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diff --git a/38077.txt b/38077.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e846fd9 --- /dev/null +++ b/38077.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18850 @@ +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: ASCII + +*** 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 + + + + + + + + + + + BRITISH BIRDS IN + THEIR HAUNTS + + + By the late + REV. C. A. JOHNS, F.L.S. + Author of _Flowers of the Field_ + + + Edited, Revised, and Annotated by + J. A. OWEN + Author of _Birds in their Seasons, etc._ + Collaborator in all Books by a 'SON OF THE MARSHES' + + + Illustrated with 64 Coloured Plates (256 Figures) by + WILLIAM FOSTER, M.B.O.U. + + WITH A GLOSSARY OF COMMON AND PROVINCIAL NAMES AND + OF TECHNICAL TERMS + + + TWELFTH EDITION + + + [Logo] + + LONDON + + GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LIMITED + + NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO. + + + + + +-----------------------------------------------+ + | | + | UNIFORM WITH THIS WORK. | + | | + | _Each with a series of Coloured Plates and | + | Text-illustrations._ | + | | + | FLOWERS OF THE FIELD. By C. A. JOHNS, | + | F.L.S., revised by CLARENCE ELLIOTT. | + | | + | BRITISH BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. | + | By Dr. W. E. KIRBY. | + | | + | BRITISH FERNS AND THEIR ALLIES. | + | By C. T. DRUERY. | + | | + | BRITISH FUNGI. By GEORGE MASSEE, | + | of Kew Gardens. | + | | + | BRITISH TREES AND SHRUBS. | + | By C. A. JOHNS. Edited by E. T. COOK. | + | | + | ILLUSTRATED NATURAL HISTORY OF THE WORLD. | + | By ERNEST PROTHEROE, F.Z.S. | + | | + | ALPINE PLANTS OF EUROPE. By H. S. THOMPSON. | + | With 64 coloured plates. | + | | + | -------------- | + | GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LTD. | + | | + +-----------------------------------------------+ + + + + JOHN'S BIRDS, EDITED BY OWEN. + + _First Edition_, February, 1909; _Reprinted_, July, 1910; + _Reprinted_, December, 1915; _Reprinted_, November, 1917; + _Reprinted_, June, 1919; _Reprinted_, January, 1921; + _Reprinted_, October, 1922; _Reprinted_, March, 1925; + _Reprinted_, August, 1928; _Reprinted_, December, 1931; + _Reprinted_, January, 1935; _Reprinted_, January, 1938. + + +Printed in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Ltd., Frome and London + + + + +EDITOR'S PREFACE + + +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. + +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. + +We begin with the Passeres because modern ornithologists are now +nearly all agreed that this order attains the highest Avian +development. + +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. + +The faithful and beautiful presentments made by Mr. William Foster for +this new edition have no need of our commendation to the public. + + J. A. OWEN. + + + + +SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS + +(_Numbered in accordance with the Plates and Descriptions in this +Volume._) + + + + + ORDER PASSERES + (PERCHING BIRDS) + +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. + + + FAMILY TURDIDA + (THRUSHES) + +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. + + + _SUB-FAMILY TURDIDA_ + +Young in first plumage differ from adults in having the upper and under +parts spotted. + + Genus 1. TURDUS (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. _Page 1_ + + 2. SAXACOLA (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. _Page 10_ + + 3. PRATANCOLA (Chats). Bill shorter and broader than in Saxicola; + bristles at the gape strongly developed. Wings and tail rather short. + _Page 12_ + + 4. RUTICILLA (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 scutellA|. _Page 14_ + + 5. ERATHACUS (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. _Page 16_ + + 6. DAULIAS (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. _Page 17_ + + + _SUB-FAMILY ACCENTORINA_ + +Bill strong and broad at base; upper mandible overlapping lower and +slightly notched at tip. + + 7. ACCENTOR (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. _Page 20_ + + + _SUB-FAMILY SYLVIINA_ + +Young on leaving nest differ slightly in colour from adults. + + 8. SYLVIA (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. _Page 21_ + + 9. ACROCA%PHALUS (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. _Page 25_ + + 10. LOCUSTELLA (Grasshopper Warbler). Differs from other _SylviinA|_ + 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. _Page 28_ + + 11. PHYLLA"SCOPUS (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. _Page 30_ + + + _SUB-FAMILY REGULINA_ + +Arboreal. Each nostril covered by a single stiff feather. + + 12. RA%GULUS (Gold and Fire-crested Wrens). Bill very slender, + awl-shaped, 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. _Page 33_ + + + FAMILY PARIDA + (TITS) + +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. + + 13. ACRA%DULA (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. _Page 35_ + + 14. PARUS (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. _Page 37_ + + + FAMILY PANURIDA + (Reedlings) + + 15. PANAsRUS (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. _Page 42_ + + + FAMILY SITTIDA + (NUTHATCHES) + + 16. SITTA (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. + _Page 44_ + + + + FAMILY CERTHIIDA + (CREEPERS) + +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. + + 17. CERTHIA (Creeper). Bill rather long, slender, compressed, + decurved, 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. _Page 47_ + + + FAMILY TROGLODYTIDA + + 18. TRA"GLODYTES (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. _Page 48_ + + + FAMILY CINCLIDA + + 19. CINCLUS (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. _Page 51_ + + + FAMILY ORIOLIDA + +Bill with notch in upper mandible; nostrils placed well in front of +base of bill and quite bare. + + 20. ORIA"LUS (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. _Page 53_ + + + FAMILY STURNIDA + (STARLINGS) + +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. + + 21. STURNUS (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. _Page 54_ + + 22. PASTOR (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. _Page 56_ + + + FAMILY CORVIDA + (CROWS) + +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. + + 23. PYRRHA"CORAX (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. _Page 56_ + + 24. NUCAFRAGA (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. _Page 57_ + + 25. GARRULUS (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. _Page 58_ + + 26. PICA (Magpie). Bill, nostrils, and feet as in Corvus; wings short + and rounded; tail long, graduated. _Page 59_ + + 27. CORVUS (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. _Page 61_ + + + FAMILY LANIIDA + (SHRIKES) + +Bill strong, arched, and hooked, the upper mandible strongly notched +after the manner of the FALCONIDA; claws adapted for capturing insects +and even small birds. Sylvan. Young barred below. + + 28. LANIUS (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. _Page 73_ + + + FAMILY AMPELIDA + (CHATTERERS) + +Bill stoat, approaching, especially in the form of the lower mandible, +to that of the CorvidA|; 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. + + 29. AMPELIS (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. _Page 76_ + + + FAMILY MUSCICAPIDA + (FLYCATCHERS) + +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. + + 30. MUSCACAPA (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. + _Page 77_ + + + FAMILY HIRUNDINIDA + (SWALLOWS AND MARTINS) + +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. + + 31. HIRUNDO (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. + _Page 80_ + + 32. CHELADON (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. _Page 83_ + + 33. CA"TILE (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. _Page 84_ + + + FAMILY FRINGILLIDA + (FINCHES) + +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 larvA|, 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. + + 34. LIGURINUS (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. _Page 86_ + + 35. COCCOTHRAUSTES (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. _Page 87_ + + 36. CARDUASLIS (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. _Page 88_ + + 37. PASSER (Sparrows). Bill somewhat arched above; lower mandible + rather smaller than the upper; first three primaries longest. + _Page 92_ + + 38. FRINGILLA (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. _Page 95_ + + 39. ACANTHIS (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. _Page 98_ + + 40. PARRHULA (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. _Page 101_ + + 41. LOXIA (Crossbill). Bill thick at the base; both mandibles equally + curved, hooked at the tips, and crossing each other at the points. + _Page 103_ + + 42. EMBERIZA (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, second, + third and fourth nearly equal. Tail rather long and slightly forked. + Claws considerably curved, that of hind toe of moderate length. + _Page 106_ + + 43. PLECTROPHENAX (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. _Page 110_ + + 44. CALCARIUS (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. _Page 111_ + + + FAMILY MOTACILLIDA + (WAGTAILS AND PIPITS) + +Wings with nine visible primaries. Inner secondaries nearly as long as +primaries. + + 45. MOTACILLA (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. _Page 111_ + + 46. ANTHUS (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. _Page 116_ + + + FAMILY ALAUDIDA + (LARKS) + +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. + + 47. ALAUDA (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. _Page 119_ + + 48. OTA"CORYS (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. _Page 122_ + + + + +ORDER PICARIA + + +Opposed to the Passeres. The feet are relatively weaker and smaller. + + + FAMILY CYPSELIDA + (SWIFTS) + +Tail of ten feathers (swallows have twelve). Gape very wide. + + 49. CAPSELUS (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. _Page 123_ + + + FAMILY CAPRIMULGIDA + (GOATSUCKERS) + +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. + + 50. CAPRIMAsLGUS (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. _Page 125_ + + + FAMILY PICIDA + (WOODPECKERS) + +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. + + + _SUB-FAMILY PICINA_ + +Tail feathers stiff and pointed: nostrils covered with bristles. + + 51. DENDROCOPUS (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. _Page 127_ + + 52. GA%CINUS (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. _Page 129_ + + + _SUB-FAMILY IYNGINA_ + +Nostrils partly covered by a membrane. + + 53. IYNX (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. _Page 131_ + + + FAMILY ALCEDINIDA + (KINGFISHERS) + +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. + + 54. ALCA%DO (Kingfisher). Bill long, straight, quadrangular, sharp; + wings short with the third primary the longest; tail very short. + _Page 132_ + + + FAMILY CORACIIDA + (ROLLERS) + +Bill corvine in shape; culmen rounded; nostrils near base of upper +mandible and hidden by bristly feathers; tail feathers twelve. + + 54. CORACIAS (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. _Page 134_ + + + FAMILY MEROPIDA + (BEE-EATERS) + +Bill long; culmen with sharply defined ridge; toes joined for part of +length. + + 55. MASROPS (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. _Page 135_ + + + FAMILY UPUPIDA + (HOOPOES) + + 56. UPUPA (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. _Page 136_ + + + FAMILY CUCULIDA + (CUCKOOS) + +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, 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. + + 57. CAsCULUS (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. + _Page 137_ + + + + + ORDER STRIGES + (OWLS) + +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. + + + FAMILY STRIGIDA + + + _SUB-FAMILY STRIGINA_ + +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. + + 58. STRIX (White Owl). Characters given above. _Page 142_ + + + _SUB-FAMILY SYRNIINA_ + + +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. + + 59. ASIO (Eared Owls). Nostrils oval, oblique; tufts more or less + elongated; wings long, second primary the longest. _Page 144_ + + 60. SYRNIUM (Tawny Owl). Nostrils round; egrets wanting; wings short + and rounded; fourth primary longest. _Page 146_ + + + + + ORDER ACCIPITRES + (EAGLES, HAWKS, ETC.) + + +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. + + + FAMILY FALCONIDA + +Head covered with feathers, though sides of face are more or less +bare. + + + _SUB-FAMILY BUTEONINA_ + +Bill rather small and weak, bending from the base; cutting edge of the +upper mandible nearly straight, or but slightly festooned; cere +large; nostrils oval; wings long; the first four feathers deeply +notched on their inner webs; tail not forked. Hinder aspect of tarsus +scutellate. + + 61. CIRCUS (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. + _Page 147_ + + 62. BUTEO (Buzzard). Lore without feathers; tarsi short and strong, + naked or feathered; wings large, the fourth primary the longest. + _Page 150_ + + 63. PERNIS (Honey Buzzard). Lore with feathers; tarsi short and + strong, naked or feathered; wings large, the fourth primary the + longest. _Page 151_ + + + _SUB-FAMILY AQUILINA_ + +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. + + 64. AQUILA (Eagles). Upper mandible with the cutting edge nearly + straight; tarsi feathered to the toes; claws unequal, grooved + beneath; wings with the fourth primary longest. _Page 152_ + + 65. HALIAA<TUS (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. _Page 153_ + + 66. PANDAON (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. _Page 154_ + + + _SUB-FAMILY ACCIPITRINA_ + (LONG-LEGGED HAWKS) + +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. + + 67. ACCAPITER (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). + _Page 156_ + + + _SUB-FAMILY MILVINA_ + +Bill of moderate length, slightly curved from the base, upper mandible +with a slight festoon; nostrils oval, oblique; wings long; tail long +and forked. + + 68. MILVUS (Kites). Tarsi feathered a little below the knee; fourth + primary the longest. _Page 158_ + + + _SUB-FAMILY FALCONINA_ + +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. + + 69. FALCO (Falcons, Merlin, Hobby and Kestrel). Characters given + above. _Page 159_ + + + + + ORDER STEGANOPODES + + +Hind toe articulated on the inner surface of the tarsus, united to +other toes by a web. + + + FAMILY PELECANIDA + +Bill strong, edges of the mandibles minutely toothed; wings long; legs +short; toes four, all connected by a membrane. + + 70. PHALACRA"CORAX (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. + _Page 165_ + + 71. SULA (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. + _Page 168_ + + + + + ORDER HERODIONES + + +Hallux free, not united to other toes by a web. + + + FAMILY ARDEIDA + (HERONS) + +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. + + 72. ARDEA (Herons). Edges of mandibles distinctly serrated; head + crested; nape feathers elongated and ornamented; plumes of fore-neck + not disintegrated; no dorsal train. _Page 173_ + + 73. NYCTACORAX (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 Ardea. _Page 173_ + + 74. BOTAURUS (Bittern). Bill scarcely longer than the head, much + compressed; neck thick, clothed in front with long and loose + feathers. In other respects resembling Ardea. _Page 173_ + + + FAMILY CICONIIDA + (STORKS) + +Hind toe elevated above plane of others; no powder down patches; bill +not hooked at tip. + + 75. CICA"NIA (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. _Page 175_ + + + FAMILY PLATALEIDA + (SPOONBILLS) + +Bill flattened, narrow in middle, and widening out into a spoon-shaped +end. + + 76. PLATALA%A (Spoonbill). Head partly bare, auricular orifice covered + with plumes. Nostrils elongated and in a shallow depression. + _Page 176_ + + + + + ORDER ANSERES + + +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. + + + FAMILY ANATIDA + (DUCKS, GEESE, SWANS, ETC.) + +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. + + + _SUB-FAMILY ANSERINA_ + + 77. ANSER (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. _Page 176_ + + 78. BERNICLA (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 lamellA|; + nostrils sub-basal; neck feathers less furrowed than in Anser_; + tail short, rounded; tibia feathered to joint; hind toe short and + elevated. _Page 180_ + + 79. CYGNUS (Swans). Bill of equal length throughout, furnished with + knob at base; nostrils medial; legs short; neck exceedingly long. + _Page 181_ + + + _SUB-FAMILY ANATIDA_ + +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. + + 80. TADORNA (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 scutellA|. _Page 184_ + + 81. ANAS (Mallard, Gadwall). Bill long as head, broad, depressed, + sides parallel, sometimes partially dilated, both mandibles with + transverse lamellA| 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. _Page 185_ + + 82. SPATULA (Shoveller). Bill much longer than head, widening towards + end, lamellA| projecting conspicuously; no soft membrane on sides of + bill towards tip; wing pointed, first and second quills longest; + tail short, graduated; legs very short. _Page 189_ + + 83. DAFILA (Pintail). Bill long as head, edges nearly parallel, + widening a little to end, lamellA| not strongly defined; neck long, + slender; tail sharply pointed, central rectrices considerably + elongated in male; margin of web to anterior toes slightly + emarginate. _Page 190_ + + 84. QUERQUA%DULA (Teal). Bill long as head, lamellA| 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. _Page 191_ + + 85. MARA%CA (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. + _Page 192_ + + + _SUB-FAMILY FULIGULINA_ + +Hind toe with lobated membrane; tarsi compressed. + + 86. FULAGULA (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. _Page 193_ + + 87. CLANGAsLA (Goldeneye). Bill much shorter than head, depressed + towards nail, which is elliptical and decurved at tip; lamellA| + hidden; nostrils near middle of bill. _Page 195_ + + 88. HARELDA (Long-tailed Duck). Bill much shorter than head, tapering + rapidly to broad, decurved nail at tip. LamellA| 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. _Page 196_ + + 89. SOMATERIA (Eider Duck). Bill swollen and elevated at base, + extending up the forehead, there divided by angular projection of + feathers; nostrils medial. _Page 197_ + + 90. OEDEMIA (Scoters). Bill short, broad, with an elevated knob at + the base, the tip much flattened; nail large, flat, obtuse, slightly + deflected; lamellA| coarse, widely set; nostrils oval, medial; tail + short, graduated, acute. _Page 199_ + + + _SUB-FAMILY MERGANINA_ + + 91. MERGUS (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. _Page 201_ + + + + + ORDER COLUMBA + (PIGEONS AND DOVES) + + +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. + +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. + + + FAMILY COLUMBIDA + +Tail with twelve feathers; hind toe with the skin prominently expanded +on the sides. + + 92. COLUMBA (Wood-pigeon, Stock-dove, Rock-dove). Bill moderate, + straight at base, compressed, point deflected; tail nearly even; + first primary much larger than _sixth_. _Page 203_ + + 93. TURTUR (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. _Page 209_ + + + + + ORDER PTEROCLETES + + + FAMILY PTEROCLIDA + + 94. SYRRHAPTES (Sand-grouse). 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. _Page 211_ + + + + + ORDER GALLINA + + +Bill short and stout; culmen arched, and overhanging the mandible. + + + FAMILY TETRAONIDA + + 95. TETRAO (Black Grouse, Capercaillie). Bill strong; eyebrows naked, + adorned with scarlet papillA|; tarsi feathered, without spurs; front + toes naked, with pectinated margins; hind toe larger than the nail. + _Page 212_ + + 96. LAGA"PUS (Red Grouse, Ptarmigan). Front toes feathered, nearly + smooth at the margins; hind toe shorter than the nail; in other + respects like the last. _Page 215_ + + + FAMILY PHASIANIDA + +Nostrils never hidden by feathers; toes never pectinated. + + 97. PHASIANUS (Pheasant). Cheeks naked, adorned with scarlet papillA|; + tail very long, of eighteen feathers. _Page 219_ + + 98. PERDIX (Partridge). Bill strong; orbits naked; tarsus naked, male + with a knob on the tarsus behind; tail of sixteen feathers, short, + bent down. _Page 222_ + + 99. CACCABIS (Red-legged Partridge). Tail of fourteen feathers; tarsi + armed with blunt spurs in male. _Page 225_ + + 100. COTAsRNIX (Quail). Bill slender; orbits feathered; wings with the + first primary longest; tail very short; almost concealed by the + tail-coverts. _Page 226_ + + + + + ORDER FULICARIA + (RAILS AND COOTS) + + + FAMILY RALLIDA + (RAILS) + + 101. CREX (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. + _Page 228_ + + 102. PORZANA (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. _Page 229_ + + 103. RALLUS (Water-rail). Bill longer than head; wings moderate, third + and fourth quills longest. _Page 230_ + + 104. GALLANULA (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. _Page 231_ + + 105. FAsLICA (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. _Page 233_ + + + + + ORDER ALECTORIDES + + +Angle of the mandible always truncated, hind toe generally raised +above level of others. + + + FAMILY GRUIDA + +Nasal depression more than half as long as maxilla; rectrices twelve. + + 106. GRUS (Crane). Upper mandible deeply channelled; nostrils medial; + wings moderate; third primary longest. _Page 234_ + + + FAMILY OTIDIDA + (BUSTARDS) + + +Bill flattened and obtuse; no hind toe; tarsi unarmed; wings very +short; rectrices sixteen to twenty. + + 107. OTIS (Bustard). Legs long, naked above the knee; wings moderate, + hind quill longest. _Page 236_ + + + + + ORDER LIMICOLA + (WADERS) + + +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. + +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. + + + FAMILY GLAREOLIDA + + 108. GLARA%OLA (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. _Page 238_ + + + FAMILY CHARADRIIDA + +Hind toe absent in most species; tarsus usually reticulate, sometimes +scutellate. + + 109. OEDICNA%MUS (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. _Page 239_ + + 110. CURSORIUS (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. _Page 240_ + + 111. CHARADRIUS (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. _Page 240_ + + 112. SQUATAROLA (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. _Page 242_ + + 113. EUDROMIAS (Dotterel). Bill shorter than head, slender, + compressed; nasal channel reaching about half length of bill. Wings + moderate; inner secondaries much longer than in CharAidrius. + _Page 244_ + + 114. AGIALITIS (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. _Page 245_ + + 115. VANELLUS (Lapwing). Wings large, quills broad and rounded, the + fourth and fifth primaries longest. In other respects resembling + SquatAirola. _Page 247_ + + 116. HAMATOPUS (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. + _Page 248_ + + 117. STRA%PSILAS (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. _Page 250_ + + + FAMILY SCOLOPACIDA + (SNIPES, ETC.) + +Bill long and slender; toes four, the hind one weak and elevated, very +rarely wanting. + + 118. RECURVIROSTRA (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. _Page 252_ + + 119. PHALAROPUS (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. _Page 253_ + + 120. SCA"LOPAX (Woodcock). Bill long, compressed, superior ridge + elevated at base of mandible, prominent. Legs rather short, anterior + toes almost entirely divided. _Page 254_ + + 121. GALLINAGO (Snipe). Bill very long; legs rather long and slender; + anterior toes divided to the base. _Page 256_ + + 122. CALIDRIS (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. _Page 260_ + + 123. TRINGA (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. _Page 361_ + + 124. MACHA%TES (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. _Page 266_ + + 125. TA"TANUS (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. _Page 267_ + + 126. LIMA"SA (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 the first joint; wings + moderate; first primary longest. _Page 272_ + + 127. NUMENIUS (Curlew, Whimbrel). Bill much larger than the head, + slender, curved downwards. _Page 273_ + + + + + ORDER GAVIA + + +Front toes entirely connected by webs. Primaries, ten large and +visible, one minute and concealed. + + + FAMILY LARIDA + (GULLS, TERNS, SKUAS) + + + _SUB-FAMILY STERNINA_ + +Bill straight, rather slender; mandibles of about equal length. + + 128. HYDROCHELIDON (Black, White-winged, and Whiskered Terns). Tail + feathers rounded or slightly pointed; tail short, less than half + length of wing. _Page 275_ + + 129. STERNA (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. + _Page 276_ + + + _SUB-FAMILY LARINA_ + +Bill with upper mandible longer and bent over tip of under one. + + 130. LARUS (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. _Page 281_ + + 131. RISSA (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. _Page 287_ + + + _SUB-FAMILY STERCORARIINA_ + +Bill with a cere; claws large, strong, hooked. + + 132. STERCORARIUS (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. _Page 288_ + + + + + ORDER PYGOPODES + + +Wings short + + + FAMILY ALCIDA + (AUKS) + +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. + + 133. ALCA (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. _Page 291_ + + 134. AsRIA (Guillemot). Bill strong, nearly straight, sharp-pointed, of + moderate length; nostrils basal, partly covered by a feathered + membrane; first primary longest. _Page 292_ + + 135. MA%RGULUS. (Little Auk). Bill strong, conical, slightly curved, + shorter than the head; nostrils basal, partly covered by a feathered + membrane; first and second primaries equal. _Page 294_ + + 136. FRATERCULA (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. _Page 295_ + + + FAMILY COLYMBIDA + (DIVERS) + +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. + + 137. COLYMBUS (Diver). Bill forming a pointed cylindrical cone; front + toes entirely palmated; tail very short. _Page 297_ + + + FAMILY PODICIPEDIDA + (GREBES) + +Hallux raised above level of other toes; toes with wide lateral lobes, +united at base. Tail vestigial. + + 138. PA"DICIPES (Grebe). Bill forming pointed cylindrical cone; + secondaries, if any, very little shorter than primaries. _Page 300_ + + + + + ORDER TUBINARES + + +External nostrils are produced into tubes; anterior toes fully webbed; +hallux small or absent. + + + FAMILY PROCELLARIIDA + +Nostrils united exteriorly above culmen. + + 139. FULMARUS (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. _Page 304_ + + 140. PUFFINUS (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. _Page 305_ + + 141. PROCELLARIA (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. _Page 307_ + + + * * * * * * * + + + + + ORDER PASSERES + + + FAMILY TURDIDA + + + SUB-FAMILY TURDINA + + THE MISTLE (OR MISSEL) THRUSH + TURDUS VISCIVORUS + + 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. + +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 '_churr_'. 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 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.[1] 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. + +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. + + [1] 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. + + + [Illustration: + + Missel Thrush Song Thrush + + Redwing + + Fieldfare + + [_face p. 2_]] + + + [Illustration: + + Blackbird [M] _imm._ + + Blackbird [F] [M] + + Ring Ouzel [M] [F]] + + + THE SONG THRUSH + TURDUS MAsSICUS + + 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. + +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. + +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. + +I know two adjoining estates in Yorkshire. On one the gardener shoots +blackbirds and thrushes in fruit time. On the other they are +protected. The latter yields always more fruit than the former. + +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. + +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. + + + THE REDWING + TURDUS ILAACUS + + 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. + +The Redwing (called in France _Mauvis_, 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 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 watercourses 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 +IlA-acus because it frequented in such great numbers the environs of +Ilion-Troy. + + + THE FIELDFARE + TURDUS PILARIS + + 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. + +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 Grey-bird, to +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 +watercourses 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 _Zoologist_ 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, _yack chuck_, 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 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 ThA1/4ringen 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. + + + THE BLACKBIRD + TURDUS MERULA + + _Male_--plumage wholly black; bill and orbits of the eyes + orange yellow; feet black. _Female_--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. + +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 +watercourse, or a thick hedgerow, 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 _song_ 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. + + + PLATES TO BLACKBIRD. + + + 1. A nest and eggs. + + 2. The young just emerged from the egg and an egg (June 1). + + 3. The day after hatching (June 2). + + 4. Four days later (June 4). + + 5. Sixth day out (June 5). + + 6. Ninth day out. + + 7. Eleventh day out. + + 8. Fourteenth day out. + + 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. + + [Illustration: + + Blackbirds Nest and Eggs Just Hatched. + + Day after. + + 4th Day. + + 6th Day. + + 9th Day. + + 11th Day. + + Blackbird, 14th day. + + [_face p. 8._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Stonechat [F] [M] + + Whinchat Black Redstart [F] [M] + + Redstart [M] [F]] + + +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.' + +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. + +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 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. + + + THE RING OUZEL + TURDUS TORQUATUS + + Plumage black edged with greyish white; a large + crescent-shaped pure white spot on the throat; bill and legs + dusky. _Female_ 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. + +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. + + + THE WHEATEAR (STONE-SMATCH)[2] + SAXACOLA OENANTHA% + + 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. _Female_--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. + +During a considerable portion of its stay with us, open downs 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 _chack-chack_--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 manA"uvre, 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 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. + + [2] Stone-smatch in Yorkshire--from the Saxon, SteinschmAtzer + in German. + + + THE WHINCHAT + PRATANCOLA RUBA%TRA + + 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. _Female_--yellowish white wherever the + _male_ 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. + +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 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 A1/4-_tick_! 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. + + + THE STONECHAT + PRATANCOLA RUBACOLA + + 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. _Female_--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. + +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. + +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 _twit-click-click_, 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 _top_ 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 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, _we_ 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. + +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 RubA-cola 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. + + + THE REDSTART + RUTICILLA PHOENICURA + + 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. _Female_--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. + +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 +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 Fly-catchers 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. + + + THE BLACK REDSTART + RUTICILLA TITYS + + 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. _Female_--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. + +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. + + + THE REDBREAST, OR ROBIN + ERATHACUS RUBA%CULA + + Upper parts brownish grey tinged with olive; forehead, lore, + and breast red, the red edged with ash-grey; abdomen white. + _Female_ like the _male_, 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + [Illustration: + + Wheatear [F] [M] + + Nightingale + + Hedge-sparrow Robin + + [_p. 16._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Whitethroat [M] [M] Garden Warbler [F] + + Lesser Whitethroat [M] + + Blackcap [M]] + + + + THE NIGHTINGALE + DAULIAS LUSCANIA + + 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. + +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 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,[3] 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. + +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. + +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, 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. + +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, _wate-wate_ or _cur-cur_. 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. + +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. + + [3] This is the opinion of Gilbert White. + + + SUB-FAMILY ACCENTORINA + + THE HEDGE SPARROW + ACCENTOR MODULARIS + + 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. + +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 _cheep_, +_cheep_, 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. + + + SUB-FAMILY SYLVIINA + + THE WHITETHROAT + SYLVIA CINA%REA + + 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. _Female_ 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. + +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 '_Grisette_', and in others, +from its continuous song, '_Babillarde_', 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.[4] 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. + + [4] This night song is rarely heard except in the months of May + and June. + + + THE LESSER WHITETHROAT + SYLVIA CURRAsCA + + 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. + +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. + + + THE GARDEN WARBLER + SYLVIA HORTENSIS + + 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. + +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 _Fauvette_, 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. + + + THE BLACKCAP + SYLVIA ATRICAPILLA + + Top and back of the head black, in the _female_ 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. + +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, 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. + +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. + + + THE DARTFORD WARBLER + SYLVIA UNDATA + + 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. + +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 '_cha cha cha_' are several times +repeated when the bird is irritated. Its note is commonly _Pitchou_, +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. + + + THE REED WARBLER + ACROCA%PHALUS STRA%PERUS + + 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. + +Both the Sedge and the Reed warblers are _jaseuses_, 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, 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. + +"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."[5] 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. + + [5] Mr. W. H. Thomas, in the _Zoologist_, p. 97. + + + MARSH WARBLER + ACROCA%PHALUS PALUSTRIS + + Upper parts olive-green without any reddish tinge; legs and + feet pale brown. + +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. + + + THE SEDGE WARBLER + ACROCA%PHALUS PHRAGMATIS + + 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. + +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--'_Jaseuses_'. 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' 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 _zinzinare_ 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. + + + THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER + LOCUSTELLA NAVIA + + 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. + +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 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 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 +manA"uvres. 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. + + + [Illustration: + + Wood Warbler [M] + + Willow Warbler [F] + + Grasshopper Warbler + + Chiff Chaff [M] + + [_p. 30._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Reed Warbler + + Marsh Warbler + + Sedge Warbler [M] + + Dartford Warbler [F] [M]] + + + THE CHIFF-CHAFF + PHYLLA"SCOPUS RUFUS + + 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. + +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. + +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 manA"uvres 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 pupA| of small insects, but remaining wholly silent. Other names by +which it is known are 'Chip-chop' and Lesser Pettichaps. + + + THE WILLOW-WARBLER + PHYLLA"SCOPUS TRA"CHILUS + + 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. + +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, 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. + +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. + + + THE WOOD-WREN + PHYLLA"SCOPUS SIBILATRIX + + 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. + +The Wood-warbler, Willow-warbler, and Chiff-chaff resemble each other +so closely in size, colour, and habits, that except by 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, _TouA-te_, is derived from the syllable '_tweet_', +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. + +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. + + + SUB-FAMILY REGULINA + + THE GOLD-CREST + RA%GULUS CRISTATUS + + 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 + _female_ 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. + +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 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. + + + [Illustration: + + Great Tit [M] + + Fire Crested Wren [M] + + Long Tailed Tit [M] + + Gold Crest [M] + + [_p. 34._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Blue Tit [M] + + Crested Tit [M] Marsh Tit [F] + + Cole Tit [M]] + + + THE FIRE-CRESTED WREN + RA%GULUS IGNICAPILLUS + + 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. _Female_ with all the + colours less brilliant. Length four inches. Eggs cream colour, + tinged with red and dotted. + +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 '_Roitelet A triple bandeau_'. 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. + + + FAMILY PARIDA + + THE LONG-TAILED TIT + ACRA%DULA CAUDATA + + 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. + +All the Tits, of whatever species, are more or less sociable in their +habits, hunting about during autumn in parties of half a dozen 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.[6] Their food, during those journeys, consists +of caterpillars, small beetles, and the pupA| of insects generally, and +this diet they seem never or very rarely to vary.[7] 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, 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 '_zit, zit_', the pass-word which keeps them together, and +which always accompanies their journeyings, without stopping to watch +the little family on their flight. + +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. + + [6] The name proposed for the Long-tailed Tit, by Dr. Leuch, + _Mecistura vagans_, is most appropriate. "Long-tailed + Wanderer," for such is its import, describes the most + striking outward characteristic of the bird, and its + unvarying habit. + + [7] 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. + + + THE GREAT TIT, OX-EYE OR TOMTIT + PARUS MAJOR + + 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. + +As this bird is no larger than a Sparrow, its surname 'Great' must be +understood to denote only its superiority in size to other 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 pupA| 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 _eat_ +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 to this the _coup de +grAcce_. 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. + +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. + +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. + + + THE BLUE TIT, ALSO CALLED TOMTIT + PARUS COERAsLEUS + + 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. + +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 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. + +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. + + + THE COLE TIT + PARUS ATER + + 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. + +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 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. + + + THE MARSH TIT + PARUS PALUSTRIS + + 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. + +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 '_if-he_', 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. + + + THE CRESTED TIT + PARUS CRISTATUS + + 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. + +'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. + + + FAMILY PANURIDA + + THE BEARDED TITMOUSE OR REEDLING + PANAsRUS BIARMICUS + + 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 _female_ 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. + +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 of each +other's company. A writer in the _Magazine of Natural History_ 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 _ping!_ 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. + + + FAMILY SITTIDA + + THE NUTHATCH + SITTA CASIA + + 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. + +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 +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. + +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 +_Naturalist_ contains a description of one made of beech-bark, though +probably here, too, _birch_ 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. + +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.[8] 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 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. + + [8] From the French _hacher_, 'to chop'; hence also 'hatchet'. + + + [Illustration: + + Tree Creeper [F] Nuthatch [M] + + Bearded Reedling [M] [F] Wren + + [_p. 46._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Rose coloured Starling [F] Dipper [M] + + Starling [M] Golden Oriole [F] [M]] + + + FAMILY CERTHIIDA + + THE TREE CREEPER + CERTHIA FAMILIARIS + + 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. + +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 '_cheep_', 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 '_cheep_', 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 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 +'_familiaris_', 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. + + + FAMILY TROGLODYTIDA + + THE WREN + TRA"GLODYTES PARVULUS + + 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. + +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: + + Whoso kills a Robin or a Wran + Shall never prosper boy nor man. + +In the north it is protected by a similar shield: + + Malisons, malisons, mair than ten, + Who harries the queen of heaven's Wren. + +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 _Guide to the Isle of Man_, 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. + +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: + + The Wran, the Wran, the king of all birds, + St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze; + Although he is little, his family's great; + So come out, kind ladies, and give us a trate. + +The version of the song in Hall's _Ireland_, 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. + +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 '_chip_, _chip_', 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.[9] + +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 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. + + [9] I have heard the same musical contest in August. + + + FAMILY CINCLIDA + + THE DIPPER + CINCLUS AQUATICUS + + Upper plumage dark brown, tinged with ash; throat and breast + pure white; abdomen brownish red; bill blackish; feet + horn-colour. _Female_--colours nearly the same, but of a dingy + hue. Length seven inches. Eggs pure white. + +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 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 larvA| 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. + +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. + + + FAMILY ORIOLIDA + + THE GOLDEN ORIOLE + ORIA"LUS GALBULA + + Plumage golden yellow; lore, wings and tail black, the tail + yellow at the tip. _Female_:--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. + +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. + +'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 _Loriot_ +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.' + +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 _on_ a branch, of which it increases the apparent size, and so +attracts 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. + + + FAMILY STURNIDA + + THE STARLING + STURNUS VULGARIS + + 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. _Female_--spotted below as well as above. + _Young_--uniform ash-brown, without spots. Length eight and a + half inches; width fifteen inches. Eggs uniform pale greenish + blue. + +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 their shambling gait, and industrious boring on the lawn +for larvA|--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'. + +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. + +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. + +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 _Zoologist_ +states that there were formerly, 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. + + + THE ROSE-COLOURED STARLING + PASTOR ROSEUS + + Head crested; crest and neck black, lustrous with violet + reflections; back and lower parts rose-colour; wings and tail + lustrous brown. Length eight inches. + +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'. + + + FAMILY CORVIDA + + THE CHOUGH + PYRRHA"CORAX GRACULUS + + 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. + +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 CorvidA| which have +black plumage, this one being distinguished as the 'Cornish Chough', +from the rocky district which it frequented. The famous lines in _King +Lear_-- + + The Crows and Choughs that wing the midway air + Show scarce so gross as beetles: + +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. + +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 _rejectamenta_ 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. + + + THE NUTCRACKER + NUCAFRAGA CARYOCATACTES + + 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. + +The Nutcracker Crow, a rare straggler, must not be confounded with the +Nuthatch, which we have already described; the former 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 _Cassenoix_. In England we mean by 'nuts' filberts or +hazel-nuts; but the French word _noix_ is applied exclusively to +walnuts, our nuts being _noisettes_, 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. + + + THE JAY + GARRULUS GLANDARIUS + + 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. + +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. + +When domesticated, the Jay displays considerable intelligence; it is +capable of attachment, and learns to distinguish the hand and voice of +its benefactor. + + + [Illustration: + + Great Grey Shrike [M] + + Woodchat Shrike [M] + + Red Backed Shrike [M] + + Nutcracker [M] + + [_p. 58._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Raven [M] + + Jay [F] + + Chough + + Magpie [F]] + + + THE MAGPIE + PICA RAsSTICA + + 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. + +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 hedgerow 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 +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. + +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 _Zoologist_,[10] '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 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 _genius loci_, 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. + + [10] Vol. viii. p. 3085. + + + THE JACKDAW + CORVUS MONA%DULA + + 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. + +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; 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. + +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,[11] 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 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. + + [11] _Essays on Natural History._ First Series, p. 109. + + + THE RAVEN + CORVUS CA"RAX + + 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. + +The Raven, the largest of the CorvidA|, 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. + + The sad presaging Raven tolls + The sick man's passport in her hollow beak. + And in the shadow of the silent night + Doth shake contagion from her sable wing. + + _Marlowe._ + +In the Judgment of others, its friendly mission to the Tishbite +invested it with a sanctity which preserved it from molestation. + +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 _Zoologist_,'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.' + +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 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. + +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 '_croak_', but it is said by those who have had the +opportunity of observing it under various circumstances, to utter +another sound, resembling the word '_whii-ur_'. With this cry it very +commonly intermixes another, sounding like '_clung_', uttered very +much as by a human voice, only a little wilder in the sound. From the +cry _croak_ the Raven no doubt derives its Latin name _Corvus_ the +French _Corbeau_, and its common Scotch appellation _Corbie_. + + + THE CARRION CROW + CORVUS CORA"NE + + 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. + +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 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 (_Anodon_), 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. + +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 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. + +This Crow is becoming more numerous of late in the close vicinity of +London. It comes constantly to some of our suburban gardens. + + + THE HOODED CROW, GREY OR ROYSTON CROW + CORVUS CORNIX + + 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. + +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, 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. + + + [Illustration: + + Rook + + Jackdaw [M] + + Crow [M] + + Hooded Crow [F] + + [_p. 68._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Pied Flycatcher [M] _imm._ [M] Spotted Flycatcher [F] + + Waxwing [M] [M] + + Greenfinch [M] _young_ [F]] + + + THE ROOK + CORVUS FRAsGILEGUS + + 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. + +As the Hooded Crow is essentially the type of the CorvidA| 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. + +In the early spring months Rooks subsist principally on the larvA| 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 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 +_battues_ 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 ground, suddenly raises a stick. They +will instantly fly off, evidently in great alarm. + +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 practice, 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 _Melolontha_, 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. + +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 +_rubbed_ off, but _fall_ 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. + +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. + +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, + + Sooth'd by the genial warmth, the cawing Rook + Anticipates the spring, selects her mate, + Haunts her tall nests, and with sedulous care + Repairs her wicker eyrie, tempest torn. + +Similar instances of this unseasonable pairing are recorded by modern +ornithologists. + +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. + +During 1907-1908 the economic rA'le 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. + + + FAMILY LANIIDA + + THE GREAT GREY SHRIKE + LANIUS EXCAsBITOR + + 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. _Female_ 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. + +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 _excubitor_ (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 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 +_Lanius_ (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, _Shake-shake_! +the call note is _truii_! Of the Lesser Grey Shrike, _Lanius minor_, +there have been few occurrences in these Islands. + + + LESSER GREY SHRIKE + LANIUS MINOR + + Grey above: breast and flanks roseate; wing-bar white. + +Of this species only four occurrences recorded until recently--in +Scilly Islands, Norfolk and Devon. + + + THE RED-BACKED SHRIKE + LANIUS COLLURIO + + 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. _Female_--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. + +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 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 _l'Acorcheur_ (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. + +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. + +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. + +The Red-backed Shrike is known to us only as a summer visitor, +departing early in autumn. Its note is a harsh _chuck!_ but the song +of the mate is somewhat pleasant. + + WOODCHAT SHRIKE + LANIUS POMERANUS + + 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. _Female_--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. + +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. + + + FAMILY AMPELIDA + + THE WAXWING + AMPELIS GARRULUS + + 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. + +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 +_Jaseur_, 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 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 _Wandering_ +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, _Schneevogel_ (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. + + + FAMILY MUSCICAPIDA + + + MUSCICAPIDA.--Nostrils more or less covered by bristly hairs + + + THE SPOTTED FLYCATCHER + MUSCACAPA GRASOLA + + 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. + +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 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 manA"uvre, 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 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. + + + THE PIED FLYCATCHER + MUSCACAPA ATRICAPILLA + + Upper plumage and tail black, the wings black, with the central + coverts white; scapulars edged with white; under plumage white. + In the _female_ 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. + +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 +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. + + + FAMILY HIRUNDINIDA + + THE SWALLOW + HIRUNDO RAsSTICA + + 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. _Female_--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. + +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,[12] by employing it to 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 _chelidonius_, +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. + +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 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 _British +Birds_. 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. + + [12] Chelidonium: Celandine or Swallow-wort, from + [Greek: chelidA'n], 'a Swallow'. + + + THE HOUSE MARTIN + CHELADON AsRBICA + + 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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + + + [Illustration: + + Swift [F] + + Sand Martin [F] + + Swallow [M] House Martin [M] + + [_face p. 84._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Tree Sparrow [M] + + Linnet [M] + + House Sparrow [M] + + Brambling [M]] + + + THE SAND MARTIN + CA"TILE RIPARIA + + 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. + +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. + +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 +(_Bird Architecture_) 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 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. + + + FAMILY FRINGILLIDA + + THE GREENFINCH + LIGURINUS CHLORIS + + 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. + +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 '_twe-e-e_' or '_bree-eze_'. 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 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 'Peewit', 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 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. + + + THE HAWFINCH + COCCOTHRAUSTES VULGARIS + + 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. + +Judging from its conformation, one would, without knowing anything of +the habits of this bird, pronounce it to be a professor of some +laborious occupation. Its short tail and wings unfit it for long +aA"rial 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. + + + THE GOLDFINCH + CARDUA%LIS A%LEGANS + + 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. + +This little bird, as sprightly in its habits as it is brilliant in its +colouring, 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 +manA"uvres 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. + +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, _Chardonneret_, +denotes 'a frequenter of thistles', and the ancient Greek and Latin +name for it, _Acanthis_, is of similar import; the _Acanthis_, Pliny +tells us,[13] 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 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 (_Usnea_ and _Evernia_), 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. + +Owing to more efficient bird-protection the Goldfinch, which was +decreasing largely in numbers, is now on the increase again. + + [13] _Nat. Hist._, lib. x., cap. lxxiv. + + + THE SISKIN + CARDUA%LIS SPINUS + + 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. _Female_--all the + colours less bright, and no black on the head. Length four and + a half inches. Eggs greyish white, speckled with purplish + brown. + +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 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. + + + THE HOUSE SPARROW + PASSER DOMESTICUS + + 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. _Female_--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. + +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 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 _Zoologist_, +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 _average_ 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. + +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 ceases, and the +combatants return to their various occupations. A writer in the +_Naturalist_ 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. + +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. + + + THE MOUNTAIN OR TREE SPARROW + PASSER MONTANUS + + 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 _female_ scarcely differs from the _male_. + Length five inches and a half. Eggs as in the last. + +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. + + + THE CHAFFINCH + FRINGILLA CALEBS + + 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. + _Female_--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. + +'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 _cA|lebs_, +bachelor, from LinnA|us, 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 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, '_twink_' +or '_pink_' or '_spink_, _spink_, _spink_' as it is variously +translated. To this cry it adds the syllable '_tweet_', 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. + +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:-- + + Then as a little helpless innocent bird, + That has but one plain passage of few notes, + Will sing the simple passage o'er and o'er, + For all one April morning, till the ear + Wearies to hear it. --TENNYSON. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + [Illustration: + + Siskin [M] [F] [F] Goldfinch [M] + + Chaffinch [M] [F] + + Hawfinch [F] [M] + + [_p. 96._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Mealy Redpoll [F] [M] + + Redpole [M] Twite [M] [M] + + Bullfinch [M]] + + + THE BRAMBLING + FRINGILLA MONTIFRINGALLA + + 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. _Female_--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. + +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. + + + THE LINNET + ACANTHIS CANNABINA + + _Winter_--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 _summer_ 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. + +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 (_Linum_); the other Cannabina, from +having been seen to feed on hemp seed (_Cannabis_). 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 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. + + + THE MEALY REDPOLL + ACANTHIS LINARIA + + 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. + +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. + + + THE LESSER REDPOLL + ACANTHIS RUFESCENS + + 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. + _Female_--all the colours less bright. Length five and a + quarter inches. Eggs bluish white, speckled at the larger end + with reddish brown. + +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, 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. + + + THE MOUNTAIN LINNET, OR TWITE + ACANTHIS FLAVIROSTRIS + + Upper plumage dark brown, edged with light brown; no crimson + either on the forehead or breast; rump of the _male_ 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. + +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 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. + + + THE BULLFINCH + PARRHULA EUROPAA + + 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 _female_ 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. + +'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 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 manA"uvre is repeated, each bird following, with +dipping flight, the line marked out by its predecessor. + + + PINE GROSBEAK + PARRHULA ENUCLEATOR + + 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. + +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. + + + THE CROSSBILL + LOXIA CURVIRA"STRA. + + 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. + +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 _British Birds_ +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. + +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 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 _Zoologist_ thus describes the manA"uvres 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 _Magazine of Natural History_, 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 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 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.'" + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The Two-barred (or White-winged) Crossbill (_Loxia bifasciata_) is +only a rare straggler in winter to this country. + + + THE CORN (OR COMMON) BUNTING + EMBERIZA MILIARIA + + 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. + +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 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. + + + THE YELLOW BUNTING (OR YELLOW HAMMER) + EMBERIZA CITRINA%LLA + + 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. _Female_--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. + +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 manA"uvres, +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 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 '_cheese, chee-ese_', 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. + +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." + +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. + +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. + + + [Illustration: + + Cirl Bunting Lapland Bunting + + Reed Bunting [M] [F] + + The Common Bunting [F] Snow Bunting [M] [F] + + [_face p. 108._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Yellow Wagtail [M] + + Grey Headed Wagtail [M] + + White Wagtail [M] + + Grey Wagtail + + Pied Wagtail] + + + THE CIRL BUNTING + EMBERIZA CIRLUS + + 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. _Female_--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. + +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. + + + THE REED BUNTING + EMBERIZA SCHOA%NICLUS + + 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. _Female_--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. + +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. + + + SNOW BUNTING + PLECTROPHENAX NIVALIS + + 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. + +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 _churr_. 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 _Saxifraga oppositifolia_, one of the +earliest of the Arctic plants; during winter, on grass seeds. Peculiar +interest attaches to the Snow Bunting, from the fact that it is +(according to LinnA|us) 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'. + + + THE LAPLAND BUNTING + CALCARIUS LAPPA"NICUS + + 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. + +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. + + + FAMILY MOTACILLIDA + + THE WHITE WAGTAIL + MOTACILLA ALBA + + _Summer_--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. + _Winter_--chin, throat and neck white, with an isolated black + gorget. Length nearly seven inches and a half. Eggs bluish + white, speckled with black. + +This species has bred in England more frequently than has been +supposed. It is not uncommon in Cornwall in spring, and indeed 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. + + + THE PIED WAGTAIL + MOTACILLA LAsGUBRIS + + _Summer_--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. _Winter_--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. + +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 aA"rial 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 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. + +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. + +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. + + + THE GREY WAGTAIL + MOTACILLA MELANA"PE + + _Summer_--head and back bluish grey; a pale streak above the + eyes; throat black; under parts bright yellow; tail very long. + _Winter_--chin and throat whitish, passing into yellow. Length + seven inches and three-quarters. Eggs bluish white, speckled + with dark grey. + +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 Greyheaded, 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. 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. + +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 _Zoologist_, 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."' + +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. + + + THE BLUE-HEADED (OR GREY-HEADED) WAGTAIL + MOTACILLA FLAVA + + 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. + +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 _Bergeronette printaniA"re_ +('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. + + + YELLOW WAGTAIL + MOTACILLA RAII + + 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. + +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 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, +_LavandiA"re_, 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. + + + THE TREE PIPIT + ANTHUS TRIVIALIS + + 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. + +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 hedgerow, 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.[14] The Tree Pipit is not seen in Ireland, or it is as +yet unrecorded there. + + [14] '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.' + + + [Illustration: + + Tree Pipit [M] + + Yellow Hammer [M] + + Rock Pipit [M] + + Meadow Pipit [M] + + [_face p. 116._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Woodlark [M] + + Shore Lark [M] + + Skylark [M]] + + + THE MEADOW PIPIT + ANTHUS PRATENSIS + + 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. + +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 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. + + + THE ROCK PIPIT + ANTHUS OBSCAsRUS + + 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. + +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 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 + + 'ridge of all things vile,' + +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. + + + FAMILY ALAUDIDA + + THE SKYLARK + ALAUDA ARVENSIS + + 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. + +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. + +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 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.[15] 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 again. A writer in the _Magazine of +Natural History_ 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 aA"rial 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: + + La gentille Alouette avec son tirelire, + Tirelire, relire et tirelirant, tire + Vers la voA"te du ciel; puis son vol en ce lieu + Vire, et semble nous dire: Adieu, adieu, adieu. + +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 folds Its wings, drops like lead +to the ground, and, crouching among the herbage, often escapes +detection. + + [15] Farmers would effect a great saving if they sowed their + wheat deeper than is the usual practice. 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. + + + THE WOODLARK + ALAUDA ARBA"REA + + 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. + +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 '_lulu_', 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 _lulu_ 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. + + + THE SHORE LARK + OTA"CORYS ALPESTRIS + + 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. + +The Shore Lark, like the last, is a very rare visitor of Britain, 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. + + + + + ORDER PICARIA + + + FAMILY CYPSELIDA + + THE SWIFT + CAPSELUS APUS + + General plumage sooty brown; chin greyish white; tarsi + feathered; bill feet, and claws, shining black. Length eight + inches; width seventeen inches. Eggs pure white. + +The Swift is, perhaps, the strongest and swiftest, not merely of the +Swallow tribe, but of all birds; hence a voyage from Southern +Africa[16] 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 _Zoologist_,[17] 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, +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. + +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. + +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. + +Another name for the Swift is Black Martin, and in heraldry 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. + + [16] Livingstone mentions his having seen in the plains north + of Kuruman a flock of Swifts, computed to contain upwards + of 4,000 individuals. + + [17] September, 1856, p. 5249. + + + FAMILY CAPRIMULGIDA + + THE NIGHTJAR + CAPRIMAsLGUS EUROPAUS + + 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. + +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 _churr-churr-err_ 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.[18] 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 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. + +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: + + The busy Dor-Hawk chases the white moth + With burring note---- + + The burring Dor-Hawk round and round is wheeling: + That solitary bird + Is all that can be heard + In silence, deeper far than deepest noon. + +One point in the economy of the Nightjar is still disputed (1908) 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. + +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. + +Other names by which it is locally known are Fern Owl, Wheeler, and +Nightchurr. + + [18] 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. + + + FAMILY PICIDA + + + SUB-FAMILY PICINA + + THE GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER + DENDROCOPUS MAJOR + + 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. _Female_--without the crimson + on the head. Length nine inches and a half; breadth fourteen + inches. Eggs glossy white. + +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 +_Zoologist_[19] 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 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. + + [19] Vol. viii, p. 3115. + + + [Illustration: + + Wryneck [M] Greater Spotted Woodpecker [F] + + Green Woodpecker [M] Lesser Spotted Woodpecker [M] + + [_face p. 128._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Hoopoe [M] + + Kingfisher [M] + + Roller + + Bee-eater [M]] + + + THE LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER + DEUDROCOPUS MINOR + + 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. + +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. + + + THE GREEN WOODPECKER + GA%CINUS VIRIDIS + + Upper plumage green; under, greenish ash; crown, back of the + head, and moustaches crimson; face black. _Female_--less + crimson on the head; moustaches black. Length thirteen inches; + breadth twenty-one inches. Eggs glossy white. + +One of the most interesting among the natural sounds of the country, +is that of the + + Woodpecker tapping the hollow beech tree: + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + +Other names by which this bird is known are Popinjay, Wood-sprite, +Rain-bird, Hew-hole and Woodweele. + + + SUB-FAMILY IANGINA + + THE WRYNECK + IANX TORQUILLA + + 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. + +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 +_pay-pay-pay_ 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 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.[20] I may here +remark that the name IA?nx,[21] 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 _Zoologist_, 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. + + [20] From the Latin _torqueo_, 'to twist.' + + [21] Greek [Greek: iA?nx] from [Greek: iA1/2zA'], to 'shriek.' + + + FAMILY ALCEDINIDA + + THE KINGFISHER + ALCA%DO ASPIDA + + 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. + +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 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' (_Halcyonides dies_), +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.[22] + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + + [22] Plin. _Nat. Hist._ lib. x. cap. 32. xxxii. cap 8. + + + FAMILY CORACIIDA + + THE ROLLER + CORACIAS GARRULUS + + 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. + +About twenty specimens in all of this bird have been observed in +England, the one of most recent occurrence being, I believe, 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 _Rollier_, +should be pronounced so as to rhyme with 'dollar'. + + + FAMILY MEROPIDA + + THE BEE-EATER + MASROPS APIASTER + + 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. + +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 aA"rial fisherman. + + + FAMILY UPUPIDA + + THE HOOPOE + UPUPA EPOPS + + 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. + +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 _Huppe_, a word which also denotes 'a crest', the most striking +characteristic of the bird. It is called also in France _Puput_, 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 +practice 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. + + + FAMILY CUCULIDA + + THE CUCKOO + CAsCULUS CANA"RUS + + 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. _Young_--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. + +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."[23]--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 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. + +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. + +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.[24] 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 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[25] mentions two instances in which a young Cuckoo in +captivity was fed by a young Thrush which had only just learnt to feed +itself. + +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: + + it was a commone tale + That it were gode to here the Nightingale, + Moche rathir[26] than the lewde[27] Cuckowe singe. + +So, when on a certain occasion he heard the Cuckoo first, and was +troubled in consequence, he represents the Nightingale as thus +addressing him: + + be thou not dismaied + For thou have herd the Cuckow erst than me, + For if I live it shall amendid be + The nexte Maie, if I be not afraied. + +More recently Milton thus addresses the Nightingale: + + Thy liquid notes that close the eye of day, + First heard before the shallow Cuccoo's bill, + Portend success in love. + +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. + +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. + +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 +_Idle Days in Hampshire_. + + [23] Plin. _Nat. Hist._ lib. x. cap. ix. + + [24] Mr. Wells Bladen, of Stone, wrote an interesting brochure + on this point.--J. A. O. + + [25] _Familiar History of Birds._ + + [26] Earlier. + + [27] Unskilful. + + + [Illustration: + + White Winged Crossbill [M] [F] + + Crossbill, _imm._ [F] [M] + + Cuckoo [M] + + [_face p. 138._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Brown Owl. + + Short-eared Owl [M]. Long-eared Owl [M] young. + + Barn Owl and Egg.] + + + + + ORDER STRIGES + + + FAMILY STRIGIDA + + + SUB-FAMILY STRIGINA + + THE BARN OWL + STRIX FLAMMEA + + 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. + +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 hedgerow. +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 _cleave_ the air; rather, +it _fans_ 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 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. + +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." + +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 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'. + + + SUB-FAMILY SYRNIINA + + LONG-EARED OWL + ASIO A"TUS + + 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. + +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 malpractices 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. + +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 _Zoologist_[28] who has had many opportunities of observing +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. + + [28] Vol. ii. p. 562. + + + THE SHORT-EARED OWL + ASIO ACCIPITRANUS + + 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. + +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 into the channel for conveying sound is +in the _right_ ear, placed _beneath_ the transverse fold, and directed +_upwards_, while in the _left_ ear the same opening is placed _above_ +the channel for conveying sound, and is directed _downwards_. + +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. + + + THE TAWNY OWL + SYRNIUM ALAsCO + + 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. + +This bird, the Ulula of the ancients, took its name from the Latin +_ululare_; 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, or whatever he may have deemed it; but I do not +recollect that I ever caught sight of the bird. + +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 _hoo-hou!_ or _to-whit, in-who!_ chiefly in the +evening. + + + + + ORDER ACCIPITRES + + + FAMILY FALCONIDA + + + SUB-FAMILY BUTEONINA + + MARSH HARRIER + CIRCUS ARUGINOSUS + + 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. + +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 war against small birds, reptiles, and mice. The +Harriers or Harrows are so called from their _harrying_ propensities. +Of similar import is the etymology of the English word 'havoc', which +may be clearly traced to the Anglo-Saxon _hafoc_, 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. + +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. + + + HEN HARRIER + CIRCUS CYANEUS + + Tail longer than the wings; third and fourth primaries of equal + length; upper plumage of the _male_ bluish grey; lower white. + Upper plumage of the _female_ 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, _male_, eighteen inches; + _female_, twenty inches. Eggs white. + +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. + + + [Illustration: + + Montagu's Harrier [F] + + Kestrel [F] [M] + + Peregrine Falcon [F] + + Hen Harrier [F] [M] + + [_face p. 148._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Rough-legged Buzzard [F] Kite + + Common Buzzard Honey Buzzard] + + + MONTAGU'S HARRIER + CIRCUS CINERACEUS + + 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. _Female_--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. + +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. + + + COMMON BUZZARD + BUTEO VULGARIS + + 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. + +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 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. + + + THE HONEY BUZZARD + PERNIS APIVORUS + + Lores or spaces between eyes and bill are covered with + feathers. The head of _male_ 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; _female_ slighter the larger. + +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 larvA| 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. + +The Honey Buzzard has bred from the New Forest up to Aberdeenshire. +Unfortunately, as much as AL5 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 AL40 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. + + + THE ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD + BUTEO LAGA"PUS + + 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. + +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 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. + + + THE SPOTTED EAGLE + AQUILA NAVIA + + General colour reddish brown; tail brown above; legs feathered + in front of the toes. Length twenty-six inches. + +This species is only a rare straggler to Great Britain. + + + [Illustration: + + Osprey Golden Eagle [M] + + Sea Eagle. Spotted Eagle. [M] _imm._ + + [_p. 152._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Marsh Harrier [M] Hobby + + Merlin [M] Sparrow Hawk [F]] + + + SUB-FAMILY AQUILINA + + THE GOLDEN EAGLE + AQUILA CHRYSAA<TOS + + 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 + _male_ three feet, that of the _female_ more; breadth eight + feet. Eggs dirty white, mottled with pale reddish brown. + +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.' + +'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.' + +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. + + + THE WHITE-TAILED (SEA) EAGLE + HALIAA<TUS ALBICILLA + + 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 _young + birds_ the tail is dark brown, and the beak and cere are of a + darker hue. Length of the _male_, two feet four inches; of the + _female_, two feet ten inches. Eggs dirty white with a few pale + red marks. + +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, 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. + + + THE OSPREY + PANDAON HALIAA<TUS + + 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. + +'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 _HaliaA"tus_, or Sea Eagle. Eighteen centuries later, +Montagu thus described a bird, which, when he first observed 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 aA"rial 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." + +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 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. + + + SUB-FAMILY ACCIPITRINA + + THE SPARROW-HAWK + ACCAPITER NISUS + + 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. _Female_--upper parts brown passing into blackish grey; + lower, greyish white barred with dark grey. Length, _male_ + twelve inches, _female_ fifteen inches; breadth, _male_ + twenty-four inches, _female_ twenty-eight inches. Eggs bluish + white, blotched and spotted with deep rusty brown. + +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 +practices 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 practice 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, 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. + +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 in the interval of nine hours +which had elapsed between their discovery and the death of his +partner. + +The Sparrow-hawk is found in most wooded districts of Great Britain +and Ireland, and the greater part of the Eastern Continent. + + + SUB-FAMILY MILVINA + + THE RED KITE + MILVUS ICTINUS + + 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. _Female_--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. + +'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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + + + SUB-FAMILY FALCONINA + + THE PEREGRINE FALCON + FALCO PEREGRINUS + + 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. + _Female_--upper plumage tinged with brown, lower with reddish + yellow. Length fifteen inches; _female_ seventeen inches. Eggs + dull light red, spotted and blotched with deep red. + +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 _PA(C)lerin_ (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 of the chivalry of the Middle +Ages, a veritable knight-errant, always armed, and ready to do battle +in any cause against all comers. + +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, _a cast_ 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 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. + + As when a cast of Faulcons make their flight + At an Heronshaw that lyes aloft on wing, + The whyles they strike at him with heedlesse might + The wary foule his bill doth backward wring. + On which the first, whose force her first doth bring, + Herselfe quite through the bodie doth engore, + And falleth downe to ground like senselesse thing, + But th' other, not so swift as she before, + Fayles of her souse, and passing by doth hurt no more. + + _Faerie Queene._ + +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. + +The 'Lanner' of Pennant is a young female Peregrine. + + + THE HOBBY + FALCO SUBBUTEO + + 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. + _Female_--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. + +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, 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. + + + THE MERLIN + FALCO ASALON + + 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. _Female_--above + tinged with brown; below, yellowish white. Length eleven to + twelve inches; breadth two feet. Eggs mottled with two shades + of dark reddish brown. + +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. + + + THE KESTREL + FALCO TINNAsNCULUS + + 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. _Female_--upper plumage and tail + light red, with transverse spots and bars of dark brown; lower, + paler than in the _male_. Length fifteen inches; breadth thirty + inches. Eggs reddish white, blotched and mottled with dark + red-brown. + +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 +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. + +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, _klee_, _klee_, _klee_, and +flying to meet him. An anecdote is recorded in the _Zoologist_ 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. + +The Kestrel was formerly trained to hunt small birds, and in the court +of Louis XIII was taught to hawk for Bats. + + + + + ORDER STEGANOPODES + + + FAMILY PELECANIDA + +Feet entirely webbed, or all four toes connected by webs. + + THE COMMON CORMORANT + PHALACRA"CORAX CARBO + + Tail of fourteen feathers. _Winter_--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. + _Summer_--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. _Young birds_ brown and grey, the + gorget greyish white. Length three feet. Eggs greenish white, + chalky. + +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 +_Corvus aquaticus_, or Water Raven. The English name,'Corvorant', is +clearly _Corvus vorans_, a voracious Raven; and 'Cormorant' perhaps a +corruption of _Corvus marinus_, Sea Raven. + +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 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. + +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. + +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.[29] 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. + +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 _Annotations on the Animals of Recchus_, +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.' + + [29] A pair hatched two young in the Zoological Gardens in + Regent's Park in 1882. + + + [Illustration: + + Shag [M] Brent Goose [F] + + Bernacle Goose [F] Cormorant [M] + + [_face p. 166._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Gannet [F] + + Whooper Swan + + Bewick's Swan [M]] + + + THE SHAG + PHALACRA"CORAX GRACULUS + + Tail graduated, of twelve feathers. In _winter_, 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 _summer_, head crested. _Young + birds_ greenish brown above; light grey below. Length + twenty-eight inches. Eggs greenish blue, chalky. + +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. + + + THE GANNET + SULA BASSANA + + 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. _Birds of the first year_, + general plumage dusky brown, beneath greyish. In the _second + year_, greyish black above, marked with numerous triangular + white spots, whitish below. Length three feet. Eggs dull + greenish white. + +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. + +_Extract from my own Journal._--'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 _jet d'eau_ 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 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.' + +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. + +'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 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.' + +'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.' + +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. + +For an interesting account of the capture of these birds at St. Kilda, +the reader is referred to Professor James Wilson's _Voyage round the +Coast of Scotland_. 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. + + + + + ORDER HERODIONES + + + FAMILY ARDEIDA + + THE COMMON HERON + ARDEA CINA%REA + + 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 _young birds_ 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. + +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, 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. + +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.[30] + +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. + +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,[31] 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. + +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. + +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'. + + [30] 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. + + [31] Pennant counted eighty in one tree. + + + THE NIGHT HERON + NYCTACORAX GRISEUS. + + 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. _Young birds_ 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. + +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. + +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. + + + THE COMMON BITTERN + BOTAURUS STELLARIS + + 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. + +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. + +In Sir Thomas Browne's time, It was common In Norfolk, and was +esteemed a better dish than the Heron. + +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'. + +It is called Botaurus, because it imitates _boatum tauri_, 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + FAMILY CICONIIDA + + THE WHITE STORK + CICA"NIA ALBA + + General plumage white; scapulars and wings black; bill and feet + red; orbits naked, black; irides brown. _Young birds_ have the + wings tinged with brown and the beak reddish black. Length + three feet six inches. Eggs white tinged with ochre. + +Sir Thomas Browne says, in his _Account of Birds found in Norfolk_: +'The _Ciconia_, 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. + + + THE BLACK STORK + CICA"NIA NIGRA + + Upper plumage black, with green and purple reflections; under + white; bill and orbits red; irides brown; feet deep red. In + _young birds_ 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. + +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. + + + FAMILY PLATALEIDA + + THE SPOONBILL + PLATALA%A LEUCORODIA + + 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. _Young + birds_ 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. + +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. + +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.'[32] + +It builds its nest in high trees, or, when these are wanting, among +reeds and rushes; and lays four eggs. + + [32] Yarrell's _British Birds_. + + + + + ORDER ANSERES + + + FAMILY ANATIDA + + THE GREY LAG GOOSE + ANSER CINEREUS + + 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. + +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 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. + +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 _lacus_, 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.' + + + THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE + ANSER ALBIFRONS + + 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. + +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. + +Its habits, during its stay in these latitudes, are similar to those +of 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. + +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. + + + THE BEAN GOOSE + ANSER SA%GETUM + + 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. + +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. + + + [Illustration: + + White Fronted Goose + + Pink-footed Goose + + Grey Lag Goose + + Bean Goose [M] + + [_p. 178._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Sheldrake [M] + + Shoveler [M] + + Gadwall [M] + + Wild Duck [M] [F]] + + + THE PINK-FOOTED GOOSE + ANSER BRACHYRHYNCHUS + + 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. + +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. + + + THE BRENT GOOSE + BERNICLA BRENTA + + 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. + +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 zostA(C)ra. 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. + +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. + + + THE BERNICLE GOOSE + BERNICLA LEUCOPSIS + + 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. + +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. + + + THE WHOOPER SWAN + CYGNUS MAsSICUS + + 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. _Young birds_ have the plumage grey; lore + flesh-colour. Length five feet; breadth seven feet ten inches. + Eggs dull white, tinged with greenish. + +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. + +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. 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 zostA(C)ra. +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. + +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 _Wild Sports of the Highlands_, 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 _one_ 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.' + +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 aA"rial road. + +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. + +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. + + + BEWICK'S SWAN + CYGNUS BEWICKI + + Whole plumage pure white; bill black, orange-yellow at the + base; irides dark; feet black; tail of eighteen feathers. + _Young birds_ 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. + +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.' + +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. + +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. + + + THE COMMON SHELDRAKE + TADORNA CORNUTA + + 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 _female_ 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. + +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, _Canard des +Alpes_, 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. + +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. + +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. + +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 +wounded, till the former can get into a place of security, and then +return and collect them together." + +From this instinctive cunning, Turner, with good reason, imagines them +to be the _chenalopex_, or _Tox-Goose_, of the ancients; the +natives of the Orkneys to this day call them the _Sly-Goose_, from an +attribute of that quadruped. + +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. + +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. + + + THE WILD DUCK + ANAS BOSCAS + + 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. _Female_ smaller; plumage mottled + with various shades of brown and grey; throat whitish; speculum + as in the _male_; all the tail-feathers straight. Eggs greenish + white. + +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. + +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,[33] the Mallard puts off the whole of his +characteristic gay plumage, and appears in the sober brown 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. + +Wild Ducks hold a prominent place among birds of the most extensive +distribution, being 'indigenous to the greater part of the northern +hemisphere'.[34] 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 fledged, and only +distinguishable from their parent by their smaller size. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +When it is desired to construct a decoy,[35] a quiet, shallow pond 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. + +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 +_Wild-Fowl and Sea-Fowl_. + + [33] Formerly spelt 'mute', from the Latin _muto_, to change. + + [34] Yarrell, vol. iii. p. 273. + + [35] Decoy, a corruption of Duck-coy, from the Dutch _kooi_, a + cage or pen. See _Ray and Willughby's Ornithology_, 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 _Decoys_ seu _Duck-coys_ vocant, + allectatrices _Coy-ducks_.' + + + THE GADWALL + ANAS STRA%PERA + + 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. _Female_ less distinctly marked. Length twenty + inches. Eggs buffy white, tinged with green. + +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. + + + THE SHOVELER + SPATULA CLYPEATA + + 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. + _Female_--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. + +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 lamellA|, 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 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. + +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. + +The male annually undergoes a moult, or change of feathers, similar +to that described as taking place in the Mallard. + + + THE PINTAIL DUCK + DAFILA ACAsTA + + 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. + _Female_--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. + +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'.[36] 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'. + +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. + + [36] Willughby calls it the 'Sea Pheasant', or 'Cracker'. + + + [Illustration: + + Garganey [M] + + Teal [M] [F] + + Wigeon [M] + + Pintail Duck [M] + + [_p. 190._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Pochard [M] [F] + + Tufted Duck [M] + + Scaup [M] + + Golden Eye [M] [F]] + + + THE TEAL + QUERQUA%DULA CRA%CCA + + 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. + _Female_--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. + +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 the tribe. In some parts they repair to salt marshes and +the sea-shore, where they share the fate of the Wild Duck. + +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. + +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. + + + THE GARGANEY + QUERQUA%DULA CIRCIA + + 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. + +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. + + + THE WIGEON + MARA%CA PENA%LOPE + + _Male_--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. _Female_--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. + +The name Whew Duck, or Whewer, by which, this bird is 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 _Siffleur_, +'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. + +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. + + + THE COMMON POCHARD + FULAGULA FERANA + + 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. + _Female_--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. + +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 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. + +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'. + +The Pochard builds its nest among reeds, in Russia, Denmark, and the +north of Germany, and lays twelve or thirteen eggs. + +The Red-crested is a different species from the 'Red-headed.' + + + THE TUFTED DUCK + FULAGULA CRISTATA + + 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. _Female_--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. + +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, _un rA'ti parfait_. The Tufted Duck +now breeds in a good many districts here. + + + THE SCAUP DUCK + FULAGULA MARALA + + 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. _Female_--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. + +The Scaup is so called from its feeding on 'scaup', a northern word +for a bed of shellfish.[37] It is a northern bird, arriving on our +coasts in October and November, and remaining with us till the +following 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. + +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. + + [37] 'Avis hA|c _the Scaup Duck_ dicta est quoniam _scalpam_, + i. e. pisces testaceos fractos seu contritos, + esitat.'--WILLUGHBY, p. 279. + + + THE GOLDEN EYE + CLANGAsLA GLAUCION + + 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. _Female_--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. + +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 the +tinkling of bells, whence the German name _die Schelle Ente_, Bell +Duck, the Norfolk provincial name Rattle-Wing, and the systematic name +_Clangula_. 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. + +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 +larvA| and pupA| of insects, for which also it dives in clear deep +water. The call-note is an unmelodious quack or croak. + +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. + +The Golden Eye is found in many countries of Europe, in Northern Asia, +and in North America. + + + THE LONG-TAILED DUCK, OR 'CALLOO' + HARELDA GLACIALIS + + _Winter plumage_--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 _female_ 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. + +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 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. + +The Long-Tailed Duck is described by Willughby under the name of _Anas +caudacuta Islandica_. by the natives called _Havelda_. Selby and +modern ornithologists have preserved the Iceland name in _Harolda_. + + + [Illustration: + + Eider Duck [M] [F] [M] + + Long Tailed Duck [M] [F] + + Velvet Scoter [F] [M] + + Common Scoter [M] [F] + + [_p. 198._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Smew [M] [F] + + Merganser [M] + + Dabchick [M] [F] + + Goosander [M]] + + + THE EIDER DUCK + SOMATERIA MOLLISSIMA + + 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. + _Female_--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. + +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 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. + +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.' + +Sir W. J. Hooker, in his interesting _Journal of a Tour in Iceland_, +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. +_June 24th._" A few days later (June 27,) he visited the island of +VidAe, the residence of the ex-governor, where, he says, 'we were +shown the immense number of Eider Ducks which lived on VidAe, 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. + +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. + + + THE BLACK (OR COMMON) SCOTER + OEDEMIA NIGRA + + 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. _Female_--general plumage brown of several shades; + bill without the protuberance; nostrils, and a spot towards + the tip, yellowish. Length eighteen inches. Eggs pale buff. + +This bird is well known along the eastern coast of England under 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. + +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. + + + THE VELVET SCOTER + OEDEMIA FAsSCA + + 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. _Female_ 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. + +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. + +The habits and food of the Velvet Duck differ in no material respect +from those of the Common Scoter, or Black Duck. + + + THE SURF SCOTER + OEDEMIA PERSPICILLATA + + 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 _female_ 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. + +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. + + + THE GOOSANDER + MERGUS MERGANSER + + 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. + _Female_ and _young_--head and crest reddish brown; breast and + flanks pale buff; upper plumage dark ash; bill and feet dull + red. Eggs dull white. + +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. + +The females and young birds of the Goosander and Merganser are +popularly called Dun-divers. + + + THE RED-BREASTED MERGANSER + MERGUS SERRATOR + + 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. _Female_ 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + THE SMEW + MERGUS ALBELLUS + + 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. _Female_ 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. + +The birds of this genus, though placed among the AnatidA|, 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 +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 _Mergus_. + +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'. + + + + + ORDER COLUMBA + + + FAMILY COLUMBIDA + + THE WOOD PIGEON OR RING DOVE + COLUMBA PALUMBUS + + 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. + +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, 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 _Guides to the Poultry-yard_. +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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 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. + +Among the first woodland sounds of spring and the last of autumn is +the note of the Ring Dove, often continued for a long 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 + + Deep toned + The Cushat plains; nor is her changeless plaint + Unmusical, when with the general quire + Of woodland harmony it softly blends. + GRAHAME. + +Wordsworth celebrates it under a name generally given to the next +species: + + I heard a Stock Dove sing or say + His homely tale, this very day; + His voice was buried among trees, + Yet to be come at by the breeze. + It did not cease; but cooed and cooed, + And somewhat pensively he wooed; + He sang of love with quiet blending. + Slow to begin, and never ending; + Of sorrows, faith, and inward glee; + That was the song, the song for me. + +And again, still more happily: + + Over his own sweet voice the Stock Dove broods. + +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 practice 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. + +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 +hedgerow. The number of eggs is always two. The male bird assists in +the office of incubation. + + + THE STOCK DOVE + COLUMBA OENAS + + 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. + +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 _stocks_ 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 Oenas (from the Greek _oinos_, wine), and Vinago (from +the Latin _vinum_), 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 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. + + + [Illustration: + + Turtle Dove [M] [F] + + Stock Dove [F] Rock Dove [M] + + Wood Pigeon [M] + + [_face p. 208_]] + + + [Illustration: + + Red-legged Partridge [F] + + Grouse [M] + + Partridge [M] + + Black Grouse [M] [F]] + + + THE ROCK DOVE + COLUMBA LIVIA + + 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. + +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, Phoenicia, 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. + +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[38] 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. + + [38] _Helix ericetorum_, a flattish, striped shell; and + _Bulimus acutus_, an oblong, conical shell, mottled with + grey and black. + + + THE TURTLE DOVE + TURTUR COMMAsNIS + + 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. + +Nearly three thousand years ago the Turtle Dove had the distinction of +being enumerated among the pleasant things of spring: '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.'[39] Less sweetly, but to the same effect, sings +a poet of the last century: + + The cuckoo calls aloud his wand'ring love. + The Turtle's moan is heard in ev'ry grove; + The pastures change, the warbling linnets sing. + Prepare to welcome in the gaudy spring! + PHILIPS. + +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'[40] 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, _Turtur_, 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, _Tourterelle_, can +belong to this bird alone. + +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 +(_SpA(C)rgula arvensis_). This being the case, the Turtle Dove is more a +friend than an enemy to the farmer, even if it sometimes regales on +ripe 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. + +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. + +The Turtle Dove so frequently kept in a cage is the Collared Turtle +Dove (_Columba risoria_), 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. + + [39] Cant. ii. 11, 12. + + [40] 'Nec gemere aA"ria cessabit Turtur ab ulmo.'--VIRGIL. + Nor shall from lofty elm the Turtle cease to moan. + + + + + ORDER PTEROCLETES + + + FAMILY PTEROCLIDA + + THE THREE-TOED SAND-GROUSE + + Legs and toes feathered to the claws; no hind toe. Length + sixteen to twenty inches. + +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. + + + + + ORDER GALLINA + + + FAMILY TETRAONIDA + + THE CAPERCAILLIE + TETRAO UROGALLUS + + 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. _Female_--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. + +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 _peller_, _peller_, _peller_; 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 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. + + + THE BLACK GROUSE + TETRAO TA%TRIX + + 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. + _Female_--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. + +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 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 _melA(C)e_ 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.' + +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 (_Erica cinerea_), and heather (_Calluna_); 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.'[41] + +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 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. + +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. + + [41] Macgillivray. + + + THE RED GROUSE + LAGA"PUS SCA"TICUS + + 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. _Female_--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. + +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 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. + +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. + +"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 _Calluna +vulgaris_ (Ling) or _Erica cinerea_ (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." + +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. + +Its name, _LagA cubedpus_ (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 _Velocipedes_, +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. + +Once fairly hatched, the danger decreases; the young birds, while +still quite small, show great readiness in concealing themselves. 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. + + + THE PTARMIGAN + LAGA"PUS MAsTUS + + _Winter plumage_--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. + _Female_--without the black line through the eyes. _Summer + plumage_--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. + +This beautiful bird is the Schneehuhn, 'Snow-chick', of the Germans, +the White Partridge of the Alps and Pyrenees, and the Gaelic +_Tarmachan_. 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 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.'[42] 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. + +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 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. + +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. + + [42] Rev. A. C. Smith, in the _Zoologist_, vol. viii. p. 2977. + + + [Illustration: + + Great Bustard [M] + + Pheasant [M] + + Nightjar [M] + + Capercaille [M] + + [_face p. 220._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Pratincole. + + Quail. + + Ptarmigan. + + Three-toed Sand-grouse. [M] [F]] + + + FAMILY PHASIANIDA + + THE PHEASANT + PHASIANUS COLCHICUS + + 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. _Female_--light brown, marked with dusky; sides + of the head feathered; tail much shorter. Length three feet. + Eggs olive-brown. + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 +_Zoologist_, 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, 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. + +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. + + + THE COMMON PARTRIDGE. + PERDIX CINA%REA + + 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. + _Female_--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. + +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. + +A friend, to whom I am indebted for many valuable notes on various +birds, tells me that when a covey of Partridges are disturbed 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 pupA| or larvA|. During the year 1860, in which 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +Most people are familiar with the distich: + + If the Partridge had the Woodcock's thigh, + It would be the best bird that e'er did flie; + +but every one does not know that the saying was in vogue among +epicures in the reign of Charles II. + + + THE RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE + CACCABIS RUFA + + 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. + +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. + +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 _landes_, +where skeletons of sheep pasture without variation on heath 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.'[43] 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. + + [43] Toussenel. + + + THE QUAIL. + COTAsRNIX COMMAsNIS + +'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 (AL1,000) 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, _salting +them_ ('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.' + +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 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.'[44] + +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. + +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. + +Quails inhabit the eastern continent, from China--where they 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. + +In Palestine the Quails still come up in the night, as of old, and +"cover the land." + + [44] Colonel C. H. Smith. + + + + + ORDER FULICARIA + + + FAMILY RALLIDA + + LAND RAIL, OR CORN CRAKE + CREX PRATENSIS + + 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. + +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. + +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 from time to time to pick up its +food, consisting of worms, insects, snails, and seeds. + +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. + +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 +_crek-crek_ 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. + + + THE SPOTTED CRAKE + PORZANA MARUETTA + + 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. + +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. + +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. + + + THE LITTLE CRAKE + PORZANA PARVA + + 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. + +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. + + + THE WATER RAIL + RALLUS AQUATICUS + + 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. + +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 _Annals +of Natural History_: '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 +_cro-o-o-an_. + + + [Illustration: + + Spotted Crake + + Little Crake + + Corn Crake or Land-Rail [M] + + Water Rail [M] + + [_face p. 230._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Spoonbill [M] + + Moor Hen. + + Coot [F] + + Bittern [M]] + + + THE MOOR-HEN + GALLANULA CHLA"ROPUS + + 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 _females_ the colours are brighter than in the + _males_. _Young birds_ 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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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 _Book on +Birds_, gives some highly amusing anecdotes of the Gallinule. + +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 _Zoologist_ 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. + + + THE COMMON COOT + FAsLICA ATRA + + 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. + +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 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 _krew_, 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + [Illustration: + + Stork [M] + + Common Crane. + + Night Heron. + + Heron [F] + + [_face p. 234_]] + + + [Illustration: + + Kentish Plover [F] [M] + + Grey Plover [M] (Summer and Winter) + + Golden Plover [M] + + Ringed Plover, young and [F]] + + + + + ORDER ALECTORIDES + + + FAMILY GRUIDA + + THE CRANE + GRUS COMMAsNIS + + 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. + _Young birds_ 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. + +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. + +Willughby, whose _Ornithology_ 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. + +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.' + +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. + +The Crane of the Holy Scriptures is most probably not this species, +which is rare in Palestine, but another, _Grus Virgo_, 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. + +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. + + + FAMILY OTIDIDA + + No hind toe. + + THE GREAT BUSTARD + OTIS TARDA + + 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. + _Female_--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. + +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. + +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 +(_Otis_). 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 _Avis tarda_ in Spain, _Otis_ 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 _cicuta_, 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 _tardu_ was given to them by the Latins. By +the Scotch, on the authority of Hector Boethius, they are called +_GustardA|_.' + +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 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.' + +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 ChAclons, in most other districts it was as +little known as with us. + +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 _Ornithological Dictionary_, 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' _Gleanings of Natural History_, 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,[45] 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. + +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 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. + + [45] _Lin. Trans._, vol. xxi. p. 155. + + + + + ORDER LIMICOLA + + + FAMILY GLAREOLIDA + + THE PRATINCOLE + GLARA%OLA PRATANCOLA + + 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. + +The Pratincole, called on the Continent, but without good reason, +_Perdrix de mer_, 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. + +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 +LinnA|us, _Hirundo pratincola_, 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. + + + FAMILY CHARADRIIDA + + THE THICK-KNEE OR STONE CURLEW + OEDICNA%MUS SCA"LOPAX + + 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. + +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 _curlui_ or +_turlui_. 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. + +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 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. + +The Thick-knee is migratory, visiting us in the beginning of April to +stay till October. His flights are made by night. + + + THE CREAM-COLOURED COURSER + CURSORIUS GALLICUS + + 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. + +Though the specific name EuropA|us 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. + +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. + + + THE GOLDEN PLOVER + CHARADRIUS PLUVIALIS + + _Winter_--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. + _Summer_--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. + +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 books, +might be forgiven for setting down the two forms of the bird as +distinct species. + +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. + +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 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 _pluviers_, 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. + +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. + + + THE GREY PLOVER + SQUATAROLA HELVETICA + + _Winter_--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. _Summer_--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. + +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. + +The Grey Plover is a bird of extensive geographical range, being known +in Japan, India, New Guinea, the Cape of Good Hope, Egypt, 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. + +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." + +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. + + + THE DOTTEREL + EUDROMIAS MORINELLUS + + _Winter_--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. _Summer_--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. + +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 + + Most worthy man, with thee 'tis ever thus, + As men take Dottrels, so hast thou ta'en us + Which, as a man his arme or leg doth set, + So this fond bird will likewise counterfeit. + +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. + +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. + + + THE RINGED PLOVER + AGIALITIS HIATACULA + + 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. _Young_--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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + + + THE KENTISH PLOVER + AGIALITIS CANTIANA + + 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. _Female_ 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. + +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. + +On the authority of the Greek historian Herodotus, a little bird is +found in Egypt called the TrA cubedchilus, 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 +TrA cubedchilus 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 TrA cubedchilus of the ancients to be +the _Pluvier A Collier interrompu_, 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. + + + [Illustration: + + Curlew [M] + + Peewit [F] + + Dotterel [M] + + Norfolk Plover [F] + + [_face p. 246._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Avocet + + Grey Phalarope [F] + + Red-necked Phalarope + + Bar-tailed Godwit [F]] + + + THE LAPWING, OR PEEWIT + VANELLUS VULGARIS + + 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. _Young_--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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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 _van_, 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. + + + OYSTER CATCHER + HAMATOPUS OSTRATEGUS + +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 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. + +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. + +A common name for this bird is Sea-pie, another appropriate one is +'Mussel picker'; and it is thought that 'Catcher' comes from the Dutch +_aekster_ (magpie). The note is a shrill _keep_, _keep_. 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.' + + + THE TURNSTONE + STRA%PSILAS INTA%RPRES + + 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. + +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 manA"uvres 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 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.[46] +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." + +A writer in the _Zoologist_[47] 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. + +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. + + [46] From this habit, the Turnstone is in Norfolk called a + 'Tangle-picker'.--C. A. J. + + [47] Vol. ix. p. 3077. + + + FAMILY SCOLOPACIDA + + THE AVOCET + RECURVIROSTRA AVOCA%TTA + + 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. + +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: '_Avoseta_, 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 (_twit_) twice +repeated, during the whole time. The country people for this reason +call them _Yelpers_, and sometimes distinguish them by the name of +_Picarini_. 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.[48] 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. + +The Avocet is met with throughout a great part of the Old World, 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'. + + [48] 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. + + + THE GREY PHALAROPE + PHALAROPUS FULICARIUS + + _Winter_--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. _Summer_--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. + +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, _A priori_, 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. + + + THE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE + PHALAROPUS HYPERBOREUS + + 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. + +The Red-necked Phalarope, or Lobefoot, is, like the preceding species, +an inhabitant of the Arctic regions, but extends its circle 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. + + + THE WOODCOCK + SCA"LOPAX RUSTACOLA + + 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. + +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 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'. + +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 _pitt-pitt-coor_, by others to be very +like the croak of a frog. The French have invented the verb _croA"ler_, +to express it, and distinguish Woodcock shooting by the name _croA"le_. +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 sights of the evening, at all seasons of the year, to +watch the Woodcocks repairing from the woods to their accustomed +feeding-ground. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + THE GREAT SNIPE + GALLINAGO MAJOR + + 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. + +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 larvA| or grubs of +TipulA| (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 +_Zoologist_ 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. + + + [Illustration: + + Great Snipe + + Jack Snipe [M] + + Common Snipe + + Woodcock [M] + + [_face p. 256_.]] + + + [Illustration: + + Knot [M] + + Wood Sandpiper. + + Sanderling [M] + + Whimbrel [M]] + + + THE COMMON SNIPE + GALLINAGO CALESTIS + + 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. + +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 +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 _ChA"vre +volant_, flying goat, and 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. + +'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. + + + THE JACK SNIPE + GALLINAGO GALLAINULA + + 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. + +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 flew off in the same way as before, and dropped into +the little stream from which I had first started it. + +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 _la +Sourde_, '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. + +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. + + + THE SANDERLING + CALIDRIS ARENARIA + + _Winter_--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. _Summer_--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. + _Young in autumn_--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. + +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 _wick!_ 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. + +Like many other shore birds, they have an extensive geographical +range, and are found in all latitudes, both in the eastern and western +hemispheres. + + + THE CURLEW SANDPIPER + TRINGA SUBARQUATA + + Bill curved downwards, much longer than the head. + _Winter_--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. _Summer_--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. + +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. + + + THE KNOT + TRINGA CANAsTUS + + 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. _Winter_--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. _Summer_--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 _young birds_ is mottled with reddish brown, grey, + black, and dull white; legs dull green. Length ten inches. Eggs + unknown. + +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, 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.' + +Flocks of young make their appearance early in August, the adults +arriving a little later. + + + [Illustration: + + Dunlin [F] [M] + + Little Stint. + + Temminck's Stint [M] + + Cream-coloured Courser. + + [_face p. 262._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Green Sandpiper [F] + + Purple Sandpiper [M] + + Common Sandpiper [F] + + Curlew Sandpiper.] + + + THE DUNLIN + TRINGA ALPINA + + 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. _Winter_--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. _Summer_--most of + the upper plumage black, edged with rust-red; belly and abdomen + black. _Young birds_ 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. + +The name _variabilis_, 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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.'[49] + +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. + + [49] Macgillivray. + + + PURPLE SANDPIPER + TRINGA STRIATA + + 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. + +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.' + +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. + + + TEMMINCK'S STINT + TRINGA TEMMINCKI + + Bill slightly bent down at the tip, much shorter than the head; + tail graduated. _Winter_--upper plumage brown and dusky; breast + reddish; lower plumage and outer tail-feathers white; bill and + feet brown. _Summer_--All the upper feathers black, bordered + with rust-red; breast reddish ash, streaked with black. Length + five and a half inches. Eggs unknown. + +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. + + + LITTLE STINT + TRINGA MINUTA + + 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. + +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. + + + THE RUFF AND REEVE + MACHA%TES PUGNAX + + _Male in spring_--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. _Male in winter_--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. + _Female_, '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. _In both sexes_--tail rounded, the two + middle feathers barred; the three lateral feathers uniform in + colour. Eggs olive, blotched and spotted with brown. + +Both the systematic names of this bird are descriptive of its +quarrelsome propensities: _machetes_ is Greek for 'a warrior', +_pugnax_ 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + GREEN SANDPIPER + TA"TANUS A"CHROPUS + + 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. + +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. + + + THE WOOD SANDPIPER + TA"TANUS GLARA%OLA + + _Winter_--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. _Summer_--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. + +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. + + + THE COMMON SANDPIPER + TA"TANUS HYPOLEUCUS + + 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. + +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 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 larvA| and pupA| 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. + +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 _Zoologist_ 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. + +The Sandpiper is found in all parts of Europe and Asia, but not in +America. + + + THE COMMON REDSHANK + TA"TANUS CALIDRIS + + _Winter_--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. _Summer_--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. + +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 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 _Naturalist_, 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. + +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 _SuA|da fruticosa_, Shrubby Sea Blite, of botanists. It lays four +eggs, which are considered delicate eating. + + + [Illustration: + + Redshank [M] + + Greenshank. + + Black-tailed Godwit [F] + + Ruff & Reeve. + + [_face p. 270._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Sandwich Tern. + + Black Tern. + + Arctic Tern. + + Roseate Tern.] + + + THE GREENSHANK + TA"TANUS CANESCENS + + Bill strong, compressed at the base, slightly curved upwards. + _Winter_--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. + _Summer--_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. + +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 through pools +of shallow water, and, if so minded, hesitates neither to swim nor to +dive. + +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. + + + THE BAR-TAILED GODWIT + LIMA"SA LAPPONICA + + Beak slightly curved upwards; middle claw short, without + serratures. _Winter_-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. _Summer_--all the plumage deeply tinged with red. + _Young birds_ have the throat and breast brownish white, + streaked with dusky, and a few dusky lines on the flanks. + Length sixteen inches. Eggs unknown. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + + + THE BLACK-TAILED GODWIT + LIMA"SA BELGICA + + 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. _Summer_--much of the + plumage tinged with red. Length seventeen and a half inches. + Eggs deep olive, spotted with light brown. + +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 ScolopacidA|. 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. + + + THE COMMON CURLEW + NUMENIUS ARQUATA + + 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. + +Dwellers by the sea-side--especially where the tide retires to a great +distance leaving a wide expanse of muddy sand, or on the 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 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. + +The Curlew is found on the sea-coast over the whole of Europe and +Asia, and along the northern coast of Africa. + +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. + + + THE WHIMBREL + NUMENIUS PHAOPUS + + 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. + +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. + + + + + ORDER GAVIA + + + FAMILY LARIDA + + + SUB-FAMILY STERNINA + + THE BLACK TERN + HYDROCHELIDON NIGRA + + 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 _winter_, the lore, throat and + breast are white. Length ten and a quarter inches. Eggs dark + olive-brown, blotched and spotted with black. + +The Black Tern is a common bird in most temperate countries 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.[50] 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. + + [50] The Rev. R. Lubbock states in his _Fauna of Norfolk_, + 1845, that it has ceased to breed regularly in Norfolk, + but that eggs had been recently obtained at Crowland Wash + in Lincolnshire. + + + THE SANDWICH TERN + STERNA CANTIACA + + 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. _Young + birds_--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. + +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 abundant. A +large colony inhabits the Farne Islands. They breed as far north as +the Findhorn. Upon this coast it is called _par excellence_ '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.' + + + THE ROSEATE TERN + STERNA DOUGALLI + + 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. + +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.' + +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 _crake_, +uttered in a hoarse grating key.' They rarely nest in Great Britain. + + + THE ARCTIC TERN + STERNA MACRURA + + 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. + +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. + + + [Illustration: + + Lesser Tern [M] + + Common Tern + + Turnstone [M] _imm._ + + Oyster Catcher [F] + + [_face p. 278_.]] + + + [Illustration: + + Glaucous Gull [F] + + The Common Gull. + + Lesser Black-backed Gull. + + Greater Black-backed Gull [M]] + + + THE COMMON TERN + STERNA FLUVIATILIS + + 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. _Young birds_ + 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. + +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. + +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. + + + THE LITTLE (OR LESSER) TERN + STERNA MINUTA + + 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. _Young birds_ 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. + +On the sandy and marshy shores of Norfolk, the Lesser Tern is a bird +of common occurrence in summer, either single, or in small 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[51] 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 +aA"rial 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. + +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 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. + +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. + + [51] 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. + + + SUB-FAMILY LARINA + + THE LITTLE GULL + LARUS MINUTUS + + _Summer_--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. _Winter_--forehead, front and sides of the neck + white; nape and cheeks white, streaked with greyish black. + Length eleven inches. + +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. + + + THE BROWN-HEADED GULL + LARUS RIDIBUNDUS + + _Summer_--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 _winter_ the head + and neck are white; bill and feet bright vermilion. In _young + birds_ 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. + +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 resembles a laugh. The +systematic name, _ridibundus_, which has the same meaning, is by +general consent confined to this. The reader, therefore, must bear in +mind that though the term _ridibundus_ will bear no translation but +'laughing', the name of the Laughing Gull is _Larus atricapilla_, +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. + +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. + +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 AL15. In _The +Catalogue of Norfolk and Suffolk Birds_, 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. + +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. + + + THE COMMON GULL + LARUS CANUS + + In _spring_ the head and neck of this species are white and the + mantle is a pale grey, a little darker in _summer_, 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 _summer_, darker in _winter_. In _winter_ + the head and neck are streaked and spotted with ash-brown. + Length eighteen inches. + +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. + +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 Gull +is mottled with brown, whereas it is greyish-white in the Black-headed +species. + +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 _almost +entirely swallowed_. 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. + + + THE HERRING GULL + LARUS ARGENTATUS + + 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 _young birds_ 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. + +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. + +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. + + + THE LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL + LARUS FUSCUS + + Wings reaching two inches beyond the tail; head and neck white, + streaked (in _winter_) 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 _young + birds_ 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. + +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 +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. + + + THE GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL + LARUS MARANUS + + 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. + +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.' + +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. + + + GLAUCOUS GULL, OR BURGOMASTER + LARUS GLAUCUS + + General plumage white; back and wings bluish grey; tail and + terminal portion of the quills white; bill strong, yellow; legs + livid flesh-colour. _Young_ 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. + +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.[52] +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. + +Mr. St. John gives the name of Wagel to the Great Grey Gull. + + [52] A specimen shot in Norfolk was found to contain a + full-grown Golden Plover entire. + + + THE KITTIWAKE GULL + RISSA TRIDACTYLA + + Hind toe represented by a small knob without a claw. _Summer + plumage_--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 _winter_, the + whole of the head and neck is white. _Young birds_ 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. + +The Kittiwake Gull takes its name from the cry with which in the +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. + + + [Illustration: + + Herring Gull. + + Little Gull, _imm._ + + Kittiwake [M] + + Brown-headed Gull [F] + + [_face p. 289._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Twist Tailed or Pomatorhine Skua + + Richardson's Skua + + Great Shearwater + + Great Skua] + + + SUB-FAMILY STERCORARIINA (ROBBER GULLS) + + THE GREAT SKUA + STERCORARIUS CATARRHACTES + + 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. + +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[53] 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." + +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 practices 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 _Memoirs of the +Wernerian Society_, 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. + + [53] _Ornithologist's Guide to Orkney and Shetland_, p. 112. + + + TWIST-TAILED OR POMATORHINE SKUA + STERCORARIUS POMATORHINUS + + 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. _Young + birds_--upper plumage dusky brown, mottled with reddish yellow; + under, yellowish white, thickly set with brown spots and bars. + Eggs ash-green, spotted with dusky. + +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 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."[54] + + [54] _Zoologist_, vol. iii. p. 880. + + + RICHARDSON'S SKUA + STERCORARIUS CREPIDATUS + + 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. + +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 _Wild Sports of the Highlands_: "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. + +"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." + + + [Illustration: + + Black Guillemot [M] [F] + + Puffin [M] + + Guillemot [F] + + Razor-bill [M] + + [_face p. 290._]] + + + [Illustration: + + Red-throated Diver [F] Winter and [M] Summer. + + Black-throated Diver _imm._ and [M] + + Little Auk [F] + + Great Northern Diver [M]] + + + + + ORDER PYGOPODES + + + FAMILY ALCIDA + + THE RAZOR-BILL + ALCA TORDA + + 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 _summer_ 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. + +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 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. + +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. + +The 'Auk' of Arctic voyagers is this bird. The Razor-bill is one of +the best known of the Auk family, or AlcidA|, although less plentiful +than the Guillemot or the Puffin. + + + THE COMMON GUILLEMOT + AsRIA TRA"ILE + + 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. + +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, +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 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. + +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 _Voyage +round the Coasts of Scotland_, says that the natives of St. Kilda +prefer the eggs of these, and other sea-fowl, 'when _sour_; 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.'[55] Great quantities are used in the neighbourhood of +Flamborough Head early in the nesting season. + + [55] Vol. ii. p. 45. + + + THE BLACK GUILLEMOT + AsRIA GRYLLE + + 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. + + 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. + + + THE LITTLE AUK + MA%RGULUS ALLE + + Head and upper parts black; two bands across the wings; a spot + above the eye and all the under parts white. In _summer_ the + throat and front of the neck are also black. Length about seven + inches. Eggs uniform pale blue. + +The Little Auk is essentially a northern sea-bird, coming to us in +winter, and is described by Arctic voyagers under the name of 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. + + + THE PUFFIN + FRATERCULA ARCTICA + + 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. + +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 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. _Lunde_ means Puffin, and _ey_ Island, +the name being given by the old Scandinavian rovers who settled there. + +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."[56] 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 _swim_ +through the sound at this season, but always _fly_ 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. + +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 _Zoologist_ 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. + +Other names by which the Puffin is known are Sea Parrot, Coulterneb, +Mullet, Bottlenose; and, in Scotland, Ailsa Parrot, Tammie-Norie, and +Tammas. + + [56] Wilson's _Voyage round the Coast of Scotland_. + + + FAMILY COLYMBIDA + + THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER + COLYMBUS GLACIALIS + + 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. _Young_ 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. + +The name Divers is, on the sea-coast, loosely applied to a _tribe_ 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 COLYMBUS, 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.[57] 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 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. + +The adult male, which is a very handsome bird, is of rare occurrence, +most of those which visit our shores being young birds. + +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. + + [57] 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. + + + THE BLACK-THROATED DIVER + COLYMBUS ARCTICUS + + 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. _Young birds_ 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. + +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. + + + [Illustration: + + Red Necked Grebe. + + Black Necked or Eared Grebe. + + Slavonian Grebe. + + Great Crested Grebe [F] Winter [M] Summer + + [_face p. 298_.]] + + [Illustration: + + Manx Shearwater [M] + + Stormy Petrel + + Fork Tailed Petrel [F] + + Fulmar] + + + THE RED-THROATED DIVER + COLYMBUS SEPTENTRIONALIS + + 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. _Young birds_--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. + +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'. + +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 _Zoologist_[58] 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. +Another writer in the same magazine[59] says that he saw a large +number in Norway during the breeding season, but not one without the +dark red throat. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + [58] Vol. iii. p. 974. + + [59] _Zoologist_, vol. ix. p. 3084. + + + FAMILY PODICIPEDIDA + + THE GREAT CRESTED GREBE + PA"DICEPS CRISTATUS + + 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. + _Female_--crest and ruff less conspicuous, colours generally + less bright. _Young birds_ have neither crest nor ruff. Length + twenty-one inches. Eggs white. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +The name Loon is supposed to be a corruption of the Finnish +designation, Leomme or Lem, 'lame', given to several of the +_ColymbidA|_ on account of the awkwardness with which they advance on +land. + +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. + + + RED-NECKED GREBE + PA"DICIPES GRISEAGENA + + 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. _Young birds_ 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. + +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 _GrA(C)be Jou-gris_. It is a native 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. + + + SLAVONIAN GREBE + PA"DICIPES AURITUS + + 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. _Young_--crest and ruff wanting; upper plumage + and flanks dusky ash, under parts white; irides white, + surrounded by red. Eggs dirty white. + +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. + + + THE BLACK-NECKED OR EARED GREBE + PA"DICIPES NIGRICOLLIS + + 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. + +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. + + + THE LITTLE GREBE, OR DABCHICK + PA"DICIPES FLUVIATILIS + + 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. _Young birds_ 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. + +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. + +Rambling by the side of a sluggish river, the sides of which are lined +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: + + A di-dapper peering through a wave, + Who, being looked on, ducks as quickly in. + SHAKSPEARE. + +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 contained air only, +we could but conclude that our apparition had taken refuge in a hole +under the bank. + +Early in spring, when Dabchicks leave the small streams and +watercourses 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. + + + + +ORDER TUBINARES + +FAMILY PROCELLARIIDA + + THE FULMAR PETREL + PROCELLARIA GLACIALIS + + Head, neck, under plumage, and tail, white; wings bluish ash, + the primaries brownish grey; beak, irides, and feet, yellow. + _Young of the year_ grey tinged with brown, mottled on the back + with deeper brown; bill and feet yellowish ash. Length nineteen + inches. Eggs white. + +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. + +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. 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + THE GREAT SHEARWATER + PUFFINUS MAJOR + + Bill two inches long; tail pointed; upper plumage dusky; under, + deep ash grey. Length eighteen inches. + +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. + + + THE MANX SHEARWATER + PUFFINUS ANGLORUM + + 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. + +That a bird whose generic name is _Puffinus_ should sometimes be +called a 'Puffin' is not surprising; and the reader who meets 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 _Fratercula Arctica_, 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 _skiddeu_ and _brew_. + +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[60] of Man, a +small island lying south of the Isle of Man. + +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. + +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. + +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). + +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 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. + + [60] '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'. + + + THE STORM-PETREL + PROCELLARIA PELAGICA + + General plumage like the last; tail even at the extremity; legs + moderate; membranes black. Length scarcely six inches. Eggs + white. + +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. + +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. + +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 Mediterranean, +and is not an uncommon visitor to our shores, especially during severe +weather. + +Its note is only heard during the season of incubation, when its +retreat is often betrayed by a low twittering. + +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. + + + THE FORK-TAILED PETREL + PROCELLARIA LEUCORRHOA + + General plumage like the last; tail forked; legs moderate; + membrane dusky Length seven and a quarter inches. Eggs white, + marked with small rusty spots. + +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. + + + + +GLOSSARY OF COMMON AND PROVINCIAL NAMES AND OF TECHNICAL TERMS. + + [M]: male [F]: female + + Aberdeen Sandpiper: a name for the Knot + Aberdevine: a name for the Siskin + Accentor, Hedge: Sparrow, Chanter or Warbler + Alk: the Razor-bill + Allamotte: the Petrel + Allan: the Skua + Alp: a name for the Bullfinch + Annet: the Kittiwake Gull + Arctic-bird: the Skua + Arctic Skua + " Tern + Assilag: the Petrel + Awl: the Woodpecker + + Badock: the Skua + Bankjug: the Chiff-chaff and Willow Warbler + Bargander: the Sheldrake + Barley-bird: the Siskin and Wryneck + Barred or Lesser-spotted Woodpecker + Bar-tailed Godwit + Basal: at or near the base + Beam-bird: the Spotted Flycatcher + Bean Crake: the Land-Rail + " Goose + Bearded Reedling + Bee-bird: a name sometimes given to the Flycatcher; + sometimes to the Willow Warbler + " -eater + " -hawk: the Honey Buzzard + Beech-finch: the Chaffinch + Bergander: the Sheldrake + Bernicle Goose + Billy: the Hedge Sparrow + Billy-whitethroat: the Whitethroat + Bittern + Black-a-top: the Stonechat + Black-billed Auk: a name given to the Razor-bill in the winter plumage + of the first year + Blackcap: a name sometimes given to the Black-headed Gull, the Marsh + Tit, and Coal Tit + Black Duck: the Scoter + Blacky-top: the Stonechat + Bloodulf: the Bullfinch + Blind Dorbie: the Purple Sandpiper + Blue-backed Falcon: the Peregrine Falcon + " -bird: the Fieldfare + " -cap: the Blue Tit + " Darr: the Black Tern + " Hawk: the Peregrine Falcon + " -headed Wagtail: the grey-headed Wagtail + " -tailed Bee-eater + " Tit: the Tom Tit, the Blue-cap + " -winged Shoveler: the Shoveler + Boatswain: the Skua + Brake-hopper: the Grasshopper Warbler + Brambling, or Bramble-finch + Bran: the Crow + Brancher: the Goldfinch in its first year + Brantail: the Redstart + Brent Goose + Broad-bill: the Shoveler + Bronzie: the Cormorant + Brook Ouzel: a name given to the Dipper, and incorrectly to the + Water-Rail + Brown Owl, or Tawny Owl + " -Leader Gull: Black-headed Gull, Red-headed Gull or Hooded Gull + " Starling: a name sometimes given to the young of the Starling + " Tern: the Tern in its immature plumage + Budfinch: the Bullfinch + Bullfinch, Common + " Pine, or Pine Grosbeak + Bunting, Lapland, or Finch + Burgomaster: the Glaucous Gull + Burrow Duck: the Sheldrake + Bustard, Great + + Cackareer: the Kittiwake Gull + Caddaw: the Jackdaw + Calloo: the Long-tailed Duck + Cargoose: the Crested Grebe + Carinate: in the form of a keel + Carrion Crow + Car-swallow: the Black Tern + Cere: the wax-like membrane which covers the base of the bill in the + Falconidae + Chaldrick or Chalder: the Oyster-catcher + Chanchider: the Spotted Flycatcher + Channel Goose: the Gannet + Chanter, Hedge: Sparrow, Accentor or Warbler + Charlie Miftie: the Wheatear + Chank, and Chank-daw: the Chough + Chepster: the Starling + Cherry-finch: the Hawfinch + Cherry-sucker, Cherry-chopper, and Cherry-Snipe: the Spotted + Flycatcher. + Chevy Lin: the Redpoll + Chickell: the Wheatear + Chickstone: the Stonechat + Chippet Linnet: the Redpoll + Church Owl: the White Owl + Churn Owl: the Nightjar + Churr: the Dunlin + Cirl Bunting + Clack Goose, Clakes: the Bernicle Goose + Clatter Goose: the Brent Goose + Clee: the Red Shank + Cleff: the Tern + Clinker: the Avocet + Cloven-footed Gull: the Tern + Coal-and-candle-light: the Long-tailed Duck + Coal Goose: the Cormorant + Coaly Hood: the Bullfinch or Coal Mouse + Cob: the male Swan + Cob: the Great Black-backed Gull + Cobble: the Great Northern Diver + Cobbler's Awl: the Avocet + Cobweb: the Spotted Flycatcher + Cockandy: the Puffin + Cock-winder: the Wigeon + Coddy Moddy: the common Gull in its first year's plumage + Coldfinch: the Pied Flycatcher + Colk: the King Duck + Colin: a name in New Spain for Quail + Compressed: flattened vertically + Coot-foot: the Phalarope + Copperfinch: the Chaffinch + Corbie: the Raven + Corndrake: the Land-Rail + Cornish Crow, or Daw: the Chough + Cornwall Kae: the Chough + Coulterneb: the Puffin + Crake, Little + " Spotted + Crank bird: the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker + Craw: part of the stomach in birds + Cream-coloured Plover: Swiftfoot or Courser + Courser Gull: the Glaucous Gull + Creeper, Creep-tree, or Tree-creeper. These names are in some places + given to the Nuthatch + Crested Cormorant: the Shag + " Heron, Common or Grey + Cricket-bird: the Grasshopper Warbler + Cricket Teal: the Garganey + Crooked Bill: the Avocet + Crossbill: Common + Cuckoo's Leader or Mate: the Wryneck + Cuhnen: the ridge of the upper mandible + Cultrate: in the form of a billhook or pruning knife + Curlew-Jack: the Whimbrel + Curwillet: the Sanderling + Cushat: the Ring Dove + Cutty Wren: the Common Wren + Cygnet: the young Swan + + Daker Hen: the Land-Rail + Danish Crow: the Hooded Crow + Darr, Blue: the Black Tern + Dertrum + Depressed: flattened horizontally + Deviling: the Swift + Dick Dunnock: the Hedge Sparrow + Dippearl: the Tern + Dirty Allen: the Skua + Dishwater: the Wagtail + Diving Pigeon: the Guillemot + Dobbler and Dobchick: the Lesser Grebe + Door Hawk and Dorr Hawk: the Nightjar. + Dorbie: the Dunlin + Doucker: a popular name for a Grebe or Diver + Doveky: the Black Guillemot + Dove-coloured Falcon: the Peregrine Falcon + Draine: the Missel Thrush + Duck Hawk: the Marsh Harrier + Ducker: a popular name for a Grebe or Diver + Dulwilly: the Ring Plover + Dunkir and Dunair: the Pochard + Dun Crow: the Hooded Crow + Dundiver: the female and young of the Merganser + Dung Hunter: the Skua + Dunlin + Dunnock: the Hedge Sparrow + + Earl Duck: the Red-breasted Merganser + Easterling: the Smew + Ebb: the Bunting + Ecorcheur: the Shrike + Egret: a tuft of long narrow feathers found on the lower part of + the neck of the Herons. The name is also sometimes extended to + the two tufts of feathers, resembling ears or horns, in some of + the Owls + Elk: the Hooper Swan + Emmer or Ember Goose: the Great Northern Diver + Emmet Hunter: the Wryneck + Erne: the Eagle + + Falk or Falc: the Razor-bill + Faller: the Hen Harrier + Fallow Chat, Fallow Finch, Fallow Lunch, or Fallow Smich: the Wheatear + Fanny Redtail: the Redstart + Fauvette: the Garden Warbler, also applied to others of the Warblers. + Feather-poke: i. e. "sack of feathers" is the Chiff-chaff, so called + from the materials and form of the nest + Felt and Feltyfare: the Fieldfare + Fiddler: the Common Sandpiper + Field Duck: the Little Bustard + Field Lark: the Skylark + Fiery Linnet: the Common Linnet + Finch, or Lapland Bunting + Fire-crested Regulus or Wren + Fire-tail: the Redstart + Flapper: a young Duck + Flopwing: the Lapwing + Flusher: the Butcher-bird + Foot: The foot of a bird consists of four, never less than three, + toes, with their claws, and the joint next above, called the + "tarsus" + French Linnet: the Redpoll + " Magpie: the Red-backed Shrike + " Pie: the Great Spotted Woodpecker. + + Gaggle: a flight of Wild Geese + Gairfowl: the Auk and the Razor-bill + Gallinule: the Moor Hen; this name is sometimes applied to the Crakes + Gallwell Drake: the Land Drake + Gannet: the Skua + Garden Ouzel: the Blackbird + " Warbler + Gardenian Heron: the young of the Night Heron + Gaunt: the Crested Grebe + Gidd: the Jack Snipe + Gillhowter: the White Owl + Gladdy: the Yellow Hammer + Glaucous Gull + Glead, Gled, or Glade: the Kite + Goat Owl and Goatsucker: the Nightjar + Goldeneye + Golden-crested Regulus, Warbler or Wren + " Oriole or Thrush + " Plover + Gorcock: the Moor Cock + Gorsehatch: the Wheatear + Gorse-duck: the Corn Crake + Gorse Linnet: the Common Linnet + Goud Spink: the Goldfinch + Gouldring: the Yellow Hammer + Gourder: the Petrel + Gouk: the Cuckoo + Graduated: a term applied to the tail of a bird when the middle + feathers are longest and the outer ones are shorter in gradation + Greenwich Sandpiper: the Ruff + Grey: the Gadwall + Grey-bird: the Thrush + Grey-Duck: the Gadwall + " Coot-footed Tringa: the Phalarope + " Crow: the Hooded Crow + " Falcon: the Hen Harrier + " Heron: common or Crested Heron + " Lapwing, or Sandpiper: the Grey Plover + " Linnet: the Common Linnet + " Owl: the White Owl + " Partridge: the Common Partridge + " Shrike, Lesser: the Ash-coloured Shrike + " Skit: the Water-Rail + " -lag: Fen, Stubble, or Wild Goose + Grisette: the Whitethroat + Ground Lark: the Pipit and Bunting + " Wren: the Willow Warbler + Guldenhead: the Puffin + Gull-tormentor: the Skua + Gunner: the Great Northern Diver + Gurfel: the Razor-bill + Gustarda: the Bustard + + Hackbolt: the Greater Shearwater + Hadji: the Swift + Hagdown: the Greater Shearwater + Haggard: the Peregrine Falcon + Hagister: the Magpie + Half-Curlew: the Whimbrel and Godwit + " -Duck: the Wigeon, Pochard, etc. + " -Snipe: the Jack Snipe + Harle: the Red-breasted Merganser + Harpy: the Marsh Harrier + Hawk Owl: this name is sometimes given to the Short-eared Owl + Hay-bird, or Hay-Tit: the Willow Warbler + Hay-Jack: the Garden Warbler and Whitethroat + Heather Bleater: the Snipe + Heath Throstle: the Ring Ouzel + Hebridal Sandpiper: the Turnstone + Heckimal: the Blue Tit + Hedge-Chicken: the Wheatear + " -Jug, the Long-tailed Tit + Hegrilskip: the Heron + Helegug: the Puffin + Hellejay: the Razor-bill + Hern, Hernshaw, Heronshaw: the Heron + Heronsewgh: the Heron + Herring-bar: perhaps a corruption of Herring-bird, Diver + Herring Gant: the Gannet + " Gull + Hew-hole: the Woodpecker + Hickwall: the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker + High-hoo: the Woodpecker + Hiogga: the Razor-bill + Hissing Owl: the White Owl + Hoarse Gowk: the Snipe + Hoddy: the Crow + Holm Cock and Holm Screech: the Mistle Thrush + Hoop: the Bullfinch + Hornfinch: the Petrel + Horniwinks: the Lapwing + Horra: the Brent Goose + Horsefinch: the Chaffinch + Horsmatch: the Red-backed Shrike, the Wheatear and Whinchat + Howlet: the Brown Owl + Howster: the Knot + Huckmuck: the Long-tailed Tit + Hullat: the Owl + + Icebird: the Little Auk + Imber, or Great Northern Diver + Isle of Wight Parson: the Cormorant + Iris (_plural_, Irides): the coloured circle of the eye surrounding + the pupil + Isaac: the Hedge Sparrow + Ivy Owl: the Barn Owl + + Jack Curlew: the Whimbrel + Jackdaw + Jack-nicker: the Goldfinch + " Saw: the Goosander + " Snipe + Jar Owl: the Night Owl + Jay, Jay Pie, or Jay Pyet + Jenny: the Wren + Jid or Judcock: the Jack Snipe + + Kadder and Kae: the Jackdaw + Kamtschatka Tern: the Black Tern + Katabella: the Hen Harrier + Kate: the Hawfinch + Katogle: the Eagle Owl + Kiddaw: the Guillemot + King-Harry: the Goldfinch + Kip: the Tern + Kirktullock: the Shoveler + Kirmew and Kirmow: the Tern + Knee: a name often given, though inaccurately, to the junction of + the tarsus and tibia of a bird. + Knot + + Lamhi or Lavy: the Guillemot + Land Curlew: the Great Plover + Lary: the Guillemot + Laughing Goose: the White-fronted Goose + Lavrock: the Skylark + Leg-bird: the Sedge Warbler + Lesser wing-coverts: the feathers which overlie the greater + wing-coverts, or those next the quills + Ling-bird: the Meadow Pipit + Linlet: a young Linnet + Lobefoot: the Phalarope + Long-tongue: the Wryneck + Loom or Loon: the Diver + Lore: the space between the beak and the eye + Lough Diver: the Smew + Lum, Lungy: the Guillemot + Lumme: the Diver + Lyre: the Manx Shearwater + + Madge Howlet: the White Owl + Maglowan: a name for the Divers + Magpie Diver: the Smew + Malduck, or Malmarsh: the Fulmar + Mallemoke: the Fulmar + Mandibles: upper and under, the two portions of a bird's bill + Man-of-war bird: the Skua + Manx Shearwater: the Manx Petrel + Marketjew Crow: the Chough + Marrot: the Guillemot and Razor-bill + May-bird, or Mayfowl: the Whimbrel + Mavis: the Thrush + Meadow Crake, or Drake: the Gallinule + " Pipit, Titlark or Titling + Meggy-cut-throat: the Whitethroat + Merlie: the Blackbird + Mew or Mow: a Gull + Millithrum: the Long-tailed Tit + Minute Gallinule: the Little Crake + " Merganser: the young Smew + " Tringa: the Little Stint + Mire Snipe: the Snipe + Mistle Thrush, or Mistletoe Thrush + Mitty: the Petrel + Mock-bird: the Sedge Warbler + " Nightingale: the Blackcap and Garden Warbler + Monk: the Bullfinch + Moor Blackbird, or Ouzel: the Ring Ouzel + " Hen, or Water Hen + Morrot: the Guillemot + Moss-cheeper: the Meadow Pipit + Mother Carey's Chickens: the Petrels + Mountain Linnet: the Twite + " Ouzel: the Ring Ouzel + Mouse Hawk or Owl: the Hawk Owl + Mow: a Gull + Mud-plover: the Grey Plover + Muggy: the Whitethroat + Mullet: the Puffin + Mum-ruffin: the Long-tailed Tit + Murdering-bird: the Butcher-bird + + Nape: the upper part of the neck behind + Neck-a-pecker and Nickle: the Woodpecker + Night-crow, or Night-hawk: the Nightjar + " Heron + Nope: the Bullfinch + Norfolk Plover: the Great Plover + Norie: the Cormorant + Northern Crow: the Hooded Crow + Norway Lark: the Snow Bunting + Nun: the Blue Tit + + Oke: the Auk + Olive: the Oyster-catcher + Olive-tufted Duck: the Goldeneye + Operculum: a lid or covering + Orbit: the skin that surrounds the eye, and in some birds is + destitute of feathers + Ouzel, Water, or Dipper + Oven-bird: the Chiff-Chaff, Willow Warbler, and Wood Warbler + Owl, Long-eared or Horned + " Short-eared or Little-horned + " Tawny or Brown + + Padge and Padge Owl: the Barn Owl + Palmipedes: Web-footed Birds + Pandle-whew: the Wigeon + Parasitic Gull: the Skua + Parrot, Ailsa: the Puffin + " Sea: the Puffin + Parson Mew: the Black-backed Gull + Passerine: belonging to the order Passeres + " Warbler: the Garden Warbler + Pea-finch: the Chaffinch + Pearl: the Tern + Pease Crow: the Tern + Peck: the Bar-tailed Godwit + Pectinated: cut like a comb + Peese-weep: the Peewit, also sometimes given to the Greenfinch + Peggy: the Wren, Whitethroat and the Garden Warbler + Peggy cut-throat: the Whitethroat + Petrel: the name Petrel is in some places given to the Godwit + Pettychaps, Greater: the Garden Warbler + " Lesser: the Chiff-chaff + Philomel: the Nightingale + Pianet: the Magpie, and Oyster-catcher + Picarini: the Avocet + Pick-cheese: the Tom-Tit and Great Tit + Pickmire: the Black-headed Gull + Picktarney and Picket: the Tern + Pictarn: the Black-headed Gull + Pie, Sea: the Oyster-catcher + Pied Diver: the Smew + " Wagtail + " Wigeon: the Garganey, and Goldeye + Pie-finch: the Chaffinch + Pienet and Piet: the Magpie + Piet, Water: the Water Ouzel + Pigeon Hawk: the Sparrow Hawk + " Mow, Red-legged: the Black-headed Gull in its winter plumage + Pigmy Curloo, or Sandpiper + Pine Bullfinch, or Pine Grosbeak + Pink: the Chaffinch + Pink-footed Goose + Pinnock: a Tit + Pint: the Laughing Gull + Pintail Duck + Pirenet: the Sheldrake + Plover's Page: the Purple Sandpiper + Pocker, or Poker: the Pochard + Poke-Pudding: the Long-tailed Tit + Pomarine Skua, or Gull, Twist-tailed + Poor-willie: the Godwit + Pop: the Redwing + Pope: the Puffin + Popinjay: the Green Woodpecker + Port-Egmont Hen: the Common Skua + Post-bird: the Spotted Flycatcher + Primaries: the quills, usually ten, of the terminal joint of a + bird's wing. + Provence Furzel: the Dartford Warbler + Proud-tailor: the Goldfinch + Puckeridge: the Nightjar + Pudding-poke: the Long-tailed Tit + Puffin + Puffinet: the Black Guillemot + Purple Sandpiper + Purre: the Dunlin + Puttock: the Buzzard and Kite + Pywipe: the Lapwing + + Quaketail: the Wagtail + Que: the Night Heron + Queest or Quest: the Ring-dove + Queet: the Coot and Guillemot + Quills: the large feathers of the wing, called primary, or digital; + secondary or cubital; and tertiary, or humeral; according as they + arise from the terminal, middle, or inner joint + Quill-coverts: a row of feathers immediately covering the base of + the quills above and below, and therefore called upper and under + Quinck: the Goose + + Rafter-bird: the Spotted Flycatcher + Rail, Land + Rain-bird: the Green Woodpecker + " -Goose: the Red-throated Diver + Raptores: Birds of Prey + Rasores: Gallinaceous Birds + Rattle-wings: the Goldeneye + Redcap: the Goldfinch + Red Godwit: the Bar-tailed Godwit + " Grouse + Red-headed Linnet: the Common Linnet and Redpoll + " Pochard: the Common Pochard + " Wigeon: the Common Wigeon + " Hoop: the Bullfinch + " -legged Crow: the Chough + " " Godwit: the Spotted Sandpiper + " " Gull, the Black-headed Gull + " " Partridge + " -necked Coot-foot, Lobefoot, or Phalarope + Red Sandpiper: the Knot in its summer plumage + Redstart, Common + " Black + Red-throated Diver + Red-winged Blackbird: Maize-bird, or Starling + Reed-bird: the Sedge Warbler + Reed Bunting: the Black-headed Bunting + " Fauvette: the Sedge Warbler + " Pheasant: the Bearded Tit + " Sparrow: the Black-headed Bunting + " Warbler or Wren + Reeve: the female of the Ruff + Richardson's Skua + Richel Bird: the Lesser Tern + Rind-tabberer: the Green Woodpecker + Ring Blackbird: the Ring Ouzel + " Dove + Ringed Dotterel, or Plover + " Guillemot + " -necked or Great Northern Diver + Ring-tailed Eagle: the Golden Eagle in its second year's plumage + Rippock: the Tern + Rochie: the Little Auk + Rock-birds: the Auk, Puffin, and Guillemot + " Dove, Rocker Dove, Rockier Dove + " Hawk: the Merlin + " Lark, or Pipit + " Ouzel: the Ring Ouzel + " Sandpiper: the Purple Sandpiper + Rodge: the Gadwall + Rood Goose, or Brent Goose + Rose-coloured Ouzel, Pastor, Starling or Thrush + " Linnet: the Redpoll, and Common Linnet + Rotck, or Rotcke: the Little Auk + Rothermuck: the Bernicle Goose + Ruddock: the Redbreast, Robin + Ruddy Goose, or Sheldrake + " Plover: the Bar-tailed Godwit + Ruff (female Reeve) + Runner: the Water-Rail + " Stone: the Ringed Plover + + St. Cuthbert's Duck: the Elder + St. Martin's Snipe: the Jack Snipe + Sandcock: the Redshank + Sanderling + Sandsnipe: a Sandpiper + Sandwich Tern + Sandy-loo: the Ring Plover + " Poker: the Pochard + Sarcelle: the Long-tailed Duck + Saw-bill: the Merganser + Scale Drake: the Sheldrake + Scallop-toed Sandpiper: the Phalarope + Scammel: the Bar-tailed Godwit + Scapulars: the feathers which rise from the shoulders and cover + the sides of the back + Scar Crow: the Black Tern + Scarf and Scart: the Shag + Scaurie: the Herring Gull + Scooper: the Avocet + Scotch Goose: the Brent Goose + Scout: the Common Guillemot + Scurrit: the Lesser Tern + Scrabe: the Manx Shearwater + Scraber: the Black Guillemot + Scraye: the Tern + Screamer and Screecher: the Swift + Screech: the Missel-Thrush + " Martin: the Swift + " Owl: the Barn Owl + Scull: the Skua + Scuttock: the Guillemot + Sea Crow: the Cormorant, and Black-headed Gull + " Dotterel: the Turnstone + " Hen: the Guillemot + Sea Lark: the Rock Pipit and Ring Plover + " Mall, Mew, or Mow: the Gull + " Parrot: the Puffin + " Pheasant: the Pintail Duck + " Pie: the Oyster-catcher + " Sandpiper: the Purple Sandpiper + " Snipe: the Dunlin + " Swallow: the Tern + " Titling: the Rock Pipit + " Turtle-dove: the Guillemot and Rotche + " Wigeon: the Scaup + " Woodcock: the Godwit + Seaford Goose: the Brent Bernicle + Secondaries: the quill-feathers arising from the second joint of + the wing + Sedge-bird, Sedge Warbler, or Sedge Wren + Selninger Sandpiper: the Purple Sandpiper + Serrator: the Ivory Gull + Serrated: toothed like a saw + Serrula: the Red-breasted Merganser + Sheldapple: the Crossbill This name and "Shelly" are sometimes given + to the Chaffinch + Shepster: the Starling + Shilfa: the Chaffinch + Shoeing-horn: the Avocet + Shore-bird: the Sand Martin + " Pipit: the Rock Pipit + Short-eared or -horned Owl + Shrieker: the Black-tailed Godwit + Shrimp-catcher: the Lesser Tern + Shrite: the Missel Thrush + Silvery Gull: the Herring Gull + Skart: the Cormorant, and Shag + Skein: a flight of Geese + Skiddaw: the Guillemot + Skiddy Cock, Skilty, or Skit: the Water-Rail + Skite: the Yellow Hammer + Skitty: the Spotted Crake + Skrabe: the Black Guillemot + Snake-bird: the Wryneck + Snite: the Snipe + Snow-bird: the Ivory Gull + " -Bunting: Flake, or Fleck + Snuff-headed Wigeon: the Pochard + Solan, or Solent Goose: the Gannet + Solitary Snipe: the Great Snipe + Song Thrush: the Common Thrush + Sparlm-fowl: the female Merganser + Spectacle Duck: the Goldeneye + Speculum: the bright feathers which form a kind of disc of the wing + of the Ducks + Speckled-bellied Goose: the White-fronted Goose + " Diver: the young of the Great Northern Diver + Spider-diver: the Dabchick + Speney: the Petrel + Spink: the Chaffinch + Spoonbill, White + Spotted-necked Turtle Dove: the Turtle Dove + Sprat Loon, the young of the Great Northern Diver + " Mew: the Kittiwake Gull + Spurre: the Tern + Standgale, or Stannel: the Kestrel + Starling, Common, Stare, or Starenil + Staynil: the Starling + Steel Duck, Larger: the Goosander + " " Lesser: the Merganser + Stint: the Dunlin, or any similar bird, is often so called on the coast + Stock-Dove + Stonechacker or Stoneclink: Stonechat + Stone Curlew: the Great Plover + Stonegale: the Kestrel + Stone Hawk: the Merlin + " -smirch: the Wheatear + Stork, White + Storm Cock: the Missel Thrush + " Petrel, or Storm Finch + Straney: the Guillemot + Summer Snipe: the Sandpiper + " Teal: the Garganey + " Duck, or Sheldrake: the Long-tailed Duck + Sweet William: the Goldfinch + Swiftfoot: the Courser + Swimmer, Little: the Phalarope + Swine-pipe: the Redwing + + Tail-coverts: upper and under, feathers covering the basal portion + of the tail feathers above and below + Tailor, Proud: the Goldfinch + Tammie Cheekie and Tammie Norie: the Puffin + Tang-waup: the Whimbrel + Tangle-picker: the Turnstone + Taring, Tarrot: the Tern + Tarrock: the young of the Kittiwake Gull + Tarse: the male Falcon, a name used in falconry + Tarsus: the bone of a bird's foot next above the toes. In a domestic + fowl the tarsus is the portion between what is called the + "drumstick" and the toes; the shank + Tatler: a Sandpiper + Teal Cricket: the Garganey + Teaser: the Skua + Teewit: the Peewit + Tertiaries: the quills which spring from the third or inner joint + of a bird's wing + Thistlefinch: the Goldfinch + Three-toed Sand-grouse + Thrice-cock: the Mistle Thrush + Throstle: the Thrush + Tibia: the joint of a bird's leg next above the tarsus; + the "drumstick." + Tick: the Whinchat + Tidley: the Wren + Tinkershere, or Tinker's hue: the Guillemot + Tippet Grebe: the Crested Grebe + Titlark, and Titling: the Meadow Pipit + " Sea: the Rock Pipit + Tom Harry: the Skua + Tom Pudding: the Dabchick + Tommy Norie: the Puffin + Tomtit: the Blue Tit + Tonite: the Wood Warbler + Tony Hoop: the Bullfinch + Tope: the Wren + Tor-Ouzel: the Ring Ouzel + Towilly: the Sanderling + Tree Pipit, or Lark + " Sparrow + " Sheeler: the Tree Creeper + Tuchit: the Lapwing Plover + Tufted Duck + Tuliac: the Skua + Turkey-bird: the Wryneck + Turtle, Sea: the Guillemot and Ricke + Twink: the Chaffinch + Twit Lark: the Meadow Pipit + Tystie: the Black Guillemot + + Ulnia: the Tawny Owl + Under tail-coverts: the feathers which overlap the base of the + tail beneath + Under wing-coverts: the feathers which cover the wings beneath + Upper tail-coverts: the feathers which overlap the base of the + tail above + Upper wing-coverts: the feathers which overlap the base of the quills + Utick: the Whinchat + + Vare Wigeon: the Smew + Velvet Runner: the Water-Rail + + Wagell: the young of the Great Black-backed Gull + Wall Hick: the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker + Wash-dish and Washerwoman: the Pied Wagtail + Water-hen: the Moor-hen + " Crow, the Dipper + " Junket: the Common Sandpiper + " Ouzel or Dipper + " Sparrow: the Sedge Warbler + " Tie: the Wagtail + " Wagtail: the Pied Wagtail + Waxen Chatterer or Waxwing + Wease-alley: the Skua + Weasel Coot: the young Smew + " Duck: the Smew + Weet-weet: the Common Sandpiper + Wellplum: the Red-headed Pochard + Whaup: the Curlew + Whautie: the Whitethroat + Wheel-bird, or Wheeler: the Nightjar + Wheety-why: the Whitethroat + Winthrush: the Redwing + Whewer: the Wigeon + Whey-bird: the Whitethroat + Whilk: the Scoter + Whim: the Wigeon + Whimbrel or May-bird + Whin Linnet: the Common Linnet + Whistling Plover: the Golden Plover + Whistling Swan: the Whooper Swan + White Baker: the Spotted Flycatcher + White-breasted Blackbird: the Ring or Water Ouzel + " -faced Duck: the Pochard + " Tinch: the Chaffinch + " -headed Goosander: the Smew + " -headed Cormorant: the Common Cormorant + " -headed Harpy: the Moor Buzzard + " Nun: the Smew + " -spot Cormorant: the Common Cormorant + " -tail: the Wheatear + " -winged Black Duck: the Velvet Scoter + Whit-ile, i. e. Whittle: the Green Woodpecker + Whitterick: the Curlew + Whitty-beard: the Whitethroat + Whitwall and Witwall: the Green Woodpecker + Wierangel: the Ash-coloured Shrike + Willock and Willy: the Guillemot + Willow-biter: the Tomtit + Willywicket: the Common Sandpiper + Windhover and Windfanner: the Kestrel + Windle, Winnard, and Wind-thrush: the Redwing + Wing-coverts: several rows of feathers covering the basal part of + the quills above and below, and called the upper and under + wing-coverts; the feathers outside these are called the lesser + wing-coverts + Winglet: a process arising from near the base of the terminal joint + of the wing, answering to the thumb in the human hand + Winnel and Windle-Straw: the Whitethroat + Winter-bonnet: the Common Gull + " Duck: the Pintail Duck + " -Gull, or Mew: the Common Gull in its winter plumage + " Wagtail: the grey-headed Wagtail + Witch: the Petrel + Witwall: the Green Woodpecker + Woodcock Owl: the Short-eared Owl + " Sea: the Godwit + " -Snipe: the Great Snipe + Woodcracker: the Nuthatch + Wood Grouse: the Capercaillie + Woodpie: the Green Woodpecker + Wood Sandpiper + " Shrike Woodchat + Woodspite, Woodwall, and Woodwele: the Green Woodpecker + Wood Warbler, or Wren + Writing Lark: the Bunting, so called from the markings of the eggs + + Yaffil, Yaffle, Yaffler, Yappingale: the Green Woodpecker + Yardkeep and Yarwhip: the Bar-tailed Godwit + Yarwhelp: the Stone Plover and Godwit + Yeldrin and Yeldrock: the Yellow Hammer + Yellow legged Gull: the Lesser Black-backed Gull + " Sandpiper: the young of the Ruff + " Owl: the White Owl + " Plover: the Golden Plover + " Poll: the Wigeon + " Warbler: the Willow Warbler + " Yeldock, Yoit, Yoldrin and Yowley, the Yellow Hammer + Yelper: the Avocet + + + + +INDEX OF BIRDS AND OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + _The first numeral refers to the text, the second to the + illustration facing the page named._ + + Auk, Little: 294; p. 291 + Avocet: 252; p. 247 + + Bearded Reedling: 41; p. 46 + Bee-eater: 135; p. 129 + Bittern: 173; p. 231 + Blackbird: 7; p. 3 + Blackcap: 23; p. 17 + Brambling: 97; p. 85 + Bullfinch: 101; p. 97 + Bunting, Cirl: 108; p. 108 + " Corn (or common): 106; p. 108 + " Lapland: 111; p. 108 + " Reed: 109; p. 108 + " Snow: 110; p. 108 + " Yellow (Yellow Hammer): 107; p. 116 + Burgomaster: _see_ Gull, Glaucous + Bustard, Great: 236; p. 220 + Buzzard, Common: 150; p. 149 + " Honey: 151; p. 149 + " Rough-legged: 151; p. 149 + + Capercaillie: 212; p. 220 + Chaffinch: 95; p. 96 + Chiff-chaff: 30; p. 30 + Chough: 56; p. 59 + Coot: 233; p. 231 + Cormorant, Common: 165; p. 166 + " Green: 167; p. 166 + Courser, Cream-coloured: 240; p. 262 + Crake, Corn: 228; p. 230 + " Little: 230; p. 230 + " Spotted: 229; p. 230 + Crane: 234; p. 234 + Crested Tit: _see_ Titmice + Crossbill: 103; p. 138 + " Two barred (White-winged): 106; p. 138 + Crow, Carrion: 65; p. 68 + " Hooded: 67; p. 68 + Cuckoo: 137; p. 138 + Curlew, Common: 273; p. 246 + + Dabchick: _see_ Grebe, Little + Dipper: 51; p. 47 + Diver, Black-throated: 298; p. 291 + " Great Northern: 297; p. 291 + " Red-throated: 299; p. 291 + Dotterel: 244; p. 246 + Dove, Ring (Wood Pigeon): 203; p. 208 + " Rock: 208; p. 208 + " Stock: 207; p. 208 + " Turtle: 209; p. 208 + Duck, Black: _see_ Scoter, Black + " Eider: 197; p. 198 + " Goldeneye: 195; p. 191 + " Long-tailed: 196; p. 198 + " Pintail: 190; p. 190 + " Scaup: 194; p. 191 + " Tufted: 194; p. 191 + " Wild: 185; p. 179 + Dunlin: 262; p. 262 + + Eagle, Golden: 152; p. 152 + " Sea, or White-tailed: 153; p. 152 + " Spotted: 152; p. 152 + + Falcon: _see_ Peregrine Falcon + Fern Owl: _see_ Nightjar + Fieldfare: 5; p. 2 + Flycatcher, Pied: 79; p. 69 + " Spotted: 77; p. 69 + Fulmar: _see_ Petrel, Fulmar + + Gadwall: 189; p. 179 + Gallinule: _see_ Moor-hen + Gannet: 168; p. 167 + Garganey: 192; p. 190 + Godwit, Bar-tailed: 272; p. 247 + " Black-tailed: 273; p. 270 + Gold Crest: _see_ Wren + Goldfinch: 88; p. 96 + Goosander: 201; p. 199 + Goose, Bean: 178; p. 178 + " Bernicle: 181; p. 166 + " Brent: 180; p. 166 + " Grey Lag: 176; p. 178 + " Pink-footed: 179; p. 178 + " White-fronted: 177; p. 178 + Grebe: black-necked: 308; p. 298 + " Great-crested: 300; p. 298 + " Little: 302; p. 199 + " Red-necked: 301; p. 298 + " Slavonian: 302; p. 298 + Greenfinch: 86; p. 69 + Greenshank: 271; p. 270 + Grosbeak, Pine: 102 + Grouse, Black: 213; p. 209 + " Red: 215; p. 209 + Guillemot, Common: 292; p. 290 + " Black: 294; p. 290 + Gull, Black or Brown-headed: 281; p. 282 + " Common: 283; p. 279 + " Glaucous: 287; p. 279 + " Great Black-backed: 286; p. 279 + " Herring: 285; p. 282 + " Kittiwake: 287; p. 282 + " Lesser Black-backed: 285; p. 279 + " Little: 281; p. 282 + + Harrier, Hen: 148; p. 148 + " Marsh: 147; p. 153 + " Montagu's: 149; p. 148 + Hawfinch: 87; p. 96 + Hawk, Sparrow: 156; p. 153 + Heron, Common: 170; p. 234 + " Night: 173; p. 234 + Hobby: 161; p. 153 + Hoopoe: 136; p. 129 + + Jackdaw: 61; p. 68 + Jay: 58; p. 59 + + Kestrel: 163; p. 148 + Kingfisher: 132; p. 129 + Kite: 158; p. 149 + Kittiwake: _see_ Gull, Kittiwake + Knot: 261; p. 257 + + Lapwing: 247; p. 246 + Lark, Shore: 122; p. 117 + " Sky: 119; p. 117 + " Wood: 122; p. 117 + Linnet: 98; p. 85 + " Mountain: 100; p. 97 + + Magpie: 59; p. 59 + Martin, House: 83; p 84 + " Sand: 84; p. 84 + Merganser: 202; p. 199 + Merlin: 162; p. 153 + Moor-hen: 231; p. 231 + + Nettle-creeper: _see_ Whitethroat + Nightingale: 17; p. 16 + Nightjar: 125; p. 220 + Nutcracker: 57; p. 58 + Nuthatch: 44; p. 46 + + Oriole: 53; p. 47 + Osprey: 154; p. 152 + Owl, Barn or White: 142; p. 139 + " Long-eared: 144; p. 139 + " Short-eared: 145; p. 139 + " Tawny or Brown: 146; p. 139 + Ox-bird: _see_ Dunlin + Ox-eye: _see_ Great Tit + Oyster-catcher: 248; p. 278 + + Partridge, Common: 222; p. 209 + " Red-legged: 225; p. 209 + Penguin: _see_ Razor-bill + Peewit: _see_ Lapwing + Peregrine Falcon: 159; p. 148 + Petrel, Fork-tailed: 308; p. 299 + " Fulmar: 304; p. 299 + " Storm: 307; p. 299 + Phalarope, Grey: 253; p. 247 + " Red-necked: 253; p. 247 + Pheasant: 219; p. 220 + Pipit, Meadow: 117; p. 116 + " Rock: 118; p. 116 + " Tree: 116; p. 116 + Pigeon, Wood; 203; p. 208 + Plover, Cream-coloured: 240 + " Golden: 240; p. 235 + " Green: 247 + Grey: 242; p. 235 + " Kentish: 246; p. 235 + " Ringed: 244; p. 235 + " Stone or Great Norfolk: 239; p. 246 + Pochard (or Dunbird): 193; p. 191 + Pratincole: 238; p. 221 + Ptarmigan: 217; p. 221 + Puffin: 295; p. 290 + + Quail: 226; p. 221 + + Raven: 63; p. 59 + Razor-bill: 291; p. 290 + Redbreast: _see_ Robin + Redpoll, Lesser: 99; p. 97 + " Mealy: 99; p. 97 + Redstart: 14; p. 9 + " Black: 16; p. 9 + Redshank; 269; p. 270 + Redwing: 2; p. 2 + Reedling, Bearded: _see_ Bearded Reedling + Reeve, Female of Ruff: 266 + Ring Ouzel: 10; p. 3 + Ringtail: _see_ Hen Harrier + Robin: 16; p. 16 + Roller: 134; p. 129 + Rook; 68; p. 68 + Ruff and Reeve: 266; p. 270 + + Sanderling: 260; p. 257 + Sand-grouse: 211; p. 221 + Sandpiper, Common: 268; p. 263 + " Curlew: 261; p. 263 + " Green: 267; p. 263 + " Purple: 264; p. 263 + " Wood: 268; p. 257 + Scaup: 194; p. 191 + Scoter, Black (or Common): 199; p. 198 + " Surf: 201 + " Velvet: 200; p. 198 + Shag: 167; p. 166 + Shearwater, Great: 305; p. 283 + " Manx: 305; p. 299 + Sheldrake: 184; p. 179 + Shoveler: 189; p. 179 + Shrike, Great Grey: 73; p. 58 + " Lesser Grey: 74 + " Red-backed: 74; p. 58 + " Woodchat: 76; p. 58 + Siskin: 90; p. 96 + Skua, Great: 288; p. 283 + " Richardson's: 290; p. 283 + " Twist-tailed: 289; p. 283 + Smew: 202; p. 199 + Snipe, Common; 257; p. 256 + " Jack: 259; p. 256 + " Great or Solitary: 256; p. 256 + Sparrow: House: 92; p. 85 + " Hedge: 20; p. 16 + " Tree: 94; p. 85 + Spoonbill, White: 176; p. 231 + Starling: 54; p. 47 + " Rose-coloured: 56; p. 47 + Stint, Little: 265; p. 262 + " Temminck's: 265; p. 262 + Stonechat: 13; p. 9 + Stork: 175; p. 234 + " Black: 175 + Swallow: 80; p. 84 + " Night: _see_ Nightjar + Swan, Bewick's: 181; p. 167 + " Whooper or Wild: 180; p. 167 + Swift: 123; p. 84 + + Teal: 191; p. 190 + Tern, Arctic: 278; p. 271 + " Black: 275; p. 271 + " Common: 278; p. 278 + " Little: 279; p. 278 + " Roseate: 277; p. 271 + " Sandwich: 276; p. 271 + Thick-knee: _see_ Plover, Great + Thrush, Song: 1; p. 2 + " Mistle: 1; p. 2 + Titmouse, Great: 37; p. 34 + " Blue: 39; p. 35 + " Cole: 40; p. 35 + " Marsh: 41; p. 35 + " Bearded: 42 + " Crested: 42; p. 35 + " Long-tailed: 35; p. 34 + Titlark: _see_ Pipit, Meadow + Tree-creeper: 47; p. 46 + Turnstone: 250; p. 278 + Twite: _see_ Linnet, Mountain + + Wagtail, Blue-headed: 115; p. 109 + " Grey: 113; p. 109 + " Pied: 112; p. 109 + " White: 111; p. 109 + " Yellow: 115; p. 109 + Warbler: Dartford: 25; p. 31 + " Garden: 23; p. 17 + " Grasshopper: 28; p. 30 + " Marsh: 27; p. 31 + " Reed: 25; p. 31 + " Sedge: 27; p. 31 + " Willow: 31; p. 30 + " Wood: 32; p. 30 + Water-hen: _see_ Moor-hen + Water Rail: 230; p. 230 + Waxwing: 76; p. 69 + Wheatear: 10; p. 16 + Whimbrel: 275; p. 257 + Whinchat: 12; p. 9 + Whitethroat: 21; p. 17 + " Lesser: 22; p. 17 + Wigeon: 192; p. 190 + Windhover: _see_ Kestrel + Woodcock: 254; p. 256 + Woodpecker, Green: 129; p. 128 + " Great Spotted: 127; p. 128 + " Lesser Spotted: 129; p. 128 + Wren, Common: 48; p. 46 + " Gold-crested: 33; p. 34 + " Fire-crested: 35; p. 34 + Wryneck: 131; p. 128 + + Yellow Hammer: _see_ Bunting, Yellow + + + + + ------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Transcriber's Notes + + +The illustration captions have been rearranged so they are listed in +order of picture layout. + +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., seaside and sea-side) and with diacritical accents and not. For +each the most frequently used variation was usually adopted. Some quoted +passages have words that appear to be typos (ex., Dottrels 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. + +The PODICIPEDIDA section (Page 300) was missing the word FAMILY from the +title unlike every other listing. 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. + + +Typographical Corrections + + Page Correction + ==== ======================== + xx bind => hind + 2 cheery => cherry + 234 Neue => Nene + + +Emphasis Notation + + _Text_ - Italic + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's British Birds in their Haunts, by Rev. C. A. 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