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LIBRARY

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NATURAL HISTORY

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ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY.

ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY.

Edited by R. BOWDLER SHARPE, LL.D., F.L.S., Etc.

A HAND-BOOK

TO THE

BIRDS

OF

GREAT BRITAIN,

BY

R. BOWDLER SHARPE, LL.D.,

ZOOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT, BRITISH MUSEUM.

VOL II

LONDON :

W. H. ALLEN & CO., LIMITED,

13, WATERLOO PLACE, S.W.
1896.

'f,r, ^(ffjo/^. ^'^^

WYMAN AND SONS, LIMITED,

PRINTERS,

LONDON AND REDHILL,

PREFACE.

I HAVE but a few words to add to the prefatory remarks
which will be found in the first volume. I therein sketched
out the plan of the work which I proposed to follow. Since
the issue of the first volume, two species have been added to
the British list. Of the Sub-alpine Warbler {Sylvia subalptna),
a specimen was shot in St. Kilda in June, 1894, by Mr. J. S.
Elliot, as recorded by me in the Bulletin of the British Orni-
thologists' Club, Vol. IV. p. ix. Coues' Redpole {Caniiabina
exilipes) has been obtained by Dr. Bendelack Hewetson near
Easington on the west coast of Yorkshire during the winter of
1893-94, as has been recorded by Mr. John Cordeaux in the
''Naturalist" for March, 1894 (p. 84).

While the criticisms on the first volume of the " Handbook"
have been wholly favourable and kindly, three notices in par-
ticular have appeared, in reply to which I should like to say a
few words.

Dr. P. L. Sclater seems to imply (" Ibis," 1894, p. 566) that
the nomenclature adopted by me in the " Handbook " is intro-
duced into my writings for the first time, and he alludes par-
ticularly to the names of the genera in the Family Corvid(B, but
these names are not of my own foundation. I adopted them,
after monographing the whole of the Family in the "Catalogue

VI PREFACE.

of Birds," twenty years ago. My conclusions have been followed
by naturalists in many countries, and, I hope, will continue to
be so. I would further remark that Dr. Stejneger's '' incon-
venient discoveries " have not had a "great attraction '" for me,
as my kindly critic suggests. I really hate all these changes of
names, and I have always had a great sympathy with the pro-
posal of Mr. Seebohm to adopt only the best-known name for
a species, but the "auctorum plurimorum" system of nomen-
clature, though very good in theory, would not work well in
practice, for a name in a majority one year, might turn out to
be in a minority two years hence, and so there would agaiji be
no stability in our nomenclature.

It is certainly unfortunate that so many older names for
common species have been unearthed during recent years,
but that is surely not the fault of the authors themselves,
but of their descendants, who have not taken the trouble to
search the whole of the literature. I have used in the present
" Handbook " such names as I believe to be not only the right
ones, but those which in future are most likely to be adopted
by ornithologists generally; and I cannot agree with Dr. Sclater
that, because this little "Handbook" is "confessedly in-
tended for popular use, it would have been wiser to adhere
to ordinary nomenclature and to avoid an unnecessary multi-
plicity of genera." This is exactly what I think ought not to
be done for in a book which has such a wide sale as the
" Naturalist's Library," it is more important to teach the
reader the nomenclature most likely to be in vogue in the
future, than to serve up to him names which a very little study
on his part will enable him to discover to be out of date.

Mr. Harting has also written a friendly notice of my first
volume in the "Zoologist" for 1894 (pp. 468-472), but he
also complains that there is so much that is " new " in the
book. It really looks as if he had allowed much recent work

PREFACE. Vll

to escape his notice, and has only just woke up to the fact that
things have been moving since he wrote his "Handbook to the
Birds of Great Britain " in 1872. The arrangement followed
in my book was duly set forth by me in my " Classification of
Birds " in 1891, and there is therefore nothing wonderful in an
author following his own ideas. The same may be said of Mr.
Harting's remarks on my nomenclature, and if he had studied
the Crows as diligently as he has done the Wading Birds, he
would probably have found little difficulty in recognising that
the black plumage of the former birds is really their only
warranty for inclusion in a single genus Corvus, and that the
characters for generic separation, when properly weighed, are
as important as the genera of CharadriidcE^ which Mr. Harting
accepts without hesitation. Some of the changes in nomen-
clature at which he "stands aghast" might have paralysed him
at any moment during the last twenty yearS;, and, as I have
already said, the genera of the Corvidce are none of them of
my own invention.

Mr. Harting, moreover, entirely misunderstands the principle
of the duplicate generic and specific names by which such titles
as Graculiis graculus are arrived at. It is not adopted for the
sake of attaching the name of the typical species to that of
the genus. That this must often, and in fact generally, occur,
is really a matter of chance, and I am sorry that the mere
act of restoring Linnean specific names to their original posi-
tion has resulted in the duplication of the name, but then the
Linnean names ought never to have been used in a generic
sense. Thus, if Linn^us called the Partridge Tetrao perdix^
the name perdix ought to be retained at all costs for the species.
When Perdix was taken in a generic sense and the species was
called Perdix cinerea, I contend that it ought never to have
been allowed, and if, in restoring the Linnean specific name of
perdix, it results that the oldest generic name is also Perdix,

Vlll PREFACE.

and the species has to be called Perdix perdix (L.), I can only
say that I am sorry, but it cannot be helped.

Canon Tristram's paper on the " Use and Abuse of Generic
Names" ("Ibis," 1895, pp. 130-133) expresses the ideas of an
old-fashioned ornithologist on modern-day work, but my critic
has not shown the consistency of opinion which might have been
expected from the author of such an emphatic diatribe as that
which he has directed against me and my methods of work.
Genera are, according to Canon Tristram, entirely arbitrary,
and to be employed only for our convenience, and names
should not be bestowed when there is only a single species to
represent them. In order- to grasp my critic's full meaning, I
consulted the published "Catalogue" of his collection, and there
I found the whole of the Thrushes placed under the genus Tur-
dus, though this is exactly the instance he quotes in his critique
in which these birds ought absolutely to be classified under the
heading of the two genera, Turdiis and Meriila. Then, in order
to determine what characters Canon Tristram considered to be
of generic value in the only instance in which he has shared
my crimes with me, I find that the Seychelles Scops-Owl was
considered by him to be worthy of a new generic name, Gyiii-
noscops, from the fact that " its ear-tufts, if any, are only rudi-
mentary, and its tarsi wholly unfeathered, excepting a narrow
line for about a quarter of an inch down the front of the tar-
sus, while the back of the joint is entirely bare." Slender dis-
tinction enough, as the describer himself seems to think, for
he adds: "I venture to think that these differences entitle
it at least to sub-generic, if not generic, rank." After this ad-
mission of what constitutes a generic or sub-generic difference,
I am surprised that Canon Tristram should have ventured to
stigmatise as "new fangled," "absolutely capricious," &:c.,
genera which are founded on quite as strong characters as he
allows to be sufficient in his own case.

PREFACE. IX

He then proceeds to make a somewhat staithng comparison
as to the number of generic names which figure in my volumes
of the "'Catalogue of Birds," viz., io8, as compared with
those written by my coadjutors, Mr. Seebohm and Dr. Gadow,
"neither of whom invented a single new genus," Mr. Osbert
Salvin (one), Mr. Edward Hargitt (four), Captain Shelley (five),
Mr. Ogilvie-Grant (six). Count Salvadori (twelve),* " while Dr.
Sharpe in lo)^ volumes has favoured us with io8 new genera.
It is obvious that the 'genus-standard' of Dr. Sharpe must be
very different from that of Messrs. Hargitt, Seebohm, Salva-
dori, and others, who, in 9^4 volumes, have been content with
28 new genera, as against his 108." A more manifestly un-
fair method of comparison could hardly be conceived, and I
wonder at Canon Tristram attempting to prove his point by
means of the above figures. Mr. Seebohm worked out the
Thrushes and Warblers, a well-worn field, over much of which
he had travelled in print, before he wrote Vol. V. of the "Cata-
logue." Dr. Gadow's volumes dealt with PcwidcE, Laniidce,
Nectar i /I iidiE, AleliphagidcE, all of which had been much
studied and written about before he undertook this portion
of the "Catalogue." Captain Shelley, for instance, had just
completed a Monograph of the Nectariniidce. The Shrikes
and Tits had received much attention from several ornitholo-
gists, and Count Salvadori and Dr. Meyer had already swept
the board of such new genera as might have fallen to Dr.
Gadow's share in the Meliphagidce^ by publishing a number of
new genera not long before the latter commenced to work at
the " Catalogue." Mr. Salvin's volume consisted mainly of
the Humming Birds {TrochilidcE), and it is wonderful that he
even found one new genus to characterise, seeing that the
family had been monographed over and over again, by

■'■ To have been quite fair, Canon Tristram should have added two new
genera of Swifts (out of nine ! ) published in Mr. Hartert's half volume.

X PREFACE.

Gould, Reichenbach, Heine, Mulsant, and worked at by Von
Berlepsch, Boucard, and others for years, to say nothing of
Mr. Salvin's own previous study of the Family. Mr. Hargitt's
four new genera of Woodpeckers were reserved for publication
in the "Catalogue," and so were Mr. Ogilvie-Grant's few
generic names of Hornbills and Game-Birds, but all these
families had been monographed, some of them more than
once, before the authors began their "Catalogues," and there-
fore the chance of there being any genera which had escaped
notice by previous writers was extremely small, and the same
may be said of the volumes written by Captain Shelley and
Count Salvadori.

On the other hand, fair play would have demanded an
acknowledgment of the fact that the groups of birds which
fell to my lot in the "Catalogue" had been practically un-
worked before, and it is not in the least surprising that, in
monographing such difficult families as BabbHng-Thrushes,
Finches, Starlings, &c., a close study should discover generic
differences, while many of the larger birds, such as Bustards
and Cranes, had not been monographed for many years
before I did them in the " Catalogue." My views are, I
dare say, not those of the older school of ornithologists, any
more than are those of Dr. Reichenow and other " German
friends," or those of Mr. Ridgway and Dr. Stejneger, the
" American cousins," who are evidently regarded by Canon
Tristram as the cause of my backslidings !

The whole question appears to me to be a very simple one.
Canon Tristram evidently does not like what he calls the
" new-fangled " ideas of some of the younger school of
ornithologists, because they were not in vogue in his younger
days, but the collections which are now in the cabinets of the
British Museum provide a completeness of material with
which our forefathers were totally unacquainted. It was

PREFACE. XI

only to be expected that the close study involved in the
preparation of the " Catalogue of Birds " would result in the
discovery of new genera, but there is a sure test as regards
the calibre of our work in store for Canon Tristram, for
myself, and for every other writer. Future generations will
judge the value of our labours, and that which is good will
be preserved, and that which is bad will be cast into outer
darkness.

I have to thank Mr. Howard Saunders, Mr. W. E. de
Winton, and Mr. Robert Read for assisting me with notes for
the present volume, and special acknowledgments are due to
Count Salvadori for the notes he has given me on the Ducks
and Geese.

R. BOWDLER SHARPE.

SYSTEMATIC INDEX.

PAGE

ORDER PICIFORMES i

SUB-ORDER PICI 2

FAMILY PICID.E 3

SUB-FAMILY PICIN^. 4

LXXVI, Gecinus, Boie 5

I. viridis (L.)- ••• ••• ••• ••• •■• ••• ■•• 5

LXXVII. Dendrocopus, Koch. 7

1. major (L.). ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ■•• •■• 8

2. villosus (Forst.). 10

3. pubescens (L.) n

4. minor (L.). ... ... ... ... •■• ••• •• 12

SUB-FAMILY lYNGIN^ 15

LXXVin. lYNX, L 16

I. torquilla, L 16

ORDER COCCYGES 19

SUB-ORDER CUCULI 19

SUB-FAMILY CUCULIN/E 21

LXXIX. COCCYSTES, Gloger 21

I. glandarius (L.) 21

LXXX. CucULUS, L. 23

I. canorus, L. ... ... ... ... ... .•• ... 24

LXXXL CoccYZUS, Vieill 3°

1. americanus (L) ... •• ■•. ••• ••• ••• 3^

2. erythrophthalmus (Wils.) 32

ORDER CORACIIFORMES 33

SUB-ORDER CYPSELI 34

FAMILY CYPSELIDiE 35

SUB-FAMILY CYPSELIN^ 38

XIV SYSTEMA'lIC INDEX.

PAGE

LXXXII. MiCROPUS, Meyer u. Wolf 38

1. melba(L.) 38

2. apus (L.). ... ... ... ... ... 40

SUB-FAMILY CH^TURIN^ 42

LXXXIII. Ch/etura, Steph 43

I. caudacuta (Lath.), ... ... ... ... 43

SUB-ORDER CAPRIMULGI 45

FAMILY CAPRIMULGID.F:. 45

LXXXIV. Caprimulgus, L 45

1. europseus, L. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 47

2. cegyptius, Licht. ... ... ... ... ... ... 50

3. ruficollis, Temm. ... ... ... ... ... ... 51

SUB-ORDER MEROPES 53

FAMILY MEROPID^. 54

LXXXV. Merops, L 54

1. apiaster, L. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 54

2. philippinus, L 57

SUB-ORDER UPUP^ 58

FAMILY UPUPID^ 59

LXXXVI. Upupa, L 59

I. epops, L. 59

SUB-ORDER HALCYONES 62

FAMILY ALCEDINID.E 64

SUB-FAMILY ALCEDININ^ 64

LXXXVII. Ceryle, Boie 64

I. alcyon (L.). ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 65

LXXXVIII. Alcedo, L. 66

I. ispida, L. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 67

SUB-ORDER CORACI^ 70

FAMILY CORACIID^ 70

LXXXIX, CORACIAS, L. 71

1. garrulus, L. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 71

2. ahyssinicus, Bodd, ... ... 74

3. indicus, L. ... ... ... ... 75

SYSTEMATIC INDEX.

ORDER STRIGES.

FAMILY BUBONID^.
XC. Bubo, Cuv

I. bubo (L.).
XCI. Scops, Savign.

I. scops (Linn.). ...
XCIL Nyctea, Steph. ...

I. nyctea (L.).
XCIIL SuRNiA, Dum. ...

1. ulula (L.).

2. funerea (L.).
XCIV. Carine, Kaup. ...

I. noctua (Scop.). ...
XCV. Asio, Briss.

1. otus (L.).

2. accipitrinus (Pall.).
XCVL Syrnium, Sav. ...

I. aluco (L.)
XCVIL Nyctala.

I. tengmalmi (Gm.)
FAMILY STRIGID^. ...
XCVIII. Strix, L.

I. flammea, L.

ORDER ACCIPITRES.

SUB-ORDER PANDIONES.

XCIX. Pandion, Sav. ...
I. haliaetus (L.). ...

SUB-ORDER FALCONES.

FAMILY VULTURID^.
C. Gyps, Savign

I. fulvus (Gm.).
CI. Neophron, Savign,

I. percnopterus (L.).
FAMILY FALCONID^.

PAGE

76

n

78
78
8i
8i

84
84

^1
87
89
90
91
93
94
96

100
100
102
103
106
107
108

III

III

112
112

116
116
116
117
120
120
123

xvi SYSTEMATIC INDKX.

PAGE

SUB-FAMILY ACCIPITRIN^ 124

CII. Circus, Lacep 124

1. cyaneus (L.). ... ... ... ... ... ••• ••■ 1*5

2. pygargus (L.) - ■•• 129

3. ceruginosus (L.). ... ... ... ••■ ••• ••• 133

cm. AsTUR, Lac^p 136

1. palumbarius (L.). I37

2. atricapillus (Wils.) 140

CIV. AcciPiTER, Briss Hi

I. nisus(L.) 142

SUB-FAMILY BUTEONIN^ 146

CV. BuTEO, Cuv. 147

1. buteo(L.) 147

2. desertorum (Daud.) 150

3. borealis (Gm.) 151

4. lineatus (Gm.) 152

SUB-FAMILY AQUILINE 152

CVI. Archibuteo, Brehm 153

I. lagopus (Gm.). ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 154

CVII. Aquila, Bliss 156

1. chrysaetus (L.). ... ... ... .•• ... ... ... 156

2. maculata (Gm.) 159

CVIII. IlALiAETUS, Savign 162

I. albicilla (L.) 163

CIX. Elanoides, Vieill. 166

I. furcatus (L.) 166

ex. MiLVUS, Cuv. 167

1, milvus (L.). ... ... ••• ••• ••• •• ... 168

2. migrans, Bodd. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 171

CXI. Elanus, Sav 173

I. cseruleus (Desf.). 174

CXII Pernis, Cuv 176

I, apivoius(L.) 177

SUB-FAMILY FALCONIN.^ 180

CXIII Falco, L. 180

I. peregrinus, Tunst. ... ... ... ... 181

SYSTEMATIC INDLX. XVll

PAGE

Falco — {continued).

2. subbuteo, L. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 184

3. cesalon, Tunst ... ... ... ... ... 187

CXIV. HiEROFALCO, Cuv I9I

1. candicans (Gm.). 191

2. islandicus (Hanc). ... ... ... ... 194

3. gyrfalco (L.) I97

CXV. Cerchneis, Boie. 200

1. tinnunculus (L.). 201

2. cenchris (Naum.). ... ... ... ... 204

3. vespertina (L.) 207

ORDER PELECANIFORMES 210

SUB-ORDER PELECANI 210

SUB-ORDER PHALACROCORACES 211

CXVI. Phalacrocorax, Bries. 211

1. carbo(L.) 211

2. graculus (L.) 215

SUB-ORDER SUL^ 218

FAMILY SULID^ 218

CXVII. Dysporus, Illig. 218

I. bassanus (L.) 218

ORDER PH^NICOPTERIFORMES 221

CXVIII. Ph/enicopterus, L 222

I. roseus, Pall. ... ... •■• ••• •■• ••• ••• 222

ORDER ANSERIFORMES 223

FAMILY ANATIDyE 224

SUB-FAMILY ANSERINE ••• 224

eXIX. Chen, Boie 225

I. hyperboreus (Pall.) 225

CXX. Anser, Briss 227

1. anser (L.). ... 227

2. albifrons (Scop.). 230

3. fabalis(Lath.) 232

4. brachyrhynchus, Baillon. ... 234

XVIU

SYSTEMA'l IC INDEX,

CXXI. Branta, Scop

1. leucopsis(Bechst.).

2. bernicia (L.).

2. ruficollis (Pall.).
SUB-FAMILY CYGNIN^. ...
CXXII. Cygnus, Bechst.

1. musicus, Bechst.

2. bewicki, Yarr. ...

3. olor (Gm.).
SUB-FAMILY ANATIN.E. ...
CXXIII. Tadorna, Flem.

I. tadorna (L.)

CXXIV. Casarca, Bp

I. casarca (L.).
CXXV. Spatula, Boie

I. clypeata (L.).
CXXVI. Anas, L

I. boscas (L.)

CXXVI I. Chaulelasmus, Gray.

I. streperus (L.). ...
CXXVIII. Mareca, Steph.

1. penelope (L.)

2. americana (J. F. Gmelin).
CXXIX. Nettion, Kaup.

1. crecca (L.).

2. carolinense (Gm.).
CXXX. Dafila, Steph

I. acuta (L.).
CXXXI. QUERQUEDULA, Steph.

1. querquedula (L.).

2. discors (L.).

PAGE

.. 236

.. 236

•• 239

•• 243

.. 246

.. 246

.. 247

.. 252

.. 254

•• 257

.. 257

.. 258

.. 260

. 262

.. 265

.. 265

,. 269

.. 269

.. 272

■• 273

,. 276

,. 276

.. 281

.. 282

.. 282

.. 285

,. 286

... 287
290
291
294

LIST OF PLATES.

XXXII. — Green Woodpecker.
XXXIII.— Cuckoo.
XXXIV.— Kingfisher.
XXXV.— Roller.
XXXVL— Snowy Owl.
XXXVIL— Little Owl.
XXXVIIL— Tawny Owl.
XXXIX.— Tengmalm's Owl.
XL.— Barn-Owl.
XLI. — Egyptian Vulture.
XLIL— Hen-Harrier.
XLIIL— Marsh-Harrier.
XLIV. — Common Buzzard.
XLV.— Golden Eagle.
XLVI.— White-tailed Sea-Eagle.
XLVIL— Swallow-tailed Kite.
XLVIIL— Kite.
XLIX.— Honey-Kite.

L. — Greenland Falcon.
LI.— Kestrel.
LII.— Shag.
LIIL— Gannet.
LIV.— White-fronted Goose.
LV. — Heads of Swans.
LVI.— Common Sheld-Duck.
LVIL— Shoveler.
LVIIL— Fig. I. Teal.

Fig. 2. American Teal.

ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY,

BRITISH BIRDS.

PICINE BIRDS. ORDER PICIFORMES.

" Woodpeckers and their kin " might be the popular title of
this Order of birds, but it includes two Families which cannot
be called Woodpeckers in the true sense of the word, viz., the
Puff-Birds {Buccones) and the Jacamars {Galbulce), The two
latter Sub-orders are only found in Central and Southern
x\merica, and are thus characteristic of the Neotropical
Region, i.e., the Tropical Region of the New World.

The Woodpeckers, on the other hand, are almost cosmo-
politan in their distribution. They are found in every part of
Europe and Asia, Africa, as well as North and South America,
ranging far to the north and south, but they are absent in the
Australian Region. Thus they are entirely unknown in the
islands of the Pacific Ocean, in New Zealand and Australia
itself, nor do we meet with any Woodpecker in the Papuan or
Maluccan islands, until we come to Celebes. The fauna
of this island exhibits features which are partly Australian
and partly Indian, but in possessing Woodpeckers and Mon-
keys (cf. Forbes, Nat. Libr. Primates, ii. p. 250), its zoological
affinities inchne to the Indian Region. Wallace's line, which
passes between the islands of Bali and Lombock, has also
been supposed to show an absolute barrier between the terres-
trial fauna of the Indian and Australian Regions, and it is so
in the majority of cases : nevertheless, two genera of Wood-
peckers cross it, as lyngipicus grai^dis and Dendrocopiis analh
are found in Lombock and Flores.

8 B

AT

len's naturalist's library.

THE WOODPECKERS. SUB-ORDER PICI.

Externally these birds may be distinguished by their " zygo-
dactyle " foot. " Yoke-footed " is another name frequently
applied to them, but, described in simple language, they may
be said to have two toes "in front " and two "behind." This
may seem a very unscientific way of characterising the Wood-
peckers, but it is the first character to look for in one of
these birds. Then they have usually a stiffened tail of sharp-
pointed feathers — but not in every case, for the Wrynecks
and Piculets have soft-plumaged tails, while some Passerine
Birds, such as the Tree-Creepers {Ccrthiidff), also possess
spiny tails (cf. vol. i. p. 119), as do also the South American
Spine-tails {DendrocolaptidcB), so that this cannot be reckoned
a peculiar characteristic of Woodpeckers. Then, again, turn-
ing to anatomical structure, we find that the Woodpeckers
have a long and extensile tongue, the bones of which, the
"hyoid cornua" as they are called, extend backwards ovei
the skull. The tongue, thus capable of extension, and of
enormous length, is furnished with muscles which enable the
bird to dart it out and retract it in the most extraordinary
manner. This extensile tongue is found in the Wrynecks as
well, but is not a character exclusively diagnostic of the Wood-
peckers, for two North American genera, Sphyr-opicns and
Xe?iopicus have an ordinary tongue, as in the majority of Pas-
serine Birds. On the other hand, an extensile tongue is found in
the Humming-Birds {Troclnlidce) and Sun-Birds {^Nectai-iniidce)
The following description of the mechanism of the Wood
pecker's tongue is copied from that given by Sir William Flowei
in the Bird-Gallery of the British Museum.

" In the majority of the Picidce the tongue is long, vermiform,
pointed, and barbed at the tip. To permit of its being pro-
jected or withdrawn as required, the hyoid cornua are pro-
longed backward, sliding in a sheath which curves round the
top of the skull. The sub-lingual glands are greatly developed,
secreting a viscid fluid which covers the tongue and causes in-
sects to adhere to it. The peculiar modification of these
organs and their application in procuring food are closely
analogous to those found in the Ant-Eaters and several other
Mammals, and in the Chameleon among Reptiles.

THE WOODPECKERS.

"Ill some species the hyoid cornua slide backwards and
forwards in the sheath as the tongue is retracted or protruded ;
in others, as in the common English Green Woodpecker, their
ends are fixed to the sheath, and the protrusion of the tongue
is caused by the action of the genio-hyoid {protractor liiigticE)
diminishing the curve in which the cornua lie when the tongue
is withdrawn."

Another curious anatomical feature in the Woodpeckers is
found in the base of the skull, the vomer being slender and
split, with the lateral halves separated. The late Professor

-rrvpl-2>- T

Ventral view of skull oi Dendrocopus major (enlarged). [From the Cata-
logue of the Osteological Specimens in the Museum of the Royal College of
Surgeons.], w//. /. maxillo-palatine process, //. palatine, pg. pterygoid.

W. Kitchen Parker described this feature of the Woodpecker's
skull as " saurognathous," on account of its Saurian or Rep-
tilian character.

Other anatomical characters may be added for the definition
of this Sub-order, and may be found in all recent works on
avian anatomy, but they need not be further mentioned here.

THE WOODPECKERS. FAMILY PICID^.

The late Mr. Edward Hargitt, our best authority on this
Family, and to whose work we are indebted for much of the in-
formation here given, divides the PicidcT: into three Sub-famihes,

B 2

4 ALLEN'S NATURALLSTS LIBRARY.

viz., the Woodpeckers {Fici?ice)^ the Piculets {ricuimmicB) and
the Wrynecks {I'pigina). The second of these Sub-famiUes has
a soft and rounded tail, without spiny shafts. It consists of
about forty species of very small size, mostly found in Central
and South America, but also represented in Africa, as well as in
the Himalayan and kindred ranges of mountains in Asia.

Both the Woodpeckers and Wrynecks are represented in
Great Britain, the former by three species, the latter by a single
one.

THE TRUE WOODPECKERS. SUB-FAMILY
PICIN^E.

Some forty-five genera are comprised in this Sub-family, of
which two are natives of Great Britain. Besides the three
species which are residents, there are several which have been
chronicled as having wandered to the British Isles. The Great
Black Woodpecker (Fiais martins) has been recorded over and
over again, but a careful enquiry into all the records by Mr.
J, H. Gurney, has thrown doubt on every one of the occur-
rences, and it is indeed a very unlikely bird to wander from its
Scandinavian home. The only specimen examined by me in
the flesh, in this country, had its crop filled with insects, which
I sent for examination to the late Professor Westwood of
Oxford, and they were pronounced by him not to be British,
but Swedish, species ! The Great Black Woodpecker measures
seventeen inches in length, is entirely black above and below,
the male having a red crown, while in the female the red colour
is confined to the occiput.

The White-backed Woodpecker {Deiidrocopits kuco7iotus) is
said to have occurred in the Shetland Islands. The specimen
believed to be of this species was figured by the late Mr.
Gould in his " Birds of Great Britain," and it appeared to me
at the time to be a young D. leuco7iotus. Recent observers,
however, have come to the conclusion that the bird was only
a young of the Spotted Woodpecker. D. leiicojiotus may be
distinguished, when adult, by its pure white rump, contrasting
with the black of the upper back ; the male has the head and
occiput red, and the female has these parts black. The total
length is about ten inches, and the wing a little over five and
a half inches. Its native home is Northern and Central

PLATE XXXn.

iiiiFuns.U"^^'''

GREEN WOODPECKER.

THE GREEN WOODPECKERS. 5

Europe, and its range extends across Southern Siberia to
Manchuria and Corea.

THE GREEN WOODPECKERS. GENUS GECINUS.

Geci/iiis, Boie, Isis, 1831, p. 542.

Type, G. viridis (Linn.).

This genus constitutes a famih'ar Old World type of Wood-
pecker, comprising seventeen species, all greatly resembling
each other in appearance. The best-known is our European
bird, G. viridis^ which is represented in Spain by Sharpe's
Green Woodpecker {G. sharpii), and in North-cast Africa by
Vaillant's Green Woodpecker {G. vaillanii)^ while in the differ-
ent parts of Europe and Asia other species are distributed ;
several being inhabitants of the Indian Region as far south as
Sumatra and Java.

In the genus Gecinus the feathering of the neck is full (in
many species, called the " Narrow-necked " Woodpeckers, the
plumage of the neck is very scanty), the opening of the nostrils
is covered with close-set feathers or bristles, the outer anterior
toe is about equal in length to the outer posterior toe, which,
again, is equal in length to the tarsus. The wing is moderately
long, and the tail is composed of strong and spiny feathers,
the outer one on each side being so short that it is often
overlooked, as it is hidden by the under tail-coverts ; this is
called the "dwarf" tail-feather. The bill is nearly straight,
and there is a distinct ridge in the culmen (cf. Hargitt, Cat.
Birds Brit. Mus. xviii. p. 3).

THE GREEN WOODPECKER. GECINUS VIRIDIS.

{Phile XXXII.).

Picus viridis., Linn. S. N. i. p. 175 (1766) ; Macg. Br. B. iii. p.

91 (1840).
Gecinus viridis^ Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 77, pi. 285 (1871);

Newton, ed. Yarr. Br. B. ii. p. 457 (1881) ; B. O. U. Li t

Br. B. p. 79 (1883); Seebohm, Br. B. ii. p. 364 (1884);

Saunders, Man. p. 263 (1889); Hargitt, Cat. B. Brit.

Mus. xxiii. p. 36 (1890) ; Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. pt. xvi.

(1890).
Adult Male. — General colour above uniform yellowish-olive ;

6 Allen's naturalist's library.

the rump and upper tail-coverts brighter chrome-yellow, the
feathers being tipped with this colour ; quills externally green,
with dull white spots on the outer aspect of the primaries, the
inner webs spotted with white ; crown of head crimson, as also
a broad moustacbial stripe ; nasal plumes and fore-part of face
black ; sides of face and under surface of body light yellow-
ish or yellowish-white ; throat paler ; the vent and under tail-
coverts with crescentic dusky marks or bars ; bill blackish, the
base of the lower mandible yellow ; feet grey ; iris white.
Total length, about 12*5 inches; culmen, 17; wing, 6*4; tail,
47; tarsus, 1-3.

Adult Female. — Like the ma^e, but has the moustachial stripe
black. Total length, 12 inches; wing, 6'4.

Yoiing.^Resemble the adults, but much duller green in
colour, with dusky bars on the upper surface; forehead and
eyebrow black, with tiny white spots ; sides of face blackish,
streaked with white ; a black moustache, minutely spotted with
white ; under surface of body yellowish-white, profusely spotted
with blackish.

Range in Great Britain. — Most common in the southern coun-
ties, but plentiful in many of the midland districts, as far as
the south of Yorkshire. North of this it is rare, and has only
been found breeding occasionally in the Border counties. In
Scotland it can only be of occasional occurrence, and from
Ireland it has been but twice recorded.

Range outside the British Islands. — Generally distributed over
Europe as far east as the Ural Mountains, the Caucasus, and
Persia. It occurs throughout France and Italy, but does not
cross the Mediterranean, and is replaced in the Spanish Penin-
sula and Portugal by Gecmus sharpii. It breeds in Norway up
to dT^'' N. lat. ; in Sweden and Russia up to about 60° N. lat.
That it is not a migratory species is shown by the fact that it
has occurred but once in Heligoland.

Hahits. — The noisy laugh of the "Yaffle" (as this bird was
popularly called in the days of Chaucer, and is even now known
by the same name in many country districts of the south of
England) is a sound familiar enough to visitors to the New
Forest and other parts of England, where the bird is still to be
found. The Green Woodpecker is indeed more often heard

THE TIED WOODPECKERS. 7

than seen, but it may occasionally be detected, as it wends its
way from tree to tree with a dipping flight, exposing the yellow
of its back as it flies away. It is more often seen near the
ground than the two other British Woodpeckers, and it may
sometimes be observed flying from one small tree to another
in the hedgerows. Another reason for its ground-frequenting
habits is that it feeds largely on ants, and commits great havoc
among the nests of these industrious httle insects. When it
alights on a large tree, it generally commences at the bottom,
and works its way to the top with great rapidity, though, if the
bird be conscious of the proximity of a stranger, it generally
keeps to the opposite side of the tree, and its upward progress
is marked only by an occasional sight of its head, as it peers
round to take a glance at the intruder. It finds much of its
food beneath the bark of old trees, and it is therefore gener-
ally to be observed in parks and old forests, these being the
favourite home of the Green Woodpecker. Its food consists
almost entirely of insects, but it is also said to eat nuts and
acorns, and occasionally wasps and bees, as well as their grubs.
When hammering at the bark of a tree, the bird receives con-
siderable support from its stiffened tail-feathers.

Nest. — None. The eggs are laid at the bottom of a hole,
hewed by the birds themselves, on the chips of wood accu-
mulated during the excavation of the nest-hole. The latter is
often situated at but a short distance from the ground, and the
circular entrance to the nest is so perfectly made that it might
have been executed by an expert carpenter rather than by the
bill of a bird. As a rule only hollow trees are attacked, but it
is an undoubted fact that occasionally sound trees are attempted,
with the result that the Woodpecker has to desist in its effort
to bore a nest-hole, and is driven to seek a more rotten tree for
its operations.

Eggs. — From five to seven, or even eight, in number. Pure
white and glossy in appearance. Axis, i-25-i-i5; diam.,
0-95 0-85.

THE PIED WOODPECKERS. GENUS DENDROCOPUS.

Dendrocopics^ Koch, Baier. Zool. i. p. 72 (1816).

Type, D. major (L.).

Of the Pied Woodpeckers about forty species are known, and

8 Allen's naturalist's lierary.

their colouring is, as their name impHes, principally black and
white. The majority of them are northern birds, being found
in Europe and Northern Asia, and also in North America. In
the New World the genus reappears in a curious way, as no
species is found to the south of the Isthmus of Panama, until
D. lignaims and D. mixhis are met with from Peru to Chili,
and in Southern Brazil and Argentina.

There are but two species resident in the British Islands, a
large and a small one, which are described below.

L THE great spotted WOODPECKER. DENDROCOPUS MAJOR.

Picus major^ Linn. S. N. i. p. 176 (1766) ; Dresser, B. Eur. v.

p. 19, pi. 275 (187 1); Seeb. Br. B. ii. p. 354 (1884); Lil-

ford. Col. Fig. Br. B. pt. vii. (1888).
Picus pipra^ Macg. Br. B. iii. p. 80 (1840).
Deiidrocopus viajor^ Newt. ed. Yarr. Br. B. ii. p. 470 (1881);

B. O.U. List Br. B. p. 77 (1883); Saunders, Man. p. 265

(1889); Hargitt, Cat. B. Br. Mus. xviii. p. 211 (1890).

Adult Male. — General colour above black and white ; the
scapular plumes white, slightly dingy ; quills spotted or barred
with white, the spots or patches on the closed wing giving the
appearance of five bars ; tail black, the four median feathers
entirely of this colour, the next ones black at the base, white
at the tip with black bars ; nasal plumes black ; forehead
drabby-brown; crown of head and nape blue-black, the occiput
red ; sides of face white ; a broad moustachial band of black
connected with the black nape ; under surface drabby-brown
from the throat to the breast ; remainder of under surface
crimson ; under wing-coverts and axillaries white, the lower
coverts spotted with black ; " bill slaty-black ; legs, feet, and
claws dark brown ; iris red" {H. SeeboJim). Total length, 10
inches; culmen, i*i ; wing, 5-5 ; tail, 37 ; tarsus, i-o.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male in colour, but having no
red on the occiput ; the entire head is, in consequence, black.
Size about the same as that of the male.

Young. — More dingily coloured than the adults, especially
below, the crimson on the abdomen being very dull. They may
easily be told by their red crowns, by the white tips to the

The pied woodpeckers. 9

primary quills, and by the dusky stripes on the flanks and
thighs.

The large size of the present species prevents its being mis-
taken for any of the other Pied Woodpeckers included in the
British list. It may also be recognised by its having the back
and rump black. The North American P. villosus^ which ap-
proaches it in size, has a white streak down the middle of the
back.

Range in Great Britain. — A somewhat local bird, and one oi
the most difficult to observe, on account of its shy nature. It
is found nesting in the woodlands of the southern and mid-
land counties of England, but is rare to the north of Yorkshire.
In Wales it is a scarce species, and in Scotland it is not now
known to breed. In some years considerable numbers visit the
British Islands during the autumn migration, especially the
eastern coasts, as in 1886, 1887, and again in 1889. It has only
been noticed in Ireland at scattered intervals, and has never
been found breeding in that country.

Range outside the British Islands. — Distributed throughout
Europe in suitable localities, reaching just beyond the Arctic
Circle in Scandinavia, and found as far as Archangel in
Northern Russia, but the most northern limit recorded in
the Ural Mountains is 64° N. lat. Thence, according to Mr.
Hargitt, its range extends across Southern Siberia to Amurland
and Corea. The British Museum possesses examples of the
Great Spotted Woodpecker from Portugal, Spain, N. Italy,
and from Asia Minor. The above-named authority also con-
siders the bird of the Canary Islands to be the same as our
British species, though there is a tendency to a darker under
surface in the specimens from these islands. In every direction
races of Dendrocopus major are found, which take its place in
other countries of the Patearctic Rei;ion. Thus D. cissa, a
white-breasted form, is found in Eastein Siberia and Kamt-
chatka ; D. poelzami^ a dark form, in the Caucasus ; D. leiicop-
teriis, a pale form again, in Central Asia, &c.

Hahits.— No birds are more difficult to study in the field than
the Woodpeckers, and the present species, with us, is one of the
shyest of birds. Its presence is sometimes made known by its

10 Allen's naturalist's library.

call-note, which our best field-naturalists render as "tchick"
or "chink." It is certainly a peculiar call, and, when once
recognised, is not likely to be mistaken. Mr. Seebohm also
states that it has a second note like " the syllable tra'' This
I have not noticed, but the other resounding note may often
be heard in our woodlands, though the bird itself will be rarely
observed. In the spring-time both this Woodpecker and its
smaller cousin, D. ininor^ produce a loud noise by drumming
with their bills on the branches or twigs of a tree, and these
vibrating taps are generally supposed to be a signal or call-note
between the sexes. Certainly this noise can be heard at a
considerable distance. The food of the Great Spotted Wood-
pecker consists of insects of all sorts, which it procures after
the manner of its kind by hammering at the bark of a tree and
prising it off. It also feeds on fruit and nuts, acorns, berries,
c\:c. It is the only British Woodpecker which is a migrant,
and nearly every year considerable numbers cross the ocean.
When I was in Heligoland with Mr. Seebohm, five young
D. major were brought to us alive one Sunday morning, having
been caught by boys in the potato-fields, where they had
dropped to rest, in an exhausted state.

Nest. — None. As with other Woodpeckers, the eggs are laid
on chips or powdered wood at the end of a hole, hollowed
in nearly every case by the birds themselves. The eggs are
laid about the middle of May, and both birds are said to assist
in their incubation.

Eggs. — From five to seven in number, sometimes eight being
known. Axis, i'o-i'i5; diam., o75-o'S5.

II. THE HAIRY WOODPECKER. DENDROCOPUS VILLOSUS.

Ficiis villosus, Forster, Phil. Trans. Ixii. p. 383 (1^72).

Dendrocopus villosiis, B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 77 (1883);

Saunders, Man. p. 266 (1889); Hargitt, Cat. B. Brit. Mus.

xviii. p. 230 (1890).

Adult Male. — Of moderate size. Black and white, with a

broad white stripe down the middle of the back ; scapulars,

rump, and upper tail-coverts black ; four centre tail-feathers

black, the next one black for the basal half, white for the ter-

THE PIED WOODPECKERS. II

minal half, the two outer feathers white with a black spot at
the base ; none of the tail-feathers barred ; wing-coverts and
all the quills spotted with white; nasal plumes buffy-white,
tipped with black ; a scarlet band on the occiput. " Bill
bluish-grey, towards the end black; feet bluish-grey; iris
brown " {J. J. Audubon). Total length, 8-5 inches ; culmen,
1-25; wings, 4*85; tail, 3*0; tarsus, 0-85.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but having no scarlet
band on the occiput. Total length, 8*5 inches; wing, 4"8.

Young. — Differs from the adults in having the feathers of the
crown tipped with orange-red.

Range in Great Britain. — On two occasions the Hairy Wood-
pecker is said to have occurred in the British Islands, both
occurrences having taken place in Yorkshire : one a hundred
years ago, and another near Whitby in 1849. The latter
specimen has been presented by Mr. F. Bond to the British
Museum.

Range outside the British Islands. — According to Mr. Hargitt,
North America, from the Atlantic to the eastern base of the
Rocky Mountains, and sometimes to the west of the latter.

III. THE DOWNY WOODPECKER. DENDROCOPUS PUBESCENS.

Picas pubescens^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 175 (1766).
Dendrocopus pubescens^ Hargitt, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xviii. p.
238 (1890).

Adult Male. — Of small size. Black and white, with a broad
white stripe down the middle of the back, and distinguished
by having bars on the lateral tail-feathers ; a red band on the
occiput. Total length, 6 inches; culmen, 0-65; wing, 375;
tail, 2*3 ; tarsus, 0-65.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but with more or less
white on the occiput, which has no red band on this part of
the head. Total length, 6 inches; wing, 3-9.

Young Male. — Like the adult, but wanting the red occipital
band; the whole of the feathers of the crown being tipped
with red, with dusky bases; the occiput spotted with dull
white ; some obscure dusky stripes on the sides of the body
and under tail-coverts.

12 ALLEN S NATURALISI'S LIBRARY.

Eange in Great Britain. — Has only occurred once, when a
specimen was shot by the Rev. O. Pickard Cambridge, F.R.S.,
near his home at Bloxworth in Dorsetshire, in December,
1836. Some doubt has been thrown on the authenticity of
the specimen in Mr. Cambridge's possession, and it has been
hinted that the specimen might have been changed by the
bird-stuffer who mounted it. I have written to the owner
about the bird in question, and he tells me that he has not the
slightest doubt that the specimen he still has in his house is
the identical one which he shot. Sixty years ago, a Downy
Woodpecker would have been worth much more money to a
dealer than a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, and it would not
have been worth while for anyone to have changed the one
species for the other. D. pubescens has once been shot near
Elbeuf in France.

Range outside the British Islands. — A North American species,
occurring as far as Alaska in the north-west, and Florida in
the south.

IV. THE LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. DENDROCOPUS

MINOR.

Piciis minor, Linn. S. N. i. p. 176 (1766) ; Dresser, B. Eur.

V- P- 53, ph 282 (1872) ; Seebohm, Br. B. ii. p. 359 (1884) ;

Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. pt. x. (1889).
Fiais strioiatiis, Macg. Br. B. iii. p. 86 (1840).
Doidrocopus minor, Newton, ed. Yarr. Br. B. ii. p. 477 (1882);

B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 78 (1883); Saunders, Man. Br.

B. p. 267 (1889) \ Hargitt, Cat. Br. Brit. Mus. xviii. p. 252

(1890).
Adult Male. — General colour black and white ; scapulars
white, the lower ones white barred with black; lower back barred
with black and white ; rump and upper tail-coverts black; quills
black, spotted on the outer web with white, and barred on the
inner web ; four central tail-feathers black, the others for the
most part white, barred with black, the outermost or "dwarf"
feather black with a white tip; crown of head crimson, the
feathers having dusky bases and concealed white spots ; sides
of hinder crown, occiput, nape, and hind-neck black ; fore-
head pale buff, brownish at base ; sides of face and sides of

THE PIED WOODPECKERS. 13

neck white, the ear-coverts light brown ; a black moustachial
stripe running up behind the ear-coverts, and widening on
the sides of the neck ; under surface of body brownish-white,
clearer white on the throat ; sides of body with narrow streaks
of black, the streaks taking the form of arrow-head spots on
the under tail-coverts; under wing-coverts and axillaries white,
with a few dusky spots; "bill, legs, and feet dark slate-grey ;
iris reddish-brown " (iT". Seehohm). Total length, 5-8 inches;
culmen, 075 ; wing, 3"6 ; tail, 2*4 ; tarsus, o'6.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but without any red on
the crown, the forehead and fore-part of the latter being
buffy-white. Total length, 5-8 inches; wing, 3"6.

Young. — Similar to the adults, but more dingy and sooty-
brown above ; no brown colour on the base of the forehead ;
only the centre of the crown crimson, the feathers being dingy-
white at the base.

Eange in Great Britain. — Inhabits nearly the same districts as
the Great Spotted Woodpecker, and is in many parts of the
south of England the most plentiful of the three species of
Woodpecker indigenous to this country. Lord Lilford says
the same with regard to Northamptonshire. Northwards it be-
comes rarer, and is local and not plentiful in Yorkshire. In
the old park-lands of the Thames Valley it is frequently to be
noted, and it is even a bird of the London district, for I have
seen a specimen killed in Kensington Gardens, and the species
is frequently to be seen near Chiswick. It visits some elm-
trees in my own garden, and can be seen and heard on almost
any winter's afternoon in the grounds of the " Chiswick Golf
Club."

In Scotland and Ireland the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
has only occasionally been noted, but Mr. Robert Service has
given to Mr. Howard Saunders notice of its capture on three
occasions in the Solway district.

Range outside the British Islands. — The present species is
generally distributed throughout Europe, but is decidedly
less frequent in the south, though it is found in Algeria and
is a resident in the Azores. In Scandinavia it breeds as far
as 70° N. lat., and in Russia it is to be found as far north as
Archangel and to about 67° N. lat. on the Petchora and the

14 ALLENS NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

Ob. Mr. Hargitt considers that specimens from the Ussuri
River in Eastern Siberia, and from the island of Yezo, cannot
be separated from D. minor, though he admits that individuals
from the last-named locality are not typical. The same
authority states that from the Southern Urals, "across Siberia
north of about 55° N. lat. into Kamtchatka and Bering
Island," the place of D. minor is taken by D. pipra, a species
which differs from D. 7ninor in being purer white below and
in having scarcely any streaks or spots on the under tail-
coverts, while the black bars on the lower back and rump
are scarcely discernible. In the Caucasus another species,
D. quadrifasciafus, replaces D. minor. Little is known of this
species, which is said to show only four, instead of five, white
bars on the wing, when the latter is closed. A very distinct
form, D. da?ifordi, is found in Asia Minor, easily recog-
nised by the black line of the moustache being directed
upwards behind the ear-coverts and joining the black of the
occiput.

HaWts This species is more often to be observed, at least

in the south of England, than any of the three English Wood-
peckers, and it differs a good deal in its habits from the Great
Spotted Woodpecker. In flight, as in size, it much more re-
sembles the Nuthatch, and its note is a sort of compromise
between that of the latter species and that of a Wryneck.
In fact its cry, when heard in winter, is somewhat startling
from its similarity to the Wryneck's call, until one remembers
that the last-named bird is far away in the south, and that
the oft-repeated note can only be that of the Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker. It certainly descends more often to the lower
branches of the big trees than does D. major, and is not
unfrequently seen hanging under a bough or climbing up the
smaller twigs of a large elm or poplar. Its nest has also been
found at low elevations, but as far as my own experience goes,
the nest is a difficult one to obtain, and near Cookham in
Berkshire, where the bird is by no means uncommon, the nest
is exceptionally difficult to reach, as it is usually placed in a
high and rotten branch of a poplar tree. At times it descends
to the orchards, and the late Mr. John Henry Gurney told me
of a pair which frequented the orchard in a house where he

THE WRYNECKS. 1 5

was Staying, and allowed him to observe their ways at a short
distance from his window.

The food of the present species consists mainly of insects,
which it obtains by splitting off the bark of the trees, but, like
other Woodpeckers, it will also feed on fruit and berries,
though it never seems to descend to the ground to feed on
ants like the Green Woodpecker. The drumming on a small
branch of a tree, supposed to be a call-note between the sexes,
is often heard in the spring.

Nest. — None. A neatly made hole is drilled into a dead or
decayed branch by the birds themselves, and there at the
distance of six or eight inches downwards, the eggs are laid in
a small chamber, on the chips of wood or the powdered dust
caused by the excavation. Such a nest-hole can be seen in
the Bird-Gallery of the British Museum, and is the identical
one described by Mr. Gould in his " Birds of Great Britain."
This bird often takes advantage of any hole which it may find
in a decaying tree and may be found nesting in a pollard
willow or an ancient fruit-tree.

Eggs. — From five to eight in number. They are laid about
the middle of May, and are pure ivory-white. Axis o'S-o-g ;
diam., o-55-o7.

THE WRYNECKS. SUB-FAMILY lYNGIN^..

The Wrynecks constitute a little group of Woodpeckers,
with a soft-plumaged tail, rather long, and variegated and
mottled like the general colour of the upper surface of the
body. The bill is stout and shorter than the head, and the
nnsal aperture is not concealed by bristly plumes, but, on the
contrary, is exposed and partially hidden by an overhanging
membrane. The feet are zygodactyle and resemble those of
a Woodpecker in every respect, and the long extensile tongue
is exactly fashioned like that of the other members of the
Family Picidce.

The Wrynecks are represented by a single genus lynx.
This name is written " Yunx'' in most works on Natural
History, bvt, as Dr. Henry Wharton has pointed out, the name
to cry out " : hence lynx.

i6 at,t,f,n'^ naturalist's librarv.

THE WRYNECKS. GENUS lYNX.

Yiinx, Linn. Syst Nat. i. p. 172 (1766).

Type, / toi'ijuilla (L.),

Only four species of Wryneck are known, three of which
are resident in Africa and pecuhar to that continent. These
are /. ^ccforalis, which ranges from Natal to the Transvaal, and
the Congo Region in tlie west, 1. p2/Ichn'co//is, confined to the
Upper White Nile districts, and /. ccquatorialis, from Shoa and
Southern Abyssinia. The fourth species is the Wryneck of
Europe.

I. THE COMMON WRYNECK. lYNX TORQUILLA.

Yunx torquilla, Linn. S. N. i. p. 172 (1766) ; Macg. Br. iii. p.

100 (1840).
lynx torqitilla, Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 103, pi. 289 (1875);

Newton, ed. Yarr. Br. B. ii. p. 487 (1881) ; B. O. U. List

Br. B. p. 80 (1883) ; Seebohm, Br. B. ii. p. 372 (1884) ;

Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 261 (1889); Hargitt, Cat. B.

Brit. Mus. xviii. p. 560 (1890).

Adult Male. — General colour above variegated, brown and grey
and rufous with black markings and vermiculations, including
the tail, the latter grey with irregular bars of white and black ;
the scapularies and inner secondaries rather more rufous than
the back, with black median stripes ; sides of face and sides
of neck, throat, and chest, buff with narrow bars of black, the
chin whiter ; a whitish streak above the ear-coverts, which are
rufous-brown, barred with black ; under-parts creamy-white,
with a shade of rufous on the upper breast and sides of the
body and thighs, with black arrow-head shaped markings or
spots ; under tail-coverts buff, with faint black markings ;
" bill, feet, and claws pale greyish-brown ; iris light brown "
{W. Macgillivray). Total length, 6-5 inches; culmen, o-6;
wing, 3-35 : tail, 2-6; tarsus, 07.

Adult Female. — Similar in colour to the male. Total length,
6-5 inches; wing, 3-15.

Young. — Similar to the adults, but without any spots on the
abdomen.

THE WRYNECKS.

17

Range in Great Britain. — A summer visitor, arriving early in
April, and leaving in September. It is principally to be found
in the south of England, but becomes rarer in the Midlands,
and farther north it must be considered a scarce bird, though
the species has occurred in most of the Scottish counties, and
it has been met with in the Orkney and Shetland Islands.
In Ireland it has been noted but twice, in the summer of 1878,
and again in the Arran Islands, on the 6th of October, 1886.

Kange outside the British Islands. — Generally distributed through-
out Europe, having reached even to the F^eroe Islands. In
Scandinavia it is found up to 62° N. lat., and it also visits the
neighbourhood of Archangel, but is not found so far to the
north in its Asiatic range, which is believed to extend across
Siberia to Kamtchatka and the Japanese Islands. The Asiatic
Wryneck was for a long time believed to be a different species,
as it is somewhat smaller than the European bird, but it is
now considered to be identical with the latter (cf. Hargitt, Cat.
B. Brit. Mus. xviii. p. 560). In winter our Wryneck retires to
Africa, but does not go so far south as many of our European
migrants, as it is not known to wander farther than Kordofan
in North-east Africa, and Senegambia on the west coast.
Doubtless most of the Wrynecks, which breed in Northern
Europe, go no farther in winter than to Northern Africa,
though in most of the Mediterranean countries the species is
regarded as a bird of passage only. In the East, the winter
homes of the species appear to be in the northern parts of the
Indian Peninsula and in Southern China.

Hahits. — From the fact of its arriving about the same time as
the Cuckoo, the Wryneck has acquired its popular name of
" Cuckoo's Mate." It has been said to reach this country as
early as March, and even to occur during the winter months.
It is doubtful, however, whether the species has not been mis-
taken for the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, which is a resident
bird in Great Britain. The cry of the latter species might
easily be mistaken for that of the Wryneck, when heard in the
depth of winter.

In many parts of the south of England the bird is called the
"Fee-pee," from its curious note, which is a musical and oft-
repeated iteration of the above syllables. It visits the neigh-
8 c

1 8 Allen's naturalist's lirrary.

bourhood of London regularly on migration, and is heard every
spring in my own garden at Chiswick. It even nests in the
western suburbs, and, by constant care in driving off the
hostile Starling, Dr. Giinther has succeeded in protecting the
Wrynecks in his garden at Kew, to which the birds returned
for several years in succession. Like its relations, the Wood-
peckers, the Wryneck is a very shy bird, and its peculiar note
is the chief indication of its presence in the neighbourhood.
It is met with in all kinds of situations, but is most commonly
seen in orchards and ])ark-lands, and it frequents the vicinity
of habitations in a much more familiar degree than do any of
the Woodpeckers ; so that it will not disdain to accept the
accommodation of nesting-boxes put up in the trees for its
especial benefit.

Although a true member of the Family Picidce, by reason of
the structure of its foot and its extensile tongue, the Wryneck
is not given to climb trees in the same way as the above men-
tioned birds, as its soft-plumaged tail would be of no service to
it in climbing, and it is therefore often to be seen perched on
a branch like an ordinary Passerine bird, while it not unfre-
quently visits the ground. On occasion, however, it runs up
a tree exactly like any true Woodpecker, and I once shot a
Wryneck as it was climbing up the woodwork of the Great
Western Railway bridge at Bourne End on the Thames.

The food of the Wryneck consists entirely of insects, and
ants and their eggs constitute its favourite food. Although,
from its feeding so much on the ground, it accumulates, in a
state of nature, a considerable amount of grit into its stomach,
I have found young Wrynecks very difficult to rear, since after
a time, the rape seed and soaked bread, which suits them so
well for a time, ultimately irritates their tongue to such an ex-
tent as to produce inflammation, and I have always had to let
my pretty pets fly, that they might find their proper food for
themselves in the woods.

The name of " Snake-Bird," often applied to the present
species, is supposed to be derived from the curious way in
which a wounded or captured bird writhes and twists its long
neck about, while the darting out of the tongue has doubtless
had somethino- to do with the idea of a snake.

THE CUCKOOS.

19

Nest. — None. The eggs rest upon the dry chips or dead wood
at the end of the hole, which is generally selected and not ex-
cavated by the birds themselves. Sometimes a nest-hole is
somewhat enlarged, but the Wryneck never seems to hammer
out a hole like the Woodpeckers. The nest-hole varies in
depth, and sometimes the eggs are deposited at a considerable
distance in the tree, while at other times the hole is shallow,
and the eggs can be seen from the entrance.

Eggs. — From six to eight in number, sometimes as many as
ten ; and an instance is recorded by Mr. Norgate of a female
Wryneck laying forty-two eggs for two years in succession
(1872-3). As Mr. Seebohm remarks, in 1874 "her reproduc-
tive powers were apparently exhausted, as only one egg was
laid, and in 1875 the place was deserted ! " The eggs are pure
white, a little larger than those of the Lesser Spotted Wood-
pecker, and not so glossy as the eggs of the latter bird. They
measure 0-55-0*65 inch in diameter; axis, o-8-o'95.

CUCULINE BIRDS. ORDER COCCYGES.
THE CUCKOOS. SUB-ORDER CUCULI.

The Cuckoos have a scansorial or climbing, i.e. a zygodac-
tyle, foot, with two toes directed forwards and two backwards.
The hallux, or hind-toe, is served by the flexor lojigiis hallucis
tendon only, while the second, third, and fourth toes are con-
nected with the flexor perforans digiforiun. In this respect
Cuckoos resemble the Game-Birds. The palate is bridged or
" desmognathous," and there are no basipterygoid processes ;
there is no "after-shaft" to the feathers, and the oil-gland is
nude. The number of tail-feathers is only ten, except in the
South American genera, Giiira and Cro/ophaga.^ where they are
eight in number.

By the above combination of characters the Cuckoos may
be recognised from all other birds, and the only other Sub-
order of the Coccyges consists of the Miisophagi, the Plantain-
Eaters or Touracous of Africa. These are closely allied to
the Cuckoos, but have the feet only semi-zygodactyle, the
fourth toe not being fully directed backwards as in the True
Cuckoos. In habits and mode of nesting they also differ

c 2

20

ALLEN S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY.

greatly from Cuckoos, and are, moreover, entirely confined to
the Ethiopian Region.

The P^amily Cucnlidcc,, which is co-eqiial in extent with
the Sub-order, as defined above, contains six Sub-families,

x^. F.n.

Left foot of a Cuckoo [Eitdynamis cyanocehhald), to show the arrange-
ment of the plantar tendons. [From the Catalogue of Osteological Speci-
mens in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons.] F.H., Flexor
longus halhuis : F.P., Flexor perforans digitont in

viz., the True Cuckoos {CucuUnce), found all over the world,
the'Lark-heeled Cuckoos {Centropodi?ice), distributed over the
tropical portions of the Old World, the Bush Cuckoos (/V/^W-
cophce.incE)^ inhabiting the tropics in Africa, India, and the

THE CRESTED CUCKOOS. 21

Indo-Malayan Sub-region, and the three Sub-families Neo-
morphina, Dipiopfe^'ims, and Crofophagijice, which are c-nly to
be met with in the tropics of the New World. In the British
Islands we have only to deal with the first of these Sub-famiiies.

THE TRUE CUCKOOS. SUB-FAMILY CUCULIN/It.

These chiefly differ from the other members of the Fam.ily
in their long and pointed wing, showing that they are birds of
strong flight, the majority of the species being migratory, and
some, like our Common Cuckoo, traversing enormous dis-
tances. In the other Sub-families, such as the Lark-heeled and
the Bush Cuckoos, the wing is conca\ e and fits closely to the
shape of the body, showing that the birds are not migratory and
incapable of sustained flights.

Captain Shelley, the latest exponent of the family, recog-
nises seventeen genera of the Cuculhice, of which three have
to be treated of as British.

THE CRESTED CUCKOOS. GENUS COCCYSTES.

Coccysks, Gloger, Handb. Naturg. p. 203 (1842).

Type, C. glandaritis (Z.).

Of the eight species composing this genus, five are peculiar
to Africa, one is Indian, one inhabits both Africa and India,
while the eighth is a migratory bird, which nests in Southern
Europe and visits Africa in the winter. All the species have a
conspicuous crest of elongated feathers, and have the nasal
aperture elongated, so as to form a linear oval.

I. THE GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO. COCCYSTES GLANDARUJS.

Ciiadus ghmdarius, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 169 (1766) ; Seebohm,

Br. B. ii. p. 386 (1884).
Coccystes glandarius, Newton, ed. Yarr. Br. B. ii. 408 (1881);

Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 219, pi. 300 (1874); B. O. U.

List Br. B. p. 84 (1883) ; Saunders, Man. p. 279 (1889);

Shelley, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xix. p. 212 (189 1).
Oxylophus glandarius, Lilford, Col. Eig. Br. B. pt. xvi. (1890).
Adult Male, — General colour above ashy-brown, with white

2 2 Allen's naturalist's library.

tips to the quills and the upper tail-coverts ; crown of head
pale grey; on the sides of the neck a broad collar of buff;
under surface of body white, with a tinge of buff on the throat
and fore-neck; under wing-coverts buff; bill blackish, with the
base of the lower mandible pale yellow ; feet leaden-grey ; iris
dark brown. Total length, i6 inches ; culmen, i-2 ; wing, 8-5 ;
tail, 8-8 ; tarsus, 1-3.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but with a good deal of
chestnut on the quills, which appears to vanish with age, so
that there is at last no difference between the sexes, beyond
that the female is a little smaller. Total length, 15 inches;
wing, 77.

Young. — Resembles the adult, but always has the greater part
of the quills chestnut ; the throat is darker and more rufous,
and the fore-part of the head is black.

Range in Great Britain. — Has occurred twice in the British
Isles, once in Ireland in 1842, when a specimen was caught
alive in March of that year. It was found in an emaciated
condition on the Island of Omey, off the coast of Connemara.
Mr. Howard Saunders says that the specimen, which is now
in the Museum of Trinity College, Dublin, is in immature
plumage, which fact accounts for the caution of his statement,
that it was captured probably in March 1842. A second
example is in the Newcastle Museum, and was shot near
Bellingham in Northumberland on the 5th of August, 1870.

Eange outside the British Islands. — Principally a Mediterranean
species, arriving in Southern Spain early in March aiid leaving
in the first days of August. It has occurred accidentally in
Northern Germany, Southern France, and Northern Italy,
and to most of the Mediterranean countries, as far east as
Asia Minor, it is a regular visitor. Its farthest eastern range
appears to be Northern Persia. It is a resident bird and nests
i 1 Egypt and North-western Africa, but the only known breed-
ing place within strictly European limits, is the southern half
of Spain, where Mr. Howard Saunders has found it nesting as
far north as Madrid. It is also a visitor to the Canary Islands.
In winter it migrates to Senegambia and the Gold Coast, and
also visits Southern Africa.

Hahits. — Like the other members of this Family, the Great

THE TRUE CUCKOOS. . 23

Spotted Cuckoo feeds entirely upon insects. It is parasitic
upon various species of Magpies and Crows, sometimes even
placing its egg in the nest of a Raven. Magpies, however, and
occasionally the Blue-winged Magpie {Cyanopolius cyanus) are
its most frequent victims, and Mr. Saunders says that he has
found four Cuckoo's eggs deposited in a Magpie's nest along
with six of the rightful owner's. Lord Lilford, who has given
an excellent account of the habits of the present species, says
that the greatest number of Cuckoo's eggs found by him in one
next was eight, with five of a Magpie. "In almost every case in
which we found eggs of both species together, the Cuckoo's
eggs were more advanced towards hatching than those of the
rightful proprietor of the nest." The voice of the male bird is
said by Mr. Saunders to be a harsh " kark-kark,'' and that of
the female to be like the words " biirroo-burroo " rapidly re-
peated.

Nest. — None; the bird being parasitic, as described above.

Eggs. — Although bearing some resemblance to those of the
Magpie, the eggs of the Great Spotted Cuckoo can be told by
their elliptical shape, and by the smoother texture of their shell.
The ground-colour is pale greenish-blue, with spots of brown,
and underlying purplish-grey spots ; in some cases the spots are
evenly distributed over the egg, while in others they are col-
lected round the larger end, imitating the Magpie's egg in the
frequent possession of a zone. The eggs of the Great Spotted
Cuckoo vary considerably in size, as will be seen by the measure-
ments. Axis, I-25-I-4 inch; diam., o-95-i-o5.

THE TRUE CUCKOOS. GENUS CUCULUS.

Ciiciilus^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. i68 (1763).

Type, C. canorus (L.).

The True Cuckoos have no crest, and are distinguished fur-
ther by their rounded nostril, which is surrounded by a swollen
membrane. The wings and tail are long, and the latter is fan-
shaped.

They are found in nearly every country of the Old World,
some of them, like our Common Cuckoo, inhabiting the tem-
perate regions of the north during summer, and migrating

24 ALLEN S NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

southwards in the autumn, while in some of the tropical coun-
tries the species remain all the year round.

I. THE COMMON CUCKOO. CUCULUS CANORUS.

Cuculus aiJionis, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 165 (1766); Macgill
Br. B. iii. p. 109 (1840) ; Newt. ed. Yarr. Evit. B. ii. p
387 (1880); Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 199, pi. 299 (1878)
B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 83 (1883) ; Seebohm, Br. B. ii. p
378 (1884) ; Saunders, Man. p. 277 (1889) ; Shelley, Cat
B. Brit. Mus. xix. p. 245 (1891); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B
pt. xviii. (1891).

(Plate XXX III.)
Adult Male. — General colour above leaden-grey, with a slight
greenish gloss, the upper tail-coverts with white edges and bars;
quills dark brown, with white notches on the inner webs ; tail-
feathers slaty-black, with white ends ; on each side of the shaft
twin spots of white, the inner webs notched with white, but no
complete bars across the feathers ; sides of face and throat
rather lighter grey than the head ; remainder of under surface
of body white, regularly barred with black, with a tinge of l)uff
on the abdomen and under tail-coverts ; axillaries and under
wing-coverts barred with black ; bill black, light yellow at the
base of the lower mandible ; feet yellow ; iris yellow. Total
length, 14 inches ; culmen, 0-9 ; wing, 8-9 ; tail, 7*0; tarsus, o*8.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but a trifle smaller, and
distinguished by the rufous shade on the fore-neck. Total
length, 12*5 inches; wing, 8"3.

Young. — Very different from the adults. Dark brown or
ashy-brown, barred with rufous, and with a white edging to
the feathers, producing a strongly mottled appearance ; on the
back of the neck a white spot ; under surface of body buffy-
white, barred with blackish-brown, more broadly on the throat ;
tail barred with rufous.

There is also a rufous or "hepatic" phase of plumage in the
Cuckoo, w4iich appears to be confined to the young birds only.
In this plumage the general aspect of the bird is tawny-rufous
or cinnamon, barred with blackish, the bars less distinct or
forming only spots on the rump and upper tail-coverts ; tail-
feathers rufous, tipped with white, before which is a sub-

PLATE XXXIII.

CUCKOO.

THE CUCKOO. 25

terminal black band, the feathers being irregularly barred with
blackish ; under surface of body buffy-white, barred with black,
the buff colour deeper on the throat. By some naturalists it is
supposed that this " hepatic " stage lasts throughout the bird's
life, but I have seen specimens moulting from it into the grey
plumage of the fully adult bird.

Range in Great Britain. — A summer visitor, arriving in April,
somewhat irregularly in some years, when the seasons are back-
ward, and leaving about the end of July. The young birds,
however, are later in their departure, and are sometimes seen
as late as the middle of September. The males come a few
days before the females, and greatly out-number the latter. It
visits every portion of the British Islands, and even the out-
lying isles.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Cuckoo has been known
to visit the Faeroe Islands, and is found nearly everywhere
throughout Europe and Northern Asia to Kamtchatka, but
it does not visit the tundras of Siberia, according to Mr. See-
bohm. In Norway it extends its range almost to the North
Cape, and in the valleys of the Petchora and the Ob it reaches
to 66^° N. lat., on the Yenesei to 67°, and in Eastern Siberia
it has been recorded from theStanovoi Mountains (62° N. lat.)
by Middendorf. It breeds throughout the Mediterranean coun-
tries, but is chiefly known as a migrant, and the same may be
said of it in India, as only a few breed in the Himalayas. I saw
it not uncommonly at Simla in the summer of 1885.

The winter home of the Cuckoo extends throughout the
African continent, as it occurs at that season on the Gold
Coast, and it is also found in South Africa. Throughout the
whole of the Indian Peninsula it likewise extends in winter,
and even reaches Australia.

Habits. — The natural economy of the Cuckoo is of such an
extraordinary nature, that a whole volume could easily be
written on the life-history of this curious and interesting bird.
The peculiar facts connected with its breeding are worthy of
a prolonged study, and there is doubtless much still to be
discovered respecting the behaviour of the bird during the
breeding-season. That there is a great predominance in the
number of males over that of the females which visit this

2 6 ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

country, is now an admitted fact, and the constant following
of the female bird by several of the opposite sex, not only
allows of no opportunity for pairing for life, but takes away
every possibility of her having time to build a nest. That the
Cuckoo is polyandrous seems to be equally certain, and the
note of the female is also different from that of the male,
\vh'ch is the bird which utters the well-known " Cuckoo " call.
The female's, on the other hand, is a "whittling " or "water-
burbling " cry, unlike that of any other British bird, and, when
uttered, is quite sufficient to set all the male Cuckoos calling for
some distance round. The flight of the Cuckoo is very similar
to that of a Hawk, and the appearance of one on the wing
is the signal for its being mobbed by Swallows, Martins, and
other small birds, just as if it were really a Bird of Prey.
Whether the smaller species really mistake it for a Hawk,
or really recognise it as a common enemy which brings disas-
ter at times on their progeny, one can hardly say, but that its
Accipitrine character is useful to the Cuckoo can hardly be
doubted, as will be seen from the narrative which Mrs. Frastr
has given of a singular occurrence which came under her
notice.

This lady had found a Stonechat's nest, and was engaged
in painting a picture in its vicinity, when she saw a female
Cuckoo fly down to the ground with an egg in its bill. At the
same moment the male Cuckoo swooped down near the Stone-
chats, when the foolish little birds at once flew to attack it and
drive it from their nest, and pursued it for some distance,
during which interval the female Cuckoo quietly approached
the nest and dropped her egg into the latter. She then uttered
her pecuhar call, and was immediately joined by the male, and
both birds flew off together in triumph.

The Cuckoo, having laid her egg, carries it about in her bill
and places it in the nest which she selects as a suitable one for
the well-being of her youngster when it is hatched. To the
fact that Cuckoos have been shot with an egg in their mouth is
no doubt due the myth that the bird devours eggs, no one
having, apparently, surmised that the egg which the bird was
carrying might be its own ! Having deposited the egg, it is
generally supposed that the old female takes no further interest
in its offspring, and certainly it would appear that, by their

THE CUCKOO. 27

earlier departure, the adult Cuckoos leave their young to find
their way south by themselves. They are, however, by no
means the only birds which act thus.

The history of the young Cuckoo in the nest of the foster-
parents is that, being hatched about the same time as the young
of the rightful occupant, the interloper, while still blind and in
an apparently helpless condition, manages to hoist the other
little blind nesthngs over the side of the nest, so that they
perish, and it endures to receive the unremitting care of the
pair of small birds, in whose nest the mother Cuckoo may have
placed her egg. This story was first related by Dr. Jenner, to
whom we owe the discovery of vaccination, and we have heard
that some " anti-vaccinationists " have carried their fanaticism
so far, that, from their dishke of the founder of the practice of
vaccination, they would wish to throw doubts on the authen-
ticity of Dr. Jenner's observations on the habits of the Cuckoo !
Some few years ago, however, the proceedings of the young
Cuckoo, in ejecting from the nest its young foster-brothers and
sisters, were observed by Mrs. Hugh Blackburn, who sketched
the operation. We do not know whether the anti-vaccination-
ists wish to accuse this lady of an untruthful record, but they
will scarcely be inclined to doubt the evidence of the late Mr.
John Hancock, who also was a witness to the method of the
young Cuckoo in ejecting the other occupants of the nest (Tr,
North, and Durham Nat. Hist. Soc. viii.pt. 2, pp. 210-217, 1886).
The fanatics may not even be satisfied with this evidence, but
it will be sufficient for every ornithologist.

The small size of the egg laid by the Cuckoo, considering
the bulk of the bird, is another peculiar feature in its economy.
Great diversity of colour, also, is one of its characteristics, and
considering the various types of eggs laid by the Cuckoo, it is
not wonderful that the theory exists that the bird places its egg
in the nest of a species, the eggs of which most resemble its
own in colour. That there is great truth in this theory I
firmly believe, otherwise it would be difficult to account for the
fact that blue Cuckoo's eggs should be placed in the nest of
a Redstart, which likewise lays blue eggs. In the British
Museum are such clutches of eggs, and also blue eggs placed
in the nest of a Pied Flycatcher, the eggs of which are also
blue. The fact of the Cuckoo producing a blue egg was for

28 atj,en's naturalist's library

some time doubted in England, though well-known in Ger-
many ; but the question was set at rest by two English orni-
thologists, Mr, Henry Seebohm and Mr. H. J. Elwes who, were
collecting together in Holland, and who received a nest of
Redstart's eggs, one of which, larger than the rest, was said to
be that of a Cuckoo. The eggs proved to be hard-set, with
well-formed young inside They were alike blue in colour,
but on trying to blow the larger egg, the foot of the little bird
— a zygodactyle foot — protruded from the hole, and effect-
ually proved that the tiny occupant was a veritable Cuckoo.

In England the most common victims are the Pied Wagtail,
the Reed-Warbler, and the Meadow Pipit ; and in each case
there is a remarkable similarity in colouring of the Cuckoo's
egg to that of the foster-parent which she selects. It is sup-
posed that the coloration of the Cuckoo's egg is an hereditary
faculty, and that each female Cuckoo lays a particular type of
egg. This is in all probability the case, and Cuckoos which
lay blue eggs come of a stock which has been hatched from
blue eggs, and will continue to lay them, and deposit them in
the nest of some blue-egg-laying species.

Among the various types of Cuckoo's eggs in the collection
of the British Museum are many which are exact copies of the
eggs of other birds. In some instances the likeness is truly re-
markable, and it is curious to see the large egg lying in the nest
by the side of the smaller ones of the rightful parent, precisely
similar in colour, but double the size, looking in fact, like a
double-yolked egg of the species. In the above-named collec-
tion are Cuckoo's eggs showing the exact colour and markings
of the eggs of the birds victimised by the parasitic bird — Pied
Wagtail's, Yellow Wagtail's, Blue-headed Wagtail's, Meadow-
Pipit's, Tree-Pipit's, Skylark's, Chaffinch's, Reed-Warbler's,
Sedge-Warbler's, Orphean Warbler's, &c. But these eggs are
not always deposited in the nests of the species where the eggs
of the foster-parent exactly resemble those of the interloper.
In none of the Hedge-Sparrow's nests, for instance, have we a
blue Cuckoo's egg, and it is curious to find an egg like that of
a Skylark or a Tree-Pipit deposited in the nest of a Marsh-
Warbler or a Chiff-chaff, the eggs of which are so differently
coloured that the sombre Cuckoo's eg- lies in striking con-
trast, and it is wonderful that the little owners of the nest
do not detect the fraud. This dissimilarity in the colour o;'

THE CUCKOO. 29

the Cuckoo's egg probably arises from the fact that the bird
cannot find at the time a nest ready for its reception, and is,
therefore, obh'ged to put it into the first nest where there are
freshly-laid eggs, which will ultimately be hatched at the same
time as the young Cuckoo, and therefore allow the latter the
opportunity of turning out its little nest-fellows, and receive the
entire attention of the two foster-parents, who find all th_ir
time taken up in feeding the voracious youngster. A striking
instance of the above fact was noticed by my friend, Mr. C.
Bygrave Wharton, who observed a female Cuckoo haunting the
vicinity of his grounds at Totton in the New Forest for some
days. He at length discovered a Cuckoo's egg in the nest of a
Sedge-Warbler, and, beyond the larger size of the egg, there
was absolutely nothing to distinguish the egg of the Cuckoo
from those of the rightful owner. Some five days afterwards
he found an egg of the Cuckoo of the same " Sedge- Warbler "
type, but this time in the nest of a Reed-Bunting, whose eggs
were, of course, of a wholly different pattern. This seemed to
show that the egg laid by the Cuckoo was like that of the
Sedge-Warbler, and that on the first occasion the bird had
found a nest ready to hand, but, in the case of the second egg,
no Sedge- Warbler in the neighbourhood had a nest ready, and
therefore the Cuckoo was forced to put it into the nest of the
Reecl-Bunting. Such instances could no doubt be multi-
plied, but, as we have before hinted, the natural history of
our Common Cuckoo is such a complex subject that a
book might easily be written about the bird and its peculiar
habits.

That the Cuckoo lays its eggs at intervals has long been
believed, but Dr. Key, a well-known German oologist, has
recently given his opinion that the interval between the de-
position of the eggs is mich shorter than is generally sujjposed,
and that a single female will lay from seventeen to twenty-two
eggs ! Much has been surmised as to whether the old Cuckoos
take any interest in their offspring after it is hatched, but
Professor Newton writes, " of the assertion that the Cuckow*

* Professor Newton always calls the bird the " Cuckow/' which is the
form "of the more scholarly English ornithologists, as Montagu and
Jenyns" (cf. Diet. B. p. 118). The bird itself, however, says " Clicks*?,"
and even the above learned writer admits that the oldest English spelling of
the name seems to have been " Cticcu.'"

30 Alton's naturat.trt'?^ i.ttrary.

herself takes any interest in the future welfare of the egg she
has foisted on her victim, or of its product, there is no evi-
dence worth a moment's attention." It is certain that the
young Cuckoos are left to find their way south in the autumn
entirely by themselves, the old birds having left long before,
and in the British Museum are three birds shot by myself on
the same day within a quarter of a mile of the same spot, which
must have been migralinj; south in company.

The food of the Cuckoo a]opears to consist entirely of in-
sects, and it is a true friend of the farmer and gardener, espe-
cially as it is believed to be the only kind which devours the
larvae of the Tiger-Moth — the "Woolly Bear," as it is generally
called. Most birds decline to eat this creature, but the
stomach of the Cuckoo has been found completely lined with
the hairs from off this caterpillar's body.

Nest.- None; the bird being parasitic.

Eggs. — Variable to an extraordinary degree, as described
above.

THE AMERICAN CUCKOOS. GENUS COCCVZUS.

Coccyzus, Vieill. Analyse, p. 28 (18 16).

Type, C. aiu erica Hits (L.).

The American Cuckoos have much the same form as the
ordinary True Cuckoos of the Old World, but are rather plainer
in colour, without bars on the under surface of the body, and
have the nostril oval in shape. They also make nests, and are
not parasitic, as far as is known.

Two species have wandered to Europe, but they can only be
regarded as occasional visitors, of accidental occurrence.

The members of the genus Coccyzus occur throughout the
greater part of the New World, visiting the temperate regions
of North America in summer, and occurring throughout tro-
pical America as far south as the Argentine Republic, but not
visiting the extreme south of the South American continent.

I. THE VELT>0\V-niT,T,F.n Cl^CKOO. COrCVZUS AMERICANUS.

Cucuiu^ anicricatius, Linn. S. N. i. p. 170 (1766).

THE YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. 3 1

Coccyzus americaniis^ Macg, Br. B. iii. p. 137 (1840); Dresser,
B. Eur. V. p. 227, pi. 301, fig. 2 (1876) ; Newton, ed.
Ycirr. ii. p. 414 (1881) ; B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 84 (1883);
Seebohm, Br. B. ii. p. 390 (1884); Saunders, Man. p. 280
(1889); Shelley, Cat. B. xix. p. 308 (1891).

Adult Male. — Above brown, glossed with olive on the mantle ;
tail black, tipped with white, except the centre feathers, which
are like the back ; quills externally brown and also brown at
the ends, internally rufous ; eyebrows greyish ; ear-coverts
rather darker brown ; cheeks and under-surface of body white ;
under wing-coverts white, tinged with buff. Bill dark horn-
colour, paler below the nostrils, the lower mandible for the
most part orange-yellow ; feet leaden-grey ; iris dark brown.
Total length, 11 inches; culmen, I'l ; wing, 5*5; tail, 6'o ;
tarsus, I'o.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male in colour. Total length,
ID'S inches ; wing, 5-6.

Range in Great Britain. — A purely accidental visitor. Four in-
stances of its occurrence have been recorded : in co. Cork, in
the autumn of 1825 ; near Dublin, in 1832 ; near Aberystwith,
in October, 1870; and on Lundy Island, in October, 1874. It
has also been obtained in Belgium, and in Italy near Turin.

Eange outside the British Islands. — Found principally in the
Eastern United States, eastward to the Missouri Plains, breed-
ing as far south as Texas, and extending on the west to Cali-
fornia, though Mr. Ridgway considers the western bird to be
distinct, and names it C. Occident alis. It also occurs in the
West Indian Islands and breeds there.

Habits. — Very similar to those of our own Cuckoo, but differ-
ing from that species in the habit of building its own nest, rear-
ing its own young, and being an affectionate parent. According
to AVilson, it begins to pair early in May, and commences to
build its nest about the loth of that month, retiring to some
shady and retired woodland for that purpose. There seems to
be, even with this well-behaved parent, the same difference in
time between the deposition of the eggs as is to be found in
the case of Cuculus canorus. Audubon relates that he found
a nest in which were five young Cuckoos and two eggs. Two

32 Allen's naturalisis- lip.rary.

of llic young l)inls were sufririciUly advanced to srrnmblc out
of the nest, and the otlier three were of different ages, one being
just hatched, another several days old, and the third still further
advanced, covered with " pen "-feathers, so that it would have
been able to fly in about a week. His friend Mr. Rhett, in
whose garden this nest was found, assured him that he had
known as many as eleven young Cuckoos to be reared in a
nest in the course of one season. The late Dr. Brewer says
that the breeding-season lasts from one to four months, so that
it will be .seen that the nesting-habits of the American Cuckoo
differ strikingly from those of their European cousins.

Nest. — In the construction of this, little art is displayed. It
is made of a few sticks and twigs without any perceptible con-
cavity, and has a few green weeds and apple-blossoms inter-
mixed.

Eggs. — Uniform liglit l)luish-grecn, whi( h rapidly fades, even
in a cabinet, according to Dr. Brewer. Axis, i-2-r3 inch;
diam., o-q-i'o.

IL THE BLACK-r.ILLED CUCKOO. COCCYZUS
ERVTHROPHTHALMUS.

CiiniJus crythropthalma, Wilson, Am. Orn. iv. p. i6 (iSii).
Coccxziis crythrophthalmus, Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 231, pi. 30T,
' fig. I (1876); B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 85 (1883) ; Saun-
ders, Man. p. 280 (1889); Shelley, Cat. B. xix. p. 311
(1891).

Adult Male.— Similar to C. amcricanus, but disimguished by
the narrow white tips to the tail feathers, which have a black
sub-terminal band. There is no chestnut lining to the quills,
which have only a little rufous-buff colour at the base ; bill
black, with sometimes a little yellow at the base of the lower
mandible ; feet leaden-grey ; iris dark brown. Total length, 1 1
inches; culmen, o'q ; wing, 6*0; tail, 6-5 ; tarsus, 0*95.

Adult Female.— Similar to the male. Total length, lo'S inches ;
wing, 4"8.

Range in Great Britain. — Has occurred once near Belfast, in
September, 1871. Another example has been obtained near
Lucca in Italy, in 1858.

THE PICARTAN BIRDS. 33

Range outside the Britisli Islands. — According to Mr. Ridgway,
this species inhabits the Eastern United States, as far north
as Labrador and west to Manitoba and the Rocky Mountains,
visiting in winter Central America, the West Indies, and the
northern part of South America.

Hal)its. — Very similar to those of C. americaims, excepting
that the bird is perhaps even more shy and retiring in its ways.
Like the last-named bird, it builds its own nest, and is a most
affectionate parent. Dr. Brewer tells of an instance where the
female had been killed, and the male bird successfully brought
up the brood of five young ones.

Nest. — According to Dr. Brewer, the nest is built in an ever-
green bush or small sapling. It is rather neatly constructed of
twigs, occasionally lined with moss, withered catkins, or blossoms
of plants.

Eggs — Glaucous-green or verditer-blue. Axis, I'li; diam.,
0-78 inch {Ridgivay).

THE PICARTAN BIRDS. ORDER CORACIIFORMES.

In this Order are comprised several Sub-orders of birds,
most of which are inhabitants of the Tropics, and do not
immediately concern us here. Such are the Guacharos
{Steatornithes), the Frog-mouths {Fodargi), the Madagascar
Rollers {Leptosomafi), the Hornbills {Biicerotes), the Mot-mots
[Alomoti), the Todies {Todi), the Humming-Birds {Trochili),
and the Colies {Colli). All these Sub-orders have remarkable
characteristics, and contain, as a rule, but few species, which
represent the various Sub-orders in the Tropics of both the
Old and New Worlds.

All the Picarians differ from the Passerine Birds in the ar-
rangement of the tendons of the foot, the flexor perforans
digitoriim being connected with the hallux.

As a rule they lay white, or at least uniform pale-coloured
eggs, which are always hidden from sight in the hole of a tree,
or under the shelter of a building or rock. The young are
born naked, and, as far as is known, the form of development
of the feathers is peculiar, the feather remaining long in its
sheath, so that a young Picarian is covered soon after its birth

34

ALLEN'S NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

with an array of pen-feathers. As soon as these have reached
a development which makes the youngster look like a smal

Young Kingfisher, to show the pen-feathers.

Porcupine, the sheath breaks and falls off, and the feathers
cover the body at once.

THE SWIFTS. SUB-ORDER CYPSELI.

The Swifts and the Night- Jars have generally been associated
in recent classifications of birds with the Humming-Birds, as
forming an Order Machrochires. The association of the Swifts

THE SWIFTS. 35

with the Swallows as joint members of the Order Fissirostres
has long been recognised as a mistake, the Swallows being
aberrant Passeriformes, and the Swifts being really aberrant
FlcaricB. They are, however, the most Passerine of the Pica-
rian birds, as they have a distinctly Passerine, or aegithogna-
thous, palate; in other respects they are Picarian, though in
many points they are aberrant members of the Order,

In some form or other, Swifts are found nearly all over the
world, except in the high north and the extreme south. Where
no true Swifts occur, as is the case in some of the Pacific
Islands, their place is taken by the edible Swiftlets {Collo-
calid)^ those curious little cave-haunting birds, which make
the nests so highly prized by the Chinese and others for the
manufacture of bird's-nest soup. In Borneo these caves are
leased for the purposes of revenue, those which are frequented
by Collocalia fuciphaga^ which makes the purest white nest,
being of more value than those inhabited by C. linchii or by
species which make "black" or "moss" nests, these not being
so useful for culinary purposes. These are, however, birds of
the Tropics, and in the British Islands we have but to notice
three species, one, Micropus apus, a regular summer visitor,
one, M. melba^ of rare occurrence, and one, Chcetura caudacuta, a
very rare visitor, of accidental occurrence only.

THE TRUE SWIFTS. FAMILY CYPSELID^.

The Swifts are remarkable for their very wide gape, the
mouth being cleft to below the level of the eyes. The wing,
although so powerful in flight, has less feathers in its compo-
sition than the bulk of Passerine Birds, for there are only ten
primaries, while the secondaries are less than nine in number,
but the quills are all very strong and pointed, so that no birds
on earth exceed the Cypselida in their power of flight. That
of our Common Swift is rapid enough, but this is nothing when
compared with the lightning-like rapidity with which some of
the Spine-tailed Swifts {Chcetura) traverse space, I remember
one Indian experience in particular, when we stopped for the
night at Solon, on the road to Simla, arriving there just as
twilight was approaching. While dinner was preparing, I
stood outside on the road, looking over that wonderful Hima-
layan scenery which I am never likely to see again, the tre-

D 2

36

AT.LEN S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY.

mendous mountains above and the deep valley below, with
the setting sun illuminating the glorious peaks of the hill-tops,
and throwing into shade the depths lying below my feet. I
was conscious of an occasional buzz of wings past my face,
and soon discovered that the roof of the Dak Bungalow was
tenanted by a colony of the small Indian Swift {Micropus
ajjifiis), who were dashing out every moment with the speed of
an arrow, or perhaps one might say, with the velocity of a rifle-
bullet. I had no gun with me — if I had, it would have been
useless, — but I marked the holes whence the birds came forth,
and armed myself with a butterfly-net. It is needless to tell
anyone who has seen these birds in flight that I did not catch
one of them. The fast approaching darkness, which hindered
my vision, served to sharpen that of the birds, which easily

Sternum of
Hirtuido rustica.

Sternum of
Microptis apiis.

avoided me, but I shall never forget the pace at which the little
creatures darted out from beneath the roof of the house and
whizzed past. When I had turned my head they were half-a-mile
away over the valley, giving just a glimpse of the white band
on the rump, which enabled me to detect to which species
they belonged. I am informed by some of my Anglo-Indian
friends that the flight of M. affinis is as nothing compared with
that of a Chcetura, to which the term of " greased lightning "
can easily be applied.

In addition to the characteristic rapidity of their flight, the
Swifts further diff'er from the Swallows, with which they have
been associated by so many writers, in having only ten tail-

THE SWIFTS. 37

feathers instead cf twelve. The breast-bone is very small, and
has a high keel, indicative of a powerfully-developed pectoral
muscle, and the hinder margin is one-notched.

Then, again, the bones of the wing in the Swift are peculiar,
the humerus being very short, the fore-arm being longer, and
the bones of the manus extremely long.

These are some of the most striking differences between the
Swifts and the Swallows, and there are numerous others which

Wing-bones of Hinindo rustka.

have been described by Parker, Shufeldt, Lucas, Ridgway,
and other competent anatomists. In their segithognathous
palate there is strong fundamental evidence that they cannot
be placed far from the Passerine Birds in the natural system,
and the Swallows are doubtless their nearest allies in the latter
Order.

Mr. Ernst Hartert, who is the latest exponent of the classi-
fication of the CypselidcB (Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xvi. pp. 434-518),

Wing- bones of Micropiis apiis.

divides the Family into three Sub-families : the CypselincE, or
True Swifts, with feathered toes and only three phalanges to
the outer and middle toes ; the Chceturince, or Spine-tailed
Swifts, with the toes unfeathered, and four phalanges to the
outer and middle toes, the tail short and exceeded by the wings;
and finally, the Tree Swifts {Macroptery gincE\ with a long
forked tail, not exceeded by the wing. It is not, however,
necessary to enter further into the differences of the three

^S Allen's naturalist's lihrary.

groups of Cypselidce^ as, in a work on "British Birds," only the
True Swifts concern us directly, the Spine-tailed Swifts very
little, and the Tree Swifts, which are exclusively tropical, not
at all.

THE TRUE SWIFTS. SUB-FAMILY CYPSELIN^.

The characters of this Sub-family, as detailed above, are
the feathered toes, and the presence of only three phalanges
in the outer and middle toes.

THE TYPICAL SWIFTS. GENUS MICROPUS.

Micropus, Meyer und Wolf, Taschenb. i. p. 280 (1810).

Type, M. apis (L.).

In this genus the toes are very strong, without feathers, and
all four are directed forwards, the same interval dividing each
toe from its neighbour.

The typical Swifts are principally birds of the Old World.
Two species only occur in South America, in the Andes of
Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, and these species appear to
descend to lower levels in winter and to visit Argentina, but
over the whole of Brazil and Amazonia the genus is unrepre-
sented, while in North America its place is taken by the Pied
Swift {Aero?iantes). In Europe and Asia the Swifts are
summer visitors, not breeding far north, and leaving for their
winter quarters very early in the autumn. A considerable
number of resident species are found in Africa, which is also
the winter home of our two British species.

L THE WHITE-BELLIED SWIFT. MICROPUS MELBA.

Hirundo melba, Linn. S. N. i. p. 345 (1766).

Cypselus melba, Macg. Br. B. iii. p. 611 (1840); Dresser, B.

Eur. iv. p. 603, pi. 269 (1874) ; Newton's ed. Yarn ii. p.

372 (1874); B. O. U. List, p. 74 (1883); Seebohm, Br.

B. ii. p. 297 (1884); Saunders, Man. p. 253 (1889).
Micropiis vielba, Hartert, Cat. B. xvi. p. 438 (1892).

Adult Male.— Distinguished by its large size and white abdo-
men. General colour above mouse-brown, darker on the

THE TYPICAL SWIFTS. 39

win^s and tail ; under surface of body white, with a band of
dark brown across the chest, the feathers composing it being
narrowly edged with white ; under tail-coverts and marginal
under wing-coverts also edged with white ; flanks brown and
edged with white, before which is a sub-terminal bar of darker
brown; bill black; feet dull flesh-colour; iris dark brown.
Total length, 8*5 inches; culmen, 0-5; wing, 8*45; tail, 2*5;
outer feathers, 3*5; tarsus, o'6.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male. Total length, 8*3 inches ;
wing, 8-3.

Young. — Similar to the adults, but having white fringes to
th3 brown feathers.

Eange in Great Britain. — Of accidental occurrence only, though
it has been recorded more than twenty times. In Scotland it
has not yet been noticed, but has occurred in Ireland once, a
specimen having been captured near Dublin, in March, 1833.
The other instances of its capture have taken place between
the months of June and October,

Range outside the British Islands. — A regular summer visitor to
the Alps of Southern Europe, wandering occasionally to
Northern France, Germany, and Heligoland. Mr. Howard
Saunders states that the species nests in the cliffs of Nolay on
the western frontier of Burgundy, as well as in the Vosges and
Savoy. In Switzerland it is a well-known species, and its
range extends through the mountains of South-eastern Europe
as far east as Persia and the Himalayas. Its winter home
appears to be in Northern and North-eastern Africa, and it
extends also over the whole of the Indian Peninsula and
Ceylon. In Eastern and Southern Africa its place is taken by
a resident species, M. afrkanns, which has been generally sup-
posed to be the same as M. melba^ but it is now separated as a
distinct species by Mr. Hartert.

Hahits. — This large Swift is a conspicuous feature of the
localities it inhabits, and is particularly to be noticed round
the Cathedral at Berne, which is tenanted by a large colony of
these birds every summer. They arrive in that town in April,
and, like other Swifts, often suffer from hunger and cold, if the
weather happens to be inclement, and Dr. Fatio and Professor

40 Allen's naturalist's library.

Suider say that many perish, as, of course, the supply of insects,
on which these birds entirely depend, fails them. The nest is
a rough structure, formed of many materials, all of which are
procured by the Swifts on the wing, as the short feet and long
wings of the bird prevent its rising when once it gets on the
ground, and so it is often captured when benumbed with cold.
Thus the nest is composed of earth procured from the crevices
of rocks, leaves, paper, feathers, &c., all the materials being
glued together into a compact mass by means of the birds' own
saliva. The eggs are laid before the nest is completed, and
much of the structure is consolidated by the sitting birds, both
male and female sharing the duties of incubation. In their
habits the White-bellied Swifts are very regular, issuing forth
from their retreats at break of day and foraging for food for
some hours, then resting in their homes during the best part
of the day, and sallying forth again about five o'clock in the
afternoon, and flying about till dark. They are very quarrel-
some and irritable in their nature, and make a considerable
noise and clatter in the places where they take up their
abode.

Eggs.— Generally two in number, but sometimes three or
even four, though it is supposed that no female lays more than
two eggs. Eggs pure white. Axis, ri-i-25; diameter, 075-
0*8.

II. THE COMMON SWIFT. MICROPUS APUS.

Hiriindo ajms, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 344 (1766).

Micropus inurarius, Meyer und Wolf, Taschenb. p. 281 (ivS-,)-

MacgiU. Brit. B. iii. p. 618 (1840).
Cypsebis apiis. Dresser, B. Eur. iv. p. 583, pi. 266 (1881) ;

Newt. ed. Yarr. Brit. B. ii. p. 364 (1882); B. O. U. List

Brit. B. p. 74 (1883); Seeb. Brit. B. ii. p. 292 (1884);

Lilford, Col. Fig. Brit. B. part v. (1887); Saunders, Man.

Brit. B. p. 251 (1889).

Adult Male.— Sooty-black with a slight greenish gloss, the
forehead slightly whiter ; chin dull white, whh a few shaft-lines
on some of the feathers ; under wing-coverts with faintly in-
dicated whitish margins, these being sometimes visible on the
under tail-coverts; bill black; feet dark brown; iris dark

THE TYPICAL SWIFTS. 4 1

brown. Total length, 7 inches; culmen, 0*3; wing, 6"j ;
centre tail-feathers, 17 ; lateral ones, 2-9 ; tarsus, 0-35.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male. Total length, 6' 6 inches;
wing, 6-4.

Young. — Similar to the adults, but browner, the forehead
whiter, and the feathers having whitish edgings.

Eange in Great Britain. — A common summer visitor to England
and Scotland, but rarer and of more irregular occurrence in the
north and west of the latter country. In Ireland, according
to Mr. R. J. Ussher, it breeds in every county, sometimes
nesting in cliffs.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Swift is distributed in
summer over the greater part of Europe, and winters in South
Africa and Madagascar. It has been noticed as high as 70° N.
lat. in Norway, and has been found breeding at 69° N. lat.
Mr. Seebohm says that it is only an accidental visitor to the
neighbourhood of Archangel, and is not found higher than
lat. 60° N. in the Urals. He also records the species as breed-
ing regularly in Dauria, Mongolia, and North China, but the
Swift of these regions is doubtless the pale form called by
Swinhoe Cypselus pekinensis, a light-coloured eastern race of
our Common Swift, which ranges eastward from Sind to North
China, and winters to the southward, though it appears also
to visit South Africa on its migrations. Another light-coloured
form of M. apus is the Pallid Swift {M. /mmniis), which visits
Egypt and the Mediterranean countries in summer, and ex-
tends its eastern range as far as Sind, wintering in South
Africa.

Habits. — The Swift is one of our latest arrivals in summer,
and one of the first of the migrants to leave our shores. It
comes towards the end of April or early in May, and departs
in August, though a few belated individuals are seen as late as
the end of September on our southern coasts, and even later
records of its stay have been established. Its approach north-
ward is very gradual, for whereas the first arrivals make their
appearance in the South of Europe in March, it is not till April
that they appear in Central Europe, and in the more northern
parts of their range, such as Lapland, they are not seen till

42 Allen's naturalist's library.

June. Many succumb from cold and subsequent starvation,
from arriving too early, before the frosts have quite left us.

As a rule the Swifts are most active towards the evening,
when they fly about in parties, dashing round the houses or
towers in which their nests are placed, screaming vociferously
in concert. Their food consists entirely of insects, which are
seized upon the wing. Nevertheless, at certain times, the
Swift may be seen hawking over the low ground, over a river,
or high in the air, even in the brightest sunshine, so that it is
evident that the daylight does not deter it from issuing forth
from its recesses, though it is undoubtedly in the twilight that
the bird is most active.

The short legs of the Swift incapacitate it from walking on
the ground, and its long wings are obviously in the way ; but it
is a mistake to suppose that the bird can never rise from the
earth, as the contrary has been proved. It is, however, never
seen to settle voluntarily on the ground for the purpose of col-
lecting material for its nest, as can always be observed in the
case of the Swallows and the Martins. From the situations
in which it builds its nest or in which it roosts, it can always
shuffle to the openings and launch itself into the air.

Nest. — A rough structure of straws and like material, mixed
with a few feathers and wool, and cemented together by the
saliva of the bird. It is sometimes placed in the crevice of a
cliff or building, or at the protected base of a spout, but is
more often placed under the roof of some building.

Eggs. — Pure white, of an elongated oval shape. Generally
two in number, often three, and more rarely four, the texture
of the shell being always more rough than in the eggs of the
Swallows. Axis, 0*95-1 '05 ; diam., o'65-o7.

THE SHORT-TAILED SWIFTS. SUB-FAMILY
CH.ETURIN^.

This Sub-family contains a number of species, mostly tropi-
cal in their habitat. They have the toes with the usual four
joints, and the tarsi bare of feathers. The tarsi are long,
equalling the length of the middle toe, but the tail is very

THE NEEDLE-TAILED SWIFTS. 43

short, and scarcely forked at all. The wings, on the other
hand, are extremely long, and project far beyond the tail.

In the Sub-family ClKEturhicB are included the edible Swifts
{Collocalia)^ which might very well be separated as a separate
Sub-family, on account of their peculiar nesting-habits. Mr.
Hartert includes them with the Chcettirince^ though they have
not spiny tail-feathers.

The Short-tailed Swifts are found in most parts of the world,
but do not extend very far north, especially in the Old AVorld.

THE NEEDLE-TAILED SWIFTS. GENUS CH/ETURA.

Chcetura, Steph. Gen. Zool. xiii. pt. 2, p. 76 (1826).

Type, C. pelagica (Linn.).

The members of this genus vary very much in size, and in-
clude both the largest and some of the smallest Swifts. They
can, however, always be told by the stiffened shafts of the tail-
feathers, the points extending beyond the tip of the tail and
presenting the appearance of spines.

The geographical range of the genus includes nearly the
whole of America from north to all but the extreme south.
In the Old World, species are found from Amoorland in
Eastern Siberia south to India, and the Malayan Region to
Australia, as well as the whole of Africa below the Sahara.

I. THE NEEDLE-TAILED SWIFT. CH/ETURA CAUDACUTA.

Hirimdo caiidaaita^ Lath. Ind. Orn. Suppl. ii. p. 57 (1801).

Aca7ithyllis caudacufa, Dresser, B. Eur. iv. p. 613, pi. 270
(1880); Newton, ed. Yarr. ii. p. 371, note (1874);
B. O. U. List, p. 74 (1883) ; Saunders, Man. p. 255
(1889).

Chcetura caudacuta, Seebohm, Br. B. ii. p. 303 (1884) ; Har-
tert, Cat. B. xvi. p. 472 (1892).

Adult Male. — Of large size. Upper surface of the body pale
brown, shading off into lighter brown on the lower back, the
rump with white bases to the feathers ; upper tail-coverts
black, glossed with steel-blue ; wings and tail black, with a
gloss of green or steel-blue, very distinct on the upper wing-

44 Allen's naturalist's library.

coverts, the innermost secondaries conspicuously paler, whitish
on the inner webs ; crown and nape, as well as the sides of
the head, glossy blackish-brown ; forehead and lores white ;
under surface of body sooty-brown, with white bases to the
feathers of the lower abdomen and lower flank-feathers, the
latter being glossy blue-black ; throat white ; vent and under
tail-coverts also w^iite ; under wing-coverts blackish-brown,
with a slight metallic gloss ; bill black ; feet brown. Total
length, 8 inches ; culmen, 0*35 ; wing, 8*2 ; tail, 2*3 ; tar-
sus, o 6.

Adult Female, — Similar to the male, but slightly smaller.

Young, — Similar to the adults, but with less white on the
forehead, and to be distinguished by some brownish spots on
the under tail-coverts.

Range in Great Britain. — A rare and occasional visitor, having
only been met with on two occasions, both in the middle of
summer. One was shot at Great Horkesley, near Colchester,
on the 8th of July, 1846, and another towards the end of July,
1879, near Ringwood in Hampshire. In the latter case, two
were observed flying for some days over the River Avon. The
species has not been obtained anywhere else in Europe, and
the Needle-tailed Swift is apparently one of those birds which,
for some reason or other, sometimes w'anders w^estward, out of
the ordinary course of its migrations.

Range outside the Biitisli Islands. — The breeding range of this
siiecies extends from the neighbourhood of Krasnoyarsk in
Siberia eastwards to Amoorland and South-eastein Mongolia,
as well the northern islands of Japan. In winter it migrates
by way of China to Australia.

HaMts. — Very similar to those of our Common Swift. It
arrives in its northern quarters about the end of April or the
beginning of May, and departs in August, a few staying on till
September. On migration vast flocks are often seen. Its
powers of flight are prodigious, and it is often noticed at a
great height in the air. It also visits the lowlands in the
vicinity of the mountain f ;slnesses in which it breeds, and is
there noticed hawking over the ground in company with other
Swifts.

THE TRUE NIGHT-JARS. 45

THE NIGHT- JARS. SUB-ORDER CAPRIMULGI.

These birds, familiarly known as Goat-Suckers, have much
similarity to the Swifts as regards their structure, but differ from
them in many points of anatomy. One great difference, how-
ever, is seen in the character of the nestlings, which are covered
with down. The palate is generally said to be " schizogna-
thous," but in Capjnmiilgiis it seems to be segithognathous
(see infra)^ and basipterygoid processes are present. In the
character of the plumage they differ entirely from the close-
set, hard feathering of the Swifts, and are remarkable for the
soft and delicate nature of their body-feathers, which are like
those of the Owls, and even resemble the latter in their zig-
zag markings and spots. They are almost all crepuscular
birds, coming out to seek their food in the twilight, though
they can fly very fairly in the daytime, but do not willingly take
flight unless disturbed.

The Night-Jars are distributed all over the world, except in
the extreme north and south, and they are also absent in the
islands of the Pacific Ocean.

There are two families, the True Night-Jars iCaprimulgidce)
and the Moth-plumaged Night-Jars {NyctibiidcE)^ the latter being
only found in Tropical America.

THE TRUE NIGHT-JARS. FAMILY
CAPRIMULGI D^.

Distinguished by their pectinated middle claw, which has a
comb-like edge. Only four phalanges are found in the outer
toe. The gape is very wide, and when the mouth is opened,
the extent is enormous, and in most cases is beset with a
number of strong, spiny bristles.

The range of the Family extends nearly all over the globe,
with the exceptions above stated. It contains about eighteen
genera, some of which are beautifully decorated and carry long
streamers in the wings and tail, or have other ornamental
plumes during the breeding-season.

THE TRUE NIGHT-JARS. GENUS CAPRIMULGUS.
Caprimulgus^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 346 (1766).
Type, C. europcezis (Linn.).
In these birds the skull is ?sgithognathous, with the vomer

46

Allen's naturalist's library.

truncated in front, and basipterygoid processes are present.
The spinal feather-tract is well defined on the neck, but is
forked on the back, as in the Swallow. A hind-toe is always
present, and is connected with the flexor perforatis digitorum.
The mouth is widely split, the gape opening to behind the eye,
and is furnished with strong bristles. As a rule in this Family,
the sexes are very much alike in colour, but the male has a white
spot on the primaries and at the end of the outer tail-feather,
this being replaced in the female by a fulvous spot. The wing

vijpt.p

j-il hpg-p. PO

Ventral aspect of cranium of Capritmilgiis etiropaiis (enlarged) to show
the vomer. Letters as before. [From the Catalogue of Osteological
Specimens in the Royal College of Surgeons.]

is very long and pointed. The young are covered with down,
and are helpless for some time after birth, being fed by their
parents.

Night- Jars are found over almost the entire surface of the
globe, the species which visit the northern temperate regions
being strictly migratory ; but in the Tropics a large number of
resident species are found, and are met with everywhere, except
in the extreme south of South America and the islands of
Oceania.

THE NIGHT-JARS. 47

I. THE COMMON NIGHT-JAR. CAPRIMULGUS EUROP^US.

Caprimulgus europceus^ Linn. S. N. i. p. 346 (1766); Macg.
Br. B. iii. p. 633 (1840); Newton, ed. Yarr. ii. p. 377
(1874); Dresser, B. Eur. iv. p. 621, pi. 271 (1875);
B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 75 (1883); Seebohm, Br. B. ii.
p. 309 {1884); Saunders, Man. p. 257 (1889); Hartert,
Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xvi. p. 526 (1892); Lilford, Col. Fig.
Brit. B. part xxii. (1892).

Adult Male. — Mottled all over, the general colour of the
upper surface being dark ashy-grey, with darker brown vermi-
culations, taking the form of broad lanceolate spots on the
crown ; the nape streaked with dull ochraceous-bufif ; on the
scapulars some longitudinal streaks of black and ochraceous-
buff; wing-coverts spotted with the latter colour; primary
quills blackish, with rufous-buff spots on both webs ; the three
outer primaries with a large rounded spot of white on the
inner web ; the two outer tail-feathers with a large white spot,
about an inch long, at the tip ; throat blackish-brown, nar-
rowly barred with rufous-brown and spotted with white ; breast
coloured like the upper surface ; abdomen fulvous, barred with
blackish-brown, these bars less distinct on the under wing- and
tail-coverts, which are rather more rusty ; bill black ; feet red-
dish-brown ; iris black. Total length, 10*5 inches; culmen,
0-55; wing, 7*8; tail, 5-5; tarsus, 075.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but having the white
spots on the primaries and outer tail-feathers replaced by
spots of ochreous-buff, which have also a few brown specks
upon them. Total length, 10*5 inches; wing, 7*5.

Young. — Resemble the adults, but are rather duller in colour
and have the spots on the primaries and outer tail-feathers
ochreous-buff, as in the old female.

Nestling — Covered with down of a greyish shade, darker
above and paler below.

This species is distinguished by the white or buff spots on
the inner web of the primaries and at the ends of the outer
tail-feathers, and by the absence of a distinct rufous collar
round the hind-neck.

Range in the British Islands. — A regular summer visitor, arriving

48 AT.LEN's NATURATJSr'S LIBRARY.

about the middle of May and leaving in September, though,
according to Mr. Howard Saunders, it will sometimes remain
" in the mild south-west of England " until November. It is
found throughout the United Kingdom in summer, ranging to
the far north of Scotland, but occurring only as a straggler in the
Orkneys, Shetlands, and the outer Hebrides. In Ireland, Mr.
R. J. Ussher records it as breeding in most of the counties,
but being more scarce in the north and west.

Eange outside the British Islands. — Extends over the whole of
Europe, being found as far north as 60° N. lat. in Scandinavia,
and reaches about 50° N. lat. in the Ural Mountains and the
Valley of the Yenesei. Mr. Seebohm believes that it does not
extend farther east than Irkutsk. Its winter home is in South
Africa, where it is met not uncommon. It may also extend
as far as Persia in summer, but the species which inhabits this
country and Central Asia is a paler form of the Night-Jar,
known as Cap7'imulgiis tuiwini, which apparently winters in
North-western India.

Hahits. — Although it may occasionally be flushed during the
day from the place where it is resting, the Night-Jar is a bird
of the twilight, and only comes out of its own accord in the
gloaming. Its favourite haunts are the districts covered with
fern and bracken, but it also frequents park-land, and I have
more than once started one from the open road. Its mottled
plumage tends to conceal it so effectually, when on the ground,
that it would be impossible to perceive it even in broad day-
light, and it is only in the evening that the Night-Jar is in evi-
dence. Seated lengthwise on a bough, or on the top of a post,
the bird utters its " churring " note — a sound, once heard, never
to be forgotten — and it is one of the most characteristic noises
of a summer night. It is from this peculiar vibrating call that
the Night-Jar has got the popular name of "Churn "-Owl in some
parts of the country. When flying it has also a call-note,
somewhat Owl-like, very well rendered in Mr. Seebohm's book
as co-ic, co-ic. This it utters when flying, and it is accompanied
by a kind of cracking noise, which is apparently produced by
striking its wings together over its back, after the manner of a
Wood-Pigeon. Often when on a moth-hunting expedition in
St. Leonard's Forest, in Sussex, my nightly round to the trees

THE TRUE NIGHT-JARS. 49

at the bottom of a little valley has been enlivened by the aerial
gambols of the Goat-Suckers above my head, and I have heard
the bird make the sound very distincdy, and seen it in the air
at thirty or forty yards' distance, silhouetted against the sky.
It always seemed to arrest its flight for an instant, as if the
wings were clapped together over the back, and I have noticed
the same hesitation when the bird makes the noise, as it
often does, after rising from the ground. The "churring"
notes are decidedly ventriloquial, and are given out with great
power. The late Mr. Frederic Bond told me that he was once
" sugaring " for moths in Windsor Forest, and as it was too
early to commence his rounds, he sat down against the foot of
a tree to rest, and dropped off to sleep, when he was awakened
suddenly by a din which startled him nearly out of his wits for
the moment. A Night-Jar had settled on a neighbouring bough,
and had commenced to " churr." The food of the Night-Jar
consists almost entirely of insects, and it devours large num-
bers of cockchafers and beetles. Mr. Seebohm says that it
eats slugs, and Macgillivray found that it also devoured cater-
pillars. Whether the large bristles which beset the gape are
of use to it in catching its prey is not known for certain, and
they are probably only an extreme development of this feature,
which is found, in a greater or less degree, in all fly-catching
birds. Certain it is that some Night-Jars, with similar habits
to our own species, are almost devoid of these rictal bristles.
Another puzzling character found in the Night-Jar is the pec-
tinated claw on the middle-toe, and it is extremely difficult to
imagine the use of this comb-like appendage. It has been
suggested that it is of use to the bird in retaining a firm
hold on the bark of the trees, when it sits along a bough.
Another use for the comb has been suggested in the cleaning
of the long rictal bristles from the debris of the moths and
beetles on which the bird feeds. Dr. Giinther, who had some
young Night-Jars for some time in confinement, tells me that
the only use which he found the birds to make of this pecti-
nated claw was to scratch the surface of a chair or sofa on which
they were sitting. Thus it may be a useful appendage in
scratching or distributing the earth for the purpose of seeking
its food.

Nest. — None ; the eggs being laid in a slight depression of

50 Allen's naturallst's library.

the earth, which becomes a Httle more evident as the period
of incubation progresses.

Eggs.— Only two in number, of a pecuhar shape, being equally
rounded at either end, like those of Swifts, and still more like
those of Sand-Grouse. They are very light in colour, being
pure white, or creamy-white, with two kinds of markings or
spots. The underlying ones are of a violet-grey colour, and
always visible, while the distinctive spots are brown, either
light or dark, and distributed over the egg in different ways,
either as spots, or large blotches, or lines. Axis, i '2-1 -35
inch; diameter, o-85-o-95.

II. THE ISABELLINE NIGHT-JAR. CAPRIMULGUS ^GYPTIUS.

Caprimiilgiis cegyptius, Licht. Verz. Doubl, p. 59 (1823);
Dresser, B. Eur. iv. p. 629, pi. 272 (1877) ; Seebohm, Hist!
Br. B. n. p. 315 (1884); Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 260
(1889); Hartert, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xvi. p. 562 (1892).
Adult Male.— Very pale in colour, isabelline and sandy- buff,
with blackish markings pronounced on the head and again on
the scapulars, where they are larger ; quills deep brown, ex-
ternally spotted or banded with brownish-buff, the inner webs
notched with white for some distance, but not quite reaching
to the shaft; tail-feathers like the back, but banded with
black, the outer feathers becoming more uniform near the
tips ; under surface of body very pale, with two distinct spots
of white on the throat ; abdomen pale sandy-isabelline, with
narrow bars of blackish, which disappear on the lower abdomen,
but are again distinct on the under tail-coverts ; bill dark
brown ; feet reddish-brown ; iris black. Total length, 10-5
inches ; culmen, 0-55 ; wing, about 8; tail, 5-1 ; tarsus/o-8.

Adult Female.— Similar to the male. Total length, io-6
inches ; wing, 8-5.

Young. — Similar to the adults, but rather more rufous.

Characters. — Distinguished from C. eiiropcrus by its paler
coloration, and by the pattern on the inner web of the primary
quills, these being indented with while.

Range in Great Britain. — An accidental visitor, having occurred

THE TRUE NIGHT-JARS. 5 1

only once, a specimen having been recorded from Mansfield
in Nottinghamshire by Mr. Whitaker. It was shot there on
the 23rd of June, 1883. It is by no means an unlikely bird
to occur in England, as it evidently wanders westward, on
occasions, from its eastern home. One specimen has been
obtained in Heligoland, three in Malta, and one in Sicily.

Range outside the British Islands. — The home of this species is
in the desert countries of Northern Africa from Algeria to
Egypt and Nubia. Thence it ranges to the Caspian, and
eastwards to Turkestan and Afghanistan. Its occurrence with-
in European limits is, as mentioned above, purely accidental.
It appears to winter in N. E. Africa.

Hahits. — With the exception that the Isabelline Night- Jar is
a bird of the deserts, it is very similar in habits to our common
species, passing the day in retirement, when its sandy-coloured
plumage, assimilating to the ground around it, doubtless affords
the bird entire protection from observation. Those travellers
who have observed the species in North-eastern Africa, have
remarked that several individuals are generally seen together,
but this is probably during the season of migration only.
Captain Shelley procured four males together in March, and
he thinks that the sexes, in all probability, migrate in flocks.
This is very likely, as Von Heuglin also remarks that the
specimens which he shot out of large flocks of fifty proved to
be all females.

Nest. — None ; a depression being formed in the sand or
under the shade of a bush.

Eggs. — Two in number, very similar to those of our Common
Night-Jar, but smaller, and with the ground-colour creamy-
yellow.

HI. RED-NECKED NIGHT-JAR. CAPRIMULGUS RUFICOLLIS.

Caprimulgus ruficollis, Temm. Man. Orn. p. 438 (1S20) ;
Newton, ed. Yarr. ii. p. 386 (1874) ; Dresser, B. Eur. iv.
p. 633, pi. 273 (1874) ; B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 75 (1883) ;
Seebohm, Br. B. ii. p. 317 (1884) ; Saunders, Man. Br. B.
p. 259 (1889) ; Hartert, Cat. B. xvi. p. 531 (1892).
Adult Male — General colour above sandy-grey, mottled and

E 2

52 ALLEN'S naturalist's LT1!R.\RY.

spotted with black ; tlie markings on the scapulars large and
well-developed, being longitudinal, like the accompanying buff
markmgs ; wing-coverts with bright fulvous spots ; quills deep
brown, with chestnut spots and bars, the three outer primaries
havmg a large white spot on the inner web, this being some-
tmies visible on the fourth ; the three outer tail-feathers with
a large white spot at the end, an inch or an inch and a half in
depth ; crown mottled with longitudinal black spots, bordered
with rufous-buff; round the hind-neck a broad collar of golden-
or rufous-buff; throat like the upper surface, with two large
white patches, and with broad blackish bars on the fore-neck;
abdomen buff with brown bars, the under tail-coverts more
uniform. Bill blackish-brown ; feet dull brown ; iris black.
Total length, 12 inches; culmen, 0-5; wing, about 8*0; tail,
67 ; tarsus, 07.

Adult Female.— Similar to the male, and having the white spots
on the primaries and tail-feathers as in that sex. Total length
12 inches; wing, 8-o.

Young.— Paler in colour than the male, the black markino-s
less pronounced, and the white spots on the quills and tatl-
teathers less strongly indicated.

Characters.— Distinguished from our Common Night-Jar by
Its larger size and by having a white spot on the primaries and
tail-feathers in both sexes. As in C. eiiropmcs, the inner
webs of the primaries are not uniform in colour, but it may
be at once recognised by the broad rufous collar on the hind-
neck.

Eange in Great Britain.— An accidental visitor only, one havin^r
been killed at Killingworth, and examined by the late Mr'
John Hancock in the flesh on the 6th of October, 1856.

Range outside the British Islands.—The Red-necked Night-Jar is
an inhabitant of Southern Spain, where it comes every sum-
mer and breeds. It has also been obtained in Languedoc and
Provence in the south-east of France, as well a«3 in Malta and
Dalmatia. It probably winters in the oases of the Sahara,
but its exact winter habitat has not yet been discovered, nor
has it yet been found in West Africa.

Habits.— Mr. Howard Saunders, who is well acquainted with

THE BEE-EATERS. 53

the species in Southern Spain, says that there is nothing dis-
tinctive about its food and habits. In the southern half of
the Spanish Peninsula it "frequents the cool chequered shade
of the woods during the greater part of the day."

Eggs. — Similar to those of C. ew'opmis, but rather larger and
more boldly marked. Axis, i*2-i'3 inch; diam., o"9-i*o.

THE BEE-EATERS. SUB-ORDER MEROPES.

This is a group of birds confined to the Old World. Five
genera are recognised, all very similar in structure, appearance,
and habits, the birds being generally of bright coloration, with
a curved bill, and long wing and tail. The latter is sometimes
forked, sometimes square, but in the typical species the middle
tail-feathers are elongated.

The palate is bridged or desmognathous, and there are no
basipterygoid processes present. The breast-bone has four
notches on its hinder margin, and the episternal process is
perforated so that the foot of each coracoid meets through this
opening : as a rule in birds the coracoids are kept apart at the
base by this process. This is a singular character, found in
Game-Birds, and also in the Hoopoes and Hornbills. The
feet are syndactyle or gressorial, the sole being flat and the
toes united together, as in the Kingfishers and other groups
of birds, which were formerly united under the name of
"Fissirostres," or "Wide-gaping Birds," of which theBee-Eaters
were always reckoned a component Family. The fourth toe is
united to the third as far as the last joint, the second toe being
united to the middle one for the basal joint only. The tail-
feathers are only ten in number.

The bill is long and gently decurred, both mandibles follow-
ing the same direction at the tip.

The Bee-Eaters are, as a rule, resident birds in the countries
in which they live. Africa possesses the greatest number of
species, but those which range into the temperate portions of
the Northern Hemisphere are migratory, and only appear in
summer, and then never go very far north. Species are found
in most of the tropical portions of the Old World, and range
south to the Malay Archipelago and Australia.

54 Allen's naturalist's library.

THE TRUE LEE-EATERS. FAMILY MEROPID.E.

There are no Sub-families among the Bee-Eaters, and con-
sequently the whole of the five genera admitted by ornitholo-
gists are placed under the heading of the Meropidce, the Family
characters being the same as those of the Sub-order, given in
detail above.

THE LONG-TAILED BEE-EATERS. GENUS MEROPS.
Merops, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 182 (1766).
Type, M. apiasfer, L.
As most of the Bee-Eaters have the tail square or slightly
forked, it is very easy to recognise a member of the genus
Merops by the elongated central feathers of the tail, these being
produced beyond the other tail-feathers, and somewhat pointed.
About seventeen species of Merops are known to science, and
they are distributed over Africa, Lidia, and Australia, and ex-
tend to the temperate portions of Europe and Northern Asia.

I. THE COMMON BEE-EATER. MEROPS APIASTER.

Merops apiasfer, Linn. S. N. i. p. 182 (1766); Macg. Br. B.
iii. p. 685(1840); Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 155, pi. 295
(1877); Newton, ed. Yarr. ii. p. 435 (1874), B. O. U.
List Br. B. p. 82 (1883); Seebohm, Br. B. ii. p. 321
(1SS4) ; Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part ix. (1888) ; Saunders,
Man. Br. B. p. 273 (1889); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus.
xvii. p. 6^ (1892).

Adult Male. — Crown of head and hind-neck chestnut, this
colour overspreading the mantle and gradually disappearing
on the scapulars and back, which are creamy-buff; lower back
washed with blue ; the upper tail-coverts entirely pale blue ;
forehead white, followed by a line of blue, which unites with a
narrow eyebrow, which is first blue, and then shades off into
green ; the crown separated from this blue eyebrow by a green
shade ; lesser wing-covcrts green, the rest of the coverts light
chestnut, like the secondaries, which have black tips ; primary
quills blue, blackish towards the tips, the inner secondaries
green, bluish towards their ends ; tail-feathers green, edged
with blue, the centre ones blue, greener near the base ; lores
and a streak through the eye black, like the ear-coverts ; cheeks

THE LONG-TAILED BEE-EATERS. 55

blue in front, white behind ; throat bright yellow, with a black
band across the lower throat; under surface of body green-
ish-blue ; the under wing-coverts and axillaries ochreous-buff,
washed with green along the edge of the wing ; quills dusky
below, ochreous buff along the inner web ; bill black ; feet
greyish-brown; iris lemon-yellow or red. Total length, 10
inches; culmen, 1-65; wing, 57; tail, 4*5 ; tarsus, 0-35.

Adult Female. — Like the male, but often washed with green on
the head and back. Total length, 9-5 inches ; wing, 5-9.

Young. — Much paler in colour than the adults, and having
the under surface of the body much greener, and wanting the
black bar across the lower throat ; the eyebrow green ; the
upper-parts coloured as in the adults, but much greener, and
having a wash of pale green over the whole, including the
light parts of the back and scapulars.

Range in Great Britain. — A rare visitor to the south of Eng-
land, generally occurring in spring. Mr. Howard Saunders
states that over thirty instances have been recorded " south of
Derbyshire in England and Pembrokeshire in Wales." In
Scotland and the south of Ireland the Bee-Eater has also been
noticed on a few occasions, but the bulk of the captures have
taken place in England.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Common Bee-Eater
visits the whole of Southern Europe in spring, and extends
eastwards to Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Cashmere. It
breeds throughout the whole of this range, and winters to the
southward, visiting Sind, and the extreme north-western dis-
tricts of the Peninsula of India, as well as the countries of the
Persian Gulf. It extends its migrations throughout the whole
of Africa, and even reaches the Cape Colony, where it is said
to breed a second time.

Habits. — This is one of the most brightly coloured birds
of Europe, and its brilliant plumage renders it so conspicu-
ous that there is little chance of its escaping observation on
the rare occasions when it visits this country. In Spain it
arrives during the last days of March and early in April, and
Colonel Irby states that, near Gibraltar, Bee-Eaters pass in
great numbers from the loth to the 14th of the latter month,

56

generally flying high in the air, almost out of sight, seldom stop-
ping or descending near the ground. They cross the Straits for
the most part early in the day, flight following flight for hours in
succession, always exactly in the same direction, due north.
The latest date on which Colonel Irby noticed a flight going
north was the 7th of May. The return migration takes place
early in the year, about the end of July and the early part of
August, the 29th of August being the latest day on which a
Bee-Eater was seen by the above-named observer.

The Bee-Eater commences to nest directly after its arrival,
and the eggs are laid about the second week in May, some
time being occupied in excavating the tunnels, at the end of
which the nesting-chamber is excavated. Some of these are of
great length, extending for some eight or nine feet in the banks
of rivers, and Colonel Irby states that the bills of the birds be-
come much worn away by the process of boring, but grow
again to their normal length in course of time. The holes are
sometimes drilled into the ground " in a slightly vertical direc-
tion, or into an elevated mound," when no suitable river-banks
are available for their work. Generally the birds nest in large
colonies, but occasionally only a few holes are found together,
and Colonel Irby says that vast quantities of eggs and young
birds must annually be devoured by Snakes and Lizards. The
habits of the Bee-Eater also render it an object of detestation
to the peasantry, as the birds swoop down in the vicinity of
the hives and carry off numbers of the bees, so that, as Mr.
Howard Saunders records, " sacks-full of birds are taken in
Spain by spreading a net over the face of an occupied bank,
and pouring water into a parallel trench cut at some distance
back." It is as well, therefore, that the Bee-Eater does rear a
second brood far away in South Africa, for it has many enemies
in its northern home, and none greater than its own beautiful
plumage, which causes it to be frequently in demand as an
ornament (!) for ladies' hats. " During my stay at Gibraltar,"
writes Colonel Irby, " Bee-Eaters decreased very much in the
neighbourhood, being continually shot on account of their
bright plumage to put in ladies' hats. Owing to this vile
fashion, we saw no less than seven hundred skins, all shot in
Tangier in the spring, which were consigned to some dealer in
London."

THE LONG-TAILED BEE-EATERS. 57

The food of the Bee-Eater consists entirely of insects, and
besides the bees which it devours in such numbers, it also eats
quantities of wasps, locusts, and beetles. Its note is a single
one, variously rendered by ornithologists as " teerrp " or
''quilp."

Nest. — None. A long tunnel is excavated in the ground or
in a bank, and the eggs are deposited in a chamber at the end,
on the bare soil.

Eggs- — From five to six in number ; pure white, glossy, and
nearly round. Axis, 1*05 inch; diam., o'q.

n. THE BLUE-TAILED BEE-EATER. MEROPS PHILIPPINUS.

Merops philippinus, Linn. S. N. i. p. 183 (1787); Saunders,
Man. p. 274, note (1889) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus.
xvii. p. 71 (1892).
Merops philippeiisis, Hancock, Cat. B. Northumb. p. 28 (1874) ;
Newton, ed. Yarr. ii. p. 442, note (1874).

Adult Male. — General colour above green, the mantle and
scapulars being of the same colour as the back ; lower back,
rump, and upper tail-coverts blue ; no white on the forehead
or eyebrow, the former having a narrow line of blue ; tail
blue ; bill black ; feet blackish ; iris scarlet. Total length,
1 1 "3 inches; culmen, i*8; wing, 5-3; tail, 3*5; middle tail-
feathers, 5'o; tarsus, 0-45.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male. Total length, 11-5 inches ;
wing, 5-15.

Characters. — Distinguished from M. apiaster by the green,
not chestnut, mantle, the green scapulars, the blue tail, and
by the yellow throat being succeeded by a shade of chestnut ;
there is also no black band in the fore-neck.

Eange in Great Britain. — Has occurred on one occasion near
Seaton Carew, in Northumberland, in August, 1862. It is
extraordinary that this species should have wandered to Eng-
land, but the occurrence is vouched for by Mr. John Hancock,
one of the most conscientious ornithologists which this country
has ever produced, and must, therefore, be accepted.

Range outside the British Islands. — An Indian species, inhabiting
the whole of the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon, and extending

58 Allen's naturalist's library.

eastwards through the Burmese countries and Siam to South-
ern China. It is further distributed through the ]\Ialayan
Peninsula and Archipelago to the Philippine Islands, Java,
Sumatra, Borneo, Timor, and Celebes.

HaMts — These resemble those of the Common Bee-Eater,
and as the species is not likely ever to occur in Great Britain
again, a few words only are necessary on this subject. Accord-
ing to Mr. Hume, it " breeds from March to June, pretty well
all over Continental India, in well-cultivated and open country.
Like all the rest of the Family, it nests in holes in banks.
The holes are rarely less than four feet deep, and sometimes
extend to seven feet. In diameter they vary from two to two
and a half inches."

Nest. — None as a rule, but sometimes the chamber has a
thin lining of grass and feathers, not seen in the nesting-place
of any other of the Indian Bee-Eaters.

Eggs. — Four or five in number; pure white, glossy, and nearly
round. Axis, o-82-o*97 inch ; diam., o-67-o-85.

THE HOOPOES. SUB-ORDER UPUP^.

The Hoopoes have a bridged, or " desmognathous," palate,
and, like the Bee-Eaters, have the anterior process of the
sternum, or breast-bone, perforated, so as to receive the feet
of the coracoid bones. The sternum has two notches on its
posterior margin. The oil-gland is tufted ; there are no blind
intestines cr caeca, and the spinal feather-tract is forked in the
upper back ; of the plantar tendons, the flexor perforans digi-
torum is split into three branches, leading to the second, third,
and fourth digits, but not to the first, and the hind aspect of
the tarsus {j>la?ita tarsi) is scaled transversely, as in the Larks.
It is evident, therefore, that the Hoopoes have marked Pas-
serine affinities, but they are also allied to the Hornbills
{Biicerotes)^ which they resemble in another curious feature.
The nest is placed in the hole of a wall or of a tree, and the
female is fed by the male during the period of incubation,
though she is not plastered in by her husband, as is the case
with the Hornbills.

THE HOOPOES. 59

The Hoopoes may be divided into two Families, the True
Hoopoes {ilpupidce) and the Wood-Hoopoes {Irrisoridce).
The latter are peculiar to the forest- and bush-districts of Africa,
and have a good deal of metallic colour in their plumage.
The tail is very long and wedge-shaped, and the nostril has a
well-developed operculum, or shelf, to it.

THE TRUE HOOPOES. FAMILY UPUPID^.

This Family contains but a single genus, Upupa, with five
species, all very much resembling each other in appearance.
They have an erectile crest, shaped like a compressed fan and
ornamented with a sub-terminal bar of black. The bill is
long and slender and decurved towards the end. The other
principal characters will be found under the heading of the
Sub-order.

THE HOOPOES. GENUS UPUPA.

Upiipa, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 183.

Type, U. epops, Linn.

Of the five species known to science, the Common Hoopoe
has the widest distribution in Europe, South-eastern and North-
western Africa, eastwards to China and Japan, as well as the
Peninsula of India, in the southern portion of which its place
is taken by the Indian Hoopoe (U. indica)^ which extends
throughout the Burmese countries to Southern China and
Hainan. In Somali-land a distinct species, U. sonialensis,
occurs, and in Madagascar U. 7/iarginafa takes the place of our
European bird. The fifth species, U'. afriama^ is found over
South Africa, and extends to the Congo on the west and to
Zanzibar on the east ; it is a smaller and more richly-coloured
bird, and has no white band on the primaries.

I. THE COMMON HOOPOE. UPUPA EPOPS.

Upupa epops^ Linn. S. N. i. p. 183 (1766); Macg. Br. B. iii.
p. 41 (1840); Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 179, pi. 298 (1871);
Newton, ed. Yarr. ii. p. 419 (1874) ; B. O. U. List Br. B.
p. 83 (1883) ; Seebohm, Br. B. ii. p. 334 (1884) ; Lilford,
Col. Fig. Br. B. part vii. (1888); Saunders, Man. p. 275
(1889); Salvin, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xvi. p. 4 (1892).

6o Allen's naturalist's library.

Adult Male. — General colour above light brown, the scapulars
tipped with buffy-white and crossed with a band of buff, which
is broadly edged with black ; rump white ; primaries black,
with a broad band of white, in the form of a spot on the inner
web of the first primary, and again on the eighth, ninth, and
tenth, where the white bar takes the form of a transverse spot ;
the external aspect of the wing barred with black and white ;
head and neck pale vinous-rufous, including the crest, which
is a little darker ; the crest-feathers tipped with black, before
which is a sub-terminal bar, before which, again, is a bar of
white, not defined on its junction with the rufous of the rest of
the feather; throat and breast also vinous-rufous, the abdomen
very pale buff; flank-feathers streaked with blackish along
their inner webs ; under tail-coverts white ; tail black, with a
median white bar, which crosses the other feathers diagonally,
so as to approach the tip on the outermost pair. Bill blackish,
flesh-coloured at the base of both mandibles ; feet black ; iris
brown. Total length, 12 inches; culmen, 2*2 ; wing, 57 ; tail,
4'o ; tarsus, o'8.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male.

Young. — Like the adults, but a little duller and browner in
colour.

Eange in Great Britain — The Hoopoe may be considered a
regular spring migrant, and it has occurred in nearly every
part of the United Kingdom, including the Orkney and Shet-
land Isles, as well as the outer Hebrides. If the bird were
not so conspicuous an object and so tame, it is almost certain
that it would nest regularly in England, and, notwithstanding
the fact that a Hoopoe is almost sure to be shot by way of
welcome in this country, there is no doubt that it has bred in
many of the southern counties of England.

Range outside the British Islands — Generally distributed through-
out Southern Europe, and nesting in the Mediterranean coun-
tries, and in Central Europe as far north as Denmark and
Southern Sweden. It wanders even to the Ecxroes and vSpits-
bergen, and the North of Russia and Norway, but does not
breed in these high latitudes. Its eastern range extends through-
out Central Asia to China and Japan. It arrives in the south
of Europe in the middle of February, and Colonel Irby notes

THE HOOPOES. 6l

the earliest arrivals near Gibraltar as the i6th to the i8th of
that month, though the greater number pass northward in
March, returning during August, September, and October.
The winter home of the Hoopoe is in Senegambia and North
eastern Africa, the Central Asian individuals doubtless winter-
ing in North-western India, and the Chinese and Japanese
birds in Southern China.

Habits — It is a pity that the indiscriminate slaughter of this
pretty bird deprives us in this country of an opportunity of
seeing the Hoopoe in a state of nature, for it is admitted by
everyone who has had that privilege as being a very graceful
bird in its movements and ways, particularly, says Mr. Howard
Saunders, "at the time of courtship, when the bird struts
about with crest erect, uttering a note resembling a soft bu-hu
(whence the Spanish term Almbilld)^ or hoop-hoop^ to which,
and not to its crest, it owes its English and French names."

The nest is placed in the hollow of a tree, and in some
countries of Europe the bird has disappeared or become re-
duced in numbers, owing to the cutting down of old timber.

To look at a Hoopoe, one could scarcely imagine a more
neat and cleanly-looking bird, and yet its nesting habits are
often disgusting. The material of which the nest is composed
is of the slightest, but it is surrounded by ordure of some kind,
which, according to Mr. Howard Saunders' experience in
Spain, "causes an intolerable stench, which is subsequently
increased by the droppings of the female and young." In
China, according to Mr. Swinhoe it is known by the name of
" Coffin-Bird," as it breeds in the holes of exposed Chinese
coffins, and Pallas relates his finding a nest in the chest of a
decaying corpse.

The Hoopoe feeds on insects and worms, boring in the
ground with its long bill for the former. It devours a large
number of worms and insects of various kinds, beetles, cater-
pillars, grasshoppers, &c. It is said that the bird always
throws up its food into the air and catches it in its bill, before
swallowing it, a very Hornbill-like habit, and one which has a
bearing on the relationship of the Hoopoes to this Family.

For my own part, I have no doubt as to the relationship
of the Hoopoes with the Hornbills, and another remarkable

62 ATJ.EN S NATURALISTS LIERARY.

feature is common to the two families. Just as the male
Hornbills feed their females in the nest, so, it would appear,
do the Hoopoes. It is true that the male does not plaster the
female in the tree, like the Hornbill does, but there is plenty
of evidence that the male Hoopoe brings all the food to the
female, though the latter occasionally comes out and takes a
flight before returning.

The note of the Hoopoe, as observed in China by Swinhoe,
" is produced by puffing out the sides of the neck, and ham-
mering on the ground at the production of each note, thereby
exhausting the air at the end of the series of three notes,
which make up its song. Before it repeats the call, it repeats
the puffing of the neck with a slight gurgling noise. When it
is able to strike its bill, the sound is the correct hoo-hoo-Jwo^
but when perched on a rope, and only jerking out the song
with nods of the head, the notes most resemble the syllables
hoh-hoh-hohr

Eggs. — Four to seven in number ; grey or greenish-olive or
stone-colour, without spots. When first laid, they are of a pale
greenish-blue colour, which soon fades. Axis, o'q-i'i inch;
diam., 07.

THE KINGFISHERS. SUB-ORDER HALCYONES.

Birds of ungainly form but mostly of brilliant plumage, the
Kingfishers are found in nearly every part of the world. They
are most numerous in the Old World, as America possesses but
one genus, Cery/e, of which the Belted Kingfisher, Ceryle aIcyo?i,
is the type, but the genus ranges throughout the New World,
from the high north even down to Chili.

In the Old World there is scarcely a country that docs not
possess a Kingfisher of some sort or another, belonging to one of
the two types recognised in the Family, which is divided into
Fish-eating Kingfishers {Alccdinince) and Insect- or Reptile-
eating Kingfishers {Dacelo?ii?ice). The former have a long thin
bill, much compressed, fit for cleaving the water, and generally,
but not always, a short rudder-like tail. This is, indeed, by
no means an universal characteristic, and among the Insect-

THE KINGFISHERS.

63

eating Kingfishers, there are several which have a short tail
like the true AlcediiiificB^ and yet live in forests and never feed
on fish.

The palate is bridged, or desmognathous ; there are no
basipterygoid processes ; the hallux, or first hind-toe, is con-
nected with the flexor perforans digitoriun, and the sole of

Ventral aspect of the bill of the Giant Kingfisher {Dacelo gigas), to show
the desmognathous palate. [From the Catalogue of Osteological Specimens
in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons.] Letters as before.

the foot is flat, the front toes being uiited together for the
greater part of their extent — hence the birds are Anisodactyle.

The eggs are white and hidden from sight, as with other
Picarian Birds, being mostly deposited in the hole of a bank or
tree. The young are hatched naked, but the feathers are
developed in well-marked lines or " tracts," and are for a long
time enclosed in the sheath, imparting a singularly bristly
appearance to the nestUng (see p. 34).

Of the Insect-eating Kingfishers, of which we have no re-
presentatives in the northern parts of the world, the nearest
allies to our own Kingfisher are the African genus Ispidina,
and the Indian and Moluccan genus Ceyx, the latter having only
three toes. The large genus Halcyon^ consisting of bush- and
forest-frequenting birds, is widely spread over Africa, India,

64 Allen's naturalist's lilrarv.

China, and extends even to Australia and Oceania. One
species. Halcyon smyrnensis, even reaches Asia Minor and Pales-
tine. The beautiful Racket-tailed Kingfishers {Tanysiptera) are
forest-haunting birds, feeding chiefly on insects, and having
long tails like a Bee-Eater or a Racket- tailed Parrot {Friojii-
tunis\ while the largest of all Kingfishers are the Giants or
" Laughing Jackasses" of Australia. These birds feed mostly
on reptiles.

THE TRUE KINGFISHERS. FAMILY
ALCEDINID^.

The Kingfishers constitute in fact a single Family, co-equal
with the Sub-order Halcyones, and consequently the characters
of the latter are the same as those of the Family Alcedinidce. It
is divided into two Sub-families, which are not very strongly
characterised, but they may be separated more by their habits
than by any structural features. Thus they are divided into
AlcedinincE and Dacelonince, the latter Sub-family not concern-
ing us here, as no member of it reaches the British Islands.

THE FISH-EATING KINGFISHERS. SUB-FAMILY
ALCEDININ^.

The Kingfishers of this Sub-family are mostly of the type of
the British species, Alcedo ispida, which is mainly a piscivorous
bird, but it likewise embraces the genus Ceryie, of which the
Belted Kingfisher is the type, as well as the Stork-billed King-
fishers {Felargopsis) of Asia, the Crested Kingfishers {Cory-
thornis) of Africa, and the Three-toed Kingfishers {Alcyone) of
Australia and Malaisia. All of these birds have a narrow, com-
pressed bill, very long and thin, and are almost entirely fish-
eaters.

THE BANDED KINGFISHERS. GENUS CERYLE.

Ccryle, Boie, Isis, 1828, p. 316.

Type, Ceryle rudis (L.).

The species of this genus are found throughout the New
World, as well as in Africa, Asia Minor, and the greater part

THE BANDED KINGFISHERS. 65

of tropical Asia, extending throughout the Indian Peninsula
and Ceylon to China and Japan, but not penetrating farther
than Tenasserim and the Indo-Chinese countries. One. pecu-
liar character of the genus Ceryle is that the sexes, contrary
to the usual rule in Kingfishers, differ in colour, the female
possessing an additional band on the breast. The genus
differs also from the genus Alcedo in having a long tail, in this
respect resembling the Stork-billed Kingfishers {Pelargopsis) of
the Indian Region. The best known species of the genus
Ceiyle is probably the Black-and-White Kingfisher {Ceryle
riidis), which is a frequent object of interest to the traveller in
Palestine and the Nile Valley, where it attracts attention by its
habit of hovering in the air, like a Kestrel Hawk.

I. THE BELTED KINGFISHER. CERYLE ALCYON.

Alcedo akyoji, Linn. S. N. i. p. i8o (1766).

Ceryle alcyon, Newton, ed. Yarr. ii. p. 452 (1881); B. O. U.
List Br. B. p. 81 (1883); Seebohm, Br. B. ii. p. 348
(1884); Saunders, Man. p. 270 (1889); Sharpe, Cat. B.
xvii. p. 125 (1892).

Adult Male. — General colour above slaty-blue, with a well-
developed crest of the same colour ; round the hind-neck a
white collar ; wing-coverts spotted with white ; quills black,
with white tips, the outer webs with white spots, the second-
aries externally slaty-blue with white spots ; tail also slaty-blue,
banded and spotted with white ; under surface of body white,
with a broad band of slaty-blue across the upper breast, the
flanks also mottled with slaty-blue ; bill black ; feet dark
bluish-grey; iris dark brown. Total length, 12 inches; cul-
men, 2*0; wing, 6-4; tail, 3*2; tarsus, 0*3.

Adult Female. — Differs from the male in having a second band
of rusty-red on the breast, below the grey one, the flanks being
also rufous. Total length, 11*5 inches; wing, 6*4.

Young Male. — Resembles the old female, and has two bands
on the breast like the latter. The second rufous band, how-
ever, is narrower than that of the old hen-bird, and the band
on the upper breast has a strong admixture of rufous, as well
as the flanks.

8 F

66 Allen's naturalist's library

Young Female. — Resembles the younc^ male, but has always
rufous axillarics, and the flanks are rufous like the lower breast-
band. The band on the fore-neck has also a good deal of
rufous.

Range in the British Islands. — An accidental visitor from North
America, of which two examples have been recorded from
Ireland, one said to have been obtained in Co. Meath in
October, 1 845, and another in Co. Wicklow in November of
the same year. " No other instances," writes Mr. Howard
Saunders, "of the occurrence of this species in Europe is
known, nor has it been obtained in Greenland or Iceland," and
he deems it inexpedient to admit to the British List "an
American bird which — assuming the accuracy of the records —
had probably escaped from confinement."

Range outside the British Islands. — The greater part of North
America from Alaska southwards, migrating south in winter to
Central America and the Greater and Lesser Antilles.

Habits. — All accounts of the life-history of the Belted King-
fisher show^ that the bird has very similar habits to our own
Alcedo ispida^ nor is its food entirely confined to fish, as it
will also eat insects, and even, on occasion, small Mammalia.
Like the Pied Kingfisher of Egypt, it also hovers in the air like
a Kestrel, as our own Kingfisher sometmies does. The nesting-
chamber is excavated by both parents, and the tunnel leading
to it is hollow^ed out by the birds themselves, sometimes to a
depth of fifteen feet.

Nest. — None.

Eggs. — Six in number, more rarely seven; pure white, glossy.
Axis, I '3-1 '4 inch ; diain., 1-05.

THE BLUE KINGFISHERS. GENUS ALCEDO.

Alcedo^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 178 (1766).

Type, Alcedo ispida (L.).

The Kingfishers of this genus are easily recognisable by their
short tails and short crests. In the genus Ceryle the tail is

^

THE COM^ION KINGFISHER. 67

longer than the bill, in Alcedo the bill is much longer than
the tail. So it is in the African genus Corythoniis and the
Australian genus Alcyone^ both of which are fish-eaters, but
Alcyone has only three toes, and Corythornis has a long droop-
ing crest, which distinguishes it at once from Alcedo.

I. THE COAIMON KINGFISHER. ALCEDO ISPIDA.

Alcedo ispida, Linn. S. N. i. p. 179 (1766); Macg. Br. B. hi.
p. 671 (1840); Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 113, pi. 290(1875);
Newt. ed. Yarr. n. p. 443 (1881) j B. O. U. List Br. B. p.
81 (1883); Seebohm, Br. B. ii. p. 341 (1884); Lilford,
Col. Fig. Br. B. part viii. (1888) ; Saunders, Man. p. 269
(1889); Sharpe, Cat. B. xvii. p. 141 (1892).

{Plate XXXIV.)

Adult Male. — General colour greenish-blue, the scapular
feathers slightly streaked with brighter blue ; the back, rump,
and upper tail-coverts, rich cobalt-blue, sometimes, in very old
individuals, deep blue ; wing-coverts like the back, the median
.and greater series spotted with greenish- cobalt ; bastard-wing,
primary-coverts and quills blackish, externally blue; tail
feathers also blue, with black shafts; crown of head greenish-
blue, with bands of dusky-black, and with a shaft-stripe of
greenish-blue ; lores blackish, with a streak of orange-rufous
above, the sides of the face and ear-coverts being also orange-
rufous ; cheek-stripe bright blue, with dusky bars ; on each
side of the neck a band of buffy-white feathers, slightly tinged
with orange-rufous ; under surface of body rich orange-rufous,
the throat buffy-white ; the sides of the upper breast greenish-
blue; bill black; feet coral-red; iris dusky-brown. Total length,
7'5 inches; culmen, 175 ; wing, 3'i ; tail, 1*5 ; tarsus, 0*35.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but not quite so bright in
•colour, and always to be distinguished by having the basal half
of the under mandible red. Total length, 7-0 inches; culmen,
i"55; wing, 3-0; tail, 1-4; tarsus, 0*3.

Young. — Much more dingy in colour than the adults, and
always to be distinguished by the ashy margins to the feathers
of the fore-neck and breast, which impart an ashy shade to this
portion of the body.

F 2

68 Allen's naturalist's library

Range in Great Britain. — Universally distributed, but rarer in
the north of Scotland. To a great extent migratory, though
many individuals remain throughout the year.

Range outside the British Islands. — Found throughout the greater
part of Europe, but not extending to the northern portions of
the Continent. Thus it is only an accidental visitor to Den-
mark and Southern Scandinavia, and extends rarely as far north
as St. Petersburg. In India and China a smaller race occurs,
of a more vivid blue colour, but the Kingfishers of Egypt,
Central Asia, and Sind are perfectly intermediate in colour and
size, and it is impossible to recognise the eastern race {Akedo
bengalejisis) as distinct, and therefore we may consider the
Common Kingfisher as an inhabitant of the Palsearctic and
Indian Regions, merely noting that in its eastern habitat the
bird is rather smaller and more highly coloured. The King-
fishers which leave England in the autumn do not apparently
travel farther south than the Mediterranean countries, and even
here the species is said to be resident, and to nest regularly in
small numbers.

Hahits. — The protection from shooting, which has of late
years been afforded to our beautiful Kingfisher on the Thames,
has certainly contributed to an increase in the number of the
species, and its bright plumage may now be seen at almost
any time of the year. It is unnecessary to add that the beauty
of the river scenery is much enhanced by the presence of
such a pretty bird as the Kingfisher, whose beauty might be
allowed to atone for any delinquencies in the way of catching
small trout.

The flight of a Kingfisher is usually advertised by its note
which is a peculiarly shrill dissyllabic one — a kind of " h'wee-
h'wee " — uttered as the bird flies along at a prodigious rate,
with a rapid beating of his powerful rounded wings, the bill
being held straight out. It by no means follows, however, that
the bird is flying over the w^ater all the way, for, as often as not,
the Kingfisher rises to a considerable height and takes a swift
turn through a portion of the woods or across a meadow, rejoin-
ing the stream a little farther on. It is a quarrelsome species,
and jealous of intruders, so that a chase often takes place, if
another Kingfisher should happen to interfere with the fishing-

THE COMMON KINGFISHER. 69

rights of an established owner. A vigorous battle, accompanied
by any amount of shrill screaming, is the consequence, and
when the weaker bird turns tail, he is pursued by the victor
with great fury, the chase being often carried on high in the
air. When thus seen, the occasional glimpses of the brilliant
blue backs and chestnut breasts of the birds, as they shoot
along, are always pleasing.

In the autumn, the number of Kingfishers on any large river
is increased by the influx of birds which have been nesting in
out-of-the-way places, and have frequented brooks and lakes
during the summer. A considerable autumnal migration takes
place, and the Kingfisher may then be seen on our southern
coasts in some numbers, frequenting reedy ditches and sluices,
and not uncommonly the open shore, where the birds feed on
small shell-fish. The principal food of the Kingfisher, how-
ever, consists of fish, and these it catches with great dexterity,
sitting generally on an exposed post or bough, from which it
keeps a keen eye on the water below. The speed with which
it flies from one perch to another, often crossing a field in
passing from haunt to haunt, is truly wonderful, as is also the
w^ay in which it will suddenly arrest its flight on arriving at its
station, and settle down without any apparent slowing off of its
headlong flight. When first settled, the bird often bobs its
head up and down and from side to side, and, in the act of
perching, it may be seen to elevate the tail, as if to secure an
immediate balance.

Nest. — None, that can properly be so called. The birds
bore for themselves, in a sandy bank, a long tunnel, at which
both male and female labour. At the end of this tunnel is a
chamber, in which the eggs are laid. Sometimes stones or
roots obtrude in the course of the boring, and the birds have
to seek another place, but in one instance I remember finding
a nest with seven eggs in the middle of a wood, and at a con-
siderable distance from the river. An old tree in a bed of
sand had been blown down and its roots were exposed and
standing out into the air. Underneath these overhanging
roots the birds had mined their tunnel, which, after a foot or
so, was obstructed by roots of considerable size, but the birds
had driven their hole over and under these obstructions, until

70 ALLENS NATURALISTS LIERARY.

the chamber was reached. In this particular instance the
tunnel and nest-chamber were quite clean, but these are some-
times in an extremely dirty condition, and Mr. Seebohm men-
tions that in one which he examined, "the bottom of the
passage was lined with a black or dark green glossy substance
smelling strongly of fish, and almost as sticky as bird-lime."
This is formed of the castings and droppings of the birds, and
the mass often swarms with maggots. The eggs are generally
laid upon a small heap of white fish-bones, cast up by the birds,
and this constitutes the whole of the "nest."

Eggs. — Six or seven, rarely eight or nine, in numl)er. They
are pure white, very glossy, and nearly round. Axis, 0*95 inch ;
diam., 075 inch.

THE ROLLERS. SUB-ORDER CORACIiE.

These birds constitute a group of Old-World Picarians, of
brilliant colour and somewhat Crow-like in form. They are
undoubtedly nearly allied to the Kingfishers and Bee-Eaters,
though they have not got the long bills of the two last-named
groups of birds. The palate is desmognathous, or " bridged,"
and there are rudimentary basipterygoid processes, while the
breast-bone has four notches in its posterior margin. The
feet in the Rollers are very much like those of the Kingfishers,
that is to say, " Anisodactyle,"the soles being flat and the toes
united together for a short distance by a membrane, the outer
one being joined to the middle one at the extreme base, and
to the inner one for the basal joint. The Family of Rollers is
divided into two Sub-families, the Ground Rollers {Brachy-
pteraciijtcc) and the True Rollers {CoraciincB). The former
contains three ground-loving genera, all remarkable for their
very long legs, and confined to Madagascar, while the True
Rollers are found in the temperate and tropical portions of the
entire Old World.

THE TRUE ROLLERS. FAMILY CORACIID^E.

The species of Coraciidcc at present knownto us are but
twenty-one in number, and they are contained in two genera,

PLATE XXXV.

ROLLER.

THE ROLLERS.

71

Coracias and Eiirystomus. They are all birds of brilliant
plumage, especially remarkable for the bright blue colour of
the wings and tail ; but the Broad-billed Rollers {Eiirystomns),
which have a wide and slightly-hooked bill, are found in
Africa and the Indian and Australian Regions, even extending
to China and Eastern Siberia, while the True Rollers, which
have a much narrower and more slender bill, are not found in
the Australian Region at all.

THE TYPICAL ROLLERS. GENUS CORACIAS.

Coracias, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 150 (1766).
Type, C. garruhis (L.).

As has been already mentioned, the Rollers are somewhat
like Crows in shape, and it is doubtless this Corvine aspect
and the brilliant blue of their plumage that leads to their
being called '* Jays " in so many countries, particularly in
India. The bill is also Corvine, and the nostrils are placed
near the base of the upper mandible, and are hidden by bristly
plumes. The tail consists of twelve feathers, and the outer-
most on each side is sometimes produced to a considerable
length in some African species. The Common Roller likewise
exhibits a tendency to an elongation of the outer tail-feather.
The base of the bill is beset with several strong bristles.

I. THE COMMON ROLLER. CORACIAS GARRULUS.

Coracias garrulus, Linn. S. N. i. p. 159 (1766); Macg. Br. B.
iii. p. 540 (1840); Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 141, pi. 293
(1871); Newton, ed. Yarr. ii. p. 428 (1881); B. O. U.
List Br. B. p. 82 (1883); Seebohm, Br. B. ii. p. 321
(1884); Saunders, Man. p. 271 (1889) ; Lilford, Col. Fig.
Br. B. part xii. (1890); Sharpe, Cat. B. xvii. p. 15 (1892).

{.Plate XXXV.)

Adult Male. — General colour above light tawny-brown ; head
greenish-blue, the forehead and eyebrow whitish, the hinder
part of the latter greenish-blue like the crown ; lores black ;
fore part of cheeks and chin white ; sides of face, cheeks, and

72 Allen's naturalist's lidrary.

under surface of body light greenish-blue, paler on the abdo-
men and under tail-coverts ; lower back and rump purplish-
blue ; wing-coverts greenish-blue, those along the edge of the
wing purplish-blue ; quills black, the outer web greenish-blue
at the base, shading into purple ; primary quills externally
greenish-blue, the secondaries externally purple ; centre tail-
feathers dull oily-green, the remainder greenish-blue for two-
thirds of the outer web and black on the inner web, the ends
of the feathers greenish-blue with a black shaft, the blue in-
creasing in extent on the outside tail-feathers, the outermost
having a black spot at the tip ; bill blackish horn-colour ;
feet dark yellow ; iris dark brown. Total length, 12 inches;
culmen, 1-3; wing, 7-5; tail, 4*8: tarsus, 0-85.

Adult Female. — Lik J the male in plumage. Total length,
12 inches ; wing, 7-4.

Young Birds. — Resemble the adults, but are much duller in
colour, the head and neck being oily-green, the blue on the
wings not so bright, and the greenish-blue portion shaded with
brown ; the colour of the under-parts much duller, and the
outer tail-feathers not tipped with black.

Range in Great Britain. — An occasional visitor in spring and
autumn. It has occurred over a hundred times, and has been
met with as far north as the Orkneys and Shedand Isles, as
well as in Ireland, where some half-dozen notices of its
capture have been recorded. It is, however, in the southern
and eastern counties of England that the Roller has most
frequently occurred.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Roller is a summer
migrant to Central and Southern Europe, being more plentiful
in the south, arriving in April and departing in August. It is
found in Northern Germany, and breeds in Sweden as far as
61° N. lat., and as far as St. Petersburg in Russia. Its eastern
range extends to the Altai Mountains and to Cashmere, while
it also occurs as far north as Omsk in Siberia. The winter
home of the Common Roller is in Africa, where it reaches the
Cape, passing through Egypt and through Eastern Africa to
arrive at its winter home. The bird breeds in Cashmere,
and apparently a few winter in North-western and Central

THE ROLLERS. 73

India, but the bulk of the individuals bred in Asia probably
turn west and migrate to Africa in a south-westerly direction,
as do many other Asiatic birds.

Habits. — The Roller is strictly an arboreal species, and is not
at all at home on the earth, where, doubtless, its flat-soled
feet are not adapted for walking. Nevertheless, it seeks for
most of its food on the ground, but in a Picarian manner,
that is to say, by darting on its prey from a perch, like a
Bee-Eater or a Kingfisher. Mr. Seebohm observes : — " A
favourite mode of feeding adopted by the Roller is to sit on
some clod of earth or other vantage-ground and wait patiently
until it sees a beetle or a locust moving, then to suddenly
pounce down and capture the prize." It is also a frequenter
of reed-beds, on which it is said to perch when on the look
out for frogs.

The name of Roller is applied to this bird on account of
its curious habit of " rolling " or tumbling in the air, like a
Tumbler-Pigeon. Sometimes a whole flock of Rollers will
indulge in this strange evolution, and Canon Tristram relates
how he saw large flocks of Rollers on migration near Mount
Tabor in Palestine, on the 12th of April. One of these
flocks congregated on some trees near a fountain, and made
as much noise as a colony of Rooks. " After a volley of
discordant screams, one or two birds were observed to start
from their perch and commence a series of gambols and
somersaults in the air ; then in a moment or two the whole
flock followed their example, this strange performance being
repeated many times in succession."

The same author writes of this species : — " Brilliant and
conspicuous, both in plumage, note, and manners, the Rollers
attract attention everywhere, and are found in every kind of
country alike — woodland, plain, desert, ravines, ruins, — always
perching where they can see and be seen." They are by no
means entirely forest-loving birds, and are found in well-
timbered country as well as in the open plains, where there
are plenty of trees, on which the Rollers love to perch on some
conspicuous branch, where their bright colour renders them
visible for a long distance off.

The note of the Roller is very harsh, and is rendered by

74 Allen's naturalist's library.

Mr. Seebohm as " wrack, wrack," something like the sound
made by a ratchet-drill. In Spain, according to Mr. Howard
Saunders, the note is rendered by the words " Carlanco,
Carlanco."

The Roller is a late breeder, and never commences to lay
before May, often not until the end of that month in some
countries.

Nest. — Very slight, or none at all. The bird selects a con-
venient hole in a tree, a building, or even in a bank, and
though not a gregarious bird at the nesting-time, it has been
found in Palestine, by Canon Tristram, nesting in holes in a
bank, excavated by the birds themselves. The nest is a slight
structure of twigs or grass with hair or feathers, but when the
hole of a tree is selected, or a deserted Woodpecker's hole
used as a nesting-place, the eggs are deposited on chips ot
wood, without any attempt at a nest.

Eggs From four to six in number, rounded in shape, and

glossy white. They measure: axis, 1*5 inch; diam., 1-15
inch.

II. THE ABYSSINIAN ROLLER. CORACIAS ABYSSINICUS.

Coracias ahyssiniais, Bodd. Tabl. PL Enl. p. 38(1783); See-
bohm, Brit. B. ii. p. 331 (1884); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit.
Mus. xvii. p. 19 (1892).
Coracias leucocephalus, Saunders, Man. Brit. B. p. 272, note
(1889).

Adult Male. — Exactly like C. gar7-iilus, but with the outer
tail-feather on each side produced to a great length; bill
black; feet greenish-yellow; iris brown. Total length, 18
inches; culmen, 1-05; wing, 67; tail, 5*4; outer tail-feather,
11-3; tarsus, 0-85.

Range in Great Britain. — Two specimens of this most unlikely
visitor to Great Britain are said to have been obtained in
Scotland. Mr. Small, the well-known taxidermist of Edin-
burgh, states that the male was shot near Glasgow about the
year 1857, and was preserved by him. A female bird was
shot, not long afterwards, about forty miles from the place

THE ROLLERS. 75

where the male had been shot. Like Mr. Howard Saunders
{I.e.), I give the story "for what it is worth."

Eange outside the British Islands. — -This Roller is an inhabitant
of the Soudanese Sub-region of Africa, and is found in Sene-
gambia, on the Niger, and extends to North-east Africa. It
has never been found in any other part of the African con-
tinent, and no more improbable visitor to the north of Europe
could well be imagined.

in. THE INDIAN ROLLER. CORACIAS INDICUS.

Coracias indiais, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 159 (1766); Sharpe,
Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xvii. p. 10 (1892).

Adult Male. — General colour drab-brown, slightly glossed
with oily-green ; rump greenish-blue, washed with purple ;
wing-coverts greenish-blue, the lesser coverts bright purplish-
blue ; quills also purplish-blue, the inner secondaries like the
back, the primaries luith a broad sub-terminal band of silvery-
blue, decreasing in size towards the centre of the wing ; centre
tail-feathers green, the remainder purplish-blue at the base,
succeeded by a broad band of silvery-cobalt, and ending in
a band of purplish-blue ; crown and nape green, with a
greenish-blue eyebrow ; base of forehead sandy-buff, succeeded
by a shade of purplish-lilac ; sides of face, throat, and chest
purplish-lilac, the feathers streaked with greenish-white shafts ;
breast lilac-brown ; abdomen, thighs, and under wing- and
tail-coverts silvery-cobalt ; bill blackish-brown ; feet brownish-
yellow ; eyelid and naked skin round the eye pale gamboge j.
iris greyish-brown. Total length, 12 inches; culmen, 1-5 •
wing, 7-3; tail, 5*0; tarsus, 0-95.

Adult Temale. — Similar to the male in colour. Total lengthy
12 inches; wing, 7-15.

Eange in Great Britain. — A Roller was shot at Muckton, near
Louth, in Lincolnshire, on the 27th of October, 1883, by a
cottager, and was entered in the Migration Report for 1883
(p. 47) as Coracias garrulus. The specimen in question has
now become the property of Mr. John Cordeaux, and turns
out to be the Indian Roller.

^6 Allen's naturalist's library.

Range outside the Britisli Islands.— A well-known inhabitant of
the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon, ranging westwards through
Baluchistan to Persia, and even to Asia Minor.

Haljits.— Similar to those of Coracias garnihcs.

THE OWLS. ORDER STRIGES.

The Owls have generally been considered to be Birds of
Prey, and to form a part of the Order Accipitrifortnes^
which embraces all the Vultures, Hawks, and Ospreys. The
Owls, however, possess so many peculiar characteristics, that
by many modern zoologists they are considered to be very dis-
tinct from Hawks, and there is a good deal to be said as to
their separation from that group of birds, but I cannot admit
the wide divorce which Dr. Gadow seeks to introduce between
the Accipitres and the Striges. According to the paper pub-
lished by the last-named gentleman (in the '' Proceedings "
of the Zoological Society for 1892, pp. 229-256) on the "Classi-
fication of Birds," the Owls come under his Order Coraciiformes^
following the Parrots {Fsiltaci)^ but also included in the same
Order as the Swifts, Trogons, and the bulk of Picarian Birds.
That the Parrots should come between the Picarians and the
Owls seems to be a very feasible proposition, for there are
many Parrots which have Owl-like propensities, and even a
Strigine appearance ; but, when all things are considered, the
Owls must be reckoned more Birds of Prey than anything else,
and even Dr. Gadow has to admit that the bill and feet in his
Sub-order Stn'ges are " raptorial " and nothing else, even if his
other characters are more or less Picarian.

It must also be remembered that the Owls are related to the
Accipitres through the Pandioiies^ i.e., the Ospreys, or Fishing-
Eagles, which, like the Owls, have the fourth toe reversible,
while the proportions of the tibio-tarsus and the tarso-meta-
tarsal bones are exactly the same as those of the Owls. Among
the latter, also, there are several species of Fishing-Owls which
have bare feet, and the soles covered with spicules like the
Ospreys. However much, therefore, we may regard the Owls

THE TRUE OWLS. ^7

as forming a separate Order, these features of relationship with
the Ospreys must never be overlooked.

Owls are distinguished, as a rule, by their soft and downy
plumage and by their large and rounded heads, with the eyes
6\xQQ.\.^^ forwards, not laterally placed as in Eagles and Hawks
I he face is generally, but not always, surrounded by a disk of
stiffened feathers, a feature only seen in the Harriers and
Harrier-Hawks among the Accipitres.

K's, the Owls are mostly nocturnal in their habits the
plumage is very soft and the flight noiseless, so that the birds
are able to steal upon their prey without being heard: and the
wings are very broad, with soft webs to the quills, which pro-
duce no sound when the bird is flying. The young birds
when hatched, are covered with down, generally white'' but in
some species black ; they are fed in the nest by the parent
birds for a considerable time.

The Owls may be divided into two Families, of which the
Barn-Owl is the type of the StrigidcB;^\(i\Q all the rest of the
Owls belong to the Bubotiidce, of which the Eagle-Owl may be
taken as the type.

THE TRUE OWLS. FAMILY BUBONID^.

In these birds the hinder margin of the breast-bone, or
sternum, has two or more clefts or fissures ; the furcula or
merry-thought, is free, and not attached to the keel of 'the
sternum. There is no serration on the inner margin of the
claw of the middle toe, and the latter is longer than the inner
toe.

There are two Sub-families of the True Owls, the Bubonince
which have the facial disk imperfect and less developed above
the eye, and the Syrniince, in which the disk is perfect

In the Bubo7ii?i(B are included all the Fishing-Owls (Ketuta)
the Eagle-Owls {Bubo\ the 1 ufted Owls {Scops\ the Snowy
Owls^ {Ayctea\ the Hawk-Owls {Surnia\ the Little Owls
(C«m?^) the Burrowing-Owls (^-^^^/j;/^), and the Pigmy Owls
{GIaucidium\ besides some other tropical genera, of which we
have no representatives in Europe.

78

ALLEN S

s naturalist's library.

THE EAGLE OWLS. GENUS BUBO.
Bubo, Cuvier, Regno Aniin. i, p. 33i (iSi?)-
Type, B. bubo (L.).
These Owls may be first recognised by their large size, and
\ long tufts of plumes on .ach side of the crown. Ihe

by the

Sternum of Bubo bu-bo, to show notches and furcula. [From the
Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum.]

feet are thickly clothed with feathers, and the wings are not
very long in comparison with the size of the birds, and do not
reach to the end of the tail.

The Eagle-Owls are found throughout the greater part of
Europe, Africa, and Asia, extending to the Malay Archipelago,
l)ut not beyond, into the Australian Region. They are dis-
iributed throughout the New World from north to south, being
absent only in some of the districts unsuitable to their habits.

I. THE eagle-owl. BUBO BUBO.

Strixbubo, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 131 (1766).

Bubo ig/iavus, Forster ; Newton, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 168

(1872); Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 339, pi. 315 (1873);

Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 14 (1875) ; E. O. U. List

Br. B. p. 90 (1883); Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 299

(1889).

THE EAGLE-OWL. 79

Bilbo 7;iaxinius, Fleming; Macg. Br. B. iii. p. 428 (1840) ; Seeb.
Br. B. i. p. 187 (1883) ; Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xi.
(1889).

Adult Male. — Of large size. Blackish above, mottled and
freckled with yellowish-buff or tawny markings ; ear-tufts, 7)%
inches in length, black, with tawny markings on the inner ones ;
nape and hind-neck lighter than the rest of the upper surface,
tawny-buff, with broad black centres and narrow black cross-
lines ; scapulars externally whitish or pale tawny, with a few
black cross-lines ; quills dark brown, barred with tawny-buff,
the bars freckled with black, the inner webs for the most part
tawny, with irregular black markings ; centre tail-feathers
blackish, with buff vermiculations, the rest more or less dis-
tinctly barred with tawny-buff, the inner webs bright tawny,
with irregular blackish mottlings, more distinct towards the
ends of the feathers ; lores and region of the eye whitish ;
sides of neck like the hind-neck ; chin and fore-neck white,
separated from each other by a band of tawny, black-centred
feathers; crop tawny-buff; centre of breast white; rest of
under surface tawny-buff, the chest-feathers streaked with
black and spotted or barred with irregular lines of black ;
bill blackish horn-colour ; iris orange. Total length, 26 inches;
wing, i8-6; tail, ii'2 ; tarsus, 3'2.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but larger. Wing, 18-2
inches.

Nestling. — Covered with down of a dull white colour.

Range in Great Britain. — Of rare and accidental occurrence.
Many of the records doubtless refer to specimens escaped
from confinement, as the bird is often kept in aviaries, and not
unfrequently breeds in captivity. It is, therefore, difficult to
determine whether the Eagle-Owls which have from time to
time been recorded, have actually wandered to Great Britain,
or have been escaped individuals. Some undoubtedly wild
birds have, however, been taken in the Orkneys and Shetland
Isles, on the mainland of Scotland, and in some parts of Eng-
land ; so that there can be no doubt that the bird occasionally
visits us from the Continent. The statement of its occurrence
in Ireland is untrustworthy, as the specimen recorded by Dr.

8o Allen's naturalist's library.

Burkitt, as shot in Co. Waterford on the 27th of January,
185 1, after being ascribed to B. virgimatms, proved on examina-
tion to be the South African Bubo maculosus, and was doubt-
less of the same origin as the Gold-vented Bulbul, Pyciioiiotus
capensis (see A^ol. I., p. 318).

Range outside the British Islands. — Generally distributed through-
out Europe and Northern Africa, being replaced in Central
Asia by Bicho furconiamis, a pale form which extends west-
wards into South-eastern Russia, and which has occurred in
the Himalayas. The typical form is said to re-occur in
Eastern Siberia and Corea, and to extend to China, and a
specimen from the Goto Islands, about fifty miles to the west
of Nagasaki, is in the Norwich Museum. So far as is known
the Eagle-Owl has never occurred in the Japanese Islands, the
bird so identified having proved to be Bubo blakistoiii^ which
also inhabits Corea and North-eastern Siberia.

Hahits. — The Eagle-Owl is one of the largest and one of the
most ferocious of all the nocturnal Birds of Prey, and even in
confinement has been known to attack its owner without any
provocation. It creates great havoc among the larger game,
and devours not only Grouse, but Rabbits and Hares, as well
as Pheasants and Partridges. Mr. Seebohm states that in the
northern forests it also feeds upon Crows and Jays, as well as
devouring mice and rats.

The Eagle-Owl breeds early, laying its eggs in March or in
the beginning of April, and generally selects the old nest of
some other bird. It sometimes chooses the hole of a tree, but
not unfrequently nests on the ground or usually on the ledge
of a rock.

Although this fine Owl generally hunts by night, it is not much
disturbed by the daylight, and is able to take excellent care of
itself, while the nest is often in an exposed situation, in the full
glare of the light. Several observers who have tried to shoot the
parent birds at the nest, admit that this is nearly impossible to
do, as the birds appear to notice the intruder, however care-
fully concealed.

Nest. — None to speak of, and sometimes consisting merely
of a slight hollow in the ground. The young are often found

THE TUFTED OWI.S. 8 1

resting on the debris of the animals caught by the old birds,
and the heaps of castings thrown up by the latter, no other
attempts at a nest having been made.

Eggs. — Two or three in number. Like those of other Owls,
they are white, but are somewhat rough in texture. They are
easily distinguished by their large size, measuring as follows :
axis, 2'i5-2*55 inches; diam., i-85-i-95.

THE TUFTED OWLS. GENUS SCOPS.

Scops, Savigny, Descr. de I'Egypte, p. 291 (1809).

Type, Scops scops (L.).

These little Tufted Owls are really diminutive representa-
tives of the great Eagle-Owls, from which they are easily dis-
tinguished by their small size, though they have the same
elongated "ear-tufts," or bunches of erectile plumes, on the
side of the crown, as their larger relatives. They have re-
latively longer wings than the Eagle-Owls, but are much
more strictly nocturnal in their habits than the latter birds.
Though Mr. Seebohm separates them under the genus Scops, he
says that he only did so for the sake of convenience. This may
be the case, if external appearances only are to be taken into
consideration, but there can be no doubt that a careful com-
parison of anatomical and osteological characters would un-
doubtedly show that the two genera are distinct. For our
purpose, the size of the two birds is sufficient, and there need
be no difficulty in recognising the largest Scops from the
smallest Biibo.

I. SCOPS SCOPS. THE SMALL TUFTED OWL.

Sfrix scops, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 132 (1766).

Scops aldrova7idi, Macgill. Br. B. iii. p. 422 (1840).

Scops gill, Newt. ed. Yarr. Br. B. i. p. 173 (1872); Sharpe,
Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 47 (1875); Dresser, B. Eur.
V. p. 329, pi. 314 (1876) ; B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 89
(1883); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part hi. (1886); Saun-
ders, Man. p. 297 (1889).

Scops scops, Seeb. Brit. B. i. p. 193 (1883).

Adult Male — Above grey, mottled all over with vermiculations

82 ALLEN'S NATURALISTS LIBRARY

and pencillings of brown or blackish, with central streaks of
black down the shafts of the feathers ; ear-tufts grey, exter-
nally sandy-brown, with white cross-markings ; hind-neck
greyer than the back ; outer web of the scapulars white or
buff, broadly tipped with black, and so forming a more ©r
less distinct shoulder-patch ; wing-coverts like the back, the
median and greater series with large spots of white on the
outer web ; sides of face grey, with a few dusky cross-lines, the
ear-coverts with a sandy tinge, especially below the eye ;
behind the ear-coverts a crescent-like line of black, extending
on to the sides of the neck; chin whitish ; throat and sides of
neck clear grey, with brown cross-lines, and washed with orange-
buff, the shafts of the feathers black ; under surface of body
greyish, with more or less orange-buff, the black shaft-lines
distinct, especially on the flanks : feathers of the breast and
sides of the body lighter, with whitish bars on most of them ;
lower flanks and under tail-coverts white, with one or two
sandy-buff bars, and scarcely any blackish vermiculations ;
thighs and tarsal plumes orange-buff, with a few brown bars ;
bill black ; toes brown ; claws white at base, nearly black at
tip; iris yellow. Total length, 7*5 inches; wing, 5*9; tail,
2-9 ; tarsus, 0-95.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male. Total length, 8 inches ;
wing, 6-15.

The Small Tufted Owl, usually called the Scops Owl, is
readily distinguished by its size from the other Tufted Owls of
Europe, such as the Eagle-Owl, the Long-eared, and the Short-
eared Owls. The members of the genus Scops are distributed
over the greater part of the globe, with the exception of the
Australian Region, and it is as well to remind my readers that
the European species is easily recognisable by the description
and figures of the bird quoted above. This warning is the more
necessary, as I have had some little Tufted Owls submitted to
me at the British Museum which proved to be Scops hrasiliensis
and other exotic species, which could only have been escaped
specimens, or individuals brought from afar to deceive the
unwary and obtain the ridiculous price which is often paid for
specimens asserted to have been captured in Great Britain.

The American Tufted Owl {Scops cisio) has been said to have

THE TUFTED OWLS. 83

been twice captured in England, once in Yorkshire and once
in Norfolk; but neither Professor Newton nor Mr. Howard
Saunders attach any credence to the statements, and the
occurrences are probably on a par with those accompanying
the alleged record of Scops brasiliensis and others, with which
I am familiar.

Range in Great Britain. — Only a very occasional visitor, which
has occurred in all three kingdoms. It has been obtained in
several English counties, and at least three of the captures in
Norfolk are deemed authentic ; and it has been recorded from
Essex, Yorkshire, Middlesex, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire,
Wiltshire, Cornwall, Pembrokeshire, Lancashire, and Cumber-
land. One record from Sutherlandshire is also admitted, as
well as three from Ireland.

Range outside the British Islands. — Generally distributed over
Central and Southern Europe, but not extending into the
northern provinces or into Scandinavia. In winter it migrates
into North-eastern Africa and Senegambia; but in Africa
generally a dark form, S. capensis^ is found, and to the east-
ward the Tufted Owls are represented by several allied races,
the exact ranges of which have not been yet satisfactorily de-
termined.

Habits. — The Small Tufted Owl is almost entirely a nocturnal
bird, feeding chiefly on insects, but also devouring occasionally
mice and shrews, and, according to Naumann, small birds and
frogs. Its presence is generally detected by its note, for the
bird is seldom to be seen, though, according to some oljservers,
it flies about in the daylight; as a rule, however, this little
Owl only emerges from its retreat in the evening, when it
sallies forth in quest of its food. The note is described by
Mr. Seebohm as monotonous as a passing bell, and almost as
melancholy. "To my mind," he says, "this note is exactly
represented by the syllable ahp, repeated in an unvarying and
desponding strain every ten or twenty seconds. This bird is
generally, if sparingly, distributed all over Greece, from the
seashore almost, if not quite, up to the pine-regions on the
mountains. I have often listened to the note as I lay in my
camp-bed in a peasant's cottage at Agoriane, half-way up the
Parnassus, where it was almost too cold to sleep with comfort ;

G 2

84 ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

and I have heard it from the hotel at Buyukdere, on the Bos-
phorus, when, with window wide open, the heat made it still
more difficult to pass the night in happy unconsciousness even
of ornithological sounds." By most observers the note is said
to be "kill," whence its scientific name of gm.

The Small Tufted Owl comes back to Europe in March,
and migrates south again in September and October, though a
few remain in Southern Spain during the winter, as Colonel
Irby has observed them in January.

Nest. — Little or none, as with most Owls. The site generally
selected by this little species is a hole in a wall, or more often
in a hollow tree, where the nest, such as it is, is principally
composed of the castings of the old birds.

Eggs. — Five or six in number ; pure white and nearly round.
Axis, I '2-1 "3; diam., i"i-i"i5.

THE SNOWY OWLS. GENUS NYCTEA.

Nyctea, Stephens, Gen. Zool. xiii. pt. 2, p. 63 (1826).

Type, Nyctea nycfea (L.).

The genus Nyctea contains but one species, the great
Snowy Owl, which is easily recognised by its white plumage
and its thickly-feathered toes. Its dense plumage shows that
it is an inhabitant of the Arctic Regions, and it is, moreover, a
day Owl, like its smaller relation, the Hawk-Owl (Si^r/iia). It
differs from the Eagle-Owls in the small size of the "ear-tufts,"
and in most individuals these are so small as not to be dis-
tinguished from the general plumage of the head, so that, as a
rule, the Snowy Owl is classed as one of the un-tufted series
of Owls. A specimen from Archangel in the British Museum,
however, shows that ear-tufts are sometimes present, and I
believe that I was the first to draw attention to this fact in the
" Catalogue " of the S friges in the British Museum (Cat. B,
ii. p. 125).

Only one species of the genus Nyctea is known, inhabiting
the northern regions of the Old and New Worlds.

I. THE SNOWY OWL. NYCTEA NYCTEA.

Strix 7iyctea, Linn. S. N. i. p. 125 (1766).
Syrnia ?iyctea, Macgill. Br. B. iii. p. 407 (1840).

PLATE XXXVI.

^•^•-1^ <::: ^- --

^^v.

N. v*y

SNOWY OWL.

THE SNOWY OWLS. 85

Nyctea scandiaca (L.), Newt. ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 187
(1872); Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 287, pi. 310 (1873);
Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 125 (1875); B. O. U.
List Br. B. p. 87 (1883) ; Saunders, Man. Brit. B. p. 293
(1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xviii. (1891).
Surnia nyctea^ Seeb. Brit. B. i. p. 177 (1883).
^Plate XXXVI.)

Adult Male. — Pure white above and below, with a longitu-
dinal spot of brown on the hinder crown and on the wing-
coverts ; on the quills a few remains of brown bars, and on the
tail-feathers a small spot near the end of the central rectrices ;
bill and claws blackish horn-colour; iris deep yellow. Total
length, 23 inches; wing, 167 ; tail, 9*6 ; tarsus, about 2*1.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but a trifle larger. Total
length, 26 inches; wing, 18*3.

Young Birds. — Not so pure white as the adults, with bars of
dusky-brown both above and below, the quills and tail being
also banded.

There can be no doubt that the Snowy Owl becomes whiter
with age, and that the very old individuals lose their markings
almost entirely, though it is a question whether the females
ever become perfectly snow-white and lose their spots and
bars. American specimens appear to have the toes more
thickly clothed with feathers than European examples.

Nestling. — Covered with down of a sooty-brown colour.

Range in Great Britain. — An occasional visitant, occurring
chiefly in winter, and being noticed nearly every year in the
Orkneys and Shetland Islands. It has also been recorded
many times from Scotland, as well as on. various occasions in
England and Ireland. Although many of the Snowy Owls
winter in the vicinity of their arctic home, it is plain that a
considerable southward migration takes place, and Thompson
mentions that a flock of these Owls accompanied a ship half-
way on the voyage between Labrador and Ireland, while Mr.
Seebohm one morning found a couple perched on the masts
of the ship in which he was returning from the Petchora round
the North Cape, and when the vessel was out of sight of land.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Snowy Owl is an in-
habitant of the high north in both Hemispheres, and breeds

86 ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

beyond the region of forest-growth. Colonel Feilden, during
the voyage of the Alert towards the North Pole, found this
Owl nesting in Grinnell Land as high as 82° 33' N. lat. It
arrived there on the 29th of March and left at the end of
August. In some of its northern haunts, however, the Snowy
Owl is but a straggler, as is the case in the Faeroe Islands,
Iceland, and Spitsbergen, though it is common and chiefly a
resident in the Kola Peninsula, Novaya Zemlya, Waigatz Land,
and Franz Josef Land. In Russia its breeding-range occasion-
ally extends farther south, and in winter it wanders (in some
seasons occurring in some numbers) as far south as the United
States, and to many of the countries of Europe, while it has
even been found in Turkestan and the Indus Valley.

Haliits. — The Snowy Owl is a bird of the tundra, or barren
grounds, and nests in the Arctic Regions of both Hemispheres
beyond the limit of forest-growth. Its distribution is some-
what affected by the abundance of Lemmings, which con-
stitute its principal food, as Professor Newton says, occa-
sionally " following those destructive little Rodents along the
mountain ranges to lower latitudes, generally keeping, however,
on the fells. It is thus often found to breed abundantly in a
district wherein for many years before it had only been known
as a straggler." Mr. Nelson states that in Alaska, in a good
Lemming year, the Snowy Owls have been seen dotting the
country here and there, as they perched on the scattered knolls,
and they then make their nests on the ground, on the sides of
the hills.

Besides the Lemming, which constitutes its principal food,
the Snowy Owl feeds on Hares and other game, particularly
Grouse and Ptarmigan, and it has been known to accompany
sportsmen and seize the birds as they fell, before the hunter
could recover them. It is also said to catch fish, and will
pursue and hunt Ducks and other water-fowl. The note of
the bird, when on the wing, is said by Wheelwright to be a
loud " krau-au," repeated three or four times, but it is seldom
heard unless the bird is excited.

Nest. — Made of a little moss or lichen, with a few feathers.
The eggs are often laid upon the bare ground, or in a little
hollow scooped in the reindeer-moss. I'hey are not laid all

THE HAWK-OWLS. 87

at once, but apparently at a considerable interval, so that nest-
lings of all sizes, as well as freshly laid eggs, are found in the
same nest, the warmth of the more advanced young birds
doubtless contributing to the hatching of the more recently
laid eggs.

Eggs. — Six to eight in number, occasionally more ; creamy-
white, rather rough in texture, and more elongated than those
of the Eagle Owl, which they nearly equal in size. Axis, 2*i-
2*3 inches; diam., i "65-1 -8.

THE HAWK-OWLS. GENUS SURNIA.

Surnia^ Dumeril, Zool. Anal. p. 34 (1800).

Type, S. ulula (L.).

The members of the genus Surnia are two in number, one
species being found in Europe and Northern Asia, and the
other in North America. They are much smaller than the
Snowy Owl, which they resemble in their habit of hunting by
day, and like that species, the Hawk-Owls have no elongated
ear-tufts on the head. The tail, too, is much longer than in
the Snowy Owl, being nearly of the same length as the wing,
and is wedge-shaped, the feathers being graduated.

I. THE HAWK-OWL. SURNIA ULULA.

Strix tdula, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 133 (1766).

Surnia ulula, Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 301, pi. 311 (1872);

Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 129 (1875); B. O. U.

List Br. B. p. 88 (1883).
Surnia funerea, Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xiii. (1890).

Adult Male. — General colour above sepia-brown, with bars of
white ; scapulars externally pure white, forming a longitudinal
patch ; crown white, barred with dark brown, the bars broader
towards the nape, which is white with a few brown shaft-lines
and margins on the feathers ; a large black patch on each side
of the neck ; lesser and median wing-coverts like the back,
with large oval spots of white ; quills ashy-brown, with bars
of lighter brown, the primaries tipped with white, the second-
aries more broadly ; tail ashy-brown, wnth nine narrow bars of
dull white, purer white on the inner web ; an indistinct eye-

S8 ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

brow, as well as the sides of the face, white ; the ear-coverts
tipped with black, and forming a crescentic line down the
hinder margin of the latter ; throat white, separated from the
chest, which is also white, by a band of dusky-brown feathers ;
remainder of under surface white, narrowly banded with brown,
the bars less distinct on the lower abdomen, but again pro-
nounced on the under tail-coverts ; bill light yellow ; claws
blackish-brown; iris bright yellow. Total length, 14 inches;
wing, 9*7 ; tail, 7*5 ; tarsus, about I'o.

Young Birds. — Resemble the adults, but are more dingy-brown
in colour, and do not show the white spots on the scapulars
and wing-coverts so distinctly ; the white on the throat and
fore-neck is also less distinctly indicated.

The Hawk-Owl is easily recognised from the other British
species of Owl by its long and wedge-shaped tail, and by its
regularly banded under surface.

Range in Great Britain. — Although some half-a-dozen specimens
of Hawk-Owls have been obtained in Great Britain, it would
seem that the European species comes but seldom, and it is the
American species which principally visits us. Such British
specimens as have been examined by competent judges have
proved to be Surnia fimerea and not S. uhda^ but of the latter
I exhibited a specimen before the Zoological Society in 1876,
which had been shot near Amesbury in Wiltshire, and which
was an undoubted European Hawk-Owl. Doubtless the spe-
cimen obtained in the Shetlands, which was destroyed by moih,
was also a wanderer from Scandinavia.

Range outside the British Islands. — Throughout the pine-regions
of the northern parts of Europe and Northern Asia to Kamt-
chatka, Mr. Seebohm says that the Siberian bird differs from
the European form in having the under-parts purer white, and
the dark parts darker and greyer. It has occurred in Alaska.
The winter range of the Hawk-Owl does not extend far to the
south of its breeding area, but it occasionally visits Denmark
and Northern Germany, and has occurred in Poland, Austria,
and Northern France. It also winters in Central and Southern
Russia, but in Northern Turkestan it is a resident, and has not
been found migrating farther south.

THE HAWK-OWLS. 89

Habits. — The name of " Hawk "-Owl is very well applied to
this species, as in many of its ways it is more like a Hawk
than an Owl, and has even a Hawk-like note. It pursues its
prey in the daylight, and is a fierce and daring bird, often
attacking a man in defence of its nest. Like the Snowy Owl
it feeds largely on Lemmings, and follows the migrations of
this small rodent. It will also devour mice, and even larger
game, such as the Willow-Grouse, but likewise eats insects.

Nest. — None ; the eggs being laid in the hole of a tree, on
the chips of the wood at the bottom of the nest-hole. This
Owl will also take possession of nesting-boxes placed for Ducks
to breed in.

Eggs. — From live to eight in number ; white, and somewhat
smooth and glossy. They are laid at different intervals, as
with the Snowy Owl, and incubation lasts from about the
middle of April to the middle of June. Axis, i'5-i*65; diam.,

1-25.

II. THE AMERICAN HAWK-OWL. SURNIA FUNEREA.

Strix funerea^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 133 (1766).

Syrnia fwierea^ Macgill. Brit. B. iii. p. 404 (1840).

Surnia funerea^ Newt. ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 183 (1872);

Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 309, pi. 312 (1872); Sharpe, Cat.

B. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 131 (1875); B. O. U. List Brit. B.

p. 88 (1883); Seeb. Br. B. i. p. 183 (1883); Saunders,

Man. Brit. B. p. 295 (1889).

Adult Male. — Similar to S. ulula^ but having the bars on the
under surface of the body broader and more of a vinous-brown
or rufous colour ; bill yellow ; iris bright yellow. Total length,
15 inches ; wing, 9-5 ; tail, 8*0.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male in colour, and of about
the same size. Total length, 14 inches; wing, 9-2.

Range in the British Islands. — Four instances of the occurrence
of this American species in the British Islands are authentic :
one in Cornwall, in March, 1830; another near Yatton in
Somersetshire, in August, 1847 ; one near Glasgow, in Decem-
ber, 1863; and a fourth near Greenock, in November, 1868.
The two other occurrences of Hawk-Owls have already been
referred to as belonging to the European form.

90 Allen's naturalist's library.

Range outside the British Islands. — An inhabitant of the northern
portion of North America, extending its winter range to the
northern border of the United States.

Habits. — Very similar to those of the European species, and
the bird is distinguished by the same fierceness with which it
will attack anyone who ventures near its nest. According to
Mr. L. M. Turner's observations in Alaska, the Hawk-Owls
fly equally well by night or by day.

Nest. — None ; the bird generally selecting a hole in a tree,
as with the European species. Mr. Dall relates that in the
Lower Yukon River he found the bird breeding in the top of
an old birch-stub about fifteen feet from the ground, the eggs
being deposited on the bare wood, and being incubated by the
male bird.

Eggs. — Similar in size and appearance to those of the Euro-
pean Hawk-Owl.

THE LITTLE OWLS. GENUS CARINE.

Carine^ Kaup, Nat. Syst. Vog. Eur. p. 29 (1829).

Type, C 7ioctua (L.).

The kittle Owls form a small group of about six species,
which are found in Central and Southern Europe, North-east
Africa, and through Central iVsia to Northern China, as well
as throughout the Indian Peninsula and the Burmese countries.
In no case does the size of these small Owls exceed 8 inches
and they have, moreover, a curious swollen pea-shaped nostril,
in which the nasal opening is pierced. The wing is rounded,
the first primary not falling very far short of tlie tip of the
second. The fifth primary has an indentation on the inner
web, which is escalloped like the first four quills. The toes
are thickly feathered at the base, and the hind part of the
tarsus is always concealed by plumes. These Little Owls of
the genus Carlne must not be confounded with the Pigmy
Owlets ( Glaucidium), of which no example has yet been found
in Great Britain, though there is a species found in Europe,
viz., Ghmcidiiini passerinum. The Pigmy Owlets occur in
nearly every part of the World, with the exception of Australia
and the Austro-Malayan Islands.

X

THE LITTLE OWLS. 91

1. THE LITTLE OWL. CARINE NOCTUA.

Sfri'x noctiia, Scop. Ann. i. p. 22 (1769).

Syrfiia psilodactyla, Macgill. Br. B. iii. p. 417 (1840).

Carme noctua, Newt. ed. Yarr. Br. B. i. p. 178 (1872); Sharpe^

Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 133 (1875).
Noctua noctua, Seebohm, Br. B. i. p. 174 (1883).
Athene noctua, Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 357, pi. 317 (1871)^

B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 91 (1883); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B.

part iii. (1886); Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 291 (1889).
{Plate XXXVII.)

Adult Female. — Size small. Brown, with oval white spots, more
or less concealed by the feathers of the upper-parts; quills
brown, notched with white on the outer web, and barred with
white on the inner one ; upper tail-coverts brown, barred with
white; tail-feathers brown, tipped with whitish, and crossed
with four bands of whity-brown ; head brown, streaked with
triangular spots of white ; a patch of white on the nape ; face
white, the ear-coverts marked with brown ; under surface of
body white, with a band of brown across the fore-neck, the
breast and abdomen streaked with brown, the flanks with a
few brown bars ; under tail-coverts streaked with brown ; quills
brown below, spotted on the outer webs, and barred on the
inner webs with yellowish-white; bill yellow, slightly tinged
with greenish ; feet greyish-yellow ; iris yellow. Total length,
11*5 inches; wing, 67; tail, 3-5; tarsus, 1-3.

Adult Male. — Similar in colour to the female, but a trifle
smaller. Total length, 8*5 inches ; wing, 6"o ; tail, 3*0; tarsus,
II.

Young Birds. — More dingily coloured than the adults, and
more broadly streaked on the under surface ; the white mark-
ings on the upper surface rather more distinctly indicated.

Range in Great Britain. — An accidental visitor to England
only, not having, as yet, been recorded from Scotland or
Ireland. The Little Owl is so often kept in confinement that
escaped specimens cannot be rare, and consequently it is very
difficult to say whether an occurrence of the species in Eng-
land is due to an accidental visit from the Continent, or
whether the individual in question has escaped from confine-

92 Allen's naturalists library.

ment. Fifty years ago Waterton set some specimens free in
Yorkshire, and this experiment has been since tried by several
naturaHsts, notably Mr. St. Quintin in Yorkshire, Lord Lil-
ford in Northamptonshire, and Mr. Meade-Waldo in Hamp-
shire.

Range outside the British Islands. — Europe generally, but only an
occasional visitant to Scandinavia. In South-eastern Europe
the colour is decidedly paler and a rufous race, Cari?ie glaux^
which is found in Egypt and Palestine, extends to Persia.
Thence a race, with thickly-feathered toes, C. bactriana^ takes
its place in Central Asia, and ranges into Northern China.

Habits. — The Little Owl is as much diurnal as nocturnal in
its habits, and feeds upon mice, small birds, and all kinds of
insects, grasshoppers, moths, beetles, &c. I can cordially re-
commend this bird as a tame and amusing pet, and one which
will speedily clear a kitchen of black-beetles. Two tame
Owls of this species were most useful in this respect, as, un-
fortunately, in the suburb of London in which I resided some
ten years ago, black-beetles were a very disagreeable reality.
Hedgehogs in the kitchen at night were undoubtedly useful,
but the best sport was obtained with my Little Owls, of which
I had a pair. Every night the gas was turned low, and the
Owls sat on our hands like trained Hawks. Their bright little
eyes were turned in every direction, and the advent of a beetle
was announced by a vigorous " bobbing " of their heads.
Before I could see the noxious insect, the Owls would leave
their perch on my hand and noiselessly glide down and cap-
ture the unsuspecting horror. Then they would stand over it,
with one wing spread out, as if to protect the savoury morsel
from the vulgar world, which knows not the delicacy of a black-
beetle. Then grasping it in their toes, holding it like a Parrot,
as if with a hand, they would munch it up contentedly, till not
even an antenna was left to mark the place of slaughter. How
many beetles one of these Owls would kill in an evening would
be difficult to say. I used to leave them on the gas-bracket to
work out their role of extermination, but the mess that they
made during the night ended in a " revolt of the daughter,"
backed up by the servants, and they had once more to be
banished to their cage in the garden.

THE HORNED OWLS. 93

Mr. Seebohm says that the flight of the Little Owl reminded
him very much of that of a Bat, " It was not an undulating
flight, but a steady, slow, beating of the wings, without any
apparent exertion ; and yet there was a butterfly-like uncer-
tainty about it, as if it continually changed its mind and slightly

altered its course At Athens it was very common

on the Acropolis, and was evidently breeding in holes in the
rocks and ruins. In the Parnassus we often heard its curious
note, cuc-koo-vah' -ee, cuc-koo-vah'-ee, and were told that it re-
mained there all the year. It may be seen perched on a tree,
a rock, or on the roof of a house."

Nest. — None, or a small collection of rubbish gathered in
the vicinity. The Little Owl breeds from the middle of April
to the middle of May, and the nest is placed in a hollow tree,
or in the cleft of a rock, or in the roof of a house, and Mr.
Seebohm says that he has seen one under the roots of a tree.

Eggs. — Four to six in number; pure white, and oval in
shape. Axis, i •3-1 '4 inches ; diam., i'o5-i'i5.

With the next genus we commence the Sub-family SyrjiiincB^
to which it is difficult to ai)ply an English name, as the Sub-
family embraces Owls of very different appearance, some of
them having ear-tufts, as in the genus Asio, while the Wood-
Owls {Syrnkim and Nydala) have no tufts on the head. All
the members of the Syr?mncB have the facial disk complete,
extending as far above the eye as it does below it, and the
ear-conch is larger than the eye, and is closed by a very
distinct operculum.

THE HORNED OWLS. GENUS ASTO.

Asia, Briss, Orn. i. p. 28 (1760).
Type, Asio otus (L.).

These Owls are distinguished by the very distinct tufts of
feathers, or "horns," on the head, which are always present,
though they are longer in some species than in others. The
cere is also strongly marked, and is longer than the culmen.
Seven species of Horned Owls are known, and they are found
in the greater part of the Old and New Worlds, but they

94 Allen's naturalist's library.

appear to be absent in West Africa, the Malayan Sub-region,
Australia, and Oceania, though a species occurs in the Sand-
wich Islands and another in the Galapagos Islands.

I. THE LONG-EARED OWL. ASIO OTUS.

Strix otus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 491 (1766); Seebohm, Br.

B. i. p. 160 (1883).
Asio otus, Macg. Br. B. iii. p. 453 (1840) ; Newt. ed. Yarr.

Brit. B. i. p. 158 (1872); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ii.

p. 227 (1875); Dresser, B. Eur. p. 251, pi. 303 (1876);

B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 86 (1883) ; Saunders, Man. Br.

B. p. 283 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xxiii.

(1893)-
Adult Male.— Blackish-brown above, mottled all over with
orange-buff; all the dorsal plumes silvered with white, with
vermiculations of dark brown; scapulars and greater wing-
coverts with a large oval spot of white on the outer web ; quills
greyish-brown, with hoary tips, barred with darker brown,
more broadly on the primaries, which have the interspaces
orange-buff, the dark bars more broken up on the secondaries ;
tail-feathers greyish-brown, with orange-buff at the base, and
crossed with seven bands of darker brown, the bands being
ten in number and narrower on the outer feathers; head pale
orange buff, the feathers centred with black, and vermiculated
with dusky on the sides; feathers on the sides of the neck
much whiter, the cross-lines nearly obsolete ; frontal feathers
greyish-white, with minute brown frecklings; ear-tufts i finches
long, blackish, more or less orange-buff on the outer web and
white on the inner one ; face dusky-white, the feathers round
the eye blackish ; feathers of ruff white, all the feathers tipped
with black, forming a frill ; chin whitish ; rest of under surface
of body orange-buff, the breast-feathers for the most part white,
centred longitudinally with blackish-brown, with a few cross
vermiculations ; bill dusky horn-colour ; claws horn-colour ;
iris orange-yellow. Total length, 13-5 inches; wing, ir6;
tail, 6-0 ; tarsus, i"6.

Adult Female.— Similar to the male in colour and of about
the same size. Total length, 14 inches ; wing, 11-5 ; tail, 6-5 ;
tarsus, 1*6,

THE HORNED OWLS.

95

Young. — Coloured like the adults, but the markings not so
pronounced. The nestling is covered with grey down, with a
good deal of orange-buff.

The slender body, with the long ear-tufts, the black streaks
on the breast-feathers, and the blackish cross-markings on the
plumage, distinguish the Long-eared Owl from all the other
British species. Its smaller size prevents its being mistaken for
the Great Eagle-Owl.

Range in Great Britain. — Wherever pine-woods or fir-plantations
occur throughout the British Islands, the Long-eared Owl is to
be found, and there is scarcely a county in which it is not a
resident, while in Ireland, Mr. Ussher states that it is common
in most counties, and breeds in every one of them. It nests
in the Hebrides in favourable localities, but is only a visitor to
the Orkneys and Shetland Islands. A considerable increase in
the number of the species takes place in the autumn, when a
good many migrate into our islands.

Range outside the British Islands. — In its favourite haunts, the
present species is distributed over the greater part of Europe,
and extends throughout Southern Siberia to the Japanese
Islands, occurring also in the Himalayas, where it appears to
breed, and it winters in wooded districts in the plains of India.
In Scandinavia and Northern Russia it ranges as high as 6^°
N. lat. and to 59° in the Ural Mountains. The birds which breed
in many parts of Europe are only found to do so in the moun-
tain forests, and in winter they descend to the lower ground.
The species is also found in the Azores, Madeira, and the
Canaries, and also inhabits Northern Africa. In North America
the Long-eared Owl is replaced by a darker race, Jsw ameri-
camis.

Habits. — This Owl is a strictly nocturnal species and is seldom
found in the day-time, though, if disturbed and frightened, it
will fly out into the daylight, which does not seem to incon-
venience it much. As evening closes in, however, it becomes
more active, and commences to hunt in the twilight. It seems
never to make a nest for itself, but will appropriate the old
nest of any other bird which appears suitable. Thus the nests
of Crows, Magpies, Sparrow-Hawks, or Wood-Pigeons may
be used, and these are merely slightly flattened, and a little

g6 allen'f; naturalist's library.

wool is sometimes found in them, as well as the pellets or
castings of the birds. In many of the fir-clumps on the downs
of our southern counties, a pair of Long-eared Owls may be
found, the nest being in the most retired and darkest por-
tion of the clump, where no sunlight penetrates. Here the
Owls rest during the day, either side by side, or perhaps drawn
up against the trunk of a fir, and perfectly motionless. On
the approach of dusk, however, their awakened interest is
manifested by a snapping of the bill, a noise which can be
heard a long way off; and they may be seen quartering over
the ground with a slow and noiseless fli.;ht, though 1 have
never seen them play or tumble in the air, as Barn-Owls will
often do. They never appear to hoot, but are descril)ed as
uttering a barking kind of note, and also "mewing" like a
young kitten. Mr. Norgate, who has contributed some in-
teresting notes on the species to Mr. Seebohm's " History of
British Birds," believes that this "cat "-like note is that of the
young birds, but at Avington in Hampshire, where Captain
Shelley and myself have found several nests, this noise, which
Mr. Norgate has so correctly described, was often heard by us,
but there were no young in the nests we examined, and there-
fore it is probably also uttered by the old birds. The food of
this species consists of mice, rats, and small birds.

The Long-eared Owl breeds early in the year, and eggs have
been found at the end of February. Besides the above-men-
tioned nests adopted by the species, it will also occupy an old
Squirrel's drey, or even the nest of a Heron.

Nest. — As mentioned above, this species does not build a
nest itself, but uses the old nest of a Squirrel or some bird.

Eggs. — From four to six, sometimes seven. They are some-
what oval in shape, pure white, and slightly glossy. Axis, i'5-
1-8 inch; diam., i '15-1 -35 inch.

II. THE SHORT-EARED OWL. ASIO ACCIPITRTNUS.

Sfrix accipitri)ia, Pall. Reis. Russ. Reichs. i. p. 455 (1771).
Asio brachyotus (Forst.), Macg. Brit. B. iii. p. 461 (1840);

B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 86 (1S83); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br.

B. part xi. (1889).

THE HORNED OWLS. 97

Asw accipitri?u{s. Newt. ed. Yarr. Erit. B. i. 163 (1872);
Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 234 (1875); Dresser, B.'
Eur. V. p. 257, pi. 304 (1876) ; Saunders, Man. Br. B. p.
285 (1889).

Strix brachyotus, Seeb. Br. B. i. p. 167 (18S3)

Adult Male.— General colour above pale ochraceous-bufF, with
longitudinal dark brown centres to the feathers, imparting a
streaked appearance ; scapulars much paler on their outer mar-
gins ; quills rufous-ochre, tipped with whitish, and inclining to
fulvous near the base, all the feathers chequered with dark brown
bars, much narrower on the inner web; tail-feathers ochraceous,'
tipped with whitish, and crossed with seven continuous brown
bars on the centre ones, reduced to five on the outer ones,
where the bars are much narrower and disappear near the
base ; plumes of forehead dark brown, narrowly margined with
ochraceous ; facial ruff whitish, slightly washed with ochre, and
having minute triangular spots of dark brown ; facial aspect
dull white, the lores brownish, the region of the eye black ;
ear-tufts half an inch long and coloured like the crown ; chin
whitish ; remainder of under surface of body buffy-white,
washed with golden-buff on the breast and sides, the breast-
feathers broadly streaked with brown down the centre, these
streaks becoming very narrow on the lower breast and abdo-
men, and disappearing on the thighs and under tail-coverts ;
under wing-coverts white, faintly tinged with ochre, with a
blackish patch on the outer lower greater coverts ; bill brown-
ish-black ; claws brownish-black ; iris orange. Total length,
14 inches; wing, 12-4; tail, 6-5; tarsus, 175.

Adult Female.— Similar in colour and markings to the male,
but deeper in colour, especially on the under surface, which is
rich ochre ; the bands on the centre feathers six in number,
four or five on the outer ones. Total length, 15-5 inches;
wing, 12-5.

Young Birds.— Similar to the adults, but much darker, and
having the quills underneath clouded with brown, without any
transverse bars, and having a dark brown spot or bar about
half way down the first primary.

The Short-eared Owl is easily distinguished from the Long-
8 H

g8 alt.en's naturalist's t.ibrary

eared Owl by the shortness of the ear-tufts and by the absence
of minute cross-vermiculations, which are so plentiful in the
Long-eared Owls, the feathers being broadly striped wnth brown
both above and below.

Range in Great Britain! — The Short-eared Owl breeds in such
haunts as are suitable to it in the north of England and in
Scotland, as w^ell as in the Orkneys and Shetlands. It also
nests sparingly in the eastern counties of England. In Ireland
it occurs as an autumn and winter visitant, but is not included
vis a breeding species in the latest list of Mr. R. J. Ussher.
Over the greater part of England it is chiefly met with in
autumn and winter, when a considerable migration of the
species takes place.

Range outside the British Islands. — Unlike the Long eared Owl,
the present species has not been recorded from Iceland, though
it occasionally wanders to the Faeroe Islands. It nests through-
out Northern Europe, and even in South Russia and the Cau-
casus, while it probably breeds throughout Northern Asia, as
it has been found to do so in Eastern Siberia and Kamtchatka.
Throughout the central and southern countries of Europe it is
known as a migratory species, and it also passes through China
on migration, to winter in Southern China, Burma, and the
Indian Peninsula.

In the New World the Short-eared Owl is found from the
Arctic Regions to the very extreme of South America. Slightly
modified forms are met with — Asia gala/^ageiisis, in the Gala-
pagos Islands, and in the Sandwich Islands, Asio sandivicheti-
sis. A dark species, Asio c.ipensis, is met with in South Africa,
and occurs also in jNIarocco and Southern Spain, and is said to
interbreed with our own Short-eared Owl. With the exception
of Australia and the Malayan Peninsula and islands, our bird
may be said to have an almost cosmopolitan range, though it
is doubtful whether it ever extends in winter below North-
eastern Africa, the sole evidence of its having been met with
in South Africa resting on a specimen sent alive to the Zoo-
logical Gardens many years ago, and said to have come from
Natal.

Habits. — In winter time and during the shooting-season, the

THE HORNED OWLS. 99

Short-eared Owl is often flushed in open ground, such as tur-
nip-fields, especially towards the end of October, when the
general migration of the species takes place in England, about
the time of the coming-in of the Woodcock. From the latter
circumstance it is probably called in so many places the
" Woodcock " Owl, or this name may also be acquired by its
similarly twisting flight. It is essentially a bird of the open,
and I have even seen it on the south coast, frequenting the
banks and reedy ditches of Pagham Harbour in Sussex, where
I once shot an early migrant on the 3rd of September. It
flies well in the daylight, and may often be seen hunting for
food in the full glare of the sun, which seems to incommode
this species but little. It feeds on all the small Rodents, and
was of great use during the vole-plague in 1892, when the
Short-eared Owls came to the rescue of the farmers, and as
many as four hundred of their nests were found in the infected
districts of Southern Scotland. The same flocking of Owls
occurred during a similar plague many years ago in the Forest
of Dean in Gloucestershire. The Short-eared Owl is also said
to feed on small birds, as well as occasionally on bats, fish,
reptiles, and beetles. During his recent expedition to the
Salvage Islands, which lie between Madeira and the Canaries,
Mr. Ogilvie-Grant found two pairs of Short-eared Owls on the
largest island of the group, where they found plenty of food in
the shape of a powerful little mouse, which fed in turn on the
unfortunate Petrels (F. marina) which were breeding in num-
bers on the summit of the rocky island.

Nest.— On the ground, often in quite an exposed situation.
No regular nest is made, the eggs being laid in a depression
of the ground, or in a tuft of heather, in the moorland
districts.

Eggs. — From six to eight in number, and sometimes as many
as twelve have been found. They are generally laid in May,
but have also been found as early as the first week in April.
The eggs are very much like those of the Long-eared Owl,
white, and with scarcely any gloss. Mr. Seebohm says that
some examples can scarcely be distinguished from those of
the Hawk- Owl. Axis i'55-i 65 inch ; diam., i-2-i'3.

H 2

TOO AT. I. EN 3 NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

THE WOOD-OWLS. GENUS SVRNIUM.

Syniiiiui, Savign. Descr. de TEgypte, p. 208 (1809).

Type, S. aluco (L.).

Although the Wood-Owls have the same curious ear-conch

as the Horned Owls, they may easily be distingushed froui

the latter by the absence of ear-tufts, and by the cere being

shorter than the culmen. The bony shell of the ear-conch

is similar in form on either side of the skull, both sides of

which are symmetrical, whereas in Nyctala {vide infra, p. 103)

the opposite is the case.

The Wood-Owls are found all over the New World from
north to south, and also over the greater part of the Old
World, with the exception of the Australian Region.

I. THE WOOD-OWL, OR TAWNY OWL. SYRNIUM ALUCO.

Strix ahico, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 132 (1766); Newton, ed.

Yarr. Br. B. i. p. 146 (1872).
Uliila al...>, Macg. Br. B. iii. p. 438(1840); Seeb. Br. B. i.

p. 154 (1883).
Syrniiim aiiico, Sharpa, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 247 (1875);
Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 271, pi. 306 (1879) ; B. O. U. List
Br. B. p. 87 (1883); Saundtrs, Man. Br. B. p. 287
(1889) ; Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. partxi. (1889), parts xxii.
and XXV. (1892-93).

{Plate XXXVIII.)
Adult Male. — General colour above ashy-grey, with generally
a slight tinge of rufous, the feathers with dark longitudinal
centres and zigzag cross -lines, imparting a vermiculated ap-
pearance to the whole of the upper surface ; outer scapulars
with a large oval spot of white ; quills light brown, barred
with darker brown, the quills freckled with dusky at the tips,
and on the light ashy or rufescent bars which are seen on the
outer web ; tail brown, mottled with ashy spots and lines, the
outer feathers with dark brown bars, about six in number ;
head rather greyer than the back, considerably mottled with
white spots, especially on the hind-neck ; lores and feathers
round the eye whitish; ear-coverts ashy with dusky-brov>'n
bars ; tail-feathers profusely barred wnth white or buffy- white
and dusky-brown ; under surface of body ashy-white, with

PLATE XXXVIII.

^^$^%:

TAWNY OWL.

THE WOOD-OWLS. lOI

distinct black longitudinal centres to the feathers, which are
also laterally barred and freckled, but not always completely
banded ; quills dark brown below, with about six lighter bars,
those near the base yellowish-white ; bill whitish horn-colour ;
claws horny-white at base, darker at tip ; iris blue-black.

Rufous Phase. — Exactly like the grey phase in plumage, but
rufous where the other is grey or brown.

Nestling. — Covered with greyish-white down, the first feathers
yellowish, with dark-brown cross-markings ; bill ivory-white at
the end of both mandibles,

Range in Great Britain. — The Tawny Owl is found in most of
the wooded districts of Great Britain, though it is said to be
decreasing in numbers, owing to the persecution it is sub-
jected to on account of its supposed destructiveness to game.
It is, perhaps, more plentiful in the northern districts of Eng-
land than in the south, and is distributed over the greater part
of Scotland, as well as the Isle of Skye and some of the inner
Hebrides. It has not been found in Ireland.

Range outside the British Islands. — Distributed throughout the
greater part of Europe and Northern Africa, and extends to
Palestine and Syria. It is plentiful in Norway up to Trondh-
jem Fiord, but is rarer to the north. In Sweden it is not
found so far north, and does not extend to Archangel. In
Eastern Russia the limit of its range is said to be lat. 58",
and it has been met with in the Caucasus, but not, so far as
known, in Siberia. In the Himalayas it is represented by a
distinct form, Syrniuiii nivicoliun, and this is probably the
species which occurs in Turkestan. Mr. Seebohm considers
this eastern form of the Tawny Owl to belong to the same
species as our European bird, but in this conclusion he is
certainly mistaken.

Habits. — The Tawny Owl is, as a rule, nocturnal in its
habits, and seldom flies in the daylight. If, by any accident,
it has been driven from the dark recesses in which it loves to
pass the day, it may be seen perched on a large bough or
against the trunk of a tree, absolutely immoveable, and appa-
rently incapable of any action in the sunlight. Usually, how-
ever, it seeks repose in the day-time in some dark hollow of an

I02 Allen's naturalist's i,ihrary.

ancient tree. As night approaches, the Tawny Owl becomes
more active, and its note is often heard — " hoo-hoo, hoo-
hoo-hoo," a waiHng cry, which resounds to a considerable dis-
tance, and is certainly not one of the least interesting sounds
of a still summer night.

The food of the Tawny Owl consists of small Rodents and
insectivorous Mammals which stir forth in the dark, and it will
also eat frogs and fish, and occasionally small birds, while its
occasional onslaughts on young game-birds and rabbits are not
to be gainsaid.

Nest. — In defence of its nest this Owl is sometimes very bold,
and will swoop down and attack the intruder. The nesting-
place is very varied, and although generally to be found in a
hollow tree or an old ivy-covered ruin, or even an outhouse, the
bird will sometimes select an old nest of some other bird, such
as a Rook, a Magpie, or a Sparrow-Hawk, while its nesting in
rabbit-burrows has also been chronicled, to say nothing of such
curious sites as a disused dog-kennel, as related by Mr. A. W.
Johnson in Mr. Seebohm's work on British Birds. The same
gentleman also states that he has known the eggs to be laid on
the bare ground, " somewhat concealed by the thick foliage of
the lower branches of a fir."

Eggs. - Three or four in number ; white, smooth, and rather
glossy. Axis, i-75-r95 inch ; diam., i-5-r6.

THE DOWNY OWLETS. GENUS NYCTALA.

Njcfala, Brehm, Isis, 1828, p. 1271.

Type, N. tengniahni (Gm.).

The species of the genus Nydala are diminutive represen-
tatives of the ^Vood-Owls, but they differ from all the species
of the genus Syrnium in their small size, and in the curious
conformation of the ear-conches, which are different on either
side of the head, as has been pointed out by Professor Collett,
of Christiania.

This may have something to do with the sense of hearing in
the genus Nydala, but nothing is known on this point. Apart
from the small size of the birds, the thick feathering of the

PLATE XXXIX

.^'

TENGMALM'S OWL.

THE DOWNY 0WLP:TS. 16^

toes distinguishes Nydala from Syrniuni^ as far as the British
avifauna is concerned.

The Saw-whet Owl {Nydala acadica) of North America has
been said to have occurred in Yorkshire, but the occurrence is
not considered genuine.

I. tengmalm's owl. nyctala tengmalmi.

Strix teii'^uiahni, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 291 (1788) ; Seeb. Br.

B. i.^p. 164 (1883).
Ulula tengniahni^ Macgill. Br. B. iii. p. 445 (1840).
Nydala tengmalmi, Newt. ed. Yarr. Br. B. i. p. 154 (1872) ;

Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 319, pi. 313 (1872); Sl^arpe, Cat.

B. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 284 (1875) ; B. O. U. List Br. B. p.

88(1883); Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 289(1889); Lilford,

Col. Fig. Br. B. part xxx. (1895).

{Plate XXXIX.)

Adult Male. — General colour above light brown, plentifully

spotted and mottled with white, especially on the scapulars,

where the white markings are very conspicuous ; fore-part and

sides of crown rather darker than the back, with numerous

wSkiiU of Tengmalm's Owl, to show the po:^!^!^!-! of the ear-conches
(after Collett).

triangular spots of white, with a "wig" of looser plumes on the
hind-neck, where the plumage is fuller, these parts being barred
with white ; the median and greater coverts with large oval
spots of white on the outer web; quills brown, tipped witli
greyish, spotted on the outer web, and broadly notched oa

io4 ali,p:n's naturalist's librakv.

the inner web with white; tail brown, with five rows of white
bars ; face white, with the lores and a large patch in front of
the eye black ; ruff very distinct, and composed of dark brown
feathers, thickly spotted with white ; this ruff continued under
the chin, which is white, as also the fore-neck ; remainder of
under surface of body white, mottled with brown markings,
especially on the breast, the flanks streaked with brown, the
breast more spotted; under wing-coverts white, with small
brown spots ; the greater series ashy-brown, spotted with
white, like the inner lining of the quills, which are ashy-
brown below, barred with white, the bars larger and more
ovate on the secondaries ; bill dull yellow ; iris bright yellow.
Total length, 9*5 inches ; wing, 67 ; tail, 4-4 : tarsus, 075.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but slightly larger. Total
length, 10-5 inches; wing, 7*5 ; tail, 4-8; tarsus, 0*85.

Young. — Differs considerably from the adult. Chocolate-
brown, darker on the sides of the face and ear-coverts ; lores,
fore-part of cheeks, and eyebrow white, with blackish bristles
on the former ; scapulars and upper tail-coverts with concealed
white spots ; tail brown, with three rows of white spots, not
continuous ; under surface of body chocolate-brown, the breast
and abdomen mottled with white ; feathers of the thighs and
feet, as well as the under tail-coverts, yellowish white, with a
few brown spots.

Tengmalm's Owl is often confounded with the Little Owl
{Carifte iwdua), but there ought to be no difficulty in dis-
tinguish ng the two species. Both are devoid of horns, like
the Tawny Owl, but Tengmalm's Owl is a more northern
bird, and more thickly clothed with feathers than the southern
Little Owl. The plumage is altogether more dense and softer
in the first place, and the species can at once be distinguished
by the feathering which covers the toes, leaving the claws only
discernible. In the Little Owl the feathering of the toes is
much more sparse, and the joints of the toes are plainly visi-
ble. Tengmalm's Owl is also a darker bird, and is very
plainly spotted with white on the head, and especially on the
facial ruff. The face, too, is pure white, with a very con-
spicuous black patch on the lores and in front of the eyes.

Range in Great Britain. — An occasional visitor in spring and

THE DOWNY OWLETS. I05

autumn. Less than twenty authentic records of the occurrence
of the species within our limits have been pubHshed, and prob-
ably not more than sixteen or seventeen are genuine. The
counties in which Tengmahii's Owl has been captured are
Northumberland, Yorkshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent, and
Somerset, Shropshire, Lancashire, and Cumberland, most of
these instances having occurred during autumn. Two Scot-
tish records are known, one in the Orkneys, and one in the
Firth of Forth, but no specimen has yet been procured in
Ireland.

Range outside the British Islands. — Tengmalm's Owl is an in-
habitant of the mountain regions of the Old and Ne^v Worlds,
for I have never been able to discover the specific distinctness
of the American form, the so-called Nydala richardso7ii. It
is an inhabitant of the pine-forest region south of the Arctic
Circle from Scandinavia to Eastern Siberia, and again in
North America. In Lapland it breeds as far north as 68"
N. lat., in the Ural Mountains up to 59" N. lat. On the
River Ob Dr. P^insch obtained it in lat. 61°, and Mr. See-
bohm's collectors have sent specimens from Krasnoyarsk in
Siberia. The species is plentiful in Eastern Siberia round
Lake Baikal, and also as far as Sidemi in Ussuri Land, but
has not yet been detected in Kamtchatka

In winter Tengmalm's Owl mii^rates to a certain extent, but
is not found very far to the south. It breeds in the Car-
pathians and the Alps in the forests, as well as in the Vosges
and the mountains of South-eastern France.

Hahits. — Although principally a nocturnal species, Teng-
malm's Owl does not appear to be incommoded by the day-
light ; and, indeed, in the northern localities where the species
breeds, the sun never sets, and there is scarcely any difference
between night and day. Its food consists of small rodents,
such as mice and lemmings, as well as insects and small
birds, and Taczanowski states that in Eastern Siberia this
little Owl is detested by the trappers, as it is continually being
taken in the snares set for the Ermine, and the bird is there-
fore considered a nuisance.

Wheelwright says that the note of Tengmalm's Owl is a
soft whistle, which is heard only in the evening and at night.

Io6 ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

M. Godlewski, a well-known Siberian traveller and collector,
speaks of one of these birds which became very tame in con-
finement, and imitated the crowing of a cock, the howling of
a dog, and the cries of other domestic animals.

Nest. — None. The eggs are generally placed in a hollow
tree, the holes of the Great Black Woodpecker being often
used ; and Wolley, to whom we owe much of our knowledge of
the breeding habits of the present species, obtained some eggs
from the nest-boxes which are put by the inhabitants for the
Golden-eye Duck to breed in. These nesting-places are formed
of pieces of logs, hollowed out and with a hole cut in the side.
The bird breeds early in May, even in its northern home, and
eggs were taken by Wolley at the end of May and during
June.

Eggs. — From four to seven, and, Mr. Howard Saunders says,
occasionally as many as ten. They are white, and vary in
shape, some being rounder and some more elongated. Axis,
I •3 inch ; diam., i"o5.

THE WHITE OWLS. FAMILY STRIGID.'E.

Apart from their peculiar and unmistakeable visage, the
White Owls differ from all the other members of the Order
Striges in two easily recognisable characters. One of these

Middle toe of Sirix flammea^ to show the pectination of the claw.
[From the Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum, vol. ii. p. 290.]

consists in having the inner and middle toes of about equal
length, while the middle toe has a pectinated or comb like
cdije on its inner aspect.

THE BARN-OWLS.

107

Another character is seen in the sternum, or breast-bone,
which has no fissures or clefts in its hinder margin, and at the
same time thefurcula, or "merry-thought," is joined to the keel
of the sternum.

The Wiiite Owls are almost cosmopolitan, and are found
even in the Pacific Islands. There are two sections of White
Owls, which may be distinguished as Barn-Owls and Grass-
Owls, the latter, as their name impHes, frequenting dense grass-

Sternum oi Slrixjlanimea, to show the junction of the furcula and the
outline of the hinder margin. [From the Catalogue of Birds in the British
Museum, vol. ii. p. 289.]

land. Both the known species of Grass-Owls are easily recog-
nised by their uniform brown upper surface, instead of having
vermiculations on the back, like the Barn-Owls, and they are
often separated by naturalists under a separate genus, Scelo-
strix. One of the species, S. capensis, inhabits South Africa,
while the second, S. Candida, is found in India and China,
the Philippines, North Australia, and re-occurs in the Fiji
Islands.

THE BARN-OWLS. GENUS STRIX.
Strix, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 133 (1766).
Type, S.flaminea (L.).
The Barn-Owls, on the other hand, are birds which love the

io8 Allen's naturalist's library.

dark recesses of a building or a tree, rather than the open
grass-country. Seven forms of the Common Barn-Owl are
recognised by naturahsts, but these birds vary in plumage
considerably, and they are all so closely connected by inter-
mediate forms, that it is difficult to say where one race ends
and another commences its range.

The most distinct of the Barn-Owls are the large Slrix
castajiops and S. novce hollaitdice of Australia, all the other
species being merely forms of the ordinary Barn-Owl i^S.
flammeii). Some of these, however, are fairly recognisable as
races, especially the pale form, S. delicatitla^ of Australia and
Oceania, and the island races from the Cape Verd Islands
{Sfrix insular is), and the Galapagos Islands {Strix punctatis-
sinia), both of which are very dark and thickly spotted forms.

I am still under the same impression as in 1875, when I
wrote the second volume of the " Catalogue of Birds," that
"there is one dominant type of Barn-Owl which prevails
generally over the continents of the Old and New Worlds,
being darker or lighter according to different localities, but
possessing no distinctive specific characters."

I. THE 15ARN-OWL. STRIX FLAMMEA.

Strix flamniea, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 133 (1766); Macgill. Drit.

B. iii. p. 473 (1840) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 291

(1875) ; Dresser, B. Eur. i. p. 237, pi. 302 (1879) ; B. O.

U. List Br. B. p. 85 (1883); Saunders, Man. Br. B. p.

281 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xiv. (1890).
Aluco flaninieus, Newt. ed. Yarn Brit. B. i. p. 194 (1872);

Seeb. Brit. B. i. p. 148(1883).
{Plate XL.)
Adult Male. — General colour above orange-buff, with white
spots at or near the end of each feather, relieved by a corre-
sponding spot of blackish ; the back and scapulars mottled
with silvery -grey ; quills orange-buff, shading off into whitish
near the base and on the inner webs, the secondaries rather
deeper orange, tipped with whitish, the innermost secondaries
mottled with grey like the back ; tail whitish, washed with pale
omnge, the centre feathers slightly speckled with brown, these
markings disappearing towards the outer feathers, which are

PLATE XL.

'sJ'^^^i.'yf.'i^Si; ,

BARN OWL .

THE BARN-OWLS. lOQ

entirely white ; face pure white, with a patch of rufous in front
of the eye ; feathers of the ruff ghstening white, those on the
upper-part washed with orange, the lower feathers sub-termin-
ally orange with a tiny apical margin of blackish, rather more
distinct on the gular portion of the ruff; rest of under surface
of body pure white, as well as the thighs and under tail-
coverts ; under wing-coverts also white, the lower primary
coverts greyish, like the lower surface of the quills, which are
greyish-white underneath ; bill nearly white ; claws brown ; iris
black. Total length, 13 inches; wing, ii'9; tail, 5*0; tarsus,

2'2.

AdultFemale.— Similar to the male. Total length, 13 inches;
wing, ii'o.

The above description refers to the ordinary Barn -Owl as it
is usually seen in England ; but on the continent of Europe a
darker form occurs, remarkable for its dark grey upper surface,
whereon very few of the lighter markings and spots are dis-
cernible, while the under surface is also deep orange, vvith
numerous "arrow-head "-shaped spots of dusky-brown. This
dark form is occasionally found in Great Britain, but very
rarely, and these individuals may be visitors from the Conti-
nent, perhaps from Schleswig, where only the dark phase of
the Barn-Ovvl is met with. Mr. De Winton recently pre-
sented to the British Museum a pair of birds from Workum
in Friesland, which proved to be a male and female of the
dark-phased Barn-Owl, showing that the difference between
the light and dark forms is not dependent on age or sex, as
indeed is known from both males and females of our British
bird being white-breasted.

Nestling. — Covered with pure white down, the face slightly
rufescent.

Range in Great Britain. — The Barn-Owl is found all over Great
Britain, and breeds in all the counties of England and
sparingly also in every county of Ireland. In Scotland, too,
it is found nesting in small numbers as far north as Caith-
ness and in the Inner Hebrides, but in decreasing numbers
beyond the Lowlands.

Range outside the British Islands. — As already stated, the Barn-
Owl is nearly cosmopolitan, but it does not range very far

no AI.LEN's naturalist's I.TTIRARY.

north, either in the Old or New Worlds; about 40° N. lat. and
40° S. lat. being the limit of the Barn-Owl on the American
continents. In many places it is a local bird, and seems to
extend its range with civilisation, following in the footsteps
of man, in the vicinity of whose homesteads are abundance
of mice.

In Europe the Barn-Owl nests no farther north than the
south of Sweden and the Baltic Provinces. It extends to
Central Russia and is then apparently absent throughout the
whole of Siberia and Northern Asia, as well as China. It is
likewise unknown in Greece and the countries of South-
eastern Europe, but is found in Northern Africa and Pales-
tine, and throughout the whole of Africa. It likewise extends
in shghtly modified forms over the entire Indian and Austra-
lian Regions, being also found in the islands of Oceania.

HaMts. — The Barn-Owl is a nocturnal species, and never
ventures out in the daylight of it own accord. In the twilight,
however, it issues forth, and in Avington Park in Hampshi»-e,
where the late Sir Edward Shelley protected them, I have
seen tw^o and three of these pretty birds flying about in the
early evening, over the bracken, and playing with each other in
the air. Their movements were full of grace and activity, as
they sailed over the ferns and gambolled with each other in
the most playful manner. The number of mice which a Barn-
Owl catches in a single night is truly astonishing. Water-
ton says that the birds will bring a mouse to their nest every
twelve or fifteen minutes, and a nest in Avington Park was
found by us to have over forty freshly-killed field-mice, which
must have been caught during the preceding night. Where
encouraged the present species will take advantage of any tub
or shelter put up for its accommodation, and will nest freely.

The food of the Barn-Owl consists principally of mice, but
it will also catch rats and bats, as well as voles and shrews,
and small birds, while it has also been known to take fish.
It is a great friend to the farmer and gardener, and does no
harm to game, so that it ought to receive protection from every
landed proprietor and game-preserver ; instead of which it
is to be feared that ignorant prejudice against the Owls still
contrives the slaughter of a number of these useful birds,

THE OSPREYS. Ill

although of late years their services in the destruction of
vermin has been more generally recognised.

Nest. — None. Sometimes the eggs are surrounded by cast-
up pellets, but no regular nest is made. The eggs are laid in
May, seldom as early as April, but young birds have been
found as late as November and December.

Eggs. — From three to seven in number ; white, with little or
no gloss. Axis, i-5-i'7; diam., i-i-i-3.

THE BIRDS OF PREY. ORDER ACCIPITRES.

Without fully enumerating the many anatomical and osteo-
logical characters which distinguish these birds, it is sufficient
to note that Accipitrine Birds have a desmognathous, or
" bridged," palate, and the external characters are easily recog-
nisable. Thus the hooked and raptorial bill is peculiar to the
Birds of Prey, taken in conjunction with the cere, or bare skin
at the base of the bill. The Passerine Family of Shrikes, or
Laniida have also a hooked or raptorial bill, but they have no
cere, and lack the powerful talons which are also a conspicuous
feature in the Accipitres. The young birds are covered with
down, and remain in a helpless condition in the nest for a
considerable period, being nurtured by the old birds on animal
food. As a general rule, the female is a larger and more
powerful bird than the male.

THE OSPREYS. SUB-ORDER PANDIONES.

The Ospreys occupy an intermediate position between the
Owls and the typical Birds of Prey. The skeleton is especially
Owl-like, but the eyes are placed laterally in the head, and there
is no facial disk. Like the Owls, however, the outer toe is
reversible, and is capable of being turned forwards or back-
wards, a great advantage to a fish-catching bird, and the sole
of the foot is covered with numerous small spicules, which are
of great advantage to the Osprey in holding its finny prey.

The range of the Ospreys is almost cosmopolitan, and there
is only one species representing the Sub-order. The Osprey

TI2 AU.En's naturalist's LII'.RARY.

of Australia and tlie Moluccas is a smaller bird, but cannot be
considered a distinct species, while the American Osprey I
consider to be absolutely identical with the ordinary bird of
the Old World.

There is but one genus in the Sub-order, namely the genus
Fandion^ Savigny, Descr. de I'Egypte, p. 272 (1809).
Type, P. halia'ctus (L.).
the characters of which have been alluded to above.

I. THE OSPREY. PANDION HALIAI^TUS.

Faico halia'ctus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 129 (1766).

Faiidion halia'e'tus^ Macg. Brit. B. iii. p. 239(1840); Newton,

ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i^ p. 30 (1871); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit.

Mus. i. p. 449 (1874) ; Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 139, pi.

387 (1876) ; Seeb. Br. B. i. p. 55 (1883) ; B. O. U. List

Br. B. p. 105 (1883) ; Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 347 (1889).

Adult Male. — General colour above dark brown, the feathers
with indistinct edges of paler brown ; quills blackish, the
primaries uniform whity-brown below, the secondaries whitish
on the inner web, and indistinctly barred with ashy-brown ;
tail almost uniform brown, the inner webs whitish with obso-
lete bars of ashy-brown ; head brown, mottled with white
bases to the feathers ; from behind the eye a broad white
streak, extending down the sides of the neck; the ear-coverts
blackish-brown ; sides of neck like the back ; sides of face
and under surface of body white, the chin and fore-part of
cheeks slightly streaked with dark-brown ; breast with brown
centres to the feathers; some of the flank-feathers and the
axillaries marked with rufous-brown, like the breast; bill black,
the cere blue; feet blue; iris yellow. Total length, 24 inches;
culmen, 175; wing, i9"8; tail, 95; tarsus, 2-4.

Adult Female. — Resembles the male in colour. Total length,
21 inches; wing, 19-0.

Young. — Chocolate-brown, the feathers plainly edged with
buffy-white, more broadly on the secondaries and upper tail-
coverts ; crown black, with white edges to the feathers, im-
parting a streaked appearance ; nape white ; tail-feathers brown,

THE OSPREYS.

"3

tipped with white, and barred with sepia-brown and ashy-
brown alternately.

Nestling. — Covered with sooty-brown down, the down of the
centre of the back, along the bend of the wing, and on the
breast and flanks dusky white ; the dorsal feathers dark
brown, broadly tipped with ochraceous-buff ; crown and ear-
coverts blackish ; eyebrow and throat white.

Range in Great Britain. — Though formerly said to breed on
the south coast of England, and in the Lake district up to
within a century ago, the eyries of the species are now con-
fined to a few places in Scotland. The species is, in fact,
threatened with extinction in the British Islands, as its eggs
still command a high price, and therefore afford a strong
temptation to the keepers of those few places in Scotland
in which the species is still preserved. At present, however,
the Osprey breeds in Scotland, but it is only owing to the in-
telligent protection of a few landowners that the species has
persevered so long as an indigenous British species.

A considerable number of Ospreys occur in various portions
of our islands, on the inland lakes and the sea- shores, especially
in the estuaries of our southern rivers, and usually in autumn.
Most of these specimens are young individuals, and it is only
during these wanderings that the Osprey has occurred in Ire-
land at all, though, as Mr. Howard Saunders remarks, there
are in that island numbers of suitable places for its nidifica-
tion.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Osprey is found in nearly
every part of the world, but only in places suited to its shy
habits, and affording it a supply of its food. It breeds through-
out Europe, Asia, and Africa, but in the latter continent it is
probably only a migrant, though it nests on the Dahlak Islands
in the Red Sea. In Australia and the neighbouring Moluccas,
the Ospreys are smaller and rather darker in plumage, and
have been separated as a distinct species under the name of
Paiidion hucocephalus. The Australian Ospreys, however, can
only be looked upon as a smaller race of our European bird.

Hahits. — The food of the Osprey consists entirely of fish, and
on inland waters it catches any kind that can be reached easily
8 I

114 ALT,EN S NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

near the surface of the water, from Sahnon and Trout down-
wards to the smaller species. Its spiky soles and powerful
talons enable it to hold the fish in security, and so tightly does
it grasp its prey that the talons are unlocked with difficulty,
and instances have been known of the bird having been
carried below the water and drowned, when it has struck a fish
stronger than itself.

The favourite breeding-haunt of the Osprey is a forest where
there is water in the vicinity, in which it can obtain a sufficient
supply of fish, and solitude and quiet are the conditions which
it loves best. In America, and even in certain parts of Europe,
the bird is gregarious, and several pairs nest in company. Mr.
Seebohm mentions an instance in which he observed them
thus nesting on an island in a Pomeranian lake, and in North
America as many as three hundred pairs of Osprey s have been
known to breed in a similar situation. When hunting for its
prey, this large Fishing-Eagle goes to work very much lii<e a
gigantic Kestrel, sailing quietly along above the water, and
occasionally hovering over it, and then descending on the fish
with a plunge which can be heard for a long distance. The
bird is said often to disappear beneath the surface of the water,
while at other times it appears to catch the fish with its talons
without wetting its feet to any great extent. The close-set
feathering of the thighs and the bare tarsus and toes are dif-
ferent from the general aspect of an Accipitrine bird's leg, but
the long thigh-feathers and feathered feet of an ordinary Eagle
would be decidedly a drawback to a bird like the Osprey, whose
legs are so often in the water.

Nest. — This is a gigantic structure, whether it be placed on
a tree or on some ruin in an inland lake. Mr. Seebohm
writes : " From the great weight and bulkiness of the Osprey's
nest, and from the fact that the same situation is resorted to
for many years in succession, the branches which support it
are not unfrequently distorted in growth and flattened. In
other cases the Osprey has several favourite eyries in one
chosen locality, and appears to utilise them in turn, like the
White-tailed Eagle or the Peregrine. As a rule the largest tree
in the forest, the patriarch of the timber, is selected to hold
the nest, which is built at varying heights from the ground.

THE OSPREYS. II5

sometimes on the topmost branches, flattened by its weight,
more rarely at a distance of ten or twelve feet from the ground
on one of the broad-spreading limbs. But, when the Osprey's
nest is on ruins, it is often at a far less elevation, and when
built on rocky islands, it is not unfrequently but a few feet
from the ground, built amongst the grey lichens and tufts of
polypody fern. On the southern shores of the Baltic, north of
Stettin, surrounding the inland lakes which form the delta of
the Oder, are vast forests which form a perfect paradise for the
Osprey. Lonely forests within easy access of fresh-water lakes
are the favourite breeding-places of this bird. He generally
selects the loftiest tree in the forest, his main object being
apparently to be able to rise at once from the nest without
being incommoded by the branches of trees. Thus it often
happens that the nest is visible at the distance of a mile. The
structure is enormously large, and from three to four feet in
diameter, and occasionally as high. It is usually placed upon
the summit of a pine-tree, one having a dead top being pre-
ferred. At the outside it extends so far over the branches that
it is very often difficult to reach. The foundation is made of
branches intermixed with decaying vegetable matter and sods ;
the upper surface is flat, and consists of finer twigs covered
over with green and dry grass, the eggs being laid in a slight
hollow in the middle^ not more than a foot across, and scarcely
two inches deep."

Eggs. — The eggs of the Os[jrey are among the most beautiful
of all of the Birds of Prey, and are very finely marked as a
rule. The ground-colour is white, which is sometimes entirely
hidden by the red or purple blotches which congregate at the
larger end of the egg. Those with large blotches of colour
are the commonest and at the same time the most handsome,
for occasionally the markings are much smaller, and take the
form of spots, streaks, and marblings, which are distributed
over the whole surface. Axis, 2-35-2*6 inches; diam., i-y-i-g.

I 2

ii6 ali.en's naturalist's library.

THE TRUE RAPTORIAL BIRDS. SUB-ORDER
FALCONES.

The name Falcories has been adopted for the bulk of tlie
Birds of Prey, because the Falcons may be considered the
most typical of all the Hawks, but, as a matter of fact, the
present Sub-order includes every Accipitrine Bird except the
Ospreys and the Owls. From both of these groups of birds
the Fako7ies differ in not having a reversible outer toe, and
from the Owls they are further distinguished by the absence
of the facial disk and the presence of a cere.

Putting aside the American Turkey Vultures and the Con-
dors, which form a separate Sub-order, and are quite distinct
from the ordinary Birds of Prey, we may divide the remaining
species into two main families, Vulhiridcc and FalconidLe,

THE VULTURES. FAMILY VULTURID.E.

The principle character by which a Vulture is known is by
its bare head, which is either quite naked or only scantily
clothed with down. There is generally a ruff of feathers or
down round the neck, but true feathers are never developed
on the crown of the head. The feet are strong, but are not
formed for grasping, as in the rest of the Hawks, but rather
for holding their prey firmly, while they tear it to pieces with
their powerful bills. They feed almost entirely on carrion,
and never capture anything in full flight. They are entirely
peculiar to the Old World.

THE GRIFFON VULTURES. GENUS GYPS.

Gyps^ Savigny, Descr. de I'Egypte, p. 232 (1809).

Type, G. fulvus (Gm.).

All the species of Griffon Vulture have down on the crown,
and a ruff round the neck. They are all birds of large size,
and have an immense bill, with a perpendicular oval nostril.
The toes are very long, and the middle one even exceeds the
tarsus in length. Their general colour is brown, sometimes
rather tawny, in some species nearly white or creamy-white,

THE GRIFFON VULTURES. II7

while Riippeirs Vulture {Gyps rueppelli) is remarkable for the
whitish tips to the feathers of the upper surface. The Griffon
Vultures are distributed over the Mediterranean Region in
Europe, the whole of Africa, the Indian Peninsula, and the
Burmese provinces down to the Malayan Peninsula.

I. THE GRIFFON VULTURE. GYPS FULVUS.

Vtilhir fidvus^ Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 249 (1788).

Gyps fulvus^ Newt. ed. Yarr. Br. B. i. p. i (1871); Sharpe,

Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 6 (1874); Dresser, B. Eur. v. p.

373» pl^- 319) 320 (1879) ; Seebohm, Hist. Br. B. i. p. 4

(1883); B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 91 (1883); Saunders, Man.

Br. B. p. 301 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xxiii.

(1893).
Adult Male. — Ashy-fulvous above, with a slight shade of grey
on some of the feathers, some of which are darker brown,
giving the bird a mottled appearance ; wing-coverts a little
paler than the back, the greater series edged and tipped with
creamy-white ; lower back and rump darker brown ; the upper
tail-coverts pale ochraceous-buff ; quills and tail black, slightly
shaded with brown, the secondaries broadly edged with ashy,
the inner ones tipped with ochraceous-buff; ruff round the
neck white, and composed of downy feathers ; crop-patch
brown \ under surface of body creamy-brown, with narrow
whitish shaft-lines ; cere bluish-black ; bill yellowish-white
horn-colour 3 feet lead-colour; iris reddish-orange. Total
length, about 40 inches ; culmen, 37 \ wing, about 29*0 ; tail,
i2*o ; tarsus, 4"4.
Adult Female. — Smaller than the male {Nezvto?i).

Young Birds. — More taw^ny than the adults ; the ruff round
the neck composed of lanceolate feathers, which are whitish,
with tawny margins ; crop-patch rufous fawn-colour, like the
rest of the under surface, with a whitish mark down the centre
of each feather. Total length, about 38 inches ; wing, 27*0.

The bird which I separated in 1874 as the Spanish Griffon
{Gyps hispaniolensis) is now considered by ornithologists to
be the young of G. fulvus^ in which the ruff is downy instead
of being composed of lanceolate feathers. I accept this verdict
at present, but it is much to be desired that the changes of

Il8 ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

plumage in these Griffon Vultures was more thoroughly studied.
Unfortunately for science, the habits of the Griffons and the
food they eat, or rather, perhaps, the condition in which they
eat it, renders the preservation of Vultures such an unsavoury
task that it is very difficult to get any naturalist to undertake
the task of preserving a series of specimens. My friend the
late Mr. W. Davison, who skinned many Vultures, told me
that he always poured a good dose of carbolic acid into the
gullet of the birds, before he dared to attempt the task of
skinning them. Anyone who sees the Bengal Vultures {Fseiido-
gyps beugalensis) sitting on the Towers of Silence in Bombay,
row upon row, packed tightly side by side, and knows the
name of the food that distends their crops, may be excused
from wishing to make a Museum specimen of them, even
if he saw that their state of plumage was interesting, or abso-
lutely necessary to be described for a proper understanding of
the life-history of the species.

Eange in Great Britain. — A very rare and occasional visitor.
Though rumours are afloat that other Griffon Vultures have
been seen and recognised by competent observers, whose testi-
mony would be received without hesitation by all ornitholo-
gists, there is but a single example which is so far authenticated
as British. In the spring of 1843, a specimen, which Mr.
Howard Saunders affirms to be a young bird {i.e. a bird of
the previous year), was caught by a boy on the rocks near Cork
Harbour, and was presented by Lord Shannon to the Museum
of Trinity College, Dublin, where it still remains.

Eange outside the British Islands. — A bird like the Griffon,
which undoubtedly wanders far in search of food, and, an
absentee from a district on one day, is present on the next in
numbers, if a battle has taken place, and food is plentiful, is
not the easiest bird of which to trace the exact geographical dis-
tribution. Furthermore, much of our information is a matter
of conjecture, as few people bring back skins of the Vultures
they see, that identification may be rendered certain.

The Indian Griffon is allowed to be a separate race or sub-
species under the name of Gyps fulvescens^ Hume, but its
range is very doubtfully determined, and so the eastern limits
of the Griffon of Europe is still a matter of conjecture.

THE GRIFFON VULTURES. II9

Supposing that the Spanish Griffon is not distinct, a fact by
no means yet proved with certainty, for lack of specimens, the
range of Gyps fulvus may be said to extend over the Mediter-
ranean countries, and probably extends far into the Soudan, as
Major Denham brought one back from his adventurous journey
across Africa. I often think that if the brave traveller had not
brought a bulky Griffon's skin, but had collected small birds to
the same extent, what an insight he might have given us to the
avifauna of Central Africa, which remains an unknown quan-
tity to the present day ! The European Griffon undoubtedly
frequents North-eastern Africa and the Red Sea district, as
far south as Aden, and extends eastwards through Asia Minor
to Persia, and probably to Turkestan, though here the reigning
species may be the Indian Gypsfulvescens.

Haliits. — The Griffon Vulture preys exclusively on dead
animals, and there can be little doubt that it seeks its prey
entirely by sight and not by the sense of smell, as many ob-
servers have suggested. Captain Willoughby Verner, who
has climbed to many Griffons' eyries, says that the stench
about the nests is dreadful, "an indescribable sickly odour."
Mr. Seebohm writes : " The stench of the Griffonries is
almost insupportable. The entrance to the cavern or cleft
in the rock looks as if pails of whitewash had been emptied
upon it ; and the effluvia of ammonia and putrefaction are
overpowering to all but the most enthusiastic oologist. One
visit to the nest of a Vulture is sufficient to dispose for ever
of the theory that these birds hunt by scent, and are en-
dowed with highly-sensitive olfactory nerves. The only con-
dition in which the existence of animal life seems possible in
a Griffonry, is in the case of animals absolutely devoid of any
sense of smell whatever."

When in flight, a Griffon Vulture is a grand bird, and will sail
almost for a distance of a mile without once flapping its wings,
and in the air they float round and round without a movement
of the wings, probably by some inclination of the primaries,
which sometimes seem to be curved upwards. In the Hima-
layas I have seen them thus sweep over the tops of the high
mountains and glide across the valleys with a sailing flight,
till one could scarcely judge the distance, without any appa-
rent movement of their wings.

120 Allen's naturalist's library.

The Griffon is an early breeder, and begins to repair its
nest in January, laying towards the end of February or in
March.

Nest. — Composed principally of sticks, and placed on a
ledge of an almost inaccessible rock, or in a hole or cave.

Eggs. — One, occasionally two ; generally white without mark-
ings, but sometimes streaked or blotched with pale reddish-
brown. Some eggs are even handsomely marked with the
latter colour. Axis, 37; diam., 2*8.

THE SCAVENGER VULTURES. GENUS NEOPHRON.

Neophron^ Savigny, Syst. Ois. de I'Egypte, p. 238 (1808).

Type, N. percnopterus (L.).

The Neophrons are distinguished by their small size and
very slender bills, the nostrils being placed horizontally in the
latter. Four species of these Scavenger Vultures are known
to science, two of them white and two brown in colour. The
latter have the crop-patch feathered, and are confined to
Africa, one of them, N. pikatus, being found in the southern
part of the continent, and the other, N. monachus^ being an
inhabitant of North-eastern Africa and certain parts of
Western Africa.

Of the two white Scavenger Vultures which have the crop-
patch bare instead of feathered, the one which is found in
Europe is the best known, and extends throughout the Medi-
terranean Region, being replaced in India by a closely-allied
form, N. ginginianus.

I. THE EGYPTIAN SCAVENGER VULTURE. NEOPHRON
PERCNOPTERUS.

Vultur percnopterus^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 123 (1766) ; Seeb.

Hist. Br. B. i. p. 11 (1883).
Neophron percnopterus^ Macg. Br. B. iii. p. 166 (1840) ;

Newton, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 6 (1871); Sharpe, Cat.

B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 17 (1874); Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 39,

pi. 322 (1879); B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 92 (1883);

Saunders, IMan. Br. B. p. 303 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig.

Br. B. part xxiii. (1893).

{Plate XLL)

PLATE XLl.

EGYPTIAN VULTURE.

THE SCAVENGER VULTURES. 121

Adult Male. — General colour white, with a little tinge of rust-
colour on the neck-hackles ; the primaries black, externally
ashy-white at the base ; the secondaries dark brown, exter-
nally ashy-white ; the head bare and yellow, with a little scanty
down on the throat, and with a few whitish feathers in front
of the eye ; chest bare ; bill pale horny-brown ; feet yellowish-
white; iris red or reddish-brown. Total length, 25 inches;
culmen, 2-8; wing, 19*2; tail, 10*0; tarsus, 3-5.

Adult Female.— Similar to the male in colour.

Young Birds. — Differ from the adults in being blackish-brown
in colour, with fulvous tips to the feathers. As the birds grow
older, th^ mantle and the wing- coverts become more and more
of an ochre shade, till they gradually assume the white plumage
of the adults ; fore part of head and neck dirty grey.

Range in Great Britain. — Two specimens are all that have been
obtained within our limits, and the Egyptian Vulture must be
reckoned as one of our rarest and most occasional visitants.
Two birds were observed in October, 1825, in Bridge water
Bay in Somersetshire, and one of them, a young bird, was shot.
In September, 1868, another was killed in Essex, at Peldon.

Range outside the British Islands. — Chiefly an inhabitant of the
Mediterranean countries, extending eastwards to Central Asia,
and said to occur also in North-western India. It is found in
Southern France and throughout the Spanish Peninsula, breed-
ing also in the Canaries, Madeira, and the Cape Verd Islands.
Thence it extends eastwards on both sides of the Mediter-
ranean to Egypt and North-eastern Africa, to the Caucasus,
Persia, and Turkestan. In winter it wanders south through
Africa down to the Cape Colony. In the Indian Peninsula it
is represented by a closely allied form. Neophron ginginianus^
which has a yellow bill, and is rather smaller in all its dimen-
sions. In confinement Colonel Irby says that it takes three
years for a Neophron to assume the adult's white plumage, but
in a wild state he believes that it is donned with great rapidity.

Habits. — The Scavenger Vulture is a filthy bird, according to
human notions, but is a useful one in the hot climates where it
lives. It arrives early in Europe, and the earliest dates of its
northward migration near Gibraltar is the 23rd of February,

122 allkn's naturalist's library.

though the bulk of the migration takes place in March, the
laying of the eggs taking place about the ist of May.

The food of the present species consists of all kinds of
carrion, dung, and putrefying substances of all sorts. It will
take its meal from a carcase after the Hyaenas and Griffons
have had their share, and even frequents the sea-shore to
pick up rotten fish thrown up by the tide. Though repul-
sive in its habits, everyone admits that the Neophro?i is a
fine bird on the wing. In the Himalayas I found the Indian
representative of the genus inhabiting the lower valleys, where
they sailed majestically liackwards and forwards, scanning the
ground below. At Simla they never ascended to the higher
portions of the mountains, where the Griffons were to be seen
topping the crest in the early morning on their far-reaching
course, but hundreds of feet down below one could see the
White Scavengers sailing in the valley in circles or in a direct
line.

From their habits one can gather the idea of what their nest
may be like. Here is the description given by that excellent
observer. Colonel Irby, in his work on the " Ornithology of
the Straits of Gibraltar " : — " The nest is often easily accessible
from below, and, placed on a ledge of some overhung rock,
generally at the top of a sierra, is composed of a few dead
sticks, always lined with wool, rags, and rubbish, such as a
dog's head, boars' tusks, dead kittens, foxes' skulls and fur,
rotten hedge-hogs, dead toads, dead snakes, skeletons of
snakes, lizards, mummified lizards, lizards' heads, carapaces
of the water-tortoise, rotten fish, excrement both of man and
beast, bones, bits of rope and paper. In one nest Major
Verner found, among a heap of filthy rags, a number of meal-
worms. Probably the Neophron had picked up a bag with
some flour in it. Naturally, from the above-mentioned con-
tents, their nests are most offensively odoriferous 1 " He
further adds : — " They are probably among the foulest feeding
birds that live, and are very omnivorous, devouring any animal
substance, even all sorts of excrement : nothing comes amiss
to them."

Nest.^A mass of sticks and rubbish, as described above.
As a rule in Sju'ihern Europe, the nest is placed on the ledgs

THE ACCIPITRINE BIRDS. 1 23

of a rock, and not often on a tree, but this sometimes happens.
The Indian Scavenger Vulture, however, often nesls on a tree,
appropriating the old nest of some other bird, just as the
Egyptian Vulture in Greece and otlier countries of the Mediter-
ranean will make use of the disused nest of a Laemmergeier,
or Bearded Eagle, and lays its eggs among the carapaces which
that bird has collected, after having cracked them upon the
bald skulls of the descendants of ^schylus, or upon the rocks
which, in modern times, do duty for that convenient mode of
breaking up Tortoises.

Eggs. — These are generally very handsome, being profusely
spotted with red on a white ground. The amount of red mark-
ing varies considerably. They are generally two in number,
and often only one egg is laid, while on very rare occasions
three have been met with. Axis, 2"5-2'75 inches; diam.,
i'9-2-o5.

THE TRUE RAPTORIAL, OR ACCIPITRINE,
BIRDS. FAMILY FALCONID^.

x\lthough the name of Falconidce is generally in use for the
Birds of Prey as a whole, the Family includes a number of
Accipitrine forms which are far removed from the Falcons,
which the name of the Family would imply as being the most
typical. Between the True Falcons and the Vultures are found
a number of intermediate types, which are divisible into
Sub-families. Thus we have the Caracaras of South America
{Polyborince)^ Ground Birds of Prey, with their toes connected
by a membrane. To these the Secretary-Bird of Africa is
akin, but presents so many points of structural difference that
it may be considered the type of a separate Sub-family {Ser-
pentariince), now peculiar to Africa, but found in ancient times
in France. Of the general mass of Accipitrine Birds, which
have only a slight membrane connecting the outer and middle
toes at the base, we have four Sub-families : the Long-legged
Hawks {Accipitrince)^ such as the Harriers, Goshawks, and
Sparrow-Hawks ; and the shorter-legged series, comprising the
Buzzards {ButeonincB), the Eagles {Aqtdlince), and the Falcons
{F(ikofiin(E).

With the web-footed Birds of Prey we have nothing to do,

124 ALLEN S NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

as they are American and African, but the Long-legged Hawks
concern us, as representatives of the principal genera are found
in Great Britain, and constitute the first Subfamily of our true
Raptores, or Birds of Prey.

THE LONG-LEGGED HAWKS. SUB FAMILY
ACCIPrrRIN^.

In these birds the membrane between the toes exists only
at the base of the outer and middle toes, which are joined
together by a web. The tibia is very long, as well as the
tarsus, and these two portions of the leg are about equal in
length, whereas in Buzzards, Eagles, and Falcons the tibia
is conspicuously longer than the tarsus. The Long-legged
Hawks comprise the Harriers, Goshawks, and Sparrow-
Hawks of Europe, as well as many tropical forms, such as
the Gymnogenes of Africa (Folyboroides)^ curious reptile-
eating Hawks, apparently distant relations of the Secretary-
Bird, but not so powerful as the latter bird, which is a
ground-loving and walking species, whereas the Gymnogene
is forest-loving and arboreal in its ways. It has, moreover,
the curious faculty, not yet discovered in the Secretary, which
is a weak-kneed individual from all accounts, of being able
to turn its leg backwards or forwards at will by an apparent
dislocation of the tibio-tarsal joint, an advantage in the catch-
ing of reptiles which is said to be shared by its relative, the
American genus Geranospizias. To this section of the Birds
of Prey belong also the Chanting-Goshawks {Aldierax) of
Africa.

THE HARRIERS. GENUS CIRCUS.

Circus^ Lacep. Mem. de ITnst. Paris, iii. p. 506 (1806).

Type, C. cyaneus (L.).

The Harriers are as nearly as possible cosmopolitan birds.
They do not extend very far north, and affecting, as they do,
localities suited to their mode of life, they are absent from
some of the forest-clad regions of both Hemispheres. There
is not, however, a single continent that is without its Harrier,
and these birds are found in North and South America, Africa,

THE HARRIERS. I 25

Europe and the whole of Asia, AustraHa and New Zealand,
and even the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Although they
are really Long-legged Hawks, of the same type as the Sparrow-
Hawks, the ruff which they have round their face has suggested
their alliance with the Owls, and it is usual in works on Natural
History to find the Harriers placed near the Owls on account
of this peculiarity, which, however, is shared by the Ruffed
Gos-Hawks {Micrnstii?-)^ and no one has as yet suggested
that the latter are allied to Owls. In my opinion, this single
character shows no absolute affinity whatever between the
Harriers or the Ruffed Gos-Hawks and the Owls, which are
altogether distinct and separate. That the genus Mic7'astur and
the genus Circus have certain relationship is further proved by
the fact that both genera have the hinder aspect of the tarsus
covered with reticulate scales.

Three species of Harriers are found in Great Britain. They
are all now more or less rare, but were more common before
the draining of the marsh-lands deprived them of so much
of their congenial habitat.

I. THE HEN-HARRIER. CIRCUS CYANFUS.

Falco cyaneiis^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 126 (1766).
Circus cyaneus, Macgill. Brit. B. iii. p. 366 (i860); Newton,
ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 132 (187 1) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit.
Mus. i. p. 52 (1874); Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 431, pis. 75,
76 (1879); B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 93 (1883); Seebohm,
Brit. B. i. p. 128 (1883) ; Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 307
(1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Brit. B. part xxi. (1892).
{Plate XLIL)
Adult Male. — Clear blue-grey or bluish ash-colour, lighter on
the greater wing-coverts, which are silvery-grey ; under-parts
white, the throat and upper breast blue-grey ; base of fore-
head and lores whitish, the ruff also mottled with white ;
primary quills black both above and below, with a white
base to the inner web ; the secondaries silvery-grey, with
black shafts, and an indistinct sub-terminal band of black ;
upper tail-coverts white ; tail-feathers ashy-grey, tipped with
white, the four central feathers uniform, the rest more or less
white on the inner webs, with remains of ashy bars; cere
yellow : bill bluish-black ; feet yellow, claws black ; iris

126 Allen's naturallst's library.

yellow. Total length, 22 inches; culmen, i'i5; wing, 13*5;
tail, 8*5 ; tarsus, 0-9.

Adnlt Female. — Different from the male, and rather larger.
BroAvn, the feathers of the crown slightly washed with rufous;
nape and hind-neck pale tawny-buff, streaked with dark
brown ; the scapulars and wing-coverts with large oval spots of
pale tawny-buff; quills brown, with whitish tips, the second-
aries externally washed with ashy-grey, barred with blackish-
brown, these bars very distinct on the lower surface of the
wing ; upper tail-coverts white ; tail greyish-brown, tipped with
whitish, and crossed with five bands of darker brown, of which
the sub-terminal one is much broader ; the light bands on the
outer tail-feathers pale creamy-buff, shaded with ashy; feathers
of the forehead and above and below the eye whitish; ear-
coverts and cheeks rufous, streaked with dark brown ; facial
ruff buffy-white, streaked with brown ; sides of neck and
under surface of body pale tawny-buff; the lower breast and
abdomen whitish, all broadly streaked with brown, rather more
narrowly on the thighs and abdomen, where the streaks are
somewhat tinged with rufous ; flanks and axillaries dark brown,
marked on both webs with rounded spots of creamy-buff; cere
greenish-yellow ; bill blackish ; feet yellow ; iris reddish-brown.
Total length, 23 inches; wing, 15-15-6; tail, io-3-ii-o; tar-
sus, 3-15.

Young Birds. — The young male is brown like the old female,
but is always to be recognised by its smaller size, as the wing
never exceeds 14 inches in length. The plumage is always
more rufous than in the old female, especially on the lower
parts and about the head and neck ; facial ruff clear fulvous,
streaked with dark brown ; feathers above, around, and below
the eye pure white, forming a very conspicuous facial patch ;
under surface of body tawny-rufous, with dark brown streaks,
narrower on the abdomen ; upper tail-coverts white, with
streaks of rufous-brown ; tail tawny-rufous, with a buff tip, and
crossed by four blackish bands.

A young female is like the old female, but has the bars on
the tail rufous.

Characters. — An adult male Hen-Harrier can always be told

THE HARRIERS. I 27

by its bluish-grey plumage, white upper tail-coverts, uniform
white thighs, and the bluish-ashy colour of the throat and
chest. An aditlt female can always be recognised by having a
"scallop," or indentation, on the outer web of the fifth pri-
mary quill. This character ts also sufficient to tell the young
birds of the Hen-Harrier from those of Montagu's Harrier.

Range in Great Britain. — The present species was formerly
much more generally distributed as a breeding-species than it
is now. Its numbers have been decreased by its being shot
down by gamekeepers, and the bringing into cultivation of
much of the waste-land in which the species delights has also
been one of the chief causes of its diminution in numbers.
At one time the Hen-Harrier used to breed in many counties
of England and Wales, but in most of these it has ceased to
do so for the reasons above-mentioned. In the Highland
counties of Scotland the species still nests, as well as in the
Orkneys and Shetlands, and also in the Hebrides. In Ireland
Mr. Ussher states that it breeds sparingly in Kerry and Gal-
way, and possibly still in Antrim, Queen's County, Tipperary,
and Waterford, but has become very scarce. It seems to have
been exterminated from Donegal and Londonderry.

Range outside the British Islands. — Throughout the greater
part of Europe the Hen-Harrier is chiefly known between
spring and autumn, and it is probably only in the British
Islands that any remain during the winter. It breeds in
Northern Europe, and has been noticed by Dr. Collett from
East Finmark, and Wolley found it breeding in Lapland beyond
68° N. lat., according to Professor Newton. Mr. Seebohm
states that he has seen the Hen-Harrier on the tundras of
Northern Russia and Siberia, more than a hundred miles
beyond the Arctic Circle, and its range extends across Siberia
to Corea and the Japanese Islands. In suitable localities the
species breeds in Central Europe from Denmark and Ger-
many to the Alps and Carpathians, as well as in Central
France. In winter it migrates south and visits North-eastern
Africa, India, and China, in all of which countries it appears
in some numbers in the cold season.

Hahits. — The Hen-Harrier is an inhabitant of the fens and
moors, where it may be seen quartering the ground in search

128 atxen's naturalist's library.

of its food, which consists of small mammals and reptiles,
these forming its chief subsistence, though it will also catch
small birds, and devour both eggs and nestlings of Game-
Birds. Professor Newton describes the flight of the Hen-
Harrier as performed apparently without much labour, easy
and buoyant, but not rapid, and, except in the breeding-
season, generally within a few feet of the surface of the
ground, which they examine with great care, making close and
diligent search for any object of food They have been ob-
served to hunt the same ground regularly, and a male bird has
been seen to examine a large wheat-stubble thoroughly, cross-
ing it in various directions, always about the same hour in the
afternoon, and for many days in succession.

Taczanowski says that the present species feeds on rodents,
frogs, lizards, large insects, and the eggs and chicks of small
birds, but it also often catches the old birds on their nests or
when they are hiding in the grass. Sometimes it will pursue
the small birds as they fly up from the latter, but if the
Harrier does not manage to catch them at once, it soon
relinquishes the chase. It will sometimes capture Sandpipers,
Quails, Plovers, and other birds. The eggs which it devours
are mostly those of small birds which breed on the ground,
such as the small Plovers, but Ducks' nests are but seldom
plundered by it, as it does not often frequent the places where
those birds breed.

Nest. — The nest is placed on the ground, and according to
Taczanowski, who has given a very interesting account of the
habits of this Harrier, it is often situated in the brushwood
in the middle of the prairies or marshes, and in many localities
in corn-fields. The nest is generally in a dry situation, never
in very moist places, more often on the flat ground than on
any small elevation. The nest contains few branches, and
never rushes ; as a rule, on a bed composed of some sort of
rameaux, the bird deposits a layer of fine and long dry grass,
so as to form a compact mass, flattened down, about two feet
wide and four or five inches high, slightly hollowed towards
the centre of the nest. The eggs are generally four in number,
more rarely three. The female sits very close, and will not
move even when a man passes quite near to the nest, but the

THE HARRIERS. I29

male is extremely vigilant, and as soon as he perceives an
enemy, he comes towards him with a cry, and suddenly utter-
ing a note like "ker-ker-ker," produced at short intervals, he
continues to charge and reveals at once the situation of the
nest. The female will not budge from the nest, and is not
more wary even after she has been fired at. Both parents are
very assiduous in their care of the young ones.

Eggs. — From four to six in number, bluish-white in colour,
with occasionally yellowish-brown or rusty markings. Axis,
1 7-2 "o inches; diam., i"25-i'5. The Hen-Harrier is rather
a late breeder, and lays its eggs towards the end of May and
throughout the month of June.

11. Montagu's harrier, circus pygargus.

Faico pygargus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 148 (1766).

Circus cineraceus^ Mont.; Macg. Brit. B. iii. p. 378(1840);

Newt. ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 138 (187 1) ; Seeb. Brit. B. i.

p. 131 (1883).
Circus pygargus^ Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 64 (1874) ;

Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 423, pL 328 (1878) ; B. O. U. List

Br. B. p. 93 (1883) ; Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 309 (1889) ;

Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xxvii. (1893).

Adult Male. — General colour above bluish-grey, the wing-
coverts slightly darker than the back, and having a terminal
spot of dark ash-colour ; primary-coverts and secondary-quills
silvery-grey, narrowly tipped with white, and crossed by two
bands of black, very plainly seen on the under surface of these
quills ; primary-quills black, the inner ones shaded with grey
towards the tips and on the inner web ; upper tail-coverts
white, ashy-grey at the tips, with a sub-terminal shade of deep
ashy colour, and sometimes with two ashy-grey bands ; tail-
feathers cindery-grey, the two central ones uniform, the re-
mainder crossed with five broad bars of ashy-black, more
rufous on the outer feathers, which have the interspaces white ;
lores whitish ; the facial ruff cindery-grey like the head ; throat
and breast pale bluish-ashy ; abdomen, flanks, thighs, and
under wing- and tail-coverts white, with distinct longitudinal
streaks of rufous fawn-colour ; axillaries with large diamond-
shaped cross-markings of rufous; cere greenish-yellow; bill

8 K

130 ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

blackish; feet yellow; iris yellow. Total length, 18 inches ;
culmen, I'l ; wing, i3*5-i5'o; tail, 9*8; tarsus, 2*3.

Adult Female. — Different from the male. Nearly uniform
brown above, with slight remains of rufous margins to the
feathers ; head and hind-neck streaked with pale rufous, as well
as the sides of the neck and the facial ruff; ear-coverts nearly
uniform brown, the feathers under the eye whitish ; quills dark
brown, the primary-coverts and primaries shaded with grey ex-
ternally, and barred with darker brown, more distinctly under-
neath, where the quills are buffy white on the inner web, the
inner secondaries being brown like the back ; upper tail-coverts
white ; tail brown, tipped with paler brown and crossed with
five bands of darker brown, the interspaces paler and more
rufescent on the outer rectrices, inclining to whitish on the
inner web ; under surface of body buffy white, with rufous
centres to the feathers, giving a distinctly striped appearance ;
cere dull yellow; bill black; feet yellow; iris hazel. Total
length, 19 inches; wing, 15-3 ; tail, 87 ; tarsus, 1*4.

Young Birds. — Dark brown like the old female, with pale
tawny margins to the feathers of the upper surface, the white
upper tail-coverts with broad tawny-buff edges and narrow
shaft-lines of dark brown ; head and neck rich tawny colour,
the feathers centred with dark brown and imparting a mottled
appearance ; lores, eyebrow, and fore-part of ear-coverts white,
the latter washed with rufous ; tail-feathers deep tawny colour,
inclining to buff at the tip, and crossed with four or five black-
ish bands, the central feathers uniform ashy-brown with five dis-
tinct black bands ; throat whitish ; facial ruff and entire under
surface of body clear tawny-buff, with a few streaks of reddish-
brown on the upper breast, flanks, and upper wing-coverts.

Characters. — Montagu's Harrier is a smaller bird than the
Hen-Harrier, and the adult male is easily distinguished from
the male of the latter by the white thighs, which have also rufous
streaks, or spots. The throat and chest are ashy-grey. The adult
female is distinguished from that of the Hen-Harrier by the
simple test of the presence or absence of a notch in the outer
web of the fifth primary. If there is no notch, then the bird
is Montagu's Harrier and not the Hen-Harrier. This same
test will distinguish the young birds of the two species, and I

THE HARRIERS. I3T

may say that these characters, suggested as specific by Mi,
Howard Saunders more than twenty years ago, have over and
over again been proved by me to hold good.

Montagu's Harrier, Hke several other species of the genus
Circus^ is subject to melanism, and old birds are sometimes
found nearly black, while the young birds have also a melanistic
phase, this being often the case in English-killed specimens.

Range in Great Britain — A spring and summer visitor, chiefly
to the southern and eastern counties, in some of which it still
breeds, recent instances having been recorded in the Isle of
Wight, Dorsetshire, and Norfolk. It has also been known to
nest in Wales, and even as far north as the Solway district in
Western Scotland, but everywhere in the north of England it
must be considered a rare and occasional visitor only. In Ire-
land it has occurred on four occasions, in Co. Wexford and
Co. Wicklow.

Eange outside tlie British Islands. — The present species does
not extend its range so far north as the Hen-Harrier, and the
neighbourhood of St. Petersburg and the Gulf of Finland
appear to constitute the northern limits of the species in
Europe. In Central Europe and in Central and Southern
Russia it breeds generally, and in Spain it is a resident in
suitable localities, receiving a large accession of numbers in
winter. At this season of the year it not only migrates to
Northern Africa and the Canaries, but passes down the Nile
Valley, even to the Cape Colony. Eastwards the species is
found as far as Turkestan and South-western Siberia, but
has never been reccrded from Eastern Siberia. The eastern
winter range extends to the Indian Peninsula and the Burmese
Provinces.

Habits. — This species is said by Colonel Irby to possess a
lighter and more Owl-like flight than the other European
Harriers, and the wings are longer in proportion than in the
other species of the genus Circus. It arrives in Central Europe
in March and April, and leaves in October.

Not only during its winter migrations is the present species
gregarious, but it appears frequently to nest in company, and
Colonel Irby found a colony of fifteen or twenty pairs breeding

K 2

132 Allen's naturalist's library.

in a marsh near Lixus in Marocco at the end of April, and he
could see with his telescope the hen-birds " sitting dotted
about the marsh." Montagu's Harrier hunts for its food in
the usual manner of these birds, and is also, like all Harriers,
very destructive to the eggs of other birds, of which it eats a
great number. Mr. Howard Saunders relates that he took two
unbroken eggs of the Crested Lark from the crop of a male of
one of these Harriers, with the crushed remains of others, but
with the exception of this evil propensity, the bird devours
large numbers of small rodents, frogs, snakes, and lizards, as
well as locusts, grasshoppers, and other insects. Small birds
also fall victims to its rapacity, but the Harrier does not pursue
them in full flight, but pounces on them on the nest or on the
ground.

Mr. Seebohm writes : — " Its long and pointed wings give an
especial gracefulness to its flight. Now it darts rapidly wdth
half-closed wings, now it makes a sudden turn with one wing
elevated, and now it sails over the surface of the ground with
motionless outspread wings ; but, with all its apparent power
of flight, it seldom, if ever, pursues small birds if they attempt
to escape." Montagu's Harrier has also the habit of sailing
in wide circles, like many other Birds of Prey. Mr. Howard
Saunders describes the female, which he put off the nest in
the Isle of Wight, as " flying away in repeated and ever widen-
ing circles. The same feature was remarked on the return to
the nest : the wide circles gradually narrowed, and the wings
were suddenly closed as the bird swept over the nest and
dropped upon it." The last-named observer also states that
the young birds sometimes circle and hover with outspread
wings and tail, like Kestrels, though less steadily, and the white
colour of the tail-coverts distinguishes the species at a glance.

Nest. — A very slight one, generally a mere hollow in the
ground, lined with dry grass. In the fens, however, Mr.
Saunders says that it is substantially built of sedge. A nest
found by Mr. Seebohm in Germany in a field of rye is thus
described by him : — " There was no hole whatever in the
ground : the rye had only been trampled down, and a slight
but somewhat neat nest made of corn-stalks, and lined with
a little dry straw. The nest was rather more than nine inches

PLATE XLIII .

^M^^''

MARSH - HARRIER.

THE HARRIERS.

133

ill diameter, and about two inches and a half deep in the
middle."

Eggs. — From four to six in number, laid at intervals about
the end of May. They are bluish-white, but, on rare occasions,
have some pale reddish spots. Axis, i-6-i*8; diam., 1-3-1 -45.

HI. THE MARSH-HARRIER. CIRCUS ^RUGINOSUS.

Falco ce7'ugi?josus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 130 (1766).
Circus cdrugi7ios7is, Macg. Brit. B. iii. p. 382 (1840); Newt.
ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 127 (1871); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit.
Mus. i. p. 69 (1874) ; Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 415, pis. 326,
327 (1878) ; B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 92 (1883) ; Saunders,
Man. Br. B. p. 305 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part
xiv. (1890).

{Plate XLIII.)
Adult Male. — General colour above dark brown, the feathers
slightly margined with rufous ; lesser wing-coverts buffy-white,
with dark brown centres ; outer greater-coverts, primary-coverts,
and secondaries bluish-ashy, slightly tipped with white, the
innermost secondaries brown, washed with more or less ashy-
grey ; primary-quills blackish-brown, paler at the tips, creamy-
white at the base of the inner web, increasing in extent towards
the secondaries, which are entirely light ashy below; upper
tail-coverts white, slightly washed with grey, and tinged with
rufous ; tail uniform bluish ash-colour, paler and somewhat
fulvescent underneath \ entire head and neck creamy-buff,
streaked with dark brown, the mantle being also slightly
streaked ; facial ruff indistinct, of the same colour as the
rest of the head and neck ; sides of face and throat white,
narrowly streaked with dark brown, the hinder margin of the
ear-coverts uniform brown ; under surface of body creamy-buff,
the breast longitudinally streaked with brown ; abdomen and
thighs more rufous, with fulvous edges to the feathers, so that
they appear to be streaked with buff; under wing-coverts and
axillaries uniform buffy-white, the latter having brown shaft-
lines ; cere greenish-yellow ; bill blackish ; feet yellow, the
claws black; iris bright yellow. Total length, 22*5 inches;
culmen, 1*55; wing, 16*0; tail, lo'o ; tarsus, 3*4.

Adult Temale. — In 1874, when I wrote the first volume of
the " Catalogue of Birds," I was under the impression that

134 ALLEN S NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

fully adult females of the Marsh-Harrier resembled the male
in plumage, nor am I yet convinced that both in this species
and Montagu's Harrier, the full plumage of the female birds is
not a counterpart of that of the males. I am bound to con-
fess, however, that recent observers have not confirmed my
opinion. Mr. Howard Saunders and Colonel Irby, both of
whom have seen numbers of this Harrier in life, describe the
female as brown above, chocolate-brown below, with a creamy-
white margin to the carpal bend of the wings, and the head
buff or creamy-white, streaked with blackish-brown. The tail
is entirely brown.

Young Birds. — At first the plumage of the young bird is en-
tirely chocolate-brown, including the head. The latter gradu-
ally becomes creamy-white like that of the old female, which
the bird then closely resembles. The iris is blackish.

Characters. — Apart from its much larger size, the Marsh-
Harrier is further distinguished from the other two British
species by its rufous thighs, which sometimes have whitish
spots or margins to the feathers. The tail in the adult male
and female is uniform grey, and this last character will dis-
tinguish the melanistic birds also, though these have darker
coloured thighs, in fact almost blackish in tint. Voting birds,
apart from their large size, may unfailingly be distinguished by
having the outer web of the fifth primary notched, the chest
perfectly uniform, with no streaks, the chin and centre of the
breast creamy-buff, and the inner webs of the primaries tmi-
form.

Range in Great Britain. — The Marsh-Harrier may now be
considered only an occasional visitor to the British Islands,
though it was formerly a regular breeder in the fen districts of
England, and its nest has been recorded from many counties.
Occasional captures in Scotland are recorded, but the evidence
as to its nesting is not satisfactory. In Ireland, however, it
still nests, and Mr. Ussher says that it " breeds sparingly in
Queen's County and Galway, and, probably, also in King's
County and Westmeath, but it seems to have been exter-
minated in Donegal, Londonderry, Tyrone, Down, Monaghan,
Fermanagh, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Cork, and Mayo, and has
now become very rare."

THE HARRIERS. I35

Range outside the British Islands. — The Marsh- Harrier is found
generally throughout Europe in suitable localities, but does
not extend very far north, though it breeds in Southern
Sweden, and as far eastward as the Valley of the Ob, and even
extends to Turkestan. It has never been recorded from
Central or Eastern Siberia, being replaced in the latter country
by Circus spiloiiotus^ a very distinct species, easily recognised
in its adult plumage, but scarcely distinguishable in its young
stages from (7. cBruginosiis. The supposed occurrence of our
Marsh-Harrier in Japan is doubtless a mistake, and the species
which has been found there must be C. spilonotus. The
winter home of the Marsh-Harrier is in the Indian Peninsula,
where it is also believed by Mr. Hume to breed, when the
flooded condition of the country renders suitable spots avail-
able, and it is also said to wander as far as the Transvaal in
South Africa, though here it meets with an allied species,
C. maurus^ the young of which is so very similar to that of
C. cerugifiosus^ that great caution is necessary in the deter-
mination of specimens from the countries inhabited by other
species of Marsh-Harriers. In most of the Mediterranean
countries the species breeds, receiving a great influx of indivi-
duals in the winter, when the birds bred in the north flock
southward on migration.

Habits. — Like the other Harriers, the present species feeds
on small mammals, snakes, and other small reptiles, and also
devours a large number of eggs and young birds. It will also
take sitting birds by surprise, but does not seem capable of
capturing them in full flight, though it will seize a wounded
bird, and follow the sportsman in the hope of picking up
some quarry. Colonel Irby writes of the species in Spain : —
'•' The Marsh-Harriers are a perfect pest to the sportsman, as,
slowly hunting along in front, they put up every Snipe and
Duck that lie in their course, making them unsettled and
wild. Cowardly and ignoble, they are the terror of all the
poultry which are in their districts, continually carrying off
chickens, and, like other Harriers, they are terribly destruc-
tive to the eggs and young of all birds. On account of
these propensities, I never let off a Marsh-Harrier, unless it
spoiled sport to fire at one. Sometimes when at Casas Viejas,
and the Snipe were scarce, to pass away the time, we used to

136 Allen's naturai;ist's library.

lie up in the line of the Harrier's flight to their roosting-
places ; for they always take the same course, and come, even-
ing after evening, within five minutes of the same time. Upon
one occasion, a friend and myself killed eleven, and during
that visit accounted for over twenty. We also, on every pos-
sible opportunity, destroyed the nest and shot the old ones ;
but it was the labour of Sisyphus, for others immediately ap-
peared. However, there was a visvble diminution of their
numbers about Casas Viejas. We never found rats in their
nests or crops, and believe that they have not the courage
to kill them : small snakes, frogs, wounded birds, eggs, and
nestlings form the main part of their prey."

Nest. — The Marsh-Harrier is, in many places, gregarious
during the breeding-season and many nests are found in the
same vicinity ; at least this is the case in Southern Spain
and Marocco. The nest is made of dead sedge and reeds
with a few small branches, these being added to from time
to time. It is occasionally found in a tree, but is generally
placed in a reed-bed, sometimes on the ground and among
low brambles, always near water, but sometimes far from any
marshes. A disused nest of a Coot or Water-Hen is often
adopted.

Eggs. — From three to six in number ; pale bluish white, very
rarely with any pale brown markings. When fresh blown, and
held up to the light they show a bluish tinge. Axis, i*8-2'i ;
diam., 1-55.

THE GOS-IIAWKS. GENUS ASTUR.

Astur, Lacep. Mem. de ITnst. Paris, iii. p. 505 (1801).

Type, A. pahiinharws (L.).

Although belonging to the long-legged Hawks, the Gos-
Hawks are much more stoutly built than the Harriers, and
have no facial ruff like the last-named birds. The hinder
aspect of the tarsus, also, is transversely scaled, and not arti-
culate or covered with a network of small scales as in the
Harriers. They comprise birds of all sizes, just like the
Sparrow-Hawks, many of the latter exceeding the smaller
Gos-Hawks in size. There is. however, one character by

THE GOS-HAWKS. 1 37

which these two genera of birds can be told apart. The Gos-
Hawks, as we have ah-eady said, are stouter and heavier birds
than the Sparrow-Hawks, and these features are especially
evidenced by their large bills and feet. Thus a Gos-Hawk's
bill is much longer in proportion to the size of its head, and
the middle toe is shorter, whereas in the Sparrow-Hawks the
middle toe is very long, and the bill is comparatively small.
Taking, therefore, the length of the ridge of the bill from the
cere to the tip, we find that its dimensions go more than twice
into the length of the middle toe in a Sparrow-Hawk, but
little more than one and a half times in a Gos-Hawk. Other-
wise the two genera are very closely assimilated, and all the
members are remarkable for their short wings, in direct contrast
to the long wings of the True Falcons.

The Gos-Hawks are nearly cosmopolitan in their range,
being found in nearly every part of America from north to
south, and all over the Old World, even to the Oceanic
Islands.

I. THE COMMON GOS-HAWK. ASTUR PALUMUARIUS.

Falco pahiinbarms^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 130 (1760).
Accipiter palumbarius^ Macgill. Brit. B. iii. p. 340 (1840) ; Seeb.

Brit. B. i. p. 142 (1883).
Ashcr paluvibarius, Newt. ed. Yarr. Br. B. i. p. 83(1871);

Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 95 (1874); Dresser, B.

Eur. v. p. 587, pi. 354 (1875) ; B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 97

(1883); Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 321 (1889) ; Lilford, Col.

Fig. Br. B. part xix. (1891).

Adult Male. — General colour above ashy-brown; quills brown,
barred with darker brown, the under surface of the wing ashy-
grey, inclining to white near the base of the quills, with dark
brown cross-bars, which become obsolete on the inner quills ;
tail ashy-brown, tipped with white, and crossed with four broad
bands of dark brown ; upper tail-coverts ashy-brown, with
white tips ; crown of head, ear-coverts, and sides of neck
blackish; the hind-neck slightly mottled with white; lores,
cheeks, and a line above the ear-coverts white, streaked with
blackish ; under surface of body white, with black shaft-stripes
on the feathers of the throat and breast ; the entire under sur-

138 Allen's naturalist's library.

face thickly crossed with bars of ashy-brown, less distinct on
the thighs ; under tail-coverts white ; cere yellow ; bill bluish
horn-colour; iris orange. Total length, i9'5 inches; culmen,
1*5; wing, 12-2; tail, 9*0; tarsus, 3*0.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but a little larger in size,
and rather darker grey. Total length, 23 inches; wing, 14*0 ;
tarsus, 3*4.

Young Birds. — Much browner than the adults, mottled with
white, the bases of the scapulars and wing-coverts being white,
and all the feathers margined with ochraceous-buff ; head and
neck rufous-ochre, the nape inclining to whitish; the crown
broadly streaked with dark brown, the hind-neck largely
marked with spade-shaped spots of the same colour ; forehead,
eyebrows, and sides of face whitish, narrowly streaked with
dark brown ; under surface of body ochraceous-buff, inclining
to white on the throat and under tail-coverts, the entire under
surface streaked with dark brown, narrowly on the throat,
thighs, and under tail-coverts, more broadly on the chest and
breast, the flanks marked with large spade-shaped spots ; tail
dark brown, tipped with white, and crossed with five distinct
bands of darker brown, the lighter interspaces inclining to
white on either margin of the feathers ; feet yellowish-brown,
the claws black ; cere and bill as in adults ; iris yellow.

Sometimes the young birds are rusty-red on the under sur-
face.

Range in Great Britain. — Many years ago the Gos-Hawk is
said to have bred in the British Islands, but has long since
ceased to do so. Speaking of the bird in Scotland, and the
evidence of its breeding there. Professor Newton says : — " It is
not unreasonable to suppose that, in the days when large
forests of Scotch firs flourished naturally in that kingdom, it
inhabited the districts so occupied ; still there can be no
doubt that considerable confusion has arisen from the fact
that in several places its common name has been, and yet is,
applied to the Peregrine Falcon, and hence some caution must
be used in accepting all the testimony as to its former abund-
ance in this country." Most of the records of the Gos-Hawk
in the British Islands refer to young birds in autumn and
winter, at which seasons the species is a tolerably regular mi-

THE GOS-HAWKS. * 1 39

grant. Three notices of the occurrence of the bird in Ireland
have been pubhshed.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Gos-Hawk is a resident
in most parts of Europe up to 60° N. lat., and extends in
the north to Tromso and Archangel, throughout Russia and
Siberia to the borders of the Japanese Sea, breeding through-
out this wide range wherever suitable forests present them-
selves. It is resident in all the Japanese Islands. It also
breeds in the Himalayas, and descends in winter to the lower
valleys. In the eastern portion of its range it seems to be
more strictly migratory than it is in Europe, where the migrants
are principally young birds. North-eastern Africa, Palestine,
and Egypt seem to be the winter-quarters of most of these
migrating Gos-Hawks from Northern Europe.

Habits. — The name Gos-Hawk is said to be a corruption of
Goose-Hawk, though it is doubtful if the bird, powerful though
it be, ever attempts to capture a bird as large as a Goose.
The list of animals on which it preys is, however, a sufficiently
large one : hares, rabbits, small rodents, squirrels, pheasants,
partridges, grouse, ducks, and smaller birds. It is even said,
in the Himalayas, to capture the great Moonal Pheasants.
Although it is a very fierce and powerful species, it is capable
of being trained by Falconers into a very useful bird for the
chase, and is said, by those who know it well, to develop great
intelligence, as well as docility. A rabbit has little chance
with a Gos-Hawk, for, even when given a good start, the easy
speed with which the great bird sails down upon it speedily
puts an end to the chase, and it is as nimble as the rabbit in
doubling and twisting in its tracks. Mr. Thompson con-
tributes to Mr. Hume's " Rough Notes on Indian Raptores "
an exceedingly interesting account of the way in which the
Gos-Hawk is flown in the Himalayas. He writes : — " Despite
all that has been said about these short-winged Hawks, this
bird is capable of attaining a high degree of efficiency as a
bold and rapid flier, a fagless worker, and affording decidedly
the best sport that can be had in a forest country. I have
taken a Quail in the middle of April with my Gos-Hawks flying
straight off the fist at the quarry. They have also flown at
Partridge and Quail, 800 to 1,000 yards from where they were
slipped. When first put to the quarry, they fly with outspread

140 ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

wings, with a listless, slow motion like that of a Great Owl —
admirably described in Sir John Sebright's little pamphlet on
Hawking, — but by everyday practice and constant flying at the
Black Partridges, high feeding, and carefully training them to
become familiar with men, dogs, and all other objects likely to
frighten them, they become, in two or three months, perfect
at the work. One bird I had used to be unleashed at my tent-
door, and would fly to the nearest tree, and as the party set
out through forest and glade, would fly from tree to tree, and
thus keep on, quite up to the beaters and the dogs, never lag-
ging behind till a bird was flushed, but always sufficiently
forward to receive the quarry as it rose. ... I have taken
a dozen jungle-fowl in a couple of hours with my Gos-Hawks,
using dogs to flush the birds. They have also killed Peacocks
in a single flight, and Hares, without having been hooded. I
have also taken Teal and Ducks in wooded swamps, by
appearing at the water at a point whence a distant view could
be had of the water-fowl. The Hawk, on being shown the
Ducks, would fly at once to the tree nearest to them, and there
wait in ambush. The beaters were then sent to flush the fowl,
one of which the Hawk caught in the air as the flock rose,
almost perpendicularly, out of the water."

Nest. — The Gos-Hawk breeds early : at the end of April or
early in May. The nest is a large structure of sticks, and is
often occupied for years in succession, and being added to
during each period of tenancy, often attains to great dimen-
sions. It is placed in a beech- or fir-tree, often at a great
height from the ground, occasionally in an oak, and the in-
terior of the nest is lined with moss, roots, and lichens,
according to Mr. Seebohm, but not with green leaves.

Eggs. — From three to five, four being the usual number*
They are pale bluish-green, almost white, and on rare occa-
sions spots have been found on them. According to Colonel
Irby, they are sometimes so stained with dirt as to appear
quite yellow, like the eggs of a Grebe which had been sat on
for some time. Axis, 2*2-2"45 ; diam., 17.

II. THE AMERICAN GOS-HAWK. ASTUR ATRICAPILLUS.

Falco atricapilhis^ Wilson, Amer. Orn. vi. pi. 52, fig. 3

(1812).

THE SPARROW-HAWKS. 74 1

As fur afrkapiUus, Newton, ed. Yarr. Br. B. i. p. 87, note

(187 1); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 97 (1874); See-

bohm, Brit. B. i. p. 145 (1883); B. O. U. List Brit. B.

p. 98 (1883) ; Saunders, Man. Brit. B. p. 322, note (1889).

Adult Male. — Similar to A. palumbarius, and of about the

same dimensions, but having a black head, and the markings

on the under surface taking the form of freckles, not bars ;

cere, feet, and iris yellow; bill bluish-black. Total length,

20-5 inches; culmen, 1-4; wing, 12*9; tail, 9-5; tarsus, 2-6.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but larger. Total length,
24 inches; wing, i4"o ; tarsus, 3-1.

Young Birds. — Resemble the young of A. paluinharius.

Eange in Great Britain. — Has occurred three times : once in
Scotland, said to have been shot in Perthshire by a keeper.
Two have been taken in Ireland : one, according to the late
Sir Victor Brooke, on the Galtee Mountains in Tipperary, in
March, 1883, and another near Parson's Town, in King's
County, was recorded shortly after by the late Mr. Basil
Brooke.

Eange outside the Britisli Islands. — The present species is an
inhabitant of North America, where it is found in the arctic
portion of the continent, breeding in the Northern United
States, and as far south as Colorado.

Halbits. — Similar to those of the European species.

Nest. — In trees.

Eggg. — Two or three ; white, or glaucous-white, sometimes
very faintly marked with pale brownish. Axis, 2 "31 inches;
diam., 170 {Ridgivay).

THE SPARROW-HAWKS. GENUS ACCIPITER.

Accipiter, Brisson, Orn. i. p. 310 (1760).

Type, A. nisus (L.).

The Sparrow-Hawks are considered by some ornithologists
to belong to the same genus as the Gos-Hawks, and vice versa.
As already mentioned, however, I do not consider these birds
to be generically the same, for the Sparrow-Hawks throughout

142 ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

the world have always the same little bill, combined with a very
long middle toe, so that if the distance of the culmen from the
anterior edge of the cere to the tip of the bill be doubled, this
double dimension will be found to fall short of the length of
the middle toe by at least one-third. This character will be
found to hold good in all the Sparrow-Hawks of the world,
even the large African species, A. mehmokucus, which is as
big as a Gos-Hawk, being found to offer no exception to this
rule.

Sparrow-Hawks have almost the same cosmopolitan distri-
bution as the Gos-Hawks, but they do not range into the Pacific
Islands. About thirty species are known to science.

I. THE COMMON SPARROW-HAWK. ACCIPITER NISUS.

Falco nisus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 130 (1766).

Accipiter fiisus, Newt. ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 88 (1871); Sharpe

and Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 599, pis. 355-358 (1S71) ;

Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 132 (1874) ; Seebohm, Br.

B.i. p. 135(1883); B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 98 (1883); Lil-

ford. Col. Fig. Brit. B. parts iv. v. (1887); Saunders, Man.

Br. B. p. 323(1889).
Adult Male. — General colour above bluish slate-colour ; wings
like the back, the primaries browner and barred with darker
brown, more distinct below, where the inner webs of the quills
are ashy-white, slightly tinged with rufous ; tail bluish slate-
colour, a little browner than the back, slightly tipped with
whitish, and crossed with four bars of darker brown ; nape
slightly mottled with white ; forehead and eyebrow somewhat
washed with rufous ; lores whitish ; cheeks and ear-coverts
bright rufous, the upper margin of the latter slaty-blue, like the
sides of the neck ; throat whitish, washed with rufous ; re-
mainder of under surface white, the breast narrowly barred across
with bright rufous, some of the bars being tinged with brown
and becoming narrower towards the abdomen and thighs, which
are almost entirely white, like the under tail-coverts; flanks
bright rufous; under wing-coverts and axillaries white, the
former spotted, the latter barred with brown ; cere yellow ; bill
dark horn-blue, yellowish at the base of the lower mandible ;
feet yellow; iris orange. Total length, 13 inches; culmen,
0-85; wing, 8-15; tail, 6'2,', tarsus, 2-3.

THE SPARROW-HAWKS. I43

The brown shade on the bars of the under surface ts a sign
of immaturity, and as the bird gets older, the rufous increases,
and the bars get less and less distinct, till the under-parts are
almost entirely rufous. This, however, is only the case in ex-
tremely old individuals.

Adult Female. — Larger than the male, and rather lighter grey ;
below whitish, with ashy bars, narrower than in the male, and
having a large tuft of downy rufous feathers on the flanks.
Total length, 15-5 inches; wing, 9-5; tail, yo; tarsus, 2*5.

Young Bh'ds. — General colour above sepia-brown, all the
feathers margined with rufous, especially on the crown ; occi-
put and nape mottled with white ; a distinct eyebrow, cheeks
and ear-coverts, white, streaked with blackish, the hinder mar-
gin of the ear-coverts brown, washed with rufous ; quills brown,
barred across with darker brown, more distinct on their lower
surface ; tail ashy-brown, with whitish tips, and crossed with
five bars of darker brown ; under surface of body white, the
throat narrowly streaked with black, the fore-neck and chest
with broad rufous streaks, the flanks and thighs distinctly barred
with dark brown \ under tail-coverts white ; under wing-coverts
buffy-white, with numerous spots or bars of dark brown ; iris
pale yellow.

It takes some time before the young birds attain the adult
plumage, and it is certain that they breed while still in the im-
mature plumage. The first adult dress with bars underneath
seems to be gained by the breaking up of the pattern on the
feather, rather than by a complete moult. The feathers on the
chest have, in the first stage of plumage, a broad longitudinal
centre of pale rufous, and, as time goes on, this alters in shape
and breaks off into bars, the colour being distributed laterally
instead of longitudinally, and the rufous colour giving place to
dark brown. Thus two brown bars may be seen on a feather,
while the terminal one may be represented by a heart-shaped
spot of light brown, with a rufous " eye," the last remains of
the streak of the immature plumage, and when this spot of
rufous is at last absorbed, and the brown bars complete, the
bird shows the first stage towards the adult plumage. The next
change is by a moult, which seems to take place at irregular
seasons, and not in the first autumn, as with most birds, and

144 Allen's naturalist's library.

then when the new feathers are assumed, they are always barred,
and no return to the striped breast ever takes place, but the
bars on the under-parts are at first more or less brown, and
become more and more rufous with each successive moult.
The numbers of bars on the tail are also indicative of the age
of the bird, as they decrease, as it gets older, from five to
four.

The female gains her adult plumage in the same way as the
male, but does not become rufous underneath ; in fact, she
gets greyer with age, and the rufous tuft of down on the sides
of the body becomes more pronounced.

Range in Great Britain. — The Sparrow-Hawk is found through-
out the three kingdoms, wherever woodland localities occur,
so that it is rarer in some spots than others, such as the
Orkneys, Shetlands, and Outer Hebrides. In Ireland, Mr.
Ussher says, it "breeds commonly wherever there are any
trees."

A considerable migration takes place in the autumn to the
east coast of Great Britain ; but many of the resident birds in
England, and especially Irish individuals, are very dark in
colour.

Range outside the British Islands. — This species is found every-
where in Europe, and extends north to the limits of forest-
growth, about lat. 69°. It is less common in Southern
Europe, where its numbers are largely reinforced by the
migrants from the north. It extends to Egypt and Kordofan
in the winter, and at that time of year also visits Aden.

Eastward it extends across Siberia to Corea and the Japanese
Islands, being resident in these countries, as it is also in the
Himalayas, where it breeds. In winter it visits China as far
south as Canton. A large race, A. jnajor, is recorded from
Switzerland, and a dark-coloured resident race, A. meianochistus^
from the Himalayas.

Hahits. — In its ways the Sparrow-Hawk is a miniature edition
of the Gos-Hawk, possessing all the fire and pluck of that
bird, but of course being much less powerful, and feeding
on smaller game. It is an inhabitant of the woods, and is
remarkably swift and agile in its movements, sallying forth

THE SPARROW-HAWKS. 1 45

from its retreat and snatching unsuspecting birds on the trees
or in the hedgerows. A Falcon will not pursue a bird which
has taken refuge in a tree, but I have seen a Sparrow-Hawk
follow a Blackbird through a tangled willow-thicket, doubling
as its quarry doubled, till it drove it out across the river and
might have caught it, had I not been interested in the changes
of plumage which the species undergoes, and to which I
have alluded above. As it was, I forgot for the moment all
about the Ducks I had been waiting for so long, and bagged
the Sparrow-Hawk for the British Museum, where it is still.

The dread with which the bird is regarded by all the smaller
species shows that they hold the Sparrow-Hawk in consider-
able awe, though Swallows and Martins will mob it freely as
it crosses from one wood to another. Its method of capturing
small birds is, however, mostly by seizing them unexpectedly,
before they have time to escape by hiding. Thus the Hawk
will fly along the side of a wood or hedgerow, and suddenly
snatch a small bird from the twig on which it sits singing, or
drop down on it as it crouches in the grass. Besides small
birds, it also catches mice and rats, but it can be very destruc-
tive to chickens and young Pheasants and Partridges, and is,
therefore, shot and trapped by keepers on every occasion.

Nest. — The Sparrow-Hawk breeds in May, and usually, Mr.
Seebohm says invariably, builds its own nest, which is composed
of sticks, and the tree selected appears to vary according to
locality, for whereas Mr. Seebohm gives preference to the oak,
as the favourite tree selected by the bird, he mentions also
the alder, and not unfrequently a pine-tree as a nesting-site.
My own experience in Hampshire, where I have taken many
nests at Avington, is in favour of the last-named tree, and I
never remember the nest being built in any other. It is always
placed at a considerable height, and near the trunk. The
female sits very close, and I remember one occasion, when
three of us had come out to take the nest and shoot the old
birds. After clapping our hands and knocking the tree to
see if the old bird was on the nest, we were preparing to take
up our stations to await its return, when it occurred to me to
see if I could hit the nest with a pine branch which was lying
near. My first attempt sent it smartly against the bottom of

8 L

146 ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

the nest, and off flew the bird Hke an arrow, taking all the
party by surprise. She had been sitting close the whole time,
and had disregarded all the talking and noise we had made
beneath the tree. After flying round for some time, at a great
height in the air, above the nest, she disappeared for half an
hour, when she suddenly came gliding through the wood
towards her home, and was shot by Captain Shelley. The
male was trapped the next morning on the nest, and both birds
proved to be in immature plumage.

Eggs. — The eggs of the Sparrow-Hawk vary greatly in their
colour and markings, and are sometimes very handsome. The
clutch consists of from three to four eggs, on rare occasions
five. The ground-colour is a faint greenish-white or else quite
white, and sometimes the eggs are entirely unspotted. Others
are blotched or even marbled with dark reddish-brown, in
which chestnut and lilac are mingled. The distribution of
the markings is thoroughly irregular, for sometimes these
brown or rufous markings are distributed over the whole egg,
and are more or less broken up into small spots or blotches,
while in others the rufous markings are gathered at one or
other end of the egg, leaving its opposite pole uniformly white,
while in certain specimens in the British Museum the mark-
ings form a ring round the centre of the egg, leaving the two
ends unspotted and not marked in any way. Axis, i'55-i*75 ;
diam., i-25-i*4.

THE BUZZARDS. SUB-FAMILY BUTEONIN^.

In all the remaining Birds of Prey we find the legs much
shorter than in the Hawks and Harriers, and the proportions
of the tibia and tarso-metatarsal bones are different, the
former being much longer than the latter, and not equal in
length, as it is in the long-legged Hawks.

The Buzzards may be recognised from the Eagles and Fal-
cons, which are the other two groups of these shorter-legged
Birds of Prey, by having the hinder aspect of the tarsus scaled,
and not reticulated. By this character we know that some
of the largest of Raptorial birds, such as the Great Harpy
Eagle {TJwasaetus harpyia) of South America, are Buzzards

PLATE XLJV

.r%

.^.t"*

.^'•'^'■'

COMMON BUZZARD

THE TRUE BUZZARDS. I47

and not true Eagles. As a rule, the members of the Sub-
family ButeoiiincE are somewhat sluggish and heavy birds,
not possessing the dash of an Eagle or a Hawk, but resemb-
ling the former in general appearance and build. The range
of the Buzzards is almost cosmopolitan, though the Australian
members of the genus are not typical Buzzards, and are more
like large Gos-Hawks in appearance.

THE TRUE BUZZARDS. GENUS BUTEO.

Buteo, Cuvier, Legons Anat. Comp. i. Tabl. Oiseaux (1800).

Type, B. huteo (L.).

The typical Buzzards have rather a long wing and a head
like that of an Eagle, with a bony shelf above the eye, a long
tail, more than twice the length of the tarsus, which is never
entirely feathered. The nasal aperture is a long oval, and
there is no tubercle, as in the Falcons and some other Birds
of Prey. The Buzzards are found throughout the northern
parts of both Hemispheres, and in North America many of
the species are migratory, and visit South America in winter.
In Africa several species of True Buzzards are resident, and
they are found throughout the greater part of Asia, but do
not extend below Southern China and the Burmese Provinces,
being absent in the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago.

I. THE COMMON BUZZARD. BUTEO BUTEO.

Faico hifeo, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 127 (1766).
Bitteo vulgaris, Newt. ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 109 (187 1) •
Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 186 (1874); Dresser, b'
Eur. v. p. 449, pi. 331 (1875); Seebohm, Br. B. i. p. 117
(1883) ; B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 94 (1883) ; Saunders, Man.
Br. B. p. 311 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xvii.
(1891).
Buteo fusciis, Macg. Br. B. iii. p. 183 (1840).
{Plate XLIV.)
Adult Male. — General colour above ashy-brown, rather paler
on the scapulars and wing-coverts, which have more or less
distinct white margins ; on the nape some white streaks, the
forehead and sides of face being also narrowly streaked with

L 2

148 Allen's naturalist's library.

white ; under surface of body yellowish-white ; the breast,
sides of body, and thighs more uniform brown, clouding the
whole of these portions of the under-parts ; primary-quills
dark brown, externally shaded with n shy-grey, with distinct bars
of darker brown, less plainly indicated on the secondaries,
which are paler brown like the back, the inner webs of all the
quills white for two-thirds of their length ; tail ashy-brown,
with a rufous shade towards the tip, and crossed with twelve
or thirteen bands of darker brown ; cere yellow ; bill bluish-
black, darker towards the tip ; feet yellow; iris yellowish-brown.
Total length, 22 inches; culmen, 1*45; wing, i5*o ; tail, 9-0;
tarsus, 3'i.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, and very little larger.
Total length, 23 inches; wing, 16*5 ; tail, 9-5 ; tarsus, 3-1.

Young Birds. — The young of the Common Buzzard is always
much paler than the adults, and frequently has the head and
under surface of the body creamy-white, with a few streaks and
spots of brown.

I consider all these light-coloured birds to be immature,
though some ornithologists regard this pale plumage as indica-
tive of albinism, and the darker forms to be melanistic. While
admitting that Buzzards have a tendency to melanism, my ex-
perience has been that the birds grow darker with age, and have
few^er bars on the tail than when they are young.

Range in Great Britain. — The Common Buzzard is by no means
so plentiful in the British Islands as it used to be, owing to the
ill-advised way in which it has been shot down by game-pre-
servers. In Scotland and Wales, however, it is still to be found
in the wilder districts, and in many parts of England specimens
are obtained on migration : these are mostly young birds. In
Ireland Mr. R. J. Ussher says that in Donegal, Londonderry,
Antrim, and Down, where it was formerly recorded by Thomp-
son as resident, it has now been nearly exterminated, and the
bird is, therefore, as rare in its ancient habitat as it is in
England.

Range outside the British Islands. — Commonly distributed over
the greater part of Western Europe, but its eastern range is by
no means satisfactorily determined, as in Russia it appears to

THE TRUE BUZZARDS.

149

coalesce with the range of Buteo desertonwi, or the intermediate
form known as B. ziinmermaiifice. In Scandinavia it breeds
as far as 60° N. lat, but its eastern range is beheved to be
the Baltic Provinces and the Vistula. It is, to a great extent,
a migratory species in the autumn, and passes over Heligoland
in great flights, and in Southern Europe it is decidedly local as
a breeding species, and in the Mediterranean countries it again
meets its rufous ally^ B. desertorwn.

Habits. — The food of the Buzzard consists largely of field-
mice, frogs, reptiles, especially slow-worms, and occasionally
small birds. It will therefore be admitted by all that this Rap-
torial bird is of great use in keeping down small vermin, and,
like the Barn-Owls, ought to be rigorously protected, and not
shot down, as is, unfortunately, too often the case with both
species. In Germany the utility of the Buzzard in forest dis-
tricts is better recognised.

In its ways the Buzzard is rather a sluggish bird, and may
often be seen sitting motionless, sometimes for hours together,
on a tree or on the ground, only moving when it sees a mouse
or other small prey. At other times it circles high in the air,
uttering its plaintive, squealing cry; and when in flight the
action of the bird is described by all observers to be imposing
and graceful.

Nest. — The nest is generally placed in a tree, but sometimes
on rocks, and one, taken in Ross-shire a few years ago, is in
the British Museum. The birds had built their rough nest of
sticks on the floor of a small hollow in the cliff, in a well shel-
tered situation. The nest is made of rough and ragged sticks
for a foundation, with more slender twigs on the top, and is
rather flat. A curious habit of the bird is to line the nest
with green leaves, which it evidently renews from time to
time. Mr. Seebohm found this lining of green leaves in ten
out of eleven nests, some of which contained eggs and some
young birds ; and it was only in a nest in which the young ones
were far advanced that the lining was absent. Buzzards, how-
ever, are not the only Birds of Prey which line their nests with
green leaves, but the object of this proceeding is not clear.

Eggs. — From two to four in number, generally three. The

I50

ground-colour is white or faint greenish-white, and the eggs
are often quite uniform, or show faint spottings or marblings of
pale rufous. On the other hand, they are sometimes richly
marked and clouded with rufous or rufous-brown. Every
gradation in a series of clutches is exhibited in the Seebohm
collection in the British Museum, from unsullied white eggs to
those in which ihe ground-colour is almost hidden by a con-
fusion of mottlings and cloudings of rich chestnut or rufous-
brown. Axis, 2-i-2'4; diam., i"j-i'g.

II. THE DESERT BUZZARD. BUTEO DESERTORUM.

Juz/co deserto7'uni^ Daud. Traite, ii. p. 164 (1800).

Buteo desertoruni^ Sharpe, Cat. B. i. p. 179 (1874) ; Dresser, B.
Eur. V. p. 457, pi. 332 (1875) ; Seebohm, Br. B. i. p. 122,
note (1883) ; B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 94 (1883).

Adult Male. — Smaller than B. buteo, and much more rufous,
especially on the upper tail-coverts and tail ; the bars on the tail,
nine or ten ; cere lemon-yellow ; bill dark lead-colour, lighter
near the throat and cere ; feet lemon-yellow ; iris light hazel
or yellowish. Total length, 21 inches; culmen, 1*55; wing,
13-4; tail, 7-8 ; tarsus, 3-0.

Young Birds. — Much paler than the adults, especially on the
under surface, the tail always showing a rufous tint, and having
as many as thirteen bars.

The rufous character of the plumage of this Buzzard is the
best test for recognising it from the Common Buzzard, but it
is sometimes very difficult to distinguish the two species, as
B. desej'toruin gets very dark in its older stages, while B. buteo
not unfrequently exhibits a shade of rufous on the tail.

Range in Great Britain. — The present species has been sup-
posed to have occurred three times in England : twice in North-
umberland, and once at Everley in Wiltshire, where a speci-
men was shot in September, 1864. The two Northumbrian
birds may have been wrongly identified, but the Wiltshire
example was considered by the late Mr. J. H. Gurney to be an
undoubted Desert Buzzard.

Range outside the Britisli Islands. — This species occurs in the

THE TRUE BUZZARDS. I51

Mediterranean countries and in South-eastern Europe. It is
a common species in certain parts of Africa, and is apparently
only a rare visitor to India, the specimens often identified as
B. desertomin from this country being, in all probability, refer-
able to B. plumipes.

III. RED-TAILED BUZZARD. BUTEO BOREALIS.

Falco borealis^ Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 266 (1788).
Bicteo borealis, Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 188 (1874);
B. O. U. List Br. B, p. 94 (1883).

Adult Male. — Of large size, and distinguished by its rufous
tail, the head and ear-coverts being smoky-brown, varied with
darker brown streaks ; the tail-feathers tipped with white and
crossed with a sub-terminal band of blackish-brown ; under
surface of body whitish, the breast streaked and the abdomen
mottled with bars of dark brown ; cere and gape greenish-
yellow ; bill bluish-black ; feet yellow ; iris pale amber. Total
length, 21 inches ; culmen, i"55 ; wing, 15*1 ; tail, 8*5 ; tarsus,
3-6.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but larger. Total length,
25 inches; wing, 17-5 ; tail, 9*5 ; tarsus, 3*8.

Young Birds. — Brown, with the head and neck streaked with
white ; sides of face whitish, streaked with brown, the cheeks
uniform dark brown ; tail brown, slightly washed with rufous,
and crossed with nine bars of darker brown ; under surface of
body pure white, with brown stripes on the throat, broader on
the breast, the abdomen and flanks with arrow-head marks of
brown ; thighs white, with small transverse spots of pale rufous.

Characters — The red tail of the adult sufficiently distinguishes
this Buzzard. The young birds may be distinguished by the
longer wing, and by the particoloured thighs, but as there are
many other species of Buzzard which possess these characters,
only an examination by an expert can decide any of the young
birds belonging to the genus Bufeo.

Range in Great Britain. — The Red-tailed Buzzard is said to
have occurred once in Nottinghamshire, in the autumn of
i860, and is recorded in the list of the birds of that county by
Messrs. Sterland and Whitaker.

152 ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

Range outside the Britisli Islands. — A North American species,
found in the eastern portion of that continent, and westwards
to the border of the Great Plains, according to Mr. Ridgway
(Man. N. Amer. B. p. 232) occurring south in Eastern Mexico,
and perhaps extending to Panama.

IV. THE red-shouldered BUZZARD. BUTEO LINEATUS.

Falco lineatus, Gmehn, Syst. Nat. i. p. 274 (1788); Sharpe,
Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 191 (1874); Newton, ed. Yarr.
Brit. B. i. p. 113 (187 1); B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 94
(1883).

Adult Male. — Easily distinguished by the colour of the lesser
wing-coverts, which are conspicuously margined with rufous, so
as to form a shoulder-patch ; the quills distinctly spotted with
white on their outer webs ; the tail with from four to six alter-
nate bars of black and white; cere yellow; bill bluish-black;
feet yellow ; claws black ; iris bright amber. Total length, 2 1
in'ches; culmen, 1*4; wing, i3"2 ; tail, 8-5 ; tarsus, 3-1.

Range in Great Britain. — A specimen of this Buzzard is said
to have been obtained in Inverness-shire in 1863, but, as the
Committee of the British Ornithologists' Union remark, the
record is probably the mistake of a dealer.

Range outside the British Islands. —A North American species,
occurring northward to Nova Scotia, and westward to the edge
of the Great Plains.

THE EAGLES. SUB-FAMILY AQUILINE..

The chief distinguishing character of the Eagles is the reti-
culation of the hinder aspect of the tarsus. This is very often
hidden by feathers, but traces of the network of the scales
can generally be found on parting the feathering of the back
of the tarsus. The species of Eagles are numerous, and they
are distributed nearly over the entire globe ; in fact, there is no
portion of the Old World in which a Sea-Eagle of some kind
does not occur. There is great variety in size among the
members of the Sub-family, some being large and powerful,
while others are little bigger than Sparrow-Hawks, and yet be-

THE BUZZARD-EAGLES. 1 53

long typically to the Eagles. The connection between them
and the Buzzards is very close, while by way of the Kites they
also approach the Falcons.

Among the Eagles are to be found the largest of the Birds
of Prey, such as the Lsemmergeier, or "Bearded Vulture" as
it is often called, a bird which, though structurally an Eagle,
much resembles the Scavenger Vultures in many of its habits.
It resembles the latter in being bare-footed, whereas all the
species of the true Aquila and its allied genera have feathered
tarsi. In this feathered group are included all the beautiful
Crested Eagles {Spizachis) and the Hawk-Eagles {Entol/nactus),
as well as the curious Egg-devourer {Neopus).

The bare-footed section comprises all the Sea-Eagles {Haliac-
tus) and the Snake-Eagles ( Circa'ctus)^ besides a number of tro-
pical forms, such as Haliastur, which is half a Kite and half a
Sea-Eagle, and connects the latter with the true Kites.

THE BUZZARD-EAGLES. GENUS ARCHIBUTEO.

Archibiiteo, Brehm, Isis, 1828, p. 1269.

Type, A. lagopus (J. F. Gmelin).

These birds have always been considered to be true Buzzards,
and have generally been placed by ornithologists either in the
genus Biiteo or in close proximity, but the reticulation of the
tarsi shows that they really belong to the Aquilince. In writing
the "Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum," I made the
curious mistake of figuring the tarsus of Archibiiteo to show
that it was reticulated behind, and then placed the genus
among the Buzzards, thus stultifying the arrangement I had
been at great pains to emphasise — just one of those annoying
faux pas which one makes sometimes without any apparent
reason. Mr. Seebohm discovered my mistake and went .50 far
as to put the Rough-legged Buzzards into the genus Aquila^
because Dr. Gadow had found resemblances in the anatomy of
the above-mentioned species and the Spotted Eagle. To put
these two birds into the same genus is, how/rvcr, more than Dr.
Gadow ever intended, and although the Buzzard-Eagles bear a
very close resemblance to the True Eagles, the nostril is not ex-
posed as in the latter birds, and is, moreover, vertical, with an

154 ALLEN S NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

overhanging shelf, whereas in the Eagles the nostril is gener-
ally a perpendicular oval, and exposed, or, in rare instances,
round.

I. THE ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD-EAGLE. ARCHIBUTEO
LAGOPUS.

Falco lagopus^ Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 260 {1788).

Buteo lagopiis, Macg. Brit. B. iii. p. 193 (1840) ; Newt. ed.

Yarr. Br. B. i. p. 117 (1871); Saunders, Man. Br. B. p.

313 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Brit. B. part xiv. (1890).
Archibuteo lagopiis, Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 196 (1874) ;

Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 471, pis. 334, 335 (1875) j B. O. U.

List Br. B. p. 95 (1883).
Aquila lagopHS, Seebohm, Br. B. i. p. iii (1883).

Adult Female. — General colour above deep brown, the head
and neck white, streaked with dark brown, especially on the
cheeks and sides of the head ; lesser wing-coverts and scapulars
with white bases, and margined with buff, imparting a streaked
appearance to these parts ; quills brown, white for the greater
part of the inner web; upper tail-coverts white, with a sub-
terminal bar of brown ; tail white, inclining to ashy-brown and
tinged with rufous for the terminal third of its length, the tip
white with a broad sub-terminal bar of black ; under surface of
body white, the throat washed with buff like the sides of the
neck, and streaked with dark brown, more broadly on the breast;
lower breast and abdomen dark brown, the latter mottled with
buff in the centre ; under tail-coverts white ; thighs and tarsal
plumes buffy-vvhite, spotted with brown ; cere yellow ; bill dark
horn-colour ; toes yellow ; claws dark horn-colour ; iris hazel.
Total length, 26 inches; culmen, i"45; wing, 187; tail, lo'o;
tarsus, 3 "I.

Adult Male. — Similar to the female, but a little smaller. Total
length, 22*5 inches; wing, I7"i ; tail, io"o; tarsus, 2*8.

Young Birds. — Resemble the adults, but are rather browner, es-
pecially below, where the breast is more streaked ; the tail also
brown for its terminal half, with no perceptible sub-terminal
band.

Characters. — Distinguished from the ordinary Buzzards by the
feathered tarsi, and from any of the feathered-legged Eagles by
the different form of the nostrils, and by the lesser size.

THE BUZZARD-EAGLES. 1 55

Range in Great Britain. — An autumn visitor, occurring in some
years, as in 1891, in great numbers. It may be considered
almost a regular visitor to Scotland, and some specimens are
obtained in the eastern counties nearly every autumn, but it is
not often found in the south or west of England, and only
about half a dozen instances of its capture in Ireland have
been recorded. The species has even been said to breed in
Great Britain, but the evidence is by no means satisfactory, and
more exact confirmation of the fact is essential.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Rough-legged Buzzard-
Eagle is distinctly a northern bird, being commonly distributed
from Scandinavia into the valley of the Lena in Siberia. It
breeds in Russia, as far south as 56° N. lat., and also in the
Baltic Provinces, but in more southern latitudes it is only
known as a winter visitor, occurring at this season of the year
in the Pyrenees, in Italy, and the Mediterranean countries.
In North America it is represented by a closely aUied species,
ArcJiibuteo sancti johannis.

Habits. — Very little has been recorded of the habits of this
species, but it is said to be a frequenter of the open country,
rather than of wooded districts like a Buzzard, and in many
of its habits it is more of an Aquila than a Biiteo. It has a
peculiar "mewing" cry, like that of a cat. Its food consists
of rabbits and other small Mammalia, but it also eats reptiles
and captures water-fowl. Its flight is said by Professor Newton
to be slow, but smooth, Jtnd, except during its migrations, is
seldom continued for any great length of time.

Nest. — Composed of sticks, according to Wolley, who took
several nests of this species in Lapland. He says : " The nest
was small, made of old sticks, with a few twigs of the fir and a
little of the black hair-like lichen which grows so abundantly in
the northern forests. The situation was near the edge of a
great marsh with trees all around. Other nests were in taller
trees, and were larger in size, and the bird will occasionally use
an old nest of the Osprey."

Eggs. — Three or four in number, though sometimes only two
are found. The ground-colour is a dull white or greenish-
white, and although the markings and spots vary in number and
intensity, absolutely white eggs, without any markings, seem to

156 Allen's naturalist's li'Brary.

be almost unknown. The rufous markings are generally dis-
tributed pretty evenly over the egg, and are intermixed with
cloudings of a lighter brown, principally at the larger end of the
egg. In one clutch in the Seebohm collection, from Fin-
mark, the entire eggs are clouded with pale brown mottlings,
forming here and there large blotches. Axis, 2 -1-2 -35 ; diam.'
r65-r8.

THE TRUE EAGLES. GENUS AQUILA.

Aquiia, Briss. Orn. i. p. 419 (1760).

Type. A. chrysa'ctus (L.).

Eagles are found throughout the northern parts of both
Hemispheres, as far as Mexico in America, and in the Old
World throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia, but not extend-
ing into the Malayan regions or to Australia. The large size
of the Eagles is the best character by which our English species
can be distinguished, but the Lesser Spotted Eagle is an ex-
ception, as it is very little bigger than a Buzzard. It must
be remembered that all members of the genus Aquiia have
feathered legs, and thus it is always easy to tell a True
Eagle from a Sea-Eagle, which has the legs devoid of fea-
thers. The claws, or talons, of the Eagles are also extremely
powerful, and fitted for taking large prey, presenting a marked
difference in strength to the talons of the Vultures, whose feet
are adapted for holding, not seizing, their prey.

L THE golden EAGLE. AQUILA CHRYSAETUS.

Falco cJtrysa'ctus^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 125 (1766).

Aquiia chrysa'ctus^ Macg. Brit. B. iii. p. 204 (1840); Newt. ed.

Yarr.'Brit. B. i. p. 11 (187 1) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus.

i. p. 235 (1874); Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 533, pi. 345 (1880);

Seeb. Brit. B. i. p. 96 (1883); B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 96

(1883) ; Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 317 (1889) ; Gilford, Col.

Fig. Br. B. part xxv. (1893).

{Plate XLV.)
Adult Male. — General colour above blackish-brown, often
with a very perceptible purplish gloss, the feathers of the
mantle and the wing-coverts with Daler edses ; quills blackish.

THE TRUE EAGLES.

157

ashy-brown below, the secondary quills ashy-grey, mottled with
brown, the terminal third of the feather blackish ; tail ashy-grey,
blackish at the tip and browner towards the base, the grey
forming an irregular band across the middle of the tail, the
basal portion of which is also mottled with grey ; head brown,
the nape and hind-neck rich tawny, the feathers lanceolate in
shape, with brown bases, and imparting a streaked appearance
to this part of the neck ; sides of the face light tawny, paler
than the neck ; cheeks and under surface of body blackish, the
feathers mostly brown at the base, and the feathers of the leg
pale brown, as also the under tail-coverts ; under wing-coverts
blackish ; cere yellow ; bill bluish horn-colour, darker at the
tip; feet yellow, claws black; iris hazel. Total length, 32
inches; culmen, 2*6; wing, 24*5; tail, i3"o; tarsus, 37.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male in colour, but larger.
Total length, 35-5 inches; wing, 27*5; tail, 13*0; tarsus, 3-8,

Young Birds. — These can always be distinguished by the
colour of the tail, which is white for more than the basal half,
and brown for nearly the terminal half, so that there is a very
broad band at the end of the tail ; otherwise the colour of the
young birds does not differ very much from that of the adults,
excepting that there is a good deal of white at the bases of the
feathers, especially on the under surface of the body, which is
rather lighter brown than in the old birds.

Nestling. — Covered with white down.

Range in Great Britain. — The breeding-range of the Golden
Eagle is now restricted to the highlands of Scotland and some
of the western isles, where the bird is protected. Formerly
it used to nest in the Orkneys, and also in the south of Scot-
land, while it has only been extinguished as a breeding bird in
the Lake district during the last hundred years, and two cen-
turies ago it nested in Wales and Derbyshire. Young birds
of the present species occur in the lowlands of Scotland not
unfrequently, and more rarely visit England, but the reported
captures of Golden Eagles generally refer to young White-tailed
Eagles, which may always be distinguished by their bare legs.

In Ireland, Mr. R. J. Ussher says the chief breeding-places
of " the Golden Eagle are now a few spots in Western Mayo.

158 ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

It breeds still more sparingly in Western Donegal, and prob-
ably in Western Gahvay and Kerry, but it has ceased to breed,
as formerly, in Antrim, Tyrone, Down, Tipperary, Waterford,
Leitrim, and Sligo, but visits the mountainous parts of these
counties occasionally."

Range outside the British Islands. — The Golden Eagle is found
throughout the mountains of Europe and Northern Africa, and
extends to the extreme east of Asia, as far as Kamtchatka and
the Japanese Islands. It also breeds in the Himalayas. Many
races or sub-species have been recognised, chiefly by the late
Dr. Severtzov and the Russian naturalists, but I have never
been able to recognise more than one species of Golden Eagle,
though in some localities the birds are larger and darker than
in others, but the supposed differences in the amount of white
on the tail- and body-feathers are dependent, I am certain, solely
on the age of the individuals, and are never specific.

In North America the Golden Eagle is found in the moun-
tainous regions of the northern parts, but has not yet been
noticed in Greenland.

Habits. — Owing to the destruction which this large Eagle is
capable of committing on sheep-farms, the bird has been shot
and trapped almost to extinction in the British Islands. The
principal food of the Golden Eagle in Scotland is the Blue
or Mountain Hare, and it also captures rabbits or an occa-
sional Grouse, while it is well known that it will devour carrion,
which propensity often leads to its being taken in traps. The
flight of a Golden Eagle is certainly a wonderful sight to see,
according to all observers, and I have seen nothing finer than
the flight of the Eagles in the Himalayas (probably Imperial
Eagles), soaring round and round, high in the air, without any
apparent motion of the wings, the ends of which are slightly
upturned in soaring, so that daylight can be seen between the
tips of the long primaries. Then follow a few rapid beats of
the wings, and then another round of circular movements,
until the bird winds itself out of sight or tops the mountain
crest into the next valley. Sometimes the bird will sit motion-
less on a rock or favourite perch for hours, but it is when
the Golden Eagle is on the wing, that we can understand
why its majestic movements inspired the idea that it was the

THE TRUE EAGLES. 1 59

*' King of Birds." Otherwise there is nothing very awe-inspiring
in the habits of the Eagle, which are further sullied by its car-
rion-eating propensities. Mr. Seebohm says: "The Eagle in its
habits is more of a Vulture than a Falcon, and his motions
are sluggish, cowardly, and tame, compared with the death-
swoop of the Peregrine, or the brilliant performance of the
Sparrow-Hawk, or the Merlin, who would not deign to feast
on such lowly fare."

Nest. — The Golden Eagle is an early breeder, and its nest
has been found while the country was still covered with snow.
The young are hatched by the end of April. The nest is a
large and rough structure of sticks and heather, with a lining
of fern and moss and tufts of green herbage. It is often as
much as five feet in diameter, and is generally placed on a
cliff, more rarely on a tree, in the British Islands at least.

Eggs. — Two, occasionally three, in number. They vary in
colour from white to richly marked varieties. Sometimes
rufous spots are distributed over the whole egg, while in the
more handsomely coloured ones the whole surface is clouded
with light earthy-rufous, while on some of these clouded eggs,
bright rufous or rufous-brown markings are mterspersed.
Axis, 2-8-3'3 ; diam., 2-25-2-45.

II. THE LARGER SPOTTED EAGLE. AQUILA MACULATA.*

Fako maculattis, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 258 (1788).

Aqiiila ncevia^ Gm. ; Newt. ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 20 (187 1) ;

Seebohm, Brit. B. i. p. 106 (1883) ; Saunders, Man. Br. B.

p. 315 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Brit. B. part xxv. (1893).
Aqiiila danga, Pall; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 246 (1874) ;

Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 499, pi. 339 (1878) ; B. O. U. List

Br. B. p. 96 (1883).

* The difficulty of assigning a specific name for the Spotted Eagles has
long been recognised by ornithologists, and the smaller of the three races
has generally been called Aquila ncevia, the larger form A. danga, and
the Indian form A. hastata. Dr. W. T. Blanford has recently reviewed the
the whole of the evidence, and accepts the verdict that the Falco lUTvius
of Gmelin refers to the Common Buzzard, and that the name maculata
belongs to the larger form, generally known as Aquila danga of Pallas.
I agree with Dr. Blanford in adopting this name.

i6o Allen's naturalist's uhrary.

Adult Male. — General colour above and below dark chocolate-
brown, almost black. The wing-coverts rather lighter brown,
and the hinder crown and nape inclining to sandy-buff; quills
and tail almost uniform brown, the latter with a few greyish
mottlings or indications of bars in old individuals. Total
length, 26-5 inches; culmen, 2*4; wing, 20-5; tail, lo'S ; tar-
sus, 3-9.

Adult Female.— Similar to the male, but larger. Total length,
29 inches; wing, 21-5 ; tail, ir8; tarsus, 4*2.

Young Birds. — Of a purplish-brown colour ; wing-coverts like
the back, the median coverts with a few longitudinal streaks of
dull white, which become much larger and take the form of
oval spots on the greater and primary-coverts, as well as on the
tips of the scapulars ; the quills blackish, the secondaries
rather browner, with faint bars of black, and oval white spots
at the tips like the scapulars ; lower back and rump with dis-
tinct triangular spots of ochraceous-buff, the upper tail-coverts
almost uniform buffy-white ; tail-feathers blackish, browner
towards their ends, which are tipped with whity-brown, the
feathers crossed with three or four bars of blackish-brown near
the tips ; under surface of body blackish, browner on the chin,
the breast streaked with pale brown down the centre of the
feathers, the abdomen and feathers of the leg rather more
ochraceous; under tail-coverts ochraceous-buff; under wing-
coverts blackish, the axillaries rather browner ; greater under
wing-coverts ashy-brown, and white at the base like the prim-
ary-quihs. Total length, 26 inches; wing, 20; tail, lo'o ; tar-
sus, 3-9.

Characters. — An adult Spotted Eagle can always be told from
an adult Golden Eagle by its smaller size, and by its tail being
uniform below. This character will also distinguish the young
birds of the two species, the Golden Eagle having the base of
the tail white, and showing none of the large spots on the
wings, from which the Spotted Eagle has derived its popular
name.

Eange in Great Britain. — A rare and occasional visitant, occur-
ring apparently only in late autumn and winter. Two were
obtained near Youghal in Ireland in January 1845. Two
more have been shot in Cornwall in December i860 and

THE TRUE EAGLES l6l

November 1861. In 1875 ^ specimen was found dead on
Walney Island, and on the 31st October, 1885, another was
.shot in Northumberland (cf. Saunders, I.e.). In November
1 89 1, three or four specimens were obtained in the eastern
counties. Mr. J. H. Gurney states that all the British speci-
mens examined by him belonged to the larger race of Spotted
Eagle, and I have, therefore, somewhat taken for granted that
the small Spotted Eagle i^A. poniarina) has not yet visited us.
An examination of every specimen killed in these islands is
desirable, as Mr. Seebohm believes that the Irish and Corn-
wall specimens belonged to the small race.

Range outside the British Islands. — There are three races of
Spotted Eagle, named respectively Aquila pomai'ina^ A. niam-
lafa, and A. hastata. The first two of these are found in
Europe, A. hastata being an Indian species and therefore not
concerning us in the present work. The difference between
A. pomarina and A. maciilata consists of size chiefly, the
latter being a larger and a darker bird, both of them having, in
their young plumage, the distinct spotting of the wing. A.
poinarijia is distinctly smaller than A. inaculata^ and has the
wing under twenty inches in both male and female. This
smaller race, which is the one we should expect to be the
visitor to England instead of A. viaculata, breeds in Northern
Germany and the Baltic Provinces of Russia, and is found
in the Pyrenees, and even in Spain and North Africa, but is
apparently rare in all the Mediterranean countries. A. ponia-
rina is said to reach to Bessarabia and the Caucasus, and in
winter migrates down the Nile Valley to Abyssinia, and, in my
opinion, will probably be found still farther to the south.

Aquila maciilata^ on the other hand, is a bird of Turkey and
Southern Russia, occurring also in Hungary, and reaching in its
eastern range through Central Asia to Eastern Siberia and Nor-
thern China. This form winters in India, and also migrates down
the Nile Valley to Abyssinia and probably farther southward.

Habits. — The Spotted. Eagle is said to resemble a Buzzard \n
its ways, and to feed on frogs, lizards, snakes, and even to eat
grasshoppers and other insects, while it will also devour car-
rion. It is an inhabitant of the swampy forests, and Mr. See-
bohm says that, during his search for the nest of the Spotted
8 M

i62 Allen's naturalist's library.

Eagle in Pomerania, he never found one in a dry forest. The
only nest which I have seen myself was in Hungary, and was
situated not more than forty feet from the ground, in a forest
through which we proceeded in small shooting parties. The
bird sat so close that none of the party suspected that the nest
was tenanted ; and when, after we had been chattmg for some
minutes below the tree, the Eagle suddenly flew off, we were
so much taken by surprise that she was missed by all three of
the party.

Nest. — This is generally a large structure, and Mr. wSeebohm
gives the dimensions of one found by himself in Pomerania as
four feet long, two and a half feet wide, and two feet high. It
was very flat^, like the nests of all Birds of Prey, the depression
in the centre not being more than four or five inches. "The
foundation was composed of sticks nearly an inch thick, but at
the top they were very slender. The final lining was slender
beech-twigs with fresh green leaves on them. There was
also a little down and a feather or two, which had probably
been accidentally rubbed off the breast of the parent bird."
Another nest was lined with fresh green grass. The tree
selected by the Spotted Eagle is generally a beech, but the
nest is also found in oak- and fir-trees.

Eggs. — These are laid early in May, and are generally two in
number. Sometimes only one is found, and on very rare oc-
casions a nest has been known to contain three eggs. They
are very like a small edition of Golden Eagles' eggs, and are
ahke in shape at both ends, but they are, of course, smaller
than the eggs of that bird. In those of both forms of Spotted
Eagle there seems to me to be an occasional tendency for the
rufous markings to congregate at one end of the egg, which
is not seen in those of A. chrysa'etus. Axis (in eggs of A.
po?narina), 2 "3-2 -6 5 : diam., i •9-2-1 ; axis (in those of ^. inacn-
lata), 2 45-2-65 ; diam., i*9-2*i.

THE SEA-EAGLES. GENUS IIALIAETUS.

Haliactus, Savigny, Syst. Ois. d'Egypte, p. 254 (1809).
Type, H. albicilla (L.).
The Sea-Eagles have the tarsi bare of feathers, and the extent
of the bare part of the tarsus is less than the length of the middle

THE SEA-EAGLES. 1 63

toe. The nostrils are perpendicular ovals, the tail is slightly
rounded, and the bare tarsus is scaled in front and reticulated
behind.

Members of the genus Halia'etus are found in the northern
portions of the New World, but are not known from Central
or South America. In the Old World they are found almost
everywhere, and one species, Halia'etus leucogaster, is an in-
habitant of the Malayan Archipelago, Australia, and even ex-
tends to some of the Oceanic Islands.

I. THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. HALIAETUS ALBICILLA.

Vultnr albicilla^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 123 (1766).

Halia'etus albicilla^ Macg. Brit. B. iii. p. 221 (1840) ; Newt. ed.

Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 25 (1871); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus.

i. p. 303 (1874); Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 551, pi. 348

(1875); B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 97 (1883); Seebohm,

Br. B. i. p. 87 (1883) ; Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 319

(1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Brit. B. parts xiii. xvi. (1890).

{Plate XL VI.)

Adult Male. — General colour above brown, with a tinge of

sandy-colour on the neck and wing-coverts, many of the

feathers being edged with pale brown or ashy-grey ; head and

sides of face with a decided tinge of ashy-grey, the ear-coverts

browner ; the median and greater wing-coverts glossy brown,

with whity-brown margins ; quills black, with brown shafts, the

primaries externally shaded with ashy, the secondaries like the

back, but darker brown towards their tips ; lower back and rump

dark brown ; long upper tail-coverts white, slightly varied with

brown at the base and at the tips ; tail pure white ; under

surface of body brown, the throat and chest whity-brown,

with dark brown central streaks, some of the feathers shaded

with ashy ; under wing-coverts and inner lining of quills dark

brown, the latter inclining to ashy ; cere and bill yellow ; feet

yellow, the claws black; iris straw-yellow. Total length, 33-5

inches; culmen, 3*0; wing, 24-5; tail, ii'o; tarsus, 4-1.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but larger. Total length,
3S inches; culmen, 3*8; wing, 26-3; tail, i3"5 ; tarsus, 4*6.

Young Birds.— The young are much darker than the adults,
and much more mottled, the head and neck being blackish-
brown, the Ion, 2; feathers slightly tipped with fulvous-brown, not

M 2

164 ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

SO distinctly on the crown itself; entire back, scapulars, and
median wing-coverts bright fulvous-brown, with large markings
of dark brown towards the tips, imparting a strongly mottled
appearance to the upper surface of the body : lesser and greater
wing-coverts dark brown, the latter slightly mottled with whity-
brown, as also the inner secondaries, the quills being otherwise
as in the adults ; lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts
light brown, the long coverts mottled with whity-brown ; tail of
the latter colour, the centre feathers especially whitish, all
irregularly mottled with greyish-brown, which colour is most
developed on the edge of the feathers ; throat dark brown, with
white bases to the feathers, the sides of the face being almost
uniform dark hjrown ; rest of under surface of body mottled
like the back, the bases of the feathers being fulvous-brown,
mottled with dark brown down the centre and at the tip ; under
tail-coverts and thighs rather more uniform ; under wing-coverts
entirely dark brown ; cere yellowish-brown ; bill black ; feet
yellow j iris brown.

Characrters. — I have already stated that the unfeathered legs
of the White-tailed Eagle unfailingly distinguish it from the
Golden Eagle. The pure white tail of the adult is a further
character, and the mottled jjlumage and whitish tail of the
young birds ought to render identification of immature speci-
mens easy. Indeed it is only by gross carelessness that the
two species can be confounded, and yet we know that this is
often the case.

Eange in the Britisli Islands. — Principally observed in England
as a migrant in autumn and winter, though it formerly bred on
many parts of the coast and in the Lake district, but even in
the south of Scotland it has become extinct as a breeding bird,
and places like Ailsa Craig, where there used to be an eyrie, no
longer know the species except as a chance visitor. In the
western isles of Scotland it still breeds, and also on the
northern coast. Mr. Ussher says that in its former breeding-
haunts in Donegal, Antrim, Dublin, Wicklow, Cork, Clare, and
Gal way it is extinct ; but a pair has bred recently on the coast
of Mayo, and another pair on the coast of Kerr)\

Ean^e outside the Britisli Islands, — The White-tailed Eagle is
found in most parts of Northern Europe, and breeds in Scan-

THE SEA-EAGLES. 165

dinavia, CTermany, and Russia, as well as in the va'.ley of the
Danube. Eastwards i: extends across Asia to Kamtchatka,
and in winter the species is found to the southward in China
and Japan, and even visits India.

In North America its place is taken by the Bald Eagle
{Ifa/ii7c'fus /c'u.vuj^/ij/us), but the European species extends'to
Greenland, where it is resident.

Habits. — By many writers this species is spoken of as the
Sea-Eagle, and in most of its range it appears to frequent the
sea-coast, but it is also found on inland waters and lakes, and
is probably nowhere more plentiful in Europe than in the valley
of the Danube. The food of the White-tailed Eagle consists
of the smaller game, such as hares, young deer, and ducks,
and it also feeds largely on carrion. It will likewise catch
fish, and in Pomerania Mr. Seebohm says that it often makes
considerable havoc in the carp-ponds. Its nature is said to be
somewhat cowardly, and one of these Eagles will allow itself to
be driven off by a Peregrine or a pair of Ravens.

Nest. — This is a huge structure of sticks, added to year by
year, until it attains an immense size. It is often built on a
rock in the middle of a lake in inland districts, but the site
varies a good deal, and the nest is as often built in a tree, and
on rarer occasions on the ground. In Egypt the nest has
been found among reed-beds, and similar instances have been
recorded from Europe. It is, however, often placed on the
ledges of clifls, and is composed entirely of sticks and a Ihtle
heather, with some coarse grass as lining.

Eg^ — Two in number : white or whity-brown, when they
have become nest-staincd. The brownish markings which are
sometimes seen on them are apparently always the result of
such staining. The eggs are somewhat smaller than those
of the Golden Eagle, and are rounder in fo:m. and coarser in
texture. Axis, 2--j-yi^: d\i\m., 2-2-2 •>,.

"We now pass on to the Kites, whose connection with the
Eagles is maintained by such forms as the Brahminy-Kites(7/<///-
as/i/r) of ItKiia and Austraha, which approach the Sea-Eagles in
form, but have the manners of a Kiie. In Africa, and again in
North America, occur tlie Swallow-tailed Kilos, ot" whicl\ Rio-

1 66 ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

cour's Kite {Nauchrus riocouri) is the representative in the
former continent, its place being taken in the New World by
the following.

THE PIED SWALLOW-TAILED KITES. GENUS
ELANOIDES.

Elaiioides, Vieillot, N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xxiv. p. loi (1818).
Type, E. furcah(s (L,).

These birds, like the Eagles, have the feet bare, but they are
much weaker than in the last named group, and have not such
powerful talons. The nostril is oblique, and is generally
closed in by a membrane on its upper margin, so that the
nasal aperture becomes almost linear in character. The tail
is very long and distinctly forked, the outer tail-feather being
the longest. The wing is also of great length and even ex-
ceeds the tail in dimensions.

I. THE SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. ELANOIDES FURCATUS.

Falcofurcatus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 129 (1766).

Nauderus furcatus, Macg. Brit. B. iii. p. 277 (1840); Newton,

ed. Yarr. Br. B. i. p. 103 (187 1) ; B. O. U. List Brit. B.

p. 100 (1883).
Elanoides furcatiis, Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 317 (1874) ;

Seebohm Br. B. i. p. 63 (1883); Saunders, Man. Brit.

B. p. 328, note (1889).

{Plate XLVII.)
Adult Male. — General colour above black, varied with shades
of purple or green, according to the light ; mantle and lesser
wing-coverts deep velvety-black ; wings and tail externally light
slaty-grey, with a slight gloss of purple or bronzy -green, the latter
tint especially developed on the two centre tail-feathers ; head
and neck all round white, as well as the hinder part of the back
and rump ; the entire under surface of the body pure white ;
upper wing-coverts white at the base, shaded with grey, and
glossed with green ; under wing-coverts and bases of inner
secondaries white ; bill dark horn-blue ; feet light milk-blue ;
iris rich dark reddish-brown. Total length, 2 1 inches ; culmen,
i-oj wing, 17-0; tail, 13-0; tarsus, 14.

THE TRUE KITES. 167

Adult Female. — Similar to the male. Total length, 24 inches ;
wing, 1 6 "8.

Eange in Great Britain. — The Swallow-tailed Kite is SO firmly
established in the British list of birds, that to omit it would
seem to be a mistake, and yet the claims of the species to be
considered British are of the very slenderest. Two specimens
have been recorded : one in Argyllshire in 1772, and another
in 1823. The latter bird was captured alive, but made its
escape, so that I beheve I am correct in saying that no
authentic British example of the Swallow-tailed Kite exists in
any private collection or public museum in this country.

Eange outside the Britisli Islands. — The range of this species
in North America is given by Mr. Ridgway as extending
over the tropical and warm-temperate portions of continental
America, north in the interior regularly to Iowa, Minnesota,
Illinois, &c., along the Atlantic coast casually to Pennsylvania
and Southern New England. In winter the species migrates
to Brazil.

Habits. — A very graceful bird on the wing, soaring to a
great height. It appears from Audubon's notes, to be gre-
garious to a great extent, feeding on the wing, and catching
insects or small lizards from the trunks of the trees, devouring
also large grasshoppers, caterpillars, snakes, and frogs. Mr.
Dresser also says that they feed on wasp-grubs, and will carry
off a nest to a perch and there pick out the grubs.

Nest. — Placed on a high tree, made of sticks, and lined with
coarse grass. Mr. Dresser suggests that they probably breed in
society, and Mr. Ridgway says that the nest is usually found
near watercourses.

Eggs. — Two or three in number ; white or buffy-white, boldly
spotted or blotched, chiefly round the larger end, with hazel-
brown, chestnut, or rich madder-brown {Ridgway).

THE TRUE KITES. GENUS MILVUS.

MtlvKS, Cuvier, Le^. Anat. Comp. i. tabl. Ois. (1800),
Type, Milvus milvus (L.).

The Kites have the same oblique nostril as was described
in the genus Ehmoides, with the membrane on the upper

1 68 Allen's naturalist's library.

margin closing in the nostril, so that the nasal opening appears
as a linear slit. The tail is forked, so that the outer feathers
are the longest, and the wings are long and pointed, but the
difference between the tips of the primaries and secondaries is
more than that of the fork of the tail.

The True Kites are birds of the Old World, and are dis-
tributed over temperate Europe, as well as Asia, Africa, and
Australia.

I. THE COMMON, OR RED KITE. MILVUS MILVUS.

Falco niilvus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 126 (1766).

Milvus regaIis,^oux; Macg. Brit. B. iii. p. 265 (1840); See-

bohm, Br. B. i. p. 74 (1883); Lilford, Col. Fig. Brit. B.

part xi. (1889).
Milvus ictimis, Sav. ; Newt. ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 92 (1871) ;

Sharpe, Cat B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 319 (1874); Dresser, B.

Eur. V. p. 643, pi. 361 (1875) ; B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 99

(1883) ; Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 325 (1889).

{PlaU XLVIIL)

Adult Male. — Above brown, with rufous margins to the
feathers, shading off into buff on the edges, especially on the
wing-coverts ; primary-coverts and primary-quills black, with
. the base of the inner web white ; the secondaries paler brown,
with rufous edges ; the lower back and rump dark brown ;
upper tail-coverts rufous, washed with brown ; tail rufous, with
fulvous tips to the feathers, the outer feathers darker brown on
the outer web, especially towards the tips, the inner web with
a few bars of dark brown ; head, sides of face, and throat
whitish, streaked with dark brown, more narrowly on the latter ;
chest pale rufous, the feathers margined with buff, and with
broad brown centres ; remainder of under surface of body
bright rufous, with longitudinal centres of dark brown, these
streaks more narrow on the thighs and under tail-coverts; under
wing-coverts and axillaries dark brown, with rufous margins,
the lower series greyish ; cere yellow; bill horn-colour ; feet
yellow; iris yellow. Total length, 24 inches ; culmen, i '8 ; wing,
20'4 ; tail, 15*0; tarsus, 2*2.

Adult Pemale. — Similar to the male. Total length, 24 inches;
wing, 18 6.

Youn^ Birds are distinguished by the light streaks on the under

PLATE XLVIII.

KV'.

' ■■\<„im.

i-

KITE

THE TRUE KITES. 169

surface of the body, and the much narrower black stripes on
the under-parts.

Range in Great Britain.— Formerly a common species in many
parts of England and Wales, but now extinct in most of its
former haunts, though it is said still to nest in certain places
in the last-named principality, where it is protected. In
Scotland, also, it occasionally breeds, but in England the last
nest recorded was in 1870 in Lincolnshire. There are still
living people who can remember the Kite as anything but a
rare bird, and the Marquis of Huntly's head keeper at Aboyne
could recall the time when it bred regularly at Glentanar, and
was always known as the " Glentanar Glead." In Ireland it
appears never to have been plentiful, and only some half-a-
dozen instances of its capture have been recorded. In the
Middle Ages it was a common species in England, and excited
the curiosity of foreign visitors by its abundance in the streets
of London, where it fed upon the offal and garbage.

Range outside the British Islands. — Throughout the greater part
of Europe the Kite is met with, and breeds in Central Europe
and the Mediterranean countries, remaining in Southern Spain
at all seasons, though the number is slightly increased by
arrivals from the north in winter, when they pass over to North
Africa during the autumn migration. Its northern range in
Scandinavia is about 61° N. lat., and its eastern range in Russia
is bounded by the Dnieper and the Governments of Tula and
Orel. It breeds in Palestine, in North Africa, and is also
found in Madeira, the Canaries, and the Cape Verd Islands.

HaMts. — However much the Red Kite may have frequented
the cities of England in former times, as its relations do many
of the eastern cities at the present day, the species is now
banished from the woods which it still frequented early in the
century, and is now only to be found in the wilder parts of
Great Britain. In many of the woodland districts of Northern
Germany, however, it is still a common bird, and Mr. See-
bohm gives an account of a bird-nesting excursion in Pome-
rania, when he took several nests.

The flight of the Red Kite is easy and graceful, and the
forked tail cf the bird renders it readily recognisable on the

lyo

ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

wing. Its well-known powers of soaring used, in former days,
to make it an object of pursuit for Falconers, and it is said
that on some occasions both the Kite and its pursuer soared to
such an immense height as to become invisible, and neither Fal-
con nor quarry w^ere ever seen again. The cry of the Kite is
like that of its tropical brethren, a "mewing" one, but it is not
heard in the same constant and irritating querulous manner,
as is the case with the Govinda Kites in India, or the Egyptian
Kites in Egypt. With the Red Kite the cry is principally
heard in the breeding-season.

In most of its ways the Red Kite is very Buzzard-like, and
like that species, it captures its prey more by surprise and
stealth than in open flight. Its diet is varied, consisting of
the smaller mammals, birds, reptiles, and frogs, and also fish,
but the remains of hares which have been found in the nest of
the Kite are probably those of animals killed by some more
powerful depredator, and carried off by the Kite after the animal
has been despatched and partially eaten by its original captor.
The same may be said of the Grouse, which the Kite is stated
to snatch on occasion, for one can hardly imagine a weak-footed
bird like the Kite capturing a powerful bird like the Red
Grouse, if the latter were in its full strength ; and it is, there-
fore, most likely that only diseased or wounded birds fall
victims to the Kite's rapacity. Besides being a scavenger, it
w^ill also take young birds of all sorts, and in the old days,
when the species was common, it obtained a bad name as a
destroyer of young chickens.

Uest. — From all accounts this is chiefly remarkable among
the nests of the Birds of Prey for the scraps with which it is
ornamented. It is generally placed in a tree, though in certain
places it has been found on rocks, as in Northern Africa, for
instance. As to the rubbish with which a Kite decorates its nest
of sticks, here are some of the items recorded by Mr. See-
bohm as found by him in those he visited in Pomerania ;
" old rags, parts of newspapers, a piece of embroidery, part oi
an old stocking, some moss, goat's hair, rags, lumps of hair
from a cushion, brown paper, wool, pig's hair, &c."

'Eggs. — From two to three in number ; pale greenish-white oi
white, many of them with spots and blotches of reddish-brown

THE TRUE KITES. T71

or chestnut, some of the eggs being very boldly blotched, and
with the markings almost black. The red blotches are not
confined to either end of the egg, as a rule, though sometimes
this is the case. The spots are generally distributed over the
egg, when they occur, and serve to bring into relief the larger
and darker blotches, which give the eggs a very handsome
appearance. Axis, 2'i-2*35 inches; diam., i"7-i75.

II. THE BLACK KITE. MILVUS MIGRANS.*

Accipiter korschun, Gm. N. Comm. Petrop. xv. p. 444(1771).
Falco iHigra7is, Bodd. Tabl. PI. Enl. p. 28 (1783).
Milvus migrans, Newton, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 97 (187 1);
Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 651, pl. 362 (1876); B. O. U. List
Br. B. p. 99 (1883); Saunders, Man. Brit. B. p. 327 (1S89);
Lilford, Col. Fig. Brit. B. part xix. (1891).
Milvus korsdnni, Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 322 (1874).
Milvus afer, Seebohm, Brit. B. i. p. 80 (1883).

Adult Male. — General colour above dark brown, the median
wing-coverts paler brown, with darker brown shaft-stripes ;
quills dark brown, paler on their inner webs, ashy-brown
below, paler towards the base ; tail dark brown, somewhat
lufescent towards the end, with very indistinct bars of darker
brown ; head all round and throat whitish, with dark brown
streaks, the ear-coverts washed with brown ; under surface of
body rufous-brown, becoming clearer rufous on the abdomen,
the breast broadly streaked with dark brown, more narrowly
on the abdomen, flanks, and under tail-coverts ; under wing-
coverts dull brown, washed with rufous and streaked with dark
brown, the lower series ashy-brown ; cere and gape orange ;
bill black, yellowish at base ; feet yellow, claws black ; iris pale
greyish-yellow, surrounded by a black line. Total length, 22
mches; culmen, i*6 ; wing, iS'i ; tail, ii'o; tarsus, 2*2.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male in plumage. Total length,
22 inches ; wing, i8-o.

Range in Great Britain. — This Kite can only be considered as

* Though I still believe that the oldest name for this species is Milvus
korschiin (Gm.), the name is a barbarous one, and as it has no similarity
to anything Latin or Greek, I am willing to discard it for the more classi-
cal one of yJ/. migrans, which has been generally adopted for the Black
Kite by ornithologists of the present day.

T72 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY.

one of our rarest and most accidental visitors, for it has only
been known to occur in the British Islands on one occasion,
an adult male bird having been trapped in the deer-park at
Alnwick in Northumberland in May, 1866. This specimen is
now in the Newcastle Museum.

Range outside the British Islands. — This Kite is found in most
parts of Europe, though locally distributed in many portions
of the Continent. On both sides of the Mediterranean Sea it
is to a great extent resident and breeds, especially in Northern
Africa, but, though nesting throughout Central Europe, it does
not extend to Scandinavia, being again found throughout Russia
from Finland and Archangel to the Caspian Sea. Its range
extends eastward to Persia and Turkestan, but farther east
its place is taken by Milvus govinda and M. melanotis. In
winter it visits Africa, wandering even to the southern por-
tions of the continent.

Habits. — Although very similar in its ways of life to the Red
Kite, the present species seems to be a much shyer bird than
its congener in Northern Europe, though in Southern Europe
and the Mediterranean countries it is much commoner and is
even found in some of the cities, which it frequents for the
sake of the garbage it can pick up. It is particularly fond of
fish, and is often to be seen beating over lakes and rivers in
pursuit of fish on the surface or in the shallows. Its food like-
wise consists of leverets, rats, mice and small birds, frogs,
and insects. Although mostly found in forests and wooded
districts, the Black Kite is sometimes met with in unexpected
localities, and Mr. Dixon states that, when in Algeria, he found
the Black Kite " in the most desolate country, both on the
plains and at altitudes of 7,000 feet in the Aures Mountains."
In Mr. Seebohm's work on British Birds occurs the following
note, translated from the writings of tlie late Professor Bog-
danow. " Upon my arrival at Astrachan, I was greatly sur-
prised at tlie numbers of Black Kites living in the town, and
at their tameness. One could throw hardly anything out of
the window, without two or three of these birds pouncing on
it. As soon as the August fishery commences, all these birds
leave the town and go to the fishing-places, where the small
and useless fish are cast away by the fishermen. The different
localities inhabited by the Kite, and its occurrence in the

THE BLACK-SHOULDERED KITES.

^73

steppes and valleys, certainly does not make it a normal in-
habitant of the plains, and its real habitation is the forest,
where it breeds, and to which it retires to roost. In the
Volga district it never builds anywhere but in trees ; but in
the Volga delta, where no oaks nor any other high trees exist,
it constructs its nest on the very low trees which sometimes
grow amidst reeds. In the wooded parts of Kazan their
food consists of young hares, moles, mice, and small birds,
and in the towns and villages of garbage. In the river-
valleys it preys upon frogs, water-rats, ducks and other water-
birds ; but in no case, and in no place, does it despise carrion.
Its migration from the province of Kazan commences in Sep-
tember, and draws to a close in October. This, however,
largely depends upon the weather, as in dry and mild autumns,
when there are many mammals on the steppe, it leaves later."
Nest. — Made of sticks, and lined with some rubbish and
scraps of paper, bits of old clothes and rags, as in the case of
the Red Kite. In the Eastern Atlas, Mr. Osbert Salvin states
that the nest was usually built amongst the roots of a tree
growing out of a rock. Mr. Seebohm adds ; " The nest is
often covered with fish-bones, and, according to Ur. Holland,
the young are fed on reptiles and small birds. Tlie Black
Kite will also rob the nests of other birds, when it is bringing
up its young." In Southern Spain, Mr. Howard Saunders
has found the species to be gregarious during the nesting-
season, and as many as ten nests have been found by him in
a small patch of forest.

Eggs. — Generally two, but as many as five are sometimes
found. They are very similar to those of the Red Kite, but
they are, as a rule, more distinctly marked than the eggs of
the last-named species. The ground-colour is dull white, and
the reddish blotches are distributed irregularly over the egg,
being sometimes congregated at one end, sometimes at the
other. Some eggs are clouded all over with pale cinnamon-
brown. Axis, 2'o5-2*3 inches; diam., i'6-i75.

THE BLACK-SHOULDERED KITES. GENUS ELANUS.

Elamis, Savigny, Syst. Ois. d'Egypte, p. 274 (1809).
These are perfectly tropical birds, and, like the Bee-Eaters,
are entirely out of place in Great Britain. As, however, the

174 Allen's naturalist's library.

occurrence of the common Black-winged Kite in Ireland
appears to be beyond question, it is given a place in the pre-
sent work, for what it is' worth. Like all Kites, the members
of the genus Elanus have the feet bare, and further show that
they are Kites and not Eagles by having the oblique nostril
which is one of the features of the Milvine section of the
Sub-family Aquilince. At the same time they approach the
True Falcons in appearance, and more especially the Honey-
Kites in their soft feathering, that peculiar " feel " of plumage
which distinguishes this small group of Hawks to the student,
and enables him to recognise the Falconine Kites. To this
group of Accipitrine Birds belong the South America genera
Rosthramus and Leptodon, as well as Gaiiipsonyx, and the
Old World genera Gypoictinia^ Elanus, Henicopernis, Machce-
rhamphus, and Fernis. Of these Falconine Kites perhaps the
most interesting is Machcerhamphus, of which the species are
so rare in museums that certainly less than twenty examples
are as yet known. They are crepuscular birds, coming out in
the twilight and feeding on bats, edible swifts, and other
night-flying animals. These curious black Perns are found in
Southern and Eastern Africa and Madagascar, and then the
genus re-appears in Southern Tenasserim, Malacca, Borneo,
and New Guinea. The genus Elanus is represented in every
portion of the tropical globe, and is absent only in the tem-
perate parts of the Palcearctic and the Nearctic Regions, as well
as in Oceania.

I. THE BLACK-SHOULDERED KITE. ELANUS C.^RULEUS.

Falco cceruleus, Desf. Mem. Acad. Sci. Paris, 17 87, p. 503, pi.

Elanus ccxruleus, Leach ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 2,2^6
(1874); Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 663, pi. 363 (1875); B. O.
\J. List Br. B. p. 100 (18S3); Saunders, Ivlan. Brit. B. p.
328, note (1889).

Adult Male — General colour above blue-grey, the head paler ;
forehead and eyebrow, lores and sides of face, white ; the ear-
coverts washed with grey ; feathers round the eye black ; lesser
and median wing-coverts black, the greater series blue-grey ;

THE BLACK-SHOULDERED KITES. 1 75

primary-coverts and quills grey, the latter white at the base,
the shafts black ; the inner quills paler and the inner second-
aries darker grey, like the back ; tail ashy-white, with the two
centre feathers more ashy-grey ; under surface of body pure
white, including the under wing-coverts and axillaries ; cere,
orbits, and feet yellow; bill black ; iris carmine. Total length,
132 inches; culmen, i '05 ; wing, io'6; tail, 5*6; tarsus, 1-4.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male. Total length, 1 2 "5 inches;
wing, io*2.

Young Birds. — These differ somewhat from the adults, being
ashy-brown, with broad ashy-white tips to the feathers ; tail also
ashy-brown, whiter on the inner web; wing-coverts black, as in
the adults, with buffy-white tips ; forehead and eyebrow white,
with narrow rufous-brown streaks ; sides of face and under
surface of body silky-white, the centre of the breast streaked with
rufous, as also the flanks ; the sides of the breast washed with
r jfous ; iris light brownish-yellow, or pale salmon-colour.

Range in Great Britain. — Has only been noticed once in
Ireland, a single specimen having occurred " on the bog of
Horsestown in Co. Meath in Ireland ; it is now in the posses-
sion of Sir John Dillon, at Lismullen" (More, List of Irish
Birds, 1885, p. 6).

Eange outside the British Islands. — The Black-shouldered Kite
is found all over tropical Africa and even visits Northern Africa,
where it breeds and in some localities is not rare. It crosses into
Southern Spain, where, however, it is not common. The same
may be said of its occurrences in South-eastern Europe. It
is found also in the Indian Peninsula.

Habits. — Colonel Irby says that this species is easily recog-
nised on the wing by its greyish-white colour. It has also a
peculiar habit of hovering at about thirty yards from the
ground, with the wings forming a sort of V or acute angle with
the body, never bringing them level with one another, till it
flies off to take up a fresh position. The birds are rather wary
when thus engaged in hunting for their prey. In India, Mr.
A. O. Hume states that it is nowhere seen in any numbers,
though he once saw more than a dozen pairs hunting over the
dry reedy bed of a jheel in the Delhi district ; they feed mostly

176 Allen's naturalist's library.

on large grasshoppers, but also catch mice. In Egypt, Mr.
Stafford Allen says that the bird is crepuscular in its habits,
feeding largely on mice and beetles, as well as small bird?.

Mr. Hume likewise speaks of the curious hovermg flight of
the Black-shouldered Kite. He says : — '• They hover over the
grass in the fashion of a Kestrel, or perhaps more like a Snake-
Eagle i^Circaehis gal/icus), but in a clumsier and heavier manner.
The wings point upwards, instead of being retained nearly
horizontally as in the Kestrel, and the legs and tail hang down
in a manner unlike that of any other bird I have yet noticed.
Thus hovering, they after a time slowly descend, and when
within a few feet of the ground, generally drop suddenly. They
are very tame, bold birds, passing unconcernedly within a
few yards of a sportsman, when busy hunting, over fields of
grass, and sitting composedly on the bare end of a bough,
whilst, gun in hand, one walks up to within a few paces of
their perch."

Nest. — Composed of sticks and lined with grass roots and
fibres, and always built in a tree.

Eggs. — Three or four, generally the latter number, on rare
occasions five. Ground-colour yellowish-white or buffy-white,
the markings varying considerably. Very few but what are
richly marked with chestnut ; one egg in the Hume collection,
from Poona, being white, sparsely powdered with reddish
spots. In some the red colour is congregated at one or other
end of the egg, leaving the other half with spots only, while in
some very handsome specimens the whole of the egg is clouded
with reddish-brown and chestnut, leaving the white ground-
colour invisible. Axis, i*55-i7 inch; diam., i'2-i-2^.

THE KONEY-KITES. GENUS PERNIS.

Pe7'nis, Cuvier, Regne Anim. i. p. 322 (181 7).

Type, P. apivorus (L.).

The Honey-Kites, or Perns, generally but erroneously called
Honey-" Buzzards " in works on Natural History, are birds of
the Old World only, their place in North and South America
being taken by the Grey Kite-Falcons {Idinia), and in the

PLATE XL".-

HONEY KITE

THE HONEY-KITES. I 77

Neotropical Region especially by the Double-toothed Kite-
Falcons {IJarpa^us).

The Honey-Kites are found throughout temperate Europe
and Asia as far as Japan, and occur throughout the whole of
India, Ceylon, the Malay countries and islands, and China.
They visit Africa only on migration, and are unknown in the
Australian Region.

The members of this genus have the lores densely feathered,
and the plumes of the face are very short and scaly in appear-
ance, the feet are weak, and the toes are not suited for killing
prey in full flight. The nostril is an oblique oval of a some-
what irregular shape. The wings are long, and the tail is
rounded as in Elanus. There is a peculiar softness about the
plumage of these Honey-Kites, which is shared by the mem-
bers of the genera Baza^ He^iicopernis^ and Harpagiis, and shows
that these Birds of Prey are related to each other, forming, in
fact, links between the True Kites and the True Falcons.

I. THE HONEY-KITE. PERNIS APIVORUS.

Falco apivorus^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 130 (1766).
Fernis apivorus, Macg. Brit. B. iii. p. 254 (1840) ; Newton, ed.
Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 121 (1871); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus.
i. p. 344 (1874); Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 3, pis. 365, 366
(1875); Seeb. Brit. B. i. p. 69 (1883); B. O. U. List
Brit. B. p. 100 (1883); Saunders, Man. Brit. B. p. 328
(1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Brit. B. part xxvii. (1893).
[Plate XLIX.)
Adult Male. — General colour above brown, with slightly paler
margins to the feathers, which are black-shafted ; on the nape
a spot of white, caused by the white bases to the feathers ;
greater coverts and quills darker brown at their ends, exter-
nally shaded with grey, and having two broad bars at the base,
which is whitish below ; the inner webs, particularly of the
secondaries, with slight greyish frecklings ; upper tail-coverts
rather paler brown than the back, barred with white near the
base, and having obsolete white tips ; tail pale brown, narrowly
tipped with whitish, the base also mottled with white; the
tail-feathers crossed with three bands, one near the base rather
paler brown, one in the middle and one just before the tip of the

8 N

178 Allen's naturalist's library.

tail darker brown, the sub-terminal one very broad ; head grey,
this colour extending on to the sides of the neck ; under surface
of body white, narrowly streaked with brown, these streaks
widening out into a spade-shaped spot on the sides of the
breast; flanks and abdomen also spotted with brown ; under
wing-coverts also brown, the inner ones and the axillaries white,
with a few brown spots or bars, the lower series white with
broad blackish bars ; cere grey ; bill black ; iris straw-colour.
Total length, 25*5 inches; culmen, i'4; wing, 17*2; tail, ii'o j
tarsus, 2"o.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male in colour. Total length,
23 inches; wing, i6*6.

Young Bird — Distinguished by its brown head and face, and
by the markings on the tail, which, besides the two brown
bands (one median and one sub-terminal), has the basal part
varied with six or seven broken bars or mottlings. The
under surface of the body is dull rufous-brown, with very dis-
tinct black shaft-stripes, the under tail-coverts and some of the
breast-feathers paler and more buff at their bases ; the head
and hind-neck spotted with buff, the feathers having their
points of this colour ; forehead and eyebrow white, and the
wing-coverts also tipped with white.

As the young birds progress to maturity the under surface
becomes barred with white.

Melanism. — The Honey-Kite, both in its young and adult
plumage, is very subject to melanism, and examples are often
shot which are entirely brownish-black.

Range in Great Britain. — The present species used to breed in
many parts of England, arriving in early summer to nest in
the wooded districts, but the beauty of its eggs and the rarity
of the bird have caused its destruction in this country, and of
late years I have not heard of any being taken in the New
Forest, which may be regarded as the last stronghold of the
Honey-Kite in England. In Ireland it appears to be a very
rare visitor, and the same may be said of Scotland, in parts of
which the species used to breed. In autumn a few examples
are procured at the time of the southward migration, and it has
been stated to occur in winter occasionally.

THE HONEY-KITES. 1 79

Eange outside the British Islands. — The Honey-Kite returns from
its winter home in Africa in May, and passes over the Straits
of Gibraltar in large numbers, more than a hundred being often
seen together. In September it passes south again, but in less
numbers and in smaller parties; a similar stream of migration
passes over the Bosphorus. The breeding-range of the species
seems to extend throughout the greater part of Europe to South-
ern Norway, and it nests in Sweden, Finland, and Russia up
to the Arctic Circle. It is probably this same species which
extends eastward to Turkestan, and Mr. Seebohm states that
he has received a specimen from Krasnoyarsk in Central
Siberia. He also believes that it extends through Eastern
Siberia to Japan and China, but it will probably be found to
be the eastern race, P. ptilonorhy^ichus, which has a slight crest,
which will prove to be the dominant species of Eastern Asia.
The last-named form breeds in India and occurs throughout
the Burmese and Malayan countries, while in Java, and pro-
bably in Sumatra and Borneo, its place is taken by a resi-
dent form which is very dark and has almost as long a crest as
a Crested Eagle {Spizaetus).

Habits — In the northern part of its range the Honey-Kite is
a late arrival, not, as pointed out by Mr. Seebohm, so much on
account of its fearing the cold, as because the insects which form
its favourite food do not make their appearance until the middle
of the summer. The Honey-Kite feeds largely on wasps, bees,
and their larvae, which it extracts from the comb, but it also
devours other insects, as well as small birds and mice, slugs
and worms, and is even said by Mr. Sachse to eat berries and
small fruits in autumn, when animal food fails. The nature of
its food renders the Honey-Kite somewhat of a ground-bird,
and it is said to run with comparative agility.

Nest. — As a rule the deserted nest of some other bird is
utilised by the Honey-Kite, being repaired and added to with
fresh twigs. Both sexes assist in the incubation of the eggs,
the sitting-bird being fed meanwhile by its mate.

Eggs. — These are laid in June, and are mostly two in num-
ber, very rarely three, but even four have been known to occur.
The eggs are among the handsomest of those of Accipitrine
Birds, and are mostly richly clouded with two shades of rufous,

N 2

l8o AIJ.ENS naturalist's LIBRARY.

the overlying blotches being of the deepest chestnut, in fact
almost black. Some eggs are entirely clouded over with
lighter chestnut, while in others the buffy-white ground-colour
is conspicuous, and half of the egg is spotted with chest-
nut, with blotches and cloudings round the larger end, and
sometimes quite half the egg is clouded and blotched, while
the other half is only sparsely spotted. Axis, i"9-2"2 inches;
diam., i '6-1 75.

THE TRUE FALCONS. SUB-FAMILY
FALCONING.

The Falcons have the tarsus reticulated and covered with a
network of scales both in front and behind. They are also
distinguished by having a distinct notch or tooth in the bill.
The outer toe is connected to the inner toe by a membrane
near the base, and the tibia is considerably longer than the
tarsus, imparting a great strength to the leg, which is evidenced
by the way in which these birds strike down their prey in full
flight. As with all the other Sub-families of the Birds of Prey,
species of various form are included, from the feeble Kite-like
Cuckoo-Falcons on the one hand, to the dashing Peregrines
on the other. Licluded in this Sub-family are the tiniest of all
the Hawks, viz., the Pigmy Falcons or Falconets {Microhierax),
birds which do not exceed the size of a Butcher-bird in bulk,
feed on insects, and lay white eggs in the hole of a tree. These
little Falconets inhabit the Himalayas, the Burmese countries
to Southern China, as well as the Malayan Peninsula and the
Indo- Malayan islands.

THE FALCONS. GENUS FALCO.

Falco^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 124 (1766).

Type, F. peregrinus^ Tunst.

All the Falcons have a distinct tubercle, or pedestal, in the
centre of their nostrils, which are round. The foot is powerful,
and the talons curved and very sharp, the outer toe longer
than the inner toe. The wings are very pointed, and the
primaries far exceed the secondaries in length.

The Falcons are found in nearly every part of the world.

THE FALCONS. l8l

I. THE PEREGRINE FALCON. FALCO PEREGRINUS.

Falco peregrinus, Tunst. Orn. Brit. p. i (1771) ; Macg. Br. B.
iii. p. 294 (1840); Newton, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 53
(187 1); Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 31, pi. 372 (1876); See-
bohm, Brit. B. i. p. ZZ (1883); B. O. U. List Br. B. p.
102 (1883); Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 334 (1889); Lil-
ford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xii. (1890).
Fahv communis, Gm. ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 376
(1874).
Adult Male. — General colour above blue -grey, much paler
towards the rump and upper tail-coverts, the upper surface
barred with black, the bars on the rump and upper tail-coverts
more or less heart-shaped ; the head, neck, and upper mantle
blackish, with grey bars, more or less indistinct on the mantle ;
cheeks, ear-coverts, and a moustachial band blackish ; fore-
head whitish ; sides of neck white, forming a patch of white,
separating the ear-coverts from the hind-neck ; under surface
of body white, with a tinge of pale fawn-colour on the breast
and lower abdomen ; the throat unspotted, and the chest with
a few narrow bars of blackish, taking the form of spots in the
centre of the breast, and of narrow dart-shaped lines on the
under tail-coverts ; the quills brownish-black, the primaries
slightly shaded with greyish, the secondaries clearer grey,
crossed by dull blackish bars, the smaller median quills tipped
with white ; tail-feathers grey, broadly barred with black and
tipped with white, the bars more obscure towards the tip of
the tail, which is darker than the basal portion; cere and
eyelids yellow ; bill blue, blackish towards the tip ; feet yel-
low, the claws black ; iris dark hazel-brown. Total length,
15 inches; culmen, 1-2; wing, 12-0-127; tail, 6-5 ; tarsus,
2-05.

Adult Female. — Larger than the male. Total length, 17
inches; culmen, 1-35 ; wing, 145 ; tail-, 7-5 ; tarsus, 2-1.

Young Birds. — Brown, shaded with grey on the upper surface,
the feathers of which are edged with rufous ; head and neck
rusty-buff, the sides of the crown and occiput, the nape and
hind-neck, the feathers behind the eye, and the moustachial
line mottled with blackish ; under surface of the body rusty-

I 82 ALLEN S NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

buff, with mesial longitudinal spots of dark brown, fewer on
the thighs, and represented by bars on the under wing- and
tail-coverts.

The full-grown young birds may always be told by the rufous
margins to the feathers of the upper surface, which become
whitish on the upper tail-coverts and tail-feathers, the latter
spotted on the outer web and barred on the inner one with pale
rufous ; the under surface of the body is whitish, the throat
unspotted, but all the rest of feathers have longitudinal dark
brown centres, the markings on the sides of the body being
broader and more dart-shaped ; cere, eyelid, and feet bluish-
grey.

Range in Great Britain. — The Peregrine breeds on many rocky
parts of the coast of England, and in some places there has
iDeen a decided increase in the numbers of this noble Bird of
Prey, so that on the Dover cliffs and in the Isle of Wight in
the south, as well as the cliffs of Wales and the Flamborough
head-lands, the Peregrine Falcon is more in evidence than for-
merly, to the great delight of the ornithologist. Although in
many inland parts of England and Wales the species had been
exterminated, this was never the case in Scotland, and it breeds
both on the cliffs and in the interior, while it also inhabits the
rocky islands. In Ireland, according to Mr. R. J. Ussher, the
species breeds in numerous places all round the rocky coasts,
and in the mountain-cliffs of Tyrone, Fermanagh, Wicklow,
Tipperary, Waterford, and Galway.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Peregrine Falcon is
found throughout the northern and temperate parts of the Old
World, and on its winter migrations visits India and Africa.
The North American Peregrine can scarcely be considered
to be different from the European bird. In South America,
Africa, and Australia dark resident forms of Peregrine are
found, all of which may be considered to be distinct races, and
in the Mediterranean countries another small race, with black
cheeks, also occurs, viz., F. punicus. Again, in Java, Sumatra,
Borneo, and the Philippines is found a beautifully marked
form, of very dark, rich colour, called F. ernesti, and the
Himalayas have a reddish-breasted form, F. peregyinator. All
these different races can be recognised by an experienced eye

THE FALCONS. I 83

as distinct, but they can never be considered more than races
of the ordinary Peregrine, for our European bird varies greatly
in the colour of the face, having; the sides of the latter some-
times white, and sometimes entirely black, while the amount
of rufous on the under surface of the body also varies greatly,
being more rufous in some individuals than others. Thus
examples from Greenland and those from Egypt are very
richly tinted, and it is supposed that the abundance of ducks
and other prey has something to do with their finer appear-
ance.

Habits. — From its bold spirit and fiery dash, the Peregrine
Falcon has always been considered the best bird for the pur-
poses of Falconry, not only in Europe, but also in the countries
of the East.

In a wild state the Peregrine feeds on all kinds of game,
rabbits, grouse, partridges, pigeons, and largely on ducks,
water-fowl, and sea-birds, and for the sake of the abundance
of the latter its eyrie is often found on the rocky cliffs, where
Puffins and Guillemots congregate. Sometimes, when bringing
food to its young, it will, apparently for mere wantonness, strike
down a Gull or Puffin that happens to fly in its path, and send
the bird headlong into the sea below. Choughs, Rooks, and
Magpies are also captured by the Falcons.

The nesting-place is tenanted year after year, and if one of
the birds be shot or trapped, the survivor is not long in finding
another mate. The breeding-season commences in April.

Nest. — In this country the nest of the Peregrine Falcon is to
be found in high and almost inaccessible cliffs, a mere hollow
being formed, without any real attempt at a nest, but in other
countries, the old nest of a Rook or Heron, or some other bird,
in a tree, is selected, while in the north of Europe the bird
nests on the ground in the open. Beyond the debris of cast-
up pellets, bones of birds and animals, and a few scattered
feathers, nothing like a real nest is ever found.

Eggs — Two or three, and sometimes four in number. The
eggs of the Peregrine are richly clouded with some shade of
chestnut, over which are some mottlingsof darker rufous, often
almost black in intensity. Sometimes the colour is uniform

184 Allen's naturallsl's library.

light rufous, with cloudings of darker chestnut irregularly dis-
tributed over the whole of the egg., accompanied by dots and
small or large spots. Occasionally the eggs have a buffy-white
ground-colour with reddish-brown blotches. Axis, i'95-2'2;
diam., i-55-i-6.

IL THE HOBBY. FALCO SUBBUTEO.

Falco suhbiiteo, Linn. Syst. Nat. \. p. 127 (1766); Macg. Brit.
B. iii. p. 309 (1840); Newton, ed. Yarr. Brit. B, i. p. 65
(1871); Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 69, pis. 378, 379 (1871);
Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 395 (1874); B. O. U.
List Brit. B. p. 102 (1883); Seebohm, Brit. B. i. p. 31
(1883); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. parts ii. iii. (1886);
Saunders, Man. p. 337 (1889).

Adult Male. — General colour above dark slaty-grey, inclining
to blackish on the head, much clearer on the lower back and
rump ; wing-coverts like the back ; quills blackish, with rufous
bars on the inner web ; tail slaty-grey, also barred with rufous
on the inner web; forehead and eyebrow whitish, the nape
tinged with rufous ; cheek-stripe, feathers below the eye and
along the upper margin of the ear coverts, black ; hinder part
of cheeks, sides of neck, throat, and entire breast creamy-
white, with a rufous tinge, the latter broadly streaked with
black down each feather, with a greyish shade on the flanks
and vent; thighs, vent, and under tail-coverts rich rusty-red ;
under wing-coverts buffy-white, with blackish cross-markmgs ;
cere, orbits, and feet yellow ; bill bluish-black, yellow at base ;
iris dark brown. Total length, 11-5 inches; culmen, 07;
wing, 9*6; tail, 5*5; tarsus, 1-25.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but larger. Total length,
13*6 inches; culmen, 07; wing, io'6; tail, 6'5 ; tarsus, i'4.

Young. — Blackish, with buff edges to the feathers, broader
and more distinct on the secondaries, rump, and especially on
the crown ; forehead and eyebrow buffy-white ; cheek-stripe
and line under the eye black ; sides of neck, nape, and throat
rich creamy-buff; under surface of body creamy-buff, the thighs
and under tail-coverts more rufous; the breast broadly streaked
with black, the thighs more narrowly, the under tail-coveris

THE FALCONS. 185

Streaked with a line of black ; under wing-coverts rufous,
numerously barred with black ; quills and tail black, banded
with rufous on the inner web, the tail-feathers tipped with
rufous.

Characters. — The Hobby in its adult stage is very easily re-
cognised by its uniform rufous thighs, white throat and breast,
the latter being striped with black. The young Hobby is more
like a young Peregrine, but can, of course, be distinguished by
its smaller size.

Range in Great Britain. — A summer visitor to Englfind, where
it breeds, when permitted to do so in peace. It has been
known to nest in most of the southern and eastern counties,
as well as in the midlands, and on rare occasions in Yorkshire.
In Scotland it is chiefly known as a rare migrant, but Sir
Edward Newton has recorded an instance of the nesting of the
species near Dunkeld in 1887. It has never been known to
breed in Ireland, though some half-a-dozen occurrences in
that island have been chronicled.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Hobby is found from
Northern Europe across Siberia to Kamtchatka. It breeds in
the forests of Central Europe and Scandinavia, and occasion-
ally in the countries of Southern Europe, but it is principally
known in the latter as a spring and autumn migrant. In
Northern Europe it extends to the Arctic Circle in Lapland,
and in Russia up to 65° N. lat. In winter the species visits
China, the Indian Peninsula, and migrates through Eastern
Africa as far as the Cape.

Habits. — The Hobby has much the appearance of a diminu-
tive Peregrine, but does not possess the strength or courage of
the larger Falcon, though it equals it in fierceness and agility
of flight. It feeds largely on insects, especially cockchafers
and dragon-flies, and when these are plentiful, it gives up the
chase of small birds in a great measure, and lives on insects,
which it catches with great dexterity on the wing, devouring
them in the air and allowing the wings and wing-cases to fall
to the earth. In some of these flights, Taczanowski says that
it will occasionally seize a Bat in its career, but drops the
latter without touching it further.

i86 Allen's naturalist's library.

On its first arrival in May, however, before the insects which
it loves are on the wing, the Hobby feeds on small birds, such
as Thrushes and Larks, especially the latter, and it is a terror
to Swallows, remains of which birds are often found in its nest
and feeding-haunts. It has even been known to catch vSwifts
and Starlings ; Sandpipers and Quails are also taken by this
active little Bird of Prey. It has also been known to accom-
pany sportsmen, and give chase to the small birds which are
frightened up from the ground by the dogs.

Its favourite haunts are the borders of the forests, whence it
can sally forth over the surrounding fields. Perched on a tree
or a stone, it awaits the appearance of any small birds, and
then flings itself upon them with great velocity, producing
quite a noise with its wings in doing so. Should the quarry
seek protection by hiding in the grass, the Hobby stops for an
instant, but goes off if it does not at once detect the presence
of its prey.

Nest. — -The Hobby appears never to build its own nest, pre-
ferring to appropriate the old one of a Crow or Kestrel Hawk.
The late Professor Taczanowski of Warsaw, from whose writ-
ings I have taken some of the above notes, states that the ap-
propriated nest is generally at the top of a good-sized pine, and
that the Hobbies re-line it with twigs, stalks, and dry grass.
Mr. Frank Norgate, who has found several nests in Nor-
folk, says that, in his experience, there is no attempt on the
part of the Hobby to restore or lin j the nest which it adopts
as a home. In Pomerania, however, Dr. Holland says that
the nest is re-lined with hair, wool, and feathers. The lateness
of the breeding of the Hobby, which lays its eggs in June,
lenders the appropriation of a Crow's nest a convenient matter,
as the young of the Carrion Crow have flown before the Hobby
begins to lay.

Eggs. — From three to five in number. In general appearance
they resemble those of the Kestrel, but are not so varied in
colour as the latter, though many specimens are indistinguish-
able from the eggs of the last-named bird. The general
colour of the Hobby's eggs is a dark rufous, the ground-colour
of the egg being seldom visible, on account of the closeness of
the rufous mottlings. It is of a dull white, and, in the less

THE FALCONS. 187

clouded eggs, is covered with small dots of rufous and Inrger
blotches of chestnut. In some examples in the Museum the
whole egg is uniformly clouded with brownish-red, so that
there is scarcely any indication of mottling. Axis, r4-i-65 ;
diam., i"2.

III. THE MERLIN. FALCO ^SALON.

Falco cesalon, Tunstall, Orn. Brit. i. p. i (1771); Macg. Brit.
B. iii. p. 317 (1840); Newton, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 74
(1871) ; Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 83, pis. 380. 381 (1875) ;
B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 103 (1883) ; Seebohm, Br. B. i. p.
34(1883); Saunders, Man. Brit. B. p. 341 (1889); Lil-
ford. Col. Fig. Brit. B. part xvi. (1890), part xx. (1891).

Faico regulus, Pall. ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. p. 406 (1874).

Adult Male. — General colour above clear slaty-blue, paler on
the rump and upper tail-coverts, with distinct black shafts to
all the feathers ; head dark slate-colour, with black shaft-
stripes ; forehead, lores, and sides of face whitish, with black
shaft-lines; eyebrow and nape strongly mixed with rufous ; the
ear-coverts with a grey tinge on the hinder part ; throat pure
white ; sides of neck and under surface of body white,
strongly washed with rufous, the feathers streaked with
black down the middle, these stripes becoming narrower
on the thighs and more distinct on the under tail-coverts ;
under wing-coverts white, spotted and barred with black ;
quills black, barred with white on the inner web, and washed
with bluish-grey near the base of the outer web; the inner
secondaries bluish-grey like the back, and with the same black
shafts ; tail slaty-blue, tipped with white, with a broad sub-ter-
minal band of black on the inner web, and with remains of
other black bands on the under surface ; cere yellow ; bill
bluish horn-colour, the tip darker ; feet yellow, claws black ;
iris dark brown. Total length, 10 inches; culmen, 07 ; wing,
7-9; tail, 4*5; tarsus, 1-45.

Adult Pemale. — Like the male in plumage, but a trifle larger.
I fancy that I was the first to point out, as I did in 1874, that
the fully adult female of the Merlin resembles the male in
plumage, and I still believe this to be a fact, though it must
be difficult to prove the truth of it in England, where Hawks

155 ALLEN S NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

are so systematically shot down, that few of them probably
reach the mature age when the female assumes a dress like
that of her mate. As a rule, the female Merlin is brown, the
tail-feathers being also brown, tipped with white, and crossed
with five bands of paler brown ; the under surface of the body
whitish, streaked with dark brown. Total length, 12 inches;
culmen, 0*9; wing, 8'8; tail, 5*5; tarsu#6^ 1*5.

Young Birds. — General colour above brown, with a slight shade
of ashy-grey, paler on the rump, all the feathers margined with
pale sandy-rufous, the secondaries with concealed bars of the
same colour ; forehead, eyebrow, and ear-coverts whitish,
narrowly streaked with black, the latter brownish on the
hinder part, which is slightly washed with rufous ; throat
creamy-white, with narrow and indistinct shaft-lines of brown ;
remainder of under surface of body whitish, with broad streaks
of reddish-brown, the black shaft-stripes very distinct ; thighs
with smaller brown spots, and the abdomen and under tail-
coverts with only a few brown markings ; sides of body reddish-
brown, marbled with large white spots ; under wing-coverts
also reddish-brown, with white spots like the sides of the body ;
quills dark brown, notched on the inner web, and spotted on
the outer one with rufous ; tail dark brown, tipped with
whitish, and barred with pale rufous.

Eange in Great Britain. — A resident species in Great Britain,
breeding on the mountain moorlands and descending to
more cultivated districts at lower elevations in winter, though
a considerable migration of the young birds from the shores
of England undoubtedly takes place. It is believed to nest
on Exmoor, but its regular breeding-haunts commence with
the moors of Derbyshire and North Wales, and extend thence
northwards to the Shetland Isles. The record of its breeding
in some of the more southern counties, though frequently
stated, needs confirmation in many instances. In Ireland.
Mr. R. J. Ussher says that " it breeds sparingly in about twenty-
two counties in the mountain districts, and also in some parts
of the great red bogs of the central plain."

Range outside the British Islands. — The Merlin inhabits the
mountain districts of Northern Europe, and breeds also in
Iceland and the Fasroes, being resident in the last named

THE FALCONS, 189

islands. It is recorded from Novaya Zemlya, and breeds
generally throughout the mountains of Central Europe and
Russia, as high as 57° N. lat. It appears to extend across
Northern Asia to Eastern Siberia, but is much less plentiful
than in Europe, and nests rarely. It has not been recorded
from Kamtchatka, and is mostly known as a migrant in Corea
and the far east, visiting China and Northern India in winter.
Our European birds migrate to the Mediterranean countries
and North-eastern Africa, but do not penetrate so far south as
the Hobby in the latter continent.

Habits. — The common name of " Stone " Falcon goes far to
explain the mode of life of the Merlin, which is essentially a
Falcon of the rocks and moors. Though feeding largely on
insects, it captures many species of birds which it " flies down "
like a thoroughbred Falcon and after the manner of the nobler
Birds of Prey. Larks and Thrushes are a favourite quarry, and
on the sea-coast in winter it raids among the Dunlins and
other shore-birds. Many writers speak of the pluck and dash
of the Merlin, but it is one of the easiest of all Hawks to
tame, and is readily trained to fly at Larks in the autumn,
while a female Merlin will take Plovers and Pigeons. It has
even been said to strike down Grouse and to be destructive
to game, and on the latter plea many of these little Falcons
fall victims to the gamekeeper's gun, but the late Mr. E. T.
Booth, one of the keenest and most energetic field-naturalists
of the century, combats this accusation and observes : —
" Whether it is that my experience with regard to this bird
has been too limited to form a correct judgment, I am unable
to say, but I hardly think that they are the desperate charac-
ters that they are generally described. Those which I have
seen in the south were usually in pursuit of small birds, and
while seeking this sort of prey they are frequently captured in
the clap-nets that abound near Brighton. On the Grouse-
moors in the north I have examined the remains of the victims
that the Merlins have consumed near their nests, and I never
found anything larger than a Dunlin, which birds, with Larks,
Pipits, and large moths, principally of the egger kind, seemed
to make up their bill of fare." Lord Lilford writes : — " In-
quisitiveness seems to be a prominent trait in this species, for
I have repeatedly seen wild Merlins come to observe the pro-

iQo Allen's naturalists library.

ceedings of trained Peregrines on the wing, and more than
once noticed one hovering over hooded Hawks on their
"cadge." The Merhn seldom flies at any great height, ex-
cept, of course, when in pursuit of any soaring quarry, or
bound on a lengthy journey. In our district of Northampton-
shire, where this species is by no means rare on passage, we
generally notice it flying low along the course of our river or
tributary brooks, or along the fence-sides, in search or in
pursuit of small birds. An old Wagtail or Pipit cuts out a
Merlin's work for her; and I have often witnessed beautiful
and prolonged flights at these birds, which, generally, in the
winter season, terminated in favour of the intended victim."
Lord Lilford also disbelieves in the damage which is supposed
to be wrought by this little Falcon among young Game Birds,
as he points out very truly that the latter are jealously pro-
tected by their parents.

A curious habit of the Merlin as regards the tenacity with
which it adheres to its nesting-place is related by Mr. Seebohm.
He says that he has known a patch of heather, only some
couple of yards square, which had a Merlin's nest for many
years, though no other breeding-place could be found within a
distance of eight or ten miles ; and, although the birds were
persistently trapped or shot by the gamekeepers, year after
year, a pair of Merlins always tried to nest in the identical
spot the next year, only to be destroyed again. As they were
never allowed to rear their young, it could not be the latter
which returned on migration to the favourite spot, and its
selection year after year is a very curious fact.

The MerUn returns from its winter haunts at the end of
March or the beginning of April, laying about the middle of
May.

Nest. — Generally consisting of a hole scraped in the ground,
with a few twigs of Ung or dry grass and roots. On the moors
it is built generally on a slope among the heather, and in other
localities on the ledge of a rock.

Eggs. — Four or five in number; usually of a clouded red,
varying in shade from light or deep chestnut to a reddish-choco-
late tint. The ground-colour is mostly obscured, but in the
rare examples where the cloudings are so sparse as to allow the
underlying colour to be seen, the latter is of a creamy-white, and

THE GYR-FALCONS. I91

the chestnut forms small spots and larger blotches. The eggs
of the Merlin are often impossible to distinguish from those
of the Hobby, and also from those of the Kestrel, though they
seem never to vary to a pale form like so many of the Kestrel's
eggs do. Axis, i'45-i"6 inch; diam., i"i5-i*25.

THE GYR-FALCONS. GENUS HIEROFALCO.

Hierofalco^ Cuvier, Regne Anim. i. p. 312 (181 7).

Type, H. candicans (Gm.).

The Gyr-Falcons are giant Kestrels, and in the case of the
Saker Gyr-Falcon {Hierqfako saker) and Henderson's Gyr- Fal-
con {Hierofaico he?idersoni) the plumage is red and not unlike
that of a Kestrel. Both the Gyr-Falcons and Kestrels differ from
the true Falcons {Falco), as typified by the Peregrine, in having
the outer and inner toes about equal in length, whereas in
every true Falcon the outer toe is longer than the inner one.
The nostril in the Gyr-Falcon has always a central tubercle.
The tarsus is finely reticulate in front, and is not double the
length of the middle toe. Although the proportions of the
toes are the same in the Gyr-Falcons and the Kestrels, the
former have a somewhat less pointed wing, the distance be-
tween the tips of the primaries and secondaries being equal to,
or less than half of, the length of the tail.

The true Gyr-Falcons are all birds of northern countries,
and occur throughout the whole of the arctic and sub-arctic
portions of the Old and New Worlds. The Kestrel-hke Gyr-
Falcons, H. saker, H. hendersoni, and H. mexicajius, have a
more southern habitat, and carry the range of the genus to
Mexico in the New World, and to South-eastern Europe,
Central Asia, and India in the Old World.

I. THE GREENLAND GYR-FALCON. HIEROFALCO CANDICANS.*

Falco candicans, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 275 (1788); Newton,
ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 36 (187 1); Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p.
21, pi. 368, 369 (1876) ; Seebohm, Brit. B. i. p. 16 (1883) ;
Saunders, Man. Brit. B. p. 331 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig.
Brit. B. part xvii. (1891).

* This species is called Falco islmtdus of Briinnich by the American
ornithologists. The work, however, dates from 1764, and was therefore
published before the 12th edition of Linnosus in 1766, which is the recog-

192 allem's naturalists library.

Falco gyrfalco {?iec L.), Macg. Brit. B. iii. p. 284 (i84o\
Hierofako candica^is, Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus, p. 411 (1874);
B. O. U. List Br. B. p. loi (1S83).
{Plate L.)

Adnlt Male. — Snow-white, with scarcely a spot. The head
and under-parts snoivy-white, entirely unspotted, or perhaps
with a few black stripes on the nape ; on the back a few drops
of black, some inclined to be longitudinal in shape, others
pear-shaped or oval in form ; quills white, with remains of
spots, or notches, on the outer web, and a few fragments of
bars on the inner webs, which are for the greater part white;
tail pure white, with white shafts ; cere and orbits yellow ; bill
pale yellow, with a bluish tip; feet pale yellow; iris dark
brown. Total length, 23 inches; culmen, ri; wing, 14-5;
tail, 7 -8; tarsus, 2*3.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but seldom so completely
white. Total length, 23 inches; culmen, 1-5; wing, i6'2; tail,
9-5; tarsus, 2-35.

Young Birds. — White, but never with a pure white head or
under-parts, being streaked with brown, the pattern some-
what irregular on the upper surface, and confined to longi-
tudinal streaks on the under surface ; lores and sides of face
streaked with brown ; the tail white, the centre feathers with
brown cross-bands, more or less broken, and forming only spots
or mottlings on the other feathers.

I am at issue with some of our most distinguished ornitho-
logists as to the changes of plumage through which the Green-
land Gyr-Falcon passes in arriving at maturity. Many of them
believe that the differences exhibited by a series of specimens
are caused by there being a light and dark race, while I con-
sider that every difference can be accounted for by the age of
the bird.

First of all, therefore, it is necessary to state that a Green-

nised date from which British ornithologists start. Dr. Stejneger, however,
says (Auk, ii. p. 185) that " English authors, starting from the 12th edition
of Linnceus, will have to call it Falco islanch(s, Fabricius, Faun. Groenl. p.
58 (1780, ex Brilnn.)." As, however, the name oi islaJichis is misleading,
and has been referred to the Iceland Falcon by most European authors, it
is far better to keep to the clearly-defined name of candicans^ about which
there can be no doubt, and hence no confusion.

PLATE

GREENLAND FALCON

THE GYR-FALCONS.

193

land Gyr-Falcon can be told, at any age, by its yellow bill, a?id
by never having bars on the flanks. If a specimen comes from
Greenland with a blue bill and with cross-bars on the flanks,
it is not a Greenland Gyr-Falcon, but Holboell's Gyr-Falcon
{Hiej'ofalco holboelli). All the Grey Gyr-Falcons, of which H.
holboelli is a light arctic race, have blue bills a?id barred flanks.
The above characters at once separate the Greenland Gyr
Falcon from the Grey Gyr-Falcons, H. gyrfalco and its allies,
of which IT. holboelli is one.

The young H. candica?is is a streaked bird with longihidinal
brown streaks on the flanks. Of this there can be no doubt ;
but many white birds are often transversely barred with black,
while others are white, with longitudinal broad streaks in the
process of breaking up into cross-bars or spots. This plumage
I believe to be indicative of a chafige of pattern in the feather,
which is effected without any moult. There is nothing wonderful
in this theory, for many Hawks and other birds change their
colour without shedding a feather. The barred specimens
may be birds of the second year, or females, which always
take longer to assume adult plumage than the males, or they
may even be due to hybridisation with Holboell's Gyr-Falcon,
though I never like to adopt this last " refuge for the destitute,"
in the case of changes of plumage which we do not exactly
understand. My conclusions have been derived from speci-
mens shot in a wild state, and I decline to be influenced by
observations made from these Gyr-Falcons in confinement, for
a snowy-white bird like the present species would assuredly be
influenced by confinement in a smoke-laden atmosphere Hke
that of England, away from its arctic surroundings, and de-
pending on the strength necessary to perform its normal func-
tions of moulting on the food supplied to it in a menagerie.

Range in Great Britain. — An accidental visitor, occurring dur-
ing the autumn and winter migrations. Although it has been
recorded at intervals in various counties of England, most of
the specimens have been procured in Ireland and Scotland, as
might have been expected in a wanderer from the north.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Greenland Gyr-Falcon
is a typical arctic species, and only occurs within European
limits during the autumn and winter, when a few individuals,
% o

194 alli:n's naturaj.is r's T,ir.i-: \ry.

mostly young birds, wander from their northern home and
occur in more southern latitudes. It breeds in Northern
Greenland, and probably in all the circumpolar lands, as
Dr. Stejneger found it nesting on Bering Island. It also
breeds in north-eastern Arctic America, and may possibly do
so in other northern portions of the American continent.

Habits. — In the Middle Ages this splendid bird was in great
request among Falconers, and w^as chiefly used for the capture
of Cranes and Herons, and, in more recent Hawking days,
the Greenland Falcon has been trained to catch Hares and
Rabbits. In a wild state it feeds on Ptarmigan and Willow-
Grouse, as well as Lemmings and other small animals, and,
like the Snowy Owl, it has to migrate south in winter, when
its food-supply disappears from the arctic tundras, and the
country is covered with snow. Although a ]:)Owerful bird, the
Greenland Falcon does not possess the dashing spirit of the
Peregrine, and Lord Lilford writes: — "My experience of this
bird in captivity is to the effect that it is extremely docile, and
a very fine and powerful flyer and stooper, but what we call in
Falconry a poor " footer," that is, it is not able, or more prob-
ably not disposed, to bind to and grasp its quarry firmly ; it is
also by no means hardy of constitution, and is difficult to
keep in good condition for field purposes." He also states
that an old gamekeeper, John Campbell, told him that he had
frequently seen Greenland Falcons near Loch Rannoch in
Perthshire during the winter months, and that the birds
seemed to prefer Rooks to any other quarry, but that they
made the wild-fowl very " uneasy " ; he never saw one in pursuit
of a Red Grouse, but once saw one make a stoop at an old
Blackcock ; on the whole, from his professional point of view,
he did not look upon the Greenlander as such a "bad ver-
min ! " as the " Hunting Hawk or Peregrine."

Nest. — None, the eggs being laid upon the bare rock, but
sometimes the old nest of some other bird is adopted.

Eggs. — Four in number.

II. THE ICELAND GYR-FALCON. HIEROFALCO ISLANDICU3.

Falco isla?idiais, Hancock, Ann. Nat. Hist. ii. p. 247 (1839).
Fdlco gyrfakOy pt. Macg. Brit. B. iii, p. 284 (1840).

THE GVR-FALCONS. I95

Faico islandus {nee Gm.), Newton, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 46

(1871); Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 25, pis. 370, 371 (1876);

Saunders, Man. Br. B. i. p. 2>ZZ (1889); Lilford, Col.

Fig. Br. B. part xxix. (1894).
Hier of alco islandus^ Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 414 (1874) ;

B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 102 (1883).
Falco gyrfalco-candicans, Seebohm, Brit. B. i. p. 16 (1883).

Adult Male. — Entire head white, with blackish shaft-streaks,
very narrow on the forehead and broader on the nape, with a
slight greyish shade under the eye and over the ear-coverts ;
upper surface of body greyish-brown, clearer on the rump, all
the feathers tipped and barred across with white, these bars
sometimes not continuous; quills dark brown, with narrow
white tips, the feathers barred on the inner web, but notched
and freckled on the outer web with white ; tail ashy, with a
white tip, alternately barred with blackish, the intermediate
spaces being ashy-white, sometimes freckled with blackish :
under surface of body white, the throat almost unspotted, the
chest covered with central streaks developing into tear-drop
spots at the end ; rest of under surface of body spotted with
blackish, taking the form of bars on the sides of the body,
under tail-coverts, and flanks, being rather numerous and
close-set on the latter; under wing-coverts white, spotted or
half-barred with blackish ; bill pale horn-blue, yellow at base
of lower mandible; cere, orbits, and feet yellow; iris dark
brown. Total length, 22 inches; culmen, 1*4; wing, 14*6;
tail, 9-0 ; tarsus, 2*3.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but larger. Total length,
24 inches; culmen, 1*4; wing, i6-o ; tail, 9*0; tarsus, 2-4.

YouTig Birds. — Brown ; all the feathers of the upper surface
being margined with whitish, with conspicuous oval spots of
white on the upper tail-coverts ; tail brown, with broad bands
of whitish ; head whitish, the feathers streaked with dark brown
down the centre, the hind-neck more conspicuously mottled ;
under surface white, the throat unspotted ; all the rest of the
feathers conspicuously centred with brown, these markings
somewhat oval in form, excepting on the flanks, where they
are irregular, the brown occupying the greater portion of the
feather ; cere, orbits, and feet bluish-grey.

o 2

196 Allen's naturalist's library.

Characters. — The Iceland Gyr-Falcon is one of four or more
races of the genus Hierofalco, which are distinguished from the
Greenland Gyr-Falcon by having a blue bill and bar7'ed flanks.
Four distinct races of Grey Gyr-Falcon can, I think, be
certainly recognised. One of them is the Black Gyr-Falcon,
Hierofalco obsoletus of American authors,* from Labrador.
The second is the Iceland Gyr-Falcon, peculiar to Iceland, re-
presented in Southern Greenland by Holboeirs Gyr-Falcon {H.
holboelli), while the fourth is the well-known Norwegian Gyr-
Falcon {H. gyrfalco), which I believe to extend from Scandi-
navia to Eastern Siberia, and to North America also. Whether
the various other races, H. u?'ale?isis, H. grebnifskii, and others,
are distinct from the ordinary JI. gyj-falco, I have never had
enough material before me to enable me to pronounce an
opinion.

Range in Great Britain — Like the Greenland Gyr-Falcon, the
present species is only an accidental visitor in winter, and
is decidedly less frequent than the last-named bird. It has
occurred in Scotland and the north of England, as well as in
Ireland.

Eange outside the British Islands. — Aly opinion is that this Gyr-
Falcon is peculiar to Iceland, and is only found elsewhere on
accidental migration. In Southern Greenland it is replaced
by H. holboelli.

Habits. — Very little has been recorded of the Iceland Gyr-
Falcon in its native home, and several recent observers who
have visited Iceland have not seen the bird at all during their
expeditions. The habits are doubtless the same as those of
the other species of the genus. It feeds on Plovers and sea-
fowl, according to a note supplied to Mr. Hewitson by Mr.
Proctor, who visited Iceland and found remains of Whim-
brel. Golden Plover, Guillemots, and Ducks, about the nest.
Ptarmigan also are largely captured. Faber says that after
the nesting-season, both adult and young birds approach the
homesteads, when they sit on elevations, and often fight with
the Ravens (cf. Newton, Lc). Lord Lilford writes : — " From

* In 1874 I believed this name of Gmelin's to refer to a Buzzard, and
not a Gyr-Falcon. The general opinion, however, now seems to be that
it was intended for the latter.

THE GYR-FALCONS. 1 97

a Falconer's point of view, I have had but a very slight
acquaintance with the Iceland Falcon, and am not inclined to
rate her highly, but it must be borne in mind that all the birds
of this species trained in this country have necessarily had the
great disadvantage of a sea-passage, and, in many instances,
have arrived so much damaged in plumage that they could
not be put on the wing till the first moult, and all Falconers
know how much Hawks suffer from a lengthened period of
inactivity. Our ancestors seem, however, to have esteemed
the Icelanders highly ; there are traditions of their being
trained to take the Kite, and in more recent days a few of
these Falcons were flown at Herons in the Netherlands with
success. ... In disposition this Falcon seems to be
tameable enough, but by no means remarkable for docility, of
a somewhat sluggish temperament, and it is by no means so
hardy as might be expected from the climatic conditions of the
country of its origin."

Nest. — Placed on the ledges of cliffs, and formed of twigs
and dead sticks, and lined with wool. Mr. Proctor said, of
those he found in Iceland, that they much resembled the
nests of the Raven. The old nests of that bird are probably
often utilised by the Gyr-Falcon.

Eggs.— Four in number, the ground-colour being dull white,
but scarcely visible on account of the closeness of the rufous
clouding in many specimens, which renders the general
appearance of the eggs almost uniform rufous. Other eggs
are whity-brown, mottled and blotched with reddish-brown,
principally near the larger end. Axis, 2-2-2-4 ; diam., I'S-i'g.

III. THE GREY GYR-FALCON. HIEROFALCO GYRFALCO.

Falco gyrfalco^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 130 (1766); Dresser, B.

Eur. vi. p. 15, pi. 367 (1875); Seebohm, Br. B. i. p. i6

(1883); Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 334 (1889); Lilford,

Col. Fig. Brit. B. part xxx. (1895).
Hierofalco gyrfako, Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 416 (1874) ;

B. O. U. List Brit. B. p. loi (1883).
Adult Male — Above blue-grey, with broad greyish-black cross-
bands, the bars in alternate series of black and grey ; lower

198 Allen's naturalist's library.

back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail much clearer blue-
grey, with narrow cross-bars of greyish-black, these bars being
of the same width to the extremity of the tail ; lores and fore-
head whitish ; crown of head grey, mottled with black ; the
sides of the head from behind the eye and the nape varied with
whitish ; cheek-stripe, feathers under the eye and on the upper-
line of the ear-coverts, as well as the sides of the neck, greyish-
black ; the rest of the face whitish, with median lines of black
on the feathers ; wing-coverts like the back ; quills dark brown,
externally mottled and freckled with grey, not forming regular
bars, the inner secondaries exactly like the back ; under sur-
face of body white, the throat unspotted, the chest longitudi-
nally streaked with black, widening out towards the apex of
the feather ; rest of the body rather scantily spotted with grey-
ish-black, taking the form of bars on the flanks, under tail-
coverts, and axillaries ; under wing-coverts white, wath black
markings, scarcely equivalent to bars ; bill blue, black at tip ;
feet yellow ; iris dark brown. Total length, 20 inches ; cul-
men, i'3 ; wing, i4"5 ; tail, 8-o; tarsus, 2-0.

Adult Female. — Slightly darker, and a little larger than the
male. Total length, 21 inches; culmen, 1*4 ; wing, i5"o; tail,
9-5; tarsus, 2-I5.

Young. — Brown, with fulvous spots and mottlings on the edges
of the scapulars and inner secondaries, and rather more dis-
tinct on the upper tail-coverts ; tail dark brown, with imperfect
bands of fulvous ; wing-coverts and quills externally dotted
with minute fulvous spots, the latter internally barred with
buff; head brown, mottled with buffy-white on the eyebrow,
cheeks, sides of neck, and especially on the nape and hind-
neck ; under surface of body white, with central dark brown
patches on each feather, those narrower on the throat ; bill
horn-blue, yellow at the base of the lov.-er mandible ; feet grey.

Characters. — The adult male of the Gyr-Falcon is wonderfully
like an adult Peregrine, except that the latter has always a
darker shade towards the end of the tail, which is never seen
in a Gyr-Falcon.

The Norwegian race of the Gyr-Falcon is always distin-
guished by its d:irk head. It has, of course, barred flanks like

THE GYR-FALCONS. I99

H. islandicus and H. holboelli^ but is much darker than either
of these. It may be remarked that no one has hitherto been able
to detect any differences between the young of these races.

Range in Great Britain. — The first specimen of the Norwegian
Gyr- Falcon actually recorded in this country was identified by
myself. It was shot by one of the attendants in my depart-
ment at the British Museum, Mr. George Hunt, near Orford
in Suffolk, in October, 1867, and remains in the possession of
his brother, Mr. E. J. Hunt, all our efforts to purchase the
specimen for the British section of the National Collection
having proved futile. The bird in question was immature,
and therefore difficult to identify with certainty, but at the time
I examined the specimen I had just concluded my work on
the Accipitres, and had the Gyr-Falcons well in my mind, so
that I have no doubt that the specimen was correctly identi-
fied. It was shown by me to Mr. Seebohm, who also con-
sidered it to be a Norwegian Gyr-Falcon. A second specimen,
killed in Sussex, had been in Mr. Borrer's collection since
1845, but had always been looked upon as a young Iceland
Gyr-Falcon, till Mr. Gurney recognised it as an adult Norwegian
Gyr-Falcon.

Range outside the Britisli Islands. — The exact range of the
present species is very difficult to determine, as it has been
divided by naturalists into several races, and it is impossible
to determine the value of the latter without having a large
number of specimens together for comparison, and at present
no Museum possesses a sufficiently complete series. It is an
inhabitant of Scandinavia, and, in my opinion, it will be found
to extend across Siberia, as well as the whole of the northern
part of the New World, or, as the American naturalists state,
the interior of Arctic America, from Hudson's Bay to Alaska.

Habits. — In their manner of life all the Gyr-Falcons seem to
be very much alike, and the Norwegian bird resembles the
Iceland Gyr-Falcon in its flight and general habits. It feeds
principally on Ptarmigan, but it also captures Whimbrel and
water-fowl of various kinds.

Nest. — For our information as to the nesting of the Gyr-
Falcon we are almost entirely indebted to the researches of
the late John Wolley, who found many nests in Lapland.

200 ALLEN S NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

The nest is generally placed on a ledge of rock in a cliff, and
is often very difficult to reach, but in certain districts it is to
be found in a tree, and Professor Collett states that, according
to his experience, the Gyr-Falcon almost invariably nests in
the top of large fir-trees. Professor Newton well remarks : —
" The curious fact that the Gyr-Falcon, like so many other
4ccipitres, adapts itself to circumstances, breeding in trees
>vhere rocks are wanting near places which abound with food
for its offspring, as is the case in the district of Hanhi-jarwi-
maa, will not escape the student's notice, and will furnish, I
think, another good warning against too hasty generalisations
with regard to the habits of a bird or other animal. It was
not until the fourth summer of Mr. Wolley's residence in Lap-
land that he became acquainted with this fact, and then, as
his remarks show, he was justly sceptical concerning it at
first." (Ooth. Woll. p. 87).

The nest is made of stout sticks, and is used for many years,
where the birds are not disturbed. A rude lining of grass is
sometimes present, as well as a few green willow-twigs.

Eggs. — Four in number, the variations in tint being well
described by Mr. Wolley in the "Ootheca Wolleyana." Those
in the British Museum are mostly of a light reddish cast,
dotted and stippled with reddish-brown of a darker tint. Some
of the specimens show a ground-colour of reddish-white, with
somewhat coarser rufous blotches and spots, but in certain
examples the colouring of the egg is almost entirely rufous,
without any markings whatever. Axis, 2-2-2'35 inches;
diam., I'TS-^'^-

* THE KESTRELS. GENUS CERCHNEIS.

Cerchneis^ Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 976.
Type, C tiiuiunadus (L.).

The Kestrels are nearly cosmopolitan, and there is scarcely
a country, excepting the Pacific Islands, where these small
Hawks do not occur. They have the same short toes as the
Gyr-Falcons, the outer and inner toes being about equal in
length, but the wings are more pointed than in the last-named

PLATE LI,

ai#«^

KESTREL

THE KESTRELS. 20I

birds. They are true Falcons, with a tooth in the bill, and a
central tubercle in the nostril.

With the exception of some of the more tropical species,
Kestrels are migratory birds, and several of them go south in
immense flocks, as has been noticed by many observers in
their winter quarters in Africa. They are principally insect-
feeders, and devour large numbers of locusts, in pursuit of
which their large gatherings often take place.

I. THE COMMON KESTREL. CERCHNEIS TINNUNCULUS.

Falco tinnunculus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 393 (1766); Macg.

Brit. B. iii. p. 325 (1840); Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 113,

pi. 384 (187 1); Newt, ed.' Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 79 (187 1) ;

Seebohm, Brit. B. i. p. 45 (1883); Saunders, Man. Brit.

B. p. 343 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xvi.

(1890).
Cerchneis ti?tnunculus (L.), Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 425

(1874).
Timitmciilus alaudanus, B. O. U. List Brit. B. p. 104 (1883}.

{Plate LI.)

Adult Male. — General colour above rufous fawn-colour or pale
chestnut, with a few arrow-head shaped marks of black, plainer
on the inner secondaries ; primary-coverts and quills dark
brown, the former narrowly margined with rufous, the primaries
notched with white for about two-thirds of their length, the •
inner primaries and outer secondaries narrowly edged and
tipped with buffy-white ; head and neck clear slaty-blue, with
narrow black shaft-stripes ; forehead buffy-white, as also a
narrow eyebrow; cheeks silvery-grey, inclining to blackish
below the eye, and on the fore-part of the cheeks, forming a
tolerably distinct moustache ; lower back, rump, upper tail-
coverts, and tail clear slaty-blue, the latter tipped with white,
before which is a broad sub-terminal band of black ; throat
buff, not spotted ; remainder of under surface of body rufous
fawn-colour, the chest-feathers mesially streaked with black,
these black centres being larger and more oval in shape on the
flank-feathers ; thighs clear rufous, unspotted ; under wing-
coverts white, spotted with black ; bill bluish horn-colour,
black at the tip, yellowish at the base ; cere, orbits, and feet

202 ALT, EN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY.

yellow; iris brown. Total length, 12*5 inches; culmen, 175;
wing, 9*2 ; tail, 67 ; tarsus, i'6.

Adult Female. — Differs from the male in being rufous above,
banded with black ; on the rump a bluish shade, which
overspreads the tail in very old individuals ; head rufous,
streaked with black ; tail rufous, banded with black, the bands
not always continuous, the tip buffy-white, with a sub-terminal
band of black. Total length, 12-5 inches; culmen, 075 ;
wing, 9'2 ; tail, 6*5 ; tarsus, t'6.

Young Birds — In first plumage the young male and female
are alike, and both resemble the old hen-bird, but are rather
paler, and have more distinct stripes on the back. The first
signs of approaching maturity in the young male are seen on
the rump and tail, which generally change to blue-grey, before
the grey head is assumed.

In 1874 Mr C. Bygrave Wharton procured a female Kestrel
in Hertfordshire, which had a slaty-blue tail like the male,
with black bars, the rump being also slaty-blue. This speci-
men exemplifies further the fact that I have already noted,
that in very old females of the Birds of Prey there is a ten-
dency to assume a plumage like that of the males.

Nestling — Covered with white down.

Range in Great Britain. — The Kestrel is found in every county
throughout Great Britain and Ireland, and nests in the wooded
districts, as well as in the cliffs of the sea-shore and inland
mountains. It is in some degree migratory, descending to
the lower ground from the highlands in winter. A certain
number also leave the country in the autumn, ^being found
on our southern coasts at that season of the year, while an
influx of Kestrels also takes place from Northern Europe to
our eastern coasts.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Kestrel is almost uni-
versally distributed throughout the Palaearctic Region, and
breeds up to the Arctic Circle. It is a summer migrant to
Central Europe, where only a few remain during the winter.
It is said to occur throughout Siberia, but in Eastern Siberia
and in Japan the Kestrels are larger and darker in colour,
and it is this dark race, C. japonicus. which occurs throughout

THE KESTRELS. 203

China. Our European Kestrel visits the Gold Coast in winter
and extends its range a considerable way down East Africa, and
perhaps to the southern districts of the continent. India is
also a winter home for the species, which is resident m the

Himalayas. , .u t^ ^ 1

In many countries bordermg its southern range the Kestrel
is represented by a dark resident race. Thus, in the Azores,
in the mountains of Abyssinia, and again in those of Southern
India and Burma, there is a distinct difference m size and m
the deeper colouration of the Kestrels, which can hardly be
looked upon as specific, but which show modifications effected
by a tropical habitat.

Hal)its.— From its habit of hovering in the air, the Kestrel is
frequently noticed in the country, where it is known in many
places as the "Windhover.' It is to be seen on almost any
eveninc^ in the neighbourhood of the stubble-fields, where,
as if held in the air by a thread, it hovers on the look-out
for field-mice. If unsuccessful in its search, it will circle away
to another part of the field, and then commence to hover
again, till it falls like a bolt on its unsuspecting prey. Its food
consists not only of mice, moles, and other small mammalia,
but also largely of insects, frogs, lizards, &c. Cockchafers are
a favourite food, and these and other beetles it devours on the
wing. It is but rarely that the Kestrel is driven by sheer
necessity, in a droughty season perhaps, to make a raid on the
Pheasant-coops to find food for its young, and, as a rule, the
bird is a real friend to the farmer and gardener. So little do
small birds regard it as an enemy, that I have seen a Kestrel
perched on a straw-stack and surrounded by Sparrows, who
were pilfering gaily without heeding the Hawk, and when the
little birds flew off, affording, as one would have thought a
splendid opportunity for a raid on such a flock, the Kestrel
did not attempt to follow. r r ^ x

That they can, however, when hard pressed for food, be
decidedly destructive to young game has been proved by
several observers, and Mr. De Winton lately shot a pair m the
act of killing young Pheasants. This is, however, undoubtedly
a rare occurrence, and w^as the more remarkable in this instance,
because this particular pair seemed to be the only delinquents :
all the other Kestrels, of which there were plenty in the neigh-

204 ALLEN S NATURALIST'S LIHKARY.

bourhood, never attempting to molest the game. Underlying
the apparently mild demeanour of the ordinary Kestrel reigns
undoubtedly the fierce nature of the B'rd of Prey, and I
remember that on one occasion when I 1 ift my four Kestrels
for a day in charge of a servant who, of course, forgot to feed
them, as servants generally do, I returned to find only three
alive in the cage. Recognising the fact that they were forgotten
and unprovided with food, the three female birds set upOii their
smaller brother and ate him.

Nest — As a rule, the Kestrel selects the old nest of a Crow
or Raven, or it may be the old domicile of a Magpie or
Pigeon. Mr. Seebohrn says that the original owner's nest is
sometimes repaired by the Hawks, but in the many nests
which I have tai^en in the south of England I have never seen
any evidence of this, and that the Kestrel is not much of a
nest-builder is proved by the fact that when the bird breeds in
a cliff, it makes no attempt at a nest.

Eggs. — From three to five, or even six or seven in number.
The ground-colour is dull or creamy-white, but is often not
visible, as the chestnut clouding of the eggs entirely hides it.
Thus there are two shades of chestnut, as a rule, in the egg of
the Kestrel, the underlying one almost uniform, and the over-
lying darker chestnut shade taking the form of spots and irre-
gular blotches. Every kind of variation is exhibited in a
series, from brownish-red to dark chestnut, almost blackish.
In others the pale colouring is confined to one end of the egg,
and the dark colour to the other end. and the variation in
intensity of colour and markings is extreme. In rare instances
the whitish ground-colour is predominant, and the spots and
blotches of rufous are so arranged that the eggs look not unlike
certain forms of those of the Sparrow-Hawk. Axis, i'45 17
inch; diam., i-2-i'3.

n. THE I,ESSER KESTREL. CERCHNEIS CENCHRIS.

Falco cenchris^ Naum. Vog. Deutschl. i. p. 318 (1822) ; Newton,
ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 82 (187 1) ; Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p.
125, pi. 385 (1871); Seebohm, Brit. B. i. p. 51 (1883):
Saunders, Man. Brit. B. p. 345 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig.
Brit. B. part xxii. (1S92).

THE KESTRELS. 205

Cerchneis naumanni, Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 435 (1874).
l^iiinunailus ceiichris, B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 104 (1883).

Adult Male. — General colour above rich cinnamon-rufous,
the entire head and hind-neck, lower back, rump, upper tail-
coverts, and tail blue-grey, the latter tipped with white, and
crossed with a broad sub-terminal bar of black ; lores and a few
streaks on the cheeks whitish; lesser and median wing-coverts
cinnamon-rufous, like the back, a few of the outer median
wing-coverts washed with blue-grey ; greater coverts and inner
secondaries blue-grey, washed with rufous externally, the
primaries being dark brown ; throat deep buffy-white ; breast
pale cinnamon or vinous, with a few blackish spots, becoming
larger on the sides of the body; thighs paler rufous, unspotted;
abdomen and under tail-coverts yellowish-white ; under wing-
coverts white, with a few tiny oval spots of black, larger on the
axillaries ; bill light blue, yellow at base and blackish at the
tip ; cere, orbits, and feet beautiful yellow ; iris dark brown.
Total length, 12-5 inches; culmen, 075 ; wing, 9-1 ; tail, 6*0;
tarsus, 1-2.

Adult Female. — Different from the male. Above tawny-rufous,
transversely barred with blackish-brown, the bars narrower and
more obscure on the lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts,
the latter being washed with grey ; tail rufous, barred with
black, tipped with whitish, with a broad sub-terminal band of
black ; head and neck rather paler rufous, the former broadly,
the latter more narrowly, streaked with blackish shaft-lines;
primaries dark brown, barred on the inner web with rufous, the
secondaries coloured like the back, the outer ones narrowly
margined with white at the tip ; throat, vent, and under tail-
coverts buffy-white, without spots ; breast inclining to rufous
fawn-colour, all the feathers mesially streaked with blackish,
these stripes being broader on the flanks, and very tiny on the
thighs, which are also paler rufous. Total length, 12 "5 inches;
culmen, 07 ; wing, 9*3; tail, 5-9 ; tarsus, \'2.

Young Birds. — At fust resemble the old female, but are paler
and not so strongly marked. The male, in his second season,
assumes the blue tail by a moult, but the blue head is assumed
apparently by a change of feather, as I believe is the case with
the Common Kestrel also.

2o6 ai.lkn's naturalist's i.ii;rary.

Characters — To distinguish the I.esser Ke.-^trel from the
ordinary Kestrel of England, the most distinctive characters
are the wliitish claws, and the uniform rufous back in the
male, while the female can only be told from the female of
C. tinnuncithis by its smaller size and by its whitish claws.

Range hi Great Britain. — This species certainly deserves a
place in our avifauna, for, although it was not admitted to
that rank in 187 1 by Professor Newton, since that date so
many examples of the Lesser Kestrel have been identified
within British limits, that one may reasonably believe that it
occurs more often than is generally suspected, and that it is
often mistaken for the Common Kestrel. At least four instances
of the occurrence of the Lesser Kestrel in Great Britain are
known to have taken place. The first was shot in Yorkshire in
November 1867, and in May, 1877, another adult male was
captured near Dover. Since then it has been obtained near
Shankill in Co. Dublin, in February, 1891, and also in the Scilly
Islands in March of the same year. Two specimens which had
been captured at sea in the Mediterranean, in April, 1894,
escaped from their captors, one in Northumberland and the
other in Belfast, and Mr. Robert Patterson wrote to the " Ibis"
to notify the fact, in case a Lesser Kestrel should be shot, but
I have not heard that they were ever seen again.

Range outside tlie British Islands — The Lesser Kestrel winters
in South Africa, whither it goes with the flocks of other small
insect-eating Hawks. It returns in the spring to Europe and
is plentiful in the Mediterranean countries, arriving in February
in Spain. A few pass the winter in the south of Europe. It
is only an occasional visitor to Southern France,' but has been
taken in Germany and in Heligoland, as well as in the British
Islands. Its eastern range extends to Central Asia, and it has
of late years become very numerous in the district of Orenburg
in Southern Russia.

Habits. — In the countries of Southern Europe, and especially
in Spain, the Lesser Kestrel is a very common bird, commenc-
ing to breed about the end of April, and laying its eggs about
the middle of May. Its food, according to Mr. Howard Saun-
ders, consists of insects, especially cockchafers and other beetles,

THE KESTRELS. 207

and grasshoppers. He says that the stairs and other approaches
to the towers frequented by this and the larger Kestrel are
often "covered with an accumulation of wing-cases and ejected
pellets of indigestible matter." In general habits, flight, and
cry the present species is said by Lord Lilford to resemble the
Common Kestrel, but in his opinion it is a more entirely in-
sectivorous bird, and takes its prey on the ground. He writes :
"The two species of Kestrel are, I think, in April and May,
the comm.onest birds in Andalucia, with perhaps the exception
of the Bee-Eater. Every church-steeple, belfry, and tower,
every town and village, every ruin, swarms with them. I
believe I am not at all beyond the mark in saying that I have
seen three or four hundred on the wing at the same moment
on more than one occasi n, notably at Castro del Rio in April,
1864. Both species of Kestrel continue on the wing long
after sunset."

Nest. — No nest is made by this little Kestrel, and the eggs
are generally laid in a hole of a building, sometimes within
reach of the ground. In the Crimea, Colonel Irby found
them nesting in holes in banks.

Eggs. — Four or five in number, though occasionally as many
as seven are found. Although some of them are marked like
the Common Kestrel's, and are only to be distinguished from
the eggs of the latter "by their smaller size, the series in the
British Museum is undoubtedly paler and more cinnamon in
tint than the eggs of C. tiiimmcidus. The eggs are minutely
spotted with rufous, and less boldly blotched than the eggs of
the preceding species, and the markings always seem to me to
be smaller in character. Axis, i-3-i-5inch; diam., i-i-i'2.

III. THE RED-FOOTED KESTREL. CERCHNEIS VESPERTINA.

Falco vespertmus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 129 (1766); Macg.

Brit. B. iii. p. 313 (1840); Newt. ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p.

69 (187 1) ; Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 93, pi. 382 (187 1) ; Seeb.

Brit. B. i. p. 42 (1883); Saunders, Man. Brit. B. p. 339

(1889).
Cerchneis vespertma, Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 443

(1874).
Tin7m?iailus vesperti7ius^ B. O. U. List Brit. B. p. 103 (1883).

2o8 allkn's najuralist's library.

Adult Male — Crcneral colour above leaden-grey, the wing-
coverts rather paler, the greater coverts more hoary-grey ;
primary-coverts and quills hoary-grey, the secondaries darker
and more like the back ; tail brownish-black ; under surface
of body bluish-grey, with faint indications of black shaft-stripes;
lower abdomen, vent, thighs, and under tail-coverts rich chest-
nut ; under wing-coverts leaden-grey ; quill-lining brownish-
black ; cere, orbits, and feet bright brownish-red ; claws
yellowish-white, with horn-coloured tips ; bill yellowish horn-
colour, blackish at tip; iris light brown. Total length, ii"5
inches ; culmen, 075 ; wing, 9-8; tail, 5*6; tarsus, 1-15.

Adult Female. — Different from the male. General colour
above bluish-grey, with transverse black bars on all the feathers,
the mande a little darker and more ashy ; tail also bluish-grey,
a little paler towards the tip, with narrow black bars, the sub-
terminal one much broader ; quills brownish, externally ashy-
grey, barred on the inner web with whitish ; head, hind-neck,
and under surface of body rufous, inclining to buff on the
under tail-coverts ; forehead whitish ; lores and feathers round
the eye greyish-black ; sides of face and neck, as well as the
throat, yellowish-white, with faint indications of a pale rufous
moustachial streak ; soft parts as in the male, but less bright.
Total length, 11 inches; culmen, 07; wing, 97; tail, 5*6;
tarsus, I '1 5.

Young Birds. — At first resemble the old female, and have the
tail barred with black ; the fore-part of the crown whitish ; the
feathers of the mantle edged with rufous ; upper-part of ear-
coverts and feathers round the eye greyish-black ; a faintly in-
dicated moustachial streak ; throat and sides of neck creamy-
white ; under surface of body rufous, paler than in the old
female, the feathers with blackish centres, developing into
spots at the end ; cere, orbits, and feet reddish-yellow ; claws
yellowish-white, with dark grey tips.

Range in Great Britain. — An accidental visitor in spring and
Summer, rarely occurring in autumn. Mr. Howard Saunders
states that the species has been recorded upwards of twenty
times, and has occurred in nearly all the southern and eastern
counties of England, from Cornwall to Norfolk, as well as in
Denbighshire and Shropshire, Yorkshire, Durham, and North-

THE kp:strels.

209

umberland. I can also add a record from near London, for a
few years ago a beautiful female bird was brought to me at the
British Museum in the flesh. It had been shot near Nunhead
on the previous day, having flown into a tree near some pigeon-
shooting grounds. I did not know at the time that any par-
ticular interest attached to the records of the Red-footed Kes-
trel in the South of England, and omitted to take dorm full
particulars.

Three specimens have been shot in Scotland, and one was
procured in Co. Wicklow in Ireland in 1832.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Red-footed Kestrel is a
bird of Eastern Europe and Western Siberia, being found over
the greater part of Russia, and as far east as Krasnoyarsk. It
breeds also in Hungary, and has occurred as far north as 65^
in Finland, as well as in the south of Sweden. Professor Menz-
bier thinks that an extension of its range to the northern pro-
vinces of Russia has taken place within the last fifty years, and
in places in the south of Russia, such as the steppes of Oren-
burg, where the Red-footed Kestrel used to breed freely, it
has been ousted to a great extent by an influx of Lesser Kes-
trels of late years. The winter home of the present species
is in South Africa, to which it migrates in immense flocks
along with Hobbies and Lesser Kestrels. In Eastern Siberia
its place is taken by an allied species, with white under wing-
coverts, called C. amnrensis, which winters also in South Africa,
but is there found chiefly on the Zambesi and in the Transvaal,
and seems to preserve, even in its winter home, its more eastern
habitat.

Habits. — ^This little Kestrel is one of the prettiest of all the
Falcons, and is remarkable for the difference in colour be-
tween the sexes, which is greater than in the majority of
Birds of Prey. The food of the Red-footed Kestrel con-
sists almost entirely of insects, which it catches and devours
on the wing, such as dragon-flies, beetles, moths, and grass-
hoppers, while in company with other birds it follows the
swarms of locusts in South Africa. In all its ways it is a Kes-
trel, and has the same querulous cry. In its nesting, as well
as on its migrations, it seems to be gregarious, for it is often
found breeding in company.

2IO ALI,EN S NATURAT,TSTS LIBRARY.

Nest. — The present species does not build a nest of its own,
but adapts the old nest of a Crow or Rook to its wants.

Eggs — The British Museum possesses so few eggs of this
species that I am not able to describe them at length. They
appear to resemble some of the eggs of the Common Kestrel
so closely, as to be practically inseparable. According to Mr.
Goebel, who has taken numbers of the eggs of C. vesper ii?ia in
Southern Russia, they are not so coarsely grained as those of
the Common Kestrel, have much less lustre, and are, on an
average, smaller, and not only absolutely, but proportionately
lighter. The colour of our Kestrels' eggs is a darker, browner
red compared with the yellower red of C. vespertina. Axis,
i-25-1'6 inch ; diam., i"o-i*2.

THE PELICAN-LIKE BIRDS.

ORDER PELECANIFORMES.

Tropic Birds {Phaetoiitcs), Frigate Birds {Fregati), Pelicans,
Cormorants, and Gannets — these are the groups of birds
which constitute the large order Felecaniformes. These birds
have also been united together under the heading of Sfega?io-
podeSy all of them having the hallux, or hind-toe, united to the
second by a vv^eb, so that, in fact, all four toes are connected by
a membrane.

THE PELICANS. SUB-ORDER PELECANI.

The members of this Sub-order are easily recognised by
their peculiar bills and large gular pouches, which are capable
of distension to an enormous extent. A Pelican is a tropical
bird and seldom wanders far north, though recently some of
these birds are said to have been noticed in West Jutland. The
White Pelican {^P. onocrotahis) used at one time to inhabit
England, as its bones have been found in the fens of Norfolk, and
Montagu mentions the shooting of a Pelican at Horsey Fen
in 1663, but this was believed to have been one of the King's
birds escaped from St. James' Park. The species can, there-
fore, scarcely be said to require notice in the present Work,
and, indeed, Mr. Howard Saunders does not even mention
it in his "Manual."'

THE CORMORANTS AND SHAGS. 211

THE CORMORANTS.

SUB-ORDER PHALACROCOFACES.

As in all the Stegaiwpodes, the Cormorants have a desmog-
nathous, or " bridged," palate, and they have the four toes
all joined together by a web. They have also a remarkably
hooked bill, with a sort of nail at the end. The feet in these
birds are placed very far back, and the thighs are feathered
down to the tarsal joint.

Cormorants and Shags are found in nearly every part of
the world, and are most numerous in species in the Southern
Hemisphere.

THE CORMORANTS AND SHAGS.

GENUS PHALACROCORAX.

Fhalacrocorax^ Briss. Orn. vi. p. 511 (1760).

Type, P. carbo (Linn.).

Any number of anatomical and osteological characters can
be brought forw^ard for the identification of the Cormorants,
but in a book dealing only with British birds we have, happily,
no need to go into these minuter details, for our two species
are easily recognisable by the merest tyro. Thus their webbed
feet, with all four toes joined together by a membrane, are a
leading character; secondly, their black plumage is distinctive,
and their hooked bills and bare faces will distinguish them
from all our British sea-birds, except the Gannets.

Two species inhabit the British area, the Common Cor-
morant and the Green Cormorant, or Shag, and there is no
difficulty in distinguishing these black-plumaged birds from
the white-plumaged Gannets,

I. THE CORMORANT. PHALACROCORAX CARBO.

Pekcamis carbo^ Linn. S. N. i. p. 216 (1766).

Phalacrocorax carbo, Macg. Br. B. v. p. 380 (1852) ; Dresser,
B. Eur. vi. p. 151, p!. 388 (1879); B. O. U. List Br.
B. p. 105 (1883) ; Saunders, ed. Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 143
(1884); Seebohm, Br. B. iii. p. 650 (1885); Saunders,
Man. Br. B. p. 349 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B.
part xxii. (1892).

P 2

212

Allen's nalurallst's LinRARV.

Adult Female General colour above glossy blue-black from

the hind-neck to the tail, dividing the mantle and back down
the centre ; the sides of the mantle, remainder of the back,
scapulars, and wing-coverts bronzy-brown, with broad edges of
blue-black to all the feathers; bastard-wing, primary-coverts,
and quills black, externally greyish-bronze, the feathers with a
broad black margin as well ; tail-feathers slaty-black, with grey-
ish shafts ; crown of head and neck glossy blue-black, with a
very evident nuchal crest ; under surface of body blue-black ;
sides of face, ear-coverts, cheeks, and upper throat creamy-
white, ascending to a point in the centre of the chin, which
is bare like the lores, region of the eye, and fore-part of the
cheeks ; the crown, neck, and lower throat ornamented with
numerous white filaments, which completely conceal the black
ground-colour ; on the sides of the lower flanks a large white
patch ; sides of upper breast bronzy-brown, the flanks bor-
dered with black, as on the back; under wnng-coverts and
axillaries black ; bill brown above, slate-colour below, including
edge of lower mandible ; gular skin lemon-yellow ; feet black ;
iris green. Total length, 32 inches; culmen, 2-6; wing, 12-8;
tail, 6'o ; tarsus, 2*5.

Adult Male. — Similar to the female, but larger and with the
crest somewhat more developed. Total length, 30 inches;
wing, 12-5.

Winter Plumage — Black like the summer plumage, but not
having the white filaments on the head and neck, and the
white patch on the thighs also being absent.

Young Birds. — Browner above than the adults, and with black-
ish margins to the feathers, which are greyish-brown rather
than bronzy ; the head and neck ashy-brown, with blackish
centres to the feathers ; sides of face, throat, and fore-neck
ashy-brown ; chin, upper throat, and sides of face dull white ;
rest of the under surface of the body white, the sides of the
body brown, as well as the under tail-coverts ; bill pale horn-
colour ; cere none; gular skin yellow; iris light green.

The adult black plumage is gained apparently by a change
in the feather, the tip of which becomes gradually black or
brown, and this colour spreads by degrees over the whole
plumage.

THE CORMORANTS AND SHAGS. 213

Nestlings. — At first bare and of a leaden grey-colour, but
afterwards becoming covered with dense sooty-brown down,
and remaining in this till they are more than half the size of
their parents.

Characters — The Coraiorant may be told from the Shag by
its larger size and by having fourteen tail-feathers. I have seen
one specimen from Hungary which had fifteen rectrices. The
colour is always more of a blue-black, not greenish like the
Shag.

The white filaments which adorn the head of the Cormo-
rant, and the occipital crest, are apparently retained for a short
time only. The female described was obtained in February,
and has all the ornamental plumes developed to the fullest
extent, including the white patch on the flanks, but these are
all shed by the time that nesting commences, so that the
real breeding plumage is exactly similar to that of the winter
dress after the autumn moult.

Range in Great Britain — Although mostly a bird of the sea-
coasts, the Cormorant is often met with inland, and there is
scarcely a county in the British Islands where stragglers have
not been obtained at some time or other. It is found in most
parts of our area on the coasts, but is commoner in some dis-
tricts and rarer in others, where the Shag predominates. On
the east coast of England, between the Thames and the Hum-
ber, it is rarer, probably on account of the absence of breeding-
places suitable to the species, but north of Flamborough and
along the Scottish coast it occurs plentifully, while on our west-
ern coasts the Shag is the commonest of the two species. Mr.
Ussher gives a long list of the counties in Ireland in which
the Cormorant nests on the coast, and he says that several
breeding colonies are to be met with on the islands of inland
lakes, where they breed on trees, such as Lough Tawnyard in
Co. Mayo, Lough Key in Roscommon, and Lough Cutra in
Galway. In some of these, he says that the Cormorants
breed in company with Herons in high trees.

Range outside the British Islands, — The Cormorant is distributed
in suitable localities throughout Europe and Northern Asia to
Japan. It breeds in India and Burma, and is believed to
extend to Australia and also to South Africa, but recently the

214 ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

species of Cormorant inhabiting the African continent has
been considered to be different from P. carbo, and it is difficult
to say what is the exact range of our Cormorant to the south-
ward. It occurs in Arctic America on the Atlantic side, and
ranges in winter as for south as New Jersey, but has not been
recorded from the Pacific side of North America.

HaMts. — The Cormorant is in most parts of England a sea-
bird, frequently the rocky coasts and building its nest on the
rocks, but in many places it builds on trees, in company. In
other parts of its range it has been known to build its nest in
reed-beds, and in pollard willows, while sometimes a colony
of Cormorants will be found to occupy quite high trees, like
Herons.

The food consists entirely of fish, of which the bird devours
a great number, and the decaying carcases are plentifully
strewn about the nesting-places, so that a visit to a Cormo-
rant's home is generally trying to the olfactory sense. The
mess which the birds make is also rather appalling, the
whole of the rocks on which they breed having generally
the appearance of having been whitewashed. On land the
Cormorant is rather a sluggish bird, and is generally seen
perched on a rock, where it will remain for hours digesting its
food ; but in the water it is a splendid swimmer and diver,
employing its great webbed feet to singular advantage, and
using its stiftened tail as a rudder to steer itself with, but
not making much use of its wings. Although generally nest-
ing in company, at other times of the year Cormorants are
found on inland rivers, and many are thus obtained during the
winter, most of these individuals being young birds, though
old ones not unfrequently occur One which was shot near
Cookham, when I was a boy, was observed for several days
swimming in the Thames, with its body submerged and only
its head .nd neck protruding out of the water.

Nest. — A very rough structure of seaweed or sticks, which is
added to year by year in places where the birds are allowed
to nest without interference. The Cormorant seems to have
some idea of decorating its nest, for Mr. Doncaster informed
Mr. Seebohm that he found one in which the birds had pulled
a long spike of foxglove and had twisted it round the nest as

n .

Ml

THE CORMORANTS AND SHAGS. 215

a lining. There is also generally a lining of fresh green leaves
of sea-parsley or some other plant, according to Mr. Seebohm.

Eggs. — Two or three in number. The ground-colour is
green, but this is generally obscured by a chalky-white cover-
ing, which can be scraped off. Axis, 2-4-2-8 inches; diam.,
I-5-I75-

II. THE SHAG. PHALACROCORAX GRACULUS.

Fekcanus graculus, Linn. S. N. i. p. 217 (1766).

Phalacrocorax graadus, Macg. Br. B. v. p. 392 (1852) ; Dresser,
B. Eur. vi. p. 163, pi. 389 (1879); B. O. U. List Br. B.
p. 106 (1883); Saunders, ed. Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 151
(1884); Seebohm, Br. B. iii. p. 656 (1885); Saunders,
Man. Br. B. p. 351 (1889) ; Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part
xxii. (1892).

[Plate LIl.)

Adult Male. — General colour above and below black, with a
bottle green or oily-green gloss, all the feathers margined with
velvety-black on the mantle, scapulars, and wing-coverts, these
parts having also a bronzy reflection; tail-feathers twelve ;
" inside of mouth and skin round the gape pale orange-yellow ;
naked skin of chin and throat black, thickly dotted with yellow ;
feet and toes blackish ; iris bright green " ( W. R. Ogilvie-
Grant). Total length, 27 inches; culmen, 2*5; wing, ii-o;
tail, 5-5 ; tarsus, 2-35.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male. Total length, 26 inches ;
wing, 10-5.

Young Birds — Brown above, glossed with green, the feathers
edged with darker brown, which becomes much abraded and
turns to whity-brown, the tail-feathers being margined with
whity-brown ; sides of face and under surface of body brown,
the throat white, and the lower abdomen also dingy-white ;
feet and toes reddish. The young Shags can always be dis-
tinguished from young Cormorants by their twelve tail-feathers,
and they are browner underneath.

The black plumage is assumed in the first spring, and is
accomphshed by a gradual darkening of the feathers of the

2i6 Allen's naturalist's library.

under surface, as well as by a complete moult of some of the
feathers, the quills being entirely renewed.

Nestlings. — At first completely bare and of a sooty lead-
colour, afterwards densely covered with sooty-brown down.

In the winter the Shag puts on a crest, which is shed, like
the ornamental filaments of the Cormorant, by the time the
nesting commences in April, but Lord I Jlford says that he has
shot specimens in August on the coast of Cornwall which still
showed remains of a crest, while in the Mediterranean he never
found a Shag with a crest at any season. This would go to prove
that the Shag of the Mediterranean is a different species from
that of Northern Europe, as has been insisted upon by Profes-
sor Brusina, who has named the crestless Shag Phalacrocorax
croaticus, but if really different, it will have to bear the older
name of P. destnaresti.

Range in Great Britain. — In many parts of England the Shag
is more plentiful than its larger ally. It occurs on all our
rocky coasts, being more abundant on the western side of
England and ScoUand, especially on the rocky shores of
\V^ales and in the western isles. In Ireland Mr. Ussher says
that it breeds in all the maritime counties frequented by the
Cormorant ; but on the coasts of Galway and Mayo it appears
to be much more numerous than that species.

Range outside the British Islands — The Shag is a bird of Western
Europe, for, though it is common on the coasts of Norway and
breeds in the Fasroes, it has not been met with farther west than
Iceland, and is almost unknown in the Baltic, being rare along
the shores of the North Sea. It becomes commoner, however,
on the Atlantic coasts of France and Portugal, and if P.
desmaresti should prove to be only P. graculus in its crestless
stage, then the range of the Shag will extend throughout the
Mediterranean.

HaMts. — The Shag is essentially a maritime species and is
not met with on inland waters, though it does occasionally
occur. It feeds entirely on fish and is a capital swimmer and
diver, and that it can descend to a great depth is shown by the
fact that it has been caught in a crab-pot lying twenty fathoms
down. T-ord Lilford has given a most interesting account of
his visits to some of the breeding-places of the Shag in the

THE CORMORANTS AND SHAGS. 21 7

Mediterranean, from which I make the following extract, as it
will give the reader a good idea of the habits of these birds.
"A Shag-cavern, when numerously tenanted during the breed-
ing season, is, although most interesting to a naturalist, indeed
a gruesome, and, as a Highlander would say, ' no a wholesome '
place. On pushing into one of these caves in a boat, the
smell of decaying fish is almost overpowering ; a rush of
great dark birds comes forth above, on both sides, and often
almost into the arms and faces of the intruders (we always
' backed ' in), whilst many of the Shags plunge headlong from
the ledges into the sea, and dive under the boat.

" The real way to see the interior in all its weird horror, was
to illuminate its recesses by a blue light, when in all probability
many old Shags might be discovered still on their nests or on
the ledges, twisting their long necks with extraordinary contor-
tions, dazed by the light, and uncertain whether to go or to
'stand by' their young. However they might decide this
question, we generally found the stench so horrible, that, after
taking in the scene, we were glad to beat a speedy retreat and
chase any young Shag that might have taken to the sea and be
unable to fly, with a view to capturing him alive — an attempt
that, in my experience, was invariably a failure, for, although
we could often have killed these youngsters, had we been so
minded, with oars or boat-hook, they always managed to dive
and conceal themselves amongst the boulder-stones and sea-
weed at the foot of the rocks."

In Great Britain also the Shags prefer to nest in a cave, when
such is available, and they will occupy every ledge with their
nests when they find a suitable cavern. In other places, where
there are no caves, they nest on ledges of cliffs, and, like that
of the Cormorants, the position of the breeding-place is easily
discernible from the way in which the cliffs are whitewashed.
The flight of the Shag is powerful and rapid, and it may often be
seen skimming along above the level of the water. When about
to dive, the bird raises itself up and disappears with a curve
and a dip. It is said to use its wings as well as its feet under
the water, but the Shags which I have watched in confinement
seemed not to use their wings at all, but to depend upon their
feet alone to propel them. When a fish is caught, they return
to the surface of the water to swallow it.

2i8 atj.en's naturalist's i>ibrary.

Nest. - -A bulky and rough structure of sticks or seaweed,
with sometimes a little straw, &c.

Eggs. — Three or four in number, but often only two are laid.
They resemble those of the Cormorant and have the same
chalky covering to the shell, but are somewhat smaller. Axis,
2"3-2'6 inches; diam., i*35-i'5 inches.

THE GANNETS. SUB-ORDER SUL^.

The Gannets are very closely allied to the Cormorants, and
like them have all the four toes joined together by a web,
which gives them great swimming and diving powers. In
osteological and anatomical characters they are also very
similar to the Cormorants, but the bill is nearly straight and
only slightly deflected at the tip, not being hooked as in
Phalacrocorax. They have a small gular sac, which is for the
most part bare. As in the Cormorants, the feet are placed far
back and the tarsus alone is bare. The changes of plumage
undergone by the Gannets is, however, quite different to that
of the Cormorants. Gannets are found all over the world, but
do not go very far to the north or south.

THE TRUE GANNETS. GENUS DYSPORUS.

Dysporus^ Ihiger, Prodr. p. 279 (181 1).

Type, D. bass anus (L.).

I. THE GANNET. DYSPORUS BASSANUS.

Pelecanus bassanns, Linn. S. N. i. p. 217 (1766).

Sida bassana, Macg. Br. B. v. p. 405 (1852); Dresser, B. Eur.

vi. p. 181, pi. 392 (1880); B. O. U. List Br.' B. p. 106

(1883); Saunders, ed. Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 155 (1884);

Seebohm, Br. B. iii. p. 643 (1885); Saunders, Man. Br.

B. p. 353 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xii.

(1890).

{Plafe Lin.)

Adult Male. — General colour above and below pure white,
with a tinge of ochreous-buff on the head and neck ; bastard-
wing, primary-coverts, and primary-quills black ; tail-feathers
white, with yellowish shafts ; bill pale bluish-grey, tinged with

THE GANNETS. 219

green at the base ; bare space round the eyes, lines on the bill.
and gular space black ; feet brownish-black, the scales light
greenish-blue or emerald-green ; claws greyish-white ; iris pale
yellowish-white. Total length, 33 inches ; culmen, 3-85 ; wing,
18-4; tail, 8*3; tarsus, 2-1.

Adult Pemale. — Similar to the male.

Young Birds. — When first hatched the nestlings are bare and
slaty-black in colour, with the bill and naked region of the eye
black. As they progress they become covered with dense
white down. The full plumage of the young bird is greyish-
brown, spotted with white, each feather having a triangular
spot at the end, these spots being very numerous on the head
and neck; the bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills are
blackish, rather more ashy on the inner webs, the innermost
secondaries tipped with white ; tail-feathers black, with white
shafts ; throat greyish-brown, spotted with white like the upper
surface ; remainder of under surface of body dull white, mottled
with ashy-grey, with which colour the feathers are tipped ;
under wing-coverts blackish, spotted with white. After the
second moult they become more uniform below, and the head
and neck are mottled with white, and, according to Mr. See-
bohm, the white colour gradually predominates after the third
and fourth moults, until the full white plumage is assumed
after the fifth moult.

Range in Great Britain. — Although the Gannet occurs on all
our coasts, the breeding-places are confined to a few colonies,
the only one in England being on Lundy Island, but another
exists on the island of Grassholme, off the Pembrokeshire
coast. In Scotland the best-known places are Ailsa Craig and
the Bass Rock ; and other breeding colonies are at Boreray in
the St. Kilda group, Sulisgeir or North Barra, and the stack of
Suleskerry, about forty miles west of Stromness. These are
all the places mentioned by Mr. Howard Saunders in his latest
work. In Ireland, Mr. Ussher says, the principal breeding-
place of the species is the Little Skellig, off Kerry, but a con-
siderable colony also exists on the Bull Rock, off Cork, as was
recorded m 1868 ; and notwithstanding that a lighthouse has
now been erected there since 1884-85, the number of nests is
estimated at from one hundred and eighty to two hundred by

2 20 Allen's naturalist's library.

the light-keepers, who think that the birds are increasing in
numbers.

Hauge outside tlie British Islands. — As in our own islands, the
breeding-places of the Gannet are confined to a few localities,
which are in the Western Fceroes, in Iceland, and again on
the Magdalene Islands and other rocky islets in the Gulf of
St. Lawrence, on the Atlantic side of North America. The
species wanders south in winter, and reaches as far as the
Mexican coast in America, and to North Africa and Madeira,
but its southern limits in winter are not well known, and it
would appear to be represented by distinct species of the
genus in all the southern continents.

Habits. — -The Gannet is entirely maritime, and is only found
inland when driven by stress of weather and exhausted. It
lives entirely on fish and destroys a large number of herrings
and other surface-feeding species, fLilling on them from a height
in the air, as it does not dive like a Cormorant. Except in the
winter, when single specimens are met with on our coasts, the
Gannet is a gregarious bird, nesting and fishing in company,
and some idea of the number of the latter may be gained from
the figures given by Mr. Seebohm, who reckons that on Sulis-
geir there are one hundred and fifty thousand pairs, on the
Stack of Suliskerry twenty-five thousand pairs, and the same
number on Boreray. On the Bass Rock and Ailsa Craig he
puts the numbers at about six thousand pairs on each. When
feeding in company, as they do, many birds are caught in the
fishing-nets.

The flight of the Gannet is decidedly grand, as the bird
swoops along at a prodigious rate, one flap of the wings seem
ing sufficient to carry it for a great distance. At first appear-
ing as a speck on the horizon, I have known one of these birds
to pass over my boat in a space of time almost incredible ; but
the long pointed wings have a way of swinging it through the
air, so that in a few seconds the great bird looms up close,
and in a few more is out of vision behind the next headland.
Sometimes the Gannets soar to a great height and wheel
round and round, seldom settling on the water except to digest
their food or to sleep. They are capable of traversing long

THE FLAMINGOES. 22 1

distances, and often go a long way from their breeding-stations
in search of food.

Eggs. — Only one. The ground-colour is bluish, but is
obscured by a chalky covering as in the case of the Cormo-
rants. Mr. Robert Read, to whom I am indebted for many
interesting notes on British birds, writes to me: — "I have
taken many eggs on Ailsa Craig. Some of them are perfectly
black with stains from the birds' feet, but if a Gannet's egg be
soaked in warm water and well scrubbed with a hard brush, all
the chalky coating can be removed, and there is then present
a beautifully clear-looking bluish egg, in texture and appear-
ance much resembling that of a Heron. The birds, when
sitting hard, hiss like a common Goose, and require a lot of
stirring up to make them leave their eggs." Axis, 2 "85-3 -3
inches; diam., i*8-2-o.

THE FLAMINGOES.

ORDER PHiENICOPTERIFORMES.

Judged by their long legs and general appearance, the
Flamingoes would appear to be a kind of aberrant Stork, and
there are not wanting naturalists who consider them to be
more of a Stork than a Duck ; but, weighing the whole of the
characters, the balance in favour of their affinity to the Ducks
is incontestable, and two characters seem to point to their true
affinity, viz., the possession of lamellae on the edge of the
bill, and the downy young, which are able to run about and
feed themselves soon after being hatched. No Stork has these
characteristics, and therefore, if the Flamingo has certain Stork-
like characters, the weight of evidence is in favour of its being
a Stork-like Duck, and I place these birds in my system of
classification between the Storks and the Ducks (cf. Sharpe,
Classif. B. p. 76). The outward structure of a Flamingo, with
its long legs and its peculiar bent bill and long neck, is suffi-
cient to distinguish the bird from any other member of the
British avifauna, while there are several osteological characters
by which the Flamingoes can be distinguished. As, however,
the birds concern the British fauna but little, there is no need
to enlarge on the minute characters of the group, the external
ones being sufficient to distinguish a Flamingo at a glance.

2 22 ALLKX S NATURAT;IST S LIBRARY.

THE TRUE FLAMINGOES. GENUS PH.^NICOPTERUS.

Phcenicoplerus^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 230 (1766}.

Type, P. ruber ^ Linn.

The Flamingoes are divided by Count Salvadori into three
genera, PIice?iicoptenis^ Ph(E?iiconaias, and Phc€?ucoparrus. The
latter is confined to the Andes of Chih and Peru, the second
to Africa and North-western India, while the genus Phcenicop-
terus is found throughout the greater part of the tropical Old
World, with the exception of the Australian Region, and occurs
again in the Neotropical Region.

I. THE COMMON FLAMINGO. PH/ENICOPTERUS ROSEUS.

Phcenicop terus roseus, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. ii. p. 207
(1811); Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 343, pi. 410 (1879);
Saunders, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. iv. p. 244 (1884) ; id. Man.
Br. B. p. 383 (1889).

Adult Male. — White, with a rosy tinge, especially on the tail ;
upper wing-coverts bright scarlet ; quills black, with the inner-
most secondaries rosy ; under surface white with a rosy tinge,
the under wing-coverts and axillaries bright scarlet ; bare skin
near the eye and base of bill fleshy-pink ; end of bill and
edges of the lower mandible black ; legs and feet pinkish-red ;
iris pale lemon-yellow. Total length, 50 inches; culmen, 5*5 ;
wing, i7"o; tail, 7*0; tarsus, 13-0.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but a little smaller.

Young Birds. — Brown above, with darker central streaks on the
feathers; the head and neck whitish, tinged with buff, especially
on the upper neck ; under surface of body whitish, with a tinge
of buff, the axillaries pale pink ; base of bill dull pink ; legs
dull lead-colour.

Nestling. — ^Covered with white dow^n, greyer on the back; the
bill quite straight.

Range in Great Britain. — Flamingoes are so often kept in cap-
tivity in our Zoological Gardens and in private aviaries, that it
is quite possible that an individual occasionally escapes, which
may account for the odd specimens which have been shot in
England. Three instances, however, of the capture of the

THE GEESE, SWANS, AND DUCKS. 223

Flamingo in England are undoubted, and no evidence has
been forthcoming that in any of the cases they were escaped
birds. The first was taken in Staffordshire, in September, 1881,
and another was shot near Beaulieu in Hampshire, in November,
1883, having been flying about for a fortnight after a great gale
from the south-west, which may have driven the bird to our
shores. Another was seen in the Hoy, near New Romney in
Kent, in August, 1884, by Captain Shelley ; and the old sports-
man must have imagined himself back in Egypt, when he saw a
Flamingo flying past him on the Kentish coast. Another was
shot in the Isle of Sheppey, in August, 1873, but Mr. Howard
Saunders thinks that this may have been an individual which
escaped from the Zoological Gardens on- the 19th of July in
the same year. Although we now look upon the occurrence of
a Flamingo in England as something extraordinary, palaeonto-
logists show that in ancient times they were common enough
in Central Europe, and even in the South of England.

Range outside the Britisli Islands. — The Flamingo is a bird of
Southern Europe, whence it extends eastwards from the Medi-
terranean to Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia, and it is also
found breeding in India, and extends to Ceylon, as well as all
over Africa. It has been observed occasionally in Switzerland,
and on the Rhine it has been seen in flocks.

Habits. — The Flamingo breeds in the salt-marshes of the
Camargue in Southern France, and in Southern Spain and
other, suitable localities in Southern Europe and the Caspian
district. The nest is made of mud, and the bird sits on it with
its long legs doubled up under it, and its neck twisted round,
so as to rest on its back. The eggs are two in number, and are
of a chalky-white. Axis, S'SS'Sl inches ; diam., 1-15.

THE GEESE, SWANS, AND DUCKS.

ORDER ANSERIFORMES.

The members of this Order have a bridged, or desmognathous,
palate, and their downy young are able to run about in a few
hours. Besides these characters, which Mr. Seebohm believes
to be thoroughly diagnostic of the Order, there are many others,
chiefly anatomical, which distinguish the Ducks and Geese.

2 24 ALLEN S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY.

They may be said to be absolutely cosmopolitan in their range,
and no country is without them, as far as we know.

I am indebted to Count Salvadori, who is engaged on the
twenty-seventh volume of the "Catalogue of Birds in the
British Museum," for giving me his scheme of classification of
the A7iseres for the benefit of the present volume ; and every
one who knows the excellence of that author's work will under-
stand that his advice has been of material assistance to me.
I have mainly followed the order of Mr. Howard Saunders
" Manual '' for the British species, which varies but little from
that adopted by the Count. My Order Anserifoj-mes is equiva-
lent to the Family Anatidt^ of Count Salvadori^ who divides the
Family into eleven vSub-families, with some of which, being ex-
clusively tropical forms, we need not concern ourselves further
in the present work. Following, therefore, as nearly as pos-
sible. Count Salvadori's system, and merely altering the order
of the Geese and Swans, we find that he divides the A?iafidcB
into three divisions, depending on the presence or absence of
a lobe on the hind-toe. Geese and Swans have no lobe, the
True Ducks have only a very narrow one ; while the Diving
Ducks and the Mergansers have a broad lobe.

THE GEESE. SUB-FAAHLY ANSERIN.^.

As already mentioned, the Geese are distinguished by the
absence of a lobe on the hind-toe, which is moderately large ;
the bill is stout and high at the base, and there is no cere.
They differ from the majority of Ducks in not having any
metallic colours in the plumage and no '• wing-speculum."

The typical "Grey" Geese are mostly birds of the northern
parts of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, the most
southern species being Anser indicus, which inhabits Central
Asia and the Indian Peninsula, and Nesoche7i satidwichejisis,
which is confined to the Sandwich Islands. All the species of
" Black" or Brent Geese are birds of the Arctic Regions, and
occur in temperate latitudes chiefly in winter. In the Southern
Hemisphere their place is taken by the Kelp Geese {Cloephagd)
of South America and the Maned Goose {Che?7o?iefta) of Aus-
tralia.

Four species of Geese have been recorded as British, which

THE SNOW-GEESE. 225

are now very properly dropped out of the list, viz., the Spur-
winged Goose {Plcctropterus gambe?tsis), the Canada Goose
{Beniida canadensis), and the Bar-headed Goose {A. indicus).
AH these birds are kept in confinement in this country, and
there can scarcely be a doubt that the specimens which have
been shot were simply escaped birds.

THE SNOW-GEESE. GENUS CHEN.

Che?t, Boie, Isis, 1829, p. 563,

Type, C. hyperboreiis (Pall).

The genera of the Geese are separated by Count Salvador!
according to the character of the serrations on the cutting-edge
of the upper mandible, and the outhne of this tomium, or
cutting-edge. Thus the genera Chen and Anser have the latter
decidedly sinuated, or concave, with the serrations visible from
the outside for the greater part of its length. The species of
the genus Che7i are remarkable for a very stout bill, and for
their snow-white or bluish colour, with black wings. The genus
is arctic in its habitat.

I. THE SNOW-GOOSE. CHEN HYPERBOREUS.

Anser hyperboreus, Pall. Spiz. Zool. vi. p. 25 (1767); Seeb. Br.

B. iii. p. 490 (1885).
Anser albatus^ Cass. ; Saunders, P. Z.' S. 1871, p. 519,
Chen albatus (Cass.), Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 409, pi. 417, fig. 2

(1873); B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 117 (1883).
Chen hyperboj-eus, Saunders, ed. Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 275 (1885);

id. Man. Br. B. 393 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part

xxvi. (1893).
Adult Male.— General colour above and below snowy-white,
the bird being everywhere pure white except on the wings ;
primary-coverts ashy-grey ; primaries black, slightly washed
with ashy at the base ; " bill purplish-red, the nail whitish, and
the intertomial space black; feet purple or orange-red, the
soles dingy-yellow ; iris dark brown, eyelids whitish " {R.
Ridgway). Total length, 26*0 inches ; culmen, 2*1 ; wing,
i6'6 ; tail, 5*5 ; tarsus, 2 '8.

8 o

2 26 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY.

Adult Female.— Similar to the male. Total length, 28*0
inches ; wing, 16*3.

Young Birds.— Greyish above, the feathers edged with ashy-
brown ; the crown of the head and the centre of the back
of the neck brown ; forehead and sides of face ashy-white,
slightly tinged with yellowish-buff; under surface of body
white, greyish on the fore-neck and chest ; the scapulars brown
like the back, with ashy bases ; lesser wing-coverts white,
powdered with grey ; the median and greater coverts ashy-
grey, with white edges, the amount of white varying greatly on
the latter series ; bastard wing-feathers grey ; primary-coverts
and quills as in the adult birds; the secondaries ashy-brown,
edged with white, and having the greater part of the inner
webs white ; inner secondaries dark slaty-brown, with broad
white edges to both webs ; tail-feathers white, powdered with
ashy-brown.

Range in Great Britain.— Of accidental occurrence only. The
first instance of the capture of this species was made known by
Mr. Howard Saunders, who noticed two young Snow-Geese in
Leadenhall Market on the 9th of November, 187 1, and he came
at once to tell me of his interesting discovery. We returned
forthwith to the market and purchased the pair, and Mr. Saun-
ders, having procured from the salesman the name of his corre-
spondent, enlisted the aid of the late Sir Victor Brooke, who was
then in Ireland, and by this means the clue was followed up,
and it was ultimately discovered that the two Geese had been
shot a few days previously on tl;i5 lake of Tacumshane in Co.
Wexford. A third was shot soon after in Wexford Harbour,
but was not preserved. In October, 1877, a flock of seven
was seen near Belmullet in Co. Mayo, and two were captured.
On the 22nd of August, 1884, an adult Snow-Goose was seen
by the Rev. H. A. Macpherson on the coast near Allonby in
Cumberland. Others have since been noticed in Yorkshire, in
1891.

Eange outside the British Islands.— The home of this beautiful
bird is in the Arctic Regions of North America, but the species
probably occurs in Eastern Siberia. It breeds in Western Arc-
tic America, and migrates in winter to Japan, and in America
down the Mississippi Valley and to Southern California. It has

THE TRUE GEESE. 227

been observed in various parts of Northern Europe. A large
eastern form, Chen itivalis (Forst. , Salvad. Cat. B. xxvii. p.
86), is found in the United States on migration, and reaches
the Bermudas. Its breeding-home is not yet known, but is
believed to be in Arctic America to the east of the Mackenzie
River. This large race only differs from the true C. hyper-
boreus in size, and it is extremely doubtful if it can be separated
from the latter bird specifically.

Habits.— Nothing particular has been recorded of the habits
of the Snow-Geese in their arctic home, where they frequent
the tundras, or barren ground, feeding on grass and insects,
and in the autumn on berries.

Nest.— A hollow in the ground, lined with down.

Eggs.— Dirty white in colour, and usually five in number.
Axis, 3'i5-3'4 inches; diam., 2-05-2-2.

THE TRUE GEESE. GENUS ANSER.

Anser, Briss. Orn. vi. p. 261 (1760).

Type, A. anser (L.).

The true Geese are found in the northern parts of the Old
and New Worlds, breeding in the high north, and migrating
south in winter. Four species occur in the British Islands,
and they are not always easy to distinguish, but they have
been very clearly differentiated by Mr. Howard Saunders in
his " Manual " and by Count Salvadori in the " Catalogue of
Birds." The nail at the end of the bill is white in A. anser
and A. albifro?ts, and blackish in A.fabalis and A. brachyrhyn-
chus^ and the colours of the bill and feet are usually distinc-
tive characters, but too much stress must not be laid on these
points, as they do not always hold true, while possibly some
hybridisation takes place among the Geese, which may account
for the appearance of the characters of one section unexpectedly
among birds of the other section.

I. THE GREY LAG-GOOSE. ANSER ANSER.

Anas anser, Linn. S. N. i. p. 197 (1766).

Anser ferns, Macg. Br. B. iv. p. 589 (1852); Salvad. Cat. B.
Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 89 (1895).

Q 2

2 28 Allen's naturalist's library.

Anser d?ie?'eus, Meyer; Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 35s, pi. 411
(1878); B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 115 (1883); Saunders,
ed. Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 253 (1885); Seebohm, Br. B. iii.
p. 500 (1885); Saunders, Man. p. 385 (1889); Lilford,
Col. Fig. Br. B. part xxvi. (1893).

Adult Male. — General colour above light brown, with ashy
centres to the feathers and whity-brown margins ; the lower
back, rump, and upper tail-coverts lavender-grey ; wing-coverts
like the back, but the lesser series, as well as the coverts round
the bend of the wing, light bluish-grey, with which colour the
median and greater coverts are tinged ; bastard-wing bluish
grey, with somewhat broader white margins, and shaded with
brown ; primary-coverts grey ; primaries blackish, with white
shafts, the outer ones grey for a considerable portion of their
length; the secondaries blackish-brown, narrowly edged with
white ; the inner secondaries browner, Hke the back ; sides of
rump and long upper tail-coverts white ; centre tail-feathers
ashy-brown, edged and tipped with white, the remainder
blackish on the outer web and at the base, the dark colour
disappearing towards the outermost, which are white; head
and neck light brown, the feathers of the hind-neck somewhat
lanceolated and forming a soft ruff; sides of face light ashy-
brown, with a narrow line of white fringing the base of the
upper mandible ; under surface of body white, the throat and
chest ashy-grey, with whitish margins to the feathers ; the breast
and abdomen slightly mottled with black ; thighs grey ; sides
of body brown, with whity-brown margins to the feathers ;
under wing-coverts and axillaries light lavender-grey ; bill
flesh-coloured, with the nail white ; feet flesh-colour ; iris light
brown. Total length, 30*0 inches; culmen, 2 '6; wing, 17 '8;
tail, 7'o ; tarsus, 3*2.

Adult Female. — Similiar to the male but smaller. Total
length 30*0 inches ; wing, i6-o.

Young Birdd. — Darker than the adults and having no black on
the under-parts.

Characters. — The white nail at the end of the bill distin-
guishes this species, as well as the absence of any conspicuous
white on the forehead, combined with the light grey of the

THE TRUE GEESE. 229

rump. The flesh-coloured bill and feet are also character-
istic.

Range in Great Britain. — Although formerly nesting in Lin-
colnshire, the breeding-places of this Goose are now confined
to Scotland, where it still rears its young in Ross, Caithness,
and Sutherland, as well as in the Hebrides, where it is still
abundant on some of the outer isles. It is not mentioned
by Mr. Ussher as a breeding-species in Ireland. In winter
the Grey Lag-Goose occurs in flocks in other localities in
Great Britain, but seldom on either the east or west coast of
England.

Eange outside the British Islands. — To the southern counties of
Europe this species only comes as a winter visitor, but in
Russia, and locally in Central and Northern Europe, it is
generally distributed in summer. In Siberia its place is taken
by a nearly allied species, A. i'ubrirost}'is of Hodgson, which
winters in India and China. This, according to Count Sal-
vadori, is a somewhat larger bird, with heavier bill and feet,
and has more black on the under-parts — poor characters for
separation, but from the series in the British Museum I am
able to say that they are fairly well marked. The bill is
said by Dr. Radde to be flesh-coloured, but with the base of
the upper mandible brisjht red, in the eastern form.

Habits. — Many people think that the name of "Grey-lag,"
as it is generally written, is a vernacular corruption of " Grey-
leg," which, as the bird has flesh-coloured feet, would be a
misnomer ; but it is now recognised that the name should be
written Grey " Lag-Goose," indicating the goose that " lagged "
behind to breed in the fens of Lincolnshire in former times.
When unmolested, the present species feeds all day, retiring at
night-time to secluded places on the sea-shore, or wherever
it can rest without molestation. Its food consists of various
Vvater-plants, grass, and grain, in pursuit of which it is to be
found on stubble-lands. The curious feature which is com-
mon to most Geese, of a very rapid moult, renders the birds
practically defenceless at this period of their existence, and
they then either hide themselves when inland, or take to the
water for protection from assault when they are no longer
able to fly. At other times they fly strongly and well, and

230 ALLEN S NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

generally take the form of a V when flying in flocks or small
parties.

Nest. — The Grey Lag-Goose is a somewhat early breeder,
nesting in March in Germany, and in Scandinavia in May.
The nest is a large, roughly-made structure, composed of dead
reeds, grass, and sedge, with sometimes a stick or two added.
Mr. Seebohm says that the nest is often a foot high and a yard
across, and "in cold climates is generally lined with moss, to
which down is added, as the eggs are laid."

Eggs. — From five to six in number ; pure white, but soon
getting discoloured to a creamy-white, some of the eggs appear-
ing also to be naturally of a dirty yellowish-white colour.
Axis, 3'25-3'55 inches; diam., 2-i-2'SS'

II. THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. ANSER ALBIFRONS.

Branta albifrons, Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 69, No. 87
(1769).

Ajtser aIbi/ro9is, Macg. Br. B. iv. p. 609 (1852); Dresser, B
Eur. vi. p. 375, pi. 414 (1878); B. O. U. List Br. B. p
116 (1883); Saunders, ed. Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 261 (1885)
Seebohm, Br. B. iii. p. 505 (1885); Saunders, Man. Br
B. p. 387 (1889) ; Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. pt. x. (1889)
Salvad. Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 92 (1895).

{Plaie LIV.)
Adult Male. — General colour above resembling that of A.
anser, but darker, especially as regards the lower back and
rump, which are dark slaty-grey, instead of light bluish-grey ;
the grey on the wings is also darker than in A. anser, and the
outer greater coverts especially are greyer, with broader white
margins ; a white mask extends from the base of the mandible
across the forehead, but does not reach to the line of the eyes
and is separated from the brown of the head and face by a
shade of black ; under surface of body as in A. anser, but
much more extensively marked with black ; bill orange-yellow,
with a white nail at the tip ; feet and toes orange ; iris dark
brown. Total length, 30-0 inches ; culmen, i"75; wing, 160;
tail, 6'o ; tarsus, 2 "65.

THE TRUE GEESE. 231

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but a little smaller. Total
length, 26"o inches ; wing, 15.

Young Birds. — Darker and more uniform in colour than the
adults, and the nail at the end of the bill is brown ; the under
surface is more uniform, without any black patches or bars.

Characters. — The White-fronted Goose is a smaller bird than
the Grey Lag-Goose, and has an orange-coloured bill with a
white nail at the tip. The white forehead also easily dis-
tinguishes it, when adult, though it should be noted that, in our
figure, the white is rather more extended than it should be.

Range in Great Britain.— This Goose does not breed within our
limits, and is only a winter visitant, with a somewhat curious
distribution, as is detailed by Mr. Howard Saunders and Mr.
Seebohm. It occurs somewhat sporadically, and is rare on
the east coasts of both England and Scotland, is commoner in
Ireland. On the west coast of Scotland it is a rare visitor, as
a rule, and on the Outer Hebrides is only an occasional visitor,
but on Islay is said to be the most common of all the Grey
Geese.

Eange outside the British Islands. — The European form of the
White-fronted Goose breeds in the high north, from Green-
land and Iceland to Central Siberia, as Mr. Seebohm found
it on the Yenesei, and he states that it passes farther to
the north to breed than either the Bean-Goose or the Grey
Lag-Goose. In America a large form, A. ga?nbeli, is found,
which can only be considered a slightly larger race of our A.
albifrons, and this race breeds in Arctic America and goes
south in winter, as does the true A. albifrojis, which in the
cold season occurs throughout Europe, and even winters in
North-western India and China.

Hahits. — The same as those of the Grey Lag-Goose. Mr.
Seebohm says that the notes are somewhat similar to those of
the last-mentioned species, but are more trumpet-like in tone,
and more rapidly repeated, so that it has sometimes been
called the Laughing Goose. He remarks further : — *' In other
respects the habits of the White-fronted, Bean, and Grey Geese
are so similar that the description of one might almost pass for
that of the others."

232 Allen's naturalist's library.

Nest. — Described by Middendorf as placed on a grassy hillock,
in a hollow abundantly lined with down. Other observers state
that the American form makes sometimes only a depression in
the sand, or lines the nest with grasses and feathers as well as
down.

Eggs. — From five to seven in number, though as many as ten
have been found. They are dull yellowish-white. Axis, 3"o-
3-3 inches ; diam., 2 •0-2-2.

III. THE BEAN-GOOSE. ANSER FABALIS.

Atias fabalis, Lath. Gen. Syn. Suppl. i. p. 297 (1787).

Anas segetum^ Gm. S. N. i. p. 512 (1788).

Anser segetuni, Macg. Br. B. iv. p. 595 (1852) ; Dresser, B. Eur.

vi.p. 363, pL 412 (1879); B.O.U. List Br.B. p. 115 (1883);

Saunders, ed. Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 265 (1885); Seebohm,

Br. B. iii. p. 493 (1885) ; Saunders, Man. p. 389 (1889) ;

Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xxvi. (1893).
Anser fabails, Salvad. Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 100 (1895).

Adult Male. — General colour above brown, with whity-brown
edges to the feathers ; the lower back and rump dull slaty-
blackish ; the sides of the rump and upper tail-coverts white ;
the tail-feathers blackish, edged and tipped with white ; the
wing-coverts dark slaty-grey, the inner ones, as well as the
median and greater coverts, brown, rather broadly edged with
white, like the inner secondaries ; the bastard-wing and primary-
coverts grey ; primaries black externally, grey for the most
part ; secondaries black, with broad w^hite edges ; head and
neck brown, with a little trace of white at the base qf the upper
mandible and along the base of the forehead ; the neck-feathers
soft antl lanceolate ; under surface of body greyish-white ;
throat brown, and with a brown shade overspreading the fore-
neck ; the sides of the body mottled with ashy or dark brown
feathers, which are broadly edged with whity-brown ; thighs
ashy-brown ; under wing-coverts dark slaty-grey, the axillaries
more blackish ; bill black, with an orange band in the middle ;
nail black ; feet orange ; iris dark brown. Total length, 30*0
inches; culmen, 2*5; wing, iS'o; tail, 5*4; tarsus, 3T.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but a litlle smaller.

THE TRUE GEESE. 233

Young Birds. — Darker than the adults, with a tinge of tawny-
buff about the neck.

Characters. — Distinguished by the black nail at the end of the
bill, the orange feet, and orange band across the middle of the
bill.

Eange in Great Britain. — The Bean-Goose does not breed with
us, but is a visitor in autumn and spring, and occurs through-
out the winter on most parts of the coasts, though in some
localities it is much more plentifully observed than in others.

Hange outside the British Islands. — This species breeds far away
to the north, on the tundras of the Petchora and the Yenesei,
and also in Lapland and Scandinavia above 64° N. lat., as
well as in Novaya Zemlya. It also nests near Archangel. A
specimen procured by Mr. Seebohm in the valley of the
Yenesei is referred by Count Salvador! to the true Bean-Goose,
but in Eastern Siberia, eastwards from the Boganida River, its
place is taken by an allied species, A. serrirostris^ which breeds
m the high north, and w'inters in China and Japan. The Bean-
Goose of Europe winters in the southern countries of the Con-
tinent, and is abundant in most of them at that season of the
year, as it is also in Southern Russia and the Caspian.

Habits. — To its arctic breeding-ground the Bean-Goose be-
takes itself as soon as there is any sign of the break-up of the
cold, and of the ice disappearing, and Mr. Seebohm has given
a very graphic account of his meeting with the species on the
Petchora and on the Yenesei Rivers, where he saw the first birds
on the 9th and loth of May respectively. Small flocks passed
during the next fortnight, but on the wind changing to the
north, and the frost recommencing, the geese were seen flying
south again. When, however, the full migration set in, he says
that " flock after flock foUo wed every few minutes, winging their
way northwards at a great speed. The first arrivals flew high in
the air, as if keeping a good look-out for any open water, but
when the thaw commenced they flew low, many skimming over
tlie surface of the snow on the ice of the river, below the level
of the forests, but most of them hugging the shore-line."

After the young are hatched, the old birds begin to moult,
and for this purpose retire into the tundra, accompanied by the

234 ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY.

goslings. As neither young nor old birds are able to fly, these
flocks proceed at a walking pace, and at these times numbers
fall victims to the Samoyeds, who depend largely on their store
of these birds for their winter food. Mr. Seebobm met with
one of these flocks on the Petchora. "At least a hundred old
geese, and quite as many young, perhaps twice or thrice that
number, were marching like a regiment of soldiers. The van-
guard, consisting of old birds, was half-way across the stream,
whilst the goslings brought up the rear, and were running down
the steep bank to the water's edge as fast as their legs could
carry them. The green grassy banks of the river, where the
Geese had evidently been feeding, were strewn with feathers,
and in five minutes I picked up a large handful of quills. They
were evidently migrating to the interior of the tundra, moulting
as they went along. On the following day, our stock of pro-
visions being entirely exhausted, we sent a foraging party after
this flock of Geese, who met with them a few versts higher up
the river, and secured eleven old birds and five goslings. Most
of the Geese were in full moult and unable to fly, and both old
and young made for the water, attempting to conceal them-
selves by diving."

Nest. — A slight hollow scraped in the soil and lined with
dead grass, moss, sometimes a few feathers, and always plenty
of the light grey down of the bird itself {Seehohni).

Eggs. — Three, sometimes four in number \ creamy-white, or
yellowish-buff when stained, and with scarcely any gloss. Axis,
2"95-3'4 inches; diam., 2-15.

IV. THE PINK-FOOTED GOOSE. ANSER BRACHYRHYNCHUS.

Anser brachyrhynchus, Baillon, Mem. de la Soc. Roy. d'Em.

d'Abbev. 1833, P- 74 ; Macg. Br. B. iv. p. 602 (1852);

Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 369, pi. 413 (1878); B. O. U. List

Br. B. p. 116; Saunders, ed. Yarr. iv. p. 270 (1885).

Seebohm, Br. B. iii. p. 498 (1885) ; Saunders, Man. p. 391

(1889) ; Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xxv. (1893) ; Salvad

Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 103 (1895).
Anser segetum bmchyrhynchus, Seebohm, Brit. B. iii. p. 498

(1S85).

Adult Male. — Similar to A. fabalts, and, like that species.

THE TRUE GEESE. 235

having no white outer tail-feathers ; the flanks greyer and not
so marked with brown ; the grey of the wings, as well as of the
lower back and rump, rather lighter than in A. fabalis. It is,
however, easily distinguished from that species by its pink feet
and by the pink band on the bill. Total length, 2 6'o inches;
culmen, i'8; wing, i6'5 ; tail, 5-4; tarsus, 3-0.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but smaller. Total length,
25'o inches; wing, i6'2.

Range in Great Britain. — In autumn and winter considerable
flocks of this Goose are observed on the east coast of Scotland
and England, and at Holkham in Norfolk, where protection is
afforded by the Earl of Leicester to the wild-fowl, numbers
of these Geese may be seen in the autumn. The species is
not often recorded from the south or the west of England, but
it visits the west of Scotland and the Outer Hebrides, and has
only once been recorded from Ireland.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Pink-footed Goose is
known to breed in Iceland and in Spitsbergen, and is probably
the species noticed by Mr. Leigh Smith on Franz-Josef Land,
but on Novaya Zemlya only the Bean-Goose was observed by
Admiral Markham. It has not been proved to breed in Scan-
dinavia, and its distribution in winter in Northern Europe is
also not thoroughly understood, though it has been procured
in Holland, in Belgium, and in France.

Habits. — This species appears to be exceedingly shy, wherever
it occurs, whether during the breeding-season or during the
winter, but very Httle has been recorded of the nesting-habits
of the Pink-footed Goose. In Spitsbergen it is said to nest
mostly on the low rocks near the coast, and Mr. Chapman
found young birds and moulted feathers in such situations, but
the species is also believed to nest in the high cliffs a mile or
two from the sea, according to Messrs. Evans and Sturge.

In its summer home the Pink-footed Goose has much
the same habits as its close relation the Bean-Goose. In
winter, when it visits us in England, it is found feeding in the
stubble-fields, but as the tide falls the birds betake themselves
to their favourite sand-banks and rest well away from danger.
This is certainly the case with the Geese at Holkham, for,

2^6 Allen's naturalist's library.

although Mr. Seebohm says that they only go out to the sand-
banks at nightfall, 1 have seen flocks of them flying out, day
after day, as soon as the sand-banks beyond the bar at Wells
were left uncovered. They fly very high in the air, well out
of gun-shot, in small or large parties, in a V or W form, and
sometimes a couple of hundred or more will be on the wing
together, flock succeeding flock, and the sound of so many
Geese at once, uttering their musical " tin-trumpet "-like call,
is one which never fails to form an interesting experience to
the Hstener.

Nest and Eggs. — Similar in character to those of the Bean-
Goose.

THE BRENT GEESE. GENUS BRANTA.

jBranfa, Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 67 (1769).

Type, B. bernicla (L.)

In the Brent Geese the serrations of the upper mandible
are not visible from outside, and the cutting-edge of the man-
dible, or tomium, is almost straight.

Count Salvadori recognises eight species of Brent Geese, all
of them inhabitants of the northern parts of the Old and New
Worlds, breeding in the high north, and coming south in large
flocks in winter. The large Canada Goose, which has been
kept in confinement in England for many years, and from
which all British-killed examples are believed to have escaped,
is a Nortli American species, of which two other races B.
hutchinsi and B. occidentalism are recognised by American
ornithologists. The series in the British Museum is insufticient
for me to determine the value of these forms, biit I agree with
Count Salvadori that they appear to be very doubtfully distinct.
Bra7ita iniiiiuia is, however, a small and well-defined race
belonging to Western North America. B. nigricans has the
same habitat, but occurs also on the coasts of Eastern Asia.
All the other species of Bra?ita are visitors to Britain, and are
treated of in the following pages.

I. THE LERNACLE GOOSE. P.RANTA LEUCOPSIS.

Anas icucopsis, Bechstein, Orn. Taschenb. ii. p. 424 (1803).

THE BRENT GEESE. 237

Berjiida leiicopsis, Macg. Br. B. iv. p. 622 (1852) ; Dresser, B.

Eur. vi. p. 397, pi. 415, fig. i. (1878) ; B. O. U. List Br.

B. p. 118 (1883); Saunders, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. iv. p. 286

(1885) ; id. Man. Br. B. p. 397 (1889).
Anser kucopsis, Seebohm, Br. B. iii. p. 512 (1885); Lilford,

Col. Fig. Br. B. part xi. (1889).
Branta kucopsis^ Salvad. Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 117

(1895).
Adult Male. — General colour above ashy-grey, with white
margins to the feathers, before which is a black band, so that
the upper surface is prettily banded, especially on the wing-
coverts and inner secondaries ; the mantle blackish, like the
neck, but the upper back banded like the wings ; lower back
and rump black ; sides of rump and upper tail-coverts white ;
tail entirely black ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and pri-
maries grey, the latter black towards the ends ; the secondaries
pearly-grey, blackish at the tips and on the inner webs ; fore-
head and crown white to the line between the middle of the
eyes ; the middle and hinder part of the crown, as well as the
whole of the neck, lower throat, fore-neck, and chest, black,
the latter obscured with dusky-brown margins ; lores and
feathers in front of the eye black, browner near the base of the
bill and on the base of the forehead ; cheeks, ear-coverts, eye-
brow, and throat pure white ; breast and abdomen white ; the
sides of the body pearly-grey, the feathers tipped with white,
before which is a brownish shade producing a slightly mottled
appearance ; thighs black ; under wing-coverts and axillaries
pearly-grey, with whitish tips and dusky sub-terminal bars like
the upper wing-coverts ; bill, feet, and claws black ; iris dark
brown. Total length, 30*0 inches ; culmen, 1*25; wing, i5"o;
tail, 5-3; tarsus, 3-1.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but a little smaller.
Young. — Differs from the adults in having some black
feathers intermingled with the white of the cheeks ; the feathers
of the back and wing-coverts with a rufous tinge at the ends ;
the grey bars on the flanks darker, and the legs, according to
Count Salvadori, not so black as in the adults.

Range in Great Britain. — A winter visitor from the north, but
rare on the eastern coasts of our islands, and decidedly so in

238 Allen's naturalist's library.

the English Channel. On the western coasts it occurs much
more plentifully, and it frequently arrives in thousands, accord
ing to Mr. Howard Saunders, in the upper part of the Solway
between the end of September and the latter part of March.
In the western isles it occurs in some abundance, and also
visits the south of the Shetlands, but is local in Ireland,
though abundant at certain places on the northern and east-
ern coasts.

Range outside the British Islands. — Very little is known of the
breeding-home of the Bernacle Goose, for, however plentifully
it may occur in winter, we are still in want of information as to
its nesting. It may breed in Iceland and Greenland, but there
is as yet no proof of the fact, and the information as to its nest-
ing in Spitsbergen and Novaya Zemlya is equally unsatisfactory,
though it is extremely probable that it does so, and the finding
of the species in Northern Spitsbergen in a complete state of
moult, as recorded by the Rev. A. E. Eaton, is almost conclu-
sive proof that the species breeds there. Professor Collett has
recorded the nesting of the species on Borgevser, one of the
Lofoden Isles, but this may be an exceptional instance, Mr.
Trevor-Battye says that it breeds on the Gusina River in the
island of Kolguev. In winter it is occasionally found on the
shores of Hudson's Bay, and occurs at this season in Russia
and on the coasts of other countries in Northern Europe, rarely
wandering to the Mediterranean countries.

Habits. — These resemble the habits of the other shore-
haunting Geese, the birds feeding on grass in the marsh-lands,
and retiring to sand-banks to rest. One of the best accounts
of the habits of the Bernacle is that given by the Rev. H. A.
Macpherson in his "Vertebrate Fauna of Lake-land." He
says that the species is well-known on the coast-line, but is only
abundant on certain salt-marshes between Silloth and Floriston,
and has been observed crossing the Pennine Hills on migration.
His description of the habits of the Bernacle corresponds very
closely with those of the Pink-footed Goose as noted by me at
Holkham. " When the tide of the Solway begins to ebb, and
isolated sand-banks appear above a wild waste of waters,
Bernacles often rise off Rockliffe marsh, and alight again on
the first bars exposed, there to linger until another and more

THE IJRENT GEESE.

239

extended sand-bank becomes dry. Other variations occur in
their daily routine, such as ahghting in the shallows of the
estuary, and marching in a line to the brow of the marsh oppo-
site, which gained, they range themselves along the edge of
the loose turfs of the saltings ; or, again, they alight in the
water, and swim a short distance. They are never long silent,
neither do they associate with other fowl. They generally
leave the Solway in March and April, but sometimes a few
linger into May. At that season, pinioned Bernacles exhibit
much restlessness, and display symptoms of the migratory im-
pulse by loud calls. Those shot in open weather are con-
sidered good eating."

Nest. — Unknown, in a wild state.

Eggs. — Those laid in confinement are white. Axis, 275-
2 '9 inches ; diam., i"85-2*o.

II. THE BRENT GOOSE. ERANTA EERNICLA.

Anser brenta^ Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. ii. p. 229 (1811); See-

bohm, Br. B. iii. p. 508 (1885).
Bernicla brenta, Macg. Br. B. iv. p. 629 (1852); Dresser, B.

Eur. vi. p. 389, pi. 415, fig. 2 (1877); B. O. U. List Br.

B. p. 117 (1883); Saunders, ed. Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 290

(1885) ; id. Man. Br. B. p. 399 (1889) ; Lilford, Col. Fig.

Brit. B. part xxiv. (1893).
Anser brenta glaiicogaster (Etohm.) ; Seeb. Brit. B. iii. p. 508

{1885).
Branta bernicla^ Salvad. Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 119

(1895).
Adult Male. — General colour above greyish-brown, decidedly
slaty ; the lower back and rump, as well as the central upper
tail-coverts, darker, the latter inclining to blackish ; wing-
coverts like the back; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills
black, the innermost secondaries like the back ; the sides of
the lower rump and the upper tail-coverts white, and hiding
the tail-feathers, which are black ; head, neck, and upper
mantle, as well as the throat and fore-neck, sooty-black, with a
patch of white-tipped feathers on each side of the neck ; breast
and abdomen brownish-grey, sharply defined against the black

240 ALLEN S NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

of the fore-neck, and shading off into pure white on the lower
abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts ; the sides of the body
and flanks mottled with broad white edgings to the feathers,
before which is a shade of brown ; under wing-coverts and
axillaries slaty-grey; bill, feet, and toes black; iris dark brown.
Total length, 2i-o inches; culmen, i"35 ; wing, 127; tail,
4*6 ; tarsus, 2'i.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but a little smaller.
Young Birds. — Paler grey and having the neck entirely black,
and may be distinguished by the whitish edges to the wing-
coverts and scapulars, which gives them a spotted appear-
ance.

Characters. — The Brent Goose is easily recognised by the
abnormal length of the upper and under tail-coverts, which
reach to the end of the tail-feathers, and occasionally even
beyond them, so that the tail is almost completely hidden.
The head in the present species and its allies is entirely black.
The under-parts are greyish, or whitish, contrasting strongly
with the black of the neck and chest.

There are two forms of the Common Brent Goose, both of
which occur in England and appear at first sight to be specifi-
cally distinct. The true Branta bernida, which is supposed to
range from the Taimyr Peninsula to Novaya Zemlya, Franz-
Josef Land, and Spitsbergen, has the belly dark grey, and Mr.
Seebohm considers the form with the whitish belly, B. glauco-
o-aster, to take the place of the common Brent from the west
coast of Greenland to the Parry Isles. These two races are
further supposed to be distinguished from the Pacific Brent,
B. nigricafis (which has the belly nearly as black as the throat
and chest), by the white markings on the sides -of the neck, not
meeting in front. This last is not a specific character, for it
is found occasionally in both the dark and light forms of the
Common Brent. Although the series of specimens of these
Geese in the British Museum is not a large one, it is sufficient
to show that intermediate specimens between the light and
dark forms often occur, and I agree with Count Salvadori that
they cannot be separated as races. Nor is the restriction of
each race to a separate geographical area, as propounded by
Mr. Seebohm, confirmed by recent researches, for a specimen

THE BRENT GEESE. 24 1

of the white-breasted form from Novaya Zemlya is in the
Museum, while Mr. Trevor-Battye found both hght and dark-
breasted individuals on Kolguev.

Range in Great Britain. — The commonest of all the Geese
which visit our shores in the winter, and occurring in great
numbers in certain parts, particularly on the east coasts of
England and Scotland, as well as in Ireland. On the western
coasts it is not so common as on those of the east and south.

Range outside the British Islands. — How far north the Brent
Goose goes during the breeding-season is not yet discovered,
but its range probably extends as far as land is known. From
the Taimyr Peninsula it ranges westward throughout the
Arctic Regions in summer, the dark-bellied form being the
principal inhabitant of Novaya Zemlya, Spitsbergen, Kolguev,
&c., though not exclusively, as has already been pointed out,
and the light-breasted form taking its place from Greenland to
the ParrJ^ Islands. In winter it migrates south, and occurs
along the coasts of Northern and Western Europe, even occa-
sionally visiting the Mediterranean countries.

Habits. — This Goose is entirely a maritime species, and
mostly feeds during the day-time. Mr. Howard Saunders
says that it does not dive, but searches on the ooze, or with
head and neck extended below the surface of the water in
shallow places, for aquatic plants, "especially grass-wrack
{Zostera inari?ia) and laver {Ulva latissima) : whence the local
names 'Ware-Goose' and 'Rood-Goose,' z.e., 'Root-Goose';
small crustaceans and marine insects are also eaten. The call-
note is a loud cro/ik or /wfi/c, audible at a considerable distance."

The Brent Goose breeds in Kolguev Island, according to
the admission of the Samoyeds, but Mr. Trevor-Battye never
saw the nest or the egg. Vast numbers of old and young
birds appear off the sand-banks in July, and he describes
in a graphic manner in his work, " Ice-bound on Kolguev,"
the way in which the Geese are trapped on that island by the
Samoyeds — by placing a large net supported on poles, and
sending men out in boats to drive the Geese inland. At this
time of year the Brent Geese are moulting and cannot fly, and
are gradually driven into the trap by the natives, and all
slaughtered. On the occasion when Mr. Trevor-Battye wit-

S R

242 ALLEN S NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

nessed this capture, 3,325 Geese were taken, of which no less
than 3,300 were Brents. Of the interesting details given by
the author there is not space to extract more than a few words,
but the whole scene is very vividly described by him. " Long
before we could see the boats, for the mist had thickened, we
could hear shouting and the cries of the Geese, but after a bit
first one boat and then another came into view. On the men
came, but very slowly ; now pulling across a creek, now push-
ing the arnoh over a bit of mud or hauling it over a sand-
ridge, sometimes leaving it altogether and running off to head
the Geese. So, slowly, they came zig-zagging along.

'' By this time we could see Geese by thousands through
the mist. I could even distinguish the short trumpet-note of
the Brent among the general babel. It was, indeed, a babel.
How to convey to you any idea of it I do not know. If you
can imagine many hundred farmyard Geese and many thousand
cornets all sounding together, and crowded on by a handful of
screaming wild men — if you can imagine all this, then you are
not far off the mark. . . ,

" For some little while the Geese delayed as though they
felt that they were getting too much inland, or suspected a
trap in front. Then the boats came up from behind and the
Geese crowded on. They didn't like going. Sometimes the
leading Geese would stop and wheel about, heading right into

the mass But the boats came steadily on.

Every moment I looked to see the parents escape by diving,
or expected some to rise, for it was plain enough that many
were full-winged. Neither of these things they did ; only, like
a pack of idiots, they ' wanked ' and swam along. The grey
Geese dived. The Bean and the White-fronts behaved exactly
alike. First they laid out their long necks flat on the water,
as their fellows did on the land. Then, as the boats came
nearer, they sank their bodies till the water was almost over
their backs. It was wonderfully difficult to see them — they
looked like bits of stick. When a boat approached a bird, it
would just sink its head and shoot forward under the water.
They never went down like Diving-Ducks."

" And now the body of Brents was exactly opposite the
entrance to the nets, and about them in a half-circle were the
boats. Round and round they swam, but refused to leave the

THE BRENT GEESE. 243

water. The boats did not dare to close in, for fear the Geese
should break. It was a ticklish moment — the Geese would
not make the land. At last a single old Goose, a Bean he
was, stepped out and ran up the bank. He was quickly
followed by one or two more, and then by the first of the
Brent. And now that they had started they went quickly
enough, scrambling after one another, and heading into the
net. Over the green they ran hke a flock of domestic Geese.
Sometimes they aimed for right or left, but then the children
showed themselves and the Geese were turned. The last bird
was in, and then we closed the rear. Not a Brent had flown, not
a Brent had dived, not one escaped. Of all that army every
bird was in the net — a dense black moving mass." The kill-
ing of the Geese took some time, and then they were divided,
and ultimately cached. "The turf cut round with the axe,
where the cloudberry grew thickest, was torn up with the
hands ; then the Geese were stood on their tails with their
heads tucked in, till the girls had made a circular group some
three or four yards across. Then the turfs were rolled back
on them a double layer, and the packing was complete."

Nest. — The nest has been described by Colonel Feilden,
who found the species breeding in S2j4° N. lat, during the
expedition of the A/er^ and Discovery to the Arctic Regions.
The eggs were laid in the third week of June. The nests were
situated on the sloping hillsides between the snow-line and the
sea, and were placed in a slight depression of the ground, with
a good foundation of grass, moss, and the stems of saxifrages,
and plentifully lined with a warm bed of down.

Eggs. — Four or five in number ; creamy-white, with a slight
gloss. Axis, 2-6-2"95 inches; diam., i75-i-9.

III. THE RED-BREASTED GOOSE. BERNICLA RUFICOLLIS.

Anser ruficollis, Pallas, Spicil. Zool. fasc. vi. p. 21, tab. v.
(1769); Seebohm, Br. B. iii. p. 515 (1885).

Bernicla riificollis, Macg. Br. B. iv. p. 634 (1852); Dresser,
B. Eur. vi. p. 403, pi. 416 (1876) ; B. O. U. List Br. B.
p. 119 (1883); Saunders, ed. Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 281
(1885); id. Man. Br. B. p. 395 (1889); Lilford, CoL
Fig. Br. B. part xxi. (1892); Salvad. Cat. B. Brit. Mus.
xxvii. p. 124 (1895).

R 2

244 ALLEN'S NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

Adult Male — General colour above black, including the
centre of the lower back and rump, the sides of the latter
being pure white like the upper tail-coverts ; wings and tail
black, with greyish white margins to the median and greater
coverts ; crown of head and entire hind-neck black, separated
by a band of white from the mantle ; sides of face and throat
black ; a large loral patch of white ; below the eye a small
white spot ; ear-coverts forming a large chestnut patch, en-
tirely encircled by white, which skirts the black of the hind-
neck in a broad line ; lower throat, fore-neck, and sides of
neck bright chestnut, separated from the white on the sides of
the neck by a line of black, and again by another line of black
across the lower fore-neck, this black line being continuous
with the black of the hind-neck ; across the chest a narrow
line of white, continuous with the white band across the
mantle ; entire breast black, the feathers having white bases ;
the entire abdomen and under tail-coverts white, as well as
the feathers of the thighs, some of which are black-tipped ;
sides of the body white, the lower flanks handsomely banded
with black ; axillaries and under wing-coverts black ; bill
nearly black ; feet and toes dark brown, nearly black ; iris
hazel. Total length, 20 inches; culmen, i-o; wing, i3'5 ;
tail, 4 '6 ; tarsus, 2-1.

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but slightly smaller.

Young Male — Has the same markings as the adult, but the
chestnut is much paler and the black is tinged with brown,
and the feathers of the upper surface have distinct brown
edges, especially on the wing-coverts ; the white bands across
the upper mantle and on the lower fore-neck are not so well
defined as in the old bird.

Range in Great Britain. — A very rare visitor, of which eight
authenticated occurrences are on record, the first dating back
to 1776, when a specimen was procured near London, and
is still preserved in the Newcastle Museum. Nearly all the
occurrences of the species have taken place on the east coast,
but Mr. Howard Saunders mentions two in South Devon, and
one in Caithness.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Red-breasted Goose
breeds in the lower valleys of the Ob and the Yenesei Rivers

THE BRENT GEESE. 245

in Siberia, above the limit of forest-growth, and was found
breeding by Middendorf on the Boganida. It winters on the
Caspian Sea, and has occurred in most countries of Europe at
that season of the year. Lord Lilford possesses an Egyptian
specimen, collected by the late Mr. Stafford Allen, and it is
no doubt an occasional winter visitant to that country, as the
species is often depicted on the ancient monuments.

Haliits. — The Red-breasted Goose is such a rare bird in
most parts of Europe, and has its breeding-range so restricted
to Siberia, that very little has been recorded about the habits
of the species. Mr. Seebohm, who is one of the few English
naturalists who have seen this Goose in a state of nature, has
given the following notes on it : " Radde describes its great
abundance in winter on the islands near the south-western
shores of the Caspian. After a heavy fall of snow, the fisher-
men clear a space on the grassy islands, and often catch them
in such numbers in nets that they are sold at from five to ten
kopecks apiece. When they begin to collect before migration,
thousands of flocks are reported to be seen, and it is stated
that the worst shots obtain as many as two hundred birds
during the season. When feeding together they utter a short
trumpet-like note ; but their cry, as they call to each other on
migration, is a double note, which Finsch says is easily
imitated with the aid of a bit of birch-bark, and which Pallas
represents as resembling the sound of the syllables, shak-voy,
whence its local name among the Russian sportsmen of
Obdorsk. It is an extremely shy bird and very difficult to
shoot, but, curiously enough, reconciles itself at once to con-
finement, and soon becomes very tame. The only information
which we possess respecting its winter habits is that furnished
us by Radde, who states that it is a very gregarious bird,
always seen in flocks which frequent the pastures on the
southern shores of the Caspian during the day, and retire far
out to sea for the night."

Nest. — Said by Mr. Seebohm's collectors to be indistinguish-
able from that of the Bean-Goose, except that it was somewhat
smaller.

Eggs. — These are laid early in July. The colour, according
to Mr. Seebohm, is " creamy-white, with obscure traces of an

246 Allen's naturalist's library.

underlying green shell; the surface is rather smooth but not
glossy, and the shell is very fragile. Axis, 27 inches ; diam.,
1-8."

THE SWANS. SUB-FAMILY CYGNINv^.

These birds are so familiar to everyone that a long and de-
tailed description of their characters is not necessary. They
are distinguished by two features which prevent their being
mistaken for any other of the Ducks or Geese : they have no
lobe on the hind-toe, and at the same time a remarkably long
neck, which equals or even exceeds the length of the bird's
body. They further differ from the Ducks and Geese in
having the lores bare, but in the Chilian Swan {Coscoroba ccs-
coroba) the lores are feathered, and this bird seems to be inter-
mediate between the Swans and the Geese. In some of the
species the trachea is convoluted and enters the sternum.

The distribution of the Swans is principally arctic, and
they breed in the high north of both hemispheres, but a true
Cygnus, the Black-necked Swan {C. melanocoryphus)^ is found
in South America. The Black Swan {Chenopsis atrata) is con-
fined to Australia, and the aberrant genus, Coscoroba^ to the
south of South America.

THE TRUE SWANS. GENUS CYGNUS.

Cygnus, Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. ii. p. 404, note (1803).

Type, C. olor (Gm.).

Like the Geese, the Swans moult their quill-feathers after
the breeding-season, and become equally helpless, being able
to save themsejves only by swimming, as they are incapable
of flight. As with the Geese, they are then captured by the
dexterous natives, and have become extinct in many of their
old breeding-haunts.

With regard to the supposed occurrences of the Trumpeter
Swan {Cygnus buccinator) and the Whistling Swan (C. ameri-
canus) in England, I cannot do better than quote the opinion
of Mr. Howard Saunders as to the worth of the records. He
observes : "An immature Swan shot at Aldeburgh in October,
1866, and now in the Ipswich Museum, is, in the opinion of
Professor Newton, an example of the American Trumpeter
Swan, C buccinator, a larger species than the Whooper with a

THE TRUE SWANS. 247

black bill. It has long been naturalised in this country, and
has repeatedly hatched its young in captivity, so that there is
always a strong probability of the cygnets escaping before they
can be pinioned. Another North American species which
has been stated — but on far weaker evidence — to have been
found at long intervals in the shops of Edinburgh poulterers,
is C. a;;iericamis, a bird which is smaller than the VVhooper,
though larger than Bewick's Swan, which it resembles in
having patches of small size at the base of the bill, but of a
deep orange-colour. In the adults of our Whooper and the
American Trumpeter Swan, the loop of the trachea between
the walls of the keel of the sternum takes a vertical direction,
whereas in Bewick's Swan and in C. americmius the bend is
horizontal ; but in immature birds these distinctions are less
marked, and are not absolutely invariable."

I. THE WHOOPER SWAN. CYGNUS MUSICUS.

Anas cygnus, Linn. S. N. i. p. 194 (1766 ; pt.).
Cygnus ?misicus, Macg. Br. B. iv. p. 659 (1852); Dresser, B.
Eur. vi. p. 433, pi. 419, fig. 4 (1880) ; B. O. U. List Br.
B. p. 120 (1883); Saunders, ed. Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 308
(1885); Seebohm, Br. B. iii. p. 480 (1885); Saunders,
Man. p. 401 (1889) ; Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xxv.
(1893) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 26 (1895).
[Plate LV. Fig. i.)
Adult Male. — White all over, with occasionally some ferrugin-
ous-yellow on the head ; "anterior part of the bill depressed and
black, the basal part, with the lores, yellow, this colour extend-
ing forward along each lateral margin of the upper mandible,
heyo7id the openings of the nostrils^ which are black ; the black
colour only reaches half-way to the gape ; legs, toes, and their
membranes black. Total length, about 5 feet ; culmen, 4*2 ;
wing, 25-5 ; tail, 8-5 ; tarsus, 4-2 " {Salvadori),

Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but a little smaller.
Young Birds. — Greyish-brown ; " beak first of a dull flesh-
colour, the tip and the lateral margins black, posteriorly black,
with a reddish-orange band across the nostrils, and with the
base and lores pale greenish-white " (6'^z/e;^^^r/) ; "feet flesh-
colour" {Saunders).

248 ALLEN*S naturalist's LIBRARY.

Nestling. — Clothed with white down.

Characters.— There is no knob at the base of the bill, which
has nearly the basal half yellow ; the black terminal portion
not extending above the nostrils, and only reaching laterally
half-way to the gape. Culmen, 4*2 inches.

Kange in Great Britain. — The Whooper or Whistling Swan, as
this species is variously called, is a bird of passage, or a winter
visitor, arriving on the coasts and islands of Northern Britain
in November, and remaining till the spring, sometimes as late
as May. Hard weather will bring the Swans south, and they
may then be found on the southern coasts, or even on large
sheets of inland waters. In Ireland they are said to be far less
plentiful than Bewick's Swan.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Whooper breeds in
high northern latitudes from Iceland eastwards throughout
Northern Europe and Siberia, wandering south in winter to
most of the Mediterranean countries, as well as to Central
Asia, the Japanese Islands, and China. In Norway it is only
found nesting above the Arctic Circle, but in Sweden and in
Northern Russia it is found as low as 62° N. lat.

Habits. — Mr. Seebohm gives the following excellent account
of the habits of the Wild Swan : — " When Harvie-Brown and
I were in the valley of the Petchora, waiting at Ust Zylma, a
little south of the Arctic Circle, for summer to come, one of
the first warnings that we had of the approaching break-up of
the winter was the arrival of the Swans. At first they arrived
in pairs. The earliest date was on the nth of May; every
day the numbers passing over increased, and occasionally we
saw them on the snow or on the ice ; until on the 20th, when
the ice on the river broke up, the last Swan appeared to have
passed us, and we saw no more of them, until we arrived at
their breeding-grounds. A month later, when we had reached
the tundra, where a few small birches and willows was all that
was left of forest-growth, we came upon the breeding-ground of
the Swans in the delta of the Petchora. We found several
nests between the 19th and 30th of June. The Whooper is a
very shy bird. We never got a chance of a shot, except once
or twice from a boat. We saw very little of it on the tundra,

THE TRUE SWANS. 249

the lakes probably not producing the particular water-plants
which formed its favourite food, but it was very common on
the islands in the Delta, and was especially fond of the
' Kourias,' long reaches of water running inland for some
little distance, and often fringed with willows. Most of the
islands in the Delta are under water for a few days, when the
river is at its height, but they are nevertheless generally covered
with low willow-trees, and very often, in the middle of an
island, there is a little lake. By cautiously stealing up to these
lakes, under cover of the willows, we frequently obtained the
most charming glimpses of happy families of Swans, and half
a dozen different species of Ducks, feeding in delightful
security. The Whooper is a ten times handsomer bird than a
tame Swan in the eyes of an ornithologist, but it is not really
so graceful ; its neck is shorter, and its scapulars are not so
plume-like. Instead of sailing about with its long neck curved
into the shape of the letter S and bent back almost to the
fluffed-up scapulars, the Whooper seemed intent on feeding
with his head and neck under water. At the slightest noise
the neck was raised erect, and the head turned round from side
to side, like a weathercock on a steeple. Even in July the
Whoopers were not always single or in pairs, and we frequently
saw half a dozen swimming together, or preening their feathers
on a sand-bank. We sometimes tried to drift silently down
stream within gun-shot of some of these small parties or herds,
as they are called in the technical language of the sportsman,
but they were too many for us, and rose with a tremendous
splash, their wings beating the water for twenty or thirty yards,
before they got sufficient way on, to be able to rise high
enough. When once on the wing, they flew with great speed,
with steady beats of their long powerful wings.

" On migration the Whooper is a very gregarious bird, and by
far the greater number which passed us in the valley of the
Yenesei on the way north were in herds, which generally flew
in a wedge-shaped line ; they were soon out of sight, and some-
times passed over us at a great height. Many a time, when
struggling with snow-shoes on the treacherous half-melting
snow in the forest, I have heard their trumpet-calls, without
being able to catch a glimpse of them between the trees. The
notes of the Whooper are like the bass notes of a trombone,

250 ALLEN S NATURALLSrS LIBRARY.

and sometimes almost set your ear on edge ; but they are very
short, three or four trumpet-blasts, keeping time with the
upward and downward strokes of the wing. It is not known
that the food of the Whooper differs from that of its more
southern ally : it consists chiefly of aquatic plants, water-
insects, and molluscs."

The Rev. H. A. Macpherson, in his "Vertebrate Fauna of
Lake land," has given the following interesting note on the
Wild Swan as observed by him in England : —

"It was on the 7th of February, 1891, that visiting Monk-
hill Lough, I found four Wild Swans swimming on the edge of
the sedge. Hearing them ' clanging,^ I at once conjectured
that they must be Whoopers. Soon after my arrival I had
irrefutable evidence of their specific identity in their well-
defined ^ hoopiftg,^ the action which accompanied this call
being already familiar to me, as studied in a pinioned bird at
the Zoological Gardens. They were feeding in company, and
all four necks were sometimes straightened or bent forward at
the same instant. For a few moments they would observe
silence, then they ' hooped,' and, vociferating their peculiar
clang, they all fell to feeding again. So closely did they herd
together that two birds might often be mistaken for one.
They appeared to be well contented with their new quarters,
paying no attention to the barking of a dog. Once, indeed,
one of the Whoopers seemed to be rather startled by the action
of a Coot, which suddenly bobbed up beside it : the Swan
flapped its wings uneasily, but did not attempt to fly. These
Whoopers swam rapidly through the water, the head and neck
slightly thrown back, and the black butt of the tarsus standing
out in bold relief against the white body-colour.- Their necks
were supple and arched sinuously, held erect when the birds
were at ' attention,' arched when they fed, but twisted in
various forms to rearrange the plumage. Watching the four
birds, you could see at the same moment one fellow resting
with neck erect, its next neighbour arching its neck, a third
shooting its neck forward in the shape of the letter S. On
the whole there existed a wonderful spontaneity of action be-
tween these birds.

" On the 9th of February the four Whoopers were browsing
in the sedge-beds in the centre of the lough. A solitary Mute

THE TRUE SWANS. 25 I

Swan was feeding alone, not as yet daring to associate with the
distinguislied strangers. It was pleasant to contrast the long-
drawn, flat bodies of the Whoopers with the more rounded
outline of Cygnus olor. The wild fellows swam together ; one
and another arched their necks backward in a loop, dipped
gracefully forward, and then, raising their necks, allowed the
water to trickle over their shoulders. This was their method
of bathing, but there was nothing violent about it. On the
contrary the action was easy and majestic, as became such
lordly fowl. When they caught sight of us they became meta-
morphosed at once into a ' stijf-iiecked generation,' and hurried
off in line through the sedge. Reaching open water on the
other side they became somnolent, first one, and then another,
gracefully reclined at ease, floating idly on the water, and
burying their long and supple necks in the dense feathering of
their dorsal plumage, while on either side their two companions
kept vigilant watch with necks uplifted, and intent to detect
any signs of renewed danger. It was noontide, and the winter
sun shone out upon the still waters of the lough ; before us, on
the farther margin of the bank of sedge, floated the strange
voyageu?'s, behind the birds was a tiny sea of glittering waters,
against which the forms of these beautiful strangers looked
dark by force of contrast. Only when we showed more openly
did the Whoopers forego their attitude of disengaged ease ;
hitherto they had contented themselves with occasionally
uttering their trumpet-call, but now a bird ' /looped,'' and again
they crossed the sedge, this time in a fresh direction. So
strongly matted together was the aquatic vegetation, at least in
one place, that instead of swimming through, the Swans lifted
their legs over the submerged plants which barred their pro-
gress ; they swayed their bodies heavily as they crossed the
barrier and regained an open track through the sedge. All at
once the leader sounded his bugle-call, slightly throwing up
the head when expelling the sound. A second bird passed,
and the leader fell back in the file, but continued to sound his
musical refrain at intervals. We found it difficult to describe
their ' clang ' on paper. When we showed ourselves, we heard
distinctly, ' hoop- hooper-hoop \- then came a 'clang' followed
by another ' hoop.' When a bird hoops, the neck is stiffened j
this exercise is generally follow^ed by a slight pause."

252 Allen's naturalist's library.

Nest. — A large structure, composed of dead sedge and coarse
herbage, and concealed in the dense willow-scrub {Seebohm).

Eggs.— From two to four, but sometimes five and even seven,
eggs are found ; creamy-white in colour, slightly glossy, and
with the surface granulated. Axis, 4-5 inches; diam., 2-85.

II. Bewick's swan, cygnus bewicki.
Cygnus bewickti, Yarrell, Trans. Linn. Soc. xvi. p. 445 (1833);
Macg. Br. B. iv. p. 669 (1852); Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p.
441, pi. 419, fig. 3 (1880); B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 121
(1883); Seebohm, Br. B. iii. p. 484 (1885); Saunders,
ed. Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 315 (1885) ; id. Man. Br. B. p. 403
(1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xxv. (1893); Salvad.
Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 29 (1895).
{Plate LV. Fig, ^,)
Adult Male. — Entirely white. Similiar to C. musiciis^ but of
much smaller size ; " lores and basal portion of the bill deep
yellow, but this colour not extending below the nostrils " ; re-
mainder of the bill black, this black colour reaching on to the
edges of the gape, and sometimes extending along the culmen ;
feet and toes dull black; iris hazel. Total length, 46-50
inches; culmen, 3*8; wing, 21 "o; tail, 8*8; tarsus, \'Z {^Sal-
vador i).

Adult Female. — Similiar to the male, but a little smaller.
Young Birds. — Greyish-brown, becoming white in the second
winter, but having the bill lemon-yellow ; iris yellow.

Character. — Bewick's Swan can be easily recognised from the
Whooper by its smaller size, and by the colour of the bill,
which has not only nearly all its basal part yellow like the
lores, but is further distinguished by having the black of its
terminal portion extended for some distance above the nostrils
and backwards to the gape. The bill is much smaller than in
the Whooper, the culmen only measuring 3-8 inches.

Range in Great Britain. — In England this Swan must be con-
sidered as a rarer bird than the Whooper, but on the Scottish
coasts and the Outer Hebrides it occurs much more plentifully
than its larger relative, and this is especially the case in Ire-
land, where it is sometimes seen, after hard frosts, by hundreds
and tho.;sands.

THE TRUE SWANS. 253

Ran^e outside the British Islands. — Bewick's Swan breeds in
North-eastern Russia and in Northern Siberia. It may even
be found to nest throughout the Arctic Regions of the Old
World, more especially on the islands, as it occurs in winter in
the Japanese and Chinese Seas. Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie-
Brown found the species breeding on the Petchora, and, until
last year, this was the most western breeding-range recorded
for the species, but Mr. Trevor-Battye has now procured it on
Kolguev, as was predicted in 1885 by Mr. Seebohm (Hist. Br.
B. iii. p. 485), when he wrote : " We are driven to believe that
the Swans which are known to breed in great numbers on the
island of Novaya Zemlya and Kolguev, and of which the species
has not yet been determined, are Bewick's Swans, which mi-
grate east in autumn, give the shores of Norway a wide berth,
and drop down to winter on the western coasts of our islands."
The occurrences of the species on the coasts of Northern Europe
are few, with the exception of the British Islands, though it has
been known to visit even the Mediterranean countries occa-
sionally.

Habits — For the account of these I am obliged once more to
give an extract from Mr. Seebohm's work on British Birds, as he
is almost the only naturalist who has seen this Swan in its breed-
ing-haunts, and has given an account of its habits. He writes : —
*'The first Swan which ventured as far north as the Arctic
Circle, in the valley of the Yenesei, during the weary months
when Captain Wiggins and I were waiting for the arrival of
summer, was seen on the 5th of May. It is probable, how-
ever, that this pioneer soon returned to the south, as we saw
nothing more of them for some weeks. On the 9th Geese began
to arrive, after the i6th they came in considerable numbers ; but
we saw no more Swans until the 28th, when many flocks
passed over. During the next fortnight hundreds of large and
small flocks winged their way over our heads, after which we
saw no more of them until we got down to the Delta. They
are quite as noisy as their allies, and are constantly calling to
each other as they fly over, but their note is not so harsh.
I call it a musical bark ; Naumann expresses it as klung ;
and Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey as tong, musically and quickly
uttered.

" Bewick's Swan is quite as shy and difficult of approach as

2 54 Allen's naturalist's library.

its ally ; but there is not the slightest necessity to shoot this
handsome bird in order to identify the species. It is fond of
walking and standing on the mud or sand on the banks of the
rivers and lakes where it feeds. All that is necessary is to
mark down the place, find the heavy footprints, and measure
them. The impress of the middle toe of Bewick's Swan, from
the centre of the ball of the heel to the centre of the ball next
the cLaw, measures five inches and a quarter ; the footprints
left by the Whooper measure an inch or more longer.

" Bewick's Swan scarcely differs from its ally in its habits,
food, or in its choice of feeding- or breeding-grounds. Our
trusty Samoyede servant in the Petchora brought us a
Bewick's Swan which he had shot from a herd of nine, as they
were swimming near the edge of a large lake. He succeeded
in stalking up to within thirty paces of them, when they caught
the alarm, immediately swam up close together, pausing for
a moment to listen with upstretched necks. St. John de-
scribes the same habit of the Whooper in the north of Scot-
land."

Nest. — This is said by Mr. Seebohm's collectors to be like
that of the Whooper. Mr. Trevor-Battye found the nest of
Bewick's Swan in Kolguev, and says that it was a mound
about 2 feet 6 inches in height and 4 feet 6 inches in diameter
at the base. " It was perfectly smooth and symmetrical, taper-
ing till the circular top was no more than about two feet across.
The structure was entirely composed of little bunches of green
moss, with the exception of a very little lichen, and a chance
bit, here and there, of short light dead grass, pulled up with
the moss ; of course there were no green grasses or reeds as
yet, and not a single piece of dead reed had been used.
There was a thin lining only to the nest of dead grass, mixed
with a little down."

Eggs. — Two or three in number ; white like those of the
Whooper, but smaller and less glossy. Axis, 3*9-4*2 inches;
diam., 2 '5-2 '65.

III. THE MUTE SWAN. CYGNUS OLOR.

A?2as olor, Gm. S. N. i. p. 501 (1788).

THE TRUE SWANS. 255

Cygnus olor, D'esser, B. Eur. vi. p. 419, pi. 418 (1880);
B. O. U. List Br. B p. 119 (1883) ; Saunders, ed. Yarr.
Br, B. iv. p. 324 (1885); Seebohm, Br. B. iii. p. 476
(1885); Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 405 (1889); Salvad.
Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 38 (1895).

{Plate LV. Fig. 2.)
Adult Male. — White all over, and distinguished from the other
species by the colour of the bill, which is described by Count
Salvadori as follows : — " Lores, frontal tubercle, base of upper
mandible, nostrils, nail, edges of upper mandible and entire
under mandible, black ; remainder of the beak reddish-orange ;
legs and feet dull black ; iris hazel." Total length, about 5 feet ;
culmen, 4*2 ; wing, 27*0; tail, iq-q; tarsus, 4*5.

Adult Female.— Similar to the male, but a little smaller, and
with a smaller tubercle on the bill.

Young Birds.— Sooty-grey, paler on the neck and under sur-
face of body ; bill and legs grey. The nestlings are covered
with down of a dull ashy-grey colour, which is paler and in-
clining to white on the lower throat and breast.

Characters. — In the Mute Swan the keel of the sternum is
simple, and is not entered by the trachea, as in the foregoing
species. The knob on the bill is also a distinguishing feature.

Polish Swan {^Cygnus imniutabilis). — This supposed species
(Plate LV., Fig. 3) is said to have white cygnets, and in the
adult birds the tubercle is less developed, and the legs and
feet are more ashy-grey, but with regard to the latter characters
Mr. Howard Saunders writes : — " Neither Mr. Bartlett nor I
could find these distinctions in old birds in the Zoological Gar-
dens which had been white as cygnets." Some ornithologists
still believe in the difference of the Polish Swan as a species,
and the Rev. H. A. Macpherson, in his "Vertebrate Fauna of
Lake-land," gives a figure of the sternum and trachea of a young
bird, which, he thinks, show characters defining the Polish from
the Mute Swan.

On the other hand, Mr. Howard Saunders, Mr. Seebohm,
and most of our leading British ornithologists regard the Polish
Swan as only a kind of quasi-albino, probably produced by
domestication. This opinion is endorsed by Count Salvadori,

256 Allen's naturalist's library.

our first authority on the A?iatidce, who says that none of the
characters attributed to C. immutabilis are constant.

Range in Great Britain. — The Swan is now universally distri-
buted as a tame or semi-domesticated bird all over the three
kingdoms, but it has been introduced into many of its present
habitats. The species is said to have been first brought to
England by King Richard I. from Cyprus. At Lord Ilchester's
seat at Abbotsbury, near Weymouth in Dorsetshire, there is
the largest Swannery in this country. Specimens are often
shot in the winter, and these are generally supposed to be
escaped birds, but as Mr. Howard Saunders points out, they
may be thoroughly wild birds which have migrated to our
shores from the Continent, in many parts of which the Mute
Swan breeds in a thoroughly wild condition.

Range outside the British Islands. — The present species breeds
in Southern Sweden, in Denmark and Germany, in Central
and Southern Russia, on the Lower Danube, the Black and
Caspian Seas, and as far east as Turkestan, Mongolia, and
Amurland. In winter it visits the Mediterranean, and has
been found at that season in North-western India.

Habits. — These are so well-known to every one of my readers
that but few words are necessary. Mr. Mansel-Pleydell gives
a very interesting account of the Abbotsbury Swannery in
his "Birds of Dorset," and he states that in 1865 there
were about 500 Swans on the estuary of the Fleet, and that
the number had increased to 1,400 birds in 1880, but in the
last-named year " the number became reduced by one-half,
owing to the Fleet becoming frozen over during an extremely
low spring-tide, when the water-plants growing ajt the bottom
became entangled in the ice, and were torn up by the roots at
the returning tide. Many of the Swans, thus suddenly de-
prived of their supply of food, either died of famine or
migrated, and reduced the number to about 800, which
average it now maintains."

The food of the Mute Swan consists of aquatic plants, as
well as molluscs and insects, and it is said to devour frogs on
occasion, while there are not wanting many river-side fisher-
men, who declare that the Swans eat small fish and ova.

The tame Swans nest earlier than wild ones, which do not

THE TRUE DUCKS.

257

have eggs before May, and they do not breed until they are
two or more years old.

Fest. — A large structure of dead reeds and grass, sometimes
more than two feet high and five feet across.

Eggs. — Three to five in number, but more are often found,
and sometimes as many as ten or twelve have been recorded.
They are greenish-white, and measure: Axis, ^'^-^-G^ inches ;
diam., 2"8-3'i.

THE TRUE DUCKS. SUB-FAMILY ANATIN^.

All the members of this Sub-family have, according to Count
Salvadori, the hind-toe very narrowly lobed. There is in nearly
every species a " speculum " of metallic colour on the wing,
and the males have a bony swelling, or " bulla ossea," on the
trachea. The bill is rather flat and broad in the true Ducks,
and distinguishes them from the Cheiionetti?ice^ or Goose-like
Ducks, which inhabit the Southern Hemisphere.

The Egyptian Goose, as it is called, {CJienalopex cegyptiacd), is
considered by Count Salvadori to belong to the present Sub-
family. It is a species which has long been kept in confinement,
and the many examples which have been shot in a wild state
are doubtless individuals which have escaped. The same may
be said of the Summer Duck {^x. sponsa) and the Muscovy
Duck {Cairiua moschata). The changes of plumage through
which most of the Ducks pass is very curious, and there are at
least six of these. After the young have acquired their first
plumage, both sexes resemble the old female. In the first
year they are like the adults, but differ somewhat from both ;
then the male has a separate plumage from the female in the
fully adult stage, and lastly there is the post-nupital dress of the
male, when he retires into a sober-coloured plumage like that
of his wife. This is when he is about to moult his quills, and
at this season the males keep mostly apart from the females.
Mr. De Winton writes to me : "All the Ducks take on the
characteristic ' adult ' plumage in the first year, but this is far
from perfect, and though they may breed, I believe that it takes
quite four years before a Duck arrives at the perfection of
plumage. The full dress is scarcely complete by Christmas,
8 s

253 Allen's naturalist's library.

and to see Ducks at their best, they must be observed in
February and March, so that it would seem that they take
nearly six months to attain their perfect plumage, after the
change into their dull summer dress."

THE SIIELD-DUCKS. GENUS TADORNA.

2'adoj na, Fleming, Phil. Zool. ii. p. 260 (1S22).

Type, T. tadorfia (L.).

The Sheld-Ducks — of which the beautiful species figured in
the accompanying plate is the typical representative — have the
tarsus scutellated in front, a conspicuous wing-speculum, and
the outer web of the innermost secondaries chestnut. On
the edge of the bill the lamellae are prominent, and are more
developed towards the tip of the upper mandible. The bill
widens out towards the tip, and is broader at the end than at
the base, and on the lower mandible the lamellae do not pro-
ject outwardly. The sexes are alike in plumage, and the feet
are flesh-coloured. These are the characters of the genus
Tador?ia, according to Count Salvador!, and they are ample for
its definition, as the two species of which it consists are both
remarkable for their coloration, and are easily recognisable.
Besides Tadorna tadorna^ the European species, there is but
one other, T. radjah, of the Malayan Archipelago.

I. THE COMMON SHELD-DUCK. TADORNA TADORNA.

Anas tadorna, Linn. S. N. i. p. 195 (1766).

Tador?ia vulpanser, Macg. Br. B. v. p. 22 (1852).

Tadorna cornuta, Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 451, pi. 420 (1878);

B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 122 (1883) ; Saunders, ed. Yarr.

Br. B. iv. p. 352 (1885); Seebohm, Br. B. iii. p. 520

(1885) ; Saunders, Man. p. 407 (1889) ; Lilford, Col. Fig.

Brit. B. part xxvii. (1893); Salvad. Cat. B. Brit. Mus.

xxvii. p. 171 (1895).

{Plate LVL)

Adult Male.— General colour above varied, black, white, and
orange-chestnut, the head being black with a gloss of bottle-
green, the black occupying the entire head and upper throat ;

X

THE SHELD-DUCKS.

259

round the hind-neck a white collar, widening out into a broad
band across the lower throat and fore-neck ; this white band
followed by a broad band of orange-chestnut occupying the
mantle, and widening out in a broad band of the same colour
across the chest, which is divided longitudinally by a black
band, which descends down the breast and joins the black
of the abdomen ; the rest of the under-parts pure white,
except the under tail-coverts, which are orange-chestnut ; the
back pure white from the mantle downwards, as also are
the wing-coverts ; the scapulars black, the inner ones half
white and half black, and those nearest the back pure white ;
bastard-wing feathers white, blackish towards the ends ;
primary-coverts and quills black, ashy on their inner webs ;
secondaries black, externally metallic-green, forming a specu-
lum, both bases of the inner webs white, the inner secondaries
externally chestnut, internally white or ashy, and the inner-
most secondaries white like the back ; tail white, with a band
of black at the end ; bill red, as well as the basal knob ; feet
and webs of toes fleshy-pink ; iris hazel. After the breeding-
season the knob, or shield, at the base of the bill is not so
noticeable, and becomes dull pale red. Total length, 22
inches; culmen, 2*2; wing, 13*0; tail, 4*6; tarsus, 2'o.

Adult Female. — Not so handsomely coloured as the male, the
chestnut of the mantle obscured by blackish frecklings, and
the chestnut band across the chest represented by a sooty-
black band, which only inclines to chestnut on the sides. The
knob at the base of the bill is not developed. Total length,
20 inches ; wing, 11*5.

Young Birds. — Much duller in colour than the adults, the
head and throat being dusky-white with a good deal of black
on the chin and fore-part of the cheeks ; the black feathers of
the back of a more or less brown, with white margins and
ashy mottlings ; the chestnut collar on the mantle scarcely
defined at all, and the feathers mottled with blackish and
edged with white ; the entire under surface, from the throat
downwards, is entirely white, without any black or chestnut,
excepting a patch of the latter colour on each side of the
upper breast. Mr. De Winton informs me that the Sheld-
Uuck does not breed during its second year, and the knob on

s 2

2 6o ai-len's naturalist's library.

the bill does not appear till the bird is at least two years old,
and commences to breed for the first time. The knob in-
creases in size with age.

Nestling. — Brown above, white beneath, with a slight
yellowish tinge ; forehead and sides of face white ; in the
middle of the back a white patch ; a white patch on each
side of the lower back, and a white streak along each side of
the rump.

Characters. — The striking contrast of colours in this beautiful
species, to say nothing of its red bill and frontal knob, render
it easy of identification, and there is no other species of
British Duck with which it can possibly be confounded.

Hybrids. — The Common Sheld-Duck has been known to
interbreed with the South African Sheld-Duck (Casarca caiia)
and with the Wild Duck {A7ias boscas). Cf. Salvadori, Cat. B.
Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 173.

Range in Great Britain. — The present species occurs in suit-
able localities on most parts of the British coasts, and is found
breeding in those portions which afford it suitable nesting-
places. Mr. Ussher states that it breeds in small numbers on
the coasts of Donegal, Londonderry, Antrim, Down, Dublin,
Wexford, Waterford, Kerry, Clare, and Mayo. In winter con-
siderable numbers visit us from the north of Europe, and the
bird is then killed in many parts of Great Britain, in which it is
not seen in the summer.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Sheld-Duck is a Palse-
arctic bird, and breeds on the coast of Norway up to 70" N.
lat., being only occasionally met with in the Faeroes. It nests
in Sweden, Denmark, the Baltic provinces, and Holland, as well
as on the shores of France and Spain, but in other parts of
Europe and the Mediterranean countries it is only known as
a winter visitor. It is, however, again resident on the shores
of the Black and Caspian Seas, and its range extends in locali-
ties suited to its habits, through Central Asia and Southern
Siberia to Mongolia and Japan.

Habits. — P>om its habit of nesting in rabbit-holes in many
parts of the country the Sheld-Duck is known as the " Burrow
Duck," and the nest is often constructed at the end of a

THE SHELD-DUCKS. 26 I

burrow to a depth of four or five feet, while the distance has
ako been known to extend to as many as twelve feet from the
entrance, and in these cases the burrows are said to be exca-
vated by the birds themselves. Mr. Robert Read states that
the Sheld-Duck nests most commonly in burrows amonc^st
the sand-hills by the seaside, but in Scotland he has found the
nest in a rabbit-burrow amongst a group of trees near a fresh-
water loch. When breeding in the sand-hills, the nest usually
consists simply of the down of the parent-bird, but when near
trees and herbage, there are generally a good many leaves
mixed with the down.

Mr. W. E. de Winton observes that in South Wales the local
names for this species are " Perrenet" and " St, George's Duck "
(in Scotland, " Stockenet"), and he tells me that he has known
them to nest on precipitous cliffs, in burrows at such a height
that it is difficult to imngine how the young ones could be got
down to the water ; generally, however, the nest has been in
rabbit-holes in the sand-dunes by the sea, covered with loner
sword-grass. There is seldom any track to the nest, into which
the female appears to dive in full flight. When watching them,
he has known the two birds to suddenly appear over a sand-
hill, and then fly round and round together for some time, but
on taking his eye off them for a moment, it has often happened
that only the male is seen afterwards, the female having suddenly
dived into the nest like an arrow.

The food of the Sheld-Duck consists of worms, small
molluscs, and water-insects, as well as various aquatic plants,
and also, it is said, of seaweeds. In many of their ways they
resemble Geese, while Mr. Seebohm describes the flight as
"performed by slow and laboured beats of the wings, very un-
like the rapid motion of smaller Ducks, and much more re-
sembling that of the Swan." The same writer says that the
call-note, which is common to both sexes, is a harsh quack.
During the pairing-season, the male utters a clear rapidly-
repeated whisde or trill ; and when the young are hatched, his
anxious alarm-note to his mate on the approach of danger
may constantly be heard, and resembles the syllables kor-kor,
uttered in a deep tone. In conflnement Lord Lilford says that
lie has never heard any noise produced by the birds beyond a

262 Allen's naturalist's library.

short hiss, when bullyuig some other bird or fighting amongst
themselves, but, he adds " I have heard occasionally on the
coast of North Wales at night a somewhat Wigeon-like whistle
that emanated, as I believe, from ' Sand-Geese ' on the wing."

Nest. — Composed principally of the bird's own down, with a
few leaves occasionally, as mentioned above by Mr. Robert
Read. In some parts of Denmark the peasants make artificial
burrows for the birds, and systematically rob the nest, as many
as thirty eggs having been taken from one burrow in a single
season.

Eggs. — From seven to twelve in number, but sometimes as
many as sixteen have been found. They are dull creamy-
white, with very little gloss. Axis 2*45-2 '6 inches ; diam.,
I •8-1-95. The down is ashy-grey, with silvery white ends,
and with a few white feathers intermingled.

THE RUDDY SHELD-DUCKS. GENUS CASARCA.
Casarca, Bp. Comp. List B. Eur. & N. Amer. p. 56 (1838).
Type, C. casarca (L.).

The members of the genus Casarca, according to the conclu-
sions of Count Salvador!, differ from the typical Sheld-Ducks
{Tadorjid) in the following characters: — The bill does not
widen towards the tip, and is no broader at the tip than it is at
the base; the culmen is almost straight; the lamellae are
equally developed along the inner edge of the upper mandible,
and the lamellae on the edge of the lower mandible project
outwardly ; the bill and feet are dark, and the sexes generally
differ in colour.

Four species of the genus Casarca are known, C. casarca,
C. cana from South Africa, C. variegata from New Zealand,
and C. tadornoides from South Australia and Tasmania. In
the Ruddy Sheld-Duck, where the sexes are alike, there has as
yet been no proof of any change of plumage in summer, such
as occurs in most species of ducks. The post-nuptial plumage
is probably emphasised by the loss of the black collar. In
the three other species, however, where the sexes are different
in colour, the male doubtless undergoes a change, as Mr.
Blaauw has noticed a double moult in C. tadornoides.

THE RUDDY SHELD-DUCKS. 263

I. THE RUDDY SHELD-DUCK. CASARCA CASARCA.

Anas cas area, Linn. S. N. iii. App. p. 224 (1768).

Tadorna casarca, Macg. Br. B. v. p. 19 (1852); Dresser,

B. Eur. vi. p. 461, pi. 421 (1875) ; B. O. U. List Br. B. p.

122 (1883); Saunders, ed.Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 347 (1885) ; id.

Man. p.409 (1889); Lilford,Col. Fig. Br. B. partxx. (1891).

Tadorna rutila, Seebohm, Br. B. iii. p. 524 (1885).

Casarca rutila, Salvad. Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 177 (1895).

Adult Male. — General colour above tawny-chestnut ; the wing-
coverts paler and of a light fawn-colour, with white bases ;
bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills black ; secondaries
black internally, externally bronzy-green with a coppery gloss,
the inner secondaries externally deep chestnut, ashy on the
inner webs ; lower back pale tawny, vermiculated with dusky-
grey ; rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail black, with a greenish
gloss ; under surface of body dark tawny, deepening into chest-
nut ; under wing-coverts and axillaries white ; the head and
neck also tawny, but the crown paler and inclining to white,
as also the lores ; round the neck a black collar ; bill black ;
feet black, somewhat brownish on the toes and tarsus ; iris
black. Total length, 25 inches; culmen, 17; wing, i4'5 ;
tail, 4 '9 ; tarsus, 2*2.

Adult Female. — Smaller than the male, and wanting the black
collar; the head, face, and wing-coverts whiter ; bill black ; feet
brown, blackish on the joints and black on the webs, except
at the junction with the toes ; iris deep brown. Total length,
22-5 inches; wing, 13-5.

There seems to be but little difference in colour between
the summer and winter plumages of the Ruddy Sheld-Duck,
but the feathers have sooty-brown centres in summer, and
during the winter the black ring round the neck is absent,
while the buff tinge on the wing-coverts is also probably a sign
of the breeding-season, as these are white in many birds killed
in the winter.

Young Birds. — Resemble the female, and have no black
collar ; they are also more dingy in colour.

Characters. — Besides the generic features given above, the
general tawny-colour of the bird and its size serve to distinguish
it from the other Ducks,

264 ai-len's naturalist's library.

Eaiige in Great Britain. — The Ruddy Shelcl-Duck has occurred
in all three kingdoms, but can only be considered a rare and
occasional visitor, while some of the records of its capture
are doubtless founded on escaped specimens, as the bird is
frequently kept in confinement in this country. In 1892,
however, there was a large immigration of wild birds, and a
very interesting record of the visit of the Ruddy Sheld-Duck
to Great Britain in the summer of 1892 has been published by
Mr. F. Menteith Ogilvie in the " Zoologist " for that year (pp.
392-398). Flocks consisting of as many as ten to fourteen
birds, in one instance twenty, w^ere observed between the
middle of June and the middle of September, and there were
probably many others. Mr. Ogilvie surmises that it was from
the South Russian habitat of the species that the immigra-
tion occurred. " Those that visited this country, being non-
breeders, who probably accompanied the older birds on their
northern journey in the spring, were driven away by them from
the breeding-grounds, lost their bearings, and, crossing Russia
and the North Sea, found themselves on our inhospitable
shores." Mr. Ogilvie, however, notices that in every specimen
killed, the inner secondaries were extremely worn, which looks
as if the birds had nested, and seeing that the Ruddy Sheld-
Duck is rather an early breeder, with the young swimming
about on the 30th of May (cf. Seebohm, Brit. B. iii. p. 524),
there is nothing to prevent the British specimens, at the end
of June, from being birds which had bred in South-eastern
Europe, and migrated north-west instead of south.

Range outside the British Islands. — In Asia the Ruddy Sheld-
Duck breeds as far north as the Common Sheld-Duck, but in
Europe it is a bird of the Mediterranean Sub-region, extend-
ing eastwards to Southern and Eastern Siberia, and Mongolia.
In winter it visits Northern Africa, India, and China.

Habits. — However gregarious this species may be in winter,
the observations of naturalists tend to prove that, during the
breeding-season, it is only found in isolated pairs, usually
selecting holes of cliffs as its nesting-site, and often at a great
height. Thus the species has been found breeding in Ladak
and Tibet, at an elevation of 13,000 to 16,000 feet above
the sea. The young birds are tended with great care by the

1 HE SHOVELERS. 265

mother, who shams to be wounded, so as to draw off attention
from the young, while Dr. Henderson states that he saw a
female make all her young ones dive, by swimming and
flapping on to each of them as soon as it showed itself above
water, after which she pretended to be wounded, and lay
on the water every now and then, with wings spread out, as
if unable to fly. It is evident that the old birds, breeding in
cliffs so high above the water, must convey the young to the
latter. The food of the Ruddy Sheld-Duck consists of grass
and water-plants, as well as small molluscs.

Nest. — This is placed in a variety of situations, in a ])urrow,
in the middle of a corn-field, in the cleft of a precipice, or,
in Eastern Siberia, in the deserted nest of a bird of prey.

Eggs. — From nine to as many as sixteen in number, and
creamy-white, with scarcely any gloss. Axis, 27-2 85; diam.,
I ■85-1-9. The colour of the down in the nest has not yet
been described.

THE SHOVELERS. GENUS SPATULA.

Spatula, Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 564.

' Type, S. clypeata (L.).

Tiie Shovelers are very easily distinguished by their flat
and shovel-like bills, and in their plumage they resemble
the true Ducks, especially the Teal, having blue wing-coverts
like some of the members of the genus Nettion. Two genera
of Shoveler Ducks are known, the genus Spatula containing
four species, of which our English S. clypeata is the best
known and the most widely distributed ; S. 7'hy?ichotis comes
from Australia and New Zealand, S. platalea from S. America,
and S. capensis from South Africa. Their range is, therefore,
nearly cosmopolitan. In Australia and Tasmania another
curious genus of Shovelers is found, Malacorhynchns, with a
single species, M. membranaceus^ confined to the countries
above-mentioned.

I. THE SHOVELER. SPATULA CLYPEATA.

Anas clypeata, Linn. S. N. i. p. 200 (1766) ; Seebohm, Br. B.
iii. p. 554 (18S5) ; Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part x.
(1889).

2 66 Allen's naturalist's library.

Rhync/iaspis dypeafa, Macg. Br. B. v, p. 74 (1852).

Spatula clypeata, Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 497, pi. 425 (1873);
B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 128 (1883) ; Saunders, ed. Yarn
Br. B. iv. p. 375 (1885) ; id. Man. Br. B. p. 415 (1889) ;
Salvad. Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 306 (1895).

{Plate LVIL)

Adult Male. — General colour above blackish-brown on the
mantle and upper back, becoming deep black on the lower
back, rump, and upper tail-coverts, the lateral series of the
latter glossed with steel-blue, of which there is also a faint
gloss on the black rump ; scapulars white, the long feathers
greyish-blue, with a good deal of black towards the base of
the inner web and a broad streak of white on the inner side of
the shaft; wing-coverts greyish-blue, the greater series dusky
internally, blue externally, and somewhat broadly tipped with
w^hite ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and primary-quills black-
ish, the latter paler brown on the inner web, with white
shafts ; the secondaries brown, externally metallic steel-green,
changing to purple under certain lights ; the long inner secon-
daries externally velvety-black, with white centres towards the
end of the shafts ; centre tail-feathers black, the rest white,
mottled and marbled with ashy-brown, the bars nowhere com-
plete, and varying in shape ; crown of head and lores dusky-
black, without any metallic gloss ; the sides of the face, neck,
and throat black, glossed with green, and especially with
purple on the hinder neck and crest ; fore-neck and chest
white, extending on to the sides of the chest, and nearly reach-
ing in a collar round the hind-neck, in the centre of which are
a few blackish feathers : remainder of under surface from the
chest downwards vinous-chestnut, with a large white patch
on each side of the vent ; the flank-feathers paler buff at their
ends, freckled with dusky, some of the feathers on the lower
flanks freckled with dusky lines ; under tail-coverts black,
white at base with a few blackish wavy lines ; the lateral
under tail-coverts glossed with green or purple ; axillaries and
under wing-coverts white ; lower under wing-coverts and quill-
lining ashy-grey; bill lead-colour; feet reddish- orange ; iris
yellow. Total length, 19 inches; culmen, 2-55; wing, 9-5;
tail, 3-3; tarsus, 1-3.

THE SHOVELERS. 267

Adult Female. — General colour above dusky-brown, with ashy
margins and irregular sandy-buff markings and marblings, the
scapulars paler, barred and edged with whitish or pale buff;
lower back and rump blackish-brown, the upper tail-coverts
edged and irregularly barred with white or buff ; wing-coverts
blue like the male, the greater series more dingy and tipped
with white ; the quills as in the male and the speculum also
metallic green, but the inner secondaries brown ; crown of
head nearly uniform blackish, as also the nape ; lores, fore-
part of cheeks, and chin whitish ; remainder of sides of face
and sides of neck dull reddish-buff, streaked with narrow lines
of dusky ; the lower throat similarly streaked ; remainder of
under surface buff, a little paler in the centre of the abdomen ;
the chest and sides of body and flanks scalloped with dusky
bars and markings, principally of a horse-shoe shape, very
thickly distributed on the chest and less closely so on the
flanks ; the lower abdomen and under tail-coverts spotted
with dusky ; axillaries and under wing-coverts white. Total
length, 17 inches; culmen, 2*6; wing, 8-8 ; tail, y6 ; tarsus,
1-25.

The young male in its first plumage, according to Count
Salvadori, resembles the old female, but is distinguished by its
more brightly coloured wings, the bill being pale reddish-
brown, and the legs and feet flesh-coloured.

The male, after breeding, passes into a dark plumage, like
that of the female, but with the crown dark brown. Mr. De
Winton tells me that the pattern of this summer dress of the
male is very much like that of the old female, but is much
more rufous, and the bill becomes orange and black, the feet
red, and the iris is orange instead of lemon-grey. All trace
of the breeding-dress is gone, no bright colours remaining,
except the blue of the wing-coverts.

Young in Down. — Nearly uniform above, like the nestling
Wigeon, with some indistinct paler spots, and a dark brown
stripe through the eye, as in the Mallard. The bill is not
widened at the tip, but the spatulated form is very rapidly
developed.

Hybrids — Apparently few instances of the crossing of the

2 58 Allen's naturalist's liurarv.

Shoveler with any other species of Duck have been recorded,
though Von Tschusi has mentioned an instance of its mating
with a Domestic Duck.

Characters. — The flattened form of the Shoveler's bill, widened
at the end, and " spatulate," as it is called, as well as the
blue wing-coverts, and the green speculum in the wing, dis-
tinguish this species.

Kange in Great Britain. — A few pairs breed annually in England,
especially in parts of Norfolk, where the Ducks are protected,
as well as in the marsh-lands of other parts of England and
Scotland. It nests on the island of Tiree, where Colonel
Irby has found it, but not on the Outer Hebrides. In many
localities it is increasing in numbers as a breeding-bird, and
the same may be said of Ireland, where, according to Mr.
Ussher, it nests sparingly in Donegal, Antrim, Fermanagh,
Westmeath, Louth, Dublin, Queen's County, Galway, Ros-
common, Mayo, and Sligo, and probably in King's County
and Kerry. During the winter the species occurs in most
parts of Great Britain.

Range outside the British Islands. — The Shoveler is found in
America, as well as in the Old World, and breeds in temperate
North America, visiting the United States in winter, and ex-
tending as far south as Panama. In Europe it does not go
so far north as some of the other Ducks, and is a species of
the temperate portions of Europe and Asia, visiting Northern
Africa, India, and China in winter. It has been procured in
Borneo, and seems to wander as far south as Australia.

Habits. — This species is more of a fresh-water Duck than
many of its relations, and frequents marshes and'inland lakes,
where it searches in the shallows for the food which its broad
bill enables it easily to sift, as it consists of tender shoots of
grass and weeds, as well as aquatic insects and small molluscs,
while it is also said to include tadpoles, frogs' spawn, and very
small fish. As a rule, it is not so shy as other Ducks, and, in
its winter quarters in India, it is described by Mr. Hume as
being very tame. The female is a devoted mother, and watches
over her brood with great anxiety, while Mr. Whitaker states
that he has found the male bird sitting on the eggs. When
flying, the bird is said by Mr. Seebohm to utter a guttural note,

THE TRUE DUCKS. 269

' puck-puck," and Mr. Howard Saunders says that the note
during the breeding-season is " took-took." The quack of the
Duck is said by Mr. Seebohm to resemble that of the domestic
species, the voice of the drake being a Httle the deeper, and
sounding hke quaak, while that of the duck might be repre-
sented as "quauk."

Nest.— A neat but unskilfully made structure of grass, placed
in a tuft of reedy grass or heath, without much linmg beyond
that of the bird's own down, and a little grass,

Eggs.— Five or six in number, of a pale buffy-white or
greenish-white. Mr. Robert Read found ten eggs in a nest
in Scotland. Axis, 2-05-2-4; diam., 1-5. Down very dark,
spotted with white. The colour is dark brown, with whitish
tips, scarcely visible, and with a white star-like spot in the
centre of the plume.

THE TRUE DUCKS. GENUS ANAS.

Anas^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 194 (1766).

Type, A. boscas (L.).

The common Duck, of which the Mallard is the type, is
distinguished from the other Ducks rather by negative than
positive differences, as one gathers from Count Salvadori's
characters of the genus Anas. It has no chestnut on the inner
secondaries like the Sheld-Ducks, but possesses a generally
mottled plumage, without any large uniform patches, as in the
foregoing birds. Nor is the bill spatulate as in the Shovelers,
but is rather broad, and is of about the length of the head.
From the Shovelers and some of the Teal it differs also in
having the wing-coverts dull grey, and not blue.

I. THE WILD DUCK, OR MALLARD, ANAS BOSCAS.

Anas boschas, Linn. S. N. i. p. 205 (1766); Macg. Br. B. v. p.

31 (1852); Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 469, pi. 422 (1873);

Lilford, Col. Fig. Brit. B. part viii. (1888).
Anas boscas, B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 125 (1883) ; Seebohm, B-.

B. iii. p. 559 (1885) ; Saunders, ed. Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 358

(1885); Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 411 (1889); Salvad.

Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 189 (1895).

270 ALLEN S NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

Adult Male. — General colour above brown, deepening into
black on the lower back, the rump and tail-coverts being black,
with a purplish or green gloss ; the scapulars pearly-grey, with
very fine wavy lines of darker grey, the outer scapulars dark
chestnut-brown, continuous with the dark outer webs of the
innermost secondaries ; the wing-coverts ashy-grey, more or
less washed with brown ; the greater coverts with a sub-terminal
bar of white, the tips being black, and forming the upper bor-
der to the wing-speculum ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and
quills ashy-brown, externally more grey ; the inner webs of
the primaries conspicuously lighter and more ashy ; the
secondaries ashy-grey on the inner web, metallic-purple on the
outer web, and tipped with white, before which is a sub-terminal
bar of velvety-black ; the colour of the speculum varying,
according to the light, from rich purple to steel-blue or greenish-
blue ; the inner secondaries pearly-grey, those adjoining the
speculum being externally chestnut-brown ; centre tail-feathers
recurved, black like the rump, the rest of the feathers white,
with grey or brown centres, these dark centres gradually dis-
appearing and only represented by ashy frecklings on the
outer ones; head and neck all round metallic-green, chang-
ing into purple according to the light ; on the lower throat a
narrow white band not completely joining on the nape ; fore-
neck and chest deep chestnut, extending on to the sides of the
neck and nearly meeting on the hind-neck ; remainder of under
surface greyish-white, finely freckled with ashy vermiculations
which are more distinct on the sides of the body ; under wing
coverts and axillaries white ; under tail-coverts velvety-black
bill olive-yellowish ; feet and toes orange ; iris dark brown
Total length, 22 inches; culmen, 2-4; wing, H'o; tail, 3-5
tarsus, I "8.

Adult Female. — Entirely different from the male, brown above
with reddish margins and centres to the feathers, imparting a
narrowly streaked appearance to the head and neck, and a
broadly streaked appearance to the back, but it must be
noticed that great variation in these markings takes place ;
wing-coverts dark ashy-brown, the greater series and the
secondaries banded with white, the former with a velvety-black
tip and the latter with a sub-terminal black bar ; the speculum

THE TRUE DUCKS. 27 I

is therefore as in the male, but it is not so bright and is more
broadly bordered with black ; the inner secondaries bordered
with rufous, like the scapulars ; lower back, rump, and upper
tail-coverts like the upper back ; tail-feathers ashy-whitish, cen-
tred with dark brown, which is more or less broken up into
rufous markings ; under surface of body yellowish-buff ; the
throat uniform, but the sides of the face and neck streaked
like the head ; the chest and sides of the body mottled
with dark brown centres to the feathers ; fore-neck and chest
tinged with chestnut ; under tail-coverts white, with black
streaks ; under wing-coverts and axillaries white. Total length,
20 inches; culmen, 2*1; wing, io"3 ; tail, 3*4; tarsus, i'5.

Young Males and Young Females. — Almost alike in plumage,
and at first resembling the old female in general appearance,
but the darker head and blacker appearance of the back are
generally sufficient to distinguish the males, which have also a
clearly indicated dark eye-stripe. Young birds also seem to
be much more plentifully streaked with brown on the under-
parts. For a short period in the summer, males assume a
plumage only to be distinguished from that of the female by
its blacker appearance above, the feathers of the back being
edged with rufous, while the crown and a broad stripe through
the eye are also black ; the quills are fully moulted, as well as
the body feathers, and the full plumage is again assumed by a
direct moult.

Hybrids. — These are so many that it is impossible to enu-
merate them all here. Crossings with at least a dozen other
species of Ducks are recorded by Count Salvadori.

Range in Great Britain. — Of all the fresh-water Ducks, the
Mallard is the commonest, and though it was more plentiful
in former days, there are still so many places where it is
encouraged to breed, that it is extremely numerous in some
districts, and every winter there is a vast accession of numbers
due to arrivals from the Continent. At this season of the year,
the species quits its northern habitat, and is absent from many
of the northern districts of Scotland and its islands. It
breeds, according to Mr. Ussher, in every county in Ireland.

272 Allen's naturalist's library.

Range outside the Britisli Islands. — The INIallard may be said
to be an inhabitant of the temperate portions of the Paleearctic
and Nearctic Regions, not breeding north of the Arctic Circle,
but throughout Europe, including the Mediterranean countries,
and across the temperate portions of Asia, and wintering in
India and China. It even breeds in Cashmere. In America
it breeds in the temperate latitudes, and wanders south in
winter, when it is found as far south as Panama.

" HaMts. — The tame Duck of our farmyards, which is suffi-
ciently well-known to preclude any special description of its
habits, is a derivative of the true Wild Duck, but the latter
bird in its native habitat is decidedly a wary bird.

The Mallard is a very interesting species to study where
one has an opportunity of so doing, as its habits are very
varied. Sometimes numbers of nests will be found in the
growing grass of a meadow close to a lake, at other times
most curious situations are chosen for the nest. In the
choice of a situation the Duck is very cautious, and it is
often not discovered until the appearance of the young ones
betrays its situation. It is especially where there are plenty of
foxes that the wariness of the Duck is developed, and at
Avington Park— where the head-keeper once told me that he
had known forty sitting ducks to be taken off their nests in a
season by foxes — I have found some curious sites for the
nest. One was in a dell, quite half a mile from the lake, and it
was artfully concealed under some outgrowing roots of a tree :
another was made in the hollow between two wide-spreading
limbs of an oak, about ten feet from the ground, and quite a
mile away from any water. Mr. De Winton has known a nest
to be built in the thick ivy on the wall of a house. Mr. Robert
Read also tells me that he has found it in the open amongst
heather, under a rock amongst bracken, in rushes by the
water-side, and in the hollow of a pollard-tree, while in 1894, he
found a nest on the Thames with ten eggs and one egg of a
Pheasant.

Like the tame Duck, the Mallard is almost omnivorous in
its choice of food, many kinds of aquatic plants and weeds, as
well as all kinds of water-insects, worms and slugs, forming its
staple diet, but it will also eat grain, acorns, &c.

THE GADWALLS. 273

Nest. — Although generally carefully concealed, the nest is
rather loosely made of grass and rushes, and is lined with the
bird's own down.

Eggs. — From eight to ten or twelve in number, though as
many as sixteen have been found ; greenish or greenish-
white in colour, sometimes inclining to buffy-white. Axis,
2'i-2-35 inches; diam., i'6.

Down. — Mostly light brown, with whitish thread-like tips,
but mixed with a considerable number of pure white downy
plumes.

THE GADWALLS. GENUS CHAULELASMUS.

Chaulelasmus^ Bp. Comp. List B. Eur. & N. Amer. p. 56

(1838).

Type, C. strepenis (L.)

Two species only of Gad wall are known, the widely distributed
C. strepenis, and Coues' Gadwall, C. couesi^ which is only
known from the Fanning Islands. The bill is not so broad as
in the genus Anas and is shorter than the head, and has no
fringe of soft membrane near the tip ; the lamellae of the upper
mandible are quite prominent {Salvadori). The colouring of
the two sexes is not nearly so different as in the generality of
Ducks. The central tail-feathers scarcely extend beyond the
lateral ones.

I. THE GADWALL. CHAULELASMUS STREPERUS.

Anas strepe7'a, Linn. S. N. i. p. 200 (1766); Saunders, ed.

Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 370 (1885); Seebohm, Br. B. iii. p.

530 (1885) ; Saunders, Man. p. 413 (1889); Lilford, Col.

Fig. Br. B. part xv. (1890).
Que7'quedula strepera, Macg. Br. B. v. p. 59 (1852).
Chauklasnms streperus^ Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 487, pi. 424

(1873); B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 125 (1883); Salvad.

Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 221 (1895).

Adult Male. — General colour above dusky-brown, the hind-
neck, mantle, and upper scapulars freckled with wavy bars
of black and ashy-white ; the lower back darker and scarcely
freclcled; the rump and upper tail- coverts velvety-black; the
8 X

274 ALLEN S NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

long scapulars margined with tawny-brown ; wing- coverts
ashy, with a few dusky frecklings ; the median-coverts
for the most part chestnut ; the greater coverts velvety-
black ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills dark ashy,
paler on the inner webs ; the outer secondaries velvety-
black and tipped with white, the inner ones white externally,
forming a speculum, the innermost ashy-grey ; tail-feathers
ashy-grey, edged with white towards the ends, and mottled
with dark brown near the ends of the outer feathers ; crown of
head dusky-brown, slightly mottled with paler edges to the
feathers ; eyebrow and sides of face ashy, minutely spotted with
dusky-brown ; lores and base of forehead more hoary ; cheeks
and throat whitish, minutely spotted with dusky ; fore-neck and
chest closely barred with dusky-blackish and white, the bars
irregular in shape, but mostly circular ; remainder of under sur-
face white, with a few dusky streaks on the abdomen ; the sides
of the body and flanks thickly freckled with wavy lines of
dusky-blackish ; under tail-coverts black ; under wing-coverts
and axillaries pure white ; bill black ; feet orange, almost the
whole of the web black. Total length, 19 inches; culmen,
1-6; wing, 10-5; tail, 3-5; tarsus, 1-5.

Adult Female. — Different from the male. General colour
above brown, with edges of sandy-buff and irregular bars and
frecklings of the same colour ; the wings as in the male, but the
black of the greater. wing- coverts much reduced in extent and
the white speculum not so large ; the chestnut patch on the
median-coverts entirely absent ; tail mottled with irregular
bars of brown and buff; head rather darker than the back and
more uniform ; eyebrow, sides of face, and throat buff, minutely
lined with streaks of blackish-brown ; the lower throat and fore-
neck more rufescent, as also the sides of the body, flanks, and
under tail-coverts, all these parts being strongly mottled, with
blackish centres to the feathers ; the rest of the under surface
white, more minutely spotted with dusky; under wing-coverts
and axillaries white. Total length, 19-5 inches; wing, 9-9.

Young Males. — At first resemble the old females, but are
more barred on the back and not so streaked with sandy-buff.
They are densely spotted with brown on the under surf^ice, and
may be distinguislied by having a little chestnut on the greater

THE GADWALLS. 275

wing-coverts, and by having a broad black border to the outer
aspect of the speculum, as in the male. In the female the
external black border to the speculum is scarcely visible, and
there is no chestnut on the greater wing-coverts.

The Gadwall Drake, like the Mallard, assumes a sort of
female plumage, after the breeding-season. The male then
resembles the female, but is darker, as is the case with the
other Ducks which assume the female coloration. The black
rump, which is so characteristic of the adult Gadwall, disappears,
as do the distinctive markings of the wing, and the male in
the hen-like plumage can scarcely be told from the female,
Mr. De Winton says that the summer dress is not so dis-
tinctive as in some of the other Ducks, as the male does not
lose his speckled breast or all the vermiculated feathers of the
body, or the black under tail-coverts. The bill has much more
yellow on it, and is more like that of the hen, while the feet
are dull orange, with sooty webs.

Nestling. — Very dark chocolate-brown, with a blackish head ;
a broad eyebrow of buff, followed by a distinct eye-line of
brown ; on each side of the mantle some white marks, and a
distinct white spot on each side of the rump ; under surface of
body yellowish-white.

Cliaracters. — The male Gadwall is easily recognised by the
chestnut and black patch on the wing, and by its white speculum.
The female has the same characters, but the amount of chest-
nut on the wing is smaller.

Eange in Great Britain. — Chiefly known as a winter visitor,
though it now breeds plentifully in certain parts of Norfolk,
where it has been preserved. In the series of nests of British
birds in the National Museum is one presented by Lord
Walsingham, from Merton, where the species breeds regularly.
It occurs, however, only as a winter visitor to Scotland and
Ireland.

Eange outside the British Islands. — The Gadwall does not breed
in the Arctic Regions, but is known to do so in Iceland, as
well as in Southern Sweden and the Baltic provinces, and
throughout Northern and Central Europe. Throughout the
Mediterranean countries it also breeds, and Mr. Howard
Saunders says that it nests in Spain near the mouth of the

T 2

276

Guadalquivir; while in winter it extends to Northern Africa and
up the valley of the Nile into Nubia. It occurs throughout
Central Asia, breeding in Turkestan, and reaches to the Pacific
coast in Eastern Siberia. The eastern birds winter in India and
China. The Gadwall also breeds in North America at about
the same latitudes as in the Old World, and is found in winter
as far south as Mexico and the Greater Antilles.

Habits. — The Gadwall is a great skulker and always shy, but
on the water it is a very smart-looking bird, as it swims lightly,
with its feathers brushed hard back to a point behind its neck.
It is a fresh-water Duck and is not often captured on the sea
coasts, and is to a great extent gregarious, being sometimes
seen in hundreds on fresh-water lakes. It has a powerful
flight, and rises easily from the water. Its food consists of
leaves and flower-buds of w\ater-plants, and in India, accord-
ing to Mr. A. O. Hume, largely of rice, so that in the early
season its flesh is said to be excellent. Like other Ducks, the
diet also partly consists of insects and their larvcTe, small frogs,
and worms. The name of sti-epera^ or " noisy," is a decided
misnomer for the present species, as it is a very quiet Duck.
Lord Lilford says that the note of the male is a curious rattling
croak, a sort of mixture of the alarm-cry of the Mallard and
the sound uttered by the male Garganey.

Nest. — A mere depression in the ground, with a scanty lining
of dry grass, bits of reed or rush, and, in some cases, a few dead
leaves. It is carefully concealed by the overhanging grass or
rushes.

Eggs. — From eight to twelve in number ; buffy-white or
creamy-white, and slightly glossy, some inclining to greenish.
Axis, 2'i-2'25 inches; diam., i"55.

Down. — Light brown, with a centre star of white, the fila-
ments brown at the ends, not silvery-whitish ; there is also an
admixture of pure white downy plumes.

THE WIGEON. GENUS MARECA.

Mareca, Steph. Gen. Zool. xh. pi. 2, p. 130 (1824).

Type, M. petielope (L.).

The form of the Wigeon is very similar to that of the

Gadwalls, but the lamellae of the upper mandible are not so

THE WIGEON. 677

prominent, the tail is rather more acuminate, and the central
feathers extend somewhat beyond the lateral ones. The bill
is small and gradually tapering towards the tip. The above
characters are given for the genus by Count Salvadori, and
to them must be added the style of plumage, which is well
pronounced ; thus, though many recent writers have placed
the Gadwalls, Shovelers, and Wigeon in the genus Anas, I
thoroughly agree with Count Salvadori that they should be
separated as distinct genera. Three species of Wigeon are
known, our British bird [M. penelope)^ the American Wigeon
{M. aniericana), and M. sibilatiix from South America.

I. THE WIGEON. MARECA PENELOPE.

Anas penelops^ Linn. S. N. i. p. 202 (1766).

Anas penelope, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 527 (1788); Seebohm, Br.

B. iii. p. 539 (1885).
Mareca penelope, Macg. Br. B. v. p. 83 (1852) ; Dresser, B. Eur.

vi. p. 541, pis. 432, 433 (1876); B. O. U. List Br. B. p.

123 (1883); Saunders, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. iv. p. 397

(1885); id. Man. p. 425 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B.

part XV. (1890); Salvad. Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 227

(1895)-
Adult Male. — General colour above grey, with fine vermicula-
tions of darker grey, the lower back and rump more finely
vermiculated ; the sides of the lower rump white ; central tail-
coverts grey, with coarser vermiculations and the ends of the
feathers white, the lateral upper tail-coverts velvety-black ; lesser
wqng-coverts grey, very finely vermiculated ; the median- and
greater wing-coverts pure white, forming a large patch, the latter
tipped with velvety-black, forming the upper border to the
speculum ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills ashy-grey,
the inner webs dusky, with a mirror of buff on the inner web
of the primaries; the secondaries grey internally, metallic-
green externally, but black at the ends, this forming the wing-
speculum ; the next inner secondary white externaUy, forming
an inner border to the speculum, the next three inner second-
aries externally velvety-black, with white shafts, the innermost
grey with darker vermiculations like the scapulars ; crown of
head liglit cinnamon-buff, paler on the lores; the hinder

278 Allen's naturalist's library.

crown, nape, and hind-neck, as well as the sides of the face
and throat, chestnut, slightly mottled with green behind the eye
and on the occiput ; the lower throat and fore-neck, as well as
the sides of the neck and of the chest, pale vinous, shaded with
grey ; remainder of under surface of body from the fore-neck
downwards pure white ; the under tail-coverts black ; the sides
of the body ashy-grey, finely vermiculated with darker grey ;
under wing-coverts ashy-grey ; axillaries white, freckled with
grey ; bill bluish lead-colour, black at the tip ; feet and toes
dark brown; iris hazel. Total length, 18 inches; culmen,
1-45; wing, 10-4; tail, 4-1 ; tarsus, 1-55.

Adult Female. — Differs from the male, the back being ashy-
brown, narrowly barred with rufous on the hind-neck and
mantle ; the dorsal feathers brown-edged with ashy-grey, these
edgings becoming whiter on the rump and upper tail-coverts ;
the scapulars with more rufous margins; wing-coverts ashy-grey,
margined with white, more broadly on the greater series ; the
bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and primaries as in the male ;
the secondaries dusky-brown, externally black and tipped with
white, but not showing a distinct speculum like the male;
inner secondaries velvety-black, edged with white on the outer
web, and separated from the black speculum by a line of white,
caused by the white outer web of a single inner secondary ;
tail ashy-brown, narrowly fringed with white ; crown of head
blackish, with small white bars, producing a thickly mottled
appearance ; lores, sides of face, and sides of throat fulvous,
dotted and spotted with blackish, throat slightly more rufous ;
remainder of the under surface pure white; the under tail-
coverts centred and barred with brown ; the sides of the chest
and of the body mottled with rufous. Total length, 16 inches ;
wing, 9-6.

Young Bh'ds. — Are at first like the old female, and the males
evidently take some time, probably two or three years, before
they acquire their perfect livery. The younger birds with the
speculum developed have often only half the wing-coverts
white, and, judging by a specimen in the British Museum,
killed in June at Kiukiang by Mr. Styan, I should say that,
until the second summer, the male retains a wing exactly like
that of the old female. After the breeding-season, Mr. De

iPIE WIGEON. 279

Winton writes to me, " both males and females assume a very
distinct summer dress of reddish-brown, though the female is
not quite so rufous. In the male all traces of the beautiful
breeding-dress disappear." Sir Savile Crossley, finding that
I was interested in the summer plumage of Ducks, very kindly
had a pair of Wigeon caught for me and sent up to London
ahve. On the day of their arrival (August 24th) the male
had moulted his wings and assumed the full plumage,
speculum and all, but the female was still helpless, the quills
being in full moult. The male, however, still retained much
of his post-nuptial dress, and the feathers of the back were
blackish, with rufous margins and bars ; the head and neck
were rufous, spotted with black, but distinctly glossed with
green ; the chest and sides of the body were dark chestnut,
mottled with sub-terminal bars of black.

The female was darker than the male, but the feathers were
also blackish, with rufous bars and margins, and the head was
especially dark, almost black, but with a very distinct green
gloss ; the wing-markings, however, were very different from
those of the male, and resembled, as far as the feathers were
developed, those of the full-plumaged hen-bird.

Characters. — The Wigeon is distinguished by the white patch
on the wing, formed by the median and greater coverts, the
grey bill tipped with black, and the green speculum.

Hyl)rids. — Crosses have been known to take place between
the Wigeon and Mallard, Teal, and Pin-tail. The latter are
very rare, but Sir Edward Grey possesses a brood of the latter
hybrids hatched on his estate in Northumberland.

Range in Great Britain. — Occurs chiefly in England during
autumn and spring migration, sometimes in immense numbers.
It has not been known to nest anywhere in England, but in
the north of Scotland, in Sutherland, Ross, Cromarty, and
Caithness it breeds regularly. Mr. Ussher writes with regard
to the Wigeon in Ireland : — " Lord Caledon states that he
has seen the old birds in summer, at Caledon, Co. Tyrone. A
pair of Wigeon were seen in June, 1893, on Lough Allen in
Leitrim." The mere appearance of birds during the summer
does not prove that they bred in the neighbourhood. This
autumn a specimen was sent to the British Museum as a

28o ALLEN S NATURALISTS LIBRARV.

young Wigeon, and the bird in question was supposed to
have been hatched in Hampshire, but it was not a young
bird at all, but an old male, changing from his short-lived
summer plumage to his full dress, and, therefore, he was
probably a non-breeding individual which had remained in
southern latitudes instead of going north to breed. This I
take to be the case with the birds which have been seen in
Norfolk and other counties of England during the summer.

Range outside the Britisli Islands. — Breeds in the Arctic Re-
gions of the Old World, from Iceland to Eastern Siberia.
It also breeds occasionally in more southern latitudes, and
its eggs have been taken on the Lower Danube by Mr. See-
bohm, so that the improbability of its breeding in England is
lessened, as the same author states that its nests have been
found in France, Germany, and Bohemia. The range of the
species extends eastwards to Kamtchatka. In winter it ranges
south to Abyssinia and to Madeira, as well as to Northern
India and the Burmese provinces and China, while stray
examples have been met with in Borneo, and even as far south
as the Marshall Islands. In North America it is found in
Alaska and occurs as for south as California, and it is also
found in winter on the Atlantic coasts.

Habits. — In winter, when the Wigeon principally visits our
coasts, it is a gregarious bird, and often occurs in enormous
flocks on the sea-coasts and also on inland lakes, herding
together on the latter with other Ducks, especially the
Tufted Duck. The male, as is evidenced by the birds lent to
me by Sir Savile Crossley, gets through his summer moult
more rapidly than the female, and leaves to the latter the
charge of bringing up the young. Lord Lilford says that " the
note of the male bird is a shrill double whistle, once heard
never to be forgotten," and Mr. Seebohm writes, " The cry
of this Duck is a prolonged whistle or scream, immediately
followed by a short note. I can best represent it by the
syllables inee-yn, the first very loud and prolonged, the last
low and short. It sounds very wild and weird, as in startles
the ear on the margin of a mountain tarn or moorland lake, a
solitary cry, high in key, not unmusical in tone, but one of the
most familiar sounds on the banks of the Petchora or the

THE WIGEOK. 28 1

Yenesei, where the Wigeon is very abundant, especially on
the banks of the borderland where the forest merges into
the tundra not far north of the Arctic Circle."

K'est.— The nests, according to Mr. Seebohm, are well con-
cealed, generally close to the margin of a lake or pond, and
are placed in the long grass and sedge, often under a willow-
bush. Like those of most Ducks which breed in the Arctic
Regions, they are very deep, well lined with dead grass and
sedge, and, when the full clutch is laid, contain a quantity of
down with which the eggs are covered when the female leaves
the nest.

Eggs. — From seven to ten in number, more rarely twelve
being found; buffy-white or cream-colour. Axis, 2-0-2-25
inches; diam., i*45-i*55.

Down. — Extremely dark chocolate-brown with a dull star
of white, and dull whitish filaments at the end of the down.
The general aspect, however, is dark brown, the white being
scarcely visible.

II. THE AMERICAN WIGEON. MARECA AMERICANA.

Anas aniericana, Gm. S. N. p. 526 (1788); Seebohm, Br. B.

iii. p. 543 (1885).
Mareca americana, Macg. Br. B. v. p. 90 (1852); B. O. U.

List Br, B. p. 124 (1883); Saunders, ed. Yarr. Br. B.

iv. p. 403 (1S85) ; id. Man. Br. B. p. 427 (1889) ; Salvad.

Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 233 (1895).

Adult Male. — Differs from M. penelope in having the upper
part of the head whitish instead of buff, the sides of the head
and upper neck whitish, thickly spotted with black, and a broad
patch of green extending from behind the eye to the hinder
nape ; bill light greyish-blue, black at the end ; legs and feet
light bluish; iris brown. Total length, 18 inches; culmen,
1-6; wing, 10-2; tail, 4-4; tarsus, 1-4.

Adult Female. — Differs from the female of M. penelope in
having the head and neck much whiter, the light part of the
feathers being whitish instead of reddish-brown. Total length,
16-5 inches; culmen, 1-4; wing, 9-6; tail, 3-2; tarsus, 1-5.

282 Allen's naturalist's library.

Kange in Great Britain. — In the winter of 1837-38, Mr. Bartlett
secured a specimen of the American Wigeon from a market in
London. He preserved the bird, which afterwards passed into
the collection of Mr. J. H. Gurney. In these days of freezing-
chambers on board ship, the presence of a foreign Duck in
an English market would be absolutely worthless as evidence of
the occurrence of the species within the British area, but sixty
years ago the modes of transit were not so easy, and the appear-
ance of an American Wigeon among a lot of English Wigeon
may be taken as sound evidence that the specimen had been
procured within British limits. The few other records of the
occurrence of the species in Great Britain all appear to be un-
trustworthy, though its capture once in France and again in
the Azores is authentic.

Range outside the British Islands. — The American Wigeon
breeds in the arctic portion of North America, occasionally as
far south as the Northern United States. In winter it extends
to the Southern States, Mexico, and the West Indies.

Hahits. — Similar to those of M. penelope.

Nest. — Like that of M. penelope.

Eggs. — Pale buff. Axis, 2*06 inches; diam., \\\'^i^Ridgiva}').

THE TEAL. GENUS NETTION.

Nettion^ Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 95 (1829).

Type, N. crecca (L.).

Though resembling the Wigeon in the character of the bill,
which has the lamellae of the upper mandible scarcely at all
prominent, the Teal differ in having the bill moderate, and
graduated towards the tip, where it becomes more rounded and
broader than in the species of Mareca ; the scapulars and inner
secondaries are longer and narrower than in that genus, and
the coloration of the two sexes is distinctly different.

Fifteen species are recognised by Count Salvadori, and the
range of the i^enus is cosmopolitan.

THE TEAU 283

I. THE COMMON TEAL. NETTION CRECCA

Ajias crecca, Linn. S. N. i. p. 204 (1766).

Qiterquedida crecca^ Macg. Br. B. v. p. 48 (1852); Dresser, B.

Eur. vi. p. 507, pi. 426 (T871); B. O. U. List Br. B. p.

127 (1883) ; Saunders, ed. Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 387 (1885);

Seebohm, Br. B. iii. p. 545 (1885); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br.

B. part viii. (1888) ; Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 419 (1889}.
Nettion crecca, Salvad. Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 243 (1895).
{^Piate LVIII. Fig. i.)
Adult Male. — General colour above dusky-grey, with some-
what coarse vermiculations of ashy-grey ; the scapulars, lower
back, and rump browner, with darker centres to the feathers
and scarcely any vermiculations ; the outer scapulars black and
white, forming a double line of these colours ; the upper tail-
coverts blackish, with whiter margins ; wing-coverts uniform
ashy-grey, the greater series broadly tipped with white, the
inner ones with cinnamon-buff, forming a band along the
upper edge of the speculum ; the bastard-wing, primary-coverts,
and quills dusky-grey, the inner webs of the primaries browner ;
the outer secondaries velvety-black, the inner ones externally
metallic-green, or purplish-blue in other lights, followed by a
line of velvety-black, of which the outer web of some of the
inner secondaries are composed ; the innermost secondaries
ashy-brown; tail-feathers ashy-brown; crown of head deep
cinnamon or chestnut, as also the sides of the face and throat ;
the chin black, extending in a line at the base of the bill to the
forehead, which is also blackish ; this is succeeded by a line
of creamy-buff in a crescent from the base of the bill to the
eye, and is continued above the latter in a narrow line along
the side of the crown; the eye is surrounded by a black band,
glossed with green or purple, which unites on the nape, and
is bordered below for some distance by a line of white con-
tinuous with the line which divides in front of the eye ; lower
eyelid with a white spot ; under surface of body creamy-white ;
the fore-neck and breast more fulvescent, and thickly spotted
with black ; the sides of the body and flanks vermiculated with
dusky-grey and blackish ; under tail-coverts black, the longer
ones bordered with white, the basal ones white barred with
dusky ; on each side of the vent a patch of creamy-buff, with a

284 Allen's naturalist's library.

velvety-black base ; under wing-coverts and axillaries white ;
bill nearly black ; feet, toes, and membrane brownish-grey ; iris
hazel. Total length, 14 inches; culmen, 1*5 ; wing, yo ; tail,
27 ; tarsus, 1*1.

Adult Female. — Different from the male. Dark brown above,
with crescentic or horse-shoe markings of tawny-buff on the
mantle and back ; the lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts
dusky and more blackish-brown, mottled with wiiitish edgings
and centres to the feathers; wing as in the male, with an
equally distinct speculum, showing green in certain lights and
purplish-blue in others ; the black border to the inner margin
of the speculum dusky-black, not velvety-black; crown of head
rufous-brown with dusky streaks ; sides of face and throat
ashy-whitish, minutely spotted with dusky ; lores, a spot under
the eye, and upper throat white; breast white, with a slight
reddish tinge on the fore-neck, this and the breast and flanks
mottled, and the under tail-coverts streaked with dark brown
centres to the feathers. Total length, 15-5 inches: culmen,
1-25 ; wing, 67 ; tail, 2*5 ; tarsus, I'l.

Mr. De Winton writes to me concerning the post-nuptial
plumage of the Teal : — " In the summer dress it is very diffi-
cult to tell the males from the females, and they resemble each
other more than any Duck I know. After a close inspection,
the chief difference I can find is that the males have a more
lead-coloured head, with no light stripe over the eye, but they
show a little buff at the sides of the base of the tail. The
female has a pale stripe over the eye, though this is never so
distinct as in the hen Garganey."

Young. — At first both sexes resemble the ^ old female in
plumage, but are more distinctly mottled with dark centres
to the feathers of the under surface, while the wing-coverts
have pale margins.

Hybrids. — The Teal has been known to cross with other
Ducks, such as the Mallard and Pin-tail, while the so-called
Bimaculated Duck {A. bimaciilatd) is now admitted to be a
hybrid between a Teal and a Mallard.

Eange in Great Britain. — The Teal nests in most parts of the
British Islands, but more plentifully in the north. Mr. Ussher
says that it is reported to breed in every county in Ireland

THE TEAL. 285

except Dublin and Carlow. On migration there is a large
increase in the numbers of Teal which visit us, and the species
is commoner in winter.

Eange outside the British Islands. — The range of the present
species in summer extends from Iceland throughout Northern
Europe and Asia to Bering Island, breeding as far north as
70° N. lat. In Southern Europe it is less frequent, though it
nests in Madeira and in the Azores, but it is more plentiful in
the Mediterranean countries in winter, when it ascends the
Nile Valley and visits Abyssinia. In Central Asia and Eastern
Siberia the species breeds more sparingly, but nests abun-
dantly in the Commander Islands, and it is a common winter
visitor to the Caspian Sea, the Indian Peninsula, China, and
the Burmese countries. It is an occasional visitor to Green-
land and the Eastern United States, as well as to Alaska.

Habits. — This is the smallest of the English Ducks, and is
found in winter in a variety of places, on the lakes consorting
with the Mallards and Wigeon, though keeping to itself in
small parties, which generally take flight by themselves. At
other times Teal may be found singly in water-holes in the
marshes. Mr. Seebohm writes : — " Its habits differ very Httle
from those of its congeners ; perhaps it might be said that the
Teal is more partial to small reedy ponds, and less fond of
visiting the mud-banks on the sea-shore than its relations ;
but its food is the same mixture of animal and vegetable sub-
stances. Its quack, or alarm-note, is very similar to that of
the Garganey, and may be represented by the syllable kiiake^
but the call-note of both sexes is a sharp krik, and in the pair-
ing-season the drake utters a harsh grating noise. It is quite
as gregarious as its congeners."

Like the Mallard, the Teal often builds its nest at some
distance from water, and Lord Lilford says that he feels sure
that, in such instances, it "carries its young to the splashy
spots in which it delights."

Uest. — Does not differ from that of the other Ducks, and is
lined with down. As an instance of the early nesting of the
Teal, Mr. Robert Read writes to me : — " I have taken the nest
of the Teal in May, under a tuft of heather on a hillside over-
looking a fresh-water loch in Scotland. In the same locality

286 Allen's naturalist's library.

I know of a nest with two fresh eggs having been found in
February, when the ground was covered with snow. A shep-
herd, seeing the hole in the snow, put his head in, expecting
to get a rabbit, when out flew the female bird."

Eggs. — Eight to ten in number ; buffy-white or cream-colour,
some greenish-white. Axis, i-65-i-9 inches; diam., i*2-i*35.
Mr. Seebohm says that they are, as a rule, smaller than those
of the Garganey, but they can only be distinguished with
certainty by the down. This is sooty or deep chocolate-brown,
with a very conspicuous star of white, the tips not being whitish,
but brown, scarcely visible.

II. THE AMERICAN TEAL. NETTION CAROLINENSE.

Anas carolinensis, Gm. S. N, i. p. 533 (1788) ; Seebohm, Br. B.

iii. p. 549 (1885).
Querquedula carohnensis^ B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 127 (1883) ;

Saunders, Man. Br. B. p. 421 (1889).
Nettion caroli?iense^ Salvad. Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 250

(1895).

[Plate L VIII. Fig. 2.)

Adult Male. — Very similar to that of N. crecca^ but distin-
guished by the whitish crescent on each side of the upper breast ;
the whitish line which envelops the green patch on the sides
of the head, and passes to the base of the bill, is scarcely
visible, and the scapulars are uniform pale grey ; bill black ;
feet light fleshy (horn-colour when dried) ; iris brown. Total
length, i3"5 inches; culmen, i"5; wing, 7-3; tail, 2-95; tar-
sus, i"i.

Adult Female. — Not to be distinguished from that of N'.
crecca.

Eange in Great Britain. — Three specimens of this little Teal
have been captured in England, one near Scarborough in
1852, another in Hampshire, and one near Kingsbridge in
South Devon. Full particulars are given by Mr. Howard
Saunders in his "Manual."

Eange outside the British Islands. — An inhabitant of Nortli
America, breeding chiefly north of the United States, and

THE PIN-TAILS. 287

ranging in winter as far south as Honduras and Cuba {Ridg-

2vay).

Habits. — Similar to those of AL crecca.

Eggs.— Pale dull buff. Axis, 175 inch; diam., 1-28 {Ridg
IV ay.

TFIE PIN-TAILS. GENUS DAFILA.

Dajila, Steph. Gen. Zool, xiii. part 2, p. 126 (1824).
Type, D. acuta (L.).

The Pin-tailed Ducks, thougli in general structure much
resembling the members of the preceding genera, have a dis-
tinctive character in their long tail, the central feathers of
which are elongated beyond the rest and pointed. The cul-
men also is nearly straight.

With the exception of Australia and New Zealand, the range
of the genus Dafila may be said to be almost cosmopolitan.
Only three species are recognised by Count Salvadori, for the
Dafila modesta of Canon Tristram, from the Fanning Islands,
will, in all probability, prove to be D. acuta, which has already
been procured in Borneo on its southern migration. D. eatoni
inhabits Kerguelen Island, and the Crozettes, and D. spini-
cauda is peculiar to South America.

I. THE PIN-TAIL. DAFILA ACUTA.

Anas acuta, Linn. S. N. i. p. 202 (1766) ; Seebohm, Br. B. iii,
p. 534 (1885).

Querqitedida acuta, Macg. Br. B. v. p. 65 (1852).

Dafila ac7ita, Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 531, pis. 430, 431
(1873); B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 124 (1883); Saunders,
ed. Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 380 (1885); id. Man. Br. B. p. 417
(1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B. part xiii. (1890) ; Salvad.
Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 273 (1895).

Adult Male. — General colour above ashy-grey, finely vermicu-
lated with wavy lines of blackish; the long scapular plumes
and inner secondaries bordered with white, and longitudinally
centred with black, with a slight inclination to form a sickle-
shaped curve; the upper scapulars black for the greater part

288 Allen's naturallst's library.

of their outer web, forming a large patch ; lower back and rump
rather more dusky than the upper back ; the upper tail-coverts
ashy-grey, with the centre or outer webs black, and the edge
white; the two centre tail-feathers black, six inches long, and
produced far beyond the tail ; the rest of the tail-feathers grey
with white margins, the inner ones blackish on the outer web ;
wing-coverts uniform grey, the greater series tipped with pale
cinnamon, forming a band along the upper margin of the
speculum ; the bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills grey,
except the outer webs of the latter and the tips, which are
dusky ; the secondaries externally bronzy-green, broadly tipped
with white, before which is a sub-terminal bar of black ;
the inner secondaries externally black, forming a broad hind
margin to the speculum ; crown of head, sides of face, and
upper throat chocolate-brown, the crown slightly mottled with
dusky, and the lower margin of the throat-patch inclining to
sooty-brown, with a streak of bronzy-green gloss from behind
the eye down the sides of the nape ; hind-neck ashy, with
scarcely any trace of freckling, separated from the crown by a
patch of black on the nape. Under surface of body pure white,
this running up on the sides of the neck and forming a broad
band which reaches to the nape ; the sides of the body freckled
with narrow wavy lines of grey ; on each side of the lower
flanks a conspicuous patch of buff; under tail-coverts black,
the lateral ones edged with white ; under wing-coverts ashy,
margined with white ; axillaries white, with a few dusky bars
or shaft-stripes ; bill black, pale leaden-blue on sides of upper
mandible ; legs and feet blackish-grey, paler on outside of tarsus
and web of toes ; iris brown. Total length, 25 inches ; culmen,
2-o; wing, 107; tail, 5*0; tarsus, I'g.

Adult Female. — Different from the male. Brown above, the
feathers edged with sandy-buff or white and barred or irregu-
larly spotted with the same colour, the markings being gener-
ally in the shape of a horse-shoe; wing-coverts ashy-grey, with
whitish margins, more distinct on the greater coverts ; the
quills brown, darker at the ends ; the secondaries broadly edged
with white at the ends and slightly darker brown, but showing
no speculum ; the tail-feathers brown, margined with white
and irregularly barred with sandy-buff; crown of head rufous-,
brown, narrowly streaked with blackish ; the sides of the face

THE PIN-TAILS. 289

fulvescent, with tiny streaks of dusky-brown extending down
the sides of the neck, but absent on the throat, which is white ;
remainder of under surface of body white, with a few spots of
dusky-brown, only distinct on the fore-neck and sides of body
where the feathers are centred with bars of brown ; under wing-
coverts ashy, with whitish margins ; axillaries ashy, with
irregular bars of white. Total length, i8 inches; culmen, 17 ;
wing, 97 ; tail, 4-1 ; tarsus, 1-5.

A speculum is present in some birds said to be females,
but it is much less distinct than in the males, and generally
consists of a gloss cf bronzy-green on the feather.

The old male, when out of plumage after the breeding-sea-
son, resembles the female, but is much darker above and more
spotted underneath ; the bars on the back are narrower and
more distinctly transverse, instead of being of a horse-shoe
shape ; the speculum is like that of the full plumage.

Mr. De Winton writes : — " The two sexes in their summer
dress closely resemble each other. The breast, under-parts,
and tail-covetts of the male are handsomely marked with
crescent-shaped spots, the general colour is greyer than in the
female, and the back does not quite lose its distinctive colour-
ing. The bill is not strikingly bicoloured, so that if the two
birds are not swimming close together, it is not very easy to
distinguish them."

Hybrids.— The Pin-tail has been known to cross with the
Mallard, the tame Duck, the Teal, and the Shoveler.

Range in Great Britain. — Known almost entirely as a winter
visitor, though it probably breeds in a few isolated localities
in Scotland. Mr. Harvie Brown has taken eggs from the island
of Hysgeir, off Canna, and Mr. Howard Saunders has also
seen young birds on the same island. It is commoner on the
east of Scotland than on the west, but is much more frequent
on the south and east coasts of England, being sometimes
captured inland. Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey states that he has
seen female Pin-tails with young broods on Loughs Mask and
Corrib, and has noticed the species in summer on Lough
Inagh in Connemara. It has also bred many years ago near
Granston in Queen's County, and Lord Castletown still pos-

290 Allen's naturalists library.

sesses the egg, according to Mr. R. J. Ussher, who, however,
states that there is " no recent evidence of the Pin-tail breed-
ing in Ireland."

Range outside the British Islands. — The Pin -tail is a bird of very
wide distribution. It inhabits America, breeding in the far
north in Alaska and Labrador up to 72" N. lat., wintering as
far south as the West Indies and Panama. In the old World
it breeds plentifully in the Arctic Regions up to 70° N. lat.,
and as far south as 50°, but less frequently, and its breeding-
range extends across Northern Asia to Bering Island. In
winter it visits the Indian Peninsula and China, and has been
found as far south as Borneo, and it doubtless occurs even
farther to the southward.

Hahits. — For grace and elegance of form in the water, the
Pin-tail is probably the handsomest of our British Ducks. It
is essentially a fresh-water species. Mr. Seebohm gives a very
interesting account of his experiences with the Pin-tail in the
Petchora, which space forbids me from quoting in full, but I
give the following extract from his notes on the species : — " It
breeds in the midst of moors, lakes, rivers, and swamps, but
during migration and in winter it spends most of its time on
the sea-shore, to feed on the mud-flats at low tide. It is one
of the earliest Ducks to arrive in spring, and one of the latest
to leave in autumn. If the ground be not covered with snow,
it makes its appearance in North Germany about the middle
of March, and passes through again during the month of
October, remaining in November until it is frozen out. In its
habits it closely resembles the Mallard, feeding; like the other
fresh-water Ducks, partly on insects and molluscs, and partly
on the ends of grass and the buds of water-plants, but, like
the Mallard, it frequents the stubble-fields in autumn to pick
up the fallen grain. Its voice closely resembles that of the
Mallard and the Shoveler, but on the whole it is a silent bird.
This may be accounted for by its extreme wariness ; it takes
such great care to avoid danger, that its alarm-note of quack is
not often required. Its call-note is a low kah ; and Naumann
says that, in the pairing-season, the male may be seen swim-
ming round the female, uttering a deep cllik, which, if the
observer be fortunate enough to be sufficiently near to hear it.

THE GARGANEYS. 291

is preceded by a sound like the dra wing-in of the breath, and
followed by a low grating note."

Nest. — Somewhat deep, with a lining of grass and sedge,
placed, according to Mr, Seebohm, in the grass among the
shrubs in dry places, generally at some distance from the
water.

Eggs. — From seven to ten in number, of a pale greenissh-buff
colour. Axis, 2 •05-2-4 inches ; diam., i'4-i-5. The down is
dark brown, with scarcely distinguishable whitish filaments at
the tips, but having a very prominent central star of white.

TtlE GARGANEYS. GENUS QUERQUEDULA.

Qiierqiieduia, Steph. Gen. Zool. xii. part 2, p. 142 (1824).

Type, Q. querquedula (L.).

The Garganeys, or Blue-winged Teal, differ from the true
Teal {Nettion), with which they have generally been associated,
in the soft membrane which fringes the terminal portion of the
upper mandible, and the blue upper wing-coverts, in which
respect they greatly resemble the Shoveler.

Out of the five species recognised by Count Salvadori as
belonging to this genus, two are exclusively South American,
viz., Q. versicolor and Q. pu?ia ; two are North American, Q.
discors and Q. cya?toptera^ wintering in Central and South
America ; and one, Q. querquedula, is Palaearctic.

I. THE GARGANEY. QUERQUEDULA QUERQUEDULA.

A?ias querquedula, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 203 (1766).

Anas circia, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 204 (1766); Seebohm, Br.

B. iii. p. 551 (1885); Lilford, Col. Fig. Brit. B. part

xiii. (1890).
Querquedula circia, Macg. Br. B. v. p. 55 (1852) ; Dresser, B.

Eur. vi. p. 513, pi. 427 (1871); B. O. U. List Br. B. p.

126 (1883); Saunders, ed. Yarr. Br. B. iv. p. 393 (1885);

id. Man. Br. B. p. 423 (1889); Salvad. Cat. B. Brit. Mus.

xxvii. p. 293 (1895).

Adult Male — General colour above dark brown, the centres
of the feathers being blackish and the edgings reddish-brown ;

u 2

292 ALLEN S NATURALISTS LIBRARY.

the lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts darker than the
back, the feathers being blackish with ashy-grey margins; tail-
feathers dark brown, with paler edges ; wing-coverts delicate
lavender-grey, the greater coverts broadly tipped with white,
forming a broad band across the wing and making the upper
border of the speculum ; bastard-wing and primary-coverts ashy-
brown, with rather broad white margins ; quills blackish, more
ashy on the inner web ; secondaries dusky-brown, externally
dull metallic-green and broadly tipped with white, forming the
lower border to the green speculum ; inner secondaries brown
edged with whitish, and externally ashy near the base, the
innermost blue-grey ; the adjoining scapulars long and slightly
sickle-shaped, black with a slight greenish gloss, and relieved
by a well-defined white longitudinal streak along the shaft ;
crown of head blackish, extending to the nape ; a few pale shaft-
streaks on' the forehead ; from above the eye a broad band of
white skirting the black ; lores, sides of face, and throat deep
vinous-red, with numerous tiny shaft-streaks of white ; the fore-
neck and breast sandy-buff, thickly barred with lines and
circular marks of blackish ; abdomen white, or with a buff
tinge, especially on the under tail-coverts, which are mottled
and streaked with brown centres ; sides of body white, with
fine cross-bars of greyish-black, with a double band of white
and blue-grey divided by a black line on each side of the lower
flanks; under wing-coverts and axillaries white, the edge of the
wing bluish-grey ; bill black ; feet greyish-brown ; iris hazel.
Total length, t6 inches; culmen, 1*55; wing, 7*3; tail, 27;
tarsus, i"o.

Adult Female. — Different from the male. General colour
above dark brown, with rufescent edges to the feathers ; lower
back and rump somewhat darker, with whitish margins ; upper
tail-coverts brown, edged and barred with rufescent or bufify-
white ; tail-feathers similar to those of the male ; wing-coverts
light brown, washed with ashy-grey; the greater coverts margined
with white, forming a white wing-bar ; quills dark brown, the
secondaries blackish, tipped with white ; crown of head minutely
streaked with brown and buffy-white, as also the sides of the
face and neck, becoming lighter on the hind-neck; an indistinct
eyebrow of dull white ; chin and throat white ; lower throat
longitudinally streaked with minute brown centres to the

THE GARGANEYS. 293

feathers, like the sides of the neck ; the feathers on the fore-
neck and sides of body white, mottled with brown centres ; re-
mainder of under surface buffy-white, with indistinct brown
centres to some of the feathers, becoming pear-shaped on
the under tail-coverts ; under wing-coverts white, the outer
ones brown, edged with white; axillaries pure white. Total
length, 14*3 inches ; wing, 6-8.

Young Birds. — At first resemble the old female, but the
colour is rather darker and the breast is more rufous. They
are very like young Teal, but can be distinguished by the
absence of the green speculum.

In post-nuptial plumage the colour of the male becomes
like that of the old female, but it can always be distinguished
by its brighter green speculum. The hen-like dress is retained
for a longer period than in most Ducks, and remains of it can
be seen in specimens shot well into the winter season.

Range in Great Britain. — The Garganey, or Summer Teal, as it
is also called, comes to England in the spring, and nests in the
eastern counties, but is of irregular occurrence elsewhere. Mr.
De Winton writes to me : — " It is possible that the Garganey
succeeds in rearing a brood in parts of England not yet
recorded. An occasional pair visit Herefordshire, and I have
known them to be shot as late as May, when they ought to be
hatching off. In 1894, Mr. Ashdown, the well-known local
taxidermist, received a pair in the second week in May."

In Scotland and Ireland and the greater part of England
the Garganey is only of occasional occurrence in spring, and
again on its return migration in autumn.

Range outside the British Islands. — The range of the Garganey
seems to be more southerly than that of the other species. It
is only known as an accidental visitor to Scandinavia, the
Faeroes, and Iceland, but breeds throughout the rest of Europe
and as far north as Archangel. In Asia it is found breeding
in Turkestan and Southern Siberia, but not in Northern Asia.
In winter the Garganey is found in the Mediterranean, the
Black and the Caspian Seas, and extends as far south as
Somali-land, while in the east it is plentiful during the winter
in India and China, and goes as far as Borneo and the Moluc-
cas.

294 Allen's naturalist's library.

Habits. —In its ways the Garganey resembles the Teal, but
Mr. Seebohm calls attention to a few slight peculiarities in
the habits of this species, viz., its intolerance of cold, which is
apparently the reason that the bird does not venture so far
north as its congeners, and accounts also for its earlier depar-
ture south. Its flight is very rapid, but almost noiseless, and
altogether the Garganey is somewhat of a silent species. He
adds : — " Its quack is not so loud as that of the Mallard, but
is in a slightly higher key ; it may be represented by the
syllable kiiake^ whence the German name for this duck ' knak-
ente.' " It is generally uttered singly, but is sometimes re-
peated twice. The quack is common to both sexes, but in
the breeding-season the male utters a harsh grating note re-
sembling kr-r-r.^''

Nest — According to Mr. Seebohm, this is placed in a variety
of positions — hidden under a bush or in thick grass or sedge,
far away from water in the forest or among the corn, anywhere
and everywhere where a hidden retreat can be found. It is
made very deep, and is lined with dead grass and leaves, to
which plenty of down is afterwards added.

Eggs. — From eight to twelve, sometimes as many as fourteen ;
buffy-white or cream-colour. Axis, i-y-i'S inch; diam., 1-3.

Down. — Very dark, sooty-black in colour, with indistinct
filamentous tips of ashy-white, and a small but tolerably well-
marked star of white in the centre of the down.

II. THE BLUE-WINGED TEAL. QUERQUEDULA DISCORS.

Anas discors, Linn. S. N. i. p. 205 (1766).

Qiierqicedula discors, B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 126 (1883); Saun-
ders, ed. Yarn Brit. B. iv. p. 392 (1884) ; id. Man. p. 422
(1889); Salvad. Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxvii. p. 300 (1895).

Adult Male. — Differs from Q. querquedula in having the
wing-coverts bright smalt-blue instead of pale blue, and also
by having a crescent-shaped white band between the eyes and
the bill of the male ; the throat and sides of the face are sooty-
grey, and the crown of the head black ; the under surface of
the body is much darker than in Q. querquedula^ and is thickly
spotted all over with dusky markings ; bill black ; feet yellow-

THE GARGANEYS. ^9^

ish ; iris brown. Total length, 14-5 inches ; culmen, 17 ; wing,
7-6; tail, 3-0; tarsus, 1-3.

Adult Female. — Darker than the female of Q. querquediila, and
easily distinguished by its blue wings and dusky speculum ; the
under surface of the body deep buff, thickly mottled with brown
centres to the feathers, very broad on the flanks. Total length,
14 inches ; wing, 7'o.

Range in Great Britain. — A purely accidental visitor, of which
only one authentic occurrence is known, a male bird having
been shot near Dumfries. The species has also been procured
in Denmark, in April, 1886.

Range outside the British Islands — North America in general,
but chiefly east of the Rocky Mountains, in winter, the whole
of the West Indies and Middle America, south to Ecuador
{Ridgway).

Habits. — Similar to those of Q. querqiiedula.

Eggs. — Pale buff. x\xis, 1*84 inch; diam., i'34.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX.

Abyssinian Roller. 74.
abyssinicus, Coracias. 74.
acadica, Nyctala. 102.
Acanthyllis caudacuta. 43.
acuta, Anas. 287.

Dafila. 287.

Querquedula. 287.
Accipiter. 141.

korschun. 171.

major. 144.

melanochistus. 144.

melanoleucus. 142.

nisus. 141, 142.
Accipitres. ']6, in.
Accipitriformes. 76.
accipitrina, Strix. 96.
Accipitrin^e. 124.
accipitrinus, Asio. 96, 97.
itgyptiaca, Chenalopex. 257.
cegyptius, Caprimulgus. 50.
?equatorialis, lynx, 16.
Aeronautes. 38.
jcruginosus, Circus. 133, 135.
cesalon, Falco. 187.
affinis, Micropus. ^^6.
africana, Upupa. 59.
africanus, Micropus. 39.
alaudarius, Tinnunculus. 201.
albatus, Anser. 225.

Chen. 225.
albicilla, Haliaetus. 162, 163.

Vultur. 163.
all)ifrons, Anser. 227, 230, 231.

Branta. 230.
Alcedinid.ie. 64.
Alcedininye. 62.
Alcedo. 66.

alcyon. 65.

Alcedo bengalensis. 6?,.

ispida. 64, 66, 67.
alcyon, Alcedo. 65.

Ceryle. 62, 65.
Alcyone. 64.
aldrovandi, Scops. 81.
Aluco flammeus. 108.
aluco, Strix. 100.

Syrnium. 100,

Ulula. 100
American Cuckoos. 30.

Gos-Hawk. 140.

Ilawk-Owl. 89.

Teal. 286.

Tufted Owl. 82.

Wigeon. 281.
americana, Anas. 281.

Mareca. 281.
americanus, Asio. 95.

Coccyzus. 30.

Cuculus. 30, 2y'i^.

Cygnus. 246.
amurensis, Cerchneis. 209.
analis, Uendrocopus, i.
Anas. 269.

acuta. 287.

americana. 281.

boscas. 269.

boschas. 269.

casarca. 263.

carolinensis. 286.

circia. 291.

clypeata. 265.

crecca. 283.

cygnus. 247.

discors. 294.

fabalis. 232.

leucopsis. 236.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX.

297

Anas penelope. 277.

penelops. 277.

segetum. 232.

strepera. 273.

tadorna. 258.

querquedula. 291.
Anatidre. 224.
Anatins. 257.
Anser. 225, 227.

albatus. 225.

albifrons. 227, 230, 231.

anser. 227.

brachyrhynchus. 234.

branta. 239.

branta glaucogaster. 239,

gambeli. 231.

hyperboreus. 225.

indicus. 224, 225.

leucopsis. 237.

rubrirostris. 229.

ruficollis. 243.

segetum. 232.

segetum brachyrhynchus. 234.

serrirostris. 233.
Anseres. 224.
Anseriformes. 223.
AnserinK. 224.
Ant-Eaters. 2.
apiaster, Merops. 54, 57.
apivorus, Falco. 177.

Pernis. 176, 177.
apus, Cypsehis. 40.

Piirundo. 40.

Micropus. 35, s^, 38, 39, 40.
Aquila. 153, 156.

chrysaetus. 156, 162.

clanga. 159.

hastata. 159, 161.

lagopus. 154.

maculata. 159, 161,

ncevia. 1 59.

pomarina. 161, 162.
Aquilinoe. 152, 174.
Archibuteo. 153.

lagopus. 153, 154.

sancti johannis. 155.
Asio. 93.

accipitrinus. 96, 97.
americanus. 95*

Asio brachyotus. 96.

capensis. 98.

galapagensis. 98.

otus. 93, 94.

sandwichensis. 98.
asio, Scops. 82.
Astur. 136.

atricapillus. 140, 141.

palumbarius. 136, 137, 141.
ater, Milvus. 171.
Athene noctua. 91.
atrata, Chenopsis. 246.
atricapillus, Astur. 140, 141.

Falco. 140.

bactriana, Carine. 92.
Bald Eagle. 165.
Banded Kingfisher. 64.
Barn-Owl. 77, 107, 108, no.
bassana, Sula. 218.
bassanus, Dysporus. 218.
Bean-Goose. 231, 232.
Bee-Eater. 53, 64.

Blue-tailed, 57.

Common. 54.

Long-tailed. 54.
Belted Kingfisher. 62, 64, 65.
Bengal Vulture. 118.
bengalensis, Alcedo. 68.

Pseudogyps. 11 8.
Bernacle Goose. 236.
bernicla, Branta. 236, 239, 240.
Bernicla canadensis. 225.

leucopsis. 237.

ruficollis. 243.
bevvicki, Cygnus. 252.
Bewick's Swan. 252.
bimaculata, Querquedula. 284.
Bimaculated Duck. 284.
Black Gyr-Falcon. 196.
Black Kite. 171.
Black- necked Swan. 246.
Black-shouldered Kite. 173.
Black Swan. 246.
Black-and-White Kingfisher. 65.
blakistoni, Bubo. 80.
Blue Kingfishers. 66.
Blue-tailed Beef-Eater. 57.
Blue-winged Teal. 290, 294.

298

ALPHABETICAL INDEX.

borealis, Buteo. 151.

Falco. 151.
boscas, Anas. 269.
boschas, Anas. 269.
brachyotus, Asio. 96.

Strix. 97.
Brachypteraciina;. 70.
brachyrhynchus, Anser. 234.
Branta. 236.
Branta albifrons. 230.

bernicla. 236, 239.

glaucogaster. 240.

hutchinsi. 236.

leucopsis. 236.

nigricans. 236, 240.

minima. 236.

occidentalis. 236.
branta, Anser. 239.

Bernicla. 239, 240.
brasiliensis, Scops. 82, 8^.
Brent Geese. 224. 236, 239.
Broad-billed Rollers. 71.
Bubo, yj, 78.

bubo. 78.

blakistoni. 80.

ignavus. 78.

maculosus. 80.

maximus. 79.

turcomanus. 80.

virginianus. 80.
bubo, Strix. 78.
Bubonidce. 77.
buccinator, Cygnus. 246.
Buccones. i.
Bucerotes. 33, 58.
Bulbul, Gold-vented. 80.
Burrowing-Owls. 77.
Bush Cuckoos. 20, 21 =
Buteo. 147.

borealis. 151.

buteo. 147, 150.

desertorum. 149, 150.

fuscus. 147.

lagopus. 154.

lineatus. 152.

vulgaris. 147.
buteo, Buteo. 147, 150.

Falco. 147.
Buteonin?e. 123, 146.

Buzzard, Common. 147.

Desert. 150.

Red-shouldered. 152.

Red-tailed. 152.
Buzzard-Eagle. 153.

Rough-legged. 154.
Buzzards. 123, 146, 147.

coeruleus, Elanus. 174.

Falco. 174.
Canada Goose. 225.
canadensis, Bernicla. 225.
candicans, Falco. 191.

Falco gyrfalco. 195.

Hierofalco. 191.
canorus, Cuculus. 23, 24, 31.
capensis, Asio. 98.

Pycnonotus. 80.

Scops. 83.
Caprimulgi. 45.
Caprimulgidx. 45.
Caprimulgus. 45.

£egyptius. 50.

europceus. 45, 46, 50, 52,

ruficollis. 51.

unwini. 48.
carbo, Pelecanus. 211, 214.

Phalacrocorax. 211.
Carine. yy, 90.

bactriana. 92.

glaux. 92.

noctua. 90, 91, 104.
carolinense, Nettion. 286.
carolinensis. Anas. 285.

Querquedula. 285.
Casarca. 262.

casarca. 262; 263.

rutila. 263.
casarca. Anas. 263.

Casarca. 262, 263.

Tadorna. 263.
caudacuta, Acanthyllis. 43.

Chnetura. 35, 43-

Ilirundo. 43.
cenchris, Cerchneis. 204.

Falco. 204.

Tinnunculus. 204.
CentropodinLie. 20.
Cerchneis. 200.

ALPHABETICAL IISPDEX.

299

Cerchneis amurensis. 209.

cenchris, 204.

naumanni. 204.

tinnunculus. 200, 201.

vespertina. 201^ 210.
Certhiidae. 2.
Ceryle. 64, 65.

alcyon. 62, 65.

rudis. 64, 65.
Ceyx. 63.
Chgetura. 35.

caudacuta. 43.

pelagica. 43.
Chffiturince. 42.
Chanting Gos-Hawks. 124.
Chaulelasmus. 273.

streperus. 273,
Chen. 225.

albatus. 225.

hyperboreus. 225.

nivalis. 227.
Chenalopexaegyptiaca. 257.
Chenonetta. 224.
ChenonettinK. 257.
Chenopsis atrata. 246.
Chilian Swan. 246.
Chloephaga. 224.
chrysaetus, Aquila. 156, 162.

Falco. 156.
cineraceus, Circus. 129.
cinereus, Anser. 228.
Circaetus. 153.

gallicus. 176.
circia, Anas. 291.

Querquedula. 291.
Circus. 124.

oeruginosus. 133, 138.

cineraceus. 129.

cyaneus. 124, 125.

pygargus. 129.

spilonotus. 135.
cissa, Dendrocopus. 9.
clanga, Aquila. 159.
clypeata, Anas. 265.

Rhynchaspis. 266.

Spatula. 265.
Coccyges. 19.
Coccystes. 21.

glandarius. 21.

Coccyzus. 30.

americanus. 30.

occidentalis. 31.
Colies. 33.
Collocalia. 35, 43.

fuciphaga. 35.

linchii. 35.
Common Bee-Eater. 54.

Buzzard. 147.

Cuckoo. 24.

Flamingo. 222.

Gos-Hawk. 137.

Hoopoe. 59.

Kestrel. 201.

Kingfisher. 67.

Kite. 168.

Roller. 71.

Sheld-Duck. 258.

Sparrow- 1 lawk. 142.

Swift. 40.

Teal. 283.

Wryneck. 16.
communis, P^alco. 18 1.
Coraciaa. 70.
Coracias. 71.

abyssinicus. 74.

garmlus. 71, 74, 75-

indicus. 75.

leucocephalus. 74.
Coraciidre. 70.
Coraciiformes. 76.
Cormorants. 210, 211, 218.
cornuta, Tadorna. 258.
Corythornis. 64, 67.
Coscoroba coscoroba. 246.

melanocoryphus. 246.
coscoroba, Coscoroba. 246.
Coues' Gadwall. 272.
crecca, Anas. 283.

Nettion. 283, 286.

Querquedula. 283.
Crested Cuckoos. 21.

Eagles. 153.

Kingfishers. 64.
croaticus, Phalacrocorax. 216.
Crotophaga. 19.
Crotophaginae. 21.
Cuckoo. 19, 20.

American. 30.

300

ALPHABETICAL INDEX.

Cuckoo, Bush. 20, 21.

Common. 24.

Crested. 21.

Great Spotted. 21.

Lark-heeled. 20.

True. 20, 21, 23.

Yellow-billed. 30.
CuculinK, 20, 21.
Cuculus. 23.

americanus. 30, ^^.

canorus. 23, 24, 31.

glandarius. 21.
cyaneus, Circus. 124, 125.

Falco. 125.
cyanocephala, Eudynamis. 20.
Cygnince. 246.
Cygnus. 246.

americanus. 246.

bewicki. 252.

buccinator. 246.

immutabilis. 255.

musicus. 247.

olor. 246, 254, 255.
cygnus, Anas. 247.
Cypseli. 34.
Cypselida% 35, 38.
Cypselinte. 37, 38.
Cypselus apus. 40.

melba. 38.

pekinensis. 41.

Dacelo gigas. 63.
Daceloninae. 62, 64.
Dafila. 287.

acuta. 287.

eatoni. 287.

modesta. 287.

spinicauda. 287.
danfordi, Dendrocopus, 14.
delicatula, Strix. 108.
Dendrocolaptida?. 2.
Dendrocopus. 7.

analis, I.

cissa. 9.

danfordi. 14.

leuconotus. 4.

leucopterus. 9.

lignarius. 8.

major. 8, 9, 10.

Dendrocopus minor. lo, 11, 14.

mixtus. 8.

pipra. 14.

poelzami. 9.

pubescens. 11, 12.

quadrifasciatus. 14.

villosus. 10.
Desert Buzzard. 150.
desertorum, Buteo. 149, 150.

Falco. 150.
desmaresti, Phalacrocorax. 216.
Diplopterinaj. 21.
discors, Anas. 294.

Querquedula. 294.
Double-toothed Kite-Falcons. 177.
Downy Owlets. 102.

Woodpecker, ii.
Duck, Bimaculated. 284.

Wild. 269.
Ducks, Sheld-. 257.

True. 257, 269.

Eagle, Bald. 165.

Buzzard. 153.

Crested. 153.

Golden. 156.

Harpy. 146.

Hawk. 153.

Lesser Spotted. 156.

Sea. 153, 162.

Snake. 153, 176.

True. 156.

White-tailed. 163.
Eagle-Owls. 77, 78.
eatoni, Dafila. 287.
Egyptian Goose. , 257.
Egyptian Scavenger Vulture, 120.
Elanoides. 166.

furcatus. 166.
Elanus. 173.

cxruleus. 1 74.
epops, Upupa. 59.
ernesti, Falco. 182.
Eudynamis cyanocephala. 20.
europaeus, Caprimulgus. 45, 50, 52.
European Black-shouldered Kite.

174-
Eurystomus. 71.
Eutolmaetus. 153.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX.

3OT

fabalis, Anas. 232.
P^alco. 180.

sesalon. 187.

apivorus. 177.

atricapillus. 140.

borealis. 151.

buteo. 147.

cceruleus. 174.

candicans. 191.

cenchris. 204.

chrysaetus. 159.

communis. 181.

cyaneus. 125.

desertorum. 150.

ernesti. 182.

furcatus. 166.

gyrfalco. 192, 194, 197.

islandicus. 194, 195.

islandus. 191, 192.

lagopus. 154.

lineatus. 152.

niaculatus. 159.

migrans. 171.

milvus. 168.

ncevius. 159,

nisus. 142.

palumbarius. 137.

peregrinator. 182.

peregrinus. 180, 181.

punicus. 1 82.

pygargus. 129.

regulus. 187.

subbuteo. 184.

tinnunculus. 201.

vespertinus. 207.
Falconidce. 116, 123.
FalconinK. 180.
Falcons, Gyr-. 191,

Peregrine. 181, 182.

True, 180.
Fish-eating Kingfishers. 62,64.
Fishing-Owls. 77.
Fissirostres. 34.
Flamingo. 221.

Common. 222.
flammea, Strix. 106, 107, loS.
flammeus, Aluco. 108.
P^egati. 210.
Frigate Birds. 210.

Frog- mouths. 33.
fuciphaga, Collocalia. 35.
fulvescens, Gyps. 118.
fulvus, Gyps. 116, 117, 119.

Vultur. 117.
funerea, Strix. 89.

Surnia. Sj, 88, 89.

Syrnia. 89.
furcatus, Elanoides. 166.

Falco. 166.

Nauclerus. 166.
fuscus, Buteo. 147,

Gadwalls. 273.

Gadwall, Coues'. 273.

galapagensis, Asio. 98.

GalbuLx. I .

gallicus, Circaetus. 176.

gambeli, Anser. 231.

gambensis, Plectropterus. 225.

Gampsonyx. 174.

Gannets. 210, 218.

Garganey. 291.

garrulus, Coracias. 71, 74, 75.

Gecinus. 5.

sharpii. 5, 6.

vaillanti. 5.

viridis. 5.
Geese. 223, 224.

Brent. 224, 236.

Snow. 225.

True. 227.
Geranospizias. 124.
Giant Kingfisher. Gt,.
gigas, Dacelo. 6t,.
ginginianus, Neophron. 121.
giu. Scops. 81.
glandarius, Coccystes. 21.

Cuculus. 21.

Oxylophus. 21.
Glaucidium. 77, 90.

passerinum. 90.
glaucogaster, Anser. 239.

Branta. 240.
glaux, Carine. 92.
Golden Eagle. 156.
Gold-vented Bulbul. 80.
Goose, Bean. 231, 232.

Bernacle. 236.

302

ALPHABETICAL INDEX.

Goose, Brent. 239.

Canada. 225.

Egyptian. 257.

Grey Lag-. 231.

Indian. 225.

Kelp. 224.

Maned. 224.

Pink-footed. 234.

Red-breasted. 243.

Spur-winged, 225.

White-fronted. 230,
Gos- Hawks. 136.

American. 140.

Chanting. 124.

Common. 137.
govinda, Milvus. 172.
graculus, Pelecanus. 215.

Phalacrocorax. 215.
grandis, lyngipicus. i.
Grass-Owls. 107.
Great Black Woodpecker. 4.
Great Harpy Eagle. 146.
Great Spotted Cuckoo. 21.
Great Spotted Woodpecker. 8.
grebnitskii, Hierofalco. 196.
Greenland Gyr-Ealcon. 191.
Green Woodpecker. 3, 5.

Sharpe's. 5.

Vaillant's. 5.
Grey Gyr-Falcons. 193, 196, 197,

Kite-Falcons. 176.

Lag-Goose. 231.
Griffon Vultures. 116, 117.
Ground Rollers. 70.
Guacharos. 33.
Guira, 19.
Gypoictinia. 174.
Gyps. 116.

fulvescens. iii.

fulvus. 116, 117, 119.

hispaniolensis. 117.

rueppelli, 117.
gyrfalco, Falco. 192, 194, 197.

Hierofalco. 193, 196, 197.
Gyr-Falcon. 191.

Black. 196.

Greenland. 191.

Grey. 193, 196, 197.

Henderson's. 191.

Gyr-P"alcon, Holboell's. 193, 196.
Iceland. 194, 196.
Norwegian. 196.
Saker. 191. •

Hairy Woodpecker. 10.
Halcyon smyrnensis. 64.
Halcyones. 62, 63, 64.
Haliaetus. 153, 162.

albicilla. 162, 163.

leucogaster. 163, 165.
haliaetus, Pandion. 112.
Ilaliastur. 153, 165.
Harpagus. 177.
harpyia, Thrasaetus. 146.
Harrier, Hen-. 125, 126.

xMarsh-. 133.

Montagu's. 129.
Harriers. 124.
hastata, Aquila. 159,161.
Hawk-Eagles. 153.
Hawk-Owl. ^I, 84, ^'].

American. 89.

European. 87.
Hawks, Long-legged. 123, 124.
hendersoni, Hierofalco. 191.
Henderson's (iyr- Falcon. 191.
Hen-Harrier. 125, 126.
Henicopernis. 174.
Hierofalco. 191.

candicans. 191.

grebnitskii. 196.

gyrfalco. 193, 196, 197.

hendersoni. 191.

holboelli. 193, 196, 199.

islandicus. 194,' 199.

islandus. 195.

mexicanus. 191.

obsoletus. 196.

saker. 191.

uralensis. 196.
Hirundo apus. 40.

caudacuta, 43.

melba. 38.

rustica. 36, ll.
hispaniolensis, Gyps. 117.
Hobby. 184.

holboelli, Hierofalco. 193, 196,
199.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX.

303

Holboell's Gyr-Falcon. 193, 196.
Honey-Kite. 176, 177.
Hoopoe. 58.

Common. 59.

Indian. 59.

True. 59.
Hornbills. 33, 58.
Horned Owls. 93.
Humming-Birds. 2, 33, 34.
hutchinsi, Branta. 236.
hyperboreus, Anser. 225.

Chen. 225.

Iceland Gyr-Falcon. 194, 196.
Ictinia. 176.
ictinus, Milvus. 168.
ignavus, Bubo. 78.
immutabilis, Cygnus. 255.
Indian Goose. 225.

Hoopoe. 59.

Roller. 75.

Swift. 36.
indicus, Anser. 224, 225.

Coracias. 75.
insularis, vStrix. 108.
Isabelline Night-Jar. 50.
islandicus, Falco. 194.

Hierofalco. 194, 199.
islandus, Falco. 191, 192, 195,

Hierofalco. 195.
ispida, Alcedo. 64, 66, 67.
Ispidina. 63.
lynginse. 4.
lyngipicus grandis. I.
lynx. 15, 16.

cequatorialis. 16.

pectoralis. 16.

pulchricollis. 16.

torquilla. 16.

Jacamars. i .

Kelp Goose. 224.
Kestrel. 200.

Common. 201.

Lesser. 204.

Red-footed. 207, 209.
Ketupa. ']'].
Kingfisher. 62.

Kingfisher, Banded. 64.

Belted. 62, 64, 65.

Black-and-White. 65.

Blue. 66.

Common. 67.

Crested. 64.

Giant. 63.
Kite, Black. 171.

Black-shouldered. 173, 174.

Brahminy. 165.

Common. 168.

Honey. 176, 177.

Red. 168.

Riocour's. 166.
korschun, Accipiter. 171.

Milvus. 171.

lagopus, Acjuila. 154.

Archibuteo. 153, 154.

Buteo. 154.

Falco. 154.
Laniidie. in.
Larger Spotted Eagle. 159.
Lark-heeled Cuckoos. 20.
Leptodon. 1 74.
Leptosomati. 33.
Lesser Kestrel. 204, 205.

Spotted Eagle. 156.

Spotted Woodpecker. 12.
leucocephalus, Coracias. 74.

Pandion. 113.
leucogaster, Haliaetus. 163. 165.
leuconotus, Dendrocopus. 4.
leucopsis, Anas. 236.

Anser. 237.

Bernicla. 237.

Branta. 236.
leucopterus, Dendrocopus. 9.
lignarius, Dendrocopus. 8.
linchii, Collocalia. 35.
lineatus, Buteo. 152.

Falco, 152.
Little Owls. 77,90, 91.
Long-eared Owl. 94, 95.
Long-legged Hawks. 123, 124.
Long-tailed Bee-Eaters. 54.

Machcerhamphus. 174.
Machrochires. 34.

3®4

ALPHAP.F/riCAr. INDEX.

Macropteryginre. 37.
maculata, Aquila. 159, 16 1,
maculatus, Falco. 159.
niaculosus, Bubo. 80,
Madagascar Rollers. ^^.
major, Accipiter. 144.

Dendrocopus. 8, 9, 10.

Picus. 8.
Malacorhynchus. 265.

membranaceus. 265.
Mallard. 269.
Maned Goose. 224.
Mareca. 276.

americana. 281.

penelope. 276, 281.
marginata, Upupa. 59.
Marsh-Harrier. 133.
martins, Picus. 4.
maximus. Bubo. 79.
melanochistus, Accipiter. 144.
melanocoryphus, Coscoroba. 246.
melanoleucus, Accipiter. 142.
melanotis, Milvus. 172.
melba, Cypselus, 38.

Hirundo. 38.

Micropus. 35, 38.
Melierax. 124.
membranaceus, Malacorhynchus.

265.
Merlin. 187.
MeropidiTe, 54.
Meropes. 53, 54,
Merops apiaster. 54, 57.

philippensis. 57.
mexicanus, Hierofalco. 191,
Micrastur. 125.
Micropus. 38.

affinis. 36.

africanus. 39.

apus. 35, 36, ^S, 39, 40.

melba. 35, 38.

murarius. 40.
migrans, Falco. 171.

Milvus. 171.
Milvus. 167.

ater. 171.

govinda. 172.

ictinus. 1 68.

Milvus melanotis. 172,

migrans. 171.

milvus. 167, 16S.

regalis. 161.
milvus, Falco. 168.

Milvus. 167, 168.
minima, Branta. 176.
minor, Dendrocopus. 10, 11, 14.

Picus, 12.
mixtuS; Dendrocopus. 8.
modesta, Dafila. 287.
monachus, Neophron. 120.
[Montagu's Harrier. 129.
Moth-plumaged Night-Jars. 45.
Mot-mots. 33.
murarius, Micropus. 40.
musicus, Cygnus. 247.
Musophagi. 19.
Mute Swan. 254.

n;T^via, Aquila. 159.
nrevius, Falco. 1 59.
Narrow-necked Woodpeckers. 5.
Nauclerus furcatus. 166.

riocouri. 166.
naumanni, Cerchneis. 204.
Nectariniida?. 2.
Needle-tailed Swifts. 43.
Neomorphinie, 21.
Neophron. 120.

ginginianus. 121.

monachus. 120.

percnoplerus. 120.

pileatus. 1 20.
Nesochen sandwichensis. 224.
Nettion. 282.

carolinense. 286.

crecca, 283, 286.
Night-Jai. 34, 43, 45, 47.

Isabelline. 50.

Red-necked. 51.
nigricans, Branta. 236, 240,
nisus, Accipiter. 141, 142.

Falco. 142.
nivalis, Chen. 227.
nivicolum, Syrnium. loi.
Noctua noctua. 91.
noctua, Athene. 91.

Carine. 90, 91, 104.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX.

3^5

noctua, Nqttua. 91.

Strix. 91.
Norwegian Gyr-Falcon. 196.
Nyctala. 93, 102.

acadica. 102.

richardsoni, 105.

tengmalmi. 103.
Nyctea. 77, 84.

nyctea. 84.

scandiaca. 85.
nyctea, Nyctea. 84.

Strix. 84.

Surnia. 85.

Syrnia. 84.

obsoletus, Hierofalco. 196.
occidentalis, Branta. 236.

Coccyzus. 31.
olor, Cygnus. 246, 254, 255.
onocrotalus, Pelecanus. 210.
Ospreys. "J^, III, 112.
otus, Asio. 93, 94.

Strix. 94.
Owlets, Downy. 102.

Pigmy. 90.
Owls. 76.

American Tufted. 82.

Barn, 77, 107, 108, no.

Burrowing. 77.

Eagle. 77, 78.

Grass. 107.

Hawk. 77, 84, 87.

Horned. 93.

Little. ^T, 90, 91.

Long-eared. 94, 95.

Pigmy. 77.

Saw-whet. 102.

Scops. 82.

Short-eared. 96, q8.

Small Tufted. 81,82.

Snowy. 77, 84, 85.

Tawny. 100, loi.

Tengmalm's. 103, 104.

Tufted. 77, 81.

White. 106, 107.

Wood. 93, 100.
Oxylophus glandarius. 21.

palumbarius, Astur. 136, 137, 141.

palumbarius, Falco. 137.
Pandion. 76, in, II 2.

haliaetus. 112.

leucocephalus. 113.
Parrot, Racket-tailed. 64.
Passeriformes. 35.
passerinum, Glaucidium. 90.
pectoralis, lynx. 16.
pekinensis, Cypselus. 41.
Pelecanus bassanus. 218.

carbo. 211, 214.

graculus. 215.

onacrotalus. 210.
pelagica, Chcetura. 43.
Pelargopsis. 64, 65.
Pelican, White. 210.
percnopterus, Neophron. 120.

Vultur. 120.
penelope, Mareca. 277, 281.

Anas. 277.
peregrinator, Falco. 182.
Peregrine Falcon. 181, 182.
peregrinus, Falco. 180, 181.
Pernis. 174, 176.

apivorus. 177.

ptilonorhynchus. 179.
Phteniconaias. 222.
Phsenicoparrus. 222.
Ph3enicopterus. 221, 222.

roseus. 222.

ruber. 223.
Phalacrocorax carbo. 211.

croaticus. 216.

desmaresti. 216.

graculus. 215.
philippensis, Merops. 57.
Phaetontes. 210.
Picarian Birds. 33.
Pici. 2.

Picidse. 2, 3, 4, 15, i?-
Piciformes. i.
Piculets. 2, 4.
Picus major. 8.

martius. 4.

minor. 12.

pipra. 8.

pubescens. ii.

striolatus. 12.

villosus. 9, 10.

3o6

ALPHABETICAL INDEX.

Picus viridis. 5.

Pied Swallow-tailed Kites. 166.

Pied Swift. 38.

Pied Woodpeckers. 7.

Pigmy Owlets. 90.

pileatus, Neophron. 120.

Pink-fooled Goose. 234.

Pin-tail. 286, 287.

pipra, Dendrocopus. 14.

Picus. 8.
Plectropterus gambensis. 225.
Podargi. 33.

l^oelzami, Dendrocopus, 9.
Polish Swan. 255.
Polyborince. 123.
Polyboroides. 124.
poinarina, Aquila. 161, 162.
Prioniturus. 64.
Pseudogyps bengalensis. 118.
psilodactyla, Syrnia. 91.
Psittaci. ^6.

ptilonorhynchus, Pernis. 179.
pubescens, Dendrocopus. 11, 12.

Picus. II.
Puff-Birds, i.
pulchricollis, lynx. 16.
punctatissima, Strix. 108.
punicus, Falco. 182.
Pycnonotus capensis. 80.
pygargus, Circus. 129.

Falco. 129.

quadrifasciatus, Dendrocopus. 14.
Querquedula. 291.

acuta. 287.

bjmaculata. 284.

ckrolinensis. 286.

circia. 291.

crecca. 283.

discors. 294.

querquedula. 290, 291.

strepera. 273.
querquedula, Anas. 291.

Querquedula. 290, 291.

Racket-tailed Kingfishers. 64.
Racket-tailed Parrots. 64.
Red-breasted Goose. 243.
Red-footed Kestrel. 207, 209.

Red Kite. 168.
Red-necked Night-Jar. 51.
Red-shouldered Buzzard. 152.
Red-tailed Buzzard. 151.
regalis, Milvus. 168.
regulus, Falco. 187.
Rhynchaspis clypeata. 266.
richardsoni, Nyctala. 105
riocouri, Nauclerus. 166.
Riocour's Kite. 166.
Roller, Abyssinian. 74.

Broad-billed. 71.

Common. 71.

Ground. 70.

Indian. 75.

Madagascar. 33.
roseus, Phi-enicopterus. 222.
Rosthramus. 174.
Rough-legged Buzzard-Eagle. 154.
ruber, Phoenicopterus. 222.
rubrirostris, Anser. 229.
Ruddy Sheld-Duck. 261.
rudis, Ceryle. 64, 65.
rueppelli, Gyps. 117.
Ruffed Gos- Hawks. 125.
ruficollis, Anser. 243.

Bernicla. 243.

Caprimulgus. 51.
Riippell's Vulture. 117.
rustica, Hirundo. 36, 37.
rutila, Casarca. 263.

Tadorna. 263.

Saker Gyr-Falcon. 191
saker, Hierofalco. 191.
sancti johannis, Archibuteo. 155.
sandwichensis, A.'?io. 98.

Nesochen, 224.
Saw-whet Owl. 102.
scandiaca, Nyctea. 85.
vScavenger Vultures. 120.
Scops. "JT, 81.

aldrovandi. 81.

asio. 82.

brasiliensis. 82, 83.

capensis. 83.

giu. 81.

scops. 81.
scops, Scops. 8l

ALPHABLTICAL INDEX.

307

scops, Strix. 81.
Sea-Eagles. 153, 162.
segetum, Anas. 232.

Anser. 232.
SerpentariiniE. 123.
serrirostris, Anser. 233.
Shags. 211.

Sharpe's Green Woodpecker. 6.
sharpii, Gecinus. 5, 6.
Sheld-Duck. 257.

Common. 258.

Ruddy. 261.
Short-eared Owls. 96, 98.
Short-tailed Swifts. 42.
Shoveler, Common. 265.
Small Tufted Owl. 81, 82.
smyrnensis, Halcyon, 64.
Snake- Bird. 17.
Snake-Eagles, 153, 176.
Snow-Geese. 225.
Snowy Owls. T] ^ 84, 85.
somalensis, Upupa. 59.
Sparrow-Hawk, Common. 141,

142, 146.
Spatula. 265.

clypeata. 265.
Speotyto. 77.
Sphyropicus. 2.
spilonotus, Circus. 135.
Spine-tails. 2.
spinicauda, Dafila. 287.
Spizaetus. 153.
Spotted Eagle, Larger. 159.
Spur-winged Goose. 225.
Steatornithes. 33.
Steganopodes. 210,211.
Stork-billed Kingfishers. 64, 65.
strepera, Anas. 273.

Querquedula. 273.
streperus, Chaulelasmus. 272, 273.
Striges. 76, 84, 106.
striolatus, Picus. 12.
Strix accipitrina. 96.

aluco. 100.

brachyotus. 97.

bubo. 78.

delicatula. 108.

flammea. 106, 107, 108.

fvinerea. 89.

Strix insularis. 108.

noctua. 91.

nyctea. 84.

otus. 94.

punctatissima. 108.

scops. 81.

tengmalmi. 103.

ulula. 87, 88, 89.
subbuteo, Falco. 184.
Sula bassana. 218.
Sun-Birds. 2.
Surnia. ']^^ 84.

funerea. 87, 88, 89.

nyctea. 85.

ulula. 87.
Swallows. 35.
Swans. 223, 246.
Swan, Bewick's. 252.

Black. 246.

Black-necked. 246.

Chilian. 246.

Mute. 254.

Polish. 255.

Trumpeter. 246.

Whistling. 246.

Whooper. 247.
Swiftlets. 35.
Swift, Common. 40.

Indian. 36.

Needle-tailed. 43.

Pied. 38.

Short-tailed. 42.

True. 37, 38.

White-bellied. 38.
Syrnia funerea. 89.

nyctea. 84.

psilodactyla. 91.
Syrnium. 93, 100, 102.

aluco. 100.

nivicolum. loi.

Tadorna, 257.

casarca. 263.

cornuta. 258.

rutila. 263.

vulpanser. 258.
tadorna. Anas. 258.

Tadorna. 258.
Tanysiptera. 64.

3o8

ALPHABETICAL INDEX.

Tawny Owl. 100,101.
Teal. 282.

American. 286.

Blue-winged. 290, 294.

Common. 283.
tengmalmi, Nyctala. 103.

Strix. 103.

Ulula. 103.
Tengmalm's Owl. 103, 104.
Thrasaetus harpyia. 146.
Three-toed Kingfishers. 64.
Tinnunculus alaudarius. 201.

cenchris. 204.

vespertinus. 227.
tinnunculus, Cerchneis. 200, 201.

Falco. 201.
torquilla, lynx. 16.

Yunx. 16.
Todies. 33.
Tree-Creepers. 2.
Tree-Swifts. 37, 3S.
Trochilidee. 2.
Tropic Birds. 210.
Trumpeter Swan. 246.
Tufted Owls. 77, 81.
turcomanus. Bubo. 80.

Ulula aluco. 100.

tengmalmi. 103.
ulula, Strix. 87, 88, 89.

Surnia. Sy.
unwini, Caprimulgus. 48.
Upupa. 58, 59.

africana. 59.

epops. 59.

indica. 59.

marginata. 59.

somalensis. 59.
uralensis, Hierofalco. 196.

vaillanti, Gecinus. 5.
Vaillant's Green Woodpecker. 5.
vespertina, Cerchneis. 207, 210.
vespertinus, Falco. 207,
Tinnunculus. 207.

villosus, Dendrocopus. 10.

Picus. 9, 10.
viridis, Gecinus. 5.

Picus. 5.
virginianus. Bubo. 80.
vulgaris, Buteo. 147.
vulpanser, Tadorna. 258.
Vultur albicilla. 163.

fulvus. 117.

percnopterus. 120.
Vulture, Egyptian Scavenger.
120.

Griffon. 116, 117.

Rlippell's. 117.

Whistling Swan. 246.
White Owl. 106, 107.
White Pelican. 210.
White-backed Woodpecker. 4.
White-bellied Swift. 38.
White-fronted Goose. 230.
White-tailed Eagle. 163.
Whooper Swan. 247.
Wigeon. 277.

American. 281.
Wild Duck. 269.
Wood-Owls. 93, 100.
Woodpeckers, i, 2, 3

Downy. 11.

English Green. 3.

Great Black. 4.

Great Spotted. 8.

Green. 5.

Hairy. 10.

Lesser Spotted. 12.

Pied. 7.

White-backed. 4.
Wryneck. 2, 4, 15, 16.

Common. 16.

Xenopicus. 2.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo. 30.
Yunx. 16.
torquilla. 16.

AMNH LIBRARY

100105116

/

^ ^m^ ^' --

^^Li^