considerable height from the ground, and our 'little king' (saving +his majesty) is hard to be distinguished from a fir-cone, except +when he is in motion. Gold-crests are eminently social birds; +they generally hunt in parties of half a dozen or more, and do not +often change their hunting-ground; at least I infer as much from +the fact that on various occasions I have observed the same bird +on the same clump of trees, at intervals extending over several +weeks. I could scarcely have been mistaken in the identity of +the bird, as it had lost a leg, by what accident I know not; but the +loss did not at all interfere with its activity or spirits. Their +sociability extends sometimes to birds of other kinds, as the Creeper +and the Tits of several species have been seen hunting in company +with them. The habits of these birds being similar, they perhaps +associate from a feeling of mutual protection, just as Sparrows, +Buntings, and Finches make common cause, when they invade +our rick-yards. The Gold-crests are, however, naturally less wary +than any of the Tits. These last will at once decamp if disturbed, +but Gold-crests will continue their hunting without taking any notice +of a spectator. In autumn large flocks sometimes arrive on +our east coast extending across England and on into Ireland. In +April a return migration takes place. The nest of the Gold-crest is +a beautiful structure. Its external form is nearly that of a globe, +with a contracted opening at the top. It is composed of moss +and lichens, interwoven with wool and lined thickly with feathers. +It is usually placed among the boughs of a silver-fir or spruce-fir, +in such a manner as to be partially suspended from one branch +and supported by another. The bird seems neither to court nor +to shun the vicinity of human beings; as I have found nests in +the most lonely woods, and I have seen one in the branches of a +spruce-fir, so close to my house that I could look into the nest +from my bedroom windows, and watch the old birds feeding their +young. The eggs vary in number from five to eight, they are +almost globular, and smaller than those of any other British bird. +This is scarcely surprising, seeing that the weight of a recently +killed adult male which I have before me is eighty-seven grains; +so that five and a half full-grown birds weigh but an ounce.</p> + +<a name="Plate_09"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_09.png" width="408" height="683" alt="Plate_09" title="Plate_09. Great Tit [M]; Fire Crested Wren [M]; Long Tailed Tit [M]; and Gold Crest [M]. [p. 34." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_10"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_10.png" width="419" height="685" alt="Plate_10" title="Plate_10. Blue Tit [M]; Crested Tit [M] Marsh Tit [F]; andCole Tit [M]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE FIRE-CRESTED WREN<br /> +RÉGULUS IGNICAPILLUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts olive-green; a dark streak passing through the eye, and +another white one above and below; crest brilliant orange, bounded in +front and on each side by a black streak; in other respects resembling +the last. <i>Female</i> with all the colours less brilliant. Length four inches. +Eggs cream colour, tinged with red and dotted.</div> + +<p>This species both in size and habits resembles the last, from which +it is best distinguished by three dark lines on each side of its head. +Hence it is called in France '<i>Roitelet à triple bandeau</i>'. It is far +less common than the Gold-crest, and has not been observed in +the winter, when birds of the other species are most abundant—in +fact, it is only a rare straggler. Its call-note is shorter than that +of the Gold-crest, not so shrill, and pitched in a different key. +The nests of the two birds are much alike.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PARIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE LONG-TAILED TIT<br /> +ACRÉDULA CAUDÁTA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, neck, throat, breast, and a portion of the outer tail-feathers white; +back, wings, and six middle feathers of the tail black; a black streak +above the eye; sides of the back and scapulars tinged with rose-red; +under parts reddish white; tail very long; beak very short. Length five +inches and three-quarters; breadth six inches and three-quarters. +Eggs white, minutely and sparingly speckled with light red or plain white.</div> + +<p>All the Tits, of whatever species, are more or less sociable in their +habits, hunting about during autumn in parties of half a dozen +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> +or more; but some of them are given to be quarrelsome, not +only towards other birds—like the Great Tit, who actually murders +them for the sake of picking out their brains—but among themselves, +as the Blue Tit, who has been noticed so intently engaged +in combat with another bird of his own kind, that the observer +caught them both in his hat. The Long-tailed Tits, however, are +sociable after another sort. From the time that a young brood +leaves the nest until the next pairing season, father, mother, and +children keep together in irreproachable harmony. Exploring +the same clump of trees in society, perfectly agreed as to whither +their next flitting shall be, no one showing any disposition to +remain when the rest are departing, molesting no one, and suffering +as far as it can be ascertained no persecution, they furnish +a charming example of a happy family. Nomad in their habits, +save that they indulge in no questionable cravings for their neighbours' +property, they satisfy their wants with the natural produce +of any convenient halting-place, when they have exhausted +which they take their flight, in skirmishing order, but generally +in a straight line, and strictly following the lead of their chief, to some +other station; and when overtaken by night, they halt and encamp +where chance has left them. Their only requisite is, in +summer, the branch of a tree; in winter, some sheltered place +where they can huddle together, and sleep until the next day's +sun calls them to resume their erratic course.<a name="FNanchor_1_6" id="FNanchor_1_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> Their food, during +those journeys, consists of caterpillars, small beetles, and the +pupæ of insects generally, and this diet they seem never or very +rarely to vary.<a name="FNanchor_2_7" id="FNanchor_2_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> The ripest fruits do not tempt them to prolong +their stay in a garden, and insects that crawl on earth are +in two senses beneath their notice. Their rapid progress from +tree to tree has been compared to a flight of arrows. Singular +as is their flight, they are no less amusing while employed in hunting +for food, as they perform all the fantastic vagaries of the Tits, +and their long straight tails add much to the grotesqueness of +their attitudes. Seen near at hand, their appearance may be +called comical. Their abundant loose feathers, the prevailing hue +of which is grey, suggest the idea of old age, and, together with +the short hooked beak, might give a caricaturist a hint of an antiquated +human face, enveloped in grey hair. Many of the provincial +names of the bird are associated with the ridiculous; thus, +Long-tailed Mufflin, Long-tail Mag, Long-tail Pie, Poke-pudding, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> +Hack-muck, Bottle Tom, Mum-ruffin, and Long-pod, pet names +though they are, are also whimsical, and prepare one beforehand +for the information that their owner is 'just a little eccentric'. +But whatever be their name, I never hear the well-known '<i>zit, +zit</i>', the pass-word which keeps them together, and which always +accompanies their journeyings, without stopping to watch the little +family on their flight.</p> + +<p>The nest of this species is of most exquisite workmanship and +beautiful texture. Its form is that of a large cocoon broadest at +the base, or that of a fir cone. It is sometimes fastened to the +stem of a tree, sometimes placed in a fork, but more frequently +built into the middle of a thick bush, so that it can only be removed +by cutting away the branches to which it is attached. The +outer surface is composed principally of the white lichen which +is most abundant in the neighbourhood, and so is least likely to +attract attention. All the scraps are woven together with threads +of fine wool; the dome is felted together, and made rain-proof +by a thick coating of moss and lichen, wool and the web of spiders' +eggs. The walls are of moss. The interior is a spherical cell, lined +with a profusion of feathers. A softer or warmer bed it would +be hard to imagine. At the distance of about an inch from the +top is a circular opening scarcely large enough to admit one's +thumb. In this luxurious couch, which it has cost the female +bird some three weeks of patient industry to complete, she lays +ten or twelve eggs, which all in good time are developed into as +many Bottle Tits; but by what skilful management the ten or +twelve long tails are kept unruffled, and are finally brought to +light as straight as arrows, I can offer no opinion. Nests are +occasionally found containing as many as eighteen eggs. In these +cases it has been affirmed that two or more females share a common +nursery, and incubate together. Certainly it is difficult to imagine +how a single pair can manage to supply with food so many +hungry young birds, but there is no direct evidence of their being +two distinct broods.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_6" id="Footnote_1_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> The name proposed for the Long-tailed Tit, by Dr. Leuch, <i>Mecistura +vagans</i>, is most appropriate. "Long-tailed Wanderer," for such is its import, +describes the most striking outward characteristic of the bird, and its unvarying +habit.</div> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_2_7" id="Footnote_2_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> A young friend informed me that he had once shot one, with a beechnut +in its mouth. This it must have picked up from the ground, as the season +was winter.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE GREAT TIT, OX-EYE OR TOMTIT<br /> +PARUS MAJOR</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, throat, and a line passing down the centre of the breast, black; back +olive-green; cheeks and a spot on the nape white; breast and abdomen +yellow. Length six inches; breadth nine. Eggs white, speckled with +light rusty.</div> + +<p>As this bird is no larger than a Sparrow, its surname 'Great' +must be understood to denote only its superiority in size to other +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> +birds of the same family. It is, however, great-hearted, as far +as boldness and bravery entitle it to this epithet, being ready +to give battle to birds far its superiors in size, foremost to join +in mobbing an intrusive Owl, and prepared to defend its nest +against robbers of all kinds. Its powers of locomotion are considerable, +as it is strong in flight, active on the ground, and as a +climber is surpassed by few rivals. Its stout and much-curved +hind claw gives it great facility in clinging to the twigs and branches +of trees, sides of ricks, and even the walls of houses. Such situations +it resorts to in quest of its favourite food, caterpillars and pupæ +of all kinds, and it is most amusing to watch it while thus engaged. +Attitude seems to be a matter of no consequence; it +can cling with perfect security to anything but a smooth surface. +On trees it hangs from the branches, with its back either downwards, +or turned sideways, and explores crevices in walls with +as little regard to the vertical position of the surface to which it +clings, as if it were examining a hole in the level ground. Its +efforts to disengage a chrysalis from its cocoon are very entertaining. +One scarcely knows which most to admire, the tenacity +of its grasp, the activity with which it turns its head and body, or +the earnestness and determination with which it clears away every +obstacle until it has secured the prize. It does not, however, +limit its food to insects; it is accused of feeding occasionally on the +buds of fruit-trees, but it is doubtful whether the bird has any other +object in attacking these, than that of hunting out the insects that infest +them. It is said also to be very fond of nuts, which it sticks into +crevices in the bark of trees, and cracks by repeated blows of its +beak. Whether it has this power, I do not know; but that it will +<i>eat</i> nuts of every kind, it is easy to prove by fastening the kernels +of filberts or walnuts to the trunks of trees by means of stout pins. +Tits, great and little, and Nuthatches, if there be any in the neighbourhood, +will soon discover them, and if once attracted may thus +be induced to pay daily visits to so productive a garden. A Great +Tit of unusual intelligence, which frequents my garden at the +present time, has been frequently observed to draw up by its claws +a walnut suspended by a string from the bough of an apple-tree, +and to rifle its contents, being itself all the while leisurely perched +on the twig, and keeping the nut firm by a dexterous use of its +claws. A charge, amounting to a grave accusation against the +Great Tit, and one which cannot be palliated by the plea that he +has accomplices, is, that when driven by hunger and he has the +opportunity, he attacks other small and weakly birds, splits their +skulls by means of his strong, sharp beak, and picks out their +brains. One story in particular I find, of a Great Tit having been +placed in a well-filled aviary. In the course of a single night, he +had killed every one of his companions, with the exception of a +Quail, and when he was discovered, he was in the very act of dealing +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> +to this the <i>coup de grâce</i>. His skill and discrimination in pecking +holes in the sunniest side of ripe apples and pears are well known; +but to this reward for his services in destroying caterpillars he is +justly entitled.</p> + +<p>The Great Tit builds its nest generally in the hole of a tree, +employing as materials moss and leaves, and, for the lining, hair +and feathers; but as its habits lead it to our gardens, it comes +into close contact with human beings and becomes familiar with +them. Hence it occasionally builds its nest in quaint places, +which bear ever so distant a resemblance to its natural haunts. +An unused pump affords it an excellent harbour; and the drawer +of an old table, left in an outhouse, has been found thus occupied.</p> + +<p>The notes of the Great Tit are various, but not musical. Its +spring song must be familiar to every one; though not every one +who hears it knows who is the musician. It consists of but two +notes, repeated frequently, and sounding as if made by a bird +alternately drawing in and sending out its breath; both together +give a fair imitation of the sharpening of a saw. Besides this, it +indulges in a variety of chirps, twitters, and cheeps, some angry, +some deprecatory, and some pert, which a practised ear only can +refer to their proper author.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE BLUE TIT, ALSO CALLED TOMTIT<br /> +PARUS CŒRÚLEUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown of the head blue, encircled with white; cheeks white, bordered with +dark blue; back olive-green; wings and tail bluish; greater coverts and +secondaries tipped with white; breast and abdomen yellow, traversed +by a dark blue line. Length four inches and a half; breadth seven +inches and a half. Eggs as in the preceding, but smaller.</div> + +<p>The Blue or Tom Tit so closely resembles the Great Tit in its +habits, that, with trifling exceptions, a description of one would +be equally applicable to the other. Though much smaller than his +relative, the Tom Tit is equally brave and pugnacious, and is even +more quarrelsome, for he will fight with birds of his own kind; +and the Great Tit, if obliged to contest with him the possession of a +prize, retires from the field. His food, too, consists principally +of insects, but he is also very partial to meat. This taste leads +him much to the neighbourhood of houses and other places where +he can indulge his carnivorous propensities. A dog-kennel, with +its usual accompaniment of carrion, is a favourite resort, and there +are probably few butchers' shops in country villages which he does +not frequently visit. A bit of bacon suspended from the branch +of a tree is a great attraction. He evinces little fear of man, and +will hunt about the trees in our gardens without seeming to notice +the presence of a stranger. He frequently pays visits, too, to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> +roses trained against cottages, and will occasionally flutter against +the glass to secure a spider or gnat that he has detected while +passing. His power of grasping is very great. I have seen him +cling to the moulding of a window for several minutes, without +relinquishing his hold, though the projecting surface was merely +a smooth beading. All this while he was engaged in tearing to +pieces the cocoon which some caterpillar had constructed in a +crevice; and so intent was he on his occupation, that he took no +notice of the tenants of the room, though they were only a few +feet distant from him. He is more frequently seen on the ground +than either of the other species, and where it is the custom to +throw out crumbs and the scrapings of plates, for the benefit of +little birds, the Blue Tit rarely fails to present itself among Sparrows +and Redbreasts.</p> + +<p>The Tom Tit builds its nest of moss, and lines it with hair, wool, +and feathers. This it places in a hole, either in a wall or tree, and +is at so great pains to combine comfort and security for its brood, +that it has been known to excavate, in a decayed stump, a chamber +large enough for its nest, and to carry away the chips in its beak to +some distant place, lest, we may suppose, they should betray its retreat. +More frequently, however, it selects a natural hollow, as, for instance, +the stump of a small tree in a hedge, of which all the inner +part is decayed; nor does it despise human appliances if they will +answer its purpose; a disused pump, a bottle, or a flower-pot, have +all been known to serve its turn. It lays seven or eight eggs, +but a nest containing eighteen is on record; and in defence of +its family, shows great courage. If a nest be molested, the bird, +instead of endeavouring to escape, retains its place and makes an +unpleasant hissing noise, and if this be not enough to deter the +intruder, pecks his fingers with great vigour. Hence it has received +the popular name of 'Billy Biter'. As a songster, it does not rank +high: yet it has some variety of notes, which it utters in short +snatches, expressive rather than musical, as if the bird were trying +to talk rather than to sing.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE COLE TIT<br /> +PARUS ATER</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown of the head, throat, and front of the neck black; cheeks and nape +white; upper parts grey; wings bluish grey, with two white bands; +under parts white, tinged with grey. Length four inches and a half; +breadth nearly eight. Eggs like the last.</div> + +<p>This and the following species resemble each other so closely in +size, habits, general hue and note, that at a distance it is difficult +to distinguish them. There are, however, strong points of difference; +the head and neck of the present species being glossy black, with +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> +a patch of pure white on the nape of the neck and on the cheeks, +while the head of the Marsh Tit is of a dull sooty black, without any +admixture of white, nor is there a white spot on the cheeks. The +Cole Tit is in many districts a common bird, inhabiting woods and +hedgerows, and feeding on insects, for which it hunts with unceasing +activity among the branches and twigs of trees. Its note is +less varied than that of the Blue Tit, but sweeter in tone. It +builds its nest in the holes of trees and walls, of moss, hair, and +feathers, and lays six or seven eggs.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE MARSH TIT<br /> +PARUS PALUSTRIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Forehead, crown, head, and nape black; upper parts grey; wings dark grey, +lighter at the edges; cheeks, throat, and breast dull white. Dimensions +and eggs as in the last.</div> + +<p>As has been said, the Marsh Tit and Cole Tit are so much alike +that it requires a sharp eye to distinguish them at a distance. On +a closer inspection, however, the characters mentioned in the +preceding paragraph become apparent, and there can be no question +that they are distinct species. The Marsh Tit is a bird of common +occurrence, resident south of the Forth, being in some places less +abundant, in others more so than the Cole Tit, while in others, +again, the two are equally frequent. In those districts with which +I am myself most familiar, it is hard to say which kind preponderates. +Though it freely resorts to woods and plantations remote from +water, it prefers, according to Montagu, low, wet ground, where +old willow-trees abound, in the holes of which it often makes its +nest. Its note, I have already observed, is very like that of the +Cole Tit, being less harsh than that either of the Blue or Great +Tit. The peculiar double note, which I know no other way of +describing than by comparing it to the syllables '<i>if-he</i>', rapidly +uttered, and repeated in imitation of a sob, characterizes, in a more +or less marked degree, the spring song of all four. Another characteristic +of the same species is, that all the members of a brood +appear to keep much together for several months after they are +fledged. At the approach of winter, they break up their societies, +and are for the most part solitary till the return of spring. The Marsh +Tit, like the Tom Tit, has been observed to enlarge the hole which it +has selected for its nest, and to carry the chips in its bill to a distance, +and it is equally courageous in defence of its eggs and young.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE CRESTED TIT<br /> +PARUS CRISTÁTUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Feathers of the crown elongated and capable of being erected, black, edged +with white; cheeks and sides of the neck white; throat, collar, and a +streak across the temples black; all the other upper parts reddish +brown; lower parts white, faintly tinged with red. Length four +inches and three-quarters. Eggs white spotted with blood-red.</div> + +<p>'The Crested Tit', is a solitary retired species, inhabiting only +gloomy forests, particularly those which abound with evergreens. +On the European Continent it is found in Denmark, Sweden, Russia, +Switzerland, and some parts of France. In the large pine tracts +in the north of Scotland, it is said to be not uncommon, and it +used to be found also in the neighbourhood of Glasgow, but has +been seldom observed in England. Its food consists of insects, berries +of the juniper, and seeds of evergreens. It builds its nest in hollow +trees, or in the deserted nests of squirrels and crows, and lays as +many as eight eggs.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PANURIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE BEARDED TITMOUSE OR REEDLING<br /> +PANÚRUS BIÁRMICUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head bluish grey; between the bill and eye a tuft of pendant black feathers +prolonged into a pointed moustache; throat and neck greyish white; +breast and abdomen white, tinged with yellow and pink; upper parts +light orange-brown; wings variegated with white, black, and red; +tail long, orange-brown, the outer feathers variegated with white and +black. In the <i>female</i> the moustache is of the same colour as the cheek, +and the grey on the head is absent. Length six inches. Eggs white, +with a few wavy lines of dark red.</div> + +<p>This pretty bird is of very local occurrence, being found in considerable +numbers in several marshy districts where reeds abound, +but in others being totally unknown. Their habits resemble those +of the true Tits, but instead of spending their lives in trees, they +confine themselves to the marshes, and are constantly employed +in running up and down the stems of the reeds, hunting for their +food, which consists of small molluscs (or water-snails) and the +seeds of the reeds. Like the Tits, too, they are sociable, always +being observed in pairs or families; not congregating like Sparrows +for the sake of mutual protection, but seemingly from the pure love +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> +of each other's company. A writer in the <i>Magazine of Natural +History</i> gives the following account of their habits:—'I was told that +some of these birds had been seen in a large piece of reeds below +Barking Creek; and being desirous of observing them in their +haunts, I went, accompanied by a person and a dog, to the above-named +place, on a cold and windy morning; the reed-cutters +having commenced their operations, I was fearful of deferring my +visit, lest my game might be driven away. Arrived on our ground, +we traversed it some time without success, and were about to leave +it, when our attention was roused by the alarm-cry of the bird. +Looking up, we saw eight or ten of these beautiful creatures on +the wing, just topping the reeds over our heads, uttering, in full +chorus, their forcibly musical note, which resembles the monosyllable +<i>ping!</i> pronounced first slow and single, then two or three +times in a more hurried manner, uttered in a clear and ringing, +though soft tone, which well corresponds with the beauty and +delicacy of the bird. Their flights were short and low, only sufficient +to clear the reeds, on the seedy tops of which they alight to feed, +hanging, like most of their tribe, with the head and back downwards. +After some time, we were fortunate enough to shoot +one, a male, in fine plumage. I held it in my hand when scarcely +dead. Nothing could exceed the beauty of the eye; the bright +orange of the iris, surrounded by the deep glossy black of the +moustaches and streak above, receives additional brilliancy from +the contrast, and struck me as a masterpiece of colour and neatness.' +These specimens were observed in the month of December. Towards +the end of April the Bearded Tit begins building its nest. +This is composed externally of the dead leaves of reeds and sedges, +and lined with the feathery tops of reed. It is generally placed +in a tuft of coarse grass or rushes near the ground on the margin +of the dikes, in the fen; sometimes among the reeds that are +broken down, but never suspended between the stems. Two nests, +described by Yarrell, were composed entirely of dried bents, the +finer ones forming the lining; and others, increasing in substance, +made up the exterior. The eggs were from seven to eight in number, +rather smaller than those of the Great Tit, and less pointed, white, +and sparingly marked with pale red lines or scratches. The same +author observes that 'it is very abundant in Holland; and numbers +are brought alive from that country to the London markets for sale; +the birds being attractive in confinement from the beauty of the +plumage, their graceful form and general sprightliness.' I have seen it +stated that the moustaches, from which the bird takes its name, are +movable, and that their play gives a peculiar animation to the expression +of the bird's face, but I have never had an opportunity of +verifying this remark. They have been increasing in the Norfolk +Broads of late years. +<br /> +<br /> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY SITTIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE NUTHATCH<br /> +SITTA CÆSIA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage bluish grey; a black streak across the eye; cheeks and throat +white; under plumage dull orange red; outer tail-feathers black, with +a white spot near the end, tipped with grey, the two central ones grey; +beak bluish black, the lower mandible white at the base; feet light brown. +Length six inches. Eggs white, spotted with two shades of purplish red.</div> + +<p>Standing, one winter's day, by the side of a pond, near a row of +tall elms, and watching some boys sliding, I heard the few short +twittering notes of a Nuthatch overhead, and it at once occurred +to me how I should describe the note in such a way that it should +be infallibly recognized. It is precisely like the sound made by a +pebble thrown so as to bound along ice. This is the winter note. +On fine sunny days in February it begins to add to its simple call +a more musical sound, approaching a whistle. Further on in the +season, the twitter is heard no more, and is exchanged altogether for +a not unmelodious whistle, several times repeated, rarely protracted +into a bubbling sound, such as it might be supposed to make if it +were rattling a pea in its throat. On these occasions it is usually +perched in the branches of a tree, and may be distinguished by its +bluish grey back, dull red breast, and short tail. The Nuthatch is +not an accomplished musician, and claims, therefore, to be pointed +out by other characteristics. This is no difficult task to undertake; +for no British bird is more decidedly marked in its habits. In the +first place, it has strong clasping claws, which admirably adapt it for +climbing; and though it does not possess the rigid tail of the Woodpeckers +to aid it in this operation, it has a short tail which never +comes in the way. In most counties of England where old timber +is (except the extreme western and northern, where it is rare) any +one walking through a woodland district and keeping a sharp look-out +may observe a bluish bird, somewhat larger than a Sparrow, +creeping by starts up the trunk of any rough barked tree. It is so +intent on its occupation—that of searching for insects in the +crevices of the bark—that it takes no notice of the observer, but +pursues its course after a method of its own, but according to no rule +that we can detect. Now it disappears on one side of the trunk +and then shows itself a few inches higher on the other; now it is +lost to sight for a longer interval—one would think it was hiding, or +had taken its departure—but no, there it is again, creeping, back +downwards, along a horizontal branch; arrived at the extremity +it utters a double twitter, perhaps, and flies either to a new tree or +to another branch of the same. This time it creeps from the +extremity of a branch towards the hole of the tree, equally at ease +whatever may chance to be its position, and no more affected by +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> +gravity than a fly. Arrived at the main stem it keeps on its course, still +advancing by starts, and accompanying every movement, as, indeed, +it has been doing all along, by an almost imperceptible twinkling of +its wings, something like that which has gained for the Hedge +Sparrow the sobriquet of 'Shuffle-wing'. That no other bird but +the Nuthatch has the power of creeping down a tree I cannot say, +for I once observed a Tree-creeper descend for a few inches but no +other British bird does habitually hunt after this method; by +this habit consequently it may be discriminated. Equally comfortable +in all positions, if it has any choice, or desires to rest, it +clings to the upright trunk of a tree, head downwards.</p> + +<p>The Nuthatch is singular, too, in its mode of nidification. The +only nest which I have thoroughly examined was built in the +hollow of an apple-tree, and was composed entirely of scraps of +birch-bark. The <i>Naturalist</i> contains a description of one made +of beech-bark, though probably here, too, <i>birch</i> is meant; others +are described as being made of dry leaves and moss: but, whatever +the materials may be, the nest itself is invariably placed in +the hole of a tree. There are good reasons for believing that in +case of necessity the bird enlarges the cavity to make its dwelling +sufficiently commodious, chips of wood having been sometimes +found in the vicinity; but what makes the Nuthatch singular +among British birds is, that it not only enacts the carpenter when +occasion arises, but adds the vocation of plasterer.</p> + +<p>In the case above alluded to I do not know that its powers were +called out in either of these capacities. As a plasterer it had no +occasion to work, for the opening to the hole was so small that it +required to be cut away in order to admit a boy's hand, but many +instances are recorded when it selected a hole with a large orifice +which is contracted by lining it with a thick coat of mud and gravel. +This parapet, constructed either to keep out bulky intruders or to +keep in the young birds, if injured or destroyed will be found restored +after a short lapse of time; and so devoted a mother is the hen bird +that she will suffer herself to be taken rather than desert her brood. +I have rarely noticed a Nuthatch on the ground during winter, +but in spring and summer it adds to its diet terrestrial insects and +worms and is said also to be partial to red currants—not a singular +taste. But the fruit which has an especial charm for the Nuthatch +is that from which it derives its name.<a name="FNanchor_1_8" id="FNanchor_1_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> Its keen eye detects the +ripening filbert in the garden or orchard before the hazels in the +wood are beginning to turn brown, and it then despises less dainty +food. One by one the clusters are pecked open and their contents +purloined, carried, perhaps, to some convenient storehouse for future +banquetings. At any rate the owner of filbert trees where these +birds abound has need to keep a daily watch, or his share in the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> +produce will prove exceedingly small. I have seen trees bearing +a fine crop of husks but nearly all empty. The proprietor had +suffered them to remain till they were ripe, the Nuthatches had +taken a different view of the case and preferred them unripe rather +than not at all. But what, it may be asked, can a bird little larger +than a Sparrow find to do with a filbert, or even a hazel-nut? +Here we have a fresh distinctive feature in the biography of the +Nuthatch. The bird carries off its prey in its beak, and when +in want of a meal wedges the nut in the crevice of some rough-barked +tree, such as an oak, an elm, or a walnut. This done, he +takes his stand, head downwards, above the nut, throws back +his head to gather force for a blow, and then brings it violently +forwards many times in rapid succession, aided, too, by the weight of +his body and a clapping of the wings in exact time with each stroke. +By dint of repeated blows thus dealt by his strong beak, even the +hard shell of a filbert at last gives way; a small hole is the result, +which is soon enlarged, and the kernel becomes the hardly-earned +prize. Any one who will take the trouble to examine the trunks +of old oaks and elms will be sure to find shells still remaining +wedged into the bark, and if during a ramble in the woods in +autumn or winter, or even in early spring, he should happen to +hear a smart tapping, let him follow the direction of the sound, +and he will stand a fair chance of discovering the clever little nutcracker +at work. If in the course of his operations the bird happens +to dislodge a nut, so nimble is he that before it reaches the ground +he will have caught it in his beak. Acorns and the nuts of yew-berries, +and probably other hard seeds, are similarly treated by +the Nuthatch; cherrystones, I suspect, are beyond his powers, +yielding only to the massive beak of the Hawfinch. The Nuthatch +may easily be induced to visit gardens by wedging hazel or Spanish +nuts into the bark of trees; a walnut fastened on by a pin is equally +effectual. But no more enticing bait can be set than a lump of +fat meat, which should be tied tightly by a string to the horizontal +branch of an apple-tree or any other tree, a good view of which can +be commanded from the house. If the weather be severe and the +ground covered with snow, it is surprising what a variety of birds +will come to partake of the unknown food. Robins, Sparrows, +Tits of several kinds, Chaffinches, and others flock for a share, not +without sundry bickerings, alarms, and semblances of fighting. +But should a Nuthatch happen to appear, all retire until his highness +is satisfied. He enters upon the scene in a way of his own. +Other birds alight on a bough or twig at some little distance from the +banquet and make gradual advances. Not so the Nuthatch; +he darts forward in a horizontal line, as if propelled by a missile, +sticks by his claws to whatever part of the branch he happens to +touch, not caring in what attitude he alights, stops for a second as +if to assure himself in what direction his head is pointing, creeps +nimbly round to the morsel, takes his stand on it and hammers +away until he has separated a large lump. This he then seizes +in his beak and retires to a place of seclusion, leaving the inferior +animals to squabble to their hearts' content over the crumbs which +he has dislodged, and presently he discomfits them again by a reappearance. +What his powers as a combatant may be I cannot say; +great, it may be supposed, for no one is inclined to do him battle, and +he is not sociably disposed even towards those of his own kind.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_8" id="Footnote_1_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> From the French <i>hacher</i>, 'to chop'; hence also 'hatchet'.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_11"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_11.png" width="429" height="682" title="Plate_11. Tree Creeper [F]; Nuthatch [M]; Bearded Reedling [M] [F]; and Wren. [p. 46." alt="Plate_11" /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_12"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_12.png" width="416" height="661" title="Plate_12. Rose coloured Starling [F]; Dipper [M]; Starling [M]; and Golden Oriole [F] [M]." alt="Plate_12" /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CERTHIIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE TREE CREEPER<br /> +CERTHIA FAMILIÁRIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage mottled with yellowish brown, dark brown, and white; a pale +streak over the eyes; throat and breast buff-white, becoming dusky +towards the tail; wings brown tipped with white and barred with white +brown, and dull yellow; tail-feathers reddish brown, stiff and pointed. +Length five inches, breadth seven inches. Eggs white, with small +yellowish red spots.</div> + +<p>The Tree Creeper, though a common bird, is less familiarly known +than many others of much rarer occurrence, yet, if once observed, +can be confounded with no other. In size it ranks with the Tits, +Willow Wren, etc., but is less likely to attract notice than any of +these, as it never alights on the ground, nor perches on the small +twig of a tree. Its note, too, is weak, simple, and unpretending, +amounting to no more than an occasional '<i>cheep</i>', which it utters +from time to time while hunting for food, and while performing +its short flights. Any one, however, who wishes to see the bird, +and knows what to search for, can scarcely fail of success if he looks +well about him during a stroll through almost any wood of full-grown +trees. Half-way up the trunk of a rugged elm or oak he will +observe a small portion of bark, as it were, in motion; the motion, +and not the colour, betrays the presence of a small brown bird, +which is working its way by a succession of irregular starts up the +trunk. Frequently it stops for a few seconds, and is evidently +pecking at some small insect, quite noiselessly however. Its beak +is not adapted for hammering; it confines its attention therefore +to such insects as live on the surface of the bark. It utters a low +'<i>cheep</i>', and proceeds, not in a straight line up the tree, but turning +to the right or left according as it descries a probable lurking-place +of its prey: presently it disappears on the other side of the trunk, +and again comes in view a few feet higher up. Now it reaches a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> +horizontal branch; along this it proceeds in like manner, being +indifferent whether it clings sideways, or hangs with its back downwards. +Arrived at the smaller subdivisions of the bough it ceases +to hunt; but, without remaining an instant to rest, flies to the +base of another bough, or more probably, to another tree, alighting +a few feet only from the ground, and at once beginning a new ascent. +This mode of life it never varies: from morning to night, in winter +and in summer, it is always climbing up the boles of trees, and +when it has reached the top, flying to the base of others. On one +solitary occasion I observed one retrace its steps for a few inches, +and stand for a second or two with its head downwards; but this +is a most unusual position, as indeed may be inferred from the +structure of its tail, the feathers of which are rigid, and more or +less soiled by constant pressure against the bark. It frequently +visits orchards and gardens in the country, displaying little fear +of man, preferring perhaps to hunt on the far side of a tree when +any one is looking on; but not very particular even about this, +and certainly never thinking it necessary to decamp because it is +being watched. To this indifference to the presence of human +beings, it owes its name '<i>familiaris</i>', and not, as it might be imagined, +to any fondness for their society, which, in fact, it neither courts +nor shuns. It is a quiet inoffensive creature, congregating with +no other birds, and being rarely, except in spring, seen in company +with even its own species. It builds its nest of small roots and +twigs, scraps of bark and grass, and lines it with wool and feathers. +A hole in a pollard willow is a favourite place for a nest; in default +of this a hollow in any other tree is selected, or the space between +the stump of a tree and a detached portion of bark; and it chooses +the straw eaves of some shed. It lays from six to nine eggs, which +are exceedingly like those of the smaller Tits.</p> + + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY TROGLODYTIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE WREN<br /> +TRÓGLODYTES PÁRVULUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage reddish brown with transverse dusky bars; quills barred +alternately with black and reddish brown; tail dusky, barred with black; +over the eyes a narrow light streak; under parts light reddish brown; +the sides and thighs marked with dark streaks. Length three inches +and three-quarters; breadth six inches and a half. Eggs white with a +few yellowish red spots towards the larger end, sometimes without spots.</div> + +<p>Throughout the whole of England the Wren is invested with a +sanctity peculiar to itself and the Redbreast. In the west of +England I was familiar, as a child, with the doggerel rhymes: +England I was familiar, as a child, with the doggerel rhymes:</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span></p> + +<div class="poem">Whoso kills a Robin or a Wran</div> +<div class="poem">Shall never prosper boy nor man.</div> +<br /> +In the north it is protected by a similar shield:<br /> +<br /> +<div class="poem">Malisons, malisons, mair than ten,</div> +<div class="poem">Who harries the queen of heaven's Wren.</div> + +<p>In the Isle of Man a legend exists that there 'once on a time' lived +a wicked enchantress who practised her spells on the warriors of +Mona, and thereby stripped the country of its chivalry. A doughty +knight at length came to the rescue, and was on the point of surprising +her and putting her to death, when she suddenly transformed +herself into a Wren and flew through his fingers. Every year, on +Christmas Day, she is compelled to reappear in the island under +the form of a Wren, with the sentence hanging over her, that she +is to perish by human hands. On that day, consequently, every +year, a grand onslaught is made by troops of idle boys and men +on every Wren which can be discovered. Such as are killed are +suspended from a bough of holly and carried about in triumph +on the following day (St. Stephen's Day), the bearers singing a rude +song descriptive of the previous day's hunt. The song is preserved +in Quiggin's <i>Guide to the Isle of Man</i>, as it was sung in 1853; and, +strange to say, it agrees almost word for word with a song which +was current twenty years ago, and is so perhaps now, among the +rustic population of Devonshire, though the actual hunt has in the +latter case fallen into disuse.</p> + +<p>In several parts of Ireland, especially the south, there still exists +a legend to the effect that a party of Irish soldiers were on the +point of surprising their enemies (either Danes or Royalists, for +the story varies) who lay fatigued and asleep, when a Wren perched +on the drum and awoke the sentinels. An unhappy legend for the +poor bird. For some weeks previous to Christmas, peasants assemble +to revenge the treachery of the offender in the persons of his descendants. +Every Wren that is seen is hunted to death, and the bodies +are carefully saved till St. Stephen's Day, when they are suspended +from a decorated holly-bough and carried from house to house by +the captors, accompanied by a song of which, in Connemara, this +is the burden:</p> + +<div class="poem">The Wran, the Wran, the king of all birds,</div> +<div class="poem">St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze;</div> +<div class="poem">Although he is little, his family's great;</div> +<div class="poem">So come out, kind ladies, and give us a trate.</div> + +<p>The version of the song in Hall's <i>Ireland</i>, as it is sung in the +neighbourhood of Cork, scarcely differs from the above, and a +similar one may be heard on the same day within twenty miles of +Dublin. That a custom so absurdly singular should exist in places +so remote, is in itself evidence that it is of ancient origin, though +whence derived it would be idle to inquire. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p> + +<p>The true story of the Wren is simple enough. It is a minute +bird of unpretending plumage, distinguished easily by its erect +tail and its habit of hiding in bushes and hedges, not clinging like +the Creeper to the perpendicular or horizontal bough of a tree, but +hopping from twig to twig, and occasionally taking a short direct +flight to another place of concealment, but rarely exposing itself +by doing more than this. When hunting for its food, which is +considered to be almost exclusively insects, it searches diligently +holes and crannies of all kinds, and in all substances. I have +known one make its way habitually through a zinc pipe into a +greenhouse, and do much service there by picking aphides from +the slender stalks of herbaceous plants, which bent into the form +of an arch under even its trifling weight. While thus occupied it +has suffered me to come within arm's length, but has taken no +notice of me. Generally, it displays little fear of man; but, though +in winter it resorts to the neighbourhood of houses in quest of +food, it shows no disposition, like the Redbreast, to enter on terms +of intimacy, nor is it sociable either with its own kind or other +birds. Its call-note is a simple '<i>chip</i>, <i>chip</i>', which often betrays +its vicinity when it is itself concealed from sight. Its proper song +is full, loud, clear, and powerful, rapidly executed and terminating +in a trill or shake, followed by two or three unimportant notes. +This it utters occasionally in autumn and winter. About the middle +of March the song of the Wren is among the most frequent sounds +of the country. At this season one may often hear in a garden +the roundelay of a Wren poured forth from the concealment of a +low shrub; and, immediately that it is completed, a precisely +similar lay bursts forth from another bush some twenty yards off. +No sooner is this ended than it is answered, and so the vocal duel +proceeds, the birds never interfering with each other's song, but +uttering in turns the same combinations and arrangement of notes, +just as if they were reading off copies of a score printed from the +same type.<a name="FNanchor_1_9" id="FNanchor_1_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> + +<p>But the season is coming on when the Wren has to be occupied +with other things than singing down a rival. Nest-making is with +this bird something more than the laying of a few sticks across +one another. It is not every one who has at once the time, the inclination +and the steadiness of purpose to watch, from beginning +to end, the completion of a Wren's nest. To most people, one or +other of these qualifications is wanting, and to not a few all three. +A friend of Mr. Macgillivray, however, performed the task, and +furnished him with a most satisfactory detailed account of what +passed under his observation. The nest was commenced at seven +o'clock in the morning of the thirtieth of May, by the female bird's +placing the decayed leaf of a lime-tree in the cleft of a Spanish +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> +juniper. The male took no part in the work, but regaled his busy +partner by singing to her all day long. At one period of the day she +brought in bundles of leaves four, five, and even six times in the +space of ten minutes. At other times, when greater care was needed +in the selection of materials, she was sometimes absent for eight or +ten minutes, but such was her industry that at seven o'clock the +whole of the external workmanship was finished, the materials +being dry leaves, felted together with moss. On the following day +both birds joined in the work, beginning as early as half-past three +o'clock in the morning, the materials being now moss and a few +feathers. So the work proceeded, day after day, until the eighth of +June, when the structure was completed, being a compact ball of +dried leaves felted with moss and thickly lined with finer moss and +feathers, domed over and having a small circular opening on one +side. Dried leaves form the exterior of most Wrens' nests, unless +they are placed in situations where such an appearance would attract +the attention of a passer-by. On a mossy bank, the outside would +probably consist of moss; under the root of a tree, of twigs; in a +hay-stack, of hay, and so on, the bird being guided by its instinct +to select the least conspicuous material. The number of eggs laid +is usually six, but as many as fifteen or sixteen have been observed. +Any one residing in the country, who has given his attention to +birds' nests, must have remarked what a large proportion of the +Wrens' nests which he has discovered are in an unfinished state and +contain no eggs. These are called 'cock' nests. In winter wrens +resort in numbers to old nests and to holes in walls for mutual +warmth and shelter.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_9" id="Footnote_1_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> I have heard the same musical contest in August.</div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CINCLIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE DIPPER<br /> +CINCLUS AQUÁTICUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage dark brown, tinged with ash; throat and breast pure white; +abdomen brownish red; bill blackish; feet horn-colour. <i>Female</i>—colours +nearly the same, but of a dingy hue. Length seven inches. Eggs +pure white.</div> + +<p>Any one who has wandered by the mountain rivers of Scotland, +North Wales, or Derbyshire, can have scarcely failed to notice a +bird, somewhat less than a Blackbird, black above, with white +throat and breast, dart with rapid and direct flight from a low +rock on the river's bank, and alight on a wet mossy stone rising +but a few inches above the water, where the stream runs swiftest +and the spray sparkles brightest. But for the roar of the torrent +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> +you might hear his song, a low melodious strain, which he often +carries far on into the winter. His movements while he is thus +perched are peculiar; a jerking upwards of the tail and dipping +forward of the head remind us of the Wren, a bird with which he +has, however, nothing really in common. Water Thrush is one +of his names; but he is better known by the names, Dipper +and Water Ouzel. Though neither furnished with web-feet like the +Ducks, nor with long legs like the Waders, the Dipper is decidedly +an aquatic bird, for he is never seen at any distance from a stream +or mountain tarn; in his habits he resembles no other of his tribe—a +water bird with a song—a song bird that wades, and swims. +That he should be so far only singular in his habits is not enough. +Although he is a wader he wades differently from other birds; and he +uses his wings like oars. The Dipper uses both legs and wings in +search of prey, examining the pebbles, feeding on molluscs and the +larvæ of insects. Mr. St. John is of opinion that it commits great +havoc among the spawn, 'uncovering the eggs, and leaving what it +does not eat open to the attack of eels and other fish, or liable to be +washed away by the current'. Mr. Macgillivray, on the contrary, +states that he has dissected a great number of individuals at all +seasons of the year, and has found no other substances in their +stomachs but insects and molluscs; he is therefore of opinion that +the charge of destroying the spawn of fish is unfounded. The latter +opinion obtains now.</p> + +<p>I might greatly extend my sketch of this interesting bird, but +I have space only to add, that it builds a compact nest of moss, +felted so as to be impervious to water, and lined with dead leaves, +under a bank overhanging a stream, in the hole of a wall near a +mill-dam, or between two rocks under a cascade, but always in +such a situation that both old and young birds can throw themselves +into the water immediately on being alarmed. I have read of one +instance in which a nest was built under a waterfall in such a position, +that the bird could not go to and fro without penetrating every +time a vertical sheet of water. The nest is domed, and can be +entered only by a small hole in front. It contains usually five or +six whitish eggs, somewhat smaller than those of the Thrush.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY ORIOLIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE GOLDEN ORIOLE<br /> +ORIÓLUS GÁLBULA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Plumage golden yellow; lore, wings and tail black, the tail yellow at the tip. +<i>Female</i>:—olive green above, greyish white tinged with yellow beneath, +and streaked with greyish brown; wings dark brown, the quills edged +with olive grey; tail olive, tinged with dark brown. Length ten inches. +Eggs white with a few isolated dark brown or black spots.</div> + +<p>This brilliant bird, resembling the Thrushes in form and habits, +but apparelled in the plumage of the Tropics, would seem to have +no right to a place among British birds, so little is its gorgeous +livery in keeping with the sober hues of our other feathered denizens. +There can, however, be no doubt of the propriety of placing it among +our visitors, though it comes but seldom and makes no long stay. +It is a visitor to the southern sea-board counties and often seen in +Cornwall and the Scilly Isles. Were it left unmolested, and allowed +to breed in our woods, it is probable that it would return with its +progeny, and become of comparatively common occurrence; but +though there are on record one or two creditable exceptions, when real +naturalists have postponed the glory of shooting and adding to +their collection a British specimen, to the pleasure of watching its +ways on British soil, yet its biography is not to be written from +materials collected in this country. On the European continent +it is a regular visitor, though even there it makes no long stay, +arriving in the beginning of May, and taking its departure early in +autumn. It is most common in Spain, Southern France, and Italy, +but is not unfrequent in many other parts of France, in Belgium, +and the south of Germany, and Hungary.</p> + +<p>'His note', says Cuthbert Collingwood, 'is a very loud whistle, +which may be heard at a great distance, but in richness equalling +the flute stop of a fine-toned organ. This has caused it to be called +<i>Loriot</i> in France. But variety there is none in his song, as he never +utters more than three notes consecutively, and those at intervals +of half a minute or a minute. Were it not for its fine tone, therefore, +his song would be as monotonous as that of the Missel Thrush, +which in modulation it greatly resembles.'</p> + +<p>The nest of the Oriole is described as a marvel of architectural +skill, excelling in elegance of form, richness of materials, and delicacy +of workmanship combined with strength. It is overlaid externally, +like that of the Chaffinch, with the silvery white lichen of fruit trees, +which gives it the appearance of being a part of the branch which +supports it. But the mansion of the Oriole is more skilfully concealed +than that even of the Chaffinch. The latter is placed <i>on</i> a +branch, of which it increases the apparent size, and so attracts +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> +attention. The nest of the Oriole, on the contrary, is suspended +between the two forks of a horizontal branch, which intercept the +side view of it. The materials employed are the lichen above mentioned, +wool, cobwebs, and feathers, but all of a white hue. When +not placed in a fruit tree, it is attached by a kind of cordage to the +twigs of a poplar or birch tree, or even to a bunch of mistletoe, +hanging in mid-air like the car of a balloon. A cradle thus sedulously +constructed we should expect to find watched with unusual +solicitude. And such is the case; it is defended most valiantly +against the attacks of marauding birds, and so devoted is the mother +bird that she has been known to suffer herself to be carried away +sitting on her eggs, and to die of starvation. Surely a bird so +beautiful and so melodious, so skilful an architect and so tender +a nurse, deserves rather to be encouraged than exterminated. +Nests have been found in several of our counties, more especially +in Kent. The plumage of the female bird differs considerably from +that of the male in richness of tint, and the young of both sexes +resemble the female.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY STURNIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE STARLING<br /> +STURNUS VULGARIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Plumage black, with brilliant purple and green reflections, the upper feathers +tipped with cream-colour; under tail-coverts edged with white; beak +yellow; feet flesh-colour, tinged with brown. <i>Female</i>—spotted below +as well as above. <i>Young</i>—uniform ash-brown, without spots. Length +eight and a half inches; width fifteen inches. Eggs uniform pale greenish +blue.</div> + +<p>The Starling is a citizen of the world. From the North Cape to +the Cape of Good Hope, and from Iceland to Kamtschatka, he is +almost everywhere at home, and too familiar with the dealings of +man to come within a dangerous distance of his arm, though he +fully avails himself of all the advantages which human civilization +offers, having discovered, long ago, that far more grubs and worms +are to be procured on a newly-mown meadow than on the bare hillside, +and that the flavour of May-dukes and Coroons immeasurably +excels that of the wild cherries in the wood. That dove-cots, holes +in walls, and obsolete water-spouts are convenient resting-places +for a nest, appears to be a traditional piece of knowledge, and that +where sheep and oxen are kept, there savoury insects abound, is +a fact generally known, and improved on accordingly. So, in +suburban gardens, where even the Redbreast and Tits are unknown, +Starlings are periodical visitors and afford much amusement by +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> +their shambling gait, and industrious boring on the lawn for larvæ—in +cherry orchards they are regarded with terror, on account of +the amount of mischief they will accomplish in a short space of +time; and in the sheep-fold they are doubtless most cordially +welcomed and their services thankfully received, as they rid the +poor tormented animals of many an evil 'tick'.</p> + +<p>The Starling is a handsome bird; seen at a distance it appears +to be of a uniform black hue, but on closer inspection its sable coat +is found to be lustrous with reflections of purple and green, and every +feather is tipped with white, or cream-colour—a mantle of shot-silk +garnished with pearls.</p> + +<p>Except during the nesting season, a Starling is rarely seen alone; +most commonly perhaps they are observed in parties of from six to +twelve, hunting in orchards or meadows for whichsoever article of +their diet happens to be in season. Wherever a colony of Rooks, +Jackdaws, or Rock Pigeons has established itself, there most probably, +or somewhere in the neighbourhood, a large party will +assemble to roost, and will attend the others on all their foraging +expeditions. In spring the flocks, small and great, break up into +pairs, each withdrawing to a convenient nesting place, which is +sometimes a hole in a tree, sometimes a building, a cliff, or a cave. +The nest itself is a simple structure, being composed of dry grass +and roots, and contains generally five eggs. At this season the male +bird adds to the chirping and twittering notes of both sexes a soft, +and not unmusical note, which resembles more closely than any +other sound with which I am acquainted the piping of a boatswain's +whistle, and it is not uncommon to hear a party of choristers +thus engaged, perched meanwhile on some high tree, even while +incubation is going on. Starlings, also, mimic the notes of +other singers. The breeding season over, they become nomad in +their habits. Many families unite into a flock, and explore the +country far and wide for suitable feeding places, their diet being, +up to this time, exclusively worms and insects. But no sooner does +the fruit begin to ripen in the cherry districts, than the flocks, now +assembled in countless multitudes, descend on the trees, and, if not +observed and scared away, appropriate the whole crop.</p> + +<p>Newly-fledged Starlings are so different from their parents, that +they might be mistaken for a different species. The plumage is of a +uniform greyish brown, lighter beneath. It is not till the end of +July or the beginning of August that the adult plumage begins to +show itself, and then the young birds present a singular appearance, +as the glossy black feathers, tipped with pearl, appear in +irregular patches on various parts of the body. Starlings do not +usually roost near the scene of their depredations, but from this +season and thence until late in autumn they repair, as if by some +preconcerted scheme, to a rendezvous common to many detachments. +A writer in the <i>Zoologist</i> states that there were formerly, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> +near Melbourne In Cambridgeshire, some large patches of reeds, +which were rented at a certain annual sum, and which the tenant +sold to builders to use in making plaster-floors and ceilings of rooms. +Towards autumn, Starlings resorted to them in such numbers to +roost, that unless scared away, they settled upon the reeds, broke +them down and rendered them completely useless. It required a +person to keep watch every evening for some time, and fire at them +repeatedly with a gun as they were settling down; but as the spot +was a favourite one, they showed considerable reluctance in quitting +it.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE ROSE-COLOURED STARLING<br /> +PASTOR ROSEUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head crested; crest and neck black, lustrous with violet reflections; back +and lower parts rose-colour; wings and tail lustrous brown. Length +eight inches.</div> + +<p>A very beautiful bird, partaking the characters of the Starlings +and Crows. It is an inhabitant of Syria, Asia Minor, and Africa, +where it is gregarious in its habits, and does much mischief to the +grain crops. It comes as a straggler to our country from spring +to autumn; only, unfortunately, to be shot as a 'specimen'.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CORVIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE CHOUGH<br /> +PYRRHÓCORAX GRÁCULUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Plumage black, with purple and green reflections; beak and feet coral-red; +claws black. Length sixteen inches; width thirty-two inches. Eggs +yellowish white, spotted with ash-grey and light brown.</div> + +<p>Continental authors state that the bird which we call the Chough +or Red-legged Crow frequents the highest mountain regions and +the confines of perpetual snow, and that hence it is sometimes +known by the name of 'Jackdaw of the Alps'. Like the rest of +its tribe, it is omnivorous, and lives in societies, like the common +Jackdaw and Rook, but rarely deserting, and then only when pressed +by hunger, the place of its birth. With us it is never seen inland, +confining itself to the rocky sea-coast, where it builds its nest in +inaccessible cliffs, and leads the same kind of life with its sable +relatives the Crows and Jackdaws, though it never ventures, as they +do, far from its sea-side strongholds. The name Chough was probably +in ancient times used as a common appellation of all the members +of the family Corvidæ which have black plumage, this one being +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> +distinguished as the 'Cornish Chough', from the rocky district +which it frequented. The famous lines in <i>King Lear</i>—</p> + +<div class="poem">The Crows and Choughs that wing the midway air</div> +<div class="poem">Show scarce so gross as beetles:</div> +<br /> +<div class="justify">point probably to the Jackdaw, which is abundant on the rocky +coast of Kent, where the Chough has not been observed, though +there is a traditional account of a pair which many years ago +escaped from confinement and bred there. By its flight it is +scarcely to be distinguished from the Jackdaw; but if it comes +near enough to the observer to betray the vermilion colour of +its legs, it may be known at once, and, seen on the ground, its long +curved bill, and more slender form, sufficiently distinguish it from +all others to which it assimilates in colour and size.</div> + +<p>Not many years since, the Chough was far from uncommon in +several parts of the coast of Devon and Cornwall. It is now much +less frequent, though it still lingers about the Lizard in the latter +county, and is said to breed in the high cliffs near Combe Martin +in Devonshire, in both of which places I have often looked out +sharply for it, but have never been quite satisfied that I have seen +one. It is said also to haunt the precipitous coast of several other +parts of Great Britain, and to be found also in many parts of Ireland; +in the Channel, especially in Guernsey, it is fairly common, +but always preferring the least frequented localities. The peculiar +habits of a bird so uncommon and secluded are little known, so far +at least as they are characteristic of the bird in its wild state. In +captivity its ways differ little from those of the rest of its tribe. +It is inquisitive, intrusive, captious in temper, disposed to become +attached to those who treat it well, fond of attracting notice; in a +word, it surpasses in intelligence most other tribes of birds, ranking +among those members of the brute creation whose instinct amounts +to something more than a formal compliance with certain laws +which the rational creation has arbitrarily set down for their +government. Insects and the <i>rejectamenta</i> of the sea-shore and +occasionally grain form its diet. It builds its nest of sticks, and +lines it with wool and hair, preferring a cleft in a rock, but not +refusing any old ruin conveniently situated for its purpose. It lays +four or five eggs.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE NUTCRACKER<br /> +NUCÍFRAGA CARYOCATACTES</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Plumage sooty brown, spotted on the back and under parts with white; tail +black, barred with white at the extremity; beak and feet horn-colour; +iris brown. Length thirteen inches. Eggs light buff, with a few greyish +brown spots.</div> + +<p>The Nutcracker Crow, a rare straggler, must not be confounded +with the Nuthatch, which we have already described; the former + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> +is a large bird, as big as a Jay, and is only an occasional +visitor in this country, and whose habits partake of those of the +Crows and Woodpeckers. The propriety of its name is questionable, +according to Yarrell, who says that 'it cannot crack nuts'. +Here perhaps there may be some little mistake. Its name is +evidently a translation of the French <i>Cassenoix</i>. In England we +mean by 'nuts' filberts or hazel-nuts; but the French word +<i>noix</i> is applied exclusively to walnuts, our nuts being <i>noisettes</i>, +or 'little nuts'; and French authors are agreed that its food +consists of insects, fruits, and walnuts; that is, the ordinary +diet of its relative, the Rook, whose fondness for walnuts is notorious. +It lays its eggs in the holes of trees, and, except in the +breeding season, is more or less gregarious in its habits.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE JAY<br /> +GÁRRULUS GLANDÁRIUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Feathers of the crest greyish white, streaked with black; a black moustache +from the corners of the beak; general plumage reddish grey, darker +above; primaries dingy black; secondaries velvet-black and pure white; +inner tertials rich chestnut; winglet and greater coverts barred +with black, white, and bright blue; upper and under tail-coverts +pure white; iris bright blue; beak black; feet livid brown. Length +thirteen and a half inches; breadth twenty-two inches. Eggs dull green, +minutely and thickly-speckled with olive-brown.</div> + +<p>There exists among gamekeepers a custom of selecting a certain +spot in preserved woods, and there suspending, as trophies of their +skill and watchfulness, the bodies of such destructive animals +as they have killed in the pursuit of their calling. They are generally +those of a few stoats or weasels, a Hawk, a Magpie, an owl, and +two or three Jays. All these animals are judged to be destructive +to game, and are accordingly hunted to the death, the Jay, perhaps, +with less reason than the rest, for though it can hardly resist the +temptation of plundering, either of eggs or young, any nest, whether +of Partridge or Pheasant, that falls in its way, yet it does not subsist +entirely upon animal food, but also upon acorns and various +other wild fruits. Its blue feathers are much used in the manufacture +of artificial flies. Nevertheless, owing to their cautious +and wary habits, there are few wooded districts in which they are +not more or less numerous. Their jarring unconnected note, +which characterizes them at all seasons, is in spring and summer +varied by their song proper, in which I have never been able to +detect anything more melodious than an accurate imitation of the +noise made by sawyers at work, though Montagu states that 'it +will, sometimes, in the spring utter a sort of song in a soft and +pleasing manner, but so low as not to be heard at any distance; +and at intervals introduces the bleating of a lamb, mewing of a +cat, the note of a Kite or Buzzard, hooting of an Owl, or even neighing +of a horse. These imitations are so exact, even in a natural +wild state, that we have frequently been deceived.' The Jay +generally builds its nest in a wood, either in the top of a low tree, +or against the trunk of a lofty one, employing as material small +sticks, roots, and dry grass, and lays five eggs. There seems to +be a difference of opinion as to the sociability of the family party +after the young are fledged, some writers stating that they separate +by mutual consent, and that each shifts for itself; others, that the +young brood remains with the old birds all the winter. For my own +part, I scarcely recollect ever having seen a solitary Jay, or to have +heard a note which was not immediately responded to by another +bird of the same species, the inference from which is that, though +not gregarious, they are at least social.</p> + +<p>When domesticated, the Jay displays considerable intelligence; +it is capable of attachment, and learns to distinguish the hand and +voice of its benefactor.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_13"></a> +<div class="center"> +<img src="images/plate_13.png" width="400" height="678" alt="Plate_13" title="Plate_13. Great Grey Shrike [M]; Woodchat Shrike [M]; Red Backed Shrike [M]; and Nutcracker [M]. [p. 58." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_14"></a> +<div class="center"> +<img src="images/plate_14.png" width="409" height="668" alt="Plate_14" title="Plate_14. Raven [M]; Jay [F]; Chough; and Magpie [F]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">THE MAGPIE<br /> +PICA RÚSTICA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, throat, neck, and back velvet-black; scapulars and under plumage +white; tail much graduated and, as well as the wings, black, with lustrous +blue and bronze reflections; beak, iris, and feet black. Length +eighteen inches; breadth twenty-three inches. Eggs pale dirty green, +spotted all over with ash-grey and olive-brown.</div> + +<p>The Magpie, like the Crow, labours under the disadvantage of an +ill name, and in consequence incurs no small amount of persecution. +Owing to the disproportionate length of its tail and shortness of +its wings its flight is somewhat heavy, so that if it were not cunning +and wary to a remarkable degree, it would probably well-nigh disappear +from the catalogue of British Birds. Yet though it is +spared by none except avowed preservers of all birds (like Waterton, +who protects it 'on account of its having nobody to stand +up for it'), it continues to be a bird of general occurrence, and +there seems indeed to be but little diminution of its numbers. Its +nest is usually constructed among the upper branches of a lofty +tree, either in a hedge-row or deep in a wood; or if it has fixed its +abode in an unwooded district, it selects the thickest thorn-bush +in the neighbourhood and there erects its castle. This is composed +of an outwork of thorns and briers supporting a mass of +twigs and mud, which is succeeded by a layer of fibrous roots. +The whole is not only fenced round but arched over with thorny +sticks, an aperture being left, on one side only, large enough to +admit the bird. In this stronghold are deposited generally six + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> +eggs, which in due time are succeeded by as many young ogres, +who are to be reared to birds by an unstinted supply of the most +generous diet. Even before their appearance the old birds have +committed no small havoc in the neighbourhood; now, however, +that four times as many mouths have to be filled, the hunting ground +must either be more closely searched or greatly extended. Any +one who has had an opportunity of watching the habits of a tame +Magpie, must have observed its extreme inquisitiveness and skill +in discovering what was intended to be concealed, joined, moreover, +to an unscrupulous habit of purloining everything that takes its +roving fancy. Even when surrounded by plenty and pampered +with delicacies it prefers a stolen morsel to what is legally its own. +Little wonder then that when it has to hunt on its own account for +the necessaries of life, and is stimulated besides by the cravings +of its hungry brood, it has gained an unenviable notoriety as a +prowling bandit. In the harrying of birds' nests no schoolboy +can compete with it; Partridges and Pheasants are watched to +their retreat and plundered mercilessly of their eggs and young; +the smaller birds are treated in like manner: hares and rabbits, +if they suffer themselves to be surprised, have their eyes picked +out and are torn to pieces; rats, mice, and frogs are a lawful prey; +carrion, offal of all kinds, snails, worms, grubs, and caterpillars, +each in turn pleasantly vary the diet; and, when in season, grain +and fruit are attacked with as much audacity as is consistent with +safety; and might, whenever available, give a right to stray +chickens and ducklings. The young birds, nurtured in an impregnable +stronghold, and familiarized from their earliest days with +plunder, having no song to learn save the note of caution and alarm +when danger is near, soon become adepts in the arts of their parents, +and, before their first moult, are a set of inquisitive, chattering +marauders, wise enough to keep near the haunts of men because +food is there most abundant, cautious never to come within reach +of the fowling-piece, and cunning enough to carry off the call-bird +from the net without falling themselves into the snare. Even +in captivity, with all their drollery, they are unamiable.</p> + +<p>Magpies, though generally distributed, are far more numerous +in some districts than others. In Cornwall they are very abundant; +hence I have heard them called Cornish Pheasants. In +Ireland they are now very common. It is stated that they are +in France more abundant than in any other country of Europe, +where they principally build their nests in poplar-trees, having +discovered, it is said, 'that the brittle nature of the boughs of this +tree is an additional protection against climbers!' 'In Norway', +says a writer in the <i>Zoologist</i>,<a name="FNanchor_1_10" id="FNanchor_1_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> 'this bird, usually so shy in this +country, and so difficult to approach within gunshot, seems to have +entirely changed its nature: it is there the most domestic and + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> +fearless bird; its nest is invariably placed in a small tree or bush +adjoining some farm or cottage, and not unfrequently in the very +midst of some straggling village. If there happens to be a suitable +tree by the roadside and near a house, it is a very favourable locality +for a Norwegian Magpie's nest. I have often wondered to see the +confidence and fearlessness displayed by this bird in Norway; +he will only just move out of your horse's way as you drive by +him on the road, and should he be perched on a rail by the roadside +he will only stare at you as you rattle by, but never think of moving +off. It is very pleasant to see this absence of fear of man in Norwegian +birds; a Norwegian would never think of terrifying a bird +for the sake of sport; whilst, I fear, to see such a bird as the Magpie +sitting quietly on a rail within a few feet, would be to an English +boy a temptation for assault which he could not resist. I must +add, however, with regard to Magpies, that there is a superstitious +prejudice for them current throughout Norway; they are considered +harbingers of good luck, and are consequently always +invited to preside over the house; and, when they have taken up +their abode in the nearest tree, are defended from all ill; and he +who should maltreat the Magpie has perhaps driven off the <i>genius +loci</i>, and so may expect the most furious anger of the neighbouring +dwelling, whose good fortune he has thus violently dispersed.' +Faith in the prophetic powers of the Magpie even yet lingers in +many of the rural districts of England also.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_10" id="Footnote_1_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Vol. viii. p. 3085.</div> + + +<div class="caption3">THE JACKDAW<br /> +CORVUS MONÉDULA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown of the head and upper parts black, with violet reflections; back of the +head and nape grey; lower parts duller black; iris white; beak and feet +black. Length thirteen inches; breadth twenty-seven inches. Eggs +very light blue, with scattered spots of ash-colour and dark brown.</div> + +<p>This lively and active bird, inferior in size as well as dignity to the +Rook, yet in many respects resembles it so closely that it might +be fabled to have made the Rook its model, and to have exercised +its imitative powers in the effort to become the object of its admiration. +A vain effort, however; for nature has given to it a slender +form, a shriller voice, a partially grey mantle, and an instinct which +compels it to be secretive even in the placing of its nest. Its +note, which may be represented either by the syllable 'jack' or +'daw', according to the fancy of the human imitator, sounds like +an impertinent attempt to burlesque the full 'caw' of the Rook; +it affects to be admitted into the society of that bird on equal +terms; but whether encouraged as a friend, or tolerated as a +parasite whom it is less troublesome to treat with indifference than +to chase away, is difficult to decide. Most probably the latter; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> +for although It is common enough to see a party of Jackdaws dancing +attendance on a flock of Rooks, accompanying them to their +feeding-grounds, and nestling in hollow trunks of trees in close +proximity to rookeries, they are neither courted nor persecuted; +they come when they like and go away when they please. On +the other hand, no one, I believe, ever saw a flock of Rooks making +the first advances towards an intimacy with a flock of Jackdaws, +or heard of their condescending to colonize a grove, because their +grey-headed relatives were located in the neighbourhood. On +the sea-coast, where Rooks are only casual visitors, the Jackdaw +has no opportunity of hanging himself on as an appendage to a +rookery, but even here he must be a client. With the choice of a +long range of cliff before him, he avoids that which he might have +all to himself, and selects a portion which, either because it is sheltered +from storms, or inaccessible by climbers, has been already +appropriated by Sea-mews.</p> + +<p>The object of the Jackdaw in making church-towers its resort +is pretty evident. Where there is a church there is at least +also a village, and where men and domestic animals congregate, +there the Jackdaw fails not to find food; grubs in the fields, fruit +in the orchards, and garbage of all kinds in the waste ground. +Here, too, it has a field for exercising its singular acquisitiveness. +Wonderful is the variety of objects which it accumulates in its +museum of a nest, which, professedly a complication of sticks, may +comprise also a few dozen labels stolen from a Botanic Garden, an +old tooth-brush, a child's cap, part of a worsted stocking, a frill, etc. +Waterton,<a name="FNanchor_1_11" id="FNanchor_1_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> who strongly defends it from the charge of molesting +either the eggs or young of pigeons, professes himself unable to +account for its pertinacious habit of collecting sticks for a nest +placed where no such support is seemingly necessary, and, cunning +though it is, comments on its want of adroitness in introducing sticks +into its hole: 'You may see the Jackdaw', he says, 'trying for +a quarter of an hour to get a stick into the hole, while every attempt +will be futile, because, the bird having laid hold of it by the middle, +it is necessarily thrown at right angles with the body, and the +Daw cannot perceive that the stick ought to be nearly parallel +with its body before it can be conveyed into the hole. Fatigued +at length with repeated efforts, and completely foiled in its numberless +attempts to introduce the stick, it lets it fall to the ground, +and immediately goes in quest of another, probably to experience +another disappointment on its return. When time and chance +have enabled it to place a quantity of sticks at the bottom of the +hole, it then goes to seek for materials of a more pliant and a softer +nature.' These are usually straw, wool, and feathers; but, as we +have seen, nothing comes amiss that catches its fancy. In addition +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> +to rocks, towers, and hollow trees, it sometimes places its nest in +chimneys or in rabbit-burrows, but never, or in the rarest instances, +among the open boughs of a tree. It lays from four to six eggs, +and feeds its young on worms and insects, which it brings home in +the pouch formed by the loose skin at the base of its beak. When +domesticated, its droll trickeries and capability of imitating the +human voice and other sounds are well known. By turns affectionate, +quarrelsome, impudent, confiding, it is always inquisitive, +destructive, and given to purloining; so that however popular at +first as a pet, it usually terminates its career by some unregretted +accident, or is consigned to captivity in a wicker cage.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_11" id="Footnote_1_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> <i>Essays on Natural History.</i> First Series, p. 109.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<div class="caption3">THE RAVEN<br /> +CORVUS CÓRAX</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Plumage black with purple reflections; tail rounded, black, extending two +inches beyond the closed wings; beak strong, black as well as the feet; +iris with two circles, the inner grey, the outer ash-brown. Length twenty-five +inches; width four feet. Eggs dirty green, spotted and speckled +with brown.</div> + +<p>The Raven, the largest of the Corvidæ, and possessing in an eminent +degree all the characteristics of its tribe except sociability, is +the bird which beyond all others has been regarded with feelings +of awe by the superstitious in all ages. In both instances in which +specific mention of it occurs in Holy Writ, it is singled out from +among other birds as gifted with a mysterious intelligence. Sent +forth by Noah when the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat, +it perhaps found a congenial home among the lonely crags strewed +with the carcases of drowned animals, and by failing to return, +announced to the patriarch that a portion of the earth, though not one +fit for his immediate habitation, was uncovered by the waters. At +a subsequent period, honoured with the mission of supplying the +persecuted prophet with food, it was taught to suppress its voracious +instinct by the God who gave it. The Raven figures prominently +in most heathen mythologies, and is almost everywhere regarded +with awe by the ignorant even at the present time. In Scandinavian +mythology it was an important actor; and all readers of Shakespeare +must be familiar with passages which prove it to have been +regarded as a bird of dire omen.</p> + +<div class="poem">The sad presaging Raven tolls</div> +<div class="poem">The sick man's passport in her hollow beak.</div> +<div class="poem">And in the shadow of the silent night</div> +<div class="poem">Doth shake contagion from her sable wing.</div> +<div class="poem2"><i>Marlowe.</i></div> + +<p>In the Judgment of others, its friendly mission to the Tishbite +invested it with a sanctity which preserved it from molestation. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p> + +<p>Apart from all traditional belief, the Raven derives its ill-omened +character as a herald of death from the rapidity with which it discerns, +in the vicinity of its haunts, the carcase of any dead animal. +In the coldest winter days, at Hudson's Bay, when every kind of +effluvium is greatly checked if not arrested by frost, buffaloes and +other beasts have been killed when not one of these birds was to +be seen; but in a few hours scores of them have been found collected +about the spot to pick up the blood and offal. 'In Ravens', +says a writer in the <i>Zoologist</i>,'the senses of smell and sight are +remarkably acute and powerful. Perched usually on some tall +cliff that commands a wide survey, these faculties are in constant +and rapid exercises, and all the movements of the bird are regulated +in accordance with the information thus procured. The smell of +death is so grateful to them that they utter a loud croak of satisfaction +instantly on perceiving it. In passing any sheep, if a tainted +smell is perceptible, they cry vehemently. From this propensity +in the Raven to announce his satisfaction in the smell of death has +probably arisen the common notion that he is aware of its approach +among the human race, and foretells it by his croakings.' The same +observant author, as quoted by Macgillivray, says again: 'Their +sight and smell are very acute, for when they are searching the +wastes for provision, they hover over them at a great height; +and yet a sheep will not be dead many minutes before they will +find it. Nay, if a morbid smell transpire from any in the flock, they +will watch it for days till it die.'</p> + +<p>To such repasts they are guided more by scent than by sight, +for though they not unfrequently ascend to a great height in the +air, they do not then appear to be on the look-out for food. This +duty is performed more conveniently and with greater success by +beating over the ground at a low elevation. In these expeditions +they do not confine themselves to carrion, but prey indiscriminately +on all animals which they are quick enough to capture and strong +enough to master. Hares, rabbits, rats, mice, lizards, game of various +kinds, eggs, and the larger insects, all of these enter into their +diet, and, wanting these, they resort to the sea-shore for refuse +fish, or ransack dunghills in villages, before the inhabitants are astir, +for garbage of all sorts. Pliny even relates that in a certain district +of Asia Minor they were trained to hawk for game like the noble +Falcons. Few of these qualifications tend to endear them to mankind; +and as they are dreaded by shepherds on account of their +being perhaps more than suspected of making away with sickly +lambs when occasion offers, and of plundering poultry yards, Ravens +are become, in populous districts, almost unknown birds. I have +only seen them myself on the rocky sea-shore of Devon and Cornwall, +in the wilds of Dartmoor, and the Highlands of Scotland. There +was for many successive years a nest built on a ledge of granite +near the Bishop Rock, in Cornwall, a huge mass of sticks, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> +what appeared to be grass, inaccessible from below, but commanded +by a venturous climber from above. Where it still continues to +breed inland, it places its nest, constructed of sticks and lined +with the wool and fur of its victims, either on an inaccessible rock, +or near the summit of a lofty tree, the ill-omened 'Raven-tree' +of romances. In the north of Scotland, in the Orkneys and Hebrides, +where it is still abundant, it builds its nest in cliffs which it +judges to be inaccessible, both inland and on the sea-shore, showing +no marked preference for either. Two pairs never frequent the +same locality, nor is any other bird of prey permitted to establish +itself in their vicinity. Even the Eagle treats the Raven with +respect, and leaves it to its solitude, not so much from fear of its +prowess, as worn out by its pertinacious resistance of all dangerous +intruders. Hence, in some districts, shepherds encourage Ravens, +because they serve as a repellent to Eagles; while in others, where +Eagles are of unusual occurrence, they allow them to build their +nests undisturbed, but when the young are almost fledged, destroy +them by throwing stones at them from above. Nevertheless the +original pair continues to haunt the same locality for an indefinite +term of years, and it is not a little singular that if one of them +be killed, the survivor will find a mate in an incredibly short space +of time.</p> + +<p>The geographical range of the Raven is very extensive. Throughout +all the zones of the Northern Hemisphere it is to be found; +and having this wide range, its physical constitution is strong, and +it lives to a great age, amounting, so the ancients tell us, to twenty-seven +times the period of a man's life. The note of the Raven is +well described by the word '<i>croak</i>', but it is said by those who have +had the opportunity of observing it under various circumstances, +to utter another sound, resembling the word '<i>whii-ur</i>'. With this +cry it very commonly intermixes another, sounding like '<i>clung</i>', +uttered very much as by a human voice, only a little wilder in the +sound. From the cry <i>croak</i> the Raven no doubt derives its +Latin name <i>Corvus</i> the French <i>Corbeau</i>, and its common Scotch +appellation <i>Corbie</i>.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE CARRION CROW<br /> +CORVUS CORÓNE</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Black, with green and violet reflections; tail slightly rounded, extending an +inch and a quarter beyond the closed wings; iris dark hazel; lower part +of the beak covered with bristly feathers; beak and feet black. Length +nineteen inches; breadth three feet. Eggs bluish green, spotted and +speckled with ash-grey and olive.</div> + +<p>Breeding early in the year, like the Raven, the Carrion Crow builds +its nest in some tree which, from its loftiness or other reason, is +difficult of ascent, where its young ones are hatched about the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> +time that most other birds are laying their eggs, and when the +lambing season is at its height. Then, too, its habits are most +fully developed. Its young are clamorous for food, and will not +be satisfied with a little. So the old bird sallies forth to scour the +districts least frequented by man, and makes every living thing +its prey, provided that by force or cunning it can overpower it. +If Grouse are plentiful, it is said that one pair, what with stealing +the eggs and carrying off the young, will in a season destroy more +of them than the keenest sportsman. It will pounce on the leveret +and bear it screaming from the side of its mother. It watches +sheep which have strayed from the fold, and mangles the newly-born +or weakly lambs, carrying them piece-meal to the young +ones at home. If mowers are at work, the wary birds alight +on some lofty tree, taking care to keep at a safe distance, and +when a nest has been laid bare by the scythe, their incredibly +sharp eye discerns the prize which, whether it consist of eggs or +callow young, is borne off in triumph. Lest their depredations +should be discovered by the accumulation of egg-shells, feathers +and bones, which are the natural consequence of these raids, they +carefully carry to some distance everything that would tend to +betray them, so that one might pass directly beneath the scene of +these enormities unsuspicious of the evil existing overhead. Keen +as this bird is in pursuit of such delicate fare, he can be, when occasion +serves, as unclean a feeder as the Vulture, and he can, on the +other hand, make a meal off corn. Mr. Knox states that in the +Weald of Sussex, where the Raven is common, it resorts to the brooks +and ponds, which abound in fresh-water mussels (<i>Anodon</i>), and +feeds on them most voraciously, especially after floods, when they +lie scattered on the mud. The same author states that in winter it +resorts to the sea-shore, and feeds on the oysters, mussels, small +crabs, marine insects, worms, and dead fish which are cast up by +the waves during the prevalent south-westerly storms. It has been +frequently observed, he adds, to ascend to a great height in the +air with an oyster in its claws, and after letting it fall on the beach, +to descend rapidly with closed pinions and devour the contents. +A similar instance of apparent reasoning is recorded of the same bird +by Pliny, but with the substitution of walnuts for oysters.</p> + +<p>With such wandering habits, it seems at first sight strange that +the phrase 'as the Crow flies' should be adopted to mark distances +in a straight line across the open country; yet when it is borne in +mind how many persons confound the Crow with the Rook, and +even talk of the 'Crows in a rookery', the suggestion will at once +occur to the mind that the term owed its origin to its far gentler +and more respectable relation, the Rook, whose evening flights +from the feeding-ground are among the most familiar sights of the +country, and are invariably performed in a line so straight, that +if a whole flock could be tracked through the air on any one evening +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> +it would be found scarcely to deviate from that of the preceding +or the following. It is to be feared that this inaccurate application +of names has done the Rook ill service; yet the two birds are +totally distinct; Crows are solitary birds, rarely being seen +in more than pairs together; Rooks are eminently sociable. Crows +shun the haunts of men; Rooks court the vicinity of his dwellings. +Crows are carnivorous; Rooks feed principally on the grubs of +beetles, worms, and noxious insects, rewarding themselves occasionally +for their services by regaling on corn and fruits, but rarely +touching carrion or molesting living animals. In appearance the two +birds are much alike; the Crow, however, is somewhat smaller, the +beak is stouter at the point and encircled at the base with numerous +short feathers, while the bill of the Rook is encroached on by a +white membrane which is almost bare of feathers. Both are noted +for their intelligence; the Crow has been known to remove its eggs +from its nest when apprehensive of danger; it was held in high +consideration in the days of augury, and certain of its movements +were considered to be indicative of changes in the weather. It +builds its nest of sticks, and lines it with moss, straw, hair, and +wool, and lays from four to six eggs. Like the Raven, it is a widely-diffused +bird, and attains a great age, outliving (the ancients said) +nine generations of men, showing great attachment to any spot in +which it has once fixed its home, and suffering neither its own +progeny nor any other large birds to nestle in its vicinity.</p> + +<p>This Crow is becoming more numerous of late in the close vicinity +of London. It comes constantly to some of our suburban gardens.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE HOODED CROW, GREY OR ROYSTON CROW<br /> +CORVUS CORNIX</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, throat, wings and tail black, the rest of the plumage ash-grey; tail +rounded; beak and feet black; iris brown. Length nineteen and a half +inches; breadth three feet two inches. Eggs bluish green, mottled with +ash-grey and olive.</div> + +<p>The Hooded Crow closely resembles the Carrion Crow, scarcely +differing from it in fact except in colour. They are, however, perfectly +distinct species, and for the most part exercise their calling +in separate haunts. In Norway Hooded Crows are very abundant, +to the almost total exclusion of the Carrion Crow and Rook, and, +though not congregating so as to form a society like the last-named +bird, they may be seen simultaneously employed in searching for +food in groups which collectively amount to a hundred or +more. Though numerous in the winter at Newmarket Heath +and Royston (where they are sometimes called Royston Crows), +and annually resorting to many parts of the sea-coast, they rarely +breed so far south. In the Isle of Man, the Orkneys, Hebrides, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> +and in all but the south of Scotland they are of more frequent +occurrence than any other of the tribe, essentially belonging to the +'Land of the mountain and the flood'. It is on the increase in +Ireland and very unwelcome there. One can scarcely traverse +the shores of the salt-water lochs of Scotland without seeing a +pair, or, in the latter part of the year, a small party of four or five +of these birds, gravely pacing the shingle and sand in quest of food. +As far as my own experience goes, I should consider the Hooded +Crow as 'half sea-bird', but it is said to be met with, in summer, +in the very centre of the Grampians and other inland districts. +Its proper diet consists of the smaller marine animals, such as +crabs, echini, and molluscs, alive or dead, fish and carrion. At +high-water it retires inland, and skulks about the low grounds +in quest of the eggs and young of Moor-fowl, thereby gaining the +execrations of gamekeepers; takes a survey of any adjacent sheep-walks, +on the chance of falling in with a new-born lamb, or sickly +ewe, whence it has but an ill name among shepherds; and returns +when the tide has well ebbed, to finish the day's repast on food +of a nature light and easy of digestion. It is less wary of man than +the Carrion Crow, and often comes within shot, but, being far too +numerous to admit of being exterminated, is but little assailed. +In the comparatively mild climate of the Scottish sea-coast, these +birds find an abundant supply of food all the year round and as there +is no sensible diminution of their numbers in winter, it is supposed that +those which frequent the English coast from October to March +have been driven southwards by the inclement winters of high +latitudes. They are then frequently observed on the coast of +Norfolk and Sussex in parties of thirty or more, and it has been +remarked that the hunting grounds of the two species are defined +by singularly precise limits, the neighbourhood of Chichester being +frequented by the Carrion Crow, that of Brighton by its congener. +It is abundant on the sea-coast of Norfolk in the winter, where I +have seen it feeding with Gulls, Plovers, etc. In musical capabilities +it is inferior even to its relative, its solitary croak being +neither so loud nor so clear. The nest of the Hooded Crow is large, +composed of twigs, sea-weeds, heath, feathers, and straws, and is +placed on rocks, tall trees, low bushes, and elsewhere, according +to circumstances.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_15"></a> +<div class="center"> +<img src="images/plate_15.png" width="411" height="671" alt="Plate_15" title="Plate_15. Rook; Jackdaw [M]; Crow [M]; and Hooded Crow [F]. [p. 68." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_16"></a> +<div class="center"> +<img src="images/plate_16.png" width="420" height="692" alt="Plate_16" title="Plate_16. Pied Flycatcher [M] imm. [M]; Spotted Flycatcher [F];Waxwing [M] [M]; and Greenfinch [M] young [F]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">THE ROOK<br /> +CORVUS FRÚGILEGUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Plumage black, with purple and violet reflections; base of the beak, nostrils; +and region round the beak bare of feathers and covered with a white scurf, +iris greyish white; beak and feet black. Length eighteen inches; breadth +three feet. Eggs pale green, thickly blotched with olive and dark-brown.</div> + +<p>As the Hooded Crow is essentially the type of the Corvidæ in +Scandinavia and the Isles of Scotland, where the Carrion Crow +and Rook are all but unknown, so in England the representative +of the tribe is the Rook, a bird so like the Crow that it is called +by its name almost as frequently as by its own, yet so different +in habits that, instead of being under a perpetual and universal +ban, it is everywhere encouraged and indeed all but domesticated. +There are few English parks that do not boast of their rookery, +and few proprietors of modern demesnes pretending to be parks, who +would not purchase at a high price the air of antiquity and respectability +connected with an established colony of these birds. Owing +to their large size and the familiarity with which they approach +the haunts of men, they afford a facility in observing their habits +which belongs to no other birds; hence all treatises on Natural +History, and other publications which enter into the details of +country life in England, abound in anecdotes of the Rook. Its +intelligence, instinctive appreciation of danger, voracity, its utility +or the reverse, its nesting, its morning repasts and its evening +flights, have all been observed and more or less faithfully recorded +again and again; so that its biography is better known than that +of any other British bird. It would be no difficult task to compile +from these materials a good-sized volume, yet I doubt not that +enough remains untold, or at least not sufficiently authenticated, +to furnish a fair field of inquiry to any competent person who +would undertake to devote his whole attention to this one bird for +a considerable period of time. Such a biographer should make +himself master of all that has been recorded by various authorities, +and should then visit a large number of rookeries in all parts of +the kingdom, collecting and sifting evidence, making a series of +personal observations, and spreading his researches over all seasons +of the year. Such an inquiry, trivial though it may seem, would +be most useful, for the Rook, though it has many friends, +has also many enemies, and, being everywhere abundant, its +agency for good or evil must have serious results. The following +account being imperfect from want of space, the reader who wishes +to know more about this interesting bird must refer to our standard +works on Ornithology, and, above all, record and compare his +own personal observations.</p> + +<p>In the early spring months Rooks subsist principally on the +larvæ and worms turned up by the plough, and without gainsay, +they are then exceedingly serviceable to the agriculturist, by +destroying a vast quantity of noxious insects which, at this period +of their growth, feed on the leaves or roots of cultivated vegetables. +Experience has taught them that the ploughman either has not the +power or the desire to molest them; they therefore approach +the plough with perfect fearlessness, and show much rivalry in their +efforts to be first to secure the treasures just turned up. During +the various processes to which the ground is subjected in preparation +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> +for the crop, they repeat their visits, spreading more widely +over the field, and not only pick up the grubs which lie on the surface, +but bore for such as, by certain signs best known to themselves, +lie concealed. I need not say that in all these stages the wisdom +of the farmer is to offer them every inducement to remain; all that +they ask is to be let alone. Not so, however, when the seed-crop +is sown. Grain, pulse, and potatoes are favourite articles of diet +with them, and they will not fail to attack these as vigorously as they +did the grubs a few days before. They are therefore undeniably +destructive at this season, and all available means should be adopted +to deter them from alighting on cultivated ground. About the +second week in March they desert the winter roosting places, to which +they had nightly congregated in enormous flocks, leave off their +wandering habits, and repair as if by common consent to their +old breeding places. Here, with much cawing and bustling, they +survey the ruins of their old nests, or select sites for new ones, +being guided by their instinct to avoid all those trees the upper +branches of which are too brittle for their purpose either because +the trees are sickly or in an incipient state of decay. Hence, when +it has occasionally happened that a nestless tree in a rookery has +been blown down, the birds have been saluted as prophets, while +in reality the tree yielded to the blast before its fellows because +it was unsound, the Rooks knowing nothing about the matter +except that signs of decay had set in among the upper twigs while +as yet all seemed solid beneath. How the birds squabble about +their nests, how they punish those thievishly disposed, how they +drive away intruders from strange rookeries, how scrupulously they +avoid, during building, to pick up a stick that has chanced to drop, +how the male bird during incubation feeds his mate with the most +luscious grubs brought home in the baggy pouch at the base of +his bill, how every time that a bird caws while perched he strains +his whole body forward and expands his wings with the effort, all +these things, and many more, I must pass over without further +notice, leaving them to be verified by the reader with the help of +a good field-glass. I must, however, mention, in passing, the +custom so generally adopted by sportsmen, of shooting the +young birds as soon as they are sufficiently fledged to climb +from their nests to the adjoining twigs, or to perform their +first tentative flight over the summits of the trees. It is +supposed to be necessary to keep down their numbers, but this +is a disputed point. I have, however, little doubt that Rooks +during the whole of their lives associate the memory of these +<i>battues</i> with the appearance of a man armed with a gun. Many +people believe that Rooks know the smell of powder: they have +good reason to know it; but that they are as much alarmed at +the sight of a stick as a gun in the hand of a man, may be proved +by any one who, chancing to pass near a flock feeding on the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> +ground, suddenly raises a stick. They will instantly fly off, +evidently in great alarm.</p> + +<p>While the young are being reared, the parent birds frequent +corn-fields and meadows, where they search about for those plants +which indicate the presence of a grub at the root. Such they +unscrupulously uproot, and make a prize of the destroyer concealed +beneath. They are much maligned for this practise, but without +reason; for, admitting that they kill the plant as well as the grub, it +must be borne in mind that several of the grubs on which they feed +(cockchafer and daddy-longlegs) live for several years underground, +and that, during that period, they would if left undisturbed, have +committed great ravages. I have known a large portion of a bed +of lettuces destroyed by a single grub of <i>Melolontha</i>, having actually +traced its passage underground from root to root, and found it +devouring the roots of one which appeared as yet unhurt. Clearly, +a Rook would have done me a service by uprooting the first lettuce, +and capturing its destroyer.</p> + +<p>I must here advert to a peculiar characteristic of the Rook +which distinguishes it specifically from the Crow. The skin surrounding +the base of the bill, and covering the upper part of the +throat, is, in the adult birds, denuded of feathers. Connected +with this subject many lengthy arguments have been proposed +in support of two distinct opinions: one, that the bareness above +mentioned is occasioned by the repeated borings of the bird for its +food; the other, that the feathers fall off naturally at the first +moult, and are never replaced. I am inclined to the latter view, +and that for two reasons: first, if it be necessary (and that is not at +all clear) that the Rook, in order to supply itself with food, should +have no feathers at the base of its bill, I believe that nature would +not have resorted to so clumsy a contrivance, and one so annoying +to the bird, as that of wearing them away bit by bit: and, secondly, +the bare spot is, as far as I have observed, of the same size and +shape in all birds, and at all periods of the year, a uniformity which +can scarcely be the result of digging in soils of various kinds, and +at all seasons. I cannot, therefore, but think that the appearance +in question is the result of a law in the natural economy of the +bird, that the feathers are not <i>rubbed</i> off, but <i>fall</i> off, and that +they are not renewed, because nature never intended that they +should grow there permanently; if not, why is there no +similar abrasion in the Crow? The number of lambs eaten by +Crows is very small after all, and birds' eggs are not always in +season, nor is carrion so very abundant; so that, during a great +portion of the year, even Crows must dig for their livelihood, and +the great distinction between a Crow and a Rook is, that the former +has actually no bare space at the base of his bill. But the question +is still open, and the reader may make his own observations, which +in Natural History, as well as in many other things, are far better +than other people's theories.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p> + +<p>In very dry summer weather, Rooks are put to great shifts in +obtaining food. Grubs and worms descend to a great depth to get +beyond the influence of the drought, and the soil is too parched +and hard for digging; they then retire to the sea-shore, to marshes, +fresh-water and salt, to cabbage and potato gardens, and in the last-named +localities they are again disposed to become marauders. +To fruit gardens they are rarely permitted to resort, or they would +commit great ravages. As the season advances, ripe walnuts are a +very powerful attraction, and when they have discovered a tree well +supplied with fruit, a race ensues between them and the proprietor +as to which shall appropriate the greater share, so slyly do they +watch for opportunities, and so quick are they in gathering them +and carrying them off in their beaks. In long winter frosts, or +when the ground is covered with snow, they are again reduced to +straits. Some resort to the sea-shore and feed on garbage of all +kinds, some to turnip-fields where they dig holes in the bulbs. +They have also been observed to chase and kill small birds, which, +as near starvation as themselves, have been unable to fly beyond +their reach, and I have even seen a Rook catch a small fish.</p> + +<p>I must not conclude this imperfect sketch without noticing a +peculiar habit of Rooks, which is said to portend rain. A flock +will suddenly rise into the air almost perpendicularly, with great +cawing and curious antics, until they have reached a great elevation, +and then, having attained their object, whatever that may be, +drop with their wings almost folded till within a short distance of +the ground, when they recover their propriety, and alight either +on trees or on the ground with their customary grave demeanour. +Occasionally in autumn, as White of Selborne remarks,</p> + +<div class="poem">Sooth'd by the genial warmth, the cawing Rook</div> +<div class="poem">Anticipates the spring, selects her mate,</div> +<div class="poem">Haunts her tall nests, and with sedulous care</div> +<div class="poem">Repairs her wicker eyrie, tempest torn.</div> +<br /> +<div class="justify">Similar instances of this unseasonable pairing are recorded by +modern ornithologists.</div> + +<p>Efforts are sometimes made, and not always unsuccessfully, to +induce Rooks to establish a colony in a new locality. One plan +is to place some eggs taken from a Rook's nest in that of some large +bird which has happened to build in the desired spot, that of a +Crow for instance, a Magpie, Jackdaw, Jay, or perhaps a Mistle +Thrush. If the young are reared, it is probable that they will return +to breed in the same place in the following year. Another plan +which has been tried with success is to place several bundles of +sticks, arranged in the form of nests, among the highest branches +of the trees which it is desired to colonize. Stray Rooks in quest +of a settlement, mistaking these for ruins of old nests, accept the +invitation and establish themselves if the locality suits them in +other respects.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> +During 1907-1908 the economic rôle played by the Rook has been +thoroughly investigated by ornithologists and farmers all over +Hungary, with the results that this bird stands as a friend rather +than a foe to agriculture.</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY LANIIDÆ</div> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">THE GREAT GREY SHRIKE<br /> +LANIUS EXCÚBITOR</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, nape, and back, bright ash grey; a broad black band beneath the eyes; +under plumage pure white; wings short, black; base of the primaries and +tips of the secondaries white; tail with the two middle feathers black, +and the outer on each side white with a black spot at the base, the rest +black and white; bill and feet black. <i>Female</i> of a more dingy hue +above; below dull white, the proportion of black in the feathers increasing +as they approach the middle; each feather of the breast terminating +in a crescent-shaped ash grey spot. Length ten inches; breadth fourteen +inches. Eggs bluish white, spotted at the larger end with two shades of +brown. Sylvan. Young barred below.</div> + +<p>The family of Shrikes, or Butcher-birds, would seem to occupy +an intermediate station between birds of prey and insectivorous +birds. The subject of the present chapter especially, though +little resembling a Hawk in appearance, has, on account of its habits, +some pretension to be ranked among birds of prey; from which, +however, it differs in the essential particular that, as well as the +rest of the family, it seizes and carries off its prey with its beak +and not with its claws. Although a fairly common visitor from +autumn to spring this Shrike does not breed with us, and is rarer +in Ireland. It derives its name <i>excubitor</i> (sentinel) from its favourite +habit of posting itself on the topmost twig of a poplar or other lofty +tree, whence it keeps up a watchful look-out, not only for its prey, +but for any bird of the Hawk tribe, against which it wages incessant +and deadly hostility. When it descries one of these birds, which +it does at a great distance, it utters a shriek, as if for the purpose +of giving an alarm, a cry which is instantly repeated by all birds +of the same species which happen to be within hearing. This +antipathy against birds of prey is taken advantage of by fowlers +in France, who, when setting their nets for hawks, take with them +a 'sentinel' Shrike and station it near the living bird, which they +employ as a lure. So rapid is the swoop of the Falcon that but for +the warning cry of the Shrike it would descend and carry off its +victim before the fowler had time to close his nets; but the keen +eye of the sentinel detects, and his shrill cry announces, the +approach of his enemy, and the fowler has time to prepare. The +principal food of this bird appears to be mice, frogs, lizards and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> +insects, especially the stag-beetle and grasshopper, though in its +natural state it will capture and destroy any birds inferior to +itself in strength and courage. Its name <i>Lanius</i> (Latin for +butcher) and Butcher-bird were given to it from its habit +of impaling beetles and small birds on thorns in the vicinity +of its nest. Its flight is peculiar, being composed of a series +of dips, like that of the Wagtail; and when it quits its perch on +the summit of one tall tree to fly to another, it drops and rises +again so as to form a curve like that of a loose rope hung from two +tall masts. Another peculiarity of the Shrike is a remarkable power +of imitating the song of other birds, which it is said to exercise in +order to obtain its food more easily, by beguiling the nestlings of +the smaller birds into answering it by a chirrup, and so betraying +their retreat. The notes which it has been observed to imitate are +those of the Nightingale, Robin, Swallow, and Stonechat. Its +proper note is harsh, resembling somewhat that of the Kestrel, +<i>Shake-shake</i>! the call note is <i>truii</i>! Of the Lesser Grey Shrike, +<i>Lanius minor</i>, there have been few occurrences in these Islands.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">LESSER GREY SHRIKE<br /> +LANIUS MINOR</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Grey above: breast and flanks roseate; wing-bar white.</div> + +<p>Of this species only four occurrences recorded until recently—in +Scilly Islands, Norfolk and Devon.</p> + + +<div class="caption2">THE RED-BACKED SHRIKE<br /> +LANIUS COLLURIO</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, nape, shoulders and upper tail-coverts ash-grey, a black band reaching +from the gape to beyond the ears; back, scapulars, and wing-coverts +reddish brown; throat white, passing into rose-red on the breast and +flanks; wings blackish, edged with reddish brown; tail nearly even at +the end, four middle feathers black tipped with reddish grey, the rest +white from the base through two-thirds of their length, the other third +black with a white tip; second primary longer than the fifth. <i>Female</i>—upper +plumage rusty brown, tinged near the nape and tail with ash-grey; +lower white, the sides barred transversely by narrow curved lines; +outer webs and tips of the outer tail feathers yellowish white, four middle +ones uniform dusky brown. Length seven inches; breadth eleven +inches. Eggs cream-coloured, greenish, or delicate grey variously +mottled and spotted with light brown and ash-grey.</div> + +<p>The Red-backed Shrike, though not generally diffused throughout +England, is to certain localities a far from uncommon wanderer, +but for some reason it has been scarce in 1908. In the wooded +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> +districts of the midland and southern counties many specimens +may be annually observed, and the nest is of frequent occurrence. +This is usually placed a few feet from the ground, in the middle +of a thick bush or hedge; and, very unlike that of the rapacious +birds, is a massive, well-built structure of twigs, dry grass, and +moss, lined with hair and fine roots. This bird is called in France +<i>l'êcorcheur</i> (the flayer), from the custom ascribed to it of skinning +the bodies of its victims before devouring them. Its habits and +food are similar to those of the last species, and it is said also to +possess the same imitative power. That it impales insects and +even young birds on thorns there can be no doubt as it has been +watched by a competent observer in the very act of thus dealing +with the carcase of a hedge-sparrow.</p> + +<p>A professional bird-catcher told how a Red-backed Shrike once +pounced on one of his call-birds (a linnet), and attempted to carry it +off; but being prevented from doing so by the linnet being fastened to +the ground by a string and wooden peg, the Shrike tore off the head +of its victim, with which it made its escape. The bird-catcher then +drew out from the ground the peg which held down the linnet, and +left the dead bird lying in the net. In about half an hour the +Shrike again appeared, pounced upon the body of the dead linnet, +and carried it off in its beak, with the string and peg hanging to it; +the weight of the latter was probably the cause of the Shrike not +carrying its prey quite away, as it dropped it after flying about +fifteen yards, when the bird-catcher again picked up the dead +linnet, and replaced it in the net. The Shrike in the meantime +retreated to some neighbouring bushes, from which it soon made +a third pounce upon the nets, this time attacking the second +call-bird, which was a sparrow. On this occasion, however, the +bird-catcher was on the watch, and, drawing his nets, captured the +Shrike, which proved to be an adult female. This daring act was +observed late in the month of June, when, perhaps, the courage of +the mother bird was unusually excited by the cravings of her +brood at home, and further stimulated by the impression that the +call-birds were in trouble, and consequently offered an easy prey.</p> + +<p>An amiable trait in the character of this Shrike is its attachment +to its mate and young. A female has been known to approach so +close to the cage in which her captured lord was confined, that she +was herself easily taken; and when a nest of young birds is molested, +both parents defend their offspring with astonishing intrepidity.</p> + +<p>The Red-backed Shrike is known to us only as a summer visitor, +departing early in autumn. Its note is a harsh <i>chuck!</i> but the +song of the mate is somewhat pleasant.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">WOODCHAT SHRIKE<br /> +LANIUS POMERÁNUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Forehead and cheeks black; nape bright rust colour; back and wings variegated +with black, white, and reddish brown; under parts white; outer +tail feathers white, with a square black spot at the base on the inner web, +the two next with the black spot larger, and on both webs, the two middle +ones wholly black, the rest black tipped with white; tail slightly rounded; +second primary equal in length to the fifth. <i>Female</i>—all her colours +dingy; breast marked transversely with fine brown lines. Length, seven +and a half inches. Eggs bluish white, spotted at the larger end with +brown and ash-grey.</div> + +<p>The habits of this bird, which is a very rare visitant to the British +Isles, differ in no material respect from those of the foregoing +species. On the Continent it is more frequent in the south than +the north, where it frequents trees rather than bushes, and generally +places its nest, which it constructs of twigs, moss, and white +lichen, in the forked branch of an oak. Like the rest of the family +it is migratory, coming and departing at the same time as the other +species.</p> + + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY AMPELIDÆ</div> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">THE WAXWING<br /> +ÁMPELIS GÁRRULUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Feathers of the head elongated, forming a crest; upper plumage purplish +red; lower the same, but of a lighter tint; throat and lore black; greater +wing-coverts black, tipped with white; primaries black, with a yellow +or white angular spot near the extremity, six or eight of the secondaries +and tertiaries having the shaft prolonged and terminating in a substance +resembling red sealing-wax; tail black, tipped with yellow. Length +eight inches. Eggs pale blue, with a few streaks of brown and lilac.</div> + +<p>The Waxwing is an elegant bird, of about the size of a Thrush. +It visits this country, and in fact every other European country +where it is known at all, at irregular intervals, generally in flocks, +which vary in number from eight or ten to some scores. Thus it +is everywhere a stranger; and little was known till recently of its +nesting habits. It is perhaps on account of this ignorance of its +natural history, that it has borne a variety of names which are as +inappropriate as possible. Temminck describes it under the name +Bombycivora, or devourer of Bombyx, a large moth, a name quite +unfit for a bird which lives exclusively on fruits and berries. This +was softened into Bombycilla, which means, I presume, a little +Bombyx, though the bird in question is far larger than any known +moth. Its French name <i>Jaseur</i>, equivalent to the English one, +Chatterer, is quite as inappropriate, as it is singularly silent. In +default of all certain information, then, I venture to surmise that, +coming in parties no one knows whence, and going no one knows +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> +whither, they may have received the name Bohemian, because +they resemble in their habits the wandering tribes of gypsies, who +were formerly called indifferently Egyptians and Bohemians. +Taken in this sense, the Bohemian or <i>Wandering</i> Waxwing, as it +used to be called, is a name open to no exception. The plumage +of the bird is silky, and that of the head is remarkable for forming +a crest, and being capable of being elevated, as in the Cardinal. +Its black gorget and tiara, the patches of white, yellow, and black +described above, make it very conspicuous for colouring, and the +singularity of its appearance is much increased by the appendages +to its secondaries and tertiaries, which resemble in colour and substance +red sealing-wax. In very old birds these waxen appendages +are also to be found at the extremities of the tail-feathers, being +no more than the shafts of the feathers, condensed with the web. +In its habits the Waxwing resembles the Tits. It feeds on +insects, fruit, berries, and seeds. Its call-note is a twitter, which +it rarely utters, except when taking flight and alighting. The +Waxwing is a northern bird, and Dr. Richardson, the Arctic traveller, +informs us that he one day saw a flock, consisting of three or four +hundred birds, alight on one or two trees in a grove of poplars, +making a loud twittering noise. One of its German names, <i>Schneevogel</i> +(snowbird), was evidently given in this belief. It is sometimes +caught and caged, but has nothing but its beautiful colouring +to recommend it. It is a stupid lazy bird, occupied only in +eating and reposing for digestion. Its song is weak and uncertain.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY MUSCICAPIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<p><span class="smcap">Muscicapidæ.</span>—Nostrils more or less covered by bristly hairs</p> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE SPOTTED FLYCATCHER<br /> +MUSCÍCAPA GRÍSOLA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage ash-brown; feathers of the head marked with a central dark +line; under parts white, the sides marked with longitudinal brown streaks; +flanks tinged with red. Length six inches; breadth ten inches. Eggs +bluish white, mottled with reddish spots, which are deepest in colour +towards the larger end.</div> + +<p>There are few birds with whose haunts and habits we are more +familiar than those of the common Flycatcher. In the wooded +parts of England there is scarcely a country house, perhaps, which +has not in its neighbourhood at least a single pair of these birds, +who, though their stay with us is but short, become as necessary +appendages of the garden during the summer months as the Redbreast +is in winter. They have neither song to recommend them +nor brilliancy of colouring; yet the absence of these qualities is +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> +more than compensated by the confidence they repose in the innocent +intentions of the human beings whose protection they claim, +by their strong local attachments, and by their unceasing activity +in the pursuit of flying insects. At any time during the months of +June, July, and August, in most country and suburban gardens, +one may observe perched on a railing, standard rose, or the low +branch of an apple-tree, a small brownish bird, with a speckled +breast, about the size of a Sparrow, but more slender in form, taking +no notice of human beings, but nevertheless evidently on the look-out +for something. Suddenly it darts from its position, flies rapidly +forwards for a few yards, performs an evolution in the air, and +returns either to the exact spot which it had previously occupied +or to a similar one hard by. After a rest of a few seconds, it performs +the same manœuvre, and always with the same object and +success. Every time it quitted its perch, some ill-fated fly or beetle +was discovered, winging its way through the air, and captured to +be devoured on the spot, or to form part of a pellet of insect food for +a hungry nestling. The nest, composed of moss, straws, and hair, and +lined with feathers, is usually placed either against a wall, hidden +by the leaves of a trained fruit-tree, or on the horizontal bough of +a standard apple-tree. During the year 1859, a pair of these birds +had taken up their quarters in my own garden in a situation such +as that first described, but becoming dissatisfied with the locality +even after the nest had received its complement of eggs—five—deserted +it, and built another nest in an apple-tree a few yards off, +choosing a position on a short branch, where their workmanship +was concealed from the sight of passengers by a cluster of large +apples. The bough overhung a path by which many persons passed +to and fro every day; but the nest was built, and the old birds +hatched their eggs, neither noticed nor noticing, until one day when +I happened to stop underneath, upon which the bird took flight, +and so revealed her place of retreat. I do not mention this incident +as anything remarkable, but simply to exemplify the habits of the +bird when it has taken up its residence in a frequented garden, +and in contrast with its treatment of intruders when it has chosen +a more secluded spot for a home. A few days after, I happened +to be fly-fishing on the bank of a stream close to which grew some +tall elm-trees. Under one of these I was pursuing my amusement, +when a flycatcher darted from a tree on the opposite side of the +stream, and flew so close to my face that to dip my head out of the +way was unavoidable. The same movement was repeated again and +again, making it impossible for me to persist. Suspecting that +there was a nest somewhere very near me, I looked up and discovered, +within a few inches of my head, a nest built against the +hole of the tree, and containing four or five nearly fledged young +ones, whose heads and breasts projected considerably beyond the +edge of their mossy cradle. As I moved away, the parent bird +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> +hopped about uneasily in a neighbouring tree, uttering its monotonous +and unmusical chirrup, but molested me no further. It +would seem then that the garden bird, grown familiar with the +human form, was unsuspicious of danger, while the other, who had +not been accustomed to see her sanctuary approached, immediately +took alarm. It is supposed that the same birds are in the habit of +returning annually to their old resort. Both the above incidents +tend to give weight to this opinion: one of the birds having been +reared, probably in the garden, and so having been accustomed to +the sight of men from the first; the other having been always +a recluse. The fact which fell under my own notice, that a nest +was built, and a brood reared for three successive years in exactly +the same spot, is, I think, conclusive evidence that either the same +birds or their immediate descendants were the architects, it +being scarcely credible that three several pairs of birds should +have fixed on the same spot by accident. Mr. Denham Weir +has observed that the Spotted Flycatcher consumes only a +day and a half in the construction of its nest, and that a pair of +birds which he watched fed their young no less than five hundred +and thirty-seven times in one day, beginning at twenty-five minutes +before four o'clock in the morning, and ending at ten minutes before +nine in the evening. The young birds assume the adult plumage +in their first year, and soon learn to hawk for their prey as well as +their parents. I have recorded elsewhere an instance in which the +parent birds contrived to feed a disabled young one after it had +left the nest. The Flycatcher arrives in England about the end +of April, and leaves about the end of September.</p> + +<div class="caption3">THE PIED FLYCATCHER<br /> +MUSCÍCAPA ATRICAPILLA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage and tail black, the wings black, with the central coverts white; +scapulars edged with white; under plumage white. In the <i>female</i> the +black is replaced by greyish brown, the white is dingy, and the three +lateral tail feathers are edged with white. Length five inches. Eggs +pale blue, generally without spots.</div> + +<p>The Pied Flycatcher, so called from its feathers being varied with +black and white, is a smaller bird than the preceding, and by no +means so common, being very local as a breeder. It appears, indeed, +to be mainly confined to the northern counties of England, where +it arrives about the middle of April, and builds its nest of dry leaves, +small roots, grass, and a little hair, loosely put together, in the hole +of a tree. There it lays from five to seven pale blue eggs, very +like, both in size and colour, those of the Redstart, which it also +much resembles in habits. It has more claim to be considered a +songster than the Spotted Flycatcher. In places where it is frequent +it is often observed to settle on the decayed stump of a tree, constantly +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> +repeating its short, little varied, but far from unpleasing +song, every now and then interrupted by the pursuit and capture +of some passing insect. It is said also to be very noisy and clamorous +when its nest is approached. It quits our shores in September.</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY HIRUNDINIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE SWALLOW<br /> +HIRUNDO RÚSTICA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Forehead and throat chestnut-brown; upper parts, sides of the neck, and a +bar across the breast black, with violet reflections; lower parts dull reddish +white; tail very long and forked. <i>Female</i>—with less red on the +forehead and less black on the breast; under parts whiter; outer tail-feathers +shorter. Length six inches and a half, width thirteen inches and +a quarter. Eggs white, spotted with brown and dark red.</div> + +<p>There are many features in the life of the Swallow so prominent, +that no undomesticated bird is more thoroughly known. Like +the Sparrow, it accompanies man wherever he fixes his dwelling; +but, unlike the Sparrow, it is liable to be mistaken for no other bird; +its flight is peculiar and all but ceaseless; at least, it is rarely seen +except in motion; and it is absent during the greater portion of +the year, so giving to itself a twofold notoriety, being regretted at +the season of its departure and welcomed at its return. These +three circumstances, its migratory habits, its mode of flight, and +attachment to the dwellings of man, have been the cause why, in +all ages, it has been invested with especial interest. Its return is +universally greeted as prophetic of summer weather; the very +proverb that 'one Swallow does not make a summer', only indicates +a popular belief; and its departure is among the first intimations +of approaching winter. The Swallow consequently is the type of +migratory birds; if the Swallow is come, all take it for granted +that the other summer birds have arrived, and when its twitter is +no longer heard, we know that all the other birds of passage are +gone or going. Of the Swallow, therefore, it is said pre-eminently, +"God sends us the Swallow in the first days of summer, to relieve +us of the insects which the summer suns are calling into life. The +home of the Swallow is all the habitable earth; it knows nothing +of winter or winter's cold." In remote ages the Swallow was considered +to be endowed with supernatural intelligence; it refused +to build its nest in a certain town because it was polluted with +crime; in another, because it had been frequently burnt down; it +foretold tempests; and, above all, it was noted for having taught +men the healing properties of a certain herb,<a name="FNanchor_1_12" id="FNanchor_1_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> by employing it to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> +give sight to its young. Not only was it thus skilled in the healing +art, but was in itself a medicine of no ordinary virtue. Even in +the time of our countryman Ray, not two hundred years ago, its +efficacy in various complaints was seriously believed: the whole +body burnt was considered a specific for weak eyes, quinsy and +inflamed uvula; the heart was prescribed in epilepsy and in quartan +ague, it was good also for strengthening the memory; the blood +was good for the eyes, especially if drawn from under the right +wing: a little stone sometimes found in the stomach of young birds, +called <i>chelidonius</i>, tied to the arm, or hung around the neck, was a +remedy against children's fits. This was to be searched for before +or at the August full moon, in the eldest of a brood. Even the nest +had its virtues, being, if applied externally, good for quinsy, redness +of the eyes, and the bite of a viper.</p> + +<p>A century later 'good old White' published his account of the +Swallow, to which the reader is referred as an admirable model +of bird-biography, not only for the age, but as an authentic history +full of fresh interest to the reader in all ages. The only point on +which White had doubts was whether Swallows all migrate, or +whether some of the young do not occasionally stay behind, and +hibernate in hollow trees, holes of rocks, and the banks of pools +and rivers. Individuals are said to occasionally remain, perhaps +in consequence of having been disabled by accident at the season +when the migratory instinct was in its active force, or from some +other cause unknown to us. Several instances of such have been +recorded by authors who, whether accurate observers or not, certainly +believed that they were reporting truly. That they were seen +only on warm days is of course no evidence that they had been +roused from a state of torpor by the unusual warmth. Sunny days +in winter tempt people to walk abroad and to resort to the same +places which winter-gnats would choose for their gambols. Here, +too, the stray Swallow would be found; but in dark stormy weather +the gnats and the Swallow would stay at home, and the ornithologist +would have little temptation to do otherwise. I happen to be myself +among the number of those who on personal evidence believe +that individual Swallows do remain in England long after the period +of general migration. I was walking through a limestone quarry +at Saltram on the bank of the Plym, in Devonshire, many years ago, +on the twenty-fourth of December, when I saw a Swallow, whether +a Chimney Swallow or Martin, I cannot positively affirm, wheeling +about, and evidently hawking for gnats near the face of the cliff. +The season was a mild one, the air still, and the sun shining brightly +against the limestone rocks, from which much heat was reflected. +That the bird had been kept in captivity until the migratory season +had passed and then released is not probable. On any other +supposition it must have remained either of its own free will, which +is not likely, or from incapacity to accompany its congeners. Left +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> +alone it probably found a sheltered retreat in the face of the cliff, +and sallied forth whenever the weather was inviting, making the +most of the short days, and, on the finest, contenting itself with a +scanty meal. The temperature of the west of England in winter +it is quite able to bear; in fact, it is not uncommon there for a +whole winter to pass without any weather so severe as that which +has characterized the whole of the present April (1860), though +Swallows have returned, and contrive to find food enough to keep +themselves alive. If, therefore, the bird which I saw managed to +live on till Christmas Eve, there is no reason why it should not +survive the whole of the winter. But as 'one Swallow does not +make a spring', so neither is one sufficient to upset a theory. There +remains, therefore, the rule with the one exception to prove it, that +Swallows do migrate. A full account of all that has since been learnt +of the Swallow's history will be found in Yarrell's <i>British Birds</i>. +For the sake of reference only I will add a short summary of what +I may term its statistics. The Swallow is a migratory bird wherever +it is found, that is in most of the countries of Europe, Asia, +and Africa. The first Swallows arrive in this country about the +eleventh of April, and are followed by others at various intervals, +until the middle or end of May. On their arrival, they resort to +those places which, being most sheltered, abound most in winged +insects, these being frequently the courses of rivers and canals. +As the season advances, they spread themselves more generally +over the country, still, however, being most numerous in the vicinity +of water. In May they build their shallow open nests of mud and +straw lined with feathers, a few feet down a chimney, in an outhouse, +a bell-tower, the shaft of a deserted mine, or any other place which +is at once dry and dark, rarely in more exposed places. They lay +four or five eggs, and rear two or three broods in a season. The +young being, from the usual situation of the nest, unable to leave +their nursery until they are fully fledged, require to be fed a long +time, but they continue to be, partially at least, dependent on the +parent birds for many days after they have learnt to hawk for +themselves. The process of feeding is carried on while both old +and young are on the wing; or the young, perched on the top of +a house or the branch of a tree, receive in turn the morsels which +their more skilful parents have caught for them. In autumn, +many days before migration is actually about to take place, Swallows, +old and young, assemble in large flocks, especially towards +evening, and roost on trees in the vicinity of water. At this season +they seem to be more socially disposed, even during the day, than +at any other period of their sojourn with us. In October they take +their departure collectively, and so strongly is the migratory instinct +then in force, that it overcomes parental affection, powerful though +this feeling is in the Swallow; some of the late broods being left +behind.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_12" id="Footnote_1_12"></a> +<a href="#FNanchor_1_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Chelidonium: Celandine or Swallow-wort, from +χελιδων, 'a Swallow'.</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE HOUSE MARTIN<br /> +CHELÍDON ÚRBICA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, nape and upper part of the back, black with violet reflections; lower +part of the back, and all the under parts, pure white; feet and toes covered +with downy feathers; tail forked, moderate. Length five inches and a +half. Eggs pure white.</div> + +<p>The swallows and the Martins are so much alike in their leading +habits, namely, migration, mode of flight, and food, that a description +of either will in many respects be applicable to the other. The +House Martin generally arrives a few days after the Swallow, and +resorts to similar localities. In the early part of the season the most +sheltered places are sought out, and the two species may frequently +be seen hawking for flies in company. Later in the season its numbers +are observed to be greatly increased, and it is joined by the +Swift and Sand Martin. Not that any society is entered into by +the different species, or that they even sport together; but one +may often stand on the bank of a canal, or by the margin of a pond, +and see all four kinds glance by in varied succession, and in proportions +which differ according as one or the other is most abundant +in the neighbourhood. Acute listeners can, it is said, hear a snapping +noise made by the bird as it closes its beak on a captured insect, +but I must confess that though I have often tried to detect this sound, +I have never succeeded. Swift as their passage is, and similar though +the flight of all the species, no difficulty is found in distinguishing +them. The Chimney-Swallow is sufficiently marked by its long +forked tail and red chin; the House Martin by the snow-white +hue of its abdomen and lower part of the back, and by its shorter +tail, which is also forked; the Sand Martin by its smaller size, its +greyish brown back and dirty-white under plumage, as well as by +its shorter, slightly forked tail; and the Swift can be distinguished +at any distance by its shape, which resembles a bent bow, with the +body representing an arrow ready to be shot. On a nearer view, +the Swift is marked by its general black hue relieved only by a spot +of white on the chin, which it requires a sharp eye to detect. All +the species have the power of suddenly, and with the greatest +rapidity, altering their course by a slight movement of the wings +and tail.</p> + +<p>Immediately on its arrival in this country, the Martin pays a +visit to its old dwelling, clings to its walls, peeps in or even enters +many times a day. It has been proved by several experiments, +that the same birds return year after year to their old nests, and +it is hard to believe, so thoroughly delighted do they seem, that +they are guided simply by an impassive instinct. If so, why should +they hang about the 'old house at home' so many days before +they begin to set in order again the future nursery? No elaborate +plans of alterations and improvements are to be devised; last +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> +year's family are launched on the world, and are quite equal to +building for their own accommodation. No collecting of materials +is requisite. The muddy edge of the nearest pond will provide +plaster enough and to spare to carry out all necessary repairs; +shreds of straw are to be had for the picking up, and farmyard +feathers are as plentiful as of yore. It would seem then a reasonable +conclusion, that a bird endowed with an instinct powerful enough +to guide it across the ocean, and a memory sufficiently powerful +to lead it to the snug window corner of the same cottage where it +reared its first brood, may live in the past as well as the present, +and that its seeming joyousness is a reality, even mixed perhaps +with hopeful anticipations of the future.</p> + +<p>As the reader may, if he will, have ample opportunity of watching +the habits of a bird that probably builds its nest under the +eaves of his own house, whether he dwell in a town, a village, or a +lonely cottage, it is unnecessary to enter into further details of its +biography.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE SAND MARTIN<br /> +CÓTILE RIPÁRIA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">All the upper parts, cheeks, and a broad bar on the breast, mouse-colour; +throat, fore part of the neck, abdomen, and under tail-coverts white; +legs and feet naked with the exception of a few small feathers near the +insertion of the hind toe; tail forked, rather short. Length five inches. +Eggs pure white.</div> + +<p>While all the other British species of Swallow resort from choice +to the haunts of man, the Sand or Bank Martin is indifferent about +the matter. Provided that it can find a convenient place for excavating +its nest, other considerations are omitted. It is said to +be partial to the vicinity of water, but even this selection is rather +to be attributed to the accidental circumstance that perpendicular +cliffs often have rivers running at their base, than to any decided +preference shown by the bird for such situations. Railway cuttings +carried through a sandy district offer, perhaps, equal attraction; +and it is probable that a majority of the colonies planted within the +last twenty years overlook, not the silent highway of the river, but +the unromantic parallel bars of iron which have enabled man to vie +almost with the Swallow in rapidity of flight. The word colonies +is applicable to few British birds besides the Sand Martin. Others +of the tribe not unfrequently construct their nests in close proximity +with each other, and, when thus associated, are most neighbourly—hunting +in society, sporting together, and making common +cause against an intrusive Hawk; but still this is no more than a +fortuitous coming together.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_17"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_17.png" width="417" height="685" alt="Plate_17" title="Plate_17. Swift [F]; Sand Martin [F]; Swallow [M]; and House Martin [M]. [face p. 84." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_18"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_18.png" width="426" height="685" alt="" title="Plate_18. Tree Sparrow [M]; Linnet [M]; House Sparrow [M]; and Brambling [M]" /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p> + +<p>It so happens that a certain district offers good hunting-ground, +and the eaves or windows of a certain house are peculiarly well +adapted for sheltering nests; so a number of Window Martins, +not having taken counsel together, but guided each by independent +choice, find themselves established sometimes so close together +that their nests have party walls, like the houses in a street. They +accordingly make acquaintances, and are sociable to a limited +extent. But Sand Martins go beyond this, they are comrades +banded together by municipal laws, which no doubt they understand +and obey, inhabiting dwellings which constitute a joint settlement, +returning without fail to the familiar haunt after every +annual migration, or if they desert a station, leaving no stragglers +behind, and pitching their camp anew in some locality which +common consent has pronounced to be an eligible one. They are +not, however, exclusive in their fraternization; as they hunt in +society with their relatives the Swifts and Swallows, and even +accompany them in distant flights. I have repeatedly observed +Sand Martins flying about with others of the same tribe many miles +away from their homes. They may readily be distinguished, as I +have stated before, by their dingy mouse-coloured hue, smaller +size, and less forked tails. I have never had an opportunity of +watching a colony engaged in their mining operations at the busy +period of their year, that of nidification; but from the description +by Professor Rennie (<i>Bird Architecture</i>) and that by Mr. R. D. +Duncan, quoted by Macgillivray, the sight must be most interesting. +The task of the older birds must be a light one; not so, however, +that of the younger members of the flock. The former have neither +walls nor roofs to repair; the holes which served them as nests the +previous year afford the same accommodation as before. All that +is needed is, that the remains of the old nest should either be removed +or receive the addition of a few straws and feathers to protect +the eggs and young from direct contact with the cold sand; their +labours then are over. But the new colonists have a toilsome work +to perform before they can enjoy the gratification of bringing up +a family. The settlement is fixed probably in the perpendicular +face of a bank of sand, gravel, or clay, at an elevation from the +ground which varies from a few to a great many feet. Their claws +are sharp and well adapted for clinging, the beak short, rigid, and +pointed, no less well suited for excavating. Grasping the perpendicular +surface of the bank with their claws, and steadying themselves +by means of their tails they commence operations by pricking a small +hole with their bills. This hole they gradually enlarge by moving +round and round, and edging off the sand with the side of their +bills, which they keep shut. Their progress is slow at first, but +after they have made room to stand on the excavation, they proceed +rapidly, still working with their bills, and carefully pushing out the +loosened sand with their feet. At one time the male, at another +the female, is the excavator. When their burrowing is impeded +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> +by the resistance of a stone, they either dig round it and loosen it, +or, if it prove so large as to defy removal, they desist and begin +another cell. The form of the hole varies both in size and shape, +but it rarely exceeds three or four inches in diameter, and more +or less approaches the circular form. The depth varies from a +few inches to three feet, and the direction seems to depend on the +nature of the soil encountered. In all, however, the extremity +of the hole is enlarged to a diameter of five or six inches, and is +situated above the level of the entrance, so that no rain-water +can lodge. The work is performed only in the mornings, and is +consequently carried over several days. The nest itself consists +of straws of grass and feathers, and is placed in the terminal chamber. +The eggs are five or six in number, pure white, and of a rather +long shape.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY FRINGILLIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE GREENFINCH<br /> +LIGURINUS CHLORIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">All the plumage yellowish green, variegated with yellow and ash-grey. Length +six inches. Eggs bluish white, speckled and spotted with purplish grey +and dark brown.</div> + +<p>The Greenfinch, or Green Linnet, is one of our most generally diffused +birds. No bird is a more frequent inhabitant of country gardens +during the summer than this, being attracted, it would seem, +not so much by the prospect of abundance of food, as by its fondness +for building its nest in evergreens and the thick hedges of +shrubberies. The lively greenish yellow tint of the plumage on its +throat and breast sufficiently distinguish it from any other British +bird; and its note, when once identified, can be confounded with +no other song. Let any one who wishes to obtain a sight of one, +walk anywhere in the country where there are trees, on a bright +sunny day in May or June, and listen for a monotonous long-drawn +croak, trying to pronounce the syllable '<i>twe-e-e</i>' or '<i>bree-eze</i>'. +No matter what other birds may be tuning their lays, the harsh +monotone of the Greenfinch, if one be near, will be heard among +them, harmonizing with none, and suggestive of heat and weariness. +In a few seconds it will be repeated, without a shadow of variation +either in tone or duration; and if it be traced out, the author of the +noise (music I cannot call it) will be discovered perched among the +branches of a moderately high tree, repeating his mournful ditty +with extreme complacency for an hour together. Very often he +takes advantage of the midday silence of the groves, and pipes +away without any other competitor than the Yellow Hammer, +whose song, like his own, is a constant accompaniment of sultry +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> +weather. The Greenfinch has another note which is heard most +frequently, but not exclusively, in spring. This is a single plaintive +chirp which may be easily imitated by human whistling; it resembles +somewhat one of the call-notes of the Canary-bird or Brown +Linnet, and, being full and sweet, harmonizes with the woodland +chorus far better than the monotonous croak described above. +Another of the notes is a double one, and closely resembles that +of the 'Pee-wit', hence it is called in some places 'Pee-sweep'. +The Greenfinch builds its nest, when not among evergreens, in +some tall thick bush either in a hedge or coppice. Less neatly +finished than that of the Chaffinch, it is nevertheless a beautiful +structure. It is composed externally of a framework of light twigs +and roots, interleaved with moss and wool, to which succeeds a +denser layer of the same materials lined with hair. It lays five +eggs, which are of a light grey colour, almost white, variously +speckled with purple, and of a long shape. In winter, Greenfinches +congregate in large numbers, and feed together on the seeds of +various weeds in stubble fields, or not unfrequently they descend +on newly-sown fields of wheat, where they are very troublesome. +If disturbed, they rise simultaneously, fly rapidly only a few feet +from the ground to another part of the field, but before they alight +wheel about several times with singular precision of movement, +disappearing from the sight and reappearing according as the dark +or light portion of their plumage is turned towards the spectator; +and by this peculiarity they may be distinguished from flocks of +of other small birds at a great distance. If repeatedly disturbed, +they alter their tactics, and take refuge in the top branches of the +neighbouring trees until their persecutor has turned his back, +when they return to the charge with the same perseverance which +they display in the repetition of their summer song. These flocks, +probably, are composed of individuals which have banded together +in some more northern climate, and emigrated southwards in quest +of food; for smaller parties, either unmixed, or associated with +Sparrows, Chaffinches, and Buntings, frequent our farmyards and +gardens in undiminished numbers.</p> + +<div class="caption3">THE HAWFINCH<br /> +COCCOTHRAUSTES VULGARIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Lore, throat, and plumage at the base of the bill black; crown and cheeks +reddish brown; nape ash-grey; back dark reddish brown; wings black, +great coverts white; some of the quills truncated at the extremity; +under parts light purplish red; tail short. Length seven inches. Eggs +light olive-green, with a few brown spots and numerous irregular lines +of a lighter tint.</div> + +<p>Judging from its conformation, one would, without knowing anything +of the habits of this bird, pronounce it to be a professor of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> +some laborious occupation. Its short tail and wings unfit it for +long aërial voyages, and its thick neck and ponderous bill denote the +presence of great muscular power, and such, indeed, it both has +and requires. It is not a common bird, and was until within the +last few years considered to be migratory; but so many instances +have occurred in which its nest has been found, that no doubt is now +entertained of its being a constant resident. In Berkshire I have +several times seen two or three together busily occupied in picking +up the seeds which had fallen from the cones of a spruce fir. On +one occasion a nest was brought to me by a man who had found it +built on some twigs which grew from the trunk of a tall oak-tree; +it was built of the tangled white lichens which grow on trees, on a +foundation of a few roots, and contained five eggs. I afterwards +discovered another nest of exactly similar structure, which I believed +must have been built by the same bird, but it was empty. +In Hertfordshire a single Hawfinch visited my garden one winter +for several days in succession, and diligently picked up and cracked +the stones of laurel cherries, from which Blackbirds had, a few +months before, as busily stripped the pulp. In the cherry orchards +in the neighbourhood they are not uncommon, where, even if not +seen, their visits are detected by the ground being strewed with +halves of cherrystones, which these birds split with their powerful +beaks as cleverly as a workman with the chisel. Their note I +have never heard, but the proprietor of the orchards assured me that +he had often detected their presence by the low twittering noise which +they made, a description the truth of which a writer quoted by +Yarrell confirms. I have never seen a nest in Hertfordshire, but +on several occasions have observed their eggs among the collections +made by the country boys in the neighbourhood. Besides cherrystones, +Hawfinches feed on hazel-nuts, hornbeam seeds, the kernels +of the fruit of the hawthorn, seeds of various kinds, and, when they +can get them, green peas, for the sake of which they often venture +into gardens. They usually build their nests in trees at an +elevation varying from twenty-five to thirty feet, and the nest is +composed of dead twigs, intermixed with pieces of grey lichen; +this last material varying much in quantity in different nests, but +being never absent.</p> + +<div class="caption3">THE GOLDFINCH<br /> +CARDUÉLIS ÉLEGANS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Back of the head, nape, and feathers round the base of the bill black; forehead +and throat blood-red; cheeks, forepart of the neck and lower parts +white; back and scapulars dark brown; wings variegated with black, +white and yellow; tail black, tipped with white. Length five inches. +Eggs bluish white, speckled with pale purple and brown.</div> + +<p>This little bird, as sprightly in its habits as it is brilliant in its colouring, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> +is perhaps a more general favourite than any other British +bird. Though in its natural state less familiar with man than the +Redbreast, and inferior as a musician to the Lark, the Thrush, and +others of our resident birds, it is more frequent as a caged bird than +either, and thus is known to tens of thousands of city folk who +never heard the wild song of the Thrush, nor saw a Redbreast under +any circumstances. In a cage it is attractive from its lively movements, +its agreeable song, and yet more from its docility, as it not +only is readily tamed, but may be taught to perform various tricks +and manœuvres utterly repugnant to the nature of birds. Its +affection, too, for its owner is not less remarkable. Of this many +instances are, I doubt not, familiar to the reader; but the following +is not so well known. There was some years since in a small town, +about twelve leagues from Paris, a tame Goldfinch, which belonged +to a carrier, and which for many years regularly accompanied his +master twice a week to and from the metropolis. At first it used +to content itself with perching on the driver's seat, and from time +to time flying a short distance ahead, or gambolling with other +birds of the same kind that it encountered on the way. By and +by it seemed to grow dissatisfied with the slow pace of the wagon, +and took long flights in advance, still returning from time to time +to its accustomed perch. At length, becoming more enterprising, +it would leave its master in the lurch, and fly in advance the whole +of the way, and announce his approach at the house in the city +where he put up. If the weather was stormy, it would quietly +await his arrival, taking up its quarters by the fireside; but if the +weather was fine, it would, after making a brief stay, return to +meet him. At every meeting, caresses and congratulations were +exchanged, as fondly as if they had been separated for years. This +romantic attachment was at length terminated by the disappearance +of the bird, but whether through the instrumentality of a cat, a +Hawk, or some mischievous boy, was never discovered.</p> + +<p>Whatever doubt may exist as to the services rendered to man +by the Sparrow and Chaffinch, about the Goldfinch there can be no +difference of opinion. The farmer has no better friend, and yet +an abundance of Goldfinches on an estate is anything but a welcome +sight; for it denotes abundance of its favourite food, the seeds of +thistles. Where these weeds flourish, there, for the most part, +Goldfinches are to be met with in considerable numbers. The +French name, <i>Chardonneret</i>, denotes 'a frequenter of thistles', +and the ancient Greek and Latin name for it, <i>Acanthis</i>, is of similar +import; the <i>Acanthis</i>, Pliny tells us,<a name="FNanchor_1_13" id="FNanchor_1_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> bears animosity against no +living creature but the donkey, a beast which eats the flowers of +thistles, and so deprives it of its food. To this dietary it adds +the seeds of dandelions, centaury and other weeds, but shows a +decided preference for the seeds of the compound flowers. Its +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> +nest is among the most beautiful that birds construct. One now +before me is placed among the terminal branches cut from the +bough of a Scotch fir which grew at an elevation of about twenty +feet from the ground. It is encircled by upwards of a dozen leafy +twigs which unite beneath its base, and form both a firm support and +effectual shelter. The substance is composed of tufted white lichens +(<i>Usnea</i> and <i>Evernia</i>), and a few fine roots and wiry stems of garden-thyme, +felted together with wool so securely, that it is scarcely +possible to remove one of them without damaging the whole. With +these is intermixed a piece of worsted, and a thread of sewing cotton; +a few horsehairs succeed, and the whole of the interior is thickly +matted with the white silky down of the coltsfoot. Other nests +vary in the materials employed, moss being sometimes used instead +of white lichen, and willow-cotton or feathers instead of the down +of the coltsfoot. Thistle-down is sometimes named as the material +of the lining; but this must be under unusual circumstances, that +substance being generally unattainable in spring. Besides fir-trees, +the apple and elm are often selected by Goldfinches to build their +nests in, and they not unfrequently resort to any low tree in a hedge +or shrubbery, also to young oak-trees. In autumn, Goldfinches +assemble in flocks of from ten to twenty or more, and resort to waste +places, or the borders of fields, where thistles abound, and it is hard +to imagine a prettier sight than a party of these innocent and brilliant +hunters, perching, all heedless of spines and prickles, on the +thistle heads, plucking out the seeds with the pappus attached, +and cleverly separating the former from their appendage. While +thus employed, they seem to take it for granted that no one will +molest them, but continue their useful labour, twittering pleasantly +all the while, until the spectator comes within a few yards of them, +when they fly off like butterflies to another prickly bed.</p> + +<p>Owing to more efficient bird-protection the Goldfinch, which +was decreasing largely in numbers, is now on the increase again.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_13" id="Footnote_1_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> <i>Nat. Hist.</i>, lib. x., cap. lxxiv.</div> + +<div class="caption3">THE SISKIN<br /> +CARDUÉLIS SPINUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown black; behind the eye a broad yellow streak; all the plumage variegated +with grey, dusky, and various shades of yellow and yellowish +green; wings dusky, with a transverse greenish yellow bar, and a black +one above, and another black one across the middle of the tertiaries; +tail dusky, the base and edge of the inner web greenish yellow. <i>Female</i>—all +the colours less bright, and no black on the head. Length four and +a half inches. Eggs greyish white, speckled with purplish brown.</div> + +<p>The Siskin, or Aberdevine, is best known as a cage-bird, as it is +only a very occasional breeder in Great Britain, and during the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> +period of its stay is retiring in its habits. Siskins are more frequently +met with in the northern than the southern counties of +England, but they are common in neither, and will only nest where +pine woods abound. They are generally observed to keep together in +small flocks of from twelve to fifteen, and may be heard from a +considerable distance, as they rarely intermit uttering their call-note, +which, though little more than a soft twittering, is as clear +as that of the Bullfinch, to which it has been compared. Their +flight is rapid and irregular, like that of the Linnet. They leave +their roosting-places early in the morning, and usually alight on +the branches of alder-trees, where they remain all day. The seeds +of the alder, inclosed within scales something like those of the +coniferous trees, form the principal food of these pretty little birds, +who are obliged to hang at the extremities of the twigs in order +to explore the seed-vessels on all sides. Occasionally, but less +frequently, they are seen visiting heads of thistles and burdocks, +and not unfrequently they descend to the ground for the sake of +picking up scattered seeds. During the whole of their feeding +time, they never cease twittering and fluttering about joyously from +twig to twig. Now and then, as if by preconcerted signal given +by a leader, they all take flight to another tree or, after a short +evolution, return to the same from which they started. Should +it happen that, while one little band is occupied in despoiling a +tree, another is heard in the air, the latter is immediately invited +by general acclamation to take part in the banquet, and rarely +fails to accept the invitation. Owing to this sociability of character +they are easily entrapped, provided that one of their own species +be employed as a decoy bird. They soon become reconciled to +captivity, and are valued for their readiness to pair with the Canary-bird, +the note of which the joint offspring is thought to improve. +The nest, which in some respects resembles those of the Greenfinch +and Chaffinch, is concealed with great care in the fork formed +by two branches of a fir, with which it is so skilfully made to assimilate, +that it is almost impossible to discern it from below. In +France, Siskins are most numerous from the middle of October to +the beginning of December. They are then supposed to travel +southwards, and appear again, but in greatly diminished numbers, +in spring, at which period they are considered to be travelling +towards their summer quarters in Russia and Scandinavia.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE HOUSE SPARROW<br /> +PASSER DOMESTICUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown and back of the head dark bluish ash; lore, throat, and front of the +neck black; above the eyes a band of uniform reddish brown, intermixed +with a few small white feathers; upper feathers dark brown, +edged with reddish brown; a single transverse white bar on the wing; +cheeks, sides of the neck, and under parts greyish white. <i>Female</i>—head, +nape, neck, and breast ash-brown; above the eye a light yellowish +brown streak; rest of the plumage less bright. Length five inches and +three-quarters. Eggs white, spotted and speckled with dark grey and +brown.</div> + +<p>What were the haunts of the Sparrow at the period when men +dwelt in tents, and there were neither farmhouses nor villages, much +less towns and cities, it were hard to say. Certain it is now that +thoroughly wild Sparrows are not to be met with in districts remote +from human dwellings and cultivation; they have left the hillside +and forest as if by common consent, and have pitched their +tents where man builds, or ploughs, or digs, and nowhere else. In +the city, the seaport town, the fishing village, the hamlet, the farmhouse, +nay, near the cot on the lone waste and by the roadside +smithy, they are always present, varying in the amount of confidence +they place in their patrons, but all depending on man to +a certain extent. And not only do they court his society, but +they have adopted his diet. Whatever is the staple food of a +household, the Sparrows that nestle around will be right pleased to +share it; bread, meat, potatoes, rice, pastry, raisins, nuts, if they +could have these for the asking, they would not trouble themselves +to search farther; but obliged, as they are, to provide for themselves, +they must be content with humble fare; and so skilful are +they as caterers, that whatever other birds may chance to die of +starvation, a Sparrow is always round and plump, while not a few +have paid for their voracity by their lives. Much difference of +opinion exists as to whether Sparrows should be courted by man +as allies, or exterminated as enemies. The best authorities on +this point have come to the conclusion that their numbers must +be lessened, and that the most humane way to do this is to tear down +nests before the young are hatched out. The fact that great +efforts are at the present time being made to introduce them into +New Zealand, where the corn crops suffer great injury from the +attacks of insects, which the presence of Sparrows would, it is +believed, materially check, leads to the conclusion that their mission +is one of utility. That Sparrows consume a very large quantity +of corn in summer there can be no doubt; as soon as the grain has +attained its full size, and long before it is ripe, they make descents +on the standing corn, and if undisturbed will clear so effectually +of their contents the ears nearest to the hedges, that this portion +of the crop is sometimes scarcely worth the threshing. During +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> +harvest they transfer their attention to the sheaves, while the reapers +and binders are occupied elsewhere; as gleaners they are indefatigable; +they participate, too, in the joys of harvest home, +for their food is then brought to their very doors. The most +skilful binder leaves at least a few ears exposed at the wrong end +of the sheaf, and these are searched for diligently in the rick; +and the barns must be well closed indeed into which they cannot +find admission. At threshings and winnowings they are constant +attendants, feeding among the poultry, and snatching up the +scattered grains under the formidable beak of Chanticleer himself. +At seed-time their depredations are yet more serious, as they now +come in not simply for a share of the produce, but undermine the +very foundations of the future crop. I once had the curiosity +to examine the crop of a Sparrow which had been shot as it flew +up from a newly-sown field, and found no less than forty-two grains +of wheat. A writer in the <i>Zoologist</i>, who professes himself a +deadly enemy of the Sparrow, states that he once took 180 grains +of good wheat from the crops of five birds, giving an <i>average</i> of +thirty-six for a meal. Now if Sparrows had the opportunity of +feeding on grain all the year round, they would be unmitigated +pests, and a war of extermination against them could not be waged +too vigorously; but during the far greater portion of the year +they have not the power of doing mischief, and all this time they +have to find food for themselves. Against their will, perhaps, +they now hunt for the seeds of various weeds, especially the wild +mustard; and these being smaller than grains of corn and less +nutritive, they consume an immense number of them, varying their +repast with myriads of caterpillars, wireworms, and other noxious +grubs; also they devour small beetles (called hay-chaffers) when the +hay lies in swathes on the field. They thus compensate, certainly +in part, perhaps wholly, for the mischief they do at other seasons; +and it is even questionable whether, if a balance were struck +between them and the agriculturists, the obligation would not be +on the side of the latter.</p> + +<p>It is scarcely necessary to say much of the habits of a bird +which stands on such familiar terms with the human race as the +Sparrow. During no period of the year do Sparrows live together +in perfect amity; if half a dozen descend to pick up a handful of +scattered crumbs, each in his turn will peck at any other who comes +too near his share of the feast, and, with a peculiar sidelong shuffle +or hop, will show his intention of appropriating as large a portion +of the feeding-ground as he can. In spring, this bickering assumes +a more formidable character. A duel is commenced among the +branches of a tree, obstinate and noisy; all the Sparrows within +hearing flock to the scene of combat, joining at first with their +voices, and finally with their beaks; a general riot ensues, with as +little object seemingly as an Irish 'row'; for suddenly the outcry +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> +ceases, and the combatants return to their various occupations. +A writer in the <i>Naturalist</i> gives an account of a fray of this kind, +during which three male birds fell at his feet one after another +either dead or dying; but cases of this kind are very rare.</p> + +<p>Sparrows build their nests at a considerable elevation from the +ground, but are by no means particular as to the locality. At the +period when most farmhouses and cottages were thatched, the +eaves were their favourite resort, and here they hollowed out for +themselves most comfortable dwellings. The general employment +of tiles or slates has interfered with this arrangement; but they +will fix upon any projection, niche, crack, or hole which will hold a +nest, and if these are all occupied, content themselves with a tree; +but, as far as my own observation goes, the number built in trees +far exceeds that to be found in other localities. Very frequently +they appropriate the nest of the House Martin. The nest itself +is a rude structure, composed mainly of straw and hay, and lined +with feathers and any other soft materials which they can find. +Two or three broods are reared every year, the number of eggs +being usually five. The young are fed on worms, caterpillars, +and insects of various kinds.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE MOUNTAIN OR TREE SPARROW<br /> +PASSER MONTÁNUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown and back of the head chestnut-brown; lore, ear-coverts, and throat +black; neck almost surrounded by a white collar; upper plumage +resembling the last; wing with two transverse white bars. The <i>female</i> +scarcely differs from the <i>male</i>. Length five inches and a half. Eggs as +in the last.</div> + +<p>The Mountain Sparrow seems scarcely to deserve its name, as +it is by no means confined to mountainous districts. It is abundant +all over the European continent, and is to be met with here and +there in many parts of England in the east of Scotland and of +late years in Ireland and in the Hebrides; but it is nowhere so +abundant as the House Sparrow, which it resembles in all respects, +except that the head is of a bright chestnut colour, and the neck +wears a white collar. I have never seen it except in society with +the common species, and could never detect any difference either +in flight or note; but other observers state that the flight is slow +and constrained, and the note assumes more the character of a +song. The nest is placed in soft rotten wood of pollard willows +and other trees, in hollow trees and under the thatch of buildings.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE CHAFFINCH<br /> +FRINGILLA CǼLEBS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Forehead black; crown and nape greyish blue; back and scapulars chestnut, +tinged with green; rump green; breast wine-red, fading towards the +abdomen into white; wings black, with two white bands; coverts of +the secondaries tipped with yellow; tail black, the two middle feathers +ash-grey, the two outer on each side black, with a broad oblique white +band. <i>Female</i>—head, back and scapulars, ash-brown, tinged with olive; +lower parts greyish white; the transverse bands less distinct. Length +six inches. Eggs greenish purple, streaked and spotted with purple-brown.</div> + +<p>'Gai comme Pinson', as gay as a Chaffinch, is a familiar French +proverb, which describes not only the character of the bird, but +the peculiar temperament which in France is an essential part +of gaiety. The Chaffinch is a smart, lively, active bird, always in a +bustle, flitting here and there incessantly and staying long nowhere, +always wearing a holiday look, so trim and spruce is he, and rattling +through his song with wondrous volubility. It received the name +<i>cælebs</i>, bachelor, from Linnæus, who observed that the flocks in +winter are composed for the most part either exclusively of males +or of females. Large flocks arrive on our east coast each year +from the Continent, and others coming from the north spread themselves +over the country to the southward. During the open +weather of autumn and early winter, Chaffinches frequent stubble +and ploughed fields, where they busily collect grain and the seeds +of various weeds, and are not, I fear, very scrupulous whether +they are engaged as gleaners of what is lost, or robbers of what is +sown. In severe weather they resort to farmyards and homesteads, +where, along with Sparrows, Buntings, and Greenfinches, +they equally consider all they can find as provided for their own +especial use. On the return of spring, they feed upon the young +shoots, and for a few weeks show themselves great enemies to +horticulture. Their visits to our flower-gardens, paid very early +in the morning, are attested by scattered buds of polyanthuses, +which they attack and pull to pieces as soon as they begin to push +from between the leaves. In the kitchen-garden they are yet +more mischievous, showing a strong inclination for all pungent +seeds. Woe to the unthrifty gardener, who, while drilling in +his mustard, or cress, or radishes, scatters a few seeds on the surface! +The quick eye of some passing Chaffinch will surely detect +them; so surely will the stray grains serve as a clue to the treasure +concealed beneath, and so surely will a hungry band of companions +rush to 'the diggings', and leave the luckless proprietor a poor +tithe of his expected crop. Yet so large is the number of the seeds +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> +of weeds that the Chaffinch consumes, in the course of a year, +more particularly of groundsel, chickweed, and buttercup, that +he, without doubt, more than compensates for all his misdeeds; +and as his summer food partially, and that of his young family +exclusively, consists of caterpillars and other noxious insects, he +is in reality among the gardener's best friends, who should be +scared away at the seasons when his visits are not welcome, and +encouraged at all other times. The Chaffinch, though a wary bird, +does not stand greatly in fear of man; for if disturbed at a meal, he +is generally satisfied with the protection afforded by the branches of +the nearest tree, on which he hops about until the danger is past, uttering +his simple but not unpleasing note, '<i>twink</i>' or '<i>pink</i>' or '<i>spink</i>, +<i>spink</i>, <i>spink</i>' as it is variously translated. To this cry it adds the +syllable '<i>tweet</i>', frequently repeated in an anxious tone and with a +peculiar restlessness of manner, which always indicate that its +nest is somewhere very near at hand, and by which indeed it is +very often betrayed.</p> + +<p>Its proper song commences very early in spring, and is continued +until June or later. This must be the song which the poet had in +view when he sang:—</p> + +<div class="poem">Then as a little helpless innocent bird,</div> +<div class="poem">That has but one plain passage of few notes,</div> +<div class="poem">Will sing the simple passage o'er and o'er,</div> +<div class="poem">For all one April morning, till the ear</div> +<div class="poem">Wearies to hear it.—<span class="smcap">Tennyson.</span></div> + +<p>It consists of from ten to twelve notes of the same tone, and +about the same length, with the last but one elevated and accented, +uttered rapidly at short intervals, and without the least variation.</p> + +<p>In Germany, this bird is so great a favourite that not a single +tone of its voice has escaped the experienced ears of bird-fanciers. +In some parts of Holland and the north of France, the passion +for song Chaffinches amounts to a frenzy. Philharmonic societies +are formed, whose exclusive object is to educate Chaffinches, and +to organize vocal combats. The combatants, each in his cage, are +placed a few yards from each other. One of them utters his strain, +which is replied to by the other; strict silence is imposed on the +spectators, lest the attention of the birds should be distracted by +their remarks or applause. The contest proceeds as long as the +birds continue to utter their notes of defiance, and the victory is +adjudged to the one who has the last word. The price paid for a +bird of mark, and the pains bestowed on the capture of any bird +which in its wild state holds out promise of being an apt pupil, are +past belief, and the cruelty practised in producing a perfect songster +I cannot bring myself to describe. After all, Bechstein's translator +says that the notes of the wild Chaffinches in England are +finer than any cage ones he has heard in Germany. English bird-fanciers, +without going so far as their German brethren, profess +to distinguish three variations of song in the Chaffinch.</p> + +<p>The nest of the Chaffinch is an exquisite piece of workmanship, +composed of moss, dry grass, fine roots felted together with wool, +decorated externally with scraps of white lichens, and lined with +hair and feathers. It is placed sometimes in the fork of a tree, +sometimes against the bole, but more frequently than anywhere +else it is built in among the twigs of an apple-tree; but in every +case it is attached to its support by wool interwoven with the other +materials. The Chaffinch usually lays five eggs.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_19"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_19.png" width="426" height="672" alt="" title="Plate_19. Siskin [M] [F] [F]; Goldfinch [M]; Chaffinch [M] [F]; and Hawfinch [F] [M]. [p. 96." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_20"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_20.png" width="428" height="654" alt="" title="Plate_20. Mealy Redpoll [F] [M]; Redpole [M]; Twite [M] [M]; Bullfinch [M]" /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE BRAMBLING<br /> +FRINGILLA MONTIFRINGÍLLA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, cheeks, nape, and upper part of the back, black, the feathers (in winter) +tipped with light brown or ash-grey; neck and scapulars pale +orange-brown; wings black, variegated with orange-brown and white; +rump and lower parts white, the flanks reddish, with a few dark spots. +<i>Female</i>—crown reddish brown, the feathers tipped with grey, a black +streak over the eyes; cheeks and neck ash-grey; all the other +colours less bright. Length six inches and a half. Eggs yellowish white, +spotted and streaked with dark red.</div> + +<p>In winter this bird occurs over the whole continent of Europe, +and not unfrequently in enormous flocks. Pennant mentions +an instance in which eighteen were killed at one shot—a statement +which I can well believe, having seen in the winter of 1853 by far +the largest flock of small birds I ever beheld, and which was composed +entirely of Bramblings. They were employed in searching for +food on the ground in a beech wood, and, as I approached, flew +up into the branches in thousands. The Brambling, called also +the Bramble Finch and Mountain Finch, is a fairly regular autumn +and winter visitor to many parts of Scotland. Its presence in our +country in any numbers depends on the severity of the weather +on the Continent. Sometimes it is fairly numerous with us, +especially where there are many beech woods. Few visit Ireland. +It resembles the Chaffinch in habits, size, and general tone of colour; +and as it often feeds in company with it, is probably sometimes confounded +with it by an inexperienced eye. It arrives in this country +in November, and takes its departure early in spring, never having +been known to breed here. Its song is said to be something like +that of the Chaffinch, and its nest, built in fir-trees, to be constructed +with the same marvellous art. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE LINNET<br /> +ACANTHIS CÁNNABINA</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Winter</i>—head ash-brown, the feathers dusky in the middle, those of the +forehead more or less tinged with crimson; back chestnut-brown, becoming +brighter towards the scapulars and duller towards the tail; tail-feathers +black, edged towards the tip with reddish grey, the outer ones +bordered with white; primaries black, the first five with very narrow, the +next five with broad, white edges, the rest of the wing-feathers tinged +with red, all tipped with ash-grey; under parts—breast-feathers dull +crimson or brown, edged with yellowish red; abdomen dull white; +flanks reddish yellow; beak brownish horn colour; feet and toes brown; +tail moderate. In <i>summer</i> the beak is of a bluish lead colour; feathers +of the forehead and crown greyish brown, tipped with crimson; upper +plumage uniform rich chestnut-brown; breast crimson, with a few pale +brown feathers intermixed. Length five inches. Eggs pale bluish grey, +speckled with deep red.</div> + +<p>It is not unusual in the country to hear mention made of the +Brown, the Grey, and the Rose or Red Linnet, and the Common +Linnet, as if these were all different birds. Such, however, is not +the case. The Linnet is a bird which varies its plumage considerably +at different seasons of the year, in consequence of which, +at a period when little attention was paid to Ornithology, the +same individual was known by whichever of these names best +described its characteristic colouring. Even by the earlier ornithologists +there were supposed to be two species, one of which was +called Linota, probably from its having been observed feeding +on flax-seed (<i>Linum</i>); the other Cannabina, from having been +seen to feed on hemp seed (<i>Cannabis</i>). Linnets offer themselves +to our notice in the evenings of autumn and winter more than +at any other time. Large flocks of them may then be observed +making their way, with rapid and irregular flight, towards tall trees +which happen to stand in the vicinity of a common or a furze-brake. +On the summits of these they alight, with their heads, in stormy +weather, always turned towards the wind, and after keeping up a +continuous twittering for a few minutes, suddenly drop into their +roosting-places among the furze and thick shrubs. At the return +of dawn, they issue forth to their feeding-grounds, still congregated +in large flocks, and spend the whole of the day in hunting +on the ground for food. This consists principally of the seeds of +various weeds, especially wild-mustard or charlock, wild-cabbage, +and other plants of the same tribe, thistle and dandelion; chance +grains of corn no doubt are not passed by, but any injury which may +be done by these birds, either to standing crops or newly-sowed +lands, must be far outweighed by their services as destroyers of +weeds and insects, which latter also enter into their dietary. At +this season their only note is a simple call, mellow and pleasant, +which they utter both while flying and when perched. In spring, +the flocks break up, and the members betake themselves in pairs + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> +to the commons and heaths, which afforded them night-lodging during +winter. Here they build their nests at a moderate distance +from the ground, more frequently in a furze-bush than anywhere +else, but occasionally in other shrubs or an adjoining hedge. The +nest is constructed of small twigs, moss, roots, and wool; and +is lined with hair, feathers, and sometimes vegetable down. The +Linnet lays four or five eggs. The spring and summer song of the +Linnet is remarkable neither for compass nor power; it is, however, +very sweet, and on this account the Linnet is a favourite cage-bird.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE MEALY REDPOLL<br /> +ACANTHIS LINÁRIA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Throat and lore black; forehead and crown blood-red; breast and rump rose-red; +under parts white; nape reddish white, with dusky streaks; +shoulders and back with dark streaks, edged with white; quills and tail +feathers greyish brown, edged with white. Length five and a half inches.</div> + +<p>A northern species of Linnet, closely resembling the Lesser Redpoll, +but larger. It visits Great Britain only in the winter and +at irregular intervals, being in some seasons tolerably abundant, +and in others not seen at all. Little appears to be known of its +habits.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE LESSER REDPOLL<br /> +ACANTHIS RUFESCENS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Forehead, throat, and lore black; crown deep crimson; under parts light +crimson tinged with buff, fading towards the tail into white; upper parts +reddish brown, with dusky streaks; wings and tail dusky, edged with +pale reddish brown. <i>Female</i>—all the colours less bright. Length five +and a quarter inches. Eggs bluish white, speckled at the larger end +with reddish brown.</div> + +<p>The Lesser Redpoll so closely resembles the Siskin in its habits +and temperament, that a description of either of these birds would +serve well for the other. Like that bird it congregates in small +flocks; it frequents damp valleys where alder-trees abound; it +feeds on the seeds of the same trees; like it, hangs at the extremities +of the twigs to explore the catkins, twitters merrily as it flies, and +is quite as easily reconciled to captivity. But for the yellow +plumage and larger size of the Siskin, they might well be mistaken +one for the other. The Redpoll, however, is a much more frequent +bird, as its annual visits to the southern counties of England in +winter are as regular as those of Swallows in summer. Though a +northern bird, it does not unexceptionally repair to high latitudes, +but in summer remains to breed in Scotland and the northern +counties of England. As far south as Yorkshire it is not unfrequent, + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> +and its nest has been occasionally found in the midland counties; +some eggs were recently brought to me in Hertfordshire. Meyer +relates, that having one confined in a cage he placed it in his garden +in fine weather, in the hope that other birds of the same species +might be attracted by its note to visit it in its confinement. His +expectation was realized, for several wild Redpolls not only came +into his garden and twittered their notes of recognition from the +neighbouring trees, but actually alighted on the bars of the cage. +This took place in the county of Surrey, and during the month +of June, thus proving that some at least of the species remain with +us all the year round. The nest, which is remarkably small, is +described as being placed in the fork of an alder-tree, loosely constructed +of dry grass and weeds, and lined either with the cotton of +the willow or the pappus of some compound flower, stated by some +to be dandelion, by others, thistle, but perhaps, in reality, coltsfoot. +In captivity, Redpolls are prized for their liveliness and remarkable +affection for each other, and, indeed, for all little birds who +do not disdain their attentions. They can be taught many little +tricks also.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE MOUNTAIN LINNET, OR TWITE<br /> +ACANTHIS FLAVIROSTRIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage dark brown, edged with light brown; no crimson either on the +forehead or breast; rump of the <i>male</i> tinged with red; throat tawny +brown, without streaks; breast and abdomen dull white, streaked on +the flanks with dark brown; beak yellow; feet and claws dark brown; +tail long. Length five inches and a quarter. Eggs pale bluish white, +speckled with purple-red.</div> + +<p>Another northern bird, inhabiting the Arctic Regions, Scandinavia, +and Russia, and travelling southwards in autumn. In the Orkney +and Shetland Islands it is the most common, if not the only, species, +and builds its nest among the corn or heath. It breeds from +Derbyshire and northwards, but is very local; at one time it was +very common on the Lancashire moors. Yellow-neb Lintie is +a Scotch name given to it. In the countries where it is resident +all the year round, it is very destructive to wheat in winter, and to +turnips in summer. As soon as the latter plants appear above +ground, the bird pulls them up, nips off the seed-leaves, and the +field remains strewn with the fragments of the young plants. In +winter, Mountain Linnets assemble in very large flocks, and in +their habits resemble Common Linnets, from which they are best +distinguished (at a distance) by their longer tails. During severe +weather I have observed them in Norfolk, flocking to the salt +marshes, and feeding on the seeds of saline plants, especially those +of the shrubby sea-blite. At this season their note resembles the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> +twitter of the Common Linnet, but is less mellow. The nest is +placed among heath, grass, or young corn, and invariably on the +ground—in this respect differing from all other birds of the same +family. It is constructed of dry grass, moss, and roots, and lined +with various soft substances. The Mountain Linnet is generally called +the Twite, a syllable which its simple note is thought to resemble. +It is more shy as a rule than the Lesser Redpoll.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE BULLFINCH<br /> +PÝRRHULA EUROPÆA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown, throat, plumage round the bill, wings and tail lustrous purple-black; +upper part of the back bluish ash; cheeks, neck, breast and flanks red +(in the <i>female</i> reddish brown); rump and abdomen pure white; a broad +buff and grey band across the wings. Length six and a quarter inches. +Eggs light greenish blue, speckled and streaked with light red and dark +purple.</div> + +<p>'The Bullfinch', said Macgillivray, usually so accurate an observer, +'is not very common anywhere.' From this last remark I infer +that the author in question was never either proprietor or occupant +of a fruit-garden in a wooded district, or he would have reported +very differently of the frequency of the Bullfinch. During winter +the food of these birds consists exclusively of berries of various +kinds and seeds, especially of such weeds as thistle, rag-wort, duckweed, +plantains, etc., either picked up from the ground or gathered +from herbs and shrubs. In spring, unfortunately for the gardener, +their taste alters, and nothing will satisfy them but the blossom-buds +of fruit-trees, especially those which are cultivated. They +attack, indeed, the buds of the sloe and hawthorn as well; but +of these, being valueless, no one takes note. Still keeping together +in small family parties, all uninvited, they pay most unwelcome +visits to gooseberries, plums, and cherries, and, if undisturbed, +continue to haunt the same trees until all hope of a crop is destroyed. +Gooseberry-bushes are left denuded of flower-buds, which have +been deliberately picked off and crushed between their strong +mandibles, while the leaf-buds, situated principally at the extremities +of the branches, are neglected. Plum and cherry trees +are treated in like manner, the ground being strewed with the +bud-scales and rudiments of flowers. Some persons endeavour +to deter them by whitewashing the trees, and are said to find this +plan effectual. Others wind a straw rope round the gooseberry-bushes, +so disguising their natural appearance. This plan I +found perfectly successful one year, but the next it was entirely +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> +without effect. A new one which I have adopted this year is +somewhat more complex. In addition to the straw bands, I have +stretched long strings, with feathers attached here and there, so +as to resemble the tail of a paper kite; and, by way of offering +them an inducement to stay away, I have sprinkled peas on the +ground in an adjoining lane, in the hope that they will partially, +at least, satisfy their hunger on these. A bird with so strong a +beak as that of the Bullfinch is evidently designed to crush its +food, not to swallow it whole; accordingly, I find my peas disappearing, +but the parchment-like rind is left on the ground, a substance +too indigestible even for the gizzard of a Bullfinch. This bird +has, however, justly many friends, who assert that the buds he attacks +are infested with concealed insects, and that the tree he strips one +season will be heavily laden the following year. When not occupied +in disbudding fruit-trees, Bullfinches are most frequently observed +in tall and thick hedges, either in small flocks as described above, +or in pairs. They are rarely met with singly, and yet less frequently +associated with birds of another species. Occasionally +a pair may be seen feeding with Sparrows and Chaffinches in the +farmyard; but this society seems one of accident rather than of +choice. When disturbed in a hedge they are singularly methodical +in their movements: first one flies out, bounds, as it were through +the air in a direction away from the spectator, perches on a twig in +the thick part of the hedge, and is followed by the rest of the party +in single file. When the passenger has approached within what +the bird considers a safe distance, the same manœuvre is repeated, +each bird following, with dipping flight, the line marked out by its +predecessor.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">PINE GROSBEAK<br /> +PÝRRHULA ENUCLEATOR</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head and upper parts of the neck reddish orange, streaked on the back with +dusky; wings and tail black, the former with two white bars, the primaries +and tail-feathers edged with orange, the secondaries with white +under parts orange-yellow. Length seven and a quarter inches. Eggs +white.</div> + +<p>A large and handsome bird, inhabiting the Arctic regions during +the summer months, and in winter descending a few degrees to the +south in both hemispheres. It is of very rare occurrence in the +pine-forests of Scotland, and a still more unfrequent visitor to +England. The Pine Grosbeak, or Pine Bullfinch, is a bird of sociable +habits, and an agreeable songster.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE CROSSBILL<br /> +LOXIA CURVIRÓSTRA.</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill equalling in length the middle toe, point of the lower mandible extending +beyond the ridge of the upper mandible; plumage variegated, according +to age and sex, with green, yellow, orange, and brick-red. Length six +and a half inches. Eggs bluish white, speckled with red-brown.</div> + +<p>The beak of this bird was pronounced by Buffon 'an error and +defect of Nature, and a useless deformity'. A less dogmatic, but +more trustworthy authority, our countryman, Yarrell, is of a +different opinion. 'During a series of observations', he says, +'on the habits and structure of British birds, I have never met with +a more interesting or more beautiful example of the adaptation of +means to an end, than is to be found in the beak, the tongue, and +their muscles, in the Crossbill.' No one can read the chapter +of <i>British Birds</i> devoted to the Crossbill (in which the accomplished +author has displayed even more than his usual amount +of research and accurate observation) without giving a ready +assent to the propriety of the latter opinion. Unfortunately the +bird is not of common occurrence in this country, or there are +few who would not make an effort to watch it in its haunts, and +endeavour to verify, by the evidence of their own eyes, the interesting +details which have been recorded of its habits. I have never +myself succeeded in catching a sight of a living specimen, and am +therefore reduced to the necessity of quoting the descriptions of +others. Family parties of this species visit—1907—a small wood of +pine trees in the valley of the Kennet near Theale some winters, as +well as other scattered pine-forest lands in the southern counties, +and across the Solway and northward it nests in suitable districts.</p> + +<p>The Crossbill is about the size of the Common Bunting, and, +like it and the Hawfinch, is a remarkably stout bird, having a +strong bill, a large head, short thick neck, compact ovate body, +short feet of considerable strength, rather long wings, and moderately +large tail. Its plumage, in which green or red predominates, +according to the age of the bird, is much more gaudy than that +of our common birds, and approaches that of the Parrots, a tribe +which it also resembles in some of its habits. Though only occasional +visitors with us, Crossbills are plentiful in Germany, Bavaria, +Sweden, and Norway all the year round, and are occasionally mischievous +in orchards and gardens, on account of their partiality +to the seeds of apples, which they reach by splitting the fruit with +one or two blows of their stout bills. Food of this kind, however, +they can only obtain in autumn; at other seasons, and, indeed, +all the year round in districts remote from orchards, they feed +principally on the seeds of various kinds of fir, which they extract +from the cone by the joint action of their beak and tongue. The +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> +alder and other trees are also sometimes visited, and they have +been noticed to resort to thistles and pick the seeds from them. +'In the autumn of 1821', says Macgillivray, 'when walking from +Aberdeen to Elgin, by the way of Glenlivat, and along the Spey, +I had the pleasure of observing, near the influx of a tributary of +that river, a flock of several hundreds of Crossbills, busily engaged +in shelling the seeds of the berries which hung in clusters on a +clump of rowan (mountain ash) trees. So intent were they on +satisfying their hunger that they seemed not to take the least heed +of me; and as I had not a gun, I was content with gazing on them +without offering them any molestation. They clung to the twigs +in all sorts of positions, and went through the operation of feeding +in a quiet and business-like manner, each attending to his own +affairs without interfering with his neighbours. It was, indeed, a +pleasant sight to see how the little creatures fluttered among the +twigs, all in continued action, like so many bees on a cluster of +flowers in sunshine after rain.' A writer in the <i>Zoologist</i> thus +describes the manœuvres of a flock which he observed in 1849, in the +county of Durham: "On the fifteenth of July when taking a drive +in the western part of the county, where there are many thousand +acres of fir-plantations, I had the good fortune to see a flock of +birds cross my path, which appeared to be Crossbills; so, leaving +the gig, I followed some distance into a fir-plantation, where, +to my great gratification, I found perhaps thirty or more feeding +on some Scotch firs. The day being fine, and as they were the +first I had seen in a state of wild nature, I watched them for about +twenty minutes. Their actions are very graceful while feeding, +hanging in every imaginable attitude, peering into the cones, +which, if they contain seeds, are instantly severed from the branch; +clutched with one foot, they are instantly emptied of their contents, +when down they come. So rapidly did they fall, that I could +compare it to nothing better than being beneath an oak-tree in +autumn, when the acorns are falling in showers about one's head, +but that the cones were rather heavier. No sooner are they on +the wing than they, one and all, commence a fretful, unhappy, +chirl, not unlike the Redpoll's, but louder.' Another writer, in +the <i>Magazine of Natural History</i>, thus records his experience: +'From October, 1821, to the middle of May, 1822, Crossbills were +very numerous in this county (Suffolk), and, I believe, extended +their flight into many parts of England. Large flocks frequented +some fir-plantations in this vicinity, from the beginning of November +to the following April. I had almost daily opportunities of watching +their movements; and so remarkably tame were they, that, when +feeding on fir-trees not more than fifteen or twenty feet high, I +have often stood in the midst of the flock, unnoticed and unsuspected. +I have seen them hundreds of times, when on the larch, +cut the cone from the branch with their beak, and, holding it +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> +firmly In both claws, as a hawk would a bird, extract the seeds +with the most surprising dexterity and quickness. I do not mean +to assert this to be their general habit; but it was very frequently +done when feeding on the larch. I have never seen them adopt +the like method with cones of the Scotch or other species of pine, +which would be too bulky for them to manage. Their method +with these, and, of course, most frequently with the larch, was to +hold firmly on the cone with their claws; and, while they were +busily engaged in this manner, I have captured great numbers; +many with a horsehair noose fixed to the end of a fishing-rod, +which I managed to slip over their head when they were feeding, +and, by drawing it quickly towards the body, I easily secured +them; others I took with a limed twig, fixed in such a manner +in the end of a rod that, on touching the bird, the twig quickly +became disengaged, adhered to the feathers, rendered the wings +useless, and caused the poor bird to fall perfectly helpless on the +ground. In this manner, in windy weather, I have taken several +from the same tree, without causing any suspicion of danger. On +warm sunny days, after feeding a considerable time, they would +suddenly take wing, and, after flying round for a short time, in full +chorus, alight on some lofty tree in the neighbourhood of the +plantations, warbling to each other in low pleasing strains. They +would also fly from the trees occasionally for the purpose of drinking, +their food being of so dry a nature. To captivity they were quickly +reconciled, and soon became very familiar. As, at first, I was not +aware what food would suit them, I fixed branches of the larch +against the sides of the room in which I confined them, and threw +them a quantity of the cones on the floor. I found that they not +only closely searched the cones on the branches but, in a few days, +not one was left in the room that had not been pried into. I gave them +canary and hemp-seed; but thinking the cones were both amusement +and employment, I continued to furnish them with a plentiful +supply. I had about four dozen of them; and frequently, +whilst I have been in the room, they would fly down, seize a cone +with their beak, carry it to a perch, quickly transfer it to their +claws, and in a very short time empty it of its seeds, as I have +very many times witnessed to my surprise and amusement.' These +accounts are most interesting, yet they are all equally defective in +failing to describe the mode in which Buffon's 'useless deformity', +the crossed bill, is employed in the work of splitting open a cone +This defect is supplied partially by Mr. Townson's description, +quoted by Yarrell, and partly by the latter author in his own +words. 'Their mode of operation is thus:—They first fix themselves +across the cone, then bring the points of the mandibles from +their crossed or lateral position, to be immediately over each other. +In this reduced compass they insinuate their beaks between the +scales, and then, opening them—not in the usual manner, but +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> +by drawing the inferior mandible sideways—force open the scales.' +"'At this stage', Yarrell proceeds to say, 'the end of the tongue +becomes necessary; and this organ is no less admirably adapted +for the service required.... While the points of the beak press +the scale from the body of the cone, the tongue is enabled to direct +and insert its cutting scoop underneath the seed, and the food thus +dislodged is transferred to the mouth; and when the mandibles +are separated laterally in this operation the bird has an uninterrupted +view of the seed in the cavity with the eye on that side to +which the under mandible is curved.'"</p> + +<p>The beak of the Crossbill then, far from being a defect in the +organization of the bird, is a perfect implement always at its +owner's command, faultless alike in design and execution, and +exquisitely adapted to its work, not an easy one, of performing, +by a single process, the office of splitting, opening, and securing the +contents of a fir-cone, and he must be a bold man who could venture +to suggest an improvement in its mechanism.</p> + +<p>It has been observed that young birds in the nest have not their +mandibles crossed, and at this period such an arrangement would +be useless, as they are dependent for food on the parent birds. +It has also been observed that the side on which the upper mandible +crosses the lower varies in different individuals; in some it descends +on the right side of the lower mandible, in others on the left. The +bird appears to have no choice in the matter, but whatever direction +it takes at first, the same it always retains.</p> + +<p>The nest of the Crossbill is constructed of slender twigs of fir and +coarse dry grass, and lined with fine grass and a few hairs, and +concealed among the upper branches of a Scotch fir.</p> + +<p>The Two-barred (or White-winged) Crossbill (<i>Loxia bifasciata</i>) is +only a rare straggler in winter to this country.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE CORN (OR COMMON) BUNTING<br /> +EMBERIZA MILIARIA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts yellowish brown, with dusky spots; under parts yellowish white, +spotted and streaked with dusky. Length seven inches and a half. Eggs +dull white, tinged with yellow, or pink, and spotted and streaked with +dark purple brown.</div> + +<p>Though called the Common Bunting, this bird is by no means +so abundant in England as the Yellow Bunting; its name, however, +is not misapplied, as it appears to be the most generally diffused +of the family, being found all over the European continent, in the +islands of the Mediterranean, in Asia Minor, and the north of +Africa. In the latter district it appears as a bird of passage in +November; and about Martinmas it is so abundant as to become a +staple article of food. At this season, all the trees in the public +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> +roads and squares of the villages are literally covered with these +birds. Macgillivray informs us that it is more abundant in the +outer Hebrides than in any other part of the country he has visited; +and that it is there generally known by the name of Sparrow. In +England it is a constant resident; but as it is much more abundant +in autumn and winter than in summer, it probably receives accessions +to its numbers from the north. From its habit of congregating +in large flocks in the winter and alighting on arable land to +feed, after the manner of the Skylark, it is sometimes called 'Lark +Bunting', and, from its favourite food, 'Corn Bunting'. It builds +its nest in a tuft of grass, often under the shelter of briers or a +low bush, constructing it of dry grass with a lining of hair. Its +song, which is harsh and unmelodious, consists of a number of +short repetitions of the same note, terminating with a long one +lower in tone, and is generally uttered by the bird perched the +while on some slight elevation, such as a stone or the topmost twig +of a furze-bush. On first rising, it allows its legs to drop as if +broken.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE YELLOW BUNTING (OR YELLOW HAMMER)<br /> +EMBERIZA CITRINÉLLA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, neck, breast, and lower parts bright yellow, more or less streaked with +dusky; flanks streaked with brownish red; upper parts reddish brown +spotted with dusky. <i>Female</i>—the yellow parts less vivid, and spotted +with dull reddish brown. Length six inches and a quarter. Eggs purplish +or yellowish white, speckled and lined with dark purple brown.</div> + +<p>This familiar and pretty bird appears to be generally diffused +throughout all parts of the country, except the mountains. With +its bright yellow head and breast it can scarcely fail to attract +the attention of those even who are least observant of birds, and +being by no means shy it will allow itself to be examined from a +short distance. It may often be detected by its bright yellow +plumage among the leaves of a hedge, neither fluttering nor hunting +for food, but apparently waiting to be admired. As we approach +within a few yards it darts out into the lane with rapid flight, +displaying the white feathers of its tail, with tawny tail-coverts, +perches on another twig some fifty yards in advance, and, after +one or two such manœuvres, wheels away with rapid flight uttering +two or three short notes as it passes over our head. In summer, +especially during the hot afternoons of July, when most other birds +have closed their concert for the season, it loves to perch on the +top of a furze bush or other shrub, and repeat its simple song. +This consists of about a dozen short notes, rapidly repeated and +closed by a longer note, which I believe to be a musical minor +third below. Sometimes this last note is preceded by another +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> +which is a third above. The effect is in some measure plaintive, and +gives the idea that the bird is preferring a petition. In Devonshire +it goes by the names of 'Little-bread-and-no-cheese', and +'Gladdy'. Of the latter name I do not know the origin; that of +the former is clear enough; for if the words 'A little bit of bread +and no cheese' be chanted rapidly in one note, descending at the +word '<i>cheese, chee-ese</i>', the performance, both in matter and style, +will bear a close resemblance to the bird's song. It has been noticed +that the song of the Yellow Hammer may always be heard about +three o'clock in the afternoon.</p> + +<p>In winter, Yellow Hammers assemble in large flocks, often mixed +with other hard-billed birds, and resort to ploughed fields, or +rick-yards. Macgillivray describes with singular accuracy their +movements on these occasions. "When the ground is covered +with snow, they congregate about houses, and frequent cornyards +along with other birds, retiring to the trees and hedges in the +vicinity when alarmed. Their flight is undulated, light, strong, +and graceful, and they alight abruptly, jerking out their tail-feathers. +It is indeed surprising to see with what velocity they +descend at once from a considerable height, to settle on the twigs +of a tree which had attracted their notice as they were flying over +it, and with what dexterity all the individuals of a flock perch in +their selected places."</p> + +<p>The nest and eggs of the Yellow Hammer resemble those of the +Common Bunting, but are smaller. The nest is most frequently +placed close to the ground, or actually on the ground, among grass +on the skirt of a meadow. Yarrell suggested that the name +'Yellow Hammer' should be written 'Yellow Ammer'—the +word Ammer being a well-known German term for Bunting.</p> + +<p>Collectors of eggs should carefully avoid cleaning the eggs of +the Buntings, as the dark colouring matter with which they are +blotched is easily rubbed off with a damp cloth.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE CIRL BUNTING<br /> +EMBERÍZA CIRLUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown dark olive, streaked with black; gorget and band above and below the +eye bright yellow; throat, neck, and band across the eye, black; breast +olive-grey, bounded towards the sides by chestnut; abdomen dull yellow; +back brownish red, with dusky spots. <i>Female</i>—the distinct patches of +black and yellow wanting; the dusky spots on the back larger. Eggs +greyish, marked with ash-coloured and black blotches and lines.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_21"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_21.png" width="441" height="679" alt="Plate_21" title="Plate_21. Cirl Bunting; Lapland Bunting; Reed Bunting [M] [F]; The Common Bunting [F] Snow Bunting [M] [F]. [face p. 108." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_22"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_22.png" width="436" height="689" alt="Plate_22" title="Plate_22. Yellow Wagtail [M]; Grey Headed Wagtail [M]; White Wagtail [M]; Grey Wagtail; and Pied Wagtail." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p> + +<p>With the exception of its black chin and throat, this bird closely +resembles the Yellow Hammer. Its habits, too, are much the same, +so that little can be said of it which does not equally apply to its +congener. It appears, however, to be much less patient of cold, +and is consequently mostly confined to the southern counties of +England, from Cornwall to Kent, and in the valley of the Thames. +In the south of Europe, in the islands of the Mediterranean, and in +Asia Minor, it is said to replace the Yellow Hammer, which is far less +common. It is in the habit of perching higher than the Yellow +Hammer, and is said to be partial to elm-trees. The present +editor knows of its nesting recently in Hertfordshire.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE REED BUNTING<br /> +EMBERÍZA SCHŒNICLUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, throat and gorget black (in winter speckled with light brown); nape, +sides of the neck, and a line extending to the base of the beak on each +side, white; upper parts variegated with reddish brown and dusky; +under parts white, streaked with dusky on the flanks. <i>Female</i>—head +reddish brown, with dusky spots; the white on the neck less distinct; +under parts reddish white, with dusky spots. Length six inches. Eggs +purplish grey, blotched and lined with dark purple brown.</div> + +<p>Wherever there is water, in the shape of a lake, canal, or river, +lined by bushes and rushes, there the Black-headed Bunting is pretty +sure to be seen at most seasons of the year. The male is strongly +marked by his black head and white collar; the head of the female +is of the same colour as the body; but the white collar, of a less +bright hue, she shares with her mate. 'Reed Bunting' and 'Reed +Sparrow' are other names for the same bird. In summer it rarely +quits the vicinity of water. At this season its food consists of +various seeds and insects; but on the approach of winter it either +forms small parties, or joins itself on to flocks of Yellow Hammers, +Sparrows, and Finches, and visits the stack-yards in search of grain. +It builds its nest in low bushes, or among aquatic plants, very near +the ground, employing bents, bits of straw, reeds, etc., and lining +it with hair. The eggs are four or five in number, of a dull, livid +purple colour, marked with irregular curves or blotches of darker +purple, which remind one of the figure of the lines, so often seen on +bramble leaves, made by leaf-eating grubs. Its note resembles that +of the other Buntings, and is pleasant from its association with +walks by the river's side rather than for tone or melody. In Scotland +the Reed Bunting is migratory, repairing southwards in October +and returning in March.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">SNOW BUNTING<br /> +PLECTROPHENAX NIVALIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, neck, portion of the wings, and lower parts white; upper parts black, +tinged here and there with red. Length six inches and three-quarters. +Eggs pale reddish white, speckled and spotted with brown and pale red.</div> + +<p>This, though a northern bird also, does not confine itself so closely +to the Arctic regions as the preceding species; but is of common +occurrence in many parts of Scotland during autumn and winter +and later in the season in various parts of England. Macgillivray, +whose acquaintance with British birds, especially those of Scotland, +was very accurate, was inclined to the opinion that the Snow +Bunting or Snow-flake breeds on the higher Grampians, having +observed a specimen on a mountain of this range so early as the +fourth of August, while the migratory flocks do not appear until two +months later. "About the end of October it makes its appearance +along the coasts or on the higher grounds of the south of Scotland, +and about the same period in the south of England, although it is +there of much less frequent occurrence. Assembled in large +straggling flocks, or scattered in small detachments, these birds may +be seen flying rather low along the shore, somewhat in the manner +of Larks, moving in an undulating line by means of repeated +flappings and short intervals of cessation, and uttering a soft and +rather low cry, consisting of a few mellow notes, not unlike those +of the Common Linnet, but intermixed at times with a sort of +stifled scream or <i>churr</i>. When they have found a fitting place, +they wheel suddenly round, and alight rather abruptly, on which +occasion the white of the wings and tail becomes very conspicuous. +They run with great celerity along the sand, not by hops, like the +Sparrows and Finches, but in a manner resembling that of the +Larks and Pipits; and when thus occupied, it is not in general +difficult to approach them, so that specimens are easily procured. +At intervals they make excursions into the neighbouring fields, +alight in cornyards, at barn-doors, or even on the roads, where they +obtain seeds of oats, wheat, and weeds, which I have found in +them. In the villages along the coast of Lothian, they are sometimes, +in spring, nearly as common as Sparrows, and almost as +familiar. About the middle of April, or sometimes a week later, +these birds disappear and betake themselves to their summer +residence." Its habits, as observed in England, are similar; but +the flocks are generally smaller. In the Arctic regions, it is abundant +from the middle or end of April to the end of September. Its +nest is composed of dry grass, neatly lined with deer's hair and a +few feathers, and is generally fixed in the crevice of a rock or in a +loose pile of timber or stones. In spring it feeds principally +on the buds of <i>Saxifraga oppositifolia</i>, one of the earliest of the +Arctic plants; during winter, on grass seeds. Peculiar interest +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> +attaches to the Snow Bunting, from the fact that it is (according to +Linnæus) the only living animal that has been seen two thousand +feet above the line of perpetual snow in the Lapland Alps. Mention +of it frequently occurs in books of Arctic travels. I must not +omit to state that the specimens obtained in Great Britain vary +so considerably in the proportions of white and tawny in their +plumage, that there were at one time considered to be three several +species. In Norfolk, I have seen them in severe weather flocking +with Larks, among which they make themselves so conspicuous +by the white portion of their plumage, as to be popularly known +by the name of 'White-winged Larks'.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE LAPLAND BUNTING<br /> +CALCARIUS LAPPÓNICUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown of the head black, speckled with red; throat and breast black, a broad +white band extending from the eye down the sides of the neck; nape +bright chestnut; back, wings, and tail variegated with brown, white, and +black; under parts white, spotted at the sides with dark brown. Length +six inches and three-quarters. Eggs pale ochre-yellow, spotted with +brown.</div> + +<p>This bird, as its name denotes, is an inhabitant of high northern +latitudes; and its occurrence in this country is very rare. A +few only have been shot, in places remote from each other; and +in the year 1843, a female was captured by a bird-catcher near +Milnthorpe, in Westmoreland, and kept for some time in an aviary, +where it soon became friendly with its companions and took its +daily meal of rape, canary, or hemp seeds, and now and then a +sprinkling of oats, with apparent satisfaction. In the Arctic +regions it inhabits hilly and mountainous districts, and spends +most of its time on the ground, where it runs in the manner of +Larks, and where also it builds its nest. The male is said to have +a pleasing song, combining that of the Skylark and of the Linnet.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY MOTACILLIDÆ</div> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE WHITE WAGTAIL<br /> +MOTACILLA ALBA</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Summer</i>—head, breast, wings and tail variegated with black and white; chin, +throat, and neck black; back and scapulars pearl-grey; side of the neck +as low as the wings white. <i>Winter</i>—chin, throat and neck white, with +an isolated black gorget. Length nearly seven inches and a half. Eggs +bluish white, speckled with black.</div> + +<p>This species has bred in England more frequently than has been +supposed. It is not uncommon in Cornwall in spring, and indeed + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> +it visits many of our English counties. Its nest has been found in +such odd places as a Sand Martin's burrow and the middle of a +strawberry bed. The present editor has seen it nesting among the +spraying branches of a Virginian creeper growing over trellis work. +A beautiful little bird it is.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE PIED WAGTAIL<br /> +MOTACILLA LÚGUBRIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Summer</i>—all the plumage variegated with white and black; back and scapulars, +chin, throat, and neck black; a small portion of the side of the neck +white. <i>Winter</i>—back and scapulars ash-grey; chin and throat white, +with a black, but not entirely isolated, gorget. Length seven inches and +a half. Eggs bluish white, speckled with dark grey.</div> + +<p>The Pied Wagtail or Dishwasher is a familiar and favourite bird, +best known by its habit of frequenting the banks of ponds and +streams, where it runs, not hops about, picking insects from the +herbage, and frequently rising with a short jerking flight, to capture +some winged insect, which its quick eye has detected hovering in +the air. Its simple song consists of but few notes, but the tone is +sweet and pleasing, and is frequently heard when the bird is cleaving +its way through the air with its peculiar flight, in which it describes +a series of arcs, as if it were every instant on the point of alighting, +but had altered its mind. While hunting for food, it keeps its tail +in perpetual motion. It shows little fear of man, and frequently +approaches his dwelling. It may often be noticed running rapidly +along the tiles or thatch of a country house, and it not unfrequently +takes its station on the point of a gable, or the ridge of the roof, and +rehearses its song again and again. Very frequently, too, it perches +in trees, especially such as are in the vicinity of ponds. Next to +watery places, it delights in newly-ploughed fields, and hunts for +insects on the ground, utterly fearless of the ploughman and his +implements. A newly-mown garden lawn is another favourite +resort; so also is a meadow in which cows are feeding, and to these +it is most serviceable, running in and out between their legs, and +catching, in a short time, an incredible number of flies. The country +scarcely furnishes a prettier sight than that afforded by a family of +Wagtails on the short grass of a park, in July or August. A party +of five or six imperfectly fledged birds may often be seen scattered +over a small space of ground, running about with great activity, +and picking up insects, while the parent birds perform short aërial +journeys above and around them, frequently alighting, and transferring +from their own mouths to those of their offspring, each in its +turn, the insects they have just captured. They are at all times +sociably disposed, being seen sometimes in small parties, and +sometimes in large flocks. It has been noticed that when one of a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> +party has been wounded by a discharge from a gun, another has +flown down as if to aid it, or sympathize with it. Advantage is +taken of this habit by bird-catchers in France. It is the custom to +tie Wagtails by their feet to the clap nets, and make them struggle +violently and utter cries of pain when a flight of the same kind of +birds is seen approaching; these stop their flight, and alighting are +caught in large numbers for the spit, their flesh, it is said, being +very delicate. They share, too, with Swallows the praise of being +among the first to announce to other birds the approach of a Hawk, +and join with them in mobbing and driving it away.</p> + +<p>About the middle of April, the Pied Wagtail begins to build its +nest. This is usually placed in a hole in a bank or hedge, among +stones, or in the hollow of a tree; it is composed of dry grass and +withered leaves, mixed with moss, and lined with wool, hair, and a +few feathers. It is a compact and solid structure, capable of protecting +the eggs and young from the damp soil, but is not generally +concealed with much art; and hence perhaps it is frequently selected +by the Cuckoo, to lay an egg in.</p> + +<p>Towards autumn, Pied Wagtails for the most part migrate southwards. +In the midland counties they may be often observed in +large companies, in October, halting for a few days wherever food +is abundant, and then suddenly disappearing; after which only a +few stragglers are seen until the spring. They return northwards +about the beginning of March. In the extreme south of England +they are numerous all the year round; but as many instances have +occurred of their alighting on a ship at sea, it is probable that the +majority migrate to some southern climate, where the ponds do not +freeze and gnats gambol at Christmas.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE GREY WAGTAIL<br /> +MOTACILLA MELANÓPE</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Summer</i>—head and back bluish grey; a pale streak above the eyes; throat +black; under parts bright yellow; tail very long. <i>Winter</i>—chin and +throat whitish, passing into yellow. Length seven inches and three-quarters. +Eggs bluish white, speckled with dark grey.</div> + +<p>Grey Wagtail is not a very happy name for this bird, as the bright +yellow of its neck and breast are far more conspicuous than the +more sober grey of the head and back; yet, as there are other +claimants for the more appropriate names 'Yellow', and Grey-headed, +the young observer must be cautious while reading the +descriptions of the several members of the family, or he may +possibly fall into error. The Grey Wagtail is among the most +elegant and graceful of British birds, and in delicacy of colouring +is surpassed by few. Its habits are much the same as those of the +Pied Wagtail, but it is even lighter and more active in its movements. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> +It is less frequently observed away from water than that +species, and though, like it, not altogether a permanent resident in +England, it visits us at the opposite season, coming in autumn, and +retiring northwards in spring. It does not seem often to go +so far north as Inverness-shire, but is regularly seen about Edinburgh +in winter; and, on the other hand, it breeds yearly in the +southern counties of England during summer, as on the streams +which flow from Dartmoor. This partial migration seems to be +characteristic of the family, and is difficult to account for. Why +out of a certain number of birds of the same species, some should +annually travel southwards, to supply the place of individuals belonging +to an allied species, who have travelled yet further to the +south, and why, on the reappearance of the latter in spring, the first +should return to their northern haunts, are questions more easily +asked than answered.</p> + +<p>The Grey Wagtail has been repeatedly observed to indulge in a +fancy which might well obtain for it the name of 'window-bird'. +The first recorded instance occurs in an early number of the <i>Zoologist</i>, +where it is stated, that every morning for a period of between three +and four months, from the beginning of October to the end of +January, a Grey Wagtail came to the window of a country house +as soon as the blinds were drawn up, and darted against the panes +of glass, pecking with its beak as if it saw some object. It would +then retire, and after a pause repeat the operation, but from what +motive no one could conjecture. A lady writes to me from Dewlish +House, Dorsetshire: 'We are constantly being disturbed by a +yellow-breasted Water-Wagtail, which comes tapping at the windows +or skylights, from the first streak of light till evening. What may +be his object no one can say. It is too cold at present (March) +for flies or spiders, and, had there been any hybernating there +he would have eaten them long ago, he comes so frequently. +When, on going upstairs, or when sitting down in my room, I hear +this loud repeated tapping, it is vain for me to open the window +and try to entice him in with crumbs; he does not even notice them. +This morning he woke me at about four o'clock. You would have +said, 'Some one rapping at my window as a signal that I must get +up. An old servant tells me, "Ah, 'twere just the same last +spring, when the family were in London; they say that it do mean +something."'</p> + +<p>The Grey Wagtail does not commonly build its nest in the southern +counties of England, although instances have occurred. It prefers +hilly and rocky districts. More frequently it repairs in spring to +the north of England and south of Scotland, and builds its nest on +the ground, or in the hole of a bank, or between large stones, and +never at any great distance from the water. It is composed of +stems and blades of grass, mixed with moss and wool, and lined with +wool, hair and feathers. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE BLUE-HEADED (OR GREY-HEADED) WAGTAIL<br /> +MOTACILLA FLAVA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Top of the head, lore, and nape lead-grey; over the eye a white streak; +scapulars, back, and upper tail-coverts greenish olive, tinged with yellow; +chin white, in the young male yellow; under parts bright yellow. Length +six inches and a half. Eggs mottled with yellow, brown, and grey.</div> + +<p>This, one of the common Yellow Wagtails of the Continent, is a +rare visitor in this country. Its habits, nest, and eggs, closely +resemble those of the next species. It is the <i>Bergeronette printanière</i> +('Little shepherdess of the Spring') of the French, a pretty name, +suggested by the habit, common to all the genus, of resorting to +sheepfolds for the sake of feeding on the flies with which such places +abound.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">YELLOW WAGTAIL<br /> +MOTACILLA RAII</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Top of the head, lore, nape, back, and scapulars pale olive; over the eye a +streak of bright yellow; chin yellow; lower parts of the same colour. +Length six inches and a half. Eggs whitish, mottled with yellow, +brown, and grey.</div> + +<p>Ray's Wagtail, the third of the Yellow Wagtails placed on the list +of British birds, is, next to the Pied, the best known species, being +a regular summer visitor, and everywhere tolerably common. It +is said by most authors to frequent the water rather less than the +other species, and to prefer fields of peas and tares, open downs and +sheep pastures; but, as far as my own observation goes, I have seen +it far more frequently near water than elsewhere, and if I wished +to observe its habits, I should repair to the nearest canal or river, +in the certain expectation of seeing a pair hunting among the aquatic +weeds for their food, running along the sandy or muddy shore, +perching on the broad leaves of the water-lily, and chasing each +other with dipping flight through the air. I am inclined to believe +that, though it may have often been noticed in dry pastures and +stony places, yet that when so circumstanced, it is only engaged on an +exploring expedition from its watery haunts; for it is scarcely possible +that a bird so thoroughly at home in a weedy pond, can ever be long +absent from such a locality from choice. Its habits are precisely +similar to those of the Pied Wagtail, except that it visits us in the +summer exclusively, retiring southwards in autumn. It may often +also be seen in company with that species. Besides its call-note, +which consists of two shrill notes, the second of which is a musical +tone lower than the first, it has a short and exceedingly sweet song, +something like that of the Redbreast when at its best. This I have +heard it utter whilst it was perched on a low bush overhanging a +pond. Its nest was probably somewhere in the neighbourhood, for +when disturbed it flew to a short distance only, alighted on another +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> +twig and repeated its warble again. This was in the first week in +May, and is the only occasion on which I ever heard it really sing. +The nest resembles that of the Pied Wagtail, and is placed on +the ground, usually in pea-fields. The popular name Washerwoman +belongs to the whole family. The corresponding term, +<i>Lavandière</i>, is also found in France, and was given from the fanciful +similarity between the beating of the water with its tail by the +bird while tripping along the leaves of a water-lily, and the beating +of linen in the water by washerwomen, a custom still existing in +France, and some parts of England and Ireland.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE TREE PIPIT<br /> +ANTHUS TRIVIÁLIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Hind claw shorter than the toe, and curved so as to form the fourth of a circle; +upper parts ash, tinged with olive, the centre of each feather dark brown; +a double band across the wing, formed by the yellowish white tips of the +lesser and middle wing-coverts; throat and region of the eye dull white; +breast reddish yellow, spotted, and at the sides lightly streaked with dark +brown. Length six inches. Eggs dull white, variously mottled with +purple brown.</div> + +<p>The name Titlark is popularly applied to three common species of +birds which were formerly placed in the same family with the Skylark. +Modern ornithologists now place them in a distinct genus, +the characters of which differ from those of the true Lark in that +the beak is more slender and slightly notched near the point, the +first three quills are nearly of the same length and the outer toe is +united with the middle one as far as the first joint. In colouring, +however, in general form, and, to a slight extent, in habits, namely, in +the mode of feeding and nesting, there is much similarity between the +genera; but in the power of soaring, the Lark, though imitated by +one species, is unrivalled. The old name Titlark, then, must be +understood to be merged in the more distinctive title, Pipit, given +to three common kinds which severally frequent trees, meadows, +and the sea-shore. Pipits are more allied to the Wagtail family +than with Larks. The Tree Pipit alone is a migratory species, +arriving in this country towards the end of April, and leaving us +in the autumn. It is common in most of the wooded counties of +England, except the extreme west and north, but attracts little +notice, being unostentatious in size and colour, while its song, except +by the practised ear, is likely to be lost in the general melody of the +woods. Yarrell's succinct account of its most characteristic habit +is so comprehensive and accurate, that the observer who wishes to +make its acquaintance can scarcely fail by its help to identify the bird +on its very first occurrence. 'The male has a pretty song, perhaps +more attractive from the manner in which it is given, than the +quality of the song itself. He generally sings while perched on the +top of a bush, or one of the upper branches of an elm-tree standing +in a hedge-row, from which, if watched for a short time, he will be +seen to ascend with quivering wing about as high again as the tree; +then, stretching out his wings and expanding his tail, he descends +slowly by a half-circle, singing the whole time, to the same +branch from which he started, or to the top of the nearest other +tree; and so constant is this habit with him, that if the observer +does not approach near enough to alarm him, the bird may be seen +to perform the same evolution twenty times in half an hour, and I +have witnessed it most frequently during and after a warm May +shower.' Its descent to the ground is generally performed in the +same manner. Its food consists of insects and small seeds, for +which it searches among the grass or newly-ploughed ground, with +the walking and running gait of the Wagtails, but without their +incessant waving movement of the tail. The nest, which is placed +on the ground, under a tuft of grass or low bush, and very frequently +on the skirt of a wood or copse, is composed of dry grass and small +roots, and lined with finer grass and hair. The eggs are usually +five in number, and vary so much, that extreme specimens would +scarcely seem to belong to the same bird. In the predominating +brown hue a tinge of red is, however, always perceptible, and by +this it may be distinguished from the egg of the Meadow Pipit.<a name="FNanchor_1_14" id="FNanchor_1_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> The +Tree Pipit is not seen in Ireland, or it is as yet unrecorded there.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_14" id="Footnote_1_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> 'Amongst our land birds', says Hewitson, 'there is no species the eggs +of which present so many, or such distinct varieties, as those of the Tree Pipit. +No one would at first believe them to be eggs of the same species; and it was +not till I had captured the bird upon each of the varieties, and also received +them from Mr. H. Doubleday, similarly attested, that I felt satisfactorily +convinced upon the subject.'</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_23"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_23.png" width="443" height="674" alt="Plate_23" title="Plate_23. Tree Pipit [M]; Yellow Hammer [M]; Rock Pipit [M]; and Pipit [M]. [face p. 116." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_24"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_24.png" width="421" height="682" alt="Plate_24" title="Plate_24. Woodlark [M]; Shore Lark [M]; Skylark [M]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE MEADOW PIPIT<br /> +ANTHUS PRATENSIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Hind claw longer than the toe, slightly curved; upper parts ash, tinged with +olive, especially in winter, the centre of each feather dark brown; under +parts reddish white, streaked with dark brown. Length five inches and +three-quarters. Eggs dull white, variously spotted and mottled with +brown.</div> + +<p>It may be thought at the first glimpse that a difference in the comparative +length of the hinder claws of two birds so much alike as +the Tree and Meadow Pipits is scarcely sufficient to justify a specific +distinction; but when it is considered that a short and curved claw +enables a bird to retain a firm grasp of a small twig, while a long and +almost straight one is best adapted for perching on the ground, it +will appear at once that, however similar two birds may be in all +other respects, yet the slight one in which they differ is the point +on which hinges a complex scheme of habits. So the Tree Pipit +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> +frequents wooded districts, and passes a large portion of its time +aloft among the branches, while the Meadow Pipit finds its happiness +on the ground. It is not, indeed, confined to the unwooded +country, for no bird is more generally diffused, and the nests of +both species, constructed of similar materials, may frequently be +found in the border of the same field, yet it often finds a home +in wild, barren districts, frequented by no other small birds but +the Wheatear and Ring Ouzel. I have even more than once +seen it alight on a tree, but this was apparently as a resting-place +on which it perched previously to descending to roost among +the heath on a common. Had I not been near, it would most +probably have dropped at once to its hiding-place as some of its +companions did. From its attachment to commons and waste +lands, the Meadow Pipit has received the names of Ling-bird and +Moss-cheeper. In winter it is more abundant in the plains, where +it may often be seen in small parties searching for seeds and insects +in recently-ploughed lands, well marked by its running gait and the +olive tinge of its upper plumage. Its song, which is not frequently +heard, is a short and simple strain, sometimes uttered on the ground, +but more generally, while rising or falling, at no great height in the +air. Its nest is only to be distinguished from that of the Tree Pipit +by the dark brown hue of the eggs which are somewhat similar to +those of the Skylark, only smaller. 'The egg of the Cuckoo is more +frequently deposited and hatched in the nest of the Meadow Pipit +than in that of any other bird,' says Yarrell. It is interesting to +know, now, that this bird—an immoral creature we might call it—which +never keeps to one mate, deposits its eggs in the nests of +about 145 species, taking the world over.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE ROCK PIPIT<br /> +ANTHUS OBSCÚRUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Hind claw about equal in length to the toe, much curved; upper plumage +greenish brown, the centre of each feather darker brown; a whitish streak +over the eye; under parts dull white, spotted and streaked with dark +brown. Length six inches and three-quarters. Eggs dull white, mottled +with dingy brown.</div> + +<p>Except that it is somewhat larger, the Rock Pipit is very similar +in form and colour to the last species. It is, however, far more +local, being confined exclusively to the sea-shore, but there of very +common occurrence. Every one familiar with the sea-coast, must +have observed it moving through the air with a jerking flight, +occasionally alighting on a rock or on the beach near the line of +high-water mark, searching busily for marine insects. In spring, +it frequently takes little flights inland, never to a great distance, +repeating its simple song all the while, and chasing as if in sport +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> +some one or other of its companions. In winter, it seems to act +as a guide to the smaller land birds, who, finding their supply of +food diminished or altogether cut off by the frost, are attracted +by its movements, and join it in searching for insects among the +unfrozen</p> + +<div class="center">'ridge of all things vile,'</div> +<br /> +<div class="justify">left on the shore by the receding tide. Montagu says, that it has +never been observed to be gregarious; his editor, however, Rennie, +states that he has noticed it to be, if not quite gregarious, at least +very nearly so, on the wild rocky shores of Normandy; and, from +my own acquaintance with its habits in Devon and Cornwall, I +am inclined to agree with the latter. If not gregarious, it is at +least sociable, and that too at seasons when the flocks could hardly +have been family gatherings only. The same remark holds good +of the Meadow Pipit. A migration southwards takes place in +October along our east coast.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY ALAUDIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE SKYLARK<br /> +ALAUDA ARVENSIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts reddish brown, the centre of each feather dark brown; a faint +whitish streak above the eyes; throat white; neck and breast whitish, +tinged with yellow and red, and streaked with dark brown; tail moderate. +Length seven inches and a quarter. Eggs greyish, thickly speckled with +dark grey and brown.</div> + +<p>The Skylark, a bird whose flight and song are better known perhaps +than those of any other bird, needs but a simple biography. The +favourite bird of the poets, its story might be told in extracts compiled +from various authors whose muse has led them to sing of Nature. +Much, however, that has been written is but an amplification of +the golden line, 'Hark, the Lark at Heaven's gate sings!' and not +a little is an exaggerated statement of the height to which it ascends, +and the time which it remains suspended in mid-air. But the +Skylark needs no panegyrists, so, with all due deference to those +who have struck the lyre in its honour, I will endeavour to describe +its habits and haunts in humble prose.</p> + +<p>The Skylark is a generally-diffused bird, adapted by the conformation +of its claws for perching on the ground, and by its length +and power of wing for soaring high in the air. Accordingly, its +food consists of small insects and seeds, which it collects among the +herbage of stubble-fields, meadows and downs, or in newly-ploughed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> +fields. To this fare, it adds in winter and spring the tender stalk +of sprouting corn. Hence it is regarded with deadly hostility +by farmers, and hence, too, the quiet of the country is much disturbed +at these seasons, by boys employed to frighten it away +by screaming and plying a peculiar kind of rattle.<a name="FNanchor_1_15" id="FNanchor_1_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> During autumn +and winter, Larks congregate in large flocks, and occupy their time +principally in searching for food on the ground. If disturbed, +they rise in a scattered manner, wheel about in the air until the +flock is formed again, chirping from time to time, and then withdraw, +not in a compact body, but at unequal distances from the earth +and from each other, to a new feeding-ground, over which they hover +with circling flight for some time before alighting. On trees they never +perch; though one or two may occasionally be seen settled on a +quickset hedge or a railing. In North Britain, at the approach +of severe weather, they flock together and migrate southwards. +Great numbers also visit England from the Continent, arriving in +November, when they used to be caught in nets and traps for the table. +Early in spring the flocks break up, when the birds pair, and for +three or four months, every day and all day long, when the weather +is fine (for the Lark dislikes rain and high winds), its song may +be heard throughout the breadth of the land. Rising as it were by +a sudden impulse from its nest or lowly retreat, it bursts forth, +while as yet but a few feet from the ground, into exuberant song, and +with its head turned towards the breeze, now ascending perpendicularly, +and now veering to the right or left, but not describing circles, +it pours forth an unbroken chain of melody, until it has reached +an elevation computed to be, at the most, about a thousand feet. +To an observer on earth, it has dwindled to the size of a mere +speck; but, as far as my experience goes, it never rises so high +as to defy the search of a keen eye. Having reached its highest +elevation, its ambition is satisfied without making any permanent +stay, and it begins to descend, not with a uniform downward +motion, but by a series of droppings with intervals of simple hovering, +during which it seems to be resting on its wings. Finally, +as it draws near the earth, it ceases its song and descends more +rapidly, but before it touches the ground it recovers itself, sweeps +away with almost horizontal flight for a short distance and disappears +in the herbage. The time consumed in this evolution is +at the most from fifteen to twenty minutes, more frequently less; +nor have I ever observed it partially descend and soar upwards +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> +again. A writer in the <i>Magazine of Natural History</i> maintains +that 'those acquainted with the song of the Skylark, can tell, +without looking at them, whether the birds be ascending or stationary +in the air, or on their descent; so different is the style of the +song in each case'. Mr. Yarrell is of the same opinion, and I have +little doubt that they are correct, though I am not certain that I +have myself attained the skill of discriminating. In July, the +Lark ceases its soarings and song together, but in fine weather, in +October, it receives a new inspiration and is musical again. From +time to time, during winter, if the season be mild, it resumes +its aërial habits, but it neither ascends so high nor sings so long, +two or three minutes becoming now the limits of its performance. +Like most other birds, it sings least about noon and the first two +hours of the afternoon; but it begins before sunrise, having been +heard at midsummer as early as two o'clock in the morning, and +it sometimes continues its song till late on into the night, having +been heard at ten o'clock when it was quite dark. Occasionally, +too, it sings on the ground; and, in a cage, as all the world knows, +it pours out its melody with as much spirit, as if its six inches of +turf could be measured by acres, and the roof of its little cage were +the vault of heaven. The following stanza in French is equally +successful in imitating the song of the Skylark and describing its +evolutions:</p> + +<div class="poem">La gentille Alouette avec son tirelire,</div> +<div class="poem">Tirelire, relire et tirelirant, tire</div> +<div class="poem">Vers la voûte du ciel; puis son vol en ce lieu</div> +<div class="poem">Vire, et semble nous dire: Adieu, adieu, adieu.</div> + +<p>The Lark builds its nest in a hollow in the ground, the rut of a +cart-wheel, the depression formed by a horse's hoof, or in a hole +which it scrapes out for itself. The nest is composed of dry grass, +and lined with finer fibres. It lays four or five eggs, and rears two +broods in the year. It displays great attachment to its young, +and has been known, when disturbed by mowers, to build a dome +over its nest, as a substitute for the natural shelter afforded by the +grass while standing, and to remove its young in its claws to another +place of concealment. In a cage, even the male is an excellent +nurse. Mr. Weir mentions one which brought up several broods +entrusted to its care, and a similar instance has fallen under my +own notice. Larks frequently become the prey of the Hobby +and Merlin, which pounce on them as they are on the point of leaving +the ground, and bear them off with as much ease as they would a +feather. But if an intended victim discovers its oppressor in time, +it instantly begins to ascend with a rapidity which the other cannot +follow, carried on as it is by the impetus of its horizontal flight. +The Hawk, foiled for this time, renews the chase and endeavours +to soar above its quarry; if it succeeds, it makes a second swoop, +sometimes with deadly effect; but if it fails a second time, the Lark +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> +folds Its wings, drops like lead to the ground, and, crouching among +the herbage, often escapes detection.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_15" id="Footnote_1_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Farmers would effect a great saving if they sowed their wheat deeper +than is the usual practise. The only part of the young plant which the Lark +touches is the white stalk between the grain and the blade. In its effort to +obtain this it frequently destroys the whole plant, if the grain has been lodged +near the surface; but if the young shoot has sprouted from a depth of an +inch or more, the bird contents itself with as much as it can reach without +digging, and leaves the grain uninjured and capable of sprouting again.</div> + + +<div class="caption3">THE WOODLARK<br /> +ALAUDA ARBÓREA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts reddish brown, the centre of each feather dark brown; a distinct +yellowish white streak above the eye passing to the back part of the head; +lower parts yellowish white, streaked with dark brown; tail short. +Length six inches and a half. Eggs greyish white, speckled and sometimes +faintly streaked with brown.</div> + +<p>The Woodlark is much less frequent than the Skylark, and is +confined to certain districts, also it is only resident northwards +up to Stirling. It is distinguished by its smaller size, short tail, +a light mark over the eye, and by its habit of perching on trees, +where the Skylark is never known to alight. It builds its nest +very early in the season, sometimes so soon as the end of March, +and probably rears several broods in the year, as it has been found +sitting as late as September. It is consequently among the earliest +songsters of the year, and among the last to bid adieu to summer. +It sings on until the occurrence of severe frosts, and its note is +among the sweetest and most touching sounds of nature. The song, +though of less compass and less varied than that of the Skylark, +is superior in liquidness of tone, and is thought to resemble the +syllables '<i>lulu</i>', by which name the bird is known in France. When +soaring it may be distinguished from the Skylark not only by its +song, but by its ascending in circles, which it describes, poets tell +us, and perhaps correctly, with its nest for a centre. Sometimes, +especially during sunshine after a summer shower, it alights on +the summit of a lofty tree, to 'unthread its chaplet of musical +pearls', and its simpler <i>lulu</i> notes may be heard as it flies from +place to place while but a few feet above the surface of the ground. +In autumn, Woodlarks assemble in small sociable parties (but not +in large flocks), and keep together during the winter. Early in +spring these societies are broken up into pairs, and the business of +the season commences. The nest is composed of bents and a little +moss, and is lined with finer grass, and, though built on the ground, +is generally concealed with more art than that of the Skylark, +the birds availing themselves of the shelter afforded by a bush or +tuft of grass.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE SHORE LARK<br /> +OTÓCORYS ALPESTRIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Throat, forehead, and ear-coverts yellow; over the forehead a black band; +lore, moustache, and gorget black; upper parts reddish brown; breast +and flanks yellowish white; abdomen white. Length nearly seven inches. +Eggs greyish white, spotted with pale blue and brown.</div> + +<p>The Shore Lark, like the last, is a very rare visitor of Britain, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> +and appears to be equally uncommon In France. A few have +been shot in Norfolk, and in the high latitudes both of the Old and +New Worlds it is a common resident on the rocky coasts. It builds +its nest on the ground, and shares in the great characteristic of the +family, that, namely, of soaring and singing simultaneously. In +colouring, it is strongly marked by its black gorget and crest.</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<a name="ORDER_PICARIAE_2" id="ORDER_PICARIAE_2"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER PICARIÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CYPSELIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE SWIFT<br /> +CÝPSELUS ÁPUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">General plumage sooty brown; chin greyish white; tarsi feathered; bill +feet, and claws, shining black. Length eight inches; width seventeen +inches. Eggs pure white.</div> + +<p>The Swift is, perhaps, the strongest and swiftest, not merely of +the Swallow tribe, but of all birds; hence a voyage from Southern +Africa<a name="FNanchor_1_16" id="FNanchor_1_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> to England is performed without overtaxing its strength. +It stands in need of no rest after this prodigious flight, but immediately +on its arrival starts with a right good will on its pursuit of +food, as if its journey had been but a pleasant course of training +for its daily vocation. With respect to temperature, however, +its powers of endurance are limited; it never proceeds far northwards, +and occasionally even suffers from unseasonably severe +weather in the temperate climates where it fixes its summer residence. +Mr. F. Smith, of the British Museum, related in the <i>Zoologist</i>,<a name="FNanchor_2_17" id="FNanchor_2_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> +that, at Deal, on the eighth of July, 1856, after a mild but wet day, the +temperature suddenly fell till it became disagreeably cold. The +Swifts were sensibly affected by the atmospheric change; they +flew unsteadily, fluttered against the walls of the houses, and +some even flew into open windows. 'Whilst observing these +occurrences', he says, 'a girl came to the door to ask me if I wanted +to buy a bat; she had heard, she told me, that I bought all kinds +of bugs, and her mother thought I might want a bat. On her +producing it, I was astonished to find it was a poor benumbed +Swift. The girl told me they were dropping down in the streets, +and the boys were killing all the bats; the church, she said, was +covered with them. Off I started to witness this strange sight and +slaughter. True enough; the children were charging them everywhere, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> +and on arriving at the church in Lower Street I was astonished +to see the poor birds hanging in clusters from the eaves and cornices; +some clusters were at least two feet in length, and, at intervals, +benumbed individuals dropped from the outside of the clusters. +Many hundreds of the poor birds fell victims to the ruthless ignorance +of the children.' Being so susceptible of cold, the Swift +does not visit us until summer may be considered to have completely +set in. In the south it is generally seen towards the end of April, +but it generally brings up the rear of the migratory birds by +making its first appearance in the first or second week in May, in +the north.</p> + +<p>Early in August it makes itself, for a few days, more than ever +conspicuous by its wheeling flights around the buildings which +contain its nest, and then suddenly disappears. At this period, too, +its note is more frequently heard than during any other part of +its visit, and in this respect it is peculiar. As a general rule, birds +cease their song partially, if not entirely, when their eggs are hatched. +The new care of providing for the wants of a brood occupies their +time too much to allow leisure for musical performance, so that +with the exception of their call-notes, and their cries of alarm or +defiance, they are for a season mute. An early riser, and late +in retiring to roost, the Swift is always on the wing. Thus, whether +hunting on his own account or on behalf of his mate and nestlings, his +employment is unvaried, and the same amount of time is always +at his disposal for exercising his vocal powers. These are not +great; he has no roundelay; he neither warbles nor carols; he +does not even twitter. His whole melody is a scream, unmusical +but most joyous; a squeak would be a better name, but that, +instead of conveying a notion that it results from pain, it is full +of rollicking delight. Some compare it to the noise made by the +sharpening of a saw; to me it seems such an expression of pent-up +joy as little children would make if unexpectedly released from +school, furnished with wings, and flung up into the air for a game +of hide-and-seek among the clouds. Such soarings aloft, such +chasings round the pinnacles of the church-tower and the gables +of the farmhouses, no wonder that they cannot contain themselves +for joy. Every day brings its picnic or village feast, with +no weariness or depression on the morrow.</p> + +<p>The nest of the Swift is constructed of any scraps that the bird +may chance to find floating in the air, or brought to it by the +wind, for it literally never perches on the ground, whence it rises +with difficulty. These are rudely pressed together in any convenient +aperture or moulding in a building, and cemented together by +some glutinous secretion from the bird's mouth. Two eggs are +laid, and the young, as a matter of necessity, remain in the nest +until quite fledged.</p> + +<p>Another name for the Swift is Black Martin, and in heraldry +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> +it is familiarly known as the Martlet, the figure of which is a device +of frequent occurrence in heraldic coats of arms, and denotes that +the original wearer of the distinction served as a crusader pilgrim. +In Arabia it is still known by the name of Hadji, or Pilgrim, to +denote its migratory habits.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_16" id="Footnote_1_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_16"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Livingstone mentions his having seen in the plains north of Kuruman a +flock of Swifts, computed to contain upwards of 4,000 individuals.</div> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_2_17" id="Footnote_2_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_17"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> September, 1856, p. 5249.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CAPRIMULGIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE NIGHTJAR<br /> +CAPRIMÚLGUS EUROP['Æ]US</div> + +<div class="blockquot">General plumage ash-grey, spotted and barred with black, brown and reddish +brown; first three primaries with a large white patch, on the inner web; +two outer tail-feathers on each side tipped with white. Length ten inches +and a quarter; breadth twenty-two inches. Eggs whitish, beautifully +marbled with brown and ash.</div> + +<p>This bird used to be described as a nocturnal robber who finds +his way into the goat-pens, sucks the dugs of the goats, poisoning +them to such an extent that the animals themselves are blinded, +and their udders waste away. This fable we notice in order to +account for the strange name Goatsucker, by which it was formerly +so well known. The bird has, indeed, strangely enough, been known +all over Europe by an equivalent for this name from the earliest +times. The bird itself is perfectly inoffensive, singular in form and +habits, though rarely seen alive near enough for its peculiarities +of form and colour to be observed. Its note, however, is familiar +enough to persons who are in the habit of being out late at night +in such parts of the country as it frequents. The silence of the +evening or midnight walk in June is occasionally broken by a deep +<i>churr-churr-err</i> which seemingly proceeds from the lower bough of +a tree, a hedge, or paling. And a whirring of the wings comes often +from their being brought in contact as the birds twist in insect-hunting.<a name="FNanchor_1_18" id="FNanchor_1_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> +The churring is nearly monotonous but not quite so, +as it occasionally rises or falls about a quarter of a note, and appears +to increase and diminish in loudness. Nor does it seem to proceed +continuously from exactly the same spot, but to vary its position, +as if the performer were either a ventriloquist or were actually +shifting his ground. The bird perches with its feet resting lengthwise +on a branch, its claws not being adapted for grasping, and +turns its head from side to side, thus throwing the sound as it +were in various directions, and producing the same effect as if it +proceeded from different places. I have repeatedly worked my +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> +way close up to the bird, but as I labour under the disadvantage +of being short-sighted, and derive little assistance from glasses +at night, I have always failed to observe it actually perched and +singing. In the summer of 1859 a Nightjar frequented the immediate +neighbourhood of my own house, and I had many opportunities +of listening to its note. One evening especially, it perched on a railing +within fifty yards of the house, and I made sure of seeing it, but +when I had approached within a few yards of the spot from whence +the sound proceeded the humming suddenly stopped, but was +presently again audible at the other end of the railing which ran +across my meadow. I cautiously crept on, but with no better +success than before. As I drew near, the bird quitted its perch, +flew round me, coming within a few feet of my person, and, on my +remaining still, made itself heard from another part of the railing +only a few yards behind me. Again and again I dodged it, but +always with the same result; I saw it, indeed, several times, but +always on the wing. At last a longer interval of silence ensued, +and when I heard the sound again it proceeded from a distant +hedge which separated the meadow from a common. Here probably +its mate was performing the domestic duty of incubation +cheered by the dismal ditty of her partner; but I never saw her, +though I undertook another nocturnal chase of the musician, hunting +him from tree to tree, but never being able to discover his +exact position, until the cessation of the sound and the sudden +rustling of leaves announced the fact of his having taken his +departure.</p> + +<p>In the dusk of the evening the Nightjar may commonly be seen +hawking for moths and beetles after the manner of the Swallow-tribe, +only that the flight is less rapid and more tortuous. I once +saw one on the common mentioned above, hawking seemingly in +company with Swifts and Swallows during the bright glare of a +summer afternoon; but most frequently it spends the day either +resting on the ground among heath or ferns or on the branch of a +tree, always (according to Yarrell and others) crouching close down +upon it, in the line of the limb, and not across it. When perched +on the ground it lies very close, 'not rising (a French author says) +until the dogs are almost on it, but worth shooting in September'. +The poet Wordsworth, whose opportunities of watching the Nightjar +in its haunts must have been numerous, knew that the whirring +note is an accompaniment of the chase:</p> + +<div class="poem">The busy Dor-Hawk chases the white moth</div> +<div class="poem">With burring note——</div> +<br /> +<div class="poem">The burring Dor-Hawk round and round is wheeling:</div> +<div class="poem"> That solitary bird</div> +<div class="poem"> Is all that can be heard</div> +<div class="poem">In silence, deeper far than deepest noon.</div> + +<p>One point in the economy of the Nightjar is still disputed (1908) +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> +the use which it makes of its serrated middle claw. White, and +another observer, quoted by Yarrell, have seen the bird while on +the wing capture insects with the claw and transfer them to the +mouth. Wilson, on the other hand, states that the use of this +singular structure is to enable the bird to rid itself of vermin, to +which it is much exposed by its habit of remaining at rest during +the heat of the day. As he has actually observed a bird in captivity +thus employing its claw, it would follow that the same organ is used +for a twofold purpose.</p> + +<p>The Nightjar is a migratory bird and the last to arrive in this +country, appearing not before the middle of May. It is found more +or less sparingly in all parts of England, especially those which abound +most in woods interspersed with heaths and brakes. In the wooded +valleys of Devonshire it is of frequent occurrence, and here it has +been known to remain so late in the season as November, whereas +from most other localities it migrates southwards about the middle +or end of September. It builds no nest, but lays its singularly +beautiful eggs, two in number, on the ground among the dry +herbage of the common.</p> + +<p>Other names by which it is locally known are Fern Owl, Wheeler, +and Nightchurr.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_18" id="Footnote_1_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Mr. Bell informs me that it is so like the croak of the Natter-Jack Toad, +that he has more than once doubted from which of the two the sound proceeded.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PICIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2"><span class="smcap">Sub-Family</span> PICINÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER<br /> +DENDROCOPUS MAJOR</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown and upper plumage black; a crimson patch on the back of the head; +a white spot on each side of the neck; scapulars, lesser wing-coverts, and +under plumage white; abdomen and under tail-coverts crimson; iris +red. <i>Female</i>—without the crimson on the head. Length nine inches +and a half; breadth fourteen inches. Eggs glossy white.</div> + +<p>In habits this bird closely resembles the Green Woodpecker. It +is of less common occurrence, but by no means rare, especially in the +wooded districts of the southern and midland counties. A writer +in the <i>Zoologist</i><a name="FNanchor_1_19" id="FNanchor_1_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> is of opinion that it shows a decided partiality +to fallen timber. 'In 1849', he says, 'a considerable number +of trees were cut down in an open part of the country near Melbourne, +which were eventually drawn together and piled in lots. +These lay for some time, and were visited almost daily by Great +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> +Spotted Woodpeckers. Their habits and manners were very +amusing, especially whilst searching for food. They alighted on +the timber, placed the body in a particular position, generally +with the head downward' [differing in this respect from the Green +Woodpecker], 'and commenced pecking away at the bark. Piece +by piece it fell under their bills, as chips from the axe of a woodman. +Upon examining the bark, I found that the pieces were chipped +away in order that the-bird might arrive at a small white grub which +lay snugly embedded in the bark; and the adroitness of the bird in +finding out those portions of it which contained the greatest number +of grubs, was certainly very extraordinary. Where the birds were +most at work on a particular tree, I shelled off the bark and found +nearly thirty grubs in nine squares inches; but on shelling off +another portion from the same tree, which remained untouched, +no grub was visible. Yet how the bird could ascertain precisely +where his food lay was singular, as in both cases the surface of the +bark appeared the same and bore no traces of having been perforated +by insects. During the day one bird chipped off a piece +thirty inches long and twenty wide—a considerable day's work +for so small a workman.' Another observer states that this bird +rarely descends to the ground, and affects the upper branches +of trees in preference to the lower. Its note is like that of the Green +Woodpecker. Both species are charged with resorting to gardens +and orchards during the fruit season, not in quest of insect food; +but no instance of this has come under my own notice. It is said, +too, that they eat nuts. This statement is most probably correct. +I myself doubt whether there are many birds of any sort which +can resist a walnut; and I would recommend any one who is hospitably +disposed towards the birds which frequent his garden, to +strew the ground with fragments of these nuts. To birds who +are exclusively vegetarians, if indeed there be any such indigenous +to Britain, they are a natural article of diet, and as from their +oily nature they approximate to animal matter, they are most +acceptable to insectivorous birds. They have an advantage over +almost every other kind of food thus exposed, that they are not +liable to be appropriated as scraps of meat and bread are, by prowling +cats and dogs. A walnut, suspended from the bough of a tree +by a string, will soon attract the notice of some inquisitive Tit, and, +when once detected, will not fail to receive the visits of all birds +of the same family which frequent the neighbourhood. A more +amusing pendulum can scarcely be devised. To ensure the success +of the experiment, a small portion of the shell should be removed.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_19" id="Footnote_1_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Vol. viii, p. 3115.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_25"></a> +<div class="center"> +<img src="images/plate_25.png" width="431" height="655" alt="Plate_25" title="Plate_25. Wryneck [M]; Greater Spotted Woodpecker [F]; Green Woodpecker [M]; and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker [M]. [face p. 128." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_26"></a> +<div class="center"> +<img src="images/plate_26.png" width="454" height="671" alt="Plate_26" title="Plate_26. Hoopoe [M]; Kingfisher [M]; Roller; and Bee-eater [M]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER<br /> +DEUDROCOPUS MINOR</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Forehead and lower parts dirty white; crown bright red: nape, back, and +wings black, with white bars; tail black, the outer feathers tipped with +white and barred with black; iris red. Length five inches and a half; +breadth twelve inches. Eggs glossy white.</div> + +<p>This handsome little bird resembles its congeners so closely, both +in structure and habits, that it scarcely needs a lengthened description. +Resident in England but rare in Scotland and Ireland, owing +to its fondness for high trees and its small size it often escapes +notice. It lays its eggs on the rotten wood, which it has either +pecked, or which has fallen, from the holes in trees; they are not +to be distinguished from those of the Wryneck. Lately (1908) a +Scottish newspaper recorded the shooting of "that rare species, +the Spotted Woodpecker!" "The man with the gun" is incurable.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE GREEN WOODPECKER<br /> +GÉCINUS VIRIDIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage green; under, greenish ash; crown, back of the head, and +moustaches crimson; face black. <i>Female</i>—less crimson on the head; +moustaches black. Length thirteen inches; breadth twenty-one inches. +Eggs glossy white.</div> + +<p>One of the most interesting among the natural sounds of the +country, is that of the</p> + +<div class="center">Woodpecker tapping the hollow beech tree:</div> +<br /> +<div class="justify">yet one may walk through the woods many times and hear no tapping +at all, and even if such a sound be detected and traced to its +origin, it will often be found to proceed from the Nuthatch, who has +wedged a hazel-nut into the bark of an oak, than from the hammering +of a Woodpecker. Yet often indeed it may be observed ascending, +by a series of starts, the trunk of a tree, inclining now a little +to the right, and now to the left, disappearing now and then on the +side farthest from the spectator, and again coming into view somewhat +higher up. Nor is its beak idle; this is employed sometimes +in dislodging the insects which lurk in the rugged bark, and sometimes +in tapping the trunk in order to find out whether the wood +beneath is sound or otherwise. Just as a carpenter sounds a wall +with his hammer in order to discover where the brickwork ends +and where lath and plaster begin, so the Woodpecker sounds the +wooden pillar to which it is clinging, in order to discover where the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> +wood is impenetrable alike by insects and itself, and where the former +have been beforehand with it in seeking food or shelter. Such a +canker-spot found, it halts in its course, tears off piece-meal a portion +of bark and excavates the rotten wood beneath, either as far as the +fault extends or as long as it can find food. It is, then, by no means +a mischievous bird, but the reverse; as it not only destroys a number +of noxious insects, but points out to the woodman, if he would +only observe aright, which trees are beginning to decay and consequently +require his immediate attention. This aspect of the Woodpecker's +operations is the right one and not the old idea that 'it +is a great enemy of old trees in consequence of the holes which it +digs in their trunks', as some old writer states.</div> + +<p>But with all his digging and tapping, the sound by which the +vicinity of a Woodpecker is most frequently detected, especially in +spring and summer, is the unmistakable laughing note which has +gained for him the name of 'Yaffle.' No more perhaps than the +mournful cooing of the dove does this indicate merriment; it is +harsh, too, in tone; yet it rings through the woods with such jovial +earnestness that it is always welcome. On such occasions the bird +is not generally, I think, feeding, for if the neighbourhood from +which the sound proceeded be closely watched, the Yaffle may +frequently be observed to fly away, with a somewhat heavy dipping +flight, to another tree or grove, and thence, after another laugh, to +proceed to a second. It is indeed oftener to be seen on the wing +than hunting for food on the trunks of trees. Very frequently too +it may be observed on the ground, especially in a meadow or common +in which ants abound.</p> + +<p>The admirable adaptation of the structure of the Woodpecker +to its mode of life is well pointed out by Yarrell. Its sharp, hooked +toes, pointing two each way, are eminently fitted for climbing and +clinging. The keel of the breast-bone is remarkably shallow; hence, +when ascending (its invariable mode of progress) a tree, it is enabled +to bring its body close to the trunk without straining the muscles +of the legs. Its tail is short, and composed of unusually stiff +feathers, which in the process of climbing are pressed inwards +against the tree, and contribute greatly to its support. The beak +is strong and of considerable length, and thus fitted either for digging +into an ant-hill or sounding the cavities of a tree; and the tongue, +which is unusually long, is furnished with a curious but simple +apparatus, by which it is extended so that it can be thrust into a +hole far beyond the point of the bill, while its tip is barbed with +small filaments, which, like the teeth of a rake, serve to pull up the +larva or insect into its mouth. The Woodpecker builds no nest, +but lays five or six glossy white eggs on the fragments of the decayed +wood in which it has excavated its nest.</p> + +<p>Other names by which this bird is known are Popinjay, Wood-sprite, +Rain-bird, Hew-hole and Woodweele.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2"><span class="smcap">Sub-Family</span> IŸNGINÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE WRYNECK<br /> +IŸNX TORQUILLA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage reddish grey, irregularly spotted and lined with brown and +black; a broad black and brown band from the back of the head to the +back; throat and breast yellowish red, with dusky transverse rays; +rest of the under plumage whitish, with arrow shaped black spots; outer +web of the quills marked with rectangular alternate black and yellowish +red spots; tail-feathers barred with black zigzag bands; beak and feet +olive brown. Length six inches and a half; breadth eleven inches. Eggs +glossy white.</div> + +<p>The note of the Wryneck is so peculiar that it can be confounded +with none of the natural sounds of the country; a loud, rapid, harsh +cry of <i>pay-pay-pay</i> from a bird about the size of a lark may be +referred without hesitation to the Wryneck. Yet it is a pleasant +sound after all—'the merry pee-bird' a poet calls it—and the +untuneful minstrel is the same bird which is known by the name +of 'Cuckoo's Mate', and so is associated with May-days, pleasant +jaunts into the country, hayfields, the memory of past happy days +and the hope of others to come. This name it derives not from any +fondness it exhibits for the society of the cuckoo, as it is a bird of +remarkably solitary habits, but because it arrives generally a few +days before the cuckoo. Not less singular than its note is its plumage, +which, though unmarked by gaudiness of colouring, is very +beautiful, being richly embroidered as it were with brown and black +on a reddish grey ground. In habits, it bears no marked resemblance +to the Woodpeckers; it is not much given to climbing and never taps +the trunks of trees; yet it does seek its food on decayed trees, and employs +its long horny tongue in securing insects. It darts its tongue +with inconceivable rapidity into an ant-hill and brings it out as +rapidly, with the insects and their eggs adhering to its viscid point. +These constitute its principal food, so that it is seen more frequently +feeding on the ground than hunting on trees. But by far the strangest +peculiarity of the Wryneck, stranger than its note and even than +its worm-like tongue, is the wondrous pliancy of its neck, which +one might almost imagine to be furnished with a ball and socket +joint. A country boy who had caught one of these birds on its +nest brought it to me on a speculation. As he held it in his hand, +I raised my finger towards it as if about to touch its beak. The +bird watched most eagerly the movement of my finger, with no +semblance of fear, but rather with an apparent intention of resenting +the offer of any injury. I moved my finger to the left; its beak +followed the direction—the finger was now over its back, still the +beak pointed to it. In short, as a magnetic needle follows a piece +of steel, so the bird's beak followed my finger until it was again in +front, the structure of the neck being such as to allow the head +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> +to make a complete revolution on its axis, and this without any +painful effort. I purchased the bird and gave it its liberty, satisfied +to have discovered the propriety of the name Torquilla.<a name="FNanchor_1_20" id="FNanchor_1_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> I may here +remark that the name Iÿnx,<a name="FNanchor_2_21" id="FNanchor_2_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> is derived from its harsh cry. Besides +this, the proper call-note of the bird, it utters, when disturbed in its +nest, another which resembles a hiss; whence and partly, perhaps, +on account of the peculiar structure of its neck, it is sometimes called +the Snake-bird. Nest, properly speaking, it has none; it selects +a hole in a decaying tree and lays its eggs on the rotten wood. +Its powers of calculating seem to be of a very low order. Yarrell +records an instance in which four sets of eggs, amounting to +twenty-two, were successively taken before the nest was deserted; +a harsh experiment, and scarcely to be justified except on the plea +that they were taken by some one who gained his livelihood by +selling eggs, or was reduced to a strait from want of food. A similar +instance is recorded in the <i>Zoologist</i>, when the number of eggs taken +was also twenty-two. The Wryneck is a common bird in the south-eastern +counties of England and to the west as far as Somersetshire; +but I have never heard its note in Devon or Cornwall; it is rare also +in the northern counties.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_20" id="Footnote_1_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> From the Latin <i>torqueo</i>, 'to twist.'</div> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_2_21" id="Footnote_2_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Greek +ιυγξ from ιυζο, to 'shriek.'</div> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY ALCEDINIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE KINGFISHER<br /> +ALCEDO ÍSPIDA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Back azure-blue; head and wing-coverts bluish green, spotted with azure-blue; +under and behind the eye a reddish band passing into white, and +beneath this a band of azure-green; wings and tail greenish blue; throat +white; under plumage rusty orange-red. Length seven inches and a +quarter; width ten inches. Eggs glossy white, nearly round.</div> + +<p>Halcyon days, every one knows, are days of peace and tranquillity, +when all goes smoothly, and nothing occurs to ruffle the equanimity +of the most irascible member of a household; but it may not be +known to all my younger readers that a bird is said to be in any way +concerned in bringing about this happy state of things. According +to the ancient naturalists the Halcyon, our Kingfisher, being especially +fond of the water and its products, chooses to have even a floating +nest. Now the surface of the sea is an unfit place whereon to +construct a vessel of any kind, so the Halcyon, as any other skilful +artisan would, puts together on land first the framework, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> +then the supplementary portion of its nest, the materials being +shelly matter and spines, whence derived is unknown; but the +principal substance employed is fish-bones. During the progress +of the work the careful bird several times tests its buoyancy by +actual experiment, and when satisfied that all is safe, launches +its future nursery on the ocean. However turbulent might have +been the condition of the water previously to this event, thenceforth +a calm ensued, which lasted during the period of incubation; and +these were 'Halcyon days' (<i>Halcyonides dies</i>), which set in seven +days before the winter solstice, and lasted as many days after. +What became of the young after the lapse of this period is not +stated, but the deserted nest itself, called halcyoneum, identical, +perhaps, with what we consider the shell of the echinus, or sea-urchin, +was deemed a valuable medicine.<a name="FNanchor_3_22" id="FNanchor_3_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></p> + +<p>The real nest of the Kingfisher is a collection of small fish-bones, +which have evidently been disgorged by the old birds. A portion +of one which I have in my possession, and which was taken about +twenty years since from a deep hole in an embankment at Deepdale, +Norfolk, consists exclusively of small fish-bones and scraps of the +shells of shrimps. A precisely similar one is preserved in the British +Museum, which is well worthy the inspection of the curious. It was +found by Mr. Gould in a hole three feet deep on the banks of the +Thames; it was half an inch thick and about the size of a tea saucer, +and weighed 700 grains. Mr. Gould was enabled to prove that this +mass was deposited, as well as eight eggs laid, in the short space of +twenty-one days. In neither case was there any attempt made by +the bird to employ the bones as materials for a structure; they +were simply spread on the soil in such a way as to protect the +eggs from damp, possessing probably no properties which made +them superior to bents or dry leaves, but serving the purpose +as well as anything else, and being more readily available, by a bird +that does not peck on the ground, than materials of any other +kind.</p> + +<p>The wanderer by the river's side on a bright sunny day, at any +season, may have his attention suddenly arrested by the sight of a +bird shooting past him, either up or down the stream, at so slight +an elevation above the water, that he can look down on its back. +Its flight is rapid, and the colour of the plumage so brilliant, that +he can compare it to nothing less dazzlingly bright than the richest +feathers of the peacock, or a newly dug specimen of copper ore. +After an interval of a few seconds it will perhaps be followed by a +second, its mate, arrayed in attire equally gorgeous with emerald, +azure, and gold. Following the course of the bird, let him approach +cautiously any pools where small fish are likely to abound, and he +may chance to descry, perched motionless on the lower branch +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> +of an alder overhanging the stream, on some bending willow, or +lichen-covered rail, the bird which but now glanced by him like a +meteor. If exposed to the rays of the sun, the metallic green of its +upper plumage is still most conspicuous; if in the shade, or surrounded +by leaves, its chestnut red breast betrays its position. +Not a step further in advance, or the fisherman, intent as he is on +his sport, will take alarm and be off to another station. With +beak pointed downwards it is watching until one among a shoal of +minnows or bleaks comes within a fair aim; then with a twinkle +of the wing it dashes head foremost from its post, plunges into the +stream, disappears for a second, and emerges still head foremost +with its struggling booty. A few pinches with its powerful beak, +or a blow against its perch, deprives its prey of life, and the morsel +is swallowed entire, head foremost. Occasionally, where convenient +perches are rare, as is the case with the little pools left by the tide +on the sea-shore (for the Kingfisher is common on the banks of tidal +rivers as well as on inland streams and lakes), it hovers like a Kestrel, +and plunges after small fish, shrimps, and marine insects. It once +happened to me that I was angling by a river's side, quite concealed +from view by a willow on either side of me, when a Kingfisher flew +down the stream, and perched on my rod. I remained perfectly +still, but was detected before an opportunity had been afforded me +of taking a lesson from my brother sportsman.</p> + +<p>The Kingfisher is a permanent resident in this country, and may +be observed, at any season, wherever there is a river, canal, or lake, +those streams being preferred the banks of which are lined with +trees or bushes. Like most other birds of brilliant plumage, it is +no vocalist; its only note being a wild piping cry, which it utters +while on the wing. Happily the Kingfishers are again on the increase +in our country.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_3_22" id="Footnote_3_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> Plin. <i>Nat. Hist.</i> lib. x. cap. 32. xxxii. cap 8.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CORACIIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE ROLLER<br /> +CORÁCIAS GÁRRULUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, neck, and under parts tinged with various shades of light blue, varied +with green; back and scapulars reddish brown; tail blue, green, and +black. Length twelve inches and a half. Eggs smooth shining white.</div> + +<p>About twenty specimens in all of this bird have been observed +in England, the one of most recent occurrence being, I believe, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> +one which was shot close to my garden, on the twentieth of +September, 1852. The winter home of the Roller is Africa, and +it is said to be particularly abundant in Algeria. About the +middle of April it crosses the Mediterranean, and seems to prefer +the north of Europe to the south as a summer residence, being more +abundant in Germany and the south of Russia than in France, +though many proceed no further than Sicily and Greece. Its food +consists mainly of caterpillars and other insects. The name Roller, +being derived directly from the French <i>Rollier</i>, should be pronounced +so as to rhyme with 'dollar'.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY MEROPIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE BEE-EATER<br /> +MÊROPS APIÁSTER</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Forehead white, passing into bluish green; upper plumage chestnut; throat +golden yellow, bounded by a black line; wings variegated with blue, +brown, and green; tail greenish blue. Length eleven inches. Eggs +glossy white.</div> + +<p>This bird, which in brilliancy of plumage vies with the Hummingbirds, +possesses little claim to be ranked among soberly clad British +birds. Stray instances are indeed met with from time to time, but +at distant intervals. In the islands of the Mediterranean, and in +the southern countries of Europe, they are common summer visitors, +and in Asia Minor and the south of Russia they are yet more frequent. +They are gregarious in habits, having been observed, both in Europe, +their summer, and in Africa, their winter residence, to perch together +on the branches of trees in small flocks. They also build their +nests near each other. These are excavations in the banks of rivers, +variously stated to be extended to the depth of from six inches to +as many feet. Their flight is graceful and light, resembling that +of the Swallows. Their food consists of winged insects, especially +bees and wasps, which they not only catch when they are +wandering at large through the air, but watch for near their nests. +The inhabitants of Candia and Cyprus are said to catch them by +the help of a light silk line, to which is attached by a fish-hook a +wild bee. The latter in its endeavour to escape soars into the air, +and the Bee-eater seizing it becomes the prey of the aërial fisherman. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY UPUPIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE HOOPOE<br /> +UPUPA EPOPS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crest orange-red tipped with black; head, neck, and breast pale cinnamon; +back, wings, and tail barred with black and white; under parts white. +Length twelve inches; width nineteen inches. Eggs lavender grey, +changing to greenish olive.</div> + +<p>Little appears to be known of the habits of this very foreign-looking +bird from observation in Great Britain. The season at which it is +seen in this country is usually autumn, though a few instances have +occurred of its having bred with us. In the south of Europe and +north of Africa it is of common occurrence as a summer visitor, but +migrates southwards in autumn. Its English name is evidently +derived from the French <i>Huppe</i>, a word which also denotes 'a +crest', the most striking characteristic of the bird. It is called also +in France <i>Puput</i>, a word coined, perhaps, to denote the noise of +disgust which one naturally makes at encountering an unpleasant +odour, this, it is said, being the constant accompaniment of its nest, +which is always found in a filthy condition, owing to the neglect of +the parent birds in failing to remove offensive matter, in conformity +with the laudable practise of most other birds. In spite of the +martial appearance of its crest, it is said to be excessively timid, and +to fly from an encounter with the smallest bird that opposes it. It +lives principally on the ground, feeding on beetles and ants. On +trees it sometimes perches but does not climb, and builds its nest +in holes in trees and walls, rarely in clefts of rocks. It walks with +a show of dignity when on the ground, erecting its crest from time +to time. In spring the male utters a note not unlike the coo of a +Wood-pigeon, which it repeats several times, and at other seasons it +occasionally emits a sound something like the shrill note of the Greenfinch. +But it is no musician and is as little anxious to be heard as +seen. The nest is a simple structure composed of a few scraps of +dried grass and feathers, and contains from four to six eggs. It +would breed here annually if not always shot on arrival. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CUCULIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE CUCKOO<br /> +CÚCULUS CANÓRUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage bluish ash colour, darker on the wings, lighter on the neck and +chest; under parts whitish with transverse dusky streaks; quills barred +on the inner webs with oval white spots; tail-feathers blackish, tipped +and spotted with white; bill dusky, edged with yellow; orbits and inside +of the mouth orange-yellow; iris and feet yellow. <i>Young</i>—ash-brown, +barred with reddish brown; tips of the feathers white; a white spot +on the back of the head. Length thirteen inches and a half, breadth +twenty-three inches. Eggs varying in colour and markings.</div> + +<p>No bird in a state of nature utters a note approaching so closely +the sound of the human voice as the Cuckoo; on this account, perhaps, +partially at least, it has at all times been regarded with especial +interest. Its habits have been much investigated, and they are +found to be unlike those of any other bird. The Cuckoo was a +puzzle to the earlier naturalists, and there are points in its biography +which are controverted still. From the days of Aristotle to those +of Pliny, it was supposed to undergo a metamorphosis twice a year, +appearing during the summer months as a Cuckoo, "a bird of the +hawk kind, though destitute of curved talons and hooked beak, and +having the bill of a Pigeon; should it chance to appear simultaneously +with a Hawk it was devoured, being the sole example of a bird +being killed by one of its own kind. In winter it actually changed +into a Merlin, but reappeared in spring in its own form, but with an +altered voice, laid a single egg, or rarely two, in the nest of some other +bird, generally a Pigeon, declining to rear its own young, because it +knew itself to be a common object of hostility among all birds, and +that its brood would be in consequence unsafe, unless it practised a +deception. The young Cuckoo being naturally greedy, monopolized +the food brought to the nest by its foster parents; it thus grew +fat and sleek, and so excited its dam with admiration of her lovely +offspring, that she first neglected her own chicks, then suffered +them to be devoured before her eyes, and finally fell a victim herself +to his voracious appetite."<a name="FNanchor_1_23" id="FNanchor_1_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a>—A strange fiction, yet not more strange +than the truth, a glimmering of which appears throughout. We +know well enough now that the Cuckoo does not change into a +Merlin, but migrates in autumn to the southern regions of Africa; +but this neither Aristotle nor Pliny could have known, for the common +belief in their days was, that a continued progress southwards +would bring the traveller to a climate too fierce for the maintenance +of animal life. Now the Merlin visits the south of Europe, just at +the season when the Cuckoo disappears, and returns northwards to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> +breed in spring, a fact in its history as little known as the migration +of the Cuckoo. It bears a certain resemblance to the Cuckoo, particularly +in its barred plumage, certainly a greater one than exists +between a caterpillar and a butterfly, so that there were some grounds +for the belief in a metamorphosis, strengthened not a little by the +fact that the habits of the bird were peculiar in other respects. +Even so late as the time of our own countrymen, Willughby and +Ray (1676), it was a matter of doubt whether the Cuckoo lay torpid +in a hollow tree, or migrated during winter. These authors, though +they do not admit their belief of a story told by Aldrovandus of a +certain Swiss peasant having heard the note of a Cuckoo proceed +from a log of wood which he had thrown into a furnace, thought +it highly probable that the Cuckoo did become torpid during winter, +and were acquainted with instances of persons who had heard its +note during unusually mild winter weather. A Cuckoo which had +probably been hatched off too late to go away with the rest remained +about the tennis ground of a relative of the present editor +until the middle of November, getting very tame. Then, unfortunately, +a cat got it. The assertion again of the older naturalists, +that the Cuckoo is the object of hatred among birds generally, seems +credible, though I should be inclined to consider its habit of laying +its eggs in the nests of other birds as the cause rather than the consequence +of its unpopularity. The contrary, however, is the fact, +numerous anecdotes of the Cuckoo showing that it is regarded by +many other birds with a respect which amounts to infatuation, +rather than with apprehension. The statement that it lays but +one egg is erroneous, so also is the assertion of Willughby that it +invariably destroys the eggs found in a nest previously to depositing +its own. Pliny's assertion that the young bird devours its foster +brothers and sisters is nearer the truth, but his account of its crowning +act of impiety in swallowing its nurse, is, I need not say, +altogether unfounded in fact. Having disposed of these errors, +some of which are entertained by the credulous or ill-informed at +the present day, I will proceed to sketch in outline the biography +of this singular bird, as the facts are now pretty generally admitted.</p> + +<p>The Cuckoo arrives in this country about the middle of April; +the time of its coming to different countries is adapted to the time of +the foster-parents' breeding. During the whole of its stay it leads a +wandering life, building no nest, and attaching itself to no particular +locality. It shows no hostility towards birds of another kind, and +little affection for those of its own. If two males meet in the course +of their wandering they frequently fight with intense animosity. I +was once witness of an encounter between two birds who chanced +to meet in mid-air. Without alighting they attacked each other +with fury, pecking at each other and changing places just as one +sees two barn-door cocks fight for the supremacy of the dunghill. +Feathers flew in profusion, and in their passion the angry birds heeded +my presence so little that they came almost within arm's length of +me. These single combats account for the belief formerly entertained +that the Cuckoo was the only sort of Hawk that preyed on +its own kind. The female does not pair or keep to one mate. It is, +however, frequently accompanied by a small bird of another kind, +said to be a Meadow Pipit.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_27"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_27.png" width="454" height="698" alt="Plate_27" title="Plate_27. White Winged Crossbill [M] [F]; Crossbill, imm. [F] [M]; and Cuckoo [M]. [face p. 138." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_28"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_28.png" width="426" height="695" alt="Plate_28" title="Plate_28. Brown Owl; Short-eared Owl [M]; Long-eared Owl [M] young; and Barn Owl and Egg." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></p> + +<p>The Cuckoo hunts for its food both in trees and on the ground. +On its first arrival it lives principally on beetles, but when caterpillars +become abundant it prefers them, especially the hairy sorts. +In the months of May and June, the female Cuckoo lays her eggs +(the number of which is variously estimated from five to twelve), +choosing a separate locality for each, and that invariably the nest +of some other bird. The nests in which the egg of a Cuckoo has +been found in this country are those of the Hedge Sparrow, Robin, +Redstart, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Wagtail, +Pipit, Skylark, Yellow Bunting, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Linnet, +Blackbird and Wren; the Pipit being the most frequent. It has +now been ascertained that the nests of birds in which the Cuckoo lays +its eggs in different countries number 145 species.<a name="FNanchor_2_24" id="FNanchor_2_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> In some of these +instances, the position and structure of the nests were such that a +bird of so large a size could not possibly have laid an egg in the usual +way. Hence, and from other evidence, it is pretty clear that the +egg is in all cases laid at a distance from the nest and carried by the +bird in her bill to its destination. The bird can have no difficulty in +accomplishing this seemingly hard task; for the gape of the Cuckoo +is wide, and the egg disproportionately small, no larger in fact than +the egg of the Skylark, a bird only a fourth of its size. The period +during which a nest is fit for the reception of a Cuckoo's egg is short; +if a time were chosen between the completion of the nest and the +laying of the first egg by the rightful owner, the Cuckoo could have +no security that her egg would receive incubation in good time, and +again if the hen were sitting there would be no possibility of introducing +her egg surreptitiously. She accordingly searches for a nest +in which one egg or more is laid, and in the absence of the owner +lays down her burden and departs. There are certain grave suspicions +that the intruder sometimes makes room for her own egg by +destroying those already laid; but this, if it be true, is exceptional. +If it were very much larger than the rest, it might excite suspicion, +and be either turned out, or be the cause of the nest being deserted; +it would require, moreover, a longer incubation than the rest, and +would either fail to be hatched, or produce a young Cuckoo at a +time when his foster-brothers had grown strong enough to thwart +his evil designs. As it is, after fourteen days' incubation, the eggs +are hatched simultaneously, or nearly so, the Cuckoo being generally +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> +the first. No sooner does the young bird see the day, than he proceeds +to secure for himself the whole space of the nest and the sole +attention of his foster-parents, by insinuating himself under the +other young birds and any eggs which may remain unhatched, and +hurling them over the edge of the nest, where they are left to perish. +'The singularity of its shape', says Dr. Jenner, 'is well adapted for +these purposes; for, different from other newly-hatched birds, its +back from the shoulders downwards is very broad, with a considerable +depression in the middle. To the question which naturally +suggests itself, 'Why does the young Cuckoo thus monopolize the +nest and the attentions of its foster parents?' the solution is plain. +The newly-hatched bird must of necessity be less in size than the +egg from which it proceeded, but a full-grown Cuckoo exceeds the +dimensions of a whole brood of Pipits; its growth therefore must +be rapid and cannot be maintained without a large supply of food. +But the old birds could not possibly with their utmost exertions feed +a brood of their own kind and satisfy the demands made by the +appetite of the voracious stranger as well. The latter consequently +saves them from this impossible task, and, by appropriating to his +single use the nourishment intended for a brood of four or five, not +only makes provision for his own well-being, but helps them out of +a difficulty. So assiduously is he taken care of that he soon becomes +a portly bird and fills his nest; in about three weeks he is able to +fly, but for a period of four or five weeks more his foster-parents +continue to feed him. It is probable that the young Cuckoo actually +exercises some fascination over other birds. There is a case +on record in which a pair of Meadow Pipits were seen to throw out +their own young ones to make room for the intruder. In another +instance, a young Cuckoo which had been taken from the nest and +was being reared by hand escaped from confinement. Having one +of its wings cut, it could not fly, but was found again, at the expiration +of a month, within a few fields of the house where it was reared, +and several little wild birds were in the act of feeding it. The +Bishop of Norwich<a name="FNanchor_3_25" id="FNanchor_3_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> mentions two instances in which a young +Cuckoo in captivity was fed by a young Thrush which had only just +learnt to feed itself.</p> + +<p>In the days when omens were observed, it was considered a matter +of high import to hear the song of the Nightingale before that of +the Cuckoo. Thus Chaucer says:</p> + +<div class="poem"> it was a commone tale</div> +<div class="poem">That it were gode to here the Nightingale,</div> +<div class="poem">Moche rathir<a name="FNanchor_4_26" id="FNanchor_4_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_26" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> than the lewde<a name="FNanchor_5_27" id="FNanchor_5_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_27" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> Cuckowe singe.</div> +<br /> +<div class="justify">So, when on a certain occasion he heard the Cuckoo first, and was +troubled in consequence, he represents the Nightingale as thus +addressing him:</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p> + +<div class="poem"> be thou not dismaied</div> +<div class="poem">For thou have herd the Cuckow erst than me,</div> +<div class="poem">For if I live it shall amendid be</div> +<div class="poem">The nexte Maie, if I be not afraied.</div> +<br /> +<div class="justify">More recently Milton thus addresses the Nightingale:</div> +<br /> +<div class="poem">Thy liquid notes that close the eye of day,</div> +<div class="poem">First heard before the shallow Cuccoo's bill,</div> +<div class="poem">Portend success in love.</div> +<br /> + +<div class="justify">Whether any traces of this popular belief yet linger in our rural +districts, I do not know; but I can recall my childish days in the +west of England (where there are no Nightingales), when I looked +forward with implicit faith to the coming of the Cuckoo, to 'eat up +the dirt', and make the Devonshire lanes passable for children's +spring wanderings.</div> + +<p>The song of the Cuckoo, I need scarcely remark, consists +of but two notes, of which the upper is, I believe, invariably, +E flat, the lower most frequently C natural, forming, however, +not a perfect musical interval, but something between a minor +and a major third. Occasionally two birds may be heard +singing at once, one seemingly aiming at a minor, the other +a major third; the effect is, of course, discordant. Sometimes +the first note is pronounced two or three times, thus 'cuck-cuck-cuckoo', +and I have heard it repeated rapidly many times in succession, +so as to resemble the trilling note of the Nightingale, but in +a lower key. The note of the nestling is a shrill plaintive chirp, +which may best be imitated by twisting a glass stopper in a bottle. +Even the human ear has no difficulty in understanding it as a cry +for food, of which it is insatiable. Towards the end of June the +Cuckoo, according to the old adage, 'alters its tune', which at +first loses its musical character and soon ceases altogether. In July +the old birds leave us, the males by themselves first, and the females +not many days after; but the young birds remain until October.</p> + +<p>Referring to the young cuckoo's manner of ejecting the eggs of +its foster-parents, and the reason for this apparently cruel action, +the editor refers our readers to Mr. W. H. Hudson's interesting +chapter in <i>Idle Days in Hampshire</i>.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_23" id="Footnote_1_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_23"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Plin. <i>Nat. Hist.</i> lib. x. cap. ix.</div> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_2_24" id="Footnote_2_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_24"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Mr. Wells Bladen, of Stone, wrote an interesting brochure on this point.—J. +A. O.</div> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_3_25" id="Footnote_3_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_25"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> <i>Familiar History of Birds.</i></div> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_4_26" id="Footnote_4_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_26"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Earlier.</div> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_5_27" id="Footnote_5_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_27"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Unskilful. +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span></div> + +<div class="caption1"><a name="ORDER_STRIGES_2" id="ORDER_STRIGES_2"></a> +ORDER STRIGES</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2">FAMILY STRIGIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2"><span class="smcap">Sub-Family</span> STRIGINÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE BARN OWL<br /> +STRIX FLAMMEA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Beak yellowish white; upper parts light tawny yellow minutely variegated +with brown, grey, and white; face and lower plumage white, the feathers +of the margin tipped with brown. Length fourteen inches; breadth +nearly three feet. Eggs white.</div> + +<p>Returning from our Summer-evening's walk at the pleasant time +when twilight is deepening into night, when the Thrush has piped +its last roundelay, and the Nightingale is gathering strength for a +flesh flood of melody, a sudden exclamation from our companion +'What was that?' compels us to look in the direction pointed at +just in time to catch a glimpse of a phantom-like body disappearing +behind the hedge-row. But that the air is still, we might have +imagined it to be a sheet of silver paper wafted along by the wind, +so lightly and noiselessly did it pass on. We know, however, that +a pair of Barn Owls have appropriated these hunting-grounds, and +that this is their time of sallying forth; we are aware, too, how +stealthily they fly along the lanes, dipping behind the trees, searching +round the hay-stacks, skimming over the stubble, and all with +an absence of sound that scarcely belongs to moving life. Yet, +though by no means slow of flight, the Barn Owl can scarcely be +said to <i>cleave</i> the air; rather, it <i>fans</i> its way onwards with its +down-fringed wings, and the air, thus softly treated, quietly yields +to the gentle force, and retires without murmur to allow it a passage. +Not without meaning is this silence preserved. The nimble little +animals that constitute the chase, are quick-sighted and sharp of +hearing, but the pursuer gives no notice of his approach, and they +know not their doom till they feel the inevitable talons in their sides. +The victim secured, silence is no longer necessary. The successful +hunter lifts up his voice in a sound of triumph, repairs to the nearest +tree to regale himself on his prize, and, for a few minutes—that is, +until the chase is resumed—utters his loud weird shriek again and +again. In the morning, the Owl will retire to his private cell and +will spend the day perched on end, dozing and digesting as long as +the sunlight is too powerful for his large and sensitive eyes. Peep +in on him in his privacy, and he will stretch out or move from side +to side his grotesque head, ruffling his feathers, and hissing as +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> +though your performance were worthy of all condemnation. Yet +he is a very handsome and most amusing bird, more worthy of being +domesticated as a pet than many others held in high repute. Taken +young from the nest, he is soon on familiar terms with his owner, +recognizes him by a flapping of wings and a hiss whenever he +approaches, clearing his premises of mice, and showing no signs of +pining at the restriction placed on his liberty. Give him a bird, +and he will soon show that, though contented with mice, he quite +appreciates more refined fare. Grasping the body with his talons, +he deliberately plucks off all the large feathers with his beak, tears +off the head, and swallows it at one gulp, and then proceeds to +devour the rest piece-meal. In a wild state his food consists mainly +of mice, which he swallows whole, beetles, and sometimes fish, +which he catches by pouncing on them in the water.</p> + +<p>The service which the Barn Owl renders to the agriculturist, by +its consumption of rats and mice, must be exceedingly great, yet +it is little appreciated. "When it has young", says Mr. Waterton, +"it will bring a mouse to the nest every twelve or fifteen minutes. +But in order to have a proper idea of the enormous quantity of mice +which this bird destroys, we must examine the pellets which it +ejects from its stomach in the place of its retreat. Every pellet +contains from four to seven skeletons of mice. In sixteen months +from the time that the apartment of the Owl on the old gateway +was cleared out, there has been a deposit of above a bushel of pellets."</p> + +<p>The plumage of the Barn Owl is remarkable for its softness, its +delicacy of pencilling on the upper parts and its snowy whiteness +below. Its face is perfectly heart-shaped during life, but when the +animal is dead becomes circular. The female is slightly larger than +her mate, and her colours are somewhat darker. The nest of the +Barn Owl is a rude structure placed in the bird's daily haunt. The +eggs vary in number, and the bird lays them at different periods, +each egg after the first being hatched (partially at least) by the +heat of the young birds already in being. That this is always +the case it would not be safe to assert, but that it is so sometimes +there can be no doubt. The young birds are ravenous eaters and +proverbially ugly; when craving food they make a noise resembling +a snore. The Barn or White Owl is said to be the +most generally diffused of all the tribe, being found in almost all +latitudes of both hemispheres, and it appears to be everywhere +an object of terror to the ignorant. A bird of the night, the +time when evil deeds are done, it bespeaks for itself an evil +reputation; making ruins and hollow trees its resort, it becomes +associated with the gloomiest legends; uttering its discordant note +during the hours of darkness, it is rarely heard save by the benighted +traveller, or by the weary watcher at the bed of the sick and +dying; and who more susceptible of alarming impressions than +these? It is therefore scarcely surprising that the common incident +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> +of a Screech-Owl being attracted by a solitary midnight taper to +flutter against the window of a sick room, and there to utter its +melancholy wail, should for a time shake the faith of the watcher, +and, when repeated with the customary exaggerations, should +obtain for the poor harmless mouser the unmerited title of 'harbinger +of death'.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<div class="caption2"><span class="smcap">Sub-Family</span> SYRNIINÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">LONG-EARED OWL<br /> +ASIO ÓTUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Beak black; iris orange yellow; egrets very long, composed of eight or ten +black feathers, edged with yellow and white; upper parts reddish yellow, +mottled with brown and grey; lower parts lighter, with oblong streaks +of deep brown. Length fifteen inches; breadth thirty-eight inches. +Eggs white.</div> + +<p>Though not among the most frequent of the English Owls, this +species occurs in most of the wooded parts of England and Ireland, +as indeed it does in nearly all parts of the world where woods are +to be found. It is more common than is usually supposed in France, +where it unites in its own person all the malpractises which have +been popularly ascribed to the whole tribe of Owls. It is there +said to be held in great detestation by all the rest of the feathered +tribe; a fact which is turned to good account by the bird-catcher, +who, having set his traps and limed twigs, conceals himself in the +neighbourhood and imitates the note of this Owl. The little birds, +impelled by rage or fear, or a silly combination of both, assemble +for the purpose of mobbing the common enemy. In their anxiety +to discern the object of their abhorrence, they fall one after another +into the snare, and become the prey of the fowler. The Long-eared +Owl is not altogether undeserving of the persecution which is thus +intended for her, her principal food being field-mice, but also such +little birds as she can surprise when asleep. In fact, she respects +neither the person nor the property of her neighbours, making her +home in the old nests of large birds and squirrels, and appropriating, +as food for herself and her voracious young, the carcases of any +that she finds herself strong enough to master and kill.</p> + +<p>The cry of this bird is only occasionally uttered—a sort of barking +noise. The note of the young bird is a loud mewing and seems to +be intended as a petition to its parents for a supply of food. A +writer in the <i>Zoologist</i><a name="FNanchor_1_28" id="FNanchor_1_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> who has had many opportunities of observing +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> +this species in its native haunts, says that it does not confine +its flight entirely to the darker hours, as he has met with it in the woods +sailing quickly along, as if hawking, on a bright summer day. It is +curious to observe, he says, how flat they invariably make their nests, +so much so, that it is difficult to conceive how the eggs retain their +position, even in a slight wind, when the parent bird leaves them. +The eggs are four to six in number, and there are grounds for +supposing that the female bird begins to sit as soon as she has laid +her first egg.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_28" id="Footnote_1_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_28"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Vol. ii. p. 562.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<div class="caption3">THE SHORT-EARED OWL<br /> +ASIO ACCIPITRÍNUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Face whitish; beak black; iris yellow; egrets inconspicuous, of a few black +feathers; eyes encircled by brownish black; upper plumage dusky +brown, edged with yellow; lower pale orange, streaked with brown. +Length sixteen inches; breadth thirty-eight. Eggs white.</div> + +<p>From the name, Hawk-Owl, sometimes given to this species, we +should expect to find this bird not so decidedly nocturnal in its +habits as the preceding; and such is the case; for, though it does +not habitually hunt by day, it has been known to catch up chickens +from the farmyard, and has been seen in chase of pigeons. If attacked +during daylight, it does not evince the powerless dismay of the last +species, but effects a masterly retreat by soaring in a spiral direction +until it has attained an elevation to which its adversary does not +care to follow it. Unlike its allies, it frequents neither mountains +nor forests, but is found breeding in a few marshy or moorland +districts; later in the year it is met with in turnip fields and +stubbles. As many as twenty-eight were once seen in a single +turnip-field in England; from whence it has been inferred that in +autumn the Short-eared Owls are gregarious, and establish themselves +for a time in any place they fall in with, where field-mice or +other small quadrupeds are abundant. In England this bird is not +uncommonly started by sportsmen when in pursuit of game. It +then flies with a quick zigzag motion for about a hundred yards, +and alights on the ground, never on a tree. By some it is called +the Woodcock-Owl, from its arriving and departing at about the +same time with that bird; it is not, however, invariably a bird of +passage, since many instances are on record of its breeding in this +country, making a rude nest in a thick bush, either on the ground, +or close to it, and feeding its young on mice, small birds, and even +the larger game, as Moor-fowl, a bird more than double its own +weight. The Short-eared Owl affords a beautiful illustration of +a fact not generally known, that the nocturnal birds of prey have +the right and left ear differently formed, one ear being so made as +to hear sounds from above, and the other from below. The opening +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> +into the channel for conveying sound is in the <i>right</i> ear, placed +<i>beneath</i> the transverse fold, and directed <i>upwards</i>, while in the <i>left</i> +ear the same opening is placed <i>above</i> the channel for conveying +sound, and is directed <i>downwards</i>.</p> + +<p>In the severe weather of January, 1861, I had the gratification +of seeing three or four of these Owls among the sand-hills of the coast +of Norfolk, near Holkham. I imagined them to be in pursuit of +the Redwings and other small birds which had been driven by the +intense cold to the sea-coast, since they flew about as Hawks do +when hunting for prey, and occasionally alighted among the sand-hills. +I even fell in with several heaps of feathers, showing where +some unhappy bird had been picked and eaten. A few days afterwards, +however, I inquired at another part of the coast whether +there were any Owls there, and received for an answer, 'No, because +there are no Rabbits'; from which I inferred that these birds +have the reputation of hunting larger game than Thrushes, a charge +which the size and power of their hooked talons seem to justify.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE TAWNY OWL<br /> +SYRNIUM ALÚCO</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Beak greyish yellow; irides bluish dusky; upper parts reddish brown, variously +marked and spotted with dark brown, black, and grey; large white +spots on the scapulars and wing coverts; primaries and tail feathers +barred alternately with dark and reddish brown; lower parts reddish +white, with transverse brown bars and longitudinal dusky streaks; legs +feathered to the claws. Length sixteen inches; breadth three feet. +Eggs dull white.</div> + +<p>This bird, the Ulula of the ancients, took its name from the Latin +<i>ululare</i>; the word used to denote, and partially to imitate, the +cry of the wolf; it enjoys also the doubtful honour of giving name +to the whole tribe of 'Owls', whether they howl, hoot, or screech. +This species is much more common than the Barn Owl in many +districts, although it is decreasing in others. Owing to its nocturnal +habits, and dusky colour, it is not so often seen as heard. It has +many a time been my amusement to repair, towards the close of +a summer evening, to a wood which I knew to be the resort of these +birds, and to challenge them to an exchange of greetings, and I +rarely failed to succeed. Their note may be imitated so exactly +as to deceive even the birds themselves, by forming a hollow with +the fingers and palms of the two hands, leaving an opening only +between the second joints of the two thumbs, and then by blowing +with considerable force down upon the opening thus made, so as +to produce the sound hoo-hoo-hoo-o-o-o. I have thus induced a +bird to follow me for some distance, echoing my defiance or greeting, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> +or whatever he may have deemed it; but I do not recollect +that I ever caught sight of the bird.</p> + +<p>Squirrels, rats, mice, moles, shrews, and any small birds that he +can surprise asleep, with insects, form his principal food. These he +hunts by night, and retires for concealment by day to some thick +tree or shrubbery, either in the hill country or the plains. The +nest, composed principally of the dried pellets of undigested bones +and fur, which all the Owls are in the habit of disgorging, is usually +placed in a hollow tree: here the female lays about four eggs, from +which emerge, in due time, as many grotesque bodies enveloped in +a soft plush of grey yarn: destined, in due time, to become Tawny +Owls. The full-grown females are larger than the males, and, +being of a redder tinge, were formerly considered a distinct species. +The old birds utter their loud <i>hoo-hou!</i> or <i>to-whit, in-who!</i> chiefly +in the evening.</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_ACCIPITRES_2" id="ORDER_ACCIPITRES_2"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER ACCIPITRES</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2">FAMILY FALCONIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2"><span class="smcap">Sub-Family</span> BUTEONINÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">MARSH HARRIER<br /> +CIRCUS ÆRUGINOSUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, neck, and breast yellowish white, with numerous longitudinal brown +streaks; wing-coverts reddish brown; primary quills white at the base, +the rest black; tail and secondaries ash-grey; lower plumage reddish +brown; beak bluish black; cere, irides, and feet yellow; claws black. +Length twenty inches. Eggs white.</div> + +<p>The Harriers are bold predatory voracious birds, having somewhat +of the appearance and movements of the Hawks. On a closer +inspection, however, they are seen to approach nearer in character +to the Owls. In the first place, they hunt their prey more in the +morning and evening than at any other time of day. In the next +place, these twilight habits are associated with a large head, and +a somewhat defined face formed by a circle of short feathers; +while the plumage generally is soft and loose, and their mode of +hunting resembles that of the nocturnal predatory birds, rather +than that of the Falcons. They are remarkable for the great +difference which exists between the plumage of the two sexes, which +has made the task of discriminating the number of species very +difficult. Less active than the Falcons, they yet carry on a formidable +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> +war against small birds, reptiles, and mice. The Harriers +or Harrows are so called from their <i>harrying</i> propensities. Of similar +import is the etymology of the English word 'havoc', which may +be clearly traced to the Anglo-Saxon <i>hafoc</i>, or hawk. The habit +of the Marsh Harrier is not to station itself on a tree or rock, thereon +to explore the country; but while hunting, it is always on the +wing, skimming along the ground, and beating about the bushes +with a noiseless, unsteady flight, and always taking its prey on +the ground. Rabbit-warrens afford this bird a favourite hunting-ground, +where it either pounces on such living animals as it can +surprise, or performs the office of undertaker to the dead bodies +of rabbits killed by the weasels, burying them in the grave of its +craw. In this ignoble office it is said to be sometimes assisted +by the Buzzard, and both birds have been accused of setting to +work before their unhappy victim has breathed its last. On the +sea-shore, the Marsh Harrier commits great depredations among +young water-fowl, and is often mobbed and driven from the neighbourhood +by the assembled old birds. The Partridge and Quail +often, too, fall victims to its voracity, so that the Marsh Harrier +receives no quarter from gamekeepers. It places its nest generally +near water, in a tuft of rushes, or at the base of a bush, constructing +it of sticks, rushes, and long grass, and lays three or four eggs.</p> + +<p>The Marsh Harrier is a widely dispersed species, being found, +says Temminck, in all countries where there are marshes. It +occurs now but sparingly in most parts of Great Britain and Ireland. +It is better known as the Moor Buzzard.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">HEN HARRIER<br /> +CIRCUS CYÁNEUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Tail longer than the wings; third and fourth primaries of equal length; +upper plumage of the <i>male</i> bluish grey; lower white. Upper plumage +of the <i>female</i> reddish brown; lower, pale reddish yellow, with deep +orange brown longitudinal streaks and spots. Beak black; cere greenish +yellow; irides reddish brown; feet yellow; claws black. Length, <i>male</i>, +eighteen inches; <i>female</i>, twenty inches. Eggs white.</div> + +<p>The Hen Harrier and Ringtail were formerly considered distinct +species; and no wonder; for not only are they different in size, +but dissimilar in colour, one having the upper parts grey, the lower +white; and the other the upper parts reddish brown, and various +parts of the plumage of a light colour, barred and streaked with +deep brown. The experienced ornithologist, Montagu, suspecting +that they were male and female of the same species, undertook +to clear up the matter by rearing a brood taken from the +same nest. The result was that at first there was no great +difference except in size, all having the dark plumage of the Hen +Harrier; but after the first moult, the males assumed the grey and +white plumage, while the larger birds, the females, retained the +gayer colouring, and the latter was the Ringtail. In habits both +birds resemble the Marsh Harrier, but do not confine themselves +to damp places. They frequent open plains, hillsides, and inclosed +fields, hunting a few feet above the surface of the ground, and +beating for game as skilfully as a well-trained spaniel. The moment +that the Harrier sees a probable victim he rises to a height of twenty +feet, hovers for a moment, and then comes down with unerring +aim on his prey, striking dead with a single blow, Partridge or +Pheasant, Grouse or Blackcock, and showing strength not to be +expected from his light figure, and slender, though sharp talons. Not +unfrequently he accompanies the sportsman, keeping carefully +out of shot, and pouncing on the birds, killing them, and carrying +them off to be devoured in retirement. He preys exclusively +on animals killed by himself, destroying a great quantity of game +small mammals, birds and reptiles. It is a generally-diffused bird, +by no means so common as the Kestrel and Sparrow-hawk, but is +met with occasionally in most countries of Europe and Asia, and +in various parts of the British Isles. It is far from improbable +that this bird may frequently be seen, without being recognized as +belonging to the Hawk tribe; indeed, the beautiful form and +light blue and white plumage, might cause it to be mistaken for a +Gull. It builds a flattish nest of sticks, just raised above the +round, in a heather, or furze-bush, and lays four to six eggs.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_29"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_29.png" width="459" height="670" alt="Plate_29" title="Plate_29. Montagu's Harrier [F]; Kestrel [F] [M]; Peregrine Falcon [F]; and Hen Harrier [F] [M]. [face p. 148." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_30"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_30.png" width="403" height="691" alt="Plate_30" title="Plate_30. Rough-legged Buzzard [F]; Kite; and Common Buzzard Honey Buzzard." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">MONTAGU'S HARRIER<br /> +CIRCUS CINERÁCEUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Wings a little longer than the tail; third primary longer than the fourth and +second; upper plumage bluish grey; primaries black, secondaries with +three transverse dark bars; lateral tail-feathers white barred with reddish +orange; under plumage white, variously streaked with reddish orange. +<i>Female</i>—upper plumage brown of various tints; under, pale reddish +yellow, with longitudinal bright red streaks. Beak black; cere deep yellow; +irides hazel; feet yellow; claws black. Length seventeen inches. +Eggs bluish white.</div> + +<p>This bird, which is of rare occurrence in Britain, resembles the +Hen Harrier very closely, both in appearance and habits, although +it is smaller and more slender, and the wings are longer in proportion. +On the Continent, especially in Holland, it is more +frequent. It received its name in honour of Colonel Montagu, +who was the first to ascertain the identity of the Hen Harrier +and Ringtail, and to separate the present species from both.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">COMMON BUZZARD<br /> +BUTEO VULGARIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage, neck and head, dark brown; lower, greyish brown, mottled +with darker brown; tail marked with twelve dark transverse bands; +beak lead-coloured; cere, iris, and feet yellow. Length twenty to twenty-two +inches. Eggs white, variously marked with pale greenish brown.</div> + +<p>The Buzzard, though ranked very properly among birds belonging +to the Falcon tribe, is deficient in the graceful activity which characterizes +the true Falcons. In sluggishness of habits it approaches +the Vultures, and in its soft plumage and mode of flight the Owls; +but differs from the former in feeding on live prey as well as carrion, +and from the latter in its diurnal habits. In form indeed it resembles +neither, being a bulky broad-winged Hawk, with stout legs and a +short much-curved beak. It can fly swiftly enough when occasion +requires, but its favourite custom is to take its station on some +withered branch, or on the projecting corner of a rock, whence +it can both obtain a good view of the surrounding country, and, +when it has digested its last meal, sally forth in quest of a new +one as soon as a victim comes within its range of observation. +It pounces on this while on the ground, and pursues its chase with a +low skimming flight, keeping a sharp look-out for moles, young +hares and rabbits, mice, reptiles, small birds and insects. At +times it rises high into the air, and, soaring in circles, examines the +surface of the ground for carrion. It has neither the spirit nor +daring of the noble Falcons, submitting patiently to the attacks +of birds much less than itself, and flying from the Magpie or Jackdaw. +As an architect the Buzzard displays no more constructive +skill than other birds of its tribe, building its nest of a few sticks, +either on a rock or in a tree, and not unfrequently occupying the +deserted nest of some other bird. It has, however, a redeeming +point, being a most assiduous nurse. The female sits close, and +will allow the near approach of an intruder before she leaves her +eggs. In captivity, strange to say, though by nature having a +strong inclination for the flesh of chickens, she has been known +to sit on the eggs of the domestic hen, to hatch a brood, and to +rear them with as much solicitude as their natural mother could +have shown, distributing to them morsels of raw meat, not comprehending, +of course, their repugnance to such fare, and bearing +with extreme patience and good humour their unaccountable preference +for barley and crumbs of bread. The male bird is scarcely +less affectionate as a parent: an instance being recorded of one, +which, on the death of his partner, completed the period of incubation +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> +and reared the young brood by himself. The Buzzard rarely +molests game, and more than compensates for the mischief it does +work, by the destruction of undoubted vermin; yet the hostility +shown by gamekeepers against all birds except those which it is +their business to protect, has so thinned its numbers that the +Buzzard, though once common, is now become rare.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE HONEY BUZZARD<br /> +PERNIS APIVORUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Lores or spaces between eyes and bill are covered with feathers. The head +of <i>male</i> is ash-grey, his upper parts brown; three blackish bars cross the +tail; upper parts white-barred and spotted with brown on the breast. +Length twenty-two to twenty-five inches; <i>female</i> slighter the larger.</div> + +<p>This species visits us during May and June, and a few stay to +nest, placing the nest upon the remains of that of some other large +bird. Wasps, wild bees and larvae form their food in summer, but +other insects are eaten, and sometimes mice, birds, other small +mammals, worms and slugs. From two to four eggs are laid, both +male and female taking part in the incubation. The sitting bird is +regularly fed by the other.</p> + +<p>The Honey Buzzard has bred from the New Forest up to Aberdeenshire. +Unfortunately, as much as £5 having been offered +for a couple of well-marked eggs of this species in the New Forest +by collectors, their numbers have become very few. Nearly £40 +has been offered by extravagant collectors for a good pair of the +birds. By the year 1870 nearly all were driven away from that +district.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD<br /> +BUTEO LAGÓPUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Tarsi feathered to the claws; plumage yellowish white, variegated with several +shades of brown; a broad patch of brown on the breast; tail white in +the basal half, the rest uniform brown; beak black; cere and irides +yellow; feathers on the legs fawn-coloured, spotted with brown; toes +yellow; claws black. Length twenty-six inches. Eggs whitish, clouded +with reddish brown.</div> + +<p>This bird, which is distinguished from the preceding by having +its legs thickly clothed with long feathers, is a native of the colder +countries of both Continents, being only an occasional visitor +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> +in Great Britain during autumn and winter. It is sometimes seen +in large flights on the Yarmouth Denes in October and November, +at the same time with the Short-horned Owl. It mostly frequents +the banks of rivers, where it feeds on vermin, reptiles, and the +carcases of animals brought down by the floods. In softness of +plumage and mode of flight, it resembles the Owls even more than +the preceding species, and often extends its hunting expeditions +until far into the evening. When not alarmed, it flies slowly and +deliberately, and seemingly has neither the inclination nor the +power to attack living birds, unless they have been previously +disabled by wounds or other cause. The Rough-legged Buzzard +builds its nest in lofty trees, and lays three or four eggs; but +there are no well-authenticated instances of its breeding in this +country.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE SPOTTED EAGLE<br /> +AQUILA NÆVIA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">General colour reddish brown; tail brown above; legs feathered in front of +the toes. Length twenty-six inches.</div> + +<p>This species is only a rare straggler to Great Britain.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><span class="smcap">Sub-Family</span> AQUILINÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE GOLDEN EAGLE<br /> +AQUILA CHRYSAËTOS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Tail longer than the wings, rounded; plumage of the head, back of the neck +and legs, lustrous reddish brown, of the rest of the body dark brown; +primaries nearly black; secondaries brownish black; tail dark grey, +barred and tipped with brownish black; beak bluish at the base, black +at the extremity; iris brown; cere and feet yellow; claws bluish black. +Length of the <i>male</i> three feet, that of the <i>female</i> more; breadth eight +feet. Eggs dirty white, mottled with pale reddish brown.</div> + +<p>The fable of the Eagle soaring to a great height in order to enjoy +a gaze at the sun in his unclouded brilliancy, is founded probably +on a belief of the ancients, thus stated by the naturalist Pliny:—'Before +its young are as yet fledged, the Eagle compels them to +gaze at the rays of the sun, and if it observes one to wink or show +a watery eye casts it from the nest as a degenerate offspring; if, +on the contrary, it preserves a steady gaze, it is saved from this +hard fate, and brought up.'</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_31"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_31.png" width="418" height="682" alt="Plate_31" title="Plate_31. Osprey; Golden Eagle [M]; Sea Eagle; and Spotted Eagle [M] imm. [p. 152." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_32"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_32.png" width="431" height="639" alt="Plate_32" title="Plate_32. Marsh Harrier [M]; Hobby; Merlin [M]; and Sparrow Hawk [F]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span></p> + +<p>'The Golden Eagle', says Macgillivray, 'seems to prefer live +prey to carrion, and easily secures Grouse, in searching for which +it flies low on the moors, sailing and wheeling at intervals. Hares, +roes, and even red deer, it also attacks, but it does not haunt the +shores for fish so much as the Sea Eagle does. There seems very +little probability that Eagles have the sense of smell very acute, +but that their vision is so is evident. I am not, however, inclined +to think that they perceive objects from the vast height to which they +sometimes soar, because I never saw one descend from such an +elevation in a manner indicating that it had observed a carcase or +other eatable object; whereas, on the other hand, I have very +frequently seen them flying along the sides of the hills, at a small +height, obviously in search of food, in a manner somewhat resembling +that of the Sparrow-Hawk, but with much less rapidity.'</p> + +<p>The Golden Eagle breeds only in the Highlands, but it is not an +unfrequent visitor to the Lowlands of Scotland in the cold season. +Those birds which have been recorded as visiting England were +generally not this species but the White-tailed or Sea Eagle in +immature plumage. It prefers mountains or extensive forests, +building its eyrie either on rocks or lofty trees. In France, Sweden, +Spain, and Switzerland, it is frequently observed. Its note, called +in the Highlands 'a bark', is sharp and loud, resembling at a distance, +as, on the only occasion I ever heard it, it seemed to me, the +croak of a Raven. It lays two or sometimes three eggs, and feeds +its young, which are very voracious, on birds and the smaller +quadrupeds.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE WHITE-TAILED (SEA) EAGLE<br /> +HALIAËTUS ALBICILLA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Tail not longer than the wings; upper plumage brown, that of the head and +neck lightest, lower, chocolate brown; tail white; beak, cere, and feet +yellowish white; claws black. In <i>young birds</i> the tail is dark brown, and +the beak and cere are of a darker hue. Length of the <i>male</i>, two feet four +inches; of the <i>female</i>, two feet ten inches. Eggs dirty white with a few +pale red marks.</div> + +<p>The White-tailed Eagle, known also by the name of the Sea Eagle, +is about equal in size to the Golden Eagle, but differs considerably +in character and habits; for while the latter has been known to +pounce on a pack of Grouse and carry off two or three from before +the very eyes of the astonished sportsman and his dogs, or to +appropriate for his own special picking a hunted hare when about +to become the prey of the hounds, the White-tailed Eagle has been +observed to fly terror-struck from a pair of Skua Gulls, making +no return for their heavy buffets but a series of dastardly shrieks. +The ordinary food, too, of the nobler bird is living animals, though, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> +to tell the truth, he is always ready to save himself the trouble of a +chase, if he can meet with the carcase of a sheep or lamb; but the +White-tailed Eagle feeds principally on fish, water-fowl, the smaller +quadrupeds, and offal, whether of quadrupeds, birds, or fish. On +such fare, when pressed by hunger, he feeds so greedily that he +gorges himself till, unable to rise, he becomes the easy prey of the +shepherd's boy armed but with a stick or stone. The Eagle is +sometimes seen on the southern sea-board of England in autumn +and winter when the younger birds that have been reared in the +north of Europe are migrating south; but its eyries are now only +on the west and north coasts, and especially the Shetland Islands. +It inhabits Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Scotland, and the +north of England, where it frequents the vicinity of the sea and +large lakes. In winter it appears to leave the high latitudes and +come farther south, not perhaps so much on account of cold as +because its ordinary prey, being driven to seek a genial climate, +it is compelled to accompany its food. Consequently it is more +abundant in Scotland during winter than summer, and when seen +late in autumn is generally observed to be flying south, in early +spring northwards. It builds its nest either in forests, choosing +the summit of the loftiest trees, or among inaccessible cliffs overhanging +the sea. The materials are sticks, heath, tufts of grass, +dry sea-weed, and it lays two eggs. The young are very voracious, +and are fed by the parent birds for some time after they have +left the nest, but when able to provide for themselves are driven +from the neighbourhood to seek food and a home elsewhere.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE OSPREY<br /> +PANDÍON HALIAËTUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Wings longer than the tail; feathers of the head and neck white, with dark +centres; on each side of the neck a streak of blackish brown, extending +downwards; upper plumage generally deep brown; under white, tinged +here and there with yellow, and on the breast marked with arrow-shaped +spots; tail-feathers barred with dusky bands; cere and beak dark grey; +iris yellow. Length two feet; breadth five feet. Eggs reddish white, +blotched and spotted with dark reddish brown.</div> + +<p>'Endowed with intense keenness of sight, it hovers high in the +air, and having descried a fish in the sea, it darts down with great +rapidity, dashes aside the water with its body, and seizes its prey +in an instant.' So says the ancient naturalist Pliny, describing a +bird which he calls <i>Haliaëtus</i>, or Sea Eagle. Eighteen centuries +later, Montagu thus described a bird, which, when he first observed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> +it, was hawking for fish on the river Avon, near Aveton Gifford, in +Devonshire: 'At last', he says, 'its attention was arrested, and +like the Kestrel in search of mice, it became stationary, as if examining +what had attracted its attention. After a pause of some time, +it descended to within about fifty yards of the surface of the water, +and there continued hovering for another short interval, and then +precipitated itself into the water with such great celerity as to be +nearly immersed. In three or four minutes the bird rose without +any apparent difficulty, and carried off a trout of moderate size, +and instead of alighting to regale upon its prey, soared to a prodigious +height, and did not descend within our view.' There can be no +reasonable doubt that the bird thus described at such distant +intervals of time is the same, and that the Sea Eagle of the ancients +is the Osprey of the moderns. Wilson thus eloquently describes +its habits under the name of the 'Fish Hawk': "Elevated on the +high dead limb of some gigantic tree, that commands a wide view +of the neighbouring shore and ocean, the great White-headed Eagle +seems calmly to contemplate the motions of the various feathered +tribes that pursue their busy vocations below. High over all these +hovers one whose actions instantly arrest all his attention. By his +wide curvature of wing, and sudden suspension in air, he knows him +to be the Fish Hawk settling over some devoted victim of the deep. +His eye kindles at the sight, and balancing himself with half-open +wings on the branch, he watches the result. Down, rapid as an arrow +from heaven, descends the distant object of his attention, the roar +of its wings reaching the ear as it disappears in the deep, making +the surges foam around. At this moment the eager looks of the +Eagle are all ardour; and, levelling his neck for flight, he sees the +Fish Hawk once more emerge struggling with his prey, and mounting +in the air with screams of exultation. These are the signals for +our hero, who, launching into the air, instantly gives chase, soon +gains on the Fish Hawk: each exerts his utmost to mount above +the other, displaying in the rencontres the most elegant and sublime +aërial evolutions. The unincumbered Eagle rapidly advances, +and is just on the point of reaching his opponent, when, with a +sudden scream, probably of despair and honest execration, the +latter drops his fish; the Eagle, poising himself for a moment, as +if to take a more certain aim, descends like a whirlwind, snatches +it in his grasp ere it reaches the water, and bears his ill-gotten booty +silently away to the woods."</p> + +<p>The Osprey has been observed on various parts of the coast of +Great Britain and Ireland, especially in autumn, and in the neighbourhood +of the Scottish Lakes, not merely as a stray visitor, but +making itself entirely at home. It is known in Sussex and Hampshire, +as the Mullet Hawk, because of its liking for that fish. It +may be considered as a citizen of the world, for it has been found +in various parts of Europe, the Cape of Good Hope, India, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> +New Holland. In America, we have already seen, it is abundant. +It builds its nest of sticks on some rock or ruin, generally near the +water, and lays two or three eggs. It has not been known to breed +in Ireland.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<div class="caption2"><span class="smcap">Sub-Family</span> ACCIPITRINÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE SPARROW-HAWK<br /> +ACCÍPITER NISUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage dark bluish grey, with a white spot on the nape of the neck; +lower reddish white, transversely barred with deep brown; tail grey, +barred with brownish black; beak blue, lightest at the base; cere, irides, +and feet yellow; claws black. <i>Female</i>—upper parts brown passing into +blackish grey; lower, greyish white barred with dark grey. Length, +<i>male</i> twelve inches, <i>female</i> fifteen inches; breadth, <i>male</i> twenty-four +inches, <i>female</i> twenty-eight inches. Eggs bluish white, blotched and +spotted with deep rusty brown.</div> + +<p>Since the introduction of firearms, the Goshawk and Sparrow-Hawk +have lost much of their reputation, every effort being now +made to exterminate them, for carrying on, on their own account, +the same practises which in bygone days they were enlisted to pursue +on behalf of others. For hawking, it must be remembered, was +not exclusively a pastime followed by the high and noble for amusement's +sake, but was, in one of its branches, at least, a very convenient +method of supplying the table with game; and that, too, +at a period when there were not the same appliances, in the shape +of turnips, oil-cake, etc., for fattening cattle and producing beef +and mutton in unlimited quantities, that there are now. The +produce of the fish-ponds, woods, and fields was then a matter of +some moment, and much depended on the training of the Hawks +and diligence of the falconer whether the daily board should be +plentifully or scantily furnished. In recent times, even, some +idea of the intrinsic value of a good Hawk may be gathered from +the fact that, in Lombardy, it was thought nothing extraordinary +for a single Sparrow-Hawk to take for his master from seventy to +eighty Quails in a single day. In the Danubian Provinces and in +Hungary, the practise of hunting Quails with Sparrow-hawks is still +in vogue; but with us, the agile bird is left to pursue his prey on his +own account. And right well does he exercise his calling. Unlike +the Kestrel, which soars high in air and mostly preys on animals +which when once seen have no power of escape, the Sparrow-Hawk +is marked by its dashing, onward flight. Skimming rapidly across +the open fields, by no means refusing to swoop on any bird or +quadruped worthy of its notice, but not preferring this kind of hunting-ground, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> +it wings its easy way to the nearest hedge, darts along +by the side, turns sharply to the right or left through an opening +caused by a gate or gap, and woe to any little bird which it may +encounter, either perched on a twig or resting on the ground. Unerring +in aim, and secure of its holdfast, it allows its victims no +chance of escape, one miserable scream, and their fate is sealed. +And even if the prey detects its coming enemy, and seeks safety in +flight, its only hope is to slip into the thick bushes and trust to concealment: +resort to the open field is all but certain death. Nor +is it fastidious in its choice of food—leverets, young rabbits, mice, +partridges, thrushes, blackbirds, sparrows, larks, pipits, and many +others are equal favourites. It resorts very frequently to the homestead +and farmyard, not so much in quest of chickens, which, by the +way, it does not despise, as for the sake of the small birds which +abound in such places. There it is a bold robber, little heeding the +presence of men, suddenly dashing from behind some barn or corn-rick, +and rapidly disappearing with its luckless prey struggling in +its talons, pursued, perhaps, by the vociferous twitter of the outraged +flock, but not dispirited against another onslaught. This +coursing for its prey, though the usual, is not the only method of +furnishing his larder pursued by the Sparrow-Hawk. He has been +known to station himself on the branch of a tree in the neighbourhood +of some favourite resort of Sparrows, concealed himself, but +commanding a fair view of the flock below. With an intent as +deadly as that of the fowler when he points his gun, he puts on the +attitude of flight before he quits his perch, then selecting his victim, +and pouncing on it all but simultaneously, he retires to devour his +meal and to return to his post as soon as the hubbub he has excited +has subsided somewhat. At times he pays dear for his temerity. +Pouncing on a bird which the sportsman has put up and missed, he +receives the contents of the second barrel; making a swoop on the +bird-catcher's call-bird, he becomes entangled in the meshes; or +dashing through a glazed window at a caged Canary bird, he finds +his retreat cut off.</p> + +<p>As is the case with most predaceous birds, the female is larger +and bolder than the male, and will attack birds superior to herself +in size. Though a fierce enemy, she is an affectionate mother, and +will defend her young at the risk of her life. She builds her nest, or +appropriates the deserted nest of a Crow, in trees, or if they be +wanting, in a cliff, and lays four or five eggs. The young are very +voracious, and are fed principally on small birds, the number of +which consumed may be inferred from the fact that no less than +sixteen Larks, Sparrows, and other small birds, were on one occasion +found in a nest, the female parent belonging to which had been +shot while conveying to them a young bird just brought to the +neighbourhood of the nest by the male; the latter, it was conjectured, +having brought them all, and deposited them in the nest +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> +in the interval of nine hours which had elapsed between their discovery +and the death of his partner.</p> + +<p>The Sparrow-Hawk is found in most wooded districts of Great +Britain and Ireland, and the greater part of the Eastern Continent.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<div class="caption2"><span class="smcap">Sub-Family</span> MILVINÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE RED KITE<br /> +MILVUS ICTINUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts reddish brown; the feathers with pale edges; those of the head +and neck long and tapering to a point, greyish white, streaked longitudinally +with brown; lower parts rust coloured, with longitudinal brown +streaks; tail reddish orange, barred indistinctly with brown; beak horn +coloured; cere, irides, and feet yellow; claws black. <i>Female</i>—upper +plumage of a deeper brown; the feathers pale at the extremity; head +and neck white. Length, twenty-five inches; breadth, five feet six +inches. Eggs dirty white, spotted at the larger end with red-brown.</div> + +<p>'The Kite', Pliny informs us, 'seems, by the movement of its tail, +to have taught mankind the art of steering—nature pointing out +in the air what is necessary in the sea'. The movement of the bird +through the air indeed resembles sailing more than flying. 'One +cannot' says Buffon, 'but admire the manner in which the flight of +the Kite is performed; his long and narrow wings seem motionless; +it is his tail that seems to direct all his evolutions, and he moves it +continuously; he rises without effort, comes down as if he were +sliding along an inclined plane; he seems rather to swim than to +fly; he darts forward, slackens his speed, stops, and remains suspended +or fixed in the same place for whole hours without exhibiting +the smallest motion of his wings.' The Kite generally moves +along at a moderate height, but sometimes, like the Eagle, rises +to the more elevated regions of the air, where it may always be +distinguished by its long wings and forked tail.</p> + +<p>In France, it is known by the name 'Milan Royal', the latter title +being given to it not on account of any fancied regal qualities, but +because in ancient times it was subservient to the pleasures of +princes. In those times, hawking at the Kite and Heron was the +only kind of sport dignified with the title of 'Chase Royal', and +no one—not even a nobleman—could attack the Kite and Heron +without infringing the privileges of the king.</p> + +<p>Though larger than the noble Falcons, it is far inferior to them in +daring and muscular strength; cowardly in attacking the strong, +pitiless to the weak. It rarely assails a bird on the wing, but takes +its prey on the ground, where nothing inferior to itself in courage +seems to come amiss to it. Moles, rats, mice, reptiles, and partridges, +are its common food; it carries off also goslings, ducklings, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> +chickens, though it retires ignominiously before an angry hen. +When pressed by hunger, it does not refuse the offal of animals, or +dead fish; but being an expert fisherman, it does not confine itself +to dead food of this kind, but pounces on such fish as it discerns +floating near the surface of the water—carries them off in its talons, +and devours them on shore.</p> + +<p>The Kite is more abundant in the northern than the southern +countries of Europe, to which latter, however, numerous individuals +migrate in autumn. It is of very rare occurrence in the southern +counties of England, where no doubt it has gained discredit for +many of the evil deeds of the Sparrow-Hawk. It builds its nest of +sticks, lined with straw and moss, in lofty trees, and lays three or +four eggs. A few still breed in some districts in Scotland, also in +the wilder parts of Wales, but their eggs are, unfortunately, soon +taken.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><span class="smcap">Sub-Family</span> FALCONINÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE PEREGRINE FALCON<br /> +FALCO PEREGRINUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Tail not longer than the wings; upper plumage dark bluish grey with darker +bands; head bluish black, as are also the moustaches descending from +the gape; lower plumage white; breast transversely barred with brown; +beak blue, darker at the point; cere yellow; iris dark brown; feet +yellow; claws black. <i>Female</i>—upper plumage tinged with brown, +lower with reddish yellow. Length fifteen inches; <i>female</i> seventeen +inches. Eggs dull light red, spotted and blotched with deep red.</div> + +<p>The Peregrine Falcon occupies among the 'noble' birds of prey a +place second only in dignity to the Gyr Falcon. Indeed, from its +being more generally diffused and therefore more easily obtained, +it is a question whether it was not considered, in England, at least, +the special bird of falconry. In France it appears to have been +used almost exclusively as the Falcon of the country; and as the +number of Gyr Falcons imported to England must have fallen far +short of the demand when the gentle science was in full vogue, here +also the Peregrine must be considered the bird of falconry. The +'noble' Falcons were those which flew fearlessly on any birds, +no matter how much larger they were than themselves, and at +once deprived their prey of life by pouncing on a vital part, devouring +the head before they lacerated the carcase. The name Peregrine +(foreigner) was given to this bird on account of its wide dispersion +through most regions of the globe, and for the same reason it has +long borne in France the name of <i>Pélerin</i> (pilgrim), and not on +account of its wide range in search of quarry. It is a bird of haughty +aspect and rich colouring, sagacious, powerful, and daring; a type +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> +of the chivalry of the Middle Ages, a veritable knight-errant, always +armed, and ready to do battle in any cause against all comers.</p> + +<p>In France the Peregrine Falcon is most abundant in the marshy +districts of the north, which are much frequented by Snipes and +Wild Duck; with us it is most commonly seen in those parts of the +sea-coast where sea-fowl abound. The high cliffs of the Isle of +Wight, Beachy Head, North Wales, and the Scottish coast have +been favourite haunts, and there it once reigned supreme among +the feathered tribe, but it becomes more scarce, alas! of late. It +makes its eyrie in the most inaccessible part of the cliff, constructing +no nest, but laying two to four eggs in a cavity of a rock where a +little loose earth has been deposited; sometimes in the deserted +nest of the Raven or Carrion Crow. If either of the old birds +happens to be shot during the period of breeding, it is incredible in +how short a space of time the survivor finds a new mate. Within +a short distance from their nest they establish a larder well supplied +with Puffins, Jackdaws, and above all, Kestrels; while the +immediate neighbourhood is strewed with bones. Remarkable +as are both male and female bird for muscular power and high +courage, the latter, which is also considerably larger, is by far the +superior. The female was, consequently, in the days of falconry +flown at Herons and Ducks, and she was the falcon proper among +falconers; the male, termed a Tiercel or Tiercelet, was flown at +Partridges and Pigeons. In their native haunts they seem to cause +little alarm among the Puffins and Razor-bills by which they are +surrounded, but the sudden appearance of a pair in a part of the +cliff frequented by Jackdaws, causes terrible consternation; while +any number of intruders on their own domain are driven away with +indomitable courage. When pressed by hunger, or desirous of +changing their diet, they condescend to attack and capture birds +so small as a Lark, and it is remarkable that however puny may be +the prey, the Falcon preserves its instinctive habit of dealing a +deadly blow at once, as if afraid that under all circumstances the +natural impulse of its quarry were to stand on the defensive. Even +in ordinary flight the movement of its wings is exceedingly quick, +but when it stoops on its prey its rapidity of descent is marvellous, +accompanied too, as it is, by a sound that may be heard at a distance +of two hundred yards. Perhaps no bird has had more written +about it than this Falcon, numerous treatises have been composed +on the art of 'reclaiming' it, or training it for hawking, and the +proper method of conducting the sport. We have at present space +only to add a few words on the latter subject. The art of the +falconer is to intercept the Herons when flying against the wind. +When a Heron passes, <i>a cast</i> or couple of Falcons are thrown off, +which dart into the air, flying in a spiral direction to get above the +Heron. As soon as the first has attained the necessary elevation, +she makes a stoop, and if she misses, a second stoop is made by the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> +other in her turn. When one has succeeded in striking its prey, +the other joins in the attack, and all three birds come to the +ground together, buoyed in their descent by their expanded wings. +The falconer now comes to the rescue, for though the Heron makes +no resistance in the air, as soon as it reaches the ground it uses +its formidable beak in defence, and unless prevented may work much +mischief to its pursuers.</p> + +<div class="poem">As when a cast of Faulcons make their flight</div> +<div class="poem">At an Heronshaw that lyes aloft on wing,</div> +<div class="poem">The whyles they strike at him with heedlesse might</div> +<div class="poem">The wary foule his bill doth backward wring.</div> +<div class="poem">On which the first, whose force her first doth bring,</div> +<div class="poem">Herselfe quite through the bodie doth engore,</div> +<div class="poem">And falleth downe to ground like senselesse thing,</div> +<div class="poem">But th' other, not so swift as she before,</div> +<div class="poem">Fayles of her souse, and passing by doth hurt no more.</div> +<br /> +<div class="poem2"><i>Faerie Queene.</i></div> +<br /> + +<div class="justify">In France the 'cast' consisted of three Falcons, which were trained +to perform particular duties, the first to start the game in the +required direction, the second to keep guard over it, and the third +to deal the fatal swoop.</div> + +<p>The 'Lanner' of Pennant is a young female Peregrine.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE HOBBY<br /> +FALCO SUBBUTEO</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Wings longer than the tail; upper plumage bluish black; beneath, reddish +yellow, with longitudinal brown streaks; moustaches broad, black; +lower tail-coverts and feathers on the leg reddish; beak bluish, darker +at the tip; cere greenish yellow; iris dark brown; feet yellow; claws +black. <i>Female</i>—all the colours duller, and the streaks below broader. +Length twelve to fourteen inches; breadth about two feet. Eggs +yellowish white, speckled with reddish brown.</div> + +<p>The Hobby is a less common bird in England than in France, where +it is said to be a constant companion of the sportsman, and to be +endowed with enough discrimination to keep out of shot. Not +satisfied with appropriating to its own use wounded birds, it pursues +and captures those which have been fired at unsuccessfully, +and not unfrequently even those which have been put up but have +not come within shot. It is frequently taken, too, in the nets +spread for Larks, or inveigled into the snare of the fowler who pursues +his craft with limed twigs and the imitated cry of the Owl. +It is a bird of passage, both on the Continent and in England, arriving +and taking its departure at about the same time with the Swallow. +In form and colouring it somewhat resembles the Peregrine Falcon, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> +but is much smaller and more slender; the wings, too, are larger +in proportion, and the dark stripes beneath are longitudinal instead +of transverse. Its natural prey consists for the most part of Larks +and other small birds, beetles, and other large insects. It is said +also to prey on Swallows; but swift as its flight undoubtedly is, +it is somewhat doubtful whether these birds are not sufficiently +nimble to elude it, unless, indeed, it attacks individuals exhausted +by cold or other cause. It has been trained for hawking small birds; +but owing, perhaps, to its migratory habits, it was found to be impatient +of captivity, and was not much prized. Hobbies frequently +hunt in pairs, and an instance has been recorded where one hunted +a Lark in company with a Hen Harrier; but the latter, a bird of +heavier flight, was soon compelled to give up the chase. It builds +its nest, or appropriates a deserted one, in high trees, and lays three +or four eggs.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE MERLIN<br /> +FALCO ÆSALON</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Tail longer than the wings; upper plumage greyish blue; lower reddish +yellow, with longitudinal oblong dark brown spots; tail barred with +black; beak bluish, darker at the tip; cere yellow; irides dark brown; +feet yellow, claws black. <i>Female</i>—above tinged with brown; below, +yellowish white. Length eleven to twelve inches; breadth two feet. +Eggs mottled with two shades of dark reddish brown.</div> + +<p>The Merlin, or Stone Falcon (so called from its habit of alighting +on stones to watch the flight of the small birds which it intends to +make its prey), is a beautiful little bird, but notwithstanding its +small body ranks among the 'noble' Falcons. Associated with +the Sparrow-Hawk, it was, on the Continent, anciently trained to +hunt Quails—and the old falconers are loud in its praises. In +England, it was accounted especially the Ladies' Hawk. In a +state of nature, it has been observed to attack the Partridge, Magpie, +Starling, Blackbird, etc., but its favourite prey is the Lark; +and it was to fly at this bird principally, that it was formerly trained. +In hawking with Merlins, three of these birds were assigned to +the Magpie, two to the Lark, and in the chase of the Quail and +Land-rail, the Sparrow-Hawk was associated with it. The Merlin +is more frequent in the northern than in the southern part of +Great Britain, and is seen more frequently in winter than in summer, +but is nowhere common. In Norfolk, many are caught at the +autumnal equinox in the fowlers' nets. It occasionally, perhaps +generally, breeds in Northumberland, Cumberland, and North +Wales, placing its nest upon the ground amongst the heather, and +laying four or five eggs. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE KESTREL<br /> +FALCO TINNÚNCULUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Wings shorter than the tail; upper plumage, neck and breast, dark-lead +grey; sides, under tail-coverts and thighs, light-yellowish red, with longitudinal +narrow dark streaks; beak blue, lighter towards the base; cere +and feet yellow; irides brown; claws black. <i>Female</i>—upper plumage +and tail light red, with transverse spots and bars of dark brown; lower, +paler than in the <i>male</i>. Length fifteen inches; breadth thirty inches. +Eggs reddish white, blotched and mottled with dark red-brown.</div> + +<p>The Kestrel being the most abundant and by far the most conspicuous +in its habits of all the British birds of prey, is probably, in most +instances, the bird which has been observed whenever the appearance +of 'a Hawk' has been mentioned. Though rapid in flight +whenever it chooses to put forth its full powers, it is more remarkable +for the habit which has acquired for it the name of 'Windhover'; +and there can scarcely be any one, however unobservant, +who makes even but an occasional expedition into the country, but +has stopped and gazed with delight on its skilful evolutions. Suspended +aloft, with its head turned towards the wind, but neither +advancing against the breeze, nor moved by it from its position, it +agitates its wings as regularly and evenly as if they were turned on +a pivot by machinery. Presently, impelled as it were by a spirit +of restlessness, it suddenly darts forwards, perhaps ascending or +descending a few feet, and making a slight turn either to the right or +the left. Then it skims on with extended, motionless pinions, and +once more anchors itself to the air. But on what object is it intent +all this while? for that some design is present here is indubitable. +Not surely on the capture of birds, for at that slight elevation its +keen eye would detect the movement of a bird at a mere glance; +nor has it the dashing flight one would expect to see in a hunter after +game furnished with the same organs of motion as itself. But, +if intent on the capture of small animals which creep out of holes +in the earth and hunt for their food among the grass, surely no +method can be conceived of exploring the field so quickly and so +completely. The Kestrel, then, though stigmatized by game +keepers with an evil name, does not merit the reproaches heaped on +it; while to the farmer it is an invaluable ally, destroying countless +beetles, the grubs of which would gnaw away the roots of his crops;, +caterpillars, which would devour the foliage; and, above all, mice, +which would fatten on the grain. For such food its appetite is enormous, +and its stomach capacious, an instance being recorded of a +specimen having been shot, the craw of which contained no less +than seventy-nine caterpillars, twenty-four beetles, a full-grown +field mouse, and a leech. To this varied bill of fare it adds, as occasion +offers, glow-worms, lizards, frogs, grasshoppers, and earthworms. +In the winter, indeed, when these animals have withdrawn to their +retreats, it is compelled by hunger to provide itself with what my +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> +readers would consider more palatable food; for now it preys on +any birds which it is swift enough to overtake, and strong enough to +master. The skill with which it plucks the feathers from birds before +tearing them to pieces, certainly argues in favour of the theory that +a bird-diet is not unnatural to it, or, that the habit, if an acquired +one, came to an apt learner. But in autumn and winter, game-birds +are fully fledged and being quite able to take care of themselves +are by no means liable to fall a prey to the Kestrel. Thus, admitting, +as we fear we must, that if, while hovering for mice, it detects a +young Partridge in the hay-field, it is unable to withstand the +temptation of carrying it off as a delicate repast for its young, +yet an occasional trespass of this kind far from counterbalances +the advantages it confers as a consistent destroyer of vermin.</p> + +<p>The Kestrel appears to be generally distributed over the country, +showing no marked predilection for upland or lowland, heath or +marsh. It is very frequently seen near the sea-coast, to which in +winter it habitually resorts, finding there, no doubt, greater facilities +for obtaining food. Like others of its tribe, it possesses little architectural +skill, placing its nest in a hole in a cliff, in ruins, or on lofty +trees, often appropriating the deserted dwelling of some more industrious +builder than itself. On the Continent it resorts to buildings +in towns and cities, as, for instance, the Louvre in Paris, and the +towers of cathedrals. During summer it hawks principally in +the gardens and orchards near the town, and when harvest is gathered +in, repairs to the corn-fields to hunt for mice among the stubble. +When taken young from the nest, it is easily tamed, and becomes +one of the most amusing of pets. Even after being fully fledged +and allowed its liberty, it will remain in the neighbourhood of the +place where it was reared, coming regularly to be fed, and recognizing +the presence of its master by repeating its wild note, <i>klee</i>, <i>klee</i>, +<i>klee</i>, and flying to meet him. An anecdote is recorded in the <i>Zoologist</i> +of a male Kestrel having, in the second year of his domestication, +induced a female bird to join him in his half-civilized life, and +to assist him in rearing a joint family. 'Billy' still continued to +make himself quite at home at the house where he was brought up, +coming fearlessly into the nursery and making friends with the +children; but his mate never threw off her wild nature so far as to +do this, contenting herself with waiting outside, and asserting her +right to her fair share of whatever food he brought out. Tame +Kestrels have been observed to have the habit of hiding their food +when supplied with more than they can consume at the time. +I have often noticed, too, in the case of tame Kestrels, that the +Chaffinches and other small birds which frequent gardens show no +instinctive dread of them, as if they were their natural enemies, +but perch on the same tree with them, fearless and unnoticed.</p> + +<p>The Kestrel was formerly trained to hunt small birds, and in +the court of Louis XIII was taught to hawk for Bats.</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption1"><a name="ORDER_STEGANOPODES_2" id="ORDER_STEGANOPODES_2"></a> +ORDER STEGANOPODES</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PELECANIDÆ</div> + +<p>Feet entirely webbed, or all four toes connected by webs.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE COMMON CORMORANT<br /> +PHALACRÓCORAX CARBO</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Tail of fourteen feathers. <i>Winter</i>—head, neck, and all the under parts, +black, with green reflections; close to the base of the bill a broad white +gorget; on the neck a few faint whitish lines; feathers of the back and +wings bronze-colour bordered with black; primaries and tail black; +beak dusky; orbits greenish yellow; irides green; feet black. <i>Summer</i>—feathers +of the head elongated, forming a crest; on the head and neck +numerous long silky white feathers; on the thighs a patch of pure white. +<i>Young birds</i> brown and grey, the gorget greyish white. Length three +feet. Eggs greenish white, chalky.</div> + + +<p>Phalacrocorax, the modern systematic name of the genus Cormorant, +is given by Willughby as a synonym of the Coot, and with +much propriety, for translated into English it means 'Bald Crow'. +Applied to the Cormorant, it must be considered as descriptive of +the semblance of baldness produced by the white feathers of the +head during the breeding season. The Cormorant Willughby +describes under the name of <i>Corvus aquaticus</i>, or Water Raven. +The English name,'Corvorant', is clearly <i>Corvus vorans</i>, a voracious +Raven; and 'Cormorant' perhaps a corruption of <i>Corvus marinus</i>, +Sea Raven.</p> + +<p>sea-side visitors are pretty sure of seeing more than one specimen +of this bird, if they care to look for them, for the Cormorant frequents +all parts of the coast as well as lakes and rivers, and does +not leave us at any period of the year. Often we may see two or +three of these birds flying along together at a slight distance above +the surface of the sea, distinguished by their black hue, long outstretched +neck, and rapid waving of the wings. They fly swiftly +in a straight line, and seem to be kept from dipping into the water +by making ahead at full speed. There is no buoyancy in their flight, +no floating in the air, or soaring; their sole motive for using their +narrow but muscular wings is clearly that they may repair to or +from some favourite spot with greater speed than they can attain +by swimming or diving. Occasionally, while engaged in a boating +expedition, we may encounter a party of three or four occupied +in fishing. They are shy, and will not allow a near approach, but +even at a distance they may be distinguished by their large size, +sooty hue, long necks, and hooked beaks. They sit low in the water, +often dipping their heads below the surface, and in this posture +advancing, in order that their search for food may not be impeded +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> +by the ripple of the water. A sheltered bay in which shoals of +small fish abound is a choice resort, and here they make no long continuous +stay in the swimming attitude, but suddenly and frequently +dive, remaining below a longer or shorter time, according to the +depth which they have to descend in order to secure their prey, but +when successful, occupying but a very brief space of time in swallowing +it. Not unfrequently they may be discerned from the shore +similarly occupied, floating or diving in the midst of the very +breakers. Sometimes, but rarely, one settles on a rail or stump of a +tree close to the water in a tidal river. The capture of fish is still +its object, and it is quite as expert in securing its prey from such a +station as when roving at large on the open sea.</p> + +<p>All along our coast there is at various intervals a rock popularly +distinguished in the neighbourhood by the name of 'Shag rock'. +Such a rock is generally low, isolated, and situated at a safe distance +from land; or, if near the shore, is close to the base of a steep cliff. +Hither the Cormorants, when their hunger is appeased, repair for +the threefold purpose of resting, digesting their food, and drying +their wings. The process of digestion is soon completed, but +the time consumed in drying their thoroughly drenched wings +depends on the amount of sunshine and air moving. Of these, +whatever they may be, they know how to avail themselves to perfection. +They station themselves on the highest ridge of the rock, +wide apart, and in a row, so as not to screen one another, raise their +bodies to their full height, and spread their wings to their utmost +extent. No laundress is more cunning in the exercise of her vocation. +Indeed, they can hardly fail to recall the idea of so many +pairs of black trousers hung out to be aired.</p> + +<p>Cormorants do not confine their fishing expeditions to the sea, +but frequently ascend tidal rivers, and follow the course of streams +which communicate with fish-ponds and lakes, where they commit +great havoc; for the quantity of fish which they devour at a meal +is very great. Pliny has observed that the Cormorant sometimes +perches on trees; and the truth of this remark has been confirmed +by many subsequent writers. They have been even known to +build their nest in a tree, but this is a rare occurrence.<a name="FNanchor_1_29" id="FNanchor_1_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> They +generally select exposed rocks, where they collect a large quantity +of sticks and rubbish, and lay three or four eggs in a depression on +the summit.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_33"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_33.png" width="430" height="674" alt="Plate_33" title="Plate_33. Shag [M]; Brent Goose [F]; Bernacle Goose [F]; and Cormorant [M]. [face p. 166." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_34"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_34.png" width="432" height="696" alt="Plate_34" title="Plate_34. Gannet [F]; Whooper Swan; and Bewick's Swan [M]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></p> + +<p>Most people are familiar with a representation of a fishery with +the help of Cormorants conducted by the Chinese; but it is not so +generally known that a similar method once was practised in England. +Willughby quoting Faber's <i>Annotations on the Animals of +Recchus</i>, says: 'It is the custom in England to train Cormorants +to catch fish. While conveying the birds to the fishing-ground +the fishermen keep the heads and eyes of the birds covered to prevent +them from being alarmed. When they have reached the rivers, +they take off the hoods, and having first tied a leather strap loosely +round the lower part of the neck, that the birds may be unable to +swallow down what fishes they catch, throw them into the water. +They immediately set to work and pursue the fish beneath them +with marvellous rapidity. When they have caught one they +rise to the surface, and, having first pinched it with their beaks, +swallow it as far as the strap permits, and renew the chase until they +have caught from five to six each. On being called to return to +their masters' fist, they obey with alacrity, and bring up, one by +one, the fish they have swallowed, injured no farther than that +they are slightly crushed. The fishing being brought to an end, +the birds are removed from the neighbourhood of the water, the +strap is untied, and a few of the captured fish, thrown to them as +their share of the booty, are dexterously caught before they touch +the ground.'</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_29" id="Footnote_1_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> A pair hatched two young in the Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park +in 1882.</div> + +<div class="caption3">THE SHAG<br /> +PHALACRÓCORAX GRÁCULUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Tail graduated, of twelve feathers. In <i>winter</i>, general plumage deep greenish +black; feathers of the back glossy with black borders; orbits and pouch +greenish yellow; bill dusky; irides green; feet black. In <i>summer</i>, head +crested. <i>Young birds</i> greenish brown above; light grey below. Length +twenty-eight inches. Eggs greenish blue, chalky.</div> + +<p>Except in the smaller size and differences of plumage mentioned +above, there is little to distinguish the Shag from the Cormorant. +Both, too, are of common occurrence, and frequent the same +localities; except that the Shag is more disposed to be gregarious: it +does not, however, commonly resort to tidal rivers, and is still more +rarely found on inland lakes; its food and method of obtaining it are +precisely similar, so that a description of one bird will suit the other +almost equally well. The Shag is called sometimes the Green +Cormorant, from the tint of its plumage; but this name is not in +common use. Another of its names is the Crested Cormorant; +but this is vague, inasmuch as both species are crested in spring. +In Scotland a common name for it is Scart, applied also to the Great +Cormorant. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE GANNET<br /> +SULA BASSANA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown buff-yellow; general plumage milk-white; quills black; bill bluish +grey at the base, white at the tip; orbits pale blue; membrane prolonged +from the gape and that under the throat dusky blue; irides yellow; +feet striped with green, the membranes dusky; claws white. <i>Birds of +the first year</i>, general plumage dusky brown, beneath greyish. In the +<i>second year</i>, greyish black above, marked with numerous triangular +white spots, whitish below. Length three feet. Eggs dull greenish +white.</div> + +<p>It would not be difficult to compile, from various sources, a description +of the Gannet and its habits which would fill more pages than +my readers, perhaps, would care to peruse. To avoid this contingency, +I will limit myself to a statement of my own personal acquaintance +with the bird and its ways, and a transcript of notes kindly +furnished me by a friend who visited the Bass Rock, one of its +favourite haunts in the breeding season.</p> + +<p><i>Extract from my own Journal.</i>—'August 27th. I lay for a long +time to-day on the thick herbage which crowns the splendid cliffs, +"the Gobbins", near the entrance of Belfast Lough, watching through +a telescope the proceedings of some Gannets, or Solan Geese. This +bird, which is allied to the Pelicans rather than the Geese, is of a +large size, much bigger than a Gull, from which, also, it may be +distinguished at a distance by its greater length of neck, the intense +whiteness of its plumage, and the black tip of its wide-spreading +wings. But apart from all these distinguishing characters, its mode +of fishing is, by itself, sufficient to mark it. In flight it is eminently +wandering; it circles round and round, or describes a figure of +eight, at a varying elevation above the water, in quest of herrings, +pilchards, or other fish whose habit is to swim near the surface. +When it has discovered a prey, it suddenly arrests its flight, partially +closes its wings, and descends head foremost with a force sufficient +to make a <i>jet d'eau</i> visible two or three miles off, and to carry itself +many feet downwards. When successful, it brings its prize to the +surface, and devours it without troubling itself about mastication. +If unsuccessful, it rises immediately, and resumes its hunting. It +is sometimes seen swimming, perhaps to rest itself, for I did not +observe that it ever dived on these occasions. My companion told +me that the fishermen on the coast of Ireland say that, if chased +by a boat when seen swimming, it becomes so terrified as to be unable +to rise. The real reason may be that it is gorged with food. +He was once in a boat on the Lough, when, a Gannet being seen a +long way ahead, it was determined to give chase, and ascertain +whether the statement was correct. As the boat drew near, the +Gannet endeavoured to escape by swimming; but made no attempt +either to dive or to use its wings. After a pretty long chase, the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> +bowman secured it in spite of a very severe bite which it inflicted +on his hand, and carried it home in triumph. It did not appear +to have received any injury, and when released, in the evening +of the same day, swam out to sea with great composure. A fisherman +in Islay told me that in some parts of Scotland a singular +method of catching Gannets is adopted. A herring is fastened to +a board and sunk a few feet deep in the sea. The sharp eye of the +Gannet detects the fish, and the bird, first raising itself to an elevation +which experience or instinct has taught it to be sufficient to +carry it down to the requisite depth, pounces on the fish, and in the +effort penetrates the board to which the fish is attached. Being +thus held fast by the beak, and unable to extricate itself, it is +drowned. Gannets are frequently caught in the herring-nets, at +various depths below the surface. Diving after the fish, they become +entangled in the nets, and are thus captured in a trap not +intended for them. They perform good service to fishermen, by +indicating at a great distance the exact position of the shoals of +fish.'</p> + +<p>Gannets breed in great numbers on several parts of our rocky +coast; from the extreme north to Lundy Island in the Bristol +Channel. The two most important stations are St. Kilda and the +Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth. On this rock stand the ruins of +the once formidable stronghold of the Douglas family, the Castle +of Tantallan. In circumference the island is about a mile; on the +northern side it rises to an elevation of eight hundred feet, whilst +towards the south it shelves almost down to the sea. The isolated +position of this rock, and the difficulty of landing on it, have rendered +it a fit retreat for sea-fowl of various kinds; and as the proprietor +'preserves' them, they flourish without sensible diminution. The +discharge of a gun causes the whole of the colony to take wing; +and as they rise into the air, the eye of the spectator is dazzled by +the mazy intercrossings of white wings, the ear bewildered by the +discord of confused screamings. A visit paid at sunrise, when +flocks of various kinds are wheeling about in all directions, will +more than reward the early riser for his activity, for Scotland scarcely +offers a more interesting sight. Of all the numerous birds which +frequent the rock, the Solan Goose is the most abundant and most +profitable, as almost the only revenue of the island accrues from +the sale of these birds to the country people of the mainland, +and at the Edinburgh market, where they have fetched, for the last +century and a half, the unvarying price of two shillings and fourpence +a head. The size of the Gannet is somewhat larger than +that of the domestic Goose.</p> + +<p>'The only parts of the island where they can be approached are +on the south and west sides. They sit lazily and stupidly on and +about their nests, which are composed of a mass of weeds and grass, +and will suffer themselves to be stroked, patted, or knocked on the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> +head, as the case may be, with a most philosophical gravity. They +are frequently shot; but as they then generally fall into the sea, +a boat has to be on the alert, or they are soon washed away. The +plan of lowering a man by means of a rope held by the others, is +also adopted; but this is most dangerous. The Frigate Pelican +[The Skua?] often chases a successful Gannet till the terrified bird +disgorges its prey, which the pursuer seizes before it reaches the +water.'</p> + +<p>'A Solan Goose to most people would not afford a delicious meal, +being a rank, coarse, fishy dish; but many of the poorer classes +eat them with a relish—nay, as a delicacy—and during the winter +would fare ill had they not these birds for food.'</p> + +<p>The Gannet lays but one egg; and the young bird is nourished +on semi-liquid food disgorged by the parent. On its first exclusion +from the egg its skin is naked, and of a bluish black hue, but is +soon covered with a white down. Through this the true feathers +appear, which are black, the adult plumage being pure white.</p> + +<p>For an interesting account of the capture of these birds at St. +Kilda, the reader is referred to Professor James Wilson's <i>Voyage +round the Coast of Scotland</i>. From a calculation once made of +the number of Gannets consumed by each family in a year, on this +island, it appeared that the total secured, not taking into account +a large number which could not be reached for various reasons, +was 22,600: and this number was considered to be below the +average, the season being a bad one.</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_HERODIONES_2" id="ORDER_HERODIONES_2"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER HERODIONES</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2">FAMILY ARDEIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE COMMON HERON<br /> +ÁRDEA CINÉREA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">A crest of elongated bluish black feathers at the back of the head; similar +feathers of a lustrous white hanging from the lower part of the neck; +scapulars similar, silver grey; forehead, neck, middle of the belly, edge +of the wings, and thighs, pure white; back of the head, sides of the +breast, and flanks, deep black; front of the neck streaked with grey; +upper plumage bluish grey; beak deep yellow; irides yellow; orbits +naked, livid; feet brown, red above; middle toe, claw included, much +shorter than the tarsus. In <i>young birds</i> the long feathers are absent; +head and neck ash-coloured; upper plumage tinged with brown; lower, +spotted with black. Length three feet two inches. Eggs uniform sea +green.</div> + +<p>The Heron, though a large bird, measuring three feet in length +from the point of the beak to the extremity of the tail, and four +feet and a half in breadth from the tip of one wing to the other, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> +weighs but three pounds and a half. Consequently, though not +formed for rapid flight, or endued with great activity of wing, its +body presents so large a surface to the air, that it can support itself +aloft with but a slight exertion. It is thus enabled, without fatigue, +to soar almost into the regions assigned to the Eagle and Vulture; +and when pursued by its natural enemies, the Falcons, to whom +it would fall an easy prey on account of the largeness of the mark +which its body would present to their downward swoop if it could +only skim the plains, it is enabled to vie with them in rising into +the air, and thus often eludes them.</p> + +<p>The Heron, though it neither swims nor dives, is, nevertheless, +a fisher, and a successful one, but a fisher in rivers and shallow +waters only, to human anglers a very pattern of patience and +resignation. Up to its knees in water, motionless as a stone, +with the neck slightly stretched out, and the eye steadily fixed, +but wide awake to the motion of anything that has life, the Heron +may be seen in the ford of a river, the margin of a lake, in a sea-side +pool, or on the bank of an estuary, a faultless subject for the +photographer. Suddenly the head is shot forward with unerring +aim; a small fish is captured, crushed to death, and swallowed +head foremost; an eel of some size requires different treatment, +and is worth the trouble of bringing to land, that it may be beaten +to death on the shingle; a large fish is impaled with its dagger-like +beak, and, if worth the labour, is carried off to a safe retreat, +to be devoured at leisure. If observers are to be credited, and +there is no reason why they should not, a full-grown Heron can +thus dispose of a fish that exceeds its own weight. A frog is swallowed +whole; a water rat has its skull split before it discovers its +enemy, and speedily is undergoing the process of digestion. Shrimps, +small crabs, newts, water beetles, all is fish that comes to its comprehensive +net; but if, with all its watchfulness, the look-out be +unsuccessful, it rises a few feet into the air, and slowly flaps itself +away to some little distance, where perhaps, slightly altering its +attitude, it stands on one leg, and, with its head thrown back, +awaits better fortune. While thus stationed it is mute; but as +it flies off it frequently utters its note, a harsh, grating scream, +especially when other birds of the same species are in the neighbourhood. +On these occasions it is keenly on the alert, descrying +danger at a great distance, and is always the first to give notice +of an approaching enemy, not only to all birds feeding near it on +the shore, but to any Ducks which may chance to be paddling in +the water. +<a name="FNanchor_1_30" id="FNanchor_1_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></p> + +<p>During a great portion of the year the Heron is a wanderer. I +have frequently seen it at least fifty miles distant from the nearest +heronry; but when it has discovered a spot abounding in food, +it repairs thither day after day for a long period.</p> + +<p>In the month of January, if mild, but as a rule in February, +Herons show a disposition to congregate, and soon after repair to +their old-established breeding-places, called Heronries. These are +generally lofty trees, firs or deciduous trees in parks, or even in +groves close by old family mansions. One at Kilmorey, by Loch +Gilphead, has long been frequented, though within a hundred +yards of the house. The nests, huge masses of sticks, a yard +across, lined with a little grass, and other soft materials, are placed +near each other, as many, sometimes, as a hundred in a colony, +<a name="FNanchor_2_31" id="FNanchor_2_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> or, +more rarely, they are placed among ivy-clad rocks, ruins, or even +on the ground. Each nest contains three to four eggs, on which +the female sits about three weeks, constantly fed by her partner +during the whole period of incubation. Two weeks later a second +clutch of eggs is sometimes laid and hatched off whilst the first +young are in the nest. The power of running would be of little +use to a young bird hatched at an elevation of fifty feet from the +ground; the young Herons are consequently helpless till they are +sufficiently fledged to perch on the branches of the trees, where +they are fed by their parents, who themselves perch with the +facility of the Rook. Indeed, the favourite position of these birds, +both old and young, is, during a considerable portion of the day, +on the upper branches of a lofty tree, whither, also, they often +repair with a booty too large to be swallowed at once.</p> + +<p>By a statute of Henry VIII the taking of Herons in any other +way than by hawking, or the long bow, was prohibited on a penalty +of half a mark; and the theft of a young bird from the nest was +visited with a penalty of ten shillings.</p> + +<p>Not to be acquainted with the noble art of Falconry was deemed +degrading: so that the saying, 'He does not know a Hawk from a +Heronshaw', was a common expression of contempt, now corrupted +into the proverb, 'He does not know a Hawk from a handsaw'.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_30" id="Footnote_1_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> A Heron in captivity has been known to perch on an old carriage-wheel, +in the corner of a courtyard, and to lie in wait for Sparrows and Martins. +One of the latter it was seen to pierce while flying, and immediately descending +with outspread wings to run to its trough, and, having several times +plunged in its prey, to swallow it at a gulp.</div> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_2_31" id="Footnote_2_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> Pennant counted eighty in one tree. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></div> + +<div class="caption3">THE NIGHT HERON<br /> +NYCTÍCORAX GRISEUS.</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, back, and scapulars, black, with blue and green reflections; on the +back of the head three very long narrow white feathers; lower part of +the back, wings, and tail, pearl-grey; forehead, streak over the eyes, and +all the lower parts, white; beak black, yellow at the base; irides red; +feet yellowish green. <i>Young birds</i> have no crest; the upper plumage +is dull brown streaked with yellow; wing-coverts and primaries marked +with fish-shaped streaks, which are yellowish; under parts dull white, +mottled with brown and ash; bill greenish; irides and feet brown. +Length twenty-one inches. Eggs pale blue.</div> + +<p>The Night Heron is a bird of wide geographical range; but, on +account of its nocturnal habits and the rarity of its occurrence +in this country, it has been little observed. It is, however, not +uncommon on migration. A specimen was brought to me at +Helston, Cornwall, about the year 1836, which had been shot in +the dusk of the evening, on Goonhilly Downs. Its long and delicate +crest had been stupidly tied into a knot, and by the bruised condition +of these feathers the specimen, if it still exists in any museum, +may yet be identified.</p> + +<p>The Night Heron is said to be not uncommon on the shores of +the Baltic, in the wide marshes of Bretagne and Lorraine, and on +the banks of the Rhone. It passes the day concealed among the +thick foliage of trees and shrubs, and feeds only by night. It builds +its nest in trees, and lays four or five eggs.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE COMMON BITTERN<br /> +BOTAURUS STELLÁRIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Moustaches and crown black; upper plumage yellowish rust-red, spotted +with dusky; the feathers of the neck elongated, marked with brown zigzag +lines; primaries barred with rust-red and dusky grey; plumage beneath +paler, marked with oblong dusky streaks; upper mandible brown, edged +with yellow; lower, orbits, and feet, greenish yellow; irides bright +yellow. Length two feet four inches. Eggs dingy green.</div> + +<p>Macgillivray, who was as well acquainted as most ornithologists +with birds haunting moors and swamps, admits that he never +heard one, and thinks that a brother naturalist, who describes what, +no doubt, he heard, mistook for the booming of the Bittern the +drumming of a Snipe. Lord Lilford tells us that a lady of his +acquaintance told him that as a young wife, living near marshes, +she often was kept awake by the booming of Bitterns.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p> + +<p>In Sir Thomas Browne's time, It was common In Norfolk, and was +esteemed a better dish than the Heron.</p> + +<p>Willughby, who wrote about the same time, 1676, says: +'The Bittern, or Mire-drum, it is said, makes either three or five +boomings at a time—always an uneven number. It begins to +bellow early in February, and continues during the breeding season. +The common people believe that it thrusts its beak into a reed, +and by the help of this makes its booming. Others maintain +that it imitates the lowing of an ox by thrusting its beak into +water, mud, or earth. They conceal themselves among rushes +and reeds, and not unfrequently in hedges, with the head and +neck erect. In autumn, after sunset, they are in the habit of +rising into the air with a spiral ascent, so high that they are lost +sight of. Meanwhile they utter a singular note, but not at all +resembling the characteristic 'booming'.</p> + +<p>It is called Botaurus, because it imitates <i>boatum tauri</i>, the bellowing +of a bull. Of 'Botaurus', the names 'Bitour' and Bittern +are evident corruptions; and the following names, in different +languages, are all descriptive of the same peculiar note: Butor, +Rordump, Myredromble, Trombone, Rohrtrummel, Rohrdommel, +and Rordrum.</p> + +<p>Of late years, so unusual has the occurrence become of Bitterns +breeding in this country, owing to collectors, that the discovery +of an egg in Norfolk has been thought worthy of being recorded +in the transactions of the Linnean Society; and even the appearance +of a bird at any season finds its way into the provincial newspapers +or the magazines devoted to natural history: Stuffed specimens +are, however, to be seen in most collections, where its form and +plumage may be studied, though its habits can only be learnt, at +least in England, from the accounts furnished by naturalists of a +past generation. It comes now only to be shot.</p> + +<p>The Bittern is a bird of wide geographical range, as it resorts, +more or less, to all countries of Europe and Asia. Specimens +are said to differ much in size, some being as large as the Heron, +others considerably less; but there is no reason to suppose that +they are of different species, a similar variation having been +observed in other birds, as in the Curlew, for example, of which I +have had in my possession at once four or five specimens all of +different dimensions.</p> + +<p>The Bittern builds its nest on the ground, and lays four brown +eggs, which are tinged with ash or green. The old bird, if wounded, +defends itself in the same way as the Heron.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CICONIIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE WHITE STORK<br /> +CICÓNIA ALBA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">General plumage white; scapulars and wings black; bill and feet red; orbits +naked, black; irides brown. <i>Young birds</i> have the wings tinged with +brown and the beak reddish black. Length three feet six inches. Eggs +white tinged with ochre.</div> + +<p>Sir Thomas Browne says, in his <i>Account of Birds found in Norfolk</i>: +'The <i>Ciconia</i>, or Stork, I have seen in the fens; and some have +been shot in the marshes between this [Norwich] and Yarmouth.' +His contemporary, Willughby, says:—'The Stork is rarely seen in +England; never, in fact, but when driven hither by the wind or +some accident. I have received from Dr. Thomas Browne, the +eminent naturalist, a figure drawn to the life, and a short description +of one which was captured in Norfolk.' Yarrell records +instances of a few others which have been killed, at distant intervals, +in various parts of England; but the Stork is so rare a visitor +with us, that I have no scruple in referring my readers, for a full +account of the habits of so interesting a bird, to some more comprehensive +work on the subject. The White Stork was, over 350 +years ago, only an irregular visitor to Great Britain.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE BLACK STORK<br /> +CICÓNIA NIGRA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage black, with green and purple reflections; under white; bill +and orbits red; irides brown; feet deep red. In <i>young birds</i> the bill, +orbits, and feet, are olive green; and the upper plumage is tinged with +rust-brown. Length nearly three feet. Eggs dull white, tinged with +green, and sometimes sparingly spotted with brown.</div> + +<p>A still rarer visitor in Great Britain than the White Stork, from +which it differs quite as much in habit as it does in colour; for +whereas the one is eminently sociable with birds of its own kind, and +devoted in its attachment to human dwellings, the other is a solitary +bird, shy and wary, avoiding at all times the sight of men and +their habitations. It is a rare bird in most countries of Europe, +but is common in several parts of Asia and the whole of the known +regions of Africa. It builds a large nest in a lofty tree, and lays +from two to five eggs.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PLATALEIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE SPOONBILL<br /> +PLATALÉA LEUCORODIA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">General plumage white; a large patch of reddish yellow on the breast; a crest +of long narrow white feathers pendent over the neck; lore, orbits, and +naked space on the neck, pale yellow; bill black, tipped with yellow; +irides red; feet black. <i>Young birds</i> want the yellow patch on the breast +and the occipital crest; portions of the wing black. Length thirty-one +inches. Eggs white, spotted with light red.</div> + +<p>Spoonbills do not appear to have been common at any time; +for though Sir Thomas Browne enumerates them among the birds of +Norfolk and Suffolk, where they build in heronries, his contemporary, +Willughby, knew them only as natives of Holland. This +bird is not unfrequent in East Anglia, and it is met with now and +again along the south coast, and has wandered up the Thames +valley.</p> + +<p>The Spoonbill is a migratory bird, building its nest and rearing +its young in the north of Europe and Asia, and retiring in autumn to +the shores of the Mediterranean or to Africa. It is remarkable not +only for the singular conformation of its bill, but for 'being one +of the very few which have been found to possess no true muscles +of the organ of voice; and no modulation of a single tone appears to +be possessed by the bird.'<a name="FNanchor_1_32" id="FNanchor_1_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a></p> + +<p>It builds its nest in high trees, or, when these are wanting, among +reeds and rushes; and lays four eggs.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_32" id="Footnote_1_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> Yarrell's <i>British Birds</i>.</div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<a name="ORDER_ANSERES_2" id="ORDER_ANSERES_2"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER ANSERES</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2">FAMILY ANATIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE GREY LAG GOOSE<br /> +ANSER CINEREUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Folded wings not reaching to the extremity of the tail; bill strong, orange-yellow, +the nail whitish; upper plumage ash-brown, many of the +feathers bordered with greyish white; under plumage, in front, light ash-grey, +barred on the flanks and belly with brown, behind pure white; +irides deep brown; legs dull flesh-colour. Eggs ivory white. Length +two feet ten inches.</div> + + +<p>The Geese characterized by having a large, ovate body, a long +neck, a short and stout beak, high at the base and bent down at +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> +the tip, adapted for cropping vegetable food; the wings are large +and powerful; the legs, placed under the centre of the body, +afford some facility in walking, and the webbed feet are eminently +fitted for paddling, but rarely employed in diving. They spend +the greater portion of the year in high latitudes, where their arrival +is celebrated with great rejoicings, as an indication of returning +summer. They are eminently gregarious, flying generally in the +form of a half-opened pair of compasses, with the angle in front, +or in an irregular wavy line, and uttering a loud harsh cry, which +may often be heard some time before the birds themselves are in +sight.</p> + +<p>The present species, which is supposed by some to be the origin +of the domestic Goose, was formerly of common occurrence in +Great Britain, but is now much less frequent. It breeds in northern +Scotland, coming south from autumn to spring. On their arrival +in autumn, they resort to marshes and swamps, meadows, corn-fields, +and turnip-fields, especially such as are remote from human +dwellings. There they feed by day on such vegetable substances +as fall in their way, but they are said to prefer the young shoots of +corn to any other kind of food. So wary are they and difficult +of approach, that a 'Wild Goose chase' is a proverbial expression +for an unsuccessful enterprise. At night they retire to the broad +flats near the sea, or to the mouths of rivers, where they roost on +the ground. Yarrell is of opinion 'that the term "lag", as applied +to this Goose, is either a modification of the English word "lake", +the Latin <i>lacus</i>, or perhaps an abbreviation of the Italian "lago", +from which latter country it is even probable that we may originally +have obtained this our domesticated race.'</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE<br /> +ANSER ALBIFRONS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Folded wings reaching a little beyond the tail; bill orange-yellow, the nail +white; a large space on the forehead pure white, surrounded by a dusky +band; upper plumage ash-brown, varied with grey, dull white, and bluish +black; under plumage in front brownish white, with patches and bars +of black; behind white; irides dark brown; feet orange. Length two +feet three inches. Eggs white, tinged with buff.</div> + +<p>A regular visitor to the British Isles, coming late in the autumn +to stay till spring, usually seen in small flocks of from eight to twenty +birds; it is entirely graminivorous, and, when undisturbed, usually +rests at night in any grass-field where it may have been feeding +in the afternoon.</p> + +<p>Its habits, during its stay in these latitudes, are similar to those of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> +the other species, but it is said by Mr. Selby to 'vary from the Bean +Goose in preferring low and marshy districts to the upland and +drier haunts of that bird, and in these localities subsists on the +aquatic grasses, being very seldom seen to frequent corn or stubble +fields'. In Norfolk it has frequently been seen associated with the +Bean Goose. It has never been observed to remain with us after +April, when it betakes itself to the regions bordering on the Arctic +circle. In Lapland it is very abundant, and in the fur countries +of North America it was seen in spring by Dr. Richardson in large +flocks travelling northwards. It breeds in the woody districts +skirting Mackenzie's River, and in the islands of the Arctic Sea.</p> + +<p>The white forehead of this bird tends to confirm the opinion +maintained by some authors that the common Domestic Goose owes +its origin to this species.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE BEAN GOOSE<br /> +ANSER SÉGETUM</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Folded wings exceeding the tail in length; bill long, orange, the base and nail +black; upper plumage ash-brown; the wings darker, edged with +greyish white; under plumage in front dirty white, behind pure white; +irides dark brown; legs orange; beak yellowish white. Length thirty-four +inches. Eggs white.</div> + +<p>The several species constituting the group to which the Bean +Goose belongs resemble each other very nearly in all respects. All +are gregarious, fly high in the form of a V, or in an undulating line, +uttering repeated cries, which no one who has heard a domesticated +Goose can fail to recognize; they pass the night for the most part +on broad flats near the sea, and at early dawn repair inland to their +feeding-grounds. The Bean Goose is, on the authority of Yarrell, +next to the Brent Goose, the commonest and most numerous as a +species among our Wild Geese. In Scotland it is far more abundant +than in England, being seen in large flocks from October to April, +especially at the periods of migration to and from its summer +quarters. But it does not altogether desert the British Isles during +the intervening months. A few are said annually to remain, and +breed in the lakes of Westmoreland, and in the Hebrides. In +Sutherlandshire, also, many remain all the year—a fact thoroughly +ascertained by Mr. Selby, who gives an interesting account of several +young broods which he saw on the lochs, some of which he captured. +They construct their nests among the tussocks of sedge or grass +hillocks on the islands, and lay from three to four eggs, smaller than +those of the Common Goose, but of a similar shape and colour.</p> + +<a name="Plate_35"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_35.png" width="432" height="696" alt="Plate_35" title="Plate_35. White Fronted Goose; Pink-footed Goose; Grey Lag Goose; and Bean Goose [M]. [p. 178." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_36"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_36.png" width="431" height="698" alt="Plate_36" title="Plate_36. Sheldrake [M]; Shoveler [M]; Gadwall [M]; and Wild Duck [M] [F]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE PINK-FOOTED GOOSE<br /> +ANSER BRACHYRHYNCHUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Folded wings not reaching to the extremity of the tail; bill shorter than +the head, narrow and much contracted towards the tip, pink, with the +nail and base black; head and neck reddish brown; rest of the upper +plumage ash-grey, edged with greyish white; under plumage in front +fawn-colour, behind white; irides dark brown; feet pink, tinged with +vermilion. Length two feet four inches. Eggs dull yellowish white.</div> + +<p>It is said that most, if not all the various species of wild Geese +have strong local attachments; that flocks composed of one particular +kind are in the habit of visiting, year after year, the same +spot, to the exclusion of other species, which may, nevertheless, +be found frequenting places of like character at no great distance. +Of the truth of the statement I met with signal confirmation +in the severe winter of 1860-1. I then spent several days on +the coast of Norfolk, for the purpose of watching the habits +of Waders and sea-fowl. Without indulging in the chase of wild +Geese, I heard and saw a great many flocks, of which some were +unmistakably Brent Geese; others, of a larger size and a different +colour, I was obliged to include under the comprehensive name of Grey +Geese. The Brents, I found, regularly repaired to the salt marshes +adjoining Thornham Harbour, which, I was told, was their usual +place of resort. The others were known to alight only in the meadows +near Holkham. Having heard that several had been shot at the +latter place, I procured one, and on examination it proved to be the +present species, up to that time entirely unknown to me. On +consulting Yarrell, I found the following passage:—'In January +of the present year, 1841, I was favoured with a letter from the +Hon. and Rev. Thomas Keppel, of Warham Rectory, near Holkam, +informing me that a Pink-footed Goose had been killed by his +nephew, Lord Coke, at Holkam. This bird was shot out of a flock +of about twenty, but nothing particular was observed in their +flight or habits.' The bird brought to me had been shot, along with +many others, out of similar flocks, in exactly the same place, at +an interval of twenty years; and I have no doubt that the many +other specimens which have been shot there between the above +two dates, belonged to the same species, the characters which distinguish +it from the common Bean Goose being not sufficiently +striking to attract the notice of sea-side gunners. The habits of +the species appear not to differ from those of its congener; it arrives +and departs about the same time, and it frequents the marshes +and uplands of Norfolk, and in winter the east coast of Scotland.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE BRENT GOOSE<br /> +BERNICLA BRENTA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, beak, neck, breast, feet, quills, and tail, black; on each side of the +neck a patch of white with a few black feathers intermixed; upper +plumage dingy; all the tail-coverts white; belly brownish grey, barred +on the flanks with greyish white. Length twenty-two to twenty-three +inches. Eggs greyish white.</div> + +<p>The Wild Geese which we have hitherto been considering feed on +grass, clover, and grain, in quest of which they resort to inland +marshes, meadows, and arable land; but the Brent is a decidedly +marine bird. During its annual visits to our shores it stays out +at sea by night, cradled by the billows, and at early dawn repairs +to the muddy flats and sand-banks, where it feeds exclusively on +marine plants, especially laver and zostéra. As soon as these are +left bare by the ebbing tide, the Brents are taught by their instinct +that they have no time to lose, and hasten in 'skeins' or 'gaggles' +making in their flight a trumpet-like noise which, heard at a distance, +resembles that of a pack of harriers or fox-hounds in full cry. They +prefer to take their stand on those parts of the ooze which are +least intersected by creeks, and there, if left undisturbed, they +continue to feed without intermission till the rising tide lifts them +off their feet. Then, away to sea again! or, if the weather be boisterous, +they seek for shelter in the rivers and estuaries. They are +local in their attachments, returning annually to the same feeding-grounds. +They do not associate from choice with other species, +for though they may be frequently seen feeding in the vicinity of +various Waders, they form no society with them, and are, indeed, +in quest of different food. sea-side fowlers are well acquainted +with the peculiarity of their habits, and not only know where to +look for them when they are settled, but at what points they can +most easily be intercepted, going and returning. It is the custom +of the fowler to conceal himself behind some lurking-place, natural +or artificial; or, if this be wanting, to stretch himself on the ground. +Then, as a skein, unconscious of danger, approaches, he suddenly +shows himself; the birds, panic-struck, huddle together before +they alter their line of flight, and the sportsman fires into the midst +of them.</p> + +<p>They are the most abundant of all the Geese which frequent +our shores, and are killed in great numbers and sent to market. +They come to us in November and remain till late in February, +when they begin to migrate in successive flights, the youngest bird +staying until April. It is not believed that they ever remain to +breed, but that they repair to the Arctic regions, and make their +nests of withered herbage in marshy ground.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE BERNICLE GOOSE<br /> +BERNICLA LEUCOPSIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Forehead, sides of the head, and throat, pure white; a dark streak between the +eyes and bill; head/neck, quills, and tail, black; rest of the upper plumage +undulated transversely with ash-grey, black, and dull white; lower +plumage white, tinged on the flanks with grey; irides dusky-brown; +bill and feet black. Length two feet one inch. Eggs greenish white.</div> + +<p>This beautiful bird occurs chiefly on the west side of Great Britain +in winter. 'It then more frequently retires to the sea than to +the lakes during its periods of repose, or when driven from its feeding-grounds. +A large flock then presents a beautiful spectacle, +as the birds sit lightly on the water, and when advancing elevate +their necks. Not less beautiful do they seem when on wing; now +arranged in long lines, ever undulating; at one time extending in the +direction of their flight; at another obliquely, or at right angles +to it, sometimes in an angular figure, and again mingling together. +Their voice is clear, and rather shrill, and comes agreeably on the ear +when the cries of a large flock come from a considerable distance'. +In England it is far less common, but occasionally resorts to marshes +both on the eastern and western coast. The mythical fragment of +ancient natural history, that the Bernicle is the product of a tree, +is too trite to require repetition here.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE WHOOPER SWAN<br /> +CYGNUS MÚSICUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Whole plumage pure white, the head and nape sometimes slightly tinged with +yellow; lower half of the bill quadrangular, yellow, upper black; lore +and a great portion of the edge of the upper mandible yellow; irides +brown; legs black; tail of twenty feathers. <i>Young birds</i> have the +plumage grey; lore flesh-colour. Length five feet; breadth seven feet +ten inches. Eggs dull white, tinged with greenish.</div> + +<p>The ancient fable that Swans sing most sweetly before their death +did not survive the age which invented it. Pliny disbelieved +it, and, though the assertion may have been resuscitated from +time to time as a poetic fiction, it has found no place in works on +natural history.</p> + +<p>The Swan is not musical; it rests its claims to our admiration +on other grounds, unchallenged and indisputable; the unsullied +white of its plumage is an apt emblem of purity, and the elegance +of its movements in the water has become proverbial. The present +species, which owes its name to its powerful voice, is said to be +not quite so graceful as the tame Swan, but on land it is far +more active. A bird which has been winged by a sportsman, +and has fallen on the land, can only be overtaken by smart running. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> +In Iceland, the summer resort of these birds, they are much sought +after for the sake of their down. In the month of August, when the +old birds, having cast their quill-feathers, are unable to fly, the +natives assemble in bodies in the places where the Swans collect, +and mounted on small but active horses chase them through the +marshes, and ride many of them down; but the greater number +are caught by the dogs, which always seize the birds by the neck, +and so encumber them that they are then easily overtaken. But +it is not the habit of Swans to remain much on land; the perfect +ease with which they float and swim indicates that the water is their +element, and a glance at their long necks tells at once that their +nature is to feed in shallow water or on the margin of deep lakes, +where with their strong bills they either tear up the stems and +roots of aquatics from the bottom, or crop at their pleasure from +the banks. To this kind of food they add such insects, molluscs +and worms as come within their reach; and (when sailing in salt +water) sea-weeds, and especially the long, ribbon-like leaves of +zostéra. During summer they frequent the most secluded swamps +and lakes in the wooded districts of the north, and build a very large +nest in a spot unapproachable by human feet. A few go no farther +north than the Orkneys and Shetlands, but their headquarters +are Siberia, Iceland, Lapland, and Hudson's Bay.</p> + +<p>After they have recovered from their summer moult, they migrate +southwards, and arrive in Scotland, sometimes in large flocks, +early in October. Mr. St. John, in his <i>Wild Sports of the Highlands</i>, +gives an interesting account of their habits while in this +country. He went in pursuit of a flock which had selected for +their winter feeding-place some fresh-water lochs about half a mile +from the sea. They passed the day mostly on the salt water, and +in the evening came inland to feed. He found them on one of the +smaller lochs, some standing high and dry on the grassy islands +trimming their feathers after their long voyage, and others feeding +on the grass and weeds at the bottom of the loch, which in some +parts was shallow enough to allow of their pulling up the plants +which they fed on as they swam about, while numbers of wild +Ducks of different kinds, particularly Wigeons, swarmed round +them, and often snatched the pieces of grass from the Swans as +soon as they had brought them to the surface, to the great annoyance +of the noble birds, who endeavoured in vain to drive away +these most active little depredators, who seemed determined to +profit by their labours. 'I observed', he says, 'that frequently all +their heads were under the water at once, excepting one—but +invariably <i>one</i> had kept his head and neck perfectly erect, and +carefully watched on every side to prevent their being taken by +surprise; when he wanted to feed, he touched any passer-by, +who immediately relieved him in his guard, and he in his turn +called on some other Swan to take his place as sentinel.'</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p> + +<p>Swans, like wild Geese, are in the habit of returning every year +to the same district of country, and in passing to and from their +feeding-ground keep closely to the same line of flight, a peculiarity +of which fowlers take advantage by lying in ambuscade somewhere +beneath their aërial road.</p> + +<p>When disturbed on the water they generally huddle together +and utter a low cry of alarm before they take flight. Owing to +their great weight they have not the power of rising suddenly into +the air, but flap along the water, beating the surface with their +great wings, some twenty or thirty yards. The flapping noise +made while this process is going on, may be heard at a great +distance.</p> + +<p>In severe winters, flocks of Whoopers, Whistling Swans, or Elks, +as they are variously called, come farther south, and may be +observed from time to time on different parts of the coast.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">BEWICK'S SWAN<br /> +CYGNUS BEWICKI</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Whole plumage pure white; bill black, orange-yellow at the base; irides +dark; feet black; tail of eighteen feathers. <i>Young birds</i> greyish brown; +immature specimens tinged on the head and belly with rust-red. Length +three feet nine inches; breadth forty-six to fifty. Eggs dull white, tinged +with brown.</div> + +<p>Bewick's Swan is distinguished from the Whooper, not only by +the characters given above, but by strongly marked anatomical +features, which were first pointed out by Mr. Yarrell, who, with +the modesty and generosity for which he was noted, gave it its +present name; 'Thus devoting it to the memory of one whose +beautiful and animated delineations of subjects in natural history +entitle him to this tribute.'</p> + +<p>In severe winters it is fairly frequent on the coasts of England, +and even abundant in Scotland. In the case of distant flocks the +only criterion is size; and as this species is one-third less than the +Whooper, there is little probability of an experienced observer +being mistaken in the identity.</p> + +<p>In their habits they closely resemble their congeners, but are +less graceful in their movements on the water, and spend a larger +portion of their time on land.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE COMMON SHELDRAKE<br /> +TADORNA CORNUTA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, throat, and upper back black, with green reflections; lower parts +of the neck and back, flanks, rump and tail (except the black tip) white; +from the shoulders a broad band of bright chestnut, which meets on the +breast, passing into a broad, blotched, black band, which passes down the +abdomen nearly to the tail; under tail-coverts pale reddish yellow; +scapulars black; wing-coverts white; secondaries chestnut; primaries +black; speculum bronzed green and purple; bill, and protuberance at +the base, red; irides brown; feet crimson-red. The <i>female</i> wants the +red protuberance on the bill, and the colours generally are somewhat +less bright. Length twenty to twenty-two inches. Eggs white, tinged +with green.</div> + +<p>The Sheldrake is the largest and among the handsomest of the +British Ducks, and if easy of domestication would be no doubt a +common ornament of our lakes and rivers. It is, however, in +Great Britain at least, a marine bird; though from one of its +French names, <i>Canard des Alpes</i>, it would seem also to frequent +the large continental lakes. Numerous attempts have been made +to familiarize it with inland fresh-water haunts to which some other +species readily take, but they have rarely succeeded, while to +induce it to breed at a distance from its sea-side home has proved +yet more difficult.</p> + +<p>It differs from the majority of the Duck tribe in remaining on +the coast of Britain throughout the year. In South Wales, for +example, it is seen in winter and early spring, but about the breeding +season it disappears for a few weeks. During this interval it +is employed in incubation, but when its brood is hatched it is seen +again, accompanied by a troop of ducklings, feeding in the creeks +and marshy places. When thus discovered, the young broods +are commonly hunted down by sea-side idlers for the sake of being +sold to any one who cares to try the experiment of rearing them.</p> + +<p>On the coast of Norfolk it is more usual to search for the nests, +in order to secure the eggs and place them under a tame Duck or +domestic Hen. The male and female keep together, not only +during incubation, but until the young are able to provide for themselves. +It derives the name 'Burrow Duck', by which it is also +known, from its custom of making its nest either in the burrow +of a rabbit or in a hole hollowed out by itself. The nest is constructed +of such herbage as abounds in the neighbourhood; it is +lined with down plucked from the breast of the parent bird, and +contains from ten to twelve eggs.</p> + +<p>Pennant (vol. ii, p. 257) says of these birds: "They inhabit +the sea-coasts and breed in rabbit-holes. When a person attempts +to take their young, the old birds show great address in diverting +his attention from the brood; they will fly along the ground as if +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> +wounded, till the former can get into a place of security, and then +return and collect them together."</p> + +<p>From this instinctive cunning, Turner, with good reason, imagines +them to be the <i>chenalōpex</i>, or <i>Tox-Goose</i>, of the ancients; the natives +of the Orkneys to this day call them the <i>Sly-Goose</i>, from an attribute +of that quadruped.</p> + +<p>Sheldrake are more numerous during the summer in North +Britain than in the South, but in winter they are driven by the +freezing of their feeding-grounds to more temperate climates. Here +numbers of them meet the fate of wild fowl generally, and specimens +are often to be seen exposed in the English markets, though their +flesh is held in little estimation as food.</p> + +<p>Sheld means parti-coloured. 'Shelled' is still current in the +eastern counties of England. Shelled duck is the more proper +appellation. Howard Saunders calls it Sheld-duck always.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE WILD DUCK<br /> +ANAS BOSCAS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head and neck dark green; at the base of the neck a white collar; upper +parts marked with fine zigzag lines of ash-brown and grey; breast +chestnut; lower parts greyish white, marked with fine zigzag ash-brown +lines; speculum dark blue with purple and green reflections, bordered +above and below with black and white; four middle feathers of the tail +curled upwards; bill greenish yellow; irides red-brown; feet orange. +Length twenty-four inches. <i>Female</i> smaller; plumage mottled with +various shades of brown and grey; throat whitish; speculum as in the +<i>male</i>; all the tail-feathers straight. Eggs greenish white.</div> + +<p>Its size, abundance, and value as an article of food, have given +to the Wild Duck an importance which belongs to few other British +birds; and the modes of capturing it are so varied and interesting +that they are often to be met with described in works not exclusively +devoted to natural history. For this reason I shall in great measure +confine my notice of this bird to such particulars in its history as +the reader may probably have an opportunity of verifying by +his own observation in the course of his rambles among places +which it habitually frequents.</p> + +<p>The term Wild Duck', properly applicable to the female bird +only ('Mallard' being the distinctive name of the male), is generally +employed to include both sexes. The difference in the plumage +of the two is very great, as, indeed, is the case with all those varieties +of the same bird which, under the name of 'Tame Ducks,' have +altered the least from their natural wild type. Yet in the summer +months, when both sexes moult,<a name="FNanchor_1_33" id="FNanchor_1_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> the Mallard puts off the whole +of his characteristic gay plumage, and appears in the sober brown +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> +garb of the Duck. It is only, in fact, from October to May that the +Mallard can be distinguished from his partner by his markings. +At this season, too, young birds, so far as they are fledged, are +of the same tone of colouring. Domesticated birds are subject +to the same change; but a reason for this singular metamorphosis +no naturalist, as far as I am aware, has ventured to assign.</p> + +<p>Wild Ducks hold a prominent place among birds of the most +extensive distribution, being 'indigenous to the greater part of the +northern hemisphere'.<a name="FNanchor_2_34" id="FNanchor_2_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> In consequence of this wide range they +must of necessity frequent many districts highly favourable to +their preservation; they are therefore numerous. Equally well +adapted for travelling by sea and through the air, and capable of +enduring great variations of heat and cold, their presence may be +expected wherever a tract of country occurs calculated to supply +them with food and opportunities for nidification. As long as +England abounded in marshes, and her rivers ran through wastes +rarely frequented by man, Wild Ducks were numerous in many +counties where they are now but rarely seen. Many have retired +before draining and civilization, yet they never totally desert us. +In most districts where there are rivers lined with reeds, even not so +very far removed from the sound of the steam-engine, one may, +by cautiously and quietly guiding one's steps, fall in with a brood +of active ducklings sifting the ooze, with the instinct of their kind, +for minute insects; flapping along the water in chase of a fly, or +paddling among the reeds on the look-out for anything good to +eat. The matron of the party, with a proud consciousness of her +dignity as sentinel and protector, preserves a more stately demeanour, +but, with this slight difference, is similarly occupied. As you +approach she is the first to descry you; with a homely 'quack', +differing in no respect from the note of the domesticated bird, +she sounds an alarm, and the whole family, mother and children, +are quickly concealed among the reeds. It is possible, by long-continued +persecution, to induce her to rise, but she does so reluctantly, +and even then, unless you are such a barbarian as to +shoot her, all is yet safe. The young will hide themselves securely +until danger is past, and she, not far off, though unseen, is circling +round her helpless brood. In an islet, probably, of the river; in a +tuft of reeds surrounded by quagmire; among thick bushes near +the bank; under the stump of an alder, or even high up among +the branches, she formerly had her nest, composed of grass, and +lined with down from her own breast; and at no great distance +from this her offspring are yet lingering. The latter could swim +immediately that they left the egg, but their bodies are large and +heavy in proportion to the size of their wings, so that they will be +unable to fly until nine or ten weeks old, when they will be thoroughly +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> +fledged, and only distinguishable from their parent by their smaller +size.</p> + +<p>From the rapidity with which young Ducks 'scutter' along the +surface of the water, using both feet and wings, they are called +by sportsmen, 'flappers'; and from the same habit, no doubt, the +children's game of 'Ducks-and-drakes' was named. The word is +one with which I have been familiar, like most other people, from +my earliest years, yet I never thought of its etymology until I was +passing, a few weeks since, in a steamer down Loch Tarbet. The +boat disturbed a party of 'flappers' which were feeding near the +shore, and as they half flew, half paddled away at a rapid rate, the +sport and the name suggested themselves to my mind together. +It is mostly absent from the northern districts of Scotland in winter.</p> + +<p>In marshy districts, both in England and Scotland, these birds +remain all the year round; but their numbers are greatly augmented +in winter by the arrival of large flocks from the north. These +fly mostly by night, in long lines, and proceed to the fens and salt +marshes, where they feed until daylight. They then put out to +sea, and rest, floating on the water, until dusk; and it is while they +are on their way to and from these feeding-grounds that the sea-side +gunners do the greatest execution among them. They fly +mostly in small parties, and utter no note; but if after dusk a +shot be fired in the vicinity of a marsh or of a piece of reclaimed +land intersected by ditches, it is followed by a concert of 'quacks' +from all sides, which proves that however small the parties may +have been, the number of Ducks collectively must be very great.</p> + +<p>In the neighbourhood of the salt marshes in the eastern counties, +one may meet, in severe winter weather, just before dusk, little +knots of men setting out on ducking expeditions. Each is furnished +with a spade, a bag of straw, and a gun. Experience has taught +these men that the line of flight usually taken by the birds is along a +narrow creek or arm of the sea, which has on either side a high +muddy bank. For such a point the gunners are making. The use of +the spade is to dig a hole for concealment in the mud, and the straw +is intended to furnish a dry seat. It must be a wearisome occupation +to sit here hour after hour, with nothing to do but to hope that birds +are coming; and when they come matters are not much mended; +for if the shot be successful it will never do to leave the hiding-place +in order to pick up the booty, or another chance may be +missed. Three or four hours are thus spent, and on moonlight +nights a longer time. The slain birds are then collected, a few +hours are given to rest, and in the morning twilight the same +scene is re-enacted.</p> + +<p>When it is desired to construct a decoy,<a name="FNanchor_3_35" id="FNanchor_3_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> a quiet, shallow pond +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> +is selected, edged with reeds, and having an extent of from two to +fifty acres or more. From the edge of this are dug, at various +points, curved creeks, called 'pipes', broad at the mouth, and +contracting till the banks meet. Over each of these pipes is thrown +a net, supported on arches made of hoops; the first about ten +feet high, the others diminishing in size, and the whole ending in a +bag-net, or 'purse'. On each bank of the pipes are erected screens +made of reeds, high enough to conceal a man. Previously to commencing +operations the decoy-man has let loose on the pond a few +tame Ducks, closely resembling wild birds in plumage, who are +familiar with his person and have been trained to come at his call. +Accompanied by a little dog, 'a piper', he stations himself behind +a screen, near the mouth of a pipe which faces the wind, choosing +this position because Ducks prefer to swim against the wind and to +feed on a lee shore. When the pond is well stocked with birds he +throws some corn on the water near the mouth of a pipe, and makes +a low whistle. At the familiar sound the 'coy-ducks' hasten to +the spot, and, if all be well, are followed by a portion of the wild +birds. The piper is then let loose, and immediately runs to the +water's edge. The Wild Ducks, either from curiosity, or some +unknown motive, paddle towards him. The ruse succeeding so far, +the piper is made to appear for a moment beyond the next screen, +and so on until a party of Ducks have been lured so far up the pipe +as to be out of sight of those remaining in the pond. The decoy-man, +who has all the while been lying hid near the first screen, then +shows himself to his intended victims, who, in their flight, hurry +on to the 'purse', and are caught and dispatched at leisure. All +this time the coy-ducks, if well trained, have remained at the mouth +of the pipe, feeding, and unconsciously enticing new-comers into +the snare.</p> + +<p>That this method of capturing wild-fowl is effective, may be +inferred from the fact that decoys of a precisely similar kind have +been worked ever since the time of Willughby (1676), who describes +them at length. A Son of the Marshes gives a fuller account +of Duck decoys in <i>Wild-Fowl and Sea-Fowl</i>.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_33" id="Footnote_1_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> Formerly spelt 'mute', from the Latin <i>muto</i>, to change.</div> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_2_34" id="Footnote_2_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> Yarrell, vol. iii. p. 273.</div> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_3_35" id="Footnote_3_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> Decoy, a corruption of Duck-coy, from the Dutch <i>kooi</i>, a cage or pen. +See <i>Ray and Willughby's Ornithology</i>, p. 286, where, mention being made of +a method of capturing wild-fowl which had been introduced into England +from Holland, the following passage occurs: 'Piscinas hasce cum allectatricibus +et reliquo suo apparatu <i>Decoys</i> seu <i>Duck-coys</i> vocant, allectatrices +<i>Coy-ducks</i>.'</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE GADWALL<br /> +ANAS STRÉPERA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head and neck light grey, speckled with brown; back and breast dark grey, +the feathers ending in crescent-shaped whitish lines; belly white, speckled +with brown; small wing-coverts and tip of the wing chestnut; greater +coverts, rump, and tail-coverts black; speculum white; bill black; irides +brown; feet orange. <i>Female</i> less distinctly marked. Length twenty +inches. Eggs buffy white, tinged with green.</div> + +<p>This species of Duck now breeds in Norfolk and Suffolk. Its food +and habits closely resemble those of the other Ducks; it is active, +and both swims and flies rapidly, preferring fresh-water lakes to +the sea, and resorting principally to such pieces of water as afford +it ready concealment. Meyer states that when flocks of Gadwalls +'fly about, they keep close together in a ball, but not in a line, and +may therefore be very soon distinguished from the common wild +Duck'. By day they mostly swim about in the open water, and +come near the shore to feed in the evening. They breed in the great +northern marshes of both hemispheres. The Gadwall is a surface +feeder and not a diving duck.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE SHOVELER<br /> +SPATULA CLYPEATA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head and neck glossy green; breast pure white; belly and flanks chestnut; +back brown; lesser wing-coverts pale blue; scapulars white, speckled +and spotted with black; speculum brilliant green; bill lead colour; +irides yellow; feet reddish orange. <i>Female</i>—head pale reddish brown, +streaked with dusky; upper plumage dusky brown, edged with reddish +white; under plumage reddish with large brown spots; the blue and +green of the wings less bright. Length twenty inches. Eggs greenish +buff.</div> + +<p>The Shoveler is well distinguished among all the British Ducks +by the form and structure of its bill, which in old birds is dilated +near the extremity into a form approaching that of a spoon, and is +furnished with a fringe of slender lamellæ, resembling a comb. Towards +the end of the bill these are not conspicuous as long as the +mouth of the bird is closed, but along the narrower part they are +prominent under all circumstances. So singular an apparatus +obviously indicates that the habit of the Shoveler is to sift water +and mud for the sake of securing the insects and worms which +they contain. It resorts, therefore, to the margins of fresh-water +lakes, ponds, and ditches, and is rarely seen at sea, nor does it ever +dive after its food in deep water, but frequently comes to land in +quest of slugs, snails, and worms. It is met with from time to time +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> +in many parts of England; a tolerable number remain to breed +with us, especially in the eastern counties. Its distaste for the sea +disqualifies it for inhabiting the Arctic Regions; consequently it +breeds in temperate countries, and flies farther to the south in +winter, having been observed on both shores of the Mediterranean, +and in some of the warm parts of India. The extensive drainage +of our fens and marshes has made it less frequent in England than +it formerly was; but in Holland and other continental countries it +is abundant. The nest, usually placed in a tuft of grass, is made of +dry grass mixed with down which the female plucks from her own +body, and contains eight or nine eggs.</p> + +<p>The Shoveler is not sufficiently common in this country to claim +any importance as an article of food, but its flesh is said to be superior +in flavour even to that of the famous Canvas-backed Duck of +America.</p> + +<p>The male annually undergoes a moult, or change of feathers, +similar to that described as taking place in the Mallard.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE PINTAIL DUCK<br /> +DAFILA ACÚTA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Two central tail-feathers much elongated, black; head and neck rich dark +brown; back and flanks marked with zigzag black and grey lines; front +of the neck, and a line on each side, white; speculum lustrous with green +and purple, bounded above by reddish brown, below by white; bill lead +colour and black. <i>Female</i>—central tail-feathers scarcely elongated; +head and neck reddish brown speckled with dusky; upper feathers dusky +edged with reddish white; lower plumage reddish yellow spotted with +brown; speculum dull yellowish brown; no white line on the side of +the neck. Length twenty-six inches. Eggs dull greenish white.</div> + +<p>The Pintail Duck is a northern bird which visits our shores in small +parties, during severe winters, and it nests sometimes in Ireland. +In form it is the most elegant of all the Ducks, and its movements are +described as being active and graceful. I have never myself had +the good fortune to see one alive, the only specimen I ever possessed +having been sent to me from Newcastle-on-Tyne, near which it was +shot at sea. It is not, however, considered a very rare species, +as the fishermen on the Norfolk coast, and perhaps elsewhere, are +well acquainted with it. Yarrell states, that on the coast of Dorsetshire +and Hampshire it is so well known as to have acquired a local +name, 'Sea Pheasant'.<a name="FNanchor_1_36" id="FNanchor_1_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> For this it is indebted to the length of its +tail, in which respect it differs from all the common Ducks. It +arrives early in autumn, and remains either on the coast or in the +inland marshes, until the return of spring; differing, indeed, little +in its habits from the common wild Duck. It is occasionally taken +in decoys in Norfolk, and has often been observed to associate with +Wigeons. Its note is described by Montagu as being 'extremely +soft and inward'.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_37"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_37.png" width="419" height="692" alt="Plate_37" title="Plate_37. Garganey [M]; Teal [M] [F]; Wigeon [M]; and Pintail Duck [M]. [p. 190." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_38"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_38.png" width="392" height="691" alt="Plate_38" title="Plate_38. Pochard [M] [F]; Tufted Duck [M]; Scaup [M]; and Golden Eye [M] [F]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p> + +<p>The Pintail Duck has a wide geographical range, as it either +breeds in or pays winter visits to the greater part of the northern +hemisphere. The male annually assumes in summer the plumage +of the female, resembling in this respect the Mallard, to be described +hereafter. The flesh is considered excellent, on which account it +is much sought after by wild-fowl shooters, both on the coast and +in the fens.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_36" id="Footnote_1_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> Willughby calls it the 'Sea Pheasant', or 'Cracker'.</div> + + +<div class="caption3">THE TEAL<br /> +QUERQUÉDULA CRÉCCA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head and neck bright chestnut; on each side of the head a broad green band +edged with buff, inclosing the eye and extending to the nape; lower +part of the neck, back, and flanks, marked with numerous black and +white zigzag lines; breast reddish white, with roundish black spots; +speculum black, green and purple, edged with white; bill dusky; irides +brown; feet ash. <i>Female</i>—upper plumage dusky brown mottled with +reddish grey; throat, cheeks and a band behind the eyes yellowish +white spotted with black; speculum black and green. Length fourteen +inches and a half. Eggs yellowish white.</div> + +<p>The Teal is the smallest, and by no means the least beautiful, among +the British Ducks. It is decidedly an indigenous species, as it +breeds in many parts both of Great Britain and Ireland, especially +in the eastern counties, in Welsh bogs, and northern mosses. It is +domesticated, too, without difficulty, and is generally to be found +on artificial and other pieces of water where the breed of water fowl +is encouraged. Its favourite summer resorts in England are lakes +which are lined with rushes, boggy places on the moors, and sedgy +rivers. It is an active bird, rising from the water with great facility, +and having a rapid flight. The few Teal which remain all the year +with us pair early in spring. I have observed them in couples on +the Kennet, in Berkshire, before winter had well departed. They +appear to have a strong attachment to any place on which they +have once fixed to build their nest, and return to the same locality +year after year; and the young brood remain in the neighbourhood +of their birth-place until pairing time in the following year. The +nest is usually placed among coarse herbage by the bank of a lake +or river, and is constructed of decayed vegetable matter, lined with +down and feathers, and contains from ten to fifteen eggs. The +number, however, of these birds to be found with us in summer is +as nothing compared with the immense flocks which visit our inland +lakes and swamps in winter. They are then much sought after for +the table, being considered more delicate eating than any others of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> +the tribe. In some parts they repair to salt marshes and the sea-shore, +where they share the fate of the Wild Duck.</p> + +<p>Willughby tells us that in his time the Teal and Wigeon, considered +as marketable goods, were classed together as 'half-fowl', their +value being only half that of the Wild Duck. In the fen counties +they are still ranked together as 'Half Ducks', and for the same +reason.</p> + +<p>The Teal has two notes, one a kind of quack, the other, uttered +by the male only during winter, which has been compared to the +whistle of the Plover. Its food consists of water insects, molluscs, +worms, and the seeds of grass and sedge. It is widely distributed +in Scotland.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE GARGANEY<br /> +QUERQUÉDULA CIRCIA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown dusky; over the eye a white band extending down the neck; throat +black; neck chestnut-brown streaked with white; breast pale yellowish +brown, with crescent-shaped black bars; back mottled with dusky grey +and brown; speculum greyish green bordered above and below with +white; bill dark brown; irides brown; feet grey. Length sixteen +inches. Eggs buff.</div> + +<p>This elegant little bird visits us in March and April, being at that +time, it is supposed, on its way to the south. Though not among +the rarest of the tribe, it is now of unusual occurrence, but was +formerly so regular a visitor in the eastern counties, that it acquired +the provincial name of 'Summer Teal'. Young birds are +commonly seen on the Broads of Norfolk in July and August, distinguishable +from young Teal by the lighter colour of their plumage, +more slender habit, and greater length of neck. The nests are built +among the thickest reed beds, and owing now to protection their +numbers are increasing. In Ireland it is the rarest of the well-known +ducks.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE WIGEON<br /> +MARÉCA PENÉLOPE</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>—head and upper part of the neck chestnut, the cheeks and crown +speckled with black; a broad cream-coloured band extending from the +bill to the crown; throat nearly black; a narrow collar of white and black +wavy lines extending over the back and flanks; lower part of the neck and +sides of the breast chocolate colour; scapulars velvet-black edged with +white; wing-coverts white; quills ash-brown; speculum glossy green, +with a black band above and below; tail wedge-shaped, two middle +feathers pointed, and the longest, dusky ash; under tail-coverts black; +bill bluish grey, the tip black; irides hazel; feet dusky grey. <i>Female</i>—head +and neck reddish brown, speckled with dusky; back and scapulars +dusky brown, the feathers edged with rusty red; wing-coverts brown, +edged with whitish; speculum without the green gloss; flanks reddish +brown. Length twenty inches. Eggs brownish white.</div> + +<p>The name Whew Duck, or Whewer, by which, this bird is +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> +known in some parts of England, was given to it on account of +its emitting a shrill whistle while flying. The name is an old one, +for Ray and Willughby describe it under the name of 'Whewer'. +Its French name <i>Siffleur</i>, 'Whistler', has reference to the same +peculiarity, and by this note the bird may often be distinguished +from others of the same tribe, when so far off that the eye fails +to identify it. The Wigeon ranks next to the Teal and Wild Duck +as an article of food, and, being more plentiful than either of these +birds, it is among the best known of all the Ducks which frequent +our shores. It breeds over most of Sutherland, and sparingly +elsewhere in the north; a few pairs are said to nest also in various +parts of Ireland.</p> + +<p>Flocks of Wigeons repair to our shores in autumn, and either +betake themselves to inland lakes and morasses, or keep to the coast, +especially where there are extensive salt marshes. In winter +their numbers are greatly increased, especially in the south; and +as they feed by day as well as by night, they offer themselves a +ready prey to the fowler. Their food consists of marine and fresh-water +insects, small shellfish, sea-weed, and grass. Their nidification +differs little from that of the Teal.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE COMMON POCHARD<br /> +FULÍGULA FERÍNA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head and neck bright chestnut; breast, upper part of the back, and rump +black; back, scapulars, flanks, and abdomen greyish white, marked +with numerous fine wavy lines; no speculum; bill black, with a broad +lead-coloured transverse band; irides bright orange; feet lead colour, +the membranes black. <i>Female</i>—smaller; head, neck, and breast, reddish +brown; throat white, mottled with reddish; large brown spots on the +flanks; wavy lines on the back less distinct. Length nineteen inches. +Eggs greenish white.</div> + +<p>A hardy northern bird of wide geographical range, with considerable +power of flight, a skilful diver, and not particular as to diet, +the Pochard is an abundant species. It breeds in some districts: +But it is principally as a winter visitant that it is known in the south +of Europe. In Norfolk 'Red-Headed' Pochards are perhaps more +numerous than any other kind of Duck which falls to the gun of the +sea-side fowler. Small parties of these birds may frequently be +seen by day flying over the sea, or swimming securely in the offing; +and in the evening great numbers resort to the fens and salt marshes, +where they feed on various kinds of animal matter, and the roots +and leaves of grasses and aquatic plants. As they are considered +good eating, and command a ready sale, they contribute to the +support of the sea-side population, who, when thrown out of work +by the severe weather, wander about the shore by day and lie in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> +wait by night, armed with guns of various calibre, for the chance +of securing in one or two Ducks the substitute for a day's wages.</p> + +<p>They are variously known in different places by the name of +Pochards, Pokers, Dunbirds, and Red-eyed Pochards. On some +parts of the coast of Norfolk I found that they are included with the +Wigeon under the common name of 'Smee-Duck'.</p> + +<p>The Pochard builds its nest among reeds, in Russia, Denmark, +and the north of Germany, and lays twelve or thirteen eggs.</p> + +<p>The Red-crested is a different species from the 'Red-headed.'</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE TUFTED DUCK<br /> +FULÍGULA CRISTÁTA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Feathers on the back of the head elongated; head, neck, breast, and upper +plumage black, with purple, green, and bronze reflections; speculum and +under plumage white, except the abdomen, which is dusky; bill blue, nail +black; irides bright yellow; feet bluish, with black membranes. <i>Female</i>—smaller, +the crest shorter; upper plumage dull black, clouded with +brown; under plumage reddish white, spotted on the breast and flanks +with reddish brown. Length seventeen inches. Eggs greenish white +spotted with light brown.</div> + +<p>The points of difference in habit between this and the preceding +species are so few that it is scarcely necessary to say more than +that it is a regular winter visitor to the British Isles, and is distributed, +generally in small flocks, never alone, over our lakes and +marshes, arriving in October and taking its departure in March or +April. Its food is less exclusively of a fishy nature than that of the +Scaup Duck, consequently its flesh is more palatable, being, in the +estimation of French gastronomists, <i>un rôti parfait</i>. The Tufted +Duck now breeds in a good many districts here.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE SCAUP DUCK<br /> +FULÍGULA MARÍLA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head and upper part of the neck black, with green reflections; breast and +rump black; back and scapulars whitish, marked with numerous fine +wavy black lines; belly, flanks, and speculum, white; bill blue, the nail +and edges black; irides bright yellow; feet ash-grey, with dusky membranes. +<i>Female</i>—a broad whitish band round the base of the bill; head +and neck dusky brown; breast and rump dark brown; back marked +with fine wavy lines of black and white; flanks spotted and pencilled +with brown, irides dull yellow. Length twenty inches. Eggs clay-buff.</div> + +<p>The Scaup is so called from its feeding on 'scaup', a northern word +for a bed of shellfish.<a name="FNanchor_1_37" id="FNanchor_1_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> It is a northern bird, arriving on our coasts +in October and November, and remaining with us till the following +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> +spring. During this time it frequents those parts of the coast +which abound in shellfish, mostly diving for its food after the +manner of the Scoters. On the coast of Norfolk, where Scaups +often appear during winter in large flocks, they are called 'Mussel +Ducks', a name no less appropriate than Scaup; for mussels, and +indeed many other kinds of shellfish, as well as insects and marine +plants, seem equally acceptable to them. Selby records a single +instance of the Scaup having bred so far south as Sutherlandshire, +a female having been seen in the month of June, accompanied by +a young one. They have paired on Loch Leven. It is generally +distributed along the shores of Great Britain, excepting on the +south coast [of Ireland]. In August, 1861, I observed two birds +swimming sociably on a small fresh-water loch in the island of Islay, +which, upon examination through a telescope, appeared to me to +be, one, a kind of Goose, the other decidedly a Duck of some kind. +On inquiry I found that the former was a Bernacle Goose, which had +been caught in a neighbouring island in the previous winter, and +had been given to the laird's keeper, who pinioned it and turned it +out on the loch to shift for itself. Of the Duck nothing was known, +nor had it been observed before. It eventually proved to be an +adult male Scaup Duck, but what had induced it to remain there +all the summer in the society of a bird of a different tribe, is a +question which I did not attempt to solve.</p> + +<p>The Scaup Duck is very abundant in Holland during winter, +covering the inland seas with immense flocks. It is found more +sparingly in other continental countries. It breeds in the extreme +north, both in the eastern and western hemispheres.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_37" id="Footnote_1_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> 'Avis hæc <i>the Scaup Duck</i> dicta est quoniam <i>scalpam</i>, i.e. pisces testaceos +fractos seu contritos, esitat.'—<span class="smcap">Willughby</span>, p. 279.</div> + + +<div class="caption3">THE GOLDEN EYE<br /> +CLANGÚLA GLAUCION</div> + +<div class="blockquot">A white patch under the eye; head and neck black, lustrous with violet +and green; back black; scapulars, great wing-coverts, speculum, and +under parts, white; bill black; irides golden yellow; feet orange, with +black membranes. <i>Female</i>—all the head and neck dark brown; feathers +of the back dusky bordered with dark ash; greater wing-coverts white +tipped with black; speculum and under parts white; tip of the bill +yellowish, irides and feet pale yellow. Length eighteen and a half inches. +Eggs buffy white.</div> + +<p>This pretty, active little Duck is a regular winter visitant to the +British shores, from autumn to spring, resorting to most of the localities +frequented by other species, and frequently falling to the sportsman's +gun, though little prized for the table. Females and young +birds, called Mormons, are most numerous in England. They are +very strong of flight, and are remarkable for making with their +wings as they cleave the air a whistling sound, thought to resemble +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> +the tinkling of bells, whence the German name <i>die Schelle Ente</i>, +Bell Duck, the Norfolk provincial name Rattle-Wing, and the +systematic name <i>Clangula</i>. The young male does not make this +noise, and having also dissimilar plumage from the adult, has been +described by some authors as a distinct species under the name of +Morillon.</p> + +<p>The food of the Golden Eye varies with its haunts. In estuaries +it feeds on crustaceous and molluscous animals and small fish, which +it obtains by diving. In rivers and lakes it feeds principally on +the larvæ and pupæ of insects, for which also it dives in clear deep +water. The call-note is an unmelodious quack or croak.</p> + +<p>The Golden Eye breeds only in high latitudes, and builds its nest +in holes of trees, often at the height of twelve or fifteen feet from +the water, into which it has been seen to convey its young one by +one, holding them under the bill, and supported on its neck. The +Lapps, in order to supply themselves with eggs, are in the habit +of placing in the trees, on the banks of the rivers and lakes frequented +by these birds, boxes with an entrance hole, which, though +invariably robbed, are visited again and again.</p> + +<p>The Golden Eye is found in many countries of Europe, in Northern +Asia, and in North America.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE LONG-TAILED DUCK, OR 'CALLOO'<br /> +HARELDA GLACIÁLIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Winter plumage</i>—head, neck, elongated scapulars, under parts, and lateral +tail-feathers white; a large patch of chestnut-brown on each cheek; +flanks ash-grey; rest of the plumage brownish black; two central tail-feathers +very long; bill black, with a transverse orange band; irides +orange; feet yellow with dark membranes. Length, including the tail, +twenty-two inches. The <i>female</i> wants the white scapulars and elongated +tail; head and neck dark brown and greyish white; below the ear-coverts +a patch of brown; neck in front light brown, clouded with darker brown; +upper plumage generally dark brown, under white. Length sixteen +inches. Eggs greenish white, tinged with buff.</div> + +<p>Though a few specimens of this beautiful bird are obtained from +time to time in various parts of England, especially on the coast +of the eastern counties, it cannot be considered other than a rarity. +'Among the northern islands of Scotland, and along the coasts of +the mainland', Macgillivray tells us,'these birds make their appearance +in October, in small flocks, which gradually enlarge by the +accession of new families. In the Bay of Cromarty, where they are +very common, it is pleasant to see them in small flocks scattered +over the water. They are most expert swimmers, and live on +bivalve shellfish and crustacea, which they obtain by diving in +shallow or moderately deep water. The male in swimming raises +his tail obliquely, in rough water almost erects it, and is remarkable +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> +for the grace and vivacity of his movements. Their flight is +rapid, direct, and generally performed at the height of a few feet. +They rise easily from the water, especially when facing a breeze, +and alight rather abruptly. Sometimes during the day, but +more frequently at night, they emit various loud and rather +plaintive cries, as well as cacklings of shorter guttural notes.' Mr. +Hewitson, who met with many of them in Norway, considers +their note to be strikingly wild and most interesting. Farther north +the Long-Tailed Duck is yet more abundant. Mr. Dunn says, 'This +species (Calloo) is very abundant in both Orkney and Shetland, +arriving about the middle of October, and departing again in the +month of March. It is to be met with in all the inlets or voes, +generally in large flocks, never far from the land, feeding upon small +shellfish and star-fish. When on the wing it utters a musical cry, +something like "Calloo", which may be heard at a great distance. +From this cry it derives its provincial name.' In the Arctic regions +of both continents these birds are so numerous as to be known by +the name of 'Arctic Ducks'. They build their nests among rushes +near the shore of fresh-water lakes, and line them with down from +their breasts, like the Eider Duck. Iceland appears to be the +extreme southern limit of their breeding-ground.</p> + +<p>The Long-Tailed Duck is described by Willughby under the name +of <i>Anas caudacuta Islandica</i>. by the natives called <i>Havelda</i>. Selby +and modern ornithologists have preserved the Iceland name in +<i>Harolda</i>.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE EIDER DUCK<br /> +SOMATERIA MOLLISSIMA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Prolongations of the bill flat; upper part of the head velvet-black, with a +central whitish band, lower greenish white; neck and back white; +breast ringed with red; lower plumage black; bill and feet greenish +grey; irides brown. <i>Female</i>—general plumage reddish brown, with +transverse black bars; wing-coverts black, bordered with dark reddish +brown; two whitish bars across the wing; belly brown barred with +black. Length twenty-five inches. Eggs shining greenish grey.</div> + +<p>The Eider Duck differs from all the birds of the same tribe hitherto +described, in being essentially and absolutely a sea-bird. Rarely +found on inland waters, it does not even visit the fresh-water lochs +which, in many places in the north, are only separated from the +sea by a bar of sand and shingle. It spends the greater part of its +time on the water, and feeds on fish, molluscs, and other animal +matter which it can obtain by diving. In the latter art it is very +expert, and when pursued by the fowler generally manages to escape, +as it can remain a long time under water, and on rising to the surface +is ready to descend again almost instantly. Though a northern +bird, it is subjected to no privations by the freezing of lakes and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> +marshes, since it finds its rest and food on the open sea. Consequently +it is not migratory, and stray specimens only visit the +southern shores of England. Where it was bred, there, probably, or +not far off, it remains all the year round. The Farn Islands, off the +coast of Northumberland, are considered to be the extreme southern +limit of its breeding-ground. In the Hebrides, the Orkneys and +Shetland Islands, it is quite at home, but in none of these places is +it found in sufficient numbers to give it importance. It is rare on +the Irish coast.</p> + +<p>In the Arctic regions, in Iceland, and on the rocky coasts of +Norway and Sweden, Eider Ducks are very numerous. In Labrador, +Audubon informs us, they begin to form their nests about the end +of May or the beginning of June. 'For this purpose some resort +to islands scantily furnished with grass; others choose a site beneath +the spreading boughs of stunted firs, and, in such places, five, six, +or even eight are sometimes found beneath a single bush; many are +placed on the sheltered shelvings of rocks a few feet above high-water +mark. The nest, which is sunk as much as possible into the +ground, is formed of sea-weeds, mosses, and dried twigs, so matted +and interlaced as to give an appearance of neatness to the central +cavity, which rarely exceeds seven inches in diameter. In the +beginning of June the eggs are deposited, the male attending upon +the female the whole time. The eggs, which are regularly placed +on the moss and weeds of the nest without any down, are generally +from five to seven. When the full complement of eggs has been +laid the female begins to pluck some down from the lower part of +the body; this operation is daily continued for some time, until +the roots of the feathers, as far forward as she can reach, are quite +bare. This down she disposes beneath and around the eggs. When +she leaves the nest to go in search of food, she places it over her +eggs to keep up their warmth.'</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_39"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_39.png" width="419" height="696" alt="Plate_39" title="Plate_39. Eider Duck [M] [F] [M]; Long Tailed Duck [M] [F]; Velvet Scoter [F] [M]; and Common Scoter [M] [F]. [p. 198." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_40"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_40.png" width="424" height="690" alt="Plate_40" title="Plate_40. Smew [M] [F]; Merganser [M]; Dabchick [M] [F]; and Goosander [M]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p> + +<p>Sir W. J. Hooker, in his interesting <i>Journal of a Tour in Iceland</i>, +describes the nests as he saw them in the little island of Akaroe, +where, as on other uninhabited islands, the Eider Ducks breed in +great numbers. "On our landing on the rocky island, we found +the Eider fowls sitting upon their nests, which were rudely +formed of their own down, generally among the old and half-decayed +sea-weed, that the storms had cast high up on the beach, +but sometimes only among the bare rocks. It was difficult to make +these birds leave their nests, and so little inclined were many of +them to do it, that they even permitted us to handle them, whilst +they were sitting, without their appearing to be at all alarmed. +Under each of them were two or four eggs; the latter is the number +they lay, but from many of them two had been taken for food by +the natives, who prefer those which have young ones in them. +<i>June 24th.</i>" A few days later (June 27,) he visited the island of +Vidöe, the residence of the ex-governor, where, he says, 'we were +shown the immense number of Eider Ducks which lived on Vidöe, +and which were now sitting on eggs or young ones, exhibiting a +most interesting scene. The ex-governor made us go and coax +some of the old birds, who did not on that account disturb +themselves. Almost every little hollow place between the rocks +is occupied with the nests of these birds, which are so numerous +that we were obliged to walk with the greatest caution, to avoid +trampling upon them; but, besides this, the ex-governor has a +number of holes cut in the smooth and sloping side of a hill in two +rows, and in every one of these, also, there is a nest. No Norfolk +housewife is half so solicitous after her poultry as the ex-governor +after his Eider Ducks, which by their down and eggs afford +him a considerable revenue; since the former sells for three rix-dollars +(twelve shillings) a pound. Cats and dogs are, at this season +of the year, all banished from the island, so that nothing may +disturb these birds.' I need scarcely add that the Eider down of +commerce is taken from these nests, not in a pure state but mixed +with fragments of plants. Pennant says that if the nest and eggs +be taken 'the Duck lays again, and repeats the plucking of her +breast, if she is robbed after that, she will still lay, but the drakes +must supply the down, as her stock is now exhausted; if her eggs +are taken a third time, she wholly deserts the place. The quantity +of down found in one nest weighs about three-quarters of an +ounce, and may be compressed into a ball two inches in diameter, +but on being shaken out will fill a large hat.</p> + +<p>The young brood take to the water immediately on being hatched. +To effect this they are often obliged to travel a considerable distance, +and if difficulties present themselves, insurmountable in any other +way, the parent bird carries the young in her bill. Once clear of the +rocks, they are liable to no further molestation from land robbers. +But the sea is not without its dangers, for the rapacious Black-backed +Gull frequently attacks them, and, but for the self-devotion +and bravery of the mother bird, would commit great havoc among +them. At his appearance the young dive in all directions, while +the mother counterfeits lameness to distract his attention from them +to herself, or springs from the water and attacks the Gull until he +is compelled to retire from the contest.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE BLACK (OR COMMON) SCOTER<br /> +ŒDEMIA NIGRA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">General plumage deep black; quills dusky brown on the inner web, glossy +grey beneath; disk of the upper mandible orange-yellow; protuberance +at the base black; no speculum on the wings. <i>Female</i>—general plumage +brown of several shades; bill without the protuberance; nostrils, and +a spot towards the tip, yellowish. Length eighteen inches. Eggs pale +buff.</div> + +<p>This bird is well known along the eastern coast of England under +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> +the name of Black Duck. Although a few scattered specimens +have been observed from time to time during summer, in most +parts it must be considered as a winter visitant only. Being +the only entirely black Duck which frequents our shores, it is +distinguished among other species by its colour alone. Small +parties of these birds may occasionally be seen on different parts +of the coast, swimming and diving at a short distance outside the +surf, or flying, three or four together, at an elevation of a few feet +above the surface of the sea. Large flocks visit the sea between +us and Holland at times. They fly rapidly in a straight line, and +when diving remain a long time under water. Their food consists +of mussels and other shellfish, in quest of which they often ascend +the creeks and arms of the sea, but they are rarely seen in fresh +water.</p> + +<p>The flesh of the Black Duck is said to be oily and fishy; on this +account it is in some Roman Catholic countries classed with fish, +and allowed to be eaten during Lent. In some parts of the Continent, +where it is consequently in demand, fishermen take advantage of +its diving propensities, and spread their nets over the mussel banks +to which they have observed that these birds resort, and capture +them in large numbers. The nest of the Scoter is described as +being like that of the Eider Duck, and similarly located. The female +also covers her eggs with down from her own breast, but in smaller +quantities. A few of this species remain to breed in the north of +Scotland.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE VELVET SCOTER<br /> +ŒDEMIA FÚSCA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">General plumage velvet black; below the eyes a white crescent; speculum +white; bill orange, protuberance at the base, nostrils and edge of mandibles, +black; irides and feet red, the membranes of the latter black. +<i>Female</i> smaller; upper plumage sooty brown; under parts light grey, +streaked and spotted with dusky brown; between the bill and eye a +whitish spot, and another over the ear; bill dusky ash; irides brown; +feet dull red. Length twenty-three inches. Eggs buff.</div> + +<p>The Velvet Scoter, an inhabitant of the extreme northern regions +of Asia and Europe, appears in the British Isles as a winter visitor +only, being sometimes seen on the eastern coast of Scotland, in +large flocks, but not generally extending its migration to our southern +shores except in the severest weather. It may be distinguished +from the Common Scoter by its larger size, and yet more strikingly +by the conspicuous white bar across the wing.</p> + +<p>The habits and food of the Velvet Duck differ in no material +respect from those of the Common Scoter, or Black Duck.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE SURF SCOTER<br /> +ŒDEMIA PERSPICILLATA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">A bony protuberance on each side of the bill near the base; no speculum; +general plumage black; on the forehead and nape a patch of white; +bill yellow, with a square black spot on each side near the base; irides +white; feet red, the membranes black. In the <i>female</i> the black is +replaced by dark ash-brown, and the white by light grey; bill dark +olive; feet brown, with black membranes. Length twenty inches. Eggs +white.</div> + +<p>Only a few specimens of this bird have been obtained in Europe, +and these probably had been driven eastward by storms from North +America, where alone they are found in any numbers. In habits +and food the Surf Scoter resembles the common species, deriving +its name from the pertinacity with which it selects, as its feeding-ground, +a sandy beach over which surf rolls. It rarely or never +visits the salt marshes.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE GOOSANDER<br /> +MERGUS MERGANSER</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head and crest greenish black; back black; speculum (not barred with +black), under parts, wing-coverts, outer scapulars, and some of the quills, +buff; bill red, the ridge and nail black; feet vermilion. Length twenty-four +to twenty-eight inches. <i>Female</i> and <i>young</i>—head and crest reddish +brown; breast and flanks pale buff; upper plumage dark ash; bill and +feet dull red. Eggs dull white.</div> + +<p>The Goosander is a regular winter visitor to the shores of Great +Britain and Ireland, frequenting bays and estuaries, but preferring +fresh-water rivers and lakes, where it makes great havoc among +trout and other fish. It is far more abundant in the north than +in the south, and, according to Macgillivray, is sometimes seen even +in summer in the Scotch lochs. It has been known to breed in +the outer Hebrides, and of late years in several parts of the Highlands, +but the general summer residence of this species is much +farther to the north, both in the eastern and western hemispheres. +The habits of the Goosander and Merganser are so much alike that +further detail is unnecessary.</p> + +<p>The females and young birds of the Goosander and Merganser +are popularly called Dun-divers.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE RED-BREASTED MERGANSER<br /> +MERGUS SERRATOR</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, crest, and neck black, with greenish reflections; a white collar round +the neck; breast reddish brown, spotted with black; near the insertion +of the wing several white spots, edged with black; speculum white, +divided by two transverse black bars; back black; belly white, barred +on the flanks and rump with wavy grey lines; bill and irides red; +feet orange. Length twenty-two inches. <i>Female</i> smaller; head and +crest reddish brown; breast mottled with ash and white; upper +plumage and flanks deep ash-colour; speculum with one black bar; bill +and feet dull orange; irides brown. Eggs whitish ash.</div> + +<p>This large and handsome bird is not uncommon in the estuaries +and rivers of Great Britain, but is most frequent in the north. It +is resident in Scotland and Ireland. The adult male is less frequently +seen than females and young males, which closely resemble +one another in size and plumage, both being inferior to the first in +brilliancy of colouring. Their food consists of fish, especially sand-eels, +and, when they find their way into fresh-water lakes and rivers, +of eels and trout, which they capture by diving, and retain with ease +by the help of their strong bills notched throughout like a saw.</p> + +<p>In birds of the first year the tuft of feathers on the head is barely +perceptible, and there is but a slight tinge of red on the lower part +of the neck. Most of the Mergansers which resort to our shores +during winter visit us from high latitudes; but a few remain to +breed in the Scotch and Irish lakes, making their nests of dry herbage +and moss mixed with down from their own breasts.</p> + +<p>The name Merganser, that is, 'Diving Goose', has reference to +the size of the bird and its habit of diving for its food. Its flight +is strong and rapid, but differs somewhat from that of the Ducks, +the neck being not stretched out to its full length, but slightly folded +back. After the young are hatched the male deserts the female and +leaves her to bring off her brood without assistance.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE SMEW<br /> +MERGUS ALBELLUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crest, neck, scapulars, smaller wing-coverts, and all the under parts white; +cheeks and back of the head greenish black; two crescent-shaped marks +advancing from the shoulders on each side to the breast black; tail ash +coloured; bill and feet bluish grey, the membranes black; irides brown. +Length seventeen inches. <i>Female</i> smaller; head and cheeks reddish +brown; under parts white, clouded on the breast, flanks, and rump, with +ash-grey; upper plumage and tail greyish black; wings variegated +with black, white, and grey. Eggs whitish.</div> + +<p>The birds of this genus, though placed among the Anatidæ, or Duck +tribe, are so strongly marked by the conformation of the bill that +a simple examination of the head alone will enable the student to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> +distinguish either of the species from the true Ducks already described. +On the coast of Norfolk the popular name 'Smee Duck' includes +several kinds of Ducks, and I presume the present species; but the +bill, in the form of an elongated and almost cylindrical cone, with +the edges of both mandibles furnished with saw-like teeth pointed +backwards, cannot fail to distinguish the genus <i>Mergus</i>.</p> + +<p>The Smew, or Smee, properly so called, is a winter visitor with us, +more impatient of cold than the Duck-tribe generally, and consequently +frequenting the southern more than the northern parts of +the island. In open weather it resorts to our rivers and fresh-water +lakes, where it feeds on small fish and other aquatic animals, which +it obtains by diving. In severe frosts it either flies farther south +or repairs to tidal rivers and harbours. Though not a rare bird, it +is sparingly distributed. It is found on many of the continental +rivers, even those which are far distant from the sea, but is not often +killed, as it is shy of being approached, readily takes wing, flies +swiftly, and as a diver is most rapid and expert. It is, however, +little sought after, for, in spite of its relationship, its strong fishy +flavour prevents it from passing muster as a Duck. Of its nesting +little or nothing is known. In the north of Devon it is called, +according to Montagu, 'Vare Wigeon', from the supposed resemblance +of its head to that of a 'vare' or weasel. I have also heard +it called the 'Weasel Duck' in Norfolk, and on the south coast the +'Weasel-headed'.</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<a name="ORDER_COLUMBAE_2" id="ORDER_COLUMBAE_2"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER COLUMBÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2">FAMILY COLUMBIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE WOOD PIGEON OR RING DOVE<br /> +COLUMBA PALUMBUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, cheeks, neck, and upper part of the tail, bluish grey; back and wing-coverts +darker; a white crescent-shaped spot on each side of the neck +surrounded by scale-like feathers with green and purple reflections; +primaries grey towards the base, white in the middle, and dusky towards +the extremity, with the outer web white; tail barred with black at the +end; abdomen whitish; bill orange, powdered with white at the base; +iris light yellow; feet blood-red; claws brown. Length sixteen and a +half inches. Eggs pure white.</div> + +<p>Two hundred and fifty years ago the taste for keeping different +sorts of Pigeons was as strong as it is in the present day, and the +popular names of Runts, Croppers, Shakers, Carriers, Jacobins, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> +Turbits, Barbaries, Tumblers, Horsemen, Spots, etc., modern +though they may sound, were then applied to the very same +varieties which are described under these names in recent <i>Guides +to the Poultry-yard</i>. Many of these were of foreign origin, and +were known at a remote period in various eastern countries, so +that there can be no doubt that the custom of keeping tame Pigeons +is of very ancient date.</p> + +<p>The Pigeons in some of their habits approach the gallinaceous +birds, with which accordingly they are classed. They are furnished +with long and powerful wings, by help of which they can +sustain a rapid and continuous flight. They seek their food mostly +on the ground, but do not scratch with their feet, and are more +given to bathe in water than to flutter in a bath of dust, though +in this habit also they not unfrequently indulge. They are furnished, +moreover, with a large crop, in which the food supplied to +their young is partially macerated and reduced to a kind of pulp +before the latter are fed. This process is carried on more by the +agency of the receiver than of the giver, as the young birds, instead +of opening their mouths and allowing the food to be dropped in, +help themselves by inserting their bills into the sides of the old +bird's mouth. Their mode of drinking differs from that of the +true gallinaceous birds; they do not take short sips, lifting the +head after every draught, but satisfy their thirst by one continuous +immersion of the whole bill. They build their nests of a few sticks, +and lay two white eggs.</p> + +<p>Some of the foreign species are distinguished by their brilliant +plumage. Those inhabiting Britain are unmarked by gaudy tints, +but redeemed from plainness by the metallic glossy lustre of their +neck feathers.</p> + +<p>The Wood Dove, called also Wood Pigeon and Ring Dove, is +the largest British species, exceeding in dimensions most varieties +of the domestic Pigeon. The summer wanderer through a wood +in almost any part of the country can scarcely fail to have been +disturbed in his meditations by the sudden flapping of wings of +some large bird, which, without uttering any note, dashes through +the foliage of a neighbouring tree, and makes off with hurried +flight for some distant part of the wood. Seen through the openings +of the trees, its predominant tint is blue-grey, but a large patch +of white is distinctly perceptible on each wing. It might be mistaken +for a hawk, so rapidly does it cleave its way through the air; +but birds of prey are too wary to betray their movements by the +sound of their wings; they, too, rather launch into the air, than +start with a violent clapping of their pinions. A Jay might make +a similar noise; but when alarmed it always utters its harsh scream, +and, if it comes in sight, may at once be distinguished by the striking +contrast of its white and black feathers. The bird just disturbed +can scarcely, then, be anything but a Wood Dove, perhaps frightened +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> +from its nest, perhaps attending on its mate, or it may have +been simply digesting its last meal, or waiting until sent forth +by the cravings of hunger in quest of a new one; for the bird, +though exemplary as a spouse and parent, has a large crop which +is never allowed to remain long empty. The food and habits of +Wood Pigeons vary with the season. In spring and summer they are +most frequently seen alone or in pairs. They then feed principally +on the tender leaves of growing plants, and often commit great +ravage in fields of beans and peas. Spring-sown corn is attacked +by them both in the grain and the blade, and as soon as young +turnips have put forth their second pair of leaves, they, too, come +in for their share of devastation. As the season advances, they visit +the corn-fields, especially those in the vicinity of their native woods, +preferring, above all, those parts where the corn has been laid, and +where a neighbouring grove or thicket will afford them a ready +retreat if disturbed. They are very partial also to oily seeds of +all kinds, and it is said that since colza has been extensively grown +in the south of France, Wood Pigeons have become a scourge of +agriculture, and that consequently war is waged on them unsparingly. +It has been remarked also, that they have become much +more abundant in Scotland in consequence of 'the great increase +in the cultivation of turnips and clover, which afford them a constant +supply of food during winter, and the great increase of fir +woods, which are their delight both for roosting and rearing their +young'. At the approach of autumn they assemble in small flocks, +and resort to oak and beech woods, especially the last, where acorns +and beech-mast, swallowed whole, afford them an abundant and +generous diet. They are now in great demand for the table, but, +being very cautious and shy, are difficult of approach. A good many, +however, are shot by men and boys, who discover beforehand in +what particular trees they roost, and, lying in ambush to await their +arrival, fire at them as they drop in in small parties. In winter, the +small flocks unite and form large ones. So large, indeed, are these +sometimes in severe seasons, that it is fair to suppose that their +numbers are considerably augmented by subsidies from colder +climates, driven southwards perhaps by scarcity of food. In districts +abounding in oak and beech woods, they find abundance of +food during the greater part of the winter; but when this supply +is exhausted, or the ground is covered with snow, they repair once +more to the turnip-fields, and feed on the green leaves. Hunger, +however, does not rob them of their shyness, nor make them confiding; +for let a human figure appear in ever so large a field where +a flock is feeding, the alarm is at once caught and communicated +to the whole party, who lose no time in displaying the white bar +on the wing, and are soon beyond the reach of fowler and gun.</p> + +<p>Among the first woodland sounds of spring and the last of +autumn is the note of the Ring Dove, often continued for a long +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> +time together, always monotonous, but never wearisome. It is +generally considered to be tinged with melancholy, and on this +account the bird itself is supposed to have been named the Queest +or Cushat</p> + +<div class="poem3">Deep toned</div> +<div class="poem">The Cushat plains; nor is her changeless plaint</div> +<div class="poem">Unmusical, when with the general quire</div> +<div class="poem">Of woodland harmony it softly blends.</div> +<div class="poem2 smcap">Grahame.</div> + +<p>Wordsworth celebrates it under a name generally given to the +next species:</p> + +<div class="poem">I heard a Stock Dove sing or say</div> +<div class="poem">His homely tale, this very day;</div> +<div class="poem">His voice was buried among trees,</div> +<div class="poem">Yet to be come at by the breeze.</div> +<div class="poem">It did not cease; but cooed and cooed,</div> +<div class="poem">And somewhat pensively he wooed;</div> +<div class="poem">He sang of love with quiet blending.</div> +<div class="poem">Slow to begin, and never ending;</div> +<div class="poem">Of sorrows, faith, and inward glee;</div> +<div class="poem">That was the song, the song for me.</div> + +<p>And again, still more happily:</p> + +<div class="poem">Over his own sweet voice the Stock Dove broods.</div> + +<p>The note may be imitated by attempting to whistle, in a very +deep tone, the syllables 'cooe-coo-roo-o-o-o'; or still more closely +by clasping the hands together, so as to form a hollow, open only +between the second joints of the thumbs, and blowing the same +words over the orifice. With a little practise so close an imitation +may be produced, that a genuine cooer may be beguiled into giving +an answer. I may add, too, that with the same natural instrument +and with a greater expenditure of breath the hoot of the +Owl may be imitated; with a gentler effort and a quiver of the +tongue the coo of the Turtle Dove may be nearly approached.</p> + +<p>The Wood Dove has never been considered to be the origin of +the domestic Pigeon, nor will it breed in captivity. There is no +difficulty, however, in rearing birds taken young from the nest; +and birds so brought up will alight with perfect confidence on the +person of their foster nurse, and feed from his hand or mouth. +The nest of the Wood Dove is an unsubstantial structure, composed +of sticks so loosely put together that the eggs or young birds +are sometimes visible from below. It is placed in a fork or among +the branches of a tree; a thick fir is preferred; but nests are to be +met with in ivy and thorn bushes either in a wood, coppice, or, +more rarely, in a hedge-row. The number of eggs is always two. +The male bird assists in the office of incubation.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE STOCK DOVE<br /> +COLUMBA ŒNAS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, throat, wings, and lower parts, bluish grey; the lower parts of the +neck with metallic reflections, no white spots; breast wine-red; a black +spot on the two last secondaries and some of the wing-coverts; primaries +grey at the base, passing into dusky; tail grey barred with black at the +extremity, the outer feather with a white spot on the outer web near the +base; irides reddish brown; bill yellow, red at the base; feet red; +claws dusky. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs white.</div> + +<p>The Stock Dove is by some persons supposed to be so called from +its having been believed at one time to be the origin of the domestic +Pigeon; but as it bore the name before the above question was +mooted, it is more reasonable to suppose that it derived its name +from its habit of nestling in the <i>stocks</i> of trees, and not on the +branches like the Ring Dove, nor in caves like the Rock Dove. +Ray and Willughby, who treat the domestic Dove as a distinct +species, gave it the name of Œnas (from the Greek <i>oinos</i>, +wine), and Vinago (from the Latin <i>vinum</i>), from the purpled or +wine-red hue of its breast and wings. Temminck does not hesitate +to identify the domestic Pigeon with the Rock Dove, without +even hinting the possibility of its having derived its origin +from the Stock Dove. Since, therefore, the two birds have no +marked resemblance, it may be reasonably supposed that the relationship +between them rests solely on the narrow foundation that +there exists a wild Pigeon, popularly called a Stock Dove, and that +the word 'stock' has among other meanings that of 'parentage' +or 'origin'. Thus the name gave rise to a theory which, having +a plausible show, was hastily assumed, and was then employed +to prove a fact which will not bear the test of examination. +The Stock Dove in its habits closely resembles the Ring Dove, +from which it cannot easily be distinguished at a distance. When +tolerably near, a sharp eye can detect the absence of the white +patch on the wings and of the ring round the neck. Its flight is +more rapid, and it rarely perches on a slender bough, preferring +to alight on a main branch or stump. Its note is softer, and +approaches that of the tame Pigeon. But the great mark of distinction +is that on which I have supposed its name to be founded; that +it does not build its nest among the branches of trees, but in the +side of a stump, or other locality, where no one would even think +of looking for a Ring Dove's nest. Yarrell states that 'in the +open counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, this species frequently +makes its nest in holes in the ground, generally selecting a +rabbit's burrow'. It has greatly increased in the south of +England of late, and it nests along the Moray and Dornock Firths. +White, who had never seen its nest, says that it used to be abundant +at Selborne 'from November to February'. Yarrell saw two old +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> +birds exposed for sale with Ring Doves, in London, on January +4. It resorts in spring to the neighbourhood in which it was bred, +as a convenient place for rearing its own young, and at the end of +summer repairs to woods and groves better adapted for supplying +it with its favourite food, acorns and beech-mast. There it flocks +together with Ring Doves, vast numbers of which assemble in +winter in some districts, and when the fowler plies his occupation, +shares their fate. It is, however, by no means so common a bird +as the Ring Dove at any season, nor is it so generally distributed. +In the North it is certainly only a summer visitor; and, on the +other hand, it is most abundant in the south of Europe and in Africa +during winter.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE ROCK DOVE<br /> +COLUMBA LIVIA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Plumage bluish ash, lighter on the wings; rump white; neck and breast +lustrous with green and purple reflections, without a white spot; two +transverse black bands on the wings; primaries and tail tipped with +black; rump white; outer tail-feather white on the outer web; irides +pale orange; bill black; feet red. Length twelve and a half inches. +Eggs white.</div> + +<p>The Rock Dove, though a bird of extensive range, is less generally +known in its natural condition than either of the other British +species. As its name imports, its favourite place of resort is the +rocky coast; but this it frequents, not because it has any predilection +for the sea-shore and its productions, but that its instincts +teach it to make lofty rocks its stronghold, just as the natural +impulse of the Ring Dove is to find safety in the forests. If this +species is the original of all the numerous varieties of tame Pigeon, +it must inhabit most countries of the eastern hemisphere; for a +pigeon-fancier's dove-cot, to be complete, must contain several +sorts which were first brought from remote regions; and we know +that in Egypt, Phœnicia, and Persia, Pigeons had a mythological +importance at an early date. It is said that the Pigeons which +have established themselves in various public buildings of continental +cities, as Saint Mark at Venice, and Pont Neuf at Paris, +are exclusively Rock Pigeons; and I have seen it stated that they +frequent the towers of Canterbury Cathedral; but it is possible +that these may be in all cases derived from tame birds escaped +from domestication, and resuming, to a certain extent, their wild +habits and original plumage. That they resort to ruinous edifices +near the sea in retired districts is beyond question, as I have seen +them flying about and alighting on the walls of an old castle in the +island of Kerrera, near Oban, in the Western Highlands, indifferent, +seemingly, whether they nestled in the lofty cliffs on the +mainland, where they are numerous, or on the equally secure ruins +of masonry in the opposite island. That they are truly wild here +there can be no doubt. Indeed, the precipitous shores of Scotland, +the Hebrides, and Orkneys, afford them exactly the kind +of retreat that suits their habits; and here among inaccessible +rocks they build their nests and on their return from their inland +marauding expeditions, pass their nights. Their attitudes, mode +of flight, progression when on the ground, note, and manner of +feeding, are the same as those of the common tame Pigeon; and, +as might be expected, both wild and tame birds agree in declining +to perch on trees.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_41"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_41.png" width="435" height="681" alt="Plate_41" title="Plate_41. Turtle Dove [M] [F]; Stock Dove [F]; Rock Dove [M]; and Wood Pigeon [M]. [face p. 208." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_42"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_42.png" width="436" height="663" alt="Plate_42" title="Plate_42. Red-legged Partridge [F]; Grouse [M]; Partridge [M]; and Black Grouse [M] [F]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p> + +<p>Macgillivray, who had opportunities of watching them in their +native haunts at all seasons, informs us that they leave their caves +in the crags at early dawn, and, proceeding along the shore, unite with +other parties on their way till they reach the cultivated grounds, +where they settle in large flocks, diligently seeking for grains of +barley and oats, seeds of wild mustard and other weeds, picking +up also the small snails<a name="FNanchor_1_38" id="FNanchor_1_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> which abound in sandy pastures near the +sea. In summer they make frequent short visits of this kind, +returning at intervals to feed their young. In winter they form +much larger flocks, and, making the best use of their short +day, feed more intently, thus holding out a temptation to the +fowler, who, if sufficiently wary, can sometimes approach near +enough to kill a large number at a shot. They are supposed to +pair for life; and this, I believe, is generally the case with tame +Pigeons. They lay two eggs, and sit for three weeks. The male +and the female sit, alternately relieving each other. They breed +twice a year, but the number of eggs never exceeds two. Hence +the old Scottish saying, 'a doo's cleckin', for a family of only two +children—a boy and a girl. They may be distinguished from the +other common species while flying, by showing a large patch of +white between the back and the tail.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_38" id="Footnote_1_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> <i>Helix ericetorum</i>, a flattish, striped shell; and <i>Bulimus acutus</i>, an oblong, conical shell, mottled with grey and black.</div> + + +<div class="caption3">THE TURTLE DOVE<br /> +TURTUR COMMÚNIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head and nape ash, tinged with wine-red; a space on the sides of the neck +composed of black feathers tipped with white; neck and breast pale +wine-red; back ash-brown; primaries dusky; secondaries bluish ash; +scapulars and wing-coverts rust-red with a black spot in the centre of +each feather; abdomen and lower tail-coverts white; tail dusky, all but +the two middle feathers tipped with white, the outer feather edged with +white externally; irides yellowish red; feet red; bill brown. Eggs +white.</div> + +<p>Nearly three thousand years ago the Turtle Dove had the distinction +of being enumerated among the pleasant things of spring:</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span></p> +<p>'Lo, the winter Is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers +appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and +the voice of the Turtle is heard in our land.'<a name="FNanchor_1_39" id="FNanchor_1_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> Less sweetly, but +to the same effect, sings a poet of the last century:</p> + +<div class="poem">The cuckoo calls aloud his wand'ring love.</div> +<div class="poem">The Turtle's moan is heard in ev'ry grove;</div> +<div class="poem">The pastures change, the warbling linnets sing.</div> +<div class="poem">Prepare to welcome in the gaudy spring!</div> +<div class="poem2 smcap">Philips.</div> + +<p>There is no melody in the song of the Turtle, as it consists of a +single note, a soft, sweet, agitated murmur, continued without +pause for a long time, called a 'moan'<a name="FNanchor_2_40" id="FNanchor_2_40"></a> +<a href="#Footnote_2_40" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> both by Latin and English +poets, not from its being suggestive of pain, but because there is +no other word which describes it so nearly. I have already +had occasion to remark how unsatisfactory are most of the attempts +which have been made to represent the songs of birds by +combinations of letters, but the Latin name of the Turtle-dove, +<i>Turtur</i>, is a notable exception. Pronounced 'tur-r-r tur-r-r', +it will instantly recall the note to any one who has once heard it. +The French name also, <i>Tourterelle</i>, can belong to this bird alone.</p> + +<p>The Turtle Dove is found in all the southern countries of Europe, +in Palestine, and many other parts of Asia, including the islands +south of China. In England it is a visitor in the southern and +midland counties only, arriving in spring and remaining with us +until the end of September. Its favourite places of resort are +groves, belts of trees, and tall hedgerows in cultivated districts. +Here it builds its unsubstantial nest of a few sticks, and lays two +eggs. Its food consists of seeds of various kinds, and it has the +discredit of resorting to fields of green wheat for the sake of feeding +on the milky grain. I am doubtful whether this charge can be +sustained. Often enough when walking through a cornfield one +may see two or three Turtle Doves rise suddenly from the thick +corn with a rustle and low cry of alarm, rapidly dart away in the +direction of the nearest grove, disappearing in the shade, all but a +white segment of a circle, formed by the tips of their tail-feathers; +but on examining the spot from which they rose, I have been +unable to detect any ears of corn rifled of their contents, though +the ground was thickly matted with weeds, which might have +furnished them food. I am informed by a young friend that he +has often shot them while in the act of rising from such situations +and has invariably found their crops distended with the green seed-vessels +of a weed common in corn-fields, the corn-spurrey (<i>Spérgula +arvensis</i>). This being the case, the Turtle Dove is more a friend +than an enemy to the farmer, even if it sometimes regales on ripe +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> +grain or interferes with the occupation of the gleaner. It is also +very partial to vetches. I have met with an instance where a +Turtle Dove paid daily visits to one particular spot, under a hedge +in a field, and though fired at by the owner of the field many times, +under the idea that it was a rare bird, it soon returned; and when +at last shot, its crop was found to be full of vetch seeds which had +been accidentally spilled from a bag.</p> + +<p>The Turtle Dove is smaller than any of the other British Doves. +When flying, it seems scarcely larger than a Missel Thrush; but +it is more slender in shape, and its wings are much longer. It beats +its wings, too, more rapidly, and moves through the air with greater +velocity. The tints of its plumage are more varied than in the +other British species, but far inferior in brilliancy to many foreign +ones.</p> + +<p>The Turtle Dove so frequently kept in a cage is the Collared +Turtle Dove (<i>Columba risoria</i>), a native of India and China. This +species is distinguished by a black crescent on the back of the neck, +the horns of which nearly meet in front. Turtle Doves are much +kept in Germany, owing to a strange popular superstition that +they are more predisposed than the human species to nervous +disorders and rheumatism, and that when any of these complaints +visit a house, they fall on the birds rather than on their owners.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_39" id="Footnote_1_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> Cant. ii. 11, 12.</div> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_2_40" id="Footnote_2_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> 'Nec gemere aëria cessabit Turtur ab ulmo.'—<span class="smcap">Virgil.</span><br />Nor shall from lofty elm the Turtle cease to moan.</div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_PTEROCLETES_2" id="ORDER_PTEROCLETES_2"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER PTEROCLETES</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PTEROCLIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE THREE-TOED SAND-GROUSE</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Legs and toes feathered to the claws; no hind toe. Length sixteen to +twenty inches.</div> + + +<p>This species was not known with us till 1859. Great flights visited +this country in 1863, in 1888, and in 1889 when a few pair bred here.</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption1"><a name="ORDER_GALLINAE_2" id="ORDER_GALLINAE_2"></a> +ORDER GALLINÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2">FAMILY TETRAONIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE CAPERCAILLIE<br /> +TETRÁO UROGÁLLUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Feathers of the throat elongated, black; head and neck dusky; eyes with a +bare red skin above and a white spot below; wings brown speckled with +black; breast lustrous green; abdomen black with white spots; rump +and flanks marked with undulating lines of black and ash colour; tail +black with white spots; beak horn white; eyebrows naked, red, beneath +the eye a white spot. Length thirty-six inches. <i>Female</i>—a +third smaller, barred and spotted with tawny red, black, and white; +throat tawny red, unspotted; breast deep red; tail dark red with black +bars, white at the tip; bill dusky. Eggs dull yellowish white speckled +with yellowish brown.</div> + +<p>The Capercaillie, Wood Grouse, or Cock of the Woods, was a rare +bird in Scotland in Pennant's time (1769), and was found only in +the Highlands north of Inverness. It became extinct in the eighteenth +century, but was re-introduced in 1837 in Scotland, and it +is now common in firwoods there, especially in Perthshire. In the +pine forests of Sweden and Norway it is still indigenous, but, being +a large and beautiful bird, is much sought after, and is annually +receding from the haunts of men. It is also found in some of the +central countries of Europe, as Poland and the Jura mountains, +where it is said to be rather common. It is not only an inhabitant +of woods, but passes its time for the most part in trees, and feeds +in great measure on the young shoots of the Scotch fir. In summer +it adds to its dietary berries, seeds, and insects, for which it searches +among bushes or on the ground, returning to the woods to roost. +The male bird has obtained great celebrity for his marvellous performances +when serenading the hens during the morning and evening +twilight in spring. "During his play, the neck of the Capercaillie +is stretched out, his tail is raised and spread like a fan, his +wings droop, his feathers are ruffled up, and, in short, he much +resembles in appearance an angry Turkey Cock. He begins his +play with a call something resembling the words <i>peller</i>, <i>peller</i>, +<i>peller</i>; these sounds he repeats at first at some little intervals, but, +as he proceeds, they increase in rapidity, until, at last, and after +perhaps the lapse of a moment or so, he makes a sort of gulp in +his throat, and finishes by drawing in his breath. During the continuance +of this latter process, which only lasts a few seconds, the +head of the Capercaillie is thrown up, his eyes are partially closed, +and his whole appearance would denote that he is worked up into +an agony of passion." This performance, however attractive it may +De to those for whose benefit it is intended, exercises a fascination +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> +over himself which is often dangerous; for the sportsman, well +acquainted with the sound, is thus guided to his perch, and, shy +though the bird is at other times, is able to get near him unperceived +or unheeded, and summarily closes his performances. The +Capercaillie hen makes her nest upon the ground, and lays from +six to twelve eggs. She is said to sit for four weeks. The young +keep with her until towards the approach of winter. The size of the +full-grown bird varies considerably according to the latitude in +which it is found. In Lapland the male weighs about nine or ten +pounds, but in the southern provinces of Sweden as much as seventeen +pounds. The hen usually weighs from five to six pounds.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE BLACK GROUSE<br /> +TETRÁO TÉTRIX</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Throat-feathers not elongated; plumage black with violet reflections; a +broad white band on the wings; secondaries tipped with white; lower tail-coverts +white; tail much forked, the outer feathers curved outwards. +Eyebrows naked, vermilion; beneath the eye a white spot. Length +twenty-three inches. <i>Female</i>—smaller; head and neck rust-red barred +with black; rump and tail-feathers black barred with red; belly dusky +brown with red and whitish bars; tail slightly forked. Eggs dull yellow +spotted and speckled with reddish brown.</div> + +<p>The Black Grouse is a native of the northern countries of Europe +and of the mountainous districts of the central part of the Continent. +In the south it is unknown. Of a hardier nature than the Pheasant, +and less fastidious in its dietary, it braves the most inclement +seasons, and is never stinted in its supply of food. Moreover, as it +rarely wanders far from its heath-clad home, it would probably, +if it enjoyed the privilege of insignificance, be abundant in all the +extensive waste lands of Britain. But its large size, the excellent +flavour of its flesh, and the excitement of the sport which it affords +all tend to keep down its numbers, so that a moor well stocked with +Black Grouse is a possession not to be thought lightly of by the +highest and wealthiest. The male bird is, in sporting phraseology, +a Black Cock, the female a Grey Hen; and it is the etiquette of the +field to shoot Cocks only, the Hens being left for breeding. The +Black Cock resembles, in one of its most striking peculiarities, its +near relative, the Capercaillie. 'During the spring', says Mr. St. +John, 'and also in the autumn, about the time the first hoar frosts +are felt, I have often watched the Black Cocks in the early morning +when they collect on some rock or height, and strut and crow with +their curious note, not unlike that of a Wood Pigeon. On these +occasions they often have most desperate battles. I have seen five +or six Black Cocks all fighting at once; and so violent and eager +were they, that I approached within a few yards before they rose. +Usually there seems to be a master-bird in these assemblages, who +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> +takes up his position on the most elevated spot, crowing and strutting +round and round with spread-out tail like a Turkey Cock, and +his wings trailing on the ground. The hens remain quietly near +him, whilst the smaller or younger male birds keep at a respectful +distance, neither daring to crow, except in a subdued kind of voice, +nor to approach. If they attempt the latter, the master-bird +dashes at the intruder, and often a short <i>melée</i> ensues, several others +joining in it, but they soon return to their former respectful distance. +I have also seen an old Black Cock crowing on a birch-tree with a +dozen hens below it, and the younger Cocks looking on with fear +and admiration. It is at these times that numbers fall to the share +of the poacher, who knows that the birds resort to the same spot +every morning.'</p> + +<p>The food of these birds is abundant in quantity, and though +simple, yet partakes of an extensive assortment of flavours. Twigs +of the fine-leaved heath (<i>Erica cinerea</i>), and heather (<i>Calluna</i>); +buds of the willow and birch; the tender shoots of cotton-grass, +sedge, and grass; and whortleberries, cranberries, and crowberries, +are the principal items of their bill of fare, varied according to the +season. In the months of February, March and April, they do much +mischief to plantations by destroying the tender shoots of Scotch +and Silver Fir. 'In searching for food, the Black Grouse frequents +the lower grounds of the less-cultivated districts, not generally +removing far from the shelter of woods or thickets, to which it betakes +itself as occasion requires. It sometimes makes an excursion +into the stubble-fields in search of the seeds of cereal plants, and in +summer and autumn includes those of the grasses and rushes. +While thus employed, it walks and runs among the herbage with +considerable agility, and, when apprehensive of danger, flies off to +a sheltered place, or settles down and remains motionless until the +intruder passes by. It perches adroitly, and walks securely on +the branches; but its ordinary station is on the ground, where also +it reposes at night. It may often, especially in spring, be seen +on the turf-top of the low walls inclosing plantations. Its flight is +heavy, direct, and of moderate velocity, and is capable of being +protracted to a great distance.'<a name="FNanchor_1_41" id="FNanchor_1_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a></p> + +<p>The Grey Hen constructs a rude nest of withered grass and a few +twigs in the shelter of some low bush, and lays from five to ten eggs. +The male bird takes no part in the bringing up of the brood, but +leaves the duties of incubation and attention to the wants of his +family to the hen, who devotes herself wholly to the careful nurture +of her little ones. While the poults are in their nonage, she assiduously +leads them about where food is most abundant; and if surprised +by an intruder, leaves them to hide among the heath and +ferns, creeps rapidly herself to some distance, and then rises in a +fluttering manner, so that a stranger to her habits would suppose +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> +her to be wounded. By August 20, the young are supposed to be +fully fledged, and the sportsman is expected not only to show his +skill as a marksman, but his quickness of eye in discriminating +between males and females as the covey rises. The former are to be +distinguished by their richer colouring, and by the more strongly +marked white on the wings. At this season the old Black Cocks +club together.</p> + +<p>The Black Cock is found in greater or less quantities in the moorland +districts of many of the English counties, but is most abundant +in the north of England and Wales, and in Scotland.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_41" id="Footnote_1_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> Macgillivray.</div> + + +<div class="caption3">THE RED GROUSE<br /> +LAGÓPUS SCÓTICUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Plumage chestnut brown, marked on the back with black spots and beneath +with black lines; a fringe of small white feathers round the eyes, and a +white spot at the base of the lower mandible; a crimson fringed band +above the eyes; some of the feathers of the abdomen tipped with white; +tail of sixteen feathers, the four middle ones chestnut with black bars, +the rest dusky; feet and toes covered thickly with grey hair-like feathers. +<i>Female</i>—the red eye-lid less conspicuous; colours not so dark and tinged +with reddish yellow, the black spots and lines more numerous. Length +sixteen inches. Eggs reddish ash colour, nearly covered with blotches +and spots of deep red-brown.</div> + +<p>The diminution of the number of Pheasants in France, owing to a +relaxation of the efforts formerly made to protect them, and the +abundance of the same birds, in those parts of England where unceasing +care is taken of them in severe or protracted winters, tend +to prove the great difficulty of preserving a foreign bird in a country +which is not in every respect adapted to its habits and constitution. +On the other hand, the undiminished abundance of Red Grouse in +Great Britain, in spite of the absence of all artificial protection, and +notwithstanding the vast quantity which annually fall a prey to +vermin, poachers, and sportsmen, proves as satisfactorily that +where a bird has become abundant, in a country in all respects suited +to its constitution and producing an inexhaustible supply of its +natural food, it is impossible to extirpate it. If we ever had occasion +to adopt a bird as a national emblem, the choice might for one +reason fall on the Red Grouse. It is a native of the British Isles, +and is found in no other country. On the moors of Scotland, the +hilly parts of the north of England, the mountains of Wales, and +the wastes of Ireland, it is as wild and free as the Gull on the sea-cliff. +It frequents extensive heaths where man could not protect +it if he would, and finds no stint of food where few living things can +exist but insects and some of the larger rapacious animals which +make it their special prey. Eagles, Falcons, Buzzards, Crows, +Foxes, Martins, and Polecats, all wage against it incessant war; it +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> +is wholly without armour, offensive or defensive; yet its numbers +are undiminished. And we may confidently say that, as long as +there are large tracts of land in Great Britain unreclaimed, there +will be Grouse.</p> + +<p>Red Grouse must, occasionally, fall in the way of the wanderer +over the Scottish moors, whatever may be the object of his rambles; +but a sportsman alone is privileged to make the bird his study at +all seasons. My sketch, therefore, of the Grouse is to be considered +as taken, not from the limited observation which I have been enabled +to make, when I have chanced to start a bird on the hills of Westmoreland +or the Highlands, but to be compiled from the notes of +others who have had more ample means of observing its habits.</p> + +<p>"The Brown Ptarmigan, generally known by the name of Red +Grouse, as compared with the Black Grouse, is met with in Scotland +on all kinds of surface, provided it be covered with heath, whether +<i>Calluna vulgaris</i> (Ling) or <i>Erica cinerea</i> (Common Purple Heath), +from the level of the sea to the height of about two thousand feet. +The low sandy heaths of the eastern counties of the middle division +appear to be less favourable to it than the more moist peaty tracts +of the western and northern districts, where the shrubs on which +it feeds attain a great size."</p> + +<p>Its food appears to be much the same as that of the Black Grouse, +to which it is similar in many of its habits; but it never perches +on trees. It has, moreover, a decided predilection for the national +grain of Scotland. Hence the cultivation of small tracts of land +with oats in the neighbourhood of moors where it abounds is an +unprofitable labour.</p> + +<p>Its name, <i>Lagópus</i> (Hare-footed), is equally appropriate as descriptive +of its thickly-clothed foot and its fleetness as a runner; by some +French ornithologists it is enumerated among <i>Velocipedes</i>, for the +latter reason. On ordinary occasions it does not fly much, but keeps +concealed among the heath, seldom choosing to rise unless its enemy +comes very near. Red Grouse pair early in the season, and build +their nests generally on the borders between heath and lea ground, +with a view to providing their young with an open nursery-ground, +on which to learn the use of their legs, as well as a safe retreat on +the approach of danger. The nest is loosely constructed of straws +and twigs which may chance to lie about near the selected spot. +The number of eggs is usually eight to ten; the hen sits very closely, +allowing the shepherd almost to trample on her before she springs. +The period of hatching is a perilous one for the chicks, for, as they +break the shell, they utter a small but shrill chirp—a certain signal +to some watchful Hooded Crow that a prey is at hand; he traces up +the sound, drives the mother from her nest, and destroys the whole +brood.</p> + +<p>Once fairly hatched, the danger decreases; the young birds, +while still quite small, show great readiness in concealing themselves. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> +When disturbed they separate in all directions, crouch on the ground, +squeeze between objects that seem to defy all passage, work their +way through the cover, or, if they fancy that an eye is fixed on them, +lie as motionless as stones. When so far grown as to be able to +fly, they still prefer the shelter afforded by the cover; but if hard +pressed the old cock usually rises first, with a cry which some compare +to the quack of a Duck. The hen and young birds show no +hurry in following his example, but take wing singly, and at unequal +intervals—not like Partridges, which always rise in a covey. This +is the period when they afford the easiest shot to the sportsman, +who often puts them up almost beneath his feet, or under the very +nose of his dogs. Later in the season a great change takes place, +and this, it is said, whether the birds have been much harassed or +not. Become cautious and wild, they no longer trust to concealment +or swiftness of foot, but, discovering from a great distance +the approach of danger, they rise most frequently out of shot, so +that it requires skill and patience to get near them. A slight and +early snow sometimes makes it more easy to approach them, at +least for a few hours; but ordinarily, not even extreme cold, or +a covering of snow a foot thick, appears to tame them at all. Under +such circumstances, they collect in enormous 'packs', and betake +themselves to some particular part of the moor from which the +snow has been more or less drifted. These packs keep together +during winter, and at the beginning of spring separate and pair, +not, however, without some previous altercations; but these are +soon over, and they lose much of their shyness, venturing close to +the roads, and being little disturbed by the passage of the traveller.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE PTARMIGAN<br /> +LAGOPUS MÚTUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Winter plumage</i>—pure white, a black line from the angle of the beak through +the eye; outer tail-feathers black; above the eyes a scarlet fringed +membrane; bill and claws black; tarsi and toes thickly clothed with +woolly feathers. <i>Female</i>—without the black line through the eyes. +<i>Summer plumage</i>—wings, under tail-coverts, two middle tail-feathers, +and legs white; outer tail-feathers black, some of them tipped with +white; rest of plumage ash-brown, marked with black lines and dusky +spots. Length fifteen inches. Eggs reddish yellow, spotted and speckled +with deep reddish brown.</div> + +<p>This beautiful bird is the Schneehuhn, 'Snow-chick', of the Germans, +the White Partridge of the Alps and Pyrenees, and the Gaelic +<i>Tarmachan</i>. Whilst most birds shrink from cold, the Ptarmigan, +on the contrary, seems to revel in it, and to fear nothing so much +as the beams of the sun. Not even when the valleys rejoice in the +livery of spring does it desert the snowy regions altogether, and, +when the mist-wreaths clear away, it avoids the rays of the sun by +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> +seeking the shady sides of the mountains. Only when the northern +regions or lofty mountains are so thickly covered with snow as to +threaten it with starvation does it repair to districts where the cold +is somewhat mitigated, but never lower into the valleys than where +it may quench its thirst with snow. 'The male bird', says a field +naturalist, 'has been seen, during a snow-storm in Norway, to +perch himself on a rock which overtopped the rest, and to sit +there for some time as if enjoying the cold wind and sleet, which +was drifting in his face; just as one might have done on a sultry +summer's day on the top of the Wiltshire downs, when a cool air +was stirring there.'<a name="FNanchor_1_42" id="FNanchor_1_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> The same writer observes: 'I have generally +found the Ptarmigan concealed among the grey, lichen-coloured +rocks on the summits of the fjelds, and so closely do they resemble +these rocks in colour that I could scarcely ever see them on the +ground; and sometimes when the practised eye of my guide found +them, and he would point out the exact spot, it was not until after +a long scrutiny that I could distinguish the bird within a dozen +yards of me. Frequently we would find them on the snow itself, +and many a time has a large circular depression in the snow been +pointed out to me, where the Ptarmigan has been lying and pluming +himself in his chilly bed. He is a noble bird, free as air, and for the +most part uninterrupted in his wide domain; he can range over the +enormous tracts of fjeld, seldom roused by a human step, and still +more seldom hunted by man. When the winter clothes his dwelling +in a garb of snow, he arrays himself in the purest and most beautiful +white; when the summer sun melts away the snow, and the grey +rocks appear, he, too, puts on his coloured dress, and assimilates +himself once more to his beloved rocks. But the young Ptarmigans +are my especial favourites: I have caught them of all ages; some +apparently just emerged from the egg, others some weeks older; +they are remarkably pretty little birds, with their short black beaks +and their feathered toes; and so quickly do they run, and so nimble +and active are they in escaping from you, that they are soon beneath +some projecting stone, far beyond the reach of your arm, where you +hear them chirping and calling out in defiance and derision. The +call of the old Ptarmigan is singularly loud and hoarse; it is a prolonged +grating, harsh note, and may be heard at a great distance.' +This has been compared to the scream of the Missel Thrush; but +Macgillivray says it seems to him more like the croak of a frog.</p> + +<p>Ptarmigans pair early in spring, and build their nest of grass, +bents and twigs in a slight hollow behind a stone or bush, and lay +from seven to twelve eggs. The young are able to run about as +soon as they are hatched, and, as we have seen, are most expert +and nimble in concealing themselves. The hen bird when surprised +with her young brood counterfeits lameness, and runs about in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> +great anxiety, as if wishing to draw attention from her chicks to +herself. Their food consists of the fresh green twigs of heath and +other mountain plants, seeds, and berries. While feeding they +run about, and are shy in taking flight even when they have acquired +the use of their wings, but crouch on the approach of danger, and +remain motionless and silent. When at length they do rise, they +fly off in a loose party, and mostly in a direct line, for a distant +part of the mountain, the movement of their wings resembling that +of the Grouse, but being lighter in character. Early in the season, +a long time before Grouse, the coveys of Ptarmigans unite and +form large packs, and it is while thus congregated that they perform +their partial migrations from the high grounds to what they +consider a milder climate, the Norwegian valleys. There, while +the ground is covered thickly with snow, they, to a certain extent, +modify their habits, and perch on trees, sometimes in such numbers +that the branches seem to be altogether clothed in white. It does +not appear that any of these flocks make long journeys or cross +the sea. In Scotland they are no more numerous in winter than in +summer, nor have they been observed to take refuge in the woods. +In the comparatively mild temperature of Scotland there occurs no +lengthened period during which they cannot find their simple food +somewhere in the open country; they consequently do not leave +the moors, but only descend lower.</p> + +<p>The Ptarmigan is neither so abundant nor so generally diffused +in Scotland as the Grouse. It is resident on high mountains. It is +said to have existed at one time in the north of England and in +Wales; if so, it has totally disappeared, nor is it known in Ireland.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_42" id="Footnote_1_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> Rev. A. C. Smith, in the <i>Zoologist</i>, vol. viii. p. 2977.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PHASIANIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE PHEASANT<br /> +PHASIÁNUS COLCHICUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head and neck glossy, with metallic reflections of green, blue, and purple; +sides of the head bare, scarlet, minutely speckled with black; general +plumage spotted and banded with orange-red, purple, brown, yellow, +green, and black, either positive or reflected; tail very long, of eighteen +feathers, the middle ones longest. <i>Female</i>—light brown, marked with +dusky; sides of the head feathered; tail much shorter. Length three +feet. Eggs olive-brown.</div> + +<p>This climate suits the Pheasant pretty well, and at most seasons of +the year it finds abundance of food; but in hard winters the supply +diminishes, or fails altogether; and were not food specially scattered +about for it in its haunts, it would either die off from being +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> +unable to withstand cold and hunger together, or become so weak +that it would fall a prey to the smaller rapacious animals, who are +not a match for it when it is strong and active. A healthy cock +Pheasant has been known to beat off a cat; a sickly one would be +unable to compete with a Magpie or Jay. It is, in fact, an exotic +running wild, and enabled to do so only by the care of those who +help it to surmount the inconveniences of a life spent in a foreign +land.</p> + +<p>The Pheasant is said to have been brought originally from Colchis, +a country on the shores of the Black Sea, and to have derived its +name from the river Phasis, the famous scene of the expedition of +the Argonauts, bearing date about 1200 years before Christ. From +this epoch it is said to have been known to the Athenians, who +endeavoured to acclimatize it for the sake of its beauty as well as +the delicacy of its flesh. The Romans received it from the Greeks; +but it was little known, except by name, in Germany, France, and +England, until the Crusades. The custom was then introduced +from Constantinople of sending it to table decorated with its tail +feathers and head, as a dish for kings and emperors—a special honour +until that time confined to the Peacock. Willughby, in the seventeenth +century, says of it that, from its rarity, delicacy of flavour, +and great tenderness, it seems to have been created for the tables +of the wealthy. He tells us, too, that the flesh of Pheasants caught +by hawking is of a higher flavour, and yet more delicate than when +they are taken by snares or any other method.</p> + +<p>The kings of France greatly encouraged the naturalization of the +Pheasants in the royal forests, both as an object of sport and as an +acquisition to the festive board, and were imitated by the nobles +and superior clergy. In the fourteenth century, all the royal forests, +the parks of Berry and the Loire, all the woods and vineyards of the +rich abbeys, were peopled with Pheasants. The male bird was +protected by the title of 'Royal game of the first class', and the +killing of a hen was forbidden under the severest penalties. During +the period between the reigns of Henry IV and Louis XVI its +estimation increased. During the revolution royal edicts were little +heeded. Pheasants, no less than their owners, forfeited their dignity, +which, however, rose again somewhat under the empire. +Waterloo, and succeeding events, brought desolation to the Pheasantries +as well as to the deer-parks of France; and now the royal +bird, French authors tell us, is likely to disappear from the country. +Already, the space which it occupies is reduced to a thirtieth part of +the national territory. The centre of this privileged province is +Paris; its radius is not more than five-and-twenty leagues, and is +decreasing every year. Pheasants have disappeared from the districts +of the Garonne and Rhone, while in Touraine and Berry a few +only are to be found in walled parks.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_43"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_43.png" width="422" height="694" alt="Plate_43" title="Plate_43. Great Bustard [M]; Pheasant [M]; Nightjar [M]; and Capercaille [M]. [face p. 220." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_44"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_44.png" width="429" height="707" alt="Plate_44" title="Plate_44. Pratincole; Quail; Ptarmigan; and Three-toed Sandgrouse. [M] [F]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span></p> + +<p>If the Pheasant should ever, in this country, lose the protection of +the Game Laws, it will probably dwindle away in like manner. +Under existing circumstances, it offers an inducement to poaching +too tempting to be resisted. Gamekeepers engage in more affrays +with poachers of Pheasants than of all the other game birds taken +collectively; and if the offence of destroying them were made less +penal than it is at present, they would doubtless diminish rapidly. +Next to Wood Pigeons, they are said to be the most destructive of +all British birds; so that farmers would gladly do their utmost to +exterminate them; their large size and steady onward flight combine +to make them an 'easy shot' for the veriest tyro in gunnery, +while the estimation in which they are held for the table would +always secure for them a value in the market.</p> + +<p>The places best adapted for Pheasants are thick woods in the +neighbourhood of water, where there is abundance of shelter on the +ground, in the shape of furze-bushes, brambles, tall weeds, rushes, +or tussock grass; for they pass their lives almost exclusively on the +ground, even roosting there, except in winter, when they fly up in +the evening, and perch on the lower boughs of middling-sized trees. +In April or May, the female bird scratches for herself a shallow hole +in the ground under the shelter of some bushes or long grass, and +lays from ten to fourteen eggs; but not unfrequently she allows +might to prevail over right, and appropriates both the nest and eggs +belonging to some evicted Partridge. The situation of the nests +is generally known to the keepers, and all that are considered safe +are left to be attended to by the owner. Such, however, as are +exposed to the depredations of vermin or poachers are more frequently +taken, and the eggs are placed under a domestic hen.</p> + +<p>Pheasant chicks are able to run about and pick up their own food +soon after they have escaped from the egg. This consists of grain, +seeds, an enormous quantity of wireworms, small insects, especially +ants and their eggs, and green herbage. When full grown, they add +to this diet beans, peas, acorns, beech-mast, and the tuberous roots +of several wild plants. A strip of buck-wheat, of which they are +very fond, is sometimes sown for their special benefit along the skirt +of a plantation. In seasons of scarcity they will enter the farmyard, +and either quietly feed with the poultry, or, less frequently, do +battle with the cocks for the sovereignty. A story is told, in the +<i>Zoologist</i>, of a male Pheasant, which drove from their perch, and +killed in succession, three fine cocks. The proprietor, with a view +to prevent further loss, furnished a fourth cock with a pair of steel +spurs. Armed with these, the lawful occupant was more than a +match for the aggressor, who, next morning, was found lying dead +on the ground beneath the perch. Another has been known to +beat off a cat; and a third was in the habit of attacking a labouring +man. The female is a timid, unoffending bird, as peaceful in her +demeanour as quiet in her garb. The tints of her plumage, far less +gaudy than in the male, are a protection to her in the nesting season, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> +as being less likely to attract the notice either of poachers or vermin. +Indeed, were she always to lie close, her nest would not be easily +discovered, for the colour of her feathers so closely resembles that of +withered leaves, that she is, when sitting, less conspicuous than her +uncovered eggs would be.</p> + +<p>Common Pheasants are occasionally found having a large portion, +or even the whole, of their plumage white. These, though highly +ornamental when mixed with the common sort, are not prized, +owing to their being a more conspicuous mark for poachers. The +'Ringed Pheasant' occasionally shot in English preserves is not, +as some maintain, a distinct species; it differs from the typical +form of the bird only in that the neck is partially surrounded by a +narrow white collar passing from the back of the neck to the sides, +but not meeting in front.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE COMMON PARTRIDGE.<br /> +PERDIX CINÉREA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Face, eyebrows, and throat, bright rust-red; behind the eye a naked red skin; +neck, breast, and flanks, ash colour with black zigzag lines, and on the +feathers of the flanks a large rust-red spot; low on the breast a chestnut +patch shaped like a horseshoe; upper parts ash-brown with black spots +and zigzag lines; scapulars and wing-coverts darker; quills brown, +barred and spotted with yellowish red; tail of eighteen feathers, the +laterals bright rust-red; beak olive-brown; feet grey. <i>Female</i>—less +red on the face; head spotted with white; upper plumage darker, +spotted with black; the horseshoe mark indistinct or wanting. Length +thirteen inches. Eggs uniform olive-brown.</div> + +<p>Very few, even of our common birds, are more generally known +than the Partridge. From the first of September to the first of February, +in large towns, every poulterer's shop is pretty sure to be decorated +with a goodly array of these birds; and there are few rural +districts in which a walk through the fields will fail to be enlivened +by the sudden rising and whirring away of a covey of Partridges, +in autumn and winter; of a pair in spring. At midsummer they +are of less frequent appearance, the female being too busily +occupied, either in incubation or the training of her family, to find +time for flight; and at this season, moreover, the uncut fields of +hay, clover, and corn afford facilities for the avoiding of danger, by +concealment rather than by flight. The habits of the Partridge, +as of the Grouse, are especially terrestrial. It never flies, like the +Lark, for enjoyment; and as it does not perch in trees it has +no occasion for upward flight. Still, there are occasions when +Partridges rise to a considerable distance from the ground, and this +seems to be when they meditate a longer flight than usual.</p> + +<p>A friend, to whom I am indebted for many valuable notes on +various birds, tells me that when a covey of Partridges are disturbed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> +by a pack of hounds, they lie close at first, as if terrified by the noise +and bent on concealing themselves; but when the pack actually +comes on them they rise to a great height, and fly to a distance +which may be measured by miles—at least, so he supposes, as he +has watched them diminish and fade from the sight before they +showed any sign of preparing to alight.</p> + +<p>The Partridge, though decorated with no brilliant colours, which +would tend to thwart it in its habit of concealing itself among vegetation +of the same general hue as itself, is a beautiful bird. Its gait is +graceful, its feet small and light, its head well raised; and its plumage, +though devoid of striking contrasts, is exquisitely pencilled, +each feather on the back and breast being veined like the gauzy +wings of a fly. The most conspicuous part of the plumage of the +male bird, the horseshoe on its breast, is invisible as it walks or +crouches, and the general tone approaches that of the soil.</p> + +<p>Partridges pair early in the year; but the hen does not begin to +lay until May, nor to sit until towards the beginning of June. The +nest is merely a depression in the ground, into which a few straws +or dead leaves have been drawn. It is sometimes placed among +brushwood under a hedge, but more frequently in the border of a +field of hay, clover, or corn, or in the wide field itself. The mowing +season, unfortunately, is not noted in the calendar of Nature; so +the mother-bird, who is a close sitter, is not unfrequently destroyed +by the scythe, or, at all events, is driven away, and returns to find +her eggs carried off to be entrusted to the care of a domestic hen. +In unusually wet seasons, nests which have been fixed in low +situations are flooded, and the eggs being thus reduced to a low +temperature become addle. When this has taken place, the +Partridge makes a second laying, and a late brood is reared.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding this, however, Partridges are exceedingly prolific, +and are said to be increasing in numbers in proportion as new +lands are reclaimed from the waste, although the Red-legged Partridge +has lessened its numbers in some districts. It must certainly +be admitted that, in bad seasons, they are treated with a consideration +that would scarcely be shown towards them if they were simply +destroyers of grain and had nothing to recommend them as objects +of sport or as delicacies for the table. When abundant, they fall +freely before the sportsman's gun; but when the coveys are either +small or few, they are treated with forbearance, and enough are left +to stock the preserves for the ensuing year.</p> + +<p>While the hen is sitting, the male bird remains somewhere in the +neighbourhood, and gives timely warning of the approach of danger; +when the eggs are hatched, he accompanies his mate, and shares in +the work of teaching the young to shift for themselves—a lesson +which they begin to learn at once. The food both of old and young +birds is, to a great extent, insects. The young are especially fond +of ants and their pupæ or larvæ. During the year 1860, in which +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> +there were no broods of Partridges, I was much struck by the fact +that stubble-fields abounded, to an unusual degree, with ant-hills. +In ordinary seasons, these are found torn to pieces and levelled. +This year, scarcely one was touched; and even at the present time, +the end of October, winged ants are far more numerous than they +usually are at this time of the year. Besides insects, Partridges +feed on the seeds of weeds, green leaves, grain spilt in reaping, and +on corn which has been sown. This last charge is a serious one; +yet, on the whole, it is most probable that Partridges do far more +good than harm on an estate, the insects and weeds which they +destroy more than making amends for their consumption of seed-corn.</p> + +<p>I might fill many pages with anecdotes of the devotion of Partridges +to their maternal duties—their assiduity in hatching their +eggs, their disregard of personal danger while thus employed, their +loving trickeries to divert the attention of enemies from their broods +to themselves, and even the actual removal of their eggs from a +suspectedly dangerous position to a place of safety; but with many +of these stories the reader must be already familiar if he has read +any of the works devoted to such subjects.</p> + +<p>The number of eggs laid before incubation commences varies from +ten to fifteen, or more. Yarrell says, 'Twenty-eight eggs in one +instance, and thirty-three eggs in two other instances, are recorded +as having been found in one nest; but there is little doubt, in these +cases, that more than one bird had laid eggs in the same nest.' +This may be; but I find in a French author an instance in which +no less than forty-two eggs were laid by a Partridge in captivity, all +of which, being placed under a hen, would have produced chicks, +but for the occurrence of a thunder-storm accompanied by a deluge +of rain which flooded the nest, when the eggs, which all contained +chicks, were on the point of being hatched. The average number +of birds in a covey is, I believe, about twelve; quite enough to +supply the sportsmen and to account for the abundance of the bird.</p> + +<p>The character of the Partridge's flight is familiar to most people. +Simultaneously with the startled cry of alarm from the cock comes +a loud whirr-r-r as of a spinning-wheel: away fly the whole party in +a body, keeping a horizontal, nearly straight line: in turns each +bird ceases to beat its wings and sails on for a few yards with +extended pinions; the impetus exhausted which carried it through +this movement, it plies its wings again, and if it have so long escaped +the fowler, may, by this time, consider itself out of danger, for its +flight, though laboured, is tolerably rapid.</p> + +<p>The call of the Partridge is mostly uttered in the evening, as soon +as the beetles begin to buzz. The birds are now proceeding to +roost, which they always do in the open field, the covey forming a +circle with their heads outwards, to be on the watch against their +enemies, of whom they have many. They feed for the most part +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> +in the morning and middle of the day, and vary in size according +to the abundance of their favourite food. In some districts of +France, it is said, the weight of the Partridges found on an estate is +considered as a fair standard test of the productiveness of the soil +and of the state of agricultural skill.</p> + +<p>Most people are familiar with the distich:</p> + +<div class="poem">If the Partridge had the Woodcock's thigh,</div> +<div class="poem">It would be the best bird that e'er did flie;</div> + +<p class="p2">but every one does not know that the saying was in vogue among +epicures in the reign of Charles II.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE<br /> +CÁCCABIS RUFA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Throat and cheeks white, surrounded by a black band, which spreads itself +out over the breast and sides of the neck in the form of numerous spots +and lines, with which are intermixed a few white spots; upper plumage +reddish ash; on the flanks a number of crescent-shaped spots, the convexity +towards the tail rust-red, the centre black, bordered by white; +beak, orbits, and feet, bright red. Length thirteen and a half inches. +Eggs dull yellow, spotted and speckled with reddish brown and ash +colour.</div> + +<p>The Red-legged Partridge, called also the French and Guernsey +Partridge, is a stronger and more robust bird than the common +species, which it also greatly surpasses in brilliancy of colouring. +As some of its names indicate, it is not an indigenous bird, but a +native of the south of Europe, whence it was first introduced into +England in the reign of Charles II. To Willughby, who lived at +that period, it was unknown except as a native of the continent of +Europe and the islands of Guernsey and Jersey. Towards the close +of the last century it was re-introduced into Suffolk, where it has +become numerous; so much so, indeed, in some places, as to have +gained the better of the common species for a time.</p> + +<p>Its flight is rapid, but heavier and more noisy than that of the +Common Partridge. It is less patient of cold, and less able to elude +the attacks of birds of prey. It is quite a terrestrial bird, very slow +in taking flight, and never perching except when hard pressed, when, +on rare occasions, it takes refuge among the thick branches of an +oak or pinaster; here it considers itself safe, and watches the movements +of the dogs with apparent unconcern. Sometimes, too, when +closely hunted, it takes shelter in a rabbit's burrow or the hole of a +tree; but under ordinary circumstances it runs rapidly before the +dogs, and frequently disappoints the sportsman by rising out of shot. +The Grey or Common Partridge frequents rich cultivated lands; the +Red Partridge prefers uncultivated plains, 'which summer converts +into burning causeways, winter into pools of water—monotonous +<i>landes</i>, where skeletons of sheep pasture without variation on heath +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> +and the dwarf prickly genista. It delights, too, in bushy ravines, +or the steep sides of rocky hills covered with holly, thorns, and +brambles; and when it resorts to vineyards, it selects those situated +on the sides of steep slopes, where marigolds and coltsfoot are the +principal weeds, rabbits and vipers the most abundant animals.'<a name="FNanchor_1_43" id="FNanchor_1_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> +Red Partridges are consequently most numerous in the least cultivated +districts of France, especially those between the Cher and the +Loire, and between the Loire and the Seine. Towards the east they +do not extend beyond the hills of Epernay, and do not cross the +valley of the Meuse. The flesh of the Red Partridge is considered +inferior to that of the Grey, and the bird itself is less esteemed by +sportsmen as an object of pursuit. In England it seems to retain +its natural taste of preferring bushy heaths to inclosed land. In +the mode of incubation and rearing the young the two species are +much alike.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_43" id="Footnote_1_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> Toussenel.</div> + + +<div class="caption3">THE QUAIL.<br /> +COTÚRNIX COMMÚNIS</div> + +<p>'This species', says a French naturalist, 'is probably the most +productive of all winged creatures; and it could not well be otherwise, +or it would be unable to withstand the war of extermination +declared against it by human beings and birds of prey. One may +get an idea of the prodigious number of victims which the simple +crossing of the Mediterranean costs the species by two well-known +and often quoted facts. The Bishop of Capri, a wretched islet +scarcely a league in length, which lies at the entrance of the Bay +of Naples, used to clear a net revenue of 25,000 francs a year (£1,000) +by his Quails. This sum represents 160,000 Quails at the lowest +computation. In certain islands of the Archipelago, and parts of +the coast of the Peloponnese, the inhabitants, men and women, +have no other occupation during two months of the year than that +of collecting the Quails which are showered on them from heaven, +picking and cleaning them, <i>salting them</i> ('they spread them all +abroad for themselves') and packing them away in casks for transportation +to the principal markets of the Levant; that is to say, +the migration of Quails is to this part of Greece what the migration +of herrings is to Holland and Scotland. The Quail-catchers arrive +at the shore a fortnight in advance, and every man numbers his +ground to avoid disputes. The Quail arrives in France from Africa +early in May, and takes its departure towards the end of August.'</p> + +<p>Another French author says, 'Like Rails, Woodcocks, Snipes, and +many of the waders, the Quail, when it travels towards the sea-shore, +flies only in the night. It leaves the lands, where it has passed the +day, about the dusk of the evening, and settles again with the dawn +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> +of the morning.' Not unfrequently, while performing their transit, +they become weary, and alight on vessels, or fall into the sea, and +are drowned. 'Being at a small town on the coast, in the month of +May', says M. Pellicot, 'I saw some boats come in with ten or a dozen +sharks. They were all opened before me, and there was not one +which had not from eight to twelve Quails in its body.' 'Enormous +flights are annually observed at the spring and fall, after crossing an +immense surface of sea, to take a brief repose in the islands of Malta, +Sicily, Sardinia, Crete, in the kingdom of Naples, and about Constantinople, +where, on these occasions, there is a general shooting +match, which lasts two or three days. This occurs always in the +autumn. The birds, starting from the Crimea about seven at night, +and with a northerly wind, before dawn accomplish a passage of +above sixty leagues in breadth, and alight on the southern shore to +feed and repose. In the vernal season the direction of the flight is +reversed, and they arrive in similar condition on the Russian coast. +The same phenomena occur in Malta, etc.'<a name="FNanchor_2_44" id="FNanchor_2_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a></p> + +<p>On its arrival, the Quail betakes itself to open plains and rich +grassy meadows, especially where the soil is calcareous, and avoids +woody countries. During the early part of summer it frequents +corn-fields, saintfoin, and lucern. In September it is found in stubble +and clover fields, and among the weeds growing in dry ponds, or it +finds shelter in any crops which may yet remain standing. In warm +countries it resorts to vineyards, attracted, it is said, not so much +by the grapes as by the numerous small snails with which the vines +are then infested; for the crops of the late birds are generally found +filled with these molluscs. In locomotion it makes more use of its +feet than its wings, and when put up is never induced to perch on a +tree. Its flight resembles in character that of the Partridge, but it +rarely flies far, and when it alights makes awkward attempts to +conceal itself, but often fails, and may sometimes be captured with +the hand. In June or July, the female lays from eight to fourteen +eggs in a hole in the ground, and brings up her young without the +assistance of the male. Towards the end of August the old birds +migrate southwards, and are followed by the young. Before the +end of October all have disappeared, though instances have occurred +of their being shot during winter, especially in seasons when the +harvest has been a late one.</p> + +<p>The flesh of the Quail is considered a great delicacy, and many +thousands are caught, imported to the London markets, for the table. +They are placed in low flat cages, scarcely exceeding in height the +stature of the bird, for the reason that in confinement, the birds, +in their effort to escape, would beat themselves against the upper +bars, and destroy themselves. These are said to be all old males.</p> + +<p>Quails inhabit the eastern continent, from China—where they +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> +are said to be carried about in winter by the natives, to keep their +hands warm—to the British Isles. With us they are nowhere +plentiful, but are occasionally shot by sportsmen in most parts of +the country. In corn-fields, on the shores of Belfast Lough, in the +north of Ireland, they are of frequent occurrence.</p> + +<p>In Palestine the Quails still come up in the night, as of old, and +"cover the land."</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_2_44" id="Footnote_2_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> Colonel C. H. Smith.</div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_FULICARIAE_2" id="ORDER_FULICARIAE_2"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER FULICARIÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2">FAMILY RALLIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">LAND RAIL, OR CORN CRAKE<br /> +CREX PRATENSIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper feathers dusky brown bordered with reddish ash; over the eye and +down the side of the head, a streak of ash; wing-coverts rust-red; quills +reddish brown; throat, belly, and abdomen, whitish; breast pale +yellowish brown; flanks barred with white and rust-red; upper mandible +brown, lower whitish; irides brown; feet reddish brown. Length +ten inches. Eggs yellowish brown spotted and speckled with grey and +reddish brown.</div> + +<p>Few persons can have spent the summer months in the country, +and enjoyed their evenings in the open air, without having grown +familiar with the note of the Corn Crake; yet, strange to say, +among those who have heard it on numberless occasions, not one +in a hundred (leaving sportsmen out of the account) have ever +seen one alive. Its whole life, while with us, seems to be spent +among the long grass and stalks of hay or corn, between which +its long legs and slender body give it peculiar facility of moving, +and it is only when hard pressed that it rises from the ground. +Its flight is low, with its legs hanging down; and it usually drops +into the nearest hedge or cover which presents itself, and from +which it is not easily flushed a second time.</p> + +<p>The Corn Crake used to be found, during summer, in all the +counties of England, but is less frequent in Cornwall and Devonshire +than in the counties farther east, and increases in abundance +as we advance northwards. In the north of Ireland it is to be +heard in every meadow and cornfield, and here its incessant cry +in the evenings is monotonous, if not wearisome; in many parts +of Scotland it is also very common, and here it is much more +frequently seen. In waste lands, where it can find no continuous +corn, it takes refuge in patches of flags, rushes, or tall weeds, and +if watched for, may be seen leaving its place of concealment, and +quietly walking along the grass, lifting its feet high, and stooping +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> +from time to time to pick up its food, consisting of worms, insects, +snails, and seeds.</p> + +<p>The Land Rail is considered a delicate article of food, and has +long been prized as such. In France it used to be termed, in old +sporting phraseology, 'King of the Quails', the Quail being a +bird which it much resembles it colouring.</p> + +<p>The Corn Crake places its nest, which is composed of a few +straws, in a hollow in the ground, among corn or hay, and lays +from eight to ten, or rarely, twelve eggs. The young birds are +able to accompany their parents in their mazy travels as soon as +they have left the shell. The note of the old bird is heard much +later in the season than the song of most other birds, and is probably +employed as a call-note to the young, which, but for some +such guidance, would be very likely to go astray. In the still +evenings of August, I have, while standing on the shore of the +island of Islay, distinctly heard its monotonous <i>crek-crek</i> proceeding +from a cornfield on the opposite shore of Jura, the Sound +of Islay which intervened being here upwards of half a mile wide. +On ordinary occasions it is not easy to decide on the position and +distance of the bird while uttering its note; for the Corn Crake +is a ventriloquist of no mean proficiency.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE SPOTTED CRAKE<br /> +PORZANA MARUETTA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Forehead, throat, and a streak over the eye, lead-grey; upper plumage olive-brown, +spotted with black and white; breast and under plumage olive +and ash, spotted with white, the flanks barred with white and brown; +bill greenish yellow, orange at the base; irides brown; feet greenish +yellow. Length nine inches. Eggs yellowish red, spotted and speckled +with brown and ash.</div> + +<p>The Spotted Crake is smaller in size than the Corn Crake, and +far less common. It is shot from time to time in various parts +of Great Britain, especially in the fen countries, to which its habits +are best suited. It frequents watery places which abound with +reeds, flags, and sedges, and among these it conceals itself, rarely +using its wings, but often wading over mud and weeds, and taking +freely to the water, in which it swims with facility. The nest, +which is a large structure, composed of rushes and reeds, is placed +among thick vegetation, near the water's edge, and contains from +seven to ten eggs.</p> + +<p>The drainage and improving of waste lands has driven this +Crake away, but its eggs have been found in Roscommon, and a +nestling in Kerry.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE LITTLE CRAKE<br /> +PORZANA PARVA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head brown; upper plumage olive-ash, the feathers black in the centre; +middle of the back black, sprinkled with white; throat, face, and breast, +bluish grey, without spots; abdomen and flanks indistinctly barred with +white and brown; wings without spots, reaching to the extremity of +the tail; bill green, reddish at the base; irides red; feet green. Length +seven and a half inches. Eggs yellowish, spotted with olive-brown.</div> + +<p>This species appears to be generally diffused throughout the +eastern and southern countries of Europe, but is very rare in +England, coming now and again from spring to autumn. It is +a shy bird, like the last species, confining itself exclusively to +reedy marshes, and building its nest close to the water's edge. It +lays seven or eight eggs.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE WATER RAIL<br /> +RALLUS AQUÁTICUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper feathers reddish brown, with black centres; under plumage in front +lead-colour, behind and on the flanks barred with black and white; bill +red, tinged with red above and at the tip; irides red; feet flesh-colour. +Length ten inches. Eggs yellowish, spotted with ash-grey and red-brown.</div> + +<p>The Water Rail is a generally diffused bird, but nowhere very +common, haunting bushy and reedy places near the banks of rivers +and lakes, and especially the Norfolk Broads, where it feeds on +aquatic insects, worms, and snails. Like the Crakes, it makes +more use of its legs than of its wings, and places its safety in concealment. +Rarely does it take flight, and then only when closely +hunted; still more rarely does it expose itself outside its aquatic +jungle. I recollect on one occasion, during an intense frost, when +every marsh was as impenetrable to a bird's bill as a sheet of +marble, passing in a carriage near a stream which, having just +issued from its source, was unfrozen; I then saw more than one +Water Rail hunting for food among the short rushes and grass +on the water's edge. Its mode of walking I thought was very +like that of the Moor-hen, but it had not the jerking movement +of body characteristic of that bird, which alone would have sufficed +to distinguish it, even if I had not been near enough to detect the +difference of colour. Either the severity of the weather had +sharpened its appetite, and made it less shy than usual, or it had +not learnt to fear a horse and carriage, for it took no notice of +the intrusion on its privacy, but went on with its search without +condescending to look up. The Water Rail, then, unlike the +Corn Crake, remains with us all the winter. When forced to rise, +this bird flies heavily straight forwards, at no great elevation above +the rushes, with its legs hanging loose, and drops into the nearest +thicket of weeds. A nest and eggs of this bird are thus described +in the <i>Annals of Natural History</i>: 'The bird had selected for +her nest a thick tuft of long grass, hollow at the bottom, on the +side of the reed pond; the nest, about an inch and a half thick, +was composed of withered leaves and rushes; it was so covered +by the top of the grass, that neither bird, nest, nor eggs could be +seen; the entrance to the nest was through an aperture of the +grass, directly into the reeds, opposite to where any one would +stand to see the nest.' The number of eggs is about ten or eleven. +Its note during breeding is a loud, groaning <i>cro-o-o-an</i>.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_45"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_45.png" width="428" height="686" alt="Plate_45" title="Plate_45. Spotted Crake; Little Crake; Corn Crake or Land-Rail [M]; and Water Rail [M]. [face p. 230." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_46"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_46.png" width="436" height="698" alt="Plate_46" title="Plate_46. Spoonbill [M]; Moor Hen; Coot [F]; and Bittern [M]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE MOOR-HEN<br /> +GALLÍNULA CHLÓROPUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage deep olive-brown; under tail-coverts and edge of the wing +white, the former with a few black feathers; under plumage slate colour, +the flanks streaked with white; base of the bill and a space on the +forehead bright orange, point of the bill yellow; irides red; feet olive-brown; +a red ring round the tibia. In <i>females</i> the colours are brighter +than in the <i>males</i>. <i>Young birds</i> have the front of the neck whitish, +the belly grey, the base of the beak and legs olive-brown. Length +thirteen inches. Eggs buff, spotted and speckled with orange-brown.</div> + +<p>Of the two common names of this bird, 'Moor-hen' and 'Water-hen', +the former is that which is more generally in use, though +the latter is the more appropriate. The bird frequents moors, +it must be admitted, but only such as are watery; while there is +scarcely a river, lake, canal, brook, or even pond, of moderate +dimensions, which Moor-hens do not either inhabit all the year +round or occasionally visit. The name is objectionable on other +accounts; the male bird is called a Moor-hen as well as the female, +while the terms Moor-fowl and Moor-cock have long been applied +to the Ptarmigan. For these reasons, I suppose, many recent +ornithologists Anglicize the systematic name, and call it the +Gallinule, which means 'little fowl', and is suggestive of the half-domestic +habits of the bird, under certain circumstances.</p> + +<p>The Gallinule being a common bird of some size, conspicuous +colours, and active habits, is an interesting appendage of our +rivers and pieces of artificial water. Its note, something between a +bark and a croak, is as well known in watered districts as the note +of the Cuckoo, and is often uttered when the bird has no intention +of being seen. Any one who may happen to be walking on the +bank of a reedy pond may perhaps hear its strange cry and see +the bird itself at some little distance, swimming about with a +restless jerky motion, often dipping its head, and with every dip +turning slightly to the right or the left. If he wishes for a nearer +view, let him advance quietly, concealing himself as much as he +can; for if he proceeds carelessly, and takes off his eyes for any +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> +considerable time from the spot where he observed it, when he +looks again it will have disappeared, taken wing, he may imagine, +for some distant part of the water. Not so; the cunning bird, +as soon as a stranger was perceived within a dangerous proximity, +steered quietly for the nearest tuft of reeds, among which it lies +ensconced till he has passed on his way. Or it rose out of the +water, and, with its feet trailing on the surface, made for a similar +place of concealment; or dived to the bottom, where it still remains +clinging to the weeds. Perhaps it lies close to his feet, +having sunk beneath the water, and, aided by feet and wings, +rowed a subaqueous course to an often-tried thicket of rushes, +where, holding on with its feet to the stems of submerged weeds, +it remains perfectly still, leaving nothing above the surface of the +water but the point of its beak. If the observer suspects the +whereabouts of its concealment, he may beat the rushes with his +stick and produce no effect; the bird knows itself to be safe where +it is and will make no foolish attempt to better itself. A water +spaniel or Newfoundland dog will be more effective. Very often +an animal of this kind is an overmatch for its sagacity, and seizes +it in his mouth before the poor bird was aware that the water +itself was to be invaded; but more frequently it discovers an +onset of this nature in time to clear itself from its moorings, and +dashing out with a splashing movement of feet and wings skims +across the pond to another lurking-place, and defies further +pursuit.</p> + +<p>The Gallinule, though an excellent swimmer and diver, belongs +to the Waders; it has, consequently, free use of its legs on land, +and here it is no less nimble than in the water. When induced to +change the scene it steps ashore, and, with a peculiar jerking +motion of its tail, showing the white feathers beneath, and very +conspicuous by its bright red bill, which harmonizes pleasantly +with the green grass, it struts about and picks up worms, insects, +snails, or seeds, with unflagging perseverance, making no stay +anywhere, and often running rapidly. If surprised on these +occasions, it either makes for the water, or flies off in a line for +some thick hedge or patch of brushwood, from which it is very +difficult to dislodge it.</p> + +<p>Its mode of life is pretty much the same all the year round; +it is not a traveller from choice. Only in severe weather, when +its haunts are bound up with ice, it is perforce compelled to shift +its quarters. It then travels by night and searches for unfrozen +streams. At such times it appears occasionally in pretty large +numbers in places where usually a few only resort. When the +south of Europe is visited by severe frosts it is supposed even to +cross the Mediterranean, it having been observed in Algeria, feeding +in marshes in half-social parties, where a day or two before none +had been seen. To the faculties of swimming and running it +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> +adds that of perching on trees; this it does habitually, as it roosts +in low bushy trees; and it has besides the power of walking cleverly +along the branches.</p> + +<p>In the neighbourhood of houses where it has long been undisturbed, +it loses much of its shy nature, and will not only allow +itself to be approached within a short distance, but, becoming +half-domesticated, will consort with the poultry in the farmyard, +and come with them to be fed. It is fond also of visiting the +kitchen-garden, where it is apt to make itself unwelcome, by helping +itself to the tenderest and best of the vegetables. Bishop +Stanley, in his entertaining <i>Book on Birds</i>, gives some highly +amusing anecdotes of the Gallinule.</p> + +<p>It builds its nest on the stump of a tree, or in a bush among +wet places, or in the roots of alders, but often it is placed on the +low-lying branch of a tree overhanging the water. The nest is +a large structure, made of rushes and dry flags, and is easy of +detection. It is very liable, too, to be swept away by any sudden +rise in a river. Added to which, the young frequently fall a prey +to pike. But as the bird has two, and sometimes three, broods +in a year, each consisting of from six to eight, it remains undiminished +in numbers. The nest is sometimes placed in a tree at a +distance from the water. When this is the case, as the habits of +the young birds are aquatic, immediately on their breaking the +egg, the old birds convey them in their claws to the water. An +instance is recorded in the <i>Zoologist</i> of a female Gallinule being +seen thus employed carrying a young one in each foot; it has been +observed, too, that in such cases the male bird builds a second +nest, near the water's edge, to which the young retire for shelter +during the night, until they are sufficiently fledged to accompany +their parents to their ordinary roosting-places in trees.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE COMMON COOT<br /> +FÚLICA ÁTRA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage black, tinged on the back with grey; under parts bluish grey; +frontal disk large, pure white; bill white, tinged with rose-red; irides +crimson; feet grey, tinged with green; part of the tibia orange-yellow. +Length sixteen inches. Eggs brownish, speckled with reddish brown.</div> + +<p>The Coot, seen from a distance, either on land or water, might be +mistaken for a Gallinule, flirting up its tail when it swims, jerking +its head to and fro, and when on land strutting about with a precisely +similar movement of all its members. On a nearer examination, +it is clearly distinguished by its larger size and the white +bare spot above the bill, in front, from which it is often called +the Bald-headed Coot. It is only during the summer season that +the two birds can be compared; for while the Gallinule remains +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> +in the same waters all the year round, the Coot visits the Azores, +Madeira and the Canaries, North Africa and Egypt in winter, and +gets as far south as the Blue Nile. Their note, in summer, is a +loud harsh cry, represented by the syllable <i>krew</i>, as it would +be uttered by a crazy trumpet. In winter they are nearly mute. +During the latter season, Coots are confined to the southern parts +of the island; but in the breeding season they are more generally +diffused.</p> + +<p>When seen on the sea-coast, they are readily distinguished +from Ducks by the different position in which they sit on the water, +with their heads low, poking forwards, and their tails sticking high +above the body. When flying in large coveys, they crowd together +into a mass, but when swimming scatter over a wide space.</p> + +<p>They have the same power of concealing themselves by diving +among weeds that has been already said to be possessed by the +Gallinule. I have seen a female Coot and her brood, when +disturbed by a party of sportsmen, paddle for a small patch of +rushes, and defy a long-continued and minute search conducted +by keepers and clever water-dogs. The latter appeared to traverse, +again and again, every square foot of the rush bed; but not a +single bird was dislodged.</p> + +<p>Owing to drainage the Coot is less plentiful than it was, although +the late Lord Lilford said it had increased much on the river Nene of recent years.</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_ALECTORIDES_2" id="ORDER_ALECTORIDES_2"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER ALECTORIDES</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2">FAMILY GRUIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE CRANE<br /> +GRUS COMMÚNIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">General plumage ash-grey; throat, part of the neck, and back of the head, +dark blackish grey; forehead and cere covered with black bristly hairs; +crown naked, orange red; some of the secondaries elongated, arched, +and having the barbs of the feathers free; bill greenish black, reddish +at the base, horn-coloured at the tip; irides reddish brown; feet black. +<i>Young birds</i> have the crown feathered, and want the dark grey of the neck +and head. Length five feet. Eggs pale greenish ash, blotched and +spotted with brown and dark green.</div> + +<p>From the fact of nine Cranes being recorded among the presents +received at the wedding of the daughter of Mr. More, of Loseley, in +1567, it would appear that these birds were tolerably common in +England at that date.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_47"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_47.png" width="434" height="692" alt="Plate_47" title="Plate_47. Stork [M]; Common Crane; Night Heron; and Heron [F]. [face p. 234." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_48"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_48.png" width="425" height="687" alt="Plate_48" title="Plate_48. Kentish Plover [F] [M]; Grey Plover [M] (Summer and Winter); Golden Plover [M]; and Ringed Plover, young and [F]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span></p> + +<p>Willughby, whose <i>Ornithology</i> was published about a hundred +years later, says that Cranes were regular visitors in England, and +that large flocks of them were to be found, in summer, in the fens +of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire. Whether they bred in England, +as Aldrovandus states, on the authority of an Englishman +who had seen their young, he could not say on his own personal +knowledge.</p> + +<p>Sir Thomas Browne, a contemporary of Willughby, writes, in +his account of birds found in Norfolk: 'Cranes are often seen here +in hard winters, especially about the champaign and fieldy part. +It seems they have been more plentiful; for, in a bill of fare, when +the mayor entertained the Duke of Norfolk, I met with Cranes +in a dish.'</p> + +<p>Pennant, writing towards the close of the eighteenth century, +says: 'On the strictest inquiry, we learn that, at present, the +inhabitants of those counties are scarcely acquainted with them; +we therefore conclude that these birds have left our land.' Three +or four instances only of the occurrence of the Crane took place +within the memory of Pennant's last editor; and about as many +more are recorded by Yarrell as having come within the notice +of his correspondents during the present century. It would seem, +therefore, that the Crane has ceased to be a regular visitor to +Britain. It is, however, still of common occurrence in many parts +of the Eastern Continent, passing its summer in temperate +climates, and retiring southwards at the approach of winter. Its +periodical migrations are remarkable for their punctuality, it having +been observed that, during a long series of years, it has invariably +traversed France southward in the latter half of the month of October, +returning during the latter half of the month of March. On +these occasions, Cranes fly in large flocks, composed of two lines +meeting at an angle, moving with no great rapidity, and alighting +mostly during the day to rest and feed. At other seasons, it ceases +to be gregarious, and repairs to swamps and boggy morasses, where +in spring it builds a rude nest of reeds and rushes on a bank or +stump of a tree, and lays two eggs. As a feeder it may be called +omnivorous, so extensive is its dietary. Its note is loud and +sonorous, but harsh, and is uttered when the birds are performing +their flights as well as at other times.</p> + +<p>The Crane of the Holy Scriptures is most probably not this species, +which is rare in Palestine, but another, <i>Grus Virgo</i>, the Crane +figured on the Egyptian monuments, which periodically visits the +Lake of Tiberias, and whose note is a chatter, and not the trumpet +sound of the Cinereous Crane. In the north of Ireland, in Wales +and perhaps elsewhere, the Heron is commonly called a Crane.</p> + +<p>A certain number of Cranes have been noticed in the Shetland +Isles, and some in the Orkneys. The latest seen in Ireland was in +1884, County Mayo.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY OTIDIDÆ</div> + +<p>No hind toe.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE GREAT BUSTARD<br /> +OTIS TARDA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, neck, breast, and edge of the wing ash grey; on the crown a longitudinal +black streak; bill with a tuft of elongated loose feathers on each +side of the lower mandible; upper plumage reddish yellow, streaked +transversely with black; lower whitish; tail reddish brown and white, +barred with black. <i>Female</i>—smaller, without a moustache, the streak on +the crown fainter. Length nearly four feet. Eggs olive-brown, irregularly +blotched with dull red and deep brown.</div> + +<p>The Great Bustard was formerly not unfrequent in Britain, but +of late years it has become so rare that it is now impossible to +describe its habits on the testimony of a living eye-witness. In +several parts of the Continent it is indeed still to be met with; +but I find so many discrepancies in the various accounts which I +have consulted, that it is hard to believe all the writers who describe +it to have had the same bird in view. Some of these the +reader may examine for himself.</p> + +<p>The earliest mention of it which I find occurs in the Anabasis of +Xenophon, who describes a plain or steppe near the Euphrates +full of aromatic herbs, and abounding with Wild Asses, Ostriches, +and Bustards (<i>Otis</i>). The latter, he says, 'could be caught when +any one came on them suddenly, as they fly to a short distance +like Partridges and soon give in. Their flesh is delicious.' Pliny's +description of the Bustard is very brief. He says it approaches +the Ostrich in size; that it is called <i>Avis tarda</i> in Spain, <i>Otis</i> in +Greece; its flesh is very disagreeable, in consequence of the strong +scent of its bones.' Our countryman Willughby, who wrote in +the middle of the seventeenth century, gives a longer account. +'The Bustard has no hind claw, which is especially worthy of +notice; for by this mark and by its size it is sufficiently distinguished +from all birds of the tribe. It feeds on corn and the seeds +of herbs, wild cabbage, leaves of the dandelion, etc. I have +found in its crop abundance of the seeds of <i>cicuta</i>, with but a few +grains of barley even in harvest-time. It is found on the plains +near Newmarket and Royston, and elsewhere on heaths and plains. +Bustards are birds of slow flight, and raise themselves from the +ground with difficulty, on account of their size and weight; hence, +without doubt, the name <i>tardu</i> was given to them by the Latins. +By the Scotch, on the authority of Hector Boethius, they are +called <i>Gustardæ</i>.'</p> + +<p>M. Perrault, who wrote in 1676, gives an account of a tame +Bustard which was kept for a while in summer in a garden, and +died of cold in the winter. 'He killed mice and sparrows with +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> +his bill by pinching their heads, and then swallowed them whole, +even when of considerable size. It was easy to observe a large +mouse going down his throat, making a moving tumour till it +came to the turn of the neck; it then moved backwards, and although +out of sight, yet its progress was traced by the feathers +between the shoulders separating, and closing again as soon as it +passed into the gizzard. He was fond of worms, and while the gardener +was digging, stood by him and looked out for them. He +ate the buds of flowers, and particularly of roses; also the substance +of cucumbers, but not the outside. From these observations +the Bustard is evidently fitted more particularly to live on +animal food.'</p> + +<p>The average number of Bustards annually supplied to Chevet, +the great game-dealer of the Palais Royal, Paris, about fifty years +ago, was six. Its principal place of resort in France was the wild +country between Arcis-sur-Aube and Châlons, in most other districts +it was as little known as with us.</p> + +<p>Several authors of undoubted veracity state that the adult male +Bustard has a capacious pouch, situated along the fore part of the +neck, the entrance of which is under the tongue, capable of holding +several quarts of water—it is said not less than seven. Montagu, +in his <i>Ornithological Dictionary</i>, expresses his doubt whether the +bird could carry as much as seven quarts, or fourteen pounds, +while flying; he admits, however, that 'it is large, as may be seen +in the Leverian Museum'; and he adds, 'that it is only discoverable +in adults, as it is most likely intended for the purpose of +furnishing the female and young in the breeding with water.' Of +this pouch a figure is given by Yarrell, copied from Edwards' +<i>Gleanings of Natural History</i>, and there inserted on the authority +of Dr. James Douglas, the discoverer. Some doubts having arisen +in Mr. Yarrell's mind as to the accuracy of the statement, he took +much pains to ascertain the truth by dissecting several adult +males, and found no peculiarity of structure—a result which was +also arrived at by Professor Owen, who dissected one with a view +of obtaining a preparation of the supposed pouch for the Museum +of the College of Surgeons. A paper by Mr. Yarrell,<a name="FNanchor_1_45" id="FNanchor_1_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> read before +the Linnean Society since the publication of his admirable work +on Ornithology, contains many other interesting particulars respecting +this bird, to which the reader is referred.</p> + +<p>Bustards have been seen in England at various intervals during +the last eighty or a hundred years, sometimes in small flights and +sometimes as solitary specimens, more frequently in Norfolk than +in any other county, but they have ceased to breed in this country. +I lately met a gentleman in Norfolk who well recollected the time +when Bustards were to be met with in that county. On the lands +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> +near Flamborough Head there used to be droves of them. They +were occasionally seen in the middle of the large uninclosed plains +with which Norfolk formerly abounded, and in such situations he +had himself seen them. When disturbed they move off rapidly, +employing both their feet and wings, rising heavily, but at an +angle so acute that they advanced perhaps a hundred yards +before they attained the height of a man. When once on the +wing, they flew swiftly. They formerly bred in the parish of +Deepdale, and he could himself recollect an instance when an +attempt was made to rear some in captivity from the eggs, but failed. +The Bustard is now only a very rare visitor to Great Britain. Its +last fertile eggs were taken in Norfolk and Suffolk about the year +1838.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_45" id="Footnote_1_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> <i>Lin. Trans.</i>, vol. xxi. p. 155.</div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<a name="ORDER_LIMICOLAE_2" id="ORDER_LIMICOLAE_2"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER LIMICOLÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2">FAMILY GLAREOLIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE PRATINCOLE<br /> +GLAREOLA PRATÍNCOLA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown, nape, back, scapulars, and wing-coverts, greyish brown; throat and +front of the neck white, tinged with red, and bounded by a narrow black +collar, which ascends to the base of the beak; lore black; breast whitish +brown; lower wing-coverts chestnut; under parts white, tinged with +brownish red; tail-coverts, and base of tail-feathers, white; the rest +of the tail dusky, much forked; beak black, red at the base; irides +reddish brown; orbits naked, bright red; feet reddish ash. Length +nine inches and a half. Eggs pale stone colour, spotted with grey and +dusky.</div> + +<p>The Pratincole, called on the Continent, but without good reason, +<i>Perdrix de mer</i>, or Sea Partridge, is a rare visitor to Great Britain, +inhabiting for the most part the northern part of Africa, and the +countries in the vicinity of the Don, the Volga, the Caspian, and +the Black Sea. It has been observed also from time to time in +several of the countries of Europe.</p> + +<p>In some of its habits it resembles the Plovers, as it frequents +open plains and runs with great rapidity. In nidification, also, +and in the shape, colour, and markings of its eggs it is associated +with the same tribe; while in its mode of flight and habit of catching +flies while on the wing, it approaches the Swallows. Hence +it was named by Linnæus, <i>Hirundo pratincola</i>, and under this +designation it is figured in Bewick. Its true place in the system +is, however, undoubtedly, among the waders, several of which +not only feed on insects, but are expert in catching them on the +wing.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY CHARADRIIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE THICK-KNEE OR STONE CURLEW<br /> +ŒDICNÉMUS SCÓLOPAX</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts reddish ash with a white spot in the middle of each feather; +space between the eye and beak, throat, belly, and thighs, white; neck +and breast tinged with red, and marked with fine longitudinal brown +streaks; a white longitudinal bar on the wing; first primary with a +large white spot in the middle; second, with a small one on the inner web; +lower tail-coverts reddish, the feathers, except those in the middle, +tipped with black; beak black, yellowish at the base; hides, orbits, +and feet, yellow. Length seventeen inches. Eggs yellowish brown clouded +with greenish, blotched and spotted with dusky and olive.</div> + +<p>Though a citizen of the world, or at least of the eastern hemisphere, +this bird is commonly known under the name of Norfolk +Plover, from its being more abundant in that county than in any +other. It is also called Thick-knee, from the robust conformation +of this joint; and Stone Curlew, from its frequenting waste stony +places and uttering a note which has been compared to the sound +of the syllables <i>curlui</i> or <i>turlui</i>. Like the Cuckoo, it is more frequently +heard than seen, but that only by night. In some of its +habits it resembles the Bustard, and is said even to associate, in +Northern Africa, with the Lesser Bustard. Its favourite places +of resort are extensive plains; it runs rapidly when disturbed, and +when it does take wing, flies for a considerable distance near the +ground before mounting into the air. It frequents our open heaths +and chalk downs and breeds in Romney Marsh and in the uplands +of Kent and Sussex.</p> + +<p>By day the Thick-knee confines itself to the ground, either +crouching or hunting for food, which consists of worms, slugs, and +beetles, under stones, which it is taught by its instinct to turn over. +After sunset, it takes flight, and probably rises to a great height, +as its plaintive whistle, which somewhat resembles the wail of a +human being, is often heard overhead when the bird is invisible. +It is singularly shy, and carefully avoids the presence of human +beings, whether sportsmen or labourers. Yet it is not destitute +of courage, as it has been seen to defend its nest with vigour against +the approach of sheep or even of dogs. Nest, properly speaking, +it has none, for it contents itself with scratching a hole in the ground +and depositing two eggs. The males are supposed to assist in the +office of incubation. The young inherit the faculty of running at +an early age, being able to leave their birth-place with facility +soon after they are hatched; but the development of their wings +is a work of time, for their body has attained its full size long before +they are able to rise from the ground. Before taking their departure +southwards in autumn, they assemble in small parties, numbering +from four to six or seven, when they are somewhat more easy +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> +of approach than in spring. In the chalky plains of La Marne in +France they are very numerous; and here, by the aid of a light +cart, fowlers in quest of them have little difficulty in shooting +large numbers, the birds being less afraid of the approach of a horse +than of a human being. But when obtained they are of little +value, as their flesh is barely eatable.</p> + +<p>The Thick-knee is migratory, visiting us in the beginning of +April to stay till October. His flights are made by night.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE CREAM-COLOURED COURSER<br /> +CURSORIUS GALLICUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Plumage reddish cream colour; wing-coverts bordered with ash-grey; throat +whitish; behind the eyes a double black bar; lateral tail-feathers black +towards the tip, with a white spot in the centre of the black; abdomen +whitish. Length nine inches. Eggs unknown.</div> + +<p>Though the specific name Europæus would seem to imply that +this bird is of frequent occurrence in Europe, this is not the case. +Not more than three or four have been observed in Great Britain, +at various intervals, from 1785 to 1827; and on the Continent +it is an equally rare visitor to the plains of Provence and Languedoc.</p> + +<p>It is a native of Syria, Egypt, and Abyssinia, frequenting pools +and other moist situations. It is singularly fearless of man, and +when disturbed prefers to run, which it does very swiftly, rather than +to take flight. Its winter residence is supposed to be the central +lakes of Africa, from which it returns to the countries named above +early in autumn, and disappears at the approach of winter. Nothing +is known of its nidification. About the autumn of 1868 one was +shot in Lanarkshire.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE GOLDEN PLOVER<br /> +CHARÁDRIUS PLUVIALIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Winter</i>—upper plumage dusky, spotted with yellow, cheeks, neck, and breast +mottled with ash-brown and buff; throat and abdomen white; quills +dusky, white along the shafts towards the end; beak dusky, feet deep +ash-colour; irides brown. <i>Summer</i>—upper plumage greyish black, +spotted with bright yellow; forehead and space above the eyes white; +sides of the neck white, mottled with black and yellow; lore, throat, +neck, and lower parts deep black. Length nine inches. Eggs yellowish +green, blotched and spotted with black.</div> + +<p>The Golden Plover is a common bird in the south of England during +the winter months, and in the mountainous parts of Scotland and +the north of England during the rest of the year; yet so different +are its habits and plumage at the extremes of these two seasons, +that the young naturalist who has had no opportunities of observing +them in their transition stage, and has had no access to trustworthy +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> +books, might be forgiven for setting down the two forms of the +bird as distinct species.</p> + +<p>In the hilly districts of the north of Europe, Golden Plovers are +numerous, sometimes being, with Ptarmigans, the only birds which +relieve the solitude of the desolate wastes. Though numerous in +the same localities, they are not gregarious during spring and +summer, and are remarkable for their fearlessness of man. So +tame, indeed, are they that, in little-frequented places, when disturbed +by the traveller they will run along the stony ground a few +yards in front of him, then fly a few yards, then stand and stare +and run along as before. On such occasions they frequently utter +their singular cry—the note so often referred to in Sir Walter Scott's +poems—which, like the Nightingale's song, is considered simply +plaintive or painfully woe-begone, according to the natural temperament +or occasional mood of the hearer. This bird builds no +nest; a natural depression in the ground, unprotected by bush, +heather or rock, serves its purpose, and here the female lays four +eggs, much pointed at one end, and arranges them in accordance +with this.</p> + +<p>At the approach of autumn, no matter where their summer may +have been passed, Plovers migrate southwards in large flights, +those from Scotland to the southern counties of England, where +they frequent wide moist pastures, heaths, and reclaimed marshland. +From the northern parts of the continent of Europe they +take their departure in October, either to the European shores of +the Mediterranean, or to the plains of Northern Africa. In these +migrations they are not unfrequently joined by Starlings. They +travel in close array, forming large flocks much wider than deep, +moving their sharp wings rapidly, and making a whizzing sound +which may be heard a long way off. Now and then, as if actuated +by a single impulse, they sweep towards the ground, suddenly alter +the direction of their flight, then wheel upwards with the regularity +of a machine, and either alight or pursue their onward course. +This habit of skimming along the ground and announcing their +approach beforehand, is turned to good purpose by the bird-catcher, +who imitates their note, attracts the whole flight to sweep down +into his neighbourhood, and captures them in his net, a hundred +at a time, or, when they are within range, has no difficulty in killing +from twelve to twenty at a shot. Not unfrequently, too, when +some members of a flock have been killed or wounded, the remainder, +before they remove out of danger, wheel round and sweep just over +the heads of their ill-fated companions, as if for the purpose of +inquiring the reason why they have deserted the party, or of alluring +them to join it once more. This habit is not peculiar to Plovers, +but may be noticed in the case of several of the sea-side waders, +as Dunlins and Sanderlings. In severe winter weather they desert +the meadows, in which the worms have descended into the ground +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> +beyond the reach of frost, and so of their bills, and resort to the +muddy or sandy sea-shore. In the Hebrides it is said that they do +not migrate at all, but simply content themselves with shifting +from the moors to the shore and back again, according to the weather. +In the northern parts of France, on the other hand, they are only +known as passengers on their way to the south. From making +their appearance in the rainy season they are there called <i>pluviers</i>, +whence our name Plover, which, however, is supposed by some +to have been given to them for their indicating by their movements +coming changes in the weather, in which respect indeed their skill +is marvellous.</p> + +<p>The Golden Plover, sometimes called also Yellow Plover, and +Green Plover, is found at various seasons In most countries of +Europe; but the Golden Plovers of Asia and America are considered +to be different species.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE GREY PLOVER<br /> +SQUATÁROLA HELVETICA</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Winter</i>—forehead, throat, and under plumage, white, spotted on the neck +and flanks with grey and brown; upper plumage dusky brown, mottled +with white and ash colour; long axillary feathers black or dusky; tail +white, barred with brown and tipped with reddish; bill black; irides +dusky; feet blackish grey. <i>Summer</i>—lore, neck, breast, belly, and +flanks, black, bounded by white; upper plumage and tail black and +white. Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs olive, spotted with +black.</div> + +<p>Many of the Waders agree in wearing, during winter, plumage in +a great measure of a different hue from that which characterizes +them in summer; and, as a general rule, the winter tint is lighter +than that of summer. This change is, in fact, but an extension of +the law which clothes several of the quadrupeds with a dusky or a +snowy fur in accordance with the season. The Grey Plover, as +seen in England, well deserves its name, for, as it frequents our +shores in the winter alone, it is only known to us as a bird grey +above and white below. But in summer the under plumage is +decidedly black, and in this respect it bears a close resemblance to +the Golden Plover, with which, in spite of the presence of a rudimentary +fourth toe, it is closely allied. My friend, the Rev. W. S. +Hore, informs me that he has seen them in Norfolk wearing the full +black plumage in May. The occurrence of the bird, however, in +this condition, in England, is exceptional; while in the northern +regions, both of the Old and New World, it must be unusual to see +an adult bird in any other than the sable plumage of summer.</p> + +<p>The Grey Plover is a bird of extensive geographical range, being +known in Japan, India, New Guinea, the Cape of Good Hope, Egypt, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> +the continent of Europe, and North America. In this country, as +I have observed, it occurs from autumn to spring, frequenting the +sea-shore, and picking up worms and other animal productions cast +up by the sea. Grey Plovers are less abundant than Golden +Plovers; yet, in severe seasons they assemble in numerous small +flocks on the shores of the eastern counties, and, as Meyer well +observes, they are disposed to be "sociable, not only towards their +own species, but to every other coast bird. When a party either +go towards the shore, or leave it for the meadows and flat wastes, +they unanimously keep together; but when alighting, they mix +with every other species, and thus produce a motley group." They +fly in flocks, varying from five to twenty or more, keeping in a line, +more or less curved, or in two lines forming an angle. Their flight +is strong and rapid, rarely direct, but sweeping in wide semicircles. +As they advance they alternately show their upper and under +plumage, but more frequently the latter; for they generally keep at +a height of sixty or a hundred yards from the ground, in this respect +differing from Ringed Plovers, Dunlins, etc. Occasionally one or +two of the flock utter a loud whistle, which seems to be a signal for +all to keep close order. Just as Starlings habitually alight wherever +they see Rooks or Gulls feeding, so the Grey Plovers join themselves +on to any society of birds which has detected a good hunting-ground. +During a single walk along the sands I have observed them mixed +up with Dunlins, Knots, Gulls, Redshanks, and Royston Crows; +but in no instance was I able to approach near enough to note their +habit of feeding. They were always up and away before any other +birds saw danger impending. In autumn they are less shy.</p> + +<p>The people on the coast describe the Grey Plover as the shyest +of all the Waders, and could give me no information as to its habits; +but Meyer, whose description of this bird is very accurate in other +respects, states that "its general appearance is peculiar to itself; +it walks about on the ground slowly and with grace, and stops every +now and then to pick up its food; it carries its body in a horizontal +position on straight legs, and its head very close to its body, consequently +increasing the thick appearance of the head."</p> + +<p>The Grey Plover breeds in high latitudes, making a slight hollow +in the ground, and employing a few blades of grass. It lays four +eggs, on which it sits so closely that it will almost be trodden on. +When thus disturbed its ways remind one of the Ringed Plover.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE DOTTEREL<br /> +EUDROMIAS MORINELLUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Winter</i>—head dusky ash; over each eye a reddish white band, meeting at +the nape; face whitish, dotted with black; back dusky ash, tinged with +green, the feathers edged with rust-red; breast and flanks reddish ash; +gorget white; beak black; hides brown; feet greenish ash. <i>Summer</i>—face +and a band over the eyes white; head dusky; nape and sides of +the neck ash; feathers of the back, wing-coverts, and wing-feathers, +edged with deep red; gorget white, bordered above by a narrow black +line; lower part of the breast and flanks bright rust-red; middle of the +belly black; abdomen reddish white. Young birds have a reddish tinge +on the head, and the tail is tipped with red. Length nine inches and a +half. Eggs yellowish olive, blotched and spotted with dusky brown.</div> + +<p>The Dotterel, Little Dotard, or Morinellus, 'little fool', received +both the one and the other of its names from its alleged stupidity. +'It is a silly bird', says Willughby, writing in 1676; 'but as an +article of food a great delicacy. It is caught in the night by lamplight, +in accordance with the movements of the fowler. For if he +stretch out his arm, the bird extends a wing; if he a leg, the bird +does the same. In short, whatever the fowler does, the Dotterel +does the same. And so intent is it on the movements of its pursuer, +that it is unawares entangled in the net.' Such, at least, was the +common belief; and Pennant alludes to it, quoting the following +passage from the poet Drayton</p> + +<a name="Dottrels" id="Dottrels"></a> +<div class="center"> +<div class="poem">Most worthy man, with thee 'tis ever thus,</div> +<div class="poem">As men take Dottrels, so hast thou ta'en us</div> +<div class="poem">Which, as a man his arme or leg doth set,</div> +<div class="poem">So this fond bird will likewise counterfeit.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="justify">In Pennant's time, Dotterels were not uncommon in Cambridgeshire, +Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire, appearing in small flocks of eight or +ten only, from the latter end of April to the middle of June; and +I have been informed by a gentleman in Norfolk that, not many +years since, they annually resorted also in small flocks to the plains +of that county. Of late years, owing most probably to their being +much sought after for the table, they have become more rare; and +the same thing has taken place in France.</div> + +<p>The Dotterel has been observed in many of the English counties +both in spring and autumn, and has been known to breed in the +mountainous parts of the north of England; but I may remark +that the name is frequently given in Norfolk and elsewhere to the +Ringed Plover, to which bird also belong the eggs collected on the +sea-coast, and sold as Dotterel's eggs.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE RINGED PLOVER<br /> +ÆGIALITIS HIATÍCULA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Forehead, lore, sides of the face, gorget reaching round the neck, black; a +band across the forehead and through the eyes, throat, a broad collar, +and all the lower parts, white; upper plumage ash-brown; outer tail-feather +white, the next nearly so, the other feathers grey at the base, +passing into dusky and black, tipped with white, except the two middle +ones, which have no white tips; orbits, feet and beak orange, the latter +tipped with black. <i>Young</i>—colours of the head dull; gorget incomplete, +ash-brown; bill dusky, tinged with orange at the base of the +lower mandible; feet yellowish. Length seven and a half inches. Eggs +olive-yellow, with numerous black and grey spots.</div> + +<p>On almost any part of the sea-coast of Britain, where there is a +wide expanse of sand left at low water, a bird may often be noticed, +not much larger than a Lark, grey above and white below, a patch +of black on the forehead and under the eye, a white ring round the +neck, and a black one below. If the wind be high, or rain be falling, +the observer will be able to get near enough to see these markings; +for sea-birds generally are less acute observers in foul weather than +in fair. On a nearer approach, the bird will fly up, uttering a soft, +sweet, plaintive whistle of two notes, and, having performed a +rapid, semicircular flight, will probably alight at no great distance, +and repeat its note. If it has settled on the plain sand or on the +water's edge, or near a tidal pool, it runs rapidly, without hopping, +stoops its head, picks up a worm, a portion of shellfish, or a sand-hopper, +runs, stops, pecks, and runs again, but does not allow any +one to come so near as before. The next time that it alights, it +may select, perhaps, the beach of shells and pebbles above high-water +mark. Then it becomes at once invisible; or, if the observer +be very keen-sighted, he may be able to detect it while it is in motion, +but then only. Most probably, let him mark ever so accurately with +his eye the exact spot on which he saw it alight, and let him walk +up to the spot without once averting his eye, he will, on his arrival, +find it gone. It has run ahead with a speed marvellous in so small +a biped, and is pecking among the stones a hundred yards off. Its +name is the Ringed Plover, or Ringed Dotterel. Fishermen on +the coast call it a Stone-runner, a most appropriate name; others +call it a Sea Lark. In ornithological works it is described under +the former of these names.</p> + +<p>The Ringed Plover frequents the shores of Great Britain all the +year round. It is a social bird, but less so in spring than at any +other season; for the females are then employed in the important +business of incubation, and the males are too attentive to their +mates to engage in picnics on the sands. The nest is a simple +hollow in the sand, above high-water mark, or on the shingly beach; +and here the female lays four large, pointed eggs, which are arranged +in the nest with all the small ends together. The young are able +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> +to run as soon as they break the shell; but, having no power of +flight for a long time, avoid impending danger by scattering and +hiding among the stones. The old bird, on such occasions, uses +her wings; but not to desert her charge. She flies up to the intruder, +and, like other members of the same family, endeavours to entice +him away by counterfeiting lameness or some injury.</p> + +<p>The Ringed Plover sometimes goes inland to rear her young, and +lays her eggs in a sandy warren, on the bank of a river or the margin +of a lake; but when the young are able to fly, old and young together +repair to the sea-shore, collecting in flocks, and for the most part +continuing to congregate until the following spring. Their flight is +rapid and sweeping, consisting of a succession of curves, while performing +which they show sometimes their upper grey plumage, and +at other times the under, which is of a dazzling white. Occasionally, +too, as they wheel from one tack to another, every bird is lost sight +of, owing to the perfect unanimity with which, at the same instant, +they alter their course, and to the incapacity of the human eye to +follow the rapid change from a dark hue to a light.</p> + +<p>Not unfrequently one falls in with a solitary individual which +has been left behind by its companions, or has strayed from the +flock. Such a bird, when disturbed, utters its whistle more frequently +than on ordinary occasions, and, as its note is not difficult +of imitation, I have often enticed a stray bird to fly close up to me, +answering all the while. But it has rarely happened that I have +succeeded in practising the deception on the same bird a second +time.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE KENTISH PLOVER<br /> +ÆGIALITIS CANTIANA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Forehead, a band over each eye, chin, cheeks, and under parts, white; upper +part of the forehead, a band from the base of the beak extending through +the eye, and a large spot on each side of the breast, black; head and nape +light brownish red; rest of the upper plumage ash-brown; two outer +tail-feathers while, the third whitish, the rest brown; beak, irides, and +feet, brown. <i>Female</i> wants the black spot on the forehead, and the other +parts black in the male are replaced by ash-brown. Length six and a +half inches. Eggs olive-yellow, spotted and speckled with black.</div> + +<p>The Kentish Plover differs from the preceding in its inferior size, +in having a narrower stripe of black on the cheeks, and in wanting +the black ring round the neck. It is found from time to time in +various parts of the country, breeding in Kent, Sussex and the +Channel Islands, but is most abundant on the shores of the Mediterranean. +Its habits resemble closely those of the allied species.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_49"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_49.png" width="437" height="688" alt="Plate_49" title="Plate_49. Curlew [M]; Peewit [F]; Dotterel [M]; and Norfolk Plover [F]. [face p. 246." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_50"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_50.png" width="441" height="649" alt="Plate_50" title="Plate_50. Avocet; Grey Phalarope [F]; Red-necked Phalarope; and Bar-tailed Godwit [F]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span></p> + +<p>On the authority of the Greek historian Herodotus, a little bird +is found in Egypt called the Tróchilus, which is noted for the friendly +and courageous office it performs for the Crocodile. This unwieldy +monster, having no flexible tongue wherewith to cleanse its mouth, +comes on shore after its meals, opens its jaws, and allows the Tróchilus +to enter and pick off the leeches and fragments of food, which, +adhering to its teeth, interfere, with its comfort. This story was +long believed to be a fable; but the French naturalist Geoffrey +de Saint Hilaire has, in modern times, confirmed the veracity of the +father of history, and pronounces the Tróchilus of the ancients to +be the <i>Pluvier à Collier interrompu</i>, the subject of the present chapter. +The Cayman of South America is also said to be indebted for a +similar service to the kindly offices of a little bird, which, however, +is not a Plover, but a Toddy.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE LAPWING, OR PEEWIT<br /> +VANELLUS VULGARIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Feathers on the back of the head elongated and curved upwards; head, crest +and breast, glossy black; throat, sides of the neck, belly and abdomen +white; under tail-coverts yellowish red; upper plumage dark green +with purple reflections; tail, when expanded, displaying a large semicircular +graduated black patch on a white disk, outer feather on each +side wholly white; bill dusky; feet reddish brown. <i>Young</i>—throat +dull white, mottled with dusky and tinged with red; upper feathers +tipped with dull yellow. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs olive-brown +to stone buff, blotched and spotted with dusky black.</div> + +<p>The Peewit, or Green Plover, as it is sometimes called, is among +the best known birds indigenous to the British Isles. This +notoriety it owes to several causes. The lengthened feathers on +the back of its head, forming a crest, at once distinguish it from +every other British Wader. Its peculiar flight, consisting of a +series of wide slow flappings with its singularly rounded wings, +furnishes a character by which it may be recognized at a great +distance; and its strange note, resembling the word 'peweet' +uttered in a high screaming tone, cannot be mistaken for the note +of any other bird. In London and other large towns of England +its eggs also are well known to most people; for 'Plovers' eggs', +as they are called, are considered great delicacies.</p> + +<p>Peewits are found in abundance in most parts of Europe and Asia +from Ireland to Japan. They are essentially Plovers in all their +habits, except, perhaps, that they do not run so rapidly as some +others of the tribe. They inhabit the high grounds in open countries, +the borders of lakes and marshes and low unenclosed wastes, and +may not unfrequently be seen in the large meadows, which in +some districts extend from the banks of rivers. They are partially +migratory; hence they may appear at a certain season in some +particular spot, and be entirely lost sight of for many +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> +months. Individuals which have been bred in high latitudes are +more precise in their periods of migration than those bred in the +south. In Kamtschatka, for instance, their southern migration +is so regular that the month of October has received the name of +the 'Lapwing month'. In Britain their wanderings are both more +uncertain and limited; for, though they assemble in flocks in autumn, +they only migrate from exposed localities to spots which, being +more sheltered, afford them a better supply of food.</p> + +<p>In April and May these birds deposit their eggs, making no further +preparation than that of bringing together a few stalks and placing +them in a shallow depression in the ground. The number of eggs is +always four, and they are placed in the order so common among the +Waders, crosswise. Lapwings are to a certain extent social, even +in the breeding season, in so far that a considerable number usually +frequent the same marsh or common. It is at this season that +they utter most frequently their characteristic cry, a note which is +never musical, and heard by the lonely traveller (as has happened +to myself more than once by night) is particularly wild, harsh, and +dispiriting. Now, too, one may approach near enough to them to +notice the winnowing movement of their wings, which has given +them the name of Lapwing in England and Vanneau in France +(from <i>van</i>, a fan). The young are able to run as soon as they have +burst the shell, and follow their parents to damp ground, where +worms, slugs, and insects are most abundant. When the young +have acquired the use of their wings, the families of a district unite +into flocks. They are then very wary, and can rarely be approached +without difficulty; but as they are considered good eating, many +of them fall before the fowler.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">OYSTER CATCHER<br /> +HÆMÁTOPUS OSTRATEGUS</div> + +<p>The plumage of this species is entirely black and white; head, +neck, scapulars and terminal half of the tail black; rump, upper +tail-coverts white; legs and toes pink; eyelids crimson. Length, +sixteen inches. The young have the feathers of the back and +wings margined with brown. The Oyster Catcher inhabits the +shores of Great Britain and Ireland throughout the year. The +first time I came upon a flock of these birds I was able to approach +them nearer than on any other occasion. They frequently uttered +a harsh note in a high key which, though unmusical, harmonized +well with the scenery. I had many other opportunities of +observing them on the shores of the Scottish lochs, and I was + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> +once induced, on the recommendation of a friend, to have one +served up for dinner as an agreeable variation from the bacon and +herrings which mainly constitute the dietary of a Scottish fishing-village +inn. But I did not repeat the experiment, preferring fish +pure and simple to fish served up through the medium of a fowl. +The nature of its food sufficiently accounts for its strong flavour. +Oyster Catchers frequent rocky promontories or the broad banks +of mud, sand, and ooze, which stretch out from low portions of +the coast. Here they feed on mussels and other bivalves, limpets, +worms, crustacea, and small fish; mixing freely with other birds +while on the ground, but keeping to themselves while performing +their flights. In their mode of using their wings they remind the +spectator of Ducks rather than of Plovers, and they advance in +a line, sometimes in single file, one after another, but more frequently +wing by wing. When they alight, too, it is not with a +circular sweep, but with a sailing movement. When the mud-banks +are covered by the tide they move to a short distance +inland, and pick up slugs and insects in the meadows, or betake +themselves to salt marshes and rocky headlands. They have also +been observed many miles away from the coast; but this is a rare +occurrence. Their nest is generally a slight depression among +the shingle above high-water mark; but on rocky shores they +make an attempt at a nest, collecting a few blades of grass and +scraps of sea-weed. They lay three or four eggs, and the young +are able to run soon after breaking the shell.</p> + +<p>In high latitudes Oyster Catchers are migratory, leaving their +breeding grounds in autumn, and returning in the spring; consequently, +those coasts from which they never depart afford an +asylum in winter to vast numbers of strangers, in addition to their +native population. On the coast of Norfolk, for example, they +are to be seen in small parties all through the summer; but in +winter, especially if it be a severe one, they may be reckoned by +thousands. They here seem to have favourite spots on which to +pass the night. One of these is what is called the "Eastern point" +of Brancaster Marsh, a place of perfect security, for it is difficult +of access under any circumstances, and cannot be approached at +all with any chance of concealment on the part of the intruder. +Towards this point I have seen line after line winging their way, +all about the same hour, just before sunset, all following the line +of the coast, but taking care to keep well out at sea, and all advancing +with perfect regularity, every individual in a company +being at the same height above the water. They are very wary +at this season, insomuch that though I must have seen many +thousands, and examined upwards of twenty species of sea-shore +birds, which had been shot in the neighbourhood, not a single +Oyster Catcher was brought to me.</p> + +<p>A common name for this bird is Sea-pie, another appropriate +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> +one is 'Mussel picker'; and it is thought that 'Catcher' comes +from the Dutch <i>aekster</i> (magpie). The note is a shrill <i>keep</i>, <i>keep</i>. +It swims well, and sometimes it will take to the water of its own +accord. Although the nest is commonly on shingle or among +sand-hills, or a tussock of sea-pink on a narrow ledge of rock, Mr. +Howard Saunders has seen eggs of this bird in the emptied nest of +a Herring-gull and on the summit of a lofty 'stack.'</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE TURNSTONE<br /> +STRÉPSILAS INTÉRPRES</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown reddish white, with longitudinal black streaks; upper part of the back, +scapulars, and wing-coverts, rusty brown, spotted with black; rest of the +plumage variegated with black and white; bill and irides black; feet +orange-yellow. Length nine inches. Eggs greenish-grey, blotched +and spotted with slate and brown.</div> + +<p>The Turnstone is a regular annual visitor to the shores of Great Britain, +and indeed of almost every other country, having been observed +as far north as Greenland, and as far south as the Straits of Magellan; +but it is rarely inland. It arrives on our coasts about the beginning +of August, not in large flocks like the Plovers, but in small +parties, each of which, it is conjectured, constitutes a family. It +is a bird of elegant form and beautiful parti-coloured plumage, +active in its habits, a nimble runner, and an indefatigable hunter +after food. In size it is intermediate between the Grey Plover +and Sanderling, being about as big as a Thrush. The former of +these birds it resembles in its disposition to feed in company with +birds of different species, and its impatience of the approach of +man. For this latter reason it does not often happen that any +one can get near enough to these birds to watch their manœuvres +while engaged in the occupation from which they have derived +their name, though their industry is often apparent from the number +of pebbles and shells found dislodged from their socket on the +sands where a family has been feeding. Audubon, who had the +good fortune to fall in with a party on a retired sea-coast, where, +owing to the rare appearance of human beings, they were less fearful +than is their wont, describes their operations with his usual felicity: +"They were not more than fifteen or twenty yards distant, and I +was delighted to see the ingenuity with which they turned over +the oyster-shells, clods of mud, and other small bodies left exposed +by the retiring tide. Whenever the object was not too large, the +bird bent its legs to half their length, placed its bill beneath it, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> +with a sudden quick jerk of the head pushed it off, when it quickly +picked up the food which was thus exposed to view, and walked +deliberately to the next shell to perform the same operation. In +several instances, when the clusters of oyster-shells or clods of +mud were too heavy to be removed in the ordinary way, they would +not only use the bill and head, but also the breast, pushing the +object with all their strength, and reminding me of the labour +which I have undergone in turning over a large turtle. Among the +sea-weeds that had been cast on shore, they used only the bill, +tossing the garbage from side to side with a dexterity extremely +pleasant to behold.<a name="FNanchor_1_46" id="FNanchor_1_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> In like manner I saw there four Turnstones +examine almost every part of the shore along a space of from thirty +to forty yards; after which I drove them away, that our hunters +might not kill them on their return."</p> + +<p>A writer in the <i>Zoologist</i><a name="FNanchor_2_47" id="FNanchor_2_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> gives an equally interesting account +of the successful efforts of two Turnstones to turn over the dead +body of a cod-fish, nearly three and a half feet long, which had +been imbedded in the sand to about the depth of two inches.</p> + +<p>For an account of the habits of the Turnstone during the +breeding season—it never breeds with us—we are indebted to Mr. +Hewitson, who fell in with it on the coast of Norway. He says, +'We had visited numerous islands with little encouragement, and +were about to land upon a flat rock, bare, except where here and +there grew tufts of grass or stunted juniper clinging to its surface, +when our attention was attracted by the singular cry of a Turnstone, +which in its eager watch had seen our approach, and perched itself +upon an eminence of the rock, assuring us, by its querulous oft-repeated +note and anxious motions, that its nest was there. We +remained in the boat a short time, until we had watched it behind +a tuft of grass, near which, after a minute search, we succeeded in +finding the nest in a situation in which I should never have expected +to meet a bird of this sort breeding; it was placed against a ledge +of the rock, and consisted of nothing more than the dropping leaves +of the juniper bush, under a creeping branch of which the eggs, +four in number, were snugly concealed, and admirably sheltered +from the many storms by which these bleak and exposed rocks are +visited.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_46" id="Footnote_1_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> From this habit, the Turnstone is in Norfolk called a 'Tangle-picker'.—C. +A. J.</div> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_2_47" id="Footnote_2_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> Vol. ix. p. 3077.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY SCOLOPACIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE AVOCET<br /> +RECURVIROSTRA AVOCÉTTA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">General plumage white; crown, nape, scapulars, lesser wing-coverts, and +primaries, black; bill black; irides reddish brown; feet bluish ash. +Length eighteen inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched and spotted with +dusky.</div> + +<p>This bird has become so rare, that having recently applied to two +several collectors in Norfolk, once the headquarters of the Avocet, +to know if they could procure me a specimen, I was told by one that +they were not seen oftener than once in seven years—by the other, +that it was very rare, and if attainable at all could not be purchased +for less than five pounds. In Ray's time it was not unfrequent on +the eastern maritime coasts. Small flocks still arrive in May and now +and again in the autumn, but collectors never allow them to breed. +They used to rest on the flat shores of Kent and Sussex. Sir +Thomas Browne says of it: '<i>Avoseta</i>, called shoeing horn, a tall +black and white bird, with a bill semicircularly reclining or bowed +upward; so that it is not easy to conceive how it can feed; a +summer marsh bird, and not unfrequent in marsh land.' Pennant, +writing of the same bird, says: 'These birds are frequent in the +winter on the shores of this kingdom; in Gloucestershire, at the +Severn's mouth; and sometimes on the lakes of Shropshire. We +have seen them in considerable numbers in the breeding season near +Fossdike Wash, in Lincolnshire. Like the Lapwing, when disturbed, +they flew over our heads, carrying their necks and long legs quite +extended, and made a shrill noise (<i>twit</i>) twice repeated, during the +whole time. The country people for this reason call them <i>Yelpers</i>, +and sometimes distinguish them by the name of <i>Picarini</i>. They +feed on worms and insects, which they suck with their bills out of +the sand; their search after food is frequently to be discovered +on our shores by alternate semicircular marks in the sand, which +show their progress.<a name="FNanchor_1_48" id="FNanchor_1_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a> They lay three or four eggs, about the size of +those of a Pigeon, white, tinged with green and marked with large +black spots.' Even so recent an authority as Yarrell remembers +having found in the marshes near Rye a young one of this species, +which appeared to have just been hatched; he took it up in his +hands, while the old birds kept flying round him.</p> + +<p>The Avocet is met with throughout a great part of the Old World, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> +and is said to be not unfrequent in Holland and France. A writer +of the latter country says that 'by aid of its webbed feet it is enabled +to traverse, without sinking, the softest and wettest mud; this it +searches with its curved bill, and when it has discovered any prey, +a worm for instance, it throws it adroitly into the air, and catches +it with its beak'.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_48" id="Footnote_1_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> It is not a little singular that the Spoonbill, a bird which strongly contrasts +with the Avocet in the form of its bill, ploughs the sand from one side +to another, while hunting for its food.</div> + + +<div class="caption3">THE GREY PHALAROPE<br /> +PHALÁROPUS FULICARIUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Winter</i>—plumage in front and beneath white; back of the head, ear-coverts, +and a streak down the nape, dusky; back pearl-grey, the feathers dusky +in the centre, a white transverse bar on the wings; tail-feathers brown, +edged with ash; bill brown, yellowish red at the base; irides reddish +yellow; feet greenish ash. <i>Summer</i>—head dusky; face and nape +white; feathers of the back dusky, bordered with orange-brown; front +and lower plumage brick-red. Length eight inches and a half. Eggs +greenish stone colour, blotched and spotted with dusky.</div> + +<p>The Grey Phalarope, without being one of our rarest birds, is not +of irregular occurrence. Its proper home is in the Arctic regions, +from whence it migrates southward in winter. It is a bird of varied +accomplishments, flying rapidly like the Snipes, running after the +fashion of the Sandpipers, and swimming with the facility of the +Ducks. In all these respects it does not belie its appearance, its +structure being such that a naturalist would expect, <i>à priori</i>, that +these were its habits. During the breeding season, the Phalarope +quits the sea, its usual haunt, and repairs to the sea-shore, where it +builds a neat nest, in a hollow of the ground, with grass and other +weeds, and lays four eggs. The usual time of its appearance in +Great Britain is autumn; sometimes it comes then in numbers; +but specimens have been obtained in winter. On all these occasions +it has shown itself singularly fearless of man.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE<br /> +PHALÁROPUS HYPERBOREUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head deep ash-grey; throat white; neck bright rust-red; under plumage +white, blotched on the flanks with ash; back black, the feathers bordered +with rust-red; a white bar across the wing; two middle tail-feathers +black, the rest ash, edged with white; bill black; irides brown; feet +greenish ash. Length seven inches. Eggs dark olive, closely spotted +with black.</div> + +<p>The Red-necked Phalarope, or Lobefoot, is, like the preceding +species, an inhabitant of the Arctic regions, but extends its circle +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> +of residence so far as to include the Orkney Islands, in which numerous +specimens have been obtained. It builds its nest of grass, in +the marshes or on the islands in the lakes, and lays four eggs. The +most marked habit of these birds seems to be that of alighting at +sea on beds of floating sea-weed, and indifferently swimming about +in search of food, or running, with light and nimble pace, after the +manner of a Wagtail. They are often met with thus employed at +the distance of a hundred miles from land. They are described as +being exceedingly tame, taking little notice of the vicinity of men, +and unaffected by the report of a gun.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE WOODCOCK<br /> +SCÓLOPAX RUSTÍCOLA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Back of the head barred transversely with dusky; upper plumage mottled +with chestnut, yellow, ash, and black; lower reddish yellow, with brown +zigzag lines; quills barred on their outer web with rust-red and black; +tail of twelve feathers tipped above with grey, below with silvery white; +bill flesh-colour; feet livid. Length thirteen inches. Eggs dirty yellow, +blotched and spotted with brown and grey.</div> + +<p>The history of the Woodcock as a visitor in the British Isles is briefly +as follows: Woodcocks come to us from the south in autumn, the +earliest being annually observed about the twentieth of October. On +their first arrival, they are generally found to be in bad condition; so +weak, in fact, that I recollect many instances of flights having +reached the coasts of Cornwall, only able to gain the land. Their +condition at these times is one of extreme exhaustion; and they +become the prey, not only of the sportsman, but are knocked down +with a stick, or caught alive. In the course of a very few days +they are enabled to recruit their strength, when they make their +way inland. They have been known even to settle on the deck of +a ship at sea, in order to rest; or actually to alight for a few moments +in the smooth water of the ship's wake. Their usual places of +resort by day are woods and coppices in hilly districts, whither they +repair for shelter and concealment. Disliking cold, they select, +in preference, the side of a valley which is least exposed to the wind; +and though they never perch on a branch, they prefer the concealment +afforded by trees to that of any other covert. There, crouching +under a holly, or among briers and thorns, they spend the day +in inactivity, guarded from molestation by their stillness, and by +the rich brown tint of their plumage, which can hardly be distinguished +from dead leaves. Their large prominent bead-like eyes +are alone likely to betray them; and this, it is said, is sometimes +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> +the case. So conscious do they seem that their great security lies in +concealment, that they will remain motionless until a dog is almost +on them or until the beater reaches the very bush under which they +are crouching. When at length roused, they start up with a whirr, +winding and twisting through the overhanging boughs, and make +for the nearest open place ahead; now, however, flying in almost a +straight line, till discovering another convenient lurking-place, +they descend suddenly, to be 'marked' for another shot. About +twilight, the Woodcock awakens out of its lethargy, and repairs +to its feeding-ground. Observation having shown that on these +occasions it does not trouble itself to mount above the trees before +it starts, but makes for the nearest clear place in the wood through +which it gains the open country, fowlers were formerly in the habit +of erecting in glades in the woods, two high poles, from which was +suspended a fine net. This was so placed as to hang across the +course which the birds were likely to take, and when a cock flew +against it, the net was suddenly made to drop by the concealed +fowler, and the bird caught, entangled in the meshes. Not many +years ago, these nets were commonly employed in the woods, near +the coast of the north of Devon, and they are said still to be in use +on the Continent. The passages through which the birds flew +were known by the name of 'cockroads', and 'cockshoots'.</p> + +<p>The localities which Woodcocks most frequent are places which +abound in earthworms, their favourite food. These they obtain +either by turning over lumps of decaying vegetable matter and +picking up the scattered worms, or by thrusting their bills into the +soft earth, where (guided by scent it is supposed) they speedily find +any worm lying hid, and having drawn it out, swallow it whole, +with much dexterity. When the earth is frozen hard, they shift +their ground, repairing to the neighbourhood of the sea, or of springs; +and now, probably, they are less select in their diet, feeding on any +living animal matter that may fall in their way. In March they +change their quarters again, preparatory to quitting the country; +hence it often happens that considerable numbers are seen at this +season in places where none had been observed during the previous +winter. They now have a call-note, though before they have been +quite mute; it is said by some to resemble the syllables <i>pitt-pitt-coor</i>, +by others to be very like the croak of a frog. The French have +invented the verb <i>croûler</i>, to express it, and distinguish Woodcock +shooting by the name <i>croûle</i>. Some sportsmen wisely recommend +that no Woodcock should be shot after the middle of February; for it +has been ascertained that increasing numbers of these remain for +the purpose of breeding in this country; and it is conjectured, with +reason, that if they were left undisturbed in their spring haunts, +they would remain in yet larger numbers. As it is, there are few +counties in England in which their nest has not been discovered; +and there are some few localities in which it is one of the pleasant +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> +sights of the evening, at all seasons of the year, to watch the Woodcocks +repairing from the woods to their accustomed feeding-ground.</p> + +<p>The nest is built of dry leaves, principally of fern, and placed +among dead grass, in dry, warm situations, and contains four eggs, +which, unlike those of the Snipes, are nearly equally rounded at +each end.</p> + +<p>There have been recorded numerous instances in which a +Woodcock has been seen carrying its young through the air to +water, holding the nestling between her thighs pressed close to her +body.</p> + +<p>During its flight, the Woodcock invariably holds its beak pointed +in a direction towards the ground. Young birds taken from the +nest are easily reared; and afford much amusement by the skill +they display in extracting worms from sods with which they are +supplied. The Woodcock is found in all countries of the eastern +hemisphere where trees grow; but it is only met as a straggler +on the Atlantic coast of the United States.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE GREAT SNIPE<br /> +GALLINÁGO MAJOR</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown black, divided longitudinally by a yellowish white band; a streak of +the same colour over each eye; from the beak to the eye a streak of dark +brown; upper plumage mottled with black and chestnut-brown, some +of the feathers edged with straw-colour; greater wing-coverts tipped +with white; under parts whitish, spotted and barred with black; tail +of sixteen feathers; bill brown, flesh-coloured at the base. Length +eleven and a half inches. Eggs brownish olive, spotted with reddish +brown.</div> + +<p>The Great Snipe, Solitary Snipe or Double Snipe, is intermediate +in size between the Woodcock and Common Snipe. Though not +among the rarest of our visitants, it is far from common. It is, +however, an annual visitor, and is seen most frequently in the +eastern counties in the autumn. Its principal resorts are low damp +meadows and grassy places near marshes, but it does not frequent +swamps like its congeners. This difference in its haunts implies a +different diet, and this bird, it is stated, feeds principally on the larvæ +or grubs of Tipulæ (known by the common name of Father Daddy-Long-legs), +which are in summer such voracious feeders on the roots +of grass. It breeds in the northern countries of Europe, and in +some parts of Sweden is so abundant that as many as fifty have +been shot in a day. When disturbed on its feeding-ground, it rises +without uttering any note, and usually drops in again, at no great +distance, after the manner of the Jack Snipe. It may be distinguished +by its larger size, and by carrying its tail spread like a fan. +In the northern countries where it breeds it is found most commonly +in the meadows after hay-harvest, and as it is much prized for the +delicacy of its flesh it is a favourite object of sport. It is remarkable +for being always in exceedingly good condition, a remark which +applies to specimens procured in this country as well as those shot +in Sweden. The nest, which has rarely been seen, is placed in a +tuft of grass, and contains four eggs. The <i>Zoologist</i> once mentioned +the fact of four solitary Snipes being killed in the county of Durham +in August, and two of these were young birds, scarcely fledged.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_51"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_51.png" width="441" height="694" alt="Plate_51" title="Plate_51. Great Snipe; Jack Snipe [M]; Common Snipe; Woodcock [M]. [face p. 256." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_52"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_52.png" width="427" height="697" alt="Plate_52" title="Plate_52. Knot [M]; Wood Sandpiper; Sanderling [M]; and Whimbrel [M]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE COMMON SNIPE<br /> +GALLINÁGO CÆLESTIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage very like the last; chin and throat reddish white; lower parts +white, without spots; flanks barred transversely with white and dusky; +tail of fourteen feathers. Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs light +greenish yellow, spotted with brown and ash.</div> + +<p>The Common Snipe is a bird of very general distribution, being +found in all parts of the eastern hemisphere, from Ireland to Japan, +and from Siberia to the Cape of Good Hope. It is common also +in many parts of America, especially Carolina, and is frequent in +many of the American islands. In Britain, Snipes are most numerous +in the winter, their numbers being then increased by arrivals +from high latitudes, from which they are driven by the impossibility +of boring for food in ground hardened by frost or buried beneath +snow. In September and October large flocks of these birds +arrive in the marshy districts of England, stopping sometimes for +a short time only, and then proceeding onwards; but being like +many other birds, gregarious at no other time than when making +their migrations, when they have arrived at a district where they +intend to take up their residence, they scatter themselves over +marsh land, remaining in each other's neighbourhood perhaps, but +showing no tendency to flock together. Their food consists of the +creeping things which live in mud, and to this, it is said by some, +they add small seeds and fine vegetable fibre; but it is questionable +whether this kind of food is not swallowed by accident, mixed up +with more nourishing diet. The end of their beak is furnished +with a soft pulpy membrane, which in all probability is highly +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> +sensitive, and enables the bird to discover by the touch the worms +which, being buried in mud, are concealed from its sight. Snipes +when disturbed always fly against the wind, so when suddenly +scared from their feeding-ground, and compelled to rise without +any previous intention on their part, they seem at first uncertain +which course to take, but twist and turn without making much +progress in any direction; but in a few seconds, having decided on +their movements, they dart away with great rapidity, uttering at +the same time a sharp cry of two notes, which is difficult to describe, +but once heard can scarcely be mistaken. When a bird on such +an occasion is fired at, it often happens that a number of others, +who have been similarly occupied, rise at the report, and after +having performed a few mazy evolutions, dart off in the way +described. At other times they lie so close that between the sportsman +and the bird which he has just killed there may be others concealed, +either unconscious of danger, or trusting for security to their powers +of lying hid. This tendency to lie close, or the reverse, depends +much on the weather, though why it should be so seems not to have +been decided. But the movements of Snipes generally are governed +by laws of which we know little or nothing. At one season they +will be numerous in a certain marsh; the next year perhaps not +one will visit the spot; to-day, they will swarm in a given locality; +a night's frost will drive them all away, and a change of wind a few +days after will bring them all back again. If very severe weather +sets in they entirely withdraw, but of this the reason is obvious; +the frozen state of the marsh puts a stop to their feeding. They +then retire to milder districts, to springs which are never frozen, +to warm nooks near the sea, or to salt marshes. Perhaps the +majority perform a second migration southwards; for, as a rule, +they are most numerous at the two periods of autumn and spring—that +is, while on their way to and from some distant winter-quarters. +After March they become far less frequent, yet there +are few extensive marshes, especially in Scotland and the north of +England, where some do not remain to breed. At this season a +striking change in their habits makes itself perceptible. A nest is +built of withered grass, sometimes under the shelter of a tuft of +heath or reeds, and here the female sits closely on four eggs. The +male, meanwhile, is feeding in some neighbouring swamp, and if +disturbed, instead of making off with his zigzag winter's flight, +utters his well-remembered note and ascends at a rapid rate into +the air, now ascending with a rapid vibration of wing, wheeling, +falling like a parachute, mounting again, and once more descending +with fluttering wings, uttering repeatedly a note different from his +cry of alarm, intermixed with a drumming kind of noise, which +has been compared to the bleat of a goat. This last sound is produced +by the action of the wings, assisted by the tail-feathers, in his +descents. One of its French names is <i>Chèvre volant</i>, flying goat, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> +the Scottish name 'Heather-bleater', was also given to it as descriptive +of its peculiar summer note. The female sits closely on her +eggs, and if disturbed while in charge of her yet unfledged brood, +endeavours to distract the attention of an intruder from them to +herself by the artifice already described as being employed by others +of the Waders.</p> + +<p>'Sabine's Snipe', which was at one time thought to be a distinct +species, is now admitted to be a melanism, a dark variety of the +Common Snipe, recent examination of specimens having proved +that its tail contains fourteen feathers and not twelve only, as was +supposed. It is seldom found outside Great Britain.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE JACK SNIPE<br /> +GALLINÁGO GALLÍNULA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown divided longitudinally by a black band edged with reddish brown; +beneath this on either side a parallel yellowish band reaching from the +bill to the nape; back beautifully mottled with buff, reddish brown, and +black, the latter lustrous with green and purple; neck and breast spotted; +belly and abdomen pure white; tail of twelve feathers, dusky edged +with reddish grey; bill dusky, lighter towards the base. Length eight +and a half inches. Eggs yellowish olive, spotted with brown.</div> + +<p>As the Great Snipe has been called the Double Snipe, on account +of its being superior in size to the common species, so the subject +of the present chapter is known as the Half Snipe, from being contrasted +with the same bird, and being considerably smaller. The +present species is far less abundant than the Common Snipe; yet +still it is often seen, more frequently, perhaps, than the other, by +non-sporting observers, for it frequents not only downright marshes, +but the little streams which meander through meadows, the sides +of grassy ponds, and the drains by the side of canals, where the +ordinary pedestrian, if accompanied by a dog, will be very likely +to put one up. Its food and general habits are much the same as +those of the Common Snipe; but it rises and flies off without any +note. Its flight is singularly crooked until it has made up its mind +which direction it intends to take; indeed it seems to decide eventually +on the one which was at first most unlikely to be its path, +and after having made a short round composed of a series of disjointed, +curves, it either returns close to the spot from which it was +started, or suddenly drops, as by a sudden impulse, into a ditch a +few gunshots off. I have seen one drop thus within twenty yards +of the spot where I stood, and though I threw upwards of a dozen +stones into the place where I saw it go down, it took no notice of +them. It was only by walking down the side of the ditch, beating +the rushes with a stick, that I induced it to rise again. It then +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> +flew off in the same way as before, and dropped into the little stream +from which I had first started it.</p> + +<p>From this habit of lying so close as to rise under the very feet of +the passenger, as well as from its silence, it is called in France <i>la +Sourde</i>, 'deaf'. In the same country it is known also as 'St. +Martin's Snipe', from the time of its arrival in that country, November +11; with us it is an earlier visitor, coming about the second week +in September.</p> + +<p>A few instances are recorded of the Jack Snipe having been seen +in this country at a season which would lead to the inference that +it occasionally breeds here; but no instance of its doing so has been +ascertained as a fact.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE SANDERLING<br /> +CALIDRIS ARENARIA</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Winter</i>—upper plumage and sides of the neck whitish ash; cheeks and all +the under plumage, pure white; bend and edge of the wing and quills +blackish grey; tail deep grey, edged with white; bill, irides, and feet, +black. <i>Summer</i>—cheeks and crown black, mottled with rust-red and +white; neck and breast reddish ash with black and white spots; back +and scapulars deep rust-red, spotted with black, all the feathers edged +and tipped with white; wing-coverts dusky, with reddish lines, and +tipped with white; two middle tail-feathers dusky, with reddish edges. +<i>Young in autumn</i>—cheeks, head, nape, and back variously mottled +with black, brown, grey, rust-red and dull white. Length eight inches. +Eggs olive, spotted and speckled with black.</div> + +<p>The early flocks of Sanderlings often consist of old as well as young +birds, which is not the common rule with Waders. They are plentiful +on our sandy shores, and they sometimes visit inland waters. +By April the return passage begins. The note is a shrill <i>wick!</i> +They arrive on our shores early in autumn, keeping together in +small flocks, or joining the company of Dunlins, or Ringed Plovers. +In spring they withdraw to high latitudes, where they breed; +they are not, however, long absent. Yarrell mentions his having +obtained specimens as late as April and June, and I have myself +obtained them as early as the end of July, having shot at Hunstanton, +on the coast of Norfolk, several young birds of the year, on the +twenty-third of that month; and on another occasion I obtained a +specimen on the sands of Abergele, in North Wales, in August. This +leaves so very short a time for incubation and the fledging of the +young, that it is probable that a few birds, at least, remain to breed in +this country, or do not retire very far north. Little is known of their +habits during the season of incubation, but they are said to make +their nests in the marshes, of grass, and to lay four eggs.</p> + +<p>Like many other shore birds, they have an extensive geographical +range, and are found in all latitudes, both in the eastern and western +hemispheres.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE CURLEW SANDPIPER<br /> +TRINGA SUBARQUATA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill curved downwards, much longer than the head. <i>Winter</i>—upper tail-coverts +and all the under parts white; upper plumage ash-brown, +mottled with darker brown and whitish; breast the same colours, but +much lighter; bill black; iris brown; feet dusky. <i>Summer</i>—crown +black, mottled with reddish; under plumage chestnut-red, speckled +with brown and white; much of the upper plumage black, mottled with +red and ash. Length seven and a half inches. Eggs yellowish, with +brown spots.</div> + +<p>This bird, called also the Pigmy Curlew, is of about the same size +as the far commoner Dunlin, from which it is distinguished not +only by the difference in the colour of its plumage, but by the greater +length of its beak, which is curved downwards. Pigmy Curlews +are observed from time to time in this country at the periods of +autumn and spring, and it is said that a few remain with us to +breed, but their nest and eggs have never been detected. In their +habits they resemble the Dunlins, from which they may readily +be distinguished, even when flying, by their white upper tail-coverts. +They are of wide geographical range, but nowhere +abundant, and visit us on passage in spring and autumn.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE KNOT<br /> +TRINGA CANÚTUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Beak straight, a little longer than the head, much dilated towards the tip; +tail even at the extremity; a small part of the tibia naked. <i>Winter</i>—throat +and abdomen white; breast and flanks white, barred with ash-brown; +upper plumage ash-grey, mottled with brown; wing-coverts +tipped with white; rump and upper tail-coverts white, with black +crescents; bill and legs greenish black. <i>Summer</i>—streak over the eye, +nape, and all the under plumage, rusty-red, the nape streaked with black; +back streaked and spotted with black, red, and grey. The upper +plumage of <i>young birds</i> is mottled with reddish brown, grey, black, and +dull white; legs dull green. Length ten inches. Eggs unknown.</div> + +<p>The Knot, Willughby informs us, is so called from having been +a favourite dish of King Canutus, or Knute. It is a migratory +bird, visiting the coasts of Great Britain early in autumn, and +remaining here till spring, when it retires northwards to breed. +During the intervening months it keeps exclusively to the sandy +or muddy sea-shore, assembling in small flocks, and mixing freely +with Dunlins, Sanderlings, and Purple Sandpipers. Some authors +state that it feeds principally early and late in the day, and during +moonlight nights; but I have seen it on the coast of Norfolk in +winter feeding at all hours of the day in company with the birds +mentioned above, and differing little from them in the mode of +obtaining its food. But I remarked on several occasions that, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> +when a flock was disturbed, the Knots often remained behind, +being less fearful of the presence of man; in consequence of which +tardiness in rising they more than once fell to our guns after their +companions had flown off. On their first arrival, they are said to +be so indifferent to the vicinity of human beings that it is not difficult +to knock them down with stones. Their provincial name in Norfolk +is the Green-legged Shank, the latter name, Shank, being +applied for shortness to the Redshank. Dr. Richardson states that +'Knots were observed breeding on Melville Peninsula by Captain +Lyon, who tells us that they lay four eggs on a tuft of withered grass, +without being at the pains of forming any nest.'</p> + +<p>Flocks of young make their appearance early in August, the +adults arriving a little later.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE DUNLIN<br /> +TRINGA ALPINA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill a little longer than the head, slightly bent down at the tip; two middle +tail-feathers the longest, dusky and pointed; a small part of the +tibia naked. <i>Winter</i>—throat and a streak between the bill and eye +white; upper plumage ash-brown streaked with dusky; upper tail-coverts +dusky; lateral tail-feathers ash, edged with white; breast +greyish white, mottled with brown; bill black; feet dusky. <i>Summer</i>—most +of the upper plumage black, edged with rust-red; belly and abdomen +black. <i>Young birds</i> have the upper plumage variously mottled +with ash-brown, dusky, and reddish yellow; the bill is shorter and +straight. Length eight inches. Eggs greenish white, blotched and +spotted with brown.</div> + +<p>The name <i>variabilis</i>, changeable, has been applied to this species +of Sandpiper on account of the great difference between its summer +and winter plumage. It was formerly, indeed, supposed that the +two states of the bird were distinct species; of which the former +was called Dunlin, the latter Purre. It is now known that the two +are identical, the bird being commonly found to assume in spring +and autumn colours intermediate between the two.</p> + +<p>Except during the three summer months, May, June, and July, the +Dunlin is common on all the shores of Great Britain, where there are +extensive reaches of sand or mud. I have obtained specimens on +the coast of Norfolk as early as the twenty-fifth of July; but, generally, +it is not until the following month that they become numerous. +From this time until late in the winter they are reinforced by constant +additions; and in very severe weather the flocks are increased +to such an extent that, if it were possible to number them, they +would be probably found to contain very many thousands. Such +a season was the memorable winter of 1860-61, when, during the +coldest part of it, I made an excursion to the coast of Norfolk for +the purpose of observing the habits of the sea-side Grallatores and +Natatores which, in winter, resort to that coast. Numerous as +were the species and individuals of these birds which then flocked +to the beach and salt-marshes, I have no doubt, in my own mind, +that they were all outnumbered by Dunlins alone. Of nearly +every flock that I saw feeding on the wet sand or mud, fully half +were Dunlins; many flocks were composed of these birds alone; +while of those which were constantly flying by, without alighting, +the proportion of Dunlins to all other birds was, at least, three +to one. Added to which, while the parties of other birds were +susceptible of being approximately counted, the individuals which +composed a flock of Dunlins were often innumerable.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_53"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_53.png" width="421" height="695" alt="Plate_53" title="Plate_53. Dunlin [F] [M]; Little Stint; Temminck's Stint [M]; and Cream-coloured Courser. [face p. 262." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_54"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_54.png" width="421" height="699" alt="Plate_54" title="Plate_54. Green Sandpiper [F]; Purple Sandpiper [M]; Common Sandpiper [F]; and Curlew Sandpiper." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span></p> + +<p>At one time, we saw in the distance, several miles off, a light +cloud, as of smoke from a factory chimney: it moved rapidly, +suddenly disappeared, and as suddenly again became visible. This +was an enormous flock of Dunlins, consisting of many thousands +at least. They did not come very near us; but smaller flocks +which flew about in our immediate vicinity presented a similar +appearance. As the upper surface of their bodies was turned +towards us, they were of a dark hue; suddenly they wheeled in +their flight as if the swarm was steered by a single will, when they +disappeared; but instantaneously revealed themselves again flying +in a different direction, and reflected glittering snowy white.</p> + +<p>Dunlins, while feeding, show a devoted attention to their occupation, +which is not often to be observed in land birds. They run +rapidly, looking intently on the ground, now stopping to pick up +some scrap of animal matter which lies on the surface of the sand, +now boring for living prey where they detect indications of such +prey lying hid. Occasionally an individual bird appears to suffer +from lameness, and halts in its progress as if its legs were gouty. +Frequently they chase a receding wave for the sake of recovering +a prize which has been swept from the beach: never venturing +to swim, but showing no fear of wetting either feet or feathers. +While engaged in these various ways, they often keep up a short +conversational twitter, in a tone, however, so low that it can only +be heard at a very short distance. While flying, they frequently +utter a much louder piping note, which can readily be distinguished +from the call of the other sea-side birds. I observed that a small +detached flock, when disturbed, generally flew off to a great distance; +but if other birds were feeding in the neighbourhood, they +more frequently alighted near them, as if assured by their presence +that no danger was to be apprehended.</p> + +<p>Dunlins have bred in Cornwall and Devon; but in many parts +of Scotland, in the Hebrides and Orkneys 'they frequent the haunts +selected by the Golden Plovers, with which they are so frequently +seen in company, that they have popularly obtained the name of +Plovers' Pages. Sometimes before the middle of April, but always +before that of May, they are seen dispersed over the moors in pairs +like the birds just named, which, at this season, they greatly resemble +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> +in habits. The nest, which is composed of some bits of +withered grass, or sedge, and small twigs of heath, is placed in a +slight hollow, generally on a bare spot, and usually in a dry place, +like that selected by the Golden Plover. The female lays four eggs, +and sits very assiduously, often allowing a person to come quite +close to her before removing, which she does in a fluttering and +cowering manner.'<a name="FNanchor_1_49" id="FNanchor_1_49"></a> +<a href="#Footnote_1_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a></p> + +<p>In a few specimens which I obtained, the bill was considerably +curved downwards throughout its whole length, thus approaching +in form that of the Pigmy Curlew; but the dusky upper tail-coverts +sufficiently distinguished it from its rarer congener.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_49" id="Footnote_1_49"></a> +<a href="#FNanchor_1_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> Macgillivray.</div> + + +<div class="caption3">PURPLE SANDPIPER<br /> +TRINGA STRIATA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill longer than the head, slightly bent down at the tip, dusky, the base reddish +orange; head and neck dusky brown, tinged with grey; back and +scapulars black, with purple and violet reflections, the feathers edged +with deep ash; breast grey and white; under plumage white, streaked +on the flanks with grey; feet ochre-yellow. Length eight and a quarter +inches. Eggs yellowish olive, spotted and speckled with reddish brown.</div> + +<p>The Purple Sandpiper is described as being far less common than +the Dunlin, and differing from it in habits, inasmuch as it resorts +to the rocky coast in preference to sandy flats. The few specimens +of it which I have seen were associated with Dunlins, flying in the +same flocks with them, feeding with them, and so closely resembling +them in size and movements, that a description of the one equally +characterizes the other. It was only, in fact, by the difference of +colour that I could discriminate between them; and this I did, on +several occasions, with great ease, having obtained my specimens +singly while they were surrounded by other birds. According to +Mr. Dunn, 'The Purple Sandpiper is very numerous in Orkney and +Shetland, appearing early in spring, and leaving again at the latter +end of April; about which time it collects in large flocks, and may +be found on the rocks at ebb-tide, watching each retiring wave, +running down as the water falls back, picking small shellfish off +the stones, and displaying great activity in escaping the advancing +sea. It does not breed there.'</p> + +<p>This species has a wide geographical range. It has been often +observed in the Arctic regions, where it breeds. It is well known +in North America, and is found in various parts of the continent of +Europe, especially Holland.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">TEMMINCK'S STINT<br /> +TRINGA TEMMINCKI</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill slightly bent down at the tip, much shorter than the head; tail graduated. +<i>Winter</i>—upper plumage brown and dusky; breast reddish; +lower plumage and outer tail-feathers white; bill and feet brown. +<i>Summer</i>—All the upper feathers black, bordered with rust-red; breast +reddish ash, streaked with black. Length five and a half inches. Eggs +unknown.</div> + +<p>Temminck, in whose honour this bird was named, states that it +'inhabits the Arctic Regions, and is seen on its passage at two +periods of the year in different parts of Germany, on the banks of +lakes and rivers; probably, also, in the interior of France; never +along the maritime coasts of Holland; very rare on the Lake of +Geneva. Its food consists of small insects. It probably builds +its nest very far north.' A few have been killed in England, and +it occurs in many parts of Asia and in North Africa, but it is nowhere +abundant, being an irregular visitor, only on migration.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">LITTLE STINT<br /> +TRINGA MINUTA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill straight, shorter than the head; two middle and two outer feathers of +the tail longer than the rest ('tail doubly forked'); tarsus ten lines; +upper plumage ash and dusky; a brown streak between the bill and +the eye; under plumage white; outer feathers of the tail ash-brown, +edged with whitish; middle ones brown; bill and feet black. Length +five and a half inches. Eggs reddish white, spotted with dark red-brown.</div> + +<p>A rare and occasional visitant, appearing from time to time in +small flocks on the muddy or sandy sea-coast. My friend, the Rev. +W. S. Hore (to whom I am indebted for many valuable notes, +incorporated in the text of this volume), obtained several specimens +of this bird in October, 1840, on the Laira mud banks, near Plymouth. +In their habits they differed little from the Dunlin. They were at +first very tame, but after having been fired at became more cautious. +In their food and mode of collecting it, nothing was observed to +distinguish them from the other Sandpipers. They come on passage +in spring and autumn.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE RUFF AND REEVE<br /> +MACHÉTES PUGNAX</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Male in spring</i>—face covered with yellowish warty pimples; back of the +head with a tuft of long feathers on each side; throat furnished with a +ruff of prominent feathers; general plumage mottled with ash, black, +brown, reddish white, and yellowish, but so variously, that scarcely +two specimens can be found alike; bill yellowish orange. <i>Male in winter</i>—face +covered with feathers; ruff absent; under parts white; breast +reddish, with brown spots; upper plumage mottled with black, brown, +and red; bill brownish. Length twelve and a half inches. <i>Female</i>, +'The Reeve'—long feathers of the head and ruff absent; upper plumage +ash-brown, mottled with black and reddish brown; under parts greyish +white; feet yellowish brown. Length ten and a half inches. <i>In both +sexes</i>—tail rounded, the two middle feathers barred; the three lateral +feathers uniform in colour. Eggs olive, blotched and spotted with +brown.</div> + +<p>Both the systematic names of this bird are descriptive of its quarrelsome +propensities: <i>machetes</i> is Greek for 'a warrior', <i>pugnax</i> +Latin for 'pugnacious'. Well is the title deserved; for Ruffs do +not merely fight when they meet, but meet in order to fight. The +season for the indulgence of their warlike tastes is spring; the scene, +a rising spot of ground contiguous to a marsh; and here all the +male birds of the district assemble at dawn, for many days in succession, +and do battle valiantly for the females, called Reeves, till +the weakest are vanquished and leave possession of the field to +their more powerful adversaries. The attitude during these contests +is nearly that of the domestic Cock—the head lowered, the +body horizontal, the collar bristling, and the beak extended. But +Ruffs will fight to the death on other occasions. A basket containing +two or three hundred Ruffs was once put on board a steamer +leaving Rotterdam for London. The incessant fighting of the +birds proved a grand source of attraction to the passengers during +the voyage; and about half of them were slain before the vessel +reached London. Ruffs are gluttonously disposed too, and, if +captured by a fowler, will begin to eat the moment they are supplied +with food; but, however voracious they may be, if a basin of bread +and milk or boiled wheat be placed before them, it is instantly +contended for; and so pugnacious is their disposition, that even +when fellow-captives, they would starve in the midst of plenty if +several dishes of food were not placed amongst them at a distance +from each other.</p> + +<p>Many years have not passed since these birds paid annual visits +in large numbers to the fen-countries. They were, however, highly +prized as delicacies for the table, and their undeviating habit of +meeting to fight a pitched battle gave the fowler such an excellent +opportunity of capturing all the combatants in his nets, that they +have been gradually becoming more and more rare. The fowler, in +fact, has been so successful that he has destroyed his own trade.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span></p> + +<p>Another peculiarity of the Ruff is, that the plumage varies +greatly in different individuals—so much so, indeed, that Montagu +who had an opportunity of seeing about seven dozen in a room +together, could not find two alike. These birds are now become +rare, but occasional specimens are still met with in different parts +of Great Britain, and at various seasons; but if they are ever +served up at table, they must be consignments from the Continent.</p> + +<p>The female builds her nest of coarse grass, among reeds and rushes, +and lays four eggs. The brood, when hatched, remain with her +until the period of migration; but the males take no interest in +domestic affairs. The few that have not been caught become more +amicably disposed during the latter portion of the year. They +lose the feathery shields from whence they derive their English +name, and, assuming a peaceful garb, withdraw to some southern +climate. The Ruff is about one-third larger than the Reeve; +and the latter is, at all seasons, destitute of a prominent collar. +Formerly these birds bred in the east of England.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">GREEN SANDPIPER<br /> +TÓTANUS ÓCHROPUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage olive-brown, with greenish reflections, spotted with whitish +and dusky; lower plumage white; tail white, the middle feathers barred +with dusky towards the end, the two outer feathers almost entirely +white; bill dusky above, reddish beneath; feet greenish. Length nine +and a half inches. Eggs whitish green, spotted with brown.</div> + +<p>This bird, which derives its name from the green tinge of its plumage +and legs, must be reckoned among the rarer Sandpipers. In +habits it differs considerably from most of its congeners, in that it +is not given to congregate with others of its kind, and that it resorts +to inland waters rather than to the sea. It is seen for the most +part in spring and autumn, at which seasons it visits us when on +its way to and from the northern countries in which it breeds. +Specimens have been killed late in the summer, from which it has +been inferred that the Green Sandpiper sometimes breeds in this +country; but the fact does not appear to have been confirmed +by the discovery of its nest. While migrating it flies very high, +but when scared from its feeding-ground it skims along the surface +of the water for some distance, and then rises high into the air, +uttering its shrill whistle. In its choice of food, and habits while +feeding it resembles the Common Sandpiper. It lays its eggs in +deserted nests and old squirrel dreys—and breeds probably in wild +parts of Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire. The Son of the Marshes +considers that it does so. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE WOOD SANDPIPER<br /> +TÓTANUS GLARÉOLA</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Winter</i>—a narrow dusky streak between the bill and eye; upper parts deep +brown, spotted with white; breast and adjacent parts dirty white, +mottled with ash-brown; under plumage and tail-coverts pure white; +tail-feathers barred with brown and white; two outer feathers on each +side with the inner web pure white; bill and legs greenish. <i>Summer</i>—head +streaked with brown and dull white; the white of the breast +clearer; each of the feathers of the back with two white spots on each +side of the centre. Length seven and a half inches.</div> + +<p>This species closely resembles the last both in appearance and habits. +It received its name of Wood Sandpiper from having been observed +occasionally to resort to boggy swamps of birch and alder, and has +been seen even to perch on a tree. Its most common places of +resort are, however, swamps and wet heaths. Like the last, it is a +bird of wide geographical range, nowhere very abundant, and +imperfectly known, coming only on passage in spring and autumn.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE COMMON SANDPIPER<br /> +TÓTANUS HYPOLEUCUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper parts ash-brown, glossed with olive; back and central tail-feathers +marked with fine wavy lines of rich dark brown; a narrow white streak +over each eye; under plumage pure white, streaked at the sides with +brown; outer tail-feathers barred with white and brown; bill dusky, +lighter at the base; feet greenish ash. Length seven and a half inches. +Eggs whitish yellow, spotted with brown and grey.</div> + +<p>To this bird has been given not inappropriately the name of Summer +Snipe. In form and mode of living it resembles the Snipe +properly so called, and it is known to us only during summer. Unlike +the last two species, it is a bird of common occurrence. One +need only to repair to a retired district abounding in streams and +lakes, at any period of the year between April and September, and +there, in all probability, this lively bird will be found to have made +for itself a temporary home. Arrayed in unattractive plumage, +and distinguished by no great power of song—its note being simply +a piping, which some people consider the utterance of one of its +provincial names, 'Willy Wicket'—it may nevertheless be pronounced +an accomplished bird. It flies rapidly and in a tortuous +course, likely to puzzle any but the keenest shot; it runs with +remarkable nimbleness, so that if a sportsman has marked it down, +it will probably rise many yards away from the spot; it can swim +if so inclined; and when hard pressed by a Hawk, it has been seen +to dive and remain under water until all danger had passed away. +It has never been observed to perch on the twigs of trees, but it +has been noticed running along the stumps and projecting roots +of trees. Its favourite places of resort are withy holts (where it +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> +searches for food in the shallow drains), moss-covered stones in +rivers, the shallow banks of lakes, and the flat marshy places intersected +by drains, which in low countries often skirt the sea-shore. +Its food consists of small worms and the larvæ and pupæ of the +countless insects which spend their lives in such localities. It may +be presumed, too, that many a perfect winged insect enters into its +dietary, for its activity is very great. Even when its legs are not +in motion, which does not often happen, its body is in a perpetual +state of agitation, the vibration of the tail being most conspicuous.</p> + +<p>Sandpipers do not congregate like many others of the Waders; +they come to us generally in pairs, and do not appear to flock together +even when preparing to migrate. The nest is a slight depression +in the ground, most frequently well concealed by rushes +or other tufted foliage, and is constructed of a few dry leaves, +stalks of grass, and scraps of moss. The Sandpiper lays four eggs, +which are large, and quite disproportionate to the size of the bird. +Indeed, but for their peculiar pear-shaped form, which allows of +their being placed so as to occupy a small space with the pointed +ends all together, the bird would scarcely be able to cover them. +The parent bird exhibits the same marvellous sagacity in diverting the +attention of an intruder from the young birds to herself, by counterfeiting +lameness, which has been observed in the Plovers. The young +are able to run within a very short time after exclusion from the +egg, there being an instance recorded in the <i>Zoologist</i> of a gentleman +having seen some young birds scramble away from the nest while +there yet remained an egg containing an unhatched chick. Early, +too, in their life they are endowed with the instinct of self-preservation, +for Mr. Selby states that if discovered and pursued before +they have acquired the use of their wings, they boldly take to the +water and dive.</p> + +<p>The Sandpiper is found in all parts of Europe and Asia, but not +in America.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE COMMON REDSHANK<br /> +TÓTANUS CALIDRIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Winter</i>—upper plumage ash-brown; throat, sides of the head, streak over +the eye, neck, and breast, greyish white; rump, belly, and abdomen, +white; tail marked transversely with black and white zigzag bars, tipped +with white; feet and lower half of both mandibles red. <i>Summer</i>—upper +feathers ash-brown, with a broad dusky streak in the centre; +under parts white, spotted and streaked with dusky; feet and lower half +of both mandibles vermilion red. Length ten to eleven inches. Eggs +greenish yellow, blotched and spotted with brown.</div> + +<p>The Redshank is a bird of frequent occurrence on all such parts +of the coast as are suited to its habits. Nowhere, I suppose, is it +more abundant than on the coast of Norfolk—at least, on those parts +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> +of the coast where it can have access to muddy marshes. It does +not, indeed, confine itself to such places, for it is not unfrequently +to be seen on the sea-shore, feeding in the neighbourhood of Dunlins, +Knots, Grey Plovers, and other Waders; or, when its favourite +haunts are covered by the tide, a solitary bird or a party of three +or four meet or overtake the stroller, by the sea-side, taking care +to keep at a respectful distance from him, either by flying high over +his head or sweeping along, a few feet above the surface of the sea, +in the line of the breakers or in the trough outside them. They +may easily be distinguished from any other common bird of the +same tribe by the predominance of white in their plumage. Other +Waders, such as Dunlins and Sanderlings, present the dark and light +sides of their plumage alternately, but the Redshank shows its dark +and white feathers simultaneously, and if seen only on the wing +might be supposed to be striped with black and white. Keen-sighted +observers can also detect its red legs. Its flight, as accurately +described by Macgillivray, 'is light, rapid, wavering, and as if +undecided, and, being performed by quick jerks of the wings, +bears some resemblance to that of a Pigeon'. During its flight it +frequently utters its cry, which is a wild shrill whistle of two or three +notes, approaching that of the Ringed Plover, but louder and less +mellow. At low water, it frequents, in preference to all other places +of resort, flat marshes which are intersected by muddy creeks, and +in these it bores for food. It is very wary, flying off long before +the fowler can come within shot if it happens to be standing +exposed; and even if it be concealed under a high bank, where it +can neither see nor be seen, it detects his approach by some means, +and in most cases is up and away before any but the most expert +shot can stop its flight. On these occasions it invariably utters +its alarm note, which both proclaims its own escape and gives warning +to all other birds feeding in the vicinity. Scattered individuals +thus disturbed sometimes unite into flocks, or fly off, still keeping +separate, to some distant part of the marsh. On one occasion only +have I been enabled to approach near enough to a Redshank +to watch its peculiar movements while feeding, and this observation +I was much pleased in making, as it confirms the account of another +observer. A writer in the <i>Naturalist</i>, quoted by Yarrell and Macgillivray, +says: 'I was very much struck with the curious manner +in which they dart their bill into the sand nearly its whole length, +by jumping up and thus giving it a sort of impetus, if I may use +the word, by the weight of their bodies pressing it downwards.' +This account Macgillivray, with an unamiable sneer too common in +his writings when he refers to statements made by others of facts +which have not fallen within his own observation, considers to be +so inaccurate that he pronounces the birds to be not Redshanks +at all, and calls them 'Irish Redshanks'. On the occasion to which +I have referred, I saw at a distance a largish bird feeding on a bank +of mud close to an embankment. Calculating as nearly as I could +how many paces off it was, I cautiously crept along the other side +of the embankment; and when I had reached what I supposed +was the right spot, took off my hat and peeped over. Within a few +yards of me was an unmistakable Redshank, pegging with his +long beak into the mud, and aiding every blow with an impetus of +his whole body. In my own mind I compared his movements +with those of a Nuthatch, with which I was quite familiar, and, the +surface of the mud being frozen hard, I imagined that the laborious +effort on the part of the bird was necessitated by the hardness of +the ground. Perhaps this may have been the case; but, whether +or not, it is clear enough that the bird does, when occasion requires +it, lend the weight of his body to the effort of his beak in searching +for food. I should add that I did not know, at the time, that any +similar occurrence had been recorded.</p> + +<p>The food of the Redshank consists of worms, marine insects, +and any other animal matter which abounds on the sea-shore. In +small communities it builds its nest of a few blades of grass in +the marshes, in a tuft of rushes or long grass, never among the shingle +where that of the Ringed Plover is placed, but often under a shrub +(popularly known on the coast of Norfolk by the name of 'Rosemary'), +the <i>Suæda fruticosa</i>, Shrubby Sea Blite, of botanists. It +lays four eggs, which are considered delicate eating.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_55"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_55.png" width="437" height="690" alt="Plate_55" title="Plate_55. Redshank [M]; Greenshank; Black-tailed Godwit [F]; Ruff; and Reeve. [face p. 270." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_56"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_56.png" width="428" height="695" alt="Plate_56" title="Plate_56. Sandwich Tern; Black Tern; Arctic Tern; and Roseate Tern." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE GREENSHANK<br /> +TÓTANUS CANESCENS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill strong, compressed at the base, slightly curved upwards. <i>Winter</i>—forehead, +all the lower parts, and lower back, white; head, cheeks, neck and +sides of the breast, streaked with ash-brown and white; rest +of the upper feathers mottled with dusky and yellowish white; tail +white, middle feathers barred with brown, outer white with a narrow +dusky streak on the outer web; bill ash-brown; legs yellowish green, +long and slender. <i>Summer—</i>feathers of the back edged with white, +breast and adjacent parts white, with oval black spots; middle tail-feathers +ash, barred with brown. Length fourteen inches. Eggs olive-brown, +spotted all over with dusky.</div> + +<p>An unusual colour and disproportionate length of leg are characters +which sufficiently distinguish the Greenshank and account for its name. +It is far less common than the Redshank, but seems to resemble +it in many of its habits. It is sociably disposed towards birds of +its own kind and allied species, but utterly averse to any familiarity +with man, insomuch that fowlers rarely come within shot of it. It +frequents low muddy or sandy shores and brackish pools, the oozy +banks of lakes, ponds, and rivers, preferring such open situations +as allow it a clear view of threatening danger while there is plenty +of time to decamp. In the course of feeding it wades unconcernedly + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> +through pools of shallow water, and, if so minded, hesitates neither +to swim nor to dive.</p> + +<p>Its visits to England are paid most commonly in spring and +autumn, while it is on its way to and from the northern climates +in which it breeds. 'In Scotland it is seen', says Macgillivray, +'in small flocks here and there along the sea-shore, by the margins +of rivers, and in marshy places breeding there in the north, but it +is nowhere common, and in most districts of very rare occurrence. By +the beginning of summer it has disappeared from its winter haunts, +and advanced northwards; individuals or pairs remaining here +and there in the more northern parts of Scotland, while the rest +extend their migration.' The same author describes a nest, which +he found in the island of Harris, as very like those of the Golden +and Lapwing Plovers, with four eggs, intermediate in size between +the eggs of these two birds. Another nest was also found by Selby, +in Sutherlandshire. There can be therefore no doubt that the +north of Scotland is within the extreme southern limit of its +breeding-ground. During the winter it is to be seen in the west of +Ireland only.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE BAR-TAILED GODWIT<br /> +LIMÓSA LAPPONICA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Beak slightly curved upwards; middle claw short, without serratures. <i>Winter</i>-upper +plumage variously mottled with grey, dusky, and reddish ash; +lower part of the back white, with dusky spots; tail barred with reddish +white and dusky; lower parts white. <i>Summer</i>—all the plumage deeply +tinged with red. <i>Young birds</i> have the throat and breast brownish +white, streaked with dusky, and a few dusky lines on the flanks. Length +sixteen inches. Eggs unknown.</div> + +<p>On the coast of Norfolk, where I made my first acquaintance with +this bird in the fresh state, it is called a Half-Curlew. In like +manner, a Wigeon is called a Half-Duck. In either case the reason +for giving the name is, that the smaller bird possesses half the market +value of the larger. It resembles the Curlew in its flight and the +colour of its plumage; but differs in having its long beak slightly +curved upwards, while that of the Curlew is strongly arched downwards; +and it is far less wary, allowing itself to be approached so +closely that it falls an easy prey to the fowler. It appears to be +most frequently met with in spring and autumn, when it visits +many parts of the coast in small flocks. In Norfolk it is met with +from May, the twelfth of that month being called 'Godwit day,' by +the gunners, although it is almost unknown up north at that season.</p> + +<p>The specimens which were brought to me were shot in the very +severe weather which ushered in the year 1861. These birds have +nowhere been observed in England later than the beginning of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> +summer, from which fact the inference is fairly drawn that they +do not breed in this country. Their habits differ in no material +respects from the other sea-side Waders, with whom they frequently +mingle while feeding, not, seemingly, for the sake of good fellowship, +but attracted by a motive common to all, that of picking up food +wherever an abundance is to be met with. Their note is a loud, +shrill cry, often uttered while on the wing. The female is much +larger than the male.</p> + +<p>This bird is sometimes called the Sea Woodcock. Its flesh is +good eating, but is far inferior in flavour to that of the true +Woodcock.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE BLACK-TAILED GODWIT<br /> +LIMÓSA BELGICA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Beak nearly straight; middle claw long and serrated; upper parts ash-brown, +the shafts of the feathers somewhat deeper; breast and adjacent parts +greyish white; tail black, the base, and the tips of the two middle +feathers, white; beak orange at the base, black at the point; feet dusky. +<i>Summer</i>—much of the plumage tinged with red. Length seventeen and +a half inches. Eggs deep olive, spotted with light brown.</div> + +<p>This bird is, in outward appearance, mainly distinguished from the +preceding by having two-thirds of the tail black, instead of being +barred throughout with white and black. Like its congener, it is +most frequently seen in autumn and spring, while on the way to +and from its breeding-ground in the north; but it does not stay +with us through winter, though occasionally a few pairs used to +remain in the fen-countries to breed. It is by far the less common +of the two, and seems to be getting annually more and more rare. +Its habits, as far as they have been observed, approach those of +the other Scolopacidæ. In its flight it resembles the Redshank. +Its note is a wild screaming whistle, which it utters while on the +wing. It builds its nest in swamps, among rushes and sedges, +simply collecting a few grasses and roots into any convenient hole, +and there it lays four eggs.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE COMMON CURLEW<br /> +NUMENIUS ARQUATA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">General plumage reddish ash, mottled with dusky spots; belly white, with +longitudinal dusky spots; feathers of the back and scapulars black, +bordered with rust-red; tail white, with dark brown transverse bars; +upper mandible dusky; lower, flesh-colour; irides brown; feet bluish +grey. Length varying from twenty-two to twenty-eight inches. Eggs +olive-green, blotched and spotted with brown and dark green.</div> + +<p>Dwellers by the sea-side—especially where the tide retires to a +great distance leaving a wide expanse of muddy sand, or on the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> +banks of a tidal river where the receding water lays bare extensive +banks of soft ooze—are most probably quite familiar with the note +of the Curlew, however ignorant they may be of the form or name +of the bird from which it proceeds. A loud whistle of two syllables, +which may be heard for more than a mile, bearing a not over-fanciful +resemblance to the name of the bird, answered by a similar cry, +mellowed by distance into a pleasant sound—wild, but in perfect +harmony with the character of the scene—announces the fact +that a party of Curlews have discovered that the ebb-tide is well +advanced, and that their feeding-ground is uncovered. The stroller, +if quietly disposed, may chance to get a sight of the birds themselves +as they arrive in small flocks from the inland meadows; and though +they will probably be too cautious to venture within an unsafe +distance, they will most likely come quite close enough to be discriminated. +Not the merest novice could mistake them for Gulls; +for not only is their flight of a different character, but the bill, +which is thick enough to be distinguished at a considerable distance, +is disproportionately long, and is curved to a remarkable degree. +Curlews are in the habit of selecting as their feeding-ground those +portions of the shore which most abound in worms and small crustaceous +animals; these they either pick up and, as it were, coax +from the tip to the base of the beak, or, thrusting their long bills +into the mud, draw out the worms, which they dispose of in like +manner. When the sands or ooze are covered, they withdraw +from the shore, and either retire to the adjoining marshes or pools, +or pace about the meadows, picking up worms, snails, and insects. +Hay-fields, before the grass is cut, are favourite resorts, especially +in the North; and, in districts where there are meadows adjoining +an estuary, they are in the habit of changing the one for the other +at every ebb and flow of the tide. From the middle of autumn +till the early spring Curlews are, for the most part, sea-side birds, +frequenting, more or less, all the coast; but at the approach of the +breeding season they repair inland, and resort to heaths, damp +meadows, and barren hills. Here a shallow nest is made on the +ground, composed of bents, rushes, and twigs of heath, loosely put +together. The eggs, which are very large, are four in number. +During the period of incubation the male keeps about the neighbourhood, +but is scarcely less wary than at other seasons. The +female, if disturbed, endeavours to lure away the intruder from +her dwelling by the artifice, common in the tribe, of pretending to +be disabled; and great anxiety is shown by both male and female +if any one approaches the spot where the young lie concealed. +The latter are able to run almost immediately after they are +hatched, but some weeks elapse before they are fledged. It seems +probable that an unusually long time elapses before they attain +their full size, for the dimensions of different individuals vary to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> +a remarkable degree. Eight or nine specimens were brought to +me in Norfolk in the winter of 1861, and among them about half +seemed full-grown; of the others some were so small that, at the +first glance, I supposed them to be Whimbrels.</p> + +<p>The Curlew is found on the sea-coast over the whole of Europe +and Asia, and along the northern coast of Africa.</p> + +<p>The flesh of this bird is said by some to be excellent eating. This, +perhaps, may be the case with young birds shot early in autumn +before they have been long subjected to a marine diet. My own +experience of birds shot in winter does not confirm this opinion. I +have found them eatable, but not palatable.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE WHIMBREL<br /> +NUMENIUS PHÆOPUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">General plumage pale ash-colour, mottled with white and dusky spots; crown +divided by a longitudinal streak of yellowish white; over each eye a +broader brown streak; belly and abdomen white, with a few dusky spots +on the flanks; feathers on the back, and scapulars deep brown, in the +middle bordered by lighter brown; rump white; tail ash-brown, barred +obliquely with dark brown; bill dusky, reddish at the base; irides brown; +feet lead-colour. Length not exceeding seventeen inches. Eggs dark +olive-brown, blotched with dusky.</div> + +<p>Though by no means a rare bird, the Whimbrel is of far less common +occurrence than the Curlew, and is seen only at two periods +of the year, in May and August, when performing its migrations. +It resembles the Curlew both in figure and habits, though much +smaller in size; its note, too, is like the whistle of that bird, but +somewhat higher. It is gregarious, but unsociable with other +birds. The extreme southern limit at which the Whimbrel breeds +is considered to be the Orkney and Shetland Islands. It is known +to visit most of the countries of Europe and Asia in spring and +autumn, but is nowhere very abundant.</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<a name="ORDER_GAVIAE_2" id="ORDER_GAVIAE_2"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER GAVIÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2">FAMILY LARIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2"><span class="smcap">Sub-Family</span> STERNINÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE BLACK TERN<br /> +HYDROCHELIDON NIGRA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill black; feet purple-brown, the membrane short; head and neck black; +upper parts lead-colour; under parts dark ash-grey; under tail-coverts +white; tail not much forked, shorter than the wings; irides brown. In +<i>winter</i>, the lore, throat and breast are white. Length ten and a quarter +inches. Eggs dark olive-brown, blotched and spotted with black.</div> + +<p>The Black Tern is a common bird in most temperate countries +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> +which abound in extensive marshes. In its habits it is scarcely +less aquatic than the preceding species, but differs from them all +in preferring fresh water to salt. It was formerly of frequent occurrence +in England; but draining and reclaiming have, within the last +few years, given over many of its haunts to the Partridge and Wood +Pigeon; and it is now but rarely known to breed in this country.<a name="FNanchor_1_50" id="FNanchor_1_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a> +A few, however, are not unfrequently seen in spring and autumn, +when on their way from and to their winter quarters, which are +the warmer regions of the globe. In Norfolk its name still lingers +as the 'Blue Darr', a corruption, probably, of Dorr-Hawk (another +name of the Nightjar), a bird which it closely resembles in its mode +of flight. Like the Dorr-Hawk, the Black Tern feeds on beetles +and other insects, which it catches on the wing, but adds to its +dietary small fresh-water fish, which it catches by dipping for them. +While in pursuit of its winged prey, it does not confine itself to the +water, but skims over the marsh and adjoining meadows, sometimes +even alighting for an instant to pick up a worm. Black Terns are +sociable birds among themselves, but do not consort with other +species. They lay their eggs in the most inaccessible swamps, on +masses of decayed reeds and flags, but little elevated above the level +of the water. The nests are merely depressions in the lumps of +vegetable substance, and usually contain three or sometimes four +eggs. They are placed near enough to each other to form colonies; +and the birds continue to flock together during their absence in +warmer climates. Large flocks have been seen in the Atlantic, +midway between Europe and America. In Holland and Hungary +they are said by Temminck to be numerous. This author states +that the Black Tern commonly lays its eggs on the leaves of the +water-lily.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_50" id="Footnote_1_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> The Rev. R. Lubbock states in his <i>Fauna of Norfolk</i>, 1845, that it has +ceased to breed regularly in Norfolk, but that eggs had been recently obtained +at Crowland Wash in Lincolnshire.</div> + + +<div class="caption3">THE SANDWICH TERN<br /> +STERNA CANTIACA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill long, black, the tip yellowish; tarsus short (one inch); tail long; head +and crest as in the last; nape, upper part of the back, and all the lower +parts brilliant white, tinged on the breast with rose; back and wings +pale ash-grey; quills deeper grey; tail white; feet black, yellowish +beneath. <i>Young birds</i>—head mottled with black and white; back, wing-coverts, +and tail-feathers varied with irregular lines of black; bill and +feet dark brown. Length eighteen inches. Eggs greyish green, blotched +with brown and black.</div> + +<p>The Sandwich Tern, which takes its name from the place where +it was first seen in England, is not uncommon on many parts of the +coast during the summer months. In some places it seems to be + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> +abundant. A large colony inhabits the Farne Islands. They breed +as far north as the Findhorn. Upon this coast it is called <i>par +excellence</i> 'The Tern', all the other species passing under the general +name of 'Sea Swallows'. Its habits are so like those of the +Common Tern, to be described hereafter, that, to avoid repetition, +I purposely omit all account of its mode of fishing, and content +myself with quoting, on the authority of Audubon and Meyer, +incidents in its biography which I have not noticed in the Common +Tern. The former author says: 'Its cries are sharp, grating, +and loud enough to be heard at the distance of half a mile. They +are repeated at intervals while it is travelling, and kept up incessantly +when one intrudes upon it in its breeding-ground, on which +occasion it sails and dashes over your head, chiding you with angry +notes, more disagreeable than pleasant to your ear.' Meyer, writing +of the same bird, says: 'The Sandwich Tern is observed to be +particularly fond of settling on sunken rocks where the waves +run high, and the surf is heavy: this being a peculiar fancy belonging +to this species, it is sometimes called by the name of Surf Tern.'</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE ROSEATE TERN<br /> +STERNA DOUGALLI</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill black, red at the base; feet orange, claws small, black; tarsus three-quarters +of an inch long; tail much forked, much longer than the wings; +upper part of the head and nape black; rest of the upper plumage pale +ash-grey; tail white, the outer feathers very long and pointed; cheeks +and under plumage white, tinged on the breast and belly with rose. +Length fifteen to seventeen inches. Eggs yellowish stone-colour, spotted +and speckled with ash-grey and brown.</div> + +<p>Of this Tern Dr. M'Dougall, its discoverer, says, 'It is of light +and very elegant figure, differing from the Common Tern in the +size, length, colour, and curvature of the bill; in the comparative +shortness of the wing in proportion to the tail, in the purity of the +whiteness of the tail, and the peculiar conformation and extraordinary +length of the lateral feathers. It also differs from that +bird in the hazel-colour and size of the legs and feet.'</p> + +<p>Roseate Terns have been discovered on several parts of the coast, +principally in the north, as in the mouth of the Clyde, Lancashire +and the Farne Islands. They associate with the Common Terns, but +are far less numerous. Selby says, 'the old birds are easily recognized +amidst hundreds of the other species by their peculiar and +buoyant flight, long tail, and note, which may be expressed by the +word <i>crake</i>, uttered in a hoarse grating key.' They rarely nest in +Great Britain. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE ARCTIC TERN<br /> +STERNA MACRURA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill slender, red throughout; under plumage ash-grey; tail much forked, +longer than the wings; legs orange-red, in other respects very like the +last. Length fifteen inches. Eggs as in the last.</div> + +<p>This bird, as its name indicates, frequents high northern latitudes, +to which, however, it is not confined; since in the Orkneys and +Hebrides it is the common species. It breeds also on the coast +of some of the northern English counties, but not farther south +than the Humber, though several instances are recorded of large +flocks making their appearance in different places at the season +when they were probably on their way from their winter quarters—far +away to the south—to their breeding-ground. In the +rocky islands, which they frequent from May to September, they +form colonies and lay their eggs, generally apart from the allied +species. The eggs closely resemble those of the Common Tern, +but are somewhat smaller. In its habits and general appearance +the Arctic Tern comes so close to the last-named species, that +the birds, even when flying together, can only be distinguished by +the most practised eye.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_57"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_57.png" width="425" height="688" alt="Plate_57" title="Plate_57. Lesser Tern [M]; Common Tern; Turnstone [M] imm.; and Oyster Catcher [F]. [face p. 278." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_58"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_58.png" width="446" height="696" alt="Plate_58" title="Plate_58. Glaucous Gull [F]; The Common Gull; Lesser Black-backed Gull; and Greater Black-backed Gull [M]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE COMMON TERN<br /> +STERNA FLUVIÁTILIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill moderate, red with a black tip; head and long feathers on the back of the +head black; upper parts bluish ash; quills ash-grey, brown at the tips; +tail much forked, not longer than the wings, white, the two outer feathers +on each side dusky on the outer webs; under parts white, tinged +with grey on the breast; irides reddish brown; feet coral-red. <i>Young +birds</i> have a good deal of white about the head, and the feathers on the +back are tipped with white; tail ash-grey, whitish at the tip. Length +fourteen inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched and spotted with ash and +dusky.</div> + +<p>On those parts of the coast where the Common Tern is abundant, +no sea-bird is more likely to attract the notice of the visitor than +the Common Tern. It is less in size than any of the common species +of Gull, with which, however, it is often confounded by the unobservant. +It is more lively and active in its motions, not ordinarily +flying in circles, but, if I may use the expression, 'rambling' +through the air, frequently diverging to the right or left, and raising +or depressing itself at frequent intervals. These characters alone +are sufficient to distinguish the Tern from any of the Gulls; +but it presents yet more striking features. Its tail is elongated +and forked like that of the Swallow, and from this character +rather than from its flight it is commonly known as the Sea +Swallow. Its mode of taking its prey is totally different from +that of the Gulls. Very frequently a single Tern may be observed +pursuing its course in a line with the breakers on a sandy shore at +the distance perhaps of from fifty to a hundred yards from the beach. +Its beak is pointed downwards, and the bird is evidently on the +look-out for prey. Suddenly it descends perpendicularly into the +water, making a perceptible splash, but scarcely disappearing. +In an instant it has recovered the use of its wings and ascends again, +swallowing some small fish meanwhile if it has been successful, but +in any case continuing its course as before. I do not recollect +ever to have seen a Tern sit on the water to devour its prey when +fishing among the breakers. Often, too, as one is walking along +the shore, or sailing in a boat, when the sea is calm, a cruising party +of Terns comes in sight. Their flight now is less direct than in the +instance just mentioned, as they 'beat' the fishing-ground after +the fashion of spaniels, still, however, making way ahead. Suddenly +one of the party arrests its flight, hovers for a few seconds +like a Hawk, and descends as if shot, making a splash as before. +If unsuccessful it rises at once, but if it has captured the object on +which it swooped, it remains floating on the water until it has relieved +itself of its incumbrance by the summary process of swallowing +it. I do not know a prettier sight than a party of Terns thus +occupied. They are by no means shy, frequently flying quite +over the boat, and uttering from time to time a short scream, +which, though not melodious, is more in keeping with the scene +than a mellow song would be.</p> + +<p>In rough weather they repair to sheltered bays, ascend estuaries, +or follow the course of a river until they have advanced far inland. +They are harbingers of summer quite as much as the Swallow itself, +coming to us in May and leaving in September for some warmer +coast. They usually breed on flat shores, laying two or three eggs +on the ground, in marshes, or on sandy shingle. The eggs in my +collection were procured on the coast of Norfolk, but I have seen +the birds themselves in the greatest numbers in Belfast Lough and +in Loch Crinan. They have bred as far north as Sutherland.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE LITTLE (OR LESSER) TERN<br /> +STERNA MINUTA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill orange, with a black tip; feet orange; forehead, and a streak above +the eye, white; crown black; upper parts pearl-grey; under, white; +tail much forked, shorter than the wings. <i>Young birds</i> have the head +brownish, with darker streaks; upper plumage yellowish white and dusky; +bill pale yellow, with a dark tip; legs dull yellow. Length eight and a +half inches. Eggs stone-colour, spotted and speckled with grey and +brown.</div> + +<p>On the sandy and marshy shores of Norfolk, the Lesser Tern is a +bird of common occurrence in summer, either single, or in small +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> +parties of three or four. Not unfrequently, as the sea-side visitor +is sauntering about on the sands, one of these birds seems to take +offence at its dominion being invaded. With repeated harsh cries it +flies round and round the intruder, coming quite close enough to +allow its black head and yellow beak to be distinguished. Its +flight is swift, something like that of a Swallow, but more laboured, +and not so rapid. If fired at, it takes little notice of the noise; +and, knowing nothing of the danger, continues its screams<a name="FNanchor_1_51" id="FNanchor_1_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a> and +circling till its pertinacity becomes annoying. When feeding it +presents a far pleasanter appearance. Then, altogether heedless +of intrusion, it skims along the surface of the drains in the marshes, +profiting by its length of wing and facility of wheeling, to capture +flying insects. At least, if this be not its object, I can in no other +way account for the peculiar character of its flight. At other +times, either alone or in company with a few other individuals +of the same species, it is seen flying slowly along, some fifteen or +twenty feet above the surface of a shallow tidal pool, or pond, in a +salt marsh. Suddenly it arrests its onward progress, soars like a +Kestrel for a second or two, with its beak pointed downwards. It +has descried a shrimp, or small fish, and this is its way of taking +aim. Employing the mechanism with which its Creator has provided +it, it throws out of gear its apparatus of feathers and air-tubes, +and falls like a plummet into the water, with a splash which +sends circle after circle to the shore; and, in an instant, having +captured and swallowed its petty booty, returns to its aërial +watch-post. A social little party of three or four birds, who have +thus taken possession of a pond, will remain fishing as long as the +tide is high enough to keep it full. They take little notice of passengers; +and if startled by the report of a gun, remove to a short +distance only, and there resume their occupation. Sometimes they +may be seen floating about in the open sea, resting their wings, +perhaps, after a long flight, or simply idling, certainly not fishing; for +although they plunge from a height, with great ease and elegance, +diving proper is not one of their accomplishments.</p> + +<p>To the stranger who visits the coast of Norfolk, the Lesser Tern +will, perhaps, be pointed out under the name of 'Sea Swallow', +or, more probably, as a 'Shrimp Catcher'. Either of these names +is appropriate. Its mode of progress through the air is more +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> +like a Swallow's than that of the Common Tern, and in size it does +not so very much exceed the Swift as to make the comparison outrageous. +A shrimp it can undoubtedly catch; and it exercises +its vocation in shallow water, such as shrimps alone inhabit or +small fish no larger than shrimps.</p> + +<p>Like the other Terns it is migratory, repairing year after year +to low flat shores on various parts of the coast, arriving in May, +and departing in September for some climate subject to no cold +severe enough to banish small marine animals to deep water. The +Lesser Tern makes no nest, but lays its eggs, generally two, among +the shingle.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_51" id="Footnote_1_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> I have been beset in this manner by a Lesser Tern, so far on in the summer +that I could not attribute its actions to any anxiety about either eggs or young. +I am inclined to think it is, on such occasions, taught by its instinct to accompany +a traveller for the sake of the insects disturbed by his movements. +During the summer months, the shingle, on a sunny beach, is haunted by +myriads of sluggish flies, which rarely take wing unless thus disturbed. That +the Chimney Swallow often accompanies the traveller for this object, I have +no doubt; as I have seen them fly to and fro before me, darting in among +the swarming flies, and so intent in their chase, as to pass within a few yards +of my feet every time they crossed my path.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><span class="smcap">Sub-Family</span> LARINÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE LITTLE GULL<br /> +LARUS MINUTUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Summer</i>—head and neck black; lower part of the neck, tail, all the under +plumage, white; upper plumage pale ash-grey; primaries white at the +end; bill reddish brown; irides dark; legs vermilion. <i>Winter</i>—forehead, +front and sides of the neck white; nape and cheeks white, streaked +with greyish black. Length eleven inches.</div> + +<p>This, the smallest of the Gulls, comes sometimes in numbers to the +British coast. It is said to be remarkably active and graceful in +its movements through the air, and to associate with Terns. Its +food consists of marine insects and small fish. Its breeding-place +and eggs are unknown. As a rule it leaves us in September or +early in October.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE BROWN-HEADED GULL<br /> +LARUS RIDIBUNDUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><i>Summer</i>—head and upper part of the neck deep brown; lower part of the +neck and all the under plumage white, slightly tinged with rose; upper +plumage bluish ash; primaries white, edged with ash, and broadly tipped +with black; irides brown; bill and feet red, with a purple tinge. In <i>winter</i> +the head and neck are white; bill and feet bright vermilion. In <i>young +birds</i> the hood is pale brown; the upper plumage dark brown, mottled +at the edges of the feathers with yellowish; bill livid at the base, the +tip black; feet yellowish. Length seventeen inches. Eggs olive, spotted +with brown and dusky.</div> + +<p>Black-headed, Blackcap, Brown-headed, Red-legged, and +Pewit, are all common distinctive names of this Gull, to which +may be added that of Laughing Gull. The latter name is, indeed, +often given to the next species, a rare bird, and might with equal +propriety be applied to several other species, whose harsh cry +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> +resembles a laugh. The systematic name, <i>ridibundus</i>, which has +the same meaning, is by general consent confined to this. The +reader, therefore, must bear in mind that though the term <i>ridibundus</i> +will bear no translation but 'laughing', the name of the +Laughing Gull is <i>Larus atricapilla</i>, which can mean only 'Black-headed +Gull'; a paradoxical statement, perhaps, but one which +it is necessary to make, or the young student will probably fall into +error.</p> + +<p>Brown-headed Gull is the most appropriate of all the above names, +at least in summer, for at this period both male and female are +best distinguished by the deep brown colour of the head and upper +part of the neck.</p> + +<p>This is one of the most frequent of the Gulls, to be sought for +in the breeding season not on the rocky shore among cliffs, but on +low flat salt marshes on the coast and in fresh-water marshes far +inland. Early in spring large numbers of Brown-headed Gulls +repair to their traditional breeding-grounds and wander over the +adjoining country in search of food, which consists of worms and +grubs. From the assiduity with which they resort to arable land +and follow the plough, they have been called Sea Crows. In April +and May they make their simple preparations for laying their eggs +by trampling down the broken tops of reeds and sedges, and +so forming a slight concavity. The number of eggs in each nest +is generally three, and as a large number of birds often resort +to the same spot, the collecting of these eggs becomes an +occupation of importance. By some persons they are considered +a delicacy, and, with the eggs of the Redshank, are substituted for +Plovers' eggs; but to a fastidious palate they are not acceptable, +and far inferior to an egg from the poultry yard. Willughby +describes a colony of Blackcaps on a small island in a marsh or +fish pond, in the county of Stafford, distant at least thirty miles +from the sea. He says that when the young birds had attained +their full size, it was the custom to drive them from the island into +nets disposed along the shore of the lake. The captured birds were +fattened on meat and garbage, and sold for about fourpence or +fivepence each (a goodly price in those days, 1676). The average +number captured every year was 1200, returning to the proprietor +an income of about £15. In <i>The Catalogue of Norfolk and +Suffolk Birds</i>, it is stated that precisely the same sum is paid +for the privilege of collecting the eggs from Scoulton Mere, in +Norfolk. Towards the end of July, when the young are fully +fledged, all the birds, old and young, repair to the sea, and scatter +themselves in small flocks to all parts of the coast, preferring a low +sandy shore, or the mouth of a tidal river, as the Thames and the +Clyde, where they are of common occurrence. They also accompany +shoals of herrings and other small fish, often congregating +with other species in countless numbers.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span></p> + +<p>Before winter the distinctive character afforded by the brown +plumage of the head and neck has entirely disappeared. These parts +are now of a pure white, and the red legs afford the best distinguishing +feature. Persons residing on the coast, who are familiarly +acquainted with the habits of the bird, but are unaware of the periodical +change in its colour, consider the two forms of the bird as +distinct species. Thus I have received from a marsh on the coast of +Norfolk the eggs of the 'Black-Headed Gull', and have had the +same bird pointed out to me in winter as the 'Red-legged Pigeon-Mow' +(Mew). One flock of about thirty thus pointed out to me +presented a very pretty sight. They had detected either a shoal +of small fishes, or a collection of dead animal matter floating among +the breakers, and were feeding with singular activity.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE COMMON GULL<br /> +LARUS CÁNUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">In <i>spring</i> the head and neck of this species are white and the mantle is a pale +grey, a little darker in <i>summer</i>, the head, tail and under parts white; +primaries comparatively long, and the three outer pairs dull black on +the lower portions, with large white 'mirrors' near the tips in mature +birds—in the rest the predominant tone is a pale grey, the black only +forming a bar, and all but the first primary broadly tipped with white; +bill a rich yellow towards the point; legs and feet greenish yellow in +<i>summer</i>, darker in <i>winter</i>. In <i>winter</i> the head and neck are streaked +and spotted with ash-brown. Length eighteen inches.</div> + +<p>This is a species resident in Great Britain, but it is not known +to breed south of the Solway. It nests, however, in the west of +Ireland; grassy sides and islands of lochs or slopes that face the +sea, not far often above high-water, are its favourite resorts, where +it breeds in colonies, the nest of sea-weeds, heather and dry grass +being fairly large. In it will be, as a rule, three eggs, an olive-brown, +spotted and streaked with a blackish tone; but pale blue, light +green and straw-coloured varieties are found often. This Gull is +the first to seek the shore on the approach of 'coarse' weather; +and it may often be studied in the fields as it picks up grubs among +the furrows in the company of Rooks, or by the town-tied Cockney, +from his own standpoint of Westminster Bridge.</p> + +<p>The 'Blue Maa', as this species is called in the north, breeds in +abundance on the Scottish coasts as well as the moors of the fresh-water +lochs, including the Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetlands. +The Black-Headed Gull is generally the Common Gull of the peasantry +in Ireland, but the underside of the wing in the young of the Common +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> +Gull is mottled with brown, whereas it is greyish-white in the +Black-Headed species.</p> + +<p>Gulls are, moreover, of material service, for they perform for the +surface of the sea the same office which crustaceous animals do +for its depths. Most of their time is spent in either flying or swimming +about (they are no divers) in quest of food, which is of that +nature that, if suffered to accumulate, more than one of our senses +would be offended. All animal matter which, when life is extinct, +rises to the surface, it is their especial province to clear away. To +perform this necessary work, they have need of a quick eye and a +voracious appetite. That they have the former in an eminent +degree, any one may convince himself who, when taking a sea +voyage, sees the vessel followed, as he often will, by a flock of Gulls. +Let him fling overboard, into the foaming track of the ship, where +his own eye can distinguish nothing, ever so small a portion of bread +or other kind of food. That some one individual at least among +the flock will have seen it fall and be able to descry it is certain; +now, probably, a general scramble will ensue, and the prize will be +secured by the swiftest. Having tried this several times with +the same result, let him throw over, instead of meat or bread, a bit +of wood. Not a bird will come near even to examine it. I have +often tried this experiment, and have met with but one result. To +prove that the Gull is capable of consuming a large quantity of +food, as well as quick-sighted, a single anecdote will suffice:—"A +man who was shooting on the banks of the river Yare, seeing something, +which had the appearance of an eel half-swallowed, hanging +from the mouth of a Gull which was flying overhead, fired at the +bird, and on taking it up, found, not an eel, but—five tallow candles +attached to a piece of thread, to the other end of which was +fastened a sixth, the latter having been <i>almost entirely swallowed</i>. +The candles were about twelve inches in length, with cotton wicks, +such as are used on board the fishing boats, from the deck of which +he had probably taken them". The Gull, then, is not choice in its +diet; it is, in fact, omnivorous. It skims the deep for dead animal +matter, follows the ship for offal thrown overboard, paces the shore +in quest of molluscs and marine insects, flies inland in stormy +weather (a specimen was once brought me which had been shot in +Hertfordshire, twenty miles from the nearest navigable river) +in winter and spring, and follows the plough along with Rooks and +Jackdaws, alights on fields which have been manured with decomposed +fish, resorts to marshes for frogs and worms, and after an +inundation repairs to the lately submersed ground, and picks up +the small quadrupeds which have been drowned. It usually flies +at no great elevation above the water, but when repairing inland +and returning it frequently rises to a very great height. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE HERRING GULL<br /> +LARUS ARGENTÁTUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head and neck white, streaked in summer with light brown; tail and lower +parts white; back and wings bluish ash; primaries dusky, passing into +black, the shafts black and extremities white; secondaries edged and +tipped with white; bill, orbits, and irides, yellow; feet flesh-colour. +In <i>young birds</i> the white is mostly replaced by dark grey, mottled with +brown; wings and tail brown, the latter reddish yellow towards the +end; bill dusky; irides, orbits, and feet, brown. Length twenty-three +inches. Eggs olive-brown, spotted with dark brown and dusky.</div> + +<p>If, among a flock of Common Gulls, seen either following a vessel +at sea or attending on the movements of a shoal of fish, one be +observed which greatly surpasses the rest in size, it will probably +be this species, provided that it have a grey and not a black back. +In the latter case it may either be the Great or Lesser Black-Backed +Gull.</p> + +<p>The Herring Gull is a large and powerful bird, thoroughly competent +to dispose of a herring or even a more bulky fish. It is +common on most parts of the British coast, and remains with us +all the year, building its nest on steep cliffs, or rocky islands. In +the south of England it is very abundant, and is more frequently +seen inland, in newly-ploughed fields, than any other species. Like +the other Gulls, it may easily be tamed if taken young; and, when +kept in a garden, earns its maintenance by keeping down slugs and +other vermin.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL<br /> +LARUS FUSCUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Wings reaching two inches beyond the tail; head and neck white, streaked +(in <i>winter</i>) with brown; lower parts pure white; rest of the upper plumage +blackish grey; primaries black, the first two with an oval white spot +near the tip; secondaries and scapulars tipped with white; bill, irides, +and feet, yellow; tarsus two and a quarter inches long; orbits red. +In <i>young birds</i> the white plumage is mostly replaced by grey mottled +with brown, and the black by dusky edged with yellowish; the primaries +have no white spots, and the bill is dusky. Length twenty-three +inches. Eggs brownish grey, spotted with brown and black.</div> + +<p>This is a generally diffused species, occurring in considerable numbers, +not only on various parts of our coast, but in the Baltic, the +Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Red Sea, and the northern parts +of America. It repairs in spring either to rocky islands, steep cliffs, +or sometimes to inland lakes, where it builds a rather large nest +of tufts of grass, and lays two or three eggs. When the young are +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> +hatched it is very impatient of having its stronghold invaded, and +resents molestation by darting at the head of the intruder. The +Lesser Black-Backed Gull breeds habitually on many parts of the +coast, especially such as are frequented by the Herring Gull. Its +food and habits are much the same as those of the Common Gull. +In the South of England, the nesting-places are confined to Devon +and Cornwall, but there are colonies on the Farne Islands, the Isle +of Man and Wales.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL<br /> +LARUS MARÍNUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Wings extending but little beyond the tail; legs pale flesh-colour. Length +thirty inches; breadth about five feet nine inches. In most other +respects resembling the Lesser Black-Backed Gull. Eggs stone-buff, +blotched and spotted with dusky brown.</div> + +<p>Of the two Black-Backed Gulls, the Greater, or 'Cobb', is by far +the less frequent on our coasts, and when seen generally occurs in +pairs. It remains with us all the year, but is most frequent in +the south during winter. In spring, Great Black-Backed Gulls for +the most part withdraw to cliffs and rocky islands far north, as, +for instance, the Orkneys and Hebrides, where they are numerous, +a few only nesting southwards. Unlike most other Gulls, birds +of this species are unsociable even in the breeding season. They +build their nests on the most inaccessible parts of the rocks, and +reserve the situation entirely to themselves, not even permitting +birds of their own species or any other intruders to settle there. +They are exceedingly wary, and give notice of the approach of +danger to other animals. Consequently, they are held in dislike by +the gunner, whether in pursuit of sea-birds or seals. Like the rest +of the Gulls, they are omnivorous, but are, more than any others, +addicted to carrion, in quest of which they often wander inland; +hence, they are sometimes called Carrion Gulls. 'If a floating +prize presents itself', says Mr. St. John, 'such as the remains of a +large fish or dead bird, it is soon discovered by one of the large +Gulls, who is not, however, allowed to enjoy his prize alone, for +every one of his fellows within sight joins in tearing it to pieces. +When I have winged a Duck, and it has escaped and gone out to sea, +I have frequently seen it attacked, and devoured almost alive, by +these birds.'</p> + +<p>Stations occur here and there on the coast of England in which +the Great Black-Backed Gull builds. It sometimes resorts to a +marsh at the breeding season, but retains its habit of driving away +all intruders. Its eggs are prized as dainties, being thought to +resemble Plovers' eggs. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">GLAUCOUS GULL, OR BURGOMASTER<br /> +LARUS GLAUCUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">General plumage white; back and wings bluish grey; tail and terminal +portion of the quills white; bill strong, yellow; legs livid flesh-colour. +<i>Young</i> mottled with white, grey, and light brown; shafts of the quills +white; in other respects like the last, but the bill is longer and stouter. +Length about twenty-nine inches; breadth five feet two inches. Eggs +as in the last, but of a greener hue.</div> + +<p>The Glaucous Gull, a large, handsome, and powerful bird, resembles +in many of its habits the species last described, but it has not been +known to breed in even the most northerly of the British Isles. It +pays occasional visits to our shores in winter. A few specimens +only have been shot in the southern portion of the island, and no +large number in Scotland; but in the neighbourhood of the whale +fishery it is common enough. It is very voracious, and not only +eats fish, whether dead or alive, and shares with the whale-fisher +in his booty, but pursues other sea-fowl, compels them to disgorge +their prey, robs them of their eggs, and, if they resist, kills and +devours them.<a name="FNanchor_1_52" id="FNanchor_1_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a> In short, it is the very tyrant of the Arctic Ocean. +Its predatory habits were noticed by the early navigators in these +waters, who gave it the name of Burgomaster; but as no accurate +description of the bird was brought home, and as some of our other +large Gulls are open to a charge of similar rapacity, the name was +naturally transferred by Willughby to another species, which he +calls the Wagel (probably the Great Black-Backed Gull in immature +plumage). This was in 1676. A hundred years later Brunnich +gave it the name of Glaucous Gull; but it is still called Burgomaster +by the Dutch, and by Arctic voyagers generally.</p> + +<p>Mr. St. John gives the name of Wagel to the Great Grey Gull.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_52" id="Footnote_1_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> A specimen shot in Norfolk was found to contain a full-grown Golden +Plover entire.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE KITTIWAKE GULL<br /> +RISSA TRIDACTYLA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Hind toe represented by a small knob without a claw. <i>Summer plumage</i>—head +and neck pale bluish ash, a few fine dusky streaks before the eyes; +forehead, region of the eyes, and all the under parts, pure white; upper +plumage bluish ash; first primary with the outer web black, four first +tipped with black, two or three of them ending in a small white spot, +fifth having the tip white bordered with black; bill greenish yellow; +orbits red; irides brown; feet dark olive-brown. In <i>winter</i>, the whole +of the head and neck is white. <i>Young birds</i> have the head white, mottled +with grey and dusky; upper feathers tipped with brown; bend and +upper edge of the wing black; primaries black; tail black, towards the +end tipped with white; bill, orbits, and irides, black; feet pale brown. +Length fifteen and a half inches. Eggs stone-colour, spotted with grey +and two shades of brown.</div> + +<p>The Kittiwake Gull takes its name from the cry with which in the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> +breeding season it assails any intruder on its domain. It is a beautiful +bird, especially in its variegated immature plumage, remarkable +for its delicacy of colouring and the easy grace of its flight, frequenting +high cliffs in summer, while engaged in the duties of incubation, +and at all other times preferring the open sea to estuaries, and feeding +on such small fish as swim near the surface. It is very abundant +in the Arctic regions of both hemispheres during summer, +and extends its southern limits so far as to include the British Isles, +but is most numerous in the north. Its nest, built of sea-weed or +bents, is placed high up in the face of a precipitous cliff, generally on +a narrow ledge, and in close proximity with others belonging to +birds of the same species. It contains three eggs, and the young +birds remain in their airy nest until fully fledged, when, as +well as their parents, they disperse over the neighbouring seas, +rarely venturing either to perch on land or fly over it. The +young of the Kittiwake, previous to its first moult, is sometimes +called the Tarrock. Colonel Irby says that the Kittiwake is a +partially resident species. Marked birds have been known to +follow vessels across the North Atlantic.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2"><span class="smcap">Sub-Family</span> STERCORARIINÆ (<span class="smcap">Robber Gulls</span>)</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE GREAT SKUA<br /> +STERCORARIUS CATARRHÁCTES</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage brown, of several shades; shafts of the quills, basal half of +the primaries, and shafts of the tail-feathers, white; under, reddish grey, +tinged with brown; two central tail-feathers but slightly elongated, not +tapering; tarsus two and a half inches long, somewhat rough at the back. +Length twenty-five inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched with brown.</div> + +<p>The Skuas, called also Skua Gulls, are sufficiently distinguished +from the true Gulls by their strong hooked bills and talons, and +by the habits of daring and voracity founded on these characters. +The present species, though called common, is only to be so considered +in high latitudes; for it is very rarely seen on the coasts of +England, and has become scarce even in the Shetland Islands, where +it was at one time frequent. Mr. Dunn<a name="FNanchor_1_53" id="FNanchor_1_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a> says: "I never saw this +bird in Orkney, and there are only three places in Shetland where +it breeds—viz. Foula, Rona's Hill, and the Isle of Mist; in the latter +place it is by no means numerous, and is strictly preserved by the +landlords, on whose property it may have settled, from a superstition +that it will defend their flocks from the attacks of the Eagle. That +it will attack the Eagle if he approaches their nests is a fact I have +witnessed: I once saw a pair completely beat off a large Eagle +from their breeding-place, on Rona's Hill. The flight of the Skua +is stronger and more rapid than that of any other Gull. It is a +great favourite with the fishermen, frequently accompanying their +boats to the fishing-ground, or Haaf, which they consider a lucky +omen; and in return for its attendance, they give it the refuse of +the fish which are caught. The Skua Gull does not associate in +groups; and it is seldom that more than a pair are seen together. +During the breeding season it is highly courageous; and will strike +furiously at, and will even pursue, any one who may happen to +approach its nest, which is constructed among the heath or moss; +the female laying two eggs."</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_59"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_59.png" width="434" height="698" alt="Plate_59." title="Plate_59. Herring Gull; Little Gull, imm.; Kittiwake [M]; and Brown-headed Gull [F]. [face p. 289." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_60"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_60.png" width="428" height="685" alt="Plate_60" title="Plate_60. Twist Tailed or Pomatorhine Skua; Richardson's Skua; Great Shearwater; and Great Skua." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span></p> + +<p>Some authors state that the Common Skua obtains its livelihood +by levying contributions on the White Gulls, compelling them to +disgorge their prey, and catching it before it reaches the water; +but Dr. Edmonston, who had great opportunities of watching the +habits of these birds, says that they do not adopt the practises +correctly attributed to the Arctic Gull, or Richardson's Skua. The +voice of the Common Skua is said to resemble that of a young Gull, +being sharp and shrill; and it is from the resemblance of its cry +to that of the word Skua, or Skui, that it obtains its popular name. +That it is remarkably courageous and daring, all accounts agree. +Mr. Low says that, when the inhabitants are looking after their +sheep on the hills, the Skua often attacks them in such a manner +that they are obliged to defend themselves with their cudgels held +above their heads, on which it often kills itself; and Captain Vetch, +In the <i>Memoirs of the Wernerian Society</i>, says that it not only +drives away Ravens and Eagles, but that the larger quadrupeds, +such as horses and sheep, which venture near its nest, are immediately +put to flight. Its northern name is Bonxie.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_53" id="Footnote_1_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> <i>Ornithologist's Guide to Orkney and Shetland</i>, p. 112.</div> + + +<div class="caption3">TWIST-TAILED OR POMATORHINE SKUA<br /> +STERCORARIUS POMATORHINUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage uniform dark brown; feathers of the nape long, tapering +lustrous; sides of the face and under plumage white; a collar of brown +spots on the breast, and similar spots on the flanks; shafts of the quills +and tail-feathers white, except at the tip; two central tail-feathers +projecting three inches, not tapering; tarsus two inches long, rough at +the back, with projecting scales. Length twenty-one inches. <i>Young +birds</i>—upper plumage dusky brown, mottled with reddish yellow; +under, yellowish white, thickly set with brown spots and bars. Eggs +ash-green, spotted with dusky.</div> + +<p>The habits of this bird vary but little from those of the other species. +Its home is in the Arctic seas, from which it strays southwards in +winter, and has been occasionally seen on our coasts. The following + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> +account of the capture of one of these birds, in 1844, indicates +a bird of unusual daring and voracity: "About the beginning of +last October, a Pomarine Skua was taken in the adjoining village +of Ovingdean. It had struck down a White Gull, which it would +not quit: it was kept alive above a fortnight, and then died. The +very first day of its captivity it (is said to have) devoured twenty-five +Sparrows. Once it escaped, and immediately attacked a Duck, +which it held till recaptured."<a name="FNanchor_1_54" id="FNanchor_1_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a></p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_54" id="Footnote_1_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> <i>Zoologist</i>, vol. iii. p. 880.</div> + + +<div class="caption3">RICHARDSON'S SKUA<br /> +STERCORARIUS CREPIDATUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown dusky; cheeks, neck, and under plumage white, tinged with yellow or +brown; rest of the plumage dusky, the wings and tail the darkest. +Two central tail-feathers tapering from the base, pointed, and projecting +six inches; tarsus less than two inches. Length twenty-one inches. +Eggs olive, with a circle of brown spots near the larger extremity, the +rest speckled with the same colour.</div> + +<p>This species of Skua, most familiarly known, perhaps, as the Arctic +Gull, received its distinctive name, 'Richardson's', in honour of +the eminent Arctic naturalist. It is distinguished from the species +already described by its longer tail, but the habits of all are much +alike; indeed, the names of 'Arctic Gull', 'Boatswain', 'and Man-of-War', +appear to be sometimes employed indiscriminately. +Richardson's Skua, like the rest, inhabits the Arctic seas, but +extends its wanderings southwards in far greater numbers than +either of the other species, so that its occurrence on the east coast +of England is not unusual. According to Mr. Dunn, 'numbers of +this bird breed in Orkney and Shetland, appearing regularly in +May and leaving in August: it is confined to a few situations and +is strictly preserved, from the same motive as the Skua Gull. It +constructs its nest on low, not mossy, heaths in exposed situations. +The female lays two eggs, and has recourse to the same stratagems +that the Plover employs to decoy you from the nest; but when a +person approaches near to the place where the nest is built, becomes +bold and fierce, and strikes severely with the feet and bill.' The +following account is taken from Mr. St. John's <i>Wild Sports of +the Highlands</i>: "I was much amused the other day by the +proceedings of a pair of the Black-toed Gull or Boatswain. +These two birds were sitting quietly on an elevated ridge of +sand, near which a number of other Gulls of different kinds were +fishing, and hovering about in search of what the waves might +cast up. Every bird, indeed, was busy and employed, excepting +these two black robbers, who seemed to be quietly resting, quite +unconcerned. When, however, a Gull had picked up a prize, these +birds seemed instinctively to know it, and darting off with the +rapidity of a Hawk (which bird they much resemble in their manner +of flight), they attacked the unfortunate Gull in the air, and in spite +of his screams and attempts to escape, they pursued and beat him +till he disgorged the fish or whatever he had swallowed, when one +of them darted down and caught the substance before it could reach +the water. The two then quietly returned to their sandbank, +where they waited patiently to renew the robbery, should an +opportunity occur. As the flock of Gulls moved on with the flow +of the tide, the Boatswains moved on also, hovering on their flank +like a pair of plundering freebooters. I observed that, in chasing +a Gull, they seemed perfectly to understand each other as to who +should get the spoil; and in their attacks on the largest Gulls +(against whom they waged the most fearless warfare), they evidently +acted so as to aid each other. If another pair of Boatswains +intruded on their hunting-ground they immediately seemed to send +them further off; not so much by actual battle, as by a noisy and +screaming argument, which they continued most vigorously till +the new-comers left the neighbourhood.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_61"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_61.png" width="416" height="689" alt="Plate_61" title="Plate_61. Black Guillemot [M] [F]; Puffin [M]; Guillemot [F]; and Razor-bill [M]. [face p. 290." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_62"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_62.png" width="408" height="696" alt="Plate_62" title="Plate_62. Red-throated Diver [F]; Winter and [M] Summer; Black-throated Diver imm. and [M]; Little Auk [F]; and Great Northern Diver [M]." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I never saw these birds hunt for their own living in any other +way than by robbing the other Gulls. Though not nearly so large +as some of the birds which they attack, their Hawk-like swoops +and great courage seem to enable them to fight their way most +successfully. They are neatly and powerfully made, their colour +a kind of sooty dull black, with very little gloss or shining tints on +their feathers."</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="ORDER_PYGOPODES_2" id="ORDER_PYGOPODES_2"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER PYGOPODES</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2">FAMILY ALCIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE RAZOR-BILL<br /> +ALCA TORDA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Wings reaching to the origin of the tail; head and upper parts black; a band +across the wing; an interrupted line from the eye to the base of the bill, +and all the under parts white; bill black, with three or four furrows, of +which the middle one is white; irides hazel; legs dusky. In <i>summer</i> +the line from the eye to the bill is pure white, and the whole of the throat +and neck is black, tinged with red. Length seventeen inches. Eggs +white, blotched and spotted with two shades of brown.</div> + + +<p>In general habits, the Razor-bill closely resembles the Guillemot +and Puffin. Indeed, in some parts of the coast, the Razor-bill is +called a Puffin, and the latter a Sea Parrot; and in Cornwall both +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> +Guillemots and Razor-bills are known by the common name of Murre. +At a distance the birds can only be distinguished by a practised +eye; but on a close inspection they cannot be possibly confounded.</p> + +<p>Razor-bills are common on many parts of our coast during the +later summer months. They are more frequently seen swimming +than flying, and if pursued by a boat are little disposed to take +alarm until they are approached to within twenty or thirty yards, +when they dive, but soon reappear not very far off. If two birds +be in company and one be killed by a shot from a gun, its companion, +instead of taking measures to insure its own safety, seems to lose +the power of self-preservation. It paddles round its companion +as if unable to comprehend the reason why it neither dives nor flies, +and if pursued suffers itself to be overtaken and knocked down by +an oar. This sympathetic feeling is not confined to birds which +have paired, or to members of the same family; for in an instance +which came under my own notice, both birds were only a few months +old, and, as the Razor-bill lays but one egg, the birds could not +possibly have grown up together. Towards winter, Razor-bills +migrate southwards, either to avoid cold or to find waters where +their prey swims nearer to the surface than in our climate. In +spring they return northwards, and repair, like Puffins, to places +of habitual resort for the purpose of breeding. At this season, also, +they are eminently social, laying each an egg in close proximity +on a ledge in the rocks, lower down than the Puffins, but above +the Guillemots, all of which birds flock to the same portion of +coast, often in countless multitudes. The egg differs from that +of the Guillemot not only in colour but in shape, being less +decidedly pear-shaped. It is much sought after as an article of +food, and is said to be very palatable.</p> + +<p>The 'Auk' of Arctic voyagers is this bird. The Razor-bill is +one of the best known of the Auk family, or Alcidæ, although less +plentiful than the Guillemot or the Puffin.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE COMMON GUILLEMOT<br /> +ÚRIA TRÓILE</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill much compressed, longer than the head, greyish black; upper plumage +brownish black; the secondaries tipped with white; a whitish patch +behind the eye on each side; under plumage white; feet dusky; iris +brown. Length nearly eighteen inches. Eggs greenish or bluish, +blotched and streaked with black.</div> + +<p>This is one of our common sea-birds during a great portion of the +year, though little known to ordinary sea-side visitors, owing to its +habit of keeping well out to sea and having nothing ostentatious +in its habits. Yet, during a cruise in a yacht, on almost any part +of the coast, a practised eye will often discover a few stragglers, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> +distinguished among other sea-birds by their black and white +colours, short neck, and sharp beak. They swim low in the water; +and when disturbed do not invariably dive like the Grebes and Divers, +but readily take wing. They are essentially marine birds, never +resorting to fresh water, and living exclusively on fish, which they +capture by diving, an art in which they are scarcely less skilful than +the true Divers, and which they practise in the same way—by the +means, namely, of both wings and feet. Occasionally, a small +party may be observed, flying in single file near the surface of the +water. On the eastern coast of England, the Guillemot is best +known by the name of Willock. It is also called Tinker's Hue, +or, as Yarrell gives it, 'Tinkershere'; and in the west of England +it is often called a Murr. The old writers describe it under the +name of Greenland Dove, or Sea Turtle-Dove; and in Scotland it +has a variety of other names. Tinker's Hue is, I presume, the +sobriquet of a white bird with a smutty back; Murr is clearly a +corruption of Mergus, or 'diver'. Yet more commonly it is known +as the 'Foolish Guillemot', a term of reproach analogous to that +of 'Booby', given to it from the indifference which it evinces, in the +breeding season, to one of its few, but that one the most formidable +of its enemies, man. Early in spring Guillemots throng together +from all parts of the open sea, and repair to some lofty cliff, where, +on a narrow ledge of rock, which in their folly they deem inaccessible, +they lay each a single egg. As the bird holds the egg between her +legs, she could not well cover more than one; and though a concave +nest is very needful to keep eggs together when there are +several, no such contrivance is necessary when there is one only; +so the Foolish Guillemot builds no nest, but lays a solitary egg on +the bare rock. The egg, which is large, is thick-shelled and rough, +so that it receives no detriment from the rock; and it is not likely +to roll off, for at one end it is thick, and at the other tapers almost +to a point; consequently, if accidentally moved by the parent +bird when taking flight, it turns as if on a pivot, but does not fall +off. At this season, the cliffs to which Guillemots resort are frequented +also by myriads of other sea-birds, such as Razor-bills, +Puffins, and Gulls, each congregating with its own species, but +never consorting with another. In Iceland, the Faroe Islands, St. +Kilda, the Orkneys, and many parts of the coast of Scotland, the +breeding season of these birds is the harvest-time of the natives. +Either by climbing from below, or by being let down with ropes +from above, the egg-collectors invade the dominions of these literally +feathered 'tribes'. The Foolish Guillemots, rather than leave +their charge, suffer themselves to be knocked on the head, to be +netted, or noosed. Although stationed so close to each other that +a Foolish Guillemot alone could know its own egg, they learn no +wisdom from the fate of their nearest neighbours. They are +captured in detail for the sake of their feathers; and their eggs +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> +are taken for food. In St. Kilda and, perhaps, elsewhere, young +birds are also taken in large numbers, and salted for consumption +in winter. Such as escape this systematic slaughter flounder, as +well as they are able, into the sea when nearly fledged, or are carried +thither by their foolish mothers. There they learn to swim, to dive, +and to fish, and about the middle of August old and young disperse.</p> + +<p>Huge baskets of their eggs are sometimes brought to the markets +of seaport towns (I have seen them so far south as Devonport), +and sold for a price exceeding that of domestic fowls, for they are +much larger, and are said to afford good eating. Wilson, in his +<i>Voyage round the Coasts of Scotland</i>, says that the natives of St. +Kilda prefer the eggs of these, and other sea-fowl, 'when <i>sour</i>; +that is, when about ten or twelve days old, and just as the incipient +bird, when boiled, forms in the centre into a thickish flaky matter, +like milk.'<a name="FNanchor_1_55" id="FNanchor_1_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a> Great quantities are used in the neighbourhood of +Flamborough Head early in the nesting season.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_55" id="Footnote_1_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> Vol. ii. p. 45.</div> + +<div class="caption3">THE BLACK GUILLEMOT<br /> +ÚRIA GRYLLE</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Upper plumage black; middle of the wings and under parts white; iris brown; +feet red. Length thirteen and a half inches. Eggs whitish grey, blotched +and speckled with grey and two shades of brown.</div> + +<p>The Black Guillemot, is a resident species breeding on the Isle of +Man, and on the Irish coasts. In Scotland it is common. Its +mode of life, as described by Macgillivray, who was familiarly +acquainted with it, differs in no material respect from that of the +species already described. It is, however, much smaller, and lays +two or sometimes three eggs. Macgillivray says that, on those +parts of the coast which it frequents, attempts are often made to +rear it in captivity; but always unsuccessfully. In summer, +these birds may be readily distinguished from other sea-fowl, by +their black and white plumage and red feet: the predominant tint +of the plumage in winter is white, with a tinge of grey; and in high +latitudes the proportion of white increases.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE LITTLE AUK<br /> +MÉRGULUS ÁLLE</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head and upper parts black; two bands across the wings; a spot above the +eye and all the under parts white. In <i>summer</i> the throat and front of +the neck are also black. Length about seven inches. Eggs uniform pale +blue.</div> + +<p>The Little Auk is essentially a northern sea-bird, coming to us in +winter, and is described by Arctic voyagers under the name of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> +Rotche. It is an indefatigable swimmer, and has considerable +powers of flight; but it does not possess the faculty of diving to the +same degree as the Divers and Grebes, as it generally stays but a +short time under water. Hence it must find its food near the surface; +and this is supposed to consist of the small crustaceous animals which +are so abundant in the Arctic waters. Little Auks are eminently +social birds, and have been observed occasionally in such numbers on +the water and floating masses of ice as almost to hide their resting-place. +They rarely travel far south; and when they visit our +shores, which is in winter, and after tempestuous weather, they are +supposed to have been driven hither against their will. Instances +are recorded of specimens having been found far inland, disabled +or dead. It lays only a single egg.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE PUFFIN<br /> +FRATERCULA ÁRCTICA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Crown, collar, and upper parts, black; cheeks, region of the eyes, and throat, +greyish white; under parts pure white; bill bluish grey at the base, +yellow in the middle, bright red at the tip; upper mandible with three +transverse furrows, lower, with two; iris whitish; orbits red; feet +orange-red. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs whitish, with +indistinct ash-coloured spots.</div> + +<p>Unlike the majority of sea-birds which have been passing under +our notice, Puffins visit the shores of the British Isles in summer, +and even in winter they are not absent. They make their appearance +about April or May, not scattering themselves indiscriminately +along the coast, but resorting in vast numbers to various selected +breeding-places, from the Scilly Islands to the Orkneys. Their +home being the sea, and their diet small fish, they possess the +faculties of swimming and diving to a degree of perfection. They +have, moreover, considerable powers of flight; but on land their +gait is only a shuffling attempt at progress. Their vocation on +shore is, however, but a temporary one, and requires no great amount +of locomotion. Soon after their arrival they set to work about +their nests. Fanciful people who class birds according to their +constructive faculty as weavers, basket-makers, plasterers, and so on, +would rank Puffins among miners. Building is an art of which +they are wholly ignorant, yet few birds are lodged more securely. +With their strong beaks, they excavate for themselves holes in the +face of the cliff to the depth of about three feet, and at the extremity +the female lays a solitary egg—solitary, that is to say, unless another +bird takes shelter in the same hole, which is not unfrequently the +case. Puffins generally show no overweening partiality for their +own workmanship; sloping cliffs which have been perforated by +rabbits are favourite places of resort; and here they do not at all +scruple to avail themselves of another's labour, or, if necessary, +to eject by force of beak the lawful tenant. If the soil be unsuited +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> +for boring, they lay their eggs under large stones or in crevices in +the rock. The old bird sits most assiduously, and suffers herself +to be taken rather than desert her charge, but not without wounding, +with her powerful beak, and to the best of her ability, the hand +which ventures into her stronghold. Myriads burrow on Lundy +Island. <i>Lunde</i> means Puffin, and <i>ey</i> Island, the name being given +by the old Scandinavian rovers who settled there.</p> + +<p>The young are fed by both parents, at first on half-digested fish, +and when older on pieces of fresh fish. At this period they suffer +their colonies to be invaded without showing much alarm, and are +either shot, knocked down with a stick, or noosed without difficulty. +As soon as the young are fully fledged, all the Puffins withdraw to +southern seas, where they pass the winter, and do not approach +land until the return of the breeding season. "A small island near +Skye, named Fladda-huna, is a great breeding haunt of Puffins, a +species which arrives in the earlier part of May, literally covering the +rocks and ledgy cliffs with its feathered thousands. Although these +have no concern with our Grouse-shooting season, they almost totally +disappear on the twelfth of August."<a name="FNanchor_1_56" id="FNanchor_1_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a> It was just about this period +(August 7) in the present year (1861) that I observed several large +flocks of Puffins, floating with the tide through the Sound of Islay, +and was told by an intelligent gamekeeper that "these birds habitually +<i>swim</i> through the sound at this season, but always <i>fly</i> when +returning". The reason probably is that the young are not at the +former period sufficiently fledged to undertake a long flight, though +they find no difficulty in swimming. By spring they have attained +their full strength, and are able to adopt the more rapid mode of +progress. In Scotland there are many large colonies, also in the +cliffs by Flamborough Head, and on the Farne Islands.</p> + +<p>Puffins and some other sea-birds appear to be either liable to a +fatal epidemic or to be surprised by some atmospheric disturbance, +being unable to resist which, they perish in large numbers. I have +seen a portion of the sea-shore in Cornwall strewed for the distance +of more than a mile with hundreds of their remains. All the softer +parts had been apparently devoured by fishes and crustaceous +animals, and nothing was left but the unmistakable parrot-like +beaks. A friend informs me that he witnessed a similar phenomenon +in Norfolk, in September, 1858; but in this instance the +carcases of the birds were not devoured, and the birds were of different +kinds. He estimated that about ninety per cent. were Guillemots, +and the remainder Puffins, Razor-bills, Scoters, and a sprinkling of +Black Throated Divers. A similar mortality among sea-birds is +recorded in the <i>Zoologist</i> as having taken place on the coast of +Norfolk, in May, 1856. On this occasion they were so numerous +as to be thought worth collecting for manure.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span></p> + +<p>Other names by which the Puffin is known are Sea Parrot, Coulterneb, +Mullet, Bottlenose; and, in Scotland, Ailsa Parrot, Tammie-Norie, +and Tammas.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_56" id="Footnote_1_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> Wilson's <i>Voyage round the Coast of Scotland</i>.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY COLYMBIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER<br /> +COLYMBUS GLACIÁLIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill, with the upper mandible, nearly straight, upwards of four inches in +length; head and neck violet-black, with a double gorget white, barred +with black; upper parts black, spotted with white; under parts white; +bill black; irides brown; feet dusky, the membranes whitish. <i>Young</i> +very like the next, but distinguishable by their superior size and the +direction of the bill. Length thirty-three inches. Eggs dark olive-brown, +with a few spots of purplish brown.</div> + +<p>The name Divers is, on the sea-coast, loosely applied to a <i>tribe</i> +of sea-birds, including the Grebes, Cormorants, and other birds, +which, when pursued, place their safety in diving rather than in +flying. In works on natural history the term is, however, employed +to designate the genus <span class="smcap">Colymbus</span>, and with great propriety; for, +however skilled any of the above birds may be in this mode of +progression, the true divers surpass them immeasurably. First +among these in size and dignity is the Great Northern Diver, a +native of high latitudes in both hemispheres, never perhaps coming +farther south than the Shetlands for breeding purposes, and +visiting our waters only during winter.<a name="FNanchor_1_57" id="FNanchor_1_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a> The Northern Diver, +or Imber or Ember Goose, appears to be tolerably frequent in +British waters. In Scotland it prefers salt-water lochs and sandy +bays to the open sea, though occasionally seen some miles from +land. It swims deep in the water, but advances rapidly. When +in pursuit of prey it sinks beneath the surface without plunge +or splash, the head disappearing last, and it traverses perhaps +two or three hundred yards of water before it rises again. +Montagu says that it propels itself by its feet alone; Audubon, +on the contrary, states that it uses the wings under water. The +latter author is most probably correct, for it dives more swiftly +than the Grebes, and these birds undoubtedly make a vigorous +use of their wings. Where shoals of small fish, such as sand-eels +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> +and sprats, abound, or where fish even of a much larger size are +numerous, the Northern Diver finds a rich harvest. Occasionally +while thus engaged it meets its death by dashing into the herring +nets, and there getting entangled. A fine specimen was recently +shown to me in the island of Islay, which had been thus captured. +Though it has never been known to take wing in attempting to +elude pursuit, it is often seen flying with strength and rapidity, +outstripping even the Grebe, which, in proportion to its size, is +furnished with far larger wings than itself.</p> + +<p>The adult male, which is a very handsome bird, is of rare occurrence, +most of those which visit our shores being young birds.</p> + +<p>The nest is usually placed near the edge of a reedy lake or large +river, having a well-beaten track leading to it from the water's +edge. This is formed by the bird in its clumsy effort to walk, a +feat which it only performs on such occasions. The nest itself is +bulky, and is formed of the vegetable substances found in the +immediate vicinity, such as grasses and other herbaceous plants. +It contains two, and sometimes three, eggs. The young are able +to swim and dive very soon after they are hatched, and are fed +for about a fortnight by their parents, at the expiration of which +time they have to hunt for themselves.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_57" id="Footnote_1_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> Mr. Yarrell, vol. iii. p. 426, quotes Sir Thomas Browne as an authority +for the fact that Divers formerly bred in the Broads of Norfolk. A careful +examination of that author will show, however, that Sir Thomas Browne had +seen only a single specimen of the Northern Diver, his 'Divers', or 'Dive-fowl', +being the Crested and Lesser Grebes, etc., which, as we have seen +above, continue to breed in the Broads.</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption3">THE BLACK-THROATED DIVER<br /> +COLYMBUS ARCTICUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill slightly curved upwards, with the middle of the lower mandible equal in +width to the base, exceeding three inches in length; head ash-grey; +throat and front of the neck black, lustrous with violet and green; beneath +the throat a narrow band streaked with white and black; sides and +front of the neck streaked with white and black; back black, with a +longitudinal patch of white and black bars on the upper part; scapulars +with twelve or thirteen transverse white bars; bill dusky; iris brown; +feet dusky, with whitish membranes. <i>Young birds</i> have the head and back +of the neck greyer and the upper plumage dark brown, edged with +bluish ash; under plumage white; cheeks white, spotted with ash; +upper mandible ash-grey, lower dull white. Length twenty-four to +twenty-eight inches. Eggs dark olive-brown, spotted with purplish +brown.</div> + +<p>This Diver differs from the preceding species principally in being +of inferior size. The predominant tints of the plumage are the +same, and the habits of the two are so similar that a separate description +is unnecessary. The present species is, however, far less +common, though it breeds in the Outer Hebrides and in Scotland, +where both eggs and young birds have been observed, and +migrates southward in winter. It lays two eggs, near the edge +of a fresh-water loch; and Mr. Selby observed that a visible +track from the water to the eggs was made by the female, whose +progress upon land is effected by shuffling along upon her belly, +propelled by her legs behind. In the breeding season the old +birds are often seen on the wing, at which time also they have +a peculiar and loud cry, which has been compared to the voice of a +human being in distress.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_63"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_63.png" width="409" height="689" alt="Plate_63" title="Plate_63. Red Necked Grebe; Black Necked or Eared Grebe; Slavonian Grebe; and Great Crested Grebe [F] Winter [M] Summer. [face p. 298.]" /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Plate_64"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/plate_64.png" width="397" height="693" alt="Plate_64" title="Plate_64. Manx Shearwater [M]; Stormy Petrel; Fork Tailed Petrel [F]; and Fulmar." /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption3">THE RED-THROATED DIVER<br /> +COLYMBUS SEPTENTRIONALIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill slightly curved upwards, with the edges of both mandibles much incurved, +not exceeding three inches in length; head, throat, and sides of the neck +mouse-colour; crown spotted with black; neck both above and below +marked with white and black lines; on the front of the neck a large orange-coloured +patch; back dusky brown; lower parts white. <i>Young birds</i>—upper +plumage mouse-colour, darker on the back, where it is marked +by longitudinal white lines; wings dusky; feathers on the flanks dusky, +some of them edged with white; all the under plumage pure white. +Length twenty-six inches. Eggs chestnut-brown, spotted with darker +brown.</div> + +<p>The name 'Loon,' given in some districts to the Crested Grebe, is +elsewhere given to the Red-throated Diver. The term is an old +one, for our countrymen, Ray and Willughby, quoting yet more +ancient authorities, describe the Northern Diver under the name +of 'Loon', and the Black-Throated Diver under that of 'Lumme', +the latter being the name of the bird in Iceland and Norway, and +the former probably an English corruption of the same word, which +in the original signifies 'lame'.</p> + +<p>On no part of our coast must we expect to hear this bird popularly +called by the name of 'Red-throated', for, though common on +many parts of the coast, almost all the specimens observed are +young birds of the year, which have the throat pure white. Several +were brought to me by the sea-side gunners on the coast of Norfolk. +In May birds with red throats are noticed. A writer in the +<i>Zoologist</i><a name="FNanchor_1_58" id="FNanchor_1_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a> says that they are very numerous in winter off the +coast of the Isle of Wight, passing and repassing in small flocks +and in two lines about a mile apart. Of the hundreds which fell +under his notice one only had a red throat, and this was captured +under singular circumstances. On April 24, 1839, some fishermen +observed an object floating which they imagined was a keg of +spirits, but which proved to be a large fish of the kind known as +the Fishing Frog, or Angler. On hauling it on board with their +boat-hooks, the fishermen discovered that the animal had nearly +choked himself by swallowing, tail foremost, an adult Red-throated +Diver. The head of the bird protruded from the throat into the +mouth of the captor, and, strange to say, it had not only survived +its imprisonment, but was unhurt. It was extricated and presented +to the Zoological Gardens, where it lived for six months. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> +Another writer in the same magazine<a name="FNanchor_2_59" id="FNanchor_2_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a> says that he saw a large +number in Norway during the breeding season, but not one without +the dark red throat.</p> + +<p>This species, like the rest of the genus, obtains its food by diving; +when pursued it rarely tries to escape by taking wing, though it +has the power of flying with great rapidity. During the breeding +season especially, it often flies about over the water with its long +neck outstretched, and uttering a wailing scream.</p> + +<p>I am informed by a friend, that while fishing in a boat in calm +water off the coast of North Devon, he has many times seen Divers +pass through the water, at a considerable depth below, propelling +themselves by a free and active use of their wings.</p> + +<p>From October to May only these Divers frequent our coast. +Towards the end of spring they withdraw northwards and build +their nests, of coarse grass and other herbs, close to the edge of a +fresh-water loch. They lay two eggs, and the male is said to take +his turn in the office of incubation. Many stay to breed in the +Orkneys and Outer Hebrides, and in Ireland.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_58" id="Footnote_1_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> Vol. iii. p. 974.</div> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_2_59" id="Footnote_2_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_59"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> <i>Zoologist</i>, vol. ix. p. 3084.</div> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PODICIPEDIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE GREAT CRESTED GREBE<br /> +PÓDICEPS CRISTÁTUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill longer than the head, reddish, the tip white; distance from the nostril +to the tip seventeen or eighteen lines; cheeks white; crest and ruff +dark brown and chestnut; upper plumage dark brown; secondaries +white; breast and under parts silky white; bill brownish red; irides +red; feet dull green. <i>Female</i>—crest and ruff less conspicuous, colours +generally less bright. <i>Young birds</i> have neither crest nor ruff. Length +twenty-one inches. Eggs white.</div> + +<p>The Great Crested Grebe is thus described by Sir Thomas Browne, +under the name of Loon: 'A handsome and specious fowl, cristated, +and with divided fin-feet placed very backward. They +come about April, and breed in the broad waters; so making their +nest in the water, that their eggs are seldom dry while they are set +on.' Fifty years ago the Loon continued to be so common on +the Broads of Norfolk that eighteen or twenty might be counted +together. It is more or less resident in England and Wales—in +the meres of the Midlands and the lakes of Breconshire, and has +lately bred in the vicinity of the Clyde.</p> + +<p>The movements of this bird in the water are described as most +graceful; in swimming it vies with the Swan, and it is a skilful +diver. As seen perched up in a museum its form is ungainly, but +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> +in its native element it might serve as the standard of perfection +among water birds. The legs, compressed so as to present a sharp +edge, cut the water with a minimum of resistance; the webbed +feet are placed so far backwards that they fulfil at once the office +of propellers and rudder; the body is conical and covered with +satiny plumage, which throws off water as perfectly as the fur of +the otter; the long neck tapers to exceedingly narrow dimensions +and terminates in a small head produced into a slender bill. The +conformation of the greyhound is not better adapted for fleet running +than that of the Grebe for rapid diving. The chase, I need +scarcely add, consists of fish; but the Loon will feed on frogs, +tadpoles, and any other small animals which fall in its way. It +frequents fresh water during the summer months, but on the +approach of winter repairs to the sea, not, it would seem, from +any desire of varying its food, but to avoid being frozen up. It builds +its nest among rushes or decaying weeds, but little above the level +of the water, and lays four eggs, the male assisting his partner in +the office of incubation.</p> + +<p>The young can dive and swim immediately that they are hatched; +but if the mother be suddenly alarmed while they are with her, +she takes them under her wing and dives with them.</p> + +<p>The name Loon is supposed to be a corruption of the Finnish +designation, Leomme or Lem, 'lame', given to several of the +<i>Colymbidæ</i> on account of the awkwardness with which they advance +on land.</p> + +<p>The Loon is found in lakes throughout a great portion of both +the eastern and western hemispheres, but not very far to the north. +It rarely flies, except at the period of migration, when it passes +swiftly through the air, with neck and feet extended to their full +length.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">RED-NECKED GREBE<br /> +PÓDICIPES GRISEÍGENA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill as long as the head, black, yellow at the base; distance from the nostrils +to the tip eleven lines; crest very short; head and crest lustrous black; +cheeks and throat mouse-colour; a black band along the nape; breast +bright rust-red; lower parts white; flanks spotted with dusky; feet +black, greenish yellow beneath. <i>Young birds</i> have the head, neck, and +back, dusky; throat, cheeks, breast, belly, and abdomen, silky white; +sides of the breast spotted with grey. Length sixteen inches. Eggs +dirty greenish white.</div> + +<p>The Red-necked Grebe is smaller than the Loon, from which it +differs also in wanting the elongated crest, in having a more robust +bill in proportion to its size, and is further distinguished by the +grey hue of its cheeks, on account of which last character it is +known in France under the name of <i>Grébe Jou-gris</i>. It is a native +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> +of the north-eastern parts of Europe, and is fairly common along +the eastern coast of Great Britain from autumn to spring. In +habits it differs little from the last described species, but is less +common, occurring both in fresh-water lakes and along the sea-coast.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">SLAVONIAN GREBE<br /> +PÓDICIPES AURITUS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill strong, shorter than the head, compressed throughout its whole length, +black, with the tip red; eyes with a double iris, the inner yellow, the outer +red; distance from the nostrils to the tip of the bill six or seven lines; +head and bushy ruff glossy black; two horn-like crests orange-red; +lore, neck, and breast, bright chestnut; upper plumage dusky; secondaries +and under parts white; bill black, rose-coloured at the base and +red at the tip. <i>Young</i>—crest and ruff wanting; upper plumage and +flanks dusky ash, under parts white; irides white, surrounded by red. +Eggs dirty white.</div> + +<p>The Slavonian, or Horned Grebe, approaches so closely in habits +to the two preceding species that it is unnecessary to say more than +that it inhabits the northern parts of America and Europe, visiting +us from autumn to spring. Audubon describes its nest as a rude +structure of weeds, situated at a distance of about twelve feet +from the water's edge; but other authors state that though it +constructs its nest of these materials, it disposes it among weeds in +such a way that it rises and falls with every alteration in the level +of the water. It lays from five to seven eggs, and the male is +supposed to assist in the office of incubation.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE BLACK-NECKED OR EARED GREBE<br /> +PÓDICIPES NIGRICOLLIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">In summer the head and neck of this species are black, with a triangular +patch of long golden-reddish feathers on the ear-coverts. Breast and +belly white—flanks a dull chestnut, bill black, upcurved slightly. In +winter it resembles the last named Grebe in plumage, excepting that it +is white on the primaries. Length twelve inches.</div> + +<p>This is essentially a bird of the south, visiting us in spring and +summer, but also now and again in autumn and winter, but this +more rarely. It is said to have bred occasionally in the southern +counties, and more often in Suffolk and Norfolk. To the north it +becomes more scarce, although it has been observed up to the +Orkneys. Just a few instances are recorded from Cumberland, but +the bird is rare on our western side. Very few have been met with +in Ireland. In Algeria it is said to nest in "societies more densely +crowded than any rookery," the nests being raised on islets with +stout foundations constructed by the bird. In Denmark the nests +observed were on tussocks at the edge of the lake, and they were +made of moss, part of which the female used to cover her eggs with +on leaving them.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE LITTLE GREBE, OR DABCHICK<br /> +PÓDICIPES FLUVIÁTILIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill very short, shining, compressed; no crest or ruff; distance from nostrils +to tip of the bill five lines; tarsus with a double row of serratures behind; +head black; cheeks bright chestnut; breast and flanks dusky, mottled +with white; upper parts dark brown, tinged with green; primaries ash-brown; +secondaries white at the base and on the inner web, under parts +dusky ash, tinged on the thighs with reddish; bill black, whitish at the +tip and base of the lower mandible; irides reddish brown; feet externally +greenish brown, beneath flesh-colour. <i>Young birds</i> are ash-brown +above, slightly tinged with red; breast and flanks reddish white; belly +pure white; bill brown and yellowish ash. Length nearly ten inches. +Eggs dirty white.</div> + +<p>The Lesser Grebe, or, as it is more commonly called, the Dabchick, +is the only species with which it is possible to become familiarly +acquainted in Britain. It frequents rivers, ponds, and lakes, in +all parts of the country, rarely flying, and still more rarely coming +to land.</p> + +<p>Rambling by the side of a sluggish river, the sides of which are lined +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> +with reeds or bulrushes, one may often descry, paddling about with +undecided motion, what appears to be a miniature Duck no longer +than a Blackbird. It does not, like the Moor-hen, swim with a jerking +movement, nor when alarmed does it half swim and half fly in a +direct line for the nearest bank of weeds. If you are unobserved, +it swims steadily for a short distance, then suddenly disappears, +making no splash or noise, but slipping into the water as if its +body were lubricated. It is diving for its food, which consists of +water insects, molluscs, small fish and worms. As suddenly as it +dives so suddenly does it reappear, most likely not far from the +spot where you first observed it:</p> + +<div class="poem">A di-dapper peering through a wave,</div> +<div class="poem">Who, being looked on, ducks as quickly in.</div> +<br /> +<div class="poem2 smcap">Shakspeare.</div> +<br /> + +<p>Another short swim and it dives again; and so it goes on, the time +spent under the water being far in excess of that employed in taking +breath. Advance openly or make a noise, it wastes no time in +idle examinations or surmises of your intentions, but slips down as +before, not, however, to reappear in the same neighbourhood. Its +motives are different: it now seeks not food, but safety, and this it +finds first by diving, and then by propelling itself by its wings under +water in some direction which you cannot possibly divine; for it +by no means follows that it will pursue the course to which its bill +pointed when it went down. It can alter its line of flight beneath +the water as readily as a swallow can change its course of flight +through the air. But wherever it may reappear, its stay is now +instantaneous; a trout rising at a fly is not more expeditious. You +may even fail to detect it at all. It may have ensconced itself +among weeds, or it may be burrowing in some subaqueous hole. +That it has the power of remaining a long while submerged, I have +no doubt. There is in the parish of Stamford Dingley, Berks, a +large and beautiful spring of water, clear as crystal, the source of +one of the tributaries of the Thames. I was once bending over +the bank of this spring, with a friend, watching the water, some +five or six feet down, as it issued from a pipe-like orifice and stirred +the sand around like the bubbling of a cauldron, when there suddenly +passed between us and the object we were examining a form +so strange that we were at first doubtful to what class of animals +we should refer it. In reality, it was a Dabchick, which, alarmed +probably by the noise of our conversation, was making for a place +of safety. As it passed within two or three feet of our faces, we +could distinctly see that it propelled itself by its wings; but it +appeared not to have observed us, for it kept on in a direct course +towards the head of the spring. We searched long in the hope +of discovering it again, but failed; and as there were no weeds +among which it could possibly hide above water, and we could +examine the bottom of the spring almost as thoroughly as if it +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> +contained air only, we could but conclude that our apparition had +taken refuge in a hole under the bank.</p> + +<p>Early in spring, when Dabchicks leave the small streams and +water-courses for broader pieces of water, they have been observed +to fly; and during the building season also they have been seen +circling round in the air near the locality of their intended nest. +The nest itself is constructed of weeds of all kinds, forming a thick +mass raised but a few inches above the surface of the water, and +invariably far enough from the bank to be inaccessible except by +wading. The Dabchick lays five or six long-shaped eggs, pointed +at either end, of a chalky white colour. These the bird, when +she leaves the nest, covers with weeds for the purpose of concealment, +and on her return continues the work of incubation without +removing the covering, so that the eggs soon lose their white hue, +and before the period of hatching have become very dirty. The +young birds can swim and dive immediately on leaving the egg. +I have never myself seen a Dabchick fly through the air or walk +on land, neither have I ever heard its note. The latter, a low +clicking and chattering sort of noise, it is said to utter in spring. +It breeds even in St. James' Park. Females smaller than males.</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + + +<a name="ORDER_TUBINARES_2" id="ORDER_TUBINARES_2"></a> +<hr class="hr65 center" /> +<div class="caption1">ORDER TUBINARES</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption2">FAMILY PROCELLARIIDÆ</div> +<br /> +<div class="caption3">THE FULMAR PETREL<br /> +PROCELLARIA GLACIÁLIS</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Head, neck, under plumage, and tail, white; wings bluish ash, the primaries +brownish grey; beak, irides, and feet, yellow. <i>Young of the year</i> grey +tinged with brown, mottled on the back with deeper brown; bill and feet +yellowish ash. Length nineteen inches. Eggs white.</div> + +<p>In some of the Outer Hebrides Fulmars breed; but the great station, +to which tens of thousands annually resort, is the remote island +of St. Kilda. To the Fulmar indeed, and in a less degree to the +Gannet and two or three other sea-birds, the island is indebted for +its being able to boast of human inhabitants. Eggs and birds, +fresh or salted, furnish them with food; the Fulmar with oil: +and feathers pay their rent. In the Shetlands it is said to be increasing.</p> + +<p>Professor James Wilson says: 'The oil is extracted from both +the young and old birds, which, however, they must seize on suddenly +and strangle, else, as a defensive movement, the desired (and +pungent) oil is immediately squirted in the face and eyes of their +opponent.' This oil is ejected, not, as it is sometimes said, through +tubular nostrils, but directly through the throat and open mouth. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span> +The flesh of the Fulmar is also a favourite food with the St. Kildans, +who like it all the better on account of its oily nature.</p> + +<p>The Fulmar is essentially a sea-bird, and never comes to land +except in the breeding season, when it builds its nest of herbage on +the grassy shelves of the highest cliffs, and lays a single egg, if +which be taken, it lays no more. The young birds are fed with +oil by the parents, and on being molested spurt out through the +throat and open mouth the same fluid, which, being of a rank +smell, infects not only the nest, but the whole neighbourhood. The +young birds, which are taken early in August, are boiled, and made +to furnish a large quantity of fat, which is skimmed off and preserved +for winter use. The old birds are considered great dainties.</p> + +<p>In the Arctic regions the Fulmar is well known for its assiduity +in attending on whale ships, keeping an eager watch for anything +thrown over; and when the operation of cutting up a whale is +going on, helping itself most greedily to stray pieces of offal, and +venturing so near as to be easily knocked down by a boathook or +to be taken by hand.</p> + +<p>Owing to the rankness of its food, the smell of the Fulmar is +very offensive. A specimen recently shot was brought to me in +Norfolk, early in January, 1862, and being a great rarity, was +carefully preserved and set up; but on being sent home from the +bird-stuffer's it was banished to an outhouse, where it has remained +for three months without losing anything of its offensive odour.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE GREAT SHEARWATER<br /> +PUFFINUS MAJOR</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill two inches long; tail pointed; upper plumage dusky; under, deep ash +grey. Length eighteen inches.</div> + +<p>The Great Shearwater is far less abundant than the preceding +species, and may indeed be considered a rarity. A few solitary +specimens have from time to time been shot on various parts of +the coast, and they have occasionally been noticed in considerable +numbers off the coast of Cornwall. In the Scilly Islands, where +they are called 'Hackbolts', they are said to be yet more frequent. +The Great Shearwater differs little in habits, as far as they are +known, from the other species.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE MANX SHEARWATER<br /> +PUFFINUS ANGLORUM</div> + +<div class="blockquot">Bill an inch and a half long; tail rounded; upper plumage brownish black +lustrous; under white; sides of the neck barred with grey; sides spotted +with grey. Length fourteen inches. Eggs nearly round; pure white.</div> + +<p>That a bird whose generic name is <i>Puffinus</i> should sometimes be +called a 'Puffin' is not surprising; and the reader who meets +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span> +with the name in books should satisfy himself whether the subject +of his study be an Auk or a Shearwater, before he admits as facts +any statements about the 'Puffin' which may fall in his way. +Yarrell, for instance, gives the name of Puffin to the bird already +described under the name of <i>Fratercula Arctica</i>, while by Montagu +that bird is described under the name of 'Coulterneb', 'Puffin' +being given as a synonym for the Shearwater. Off Cornwall it is +called <i>skiddeu</i> and <i>brew</i>.</p> + +<p>The Shearwater is so called from its mode of flight, in which it +'shears' or skims the water; and its distinctive name, Manx, it +owes to its having been formerly very abundant in the Calf<a name="FNanchor_1_60" id="FNanchor_1_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a> of +Man, a small island lying south of the Isle of Man.</p> + +<p>The Manx Shearwater is, during the greater portion of the year, +an ocean-bird, and only ventures on shore during the breeding season. +It then repairs to some island, or portion of the coast little frequented +by man, and in society with other birds of the same species there +takes up its summer quarters. A sandy or light earthy soil, scantily +furnished with vegetation, is preferred to any other station. Its +nest is a hole in the ground, either the deserted burrow of a rabbit +or a tunnel excavated by itself, or less frequently it lays its one +egg in the crevice of a rock. During the day Shearwaters, for the +most part, remain concealed in their holes, and lie so close that they +will suffer themselves to be dug out with a spade and make no +attempt to escape. Towards evening they quit their hiding-places, +and paddle or fly out to sea in quest of food. This consists of small +fish and other marine animals which swim near the surface, and are +caught by the birds either while they are floating or 'shearing' +the water. No nest ever contains more than one egg, but that one +and the chick which it produces are objects of the greatest solicitude.</p> + +<p>Unfortunately for the poor Shearwaters, their young, though +fed on half-digested fish oil, are delicate eating; consequently, +some of the stations of these birds have been quite depopulated, +and in others their numbers have been greatly thinned.</p> + +<p>Willughby tells us that in his time 'Puffins' were very numerous +in the Calf of Man, and that fully fledged young birds, taken from +the nests, were sold at the rate of ninepence a dozen. He adds, +that in order to keep an accurate reckoning of the number taken, +it was customary to cut off, and retain, one of each bird's legs. +The consequence was that the state in which the birds were sent +to market was supposed to be their natural condition, and the +Puffin was popularly believed to be a 'monopod' (one-footed bird).</p> + +<p>This station is now nearly, if not quite, deserted; but colonies +still exist in Annet, one of the Scilly Islands, on the south coast +of Wales, in the Orkneys, and in the Shetlands. In the Scilly +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> +Islands the Shearwater is called a Crew, from the harsh note uttered +by the bird when its burrow is invaded; in the north, a Lyrie or +Scrabe.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><a name="Footnote_1_60" id="Footnote_1_60"></a> +<a href="#FNanchor_1_60"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> +'Calf', on many parts of the coast, is a name given to the smaller of two +rocks in proximity, of which the larger is called the 'Cow'.</div> + + +<div class="caption3">THE STORM-PETREL<br /> +PROCELLARIA PELÁGICA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">General plumage like the last; tail even at the extremity; legs moderate; +membranes black. Length scarcely six inches. Eggs white.</div> + +<p>Under the name of 'Mother Carey's Chickens' the Petrels must +be known to all readers of voyages. According to the belief popular +in the forecastle, these birds are invisible during calm or bright +weather; but when the sky lowers, and a storm is impending, +suddenly, no one knows whence, forth come these ill-omened heralds +of the tempest, inspiring more terror than would be caused even +by the hurricane which they are supposed to commence. In reality, +the Petrels are scarcely birds of the day; they love to hide themselves +in holes and behind stones. It is not, therefore, surprising +that when the sea is calm, and the sun bright, they lurk in their +hiding-places, if near enough to land; or, if on the open ocean, lie +asleep on the surface of the water, unnoticed, because still and of +small size. An overcast sky, however, awakes them as twilight +would, and they leave their hiding-places, or rise from their watery +bed, not because a storm is impending, but because the cloud which +accompanies the storm brings them the desired gloom. When in +motion they are more conspicuous than when at rest, and they +follow the wake of a ship for the same reason that other sea-fowl +do, for the sake of the offal thrown overboard. They will sometimes +accompany a ship for days, showing that they have untiring +power of wing, and to all but the superstitious greatly relieving +the monotony of the voyage.</p> + +<p>The Petrel builds its nest, a rude structure of weeds and rubbish, +either in the hole of a cliff or under stones on the beach, and lays +a single egg. It rarely comes abroad by day, and if disturbed ejects +from its mouth an oily matter, after the manner of the Fulmar. +Towards evening it comes forth from its stronghold, and skims the +sea in quest of food, which consists of floating animal matter of all +kinds. Its name, Petrel, or Little Peter, is derived from its habit +of occasionally skimming along so close to the surface of the sea as +to dip its feet in the water, and present the appearance of walking; +but its ordinary flight is very like that of the Swallow.</p> + +<p>The Storm-Petrel breeds in the Orkney, Shetland, and Scilly +Islands and a few on the Welsh coast, also in the Channel Islands, +but a genuine ocean-bird quits the land as soon as its young are +able to accompany it. It is frequently seen in the Atlantic and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> +Mediterranean, and is not an uncommon visitor to our shores, +especially during severe weather.</p> + +<p>Its note is only heard during the season of incubation, when its +retreat is often betrayed by a low twittering.</p> + +<p>Storm-Petrels are gregarious birds; they breed in colonies, +and skim the sea in small flocks. The French steamers which sail +between Toulon and Algiers are said to be regularly accompanied +by these birds.</p> + + +<div class="caption3">THE FORK-TAILED PETREL<br /> +PROCELLARIA LEUCORRHOA</div> + +<div class="blockquot">General plumage like the last; tail forked; legs moderate; membrane dusky +Length seven and a quarter inches. Eggs white, marked with small +rusty spots.</div> + +<p>The Fork-Tailed Petrel, a native of North America, does not +differ materially in habits from the other species. It is met with +almost annually on our east coast, and is common off Cornwall. +In Ireland it is frequent. This species was first declared to be +a British bird by Bullock, who found it at St. Kilda in 1818.</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption2">GLOSSARY OF COMMON AND +PROVINCIAL NAMES AND OF TECHNICAL TERMS.</div> + +♂: male ♀: female<br /> +<br /> +Aberdeen Sandpiper: a name for the Knot<br /> +Aberdevine: a name for the Siskin<br /> +Accentor, Hedge: Sparrow, Chanter or Warbler<br /> +Alk: the Razor-bill<br /> +Allamotte: the Petrel<br /> +Allan: the Skua<br /> +Alp: a name for the Bullfinch<br /> +Annet: the Kittiwake Gull<br /> +Arctic-bird: the Skua<br /> +Arctic Skua<br /> + " Tern<br /> +Assilag: the Petrel<br /> +Awl: the Woodpecker<br /> +<br /> + +Badock: the Skua<br /> +Bankjug: the Chiff-chaff and Willow Warbler<br /> +Bargander: the Sheldrake<br /> +Barley-bird: the Siskin and Wryneck<br /> +Barred or Lesser-spotted Woodpecker<br /> +Bar-tailed Godwit<br /> +Basal: at or near the base<br /> +Beam-bird: the Spotted Flycatcher<br /> +Bean Crake: the Land-Rail<br /> + " Goose<br /> +Bearded Reedling<br /> +Bee-bird: a name sometimes given to the Flycatcher;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sometimes to the Willow Warbler</span><br /> + " -eater<br /> + " -hawk: the Honey Buzzard<br /> +Beech-finch: the Chaffinch<br /> +Bergander: the Sheldrake<br /> +Bernicle Goose<br /> +Billy: the Hedge Sparrow<br /> +Billy-whitethroat: the Whitethroat<br /> +Bittern<br /> +Black-a-top: the Stonechat<br /> +Black-billed Auk: a name given to the Razor-bill in the winter<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">plumage of the first year</span><br /> +Blackcap: a name sometimes given to the Black-headed Gull,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Marsh Tit, and Coal Tit</span><br /> +Black Duck: the Scoter<br /> +Blacky-top: the Stonechat<br /> +Bloodulf: the Bullfinch<br /> +Blind Dorbie: the Purple Sandpiper<br /> +Blue-backed Falcon: the Peregrine Falcon<br /> + " -bird: the Fieldfare<br /> + " -cap: the Blue Tit<br /> + " Darr: the Black Tern<br /> + " Hawk: the Peregrine Falcon<br /> +Blue-headed Wagtail: the greyheaded Wagtail<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span><br /> + " -tailed Bee-eater<br /> + " Tit: the Tom Tit, the Blue-cap<br /> + " -winged Shoveler: the Shoveler<br /> +Boatswain: the Skua<br /> +Brake-hopper: the Grasshopper Warbler<br /> +Brambling, or Bramble-finch<br /> +Bran: the Crow<br /> +Brancher: the Goldfinch in its first year<br /> +Brantail: the Redstart<br /> +Brent Goose<br /> +Broad-bill: the Shoveler<br /> +Bronzie: the Cormorant<br /> +Brook Ouzel: a name given to the Dipper, and incorrectly to the Water-Rail<br /> +Brown Owl, or Tawny Owl<br /> + " -Leader Gull: Black-headed Gull, Red-headed Gull or Hooded Gull<br /> + " Starling: a name sometimes given to the young of the Starling<br /> + " Tern: the Tern in its immature plumage<br /> +Budfinch: the Bullfinch<br /> +Bullfinch, Common<br /> + " Pine, or Pine Grosbeak<br /> +Bunting, Lapland, or Finch<br /> +Burgomaster: the Glaucous Gull<br /> +Burrow Duck: the Sheldrake<br /> +Bustard, Great<br /> +<br /> + +Cackareer: the Kittiwake Gull<br /> +Caddaw: the Jackdaw<br /> +Calloo: the Long-tailed Duck<br /> +Cargoose: the Crested Grebe<br /> +Carinate: in the form of a keel<br /> +Carrion Crow<br /> +Car-swallow: the Black Tern<br /> +Cere: the wax-like membrane which covers the base of the bill in the Falconidae<br /> +Chaldrick or Chalder: the Oyster-Catcher<br /> +Chanchider: the Spotted Flycatcher<br /> +Channel Goose: the Gannet<br /> +Chanter, Hedge: Sparrow, Accentor or Warbler<br /> +Charlie Miftie: the Wheatear<br /> +Chank, and Chank-daw: the Chough<br /> +Chepster: the Starling<br /> +Cherry-finch: the Hawfinch<br /> +Cherry-sucker, Cherry-chopper, and Cherry-Snipe: the Spotted Flycatcher.<br /> +Chevy Lin: the Redpoll<br /> +Chickell: the Wheatear<br /> +Chickstone: the Stonechat<br /> +Chippet Linnet: the Redpoll<br /> +Church Owl: the White Owl<br /> +Churn Owl: the Nightjar<br /> +Churr: the Dunlin<br /> +Cirl Bunting<br /> +Clack Goose, Clakes: the Bernicle Goose<br /> +Clatter Goose: the Brent Goose<br /> +Clee: the Red Shank<br /> +Cleff: the Tern<br /> +Clinker: the Avocet<br /> +Cloven-footed Gull: the Tern<br /> +Coal-and-candle-light: the Long-tailed Duck<br /> +Coal Goose: the Cormorant<br /> +Coaly Hood: the Bullfinch or Coal Mouse<br /> +Cob: the male Swan<br /> +Cob: the Great Black-backed Gull<br /> +Cobble: the Great Northern Diver<br /> +Cobbler's Awl: the Avocet<br /> +Cobweb: the Spotted Flycatcher<br /> +Cockandy: the Puffin<br /> +Cock-winder: the Wigeon<br /> +Coddy Moddy: the common Gull in its first year's plumage<br /> +Coldfinch: the Pied Flycatcher<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span><br /> +Colk: the King Duck<br /> +Colin: a name in New Spain for Quail<br /> +Compressed: flattened vertically<br /> +Coot-foot: the Phalarope<br /> +Copperfinch: the Chaffinch<br /> +Corbie: the Raven<br /> +Corndrake: the Land-Rail<br /> +Cornish Crow, or Daw: the Chough<br /> +Cornwall Kae: the Chough<br /> +Coulterneb: the Puffin<br /> +Crake, Little<br /> + " Spotted<br /> +Crank bird: the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker<br /> +Craw: part of the stomach in birds<br /> +Cream-coloured Plover: Swiftfoot or Courser<br /> +Courser Gull: the Glaucous Gull<br /> +Creeper, Creep-tree, or Tree-creeper. These names are in some places given to the Nuthatch<br /> +Crested Cormorant: the Shag<br /> + " Heron, Common or Grey<br /> +Cricket-bird: the Grasshopper Warbler<br /> +Cricket Teal: the Garganey<br /> +Crooked Bill: the Avocet<br /> +Crossbill: Common<br /> +Cuckoo's Leader or Mate: the Wryneck<br /> +Cuhnen: the ridge of the upper mandible<br /> +Cultrate: in the form of a billhook or pruning knife<br /> +Curlew-Jack: the Whimbrel<br /> +Curwillet: the Sanderling<br /> +Cushat: the Ring Dove<br /> +Cutty Wren: the Common Wren<br /> +Cygnet: the young Swan<br /> +<br /> + +Daker Hen: the Land-Rail<br /> +Danish Crow: the Hooded Crow<br /> +Darr, Blue: the Black Tern<br /> +Dertrum<br /> +Depressed: flattened horizontally<br /> +Deviling: the Swift<br /> +Dick Dunnock: the Hedge Sparrow<br /> +Dippearl: the Tern<br /> +Dirty Allen: the Skua<br /> +Dishwater: the Wagtail<br /> +Diving Pigeon: the Guillemot<br /> +Dobbler and Dobchick: the Lesser Grebe<br /> +Door Hawk and Dorr Hawk: the Nightjar.<br /> +Dorbie: the Dunlin<br /> +Doucker: a popular name for a Grebe or Diver<br /> +Doveky: the Black Guillemot<br /> +Dove-coloured Falcon: the Peregrine Falcon<br /> +Draine: the Missel Thrush<br /> +Duck Hawk: the Marsh Harrier<br /> +Ducker: a popular name for a Grebe or Diver<br /> +Dulwilly: the Ring Plover<br /> +Dunkir and Dunair: the Pochard<br /> +Dun Crow: the Hooded Crow<br /> +Dundiver: the female and young of the Merganser<br /> +Dung Hunter: the Skua<br /> +Dunlin<br /> +Dunnock: the Hedge Sparrow<br /> +<br /> + +Earl Duck: the Red-breasted Merganser<br /> +Easterling: the Smew<br /> +Ebb: the Bunting<br /> +Ecorcheur: the Shrike<br /> +Egret: a tuft of long narrow feathers found on the lower part of the neck of the Herons.<br /> + The name is also sometimes extended to the two tufts of feathers, resembling ears or horns,<br /> + in some of the Owls<br /> +Elk: the Hooper Swan<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span><br /> +Emmer or Ember Goose: the Great Northern Diver<br /> +Emmet Hunter: the Wryneck<br /> +Erne: the Eagle<br /> +<br /> + +Falk or Falc: the Razor-bill<br /> +Faller: the Hen Harrier<br /> +Fallow Chat, Fallow Finch, Fallow Lunch, or Fallow Smich: the Wheatear<br /> +Fanny Redtail: the Redstart<br /> +Fauvette: the Garden Warbler, also applied to others of the Warblers.<br /> +Feather-poke: i.e. "sack of feathers" is the Chiff-chaff, so called from the<br /> + materials and form of the nest<br /> +Felt and Feltyfare: the Fieldfare<br /> +Fiddler: the Common Sandpiper<br /> +Field Duck: the Little Bustard<br /> +Field Lark: the Skylark<br /> +Fiery Linnet: the Common Linnet<br /> +Finch, or Lapland Bunting<br /> +Fire-crested Regulus or Wren<br /> +Fire-tail: the Redstart<br /> +Flapper: a young Duck<br /> +Flopwing: the Lapwing<br /> +Flusher: the Butcher-bird<br /> +Foot: The foot of a bird consists of four, never less than three, toes,<br /> + with their claws, and the joint next above, called the "tarsus"<br /> +French Linnet: the Redpoll<br /> + " Magpie: the Red-backed Shrike<br /> + " Pie: the Great Spotted Woodpecker.<br /> +<br /> + +Gaggle: a flight of Wild Geese<br /> +Gairfowl: the Auk and the Razor-bill<br /> +Gallinule: the Moor Hen; this name is sometimes applied to the Crakes<br /> +Gallwell Drake: the Land Drake<br /> +Gannet: the Skua<br /> +Garden Ouzel: the Blackbird<br /> + " Warbler<br /> +Gardenian Heron: the young of the Night Heron<br /> +Gaunt: the Crested Grebe<br /> +Gidd: the Jack Snipe<br /> +Gillhowter: the White Owl<br /> +Gladdy: the Yellow Hammer<br /> +Glaucous Gull<br /> +Glead, Gled, or Glade: the Kite<br /> +Goat Owl and Goatsucker: the Nightjar<br /> +Goldeneye<br /> +Golden-crested Regulus, Warbler or Wren<br /> + " Oriole or Thrush<br /> + " Plover<br /> +Gorcock: the Moor Cock<br /> +Gorsehatch: the Wheatear<br /> +Gorse-duck: the Corn Crake<br /> +Gorse Linnet: the Common Linnet<br /> +Goud Spink: the Goldfinch<br /> +Gouldring: the Yellow Hammer<br /> +Gourder: the Petrel<br /> +Gouk: the Cuckoo<br /> +Graduated: a term applied to the tail of a bird when the middle<br /> + feathers are longest and the outer ones are shorter in gradation<br /> +Greenwich Sandpiper: the Ruff<br /> +Grey: the Gadwall<br /> +Greybird: the Thrush<br /> +Grey-Duck: the Gadwall<br /> + " Coot-footed Tringa: the Phalarope<br /> + " Crow: the Hooded Crow<br /> + " Falcon: the Hen Harrier<br /> + " Heron: common or Crested Heron<br /> +Grey Lapwing, or Sandpiper: the Grey Plover<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span><br /> + " Linnet: the Common Linnet<br /> + " Owl: the White Owl<br /> + " Partridge: the Common Partridge<br /> + " Shrike, Lesser: the Ash-coloured Shrike<br /> + " Skit: the Water-Rail<br /> + " -lag: Fen, Stubble, or Wild Goose<br /> +Grisette: the Whitethroat<br /> +Ground Lark: the Pipit and Bunting<br /> + " Wren: the Willow Warbler<br /> +Guldenhead: the Puffin<br /> +Gull-tormentor: the Skua<br /> +Gunner: the Great Northern Diver<br /> +Gurfel: the Razor-bill<br /> +Gustarda: the Bustard<br /> +<br /> + +Hackbolt: the Greater Shearwater<br /> +Hadji: the Swift<br /> +Hagdown: the Greater Shearwater<br /> +Haggard: the Peregrine Falcon<br /> +Hagister: the Magpie<br /> +Half-Curlew: the Whimbrel and Godwit<br /> + " -Duck: the Wigeon, Pochard, etc.<br /> + " -Snipe: the Jack Snipe<br /> +Harle: the Red-breasted Merganser<br /> +Harpy: the Marsh Harrier<br /> +Hawk Owl: this name is sometimes given to the Short-eared Owl<br /> +Hay-bird, or Hay-Tit: the Willow Warbler<br /> +Hay-Jack: the Garden Warbler and Whitethroat<br /> +Heather Bleater: the Snipe<br /> +Heath Throstle: the Ring Ouzel<br /> +Hebridal Sandpiper: the Turnstone<br /> +Heckimal: the Blue Tit<br /> +Hedge-Chicken: the Wheatear<br /> + " -Jug, the Long-tailed Tit<br /> +Hegrilskip: the Heron<br /> +Helegug: the Puffin<br /> +Hellejay: the Razor-bill<br /> +Hern, Hernshaw, Heronshaw: the Heron<br /> +Heronsewgh: the Heron<br /> +Herring-bar: perhaps a corruption of Herring-bird, Diver<br /> +Herring Gant: the Gannet<br /> + " Gull<br /> +Hew-hole: the Woodpecker<br /> +Hickwall: the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker<br /> +High-hoo: the Woodpecker<br /> +Hiogga: the Razor-bill<br /> +Hissing Owl: the White Owl<br /> +Hoarse Gowk: the Snipe<br /> +Hoddy: the Crow<br /> +Holm Cock and Holm Screech: the Mistle Thrush<br /> +Hoop: the Bullfinch<br /> +Hornfinch: the Petrel<br /> +Horniwinks: the Lapwing<br /> +Horra: the Brent Goose<br /> +Horsefinch: the Chaffinch<br /> +Horsmatch: the Red-backed Shrike, the Wheatear and Whinchat<br /> +Howlet: the Brown Owl<br /> +Howster: the Knot<br /> +Huckmuck: the Long-tailed Tit<br /> +Hullat: the Owl<br /> +<br /> + +Icebird: the Little Auk<br /> +Imber, or Great Northern Diver<br /> +Isle of Wight Parson: the Cormorant<br /> +Iris (<i>plural</i>, Irides): the coloured circle of the eye surrounding the pupil<br /> +Isaac: the Hedge Sparrow<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span><br /> +Ivy Owl: the Barn Owl<br /> +<br /> + +Jack Curlew: the Whimbrel<br /> +Jackdaw<br /> +Jack-nicker: the Goldfinch<br /> + " Saw: the Goosander<br /> + " Snipe<br /> +Jar Owl: the Night Owl<br /> +Jay, Jay Pie, or Jay Pyet<br /> +Jenny: the Wren<br /> +Jid or Judcock: the Jack Snipe<br /> +<br /> + +Kadder and Kae: the Jackdaw<br /> +Kamtschatka Tern: the Black Tern<br /> +Katabella: the Hen Harrier<br /> +Kate: the Hawfinch<br /> +Katogle: the Eagle Owl<br /> +Kiddaw: the Guillemot<br /> +King-Harry: the Goldfinch<br /> +Kip: the Tern<br /> +Kirktullock: the Shoveler<br /> +Kirmew and Kirmow: the Tern<br /> +Knee: a name often given, though inaccurately, to the junction of the<br /> + tarsus and tibia of a bird.<br /> +Knot<br /> +<br /> + +Lamhi or Lavy: the Guillemot<br /> +Land Curlew: the Great Plover<br /> +Lary: the Guillemot<br /> +Laughing Goose: the White-fronted Goose<br /> +Lavrock: the Skylark<br /> +Leg-bird: the Sedge Warbler<br /> +Lesser wing-coverts: the feathers which overlie the greater<br /> + wing-coverts, or those next the quills<br /> +Ling-bird: the Meadow Pipit<br /> +Linlet: a young Linnet<br /> +Lobefoot: the Phalarope<br /> +Long-tongue: the Wryneck<br /> +Loom or Loon: the Diver<br /> +Lore: the space between the beak and the eye<br /> +Lough Diver: the Smew<br /> +Lum, Lungy: the Guillemot<br /> +Lumme: the Diver<br /> +Lyre: the Manx Shearwater<br /> +<br /> + +Madge Howlet: the White Owl<br /> +Maglowan: a name for the Divers<br /> +Magpie Diver: the Smew<br /> +Malduck, or Malmarsh: the Fulmar<br /> +Mallemoke: the Fulmar<br /> +Mandibles: upper and under, the two portions of a bird's bill<br /> +Man-of-war bird: the Skua<br /> +Manx Shearwater: the Manx Petrel<br /> +Marketjew Crow: the Chough<br /> +Marrot: the Guillemot and Razor-bill<br /> +May-bird, or Mayfowl: the Whimbrel<br /> +Mavis: the Thrush<br /> +Meadow Crake, or Drake: the Gallinule<br /> + " Pipit, Titlark or Titling<br /> +Meggy-cut-throat: the Whitethroat<br /> +Merlie: the Blackbird<br /> +Mew or Mow: a Gull<br /> +Millithrum: the Long-tailed Tit<br /> +Minute Gallinule: the Little Crake<br /> + " Merganser: the young Smew<br /> + " Tringa: the Little Stint<br /> +Mire Snipe: the Snipe<br /> +Mistle Thrush, or Mistletoe Thrush<br /> +Mitty: the Petrel<br /> +Mock-bird: the Sedge Warbler<br /> + " Nightingale: the Blackcap and Garden Warbler<br /> +Monk: the Bullfinch<br /> +Moor Blackbird, or Ouzel: the Ring Ouzel<br /> +Moor Hen, or Water Hen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span><br /> +Morrot: the Guillemot<br /> +Moss-cheeper: the Meadow Pipit<br /> +Mother Carey's Chickens: the Petrels<br /> +Mountain Linnet: the Twite<br /> + " Ouzel: the Ring Ouzel<br /> +Mouse Hawk or Owl: the Hawk Owl<br /> +Mow: a Gull<br /> +Mud-plover: the Grey Plover<br /> +Muggy: the Whitethroat<br /> +Mullet: the Puffin<br /> +Mum-ruffin: the Long-tailed Tit<br /> +Murdering-bird: the Butcher-bird<br /> +<br /> + +Nape: the upper part of the neck behind<br /> +Neck-a-pecker and Nickle: the Woodpecker<br /> +Night-crow, or Night-hawk: the Nightjar<br /> + " Heron<br /> +Nope: the Bullfinch<br /> +Norfolk Plover: the Great Plover<br /> +Norie: the Cormorant<br /> +Northern Crow: the Hooded Crow<br /> +Norway Lark: the Snow Bunting<br /> +Nun: the Blue Tit<br /> +<br /> + +Oke: the Auk<br /> +Olive: the Oyster-catcher<br /> +Olive-tufted Duck: the Goldeneye<br /> +Operculum: a lid or covering<br /> +Orbit: the skin that surrounds the eye, and in some birds is<br /> + destitute of feathers<br /> +Ouzel, Water, or Dipper<br /> +Oven-bird: the Chiff-Chaff, Willow Warbler, and Wood Warbler<br /> +Owl, Long-eared or Horned<br /> + " Short-eared or Little-horned<br /> + " Tawny or Brown<br /> +<br /> + +Padge and Padge Owl: the Barn Owl<br /> +Palmipedes: Web-footed Birds<br /> +Pandle-whew: the Wigeon<br /> +Parasitic Gull: the Skua<br /> +Parrot, Ailsa: the Puffin<br /> + " Sea: the Puffin<br /> +Parson Mew: the Black-backed Gull<br /> +Passerine: belonging to the order Passeres<br /> + " Warbler: the Garden Warbler<br /> +Pea-finch: the Chaffinch<br /> +Pearl: the Tern<br /> +Pease Crow: the Tern<br /> +Peck: the Bar-tailed Godwit<br /> +Pectinated: cut like a comb<br /> +Peese-weep: the Peewit, also sometimes given to the Greenfinch<br /> +Peggy: the Wren, Whitethroat and the Garden Warbler<br /> +Peggy cut-throat: the Whitethroat<br /> +Petrel: the name Petrel is in some places given to the Godwit<br /> +Pettychaps, Greater: the Garden Warbler<br /> + " Lesser: the Chiff-chaff<br /> +Philomel: the Nightingale<br /> +Pianet: the Magpie, and Oyster-catcher<br /> +Picarini: the Avocet<br /> +Pick-cheese: the Tom-Tit and Great Tit<br /> +Pickmire: the Black-headed Gull<br /> +Picktarney and Picket: the Tern<br /> +Pictarn: the Black-headed Gull<br /> +Pie, Sea: the Oyster-catcher<br /> +Pied Diver: the Smew<br /> + " Wagtail<br /> + " Wigeon: the Garganey, and Goldeye<br /> +Pie-finch: the Chaffinch<br /> +Pienet and Piet: the Magpie<br /> +Piet, Water: the Water Ouzel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span><br /> +Pigeon Hawk: the Sparrow Hawk<br /> + " Mow, Red-legged: the Black-headed Gull in its winter plumage<br /> +Pigmy Curloo, or Sandpiper<br /> +Pine Bullfinch, or Pine Grosbeak<br /> +Pink: the Chaffinch<br /> +Pink-footed Goose<br /> +Pinnock: a Tit<br /> +Pint: the Laughing Gull<br /> +Pintail Duck<br /> +Pirenet: the Sheldrake<br /> +Plover's Page: the Purple Sandpiper<br /> +Pocker, or Poker: the Pochard<br /> +Poke-Pudding: the Long-tailed Tit<br /> +Pomarine Skua, or Gull, Twist-tailed<br /> +Poor-willie: the Godwit<br /> +Pop: the Redwing<br /> +Pope: the Puffin<br /> +Popinjay: the Green Woodpecker<br /> +Port-Egmont Hen: the Common Skua<br /> +Post-bird: the Spotted Flycatcher<br /> +Primaries: the quills, usually ten, of the terminal joint of a bird's wing.<br /> +Provence Furzel: the Dartford Warbler<br /> +Proud-tailor: the Goldfinch<br /> +Puckeridge: the Nightjar<br /> +Pudding-poke: the Long-tailed Tit<br /> +Puffin<br /> +Puffinet: the Black Guillemot<br /> +Purple Sandpiper<br /> +Purre: the Dunlin<br /> +Puttock: the Buzzard and Kite<br /> +Pywipe: the Lapwing<br /> +<br /> + +Quaketail: the Wagtail<br /> +Que: the Night Heron<br /> +Queest or Quest: the Ring-dove<br /> +Queet: the Coot and Guillemot<br /> +Quills: the large feathers of the wing, called primary, or digital;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">secondary or cubital;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">and tertiary, or humeral;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">according as they arise from the terminal, middle, or inner joint</span><br /> +Quill-coverts: a row of feathers immediately covering the base of the<br /> + quills above and below, and therefore called upper and under<br /> +Quinck: the Goose<br /> +<br /> + +Rafter-bird: the Spotted Flycatcher<br /> +Rail, Land<br /> +Rain-bird: the Green Woodpecker<br /> + " -Goose: the Red-throated Diver<br /> +Raptores: Birds of Prey<br /> +Rasores: Gallinaceous Birds<br /> +Rattle-wings: the Goldeneye<br /> +Redcap: the Goldfinch<br /> +Red Godwit: the Bar-tailed Godwit<br /> + " Grouse<br /> +Red-headed Linnet: the Common Linnet and Redpoll<br /> + " Pochard: the Common Pochard<br /> + " Wigeon: the Common Wigeon<br /> + " Hoop: the Bullfinch<br /> + " -legged Crow: the Chough<br /> + " " Godwit: the Spotted Sandpiper<br /> + " " Gull, the Black-headed Gull<br /> + " " Partridge<br /> + " -necked Coot-foot, Lobefoot, or Phalarope<br /> +Red Sandpiper: the Knot in its summer plumage<br /> +Redstart, Common<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span><br /> + " Black<br /> +Red-throated Diver<br /> +Red-winged Blackbird: Maize-bird, or Starling<br /> +Reed-bird: the Sedge Warbler<br /> +Reed Bunting: the Black-headed Bunting<br /> + " Fauvette: the Sedge Warbler<br /> + " Pheasant: the Bearded Tit<br /> + " Sparrow: the Black-headed Bunting<br /> + " Warbler or Wren<br /> +Reeve: the female of the Ruff<br /> +Richardson's Skua<br /> +Richel Bird: the Lesser Tern<br /> +Rind-tabberer: the Green Woodpecker<br /> +Ring Blackbird: the Ring Ouzel<br /> + " Dove<br /> +Ringed Dotterel, or Plover<br /> + " Guillemot<br /> + " -necked or Great Northern Diver<br /> +Ring-tailed Eagle: the Golden Eagle in its second year's plumage<br /> +Rippock: the Tern<br /> +Rochie: the Little Auk<br /> +Rock-birds: the Auk, Puffin, and Guillemot<br /> + " Dove, Rocker Dove, Rockier Dove<br /> + " Hawk: the Merlin<br /> + " Lark, or Pipit<br /> + " Ouzel: the Ring Ouzel<br /> + " Sandpiper: the Purple Sandpiper<br /> +Rodge: the Gadwall<br /> +Rood Goose, or Brent Goose<br /> +Rose-coloured Ouzel, Pastor, Starling or Thrush<br /> + " Linnet: the Redpoll, and Common Linnet<br /> +Rotck, or Rotcke: the Little Auk<br /> +Rothermuck: the Bernicle Goose<br /> +Ruddock: the Redbreast, Robin<br /> +Ruddy Goose, or Sheldrake<br /> + " Plover: the Bar-tailed Godwit<br /> +Ruff (female Reeve)<br /> +Runner: the Water-Rail<br /> + " Stone: the Ringed Plover<br /> +<br /> + +St. Cuthbert's Duck: the Elder<br /> +St. Martin's Snipe: the Jack Snipe<br /> +Sandcock: the Redshank<br /> +Sanderling<br /> +Sandsnipe: a Sandpiper<br /> +Sandwich Tern<br /> +Sandy-loo: the Ring Plover<br /> + " Poker: the Pochard<br /> +Sarcelle: the Long-tailed Duck<br /> +Saw-bill: the Merganser<br /> +Scale Drake: the Sheldrake<br /> +Scallop-toed Sandpiper: the Phalarope<br /> +Scammel: the Bar-tailed Godwit<br /> +Scapulars: the feathers which rise from the shoulders and cover the sides of the back<br /> +Scar Crow: the Black Tern<br /> +Scarf and Scart: the Shag<br /> +Scaurie: the Herring Gull<br /> +Scooper: the Avocet<br /> +Scotch Goose: the Brent Goose<br /> +Scout: the Common Guillemot<br /> +Scurrit: the Lesser Tern<br /> +Scrabe: the Manx Shearwater<br /> +Scraber: the Black Guillemot<br /> +Scraye: the Tern<br /> +Screamer and Screecher: the Swift<br /> +Screech: the Missel-Thrush<br /> + " Martin: the Swift<br /> + " Owl: the Barn Owl<br /> +Scull: the Skua<br /> +Scuttock: the Guillemot<br /> +Sea Crow: the Cormorant, and Black-headed Gull<br /> + " Dotterel: the Turnstone<br /> + " Hen: the Guillemot<br /> +Sea Lark: the Rock Pipit and Ring Plover<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span><br /> + " Mall, Mew, or Mow: the Gull<br /> + " Parrot: the Puffin<br /> + " Pheasant: the Pintail Duck<br /> + " Pie: the Oyster-catcher<br /> + " Sandpiper: the Purple Sandpiper<br /> + " Snipe: the Dunlin<br /> + " Swallow: the Tern<br /> + " Titling: the Rock Pipit<br /> + " Turtle-dove: the Guillemot and Rotche<br /> + " Wigeon: the Scaup<br /> + " Woodcock: the Godwit<br /> +Seaford Goose: the Brent Bernicle<br /> +Secondaries: the quill-feathers arising from the second joint of the wing<br /> +Sedge-bird, Sedge Warbler, or Sedge Wren<br /> +Selninger Sandpiper: the Purple Sandpiper<br /> +Serrator: the Ivory Gull<br /> +Serrated: toothed like a saw<br /> +Serrula: the Red-breasted Merganser<br /> +Sheldapple: the Crossbill This name and "Shelly" are sometimes given to the Chaffinch<br /> +Shepster: the Starling<br /> +Shilfa: the Chaffinch<br /> +Shoeing-horn: the Avocet<br /> +Shore-bird: the Sand Martin<br /> + " Pipit: the Rock Pipit<br /> +Short-eared or -horned Owl<br /> +Shrieker: the Black-tailed Godwit<br /> +Shrimp-catcher: the Lesser Tern<br /> +Shrite: the Missel Thrush<br /> +Silvery Gull: the Herring Gull<br /> +Skart: the Cormorant, and Shag<br /> +Skein: a flight of Geese<br /> +Skiddaw: the Guillemot<br /> +Skiddy Cock, Skilty, or Skit: the Water-Rail<br /> +Skite: the Yellow Hammer<br /> +Skitty: the Spotted Crake<br /> +Skrabe: the Black Guillemot<br /> +Snake-bird: the Wryneck<br /> +Snite: the Snipe<br /> +Snow-bird: the Ivory Gull<br /> + " -Bunting: Flake, or Fleck<br /> +Snuff-headed Wigeon: the Pochard<br /> +Solan, or Solent Goose: the Gannet<br /> +Solitary Snipe: the Great Snipe<br /> +Song Thrush: the Common Thrush<br /> +Sparlm-fowl: the female Merganser<br /> +Spectacle Duck: the Goldeneye<br /> +Speculum: the bright feathers which form a kind of disc of the wing of the Ducks<br /> +Speckled-bellied Goose: the White-fronted Goose<br /> + " Diver: the young of the Great Northern Diver<br /> +Spider-diver: the Dabchick<br /> +Speney: the Petrel<br /> +Spink: the Chaffinch<br /> +Spoonbill, White<br /> +Spotted-necked Turtle Dove: the Turtle Dove<br /> +Sprat Loon, the young of the Great Northern Diver<br /> + " Mew: the Kittiwake Gull<br /> +Spurre: the Tern<br /> +Standgale, or Stannel: the Kestrel<br /> +Starling, Common, Stare, or Starenil<br /> +Staynil: the Starling<br /> +Steel Duck, Larger: the Goosander<br /> + " " Lesser: the Merganser<br /> +Stint: the Dunlin, or any similar bird, is often so called on the coast<br /> +Stock-Dove<br /> +Stonechacker or Stoneclink: Stonechat<br /> +Stone Curlew: the Great Plover<br /> +Stonegale: the Kestrel<br /> +Stone Hawk: the Merlin<br /> +Stone-smirch: the Wheatear<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span><br /> +Stork, White<br /> +Storm Cock: the Missel Thrush<br /> + " Petrel, or Storm Finch<br /> +Straney: the Guillemot<br /> +Summer Snipe: the Sandpiper<br /> + " Teal: the Garganey<br /> + " Duck, or Sheldrake: the Long-tailed Duck<br /> +Sweet William: the Goldfinch<br /> +Swiftfoot: the Courser<br /> +Swimmer, Little: the Phalarope<br /> +Swine-pipe: the Redwing<br /> +<br /> + +Tail-coverts: upper and under, feathers covering the basal portion<br /> + of the tail feathers above and below<br /> +Tailor, Proud: the Goldfinch<br /> +Tammie Cheekie and Tammie Norie: the Puffin<br /> +Tang-waup: the Whimbrel<br /> +Tangle-picker: the Turnstone<br /> +Taring, Tarrot: the Tern<br /> +Tarrock: the young of the Kittiwake Gull<br /> +Tarse: the male Falcon, a name used in falconry<br /> +Tarsus: the bone of a bird's foot next above the toes. In a domestic<br /> + fowl the tarsus is the portion between what is called<br /> + the "drumstick" and the toes; the shank<br /> +Tatler: a Sandpiper<br /> +Teal Cricket: the Garganey<br /> +Teaser: the Skua<br /> +Teewit: the Peewit<br /> +Tertiaries: the quills which spring from the third or inner joint of a bird's wing<br /> +Thistlefinch: the Goldfinch<br /> +Three-toed Sandgrouse<br /> +Thrice-cock: the Mistle Thrush<br /> +Throstle: the Thrush<br /> +Tibia: the joint of a bird's leg next above the tarsus; the "drumstick."<br /> +Tick: the Whinchat<br /> +Tidley: the Wren<br /> +Tinkershere, or Tinker's hue: the Guillemot<br /> +Tippet Grebe: the Crested Grebe<br /> +Titlark, and Titling: the Meadow Pipit<br /> + " Sea: the Rock Pipit<br /> +Tom Harry: the Skua<br /> +Tom Pudding: the Dabchick<br /> +Tommy Norie: the Puffin<br /> +Tomtit: the Blue Tit<br /> +Tonite: the Wood Warbler<br /> +Tony Hoop: the Bullfinch<br /> +Tope: the Wren<br /> +Tor-Ouzel: the Ring Ouzel<br /> +Towilly: the Sanderling<br /> +Tree Pipit, or Lark<br /> + " Sparrow<br /> + " Sheeler: the Tree Creeper<br /> +Tuchit: the Lapwing Plover<br /> +Tufted Duck<br /> +Tuliac: the Skua<br /> +Turkey-bird: the Wryneck<br /> +Turtle, Sea: the Guillemot and Ricke<br /> +Twink: the Chaffinch<br /> +Twit Lark: the Meadow Pipit<br /> +Tystie: the Black Guillemot<br /> +<br /> +Ulnia: the Tawny Owl<br /> +Under tail-coverts: the feathers which overlap the base of the tail beneath<br /> +Under wing-coverts: the feathers which cover the wings beneath<br /> +Upper tail-coverts: the feathers which overlap the base of the tail above<br /> +Upper wing-coverts: the feathers which overlap the base of the quills<br /> +Utick: the Whinchat<br /> +<br /> + +Vare Wigeon: the Smew<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span><br /> +Velvet Runner: the Water-Rail<br /> +<br /> +Wagell: the young of the Great Black-backed Gull<br /> +Wall Hick: the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker<br /> +Wash-dish and Washerwoman: the Pied Wagtail<br /> +Water-hen: the Moor-hen<br /> + " Crow, the Dipper<br /> + " Junket: the Common Sandpiper<br /> + " Ouzel or Dipper<br /> + " Sparrow: the Sedge Warbler<br /> + " Tie: the Wagtail<br /> + " Wagtail: the Pied Wagtail<br /> +Waxen Chatterer or Waxwing<br /> +Wease-alley: the Skua<br /> +Weasel Coot: the young Smew<br /> + " Duck: the Smew<br /> +Weet-weet: the Common Sandpiper<br /> +Wellplum: the Red-headed Pochard<br /> +Whaup: the Curlew<br /> +Whautie: the Whitethroat<br /> +Wheel-bird, or Wheeler: the Nightjar<br /> +Wheety-why: the Whitethroat<br /> +Winthrush: the Redwing<br /> +Whewer: the Wigeon<br /> +Whey-bird: the Whitethroat<br /> +Whilk: the Scoter<br /> +Whim: the Wigeon<br /> +Whimbrel or May-bird<br /> +Whin Linnet: the Common Linnet<br /> +Whistling Plover: the Golden Plover<br /> +Whistling Swan: the Whooper Swan<br /> +White Baker: the Spotted Flycatcher<br /> +White-breasted Blackbird: the Ring or Water Ouzel<br /> + " -faced Duck: the Pochard<br /> + " Tinch: the Chaffinch<br /> + " -headed Goosander: the Smew<br /> + " -headed Cormorant: the Common Cormorant<br /> + " -headed Harpy: the Moor Buzzard<br /> + " Nun: the Smew<br /> + " -spot Cormorant: the Common Cormorant<br /> + " -tail: the Wheatear<br /> + " -winged Black Duck: the Velvet Scoter<br /> +Whit-ile, i.e. Whittle: the Green Woodpecker<br /> +Whitterick: the Curlew<br /> +Whitty-beard: the Whitethroat<br /> +Whitwall and Witwall: the Green Woodpecker<br /> +Wierangel: the Ash-coloured Shrike<br /> +Willock and Willy: the Guillemot<br /> +Willow-biter: the Tomtit<br /> +Willywicket: the Common Sandpiper<br /> +Windhover and Windfanner: the Kestrel<br /> +Windle, Winnard, and Wind-thrush: the Redwing<br /> +Wing-coverts: several rows of feathers covering the basal part of<br /> + the quills above and below, and called the upper and<br /> + under wing-coverts; the feathers outside these are<br /> + called the lesser wing-coverts<br /> +Winglet: a process arising from near the base of the terminal joint of<br /> + the wing, answering to the thumb in the human hand<br /> +Winnel and Windle-Straw: the Whitethroat<br /> +Winter-bonnet: the Common Gull<br /> + " Duck: the Pintail Duck<br /> +Winter-Gull, or Mew: the Common Gull in its winter plumage +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span><br /> + " Wagtail: the grey-headed Wagtail<br /> +Witch: the Petrel<br /> +Witwall: the Green Woodpecker<br /> +Woodcock Owl: the Short-eared Owl<br /> + " Sea: the Godwit<br /> + " -Snipe: the Great Snipe<br /> +Woodcracker: the Nuthatch<br /> +Wood Grouse: the Capercaillie<br /> +Woodpie: the Green Woodpecker<br /> +Wood Sandpiper<br /> + " Shrike Woodchat<br /> +Woodspite, Woodwall, and Woodwele: the Green Woodpecker<br /> +Wood Warbler, or Wren<br /> +Writing Lark: the Bunting, so called from the markings of the eggs<br /> +<br /> +Yaffil, Yaffle, Yaffler, Yappingale: the Green Woodpecker<br /> +Yardkeep and Yarwhip: the Bar-tailed Godwit<br /> +Yarwhelp: the Stone Plover and Godwit<br /> +Yeldrin and Yeldrock: the Yellow Hammer<br /> +Yellow legged Gull: the Lesser Black-backed Gull<br /> + " Sandpiper: the young of the Ruff<br /> + " Owl: the White Owl<br /> + " Plover: the Golden Plover<br /> + " Poll: the Wigeon<br /> + " Warbler: the Willow Warbler<br /> + " Yeldock, Yoit, Yoldrin and Yowley, the Yellow Hammer<br /> +Yelper: the Avocet<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span></p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span></p> + +<div class="caption1">INDEX OF BIRDS AND OF ILLUSTRATIONS</div> + +<p><i>The first numeral refers to the text, the second to the illustration facing +the page named.</i></p> + +Auk, Little: <a href="#Page_294">294</a>; <a href="#Plate_62">p. 291</a><br /> +Avocet: <a href="#Page_252">252</a>; <a href="#Plate_50">p. 247</a><br /> +<br /> +<a name="Bearded"></a>Bearded Reedling: <a href="#Page_41">41</a>; <a href="#Plate_11">p. 46</a><br /> +Bee-eater: <a href="#Page_135">135</a>; <a href="#Plate_26">p. 129</a><br /> +Bittern: <a href="#Page_173">173</a>; <a href="#Plate_46">p. 231</a><br /> +Blackbird: <a href="#Page_7">7</a>; <a href="#Plate_02">p. 3</a><br /> +Blackcap: <a href="#Page_23">23</a>; <a href="#Plate_06">p. 17</a><br /> +Brambling: <a href="#Page_97">97</a>; <a href="#Plate_18">p. 85</a><br /> +Bullfinch: <a href="#Page_101">101</a>; <a href="#Plate_20">p. 97</a><br /> +Bunting, Cirl: <a href="#Page_108">108</a>; <a href="#Plate_21">p. 108</a><br /> + " Corn (or common): <a href="#Page_106">106</a>; <a href="#Plate_21">p. 108</a><br /> + " Lapland: <a href="#Page_111">111</a>; <a href="#Plate_21">p. 108</a><br /> + " Reed: <a href="#Page_109">109</a>; <a href="#Plate_21">p. 108</a><br /> + " Snow: <a href="#Page_110">110</a>; <a href="#Plate_21">p. 108</a><br /> + " <a name="Bunting"></a>Yellow (Yellow Hammer): <a href="#Page_107">107</a>; <a href="#Plate_23">p. 116</a><br /> +Burgomaster: <i>see</i> <a href="#Glaucous">Gull, Glaucous</a><br /> +Bustard, Great: <a href="#Page_236">236</a>; <a href="#Plate_43">p. 220</a><br /> +Buzzard, Common: <a href="#Page_150">150</a>; <a href="#Plate_30">p. 149</a><br /> + " Honey: <a href="#Page_151">151</a>; <a href="#Plate_30">p. 149</a><br /> + " Rough-legged: <a href="#Page_151">151</a>; <a href="#Plate_30">p. 149</a><br /> +<br /> +Capercaillie: <a href="#Page_212">212</a>; <a href="#Plate_43">p. 220</a><br /> +Chaffinch: <a href="#Page_95">95</a>; <a href="#Plate_19">p. 96</a><br /> +Chiff-chaff: <a href="#Page_30">30</a>; <a href="#Plate_07">p. 30</a><br /> +Chough: <a href="#Page_56">56</a>; <a href="#Plate_14">p. 59</a><br /> +Coot: <a href="#Page_233">233</a>; <a href="#Plate_46">p. 231</a><br /> +Cormorant, Common: <a href="#Page_165">165</a>; <a href="#Plate_33">p. 166</a><br /> + " Green: <a href="#Page_167">167</a>; <a href="#Plate_33">p. 166</a><br /> +Courser, Cream-coloured: <a href="#Page_240">240</a>; <a href="#Plate_53">p. 262</a><br /> +Crake, Corn: <a href="#Page_228">228</a>; <a href="#Plate_45">p. 230</a><br /> + " Little: <a href="#Page_230">230</a>; <a href="#Plate_45">p. 230</a><br /> + " Spotted: <a href="#Page_229">229</a>; <a href="#Plate_45">p. 230</a><br /> +Crane: <a href="#Page_234">234</a>; <a href="#Plate_47">p. 234</a><br /> +Crested Tit: <i>see</i> <a href="#Titmice">Titmice</a><br /> +Crossbill: <a href="#Page_103">103</a>; <a href="#Plate_27">p. 138</a><br /> + " Two barred (White-winged): <a href="#Page_106">106</a>; <a href="#Plate_27">p. 138</a><br /> +Crow, Carrion: <a href="#Page_65">65</a>; <a href="#Plate_15">p. 68</a><br /> + " Hooded: <a href="#Page_67">67</a>; <a href="#Plate_15">p. 68</a><br /> +Cuckoo: <a href="#Page_137">137</a>; <a href="#Plate_27">p. 138</a><br /> +Curlew, Common: <a href="#Page_273">273</a>; <a href="#Plate_49">p. 246</a><br /> +<br /> + +Dabchick: <i>see</i> <a href="#Grebe">Grebe, Little</a><br /> +Dipper: <a href="#Page_51">51</a>; <a href="#Plate_12">p. 47</a><br /> +Diver, Black-throated: <a href="#Page_298">298</a>; <a href="#Plate_62">p. 291</a><br /> + " Great Northern: <a href="#Page_297">297</a>; <a href="#Plate_62">p. 291</a><br /> + " Red-throated: <a href="#Page_299">299</a>; <a href="#Plate_62">p. 291</a><br /> +Dotterel: <a href="#Page_244">244</a>; <a href="#Plate_49">p. 246</a><br /> +Dove, Ring (Wood Pigeon): <a href="#Page_203">203</a>; <a href="#Plate_41">p. 208</a><br /> + " Rock: <a href="#Page_208">208</a>; <a href="#Plate_41">p. 208</a><br /> + " Stock: <a href="#Page_207">207</a>; <a href="#Plate_41">p. 208</a><br /> + " Turtle: <a href="#Page_209">209</a>; <a href="#Plate_41">p. 208</a><br /> +Duck, Black: <i>see</i> <a href="#Scoter">Scoter, Black</a><br /> + " Eider: <a href="#Page_197">197</a>; <a href="#Plate_39">p. 198</a><br /> + " Goldeneye: <a href="#Page_195">195</a>; <a href="#Plate_38">p. 191</a><br /> + " Long-tailed: <a href="#Page_196">196</a>; <a href="#Plate_39">p. 198</a><br /> + " Pintail: <a href="#Page_190">190</a>; <a href="#Plate_37">p. 190</a><br /> + " Scaup: <a href="#Page_194">194</a>; <a href="#Plate_38">p. 191</a><br /> + " Tufted: <a href="#Page_194">194</a>; <a href="#Plate_38">p. 191</a><br /> + " Wild: <a href="#Page_185">185</a>; <a href="#Plate_36">p. 179</a><br /> +<a name="Dunlin"></a>Dunlin: <a href="#Page_262">262</a>; <a href="#Plate_53">p. 262</a><br /> +<br /> + +Eagle, Golden: <a href="#Page_152">152</a>; <a href="#Plate_31">p. 152</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span><br /> + " Sea, or White-tailed: <a href="#Page_153">153</a>; <a href="#Plate_31">p. 152</a><br /> + " Spotted: <a href="#Page_152">152</a>; <a href="#Plate_31">p. 152</a><br /> +<br /> + +Falcon: <i>see</i> <a href="#Peregrine">Peregrine Falcon</a><br /> +Fern Owl: <i>see</i> <a href="#Nightjar">Nightjar</a><br /> +Fieldfare: <a href="#Page_5">5</a>; <a href="#Plate_01">p. 2</a><br /> +Flycatcher, Pied: <a href="#Page_79">79</a>; <a href="#Plate_16">p. 69</a><br /> + " Spotted: <a href="#Page_77">77</a>; <a href="#Plate_16">p. 69</a><br /> +Fulmar: <i>see</i> <a href="#Fulmar">Petrel, Fulmar</a><br /> +<br /> + +Gadwall: <a href="#Page_189">189</a>; <a href="#Plate_36">p. 179</a><br /> +Gallinule: <i>see</i> Moor-hen<br /> +Gannet: <a href="#Page_168">168</a>; <a href="#Plate_34">p. 167</a><br /> +Garganey: <a href="#Page_192">192</a>; <a href="#Plate_37">p. 190</a><br /> +Godwit, Bar-tailed: <a href="#Page_272">272</a>; <a href="#Plate_50">p. 247</a><br /> + " Black-tailed: <a href="#Page_273">273</a>; <a href="#Plate_55">p. 270</a><br /> +Gold Crest: <i>see</i> <a href="#Wren">Wren</a><br /> +Goldfinch: <a href="#Page_88">88</a>; <a href="#Plate_19">p. 96</a><br /> +Goosander: <a href="#Page_201">201</a>; <a href="#Plate_40">p. 199</a><br /> +Goose, Bean: <a href="#Page_178">178</a>; <a href="#Plate_35">p. 178</a><br /> + " Bernicle: <a href="#Page_181">181</a>; <a href="#Plate_33">p. 166</a><br /> + " Brent: <a href="#Page_180">180</a>; <a href="#Plate_33">p. 166</a><br /> + " Grey Lag: <a href="#Page_176">176</a>; <a href="#Plate_35">p. 178</a><br /> + " Pink-footed: <a href="#Page_179">179</a>; <a href="#Plate_35">p. 178</a><br /> + " White-fronted: <a href="#Page_177">177</a>; <a href="#Plate_35">p. 178</a><br /> +Grebe, Black-necked: <a href="#Page_308">308</a>; <a href="#Plate_63">p. 298</a><br /> + " Great-crested: <a href="#Page_300">300</a>; <a href="#Plate_63">p. 298</a><br /> +<a name="Grebe"></a> " Little: <a href="#Page_302">302</a>; <a href="#Plate_40">p. 199</a><br /> + " Red-necked: <a href="#Page_301">301</a>; <a href="#Plate_63">p. 298</a><br /> + " Slavonian: <a href="#Page_302">302</a>; <a href="#Plate_63">p. 298</a><br /> +Greenfinch: <a href="#Page_86">86</a>; <a href="#Plate_16">p. 69</a><br /> +Greenshank: <a href="#Page_271">271</a>; <a href="#Plate_55">p. 270</a><br /> +Grosbeak, Pine: <a href="#Page_102">102</a><br /> +Grouse, Black: <a href="#Page_213">213</a>; <a href="#Plate_42">p. 209</a><br /> + " Red: <a href="#Page_215">215</a>; <a href="#Plate_42">p. 209</a><br /> +Guillemot, Common: <a href="#Page_292">292</a>; <a href="#Plate_61">p. 290</a><br /> + " Black: <a href="#Page_294">294</a>; <a href="#Plate_61">p. 290</a><br /> +Gull, Black or Brown-headed: <a href="#Page_281">281</a>; <a href="#Plate_59">p. 282</a><br /> + " Common: <a href="#Page_283">283</a>; <a href="#Plate_58">p. 279</a><br /> +<a name="Glaucous"></a> " Glaucous: <a href="#Page_287">287</a>; <a href="#Plate_58">p. 279</a><br /> + " Great Black-backed: <a href="#Page_286">286</a>; <a href="#Plate_58">p. 279</a><br /> + " Herring: <a href="#Page_285">285</a>; <a href="#Plate_59">p. 282</a><br /> + " <a name="Kittiwake"></a>Kittiwake: <a href="#Page_287">287</a>; <a href="#Plate_59">p. 282</a><br /> + " Lesser Black-backed: <a href="#Page_285">285</a>; <a href="#Plate_58">p. 279</a><br /> + " Little: <a href="#Page_281">281</a>; <a href="#Plate_59">p. 282</a><br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Harrier"></a>Harrier, Hen: <a href="#Page_148">148</a>; <a href="#Plate_29">p. 148</a><br /> + " Marsh: <a href="#Page_147">147</a>; <a href="#Plate_32">p. 153</a><br /> + " Montagu's: <a href="#Page_149">149</a>; <a href="#Plate_29">p. 148</a><br /> +Hawfinch: <a href="#Page_87">87</a>; <a href="#Plate_19">p. 96</a><br /> +Hawk, Sparrow: <a href="#Page_156">156</a>; <a href="#Plate_32">p. 153</a><br /> +Heron, Common: <a href="#Page_170">170</a>; <a href="#Plate_47">p. 234</a><br /> + " Night: <a href="#Page_173">173</a>; <a href="#Plate_47">p. 234</a><br /> +Hobby: <a href="#Page_161">161</a>; <a href="#Plate_32">p. 153</a><br /> +Hoopoe: <a href="#Page_136">136</a>; <a href="#Plate_26">p. 129</a><br /> +<br /> + +Jackdaw: <a href="#Page_61">61</a>; <a href="#Plate_15">p. 68</a><br /> +Jay: <a href="#Page_58">58</a>; <a href="#Plate_14">p. 59</a><br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Kestrel"></a>Kestrel: <a href="#Page_163">163</a>; <a href="#Plate_29">p. 148</a><br /> +Kingfisher: <a href="#Page_132">132</a>; <a href="#Plate_26">p. 129</a><br /> +Kite: <a href="#Page_158">158</a>; <a href="#Plate_30">p. 149</a><br /> +Kittiwake: <i>see</i> <a href="#Kittiwake">Gull, Kittiwake</a><br /> +Knot: <a href="#Page_261">261</a>; <a href="#Plate_52">p. 257</a><br /> +<br /> + +<a name="Lapwing"></a>Lapwing: <a href="#Page_247">247</a>; <a href="#Plate_49">p. 246</a><br /> +Lark, Shore: <a href="#Page_122">122</a>; <a href="#Plate_24">p. 117</a><br /> + " Sky: <a href="#Page_119">119</a>; <a href="#Plate_24">p. 117</a><br /> + " Wood: <a href="#Page_122">122</a>; <a href="#Plate_24">p. 117</a><br /> +Linnet: <a href="#Page_98">98</a>; <a href="#Plate_18">p. 85</a><br /> +<a name="Linnet"></a> " Mountain: <a href="#Page_100">100</a>; <a href="#Plate_20">p. 97</a><br /> +<br /> + +Magpie: <a href="#Page_59">59</a>; <a href="#Plate_14">p. 59</a><br /> +Martin, House: <a href="#Page_83">83</a>; <a href="#Plate_17">p. 84</a><br /> + " Sand: <a href="#Page_84">84</a>; <a href="#Plate_17">p. 84</a><br /> +Merganser: <a href="#Page_202">202</a>; <a href="#Plate_40">p. 199</a><br /> +Merlin: <a href="#Page_162">162</a>; <a href="#Plate_32">p. 153</a><br /> +<a name="Moor-hen"></a>Moor-hen: <a href="#Page_231">231</a>; <a href="#Plate_46">p. 231</a><br /> +<br /> + +Nettle-creeper: <i>see</i> <a href="#Whitethroat">Whitethroat</a><br /> +Nightingale: <a href="#Page_17">17</a>; <a href="#Plate_05">p. 14</a><br /> +<a name="Nightjar"></a>Nightjar: <a href="#Page_125">125</a>; <a href="#Plate_43">p. 220</a><br /> +Nutcracker: <a href="#Page_57">57</a>; <a href="#Plate_13">p. 58</a><br /> +Nuthatch: <a href="#Page_44">44</a>; <a href="#Plate_11">p. 46</a><br /> +<br /> + +Oriole: <a href="#Page_53">53</a>; <a href="#Plate_12">p. 47</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span><br /> +Osprey: <a href="#Page_154">154</a>; <a href="#Plate_31">p. 152</a><br /> +Owl, Barn or White: <a href="#Page_142">142</a>; <a href="#Plate_28">p. 139</a><br /> + " Long-eared: <a href="#Page_144">144</a>; <a href="#Plate_28">p. 139</a><br /> + " Short-eared: <a href="#Page_145">145</a>; <a href="#Plate_28">p. 139</a><br /> + " Tawny or Brown: <a href="#Page_146">146</a>; <a href="#Plate_28">p. 139</a><br /> +Ox-bird: <i>see</i> <a href="#Dunlin">Dunlin</a><br /> +Ox-eye: <i>see</i> Great Tit<br /> +Oyster-catcher: <a href="#Page_248">248</a>; <a href="#Plate_57">p. 278</a><br /> +<br /> + +Partridge, Common: <a href="#Page_222">222</a>; <a href="#Plate_42">p. 209</a><br /> + " Red-legged: <a href="#Page_225">225</a>; <a href="#Plate_42">p. 209</a><br /> +Penguin: <i>see</i> <a href="#Razor-bill">Razor-bill</a><br /> +Peewit: <i>see</i> <a href="#Lapwing">Lapwing</a><br /> +<a name="Peregrine"></a>Peregrine Falcon: <a href="#Page_159">159</a>; <a href="#Plate_29">p. 148</a><br /> +Petrel, Fork-tailed: <a href="#Page_308">308</a>; <a href="#Plate_64">p. 299</a><br /> +<a name="Fulmar"></a> " Fulmar: <a href="#Page_304">304</a>; <a href="#Plate_64">p. 299</a><br /> + " Storm: <a href="#Page_307">307</a>; <a href="#Plate_64">p. 299</a><br /> +Phalarope, Grey: <a href="#Page_253">253</a>; <a href="#Plate_50">p. 247</a><br /> + " Red-necked: <a href="#Page_253">253</a>; <a href="#Plate_50">p. 247</a><br /> +Pheasant: <a href="#Page_219">219</a>; <a href="#Plate_43">p. 220</a><br /> +<a name="Pipit"></a>Pipit, Meadow: <a href="#Page_117">117</a>; <a href="#Plate_23">p. 116</a><br /> + " Rock: <a href="#Page_118">118</a>; <a href="#Plate_23">p. 116</a><br /> + " Tree: <a href="#Page_116">116</a>; <a href="#Plate_23">p. 116</a><br /> +Pigeon, Wood; <a href="#Page_203">203</a>; <a href="#Plate_41">p. 208</a><br /> +Plover, Cream-coloured: 240<br /> + " Golden: <a href="#Page_240">240</a>; <a href="#Plate_48">p. 235</a><br /> + " Green: 247<br /> + " Grey: <a href="#Page_242">242</a>; <a href="#Plate_48">p. 235</a><br /> + " Kentish: <a href="#Page_246">246</a>; <a href="#Plate_48">p. 235</a><br /> + " Ringed: <a href="#Page_244">244</a>; <a href="#Plate_48">p. 235</a><br /> +<a name="Plover"></a> " Stone or Great Norfolk: <a href="#Page_239">239</a>; <a href="#Plate_49">p. 246</a><br /> +Pochard (or Dunbird): <a href="#Page_193">193</a>; <a href="#Plate_38">p. 191</a><br /> +Pratincole: <a href="#Page_238">238</a>; <a href="#Plate_44">p. 221</a><br /> +Ptarmigan: <a href="#Page_217">217</a>; <a href="#Plate_44">p. 221</a><br /> +Puffin: <a href="#Page_295">295</a>; <a href="#Plate_61">p. 290</a><br /> +<br /> + +Quail: <a href="#Page_226">226</a>; <a href="#Plate_44">p. 221</a><br /> +<br /> + +Raven: <a href="#Page_63">63</a>; <a href="#Plate_14">p. 59</a><br /> +<a name="Razor-bill"></a>Razor-bill: <a href="#Page_291">291</a>; <a href="#Plate_61">p. 290</a><br /> +Redbreast: <i>see</i> <a href="#Robin">Robin</a><br /> +Redpoll, Lesser: <a href="#Page_99">99</a>; <a href="#Plate_20">p. 97</a><br /> + " Mealy: <a href="#Page_99">99</a>; <a href="#Plate_20">p. 97</a><br /> +Redstart: <a href="#Page_14">14</a>; <a href="#Plate_04">p. 9</a><br /> + " Black: <a href="#Page_16">16</a>; <a href="#Plate_04">p. 9</a><br /> +Redshank; <a href="#Page_269">269</a>; <a href="#Plate_55">p. 270</a><br /> +Redwing: <a href="#Page_2">2</a>; <a href="#Plate_01">p. 2</a><br /> +Reedling, Bearded: <i>see</i> <a href="#Bearded">Bearded Reedling</a><br /> +Reeve, Female of Ruff: 266<br /> +Ring Ouzel: <a href="#Page_10">10</a>; <a href="#Plate_02">p. 3</a><br /> +Ringtail: <i>see</i> <a href="#Harrier">Hen Harrier</a><br /> +<a name="Robin"></a>Robin: <a href="#Page_16">16</a>; <a href="#Plate_05">p. 14</a><br /> +Roller: <a href="#Page_134">134</a>; <a href="#Plate_26">p. 129</a><br /> +Rook; <a href="#Page_68">68</a>; <a href="#Plate_15">p. 68</a><br /> +Ruff and Reeve: <a href="#Page_266">266</a>; <a href="#Plate_55">p. 270</a><br /> +<br /> + +Sanderling: <a href="#Page_260">260</a>; <a href="#Plate_52">p. 257</a><br /> +Sandgrouse: <a href="#Page_211">211</a>; <a href="#Plate_44">p. 221</a><br /> +Sandpiper, Common: <a href="#Page_268">268</a>; <a href="#Plate_54">p. 263</a><br /> + " Curlew: <a href="#Page_261">261</a>; <a href="#Plate_54">p. 263</a><br /> + " Green: <a href="#Page_267">267</a>; <a href="#Plate_54">p. 263</a><br /> + " Purple: <a href="#Page_264">264</a>; <a href="#Plate_54">p. 263</a><br /> + " Wood: <a href="#Page_268">268</a>; <a href="#Plate_52">p. 257</a><br /> +Scaup: <a href="#Page_194">194</a>; <a href="#Plate_38">p. 191</a><br /> +<a name="Scoter"></a>Scoter, Black (or Common): <a href="#Page_199">199</a>; <a href="#Plate_39">p. 198</a><br /> + " Surf: <a href="#Page_201">201</a><br /> + " Velvet: <a href="#Page_200">200</a>; <a href="#Plate_39">p. 198</a><br /> +Shag: <a href="#Page_167">167</a>; <a href="#Plate_33">p. 166</a><br /> +Shearwater, Great: <a href="#Page_305">305</a>; <a href="#Plate_60">p. 283</a><br /> + " Manx: <a href="#Page_305">305</a>; <a href="#Plate_64">p. 299</a><br /> +Sheldrake: <a href="#Page_184">184</a>; <a href="#Plate_36">p. 179</a><br /> +Shoveler: <a href="#Page_189">189</a>; <a href="#Plate_36">p. 179</a><br /> +Shrike, Great Grey: <a href="#Page_73">73</a>; <a href="#Plate_13">p. 58</a><br /> + " Lesser Grey: 74<br /> + " Red-backed: <a href="#Page_74">74</a>; <a href="#Plate_13">p. 58</a><br /> + " Woodchat: <a href="#Page_76">76</a>; <a href="#Plate_13">p. 58</a><br /> +Siskin: <a href="#Page_90">90</a>; <a href="#Plate_19">p. 96</a><br /> +Skua, Great: <a href="#Page_288">288</a>; <a href="#Plate_60">p. 283</a><br /> + " Richardson's: <a href="#Page_290">290</a>; <a href="#Plate_60">p. 283</a><br /> + " Twist-tailed: <a href="#Page_289">289</a>; <a href="#Plate_60">p. 283</a><br /> +Smew: <a href="#Page_202">202</a>; <a href="#Plate_40">p. 199</a><br /> +Snipe, Common; <a href="#Page_257">257</a>; <a href="#Plate_51">p. 256</a><br /> + " Jack: <a href="#Page_259">259</a>; <a href="#Plate_51">p. 256</a><br /> + " Great or Solitary: <a href="#Page_256">256</a>; <a href="#Plate_51">p. 256</a><br /> +Sparrow: House: <a href="#Page_92">92</a>; <a href="#Plate_18">p. 85</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span><br /> + " Hedge: <a href="#Page_20">20</a>; <a href="#Plate_05">p. 14</a><br /> + " Tree: <a href="#Page_94">94</a>; <a href="#Plate_18">p. 85</a><br /> +Spoonbill, White: <a href="#Page_176">176</a>; <a href="#Plate_46">p. 231</a><br /> +Starling: <a href="#Page_54">54</a>; <a href="#Plate_12">p. 47</a><br /> + " Rose-coloured: <a href="#Page_56">56</a>; <a href="#Plate_12">p. 47</a><br /> +Stint, Little: <a href="#Page_265">265</a>; <a href="#Plate_53">p. 262</a><br /> + " Temminck's: <a href="#Page_265">265</a>; <a href="#Plate_53">p. 262</a><br /> +Stonechat: <a href="#Page_13">13</a>; <a href="#Plate_04">p. 9</a><br /> +Stork: <a href="#Page_175">175</a>; <a href="#Plate_47">p. 234</a><br /> + " Black: 175<br /> +Swallow: <a href="#Page_80">80</a>; <a href="#Plate_17">p. 84</a><br /> + " Night: <i>see</i> <a href="#Nightjar">Nightjar</a><br /> +Swan, Bewick's: <a href="#Page_181">181</a>; <a href="#Plate_34">p. 167</a><br /> + " Whooper or Wild: <a href="#Page_180">180</a>; <a href="#Plate_34">p. 167</a><br /> +Swift: <a href="#Page_123">123</a>; <a href="#Plate_17">p. 84</a><br /> +<br /> + +Teal: <a href="#Page_191">191</a>; <a href="#Plate_37">p. 190</a><br /> +Tern, Arctic: <a href="#Page_278">278</a>; <a href="#Plate_56">p. 271</a><br /> + " Black: <a href="#Page_275">275</a>; <a href="#Plate_56">p. 271</a><br /> + " Common: <a href="#Page_278">278</a>; <a href="#Plate_57">p. 278</a><br /> + " Little: <a href="#Page_279">279</a>; <a href="#Plate_57">p. 278</a><br /> + " Roseate: <a href="#Page_277">277</a>; <a href="#Plate_56">p. 271</a><br /> + " Sandwich: <a href="#Page_276">276</a>; <a href="#Plate_56">p. 271</a><br /> +Thick-knee: <i>see</i> <a href="#Plover">Plover, Great</a><br /> +Thrush, Song: <a href="#Page_1">1</a>; <a href="#Plate_01">p. 2</a><br /> + " Mistle: <a href="#Page_1">1</a>; <a href="#Plate_01">p. 2</a><br /> +Titmouse, Great: <a href="#Page_37">37</a>; <a href="#Plate_09">p. 34</a><br /> + " Blue: <a href="#Page_39">39</a>; <a href="#Plate_10">p. 35</a><br /> + " Cole: <a href="#Page_40">40</a>; <a href="#Plate_10">p. 35</a><br /> + " Marsh: <a href="#Page_41">41</a>; <a href="#Plate_10">p. 35</a><br /> + " Bearded: 42<br /> +<a name="Titmice"></a> " Crested: <a href="#Page_42">42</a>; <a href="#Plate_10">p. 35</a><br /> + " Long-tailed: <a href="#Page_35">35</a>; <a href="#Plate_09">p. 34</a><br /> +Titlark: <i>see</i> <a href="#Pipit">Pipit, Meadow</a><br /> +Tree-creeper: <a href="#Page_47">47</a>; <a href="#Plate_11">p. 46</a><br /> +Turnstone: <a href="#Page_250">250</a>; <a href="#Plate_57">p. 278</a><br /> +Twite: <i>see</i> <a href="#Linnet">Linnet, Mountain</a><br /> +<br /> + +Wagtail, Blue-headed: <a href="#Page_115">115</a>; <a href="#Plate_22">p. 109</a><br /> + " Grey: <a href="#Page_113">113</a>; <a href="#Plate_22">p. 109</a><br /> + " Pied: <a href="#Page_112">112</a>; <a href="#Plate_22">p. 109</a><br /> + " White: <a href="#Page_111">111</a>; <a href="#Plate_22">p. 109</a><br /> + " Yellow: <a href="#Page_115">115</a>; <a href="#Plate_22">p. 109</a><br /> +Warbler: Dartford: <a href="#Page_25">25</a>; <a href="#Plate_08">p. 31</a><br /> + " Garden: <a href="#Page_23">23</a>; <a href="#Plate_06">p. 17</a><br /> + " Grasshopper: <a href="#Page_28">28</a>; <a href="#Plate_07">p. 30</a><br /> + " Marsh: <a href="#Page_27">27</a>; <a href="#Plate_08">p. 31</a><br /> + " Reed: <a href="#Page_25">25</a>; <a href="#Plate_08">p. 31</a><br /> + " Sedge: <a href="#Page_27">27</a>; <a href="#Plate_08">p. 31</a><br /> + " Willow: <a href="#Page_31">31</a>; <a href="#Plate_07">p. 30</a><br /> + " Wood: <a href="#Page_32">32</a>; <a href="#Plate_07">p. 30</a><br /> +Waterhen: <i>see</i> <a href="#Moor-hen">Moor-hen</a><br /> +Water Rail: <a href="#Page_230">230</a>; <a href="#Plate_45">p. 230</a><br /> +Waxwing: <a href="#Page_76">76</a>; <a href="#Plate_16">p. 69</a><br /> +Wheatear: <a href="#Page_10">10</a>; <a href="#Plate_05">p. 14</a><br /> +Whimbrel: <a href="#Page_275">275</a>; <a href="#Plate_52">p. 257</a><br /> +Whinchat: <a href="#Page_12">12</a>; <a href="#Plate_04">p. 9</a><br /> +<a name="Whitethroat"></a>Whitethroat: <a href="#Page_21">21</a>; <a href="#Plate_06">p. 17</a><br /> + " Lesser: <a href="#Page_22">22</a>; <a href="#Plate_06">p. 17</a><br /> +Wigeon: <a href="#Page_192">192</a>; <a href="#Plate_37">p. 190</a><br /> +Windhover: <i>see</i> <a href="#Kestrel">Kestrel</a><br /> +Woodcock: <a href="#Page_254">254</a>; <a href="#Plate_51">p. 256</a><br /> +Woodpecker, Green: <a href="#Page_129">129</a>; <a href="#Plate_25">p. 128</a><br /> + " Great Spotted: <a href="#Page_127">127</a>; <a href="#Plate_25">p. 128</a><br /> + " Lesser Spotted: <a href="#Page_129">129</a>; <a href="#Plate_25">p. 128</a><br /> +Wren, Common: <a href="#Page_48">48</a>; <a href="#Plate_11">p. 46</a><br /> + " <a name="Wren"></a>Gold-crested: <a href="#Page_33">33</a>; <a href="#Plate_09">p. 34</a><br /> + " Fire-crested: <a href="#Page_35">35</a>; <a href="#Plate_09">p. 34</a><br /> +Wryneck: <a href="#Page_131">131</a>; <a href="#Plate_26">p. 128</a><br /> +<br /> + +Yellow Hammer: <i>see</i> <a href="#Bunting">Bunting, Yellow</a><br /> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="trans_notes"> +<div class="caption2">Transcriber's Notes</div> + +<p>The illustration captions have been rearranged so they are listed in +order of picture layout.</p> + +<p>There were quite a few minor punctuation corrections made that are not +detailed here. Several words were shown both with a hyphen and without +(ex., sea-shore and seashore) and with diacritical accents and not. +For the diacritical marks, either other resources were used to select +the 'correct' version or the most frequently used variation was adopted. +Some quoted passages have words that appear to be typos +(ex., <a href="#Dottrels">Dottrels</a> p. 224); but +were left unchanged as that was or may have been the way they were +originally spelt in the text from which it is quoted. In the Glossary, +several entries were out of alphabetical order and were moved to the +correct location.</p> + +<p>The PODICIPEDIDÆ section (<a href="#Page_300">Page 300</a>) was +missing the word FAMILY from the title. As most of the species names in the +text are shown in ALLCAPS, those few shown as small caps were converted to +ALLCAPS. Formatting of references to similar Family or Genus names were +standardized to the most prevalent form.</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="caption2">Typographical Corrections</div> + +<div class="center typo"> +<table summary="typo list"> +<tr> + <td class="brdbt">Page</td> + <td> </td> + <td class="brdbt">Correction</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_xx">xx</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td>bind ⇒ hind</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_2">2</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td>cheery ⇒ cherry</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="text_rt"><a href="#Page_234">234</a></td> + <td> </td> + <td>Neue ⇒ Nene</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> +</div> +<br /> +<br /> +</div><!-- End Book --> + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's British Birds in their Haunts, by Rev. C. A. 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