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___MCZ LIBRARY _
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
CAMBRIDGE. MA USA

BRITISH BIRDS

WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY

A. THORBURN, F.ZS.

WITH EIGHTY PLATES IN COLOUR, SHOWING OVER
FOUR HUNDRED SPECIES

IN FOUR VOLUMES
VOL. I

LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.

39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
FOURTH AVENUE & 30TH STREET, NEW YORK
BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS

mOTS

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PREFACE

Tuts work has been designed mainly with the purpose of providing, as far as I
have been able, sketches in colour from life of our British birds, including not only
the resident species but also in most cases those which have more or less regularly
or even rarely visited us from abroad. Having for many years past been making
studies from life with this object in view, the present seemed a fitting time for
carrying out the project, and where it was not possible to obtain living birds for
the drawings, I have filled in the gaps from the best preserved specimens I could
procure.

I have endeavoured, where space permitted, to represent as many species as
possible of the same family, on the same plate, and drawn to the same scale.

This not only enables me to make the volumes of a convenient size but also
gives the reader an opportunity of comparing the various proportions and
divergence of colour in closely related birds.

Being more familiar with the brush than with the pen, it was at first my
intention that this book should be simply a sketch-book of British Birds, practically
without letterpress; but as the work proceeded, I was induced to write a short
description of each of the various species represented, giving rough notes, as far as
possible, of the distribution, nest and eggs, food, song, and habits of the different
birds.

This letterpress is admittedly and of necessity largely a compilation; for at the
present day it is not easy to supply much original matter, and I have inserted, in
addition to that which has already appeared in print, such notes as I have been
able to add from my own observations and those of my friends. For full and more
scientific accounts of the birds included in this book, I would refer my readers to
some of the standard literature on the subject, which has been freely used by me
in preparing the letterpress—viz. the fourth edition of Yarrell’s British Birds ;
Macgillivray’s British Birds; Lord Lilford’s Coloured Figures of the Birds of the
British Islands, and his Birds of Northamptonshire and Neighbourhood; Mtr.
Dresser'’s Birds of Europe, and his Manual of Palearctic Birds; Mr. J. G. Millais’
The Natural History of British Surface-feeding Ducks; British Diving Ducks ;
and The Natural History of British Game Birds; Howard Saunders’ Manual of
British Birds (2nd edition); Seebohm’s Bvitish Birds; also A Hana-list of

Vv

PREFACE

British Birds, by Hartert, Jourdain, Ticehurst, and Witherby ; Witherby’s Brztzsh
Birds, and others.

The task, otherwise so difficult, of noting the occurrence of rare stragglers, has
been made much easier by the accurate records of rare visitants in the two last
mentioned works.

I have adopted as far as possible the classification and nomenclature of Howard
Saunders’ Manual, making some slight alterations in the classification to suit the
requirements of the plates.

I owe a debt of gratitude to the Hon. W. Rothschild for kindly lending me
specimens from his collection, to complete the details in the plumage of various
birds, which I could not otherwise have obtained, and my thanks are also due to
Dr. Hartert for the trouble he has taken in selecting these.

My friend Mr. J. G. Millais has freely given me the run of his collection, and
has looked over the letterpress besides providing me with various notes, and I am
under much obligation to Mr. G. E. Lodge and many other friends, especially to
Mr. Robert J. Howard, without whose advice and assistance the book could not

have been produced in its present form.
A. T.

HascomMBE,
GopALMING, /uly 1914.

vi

CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

Order PASSERES.

PLATE 1. (Opposite page 2)

MISTLE-THRUSH. TZurdus visctvorus
Sonc-TurRusH. TZurdus musicus

Repwinc. TZurdus tliacus
FIELDFARE. TZurdus pilaris

BLACK-THROATED THRUSH. TZurdus atrigularis

PLATE 2z.

Dusky THRUSH.
Wuitr’s THRUSH. TZurdus varius .
SIBERIAN THRUSH. TZurdus stbiricus
BuackBirnD. TZurdus merula .
Rinc-OuzEL. TZurdus torquatus
Rocx-TurusH. Monticola saxatilts

(Opposite page 6)
Turdus dubius

PLATE 3. (Opposite page 12)
WHEATEAR. Saxicola enanthe
ISABELLINE WHEATEAR. Saxicola tsabellina
BLACK-THROATED WHEATEAR. Saxtcola occidentalis
BLACK-EARED WHEATEAR. Saxicola stapazina
DESERT WHEATEAR. Saxicola deserti
EASTERN PIED WHEATEAR. Saxicola pleschanka
Brack WHEATEAR. Saxicola leucura
StonEcHAT. /ratincola rubicola
EASTERN STONECHAT. /ratincola maura

PLATE 4. (Opposite page 20)
Wuincnat. Pratincola rubetra
Repstart. uticilla phenicurus
Brack RepstTaRT. usicilla titys .
Arctic BLUETHROAT. Cyanecula suecica
WHITE-SPOTTED BLUETHROAT. Cyanecula eelilika
Repsreast. Lrythacus rubecula
NIGHTINGALE. Daulias luscinia

PLATE 5. (Opposite page 26)
THRUSH-NIGHTINGALE. Daulias philomela
WHITETHROAT. Sylvia cinerea : :
LessER WHITETHROAT. Sy/via curruca .
ORPHEAN WARBLER. Sylvia orphea :
SARDINIAN WARBLER. Sylvia melanocephala .
BuiackcaP. Sylvia atricapilla .
GARDEN-WARBLER. Sylvia hortensis
BaRRED WARBLER. Sylvia nisoria

PLATE 6. (Opposite page 34)
SUBALPINE WARBLER. Sylvia subalpina .
DARTFORD WARBLER. Sylvia undata
YELLOW-BROWED WaRBLER. PAyJloscopus supcresiacias
PaLLas’s WILLOW-WARBLER. Phylloscopus proregulus

GREENISH WILLOW-WARBLER.
danus . : : :
Cuirrcuarr. Phylloscopus rufus . ‘ ; ;
WILLOW-WREN. fhylloscopus trochilus . ‘ :
Woop-WrEN. Phylloscopus sibilatrix .

PLATE 7. (Opposite page 42)
Rurous WARBLER. Aédon galactodes
RapDDE’s BusH-WARBLER. JLwusciniola schwarzi
ICTERINE WARBLER. /fyfolais icterina .
MELopious WARBLER. Syfolais polyglotta
REED-WARBLER. Acrocephalus streperus .
MarsH-WARBLER. <Acrocephalus palustris

PLATE 8. (Opposite page 48)
GREAT REED-WARBLER. Acrocephalus turdoides
SEDGE-WaRBLER. Acrocephalus phragmitis
AQuaTIC WARBLER, Acrocephalus aquaticus .
GRASSHOPPER-WARBLER. Locustella nevia
Savi’s WaRBLER. Locustella luscinioides
Cetti’s WARBLER. Ceftia cettii

PLATE 9. (Opposite page 56)

Gotpcrest. Regulus cristatus ; : =
FIRECREST. Regulus ignicapillus

HEDGE-SPARROW. Accentor modularis

ALPINE ACCENTOR. Accentor collaris . : :
Diprper. Cinclus aquaticus . ‘ : : °
NuTHATCH. Sita cesia

WREN. Troglodytes parvulus .

PLATE 10. (Opposite page 62)

BEARDED TITMOUSE. Fanurus biarmicus
LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE. Acredula caudata
GREAT TITMOUSE. /arus major

CoaL-TITMOUSE. farus ater.
MarsH-TiTMousE. /arus palustris
BLUE TiTMOUSE. farus ceruleus . ‘ F

CRESTED TITMOUSE. /arus cristatus

PLATE 11.

TREE-CREEPER.
WALL-CREEPER.
Piep WAGTAIL.
WHITE WAGTAIL.
Grey WactalL. Motacilla melanope

BLUE-HEADED WactTalIL. Mofacilla flava
GREY-HEADED YELLOW WacTAIL. Mofacilla viridis
YeELLow WactTalL. Mofacilla raii .

(Opposite page 70)
Certhia familiaris ; :
Tichodroma muraria
Motacilla lugubris

Motaalla alba .

vii

Phylloscopus viri-

PAGE

38
39
40
41

PLATE 12. (Opposite page 76)

TREE-Pipit. <Anthus trivialis .
Meapow-Pirit. Anthus pratensis . .
RED-THROATED PIPiIT. <Anthus cervinus .
Tawny Pipit. Anthus campestris .
RicHArRD’s Pipit. Anthus richardt ‘
ALPINE OR WaTER-PiPIT. Aznthus ius :
Rock-Pipit. <Anthus obscurus.

PLATE 13. (Opposite page 84)

GreEAT GREY SHRIKE. Lantus excubttor
LEssER GREY SHRIKE. JLanius minor
RED-BACKED SHRIKE. Lanius collurio
WoopcnHaT SHRIKE. Lanius pomeranus .
MASKED SHRIKE. Lanius nubicus .

PLATE 14. (Opposite page go)

GOLDEN ORIOLE. O7iolus galbula .
Waxwinc. Ampelis garrulus .

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. Muscicapa Pee
BROWN FLycaTCHER. Juscicapa latirostris
PIED FLYCATCHER. Muscicapa atricapilla
COLLARED FLYCATCHER. Auscicapa collaris .
RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHER. Muscicapa parva

PLATE 15. (Opposite page 96)
SwaLLow. irundo rustica
RED-RUMPED SwaLLow. Airundo ay SP
Martin. Chelidon urbica
SAND-MaRTIN. Cottle riparia
GREENFINCH. JLigurinus chloris
HawFINcH. Coccothraustes vulgaris
GoLpFINCH. Carduelis elegans
Siskin. Carduelis spinus

PLATE 16. (Opposite page 104)

Citrit Fincu. Chrysomitris citrinella
SERIN. Sevinus hortulanus
House-Sparrow. Passer domesticus
TREE-SPARROW. Sasser montanus .
CuaFFINcH. Fringilla celebs .
BRAMBLING. Lringilla montifringilla
LinneEtT. Zinota cannabina

MEALy REDPOLL. Linota linaria .
LEssER REDPOLL. Linota rufescens

PLATE 17. (Opposite page 114)
Snow-Fincu. Montifringilla nivalis
Twite. Linota flavirostris
BuLirincu. Pyrrhula europea
SCARLET Grosbeak. Pyrrhula Pyilnina
Pine Grospeak. Pyrrhula enucleator
CrRossBILL. Loxia curvirostra
TWO-BARRED CROSSBILL. Loxia Bee

CONTENTS

PAGE
pace | BLACK-HEADED BuNTING. Lmberiza melanocephala 121

77.| Pine-Buntinc. LZmberiza leucocephala . . |) F283
78 | Corn-Buntinc. L£mberiza miliaria : 3 ent
ie PLATE 18. (Opposite page 124)
81 | YELLOW-BREASTED BuntTING. EZmberiza aureola . 122
82 | YELLow BunTING oR YELLOW Hammer. L£miberiza
83 citrinella : 5 : 5 : : - £25
CirLt Buntinc. Lmberiza cirlus . 5 : 7226
OrTOLAN. Lmberiza hortulana . : : Se ies |
84 | Mrapow-Buntinc. L£mberiza cia . : : - 428
86 | SIBERIAN Mrapow-BunTING. Lmberiza cioides . 129
87 | Rustic Buntinc. Lmberiza rustica . : “| 130
gg | LitTLe Buntine. Lmberiza pusilla : é haere)
89 | ReED-BunTiING. Lmbertza scheniclus . : «132
LAPLAND BuNTING. Calcarius lapponicus 5 7 34
Snow-BuntTinc. SPlectrophenax nivalis . : : 2235
go PLATE 19. (Opposite page 136)
3 STARLING. Sturnus vulgaris . : : . -) /236
ROSE-COLOURED STARLING. Pastor roseus . “ty
2 CuoucH. Pyrrhocorax graculus . : : . 138
94 | NuTcRACKER. Nucifraga caryocatactes . . -1 ESO
3 Jay. Garrulus glandarius . : : 5 . 40
PLATE 20. (frontispiece)
Macpiz. fica rustica . : A , ¢ Pa 8g
a Jackpaw. Corvus monedula . ¢ : ¢ - 42
ie RAVEN. Corvus corax . : 5 5 ‘ - 243
ae, List of closely related species or forms mentioned
vox in Vol. I., but not figured :
a Dusky WaRBLER. /%ylloscopus fuscatus . ine se
104 | NORTHERN CuirrcHaFF. Phylloscopus abietina . 39
SIBERIAN CuHiFFcHAFF. fhylloscopus tristis . 39
EVERSMANN’S WARBLER. Phylloscopus borealis A. ele)
EASTERN ForM oF Rurous WARBLER... 3

105 | Bryry’s REED-WARBLER. Acrocephalus dumetorum 47
106 | Parzas’s GRASSHOPPER-WARBLER. Locustella cer-

107 thiola . : : Z ; : ai Se
108 | Tancvotaren Warpuer. ZLorwsielia lanceolata 53
109 | BLACK-BELLIED DIPPER. Cinclus melanogaster Go
110 | Sykes’ WactalL. Motacilla beema Sykes é 15
112 | Biack-HeaDED WactTalIL. Motacilla lence 75
113 | ASHY-HEADED WacTaIL. Motacilla cinereicapilla . 175
114 | AMERICAN WATER-PiPIT. Anthus ludovicianus . 82
SOUTHERN GREY SHRIKE. Lanius meridionalis . 85
GREENLAND REDPOLL. Linota hornemanni . Re a
111 | HoLBoOELL’s REDPOLL. Linota holboelh . : - 4213
115 | GREATER REDPOLL. Linota rostrata . . - 158
116 | Hoary REDPOLL. Linota exilipes . : : Snes
117 | NORTHERN BuLLFINCH. /yrrhula major : . 116
118 | ParroT CrossBiLy. Loxia pityopsittacus - 119
11g | LARGE-BILLED REED-BUNTING. Lmberiza Br
120 huloides . : 4 : : righ ete)
ERRATUM

Page 135, line 4, for ‘Captain F ielding’ read ‘ Colonel Feilden.’

Viii

~~ a a

BRITISH BIRDS

Order PASSERES.

Famity TURDID&-. SusraMILy 7URD/INZ:.

THE MISTLE-THRUSH.
Turdus viscivorus, Linnzus.
PLATE I.

The Mistle-Thrush, Mistletoe-Thrush, or Stormcock, the largest of our native
Species, may be found in meadows, woodlands, and gardens throughout the year.
There it seeks its food of worms, snails, and larvz, supplemented in autumn and
winter by various berries, including among others those of the mistletoe.

The name Stormcock happily describes the character of this Thrush. Often long
before the coming of spring, he may be seen, perched high up on some tall tree,
pouring forth his wild and broken song, at one moment loud and clear, then again
lost in the rush of the wind among the branches.

The sketch for the accompanying drawing was taken from a bird, singing in the
teeth of a north-easterly gale, among the topmost boughs of an old ivy-covered oak.

Though usually a shy and wary bird, he is bold and fearless in defence of nest
and young, fiercely attacking any prowling magpie or other intruder upon his
domain, whom he pursues with loud and strident cries. The nest is made out-
wardly of grasses, to which moss and wool are sometimes added. Inside this
structure a layer of mud is spread, with a final lining of finer grasses. Placed ona
branch or in the fork of a tree, it contains four or five eggs, greenish- or reddish-
white in ground colour, blotched with ruddy-brown and lilac.

The Mistle-Thrush inhabits the greater part of Europe, breeding as far north as
Norway ; in Asia ranging eastwards to Lake Baikal, while in winter it is found in
India, Persia, and North Africa.

It may easily be distinguished from the Song-Thrush by its larger size, bolder
carriage, greyer colouring, and by having the axillaries white, instead of buffish-

yellow.
rE, A

THE SONG-THRUSH.
Turdus musicus, Linnzus.

PLATE py:

Though subject to a partial migration during the autumn months, the Song-
Thrush is resident and common in most parts of the British Islands. Numbers
of this species, however, bred in Northern Europe, visit our shores in autumn,
travelling mostly by night; while many of our home-bred birds leave us at the
same time for the Continent, returning in spring. It breeds in Norway, thence
southwards throughout a great part of Europe, and across Siberia as far as Lake
Baikal.

The Song-Thrush breeds early in the year, rearing more than one brood during
the season, and builds its nest in almost any shrub, hedge, or furze-bush. The
nest is skilfully constructed of dead grass-stalks, roots, &c., the cup-shaped interior
being lined with rotten wood and dung, which becomes quite water-tight when
dry. The beautiful greenish-blue eggs, spotted with black and dark brown, vary
in number from four to six.

The food of the Song-Thrush consists of worms, insects, larvz, and snails,
varied with fruit and berries in their season.

Its presence is often made known in the garden by a tapping sound, as it
batters a snail against some convenient stone, to which it will return again and
again with fresh victims.

This Thrush is the Mavis of Scotland, while it is also known as Throstle in
many places.

The song, composed of various loud clear notes, repeated several times in
succession, is continued throughout the greater part of the year, and may often be
heard late in the evening, until darkness sets in.

The female is slightly smaller and paler in colour than the male.

ane, ee Se

SW st le. Thrash

Black- Throated Thrush
3b 9.

Song-7hkrush

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THE REDWING.
Turdus thacus, Linnzus.

PLATE I.

The Redwing, a winter visitor to our shores from Scandinavia and Iceland,
usually arrives about the middle of October, travelling in flocks, when the plaintive
call-note may often be heard at night as the birds pass overhead.

Early in April it returns to its breeding quarters in Northern Europe. Accord-
ing to information supplied to Mr. Hewitson by Wooley, as quoted in the 4th
Edition of Yarrell (p. 269) by Professor Newton, it ‘‘ makes its nest near the ground,
in an open part of the wood, generally in the outskirts, on a stump, a log, or the
roots of a fallen tree, sometimes amongst a cluster of young stems of the birch,
usually quite exposed, so as almost to seem as if placed so purposely, the walls
often supported only by their foundation. The first or coarse part of their nest is
made for the most part of dried bents, sometimes with fine twigs and moss; this
is lined with a layer of dirt, and then is added a thick bed of fine grass of the
previous year, compactly woven together, which completes the structure.”

The eggs, usually six in number, are very like those of the Blackbird, but
smaller. The ground colour is pale green, closely marked with reddish-brown.
While with us the Redwings remain in flocks, and being more dependent on a diet
of worms and grubs, than on berries, are among the first to suffer from a severe
spell of frost and snow. The Redwing haunts the open fields and meadows during
the day, roosting by night among evergreen shrubs and trees. The full clear song
is only heard in its summer haunts, but Mr. J. G. Millais has kindly given me the
following note of its song in this country: “ Before leaving us in the middle of
April, male Redwings assemble in parties of ten to fifty and indulge in a chorus
of song so subdued that it is not heard unless the observer is close at hand.”

The Redwing is rather smaller than the Song-Thrush, and may be readily
distinguished from it, by the conspicuous light streak along the side of the head
above the eye, and by the chestnut-red patch on the flanks, this colour being
repeated on the underwing coverts and axillaries.

The female is a little duller in colour than the male.

THE FIELDFARE.
Turdus pilaris, Linnzus.

PEATE

Arriving about the same time as the Redwing, the Fieldfare is another of our
winter visitors from Scandinavia, and leaves us in April or the beginning of May.
It breeds in companies, the nest being placed in the fork of a birch or other tree,
sometimes only a few feet from the ground. The birds are very noisy when their
nests are approached, and utter harsh cries. The eggs, four to six in number, re-
semble the Blackbird’s, being bluish-green, marked and blotched with reddish-
brown. The song is described by Seebohm (British Birds, p. 232) as “a wild
desultory warble.”

The Fieldfare is a shy and wary bird, the flocks in open weather frequenting
wide meadows and grass lands, while feeding on worms, insects, and grubs. In
times of frost or snow they come into the hedgerows, outskirts of copses, and even
gardens, subsisting then on berries. Though more hardy than the Redwing, they
soon feel the stress of weather, and numbers often perish.

The female resembles the male in colour.

THE BLACK-THROATED THRUSH.
Turdus atrigularis, Temminck.

Prare 1.

This rare straggler from Western Siberia has been taken thrice in England,
the first having been shot near Lewes, Sussex, in December 1868, the second in
Kent, January 1909, and the last in the same county, March 1911. In Scotland
one was obtained near Perth in February 1879.

Mr. H. L. Popham, who took the first authentic eggs of this species in Siberia,
says (/d7s, 1898, p. 494): ‘“‘ Although several pairs were nesting in the same locality,
they were not by any means in colonies, like the Fieldfares. I obtained my first
specimen at Yeniseisk, but did not meet with this Thrush again till we came to
Inbatskaya, where I took five nests, each containing six eggs, which vary
considerably. Two clutches have the markings of the Mistle-Thrush, but the
ground colour is of a deeper blue; other clutches are very much of the type of the
Blackbird, and in one of these latter a single egg has the markings of the Mistle-
Thrush type. The nests, composed of dry grass with a lining of mud and an
inner lining of broad dry grass, were all placed in small fir-trees close to the stem
(except one, which was on the top of a stump) at heights varying between 3 feet
and 6 feet.” He also states, ‘‘When singing, the male whistles a few notes at a
time, somewhat like a Song-Thrush with considerable variation, but does not
repeat the same phrase two or three times.”

ttn

THE DUSKY THRUSH.
Turdus dubtus, Bechstein (1795).

PLATE 2.

An example of the Dusky Thrush was shot near Gunthorpe, Nottinghamshire,
on 13th October 1905, this being the only occurrence of the species in the British
Islands.

In summer it inhabits Siberia, moving southwards in autumn, to winter in
China and North-western India.

Mr. Dresser, in his Manual of Palearctic Birds, pp. 13-14, writes: “ This
species frequents woodlands, usually pine, larch, and spruce groves, and differs
little from its allies in its general habits.”

The nest, he says, ‘‘resembles that of the Fieldfare, is strongly built and lined
with fine grass and dry larch needles.”

The four or five, rarely six, eggs are also the same as those of the Fieldfare.
The female resembles the male, but is duller and paler in colour.

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WHITE’S THRUSH.
Turdus varius, Pallas.

PLATE 2.

The first recorded example of White’s Thrush in the British Islands was
shot at Heron Court, near Christchurch, Hampshire, in January 1828; since
that time nineteen others have been obtained at different times, fifteen of these
in England, one in Scotland, and three in Ireland. They were nearly all
procured in winter.

Named after White of Selborne, this bird is a native of Eastern Siberia,
Northern China, and Japan, migrating in winter to Southern China and some-
times as far as the Philippines.

According to Mr. Dresser (Manual of Palearctic Birds, p. 17), “ fully authen-
ticated eggs have not yet been obtained, though eggs said to be those of this
species, all differing from each other, have been sent from three sources.”

This species is one of the ‘‘Ground” Thrushes, seeking its food, of various
insects and grubs, amongst dead leaves in shady woods. It is larger than the
Mistle-Thrush, and its size, beautiful golden colour, crescent-shaped bars of
black, and tail of fourteen feathers instead of twelve, distinguish it from all our
other Thrushes.

The axillaries are black and white.

The female resembles the male, but is hardly so bright in colour.

— - -—

THE SIBERIAN THRUSH.
Turdus sibivicus, Pallas.

PLATE 2.

One of these rare Siberian Thrushes is said to have been killed in the winter
of 1860-61, in the neighbourhood of Godalming, Surrey. Although the genuine-
ness of this specimen has been doubted by some authorities, Lord Lilford says
“the probability is strongly in favour of its having been a dona fide traveller,
and not an ‘escaped’ bird.”

This species inhabits Eastern Siberia, wintering in China, Burma, Sumatra,
and Java.

Mr. H. L. Popham writes (/dzs, 1898, pp. 494-495): ‘‘The neighbourhood of
Toorukhansk appears to be their headquarters. The eggs, which place the
identity of my supposed eggs of 1895 beyond doubt, can readily be distinguished
from those of other Thrushes nesting in the same locality by their pale greyish-
blue ground colour; one clutch has the ground colour very pale blue-green, and
is covered all over the surface of the shell with minute reddish spots. I have
never observed this Thrush in the pine forests, but always in the willows fring-
ing the shore and islands, on the topmost boughs of which the male sits and whistles
a few rich notes without any variation, but darts down out of sight at the slightest
alarm. It is rather later in nesting than the other Thrushes, and was not seen
at Yeniseisk.” He describes the nest as “a rather untidy structure of dry grass,
built in the fork of a willow a few feet from the ground, not so bulky as a
Fieldfare’s, with a scanty wall of mud and an inner lining of coarse dry grass.”

The food, which is similar to that of other Thrushes, is always obtained on
the ground.

The general colour of the female is buff and olive-brown, shading into white
on the lower parts. The throat, as well as the flanks, speckled and barred
with brown.

THE BLACKBIRD.
Turdus merula, Linnzus.

PLATE 2.

This handsome species, with velvety-black plumage and “ orange-tawny bill,” is
to be found in almost every garden and shrubbery throughout our islands. It is
also widely distributed in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The nest, made of grasses,
twigs, moss, and leaves, with a layer of mud, is lined with grass and placed in some
bush or hedge. The eggs, varying in number from four to six, are bluish-green,
freckled with reddish-brown.

The fine melodious notes of the Blackbird, begun early in the year, especially
if the weather be mild, are continued through the greater part of the summer.

At times he is a good mimic, and will imitate the voices of other birds. I have
heard one, which haunted a garden, finish off his own familiar song with some of
the musical notes of the Australian Piping Crow, learned from some captive birds
in an aviary near by.

The Blackbird is an early riser, and leaves the shelter of the hedgerows and
bushes at the first streak of dawn, to seek the worms, grubs, and insects which are
its principal food, although in late summer and autumn various fruits and berries
are consumed.

THE RING-OUZEL.
Turdus torguatus, Linneus.

PLATE 2.

Unlike the Fieldfare and Redwing, the Ring-Ouzel is a summer visitor to our
islands, arriving in April, about the time the others leave us. Passing through the
cultivated country, it makes its home among the rocky hillsides and high moorlands.
It breeds in many districts in England, Wales, and Ireland, while it is common in
Scotland in places suited to its habits. Abroad the Ring-Ouzel breeds in Northern
Europe, migrating to spend the winter in the countries by the Mediterranean.

The nest, which is very like the Blackbird’s, is placed under a bank or over-
hanging rock, and contains four, or occasionally five, eggs, bluish-green in
ground colour, blotched and speckled with reddish-brown.

The food consists of worms, grubs, and insects, varied at times with fruit and
berries, especially those of the rowan-tree.

The Ring-Ouzel has a wild and sweet song, harmonising well with his surround-
ings, as he delivers it from some crag or stone on the mountainside. The female
is duller in colour than the male, and has a less conspicuous gorget. A race of the
Ring-Ouzel, the 7urdus alfestris of C. L. Brehm, having the pale margins to the
feathers on the underparts broader than those in our bird, and marked in the centre
with white, has twice or thrice occurred in England. This form inhabits the
mountains of Southern and Central Europe.

10

THE ROCK-THRUSH.
Monticola saxattis (Linnzus).

PLATE 2.

The first British example of the Rock-Thrush was obtained in Hertfordshire in
May 1843, and two or three more have since been taken. It is a native of Southern
and Central Europe, North-west Africa, and Asia Minor, ranging across Asia to
Northern China, while it migrates southwards in winter.

The nest, built of dead grasses and roots, with a lining of finer grasses and
rootlets, sometimes of hair and feathers, is placed in a hole or cranny in an old wall
or under a fallen rock.

Seebohm writes (Bvitish Birds, p. 284): ‘‘ The eggs of the Rock-Thrush are four
or five in number, of the same beautiful bluish-green as those of the Song-Thrush,
but slightly paler and rounder; indeed they are almost intermediate between a
Song-Thrush’s and a Starling’s. The markings are confined to a very few faint
light-brown specks, usually on the larger end ; but the eggs are very often spotless.”

The female is mottled brown, lighter on the underparts, which are whitish or
buff, marked with broken crescent-shaped lines of brown.

THE WHEATEAR.
Saxicola Gnanthe (Linnzus).

PLATS. 3:

The Wheatear, a summer visitor to the British Islands, usually arrives in March,
migrating southwards in autumn to spend the winter in the tropical parts of Africa.
Abroad during summer, it has a wide range over Europe, Iceland, Greenland, and
across Siberia to China.

The nest, composed rather loosely of dead grasses, mixed sometimes with small
roots and moss, and having a lining of hair and feathers, is placed in a hole ina
wall, a crevice under a rock, or within a deserted rabbit-burrow. The eggs, varying
in number from four to seven, are in colour light greenish-blue, occasionally marked
with tiny purple specks.

Stony hillsides and high grassy uplands are its favourite haunts. In former
days it was much sought after as a table delicacy, and vast numbers were trapped,
by means of horse-hair nooses, by the shepherds of the South Downs.

A large race of this species, differing from ours also in its brighter colour, touches

our shores on its way to breed in Greenland, and is known as the Greenland
Wheatear.

12

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THE ISABELLINE WHEATEAR.
Saxicola zsabellina (Riippell).

PLATE 3.

Only four examples of this Wheatear have been taken in the British Islands, the
first shot at Allonby, in Cumberland, on 11th November 1887, a second at Rye
Harbour, Sussex, 17th April 1911, a third at the same place on 28th March 1912,
and the last on roth May 1912, near St. Leonards-on-Sea.

This is an Eastern species, ranging in summer from South-eastern Russia
across Asia to Northern China, wintering in Arabia and India, while it appears to
be resident in Egypt, and southwards to Abyssinia, as well as in Palestine and
Persia.

The nest is usually placed underground in the empty burrow of some small
animal, and contains from four to six pale blue eggs.

The Isabelline Wheatear frequents barren sand-covered regions, also bush-
covered slopes, and occasionally fir woods. It is said to have a powerful song, and
its food consists of insects.

The female resembles the male, but is duller in colour. Although the Isabelline
Wheatear is very like the female of our Common Wheatear, it may be distinguished
by having a smaller patch of white at the base of the tail feathers.

THE BLACK-THROATED WHEATEAR.
Saxicola occidentalis, Salvadori.

PLATE 3.

This handsome species, the Saxzcola stafazina of Vieillot, is a summer visitor
to Southern Europe, moving southwards to warmer regions in winter. It was
first known as a British bird on 8th May 1875, when a specimen was shot
near Bury, Lancashire. A second example was obtained near Lydd, Kent, on
23rd May 1906, and a third, the first recorded in Scotland, on Fair Isle, Shetlands,
September 25, 1907; while two more were shot near Winchelsea on 16th and
19th May 1912.

A female of either this species or the Black-eared Wheatear was also obtained on
St. Kilda, September 21, 1911.

Dr. Hartert, who considers these two birds, viz. the Black-throated and Black-
eared Wheatears, to be one and the same species, states (Witherby’s Bvztish Birds,
vol. iv. p. 131): “An unbiassed and careful study of a large series of skins, and last,
but not least, my own personal observations in company with the Hon. W.
Rothschild in Algeria, have confirmed Pastor Kleinschmidt’s suspicion and the
observations of Messrs. Schiebel and Reiser.”

The nest, loose in texture, is made of dead grasses and bents, and placed ina
hole or cranny among rocks or ruined masonry. The eggs, varying in number
from four to five, are in colour pale green, speckled and marked with brown.

In its habits and food this species is like the Common Wheatear.

The female has the upper part of the back tawny-brown, with the rump white,
as in the male, the tail also being similar. The throat is dull white, and the under-
parts buffish-white.

14

THE BLACK-EARED WHEATEAR.
Saxicola stapazina (Linnzus).

PLATE 3.

This bird, either closely related to or the same as the Black-throated Wheatear,
does not differ from the other in its food, nest, or habits. It has been obtained four
times in England, the first near Polegate, Sussex, May 28, 1902, the second shot
near Hoo, Sussex, May 22, 1905; another near Pett, Sussex, September 9, 1905,
and a fourth obtained at Winchelsea on May 2, 1907.

According to Mr. Dresser (anual of Palearctic Birds, p. 38), ‘‘the female
has the dark portions of the plumage brownish-black, the crown, nape, and back
brownish-grey,” and the habitat of the species is given as ‘““S. Europe, Asia Minor,
Palestine, Persia, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, and Arabia, migrating further south
in winter.”

15

THE DESERT WHEATEAR.
Saxicola deserti, Riippell.

PLATE 3.

The Desert Wheatear has been obtained six times in the British Islands, the
first near Alloa, Clackmannan, on November 26, 1880, the second on the Holder-
ness coast, Yorkshire, October 17, 1885, the third near Arbroath, Forfar, December
28, 1887, a fourth on the Pentland Skerries, June 2, 1906, while another was shot
in Norfolk, October 31, 1907, and the last at Scotney, Kent, on May 21, 1913.
The home of this bird lies more to the south than that of the Black-throated
and Black-eared Wheatears. It ranges from North Africa southwards and east-
wards across the deserts to Abyssinia, and through Asia Minor, Arabia, and Persia
as far as Afghanistan and India. It inhabits dry and sandy wastes, and builds
its nest in holes and fissures among rocks or underground. The eggs are of a
pale bluish-green colour, speckled with reddish-brown.

The female has no black on the throat, is duller and greyer than the male, has
the black portions of the wings brown, and the rump tinged with sand-colour.

16

THE EASTERN PIED WHEATEAR.
Saxitola pleschanka (Lepech).

PLATE 3.

A female of this species was taken on the Isle of May on 19th October
1909. Mr. Dresser, in his Manual of Palearctic Birds, p. 32, gives its habitat
as “Cyprus, the Crimea and the lower valley of the Volga, east to Kashmir, south-
eastern Siberia, Tibet, Mongolia, and northern China, wintering in N.W. India,
Abyssinia, and Arabia, and occasionally in Gilgit.”

It appears to be more inclined to perch on trees and bushes than the other
Wheatears, and builds its nest in holes and crannies among rocks and stones. The
eggs are a delicate blue in colour, sometimes, but not always, marked with small
reddish spots.

Lord Lilford, in his list of the birds of Cyprus (/d¢s, July 1889), says:
“This is the characteristic Chat of Cyprus; so far as my observation goes it
mostly frequents the neighbourhood of towns, and is especially common near
Larnaca.”

The female is dull brown on the upper parts.

THE BLACK WHEATEAR.
Saxicola leucura (Gmelin).

PLATE 3.

The Black Wheatear is resident in Portugal and Spain, and along the northern
shores of the Mediterranean to Sicily, some birds wintering in North Africa. A
pair of these birds were observed in the neighbourhood of Rye Harbour, on
August 31, 1909, and were afterwards shot, the male on September 2, and
the female on the 16th. On Fair Isle, Shetlands, a male was seen several times,
but not obtained, between the 28th and 30th September 1912.

According to Colonel Irby (Zhe Ornithology of the Straits of Gibraltar, and
ed., p. 41), ‘‘the Black Wheatear is a common and conspicuous bird at Gibraltar,
and to be seen throughout the year.

‘The nest is sometimes in clefts of rocks, so deep as to be inaccessible. Mr.
Stark took a nest on the 25th of April, near Gibraltar, containing four pale blue
eggs hard sat on, marked with a zone of light reddish-brown spots.

“The nest was very large, loosely built with grass and heather-roots, lined inside
with finer grass, two or three feathers of the Veophron, and one bit of palmetto
fibre.

“The name of fedvero is applied to this bird from their curious habit of
placing small stones as a foundation to their nest, and frequently, as when open
to view, making a sort of wall or screen of stones in front of the nest.”

The Black Wheatear inhabits stony places. The female differs from the male
in having the black parts brown, while the white is not so pure.

THE STONECHAT.
Pratincola rubicola (Linnzus).

PLATE 3.

This little bird may be seen on most of our furze-clad commons, perched on
the top of a prickly spray or on a stalk of dead bracken. In the British Islands
it is a resident species, frequenting the more sheltered parts of the country in
winter. On the Continent the Stonechat is found occasionally as far north as
Southern Sweden, and ranges through Europe to the Mediterranean, some winter-
ing in Africa and Asia Minor.

The nest, carefully hidden at the foot of dense furze-bushes or among other
vegetation, is made of dead grasses and moss, with a lining of finer grass, hair, and
feathers. It contains five or six pale greenish-blue eggs, marked at the larger end
with spots of reddish-brown.

The Stonechat has a pleasing little song, sometimes uttered when on the wing,
and its characteristic alarm note, resembling the sound produced by hitting one
stone with another, may be often heard as the bird flits from bush to bush.

The Eastern form of Stonechat, of which a sketch is given on Plate 3, has once
been taken near Cley, Norfolk, on September 2, 1904; whilst another was obtained
on the Isle of May on October 10, 1913. It differs from our bird in having more
white on the rump. It ranges from Eastern Europe across Asia to Japan, migrating
southwards to winter in India.

19

THE WHINCHAT.
Pratincola rubetra (Linnzus).

PLATE 4.

The Whinchat, sometimes called ‘“‘ Utick” from its call-note, is one of our
summer visitors, arriving in April and leaving us in October.

Although fairly common in many parts of the kingdom, and widely distributed,
it is absent or local in others. The nest, placed on the ground and concealed among
rough grass and herbage, is composed of dry grasses and moss, and lined with finer
fibres and hair. The four to six eggs are greenish-blue, spotted with rusty-red dots.

It feeds on various insects, grubs, and wireworms. The Whinchat has a low
sweet song, sometimes heard when the bird is fluttering in the air.

Macgillivray says: ‘‘ When one approaches their nest, they evince great anxiety ;
but at first keep at some distance, perch on the top twigs of the bushes, and at short
intervals emit a mellow plaintive note followed by several short notes resembling
the ticking of a clock, or that produced by SES two pebbles together, and at the
same time jerk out their tail and flap their wings.’

In the female the colours are duller, the eye-stripe being yellowish, the upper
breast having some small spots, and the primary coverts less white than in the male.

20

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THE REDSTART.
Rutiuilla phoeniurus (Linnzus).

PLATE 4.

The Redstart is a conspicuous bird, on account of his bright and strongly-
contrasted colouring, and his curious habit of spreading and flirting the feathers of
the tail, which is at the same time moved upwards and downwards. A summer
migrant, it reaches the British Islands in April, returning south in autumn.

The Redstart can hardly be called a common bird, but is widely distributed,
though local, in many parts of England and Scotland; much rarer in Ireland.

Abroad this species ranges from northern Scandinavia southwards to the
Mediterranean, and across Siberia as far as Lake Baikal, wintering in Africa and
Persia.

The nest, which is loosely made of moss, dead grasses, and rootlets, lined with
some hairs and feathers, is placed in a hole in a wall or tree, and contains six or
seven eggs, resembling those of the Hedge-Sparrow, but of a paler blue. Occasion-
ally they are marked with small reddish dots.

The Redstart frequents gardens and orchards, and is often found near ruins
and old ivy-covered walls, or among the rocks and birch-trees by the side of a
Highland loch.

Its food consists of insects and grubs, and the song, though short, is soft and
pleasing.

The female lacks the bright colouring of the male, the upper parts generally
being of a brownish-grey, and the chestnut tail of a duller tint.

THE BLACK REDSTART.
Ruticilla titys (Scopoli).
PLATE 4.

Much less common than the preceding species, the Black Redstart regularly
visits the south coast of England in autumn while migrating, sometimes spending
the winter there, although not, as far as is known, breeding in this country.

Abroad this species occasionally ranges as far north as Scandinavia, and is
found southwards to the Mediterranean and North Africa, wintering still further
southwards in Africa. Eastwards it reaches the Ural and Asia Minor.

In summer the Black Redstart is a common and familiar bird in the Swiss
valleys, frequenting the neighbourhood of villages and cowsheds.

The nest is placed under the eaves of buildings, or in a hole in some wall
or rock, and is composed of dead grasses, moss, and rootlets, and lined with hair
and feathers.

The eggs, varying in number from four to six, are mostly pure white, though
occasionally marked with brown spots.

According to Seebohm (S7ztish Birds, p. 294), ‘Its song is very simple, con-
sisting only of three or four melodious notes. Like the Robin it is constantly in
the habit of drooping its head and slightly lifting its wing, whilst the tail is suddenly
jerked up and half expanded.”

Like the Common Redstart, its food consists of flies and various other insects
and larvee.

22

THE ARCTIC BLUETHROAT.
Cyanecula suecica (Linnzus).

PLATE 4.

This form of the Bluethroat, with a chestnut spot, set in the azure gorget,
breeds in northern Scandinavia, Russia, and Siberia, migrating in autumn to spend
the winter in China, India, and Africa.

On passage many pass along our east coast, mostly in autumn, though some-
times in spring, and great numbers visit Heligoland at the same time.

During the breeding season the Arctic Bluethroat frequents swampy forest ground,
and in its nesting habits and character is very like a Robin. The nest, built of
dead grasses and roots, with a lining of rootlets and hair, is concealed in some
cavity in the side of a hillock, and contains five or six eggs.

According to Seebohm (S7itish Birds, p. 2°73), ‘They are greenish-blue, more
or less distinctly marbled with pale reddish brown, and are very similar to the
eggs of the Nightingale.”

The food consists of various insects, grubs, and earth-worms, and sometimes of
seeds.

The Arctic Bluethroat is a loud and sweet singer, and is said to approach the
Nightingale in the richness of his song.

In colour the females resemble the males in the greyish-brown of the upper
parts, but are usually greyish-white on the chin and lower breast, with a band of
dusky-brown across the chest. In some old females, however, the blue and chest-
nut colour is more or less displayed.

23

THE WHITE-SPOTTED BLUETHROAT.
Cyanecula leucocyana, Brehm.

PLATE 4.

Ranging more to the west than the preceding species the White-spotted Blue-
throat is found during summer in Central Europe, breeding in Holland and
Germany, and, according to Mr. Dresser (A/anual of Palearctic Birds, p. 62),
“wintering in Asia Minor, Palestine, and North Africa; Asia as far east as India.”

Its habits, food, and song, as well as the nest and eggs, are the same as those of
the Arctic Bluethroat ; the females being also alike.

In this species the white spot on the throat is sometimes absent.

24

THE REDBREAST.
Erythacus rubecula (Linnzus).

PLATE 4.

This familiar and best known of all our birds, with its confiding manners
and sweet song, hardly needs description. Although the Redbreast or Robin
haunts our gardens and homesteads all the year round, and appears to be
always with us, yet a migratory movement takes place in autumn, when
many birds, moving southwards, cross the Channel. Abroad the Redbreast has
a wide range over Europe and Asia.

The nest, made of moss and withered leaves, with a lining of hair and feathers,
is placed in a hedgerow, bank, or within some cavity in a wall. The five to
seven eggs are white, marked and speckled with red; occasionally without any
markings.

As soon as the moult is completed, in early autumn, the Redbreast again
begins his song, which is continued through the winter. During September,
when the majority of birds are silent, this plaintive strain is very beautiful.

The food of the Redbreast consists of insects and worms, varied with fruit
and berries.

Though sometimes rather duller, the female does not otherwise differ from
the male in colour. The young in their first plumage are spotted with yellowish-
brown, and show no orange on the breast.

THE NIGHTINGALE.
Daulias luscinia (Linnzeus).

PLATE 4.

The unrivalled song of the Nightingale, delivered throughout the greater
part of the night, as well as during the day, has made the bird celebrated from
the earliest times. The male birds, which arrive in this country a week or
more before the females, reach us about the middle of April, and, apparently,
return year after year to the same spot. The general distribution of the
Nightingale in England seems to be roughly as follows. The eastern parts of
Devonshire, Somerset, and the south of Glamorgan. In the valley of the Wye,
through Hereford, Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Derbyshire, extending a few
miles beyond York, in all of which districts it is scarce and local. Southwards
in the midland, southern, and eastern parts of the country it becomes more
plentiful, and is abundant in some districts. It has once occurred in Scotland,
one example having been taken on the Isle of May on May 9g, 1g11.

Abroad the Nightingale is found over a great part of Europe, from Northern
Germany to the Mediterranean countries, while it spends the winter in Africa.

The nest is placed on the ground, or just above it, and is constructed of
dead leaves, mostly of the oak, and withered grass, with a lining of fine rootlets,
grasses, and occasionally horse-hair. The eggs, four or five in number, are
usually olive-brown, or sometimes bluish-green, marked with reddish-brown.

The Nightingale loves the thick undergrowth of tall hedges, coppices, and
shrubberies, and is fond of thick cover in the neighbourhood of streams.

The food consists of worms and various insects, as well as fruit and berries.

It seems surprising how little Nightingales are affected by cold; late at
night on May 18, 1913, 1 heard two birds in full song, although the ther-
mometer stood at 38 degrees, and the wind was bitterly keen. In June the
Nightingale ceases to sing.

The female does not differ from the male in colour.

A larger and greyer species, having a somewhat harsher song, and known
as the Thrush Nightingale or “Sprésser,” Daulias philomela, has once been
obtained on Fair Isle, Shetlands, May 15, 1911. A sketch of this bird is
given on Plate 5.

It is found in Northern and Eastern Europe.
26

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Subfamily SYLVIINZ.

THE WHITETHROAT.
Sylvia cinerea, Bechstein.

PLATE 5.

This summer migrant, the type of the Sylviidze or Warblers, arrives about the
same time as the Nightingale.

An active and restless little bird, it soon makes its presence known by its joyous
song, among the trees and brambles of some coppice, or by the roadside hedges.

The notes are often uttered during flight, as the bird rises with a curious flap-
ping action of the wings to a moderate height, and descends again to his perch.

Abroad the Whitethroat is found from Scandinavia southwards to the Medi-
terranean, also in Asia, Asia Minor, and Palestine, wintering in Africa and the
Canaries.

The nest is lightly and neatly constructed of fine grass stalks, with a lining
of finer bents and horse-hair. The eggs, varying from four to six in number, are
greenish-white, speckled with greyish-green and purplish-grey.

The food consists mainly of insects and grubs, though sometimes fruit and

berries are eaten.
The female is duller in colour, and has the head browner than in the male.

27

THE LESSER WHITETHROAT.
Sylvia curruca (Linnzus).

PLATE 5.

The Lesser Whitethroat may be distinguished from the preceding species by
its slightly smaller size, dark ear-coverts, general greyer colour of those parts
which are rufous in the other, and by having the feet and legs slaty-grey instead
of brown.

Less abundant than the Greater Whitethroat, it confines itself more to the
midland and southern parts of England, becoming rarer in the west and in
Scotland.

On the Continent the breeding range of the Lesser Whitethroat extends from
Norway to the Mediterranean, and eastwards to the Ural. It winters in Africa.

The nest is placed in some thick cover, and is made of dry bents and grasses,
with a lining of hair. The four or five eggs are greenish-white, spotted and
blotched with brown.

The song of this bird is superior to that of the Common Whitethroat, and its
habits are more shy and retiring.

The food of both species is the same.

The colour of the female is rather duller than that of the male.

28

THE ORPHEAN WARBLER.
Sylvia orphea, Temminck.

PLATE 5.

Four examples of this southern Warbler have been recorded in England.

Abroad it is found in Central and Southern Europe and North Africa, wintering
still further south on the latter continent.

Lord Lilford, in his book on British Birds, describes it as being common in
Spain, especially in the neighbourhood of Madrid and Aranjuez. He says: “The
nest is very much more substantially built than that of the other Warblers of
this family ; the eggs much resemble those of the Lesser Whitethroat. The song
of this bird, though more powerful than that of our Blackcap, cannot, in my
opinion, be compared with it for melody or sweetness, in fact, I have always been
puzzled to know why the name of Orpheus should have been bestowed on this
Species.”

The female is duller in colour than the male, the head being greyish-brown
instead of black.

29

THE SARDINIAN WARBLER.
Sylvia melanocephala (Gmelin).

PLATE 5.

Only one example of the Sardinian Warbler has been obtained in Great Britain,
a male having been killed near Hastings on June 3, 1907.

According to the authors of 4 Hand-list of British Birds, p. 71, this species
‘Breeds in south Europe, Asia Minor, and north-west Africa, and winters partly
in Same countries, partly in Sahara, Palestine, and Nubia.”

The Sardinian Warbler resembles the Blackcap in its habits.

Colonel Irby, who was well acquainted with this bird, writes in Ze Ornithology
of the Straits of Gibraltar (and ed., p. 54): ‘The earliest egg laid was on the rath
of March.” Speaking of the nest, he goes on to say: ‘This was built in a small
rose-bush, and was spoiled by a gale of wind, which blew all the eggs out of it,
being the only one I ever saw in what could be called an open bush. All the others
were placed in thick bushes, generally box, about two to four feet from the ground,
and were formed of grass with a few bits of cotton-thread, lined with hair; but
they also nest at some height on boughs of trees. The eggs vary in number from
three to five. The male assists in incubation.

“This bird is, like the Blackcap and Garden-Warbler, very fond of figs and
grapes and all kinds of fruit.”

The female is duller and browner in colour than the male.

30

THE BLACKCAP.
Sylvia atricapilla (Linneus).
PLATE 5.

The Blackcap reaches this country early in April, and usually leaves in
September, though it has been known to winter here. Abroad it is widely spread
over Europe during summer, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, being also
found in North Africa. It spends the winter in Central Africa.

This bird is unobtrusive in its habits, and builds its nest of dead grasses and
bents, with a lining of horse-hair, in some shady bush.

It feeds on insects, fruit, and berries.

The Blackcap’s beautiful song has been truly described by White of Selborne as
‘a full, sweet, deep, loud, and wild pipe; yet that strain is of short continuance
and his motions are desultory ; but when that bird sits calmly and engages in song
in earnest, he pours forth very sweet, but inward melody, and expresses great
variety of soft and gentle modulations, superior perhaps to those of any of our
Warblers, the Nightingale excepted.”

This passage has been often quoted, but it stands unrivalled as the best descrip-
tion of the Blackcap’s song.

Unlike its congeners, the female Blackcap is larger than the male.

THE GARDEN-WARBLER.
Sylvia hortensis, Bechstein.

PLATE 5.

Arriving after the Blackcap, the Garden-Warbler is seldom noticed before the
first week in May.

In England it is widely distributed, though local, becoming much scarcer in the
south-west and in Wales.

In Scotland it has not been known to breed north of Perthshire, south of which
county it nests in different localities, more frequently in the Lothians and Clyde
districts.

It is rarer in Ireland.

On the continent of Europe it is widely distributed, and winters in Africa.

The nest is usually placed in the shade of thick brambles, briars, or bushes,
and is composed of stalks of grass, sometimes with the addition of moss, and lined
with fine roots and hair.

The four or five eggs are dull white, blotched with different shades of brown
and spots of ash colour.

The food consists of insects, fruit, and berries.

This species is more often heard than seen, owing to its shy and skulking ways,
and unobtrusive colouring.

In Surrey I have not noticed that it is more partial to gardens than other
places, in fact it seems to prefer the cover of tall hedges and copses.

The song, though resembling the Blackcap’s, lacks its richness and tone.

The female is very like the male in colour, but slightly paler.

32

THE BARRED WARBLER.
Sylvia nisorza (Bechstein).
PLATE 5.

At one time only known as a rare straggler to the British Islands, this species
has during the last few years been met with in considerable numbers, mostly in
autumn.

It breeds in Central and South-eastern Europe, wintering in Central Africa.

The Barred Warbler seeks the shelter of thick coverts and thorn-brakes, where
the nest is placed.

This is a more substantial structure than that of most of the Warblers. Seebohm,
in his British Birds (vol. i. p. 388), describes it as ‘“‘composed of dry grass-stalks
and roots, with generally some small-leaved plants, cobwebs, thistle-down, or other
woolly material mixed with it.’ The four or five eggs, laid towards the end of
May, are buffy-white, marked with grey.

Its food consists mostly of insects and fruit.

The song, Seebohm says, ‘‘ resembles that of the Whitethroat, some of its notes
being quite as harsh as those of that bird; but the finest parts are almost as rich
as the warble of the Blackcap.”’

The female resembles the male in colour.

SUBALPINE WARBLER.
Sylvia subalpina, Bonelli.

PLATE 6.

Only two specimens of this delicately tinted little bird have been obtained in
the British Islands, the first on the island of St. Kilda in June 1894, and another,
an adult male, on Fair Isle, Shetland, on May 6, 1908. It is a South European
species, common in some of the Mediterranean islands, and inhabiting also Spain,
Portugal, Italy, and south-eastern France. It winters in Africa. )

Howard Saunders, in his Manual of British Birds (and ed., p. 54), says: “‘ The
nest, of dry grass with a finer lining, is placed in a low bush”; and he describes
the four to five eggs as varying “from greenish-white with brown spots, to reddish-
white with violet-brown spots and streaks.”

The food consists of insects.

Colonel Irby says, in 7he Ornithology of the Straits of Gibraltar (and ed., p. 53):
‘“T saw eight or ten among the flowers and trees on the Alameda de Apodaca at
Cadiz; they were exceedingly tame, and I watched them for a long time hopping
about in and out among the flowers like a common Wren.”

In colour the female is brownish above, and tawny-white on the throat and
breast.

34

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THE DARTFORD WARBLER.
Sylvia undata (Boddaert).

PLATE 6.

The Dartford Warbler is easily distinguished from the Subalpine Warbler by
the tail being longer in proportion to the wing, by its much darker colour, and
the absence of the white streak under the eye.

It was first noticed as a British bird near Dartford in 1773. Since then it
has been found in many other districts, mostly in the southern and south-western
counties. Unlike the other birds of this family, the- Dartford Warbler lives
throughout the year among the tall furze-bushes and heather on our commons and
heaths, although sometimes in winter resorting to the turnip fields.

Abroad it is found in many parts of Southern Europe, also in North Africa.

The nest is placed in thick furze, sometimes in tall heather amongst furze, and
is lightly built of grass-stalks with some furze shoots and wool. It contains four
or five eggs of a greenish- or buffish-white, with brown spots.

The food consists of insects and wild fruits.

The Dartford Warbler has not much of a song, and the alarm notes of a pair
I had under observation lately, reminded me of the Whitethroat’s. In habits it
is a quick and restless little bird, often spreading and flirting its long tail as it
perches on the topmost sprays of the furze-bushes. On the least alarm it hides
immediately.

The female is slightly smaller and duller in colour than her mate.

35

THE YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER.
Phylloscopus superceliosus (J. F¥. Gmelin).

PLATE 6.

The first British example of the Yellow-browed Warbler was obtained by the
late John Hancock, in Northumberland, a few miles north of the mouth of the
Tyne, in September 1838. Since that date a considerable number have been
recorded, along our eastern coasts at different times, and especially on the Isle of
May and Fair Isle, nearly all during the autumn migration. Numbers have also
been taken on Heligoland at the same time of the year (Gatke). Its summer home
is in Siberia, and it winters in Indiaand China. Seebohm found it near the Yenesey,
and describing the nest in his British Birds (vol. i. p. 449), says: “ It was built in
a slight tuft of grass, moss, and bilberries, semi-domed, exactly like the nest of
our Willow Warblers. It was composed of dry grass and moss, and lined with
reindeer-hair.” The six or seven eggs are white, spotted at the larger end with
reddish-brown. |

Mr. H. L. Popham, writing in 7he bts (1898, p. 496), says: “It is quite the
commonest of the small forest birds. It arrived at Yeniseisk on June 1, and
subsequently (till the limit of trees was reached) was daily heard and seen working
its way up the willows and firs in search of food. It is a lively and tame little bird,
but the song becomes rather wearisome.”

The Yellow-browed Warbler is insectivorous.

It may be distinguished from the other Warblers by the distinct pale yellow
eye-streak, extending from the base of the bill to the nape, and by the two bars of
a like colour across the wing ; there is also an inconspicuous stripe of dull brownish-
green along the top of the head.

In the female the colours are similar to those of the male.

36

|
7
|

PALLAS’S WILLOW-WARBLER.
Phylloscopus prorvegulus (Pallas).

PLATE 6.

One example of this rare Warbler was recorded by the late T. Southwell
(Zoologist, 1896) as having been shot at Cley-next-the-Sea on October 31, 1896.

Pallas’s Willow-Warbler spends the summer in east Siberia, where it breeds,
migrating for the winter to southern China and India.

One specimen has been obtained and another seen on Heligoland.

According to Mr. Dresser (anual of Palearctic Birds, p. 105): “Its nest is
placed on the branch of a tree near the stem, is oven-shaped, constructed of grass-
bents and moss and lined with feathers and horse or cattle hair, and its eggs
which are deposited in May or June are white dotted and spotted with violet, ash-
grey, and red, the spots being frequently collected round the larger end.”

It has a loud and melodious song, and frequents wooded districts.

37

THE GREENISH WILLOW-WARBLER.
Phylloscopus viridanus, Blyth.

PLATE 6,

Mr. G. H. Caton Haigh shot the only British specimen of this Warbler which
has been obtained, at North Cotes, on the Lincolnshire coast, on September 5,
1896. Unknown in the western part of Europe, it is found during summer in
Russia, Siberia, and Turkestan, migrating for the winter to India.

The eggs of this bird are unknown.

It resembles our Willow-Wren, but differs in having only one whitish bar across
the wing.

THE DUSKY WARBLER.
Phylloscopus fuscatus (Blyth).

An example of the Dusky Warbler (recorded in the Scoftzsh Naturalist, 1913,
pp. 271-3, by Mr. W. Eagle Clarke) was obtained on Auskerry (Orkneys) early in
October 1913.

This rare wanderer, apparently never before taken in Europe, inhabits Siberia
during the summer months, passing southwards in autumn to spend the winter in
southern China and India.

The nest, hidden among herbage on the ground, or close to it in a bush, is domed
and has the entrance at the side, the structure being composed of dead grasses and
moss, with a lining of feathers. The eggs are white, without markings.

_ As the only example of this species was recorded after the Warbler plates had
been reproduced, a sketch of the bird is given with the drawing of Tengmalm’s Owl
on Plate 27, Vol. II.

38

ee a, ey ee ee eee ee ~_eee A

THE’ CHIFFCHAFY.
Phylloscopus rufus (Bechstein).

PLATE 6.

This is the earliest of all our summer Warblers, sometimes reaching our shores
in the beginning of March, though usually about the end of that month. Common
in the southern and western parts of England, it becomes rarer or more local in
Norfolk, Lancashire, and part of Yorkshire, its numbers again increasing in the
north of England, but diminishing in Scotland. It is widely spread over Europe,
wintering on both sides of the Mediterranean.

In habits it seems more partial to the upper branches of tall trees than its near
relation, the Willow-Wren, and may often be heard in such situations delivering
its double notes of cif, chaff, which compose its song, and from which it has
derived its name. Often the bird will add a number of low chirping notes after
the others. The latest date on which I have heard its song was the 2nd of
October.

It often enters gardens in search of the caterpillars and insects on which it feeds.

Hidden among herbage, the domed nest, with the entrance at the side, is
usually placed just above the ground, and is composed of dry grass and moss,
with a lining of feathers. The five or six eggs are white, with dark purplish-
red spots.

In appearance the Chiffchaff is very like the Willow-Wren, but differs in being
rather smaller, slightly browner in colour, and the legs are of a darker brown. The
wing also is more rounded in form, the second primary being about the same
length as the seventh, while in the Willow-Wren the second is intermediate in
length between the fifth and sixth.

There is a slightly larger and paler form, known as the Northern Chiffchaff,
P. abietina (Nilsson), which has once occurred in the Isle of Wight, and also the
Siberian Chiffchaff, P. ¢vzstzs, Blyth, several of which have been obtained on
migration in Scotland.

The last-mentioned form is distinguished from our bird by the browner colour
of the upper parts, and by the absence of any yellow beneath, except on the under
tail coverts and axillaries.

The sexes are alike in plumage.
39

THE WILLOW-WREN.
Phylloscopus trochilus (Linnzus).

PLATE 6.

The Willow-Wren, often called Willow-Warbler, arrives just after the Chiffchaff,
about the beginning of April. It is much more abundant than either the Chiff-
chaff or the Wood-Wren, being common in most parts of the country, haunting
woodlands, gardens, and other like situations. It is widely spread over Europe,
from the North Cape to the Mediterranean, ranging eastwards into Siberia and
wintering in Southern Europe and Africa.

The nest, concealed by herbage and made of grass and moss, with a lining of
finer grasses, horse-hair, and feathers, is placed on the ground, and, like those of the
Chiffchaff and Wood-Wren, is domed. The five to eight eggs are white, with
light red to purplish-red spots.

The food, similar to the Chiffchaff’s, is composed mostly of insects, in autumn
varied with fruit and berries.

On its arrival it is partial to birch woods and young plantations of larch, where
its joyous and most pleasing notes may be constantly heard.

Mr. J. Burroughs has happily described these: ‘“‘The song of the Willow-
Warbler has a dying fall; no other bird-song is so touching in this respect. It
mounts up round and full, then runs down the scale, and expires upon the air ina
gentle murmur.” It is delivered with short intervals, the bird flitting about and
picking up its insect food between the snatches.

The sexes are alike in plumage, but the young are much more brightly coloured.

In autumn many of these birds may be seen about our gardens, even in large
towns.

Two specimens of a Willow-Wren, known as Eversmann’s Warbler (Phylloscopus
borealis |Blasius]) have been taken in Scotland. In this species the bill is rather
thick and heavy, and the colour duller than in our Willow-Wren. Its summer
home is in Northern Europe and Siberia, and the bird winters in Southern Asia.

40

THE WOOD-WREN.
Phylloscopus sibilatrix (Bechstein).

PLATE 6,

The Wood-Wren is the largest and the brightest coloured of the three closely
related species, and arrives in its summer quarters later than the others, usually
towards the end of April.

Though local it has a wide range throughout the country, and is not uncommon
in well-timbered districts.

As a nesting species it is rare in Ireland. The Wood-Wren is found in summer
over the greater part of Europe, and winters in North Africa.

In shape and outer materials the domed nest is very like those of the Chiffchaff
and Willow-Wren; is lined with hair and fine grass, but contains no feathers.
The eggs, five to seven in number, are pure white, spotted with dark red.

This bird, besides being larger, is easily distinguished from the other two by its
longer and more pointed wing, the greener tint of the upper parts, the bright lemon-
yellow eyestreak, and the pure white of the lower breast.

The Wood-Wren lives, like its allies, on insects and berries. It is usually to be
found in woods of beech or oak, when its characteristic song, beginning with the
syllables /wee, fwee, wee, and ending with a succession of trilling notes, may often
be heard; during the song the bird makes a quivering movement of the wings.

According to Mr. J. G. Millais, the female has far less yellow and is less rich in
colour on the back than the male.

THE RUFOUS WARBLER.
Aédon galactodes (Temminck).
PEATE 7.

This southern species has been taken five times in the British Islands: the first
was shot on September 16, 1854, near Brighton; the second at the Start in
Devonshire; the third at the Old Head of Kinsale in September 1876; the fourth
near Slapton, Devonshire, on October 12, 1876; and the fifth, and last, in
September 1913 at Brede, Sussex.

It is plentiful in the southern parts of Spain and Portugal, though rare in Italy,
and is also met with in North Africa.

Lord Lilford found it not uncommon in Andalucia, haunting gardens and vine-
yards, and he states that the Rufous Warbler “seems to find some special attraction
about the plants of prickly pear which is so abundant in Andalucia.”

It winters in Africa.

The tamarisk tree furnishes the favourite site for the rather large nest, lined
with wool and other soft materials, prominently placed on some branch or in a fork.
To the other materials comprising the nest, a piece of cast serpent’s skin is usually
added.

The eggs, varying in number from four to five, are in ground colour light grey,
marked with brownish-ash and violet-grey.

The Rufous Warbler is insectivorous and has a rather low, sweet song. Canon
Tristram, in Zhe bts for 1882 (p. 409), describes its characteristic habit of ‘‘ expand-
ing, jerking, and fanning its tail, with its conspicuous white bar.”

The female is slightly paler in colour than the male.

Two examples of the Eastern form of this Warbler are recorded as having been
obtained in England.

42

“~
3

>

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RADDE’S BUSH-WARBLER.
Lusciniola schwarz (Radde).

PLATE 7.

One example of this rare Warbler, from south-eastern Siberia, was shot by Mr.
G. H. Caton Haigh on October 1, 1898, near North Cotes, Lincolnshire.
According to the late E. W. Oates (Fauna of British India, vol. i. pp. 399-400),

this species is migratory, visiting the southern half of Burma, Pegu, and Tenas-
serim; also south China.

He found this Warbler, on the two occasions he met with it, in bushes, and

describes it as feeding “a good deal on the ground, its strong tarsus being suited
to this mode of life.”

The nest and eggs of this Warbler are unknown.
Its brief but rather loud song is wanting in quality.

43

THE ICTERINE WARBLER.
Fypolars icterina (Vieillot).
PLATE 7.

The first example of the Icterine Warbler was shot at Eythorne, near Dover,
on June 15, 1848.

Since that date about twenty others have been recorded in Great Britain.

In summer this species is found over the greater part of Europe, and it winters
in Africa.

The well-built, cup-shaped nest is placed in a tree or bush, and is composed
of grasses, wool, moss, &c., with a lining of hair.

According to Seebohm (Bvtish Birds, vol. i. p. 383): “The eggs are four
or five in number, very rarely six. They are brownish pink in ground-colour,
evenly spotted and more rarely streaked with very dark purplish brown, which
occasionally approaches black.”

Describing the song he says: “It has great power, wonderful variety, and
considerable compass, but is singularly deficient in melody.”

This bird feeds on insects, fruit, and berries.

It is closely related to the Melodious Warbler, but is slightly larger and
rather brighter in colour, whilst the wing is longer in proportion to the tail.
The bastard primary is also smaller.

In colour the female resembles the male.

44

THE MELODIOUS WARBLER.
Hypolais polyglotta (Vieillot).
PLATE 7.

The Melodious Warbler has thrice been obtained in England, viz. at Burwash,
Sussex, April 30, 1897; Ninfield, Sussex, May 10, 1900; and Looe, Corn-
wall, May 12, 1905. :

This species has a less northern and more western range than the preceding,
being found, principally during the breeding season, in Portugal, Spain, western
and southern France, and Italy. It winters in Africa.

Colonel Irby (7%e Ornithology of the Straits of Gibraltar, p. 65) describes it
as “exceedingly plentiful near Gibraltar. . . . The birds frequent trees and
bushes, especially willows and sallows; and the nest, neatly built and cup-shaped,
in a great measure composed of sallow-cotton and thistle-down, is placed in
bushes and usually contains four pinkish-tinted eggs, marked with blackish
spots.”

The song, according to H. Saunders (anual of British Birds, 2nd ed., p. 78),
is far finer, but less loud than that of the Icterine Warbler.

45

THE REED-WARBLER.
Acrocephalus streperus (Vieillot).

PLATE 7.

This species is a regular summer visitor, arriving in England towards the
end of April. It is locally common in many parts, where the surroundings suit
its habits, and is usually to be found among reed-beds or where willows fringe
river margins. It is very rare north of Yorkshire, while only two authentic
occurrences of the bird have been noted in Scotland on migration (Fair Isle,
autumns of 1906 and 1909), and one in Ireland, October 1908 (Rockabill Light).

This species is found practically over the whole of Europe, except the ex-
treme north; also in South-western Asia. It winters in Africa.

The deep cup-shaped nest of the Reed-Warbler is beautifully constructed of
fine grasses and the flowering tops of reeds, wool, moss, &c.

Stevenson, in his Bzvds of Norfolk (vol. i. p. 116), says: “The ordinary number
of reeds selected is three, round which the materials are firmly woven, so as
to include them all in the structure, whilst the nest is placed, with instinctive
judgement, neither low enough to be affected by the rising of the water, nor yet
high enough to be influenced too powerfully by the wind. Occasionally a nest
may be found on four reeds; and I once found one on five, and another on two;
but these cases are rare.” The four or five eggs are a pale greenish-white, marked
with greenish-brown and grey.

The bird is of an active and restless disposition, and its song, consisting
of various notes rapidly delivered, is not altogether unmusical. It is continued
till late in the evening, while in calm, still weather it is often heard during
the night.

It feeds on water insects of various kinds and their larve, sometimes during
autumn taking fruit and berries.

The sexes are alike in plumage.

46

—— es eS

THE MARSH-WARBLER.
Acrocephalus palustris (Bechstein).
PLATE: 7.

This bird so much resembles the preceding species that it was not until atten-
tion was drawn to the difference by Mr. Harting and other ornithologists, that it
was given a place on the British list. There is now little doubt that the bird visits
England annually. The Marsh-Warbler arrives late in May, and, so faras we know
at present, is a scarce and local species, nesting in the midland, southern, and south-
eastern counties. Abroad it reaches as far north as Denmark and eastwards to
Persia, wintering in Africa.

Although closely resembling the Reed-Warbler in outward appearance, the
Marsh-Warbler differs considerably in habits, and in its song which is much more
striking and melodious. The colour of the upper parts is slightly more olive and
less rufous than in those of the Reed-Warbler; while its legs and feet are fleshy-
brown, whereas in the other they are slaty-brown.

The nest is usually placed in rank herbage or bushes, generally near water,
but not over it, and is more or less lightly constructed of grass-stalks and lined
with horse-hair. The eggs, varying in number from five to seven, are white,
spotted and blotched with olive-brown.

Its food consists of insects, and also of berries.

The sexes do not differ in colour.

One specimen of Blyth’s Reed-Warbler, 4crocephalus dumetorum, was shot on
Fair Isle, Scotland, in September rgro.

This species differs from the Reed-Warbler in having a shorter second primary
feather, and in the colour being more of an olive-brown.

47

THE GREAT REED-WARBLER.
Acrocephatus turdoides (Meyer).
PLATE 8.

This Warbler, although nesting yearly in the neighbourhood of Calais, and
common in Belgium, Holland, and many other parts of Europe, south of the Baltic,
is a rare visitor to England. The first example was shot by Mr. Thomas Robson,
near Newcastle, in May 1847, and about nine others have since been recorded.
In autumn the Great Reed-Warbler migrates to its winter quarters in Africa.

The favourite haunts of this bird are the beds of tall reeds, among the stems
of which its deep cup-shaped nest, composed of reed-tops and grasses, is woven.
The four to five eggs are pale blue with a greenish tinge, marked with ashy-grey
and dark olive-brown.

Lord Lilford writes (Birds of Northamptoushive and Neighbourhood, vol. i.
pp. 117-118): ‘‘The Reed-Thrush is not a bird likely to escape observation,
from his incessant, chattering song, which resembles that of our common Reed-
Warbler (4crocephalus streperus), but is much more powerful, and is varied with
occasional croaking notes like those of the edible frog, which reptile is often found
in great abundance in the haunts of this species. I believe that these birds are
never found far from the reed-beds which are their favourite resorts, and amongst
which it is often very difficult to obtain more than a casual glimpse of the bird as
it flits chattering from one perch to another. In the early morning they come to
the tops of the reeds to sing, and no one who has not visited a well-frequented
haunt of this species would believe what a confused din can be produced by a dozen
or so of Reed-Thrushes, in concert with a sprinkling of the amphibious vocalists
above mentioned.”

The food of the Great Reed-Warbler consists of insects, sometimes in autumn
varied with berries.

The sexes do not differ in colour.

48

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THE SEDGE-WARBLER.
Acrocephalus phragmitzs (Bechstein).

PLATE 8.

The Sedge-Warbler arrives in this country during the last half of April, usually
a little earlier than the Reed-Warbler. It is by far the most numerous of the
aquatic Warblers and breeds over the greater part of the mainland of England and
Scotland, and also inthe Orkneys. It is found in Barra, Outer Hebrides, although
absent in the Shetland Islands. Abroad it has a wide range from Norway south-
wards to central Italy, and eastwards through Russia to Siberia, wintering in
Africa.

The nest, composed of grasses and moss, with a lining of finer material, horse-
hair, and feathers, contains five or six eggs, in ground colour buff, spotted with
brown or olive-buff, often streaked with dark, hair-like lines.

It feeds on insects, and according to Naumann, in autumn it also eats elder-
berries.

The Sedge-Warbler is an active restless bird, and has a harsh chiding song
which may be heard day and night, and into which it introduces various imitations
of the notes of other species. A characteristic of this bird is its habit of breaking
out into song, if suddenly disturbed by a stone being thrown into the cover where
it is concealed.

It haunts sedgy and marshy ground, but may be found in hedges and planta-
tions far away from water.

The Sedge-Warbler is easily distinguished from the Reed- and Marsh-Warbler
by the very distinct yellowish-white streak above the eye, and by the dark brown
feathers forming longitudinal stripes.on the crown of the head.

The female resembles, but is rather duller in colour than the male.

THE AQUATIC WARBLER.
Acrocephalus aguaticus (J. F. Gmelin).

PuaTeE 8.

The first authentic example of the Aquatic Warbler was discovered in the
collection of the late Mr. Borrer, of Cowfold, Sussex, by Professor Newton. This
bird had been shot on October 19, 1853, near Brighton, and had long been
considered as only a brightly-coloured specimen of the Sedge-Warbler. Since
that date, however, a number of other specimens have been recorded. Abroad it
is found during the breeding season in the central and southern parts of Europe,
and is said to winter in Africa.

According to Mr. Dresser (anual of Palearctic Birds, p. 123): ‘It breeds
in May, and its nest, which resembles that of the Sedge-Warbler but is smaller,
is constructed of plant stems and bents, and a few rootlets, worked together with
insect webs and intermixed with plant cotton, and lined with horsehair.”

The number of eggs varies from four to five. Seebohm describes them (Bvztish
Birds, vol. i. p. 359) as: ‘“‘ Brownish white in ground-colour, thickly mottled and
clouded over the entire surface with yellowish brown, and sometimes with one or
two streaks of dark brown.”

The song resembles that of the sie uence vy but is inferior.

Its food consists of insects.

This bird is easily distinguished from the other by the broad, buff streak
running through the centre of the crown. It is shy and retiring in its habits,
escaping observation by creeping among the reeds and tangled vegetation of
marshy ground. :

The female does not differ from the male in colour.

50

ee oe

THE GRASSHOPPER-WARBLER.
Locustella nevia (Boddaert).

PuaTE 8.

The Grasshopper-Warbler is a local but widely distributed species over
England, Scotland, and Ireland, and has been recorded as nesting ‘‘as far north
as Elgin” (4 Hand-lst of British Birds, p. 62). According to Howard Saunders
(Manual of British Birds, 2nd ed., p. 89), “ Northumberland and Durham are
two of the counties in which it is abundant in some summers.”

In Europe it ranges as far north as Norway and southwards to Spain, where
it sometimes passes the winter. It is also found during this season in North
Africa.

The cup-shaped nest is made of dead grass and moss, sometimes with the
addition of withered leaves, and lined with finer grasses. It is carefully hidden
among dense herbage, such as brambles, furze-bushes, &c., and when disturbed
the bird glides off with a mouse-like action before taking wing. The four to
seven eggs are of a delicate pinkish-tinted white, spotted with red-brown dots, and
having paler underlying markings.

The earliest date on which I have heard the song of the Grasshopper-Warbler
in Surrey was on 26th April, and it leaves us in September.

Once heard, its peculiar reeling notes can never be mistaken for those of any
other bird, and although called the Grasshopper-Warbler, the noise produced is
much louder and more continuous than that made by the insect.

Its food consists of insects and their larve.

In habits it is an extremely shy and skulking bird, and may best be observed
in the very early morning, when it often leaves the shelter of the thick under-
growth, where the nest is hidden, and sings on the upper twigs of the brambles
and bushes.

The sexes do not differ in plumage.

PALLAS’S GRASSHOPPER-WARBLER.
Locustella certhiola (Pallas).

An example of this rare Warbler was found dead at the Rockabill Lighthouse,
near Dublin, on September 28, 1908. Its summer haunts are in Asia, ranging
from the river Yenesei and the Altai mountains eastward to the Pacific. Passing
through China on migration, it winters in India, Burma, and the Malay Archi-
pelago. ;
Pallas’s Grasshopper-Warbler is decidedly larger than our bird, and in colour
is blackish-brown and reddish-brown, streaked with dark on the upper parts; the
underparts being white, tinted with buff on the breast, flanks, and under tail
coverts. The tail feathers are tipped with white.

The sexes do not differ in colour.

52

THE LANCEOLATED WARBLER.

Locustella lanceolata (Temminck).

This is another rare straggler from Siberia, which winters in India, Burma, and
the Andaman Islands. The first recorded specimen was shot by Mr. G. H. Caton
Haigh, at North Cotes, Lincolnshire, on November 18, 1909, while two others
have since been recorded.

Though smaller than the Grasshopper-Warbler, the general colour of the
upper parts of this bird resembles that of the other, but the dark stripes are more
distinct and the underparts are strongly streaked with dark.

The colours are alike in both sexes.

a5

SAVI’S WARBLER.
Locustella luscinioides (Savi).

PLATE 8.

Although in former days this bird was without doubt a regular visitor during
the summer months to the fens of the eastern counties of England, and bred there ;
its nest being well known to the marsh men of those parts; it has now vanished
entirely from its old haunts, the last having been obtained in Norfolk in June 1856.
Since that date only one other example has occurred in Great Britain, viz. on Fair
Isle, Shetlands, in May 1908.

The earliest known example of Savi’s Warbler was got in Norfolk early in the
last century, and was erroneously considered by Temminck, to whom it was sub-
mitted, to be a variety of the Reed-Warbler, although later he seems to have had a
confused impression that it was Cetti’s Warbler. In 1824 the Italian naturalist
Savi made it clear, from specimens obtained in Italy in 1821, that this was a distinct
species, and it has, therefore, been named after him. In Europe this bird is found in
the marshes of Holland, France, Spain, Italy, and portions of Russia.

In habits it is usually shy and retiring, but in the early morning the males utter
their reeling grasshopper-like song from the top of some tall reed. Professor
Newton says (Yarrell’s British Birds, 4th ed., vol. i. p. 393): “It used to arrive
in the Eastern Counties, according to Mr. John Brown’s information, about the
middle of April, and at its first coming was not shy ; but, when settled in its home
and during the breeding-season, was not much seen. Its song was a long, smooth
trill, pitched higher, but possessing more tone than that of the Grasshopper-Warbler,
and, like that bird’s, chiefly heard early in the morning or at nightfall.”

Colonel Irby, describing nests found in Andalucia, says (The Ornithology of
the Straits of Gtbvaltar, 2nd ed., p. 60): “The nests were all alike, loosely and
clumsily built, solely constructed of dead sledge, often placed so close to the water
that the base was wet; they were always in the open marsh, none, that we saw,
under bushes or in tall rushes or reeds, and the single nest that was not in sedges
was in a tuft of the spiky rush so common in wet ground.”

The eggs, varying in number from four to five, are whitish, speckled with small

spots of brown.
54

CETTI’S WARBLER.
Cettza cettiz (Marmora).

PLATE 8.

This species, distinguished from other European Warblers by having only ten
tail feathers instead of twelve, has twice occurred in Sussex, May 1904 and
September 1906, the only records in Great Britain. Its home is in Southern
Europe and North Africa, ranging eastwards to Central Asia.

Colonel Irby, describing the breeding habits of Cetti’s Warbler, says (7%e
Ornithology of the Straits of Gibraltar, 2nd ed., p. 62): ‘These nests, extremely
difficult to find, are built of bits of small sedges, intermingled with willow-cotton,
and chiefly lined outside with strips of the stems of the Afz/obium, inside with
fine grass, a few hairs, and bits of cotton at the top. Those nests built in bushes
are chiefly constructed with grass and cotton, and are entirely lined with hair.”

The nest is cup-shaped, and generally contains five eggs, of a beautiful pink
colour.

Its song, though short, is clear and melodious.

The sexes are alike in colour.

55

Subfamily REGULIN/.

THE GOLDCREST.
Regulus cristatus, K. L. Koch.

PLATE 9.

The Goldcrest or Golden-crested Wren, the smallest of our British birds, is a
common species in most parts of the country, wherever there are woods of larch and
pine.

It is scarce or absent in the Outer Hebrides, Shetlands, and Orkneys. Abroad
it has a wide range all over Europe and across Asia.

The beautiful spherical nest, generally suspended from the underside of a branch
of the spruce, larch, yew, or cedar, is made of green moss and spiders’ or other
webs, with a lining of feathers and a few fine bents. I have one now in my garden,
in a Deodar cedar, fixed to small bunches of its needles, which are fastened down
by bands of caterpillar web to the sides of the nest, thus suspending it under the
branch.

The eggs, varying in number from five to eight and occasionally ten, are brownish-
or reddish-white in ground colour, with minute specks of reddish-brown.

The Goldcrest is a hardy little bird, and even in the coldest weather seems con-
tent with the insect food it obtains in the shelter of plantations and gardens, where
it may often be seen and heard till darkness begins to set in on winter evenings.

Being exceedingly tame and confiding, it will approach fearlessly within a few
feet of anyone who remains still.

The high-pitched call-note, which is uttered incessantly while feeding and
creeping about the branches, has been aptly described by Macgillivray as being
like that of the Shrew-mouse.

It begins to sing early in the year, and its melodious though tiny song is very
pleasing.

The Goldcrest is active and restless, sociable in its habits, and ranges through
the woods in company with Tree-Creepers and various Tits.

In autumn large flocks of immigrants often arrive on the east coast of England
and Scotland.

The female resembles the male, although the colours are less brilliant, the crest

being lemon-yellow. This is absent in the young bird.
56

MCZ LIBRARY
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THE. FIRECREST:
Regulus igniapitlus (C. L. Brehm).

PLATE 9.

The Firecrest or Fire-crested Wren was first recorded as a British bird in 1832,
an example having been killed by a cat in a garden near Cambridge. Although
some doubt has since been expressed as to the genuineness of this occurrence, many
Firecrests have since been recorded, mostly during the months from late autumn till
spring; chiefly in the south and west of England and the east coast.

In Europe the Firecrest does not range so far north as the Goldcrest, but is
found in the central and southern parts, and also in Asia Minor and Algeria.

The nest is composed of similar materials to those of the Goldcrest, and the
eggs, varying from seven to ten in number, are redder in colour.

The Firecrest differs from the Goldcrest by having the black bands alongside
the crest continued across the forehead, by a distinct dark streak passing through
and beyond the eye, the ear coverts being slaty-grey, bordered by a dark line below.
The crest is also of a deeper orange, and the general colour of a brighter olive-
green.

The female is duller in colour than the male, and the young at first are without
the crest, but show the black bands on the head.

Subfamily ACCENTORIN.

THE HEDGE-SPARROW.
Accentor modularis (Linnzus).

PLATE 9.

This familiar little bird, also called ‘‘ Dunnock,” is well known all over the
British Islands, except in some of the Outer Hebrides and Shetlands. Although
a resident throughout the year, a migratory movement has been observed in
autumn and spring, and, according to Gatke, numbers visit Heligoland. It is also
widely spread over Europe.

A glance at the head and bill will suffice to show that the Hedge-Sparrow has
no relationship whatever to the House-Sparrow, and to emphasize this fact it has
been named by some authors Hedge-Accentor.

Lord Lilford says (Bzvds of Northamptonshire and Neighbourhood, vol. 1.
p. 102) ‘fin habits, food, and conformation this little bird has no affinity with
what are properly called Sparrows, but I believe that in old times the term
Sparrow was used merely to convey the idea of a small bird, as, for instance,
Brook-Sparrow, Reed-Sparrow, and (a name I once heard) Moor-Sparrow, as applied
respectively to the Reed-Bunting, Reed- and Sedge-Warblers, and Meadow-Pipit.”

The nest, often begun in March, is placed in any low bush or hedge, very often
in a pile of faggots or pea-sticks, and is made of twigs, roots, dead grasses, and
green moss, with a lining of hair and wool. The beautiful turquoise-blue eggs
vary in number from four to six.

The food consists of insects and larvze, with seeds of grasses, &c., and in winter
the birds fearlessly approach house doors in search of crumbs and refuse.

The song is short, but sprightly and pleasing, and is kept up through a great
part of the year. Macgillivray mentions that it may sometimes be heard at night,
a statement which I can confirm.

He also says: “In dry sunny weather in summer I have watched them bask-
ing on the road near a hedge. They would stand quite motionless, their legs
much bent, their tail touching the ground, their wings spread a little, and their
plumage all ruffled; and thus they remain a long time, seeming to enjoy the heat
exceedingly, and suffering a person to approach very near them, before they fly off.”

The sexes are alike in plumage.
58

THE ALPINE ACCENTOR.
Accentor collaris (Scopolit).

PLATE 9.

The first recorded examples in England of the Alpine Accentor were two birds
seen in and about the gardens and buildings of King’s College, Cambridge, in
November 1822, one of which was shot.

A single bird had been previously killed in Essex in 1817, although not
recorded until 1832.

There are altogether about twenty authentic records of this bird in Great
Britain.

The Alpine Accentor is an inhabitant of the high mountain ranges of Central
and Southern Europe, varying the altitude of its haunts according to the season,
and it is always an exceedingly tame and confiding bird.

The nest is built in May among the rocks and stones, and according to Pro-
fessor Newton (Yarrell’s British Birds, 4th ed., vol. i. p. 299) ‘‘is formed of
rootlets, grass, moss and wool, and lined with hair. The eggs are four to six in
number, of a fine light greenish-blue.”

Its food consists of seeds and insects.

Seebohm states in his British Birds (vol. i. p. 502): “ The song is described
as something like that of the Lark ; and the male is said frequently to ascend thirty
or forty feet into the air, and then descend again, singing like a Tree-Pipit or a
Snow-Bunting. At other times they will sit motionless for a long time basking
in the sun on a rock, with head drawn in, plumage puffed out, and wings and tail
depressed.” This basking habit, which Macgillivray noticed in the Hedge-
Sparrow, seems common to both species.

The only personal acquaintance I have had with the Alpine Accentor was
many years ago in Switzerland, near the top of the Rigi, where I had the oppor-
tunity of watching an old bird, followed by a fully-fledged young one. They were
easily approached, and were hopping and flitting about among the rocks and patches
of half-melted snow, where gentians were flowering.

The sexes do not differ in colour.

59

Family CINCLIDZ.

THE DIPPER:
Cinclus aguaticus, Bechstein.

PLATE 9.

The home of the Dipper or Water-Ouzel is by the banks of rapid rivers and
brawling streams, and wherever they occur the Dipper may be looked for along
their margins.

In England and Wales it is resident where the surroundings suit its habits, -
while in Scotland it is plentiful.

The nest of the Dipper is placed on some ledge of rock over water, in a hole
in a wall by a mill dam, or sometimes behind a waterfall. It is outwardly con-
structed of moss, with an inner structure of grasses lined with dead leaves. The
five or six eggs are pure white.

The food of the Dipper consists of water-beetles, caddis worms, fresh-water
molusca, and various insects, many of which are harmful to fish spawn. Macgilli-
vray states: ‘‘As to the ova and fry of the salmon, there is no evidence whatever
that the Dipper ever swallows them.” Having closely studied from nature the
habits of this bird, he says: “It plunges into the water, not dreading the force
of the current, dives and makes its way beneath the surface, generally moving
against the stream and often with surprising speed.

“Tt does not, however, immerse itself head foremost from on high like the
Kingfisher, the Tern, or the Gannet, but either walks out into the water, or alights
upon its surface, and then plunges like an Auk or a Guillemot, slightly opening
its wings, and disappearing with an agility and a dexterity that indicate its pro-
ficiency in diving.

‘‘T have seen it moving under water in situations where I could observe it with
certainty, and I readily perceived that its actions were precisely similar to those
of the Divers, Mergansers, and Cormorants, which I have often watched from an
eminence as they pursued the shoals of sand-eels along the sandy shores of the
Hebrides. It, in fact, flew, not merely using the wing from the carpal joint but
sears it considerably and employing its whole extent, just as if advancing
in thea Ths.

‘The assertion of its walking in the water, on the bottom, which some persons
have ventured, is not made good by observation.”

The male and female are alike in plumage.

The Black-bellied Dipper, Czzclus melanogaster, the Scandinavian form of our
bird, has been several times recorded in England. In this, the chestnut on the
breast is absent, or only slightly defined.

According to Dr. Hartert (Witherby’s British Birds, vol. iv. p. 136), “ Irish
Dippers differ from English and Scotch ones.”

60

Family SITTIDA.

THE NUTHATCH.
Sitta cesta, Wolf.

PLATE 9.

This bird may be said to be common in localities suited to its habits, over
central and southern England, becoming scarcer as one goes northwards, and is
very rare in Scotland.

One individual seen in Ireland, in 1911, had probably been introduced.

When making its nest, this bird usually selects a hole in a tree, and cleverly
fills in the entrance with wet clay, until the size suits its requirements. A rough
nest is made within the cavity, composed of dead leaves, or scales from the bark
of pine trees, which contains six or seven eggs, in colour creamy-white, blotched
with reddish-brown. ;

According to Mr. J. G. Millais, ‘‘the call-note of the Nuthatch is a rather soft
‘twit-twit,’” and another note is the loud ‘ quoit-quoit,” which has been accurately
described by the Rev. C. A. Johns in his Bvitish Birds in their Haunts as being
“ precisely like the sound made by a pebble thrown so as to bound along ice.” In
spring, during the pairing season, the courting note is a long musical trill.

In autumn and winter its principal food consists of various nuts, acorns, haws,
&c., and at other times of insects.

It has a characteristic habit of fixing a nut in some chink or crevice in a tree,
and striking and hammering at the shell with its strong pointed bill, soon extracts
the kernel. The noise made by this tapping will often betray its whereabouts.

The Nuthatch is an active, restless bird, creeping about the branches of tall
trees, as much at ease when its head is pointing directly downwards as in any
other position.

The female is slightly duller in colour than the male.

Family TROGLODYTID&.

THE WREN.
Troglodytes parvulus, K. L. Koch.

PLATE 9.

This well-known and attractive little bird is common all over Great Britain
and Ireland, while island forms, differing somewhat in size and colour, are
resident in St. Kilda and the Shetlands. Its range also extends more or less
throughout Europe.

The Wren usually begins its nest in April, and selects various sites, such
as hedge-banks, overhung with roots of trees, or among ivy on walls, in crevices
in rocks, and in evergreens. The structure is domed, with a small entrance
at the side, and is made of moss, leaves, dead grass, &c., with a lining of hair
and feathers. Some observers have noticed that the bird chooses materials
which harmonise with the surroundings of the nest and help to conceal it. I
have seen one, however, constructed almost entirely of the fronds of dead bracken,
and built in a yew hedge.

Several more or less completed nests are often found in the vicinity of the
one where the young are reared; for what purpose has never been satisfactorily
explained.

The eggs vary in number, the usual complement being from six to eight
or even nine. In colour they are white, generally dotted with red spots. The
young remain in the nest until they can fly well, when, if alarmed, they will leave
it and scatter in all directions. |

The food consists mostly of insects, although fruit and seeds are sometimes
eaten.

It seems to be able to obtain a living even when snow is on the ground; at
such times it will creep among the shelter afforded by shrubs and plants in
gardens and hedgerows, seldom appearing to suffer.

The song of the Wren is loud and penetrating, and is continued through
the greater part of the year, its cheering notes being often heard on bright
winter mornings. |

The female is like the male in colour, but rather duller.
62

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Family PANURID/..

THE BEARDED TITMOUSE
Panurus biarmicus (Linnzus).

PLATE IO.

The Bearded Titmouse or Bearded Reedling, though apparently much like
the Titmice in many of its habits and actions, has no real relationship to that
family, and according to Professor Newton (Yarrell’s British Birds, ath ed., vol. i.
p. 512) “must be regarded as the representative of a separate family to which he
would apply the name Panuride.”

Before the drainage of the fens, this bird was common in many of the reed-
beds and marshes of England, but it is now confined as a resident almost, if not
entirely, to Norfolk, where it is called by the fen-men the ‘‘ Reed Pheasant.”

It is also found in parts of Central and Southern Europe, where the surroundings
suit its habits, and was at one time very plentiful in the reedy marshes of
Holland. Eastwards it ranges through southern Russia and Asia Minor to
Mongolia.

The nest, begun about the end of March or beginning of April, is built low
down among sedge and herbage near the water, and is made of the blades of
the sedge and reed plants, with a lining of the feathery reed tops. The eggs,
varying in number from five to seven, are white, with broken streaks or speckles
of reddish-brown.

The Bearded Titmouse breeds twice in the year, and when the nesting time
is over the birds collect and rove about the reed-beds in parties; flitting from
one feeding ground to another, uttering the while their musical, ringing notes.
As soon as the food in one clump of reeds is exhausted, they move on to a fresh
cluster, climbing up and down the stems with great agility and searching them
closely for insects. They also eat small molluscs, whilst in winter the seeds of
the reed are sought for.

These birds show great affection, a pair often sitting close together while
preening each other’s feathers.

63

Family PARIDZ.

THE LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE.
Acredula caudata (Linneus).

PLATE I0.

The Long-tailed Titmouse has been separated by naturalists from the rest of
the family, as it differs in many particulars, and is easily distinguished from the
true Tits by its extremely long graduated tail.

The Long-tailed Titmice inhabiting Northern and Central Europe have the
head pure white, without any black; this race was obtained on one occasion in
Northumberland, and is said to have occurred once in Kent.

The Long-tailed Titmouse, also called Bottle-Tit, is resident and common
throughout the greater part of the British Islands, with the exception of some of
the northern and treeless districts. It is found abundantly in larch and birch woods,
and about tall hedgerows and plantations, often coming into gardens in woodland
neighbourhoods.

The nest is usually placed in some thick furze-bush or tall thorn-hedge, or it
may be built in a fork on the stem of a birch tree. It is oval in shape, with a small
hole at the side near the top of the dome, and is most beautifully constructed
of lichens, green moss, and cobwebs, woven and felted together, and thickly lined
with many feathers. According to Macgillivray, as many as 2379 have been
found in one nest. The eggs vary in number from six to eleven or even more.
These are white, finely speckled with red.

The birds feed on insects and larvz, and when the young have left the nest,
the families keep together until the following spring. Parties of a dozen or more
may be seen at any time during the autumn and winter, constantly uttering their
soft chirping notes as they make their way through the woods. They twist and
climb all over the thinner twigs and branches, intent on food, and although often
scattered, never seem to lose touch or get out of hearing of each other. These
parties are often accompanied by other species of Tits, and also by Goldcrests and
Tree-Creepers.

The female resembles the male in colour, but has more black on the head.

64

THE GREAT TITMOUSE.
Parus major, Linnzus.

PLATE 10.

The Great Titmouse or Ox-eye is more or less common over the greater
portion of our islands, with the exception of the northern and western parts of
Scotland, where it is rare. It is found throughout Europe from as far north as
Lapland to the Mediterranean, and also in North Africa and Asia.

The Great Titmouse is a strikingly handsome bird, active and often aggressive
in its habits, and is fond of wooded and cultivated districts, gardens, and orchards.

In early spring, before the leaves have opened, its loud and resonant song may
constantly be heard. This is quite distinct from that of any other British bird,
and has been compared to the sound of a file in sharpening a saw. The bird is
also a mimic, and imitates the alarm notes of other species.

The nest is placed in many different situations, often in a hole in the trunk of
a tree, or in a wall; sometimes in a pump or greenhouse chimney, while it is one
of the first birds to take possession of a nesting-box. I have seen it turn a Blue
Titmouse out of one of these boxes and drive the owner away.

The nest is made of a quantity of green moss, in which is placed a warm lining
of hair, wool, and feathers. It contains from six to eleven or twelve eggs, which
are white, with reddish spots. The female sits very close, and will allow herself to
be touched with the hand without leaving the nest.

The chief food of the Great Titmouse consists of insects, but the bird is more
or less omnivorous. In autumn it is fond of nuts, especially beech mast, picking
them off the trees and flying to some convenient perch to open them. It is said
to attack and kill smaller birds, and is partial to meat of any kind.

The colours of the female resemble those of the male, but are less bright,
and the black stripe running through the centre of the breast and underparts,
which distinguishes the Great Titmouse from its congeners, is narrower and less
extended.

THE COAL-TITMOUSE.
Parus ater, Linnzus.

PLATE 10.

This Titmouse is found in most parts of the British Islands, and wherever
pine woods occur it may be said to be abundant.

The Coal-Titmouse, or closely related races of the same species, is also met
with over a great part of Europe and Asia.

The form of this bird with olive-brown back (the Parus brittanicus of Messrs.
Sharpe and Dresser) is the more common, while the grey-backed Continental
race has occurred in Norfolk, and this or intermediate forms are found commonly
in Scotland.

At a meeting of the British Ornithologists’ Club, in December 1g1o, Mr.
W. R. Ogilvie-Grant exhibited and described a new species of Titmouse from
Ireland (Parus hibernicus), two specimens of which he discovered among some
birds forwarded to the Natural History Museum by Mr. Collingwood Ingram
(Bulletin, B.O.C., xxvii. p. 37). These differ principally from our Coal-Titmouse
in having the light patches on the sides of the head and nape pale mustard-
yellow.

It is, however, a matter of opinion as to whether this should be accepted as
a new species or not. |

The nest of the Coal-Titmouse, begun early in spring, is situated in a hole
in a wall or tree, often underground in some disused burrow of mouse, rabbit,
or mole, and is made of moss, wool, hair, and other materials. It contains from
six to eleven eggs, which are white, dotted over with red.

The food consists mainly of insects, but it also eats seeds and nuts, and in
winter it will come readily to bones and pieces of fat.

In spring it sings a pleasing little ditty, and, like the other Tits, is restless
and ever on the move. Although mostly found in pine woods, it may often be
seen among birches and alders, as well as in gardens and shrubberies.

The male is slightly brighter in colour than the female.

66

THE MARSH-TITMOUSE.
Parus palustris, Linnzus.

PLATE Io.

The Marsh-Titmouse, which, like the Coal-Titmouse, is subject to colour
variations, though not by any means rare, is perhaps less frequently met with
in England than most of its congeners.

In Scotland it is scarce and local, while in Ireland it has only rarely been
recorded.

The Marsh-Titmouse inhabiting Scotland is apparently the race with a
dull black crown to the head, known as the Willow-Tit, which form is also
resident in England.

The nest is usually placed in a hole in the stump of an old willow or other
tree, or sometimes underground in a disused mouse hole, and is composed of
moss, willow-down, wool, and hair. It contains from five to eight eggs, which
are white, spotted with red. |

About the end of March 1914 a pair of Marsh-Titmice began to dig out a
nesting hole in an old rotten post which had been used to support some netting
in my garden. Near the top of this a shaft was carried downwards within the
post, to the depth of several inches, with two small entrance holes about three
inches apart, one above the other.

The numerous chips which were dug out during the operation were strewn
about on the ground below, without any attempt at concealment. Unfortunately
the birds abandoned the site before the excavation was completed.

Although frequenting willow trees near water, the Marsh-Titmouse is just
as often found among woods and plantations in dry situations.

In spring this bird has some pleasing notes which may be described as a
song, and its call-note is very distinct from that of the other Titmice. In actions
and habits it very much resembles the rest of its family, clinging in various
attitudes to the twigs and branches as it searches for insects.

The sexes are alike in plumage.

67

THE BLUE TITMOUSE.
Parus ceruleus, Linnzus.

PLATE 10.

This little favourite is resident and widely distributed throughout the country,
becoming scarce or local in the Orkneys, Shetlands, and north-west of Scotland.
Abroad it is spread over almost the whole of Europe, and it ranges eastwards as
far as Persia.

It is the most common and best known member of the Titmouse family, and
may be met with all the year round in gardens, orchards, and woodland country.

It nests in April, and usually chooses a hole in a tree or some cavity in a wall,
though various other and often strange sites are selected in which to rear its young.

The nest is made of moss, wool, hair, and feathers, and contains from six to
ten eggs—sometimes more—which are white, spotted with rusty-red.

The Blue Titmouse lives principally on insect food, and is of great service to
the gardener in ridding the fruit trees of grubs and other pests. Expert and
skilful in securing its prey, the larve hidden in buds and foliage have little chance
of eluding its sharp eyesight.

In spring it produces, like the other Titmice, a little song, in addition to its
usual alarm and call notes, and in autumn small parties may often be seen about
the woods, mixed up with other Tits, Goldcrests, and Tree-Creepers.

The sexes are similar in colour, although the male is rather the brighter of
the two.

68

THE CRESTED TITMOUSE.
Parus cristatus, Linnzus.

PLATE 10.

As a resident species the Crested Titmouse is confined to the natural pine
forests which cover the valley of the Spey in Scotland, although it has occurred
as a wanderer in other parts of that country. Several stray specimens have been
also recorded in England, while it has a wide range over Europe.

Lord Lilford, in his work on British Birds, quoting a letter from Lieut.-Colone]
Irby, says: ‘‘ The Crested Titmouse is common in the Spey district, where there
are old and decayed pine-trees, but is very local—found in one small valley and
absent in the next. A hole about eight inches deep and enlarged at the bottom is
excavated vertically in a rotten fir-stump or decayed alder, and the nest, which is
very scant, consists of moss lined with hair or felt ; the usual complement of eggs
is four.” The eggs are generally laid about the end of April or beginning of May,
and are white, dotted with red.

It feeds on insects, larvz, and berries. I have observed the bird in autumn
on one or two occasions in its Scottish haunts; its actions and general bearing
much resembled those of the Blue Titmouse, and it allowed a near approach.

The call-note is difficult to describe, but once heard, cannot be mistaken for
that of any other Titmouse. According to Mr. J. G. Millais, it has a twittering
note, like the call-note of the common Canary.

The sexes are alike in colour.

69

Family CERTHUDZ.

THE TREE-CREEPER.
Certhia famitiarcs, Linneus.

PLATE II.

The Tree-Creeper is not uncommon in districts suiting its tree-loving habits
throughout the British Islands, although rare in the Shetlands and Orkneys, and
unknown in the Outer Hebrides. Either this species, or closely related races, also
inhabit Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.

It breeds early in the year, and the nest may be looked for behind a piece of
bark which has become more or less detached from the trunk of a tree, in thatch,
wood-stacks, or in crevices under the eaves of buildings. It is usually composed
of twigs, grasses, and moss, and lined with feathers, wool, and pieces of bark.

The six to nine glossy white eggs are spotted with rusty-brown and purplish-
red. This tiny bird, one of the smallest of our native species, is retiring and unob-
trusive in its ways, and may be found in wooded localities, wherever there are good-
sized trees. Diligently searching the trunks and branches for the spiders and insects
on which it lives, it begins operations near the roots and works its way upwards,
moving round and round the tree as itascends. As soon as one has been thoroughly
explored, it quickly flits to another and repeats the same movements. It always
appears to be absorbed in its occupation, paying little heed to anyone who does not
approach too near, and constantly utters a rather shrill and squeaking cry.

The long curved claws and stiff pointed feathers of the tail are a great help to
the bird when climbing up the trees and creeping along the branches.

The female does not differ from the male in plumage.

7°

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THE WALL-CREEPER.
Tichodroma murarza (Linnzus).

PLATE II.

On October 30, 1792, Robert Marsham, of Stratton-Strawless in Norfolk,
wrote to Gilbert White of Selborne, describing a specimen of the Wall-Creeper
which had been shot by his man, whilst flying about his house. This was the
first authentic record in England of this bird, which has since been obtained four
times, viz. one in Lancashire, May 8, 1872; another near Winchelsea, about 1886;
one near Hastings, December 1905; and the last, recorded by Mr. H. W. Ford-Lindsay
in Witherby’s British Birds (vol. vi. p. 218), was obtained within the ruins of
Camber Castle, Sussex, on November 1, 1912.

Abroad the Wall-Creeper is found among the mountain ranges of Central and
Southern Europe, and in winter may sometimes be seen climbing about the walls
of old buildings in southern France and Italy. It is also met with in Asia and in
Northern Africa.

The nest, placed in rock crevices which are often inaccessible, is described by
Seebohm (&ritish Birds, vol. i. p. 520), from a specimen in his collection, as
follows: ‘‘ Its chief material is moss, evidently gathered from the rocks and stones,
intermingled with a few grasses, and compactly felted together with hairs, wool, and
a few feathers. The lining is almost exclusively composed of wool and hair, very
thickly and densely felted together.” The eggs are white, minutely spotted with
reddish-brown, and vary in number from three to five.

Lord Lilford, in his book on British Birds, says: ‘‘ My own acquaintance with
the Wall-Creeper was first formed high up in the Italian Alps during the month
of August; I found it in small family-parties, generally frequenting precipitous
faces of rock; the birds examine every nook and crevice, not, as in the case of the
Woodpeckers, by continuous climbing, but by a series of short hops in some degrees
resembling the method of progression of the Nuthatch ; the birds thus observed by
me appeared to be perfectly fearless of man, probably from their small acquaintance
with him, and permitted a very close observation of their habits; they seemed to
find abundant food in the crannies and small fissures of the limestone upon which
I could hardly bear my hand in the full blaze of noon; after carefully examining
one of these localities the bird would flit with a very peculiar butterfly-like flight
to the lower end of another crevice in the rock. I never saw one of them progress
head downwards or sideways, and the only sound that I heard from them was a
rapidly repeated single note somewhat resembling that of the Wryneck.”

The female resembles the male, but in summer has less black on the throat.

71

Family MOTACILLIDZ.

THE PIED WAGTAIL.
Motactlla lugubris, Temminck.

PLATE) 11:

The Pied Wagtail, although common and resident throughout the British
Islands, is subject to a partial migration southwards in autumn. According to
Lord Lilford, “its range appears to be virtually limited to our islands and the
extreme west of the continent of Europe.”

The nest, built of moss, grass-stalks, and roots, and lined with hair, is placed
in a cavity under some bank or rock, in thatch, or perhaps more often in thick
ivy against a wall. It is usually begun in April, and contains from four to six
eggs, in colour white, speckled with grey.

The food of this bird consists mainly of insects, and it is a most expert
flycatcher.

On June 7, 1913, I observed one which was feeding its young in a nest placed
close to my window, cleverly seizing these insects, although its bill already held
a plentiful supply. Sometimes only half a minute elapsed between the visits of
the female to the nest, and she occasionally wetted the food in a drinking pan
before taking it to the young.

The Pied Wagtail is met with in fields and gardens; riverside meadows are
also favourite haunts, and in autumn many feed along the seashore.

It is a strikingly beautiful bird, the various tones of black, white, and grey
being strongly contrasted.

In spring it has a pleasing though short song.

This Wagtail may be distinguished in summer plumage from the so-called
White Wagtail—the next species to be described—by having the back black instead
of grey. In winter the black mantle of the former changes to grey, when both
species are much alike.

The female has the back grey, marked with dark feathers.

72

THE WHITE WAGTAIL.
Motacilla alba, Linnzeus.

PLATE II.

This species is a fairly common spring visitor to our shores, passing southwards
again in autumn, and is found over the greater part of Europe, where it is the
common form of Pied Wagtail. Apparently, from want of observation, it was
unknown as a British bird until Mr. Bond found it nesting at Kingsbury Reservoir,
near London, in May 1841.

The situations selected for the nest are like those chosen by the Pied Wagtail,
and the eggs are very much the same.

In habits it is not to be distinguished from the other, and their notes are
also alike.

The female has the colours duller, and less black on the head than her mate.

THE, GREY WAGTAIL,:
Motacilla melanope, Pallas.

PLATE II.

This very graceful bird, though smaller than the Pied Wagtail, has greater
length of tail, and its elegant shape and beautifully contrasted colours make it
one of the most attractive of the family.

It is resident in the British Islands, having a partial migration southwards in
autumn. It is also not uncommon on high ground in Central and Southern
Europe, its most northerly range on the continent being south Sweden.

During summer the usual haunts of the Grey Wagtail in our islands are the
wild and hilly parts of the northern and western counties of England, as well as
in Wales; also over the greater part of Scotland, where it may be found nesting
by the sides of rocky burns, often far up among the hills. It is likewise common
in Ireland.

The nest is placed in a hollow under an overhanging rock, or among grass
and stones, and is made of grasses, moss, and wool, with a lining of hair. The
five or six eggs are greyish-white, spotted with greyish-brown.

Macgillivray says: ‘Its flight is rapid and performed in large curves. When
alighting it spreads out its tail, displaying the lateral white feathers, which then
become very conspicuous, and when standing it vibrates its body continually, so
that the tail, which it now and then spreads by a sudden jerk, is always in motion.
. . . Its food consists of insects of various kinds, which it usually picks up from
the ground, although it often performs a short aerial excursion in pursuit of them.”

Its sharp and clear note somewhat resembles that of the Pied Wagtail.

The female is duller in colour than the male, and has little or no black on the
throat, both sexes being much alike in winter.

74

THE BLUE-HEADED WAGTAIL.
Motacilla flava, Linneus.

PLATE II.

It was first made clear by Gould in 1832 that the Blue-headed Wagtail,
which is the Continental form of our common Yellow Wagtail, was distinct,
and he therefore separated the two birds.

It has a wide range over Europe, and is also found in Asia and America,
wintering in Africa.

The Blue-headed Wagtail is now known to be a more or less regular spring
visitor to our islands, a few remaining to nest, especially in parts of Sussex and
Kent. It has also been known to breed in Durham and Wiltshire.

Mr. Dresser states (Birds of Europe, vol. iii.): ‘The present species
(Motacilla flava), which may be considered the typical form, is during the breed-
ing season found in Central Europe, while in the high north Motacilla viridis
alone occurs.”

The food of this Wagtail consists of flies and other insects, and in its habits
it is very like the others, haunting marshy ground and grass lands, especially
where there are cattle. It has a twittering song.

The nest, built in May, is made of roots, bents, dry grasses, and moss, with
a lining of hair and some feathers. It is placed on the ground among long grass
and other herbage, and contains from four to six eggs, which are buffish-white,
clouded with yellowish-brown.

A variety of this Wagtail, the 1Zotaczlla beema, Sykes, known as Sykes’ Wagtail,
has once occurred at Rottendean, Sussex, in April 1898. This has the cheeks
and lower part of the ear-coverts white, and the grey on the top of the head and
nape are paler than in the Blue-headed Wagtail.

The other forms of this Wagtail, which have visited the British Islands,
and are all closely related, are as follows:

The Grey-headed Yellow Wagtail (A/ofacilla viridis, Gmelin), (figured on
Plate 11), a northern race, found in Scandinavia and ranging across Russia to
Siberia; it has the top of the head dark slaty-grey, almost black ear-coverts, and
is without the eye-stripe. Several examples have been recorded.

The Black-headed Wagtail (AZotacilla melanocephala, Lichtenstein), a southern
form inhabiting South-eastern Europe and Asia in summer, and spending the
winter in Africa and India.

This has the crown, sides of the head, and back of neck black, without any
eye-stripe. The first example in England was shot in Sussex in 1903, and two
or three others have since been recorded.

The Ashy-headed Wagtail, Motacilla cinereicapilla, Savi. This form has a
slaty-grey crown, ear-coverts black, and is without the eye-stripe. It inhabits
the Mediterranean countries, and winters in Africa. Two English examples have
been recorded.

75

THE YELLOW WAGTAIL.
Motacilla rai (Bonaparte).

PLaTE II.

This species is a common summer visitor to many parts of the British
Islands, reaching our shores in spring, leaving in the autumn, and wintering in
Africa.

It is the representative in Western Europe of the Blue-headed Wagtail,
previously described, only differing from it in the colour of the head, the crown
being of a yellowish-green.

Its habits are precisely the same, usually seeking its food in fields among
grazing cattle, where a plentiful supply of flies and other insects may be found.

The nest, placed on the ground, is built of dead grasses and fine roots, and
lined with hair. The five or six eggs are greyish-white, mottled with yellowish-
brown.

Describing its notes, Lord Lilford says (Bzrds of Northamptonshire and Neigh-
bourhood): ‘The Yellow Wagtail has more of a song and altogether more
musical notes than either the Pied or Grey species.

The female is browner on the back than the male, paler on the underparts,
and has the eye-stripe more of a buff-colour.

76

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THE TREE-PIPIT
Anthus triviales (Linneus).

PLATE 12.

The family of Pipits, closely related to that of the Wagtails, contains a large
number of species.

The first of these to be considered is the Tree-Pipit, a regular summer visitor,
more or less common in many parts of the country, with the exception of western
Cornwall and the northern parts of Scotland. It has not been recorded in Ireland.
Over Europe and Asia it has a wide range, and winters in the southern parts of
Europe, Africa, and India.

The Tree-Pipit usually arrives about the middle of April; the earliest date on
which I have observed it, in Surrey, was the third of that month.

It likes a more or less open, though wooded country, with good-sized trees ;
and also frequents orchards.

The same or succeeding pairs of birds return year by year to certain spots,
near which they nest, with extraordinary regularity.

The nest is cleverly concealed and placed on the ground. It is made of dead
grasses, moss, and rootlets, and lined with fine grass and some hair. The eggs,
numbering from four to six, vary much in colour. Howard Saunders says (Manual
of British Birds, 2nd ed., p. 132), “some being greyish-white, mottled with deep
brown; others rich reddish-brown; some almost lilac pink; and again a not
uncommon variety resembles the egg of the Reed-Bunting.”

The Tree-Pipit soon makes its presence known by its striking and characteristic
song. Perched on the upper branch of a tree, it suddenly springs upwards and
outwards in a slanting direction, remaining quite silent until about the turning
point, when it begins its song. This is continued as the Tree-Pipit descends with
open wings, outspread tail directed upwards, and feet hanging down below the
body, until it regains its footing, close to the branch from which it started; or on
another at some distance. As far as I have observed, this point is left undecided
until after the bird has begun to sing. It is also often heard singing while
perched upon a tree.

The actions of the Tree-Pipit are nimble and active, and it runs swiftly along
the ground after insects, on which it feeds.

The sexes are much alike in colour.
77

THE MEADOW-PIPIT
Anthus pratensis (Linnzus).

PLATE 12.

The Meadow-Pipit or Titlark is resident and well known all over the British
Islands, being also widely distributed throughout the greater part of Europe and
in many portions of Asia. Some winter in North Africa. It is a common bird on
our pastures, wastes, and moorland country; in winter leaving the high ground
and bleak hillsides for lower and more sheltered localities. Some pass out of this
country in autumn, returning in spring.

The nest, usually placed in some hollow on a bank, or on flat ground, and con-
cealed among grass and heather, is made of grasses, and lined with finer material
of the same kind and hair. The five or six eggs vary a good deal in colour,
but usually have a brownish- or greyish-white ground, dotted with purplish-grey or
reddish-brown.

Though often seen on a wall or rock, the Meadow-Pipit seldom perches on trees,
and seeks its food of insects, small worms, and snails, and also seeds on the ground.

It sings while descending after an upward flight, in the manner of the Tree-Pipit,
although it sometimes utters a few cheefing notes during the ascent. The song
is distinctly inferior to that of the Tree-Pipit, and may occasionally be heard while
the bird is perched on a stone. Its ordinary call is a shrill and rather melancholy
squeaking note, frequently uttered.

The Meadow-Pipit is slightly smaller than the other, and may be distinguished
from it by its much longer and straighter hind claw.

The sexes are alike in colour.

78

THE RED-THROATED PIPIT.
Anthus cervinus (Pallas).

PLATE 12.

The first authentic occurrence of the Red-throated Pipit was one obtained on
Unst, Shetlands, in 1854, and not identified until many years afterwards. Two
other supposed examples, one captured near Brighton in March 1884, and the
other shot at Rainham, Kent, in April, 1880, are now considered to be only
brightly-coloured specimens of the Meadow-Pipit (Witherby’s SAvztish Birds,
vol. ii. p. 278).

A number of undoubted examples, however, have since been noted.

In summer the Red-throated Pipit inhabits the far north of Europe and Asia,
wintering in India, China, and North Africa.

Seebohm found it plentiful in Siberia, and describes the nest as being “‘ placed
in recesses on the sides of the tussocky ridges which intersect the bogs,” and
“entirely made of dry grass, the coarser pieces being used for the foundation and
the finest reserved for the lining.” According to Mr. Dresser (lanual of Pala-
arctic Birds, p. 214): “ The eggs vary considerably, some having the ground colour
greenish grey, others brown, some are rich reddish-brown, the colour of old
mahogany, others dull brown, and others again greenish grey, closely spotted with
brown, and I have seen some with large brown scratches like those on the eggs
of the Lapland Bunting.”

The food is similar to the Meadow-Pipit’s, but it has a finer song than that
species.

In the female the reddish-chestnut colour is confined to the throat, and does
not extend to the breast, as in the male.

79

THE TAWNY PIPIT.
Anthus campestris (Linneus).

PLATE 12.

This species is an irregular autumnal migrant to England, some thirty or forty
examples having been obtained, mostly in Sussex.

It is said to visit the north of France and Holland annually in summer, and is
also found over the greater part of Europe, and ranges eastwards into Asia, winter-
ing in India and North Africa.

It is a bird of the desert wastes and uncultivated country, and, according to
Lord Lilford: ‘In comparison with the other species of the genus 4xthus, this is
a shy and retiring bird, chiefly remarkable for its loud single alarm-note.”

He describes a nest he found in Spain as follows—“it was placed between
two large clods of sandy earth, near a horse-track, was composed of dry root-fibres,
lined with goat’s-hair, and contained four eggs of a dull creamy white profusely
blotched and streaked with ash-grey markings.”

The male and female are alike in colour.

80

RICHARD’S PIPIT.
Anthus rihardi, Vieillot.

PLATE 12.

This Eastern species of Pipit breeds on the steppes and marshy lands of
Central and Northern Asia, wintering in China and India. Although not breeding
in Europe, it has a wide range there, and has occurred many times in England,
seldom in Scotland, and only twice in Ireland.

According to Seebohm, it nests late in May or early in June, as its breeding-
grounds are covered with snow until that time.

It builds its nest on the ground, and the five or six eggs are dull white, spotted
and blotched with different shades of brown.

It feeds on worms and insects.

In habits Richard’s Pipit is said to be very shy and wary, and difficult to
approach within gunshot.

It is partial to well-watered country, being frequently found in wet meadows
and grass-lands.

It is by far the largest of the Pipits visiting Great Britain, and has a very long

hind claw.
The female does not differ from the male in plumage.

Il 81 L

THE ALPINE PIPIT.
Anthus spipoletta (Linnzus).

PLATE 12.

A few years ago the Alpine or Water-Pipit was considered an unusual visitor
to England, but of late it has been frequently seen and obtained on migration,
mostly in Sussex.

Its summer home is among the mountains of Central and Southern Europe, and
across Asia, while in winter it visits Africa, India, and China.

When its high summer haunts are free from snow, the Alpine Pipit returns to
them, and there on the ground, among rocks and stones, the nest is placed. It is
made of dead grasses, moss, and small roots, and lined with hair or wool. The
four or five eggs are greyish-white in ground colour, and blotched with olive-brown.

Seebohm compares its song to that of the Meadow-Pipit, but says it ‘‘is louder
though not so sweet.”

The sexes do not differ in colour.

Referring to the name of Alpine Pipit, Lord Lilford, in his work on British
Birds, says: ‘I have adopted the above designation for this species in preference to
that of Water-Pipit, for the simple reason that all the European species of the
genus 4xzthus frequent the sea-shores and alluvial flats in autumn and winter, and
are, with very few exceptions, at all seasons fond of the neighbourhood of water,
whilst the present bird, during the breeding-season, is seldom, if ever, to be met
with, except among mountains of a considerable elevation.”

An example of the American Water-Pipit (4uthus ludovicianus) occurred in
St. Kilda in the autumn of 1910.

This species breeds in the Arctic portions of north-eastern Siberia and Northern
America, and winters as far south as Central America.

It is rather larger than 4. sfJzfoletta, and more tawny on the underparts.

82

THE ROCK-PIPIT.
Anthus obscurus (Latham),

PLATE 12.

This bird is resident and common along all the rocky parts of our coasts, in-
habiting the mainland as well as the islands, and during the autumn and winter
months it also frequents the low-lying shores and mud-flats. It is found, in suit-
able localities, over the greater part of Europe.

The Scandinavian race of Rock-Pipit, visiting our shores on migration, has a
vinous-chestnut tint on the breast, and the throat less spotted during the breeding
season, but otherwise does not differ from the ordinary form.

The nest is placed close to the sea, among tufts of thrift, or under a stone, and
is composed of dead grass—sometimes partly of seaweed—and often, but not
always, lined with hair. The eggs vary in number from four to five, and varieties
of colour occur. They are often of a greyish or greenish tint in ground colour,
blotched with olive-brown.

The food consists of insects, larvz, and tiny shellfish; the little black flies, so
plentiful about decaying seaweed, forming a large part of its diet.

The song is delivered on the wing, the bird rising in the air and then descend-
ing, after the manner of the Meadow-Pipit.

The shrill call-note also resembles that bird’s, and is frequently uttered as it flits
about the rocks and seaweed with an unsteady wavering flight.

The sexes are alike in colour.

83

THE GREAT GREY SHRIKE.
Lantus excubitor, Linnzus.

PLATE 13.

The Great Grey Shrike is a not very uncommon autumn and winter visitor
along the eastern parts of England and Scotland, pecapionally occurring in
spring, and very rarely during summer.

It is also found over a great part of Europe, ranging eastwards as far as
western Siberia.

The large and bulky nest is made of twigs, dead grass, and moss, with a
lining of wool, hair, and feathers, and is placed in a fork of a branch, at some
distance from the ground. It contains five or six eggs, greenish-white in ground
colour, and blotched with olive-brown and purplish-grey.

The Great Grey Shrike is in character bold and aggressive, and preys largely
on small birds and mice, besides beetles, moths, and grasshoppers.

It has a habit, in common with the other members of the Shrike family, of
fixing its victims on a sharp thorn or between two twigs, and, in consequence,
has acquired the name of ‘‘ Butcher-bird.”

When on the lookout, it usually perches on some bare branch of a tree or
tall hedge, ready to avoid danger or to pounce on any prey within reach.

According to Seebohm (British Birds, vol. i. p. 600): ‘The song is some-
thing like that of a Starling”; and it has also a rather harsh alarm-note.

There are two forms of the Great Grey Shrike, both visiting this country,
viz. Lantus excubitor, the one drawn on the plate, having white bases to the
quill feathers of the wing, which extending to the secondaries, make a double
bar.

In the other form, known as Lauius major, the white is confined to the
primary quills alone.

The female resembles the male, but has faint greyish-brown bars on the
breast.

84

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THE SOUTHERN GREY SHRIKE.
Lanius meridionalis, Temminck.
One example of this species was obtained in Sussex in January 1911.
It is resident in Spain, Portugal, and southern France, and resembles the

bird just described, but has the white above the eye extended to the base of the
bill, and the breast tinged with pink.

85

THE LESSER GREY SHRIKE.
Lanius minor, J. F. Gmelin.

PLATE 13.

Of much rarer occurrence than the Great Grey Shrike, the present species
has been recorded sixteen times in England, and once on Fair Isle, Scotland.

The Lesser Grey Shrike is a summer visitor to many parts of Central and
Southern Europe, with the exception of Spain, ranging eastwards into Asia, and
wintering in South Africa.

The nest, built of twigs, roots, grasses, and flowering plants, with a lining
of wool, hair, and feathers, is often placed in a fruit tree or poplar, and contains
from five to seven eggs, which are a delicate bluish-green in ground colour,
spotted and blotched with brown and grey.

The song is described by Seebohm (B7tish Birds, vol. 1. p. 604) as “a not
unmusical chatter, something like the twitter of the Swallow or Starling, but
louder and mixed with some harsher notes.”

This bird is easily distinguished from the Great Grey Shrike by its smaller
size, pale salmon-tinted breast and flanks, and by having the forehead black.
In the female this part has less black, but otherwise the sexes are much alike.

86

THE RED-BACKED SHRIKE.
Lanius collurio, Linnzus.

PLATE 13.

The Red-backed Shrike is a regular summer visitor in England, arriving in
May, being rather unevenly distributed over the central and southern counties,
and is not uncommon in Wales. It is rare in Scotland, and has only thrice
occurred in Ireland.

The nest, which is rather large, is composed of roots, stout grass-stalks, and
moss, and lined with wool and hair. It may be sought for in some thick thorn-
hedge or bush, and contains from four to six eggs; these vary in colour, being often
greenish-grey, blotched with brown, or with the ground colour salmon-pink, with
purplish and red markings.

The Red-backed Shrike feeds on various beetles, humble-bees, grasshoppers,
and other insects; often on mice and small birds, and, like the other Shrikes,
frequently fixes its prey on a thorn, before tearing it to pieces.

It usually takes up its station on an exposed branch or twig in a tall hedge or
bush, watching with sharp eyes any passing quarry and darting after it in pursuit.
While perched it frequently flirts its tail from side to side, and upwards and down-
wards, at the same time spreading and closing the feathers.

When crossing a field from one high thorn fence to another, the Red-backed
Shrike will fly in a straight course, not far from the ground, and on arriving at the
opposite hedge, darts suddenly upwards to the topmost branches.

The alarm-note is harsh, but the song is not unpleasing.

87

THE WOODCHAT.
Lantus pomeranus, Sparrman.

PLATE 13.

Over forty examples of this Shrike have been recorded in the British Islands,
most frequently in the south-eastern parts of England.

It is not uncommon in France and Germany, becoming abundant in Spain and
other portions of Southern Europe, and winters in Africa.

The nest, constructed of grass and other herbage, is conspicuously placed on a
branch or in a fork, usually not far from the ground, and contains about five eggs.
These are very like those of the Red-backed Shrike, but the red variety is not often
met with.

The Woodchat is by no means shy or wary, and its strongly-contrasted colours
make it conspicuous, as it sits on some exposed branch in a tree.

Like the other Shrikes, it has a harsh call-note, but the song is low and pleasing.

The female is not so brightly coloured as the male, the upper parts, which are
black in the latter, being brown tinged with reddish.

38

nlite haa a Nites allie ts we dy ac) elias Ral or 8 ee eae ot

THE MASKED SHRIKE.
Lanius nubicus, Lichtenstein.

PLATE 13.

A specimen of the Masked Shrike was obtained in Kent in July 1905. This is
a summer visitor to South-eastern Europe, Asia Minor, and south-western Persia,
wintering in Africa, to the eastward of Tripoli, and in Arabia.

It builds a compact and neatly-made nest of roots and grasses, lined with finer
materials, which contains four to seven eggs, in ground colour dull olive-green,
spotted with brown.

The Masked Shrike is insectivorous, feeding mostly on beetles, and is shy in
its habits, keeping to the thick cover of bushes.

It is said to have a pleasant song.

The female resembles the male, but has the dark parts browner in colour.

Family ORIOLID.

THE GOLDEN ORIOLE.
Oriolus galbula, Linneeus.

PLATE 14.

The Golden Oriole, one of the most beautiful of our birds, is a regular summer
visitor to the south-western portions of England, occurring more sparingly in
other parts. | |

A fair number usually reach the Scilly Islands during the month of May.

It is common in many parts of Europe, and winters in Africa.

The Golden Oriole has been known to breed several times in England, and
would do so more frequently if left alone.

Lord Lilford describes the nest (Bzvd's of Northamptonshire and Neighbour-
hood, vol. i. p. 86) as “very unlike that of any other European bird, being com-
posed entirely of wool and long sedge grass, and placed in the horizontal fork of
a branch, generally but not always, at a considerable height from the ground, and
difficult of access, from being at or near the extremity of a long and slender
bough.” The four or five glossy white eggs are marked with reddish-purple spots.

The food consists of insects, grubs, and various fruits.

The Golden Oriole has a loud flute-like call, with a much harsher note at times,
and haunts the open parts of shady woods and trees in gardens and shrubberies.

In the female, the upper parts are olive-green, becoming yellower near the tail,
the throat and underparts whitish with dark streaks, and the wings of a dark
brown; the flanks and under tail coverts being yellow.

go

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Family AMPELIDZ.

THE WAXWING.
Ampelis garrulus, Linneus.

PLATE 14.

The summer haunts of the Waxwing are the forests of northern Scandinavia,
Russia, and Asia, whilst a more or less extended southward and westward move-
ment takes place in winter.

It has long been known as a visitor to our islands, having been first mentioned
by Sir Thomas Browne of Norwich, who, writing to his friend Merrett on Sep-
tember 16, 1668, says: ‘‘Garrulus Bohemicus probably you haue a prettie hand-
some bird with the fine cinnaberin tipps of the wings some wch I haue seen
heere haue the tayle tipt with yellowe wch is not in the discription” (/Vofes
and Letters on the Natural History of Norfolk, with notes by Thomas South-
well, p. 68. Jarrold & Sons, 1902).

Nothing was known about the nest and eggs of the Waxwing until the year
1856, when John Wooley obtained them from his collectors in Russian Lapland.

The nest is placed on the branch of a fir or birch, and is principally made of
the lichen called tree-hair and twigs; and the eggs, varying in number from five
to seven, are described by Mr. Dresser (anual of Palearctic Birds, p. 250) as
“pale blue with pale purplish shell-markings and black surface-spots, but occasion-
ally the ground colour is warm pinkish.”

In summer the food of the Waxwing consists of insects, and in autumn and
winter of hips and haws, the fruit of the berberry and other trees.

Seebohm compares the note of this bird to that of the Blue Tit.

The female resembles the male in colour.

Family MUSCICAPID&.

THE SPOTTED FLYCATCHER.
Musciapa grisola, Linnzus.

PLATE 14.

This is one of the later summer migrants, usually arriving about the middle of
May. It is fairly common in most parts of the British Islands, and has a wide
distribution throughout Europe, wintering in Africa.

The nest of the Spotted Flycatcher is usually placed in a creeper or fruit tree
trained on a wall, or on the trunk of a large tree; but various and sometimes
curious sites are selected.

It is composed of fibrous roots, moss, &c., and lined with wool and hair; and
contains from four to six eggs. These are bluish-white or greenish in ground
colour, marked with reddish-brown.

Its food consists of flies and other insects, although in autumn berries are
sometimes eaten.

The Spotted Flycatcher has a little low-toned song, which is not often heard,
but its rather sharp call-note is frequently uttered. This bird is fond of gardens
and parks where there are tall, old trees, and when feeding, takes up its station on
a bough or post, from which it darts after any passing insect, the snap of its bill
being often heard as the prey is secured.

The sexes are alike in colour.

g2

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THE BROWN FLYCATCHER.
Muscuapa latirostris, Raffles.

PLATE 14.

The Brown Flycatcher has only once been taken in England, an example
having been shot near Lydd in Kent, May 21, 1909. This is also the first
occurrence of the bird in Europe.

According to the late E. W. Oates (Fauna of British India, vol. ii. p. 35): “It
occurs in Ceylon and the Andamans. On the Himalayas it is a summer visitor
as far west as Chamba, and it is found in the other portions of the Empire chiefly
in winter, but some birds appear to be resident in certain parts all the year round,
for I have seen a specimen obtained in Ceylon in June.

“This Flycatcher has a wide range, being found from Japan and Eastern Siberia
to the Philippines and Java.”

The sexes do not differ in plumage.

93

THE PIED FLYCATCHER.
Muscicapa atricapilla, Linnzus.

PLATE 14.

The Pied Flycatcher is much less common than the Spotted Flycatcher, and
is very local in its distribution. It seems to be more frequently met with in the
Lake Districts of Westmorland and Cumberland, and in parts of Wales, where it
breeds regularly every year.

It is rare in Scotland, whilst in Ireland only a few examples have been taken,
mostly at the lighthouses, on migration.

It is widely spread over Europe during summer, and winters in Africa.

The Pied Flycatcher usually builds its nest, composed of grass and roots, with
a lining of hair, in a hole in a tree or wall, and lays five or six very pale blue eggs.
Sometimes these are spotted with tiny specks of reddish-brown.

Seebohm, describing this species in his book on British Birds (vol. i. pp. 329-
330), says: ‘‘In many of its movements the Pied Flycatcher resembles its dingy
congener.

“Far more of a restless species than a shy one, it may frequently be seen hover-
ing, in butterfly-like flight, in the air. Sometimes it sits quietly on some decayed
limb, ever and anon uttering its call-notes and incessantly jerking its tail and
half opening its wings, as though anxious to sally into the air. Its food consists
almost entirely of insects, especially flies and gnats, which it often takes from
the leaves of the forest-trees whilst hovering daintily above them.”

94

THE COLLARED FLYCATCHER.
Muscicapa collaris, Bechstein.

PLATE 14.

This is a near ally of the Pied Flycatcher, and, as may be seen on looking at
the plate, differs from it in having a broad white collar right round the neck, and
the patches of white on the forehead and wing primaries are larger.

Only two examples of this bird have been recorded in England, both having
been shot at Winchelsea, one on the 12th, and the other on the 13th May 1911.
It is a summer visitor to Central and Southern Europe and Asia Minor, spending
the winter in Africa.

The females of the two species closely resemble each other.

95

THE RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHER.
Musciapa parva, Bechstein.

PLATE 14,

This little bird, which in colour much resembles a Robin, occasionally reaches
our islands while migrating.

The first example obtained was shot near Falmouth in January 1863.

It is found during summer over a great part of Central and Southern Europe,
ranging eastwards to Siberia, and wintering in Africa and India.

The nest, placed in a hole in a tree, is built of moss and lichen, and lined with
grass and hair. It contains from five to seven eggs, in ground colour a pale bluish-
green, speckled with reddish-brown.

It is said to be fond of shady woods where beech and fir abound, and in its
habits is active and restless.

This Flycatcher has a pleasing song, and, like its relations, captures flies and —
other insects on the wing.

The female has the breast reddish-buff, and lacks the bluish-grey on the sides
of the head, which contrasts so well with the reddish-orange on the breast of
the male.

96

_MCZ LIBRARY
_ HARVARD UNIVERSITY
CAMBRIDGE. MA USA.

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Family HIRUNDINID&.

THE SWALLOW.
FHirundo rustica, Linnzus.

PLATE 15.

The Swallow arrives in our islands early in April, about the roth of that month
being the usual time; and takes its departure in September and October.

It is widely distributed over Europe, ranging eastwards as far as Manchuria,
wintering in South Africa, India, China, and southward to the Malay peninsula.

In May the Swallow begins its nest, which is placed in various sites, often on
the rafters of sheds and outbuildings, or in chimneys. The eggs vary in number
from four to six, and are white, marked with brownish-red spots.

Gilbert White, who has given one of the best descriptions of the habits of this
bird, says: “In general with us this Zzvundo breeds in chimneys; and loves to
haunt those stacks where there is a constant fire, no doubt for the sake of warmth.
Not that it can subsist in the immediate shaft where there is a fire; but prefers one
adjoining to that of the kitchen and disregards the perpetual smoke of that funnel,
as I have often observed with some degree of wonder.

‘Five or six or more feet down the chimney does this little bird begin to form
her nest about the middle of May, which consists, like that of the house-martin, of
a crust or shell composed of dirt or mud mixed with short pieces of straw to render
it tough and permanent; with this difference, that whereas the shell of the martin
is nearly hemispheric, that of the swallow is open at the top, and like half a dish:
this nest is lined with fine grasses and feathers, which are often collected as they
float in the air.”

The song consists of a succession of soft twittering notes.

The insect food on which it subsists is taken during flight, as the bird sweeps
along, sometimes just above the ground.

The sexes are alike in colour.

THE RED-RUMPED SWALLOW.
Hirundo rufula, Temminck.

PLATE I5.

Two examples of this very handsome Swallow have been obtained in Great
Britain, the first shot on Fair Isle, Shetlands, in June 1896, and recovered ten days
later, and the second on Romney Marsh in May 1go9.

It is found in the southern and south-eastern parts of Europe, in Asia Minor,
and over a great portion of Asia, as well as in Africa.

Canon Tristram says (/ézs, 1867, p. 362): ‘‘The nest is a beautiful structure,
composed of the same materials as that of the House-Martin, but is invariably
attached to the flat surface of the underside of the roof of a cave or vault. It is of
the shape of a retort, with a bulb of the size of a Thrush’s nest, large and roomy,
the neck or passage for entrance being sometimes a foot or more in length; the
inside of the clay chamber is warmly lined with feathers.”

The eggs, four or five in number, are pure white, without spots.

98

THE MARTIN.
Chelidon urbica (Linneus).

PLATE 15.

The Martin, which haunts the eaves of our houses, very often in the midst of
towns and villages, and hence often called the House-Martin, is easily distinguished
from the Swallow by its conspicuous white rump, and arrives shortly after the
other bird. It is found throughout the greater part of the British Islands, becoming
less frequent and more local in the north and north-western portions, and in Ireland.

Abroad it has a wide range from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, and ranges
eastwards into Asia. It winters in Africa, south of Abyssinia.

A short time after their arrival the Martins either take possession of their old
nests of the previous year, repairing them where necessary, or begin the work of
building new ones. Great care and labour is bestowed on the foundations of the
new nest, the birds first examining various sites, apparently testing them by fixing
small pieces of mud to different parts of the walls of the house they have chosen on
which to place their nest.

This is composed of mud, strengthened with grass-stalks or pieces of straw,
with a lining of straws, feathers, and other soft material.

If provided with small pieces of cotton wool, thinned out and made very light so
that they float away in the air, the Martins will readily take these on the wing,
usually rising to the wool from below.

From their manner of seizing this material, it is probable that they take their
prey in a similar way, as small gnats and flies would be more easily seen against
the sky from beneath.

The eggs are pure white, and vary from four to five in number.

The Martin has a soft and very pleasing twittering song.

The sexes are alike in colour.

99

THE SAND-MARTIN.
Cotzle riparza (Linnzus).

PLATE I5.

This little bird usually arrives before any of its congeners, often before the end
of March, and is easily distinguished from them by its smaller size, duller colour,
and uncertain wavering flight—‘ wheeling and gliding in untraceable mazes” as
Macgillivray puts it. It is widely distributed over the British Islands and
through the greater part of Europe, being also found in Asia. It winters in Africa,
India, and in South America.

Sand-Martins nest in colonies, and selecting some steep bank or cutting,
excavate holes, digging into the sand or earth with their tiny bills, which seem
inadequate tools for such a purpose. On attaining a depth of about two feet,
sometimes more, sometimes less, in a dug-out recess at the end of the shaft, the
nest is placed. It is made of dried grasses, with a lining of feathers, and contains
four or five pure white eggs.

Like the other members of its family, it lives on insects, and is fond of the
neighbourhood of water. When the time approaches for their departure, great
numbers collect together, roosting on trees by the river sides, and leave early in
September.

The female does not differ from the male in colour.

100

Family FRINGILLIDZ:. Subfamily FRINGILLIN~.

THE GREENFINCH.
Ligurinus chloris (Linnzus).

PLATE 15.

This is a common and abundant species in almost every part of the British
Islands, and is also widely distributed in Europe.

The nest, usually begun in April, is situated in a hedge or thick bush, and is
composed of roots, twigs, green moss, and wool, with a lining of finer materials
of the same kind, feathers, and hair. The five or six eggs are a delicate greenish-
white in ground colour, spotted and marked with rusty-brown and purplish-grey.

The song of the Greenfinch is rather poor and feeble, but to some ears is not
unpleasing ; it is sometimes delivered while the bird is on the wing. It has also a
curious prolonged call-note.

This is a useful bird in the garden, destroying a great number of caterpillars
and harmful insects, and during the winter months it feeds on seeds and berries
of various kinds.

Its favourite summer haunts are gardens and shrubberies, whilst in autumn
and winter it collects in flocks about the fields and farm steadings.

In colour the female is much duller than the male.

Io!

THE HAWFINCH.
Coccothraustes vulgaris, Pallas.

PLATE 15.

The Hawfinch, at one time considered a rare bird in many parts of England,
though local, has greatly increased in numbers of late years, and according to
Howard Saunders (anual of British Birds, 2nd ed., p. 171) ‘the nest has been
found in every county in England, excepting Cornwall.” It is also resident, but
rarer, in Scotland, and only known as a wanderer to Ireland.

The rather level nest, usually placed in some fruit tree, is made of twigs and
lichen, with a lining of rootlets and some hair. The four to six eggs are in ground
colour greenish-blue or light olive-green, with spots and streaks of dark brown.

The Hawfinch is a shy and retiring bird, and likes well-timbered and sheltered
ground. It will often enter gardens, especially at the time of year when green peas
are ready, of which it-is extremely fond. It also feeds on the hard seeds of
various trees, such as beechmast and haws, eating only the kernels of these.

The song is feeble, but it has a very distinct call-note.

In winter the bill of the Hawfinch is of a pinkish horn colour, changing in the
breeding season to a steely-blue, with dark tip.

Most authorities give the colour of the eye as greyish-white, but this appears
to be incorrect, as far as the living bird is concerned.

My friend, Mr. Robert J. Howard, of Shearbank, Blackburn, first drew attention
to the fact, and I therefore give below his notes on the subject, which were published
in the second edition of Mr. F. S. Mitchell’s Bzvds of Lancashire, edited by Howard
Saunders (p. 66): ‘‘ The irides, in a live bird, are not greyish-white but vinaceous.
On August 7th, 1884, my male Merlin dashed from his bath at the Hawfinch
which Billington brought from Redscar. I picked the bird from the cage-floor, as
it was dying, and paid particular attention to the colour of the irides; the bright
madder-brown got gradually lighter, until at last—before the bird was cold—it had
faded away, and the colour could only be described as a greyish-white. I had often
held the bird in my hand, so that I could closely examine the eyes, and found
the colour arranged in concentric circles, those near the pupils being brightest; the
intensity of colour varied when I teased the bird.”

In an adult living bird I myself examined, the irides were a pale rather chocolate-
coloured brown, which at times changed in intensity; and it would be interesting
to know if at any period during life these are greyish-white.

The female is duller in colour than the male, and has less black on the throat.
102

THE GOLDFINCH.
Carduelis elegans, Stephens.

PLATE 15.

In former days, when less land was under culture, and in consequence thistles
and other seed-bearing weeds were more numerous, the Goldfinch was a common
bird in most parts of Great Britain.

Owing to the higher cultivation of the land, and also to the ravages of bird-
catchers, its numbers rapidly decreased, until it was practically extinct in many
places.

However, of late years it seems to be again on the increase in most parts of the
country, except in Ireland.

It is found throughout the greater portion of Europe, as well as in Asia and
Africa,

The nest of the Goldfinch is a beautiful structure of moss, lichens, rootlets, and
grass, woven together and lined with down, feathers, and hairs; and is placed in a
fruit tree or in some shady oak, chestnut, or plane. The four or five eggs are
greyish- or bluish-white, marked with brownish-purple.

During summer the Goldfinch feeds principally on insects and larve, and in the
autumn and winter months on seeds of various kinds, such as those of the knap-
weed, thistle, dandelion, and other weeds.

The teasel is a great attraction to the Goldfinch, and it makes a charming picture
to see a flock of these dainty little birds busily engaged in extracting the seeds
while clinging to the prickly tops; then suddenly flitting with twittering notes to
another plant. In autumn a good many birds cross the Channel and winter abroad.

The song, begun early in spring, is sweet and pleasing.

The female is much like the male, but is duller, with less red on the throat.

103

THE SISKIN.
Carduelis spinus (Linnzus).

PLATE 15.

In England and Wales this small Finch is best known as a winter visitor,
although nesting in some localities.

It is more numerous in Scotland, breeding freely in many places; and is also
resident in Ireland.

The skilfully concealed nest is usually placed in a fork on the branch of a pine or
spruce, at some height from the ground, and is composed of twigs, rootlets, and
moss, and lined with feathers and hair.

The five or six eggs are pale alam cen with speckles and markings of
reddish-brown and pinkish-grey.

According to Seebohm (&retish Birds, vol. ii. p. 94): ‘“ The song of the Siskin
is not very powerful but is very pleasing—a succession of very rapid notes, some
possessing considerable melody. It is an extremely industrious singer, and may be
heard all the year round except in the moulting season.”

The food consists mainly of seeds and buds of trees, especially those of the
birch and alder, varied with insects in summer.

The Siskin’ resembles the Goldfinch in many of its actions, and, like that bird,
is very easily tamed.

The female is less brightly coloured than the male, having altogether less
yellow in her plumage, and lacking the black on the head and throat.

104

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THE CITRIL FINCH.
Chrysomutris citrinella (Linnzus).

PLATE 16.

This species is resident in the mountainous parts of Southern and Central
Europe, and one example was taken in Norfolk in January 1904. This is the only
occurrence in the British Islands.

Mr. Dresser, in his Birds of Europe (vol. iii.), quoting some notes received from
Howard Saunders, says: ‘‘ The nest is warmly lined, but larger than, and quite
different from, that of the Serin Finch; the eggs are nearly as large as those of the
Goldfinch, but somewhat resemble miniature Greenfinches’ eggs.”

In summer the Citril Finch is found high up in forest districts among the
mountains, and is common in Switzerland, and also in Baden and other parts of
Germany.

The female resembles the male in colour, but is duller.

I. 105 fo)

THE SERIN.
Serinus hortulanus, K. L. Koch.

PuaTeE 16.

Over twenty examples of this little Finch have been noted in the British
Islands, while it is common in many parts of Central and Southern Europe, and
also in North-west Africa.

The nest, according to Seebohm (Sv7tzshk Birds, vol. ii. p. 85), “is generally
built in fruit-trees, but frequently in other small trees and shrubs.” It is neatly
built of rootlets, stalks of grass, thistle-down, and wool, with a softer lining of
similar materials. The four or five eggs are white, with a greenish tinge, spotted
and marked with reddish-brown. ,

Lord Lilford, in his work on British Birds, says: ‘‘ The Serin is exceedingly
common in Southern and Central Spain, and in general habits somewhat resembles
the Goldfinch; the nest, however, is composed of different materials, and the song
consists of a sharp sibilant murmur, much inferior to the pleasant notes of that
bird.”

In colour the female is duller than the male, and is more streaked with brown.

106

THE HOUSE-SPARROW.
Passer domesticus (Linnzus).

PLATE 16.

The House-Sparrow may be said to be the best known of our British birds,
and no one, either in town or country, need be without the opportunity of study-
ing its appearance and habits.

It is found almost everywhere in the British Islands, although absent in some
of the high bleak districts in Scotland and Ireland. It is also widely spread over
Europe.

The large and bulky nest, made of any suitable material that may come to
hand, such as straws, grass-stalks, shreds of carpet, rags, &c., with a soft lining
of feathers, is placed either in trees or in some hole, cavity, or any snug recess in a
building, high enough to be out of the reach of anyone standing on the ground.
The five or six eggs are greyish-white, blotched and spotted with pale grey and
greyish-black.

There is no doubt the House-Sparrow hinders the increase of the Martin.
Having had the nests of the latter bird under observation for some years, I have
noticed that the attacks of the Sparrow are usually begun very early in the morn-
ing by the males, who appropriate the nests before they are quite completed,
and if it has been so far finished, as to be inconvenient to the intruder, the entrance
is enlarged.

During the summer months the House-Sparrow destroys great numbers of
insects and grubs, for the food of themselves and young, which in autumn and
winter principally consists of seeds and grain. At harvest time, when most of the
young birds can fly well, large flocks of these and their parents leave the neigh-
bourhood of houses and betake themselves to the corn-fields.

The House-Sparrow is a bold clever bird, and in spite of many enemies holds
his own.

107

THE TREE-SPARROW.
Passer montanus (Linnzus).

PLATE 16.

This species may easily be distinguished from the House-Sparrow by the
uniform reddish-brown colour on the crown of the head, dark spot in the centre of
the white cheeks, and also by its smaller size. Unlike the House-Sparrow, the
sexes do not differ in colour.

The Tree-Sparrow is widely spread over the British Islands, though local, and
is not nearly so common as the other species. It is also found throughout the
greater part of Europe, and has a wide range in Asia.

It usually nests in some hole, high up in a decayed tree, several pairs often
associating together. The nest, composed of dead grasses and feathers, contains
about six eggs; these are greyish-white in ground colour, mottled with brown.

In its habits the Tree-Sparrow is lively and active, though somewhat shy; in
winter often frequenting stackyards in company with other birds.

According to Lord Lilford (Birds of Northamptonshire and Neighbourhood,
vol. i. p. 182), ‘‘ The ordinary notes of the Tree-Sparrow are sharper and more shrill
than those of the House-Sparrow, to which, however, they have a great resemblance ;
at the pairing-season we have occasionally heard a sort of prolonged chatter from
the male bird.”

The food consists of seeds and insects.

108

THE CHAFFINCH.
Fringilla celebs, Linneus.

PLATE 16.

This gay and sprightly bird is very common in every part of the British Islands,
wherever woods and cultivated country are found. In late autumn our home-bred
birds form flocks and roam about the country, while large numbers arrive at the
same time from abroad.

It is also found plentifully throughout Europe.

The nest, which is a beautiful structure, is composed outwardly of green moss,
grey lichens, and grasses, deftly woven together, with a lining of wool, feathers, and
hair; and is placed in a fruit or other tree, not far from the ground. The four, five,
or six eggs are in ground colour a pale blue with a greenish tinge, spotted and marked
with reddish-brown.

The Chaffinch during the summer months feeds largely on insects and grubs,
whilst in winter seeds of various kinds are eaten. It is of the greatest service to
the gardener, and in early summer may be seen searching for caterpillars on the
trees in orchards and gardens.

Its blithe and joyous song is continued throughout the spring and early summer,
and though short, is repeated many times in succession.

It was long ago observed by Gilbert White and others, when the flocks of
Chaffinches were about in the autumn and winter, that a separation of the sexes
had occurred. It was due to this fact that the name of c@/eds, or bachelor, was
given by Linnzus, on account of the large companies of cock birds seen consort-
ing together.

The general colour of the female Chaffinch is brownish-olive, tinged with grey,
the bars on the wings being less distinct than in the male.

109

THE BRAMBLING.
Fringilla montifringilla, Linnzus.
PLATE 16.

The Brambling is a more or less regular winter visitor to our shores, usually
arriving on our north-east and east coasts in October, and leaving again in spring.

Abroad the summer haunts of this species are far to the north, and its nest may
be looked for among the forests and birch-clad hillsides in Scandinavia and northern
Russia. This is placed ona fir or birch, usually in a fork, and resembles in appear-
ance that of the Chaffinch, although somewhat larger.

It is composed of birch bark, green moss, and lichens, with a lining of wool, hair,
and feathers. The eggs, usually six in number, are the same in colour and mark-
ings as the Chaffinch’s.

According to Seebohm, the song of the Brambling is ‘a short low warble,” and
it has also a prolonged call-note, which has been compared to that of the Greenfinch.

The number of Bramblings which visit us varies from year to year ; sometimes
large flocks make their appearance, frequenting the beech-woods along with Chaf-
finches, and feeding on the fallen beechmast.

They also eat insects and seeds.

As may be seen from the plate, the winter and summer plumage of the male
Brambling differ a good deal, the rich blue-black head and mantle of the breeding
season being replaced by duller and more patchy feathers in autumn.

The female is altogether duller and greyer than the male, the back and head
being brownish instead of black.

110

THE SNOW-FINCH.
Montcfringilla nwalis, Linnzus.
PLATE 17.

This Alpine bird, an inhabitant of the mountains of Southern Europe, has twice

been shot in England, the first at Rye Harbour, Sussex, in February 1905, and the

other at Paddock Wood, Kent, in December 1906.

The nest is placed in some crevice of a rock or building, and is composed of

dead grass-stalks and fine roots, lined inside with hair, feathers, and wool, and

contains four or five pure white eggs.

It feeds principally on insects and seeds ; and the bird may often be seen flitting

about among the rocks and stones on the barren mountain slopes which it frequents.
The female resembles the male, but is duller in colour, and has less black on

the throat.

i

THE LINNET.
Linota cannabina (Linnzus).

PLATE 16.

The Linnet is a common and well-known bird in the British Islands, and
may be observed in most parts of the country where there are large furze-covered
commons and waste lands. After the breeding season a good many of our
birds move southwards and cross the Channel.

It has a wide range in Europe, Asia Minor, and Asia.

The nest is usually placed in a thick furze-bush, sometimes in a hedge of yew
or other evergreens in gardens, and is made of grass-stalks, wool, and moss, lined
with hair. It contains from four to six eggs, in ground colour bluish-white, with
blotches, spots, and streaks of ruddy-brown and purplish-grey.

The Linnet has a pleasing modulated song, and a rather plaintive call-note.

The food consists of various seeds and berries.

Although this bird is known as the Red, Grey, or Brown Linnet, these different
names refer to one and the same species, and it is difficult to say why so much
variety of colour should occur. In autumn the crimson on the breast and head
of the brightly-coloured males almost disappears, whilst the female has none of
that colour in her plumage at any time of the year.

112

THE MEALY REDPOLL.
Linota finaria (Linnzus).

PLATE 16.

The Mealy Redpoll, which is subdivided by naturalists into several subspecies
or forms, inhabits the northern portions of both hemispheres, and visits more
or less irregularly the northern and north-eastern parts of Great Britain in
autumn and winter.

Its breeding haunts are among the birch woods or about the boundaries of
forest growth in the northern districts of Europe and Asia, which it leaves in
autumn for warmer climates.

According to Mr. Dresser (Manual of Palearctic Birds, pp. 315-316), ‘It
breeds in the high north, and places its nest, which is a neat structure of fine
birch-twigs, vegetable stems, and moss, carefully lined with plant-down and
feathers, in a tree generally about 10 feet from the ground, but rarely on or
close to the ground.” The five or six eggs are greenish-blue in ground colour,
marked with rufous-brown.

Other Arctic races of the Redpoll are: The Greenland Redpoll, LZzxota
hornemanni, nesting in Greenland, Iceland, and Spitzbergen, which is larger
and altogether paler in colour than the one just described.

Also Linota holboelli, Linota rostrata, and Linota exilipes (Holboell’s,
Greater, and Hoary Redpoll), all closely related to each other, and occasionally
visiting us during the autumn and winter months.

The female of the Mealy Redpoll is smaller than the male, and has only a
small amount of red on the head, without any on the breast.

THE LESSER (REDPOLE.
Linota rufescens (Vieillot).

PLATE 16. _

The Lesser Redpoll, a resident species in the British Islands, is smaller and
more ruddy in colour than the Mealy Redpoll, and although local in its distribution —
is widely spread over the country.

Some of our birds are said to migrate in winter, and in Europe it has not been
recorded north of the Baltic. :

The nest is placed in a bush or tree—often an alder or willow—and i iS ; compas
of twigs, stalks of dead grass, and moss, and is warmly lined with willow-down or
cotton grass. The eggs, varying in number from four to six, are of a pale bluish
or greenish colour, spotted with reddish-brown.

The food of the different races of Redpoll consists of buds of trees, especially
those of the birch and alder, and also of various seeds.

Seebohm, in his 4rztish Birds, describes the song of the Lesser Redpoll ‘‘as a
short monotonous trill, clear, shrill, and not altogether unmusical.”

In winter large flocks visit the birch and alder trees, where they may be seen
climbing about the twigs, picking out the seeds and buds, incessantly uttering their
twittering notes.

After moulting in autumn, the male shows hardly any crimson in the edlon
of his plumage.

The female is duller in colour, the red being confined to the crown of the head.

114

arene *
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THE TWITE.
Linota flavirostris (Linnzus).

PLATE 17,

Compared with the Lesser Redpoll in breeding plumage the Twite is a much
more sober-coloured bird, having none of the crimson tints on the head and breast,
and at all times may be distinguished by its more lengthened tail and proportionally
slimmer form.

The Twite, sometimes called the Mountain-Linnet, is an autumnal visitor to
the southern parts of England, though resident and breeding in the northern
counties ; whilst in Scotland and Ireland it is more or less common. Abroad it
breeds in Scandinavia, and on migration occurs in many parts of Europe.

The Twite usually builds its nest either on the ground or close to it, and in its
construction uses as material fine roots and grass-stalks, lining it with wool,
feathers, thistle-down, and hair. The four to six eggs are pale greenish-blue,
marked and streaked with reddish-brown.

Its food usually consists of seeds of various kinds, and its twittering call-note
may be frequently heard as it flits among the grass and heather on moors and
rocky hillsides.

Macgillivray says: “In the Hebrides it is plentiful and in winter frequents the
corn-yards in large flocks, clinging to the stacks of oats, and picking out the seeds.
. . . Its flight is rapid and undulated, and it wheels over the fields previous to
alighting, uttering a soft twitter at intervals.”

The female resembles the male in colour, but has none of the carmine tint on
the rump.

115

THE BULLFINCH.
Pyrrhula europea, Vieillot.

PLATE 17.

The Bullfinch is resident and more or less common in those parts of the
country suited to its habits, throughout the British Islands. In the northern and
eastern portions of Europe, and in Siberia, a larger and more brilliantly coloured
race is found, known as the Northern Bullfinch, the Pyvvhula major of Brehm,
which has been recorded several times in Great Britain; although doubts have
been expressed as to the genuineness of some of these occurrences, owing to the
number of birds imported by dealers.

On the continent of Europe our smaller bird may also be found in the central,
southern, and western portions.

The nest of the Bullfinch is of peculiar construction, being pe of slender
twigs and fine roots, intertwined so as to form a kind of platform, in the centre of
which is a cup-shaped depression, and occasionally a little wool or hair is placed
within this interior.

It is generally built in an evergreen bush or tree, not far from the ground, and
contains from four to six eggs, in ground colour greenish-blue, with spots and
streaks of violet-grey and dark purplish-brown.

The food consists of the young buds of the larch and other trees, varied with
the seeds of wild plants, such as the dandelion, chickweed, groundsel, &c.

The song of the Bullfinch is low and very soft in tone, and so is its piping
call-note.

The bird is shy and retiring in its habits, haunting thick copses and well-
timbered ground, shrubberies, and gardens; the pairs usually keeping company
throughout the year.

116

Ee eal ae Si NS mann ee NO Fla aaa =a

SSE A ee Sea

THE SCARLET GROSBEAK.
Pyrrhula erythrina (Pallas).

PLATE 17.

Of late years a good many examples of the Scarlet Grosbeak—till recently only
known as a very rare visitor to Great Britain—have been observed or obtained.
Its breeding grounds appear to be Russia, Siberia, and the mountainous parts of
Central Asia, whilst in winter it is found throughout a great portion of India and
China.

The nest is placed in the forked branch of a bush, and is composed of dead
grass-stems and small roots, with a lining of hair. The eggs, varying in number
from four to six, but usually five, are greenish blue, marked with spots of reddish-
or blackish-brown.

Seebohm, in his British Birds, describes the song as ‘“‘a loud clear whistle,”
and the food consists of various seeds, berries, and buds.

The red colouring is absent in the plumage of the female, which is in general of
a neutral brownish tint, the wings and tail being darker, the throat and underparts
dull white or buffish, with dark streaks on breast and flanks.

117

THE PINE-GROSBEAK.
Pyrvrhula enucleator (Linnzus).

PLATE 17.

The Pine-Grosbeak is an irregular and very uncommon visitor to Great Britain
from the forests of pine and spruce in Scandinavia, northern Russia, and Siberia,
where in summer it nests and rears its young, moving as winter approaches to more
temperate regions.

The nest is generally placed on the branch of a fir, close to the trunk, and is
constructed much in the same manner as the Bullfinch’s, of intertwisted twigs, with
the interior lining of roots or grasses and lichen. The eggs, usually four in
number, are greenish-blue in ground colour, marked with brownish-purple or dark
brown.

The food of the Pine-Grosbeak consists of the seeds of the pine and fir, berries
and buds of various trees, and also of insects.

Seebohm, who studied the bird in its native haunts, describes its song (Brztzsh
Birds, vol. ii. p. 43) as “very melodious, not very loud or long, but flute-like,”
and the call-note as ‘‘a plaintive single note.”

Although apparently shy and retiring in its disposition, the Pine-Grosbeak is
said to be easily approached, and its character is tame and unsuspicious.

The female differs from the male in having none of the carmine-red in her
plumage, the edges of these feathers being of a golden yellow, and the back of the
bird a slaty-grey.

118

THE CROSSBILL.
Loxia curvirostra, Linnzus.

PLATE 17.

The Crossbill is best known in England as an irregular visitor during the
autumn and winter months, often arriving in large flocks, and keeping more or less
to districts where there are woods of larch and pine. At times, however, the birds
remain and breed in suitable localities.

In the northern parts of Scotland the Crossbill is resident throughout the year,
and it is also widely spread over Europe.

The nest, begun very early in the year, is usually placed on the branch of a pine
or fir, and is built of twigs and lined with grass and wool. The four, occasionally
five, eggs are in ground colour whitish or pale greenish-blue, marked with different
shades of reddish-brown.

The main food supply of the Crossbill consists of the seeds of the larch and
spruce fir, as well as berries, pips, and insects.

The song is soft and low in tone, and the call-note, as the birds flit from tree to
tree, is sharp and clear.

The points of the Crossbill’s upper and lower mandibles are placed athwart
each other, in some individuals crossing to the right, in others to the left, and form
a well-adapted tool wherewith to open the cones and extract the seeds of conifers.

According to Professor Newton (Dictionary of Birds, p. 115), the young “on
leaving the nest have not the tips of the bill crossed.”

Mr. Knox, in his Autumnus on the Spey (pp. 34-35), has happily described the
actions of a flock of Crossbills as follows: ‘‘ After close observation, I noticed that
they seldom attempted to operate upon a cone on the exact spot where it grew,
but after snapping one off from a slender terminal twig, each bird would hop or
fly to the central part of the branch, and in parrot-like fashion hold it in his foot,
but more frequently under it, as a hawk holds a small bird when in the act of
devouring it, and quickly inserting his bill between the scales, split them open by
means of that wonderful tool, and extract the seeds with the greatest facility.
Occasionally a cone would fall to the ground just as it was snapped off; but, in
such a case, a fresh one was instantly selected, no further notice being taken of the
one that had dropped.”

The colour of the female is a yellowish-green, and the males, after moulting in
captivity, never regain their red plumage.

A form of our Crossbill, distinguished by having a larger and stouter bill, and
known as the Parrot-Crossbill (Loxza pityopsittacus, Bechstein) has been obtained
in the British Islands. This is an inhabitant of the pine regions of Scandinavia
and the northern parts of Russia.

119

THE TWO-BARRED CROSSBILL.
Loxia bifasccata (C. L. Brehm).

PLATE 17.

The Two-barred Crossbill, whose summer home is in the pine-forest regions of
northern Russia and Asia, has occurred a good many times in the British Islands,
and may be distinguished from our bird by the double bars on the wings.

Mr. Dresser writes in his Bzrds of Europe: ‘‘ The nest closely resembles that
of Loxia curvirostra, but is smaller, and somewhat slighter in structure; and the
eggs are somewhat darker in ground-colour than those of that species, and smaller
in size, but otherwise closely resemble them.”

In habits these two species are very much alike.

The female has no red in her plumage, being principally of a greenish-grey,
tinged with yellow on the upper parts, and greyish-white and yellowish below.

Subfamily EMBERIZIN/.

THE BLACK-HEADED BUNTING.
Emberiza melanocephala, Scopoli.

PLATE: 17.

Some eight or more examples of this rare Bunting have been recorded as
occurring in the British Islands, the first having been shot near Brighton in
November 1868.

The summer home of the Black-headed Bunting is in South-eastern Europe,
where it is common in many parts; it ranges also through Asia Minor as far as
Baluchistan, and winters in India.

Seebohm writes (British Birds, vol. ii. p. 167): ‘‘ The nest of the Black-headed
Bunting is seldom placed at any great height above the ground; it is very
frequently in a small bush, but the favourite situation is amongst trailing plants
such as clematis, briars, and vines. In the gardens near Constantinople it is built
principally amongst the rows of peas and beans.

“Canon Tristram states that he has frequently found it on the ground. It is
rather a bulky structure, and though neatly finished inside, has a somewhat loose
and ragged appearance outside. The foundation is made of dry grass, thistle-
leaves, and other coarse material; but the main portion of the nest is constructed
entirely of the yellow dry stalks of various small flowering plants, the seed-capsules
on which are the most prominent object, and conjoined with the stiffness of the
stalks, which prevents them from bending easily, gives the nest a very slender and
unfinished look.” The lining is of finer material and hair.

The four or five eggs are greenish-blue, marked with ashy-brown, without the
lines and scratches found on those of the other European Buntings.

The food consists of insects, seeds, and fruit, and its song, though short, is said
to be more musical than that of the Yellow Bunting.

In the female the upper parts are brown, with darker streaks; rump tinged
with yellow; throat and belly whitish; breast and flanks buff, with dark streaks ;
and the under tail coverts suffused with yellow.

I. 121 Q

THE YELLOW-BREASTED BUNTING.
Emberiza aureola, Pallas.

PLaTE 18.

Three examples of this brilliantly coloured wanderer to Europe have been
obtained in England, all having been shot in Norfolk: the first on September 21,
1905, at Cley; the second on September 5, 1907, near Wells; and the last on
September 4, 1913, again at Cley.

The breeding range of this bird stretches from northern Russia right across
Siberia as far as Kamchatka, whilst in winter it migrates as far to the south as
the Malay Peninsula.

According to Mr. Dresser (Wanual of Palearctic Birds, p. 349), it “fre-
quents bush-covered plains on the outskirts of the forests, willow-thickets in damp
places, and occurs in the mountains to an altitude of 5000 to 6000 feet, and in the
winter frequents reed- and rush-beds.

“Its song, which is short but pleasant, is uttered from the top of a bush or a
plant-stem, and it is said to be a most industrious songster.”

The nest, built either on the ground or in some shrub, is composed of dead
grasses and roots, with a lining of hair. The four or five eggs are grey tinged
with green, obscurely shaded with a darker tint, and marked with a few indefinite
brown scratchy lines.

The female has none of the rich black and chestnut on the head which distin-
guish the male.

The upper parts of the bird are greenish-brown, with dark stripes on the back,
whilst the lower portions are pale yellow, streaked on the flanks.

She has also a broad yellowish-white eye-stripe.

122

THE PINE-BUNTING.
Emberiza leucocephala, S. G. Gmelin.

PLATE 17.

One example of the Pine-Bunting was obtained on Fair Isle, Shetlands, in
October 1911. In summer it breeds in Siberia, from the Ural eastwards, migrat-
ing southwards to spend the winter in China and among the Himalayas. It only
rarely visits Europe.

The nest, composed of the stems of grasses and other plants, with a lining of
hair, is placed on the ground beneath a bush or clump of grass. The eggs,
varying in number from four to six, are described by Mr. Dresser (anual of
Palearctic Birds, p. 360) as ‘“‘dull white, pale bluish white, or rose-white, with
faint violet-grey shell-markings and marblings, and blackish brown surface-lines
or spots.”

It haunts the edges of birch and pine woods and bushy ground.

The general colour of the female is composed of different shades of brown and
grey, and she has none of the beautiful chestnut on the head and throat which
decorates the male.

123

THE CORN-BUNTING.
Emberiza miliaria, Linneus.

PLATE 17.

The Corn-Bunting, sometimes called the Common Bunting, although only
common in those parts of the country which suit its habits, is nevertheless widely
spread throughout our islands.

It is also found over the greater part of Europe, from southern Scandinavia
to the Mediterranean.

The nest, which is usually placed on the ground and hidden under a tussock
of grass, or sometimes in young corn, is rather large, and is loosely constructed of
grass-stalks, roots, and moss, with a lining of hair. The five or six eggs are dull
white, shaded with lilac, and blotched and streaked with dark brown.

This Bunting does not usually lay its eggs until late in May.

In summer the food consists chiefly of insects, but later in the autumn and
winter seeds of weeds, and also grain, are eaten.

The song, delivered while the bird is perched on a tall thistle or other plant,
often from a wall or telegraph wire, consists of a succession of rather harsh
scraping notes, the last one prolonged.

The Corn-Bunting haunts open arable land, particularly if near the sea, and
is fond of dusting itself on roads.

The sexes do not differ in the colour of their plumage.

124

THE YELLOW BUNTING.
Emberiza citrinella, Linneus.

PuaTeE 18.

The Yeilow Bunting or Yellow Hammer is resident and common in most parts
of the British Islands, and is widely spread over Northern and Central Europe
and Asia.

The nest is generally placed on or close to the ground, hidden among grass
and herbage, and is composed of dead grasses, roots, and moss, with a lining of
fibrous rootlets and hair. The four or five eggs are purplish-white, marked with
curious dark streaks and scribbles, and clouded with reddish-purple.

In summer the food of the Yellow Bunting consists principally of insects, at
other times seeds of different weeds and grain are eaten.

The song is less harsh than that of the Corn-Bunting, and is a pleasing ditty,
though rather monotonous. Late in summer, during hot weather, when the
singing of most birds has ceased, it is often the only music to be heard, and is
delivered while the bird sits on a wall or tree.

The Yellow Bunting is partial to cultivated ground, and in winter large flocks
visit the farm-steadings, along with various Finches.

The female resembles the male, but is much duller, and more darkly streaked
on the upper parts.

125

THE CIRL BUNTING.
. Emberiza cirlus, Linnzus.

PuaTE 18.

In Great Britain the Cirl Bunting is more or less confined to the southern
parts of England, and only occurs in Scotland and Ireland as a rare vagrant.

On the Continent it is found over Central and Southern Europe.

The nest, sometimes placed in a furze-bush or juniper, at others in a roadside
bank amongst shrubs and vegetation, is composed of grasses and moss, with a
lining of hair. It generally contains five eggs, in ground colour white, tinged
with lilac, and spotted and streaked with brownish-black.

The food of the Cirl Bunting is similar to that of the other species of this
family, and the song resembles the Yellow Bunting’s, but lacks the prolonged
drawn-out note at the end.

In habits it is not so sprightly and brisk as that bird, and is easily approached ;
it frequents enclosures and cultivated land, and in winter may sometimes be seen
in flocks.

The female is not so brightly coloured as her mate, having only a pale yellow
streak over the eye, without the black and yellow on the head and throat.

126

THE ORTOLAN.
Emberiza hortulana, Linneus.

PLaTE 18.

The first British specimen of the Ortolan was taken in Marylebone Fields in
the year 1776 or thereabouts. Since that time a good many have been obtained
in England on the eastern and southern coasts. _

On the mainland of Scotland it is very rare, although it appears to visit Fair
Isle, Shetlands, regularly during the spring and autumn migrations, whilst in
Ireland it is said to have been taken once, but the record is doubtful.

Abroad it is a summer visitor to many parts of Central, Eastern, and Western
Europe, making its way to Africa to spend the winter.

The nest is placed on the ground, hidden among corn, grass, or other
vegetation, or sometimes beneath a bush.

It is constructed of dead grasses and roots, with a lining of finer materials and
hair, and contains four or five eggs: in ground colour pale grey, with a purplish
tinge, spotted and blotched with purple-brown.

Its food consists of seeds and insects, the young being reared on the latter.

Seebohm describes its “plaintive monotonous song,” which, he says, “ begins
somewhat like that of the Yellow Hammer, but ends quite differently” (British
Birds, vol. ii. p. 154).

The Ortolan frequents open wooded country, roadsides, and gardens; and
during migration large numbers are caught in nets, and fattened on oats and
millet, to be used as a table delicacy.

The female resembles the male, but the colours are duller and paler, and the
head is streaked.

127

THE MEADOW-BUNTING.
Eméberiza cia, Linnzeus.

PLATE 18.

This species inhabits the central parts of Europe and the countries bordering
the Mediterranean, ranging westwards as far as Portugal.

Five examples have been taken in England, four of these in Sussex and one
in Kent.

Colonel Irby, describing the habits of the Meadow-Bunting in his work, 7he
Ornithology of the Straits of Gibraltar, and ed., p. 110, says: ‘It isa common and,
like most of the Buntings, a stupidly tame bird, as far as my experience goes,
living about stony, rocky, and hilly ground. . . . In April they frequent the slopes
and tops of the sierras, nesting during that month.”

The Meadow-Bunting builds its nest, which is similar to the Yellow Bunting’s,
on the ground, and lays four or five eggs, greyish in ground colour, and darkly
marked with undulating lines running into each other.

Like its congeners, it feeds on seeds and insects, and its song also resembles
that of the Yellow Bunting.

The female is much duller in colour than the male, whilst the stripes on the
side of the crown and face are absent.

128

THE SIBERIAN MEADOW-BUNTING.
Emberiza cioides, Brandt.

PuaTE 18.

One example of this Eastern species was obtained at Flamborough, Yorkshire,
in November 1886,

It inhabits eastern Siberia, and is also widely spread through Turkestan,
Mongolia, Manchuria, and Corea, spending the winter in China.

According to Mr. Dresser (Manual of Palearctic Birds, p. 365): ‘The nest
is a light but tolerably strong structure of dry grass-bents lined with finer bents,
horse- or cattle-hair, and is placed on the ground in a depression and usually at
the foot of a bush.” The four or five eggs have the ground colour violet-white,
marked with spots and broken lines of dark brown.

This Bunting is said to have a pleasing song.

The female is more soberly coloured than the male, and has not the bright
chestnut tints on the head and gorget.

THE RUSTIC BUNTING.
Emberiza rustica, Pallas.

PLATE 18.

About a dozen examples of this rare Bunting have occurred at different times
in the British Islands, the first near Brighton in October 1867, and the latest on
Fair Isle, Shetlands, in May 1913.

The breeding haunts of the Rustic Bunting reach from Finland across
northern Russia to eastern Siberia, whilst in autumn it makes its way southwards
to spend the winter in China, Japan, and Turkestan.

It frequents wet forest ground, and according to Mr. Dresser (Manual
of Palearctic Birds, p. 363) it makes “a rather loose nest of wiry grass-bents and
depositing in June 5 to 6 eggs greenish grey in colour with olivaceous brown
blotches and without any scratchy lines.”

Von Middendorff describes its song as rich and melodious.

In the female the black portions of the head and ear-coverts are dark brown,
broken with buff; and the plumage is altogether duller than in the male.

130

THE LITTLE BUNTING.
Emberiza pusilla, Pallas.

PiaTE 18.

The first specimen of the Little Bunting obtained in the British Islands was
one caught near Brighton in November 1864. It has since occurred a good many
times, and seems now to be a more or less regular autumn visitant to Fair Isle,
Shetlands.

This is an Arctic species; in summer breeding in northern Russia and
Siberia, passing southwards in autumn as far as China, India, and the Andaman
Islands.

Seebohm, describing its habits, writes (Bvztish Birds, vol. ii., p. 145): ‘It was
most common in the pine- and birch-forests, and was frequently seen feeding on
the ground on the mossy and marshy open spaces in the woods, on the swampy
edge of the forest tarns, searching for insects in company with Green and White
Wagtails, Temminck’s Stints, Fieldfares, Blue-throated Warblers, and other
Arctic birds.”

The nest, the same author says, ‘‘was nothing but a hole made in the dead
leaves, moss, and grass, copiously and carefully lined with fine dead grass,” and
the five eggs were in ground colour “pale grey, with bold twisted blotches and
irregular round spots of very dark grey, and equally large underlying shell-
markings of paler grey.”

The Little Bunting feeds on seeds and insects, and the song has more
resemblance to a Warbler’s than a Bunting’s.

In the female the plumage generally is duller than that of the male.

131

THE REED-BUNTING.
Emberiza scheniclus, Linnzus.

PLATE 18.

The Reed-Bunting, sometimes misnamed the Black-headed Bunting, and also
known as the Reed-Sparrow, is a resident species and is found in localities suited
to its habits in most parts of the British Islands. It has also a wide range through-
out Europe.

The Reed-Bunting is an early breeder, the nest being sometimes begun in
March. This is usually placed on the ground, though I have once found it in
Scotland built in a fir, a few feet above the ground.

It is composed of dead grasses, flags, and moss, with a lining of the feathery
tops of reeds, fine grasses, and hair. The five or six eggs are pale brown,
blotched and streaked irregularly with dark brown or black.

The food, like that of the other Buntings, consists of seeds and insects.

During the summer months this species frequents the banks of sluggish
streams and marshy reedy ground; and the rather harsh song, consisting of
several notes, with the last one prolonged, is uttered as the bird clings to a tall
reed or willow sapling.

In winter a good many Reed-Buntings leave their summer haunts and betake
themselves to the fields, where they feed with other species. |

The head of the male at this time of the year has the black more or less
obscured by brownish margins to the feathers.

The female is by no means so brightly coloured as the male, the head being
reddish-brown, streaked with darker brown, and having a whitish eye-stripe.

132

THE LARGE-BILLED REED-BUNTING.
Emberiza pyrrhuloides, Pallas.

a This large race of Reed-Bunting, with a thicker and heavier bill than our bird,
and paler in colour, has twice been taken in England, viz. near Lydd, Kent, in
May 1908, and again at Rye, Sussex, in April 1912. The former appears to
belong to the Western, and the latter to the Eastern form of this Bunting.

133

THE LAPLAND BUNTING.
Calcarius lapponicus (Linnzus).

PLATE 18.

The first occurrence of the Lapland Bunting in England was noted by Selby
in the year 1826. Since that time, however, it has often been taken, while in
autumn flocks have been observed on the east coast.

The summer home of this Bunting is in the far north, where it breeds within
the circumpolar regions, moving southwards in autumn to pass the winter in
warmer latitudes.

The nest is placed in some depression on the ground by the side of a hillock or
tuft of grass, among marshy wastes, beyond the region of forest trees; with here
and there a few stunted birches or willows. It is built of dead grass-stems, moss,
and roots, and, according to Seebohm, is “ profusely lined with feathers.” The
eggs vary in number from four to six, and in ground colour are pale brown or grey,
blotched and streaked with darker brown.

The food of the Lapland Bunting, like that of its allies, consists of seeds and
insects, and the song is usually delivered while the bird is in the air.

In the female those parts of the head and breast which are black in the male
are streaked with dark brown or black on a ground of buff; the chestnut at the
back of the neck being duller, and also streaked.

134

THE SNOW-BUNTING.
Plectrophenax nivalis (Linnzus).

PLATE 18.

This truly Arctic species, whose summer home is in the circumpolar regions,
and which has been found breeding further north than any other bird, yet nests,
at high elevations, as far southwards as the Grampian Mountains in Scotland.

Captain Fielding found a nest and eggs as near to the Pole as Grinnell Land,
and during summer it is widely spread over Iceland, Spitzbergen, Nova Zembla,
and the barren Arctic wastes.

On the mainland of Scotland the nest is placed high up on the mountainsides,
under stones or in some cleft in a rock, and is built of dry bents and moss, with a
lining of hair and feathers. The eggs, varying in number from four to six, are in
ground colour white, with a bluish tinge, spotted and marked with brownish-red
and black.

Mr. J. G. Millais tells me that the song of the Snow-Bunting “is very wild
and sweet and has more continuance and variety than any of the other Buntings.
In the long summer evenings in Iceland I have heard the male Snow-Buntings
singing for hours. They usually sit on a high rock and sing in close vicinity to
the sitting female.”

In late autumn and winter large flocks of these birds arrive on our coasts, and
feed along the sandy beaches, among the stranded seaweed.

Dr. Saxby writes: “Seen against a dark hillside or a lowering sky, a flock of
these birds presents an exceedingly beautiful appearance, and it may then be seen
how aptly the term ‘snowflake’ has been applied to the species. I am acquainted
with no more pleasing combination of sight and sound than that afforded when a
cloud of these birds, backed by a dark grey sky, descends, as it were, in a shower
to the ground, to the music of their own sweet tinkling notes.”

The food of the Snow-Bunting consists principally of insects and the seeds of
various grasses.

In breeding plumage the female has broad grey margins to the black feathers
of the head, neck, and back, which give a dull look to the bird compared to the
male.

135

Family STURNIDZ.

THE STARLING.
Sturnus vulgaris, Linneus.

PLATE Ig.

The Starling is widely distributed over the British Islands, and is one of our
most common birds. Abroad it is found in the Faroes—where a broader-billed
race than ours occurs—and from northern Scandinavia southwards to the Medi-
terranean countries.

The large and rather slovenly nest is placed in a hole in a trunk of a tree, wall,
or cliff; in thatch, under the eaves of houses and outbuildings ; sometimes even in
thick ivy growing on the walls of a dwelling. It is composed of dead grasses,
straws, roots, and moss, roughly lined with some feathers and hair. The eggs,
varying in number from four to six or seven, are pale blue, without any markings.

The song, often heard during the winter months as well as at other times, is
delivered as the bird sits perched on some tree or building, and consists of various
chattering notes, combined with some which are really musical.

As he sings the Starling has a habit of flapping and closing his wings, at the
same time expanding his crest and the feathers of the throat.

During the past fifty years this bird has greatly increased in numbers, and
although at times helping itself freely to cherries and other fruit, any damage done
is more than paid for by the destruction of countless insects and larve.

In autumn vast numbers of Starlings find their living in the fields and pastures,
and as evening deepens the flocks resort to some favourite roosting-place, such as
evergreen shrubberies or reed-beds.

As the various packs unite, they perform wonderful aerial evolutions before
finally settling down for the night.

The female resembles the male, but the tints are duller, and the light spots are
larger. For some time after leaving the nest the young are of a uniform blackish-
brown colour, marked underneath with greyish-white.

136

MCZ LIBRARY

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

CAMBRIDGE. MA USA

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THE ROSE-COLOURED STARLING.
Pastor voseus (Linnzus).

PLATE Io.

This beautiful bird, an irregular wanderer to our shores, was unknown as a
British species until 1742. Since that date it has frequently been noticed as a
visitant to our shores.

Its breeding headquarters are in Western Asia, although sometimes vast
numbers nest in Southern Europe, and migrating eastwards, pass the winter in
India.

The favourite food of the Rose-coloured Starling, or Rose-coloured Pastor as
it is sometimes called, is the locust, which accounts for the erratic movements of
this species.

An account is given in the Zoo/ogist for 1878, p. 16, furnished by Edoardo de
Betta, of a great visitation of these birds to the castle of Villafranca in Italy during
the summer of 1875.

Arriving at first in small numbers, they rapidly increased until it was estimated
that some twelve or fourteen thousand birds had occupied the building.

They at once began their nests, and as soon as the young were able to fly, dis-
appeared as suddenly as they came.

The nest, loosely constructed of dead grasses, is sometimes placed in a cranny or
recess in a wall, at others among heaps of stones on the ground, and contains five
or six smooth and shining bluish-white eggs.

The notes of this bird are very like the Starling’s.

The female resembles the male in colour, but is duller.

% 137 .

Family CORVIDZ.

THE CHOUGH.
Pyrrhocorax graculus (Linnzus).

PLATE Io.

This bird, unfortunately rapidly decreasing as a British species, still lingers on
some of the sea cliffs in the south-western parts of England and Scotland, on the
coasts of Wales and Ireland, and in the Isle of Man and other islands.

It also occurs in many parts of Europe, where it can find localities suited to
its habits, and in Africa and Asia.

The nest, placed in some recess or fissure in rocks, or among ruins, is built of
sticks, with a lining of wool and hair. The four or five eggs are dull white, marked
with streaks and spots of ashy-grey and light brown.

The food consists of grubs, insects of various kinds, and seeds.

The birds have a shrill and penetrating cry.

It is one of the most beautiful members of the Crow family, on account of its
elegant shape, velvety plumage shot with purple and green reflections, and scarlet
bill and legs.

The plumage of the sexes is alike.

138

THE NUTCRACKER.
Nuctfraga caryocatactes (Linnzus).

PLATE 19.

The earliest known occurrence of the Nutcracker in the British Islands was one
obtained in Wales in October 1753, and recorded by Pennant. Since that date
a good many have been noticed, mostly in England.

Abroad it breeds among the pine forests in the mountainous parts of Central
and Southern Europe, and ranges eastwards across Siberia.

The Siberian form has a longer and more slender bill than the one inhabiting
Europe, and as it is apparently this race which most commonly visits England, I
have represented it in the plate.

Little was known of the nest and eggs of the Nutcracker until 1862, when they
were obtained on the Danish island of Bornholm, lying to the south of Sweden in
the Baltic; although an egg had been procured in the lower Alps by the Abbé
Caire as far back as 1846.

Like the Jay, the Nutcracker becomes extraordinarily shy and silent during the
nesting time, which begins very early in the season before the winter's snow has
melted in the forests, where the nest is built on the bough of a pine, at a moderate
height from the ground.

The nest, composed of sticks, with a lining of grasses and moss, contains from
three to five eggs, pale bluish-green in ground colour, spotted and freckled with
olive-brown.

The Nutcracker feeds on the seeds of coniferous trees, nuts, berries, and insects,
whilst in manner of flight and tone of voice it resembles the Jay.

The female is indistinguishable from the male in colour.

139

THE JAY:
Garrulus glandarcus (Linneus).

PLATE 19.

The Jay is a resident and fairly common bird in the woodland districts of
England and Wales, though much scarcer and more local in Scotland and in
Ireland. Over the greater part of Europe it is also found, where the surroundings
suit its habits. It is said to have been more plentiful formerly in our country,
before the days of game preservation; nevertheless, owing to its intelligence and
wariness, it still holds its ground, wherever there are large tracts of wood and
coppice.

I have lately had under observation a nest of the Jay, which was placed in a
Scotch fir, about ten feet from the ground, and built in a fork where the branches
join the trunk. It was composed of twigs of the birch and other trees, with a
lining of finer twigs of birch and roots. The five or six eggs are greenish-white,
minutely speckled with olive-brown.

While the nest is being made, and until the young have left it, the parent birds
are never heard and seldom seen, approaching it silently by roundabout ways,
unless the nestlings are interfered with, when the female utters harsh screams and
at times a curious cat-like call. )

In the nest which I observed the young were also absolutely silent, unless
handled or alarmed by anyone climbing their tree. The colour of their eyes was
a bluish-grey, not brown, as it is sometimes said to be.

The food of the Jay consists of various nuts and berries, also of the eggs and
the young of other birds.

Its usual call-note is harsh and strident, and sometimes the notes of other birds
are imitated.

The female is rather duller in her plumage than the male.

In Ireland the general colour of this species is said to be of a warmer tint.

140

THE MAGPIE.
Pica rustica (Scopoli).
(Frontispzece.)

This handsome bird is a resident species and widely distributed in many
parts of the British Islands, though scarce and rapidly diminishing where game
preserving is general.

Abroad it is found over the greater part of Europe, from northern Scandinavia
to the Mediterranean.

The Magpie, like the Jay, breeds early in the year, usually in March, and builds
its large domed nest of sticks arranged on a groundwork of earth and clay with
a lining of rootlets or grasses, which is placed in the fork of a tree, or in some
tall thorn hedge. The eggs vary in number from six to nine, and are generally
of a pale bluish-green, speckled with umber brown.

The food consists of grubs, eggs, young birds, rats, mice, and carrion of various
kinds.

The notes of the Magpie, softer in tone than those of the Jay, are, as Macgilli-
vray describes them, ‘‘a sort of chuckling cry or chatter.” Always shy and watch-
ful, and never off its guard, it frequents woods, meadows, and cultivated ground,
especially those fields surrounded by trees and tall hedges, to which it retreats on
the first suspicion of danger.

In thick covert, if a fox be about, its presence is often betrayed by the incessant
chattering of the watchful bird.

The male and female are alike in colour, though she may be a little duller.

141

THE JACKDAW.
Corvus monedula, Linnzus.

(Frontisptece.)

The Jackdaw is acommon and well-known bird throughout the greater part of
the British Islands, often to be seen in company with Rooks. It is also found all
over Europe, in Asia, and North Africa.

It makes its nest in hollow trees, crannies and holes in the stonework of
churches, ruined castles, and other buildings; sometimes in cliffs, or even under-
ground in rabbit burrows.

This is usually a large structure composed of sticks, snugly lined with wool and
fur, and holds from four to seven eggs, greenish- or bluish-white in ground colour,
marked and blotched with black or purplish-brown.

The call-note of the Jackdaw is a sharper and shorter caw, or rather cae, than
that of the Rook, and the birds may easily be distinguished when flying in
company overhead by their smaller size and different note.

It lives on much the same diet as its larger relation, viz. insects, worms, grubs,
&c., and also on eggs when they can be obtained.

The Jackdaw is a sociable bird, seeking its food in fields and meadows, as well
as by the sea, in companionship with its fellows.

The female is very like the male in colour, except that she has a less noticeable
collar of grey. |

142

THE RAVEN.
Corvus corax, Linnzus.

(Frontispiece.)

The Raven still lingers as a breeding species in some of its ancient haunts
along the southern and south-western coasts of England, nesting also in Cumber-
land and Wales, as well as in some of the wilder parts of Ireland.

In Scotland it is much more numerous, especially in the western islands and
among the wilds of the Highland deer forests.

This wanderer over the face of the earth is found all over Europe, and has a
wide range in Asia and America, it also inhabits Greenland.

The nest, begun in February, is usually placed on an inaccessible ledge of rock,
although in former days, when the Raven bred in the wooded districts of England,
it was generally built in some tall tree, and so situated that it could hardly be
reached from below.

It is composed of dead sticks of various sizes, with a warm lining of wool,
feathers, fur, or the hair of deer. The eggs, varying in number from three to
Six, On rare occasions seven, are bluish-green in ground colour, marked and
blotched with greenish-brown and grey.

The Raven’s voice is distinct and may be recognised at a great distance, the
harsh double croak being often heard when the bird itself seems a mere speck
against the sky.

Its food consists of carrion of all kinds, such as sheep and lambs which have
died on the hill or fallen over a precipice, dead fishes cast ashore by the sea, and
also sometimes of grain, nothing coming amiss to this omnivorous bird.

In character and intelligence the Raven stands first among his kind, and
endowed with wonderfully keen eyesight and a hardy constitution, he is able to find
a living where most birds would starve.

The male and female are alike in colour, and pair for life.

END OF VOL. I.

Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & Co.
at Paul’s Work, Edinburgh

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