■ ^^^H ■ ^^^^^^^^^^^^HH ■i^ 1 ■ 1 ' '^- i in ' t rm FOR EDVCATION FOR SCIENCE LIBRARY OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY BEITISH BIRDS IN THEIR HAUNTS. BEITISH BIRDS IN THEIR HAUNTS. BY THE EEV. C. A. JOHNS, B.A. F.LS. AUTHOR OF "forest TREES OF BRITAIN ;" "FLOWERS OF THE FIEU), ETC. WITH ILLUSTEATIONS ON WOOD, DRAWN BY WOLF, ENGRAVED BY WHYMPEK. PUBLISHED fNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION, APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. LONDON: SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE SOLD AT THE DEPOSITORIES: 77, GREAT QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS; 4, ROYAL EXCHANGE; 48, PICCADILLY; AND BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. 1862. ON EVERY BOUGH THE BIRDIS HERD I SING WITH VOICE OF ANGELL IN THER HARMONIE, THAT BUSIED 'lIEM THER BIRDIS FORTHE TO BRYNG." CHAUCER PEEPACE. The peculiar geographical position of the British Isles renders them the resort, either permanent or temporary, of a large number of Birds : amongst which are many periodical visitors both from high latitudes, driven southwards in winter by the severity of the cold ; and from Africa, whence they fly northwards at the opposite season, in order to avoid the intense heat of an intertropical summer. Besides these periodic sojourners, many species, which are properly resident on the European Continent, occasionally cross the Channel, and make their ap- pearance amongst us as capricious visitors ; but, whether led hither by choice, or driven by stress of weather, it is impossible to determine. Instances also occur, but at rare intervals, of solitary specimens, which are undoubtedly of American origin. It is possible that some of these may have been transported as captives, and may have escaped from confinement ; or they may have been introduced and intentionally set at liberty. However this may vi PREFACE. 1)0, tlic coiisoqiionce is, tliat the catalof,aie of British r>ir(ls is constantly receiving additions, thoufrh it is by no means clear that every bird admitted into the list has a rit3" MONTAGU'S HAERIER CIRCUS MONTAGU I. Wings a little longer than the tail ; third primary longer than thi fourth and second ; upper plumage bluish grey ; primaries black, secondaries with three transverse dark bars ; lateral tail-feathers white barred with reddish orange ; under plumage white, variously streaked with reddish orange. Fe- male— upper plumage brown of various tints ; under, pale reddish yellow, with longitudinal briglit red streaks. Beak black ; cere deep yellow ; irides hazel ; feet yellow ; claws black. Length seventeen inches. Eggs bluish white. This bird, which is of rare occurren e in Britain, resembles the Hen Harrier very closely, both in appearance and MONTAGU'S HAEKIER. 43 habits. On the Continent, especially in Holland, it is more frequent. It received its name in honour of Colonel Montagu, who was the first to ascertain the identity of the Hen Harrier and Eingtail, and to separate the present species from both. EAGLE OWL. BUBO MAXIMUS. Bill bluish black, lighter towards the base ; iris orange ; upper parts mottled with black, brown, and ochre yellow ; under parts ochre yellow, with longitu- dinal dark stripes ; throat white ; claws bluish black. Femole somewhat larger than the male, but wants the white spot on the throat. Length twenty- four inches ; breadth fifty-eight inches. Eggs white. The Owls have in most ages been classed by the igno- rant among birds of evil omen. Yet it is a question whether any one encountering an Owl for the first time, and as an unknown bird, would have any other feeling excited in him save that of the ludicrous. Its upright posture, round flat face, strangely set ears, or horns, as we may choose to call them, large, staring eyes always turned to the spectator with such unmeaning solemnity, are irre- sistibly comical; and one's merriment is increased by the absence of all sympathy in the bird, which, in spite of its human cast of features, is neither angered nor amused by our laughter, but retains the same grave expression, making no sign of response. It was probably on account of its grave looks and seeming power of abstraction that the Owl was dedicated by the Greeks to the goddess Minerva, and honoured as the Bird of Wisdom. Pre-eminent among the European Owls is that which from its superior size and strength is called the Eagle-Owl, and in Erance Grand Due; the latter name been given to it, it is said, from an ancient popular belief that it acted twice a year as leader or guide. Due, to the flocks of Quails at their periods of migration. It must, however, have 44 STRIGID^. been vory ill fitted for such a post, being without doubt an exceedingly rapacious and destructive bird, as may be inferred from the folloAving narrative : — "One day in the month of July, a young bird, having quitted the nest, was caught by the servants. This bird was, considering the season of the year, well feathered ; but the down appeared here and there between those feathers which had not yet attained their full growth. After it was caught, it was shut up in a large hen-coop, when, on the following morning, a fine young Partridge was found lying dead before the door of the coop. It was immediately concluded that this provision had been brought there by the old Owls, which no doubt had been making search in the night-time for their lost young one. And such was indeed the fact ; for night after night, for fourteen days, was this same mark of attention repeated. The game which the old ones carried to it consisted chiefly of young Partridges, for the most part newly killed, but sometimes a little spoiled. On one occasion a Moor-fowl was brought, so fresh that it was actually warm under the wings; and at another time a putrid lamb was deposited." * The Eagle-Owl is not only the strongest and best armed of all the birds of prey next to the Eagle, but its attack is inevitable, because it strikes in the dark, and its flight is so noiseless that its prey has no warning of its approach. Some authors assert that when it has young to feed, it extends its hunting expeditions into the day ; this may well be the case, for even the Earn-Owl, Avhen in captivity, though most active during night, is ready to receive food at all hours when hungry. The favourite food of the Eagle-Owl is the hare, the partridge, and other game. In America, it preys on the Wild Turkey, which, though weighing from ten to tAventy pounds, it finds no difliculty in transporting to a considerable chstance. When * Stanley's British Birds, p. 154. THE EAGLE OWL. 45 assailed by superior strength it makes a vigorous defence. Its sharp talons inflict wounds as severe as those of the fox or wild cat, meeting in the flesh of any animal on which it fastens, and endowed with such power of muscular contraction as to pierce the leathern gaiters, and even the shoes of the hunters. When wounded and attacked by dogs, it turns itself on its back, extends its open talons, and executes a movement with its beak which serves to - guard the whole body. These strange manoeuvres, accom- panied as they are by rolling of the eyes, and a hissing noise like the exaggerated purr of a cat, are so alarming, that the most courageous dog hesitates before making his first onset, and rarely attempts a second. The note of the Eagle-Owl is described as being most discordant and hideous ; by some being compared to the bark of a dog, by others to the neigh of a horse, and by others again to an agonized human shriek ; consequently, it figures in many of the legends connected with the Hartz mountains, where it is of frequent occurrence. In Great Britain it has been rarely met with. It seems to prefer the mountain forests of the North, where it builds its nest among rocks, ruins, or stumps of trees, and lays two or three eggs. SCOPS-EARED OWL. SCOPS ALDROVANDI. Bill black ; iris yellow ; egrets (about three-quarters of an inch long) and head brown, minutely spotted with black ; upper parts, reddish brown mottled with black and dark brown : under parts lighter. Wings equalling the tail in length. Length, seven to eight inches ; Female somewhat larger. Eggs white. A BEAUTIFULLY marked little bird, scarcely bigger than a Thrush, which, though abundant in many parts of the continent of Europe, rarely pays us a visit. It is a bird of passage, arriving in France in May, and taking its de- parture in September. It builds its nest in the trunks of trees, and hides by day among the foUage of the poplars, 46 STRIGID^. limes, &c., wliich line the great roads. There it is heard in the summer evenings and nights, repeating at intervals as regular as the ticking of a pendulum, its melancholy and monotonous cry of " kew, kew," as little melodious as the croak of a frog. It frequents the vicinity of toTVTis, and THE SCOPS-EA.UED OWL. lives exclusively on the larger insects. It is more abundant in the southern countries of Europe than in the northern ; and in autumn migrates to the Mediterranean Islands and Africa. It makes its nest in holes in rocks or trees, and lays from two to five eggs. LOKG-EARED OWL. OTUS VULGARIS. Beak black ; iris orange yellow ; egrets very long, composed of eight or ten black feathers, edged ^vith yellow and white ; upper parts reddish yellow, mottled with brown and grey ; low€r parts lighter, with oblong streaks of deep brown. Length fifteen inches ; breadth thirty-eight inches. Eggs white. Though not among the most frequent of the English Owls, this species occurs in most of the wooded parts of England and Ireland, as indeed it does in nearly all parts of the world where woods are to be found. In France, where it is common, it unites in its own person all the mal- practices which have been popularly ascribed to the whole tribe of Owls. It is there said to be held in great detes- tation by all the rest of the feathered tribe ; a fact which is turned to good account by the bird-catcher, who, having 48 STRIGID^. set his traps and limed twigs, conceals himself in the neighbourhood and imitates the note of this Owl. The little birds, impelled by rage or fear, or a silly combination of both, assemble for the purpose of mobbing the common enemy. In their anxiety to discern the object of their abhorrence, they fall one after another into the snare, and become the prey of the fowler. The Long-eared Owl is not altogether undeserving of the persecution which is thus intended for her, her principal food being field-mice and such little birds as she can surprise when asleep. In fact, she respects neither the person nor the property of her neighbours, making her home in the old nests of large birds and squirrels, and appropriating, as food for herself and her voracious young, the carcases of any that she finds herself strong enough to master and kill. The cry of this bird is prolonged and plaintive, though consisting of not more than two or three notes repeated at intervals. The note of the young bird is similar, but is uttered in a higher key, and seems to be intended as a petition to its parents for a supply of food. A writer in the "Zoologist,"* who has had many opportunities of observing this species in its native haunts, says, that it does not confine its flight entirely to the darker hours, as he has met with it in the woods sailing quickly along, as if hawking, on a bright summer day. It is curious to observe, he says, how flat they invariably make their nests, so much so, that it is difficult to conceive how the eggs retain their position, even in a shght wind, when the parent bird leaves them. The eggs are invariably three in number, and there are grounds for supposing that the female bird begins to sit as soon as she has laid her flrst egg. * Vol. ii. p. 562. THE SHOET-EAEED OWL. OTUS BRACHYOTUS. Face whitish ; beak black ; iris yellow ; egrets inconspicuous, of a few black feathers ; eyes encircled by brownish black ; upper plumage dusky brown, edged with yellow ; lower pale orange, streaked with brown. Length six- teen inches ; breadth thirty-eight. Eggs white. From the name, Hawk-owl, sometimes given to this species, we should expect to find this bird not so decidedly noc- turnal in its habits as the preceding; and such is the case; for, though it does not habitually hunt by day, it has been known to catch up chickens from the farmyard, and has been seen in chase of pigeons. If attacked during day- light, it does not evince the powerless dismay of the last species, but effects a masterly retreat by soaring in a spiral direction until it has attained an elevation to which its adversary does not care to follow it. Unlike its allies, it E 50 STEIGID^. frequents neither mountains nor forests, but prefers the plains, concealing itself, on the Continent, in heaths and vineyards, and in the British Isles, in stuhble-fields or among turnips. In some seasons they are so abundant in France, that the sportsman has no diflficulty in killing a dozen in a day. As many as twenty-eight were once seen in a single turnip- field in England ; from whence it has been inferred that in autumn the Short-eared Owls are gregarious, and esta- blish themselves for a time in any place they faU in with, where field-mice or other small quadrupeds are abun- dant. In England this bird is not uncommonly started by sportsmen when in pursuit of game. It then flies with a quick zig-zag motion for about a hundred yards, and alights on the ground, never on a tree. By some it is called the Woodcock-Owl, from its arriving and departing at about the same times with that bird ; it is not, however, invariably a bird of passage, since many instances are on record of its breeding in this country, making a rude nest in a thick bush, either on the ground, or close to it, and feeding its young on mice, small birds, and even the larger game, as Moor-fowl, a bird more than double its own weight. The Short-eared Owl affords a beautiful illus- tration of a fact not generally known, that the nocturnal birds of prey have the right and left ear differently formed, one ear being so made as to hear sounds from above, and the other from below. The opening into the channel for conveying sound is in the right ear, placed beneath the transverse fold, and directed upivards, wliile in the left ear the same opening is placed above the channel for conveying sound, and is directed downwards. In the severe weather of January, 1861, I had the gratification of seeing three or four of these Owls among the sand-hills of the coast of Norfolk, near Holkham. I imagined them to be in pursuit of the Eedwings and other small birds which had been driven by the intense THE SHORT -EARED OWL. 51 cold to the sea-coast, since they flew about as Hawks do when hunting for prey, and occasionally alighted among the sand-hills. I even fell in with several heaps of feathers, showing where some unhappy bird had been picked and eaten. A few days afterwards, however, I inquired at another part of the coast whether there were any Owls there, and received for an answer, "■ l!^o, because there are no Rabbits;" from which I inferred that these birds have the reputation of hunting larger game than Thrushes, a charge which the size and power of their hooked talons seem to justify. THE BARN^ OWL. STKIX FLAMMEA. Beak yellowish white ; upper parts light tawny yeUow minutely variegated with brown, grey, and white ; face and lower plumage white, the feathers of the margin tipped with brown. Length fourteen inches; breadth nearly three feet. Eggs white. Returning from our Summer-evening's walk at the plea- sant time when twilight is deepening into night, when the Thrush has piped its last roundelay, and the Nightingale is gathering strength for a fresh flood of melody, a sudden exclamation from our companion " "What was that ? " compels us to look in the direction pointed at just in time to catch a glimpse of a phantom-like body disappearing behind the hedge-row. But that the air is still, we might have imagined it to be a sheet of silver paper wafted along by the wind, so lightly and noiselessly did it pass on. We know, however, that a pair of Barn Owls have appropriated these hunting grounds, and that this is their time of sallying forth ; we are aware, too, how stealthily they fly along the lanes, dipping behind the trees, search- ing round the hay-stacks, skimming over the stubble, and all with an absence of sound that scarcely belongs to moving life. Yet, though by no means slow of flight, the E 2 52 STRIGIDiE. Barn Owl can scarcely be said to cleave the air ; rather, it fans its way onwards with its down-fringed wings, and the air, thus softly treated, quietly yields to the gentle force, and retires without murmur to allow it a passage. Kot without meaning is this silence preserved. The nimble little animals that constitute the chase, are quick-sighted and sharp of hearing, but the pursuer gives no notice of THE BARN OWL. his approach, and they know not their doom till they feel the inevitable talons in their sides. The victim secured, silence is no longer necessary. The successful hunter lifts up his voice in a sound of triumph, repairs to the nearest tree to regale himself on his prize, and, for a few minutes— that is, until the chase is resumed — utters his melodious Tciaw again and again. In the morning, the Owl will THE BAEN OWL. 53 retire to his private cell and will spend the day perched on end, dozing and digesting as long as the sunlight is too powerful for his large and sensitive eyes. Peep in on him in his privacy, and he will stretch out or move from side to side his grotesque head, ruffling his feathers, and hissing as though your performance were worthy of all condemnation. Yet he is a very handsome and most amusing bird, more worthy of being domesticated as a pet than many others held in high repute. Taken young from the nest, he is soon on familiar terms with his owner, recognises him by a flapping of wings and a hiss whenever he approaches, clearing his premises of mice, and showing no signs of pining at the restriction placed on his liberty. Give him a bird, and he will soon show that, though con- tented with mice, he quite appreciates more refined fare. Grasping the body with his talons, he deliberately plucks off all the large feathers with his beak, tears off the head, and swallows it at one gulp, and then proceeds to devour the rest piecemeal. In a wild state his food consists mainly of mice, which he swallows whole, beetles, and sometimes fish, which he catches by pouncing on them in the water. The service which the Barn Owl renders to the agricul- turist, by its consumption of rats and mice, must be ex- ceedingly great, yet it is little appreciated. " When it has young," says Mr. Waterton, "it will bring a mouse to the nest every twelve or fifteen minutes. But in order to have a proper idea of the enormous quantity of mice which this bird destroys, we must examine the pellets which it ejects from its stomach in the place of its retreat. Every pellet contains from four to seven skeletons of mice. In sixteen months from the time that the apartment of the Owl on the old gateway was cleared out, there has been a deposit of above a bushel of pellets." The plumage of the Barn Owl is remarkable for its soft- ness, its delicacy of pencilling on the upper parts and its snowy whiteness below. Its face is perfectly heart-shaped 54 STEIGID^. during life, but when the animal is dead becomes circular. The female is larger than her mate, and her colours are somewhat darker. The nest of the Barn Owl is a rude structure placed in the bird's daily haunt. The eggs vary- in number, and there are grounds for supposing that the bird lays them at different periods, each brood after the first being hatched (partially at least) by the heat of the young birds already in being. That this is always the case it would not be safe to assert, but that it is so sometimes there can be no doubt. The young birds are ravenous eaters and proverbially ugly; when craving food they make a noise resembling a snore. The old birds are considered by Sir W. Jardine to hoot ; and to this statement I am inclined to assent, having heard a hoot proceed from a certain grove which I know to be frequented by White Owls, but where no other kind of Owl has been observed. Most naturalists are, . however, of opinion that they have but two notes : the screech by night, the purring hiss by day. The Barn or White Owl is said to be the most generally diffused of all the tribe, being found in almost all latitudes of both hemispheres, and it appears to be everywhere an object of terror to the ignorant. A bird of the night, the time when evil deeds are done, it bespeaks for itself an evil reputation ; making ruins and hollow trees its resort, it becomes associated with the gloomiest legends ; uttering its discordant note during the hours of darkness, it is rarely heard save by the benighted traveller, or by the weary watcher at the bed of the sick and dying ; and who more susceptible of alarming impressions than these 1 It is therefore scarcely surprising that the common incident of a Screech-Owl being attracted by a solitary midnight taper to flutter against the window of a sick room, and there to utter its melancholy wail, should for a time shake the faith of the watcher, and, when repeated with the customary exaggerations, should obtain for the poor harm- less mouser the unmerited title of " harbinger of death." THE TAWNY OWL. SYENIUM ALUCO. Beak greyish yellow ; irides bluish dusky ; upper parts reddish brown, variously marked and spotted with dark brown, black, and grey ; large white spots on the scapulars and wing coverts ; primaries and tail feathers barred alternately with dark and reddish brown ; lower parts reddish white, with transverse brown bars and longitudinal dusky streaks ; legs feathered to the claws. Length sixteen inches ; breadth three feet. Eggs dull white. This bird, the Ulula of tlie ancients, took its name from the Latin ululare ; the word used to denote, and partially to imitate, the cry of the wolf : it enjoys also the doubtful honour of giving name to the whole tribe of "Owls," whether they howl, hoot, or screech. This species is by no means so generally diffused as the last, but yet is not uncommon in many of the wooded parts of England, especially the west. But even here, owing to its nocturnal 55 5Q STRTGID^. habits, and dusky colour, it is not so often seen as heard. It has many a time been my amusement to repair, towards the close of a summer evening, to a wood which I knew to be the resort of these birds, and to challenge them to an exchange of greetings, and I rarely failed to succeed. Their note may be imitated so exactly as to deceive even the birds themselves, by forming a hollow with the fingers and palms of the two hands, leaving an opening only between the second joints of the two thumbs, and then by blowing with considerable force down upon the opening thus made, so as to produce the sound hoo-hoo-hoo-o-o-o. I have thus induced a bird to follow me for some distance, echoing my defiance or greeting, or whatever he may have deemed it ; but I do not recollect that I ever caught sight of the bird. The Tawny Owl does not prey exclusively on mice and small birds, but makes great havoc among game, and even visits fish-ponds. Young hares, rabbits, rats, mice, moles, and any birds that he can surprise asleep, form his principal food. These he hunts by night, and retires for concealment by day to some thick tree or shrubbery, either in the hill country or the plains. The nest, composed principally of the dried pellets of undigested bones and fur, which all the Owls are in the habit of disgorging, is usually placed in a hollow tree ; here the female lays about four eggs, from which emerge, in due time, as many grotesque bodies enveloped in a soft plush of grey yarn ; destined, in due time, to become Tawny Owls. The full- grown females are larger than the males, and, being of a redder tinge, were formerly considered a distinct species. 0/ THE SNOWY OWL. SURNIA NYCTEA. Plumage snow-white, more or less marked witli brown spots and transverse bars ; beak black ; irides orange yellow ; legs and toes thickly covered with long shaggy feathers. Length two feet ; breadth five feet. Eggs pure white. An Owl that spends its summer in the Arctic regions, must, of necessity, differ in its habits from the Owls which reside in climates where day is succeeded by night at short intervals ; either it must keep a fast of many weeks' duration, or hunt for food while the sun is above the horizon. The Snowy Owl, therefore, a northern bird en- dowed with an appetite as voracious as that generally possessed by other birds of the same tribe, hunts during the day as well as in the dark. With the exception of the Eagle Owl, it is the largest species met with in Britain, and, like that bird, only an occasional visitor. In the Shetland Islands it is not unfrequent, where, however, it rarely comes abroad till dusk, and feeds on rabbits, mice, rats, and small birds, especially sandpipers. Its form is highly elegant ; its flight less buoyant and more rapid than that of other Owls ; and the superior boldness and activity of its disposition, the uncommon size of its talons, and the vigour of its limbs, secure it against danger from all feathered enemies. On the approach of twilight, it quits the elevated stony districts in which it conceals itself during day, and frequents the cultivated fields, prowhng over the low grounds in quest of mice and small birds. When first observed to leave its retreat, it is frequently assailed by crows, and other birds ; but it receives their attacks with indifference, and dashes through the air, despising their hostiUty. In North America, it has frequently been ob- served hunting during the day, as well as in the dark. It passes swiftly over its hunting ground, seizes its prey by instantaneously falling on it, and generally devours it on 58 STRIGIDJE. the spot. It also catches fish, and watches the traps set for musk-rats, devouring the animals caught in them. Little appears to be known about its nest or eggs ; and not much more about its note, which is said by one author to resemble the grunting of pigs ; and by another, the lamentations of a person in distress. In the year 1845, a party of fishermen, belonging to Cullen, in Banffshire, observed a Snowy Owl enter a chasm in the cliff, and climbed up. The most venturesome of the party, scrambling into the hole, discovered two old birds and two young ones, all of which, with some personal risk, he either killed or captured. This appears to be the only authentic evidence on record of their breeding in Great Britain. The plumage is exceedingly beautiful ; pure white, spotted and barred with brownish black. In younger birds, there is a greater proportion of dark markings, while, in very old birds, the spots are either small or entirely obliterated. THE HAWK OWL. SURNIA FUNl'rEA. Head, back of the neck, and shoulders, mottled with dusky black and dull white ; fece bounded by a black, crescent-shaped band ; back and wings dark brown, barred with dull white ; tail barred with .dull white ; under parts dull white, barred with dusky brown ; beak white ; irides straw yellow ; tarsi and toes covered with greyish white feathers. Length seventeen inches. Eggs Avhite. Of this species a single specimen only has been observed in, or rather on, the coast of England, and this is the sole claim which the Hawk Owl can put forward to be con- sidered a British bird. It occurs, but rarely, in the north of Germany, and then only in the great forests or among the mountains. In America it is found in the high north- ern latitudes, and is common throughout the fur countries, from Hudson's Bay to the Pacific, and is more frequently killed than any other by the himters, owing to its bold- THE HAWK OWL. 59 ness and its habit of flying about by day. In the summer season it feeds principally on mice and insects ; but in the snow-clad regions, which it frequents in the winter, neither of these are to be procured, and it then preys principally on Ptarmigans. It is a constant attendant on the flocks of Ptarmigans in their spring migration to the northward. It builds its nest on a tree, of sticks, grass, and feathers, and lays two white eggs. "When the hunters are shooting grouse, this bird is occasionally attracted by the report of the gun, and is often bold enough, on a bird being killed, to pounce do^vn upon it, though unable, from its size, to carry it oil. THE LITTLE OWL. NOCTUA PASSERINA. Upper plumage greyisli brown, spotted with white ; under, yellowish white with longitudinal brown marks, a broad dull white band across the throat ; beak brownish white ; irides very small, yellow ; tarsi feathered, toes sprinkled with a few white hairs. Length nine inches. Eggs white. This grotesque-looking bird, whose physiognomy cannot but remind one of a wizened face furnished with spectacles and a sharp nose, is common in most countries of Europe, resorting by day to ruins and holes in trees. Here it has the dangerous custom of revealing its retreat by repeatedly uttering its wearisome note, which is so incessant and so harsh that " to cry like a little owl," has, in some districts of France, passed into a proverb of reproach. A writer, however, in the " Zoologist," is of a different opinion, and reckons its singidar and plaintive note among the pleasant sounds of the country. I have myself heard it for several consecutive nights in the woods of Somersetshire, if indeed, as I suspected, the repeated cry, "Ftveek, k'week,'' came from this species. Though there was nothing melodious in the sound, I was inclined to consider it as a pleasing (50 STRIGIDiE. change from the silence of night, rather than the reverse. The Little Owl is not generally supposed to be common in England; but as it comes abroad only by night, and offers but an indifferent mark to the prowling game- keeper, it may be more abundant than it is believed to be. .Its food consists of mice, beetles, bats, and such Hh- LITTLE OWL. small birds as it can surprise when roosting. It lays its eggs in its usual hiding-place, making no nest. In cap- tivity it is a most amusing bird, for though quiet and grave by day, towards evening it becomes very animated, twisting its body with strange contortions, and jumping in a peculiarly ludicrous manner. 61 TENGMALM'S OWL. NOCTUA TENGMALMI. Upper parts reddish brown, spotted with white ; the spots on the scapulars and wing-coverts dispersed in lines ; tail interruptedly barred with white ; under- parts yellowish white, spotted with brown ; tarsi and toes thickly clothed with soft feathers. Length eight to nine inches. Eggs pure white. This little Owl takes its name from Dr. Tengmalm, a Swedish naturalist, who first pointed out the difference between it and the foregoing species. It is a pretty bird, scarcely bigger than a Blackbird, and in habits closely resembles the Little Owl, but few specimens have occurred in Britain, though from its close resemblance to the other species, it may be more common than it is generally supposed to be. So impatient is it of light that when accidentally surprised by daylight it becomes so dazzled and confased as to be easily caught by the hand. " Its cry in the night is a single melancholy note repeated at intervals of a minute or two ; and it is one of the super- stitious practices of the Indians to whistle when they hear it. If the bird is silent when thus challenged, the speedy death of the inquirer is augured ; hence its Cree name of 'Death-bird."^* THE GREAT GREY SHRIEJE. LANIUS EXCu'bITOR. Head, nape, and back, bright ash grey ; a broad black band beneath the eyes ; under plumage pure white ; wings short, black ; base of the primaries and tips of the secondaries white ; tail with the two middle feathers black, and the outer on each side white with a black spot at the base, the rest black and white ; bill and feet black. Female of a more dingy hue above ; below dull v>^hite, the proportion of black in the feathers increasing as they approach the middle ; each feather of the breast terminating in a crescent-shaped ash grey spot. Length ten inches ; breadth fourteen inches. Eggs bluish white, spotted at the larger end with two shades of brown. The family of Shrikes, or Butcher-birds, would seem to occupy an intermediate station between birds of prey and insectivorous birds. The subject of the present chapter * Dr. Richardson. (j2 LANID^. ospecially, thougli little resembling a Hawk in appearance, has, on account of its habits, some pretension to be ranked among birds of prey ; from which, however, it differs in the essential particular that, as well as the rest of the lamily, it seizes and carries off its prey with its beak and not with its claws. Though rarely seen in this country, it is not uncommon on the Continent, where its characters have been accurately observed. It derives its name excu- hitor (sentinel) from its favourite habit of posting itself on the topmost twig of a poplar or other lofty tree, whence it keeps up a watchful look-out, not only for its prey, but for any bird of the hawk tribe, against which it wages incessant and deadly hostility. When it descries one of these birds, wliich it does at a great distance, it utters a shriek, as if for the purpose of giving an alarm, a cry which is instantly repeated by all birds of the same species which happen to be within hearing. This antipathy against birds of prey is taken advantage of by fowlers in France, who, when setting their nets for hawks, take with them a "sentinel" Shrike and station it near the living bird, which they employ as a lure. So rapid is the swoop of the Falcon that but for the warning cry of the Shrike it would descend and carry off its victim before the fowler had time to close his nets ; but the keen eye of the sentinel detects, and his shrill cry announces, the approach of his enemy, and the fowler has time to prepare. The principal food of this bird appears to be insects, especially the stag-beetle, though in its natural state it will capture and destroy any birds inferior to itself in strength and courage. Its name Lanius (Latin for butcher) and Butcher-bird were given to it from its habit of impaling beetles and small birds on thorns in the vicinity of its nest. The latter it has even been said to flay before dismembering ; but this assertion rests on insufiicient evidence. Its fhght is peculiar, being com- posed of a series of dips, like that of the Wagtail ; and THE GREAT GREY SHRIKE. 68 when it quits its perch on the summit of one tall tree to fly to another, it drops and rises again, so as to form a curve like that of a loose rope hung from two tall masts. Another peculiarity of the Shrike is a remarkable power of imitating the song of other birds, which it is said to exercise in order to obtain its food more easily, by beguiling the nesthngs of the smaller birds into answering it by a chirrup, and so betraying their retreat. The notes which it has been observed to imitate are those of the JSTightin- gale, Kobin, Swallow, and Stone-chat. Its proper note is harsh, resembling somewhat that of the Kestri]. THE EED-BACKED SHEIKE. LANIUS COLLUEIO. Head, nape, shoulders and upper tail-coverts ash-grey, a black band reaching from the gape to beyond the ears ; back, scapulars, and wing-coverts reddish brown ; throat white, passing into rose-red on the breast and flanks ; wings blackish, edged with reddish brown ; tail nearly even at the end, four middle feathers black tipped with reddish grey, the rest white from the base through two-thirds of their length, the other third black with a white tip ; second primary longer than the fifth. Female : Upper plumage rusty brown, tinged near the nape and tail with ash-grey ; lower white, the sides barred transversely by narrow curved lines ; outer webs and tips of the outer tail feathers yellowish white, four middle ones uniform dusky brown. Length seven inches ; breadth eleven inches. Eggs cream-coloured, greenish, or delicate grey variously mottled and spotted with light brown and ash-grey. The Eed-backed Shrike, though not generally diffused throughout England, is in certain localities far from un- common. In the wooded districts of the midland and southern counties many specimens may be annually ob- served, and the nest is of frequent occurrence. This is usually placed a few feet from the ground, in the middle of a thick bush or hedge ; and, very unlike that of the rapacious birds, is a massive, well-built structure of twigs, dry grass, and moss, lined with hair and fine roots. This bird is called in France Vecorcheur (the flayer), from the custom ascribed to it of skinning the bodies of its victims 64 LANID^. before devouring them. Its habits and food are similar to those of the last species, and it is said also to possess the same imitative power. That it does impale insects and even young birds on thorns there can be no doubt, as it has been watched by a competent observer in the very act of thus dealing with the carcase of a hedge-sparrow ; but that it flays its victims, and suspends their skins as -^ THE RED-BACKKD SHRIKE. trophies is questionable ; nor less so, that it lures little birds to their destruction by mimicking the call-notes of their parents. Its courage and voracity may be gathered from the following anecdote recorded in the Zoologist : * — " This morning a bird-catcher was following his vocation near I^orwich, when a Ked-backed Shrike pounced on one * Vol. XI. page 3981. THE EED-BACKED SHEIKE. 65 of his call-birds (a linnet), and attempted to carry it off ; bnt being prevented from doing so by the linnet being fastened to the ground by a string and wooden peg, the Shrike tore off the head of its victim, with which it made its escape. The bird-catcher then drew out from the ground the peg which held down the linnet, and left the dead bird lying in the net. In about half an hour the Shrike again appeared, pounced upon the body of the dead linnet, and carried it off in its beak, with the string and peg hanging to it ; the weight of the latter was probably the cause of the Shrike not carrying its prey quite away, as it dropped it after flying about fifteen yards, when the bird-catcher again picked up the dead linnet, and replaced it in the net. The Shrike in the mean time retreated to some neighbour- ing bushes, from which it soon made a third pounce upon the nets, this time attacking the second call-bird, which was a sparrow. On this occasion, however, the bird- catcher was on the watch, and, drawing his nets, captured the Shrike, which proved to be an adult female." This daring act was observed late in the month of June, when, perhaps, the courage of the mother bird was unusually excited by the cravings of her brood at home, and further stimulated by the impression that the call-birds were in trouble, and consequently offered an easy prey. An amiable trait in the character of this Shrike is its attachment to its mate and young. A female has been known to approach so close to the cage in which her captured lord was confined, that she was herself easily taken ; and when a nest of young birds is molested, both parents defend their offspring with astonishing intrepidity. The Eed-backed Shrike is known to us only as a sum- mer visitor, departing early in autumn. ^=:^v^ WOOD SHRIKE, WOOD-CHAT. LANIUS RUFUS. Forehead and cheeks black ; nape bright rust colour ; back and wings varie- gated with black, white, and reddish brown ; tinder parts white ; outer tail feathers white, with a square black spot at the base on the inner web. the two next with the black spot larger, and on both webs, the two middle ones wholly black, the rest black tipped with white ; tail slightly rounded ; second primary equal in length to the fifth. Female: all her colours dingy ; breast marked transversely with fine brown lines. Length, seven and a half inches. Eggs bluish white, spotted at the larger end with bro-s\Ti and ash-gi"ey. The habits of this bird, which is a very rare visitant to the British Isles, differ in no material respects from those of the foregoing species. On the Continent it is more fre- quent in the south than the north, where it frequents trees rather than bushes, and generally places its nest, which it constructs of twigs, moss, and white lichen, in the forked branch of an oak. Like the rest of the family it is migratory, coming and departing at the same time as the other species. ^t. THE SPOTTED FLYCATCHEE. MUSCICAPA GKfSOLA. Upper plumage ash-brown ; feathers of the head marked with a central dark line ; under paiis white, the sides marked with longitudinal brown streaks ; flanks tinged with red. " Length six inches ; breadth ten inches. Eggs bluish white, mottled with reddish spots, which are deepest in colour towards the larger end. There are few birds with whose haunts and habits we are more familiar than those of the common Elycatcher. In the wooded parts of England there is scarcely a country house, perhaps, which has not in its neighbourhood at least a single pair of these birds, who, though their stay with us is but short, become as necessary appendages of the garden during the summer months as the Eedbreast is in winter. They have neither song to recommend them nor brilliancy of colouring ; yet the absence of these quali- ties is more than compensated by the confidence they repose in the innocent intentions of the human beings whose protection they claim, by their strong local attach- ments, and by their unceasing activity in the pursuit of p 9 68 muscicapidtE. flying insects. At any time during the months of June, July, and August, in most country and suburban gardens, one may observe perched on a railing, standard rose, or the low branch of an apple-tree, a small brownish bird, with a speckled breast, about the size of a sparrow, but more slender in form, taking no notice of human beings, but nevertheless evidently on the look out for something. Suddenly it darts from its position, flies rapidly forwards for a few yards, performs an evolution in the air, and returns either to the exact spot which it had previously occupied or to a similar one hard by. After a rest of a few seconds, it performs the same manoeuvre, and always with the same object and success. Every time it quitted its perch, some ni-fated fly or beetle was discovered, winging its way through the air, and captured to be de- voured on the spot, or to form part of a pellet of insect food for a hungry nestling. The nest, composed of moss, straws, and hair, and lined with feathers, is usually placed either against a wall, hidden by the leaves of a trained fruit tree, or on the horizontal bough of a standard apple- tree. During the year 1859, a pair of these birds had taken up their quarters in my own garden in a situation su(;h as that first described, but becoming dissatisfied with the locality even after the nest had received its complement of eggs — five — deserted it, and built another nest in an apple-tree a few yards ofi", choosing a position on a short branch, where their workmanship was concealed from the sight of passengers by a cluster of large apples. The bough overhung a path by which many persons passed to and fro every day ; but the nest was built, and the old birds hatched their eggs, neither noticed nor noticing, until one day when I happened to stop underneath, upon which the bird took flight, and so revealed her place of retreat. I do not mention this incident as anything re- markable, but simply to exemplify the habits of the bird when it has taken up its residence in a frev][uented garden. THE SPOTTED FLYCATCHEK. 69 and in contrast with its treatment of intruders when it has chosen a more secluded spot for a home. A few days after, I happened to be fly-fishing on the bank of a stream close to which grew some tall elm-trees. Under one of these I was pursuing my amusement, when a flycatcher darted from a tree on the opposite side of the stream, and flew so close to my face that to dip my head out of the way was unavoidable. The same movement was repeated again and again, making it impossible for me to persist. Suspecting that there was a nest somewhere very near me, I looked up and discovered, ^T^thin a few inches of my head, a nest built against the boll of the tree, and contain- ing four or five nearly fledged young ones, whose heads and breasts projected considerably beyond the edge of their mossy cradle. As I moved away, the parent bird hopped about uneasily in a neighbouring tree, uttering its monotonous and unmusical chirrup, but molested me no further. It would seem then that the garden bird, grown familiar with the human form, was unsuspicious of danger, while the other, who had not been accustomed to see her sanctuary approached, immediately took alarm. It is sup- posed that the same birds are in the habit of returning annually to their old resort. Both the above incidents tend to give weight to this opinion : one of the birds having been reared, probably in the garden, and so having been accustomed to the sight of men from the fbst ; the other having been always a recluse. The fact which fell under my own notice, that a nest was built, and a brood reared for three successive years in exactly the same spot, is, I think, conclusive evidence that either the same birds or their immediate descendants were the architects, it being scarcely credible that three several pairs of birds should have fixed on the same spot by accident. Mr. Denham Weir has observed that the Spotted Flycatcher consumes only a day and a half in the construction of its nest, and that a pair of birds which he watched fed their 70 I^IUSCICAPIDiE. young no less than five hundred and thirty-seven times in one day, beginning at twenty-five minutes before four o'clock in the morning, and ending at ten minutes before nine in the evening. The young birds assume the adult plumage in their first year, and soon learn to hawk for their prey as well as their parents. I have recorded else- where an instance in which the parent birds contrived to feed a disabled young one after it had left the nest.* The Flycatcher arrives in England about the end of May, and leaves about the end of September. THE PIEP FLYCATCHER MUSCICAPA LUCTUOSA. Upper plumage and tail black, the vfings black, Avith the central coverts white ; scapulars edged with white ; under plumage white. In the female the black is replaced by greyish brown, the white is dingy, and the three lateral tail feathers are edged with white. Length five inches. Eggs pale blue without spots. The Pied Flycatcher, so called from its feathers being varied with black and white, is a smaller bird than the preceding, and by no means so common. It appears, indeed, to be mainly confined to the northern counties of England, where it arrives about the middle of April, and builds its nest of dry leaves, small roots, grass, and a little hair, loosely put together, in the hole of a tree. There it lays from five to seven pale blue eggs, very like, both in size and colour, those of the Redstart, which it also much resembles in habits. It has more claim to be considered a songster than the Spotted Flycatcher. In places where it is frequent it is often observed to settle on the decayed stump of a tree, constantly repeating its short, little varied, but far from unpleasing song, every now and then inter- rupted by the pursuit and capture of some passing insect. It is said also to be very noisy and clamorous when its nest is approached. It quits our shores in September. * "Birds and Birds' Nests" S.P.C.K. THE DIPPEE. CINCLUS AQUATICUS. Upper plumage dark brown, tinged with ash ; throat and breast pure white ; abdomen brownish red ; bill blackish ; feet horn-colour. Female : Colours nearly the same, but of a dingy hue. Length seven inches. Eggs pure white. Ajsty one who has wandered by the mountain rivers of Scotland, !N'orth Wales, or Derbyshire, can have scarcely failed to notice a bird, somewhat less than a blackbird, black above and white below, dart with rapid and direct flight from a low rock on the river's bank, and alight on a wet mossy stone rising but a few inches above the water, where the stream runs swiftest and the spray sparkles brightest. But for the roar of the torrent you might hear his songj a low melodious strain, which he often carries far on into the mnter. His movements while he is thus perched 72 MEEULTD^. are peculiar; a jerking upwards of the tail and dipping forward of the head remind us of the Wren, a bird Avith which he has, however, nothing really in common. Orni- thologists place him between the Flycatchers and Thrushes. Water Thrush is one of his names ; but he is better known by the names, Dipper and Water Ouzel. Though neither furnished with web-feet like the Ducks, nor with long legs like the Waders, the Dipper is decidedly an aquatic bird, for he is never seen at any distance from a stream or mountain tarn ; in his habits he resembles no other of his tribe — a water bird with a song — a song bird that wades, and swims, and dives. That he should be so far only singular in his habits is not enough. Although he is a wader and diver, he wades and dives differently from other birds ; but the precise method of his subaqueous feats is a disputed point. Some observers maintain that the Dipper actually walks under water, setting his feet on the bottom as other birds do on the ground ; that he leisurely perambulates the bed of the river, examining the pebbles, feeding on molluscs and the larvae of insects, and that, while thus occupied, his body is studded with bubbles of air like so many pearls. Others maintain that the bird employs no other organ of locomotion beneath the water than its wings, and that it flies after the manner of the Grebes. Another controverted point in the habits of the same bird is, whether or not it feeds on the spawn of the trout and salmon. In the Highlands it is generally accused of committiug great depredations in this way, and is consequently shot by gamekeepers whenever observed. Mr. St. John is of opinion that it does commit great havoc among the spawn, "uncovering the eggs, and leaving what it does not eat open to the attack of eels and other fish, or liable to be washed away by the current." Mr. Macgillivray, on the contrary, states that he has dissected a great number of individuals at all seasons of the year, and has found no other substances in their stomachs but insects and molluscs ; THE DIPPER. io he is, therefore, of opinion, that the charge of destroying the spawn of fish is unfounded. I might greatly extend my sketch of this interesting bird, but I have space only to add, that it builds a compact nest of moss, felted so as to be impervious to water, and lined with dead leaves, under a bank overhanging a stream, in the hole of a wall near a mill-dam, or between two rocks under a cascade, but always in such a situation that both old and young birds can throw themselves into the water immediately on being alarmed. I have read of one instance in which a nest was built under a waterfall in such a position, that the bird could not go to and fro without penetrating every time a vertical sheet of water. The nest is domed, and can be entered only by a small hole in front. It contains usually five or six whitish eggs, somewhat smaller than those of the Thrush. THE MISSEL THEUSH. TURDUS VISCIVORUS. Upper plumage ash broAvn ; space between the bill and eye greyish white ; wing-coverts edged and tipped with greyish white ; under parts white, faintly tinged here and there with reddish yellow, marked all over with deep brown spots, which on the throat and breast are triangular, tn other parts oval, broader on the flanks ; under wing-coverts white ; three lateral tail feathers tipped with greyish white. Length eleven inches ; breadth eighteen inches. Eggs greenish or reddish white, spotted with brownish red. The largest British song bird, distinguished from the Song Thrush not only by its superior size, but by having white under wing-coverts, and the whole of the under part of the body white spotted with black. It is a generally diffused bird, and is known by various local names : in the west of England its popular name is Holm Thrush, or Holm Screech, derived most probably, not, as Yarrell surmises, from its resorting to the oak in preference to other trees, but from its feeding on the berries of the 74 MERULTD.^. holly, or holm ; the title " Screech " being given to it from its jarring note when angry or alarmed, which closely resembles the noise made by passing the finger-nail rapidly along the teeth of a comb. Its French name, " Draine," and German, " Schnarre," seem to be descriptive of the same harsh "c/«trr." In Wales, it has from its quarrelsome habits acquired the name of Penn y llwyn, or, master of the coppice. Another of its names, Throstle Cock, ex- presses its aUiance with the Thrushes, and its daring nature ; and Storm Cock, which Waterton informs us is THE MISSEL THRUSH. ]tS delights in popular name in Yorkshire, indicates "not that it storms more than in fine weather, but that nature has taught it to pour forth its melody at a time of the year when the bleak winds of winter roar through the leafless trees." The song of the Missel Thrush is loud, wild, and musical, Waterton calls it " plaintive," Knapp, " harsh, and untuneful." I must confess that I agree with THE MISSEL THEUSH. 75 neither. This note, generally the earliest of the Spring sounds (for the Eeclbreast's song belongs essentially to winter), is to my ear full of cheerful promise amounting to confidence — a song of hopeful praise, thanking God for preservation during the chills of winter, and exulting in the return of g*enial weather. What though it be not so flute- like as the Blackbird's song, nor so varied as that of the Thrush ; it is a loud, hearty pouring forth of natural melody, which may, for aught I knoAv to the contrary, serve to stimulate its silent kinsfolk to tune up their instruments of praise. While thus employed, the bird is generally perched on the topmost branch of some lofty tree, and there he remains for hours together out-whistling the wind and heeding not the pelting rain. This song, however, is not continuous, but broken into passages of a few notes each, by which characteristic it may be distinguished alike from that of the Thrush or the Blackbird, even when mellowed by distance to resemble either. The Mistletoe Thrush is essentially a tree-loving bird. During winter its food mainly consists of berries, among which those of the Mountain Ash and Yew have the preference, though it also feeds on those of the Hawthorn, Ivy, Juniper, Holly, and the strange plant from which it derives its name. At this season it is very wild, and only ventm^es to approach the haunts of man in order to satisfy its hunger. Towards other birds it is a very tyrant, selfish and domineering in the extreme ; to such a degree, indeed, that even when it has appeased its appetite it will allow no other bird to approach the tree which it has appropri- ated for its feeding ground. I have seen it take possession of a Yew-tree laden with berries, and most mercilessly drive away, with angry vociferations and yet more formid- able buffets, every other bird that dared to come near. Day after day it returned, until the tree was stripped of every berry, when it withdrew and appeared no more. As soon as the unfrozen earth is penetrable by its beak, 76 MEKULIDvE. it adds to its diet suck worms and grubs as it can discover ; and, if it be not belied, it is much, given to plunder the nests of other birds of their eggs and young. It may be on this account that Magpies, Jays, and other large wood- land birds, robbers themselves, entertain an instinctive dislike towards it. Certainly these birds are its bitter enemies ; but in the breeding season it eludes their ani- mosity by quitting the woods, and resorting to the haunts of man. Its harsh screech is now xarely heard, for its present object is not defiance, but immunity from danger. Yet it takes no extraordinary pains to conceal its nest. On the contrary, it usually places this where there is little or no foliage to shadow it, in a fork between two large boughs of an apple, pear, or cherry tree, sometimes only a few feet from the ground, and sometimes twenty feet or more. The nest is a massive structure consisting of an external basket-work of twigs, roots, and lichens, within which is a kind of bowl of mud containing a final lining of grass and roots. The bird is an early builder, and is too often doomed to see its labour become the prey of the keen-eyed village boy, against whom, while engaged in his work of depredation, though all-powerless to save, it fre- quently directs a volley of agitated screams. It generally lays five eggs, and feeds its young on snails, worms, and insects. THE FIELDFAEE. TURDUS PILARIS. Head, nape, and lower part of the back dark ash colour ; upper part of the back and wing-coverts chestnut brown ; lore black ; a white rim above the eyes ; throat and breast yellowish red with oblong dark spots ; feathers on the flanks spotted with black and edged with white ; abdomen pure white without spots ; under wing-coverts white ; beak brown, tipped with black. Length ten inches, breadth seventeen inches. Eggs light blue, mottled all over with dark red brown spots. The Fieldfare is little inferior in size to the Missel Thrush, with which, however, it is not likely to be con- THE FIELDFARE. 77 founded even at a distance, owing to tlie predominant bluish tinge of its upper plumage. In the west of England, where the Thrush is called the Greybird, to distinguish it from its ally the Blackbird, the Fieldfare is known by the name of Bluebird, to distinguish it from both. It is a migratory bird, spending its summer, and breeding, in the north of Europe, and paying us an annual THE FIELDFARE. visit in October or November. But it is impatient of cold, even with us, for in winters of unusual severity it migrates yet farther south, and drops in upon our meadows a second time in the spring, wiien on its way to its summer quarters. Fieldfares are eminently gregarious ; not only do they arrive at our shores and depart from them in flocks, but they keep together as long as they remain, nor do they dissolve their society on their return to the north, 78 MERULID^. but build their nests many together in the same wood. In this country, they are wild and cautious birds, resorting during open weather to watercourses and damp pastures, where they feed on worms and insects, and when frost sets in betaking themselves to bushes in quest of haws and other berries ; or in very severe weather resorting to the muddy or sandy sea-shore. They frequent also commons on which the Juniper abounds, the berries of this shrub affording them an abundant banquet. UnUke the Black- bird and Thrush, they rarely seek for food under hedges, but keep near the middle of fields, as if afraid of being molested by some concealed enemy. When alarmed, they either take refuge in the branches of a high tree in the neighbourhood, or remove altogether to a distant field. The song of the Fieldfare I have never heard : Toussenel doubts whether it has any ; Yarrell describes it as '' soft and melodious;" Bechstein, as "a mere harsh disagreeable warble;" while a writer in the "Zoologist,"* who heard one sing during the mild January of 1846, in Devon, de- scribes it as "combining the melodious whistle of the Blackbird with the powerful voice of the Missel Thrush." Its call-note is short and harsh, and has in France given it the provincial names of Tia-tia and Tchatcha. This latter name accords with Macgillivray's mode of spelling its note, yack chuck, harsh enough, no one wiD. deny. For a description of it in its summer haunts we must refer to Hewitson, who visited Norway mainly with the object of observing the habits of the Fieldfare and Eedwing. " Our attention was attracted by the harsh cries of several birds which we at first supposed must be Shrikes, but which afterwards proved to be Fieldfares. We were now delighted by the discovery of several of their nests, and were surprised to find them (so contrary to the habits of other species of the genus with which we are acquainted) breeding in society. Their nests were at various heights from the * Vol. IV., page 1297. 80 MEKULID^. the Nightingale, it rings tlu-ough the woods a month at least before the foreign minstrel has arrived, and retains its brilliancy for an equal period after the autumn voice of that songster has degenerated into a croak. However near it may be, it is never harsh, and heard at a distance its only defect is, that it is not nearer. It possesses, too, the charm of harmonising with all other pleasant natural sounds. If to these recommendations we add that tlie THE SONG THRUSH. Thrush frequents all parts of England, and resorts to the suburban garden as well as the forest and rocky glen, we think we may justly claim for it the distinction among birds, of being the last that we would willingly part with, not even excepting its allowed master in song liimself, the Nightingale.* * Though I cannot pretend to trace much similarity between the songs of certain birds and the combinations of letters by which some THE SONG THRUSH. 81 The food of the Thrush during winter consists of worms, insects, and snails. The first of these it picks up, or draws out from their holes, in meadows and lawns ; the others it hunts for among moss and stones, in woods and hedges, swallowing the smaller ones whole, and extracting the edible parts of large snails by dashing them with much adroitness against a stone. When it has once dis- covered a stone adapted to its purpose, it returns to it again and again, so that it is not uncommon in one's winter walks to come upon a place thickly strewn with broken shells, all, most probably, the "chips" of one workman. As spring advances, it adds caterpillars to its bill of fare, and as the summer fruits ripen, it attacks them ail in succession ; strawberries, gooseberries, currants, raspberries, cherries, and, on the Continent, grapes suit its palate right well; and, when these are gone, pears and apples, whether attached to the .tree or lying on the ground, bear, too often for the gardener, the marks of its beak on their ripest side. During all this period it relieves the monotony of its diet by an occasional repast on animal food; as, indeed, in winter it alternates its food whenever opportunity occurs, by regaling itself on wild berries. Yet, despite of the mischief which it perpetrates in our gardens by devouring and spoiling much of the choicest fruit, — for your thrush is an epicure, and tastes none but the ripest and best, — the service which it renders as a devourer of insects more than compensates for all. So the gardener, if a wise man, will prefer the scare- authors have endeavoured to express them, I think it will be found that many persons, especially children, hearing the Thrush sing, may detect passages which may be imitated by the human voice and in articulate words. Different birds of the same species vary considerably in tone and compass ; but the reader will be able to detect in the song of the Thrush an approach to such sounds as the following : Judy, Judy, Judy : Bopeep, Bopeep, Bopeep, Bopeep : How d'ye do ? How d'ye do ? To discover the song by reading the words is another matter. ' _ .^i_ ^ , 82 MERUiilD^. crow to the gun, the protecting net to that which captures. The Thrush holds a high rank, too, among birds as an architect. Its nest is usually placed in a thorn-bush, a larch or young fir-tree, a furze-bush, an apple or pear tree, or an ordinary hedge, at no great elevation from the ground, and not concealed with much attempt at art. Indeed, as it begins to build very early, it is only when it selects an evergreen that it has much chance of effectually hiding its retreat. The nest externally is composed of feather-moss, intermatted with bents, twigs, and small roots, and termi- nates above in a thicker rim of the same materials. Thus far the bird has displayed her skill as basket-maker. The outer case is succeeded by a layer of cow-dung, applied in small pellets, and cemented with saUva. The builder, with a beak for her only trowel, has now completed the mason's work. But she has yet to show her skill as a plasterer ; this she does by lining her cup-like chamber with stucco made from decayed wood, pulverized and reduced to a proper consistence, kneading it with her beak. With this for her sole instrument, except her round breast, to give to the whole the requisite form, she has constructed a circular bowl sufficiently compact to exclude air and water, as true and as finely finished as if it had been moulded on a potter's wheel, or turned on a lathe. The Thrush lays four or five eggs, and rears several broods in the season, building a new nest for each brood. During incubation the female is very tame, and will suffer herself to be approached quite closely mthout deserting her post. In the vicinity of houses, where she is familiar with the human form, she will even take worms and other food from the hand. 83 WHITE'S THRUSH. TURDUS WHITEI. Upper plumage variegated with black and several shades of yellow and brown ; under, white, all the feathers tipped with a black crescent-shaped spot ; imder wing-coverts white tipped with black. Beak and toes brown. Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs unknown. Of this bird, a native of Japan, about seven or eight speci- mens have been obtained in Europe, and among these one was shot in England, and another in Ireland. It possesses, therefore, little claim to be considered a British species. It received its name in honour of White of Selborne. THE GOLD-VENTED THRUSH. TURDUS AURIGASTER. Upper parts umber brown ; throat and neck clove brown shaded oflF to a dull white on the abdomen and then passing into brilliant yellow ; under wiug- coverts brilliant yellow ; beak, feet, and claws black. Eggs unknown. A SINGLE specimen of this bird was shot in Ireland in 1838. It is a native of Africa, but nothing appears to be known of its habits. THE REDWING. TURDUS ILIACUS. Upper plumage olive brown ; lore black and yellow ; a broad white streak above the eye ; lower plumage white, with numerous oblong dusky spots, middle of the abdomen witliout spots ; under wing-coverts and flanks bright orange red ; biU dusky ; feet grey. Length eight inches, breadth thirteen inches. Eggs gi-eenish blue mottled with dark brownish red spots. The Redwing (called in France Mauvis, whence an old name for the Song-thrush, '' Mavis ") is the smallest of the Thrushes with which we are familiar. It is, like the Fieldfare, a bird of passage, reaching us from the north G 2 84 MERULID^. about the same time with the AYoodcock, in October. It resembles the Song-thrush more than any other bird of the family, but may readily be distinguished even at some distance by the light stripe over the eye, and its bright red under wing-coverts. In some parts of France it is much sought after by the fowler, its flesh being considered by many superior to that of the Quail and Woodcock. It /^^ %&..^-?. ^^-rH^ THE REDWING. owes jjerhaps some of this unfortunate distinction to the fact of its arriving in France in time to fatten on grapes, for in this country it is often too lean to be worth cooking. Being impatient of cold, it is less abundant in the north of England than the south ; but even in the mild climates of Devon and Cornwall, Avhere it congregates in large numbers, it is so much enfeebled by unusually severe weather, as to be liable to be hunted down by boys with sticks, and a Eedwing starved to death is no unfrequent sight in the course of a winter's ramble. As long as the THE REDWING. 85 ground remains neither frozen nor snowed up, the open meadows may be seen every where spotted Avith these birds, but when the earth becomes so hard as to resist their efforts in digging up worms and grubs, they repair to the cliffs which border the sea-coast, where some sunny nook is generally to be found, to woods in quest of berries, or to the water-courses of sheltered valleys. At these times they are mostly silent, their only note, when they utter any, being simple and harsh ; but in France they are said to sing towards the end of February, and even in this country they have been known to perch on trees in mild weather, and execute a regular song. Towards the end of April or beginning of May, they take their departure northwards, where they pass the summer, preferring woods and thickets in the vicinity of marshes. Mr. Hewitson states that while he was travelling through iTorway " the Eedwing was but seldom seen, and then perched upon the summit of one of the highest trees, pouring forth its delightfully wild note. It was alw^ays very shy, and upon seeing our approach would drop suddenly from its height, and dis- appear among the underwood. Its nest, which we twice found with young ones (although our unceasing endeavours to find its eggs were fruitless), was similar to that of the Fieldfare. The Eedwing is called the Mghtingale of Norway, and well it deserves the name." THE BLACKBIED. TURDUS MERULA. Male : Plumage wholly black ; bill and orbits of the eyes orange yellow ; feet black. Female : Upper plumage sooty brown ; throat pale brown with darker spots ; breast reddish brown passing into dark ash brown ; bill and legs dusky. Length ten inches ; breadth sixteen inches. Eggs greenish gi'ey, spotted and speckled with light red brown. Much that has been said in praise of the Thrush will apply equally well to the Blackbird. With his glossy 86 MERULID^. coat and yellow beak he is tlie handsomer bird of the two ; his food is much the same ; he builds his nest in similar places; he is a great glutton when gooseberries are ripe, and his rich mellow song is highly inspiriting. But he is suspicious and wary ; however hard pressed he may be by hunger, you will rarely see him hunting for food in the open field. He prefers the solitude and privacy oi " the bush." In a furze-brake, a coppice, a wooded water- THE BLACKBIRD. course, or a thick hedgerow, he chooses his feeding ground, and allows no sort of partnership. Approach his haunt, and if he simply mistrusts you, he darts out flying close to the ground, pursues his course some twenty yards and dips again into the thicket, issuing most pro- bably on the other side, and ceasing not until he has placed what he considers a safe distance between himself and his enemy. But with all his cunning he fails in prudence; it is not in his nature to steal away silently. If he only suspects that aU is not right, he utters THE BLACKBIRD. 87 repeatedly a low cluck, wMcli seems to say, "This is no place for me, I must be off." But if lie is positively alarmed, his loud vociferous cry rings out like a bell, informing all whom it may concern that "danger is at hand, and it behoves all who value their safety to fly." Most animals understand the cry in this sense, and catch the alarm. Many a time has the deer-stalker been disappointed of a shot, who, after traversing half a mile on his hands and knees between rocks and shrubs, has just before the critical moment of action started some ill-omened Black- bird. Out bursts the frantic alarum, heard at a great distance ; the intended victim catches the alarm, once snuffs the air to discover in what direction the foe lies concealed, and bounds to a place of security. A some- what similar note, not, however, indicative of terror, real or imagined, is uttered when the bird is about to retire for the night, and this at all seasons of the year. He merits, therefore, the title of "Bellman of the woods," though I am not aware that it has been conferred on him. !N"either of these sounds is to be confounded with the true song of the Blackbird. This is a full, melodious, joyful carol, many of the notes being remarkable for their flute- like tone — "the whisthng of the Blackbird" — and varying greatly in their order of repetition ; though I am inclined to believe that most birds of this kind have a favourite passage, which they repeat at intervals many times during the same performance. The song of the Blackbhd does not meet the appro- bation of bird-fanciers: "It is not destitute of melody," says Bechstein, "but it is broken by noisy tones, and is agreeable only in the open country." Education, it seems, will remedy this defect, for " its memory is so good, that it retains, Avithout mixing them, several airs at once." The art of teaching the Blackbird is of old date, for we find in Pepys's Diary, 22d May, 1663, the following passage : " Eendall, the house carpenter at Deptford, hath sent mo S8 MEEULID^. a fine Blackbird, wliich I went to see. He tells me lie was offered twenty shillings for him as lie came along, he do so whistle. 23d. Waked this morning between four and live by my Blackbird, which wbistled as well as ever I heard any ; only it is the beginning of many tunes very well, but then leaves them and goes no further." The song of the Blackbird is occasionally beard during the mild days of winter, but it is not until spring sets in that it can be said to be in full, uninterrupted song. It then repairs to some thick bush or hedge, especially at the corner of a pond, and builds its nest, a bulky structure, the framework of which is composed of twigs and roots; mthin is a thin layer of mud lined with small fibrous roots, bents, and moss. The nest contains four or five eggs, and the young birds are fed with worms. In the breeding season Blackbirds are far more venturesome than at any other time, as they frequently select a garden in which to build their nest, with the double object, perhaps, of pro- curing plenty of worms for their nesthngs, and of launching them when fledged where they will have great facilities for regaling themselves on summer fruits. In such localities the appearance of a cat near their nest greatly excites their wrath. From being timid they become very courageous, scolding with all their might, darting down so near as almost to dash in her face, and generally ending by compelling her to beat a retreat. The female Blackbird differs materially from the male, its plumage being of a dingy brown hue, the breast Ught and spotted, the beak dark brown with yellowish edges. White and pied specimens of both sexes are occasionally met with. In a district of France not far from Paris they are very numerous, and here the title to a certaiu estate is kept up by the annual presentation of a white Blackbird to the lord of the manor. THE EING OUZEL. TURDUS TORQUATUS. Plumage black edged with greyish white ; a large crescent-shaped pure white spot on the tliroat ; bill and legs dusky. Female with the gorget smaller and tinged with red and grey, and the rest of the plumage greyer. Length ten inches. Eggs greenish white, spotted with reddish brown and grey. Rii^G Ouzel is hardly an appropriate name for this bird ; for in reality it does not wear a ring round its neck, but a white gorget on its breast, the contrast between which and its black plumage is very striking. It frequents the mountainous parts of Great Britain, where, though never so abundant as the Blackbird and Thrush are in the plains, it is far from uncommon. It is a migratory bird, arriving in this country in April, and returning to its southern winter quarters — Corsica and other islands of the Mediter- ranean— early in autumn ; not so early, however, as to miss the vintage season of the south of Europe. In summer it travels as far north as Sweden and I^Torway, where, on the 90 MERTJLIDiE. authority of Mr. Hewitson, it is often seen "enlivening the most bleak and desolate islands with its sweet song. It shares with the Eedwing the name of Nightingale, and often delighted us in our midnight visits amongst the islands." Its habits and food while it remains with us are very similar to those of the Blackbird, and its nest, generally built among stones and bushes, near the ground, is constructed of the same materials with the nest of that bird. Towards the end of their sojourn in Britain, Ring Ouzels descend to the level countries, and are not unfre- quently met with in gardens, whither they re23air for the sake of feeding on fruit and berries. THE GOLDEI^ ORIOLE. ORIOLUS GALBULA. Plumage golden yellow ; lore, wings, and tail black, the tail yellow at the tip. Female: Olive green above, greyish white tinged with yellow beneath, and streaked with grejish brown ; wings dark brown, the quills edged with olive grey ; tail olive, tinged with dark broAvn. Length ten inches. Eggs white with a few isolated dark brown or black spots. This brilliant bird, resembling the Thrushes in form and habits, but appareled in the plumage of the Tropics, would seem to have no right to a place among British birds, so little is its gorgeous livery in keej)ing with the sober hues of our other feathered denizens. There can, however, be no doubt of the propriety of placing it among our visitors, though it comes but seldom and makes no long stay. We can learn little of its habits, therefore, from personal observation. Were it left unmolested, and allowed to breed in our woods, it is probable that it would return with its progeny, and become of comparatively com- mon occurrence ; but though there are on record one or two creditable excejDtions, when real naturalists have postponed the glory of shooting and adding to their collection a British sj)ecimen, to the j)leasure of watching its ways on British soil, yet its biography is not to be written from THE GOLDEN ORIOLE. 91 materials collected in this country. On the European continent it is a regular visitor, though even there it makes no long stay, arriving in the beginning of May, and taking its departure early in autumn. It is most common in Spain, Southern France, and Italy, but is not unfre- quent in many other parts of France, in Belgium, and the south of Germany. " His note," says Cuthbert Collingwood, " is a very loud whistle, which may be heard at a great distance, but in richness equalling the flute stop of a fine-toned organ. But variety there is none in his song, as he never utters more than three notes consecutively, and those at intervals of half a minute or a minute. Were it not for its fine tone, therefore, his song would be as monotonous as that of the Missel Thrush, which in modulation it greatly resembles.'' The nest of the Oriole is described as a marvel of architectural skill, excelling in elegance of form, richness of materials, and delicacy of worlananship combined with strength. It is overlaid externally, like that of the Chaffinch, with the silvery white lichen of fruit trees, which gives it the appearance of being a part of the branch which supports it. But the mansion of the Oriole is more skilfully concealed than that even of the Chaf- finch. The latter is placed on a branch, of which it increases the apparent size, and so attracts attention. The nest of the Oriole, on the contrary, is suspended between the two forks of a horizontal branch, which intercept the side view of it. The materials employed are the lichen above mentioned, wool, cobwebs, and feathers, but all of a white hue. When not placed in a fruit tree, it is attached by a kind of cordage to the twigs of a poplar or birch tree, or even to a bunch of mistletoe, hanging in mid-air like the car of a balloon. A cradle thus sedulously constructed we should expect to find watched with unusual solicitude. And such is the case ; it is defended most valiantly against the attacks of marauding birds, and so devoted is 92 MEKULlb^. the mother bird that she has been known to suffer herself to be carried away sitting on her eggs, and to die of starva- tion. Surely a bird so beautiful and so melodious, so skilful an architect and so tender a nurse, deserves rather to be encouraged than exterminated. Yet of two well authenticated instances on record of its nest being found in Britain — one, in Suffolk, was taken with the eggs ; the other, in Kent, was also taken after the eggs were hatched : "the young ones," we are told, "were taken every care of, but did not long survive their captivity." It is not untn the end of the third moult that the Oriole appears in his full blaze of gold and black. The plumage of the female bird differs considerably from that of the male in richness of tmt, and the young of both sexes resemble the female. THE EOCK THRUSH. PETROCINCLA SAXATILIS. Head, neck, and upper part of the back bluish grey ; scapulars brown ; lower part of the back white varied with a few greyish feathers ; tail chestnut brown, the two central feathers darker ; wings dark brown ; greater wing-coverts and secondaries tipped with white ; under plumage light chestnut brown. Length seven inches and a half. But two specimens of this bird are known to have been seen in Britain. It inhabits high rocky mountains in Switzerland, Hungary, Turkey, and the three great moun- tain ranges of the Continent, feeding on beetles and grasshoppers, and building its nest of moss in the clefts of rocks or among loose stones. 93 THE ALPIKE ACCENTOR ACCENTOR ALPINUS. Head, breast, neck, and back ash-grey, the back marked with large brown spots ; throat white, with small brown spots ; under plumage reddish, mixed with white and grey ; wings and tail dusky brown, variegated with ash colour ; lesser and middle wing-coverts tipped with white ; bill yellow at the base, black at the point. Length, six and a tialf inches. Eggs greenish blue, without spots. Only a few specimens of this bird have been observed in England. It frequents the mountainous districts of the Continent, repairing in summer to elevations where birds are almost as scarce as human inhabitants, and there doubtless it is prized, not for its rarity alone, but for its fearlessness of man. What circumstances can have induced so decided a mountaineer, not migratory in habits, to visit the lowlands of England, is difficult to conjecture; but being here, we may account for its resorting to the towers of Cambridge and Wells (where it has been shot) as the best representatives it could find of Alpine crags. THE HEDGE SPAEEOW. ACCENTOR MODULARIS. Crown of the head ash colour, with brown streaks ; sides of the neck, throat, and breast, bluish grey; wing-coverts and feathers on the back reddish brown, with a tawny spot in the centre ; middle wing-coverts tipped with yellowish white ; lower tail-coverts brown, with a whitish border ; middle of abdomen white. Length, five and a half inches. Eggs greenish blue, without spots. Inveterate custom has so attached the name of Hedge Sparrow to this bird, that in spite of all the efforts of ornithologists to convince the world that it is no sparrow at all (a hard-beaked, grain-eating bird), but a true warbler, it is still more frequently called by its popular name than by any of those that have been suggested. The gentle, inno- cent, confiding, little brown bird, which creeps like a mouse through our garden flower-beds, picks up a meagre fare in our roads and lanes, builds its nest in our thorn hedges, and though dingy itself, lays such brilliant blue eggs^ has 94 SYLVIAD^. been known to us from our infancy as a "Hedge Sparrow," and we decline any innovation : the name is a time- honoured one, and no one will mistake us. Hedge Accen- tor, Hedge Warbler, and Shuffle-wing, are names open to those who prefer them, but we adhere to the old-fasliioned designation of Hedge Sparrow. This bird is a genuine Warbler, and one of the few belonging to the tribe who remain with us all the winter; we should suppose, indeed, that he never wandered far from the place of his THE HEDGE SPARROW. birth. At all seasons his habits and food appear to be the same. All day long he is sliuffling about on the ground picking up minute atoms, whether seeds or insects, who knows ? Every day, nearly all the year round, he repairs at intervals to the nearest hedge, where he sings a song, soft and gentle like himself ; and every evening, when the Blackbird rings his curfew bell, he fails not to respond with his drowsy " cheep, cheep," as he repairs to the bush he has selected for his night's rest. Very early in spring, THE HEDGE SPAEEOW. 95 before his brother warblers have arrived from the south, he has chosen his mate, built his snug nest, and too probably commenced a second ; for unsuspicious in nature, he does not retire to solitary places for this purpose, and the leafless hedges but ill conceal his labours from the peering eyes of all-destroying ploughboys. Such are nearly all his "short and simple annals." He quarrels with no one, he achieves no distinction, thi-owing no one into ecstasies with his song, and stealing no one's fruit ; unobtrusive and innocent, he claims no notice, and dreads no resentment ; and so, through all the even tenor of his way, he is, without knowing it, the favourite of children, and of all the good and gentle. THE REDBEEAST. ERYTHACA RUBECULA, Upper parts brownish grey tinged with olive ; forehead, lore, and breast red, the red edged with ash-grey ; abdomen white. Female like the inale, except that the upper parts are asli-brown, the red less bright, and the grey sur- rounding it less conspicuous. Length, five inches and three quarters. Eggs yellowish white, spotted with light reddish brown. The Eedbreast is everywhere invested with a kind of sanctity beyond all other birds. Its wonted habit of making i|is appearance, no one knows whence, to greet the resting traveller in places the most lonely — its evident predilection for the society of the out-of-door labourer, whatever his occupation — the constancy with which it affects human halbitations — and the readiness with which, without coaxing, or taming, or training, it throws itseK on human hospitality — engender an idea that there must be some mysterious connexion between the two — that if there were no men, there would be no Eedbreasts. Trust on one side engenders confidence on the other, and mutual attachment is Ijie natural result. There is some- thing, too, beyond the power of explanation in the fact that the Eobin is the only bird which frequents from choice 96 SYLVIAD^. the inside of churches. Jackdaws resort to the towers, but that is for safety ; Owls harbour in the belfry, but that is for concealment ; other birds are sometimes shut into a church and remain there just because they cannot find the way out ; but to the Redbreast a church is a home, he perches on the columns, roosts on the pillars, and pipes with the organ. He knows his way out, but he is content to stay. Would he do so if the church were shut THE REDBREAST. up and deserted ? I think not. To the Owl and Jackdaw, their place of resort would be all the more attractive from the absence of their common enemy ; but to Robin the solitude would be distasteful, owing to the departure of his friends. In spite of his admitted orthodoxy, it is doubtful whether, under such circumstance^, he would not find the loneliness intolerable, and attach himself to some other congregation. THE KEDBEEAST. 97 The habits of the Eedbreast are so well known, that to describe them would be simply to write down what every one has seen or may see. It generally builds its nest in a hole, near the bot- tom of a hedge or under the stump of a tree, in an ivy-clad wall, or amidst the creepers trained round the verandah of a cottage. I have seen it also placed in a niche in a wall intended for the reception of a vase, in a bee-hive stored away on the rafters of an outhouse, and under a wisp of straw accidentally left on the ground in a garden. It is usually composed of dry leaves, roots, bents, and moss, hned with hair and wool, and contains five or six eggs. The young birds are of a brown tint, and have the feathers tipped with yellow, which gives them a spotted appearance. Until they acquire the red breast, they are very unlike the parents, and might be mis- taken for young Thrushes, except that they are much smaller. They may be often observed in gardens for many days after they have left the nest, keeping together, perching in the bushes, and clamorous for food, which the old birds bring to them from time to time. It is said, that only one brood is reared in a year, but this I am inclined to doubt, having observed in the same locality families of young birds early in the spring, and late in the summer of the same year. Towards the end of August, the young birds acquire the distinctive plumage of their species, and are solitary in their habits until the succeed- ing spring. The call-notes of the Redbreast are numerous, and vary beyond the power of description in written words ; the song is loud, and it is needless to say, pleasing, and possesses the charm of being continued when all our other feathered songsters are mute. 98 THE BLUE-THEOATED WARBLER PH(ENICURA SUECICA. Upper parts ash-brown ; throat and neck azure-blue, with a central white spot, beneath the blue a black border, then a narrow white band, succeeded by a broader band of red ; under parts white ; basal half of the tail rust-colour, the other half black ; length, six inches. Eggs uniform greenish blue. So very few specimens of this bird (three or four) have been observed in England, that to describe its habits it is necessary to refer to continental authors, who pronounce it to be the most beautiful of all the Warblers. It takes its name from a magnificent bright blue escutcheon on its breast, the centre of which is marked by a disk of pure white. The plumage undergoes great modifications with age. The white disk seems to be a distinctive character of young birds, as it disappears with age. The orange-red border of the escutcheon encroaches on the white and black after each moult, and finally absorbs them. This Warbler, in the movement and colour of its tail, as well as in habits, resembles the Redstarts more than the Redbreast. It fre- quents streams and thickets more than the last species. Its favourite resorts are withy-holts and bushy places in the plains, especially in the neighbourhood of ponds and streamlets. It constructs its nest in hollow willows, and under roots. It leads mostly a solitary life, and attracts little notice. Its song is sweet, but low. Its food consists of insects, and in the autumn of berries, especially black- berries. It would seem to be abundant in many parts of the Continent, as it is said to make a " delicious roast." It is a migratory bird, arriving in Europe from the south early in spring, and though rarely visiting Britain, it penetrates as far as the north of Russia, Finland, Lapland, and Sweden. 99 THE EEDSTART. PHCENICURA RUTICILLA. Forehead white ; throat black ; head and upper part of the back bluish grey ; breast, taU-coverts and tail (except the two central feathers, which are brown), bright rust-red; second primary equal to the sixth. Female— up-per parts grey, deeply tinged with red ; larger wing-coverts edged with yellowish red : throat and abdomen whitish ; breast, flanks, and under tail-coverts, pale red. Length, five inches and a quarter. Eggs uniform blue. Although of no great size, this summer visitor is pretty sure to attract attention by its peculiar colouring; its red tail and white crown being sufficient to distinguish it from every other British bird. It is familiar too in its habits, com- monly resorting to gardens, and searching for its favourite food, worms and insects, on the lawn. It is local rather than rare, for while there are some places to which it regularly resorts every year, there are others in which it is never seen. Eedstarts arrive in this country about the end of April, and soon set about the work of building their nest. This they generally place in a hole in a wall or hollow of a tree, but sometimes by the mossy .stump or amongst the exposed roots of a tree. Occasionally they select a quaint domicile, a garden-pot, for example, left bottom upwards, or a sea-kale bed. A still stranger instance is that of a pair of Eedstarts, who, themselves or their descendants, were for twenty years located in the box of a wooden pump. On one occasion, the pump being out of order, the owner employed workmen to repair it. This proceeding offended the birds, who deserted it for three years, and then, forgetting or forgiving the intrusion, re- turned to their unquiet home. Another pair constructed their nest for ten successive years in the interior of an earthenware fountain placed in the middle of a garden. But though not averse to the haunts of men, the Eedstart shows much anxiety when its nest is approached, flitting about restlessly and uttering a plaintive cry. I happened once to be walking in a friend's garden, and heard what I supposed to be the chirping of two birds proceed from a h2 100 SYLVIAD^. large apple-tree close by. As the notes were not familiar to me, I went round tlie tree several times in order to dis- cover whence they proceeded. One of the notes was like the noise which may be made by striking two pebbles together, the other a querulous chirp, and they seemed to come from different parts of the tree. The author of the music, however, allowed me several times to come very near TUli UEDSTAHT. him, and I satisfied myself that both sounds proceeded from the same bird, a male Redstart, whose nest, I after- wards heard, was built in an adjoining shed. This singular power of ventriloquizing, or making its note apparently proceed from a distant place, is possessed also by the Nightingale, as any one may assure himself who will quietly creep up to within a, few yards of one of these ^«¥l I I I 11 F- ll'lll THE BLACK EEDSTAET. PH(ENICURA TITHYS. Upper plumage bluish grey ; bill, cheeks, throat, and breast, black, passing into bluish beneath ; tail as in the last ; greater wing-coverts edged with pure white ; second primary equal to the seventh. Female — upper plumage duller ; lower bright ash, passing into white ; wings dusky, edged with grey ; red of the tail less bright. Length, five inches and three quarters. Eggs pure shining white. A MUCH less frequent visitor to this country than the preceding, but by no means ranking among our rarest birds, specimens occurring in the winter of every year in some part of England or another. Its habits are much the same as those of its congener ; but it generally chooses a loftier situation for its nest, which is placed in the walls of buildings, at an elevation varying from a few feet to eighty or ninety. Its plumage differs in being much darker in the fore part of the body, while the tail is of a brighter red. The eggs are white. Both species are J for Jl about X us all the jiiis country. ^ar the wing, tertial t-red, shaded into >s and tail, black, nd upper parts ■■1 whitish and "^'•east dull. THE WOODLARK. ALAUDA ARBOREA. Upper parts reddish brown, the centre of each feather dark brown ; a distinct yallowish white streak above the eye passing to the back part of the head ; lower parts yellowish white, streaked with dark brown ; tail short. Length six inches and a half. Eggs greyish white, speckled and sometimes faintJy streaked with brown. The Woodlark is miicli less frequent than the Skylark, and is confined to certain districts. It is distinguished by its smaller size, short tail, a light mark over tlie eye, and by its habit of perching on trees, where the Skylark is never known to alight. It builds its nest very early in the season, sometimes so soon as the end of March, and probably rears several broods in the year, as it has been found sitting as late as September. It is consequently among the earliest songsters of the year, and among the last to bid adieu to summer. It sings on until the occurrence of severe frosts, and its note is among the sweetest and most touching sounds of natui-e. The song, though of less compass and less varied than that of the Skylark, is superior 182 THE WOODLARK. 183 in liquidness of tone, and is thonght to resemble the syllables " lulu" by which name the bird is known in France. When soaring it may be distinguished from the Skylark not only by its song, but by its ascending in circles, which it describes, poets tell us, and perhaps correctly, with its nest for a centre. Sometimes, especially during sunshine after a summer shower, it ahghts on the summit of a lofty tree, to "unthread its chaplet of musical pearls," and its simpler lulu notes may be heard as it flies from place to place while but a few feet above the surface of the ground. In autumn, Woodlarks assemble in small sociable parties (but not in large flocks), and keep together during the winter. Early in spring these societies are broken up into pairs, and the business of the season commences. The nest is composed of bents and a little moss, and is lined with finer grass, and, though built on the ground, is generally concealed with more art than that of the Skylark, the birds availing themselves of the shelter afforded by a bush or tuft of grass. THE CEESTED LAEK, ALAUDA CEISTATA. Feathers of the crown black, edged with reddish brown and elongated into a crest ; upper parts reddish brown, with narrow dark streaks ; over the eye a yellowish white streak ; under parts dull yellowish white, with dusky streaks. Length six inches and three-quarters. Eggs greyish white, spotted with dark brown. The Crested Lark, a rare visitor in Britain, is not uncom- mon in many parts of the Continent, where it principally frequents the high roads, quarries, and the uncultivated country. It is often seen perched on walls and the roofs of low cottages, and its song is said to be very sweet. Its nest and eggs resemble those^of the Skylark. 184 THE SHOEE LARK. ALAUDA ALPESTRIS. Throat, forehead, and ear-coverts yellow ; over the forehead a black band ; lore, moustache, and gorget black ; upper parts reddish brown ; breast and flanks yellowish white ; abdomen white. Length nearly seven inches. Eggs greyish white, spotted with pale blue and brown. The Shore Lark, like the last, is a very rare visitor of Britain, and appears to be equally uncommon in France. A few have been shot in IS'orfolk, and in the high lati- tudes both of the Old and I^ew Worlds it is a common resident on the rocky coasts. It builds its nest on the ground, and shares in the great characteristic of the family, that, namely, of soaring and singing simultaneously. In colouring, it is strongly marked by its black gorget and crest. THE SHORT-TOED LARK. ALAUDA BRACHYDACTYLA. Upper parts yellowish brown, the centre of each feather darker ; a whitish yellow streak above the eye ; under parts yellowish white, ahnost without spots ; bill stout ; hind claw and toe short. Length five inches and a half. Eggs buff, without spots. Yet rarer than either of the preceding, as a single speci- men only has been obtained in Britain. It is not un- frequent in many parts of France, where it is remarkable for its habit of running along the furrows in advance of the sportsman's dogs ; and is sometimes shot by mistake for a Quail. Its song is melodious, and, like the rest of the Larks, it sings while soariftig. 185 THE LAPLAI^D BUNTI:N^G. PLECTROPHANES LAPPONICA. Crown of the head black, speckled with red ; throat and breast black, a broad white band extending from the eye down the sides of the neck ; nape bright chestnut; back, wings, and tail variegated with brown, white, and black; under parts white, spotted at the sides with dark brown. Length six inches and three-quarters. Eggs pale ochre-yellow, spotted with brown This bird, as its name denotes, is an inhabitant of high northern latitudes ; and its occurrence in tliis country is very rare. A few only have been shot, in places remote from each other ; and in the year 1843, a female was cap- tured by a bird-catcher near Milnthorpe, in Westmoreland, and kept for some time in an aviary, where it soon became friendly with its companions and took its daily meal of rape, canary, or hemp seeds, and now and then a sprinkling of oats, with apparent satisfaction. In the arctic regions it inhabits hilly and mountainous districts, and spends most of its time on the ground, where it runs in the manner of Larks, and where also it builds its nest. The male is said to have a pleasing song, combining that of the Skylark and of the Linnet. sintow Buii^Tma PLECTROPHANES NIVALIS. Head, neck, portion of the wings, and lower parts white ; upper parts black, tinged here and there with red. Length six inches and three-quarters. Eggs pale reddish white, speckled and spotted with brown and pale red. This, though a northern bird also, does not confine itself so closely to the arctic regions as the preceding species ; but is of common occurrence in many parts of Scotland during autumn and winter, and later in the season in various parts of England. Macgillivray, whose acquaintance with British birds, especially those of Scotland, was very 186 EMBERIZID^. accurate, was inclined to the opinion that the Snow Bunting or Snow-flake breeds on the liigher Grampians, having observed a s]3ecimen on a mountain of this range so early as the 4th of August, while the migratory flocks do not appear until two months later. " About the end of October it makes its appearance along the coasts or on the higher grounds of the south of Scotland, and about the same period in the south of England, although it is there of much less frequent occurrence. Assembled in large straggling THE SNOW BUNTING. flocks, or scattered in small detachments, these birds may be seen flying rather low along the shore, somewhat in the manner of Larks, moving in an undulating line by means of repeated flappings and short intervals of cessation, and uttering a soft and rather low cry, consisting of a few mellow notes, not unlike those of the Common Linnet, but intermixed at times with a sort of stifled scream or chuiT. When they have found a fitting place, they wheel suddenly round, and alight rather abruptly, on which occasion the THE SNOW BUNTING. 187 white of the wings acd tail becomes very conspicuous. They run with great celerity along the sand, not by hops, like the Sparrows and Finches, but in a manner resembling that of the Larks and Pipits ; and when thus occupied, it is not in general difficult to approach them, so that specimens are easily procured. At intervals they make excursions into the neighbouring fields, ahght in corn- yards, at barn-doors, or even on the roads, where they obtain seeds of oats, wheat, and weeds, which I have found in them. In the villages along the coast of Lothian, they are sometimes, in spring, nearly as common as Sparrows, and almost as familiar. About the middle of April, or some- times a week later, these birds disappear and betake them- selves to their summer residence." * Its habits, as observed in England, are similar ; but the flocks are generally smaller. In the arctic regions, it is abundant from the middle or end of April to the end of September. Its nest is com- posed of dry grass, neatly lined with deer s hair and a few feathers, and is generally fixed in the crevice of a rock or in a loose pile of timber or stones. In spring it feeds principally on the buds of Saxifraga oppositifolia, one of the earhest of the arctic plants ; during winter, on grass seeds. PecuHar interest attaches to the Snow Bunting, from the fact that it is (according to Linnaeus) the only living animal that has been seen two thousand feet above the line of perpetual snow in the Lapland Alps. Mention of it frequently occurs in books of Arctic, travels. I must not omit to state that the specimens obtained in Great Britain vary so considerably in the proportions of white and tawny in their plumage, that there were at one time considered to be three several species. In I^orfolk, I have seen them in severe weather flocking with Larks, among which they make themselves so conspicuous by the white portion of their plumage, as to be popularly known by the name of " White-winged Larks." * Macgillivray's "British Birds," vol. i. p. 404. THE COMMON BUNTING. EMBERIZA MILIARIA. Upper parts yellowish brown, with dusky spots ; under parts yellowish while spotted and streaked with dusky. Length seven inches and a half. Eggs dull white, tinged with yellow or pink, and spotted and streaked with dark purple brown. Though called the Common Bunting, this bird is by no means so abundant in England as the Yellow Bunting ; its name, however, is not misapplied, as it appears to be the most generally diflPused of the family, being found all over the European continent, in the islands of the Mediterranean, in Asia Minor, and the north of Africa. In the latter district it appears as a bird of passage in November ; and about Martinmas it is so abundant as to become a staple article of food. At this season, all the trees in the public roads and squares of the villages are literally covered with THE COMMON BUNTING. 1S9 these birds. Macgillivray informs us that it is more abun- dant in the outer Hebrides than in any other part of the country he has visited ; and that it is there generally known by the name of Sparrow. In England it is a constant resi- dent; but as it is much more abundant in autumn and winter than in summer, it probably receives accessions to its numbers from the north. From its habit of congregating in large flocks in the winter and ahghting on arable land to feed, after the manner of the Skylark, it is sometimes called "Lark Bunting," and, from its favourite food, "Corn Bunting." It builds its nest in a tuft of grass, often under the shelter of briers or a low bush, constructing it of dry grass with a lining of hair. Its song, which is harsh and unmelodious, consists of a number of short repetitions of the same note, terminating with a long one lower in tone, and is generally uttered by the bird perched the while on some slight elevation, such as a stone or the topmost twig of a furze-bush. On first rising, it allows its legs to drop as if broken. THE BLACK-HEADED BU:N^TING. EMBERIZA SCHCENICLUS. Head, throat and gorget black (in winter speckled with light brown) ; nape, sides of the neck, and a line extending to the base of the beak on each side, white ; upper parts variegated with reddish brown and dvisky ; tinder parts white, streaked with dusky on the flanks. Female — head reddish brown, with dusky spots ; the white on the neck less distinct ; under parts reddish white, with dusky spots. Length six inches. Eggs purplish grey, blotched and lined with dark purple brown. Wherever there is water, in the shape of a lake, canal, or river, bned by bushes and rushes, there the Black- headed Bunting is pretty sure to be seen at most seasons of the year. The male is strongly marked by his black head and white collar ; the head of the female is of the same colour as the body; but the white collar, of a less bright hue, she shares with her mate. " Eeed Bunting " and " Keed Sparrow" are other- names for the same bird. 190 EMBERIZID^. In summer it rarely quits the vicinity of water. At this season its food consists of various seeds and insects ; but on the approach of winter it either forms small parties, or joins itself on to flocks of Yellow-Hammers, Sparrows, and Finches, and visits the stack-yards in search of grain. It builds its nest in low bushes, or among aquatic plants, very near the ground, employing bents, bits of straw, reeds, &c., and lining it with hair. The eggs are four or five in num- THU BLACK-HiLAUKi) BUNTING ber, of a dull, livid purple colour, marked with irregular curves or blotches of darker purple, which remind one of the figure of the lines, so often seen on bramble leaves, made by leaf-eating grubs. Its note resembles that of the other Buntings, and is pleasant from its association with walks by) the river's side rather than for tone or melody. In Scotland the Black-headed Bunting is migratory, re- pairing southwards in October, and returning in March. THE YELLOW HAMMER. EMBERIZA CITRINELLA. Head, neck, breast, and lower parts bright yellow, more or less streaked with dusky; flanks streaked with brownish red; upper parts reddish browTi, spotted with dusky. Female— the yeUow parts less vivid, and spotted "with dull reddish brown. Length six inches and a quarter. Eggs purplish or yellowish white, speckled and lined with dark purple brown. This familiar and pretty bird appears to be generally diffused throughout all parts of the country, except the mountains. With its bright yellow head and breast it can scarcely fail to attract the attention of those even who are least observant of birds, and being by no means shy it will allow itself to be examined from a short distance. It may often be detected by its bright yellow plumage among the leaves of a hedge, neither fluttering nor hunting for food, but apparently waiting to be admired. As we approach within a few yards it darts out into the lane with rapid flight, displaying the white feathers of its tail, with tawny tail-coverts, perches on another twig some fifty yards in 191 192 EMBERIZID^. advance, and, after one or two such manceuvres, wheels away with rapid flight uttering two or tliree short notes as it passes over our head. In summer, especially during the hot afternoons of July, when most other birds have closed their concert for the season, it loves to perch on the top of a furze bush or other shrub, and repeat its simple song. This consists of about a dozen short notes, rapidly repeated and closed by a longer note, which I believe to be a musical minor third below. Sometimes this last note is preceded by another which is a third above. The effect is in some measure plaintive, and gives the idea that the bird is preferring a petition. In Devonshire it goes by the names of " Little-bread-and-no-cheese," and " Gladdy." Of the latter name I do not know the origin ; that of the former is clear enough ; for if the words " A little bit of bread and no cheese " be chanted rapidly in one note, descendmg at the word " cheese," the performance, both in matter and style, will bear a close resemblance to the bird's song. It has been noticed that the song of the Yellow Hammer may always be heard about three o'clock in the afternoon. In winter, Yellow Hammers assemble in large flocks, often mixed with other hard-billed birds, and resort to ploughed fields, or rick-yards. MacgiUivray describes with singular accuracy their movements on these occasions. " When the ground is covered with snow, they congregate about houses, and frequent corn-yards along with other birds, retiring to the trees and hedges in the vicinity when alarmed. Their flight is undulated, light, strong, and graceful, and they ahght abruptly, jerking out their tail-feathers. It is indeed surprising to see with what velocity they descend at once from a considerable height, to settle on the twigs of a tree which had attracted their notice as they were flying over it, and with what dexterity all the individuals of a flock perch in their selected places." The nest and eggs of the Yellow Hammer resemble those of the Common Bunting, but are smaller. The nest is THE YELLOW HAMMER. 193 most frequently placed close to the ground, or actually on the ground, among grass on the skirt of a meadow. Yarrell has suggested that the name " Yellow Hammer" should be written "Yellow Ammer" — the word Animer being a well-known German term for Bunting; but as it is doubtful whether it be possible to alter a mode of spelling which has been in common use for two hundred years at least, I have retained the name applied to the species by our earliest ornithologists, Eay and Willughby. Collectors of eggs should carefully avoid cleaning the eggs of the Buntings, as the dark colouring matter with which they are blotched is easily rubbed off with a damp cloth. THE OETOLAN BUNTING. EMBERIZA HORTULANA. Head and neck olive-grey, spotted with brown; throat, orbits, and ar narrow band stretching downwards from the gape, greenish yellow ; feathers of the back black, with reddish edges ; those of the lower parts broAvnish red, edged with ash-grey. Length six inches and a half. Eggs reddish white, spotted and lined with dark red-brown. The Ortolan is so rare a visitor in England, that all our knowledge of its habits and haunts is derived from foreign sources. In France, where it is an object of " distinguished consideration," from the delicate flavour of its flesh, it is a migratory bird, arriving about the second week of April, and departing in autumn. The males appear first, and are soon afterwards followed by the females ; their favourite haunts being dry places planted with vines. Soon after their arrival, the female hollows out for herseK a small hole at the foot of a vine by scratching and fluttering, after the manner of the domestic Hen. The sides of this hole she overlays with a thick bed of dry bents, and lines the interior with a soft mat of hair. She lays four 19-i EMBERIZIDiE. or five eggs, which are very large in proportion to her own size. During the whole time of incubation, the male, perched on some dead twig in the neighbourhood, repeats with little intermission his monotonous song. The young are fed on caterpillars, grasshoppers, small beetles, and other insects ; the destruction of which is considered, and with reason, to be most beneficial to the vines, as each pair of birds rears two, and sometimes three broods in the year. The breeding season ended. Ortolans keep together, in small family parties of five or six, until the end of August and beginning of September, when they prepare to migrate. They are now fit to be caught for the table, and are cap- tured in vast quantities by the fowler's net. But the Or- tolan of the epicure is a creation of art ; so before the poor creatures are immolated they are submitted to a process of fattening. They are shut up in a room lighted by lamps kept constantly burning, and are plentifully supplied with a paste made of millet, flour, and water. The wretched birds, unable to distinguish day from night, have nothing to do "but to eat and drink, and thus, in about a fortnight, become so fat, that to anticipate their dyiiig from repletion it becomes necessary to kill them : they are then packed in small casks and sent to Paris. ^N'umbers of these birds are annually sent to Leadenhall Market from Spain, twenty or thirty in a cage. The Ortolan, when captured, weighs about an ounce and a half ; but when fattened, three ounces. In appearance, the Ortolan most resembles the Girl Bunting, but may be distinguished by its tail, the two outer feathers of which are white, the rest black ; and by the greenish tint of its head and throat, from which it is sometimes called the Green-headed Bunting". ■W^' ^^s ■%.. ^*\' THE CIEL BUNTI:NtG. EMBERIZA CIRLUS. Crown dark olive, streaked with black ; gorget and band above and below the ej'e bright yellow ; throat, neck, and band across the eye, black ; breast olive-gi-ey, iDOunded towards the sides by chestnut; abdomen dull yellow; back brownish red, with dusky spots. Fevude — the distinct patches of black and yellow wanting ; the dusky spots on the back larger. Eggs greyish, marked with ash-colom-ed and black blotches and lines. With the exception of its black chin and throat, this bird closely resembles the Yellow Hammer. Its habits, too, are much the same, so that little can be said of it which does not equally apply to its congener. It appears, however, to be much less patient of cold, and is consequently mostly confined to the southern counties of England, especially Devon and Cornwall. It is frequent also in some parts of Surrey and Wiltshire. In the south of Europe, in the islands of the Mediterranean, and in Asia Minor, it is said to replace the Yellow Hammer, which is far less common. It is in the habit of perching higher than the Yellow Hammer, and is said to be partial to elm-trees. o2 THE CHAFFmCH. FRINGILLA CCELEBS. Forehead black ; crown and nape greyish blue ; back and scapulars chestnut, tinged with green ; rump green ; breast wine-red, fading towards the abdomen into white ; wings black, with two white bands ; coverts of the secondaries tipped with yellow ; tail black, the two middle feathers ash-grey, the two outer on each side black, with a broad oblique white band. Female — head, back and scapulars, ash-brown, tinged with olive ; lower parts greyish white ; the transverse bands less distinct. Length six inches. Eggs greenish purple, streaked and spotted with pvirple-brown. " Gat comrae Pinson," as gay as a Chaffinch, is a familiar French proverb, which describes not only the character of the bird, but the peculiar temperament which in France is an essential part of gaiety. The Chaffinch is a smart, lively, active bird, always in a bustle, flitting here and there incessantly, and staying long nowhere, always wearing a holiday look, so trim and spruce is he, and rattling through his song with wondrous volubility. It received the name coelebs, bachelor, from Linnseus, who observed that the flocks in winter are composed for the most part either exclusively of males or of females; and it has since his time been remarked that flocks of THE CHAPFINCH. 197 males are, in winter, more frequent in northern countries, of females in southern ; and it having been noted, more- over, that in midland countries there is, besides these flocks, the usual sprinkling of males and females who do not separate, it has been inferred that the females, and perhaps the young birds with them, migrate from high latitudes southwards in winter, while the males merely- collect in flocks and find a feeding-ground nearer home. During the open weather of autumn and early winter, Chaffinches frequent stubble and ploughed fields, where they busily collect grain and the seeds of various weeds, and are not, I fear, very scrupulous whether they are engaged as gleaners of what is lost, or robbers of what is sown. In severe weather they resort to farmyards and homesteads, where, along with Sparrows, Buntings, and Greenfinches, they equally consider all they can find as provided for their own especial use. On the return of spring, they feed upon the young shoots, and for a few weeks show themselves great enemies to horticulture. Their visits to our flower-gardens, paid very early in the morning, are attested by scattered buds of polyanthuses, which they attack and pull to pieces as soon as they begin to push from between the leaves. In the kitchen-garden they are yet more mischievous, showing a strong inclination for all pungent seeds. Woe to the unthrifty gardener, who, while drilling in his mustard, or cress, or radishes, scatters a few seeds on the surface ! The quick eye of some passing Chafi&nch wiU surely detect them ; so surely will the stray grains serve as a clue to the treasure concealed beneath, and so surely will a hungry band of companions rush to " the diggings," and leave the luckless proprietor a poor tithe of his expected crop. Yet so large is the number of the seeds of weeds that the Chaffinch consumes in the course of a year, more particularly of groundsel, chick- weed, and buttercup, that he, without doubt, more than compensates for all his misdeeds ; and as his summer food 198 FEINGILLID^. partially, and that of his young family exclusively, consists of caterpillars and other noxious insects, he is in reality among the gardener's best friends, who should be scared away at the seasons when his visits are not welcome, and encouraged at all other times. The Chaffinch, though a wary bird, does not stand greatly in fear of man ; for if disturbed at a meal, he is generally satisfied with the protection afiforded by the branches of the nearest tree, on which he hops about until the danger is past, uttering his simple but not unpleasing note, " tivinF^ or ^^ imik'" as it is variously translated. To tliis cry it adds the syllable " tweet," frequently re23eated in an anxious tone and with a peculiar restlessness of manner, which always indicate that its nest is somewhere very near at hand, and by which indeed it is very often betrayed. Its proper song commences very early in spring, and is continued until June or later. This must be the song which the poet had in view when he sang : — " Then as a little helpless innocent bird, That has but one plain passage of few notes, Will sing the simple passage o'er and o'er, For all one April morning, till the ear Wearies to hear it." — Tennyson. It consists of from ten to twelve notes of the same tone, and about the same length, with the last but one elevated and accented, uttered rapidly at short intervals, and with- out the least variation. In Germany, this bird is so great a favourite that not a single tone of its voice has escaped the experienced ears of bird-fanciers. In some parts of Holland and the north of France, the passion for song Chaffinches amounts to a frenzy. Philharmonic societies are formed, whose exclusive object is to educate Chaffinches, and to organize vocal combats. The combatants, each in his cage, are placed a few yards from each other. One of them utters his strain, which is replied to by the other ; strict silence is imposed THE CHAFFINCH. 199 on the spectators, lest the attention of the birds should be distracted by their remarks or applause. The contest proceeds as long as the birds continue to utter their notes of defiance, and the victory is adjudged to the one who has the last word. The price paid for a bird of mark, and the pains bestowed on the capture of any bird which in its wild state holds out promise of being an apt pupil, are past belief, and the cruelty practised in producing a j^erfect songster I cannot bring myself to describe. After all, Bechstein's translator says that the notes of the wild Chaffinches in England are finer than any cage ones he has heard in Germany. English bird-fanciers, without going so far as their German brethren, profess to dis- tinguish three variations of song in the Chaffinch. The nest of the Chaffinch is an exquisite piece of work- manship, composed of moss, dry grass, fine roots felted together with wool, decorated externally with scraj)s of white lichens, and lined with hair and feathers. It is placed sometimes in the fork of a tree, sometimes against the bole, but more frequently than anywhere else it is built in among the twigs of an apple-tree ; but in every case it is attached to its support by wool interwoven with the other materials. The Chaffinch usually lays five eggs. THE BRAMBLmC. PRINGILLA MONTIFRINGILLA. Head, cheeks, nape, and upper part of the back, black, the feathers Cin winter) tipped with light brown or ash-grey ; neck and scapulars pale orange-brown ; wings black, variegated with orange-brown and white ; rump and lower parts white, the flanks reddish, with a few dark spots. Female— cvovm reddish brown, the feathers tipped with grey, a black streak over the eyes ; cheeks and neck ash-grey ; all the other colours less bright. Length six inches and a half. Eggs yellowish white, spotted and streaked with dark red. Little is known of the summer habits of this bird, though in the northern countries, in which it breeds, it must be very abundant, as in winter it occurs over the whole con- 200 FRINGILLID^. tinent of Europe, and not unfrequently in enormous flocks. Pennant mentions an instance in which eighteen were killed at one shot — a statement which I can well believe, having seen in the winter of 1853 by far the largest flock of small birds I ever beheld, and which was composed entirely of Bramblings. They were employed in search- ing for food on the ground in a beech wood, and, as I approached, flew up into the branches in thousands. The Brambling, called also the Bramble Finch and Mountain Finch, resembles the Chaffinch in habits^ size, and general tone of colour ; and as it often feeds in company with it, is probably sometimes confounded with it by an inex- perienced eye. It arrives in this country in Il^ovember, and takes its departure early in spring, never having been known to breed here. Its song is said to be something like that of the Chaffinch, and its nest, built in fir-trees, to be constructed with the same marvellous art. THE HOUSE SPAEEOW. PASSER DOMESTICUS. Crown and back of the head dark bluish ash ; lore, throat, and front of the neck black ; above the eyes a band of unifonn reddish brown, intermixed with a few small white feathers ; upper feathers darlc brown, edged with reddish brown ; a single transverse white bar on the wing ; cheeks, sides of the neck, and under parts greyish white. Female — head, nape, neck, and breast ash-brown ; above the eye a light yellowish brown streak ; rest of the plumage less bright. Length five inches and three-quarters. Eggs white, spotted and speckled with dark grey and brown. What were the haunts of the Sparrow at the period when men dwelt in tents, and there were neither farmhouses nor villages, much less towns and cities, it were hard to say. Certain it is now that thoroughly wild Sparrows are not to be met with in districts remote from human dwellings and cultivation ; they have left the hill-side and forest as if by common consent, and have pitched their tents where man builds, or ploughs, or digs, and nowhere else. In the city, the seaport town, the fishing village, the hamlet, the farmhouse, nay, near the cot on the lone waste and by the roadside smithy, they 202 FIIINGILLID^. are always present, varying in the amount of confidence they place in their patrons, but all depending on man to a certain extent. And not only do they court his society, but they have adopted his diet. Whatever is the staple food of a household, the Sparrows that nestle around will be right pleased to share it ; bread, meat, potatoes, rice, pastry, raisins, nuts, if they could have these for the asking, they would not trouble themselves to search farther ; but obliged, as they are, to provide for them- selves, they must be content with humble fare ; and so skilful are they as caterers, that whatever other birds may chance to die of starvation, a Sparrow is always round and plump, while not a few have paid for their voracity by their lives. Much difference of opinion exists as to whether Sparrows should be courted by man as allies, or exterminated as enemies. The fact that great efforts are at the present time being made to introduce them into New Zealand, where the corn crops suffer great injury from the attacks of insects, which the presence of Sparrows would, it is believed, materially check, leads to the conclusion that their mission is one of utiHty. That Sparrows consume a very large quantity of corn in summer there can be no doubt ; as soon as the grain has attained its full size, and long before it is ripe, they make descents on the standing c^rn, and if undisturbed will clear so effectually of their contents the ears nearest to the hedges, that this portion of the crop is sometimes scarcely worth the threshing. During harvest they transfer their attention to the sheaves, while the reapers and binders are occupied elsewhere ; as gleaners they are indefatigable ; they participate, too, in the joys of harvest home, for their food is then brought to their very doors. The most skilful binder leaves at least a few ears exposed at the wrong end of the sheaf, and these are searched for diligently in the rick ; and the barns must be well closed indeed into which they cannot find admission. At threshings and winnowings they are constant attendants, THE HOUSE SPAKROW. 203 feeding among the poultry, and snatching njD the scattered grains under the formidable beak of Chanticleer himself. At seed-time their depredations are yet more serious, as they now come in not simply for a share of the produce, but undermine the very foundations of the future crop, I once had the curiosity to examine the crop of a sparrow which had been shot as it flew up from a newly-sown field, and found no less than forty-two grains of wheat. A writer in the Zoologist,'^' who professes himself a deadly enemy of the Sparrow, states that he once took 180 grains of good wheat from the crops of five birds, giving an average of thirty-six for a meal. Now if Sparrows had the opportunity of feeding on grain all the year round, they would be unmitigated pests, and a war of extermina- tion against them could not be waged too vigorously ; but during the far greater portion of the year they have not the power of doing mischief, and all this time they have to find food for themselves. Against their will, perhaps, they now hunt for the seeds of various weeds ] and these being smaller thaii grains of corn and less nutritive, they consume an immense number of them, varying their repast with myriads of caterpillars, wireworms, and other noxious grubs. They thus compensate, certainly in part, perhaps wholly, for the mischief they do at other seasons ; and it is even questionable whether, if a balance were struck between them and the agriculturists, the obligation would not be on the side of the latter. It is scarcely necessary to say much of the habits of a bird which stands on such familiar terms with the human race as the Sparrow. During no period of the year do Sparrows live together in perfect amity ; if half a dozen descend to pick up a handful of scattered crumbs, each in his turn will peck at any other who comes too near his share of the feast, and, with a peculiar sidelong shuffle or hop, will show his intention of appropriating as large a portion * Vol. vi. p. 2299. 204 FRINGILLID^. of the feeding-ground as he can. In spring, this bickering assumes a more formidable character. A duel is com- menced among the branches of a tree, obstinate and noisy ; all the Sparrows within hearing flock to the scene of combat, joining at first with their voices, and finally with their beaks ; a general riot ensues, with as little object seemingly as an Irish "row;" for suddenly the outcry ceases, and the combatants return to their various occupa- tions. A writer in the Naturalist gives an account of a fray of this kind, during which three male birds fell at his feet one after another either dead or dying ; but cases of this kind are very rare. Sparrows build their nests at a considerable elevation from the ground, but are by no means particular as to the locality. At the period when most farmhouses and cottages were thatched, the eaves were their favourite resort, and here they hollowed out for themselves most comfortable dwellings. The general employment of tiles or slates has interfered with this arrangement ; but they will fix upon any projection, niche, crack, or hole which will hold a nest, and if these are all occupied, content themselves with a tree ; but, as far as my own observa- tion goes, the number built in trees far exceeds that to be found in other localities. Very frequently they appropriate the nest of the House Martin; but the story often told of a colony of Martins having walled up a Sparrow who had thus treated a member of their family is not worthy of credit.* The nest itself is a rude structure, composed mainly of straw and hay, and lined with feathers and any other soft materials which they can find. Two or three broods are reared every year, the number of eggs being usually five. The young are fed on worms, cater- pillars, and insects of various kinds. * See p. 279. THE MOUNTAIN OR TREE SPARROW. PASSER MONTANUS. Crown and back of the head chestnut-hrown ; lore, ear-coverts, and throat black ; neck almost surrounded by a white collar ; upper plumage resembling the last ; wing with two transverse white bars. The female scarcely differs from the Tnale. Length five inches and a half. Eggs as in the last. The Mountain Sparrow seems scarcely to deserve its name, as it is by no means confined to mountainous districts. It is abundant all over tbe European continent, and is to be met with bere and tbere in many parts of England ; but it is nowhere so abundant as the House Sparrow, which it resembles in all respects, except that the head is of a bright chestnut colour, and the neck wears a white coUar. I have never seen it except in society with the common species, and could never detect any difference either in flight or note ; but other observers state that the flight is slow and constrained, and that the note assumes more the character of a song. The nest is variously stated to be 206 FKINGILLID^. placed ill hollow trees, under the thatch of houses, in the holes of walls, and in deep wells ; a discrepancy which would lead one to suppose that the Tree Sparrow is as capricious in selecting a dwelling as his congener. THE GREENFmCH. COCCOTHRAUSTES CHLORIS. All the plumage yellowish green, variegated with yellow and ash-grey. Length six inches. Eggs bluish white, speckled and spotted with purplish grey and dark brown. The Greenfinch, or Green Linnet, is one of our most generally diffused birds. Its systematic name, Cocco- thraustes, "grain-crusher," would seem to have been given to it with reference to its habit of husking the barley and other seeds on which it feeds. No bird is a more frequent inhabitant of country gardens during the summer than this, being attracted, it would seem, not so much by the prospect of abundance of food, as by its fondness for building its nest in evergreens and the thick hedges of shrubberies. The lively greenish yellow tint of the plumage on its throat and breast sufficiently distinguish it from any other British bird ; and its note, when once iden- tified, can be confounded with no other song. Let any one who wishes to obtain a sight of one, walk anywhere in the country where there are trees, on a bright sunny day in May or June, and listen for a monotonous long-drawn croak, trying to pronounce the syllable "twe-e-e." jSTo matter what other birds may be tuning their lays, the harsh monotone of the Greenfinch, if one be near, will be heard among them, harmonizing with none, and suggestive of heat and weariness. In a few seconds it will be repeated, without a shadow of variation either in tone or duration ; and if it be traced out, the author of the noise (music I cannot call it) will be discovered perched among the THE GREENFINCH. 207 branches of a moderately high tree, repeating his mourn- ful ditty with extreme complacency for an hour together. Yery often he takes advantage of the midday silence of the groves, and pipes away without any other competitor than the Yellow Hammer, whose song like his own is a constant accompaniment of sultry weather. The Green- finch has another note which is heard most frequently, but not exclusively, in spring. This is a single plaintive c^m.-. ~) / THE GREENFINCH. chirp which may be easily imitated by human whistling ; it resembles somewhat one of the call-notes of the Canary- bird or Brown Linnet, and, being full and sweet, harmo- nizes with the woodland chorus far better than the monotonous croak described above. Another of the notes is a double one, and closely resembles that of the " Pee-wit," hence it is called in some places " Pee-sweep." The Green- finch builds its nest, when not among evergreens, in some 208 FRLNGILLID^. tall thick Lush either in a hedge or coppice. Less neatly finished than that of the Chaffinch, it is nevertheless a beautiful structure. It is composed externally of a framework of light twigs and roots, interleaved with moss and wool, to which succeeds a denser layer of the same materials lined with hair. It lays five eggs, which are of a Ught grey colour, almost white, variously speckled with purple, and of a long shape. In winter. Greenfinches con- gregate in large numbers, and feed together on the seeds of various weeds in stubble fields, or not unfrequently they descend on newly-sown fields of wheat, where they are very troublesome. If disturbed, they rise simultane- ously, fly rapidly only a few feet from the ground to another part of the field, but before they alight, wheel about several times with singular precision of movement, disappearing from the sight and reappearing according as the dark or light portion of their plumage is turned tOAvards the spectator ; and by this peculiarity they may be distinguished from flocks of other small birds at a great distance. If repeatedly disturbed, they alter their tactics, and take refuge in the top branches of the neighbouring trees until their persecutor has turned his back, when they return to the charge with the same perseverance which they display in the repetition of their summer song. These flocks, probably, are composed of individuals which have banded together in some more northern climate, and emigrated southwards in quest of food ; for smaller parties, either unmixed, or associated with Sparrows, Chaffinches, and Buntings, frequent our farmyards and gardens in un- diminished numbers. i I ^rrJ^^r-,rr I i ner^ !l THE GOLDFINCH. 213 are to be met with iu considerable numbers. The French name, Chardonneret, denotes " a frequenter of thistles," and the ancient Greek and Latin name for it, Acanthis, is of similar import ; the Acanthis, Pliny tells us,* bears animosity against no living creature but the donkey, a beast which eats the flowers of thistles, and so deprives it of its food. To this dietary it adds the seeds of dandelions, cen- taury and other weeds, but shows a decided preference for the seeds of the compound flowers. Its nest is among the most beautiful that birds construct. One now before me is placed among the terminal branches cut from the bough of a Scotch flr which grew at an elevation of about twenty feet from the ground. It is encircled by upwards of a dozen leafy twigs which unite beneath its base, and form both a firm support and effectual shelter. The substance is composed of tufted white lichens (Usnea and Evernia), and a few fine roots and wiry stems of garden-thyme, felted together with wool so securely, that it is scarcely possible to remove one of them without damaging the whole. With these is intermixed a piece of worsted, and a thread of sewing cotton ; a few horse-hairs succeed, and the whole of the interior is thickly matted with the white silky do^\Ti of the coltsfoot. Other nests vary in the materials employed, moss being sometimes used instead of white lichen, and willow-cotton or feathers instead of the down of the coltsfoot. Thistle-down is sometimes named as the material of the lining ; but this must be under unusual circumstances, that substance being gene- rally unattainable in spring. Besides fir-trees, the apple and elm are often selected by Goldfinches to build their nests in, and they not unfrequently resort to any low tree in a hedge or shrubbery. In autumn, Goldfinches assemble in flocks of from ten to twenty or more, and resort to waste places, or the borders of fields, where thistles abound, and it is hard to imagine a prettier sight * Nat. Hist. lib. x. cap. Ixxiv. 214 FRINGILLIDiE. than a party of these innocent and brilliant hunters, perch- ing, all heedless of spines and prickles, on the thistle heads, plucking out the seeds with the pappus attached, and cleverly separatiag the former from their appendage. While thus employed, they seem to take it for granted that no one will molest them, but continue their u§eful labour, twittering pleasantly all the while, until the spec- tator comes within a few yards of them, when they fly off like butterflies to another prickly bed. THE SISKIK CARDU^LIS SPINUS. Crown black ; behind the eye a broad yellow streak ; all the plumage variegated with grey, dusky, and various shades of yellow and yellowish green ; wings dusky, with a transverse greenish yellow bar, and a black one above, and another black one across the middle of the tertiaries ; tail dusky, the base and edge of the inner web greenish yellow. Female — all the colours less bright, and no black on the head. Length four and a half inches. Eggs greyish white, speckled with purplish brown. The Siskin, or Aberdevine, is best known as a cage-bird, as it is only a winter visitor in Great Britain, and during the period of its stay is retiring in its habits. Siskins are more frequently met with in the northern than the southern counties of England, but are common in neither. They are generally- observed to keep together in small flocks of from twelve to fifteen, and may be heard from a considerable distance, as they rarely intermit uttering their call-note, which, though little more than a soft twittering, is as clear as that of the Bullfinch, to which it has been compared. Their flight is rapid and irregular, like that of the Linnet. They leave their roosting-places early in the morning, and usually alight on the branches of alder-trees, where they remain all day. The seeds of the alder, inclosed within scales something like those of the coniferous trees, form the principal food of these pretty little birds, who are obliged to hang at the extremities >r-,r •Irfzri"'- mijiujviiHr. ti H ii u to f THE COMMON LINNET. 217 earlier Ornithologists there were supposed to be two species, one of which was called Linota, probably from its having been observed feeding on tlax-seed [Linum) ; the other Cannabina, from having been seen to feed on hemp- seed (Cannabis). The two latter names are now associated to designate the " Common Linnet " in all its phases, lannets offer themselves to our notice in the evenings of autumn and winter more than at any other time. Large flocks of them may then be observed making their way, with rapid and irregular flight, towards tall trees which happen to stand in the vicinity of a common or a furze- brake. On the summits of these they alight, with their heads, in stormy weather, always turned towards the wind, and after keeping up a continuous twittering for a few minutes, suddenly drop into their roosting- places among the furze" and thick shrubs. At the 218 FRINGILLID^ return of dawn, they issue forth to their feeding-grounds, still congregated in large flocks, and spend the whole of the day in hunting on the ground for food. This consists principally of the seeds of various weeds, especially wild- mustard or charlock, wild-cabbage, and other plants of the same tribe, thistle and dandelion ; chance grains of corn no doubt are not passed by, but any injury which may be done by these birds, either to standing crops or newly- sowed lands, must be far outweighed by their services as destroyers of weeds and insects, which latter also enter into their dietary. At this "season their only note is a simple call, mellow and pleasant, which they utter both while flying and when perched. In spring, the flocks break up, and the members betake themselves in pairs to the com- mons and heaths, which afforded them night-lodging during winter. Here they build their nests at a moderate distance from the ground, more frequently in a furze-bush than anywhere else, but occasionally in other shrubs or an adjoining hedge. The nest is constructed of small twigs, moss, roots, and wool; and is lined with hair, feathers, and sometimes vegetable down. The Linnet lays four or five eggs. The spring and summer song of the Linnet is remarkable neither for compass nor power ; it is, however, very sweet, and on this account the Linnet is a favourite, cage-bird. THE MEALY EEDPOLE. LINOTA CANESCENS. Throat and lore black ; forehead and crown blood-red ; breast and rump rose- red ; under parts white ; nape reddish white, with dusky streaks ; shoulders and back with dark streaks, edged with white ; quills and tail-feathers greyish brown, edged with white. Length five and a half inches. A NORTHERN species of Linnet, closely resembling the Lesser Eedpole, but larger. It visits Great Britain only in the winter and at irregular intervals, being in some seasons tolerably abundant, and in others not seen at all. Little appears to be known of its habits. i fi7rmiMiirii:ji±iALii^;. ...wm ,^f.'S'^^''^r^: THE mou]s^tai:n^ linnet, oe twite. LINOTA MONTIUM. Upper plmnage dark brown, edged with light brown ; no crimson either on the forehead or breast ; rump of the Tnale tinged with red ; throat tawny brown, without streaks ; breast and abdomen dull white, streaked on the flanks with dark brown ; beak yellow ; feet and claws dark brown ; tail long. Length five inches and a quarter. Eggs pale bluish white, speckled with purple-red. Another northern bird, inhabiting the Arctic Regions, Scandinavia, and Russia, and travelling southwards in autumn. In the Orkney and Shetland Islands it is the most common, if not the only, species, and builds its nest among the corn or heath. It breeds also in Scotland, and has been noticed during the summer months in the northern counties of England. In the countries where it is resident all the year round, it is very destructive to wheat in winter, and to turnips in summer. As soon as the latter plants appear above ground, the bird pulls them up, nips off the seed-leaves, and the field remains strewn 222 FRINGILLID^. with, the fragments of the young plants. In winter, Mountain Linnets assemble in very large flocks, and in their habits resemble Common Linnets, from which they are best distinguished (at a distance) by their longer tails. • During severe weather I have observed them in Norfolk, flocking to the salt marshes, and feeding on the seeds of saline plants, especially those of the shrubby sea-blite. At this season their note resembles the twitter of the Common Linnet, but is less mellow. The nest is placed among heath, grass, or young corn, and invariably on the ground — in this respect differing from all other birds of the same family. It is constructed of dry grass, moss, and roots, and lined with various soft substances. The Mountain Linnet is often called the Twite, a syllable which its simple note is thought to resemble. THE BULLFINCH. PYRRHULA VULGARIS. Crown, throat, plumage round the bill, wings and tail lustrous purple-black ; upper part of the back bluish ash ; cheeks, neck, breast and flanks red (in the female reddish brown) ; rump and abdomen pure white ; a broad buff and grey band across the wings. Length six and a quarter inches. Eggs light greenish blue, speclded and streaked with light red and dark purple. Though I have not proposed to myself the ungracious task of directing the reader's attention to errors existing in other works, yet I cannot pass over one committed by the accu- rate observer, Macgillivray. "The Bullfinch," he says, " is generally distributed in Britain, occurring in most of our wooded and cultivated districts, but avoiding bare maritime tracts, as well as the northern islands, which are destitute of wood." So far, I have not a word to say ; but he proceeds : "It is not, however, very common any- where." From this last remark I infer that the author in question w^as never either proprietor or occupant of a fruit-garden in a wooded district, or he would have ♦: THE BULLFINCH. 225 equally conspicuous with the white upper tail-coverts. They sometimes continue advancing in this way by easy stages for several hundred yards, until they either reach a hedge running in a cross direction, which they follow, or else double back on their pursuer on the opposite side of the hedge. These tactics are pursued so invariably as to be quite enough to distinguish the bird, even if the characteristic call-note be suppressed. The natural song of the Bullfinch is nothing more than the plaintive whistle described above, uttered at distant intervals, some- times slightly prolonged, or, very rarely, doubled. In captivity the Bullfinch is greatly prized for the facility with which it learns to sing little melodies, and even to repeat articulate words, but it is rarely able to commit to memory more than a single tune or sentence. Many pleasing anecdotes are told of the docility and affec- tion of these birds. They soon grow accustomed to captivity, and if confined with birds of the same species seem indiff'erent to the recovery of their liberty. The Bullfinch, as if conscious of the ill-will borne against it by gardeners on account of its depredations, generally keeps out of their reach in the breeding season, and builds its nest in some secluded copse or thick hedge, employing as materials small twigs and dry grass, with a lining of fibrous roots. It usually lays five eggs. Less frequently, it places its nest in a shrubbery or garden hedge. PINE GROSBEAK. PTRRHULA ENUCLEATOR. Head and upper parts of the neck reddish orange, streaked on the back with dusky ; wings and tail black, the former with two white bars, the primaries and tail-featherg edged with orange, the secondaries with white ; under parts orange-yellow. Length seven and a quarter inches. Eggs white. A LARGE and handsome bird, inhabiting the Arctic Eegions during the summer months, and in winter descending a Q 226 FRINGILLID^E. few degrees to tlie south in both hemispheres. It is of very- rare occurrence in the pine-forests of Scotland, and a still more unfrequent visitor to England. The Pine Grosbeak, or Pine Bullfinch, is a bird of sociable habits, and an agreeable songster. THE COMMON CEOSSBILL. LOXIA CURVIROSTRA. Bill equalling in length the middle toe, point of the lower mandible extending beyond the ridge of the upper mandible ; plumage variegated, according to age and sex, with green, yellow, orange, and brick-red. Length six and a half inches. Eggs bluish white, speckled with red-brown. The beak of this bird is pronounced by Buffon " an error and defect of Nature, and a useless deformity." A less dogmatic, but more trustworthy authority, our countryman, Yarrell, is of a different opinion. " During a series of obser- vations," he says,* " on the habits and structure of British birds, I have never met with a more interesting or more beautiful example of the adaptation of means to an end, than is to be found in the beak, the tongue, and their muscles, in the Crossbill." No one can read the chapter of " British Birds " devoted to the Crossbill (in which the accomplished author has displayed even more than his usual amount of research and accurate observation) without giving a ready assent to the propriety of the latter opinion. Unfortunately the bird is not of common occurrence in this country, or there are few who would not make an effort to watch it in its haunts, and endeavour to verify, by the evidence of their own eyes, the interesting details which have been recorded of its habits. I have never myself succeeded in catching a sight of a living specimen, and am therefore reduced to the necessity of quoting the descrip- tions of others. * Vol. ii. p. 22. THE COMMON CEOSSBILL. 227 The Crossbill is about the size of the Common Bimting, and, like it and the Hawfinch, is a remarkably stout bird, having a stroug bill, a large head, short thick neck, com- pact ovate body, short feet of considerable strength, rather long wings, and moderately large taiL Its plumage, in which green or red predominates, according to the age of the bird, is much more gaudy than that of our common birds, and approaches that of the Parrots, a tribe which it ^/v-^v^ THE COMMON CROSSBILL. also resembles in some of its habits. Though only occa- sional visitors with us, Crossbills are plentiful in Germany, Bavaria, Sweden, and Norway all the year round, and are said to be mischievous in orchards and gardens, on account of their partiality to the seeds of apples, which they reach by splitting the fruit with one or two blows of their stout bills. Food of this kind, however, they can only obtain in autumn ; at other seasons, and, indeed, all the year round q2 228 FEINGILLID^. in districts remote from orchards, they feed principally on the seeds of various kinds of fir, which they extract from the cone by the joint action of their beak and tongue. The alder and other trees are also sometimes visited, and they have been noticed to resort to thistles and pick the seeds from them. "In the autumn of 1821," says Macgillivray,* " when walking from Aberdeen to Elgin, by the way of Glenlivat, and along the Spey, I had the pleasure of observing, near the influx of a tributary of that river, a flock of several hundreds of Crossbills, busily engaged in shelling the seeds of the berries which hung in clusters on a clump of rowan (mountain ash) trees. So intent were they on satisfying their hunger that they seemed not to take the least heed of me ; and as I had not a gun, I was content with gazing on them, without offering them any molestation. They clung to the twigs in all sorts of posi- tions, and went through the operation of feeding in a quiet and business-like manner, each attending to his own affairs without interfering with his neighbours. It was, indeed, a pleasant sight to see how the little creatures fluttered among the twigs, all in continued action, like so many bees on a cluster of flowers in sunshine after rain." A writer in the Zoologist -^ thus describes the manoeuvres of a flock which he observed in 1849, in the county of Durham : " On the 15th July, when taking a drive in the western part of the county, where there are many thousand acres of fir-plantations, I had the good fortune to see a flock of birds cross my path, which appeared to be Crossbills ; so, leaving the gig, I followed some distance into a fir-planta- tion, where, to my great gratification, I found perhaps thirty or more feeding on some Scotch £Lrs. The day being fine, and as they were the first I had seen in a state of wild nature, I watched them for about twenty minutes. Their actions are very graceful while feeding, hanging in * British Birds, vol. i. p. 425. + Vol. vii. p. 2527. THE COMMON CROSSBILL. 229 every imaginable attitude, peering into the cones, wMch, if tliey contain seeds, are instantly severed from the branch ; clutched with one foot, they are instantly emptied of their contents, when down they come. So rapidly did they fall, that I could compare it to nothing better than being beneath an oak-tree in autumn, when the acorns are falling in showers about one's head, but that the cones were rather heavier. No sooner are they on the wing than they, one and all, commence a fretful, unhappy chirl, not unlike the Eedpole's, but louder." Another writer, in the Maga- zine of natural History,^ thus records his experience : "From October, 1821, to the middle of May, 1822, Cross- bills were very numerous in this county (Suffolk), and, I believe, extended their flight into many parts of England. Large flocks frequented some fir-plantations in this vicinity, from the beginning of ISTovember to the following April. I had almost daily opportunities of watching their move- ments j and so remarkably tame were they, that, when feed- ing on fir-trees not more than fifteen or twenty feet high, I have often stood in the midst of the flock, unnoticed and un- suspected. I have seen them hundreds of times, when on the larch, cut the cone from the branch with their beak, and, holding it firmly in both claws, as a hawk would a bird, extract the seeds with the most surprising dexterity and quickness. I do not mean to assert this to be their general habit ; but it was very frequently done when feed- ing on the larch. I have never seen them adopt the like method with cones of the Scotch or other species of pine, which would be too bulky for them to manage. Their method with these, and, of course, most frequently mth the larch, was to hold firmly on the cone with their claws ; and, while they were busily engaged in this manner, I have captured great numbers ; many with a horse-hair noose fixed to the end of a fishing-rod, which I managed to slip over their head when they were feeding, and, by drawing * Number for January, 1834. 230 FEINGILLID^. it quickly towards the body, I easily secured them ; others I took with a limed twig, fixed in such a manner in the end of a rod that, on touching the bird, the twig quickly became disengaged, adhered to the feathers, rendered the wiugs useless, and caused the poor bird to fall perfectly helpless on the ground. In this manner, in windy wealiier, I have taken several from the same tree, vsdthout causing any suspicion of danger. On warm sunny days, after feed- ing a considerable time, they would suddenly take wing, and, after flying round for a short time, in full chorus, alight on some lofty tree in the neighbourhood of the plantations, warbling to each other in low pleasing strains. They would also fly from the trees occasionally for the purpose of drinking, their food being of so dry a nature. To captivity they were quickly reconciled, and soon became very familiar. As, at first, I was not aware what food would suit them, I fixed branches of the larch against the sides of the room in which I confined them, and threw them a quantity of the cones on the floor. I found that they not only closely searched the cones on the branches, but, in a few days, not one was left in the room that had not been pried into. I gave them canary and hemp-seed; but, thinking the cones were both amusement and employment, I continued to furnish them with a plentiful supply. I had about four dozen of them ; and frequently, whilst I havo been in the room, they would fly down, seize a cone with their beak, carry it to a perch, quickly transfer it to their claws, and in a very short time empty it of its seeds, as I have very many times witnessed to my surprise and amusement." These accounts are most interesting, yet they are all equally defective in failing to describe the mode in which Buffon's " useless deformity," the crossed bill, is employed in the work of spHtting open a cone. This defect is supplied partially by Mr. Townson's description, quoted by Yarrell, and partly by the latter author in his own words. " Their mode of operation is thus : — They first fix THE COMMON CROSSBILL. 231 themselves across the cone, then bring the points of the mandibles from their crossed or lateral position, to be im- mediately over each other. In this reduced compass they insinuate their beaks between the scales, and then, opening them — not in the usual manner, but by drawing the inferior mandible sideways — force open the scales." " At this stage," Yarrell proceeds to say, " the end of the tongue becomes necessary ; and this organ is no less admirably adapted for the service required. . . . While the points of the beak press the scale from the body of the cone, the tongue is enabled to direct and insert its cutting scoop underneath the seed, and the food thus dislodged is trans- ferred to the mouth; and when the mandibles are separated laterally in this operation, the bird has an uninterrupted view of the seed in the cavity with the eye on that side to which the under mandible is curved." The beak of the Crossbill then, far from being a defect in the organization of the bird, is a perfect implement always at its owner's command, faultless alike in design and execution, and exquisitely adapted to its work, not an easy one, of performing, by a single process, the office of splitting, opening, and securing the contents of a fir- cone, and he must be a bold man who could venture to suggest an improvement in its mechanism. It has been observed that young birds in the nest have not their mandibles crossed, and at this period such an arrangement would be useless, as they are dependent for food on the parent birds. It has also been observed that the side on which the upper mandible crosses the lower varies in different individuals ; in some it descends on the right side of the lower mandible, in others on the left. The bird appears to have no choice in the matter, but what- ever direction it takes at first, the same it always retains. The Crossbill is not believed to be generally a continuous resident in this country, though several instances are on record of its breeding with us. From the fact, too, that 232 FRINGILLID^. young birds have often been observed imperfectly fledged, it may be surmised that such instances are not rare. Its nest, constructed of slender twigs of fir and coarse dry grass, and lined with fine grass and a few hairs, is concealed among the upper branches of a Scotch fir.* THE PAEROT CROSSBILL. LOXIA PITYOPSITTACUS. Bill very stout, shorter than the middle toe ; point of the lower mandible not reaching so high as the ridge of the upper. Length seven inches. Eggs gi-ey- ish white, marked at the larger end with large blood-red spots, the rest thinly speckled with the same colour. This bird, which resembles the Common Crossbill in colour and habits, frequents the Arctic regions, where the majority remain to breed. In summer it occasionally visits Prussia and Germany, resorting to the great pine- forests, and returning to the I^ortli at the approach of Spring. In France and Holland it is a yet rarer visitor, and in this country only a few specimens have been observed. THE WHITE-WmCED CROSSBILL. LOXIA LEUCOPTERA. Bill longer than the middle toe ; upper mandible much compressed towards the tip ; plumage crimson, variegated with yellow ; tad black ; wings black, with two white bars. Length six and a quarter inches. Eggs white, marked with yellowish spots. This, like the last, is a northern bird, and of yet rarer occurrence in this country. In habits it resembles the Common Crossbill. * The name, " Sheldapple," supposed by Yarrell to be given to this bird on account of the habit ascribed to it of rifling the con- tents of apples, has reference perhaps to the varied tints of its plumage, as is undoubtedly the case veith the Sheldrake, to be described hereafter. 233 THE EED-WmGED STAELIXG. AGELAIUS PHCENICEUS. General plumage black ; bend of the wing red, lesser wing-coverts orange-yellow. Length nine inches. Eggs pale bluish white, spotted and streaked with dark brown. The Red- winged Starling, or American Blackbird, is a rare straggler in this country. In the United States, where it congregates in enormous flocks, it commits serious ravages on the corn and rice crops, and in many of its habits resembles its European namesake. THE STAELING. STURNUS VULGARIS. Pluuiage black, with brilliant purple and green reflections, the upper feathers tipped with cream-colour ; under tail-coverts edged with white ; beak yellow ; feet flesh-colour, tinged with brown. Female — spotted below as well as above. Fotf ngr— uniform ash-brown, without spots. Length eight and a half inches ; width fifteen inches. Eggs uniform pale greenish blue. The Starling is a citizen of the world. From the l!^orth Cape to the Cape of Good Hope, and from Iceland to Kamtschatka, he is everywhere at home, and too familiar with the dealings of man to come within a dangerous distance of his arm, though he fully avails himself of all the advantages which human civilization offers, having discovered, long ago, that far more grubs and worms are to be procured on a newly-mown meadow than on the bare hill-side, and that the flavour of May-dukes and Coroons immeasurably excels that of the wild cherries in the wood. That dove-cots, holes in waUs, and obsolete water-spouts are convenient resting-places for a nest, appears to be a traditional piece of knowledge, and that where sheep and oxen are kept, there savoury insects abound, is a fact generally known, and improved ou 234 STUKNIDtE. accordingly. So, in suburban gardens, where even the Eedbreast and Tits are unknown. Starlings are periodical visitors, and afford much, amusement by their shambling gait, and industrious boring on the lawn for larvae — in cherry orchards they are regarded with terror, on account of the amount of mischief they will accompHsh in a short space of time ; and in the sheep-fold they are doubtless most cordially welcomed and their services thankfully received, THE STARLING. though there can be as little doubt that the visits are paid not for the benefit of the uncomfortable animals on whom they perch, but to indulge their own partiality for an occasional diet of ticks. The Starling is a handsome bird ; seen at a distance it appears to be of a uniform black hue, but on closer inspec- tion its sable coat is found to be lustrous with reflections of THE STARLING. 235 purple and green, and every feather is tipped with white, or cream-colour — a mantle of shot-silk garnished with pearls. Except during the nesting season, a Starling is rarely- seen alone ; most commonly perhaps they are observed in parties of from six to twelve, hunting in orchards or meadows for whichsoever article of their diet happens to be in season. Wherever a colony of Eooks, Jackdaws, or Eock Pigeons has established itself, there most probably, or somewhere in the neighbourhood, a large party will assemble to roost, and will attend the others on all their foraging expeditions. In spring the flocks, small and great, break up into pairs, each withdrawing to a convenient nesting place, which is sometimes a hole in a tree, sometimes a building, a clif^ or a cave. The nest itself is a simple structure, being composed of dry grass and roots, and contains generally five eggs. At this season the male bird adds to the chirping and twittering notes of both sexes, a soft and not unmusical note, which resembles more closely than any other sound with which I am ac- quainted the piping of a boatswain's whistle, and it is not uncommon to hear a party of choristers thus engaged, perched meanwhile on some high tree, even while incuba- tion is going on. The breeding season over, they become nomad in their habits. Many families unite into a flock, and explore the country far and wide for suitable feeding places, their diet being, up to this time, exclusively worms and insects. But no sooner does the fruit begin to ripen in the cherry districts, than the flocks, now assembled iu countless multitudes, descend on the trees, and, if not observed and scared away, appropriate the whole crop. ^ewly-fledged Starlings are so diiferent from their parents, that they might be mistaken, and indeed have been described by Montagu, Bewick, Knapp, and others, under the name of the Solitary Thrush. The plumage is of a uniform greyish brown, lighter beneath. It is not till the end of July or the beginning of August that the adult 236 STUENID^. plumage begins to show itself, and then the young birds present a singular appearance, as the glossy black feathers, tipped with pearl, appear in irregular patches on various parts of the body. Starlings do not usually roost near the scene of their depredations, but from this season and thence until late in autumn they repair, as if by some preconcerted scheme, to a rendezvous common to many detachments. A writer in the Zoologist states, that there were formerly, near Melbourne in Cambridgeshire, some large patches of reeds, which were rented at a certain annual sum, and which the tenant sold to builders to use in making plaster- floors and ceilings of rooms. Towards autumn. Starlings resorted to them in such numbers to roost, that unless scared away, they settled upon the reeds, broke them down and rendered them completely useless. It required a person to keep watch every evening for some time, and fire at them repeatedly with a gun as they were settling down ; but as the spot was a favourite one, they showed considerable reluctance in quitting it. Similar accounts are to be found in most books on ornithology ; that given by Bishop Stanley in his familiar " History of Birds," is one of the most striking passages in his admirable little book, and though too long for quotation, is well worthy of perusal. THE ROSE-COLOUEED PASTOE. PASTOR ROSEUS. Head crested ; crest and neck black, lustrous with violet reflections ; back and lower parts rose-colour ; wings and tail lustrous brown. Length eight inches. A VERT beautiful bird, partaking the characters of the Starlings and Crows. It is an inhabitant of Syria, Asia Minor, and Africa, where it is gregarious in its habits, and does much mischief to the grain crops. In Europe it is of uncommon occurrence. ttttlKj m U I THE CHOUGH. 239 members of the brute creation whose instinct amounts to something more than a formal compliance with certain laws which the rational creation has arbitr£trily set down for their government. In mountainous districts, its food probably consists mainly of berries ; on our sea-coast, where such fare is of rare occurrence, insects and the rejectamenta of the sea-shore enter largely into its diet. It builds its nest of sticks, and lines it with wool and hair, preferring a cleft in a rock, but not refusing any old ruin conveniently situated for its purpose. It lays four or five eggs. THE EAVEK CORVUSCORAX. Plumage black wltli purple reflections ; tail rounded, black, extending two inches beyond the closed wings ; beak strong, black as well as the feet ; iris with two circles, the inner grey, the outer ash-brown. Length twenty-five inches ; width four feet. Eggs dirty green, spotted and speckled with brown. The Eaven, the largest of the Corvidae, and possessing in an eminent degree all the characteristics of its tribe except sociability, is the bird which beyond all others has been regarded with feelings of awe by the superstitious in all ages. In both instances in which specific mention of it occurs in Holy Writ, it is singled out from among other birds as gifted with a mysterious intelligence. Sent forth by !N"oah when the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat, it found a congenial home among the lonely crags strewed with the carcases of drowned animals, and by failing to return, announced to the patriarch that a portion of the earth, though not one fit for his immediate habitation, was uncovered by the waters. At a subsequent period, honoured with the mission of supplying the persecuted prophet with food, it was taught to suppress its voracious instinct by the God who gave it. The Eaven figures prominently in most heathen mythologies, and is almost everywhere regarded 240 CORVIDiE. with awe by the ignorant even at the present time. In Scandinavian mythology it was an important actor ; and all readers of Shakespeare must be familiar with passages THE HAVL^ which prove it to have been regarded as a bird of dire omen. " The sad presaging Raven tolls The sick man's passport in her hollow beak, And in the shadow of the silent night Doth shake contagion from her sable wing." Marloive. In the judgment of others, its friendly mission to the Tish- bite invested it with a sanctity which preserved it from molestation. THE RAVEN. 241 Apart from all traditional belief, the Eaven derives its ill-omened character as a herald of death from the rapidity with which it discerns, in the vicinity of its haunts, the carcase of any dead animal. In the coldest winter days, at Hudson's Bay, when every kind of effluvium is greatly checked if not arrested by frost, buffaloes and other beasts have been killed when not one of these birds was to be seen ; but in a few hours scores of them have been found collected about the spot to pick up the blood and offal. "In Ravens,^' says a writer in the Zoologist ^^ "the senses of smell and sight are remarkably acute and power- ful. Perched usually on some tall cliff that commands a wide survey, these faculties are in constant and rapid exercise, and all the movements of the bird are regulated in accordance with the information thus procured. The smell of death is so grateful to them that they utter a loud croak of satisfaction instantly on perceiving it. In passing any sheep, if a tainted smell is perceptible, they cry vehe- mently. From this propensity in the Eaven to announce his satisfaction in the smell of death has probably arisen the common notion that he is aware of its approach among the human race, and foretells it by his croakings." The same observant author, as quoted by Macgillivray,t says again : " Their sight and smell are very acute, for when they are searching the wastes for provision, they hover over them at a great height ; and yet a sheep will not be dead many minutes before they will find it. JSTay, if a morbid smell transpire from any in the flock, they will watch it for days till it die." To such repasts they are guided more by scent than by sight, for though they not unfrequently ascend to a great height in the air, they do not then appear to be on the look- out for food. This duty is performed more conveniently and with greater success by beating over the ground at a low * Vol. i. p. 215. t British Birds, vol. i. p. 510. R 242 CORVIDiE. elevation. In these expeditions they do not confine them- selves to carrion, but prey indiscriminately on all animals which they are quick enough to capture and strong enough to master. Hares, rabbits, rats, mice, lizards, game of various kinds, eggs, and the larger insects, all of these enter into their diet, and, wanting these, they resort to the sea-shore for refuse fish, or ransack dunghills in villages, before the inhabitants are astir, for garbage of all sorts. Pliny even relates that in a certain district of Asia Minor they were trained to hawk for game like the noble Falcons. Few of these qualifications tend to endear them to mankind ; and as they are dreaded by shepherds on account of their being perhaps more than suspected of making away with sickly lambs when occasion offers, and of plundering j)oultry -yards, Ravens are become, in popu- lous districts, almost unknown birds. I have only seen them myself on the rocky sea-shore of Devon and Cornwall, in the wilds of Dartmoor, and the Highlands of Scotland. There was for many successive years a nest built on a ledge of granite near the Bishojj Rock, in Cornwall, a huge mass of sticks and what appeared to be grass, inaccessible from below, but commanded by a venturous climber from above. Where it still continues to breed inland, it places its nest, constructed of sticks and lined with the wool and fur of its victims, either on an inaccessible rock, or near the summit of a lofty tree, the ill-omened "Raven-tree" of romances. In the north of Scotland, in the Orkneys and Hebrides, where it is still abundant, it builds its nest in cliffs which it judges be inaccessible, both inland and on the sea-shore, showing no marked preference for either. Tavo pair never frequent the same locality, nor is any other bird of prey permitted to establish itself in their vicinity. Even the Eagle treats the Raven with respect, and leaves it to its solitude, not so much from fear of its prowess, as worn out by its pertinacious resistance of all dangerous intruders. Hence, in some districts, shepherds encourage Ravens, THE RAVEN. 243 because they serve as a repellant to Eagles ; while in others, where Eagles are of unusual occurrence, they allow them to build their nests undisturbed, but when the young are almost fledged, destroy them by throwing stones at them from above. ^Nevertheless the original pair continues to haunt the same locality for an indefinite term of years, and it is not a little singular that if one of them be killed, the survivor will find a mate in an incredibly short space of time. The geographical range of the Eaven is very exten- sive. Throughout all the zones of the E'orthern Hemi- sphere it is to be found ; and having this wide range, its physical constitution is strong, and it lives to a great age, amounting, as the ancients tell us, to twenty-seven times the period of a man's life. The note of the Eaven is well described by the word " croak,'' but it is said by those who have had the opportunity of observing it under various circumstances, to utter another sound, resembling the word " whii-ur." With this cry it very commonly intermixes another, sounding like " clung,'' uttered very much as by a human voice, only a little wilder in the sound. From the cry " croak " the Eaven no doubt derives its Latin name " Corvus," the French " Corbeau," and its common Scotch appellation " Corbie." THE CAEEIO^" CEOW. COEVUS COEONE. Black, with green and violet reflections ; tail slightly rounded^ extending an inch and a quarter beyond the closed wings ; iris dark hazel ; lower part of the beak covered with bristly feathers ; beak and feet black. Length nineteen inches ; breadth three feet. Eggs bluish green, spotted and speckled with ash-grey and olive. Breeding early in the year, like the Eaven, the Carrion Crow builds its nest in some tree which, from its lofti- ness or other reason, is diflicult of ascent, where its young ones are hatched about the time that most other r2 244 CORVID^. birds are laying their eggs, and when the lambing season is at its height. Then, too, its habits are most fully developed. Its young are clamorous for food, and will not be satisfied with a little. So the old bird sallies forth to scour the districts least frequented by man, and makes every living thing its prey, provided that by force or cunning it can overpower it. If Grouse are plentiful, it is said that one pair, what with stealing the eggs and THE CARRION CROW. carrying off the young, will in a season destroy more of them than the keenest sportsman. It will pounce on the leveret and bear it screaming from the side of its mother. It watches sheep which have strayed from the fold, and mangles the newly-born lambs, and even the ewes themselves, carrying them piecemeal to the young ones at home. If mowers are at work, the wary birds alight on some lofty tree, taking care to keep at a safe THE CARKION CKOW. 245 distance, and when a nest has been laid bare by the scythe, their incredibly sharp eye discerns the prize which, whether it consist of eggs or callow young, is borne off in triumph. Lest their depredations should be discovered by the accu- mulation of egg-shells, feathers and bones, which are the natural consequence of these raids, they carefully carry to some distance everything that would tend to betray them, so that one might pass directly beneath the scene of these enormities unsuspicious of the evil existing overhead. Keen as this bird is in pursuit of such dehcate fare, he can be, when occasion serves, as unclean a feeder as the Vulture, and he can, on the other hand, make a meal off corn. Mr. Knox states that in the Weald of Sussex, where the Eaven is common, it resorts to the brooks and ponds, which abound in fresh-water muscles (Anodon), and feeds on them most voraciously, especially after floods, when they lie scattered on the mud. The same author states that in winter it resorts to the sea-shore, and feeds on the oysters, muscles, small crabs, marine insects, worms, and dead fish which are cast up by the waves during the prevalent south-westerly storms. It has been frequently observed, he adds, to ascend to a great height in the air with an oyster in its claws, and after letting it fall on the beach, to descend rapidly with closed pinions and devour the contents. A similar instance of apparent reasoning is recorded of the same bird by Pliny, but with the substitution of walnuts for oysters. With such wandering habits, it seems at first sight strange that the phrase " as the Crow flies " should be adopted to mark distances in a straight line across the open country ; yet when it is borne in mind how many persons confound the Crow with the Rook, and even talk of the " Crows in a rookery," the suggestion will at once occur to the mind that the term owed its origin to its far gentler and more respectable relation, the Eook, whose evening flights from the feeding ground are among the most famihar sights of the country, and are invariably performed in a line so 246 coRViD^. straight, that if a whole flock could be tracked through the air on any one evening it would be found scarcely to deviate from that of the preceding or the following. It is to be feared that this inaccurate application of names has done the Eook ill service ; yet the two birds are totally distinct. Crows are solitary birds, rarely being seen in more than pairs together ; Rooks are eminently sociable. Crows shun the haunts of men : Eooks court the vicinity of his dwellings. Crows are carnivorous ; Eooks feed principally on the grubs of beetles, worms, and noxious insects, reward- ing themselves occasionally for their services by regaling on corn and fruits, but rarely touching carrion or molesting living animals. In appearance the two birds are much alike ; the Crow, however, is somewhat smaller, the beak is stouter at the point and encircled at the base with numerous short feathers, while the bill of the Eook is encroached on by a white membrane which is almost bare of feathers. Both are noted for their intelligence ; the Crow has been known to remove its eggs from its nest when apprehensive of danger ; it was held in high con- sideration in the days of augury, and certain of its move- ments were considered to be indicative of changes in the weather. It builds its nest of sticks, and lines it with moss, straw, hair, and wool, and lays from four to six eggs. Like the Eaven, it is a widely-diffused bird, and attains a great age, outliving (the ancients said) nine generations of men, showing great attachment to any spot in which it has once fixed its home, and suffering neither its own progeny nor any other large birds to nestle in its vicinity. THE HOODED CEOW. CORVUS CORNIX. Head, throat, wings, and tail black, the rest of the plumage ash-grey ; tail rounded; beak and feet black; iris brown. Length nineteen and a half inches ; breadth three feet two inches. Eggs bluish green, mottled with ash- grey and olive. The Hooded Crow closely resembles the Carrion Crow, scarcely differing from it in fact except in colour. They are however perfectly distinct species, and for the most part exercise their calling in separate haunts. In Norway Hooded Crows are very abundant, to the almost total exclu- sion of the Carrion Crow and Eook, and, though not con- gregating so as to form a society like the last-named bird, they may be seen simultaneously employed in searching for food in groups which collectively amount to a hundred or more. They do not appear to be constant residents in 248 CORVID^. any part of England ; for though numerous in the winter at ^Newmarket Heath and Royston (whence they are some- times called Eoyston Crows), and annually resorting to many parts of the sea-coast, they rarely breed so far south. In the Orkneys, Hebrides, and in all but the south of Scotland they are of more frequent occurrence than any other of the tribe, essentially belonging to the " Land of the mountain and the flood." One can scarcely traverse the shores of the salt-water lochs of Scotland without seeing a pair, or, in the latter part of the year, a small party of four or five of these birds, gravely pacing the shingle and sand in quest of food. As far as my OAvn experience goes, I should consider the Hooded Crow as " half sea-bird," but it is said to be met with, in summer, in the very centre of the Grampians and other inland districts. Its diet consists of the smaller marine animals, such as crabs, echini, and mollusks, alive or dead, fish and carrion. At high water it retires inland, and skulks about the low grounds in quest of the eggs and young of Moor- fowl, thereby gaining the execrations of gamekeepers ; takes a survey of any adjacent sheep walks, on the chance of falling in with a new-born lamb, or sickly ewe, whence it has but an ill name among shepherds ; and returns when the tide has well ebbed, to finish the day's repast on food of a nature light and easy of digestion. It is less wary of man than the Carrion Crow, and often comes within shot, but, being far too numerous to admit of being exterminated, is but little assailed. In the comparatively mild climate of the Scottish sea-coast, these birds find an abundant supply of food all the year round, and as there is no sensible diminution of their numbers in winter, it is supposed that those which frequent the English coast from October to March have been driven southwards by the inclement winters of high latitudes. They are then frequently observed on the coast of N'orfolk and Sussex in parties of thirty or more, and it has been remarked that the hunting THE HOODED CROW. 249 grounds of the two species are defined by singularly precise limits, the neighbourhood of Chichester being frequented by the Carrion Crow, that of Brighton by its congener. It is abundant on the sea-coast of Il^orfolk: in the winter, w^here I have seen it feeding with Gulls, Plovers, &c. In musical capabilities it is inferior even to its relative, its solitary croak being neither so loud nor so clear. The nest of the Hooded Crow, according to Macgillivray, is "large, composed of twigs, sea-weeds, heath, feathers and straws, and is always placed on a rock." It usually contains five THE EOOK. CORVUS FRUGILEGUS. Plumage black, with purple and violet reflections ; base of the beak, nostrils, and region round the beak bare of feathers and covered with a white scurf; iris greyish white ; beak and feet black. Length eighteen inches ; breadth three feet. Eggs pale green, thickly blotched with olive and dark brown. As the Hooded Crow is essentially the type of the Corvidse in Scandinavia and the Isles of Scotland, where the Carrion Crow and Eook are all but unknown, so in England the representative of the tribe is the Eook, a bird so like the Crow that it is called by its name almost as frequently as by its own, yet so different in habits that, instead of being under a perpetual and universal ban, it is everywhere encouraged and indeed all but domesticated. There are few English parks that do not boast of their rookery, and few proprietors of modern demesnes pretending to be parks, who would not purchase at a high price the air of antiquity and respectability connected with an established colony of these birds. Owing to their large size and the familiarity with which they approach the haunts of men, they afford a facility in observing their habits which belongs to no other birds ; hence all treatises on JSTafcural History, and other publications which enter into the details 250 CORVID^. of country life in England, abound in anecdotes of the Rook. Its intelligence, instinctive appreciation of danger, voracity, its utility or the reverse, its nesting, its morning repasts and its evening flights, have all been observed and more or less faithfully recorded again and again ; so that its biography is better known than that of any other British bird. It would be no difficult task to compile THK ROOK. from these materials a good-sized volume, yet I doubt not that enough remains untold, or at least not sufficiently authenticated, to furnisli a fair field of inquiry to any com- petent person who would undertake to devote his whole attention to this one bird for a considerable period of time. Such a biographer should make himself master of aU that has been recorded by various authorities, and should THE ROOK. 251 then visit a large number of rookeries in all parts of the kingdom, collecting and sifting evidence, making a series of personal observations, and spreading his researches over all seasons of the year. Such an inquiry, trivial though it may seem, would not be without utihty, for the Eook, though it has many friends, has also many enemies, and, being everywhere abundant, its agency for good or evil must have serious results. The following account being imperfect from want of space, the reader who wishes to know more about this interesting bird, must refer to our standard works on Ornithology, and, above all, record and compare his own personal observations. In the early spring months Eooks subsist principally on the larvae and worms turned up by the plough, and with- out gainsay they are then exceedingly serviceable to the agriculturist, by destroying a vast quantity of noxious insects which, at this period of their growth, feed on the leaves or roots of cultivated vegetables. Experience has taught them that the ploughman either has not the power or the desire to molest them ; they therefore approach the plough with perfect fearlessness, and show much rivalry in their efforts to be first to secure the treasures just turned up. During the various processes to which the ground is subjected in preparation for the crop, they repeat their visits, spreading more widely over the field, and not only pick up the grubs which lie on the surface, but bore for such as, by certain signs best known to themselves, lie concealed. I need not say that in all these stages the wisdom of the farmer is to offer them every inducement to remain; all that they ask is to be let alone, j^ot so, however, when the seed-crop is sown. Grain, pulse, and potatoes are favourite articles of diet with them, and they will not fail to attack these as vigorously as they did the grubs a few days before. They are therefore undeniably destructive at this season, and all available means should be adopted to deter them from alighting on cultivated 252 CORVID^. ground. About tlie second week in March they desert the winter roosting places, to which they had nightly con- gregated in enormous flocks, leave off their wandering habits, and repair as if by common consent to their old breeding places. Here, with much cawing and bustling, they survey the ruins of their old nests, or select sites for new ones, being guided by their instinct to avoid all those trees the upper branches of wliich are too brittle for their purpose, either because the trees are sickly or in an in- cipient state of decay. Hence, when it has occasionally happened that a nestless tree in a rookery has been blown down, the birds have been saluted as prophets, while in reality the tree yielded to the blast before its fellows because it was unsound, the Eooks knowing nothing about the matter, except that signs of decay had set in among the upper twigs while as yet all seemed solid beneath. How the birds squabble about their nests, how they punish those thievishly disposed, how they drive away intruders from strange rookeries, how scrupulously they avoid, during building, to pick up a stick that has chanced to drop, how the male bird during incubation feeds his mate mth the most luscious grubs brought home in the baggy pouch at the base of his bill, how every time that a bird caws while perched he strains his whole body forward and expands his wings with the effort, all these things, and many more, I must pass over without further notice, leaving them to bo verified by the reader with the help of a spy-glass, or, what is far better, a good double opera-glass. I must, however, mention, in passing, the custom so generally adopted by sportsmen, of shooting the young birds as soon as they are sufficiently fledged to climb from their nests to the ad- joining twigs, or to perform their first tentative flight over the summits of the trees. It may be necessary to keep down their numbers, and Eook pie may be a dainty dish ; but I should be glad if some other means could be devised of destroying supernumeraries. I have, however, little THE EOOK. 253 doubt that Eooks during the whole of their lives associate the memory of these battues with the appearance of a man armed with a gun. Many people believe that Eooks know the smell of powder ; they have good reason to know it ; but that they are as much alarmed at the sight of a stick as a gun in the hand of a man, may be proved by any one who, chancing to pass near a flock feeding on the ground, suddenly raises a stick. They will instantly fly off, evi- dently in great alarm. While the young are being reared, the parent birds fre- quent corn-fields and meadows, where they search about for those plants which indicate the presence of a grub at the root. Such they unscrupulously uproot, and make a prize of the destroyer concealed beneath. They are much ma- ligned for this practice, but without reason ; for, admitting that they kill the plant as well as the grub, it must be borne in mind that several of the grubs on which they feed [Melolontha and Tipula) live for several years under- ground, and that, during that period, they would, if left undisturbed, have committed great ravages. I have known a large portion of a bed of lettuces destroyed by a single grub of Melolontha, having actually traced its passage un- derground from root to root, and found it devouring the roots of one which appeared as yet unhurt. Clearly, a Eook would have done me a service by uprooting the first lettuce, and capturing its destroyer. I must here advert to a peculiar characteristic of the Eook which distinguishes it specifically from the Crow. The skin surrounding the base of the bill, and covering the upper part of the throat, is, in the adult birds, de- nuded of feathers. Connected with this subject many lengthy arguments have been proposed in support of two distinct opinions : one, that the bareness above mentioned is occasioned by the repeated borings of the bird for its food ; the other, that the feathers fall ofl" naturally at the first monlt, and are never replaced. I am inclined to the 254 coRVib^. latter view, and that for two reasons : first, if it be necessary (and that is not at all clear) that the Eook, in order to supply itself with food, should have no feathers at the base of its bill, I believe that nature would not have resorted to so clumsy a contrivance, and one so annoying to the bird, as that of wearing them away bit by bit; and, secondly, the bare spot is, as far as I have observed, of the same size and shape in all birds, and at all, periods of the year, a uniformity which can scarcely be the result of digging in soils of various kinds, and at all seasons. I cannot, therefore, but think that the appearance in ques- tion is the result of a law in the natural economy of the bird, that the feathers are not rubbed off, but fall off, and that they are not renewed, because nature never intended that they should grow there permanently ; if not, wliy is tliere no similar abrasion in the Crow ? The number of lambs eaten by Crows is very small after all, and birds' eggs are not always in season, nor is carrion so very abundant ; so that, during a great portion of the year, even Crows must dig for their livelihood, and the great distinction between a Crow and a Rook is, that the former has actually no bare space at the base of his bill. But the question is still open, and the reader may make his own observations, which, in l!^atural History, as well as in many other things, are far better than other people's theories. In very dry summer weather, Rooks are put to great shifts in obtaining food. Grubs and worms descend to a great depth to get beyond the influence of the drought, and the soil is too parched and hard for digging; they then retire to the sea-shore, to marshes, fresh- water and salt, to cabbage and potato gardens, and in the last-named localities they are again disposed to become marauders. To fruit gardens they are rarely permitted to resort, or they would commit great ravages. As the season advances, ripe walnuts are a very powerful attraction, and when they have discovered a tree well supplied with fruit, a race ensues THE ROOK. ^^rirt between them and the proprietor as to which shall appro- priate the greater share, so slily do they watch for oppor- tunities, and so quick are they in gathering them and carrying them off in their beaks. In long winter frosts, or when the ground is covered with snow, they are again reduced to straits. Some resort to the sea-shore and feed on garbage of all kinds, some to turnip-fields where they dig holes in the bulbs. They have also been observed to chase and kill small birds, which, as near starvation as themselves, have been unable to fiy beyond their reach, and I have even seen a Eook catch a small fish. I must not conclude this imperfect sketch without noticing a peculiar habit of Eooks, which is said to portend rain. A flock will suddenly rise into the air almost per- pendicularly, with great cawing and curious antics, until they have reached a great elevation, and then, having attained their object, whatever that may be, drop with their wings almost folded till witliin a short distance of the ground, when they recover their propriety, and alight either on trees or on the ground with their customary grave demeanour. Occasionally in autumn, as White of Selborne remarks, Sooth'd by the genial warmth, the cawing Rook Anticipates the spring, selects her mate, Haunts her tall nests, and with sedulous care Repairs her wicker eyrie, tempest torn. Similar instances of this unseasonable pairing are recorded by modern ornithologists. Efforts are sometimes made, and not always unsuccess- fully, to induce Eooks to establish a colony in a new locality. One plan is to place some eggs taken from a Eook's nest in that of some large bird which has happened to build in the desired spot, that of a Crow for instance, a Magpie, Jackdaw, Jay, or perhaps a Missel- thrush. If the young are reared, it is probable that they will return to 256 coRviD.s. breed Id the same place in the following year. Another plan which has been tried with success is to place several bundles of sticks, arranged in the form of nests, among the highest branches of the trees which it is desired to colonize. Stray Rooks in quest of a settlement, mistaking these for ruins of old nests, accept the invitation and establish themselves if the locality suits them in other respects. THE JACKDAW. CORVUS MON^DULA. Crown of the head and upper parts black, with violet reflections ; back of the head and nape grey ; lower parts duller black ; iris white ; beak and feet black. Length thirteen inches; breadth twenty-seven inches. Eggs very light blue, with scattered spots of ash-colour and dark brown This lively and active bird, inferior in size as well as dignity to the Eook, yet in many respects resembles it so closely that it might be fabled to have made the Eook its model, and to have exercised its imitative powers in the effort to become the object of its admiration. A vain effort, however ; for nature has given to it a slender form, a shriller voice, a partially grey mantle, and an instinct which compels it to be secretive even in the placing of its nest. Its note, which may be represented either by the syllable "jack" or "daw," according to the fancy of the human imitator, sounds like an imper- tinent attempt to burlesque the full "caw" of the Eook ; it affects to be admitted into the society of that bird on equal terms ; but whether encouraged as a friend, or tolerated as a parasite whom it is less troublesome to treat with indiffererice than to chase away, is difficult to decide. Most probably the latter ; for although it is common enough to see a party of Jackdaws dancing attendance on a flock of Eooks, accompanying them to their feeding-grounds, and nestling in hollow trunks of THE JACKDAW. 257 trees in close proximity to rookeries, they are neither courted nor persecuted; they come when they like and go away when they please. On the other hand, no one, I believe, ever saw a flock of Eooks making the first advances towards an intimacy with a flock of Jackdaws, or heard of their condescending to colonize a grove, because their grey-headed relatives were located in the neighbour- hood. . On the sea- coast, where Rooks are only casual THE JACKDAW. visitors, the Jackdaw has no opportunity of hanging liiniself on as an appendage to a rookery, but even here he must be a client. With the choice of a long range of cliff before him, he avoids that which he might have all to himself, and selects a portion which, either because it is sheltered from storms, or inaccessible by climbers, has been already appropriated by Sea-mews. The object of the Jackdaw in making church-towers its s 258 COKVTD^. resort is pretty evident. Where there is a church there is at least also a village, and where men and domestic animals congregate, there the Jackdaw fails not to find food ; grubs in the fields, fruit in the orchards, and garbage of all kinds in the waste ground. Here, too, it has a field for exercising its singular acquisitiveness. Wonderful is the variety of objects which it accumulates in its museum of a nest, which, professedly a complication of sticks, may comprise also a few dozen labels stolen from a Botanic Garden, an old tooth-brush, a child's cap, part of a worsted stocking, a frill, &c. Waterton,* who strongly defends it from the charge of molesting either the eggs or young of pigeons, professes himself unable to account for its pertinacious habit of collecting sticks for a nest placed where no such support is seemingly necessary, and, cunning though it is, comments on its want of adroitness in introducing sticks into its hole : " You may see the Jackdaw," he says, "trying for a quarter of an hour to get a stick into the hole, while every attempt will be futile, because, the bird having laid hold of it by the middle, it is necessarily thrown at right angles with the body, and the Daw cannot perceive that the stick ought to be nearly parallel with its body before it can be conveyed into the hole. Fatigued at length with repeated efibrts, and completely foiled in its numberless attempts to introduce the stick, it lets it fall to the ground, and immediately goes in quest of another, probably to ex- perience another disappointment on its return. When time and chance have enabled it to place a quantity of sticks at the bottom of the hole, it then goes to seek for materials of a more pliant and a softer nature," These are usually straw, wool, and feathers ; but, as we have seen, nothing comes amiss that catches its fancy. In addition to rocks, towers, and hollow trees, it sometimes places its nest in chimneys or in rabbit-burrows, but * ''Essays on Natural History," First Series, p. 109. I, i •if I ii r THE MAGPIE. 261 joined, moreover, to an unscrupulous habit of purloining everything that takes its roving fancy. Even when sur- rounded by plenty and pampered with delicacies it prefers a stolen morsel to what is legally its own. Little wonder then that when it has to hunt on its own account for the necessaries of life, "and is stimulated besides by the cravings of its hungry brood, it has gained an unenviable notoriety as a prowling bandit. In the harrying of birds' nests no schoolboy can compete with it ; Partridges and Pheasants are watched to their retreat and plundered mer- cilessly of their eggs and young ; the smaller birds are treated in lilve manner ; hares and rabbits, if they suffer themselves to be surprised, have their eyes picked out and are torn to pieces ; rats, mice, and frogs are a lawful prey ; carrion, offal of all kinds, snails, worms, grubs, and cater- pillars, each in turn pleasantly vary the diet ; and, when in season, grain and fruit are attacked with as much audacity as is consistent with safety ; and might, whenever available, gives a right to stray chickens and ducklings. The young birds, nurtured in an impregnable stronghold, and familiarized from their earliest days with plunder, having no song to learn save the note of caution and alarm when danger is near, soon become adepts in the arts of their parents, and, before their first moult, are a set of inquisitive chattering marauders, wise enough to keep near the haunts of men because food is there most abundant, cautious never to come within reach of the fowling piece, and cunning enough to carry off" the call-bird from the net without falling themselves into the snare. Even in capti- vity, with all their drollery, they are unamiable. Magpies, though generally distributed, are far more numerous in some districts than others. In Cornwall they are very abundant ; hence I have heard them called Cornish Pheasants. In Ireland they are said to be of comparatively recent introduction.* It is stated that they are in France * See Yan-ell's "British Birds," vol. ii. p. 113. 262 coEVib^. more abundant than in any other country of Europe, where they principally build their nests in poplar-trees, having discovered, it is said, "that the brittle nature of the boughs of this tree is an additional protection against climbers ! " " In Norway," says a writer in the Zoologist^^ " this bird, usually so shy in this country, and so difficult to approach within gunshot, seems to have entirely changed its nature : it is there the most domestic and fearless bird ; its nest is invariably placed in a small tree or bush adjoining some farm or cottage, and not unfrequently in the very midst of some straggling village. If there happens to be a suitable tree by the roadside and near a house, it is a very favour- able locality for a Norwegian Magpie's nest. I have often wondered to see the confidence and fearlessness displayed by this bird in Norway ; he will only just move out of your horse's way as you drive by him on the road, and should he be perched on a rail by the roadside he will only stare at you as you rattle by, but never think of moving off. It is very pleasant to see this absence of fear of man in Norwegian birds ; a Norwegian would never think of terrifying a bird for the sake of sport ; whilst, I fear, to see such a bird as the Magpie sitting quietly on a rail within a few feet, would be to an English boy a temp- tation for assault which he could not resist. I must add, however, with regard to Magpies, that there is a super- stitious prejudice for them current throughout Norway : they are considered harbingers of good luck, and are con- sequently always invited to preside over the house ; and, when they have taken up their abode in the nearest tree, are defended from all ill ; and he who should maltreat the Magpie has perhaps driven off the genius loci, and so may expect the most furious anger of the neighbouring dwelling, whose good fortune he has thus violently dispersed." Faith in the prophetic powers of the Magpie even yet lingers in many of the rural districts of England also. * Vol. viii. p. 3085. THE JAY. GARRULUS GLANDARIUS. Feathers of the crest greyish white, streaked with black ; a black moustache from the corners of the beak ; general plumage reddish grey, darker above ; primaries dingy black ; secondaries velvet-black and pure white ; inner tertials rich chestnut ; winglet and greater coverts barred with black, white, and bright blue ; upper and under tail-coverts pure white ; iris bright blue ; beak black ; feet livid brown. Length thirteen and a half inches ; breadth twenty- two inches. Eggs dull green, minutely and thickly speckled with olive-brown. There exists among gamekeepers a custom of selecting a certain spot in preserved woods, and tliere suspending, as trophies of their skill and watchfulness, the bodies of such destructive animals as they have killed in the pursuit of their calling. They are generally those of a few stoats or weasels, a Hawk, a Magpie, a cat, and two or three Jays. All these animals are judged to be destructive to game, and are accordingly hunted to the death, the Jay, perhaps, with less reason than the rest, for though it can hardly resist the temptation of plundering, either of eggs or young, any nest, wliether of Partridge or Pheasant, that 264 CORVID^. falls in its way, yet it does not subsist entirely upon animal food, but also upon acorns and various other wild fruits. The prevailing fashion among ladies of wearing in their hats the wings of ornamental birds, has given a stimulus to the ardour with which Jays are sought out. Nevertheless, owing to their cautious and wary habits, there are few wooded districts in which they are not more or less numerous. Their jarring unconnected note, which characterizes them at all seasons, is in spring and summer varied by their song proper, in which I have never been able to detect anything more melodious than an accurate imitation of the noise made by sawyers at work, though Montagu states that "it will, sometimes, in the spring utter a sort of song in a soft and pleasing manner, but so low as not to be heard at any distance ; and at intervals introduces the bleating of a lamb, mewing of a cat, the note of a Kite or Buzzard, hooting of an Owl, or even neighing of a horse. These imitations are so exact, even in a natural wild state, that we have frequently been deceived." The Jay generally builds its nest in a wood, either in the top of a low tree, or against the trunk of a lofty one, employing as material small sticks, roots, and dry grass, and lays five eggs. There seems to be a difference of opinion as to the sociability of the family party after the young are fledged, some writers stating that they separate by mutual consent, and that each shifts for itself; others, that the young brood remains with the old birds all the winter. For my own part, I scarcely recollect ever having seen a solitary Jay, or to have heard a note which was not immediately responded to by another bird of the same species, the inference from which is that, though not gregarious, they are at least social. When domesticated, the Jay displays considerable in- teUigence ; it is capable of attachment, and learns to distinguish the hand and voice of its benefactor, accom- THE JAY. 265 panying liim in Ms walks, making occasionally short ex- cursions on its own account, but returning home to roost. Education, however, does not alter its tliievisli nature, which appears in its fondness for purloining and secreting pens, knitting needles, and trinkets of all kinds. It will learn to imitate any noise that it hears frequently, the bark of a dog, the neigh of a horse, the call of chickens to be fed, and even a tune on a flageolet, modulating its harsh cry into a soft whistling. It may be taught, too, to imitate the human voice, and will catch, not merely the words, but the tone of voice in which they are uttered, holding an imaginary conversation between a child and an adult. There is little difference between the plumage of the male and female birds, both being equally marked by the brilliant blue of the wing-coverts. The male nestling may be distinguished from the female, so it is said, by having five or six of the feathers of the crest darker than in the other sex ; such a bird should therefore be selected for rearing in captivity. THE II^UTCRACKER. NUCIPRAGA CARYOCATACTES. Plumage sooty bro\vii, spotted on the back and under parts with white ; tail black, barred with white at the extremity ; beak and feet horn-colour ; iris brown. Length thirteen inches. Eggs light bufif, with a few greyish brown spots. The Nutcracker Crow must not be confounded with the Nuthatch ; the latter is a familiarly known little bird, whose skill in reaching the contents of hazel-nuts wiU come under our notice hereafter; the former is a large bird, as big as a Jay, which is only an occasional visitor in this country, and whose habits partake of those of the Crows and Woodpeckers. The propriety of its name is 266 MEROPID^. questionable, according to Yarrell, who says that " it can- not crack nuts." Here perhaps there may be some little mistake. Its name is evidently a translation of the French Casse-noix. In England we mean by " nuts " fil- berts or hazel-nuts ; but the French word noix is applied exclusively to walnuts, our nuts being noisettes, or "little nuts ;" and French authors are agreed that its food consists of insects, fruits, and walnuts ; that is, the ordinary diet of its relative, the Eook, whose fondness for walnuts is notorious.* It lays its eggs in the holes of trees, and. except in the breeding season, is more or less gregarious in its habits. THE EOLLEE. COKACIAS GARRULA. Head, neck, and under parts tinged with various shades of light blue, varied with green ; back and scapulars reddish brown ; tail blue, green, and black. Length twelve inches and a half. Eggs smooth shining white. About twenty specimens in all of this bird have been observed in England, the one of most recent occurrence being, I believe, one which was shot close to my garden, on the 20th of September, 1852. The winter home of the EoUer is Africa, and it is said to be particularly abundant in Algeria. About the middle of April it crosses the Mediterranean, and seems to j)refer the north of Europe to the south as a summer residence, being more abundant in Germany and the south of Eussia than in France, though many proceed no further than Sicily and Greece. Its food consists mainly of caterpillars and other insects. The name Eoller, being derived directly from the French Rollier, should be pronounced so as to rhyme with "dollar." * The Latin nux, and Greek Kapvov, from which the systematic names of the bird are derived, point also to the walnut. 267 THE BEE-EATER MEROPS APIASTER. Forehead white, passing into bluish green ; npper plumage chestnut ; throat golden yellow, bounded by a black line ; wings variegated with blue, brown, and green; tail greenish blue. Length eleven inches. Eggs glossy white. This bird, whicli in brilliancy of plumage vies with the Humming-birds, possesses little claim to be ranked among soberly clad British birds. Stray parties are indeed met with from time to time, but at distant intervals. In the islands of the Mediterranean, and in the southern countries of Europe, they are common summer visitors, and in Asia Minor and the south of Eussia they are yet more frequent. They are gregarious in habits, having been observed, both in Europe, their summer, and in Africa, their Avinter resi- dence, to perch together on the branches of trees in small flocks. They also build their nests near each other. These are .excavations in the banks of rivers, variously stated to be extended to the depth of from six inches to as many feet. Then flight is graceful and light, resembling that of the Swallows. Their food consists of winged insects, especially bees and wasps, which they not only catch when they are wandering at large through the air, but watch for near their nests. The inhabitants of Candia and Cyprus are said to catch them by the help of a light silk line, to which is attached by a fish-hook a wild bee. The latter in its endeavour to escape soars into the air, and the Bee-eater seizing it becomes the prey of the aerial fisherman. THE KINGFISHER ALCJ^DO ISPIDA. Back azure-blue ; head and wing-coverts bluish green, spotted with azure-blue ; under and behind the ej^e a reddish band passing into white, and beneath this a band of azure-green ; wings and taU greenish blue ; throat white ; under plumage rusty orange-red. Length seven inches and a quarter, width ten inches. Eggs glossy white, nearly round. Halcyon days, every one knows, are days of peace and tranquillity, when all goes smoothly, and nothing occurs to ruffle the equanimity of the most irascible member of a household ; but it may not be known to all my younger readers that a bird is in any way concerned in bringing about this happy state of things. According to the ancient naturalists the Halcyon, our Kingfisher, being especially fond of the water and its products, chooses to have even a floating nest. ISTow the surface of the sea is an unfit place whereon to construct a vessel of any kind, so the THE KINGFISHER. 269 Halcyon, as any otlier skilful artisan would, puts together on land first the framework, and then the supplementary portion of its nest, the materials being shelly matter and spines, Avhence derived is unknown ; though some main- tain that the principal substance employed is fishbones. During the progress of the work the careful bird several times tests its buoyancy by actual experiment, and when satisfied that all is safe, launches its future nursery on the ocean. However turbulent might have been the con- dition of the water previously to this event, thenceforth a (3alm ensued, which lasted during the period of incubation \ and these were " Halcyon days " (Halcyonides dies), which set in seven days before the winter solstice, and lasted as many days after. What became of the young after the lapse of this period is not stated, but the deserted nest itself, called halcyoneum, identical, perhaps, with what we consider the shell of the echinus, or sea-urchin, was deemed a valuable medicine.* The real nest of the Kingfisher is a collection of small fish-bones, which have evidently been disgorged by the old birds. A portion of one which I have in my posses- sion, and which was taken about twenty years since from a deep hole in an embankment at Deepdale, Norfolk, con- sists exclusively of small fish-bones and scraps of the shells of shrimps. A precisely similar one is preserved in the British Museum, which is well Avorthy the inspection of the curious. It was fomid by Mr. Gould in a hole three feet deep on the banks of the Thames; it was half an inch thick and about the size of a tea saucer, and weighed 700 grains. Mr. Gould was enabled to prove that this mass was deposited, as well as eight eggs laid, in the short space of twenty-one days. In neither case was there any attempt made by the bird to employ the bones as materials for a structure ; they were simply spread on the soil in such a way as to protect the eggs from damp, possessing * Plin. Nat. Hi.st. lib. x. cap. 32. xxxii. cap. 8. 270 ALCEDINID^. probably no properties which made them superior to bents or dry leaves, but serving the purpose as well as anything else, and being more readily available, by a bird that does not peck on the ground, than materials of any other kind. The wanderer by the river's side on a bright sunny day, at any season, may have his attention suddenly arrested by the sight of a bird shooting past him, either up or down the stream, at so slight an elevation above the water, that he can look down on its back. Its flight is rapid, and the colour of the plumage so brilliant, that he can compare it to nothing less dazzlingly bright than the richest feathers of the peacock, or a newly dug specimen of copper ore. After an interval of a few seconds it will perhaps be followed by a second, its mate, arrayed in attire equally gorgeous with emerald, azure, and gold. Following the coui'se of the bird, let him approach cautiously any pools where small fish are likely to abound, and he may chance to descry, perched motion- less on the lower branch of an alder overhanging the stream, on some bending willow, or lichen-covered rail, the bird which but now glanced by him like a meteor. If exposed to the rays of the sun, the metallic green of its upper plumage is still most conspicuous ; if in the shade, or surrounded by leaves, its orange coloured breast betrays its position. Not a step further in advance, or the fisherman, intent as he is on his sport, will take alarm and be off to another station. With beak pointed down- wards it is watching until one among a shoal of minnows or bleaks comes within a fair aim ; then with a twinkle of the wing it dashes head foremost from its post, plunges into the stream, disappears for a second, and emerges still head foremost with its struggling booty. A few pinches with its powerful beak, or a blow against its perch, deprives its prey of life, and the morsel is swallowed entire, head foremost. Occasionally, where convenient perches are rare. THE KINGFISHER 271 as is the case with the little pools left by the tide on the sea-shore (for the Kingfisher is common on the banks of tidal rivers as well as on inland streams and lakes), it hovers like a Kestrel, and plunges after small fish, shrimps, and marine insects. It once happened to me that I was angling by a river's side, quite concealed from view by a willow on either side of me, when a Kingfisher flew down the stream, and perched on my rod. I remained perfectly still, but was detected before an opportunity had been afforded me of 'taking a lesson from my brother sportsman. The Kingfisher is a permanent resident in this country, and may be observed, at any season, wherever there is a river, canal, or lake, those streams being preferred the banks of which are lined with trees or bushes. Like most other birds of brilliant plumage, it is no vocalist; its only note being a wild piping cry which it utters while on the wing. THE SWALLOW. HIRUNDO RUSTIC A. Foretead and throat chestnut-brown ; upper parts, sides of the neck, and a bar across the breast black, with violet reflections ; lower parts dull reddish white ; tail very long and forked. Fema.Ie—v>'ith less red on the forehead and less black on the breast ; under parts whiter ; outer taU-feathers shorter. Length six inches and a half, width thirteen inches and a quarter. Eggs white, spotted with brown and dark red. There are many features in the life of the Swallow so prominent, that no undomesticated bird is more thoroughly known. Like the Sparrow, it accompanies man wherever he fixes his dwelling ; but, unlike the Sparrow, it is liable to be mistaken for no other bii'd; its flight is peculiar and all but ceaseless; at least, it is rarely seen except in motion; and it is absent during the greater portion of the year, so giving to itself a 272 IllKUNDINID^:. twofold notoriety, being regretted at the season of its departure, and welcomed at its return. These three circum- stances, its migratory habits, its mode of flight, and attach- ment to the dwellings of man, have been the cause why, in all ages, it has been invested with especial interest. Its re- turn is universally greeted as prophetic of summer weather ; the very proverb that " one Swallow does not make a summer," only indicates a popular belief; and its depar- THK SWALLUW. ture is among the first intimations of approaching winter. The Swallow consequently is the type of migratory birds ; if the Swallow is come, all take it for granted that the other sununer birds have arrived, and when its twitter is no longer heard, we know that all the other birds of pas- sage are gone or going. Of the Swallow, therefore, it is said pre-eminently, " God sends us the Swallow in the first days of summer, to relieve us of the insects which the summer THE SWALLOW. 273 suns are calling into life. The home of the Swallow is all the habitable earth; it knows nothing of winter or winter's cold ; its whole life is a continued festivity, and its song an eternal hjonn in praise of summer and liberty." In remote ages the Swallow was considered to be endowed with supernatural intelligence ; it refused to build its nest in a certain town because it was polluted with crime ; in another, because it had been frequently burnt down ; it foretold tempests ; and, above all, it was noted for having taught men the healing properties of a certain herb,* by employing it to give sight to its young. l!^ot only was it thus skilled in the healing art, but was in itself a medi- cine of no ordinary virtue. Even in the time of our countryman Eay, not two hundred years ago, its efficacy in various complaints was seriously believed : the whole body burnt, was considered a specific for weak eyes, quinsy, and inflamed uvula ; the heart was prescribed in epilepsy and in quartan ague, it was good also for strengthening the memory ; the blood was good for the eyes, especially if drawn from under the right wing ; a little stone some- times found in the stomach of young birds, called cheli- donius, tied to the arm, or hung around the neck, was a remedy against children's fits. This was to be searched for before or at the August full moon, in the eldest of a brood. Even the nest had its virtues, being, if applied externally, good for quinsy, redness of the eyes, and the bite of a viper. A century later "good old White," as Mr. Bell hap- pily calls him, published his account of the Swallow, to which the reader is referred as an admirable model of bird-biography, not only for the age, but as an authentic history full of fresh interest to the reader in all ages. The only point on which White had doubts was whether Swallows all migrate, or whether some of the * Chelidonium : Celandine or Swallow-woi-t, from xe^'Swi^, " a Swallow." 274? HlKUNDINIBuE. young do npt occasionally stay beliind, and hibernate in hollow trees, holes of rocks, and the banks of pools and rivers. Mr. Bell considers the question as settled in the affirmative, namely, that they do all migrate; and such, no doubt, is the rule ; but with all respect for so high an authority, I am inclined to the opinion that individuals occasionally remain, perhaps in consequence of having been disabled by accident at the season when the migratory instiQct was in its active force, or from some other cause unknown to us. Such stragglers would, if the succeeding winter proved severe, perish of hunger (that they become torpid I cannot suppose), but if it turned out to be mild they might survive till the following spring. This sup- position will account for the appearance of Swallows late on in winter; several instances of which have been recorded by authors who, whether accurate observers or not, certainly believed that they were reporting truly. That they were seen only on warm days is of course no evidence that they had been roused from a state of torpor by the unusual warmth. Sunny days in winter tempt people to walk abroad and to resort to the same places which winter-gnats would choose for their gambols. Here, too, the stray Swallow would be found ; but in dark stormy weather the gnats and the Swallow would stay at home, and the ornithologist would have little temptation to do otherwise. I happen to be myself among the number of those who on personal evidence believe that individual Swallows do remain in England long after the period of general migration. I was walking through a limestone quarry at Saltram on the bank of the Plym, in Devonshire, many years ago, on the 24th December, when I saw a Swallow, whether a Chimney Swallow or Martin, I cannot positively affirm, wheeling about, and evidently hawking for gnats near the face of the cliff. The season was a mild one, the air still, and the sun shining brightly against the limestone rocks, from which much heat was reflected. That the bird had been THE SWALLOW. 275 kept in captivity until the migratory season had passed, and then released, is certainly possible, but not probable. On any other supposition it must have remained either of its o^v^l free will, which is not likely, or from incapacity to accompany its congeners. Left alone it probably found a sheltered retreat in the face of the cliff, and sallied forth whenever the weather was inviting, making the most of the short days, and, on the finest, contenting itself with a scanty meal. The temperature of the west of England in winter it is quite able to bear ; in fact, it is not uncommon there for a whole winter to pass without any weather so severe as that which has characterized the whole of the present April (1860), though Swallows have returned, and contrive to find food enough to keep themselves alive. If therefore the bird which I saw managed to live on till Christmas Eve, there is no reason why it should not survive the whole of the winter. But as " one Swallow does not make a spring," so neither is one sufficient to upset a theory. There remains therefore the rule with the one exception to prove it, that Swallows do migrate. I have devoted to this question more space than the subject would seem to require, on the ground that th/e reader will find in White's " Selborne " a far more enter- taining and accurate description of the Swallow and its habits than I could hope to give, unless I were to tran- scribe what that author has said, A full account of all that has since been learnt of its history will be found, and no less pleasantly told, in Yarrell's "British Birds." For the sake of reference only I will add a short summary of what I may term its statistics. The Swallow is a migratory bird wherever it is found, that is in most of the countries of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The first Swallows arrive in this country about the 11th of April, and are followed by others at various intervals, until the middle or end of May. On their arrival, they resort to those places which, being most sheltered, abound most in winged insects, these being t2 276 HIEUNDINIDJ3. frequently the courses of rivers and canals. As the season advances, they spread themselves more generally over the country, still, however, being most numerous in the vicinity of water. In May they build their shallow open nests of mud and straw lined with feathers, a few feet down a chimney, in an outhouse, a bell-tower, the shaft of a de- serted mine, or any other place which is at once dry and dark, rarely in more exposed places. They lay four or five eggs, and rear two or three broods in a season. The young being, from the usual situation of the nest, unable to leave their nursery until they are fully fledged, require to be fed a long time, but they continue to be, partially at least, dependent on the parent birds for many days after they have learnt to hawk for themselves. The process of feeding is carried on while both old and young are on the wing; or the young, perched on the top of a house or the branch of a tree, receive in turn the morsels which their more skilful parents have caught for them. In autumn, many days before migration is actually about to take place, Swallows, old and young, assemble in large flocks, especi- ally towards evening, and roost on trees in the vicinity of water. At this season they seem to be more socially dis- posed, even during the day, than at any other period of their sojourn with us. In October they take their departure collectively, and so strongly is the migratory instinct then in force, that it overcomes parental affection, powerful though this feeling is in the Swallow ; some of the late broods beine; left behind. THE HOUSE MAETLN". HIRUNDO LRBICA. Head, nape and upper part of the back, black with \iolet reflections ; lower part of the back, and all the under parts, pure white ; feet and toes covered with downy feathers ; tail forked, moderate. Length five inches and a half. Eggs pure wWte. EoR a detailed history of the House-Martin or Window- Swallow, and its habits, I cannot do better than again refer my readers to White's " Selborne," which contains so admirable an account of the Swallow. The two birds indeed are so much alike in their leading habits, namely, migration, mode of flight, and food, that a descrip- tion of either will in many respects be apphcable to the other. The House-Martin generally arrives a few days after the Swallow, and resorts to similar localities. In the early part of the season the most sheltered places 278 HIRUNDINID^. are sought out, and the two species may frequently be seen hawking for flies in company. Later in the season its numbers are observed to be greatly increased, and it is joined by the Swift and Sand-Martin. N"ot that any society is entered into by the different species, or that they even sport together : but one may often stand on the bank of a canal, or by the margin of a pond, and see all four kinds glance by in varied succession, and in propor- tions which differ according as one or the other is most abundant in the neighbourhood. Acute listeners can, it is said, hear a snapping noise made by the bird as it closes its beak on a captured insect, but I must confess that though I have often tried to detect this sound, I have never succeeded. Swift as their passage is, and similar though the flight of all the species, no difficulty is found in distinguishing them. The Chimney-Swallow is suffi- ciently marked by its long forked tail and red chin ; the House-Martin by the snow-white hue of its abdomen and lower part of the back, and by its shorter tail, which is also forked : the Sand-Martin by its smaller size, its greyish brown back and dirty-white under plumage, as well as by its shorter, slightly forked tail : and the Swift can be distinguished at any distance by its shape, which resembles a bent bow, with the body representing an arrow ready to be shot. On a nearer view, the Swift is marked by its general black hue relieved only by a spot of white on the chin, which it requires a sharp eye to detect. All the species have the power of suddenly, and with the greatest rapidity, altering their course by a slight movement of the wings and tail. Immediately on its arrival in this country, the Martin pays a visit to its old dwelling, clings to its walls, peeps in or even enters, many times a day. One might fancy that there throbbed withi]^ its snowy bosom some pulse akin to that which kindles in the human traveller a longing for home and the. familiar haunts of his early days. It has THE HOUSE MARTIN. 279 been proved by several experiments, that the same birds return year after year to their old nests, and it is hard to believe, so thoroughly delighted do they seem, that they are guided simply by an impassive instinct. If so, why should they hang about the "old house at home" so many days before they begin to set in order again the future nursery? ISTo elaborate plans of alterations and improve- ments are to be devised; last year's family are launched on the world, and are quite equal to building for their own accommodation. No collecting of materials is requisite. The muddy edge of the nearest pond will provide plaster enough and to spare to carry out all necessary repairs : shreds of straw are to be had for the picking up, and farm- yard feathers are as plentiful as of yore. It would seem then a reasonable conclusion, that a bird endowed mth an instinct powerful enough to guide it across the ocean, and a memory sufficiently powerful to lead it to the snug window corner of the same cottage where it reared its first biood, may live in the past as well as the present, and that its seeming joyousness is a reality, even mixed perhaps with hopeful anticipations of the future. As the reader may, if he will, have ample opportunity of watching the habits of a bird that probably builds its nest under the eaves of liis own house, whether he dwell in a town, a village, or a lonely cottage, it is unnecessary to enter into further details of its biography. I must, however, say a few words on the often repeated story of the entombment of the Sparrow who had unfairly appropriated the nest of a Martin. The intruder, so say the authorities (and several instances are recorded), having successfully resisted the endeavours of a dozen or twenty Martins to dislodge him, was walled up with plaster by the aggrieved party, who made common cause against him, and was~ sub- sequently taken out dead by the person who observed the incident. Some of the earlier naturalists relate instances of this without expressing any doubt of its accuracy ; some 280 HIRUNDINID^. modern naturalists agree with them ; others, and I must confess that I am among them, suspect a flaw in the evidence. Macgillivray's witnesses, "on whose veracity he depended," and I doubt not with sufficient reason — "a tackle-maker, a slater, a nailor, a miller, the engineer of the mill, and a grazier" — were I make no question trust- worthy men in all matters connected with the ordinary business of life, and in this case asserted what they believed they had seen; but they were none of them naturalists, and no one but a student of nature is aware of the exact precision required both in observing and recording a passage in the life of an animal. In a case of this kind extraordinary precaution is requisite, for if it be true, the theory that man is the only reasoning animal, tumbles to the ground. Here we have in a bird — and if in one why not in all? — an application of the natural laws of property; a sense of injury; a conspiracy among the kindred tribe; an attempt to recover a right, out of which, on its failure, springs a spirit of revenge. Then must come a consultation, or, what is even more wonderful, an instinctive spontaneous agreement as to the proper mode of taking revenge ; and to crown the whole, a knowledge of the natural effect of plas- tering up an enemy in a cave without air, that is, that death would ensue ; and what can an animal devoid of reason know about death 1 It is necessary then I think either to con- sider the evidence insufficient, or, admitting the accuracy as well as the veracity of the observers, to break down the waU which separates instinct from reason. I prefer the former alternative. .i A 11 THE COMMOII SWIFL CYPSELUS APUS. General plumage sooty brown ; chin greyisli white ; tarsi feathered ; bill, feet, and claws, shining black, Length eight inches, width seventeen inches. Eggs pure white. The Swift is, perhaps, the strongest and swiftest, not merely of the Swallow tribe, but of all birds ; hence a voyage from Southern Africa* to England is performed without overtaxing its strength. It stands in need of no rest after this prodigious flight, but immediately on its arrival starts with a right good will on its pursuit of food, as if its journey had been but a pleasant course of training for its daily vocation. With respect to temperature, how- ever, its powers of endurance are limited ; it never proceeds far northwards, and occasionally even suffers from un- seasonably severe w^eather in the temperate climates where it fixes its summer residence. Mr. F. Smith, of the British ^- Livingstone mentions his having seen in the plains north of Kuruman a flock of Swifts, computed to contain upwards of 4000 individuals. 286 HIRUNDINID^.. Museum, relates in the Zoologist,'^ that, at Deal, on the 8th of July, 1856, after a mild but wet day the temperature suddenly fell till it became disagreeably cold. The Swifts were sensibly affected by the atmospheric change ; they flew unsteadily, fluttered against the walls of the houses, and some even Hew into open windows. " Whilst observing these occurrences," he says, "a girl came to the door to ask me if I wanted to buy a bat ; she had heard, she told me, that I bought all kinds of bugs, and her mother thought I might want a bat. On her producing it, I was astonished to find it was a poor benumbed Swift. The girl told me they were dropping down in the streets, and the boys were killing all the bats ; the church, she said, was covered with them. Off I started to witness this strange sight and slaughter. True enough ; the children were charging them everywhere, and on arriving at the church in Lower-street I was astonished to see the poor birds hanging in clusters from the eaves and cornices ; some clusters were at least two feet in length, and, at intervals, benumbed individuals dropped from the outside of the clusters. Many hundreds of the poor birds fell victims to the ruthless ignorance of the children." Being so sus- ceptible of cold, the Swift does not visit us until summer may be considered to have completely set in. Instances are on record of its having been seen towards the end of April, but it generally brings up the rear of the migratory birds by making its first appearance in the first or second week in May. I must once more refer my readers to White's " Selborne'^ for a full biography oi" the bird ; at least for as much of it as is comprised within the twelve or thirteen weeks of its sojourn with us ; for early in August it makes itself, for a few days, more than ever conspicuous by its wheeling flights around the buildings which contain its nest, and then suddenly disappears. At this period, too, its note is more frequently heard than during any other * September, 1856, p. 5249. THE COMMON SWIFT. 287 part of its visit, and in this respect it is peculiar. As a general rule, birds cease their song partially, if not entirely, when their eggs are hatched. The new care of providing for the wants of a brood occupies their time too much to allow leisure for musical performance, so that with the exception of their call notes, and their cries of alarm or defiance, they are for a season mute. Few of our songsters, indeed, except the Redbreast and Wren, resume their song till the following spring ; but the Swift, who is virtually without feet (as the name apus denotes), neither perches on the ground in quest of food, nor on a tree for rest. An early riser, and late in retiring to roost, he is always on the wing. Thus, whether hunting on his own account, or on behalf of his mate and nestlings, his employment is unvaried, and the same amount of time is always at his disposal for exercising his vocal powers. These are not great ; he has no roundelay ; he neither warbles nor carols ; he does not even twitter. His whole melody is a scream, unmusical but most joyous ; a squeak would be a better name, but that, instead of conveying a notion that it results from pain, it is full of roUicldng delight. Some compare it to the noise made by the sharpening of a saw ; to me it seems such an expression of pent-up joy as little children would make if unexpectedly released from school, furnished with wings, and flung up into the air for a game of hide-and-seek among the clouds. Such soarings aloft, such chasings round the pinnacles of the church- tower and the gables of the farm houses, no wonder that they cannot contain themselves for joy. Every day brings its pic-nic or village feast, with no weariness or depression on the morrow. The nest of the Swift is constructed of any scraps that the bird may chance to find floating in the air, for it literally never perches on the ground, where it could not stand, and whence it could not rise. These are rudely pressed together in any convenient aperture or moulding 288 CAPRIMULGID^l in a building, and apparently cemented together by some glutinous secretion from the bird's mouth. Two or some- times more eggs are laid, and the young, as a matter of necessity, remain in the nest until quite fledged. Another name for the Swift is Black Martin, and in heraldry it is familiarly known as the Martlet, the figure of which is a device of frequent occurrence in heraldic coats of arms, and denotes that the original wearer of the dis- tinction served as a crusader pilgrim. In Arabia it is still known by the name of Hadji, or Pilgrim, to denote its migratory habits. THE ALPINE SWIFT. CYPSELUS ALPINUS. General plumage greyish brown ; throat and middle of the abdomen pure white; tarsi feathered. Length nearly nine inches. Eggs pure white. The Alpine or White-bellied Swift is, like the other species, a bird of passage, but it rarely visits this country — so rarely, indeed, that every appearance is duly chro- nicled as a remarkable incident. Its usual summer resort is the mountainous parts of the continent of Europe, w^here, except that it builds its nest for the most part in cliffs, its habits are the same as those of the common species. THE NIGHTJAR. CAPJRIMULGUS EUROP^US. General plumage ash-grey, spotted and barred with black, brown and reddish brown; first three primaries with a large white patch on the inner web ; two outer tail-feathers on each side tipped with white. Length ten inches and a quarter, breadth twenty-two inches. Eggs whitish, beautifully marbled with brown and ash. This bird, we are told by the old natm-ahsts, is a nocturnal robber who finds his way into the goat-pens, sucks the dugs of the goats, poisoning them to such an extent that THE NIGHTJAK. 289 the animals themselves are blinded, and their udders waste away. This fable it is necessary to notice in order to account for the strange name Goatsucker, by which it is still popularly known better than by any other. The bird itself is perfectly inoffensive, singular in form and habits, though rarely seen alive near enough for its peculiarities of form and colour to be observed. Its note, however, is familiar enough to persons who are in the habit of being \\'si'^ k4u!>! ."^^^^^^^v-'^-^iv THE NIGHTJAR. out late at night in such parts of the country as it frequents. The silence of the evening or midnight walli in June is occasionally broken by a deep whirring noise, which seemingly proceeds from the lower bough of a tree, a hedge, or paling. Having in it nothing of a chirp, warble, or whistle, it is unlike the note of a bird, or indeed any natural sounds but most resembles the humming of a u 290 CAPRIMULGID^. wheel in rapid revolution.* It is nearly monotonous but not quite so, as it occasionally rises or falls about a quarter of a note, and appears to increase and diminish in loudness. JS'or does it seem to proceed continuously from exactly the same spot, but to vary its position, as if the performer were either a ventriloquist or were actually shifting his ground. Fortunate observers have been able to creep up close enough to make out that the bird perches with its feet resting lengthwise on a branch, its claws not being adapted for grasping, and turns its head from side to side, thus throw- ing the sound as it were in various directions, and pro- ducing the same effect as if it proceeded from different places. I have repeatedly worked my way close up to the bird, but as I labour under the disadvantage of being short- sighted, and derive little assistance from glasses at night, I have always failed to observe it actually perched and sing- ing. In the summer of 1859 a Nightjar frequented the immediate neighbourhood of my own house, and I had many opportunities of listening to its note. One evening especially, it perched on a railing within fifty yards of the house, and I made sure of seeing it, but when I had approached within a few yards of the spot from whence the sound proceeded the humming suddenly stopped, but was presently again audible at the other end of the railing which ran across my meadow. I cautiously crept on, but with no better success than before. As I drew near, the bird quitted its perch, flew round me, coming within a few feet of my person, and, on my remaining still, made itself heard from another part of the railing only a few yards behind me. Again and again I dodged it, but always with the same result ; I saw it, indeed, several times, but always on the wing. At last a longer interval of silence ensued, and when I heard the sound again it proceeded from a * Mr. Bell informs me that it is so like the croak of the Natter- Jack Toad, that he has more than once doubted from which of the two the sound proceeded. THE NIGHTJAR. 291 distant hedge which separated the meadow from a common. Here probably its mate was performing the domestic duty of incubation cheered by the dismal ditty of her partner ; but I never saw her, though I undertook another nocturnal chase of the musician, hunting him from tree to tree, but never being able to discover his exact position, until the cessation of the sound and the sudden rustling of leaves announced the fact of his having taken his departure. In the dusk of the evening the Nightjar may commonly be seen hawking for moths and beetles after the manner of the Swallow-tribe, only that the flight is less rapid and more tortuous. 1 once saw one on the common mentioned above, hawking seemingly in company with Swifts and Swallows during the bright glare of a summer afternoon ; but most frequently it spends the day either resting on the ground among heath or ferns or on the branch of a tree, always (according to Yarrell and others) crouching close down upon it, in the line of the limb, and not across it. When perched on the ground it lies very close, " not rising (a French author says) until the dogs are almost on it, but worth shooting in September." During its ilight it is said to utter a shrill whistling cry, but this I have never heard. The poet Wordsworth, whose opportunities of watching the Nightjar in its haunts must have been numerous, considers that the whirring note is an accom- paniment of the chase : — " The busy Dor- Hawk chases the white moth With burring note " " The burring Dor-Hawk rovind and round is wheeling : That solitary bird Is all that can be heard In silence, deeper far than deepest noon." An observer quoted by Macgillivray is of the same opinion, which is that also of a better authority than either, Gilbert White. One point in the economy of the Nightjar is still disputed, the use which it makes of its u2 292 CAPRIMULGID^. serrated middle claw. White, and another observer, quoted by Yarrell, have seen the bird while on the wing capture insects with the claw and transfer them to the mouth. Wilson, on the other hand, states that the use of this singular structure is to enable the bird to rid itself of vermin, to which it is much exposed by its habit of re- maining at rest during the heat of the day. As he has actually observed a bird in captivity thus employing its claw, it would follow that the same organ is used for a twofold purpose. The Nightjar is a migratory bird and the last to arrive in this country, appearing not before the middle of May. It is found more or less sparingly in all parts of England, especially those which abound most in woods interspersed with heaths and brakes. In the wooded valleys of Devon- shire it is of frequent occurrence, and here it has been known to remain so late in the season as ]^ovember, whereas from most other localities it migrates southwards about the middle or end of September. It builds no nest, but lays its singularly beautiful eggs, two in number, on the ground among the dry herbage of the common. Other names by which it is locally known are Fern Owl, Wheeler, and JS'ightchurr. THE GREEN WOODPECKER. PICUS VIRIDIS. Upper plmnage green ; under, greenish asli ; crown, back of the head, and moustaches crimson ; face black. Female — less crimson on the head ; mous- taches black. Length thirteen inches; breadth twenty-one inches. Eggs glossy white. Commonest among the natural sounds of the country, is that of the " Woodpecker tapping the hollow beech tree :" So at least many people suj)pose ; but, in reality, one may walk through the woods many times and hear no tapping at all, and even if such a sound be detected and traced to its origin, it Avill more probably be found to proceed THE GREEN WOODPECKER. 293 from tlie Kutliatcli who has wedged a hazel-nut into the bark of an oak, than from the hammering of a Wood- pecker. This bii'd is far too wise to waste its time and blunt its beak by pecking at wood hard enough to make much resonance. And indeed what motive could it have for so doing 1 Wood does not enter into its diet, nor does sound wood contain the insects on which it feeds. Often indeed it may be observed ascending, by a series of starts. the trunk of a tree, inclining now a little to the right, and now to the left, disappearing now and then on the side farthest from the spectator, and again coming into view somewhat higher up. Nor is its beak idle ; this is em- ployed sometimes in dislodging the insects which lurk in the rugged bark, and sometimes in tapping the trunk in order to find out whether the wood beneath is sound or 294 PiciD^. otherwise. Just as a carpenter sounds a wall with his hammer in order to discover where the brickwork ends and where lath and plaster begin, so the Woodpecker soimds the wooden pillar to w^hich it is clinging, in order to discover where the wood is impenetrable alike by insects and itself, and where the former have been beforehand with it in seeking food or shelter. Such a canker-spot found, it halts in its course, tears off piece-meal a portion of bark and excavates the rotten wood beneath, either as far as the fault extends or as long as it can find food. It is, then, by no means a mischievous bird, but the reverse ; as it not only destroys a number of noxious insects, but points out to the woodman, if he would only observe aright, which trees are beginning to decay and consequently require his immediate attention. This aspect of the Woodpecker's operations seems far more just than that contained even in modern books ; " it is a great enemy of old trees in consequence of the holes which it digs in their trunks." But with all his digging and tapping, the sound by which the vicinity of a Woodpecker is most frequently detected, especially in spring and summer, is the unmis- takeable laughing note which has gained for him the name of " Yafler." JS'o more perhaps than the mournful cooing of the dove does this indicate merriment ; it is harsh, too, in tone ; yet it rings through the woods with such jovial earnestness that it is always welcome. On such occa- sions the bird is not generally, I think, feeding, for if the neighbourhood from which the sound proceeded be closely watched, the Yafler may frequently be observed to fly away, with a somewhat heavy dipping flight, to another tree or grove, and thence, after another laugh, to proceed to a second. It is indeed oftener to be seen on the wing than hunting for food on the trunks of trees. Very frequently too it may be observed on the ground, especially in a meadow or common in which ants abound. THE GREEN WOODPECKER. 295 The admirable adaptation of the structure of the Woodpecker to its mode of life is well pointed out hy Yarrell.* Its sharp, hooked toes, pointing two each way, are eminently fitted for climbing and clinging. The keel of the breast-bone is remarkably shallow ; hence, when ascending (its invariable mode of progress) a tree, it is enabled to bring its body close to the trunk Avithout straining the muscles of the legs. Its tail is short, and composed of unusually stiff feathers, which in the jDrocess of climbing are pressed inwards against the tree, and contribute greatly to its support. The beak is strong and of considerable length, and thus fitted either for digging into an ant-hill or sounding the cavities of a tree; and the tongue, which is unusually long, is fui-nished with a curious but simple apparatus, by which it is ex- tended so that it can be thrust into a hole far beyond the point of the biU, while its tip is barbed with small filaments, which like the teeth of a rake serve to pull up the larva or insect into its mouth. The Woodpecker builds no nest, but lays five or six glossy white eggs on the fragments of the decayed wood in Mdiich it has excavated its nest. Other names by which this bird is known are Poppinjay, Woodsprite, Eain-bird, Hew-hole and Woodwall. THE GEEAT WOODPECKER. PICUS MAETIUS- Plumage black, Avith the exception of the upper part of the head, which is bright red. Length seventeen inches. Eggs glossy white. Of this bird a few specimens only have been observed in England, nor does it appear to be of common occurrence in any part of the south of Europe. In the forests of the north it is more abundant, where its " habits differ in nothing material from those of the Green Woodpecker. * British Birds, vol. ii. p. 138. THE GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECIvER PICUS MAJOR. Crown and upper plumage black ; a crimson patch on the back of the head ; a white spot on each side of the neck ; scapulars, lesser wing-coverts, and under plumage white ; abdomen and under tail-coverts crimson ; iris red. Female — without the crimson on the head. Length nine inches and a half, breadth fourteen inches. Eggs glossy white. In habits this bird closely resembles the Green Wood- pecker. It is of less common occurrence, but by no means rare, especially in the wooded districts of the southern and midland counties. A writer in the Zoologist''' is of opinion that it shows a decided partiality to fallen timber. "In 1849," he says, "a considerable number of trees were cut down in an open part of the country near Melbourne, which were eventually drawn together and piled in lots. These lay for some time, and were visited almost daily by Great Spotted Woodpeckers. Their habits and manners were very amusing, especially whilst searching for food. * Vol. viii. p. 3115. THE GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 297 They alighted on the timber, placed the" body in a par- ticular position, generally with the head downward" [differ- ing in this respect from the Green Woodpecker], "and commenced pecking away at the bark. Piece by piece it fell under their bills, as chips from the axe of a woodman. Upon examining the bark, I found that the pieces were chipped away in order that the bird might arrive at a small white grub which lay snugly embedded in the bark ; and the adroitness of the bird in finding out those portions of it which contained the greatest number of grubs, was certainly very extraordinary. Where the birds were most at work, on a particular tree, I shelled off the bark and found nearly thirty grubs in nine square inches ; but on shelling off another portion from the same tree, which remained untouched, no grub was visible. Yet how the bird could ascertain precisely where his food lay was singular, as iu both cases the surface of the bark appeared the same, and bore no traces of having been perforated by insects. During the day one bird chipped off a piece thirty inches long and twenty wide — a considerable day's work for so small a workman." Another observer states that this bird rarely descends to the ground, and affects the upper branches of trees in preference to the lower. Its note is like that of the Green Woodpecker. Both species are charged with resorting to gardens and orchards during the fruit season, not in quest of insect food ; but no instance of this has come under my own notice. It is said, too, that they eat nuts. This statement is most probably correct. I myseK doubt whether there are many birds of any sort which can resist a walnut ; and I would recommend any one who is hospitably disposed towards the birds which frequent his garden, to strew the ground with fragments of these nuts. To birds who are exclusively vegetarians, if indeed there be any such indigenous to Britain, they are a natural article of diet, and as from their oily nature they approximate to animal matter, they are most acceptable to 298 PICID^. insectivorous birds. They have an advantage over almost every other kind of food thus exposed, that they are not liable to be appropriated, as scraps of meat and bread are, by prowling cats and dogs. A walnut, suspended from the bough of a tree by a string, will soon attract the notice of some inquisitive Tit, and, when once detected, will not fail to receive the visits of all birds of the same family which frequent the neighbourhood. A more amusing pendulum can scarcely be devised. To ensure the s-uccess of the experiment, a small portion of the v«ihell should be removed. THE LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER PICUS MINOR. Forehead and lower parts dirty white ; crown bright red ; nape, back, and wings black, with white bars ; tail black, the outer feathers tipped with white and barred with black ; iris red. Length five inches and a half, breadth twelre inches. Eggs glossy white. This handsome little bird resembles its congeners so closely, both in structure and habits, that it scarcely needs a THE LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 299 lengthened description. It is less frequently seen than either of the other two common species, but is in all probability" no less abundant, its smaller size rendering it less likely to be noticed. It lays its eggs on the rotten wood, which it has either pecked, or which has fallen, from the holes in trees ; they are not to be distinguished from those of the Wryneck. THE WEYNECK. YUNX TORQUILLA. Upper plumage reddish grey, irregularly spotted and lined with brown and black ; a broad black and brown band from the back of the head to the back ; throat and breast yellowish red, with dusky transverse rays ; rest of the under plumage whitish, with arrow shaped black spots ; outer web of the quills marked with rectangular alternate black and yellowish red spots ; tail-feathers barred with black zigzag bands ; beak and feet olive brown. Length six inches and a half, breadth eleven inches. Eggs glossy white. The note of the Wryneck is unmusical, and is so peculiar that it can be confounded with none of the natural sounds of the country ; a loud, rapid, harsh cry on one note repeated several times by a bird about the size of a lark may be referred without hesitation to the Wryneck. Yet it is a pleasant sound after all, for the untuneful minstrel is the same bird which is known by the name of " Cuckoo's Mate," and so is asso- ciated with May- days, pleasant jaunts into the country, hay-fields, the memory of past happy days and the hope of others to come. This name it derives not from any fondness it exhibits for the society of the cuckoo, as it is a bird of remarkably solitary habits, but because it both arrives and departs at the same time with the cuckoo. Not less singular than its note is its plumage, which, though unmarked by gaudiness of colouring, is very beau- tiful, being richly embroidered as it were with brown and black on a reddish grey ground. In habits, it bears no marked resemblance to the Woodpeckers ; it is not much given to climbing, and never taps the trunks of trees ; yet 300 PICID^. it does seek its food on decayed trees, and employs its long horny tongue in securing insects. Willughby states that it actually impales ants on the sharp point of its tongue, but recent observation has proved that this state- ment is inaccurate. It indeed darts its tongue with in- conceivable rapidity into an ant-liill and brings it out as rapidly, with the insects and their eggs adhering to its THE WKYNKCK. viscid point. These constitute its principal food, so that it is seen more frequently feeding on the ground than hunting on trees. But by far the strangest peculiarity of the Wryneck, stranger than its note and even than its worm-like tongue, is the wondrous pliancy of its neck, which one might almost imagine to be furnished with a ball and socket joint. A country -boy who had caught one of THE WRYNECK. 301 these birds on its nest brought it to me on a speculation. As he held it in his hand, I raised my finger towards it as if about to touch its beak. The bird watched most eagerly the movement of my finger, with no semblance of fear, but rather with an apparent intention of resenting the offer of any injury. I moved my finger to the left ; its beak followed the direction — the finger was now over its back, still the beak pointed to it. In short, as a magnetic needle follows a piece of steel, so the bird's beak followed my finger until it was again in front, the structure of the neck being such as to allow the head to make a complete revolution on its axis, and this without any painful effort. I purchased the bird and gave it its liberty, satisfied to have discovered the propriety of the name Torquilla. * I may here remark that the name Yunx, or Jyiix,t is derived from its harsh cry. Besides this, the proper call-note of the bird, it utters, when disturbed in its nest, another which resembles a hiss; whence, and partly, perhaps, on account of the peculiar structure of its neck, it is some- times called the Snake-bird. ]N"est, properly speaking, it has none ; it selects a hole in a decaying tree and lays its eggs on the rotten wood. Its powers of calculating seem to be of a very low order. Yarrell records an instance in which four sets of eggs, amounting to twenty-two, were successively taken before the nest was deserted ; a harsh experiment, and scarcely to be justified except on the plea that they were taken by some one who gained his liveli- hood by selling eggs, or was reduced to a strait from want of food. A similar instance is recorded in the Zoologist, when the number of eggs taken was also twenty-two. The Wryneck is a common bird in the south-eastern counties of England and to the west as far as Somersetshire ; but I have never heard its note in Devon or Cornwall ; it is rare also in the northern counties. * From the Latin torqueo, "to twist." + Greek Xry^ from iuf«, to "shriek." :^feA y^^y'-} 4[f -^f^'K' THE TEEE CKEEPER. CERTHIA FAMILIARIS. Upper plumage mottled with yellowish brown, dark brown, and white ; a pale streak over the eyes ; throat and breast buff-white, becoming dusky towards the tail ; wings brown tipped with white and barred with white, brown, and dull yellow ; tail-feathers reddish brown, stiff and pointed. Length five inches, breadth seven inches. Eggs white, with small yellowish red spots. The Tree Creeper, though, a common bird, is less fami- liarly known than many others of much rarer occurrence, yet, if once observed, can be confounded with no other. In size it ranks with the Tits, Willow Wren, &c., but is less likely to attract notice than any of these, as it never alights on the ground, nor perches on the. small twig of a tree. Its note, too, is weak, simple, and unpretending, amounting to no more than an occasional " cheep," which it utters from time to time while hunting for food, and v^hile performing its short flights. Any one, however, THE TREE CREEPER. 303 who wishes to see the bird, and knows what to search for, can scarcely fail of success if he look well about him during a stroll through almost any wood of full grown trees. Half-way up the trunk of a rugged elm or oak he will observe a small portion of bark, as it were, in motion ; the motion, and not the colour, betrays the presence of a small brown bird, which is working its way by a succes- sion of irregular starts up the trunk. Frequently it stops for a few seconds, and is evidently pecking at some small insect, quite noiselessly however. Its beak is not adapted for hammering ; it confines its attention there- fore to such insects as live on the surface of the bark. It utters a low " ch.eep," and proceeds, not in a straight line up the tree, but turning to the right or left according as it descries a probable lurking-place of its prey : presently it disappears on the other side of the trunk, and again comes in view a few feet higher up. 'Now it reaches a horizontal branch; along this it proceeds in hke manner, being indifferent whether it clings sideways, or hangs with its back downwards. Arrived at the smaller subdivisions of the bough it ceases to hunt ; but, without remaining an instant to rest, flies to the base of another bough, or more probably, to another tree, alighting a few feet only from the ground, and at once beginning a new ascent. This mode of life it never varies : from morning to night, in winter and in summer, it is always climbing up the boles of trees, and when it has reached the top, flying to the base of others. On one solitary occasion I observed one retrace its steps for a few inches, and stand for a second or two with its head downwards : but this is a most unusual position, as indeed may be inferred from the structure of its tail, the feathers of which are rigid, and more or less soiled by constant pressure against the bark. It frequently visits orchards and gardens in the country, displaying little fear of man, preferring perhaps to hunt on the far side of a tree when any one is looking on ; but not very particular 304 CERTHIDiE. even about this, and certainly never thinking it necessary to decamp because it is being watched. To this indifference to the presence of human beings, it owes its name "/am- liaris" and not, as it might be imagined, to any fondness for their society, which, in fact, it neither courts nor shuns. It is a quiet, inoffensive creature, congregating with no other bii'ds, and being rarely, except in spring, seen in company with even its own species. It builds its nest of small roots and twigs, scraps of bark and grass, and lines it with wool and feathers. A hole in a pollard willow is a favourite place for a nest ; in default of this a hollow in any other tree is selected, or the space between the stump of a tree and a detached portion of bark. It lays from six to nine eggs, which are exceedingly like those of the smaller Tits. THE WEEN. TROGLODYTES VULGARIS, Upper plumage reddish brown with transverse dusky bars ; quills barred al- ternately with black and reddish brown ; tail dusky, barred with black ; over the eyes a narrow light streak; under parts light reddish brown; the sides and thighs marked with dark streaks. Length three inches and three-quarters ; breadth six inches and a half. Eggs white with a few yellowish red spots towards the larger end, sometimes without spots. Throughout the whole of England the Wren is invested with a sanctity peculiar to itself and the Eedbreast. In the west of England I was familiar, as a child, with the doggerel rhymes : — " Whoso kills a Robin or a Wran Shall never prosper boy nor man." In the north it is protected by a similar shield : — " Malisons, malisons, mair than ten, Who harries the queen of heaven's Wren." In the Isle of Man a legend exists that there " once on a time " lived a wicked enchantress who practised her THE WEEN. 305 spells on the warriors of Mona, and thereby stripped the country of its chivalry. A doughty knight at length came to the rescue, and was on the point of surprising her and putting her to death, when she suddenly transformed herself into a Wren and flew through his fingers. Every year, on Christmas Day, she is compelled to reappear in the island under the form of a Wren, with the sentence hanging over her, that she is to perish by human hands. On that day, consequently, every year, a grand onslaught is made by troops of idle boys and men on every Wren which can be discovered. Such as are killed are sus- pended from a bough of holly and carried about in triumph on the following day (St. Stephen's Day), the bearers singing a rude song descriptive of the previous day's hunt. The song is preserved in Quiggia's Guide to the Isle of Man, as it was sung in 1853 ; and strange to say, it X 306 CERTHIDiE. agrees almost word for word with a song which was cur- rent twenty years ago, and is so perhaps now, among the rustic population of Devonshire, though the actual hunt has in the latter case fallen into disuse. In several parts of Ireland, especially the south, there still exists a legend to the effect that a party of Irish- soldiers were on the point of surprising their enemies (either Danes or Eoyahsts, for the story varies) who lay fatigued and asleep, when a Wren perched on the drum and awoke the sentinels. An unhappy legend for the poor bird. For some weeks previous to Christmas, peasants assemble to revenge the treachery of the offender in the persons of his descendants. Every Wren that is seen is hunted to death, and the bodies are carefully saved tiU St. Stephen's Day, when they are suspended from a deco- rated holly-bough and carried from house to house by the captors, accompanied by a song of which, in Conne- mara, this is the burden : — " The Wran, the AVran, the king of all birds, St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze ; Although he is little, his family's great; So come out, kind ladies, and give us a trate." The version of the song in Hall's " Ireland," as it is sung in the neighbourhood of Cork, scarcely differs from the above, and a similar one may be heard on the same day within twenty miles of Dublin. That a custom so absurdly singular should exist in places so remote, is in itself evi- dence that it is of ancient origin, though whence derived it would be idle to inquire. The true story of the Wren is simple enough. It is a minute bird of unpretending plumage, distinguished easily by its erect tail and its habit of hiding in bushes and hedges, not clinging like the Creeper to the perpen- dicular or horizontal bough of a tree, but hopping from twig to twig, and occasionally taking a short direct flight THE WREN. 307 to another place of concealment, but rarely exposing itself by doing more than this. When hunting for its food, which is considered to be almost exclusively insects, it searches diligently holes and crannies of all kinds, and in all substances. I have known one make its way habitually through a zinc pipe into a green-house, and do much service there by picking aphides from the slender stalks of herbaceous plants, which bent into the form of an arch under even its trifling weight. While thus occupied it has suffered me to come within arm's length, but has taken no notice of me. Generally, it displays little fear of man; but, though in winter it resorts to the neigh- bourhood of houses in quest of food, it shows no dis- position, like the Redbreast, to enter on terms of intimacy, nor is it sociable either with its own kind or other birds. Its call-note is a simple " chip, chip," which often betrays its vicinity when it is itself concealed from sight. Its proper song is full, loud, clear, and powerful, rapidly executed and terminating in a trill or shake, followed by two or three unimportant notes. This it utters occasion- ally in autumn and winter. About the middle of March the song of the Wren is among the most frequent sounds of the country. At this season one may often hear in a garden the roundelay of a Wren poured forth from the concealment of a low shrub ; and, immediately that it is completed, a precisely similar lay bursts forth from another bush some twenty yards off. No sooner is this ended than it is answered, and so the vocal duel proceeds, the birds never interfering with each other's song, but uttering in turns the same combinations and arrangement of notes, just as if they were reading off copies of a score printed from the same type.* But the season is coming on when the Wren has to be occupied with other things than singing down a rival. ]^est-making is with this bird something more * I have heard the same musical contest in August. X 2 308 CERTHID^. than the laying of a few sticks across one another. It is not every one who has at once the time, the inclina- tion, and the steadiness of purpose to watch, from begin- ning to end, the completion of a Wren's nest. To most people, one or other of these qualifications is wanting, and to not a few all three. A friend of Mr. Macgil- livray,* however, performed the task, and furnished him with a most satisfactory detailed account of what passed under his observation. The whole passage is too long to quote, but it is well worthy of perusal not only for the interesting information which it contains, but as a specimen of the sort of note-making which satisfies the observer and carries conviction of its truthfulness to the reader. The nest was commenced at seven o'clock in the morning of the 30th May, by the female bird's placing the decayed leaf of a Kme-tree in the cleft of a Spanish juniper. The male took no part in the work, but regaled his' busy partner by singing to her all day long. At one period of the day she brought in bundles of leaves four, five, and even six times in. the space of ten minutes. At other times, when greater care was needed in the selection of materials, she was sometimes absent for eight or ten minutes, but such was her industry that at seven o'clock the whole of the external workmanship was finished, the materials being dry leaves, felted together with moss. On the following day both birds joined in the work, beginning as early as half-past three o'clock in the morning, the materials being now moss and a few feathers. So the work proceeded, day after day, until the 8th of June, when the structure was completed, being a compact ball of dried leaves felted with moss and thickly lined with finer moss and feathers, domed over and having a small circular open- ing on one side. Dried leaves form the exterior of most Wrens' nests, unless they are placed in situations where such an appearance would attract the attention of a passer- * MacgilUvray's "British Birds," vol. iii. p. 24. THE WEEN. 309 by. On a mossy bank, the outside would probably consist of moss ; under the root of a tree, of twigs ; in a hay-stack, of hay, and so on, the bird being guided by its instinct to select the least conspicuous material. The number of eggs laid is usually six, but as many as fifteen or sixteen have been observed. Any one residing in the country, who has given Ms attention to birds' nests, must have remarked what a large proportion of the Wrens' nests which he has discovered are in an unfinished state and contain no eggs. [ used to suppose that the Wren was pecuharly jealous of having its nest touched, and always deserted it if any one meddled with it before the laying of eggs had commenced, and went away and built another. Another sarmise was, that each pair of birds began four or five nests, and com- pleted that one only which they found from experience to be most ehgibly situated. Both opinions are, it seems, erroneous. " During the period of incubation" (says a writer in the Magazine of Natural History) "the male, apparently from a desire to be doing something, constructs as many as half a dozen nests in the vicinity of the first, none of which are lined with feathers ; and whilst the first nest is so carefully concealed as to be seldom found, the latter are very frequently seen." Supposing this to be the true explanation, the Wren, whether " king of all birds" or no, is undeniably a sage possessing, if not reason, yet at least some mental endowment to which no name has been assigned as yet. THE HOOPOE. UPUPA EPOPS. Crest orange-red tipped with black ; head, neck, and breast purplish red ; back, wings, and tail barred with black and white ; under parts white. Length twelve inches, width nineteen inches. Eggs uniform lavender-grey. I^OTHiNG appears to be known of the habits of this very foreign-looking bird from observation in Great Britain, for, although the public prints frequently record that one 310 CERTHID^. has been seen, the announcement is invariably accom- panied by the name of the ,person who has obtained an undignified notoriety by shooting it. The season at wliich it is seen in this country is usually autumn, though a few instances have occurred of its having bred with us. In the south of Europe and north of Africa it is of common occurrence as a summer visitor, but migrates southwards in autumn. Its English name is THE HOOPOE. evidently derived from the French "Huppe," a word which also denotes "a crest," the most striking character- istic of the bird. It is called also in France " Puput," a word coined, perhaps, to denote the noise of disgust which one naturally makes at encountering an unpleasant odour, this, it is said, being the constant accompaniment of its nest, which is always found in a filthy condition, owing to the neglect of" the parent birds in failing to remove THE HOOPOE. 311 offensive matter, in conformity with the laudable practice of most other birds. In spite of the martial appearance of its crest, it is said to be excessively timid, and to fly from an encounter with the smallest bird that opposes it. It lives principally on the ground, feeding on beetles and ants. On trees it sometimes perches but does not climb, and builds its nest in holes in trees and walls, rarely in clefts of rocks. It walks with a show of dignity when on the ground, erecting its crest from time to time. In spring the male utters a note not unlike the coo of a Wood-pigeon, which it repeats several times, and at other seasons it occasionally emits a sound something like the shrill note of the Greenfinch. But it is no musician and is as little anxious to be heard as seen. The nest is a simple structure composed of a few scraps of dried grass and feathers, and contains from four to six eggs. THE l^UTHATCH. SITTA EUflOPiEA. Upper plumage bluish grey ; a black streak across the eye ; cheeks and throat white ; under plumage dull orange-red ; outer tail-feathers black, with a white spot near the end, tipped with giej, the two central ones grey; beak bluish black, the lower mandible white at the base ; feet light brown. Length six inches. Eggs white, spotted with two shades of purplish red. Standing, one winter's day, by the side of a pond, near a row of tall elms, and watching some boys sliding, I heard ^ the few short twittering notes of a Nuthatch overhead, and it at once occurred to me how I should describe the note in such a way that it should be infaUiblyrecognised. It is precisely hke the sound made by a pebble thrown so as to bound along ice. This is the winter note. On fine sunny days in February it begins to add to its simple call a more musical sound, approaching a whistle. Further on in the season, the twitter is heard no more, and is exchanged altogether for a not unmelodious whistle, several times repeated, rarely protracted into 312 CERTHID^. a bubbling sound, such as it might be supposed to make if it were rattling a pea in its throat. On these occasions it is usually perched in the branches of a tree, and. may be distinguished by its bluish grey back, dull red breast, and short tail. The ]S"uthatch is not an accom- plished musician, and claims, therefore, to be pointed out by other characteristics. This is no difficult task to under- take ; for no British bird is more decidedly marked in its THE NUTHATCH. habits. In the first place, it has strong clasping claws, which admirably adapt it for climbing; and though it does not possess the rigid tail of the Woodpeckers to aid it in this operation, it has a short tail which never comes in the way. In most counties of England (except the extreme western and northern, where it is rare) any one walking through a woodland district and keeping a sharp look-out may observe a bluish bird, somewhat larger than THE NUTHATCH. 318 a sparrow, creeping by starts up the trunk of any rough barked tree. It is so intent on its occupation — that of searching for insects in the crevices of the bark — that it takes no notice of the observer, but pursues its course after a method of its own, but according to no rule that we can detect. l!^ow it disappears on one side of the trunk and then shows itself a few inches higher on the other ; now it is lost to sight for a longer interval — one would think it was hiding, or had taken its departure — but no, there it is again, creeping, back downwards, along a horizontal branch ; arrived at the extremity it utters a double twitter, perhaps, and flies either to a new tree or to another branch of the same. This time it creeps from the extremity of a branch towards the bole of the tree, equally at ease whatever may chance to be its position, and no more affected by gravity than a fly. Arrived at the main stem it keeps on its course, still advancing by starts, and accompanying every movement, as, indeed, it has been doing all along, by an almost imperceptible twinkling of its wings, something like that which has gained for the Hedge Sparrow the sobriquet of " Shuffle-wing." That no other bird but the l!^uthatch has the power of creeping down a tree I cannot say, for I once observed a Tree- creeper descend for a few inches ; but no other British bird does habitually hunt after this method ; by this habit consequently it may be discriminated. Equally comfort- able in all positions, if it has any choice, or desires to rest, it clings to the upright trunk of a tree, head downwards. The l!^uthatch is singular, too, in its mode of nidification. The only nest which I have thoroughly examined was built in the hollow of an apple-tree, * and was composed entirely of scraps of birch-bark. The Naturalist con- tains a description of one made of beech-bark, though probably here, too, birch is meant; others are described * See the Author's " Birds' Nests," p. 12. (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.) 314 CERTHIDiE. as being made of dry leaves and moss ; but, whatever the materials may be, the nest itself is invariably placed in the bole of a tree. There are good reasons for believing that in case of necessity the bird enlarges the cavity to make its dwelling sufficiently commodious, chips of wood having been sometimes found in the vicinity ; but what makes the JSTuthatch singular among British birds is, that it not only enacts the carpenter when occasion arises, but adds the vocation of plasterer. In the case above alluded to I do not loiow that its powers were called out in either of these capacities. As a plasterer it had no occasion to work, for the opening to the hole was so small that it required to be cut away in order to admit a boy's hand, but many instances are recorded when it selected a hole with a large orifice which it contracted by lining it with a thick coat of mud and gravel. This parapet, constructed either to keep out bulky intruders or to keep in the young birds, if injured or destroyed will be found restored after a short lapse of time ; and so devoted a mother is the hen bkd that she will suffer herself to be taken rather than desert her brood. I have rarely noticed a Nuthatch on the ground during winter, but in spring and summer it adds to its diet terrestrial insects and worms, and is said also to be partial to red currants — not a singular taste. But the fruit which has an especial charm for the IN^uthatch is that from which it derives its name.* Its keen eye detects the ripening filbert in the garden or orchard before the hazels in the wood are beginning to turn brown, and it then despises less dainty food. One by one the clusters are pecked open and their contents purloined, carried, perhaps, to some convenient storehouse for future banquetings. f *'From the French hacher, "to chop;" hence also "hatchet." f I have given elsewhere my reasons for believing that the Nut- hatch stores away its food. See " Rambles in the Four Seasons," Spring, p. 47. (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.) THE NUTHATCH. 315 At any rate the owner of filbert trees where these birds abound has need to keep a daily watch^ or his share in the produce will prove exceedingly small. I have seen trees bearing a fine crop of husks but nearly all empty. The proprietor had suffered them to remain till they were ripe, the Il^uthatches had taken a different view of the case and preferred them unripe rather than not at all. But what, it may be asked, can a bird little larger than a Sparrow find to do with a filbert, or even a hazel-nut 1 Here we have a fresh distinctive feature in the biography of the JS'uthatch. The bird carries off its prey in its beak, and when in want of a meal wedges the nut in the crevice of some rough-barked tree, such as an oak, an elm, or a walnut. This done, he takes his stand, head downwards, above the nut, throws back his head to gather force for a blow, and then brings it violently forwards many times in rapid succession, aided, too, by the weight of his body and a clapping of the wings in exact time with each stroke. By dint of repeated blows thus dealt by his strong beak, even the hard shell of a filbert at last gives way ; a small hole is the result, which is soon enlarged, and the kernel becomes the hardly-earned prize. My readers must not suppose this an imaginary scene, though new to them. Any one who will take the trouble to examine the trunks of old oaks and elms will be sure to find shells still remaining wedged into the bark, and if during a ramble in the woods in autumn or winter, or even in early spring, he should happen to hear a smart tapping, let him follow the du-ection of the sound, and he will %tand a fair chance of discovering the clever httle nut- cracker at work. If in the course of his operations the bird happens to dislodge a nut, so nimble is he that before it reaches the ground he will have caught it in his beak.* Acorns and the nuts of yew-berries, and probably other * See an amusing account of the Nuthatch in the Zoologist, vol. i. p. 213. 31 G cehtridm. hard seeds, are similarly treated by the Nuthatch ; cherry- stones, I suspect, are beyond his powers, yielding only to the massive beak of the Hawfinch, The Nuthatch may easily be induced to visit gardens by wedging hazel or Spanish nuts into the bark of trees ; a walnut fastened on by a pin is equally effectual. But no more enticing bait can be set than a lump of fat meat, which should be tied tightly by a string to the horizontal branch of an apple tree or any other tree, a good view of which can be commanded from the house. If the weather be severe and the ground covered with snow, it is surprising what a variety of birds will come to partake of the unknown food. ' Eobins, Sparrows, Tits of several kinds. Chaffinches, and others flock for a share, not without sundry bickerings, alarms, and semblances of fighting. But should a Nut- hatch, happen to appear, all retire until his highness is satisfied. He enters upon the scene in a way of his own. Other birds alight on a bough or twig at some little distance from the banquet and make gradual advances. Not so the Nuthatch ; he darts forward in a horizontal line, as if propelled by a missile, sticks by his claws to whatever part of the branch he happens to touch, not caring in what attitude he alights, stops for a second as if to assure himself in what direction his head is pointing, creeps nimbly round to the morsel, takes his stand on it and hammers away until he has separated a large lump. This he then seizes in his beak and retires to a place of seclusion, leaving the inferior animals to squabble to their hearts' content over the crumbs which he has dislodged, and presently discomfits them again by a reappearance What his powers as a combatant may be I cannot say ; great, it may be supposed, for no one is inclined to do him battle, and he is not sociably disposed even towards those of his own kind. THE CUCKOO. CUCULUS CANORUS. Upper plumage bluish ash colour, darker on the wings, lighter on the neck and chest ; under parts whitish with transverse dusky streaks ; quiUs barred on the inner webs with oval white spots ; tail-feathers blackish, tipped and spotted with white : bill dusky, edged with yellow ; orbits and inside of the mouth orange-yellow ; iris and feet yellow. FoMwgf— ash-brown, barred with reddish brown ; tips of the feathers white ; a white spot on the back of the head. Length thirteen inches and a half, breadth twenty-three inches. Egg dull white, speckled all over with ash-brown. 'No bird in a state of nature utters a note approaching so closely tlie sound of the human voice as the Cuckoo ; on this account, perhaps, partially at least, it has at all times been regarded with especial interest. Its habits have been much investigated, and they are found to be unhke those of any other bird. The Cuckoo was a puzzle to the earlier naturahsts, and there are points in its biography which are controverted stilL From the days of Aristotle to those of Pliny, it was supposed to undergo 318 CUCULID^. a metamorphosis twice a year, appearing during tlie summer months as a Cuckoo, " a bird of the hawk kind, though destitute of curved talons and hooked beak, and having the bill of a Pigeon ; should it chance to appear simultaneously w^ith a Hawk it was devoured, being the sole example of a bird being killed by one of its own kind. In winter it actually changed into a Merlin, but reappeared in spring in its own form, but wdth an altered voice, laid a single egg, or rarely two, in the nest of some other bird, generally a Pigeon, declining to rear its own young, because it knew itself to be a common object of hostility among all birds, and that its brood would be in consequence unsafe, unless it practised a deception. The young Cuckoo being naturally greedy, monopohzed the food brought to the nest by its foster parents : it thus grew fat and sleek, and so excited its dam with admiration of her lovely offspring, that she first neglected her own chicks, then suffered them to be devoured before her eyes, and finally fell a victim herself to his voracious appetite."* — A strange fiction, yet not more strange than the. truth, a glimmering of which appears throughout. We know well enough now that the Cuckoo does not change into a Merlin, but migrates in autunm to the southern regions of Africa; but this neither Aristotle nor Pliny could have known, for the common belief in their days was, that a continued pro- gress southwards would bring the traveller to a climate too fierce for the maintenance of animal life. jSTow the Merlin visits the south of Europe, just at the season when the Cuckoo disappears, and returns northwards to breed in spring, a fact in its history as little known as the migration of the Cuckoo. It bears a certain resem- blance to the Cuckoo, particularly in its barred plumage, certainly a greater one than exists between a caterpillar and a butterfly, so that there were some grounds for * PI in. Nat. Hist. lib. x, cap. ix. THE CUCKOO. 319 the belief in a metamorphosis, strengthened not a little by the fact that the habits of the bird were peculiar in other respects. Even so late as the time of our own countrymen, Willughby and Eay (1676), it was a matter of doubt whether the Cuckoo lay torpid in a hollow tree, or migrated during winter. These authors, though they do not admit their belief of a story told by Aldrovandus of a certain Swiss peasant having heard the note of a Cuckoo proceed from a log of wood which he had thrown into a furnace, thought it highly probable that the Cuckoo did become torpid during winter, and were acquainted with instances of persons who had heard its note during unusually mild winter weather. The assertion agaui of the older naturalists, that the Cuckoo is the object of hatred among bu^ds generally, seems credible, though I should be inclined to consider its habit of laying its eggs in the nests of other birds as the cause rather than the consequence of its unpopularity. The contrary however is the fact, numerous anecdotes of the Cuckoo showing that it is regarded by many other birds with a respect wliich amounts to infatuation, rather than with apprehension. The statement that it lays but one egg is erroneous, so also is the assertion of Willughby that it invariably destroys the eggs found in a nest pre- viously to depositing its own. Pliny's assertion that the young bird devours its foster brothers and sisters is nearer the truth, but his account of its crowning act of impiety in swallowing its nurse, is, I need not say, altogether unfounded in fact. Having disposed of these errors, some of which are entertained by the credulous or ill-informed at the present day, I will proceed to sketch in outline the biography of this singular bird, as the facts are now pretty generally admitted. The Cuckoo arrives in this country about the middle of April, and during the whole of its stay leads a wan- dering life, building no nest, and attaching itself to no 320 CUCULIDiE. particular locality. It shows no hostility towards birds of another kind, and little affection for those of its own. If two males meet in the course of their wandering they frequently fight with intense animosity. I was once ^vitness of an encounter between two birds who chanced to meet in mid-air. Without alighting they attacked each other with fury, pecking at each other and changing places just as one sees two barn-door cocks fight for the supremacy of the dunghill. Feathers flew in profusion, and in their passion the angry birds heeded my presence so little that they came almost within arm's length of me. These single combats account for the belief formerly enter- tained that the Cuckoo was the only sort of Hawk that preyed on its own kind. It does not pair, and it is unusual to see even a male and female together. It is however, frequently accompanied by a small bird of another kind, said to be, and I have no doubt correctly, a Meadow Pipit. There does not appear to be any intimacy or any hostility between the ill-matched pair. The larger bird flies first, the lesser one as if spell-bound follows it : if the Cuckoo perches in a tree, the Pipit posts itself on another hard by, or on another branch of the same ; if the Cuckoo alights on the ground, the Pipit is by its side. The Cuckoo hunts for its food both in trees and on the ground. On its first arrival it lives principally on beetles, but when caterpillars become abundant it prefers them, especially the hairy sorts. In the months of May and June, the female Cuckoo lays her eggs, (the number of which is variously estimated from five to twelve,) choosing a separate locality for each, and that invariably the nest of some other bird. The nests in which the egg of a Cuckoo has been found in this country are those of the Hedge Sparrow, Eobin, Eedstart, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Wagtail, Pipit, Skylark, Yellow Bunting, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Linnet, Blackbird and Wren; the Pipit being the most frequent. In some of THE CUCKOO. 321 these instances, the position and structure of the nest were such that a bird of so large a size could not possibly have laid an egg in the usual way. Hence, and from other evidence, it is pretty clear that the egg is in all cases laid at a distance from the nest and carried by the bird in her bill to its destination. The bird can have no diffi- culty in accomplishing this seemingly hard task; for the gape of the Cuckoo is wide, and the egg disproportionately small, no larger in fact than the egg of the Skylark, a bird only a fourth of its size. The period during which a nest is fit for the reception of a Cuckoo's egg is short ; if a time were chosen between the completion of the nest and the laying of the first egg by the rightful owner, the Cuckoo could have no security that her egg would receive in- cubation in good time, and again if the hen were sitting there would be no possibility of introducing her egg sur- reptitiously. She accordingly searches for a nest in which one egg or more is laid, and in the absence of the owner lays down her burden and departs. There are certain grave suspicions that the intruder sometimes makes room for her own egg by destroying those abeady laid; but this, if it be true, is exceptional. We see now the reason why the egg of the Cuckoo is small. If it were very much larger than the rest, it might excite suspicion, and be either turned out, or be the cause of the nest being deserted; it would require moreover a longer incubation than the rest, and would either fail to be hatched,' or produce a young Cuckoo at a time when his foster-brothers had grown strong enough to thwart his evil designs. As it is, after fourteen days' incubation, the eggs are hatched simultaneously, or nearly so, the Cuckoo being generally the first. No sooner does the young bird see the day, than he proceeds to secure for himself the whole space of the nest and the sole attention of his foster-parents, by insinuating himself under the other young birds and any eggs which may remain unhatched, and hurling them over Y 322 CUCULID.E. the edge of the nest, where they are left to perish. "The singularity of its shape," says Dr. Jenner, "is well adapted for these purposes ; for, different from other newly-hatched birds, its back from the shoulders downwards is very broad, with a considerable depression in the middle. This de- pression seems formed by nature for the design of giving a more secure lodgment to an egg or a young bird, when the young Cuckoo is employed in removing either of them from the nest." To the question which naturally suggests itself, " Why does the young Cuckoo thus monopolize the nest and the attentions of its foster parents?" the solution is plain. The newly-hatched bird must of necessity be less in size than the egg from which it proceeded, but a full-grown Cuckoo exceeds the dimensions of a whole brood of Pipits ; its growth therefore must be rapid and cannot be maintained without a large supply of food. But the old birds could not possibly Avith their utmost exertions feed a brood of their own kind and satisfy the demands made by the appetite of the voracious stranger as well. The latter consequently saves them from this impossible task, and, by appropriating to his single use the nourishment intended for a brood of four or five, not only makes provision for his own well-being, but helps them out of a difficulty. So assiduously is he taken care of that he soon becomes a portly bird and fills his nest ; in about three weeks he is able to fly, but for a period of four or five weeks more his foster-parents continue to feed him. It is probable that the young Cuckoo actually exercises some fascination over other birds. There is a case on record in which a pair of Meadow Pipits were seen to throw out their own young ones to make room for the intruder. In another instance, a young Cuckoo which had been taken from the nest and was being reared by hand escaped from confinement. Having one of its wings cut, it could not fly, but was found again, at the expiration of a month, within a few fields of the THE CUCKOO. 323 house where it was reared, and several little wild birds were in the act of feeding it. The Bishop of Norwich* mentions two instances in which a young Cuckoo in captivity was fed by a young Thrush which had only just learnt to feed itself. In the days when omens were observed, it was con- sidered a matter of high import to hear the song of the Mghtingale before that of the Cuckoo. Thus Chaucer says : *' it was a commone tale That it were gode to here the Nightingale, Moche rathirf than the lewdej Cuckowe singe." So, when on a certain occasion he heard the Cuckoo first, and was troubled in consequence, he represents the Mght- ingale as thus addressing him : " be thou not dismaied For thou have herd the Cuckow erst than me. For if I live it shall amendid be The nexte Male, if I be not afraied." More recently Milton thus addresses the Mghtingale : " Thy liquid notes that close the eye of day, First heard before the shallow Cuccoo's bill, Portend success in love." Whether any traces of this popular behef yet linger in our rural districts, I do not know ; but I can recall my childish days in the west of England (where there are no Mghtingales), when I looked forward with implicit faith to the coming of the Cuckoo, to " eat up the dirt," and make the Devonshire lanes passable for children's spring wanderings. The song of the Cuckoo, I need scarcely remark, consists of but two notes, of which the upper is, I * Familiar History of Birds. f Earlier. J Unskilful. Y 2 324 CUCULID^. believe, invariably E flat, the lower most frequently C natural, forming, however, not a perfect musical in- terval, but something between a minor and a major third. Occasionally two birds may be heard singing at once, one seemingly aiming at a minor, the other a major third ; the effect is, of course, discordant. Sometimes the first note is pronounced two or three times, thus ''cuck-cuck- cuckoo," and I have heard it repeated rapidly many times in succession, so as to resemble the trilling note of the ISTightingale, but in a lower key. The note of the nest- ling is a shrill plaintive chirp, which may best be imitated by twisting a glass stopper in a bottle. Even the human ear has no difiiculty in understanding it as a cry for food, of which it is insatiable. Towards the end of Jime the Cuckoo, according to the old adage, "alters its tune," which at first loses its musical character and soon ceases altogether. In July the old birds leave us, the males by themselves first, and the females not many days after; but the young birds remain until October. THE GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO. CUCULUS GLANDARIUS. Feathers of the head dark ash colour, elongated, formmg a crest ; upper plumage greyish black, mostly tipped with white ; throat and breast reddish white ; under parts white. Length fifteen inches and a half. Ax exceedingly rare visitor of the British Isles. It inhabits the wooded districts skirting the sultry plains of ISTorth Africa, and occasionally finds its way across the Mediterranean to Spain and Italy. Little is known of its habits, except that it builds a nest and rears its 325 YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. COCCYZUS AMERICANUS. Upper plumage, mngs, and two central tail-feathers yellowish brown, the next, on each side black, the rest black tipped with white, the outer on each side white on the outer web ; under parts greyish white ; flanks and thighs pale brown. Length twelve inches. Eggs uniform greenish blue. This bird, better known to readers of the American poets by the name Cow-bird, from its frequently repeated note "cow," has little claim to a place among British birds? not having been seen in this country more than half a dozen times. Unlike the familiar English Cuckoo it builds a nest, and rears its young most assiduously. It is peculiar from its habit of beginning to sit as soon as it has laid its first egg. Thus if a nest be examined in which five eggs have been laid, it will be found perhaps to contain one young bird nearly fledged, one much younger, a third just hatched, an egg ready to be hatched, and another recently laid. I find no reason assigned for this strange deviation from the usual habits of birds ; but possibly the young birds may, like their European relatives, be very voracious, so that to supply a whole brood at once with food would overtax the powers of the parent birds. The probability of this inference is strengthened by the fact that the female bird lays ten or eleven eggs in a single season. THE WOOD PIGEON OR RmO DOVE. COLUMBA PALUMBUS. Head, cheeks, neck, and upper part of the tail, bluisli grey ; back and wing- coverts darker ; a white crescent-shaped spot on each side of the neck sur- rounded by scale-like feathers wth green and pui'ple reflections; primaries grey towards the base, white in the middle, and dusky towards the extremity, with the outer web white; tail barred with black at the end; abdomen whitish ; bill orange, powdered with white at the base ; iris light yellow ; feet blood-red; claws brown. Length sixteen and a half inches. Eggs pure white. Among the Israelites Pigeons and Turtle Doves were the only birds that could be offered in sacrifice; and even prior to the Mosaic dispensation they were selected by God, along with sheep and oxen, as fit to constitute a burnt offering.* Being thus classed with tame animals, it is probable that they were domesticated at a very early period. Hence we need not be surprised that naturalists are undecided as to the species from which the numerous * Genesis xv. 9. THE WOOD PIGEON OR RING DOVE. 327 varieties of Pigeons to be found in almost all civilized countries were originally derived. Two hundred years ago the taste for keeping different sorts of Pigeons was as strong as it is in the present day, and the popular names of Eunts, Croppers, Shakers, Carriers, Jacobins, Turbits, Barbaries, Tumblers, Horsemen, Spots, &c., modern though they may sound, were then applied to the very same varieties which are described under these names in recent "Guides to the Poultry-yard." Many of these were of foreign origin, and were known at a remote period in various eastern countries, so that there can be no doubt that the custom of keeping tame Pigeons is of very ancient date. JN'aturalists are now pretty well agreed that all the domestic varieties were derived originally from the Rock Pigeon, resting their opinion mainly on the fact that this bird and all the numerous sorts of tame Pigeons, whatever other pecuharities they may have, agree in the character- istic habit of perching and nesting in rocks or masonry, whereas all other species of wild Pigeon found in the Old World frequent trees. The Pigeons feed almost exclusively on vegetables, and in some of their habits approach the gallinaceous birds, with which accordingly they are classed. They are fur- nished with long and powerful wings, by help of which they can sustain a rapid and continuous flight. They seek their food mostly on the ground, but do not scratch with their feet, and are more given to bathe in water than to flutter in a bath of dust, though in this habit also they not unfrequently indulge. They are furnished moreover with a large crop, in which the food suppHed to their young is partially macerated and reduced to a kind of pulp before the latter are fed. This process is carried on more by the agency of the receiver than of the giver, as the young birds, instead of opening their mouths and allowing the food to be dropped in, help themselves by inserting their bills into the sides of the old bird's mouth. Their mode of drinking 328 COLUMBID^. differs from that of the true gallinaceous birds ; they do not take short sips, lifting the head after every draught, but satisfy their thirst by one continuous immersion of the whole bill. They build their nests of a few sticks, and lay two white eggs. Some of the foreign species are distinguished by their brilliant plumage. Those inhabiting Britain are unmarked by gaudy tints, but redeemed from plainness by the me- tallic glossy lustre of their neck feathers. The Wood Dove, called also Wood Pigeon and Eing Dove, is the largest British species, exceeding in dimen- sions most varieties of the domestic Pigeon. The summer wanderer through a wood in almost any part of the coun- try can scarcely fail to have been disturbed in his medita- tions by the sudden flapping of wings of some large bird, which, without uttering any note, dashes through the foliage of a neighbouring tree, and makes off with hurried flight for some distant part of the wood. Seen through the openings of the trees, its predominant tint is blue-grey, but a large patch of white is jdistinctly perceptible on each wing. It might be mistaken for a hawk, so rapidly does it cleave its way through the air ; but birds of prey are too wary to betray their movements by the sound of their wings ; they, too, rather launch into the air, than start with a violent clapping of their pinions. A Jay might make a similar noise ; but when alarmed it always utters its harsh scream, and, if it comes in sight, may at once be distinguished by the striking contrast of its white and black feathers. The bird just disturbed can scarcely, then, be anything but a Wood Dove, perhaps frightened from its nest, perhaps attending on its mate, or it may have been simply digesting its last meal, or waiting until sent forth by the cravings of hunger in quest of a new one ; for the bird, though exemplary as a spouse and parent, has a large crop which is never allowed to remain long empty. The food and habits of Wood Pigeons vary with the season. THE WOOD PIGEON OR RING DOVE. 329 In spring and summer they are most frequently seen alone or in pairs. They then feed principally on the tender leaves of growing plants, and often commit great ravage in fields of beans and peas. Spring-sown corn is attacked by them both in the grain and the blade, and as soon as young turnips have put forth their second pair of leaves, they, too, come in for their share of devastation. As the season advances, they visit the corn-fields, especially those in the vicinity of their native woods, preferring, a,bove all, those parts where the corn has been laid, and where a neighbouring grove or thicket will afford them a ready retreat if disturbed. They are very partial also to oily seeds of all kinds, and it is said that since colza has been extensively grown in the south of France, Wood Pigeons have become a scourge of agriculture, and that con- sequently war is waged on them unsparingly. It has been remarked also, that they have become much more abundant in Scotland in consequence of " the great increase in the cultivation of turnips and clover, which afford them a con- stant supply of food during winter, and the great increase of fir woods, which are their delight, both for roosting and rearing their young." * At the approach of autumn they assemble in small flocks, and resort to oak and beech woods, especially the last, where acorns and beech-mast, swallowed whole, afford them an abundant and generous diet. They are^ now in great demand for the table, but, being very cautious and shy, are difficult of approach. A good many, however, are shot by men and boys, who dis- cover beforehand jn what particular trees they roost, and, lying in anibush to await their arrival, fire at them as they drop in in small parties. In winter, the small flocks unite and form large ones. So large, indeed, are these some- times in severe seasons, that it is fair to suppose that their numbers are considerably augmented by subsidies from colder climates, driven southwards perhaps by scarcity of * Mr. Hepburn, in the Zoologist, vol. i. p. 370. 330 COLUMBIDiE. food. In districts abounding in oak and beech woods, tbey find abundance of food during the greater part of the winter ; but when this supply is exhausted, or the ground is covered with snow, they repair once more to the turnip- fields, and feed on the green leaves. Hunger, however, does not rob them of their shyness, nor make them confiding ; for let a human figure appear in ever so large a field where a flock is feeding, the alarm is at once caught and communicated to the whole party, who lose no time in displaying the white bar on the wing, and are soon beyond the reach of fowler and gun. Among the first woodland sounds of spring and the last of autumn is the note of the Eing Dove, often continued for a long time together, always monotonous, bat never wearisome. It is generally considered to be tinged with melancholy, and on this account the bird itself is supposed to have been named the Queest * or Cushat — " Deep toned The Cushat plains ; nor is her changeless plaint Unmusical, when with the general quire Of woodland harmony it softly blends." Grahame. Wordsworth celebrates it under a name generally given to the next species : — " I heard a Stock Dove sing or say His homely tale, this very day ; His voice was buried among trees, Yet to be come at by the breeze. It did not cease ; but cooed and cooed, And somewhat pensively he wooed ; He sang of love with quiet blendingj Slow to begin, and never ending ; Of sorrows, faith, and inward glee ; That was the song, the song for me." * Latin questtcs, a complaining. THE WOOD PIGEON OR RING DOVE. 331 And again, still more happily : — " Over his own sweet voice the Stock Dove broods." The note may be imitated by attempting to whistle, in a very deep tone, the syllables " cooe-coo-roo-o-o-o ; " or still more closely by clasping the hands together, so as to form a hollow, open only between the second joints of the thumbs, and blowing the same words over the orifice. With a little practice so close an imitation may be pro- duced, that a genuine cooer may be beguiled into giving an answer. I may add, too, that with the same natural instrument and with a greater expenditure of breath the hoot of the Owl may be imitated; with a gentler effort and a quiver of the tongue the coo of the Turtle Dove may be nearly approached. The Wood Dove has never been considered to be the origin of the domestic Pigeon, nor will it breed in cap- tivity. There is no difficulty, however, in rearing birds taken young from the nest ; and birds so brought up will alight with perfect confidence on the person of their foster nurse, and feed from his hand or mouth. The nest of the Wood Dove is an unsubstantial structure, composed of sticks so loosely put together that the eggs or young birds are sometimes visible from below. It is placed in a fork or among the branches of a tree : a thick fir is preferred ; but nests are to be met with in ivy and thorn bushes either in a wood, coppice, or, more rarely, in a hedge-row. The number of eggs is always two. The male bird assists in the office of incubation. ^' \s<'' y ,.* %-' THE STOCK DOVE. COLUMBA (ENAS. Head, throat, wings, and lower parts, bluish grey ; the lower parts of the neck with metallic reflections, no white spots ; breast wine-red ; a black spot on the two last secondaries and some of the wing-coverts ; primaries grey at the base, passing into dusky ; tail grey, barred with black at the extremity, the outer feather with a white spot on the outer web near the base ; irides red- dish brown ; bill yellow, red at the base ; feet red ; claws dusky. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs white. The Stock Dove is by some persons supposed to be so called from its having been believed at one time to be the origin of the domestic Pigeon ; but as it bore the name before the above question was mooted, it is more reasonable to suppose that it derived its name from its habit of nest- ling in the stocks of trees, and not on the branches like the Eing Dove, nor in caves like the Eock Dove. Eay and Willughby, who treat the domestic Dove as a distinct species, gave it the name of QEnas (from the Greek oiiios, wine), and Yinago (from the Latin vinum), from the purpled THE STOCK DOVE. 333 or wine-red hue of its breast and wings. Temminck does not hesitate to identify the domestic Pigeon with the Eock Dove, without even hinting the possibility of its having derived its origin from the Stock Dove. Since, therefore, the two birds have no marked resemblance, it may be reasonably supposed that the relationship between them rests solely on the narrow foundation that there exists a wild Pigeon, popularly called a Stock Dove, and that the word " stock " has among other meanings that of "paren- tage " or " origin." Thus the name gave rise to a theory which, having a plausible show, was hastily assumed, and was then employed to prove a fact which will not bear the test of examination. The Stock Dove in its habits closely resembles the Eing Dove, from wdiich it cannot easily be distinguished at a distance. When tolerably near, a sharp eye can detect the absence of the white patch on the wings and of the ring round the neck. Its flight is more rapid, and it rarely perches on a slender bough, preferring to alight on a main branch or stump. Its note is softer, and ap- proaches that of the tame Pigeon. But the great mark of distinction is that on which I have supposed its name to be founded : that it does not build its nest among the branches of trees, but in the side of a stump, or other locality, where no one would even think of looking for a Eing Dove's nest. Yarrell states that, " in the open countries of Norfolk and Suffolk, this species frequently makes its nest in holes in the ground, generally selecting a rabbit's burrow." In Surrey, I am informed, several pairs of Stock Doves an- nually build their nests on the stumps of ivy which cling to the walls of "The Oaks," near Carshalton, and, being never disturbed by the inmates, are comparatively tame during the breeding season. By some writers the Stock Dove is considered to be migratory in its habits, spending the summer with us, and flying southward at the approach of autumn. That it shifts its quarters under certain cir- cumstances is pretty clear. White, who had never seen 384 COLUMBID^. its nest, says that it used to be abundant at Selbornc " from November to February." Yarrell saw two old birds ex- posed for sale with Ring Doves, in London, on the 4th of January. The fact probably is, that it resorts in spring to the neighbourhood in which it was bred, as a convenient place for rearing its own young, and at the end of summer rejDairs to woods and groves better adapted for supplying it with its favourite food, acorns and beech-mast. There it flocks together with Ring Doves, vast numbers of Avhich assemble in winter in some districts, and when the fowler plies his occupation shares their fate. It is, however, by no means so common a bird as the Ring Dove at any sea- son, nor is it so generally distributed. In the North it is certainly only a summer visitor ; and, on the other hand, it is most abundant in the south of Europe and in Africa during winter. THE ROCK DOVE. COLUMBA LIVIA. Plumage bluisli ash, lighter on the mngs ; rump white ; neck and breast lustrous with gi-een and purple reflections, without a white spot ; two transverse black bands on the wings ; primaries and tail tipped with black ; rump white ; outer tail-feather white on the outer web ; irides pale orange ; ViU. black ; feet red. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs white. The Rock Dove, though a bird of extensive range, is less generally known in its natural condition than either of the other British species. As its name imports, its favourite place of resort is the rocky coast ; but tliis it frequents, not because it has any predilection for the sea-shore and its productions, but that its instincts teach it to make lofty rocks its stronghold, just as the natural impulse of the Ring Dove is to find safety in the forests. If, as is now generally admitted, this species is the original of all the numerous varieties of tame Pigeon, it must inhabit most countries of the eastern hemisphere ; for a pigeon- THE ROCK DOVE. 835 fancier's dove-cot, to be complete, must contain several sorts which were first brought' from remote regions : and we know that in Egypt, Phoenicia, and Persia, Pigeons had a mythological importance at an early date. It is said that the Pigeons which have established themselves in various public buildings of contiaental cities, as Saint Mark at Venice, and Pont Neuf at Paris, are exclusively Eock "^-iVy ^ THE KOCK DOVi Pigeons ; and I have seen it stated that they frequent the towers of Canterbury Cathedral; but it is possible that these may be in all cases derived from tame birds escaped from domestication, and resuming, to a certain extent, their wild habits and original plumage. That they resort to ruinous edifices near the sea in retired districts is beyond question, as I have seen them flying about and alighting 336 COLUMBID.E. Oil the walls of an old castle in the island of Kerrera, near Oban, in the Western Higlilands, indifferent, seemingly, whether they nestled in the lofty cliffs on the mainland, where they are numerous, or on the equally secure ruins of masonry in the opposite island. That they are truly wild here there can be no doubt. Indeed, the precipitous shores of Scotland, the Hebrides, and Orkneys, afford them exactly the kind of retreat that suits their habits ; and here among inaccessible rocks they build their nests and, on their return from their inland marauding expeditions, pass their nights. Their attitudes, mode of flight, progression when on the ground, note, and manner of feeding, are the same as those of the common tame Pigeon ; and, as might be expected, both wild and tame birds agree in declining to perch on trees. Macgillivray, who had opportunities of watching them in their native haunts at all seasons, informs us that they leave their caves * in the crags at early dawn, and, pro- ceeding along the shore, unite with other parties on their way till they reach the cultivated grounds, where they settle in large flocks, diligently seeking for grains of barley and oats, seeds of wild mustard and other weeds, picking up also the small snails f which abound in sandy pastures near the sea. In summer they make frequent short visits of this kind, returning at intervals to feed their young. In winter they form much larger flocks, and, making the best use of their short day, feed more intently, thus holding out a temptation to the fowler, who, if sufficiently wary, can sometimes approach near enough to kill a large number at a shot. They are supposed to pair for life ; and this, I believe, is generally the case with tame Pigeons. They lay two eggs, and sit for three weeks. The male and * "The Dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth." — Cant. ii. 14. + Helix ericctorum, a flattish, striped shell ; and Bulhnus acutus, an oblong, conical shell, mottled with grey and black. THE EOCK DOVE. 337 the female sit, alternately relieving each, other. They breed twice a year, but the number of eggs never exceeds two. Hence the old Scottish saying, "a doo's cleckin," for a family of only two children — a boy and a girl. They may be distinguished from the other common species while flying, by showing a large patch of white between the back and the tail. THE TUETLE DOVE. COLUMBA TURTUR. Head and nape ash, tinged with wine-red; a space on the sides of the neck composed of black feathers tipped with white ; neck and breast pale wine- red ; back ash-brown ; primaries dusky ; secondaries bluish ash ; scapidars and wing-coverts rust-red with a black spot in the centre of each feather ; abdomen and lower tail-coverts wliite ; tail dusky, all but the two middle feathers tipped with white, the outer feather edged with white externally ; irides yellowish red ; feet red ; bill brown. Eggs white. iSTEARLT three thousand years ago the Turtle Dove had the distinction of being enumerated among the pleasant things of spring: "Lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone ; the flowers appear on the earth ; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the Turtle is heard in our land."* Less sweetly, but to the same efi'ect, sings a poet of the last century : "The cuckoo calls aloud his wand'ring love, The Turtle's moan is heard in ev'ry grove ; The pastures change, the warbling linnets sing : Prepare to welcome in the gaudy spring ! " Philips. There is no melody in the song of the Turtle, as it consists of a single note, a soft, sweet, agitated murmur, continued without pause for a long time, called a " moan " f both by *Cant. ii. 11, 12. t " Nee gemere aeria cessabit Turtur ab ulmo." — Virgil. Nor shall from lofty elm the Turtle cease to moan. Z 838 COLUMBID^ Latin and English poets, not from its being suggestive of pain, but because there is no other word which describes it so nearly. I have already had occasion to remark how unsatisfactory are most of the attempts which have been made to represent the songs of birds by combinations of letters, but the Latin name of the Turtle-dove, Turtur, is a notable exception. Pronounced " tur-r-r tur-r-r," it will THE TURTLE DOVE. instantly recal the note to any one who has once heard it. The French name also, Tourterelle, can belong to this bird alone. The Turtle Dove is found in all the southern countries of Europe, in Palestine, and many other parts of Asia, including the islands south of China. In England it is a visitor in the southern and midland counties only, arriving THE TURTLE DOVE. 389 in Spring and remaining with lis until the end of Septem- ber. Its favourite places of resort are groves, belts of trees, and tall hedge-rows in cultivated districts. Here it builds its unsubstantial nest of a few sticks, and lays two eggs. Its food consists of seeds of various kinds, and it has the discredit of resorting to fields of green wheat for the sake of feeding on the milky grain. I am doubtful whether this charge can be sustained. Often enough when walking through a corn-field one may see two or three Turtle Doves rise suddenly from the thick corn with a rustle and low cry of alarm, rapidly dart away in the direction of the nearest grove, disappearing in the shade, all but a white segment of a circle, formed by the tips of their tail- feathers ; but on examining the spot from which they rose, I have been unable to detect jany ears of corn rifled of their contents, though the ground was thickly matted with weeds, which might have furnished them food. I am informed by a young fi?iend that he has often shot them while in the act of rising from such situations, and has invariably found their crops distended with the green seed-vessels of a weed common in corn-fields, the corn- spurrey (Spergula arvensis). This being the case, the Turtle Dove is more a friend than an enemy to the farmer, even if it sometimes regales on ripe grain or interferes with the occupation of the gleaner. It is also very par- tial to vetches. I have met with an instance where a Turtle Dove paid daily visits to one particular spot, under a hedge in a field, and though fired at by the owner of the field many times, under the idea that it was a rare bird, it soon returned ; and when at last shot, its crop was found to be full of vetch seeds which had been accidentally spilled from a bag. The Turtle Dove is smaller than any of the other British Doves. "When flying, it seems scarcely larger than a Missel Thrush ; but it is more slender in shape, and its wings are much longer. It beats its wings, too, more z2 340 COLUMBID^. rapidly, and moves through the air with greater velocity. The tints of its plumage are more varied than in the other British species, but far inferior in brilliancy to many foreign ones. The Turtle Dove so frequently kept in a cage is the Collared Turtle Dove {Columba risoria), a native of India and China. This species is distinguished by a black crescent on the back of the neck, the horns of -which nearly meet in front. Turtle Doves are much kept in Germany, owing to a strange popular superstition that they are more predisposed than the human species to nervous disorders and rheumatism, and that when any of these complaints visit a house, they fall on the birds rather than on theii' owners. PASSENGER PIGEON. ECTOPISTES MIGRATORIUS. Head aud upper plumage bluish grey ; neck and breast deep chestnut passing through salmon colour to white on the abdomen ; sides of the neck lustrous with green and purple ; tail graduated, with the four middle feathers longest, blackish brown in the middle, white at the sides ; bill black ; irides red ; legs reddish orange ; claws black. Length seventeen inclies. Eggs white. This bird has no other claim to be set down as British than such as can be derived from the fact that a few specimens have been seen here at distant intervals of time. It is a native of the New World, and is the subject of some of the most interesting narratives of the American Ornithologists. THE COMMON PHEASANT. PHASIANUS COLCHICUS. Head and neck glossy, with metallic reflections of green, blue, and purple ; sides of the head bare, scarlet, minutely speckled with black ; general plumage spotted and banded with orange-red, purple, brown, yellow, green, and black, either positive or reflected : tail very long, of eighteen feathers, the middle ones longest. Female — light brown, marked with dusky ; sides of the head feathered ; tail much shorter. Length three feet. Eggs olive-brown. The Pheasant has many enemies, and but for the protec- tion afforded to it by gamekeepers, would probably soon disappear. The climate suits it pretty well, and at most seasons of the year it finds abundance of food ; but in 842 PHASIANID^. hard winters the supj)ly diminishes, or fails altogether ; and were not food specially scattered about for it in its haunts, it would either die off from being unable to with- stand cold and hunger together, or become so weak that it would fall a prey to the smaller rapacious animals, who are not a match for it when it is strong and active. A healthy cock Pheasant has been known to beat off a cat ; a sickly one would be unable to compete with a magpie or jay. It is, in fact, an exotic running wild, and enabled to do so only by the care of those who help it to surmount the inconveniences of a life spent in a foreign land. The Pheasant is said to have been brought originally from Colchis, a country on the shores of the Black Sea, and to have derived its name from the river Phasis, the famous scene of the expedition of the Argonauts, bearing date about 1200 years before Christ. Prom this epoch it is said to have been known, to the Athenians, who en- deavoured to acclimatize it for the sake of its beauty as well as the delicacy of its flesh. The Eomans received it from the Greeks ; but it was little known, except by name, in Germany, Prance, and England, until the Crusades. The custom was then introduced from Constantinople of sending it to table decorated with its tail-feathers and head, as a dish for kings and emperors — a special honour until that time confined to the Peacock. "Willughby, in the seventeenth century, says of it that, from its rarity, delicacy of flavour, and great tenderness, it seems to have been created for the tables of the wealthy. He tells us, too, that the flesh of Pheasants caught by hawking is of a higher flavour, and yet more delicate than when they are taken by snares or any other method. The kings of Prance greatly encouraged the natural- ization of the Pheasants in the royal forests, both as an object of sport and as an acquisition to the festive board, and were imitated by the nobles and superior clergy. In the fourteenth century, all the royal forests, THE COIMMON PHEASANT. 843 the parks of Berry and the Loire, all the woods and vine- yards of the rich abbeys, were peopled with Pheasants. The male bird was protected by the title of " Eoyal game of the first class," and the killing of a hen was forbidden under the severest penalties. During the period between the reigns of Henry lY. and Louis XYI. its estimation increased. During the revolution royal edicts were little heeded. Pheasants, no less than their owners, forfeited their dignity, which, however, rose again somewhat under the empire. "Waterloo, and succeeding events, brought desolation to the Pheasantries as well as to the deer-parks of Prance ; and now the royal bird, Prench authors tell us, is likely to disappear from the country. Already, the space which it occupies is reduced to a thirtieth part of the national territory. The centre of this privileged province is Paris ; its radius is not more than five-and- twenty leagues, and is decreasing every year. Pheasants have disappeared from the districts of the Garonne and Rhone, while in Touraine and Berry a few only are to be found in walled parks. If the Pheasant should ever, in this country, lose the protection of the Game Laws, it will probably dwindle away in like manner. Under existing circumstances, it offers an inducement to poaching too tempting to be re- sisted. Gamekeepers engage in more affrays with poachers of Pheasants than of all the other game-birds taken col- lectively; and if the offence of destroying them were made less penal than it is at present, they would doubtless diminish rapidly. Next to Wood Pigeons, they are said to be the most destructive of all British birds ; so that farmers would gladly do their utmost to exterminate them : their large size and steady onward flight combine to make them an "easy shot" for the veriest tyro in gunnery, while the estimation in which they are held for the table would always secure for them a value in the market. 344 PHASIANIDiE. The places best adai)ted for Pheasants arc thick woods' in the neighbourliood of water, where there is abundance of shelter on the ground, in the shape of furze-bushes, brambles, tall weeds, rushes, or tussack grass ;* for they, pass their lives almost exclusively on the ground, even roosting there, except in winter, when they fly up in the evening, and perch on the lower boughs of middling- sized trees. In April or INIay, the female bird scratches for herself a shallow hole in the ground under the shelter of some bushes or long grass, and lays from ten to fourteen eggs ; but not unfrequently she allows might to prevail over right, and appropriates both the nest and eggs belonging to some evicted Partridge. The situation of the nests is generally known to the keepers, and all that are considered safe are left to be attended to by the owner. Such, however, as are exposed to the depredations of vermin or poachers are more frequently taken, and the eggs are placed under a domestic hen. Much, to the encouragement of dishonest practices. Pheasants' eggs have a marketable value ; and it is to be feared that many proprietors of recently purchased estates are not suffi- ciently cautious in stocking their woods with none but eggs honestly come by. Pheasant chicks are able to run about and pick up their own food soon after they have escaped from the egg. This consists of grain, seeds, small insects, especially ants and their eggs, and green herbage. When full grown, they add to this diet beans, peas, acorns, beech-mast, and the tuberous roots of several wild plants. A strip of buck- wheat, of which they are very fond, is sometimes sown for their special benefit along the skirt of a plantation. To turnips, red clover, and young wheat, they are very destructive ; their large size giving them a facility of doing mischief enjoyed by no other common bird that frequents cultivated fields. In seasons of scarcity they will enter * Aira ccespitosa. THE COMMON PHEASANT. 345 the farmyard, and either quietly feed with the poultry, or, less frequently, do battle with the cocks for the sove- reignty. A story is told, in the Zoologist, of a male Phea- sant, which drove from their perch, and killed in succession, three fine cocks. The proprietor, with a view to prevent further loss, furnished a fourth cock with a pair of steel spurs. Armed with these, the lawful occupant was more than a match for the aggressor, who, next morning, was found lying dead on the ground beneath the perch. Another has been known to beat off a cat ; and a third was in the habit of attacking a labouring man. The female is a timid, unoffending bird, as peaceful in her demeanour as quiet in her garb. The tints of her plumage, far less gaudy than in the male, are a protection to her in the nesting season, as being less likely to attract the notice either of poachers or vermin. Indeed, were she always to lie close, her nest would not be easily discovered, for the colour of her feathers so closely resembles that of withered leaves, that she is, when sitting, less conspicuous than her uncovered eggs would be. Common Pheasants are occasionally found having a large portion or even the whole of their plumage white. These, though highly ornamental when mixed with the common sort, are not prized, owing to their being a more con- spicuous mark for poachers. The " Ringed Pheasant " occasionally shot in English preserves is not, as some maintain, a distinct species : it differs from the typical form of the bird only in that the neck is partially surrounded by a narrow white collar passing from the back of the neck to the sides, but not meeting in front. 346 TETEAOXIDyE. THE CAPERCAILLIE. TETRAO UROGALLUS. Feathers of the throat elongated, black ; head and neck dusky ; eyes with a bare red skin above and a white spot below ; wings brown speckled with black ; breast lustrous green ; abdomen black with white spots ; rump and flanks marked with undulating lines of black and ash colour ; tail black with white spots ; beak horn white ; eyebrows naked, red, beneath the eye a white spot. Length two feet ten inches. i^emaZe— a third smaller, barred and spotted with tawny red, black, and white ; throat tawny red, unspotted ; breast deep red ; tail dark red with black bars, white at the tip ; bill dusky. Eggs dull yellowish white speckled with yellowish brown. The Capercaillie, Wood Grouse, or Cock of the Woods, was a rare bird in Scotland in Pennant's time (1769), and was found only in the Highlands north of Inverness. It has since become extinct; but efforts have been made with some amount of success to introduce it anew. In the pine forests of Sweden and Norway it is still indi- genous, but, being a large and beautiful bird, is much sought after, and is annually receding from the haunts of inen. It is also found in some of the central countries of Europe, as Poland and the Jura mountains, where it is said to be rather common. It is not only an inhabitant of woods, but passes its time for the most part in trees, and feeds in great measure on the young shoots of the Scotch fir. In summer it adds to its dietary berries, seeds, and insects, for which it searches among bushes or on the ground, returning to the woods to roost. The male bird has obtained great celebrity for his marvellous performances when serenading the hens during the morning and evening twilight in spring. " During his play, the neck of the Capercaillie is stretched out, his tail is raised and spread like a fan, his wings droop, his feathers are ruffled up, and, in short, he much resembles in appearance an angry Turkey Cock. He begins his play with a call something resembling the words i:)eller^ iJelUr, peller; these sounds he repeats at first at some little intervals, but, as he proceeds, they increase in rapidity, until, at last, and after perhaps THE CAPERCAILLIE. 347 the lapse of a moment or so, he makes a sort of gulp in his throat, and finishes by drawing in his breath. During the continuance of this latter process, which only lasts a few seconds, the head of the Capercaillie is thrown up, his eyes are partially closed, and his whole appearance would denote that he is worked up into an agony of passion." * This performance, however attractive it may be to those for whose benefit it is intended, exercises a fascination over himself which is often dangerous ; for the sportsman, well acquainted with the sound, is thus guided to his perch, and, shy though the bird is at other times, is able to get near him unperceived or unheeded, and summarily closes his performances. The Capercaillie hen makes her nest upon the ground, and lays from six to twelve eggs. She is said to sit for four weeks. The young keep with her until towards the approach of winter. The size of the full-grown bird varies considerably according to the latitude in which it is found. In Lapland the male weighs about nine or ten pounds, but in the southern provinces of Sweden as much as seventeen pounds. The hen usually weighs from five to six pounds. THE BLACK GEOUSE. TETRAO TETRIX. Throat-feathers not elongated ; plumage black with violet reflections ; a troad white band on the wings ; secondaries tipped with white ; lower tail-coverts white ; tail much forked, the outer feathers curved outwards. Eyebrows naked, vermilion; beneath the eye a white spot. Length twenty-three inches. Female smaller; head and neck rust-red barred with black; rump and tail-feathers black barred with red ; belly dusky brown with red and whitish bars; tail slightly forked. Eggs dull yellow spotted and speckled with reddish brown. The Black Grouse is a native of the northern countries of Europe and of the mountainous districts of the central part of the continent. In the south it is unknown. Of a hardier nature than the Pheasant, and less fastidious in its dietary, it braves the most inclement seasons, and is * Lloyd's "Field Sports of the North of Europe." 348 TETRAONID^. never stinted in its supply of food. Moreover, as it rarely wanders far from its heatli-clad home, it would pro- bably, if it enjoyed the privilege of insignificance, be abundant in all the extensive waste lands of Britain. But its large size, the excellent flavour of its flesh, and the excitement of the sport which it afl'ords, all tend to keep down its numbers, so that a moor well stocked with Black Grouse is a possession not to be thought lightly of THE BLACK GKOUSE. by the highest and wealthiest. . The male bird is, in sport- ing phraseology, a Black Cock, the female a Grey Hen ; and it is the etiquette of the field to shoot Cocks only, the Hens being left for breeding. The Black Cock re- sembles, in one of its most striking peculiarities, its near relative, the Capercaillie. " During the spring," says Mr. St. John, " and also in the autumn, about the time the first hoar frosts are felt, I have often watched the Black Cocks in the early morning, when they collect on some THE BLACK GROUSE. 349 rock or height, and strut and crow with their curious note, not unlike that of a Wood Pigeon. On these occasions they often have most desperate battles. I have seen five or six Black Cocks all fighting at once ; and so violent and eager were they, that I approached within a few yards before they rose. Usually there seems to be a master-bird in these assemblages, who takes up his position on the most elevated spot, crowing and strutting round and round with spread-out tail like a Turkey Cock, and his wings trailing on the ground. The hens remain quietly near him, whilst the smaller or younger male birds keep at a respectful distance, neither daring to crow, except in a subdued kind of voice, nor to approach. If they attempt the latter, the master-bird dashes at the intruder, and often a short TweZe^ ensues, several others joining in it, but they soon return to their former respectful distance. I have also seen an old Black Cock crowing on a birch-tree with a dozen hens below it, and the younger Cocks looking on with fear and admiration. It is at these times that num- bers fall to the share of the poacher, who knows that the birds resort to the same spot every morning." The food of these birds is abundant in quantity, and though simple, yet partakes of an extensive assortment of flavours. Twigs of the fine-leaved heath (Erica cinerea), and heather [Calluna)', buds of the willow and birch; the tender shoots of cotton-grass, sedge, and grass; and whortleberries, cranberries, and crowberries, are the prin- cipal items of their bill of fare, varied according to the season. In the months of February, March, and April, they do much mischief to plantations by destroying the tender shoots of Scotch and Silver Fir. " In searching for food, the Black Grouse frequents the lower grounds of the less-cultivated districts, not generally removing far from the shelter of woods or thickets, to which it be- takes itself as occasion requu'es. It sometimes makes an excursion into the stubble-fields in search of the seeds of 350 TETRAONID^. cereal plants, and in summer and autumn includes those of the grasses and rushes. While thus employed, it walks and runs among the herbage with considerable agility, and, when apprehensive of danger, flies off to a sheltered place, or settles down and remains motionless until the intruder passes by. It perches adroitly, and walks securely on the branches ; but its ordinary station is on the ground, where also it reposes at night. It may often, especially in spring, be seen on the turf-top of the low walls inclosing plantations. Its flight is heavy, direct, and of moderate velocity, and is capable of being protracted to a great distance."* The Grey Hen constructs a rude nest of withered grass and a few twigs in the shelter of some low bush, and lays from five to ten eggs. The male bird takes no part in the bringing up of the brood, but leaves the duties of incubation and attention to the wants of his family to the hen, who devotes herself wholly to the careful nurture of her little ones. While the poults are in their nonage, she assiduously leads them about where food is most abundant ; and if surprised by an intruder, leaves them to hide among the heath and ferns, creeps rapidly herself to some distance, and then rises in a fluttering manner, so that a stranger to her habits would suppose her to be wounded. By the 20th of August the young are supposed to be fully fledged, and the sportsman is expected not only to show his skill as a marksman, but his quickness of eye in discriminating between males and females as the covey rises. The former are to be distinguished by their richer colouring, and by the more strongly marked white on the wings. At this season the old Black Cocks club together. The Black Cock is found in greater or less quantities in the moorland districts of many of the English counties, but is most abundant in the north of England and Wales, and in Scotland. * Macgillivray. THE EED GEOUSE. LAGOPUS SCOTICUS. Plumage chestnut brown, marked on the back with black spots and beneath with black lines ; a fringe of small white feathers round the eyes, and a white spot at the base of the lower mandible ; a crimson fringed band above the eyes ; some of the feathers of the abdomen tipped with white ; tail of sixteen feathers, the four middle ones chestnut with black bars, the rest dusky ; feet and toes covered thickly with grey hair-like feathers. FemaZe— the red eye-lid less conspicuous ; colours not so dark and tinged with reddish yellow, the black spots and lines more numerous. Length sixteen inches. Eggs reddish ash colour, nearly covered with blotches and spots of deep red-brown. The diminution of the number of Pheasants in France, owing to a relaxation of the efforts formerly made to protect them, and the abundance of the same birds in those parts of England where unceasing care is taken of them in severe or protracted winters, tend to prove the great difficulty of preserving a foreign bird in a country which is not in every respect adapted to its habits and constitution. On the other hand, the undiminished 352 TETRAONID^. abundance of Eed Grouse in Great Britain, in spite of the absence of all artificial protection, and notwithstanding the vast quantity which annually fall a prey to vermin, poachers, and sportsmen, proves as satisfactorily that where a bird has become abundant, in a country in all respects suited to its constitution and producing an inex- haustible supply of its natural food, it is impossible to extirpate it. If we ever had occasion to adopt a bird as a national emblem, the choice might for one reason fall on the Eed Grouse. It is a native of the British Isles, and is found in no other country. On the moors of Scotland, the hilly parts of the north of England, the mountains of "Wales, and the wastes of Ireland, it is as wild and free as the Gull on the sea-cHff. It frequents extensive heaths where man could not protect it if he would, and finds no stint of food where few living things can exist but insects and some of the larger rapacious animals which make it their special prey. Eagles, Falcons, Buzzards, Crows, Foxes, Martins, and Polecats, all wage against it incessant war; it is wholly Adthout armour, offensive or defensive ; yet its numbers are undiminished. And we may confidently say that, as long as there are large tracts of land in Great Britain unreclaimed, there will be Grouse. Eed Grouse must, occasionally, fall in the way of the wanderer over the Scottish moors, whatever may be the object of his rambles ; but a sportsman alone is privileged to make the bird his study at all seasons. My sketch, therefore, of the Grouse is to be considered as taken, not from the limited observation which I have been enabled to make, when I have chanced to start a bird on the hills of Westmoreland or the Highlands, but to be compiled from the notes of others who have had more ample means of observing its habits. " The Brown Ptarmigan, generally known by the name of Eed Grouse^ as compared with the Black Grouse, is met with in Scotland on all kinds of surface, provided it THE RED GROUSE. 853 be covered with heath, whether Calluna vulgaris (Ling) or Erica cinerea (Common Purple Heath), from, the level of the sea to the height of about two thousand feet. The low sandy heaths of the eastern counties of the middle division appear to be less favourable to it than the more moist peaty tracts of the western and northern districts, where the shrubs on which it feeds attain a great size." Its food appears to be much the same as that of the Black Grouse, to which it is similar in many of its habits ; but it never perches on trees. It has, moreover, a decided predilection for the national grain of Scotland. Hence the cultivation of small tracts of land with oats in the neighbourhood of moors where it abounds is an unprofit- able labour. Its name, Lag6pus (Hare-footed), is equally appropriate as descriptive of its thickly-clothed foot and its fleetness as a runner ; by some French ornithologists it is enume- rated among Velocipedes, for the latter reason. On ordinary occasions it does not fly much, but keeps concealed among the heath, seldom choosing to rise unless its enemy comes very near. Eed Grouse pair early in the season, and build their nests generally on the borders between heath and lea ground, with a view to providing their young with an open nursery-ground, on which to learn the use of their legs, as well as a safe retreat on the approach of danger. The nest is loosely constructed of straws and twigs which may chance to lie about near the selected spot. The number of eggs is usually six or seven ; the hen sits very closely, allowing the shepherd almost to trample on her before shfe springs. The period of hatching- is a perilous one for the chicks, for, as they break the shell, they utter a small but shrill chirp — a certain signal to some watchful Hooded Crow that a prey is at hand : he traces up the sound, drives the mother from her nest, and destroys the whole brood. Once fairly hatched, the danger decreases ; the young A A 354 TETRAONID^. birds, while still quite small, show great readiness in concealing themselves. When disturbed they separate in all directions, couch on the ground, squeeze between objects that seem to defy all passage, work their way through the cover, or, if they fancy that an eye is fixed on them, lie as motionless as stones. When so far grown as to be able to fly, they still prefer the shelter afforded by the cover; but if hard pressed the old cock usually rises first, with a cry which some compare to the quack of a Duck. The hen and young birds show no hurry in following his example, but take wing singly, and at unequal intervals — not like Partridges, which always rise in a covey. This is the period when they afford the easiest shot to the sports- man, who often puts them up almost beneath his feet, or under the very nose of his dogs. Later in the season a great change takes place, and this, it is said, whether the birds have been much harassed or not. Become cautious and wild, they no longer trust to concealment or swiftness of foot, but, discovering from a great distance the approach of danger, they rise most frequently out of shot, so that it requires skill and patience to get near them. A slight and early snow sometimes makes it more easy to approach them, at least for a few hours ; but ordinarily, not even extreme cold, or a covering of snow a foot thick, appears to tame them at all. Under such circumstances, they collect in enormous "packs," and betake themselves to some particular part of the moor from which the snow has been more or less drifted. These packs keep together during winter, and at the beginning of spring separate and pair, not, however, without some previous altercations ; but these are soon over, and they lose much of their shyness, venturing close to the roads, and being little disturbed by the passage of the traveller. THE PTAEMIGAN. LAGOPUS VULGARIS. Winter plwmage— -pure white, a black line from the angle of the beak through the eye ; outer tail-feathers black ; above the eyes a scarlet fringed membrane ; bill and claws black ; tarsi and toes thickly clothed with woolly feathers. Female — without the black line through the eyes. Slimmer plumage — wings, under tail-coverts, two middle tail-feathers, and legs white ; outer tail-feathers black, some of them tipped with white ; rest of plumage ash-brown, marked with black lines and dusky spots. Length fifteen inches. Eggs reddish yellow, spotted and speckled with deep reddish brown. This beautiful bird is the Schneehuhn, " Snow-chick," of the Germans, the White Partridge of the Alps and Pyrenees, and the Gaelic Tarmachan. Whilst most birds shrink from cold, the Ptarmigan, on the contrary, seems to revel in it, and to fear nothing so much as the beams of the sun. l^ot even when the valleys rejoice in the livery of spring does it desert the snowy regions altogether, and, when the mist-wreaths clear away, it avoids the rays of the sun by seeking the shady sides of the mountains. Only when the northern regions or lofty mountains are A A 2 356 TETRAONID^. SO thickly covered with snow as to threaten it with starva- tion does it repair to districts where the cold is somewhat mitigated, bnt never lower into the valleys than where it may quench its thirst with snow. " The male bird," says a field naturalist, " has been seen, during a snow-storm in ^N'orway, to perch himself on a rock which overtopped the rest, and to sit there for some time as if enjoying the cold wind and sleet, which was drifting in his face ; just as one might have done on a sultry summer's day on the top of the Wiltshire downs, when a cool air was stirring there." * The same writer observes : " I have generally found the Ptarmigan concealed among the grey, lichen - coloured rocks on the summits of the fjelds, and so closely do they resemble these rocks in colour that I could scarcely ever see them on the ground ; and sometimes when the practised eye of my guide found them, and he would point out the exact spot, it was not until after a long scrutiny that I could distinguish the bird within a dozen yards of me. Frequently we would find them on the snow itself, and many a time has a large circular depression in the snow been pointed out to me, where the Ptarmigan has been lying and pluming himself in his chilly bed. He is a noble bird, free as air, and for the most part uninter- rupted in his wide domain; he can range over the enormous tracts of fjeld, seldom roused by a human step, and still more seldom hunted by man. When the winter clothes his dwelling in a garb of snow, he arrays himself in the purest and most beautiful white; when the summer sun melts away the snow, and the grey rocks appear, he, too, puts on his coloured dress, and assimilates himself once more to his beloved rocks. But the young Ptarmigans are my especial favourites : I have caught them of all ages ; some apparently just emerged from the egg, others some weeks older ; they are remarkablj'' pretty little birds, with their short black beaks and their feathered toes ; and so ■* Rev. A. C. Smith, in the Zoologist, vol. viii. p. 2977. THE PTARMIGAN. 357 quicldy do they run, and so nimble and active are they in escaping from you, that they are soon beneath some pro- jecting stone, far beyond the reach of your arm, where you hear them chirping and calling out in defiance and derision. The call of the old Ptarmigan is singularly loud and hoarse ; it is a prolonged grating, harsh note, and may be heard at a great distance." This has been compared to the scream of the Missel Thrush ; but Macgillivray says it seems to him more like the croak of a frog. Ptarmigans pair early in spring, and build their nest of grass bents and twigs in a slight hollow behind a stone or bush, and lay from seven to twelve eggs. The young are able to run about as soon as they are hatched, and, as we have seen, are most expert and nimble in concealing them- selves. The hen bird when surprised with her young brood counterfeits lameness, and runs about in great anxiety, as if wishing to draw attention from her chicks to herself. Their food consists of the fresh green twigs of heath and other mountain plants, seeds, and berries. While feeding they run about, and are shy in taking flight even when they have acquired the use of their wings, but crouch on the approach of danger, and remain motionless and silent. When at length they do rise, they fly off in a loose party, and mostly in a direct line, for a distant part of the mountain, the mavement of their wings resembhng that of the Grouse, but being lighter in character. Early in the season, a long time before Grouse, the coveys of Ptarmigans unite and form large packs, and it is while thus congregated that they perform their partial migrations from the high grounds to what they consider a milder climate, the Nor- wegian valleys. There, Avhile the ground is covered thickly with snow, they, to a certain extent, modify their habits, and perch on trees, sometimes in such numbers that the branches seem to be altogether clothed in white. It does not appear that any of these flocks make long journeys or 358 TETRAONID.'E. cross the sea. In Scotland tliey are no more numerous in winter than in summer, nor have they been observed to take refuge in the woods. In the comparatively mild temperature of Scotland there occurs no lengthened period during which they cannot find their simple food somewhere in the open country ; they consequently do not leave the moors, but only descend lower. The Ptarmigan is neither so abundant nor so generally diffused in Scotland as the Grouse. It is said to have existed at one time in the north of England and in Wales : if so, it has totally disappeared, nor is it knowTi in Ireland. THE COMMON PARTEIDGE. PERDIX CINEREA. Face, eye-brows, and throat, blight rust-red; behind the eye a naked red skin ; neck, breast, and flanks, ash colour with black zigzag lines, and on the feathers of the flanks a large rust-red spot ; low on the breast a chestnut patch shaped like a horse-shoe ; upper parts ash-brown with black spots and zigzag lines ; scapulars and wing-coverts darker; quills brown, barred and spotted with yellowish red ; tail of eighteen feathers, the laterals bright rust-red ; beak olive-brown ; feet grey. Female less red on the face ; head spotted with white ; upper plumage darker, spotted with black ; the horse-shoe mark indistinct or wanting. Length thirteen inches. Eggs uniform olive-brown. Very few, even of our common birds, are more generally known than the Partridge. From the 1st of September to the 1st of Eebruary, in large towns, every poulterer's shop is pretty sure to be decorated with a goodly array of these birds ; and there are few rural districts in which a walk through the fields wiU fail to be enlivened by the sudden rising and whirring away of a covey of Partridges, in autumn and winter ; of a pair in spring. At mid- summer they are of less frequent appearance, the female being too busily occupied, either in incubation or the training of her family, to find time for flight ; and at this season, moreover, the uncut fields of hay, clover, and corn, aff'ord facilities for the avoiding of danger, by conceabnent rather than by flight. The habits of the Partridge, as of the Grouse, are especially terrestrial. It never flies, like THE COMMON PARTRIDGE. 359 the Lark, for enjoyment ; and as it does not perch in trees it has no occasion for upward flight. Still, there are occasions when Partridges rise to a considerable distance from the ground, and this seems to be when they meditate a longer flight than usual. A friend, to whom I am indebted for many valuable notes on various birds, tells me that when a covey of Par- tridges are disturbed by a pack of hounds, they lie close at :M if// 4' /'^'Mi^^^\'Q' THE COMMON PARTRIDGIi. first, as if terrified by the noise and bent on concealing themselves ; but when the pack actually comes on them they rise to a great height, and fly to a distance which may be measured by miles — at least, so he supposes, as he has watched them diminish and fade from the sight before they showed any sign of preparing to alight. The Partridge, though decorated with no briUiant colours, which would tend to thwart it in its habit of 360 TETRAONID^. concealing itself among vegetation of the same general hue as itself, is a beautiful bird. Its gait is graceful, its feet small and light, its head well raised ; and its plumage, though devoid of striking contrasts, is exquisitely pen- cilled, each feather on the back and breast being veined like the gauzy wings of a fly. The most conspicuous part of the plumage of the male bird, the horse-shoe on its breast, is invisible as it walks or crouches, and the general tone approaches that of the soil. Partridges pair early in the year ; but the hen does not begin to lay until May, nor to sit until towards the be- ginning of June. The nest is merely a depression in the ground, into Av^hich a few straws or dead leaves have been drawn. It is sometimes placed among brushwood under a hedge, but more frequently in the border of a field of hay, clover, or corn, or in the wide field itself. The mow- ing season, unfortunately, is not noted in the calendar of I^ature ; so the mother-bird, who is a close sitter, is not unfrequently destroyed by the scythe, or, at all events, is driven away, and returns to find her eggs carried off to be intrusted to the care of a domestic hen. In unusually wet seasons, nests which have been fixed in low situations are flooded, and the eggs being thus reduced to a low temperature become addle. When this has taken place, the Partridge makes a second laying, and a late brood is reared. * JSTot withstanding this, however. Partridges are exceed- ingly prolific, and are said to be increasing in numbers in proportion as new lands are reclaimed from the waste. It must certainly be admitted that, in bad seasons, they are treated with a consideration that would scarcely be shown towards them if they were simply destroyers of grain and had nothing to recommend them as objects of sport or as delicacies for the table. When abundant, they fall freely before the sportsman's gun ; but when the coveys are cither small or few, they are treated with forbearance, and THE COMMON PARTEIDGE. 361 enough are left to stock the preserves for the ensuing year. While the hen is sitting, the male bird remains some- where in the neighbourhood, and gives timely warning of the approach of danger : when the eggs are hatched, he accompanies his mate, and shares in the work of teaching the young to shift for themselves— a lesson which they begin to learn at once. The food both of old and young birds is, to a great extent, insects. The young are espe- cially fond of ants and their pupae or larvse. During the present year (1860), in which there were no broods of Par- tridges, I was much struck by the fact that stubble-fields abounded, to an unusual degree, with ant-hills. In ordinary seasons, these are found torn to pieces and levelled. This year, scarcely one was touched ; and even at the present time, the end of October, winged ants are far more nume- rous than they usually are at this time of the year. Be- sides insects, Partridges feed on the seeds of weeds, green leaves, grain spilt in reaping, and on corn which has been sown. This last charge is a serious one ; yet, on the whole, it is most probable that Partridges do far more good than harm on an estate, the insects and weeds which they destroy more than making amends for their consump- tion of seed-corn. I might fill many pages with anecdotes of the devotion of Partridges to their maternal duties — their assiduity in hatching their eggs, their disregard of personal danger while thus employed, their loving trickeries to divert the attention of enemies from their broods to themselves, and even the actual removal of their eggs from a suspectedly dangerous position to a place of safety ; but with many of these stories the reader must be already familiar if he has read any of the works devoted to such subjects. The number of eggs laid before incubation commences varies from ten to fifteen, or more. Yarrell says, ^'Twenty- eight eggs in one instance, and thirty-three eggs in two 362 tetraoniDtE. other instances, are recorded as having been found in one nest ; but there is little doubt, in these cases, that more than one bird had laid eggs in the same nest." This may be ; but I find in a French author an instance in which no less than forty-two eggs were laid by a Partridge in captivity, all of which, being placed under a hen, would have produced chicks, but for the occurrence of a thunder storm accompanied by a deluge of rain which flooded the nest, when the eggs, which all contained chicks, were on the point of being hatched. The average number of birds in a covey is, I believe, about twelve ; quite enough to supply the sportsman and to account for the abundance of the bird. The character of the Partridge's flight is famihar to most people. Simultaneously with the startled cry of alarm from the cock comes a loud whirr -r-r as of a spinning- wheel : away fly the whole party in a body, keeping a horizontal, nearly straight line : in turns each bird ceases to beat its wings and sails on for a few yards with ex- tended pinions ; the impetus exhausted which carried it through this movement, it plies its wings again, and if it have so long escaped the fowler, may, by this time, con- sider itself out of danger, for its flight, though laboured, is tolerably rapid. The call of the Partridge is mostly uttered in the even- ing, as soon as the beetles begin to buzz. The birds are now proceeding to roost, which they always do in the open field, the covey forming a circle with their heads outwards, to be on the watch against their enemies, of whom they have many. They feed for the most part in the morning and middle of the day, and vary in size according to the abundance of their favourite food. In some districts of France, it is said, the weight of the Par- tridges found on an estate is considered as a fair standard test of the productiveness of the soil and of the state of agricultural skill. THE COMMON PARTRIDGE. 363 Most people are familiar with the distich : " If the Partridge had the "Woodcock's thigh, It would be the best bird that e'er did flie ; " but every one does not know that the saying was in vogue among epicures in the reign of Charles II. THE EED-LEGGED PAETEIDGE. PERDIX RUFA. Throat and cheeks white, surrounded by a black band, which spreads itself out over the breast and sides of the neck in the form of numerous spots and lines, with which are intermixed a few white spots ; upper plumage reddish ash ; on the flanks a nimiber of crescent-shaped spots, the convexity towards the tail rust-red, the centre black, bordered by white ; beak, orbits, and feet, bright red. Length thirteen and a half inches. Eggs dull yellow, spotted and speckled with reddish brown and ash colour. The Eed-legged Partridge, called also the French and Guernsey Partridge, is a stronger and more robust bird than the common species, which it also greatly surpasses in brilliancy of colouring. As some of its names indicate, it is not an indigenous bird, but a native of the south of Europe, whence it was first introduced into England in the reign of Charles 11. To WiUughby, who hved at that period, it was unknown except as a native of the continent of Europe and the islands of Guernsey and Jersey. Towards the close of the last century it was re-introduced into Suffolk, where it has become numerous ; so much so, indeed, in some places, as to have gained the better of the common species. Its flight is rapid, but heavier and more noisy than that of the common Partridge. It is less patient of cold, and less able to elude the attacks of birds of prey. It is quite a terrestrial bird, very slow in taking flight, and never perching except when hard pressed, when, on rare occasions, it takes refuge among the thick branches of an oak or pinaster; here it considers itself safe, and watches the move- ments of the dogs with apparent unconcern. Sometimes, 364 TETRAONID^. too, when closely hunted, it takes shelter in a rabbit's burrow or the hole of a tree ; but under ordinary circumstances it runs rapidly before the dogs, and frequently disappoints the sportsman by rising out of shot. The Grey or Common Partridge frequents rich cultivated lands ; the Eed Partridge prefers uncultivated plains, " which summer converts into burning causeways, winter into pools of water — monotonous htndes, where skeletons of sheep pasture without variation '\^\'i>*' THK RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. on heath and the dwarf prickly genista. It delights, too, in bushy ravines, or the steep sides of rocky hills covered with holly, thorns, and brambles ; and when it resorts to vineyards, it selects those situated on the sides of steep slopes, where marigolds and coltsfoot are the principal weeds, rabbits and vipers the most abundant animals."* Eed Partridges are consequently most numerous in the * Toubsenel. THE EED-LEGGED PARTEIDGE. 365 least cultivated districts of France, especially those between the Cher and the Loire, and between the Loire and the Seine. Towards the east they do not extend beyond the hills of Epernay, and do not cross the valley of the Meuse. The flesh of the Eed Partridge is considered inferior to that of the Grey, and the bird itseK is less esteemed by sportsmen as an object of pursuit. In England it; seems to retain its natural taste of preferring bushy heaths to inclosed land. In the mode of incubation and rearing the young the two species are much alike. THE BAEBAEY PARTEIDGE. PERDIX PETROSA. Upper part of the head of a deep chestnut, which spreads on the sides of the neck into a collar, narrower in front and spotted with white ; feathers near the ears rust-red ; throat and a band over the^eye bluish ash ; upper plumage ash-red ; on the wing eight or ten spots, light blue bordered with orange ; flanks barred transversely with white, black, and oi'ange ; beak, orbits, and feet red. Length thirteen inches. Eggs dull yellow, speckled -nith greenish yeUow. This bird is of about the same size as the Eed-legged Par- tridge. In Europe it is confined to the mountainous dis- tricts of the south and the islands of the Mediterranean. In Algeria it is the most common species. Its habits resemble those of the preceding, though it is somewhat more easily induced to perch on trees. Two specimens only are known to have been killed in England, which may have been hatched from foreign eggs, or they may have found their way hither as stragglers. In either case this bird has little claim to be considered British. It nests in the fields or in bushy places among the mountains. 36G TETRAONIDiE. THE VIEGINIAN COLIN. ORTTX VIRGINIANA. ThroeT plumage dusky, spotted with yellow ; cheeks, neck, and breast mottled with ash-brown and buff; throat and abdomen white ; quills dusky, white along the shafts towards the end ; beak dusky, feet deep ash-colour ; irides bro-wn. Summer — Upper plumage greyish black, spotted with bright yellow ; forehead and space above the eyes white ; sides of the neck white, mottled with black and yellow; lore, throat, neck, and lower parts deep black. Length eleven inches. Eggs yellowish green, blotched and spotted with black. The Golden Plover is a common bird in the south of England during the winter months, and in the mountainous parts of Scotland and the north of England during the rest of the year ; yet so different are its habits and plumage at the extremes of these two seasons, that the young naturalist who has had no opportunities of observing them in their transition stage, and has had no access to trust- worthy books, might be forgiven for setting down the two forms of the bird as distinct species. In the hilly districts of the north of Europe, Golden Plovers are numerous, sometimes being, with Ptarmigans, the only birds which relieve the solitude of the desolate 382 CHARADKID^. Avastes. Though numerous in the same localities, they are not gregarious during spring and summer, and are remark- able for their fearlessness of man. So tame, indeed, are they that, in little-frequented places, when disturbed by the traveller they will run along the stony ground a few yards in front of him, then fly a few yards, then stand and stare and run along as before. On such occasions they frequently utter their singular cry — the note so often referred to in Sir Walter Scott's poems — which, like the JS'ightingale's song, is considered simply plaintive or pain- fully woe-begone, according to the natural temperament or occasional mood of the hearer. This bird builds no nest ; a natural depression in the ground, unprotected by bush, heather or rock, serves its purpose, and here the female lays four eggs, much pointed at one end, and arranges them, in accordance with the custom of the Plover tribe, in the form of a cross, with the smaller end inwards. " The young," says Macgillivray, " leave the nest imme- diately after they burst the shell, and conceal themselves by lying on the ground. At this period the female evinces the greatest anxiety for their safety, and will occasionally feign lameness to entice the intruder to pursue her. I have several times seen one fly off" to a considerable dis- tance, alight in a conspicuous place, and tumble about as if in the agonies of death, her wings flapping as if they had been fractured or dislocated." When the young are fledged, they unite into flocks and resort to the moist cultivated lowlands where earthworms are abundant. While engaged in feeding they run rapidly, occasionally stopping as if to look around them, and trample on the ground as if to alarm the worms and frighten them from their holes. They are not much in the habit of fre- quenting marshes for the purpose of feeding, but several times in the day they repair to watery places for the sake of bathing, or, more probably, of cleansing their feet from the mud contracted in this occupation. THE GOLDEN PLOVER. 383 At the approach of autumn, no matter where their summer may have been passed, Plovers migrate southwards in large flights, those from Scotland to the southern counties of England, where they frequent wide moist pastures, heaths, and reclaimed marsh-land. From the northern parts of the continent of Europe they take their departure in October, either to the European shores of the Mediter- ranean, or to the plains of JSTorthern Africa. In these migrations they are not unfrequently joined by Starlings. They travel in close array, forming large flocks much wider than deep, moving their sharp wings rapidly, and making a whizzing sound, which may be heard a long way off. ]!^ow and then, as if actuated by a single impulse, they sweep towards the ground, suddenly alter the direction of their flight, then wheel upwards with the regularity of a machine, and either alight or pursue their onward course. This habit of skimming along the ground and announcing their approach beforehand, is turned to good purpose by the bird-catcher, who imitates their note, attracts the whole flight to sweep down into his neighbourhood, and captures them in his net, a hundred at a time, or, when they are within range, has no difliculty in killing from twelve to twenty at a shot. 'Not unfrequently, too, when some members of a flock have been killed or wounded, the remainder, before they remove out of danger, wheel round and sweep just over the heads of their ill-fated companions, as if for the purpose of inquiring the reason why they have deserted the party, or of alluring them to join it once more. This habit is not peculiar to Plovers, but may be noticed in the case of several of the sea-side waders, as Dunlins and Sanderlings. In severe winter weather they desert the meadows, in which the worms have descended into the ground beyond the reach of frost, and so of their bills, and resort to the muddy or sandy sea-shore. In the Hebrides it is said that they do not migrate at all, but simply content themselves with shifting from the moors 384 CIIARADPJD^. to the shore and back again, according to the weather. In the northern parts of France, on the other hand, they are only known as passengers on their way to the south. From making their appearance in the rainy season they are there called pZ^*l;^ers, whence our name Plover, which, however, is supposed by some to have been given to them for their indicating by their movements coming changes in the weather, in which respect indeed their skill is marvellous. The Golden Plover, sometimes called also Yellow Plover, and Green Plover, is found at various seasons in most countries of Europe ; but the Golden Plovers of Asia and America are considered to be different species. THE DOTTEREL. CHARADRIUS MORINELLUS. Winter— Head dusky asli ; over each eye a reddish white band, meeting at the nape ; face whitish, dotted with blaclv ; bacli dusky ash, tinged with green, the feathers edged with rust-red ; breast and flanks reddish ash; gorget white ; beak black ; irides brown ; feet greenish ash. Stimmer—Face, and a band over the eyes white ; head dusky ; nape and sides of the neck ash ; featliers of the back, wing-coverts, and wing-feathers, edged with deep red ; gorget wiiite, bordered above by a narrow black line ; lower part of the breast and flanks bright rust-red ; middle of the belly black ; abdomen reddish white. Young birds have a reddish tinge on the head, and the tail is tipped with red. Length nine inches and a half. Eggs yellowish olive, blotched and spotted with dusky brown. The Dotterel, Little Dotard, or Morinellus, " little fool," received both the one and the other of its names from its alleged stupidity. " It is a silly bird," says Willughby, writing in 167G ; "but as an article of food a great deli- cacy. It is caught in the night by lamp-light, in accord- ance with the movements of the fowler. For if he stretch out his arm, the bird extends a wing ; if he a leg, the bird does the same. In short, whatever the fowler does, the Dotterel does the same. And so intent is it on the movements of its pursuer, that it is unawares entangled in THE DOTTEREL. 385 the net." Such, at least, was the common belief; and Pennant alludes to it, quoting the following passage from the poet Drayton : — " Most worthy man, with thee 'tis ever thus, As men take Dottrels, so hast thou ta'en us : Which, as a man his arme or leg doth set, V So this fond bird will likewise counterfeit." \r^--\- THE DOTTEREL. In Pennant's time, Dotterels were not uncommon in Cam- bridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire, appearing in small. flocks of eight or ten only, from the latter end of April to the middle of June ; and I have been informed by a gentleman in Norfolk that, not many years since, they annually resorted also, in small flocks, to the plains of that county. Of late years, owing most probably to their being much sought after for the table, they have become rare ; and the same thing has taken place in France. c c '^86 CHARADRID^. The Dotterel has been observed in many of the EiigHsh counties both in spring and autumn, and has been known to breed in the mountainous parts of the north of England ; but I may remark that the name is frequently given in Norfolk and elsewhere to the Ringed Plover, to which birdivalso belong the eggs collected on the sea-coast, and sold as Dotterel's eggs. THE RmGED PLOVER. CHARADRIUS HIATICULA. Forehead, lore, sides of the face, gorget reaching round the neck, bhu-k : a band across the forehead and through the eyes, throat, a broad collar, and all the lower parts, white ; upper plumage ash-brown ; outer tail-feather white, the next nearly so, tlie other feathers grey at the base, passing into dusky and black, tipped with white, except the two middle ones, which have no white tips ; orbits, feet, and beak orange, the latter tipped with black. Young — Colours of the head dull ; gorget incomplete, ash-brown ; bill dusky, tinged with orange at the base of the lower mandible ; feet yellowish. Length seven and a half inches. Eggs olive-yellow, with numerous black and gi'ey spots. On almost any part of the sea-coast of Britain, where there is a wide expanse of sand left at low water, a bird may often be noticed, not much larger than a Lark, grey above and white below, a patch of black on the forehead and under the eye, a white ring round the neck, and a black one below. If the wind be high, or rain be falling, the observer will be able to get near enough to see these markings ; for sea birds generally are less acute observers in foul weather than in fair. On a nearer approach, the bird will fly up, uttering a soft, sweet, plaintive whistle of two notes, and, having performed a rapid, semicircular flight, will probably alight at no great distance, and repeat its note. If it has settled on the plain sand or on the water's edge, or near a tidal pool, it runs rapidly, without hopping, stoops its head, picks up a worm, a portion of shell-fish, or a sand-hopper, runs, stops, pecks, and runs again, but does not allow any one to come so near as before. The next time that it alights, it may select, perhaps, the beach THE KINGED PLOVER. 387 of shells and pebbles above high-water mark. Then it becomes at once invisible ; or, if the observer be very keen-sighted, he may be able to detect it while it is in motion, but then only. Most probably, let him mark ever so accurately with his eye the exact spot on which he saw it alight, and let liim walk up to the spot Avithout once averting his eye, he will, on his arrival, find it gone. It has run ahead with a speed marvellous in so small a biped, THE RINGED PLOVER. and is pecking among the stones a hundred yards off. Its name is the Einged Plover, or Ringed Dotterel. Fisher- men on the coast call it a Stone-runner, a most appropriate name ; others call it a Sea Lark. In ornithological works it is described under the former of these names. The Einged Plover frequents the shores of Great Britain all the year round. It is a social bird, but less so in spring than at any other season ; for the females are then c c 2 388 CHARADRID^. employed in the important business of incubation, and the males are too attentive to their mates to engage in pic- nics on the sands. The nest is a simple hollow in the sand, above high- water mark, or on the shingly beach; and here the female lays four large, pointed eggs, which are arranged in the nest with all the small ends together. The young are able to run as soon as they break the shell ; but, having no power of flight for a long time, avoid impending danger by scattering and hiding among the stones. The old bird, on such occasions, uses her wings ; but not to desert her charge. She flies up to the intruder, and, like other members of the same family, endeavours to entice him away by counterfeiting lameness or some injury. The Ringed Plover sometimes goes inland to rear her young, and lays her eggs in a sandy warren, on the bank of a river or the margin of a lake ; but when the young are able to fly, old and young together repair to the sea- shore, collecting in flocks, and for the most part continuing to congregate until the following spring. Their flight is rapid and sweeping, consisting of a succession of curves, while performing which they show sometimes their upper grey plumage, and at other times the under, which is of a dazzling white. Occasionally, too, as they wheel from one tack to another, every bird is lost sight of, owing to the perfect unanimity with which, at the same instant, they alter their course, and to the incapacity of the human eye to follow the rapid change from a dark hue to a light. Not unfrequently one falls in with a solitary individual which has been left behind by its companions, or has strayed from the flock. Such a bird, when disturbed, utters its whistle more frequently than on ordinary occa- sions, and, as its note is not difficult of imitation, I have often enticed a stray bird to fly close up to me, answering all the while. But it has rarely happened that I have succeeded in practising the deception on the same bird a second time. 389 THE KEXTISH PLOVEE. CHARADKIUS CANTIANUS. Forehead, a band over each eye, chin, cheeks, and under parts, white ; upper part of the forehead, a hand from the base of the beak extending tlu-ough the eye, and a large spot on each side of the breast, black ; head and nape light brownish red ; rest of the upper plumage ash-brown ; two outer tail-feathers white, the third whitish, the rest brown ; beak, irides, and feet, brown. Female wants the black spot on the forehead, and the other parts black in the male are replaced by ash-brown. Length six and a half inches. Eggs olive-yellow, spotted and speckled with l)lack. The Kentish Plover differs from the i^rececling in its in- ferior size, in having a narrower stripe of black on the cheeks, and in wanting the black ring round the neck. It is found from time to time in various parts of the counties of Kent, Essex, Sussex, and N"orfolk, but is most abundant on the shores of the Mediterranean. Its habits resemble closely those of the allied species. On the authority of the Greek historian Herodotus, a little bird is found in Egypt called the Trochilus, which is noted for the friendly and courageous office it performs for the Crocodile. This unwieldy monster, having no flexible tongue w^herewith to cleanse its mouth, comes on shore after its meals, opens its jaws, and allows the Trochilus to enter and pick off the leeches and fragments of food, which, adhering to its teeth, interfere with its comfort. This story was long believed to be a fable ; but the French naturahst Geoffrey de Saint Hilaire has, in modern times, confirmed the veracity of the father of history, and pronounces the Trochilus of the ancients to be the Fluvier a Collier interrom^m, the subject of the present chapter. The Cayman of South America is also said to be indebted for a similar service to the kindly offices of a little bird, which, however, is not a Plover, but a Toddy. 390 CHAEADKID.E. THE LITTLE RINGED PLOVER. CHARADRIUS MINOR. A band reaching from eye to eye across the head, continued above the base oi the bill in front, and passing backwards through the eye and gorget, meeting behind, black ; neck, collar, rump, and under plumage, white ; back of the head and rest of the upper plumage ash-grey ; bill black ; orbits yellow ; feet tlesh colour. Length five inches. Eggs yellowish white, blotched with black and brown. A VERY rare visitor to tlie British Isles ; but not unfre- (jueiit in Germany, and the south of Europe, as far as Italy, where it inhabits the banks of rivers rather than the sea-side. Its nidifieation and general habits resemble those of the larger species. THE GREY PLOVER. SQUATAROLA CINEREA. JFirt^er— Forehead, throat, and under plumage, white, spotted on the neck and flanks with grey and brown ; upper plumage dusky brown, mottled with white and ash colour ; long axillary feathers black or dusky ; tail white, barred with brown and tipped with reddish ; bill black ; irides dusky ; feet blackish grey. Summer — Lore, neck, breast, belly, and flanks, black, bounded by white ; upper plumage and tail black and white. Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs olive, spotted with black. Many of the Waders agree in wearing, during winter, plumage in a great measure of a difterent hue from that which characterizes them in summer ; and, as a general rule, the winter tint is lighter than that of summer. This change is, in fact, but an extension of the law which clothes several of the quadrupeds with a dusky or a snowy fur in accordance with the season. The Grey Plover, as seen in England, well deserves its name, for, as it frequents our shores in the winter alone, it is only known to us as a bird grey above and white below. But in summer the under plumage is decidedly black, and in this respect it bears a close resemblance to the Golden Plover, with which, in spite of the presence of a rudimentary fourth toe, it is closely allied. My friend, the Rev. W. S. Hore, informs me that he has seen them in Norfolk wearing the full black THE GREY PLOVER. 391 plumage in May. The occiiiTence of the bird, however, in this condition, in England, is exceptional ; while in the northern regions, both of the Old and l!^ew World, it must be unusual to see an adult bird in an^^other than the sable plumage of summer. The Grey Plover is a bird of extensive geographical range, being known in Japan, India, New Guinea, the Cape of Good Hope, Egypt, the continent of Europe, and THE GREY PLOVER. Xorth America. In this countr^^, as I have observed, it occurs from autumn to spring, frequenting the sea-shore, and picking up worms and other animal productions cast up by the sea. Grey Plovers are less abundant than Golden Plovers ; yet, in severe, seasons, they assemble in numerous small flocks on the shores of the Eastern counties, and, as Meyer well observes,* they are disposed to be " sociable, not only towards their own species, but to * Illustrations of British Birds and their Eggs, vol. v. p. 162. 392 charadridtE. every other coast bird. When a party either go towards the shore, or leave it for tlie meadows and flat wastes, they unanimously keep together; but when alighting, they mix with every other species, and thus produce a motley group." They 11 y in flocks, varying from Ave to twenty or more, keeping in a line, more or less curved, or in two lines forming an angle. Their flight is strong and rapid, rarely direct, but swee2:)ing in wide semicircles. As the}'- advance they alternately show their upper and under plumage, but more frequently the latter ; for they gene- rally keep at a height of sixty or a hundred yards from the ground, in this respect difl'cring from Ringed Plovers, Dunlins, &c. Occasionally one or two of the flock utter a loud whistle, which seems to be a signal for all to keep close order. Just as Starlings habitually alight wherever they see liooks or Gulls feeding, so the Grey Plovers join themselves on to any society of birds which has detected a good hunting-ground. During a single walk along the sands I have observed them mixed up with Dunlins, Knots, Gulls, Pedshanks, and Poyston Crows ; but in no instance was I able to approach near enough to note their habit of feeding. They were always up and away before any other bird saw- danger impending. In autumn they are less shy. The people on the coast describe the Grey Plover as the shyest of all the Waders, and could give me no information as to its habits ; but Meyer, whose descrip- tion of this bird is very accurate in other respects, states that "its general appearance is peculiar to itself; it walks about on the ground slowly and with grace, and stops every now and then to pick up its food ; it carries its body in a horizontal position on straight legs, and its head very close to its body, consequently increasing the thick ai:)pear- ance of the head." The Grey Plover breeds in high latitudes, making a slight hollow in the ground, and employing a few blades THE GREY PLOVER. 393 of grass. It lays four eggs, on which it sits so closely that it will remain until almost trodden on. When thus disturbed, its habits resemble those of the Pdnged Plover, described above. THE LAPWIXG, OR PEEWIT. VANELLUS CRISTATUS. Feathers on the back of the head elongated and curved upwards ; head, crest, and breast, glossj^ black ; throat, sides of the neck, belly and abdomen, white ; under tail-coverts yellowish red ; upper plumage dark green, with purple reflections ; tail, when expanded, displaying a large semicircular gi-aduated black patch on a white disk, outer feather on each side wholly white ; bill dusky ; feet reddish brown. Young — Throat dull white, mottled with dusky and tinged with red ; upper feathers tipped with dull yellow. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched and spotted with dusky black. The Peewit, or Green Plover, as it is sometimes called, is among the best known birds indigenous to the British Isles. This notoriety it owes to several causes. The lengthened feathers on the back of its head, forming a crest, at once distinguish it from every other British Wader. Its peculiar flight, consisting of a series of wide slow flappings with its singularly rounded wings, fiu'nishes a character by which it may be recognised at a great distance ; and its strange note, resembling the word " peweet" uttered in a high screaming tone, cannot be mistaken for the note of any other bird. In London and other large towns of England its eggs also are well known to most people ; for '' Plovers' eggs," as they are called, are considered great delicacies. Peewits are found in abundance in most parts of Europe and Asia from Ireland to Japan. They are essentially Plovers in all their habits, except, perhaps, that they do not run so rapidly as some others of the tribe. They inhabit the high grounds in open countries, the borders of lakes and marshes and low unenclosed wastes, and may not unfrequently be seen in the large meadows, which in some districts extend from the banks of rivers. They are 394^ CHAKADRID.E. l)artially migratory; hence they may appear at a certain season in some particular spot, and be entirely lost sight of for many months. Individuals which have been bred in high latitudes are more precise in their periods of migration than those bred in the south. In Kamtschatka, for instance, their southern migration is so regular that the month of October has received the name of the "HE LAPWING, OR PEKWIT. " Lapwing month." In Britain their wanderings are both more uncertain and limited ; for, though they assem])le in flocks in autumn, they only migrate from exposed localities to spots which, being more sheltered, afford them a better supply of food. In April and May these birds deposit their eggs, making no further preparation than that of bringing together a few THE LAPWING, OR PEEWIT. 895 stalks and placing them in a shallow depression in the ground. The number of eggs is always four, and they are placed in the order so common among the Waders, crosswise. Lapwings are to a certain extent social even in the breeding season, in so far that a considerable num- ber usually frequent the same marsh or common. It is at this season that they utter most frequently their charac- teristic cry, a note which is never musical, and heard by the lonely traveller, (as has happened to myself more than once by night,) is particularly wild, harsh, and dispiriting. ISTow, too, one may approach near enough to them to notice the winnowing movement of their wings, which has given them the name of Lapwing in England and Yanneau in France (from van, a fan). The young are able to run as soon as they have burst the shell, and follow their parents to damp ground, where worms, slugs, and insects, are most abundant. When the young have acquired the use of their wings, the families of a district unite into flocks. They are then very wary, and can rarely be approached without difficulty ; but as they are considered good eating, many of them fall before the fowler. THE tur:n^stone. STR^PSILAS INTERPRES. Crown reddish white, with longitudinal black streaks : upper part of the back, scaj)ulars, and wing-coverts, rusty brown, spotted with black ; rest of the plumage variegated with black and white ; bill and irides black ; feet orange- yellow. Length nine inches. Eggs reddish white, blotched and spotted with chestnut-brown. The Turnstone is a regular annual visitor to the shores of Great Britain, and indeed of almost every other country, having been observed as far north as Greenland, and as far south as the Straits of Magellan ; but it is never seen inland. It arrives on our coasts about the beginning of August, not in large flocks like the Plovers, but in small parties, each of which, it is conjectured, constitutes a family. .396 charaDrid^. It is a bird of elegant form and beautiful party-coloured plumage, active in its habits, a nimble runner, and an in- defatigable hunter after food. In size it is intermediate between the Grey Plover and Sanderling, being about as big as a Thrush. The former of these birds it resembles in its disjDosition to feed in comjiany with birds of different species, and its impatience of the apj^roach of man. For this latter reason it does not often happen that any one can THE TURNSTONE. get near enough to these birds to watch their manoeuvres while engaged in the occu23ation from which they have derived their name, though their industry is often apparent from the number of pebbles and shells found dislodged from their socket on the sands where a family has been feeding. Audubon, who had the good fortune to fall in with a party on a retired sea-coast, where, owing to the rare appearance of human beings, they were less fearful THE TUENSTONE. 397 than is their wont, describes their operations with his usual felicity : " They were not more than fifteen or twenty yards distant, and I was delighted to see the ingenuity with which they turned over the oyster-shells, clods of mud, and other small bodies left exposed by the retiring tide. Whenever the object was not too large, the bird bent its legs to half their length, placed its bill beneath it, and with a sudden quick jerk of the head pushed it off, when it quickly picked up the food which was thus ex- posed to view, and walked deliberately to the next shell to perform the same operation. In several instances, when the clusters of oyster-shells or clods of mud were too heavy to be removed in the ordinary way, they would not only use the bill and head, but also the breast, pushing the object with all their strength, and reminding me of the labour which I have undergone in turning over a large turtle. Among the sea-weeds that had been cast on shore, they used only the bill, tossing the garbage from side to side with a dexterity extremely pleasant to behold.* In like manner I saw there four Turnstones examine almost every part of the shore along a space of from thirty to forty yards ; after which I drove them away, that our hunters might not kill them on their return." A writer in the Zoologist f gives an equally interesting account of the successful efforts of two Turnstones to turn over the dead body of a cod-fish, nearly three and a half feet long, which had been imbedded in the sand to about the depth of two inches. For an account of the habits of the Turnstone during the breeding season we are indebted to Mr. Hewitson, who fell in with it on the coast of Norway. He says, " We had visited numerous islands with little encouragement, and were about to land upon a fiat rock, bare, except where here and there grew tufts of grass or stunted juniper * From this habit, the Turnstone is in Norfolk called a '' Tangle- picker."— C. A. J. t Vol. ix. p. 3077. 398 CIIAKADKID^. cKnging to its surface, when our attention was attracted by the singular cry of a Turnstone, which in its eager watch had seen our approach, and perched itself upon an eminence of the rock, assuring us, by its querulous oft- repeated note and anxious motions, that its nest was there. We remained in the boat a short time, until we had watched it behind a tuft of grass, near which, after a minute search, we succeeded in finding the nest in a situa- tion in which I should never have expected to meet a bird of this sort breeding ; it was placed against a ledge of the rock, and consisted of nothing more than the dropping leaves of the juniper bush, under a creeping branch of which the eggs, four in number, were snugly concealed, and admirably sheltered from the many storms by which these bleak and exposed rocks are visited. The Turnstone has not been known to breed in Great Britain. THE SANDERLING. CALIDRIS ARENARIA. Winter- Upper plumage and sides of the neck whitish ash ; cheeks and all the under plumage, pure white ; bend and edge of the wing and quills blackish grey ; tail deep grey, edged with white ; bill, irides, and feet, black. Sunwier —Cheeks and crown black, mottled with rust-red and white ; neck and breast reddish ash with black and white spots ; back and scapulars deep rust-red, spotted with black, all the feathers edged and tipped with white ; wing-coverts dusky, with reddish lines, and tipped with white; two middle tail-feathers dusky, with reddish edges. Yoiivg in auhimn— Cheeks, head, nape, and back variously mottled with black, brown, grey, rust-red, and dull white. Length eight inches. Eggs olive, spotted and speckled with black. Sea-side visitors, if they inquire of boatmen and other people on the shore the names of the birds about the size of swallows, and scarcely less swift, which, united into flocks, fly in sweeping curves along the sand, or over the breakers, now showing their dark upper plumage, and now the snowy feathers on their breasts, will be probably told that they are Stints, or j^erhaps Sand Larks. These names answer well enough the purpose of sea-side fowlers, THE SANDERLING. 399 who sell all birds about the size of the birds in question, to the poulterers, at a certain rate per dozen. But in reality, out of half a dozen flocks which may sweep by a stroller on the sandy sea-sliore, it is quite possible that three or four of them may be composed of as many different species of birds, and even that any one of the flocks may be made up mainly of one sort, but with a sprinkling of another. When the flocks are feeding on the sand, especially close to the water's edge, where THE sa:;derling. their prey, consisting of living Crustacea, demands close attention and activity on their part, it is possible to approach near enough to them to distinguish the different kinds ; and in severe weather the flocks are often so tame, that if disturbed they will wheel away for a short flight, and return to the immediate neighbourhood of the ob- server. Sanderlings may then be easily discriminated among Dunlins by their lighter tint and shorter beak. These birds are tolerably common on most of the sandy shores of Great Britain, and are occasionally seen 400 CHARADRID.1i:. in the neighbourhood of large inland lakes. They arrive on onr shores early in autumn, keeping together in small flocks, or joining the company of Dunlins, or Einged Plovers. In spring they withdraw to high latitudes, where they breed ; they are not, however, long absent. Yarrell mentions his having obtained specimens as late as April and June, and I have myself obtained them as early as the end of July, having shot at Hunstanton, on the coast of Norfolk, several young birds of the year, on the 23rd of that month ; and on another occasion I obtained a specimen on the sands of Abergele, in l!^orth Wales, in August. This leaves so very short a time for incubation and the fledging of the young, that it is probable that a few birds, at least, remain to breed in this country, or do not retire very far north. Little is known of their habits during the season of incubation, but they are said to make their nests in the marshes, of grass, and to lay four eggs. Like many other shore birds, they have an extensive geographical range, and are found in all latitudes, both in the eastern and western hemisphere. THE OYSTER CATCHEE, OE SEA PIE. HiEMATOPUS OSTRALEGUS. Head, nape, upper part of the breast, back, wings, and extremity of the tail, deep black ; collar, rim, base of tail-feathers and primaries, a transverse band on the wings, and all the lower parts, white ; bill and orbits bright orange ; irides crimson ; feet purplish red. In summer the white collar is absent. Young birds have the black feathers mottled with brown ; the white dingy ; bill and orbits dusky ; irides brown ; feet livid grey. Length seventeen inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched and spotted with ash-grey and black. Some years since, while on a visit to some friends who resided near Loch Gilphead, in Scotland, as I was one day driving round the shores of the loch, when, it being nearly high water, a few ridges of mud alone were visible, I observed here and there small parties THE OYSTER CATCHER, OR SEA PIE. 401 of birds whose heads and bodies were somewhat like those of Ducks, their beaks orange-coloured, their legs longer and more slender than in any of the Duck tribe, and their plumage deep black and pure white. These being the colours of the Magpie, as well as of the birds before me, and the latter being evidently in their element — on the sea-shore — I had no hesitation in pronouncing them to -^^ THE OYSTER CATCHER, OH SEA PIE. be Sea Pies, and in admitting the propriety of the name. They were running about with the gait of Plovers, often wading to a slight distance, and feasting on worms, shell- fish, or whatever other animal matter chanced to be there. Bkds generally are less afraid of carriages containing men than of pedestrians ; and so it was now. I approached much nearer to them on that occasion than on any other. They frequently uttered a harsh note in a high key, which. 402 CHARADRID^. though unmusical, harmonized well with the scenery. I had many other opportunities of observing them on the shores of the Scottish lochs, and I was once induced, on the recommendation of a friend, to have one served up for dinner as an agreeable variation from the bacon and herrings which mainly constitute the dietary of a Scottish fishing- village inn. But I did not repeat the experiment, preferring fish pure and simple to fish served up through the medium of a fowl. The nature of its food sufficiently accounts for its strong flavour. Oyster Catchers frequent rocky promontories or the broad banks of mud, sand, and ooze, which stretch out from low portions of the coast. Here they feed on mussels* and other bivalves, limpets, worms, Crustacea, and small fish ; mixing freely with other birds while on the ground, but keeping to themselves while performing their flights. In their mode of using their wings they remind the spectator of Ducks rather than of Plovers, and they advance in a line, sometimes in single file, one after another, but more frequently wing by wing. AYhen they alight, too, it is not with a circular sweep, but with a sailing movement. When the mud banks are covered by the tide they move to a short distance inland, and pick up slugs and insects in the meadows, or betake themselves to salt marshes and rocky headlands. They have also been observed many miles away from the coast ; but this is a rare occurrence. Their nest is generally a slight dej)ression among the shingle above high-water mark ; but on rocky shores they make an attempt at a nest, collecting a few blades of grass and scraps of sea-weed. They lay three or four eggs, and the young are able to run soon after brealdng the shell. In high latitudes Oyster Catchers are migratory, leaving * " Mussel-catcher " woiild be a more appropriate name for this bird than that by which it is known ; for it neither has the power of diving in quest of oysters, nor of opening them, if it could obtain any. THE OYSTER CATCHER, OR SEA PIE. 403 their breedino'-crrounds in autumn, and returning in the spring ; consequently, those coasts from which they never depart afford an asyhim in winter to vast numbers of strangers, in addition to their native population. On the coast of Norfolk, for example, they are to be seen in small parties all through the summer; but in winter, especially if it be a severe one, they may be reckoned by thousands. They here seem to have favourite spots on which to pass the night. One of these is what is called the " Eastern point " of Brancaster Marsh, a place of perfect security, for it is difficult of access under any circumstances, and cannot be approached at all with any chance of conceal- ment on the part of the intruder. Towards this point I have seen line after line winging their way, all about the same hour, just before sunset, all following the line of the coast, but taking care to keep well out at sea, and all advanc- ing with perfect regularity, every individual in a company being at the same height above the water. They are very wary at this season, insomuch that though I must have seen many thousands, and examined upwards of twenty species of sea- shore birds, which had been shot in the neigh- bourhood, not a single Oyster Catcher was brought to me. THE COMMON CEANE. GRUS CINEREA. - General plumage ash-grey ; throat, part of the neck, and back of the head, dark blackish grey ; forehead and cere covered with black bristly hairs ; crown naked, orange red ; some of the secondaries elongated, arched, and having the barbs of the feathers free ; bill greenish black, reddish at the base, horn-coloured at the tip ; irides reddish brown ; feet black. Young birds have the crown feathered, and want the dark grey of the neck and head. Length five feet. Eggs pale greenish ash, blotched and spotted with bro-wn and dark green. Erom the fact of nine Cranes being recorded among the presents received at the wedding of the daughter of Mr. More, of Loseley, in 1567, it would appear that these birds were tolerably common in England at that date. D D 2 4'()4 Gi:rin^i Willughby, whose '' Ornithology" was published about a hundred years later, says tliat Cranes were regular visitors in England, and that large flocks of them were to be found, in summer, in the fens of Lincolnshire and Cam- bridgeshire. Whether they bred in England, as Aldro- vandus states, on the authority of an Englishman who had seen their young, he could not say on his own personal knowledge. Sir Thomas Brown, a contemporary of Willughby, writes, in his account of birds found in Norfolk : — " Cranes are often seen here in hard winters, especially about the champaign and fieldy part. It seems they have been more plentiful; for, in a bill of fare, when the mayor enter- tained the Duke of I^orfolk, I met with Cranes in a dish." Pennant, waiting towards the close of the eighteenth century, says : — '* On the strictest inquiry, we learn that, at present, the inhabitants of those counties are scarcely acquainted Avith them : we therefore conclude that these birds have left our land." Three or four instances only of the occurrence of the Crane took place within the memory of Pennant's last editor ; and about as many more are recorded by Yari^U as having come within the notice of his correspondents during the present century. It would seem, therefore, that the Crane has ceased to be a regular visitor to Britain. It is, however, stiU of common occurrence in many parts of the Eastern Continent, passing its summer in temperate climates, and retiring southwards at the approach of winter. Its periodical migrations are re- markable for their punctuality, it having been observed that, during a long series of years, it has invariably traversed France southward in the latter half of the month of Octo- ber, returning during the latter half of the month of March. On these occasions, Cranes fly in large flocks, composed of two lines meeting at an angle, moving with no great rapidity, and alighting mostly during the day to rest and feed. At other seasons, it ceases to be gregarious, and COMMON CRANE. 405 repairs to swamps and boggy morasses, where in spring it builds a rude nest of reeds and rushes on a bank or stump of a tree, and lays two eggs. As a feeder it may be called omnivorous, so extensive is its dietary. Its note is loud and sonorous, but harsh, and is uttered when the birds are performing their flights as well as at other times. The Crane of the Holy Scriptures is most probably not this species, which is rare in Palestine, but another, Grus Virgo, the Crane figured on the Egyptian monuments, which periodically visits the Lake of Tiberias, and whose note is a chatter, and not the trampet sound of the Cine- reous Crane. In the north of Ireland, in Wales and perhaps elsewhere, the Heron is commonly called a Crane. THE commo:n^ HEEOK ARDEA CINEREA. A crest of elongated bluish black feathers at the back of the head ; similar feathers of a lustrous white hanging from the lower part of the neck ; scapulars similar, silver grey ; forehead, neck, middle of the belly, edge of the wings, and thighs, pure white ; back of the head, sides of the breast, and flanks, deep blJtck ; front of the neck streaked with grey ; upper plumage bluish grey ; beak deep yellow ; irides yellow ; orbits naked, livid ; feet brown, red above ; middle toe, claw included, much shorter than the tarsus. In young birds the long feathers are absent ; head and neck ash-coloured ; upper plumage tinged with brown ; lower, spotted with black. Length three feet two inches. Eggs uniform sea-green. The Heron, though a large bird, measuring three feet in length from the point of the beak to the extremity of the tail, and four feet and a half in breadth from the tip of one wing to the other, weighs but three pounds and a half. Consequently, though not formed for rapid flight, or endued with great activity of wing, its body presents so large a surface to the air, that it can support itself aloft with but a slight exertion. It is thus enabled, without fatigue, to soar almost into the regions assigned to the Eagle and Vulture ; and when pursued by its natural ene- mies, the Falcons, to whom it Avould fall an easy prey on account of the largeness of the mark which its body would present to their downward swoop if it could only skim the 406 ARDEID^. plains, it is enabled to vie with them in rising into the air, and thus often eludes them. The Heron, though it neither swims nor dives, is, never- theless a lisher, and a successful one, but a fisher in rivers and shallow waters only, to human anglers a very pattern of patience and resignation. Up to its knees in water, /«/ THE HERON. motionless as a stone, with the neck slightly stretched out, and the eye steadily fixed, but wide awake to the motion of any thing that has life, the Heron may be seen in the ford of a river, the margin of a lake, in a sea-side pool, or on the bank of an estuary, a faultless subject for the photographer. Suddenly the head is shot forward with THE COMMON HERON. 407 unerring aim ; a small fish is captured, crushed to death, and swallowed head foremost ; an eel of some size requires different treatment, and is worth the trouble of bringing to land, that it may be beaten to death on the shingle ; a large fish is impaled with its dagger-like beak, and, if worth the labour, is carried off" to a safe retreat, to be devoured at leisure. If observers are to be credited, and there is no reason why they should not, a full-grown Heron can thus dispose of a fish that exceeds its own weight. A frog is swallowed whole ; a water rat has its skull split before it discovers its enemy, and speedily is undergoing the process of digestion. Shrimps, small crabs, newts, water beetles, all is fish that comes to its compre- hensive net ; but if, wdth all its watchfulness, the look-out be unsuccessful, it rises a few feet into the air, and slowly flaps itself away to some little distance, where, perhaps, slightly altering its attitude, it stands on one leg, and, with its head thrown back, awaits better fortune. While thus stationed it is mute ; but as it flies off it frequently utters its note, a harsh, grating scream, especially when other birds of the same species are in the neighbourhood. On these occasions it is keenly on the alert, descrying danger at a great distance, and is always the first to give notice of an approaching enemy, not only to all birds feeding near it on the shore, but to any Ducks which may chance to be paddling in the water.* During a great portion of the year the Heron is a wanderer. I have frequently seen it at least fifty miles distant from the nearest heronry ; but w^hen it has dis- covered a spot abounding in food, it repairs thither day after day for a long period. * A Heron in captivity has been known to percli on an old car riage-wheel, in the corner of a court-yard, and to lie in wait for SpaiTows and Martins. One of the latter it was seen to pierce while flyiug, and immediately descending with outspread wings to run to its trough, and, having several times plunged in its prey, to swallow it at a gulp. 4()(S AKDEID^. In the month of March, Herons show a disposition to congregate, and soon after repair to their old-established breeding places called Heronries. These are generally lofty trees, firs or deciduous trees in parks, or even in groves close by old family mansions. One at Kilmorey, by Loch Gilphead, has long been frequented, though within a hundred yards of the house. The nests, huge masses of sticks, a yard across, lined Avith a little grass, and other soft materials, are placed near each other, as many, some- times, as a hundred in a colony,* or, more rarely, thoy are placed among ivy-clad rocks, ruins, or even on the ground. Each nest contains four or five eggs, on which the female sits about three weeks, constantly fed by her partner during the whole period of incubation. The power of running would be of little use to a young bird hatched at an elevation of fifty feet from the ground ; the young Herons are consequently helpless till they are sufficiently fledged to perch on the branches of the trees, where they are fed by their parents, who themselves perch with the facility of the rook. Indeed, the favourite position of these birds, both old and young, is, during a considerable por- tion of the day, on the upper branches of a lofty tree, whither, also, they often rei)air with a booty too large to be swallowed at once. By a statute of Henry VIII. the taking of Herons in any other way than by hawking, or the long bow, was prohibited on a penalty of half a mark ; and the theft of a young bird from the nest was visited with a penalty of ten shillings. Not to be acquainted with the noble art of Falconry was deemed degrading ; so that the saying, " He does not know a Hawk from a Heronshaw," was a common expres- sion of contempt, now corrupted into the proverb, " He does not know a Hawk from a handsaw." * Pennant countfd eighty in one tree. 409 THE PUEPLE HEROX. ARDEA PURPUREA. Crest and head greenish black; long feathers of the neck purplish white; scapulars brilliant purple-red ; throat white ; under plumage variously tinged with purple and red ; wings and tail reddish ash, with green reflections ; middle toe not shorter than the tarsus. Young birds want the long feathers, and the purple hue generally is less decided. Length three feet. Eggs greenish ash. This bird approaches the common Heron in size and form, but offers a striking contrast in colour — the one being simply clad in white, black, and grey ; the latter having rich red-brown cheeks and neck, a purplish tinge on the breast, and deep purple feathers on the shoulders. It is of rare occurrence in Great Britain and the west of Europe generally, but is not unfrequent at the mouths of the Rhone, the banks of the Danube, and the shores of the Caspian and Black Seas. In habits it differs from the Common Heron, being never seen, like that bird, on the open shore, but confining itself to the swampy banks which are thickly covered with vegetation. It builds its nest among rushes and thick grass near the water's edge, and lays three or four eggs. THE GREAT WHITE HEROK. ARDEA ALBA. Plumage white ; crest and neck feathers elongated ; some of the feathers of the back much elongated ; beak yellow, with a black tip ; feet gi-eenish black. Length three feet two inches ; feathers of the back eighteen inches. Eggs pale blue. A BIRD of SO rare occurrence that every instance of its having been seen during the present century is carefully recorded, the last occasion being probably in the year 1840. It is scarcely more common on the continent of Europe, but is said to be not unfrequent in the islands of the Archipelago and in Asia Minor. Its habits, as far as they have been observed, resemble in all respects those of the Common Heron. It builds its nest in trees, and lays from four to six eggs. 410 AKDEtD^. THE LITTLE EGRET. ARDEA GARZETTA. In colour closely resembling the last, but much smaller. Length two feet. Eggs wliite. A RARE and beautiful bird, which cannot be said to haunt the British. Isles, though a few specimens have from time to time been obtained here ; nor is it more frequent in France or the adjoining countries. In Turkey, Greece, and Italy, it is less uncommon. In the lakes and swamps of Hungary it is yet more frequent, but its favourite places of resort seem to be the country between the Black and Caspian Seas, Asia Minor, and some parts of Africa. " The scapulars and crest were formerly much esteemed as ornaments for caps and head pieces ; so that aigrette and egret came to signify any ornament to a cap, though originally the word was derived from aigrey harsh, on account of the harshness of its note." * THE BUFE-BACKED HEROK ARDEA RUSSATA. Crest and upper plumage orange colour and white ; lore, beak, and irides, yellow legs yellow, tinged at the joints \\\i\\ lead colour. Length twenty inches. Eggs unknown. An inhabitant of Asia, Africa, and occasionally of the southern parts of Europe, thus described by a French naturalist : — " The Garde-boeuf Heron, never seen in France except near the mouth of the lihone, is a charm- ing bird about the size of a Pigeon, which follows the cattle in the fields, and returns with them to their stalls. It is the gentlest, most familiar, and most harmless of all the feathered friends of man. Its offtce is to serve as an escort to the flocks at pasture, and to watch them in the * Pennant's " British Zoology," vol. ii. p. 22. THE BUFF-BACKED HERON. 411 fields. I know nothing so pretty as a group of these Herons arranging themselves in a circle around a black ox buried in the long grass at midday, watching it, de- fending it against the attacks of winged insects which thirst for its blood, and adroitly relieving it of the ticks which hang in clusters to its flanks. I have often admired these scenes in the pastures of Algeria during the early years of the French occupation, and I have more than once pointed out to lovers of the picturesque, as a charm- ing subject for a ' cattle-piece,' this protection of the patient quadruped by its wdiite sentinels. I regi^et that no eminent artist has transferred to the canvas this little rustic drama, for it is possible that representations, Avhich formerly often took place in the grassy plains of the Mitidja, the Mina, and the Chelif, are now become rare." I have translated this passage, because it singularly con- firms Colonel Montagu's account of the only bird of the species which has been obtained in England. It is thus cited by Yarrell : — " This elegant little species of Heron, which was shot near Kingsbridge, in Devonshire, in the latter end of October, 1805, had been seen for several days in the same field attending some cows, and picked up insects, which were found in its stomach. It was by no means shy, and was fired at a second time before it was secured." THE SQUACCO HERON. ARDEA COMATA. Feathers on the crown and occipital crest yellow, black, and white ; throat white ; neck, upper part of the back, and scapulars, rich buff ; elongated feathers of the back chestnut ; rest of the plumage white ; beak blue, tipped with black ; orbits and lore green ; feet brown ; claws black. Length nine- teen inches. Eggs unknown. A NATIVE of the eastern part of Europe, as well as of Asia, Egypt, and Nubia. Perhaps as many as a dozen of these beautiful birds have been shot in Great Britain, 412 AKDEID.E. but they can only be considered chance visitors ; nor are they of much more frequent occurrence in France, though occasionally to be met with near the mouths of the Rhone. In Hungary it is far more frequent, resorting to the rivers and lakes for food, which consists of small fish, frogs, beetles, and small crabs, whence it has acquired its French name of Crabier. It is said to be more given to perching in trees than any other Heron, and is often seen in the company of cattle and herds of swine. I^othing is known of its nest or eggs. THE LITTLE BITTERN. BOTAURUS MTNUTUS. Head, back, scapulars, secondaries, and tail, black, with gi-een reflections ; sides of the head, neck, wing-coverts, and under plumage, reddish yellow ; primaries greyish black ; beak yellow, tipped with brown ; orbits and irides yellow ; feet greenish yellow. In young birds most of the plumage is tinged with brown ; front of the neck whitish, Avith numerous dark streaks. Length thirteen and and a half inches. Eggs white. Bearing a close resemblance to the Herons in length of neck, conformation of beak, and fishing propensities, the Little Bittern differs from them greatly in having much shorter legs ; its size also is much less than that of the Common Heron, as its body is not larger than that of the Turtle Dove or Fieldfare. It is only a stray visitor in this country, but is common in many parts of the Continent. In the marshes of Essone, near Paris, for instance, it is very abundant, where it stations itself on the flags and tussucks of grass, to dart on its prey, which is said to consist wholly of small fish. In the months of August and September Little Bitterns are so numerous there, that if a gun be fired the valley re-echoes to a long distance with their harsh cries. It builds its nest of grass, rushes, and twigs, among long herbage, close to the ground, and lays four or five eggs. THE COMMON BITTERN. BOTAUEUS STELLARIS. Moustaches and c^o^\^l black ; upper plumage yellowish rust-red, spotted with dusky ; the feathers of the neck elongated, marked with brown zigzag lines ; primaries barred with rust-red and dusky grey; plumage beneath paler, marked with oblong dusky streaks ; upper mandible brown, edged with yellow ; lower, orbits, and feet, greenish yellow ; irides bright yellow. Length two feet four inches. Eggs dingy green. The association of the Bittern in more than one passage of Holy Scripture with other emblems of dreariness and sterility, accounts in a measure for its introduction into modern poems on kindred subjects ; but it is questionable 414 ARDEID.E. whether any of our modern English poets, with the ex- ceptfon, perhaps, of Sir Walter Scott, ever heard what they describe so circumstantially. Macgillivray, who was as well acquainted as most orni- thologists with birds haunting moors and swamps, admits that he never heard one, and thinks that a brother naturalist, who describes what, no doubt, he heard, mis- took for the booming of the 13ittern the drumming of a Snipe. In Sir Thomas Brown's time, it was common in l!^orfolk, and was esteemed a better dish than the Heron. Willughby, who wrote about the same time, 1670, says : — " The Bittern, or Mire-drum, it is said, makes either three or five boomings at a time — always an uneven number. It begins to bellow early in February, and con- tinues during tiie breeding season. The common people believe that it thrusts its beak into a reed, and by the help of this makes its booming. Others maintain that it imitates the lowing of an ox by thrusting its beak into water, mud, or earth. They conceal themselves among rushes and reeds, and not unfrequently in hedges, with the head and neck erect. In autumn, after sunset, they are in the habit of rising into the air with a spiral ascent, so high that they are lost sight of. Meanwhile they utter a singular note, but not at all resembling the characteristic 'booming.' Without doubt, this is the bird popularly known by the name The Night Raven.'^ It is called Botaurus, because it imitates hoatiim tauriy the bellowing of a bull. Of "Botaurus," the names " Bitour " and Bittern are evident corruptions ; and the following names, in different languages, are all descriptive of the same peculiar note : Butor, Eordump, Myre- dromble, Trombone, Rohrtrummel, Rohrdommel, and Ror- drum. Of late years, so unusual has the occurrence become of Bitterns breeding in this country, that the discovery of an THE COMMON BITTEEN. 415 egg in Norfolk has been thought worthy of being recorded in the transactions of the Linnean Society; and even the appearance of a bird at any season finds its way into the provincial newspapers or the magazines devoted to natural history. Stuffed specimens are, however, to be seen in most collections, where its form and plumage may be studied, though its habits can only be learnt, at least in England, from the accounts furnished by naturalists of a past generation. The Bittern is a bird of wide geographical range, as it resorts, more or less, to all countries of Europe and Asia. Specimens are said to differ much in size, some being as large as the Heron, others considerably less ; but there is no • reason to suppose that they are of different species, a similar variation having been observed in other birds, as in the Curlew, for example, of which I have had in my possession at once four or five specimens all of different dimensions. Willughby says that the Bittern builds its nest on the ground, and lays five eggs, which are white, tinged with ash or green. The old bird, if wounded, defends itself in the same way as the Heron. THE AMEBICAN BITTERN, BOTAUEUS LENTIGINOSUS. Back and scapulars chocolate-brown, with purple reflections, the edges of the feathers paler ; under plumage ochre-yellow streaked with chestnut ; bill greenish yellow, dusky above ; legs greenish. Length twenty^three inches. Eggs ash-green. A RARE visitor in these islands, but of common occurrence m North America. In habits, note, and food, it seems to differ in no material respect from the European species. THE iS^IGHT HEROX. NYCTICORAX GARDENI. Head, back, and scapulars, black, with blue and green reflections ; on the back of the head three very long narrow white feathers ; lower part of the back, wings, and tail, jjearl-grey ; forehead, streak over the eyes, and all the lower parts, white; beak black, yellow at the base ; irides red ; feet yellowish green. Young birds have no crest : the upper plumage is dull brown streaked with yellow ; wing-coverts and primaries marked with fish-shaped streaks, which are yellowish ; under parts dull white, mottled with brown and ash ; bill greenish ; irides and feet brown. Length twenty-one inches. Eggs pale blue. The Night Heron is a bird of wide geographical range ; but, on account of its nocturnal habits and the rarity of its occurrence in this country, it has been little observed. A specimen was brought to me at Helston, Cornwall, about the year 1836, which had been shot in the dusk of the evening, on Goonhilly Downs. Its long and delicate crest had been stupidly tied into a knot, and by the bruised condition of these feathers tlie specimen, if it still exists in any museum, may yet be identified. The Night Heron is said to be not uncommon on the shores of the Baltic, in the wide marshes of Bretagne and THE NIGHT HERON. 417 Lorraine, and on the banks of the Ehone. It passes the day concealed among the thick foHage of trees and shrubs, and feeds only by night. It builds its nests in trees, and lays four or five eggs. THE WHITE STORK. CICONIA ALBA. General plumage white ; scapulars and wings black ; bill and feet red ; orbits naked, black ; irides brown. Young birds have the wings tinged with brown and the beak reddish black. Length three feet six inches. Eggs white tinged with ochre. Sir Thomas Brown says, in liis " Account of Birds found in iN'orfolk " : " The Ciconia, or Stork, I have seen in the fens ; and some have been shot in the marshes between this [jN'orwich] and Yarmouth." His contemporary, Wil- lughby, says : — " The Stork is rarely seen in England ; never, in fact, but when driven hither by the wind or some accident. I have received from Dr. Thomas Brown, the eminent naturalist, a figure drawn to the life, and a short description of one which was captured in JN'orfolk.'' Yarrell records instances of a few^ others which have been killed, at distant intervals, in various parts of England ; but the Stork is so rare a visitor with us, that I have no scruple in referring my readers, for a full account of the habits of so interesting a bird, to some more comprehensive work on the subject. THE BLACK STOEK. CICONIA NIGRA. Upper plumage black, with gi-een and pui-ple reflections ; under white ; bill and orbits red ; irides brown ; feet deep red. In young birds the bill, orbits, and feet, are olive gi-een; and the upper plumage is tinged with rust-brown. Length nearly three feet. Eggs dull white, tinged with green, and sometimes sparingly spotted with brown. A STILL rarer visitor in Great Britain than the White Stork, from w^hich it differs c[uite as much in habit as it does in colour ; for whereas the one is eminently sociable with birds of its own kind, and devoted in its attachment EE 418 ARDEIDyE. to human dwellings, the other is a solitary bird, shy and wary, avoiding at all times the sight of men and their habitations. It is a rare bird in most countries of Europe, but is common in several parts of Asia and the whole of the known regions of Africa. It builds a large nest in a lofty tree, and lays from two to five eggs. THE SPOONBILL. PLATALl^A LEUCORODIA. General plumage white ; a large patch of reddish yellow on the breast ; a crest of long narrow white feathers pendent over the neck ; lore, orbits, and naked space on the neck, pale yellow ; bill black, tipped with yellow ; irides red ; feet black. Young birds want the yellow patch on the breast an-d the occipital crest ; portions of the wing black. Length thirty-one inches. Eggs white, spotted with light red. This bird, with the figure of which most people have been familiar from their childhood, has scarcely any longer a claim to be considered British, though it does pay us an occasional visit ; when it invariably meets with such a re- ception as efi'ectually to prevent its return. Spoonbills do not appear to have been common at any time ; for though Sir Thomas Brown enumerates them among the birds of Norfolk and Suffolk, where they built in heronries, his contemporary, Willughby, knew them only as natives of Holland. The Spoonbill is a migratory bird, building its nest and rearing its young in the north of Europe and Asia, and re- tiring in autumn to the shores of the Mediterranean or to Africa. It is remarkable not only for the singular con- formation of its bill, but for " being one of the very few which have been found to possess no true muscles of the organ of voice ; and no modulation of a single tone appears to be possessed by the bird.'' * It builds its nest in high trees, or, when these are wanting, among reeds and rushes ; and lays four eggs. * Yarrell's " British Birds." 419 THE GLOSSY IBIS. IBIS PALCINELLUS. Head dusky chestnut ; neck, breast, upper part of the back, and under parts, bright chestnut-red ; rest of the upper plumage dusky, with bronze and purple reflections ; beak greenish black, tipped with brown : orbits green, edged with grey; irides brown; feet greenish brown. You7ig birds have the head and neck marked with numerous fine gi-eyish white lines ; the plumage generally is tinged with dusky brown and ash, and the metallic reflections are less vivid. Length twenty-two inches. Eggs unknown. A RARE visitor to the British Isles, occurring at distant intervals either as a solitary straggler or in flocks. Nothing being known of its habits as observed in this country, I must refer my readers for a detailed description to some more comprehensive work. It is a bird of wide geogra- phical range, being found both, in North and South America^ the eastern countries of Europe, the greater part of Asia, and aU the known regions of Africa. Its nest and eggs are unknown. THE COMMON CURLEW. NUMENIUS ARQUATA. General plumage reddish ash, mottled with dusky spots ; belly white, with longitudinal dusky spots ; feathers of the back and scapulars black, bordered with rust-red ; tail white, with dark brown transverse bars ; upper mandible dusky ; lower, flesh-colour ; irides brown ; feet bluish grey. Length varying from twenty-two to twenty-eight inches. Eggs olive-green, blotched and spotted with brown and dark green. Dwellers by the sea-side, — especially where the tide retires to a great distance leaving a wide expanse of muddy sand, or on the banks of a tidal river where the receding water lays bare extensive banks of soft ooze, — are most probably quite familiar with the note of the Curlew, however ignorant they may be of the form or name of the bird from which it proceeds. A loud whistle of two syllables, which may be heard for more than a mile, bearing a not over-fanciful resemblance to the name of the bird, answered by a similai^ cry, mellowed by distance into a pleasant sound — wild, but in perfect harmony with the character of the scene — E E 2 420 SCOLOPACID^. announces the fact that a party of Curlews have discovered that the ebb-tide is well advanced, and that their feeding ground is uncovered. The stroller, if quietly disposed, may chance to get a sight of the bii'ds themselves as they arrive in small flocks from the inland meadows ; and though they mil probably be too cautious to venture within an unsafe distance, they will most likely come quite close THE COMMON CURLEW. enough to be discriminated. Not the merest novice could mistake them for Gulls ; for not only is their flight of a different character, but the bill, which is thick enough to be distinguished at a considerable distance, is disproportion- ately long, and is curved to. a remarkable degi*ee. Curlews are in the habit of selecting as their feeding ground THE COMMON CURLEW. 421 those portions of tlie shore which most abound in worms and small crustaceous animals ; these they either pick up and, as it were, coax from the tip to the base of the beak, or, thrusting their long bills into the mud, draw out the worms, which they dispose of in like manner. When the sands or ooze are covered, they withdraw from the shore, and either retire to the adjoining marshes or pools, or pace about the meadows, picking up worms, snails, and insects. Hay-fields, before the grass is cut, are favourite resorts, especially in the jSTorth ; and, in districts where there are meadows adjoining an estuary, they are in the habit of changing the one for the other at every ebb and flow of the tide. From the middle of autumn till the early spring Curlews are, for the most part, sea-side birds, frequenting, more or less, all the coast ; but at the approach of the breeding season they repair inland, and resort to heaths, damp meadows, and barren hills. Here a shallow nest is made on the ground, composed of bents, rushes, and twigs of heath, loosely put together. The eggs, which are very large, are four in number. During the period of incubation the male keeps about the neighbour- hood, but is scarcely less wary than at other seasons. The female, if disturbed, endeavours to lure away the intruder from her dwelling by the artifice, common in the tribe, of pretending to be disabled ; and great anxiety is shown by both male and female if any one approaches the spot where the young lie concealed. The latter are able to run almost immediately after they are hatched, but some weeks elapse before they are fledged. It seems probable that an unusually long time elapses before they attain their full size, for the dimensions of different individuals vary to a remarkable degree. Eight or nine specimens were brought to me in Norfolk in the winter of 1861, and among them about half seemed full-grown ; of the others some were so small that, at the first glance, I supposed them to be Whimbrels. 422 SCOLOPACID.^l The Curlew is found on the sea-coast over the whole of Europe and Asia, and along the northern coast of Africa. The flesh of this bird is said by some to be excellent eating. This, perhaps, may be the case with young birds shot early in autumn, before they have been long subjected to a marine diet. My own experience of birds shot in winter does not confirm this opinion. I have found them eatable, but not palatable. THE WHIMBREL. THE WHIMBREL. NUMENIUS PHiEOPUS. General plumage pale ash-colour, mottled with white and dusky spots ; crown divided by a longitudinal streak of yellowish white ; over each eye a broader brown streak belly and abdomen white, with a few dusky spots on the flanks ; feathers on the back, and scapulars deep brown, in the middle bordered by lighter brown ; rump white ; tail ash brown, barred obliquely with dark brown ; bill dusky, reddish at the base ; irides brown; feet lead-colour. Length not exceeding seventeen inches. Eggs dark olive-brown, blotched with dusky Though by no means a rare bird, the Whimbrel is of far less common occurrence than the Curlew, and is seen only THE WHIMBREL. 423 at two periods of the 'year, in May and August, when per- forming its migrations. It resembles the Curlew both in figure and habits, though much smaller in size ; its note, too, is like the whistle of that bird, but somewhat higher. It is gregarious, but unsociable with other birds. The extreme southern limit at which the Whimbrel breeds is considered to be the Orkney and Shetland Islands. It is known to visit most of the countries of Europe and Asia in spring and autumn, but is nowhere very abundant. THE SPOTTED EEDSHANK. TOTANUS FUSCUS. H^infe?'— Upper plumage ash-gi-ey ; rump and all the lower parts white ; a dusky band between the bill and eye, edged above with white ; sides and front of the neck mottled with white and ash ; tail and coverts barred witli white and dusky ; bill black ; the base of the lower mandible red ; feet bright red. .SftrnMier- Upper plumage dusky; wing-coverts and scapulars spotted with white ; lower plumage dusky ash ; feathers of the breast and belly ending with a narrow white crescent ; feet brown, tinged with red. Length twelve inches. An occasional visitor to the British Isles, observed either in early spring, when on its way to high latitudes where it breeds, or in autumn, while returning southwards. Its nest and eggs are unknown. THE COMMON EEDSHANK TOTANUS CALIDRIS. Winter— U-p-per plumage ash-brown ; throat, sides of the head, streak over the eye, neck, and bi-east, greyish white ; rump, belly, and abdomen, white ; tail > marked transversely with black and white zigzag bars, tipped with white ; feet and lower half of both mandibles red. ,S«mmer— Upper feathers ash- brown, with a broad dusky streak in the centre ; under parts white, spotted and streaked with dusky ; feet and lower half of both mandibles vermilion red. Length twelve inches. Eggs greenish yellow, blotched and spotted A\ith brown. The Redshank is a bird of frequent occurrence on all such parts of the coast as are suited to its habits. Nowhere, I suppose, is it more abundant than on the coast of Norfolk — at least, on those parts of the coast where it can have 424 SCOLOPACIDiE. access to muddy marshes. It does not, indeed, confine itself to such places, for it is not unfrequently to be seen on the sea-shore, feeding in the neighbourhood of Dunlins, Knots, Grey Plovers, and other Waders ; or, when its favourite haunts are covered by the tide, a solitary bird or a party of three or four meet or overtake the stroller by the sea-side, taking care to keep at a respectful distance from him, either by flying high over his head or sweeping rtlE COMMON REDSHANK. along, a few feet above the surface of the sea, in the line of the breakers or in the trough outside them. They may easily be distinguished from any other common bird of the same tribe by the predominance of white in their plumage. Other waders, such as Dunlins and Sanderlings, present the dark and light sides of their plumage alter- nately, but the Redshank shows its dark and white feathers simultaneously, and if seen only on the wing might be THE COMMON REDSHANK. 425 supposed to be striped with black and white. Keen- sighted observers can also detect its red legs. Its flight, as accurately described by Macgillivray, " is light, rapid, wavering, and as if undecided, and, being performed by quick jerks of the wings, bears some resemblance to that of a pigeon." During its flight it frequently utters its cry, which is a wild shrill whistle of two or three notes, approaching that of the Einged Plover, but louder and less mellow. At low water, it frequents, in preference to all other places of resort, flat marshes which are intersected by muddy creeks, and in these it bores for food. It is very wary, flying off long before the fowler can come within shot if it happens to be standing exposed ; and even if it be concealed under a high bank, where it can neither see nor be seen, -it detects his approach by some means, and in most cases is up and away before any but the most expert shot can stop its flight. On these occasions it invariably utters its alarm note, which both proclaims its own escape and gives warning to all other birds feeding in the vicinity. Scattered individuals thus disturbed sometimes unite into flocks, or fly off, still keeping separate, to some distant part of the marsh. On one occasion only have I been enabled to approach near enough to a Eed- shank to watch its peculiar movements while feeding, and this observation I was much pleased in making, as it con- firms the account of another observer. A writer in the Naturalist, quoted by Yarrell and Macgillivray, says : — '' I was very much struck with the curious manner in which they dart their bill into the sand nearly its whole length, by jumping up and thus giving it a sort of impetus, if I may use the word, by the weight of their bodies pressing it downwards." This account Macgillivray, with an un- amiable sneer too common in his writings when he refers to statements made by others of facts which have not fallen within his own observation, considers to be so inaccurate that he pronounces the birds to be not 426 SCOLOPACID^. Kedshanks at all, and calls them " Irish Eedshanks." On the occasion to which. I have referred, I saw at a distance a largish bird feeding on a bank of mud close to an embankment. Calculating as nearly as I could how many paces off it was, I cautiously crept along the other side of the embankment ; and when I had reached what I supposed was the right spot, took off my hat and peeped over. Within a few yards of me was an unmistakeable Eedshank, pegging with his long beak into the mud, and aiding every blow with an impetus of his whole body. In my own mind I compared his movements with those of a Nuthatch, with which I was quite familiar, and, the surface of the mud being frozen hard, I imagined that the laborious effort on the part of the bird was necessitated by the hardness of the ground. Perhaps this may have been the case ; but, whether or not, it is clear enough that the bird does, when occasion requires it, lend the weight of his body to the effort of his beak in searching for food. I should add that I did not know, at the time, that any similar occurrence had been recorded. The food of the Eedshank consists of worms, marine insects, and any other animal matter which abounds on the sea-shore. It builds its nest of a few blades of grass in the marshes, never among the shingle where that of the Einged Plover is placed, but under a shrub, (popularly known on the coast of Norfolk by the name of "Eose- mary,") the Sucedafruticosa, Shrubby Sea Elite, of botanists. It lays four eggs, which are considered delicate eating. GEEEN SANDPIPER TOTANUS OCHROPUS. Upper plumage olive-brown, with greenish reflections, spotted with whitish and dusky ; lower plumage white ; tail white, the middle feathers barred with dusky towards the end, the two outer feathers almost entirely white ; bill dusky above, reddish beneath ; feet greenish. Length nine and a half inches. Eggs whitish green, spotted with brown. This bird, which derives its name from the green tinge of its jDlumage and legs, must be reckoned among the rarer THE GREEX SANDPIPEE. 427 Sandpipers. In habits it differs considerably from most of its congeners, in that it is not given to congregate with others of its kind, and that it resorts to inland waters rather than to the sea. It is seen for the most part in spring and autumn, at which seasons it visits us when on its way to and from the northern countries in which it breeds. Specimens have been killed late in the summer, from which it has been inferred that the Green Sandpiper some- times breeds in this country; but the fact does not appear to have been confirmed by the discovery of its nest. While migrating it flies very high, but when scared from its feeding ground it skims along the surface of the water for some distance, and then rises high into the air, uttering its shrill whistle. In its choice of food, and habits while feeding, it resembles the Common Sandpiper. On the authority of Temminck, it builds its nest among grass near the water, and lays from three to five eggs. THE WOOD SAm)PIPER TOTANUS GLAE^OLA. Winter— A narrow dusky streak between the bill and eye ; upper parts deep brown, spotted with white ; breast and adjacent parts dirty white, mottled with ash-brown ; under plumage and tail-coverts pure white ; tail-feathers barred with brown and white ; two outer feathers on each side with the inner web pure white ; biU and legs greenish. Suniimr — Head streaked with brown and dull white ;' the white of the breast clearer ; each of the feathers of the back with two white spots on each side of the centre. Length seven and a half inches. This species closely resembles the last both in appearance and habits. It received its name of Wood Sandpiper from having been observed occasionally to resort to boggy swamps of birch and alder, and has been seen even to perch on a tree. Its most common places of resort are, however, swamps and wet heaths. Like the last, it is a bird of wide geographical range, nowhere very abundant, and imperfectlj'' known. THE COMMON SANDPIPER TOTANUS HYPOLEUCUS. Upper parts ash-brown, glossed with olive ; back and central tail-feathers marked with fine wavy lines of rich dark brown ; a narrow white streak over each eye ; under plumage pure white, streaked at the sides with brown ; outer tail-feathers barred with white and brown ; bill dusky, lighter at the base ; feet greenish ash. Length seven and a half inches- Eggs whitish yellow, spotted with brown and grey. To this bird lias been given not inappropriately tlie name of Summer Snipe. In form and mode of living it resembles the Snipe properly so called, and it is known to us only during summer. Unlike the last two species, it is a bird of common occurrence. One need only to repair to a re- tired district abounding in streams and lakes, at any period of the year between April and September, and there, in all probability, this lively bird will be found to have made for itself a temporary home. Arrayed in un- attractive plumage, and distinguished by no great power of THE COMMON SANDPIPER. 429 song — its note being simply a piping, which some people consider the utterance of one of its provincial names, "Willy Wicket" — it may nevertheless be pronounced an accomplished bird. It flies rapidly and in a tortuous course, likely to puzzle any but the keenest shot ; it runs with remarkable nimbleness, so that if a sportsman has marked it down, it will probably rise many yards away from the spot; it can swim if so inclined; and when hard pressed by a Hawk, it has been seen to dive and remain under water until all danger had passed away. It has never been observed to perch on the twigs of trees, but it has been noticed running along the stumps and projecting roots of trees. Its favourite places of resort are withy holts (where it searches for food in the shallow drains), moss-covered stones in rivers, the shallow banks of lakes, and the flat marshy places intersected by drains, which in low countries often skirt the sea-shore. Its food consists of small worms and the larvae and pupae of the countless insects which spend their lives in such localities. It may be presumed, too, that many a perfect winged insect enters into its dietary, for its activity is very great. Even when its legs are not in motion, which does not often happen, its body is in a perpetual state of agitation, the vibration of the tail being most conspicuous. Sandpipers do not congregate like many others of the Waders ; they come to us generally in pairs, and do not appear to flock together even when preparing to migrate. The nest is a slight depression in the ground, most fre- quently well concealed by rushes or other tufted foliage, and is constructed of a few dry leaves, stalks of grass, and scraps of moss. The Sandpiper lays four eggs, which are large, and quite disproportionate to the size of the bird. Indeed, but for their peculiar pear-sha23ed form, which allows of their being placed so as to occupy a small space with the pointed ends all together, the bird would scarcely be able to cover them. The parent bird exhibits the same marvellous 430 SCOLOPACIDiE. sagacity in diverting the attention of an intruder from the young birds to herself, by counterfeiting lameness, which has been observed in the Plovers. The young are able to run within a very short time after exclusion from the egg, there being an instance recorded in the Zoologist of a gentleman having seen some young birds scramble away from the nest while there yet remained an egg containing an unhatched chick. Early, too, in their life they are en- dowed with the instinct of self-preservation, for Mr. Selby states that if discovered and pursued before they have acquired the use of their wings, they boldly take to the water and dive. The Sandpiper is found in all parts of Europe and Asia, but not in America. THE SPOTTED SANDPIPER. TOTANUS MACULARIA. Upper plumage ash-brown, tinged with olive ; lower wliite, with a roundish black spot at the extremity of each feather ; bill flesh-colour, tipped with brown ; feet flesh-colour. Length eight inches. Eggs unknown. An American species, the habits of which closely resemble those of the Common Sandpiper. It is of exceedingly rare occurrence in Europe. THE GREENSHANK. TOTANUS GLOTTIS. Bill strong, compressed at the base, slightly curved upwards. Winter — Forehead, all the lower parts, and lower back, white ; head, cheeks, neck and sides of the breast, streaked with ash-brown and white ; rest of the upper feathers mottled with dusky and yellowish white ; tail white, middle feathers barred with brown, outer white with a nan-ow dusky streak on the outer web ; bill ash-brown ; legs yellowish green, long and slender. Siimnie?-— Feathers of the back edged with white ; breast and adjacent parts white, with oval black spots ; middle tail-feathers ash, barred with brown. Length fourteen inches. Eggs olive-brown, spotted all over with dusky. An unusual colour and disproportionate length of leg are characters which sufficiently distinguish the Greenshank THE GKEENSHANK. 431 and account for its name. It is far less common than the Redshank, but seems to resemble it in many of its habits. It is sociably disposed towards birds of its own kind and allied species, but utterly averse to any familiarity with man, insomuch that fowlers rarely come within shot of it. It frequents low muddy or sandy shores and brackish pools, the oozy banks of lakes, ponds, and rivers, preferring such open situations as allow it a clear view of threaten- ing danger while there is plenty of time to decamp. In the course of feeding it wades unconcernedly through pools of sliaUow water, and, if so minded, hesitates neither to swim nor to dive. Its visits to England are paid most commonly in sjDring and autumn, while it is on its way to and from the northern climates in which it breeds. "In Scotland it is seen," says Macgillivray, " in small flocks here and there along the sea-shore, by the margins of rivers, and in marshy places ; but it is nowhere common, and in most districts of very rare occurrence. By the beginning of summer it has disappeared from its winter haunts, and advanced northwards ; individuals or pairs remaining here and there in the more northern parts of Scotland, while the rest extend their migration." The same author describes a nest, which he found in the island of Harris, as very like those of the Golden and Lapwing Plovers, with four eggs, intermediate in size between the eggs of these two birds. Another nest was also found by Selby, in Sutherlandshire. There can be therefore no doubt that the north of Scotland is within the extreme southern limit of its breeding ground. THE AVOCET. RECURVmOSTRA AVOCETTA. General plumage white ; crown, nape, scapulars, lesser wing-coverts, and primaries, black ; bill black ; irides reddish brown ; feet bluish ash. Length eighteen inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched and spotted with dusky. This bird has "become so rare, that having recently applied to two several collectors in Norfolk, once the head-quarters of the Avocet, to know if they could procure me a speci- men, I was told by one that they were not seen oftener than once in seven years — by the other, that it was very rare, and if attainable at all could not be purchased for less than five pounds. In Eay's time it was not unfrequent on the eastern maritime coasts. Sir Thomas Browne say§ of it: ^^ Avoseta, called shoeing horn, a tall black and white bird, with a bill semicircularly reclining or bowed upward ; so that it is not easy to conceive how it can feed ; a summer marsh bird, and not unfrequent in marsh land." Pennant, writing of the same bird, says : " These birds THE AVOCET. 433 are frequent in the winter on the shores of this king- dom ; in Gloucestershire, at the Severn's mouth ; and sometimes on the lakes of Shropshire. We have seen them in considerable numbers in the breeding season near Fossdike Wash, in Lincolnshire. Like the Lapwing, when disturbed, they flew over our heads, carrying their necks and long legs quite extended, and made a shrill noise (twit) twice repeated, during the whole time. The country people for tliis reason call them Yelpers, and sometimes distinguish them by the name of Picarini. They feed on worms and insects, which they suck with their bills out of the sand ; their search after food is frequently to be discovered on our shores by alternate semicircular marks in the sand, which show their progress.* They lay two eggs, about the size of those of a pigeon, white, tinged with green, and marked with large black spots." Even so recent an authority as Yarrell remembers having found in the marshes near Rye a young one of this species, which appeared to have just been hatched ; he took it up in his hands, while the old birds kept flying round him. The Avocet is met with throughout a great part of the Old World, and is said to be not unfrequent in Holland and France. A writer of the latter country says that "by aid of its webbed feet it is enabled to traverse, without sinking, the softest and wettest mud : this it searches with its curved bill, and when ^t has discovered any prey, a worm for instance, it throws it adroitly into the air, and catches it with its beak." * It is not a little singular that the Spoonbill, a bird which strongly contrasts with the Avocet in the form of its bill, ploughs the sand from one side to another, while hunting for its food. F F BLACK-WIXGED STILT. HIMANTOPUS MELANOPTERUS. Back of the head and nape dusky ; back and wings black, with greenish reflec- tions ; tail ash ; rest of the plumage white ; bill black ; irides crimson ; legs vermilion. Length thirteen inches. Eggs pale blue, spotted with olive-green and brown. An exceedingly rare visitor to the Britisli Islands ; re- markable for the length and slenderness of its legs. Little has been observed of its habits in this country. One that was shot in Norfolk was seen "standing in a pool of water, mid-leg deep, apparently snapping at insects in the air as they buzzed about." When flying, " the legs were extended behind, even more in proportion than those of the Heron ; the wings were much arched ; the flight vigorous and regular." Some interesting remarks on this bird will be found in White's " Selborne." * * Page 287 of the edition published by the S.P.CK. \S<^~- THE BAK-TAILED GODWIT. LIMOSA RUFA. Beak slightly cui-ved upwards : middle claw short, without serratures. Winter —upper pliimage variously mottled with gi'ey, dusky, and reddish ash ; lower part of the back white, with dusky spots ; tail barred with reddish white and dusky ; lower parts white. Summer — all the plumage deeply tinged with red. Young birds have the throat and breast brownish white, streaked with dusky, and a few dusky lines on the flanks. Length sixteen inches. Eggs unknown. On tlie coast of ISTorfolk, where I made my first acquaint- ance with, this bird in the fresh state, it is called a Half- Curlew. In like manner, a Wigeon is called a Half-Duck. In either case the reason for giving the name is, that the smaller bird possesses half the market value of the larger. It resembles the Curlew in its flight and the colour of its plumage ; but diff'ers in having its long beak slightly curved upwards, while that of the Curlew is strongly arched downwards ; and it is far less wary, allowing itself to be approached so closely that it falls an easy prey to the fowler. It appears to be most frequently met with in autumn, when it visits many parts of the coast in small flocks. In Norfolk it is met with throughout the winter. The specimens which were brought to me were shot in the very severe weather which ushered in the year 1861. F F 2 436 SCOLOPACIDiE. These birds have nowhere been observed in England later than the beginning of summer, from which fact the infer- ence is fairly drawn that they do not breed in this country. Their habits differ in no material respects from the other sea-side Waders, with whom they frequently mingle while feeding, not, seemingly, for the sake of good fellowship, but attracted by a motive common to all, that of picking up food wherever an abundance is to be met with. Their note is a loud, shrill cry, often uttered while on the wing. The female is much larger than the male. This bird is sometimes called the Sea Woodcock. Its flesh is good eating, but is far inferior in flavour to that of the true Woodcock. THE BLACK-TAILED GODWIT. LIMOSA MELANURA. Beak nearly straight ; middle claw long and serrated ; upper parts ash-brown, the shafts of the feathers somewhat deeper; breast and adjacent parts greyish white ; tail black, the base, and the tips of the two middle feathers, white ; beak orange at the base, black at the point ; feet dusky. Summer — much of the plumage tinged with red. Length seventeen and a half inches. Eggs deep olive, spotted with light brown. This bird is, in outward appearance, mainly distinguished from the preceding by having two-thirds of the tail black, instead of being barred throughout with white and black. Like its congener, it is most frequently seen in autumn and spring, while on the way to and from its breeding- ground in the north ; but it does not stay with us through winter, though occasionally a few pairs remain in the fen- countries to breed. It is by far the less common of the two, and seems to be getting annually more and more rare. Its habits, as far as they have been observed, approach those of the other Scolopacidse. In its flight it resembles the Eedshank. Its note is a wild screaming whistle, which it utters while on the wing. It builds its nest in swamps, among rushes and sedges, simply collect- ing a few grasses and roots into any convenient hole, and there it lays four eggs. THE EUFF. MACHETES PUGNAX. Male in Spring — Face covered with yellowish warty pimples ; back of the head with a tuft of long feathers on each side ; throat furnished with a ruff of prominent feathers ; general plumage mottled with ash, black, brown, reddish white, and yellowish, but so variously, that scarcely two specimens can be found alike ; bill yellowish orange. Male in Winter — Face covered with feathers ; ruff absent ; under parts white ; breast reddish, with bro-\vn spots ; upper plumage mottled with black, brown, and red ; -bill brownish. Length twelve and a half inches. Female, "The Reeve"— Long feathers of the head and rulf absent ; upper plumage ash-brown, mottled with black and reddish brown ; under parts greyish white ; feet yellowish brown. Length ten and a half inches. In both sexes, tail rounded, the two middle feathers barred ; the three lateral feathers uniform in colour. Eggs olive, blotched and spotted with brown. Both the systematic names of this bird are descriptive of its quarrelsome propensities : machetes is Greek for " a warrior," pugnax Latin for "pugnacious." Well is the title deserved ; for Euffs do not merely fight when they meet, but meet in order to fight. The season for the in- dulgence of their warlike tastes is spring ; the scene, a rising spot of ground contiguous to a marsh ; and here all 438 SCOLOPACTD.^. the male birds of the district assemble at dawn, for many- days in succession, and do battle valiantly for the females, called Eeeves, till the weakest are vanquished and leave possession of the field to their more powerful adversaries. The attitude during these contests is nearly that of the domestic Cock — the head lowered, the body horizontal, the collar bristling, and the beak extended. But Euffs will fight to the death on other occasions. A basket con- taining two or three hundred Euifs was once put on board a steamer leaving Eotterdam for London. The incessant fighting of the birds proved a grand source of attraction to the passengers during the voyage; and about half of them were slain before the vessel reached London. Eufifs are gluttonously disposed too, and, if captured by a fowler, will begin to eat the moment they are supplied with food ; but, however voracious they may be, if a basin of bread and milk or boiled wheat be placed before them, it is instantly contended for ; and so pugnacious is their disposition, that even when fellow-captives, they would starve in the midst of plenty if several dishes of food were not placed amongst them at a distance from each other. Many years have not passed since these birds paid annual visits in large numbers to the fen-countries. They were, however, highly prized as delicacies for the table, and their undeviating habit of meeting to fight a pitched battle gave the fowler such an excellent opportunity of capturing all the combatants in his nets, that they have been gradually becoming more and more rare. The fowler, in fact, has been so successful that he has destroyed his own trade. Another peculiarity of the Euff is, that the plumage varies greatly in different individuals — so much so, indeed, that Montagu, who had an opjDortunity of seeing about seven dozen in a room together, could not find two alike. These birds are now become rare, but occasional specimens are still met with in different parts of Great Britain, and ai^^fr*riw^Vri^?Ty^Jjmai»iim^^ I Thi Isle tliei alffli are faci reac The tion inlti THE WOODCOCK. 441 they ■will remain motionless until a dog is almost on them or until the beater reaches the very bush under which they are crouching. When at length roused, they start up with a whirr, winding and twisting through the overhang- ing boughs, and make for the nearest open place ahead ; now, however, flying in almost a straight line, till dis- covering another convenient lurking-place, they descend suddenly, to be " marked " for another shot. About twilight, the Woodcock awakens out of its lethargy, and repairs to its feeding-ground. Observation having shown that on these occasions it does not trouble itself to mount above the trees before it starts, but makes for the nearest clear place in the wood through which it gains the open country, fowlers were formerly in the habit of erecting in glades in the woods, two high poles, from which was suspended a fine net. This was so placed as to hang across the course which the birds were likely to take, and when a cock flew against it, the net was sud- denly made to drop by the concealed fowler, and the bird caught, entangled in the meshes, I^ot many years ago, these nets were commonly employed in the woods near the coast of the north of Devon, and they are said still to be in use on the Continent. The passages through which the birds flew, were known by the name of " cock- roads," and " cockshoots." The localities which Woodcocks most frequent are places which abound in earthworms, their favourite food. These they obtain either by turning over lumps of decaying vegetable matter and picking up the scattered worms, or by thrusting their bills into the soft earth, where (guided by scent it is supposed) they speedily find any worm lying hid, and having drawn it out, swallow it whole, with much dexterity. When the earth is frozen hard, they shift their ground, repairing to the neighbourhood of the sea, or of springs ; and now, probably, they are less select in their diet, feeding on any living animal matter that may 4-i2 SCOLOPACID^. fall in their way. In March they change their quarters again, preparatory to quitting the country ; hence it often happens that considerable numbers are seen at this season in places where none had been observed during the previous winter. They now have a call-note, though before they have been quite mute : it is said by some to resemble the syllables pitt-jntt-coor, by others to be very like the croak of a frog. The French have invented the verb croHler, to express it, and distinguish Woodcock shooting by the name croHle. Some sjiortsmen wisely recommend that no Woodcock should be shot after the middle of February ; for it has been ascertained that numbers of these birds remain for the purpose of breeding in this country ; and it is conjectured, with reason, that if they were left undisturbed in their spring haunts, they would remain in yet larger numbers. As it is, there are few counties in England in which their nest has not been discovered ; and there are some few localities in which it is one of the pleasant sights of the evening, at all seasons of the year, to watch the Woodcocks repairing from the woods to their accustomed feeding-ground. The nest is bnilt of dry leaves, principally of fern, and placed among dead grass, in dry, warm situations, and contains four eggs, which, unlike those of the Snipes, are nearly equally rounded at each end. There have been recorded numerous instances in which Woodcocks have been seen carrying their young through the air in their claws ; so often, indeed, has the act been witnessed, that it may, perhaps, be a habit of the bird, rather than an extraordinary disj)lay of instinct evoked by a sudden emergency. During its flight, the Woodcock invariably holds its beak pointed in a direction towards the ground. Young birds taken from the nest are easily reared ; and afford much amusement by the skill they display in extracting worms from sods with which they are supplied. THE GREAT SNIPE. 443 Tlie Woodcock is found in all countries of the Eastern Hemisphere where trees grow ; but it has not been ob- served in America. THE GEEAT SNIPE. SCOLOPAX MAJOR. Crown black, dmded longitudinally by a yellowish white band ; a streak of the same colour over each eye ; from the beak to the eye a streak of dark brown ; upper plumage mottled with black and ehestnut-bro'\\Ti, some of the feathers edged with straw-colour; greater wing-coverts tipped with white; under parts Avhitish, spotted and barred with black ; tail of sixteen feathers ; bill bro\vn, flesh-coloured at the base. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs brownish olive, spotted with reddish brown. The Great Snipe, Solitary Snipe or Double Snipe, is inter- mediate in size between the Woodcock and Common Snipe. Though not among the rarest of our visitants, it is far from common, and is seen most frequently in the eastern counties in the autumn. Its principal resorts are low damp meadows and grassy places near marshes, but it does not frequent swamps like its congeners. This difference in its haunts implies a different diet, and this bird, it is stated, feeds principally on the larvse or grubs of Tipulse (known by the common name of Father Long-legs), which are in summer such voracious feeders on the roots of grass. It breeds in the northern countries of Europe, and in some parts of Sweden is so abundant that as many as fifty have been shot in a day. When disturbed on its feeding-ground, it rises without uttering any note, and usually drops in again, at no great distance, after the manner of the Jack Snipe. It may be distinguished by its larger size, and by carrying its tail spread like a fan. In the northern countries where it breeds it is found most commonly in the meadows after hay-harvest, and as it is much prized for the delicacy of its flesh it is a favourite object of sport. It is remark- able for being always in exceedingly good condition, a re- mark which applies to specimens procured in this country 444 SCOLOPACID^. as well as those shot in Sweden. Its nest, which has rarely been seen, is placed in a tuft of grass, and contains four eggs. Mention is made in the Zoologist^ of four solitary Snipes having been killed in the county of Durham in the month of August. Two of these were young birds, scarcely fledged ; it would appear, therefore, that this bird r=v THE GREAT SNIPE. sometimes breeds in Great Britain. The writer of the paragraph states that he had met with Great Snipes in vast numbers along the coast of Nordland and Finmark. In a marsh near Bosoe, he and his friends obtained seven brace in half an hour-, in the month of August, the young birds being fully fledged. * Vol. xi. p. 3911. fe.^ ^N^C . \^ THE commo:n^ snipe. SCOLOPAX GALLIXAGO. Upper plumage very like the last ; chin and throat reddish white ; lower parts white, without spots ; flanks ban-ed transversely with white and dusky ; tail of fourteen feathers. Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs light greenish yellow, spotted with brown and ash. The Common Snipe is a bird of very general distribution, being found in all parts of the Eastern Continent, from Ireland to Japan, and from Siberia to the Cape of Good Hope. It is common also in many parts of America, especially Carolina, and is frequent in many of the American Islands. In Britain, Snipes are most numerous in the winter, their numbers being then increased by arrivals from high latitudes, from which they are driven by the impossibility of boring for food in ground hardened by frost or buried beneath snow. In September and October 446 SCOLOPACID^. large flocks of these birds arrive in the marshy districts of England, stopping sometimes for a short time only, and then proceeding onwards ; but being, like many other birds, gregarious at no other time than when making their migra- tions, when they have arrived at a district where they intend to take up their residence, they scatter themselves over marsh land, remaining in each other's neighbourhood perhaps, but showing no tendency to flock together. Their food consists of the creeping things which live in mud, and to this, it is said by some, they add small seeds and line vegetable fibre ; but it is questionable whether this kind of food is not swallowed by accident, mixed up with more nourishing diet. The end of their beak is furnished with a soft pulpy membrane, which in all probability is highly sensitive, and enables the bird to discover by the touch the worms which, being buried in mud, are concealed from its sight. Snipes when disturbed always fly against the wind, so when suddenly scared from their feeding- ground, and compelled to rise without any previous inten- tion on their part, they seem at first uncertain which course to take, but twist and turn without making much progress in any direction ; but in a few seconds, having decided on their movements, they dart away with great rapidity, uttering at the same time a sharp cry of two notes, which is difficult to describe, but once heard can scarcely be mistaken. When a bird on such an occasion is fired at, it often happens that a number of others, who have been similarly occupied, rise at the report, and after having performed a few mazy evolutions, dart off in the way described. At other times they lie so close that between the sportsman and the bird which he has just killed there may be others concealed, either unconscious of danger, or trusting for security to their powers of lying hid. This tendency to lie close, or the reverse, depends much on the weather, though why it should be so seems not to have been decided. But the movements of Snipes THE COMMON SNIPE. 447 generally are governed by laws of which we know little or nothing. At one season they will be numerous in a cer- tain marsh ; the next year perhaps not one will visit the spot; to-day, they will swarm in a given locality; a night's frost will drive them all away, and a change of wind a few days after will bring them all back again. If very severe weather sets in they entirely withdraw, but of this the reason is obvious ; the frozen state of the marsh puts a stop to their feeding. They then retire to milder dis- tricts, to springs which are never frozen, to warm nooks near the sea, or to salt marshes. Perhaps the majority perform a second migration southwards ; for, as a rule, they are most numerous at the two periods of autumn and spring, that is, while on their way to and from some dis- tant winter- quarters. After March they become far less frequent, yet there are few extensive marshes, especially in Scotland and the north of England, where some do not remain to breed. At this season a striking change in their habits makes itself perceptible, A nest is built of withered grass, sometimes under the shelter of a tuft of heath or reeds, and here the female sits closely on four eggs. The male, meanwhile, is feeding in some neighbouring swamp, and if disturbed, instead of making off with his zig-zag winter's flight, utters his well-remembered note and ascends at a rapid rate into the air, now ascending with a rapjid vibra- tion of wing, wheeling, falling like a parachute, mounting again, and once more descending with fluttering wings, uttering repeatedly a note different from his cry of alarm, intermixed with a drumming kind of noise, which has been compared to the bleat of a goat. This last sound is supposed to be produced by the action of the air on his quivering wings, for it has been observed to occur only while he is making his descents. One of its French names is Chevre volant, flying goat, and the Scottish name " Heather-bleater," was also given to it as descriptive of its peculiar summer note. The female sits closely on her 448 SCOLOPACID^. eggs, and if disturbed while in charge of her yet unfledged brood, endeavours to distract the attention of an intruder from them to herseK by the artifice already described as being employed by others of the Waders. " Sabine's Snipe," which was at one time thought to be a distinct species, is now considered a dark variety of the Common Snipe, recent examination of specimens having proved that its tail contains fourteen feathers and not twelve only, as was supposed. THE JACK SNIPE. SCOLOPAX GALLINULA. Crown divided longitudinally by a black band edged with reddish brown: beneath this on either side a parallel yellowish band reaching from the bill to the nape ; back beautifully mottled with buff, reddish brown, and black, the latter lustrous with green and purple ; neck and breast spotted ; belly and abdomen pure white ; tail of twelve feathers, dusky edged with reddish grey ; bill dusky, lighter towards the base. Length eight and a half inches. Eggs yellowish olive, spotted with brown. As the Great Snipe has been called the Double Snipe, on account of its being superior in size to the common species, so the subject of the present chapter is known as the Half Snipe, from being contrasted with the same bird, and being considerably smaller. The present species is far less abundant than the Common Snipe; yet still it is often seen, more frequently, perhaps, than the other, by non-sporting observers, for it frequents not only downright marshes, but the little streams which meander through meadows, the sides of grassy ponds, and the drains by the side of canals, where the ordinary pe- destrian, if accompanied by a dog, will be very likely to put one up. Its food and general habits are much the same as those of the Common Snipe ; but it rises and flies off without any note. Its flight is singularly crooked until it has madfe up its mind which direction it intends THE JACK SNIPE. 449 to take ; indeed it seems to decide eventually on the one which was at first most unlikely to be its path, and after having made a short round composed of a series of dis- jointed, curves, it either returns close to the spot from wliich it was started, or suddenly drops, as by a sudden impulse, into a ditch a few gunshots off. I have seen one drop thus within twenty yards of the spot where I stood, and though I threw upwards of a dozen stones into the THE JACK SNIPE. place where I saw it go down, it took no notice of them. It was only by walking down the side of the ditch, beating the rushes with a stick, that I induced it to rise again. It then flew off in the same way as before, and dropped into the little stream from which I had first started it. From this habit of lying so close as to rise under the very feet of the passenger, as well as from its silence, G G 450 SCOLOPACID^. it is called in France la Sourde, " deaf." In the same country it is known also as " St. Martin's Snipe," from the time of its arrival in that country, November 11 ; with us it is an earlier visitor, coming about the second week in September. A few instances are recorded of the Jack Snipe having been seen in this country at a season which would lead to the inference that it occasionally breeds here ; but no instance of its doing so has been ascertained as a fact. It leaves us early in April. THE BEOWN SNIPE. MACRORAMPHUS GRISEUS. Winttr 'plumage—YiGB.^ and neck ash-brown varied with darker brown; scapulars and wing-coverts dusky ash-brown margined with grey; lower part of the back white, spotted on the tail-coverts with black ; quills dusky ash-brown ; tail black, with white bars ; under plumage nearly white. Swmmer— Cheeks, tip of the head, and back of the neck, pale chestnut-brown streaked with black ; upper part of the back, scapulars, and tertials, nearly black streaked with light chestnut ; under plumage reddish chestnut spotted and barred with black ; irides hazel ; feet greenish brown ; claws black. Length ten to eleven inches. Eggs unknown. A RARE visitor to Great Britain, but said to be common in the United Statfes of America, except during the breeding season, when it is supposed to go farther north. It is a gregarious bird, in habits resembling the Sandpipers, rather than the true Snipes. THE CURLEW SANDPIPER. TRINGA SUBARQUATA. Bill curved downwards, much longer than the head. TFi?ifer— Upper tall-coverts and all the under parts white ; upper plumage ash-brown, mottled with darker brown and whitish ; breast the same colours, but much lighter ; bill black ; iris brown ; feet dusky. Summer — Crown black, mottled with reddish ; under plumage chestnut-red, speckled ^vith brown and white ; much of the upper plumage black, mottled with red and ash. Length seven and a half inches Eggs yellowish, with bro^vn spots. This bird, called also the Pigmy Curlew, is of about the same size as the far commoner Dunlin, from which it is distinguished not only by the difference in the colour of its plumage, but by the greater length of its beak, which is curved downwards. Pigmy Curlews are observed from time to time in this country at the periods of autumn and spring, and it is said that a few remain with us to breed, but their nest and eggs have never been detected. In their habits they resemble the Dunlins, from which they may readily" be distinguished, even when flying, by their white upper tail-coverts. They are of wide geographical range, but nowhere abundant. G G 2 THE KNOT. TRINGA CANUTUS. Beak straight, a little longer than the head, much dilated towards the tip ; tail even at the extremity ; a small part of the tibia naked. Winter — Throat and abdomen white ; breast and flanks white, barred with ash-brown ; upper plumage ash-grey, mottled with brown ; wing-coverts tipped with white ; rump and upper tail-coverts white, with black crescents ; bill and legs greenish black. Summer — Streak over the eye, nape, and all the under plumage, rusty- red, the nape streaked with black ; back streaked and spotted with black, red. and grey. The upper plumage of yo2ing birds is mottled with reddish brown, grey, black, and dull white ; legs dull green. Length ten inches. Eggs unknown. The Knot, Willughby informs ns, is so called from having been a favourite disli of King Canntiis, or Kmite. It is a migratory bird, visiting the coasts of Great Britain early in autumn, and remaining here till spring, when it retires northwards to breed. During the intervening months it keeps exclusively to the sandy or muddy sea-shore, assem- bling in small flocks, and mixing freely with Dunlins, Sanderlings, and Purple Sandpipers. Some authors state that it feeds principally early and late in the day, and during moonlight nights ; but I have seen it on the coast of I^orfolk in winter feeding at all hours of the day THE KNOT. 453 in company with the birds mentioned above, and differing little from them in the mode of obtaining its food. But I remarked on several occasions that, when a flock was disturbed, the Knots often remained behind, being less fearful of the presence of man ; in consequence of which tardiness in rising they more than once fell to our guns after their companions had flown off. On their first arrival, they are said to be so indifferent to the vicinity of human beings that it is not difiicult to knock them down with stones. Their provincial name in Norfolk is the Green-legged Shank, the latter name. Shank, being applied for shortness to the Eedshank. Dr. Eichardson states that " Knots were observed breeding on Melville Peninsula by Captain Lyon, who tells us that they lay four eggs on a tuft of withered grass, without being at the pains of forming any nest." THE BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPEE. TRINGA RUFESCENS. Bill slender, slightly curved, not longer than the head ; tail wedge-shaped, the outer feathers light brown, edged with white; a large portion of the tibia naked ; upper plumage mottled with several shades of brown ; primaries dusky, tipped with black ; upper tail-coverts brown ; under plumage white, tinged with brown and buff; under surface of the wing mottled with lines of white, black and dusky. Length eight inches. Eggs unknown. A FEW specimens only of this rare bird have been shot in England, whither it had strayed from its usual winter resort, the coast of North America. THE BEOAD-BILLED SANDPIPER TRINGA PLATYRHYNCA. Bill slightly curved at the point, longer than the head, much flattened at the base ; lateral tail-feathers equal in length, shorter than the two middle ones ; head dusky, with two narrow reddish stripes ; back black, streaked with rust- red and dull white ; under plumage white, streaked with brown on the neck and flanks ; bill black, reddish ash at the base ; feet greenish ash. This bird, though said to be tolerably frequent in Norway and Lapland, is a rare visitant to the British Isles. Its habits and niditication resemble those of the Snipe. 454 SCOLOPACID^. LITTLE STINT. TRINGA MINUTA. Bill straight, shorter than the head ; two middle and two outer feathers of the tail longer than the rest ("tail doubly forked"); tarsus ten lines; upper plumage ash and dusky ; a brown streak between the bill and the eye ; under plumage white ; outer leathers of the tail ash-brown, edged with whitish ; middle ones brown ; bill and feet black. Length five and a half inches. Eggs reddish white, spotted with dark red-brown. A RARE and occasional visitant, appearing from time to time in small flocks on the muddy or sandy sea-coast. My friend, the Eev. W. S. Hore (to whom I am indebted for many valuable notes, incorporated in the text of this volume), obtained several specimens of this bird in October, 1840, on the Laira mud banks, near Plymouth. In their habits they differed little from the Dunlin. They were at first very tame, but after having been fired at became more cautious. In their food and mode of collecting it, nothing was observed to distinguish them from the other Sandpipers. TEMMINCK'S STINT. TRINGA TEMMINCKII. Bill slightly bent down at the tip, much shorter than the head ; tail graduated. Winter — Upper plumage brown and dusky; breast reddish; lower plumage and outer tail-feathers white ; bill and feet brown. Summer — All the upper feathers black, bordered with rust-red ; breast reddish ash, streaked with black. Length five and a half inches. Eggs unknown. Temminck, in whose honour this bird was named, states that it "inliabits the Arctic Eegions, and is seen on its passage at two periods of the year in different parts of Germany, on the banks of lakes and rivers ; probably, also, in the interior of France ; never along the maritime coasts of Holland ; very rare on the Lake of Geneva. Its food consists of small insects. It probably builds its nest very far north." A few have been killed in England, and it occurs in many parts of Asia and in North Africa, but it is nowhere abundant. THE DUNLIN. 455 SCHINZ'S SAI^DPIPER. TRINGA SCHINZII. Bill straight, nearly black, very much shorter than the head ; upper plumage ash-brown streaked with black and rust-red ; upper tail-coverts white ; outer tail-feathers ash-brown; breast greyish white, speckled with dusky; under plumage white ; feet black, tinged with green. A VERY rare species, of which two or three specimens only have been killed in Great Britain. In :N"orth America it is more frequent, and its habits are said to resemble those of the Dunlin. THE PECTOEAL SANDPIPER. TRINGA PECTORALIS. Bill straight, shorter than the head, compressed and reddish yellow at the base ; upper plumage black and rust-red ; upper tail-coverts black ; breast greyish white, streaked with dusky ; under plumage white ; feet greenish yellow. Length ten inches. Eggs unknown. This also is an American species, of which three or four specimens only have been shot in Great Britain. Its habits appear to be very similar to those of the other Sand- pipers. Its nest and eggs are unknown. THE DUNLIN. TRINGA VARIABILIS. Bill a little longer than the head, slightly bent down at the tip ; two middle tail-feathers the longest, dusky and pointed ; a small part of the tibia naked. Winter— JhToat and a streak between the bill and eye white ; upper plumage ash-brown streaked with dusky ; upper tail-coverts dusky ; lateral tail-feathers ash, edged with white ; breast greyish white, mottled with brown ; bill black ; feet dusky, ^wmmer— Most of the upper plumage black, edged with rust-red ; belly and abdomen black. Young birds have the upper plumage variously mottled with ash-brown, dusky, and reddish yellow ; the bill is shorter and straight. Length eight inches. Eggs greenish white, blotched and spotted with brown. The name variabilis, changeable, has been applied to this species of Sandpiper on account of the great difference between its summer and winter plumage. It was for- merly, indeed, supposed, that the two states of the bird 4^56 SCOLOrACIDJ^, were distinct species ; of which the former was called Dunlin, the latter Purre. It is now known that the two are identical, the bird being commonly found to assume in spring and autumn colours intermediate between the two. Except during the three summer months. May, June, and July, the Dunlin is common on all the shores of Great Britain, where there are extensive reaches of sand or mud. I have obtained specimens on the coast of Norfolk as early THE DUNLIN. as the 25th of July ; but, generally, it is not until the following month that they become numerous. From this time until late in the winter they are reinforced by con- stant additions ; and in very severe weather the flocks are increased to such an extent that, if it were possible to number them, they would be probably found to contain very many thousands. Such a season was the memorable winter of 1860-61, when, during the coldest part of it. THE DUNLIN. 457 I made an excursion to the coast of ^N'orfolk for the pur- pose of observing the habits of the sea-side Grallatores and JSTatatores which, in winter, resort to that coast. Nu- merous as were the species and individuals of these birds which then flocked to the beach and salt-marshes, I have no doubt, in my own mind, that they were all outnumbered by Dunlins alone. Of nearly every flock that I saw feeding on the wet sand or mud, fully half were Dun- lins ; many flocks were composed of these birds alone ; while of those which were constantly flying by, without alighting, the proportion of Dunlins to all other birds was, at least, three to one. Added to which, while the parties of other birds were susceptible of being approximately counted, the individuals which composed a flock of Dun- lins were often innumerable. At one time, we saw in the distance, several miles off, a light cloud, as of smoke from a factory chimney : it moved rapidly, suddenly disappeared, and as suddenly again became visible. This was an enormous flock of Dunlins, consisting of many thousands at least. They did not come very near us ; but smaller flocks which flew about in our immediate vicinity presented a similar ap- pearance. As the upper surface of their bodies was turned towards us, they were of a dark hue : suddenly they wheeled in their flight as if the swarm was steered by a single will, when they disappeared ; but instantaneously revealed themselves again flying in a different direction, and reflected glittering snowy white. Dunlins, wliile feeding, show a devoted attention to their occupation, which is not often to be observed in land birds. They run rapidly, looking intently on the ground, now stopping to pick up some scrap of animal matter which lies on the surface of the sand, now boring for living prey where they detect indications of such prey lying hid. Occasionally an individual bird appears to suffer from lameness, and halts in its progress as if its legs were 458 SCOLOPACID.^. gouty. Frequently they chase a receding wave for the sake of recovering a prize which has been swept from the beach ; never venturing to swim, but showing no fear of wetting either feet or feathers. AVhile engaged in these various ways, they often keep up a short conversational twitter, in a tone, however, so low that it can only be heard at a very short distance. While flying, they fre- quently utter a much louder piping note, which can readily be distinguished from the call of the other sea- side birds. I observed that a small detached flock, when disturbed, generally flew ofi^" to a great distance ; but if other birds were feeding in the neighbourhood, they more frequently ahghted near them, as if assured by their presence that no danger was to be apprehended. Dunlins are not considered to breed in Norfolk ; but in many parts of Scotland, in the Hebrides and Orkneys, " they frequent the haunts selected by the Golden Plovers, with which they are so frequently seen in comj)any, that they have popularly obtained the name of Plovers' Pages. Sometimes before the middle of April, but always before that of May, they are seen dispersed over the moors in pairs like the birds just named, which, at this season, they greatly resemble in habits. The nest, which is composed of some bits of withered grass, or sedge, and small twigs of heath, is placed in a slight hollow, generally on a bare spot, and usually in a dry place, like that selected by the Golden Plover, The female lays four eggs, and sits very assiduously, often allowing a person to come quite close to her before removing, which she does in a fluttering and cowering manner." * In a few specimens which I obtained, the bill was considerably curved downwards throughout its whole length, thus approaching in form that of the Pigmy Curlew ; but the dusky upper tail-coverts sufiiciently dis- tinguished it from its rarer congener. * Macgillivray. w- THE PUKPLE SANDPIPER. TRINGA MARITIMA. Bill longer than the head, slightly bent down at the tip, dusky, the base reddish orange ; head and neck dusky brown, tinged with grey ; back and scapulars black, with purple and violet reflections, the feathers edged with deep ash ; breast grey and white ; under plumage white, streaked on the flanks with grey ; feet ochre-yellow. Length eight and a quarter inches. Eggs yellowish olive, spotted and speckled with reddish brown. The Purple Sandpiper is described as being far less common than the Dunlin, and differing from it in habits, inasmuch as it resorts to the rocky coast in preference to sandy flats. The few specimens of it which I have seen were associated with Dunlins, flying in the same flocks with them, feeding with them, and so closely resembling them in size and movements, that a description of the one equally characterises the other. It was only, in fact, by the difference of colour that I could discriminate between them ; and this I did, on several occasions, with great ease, having obtained my specimens singly while they were surrounded by other birds. According to Mr. Dunn, " The Purple Sandpiper is very numerous in Orkney and Shet- 460 RALLID^. land, appearing early in spring, and leaving again at the latter end of April ; about Avhich time it collects in large flocks, and may be found on the rocks at ebb-tide, watch- ing each retiring wave, running down as the water falls back, picking small shell-fish off the stones, and displaying great activity in escaping the advancing sea. It does not breed there." This species has a wide geographical range. It has been often observed in the Arctic Eegions, where it breeds. It is well known in North America, and is found in various parts of the continent of Europe, especially Holland. LAND RAIL, OR* CORN CRAKE. CREX PRATENSIS. Upper feathers dusky brown bordered with reddish ash ; over the eye and down the side of the head, a streak of ash ; wing-coverts rust-red ; quills reddish brown ; throat, belly and abdomen, whitish ; breast pale yellowish brown ; hanks barred with white and rust-red ; upper mandible brown, lower whitish ; irides brown ; feet reddish brown. Length ten inches. Eggs yellowish brown spotted and speckled with grey and reddish brown. Few persons can have spent the summer months in the •country, and enjoyed their evenings in the open air, \vithout having grown familiar with the note of the Corn Crake ; yet, strange to say, among those who have heard it on numberless occasions, not one in a hundred (leaving sportsmen out of the account) have ever seen one alive. Its whole life, while with us, seems to be spent among the stalks of hay or corn, between which its long legs and slender body give it peculiar facility of moving, and it is only when hard pressed that it rises from the ground. Its flight is slow, with its legs hanging down ; and it usually drops into the nearest hedge or cover which presents itself, and from which it is not easily flushed a second time. The Corn Crake is found, during summer, in all the counties of England, but is less frequent in Cornwall and THE LAND RAIL, OR CORN CRAKE. 461 Devonshire than in the counties farther east, and increases in abundance as we advance northwards. In the north of Ireland it is to be heard in every meadow and corn-field, and here its incessant cry in the evenings is monotonous, if not wearisome. In many jjarts of Scotland it is also very common, and here it is much more frequently seen. ----^^^JV^ THE LAND KAIL, OR CORX CUAKE. In waste lands, where it can find no continuous corn, it takes refuge in patches of flags, rushes, or tall weeds, and if watched for, may be seen leaving its place of conceal- ment, and quietly walking along the grass, lifting its feet high, and stooping from time to time to pick up its food, consisting of worms, insects, snails, and seeds. The Land Eail is considered a dehcate article of food, and has long been prized as such. In France it used to be termed, in old sporting phraseology, "King of the Quails," the Quail being a bird which it much resembles in colouring. The Corn Crake places its nest, which is composed of a 462 RALLID^. few straws, in a hollow in the ground, among corn or hay, and lays from eight to ten, or rarely, twelve eggs. The young birds are able to accompany their parents in their mazy travels as soon as they have left the shell. The note of the old bird is heard much later in the season than the song of most other birds, and is probably em- ployed as a call-note to the young, which, but for some such guidance, would be very likely to go astray. In the still evenings of August, I have, while standing on the shore of the island of Islay, distinctly heard its monotonous " crek-crek " proceeding from a corn-field on the opposite shore of Jura, the Sound of Tslay which intervened being here upwards of half a mile wide. On ordinary occasions it is not easy to decide on the position and distance of the bird while uttering its note ; for the Corn Crake is a ventriloquist of no mean proficiency. THE SPOTTED CRAKE. CREX PORZANA. Forehead, throat, and a streak over the eye, lead-grej''; upper plumage olive- brown, spotted with black and white ; breast and under plumage olive and ash, spotted with white, the flanks barred with white and brown ; bill green- ish yellow, orange at the base ; irides brown ; feet gi-eenish yellow. Length nine inches. Eggs yellowish red, spotted and speckled with brown and ash. The Spotted Crake is smaller in size than the Corn Crake, and far less common. It is shot from time to time in various parts of Great Britain, especially in the fen countries, to which its habits are best suited. It frequents watery places which abound with reeds, flags, and sedges, and among these it conceals itself, rarely using its wings, but often wading over mud and weeds, and taking freely to the water, in which it swims with facility. The nest, which is a large structure, composed of rushes and reeds, is placed among thick vegetation, near the, water's edge, and contains from seven to ten eggs. 463 THE LITTLE CEAKE. CREX PUSILLA. Head brown ; upper plumage olive-ash, the feathers black in the centre ; middle of the back black, sprinkled with white ; throat, face, and breast, bluish grey, without spots ; abdomen and flanks indistinctly ban-ed with white and brown : wings without spots, reaching to the extremity of the tail ; bill gi-een, reddish at the base ; irides red ; feet green. Length seven and a half inches. Eggs yellowish, spotted with olive-brown. This species appears to be generally diffused throughout the eastern and southern countries of Europe, but is very rare in England. It is a shy bird, like the last species confining itself exclusively to reedy marshes, and building its nest close to the water's edge. It lays seven or eight eggs. BAILLON'S CRAKE. CREX BAILLONII. Upper plumage reddish olive ; head streaked with black ; back spotted with white set in black ; under plumage bluish grey in front, barred behind with white and black ; wings spotted, reaching half-way down the tail ; bill green ; irides reddish ; feet flesh-colour. Length seven inches. Eggs light olive-brown, spotted with darker brown. Another rare species, resembling the Spotted Crake in habits. It is said to be not uncommon in the marshy districts of France, but it is not frequently met with, owing to its retired habits. jN"est and eggs like the last. THE WATER EAIL. RALLUS AQUATICUS. Upper feathers reddish brown, with black centres; under plumage in front lead-colour, behind and on the flanks baiTed with black and white ; bill red, tinged with red above and at the tip ; iiides red ; feet flesh-colour. Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs yellowish, spotted with ash-grey and red-brown. The Water Rail is a generally diffused bird, but nowhere very common, haunting bushy and reedy places near the banks of rivers and lakes, where it feeds on aquatic insects, 464 EALLID^.. worms, and snails. Like the Crakes, it makes more use of its legs than of its wings, and jDlaces its safety in conceal- ment. Earely does it take flight, and then only when closely hunted ; still more rarely does it expose itself out- side its aquatic jungle. I recollect on one occasion, during an intense frost, when every marsh was as impenetrable to a bird's bill as a sheet of marble, passing in a carriage near a stream which, having just issued from its source, was THK WATER RAIL. unfrozen ; I then saw more than one Water Eail hunting for food among the short rushes and grass on the water's edge. Its mode of walking I thought was very like that of the Moor-hen, but it had not the jerking movement of body characteristic of that bird, which alone would have sufficed to distinguish it, even if I had not been near enough to detect the difference of colour. Either the severity of the weather had sharpened its appetite, and THE WATEE EAIL. 465 made it less shy than usual, or it had not learnt to fear a horse and carriage, for it took no notice of the intrusion on its privacy, but went on with its search without con- descending to look up. The Water Eail, then, unlike the Corn Crake, remains with us all the winter. When forced to rise, this bird flies heavily straight forwards, at no great elevation above the rushes, with its legs hanging loose, and drops into the nearest thicket of weeds. A nest and eggs of this bird are thus described in the "Annals of JSTatural History" :—" The bird had selected for her nest a thick tuft of long grass, hollow at the bottom, on the side of the reed pond ; the nest, about an inch and a half thick, was composed of withered leaves and rushes; it was so covered by the top of the grass, that neither bird, nest, nor eggs could be seen; the entrance to the nest was through an aperture of the grass, directly into the reeds, opposite to where any one would stand to see the nest." The number of eggs is about ten or eleven. THE MOOE-HEX. GALLINULA CHLOROPUS. Upper plumage deep olive-brown; under tail-coverts and edge of the wing white, the former with a few black feathers ; under plumage slate colour, the flanks streaked with white ; base of the bill and a space on the forehead bright orange, point of the bill yellow ; irides red ; feet olive-brown ; a red ring round the tibia. In females the colours are brighter than in the males. Young birds have the front of the neck whitish, the belly grey, the base of the beak and legs olive-brown. Length thirteen inches. Eggs buff, spotted and speckled with orange-brown. Of the two common names of this bird, " Moor-hen " and " Water-hen," the former is that which is more generally in use, though the latter is the more appropriate. The bird frequents moors, it must be admitted, but only such as are watery ; while there is scarcely a river, lake, canal, brook, or even pond, of moderate dimensions, which Moor-hens do not either inhabit all the year round or H H 466 RALLID^. occasionally visit. The name is objectionable on other accounts ; the male bird is called a Moor-hen as well as the female, while the terms Moor-fowl and Moor-cock have long been applied to the Ptarmigan. For these reasons, I suppose, many recent ornithologists Anglicize the systematic name, and call it the Gallinule, which means "little fowl," and is suggestive of the half- domestic habits of the bird, under certain circumstances. ■^^ THE MOOR-HEN. The^Gallinule being a common bird of some size, con- spicuous colours, and active habits, is an interesting ap- pendage of our rivers and pieces of artificial water. Its note, something between a bark and a croak, is as well known in watered districts as the note of the Cuckoo, and is often uttered when the bird has no intention of being seen. Any one who may happen to be walking on the bank of a reedy pond may perhaps hear its strange THE MOOE-HEN. 467 cry and see the bird itself at some little distance, swim- ming about with a restless jerky motion, often dipping its head, and with every dip turning slightly to the right or the left. If he wishes for a nearer view, let him advance cj^uietly, concealing himself as much as he can j for if he proceeds carelessly, and takes off his eyes for any con- siderable time from the spot where he observed it, when he looks again it will have disappeared, taken wing, he may imagine, for some distant part of the water, ^ot so ; the cunning bird, as soon as a stranger was perceived within a dangerous proximity, steered quietly for the nearest tuft of reeds, among which it lies ensconced till he has passed on his way. Or it rose out of the water, and, wdth its feet trailing on the surface, made for a similar place of concealment; or dived to the bottom, where it still remains clinging to the weeds. Perhaps it lies close to his feet, having sunk beneath the water, and, aided by feet and wings, rowed a subaqueous course to an often-tried thicket of rushes, where, holding on with its feet to the stems of submersed weeds, it remains perfectly still, leaving nothiug above the surface of the water but the point of its beak. If the observer suspects the where- abouts of its concealment, he may beat the rushes with his stick and produce no effect ; the bird knows itself to be safe Avhere it is and will make no foolish attempt to better itself. A water spaniel or I^ewfoundland dog will be more effective. Very often an animal of this kind is an over- match for its sagacity, and seizes it in his mouth before the poor bird was aware that the water itself was to be invaded ; but more frequently it discovers an onset of this nature in tune to clear itself from its moorings, and dashing out with a splashing movement of feet and "wings skims across the pond to another lurking-place, and defies further pursuit. The Gallinule, though an excellent swimmer and diver, belongs to the Waders ; it has, consequently, free use of its legs on land, and here it is no less nimble than in the H H 2 468 RALLID^. water. When induced to change the scene it steps ashore, and, with a peculiar jerking motion of its tail, showing the white feathers beneath, and very conspicuous by its bright red bill, which harmonizes pleasantly with the green grass, it struts about and picks uj) worms, insects, snails, or seeds, with unflagging perseverance, making no stay any^vhere, and often running rapidly. If surprised on these occasions, it either makes for the water, or flies ofi" in a line for some thick hedge or patch of brush-wood, from whieh it is very diflicult to dislodge it. Its mode of life is pretty much the same all the year round ; it is not a traveller from choice. Only in severe weather, when its haunts are bound up with ice, it is per- force compelled to shift its quarters. It then travels by night and searches for unfrozen streams. At such times it appears occasionally in pretty large numbers in places where usually a few only resort. When the south of Europe is visited by severe frosts it is supposed even to cross the Mediterranean, it having been observed in Algeria, feeding in marshes in half-social parties, where a day or two before none had been seen. To the faculties of swim- ming and running it adds that of perching on trees ; this it does habitually^ as it roosts in low bushy trees ; and it has besides the power of wallcing cleverly along the branches. In the neighbourhood of houses where it has long been undisturbed, it loses much of its shy nature, and will not only allow itself to be approached within a short distance, but, becoming half-domesticated, will consort with the poultry in the farm-yard, and come with them to be fed. It is fond also of visiting the kitchen-garden, where it is apt to make itself unwelcome, by helping itself to the tenderest and best of the vegetables. Bishop Stanley, in his entertaining Book on Birds, gives some highly amusing anecdotes of the Gallinule. It builds its nest on the stump of a tree, or in a bush THE MOOR-HEN. 469 overhanging the water. The nest is a large structure, made of rushes and dry flags, and is easy of detection. It is very liable, too, to be swept away by any sudden rise in a river. Added to which, the young frequently fall a prey to pike. But as the bird has two, and sometimes three, broods in a year, each consisting of from six to eight, it remains undiminished in numbers. The nest is sometimes placed in a tree at a distance from the water. When this is the case, as the habits of the young birds are aquatic, immediately on their breaking the egg the old birds convey them in their claws to the water. An instance is recorded in the Zoologist of a female Gallinule being seen thus employed carrying a young one in each foot : it has been observed, too, that in such cases the male bird builds a second nest, near the water's edge, to which the young retire for shelter during the night, until they are sufliciently fledged to accompany their parents to their ordinary roosting-places in trees. THE COMMOISr COOT. FULICA ATRA. Upper plumage black, tinged on the back with grey ; under parts bluish grey • frontal disk large, pure white ; bill white, tinged with rose-red ; irides crimson ; feet grey, tinged with green ; part of the tibia orange-yeUow. Length sixteen inches. Eggs brownish, speckled with reddish brown. The Coot, seen from a distance, either on land or water, might be mistaken for a Gallinule, flirting up its tail when it swims, jerking its head to and fro, and when on land strutting about with a precisely similar movement of all its members. On a nearer examination, it is clearly distinguished by its larger size and the white bare spot above the bill, in front, from which it is often called the Bald-headed Coot. It is only during the summer season that the two birds can be compared ; for while the Galli- nule remains in the same waters all the year round, the 470 KALLIDyE. Coot resorts to ponds and lakes only during summer. It then builds its nest, a large substantial structure, composed of various dry aquatics, among rushes and reeds, in shallow water, sometimes laying the foundation among the roots of the plants intended to shelter it, at other times taking for a foundation the reeds which lie prostrate on the water. In the midst of this mass, as in a burrow, the female lays from six to ten eggs. At this season Coots do not associate -^ ^^^E^\^^^\' ■lllE COMMON L\ either with birds of the same or of a different species. Their food consists of various kinds of animal and vegetable sub- stances, among which fish-spawn, when attainable, is said to predominate, which gives their flesh a strong, un- pleasant flavour. Towards winter, Coots leave inland waters, and resort to estuaries and other salt-water inlets, where they congregate sometimes in numerous flocks or "coverts;" and their flesh being at this season less un- THE COMMON COOT. 471 palatable than in summer, they are much sought after by- seaside gunners. Their note, in summer, is a loud harsh cry, represented by the syllable "krew," as it would be uttered by a crazy trumpet. In winter they are nearly mute. During the latter season. Coots are confined to the southern parts of the island ; but in the breeding season they are more generally diffused. When seen on the sea-coast, they are readily distin- guished from Ducks by the different position in which they sit on the water, with their heads low, poking for- wards, and their tails sticking high above the body. When flying in large coverts, they crowd together into a mass, but when swimming scatter over a wide space. They have the same power of concealing themselves by diving among weeds that has been already said to be pos- sessed by the Gallinule. I have seen a female Coot and her brood, when disturbed by a party of sjDortsmen, paddle for a small jDatch of rushes, and defy a long-continued and minute search conducted by keepers and clever water-dogs. The latter appeared to traverse, again and again, every square foot of the rush bed ; but not a single bird was dislodered. THE GREY PHALAEOPE. PHALAROPUS LOBATUS. Winter— Flumage in front and beneath white ; back of the head, ear-coverts, and a streak down the napCj dusky; back pearl grey, the feathers dusky in the centre, a white transverse bar on the wings ; tail-feathers brown, edged with ash ; bill brown, yellowish red at the base ; irides reddish yellow ; feet greenish ash. Svvimer — Head dusky ; face and nape white ; feathers of the back dusky, bordered with orange-brown ; front and lower plumage brick- red. Length eight inches and a half. Eggs greenish stone-colour, blotched and spotted with dusky. The Grey Phalarope, without being one of our rarest birds, is not of common occurrence. Its proper home is in the Arctic regions, from whence it migrates south- ward in winter. It is a bird of varied accomplishments, 472 i;allid.«. flying rapidly like the Snipes, running after the fashion of the Sandpipers, and swimming with the facility of the Ducks. In all these respects it does not belie its appearance, its structure being such that a naturalist would expect, a priori, that these were its habits. During the breeding season, the Phalarope quits the sea, its usual THE GREY PHALAROPE. haunt, and repairs to the seashore, where it builds a neat nest, in a hollow of the ground, with grass and other weeds, and lays four eggs. The usual time of its appear- ance in Great Britain is autumn ; but specimens have been obtained in winter. On all these occasions it has shown itself singularly fearless of man. 473 THE RED-NECKED PPIALAROPE. PHALAROPUS HYPERBOREUS. Head deep ash-grey ; throat white ; neck bright rust-red ; under plumage white, blotched on the flanks with ash ; back black, the feathers bordered with rust- red ; a white bar across the wing ; two middle tail-feathers black, the rest ash, edged with white ; bill black ; irides brown ; feet greenish ash. Length seven inches. Eggs dark olive, closely spotted with black. The Red-necked Phalarope, or Lobefoot, is, like the pre- ceding species, an inhabitant of the Arctic regions, but extends its circle of residence so far as to include the Orkney Islands, in which numerous specimens have been obtained. It builds its nest of grass, in the marshes or on the islands in the lakes, and lays four eggs. The most marked habit of these birds seems to be that of alight- ing at sea on beds of floating seaweed, and indifferently swimming about in search of food, or running, with light and nimble pace, after the manner of a Wagtail. They are often met with thus employed at the distance of a hundred miles from land. They are described as being exceedingly tame, taking little notice of the vicinity of men, and unaffected by the report of a gun. THE GREY LAG GOOSE. ANSER FERUS. Folded wings not reaching to the extremity of the tail ; bill strong, orange- yellow, the nail whitish ; upper plumage ash-brown, many of the feathers bordered with greyish white ; under plumage, in front, light ash-grey, barred on the flanks and belly with brown, behind pure white ; iiides deep brown ; legs dull flesh-colour. Eggs ivory white. Length two feet ten inches. The birds that we have been last describing, especially the Coot and Moor-hen, are so well adapted by structure for a life in the water, that they might, without grievous error, be referred by the young naturalist to the Order Natatores, or swimmers. There can be no doubt, however, that their true place in the system is that which is ■474 ANSERIDiE. ■ assigned to them, since they form a link, as it were, between the Waders and the important order which we are now about to consider. First among these are the Geese, characterised by having a large, ovate body, a long neck, a short and stout beak, high at the base and bent down at the tip, adapted for cropping vegetable food ; the wings are large and powerful ; the legs, placed under the centre of the body, afford some facility in walking, and the webbed feet are eminently fitted for paddling, but rarely employed in diving. They spend the greater portion of the year in high latitudes, where their arrival is celebrated with great rejoicings, as an indication of returning summer. They are eminently gregarious, flying generally in the form of a half-opened pair of compasses, with the angle in front, or in an irregular wavy line, and uttering a loud harsh cry, which may often be heard some time before the birds themselves are in sight. The j)resent species, which is sup]30sed by some to be the origin of the domestic Goose, was formerly of common occurrence in Great Britain, but is now much less frequent. On their arrival in autumn, they resort to marshes and swamps, meadows,' corn-fields, and turnip-fields, especially such as are remote from human dwellings. There they feed by day on such vegetable substances as fall in their way, but they are said to prefer the young shoots of corn to any other kind of food. So wary are they and difficult of approach, that a " Wild Goose chase " is a proverbial expression for an unsuccessful enterprise. At night they retire to the broad flats near the sea, or to the mouths of rivers, where they roost on the ground. Yarrell is of opinion " that the term ' lag,' as applied to this Goose, is either a modification of the English word ' lake,' the Latin lacuSj or perhaps an abbreviation of the ItaHan ^lago,' from which latter country it is even probable that we may originally have obtained this our domesticated race." THE BEAN GOOSE. ANSER S^GETUM. Folded wings exceeding the tail in length; bill long, orange, the base and nail black ; upper plumage ash-brown ; the wings darker, edged with greyish white ; under plumage in front dirty white, behind pure white ; irides dark brown; legs orange; beak yellowish white. Length two feet six inches. Eggs white. The several species constituting the group to which the Bean Goose belongs resemble each other very nearly in all respects. Inspected closely, they differ indeed quite enough to justify their distribution into distinct species ; but the descriptions of their habits, given by various authors, present scarcely any characteristic features peculiar 476 ANSERID^. to one more than to another. Nor do I find that any ornithologists give any marks by which they may be distinguished at a distance. All are gregarious, fly high in the form of a V, or in an undulating line, uttering repeated cries, which no one who has heard a domesticated Goose can fail to recognise ; they pass the night for the most part on broad flats near the sea, and at early da^vn repair inland to their feeding grounds. The Bean Goose is, on the authority of Yarrell, next to the Brent Goose, the commonest and most numerous as a species among our Wild Geese. In Scotland it is far more abundant than in England, being seen in large flocks from October to April, especially at the periods of migration to and from its summer quarters. But it does not altogether desert the British Isles during the intervening months. A few are said annually to remain, and breed in the lakes of West- moreland, and in the Hebrides. In Sutherlandshire, also, many remain all the year — a fact thorouglily ascertained by Mr. Selby, who gives an interesting account of several young broods which he saw on the lochs, some of which he captured. They construct their nests among the tall heath on the islands, and lay from five to seven eggs, smaller than those of the Common Goose, but of a similar shape and colour. THE PINK-FOOTED GOOSE. ANSER BRACHYRHYNCHUS. Folded wings not reaching to the extremity of the tail; bill shorter than the head, narrow and much contracted towards the tip, pink, with the nail and base black ; head and neck reddish brown ; rest of the upper plumage ash-grey, edged with greyish white ; under plumage in front fawn-colour, behind white ; irides dark brown : feet pink, tinged with vermilion. Length two feet four inches. Eggs dull yellowish white. It is said that most, if not all the various species of wild Geese have strong local attachments ; that flocks composed of one particular kind are in the habit of visiting, year THE PINK-FOOTED GOOSE. 477 after year, the same spot, to the exckision of other species, which may, nevertheless, be found frequenting places of like character at no great distance. Of the truth of the statement I met with signal confirmation in the severe winter of 1860-61. I then spent several days on the coast of ^N'orfolk, for the purpose of watching the habits of Waders and sea-fowl. Without indulging in the chase of wild Geese, I heard and saw a great many flocks, of wliich some were unmistakeably Brent Geese ; others, of a larger size and a different colour, I was obliged to include under the comprehensive name of Grey Geese. The Brents, I found, regularly repaired to the salt marshes adjoining Thornham Harbour, which, I was told, was their usual place of resort. The others were known to alight only in the meadows near Holkham. Having heard that several had been shot at the latter place, I procured one, and on examination it proved to be the present species, up to that time entirely unknown to me. On consulting Yarrell, I found the following jDassage : — " In January of the present year, 1841, I was favoured with a letter from the Hon. and Eev. Thomas Keppel, of Warham Eectory, near Holkam, informing me that a Pink-footed Goose had been killed by his nephew, Lord Coke, at Holkam. This bird was shot out of a flock of about twenty, but nothing particular was observed in their flight or habits." The bird brought to me had been shot, along with many others, out of similar flocks, in exactly the same place, at an interval of twenty years ; and I have no doubt that the many other specimens which have been shot there between the above two dates, belonged to the same species, the characters which dis- tinguish it from the common Bean Goose being not suffi- ciently striking to attract the notice of seaside gunners. The habits of the species appear not to differ from those of its congener : it arrives and departs about the same time, and it breeds in the Outer Hebrides. THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. ANSER ALBIFRONS. Folded wings reaching a little beyond the tail ; bill orange-yellow, tlie nail white ; a large space on the forehead pure white, surrounded by a dusky band ; upper plumage ash-brown, varied with grey, dull white, and bluish black ; under plumage in front brownish white, with patches and bars of black ; behind white ; irides dark brown ; feet orange. Length two feet three inches. Eggs white, tinged with buff. A REGULAR visitant to the British Isles ; usually seen in small flocks of from eight to twenty birds ] it is entirely graminivorous, and, when undisturbed, usually rests at night in any grass-field where it may have been feeding in the afternoon. Its habits, during its stay in these latitudes, are similar to those of the other species, but it is said by Mr. Selby THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. 479 to "vary from the Bean Goose in preferring low and marshy districts to the upland and drier haunts of that bird, and in these localities subsists on the aquatic grasses, being very seldom seen to frequent corn or stubble fields." In jSTorfolk it has frequently been seen associated with the Bean Goose. It has never been observed to remain with us after April, when it betakes itself to the regions bor- dering on the Arctic circle. In Lapland it is very abun- dant, and in the fur countries of Xorth America it was seen in spring by Dr. Eichardson in large flocks travelling northwards. It breeds in the woody districts skirting Mackenzie's Eiver, and in the islands of the Arctic Sea. The white forehead of this bird tends to confirm the opinion maintained by some authors that the common Domestic Goose owes its origin to this species. THE BERNICLE GOOSE. ANSER LEUCOPSIS. Forehead, sides of the head, and throat, pure white ; a dark streak between the eyes and bill ; head, neck, quills, and tail, black ; rest of the upper plumage undulated transversely with ash-grey, black, and dull white ;- lower plumage white, tinged on the flanks with gi'ey ; irides dusky -brown ; bill and feet black. Length two feet one inch. Eggs greenish white. " This very beautiful bird," says Macgillivray, " occurs in the ISforthern Hebrides, Shetland, and Orkney Islands, where it arrives in October and remains till April. It then more frequently retires to the sea than to the lakes during its periods of repose, or when driven from its feeding-grounds. A large flock then presents a beautiful spectacle, as the birds sit lightly on the water, and when advancing elevate their necks. JN^ot less beautiful do they seem when on wing ; now arranged in long lines, ever un- dulating ; at one time extending in the direction of their flight ; at another obliquely, or at right angles to it, some- times in an angular figure, and again mingling together. Their voice is clear, and rather shrill, and comes agreeably 480 ANSERID^. on the ear when the cries of a large flock come from a considerable distance." In England it is far less common, but occasionally resorts to marshes both on the eastern and western coast. Tlie mythical fragment of ancient natural history, that the Bernicle is the product of a tree, is too trite to require repetition here. It is not, however, so generally known, that this fable was thus summarily THE BERNICLE GOOSE. disposed of nearly two hundred years ago, 1676, by Ray and Willughby : — " What has been published concerning the origin of these birds, namely, that they are produced either from rotten wood, the masts, beams, and planks of old ships decayed in the ocean, or from fruits which have fallen froin trees into the sea, or from certain marine shells, of which Lobelius, Gerard and others, have given THE BERNICLE GOOSE. 481 representations, may be seen in Aldrovand, and Michael Meyer, who wrote even a whole book about the tree-bird ; for my part I am firmly of opinion that the whole is false and fabulous." THE BEENT BEENICLE. ANSER TORQUATUS. Head, beak, neck, breast, feet, quills, and tail, black; on each side of the neck a patch of white with a feAV black feathers intermixed ; upper plumage dingy ; all the tail-coverts white ; belly brownish grey, barred on the flanks with greyish white. Length twenty-one inches. Eggs greyish white. The Wild Geese which we have hitherto been considering feed on grass, clover, and grain, in quest of which they resort to inland marshes, meadows, and arable land ; but the Brent is a decidedly marine bird. During its annual visits to our shores it stays out at sea by night, cradled by the billows, and at early dawn repairs to the muddy flats and sand-banks, where it feeds exclusively on marine plants, especially laver and zostera. As soon as these are left bare by the ebbing tide, the Brents are taught by their instinct that they have no time to lose, and hasten in " skeins " or " gaggles," making in their flight a trumpet- like noise, which, heard at a distance, resembles that of a pack of harriers or fox-hounds in full cry. They prefer to take their stand on those parts of the ooze which are least intersected by creeks, and there, if left undisturbed, they continue to feed without intermission till the rising tide lifts them off their feet. Then, away to sea again ! or, if the weather be boisterous, they seek for shelter in the rivers and estuaries. They are local in their attach- ments, returning annually to the same feeding-grounds. They do not associate from choice with other species, for though they may be frequently seen feeding in the vicinity of various Waders, they form no society with them, and are, indeed, in quest of different food. Seaside fowlers are well acquainted with the peculiarity of theii* habits, I I 482 ANSERID^. and not only know where to look for them when they are settled, but at what points they can most easily be inter- cepted, going and returning. It is the custom of the fowler to conceal himself behind some lurking-place, natiu?al or artificial ; or, if this be wanting, to stretch himself on the ground. Then, as a skein, unconscious of danger, approaches, he suddenly shows himself ; the birds. THE BRENT BERNICLE. panic-struck, huddle together before they alter their line of flight, and the sportsman fires into the midst of them. They are the most abundant of all the Geese which frequent our shores, and are killed in great numbers and sent to market. They come to us in November and remain till late in February, when they begin to migrate in successive flights, the youngest birds staying until April. It is not believed that they ever remain to breed, but that they repair to the Arctic Regions, and make their nests of withered herbage in marshy oround. 483 THE EED-BREASTED GOOSE. ANSER RUFICOLLIS. Crown, neck, belly, tail, feet, and all the upper parts black; lore, a space behind the eyes, a line traversing the neck and crossing the lower part of the breast, white ; breast and front of the neck orange-broAvn ; greater wing- coverts tipped with white ; bill brown, the nail black ; irides yellowish brown. Length twenty inches. Eggs unknown. This rare species of Goose inhabits the arctic regions of Asia, and is periodically seen on its passage through Russia. A few specimens have been observed in Germany, and in the British Isles it is of very unusual occurrence. Nothing appears to be known of its habits or nidification. THE EGYPTIAN GOOSE. ANSER EGYPTIACUS. Forehead, crown, and most of the upper plumage, rich reddish brown ; cheeks reddish white ; patch round the eye chestnut-brown ; wing-coverts white, the lesser tipped with black ; under plumage pale brown, a patch of chestnut- brown on the breast; bill brown; irides yeUow ; length twenty -six inches. Eggs white, tinged with bulT. As its name denotes, this bird is a native of Africa, but visits the south of Europe, and occasionally extends its flights as far as this country, generally in small flocks. Egyptian Geese are often kept on the waters of parks, on account of the beauty of their plumage. SPUR- WINGED GOOSE. ANSER GAMBENSIS. Crown and neck dingy brown ; most of the upper plumage black glossed -with purple ; edges of the wing and under parts white ; on the bend of the wing a strong white homy spur ; bill and feet reddish yeUow. Eggs unkno-mi. Little is known of this rare species of Goose, of which one specimen only has been seen in Great Britain. It is a native of Northern and Western Africa, and is known by the name of Gambo Goose. II 2 484 ANSERID^. THE CANADA GOOSE. ANSER CANADENSIS. Bill, head, quills, tail, and most of the neck, black ; a white jjatch on the chin and throat extending upwards to the ear-coverts ; upper i)lumage brown .; upper part of the breast white, passing into pale brown ; all the tail-coverts white ; feet dark lead colour. Eggs dull white. Large flocks of these birds have been observed from time to time in various parts of Britain, and although their head-quarters are in the western world, there seems to be no sufficient reason to suppose that they do not, like others of the tribe, occasionally migrate in this direction. In a domesticated state they are commonly to be met with. In habits they differ little from other wild Geese. They breed in the northern states of North America, and migrate southwards in summer. In the fur countries their arrival is hailed with acclamations, not only as heralding summer, but because during their stay the inhabitants depend principally upon them for subsistence. So nu- merous are they, that many are often killed at a shot, and the usual price of a Goose is that of a single charge of ammunition. Like several other species already mentioned, they have strong local attachments, and annually resort to certain passes and resting-places. They generally build their nests on the ground, but occasionally in trees, de- positing their eggs in the deserted nests of Eavens or Fishing Eagles. THE HOOPER SWAN. CYGNUS FERUS. Whole plumage pure white, the head and nape sometimes slightly tinged with yellow ; lower half of the bill quadrangular, yellow, upper black ; lore and a great portion of the edge of the upper mandible yellow; irides brown ; legs black ; tail of twenty feathers. Youyig birds have the plumage grey; lore flesh-colour. Length five feet; breadth seven feet ten inches. Eggs dull white, tinged with greenish. The ancient fable that Swans sing most sweetly before their death did not survive the age which invented it. THE HOOPEK SWAN. 485 Pliny disbelieved it, and, though the assertion may have been resuscitated from time to time as a poetic fiction, it has found no place in works on J^atural History. The Swan is not musical ; it rests its claims to our ad- miration on other grounds, unchallenged and indisputable ; the unsullied white of its plumage is an apt emblem of » THE HOOPER SWAN. purity, and the elegance of its movements in the water has become proverbial. The present species, which owes its name to its powerful voice, is said to be not quite so grace- ful as the tame Swan, but on land it is far more active. A bird which has beeii winged by a sportsman, and has fallen on the land, can only be overtaken by smart running. In 486 ANSERID^. Iceland, the summer resort of these birds, they are much sought after for the sake of their down. In the month of August, Avhen the old birds, having cast their quill-feathers, are unable to fly, the natives assemble in bodies in the places where the Swans collect, and mounted on small but active horses chase them through the marshes, and ride many of them down ; but the greater number are caught by the dogs, which always seize the birds by the neck, and so encumber them, that they are then easily overtaken. But it is not the habit of Swans to remain much on land ; the perfect ease with which they float and swim indicates that the water is their element, and a glance at their long necks tells at once that their nature is to feed in shallow water or on the margin of deep lakes, where with their strong bills they either tear up the stems and roots of aquatics from the bottom, or crop at their pleasure from the banks. To this kind of food they add such insects, mollusks and worms, as come within their reach ; and (when sailing in salt water) sea-weeds, and especially the long, ribbon-like leaves of zostera. During summer they frequent the most secluded swamps and lakes in the wooded districts of the North, and build a very large nest in a spot unap- proachable by human feet. A few go no farther north than the Orkneys and Shetlands, but their head-quarters are Siberia, Iceland, Lapland, and Hudson's Bay. After they have recovered from their summer moult, they migrate southwards, and arrive in Scotland, some- times in large flocks, early in October. Mr. St. John, in his " Wild Sports of the Highlands," gives an interesting account of their habits while in this country. He went in pursuit of a flock which had selected for their winter feeding-place some fresh-water lochs about half a mile from the sea. They passed the day mostly on the salt water, and in the evening came inland to feed. He found them on one of the smaller lochs, some standing high and dry on the grassy islands, trimming their feathers after THE HOOPER* SWAN. 487 their long voyage, and others feeding on the grass and weeds at the bottom of the loch, which in some parts was shallow enough to allow of their j^nlling up the plants which they fed on as they swam about, while numbers of wild Ducks of diiferent kinds, particularly Wigeons, swarmed round them, and often snatched the pieces of grass from the Swans as soon as they had brought them to the surface, to the great annoyance of the noble birds, who endeavoured in vain to drive away these most active little depredators, who seemed determined to profit by their labours. "I observed," he says, "that frequently all their heads were under the water at once, excepting one — but invariably one had kept his head and neck perfectly erect, and carefully watched on every side to prevent their being taken by surprise ; when he wanted to feed, he touched any passer-by, who immediately relieved him in his guard, and he in his turn called on some other Swan to take his place as sentinel." Swans, like wild Geese, are in the habit of returning every year to the same district of country, and in passing to and from their feeding-ground keep closely to the same line of flight, a peculiarity of which fowlers take advantage by lying in ambuscade somewhere beneath their aerial road. When disturbed on the water they generally huddle to- gether and utter a low cry of alarm before they take flight. Owing to their great weight, they have not the power of rising suddenly into the aii\ but flap along the water, beating the surface with their great wings, some twenty or thirty yards. The flapping noise made while this pro- cess is going on, may be heard at a great distance. In severe winters, flocks of Hoopers, Whistling Swans, or Elks, as they are variously called, come farther south, and may be observed from time to time on difi'erent parts of the coast. 488 ANSERID.^^:. BEWICK'S SWAN. CYGNUS BEWICKII. Whole plumage pure white ; bill black, orange-yellow at the base ; irides dark ; feet black ; tail of eighteen feathers. Young birds greyish brown ; immature specimens tinged on the head and belly with rust-red. Length three feet nine inches ; breadth six feet one inch. Eggs dull white, tinged with brown. Bewick's Swan is distinguished from the Hooper, not onlj' by the characters given above, but by strongly marked anatomical features, which were first pointed out by Mr. Yarrell, who, with the modesty and generosity for which he was noted, gave it its present name ; " Thus devoting it to the memory of one whose beautiful and animated delineations of subjects in natural history entitle him to this tribute." Of the numerous wild Swans seen in the British Isles, so small a proportion fall into the hands of persons competent to identify them, that it is hard to give any opinion on the relative abundance of this species. Many specimens, however, have been procured, and flocks have been observed comprising, in one instance, twenty- nine, in another seventy-three individuals. In the case of distant flocks the only criterion is size ; and as this species is one-third less than the Hooper, there is little probability of an experienced observer being mistaken in the identity. In their habits they closely resemble their congeners, but are less graceful in their movements on the water, and spend a larger portion of their time on land. 489 THE MUTE SWAN. CYGNUS OLOR. Wliole plumage pure white ; bill red ; edges of the mandibles, nail, lore, orifice of the nostrils, and large tubercle at the base of the beak, black ; irides brown ; feet black. Young Urcls ash-bro^\Ti ; bill and legs dusky grey. Length five feet. Eggs dull greenish white. This is the half- domesticated Swan of our rivers and ornamental waters ; a native of many of the countries of Europe and Asia, and, at one time, perhaps, found wild in Britain. Popular works on natural history contain so many anec- dotes of the Swan, and. the bird is so completely within the reach of every one interested in the subject, that it is thought unnecessary to give a detailed account of it in this volume. I may observe only that in this species the structure of the windpipe is far less complicated than in the Hooper and Bewick's Swan, and that, though not absolutely voiceless, its note, which is soft and low, is not often uttered. THE POLISH SWAN. CYGNUS IMMUTABILIS. Resembling the last, except that the tubercle is smaller ; the elongated openings of the nostrils do not reach the black at the base of the bill ; feet slate-grey Young birds white. Length four feet eleven inches. This Swan, called " immutable " from the fact that there is no difference between the colour of the plumage of the cygnet and the adult, was constituted into a distinct species by ]\Ir. YarreU. In structure it approaches the Mute Swan, but is distinguished not only by the above characters, but by anatomical features, for a full account of which the reader is referred to "Yarrell's British Birds." Several specimens have been obtained in this country, but nothing peculiar has as yet been observed in its habits. 490 ANATID^.. THE EUDDY SHELDEAKE. TADORNA RtJTILA. Head and neck buff, x^assing into orange-brown, which is bounded below by a black ring ; general plumage rusty yellow ; primaries and tail black ; second- aries lustrous with green and purple ; middle wing-coverts pure white ; bill and legs black. Length twenty-three inches. Eggs white. Only a few specimens of tliis bird have been obtained in Great Britain. It appears to be more abundant in Asia and the East of Europe than in any of the countries of the West of Europe, and in habits it is said to resemble the next species, building its nest either in hollows which it excavates for itself, or in the deserted holes of marmots. The Sheldrake is placed first in the list of the Ducks, because in many respects it resembles the Geese, particularly, as Yarrell observes, " in the circumstance of the females being very nearly in plumage of the same colour as the males, which is not the case with true Ducks." THE COMMON SHELDEAKE. TADORNA BELLONII. Head, throat, and upper back glossy black, with green reflections ; lower parts of the neck and back, flanks, rump and. tail (except the black tip) white ; from the shoulders a broad band of bright chestnut, which meets on the breast, passing into a broad, blotched, black band, which passes down the abdomen nearly to the tail ; under tail-coverts pale reddish yellow ; scapulars black ; wing-coverts white ; secondaries chestnut ; primaries black ; speculum bronzed green and purple ; bill, and protuberance at the base, red ; irides brown ; feet crimson-red. The female wants the red protuberance on the bill, and the colours generally are somewhat less bright. Length twenty to twenty-two inches. Eggs white, tinged with green. The Sheldrake is the largest and among the handsomest of the British Ducks, and if easy of domestication would be no doubt a common ornament of our lakes and rivers. It is, however, in Great Britain at least, a marine bird ; though from one of its French names, Canard des Alj^es, it would seem also to frequent the large continental lakes. THE COMMON SHELDRAKE. 491 Numerous attempts have been made to familiarize it with inland fresh-water haunts to w^hich some other species readily take, but they have rarely succeeded, while to induce it to breed at a distance from its seaside home has proved vet more difficult. THK COMMON SHKLDUAKE. It differs from the majority of the Duck tribe in re- maining on the coast of Britain throughout the year. In South Wales, for example, it is seen in winter and early spring, but about the breeding season it disappears for a few weeks. During this interval it is employed in 492 ANATID^.. incubation, but when its brood is hatched it is seen again, acconnDanied by a troop of ducklings, feeding in the creeks and marshy places. AVhen thus discovered, the young broods are commonly hunted down by seaside idlers for the sake of being sold to any one who cares to try the experiment of rearing them. On the coast of ISTorfolk it is more usual to search for the nests, in order to secure the eggs and place them under a tame Duck or domestic Hen. The male and female keep together, not only during incubation, but until the young are able to provide for themselves. It derives the name " Burrow Duck," by which it is also known, from its cus- tom of making its nest either in the burrow of a rabbit or in a hole hollowed out by itself. The nest is constructed of such herbage as abounds in the neighbourhood ; it is lined with down plucked from the breast of the parent bird, and contains from ten to twelve eggs. Pennant (vol. ii. p. 257) says of these birds : " They inhabit the sea-coasts and breed in rabbit-holes. When a person attempts to take their young, the old birds show great address in diverting his attention from the brood ; they will fly along the ground as if wounded, till the former can get into a place of security, and then return and collect them together." From this instinctive cunning, Turner, with good reason, imagines them to be the clienalopex or Fox-goose of the ancients ; the natives of the Orkneys to this day call them iho^Sly -goose, from an attribute of that quadruped. Sheldrakes are more numerous during the summer in North Britain than in the South, but in winter they are driven by the freezing of their feeding-grounds to more temperate climates. Here numbers of them meet the fate of wildfowl generally, and specimens are often to be seen exposed in the English markets, though their flesh is held in little estimation as food. The name of this bird is variously spelt Shelldrake, THE COMMON SHELDEAKE. 493 Shieldrake, and Sheldrake. I have adopted the latter mode as being the one employed by Willughby,* who adds, moreover, that it is so called on account of its "varie- gated" plumage, in which sense the word "shelled" is still cuiTent in the eastern counties of England. THE SHOVELLER. ANAS CLYPEATA. Head and neck glossy green ; breast pure white ; belly and flanks chestnut ; back brown ; lesser wing-coverts pale blue ; scapulars white, speckled and spotted with black ; speculum brilliant green • bill lead colour ; irides yellow ; feet reddish orange. Female — Head pale reddish brown, streaked with dusky ; upper plumage dusky brown, edged with reddish white; under plumage reddish with large brown spots ; the blue and green of the wings less bright. Length twenty inches. Eggs greenish white. . The Shoveller is well distinguished among all the British Ducks by the form and structure of its bill, which in old birds is dilated near the extremity into a form approach- ing that of a spoon, and is furnished with a fringe of slender lamellae, resembling a comb. Towards the end of the bill these are not conspicuous as long as the mouth of the bird is closed, but along the narrower part they are prominent under all circumstances. So singular an appa- ratus obviously indicates that the habit of the Shoveller is to sift water and mud for the sake of securing the insects and worms which they contain. It resorts, therefore, to the margins of fresh-water lakes, ponds, and ditches, and is rarely seen at sea, nor does it ever dive after its food in deep water, but frequently comes to land in quest of slugs, snails, and worms. It is met with from time to time in many parts of England, especially the eastern counties, but is nowhere abundant. Its distaste for the sea disqualifies it for inhabiting the Arctic Eegions ; con- sequently it breeds in temperate countries, and flies farther * Sheldrakes dicimtur ob colorum varietatem. Willughbeii Orni- thologia, p. 279. 494 ANATID^. to the south in winter, liaving been observed on both shores of the Mediterranean, and in some of the warm parts of India. The extensive drainage of our fens and marshes has made it less frequent in England than it formerly was; but in Holland and other continental countries it is abundant. The nest, usually placed in a tuft of grass, is made of dry grass mixed with down which the female plucks from her own body, and contains eight or nine eggs. The Shoveller is not sufficiently common in this country to claim any importance as an article of food, but its flesh is said to be superior in flavour even to that of the famous Canvass-backed Duck of America. The male annually undergoes a moult, or change of feathers, similar to that described below as taking place in the Mallard. THE GADWALL. ANAS STREPEEA. Head and neck light grey, speckled with brown ; back and breast dark grey, the feathers ending in crescent-shaped whitish lines ; belly white, speckled with brown ; small wing-coverts and tip of the wing chestnut ; greater coverts, rump, and tail-coverts black ; speculum white ; bill black ; irides brown ; feet orange. Female less distinctly marked. Length twenty inches. Eggs buffy white, tinged with green. This species of Duck has no claim to be considered in- digenous to Great Britain, being rarely seen except in autumn and spring, when on its way to and from warmer latitudes. With us it is a bird of occasional but not common occurrence, but in Holland it is often abundant, especially in autumn. Its food and habits closely re- semble those of the other Ducks ; it is active, and both swims and flies rapidly, preferring fresh-water lakes to the sea, and resorting principally to such pieces of water as afford it ready concealment. Meyer states that when flocks of Gad walls "fly about, they keep close together in a THE GAD WALL. 495 ball, but not in a line, and may therefore be very soon dis- tinguished from the common wild Duck." By day they mostly swim about in the open water, and come near the shore to feed in the evening. They breed in the great northern marshes of both hemispheres. THE PINTAIL DUCK. ANAS ACUTA. Two central tail-feathers much elongated, black; head and neck rich dark brown ; back and flanks marked with zigzag black and grey lines ; front of the neck, and a line on each side, white ; speculum lustrous with green and purple, bounded above by reddish brown, below by white ; biU lead colour and black. Female— central tail-feathers scarcely elongated ; head and neck reddish brown speckled with dusky; upper feathers dusky edged with reddish white ; lower plumage reddish yellow spotted with brown ; speculum dull yellowish brown ; no white line on the side of the neck. Length twenty- six inches. Eggs dull greenish white. The Pintail Duck is a northern bird which visits our shores in small parties, during severe winters, and is never seen in the British Isles at any other time. In form it is the most elegant of all the Ducks, and its move- ments are described as being active and graceful. I have never myself had the good fortune to see one alive, the only specimen I ever possessed having been sent to me from Newcastle-on-Tyne, near which it was shot at sea. It is not, however, considered a very rare species, as the fishermen on the Norfolk coast, and perhaps elsewhere, are well acquainted with it. Yarrell states, that on the coast of Dorsetshire and Hampshire it is so well known as to have acquired a Ipcal name, " Sea Pheasant." * Por this it is indebted to the length of its tail, in which respect it differs from all the common Ducks. It arrives early in autumn, and remains either on the coast or in the inland marshes, until the return of spring; differing, indeed, little in its habits from the common wild Duck, except that it never stays to breed. It is occasionally taken in decoys * Williigliby calls it the " Sea Pheasant," or " Cracker." 496 ANATIDtE. in Norfolk, and has often been observed to associate with Wigeons. Its note is described by Montagu as being " extremely soft and inward." The Pintail Duck has a wide geographical range, as it either breeds in or pays winter visits to the greater part of the I^orthern Hemisphere. The male annually assumes sss^ THE PINTAIL DUCK. in summer the plumage of the female, resembling in this respect the Mallard, to be described hereafter. The flesh is considered excellent, on which account it is much sought after by wild-fowl shooters both on the coast and in the fens. 497 THE BIMACULATED DUCK. ANAS GLOCITANS. Two central tail-feathers elongated and pointed, black; head deep reddish brown, passing into purple ; before and behind the eyes an irregular patcli of chestnut-brown ; back and flanks undulated with black ; speculum dark green glossed with purple ; under plumage yellowish white, with undulating black lines ; bill blackish grey, orange at the base ; feet pale orange. Length sixteen inches. An exceedingly rare species, of which only four or five examj)les have been obtained in this country, and of which little is known. THE WILD DUCK. ANAS BOSCHAS. Head and neck dark green ; at the base of the neck a white collar; upper parts marked with fine zigzag lines of ash-brown and grey ; breast chestnut ; lower parts greyish wliite, marked with fine zigzag ash-brown lines ; speculum dark blue with purple and green reflections, bordered above and below with black and white ; four middle feathers of the tail curled upwards ; bill greenish yellow ; irides red-brown ; feet orange. Length twenty-four inches. Female smaller ; plumage mottled with various shades of brown and grey ; throat whitish; speculum as in the male; all the tail-feathers straight. Eggs greenish white. Its size, abundance, and value as an article of food, have given to the Wild Duck an importance which belongs to few other British birds ; and the modes of capturing it are so varied and interesting that they are often to be met with described in works not exclusively devoted to natural history. Eor this reason I shall in great measure confine my notice of this bird to such particulars in its history as the reader may probably have an opportunity of verifying by his own observation in the course of his rambles among places which it habitually frequents. The term "Wild Duck," properly applicable to the female bird only (" Mallard " being the distinctive name of the male), is generally employed to include both sexes. The difference in the plumage of the two is very great, as, K K 498 ANATIDiE. indeed, is the case with all those varieties of the same bird which, under the name of "Tame Ducks," have altered the least from their natural wild type. Yet in the summer months, when both sexes moult,* the Mallard puts off the whole of his characteristic gay plumage, and appears in the sober brown garb of the Duck. It is only, in fact, from October to May that the Mallard can be dis- THE WILD DUCK. tinguished from his partner by his markings. At this season, too, young birds, so far as they are fledged, are of the same tone of colouring. Domesticated birds are sub- ject to the same change ; but a reason for this singular metamorphosis no naturalist, as far as I am aware, has ventured to assign. * Formerly spelt " moot," from the Latin muto, to change. THE WILD DUCK. 499 Wild Ducks hold a prominent jDlace among birds of the most extensive distribution, being "indigenous to the greater part of the northern hemisphere."* In consequence of this wide range they must of necessity frequent many districts highly favourable to their preservation ; they are therefore numerous. Equally well adapted for travelling by sea and through the air, and capable of enduring great variations of heat and cold, their presence may be expected wherever a tract of country occurs calculated to supply them with food and opportunities for nidification. As long as England abounded in marshes, and her rivers ran through wastes rarely frequented by man, Wild Ducks were numerous in many counties where they are now but rarely seen. Many have retired before draining and civilization, yet they never totally desert us. In most districts where there are rivers lined with reeds, even not so very far removed from the sound of the steam-engine, one may, by cautiously and quietly guiding one's steps, fall in with a brood of active duckhngs sifting the ooze, with the instinct of their kind, for minute insects ; flapping along the water in chase of a fly, or paddling among the reeds on the look-out for anything good to eat. The matron of the party, with a proud consciousness of her dignity as sentinel and protector, preserves a more stately demeanour, but, with this slight difference, is similarly occupied. As you approach she is the first to descry you ; with a homely "quack," differing in no respect from the note of the domesticated bird, she sounds an alarm, and the whole family, mother and children, are quickly concealed among the reeds. It is possible, by long-continued persecution, to induce her to rise, but she does so reluctantly, and even then, unless you are such a barbarian as to shoot her, all is yet safe. The young will hide themselves securely until danger is past, and she, not far off, though un- seen, is circling round her helpless brood. In an islet, * Yarrell, vol. iii. p. 273. KK 2 * 500 A.XATIDi!i probably, of the river ; in a tuft of reeds surrounded by quagmire ; among thick bushes near the bank ; under the stump of an alder, or even high up among the branches, she formerly had her nest, composed of grass, and lined with down from her own breast ; and at no great distance from this her offspring are yet lingering. The latter could smm immediately that they left the egg, but their bodies are large and heavy in proportion to the size of their wings, so that they will be unable to fly until nine or ten weeks old, when they will be thoroughly fledged, and only distinguishable from their parent by their smaller size. From the rapidity with which young Ducks " scutter " along the surface of the water, using both feet and wings, they are called by sportsmen, " flappers ; " and from the same habit no doubt the children's game of " Ducks-and- drakes " was named. The word is one with which I have been familiar, like most other people, from my earliest years, yet I never thought of its etymology until I was passing, a few weeks since, in a steamer down Loch Tarbet. The boat disturbed a party of " flappers " which were feeding near the shore, and as they half flew, half IDaddled away at a rapid rate, the sport and the name suggested themselves to my mind together. In Scotland, where there will always be lakes and marshes. Wild Ducks are far more abundant than in England ; but even here they vindicate the propriety of the title " wild." Approach a reedy tarn among the hills as warily as you please ; all the birds that are strong of flight will most probably take their departure while you are yet a hundred yards off, the partially fledged having hurriedly hidden themselves among the rashes and water- lilies. In such situations, both in England and Scotland, these birds remain all the year round ; but their numbers are greatly augmented in winter by the arrival of large flocks THE WILD DUCK. 501 from the north. These fly mostly by night, in long lines, and jDroceed to the fens and salt marshes, where they feed until daylight. They then put out to sea, and rest, floating on the water, until dusk ; and it is while they are on their way to and from these feeding-grounds that the sea-side gunners do the greatest execution among them. They fly mostly in small parties, and utter no note ; but if after dusk a shot be fired in the vicinity of a marsh or of a piece of reclaimed land intersected by ditches, it is followed by a concert of " quacks " from all sides, which proves that however small the parties may have been, the number of Ducks collectively must be very great. In the neighbourhood of the salt marshes in the eastern counties, one may meet, in severe winter weather, just before dusk, little knots of men setting out on ducking expeditions. Each is furnished with a spade, a bag of straw, and a gun. Experience has taught these men that the line of flight usually taken by the birds is along a narrow creek or arm of the sea, which has on either side a high muddy bank. For such a point the gunners are making. The use of the spade is to dig a hole for con- cealment in the mud, and the straw is intended to furnish a dry seat. It must be a wearisome occupation to sit here hour after hour, with nothing to do but to hope that birds are coming ; and when they come matters are not much mended ; for if the shot be successful it will never do to leave the hiding-place in order to pick up the booty, or another chance may be missed. Three or four hours are thus spent, and on moonlight nights a longer time. The slain birds are then collected, a few hours are given to rest, and in the morning twilight the same scene is re-enacted. Of the more systematic method of capturing Ducks by a decoy it wiU be expected that I should say a few words ; but for a full and accurate account of this in- genious device I would refer my readers to "Lubbock's Fauna of Norfolk." 502 ANATID^. When it is desired to construct a decoy,* a quiet, shallow pond is selected, edged with reeds, and having an extent of from two to fifty acres or more. From the edge of this are dug at various points, curved creeks, called '^ pipes," broad at the mouth, and contracting till the banks meet. Over each of these pipes is thrown a net, supported on arches made of hoops ; the first about ten feet high, the others diminishing in size, and the whole ending in a bag-net, or " purse." On each bank of the pipes are erected screens made of reeds, high enough to conceal a man. Previously to commencing operations the decoy-man has let loose on the pond a few tame Ducks, closely resembling wild birds in plumage, who are familiar with his person and have been trained to come at his call. Accompanied by a little dog, "a piper," he stations himself behind a screen, near the mouth of a pipe which faces the wind, choosing this position because Ducks prefer to swim against the wind and to feed on a lee shore. AVhen the pond is well stocked with birds he throws some corn on the water near the mouth of a pipe, and makes a low whistle. At the familiar sound the " coy-ducks " hasten to the spot, and, if all be well, are followed by a portion of the wild birds. The piper is then let loose, and immediately rims to the water's edge. The Wild Ducks, either from curiosity, or some unknown motive, paddle towards him. The ruse succeeding so far, the piper is made to appear for a moment beyond the next screen, and so on until a party of Ducks have been lured so far up the pipe as to be out of sight of those remaining in the pond. The decoy-man, who has all the while been lying hid near the first screen, then shows himself to his intended * Decoy, a corruption of Duck-coy, from the Dutch kooi, a cage or pen. See "Eay and Willughby's Ornithology," p. 286, where, mention being made of a method of capturing wild fowl which had been introduced into England from Holland, the following passage occurs : " Piscinas hasce cum allectatricibus et reliquo suo apparatu Decoys seu Duck-coys vocant, allectatrices Coy -ducks.''' THE GARGANEY. 503 victims, who, in their flight, hurry on to the " purse," and are caught and dispatched at leisure. All this time the coy-ducks, if well trained, have remained at the mouth of the pipe, feeding, and unconsciously enticing new comers into the snare. That this method of capturing wild fowl is effective, may be inferred from the fact that decoys of a precisely similar kind have been worked ever since the time of Willughby (1676), who describes them at length. THE GAEGANEY. ANAS QUERQU^DULA. Crown dusky ; over the eye a white band extending down the neck ; throat black ; neck chestnut-brown streaked with white ; breast pale yellowish brown, with crescent-shaped black bars ; back mottled with dusky grey and brown ; speculum greyish green bordered above and below with white ; bill dark brown ; irides brown ; feet grey. Length sixteen inches. Eggs buff. This elegant little bird visits us in March and April, being at that time, it is supposed, on its way to the south. Though not among the rarest of the tribe, it is now of unusual occurrence, but was formerly so regular a visitor in the eastern counties, that it acquired the provincial name of " Summer Teal," and young birds were commonly seen on the Broads of Norfolk in July and August, dis- tinguishable from young Teal by the Hghter colour of their plumage, more slender habit, and greater length of neck. The nests were supposed to be built among the thickest reed beds, but were so carefully concealed, that their existence was only inferred from the appearance of the young brood. I am informed by the Eev. W. S. Hore that an instance of the Garganey breeding in the Broads of Norfolk has occurred within his own experience. THE TEAL. ANAS CRECCA. Head and neck bright chestnut ; on each side of the head a broad green band edged with buff, inclosing the eye and extending to the nape ; lower part of the neck, back, and flanks, marked with numerous black and white zigzag lines ; breast reddish white, with roundish black spots ; speculum black, green and purple, edged with white ; bill dusky ; irides brown ; feet ash. Femate— Upper plumage dusky brown mottled with reddish grey ; throat, cheeks and a band behind the eyes j-ellowish white spotted with black; speculum black and green. Length fourteen inches and a half. Eggs yellowish white. The Teal is the smallest, and by no means the least beautiful, among the British Ducks. It is decidedly an indigenous species, as it breeds in many parts both of Great Britain and Ireland. It is domesticated, too, without difficulty, and is generally to be found on artificial and other pieces of water where the breed of water fowl is encouraged. Its favourite summer resorts in England are lakes which are lined with rushes, boggy places on the moors, and sedgy rivers. It is an active bird, rising from the water with great facility, and having a rapid flight. THE TEAL. 505 The few Teal which remain all the year with us pair early in spring. I have observed them in couples on the Ken- net, in Berkshire, before winter had well departed. They apj)ear to have a strong attachment to any place on which they have once fixed to build their nest, and return to the same locaKty year after year ; and the young brood remain in the neighbourhood of their birthplace until pairing time in the following year. The nest is usually placed among coarse herbage by the bank of a lake or river, and is constructed of decayed vegetable matter, lined with down and feathers, and contains from ten to fifteen eggs. The number, however, of these birds to be found with us in summer is as nothing compared with the immense flocks which visit our inland lakes and swam^Ds in winter. They are then much sought after for the table, being considered more delicate eating than any others of the tribe. In some parts they repair to salt marshes and the sea-shore, where they share the fate of the Wild Duck. WUlughby tells us that in his time the Teal and Wigeon, considered as marketable goods, were classed together as "half-fowl," their value being only half that of the Wild Duck. In the fen counties they are still ranked together as " Half Ducks," and for the same reason. The Teal has two notes, one a kind of quack, the other, uttered by the male only during winter, which has been compared to the whistle of the Plover. Its food consists of water insects, moUusks, worms, and the seeds of grass and sedge. THE wigeo:n". ANAS PEN^LOP^. Male— Reeid and upper part of the neck chestnut, the cheeks and crown speckled with black ; a broad cream-coloured band extending from the bill to the crown ; throat nearly black ; a narrow collar of white and black wavy lines extending over the back and flanks ; lower part of the neck and sides of the breast chocolate colour ; scapulare velvet-black edged with white : wing-coverts white ; quills ash-brown ; speculum glossy gi-een, with a black band above and below ; tail wedge-shaped, two middle feathers pointed, and the longest, dusky ash ; under tail-coverts black ; bill bluish grey, the tip black ; irides hazel ; feet dusky gi-ey. Female — Head and neck reddish brown, speckled with dusky ; back and scapulars dusky brown, the feathers edged with rusty red ; wing-coverts brown, edged with whitish ; speculum without the green gloss ; flanks reddish brown. Length twenty inches. Eggs brownish white. The name Whew Duck, or Whewer, by which, as Yarrell informs us, this bird is known in some parts of England, was given to it on account of its emitting a shrill whistle while flying. The name is an old one, for Eay and Willughby describe it under the name of "Whewer." Its French name Siffieur, " Whistler," has reference to the THE WIGEON. 507 same peculiarity, and by this note the bird may often be distinguished from others of the same tribe, when so far off that the eye fails to identify it. The Wigeon ranks next to the Teal and Wild Duck as an article of food, and, being more plentiful than either of these birds, it is among the best known of all the Ducks which frequent our shores. We cannot, however, claim it, as we can both of the above birds, as a native of England, since it has not been known to breed with us, and is never seen during summer. A very few instances are recorded of its having bred in the north of Scotland, which must be considered as the extreme southern boundary of its summer residence. Flocks of Wigeons repair to our shores in autumn, and either betake themselves to inland lakes and morasses, or keep to the coast, especially where there are extensive salt marshes. In winter their numbers are greatly increased, especially in the south ; and, as they feed by day as well as by night, they offer themselves a ready prey to the fowler. Their food consists of marine and fresh-water insects, small shell-fish, sea-weed, and grass. Their nidification differs little from that of the Teal. THE AMERICAN WIGE0:N^. ANAS AMERICANA. Head dull white, speckled below with black ; behind the eye a green streak passing backward ; upper part of the back reddish brown marked with minute zigzag dusky lines ; lower part of the back browai ; speculum green tipped with black ; lower part of the neck and flanks reddish brown ; breast and belly white ; bill black ; irides hazel ; feet dark brown. Female— The whole head speckled ; very little reddish brown on the breast ; back dark brown. Length nineteen inches. Two or three specimens only of this bird have been obtained in the British Isles. In America it appears to be as abundant as the common species is with us, and to resemble it closely both in plumage and habits. THE EIDER DUCK. ,SOMATERIA MOLLISS IM A. Prolongations of the bill flat ; upper part of the head velvet-black, with a central whitish band, lower greenish white ; neck and back white ; breast tinged with red ; lower plumage black ; bill and feet greenish grey ; irides brown. Female — General plumage reddish browTi, with transverse black bars ; wing-coverts black, bordered with dark reddish brown ; two whitish bars across the wing ; belly brown barred with black. Lengih twenty-four inches. Eggs shining greenish grey. The Eider Duck differs from all the birds of the same tribe hitherto described, in being essentially and absolutely a sea- bird. ]!^ot only does it never go inland, but it never visits the fresh- water lochs which, in many places in the north, are only separated from the sea by a bar of sand and shingle. It spends the greater part of its time on the water, and feeds on fish, moUusks, and other animal matter which it can obtain by diving. In the latter art it is very expert, and when pursued by the fowler generally manages to escape, as it can remain a long time under water, and on rising to the surface is ready to descend again almost instantly. Though a northern bird, it is subjected to no privations THE EIDER DUCK. 509 by the freezing of lakes and marshes, since it finds its rest and food on the open sea. Consequently it is not migratory, and stray specimens only visit the southern shores of England. l\Tiere it was bred, there, probably, or not far off, it remains all the year round. The Earn Islands, off the coast of Northumberland, are considered to be the extreme southern limit of its breeding ground. In the Hebrides, the Orkneys and Shetland Islands, it is quite at home, but in none of these places is it found in sufficient numbers to give it importance. In the Arctic Eegions, in Iceland, and on the rocky coasts of Norway and Sweden, Eider Ducks are very nu- merous. In Labrador, Audubon informs us, they begin to form their nests about the end of May or the beginning of June. " Eor this purpose some resort to islands scantily furnished with grass ; others choose a site beneath the spreading boughs of stunted firs, and, in such places, five, six, or even eight are sometimes found beneath a single bush ; many are placed on the sheltered shelvings of rocks a few feet above high-water mark. The nest, which is sunk as much as possible into the ground, is formed of sea-weeds, mosses, and dried twigs, so matted and interlaced as to give an appearance of neatness to the central cavity, which rarely exceeds seven inches in dia- meter. In the beginning of June the eggs are deposited, the male attending upon the female the whole time. The eggs, which are regularly placed on the moss and weeds of the nest without any down, are generally from five to seven. When the full complement of eggs has been laid, the female begins to pluck some down from the lower part of the body : this operation is daily continued for some time, until the roots of the feathers, as far forward as she can reach, are quite bare. This down she disposes beneath and around the eggs. When she leaves the nest to go in search of food, she places it over her eggs to keep up their warmth." 510 ANATID^. Sir W. J. Hooker, in his interesting " Journal of a Tour in Iceland," describes the nests as he saw them in the little island of Akaroe, where, as on other uninhabited islands, the Eider Ducks breed in great numbers. " On our landing on the rocky island, we found the Eider fowls sitting upon their nests, which were rudely formed of their own down, generally among the old and half-decayed sea-weed, that the storms had cast high up on the beach, but sometimes only among the bare rocks. It was diffi- cult to make these birds leave their nests, and so little inclined were many of them to do it, that they even per- mitted us to handle them, whilst they were sitting, without their appearing to be at all alarmed. Under each of them were two or four eggs ; the latter is the number they lay, but from many of them two had been taken for food by the natives, who prefer those which have young ones in them. June 2ithy A few days later (June 27th) he visited the island of Vidoe, the residence of the ex- governor, where, he says, " we were shown the immense number of Eider Ducks which lived on Yidoe, and which were now sitting on eggs or young ones, exhibiting a most interesting scene. The ex-governor made us go and coax some of the old birds, who did not on that account disturb themselves. Almost every little hollow place between the rocks is occupied with the nests of these birds, which are so numerous that we were obliged to walk with the greatest caution, to avoid trampling upon them ; but, besides this, the ex- governor has a number of holes cut in the smooth and sloping side of a hill in two rows, and in every one of these, also, there is a nest. ^N'o l^orfolk housewife is half so solicitous after her poultry as the ex-governor after his Eider Ducks, which by their down and eggs afford him a considerable revenue ; since the former sells for three rix- dollars (twelve shillings) a pound. Cats and dogs are, at this season of the year, all banished from the island, so that nothing may disturb these birds." I need scarcely THE EIDER DUCK. 511 add that tlie Eider down of commerce is taken from these nests, not in a pure state, but mixed with fragments of plants. Pennant says that if the nest and eggs be taken "the Duck lays again, and repeats the plucking of her breast ; if she is robbed after that, she will still lay, but the drakes must supply the down, as her stock is now exhausted ; if her eggs are taken a third time, she wholly deserts the place. The quantity of down found in one nest weighs about three-quarters of an ounce, and may be compressed into a ball two inches in diameter, but on being shaken out will fill a large hat. The young brood take to the water immediately on being hatched. To effect this they are often obliged to travel a considerable distance, and if difficulties present them- selves, insurmountable in any other way, the parent bird carries the young in her bill. Once clear of the rocks, they are liable to no further molestation from land robbers. But the sea is not without its dangers, for the rapacious Black- backed Gull frequently attacks them, and, but for the self- devotion and bravery of the mother bird, would commit great havoc among them. At his appearance the young dive in all directions, while the mother counterfeits lameness to distract his attention from them to herself, or springs from the water and attacks the Gull until he is compelled to retire from the contest. STELLER'S WESTERN DUCK SOMATERIA DISPAR. Head white ; between the bill and eye, and on the back of the head, a pale green patch ; orbits, throat, collar, back, bill and legs black ; wings varie- gated with brown, white, and blue ; scapulars elongated ; breast chestnut passing into buff. Female mottled with brown and rust-red ; a spot of white on the wing. Length nineteen inches. Eggs unknown. A RARE species, of which little is known, and of which a single specimen only has been obtained in England, near Yarmouth. 512 ANATID^. THE KING DUCK. SOMATERIA SPECTABILIS. Prolongations of the bill elevated, orange colour; head and neck variegated with black, grey, and green ; upper part of the neck, wing-coverts and back, white; breast white tinged with buff; rest of the plumage black; bill red ; legs yellow. Female distinguished from the Eider by the prolongations of the bill being nearly vertical, instead of horizontal. Length twenty-four inches and a half. Eggs greenish white. The habits of the King Duck resemble so closely those of the Eider Duck as to render any separate description unnecessary. The principal difference is that the range of the former does not extend so far to the south. It does not, consequently, breed in Great Britain ; indeed, the instances in which it has been seen at all in the British Isles are exceedingly few. In the extreme north it is frequent, and here it is of great value to arctic voyagers, often affording them a supply of fresh food. THE VELVET SCOTER. OID^MIA FUSCA. General plumage velvet black ; below the eyes a white crescent ; speculum white ; bill orange, protuberance at the base, nostrils and edge of mandibles, black ; irides and feet red, the membranes of the latter black. Female smaller ; upper plumage sooty brown ; under parts light grey, streaked and spotted with dusky brown ; between the biU and eye a whitish spot, and another over the ear ; bill dusky ash ; irides brown, feet dull red. Length twenty-three inches. Eggs buif. The Velvet Scoter, an inhabitant of the extreme northern regions of Asia and Europe, appears in the British Isles as a winter visitor only, being sometimes seen on the eastern coast of Scotland, in large flocks, but not generally extending its migration to our southern shores except in the severest weather. It may be distinguished from the Common Scoter by its larger size, and yet more strikingly by the conspicuous white bar across the wing. The habits and food of the Velvet Duck differ in no material respect from those of the Common Scoter, or Black Duck. THE BLACK SCOTER OIDEMIA NIGRA. General plumage deep black ; quills dusky brown on the inner web, glossy grey beneath ; disk of the iipper mandible orange-yellow ; protuberance at the base black ; no speculum on the wings. i'^emaZe— General plumage brown of several shades ; bill without the protuberance ; nostrils, and a spot towards the tip, yellowish. Length eighteen inches. Eggs pale buff. This bird is well known along the eastern coast of England under the name of Black Duck. Although a few scattered specimens have been observed from time to time during summer, it has not been known to breed in the British Isles, but must be considered as a winter visitant only. Being the only entirely black Duck which frequents our shores, it is easily distinguished among other species by its colour alone. Small parties of these birds may occa- sionally be seen on different parts of the coast, swimming and diving at a short distance outside the surf, or flying, three or four together, at an elevation of a few feet above the surface of the sea. They fly rapidly in a straight line, L L 514 ANATID^. and when diving remain a long time under water. Their food consists of mussels and other shell-fish, in quest of which they often ascend the creeks and arms of the sea, but they are rarely seen in fresh water. The flesh of the Black Duck is said to be oily and fishy; on this account it is in some Roman Catholic countries classed with fish, and allowed to be eaten during Lent. In some parts of the Continent, where it is consequently in demand, fishermen take advantage of its diving propensities, and spread their nets over the mussel banks to which they have observed that these birds resort, and capture them in large numbers. The nest of the Scoter is described as being like that of the Eider Duck, and similarly located. The female also covers her eggs with down from her own breast, but in smaller quantities. THE SUEF SCOTER OIDEMIA PERSPICILLATA. A bony protuberance on each side of the bill near the base ; no speculum ; general plumage black ; on the forehead and nape a patch of white ; bill yellow, with a square black spot on each side near the base ; irides white ; feet red, the membranes black. In the female the black is replaced by dark ash-brown, and the white by light grey ; bill dark olive ; feet brown, with black membranes. Length twenty inches. Eggs white. Only a few specimens of this bird have been obtained in Europe, and these probably had been driven eastward by storms from IlTorth America, where alone they are found in any numbers. In habits and food the Surf Scoter resembles the common species, deriving its name from the pertinacity with which it selects, as its feeding-ground, a sandy beach over which surf rolls. It rarely or never visits the salt marshes. 515 THE EED-CEESTED WHISTLmG DUCK. FULIGULA RUFINA. Feathers of the crown elongated, silky, forming a crest ; head, neck, and throat reddish bro-wn ; lower part of the neck, breast, belly, and abdomen black ; back, wings, and tail pale brown ; flanks, bend of the wing, a large spot near the shoulders, speculum, and base of the primaries white ; bill, irides, and feet red. Female— crest less tufted ; head dark brown ; neck ash-brown ; breast and flanks yellowish brown ; belly and abdomen grey ; back, wings, and tail brown, tinged with ochre ; no white spot on the shoulder ; speculimi greyish white and brown ; bill and feet reddish brown. Length twenty-one inches. Eggs olive-brown. A NATIVE of the east of Europe, but occasionally ajDpearing in other parts of the Continent. It was first noticed as a visitor to Britain by Yarrell, in 1826, in which year several specimens were obtained. Since that time others have been shot in various parts of England, of which one was killed out of a flock of eighteen on the Tliames. Little is known of its history. THE commo:n^ pochard. FULIGULA FERINA. Head and neck bright chestnut ; breast, upper part of the back, and rump black; back, scapulars, flanks, and abdomen grejish white, marked with numerous fine wavy lines ; no speculum ; bill black, with a broad lead-coloured transverse band ; irides bright orange ; feet lead colour, the membranes black. Female smaller; head, neck, and breast, reddish brown; throat white, mottled with reddish ; large browTi spots on the flanks ; wavy lines on the back less distinct. Length nineteen inches. Eggs greenish white. A HARDY northern bird of wide geographical range, with considerable power of flight, a skilful diver, and not par- ticular as to diet, the Pochard is an abundant species. A few instances are on record of its having bred in this country, and in Holland and in some parts of France it is to be found all the year round. But it is principally as a winter visitant that it is known in the south of Europe. In Norfolk Red-Headed Pochards are perhaps more nu- merous than any other kind of Duck which faUs to the gun of the seaside fowler. Small parties of these birds may frequently be seen by day flying over the sea, or ll2'^ 516 ANATID^. swimming securely in the offing ; and in the evening great numbers resort to the fens and salt marshes, where they feed on various kinds of animal matter, and the roots and leaves of grasses and aquatic plants. As they are considered good eating, and command a ready sale, they con- tribute to the support of the seaside population, who, when thrown out of work by the severe weather, wander about the shore by day and lie in wait by night, armed with guns of various calibre, for the chance of securing in one or two Ducks the substitute for a day's wages. \ '%v THE COMMON POCHARD. They are variously known in different places by the name of Pochards, Pokers, Dunbirds, and Red-Eyed Pochards. On some parts of the coast of Norfolk I found that they are included with the Wigeon under the common name of " Smee-Duck." The Pochard builds its nest among reeds, in Russia, Denmark, and the north of Germany, and lays twelve or thirteen eggs. 517 THE FERRUGINOUS DUCK. FULIGULA NYROCA. Somewhat resembling the last, but smaller, distinguished by its brown back ; irides white ; speculum white, edged with black beneath. The female has the head, neck, breast, and flanks brown, all the feathers tipped with light reddish ; under plumage dusky tipped with light brown. Length fourteen inches. Eggs white, tinged with green. The adult male of this species cannot well be confounded with any other species ; but females and young birds bear some resemblance to females of the Tufted Duck when not in their best plumage. It is not common ; a few specimens only being obtained from time to time in the eastern counties of England. It inhabits, according to Temminck, the rivers and great lakes of eastern Europe, and in Germany is a regular winter visitant. This bird appears to be the Morillon of Willughby. THE SCAUP DUCK. , FULIGULA MARILA. Head and upper part of the neck black, with green reflections ; breast and rump black ; back and scapulars whitish, marked with numerous fine wavy black lines ; belly, flanks, and speculum, white ; bill blue, the nail and edges black ; irides bright yellow ; feet ash-grey, with dusky membranes. Female— K broad whitish band round the base of the bill ; head and neck dusky brown ; breast and rump dark brown ; back marked with fine wavy lines of black and white ; flanks spotted and pencilled with brown ; irides dull yellow. Length twenty inches. Eggs greenish white. The Scaup is so called from its feeding on " scaup," a northern word for a bed of shell-fish.* It is a northern bird, arriving on our coasts in October and November, and remaining with us till the following spring. During this time it frequents those parts of the coast which abound in shell-fish, mostly diving for its food after the manner of the Scoters. On the coast of Norfolk, where Scaups often appear during winter in large flocks, they are called " Mussel Ducks," a name no less appropriate than * "Avis hsec the Scaup Duel: dicta est quoniam scalpam, i.e. pisces testaceos fractos seu contritos, esitat." — Willughby, p. 279. 518 AN ATI D^.. Scaup ; for mussels, and indeed many other kinds of shell- fish, as well as insects and marine plants, seem equally- acceptable to them. Selby records, a single instance of the Scaup having bred so far south as Sutherlandshire, a female having been seen in the month of June, accom- panied by a young one. I have myself seen a Scaup Duck in Scotland during summer, but under circumstances wliich did not lead me to suppose that it had remained for the purpose of breeding. In August, 1861, I observed ■I'HI'. SCAUP DUCK. two birds swimming sociably on a small fresh- water loch in the island of Islay, which, upon examination through a telescope, appeared to me to be, one, a kind of Goose, the other decidedly a Duck of some kind. On inquiry I found that the former was a Bernicle Goose, which had been caught in a neighbouring island in the previous winter, and had been given to the laird's keeper, who pinioned it and turned it out on the loch to shift for itself Of the Duck nothing was knoAm, nor had it been observed THE SCAUP DUCK. 519 before. It eventually proved to be an adult male Scaup Duck, but what had induced it to remain there all the summer in the society of a bird of a different tribe, is a question which I did not attempt to solve. The Scaup Duck is very abundant in Holland during winter, covering the inland seas with immense flocks. It is found more sparingly in other continental countries. It breeds in the extreme north both in the eastern and western hemispheres. THE TUFTED DUCK. PULIGULA CRISTATA. Feathers on the back of the head elongated ; head, neck, breast, and upper plumage black, with purple, green, and bronze reflections ; speculum and under plumage white, except the abdomen, which is dusky ; bill blue, nail black ; irides bright yellow ; feet bluish, with black membranes. Female— . smaller, the crest shorter ; upper plumage dull black, clovided with brown ; under plumage reddish white, spotted on the breast and flanks with reddish brown. Length seventeen inches. Eggs greenish white spotted with light brown. The points of difference in habit between this and the pre- ceding species are so few that it is scarcely necessary to say more than that it is a regular winter visitor to the British Isles, and is distributed, generally in small flocks, never 520 ANATID7E. alone, over our lakes and marshes, arriving in October and taking its departure in March or April. Its food is less exclusively of a fishy nature than that of the Scaup Duck, consequently its flesh is more palatable, being, in the estimation of French gastronomists, " un roti parfait." THE LO^^G-TAILED DUCK. FULIGULA GLACIALIS. Winter plnniage— 'Head, neck, elongated scapulars, under parts, and lateral tail-feathers white ; a large patch of chestnut-brown on each cheek ; flanks ash-grey ; rest of the plumage brownish black ; two central tail-feathers very long ; bill black, with a transverse orange band ; irides orange ; feet yellow with dark membranes. Length, including the tail, twenty-two inches. The female wants the white scapulars and elongated tail ; head and neck dark brown and greyish white ; below the ear-coverts a patch of brown ; neck in front light brown, clouded with darker brown ; upper plumage generally dark brown, under white. Length sixteen inches. Eggs greenish white, tinged with buff. Though a few specimens of this beautiful bird are obtained from time to time in various parts of England, especially on the coast of the eastern counties, it cannot be considered other than a rarity. " Among the northern islands of Scotland, and along the coasts of the mainland," Mac- gillivray tells us, " these birds make their appearance in October, in small flocks, which gradually enlarge by the accession of new families. In the Bay of Cromarty, where they are very common, it is pleasant to see them in small flocks scattered over the water. They are most ex- pert swimmers, and live on bivalve shell-fish and Crustacea, which they obtain by diving in shallow or moderately deep water. The male in swimming raises his tail obliquely, in rough water almost erects it, and is remarkable for the grace and vivacity of his movements. Their flight is rapid, direct, and generally performed at the height of a few feet. They rise easily from the water, especially when facing a breeze, and alight rather abruptly. Some- times during the day, but more frequently at night, they THE LONG-TAILED DUCK. 521 emit various loud and rather plaintive cries, as well as cacklings of shorter guttural notes."* Mr. Hewitson, who met with many of them in Norway, considers .their note to be strikingly wild and most interesting. Farther north the Long-Tailed Duck is yet more abun- dant. Mr. Dunnt says, "This species (Calloo) is very abundant in both Orkney and Shetland, arriving about THE LONG-TAILED DUCK. the middle of October, and departing again in the month of March. It is to be met with in all the inlets or voes, generally in large flocks, never far from the land, feeding upon small shell-fish and star-fish. When on the wing it utters a musical cry, something like ' Calloo,' which may be heard at a great distance. From this cry it derives its provincial name." In the Arctic Regions of both continents these birds are so numerous as to be known by the name of * British Birds, vol. v. p. 196. t Ornithologist's Guide, p. 95. 522 ANATID^. " Arctic Ducks." They build their nests among rushes near the shore of fresh-water lakes, and line them with down from their breasts, like the Eider Duck. Iceland appears to be the extreme southern limit of their breeding-ground. The Long-Tailed Duck is described by Willughby under the name of Anas ccmdacuta Islandica, by the natives called Havelda. Selby and some other modern orni- thologists have preserved the Iceland name in Harelda. THE HARLEQUIN DUCK. FULIGULA HISTRIONICA. Head and neck bluish black tinged with violet : a spot at the base ot tlie bill on each side, another behind the eye, a stripe down the neck, a band across the neck and another below the breast, and some of the scapulars, white ; back and wings black, lustrous with violet and blue ; speculum deep violet ; belly brown. Length seventeen inches. Female smaUer; upper plumage dark brown, clouded with ash ; in front of the eyes a white spot, and a large patch of white on the forehead. Eggs white. The Harlequin Duck, so called from the weU-defined patches of colour by which it is marked, is nowhere so abundant a species as the Long-Tailed Duck, and with us is a very rare visitor. Its home is in the far north, from whence a stray wanderer only occasionally finds its way to our shores. In its habits it resembles the Scaup Duck. THE GOLDEN EYE. FULIGULA CLANGULA. A white patch under the eye ; head and neck black, lustrous with violet and green ; back black ; scapulars, great wing-coverts, speculum, and under parts, white; bill black ; irides golden yellow; feet orange, with black membranes. Fevmle—a\\ the head and neck dark brown : feathers of the back dusky bordered with dark ash ; greater wing-coverts white tipped with black ; speculum and under parts white ; tip of the bill yellowish, irides and feet pale yellow. Length eighteen and a half inches. Eggs bufty white. This pretty, active little Duck is a regular winter visitant to the British shores, resorting to most of the localities frequented by other species, and frequently falling to the THE GOLDEN EYE. »23 sportsman's gun, thougli little prized for the table. Fe- males and young birds are most numerous in England, while in Scotland flocks are often seen composed entirely of males. They are very strong of flight, and are remark- able for making with their wings as they cleave the air a whistling sound, thought to resemble the tinkling of bells, whence the German name die Schelle Ente, Bell Duck, the ■['HE GOLDEN EYE. Norfolk provincial name Eattle-Wing, and the systematic name Clangula. The young male does not make this noise, and having also dissimilar plumage from the adult, has been described by some authors as a distinct species under the name of Mori lion. The food of the Golden Eye varies with its haunts. In estuaries it feeds on crustaceous and molluscous animals 524 ANATID^. and small fish, which it obtains by diving. In rivers and lakes it feeds principally on the larvae and pupae of insects, for which also it dives in clear deep water. The call-note is an unmelodious quack or croak. The Golden Eye breeds only in high latitudes, and builds its nest in holes of trees, often at the height of twelve or fifteen feet from the water, into which it has been seen to conA^ey its young one by one, holding them under the bill, and supported on its neck. The Lapps, in order to supply themselves with eggs, are in the habit of placing in the trees, on the banks of the rivers and lakes frequented by these birds, boxes with an entrance hole, which, though invariably robbed, are visited again and again. The Golden Eye is found in many countries of Europe, in northern Asia, and in K"orth America. THE BUEEEL-HEADED DUCK. FULIGULA ALBEOLA. Head bluish black, with a large patch of white on the sides and back of the head, the feathers of which are elongated ; back black ; scapulars, wing- coverts, secondaries, and under parts white ; feet yellow. Length fifteen inches. In the female the black is replaced by brown, feet bluish black. Length thirteen inches. Like the Golden Eye this is a northern bird, common in America, where it is called the Marionette, Spirit Duck, and Conjuror, from its sudden diving at the flash of a gun. It is of rare occurrence in the eastern hemisphere. This species is perhaps even more active than the last, which, however, it closely resembles in habits. It is said, too, like the Golden Eye, to build its nest in hollow trees ; but of its breeding little is known. In the Duck tribe generally the males exceed the females in size ; but in this species the disproportion is singularly great. 525 THE SMEW. MERGUS ALBELLUS. Crest, neck, scapulars, smaller wing-coverts, and all the under parts white ; cheeks and back of the head greenish black ; two crescent-shaped marks advancing from the shoulders on each side to the breast black ; tail ash colom-ed ; bill and feet bluish grey, the membranes black ; irides brown. Length seventeen inches. Female smaller ; head and cheeks reddish brown ; under parts white, clouded on the breast, flanks, and rump, with ash-grey : upper plumage and tail greyish black ; wings variegated with black, white, and grey. Eggs whitish. The birds of this genus, though placed among the Anatidse or Duck tribe, are so strongly marked by the conformation of the bill that a simple examination of the head alone will enable the student to distinguish either of the species from the true Ducks already described. On the coast of IvTorfolk the popular name "Smee Duck" includes several kinds of Ducks, and I presume the present species ; but the bill, in the form of an elongated and almost cylindrical cone, with the edges of both mandibles furnished with saw-like teeth pointed backwards, cannot fail to dis- tinguish the genus Mergus. The Smew, or Smee, properly so called, is a winter visitor with us, more impatient of cold than the Duck-tribe generally, and consequently frequenting the southern more than the northern parts of the island. In open weather it resorts to our rivers and fresh- water lakes, where it feeds on small fish and other aquatic animals, which it obtains by diving. In severe frosts it either flies farther south or repairs to tidal rivers and harbours. Though not a rare bird, it is sparingly distributed. It is found on many of the continental rivers, even those which are far distant from the sea, but is not often killed, as it is shy of being approached, readily takes wing, flies swiftly, and as a diver is most rapid and expert. It is, however, little sought after, for, in spite of its relationship, its strong fishy 526 ANATIDi^i:. flavour prevents it from passing muster as a Duck. Of its nesting little or nothing is known. In the north of Devon it is called, according to Montagu, " Yare Wigeon," from the supposed resemblance of its head to that of a " vare " or weasel. I have also heard it called the "AYeascl Duck" in Norfolk. THE HOODED MERGANSER. MERGUS CUCULLATUS. Head and upper part of the neck black ; head ornamented with a semi- circular crest, of which the half behind the eyes is white, edged with black ; back black ; wings brown and white ; under plumage white, with two crescent- shaped' marks as in the last ; bill and feet dull red. Length eighteen inches. Female smaller; crown reddish brown; upx)er plumage dark brown. Eggs white. An American species, of which only a very few stray specimens have been observed in this country. An interesting account of this species, quoted from Audubon, will be found in Yarrell's " British Birds," vol. iii. p. 384, &c. THE RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. MERGUS SERRATOR. Head, crest, and neck black, with greenish reflections ; a white collar round the neck ; breast reddish brown, spotted with black ; near the insertion of the wing several white spots, edged with black ; speculum white, divided by two transverse black bars ; back black ; belly white, barred on the flanks and rump with wavy grey lines ; bill and irides red ; feet orange. Length twenty- two inches. Female smaller ; head and crest reddish brown ; breast mottled with ash and white ; upper plumage and flanks deep ash-colour ; speculum with one black bar ; bill and feet dull orange ; irides brown. Eggs whitish ash. This large and handsome bird is not uncommon in the estuaries and rivers of Great Britain, but is most frequent in the north. The adult male is less frequently seen than females and young males, which closely resemble one THE RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. 527 another in size and plumage, both being inferior to the first in brilliancy of colouring. Their food consists of fish, especially sand-eels, and, when they find their way into fresh- water lakes and rivers, of eels and trout, which they capture by diving, and retain with ease by the help of their strong bills notched throughout like a saw. In birds of the first year the tuft of feathers on the head is barely perceptible, and there is but a slight tinge of red on the lower part of the neck. Most of the Merg- ansers which resort to our shores during winter visit ns from high latitudes ; but a few remain to breed in the Scotch and Irish lakes, making their nests of dry herbage and moss mixed with down from their own breasts. The name Merganser, that is, '' Diving Goose," has reference to the size of the bird and its habit of diving for its food. Its flight is strong and rapid, but differs some- what from that of the Ducks, the neck being not stretched out to its full length, but slightly folded back. At the season of incubation the male deserts the female, and leaves her to brin^ ofi" her brood without assistance. THE GOOSANDER. MERGUS MERGANSER. Head and crest greenish black ; back black ; speculum (not barred with black), under parts, wing-coverts, outer scapulars, and some of the quills, buff; bill red, the ridge and nail black ; feet vermilion. Length twenty-four to twenty-eight inches. Female and yowtig'— Head and crest reddish brown ; breast and flanks pale buff; upper plumage dark ash ; bill and feet dull red. Egg dull white. The Goosander is a regular winter visitor to the shores of Great Britain and Ireland, frequenting bays and estuaries, but preferring fresh- water rivers and lakes, where it makes great havoc among trout and other fish. It is far more abundant in the north than in the south, and, according to 528 ANATID^. Macgillivray, is sometimes seen even in summer in the Scotch lochs. It has been known to breed in the outer Hebrides, but the general summer residence of this species 'HK r.OOSAN'DKB. is much farther to the north both in the eastern and western hemispheres. The habits of the Goosander and Merganser are so much alike that further detail is un- necessary. The females and young birds of the Goosander and Merganser are popularly called Dun-divers. ^^// THE GEEAT CRESTED GEEBE. PODICEPS CRISTATUS. Bill longer than the head, reddish, the tip white ; distance from the nostrils to the tip seventeen or eighteen lines ; cheeks white ; crest and ruff dark brown and chestnut ; upper plumage dark brown ; secondaries white ; breast and under parts silky white ; bill brownish red ; irides red ; feet dull green. Female — Crest and ruff less conspicuous, colours generally less bright. Yming iircls have neither crest nor ruff. Length twenty-one inches. Eggs white. The Great Crested Grebe is thus described by Sir Tliomas Brown, under the name of Loon : — " A handsome and specious fowl, cristated, and Avith divided fin-feet placed very backward. They come about April, and breed in the broad waters ; so making their nest in the water, that their eggs are seldom dry Avhile they are set on." Thirty years ago the Loon continued to be so common on the Broads of Norfolk that eighteen or twenty might be counted together. So high a value has, however, of late been set on their skins as an article of dress, that the sight of a pair or, at the most, two pair is become a rare occurrence. M M 530 COLYMBID^. The movements of this bird in the water are described as most graceful : in swimming it vies with the Swan, and it is a skilful diver. As seen perched up in a museum its form is ungainly, but in its native element it might serve as the standard of perfection among water birds. The legs, compressed so as to present a sharp edge, cut the water with a minimum of resistance ; the webbed feet are placed so far backwards that they fulfil at once the office " of propellers and rudder ; the body is conical and covered with satiny plumage, which throws off water as perfectly as the fur of the otter ; the long neck tapers to exceed- ingly narrow dimensions and terminates in a small head produced into a slender bill. The conformation of the grey- hound is not better adapted for fleet running than that of the Grebe for rapid diving. The chase, I need scarcely add, consists of fish ; but the Loon will feed on frogs, tadpoles, and any other small animals which fall in its way. It frequents fresh water during the summer months, but on the approach of winter repairs to the sea, not, it would seem, from any desire of varying its food, but to avoid being frozen up. It builds its nest among rushes or decaying weeds, but little above the level of the water, and lays four eggs, the male assisting his partner in the office of incubation. The young can dive and swim imme- diately that they are hatched ; but if the mother be sud- denly alarmed while they are with her, she takes them under her wing and dives with them. The name Loon is supposed to be a corruption of the Finnish designation, Leomme or Lem, " lame," given to several of the Colymbidse on account of the awkwardness with which they advance on land. The Loon is found in lakes throughout a great portion of both the eastern and western hemispheres, but not very far to the north. It rarely flies, except at the period of migration, when it passes swiftly through the air, with neck and feet extended to their full length. 531 RED-NECKED GREBE. PODICEPS RUBRICOLLIS. Bill as long as the head, black, yellow at the base ; distance from the nostrils to the tip eleven lines ; crest very short ; head and crest lustrous black ; cheeks and throat mouse-colour ; a black band along the nape ; breast bright rust-red ; lower parts white ; flanks spotted with dusky ; feet black, greenish yellow beneath. Young birds have the head, neck, and back, dusky ; throat, cheeks, breast, belly, and abdomen, sill^y white ; sides of the breast spotted witli grey. Length sixteen inches. Eggs dirty greenish white. The Red-necked Grebe is smaller than the Loon, from which it differs also in wanting the elongated crest, in having a more robust bill in proportion to its size, and is further distinguished by the grey hue of its cheeks, on account of which last character it is known in France under the name of Grehe Jou-gris. It is a native of the north- eastern parts of Europe, and is known in the British Isles only as a winter visitor. In habits it differs little from the last described species, but is less common, occurring both in fresh- water lakes and along the sea-coast. SCLAVOXIAN GREBE. PODICEPS CORNUTUS. Bill strong, shorter than the head, compressed throughout its whole length black, with the tip red ; eyes with a double iris, the inner yellow, the outer red ; distance from the nostrils to the tip of the bill six or seven lines ; head and bushy ruff glossy black ; two horn-like crests orange-red ; lore, neck, and breast, bright chestnut ; upper plumage dusky ; secondaries and under parts white ; bill black, rose-coloured at the base and red at the tip. Young— CxQst and ruff wanting ; upper plumage and flanks dusky ash, under parts white ; irides white, suiTOunded by red. Eggs dirty white. The Sclavonian, or Horned Grebe, approaches so closely in habits to the two preceding species that it is unneces- sary to say more than that it inhabits the northern parts of America and Europe, visiting us only during winter, and even then but rarely. Audubon describes its nest as a rude structure of weeds, situated at a distance of about twelve feet from the water's edge ; but other authors state M M 2 532 COLYMBIDiE. that though it constructs its nest of these materials, it dis- poses it among weeds in such a way that it rises and falls with every alteration in the level of the water. It lays from five to seven eggs, and tlie male is supposed to assist in the office of incubation. THE EARED GREBE. PODICEPS AURITUS. Bill shorter than the head, black, depressed at the base, slightly curved up- wards at the tip ; distance from nostrils to tip six or seven lines ; head and very short crest black ; above and behind each eye a tuft of loose reddish chestnut feathers ; upper plumage and neck dark brown ; flanks dark chest- nut, clouded with dusky ; under plumage white ; irides vermilion ; feet dusky green. Female and young as in the last, but well distinguished by the form of the bill. Length twelve inches. Eggs dirty yellowish white. The .rarest of all the Grebes which inhabit or visit the British Isles. It is considered to be a northern bird, frequenting fresh water in preference to the sea, and to visit us only in winter. THE LITTLE GREBE, OR DABCHICK. PODICEPS MINOR. Bill very short, shining, compressed ; no crest or ruff ; distance from nostrils to tip of the bill five lines ; tarsus with a double row of serratures behind ; head black ; cheeks bright chestnut ; breast and flanks dusky, mottled with white ; upper parts dark brown, tinged with green ; primaries ash-brown ; secondaries white at the base and on the inner web, under parts dusky ash, tinged on the thighs with reddish ; bill black, whitish at the tip and base of the lower mandible ; irides reddish brown ; feet externally greenish brown, beneath flesh-colour. Young birds are ash-brown above, slightly tinged with red ; breast and flanks reddish white ; belly pure white ; bill brown and yellowish ash. Length nearly ten inches. Eggs dirty white. The Lesser Grebe, or, as it is more commonly called, the Dabchick, is the only species with which it is possible to become familiarly acquainted in Britain. It frequents rivers, ponds, and lakes, in all parts of the country, rarely flying, and still more rarely coming to land. Rambhng by the side of a sluggish river, the sides of which are lined with reeds or bulrushes, one may often descry, paddling about with undecided motion, what appears to be THE LITTLE GREBE, OR DABCHICK. 533 a miniature Duck no longer than a Blackbird. It does not, like the Moor-hen, swim with a jerking movement, nor when alarmed does it half swim and half fly in a direct line for the nearest bank of weeds. If you are unobserved, it swims steadily for a short distance, then suddenly dis- appears, making no splash or noise, but slipping into the water as if its body were lubricated. It is diving for its food, which consists of water insects, mollusks, small fish A^ THE LITTLE GREBE, OR DABCHICK. and worms. As suddenly as it dives so suddenly does it reappear, most likely not far from the spot where you first observed it : " A di-dapper peering through a wave, Who, being looked on, ducks as quickly in." Shakspeare. Another short swim and it dives again: and so it goes on, the time spent under the water being far in excess of that employed m taking breath. Advance openly. 534 COLYMBID^. or make a noise, it wastes no time in idle examinations or surmises of your intentions, but slips down as before, not, however, to reappear in the same neighbourhood. Its motives are different: it now seeks not food, but safety, and this it finds first by diving, and then by propelling itself by its wings under water in some direction which you cannot possibly divine ; for it by no means follows that it will pursue the course to which its bill pointed when it went down. It can alter its line of flight beneath the water as readily as a swallow can change its course of flight through the air. But wherever it may reappear, its stay is now instantaneous ; a trout rising at a fly is not more expeditious. You may even fail to detect it at all. It may have ensconced itself among weeds, or it may be burrowing in some subaqueous hole. That it has the power of remaining a long while submersed, I have no doubt. There is in the parish of Stamford Dingley, Berks, a large and beautiful spring of water, clear as crystal, the source of one of the tributaries of the Thames. I was once bending over the bank of this spring, with a friend, watching the water, some five or six feet down, as it issued from a pipe-like orifice and stirred the sand around like the bubbling of a cauldron, when there suddenly passed between us and the object we were examining a form so strange that we were at first doubtful to what class of animals we should refer it. In reality, it was a Dabchick, which, alarmed probably by the noise of our conversation, was making for a place of safety. As it passed within two or three feet of our. faces, we could distinctly see that it propelled itself by its wings ; but it appeared not to have observed us, for it kept on in a direct course towards the head of the spring. We searched long in the hope of dis- covering it again, but failed ; and as there were no weeds among which it could possibly hide above water, and we could examine the bottom of the spring almost as thoroughly as if it contained air only, we could but conclude THE LITTLE GREBE, OR DABCHICK. 535 that our apparition had taken refuge in a hole under the bank. Early in spring, when Dabchicks leave the small streams and watercourses for broader jDieces of water, they have been observed to fly ; and during the building season also they have been seen circling round in the air near the locality of their intended nest. The nest itself is constructed of weeds of all kinds, forming a thick mass raised but a few inches above the surface of the water, and invariably far enough from the bank to be inaccessible except by wading. The Dabchick lays five or six long-shaped eggs, pointed at either end, of a chalky white colour. These the bird, when she leaves the nest, covers with weeds for the purpose of concealment, and on her return continues the work of incubation without removing the covering, so that the eggs soon lose their white hue, and before the period of hatching have become very dirty. The young birds can ^vdm and dive immediately on leaving the egg. I have never myself seen a Dabchick fly through the air or walk on land, neither have I ever heard its note. The latter, a low clicking and chattering sort of noise, it is said to utter in spring. THE GEEAT ^^OETHEE^ DIYEE. COLYMBUS GLACIALIS. Bill, w^tli" the upper mandible, nearly straight, upwards of four inches in length ; head and neck violet-black, with a double gorget white baiTed with black ; upper parts black, spotted with white ; under parts white ; biU black ; irides brown ; feet dusky, the membranes whitish. Young very like the next, but distinguishable by their superior size and the direction of the bill. Length tliirty-three inches. Eggs dark olive-brown, with a few spots of purplish brown. The name Divers is, on the sea-coast, loosely applied to a tribe of sea-birds, including the Grebes, Cormorants, and other birds, Avhich, when pursued, place their safety in diving rather than in flying. In works on natural history the term is, however, employed to designate the geiius Co- LYMBUS, and with great propriety ; for, however skilled 536 COLYMBID^-. any of the above birds may be in this mode of progression, the true divers surpass them immeasurably. First among these in size and dignity is the Great JS'orthern Diver, a native of high latitudes in both hemispheres, never perhaps coming farther south than the Faroe Islands for breeding purposes, and visiting our waters only during Avinter.* THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVEll. The iSTorthern Diver, or Imber, ap^iears to be tolerably frequent in Scotland, where it prefers salt-water lochs and * Mr. Yarrell, vol. iii. p. 426, quotes Sir Thomas Browne as an authority for the fact that Divers formerly bred in the Broads of Norfolk. A careful examination of that author will show, however, that Sir Thomas Browne had seen only a single specimen of the Northern Diver, his "Divers," or "Dive-fowl," being the Crested and Lesser Grebes, &c., which, as we have st^en above, continue to breed in the Broads. ' ' THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER. 537 sandy hays to the open sea, though occasionally seen some miles from land. It swims deep in the water, but advances rapidly. "When in pursuit of prey it sinks beneath the surface without plunge or splash, the head disappearing last, and it traverses perhaps two or three hundred yards of water before it rises again. Montagu says that it propels itself by its feet alone ; Audubon, on the contrary, states that it uses the wings under water. The latter author is most probably correct, for it dives more swiftly than the Grebes, and these birds undoubt- edly make a vigorous use of their wings. Where shoals of small fish, such as sand-eels and sprats, abound, or where fish even of a much larger size are numerous, the I^orthern Diver finds a rich harvest. Occasionally while thus engaged it meets its death by dashing into the herring nets, and there getting entangled. A fine speci- men was recently shown to me, in the island of Islay, which had been thus captured. Though it has never been known to take wing in attempting to elude pursuit, it is often seen fl}'ing with strength and rapidity, outstripping even the Grebe, which, in proportion to its size, is fur- nished wdth far larger wings than itself. The adult male, which is a very handsome bird, is of rare occurrence, most of those which visit our shores being young birds. The nest is usually placed near the edge of a reedy lake or large river, having a well-beaten track leading to it from the water's edge. This is formed by the bird in its clumsy effort to walk, a feat which it only performs on such occasions. The nest itself is bulky, and is formed of the vegetable substances found in the immediate vicinity, such as grasses and other herbaceous plants. It contains two, or more frequently three, eggs. The young are able to swim and dive very soon after they are hatched, and are fed for about a fortnight by their parents, at the expiration of which time they have to hunt for themselves. i38 COLYMBID^. THE BLACK-THROATED DIVER COLYMBUS ARCTICUS. Bill slightly curved upwards, with the middle of the lower mandible equal in width to the base, exceeding three inches in length ; head ash-brown ; throat and front of the neck black, lustrous with violet and green ; beneath the throat a narrow band streaked with white and black ; sides and front of the neck streaked with white and black ; back black, with a longitudinal patch of white and black bars on the upper part ; scapulars with twelve or thirteen transverse white bars ; bill dusky ; iris brown ; feet dusky, with whitish membranes. Yoting birds have the head and back of the neck ash- brown and the upper plumage dark brown, edged with bluish ash ; under plumage white ; cheeks white, spotted with ash ; upper mandible ash-grey, lower dull white. Length twenty-four to twenty-eight inches. Eggs dark olive-brown, spotted with purplish brown. This Diver differs from the preceding species j)rincipally in being of inferior size. The predominant tints of the plumage are the same, and the habits of the two are so similar that a separate description is unnecessary. The present species is, however, far less common, though it has been known to breed in the Outer Hebrides and in Scot- land, where both eggs and young birds have been observed. It lays two eggs, near the edge of a fresh-water loch ; and Mr. Selby observed that a visible track from the water to the eggs was made by the female, wdiose progress upon land is effected by shuffling along upon her belly, propelled by her legs behind. In the breeding season the old birds are often seen on the wing, at which time also they have a peculiar and loud cry, which has been compared to the voice of a human beins in distress. 539 THE EED-THROATED DIVER. COLYMBUS SEPTENTRIONx\LIS. Bill slightly curved upwards, with the edges of both mandibles much incurved, not exceeding three inches in length ; head, throat, and sides of the neck mouse-colour; crown spotted vfith black; neck both above and below marked with white and black lines ; on the front of the neck a large orange-coloured patch ; back dusky brown ; lower parts white. Young 5irfZs— Upper plumage mouse-colour, darker on the back, where it is marked by longitudinal white lines ; wings dusky ; feathers on the flanks dusky, some of them edged with white ; all the under plumage pure white. Length twenty-six inches. Eggs chestnut-brown, spotted with darker brown. The name " Loon," given in some districts to the Crested Grebe, is elsewhere given to the Red-Throated Diver. The term is an old one, for our countrymen, Ray and "Willughhy, quoting yet more ancient authorities, describe the IsTorthern Diver under the name of " Loon," and the Black-Throated Diver under that of " Limime," the latter being the name of the bird in Iceland and l!^orway, and the former probably an English corruption of the same word, which in the original signifies " lame." On no part of our coast must we expect to hear this bird popularly called by the name of "Red-Throated," for, though common on many parts of the coast, almost all the specimens observed are young birds of the year, which have the throat pure white. Several were brought to me by the sea-side gunners on the coast of ^N'orfolk j but I could not discover a tinge of red on one of them. A writer in the Zoologist^ says that they are very numerous in winter off the coast of the Isle of Wight, passing and repassing in small flocks, and in two lines about a mile apart. Of the hundreds which fell * Vol. iii. p. 974. b^iO COLYMBIDzE. under his notice one only had a red throat, and this was captured under singular circumstances. On the 24th April, 1839, some fishermen observed an object floating which they imagined was a keg of spirits, but which proved to be a large fish of the kind known as the Fishing Frog, or Angler. On hauling it on board with their boat-hooks, the fishermen discovered that the animal had nearly choked himself by swallowing, tail foremost, an adult Eed-throated Diver. The head of the bird protruded from the throat into the mouth of the caj)tor, and, strange to say, it had not only survived its imprisonment, but was unhurt. It was extricated and presented to the Zoological Gardens, where it lived for six months. Another waiter in the same magazine* says that he saw a large number in Norway during the breeding season, but not one without the dark red throat. This species, like the rest of the genus, obtains its food by diving ; when pursued it rarely tries to escape by taking wing, though it has the power of flying with great rapidity. During the breeding season especially, it often flies about over the water with its long neck outstretched, and uttering a wailing scream. I am informed by a friend, that while fishing in a boat in calm water off the coast of North Devon, he has many times seen Divers pass through the water, at a considerable depth below, propelling themselves by a free and active useof their wings. From October to May only these Divers frequent our coast. Towards the end of spring they withdraw north- wards and build their nests, of coarse grass and other herbs, close to the edge of a fresh- w^ater loch. They lay two eggs, and the male is said to take his turn in the oflice of incubation. Many stay to breed in the Orkneys and Outer Hebrides. * Zoologist, vol. ix. p. 3084. THE COMMON GUILLEMOT. URIA TROILE. Bill much compressed, longer than the head, grejish black ; upper plumage brownish black ; the secondaries tipped with white ; a whitish patch behind the eye on each side;> under plumage white; feet dusky; iris broAvn. Length nearly eighteen inches. Eggs greenish or bluish, blotched and streaked with black. This is one of our common sea-birds during a great por- tion of the year, though little known to sea-side visitors, owing to its habit of keejDing well out to sea and ha\4ng notliing ostentatious in its habits. Yet, during a cruise in a yacht, on almost any part of the coast, a practised eye will often discover a few stragglers, distinguished among other sea-birds by their black and white colours, short 542 alctDtE. neck, and sharp beak. They swim low in the water ; and when disturbed do not invariably dive like the Grebes and Divers, but readily take wing. They are essentially marine birds, never resorting to fresh water, and living exclusively on fish, which they capture by diving, an art in which they are scarcely less skilful than the true Divers, and which they practise in the same way — by the means, namely, of both wings and feet. Occasionally, a small party may be observed, flying in single file near the sur- face of the water. On the eastern coast of England, the Guillemot is best known by the name of Willock. It is also called Tinker's Hue, or, as Yarrell gives it, " Tinker- shere ; " and in the west of England it is often called a Murr. The old writers describe it under the name of Greenland Dove, or Sea Turtle-Dove ; and in Scotland it has a variety of other names. Tinker's Hue is, I pre- sume, the souhriquet of a white bird with a smutty back \ Murr is clearly a corruption of Mergus, or "diver." Yet more commonly it is known as the " Foolish Guillemot," a term of reproach analogous to that of " Booby," given to it from the indifference wliich it evinces, in the breeding season, to one of its few, but that one the most formidable of its enemies, man. Early in spring Guillemots throng together from all parts of the open sea, and repair to some lofty cliff, where, on a narrow ledge of rock, which in their folly they deem inaccessible, they lay each a single egg. As the bird incubates in an erect position, she could not well cover more than one; and though a concave nest is very needful to keep eggs together when there are several, no such contrivance is necessary when there is one only ; so the Foolish Guillemot builds no nest, but lays a solitary egg on the bare rock. The egg, which is large, is thick-shelled and rough, so that it receives no detriment from the rock ; and it is not likely to roll off, for at one end it is thick, and at the other tapers almost to a point ; consequently, if acci- THE COMMON GUILLEMOT. 543 dentally moved by the parent bird when taking flight, it turns as if on a pivot, but does not fall off. At this season, the cliffs to which Guillemots resort are frequented also by myriads of other sea-birds, such as Eazor-bills, Puffins, and Gulls, each congregating with its own species, but never consorting with another. In Iceland, the Faroe Islands, St. Kilda, the Orkneys, and many parts of the coast of Scotland, the breeding season of these birds is the harvest-time of the natives. Either by climbing from below, or by being let down with ropes from above, the egg-collectors invade the dominions of these literally feathered "tribes." The Foolish Guillemots, rather than leave their charge, suffer themselves to be knocked on the head, to be netted, or noosed. Although stationed so close to each other that a Foolish Guillemot alone could know its own egg, they learn no wisdom from the fate of their nearest neighbours. They are captured in detail for the sake of their feathers ; and their eggs are taken for food. In St. Kilda and, perhaps, elsewhere, young birds are also taken in large numbers, and salted for consumption in winter. Such as escape this systematic slaughter flounder, as well as they are able, into the sea when nearly fledged, or are carried thither by their foolish mothers. There they learn to swim, to dive, and to fish, and about the middle of August old and young disperse. Huge baskets of their eggs are sometimes brought to the markets of seaport towns (I have seen them so far south as Devonport), and sold for a price exceeding that of domestic fowls, for they are much larger, and are said to afford good eating. Wilson, in his ''Voyage round the Coasts of Scotland," says that the natives of St. Kilda prefer the eggs of these, and other sea-fowl, " when sour ; that is, when about ten or twelve days old, and just as the incipient bird, when boiled, forms in the centre into a tliickish flaky matter, like milk." * * Vol. ii. p. 45. 'H-t , ALCID.E. THE THICK-BILLED GUILLE]\IOT. IJRIA BRUNNICHII. Bill stout, angular, verj- broad at the base, shorter than the head, bluish black : the lower half of the upper mandible edged with whitish ; upper plumage black ; the secondaries tipped ^vith white ; under plumage white. Length nearly eighteen inches. Eggs unknown. Little is known about the habits of this bird, which differs mainly from the common species in the shortness and stoutness of the bill. It is said to be abundant in the Arctic Eegions during summer, but rarely migrates so far south as the British Isles. THE EIXGED GUILLEMOT. URIA LACRYMANS. General plumage the same as Uria Troile ; eye encircled by a narrow white ring, from which a line of the same colour extends towards the neck. Eggs blue or green, blotched and streaked -with black. The difference between this species and the Common Guillemot is very slight. It is said to be abundant in the neighbourhood of Iceland, where its habits are the same as those of its congener, except that it fixes its breed- ing station lower down on the rocks. It has been observed on both sides of the English coast, in company with the Common Guillemot; and may probably be more abun- dant than it is commonly supposed to be ; it being im- possible to discriminate between them except by close inspection. 54)5 THE BLACK GUILLEMOT. URIA GRYLLE. Upper plumage black ; middle of the wing and under parts white ; iris brown ; feet red. Length thirteen and a half inches. Eggs whitish grey, blotched and speckled with grey and two shades of brown. The Black Guillemot, though occasionally met with off various parts of the coast of England, is to be considered as a straggler from the North. In Scotland it is common. Its mode of Hfe, as described by Macgillivray, who was familiarly acquainted with it, differs in no material respect from that of the species already described. It is, however, much smaller, and lays two or sometimes three eggs. Mac- gillivray says that, on those parts of the coast which it frequents, attempts are often made to rear it in cap- tivity ; but always unsuccessfully. In summer, these birds may be readily distinguished from other sea-fowl, by their black and white plumage and red feet : the pre- dominant tint of the plumage in winter is white, with a tinge of grey; and in high latitudes the proportion of white increases. THE LITTLE AUK. M^RGULUS MELANOLEUCOS. Head and upper parts black ; two bauds across the wings ; a spot above the eye and all the under parts white. In summer the throat and front of the neck are also black. Length about seven inches. Eggs uniform pale blue. The Little Auk is essentially a northern sea-bird, and is described by Arctic voyagers under the name of Eotche. It is an indefatigable swimmer, and has considerable powers of flight ; but it does not possess the faculty of diving to the same degree as the Divers and Grebes, as it generally stays but a short time under water. Hence it must find its food near the surface ; and this is supposed N N 54.6 ALCID^. to consist of the small crustaceous animals which are so abundant in the Arctic waters. Little Auks are eminently social birds, and have been observed occasionally in such numbers on the water and floating masses of ice as almost to hide their resting-place. They rarely travel far south ; and when they visit our shores, which is not often, and THE LITTLK AUK. that only after tempestuous weather, they are supposed to have been driven hither against their will. Instances are recorded of specimens having been found far inland, disabled or dead. Little is known of their nidification, it being still a question whether they lay two eggs or only one. THE PUFFIK FRAT^RCULA ARCTICA. Crown, collar, and upper parts, black ; cheeks, region of the eyes, and throat, greyish white ; under parts pure M'hite ; bill bluish grey at the base, yellow in the middle, bright red at the tip ; upper mandible -with three transverse furrows, lower, with two ; iris whitish ; orbits red ; feet orange-red. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs whitish, with indistinct ash-coloured spots. Unlike the majority of sea-birds whicli have been passing ■under our notice, Puffins visit the shores of the British Isles in summer. They make their appearance about April or May, not scattering themselves indiscriminately along the coast, but resorting in vast numbers to various selected breeding places, from the Scilly Islands to the Orkneys. Their home being the sea, and their diet small fish, they possess the faculties of swimming and diving to a degree of perfection. They have, moreover, considerable powers of flight ; but on land their gait is N N 2 548 x\a:u)M. only a shuffling attempt at progress. Their vocation on shore is, however, but a temporary one, and requires no great amount of locomotion. Soon after their arrival they set to work about their nests. Fanciful people who class birds according to their constructive faculty as weavers, basket-makers, plasterers, and so on, would rank Puffins among miners. Building is an art of which they are wholly ignorant, yet few birds are lodged more securely. "With their strong beaks, they excavate for themselves holes in the face of the cliff to the depth of about three feet, and at the extremity the female lays a solitary egg — solitary, that is to say, unless another bird takes shelter in the same hole, which is not unfrequently the case. Puffins generally show no overweening partiality for their own workman- ship ; sloping cliffs which have been perforated by rabbits are favourite places of resort; and here they do not at all scruple to avail themselves of another's labour, or, if ne- cessary, to eject by force of beak the lawful tenant. If the soil be unsuited for boring, they lay their eggs under large stones or in crevices in the rock. The old bird sits most assiduously, and suffers herself to be taken rather than desert her charge, but not without wounding, with her powerful beak, and to the best of her ability, the hand which ventures into her stronghold. The young are fed by both parents, at first on half- digested fish, and when older on pieces of fresh fish. At this period they suffer their colonies to be invaded without showing much alarm, and are either shot, knocked down with a stick, or noosed without difficulty. As soon as the young are fully fledged, all the Puffins withdraw to southern seas, where they pass the winter, and do not approach land until the return of the breeding season. " A small island near Skye, named Pladda-huna, is a great breeding haunt of Puffins, a species which arrives in the earlier part of May, literally covering the rocks and ledgy cliffs with its feathered thousands. Although these have no concern THE PUFFIN. 549 with our Grouse-shooting season, they almost totally dis- appear on the 12th of August."* It was just about this period (August 7) in the present year, 1861, that I ob- served several large flocks of Puffins floating with the tide through the Sound of Islay, and was told by an intelligent gamekeeper that *' these birds habitually swim through the sound at this season, but always fly when returning." The reason probably is that the young are not at the former period sufficiently fledged to undertake a long flight, though they find no difficulty in swimming. By spring they have attained their full strength, and are able to adopt the more rapid mode of progress. Puffins and some other sea-birds appear to be either liable to a fatal epidemic or to be surprised by some atmospheric disturbance, being unable to resist which, they perish in large numbers. I have seen a portion of the sea-shore in Cornwall strewed for the distance of more than a mile with hundreds of their remains. All the softer parts had been apparently devoured by fishes and crustaceous animals, and nothing was left but the unmistakeable parrot-like beaks. A friend informs me that he witnessed a similar phenomenon in ISTorfolk, in September, 1858 ; but in this instance the carcases of the birds were not devoured, and the birds were of difierent kinds. He estimated that about ninety per cent, were Guillemots, and the remainder Puffins, Eazor-bills, Scoters, and a sprinkling of Black- throated Divers. A similar mortality among sea-birds is recorded in the Zoologist^- as having taken place on the coast of :N'orfolk, in May, 1856. On this occasion they were so numerous as to be thought worth collecting for manure. Other names by which the Puffin is known are Sea Parrot, Coulterneb, Mullet, Bottlenose ', and, in Scotland, Ailsa Parrot, Tammie-Norie, and Tammas. * Wilson's " Voyage round the Coast of Scotland." t Page 5159. THE RAZOR-BILL. ALCA TORDA. Wings reaching to the origin of the tail ; head and upper parts black ; a band across the wing ; an interrupted line from the eye to the base of the bill, and all the under parts white ; bill black, with three or four furrows, of which the middle one is white; irides hazel; legs dusky. In summer the line from the eye to the bill is pure white, and the whole of the throat and neck is black, tinged with red. Length seventeen inches. Eggs white, blotched and spotted with two shades of brown. In general habits, the Razor-bill closely resembles the Guillemot and Puffin. Indeed, in some parts of the coast, the Razor-bill is called a Puffin, and the latter a Sea Parrot ; and in Cornwall both Guillemots and Razor- bills are known by the common name of Murrs. At a THE KAZOR-BILL. 551 distance the birds can only be distinguished by a practised eye ; but on a close inspection they cannot be possibly confounded. Eazor-bills are common on many parts of our coast during the later summer months. They are more fre- quently seen swimming than flying, and if pursued by a boat are little disposed to take alarm until they are approached to within twenty or thirty yards, when they dive, but soon reappear not very far off. If two birds be in company and one be killed by a shot from a gun, its companion, instead of taking measures to insure its own safety, seems to lose the ' power of seK-preservation. It paddles round its companion as if unable to comprehend the reason why it neither dives nor flies, and if pursued suffers itself to be overtaken and knocked down by an oar. This sympathetic feeling is not confined to birds which have paired, or to members of the same family; for in an instance which came under my own notice, both birds were only a few months old, and, as the Eazor-bill lays but one egg, the birds could not possibly have grown up together. Towards winter, Eazor-bills migrate southwards, either to avoid cold or to find waters where their prey swims nearer to the surface than in our climate. In spring they return northwards, and repair, like Puffins, to places of habitual resort for the purpose of breeding. At this season, also, they are eminently social, laying each an egg in close proximity on a ledge in the rocks, lower down than the Puflins, but above the Guillemots, all of which birds flock to the same portion of coast, often in countless multitudes. The egg differs from that of the Guillemot not only in colour but in shape, being less decidedly pear-shaped. It is much sought after as an article of food, and is said to be very palatable. The "Auk" of Arctic voyagers is this bird. 552 ALCID^. THE GREAT AUK. ALCA IMPENNIS. Wings very short, not adapted for flying ; head, neck, and upper parts, black : a patch between the eyes and bill, tips of the secondaries, and all the under parts, white ; bill black, marked by several transverse furrows ; irides and feet black. Length tliirty-two inches. Egg dirty yellowish white, curiously marked with black spots and lines. The Great Auk is a bird of so rare occurrence that a history is attached to every specimen that has been observed by persons competent to write a detailed account of what they have seen ; and the occurrence of a genuine egg (for artificial ones are not unknown) being offered for sale is an incident of some importance. The price demanded would probably equal the cost of two or three cows.* A specimen of the adult male is to be seen in the British Museum, where, Yarrell informs us, it is " carefully preserved." The Great Auk is exclusively a sea bird, about the size of a Goose, with a beak like that of the Razor-bill, and wings so small that they are wholly inadequate to support the bird in the air ; consequently, it never attempts to fly. But their very insufficiency for flying purposes tends to increase their fitness for swimming under water, and the rapidity with which they advance by this mode of progres- sion is said to be astounding. Little is known of the habits of a bird so rare. It is considered to be a northern bird ; but it is not known to be common anywhere, nor has any one observed in it any habits which would not readily be inferred from its structure. * A cracked specimen was sold in 1854 for £20, and some months later a perfect one for £30. THE commo:n^ coemorant. PHALACROCORAX CARBO. Tail of fourteen feathers. Winter— Head, neck, and all the under parts, black, with green reflections ; close to the base of the bill a broad white gorget ; on the neck a few faint whitish lines ; feathers of the back and wings bronze- colour bordered with black ; primaries and tail black ; beak dusl^ ; orbits greenish yellow ; irides green ; feet black. Summer — feathers of the head elongated, forming a crest ; on the head and neck numerous long silky white feathers ; on the thighs a patch of pure white. Young birds brown and grey, the gorget greyish white. Length three feet. Eggs greenish white, chalky. Phalacrocorax, the modern systematic name of the genus Cormorant, is given by Willughby as a synonym of the Coot, and with much propriety, for translated into English it means "Bald Crow." Applied to the Cormorant, it must be considered as descriptive of the semblance of baldness produced by the white feathers of the head dur- ing the breeding season. The Cormorant Willughby describes under the name of Corvus aquaticus, or Water 55^ PELECANID^. Kaven. The Hebrew word salach, rendered in the Sep- tuagint Cataractes, which carries the idea of darting or rush- ing, is in our version of the Bible translated Cormorant, but with questionable propriety, for our bird has not been observed in the eastern part of the Mediterranean. It is the Mergus of classical writers and of Pliny. The Eng- lish name, " Corvorant," is clearly Corvus vorans, a vora- cious Raven ; and " Cormorant " perhaps a corruption of Corvus marinus, Sea Eaven. Sea-side visitors are pretty sure of seeing more than one specimen of this bird, if they care to look for them, for the Cormorant frequents all parts of the coast as well as lakes and rivers, and does not leave us at any period of the year. Often we may see two or three of these birds flying along together at a slight distance above the surface of the sea, distinguished by their black hue, long outstretched neck, and rapid waving of the wings. They fly swiftly in a straight line, and seem to be kept from dipping into the water by making ahead at full speed. There is no buoy- ancy in their flight, no floating in the air, or soaring ; their sole motive for using their narrow but muscular wings is clearly that they may repair to or from some favourite spot with greater speed than they can attain by swimming or diving. Occasionally, while engaged in a boating expe- dition, ^we may encounter a party of three or four occuj^ied in fishing. They are shy, and will not allow a near approach, but even at a distance they may be distinguished by their large size, sooty hue, long necks, and hooked beaks. They sit low in the water, often dij^ping their heads below the surface, and in this posture advancing, in order that their search for food may not be impeded by the ripple of the water. A sheltered bay in which shoals of small fish abound is a choice resort, and here they make no long continuous stay in the swimming attitude, but suddenly and frequently dive, remaining . below a longer or shorter time, according to the. depth which they have to descend THE COMMON CORMORANT. 555 in order to secure their prey, but when successful, occupy- ing but a very brief space of time in swallowing it. Not unfrequently they may be discerned from the shore simi- larly occupied, floating or diving in the midst of the very breakers. Sometimes, but rarely, one settles on a rail or stump of a tree close to the water in a tidal river. The capture of fish is still its object, and it is quite as expert in securing its prey from such a station as when roving at large on the open sea. All along our coast there is at various intervals a rock popularly distinguished in the neighbourhood by the name of " Shag-rock." Such a rock is generally low, isolated, and situated at a safe distance from land ; or, if near the shore, is close to the base of a steep cliff. Hither the Cormorants, when their hunger is appeased, repair for the threefold purpose of resting, digesting their food, and drying their wings. The process of digestion is soon com- pleted, but the time consumed in drying their thoroughly drenched wings depends on the amount of sunshine and air moving. Of these, whatever they may be, they know how to avail themselves to perfection. They station them- selves on the highest ridge of the rock, wide apart, and in a row, so as not to screen one another, raise their bodies to their full height, and spread their wings to their utmost extent. No laundress is more cunning in the exercise of her vocation. Indeed, they can hardly fail to recall the idea of so many pairs of black trousers hung out to be aired. Cormorants do not confine their fishing expeditions to the sea, but frequently ascend tidal rivers, and follow the course of streams which communicate with fish-ponds and lakes, where they commit great havoc ; for the quantity of fish which they devour at a meal is very great. Plmy has observed that the Cormorant sometimes perches on trees ; and the truth of this remark has been confirmed by many subsequent writers. They have been even kno^vn to build 55G PELECANID.E. their nest in a tree, but this is a rare occurrence. They generally select exposed rocks, where they collect a large quantity of sticks and rubbish, and lay three or four eggs in a depression on the summit. Most people are familiar with a representation of a fishery with the help of Cormorants conducted by the Chinese ; but it is not so generally known that a similar method was once practised in England : Willughby, * quoting Faber's "Annotations on the Animals of Eecchus," says: "It is the cuvstom in England to train Cormorants to catch fish. While conveying the birds to the fishing-ground the fishermen keep the heads and eyes of the birds covered to prevent them from being alarmed. When they have reached the rivers, they take ofi* the hoods, and having first tied a leather strap loosely round the lower part of the neck, that the birds may be unable to swallow down what fishes they catch, throw them into the water. They immediately set to work and pursue the fish beneath them with marvellous rapidity. When they have caught one they rise to the surface, and, having first pinched it with their beaks, swallow it as far as the strap permits, and renew the chase until they have caught from five to six each. On being called to return to their masters' fist, they obey with alacrity, and bring up, one by one, the fish they have swallowed, injured no farther than that they are slightly crushed. The fishing being brought to an end, the birds are removed from the neighbourhood of the water, the strap is untied, and a few of the captured fish, thrown to them as their share of the booty, are dexterously caught before they touch the ground." * Ornithologia, 1676, p. 248. THE SHAG. PHALACROCORAX GRACULUS. Tail graduated, of twelve feathers. In winter, general plumage deep greenish black ; feathers of the back glossy with black borders ; orbits and pouch greenish yellow; bill dusky; irides green; feet black. In summer, head crested. Young birds greenish brown above ; light grey below. Length twenty-eight inches. Eggs gi-eenish blue, chalky. Except in tlie smaller size and differences of plumage mentioned above, there is little to distinguisli the Shag from the Cormorant. Both, too, are of common occur- rence, and frequent the same localities ; except that the Shag is more disposed to be gregarious : it does not, how- ever, commonly resort to tidal rivers, and is still more 558 PELECANID^. rarely found on inland lakes ; its food and method of obtaining it are precisely similar, so that a description of one bird mil suit the other almost equally well. The Shag is called sometimes the Green Cormorant, from the tint of its plumage ; but this name is not in common use. Another of its names is the Crested Cormorant ; but this is vague, inasmuch as both species are crested in spring. In Scotland a common name for it is Scart, applied also to the Great Cormorant. THE GAXNET. SULA ALBA. Crown buff-yellow ; general plumage milk-white ; quills black ; bill bluish gvey at the base, white at the tip ; orbits pale blue ; membrane prolonged from the gape and that under the throat dusky blue ; irides yellow ; feet striped with green, the membranes dusky; claws white. Birds of the first year, general plumage dusky brown, beneath greyish. In the second year, greyish black above, marked with numerous triangular white spots, whitish below. Length three feet. Eggs dull greenish white. It would not be difficidt to compile, from various sources, a description of the Gannet and its habits, which would fill more pages than my readers, perhaps, would care to peruse. To avoid this contingency, I will limit myself to a statement of my own personal acquaintance with the bird and its ways, and a transcript of notes kindly fur- nished me by a friend who visited the Bass Eock, one of its favourite haunts in the breeding season. Extract from my own Journal. — "August 27th. I lay for a long time to-day on the thick herbage which crowns the splendid cliffs, 'the Gobbins,' near the entrance of Belfast Lough, watching through a telescope the proceed- ings of some Gannets, or Solan Geese. This bird, which is allied to the Pelicans rather than the Geese, is of a large size, much bigger than a Gull, from which, also, it may be distinguished at a distance by its greater length of neck, the intense whiteness of its plumage, and the black THE GANNET. 559 tip of its wide-spreading wings. But apart from all these distinguishing characters, its mode of fishing is, by itself, sufficient to mark it. In flight it is eminently wandering ; it circles round and round, or describes a figure of eight, at a varying elevation above the water, in quest of her- rings, pilchards, or other fish whose habit is to swim near \^ V /' ^' THK OANNET. the surface. When it has discovered a prey, it suddenly'- arrests its flight, partially closes its wings, and descends head foremost with a force sufficient to make a jet deau visible two or three miles off, and to carry itself many feet downwards. "WHien successful, it brings its prize to the surface, and devours it without troubling itself about o(i() PELECAXID.-E. mastication, Jf unsuccessful, it rises immediately, and resumes its hunting. It is sometimes seen swimming, perhaps to rest itself, for I did not observe that it ever dived on these occasions. My companion told me that the fishermen on the coast of Ireland say that, if chased by a boat when seen swimming, it becomes so terrified as to be unable to rise. The real reason may be that it is gorged with food. He was once in a boat on the Lough, when, a Gannet being seen a long way ahead, it was determined to give chase, and ascertain whether the statement was correct. As the boat drew near, the Gannet endeavoured to escape by swimming ; but made no attempt either to dive or to use its wings. After a pretty long chase, the bowman secured it in spite of a very severe bite which it inflicted on his hand, and carried it home in triumph. It did not appear to have received any injury, and when released, in the evening of the same day, swam out to sea with great composure. A fisherman in Islay told me that in some parts of Scotland a singular method of catching Gannets is adopted. A herring is fastened to a board and sunk a few feet deep in the sea. The sharp eye of the Gannet detects the fish, and the bird, first raising itself to an elevation which experience or instinct has taught it to be sufficient to carry it down to the requisite depth, pounces on the fish, and in the effort penetrates the board to which the fish is attached. Being thus held fast by the beak, and unable to extricate itself, it is drowned. Gannets are frequently caught in the herring nets, at various depths below the surface. Diving after the fish, they become entangled in the nets, and are thus captured in a trap not intended for them. They perform good service to fishermen, by indicating at a great distance the exact position of the shoals of fish." Gannets breed in great numbers on several parts of our rocky coast ; from the extreme north to Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel. The two most important stations THE GANNET. 561 are St. Kilda and the Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth. On this rock stand the ruins of the once formidable stronghold of the Douglas family, the Castle of Tantallan. In circumference the island is about a mile : on the northern side it rises to an elevation of eight hundred feet, whilst towards the south it shelves almost down to the sea. The isolated position of this rock, and the difficulty of landing on it, have rendered it a lit retreat for sea-fowl of various kinds ; and as the proprietor " pre- serves " them, they flourish without sensible diminution. The discharge of a gun causes the whole of the colony to take wing ; and as they rise into the air, the eye of the spectator is dazzled by the mazy intercrossings of white wings, the ear bewildered by the discord of confused screamings. A visit jDaid at sunrise, w^hen flocks of various kinds are wheeling about in all directions, will more than reward the early riser for his activity, for Scotland scarcely offers a more interesting sight. Of all the numerous birds which frequent the rock, the Solan Goose is the most abundant and most profitable, as almost the only revenue of the island accrues from the sale of these birds to the country people of the mainland, and at the Edinburgh market, where they have fetched, for the last century and a half, the unvarying price of two shillings and fourpence a head. The size of the Gannet is somewhat larger than that of the domestic Goose. "The only parts of the island where they can be ap- proached are on the south and west sides. They sit lazily and stupidly on and about their nests, which are composed of a mass of weeds and grass, and will suffer themselves to be stroked, patted, or knocked on the head, as the case may be, with a most philosophical gravity. They are frequently shot ; but as they then generally fall into the sea, a boat has to be on the alert, or they are soon washed away. The plan of lowering a man by means of a rope held by the others, is also adopted ; but this is most 562 PELECANIDiE. dangerous. The Frigate Pelican [The Skua ?] often chases a successful Gannet till the terrified bird disgorges its prey, which the pursuer seizes before it reaches the water." "A Solan Goose to most people would not afford a delicious meal, being a rank, coarse, fishy dish ; but many of the poorer classes eat them with a relish — nay, as a delicacy — and during the Avinter would fare ill had they not these birds for food." The Gannet lays but one egg ; and the young bird is nourished on semi-liquid food disgorged by the parent. On its first exclusion from the egg its skin is naked, and of a bluish black hue, but is soon covered with a white down. Through this the true feathers appear, which are black, the adult plumage being pure white. For an interesting account of the capture of these birds at St. Kilda, the reader is referred to Professor James Wilson's "Voyage round the Coast of Scotland." From a calculation once made of the number of Gannets con- sumed by each family in a year, on this island, it appeared that the total secured, not taking into account a large number which could not be reached for various reasons, was 22,600 ; and this number was considered to be below the average, the season being a bad one. THE CASPIAN TEEN. STERNA CASPIA. Summer— Bill stout, bright red ; upper parts of the head and elongated feathers black ; upper plumage bluish ash ; quills and tail ash-brown ; cheeks and under plumage white ; irides j^ellowish brown ; feet black. Length twenty- one inches. Eggs greyish green, blotched with brown and black. The Caspian Tern, as its name indicates, is most abundant about the Caspian Sea ; but it is found also in the Baltic Sea, in several parts of the Mediterranean, in Switzerland, and as far south as the Cape of Good Hope. It is said to THE CASPIAN TERN. 563 breed in the Danish Islands, and to migrate southwards in autumn. The Hebrew word saJach, already alluded to under Cormorant, is supposed by Colonel C. Hamilton Smith to be descriptive of this bird more than of any other common in the East. "The Caspian Tern," he says, "is not only abundant for several months in the year on the coast of Palestine, but frequents the lakes and pools far inland ; flying across the deserts to the Eu- plirates, and to the Persian and Eed Seas, and frequenting the Mle. It flies with immense velocity, darting along the surface of the sea to snap at mollusks, or small fishes, or wheeling through the air in pursuit of insects : and in calm weather, after rising to a great height, it drops per- pendicularly down to near the surface of the water, but never alights except on land, and it is at all times dis- posed to utter a kind of laughing scream. This Tern nestles in high cliffs, sometimes at a considerable distance from the sea. It is the largest of the Tern genus, being about the weight of a Pigeon, and nearly two feet in length." The Caspian Tern is of rare occurrence in Great Britain. The specimens which have been obtained were shot on the eastern coast, mostly in the counties of Norfolk and Sufiblk. THE SANDWICH TEEN. STERNA BOTSII. Bill long, black, the tip yellowish ; tarsus short (one inch) ; tail long ; head and crest as in the last ; nape, upper part of the back, and all the lower parts brilliant white, tinged on the breast with rose ; back and wings pale ash-grey ; quills deeper grey ; tail white ; feet black, yellowish beneath. Yoking birds — Head mottled with black and white ; back, wing-coverts, and tail-feathers varied with irregular lines of black ; bill and feet dark brown. Length eighteen inches. Eggs greyish green, blotched with brown and black. The Sandwich Tern, which takes its name from the place Avhere it was first seen in England, is not uncommon on o 0 2 564 LARID^. many parts of the coast during the summer months. In some places it seems to be abundant. Mr. Selby found Sandwich Terns, in great numbers, on the islands off the coast of Northumberland. " Here," he says, "a station is selected apart from the other species, generally on a higher site, and the nests are so close to each other as to render it difficult to cross the ground without breaking the eggs, or injuring the unfledged young. Upon this coast it is called ■par excellence ' The Tern,' all the other species passing under the general name of 'Sea Swal- lows.' " Its habits are so like those of the Common Tern, to be described hereafter, that, to avoid repetition, I purposely omit all account of its mode of fishing, and content myself with quoting, on the authority of Audubon and Meyer, incidents in its biography which I have not noticed in the Common Tern. The former author says : — " Its cries are sharp, grating, and loud enough to be heard at the distance of half a mile. They are repeated at intervals while it is travelling, and kept up incessantly when one intrudes upon it in its breeding ground, on which occasion it sails and dashes over your head, chiding you with angry notes, more disagreeable than pleasant to your ear." Meyer, writing of the same bird, says : " The Sandwich Tern is observed to be particularly fond of settling on sunken rocks where the waves run high, and the surf is heavy : this being a peculiar fancy belonging to this species, it is sometimes called by the name of Surf Tern." 565 THE ROSEATE TERN. STERNA DOUGALLII. Bill black, red at the base ; feet orange, claws small, black ; tarsus three- quarters of an inch long ; tail much forked, much longer than the wings ; upper part of the head and nape black ; rest of the upper plumage pale ash- grey ; tail white, the outer feathers very long and pointed ; cheeks and under plumage white, tinged on the breast and belly with rose. Length fifteen and a half inches. Eggs yellowish stone-colour, spotted and speckled with ash- grey and brown. Op tliis Tern Dr. M'Dougall, its discoverer, says, " It is of light and very elegant figure, difiering from the Common Tern in the size, length, colour, and curvature of the bill ; in the comparative shortness of the wing in proportion to the tail, in the purity of the whiteness of the tail, and the peculiar conformation and extraordinary length of the lateral feathers. It also differs from that bird in the hazel-colour and size of the legs and feet." Roseate Terns have been discovered on several parts of the coast, principally in the north, as in the mouth of the Clyde, Lancashire, and the Earn Islands. They associate Avith the Common Terns, but are far less numerous. Selby says, " the old birds are easily recognised amidst hundreds of the other species by their peculiar and buoyant flight, long tail, and note, which may be expressed by the word crake, uttered in a hoarse grating key." THE COMMON TERN. STERNA HIRUNDO, Bill moderate, red with a black tip ; head and long feathers on the back of the head black ; upper parts bluish ash ; quills ash-grey, brown at the tips ; tail much forked, not longer than the wings, white, the two outer feathers on each side dusk>' on the outer webs ; under parts white, tinged with grey on the breast ; irides reddish brown ; feet coral-red. Young birds have a good deal of white about the head, and the feathers on the back are tipped vnth white : tail ash-grey, whitish at the tip. Length thirteen and a half inches. Egg olive-brown, blotched and spotted with ash and dusky. On those parts of the coast where the Common Tern is abundant, no sea-bird is more likely to attract the notice 566 laridt^.. of the visitor than the Common Tern. It is less in size than any of the common species of Gull, with which, however, it is often confounded by the unobservant. It is more lively and active in its motions, not ordinarily flying in circles, but, if I may use the expression, "rambling" tlirough the air, frequently diverging to the right or left, and raising or depressing itseK at frequent intervals. These characters V --^r THE COMMON TERN. alone are sufficient to distinguish the Tern from any of the Gulls ; but it presents yet more striking features. Its tail is elongated and forked like that of the Swallow, and from this character rather than from its flight it is com- monly known as the Sea Swallow. Its mode of taking its prey is totally different from that of the Gulls. Very frequently a single Tern may be observed pursuing its course in a line with the breakers on a sandy shore at THE COMMON TERN. 567 the distance perhaps of from fifty to a hundred yards from the beach. Its beak is pointed downwards, and the bird is evidently on the look-out for prey. Suddenly it descends perpendicularly into the water, making a per- cejDtible splash, but scarcely disappearing. In an instant it has recovered the use of its wings and ascends again, swallowing some small fish meanwhile if it has been suc- cessful, but in any case continuing its course as before. I do not recollect ever to have seen a Tern sit on the water to devour its prey when fisliing among the breakers. Often, too, as one is walking along the shore, or sailing in a boat, when the sea is calm, a cruizing party of Terns comes in sight. Their flight now is less direct than in the instance just mentioned, as they "beat" the fishing-ground after the fasliion of spaniels, stiU, however, making way ahead. Suddenly one of the party arrests its flight, hovers for a few seconds like a Hawk, and descends as if shot, making a splash as before. If unsuccessful it rises at once, but if it has captured the object on which it swooped, it remains floating on the water until it has relieved itself of its incumbrance by the summary process of swallowing it. I do not know a prettier sight than a party of Terns thus occupied. They are by no means shy, frequently flying quite over the boat, and utteriQg from time to time a short scream, which, though not melodious, is more in keeping with the scene than a mellow song would be. In rough weather they repair to sheltered bays, ascend estuaries, or follow the course of a river until they have advanced far inland. They are harbingers of summer quite as much as the Swallow itself, coming to us in May and leaving in September for some warmer coast. They usually breed on flat shores, laying two or three eggs on the ground, in marshes, or on sandy shingle. The eggs in my collection were procured on the coast of ^N'orfolk, but I have seen the birds themselves in the greatest numbers in Belfast Lough and in Loch Crinan. 568 LARIDiE. THE AECTIC TERN. STERNA ARCTICA. Bill slender, red throughout ; under plumage ash-grey ; tail much forked, longer than the wings ; legs orange-red, in other respects very like the last. Length fifteen inches. Eggs as in the last. This bird, as its name indicates, frequents high northern latitudes, to which, however, it is not confined ; since in the Orkneys and Hebrides it is the common species. It breeds also on the coast of some of the northern English counties, but is of rare occurrence in the south, though several instances are recorded of large flocks making their appearance in different places at the season when they were probably on their way from their winter quarters — far away to the south — to their breeding-ground. In the rocky islands which they frequent from May to September, they form colonies and lay their eggs, generally apart from the alUed species. The eggs closely resemble those of the Common Tern, but are somewhat smaller. In its habits and general appearance the Arctic Tern comes so close to the last-named species, that the birds, even when flying together, can only be distinguished by the most practised eye. THE WHISKERED TERN. STERNA LEUCOPAR^iA, Bill and feet red ; head black, with a white stripe from the base of the bill below the eyes to the ear-coverts : upper parts dark grey ; uudei-, white ; tail slightly forked, dark grey ; irides black. Length eleven inches. Eggs unknown. Of this Tern a very few isolated specimens only have been obtained in diff'erent parts of the Old World, and among them one was shot in the year 1836, on the coast of Dorsetshire. Owing to its extreme rarity, little is known of its habits. 569 THE GULL-BILLED TEEN. STERNA ANGLIC A. Bill short, stout, black throughout ; feet long, black ; head and long occipital feathers black (in winter white) ; upper plumage pale ash-grey ; under, white. Length tliirteen inches. Eggs olive-green, blotched with brown. This species takes its name (Anglica) from having been first detected in England by Montagu. It has since been observed in the eastern parts of Europe, especially Hungary, and in North America, where it is known as the Marsh Tern. Very few specimens only have been obtained in England. THE LESSER TERN. STERNA MINUTA. Bill orange, with a black tip ; feet orange ; forehead, and a streak above the eye, white ; cro\vn black ; upper parts pearl-grey ; under, white ; tail much forked, shorter than the wings. Yoiing birds have the head brownish, with darker streaks ; upper plumage yellowish white and dusky ; bill pale yellow, with a dark tip ; legs dull yellow. Length nine and a half inches. Eggs stone-colour, spotted and speckled with grey and brown. On the sandy and marshy shores of Norfolk, the Lesser Tern is a bird of common occurrence in summer, either single, or in small parties of three or four. Not unfre- quently, as the sea-side visitor is sauntering about on the sands, one of these birds seems to take offence at its dominion being invaded. With repeated harsh cries it flies round and round the intruder, coming quite close enough to allow its black head and yellow beak to be distinguished. Its flight is swift, something like that of a Swallow, but more laboured, and not so rapid. If fired at, it takes little notice of the noise ; and, know- ing nothing of the danger, continues its screams* and * I have been beset in this manner by a Lesser Tern so far on in the summer, that I could not attribute its actions to any anxiety about either eggs or young. I am inclined to think it is, on such occasions, taught by its instinct to accompany a traveller for the 570 LARID^. circling till its jDertinacity becomes annoying. When feeding, it presents a far pleasanter appearance. Then, altogether heedless of intrusion, it skims along the surface of the drains in the marshes, profiting by its length of wing and facility of wheeling, to capture flying insects. At least, if this be not its object, I can in no other way account for the peculiar character of its flight. At other times, either alone, or in company with a feAV other indi- THE LESSER TERN. viduals of the same species, it is seen flying slowly along, some fifteen or twenty feet above the surface of a shallow sake of the insects disturbed by his movements. During the sum- mer months, the shingle, on a sunny beach, is haunted by myriads of skiggish flies, which rarely take wing unless thus disturbed. That the Chimney Swallow often accompanies the traveller for this object, I have no doubt ; as I have seen them fly to and fi'o before me, darting in among the swarming flies, and so intent in their chase, as to pass within a few yards of my feet every time they crossed my path. THE LESSER TERN. 571 tidal pool, or pond, in a salt marsli. Suddenly it arrests its onward progress, soars like a Kestril for a second or two, with its beak pointed downwards. It has descried a shrimp, or small fish, and this is its way of taking aim. . Employing the mechanism with which its Creator has provided it, it throws out of gear its apparatus of feathers and air-tubes, and falls like a plummet into the w^ater, with a splash which sends circle after circle to the shore; and, in an instant, having captured and swallowed its petty booty, returns to its aerial watch-post. A social little party of three or four birds, who have thus taken possession of a pond, will remain fishing as long as the tide is high enough to keep it full. They take little notice of passengers ; and if startled by the report of a gun, remove to a short distance only, and there resume their occupa- tion. Sometimes they may be seen floating about in the open sea, resting their wings, perhaps, after a long fhght, or simply idliug, certainly not fishing ; for, although they plunge from a height, with great ease and elegance, diving proper is not one of their accomplishments. To the stranger who visits the coast of ]^orfolk, the Lesser Tern vnR, perhaps, be pointed out under the name of " Sea Swallow," or, more probably, as a " Shrimp Catcher." Either of these names is appropriate. Its mode of progress through the air is more like a Swallow's than that of the Common Tern, and in size it does not so very much exceed the Swift as to make the comparison outrageous. A shrimp it can undoubtedly catch ; and it exercises its vocation in shallow water, such as shrimps alone inhabit or small fish no larger than shrimps. Like the other Terns it is migratory, repairing year after year to low flat shores on various parts of the coast, arriving in May, and departing in September for some climate subject to no cold severe enough to banish small marine animals to deep water. The Lesser Tern makes no nest, but lays its eggs, generally two, among the shingle. THE BLACK TERN. STEENA PISSIPES. Bill black ; leet purple-brown, the membrane short ; head and neck black ; upper parts lead-colour; under parts dark ash-grey; under tail-coverts white ; tail not much forked, shorter than the wings ; irides brown. In winter, the lore, throat, and breast are white. Length ten and a quarter inches. Eggs dark olive-brown, blotched and spotted with black. The Black Tern is a common bird in most temperate countries which abound in extensive marshes. In its habits it is scarcely less aquatic than the preceding spe- cies, but differs from them all in preferring fresh water to salt. It was formerly of frequent occurrence in England ; but draining and reclaiming have, within the last few years, given over many of its haunts to the Par- tridge and Wood Pigeon ; and it is now but rarely known to breed in this country.* A few, however, are not un- frequently seen in spring and autumn, when on their way from and to their winter quarters, which are the warmer * The Rev. R. Lubbock states in his '' Fauna of Norfolk, 1845," that it has ceased to breed regularly in Norfolk, but that eggs had been recently obtained at Crowland Wash in Lincolnshire. THE BLACK TEEN. 573 regions of the globe. In Norfolk its name still lingers as the "Blue Darr," a corrujDtion, probably, of Dorr-Hawk (another name of the Nightjar), a bird which it closely resembles in its mode of flight. Like the Dorr-Hawk, the Black Tern feeds on beetles and other insects, which it catches on the wing, but adds to its dietary small fresh- water fish, which it catches by clipping for them. While in pursuit of its winged prey, it does not confine itself to the water, but skims over the marsh and adjoining meadows, sometimes even alighting for an instant to pick up a worm. Black Terns are sociable bii^ds among them- selves, but do not consort with other species. They lay. their eggs in the most inaccessible swamps, on masses of decayed reeds and flags, but little elevated above the level of the water. The nests are merely depressions in the ' lumps of vegetable substance, and usually contain three or sometimes four eggs. They are placed near enough to each other to form colonies ; and the birds continue to flock together during their absence in warmer climates. Large flocks have been seen in the Atlantic, midway between Europe and America. In HoUand and Hungary they are said by Temminck to be numerous. This author states that the Black Tern commonly lays its eggs on the leaves of the water-lily. THE WHITE-WINGED BLACK TEEN. STERNA LEUCOPTERA. General plumage black ; small wing-coverts, tail, and its coverts, white ; wings ash-grey ; beak reddish brown ; irides greyish black ; feet red, with black claws. Length eight inches. This species, Temminck informs us, frequents the bays and gulfs of the Mediterranean ; especially about Gibraltar : it visits also the lakes of Switzerland and Italy. A single specimen was shot on the Shannon, in 1841 ; and on this rests the sole claim of this bird to be admitted into the catalogue of British birds. 574 LAKID.E. THE NODDY TERN. STERNA STOLIDA. Bill and legs black; crown buff; back of the head smoke-grey; general plumage brownish black. Length fifteen inches. Eggs reddish yellow, spotted and blotched with dull red and faint purple. " Noddy " is a name, as my readers are probably aware, given to a species of Tern, which, in tropical regions, frequently alights on the rigging of vessels, and there falling asleep, suffers itself to be caught by the sailors. It has little claim to be classed among British birds, inasmuch as a few specimens only have been observed in St. George's Channel, and two have been shot off the coast of Wexford. For a description of its habits the reader is referred to Audubon, and books of voyages in equatorial regions. THE SOOTY TERN. STERNA FULIGINOSA. Bill black, slightly curved downwards ; forehead white ; the rest of the head, and upper plumage generally, sooty black ; under plumage white ; tail deeply forked, each outside feather white on the outer web ; feet black. Length fourteen and a half inches. Eggs i^ale cream coloured, variously mottled with ' amber and pale i)urple. Of the Sooty Tern a single specimen only has been ob- tained in Great Britain. It is a bird of very wide geogra- phical range, having been observed in the neighbourhood of Cuba, Florida, Bermuda, Ascension Island, Christmas Island, and Australia. It is said to breed in the same localities with the Noddy Tern, and is described as being of a peculiarly mild and sociable disposition. 57-5 SABINE'S GULL. LAEUS SABINI. Head and neck dark grey, terminating in a nan-ow black collar ; lower part of the neck, all the under parts, and tail, white ; upper plumage grey ; wings black and white, longer than the tail ; bill yellow, black at the base ; irides dark ; orbits vennilion ; feet black. Young birds and adult specimens in winter want the dark head. Length thii'teen inches. Eggs olive, blotched with brown. This bird takes its name from Captain Sabine, who ac- companied the Arctic expedition of 1818, and observed considerable numbers of this species of Gull associating with Arctic Terns on a group of rocky islands on the west coast of Greenland. A very few specimens have since been shot on the shores of the British Isles, all in autumn ; from which it may be inferred that this bird travels southward to spend its winter. It lays its eggs, three in number, on the bare rock ; and feeds on marine insects cast on shore. THE LITTLE GULL. LARUS MINUTUS. .Swrnwier— Head and neck black ; lower part of the neck, tail, all the under plumage, white ; upper plumage pale ash-grey ; primaries white at the end ; bill reddish brown ; irides dark ; legs vermilion. Winter— FoTehea.d, front and sides of the neck white ; nape and cheeks white, streaked with grejish black. Length rather more than eleven inches. This, the smallest of the Gulls, is a rare visitor to the British coast, and is nowhere known to be abundant. It is said to be remarkably active and graceful in its move- ments through the air, and to associate mth Terns. Its food consists of marine insects and small fish. Its breed- ing place and eggs are unknown. 576 LARID^. BONAPAETE'S GULL. LARUS BONAPARTII. Neck, tail, and under plumage white ; hood greyish black ; upper plumage pearl- grey ; first six primaries black and white ; bill black ; irides dark brown ; feet carmine. Length from fourteen to fifteen inches. Eggs unknown. Of this beautiful little Gull several specimens have been obtained during the last few years in various parts of Great Britain. It must be considered, however, a straggler from North America, where it i sabundant in the fur countries, and in the northern bays and estuaries. In flight and habits it resembles some of the Terns, with which also it associates, and is distinguished by its peculiar shrill and plaintive cry, THE CUNEATE-TAILED GULL. LARUS ROSSn. Tail graduated, the two central feathers being longest ; general plumage white ; wings pearl-grey ; outer web of the first primary dusky ; some small feathers round the eye and a collar round the middle of the neck black ; neck above and all the under plumage tinged with rose-red ; bill black ; feet red. Length fourteen inches. Eggs unknown. This Gull received its name in honour of the Arctic traveller, Captain Ross, who killed the first of the very few specimens which have been obtained. Nothing is known of its habits, and only a solitary individual has been observed in the British Isles. THE MASKED GULL. LARUS CAPISTRATUS. Characters resembling those of the next species ; but the dark mask does not extend to the back of the head, and the feet are reddish brown instead of vermilion. Length fifteen inches. An exceedingly rare species, said by Temminck to be found in Baffin's Bay, and Davis's Straits. A few isolated specimens have been shot in British waters ; but owing to THE MASKED GULL. 577 its similarity to the Black-headed Gull, it may, perhaps, be more abundant than it is considered to be. Nothing is known of its habits or nidification. THE BLACK-HEADED GULL. LARUS RIDIBUNDUS. Suminer—B.e&d and upper part of the neck deep brown ; lower part of the neck and all the under plumage white, slightly tinged with rose ; upper plumage bluish ash ; primaries white, edged with ash, and broadly tipped with black ; irides brown ; bill and feet red, with a purple tinge. In winUr the head and neck are white ; bill and feet bright vermilion. In yoiuig birds the hood is pale brown ; the upper plumage dark brown, mottled at the edges of the feathers with yellowish ; bill livid at the base, the tip black ; feet yellowish. Length seventeen inches. Eggs olive, spotted with brown and dusky. Black-Headed, Black-Cap, Brown-Headed, Eed-Legged, and Pewit, are all common distinctive names of this Gull, to which may be added that of Laughing Gull. The latter name is, indeed, often given to the next species, a rare bird, and might with equal propriety be applied to several other species, whose harsh cry resembles a laugh. The systematic name, ridibundus, which has the same meaning, is by general consent, confined to this. The reader, therefore, must bear in mind that though the term ridibundus will bear no translation but "laughing," the name of the Laughing Gull is Larus atricilla, which can mean only "Black-Headed Gull j" a paradoxical statement, perhaps, but one which it is necessary to make, or the young student will probably fall into error. Brown-Headed Gull is the most appropriate of all the above names, at least in summer, for at this period both male and female are best distinguished by the deep brown colour of the head and upper part of the neck. This is one of the most frequent of the Gulls, to be sought for in the breeding season not on the rocky shore among cliffs, but on low flat salt marshes on the coast and in fresh- water marshes far inland. Early in spring large numbers of Brown-headed Gulls repair to their traditional p p 578 LARIDJE. breeding-grounds and wander over the adjoining country in search of food, which consists of worms and grubs. From the assiduity with which they resort to arable land and follow the plough, they have been called Sea Crows. In April and May they make their simple preparations for laying their eggs by trampling down the broken tops of reeds and sedges, and so forming a slight concavity. The number of eggs in each nest is generally three, and ''^-^ THE BLACK-HEADED GULL. as a large number of birds often resort to the same spot, the collecting of these eggs becomes an occupation of importance. By some persons they are considered a delicacy, and, with the eggs of the Redshank, are substi- tuted for Plover's eggs ; but to a fastidious palate they are not acceptable, and far inferior to an egg from the poultry yard. Willughby describes a colony of Black- Caps on a small island in a marsh or fish pond, in the THE BLACK-HEADED GULL. 579 county of Stafford, distant at least thirty miles from the sea. He says that when the young birds had attained their full size, it was the custom to drive them from the island into nets disposed along the shore of the lake. The captured birds were fattened on meat and garbage, and sold for about fourpence or fivepence each (a goodly price in those days, 1676). The average number captured every year was 1200, returning to the proprietor an income of about £15. In a modern work, "The Cata- logue of Norfolk and Suffolk Birds," it is stated that precisely the same sum is paid for the privilege of col- lecting the eggs from Scoulton Mere, in Norfolk. Towards the end of July, when the young are fully fledged, all the birds, old and young, repair to the sea, and scatter them- selves in small flocks to all parts of the coast, preferring a low sandy shore, or the mouth of a tidal river, as the Thames and the Clyde, where they are of common occurrence. They also accompany shoals of herrings and other small fish, often congregating with other species in countless numbers. Before winter the distinctive character afforded by the brown plumage of the head and neck has entirely dis- appeared. These parts are now of a pure white, and the red legs afford the best distinguishing feature. Persons residing on the coast, who are familiarly acquainted with the habits of the bird, but are unaware of the periodical change in its colour, consider the two forms of the bird as distinct species. Thus I have received from a marsh on the coast of Norfolk the eggs of the " Black- headed Gull,^' and have had the same bird pointed out to me in winter as the " Eed-legged Pigeon-Mow" (Mew).* One flock of about thirty thus pointed out to me presented a very pretty sight. They had detected either a shoal of small fishes, or a collection of dead animal matter floating among the breakers, and were feeding with singular ac- * " Bewick's figure of the Red-legged Gull is from a bird of this species in the plumage of the first winter."— Yarrell. PP 2 580 LARID^. tivity. They alighted on the water instantly that a wave had broken, remained there a few seconds, and, when a succeeding wave seemed on the point of breaking over them and overwhelming them, clapped their wings two or three times, rose just far enough to allow the wave to pass under them' without moistening their beautiful dove- coloured wings, but no farther, and alighted again to be disturbed in like manner by the next breaker. As we drew near they all flew away, and we could discover nothing where their keen eyes had probably detected food in abundance. The resumption of the brown head takes place in spring, and is not a moult, but a change of colour without the shedding of a feather. A writer in the Zoologist * states that he has observed these birds in the summer evenings hawking for flies with a motion like that of the Swallows ; and a similar instance is recorded by Yarrell on the authority of the Eev. R Lubbock. THE LAUGHII^G GULL. LARUS ATRIGILLA. Head and upper part of the neck dark lead-grey; lower part of the neck and all the under plumage white ; upper, lead-grey ; quills black, reaching beyond the tail ; bill and feet deep red. Length eighteen inches. Eggs earthy olive, blotched and spotted with dull reddish brown and black. The principal mark of distinction between this and the preceding species is that Larus atricilla, in summer, has a lead-coloured head, L. ridihundus a dark brown head. The present bird is of very rare occurrence in the British Isles ; indeed, it has not been seen for many years, so that the notices in books on natural history of the Laughing Gull are to be received with caution, having reference, no doubt, to the other species. The true Laughing Gull is an American bird, and is said also to be frequently met with in the Mediterranean. In habits and mode of breed- ing it resembles the Black-headed Gull. * Vol. i. p. 216. 581 THE KITTIWAICE GULL. LARUS TRIDAOTYLUS. Hind toe represented by a small knob without a claw. Summer plumage — Head and neck pale bluish ash, a few fine dusky streaks before the eyes ; forehead, region of the eyes, and all the under parts, pure white ; upper plumage bluish ash ; first primary with the outer web black, four first tipped with black, two or three of them ending in a small white spot, fifth having the tip white bordered with black ; bill greenish yellow ; orbits red ; irides brown ; feet dark olive-brown. In winter, the whole of the head and neck is white. Young birds have the head white, mottled with grey and dusky ; upper feathers tipped with brown ; bend and upper edge of the wing black ; primaries black ; tail black, towards the end tipped with white ; bill, orbits, and irides, black ; feet pale brown. Length fifteen and a haH inches. Eggs stone-colour, spotted with grey and two shades of brown. The Kittiwake Gull takes its name from the cry with which in the breeding season it assails any intruder on its domain. It is a beautiful bu'd, especially in its THE KITTIWAKE GULL. variegated immature plumage, remarkable for its delicacy of coloui'ing and the easy grace of its flight, frequenting high cliffs in summer, while engaged in the duties of 582 LARID^. incubation, an(^ at all other times preferring the open sea to estuaries, and feeding on such small fish as swim near the surface. It is very abundant in the Arctic regions of both hemispheres during summer, and extends its southern limits so far as to include the British Isles, but is most numerous in the north. Its nest, built of sea- weed, is placed high up in the face of a precipitous cliff, generally on a narrow ledge, and in close proximity with others belonging to birds of the same species. It contains three eggs, and the young birds remain in their airy nest until fully fledged, when, as well as their parents, they disperse over the neighbouring seas, rarely venturing either to perch on land or fly over it. At the approach of autumn, Kittiwakes, like many other surface-feeding sea- birds, fly southwards, and do not return until the foUomng spriug. The young of the Kittiwake, previous to its first moult, is sometimes called the Tarrock. THE IVORY GULL. LARUS EBURNEUS. Plumage white ; bill stout, grey at the base, yellow tow'ards the point ; irides brown ; feet short, black. Young birds have some of the feathers tinged with brown. Length eighteen inches. Eggs unknown. The Ivory Gull is a northern- bird, the constant attendant on the whaler when engaged in the unpleasant part of his occupation, that of securing the blubber, evincing little fear at the presence of human beings, but helping itself, without stint, to such scraps as it has strength to carry ofi". These it snatches up while on the wing. It is rarely seen to alight on the water, but frequently perches on ice peaks, and adds to the wildness of the scene by its loud and harsh screams. The Ivory Gull breeds in very high latitudes, as far north as 70', and rarely travels so far southwards as Britain, though a few instances have occurred from time to time in winter. On the continent, except in the extreme north, it is equally rare. 583 THE COMMOI^ GULL. ^ LARUS CANUS. Wings reaching beyond the tail ; head and neck white, spotted with dusky ; lower parts, rump, and tail, white ; upper parts" clear bluish ash ; first two primaries black, with a large white space near the extremity, but tipped with black, the rest black towards the end, and (with the scapulars and secondaries) tipped with white ; biU greenish grey, yellow towards the point ; irides brown ; feet greenish ash. In summn the neck and head are pure white. Young birds have the upper plumage brown ; the quills and tail are dusky, and the under parts are whitish, mottled with greyish brown ; the biU is nearly black with a yellowish base ; feet yellowish brown. Length seventeen inches. Eggs olive-brown, spotted with dark brown and dusky. The Common Gull is so called not -without reason. In the open sea, under the cliffs, hovering along the line of breakers, sailing up the river into the very haunts of man, or paddling through the watery ooze of the mud-bank ; in all these places, and at all seasons, may Gulls be seen ; and in most places this species is so much more abundant than any other, that the bird which gives life to the seaside landscape is likely to be the Common Gull. Gulls are, moreover, of material service, for they perform for the surface of the sea the same office which crustaceous animals do for its depths. Most of their time is spent in either flying or swimming about (they are no divers) in quest of food, which is of that nature that, if suffered to accumulate, more than one of our senses would be offended. All animal matter which, when life is extinct, rises to the surface, it is their especial province to clear away. To perform this necessary work, they have need of a quick eye and a voracious appetite. That they have the former in an eminent degree, any one may convince himself who, when taking a sea voyage, sees the vessel followed, as he often will, by a flock of Gulls. Let him fling overboard, into the foaming track of the ship, where his own eye can distinguish nothing, ever so small a portion of bread or other kind of food. That some one individual at least among the 584 LAKID^. flock will have .seen it fall and be able to descry it is certain; now, probably, a general scramble will ensue, and the prize will be secured by the swiftest. Having tried this several times with the same result, let him throw over, instead of meat or bread, a bit of wood. THE COMMON OCLL. Not a bird will come near even to examine it. I have often tried this experiment, and have met with but one result. To prove that the Gull is capable of consuming a large quantity of food, as well as quick-sighted, a single THE COMMON GULL. 585 anecdote will suffice : — " A man who was shooting on the banks of the river Yare, seeing something, which had the appearance of an eel half-swallowed, hanging from the mouth of a Gull which was flying overhead, fired at the bird, and on taking it up, found, not an eel, but — five tallow candles attached to a piece of thread, to the other end of which was fastened a sixth, the latter having been almost entirely swallowed. The candles were about twelve inches in length, with cotton wicks, such as are used on board the fishing boats, from the deck of which he had probably taken them."* The Gull, then, is not choice in its diet ; it is, in fact, omnivorous. It skims the deep for dead animal matter, follows the ship for oflfal thrown over- board, paces the shore in quest of moUusks and marine insects, flies inland in stormy weather (a specimen was once brought me which had been shot in Hertfordshire, twenty miles from the nearest navigable river) in winter and spring, and follows the plough along with Eooks and Jackdaws, alights on fields which have been manured with decomposed fish, resorts to marshes for frogs and worms, and after an inundation, repairs to the lately submersed ground, and picks up the small quadrupeds which have been drowned It usually flies at no great elevation above the water, but when repairing inland and returning it frequently rises to a very great height. The Common or Green-billed Gull, as it is sometimes called, builds its nest of sea- weed, mixed occasionally with grass and other vegetable substance, and places it most frequently in a clifi" or isolated rock ; but, in those parts of the coast which off'er it no such secure retreat, in marshes and low islands. It lays two or three eggs. AVhen the young are fully grown and able to provide for themselves they mostly keep apart from the old birds. Ofi' certain headlands to w^hich they resort in great numbers, the old birds may then be observed resting for hours together in * Mr. W. R. Fisher, in the Zoologist, vol. i. p. 248. 586 LARID^. a broken line from two to three miles from the shore, and the young birds, distinguished by their darker plumage, in another line, about a mile nearer the land. When at- tending on shoals of herrings and other small fish, an occupation in which they are most sedulous, old and young associate, and are accompanied by Gannets, Kitti- wakes, Willocks, Cormorants, Auks, Puffins, and, indeed, by all the larger sea-birds which frequent the waters. On these occasions, they are of great service to fishermen, by indicating the position of the shoals. THE ICELAND GULL. LARUS ICELANDICUS. Wings reaching a little beyond the tail ; back and upper wing-coverts pale blue ; rest of the plumage white, streaked on the head with grey ; bill yellow ; irides pale yellow ; feet deep flesh-colour. Young hirda pale yellowish grey, barred and mottled with brown ; bill pale flesh-colour, having dark horn-colour towards the tip ; feet pale flesh-colour. Length twenty-two inches. The Iceland Gull, called also by Yarrell the "Lesser Wliite-winged Gull," to distinguish it from the Glaucous Gull, which it closely resembles in the colour of its plum- age, is a northern bird, intermediate in size between the Common Gull and the Herring Gull. It is so rare a visitor to British seas that few oj^portunities have offered themselves of observing its habits in warm localities. In the Arctic regions it is abundant, and is of much service to seal-shooters and cod-fishers by hovering over the spots where the small fish are driven to the surface in their eff'orts to escape from their pursuers. It is fearless of man, and follows the fishing-boats for the sake of picking up off'al. 587 THE LESSEE BLACK-BACKED GULL. LARUS FUSCUS. Wings reaching two inches beyond the tail ; head and neck white, streaked (in winter) with brown ; lower parts pure white ; rest of the upper plumage blackish grey ; primaries black, the first two with an oval white spot near the tip ; secondaries and scapulars tipped with white ; bill, irides, and feet, yellow ; tarsus two and a quarter inches long ; orbits red. In young birds the white plumage is mostly replaced by grey mottled with brown, and the black by dusky edged with yellowish ; the primaries liave no white spots, and the bill is dusky. Length twenty-four inches. Eggs brownish grey, spotted with brown and black. This is a generally diffused species, occurring in consider- able numbers, not only on various parts of our coast, but in the Baltic, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Eed Sea, and the northern parts of America. It repairs in spring either to rocky islands, steep cliffs, or sometimes to inland lakes, where it builds a rather large nest of tufts of grass, and lays two or three eggs. When the young are hatched it is very impatient of having its stronghold invaded, and resents molestation by darting at the head of the intruder. The Lesser Black-backed Gull breeds habitually on many parts of the coast, especially such as are frequented by the Herring Gull. Its food and habits are much the same as those of the Common Gull. THE HERRIJSTG GULL. LARUS ARGENTATUS. Head and neck white, streaked in summer with light brown ; tail and lower parts white ; back and wings bluish ash ; primaries dusky, passing into black, the shafts black and extremities white ; secondaries edged and tipped with white ; bill, orbits, and irides, yellow ; feet flesh-colour. In young birds the white is mostly replaced by dark grey, mottled with brown ; wings and tail brown, the latter reddish yellow towards the end ; bill dusky ; irides, orbits, and feet, brown. Length twenty-three inches. Eggs olive-brown, spotted with dark brown and dusky. If, among a flock of Common Gulls seen either following a vessel at sea or attending on the movements of a shoal of fish, one be observed which greatly surpasses the rest 588 LARID^. in size, it will probably be this species, provided that it have a grey and not a black back. In the latter case it may either be the Great or Lesser Black-backed Gull. The Herring Gull is a large and powerful bird, thoroughly competent to dispose of a herring or even a more bulky fish. It is common on most parts of the British coast, and remains with us all the year, building ^-^m 0 -^WT'' its nest on steep chffs, or rocky islands. In the south of England it is very abundant, and is more frequently seen inland, in newly-ploughed fields, than any other species. Like the other Gulls, it may easily be tamed if taken young ; and, when kept in a garden, earns its mainte- nance by keeping down slags and other vermin. 589 THE GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. LARUS MARINUS. Wings extending but little beyond the tail ; legs pale flesh-colour. Length thirty inches ; breadth about five feet nine inches. In most other respects resembling the Lesser Black-backed Gull. Eggs deep olive-green, blotched and spotted with dusky brown. Of the two Black-backed Gulls, the Greater, or "Cobb," is by far the less frequent on our coasts, and when seen generally occurs in pairs. It remains with us all the year, but is most frequent in the south during winter. In spring, Great Black-backed Gulls for the most part withdraw to cliffs and rocky islands far north, as, for instance, the Orkneys and Hebrides, where they are numerous. Unlike most other Gulls, birds of this species are unsociable even in the breeding season. They build their nests on the most inaccessible parts of the rocks, and reserve the situa- tion entirely to themselves, not even permitting birds of their own species or any other intruders to settle there. They are exceedingly w^ary, and give notice of the approach of danger to other animals. Consequently, they are held in dislike by the gunner, whether in pursuit of sea-birds or seals. Like the rest of the Gulls, they are omnivorous, but are, more than any others, addicted to carrion, in quest of which they often wander inland ; hence, they are some- times called Carrion Gulls. " If a floating prize presents itself," says Mr. St. John, " such as the remains of a large fish or dead bird, it is soon discovered by one of the large Gulls, who is not, however, allowed to enjoy his prize alone, for every one of his fellows within sight joins in tearing it to pieces. When I have winged a Duck, and it has escaped ajid gone out to sea, I have frequently seen it attacked, and devoured almost alive, by these birds.^' Stations occur here and there on the coast of England in which the Great Black-backed Gull builds. It some- times resorts to a marsh at the breeding season, but 590 LARID^. retains its habit of driving away all intruders. Its eggs are prized as dainties, being thought to resemble Plover's eggs. GLAUCOUS GULL, OR BURGOMASTER LARUS GLAUCUS. General plumage white ; back and wings bluish grey ; tail and terminal portion of the qxiills white ; bill strong, yellow ; legs livid flesh-colour. Young mottled with white, grey, and light brown ; shafts of the quills white ; in other respects like the last, but the bill is longer and stouter. Length twenty-nine inches ; breadth five feet two inches. Eggs as in the last, but of a greener hue. The Glaucous Gull, a large, handsome, and powerful bird, resembles in many of its habits the species last described, but it has not been known to breed in even the most northerly of the British Isles. It pays occasional visits to our shores in autumn, and returns to its Arctic home early in spring. A few specimens only have been shot in the southern portion of the island, and no large number in Scotland; but in the neighbourhood of the whale fishery it is common enough. It is very voracious, and not only eats fish, whether dead or alive, and shares with the whale-fisher in his booty, but pursues other sea- fowl, compels them to disgorge their prey, robs them of their eggs, and, if they resist, kills and devours them.* In short, it is the very tyrant of the Arctic Ocean. Its predatory habits were noticed by the early navigators in these waters, who gave it the name of Burgomaster ; but as no accurate description of the bird was brought home, and as some of our other large Gulls are open to a charge of similar rapacity, the name was naturally transferred by Willughby to another species, which he calls the Wagell (probably the Great Black-backed Gull in imma- ture plumage). This was in 1676. A hundred years * A specimen recently shot in Norfolk was found to contain a full-grown Golden Plover entire. THE GLAUCOUS GULL. 591 later Brunnicli gave it the name of Glaucous Gull ; but it is still called Burgomaster by the Dutch, and by Arctic voyagers generally. Mr. St. John gives the name of Wagel to the Great Grey Gull. THE COMMON SKUA. LESTRIS CATARACTES. Upper plumage brown, of several shades ; shafts of the quills, basal half of the primaries, and shafts of the tail-feathers, white ; under, reddish grey, tinged with browTi ; two central tail-feathers but slightly elongated, not tapering ; tarsus two and a half inches long, somewhat rough at the back. Length twenty-five inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched with brown. The Skuas, called also Skua Gulls, are sufficiently dis- tinguished from the true Gulls by their strong hooked bills and talons, and by the habits of daring and vora- city founded on these characters. The present species, though called common, is only to be so considered in high latitudes ; for it is very rarely seen on the coasts of England, and has become scarce even in the Shetland Islands, where it was at one time frequent. Mr. Dunn* says : " T never saw this bird in Orkney, and there are only three places in Shetland where it breeds — viz. Foula, Eona's Hill, and the Isle of Mist : in the latter place it is by no means numerous, and is strictly preserved by the landlords, on whose property it may have settled, from a superstition that it will defend their flocks from the attacks of the Eagle. That it mil attack the Eagle if he approaches their nests is a fact I have witnessed : I once saw a pair completely beat off a large Eagle from their breeding place, on Eona's Hill. The flight of the Skua is stronger and more rapid than that of any other Gull. It is a great favourite with the fishermen, fre- quently accompanying their boats to the fishing-ground, * Ornithologist's Guide to Orkney and Shetland, p. 112. 592 LARIDyE. or Haaf, which they consider a lucky omen ; and in return for its attendance, they give it the refuse of the fish which are caught. The Skua Gull does not associate in groups ; and it is seldom that more than a pair are seen together. During the breeding season it is highly courageous ; and will strike furiously at, and wiU even pursue, any one who may happen to approach its nest, Avhich is constructed among the heath or moss ; the female laying two eggs, but sometimes three." THE COMMON SKUA. Some authors state that the Common Skua obtains its liveKhood by levying contributions on the White Gulls, compelling them to disgorge their prey, and catching it before it reaches the water ; but Dr. Edmonston, who had great opportunities of watching the habits of these birds, says that they do not adopt the practices correctly attributed to the Arctic Gull, or Richardson's Skua. The THE COMMON SKUA. 593 voice of the Common Skua is said to resemble that of a young Gull, being sharp and shrill ; and it is from the resemblance of its cry to that of the word Skua, or Skui, that it obtains its popular name. That it is remarkably courageous and daring, all accounts agree. Mr. Low says that, when the inhabitants are looking after their sheep on the hills, the Skua often attacks them in such a manner that they are obliged to defend themselves with their cudgels held above their heads, on which it often kills itself; and Captain Vetch, in the "Memoirs of the Wernerian Society," says that it not only drives away Eavens and Eagles, but that the larger quadrupeds, such as horses and sheep, which venture near its nest, are immediately put to flight. Its northern name is Bonxie. POMARINE SKUA. LESTRIS POMARIXUS. Upper plumage uniform dark brown; feathers of the nape long, tapering, lustrous ; sides of the face and under plumage white ; a collar of brown spots on the breast, and similar spots on the flanks ; shafts of the quills and tail- feathers white, except at the .tip ; two central tail-feathers projecting three inches, not tapering ; tarsus two inches long, rough at the back, with projecting scales. Length twenty-one inches. Young &ircZs— Upper plumage dusky- brown, mottled with reddish yellow ; under, yellowish white, thickly set with brown spots and bars. Eggs ash-gi-een, spotted with dusky. The habits of this bird vary but little from those of the other species. Its home is in the Arctic seas, from which it strays southwards in winter, and has been occasionally seen on our coasts. The following account of the capture of one of these birds, in 1844, indicates a bird of unusual daring and voracity : " About the beginning of last October, a Poniarine Skua was taken in the adjoining village of Ovingdean. It had struck down a White Gull, which it would not quit : it was kept alive above a Q Q 594 LARID^. fortnight, and then died. The very first day of its captivity it (is said to have) devoured twenty-five Spar- rows. Once it escaped, and immediately attacked a Duck, which it held till recaptured." * EICHAEDSON'S SKUA. LESTRIS RICHARDSONII. Crown dusky ; cheek.s, neck, and under plumage, white, tinged with yellow or brown ; rest of the plunaage dusky, the wings and tail the darkest. Two central tail-feathers tapering from the base, pointed, and projecting six inches ; tarsus less than two inches. Length twenty-one inches. Eggs olive, with a circle of brown spots near the larger extremity, the rest speckled with the same colour. This species of Skua, most familiarly known, perhaps, as the Arctic Gull, received its distinctive name, " Eichardson's," in honour of the eminent Arctic naturalist. It is dis- tinguished from the species already described by its longer tail, but the habits of all are much alike ; indeed, the names of "Arctic Gull," "Boatswain," "and Man-of-War," appear to be sometimes employed indiscriminately. Eichardson's Skua, lilve the rest, inhabits the Arctic seas, but extends its wanderings southwards in far greater numbers than either of the other species, so that its occurrence on the coast of England is not unusual. According to Mr. Dunn, " numbers of this bird breed in Orkney and Shetland, appearing regularly in May and leaving in August : it is confined to a few situations and is strictly preserved, from the same motive as the Skua Gull. It constructs its nest on low, not mossy, heaths in exposed situations. The female lays two eggs, and has recourse to the same strata- gems that the Plover employs to decoy you from the nest ; but when a person approaches near to the place where the nest is built, becomes bold and fierce, and strikes severely with the feet and bill." The following account is taken * Zoologist, vol. iii. p. 880. EICHAEDSON S SKUA. 595 from Mr. St. John's "Wild Sports of the Highlands" : " I was much amused the other day by the proceedings of a pair of the Black-toed Gull or Boatswain. These two birds were sitting quietly on an elevated ridge of sand, near which a number of other Gulls of different kinds were fishing and hovering about in search of what the waves might cast up. Every bird, indeed, was busy and employed, excepting these two black robbers, who seemed KICHARDSONR SKl^A. to be quietly resting, quite unconcerned. When, how- ever, a Gull had picked up a prize, these birds seemed instinctively to know it, and darting off with the rapidity of a Hawk (which bird they much resemble in their manner of flight), they attacked the unfortunate Gull in the air, and, in spite of his screams and attempts to escape, they pursued and beat him till he disgorged the fish or whatever he had swallowed, when one af them darted Q Q 2 596 LARID^. down and caught the substance before it could reach the water. The two then quietly returned to their sand- bank, where they waited patiently to renew the robbery, should an opportunity occur. As the flock of Gulls moved on with the flow of the tide, the Boatswains moved on also, hovering on their flank like a pair of plundering freebooters. I observed that, in chasing a Gull, they seemed perfectly to understand each other as to who should get the spoil ; and in their attacks on tlie largest Gulls (against whom they waged the most fearless warfare), they evidently acted so as to aid each other. If another pair of Boatswains intruded on their hunting-ground they immediately seemed to send them further off; not so much by actual battle, as by a noisy and screaming argument, which they continued most vigorously till the new comers left the neighbourhood. "I never saw these birds hunt for their own living in any other way than by robbing the other Gulls. Though not nearly so large as some of the birds which they attack, their Hawk-like swoops and great courage seem to enable them to fight their way most successfully. They are neatly and powerfully made, their colour a kind of sooty dull black, with very little gloss or shining tints on their feathers." BUFFON'S SKUA. LESTRIS BUFFONII. Frincipally distinguished from the last by its inferior size. Two central tail- feathers tapering, pointed, and projecting nine inches. Length, exclusive of the two central tail-feathers, thirteen and a half inches. Eggs unknown. Buffon's Skua is very similar to the last in all respects except size, being of less bulk but greater length. It is of very rare occurrence, but in habits probably resembles the other species. 597 THE FULMAE PETREL. PROCELLARIA GLACIALIS. Head, neck, under plumage, and tail, white ; wings bluish ash, the primaries brownish grey ; beak, irides, and feet, yellow. Young of the year grey, tinged with brown, mottled on the back -nath deeper brown ; bill and feet yellowish ash. Length seventeen inches. Eggs white. The name Fulmar must be familiar to all readers of Ai'ctic voyages, though, they may not be aware that the bird so called is an occasional visitor to our shores. In some of the Outer Hebrides Fulmars even breed ; but the great station, to which tens of thousands annually resort, is the remote island of St. Kilda. To the Fulmar, indeed, and in a less degree to the Gannet and two or three other sea-birds, the island is indebted for its being able to boast of human inhabitants. Eggs and birds, fresh or salted, furnish them with food ; the Fulmar with oil ; and feathers pay their rent. Professor James Wilson says : " The oil is extracted from both the young and old birds, which, however, they must seize on suddenly, and strangle, else, as a defensive move- ment, the desired (and pungent) oil is immediately squirted in the face and eyes of their opponent." This oil is ejected, not, as it is sometimes said, through tubular nostrils, but directly through the throat and open mouth. The flesh of the Fulmar is also a favourite food with the St. Kildans, who like it all the better on account of its oily nature. The Fulmar is essentially a sea-bird, and never comes to land except in the breeding season, when it builds its nest of herbage on the grassy shelves of the highest cliffs, and lays a single egg, if which be taken, it lays no more. The young birds are fed with oil by the parents, and on being molested spurt out through the throat and open mouth the same fluid, which, being of a rank smell, i/ifects not only the nest, but the whole neighbourhood. The young birds, which are taken early in August, are boiled, and made 598 LAEID^. to furnish a large quantity of fat, which is skinimed off and preserved for winter use. The old bu'ds are considered e^reat dainties. o In the Arctic regions the Fulmar is well known for its assiduity in attending on whale ships, keeping an eager watch for anything thrown over ; and when the operation of cutting up a whale is going on, helping itself most greedily to stray pieces of offal, and venturing so near as to be easily knocked down by a boathook or to be taken by hand. Owing to the rankness of its food, the smell of the Fulmar is very offensive. A specimen recently shot was brought to me in Norfolk, early in January, 1862, and being a great rarity, was carefully preserved and set up ;. but on being sent home from the bird stuffer's it was banished to an outhouse, where it has remained for three months without losing anything of its offensive odour. THE CAPPED PETREL. PROCELLARIA H^SITATA. Crown and upper plumage dusky ; forehead, neck, and under plumage white ; feet dull yellow ; bill and claws black. Length sixteen inches. A VERY small number of Capped Petrels have been obtained, of which one was taken in the Australian seas, and others were brought from the West Indies. The only specimen observed in Great Britain was captured by a boy near Swaffham in ^N'orfolk. Of its habits nothing is known. 599 THE MANX SHEARWATER. PUFFINUS ANGLOEUM. Bill an inch and a half long ; tail rounded ; upper plumage brownish black, lustrous ; under white ; sides of the neck barred with grey ; sides spotted with grey. Length fourteen inches. Eggs nearly round ; pure white. That a bird whose generic name is Pyffinus should some- times be called a " Puffin " is not surprising ; and the reader who meets with the name in books should satisfy himself whether the subject of his study be an Auk or a Shearwater, before he admits as facts any statements about the "Puffin" which may fall in his way. Yarrell, for instance, gives the name of Puffin to the bird already described under the name of Fratercula Arctica, while by Montagu that bird is described under the name of " Coulterneb," "Puffin" being given as a synonym for the Shearwater. The Shearwater is so called from its mode of flight, in which it " shears " or skims the water ; and its distinctive name, Manx, it owes to its having been formerly very abundant in the Calf* of Man, a small island lying south of the Isle of Man. The Manx Shearwater is, during the greater portion of the year, an ocean-bird, and only ventures on shore during the breeding season. It then repairs to some island, or portion of the coast little frequented by man, and in society with other birds of the same species there takes up its summer quarters. A sandy or light earthy soil, scantily furnished with vegetation, is preferred to any other station. Its nest is a hole in the ground, either the deserted biuTow of a rabbit or a tunnel excavated by itself, or less frequently it lays its one egg in the crevice of a * '' Calf," on many parts of the coast, is a name given to the smaller of two rocks in proximity, of which the larger is called the " Cow." 600 LARID^. rock During the day Shearwaters, for the most part, remain concealed in their holes, and lie so close that they will suffer themselves to be dug out with a spade and make no attempt to escape. Towards evening they quit their hiding-places, and paddle or fly out to sea in quest ' of food. This consists of small fish and other marine animals which swim near the surface, and are caught by the birds either while they are floating or " shearing " the water. No nest ever contains more than one egg, but that one and the chick which it produces are objects of the greatest solicitude. Unfortunately for the poor Shearwaters, their young, though fed on half-digested fish oil, are delicate eating ; consequently, some of the stations of these birds have been quite depopulated, and in others their numbers have been greatly thinned. Willughby tells us that in his time Puffins were very numerous in the Calf of Man, and that fully fledged young birds, taken from the nests, were sold at the rate of nine-' pence a dozen. He adds, that in order to keep an accurate reckoning of the number taken, it w^as customary to cut off", and retain, one of each bird's legs. The consequence was that the state in which the bii'ds were sent to market was supposed to be their natural condition, and the Puffin was popularly believed to be a " monopod " (one- footed bird). This station is now nearly, if not quite, deserted ; but colonies still exist in Annet, one of the Scilly Islands, on the south coast of Wales, in the Orkneys, and in the Shetlands. In the Scilly Islands the Shearwater is called a Crew, from the harsh note uttered by the bird when its burrow is invaded ; in the north, a Lyre or Scrabe. THE GREATER SHEARWATER. PUFFINUS MAJOR. Bill two inches long ; tail pointed ; upper plumage dusky ; under, deep ash- grey. Length eighteen inches. The Greater Shearwater is far less abundant than the preceding species, and may indeed be considered a rarity. A few solitary specimens have from time to time been shot on various parts of the coast, and they have occasionally been noticed in considerable numbers off the coast of Cornwall. In the Scilly Islands, where they are called '^Hackbolts," they are said to be yet more frequent. The Greater Shearwater differs little in habits, as far as they are known, from the other species. 602 LARID^. THE DUSKY PETREL. PUFFINUS OBSCURUS. Bill an inch long ; upper plumage ink-bla(;k ; chin and under plumage white ; sides of the neck slightly barred. Lengtli eleven inches. Eggs white. An oceanic bird abundant in the Gulf of Mexico, tlie north-west coast of America, Australia, and the coast of Africa. Audubon states that Dusky Petrels frequent the fields of gulf-weed which occur in certain parts of the Atlantic, and that when about to alight they skim the surface of the sea, with their feet trailing in the water ; and that they both swim and dive in pursuit of fishes, which they seize with great agdity. A specimen of this Petrel was captured off Valentia, in Ireland, in 1853, and another was found dead in Norfolk in 1858. BULWER'S PETREL. THALASSIDROMA BULWERII. Bill black ; general plumage sooty black ; tail rounded ; feet reddish brown, the membrane dark brown. Length ten and a half inches. Eggs imknown. An inhabitant of Madeira and the adjacent islands, where it appears to be a bird of rare occurrence and little known. A single specimen only has been obtained in this country. It was found dead in Yorkshire in the month of May, 1837. WILSON'S PETREL. THALASSIDROMA WILSONL Bill black ; general plumage dark brown and sooty black ; edges and tips of the secondaries, as well as the upper tail-coverts, white ; legs long and slender ; feet black, with a greyish yellow patch on each web of the membrane. Length seven and a half inches. Eggs white. A FEW specimens only of this bird have been obtained on the British coast. It is a native of North America, and breeds in considerable numbers on some small islands off the southern extremity of Nova Scotia. Its habits resem- ble those of the Stormy Petrel. 603 THE FOEKED-TAILED PETEEL. THALASSfDEOMA LEACHII. General plumage like the last ; tall forked ; legs moderate ; membi-ane dusky. Length seven and a quarter inches. Eggs unknown. The Forked-tailed Petrel, a native of JsTortli America, does not differ materially in habits from the other species. It is considered to be only a stray visitor to this country, and to be driven hither by the stormy weather which usually accompanies the two equinoxes, especially the autumnal one. Of the few specimens obtained in this country, several have been picked up in inland counties either dead or dying, and it is conjectured, with reason, that these have been driven inland by storms, and have fallen exhausted from want of food. THE STOEMY PETEEL. THALASSIDROMA PELAGICA. General plumage like the last; tail even at the extremity; legs moderate membranes black. Length scarcely six inches. Eggs white. Under the name of " Mother Carey's Chickens " the Petrels must be known to all readers of voyages. Accord- ing to the belief popular in the forecastle, these birds are invisible during calm or bright weather ; but when the sky lowers, and a storm is impending, suddenly, no one knows whence, forth come these ill-omened heralds of the tempest, inspiring more terror than would be caused even by the hurricane which they are supposed to com- mence. In reality, the Petrels are scarcely birds of the day ; they love to hide themselves in holes and behind stones. It is not, therefore, surprising that when the sea is calm, and the sun bright, they lurk in their hiding- 604 LARID^. places, if near enough to land ; or, if on the open ocean, lie asleep on the surface of the water, unnoticed, because still and of small size. An overcast sky, however, awakes them as twilight would, and they leave their hiding-places, or rise from their watery bed, not because a storm is impend- ing, but because the cloud which accompanies the storm brings them the desired gloom. When in motion they ^u. «^, — : THE STORMY PETREL. are more conspicuous than when at rest, and they follow the wake of a ship for the same reason that other sea- fowl do, for the sake of the offal thrown overboard. They will sometimes accompany a ship for days, showing that they have untiring power of wing, and to all but the superstitious greatly relieving the monotony of the voyage. THE STORMY PETREL. 605 The Petrel builds its nest, a rude structure of weeds and rubbish, either in the hole of a cliff or under stones on the beach, and lays a single egg. It rarely comes abroad by day, and if disturbed ejects from its mouth an oily matter, after the manner of the Fulmar. Towards even- ing it comes forth from its stronghold, and skims the sea in quest of food, which consists of floating animal matter' of all kinds. Its name. Petrel, or Little Peter, is derived from its habit of occasionally skimming along so close to the surface of the sea as to dip its feet tu the water, and present the ap]3earance of walking ; but its ordinary flight is very like that of the Swallow. Tlie Stormy Petrel breeds in the Orkney, Shetland, and Scilly Islands, but, a genuine ocean-bird, quits the land as soon as its young are able to accompany it. It is fre- quently seen in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and is not an uncommon visitor to our shores, especially during severe weather Its note is only heard during the season of incubation, when its retreat is often betrayed by a low twittering. Stormy Petrels are gregarious birds ; they breed lq colonies, and skim the sea in small flocks. The French steamers which sail between Toulon and Algiers are said to be regularly accompanied by these birds. INDEX OF SYSTEMATIC, COMMON, AND PROVINCIAL NAMES, AND GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS EMPLOYED IN THE VOLUME. Aberdeen Sandpiper, a name for the Knot. ^ Aberdevine, a name for the Siskin. Acanthis, 21,3. Accentor alpinus, 93. modularis, 93. Agelaius Phoeniceus, 233. Accipiter Nisus, 27. African Heron, the Purple Heron. Pheasant, 376. Teal, the Ferruginous Duck. Ailsa Cock, the Puffin. Alauda alpestris, 184. arborea, 182. arvensis, 177. brachydactyla, 184. cristata, 183. Alca impennis, 552. Torda, 550. Alcedo Ispida, 268. Alk, the Razor-bill. AUamotte, the Petrel. Allan, the Skua. Alp, a name for the Bullfinch. Alpine Accentor, 93. Swift, 288. American Bittern, 415. Blackbird, the Red-winged Starling. Cuckoo, 325. Martin, 284. Quail, the Colin. Starling, 233. Wigeon, 507. Ammer, Yellow, 193. Ampelis garrulus, 160. Amzel, the Ring Ouzel, 292. Anas acuta, 495. Americana, 507. Boschas, 497. clypeata, 493 Crecca, 504. glocitans, 497. Penelope. 506. Querquedula, 503. Strepera, 494. Andalusian Hemipode, or Quail, 371. Angler, 540. Annet, the Kittiwake Gull. Anser albifrons, 478. Bernicla, 479. brachyrhynehus, 476. Canadensis, 484. Egyptiacus, 483. ferus, 473. Gambensis, 483. leucopsis, 479. ruflcollis, 483. segetum, 475. torquatus, 481. Anthus arboreus, 171. petrosus, 175. pratensis, 174. Richardi, 177. Aquila Albicilla, 8. Chrysaetos, 4. Nsevia, 7. Arctic-Bird, the Skua. Gull, 594. Jager or Skua, Buffon's Skua, 596. Tern, 568. 608 INDEX. Ardea alba, 409. cineiea, 405. coniata, 411. Gaizetta, 410. puipurea, 409. rui-sata, 410. Ash-coloured-Falcon, or Harrier, Mon- tagu's Harrier. Sandpiper, tlie Knot. Swan, the Crested Grebe. Assilag, the Petrel. A stiir palumbarius, 26. Auk, Black-billed, the Razor-bill. Great, 552. Little, 545 Austrian Pratincole, 380. Avis tarda, the Bustard, 372. Avocet, 4.32. Awl, the Woodpecker. Babbling Warbler and Babillarde, the Lesser Whitethroat. Badock, the Skua. Baillon's Crake, 463. Bald Buzzard, the Osprey. Coot, 469. Crow, 553. Duck, the Coot. Goose, the White-fronted Goose, -pate, the Wigeon. Bank-jug, the Chiff-chaflf and Willow Warbler. Bank Martin or Swallow, 281. Barbary Partridge, 365. Bargander, the Sheldrake. Barker, the Spotted Redshank. Barley-bird, the Siskin and Wryneck; Barn Owl, 51. Barnacle Goose, the Bernicle Goose, 479. Barred Woodpecker, 298. Bar-tailed Godwit, 435. Basal, at or near the base. Bass Rock, 561. Batty-bird, a name given in India to the Buff-backed Heron. Beam-bird, the Spotted Flycatcher. Bean Crake, the Land Rail. Bean Goose, 475. Bearded Tit, 158. Bee-bird, a name given sometimes to the Flycatcher; sometimes to the Willow Warbler. Bee-eater, 267. Bee Hawk, the Honey Buzzard. Beech-finch, the Chaffinch. Bergander, the Sheldrake. Bergeronette, 169. Bernicle Goose, 479. Bewick's Swan, 488. Brent Goose, 481. Bilcock, the Water Rail. Billy, the Hedge Sparrow. -biter, the Blue Tit, 150. -Whitethroat, the White- throat. Bimaculated Duck, 497. Bittern, American, 415. Common, 413. Little, 412. Bittour, the Bittern. Black-a-top, the Stonechat. Black-billed Auk, a name given to the Razor-bill in the winter plumage of the first year. Blackbird, 85. Black-bonnet, the Black-headed Bun- ting. Blackcap, a name sometimes given to the Black-headed Gull, the Marsh Tit, and Cole Tit. Black-cap, 125. -chinned Grebe, the Dabchick. Cock, 347. Cormorant, 553. Curlew, the Glossy Ibis. Diver, the Velvet Scoter. Duck, the Scoter, 513. Eagle, the White-tailed Eagle. Goose, the Brent Goose. Grouse, 347. Guillemot, 545. -headed Bunting, 189. -headed Gull or Blackcap, 577. -headed Peggy, the Blackcap. -headed Tit, the Marsh Tit. Martin, the Swift. -nebbed Crow, or Black-neb, the Common Crow. Ouzel, the Blackbird. Poker, the Tufted Dukt. Redstart, 102. Sandpiper, the Knot. Scoter, 513. Stork, 417. -tailed Godwit, 436. Tern, 572. -throated Diver, 538. -toed Gull, the Skua. Wigeon, the Tufted Duck. -winged Gull, the Laughing Gull. -winged Stilt, 434. Woodpecker, 295. Blacky-top. the Stonechat. Bloodulf, the Bullfinch. Blind Dorbie, the Purple Sandpiper. Blue-backed Falcon, the Peregrine Falcon. Blue-bird, or Blue-tail, the Fieldfare. -bonnet, the Blue Tit. -cap, the Blue Tit, 148. Darr, the Black Tern. Hawk, the Peregrine Falcon. -headed Wagtail, the Grey- headed Wagtail. -throated Warbler, 98. Tit, the Tom Tit, 148. -winged Shoveler, the Sho- veler. Boatswain, the Skua, 594. Bog-bumper, Bog-bluiter, the Bittern. Bohemian Chatterer, or Waxwing, 160. INDEX. 609 Bombycilla garrula, 160. Bombycivora, 160. Bonaparte's Gull, 576. Bonxie, the Skua. Boonk, the Little Bittern. Botaiirus lentiginosus, 415. minutus, 412. stellaris, 413. Bottle-nose, the Puffin. Tit, or Bottle-Tom, the Long- tailed Tit, 156. Brake-hopper, the Grasshopper War- bler. Bramble-finch, or Brambling, 199. Bramblin, a name sometimes given to the young of the Snow Bunting. Bran, the Crow. Brancher, the Goldfinch in its first year. Brantail, the Kedstart. Brent Goose, 481. Bridled Guillemot, the Ringed Guille- mot. Broad-biU, the Shoveler. -billed Sandpiper, 453. Bronzie, the Cormorant. Brook Ouzel, a name given to Dipper, and incorrectly to the Water Rail. Brown-headed Duck, the Gold Eye. -headed Gull, 577. Linnet, 216. Longbeak, the Brown Snipe. Sandpiper, the Common Sand- piper. Snipe, 450. Starling, a name sometimes given to the young of the Starling. Tern, the Tern in its imma- ture plumage. Woodpecker, the Creeper. Brunnich's Guillemot, 544. Bubo maximus, 43. Budfinch, the Bullfinch. Bufl'-backed Heron, 410. -breasted Sandpiper, 453. -coloured Egret, the Squacco Heron. Buffel-headed Duck, 524. Buff'on'6 Skua, 596. Buiker, the Puffin, Bullfinch, Common, 222. Pine, 225. Bulwer's Petrel, 602. Bumble, Bumpy Coss, the Bittern. Bunting, Black-headed, 189. Cirl, 195. Common, or Corn, 188. -Crow, the Hooded Crow. Green-headed, the Ortolan. Lapland, 185. -Lark, the Common Bunting. Mountain, the Snow Bunting. Ortolan, 193. Reed, 189. Snow, 185. Tawny, the Snow Bunting. Bunting, Yellow, 191. -Crow, the Common Crow. -Lark, the Corn Bunting. -Thrush, the Missel Thrash. Burgomaster, the Glaucous Gull, 590. Burrow Duck, the Sheldrake. Bushchat, the Whinchat. Bustard, Great, 372. Little, 376. a provincial name for the Stone Curlew. Butcher-bird, the Shrike. Lesser, the Bearded Tit. Buteo Lagopus, 36. vulgaris, 34. Butor and Butter-bump, the Bittern. Butterflip, the Avocet. Buzzard, Common, 34. Honey, 37 Moor, 40. Rough-legged, 36. Cackareer, the Kittiwake Gull. Caddaw, the Jackdaw. Calamophilus biarmicus, 158. Calidris arenaria, 398. Callow, the Long-tailed Duck. Cambridge Godwit, the Spotted Red- shank. Canada Goose, 484. Owl, the Hawk Owl. Canard des Alpes, 490. Canepetiere, 376. Capercaillie or Capercailzie, 346. Capri, Quails in, 369. Caprimulgus Europseus, 288. Carduelis elegans, 211. Spinus, 214. Cargoose, the Crested Grebe. Carinate, in the form of a keel. Carrion Crow, 243. Gull, the Great Black-backed Gull. Car-Swallow, the Black Tern. Carthaginian Hen, 376. Caspian Tern, 562. Casse-noix, 266. Castaneous Duck, the Ferruginous Duck. Cere, the wax-like membrane which covers the base of the bill in the Falconidse. Cataractes of the Septuagint, 554, 563. Certhia familiaris, 302. Chaflinch, 196. Chaldrick or Chalder, the Oyster- Catcher. Chanchider, the Spotted Flycatcher. Channel Goose, the Gannet. Charadrius Cantianus, 389. Hiaticula, 386. minor, 390. Morinellus, 384. pluvialis, 381. Chardonneret, 213. Charlie Miftie, the Wheatear. Chatterer, the Waxen, 160. 610 INDEX. Chauk-daw, the Chough. Chauk, the Chough. Chenalopex, 492. Chepster, the Starling. Cherry-fincli, the Hawfinch. Cherry-sucker, Cherry-chopper, and Cherry-Snipe, theSpottedFlycatcher. Ch^vre volant, 447. Chevy Lin, the Redpole. Chickell, the Wheatear. Chickstone, the Stonechat. Chiff-chaff, 138. Chimney Swallow, 271. Chip-chop, the Chiff-chaff. Chippet Linnet, the Redpole. Chough, 237. Church Owl, the White Owl. Churn Owl, the Nightjar. Churr, the Dunlin. Ciconia alba, 417. nigra, 417. Cinclus aquaticus, 71. Cinereous Eagle, the White-tailed Eagle. Godwit, the Greenshank. Shearwater, the Greater Shearwater. Shrike, the Ash-coloured Shrike. Circus seruginosus, 39. cyaneus, 40. Montagui, 42. Cirl Bunting, 195. Clack Goose, Clakes, the Bernicle Goose. Clatter Goose, the Brent Goose. Clee, the Redshank. Clett, the Tern. Clinker, the Avocet. Cloven-footed Gull, the Tern. Clucking Duck, the Bimaculated Duck. Coal-and-candle-light, the Long-tailed Duck. Coal Goose, the Connorant. CoaUy Hood, the Bullfinch. Cob, the male Swan. Cobb, the Great Black-backed Gull. Cobble, the Great Northern Diver. Cobbler's Awl, the Avocet. Cobweb, the Spotted Flycatcher. Coccothraustes Chloris, 206. vulgaris, 209. Coeeyzus Americanus, 325. Cock of the Mountain or Wood, the Capercaillie. Cockandy, the Puffin. Cock-winder, the Wigeon. Coddy Moddy, the Common GuU in its first year's plumage. Goldfinch, the Pied Flycatcher. Cole or Coal Goose, the Cormorant. Cole Tit, or Cole Mouse, 152. Colk, the King Duck. Colin, a name in New Spain for the Quail. Cohn, Virginian, 366. Collared Turtle-dove, 340. Collared Pratincole, Columba livia, 334. (Enas, 332. Palumbus, 326. risoria, 340. Turtur, 337. Colymbus areticus, 538. glacialis, 535. sei)tentrionalis, 539. Compressed, flattened vertically Coot, 469. Coot-foot, the Phalarope. Copperfinch, the Chaffinch. Coracias garrula, 266. Corbie, the Raven. Corbie Crow, the Carrion Crow. Cormorant, Common or Crested, 553. Green or Shag, 557. Corn Bunting, 188. Corncrake, Corn-cracker or Corn- drake, the Land Rail, 460. Cornish Crow, or Daw, the Chough. Gaimet, the Skua. Cornwall Kae, the Chough. Corvorant, the Cormorant. Corvus Corax, 239. Comix, 247. Corone, 243. frugilegus, 249. Monedula, 256. Cotumix vulgaris, 366. Coulterneb, the Puffin. Courser, 377. Cow-bird, 325. Coy-duck, 502. Crabier, 412. Cracker, the Pintail Duck. Crake, Baillon's, 463. Corn, or Gallinule, 460. Little, 463. Spotted, 462. Crakle, the Missel Thrush. Crane, 403. In the north of England, the Shag is called a Crane ; and in Wales and the north of Ireland, the Heron is so called. Crank bird, the Lesser Spotted Wood- pecker. Cravat Goose, the Canada Goose. Craw, part of the stomach in birds. Cream-coloured Plover or Swiftfoot, 377. Courser Gull, the Glaucous Gull. Creeper, Creep-tree, or Tree-creeper, 302. These names are in some places given to the Nuthatch. Cres-Hawk, the Kestril. Crested Cormorant, the Shag. Grebe, Great, 539. Lapwing, 393. Lark, 183. Tit, 157. Crew, the Manx Shearwater. Crex Baillonii, 463. Porzana, 462. pratensis, 460. pusilla, 463. INDEX. 611 Gricket-bird,the Grasshopper Warbler. Cricket Teal, the Garganey. Crocker, the Laughing Gull, also the Brent Bemicle. Crooked Bill, the Avocet. Crossbill, Common, 226. Parrot, 232. White-winged, 232. Crow, Carrion or Common, 243. Hooded, Royston, or Danish, 247. Red-legged, 237. Cuckoo, American, or yellow-billed, 325. Common, 316; fed by Reed Warbler, 119. Great Spotted, 324. Cuckoo's Leader or Mate, the Wry- neck, 300. Cuculus canorus, 316. giandarius, 324. Cuddy, the Gallinule. Culmen, the ridge of the upper man- dible. Cultrate, in the form of a bill-hook or pruning knife. Cuneate-tailed Gull, 576. Curlew, Black, the Glossy Ibis. Common, 419. Pigmy, or Curlew Sandpiper, 451. Stone, 378. Curlew-Jack, the Whimbrel. Curruca atricapilla, 125. cinerea, 129. Galactotes, 128. hortensis, 128. Orphea, 127. Sylviella, 131. Cursorius Eui-opseus, 377. Curwillet, the Sanderling. Cushat, the Ring Dove. Cuthbert's Duck, St., the Eider Duck. Cutty Wren, the Common Wren. Cygnet, the young Swan. Cygnus Bewickii, 488. ferus, 484. immutabilis, 489. Olor, 489. Cypselus apus, 285. alpinus, 288. Dabchick, or Lesser Grebe, 532. Daker Hen, the Land Rail. Dalmatian Regulus, 142. Danish Crow, the Hooded Crow. Daring of Larks, hawking for Larks with the Hobby was formerly so called. Darr, Blue, the Black Tern. Dartford Warbler, 140. Death-bird, 61. Decoy, 502. Deep sowing of com a protection against birds, 179. Dertrum, a name sometimes given, but erroneously, to the hook of the R R bill in predaceous birds. It is in reality " the caul of the mammalia. " Depressed, flattened horizontally. Deviling, the Swift. Dick Dunnock, the Hedge Sparrow. Didapper, the Dabchick. Difficulty of describing the song of birds, 80. Dippearl, the Tern. Dipper, 71. Dirty Allen, the Skua. Dishwasher, the Wagtail. Diver, Black, the Velvet Scoter. Black-throated, 538. Great Northern, or Ring- necked, 535. Pied, the Smew. Red-throated, or Speckled, 539. Diving Pigeon, the Guillemot. Dobber and Dobchick, the Lesser Grebe. Door Hawk and Dorr Hawk, the Night- jar, 288. Dorbie, the Dunlin. Dotterel, 384. Ringed, 386. Double Snipe, the Great Snipe. Doueker, a popular name for a Grebe or Diver, Dove, Greenland, the Black Guillemot. Ring, 326. Rock, 334. Stock, 332. Turtle, 337. Collared Turtle, 340. Doveky, the Black Guillemot. Dove-coloured Falcon, the Peregrine Falcon. Draine, the Missel Thrush, 74. Duck, Bimaeulated, 497. Black, the Scoter and Tufted Duck. Bufl"el-headed, 524. Burrow, the Sheldrake. Castaneous, the Ferruginous Duck. Dusky, the Eider Duck. Earl, the Red-breasted Merg- anser. Eider, 508. Ferruginous, 517. Gadwall, 494. Garganey, 503. Golden-eye or Gowdy, 522. Harlequin, 522. King, 512. Long-tailed, 520. . . Mussel, the Scoter. Nyroca,the Ferruginous Duck. PintaU, 495. Pochard, 515. Red, the Ferruginous Duck. Red-crested, 514. St. Cuthbert's, the Eider Duck. Scaup, 517. 9 612 INDEX. Duck, Spirit, the Biiffel-headed Duck. Shoveler, 493. Spoonbill, the Scaup Duck. Steller's, 511. Tufted, 519. Velvet. 512. Western, 511. White-eyed, the Ferruginous Duck. White-faced, the Scaup Duck. Wild, 497. Duck Hawk, the Marsh Harrier. Ducker, a popular name for a Grebe or Diver. Dulwilly, the Ring Plover. Dunbird, Dunker, and Dunair, the Po- chard. Dun Crow, the Hooded Crow. Dundiver, the female and young of the Merganser. Dung Hunter, the Skua. Dunlin, 455. Dunnock, the Hedge Sparrow. Dunpickle, the Moor Buzzard. Dunter Goose, the Eider Duck. Dusky Duck, the Eider Duck. Dusky Godwit, the Spotted Redshank. Grebe, the young of the Sola- vonian Grebe, 531. Lark, the Rock Pipit. Petrel, 602. Sandpiper, Snipe, or Tatler, the Spotted Redshank. Eagle, beaten off by Skuas, 591. Cinereous, Sea or White-tailed, 8. Golden, 4. Ring-tailed, the Golden Eagle in the second y ear' s plumage . Spotted, or Rough-footed, 8. Eagle Owl, 43. Ear, curious structure of, in the Owls, 50. Eared Grebe, 532. EarlDuck,theRed-breastedMerganser. Easterling, the Smew. Ebb the Bunting. Ecorcheur, the Shrike, 63. Ectopistes migratorius, 340. Egret, Buflf-coloured, the Squacco Heron, 411. Great, the Great White or Yellow-billed Heron, 409. Buff-backed, or Rufous- backed, 410. Little, 410. Egret, a tuft of long narrow feathers found on the lower part of the neck of the Herons ; see page 410. The name is also sometimes extended to the two tufts of feathers, resem- bling ears or horns, in some of the Owls. Egj-ptian Goose, 483. Vulture, 3. Eider Duck, 508. Elk, the Hooper Swan. p]mber Goose, the Loon. Emberiza Cirlus, 195. Citrinella, 191. hortulana, 193. Miharia, 188. Schoeniclus, 189. Emmer or Ember Goose, the Great Northern Diver. Emmet Hunter, the Wryneck. Erne, the Eagle. Erythaca Rubecula, 95. European Goatsucker, 288. European or Common Wigeon, 506. Falc, or Falk, the Razor-bill, Falco .a^salon, 20. Gyrfalco, 13. peregrinus, 15. ruflpes, 22. Subbuteo, 18. Tinnunculus, 22. Falcon, Gyr, 15. Peregrine, 15. Red-footed, 22. Falconry, 17, 408. Faller, the Hen Harrier. Fallow Chat, Fallow Finch, Fallow Lunch, or Fallow Smich, the Wheat- ear. Fanny Redtail, the Redstart. Fauvette, the Garden Warbler, also applied to others of the Warblers, 129. Feather-poke, i.e. " sack of feathers," the Chiff-chaft', so called from the form and materials of the nest. Felt and Feltyfare, the Fieldfare. Fern Owl, the Nightjar. Ferret-eye, the Spur-winged Goose. Ferruginous Duck, 517. Fiddler, the Common Sandpiper. Field Duck, the Little Bustard. Fieldfare, 76. Field Lark, the Skylark. Fiery Linnet, the Common Linnet. Fire-crested Regulus, or Wren, 145. Fire-tail, the Redstart. Fishing Eagle, or Fish Hawk, the Osprey. Frog, 540. Fishing with Cormorants in England, 556. Flapper, a young Duck, Flopwing, the Lapwing. Flusher, the Butcher Bird. Flycatcher, Pied, 70. Spotte4, 67, Foolish Guillemot, 541. Foot. The foot of a bird consists of four, never less than three, toes, with their claws, and the joint next above, called the " tarsus." Fork-tailed Kite, 31. Petrel, 603. Fox-goose, 492. Fratercula arctica, 547. INDEX. 613 Freckled Heron, the American Bittern. Fregilus Graculus, 237. French Linnet, the Redpole. Magpie, the Red-backed Shrike. Partridge, 363. Pie, the Great Spotted "Wood- pecker. Fringilla coelehs, 196. Montifringilla, 199. Fulica atra, 469. Fuligula albeola, 524. Clangiila, 522. cristata, 519. ferina, 515. glacialis, 520. histriouica, 522. Marila, 517. Nyroca, 517. rufina, 514. Fulmar Petrel, 597. Furze Chat, 105. Furze Chuck, the Furze Chat. Gadwall, 494. Gaggle, a flight of Wild Geese, 481. Gairfowl, the Auk and the Razorbill. Gallinula chloropus, 465. GaUinule, the Moor Hen; this name is sometimes also applied to the Crakes. Gallwell Drake, the Land Rail. Gambo Goose, 483. Gannet, 558. Garde-boeuf Heron, 410. Garden Ouzel, the Blackbird. Warbler, 128. Gardenian Heron, the young of the Night Heron. Garganev, 503. Garrot, Buffel-headed, 524. Golden-eyed, 522. Garrulus glandarius, 263. Garzetta, the Little Egret. Garrulous Roller, 266. Gaunt, the Crested Grebe. Gentil Falcon, the young Goshawk. German bird-fanciers, 198. Gertrude's bird, the Great Black Wood- pecker. Gibraltar Quail, the Andalusian Quail. Gidd, the Jack Snipe. Gillhowter, the White Owl. Gladdy, the Yellow Hammer. Glareola torquata, 380. Glaucous Gull, 590. Glead, Gled, or Glade, the Kite. Glossy Ibis, 419. Goat Owl and Goat-sucker, the Night Jar, 288. Godwit, Bar-tailed, 435. Black-tailed, 436. Red-legged, the Spotted Red- shank. Goldcrest, 142. Golden Eagle, 4. -eved Duck, 522. ' • Golden-crested Regulus, Warbler or Wren, 142. Oriole or Thrush, 90. Plover, 381. swallowed by a Glau- cous Gull, 590. -vented Thrush, 83. Goldfinch, Goldie, and Gooldie, 211. Goldfinch, a name for the Yellow Hammer. Goosander, The, 527. Red-breasted, 526. Goose, Bean, 475. Bemicle, 479. Brent, 481. Canada or Cravat, 484. Channel, the Gannet. Dunter, the Eider Duck. Egyptian, 483. Gunner, or Ember, the Great Northern Diver. Gambo, or Spur-winged, 483. Grey-lag, Fen, Stubble, or Wild, 473. Laughing, or White-fronted, 478. Pink-footed, 476. Red-breasted, 483. Ruddy, the Sheldrake. Short-billed Grey, the Pink- footed Goose. Solan, Soland, or Solent, 558. White-fronted, 478. Gor-cock, the Moor Cock. Gor Crow, the Carrion Crow. Gorsehatch, the Wheatear. Gorse-duck, the Corn Crake. Gorse Linnet, the Common Linnet. Goshawk, 26. Goud Spink, the Goldfinch. Gouldring, the Yellow Hammer. Gourder, the Petrel. Gouk, the Cuckoo. Graduated, a term app lied to the tail of a bird when the middle feathers are longest, and the outer ones are shorter in gi-adation. Grand Duke, the Great Eagle Owl. PouilM, 137. Grasshopper Lark or Warbler, 110. Grass-mumruffin, the Willow Warbler. Great Auk, 552. -billed Scoter, the Surf Scoter. Black-backed Gull, 589. Black Woodpecker, 295. Bustard, 372. Crested Grebe, 539. -eared Owl, or Great-horned Owl, the Eagle Owl. Egret, the Great Wliite Heron. Grev Gull, the Hen'ing Gull. Grey Shrike, 61. -headed Poker, or Wigeon, the Pochard. Imber, or Northern Diver, 535, Plover, 378. Sedge Warbler, 117. 6U INDEX. Great Snipe, 443. Spotted Cuckoo, 324. Spotted Woodpecker, 296. Tit, or Titiiiou.se, 145. White Heron, 409. Greater Loon, the Crested Grebe. Pettvchaps, the Garden War- bler. Shearwater, 601. Spotted Woodpecker, 296. Grebe, Dusky, Horned, or Sclavonian, 531. Eared, 532. Great Crested, or Tippet, 529. Jou-Gris, 531. Little, 532. Red-necked, 531. Green-billed Gull, the Common Gull. Bird, the Greenfinch. Cormorant, the Shag. Finch, Grosbeak, or Linnet, 206. -headed Bunting, the Ortolan, 193. Lapwing, the Peewit. -legged Horseman, the Green- shank. -legged Shank, 453. Plover, the Golden Plover and the Lapwing. Sandpiper, 426. Scout, the Shag. Shank, or Greenshank Snipe, 430. -winged Teal, the Common Teal. Woodpecker, 292. Wren, the Wood Warbler. Greenland Turtle, the Black Guillemot. Falcon, the Gyr Falcon. Greenwich Sandpiper, the Ruff. Grey, the Gadwall. Grey-bird, the Thrush. Grey Duck, the Gadwall. Coot-footed Tringa, the Pha- larope. Crow, the Hooded Crow. Falcon, the Hen Harrier. -headed Duck, the King Duck. -headed Wagtail, 166. Hen, 348. Lag Goose, 473. Lapwing, or Sandpiper, the Grey Plover. Linnet, the Common Linnet. Owl, the White Owl. Partridge, the Common Par- tridge. -pate, the young Goldfinch. Phalarope, 471. Plover, 390. Shrike, the Ash - coloured Shrike. Skit, the Water Rail. Snipe, 450. Wagtail, 166. Griffon Yixlture, 1. Grisette, the Whitethroat, 130. Grosbeak, Common, or Hawfinch, 209 Pine, 225. Grosses betes, 101. Ground Lark, the Pipit and Bunting. Wren, the Willow Warbler. Grouse, Black, 347. Red, 351. Wood, 346. Grubs, destructiveness of, 253. Grus cinerea, 403. Virgo, 405. Guernsey Partridge, 363. Guillem, i.e. William, the Willock, or Guillemot, Black, or Spotted, 545. Bridled, or Ringed, 544. Brunnich's or Thick-billed, 544. Common or Foolish, 541. Guldenhead, the Puffin. GuU, Arctic, 594. Black-headed, Brown-headed, Red-legged, or Hooded, 577. Black-winged, the Laughing Gull. Bonaparte's, 576. Burgomaster, 590. Common, or Winter, 583. Cuneate-tailed, 576. Glaucous, or Large White- winged, 590. Great Black-backed, or Wagell, 589. Great Grey, the Herring Gull. Green - billed, the Common GuU. Herring, 587. Hooded, 577. Iceland, or Lesser White- winged, 586. Ivory, 582. Kittiwake, or Tarrock, 581. Laughing, 580. Lesser Black-backed, 587. Little, 575. Masked, 576. Pomarine, 593. Red-legged, or Black-headed, 577. Ross's, 576. Sabine's, 575. Skua, 591. Yellow - legged, the Lesser Black-backed Gull. Gull-billed Tern, 569. Gull-tormentor, the Skua. Gunner, the Great Northern Diver. Gurfel, the Razor-bill. Gustarda, the Bustard, 373. Gyrfalcon, 13. Hackbolt, the Greater Shearwater. Hadji, the Swift, 288. Hffimatopus ostralegus, 400. Hagdown, the Greater Shearwater. • Haggard, the Peregrine Falcon. Hagister, the Magpie. INDEX. 615 Halcyon days, 269. Half-Curlew, the Whimbrel and God- wit. -Duck, the Wigeon, Pochard, &c. -Snipe, the Jack-Snipe. Haliaetus Albicilla, 8. Handsaw, a coiTuption of Heronshaw, 408. Harelda, 522. Harle, the Red-breasted Merganser. Harlequin Duck, 522. Harpy, the Marsh Hamer. Harrier, Hen, 40. Marsh, 39. Montagu's, 42. Ring-tailed, 40. Havelda, 522. Hawfinch, or Haw Grosbeak, 209. Hawkj Fishing, the Osprey. Gos, 26. Sparrow, 27. Hawking, 17, 408. Hawk Owl, or Canada Owl, 58. This name is also sometimes given to the Short-eared Owl. Hay-bird, or Hay Tit, the WiUow Warbler. Jack, the Garden Warbler and Whitethroat. Heather Bluiter, the Snipe. Linnet, the Mountain Linnet. Heathfowl, or Heathpoult, the Moor- fowl. Heath Throstle, the Ring Ouzel. Hebridal Sandpiper, the Turnstone. Heckimal, the Blue Tit. Hedge Accentor, Chanter, Sparrow, or Warbler, 93. Hedge-Chicken, the Wheatear. -Jug, the Long-tailed Tit. Hegrilskip, the Heron. Helegug, the Puflin. Hellejay, the Razor-bill. Hemipode, Andalusian, 371. Hemipodius tachydromus, 371. Hen Harrier, Hen Harrow, or Hen- driver, 40. Hern, Hemshaw, Heronshaw, the Heron. Heron, African, or Purple, 409. Buff-backed or Little White, 410. Common, Crested, or Grey, 405. Great White, 409. Night or Gardenian, 416. Squacco, 411. Heronsewgh, the Heron. Herring-bar, perhaps a corruption of Herring-bird, a Diver. Gant, the Gannet. Gull, 587. Hew-hole, the Woodpecker. Hickwall, the Lesser Spotted Wood- pecker. High-hoc, the Woodpecker. Himantopus melanopterus, 434. Hiogga, the Razor-bill. Hirundo Pratincola, the Pratincole. purpurea, 284. riparia, 281. rustica, 271. urbica, 277. Hissing Owl, the White Owl. Hoarse Gowk, the Snipe. Hobby, 18, 181. Red-footed, 22. Hoddy, the Crow. Holm Cock and Holm Screech, the Missel Thrush. Honey Buzzard, 37. Hooded Crow, 247. destructive to Grouse, 353. Gull, the Black-headed Gull, 577. Merganser, 526. Hoop, the BuUfinch. Hooper, 484. Hoopoe, 309. Horned Douker, or Grebe, 531. Goose, the Brent Goose. Lark, the Shore Lark. Owl, the Long-eared Owl, 47. Homfinch, the Petrel. Horniwinks, the Lapwing. Horra, the Brent Goose. Horsefincli, the Chaffinch. Horse-match, the Red-backed Shrike, the Wheat-ear, and Whin-chat. Horse-shoe Goose, the Egyptian Goose. House Martin, or Swallow, the Win- dow Martin, 277. Spari'ow, 201. Hover Hawk, the Kestril. Howlet, the Brown Owl. Howster, the Knot. Huckmuck, the Long-tailed Tit, 156. Hullat, the Owl. Huppe, 310. Ibis Falcinellus, or Glossy, 419. Icebird, the Little Auk. Iceland Falcon, the Gyr Falcon. Gull, 586. Imber, or Immer, Great, the Northern Diver. Lesser, the Black - throated Diver. Ingrian Falcon, the Red-footed Falcon. Isle of Wight Parson, the Cormorant. Iris (phiraJ, Irides), the coloured circle of the eye surrounding the pupil. Isaac, the Hedge SpaiTow. Ivory Gull, 582. Ivy Owl, the Barn Owl. Jack Curlew, the Whimbrel, Jackdaw, 256. Jack -nicker, the Goldfinch. Jack Saw, the Goosander. Jack Snipe, 448. .Jadreka Snipe, the Great Plover. Jager, the Arctic Gull. 616 INDEX. Jar Owl, the Nightjar. Jaseur, IGl. Jay, Jay Pie, or Jay Pyet, 263. Jenny, the Wren. Jer Falcon, the Gyr Falcon. Jid or Judcock, the Jack Snipe. Kadder and Kae, the Jackdaw. Kamtschatka Tern, the Black Tern, 7. Katabella, the Hen Harrier. Kate, the Hawfinch. Katogle, the Eagle Owl. Keelie, the Kestril. Kentish Plover, 389. Kestril, 22. Kiddaw, the Guillemot. Killigrew, the Red-legged Crow. Killockdoe, the Black Cock. King-duck, 512. King-Harry, the Goldfinch. Kingfisher, 268. Kinglet, the Gold-crest. King of the Quails, 461. Kip, the Tern. KirktuUock, the Shoveler. Kirmew and Kirmow, the Tern. Kite, Fork -tailed, or Common, 31. Swallow-tailed, 33. Kittiwake Gull, 581. Knee, a name often given, though in- accurately, to the junction of the tarsus and tibia of a bird. Knot, 453. Lag, 474. Lagopus Scoticus, 351. vulgaris, 355. Lamhi or Lavy, the Guillemot. Land Curlew, the Great Plover. Landrail, 460. Lanius Collurio, 63. Excubitor, 61. rufus, 66. Lanner. The young female Peregrine has been so called under the im- pression that it was the Falco Lanarius of Linnseus, which has not been noticed in Britain. Lapland Bunting or Finch, 185. Lapwing, 393. Large Black -backed Gull, 589. White-winged Gull, 590. Lark, Crested, 1 83. Shore, 184. Short-toed, 184. Sky, 177. Wood, 182. Larus argentatus, 587. atricilla, 580. Bonapartii, 576. canus, 583. capistratus, 576. eburneus, 582. fuscus, 587. glaucus, 590. Icelandieus, 586. Larus marinus, 589. minutus, 575. ridibundus, 577. Ro.ssii, 576. Sabini, 575. tridactylus, 581. Lary, the Guillemot. Laughing Goose, the White-fronted Goose. Gull, 580. Lavandiere, 171. Lavrock, the Skylark. Leach's Petrel, 603. Least Butcher-bird, the Bearded Tit. Spotted Woodpecker, 298. Wigeon, the Tufted Duck. Willow Wren, 135. Leg-bird, the Sedge Warbler. Lesser Black-backed Gull, 587. Butcher-bird, the Bearded Tit. Grebe, 532. Guillemot, the female and young of the common Guil- lemot. Iceland Gull, the White- winged Gull. Imber, the Black-throated Diver. Pettychaps, the Chiff-Chafif. Redpole, 219. Spotted Woodpecker, 298. Tern, 569. Water Sparrow, the Sedge Warbler. Whitethroat, 131. White-winged Gull, 586. Lesser wing-coverts, the feathers which overlie the greater wing- coverts, or those next the quills. Lestrls, Buffbnii, 596. Cataractes, 591. Pomarinus, 593. Richardsonii, 594. Limosa melanura, 436. rufa, 435. Ling-bird, the Meadow Pipit. Linlet, a young Linnet. Linnet, Brown, Common, Fiery, or Red, 216. Green, the Greenfinch, 206. Mountain, 221. Linota canescens, 218. cannabina, 216. Linaria, 219. montium, 221. Little Auk, 545. Bittern, 412. -Bread-and-no-cheese, the Yel- low Hammer. Bustard, 376. Crake, or Gallinule, 463. Egi-et, 410. Godwit, the Great Plover. Grebe, 532. Guillemot, the Black Gui le- raot and Rotche. INDEX. 617 Little Gull, 5T5. Horned Owl, 45. Mountain Finch, the Snow Bunting. Owl, 59. Peggy, the Lesser White- throat. Petrel, the Petrel. Ringed PloA^er, 390. Sandpijier, the Little Stint. Stint, 454. Swimmer, the Phalarope. Tern, 569. White Heron, the young of the Buff-backed Heron. Yellow-bird, the Willow Wren. Lobefoot, the Phalarope, 471. Long-eared or Horned Owl, 47. -legged Plover or Long-legs, the Stilt, -legged Sandpiper, the Wood Sandpiper, -neck, the Little Bittern, -shank, the Stilt, -tailed Capon, Pie, Pod, Mufflin, or Mag, the Long- tailed Tit. -tailed Duck, Hareld, or Ha- veld, 520. -tailed Tit, 154. Long-tongue, the Wryneck. Loom, or Loon, the Diver. Lore, the space between the beak and the eye. Lough Diver, the Smew. Loxia curvirostra, 226. leucoptera, 232. Pityopsittacus, 232. Lulu, 188. Lum, Lungy, the Guillemot. Lumme, the Diver, 539. Lyre, the Manx Shearwater. Machetes pugnax, 437. Macrorhamphus griseus, 450. Madge Howlet, the White Owl. Maglowan, a name for the Divers. Magpie, Madge, Mag, 259. Magi^ie Diver, the Smew. Malduck, or Malmarsh, the Fulmar. Mallard, 497. MaUemoke, the Fulmar. Mandibles, upper and under, the two portions of a bird's bill. Mauvis, 83. Man-of-war-bird, the Skua, 594. Manx Petrel, or PufRn, the Manx Shearwater, 599. Marionette, the Buffel-headed Duck. Marketjew Crow, the Chough. Marrot, the Guillemot and Razorbill. Marsh Harrier, 39. Marsh Hen, the Gallinule. Tern, the Whiskered and Gull-billed Terns. Tit, 153. Marten Snipe, the Green Sandpiper. Martin, American Purple, 284. Bank or Sand, 281. Window, House, or Common Martinet, or Martlet, the Martin. Marygold Finch, the Gold-crest. Masked Gull, 576. Mattagess, an old name given by falconers to the Great Grey Shrike, which was forruerly common in the North of England, and was trained to kill small birds. IVlavis, the Thrush, 79, S3. Maybird, or Mayfowl, the Whimbrel. Meadow Crake, or Drake, the Galli- nule. Pipit, Titlark, or Titling, 174. Mealy Duck, the young of the Long- tailed Duck. Mealy Redpole, 218. Mecistura vagans, 156. Megg-cut-throat, the White-throat. Melizophilus Dartfordiensis, 140. Merganser, 526. Mergulus melanoleucos, 545. Mergus albillus, 525. cucullatus, 526. Merganser, 527. Serrator, 526. Mergus of classical authors, the Cormorant, 554. Merle, the Blackbird. Merlin, 29, 181. Merops Apiaster, 267. Mew, or Mow, a Gull. Pigeon, the Red-legged Gull. Mice, destroyed by Barn Owl, 53. Middle Spotted Woodpecker, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Migratory Pigeon, the Passenger Pigeon, 340. Millithrum, the Long-tailed Tit. Milan Royal, 32. Milvus regalis, 31. Minute Gallinule, the Little Crake. Merganser, the Young Smew. Tringa, the Little Stint. Mire Crow, the Black-headed GuU. Drum, the Bittern. Snipe, the Snipe. Missel Thrush, or Misseltoe Thmsh, 73, Mitty, the Petrel. Mock-bird, the Sedge Warbler. Mock Nightingale, the Black-cap and Garden Warbler. Monk, the Bullfinch. Montagu's Harrier, 42. Moor Blackbird, or Ouzel, the Ring Ouzel. Moor Buzzard, 40. Moor Cock, the male of the Red Grouse. Coot, or Moor Hen, 465. Fowl, or Red Grouse, 331. Titling, the Stone Chat. 618 INDEX. Morillon, of Bewick, the Golden Eye ; of Willughby, the Nyroca Pochard ; in Norfolk, the Buttel-headed Duck. Morinelhis, 384. Mortality among sea-birds, 549. Morrot, the Guillemot. Moss-cheeper, the Meadow Pipit. Motacilla alba, 166. Boarula, 166. flava, 169. Rayi, 169. Tarrellii, 162. Mother Carey's Chickens, the Petrels. Moult of birds, 498. Mountain Bunting, the Snow Bunting. Cock, the Capercaillie. Finch, the Brarabling (the Snow Bunting is sometimes so called). Linnet, the Twite. Magpie, the Green Wood- pecker and Grey Shrike. Ouzel, the Ring Ouzel. Sparrow, 205. Mouse Hawk or Owl, the Hawk Owl. Moustache Tern, the Whiskered Tern. Mow, a Gull. Mud-plover, the Grey Plover. Muggy, the Whitethroat. Mullet, the Puffin Mullet Hawk, the Osprey. Mumruffin, the Long-tailed Tit, 156. Murdering-bird, the Butcher-bird. Murr or Murre, perhaps a corruption of Mergus, " a diving bird," the Ra- zor-bill, Puffin, Guillemot, &c. 542. Muscicapa grisola, 67. luctuosa, 70. Mussel-catcher, 402. Duck, the Scoter. Mute Swan, 489. Myredromble, 414. Nape, the upper part of the neck behind. Natter-jack, 290. Nauclenis furcatus, 33. Neophron percnopterus, 3. Nettle-creeper and NettlC'monger, the Whitethroat. Nick-a-pecker and Nickle, the Wood- pecker. Night-crow, or Night-hawk, the Night- jar, 288. Curlew, the Stone Curlew. Heron, 416. Heron, or Raven, the Bittern. Nightingale, 120. of Norway, the Redwing, 85. Nightjar, 288. Night-raven, 414. Noctua passerina, 59. Tengmalmi, 61. Noddy Tern, 574. Nope, the Bullflnch. Norfolk Plover, the Great Plover, 378. Norie, the Cormorant. Northern Diver, or Doucker, 535. Falcon, Montagu's Hamer. Fulmar, 597. Crow, the Hooded Crow. Norway Lark, the Snow Bunting. Nucifraga Caryocatactes, 265. Numenius Arquata, 419. phaeopus, 422. Nun, the Blue Tit. Nutcracker, or Nutcracker Crow, 265. Nuthatch, 311. Nutjobber, the Nuthatch. Nycticorax Gardeni, 416. Nyroca Duck or Pochard, the Ferru- ginous Duck. Oar-cock, the Water-rail. Oat-fowl, the Snow Bunting. Oat-seed Bird, Ray's Wagtail. Occiput, the hind part of the head. OEdicnemus crejiitans, 378. Oidemia fusca, 512. nigra, 513. perspicillata, 514. Oke, the Auk. Olivaceous Gallinule, the Little Crake. Olive, the Oyster-catcher. Olive -tufted Duck, the Golden Eye. Operculum, a lid or covering. Orange-legged Hobby, 22. Orbit, the skin that surrounds the eye, and in some birds is destitute of feathers. Oriole, Golden, 9. Oriolus Galbula, 9. Orphean Warbler, 127. Ortolan, 193. Ortyx Virginiana, 366. Osprey, 10. Otis tarda, 372. Tetrax, 376. Otus brachyotus, 49- vulgaris, 47. Outarde, 376. Ouzel, Ring, 89. water, 71. Oven-bird, the Chiff-Chaff, Willow Warbler, and Wood Warbler. Owl, Barn, White, or Yellow, 51. Canada, the Hawk Owl. ChmTi, the Nightjar. Eagle, or Great-eared, 43. Hawk, 58. Ivy, the Tawny Owl. Little, 59. Little-eared, Little-horned, or Scops Eared, 45. Little Night, 59. Long-eared, or Long-horned, 47. Screech, or Skritch, the Tawny Owl. Short-eared, 49. Snowy, 57. Tawny, 55. Tengmalm's, 61. White, 51. INDEX. 619 Owl, Woodcock, the Short-eared Owl. Ox-bird, the Dunlin and Sanderling. Ox-eye, the Great Tit. Oyster-catcher, 400. Padge and Padge Owl, the Bam Owl. Palmipedes, Web-footed Birds. Pandion Haliaetus, 10. Paudle-whew, the Wigeon. Parasitic Gull, the Skua. Parrot, Ailsa, the Puffin. Parrot Crossbill, 232. Parrot, Sea, the Puffin. Parson Mew, the Black-backed Gull. Partridge, Barbary, 365. Common, or Grey, 358. Red-legged, 363. Virginian, the Colin, 366. White, the Ptarmigan. Parus ater, 152. caudatus, 154. coeruleus, 148. cristatus, 151. major, 145. palustris, 153. Passenger Pigeon, 340. Passer domesticus, 201. montanus, 205. Passerine, belonging to the order Passeres. Passerine Warbler, the Garden Warbler. Pastor, Rose-coloured, 236. Pastor roseus, 236. Pea-finch, the Chaffinch. Pearl, the Tern. Pease Crow, the Tern. Peck, the Bar-tailed Godwit. Pectenated, cut like a comb. Pectoral Sandpiper, 455. Peese-weep, the Peewit, also some- times given to the Greenfinch. Peggy, the Wren, Whitethroat, and Garden Warbler. Peggy-cut-throat, the Whitethroat. Penguin, the Razor-bill and Great Auk. Perchers, the Insessores. Perdix cinerea, 358. petrosa, 365. rufa, 363. Perdrix de mer, 380. Peewit, the Lapwing Plover, 393. Peewit Gull, the Herring Gull. Pepys's Diary, extract from, 87. Peregrine Falcon, 15. Pemis apivorus, 37. Petites betes, 101. Petrel, Bulwer'.s, 602. Capped, 598. Dusky, 602. Fork-tailed or Leach's, 603. Fulmar, 597. Stormy, 603. Wilson's, 602. The name Petrel is in some places given to the Godwit. • Petrocincla saxatilis, 92. Pettychaps, Greater, the Garden War- bler. Lesser, the Chiff-chaffi Phalacrocorax carbo, 553. cristatus, 557. Phalarope, Grey or Brown, 47.1 - Red-necked or hyperborean, 473. Phalaropus lobatus, 471. hyperboreus, 473. Phasianus Colchicus, 341. Pheasant, 341. African, 376. Pheasant, Sea, and Pheasant-tailed Wigeon, the Pintail Duck. Philomel, the Nightingale. Philomela Luscinia, 120. Phoenicura ruticilla, 99. Suecica, 98. Tithys, 102. Pianet, the Magpie, and Oyster- catcher. Pica caudata, 259. Picarini, the Avocet. Pick-cheese, the Tomtit, and Great Tit. Pick-a-tree, the Woodpecker. Pickmire, the Black-headed Gull. Picktarny and Picket, the Tern. Pictarn, the Black-headed Gull. Picus major, 296. martins, 295. minor, 298. viridis, 292. Pie, Sea, the Oyster-catcher. Pied Diver, the Smew. Flycatcher, 70. Oyster-catcher, 400. Wagtail, 162. Wigeon, the Garganey, and Gold-eye. Woodpecker, 296. Pie Finch, the Chaffinch. Pienet and Piet, the Magpie. Piet, Water, the Water Ouzel. Pigeon, Domestic, 334. Migratory or Passenger, 340, Rock, or Wild, 334. Wood, 326. Pigeon Hawk, the Sparrow Hawk. Pigeon Mow, Red-legged ; the Black- headed Gull in its winter plumage. Pigmy Curlew, or Sandpiper, 451. Pine Bullfinch, or Grosbeak, 225. Pink, the Chaffinch. Pink-footed Goose, 476. Pinnock, a Tit. Pint, the Laughing Gull. Pintail Duck, 495. Pmtailed Sand Grouse, 368. Pipit, or Pipit Lark. Meadow, 174. Richard's, 177. Rock or Shore, 175. lYee, 171. Pirenet, the Sheldrake. 620 INDEX. Platalea Leucoroclia, 41 S. Pleetrophanes Lapponica, 185. nivalis, 185. Plover, Cream-coloured, the Courser, 377. Dotterel, or Ringed, 386. Golden, Whistling, or Yellow, 381. Great, Norfolk, or Stone, 378. Green, or Lapwing, 393. Grey, 390. Kentish, 389. Little Ringed, 390. Long-legged, the Stilt. Norfolk, 378. Ringed, or Ring-necked, 386. Plover's Page, the Purple Sandpiper. Pochard, 515. Podiceps auritus, 532. cornutus, 531. cristatus, 529. minor, 532. rubricollis, 531. Poke-pudding, the Long-tailed Tit, 166. Pocker, or Poker, the Pochard. Poland Goose, the Canada Goose. Polish Swan, 489. Pomarine Skua, or Gull, 593. Poor-willle, the Godwit. Poor-wren, the Moor-fowl. Pop, the Redwing. Pope, the Puffin. Popinjay, the Green Woodpecker. Port-Egmont Hen, the Common Skua. Post-bird, the Spotted Flycatcher. Pratincole, Austrian, or Collared, 380. Procellaria glacialis, 597. hajsitata, 598. Provence Furzeling. the Dartford Warbler. Proud-tailor, the Goldfinch. Ptarmigan, White or Grey, 355. hunted by Hawli Owl, 59. Brown, the Red Grouse. Pterocles Alchata, 368. Puckeridge, the Nightjar. Pudding-poke, the Long-tailed Tit. Puffin, 547. This name is in some places given to the Dabchick, in others to the Thick-billed Guillemot. Puffinet, the Black Guillemot. Pufflnus Anglorum, 599. major, 601. obscurus, 602. Puput, 310. Purple Heron, 409. Martin, 284. Sandpiper, 459. Purre, the Dunlin. Puttock, the Buzzard, and Kite. Pyrrhula Enucleator, 225. vulgaris, 222. Pywipe, the Lapwing. Primaries, the quills, usually ten, of the terminal joint of a bird's wing. Qua, the Night Heron. Quail, American, the Colin. Andalusian, Gibraltar or Three-toed, the Hemipode. Common, 366. Quaketail, the Wagtail. Queest, or Quest, the Ring-dove. (^ucct, the Coot and Guillemot. Quickness of sight in Gulls, 583. Quills, the large feathers of the wing, called primary, or digital; secondary, or cubital ; and tertiary, or humeral ; according as they arise from the ter- minal, middle, or inner joint. Quill-coverts, a row of feathers im- mediately covering the base of the quills above and below, and there- fore called upper and under. Quinck, the Goose. Rafter-bird, the Spotted Flycaxcher. Rail, Land, 460. Water, 463. Rain-bird, the Green Woodpecker. Rain Goose, the Red-throated Diver. Rallus aquaticus, 463. Raptores, Birds of Prey. Rasores, Gallinaceous Birds. Rattle-wings, the Golden-eye. Raven, 239. Raja's Wagtail, 169. Razor-bill, 550. Recurvirostra Avocetta, 432. Red-backed Shrike, 63. Red- billed Heron, the Buff-backed Heron. Redbreast or Robin, 95. Red-breasted Goosander or Merganser, 526. Goose, 483. Snipe, the Bar-tailed Godwit and Brown Snipe. Redcap, the Goldfinch. Red-crested Pochard or Whistling Duck, 514. Red Duck, the Ferruginous Duck. Red-footed Hobby, 22. Red Game, or Red Grouse, 351. Godwit, the Bar-tailed Godwit. Grouse, 361. Red-headed Linnet, the Common Lin- net and Redpole, Pochard, the Common Po- chard. ■ Wigeon, the Common Wigeon. Red Hoop, the Bullfinch. Red-legged Crow, the Chough. Red-legged Godwit, the Spotted Sand- piper. Gull, the Black-headed Gull, 577. Partridge, 363. Red-legs, the Redshank. Red-necked Coot-foot, Lobe-foot, or Phalarope. 473. Grebe, 531. Red Phalarope, 473. INDEX. 621 Redpole, Common or Lesser, 219. Mealy, 218. Red Sandpiper, the Knot in its suiiimer plumage. Redshank, Common, 423. Spotted, 423. Red-shouldered Starling, 283. Redstart, Common, 99. Black, 102. Red-throated Diver, 539. Redwing, S3. Red-%vinged Blackbird, Maize-bird, or Starling, 233. Reed-bird, the Sedge Warbler. Reed Bunting, the Black-headed Bunt- ing, 189. Fauvette, the Sedge Warbler. Pheasant, the Bearded Tit. Sparrow, the Black-headed Bunting. Warbler or Wren, 117. Reeve, the female of the Ruff, 438. Regulus cristatus, 142. ignicapillus, 145. modestus, 142. Richard's Pipit, 177. Richardson's Skua, 594. Richel Bird, the Lesser Tern. Rind-tabberer, the Green Woodpecker. Ring Blackbird, the Ring Ouzel. Ring Dove, 326. Ringed Dotterel, or Plover, 386. Guillemot, 544. Ring-necked Diver, 535. Ring Ouzel, 89. Pheasant, 345. Plover, 386. Ring-tail, the Hen Harrier. Ring-tailed Eagle, the Golden Eagle in the second year's plumage. Rippock, the Tern. Robin, 95. Rochie, the Little Auk. Rock- birds, the Auk, Puffin, and Guille- mot. Rock Dove, 334. Rocker and Rockier, the Rock Dove. Rock Grouse, the Ptarmigan. Hawk, the Merlin. Lark, or Pipit, 175. Ouzel, the Ring Ouzel. Sandpiper, the Purple Sand- piper. Thrush, 92. Rodge, the Gadwall. Rohrdommel and Rohrtrummel, 414. Roitelet a triple bandeau, 145. Roller, 266. Rood Goose, the Brent Goose. Rook, 249. Rordrum, 414. Roseate Tern, 565. Rose-coloured Ouzel. Pastor, Starling, or Thrush, 236. Rose Linnet, the Redpole, and Com- mon Linnet. Rosemary, Sea, 426. Ross's Gull, 576. Rotch, or Rotche, the Little Auk. Rothermuek, the Bernicle Goose, Rough-legged Buzzard, 36. Royston Crow, 247. Ruddock, the Redbreast. Ruddy Goose, or Sheldrake, 490. Plover, the Bar-tailed Godwit. Ruff, 437. Rufous-backed Egret, 410. Sedge Warbler, 1 28. Runner, the Water Rail. Stone, the Ringed Plover. Sabine's GuU, or Xeme, 575. Snipe, 450. St. Cuthbert's Duck, the Eider Duck. St. Kilda, 562, 597. St. Martin's Snipe, the Jack Snipe. Salach, 554, 563. Salicaria arundinacea, 117. Locustella, 110. luscinioides, 113. phragmitis, 114. turdoides, 117. Sandcock, the Redshank. Sanderling, 398. Sand Grouse, 368. Sand-lark, the Ringed Plover and Sandpiper. Sand Martin, 281. Sandpiper. Ash-coloured, the Knot. Black, Purple, or Rock, 459. Broad-billed, 453. Buff-breasted, 453. Common, 428. Curlew or Pigmj'^ Curlew, 451 Green, 426. Little, the Little Stint. Pectoral, 455. Purple or Selninger, 459. Red, the Redshank. Rock or Purple, 459. Scallop-toed, the Phalarope. Schinz's, 455. Spotted, 430. Wood, 427. Sandsnipe, a Sandpiper. Sandwich Tern, 563. Sandy-loo, the Ring Plover. Poker, the Pochard. Sarcelle, the Long-tailed Duck. Savi's Warbler, 113. Saw-bill, the Merganser. Saxicola (Enanthe, 107. rubetra, 105. rubicola, 103. Scale Drake, the Sheldrake. Scallop-toed Sandpiper, the Phalarope. Scammel, the Bar-tailed Godwit. Scapulars, the feathers which rise from the shoulders aiid cover the sides of the back. Scar Crow, the Black Tern. Scarf, and Scart, the Shag. Scaup-duck, 517. Seaurie, the Herring Gull. 622 INDEX. Schinz's Sandpiper, 455 Sclavonian Grebe, 531. Scolopax Galliiiago, 445. Gallimila, 448. major, 443. rustieola, 439. Sabini, 450. Scooper, the Avocet. Scops Aklrovandi, 45. Eared Owl, 45. Scotch Goose, the Brent Goose. Schneehuhn, 355. Scoter, Common, 513. Surf, or Great-billed, 514. Velvet, or Double, 512. Scout, the Common Guillemot. Scurrit, the Lesser Tern. Scrabe, the Manx Shearwater. Scraber, the Black Guillemot. Scraye, the Tern. Screamer and Screecher, the Swift. Screech, the Missel-thrush. Screech Martin, the Swift. Screech Owl, the Tawny Owl. Scull, the Skua. Scuttock, the Guillemot. Sea Crow, the Cormorant and Black- headed Gull. Dotterel, the Turnstone. Hen, the Guillemot. Lark, the Rock Pipit and Ring Plover. Mall, Mew, or Mow, the Gull. Parrot, the Puffin. Pheasant, the Pintail Duck. Pie, the Oyster-catcher, 400. Sandpiper, the Purple Sand- piper. Snipe, the Dunlin. Swallow, the Tern, 564, 671. Titling, the Rock Pipit. Turtle-dove, the Guillemot and Rotche. Wigeon, the Scaup-duck. Woodcock, the Godwit. Seaford Goose, the Brent Bernicle. Secondaries, the quill-feathers arising from the second joint of the wing. Sedge-bird, Sedge Warbler, or Sedge Wren, 114. Sclav, or Selva, 368. Selninger Sandpiper, the Purple S. Serrator, the Ivory Gull. Serrated, toothed like a saw. Serrula, the Red-breasted Merganser. Shag, 557. Shag-rock, 555. Shank, 453. Shearwater, Greater or Cinereous, 600. Dusky, 602. Manx or Petrel, 599. Sheldapple, the Crossbill, 232. This name and "SheUy" are some- times given to the (^haffincti. Sheldrake, Common, 490. ' Ruddy, 490, Shepster, the Starling. Shilfa, the Chaffinch. Shoeing-horn, the Avocet. Shore-bird, the Sand Martin. Shore Lark, 184. Pipit, the Rock Pipit. Short-eared, or -horned Owl, 49. -heeled Field Lark, the Tree Pipit. -toed Lark, 184. Shovelard, an old name for the Spoon- bill. Shoveler, 493. Shrieker, the Black-tailed Godwit. Shrike, Ash-coloured, Cinereous, or Great Grey, 61. Red-backed, 63. Woodchat, 66. Shrimp-catcher, the Lesser Tern. Shrite, the Missel Thrush. Silveiy Gull, the Lesser Black-backed Gull and Herring Gull. Siskin, 214. Sitta Europa^a, 311. Skart, the Cormorant, and Shag. Skein, a flight of Geese. Skiddaw, the Guillemot. Skiddy Cock, Skilty, or Skit, the Water-rail. Skite, the Yellow Hammer. Skitty, the Spotted Crake. Skrabe, the Black Guillemot. Skua, Arctic, or Buffon's, 596. Common or Skua Gull, 591. Pomarine, 593. Richardson's, 594. Sky Lark, 177. Sly Goose, 492. Small Brown Gull, the Tern. Grey Goose, the Bean Goose. Herring-bar, the Smew. Loon, the Dab-chick. Smee-duck, 516. Smew, 525. Snake-bird, the WrjTieck. Snipe, Brown or Grey, 450. Common or Whole, 445. Great or Double, 443. Jack or Half, 448. Sabine's, 450. Solitary, the Great Snipe. Summer, the Sandpiper. Woodcock, the Great Snipe. Snite, the Snipe. Snow-bird, the Ivory Gull. Snow Bunting, Flake, or Fleck, 185. Snowy Owl, 57. SnufiF-headed Wigeon, the Pochard. Solan, or Solent Goose, the Gannet, 588. Solitary Snipe, the Great Snipe, 30. Solitary Thrush, the name of a bird now known to be the young of the Starling, 235. Somateria dispar, 511. moUissima, 508. spectabills, 512. Song Thrush, the Common Thrush, 79. INDEX. 623 Sooty Tern, 574. Sourde, La, 449. Sparlin-fowl, the female Merganser. Sparrow, Hedge, 98. House, 201. Reed, the Black-headed Bunt- ing. Momitain or Tree, 205. Spectacle Duck, the Golden-eye. Sparrow-hawk, 27. Sparrow-owl, the Little Owl. Speculum, the bright feathers which form a kind of disk on the wing of the Ducks. Speckled-bellied Goose, the White- Ironted Goose. Diver, the young of the Great Northern Diver. Spider-diver, the Dabchick. Spency, the Petrel. Spink, the Chaffinch. Spirit Duck, the BuflPel-headed Duck. Spoonbill, 418. Spotted Crake, Gallinule, or Water- hen, 462. Eagle, 7. Falcon, the Peregrine Falcon. Flycatcher, 67. Guillemot, 545. Redshank, or Snipe, 423. Sandpiper, 430. Woodpecker, 298. Spotted - necked Turtle Dove, the Turtle Dove. Sprat Loon, the young of the Great Northern Diver. Mew, the Kittiwake Gull. Spring Wagtail, the Yellow or Ray's Wagtail. Spurre, the Tern. Spur-winged Goose, 483. Squacco Heron, 411. Squatarola einerea, 390. Squauk Duck, the Bimaculated Duck. Standgale, or Stannel, the Kestrel. Stankhen, the Moorhen. Starling, Common, Stare, 'or Starenil, 233. Red-shouldered, 233. Staynil, the Starling. Steel Duck, Larger, the Goosander. Lesser, the Merganser. Steller's Western Duck, 511. Sterna Anglica, 569. Arctica, 568. Boysii, 563. Caspia, 562. Dougallii, 565. fissipes, 572, fuliginosa, 574. Hirundo, 565. leucopareia, 568. leucoptera, 573. minuta, 569. stolida, 574. Stilt, Black-winged, 434. Stint, Little, 454. Stint, Temminck's, 454. the Dunlin, or any similar bird, is often so called on the coast. Stock Dove, 332. Stonechat, Stonechacker, or Stone- clink, 103. Stone Curlew, the Great Plover, 378. Stonegall, the Kestrel. Stone Hawk, the Merlin. Stone Plover ; the Godwit and Great Plover are sometimes so called. Stone-smich, the Stone-chat. Stork, Black, 417. White, 417. Storm Cock, the Missel Thrush. Petrel, or Storm Finch, 603. Straney, the Guillemot. Strawsmeer, the Willow Wren. Strepsilas Interpres, 395. Striated Tern, the Sandwich Tern. Strix flammea, 51. Sturnus vulgaris, 233. Suaeda fruticosa, 426. Sula alba, 558. Summer Snipe, the Sandpiper. Teal, the Garganey. Wagtail, Ray's Wagtail. Surf Scoter, 514. Surnia funerea, 58. nyctea, 57. Swallow, 271. Sea, the Tern, 564. Swallow-tailed Kite, 33. Duck, or Sheldrake, the Long- tailed Duck. Swan, Bewick's, 488. Hooper, Wild, or Whistling, 484. Mute, 489. Polish, 489. Sweet William, the Goldfinch. Swift, Alpine, or White-bellied, 288. Common, 285. Swift-foot, the Courser. Swimmer, Little, the Phalarope. Swine-pipe, the Redwing. Sylvia Hippolais, 137. rufa, 138. sylvicola, 133. Trochilus, 135. Symium Aluco, 55. Tadoma Bellonii, 490. rutila, 491. Tail-coverts, upper and under, feathers covering the basal portion of the tail-feathers above and below. Tailor, the Goldfinch. Tammie Cheekie, and Tammie Norie, the Puffin. Tang-whaup, the Vfhimbrel. Tangle-picker, the Turnstone. Taring, Tarrot, the Tern. Tarraachan, the Ptarmigan. Tarrock, the young of the Kittiwake Gull. 624 INDEX. Tarse, the male Falcon, a name used in falconry. Tarsus, the bone of a bird's foot next above the toes. In a domestic fowl, the tarsus is the portion between Avhat is called the " di-umstick" and the toes ; the shank. Tatler, a Sandpiper. Tawny Bunting, the Snow Bunting. Owl, 55. Tchatcha, 78. Teal, African, the Ferruginous Duck. Common, or Green - winged, 504. Cricket, the Garganey. Summer, the Garganey. Teaser, the Skua. Teewit, the Peewit. Temminck's Stint, 454. Tengmalm's Owl, 61. Tern, Arctic, 568. Black, 572. Caspian, 562. Common, 565. Gull-billed, 569. Lesser, 569. Noddy, 574. Roseate, 565. Sooty, 574. Whiskered, 568. White-winged Black, 573. Tertiaries, the quills which spring from the third or inner joint of a bird's wing. Tetrao Tetrix, 347. Urogallus, 346. Thalassidroma Bulwerii, 602. Leachii, 603. pelagica, 603. Wilsoni, 602. Thick-billed Guillemot, 544. Thick-knee, or Thick-kneed Bustard, the Great Plover, 378. Thistlefinch, the Goldfinch. Thrice-cock, the Missel Thrush. Throstle, and Throstle Cock, the Thrush. Thrush, Gold-vented, 83. Holm, or Missel, 73. -Nightingale, 117. Ring, the Ring Ouzel, 89. Rock, 92. Solitary, the young of the Starling, 235. Song, 79. White's, 83. Tia-tia, 78. Tibia, the joint of a bird's leg next above the tarsus ; the "drumstick." Tick, the Whinchat. Tidley, the Wren. Tidley Goldfinch, the Gold-crest. Tiercel or Tiercelet, 17. Tinkershere, or Tinker's hue; the Guillemot. Tippet Grebe, the Crested Grebe, Tit, or Titmouse, Bearded, 158. Tit, Blue, or Tomtit, 148. Cole, 152. Crested, 151. Great, 145. Long-tailed, 154. Marsh, 153. Titlark, and Titling, the Meadow-Pipit. Sea, the Rock Pipit. Titmouse, see Tit. Toad-snatcher, the Black -headed Bunt- ing. Tom Pudding, the Dabchick. Tommy Norie, the Pufiin. Tomtit, the Blue Tit, 148. Tony Hoop, the Bullfinch. Tope, the Wren. Tom Harry, the Skua. Tor-Ouzel, the Ring Ouzel, Totanus Cahdris, 423. fuscus, 423. Glareola, 427. Glottis, 430. hypoleucos, 428. macularius, 430. ochropus, 426. Tourterelle, 338. Towilly, the Sanderling. Touite, the Wood Warbler, 134. Tree Creeper, or Climber, 302. Pipit, or Lark, 171. Sparrow, 205. Sheeler, the Tree Creeper, Tringa Canutus, 452. maritima, 459. minuta, 454. pectoralis, 455. platyrhyncha, 453. rufescens, 453. Schinzii, 455. subarquata, 451. Temminckii, 454. variabilis, 455. Trochilus, 389. Troglodytes vulgaris, 304. Trombone, 414. Tuchit, the Lapwing Plover. Tufted Duck or Tufted Pochard, 519. Tuliac, the Skua. Turdus arundinaceus, 117. aurigaster, 83. iliacus, 83. Merula, 85. musicus. 79. pilaris, 70. torquatus, 89. viscivorus, 73. Whitei, 83. Turkey-bird, the Wryneck. Turnix, 371. Turnstone, 395. Turtle Dove, 337. Collared, 340. Sea, the Guillemotand Rotc.he. Twink, the Chaffinch. Twit Lark, the Meadow Pipit. Twite or Mountain Linnet, 221. Tystie, the Black Guillemot. INDEX. 625 Ulula, the Tawny Owl, 55. Under tail-coverts, the feathers which overlap the base of the tail beneath. Under wing-coverts, the feathers which cover the wings beneath. Upper tail-coverts, the feathers which overlap the base of the tail above. Upper wing-coverts, the feathers which overlap the base of the quills- Upupa Epops, 309. Uria Brunnichii, 544. Grj'llie, 545. lacrymans, 544i Troile, 541.. Utick, the Whinchat. Vanneau, 395. Vanellus cristatus, 393. Vare Wigeon, the Smew. Velvet Runner, the Water Rail. Velvet Scoter or Duck, 512.. Virginian Colin or Partridge, 366. Vultur fuhois, 1. Vultui-e, Egyptian, 3. Griffon, 1. Waders, Grallatores. Wagell Gull, the young of the Great Black-backed Gull, 590. Wagtail, Blue or Grey headed. Grey, 166. Pied or Yarrell's, 162. Ray's, 169. Wliite, 166. Yellow, 169. Wall Hick, the Lesser Spotted Wood- pecker. Warbler, Blue -throated, 98. Dartford, 140. Garden, 128. Grasshopper, 110. Great Sedge, 117. Melodious Willow, 137. Orphean, 127. Reed, 117. Rufous Sedge, 128. Savi's, 113. Sedge, 114. Willow, 135. Wood, 133. Wash-dish and Washerwoman, the Pied Wagtail. Water Crake, the Water Rail. Crow, the Dipper. Hen, the Moor Hen. Junket, the Common Sand- piper. Ouzel, or Pyet, 71. Rail, 463. Sparrow, the Black-headed Bunting, and Sedge War- bler. Tie, the Wagtail. Wagtail, the Pied Wagtail. ^ Waxen Chatterer or Waxwing, 160. Wease-alley, the Skua. Weasel Coot, the young Smew. Weasel Duck, the Smew. Weet-weet, the Common Sandpiper. Wellplum, the Red-headed Pochard. Western Duck or Pochard, Steller's, 511. Whaup, the Curlew. Whautie, the Whitethroat. Wheatear, 107. Wheel-bird, or Wheeler, the Nightjar. Wheety-why, the Whitethroat. Wliin-thrush, the Redwing. Whit-ile, i.e. Whittle, the Green Woodpecker. Whewer, the Wigeon. Whey-bird, the Whitethroat. Whilk, the Scoter. Whim, the Wigeon. Whimbrel, 422. Whinchat, 105, Whin Linnet, the Common Linnet. Whiskered Tern, 568. Whistling Plover, the Golden Plover. Whistling Swan, the Hooper. White Baker, the Spotted Flycatcher. -beUied Swift, 288. -breasted Blackbird, the Ring Ouzel or Water Ouzel. -eye, the NjTOca Pochard. -faced Duck, the Pochard. Falcon, the Gyr Falcon. Finch, the Chaffinch. -fronted Goose, 478. Grouse, the Ptarmigan. -headed Goosander, the Smew. -headed Cormorant, the Com- mon Cormorant. -headed Harpy, the Moor Buzzard. Heron, 409. Nun, the Smew. Owl, 51. Partridge, the Ptarmigan. Spoonbill, 418. -spot Cormorant, the Com- mon Cormorant Stork, 417. -tail, the Wheateaj-. -tailed Eagle, S. -throat, 129. Wagtail, 166. -winged Black Duck, the Velvet Scoter. -winged Black Tem, 573. -winged Crossbill, 232. White's Tlrrush, 83. Wliitterick, the Curlew. Whitty-beard, the Whitethroat. Whitwall and WitwaU, the Green Woodpecker. Wierangel, the Ash-coloured Shrike. Wigeon, American, 507. Black, the Tufted Duck. Common European, or Red- headed, 506. Pied, the Garganey and Gold-eye. Vare,, the Smew. 626 INDEX. Wild Duck, 497. Goose, 473. Swan, 484. Willock iiMd Willy, the Giiillemot, 542. Willow-biter, the Tom Tit. Lark, tlie Sedge Warbler. Lncustelle, Savi's Warbler. Sparrow, the Black-headed Bunting. Warbler, or Wren, 135. Willywicket, the Common Sandpiper. Wilson's Petrel, 602. Windhover and Windfanner, the Kestrel. Windle, Winnard, and Windthrush, the Redwing. Window Martin, 277. Wing-coverts, several rows of feathers covering the basal part of the quills above and below, and called the upper and under wing-coverts ; the feathers outside these are called the lesser wing-coverts. Winglet, a process arising from near the base of the terminal joint of the wing, answering to the thumb in the human hand. Winnel and Windle-straw, the White- throat. Winter- bonnet, the Common Gull. Duck, the Pintail Duck. Gull, or Mew, the Common Gull in its winter plumage. Wagtail, the Grey - headed Wagtail. Witch, the Petrel. Witwall, the Green Woodpecker. Woodchat Shrike, 66. Woodcock, 439. Woodcock Owl, the Short-eared Owl. Sea, the Godwit. -Snipe, the Great Snipe. Woodcracker, the Nuthatch. Wood Grouse, the Capercaillie. Woodlark, 182. Woodnacker, the Woodpecker. Wood-oven, 140. Wood Owl, the Long-eared Owl. Woodpecker, the Barred or Lesser Spotted, 298. Woodpecker, Great Black, 205. Great Spotted or Pied, 296. Green, 292. Woodpie, the Green Woodpecker. Wood-Pigeon. 326. Wood Sandpiper, 427. Wood Shrike, the Wood-chat. Woodspite, Woodwall, and Woodwale, the Green Woodpecker. Wood Warbler, or Wren, 133. Wren, Common, 304. Golden-crested, 142. Reed. 117. Willow, 135. Wood, 133. Writing Lark, the Bunting, so called from the marking of the eggs. Wryneck, 299. Wynkernel, the Moor Hen. Xeme, Sabine's Gull, 575. Yaffil, Yaffle, Yaffler, Yappingale, the Green Woodpecker. Yardkeep and Yarwhip, the Bar-tailed Godwit. Yarrell's Wagtail, 162. Yarwhelp, the Stone Plover and Godwit. Yeldrin and Yeldrock, the Yellow Hannner. Yellow Ammer, the Yellow Hammer, 191. -bird, the Golden Oriole, -billed Cuckoo, 325. Bunting, the Yellow Hammer, 191. -legged Gull, the Lesser Black- backed Gull, -legged Sandpiper, the young of the Rufi: Owl, the White Owl. Plover, the Golden Plover. Poll, the Wigeon. Warbler, the Willow Warbler. Wagtail, 169. Yeldock, Yoit, Yoldrin, and Yowley,theYellowHammer. Yelper, the Avocet. Yunx TorquiUa. 299. The Author will he grateful for any additions to his list of Provincial Names. THE END. THE WILD BIRDS PROTECTION ACT, 1880. Thh folio-wing is a conoiae summary of the chief provisions of this Act. '• Wild birds " as need in this Act includes all wild birds. Any person who between March Ist and August 1st knowingly and wUfully shoots, or attempts to shoot, or uses a boat for the purpose of shooting, any wild bird, or who uses line, trap, snare, or net, &c., for the pur- pose of taking any wild bird, oi- exposes or offers for sale, or has in his possesion or control af car March 15th, any wild bird recently killed or taken, shall pay a penally of £1, or under, for every wild bird (of those included in the schedule to the Act) in respect of which offence has been committed, and shall in respect of other wild birds be repri- manded and pay costs on first offence, and pay penalty of 53. and under for subsequent offences, unless such person can prove that the wild birds were either taken, ' ^*' '«*& i« W 1!* w W^., -(»-■ i^ » '*% "^ «.'*^ -^j^* •^f**^^ ' i*!*. ^1.^^^ ^B^^^^ »... ^'. r- -I? $*^,.'W &■, $ 1^ ^