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JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

'rikal biku-life,' 'evolution without natural selection,' 'our rarer

BIRDS,' 'annals of BIRD-LIFE,' ' STRAY FEATHERS FROM MANY BIRDS,"

'idle HOURS WITH NATURE,' 'THE BIRDS OF OUR RAMBLES,'

'the game BIRDS AND WILD FOWL OF THE BRITISH

ISLANDS,' 'the MIGRATION OF BIRDS,' 'THE

NESTS AND EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS,'

ETC., KTC.

PART AUTHOR OF ' A HISTORY OF BRITISH BIRDS.'

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JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS

59 ^X-- o^ /

By CHARLES DIXON

Wiit^ €olonuli Jronlispiece bg |. ^mit

LONDON: CHAPMAN AND HALL, Ld.

1893

RicHAKi) Clay & Sons, Limited,
London & Bungay.

PREFACE.

The following pages deal with bird-life under
many aspects and in various lands. Notwith-
standing this latter fact, I have no hesitation in
saying that the chapters dealing with a more
cosmopolitan ornithology appeal even to the
reader whose researches embrace British birds
alone. No student of ornithology can well confine
his work to the birds of a single region, or even of
many regions ; for he will invariably find that the
deeper he attacks his subject the wider he will have
to roam. This applies not only to affinities, but
to habits and instincts as well. I am heartily glad
to see a growing taste for this wider study amongst
British naturalists, especially in the younger genera-
tion ; it is a healthy sign, and will serve to place
the work of the future on a sound foundation.

More particularly would I like to call the atten-
tion of the reader to the chapter on the Ornithology

vi PREFACE.

of Algeria. The account there presented is, I
believe, the most complete one in the English
language, so far as species are concerned, and is
founded on a visit to the country. Should I
succeed in enticing even one fresh worker to a
wide and little known field, it will be a source of
much gratification. Algeria is easily reached, and
yearly becoming more popular as a winter resort.

The chapters on the birds of the more remote
parts of our own islands may possibly be of service
to the reader who contemplates visiting these places,
or may even suggest a journey thereto ; whilst the
few remarks on the Birds' place in Art, from a
naturalist's point of view, I especially commend to
the painters who utilize, or contemplate utilizing,
birds in their work.

My thanks are due to Capt. Elwes for kindly
placing one of the type specimens of Saxicola
seebohmi at my service (but two examples of this
bird are yet known to science), from which the
coloured frontispiece to the present volume was
taken. The other specimen was figured in The
Ibis when I described the species,

Charles Dixon.

September, 1893.

CONTENTS.

I.

~" PAGR

IHK lilRDS OF ALGERIA ... ^ ^ ' .? "*- V^.r >2-— — I

'^••^^ ^^■^\

II.

RKPRESENTATIVE SPECIES ... ... ... 79

III.

REMARKS ON THE SONG AND NOTES OF BIRDS ... 94

IV.

THE CUCKOO AND HIS KINDRED ... ... ... II4

V.

THE BASS ROCK AND ITS BIRDS ... ... ... 13"

VI.

A VISIT TO ST. KILDA ... ... .. ... 15 1

VII.

THE artist's BIRDS ... ... ... ... 180

VIII.

IN DEVONSHIRE LANES ... ... -.. .. 211

IX.

SEXUAL SELECTION AND THE NESTING OF BIRDS ... 226

JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

I.
THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA.

No portion of the Western Palaearctic region so
abounds in ornithological interest, or is so likely
to reward research, as that which Dr. Sclater
describes as the Cisatlantean sub-region. This
sub-region practically consists of Africa north of
the Great Desert from Barbary to Morocco, in-
cluding the Atlantic islands off the West African
coast. Of this wide area I am probably correct in
saying that the Algerian portion is the most
interesting, and (with Tunis) the most likely to
repay careful investigation. The important orni-
thological discoveries made of late years in the
Atlantic islands by Canon Tristram, Mr. Meade-
Waldo, and Dr. Koenig, show how little we really
know of this area, and more especially of the

2 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

continental portion of it. I am not aware that
any important contribution has been made to the
ornithology of Algeria during the past ten years,
or since my own paper on the subject appeared in
the Ibis (1882), although Dr. Koenig has published
a long and important article on the avifauna of
Tunis {Journal fur Oniitliologie, 1888, p. 121). In
the j)resent chapter I will endeavour to bring the
ornithology of Algeria up to date, to give as com-
plete a list of its avifauna as our present knowledge
permits, offering it as an instalment of what I hope
soon will be completed, viz. a work on the birds of
the entire sub-region. The earlier workers at Algerian
ornithology include such distinguished ornithologists
as Canon Tristram, Mr. Salvin, Taczanowski, and
M. Loche. The first-named naturalist may be
regarded as the pioneer, and to his efforts we owe
the most important part of our knowledge of the
various desert species.

A few words on the physical characteristics of the
region may aptly serve as an introduction to our
study of its avifauna, and enable the reader better
to understand the peculiarities presented. Geo-
graphically speaking, Algeria and the adjoining
provinces form a region practically unique. So
far as regards their fauna and flora, they are as

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 3

effectually isolated from the remainder of Africa as
if the sea itself divided them. Indeed, the barrier
of desert sand that surrounds them on the south
and east has proved even more effectual in barring
the spread of bird-life northwards, so that their avi-
fauna shows much more affinity with Europe than
with the Ethio[Han region. North Africa from
Morocco to Barbary is as completely an island as
if the Mediterranean surrounded it, and in many
respects its resident avifauna is of a strictly insular
character. We find numbers of European or
Atlantic island species represented by peculiar
forms, and tliese again in many cases are replaced
by desert races, as we proceed southwards into the
Sahara, The variety in the physical aspect of this
region is very great, consequently the avifauna is
of an equally diversified character. The great chaiu
of the Atlas, whose highest peaks are upwards of
7,500 feet above sea-level, retaining a snowy mantle
until June, runs from east to west throughout the
northern portion of the entire region, and has a
considerable influence on its avifauna, climaticallv
and otliervvise. The region is divided into three
very distinct areas, each of which is characterizetl
by a more or less specialized fauna. From the
coast southwards to the Atlas we have the region of

4 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

the Tell, a richly fertile area, wooded in parts, and
clothed with a varied and luxuriant vegetation.
From the southern slopes of the Atlas to the region
where all regular water supply fails, is known as
the Sahara, sandy, yet sufficiently fertile for
pastoral purposes, replete with oases of wonderful
beauty and almost tropic luxuriance. Beyond
this, again, we enter the Desert region, a rainless
almost waterless area of interminable sandy arid
wastes, destitute of vegetation except in the few
scattered oases, which extend in drear monotony
southwards to the water system of the Niger. We
may again very conveniently divide the central of
these three regions, the Sahara, into three well-
defined sub-regions, viz. the Hants Plateaux, or
the high lands or steppes of the Atlas ; the Dayats,
or region where the water supply is intermit-
tent and inconstant; and beyond this again the
area of the plains. Birds in great variety find here
a congenial home, or a fitting refuge from the
winters of Europe. The rich plains and mountain
forests, the lakes and the vast marshes (many of
these, alas! are now drained through French enter-
prise, and their feathered denizens banished), the
crags and precipices of the Atlas ; the verdant
oases, the bare mountain slopes, and the varied

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 5

unequal ground of the Desert, each and all support
a bird population characteristic in its features,
almost endless in its variety. Such wide variations
of temperature, and such notable changes in climate
in summer and winter, must necessarily affect the
avifauna of Algeria. Migration tlierefore prevails
in a very remarkable manner. Not only do we
find much regular migration across the country
in spring and autumn, of species breeding to
the north and wintering to the south, but we find
also that Algeria is the winter quarters of vast
numbers of birds that breed in Europe, especially
in the British Islands. Perhaps of even greater
interest to the student of migration are the local
movements and vertical migrations of many of
the resident species — of birds that come up from
the Desert oases in spring to breed in the wooded
mountains of the Atlas ; and of others that visit
the high mountain regions in summer, where a
suitable temperature prevails, and retire in autumn
to the plains. For further particulars I would
refer the reader to The Migration of Birds, pp.
136, 137. Perhaps the most characteristic features
of the Algerian avifauna are its richness in desert
species, its singular abundance of Chats and Larks.
As regards the winter aspects of the Sahara region,

6 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

a season of which I have had no exj^erience, they
are admirably expressed by Canon Tristram thus :
" Each portion of the Sahara — the rocky ridges,
the sand drifts, the plains, the chotts or salt plains,
—has its peculiar ornithological characteristics.
But by far the most interesting localities are, as
might have been anticipated, the dayats and the
oases. Here are the winter quarters of many of
our familiar summer visitants. The ChiffchafF,
Willow Wren, and Whitethroat hop on every twig
in the gardens shadowed by the never-failing palm ;
the Swallow and the Window Martin thread the
lanes, and sport over the mouths of the wells in
pursuit of the swarming mosquitoes ; the Hoopoe
solemnly stalks on every dunghill, a cherished and
respected guest ; the White Shrike perches motion-
less on the extremity of the palm-leaf ; while a pair
or more of the Egyptian Turtle Dove nestle in the
centre of almost everv tree ; and a random shot is
pretty sure to start from under the dates a dozing
' Booma,' or Little Owl. These peaceful retreats
seem to be rarely visited by any Raptor more
formidable than the Kestrel. Not so in the dayats.
Here the Golden Eagle, the Royal and Arabian
Kites, hold court and courtship, and carry on a
perpetual though bloodless warfare with the Raven.

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 7

The shrubs are occupied by the Shrike, by small
fiocks of the long-tailed Numidian Malurus, and the
lovely little Moussier's Warbler, whom I might
almost term the ornithological feature of the dayat ;
whilst, heard but not seen, the Dartford Warbler
chirps forth his incessant pittechou, pittechou. If
you wish to make acquaintance with the tribe of
the Rockchats and Wheatears, you must follow the
marmots to the rocky defiles of extinct streams,
the 'Weds' of the Bedouin, The hard, gravelly
plains are the homes of the Sand Grouse, and the
various thick- billed and stout-billed Larks ; while
the loose sands vainly conceal the burrowing beetles
from the long bills of the Ground-Larks. On the
surface of the chotts the little Plovers and other
Grallatores incessantly run along, as if awaiting the
returning tide of the primeval ocean which once
sw^ept over them."

So far the winter features of the Sahara ; but
with the return of spring a great change comes
over the scene. True the various endemic species
of the Desert remain behind, but the Warblers and
the Bushchats, the Eagles and the Plovers, retire
far to the north, many to cross the Mediterranean
■to European haunts. The temperature becomes
too high for the various local and vertical migrants,

8 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

and they seek the more northern oases, the forests
of the Atlas, and the fertile lands between that
range and the coast. The Tawny Pipits and the
Calandra Larks' betake themselves to the cultivated
fertile northern plains and plateaux ; many of the
Chats seek the hillsides and bare rocky defiles.
Then appear the various migrants that are journey-
ing up from more southern regions of Africa — far
south beyond the Great Desert, from the Soudan,
from Central Africa and the Cape — the Spotted
Flycatcher, the Woodchat Shrike, the Sedge
Warbler, the Reed Warbler, the Wood Wren,
the Whitethroat, Swallows of various species, the
Cuckoo, the Wryneck, Turtle Doves, and many
others — all on their way north to cross the
Mediterranean, although a few^ individuals of some
species stay their flight and remain in the fertile
Tell for the summer. The mountain forests soon
fill with Rollers, Doves, and other woodland
species ; the rocky passes and gorges are enlivened
once more with the Rock Martin and the White-
bellied Swift. The White Stork also appears upon
the scene, and visits once more its old nests on
the cliffs and the mosque towers ; and such birds
as Coursers and Sand Grouse leave in varying
numbers the more remote fastnesses of the Desert

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 9

to breed on the northern plains of the Dayats.
Nothing can exceed the beauty of these oases in
spring, when they literally swarm with birds and
resound with song. One very remarkable feature
is the general lateness of the breeding season in
Algeria, a phenomenon which I believe is also
peculiar to the valley of the Danube, and which
may be attributed to the long spell of spring-hke
weather prevailing in these areas. Birds are in no
hurry to commence nesting. Even such early
species as Chaffinches and Larks I found had only
just commenced laying at the middle of May, and
the House Martins were only building nearly a
fortnight later sdll. The Vultures, Ravens, and
some few other species breed much earlier, however,
and their young were reared by that date.

We will now proceed to tabulate the various
species that are found in the country, and to give
a few particulars concerning each. Want of space,
however, prevents this portion of the subject from
being treated in any very elaborate or detailed
manner.

I. The Ostrich Struth'w ca?}ielus, Linnfeus, is an
inhabitant of the vast plains of the southern desert,
but thinly dispersed, and said to be rapidly becoming
rarer. This species is gregarious in its habits, living

'to JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

in small parties, each band confining itself to a
comparatively small area of countr)'.

2. The Barbary Partridge Caccabis petrosa
(Gmelin), is commonly distributed throughout
the mountain districts. I met with it throughout
the Djebel Aures. It frequents the wooded hills as
much as the bare and scrub-clothed mountain-sides
and the barley-fields. The nesting season begins
late in May. Two nests I took were m.ere hollows,
one under a juniper bush, the other beneath the
shelter of a grass tuft. The loud monotonous
note of cawee-cawee is kept up very persistently.
It would appear that there is a desert race of
this species, as Canon Tristram remarks that
examples obtained by him in the desert w^ere
smaller and paler.

3. The Quail Coturnix comimuii.^, Bonnaterre,
passes the Sahara on spring and autumn migra-
tion, and is generally distributed throughout the
cultivated districts of the Tell, where it breeds.

4. The Black-bellied Sand Grouse Pt erodes
arenariiis (Pallas), is universally distributed
throughout the Sahara, but is replaced by the
Senegal Sand Grouse in the mere southern deserts.
This Sand Grouse lives in parties during the
autumn and winter. It is most active towards

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. ii

dusk, and the note, uttered incessantly until after
(lark, is said by Canon Tristram to resemble that
of a Partridge. The eggs, laid on the bare sand,
are invariably three.

5. TiiK PixTAiLED Sand Grouse Pterocles alcliata
(Linnrrus), is also extremely common in the central
and desert areas. In its habits it closely resembles
the preceding species.

6. The Spotted Sand Grouse Pfefocle.t coronatua,
Lichtenstein, is confined apparently to the remote
southern deserts,

7. The Senegal Sand Grouse Pterocles seiiegal-
en.sis, Shaw, is also an inhabitant of these remote
desert regions. Canon Tristran:i asserts that he saw
another species of Sand Grouse near \\ aregla, the
most southern oasis he visited (lat, 32°), but was un-
able to obtain examples. There can be little doubt
that many other species remain to be discovered
upon these vast awful plains of the Libyan Desert.

8. The Andalucian Hemipode Tuniix sijliatica
(Desf.), is said by Taczanowski not to be rare
amongst the shrubberies at the foot of the moun-
tains, but I did not have the good fortune to meet
with it anywhere in the province of Constantine.

9. The Rock Dove Cohnnha lin'a, Brisson, is
commonly distributed throughout all the rocky

12 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

districts, even in the most sterile areas of the Tell
and the Sahara.

10. The Stock Dove Columha cenns, Linnaeus,
is somewhat sparingly distributed throughout the
wooded districts. This species is not included by
Taczanowski, nor did I meet with it in Constantine.

11. The Ring Dove C olumba palumbus, \Ann?eus,
was not met with by Canon Tristram, nor is it
included in Taczanowski's catalogue. I met with
this species in various parts of the cedar forests
on the Djebel Aures. near Batna. It is by no
means common.

12. The Egyptian Turtle Dove Turtur senegal-
ensis (Linnaeus), or Palm Dove, as it is locally
known, is a resident in the southern districts, not
ranging further north than El Kantara, the highest
latitude of the date-palm. With this palm it is
inseparably connected, and swarms amongst the
groves in astonishing numbers.

13. The Common Turtle Dove Tiirtiir r/un'tiiM,
Gray, is widely distributed throughout Algeria in
summer, but is only known to pass the Sahara
sub-region on migration. I observed it both in
the oases and amongst the mountain forests. It
frequents the date-palms just as much as the
preceding species, with which it consorts, but is

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 13

not so inseparably associated with that tree. An
example I shot at Lambessa in the Aurcs was
much paler in colouration than the average.

14. The Corn Crakp: Crex pratemis, Bechstein,
is a resident in Algeria, but nowhere common, the
country not being suited to its requirements,
especially in summer. Taczanowski saw it only
on one occasion.

15. The Spotted Crake Crex porzana^ Linnaeus,
is chiefly a winter visitor to Algeria, and at that
season is very widely distributed. Taczanowski
states that it is to be met with everywhere, but its
summer range is undetermined.

16. Baillon's Crake Crex bailloni (Vieillot), is
locally a resident throughout Algeria in all portions
of the country suited to its requirements. In the
Sahara sub-region, as might naturally be supposed,
it appears to be only a winter visitant.

17. The Little Crake Crex parva (Scopoli), is
a local resident in Algeria, but is not included by
Taczanow^ski nor Canon Tristram. I only met with
this species in the oasis of Biskra in the Sahara
sub-region, where it was apparently breeding.

18. The Water Rail Ral/its aquaticus, Linnccus,
is a resident in Algeria, but is largely increased in
numbers in winter by migrants from Europe.

14 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

Taczanowski describes it as being scarce in the
marshes.

19. The Wateriiex Gallbtula c/t /orojjiis, L.\nnxus,
is a resident, and widely distributed throughout all
suitable districts.

20. The Purple Gallixule Poi'pJujrio cncruleus
(Vandelli), is a local resident in Algeria. Tacza-
nowski gi\'es the Fezzara Lake as a locality for this
species. It has several times been recorded as a
British species, but the examples have undoubtedly
escaped from ornamental waters.

21. The Common Coot Fidica atrci^ Linn^rus,
is a resident in Algeria, commonly distributed in
all suitable districts. Its numbers are largely in-
creased in autumn by migrants from Europe.

22. The Crested Coot Fulica cristata, Gmelin,
is a resilient, but not so common as the preceding
species, according to Taczanowski.

23. The Great Crested Grebe Poflicep.s crista-
tu.s (Linnccus), is a resident widely distributed, but
Canon Tristram states that he never saw this or
anv other species of Grebe in the south even in
localities that appeared suited to them. I saw
what was probably this species in the oasis of
Biskra. Its numbers are increased in winter by
migrants from Europe.

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 15

24. TiiK Ri:d-xeck.l;d Grebe Podiceps rabricoUis
(Gmelin), is said to breed sparingly in Algeria and
Morocco, but is chiefly known as a winter visitor.
Taczanowski met with this species at the Fezzara
Lake.

25. The Black-necked Grebe Podiceps ni^ri-
collis, Brehm, is a resident in Algeria, and is said by
Taczanowski to be common at the Fezzara Lake.
Canon Tristram assured me that it bred there.

26. The Little Grebe Podiceps luinor (Gmelin),
is a resident in x\lgeria, but does not appear to be
common. Taczanowski states that a few are to be
met with in the small rivers ; and Canon Tristram
observed it during winter in the northern portion
of the Sahara sub-region.

27. The Stormy Petrel Procellaria pekigica,
Linnaeus, probably breeds on the coast of Algeria,
from Morocco to Barbary. Taczanowski gives
Stora as a locality for this species.

28. The Mediterranean Shearwater Pujfinus
kulili (Boie), is recorded from Stora, in November,
by Taczanowski.

29. The Manx Shearwater Piiffiiius auglorum
(Temminck), breeds on various islands in the
Mediterranean, and may be fairly included in the
present list. The breeding areas of these Shear-

1 6 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

waters are as yet very imperfectly known, and it
may ultimately be discov^ered that both species
breed on the mainland of the Algerian coast.

30. The Black Tern Sterna nigra, Linnaeus, is
a resident in Algeria and breeds in various marshes ;
it is, however, more abundant in winter than in
summer. According to Canon Tristram, this and
the following species of Tern marked with an
asterisk are only found in the Western Sahara,
chiefly on the great lakes of Zahrez, and never
further south.

31. * The White-winged Black Tern Sterna
leucoptera, Meisner and Schinz, is said to breed
in Algeria, but particulars of its distribution are
wanting.

32. * The Whiskered Tern Sterna Jiybrida,
Pallas, breeds in moderate numbers in Algeria.
Canon Tristram assured me that it breeds in May
on the various fresh-water lakes.

^o^. * The Gull-billed Tern Sterna anglica,
Montagu, breeds sparingly in Algeria, but becomes
more abundant in winter. Taczanowski states that
it breeds in small numbers on the lakes near
Constantine, probably those of Tinsilt and Mzouri,
Canon Tristram met with it in winter at the Zahrez
Lakes.

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 17

34. The Caspian Tern Sterna caspia, Pallas, is
not known to breed in Algeria, but there can be
no doubt of its visiting the coasts during winter.

^^. The Sandwich Tern Sterna cantiaca, Gmelin,
is not known to breed, but the same remarks apply
as those concerning the preceding species.

36. The Common Tern Sterna Juriatili.s, Nau-
mann, is said by Taczanowski to be rare, but is
not known to breed.

37. * The Lesser Tern Sterna niiiinta, Linnaeus,
is not known to breed in Algeria, but is a winter
visitor or nomadic migrant. According to Tac-
zanowski, it is very common on the coast near Stora.

38. The Allied Tern Sterna media, Cretzsch-
mar, is said by Loche to be an occasional visitor
to the coasts of Algeria.

39. The Mediterranean Black-headed Gull
Lams v)elan()cel)ltalus, Natterer, is not known to
breed in Algeria, but is a rare visitor to the coasts.

40. The Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus,
Linnasus, is a winter visitor to Algeria, " common
on the coasts and at the mouths of rivers,''
according to Taczanowski.

41. The Little Gull Larus nii)iiitn,s, Pallas,

is probably a winter visitor to the coasts of Algeria,

but its distribution is littlp known.

c

1 8 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

42. The Common Gull Larus ccdiu.s, Linnaeus,
is, as its name implies, an abundant winter visitor
to the Algerian littoral.

43. The Slender-billed Gull Lams gclastes,
Lichtenstein, is said by Loche to occur rarely on
the coasts of Algeria.

44. The Herring Gull Larus argentatus cachin-
7Kms, Pallas, a sub-specific form of our well-known
Larus argentatus, being a resident in the Mediter-
ranean basin, may be fairly classed as a visitor to
the Algerian coasts.

45. The Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus
fuscus, Linnaeus, is a winter visitor to the coasts of

Algeria. A few pairs are said by Colonel Irby to
breed on the coast of Morocco, in April.

46. The Great Black-backed Gull Larus
marinus, Linnaeus, is a winter wanderer to the coasts
of Algeria. The individuals that stray so far to the
south are mostly in immature plumage.

47. The Glaucous Gull Larus glaucus, Fabricus,
wanders as far south as the Algerian coasts in
winter, individuals so doing being mostly in im-
mature plumage.

48. The Kittiwake L^arus tridacfijlus, Linnaeus,
is a somewhat rare winter straggler to the Algerian
coasts. It was onlv once seen bv Taczanowski.

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 19

49. The Pomatorhink Skua Stercorarins ponui-
forhi)2i(.s, Temminck, is a rare straggler in winter to
the Algerian coasts.

50. Richardson's Skua Stercorarius richardsoni,
Swainson, is a rare straggler to the Algerian coasts
in winter, but this species is not known to penetrate
far into the Mediterranean, although its range at
that season extends as far south as the Cape of
Good Hope.

51. BuFFOx's Skua Stercoraria.s i'fi^uni, Bo\q, is
an occasional visitor to the coasts of Algeria, its
range in winter extending up the Mediterranean as
far east as the Italian peninsula. Taczanowski
records one example.

52. The Woodcock Scolopux ru.slicola, LinncEus,
is a common winter visitor to Algeria. It is very
possible that some few remain behind in spring to
breed on the Atlas range, seeing that the bird is
a resident and breeds on the mountains of the
Atlantic islands : Madeira, Canaries, and Azores.

^■^. The Great Snipe Scolnjjax m(ijoi\ Gmelin,
is a somewhat rare winter resident in iVlgeria, the
majority of individuals appearing to pass still further
to the south. Taczanowski states that he saw it in
March.

54. The Common Snipe Scolopax ga/Ii/iago,

2 0 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

Linnirus, is a common winter visitor to be met
with everywhere in suitable haunts. Loche states
that it has been known to breed in Algeria, a fact
which seems to me beyond all question.

^•j. The Jack Snipe Scolopax gal/inu/a, Linnaeus,
is a winter visitor to Algeria, but is said by
Taczanowski to be rare. Canon Tristram shot this
species in the Wed R'hir, about lat. 34^°.

56. The Dunlin Triuga alpina, Linn^us, is a
winter visitor, common on the salt marshes, and
near the various lakes.

57. The Broad-billed Sandpiper Tringa plalij-
rlnjncha, Temminck, is a winter visitor to Algeria,
but its range is very little known.

58. The Little Stint Tringa mimita, Leisler,
is a winter visitor to Algeria, but is perhaps most
abundant on spring and autumn migration. Tac-
zanowski states that it is found in suitable haunts
in both mountain and desert districts.

59. Temminck's Stint Tringa temminchi, Leisler,
is a winter visitor to Algeria, frequenting salt
marshes and lakes.

60. The Curlew Sandpiper Tringa su/-ar(/tiafa
(Giildenstadt), is a winter visitor, perhaps most
abundant on spring and autumn migration.

61. The Sanderling Tringa arenaria, l^'innscus.

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. sr

is a somewhat rare winter visitor; particulars oF
its range and movements are almost unknown,

62. The Turnstone Slrejisilas interpres (Lin-
naeus), is a winter visitor to the coasts of Algeria,
but its range and movements are little known,

6t,. The Black-tailed Godwit Limosa mtla-
nura, Leisler, is a winter visitor to the coasts of
Algeria; its range is undefined.

64. The Bar-tailed Godwit Linin.sa ritfa,
Brisson, is also a winter visitor to the coasts, but
irregularly dispersed.

6^. The Marsh Sandpiper Totanus sta^nati/ix,
Bechstein, is a winter visitor to Algeria, but doubt-
less the greater number of individuals pass through
on migration in spring and autumn. I met with
this species in the oasis of El Outaia in May.
Taczanowski observed it at the Fezzara Lake.

66. The Greenshank Totanus glottis (Linuccus),
is a winter visitor to Algeria, where it is very widely
dispersed. Taczanowski states that it is to be met
with on the lakes in all parts of the countrv.

67. The Dusky Redshank l^otanusfuscus, Lin-
naeus, is a winter visitor to the lakes and marshes
of Algeria. Taczanowski met with this species at
the Fezzara Lake.

68. The Common Redshank Totanus ca/idris

2 2 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

(Linnaeus), breeds, and is a resident in Algeria,
becoming much more abundant in winter, at which
season Taczanowski describes it as the commonest
Sandpiper.

69. The Wood Sandpiper Totamis ^lareola
(•Gmehn), is a winter visitor to Algeria. Tac-
zanowski states that it was common at the Fezzara
Lake. Canon Tristram also met with it widely
distributed in the marshes and lakes,

70. The Green Sandph'er Totanus ochropus
(Linnaeus), is a common winter visitor to Algeria.
Taczanowski states that it is to be met with ev'^ery-
where on the small streams, and Canon Tristram
speaks of it as being exceptionally numerous.

71. The Common Sandpiper Totanus lujpokucus
(LinncTus), is a very widely distributed winter visitor
to Algeria, and is said to breed sparingly in the
country.

72. The Ruff Totanus pugnax (Linnaeus), is a
winter visitor to Algeria, frequenting, according to
Taczanowski, all the large sheets of water. Canon
Tristram met with this species at Tuggurt.

73. The Gray Phalarope Pltalaropusfulicarius
(Linnasus),is a very rare nomadic migrant in winter
to the coasts of Algeria.

74. The Red-necked Phalarope Phalampus

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 23

hyiperhoreuii (Linnaeus), is an equally rare nomadic
winter migrant.

75. The Sr.p^NDER-BiLLED or Medi'ierraxean
Curlew Numenius loiniro.sfris, Vieillot, is a resident
in Algeria, but its numbers are increased in winter
by migrants from South Europe. Taczanowski
states that it frequents and is very common at the
lakes between Batna and Constantine (Tinsilt and
Mzouri).

76. The Common Curlew Nu)neui/(.s arqucUa
(Linnaeus), is a widely distributed winter migrant
to Algeria.

77. The Whimbrel Niimenius pko'opus (Linnaeus),
occurs on spring and autumn migration in Algeria,
but whether any individuals remain to winter in the
country I am unable to say. Taczanowski states
that it is rarer than the Curlew.

78. The Oystercatcher Hcpmatopus ostralegus,
Linnaeus, is a winter visitor to the coasts of Algeria.
Whether it ever ascends the rivers or visits the
inland lakes appears to be unknown.

79. The Avocet Recurrirostra avocetta, Linnaeus,
may possibly still continue to breed in Algeria, but it
is perhaps best known as a winter visitor, if uncom-
mon. Taczanowski only met with this species once.
Canon Tristram observed it at Tuggurt in January.

24 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

80. The Black-winged ^'n\:v^Himantopusmckui-
optenis, Meyer, is a resident in Algeria, breeding near
the various lakes, and wintering commonly in the
oases, where Canon Tristram asserts that it resorts
to the ditches. This species is a very interesting
instance of the local migration prevailing so ex-
tensively in Algeria.

81. The Common Pratincole G /areola prat inco la
(Linnaeus), breeds commonly in Algeria, but whether
Canon Tristram's statement, that this bird is " ex-
tremely abundant near marshes or lakes," refers
also to its distribution in the country in winter is
uncertain. Other evidence points to the fact of
this species being only a spring migrant to Algeria,
retiring beyond the Desert to winter. Taczanowski
did not appear to have met with it.

82. The Cream-coloured Courser Cursorius
s:;aUicus (Gmelin), is a resident on the bare desert
plains and amongst the sand-hills in the Sahara ;
how far southwards its breeding range extends into
the Desert sub-reo:ion is not known. Canon Tris-
tram asserts that this species is less abundant in
winter than in summer, so that there is evidently
a southern migration towards the Great Libyan
Desert in autumn. The Arab name for this species
signifies " Camel-pricker."

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 25

83. Thk Black-backed Courser Cursoriii.s ccgyp-
t'lus (Linnn?us), has been known to stray abnormally
to Algeria. It is an inhabitant of the valley of the
Nile from Cairo to about kit. 15°.

84. The Lapwing Vanellas cristatus, Wolf and
Meyer, is said to breed sparingly in Algeria, but
it may be most correctly described as a regular
winter visitor. Canon Tristram states that it is
rare, and only found in winter.

85. The White-tailed Lapwing Fanellus leii-
curus (Lichtenstein), is doubtfully recorded from
Algeria by Loche. This species breeds in Western
Turkestan and winters in Northern India, Southern
Persia, and North-Eastern Africa. It has occurred
abnormally in Southern Russia, Malta, the south
of France, and Senegal.

86. The Kentish Plover ^gialophi/u.s cantianus
(Latham), is a resident in Algeria, but doubtless
subject to much seasonal local migration, and more
abundant in winter than in summer. Canon Tris-
tram states that it is universally distributed through-
out the Chotts and Sebkhas.

87. The Little Ringed Plover /Egialitismino?-
(Wolf and Meyer), is a resident in Algeria, and
probably subject to considerable local migration,
moving southwards to an appreciable extent in

2 6 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

winter. Canon Tristram states that it is not so
common as the preceding species. I remarked
many pairs of this plover in the oasis of Biskra
(kit. y,^) in May.

88. The Ringed Plover j^gialitis hiaticula
(Linnaeus), is said to breed sparingly in Algeria, but
is better known as a winter visitor. Its distribution
is very imperfectly defined.

89. The Dotterel Eudromias morinellus, Lin-
naeus, is a winter visitor to Algeria, and is widely
distributed. Canon Tristram found it in vast
liocks on the plains where there was any vegetation.
Taczanowski states that it w^as common on the
uplands near Ghelma and Constantine. Probably
many individuals cross Algeria to still more southern
haunts.

90. The Gray Plover Ckaradrius helveticus
(Brisson), is a winter visitor to Algeria, but its
distribution is very imperfectly known.

91. The Goldex Plover Charadrius p/uvia/i.s,
Linnaeus, is a winter visitor to Algeria.

92. The Stone Curlew^ CEd/cne/nu.s crepitans^
Temminck, is a resident and breeds in Algeria,
Taczanowski states that it is common in the desert
— probably in winter. Canon Tristram met with
it on the Hauts Plateaux. Its numbers are in-

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 27

creased during winter. Intermediate forms between
this Stone Curlew and the Indian Stone Curlew,
(JL. crepitans indicus, Salvadori, are said to occur in
North Africa " from Morocco to Egypt." [Seebulnn.)

93. The Great Bustard Otis tarda, Linnaais,
probably does not now breed anywhere in Algeria —
certainly information of the fact is wanting — and is
only known as a rare straggler in winter.

94. The Little Bustard Otis tetrax, Linnaeus, is
a common and widely distributed species, breeding
in the north and retiring for the most ])art to the
Sahara in winter. Taczanowski describes it as in-
habiting the plateaux of the Atlas ; Canon Tristram
only met with it in the north, on the outskirts of
cultivation,

95. The HouBARA Bustard 0/'/.v?^.;/r/?;/(7/«(Jacquin),
is a resident in Algeria, said by Taczanowski to be
not rare in the desert and on the adjoining plateaux.
Canon Tristram met with it in the Central Sahara,
and states that it was most abundant near dayats.

96. The Common Crane Gr^is commiuiis, Bech-
stein, is a regular winter visitor to Algeria.

97. The Demoiselle Crane Grus virgo (Lin-
nfrus), is a resident in Algeria, breeding locally
in suitable marshes. Taczanowski met WTth this
species in the desert near Biskra, probably in winter.

28 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

98. The Common Heron Ardea cinerea, Lin-
naeus, is a winter visitor to Algeria: I am not
aware that it breeds in the countr}'. Taczanowski
states that it is rare.

99. The Purple Heron Ardea purpurea, Lin-
nagus, is a winter visitor to Algeria.

100. The Black-xecked Heron Ardea melano-
cephala, Childr., is of only accidental occurrence in
Algeria, according to Loche.

1 01. The Great White Egret Ardea alba,
Linnaeus, is a winter visitor to Algeria ; whether
it breeds here I am unable to say.

102. The Little Egret Ardea garzetla, Lin-
naeus, is a winter visitor to Algeria ; its breeding
range, if any, is yet imdetermined.

103. The Buff- backed Heron Ardea bul-ulcus,
Audouin, is a resident, and breeds in suitable dis-
tricts in Algeria. Taczanowski states that it was
rare, but gives the Fezzara Lake as a locality for
this species.

104. The Squacco Heron Ardea comata, Pallas,
is a resident and breeds in Algeria, but owing to
drainage many of its haunts have been destroyed —
a statement, by the way, which applies to numerous
other species.

105. The Night Heron Nycticorax griseus (Lin-

THE BIRDS OF ALGERTA. 29

naeus),is a resident and breeds in Algeria, but details
of its distribution, especially in summer, are wanting.

106. Little Bittern ^/Y/e^^« minuta (Linnaeus),
is a resident and breeds in Algeria, its numbers
being increased in winter.

107. The Bittern" Botaurus sfellaris (Linnycus),
is a resident and breeds in Algeria, its numbers
being increased in winter. Taczanowski states that
it frequents the mountain lakes as well as the desert
marshes. Canon Tristram remarks that both this
and all the above species of the Heron tribe were
especially common in the Wed R'hir and in the
remote oasis of Waregla (lat. 32").

108. The White Stork Cicunia alba, Bechstein,
is a well-known and abundant spring migrant,
breeding in all localities suited to its requirements,
arriving, according to Taczanowski, in March, and
leaving, as remarked by Canon Tristram, in Novem-
ber. It was observed breeding on the Alosque
towers in the M'zab country far in the Desert in
lat. 33° — 34°. I remarked it most abundant near
Constantine. Incubation takes place in June.

109. The Black Stork Cicania nigra (Lin-
ncPus), is said to be only a winter visitor to Algeria;
its distribution is little known.

iro. The Marabout Stork Leploptilus, sp.

30 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

inc., mentioned by Taczanowski, is still, I believe,
undetermined.

111. TiiK Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia, Linnaeus,
is said to be a resident in Algeria, but its breed-
ing range appears to be undetermined. Neither
Canon Tristram nor Taczanowski allude to this
species.

112. The Red-cheeked Ibis Ibis comata (Riip-
pell), is said to be a resident in Algeria. It was
found by Canon Tristram frequenting only the
most desolate and arid mountain ranges, consorting
with Falcons and Ravens. It breeds in the most
inaccessible precipices, and its food consists of
lizards and snakes.

113. The Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus (Lin-
nasus), is rare according to Canon Tristram. He
observed it at Tuggurt on the Wed R'hir. This
Ibis is said to breed in Algeria, but information is
much to be desired.

114. The Flamingo Flianiicopterus ro.ve^.?, Pallas,
is a resident in Algeria, but many of its accustomed
haunts have been drained. Taczanowski states
that it is common in March on the salt lakes of
Tinsilt and Mzouri, but I failed to see it there in
May. Canon Tristram states that he saw a large
flock at Waregla, in lat. 32".

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 31

115. The Grav-i.ag Goose Anser cinereii.s^ Meyer,
is a winter visitor to Algeria. Taczanovvski observed
this species at the Fezzara Lake in December.

116. The Bean Goose Anser scgeium (Gmehn),
is a winter visitor to Algeria, where it was observed
by Taczanowski at the Fezzara Lake in December.
Canon Tristram shot an example at Temacin.

1 1 7. The Brent Goose Bernicia brenta (Brisson),
is a rare straggler to the x\lgerian littoral during
winter.

118. The Red-breasted Goose Bcniicla rnfi-
coUis (Pallas), may occasionally wander to Algeria in
winter, as skins of this species, said to have come
from this country, were offered for sale in London
nine years ago.

119. The Egyptian Fox Goose, Chenalopex
cegyptiaca (Linucrus), is doubtfully included on
the authority of Taczanovvski, who states that it
frequents the lake near Batna.

120. The Hooper Swan Cjjgnus imisicu.s, Bech-
stcin, is a rare wanderer to Algeria in exceptionally
severe winters.

121. The iNIuTE Swan Cyginis olor (Gmelin), is
a reeular winter visitor to the lakes of Alo;cria :
whether it breeds in the country in a wild state
appears not to be known.

32 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

122. The Common Sheldrake Tadunta conmta
(S. G. Gmelin), is ;i winter visitor principally, but
a few apparently remain to breed.

123. The Ruddy SheldryVKe Tadonia ca.sctrca
(Linnaeus), is a common winter visitor to the lakes
of Algeria, many, however, breeding in various
parts of the country. Hundreds were observed by
Canon Tristram on the small sheets of open water
near Tuggurt and elsewhere. It breeds in holes in
cliffs, often far from water. Taczanowski gives the
lakes near Batna as a locality for this species.

124. The Gadwall Anas strepera, Linnaeus, is
principally a winter visitor to Algeria, where it
frequents the lakes and marshes. A few, however,
remain to breed in spring. Taczanowski found
it fairly common near the Fezzara Lake and
Constantine.

125. The Pintail Duck Anas acuta, Linnaeus,
IS a regular winter visitor to Algeria.

126. The Wigeox Anas ptnelope, Linnaeus, is a
very common winter visitor to Algeria, and said by
Taczanowski to be met with everywhere on the lakes.

127. The Teal uiims crecca, Linnaeus, is a
common winter visitor to Algeria, and, according
to Canon Tristram, breeds in the country in small
numbers.

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 33

128. The Garganey vj^72tt.y circia., LinricTDUs, is a
winter visitor to Algeria, but I am assured by
Canon Tristram that it breeds there in small
numbers. Taczanowski states that it is rarer than
the preceding species.

129. The Shoveller jlnas cbjpcaia, Linnasus, is
best known as a winter visitor to Algeria, but it
breeds there in small numbers.

130. The Mallard Anas bn.schas., Linnaeus, is
a resident in Algeria, but its numbers are vastly
increased in winter. Canon Tristram picked up
an example of this species which had died of
starvation in the centre of the Souafa Desert I

131. The Marbled Duck Anas angustirostris
(Menctres), occurs throughout Algeria.

132. The Pochard FuUgnla ferina (LinncTcus),
is a fairly common winter visitor to Algeria. It
is said, however, that this species formerly bred
sparingly in the country.

133. The Red-crested Pochard Fidigida rujina
(Pallas), breeds commonly on the lakes in Algeria,
but is more abundant and more widely dispersed in
winter. It lays in June.

134. The White-eyed Pochard Fuligula mjroca
(Glildenstadt), is a resident and breeds in Algeria.
Common in the Wed R'hir.

D

34 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

135. The Scxvp Fuligula marila (Linnaeus), may
probably visit Algeria in winter, but the evidence is
not very conclusive.

136. The Tufted Duck Fuligula aistata (Leach),
is a winter visitor to Algeria. Canon Tristram
remarked its abundance in the Wed R'hir.

137. The Goldex-eye Clangula glaucion (Lin-
nasus), is a very rare straggler in winter to the
coasts of Algeria.

138. The Common Scoter CEdemia nigra (Lin-
naeus), may very exceptionally wander in winter to
the coasts of Algeria.

139. The White-headed Duck Erismatura leu-
cocepkala (Scopoli), is a resident and breeds in
Algeria.

140. The Goosander Mergus mei-ganser (Lin-
naeus), is a somewhat scarce straggler to the
Algerian coasts.

141. The Red-breasted Merganser Mergus
serrator, Linnaeus, occasionally wanders as far to
the south as the Algerian coasts in winter.

142. The Smew Mergus albellus, Linnaeus, is
an occasional winter visitor to the coasts of Algeria.

143. The Gannet Sula bassana (Linnasus),
wanders up the Mediterranean to the Algerian
coasts in winter, but only exceptionally.

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 35

144. The Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo (Lin-
naeus), is best known as a winter visitor to Algeria,
but is said to breed in one or two localities.

145. The Shag Phalacrocorax graculus (Lin-
naeus), is a resident, and frequents such parts of
the coast as are suited to its habits. This race
of the Shag, found in the Mediterranean basin,
has been separated under the name of P. desmaresti,
but on apparently insufficient grounds.

146. The Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax
pygmceus, Pallas, is a resident in Algeria. Loche
states that this species breeds on the Fezzara Lake.

147. The Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispiis^
Bruch., is said by Loche to be of very rare and
accidental occurrence in Algeria,

148. The Osprey Pandion haliaetus (Linnaeus),
is best known as a winter resident, but a few pairs
remain to breed.

149. The Bearded Vulture Gijpaelus barbatus
(Linnaeus), is a resident in Algeria and widely
distributed, if nowhere very common. Canon
Tristram only met with it in the north of the
Sahara, but Taczanowski observed it to be most
numerous near Batna. It probably breeds here, and
had finished nesting when I was at that place in
April and May. In its habits it is unsociable.

^6 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

150. The Griffon Vulture Gijps fulvua
(Gmelin), is a common resident in Algeria, widely
distributed, but most abundant perhaps in moun-
tainous districts. I counted ten of these fine birds
in the air together on one occasion near Batna.
Breeds in colonies.

151. The Cinereous Vulture Vultur inouachus,
LinncTcus, is a resident and generally distributed.
It is said by Taczanowski to be the commonest
Vulture in the country, but this is not borne out
by my experience.

152. The Egyptian Yduyvrt^ NeopJirnn percnop-
teriis (Linnaeus), is more or less a resident in Algeria,
but not so common as the Griffon Vulture.
Neither does it ever breed in colonies.

153. The Golden Eagle Aquila clinjsaetus,
Linnaeus, is a resident in Algeria. According to
Canon Tristram, it is never seen in the desert nor
the inhabited oases, but frequents the rocky moun-
tain ranges and the dayats, where the same authority
states that it is almost gregarious. Taczanowski
gives Batna and Bourief as localities.

154. The Spotted Eagle Aquila clauga, Pallas,
is said to winter and to breed sparingly in Algeria.

155. The Tawny Eagle Aqiiila rapax (Tem-*
minck), is probably a resident in Algeria. I met

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 37

with this species in the mountain forests near
Lambessa.

156. The Booted Eagle Aqu'ila peiincila
(GmeHn), is found in Algeria, but is certainly rare.
Taczanowski met with it in the neighbourhood of
the Fezzara Lake, and to this locality may now
be added Constantine.

157. The Imterial Eagle u-i(inila in()p;iliiik
(Gmelin), I include in the present list on the
authority of Canon Tristram.

158. The White-shouldered Eagle Aqui/a
adalberti, Brehm, is said to inhabit Algeria, but
details of its distribution are meagre.

159. Bonelli's Eagle yiquila fasciatus,Wt\\\ot,
is a resident in Algeria, said by Taczanowski to be
common in the mountain districts, and still more
frequent in the deserts.

160. The Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gaUicus
(Gmelm), was found by Canon Tristram on the
plains of Algeria.

161. The White-tailed Eagle Halicd'tus
albicilla (Linuccus), is a winter visitor to Algeria,
but a few pairs are said to breed in the country.
Information is much to be desired.

162. The Africax Bl'Zzard Butco desertorum
(Daudin), is a resident in Algeria. Taczanowski

38 JOTTIXGS ABOUT BIRDS.

States that it is common in the mountains near
Batna and Constantine. Whether this and the
following bird are really distinct from B. vulgaris
is questionable.

163. The Loxg-legged Buzzard Bufeo Jerox
(Gmelin), is a resident in Algeria, but details of
its distribution are wanting.

164. The Common Kite Milvus regalis (Bris-
son), is a widely distributed winter visitor, espe-
cially frequenting the Sahara sub-region. It is
said to breed sparingly in the Atlas, but the
majority migrate northwards again in February and
March.

165. The Black Kite Milvus ater (Gmelin), is
a resident in Algeria and very widely distributed.
It was certainly the commonest Raptor seen by
me. I met with it in all parts of the country I
visited south of Constantine, including the moun-
tains up to 7000 feet elevation, the desert country
where scarce a trace of vegetation could be seen,
the fertile lands, the oases, and even the large
towns, in which it acts the part of scavenger. It is
wonderfully bold, seeming to have no fear of man,
and would often accompany us for miles, flying just
overhead within easy shot.

166. The Black-wixged Kite Elanus coeruleus .

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 39

(Desf.), was met with by Taczanowski on the coast
between Philippeville and Bone, in December.

167. The Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus (Lin-
naeus), is a somewhat rare visitor, usually on mi-
gration, to Algeria, becoming more abundant in
Morocco. Taczanowski met with this species at
Constantine, Batna, and Bourief.

168. The Marsh Harrier Circus ceruginosus
(Linnaeus), is found in Algeria throughout the year,
and breeds there, the summer area over-lapping the
winter area in this country. It is widely distributed,
and I met with it everywhere in marshes and other
similar haunts.

169. The Hen Harrier Circus cijaneus (Lin-
naeus), is a winter visitor to Algeria, and also passes
that country on migration to still more southern
haunts. Taczanowski states that it is common in
the Desert.

170. Montagu's Harrier Circus cineraceus
(Montagu), is a winter visitor to Algeria ; it is said
to be found there all the year round, but whether
it breeds I am unable to say.

171. The Goshawk Astur palumharius (Lin-
naeus), is a rare winter visitor to Algeria, but has
been said to breed there.

172. The Sparrow-Hawk Accipiter nisus (Lin-

40 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

naeus), is a rare winter visitor to Algeria, but is
said to breed in the country, by Loche.

173. The Peregrine Falcon Fako peregrinus^
Tunstall, appears to be a winter visitor to Algeria,
if rare. It would seem, however, that examples
occasionally remain behind and intermarry with
F. barbarus, producing the intermediate race which
has been described as F. punicus.

174. The Barbary Falcon Faico barbarus, Lin-
naeus, is a resident in Algeria, for the most part
confined to the mountain ranges. Taczanowski
states that it is the commonest Falcon both in the
mountains and the deserts. This species is highly
prized by the Arab sheiks for hawking purposes.

175. The Lanner Falcon Falco feldeggi,
Schlegel, is a resident in Algeria. Loche remarks
that it is more numerous in the southern districts
than on the coast.

176. The Saker Falcon Falco sacer, Gmelin,
was met with by Canon Tristram in the southern
desert.

177. The Eleonora Falcon Falco eleonone.
Gene, is locally distributed. Taczanowski met with
it at Jemmapes ; and I had the good fortune to
witness a most interesting migration of this species
at Philippeville on the coast, on the i6th of May.

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 41

The bird was assembled in flocks, and I counted
as many as ninety on the wing together. They
appeared to be hawking for flies, and occasionally
chased or toyed with each other in the air. They
were by no means shy, and often approached
within gun-shot, or perched on the trees under
which I was standing. A few birds kept alighting
on some haycocks, and even on the newly-ploughed
land. The flight is remarkably easy and gliding,
resembling that of the Bee-eater. In other respects
it resembles that of the Kestrel, but heavier, not so
graceful, and apparently performed with more exer-
tion. Sometimes the entire flock was close to the
ground, then it would rise until the birds looked
no bigger than Swallows. They seemed in no
hurry to quit the place, and I saw them still
busy after insects as I passed the place again in
the evening. Most of the birds were in immature
plumage.

178. The Hobby Falco subbuteo, Linnaeus, passes
through Algeria on spring and autumn migration
to and from its winter quarters in South Africa. I
saw an example near Batna in May. Taczanowski
states that it is rare.

179. The Merlin Falco ccsalon, Tunstall, is
principally known as a winter visitor to Algeria^

42 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

but according to Loche a few remain to breed in
the mountain districts.

1 80. The Red-footed ¥m.co^ Falco vespertinus,
Linnaeus, may pass Algeria on migration, but little
appears to be known of the circumstance. The
assertion by Loche that it breeds in the country is
not supported by recent investigation.

181. The Kestrel Falcu tinnunculus^ Linnaeus,
is a widely distributed and abundant species in
x\lgeria. It probably undertakes an internal mi-
gration towards the Libyan Desert in autumn, for
Canon Tristram states that he met with it in the
oases and in the dayats ; but I, in summer, did
not observe it south of El Kantara on the northern
borders of the Sahara. It is increased in numbers
in winter by migrants from Europe.

182. The Lesser Kestrel Falco cenchris, Nau-
mann, is a summer visitor to Algeria, and breeds
sparingly ; it is most common on passage from and
to its wnnter quarters in South Africa in spring and
autumn. Taczanowski met with it in one locality
only.

183. The Eagle Owl Bubo maximus, Gerini, is
a resident in Algeria, where, however, according to
Taczanowski, it is rare, and found chiefly in the
mountains and forests where it breeds. It may

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 43

possibly have been to a great extent confused with
the following species.

1 84. The Egyptian Eagle Owl Buho ascalaphus,
Savigny, is said by Taczanowski to be very rare
in winter, commoner in summer in Algeria. So
far as is known, it appears to be more of a north-
east African species. Its western limits are not
clearly defined. It is included as a bird of Algeria
by Canon Tristram.

185. The Loxg-eared Owl ^sio o///.s- (Linnseus),
is a winter visitor to Algeria, but there is no reli-
able evidence of its ever breeding in the country.

186. The Short-eared Owl Asio accipitr'nius
(Pallas), is said by Loche to be very generally
distributed, but whether it is only a winter visitor
to Algeria, or breeds sparingly in the country, is still
undetermined. In Morocco it is said to interbreed
with A:iio capensis (Smith), (a form that ranges
from Spain southwards to Natal) ; whether this
latter race visits Algeria is not known.

187. The Scops Owl Scops giu (Scopoli), is a
resident in Algeria, but increased in numbers in
winter by migrants from Europe. It is said that
the resident race is slightly smaller. It breeds in
holes in trees.

188. The Tawny Owl Strix aluco, Gerini, is a

44 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

resident in x\lgeria, but somewhat locally distributed.
So far as is known, the resident birds belong to the
typical race ; but there is some evidence to suggest
that examples of the paler northern race wander to
the country in winter.

189. The Southern Little 0\yi. Athene glaux
(Savigny), is a resident in Algeria, and generally
and commonly distributed in all parts of the
country. In the oases it is said by Canon Tristram
to breed down the sides of the wells when cliffs are
wanting. Loche remarks, that examples of this
pale race of Athene noctua (Scopoli) from the
desert are even paler than those from the area of
the Tell.

190. The Barx Owl A/ucoJIammens (Linnaeus),
is a common resident in Algeria, but evidently local.
Taczanowski states that it is rare in winter.

191. The Roller Coracias garrulu.s, Linnaeus, is
a summer visitor to Algeria, principally to the
mountain forest districts. I met wdth it very abun-
dantly in the evergreen oak woods and the cedar
forests of the Djebel Aures, but did not see a trace
of it in the oases south of the Atlas.

192. The Common Kingfisher Alcedo ispida,
Linnaeus, is a resident in Algeria, but not common,
and locally distributed along suitable streams.

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 45

193. Thk Hoorop: Upupa cpops, LinncTus, is a
resident in Algeria, but subject to much local move-
ment according to season, and largely increased in
numbers, especially in the Sahara sub-region, during
winter, by migrants from Europe. It is found
throughout the mountain districts in summer, but
winters chiefly in the oases. This species is held
in superstitious veneration by the Arabs, is conse-
quently very tame, and resorts to the M'zab cities
in large numbers. I found it much more wary in
the mountain forests and on the bare hillsides, and
far more often heard than seen. Its full, hollow
note may be heard for a great distance.

194. The Bee-eater Merops apiastcr, Linnaeus,
is most abundant on spring and autumn migration,
to and from its winter quarters in South Africa, but
a fair number remain to breed in the country of the
Tell. I found it on migration in the oases early in
May, and sparingly distributed in the forest country
of the Aures.

195. The Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops
per.sicus, Pallas, appears to visit Algeria in summer.
I met with a pair of these birds in the oasis of
Biskra, in company with the preceding species, but
whether they breed in the country I am unable
to say.

46 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

196. The Common Nightjar Caprimulgus euro-
pceus, Linnaeus, is most frequent in Algeria during
the two seasons of passage, but a few remain to
winter, and a few remain to breed in the country.
Details of its distribution, either in summer or
winter, are wanting.

197. The Red-necked Nightjar Caprimulgus
rujicollis, Temminck, is probably a resident in Algeria
and Tunis, but subject to considerable internal
migration, breeding in the northern districts and
wintering in the remote oases of the Sahara. This
species, away from Algeria, has a very restricted
range, so far as is known, being a summer visitor
to the southern half of the Spanish Peninsula, and
to some of the Canary Islands. A single example
has been shot in the north of England.

198. The Common Swift Cypselus apus (Lin-
naeus), is a summer visitor to Algeria, entirely
quitting the country in November. I found it
very generally dispersed both in the Tell and the
Sahara sub-region, and Canon Tristram remarked
its presence as a breeding species still further south.

199. The Pallid Swift Cypselus apus paUklus,
Shelley, is a summer visitor to Morocco, and is
doubtless to be met with in various parts of
Algeria.

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 47

2CO. The White-bellied Swift Cypseliis melba
(Linnaeus), is a summer visitor to Algeria, chiefly
confined to the mountain districts. I met with it
in some numbers on the cUffs at Constantine, con-
sorting with the preceding species. I also observed
it at Batna and El Kantara, but not further south.
Canon Tristram states that it breeds on the mosque
towers as well as on rocks.

201. The Common Cuckoo Cucnlus canorus,
Linn^us, is best known as passing through Algeria
on spring and autumn migration, but a few remain
in spring to breed. I found this species pretty
generally distributed, most frequent in the cedar
forests near Batna.

202. The Cuckoo Cuculus, sp. inc., seen by
Canon Tristram near Tuggurt (described by him
as "a small African species"), still remains un-
determined.

203. The Great Spotted Cuckoo Coccijstes
glandcnius (Linnaeus), is a summer visitor to
Algeria, generally distributed throughout the wooded
districts.

204. The Algerian Pied Woodpecker Picus
niunidicus, Malherbe, is a resident in the forest
districts. It is the representative species of our
own Great Spotted Woodpecker [P. major), and

48 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

is distinguished by the varying amount of scarlet
on the breast.

205. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Piais
minor, LinncCus, is a resident in the forest districts
of Algeria. Malherbe sought to separate the Al-
gerian birds under the name of P . ledoiici, but the
characters are apparently too trivial.

206. The Algerian Green Woodpecker Geci-
nus vaillantii (Malherbe), is a resident and widely
distributed throughout the forest districts, though
nowhere particularly common. I only met with this
species in the cedar forests west of Batna, and in
the evergreen oak woods between Oued Taga and
Lambessa.

207. The Wryneck Ii/n.v tnrquilla, Linnaeus, is
locally distributed in Algeria, where it is probably a
resident, but many pass through the country on
migration after visiting Europe in summer, to win-
ter still further to the south. I met with this species
at Biskra in May, and Taczanowski at Philippeville
on the coast early in April.

208. Irby's Raven Curvu.s t/ngitanus, Irby, is a
resident in Algeria, and very widely and commonly
distributed. I met with this Raven, the Algerian
representative of the Common Raven, everywhere I
went south of Constantine, either in pairs or in small

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 49

flocks. Canon Tristram also remarks its gre-
garious habits, and mentions that towards evening
at Laghouat he noticed long files of Ravens return-
ing to their roosting-places in the desert. I have
reason to believe that this Raven also breeds in
colonies.

209. The Hooded Crow Coitu.s comix, Linnaeus,
is a somewhat rare winter visitor to Algeria.

210. The Rook Corvus frugilegus,\Ann2e:us, is an
accidental visitor to Algeria in winter.

211. The Jackdaw Corvus monediila, Linnaeus,
is a somewhat local but in certain districts a very
common resident in Algeria. Canon Tristram
remarked its abundance in the rocky gorges of the
Sahara sub-region ; whilst I found it common in
the rocks at Constantine, and less frequent in the
cedar forests west of Batna.

212. The Moorish Magpie Pica mauriUuiica,
Malherbe, is a resident, and widely distributed
throughout the wooded districts. It is closely allied
to the Common Magpie of Europe, distinguished
by a large patch of blue skin behind the eye, and
by the absence of gray from the rump. Examples,
however, from the Alpuxarras mountains in Southern
Spain are said to be intermediate bet\^'een Pica cau-
data and P. mauritanica.

50 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

213. The Azure-winged Magpie Cyanopica
cooki, Bonaparte, appears to be a resident in Algeria,
but particulars of its distribution are unknown. I
saw nothing of this species.

214. The Algerian Black-headed Jay, Garruius
cerviccdis, Bonaparte, is a resident principally con-
fined to the mountain forests.

215. The Chough Pyrrhocorax graculus (Lin-
naeus), is a resident in Algeria, confined to the
mountains of the Atlas, and does not appear ever to
wander into the oases or south of that rugged range.

216. The Starling Stunius vulgaris, Linnaeus,
is a common winter visitor to Algeria, where it is
widely dispersed far to the south of the Atlas.
Canon Tristram states that myriads of Starlings
visit the date forests and do vast damage amongst
the ripe fruit. The Arabs snare this bird in
thousands for food.

217. The Black Starling Stunncs unicolor,
^Marmora, is also a winter visitor to Algeria, but
whether it breeds in the country I am unable to say.
It is said to consort with the preceding.

218. The Rose-coloured Pastor Pastor roseus
(Linnaeus), has occasionally wandered on migration
to Algeria.

219. The Algerian Shore Lark Otocoris hilopha

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA, 51

(Ruppell), is a resident in Algeria, widely yet locally
distributed over the desert plains.

220. The Thick-billed Lark Rhamplwcorys clot-
bey (Bonaparte), is supposed to be a resident in the
deserts south of the Atlas. Canon Tristram only
met with it on the mountains to the south of El
Aghouat.

221. The Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra
(Linnaeus), is a resident in Algeria, principally it"
not entirely confined to the cultivated districts,
especially of the Hauts Plateaux. Canon Tristram
did not observe this species in the extreme south.

222. The Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachy-
dactyla (Leisler), is a resident in Algeria, but its
numbers are increased in autumn and winter by
migrants from Europe. It would appear to be
subject to some local or internal migration, from
the Tell region to the desert, for Taczanovvski states
that it arrived at Biskra in March. Canon Tristram
met with it on the Hauts Plateaux.

223. The Lesser Short-toed Lark Colandrella
minor (Cabanis), is a small rufous form of C. p/spa-
letta, confined to North Africa, Palestine, and Asia
Minor. It is a resident in Algeria, and said by
Taczanowski to be very common in the de>ert.

224. The Desert Lark Ammomanes deserti (Lich-

52 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

tenstein), is a resident in the Sahara sub-region, I
did not meet with this bird until I reached El
Kantara, the entrance to the desert ; it was also
common at Biskra, Taczanowski states that he
first met with it on the southern spurs of the Atlas.

225, The Pale Desert Lark Ammomanes pal-
lida, Cabanis, according to Canon Tristram, takes
the place of the former bird on the southern desert
sands. It is probably only a climatic race.

226, The Little Desert Lark Ammomanes
regulu^ (Bonaparte), is described by Canon Tristram
as being very rare, and only found in the Chaamba
country and the Touareg deserts (lat, 32°). It is
probably only a race of A. deserti.

iiy. Gould's Desert Lark Ammomanes cinc-
tura, Gould, is a resident in the deserts of Algeria,
It is probably another race of ^^. deserti.

228. The Crested Lark Galerita cristata magna,
Hume, is a comm.on and widely distributed resident
in Algeria north of the deserts. It is the pale form
of the Crested Lark, G. cristata.

229, The Isabelline Crested Lark Galerita cris-
tata isabellina, Bonaparte, is a resident in the desert
regions of Algeria, It is the most pronounced rufous
form of G. cristata. Taczanowski states that he met
with it principally on the sand-hills.

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 53

230. Tristram's Crested Lark Galerila cristata
?)iacror/uj)ic/ta, Tnstnim, is a resident on the northern
borders of the Sahara. Taczanowski met with this
race between El Kantara and El Outaia. It is the
large-billed race of G. cristata, measuring in length
of bill from '9 to I'o inch.

231. The Curve-billed Lark. Certhilauda deser-
torum (Stanley), is a resident in the deserts, where it
is said to be universally if sparingly distributed.

232. Dupont's Lark Certhilauda duljonti [Wq'xWox),
is a resident but very rare, and was only met with by
Canon Tristram in the ravines of the Wed N'ca, in
the Beni M'zab (lat. 2,3°)-

233. Salvin's Lark Certhilauda duponti salvini^
Tristram, " a smaller and more slender " bird than
the preceding, is a resident in the southern and
south-eastern deserts.

234. The Skylark Alauda arvensis, Linnaeus, is
a resident in Algeria, principally confined to the
region of the Tell. Its numbers are increased by
migrants from Europe in winter. I only met with
this species in the meadows and barley-fields round
Batna.

235. The Wood Lark yllauda arborea, Linnaus,
is a rare resident in Algeria, confined principally to
the mountain woodlands. I met with this species

54 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

on the hills west of Batna. This species is more
abundant in winter.

236. The Corn Bunting Emberiza miliaria, Lin-
naeus, is a resident in Algeria, fairly well distributed
over the region of the Tell. I did not meet with
this species south of the Atlas.

237. The Cirl Bunting Emberiza cirlii.'i, Linnasus,
is a local resident in the region of the Tell. Tac-
zanowski states that it is common in the mountain
forests.

238. The Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana,
Linnaeus, is said to be a summer visitor to Algeria,
and to breed there in small numbers. Its distribu-
tion, however, requires determination.

239. The House Bunting Emberiza saharcp
(Bonaparte), is a resident in Algeria, principally
confined to the southern oases. I met wnth it in
the oases of El Kantara and Biskra. It is certainly
the tamest bird I ever saw, and frequents the Arab
houses without any sign of fear. This is a very
variable species. The skins which 1 obtained have
very obscure centres to the feathers on the back ;
but a skin obtained by Canon Tristram at
Berroughuia in December has these dark centres
much more developed. It might almost be con-
sidered as an intermediate form between E. mharcc

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 55

and E. striolata, which ranges from Nubia to
India. Taczanowski evidently confused the two
species. The habits of both are very similar.

240. The Meadow Bunting Emberiza cin,
LinucEus, is a resident in Algeria, apparently chiefly
confined to the mountain districts. I met with
this species in the Djebel Aures near Wed Taga,
and in the cedar forests west of Batna.

241. Cretzschmar's Bunting Emberiza coesia,
Cretzschmar, is a rare visitor to Algeria.

242. The Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla,
Pallas, is a very abnormal migrant to Algeria, only
two examples having been obtained in that country.

243. The Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeiiic/us,
Linnaeus, is a comparatively rare winter visitor to
Algeria. Taczanowski only met with this species
once.

244. The Bullfinch Pyrrhula vulgaris, Tem-
minck, occasionally wanders to Algeria in winter.

245. The Trumpeter Bullfinch Erythrospiza
githaginea (Lichtenstein), is a resident on the
steppes and plateaux near the desert. Both
Taczanowski and Canon Tristram met with this
species.

246. The Crimson-winged Finch Erythrospiza
sanguinea (Gould), is a rare visitor to Algeria.

56 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

247. The Linnet Linota cannabina (Linnaeus),
is a resident in Algeria, confined probably to the
Tell, and breeding on the northern slopes of the
Atlas. I met with this species in the Djebel
Aiires above Lambessa^ where it was very
common.

24.8. The Brambltng Friugilla montifringilla,
Linnaeus, is an occasional winter visitor to Algeria,
usuallv in severe seasons.

249. The Algerian Chaffinch Fringilla spodio-
gena, Bonaparte, is another species peculiar to
Algeria (and Morocco), and principally confined to
the mountain woodlands. I remarked its general
abundance in the Djebel Aures, especially round
Batna and Lambessa. The note of this species is
very different from that of the Common Chaffinch,
more resembling that of the House Sparrow
[Passer domesdcus). The song too is different.
Otherwise the habits of the two species are very
similar. The nest is built in just such another
situation as that of the English bird. I found
a nest of the Algerian Chaffinch scarcely completed
on the 1 2th of May, in the evergreen oak forests.
It was built in a small oak, about ten feet from
the ground, in a fork, almost buried in the lichen
which drapes most of the timber in this region.

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 57

It was made of lichens, wool, vegetable down, and
a few roots and bents, and lined with the feathers
of the Barbary Partridge. It was nothing near
so compact as that of the English Chaffinch, but
the same remarkable imitation of surrounding
objects was noticeable. The hen bird was very
anxious at the nest.

The Algerian Chaffinch is represented on the
Azores by Fringilla moreleti, Madeira by F.
maderensis, and Canary Islands * by F. tintillon
and F. palmce, four fairly well-defined races, the
three former of which, however, completely inter-
grade amongst themselves owing probably to inter-
breeding. The Algerian species may be always
distinguished by its pink underparts and green
mantle. Dresser asserts that the female of the
Algerian species cannot be distinguished from the
female of the Common Chaffinch, but this is not
correct. It may always be identified by its much
grayer tone of colour, by the white outer margins
to the secondaries, by the greater amount of white

* I may here take the opportunity of stating, that, owing to
the error of a valued correspondent, I was led to include in the
addenda to my work, The Game Birds and IVild Foivl of the
British Islands, what purported to be a new species of Pratin-
cole from these islands, but which is really a new form of
Pratincola or Bush Chat.

5S JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

on the tail feathers, by its larger bill, and by its
generally larger size.

250. The Common Chaffinch Fringilla ccckbs,
Linnaeus, is a rare and local resident in Algeria
confined to the coast district, I only met with it
in the neighbourhood of Philippeville, where it was
rather common in the cork woods.

251. T[iE Desert Rock Sparrow Petronia
brachijdactijla^ Bonaparte, is a resident in Algeria,
but details of its distribution m the desert areas
are wanting, I did not meet with this bird.

252. The Rock Sparrow Petronia slulta (Gmelin),
is a resident in Algeria, but by no means common.
Its distribution is almost unknown.

253. The Desert Sparrow Passer simplex
(Lichtenstein), is a rare and local resident, only
found, according to Canon Tristram, in the
Southern Sahara. This naturalist found it breeding
at El Wed.

254. The Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis,
Temminck, is a resident in Algeria, and very widely
distributed amongst the towns and villages. I
remarked that it w^as more frequent in the wilder-
ness, away from the habitations of man, than the
following species. Its note is precisely similar to
that of the Common Sparrow.

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 59

233. The Common Sparrow Passer dowpsticiis
(LinncTGiis), is a resident in Algeria, and widely
distributed throughout the towns and villages.

236. The Tree Sparrow Passer rnontanus
(Linnaeus), is a rare resident in Algeria, but its
distribution is very imperfectly known.

237. The Hawfinch Coccothraustes vulgaris,
Pallas, is a resident in Algeria, but only sparingly
and locally distributed, chiefly in the northern
slopes of the Atlas. I met with it in the evergreen
oak forests near Lambessa.

238. The Greenfinch Ligiirinus chloris (Lin-
naeus), is a resident in Algeria, its numbers
being increased in winter. The resident birds,
confined principally to the Tell, have been dis-
tinguished under the name of L. aurantiiventris,
but the characters relied upon — a more brilliant
colour and smaller size — appear not to have even
a sub-specific value. I found the Greenfinch very
common near Constantine.

239. The Serin Seriuus hnrtulanus, Koch, is a
resident in Algeria, but commoner in winter than
in summer. It is widely distributed, not only in
the mountain districts, but in the more northern
oases. I met with it in the oases of El Kantara
and Biskra.

6o JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

260. The Siskin Chrysomitrh sp'uiiis (Linnaeus),
is a very rare and occasional winter visitor to the
northern districts of Algeria.

261. The Goldfinch Carduelis elegans, Stephen-
son, is a resident in Algeria, and widely distributed
both north and south of the Atlas. I met with it
in all parts of the country from the coast to the
oases, and up the mountains to an elevation of
4000 feet.

262. The Swallow Hirundo rustica, Linnaeus,
is a common summer visitor to Algeria, and breeds
from the Sahara sub-region to the coast. Canon
Tristram asserts that a few birds pass the winter in
the southern oases, but the majority quit the country
in November, returning in February. The natives
state that the birds cross the desert to Timbuctoo,
" the El Dorado of Arab and Swallow." Canon
Tristram, when in the Desert, noticed myriads of
Swallows flying north at the beginning of February.

263. The House Martin Chelidun iirbica
(Linnaeus), is a common summer visitor to Algeria,
and breeds from the Sahara sub-region to the coast.
A few birds winter in the southern oases. I
noticed this bird building towards the end of May
at Philippeville. Most of the mud was baked hard
by the sun, and it was only to be obtained in a

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 6r

sufficiently soft state in one or two places. In
these the Martins literally swarmed, and the mud
was nothing but a moving mass of birds. The
barracks at Batna contain the most extensive
colony of this species that I ever saw.

264. The Sand Martin Cotyle riparia (Linnaeus),
is a summer visitor to Algeria, and is not known
to winter in even the remotest of the southern
oases. I found it breeding in suitable localities
from a little north of El Kantara to the coast.

265. The Crag Martin Cotyle rupestris (Scopoli),
is a summer visitor to Algeria, and breeds locally
in the mountains. I only met with this species in
the stupendous pass of El Kantara — the gate of
the Sahara — where it breeds commonly.

266. The Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa griso/a,
Linnaeus, is best known as passing through Algeria
on spring and autumn migration — when it literally
sw^arms from south to north — but a comparatively
small number remain to breed. I met with this
species in all parts of the country. It abounded in
the oasis of Biskra, and was common in all wooded
and cultivated districts.

267. The Pied Flycatcher Muscicapa alricapilla,
LinucPus, is a resident in Algeria, and widely dis-
tributed from the more northern oases to the coast,

62 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

and up to 4000 feet in the Djebel Aurcs. I met
with it very common at Constantine, more sparingly
southwards.

268. The Red-breasted Flycatcher Miiscicapa
parva, Bechstein, is said by Loche to be found in
Algeria. It may be a rare winter visitor.

269. The Woodchat Shrike Lanhis ?-ufus,
Brisson, is a summer visitor to Algeria (arriving in
March, according to Taczanowski), and widely dis-
tributed from the more northern oases to the coast.
I met with this species in all parts of the country
wherever the vegetation was sufficient to afford it
shelter.

270. The Red-backed Shrike Lanius colhirio,
Linnaeus, is most probably an accidental visitor to
Algeria, seeing that it occasionally nests in Portugal,
and has been shot in the south of Spain, The
normal line of migration of this Shrike is too far
to the east to render the bird's appearance in Algeria
more than exceptional.

271. The Algerian Gray Shrike Lanius algeri-
en.sis, Lesson, is a resident in the country. Tacza-
nowski states that this species is very common on
the plains near Fezzara.

272. The Pallid Shrike Lanius lahtora, Sykes,
is a resident in Algeria, and replaces the preceding

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 63

species on the southern spurs of the Atlas and in
the desert. Canon Tristram found it very abundant,
and a permanent resident in the dayats and oases of
the Sahara sub-region.

273. The Hooded Shrike Telcphoiius erylJirop-
teriLs (Shaw), is said by Taczanovvski to be not rare
in winter in the forests and shrubberies. It is also
said by Loche to be common, and to frequent bushy
districts. Its breeding range is not clearly defined.

274. The Golden Oriole Oriolu.s ga/hi/a (Lin-
naeus), is perhaps best known as a winter visitor to
Algeria, but a considerable number remain to breed
in the country. I met with this species in the oasis
of Biskra, less commonly in the mountain forests
near Lambessa.

275. The Dusky Bulbul Pijcnonotus barbatus
(Desf.), is a resident in Algeria. Taczanowski met
with this species universally distributed in the
scrub on the mountains.

276. The Meadow^ Phmt Aiilhus pratensis (Lin-
naeus), is a winter visitor to Algeria ; I am not
aware that any individuals remain to breed in the
country. I occasionally met with it in swampy
places, but never found it nesting.

277. The Red-throated Ph>it Antlius cervinus
(Pallas), is a rare winter visitor to Alocria. Tac-

64 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

zanowski states that he met with this species
frequently at the Fezzara Lake.

278. The Tree Pipit Anthu^ trivialis (Linnasus),
is a winter visitor to Algeria ; whether it ever breeds
in the country I am unable to say.

279. The Taw^ny Pipit Anthus campestris (Lin-
naeus), is a resident in Algeria, most abundant in
winter. It breeds on the northern slopes of the
Atlas, and in winter does not appear to go further
south than the Hauts Plateaux. It breeds commonly
near Batna, more sparingly at Lambessa.

280. Richards' Pipit Anthus richardi, Vieillot,
is a very rare abnormal migrant to Algeria.

281. The Water Pipit Antlms spipoletta (Lin-
naeus), is a winter visitor to Algeria. I met with
it as far south as Biskra, as also did Taczanowski.

282. The White Wagtail Motacilla alba, Lin-
naeus, is a common winter visitor to Algeria, a few
remaining all through the summer.

283. The Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba ijarrellii,
Gould, occasionally visits Morocco in winter, and
there can be Httle doubt that it wanders into the
extreme north-west of Algeria.

284. The Gray Wagtail Motacilla sidphurea,
Bechstein, is a winter visitor to Algeria, said by
Loche to frequent the mountain streams.

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 65

285. The Blue-headed Wagtail MotadUaJiaia.,
Linnaeus, is a winter visitor to Algeria. I met
with it in flocks in the oases, apparently on migra-
tion, in May ; but Taczanowski states that he
observed it between Constantine and Batna, much
further north, in March.

286. The Common Wren Troglodytes parvu/us,
Koch, is a resident in Algeria. I found it gener-
ally distributed throughout the Djebel Aurcs.
One example I shot is slightly paler than specimens
from Europe.

287. The Common Creeper Certhia familiar is.,
Linnaeus, is a resident in Algeria. It frequents
the pine and cedar forests. Taczanowski states
that it is paler than the Creeper of Europe. I met
with this sj)ecies in the cedar forests west of Batna.

288. The Nuthatch Sitta aesia, Wolf, is a
resident in Algeria. Whether it differs from typical
European examples I am imable to say, never
having seen a specimen from the country.

289. The Great Titmouse Parus major, Lin-
naeus, is a resident in the wooded districts of
Algeria north of the Atlas.

290. The Algerian Coal Titmouse Parus le-
douci, Malherbe, is a resident, and principally con-
fined to the mountain forests. I obtained seven

F

66 JOTTIXGS ABOUT BIRDS.

specimens of this interesting bird, and noticed that
it frequents the evergreen oak woods as well as the
pine forests. The Crested Titmouse, Farus crisf.a-
lus, may yet be found to inhabit the Algerian or
Moroccan forests.

2,91. The Algerian Blue Titmouse Pants
iiltramarinus, Bonaparte, is a resident in Algeria,
found throughout the forest districts. I met with
it in abundance in the evergreen oak and cedar
forests; also in the cork woods at Philippeville. It
was only just commencing to nest in the middle of
May. The birds from the Canaries are distinct,
and named Parus teneiiffce . These latter are dis-
tinguished from the Algerian species by the absence
of pale tips to the greater wing coverts, and the
very indistinct tips to the innermost secondaries,
which in P. ultramarimis 2iXt broad and conspicuous.

292. The Hedge Accentor Accentor modularis
(Linnaeus), is a rare abnormal migrant to Algeria in
winter.

293. The Algerian Bush-Babbler Argya fulva
(Desf ), is a resident in Algeria, apparently south of
the Atlas, where it is, according to Taczanowski,
found throughout such desert sand-hills as are covered
with scrub. I met with this species at Biskra.

294. The Desert Wren Warbler Drijinwca

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 6^

slrialiceps, Tristram, is a resident in Algeria in the
southern deserts. It was first discovered by Canon
Tristram at the salt lake of Ain Bahrdad, near
Hadjira.

295. The Fantail Warbler Cisticola cursitans
(Frankl.), is a resident in Algeria. Taczanowski
met with this species everywhere in the barley fields
round the oases. I remarked it common at Biskra.

296. Cettis Warbler Cetlia cettii (Marmora),
is a winter visitor to Algeria, and met with from
the coast regions to the desert. Canon Tristram
observed it in all the marshes about Waregla,
N'goussa, and the Wed R'hir.

297. Savi's Warbler Locustella luscinioides
(Savi), is a winter visitor to Algeria, and has much
the same distribution as the preceding species. A
comparatively small number remain to breed.

298. The Grasshopper Warbler LocusicUa
locustella (Latham), is a winter visitor to Algeria, but
there can be little doubt that it breeds sparingly in
the country.

299. The Sedge W arbler ulcrocephalus J)hrag-
mitis (Bechstein), is a winter visitor to Algeria, but
as I shot it in the oasis of Biskra in May, a few
may probably remain to breed in the country.

300. The Aquatic Warbler Acroctphalus aqua-

68 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

ticiis (Gmelin), is a winter visitor to Algeria, but a
few remain to breed. Its distribution in tlie country
is not clearly defined — a statement which applies to
most of the species in this sub-family.

301. The Great Reed Warbler Acrocephalus
turdoides (Meyer), is a winter visitor to Algeria,
extending far south into the oases ; it is also said to
breed in the country.

302. The Reed Warbler Acroce.phalus arundi-
naceus (Brisson), is a winter visitor to Algeria, and
passes the country on migration still further to the
south. Whether it breeds in the country seems
not to be satisfactorily ascertained. The Marsh
Warbler, v4. palustris (Bechstein), may probably
yet be found in Algeria, both as a breeding and
wintering species.

303. The Melodious Warbler Hijpolais poly-
glotta (Vieillot), is a winter visitor to Algeria,
extending far into the desert oases — Waregla, the
Wed R'hir, etc. It also undoubtedly breeds in
the country, but its summer area is by no means
clearly defined.

304. The Olive-tree Warbler Hypolah olive-
torum (Strickland), is apparentlv a resident in
Algeria. Canon Tristram has taken the nest of
this species in the country.

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 69

305. The Western Olivaceous Warbler Hijpo-
hi'is opava (Lichtenstein), is a resident in Algeria,
its numbers being increased in winter. I shot two
examples in the oasis of Biskra.

306. The Olivaceous Warbler //y/;o/<2/.s' />«///<:/«
(Ehrenberg), is a resident in Algeria, resorting in
winter to the southern oases.

307. The Rufous Warbler yiedon galactodes
(Temminck), apjDears to be a resident in Algeria.
I only met with this species in the oases of El
Kantara and Biskra, where it frequented the Arab
gardens, and was very fond of perching on the mud
wells and flicking its tail in a very peculiar manner.

308. Bonelli's Willow Warbler Fhylloscopus
bouelli (Vieillot), is a resident in Algeria, frequenting
the mountain forests and the Tell in summer, and
retiring to the oases in winter. Its numbers are
also increased at the latter season by migrants from
Europe.

309. The Wood Wren Phylloscnpus sibilatrix
(Bechstein), is a winter visitor to Algeria, but
remains to breed in small numbers in the mountain
forests of the Atlas.

310. The Willow Wre's P/ii/l/o.scopus trochilus
(Linnaeus), is a very common winter visitor to
Algeria, frequenting the oases in enormous numbers.

70 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

It is not improbable that a small number remain
and breed in the northern districts.

311. The Chiffchaff Phijlloscnpus riifus (Qtoh-
stein), is a winter visitor to Algeria, but there
is no evidence of its ever having bred in the
country.

312. The Firecrest Regulus ignicapi/ii(s (Vem-
minck), is a resident in the mountain forests of
Algeria, its numbers being increased in winter by
migrants from Europe. I found it very common
near Lambessa and Batna. It is said that the
Goldcrest, R. cristatus (Koch), visits Algeria in
winter, but I cannot find any conclusive evidence
of the fact. It is said regularly to pass Malta on
migration in spring and autumn.

313. The Dartford Warbler Sylvia provincialis
(Gmelin), is a resident in Algeria, but subject
apparently to some internal migration, as Canon
Tristram remarks, " in winter, in the dayats only."

314. Marmora's Warbler Sylvia sarda (Marm.),
has once been shot near Batna, according to
Taczanowski.

315. The Garden Warbler Sylvia horteusis,
Gmelin, is a winter visitor to Algeria, frequenting
the oasss.

316. The Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla (LinncTus),

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 71

is a resident in Algeria, breeding in the north and
wintering in the oases. Its numbers are increased
in autumn by migrants from Europe.

317. The Orpheax Warbler Sijlvia orpliea,
Temminck, is a resident, and breeds in Algeria, its
numbers being increased in autumn by migrants
from Europe. Its movements locally are much
the same as the preceding.

318. The Sardixian Warbler Sylvia melannce-
pliala (Gmelin), is probably a resident in Algeria.
Taczanowski describes it as the commonest warbler.
I met with it on the coast at Philippeville.

319. The Algerian W^arbler Sjjh-ia a/gej-iemi.s,
Dixon [Stray Featlitrs from Many Birds, p. 104;
//'is, 1882, p. 565), is a resident in Algeria, wintering
in the oases, and breeding in the wooded districts
of the Atlas. For further particulars concerning
this intensely interesting species, I would refer the
reader to the works above mentioned.

320. The Spectacled Warbler Sylvia conspicil-
lala, Marmora, is a resident in Algeria, its numbers
being increased in winter. Canon Tristram re-
marks of this species — "The common and charac-
teristic Warbler of the country. It resorts to the
open grounds, haunting the small bushes and
stalices, living indifferently on the salt marshes, or

72 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

on the more exposed and bleak plateaux, but never
in the oases or dayats."

321. The Sub-Alpine Warbler 6^///?;/r/ .s7//r//yj///<'/,
Bonelli, is a resident in Algeria, common in winter
in the desert, according to Taczanowski.

322. The Lesser Whitethroat Sijlvia currucn
(Linnasus), is a winter visitor to Algeria, frequenting
the oases. Whether this species breeds in the coun-
try is uncertain, but I observed it as far south as
Biskra and sparingly distributed, in May.

323. The Commox Whitethroat Sylvia cinerea,
Bechstein, is a winter visitor to Algeria. Whether
it breeds or not I cannot say, but I found it,
although less common than the preceding species,
generally distributed in May, from Biskra north-
wards.

324. The Nightixgale EritJiacus lusciuia (Lin-
naeus), passes Algeria on spring and autumn mi-
gration, a few remaining to breed. I saw one
example near Philippeville in May, and another
flew on board our steamer as we were crossing the
Mediterranean at the end of April.

325. The European Bluethroat Erithncus
cyaneculus (Wolf), is a winter visitor to Algeria, but
details of its distribution there are wanting.

326. The Robin Erithacus rubeaila (Linnaeus),

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 73

is a local resident in Algeria, its numbers being
largely increased in winter by migrants from Europe.
In winter it draws south into the oases.

327. Moussier's Bush Cukt Pral'nicola moussieri
(Olph-Gall.), is a resident in Algeria, but subject to
considerable internal migration according to season.
Thus in winter it becomes very rare in the north,
increasing in numbers as we go southwards, where,
according to Canon Tristram, it is found in every
garden and palm-grove, as well as in the thickets of
the dayats. In summer it comes up from the more
remote oases to breed, especially on the w^ooded
uplands of the Atlas. I noticed that it affected
rocky haunts as much as wooded ones.

328. The Stoxechat Pratincola ruhicola (Lin-
naeus), is a resident in Algeria, breeding sparingly in
the district of the Tell, and visiting the oases in
winter, when its numbers are largely increased by
migrants from Europe.

329. The WiiixcHAT Pratincola ruhetra (Lin-
mrus), is a winter visitor to Algeria, frequenting the
oases, but there can be little doubt that a small
number breed in the Tell, as I noticed it at Batna,
Lambessa, and Constantine, in May.

330. The Common Redstart Ruiicilla J)Ji(vnicurus
(Linnaeus), is a winter visitor to Algeria, but pro-

74; JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

bably a few remain to breed in the Atlas, as I met
with it there in May at an elevation of 4000 feet at
Oued Taga. Taczanowski states that it is rare in
the mountains.

331. The Black Redstart Rut'iciUa titlnjs
(Scopoli), is a resident in Algeria, most numerous
in winter. The birds that breed in the country
resort to the heights of the Atlas for the purpose.
I met with it in scattered pairs throughout the
Djebel Aures.

332. The Wheatear Saxicola cenanthe (Lin-
nccus), is a winter visitor to Algeria, but not,
according to Canon Tristram, going far to the
south. It is said that a few remain to breed at
high elevations in the Atlas.

2,'^'^- Seebohm's Chat Saxicola. seebo/inii, Dixon
(Frontispiece), is a resident in Algeria, but c'oubtless
subject to some local migration from the Atlas to
the oases. I discovered this fine species on a small
stony plain near Djebel Mahmel, at an elevation of
5,500 feet. It must be exceedingly local — as so
manv of the Wheatears are in Algeria — as I met
with it nowhere else in the country. (Conf. J /-is;
1882, p. 563.)

334. The Desert Wheatear Saxicola deser/i,
Temminck, is a resident in Algeria, and one ot the

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 75

most widely distributed of the genus in the Sahara
sub-region.

'^'^^. The Black-throatrd Wheatear Saxicula
stapazina Vieillot, is a resident in Algeria, but
increased in numbers in winter by migrants from
France and the Spanish Peninsula.

'^'^6. Tup: Black-eared Wheatear Saxicola
aurita, Temminck, is a resident in Algeria. It is
somewhat locally distributed south of the Atlas, and
I only obtained specimens at El Kantara.

337. Tristram's Chat Saxicola mccsta, Lichten-
stein, is a resident in Algeria. Taczanoswki met
with this species between Batna and El Kantara.

338. The Pied Chat Saxicola Iiigens, Lichten-
stein, is a resident in the southern desert re^^ions of
Algeria. I only met with this species at Biskra,
which is apparently its northern limit, and there it
was by no means common. (Conf. IHs, 1882, p.
562.)

339. The White-rumped Chat Saxicola leuco-
pyg^a, Brelim, is a resident in the deserts of Algeria.

340. 1'he Black Chat Saxicola leiicura (Gmelin),
is a resident in Algeria. I met with this species
north of Batna, also in the mountains to the west
of that town. It was also the commonest Chat
at El Kantara, where I found a barely finished

76 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

nest on the 9th of May. Its note is loud and
musical.

341. The Rock Thrush Monticola saxatilis (Lin-
naeus), is best known as a migrant in spring and
autumn, but a few remain to breed in the rocky
ranges of the Atlas. I met with it on Djebel
Mahmel in the Aures.

342. The Blue Rock Thrush Monticola cijanus
(Linnaeus), is more generally distributed than the
Rock Thrush, but very similar remarks apply as
to the preceding species. I met with it at high
elevations in the Aures.

343. The Ring Ouzel Merula torquata (Lin-
naeus), is a winter visitor to the northern portions
of Alo;eria. the district of the Tell.

344. The Blackbird JMeriila merula (Linnaeus),
is a resident in Algeria, most abundant in winter. I
met with it in all parts of the country, from the
coasts to the mountains, and southwards to the
oases of El Kantara and Biskra. I remarked that it
did not sing so freely nor so frequently as in more
northern lands.

345. The Fieldfare Turdiis pilaris (Linnaeus),
is a winter visitor to Algeria, but not in an}- great
abundance.

346. The Redwixg Turdus iliacus, Linncxus, is a

THE BIRDS OF ALGERIA. 77

winter visitor to Algeria, and, as might be expected,
from tlie more delicate constitution of the bird,
occurs there in greater numbers than the preceding
species.

347. The Song Thrush Turdus muskus, Lin-
naeus, is a winter visitor to Algeria, but I am con-
vinced that it breeds sparingly on the wooded slopes
of the Atlas. I met with it in the Djebel Aures, at
Lambessa, and in the cedar forests west of Batna.

348. The Missel Thrush Tiirdns I'iscironi.s;
Linncrus, is a winter visitor to Algeria, but a small
number breed at high elevations in the Atlas. Tac-
zanowski states that it is rare in the mountains.

349. The Dipper C'niclus albicoUis (Vieillot), is
a local resident in Algeria, confined to the mountain
streams. I beheve this Atlas race has been sep-
arated under the name of C. minor by Canon Tris-
tram, but I have not yet had the pleasure of com-
paring an Algerian specimen.

It will thus be seen that the list of Aloerian birds

O

is both a long and a varied one. As vet we possess
but meagre details of the distribution of most of
these species ; we know little or nothing of that
local migration which must take place on a very
large scale ; we are in ignorance of the nests and
eggs of many s[:ecies, whilst the various species

!78 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

of Larks, Chats, etc, are most imperfectly defined.
There can be no doubt that many new species
remain to be discovered, especially in the southern
deserts, where the avifauna begins to assume an
Ethiopian character, as well as in the mountains of
Tunis. It seems to the present waiter incredible
that so much requires doing in the ornithology of a
country so near to our own, and he trusts that this
short account of the Birds of Algeria may lead
others to study them. I shall be most happy to
receive any notes respecting the avifauna of Al-
geria, or to examine specimens of birds from the
country, for it is my intention to work out the
species more thoroughly, and possibly to jDublish a
handbook to them.

II.

REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES.

The almost universal existence of representative
species is one of the most remarkable facts elicited
by the scientific study of ornithology. The im-
j)ortant bearing of this curious phenomenon on the
evolution and origin of species is palpable to every
student of birds. These representative species may
be roughly divided into two very distinct classes.
In the first place, they consist of distinct species,
obviously very closely allied to each other, and to a
})arent species ; and in the second place, of mere
forms or races of variable degrees of distinctness,
yet only imperfectly segregated from a parent form.
As a general rule, the wider and more extensive the
geographical breeding area of a species is, the more
that species has become divided into representative
races or species, which owe their segregation to the
different aspects of climate and the varying con-
ditions of life inevitably correlated with an extensive
area of dispersal. It is also a very remarkable fact,

8o JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

that the most nearly alhed races and species are very
often inhabitants of the most distant areas, especially
in such cases where climatal and geographical con-
ditions in the two extreme points of distribution are
almost identical, with a great diversity of such
conditions prevailing in the intermediate area. The
nearest ally of the Common Jay [Garrulus glan-
darius) is a resident in the south island of Japan
[G.Japonicu.s) ; whilst in the intermediate portions
of Asia and in Northern Africa the Jays allied to
the British species present much greater diversity
in their distinguishing characters. The Waxwing
{Ampelis garrulus) is more distantly related to the
Waxwing of Japan (^:/. pJucnicoptera) than it is to
the American Cedar Bird [A. cedrorum). The
Pied Wagtail {Motacilla aiha ijarrellii) of Western
Europe finds its nearest relation in the M. leucop.sis
of Eastern Asia, although it is so closely allied to
the White Wagtail (M. alba), that instances of its
interbreeding with that form have been recorded.
The Skylark [Alauda aruensi.s) of Europe is
almost identical with the Lark of Japan (A. j'apon-
ica), whilst the Skylark from Siberia {A. dulcivox),
is characterized by much more pronounced differ-
ences. The Common Sandpiper [Totauus hijpo-
leucuS) is most closely allied to the Spotted Sand-

REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES. 8r

j:)iper [T. macularius) of N. America, so closely
resembling it in winter plumage that no character
has yet been discovered by which it may be dis-
tinguished. Many other instances might be given
to illustrate this very interesting fact.

If we look through the list of British birds
alone, we shall find that very few of them are
without representative forms or species in various
other parts of the world, and that in a very con-
siderable number these allies are exceptionally
numerous. In confirmation of the rule that the
wider the area of dispersal the more variable the
species, w^e may very aptly instance the Peregrine
Falcon {Falcn peregriwis). This bird may be
described as practically cosmopolitan, and breeds
from the Arctic regions southwards to the tropics
and the south temperate zones as far as Patagonia,
South Africa, and Australia. It may be very
easily imagined that the Peregrine has been and
continues to be subject to great differences of
climate and to many varied conditions of life
throughout such a vast area. The result has
been the establishment of many more or less
distinct representative forms or races, which pre-
serve a strong general resemblance to the typical
or parent species, whilst presenting minor differ-

G

82 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

ences in size and colouration. In South Africa the
representative race is Falco minor ; in North-west
India, F. atriceps ; in South India, F. peregrinator ;
in Australia, F. melanogeiiys ; in Patagonia and
Chili, F. cassini ; and in North-west America the
very distinct dark race, F. peali. These may be
mentioned as the most distinct forms of the
Peregrine, but several others have been recognized
by naturalists. In addition to these facts it is also
worthy of remark, that the Peregrine appears to
interbreed with F. l-arl-arus, in the basin of the
Mediterranean, and the offspring have been de-
scribed as F. punicus^ although the late Mr. Gurney,
the highest authority on the Raptores, assured me
that the latter form was really a sub-species of
F. minor. The Kestrel [Falco tinnunculus), the
Buzzard [Biiteo vulgaris), and the Hen Harrier
{Circus cyaneus), w'lih their respective races, present
very similar facts.

We might also, did space permit, give numerous
instances from the Passeres, from the Picarian birds,
from the Pigeons, the Game Birds, the Waders, the
Gulls, and the Ducks, in all of which great natural
groups we have wide-ranging species, which have
become segregated into various sub-species or
representative races. The various slight differences

REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES. 83

of colour and even of size which characterize many
of these races are primarily due to the influences
of climate. It is absolutely impossible to explain
or account for them by natural selection. The
influence of climate on the resident birds of the
Pahparctic region alone is perfectly astonishing.
In this vast area, which stretches longitudinally
from the British Islands to Japan, and latitudinally
from the Sahara, Persia, the Himalayas, and China,
to the Arctic regions, almost every modification
of climate may be found — temperate, arctic, and
tropical ; pluvial and dry. Where each description
of climate reaches its maximum, there we find the
most pronounced climatal races, and this quite
irrespective of latitude. Thus we find in many
cases the most pronounced Arctic forms in Kamt-
schatka, a country within the same parallels cf
latitude as the British Islands, but from various
physical causes one of the coldest regions in the
world. Birds from Siberia, v.here the climate is
uniformly dry, are paler than birds from Western
Europe, where the temperature is more humid ;
individuals from the north of Africa vary consider-
ably from those that inhabit the wet areas of the
Himalayas. Thus in the Marsh Titmc use {Parus
pa/usiris), and its various forms, we find that in

84 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

warm pluvial regions the brown in the plumage is
intensified ; in the dry and sandy areas it is very
perceptibly lighter; in the Arctic regions of Siberia
it is of variable degrees of paleness, in obedience
to intensity of climate; whilst in Kamtschatka it
becomes bleached into almost white. All these
various forms of Marsh Titmouse insensibly inter-
grade, probably as much in obedience to the
gradual variation of climate as to the interbreed-
ing of individuals. The Hazel Grouse {Tetrao
I'oua.sia), although not a British species, furnishes
such a remarkable instance of colour variation
correlated with climate, that I cannot resist de-
scribing it. The range of this Grouse is a very
extensive one, reaching from Western Europe to
the Pacific coasts of Asia and to Japan. The
individuals of this species that dwell in the dry
Arctic climate of the northern districts are ex-
ceptionally gray in colour, whilst those that inhabit
the mountains of South Europe, the Amoor valley,
and Japan (pluvial climates), are notable for their
rufous tints. In the Arctic climate of the north we
find the brown has become bleached into gray,
whilst the greater rainfall and warmth of the south
have intensified it into chestnut.

The modifying influences of climate are also very

REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES. 85

forcibly illustrated by certain species and races of
Palaearctic Owls. One very remarkable instance is
furnished by the Tawny Owl {^Strix aluco). Its
range extends throughout the southern portion of
the Palasarctic region, from Scandinavia and North
Africa to China. Here again we find almost pre-
cisely the same modification of colour in obedience
to climate as in the Grouse, but in this case the
variation depends to a great extent on the rainfall — •
the gray examples from areas where the climate is
dry, the rich brown examples from areas of ex-
cessive moisture, and the intermediate examples
from regions of moderate climate. The Short-
eared Owl [Strix brachyotus), another wide-ranging
species subject to great diff'erence of climate,
presents us with very similar facts.

It is surprising that the most prominent sup-
porters of Darwin's theory of Natural Selection
should attempt to account for these differences in
colour presented by so many representative forms
by suggesting that they are due to protective
causes. It would be impossible to show how a
lighter or a darker shade of brown, so finely
gradated as to merge insensibly from one extreme
to another in a sufiiciently large series of indi-
viduals, is of the slightest use to the form or race

86 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

possessing it, or that it could have been acquired
by any selective process. It would, however, be
wrong to deny that many species derive inestimable
benefit from the colour of their plumage, either
by protecting them from enemies, or by rendering
them less likely to be seen by their victims whilst
in pursuit of their prey. We know how effective
the brown plumage of the desert bird is in con-
cealing that species amongst the sand and stones,
or how wonderfully protective is the white dress of
the Ptarmigan amidst the snow on the mountain
tops; but I maintain that we cannot reconcile this
particular change of colour, in its initial stages, with
any selective process, and must attribute it to the
fact of those birds dwelling in a climate which has
so modified their dress. As soon as the influence
of climate began to eflfect a change of colour in
any very specialized manner, and as soon as the
colour of the plumage became pronounced enough
to be very conspicuous, we can understand how
Natural Selection might then exert influence by
eliminating all individuals that did not in some
special way avail themselves of some method of
concealment. Species are gifted with an astonish-
ing amount of power for adapting themselves to
surrounding circumstances and to changing con-

REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES. 87

ditions of life ; so that we cannot doubt that the
varied colours resulting from the influence of
climate in the first place have been made the best
possible use of, and even intensified and elaborated
by the stimulating forces of selection. It must,
however, be clearly understood that such climatic
variation has only been so seized upon by Natural
Selection when it has come to be of service to
the species, and that in a very great number of
cases such variation is at present not of the slightest
service, and possibly may never be so. This colour
modification by climate removes some of the most
serious difficulties and objections to the theory of
Protective Resemblance. It disposes of the grave
difficulty of demonstrating how a species or race
could derive sufficient benefit in the struggle for
life from a scarcely perceptible difference in the
shade or tint of its plumage, to bring such differ-
ence within the scope of Natural Selection. Further,
it seems to me that other incipient modifications
(not of colour only) may arise in similar w^ays
from a variety of causes entirely unconnected with
the vital conditions of existence, and not be in-
fluenced in any way by selection until they have
become sufficiently pronounced and important to
be of use.

88 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

It is a matter for surprise that so many eminent
ornithologists either decline to recognize the exist-
ence or fail to grasp the importance of these
various races. Evolutionists should persist in
their demand for the full and unqualified recogni-
tion of these sub-specific forms, for they illustrate
most vividly the segregating forces that are slowly
and surely working through the era of present
time. Evolution implies the existence of im-
perfectly segregated forms, or forms and races still
undergoing a disintegrating process. Ornitho-
logists cannot ignore them. It behoves, therefore,
every student of ornithology to recognize these
various races, sub-species, local forms, or by
whatever else we may designate them, to the
best of his ability and judgment, by a uniform
system of trinomial nomenclature. Rather let
our literature be burdened with endless trinomials,
than suffer the great teachings of nature to be
ignored.

We now come to consider another class of
representatives, namely, species which are obviously
very closely allied, yet perfectly distinct, and in-
habiting separate areas. Some of the most inter-
esting instances are those of species inhabiting the
Palaearctic and Nearctic regions respectively. How

REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES. 89

many of our British birds, for example, are repre-
sented in the New World by totally distinct yet
very closely allied species ? To mention only a
few, we have the American Goshawk {A.stur atri-
capillus), distinguished by its dark head and freckled
under-parts ; the American Firecrest {Regulus
satrapa), distinguished by its remarkably small bill
and grayish-white lores; the Carolina Crake [Crex
Carolina), distinguished by its black forehead, lores,
chin and throat ; the American Bald Coot (Fniica
americana), distinguished by the large amount of
white on the under tail coverts; Wilson's Phalarope
{Pkalaropus luilsoni), distinguished by its long
slender bill ; the American Bar - tailed Godwit
[Limosa Jedoa), distinguished by its chestnut
axillaries and under wing coverts ; and lastly, the
American Woodcock [Scolopax minor), distinguished
by its attenuated first three primaries and nearly
uniform buff under-parts. We might give many
other instances, but we will now select a few from
other parts of the world. Our well-known Song-
Thrush is represented in China by Tiirdus auritn\,
distinguished by its more rounded wings (a result
of non-migratory habits), darker tints and greater
development of spots on the breast. The Black-
bird is represented in the same country by Meru/a

90 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

mcnuhtr'nia, a species which is never so pure a black
as our own. Our Robin is replaced in Caucasia
by Erithnciis lujrcaims, which is distinguished by
its chestnut upper tail coverts ; whilst the British
Nightingale is replaced in South Sweden, Russia,
and Western Asia by Erithaciis philomela, and in
Turkestan and Caucasia by E. golzii, both of
which differ in important and constant characters.
In Algeria our Wheatear is represented by the
closely allied Saxicnla seebokmi, a species specially
remarkable for its black throat.

And so w^e might proceed right through the list
of British species, giving instance after instance where
our native birds are replaced or represented by per-
fectly distinct yet closely allied forms. The most
important distinction between these representative
forms or sub-species, and those entitled to full
specific rank, appears to be that the latter have been
isolated more completely, or for a longer time, from
the typical species than the latter, and have conse-
quently become differentiated. We find that in
the case of mere forms or races, interbreeding with
the typical forms is taking place, and thus prevent-
ing the completion of the segregation ; and so soon
as this interbreeding is checked by the more
effectual isolation of the form and its parent species,

RErRESENTATIVE SPECIES. 91

the rei)resentative race will advance more or less
quickly to the higher dignity of a representative
species. The difference between form and species
is only one of degree.

There is one more fact which bears very closely
on the present subject to which some short allusion
must be made, and that is the interesting pheno-
menon of discontinuous areas of distribution. So
far as is known, a broken area of dispersal is ex-
cessively rare; for, as we have already seen, dis-
continuity by the isolation of individuals almost
invariably leads to a divergence of character. It
is therefore most curious to find the members of
a species separated into two or more distinct
colonies by vast distances continue to preserve their
homogeneity absolutely unchanged. One of the
best instances known to the present writer is that
of the Fork-tailed Petrel {Procellaria leachi). This
species breeds on various parts of the coasts of the
North Atlantic, from Nova Scotia in the west to the
British Islands in the east. It also breeds along
the shores of the North Pacific from California to
the Aleutian and Kurile Islands and Japan. It will
thus be seen that the entire continent of Asia on
the one hand and of America on the other separates
the two colonies bv a vast land mass which we

92 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

may safely conclude is an impassable barrier to
such an oceanic species.

Several other instances may be given from
amongst the birds of prey and the Owls. Thus
Machceramplms anderssoni is an inhabitant of the
west coast of Africa, say from the equator to
Damara Land ; it is also found in Madagascar,
but not in the intervening country so far as is
known. The Fish Owl, Ketupa JIavipes, in-
habits the coast districts of China and Northern
India. Another instance is furnished by Asio
capensis, which is found in Morocco, and then
again in South Africa; whilst lastly, Sijnuum new-
areiue is, I believe, solely confined to Northern
India {S. imlranee is a small race confined to
Southern India), and strangely enough to the
island of Formosa, a locality nearly two thousand
miles away.

Amongst the Ducks we have as one instance the
remarkable distribution of Dendrocygna fulva, a
bird which inhabits Tropical America from Mexico
to Buenos Ayres, and is found in Madagascar and
India. This to my mind is also another proof of
Antarctic dispersal, and a more continuous land
area between S. Africa and India during remote
ages.

REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES. 93

Tiicre are three explanations which might be
oft'erecl. First, we could assume that in all species
whose areas are discontinuous variation may have
reached its limits, but this to my mind seems
utterly opposed to ail the teachings of nature.
Secondly, the fact that the individuals in each
special locality or area remain homogeneous may
be due to their having not been isolated sufficient
time for any divergence of character to arise. It
is possible that the area of distribution has becom.e
discontinuous within recent time, and that provided
the same conditions prevail for a long period
variation will eventually assert itself, and end in
j)artial or complete segregation. Thirdly, these
curious cases are always open to the objection that
the species may ultimately be discovered in the
intervening area, although in many cases this con-
tingency is certainly a remote, if not an impossible
one.

III.
REMARKS ON THE SONG AND NOTES OF BIRDS.

The songs and call-notes of birds have ever had
a fascinating interest for me ; the beauty of the
former and the variety of the latter are beyond all
powers of written expression or description. Of
all the sounds uttered by living creatures, the songs
of birds are incomparably the sweetest; in many
ways the various call-notes, as I hope ultimately
to show, are of great utility. The pleasure derived
from listening to the sweet music of our native
birds is indeed no small one ; but when we come
to study the philosophy of songs and call-notes,
to ponder over the various questions they suggest,
the entire subject rises to a higher and even still
more fascinating degree of importance. In the
present short essay I do not propose to enter very
deeply into the strictly philosophical portion of the
subject, but rather to dwell on certain well-marked
characteristics of the songs of British birds which
have received but little attention from ornitholo-

THE SONG AND NOTES OF BIRDS. 95

gists, and to allude to one or two points of interest
which have been most unaccountably overlooked.

A word as to the origin of Song. I am not a con-
vert to the theory that music or the instinct of song
in nature is but the outward expression of the feel-
ings of exuberant internal joy, believing firmly as I
do in the universal prevalence of Utilitarian Cause.
The more I study the intricate and difficult subject,
the more I am convinced that Song originated in
Sexual Rivalry, developed and perfected, fostered
and increased by that stronger and more assertive
vitality which almost without exception is so
characteristic of all male birds, including those with
any pretensions to musical skill. I am, however,
quite prepared to admit that these musical acquire-
ments are employed also to express joy, and are
even widely indulged in as a pastime or pleasurable
diversion ; many species singing the year through-
out, save in the moulting season, even when sexual
rivalry is dormant. It is a rule ivithout exception,
that all birds sing their best when inspired by the
passion of Love, and that in no known songster
does this music show the faintest decline in power
at the season when amorous instincts are pre-
dominant. It has been said that in those migrants
where the males precede the females (and the

96 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

custom is almost universal, including all migrators-
birds of song), the former commence their music
before the arrival of the latter. So far as the
British Islands are concerned, the statement is en-
tirely erroneous, and the songsters are silent until
called into voice by the sexual rivalry excited by
the appearance of the females. For twenty-five-
years I have studied bird-life in these islands with
unwearying care and incessant application, so that
my observations may fairly claim to possess some
small amount of weight and importance, and my
invariable experience is that Song each season is
resumed at the commencement of sexual rivalry,
and with one or two exceptions (which it is doubt-
ful if they are exceptions at all, as T hope presently
to show) dies completely aw^ay with the decline of
that sexual stimulus.

To illustrate this I will be content with giving
one or two of the most familiar instances. We
will take our first series of examples from birds
that are resident in the British Islands. One
of our earliest birds to regain its song in spring
is the Chaffinch. In some districts it may
be heard in small numbers durins; the last ten
days of January, as for instance in Devonshire,
but further north, in Yorkshire, it is about a fort-

THE SONG AND NOTES OF BIRDS. 97

night later. Another early songster is the Yellow
Bunting-, which in suitable districts commences in
February ; a third is the Song Thrush, which
during mild winters in our southern counties may
be heard irregularly through the winter, becoming
more persistent in January and February. Now
the music of these three species is invariably com-
menced at the pairing season, and is the result
of sexual rivalry. All three birds pair weeks before
they commence nest-building; until sexual instincts
prompt them into voice all are strictly silent.
They continue in song throughout the spring and
summer, the Chaffinch and Song Thrush ceasing
during the first half of July, and the Yellow
Bunting becoming mute during the first iortnight
of August, when the breeding season is practically
over, and the autumn moult commences. Occa-
sionally a Chaffinch or a Yellow Bunting may be
heard in September and October; but I am in-
clined to believe these individuals are from one
cause or another still breeding. I should also
point out the significant fact that these birds rear
several broods in the course of the season, which
in itself is a strong stimulus to the prolongation
of song.

Our second series of examples shall be taken

H

53 JOTTIXGS ABOUT BIRDS.

from such species as are regular migrants. First I
will instance tlie Cuckoo, a bird that reaches our
islands in April, the males arriving a few days before
the females, and the former are invariably silent
until stimulated into voice by the appearance of the
latter. The Cuckoo has a remarkably short breed-
ing season, and becomes iinally silent during the
first week or ten days of July, although there is a
perceptible decrease in its music numerically during
June. The sexual passions in this species are
strongest during the last few days of April and
throughout ^lay ; this is the period therefore of its
linest song. As a second instance I may very
ap])ropriately mention the Blackcap W arbler. In
this species the sexes also migrate singly, the males
arriving two or three days before the females. In
every case the newly-arrived males are mute, and
continue mute, so far as song is concerned, until
the females appear, and their arrival is the signal
for an outburst of melody which is perfectly
astonishing. Never does the Blackcap sing sweeter,
more continuously, or with more vital energy,
than during the iirst few weeks of its sojourn in
our islands. As this species rears but one brood in
the season, the song is not prolonged beyond the
first few days of July, and I strongly suspect that

THE SONG AND NOTES OF BIRDS. 99

the latest singers are birds whose first nests have
been destroyed and tlieir nu[)tial season abnormally
prolonged. As a third instance, I will select the
" Reed Warbler. This little bird reaches its summer
haunts in the British Islands towards the end of
April or in the beginning of May; and here again
the males are the earliest travellers, preceding the
females by a few days. Not a sign of song is heard
until the hens do arrive, and then the haunts of
this Warbler resound with music. In no species,
perhaps, is sexual jealousy more readily expressed
in song than in the Reed Warbler. The sight of a
rival, or the int.rusion of one cock in the particular
liaunt of another, is the signal for the commence-
ment of a deiiant song, and this fact is most
evident during the pairing and laying season.
Indeed the male often resents human intrusion
in a similar manner, commencing to sing the
moment his reedy home is invaded by man. All
throug-h the love season the Reed Warbler sings
most persistently, but the song is not very long
continued, only one brood is reared, and the
migration south is an early one. I am loth also
to pass over the ^\ illow Wren without a few
words. Here again the sexes travel by themselves,
and the males arrive the first. But not a song

loo JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

escapes them until love rivalry begins, and silently
they may be watched for days skipping about the
branches apparently with no sexual instincts what-
ever. How wonderful is the change, though, as
soon as the hens arrive. A burst of passionate song
greets their appearance, music indescribably beautiful,
which continues from the middle of April until the
end of July. The same remarks apply exactly to
the ChifFchaff and the Wood Wren.

The third series of examples shall be taken from
birds that are resident in our islands, and whose
song is more or less perennial. These perennial
songs might naturally be thought, to be fatal to
our views concerning the universality of love-
inspired music. But when we come to study the
habits of the species uttering them, we shall find
that there is nothing abnormal about them. The
three most remarkable perennial songsters are the
Robin, the Wren, and the Hedge Accentor. All
these birds regain their voice after the autumn
moult is over, and their song is particularly charming
in the autumn, a season which is not remarkable for
nest-building. The explanation is a simple one.
From what I have observed during a period of
many years, and in widely different localities, I can
state with confidence that these birds j)air in the

THE SONG AND NOTES OF BIRDS. lor

autumn, or, what is more correct, the young birds,
and a very hirgc percentage of these autumn and
winter singers is comjjosed of individuals reared
during the ])revious spring and summer. Thus,
then, we find that the autumn song of birds is
inspired by sexual passion after all. The old birds
commence to sing later in the season, and continue
the concert through the winter until the breeding
season, wdiich often commences in favourable years
as early as the beginning of February. Not only so,
but as the season of reproduction approaches, the
music becomes more excited, more prolonged, louder
and perceptibly more energetic, as though the
singers were urged to greater effort by the quicken-
ing sexual instincts within them.

It has been suggested, in a very recent w^ork on
Natural History, that certain birds of high musical
powers at other times gradually lose their song or
suffer it greatly to deteriorate during the breeding
season, and our own Robin is given as an instance.
I have already explained the meaning of this, but I
should like to give another and perhaps still more
striking instance of a species losing its song in the
nesting season. This is the Missel-Thrush, a bird
that sings rapturously during the late autumn and
winter months, but drops his lay entirely by the

102 JOTTIXGS ABOUT BIRDS.

third week in April, wlien most other species are
overflowing with song. Now the Missel-Thrush
begins to pair in the autumn or winter, and sexual
instincts inspire the song, these Thrushes congregat-
ing for a short period in the former season, when
most of the birds begin to pair. It may therefore
be laid down as a universal rule, that birds that sing
in autumn and winter pair in those seasons. The
Hedge Accentor's song is particularly charming
about the period of the winter solstice ; the birds
pair at this date. Sexual rivalry and song are
therefore still seen to be inseparable. Birds, how-
ever, do not all begin to nest at the same time, so
that song is incessant and prolonged over the
entire period covered by the nesting of each par-
ticular species. It will also be remarked that single
brooded birds are the first to become mute, whilst
those that rear two or even a succession of broods
remain in voice until their season of reproduction is
over. The observant naturalist will also find that
the songs of birds lose much of their power and
persistency after the laying season is over and the
more acute stages of sexual strife are passed. The
period of song is also a period of battle and great
irritation ; males sing at each other, chase each
other, fight fiercely, and often in their excitement

THE SONG AND NOTES OF BIRDS. 103

warble in tlic air, and become for the moment
utterly oblivious to their own safety — actions which
are seldom observed after the sexual passions have
become less fierce and mating is over. I have
watched two rival male Chaffinches singing in
concert whilst perched in separate trees ; after a
little time spent in this musical contest one has
flown into the tree containing its rival ; burst after
burst of song has been uttered, and finally the two
birds have fiown at each other in fury, and the
stronger male has compelled the weaker to beat a
retreat — all this happening whilst a female has sat
quietly looking on. I have seen Robins get so
excited whilst sinoino- that thev have been unable
to finish their notes, and the song has ended in
perfect screams of defiance. In many cases, especi-
ally with this species, such contests lead to a battle
in which not unfrequently one of the combatants
is killed outright or very severely injured. The
persistency with which birds will continue to sing
when inspired by love is very remarkable. This
very winter I noticed a Missel-Thrush perched in
one spot for three hours, singing all the time;
Sedge Warblers, for instance, seem to sing all the
louder and more defiantly if they are irritated. Is ir

I04 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

not therefore reasonably clear that the song of birds
originated in sexual rivalry ? But a few instances
have been eiven to illustrate and confirm the views
I have exjDressed, but many others could have been
named, and I am not aware of one valid exception
which could have been quoted in opposition to
them.

It scarcely comes within the scope of the present
chapter to allude to the various actions of birds
which in so many instances accompany song. In
some species the habit of soaring largely predomin-
ates ; witness the song flights of the Pipits, and the
aerial wanderings of the Lark. Other species stand
motionless to warble their song ; others sing whilst
hopping up and down amongst the cover. To a
great extent the character of the song is influenced
by the action or w^ant of action of the bird pro-
ducing it. The music of birds that sing as they
fly is more uneven than in those species that warble
whilst at rest, as though the melody were
correlated with the motion. In some species song
is invariably accompanied by action of the wings,
or shaking of the plumage. This is especially
remarkable in the Common Starling, and seems to
me still further to confirm the hypothesis that song

THE SONG AND NOTES OF BIRDS. 105

and sexual instincts are inseparable, this display by
the male accompanying the vocal powers in a very
striking manner.

It now becomes necessary to glance at another
branch of this interesting subject, namely, the
variation existing in the song of individuals of the
same species. Variation in the songs of birds is
almost as palpable as the variation which is so
characteristic of bodily structures, of habits, and
even of instincts. The subject has received but
little attention from naturalists, probably from lack
of a musical training or a defective ear, I feel that
I have missed much through my lack of musical
knowledge, but trust that what little I have been
able to gather bearing on the question may serve
as an incentive to more elaborate efforts amongst
observers whose musical training better iits them
for the task. One very remarkable instance of
variation ot note came under my observation whilst
studying the birds of Skye. I found that the
Chaffinches which frequented the isolated wooded
district of Tallisker had c|uite a different note from
the normal one of this species. Another interest-
ing instance is recorded by Lord Lilford in his verv
instructive work. Notes on the Birds of North -
amptoiishire. lie writes, "We had for some years

io5 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

in the flower-garden at Lilford a male Redbreast
which had somewhere picked up a song entirely
unlike his natural sweet but melancholy strain,
which he seemed to have entirely lost. I am no
musician, and cannot attempt to describe this ac-
quisition ; it was loud, short, but not very sweet,
and had I not repeatedly seen the bird in the act
of giving utterance to it, I should, I think, have
attributed it to some escaped foreign Finch or
other hard-billed bird." INIany times have I heard
various well-known and common birds utter
snatches of song totally different from their usual
melody, and even more frequently have I remarked
variations in their notes, which have never been
repeated in my hearing. In Algeria I was especi-
ally impressed by the remarkable difference between
the notes of individuals of various species there and
in England. Captain S. G. Reid has remarked,
that the Chiffchaffs which are resident in the
Canary Islands have acquired a much longer and
more desultory song. It may therefore be inferred
that there is much less stability in song than is
very generally supposed. To my mind Variation
seems to imply Selection, or at least the strong
possibility of it, and that the secondary sexual
character of song may at least have been en-

THE SONG AND NOTES OE BIRDS. 107

couraged and partial! v developed in certain di-
rections by the exercise of the female bird's
choice or partiality.

The entire subject is a very enticing one, and one
that I feel convinced would well repay investigation.
A careful comparison of the song of individuals of
the same species — especially such as are widely
distributed — in different areas would probably lead
to important results. Another very significant fact
is the great difference in the songs of birds very
closely allied, as, for instance, between the Willow
Wren and the Chiffchaff, the Marsh Warbler and
the Reed Warbler, and many others. It would
appear that song alone can become a powerful aid
to the modification of species. As I remarked
in my Evolution without Natural Selection — " If
certain females are charmed by any peculiarities of
plumage or colour in certain males, I can see no
reason why the same great law should not apply to
vocal sounds as well. If certain females showed
preference for certain males possessing a peculiar
variation of song, it is easy to conceive how in time
slight structural variations which those individuals
might present could be preserved, and in time
become constant characters through the absence of
intercrossing, just as in those species which may

ic8 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

have beco.iie modified through certaui females
showing preference for certain males which dis-
played any variation of colour that might charm or
attract them."

The standard of perfection or excellence in the
songs of birds is by no means a uniform or con-
stant one. This is especially remarkable at the
period when a species resumes its voice after a
long interval of silence, and in the maiden efforts
of young individuals. Any moderately observant
person may remark innumerable instances of this
pecuharity in every singing species. Looking
through my note-books, I find many observations
recorded, all showing that when the song is regained
it is frequently far from perfect. For days the
singers seem unable to utter the song complete.
In the case of the Chaffinch and the Yellow Bunting,
for instance, I have repeatedly remarked that the
final notes of the song have been omitted to the
extent of ninety per cent.! In many cases for a few
days nothing but a series of disconnected twitterings
have been uttered by some species, as though the
birds were trying to recall their long-lost song. I
have remarked the same thing in a Mule Canary
after his moult. Many young birds are very in-
different songsters, the art having apparently to be

THE SONG AND NOTES OF BIRDS. 109

learnt with considerable effort. Especially is this
apparent in the case of young Robins, which some-
times begin to sing before they have quite lost tiie
spotted dress of their youth. Some fully adult
individuals of probably every species are much finer
songsters than others, the music apparently im-
proving witli the age ot tlie bird uj) to a certain
period. I might here remark, that in some few
authenticated cases the female has been known to
acquire musical powers of high merit ; whilst in
most others the power of song is confined to a
few low twittering notes — which probably represent
what was once the best performance of the male
at an earlier period in the history of the
species, the crude beginning of a song which he
has eventually developed into music of bewitching
sweetness.

The various call-notes of birds also form a subject
of considerable interest. The variety and the very
remarkable utility of these notes are readily apparent
to every student of living birds. After a lifetime
spent in the task of unravelling and mastering the
mysteries of avian speech, I confess my utter ignor-
ance of the meaning of an immense and varied
assortment of the cries of birds. Some notes are
uttered for very obvious reasons, and it is to a

no JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

selection of these that my remarks will be prin-
cipally confined. Perhaps the most interesting
sounds uttered by birds are those which may be
aptly classed as warning notes — cries that are
intended to inspire an enemy with terror, and in-
variably sounded by weak and defenceless species.
One of the most familiar instances occurring to me
is the snake-like hissing produced by various species
of Titmice and the Wryneck upon being disturbed
in their nests. These birds breed in holes, are
defenceless creatures, and exposed to an increased
disadvantage by being confined in a cavity from
which there is no escape. The warning hiss, there-
fore, must often save them or their eggs from the
attacks of mice or other predaceous creatures, which
have an instinctive dread of snakes. Another
instance is furnished bv tlie Sons; Thrush and the
Missel-Thrush. The former species is by no
means a pugnacious bird, but when its young are
threatened it flies to and fro, uttering a harsh,
grating cry, which is apt to mislead an enemy and
inspire it with fear. The Missel-Thrush is, how-
ever, a pugnacious species, able to drive off any
small enemv, but there can be no doubt that its
exceedingly rasping notes are uttered to increase
the sense of dread, and render the bird more

THE SONG AXD NOTES OF BIRDS. in

imposing and powerful than it really is. Many
other defenceless birds utter loud harsh screams
and cries when their eggs or young are menaced,
tor precisely similar reasons.

Then we have to consider another very distinct
class of notes, namely, the various cries uttered by
birds during migration, which serve the vitally
important purpose of keeping the members of a
liock together, and of crying the route to the less
experienced travellers. Another class of notes, and
which must be placed in quite a ditferent category,
is that which includes the many varied sounds
which serve as a means of recognition, not only
between the sexes, but amongst all the individuals
of a species. The more difficult this recognition
is, owing to the habits of various species, the more
startling, striking, or sonorous do the notes become.
Thus nocturnal birds almost invariably utter excep-
tionally loud and piercing or very peculiar notes,
which undoubtedly serve the useful purpose of
indicating the whereabouts of these birds to their
mates or to other individuals of the same species.
Witness the loud cries of the Owls, the shrill notes
of various Plovers and Waders, the harsh quack of
the Ducks, the screams of the Divers, the twanging
sounds of the Waterhen, the booming of the

112 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

Bittern, and the signals of the Goatsucker. Again,
we find those birds that haunt dense thickets and
other close vegetation utter very clear and metallic
call-notes. We may mention the sharp note of the
Blackcap or the Whitethroat, resembling the striking
of two pebbles together, which instantly conveys
the bird's whereabouts to its mate or companions,
when the keenest powers of vision would fail to do
so. Nor must we fail to mention the various
distinct notes which are peculiar to one sex alone,
usually the male, which serve to indicate his presence
to the female ; the special cries of triumph which so
often celebrate the victory over a rival ; or the very
distinct note which conveys the approach of danger
to the gathered iiock, and wiiich is often well under-
stood by many stranger species, which profit by
the warning cry. What I wish to impress upon
the reader is the fact, the very obvious fact, that
all these varied notes have been undoubtedly pro-
duced, intensified, and differentiated through the
subde action of natural selection ; they are beneficial
acquirements, in some cases of absolutely vital im-
portance to a species. That they have also suffered
much modification by the isolation of individual
birds I am also bound to believe, although the data
bearing on this part of the question is so utterly

THE SONG AND NOTES OF BIRDS. 113

meagre that no general deductions can yet be made
from them. Perhaps these few remarks, scattered
like a handful of seed by the wayside, may succeed
in bearing some fruit by inducing students to pay
more attention to the subject than has hitherto
been the case.

IV.
THE CUCKOO AND HIS KINDRED.

The Common Cuckoo {Cuculus canorus) of our
English woods and fields is the typical species of a
group of birds which possess an exceptional interest
for the ornithologist. The birds contained in the
genus Cuculus of Linnaeus number some thirty
five or forty species, and form an important group
in the well-defined family CucuLm.^. Naturalists
are still much divided in their opinions concerning
the affinities of the Cuckoo, but most authorities
agree that the MusophagiD/E (or Plantain-eaters), a
group of African birds, are their nearest surviving
relations. With respect to their more distant
affinities systematists are far less unanimous. By
some they are associated with the Woodpeckers,
Rollers, Kingfishers, and other Picarian groups : by
others with certain of the Game Birds and with the
Rails. They have recently been associated with the
Passeres in company with the Pigeons. That they
are bv no means distantlv related to the Galliformes

THE CUCKOO AND HIS KINDRED. 115

seems probable, although similar conditions of lite
may account in some measure for a similarity in
external appearance between some of tlie Ground
Cuckoos and certain Game Birds. The number of
species and sub-species in the family Cuculid.^ is
doubtless little short of two hundred ; and these are
distributed pretty generally over the great land-
regions of the globe with the exception of the Polar
areas. The great diversity of their appearance is
most remarkable, some species closely resembling
certain Game Birds in colouration ; others are
decked in the most brilliant hues, often of a lovely
bronze or metallic character. The range in size is
little less remarkable. The one constant external
character is the zygodactyle foot (two toes in front,
two behind, like that of a Woodpecker) ; it is not
known, however, whether any of the Cuckoos are
climbers, certainly so far as the typical Cuckoos are
concerned the feet are never used for such a pur-
pose. It seems probable that the peculiar form of
the Cuckoo's foot is either an inheritance from a
common ancestor, or, like so many other peculiari-
ties of structure, continues to be retained after its
service for some special function has ceased. The
serrated claw of the Goatsucker and the Heron mav
be similarly explained. The general shape of the

ii6 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

bill is also very uniform throughout the Cuckoo
family, and appears to indicate little divergence of
habit amongst the species in the manner of obtaining
food.

So far as the group of birds is concerned of
which the British Cuckoo is typical, the colours of
the plumage are neither very conspicuous nor very
gorgeous, but the variation between the young and
adult stages is both very marked and complicated.
In the adults grays of various shades characterize
the upper parts ; on the under parts white pre-
dominates. The young are more strikingly coloured,
rich brown, buff, and chestnut predominating.
These Cuckoos are remarkable for their long and
slightly rounded wings, long graduated tail, and
short tarsi, which render their movements on the
ground laboured and awkward. The difference of
colour between the sexes when adult is never very
pronounced, and is usually slight. The species in
the genus Cuculus are confined entirely to the Old
World, where they are practically met with in every
portion with the exception of the Arctic regions.
Our common Cuckoo is the only species that visits
Europe. With the exception of Cuculus canorus,
the economy of these Cuckoos is but little known.
Migratory habits largely preponderate ; indeed these

THE CUCKOO AND HIS KINDRED. 117

birds are popularly associated almost as closely with
seasonal movement as the Swallows. For the most
part the haunts of the Cuckoos are arboreal ones,
and their food is almost entirely of an insectivorous
character. None of the Cuckoos possess any
musical powers, their notes being deep-toned and
resonant, but some are much more discordant than
others. The Cuckoos are comparatively weak and
defenceless birds, and are a remarkably good instance
of Mimicry in nature — of one species copying
another in appearance for the sake of enjoying
immunity from enemies! The Cuckoos {Cuculus)
have cleverly imitated certain Hawks in appearance,
and there can be no question that this resemblance,
by deceiving predaceous birds, is an enormous
advantage. The adult Cuckoo of Europe is re-
markably like a Sparrow-Hawk ; whilst the young
bear just as striking a resemblance to the Kestrel !
I am of opinion, that in cases where Cuckoos
resemble Game Birds in habits and appearance
Mimicry has been again adopted. This is espe-
cially noticeable amongst species in the genera
Centropn.s and Carpococcyx. Another very remark-
able instance is the wonderful resemblance of an
Indian Cuckoo [Suruicuhis /uguhi's) to the King
Crow [Dicninis ater).

iiS JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

In their mode of reproduction many of the
Cuckoos are profoundly interesting. Some of the
species (such as the Ground Cuckoos, and the
members of the American genus Coccyz.us) in this
family provide for and bring up their young in the
usual way — by building nests, incubating their own
eggs, and tending their offspring until they can
forage for themselves. The species in some of the
other genera are, however, confirmed Parasites — birds
with no parental instincts, who deposit their eggs in
the nests of widely different species, and leave their
offspring to be reared by foster-parents. So far as
is known the Cuckoos are, with one exception, the
only birds with parasitic instincts. This exception
is to be found amongst the Icteridt^ or American
Orioles, the species in the genus Molothrus (of which
the well-known Cow Bird, M. pecoris, is an example),
for instance, being parasitical. These Orioles are
Passerine birds, and, it need scarcely be said, only
very distantly related to the Cuckoos. The origin
of this degraded habit in two such very distinct
groups is still shrouded in mystery ; that it is a
very ancient and deeply-rooted habit seems proved,
or at least very strongly confirmed, by the fact that
the various and complicated conditions which insure
its efficiency are so wonderfully and beautifully

THE CUCKOO AND HIS KINDRED. 119

perfect — the pairing habits of the birds, the colour
and size of the eggs, the periods of their production,
and the method of insertion in the selected nest, all
having been obviously modified to correlate with
the parasitic propensity. I shall have occasion to
allude to the habit in greater detail later on, when
that portion of the economy of the European Cuckoo
is being discussed.

The habits of the Cuckoos are little known, and
I may say still less understood. Those of the
European species have been most studied, and few
birds have been more written about. By far the
greater portion of this voluminous Cuckoo literature
is the veriest twaddle, and far too much is hypo-
thetical if not absolutely imaginative. No other
British species is more puzzling in its economy
owing to the many difficult and obscure questions
which are involved in a study of its life and habits.
I offer the following few remarks as a contribution
to the history of this exceptionally interesting bird.

Throughout its wide area of distribution the
Cuckoo is a migratory bird. The breeding area of
this Cuckoo may be described as the entire Palce-
arctic region as far north as the limit of forest
growth. The bird breeds throughout continental
Europe, including the British Archipelago, and the

I20 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIEDS.

principal islands in the Mediterranean; but it is
only an abnormal visitor to the Faroes, to the
Canaries, and to Madeira. It is chiefly known in
North Africa as passing on spring and autumn
migration, but breeds sparingly in Algeria. Passing
on to Asia, we find that it occurs in summer in
Palestine, Asia Minor, Persia, Afghanistan, Turkes-
tan, Siberia, the Himalayas, Mongolia, China, and
Japan. The birds that breed in Europe winter
throughout South Africa ; those that breed in Asia
retire southwards in autumn to India, Ceylon, the
Burmese Peninsula, Celebes, and the Philippines.
The Cuckoo has several near allies, from which it
is possibly only superficially distinct. What we
may describe as an Eastern race is Cucidus hima-
layaniis, a bird that breeds from the valley of the
Yenesay eastwards across Siberia, Mongolia, and
China to Japan, and southwards to the Himalayas.
The migrations of this race trend to the south and
east, and the bird winters in the Burmese Peninsula,
throughout the Malay Archipelago, New Guinea,
and Australia. Intermediate forms berween C.
himalayanus and C. capensis (the South African
representative form of the Cuckoo) have been
obtained in South Africa ; whilst the typical Hima-
lavan form has been shot in Madagascar. This

THE CUCKOO AND HIS KINDRED. 121

seems to suggest a migration from India to Soutli
Africa across the Indian Ocean, a route which is
now but httle followed (Conf. Migration of Birds,
pp. 100, 121). On the other hand, our Cuckoo would
appear to interbreed with C. capensis, as intermediate
forms have been obtained in North-west Africa.
This fact is a very interesting ones and seems to
suggest that the Palasarctic Cuckoo occasionally
breeds in its South African winter quarters. The
Himalayan Cuckoo is only known to differ from
C. canorus in being a trifle smaller. The measure-
ments, however, completely intergrade, so that large
examples of C. himalayanus are indistinguishable
from small examples of C. canorus. The note of
the two races is entirely different, that of the Hima-
layan Cuckoo being single and very guttural — a
peculiarity which prompted Swinhoe to bestow the
name of C. monosyllabicus upon this Eastern race.
The South African Cuckoo (C capensis) is dis-
tinguished by its chestnut upper breast. That
C. canorus interbreeds with C. himalaijanus seems
extremely probable.

The northern or spring migration of the Cuckoo
begins in March and continues until the first or
second week in June. Towards the end of March
the birds have reached the basin of the Mediterra-

122 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

nean ; a fortnight later they arrive in the southern
portions of the British Islands, and thence gradu-
ally spread northwards. The males precede the
females by a few days, and in autumn the bulk of
the old birds appear to migrate south before the
young, which is contrary to the usual rule of flight.
The Cuckoo is an early autumn migrant, passing
south in August, the young following a few w^cks
later. I have remarked a certain amount of gre-
gariousness during migration, especially in spring.
As is well known, the Great Spotted Cuckoo (Coc-
cystes glandarius) habitually migrates in flocks.
In the British Archipelago the Cuckoo may be met
with in almost every variety of haunt, in well-
w^ooded localities, on bare open downs, in the fields,
on the moors, and even near the summits of our
mountains. Few birds seem less confined to any
particular class of country than the Cuckoo, Prob-
ably its food is readily obtained in any district. A
few days after their arrival the males begin to call,
and continue in song for a period of about two
months. It is quite unnecessary to describe, the
full, rich double-note of the Cuckoo, but it may be
remarked, that the song becomes much less clear,
and is often prolonged into three syllables, as the
period of its cessation draws near. The Cuckoo is

THE CUCKOO AND HIS KINDRED. 123

a most pertinacious singer, and will continue for a
long time in one spot if left undisturbed, uttering
its notes at intervals. The song is entirely confined
to the male bird, the note of the female being a
very peculiar, bubbling cry, impossible to express
in syllables, I may remark, that very exceptionally
the song of the male is uttered in three syllables in
spring ; but I have always remarked that it is the
last syllable which is repeated, and not the first as
in summer. This song is occasionally uttered as
the bird flies from place to place, and generally
when just about to alight:

" The cuckoo is a merry bird,
He sings as he flies."

The song often begins before sunrise, and is fre-
quently continued well into the dusk. The Cuckoo
also utters a low, chattering cry, which is common
to both sexes, and is heard most frequently when
the birds are under excitement. Many years ago
I first remarked the peculiar attraction which the
Cuckoo's song possesses for various other birds.
I have frequently seen a passing bird turn entirely
from its course and alight near to where a Cuckoo
was singing. Small birds repeatedly follow a Cuckoo
from place to place, whether from dread of its visits

12 4 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

to their nests, from curiosity, or angry irritation, it
is impossible to say.

With regard to the pairing habits of the Cuckoo
we know next to nothing, but it is interesting to
remark that this err^.nt bird, unsettled wanderer as
it is, is presumed to have some sort of affection for
its summer haunts, and to return season after season
to certain particular spots. This affection for
locality is very strongly developed in most birds of
regular migration, the old nesting-place perhaps
being the most potent attraction. This instinct is
said to be strong in the Cuckoo, parasitic as the
bird is, and is probably the only surviving portion
of those parental feelings which have been suffered
to lapse for so long and indefinite a period of time.
So far as my own opinion goes, and it is supported
by the careful observations of many years, I should
say that the Cuckoo is neither polygamous nor
polyandrous, but pairs annually, and remains in
pairs until the usual number of eggs is deposited.
So far as polygamy is concerned, there seems to
me not a particle of evidence to support it ; and
as for polyandry, I deny altogether that any excess
of males over females can be noted. The male
is the noisy bird, drawing attention to himself all
the spring and early summer; the female is

THE CUCKOO AND HIS KINDRED. 125

songless, and in nine cases out of ten is overlooked
altogether. I have several times remarked the
presence of a pair of Cuckoos in a certain locality
for weeks together, and I have many notes referring
to this species where a male and female were in
company. The fact is specially noticeable in open,
treeless districts and near the moors, where cover
is scarce : here half-a-dozen separate pairs of Cuc-
koos may be met with in the course of a morning.

From the pairing instincts of the Cuckoo
we naturally pass to the bird's parasitic habits.
Many more or less plausible theories have been
propounded to explain this wonderful instinct,
yet we are probably as far off as ever in our
attempts to elucidate it. The habit may be an
inherited one from some ancestral form ; it may
have been acquired under totally different con-
ditions of life from those with which these parasitical
Cuckoos are now surrounded ; parasitism may have
widely prevailed among birds in earlier epochs ; so
that all attempts to explain it by present facts, or
to harmonize it with now prevailing circumstances,
may be futile. It may prove of interest to the
student to review a few of the most plausible
theories on the subject. First, it has been suggested
that the Cuckoo migrates south too early to permit

126 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

it to rear its own young ; but there can be little
doubt that this early passage to its winter quarters
is a result and not a cause of parasitic instincts.
The Cuckoo having no family ties is at liberty to
migrate as early as it may choose ; not only so, but
there are numbers of parasitic species that either do
not migrate at all, or whose periodical movements
are but trifling in comparison with those of the
European species. Secondly, it is affirmed — and I
think the theory was first mooted by Dr. E.
Baldamus, who has perhaps studied the intricate
Cuckoo question more assiduously than any other
naturalist, — that the Cuckoo is a parasite because
its eggs are produced only at long intervals, so that
one general incubation w^ould be impossible. Here,
again, it seems far more probable that the inter-
mittent development of the eggs is a result rather
than a cause of parasitism ; whilst it has been
suggested that this slow rate of laying is an
acquired habit (possibly through natural selection),
enablino- the mother bird to have sufficient time to
find a suitable nest in the interval between each
egg. Thirdly, some wTiters have suggested that
the alleged gluttony of the male Cuckoo is the
reason for the slow development of the eggs, his
sexual instincts being subordinated to his abnorm.al

THE CUCKOO AND HIS KINDRED. 127

desire for food, causing him to neglect the female,
who is said to be compelled to wander far and wide
to insure the fertilization of her eggs ! The theory
of gluttony is untenable, illogical, absurd. For
instance, if the male be a glutton, and so voracious
as to neglect even the sexual passion — one of the
strongest passions throughout organic life — why
is not the female equally so ? Again, the very fact
that the male Cuckoo has a peculiar cry or love
song, and which he is most pertinacious in uttering
— as an invitation to tlie female he is said so sadly
to ignore — is a most convincing proof that his
sexual instincts are by no means dormant nor
sluggish ones. \x. appears to the present writer
that the theory was invented to explain the
assumed preponderance of males over females, by
suggesting that the latter were the prepotent sex,
and as a result of such unequally balanced sexual
instincts, according to a well-known natural law,
the male offspring" are more numerous than the
female offspring. That the Cuckoo is a voracious
feeder is tolerably well known to most naturalists,
its food being quickly digested, but both sexes are
equally ravenous. I am disposed, however, to
regard this voracity in the young bird as a tact of
much greater significance.

128 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

Now I think it is a pretty general rule
throughout the entire class Aves, that the number
oF young is regulated to a very important extent
by the amount of food available and the degree
of difficulty in obtaining it. We find that the
birds which produce the greatest number of
offspring are the various species of Game Birds
and the Ducks. The young of these birds are
reared without any great exertion on the part
of the parents, indeed the chicks are able in a
great measure to feed themselves. It would be a
difficult if not an impossible task for a Duck or
a Pheasant to bring up a score of chicks, if each
individual required as much attention and personally
administered nourishment as a young Eagle or a
young Robin, for instance. On the other hand, a
Petrel, a Guillemot, and a Puffin rear only one
chick at a time ; a Pigeon, an Eagle, or a Nightjar
produce only tw^o chicks for a brood ; the con-
ditions under which their young are reared being
such that a greater number of nestlings would run
serious risks of starvation, either owing to the
scarcity or precariousness of the food supply
(notably in such species as the Raptores), the
difficulty involved in conveying that food to the
nest, and, most important fact of all, the voracity of

THE CUCKOO AND HIS KINDRED. 129

the young birds themselves, especially such species
as Nightjars, Pigeons, Petrels, Gannets, and Puffins.
Of course many apparent exceptions may promptly
suggest themselves to the reader, but we must be
very careful in treating them as exceptions when
we bear in mind how little we really know of the
subject of the delicate and assuredly certain relation
of Food to Reproduction. What may appear
difficulties and exceptions might really support our
case if the facts and conditions were more clearly
understood, or we had a more thorough knowledge
of them. It therefore seems not altogether im-
probable that the above-mentioned facts bear very
closely on the curious phenomenon of parasitism
amongst the Cuckoos. The young of the European
Cuckoo is notoriously voracious ; its food is of a
kind that is not readily obtainable, namely, cater-
pillars and insects, each individual one usually having
to be sought for and conveyed to the nest singly.
It IS obvious, therefore, that the parent Cuckoos
would find the task of rearing; from live to eight
nestlings a difficult if not impossible one, and that
they have gradually acquired the habit of dis-
tributing the labour of rearing each young bird
amongst such species as are best able to bring it
to maturity. We might reasonably presume that a

K

130 JOTTIXGS ABOUT BIRDS.

Cuckoo, or what is more probable, a common
ancestral form, labouring under the great dis-
advantages of rearing from five to eight voracious
young, chanced to desert all or a portion of them,
most likely when they had left the nest, and that
they were adopted by other species. It is a well-
known fact, of which many instances might be
given, that various birds evince a strong desire to
play the part of foster-parent to deserted, helpless
nestlings. The Cuckoo would soon seize upon the
obvious advantage, and acquire the habit of regularly
leaving all or some of its offspring each season to
be thus befriended by other species. There would
also be a strong tendency in the offspring to
consort w^ith the species that had played the part
of foster-parent to them, and probably to lay their
eggs in nests belonging to that species. The habit
might thus have gradually developed into actual
and complete parasitism, the Cuckoo's parental
instincts gradually getting weaker and weaker, until
nest-buildino; and incubation, bv tlie sure vet subtle
working of natural selection, were finally dispensed
with, and the eggs invariably dropped into alien
nests. Of course it may be suggested, that if the
Petrel or the Gannet, for instance, only rear a
single nestling, there is nothing to prevent the

THE CUCKOO AND II IS KINDRED. 131

Cuckoo from having acquired a similar habit —
especially if the voraciousness of the young is a
dominatins: cause. But conditions of life when the
habit was first developed in the Gannet and other
small brooded birds may have been utterly different
from any to which the parasitic Cuckoos or
their common ancestors were subjected, causing
divergence of habit in two utterly dissimilar
directions, and that many influences might have
affected one species that did not reach the other.
That the Cuckoo still continues to produce from
five to eight eggs each season is a most convincing
proof of this.

We now pass to the question of the development
of the choice exercised in the selection of a foster-
parent — a choice so perfect that the young of the
Cuckoo are brought to maturity just as successfully
as though the actual parents performed the task.
The present wonderful perfection of this choice of
species appears to me to be the result of many
accumulited experiences, preserved by a long and
incessant process of natural selection, and bv
hereditary transmission. It is more than possible
that the habit of parasitism arose in the first place
through the yoimg rather than through the parent,
and that the selection of the nest is due more to

132 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

the fact of the young bird's tendency to seek the
companionship, the haunts, and the nests of such
species as brought it to maturity, or befriended it
in the time of its desertion and helplessness, rather
than to the chance laying of an egg in some alien
nest by an adult bird. The great variety in the
colour of the eggs of the European Cuckoo, for
instance, appears to me to confirm this view of the
question in no uncertain way. The colour of all
birds' eggs is hereditary, not only the general
coloiu'ation, but to a great extent the details and
individual peculiarities. The eggs of the Cuckoo
vary considerably so far as concerns the species,
but only slightly, so far as we can ascertain, as
concerns individual peculiarities ; and to a re-
markable extent these various types of eggs are
dropped into nests of such species whose eggs
most nearly resemble them in colour. Now the
tendency of the young Cuckoo being to make use
of the nest of the species in which it was itself
reared, we can understand how certain types of eggs
were gradually evolved and preserved in this species,
and how those certain types have become more or
less constantly deposited in nests containing eggs
resembling them in colour. This is further con-
firmed by the fact, that in certain districts there is

THE CUCKOO AND HIS KINDRED. 133

a perceptible tendency among Cuckoos to use the
nest of certain species. Where the egg has been
obviously phiced in a wrong nest, either as regards
species or colour of the egg, it may be safely
assumed that the parent Cuckoo, in danger of
immediate dehvery, has been compelled to use tlie
first nest obtainable, or has been unsuccessful in
finding a nest of the species to which individually
it is most closely attached. The choice normally
is comparatively a narrow one, and confined to
such exclusively insectivorous species as the Mota-
ciLLiD.E, to the Sylviinan, the Redstarts, and the
Hedge Accentor. Many other species have been
known to be selected, even amongst the Frin-
GiLLiD.^, and more exceptionally a Crow, a Shrike,
a Grebe, or a Pigeon. It is a most significant fact,
that the eggs of the Great Spotted Cuckoo (an
equally parasitic species) are subject to remarkably
little variation, very closely resembling those of the
Common Magpie in appearance, and that the foster-
parents are generally Crows of some kind. The
eggs in this group are very uniform in colour,
hence we find a corresponding small variation in
the tint of those of the parasite Cuckoo which are
hatched amongst them.

Another very curious instinct of the Cuckoo

134 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

must not be overlooked, and that is the peculiar
one in the young bird of ejecting its fellow nestlings.
From various reasons the young Cuckoo has an
advantage over its companions from its birth. In
the first place, it is their superior in size and
strength ; secondly, it grows quicker and thrives
better, probably because it monopolizes the lion's
share of the food, so that in about a week after it is
hatched it is said to throw out of the nest the
legitimate tenants, and to gain the undivided atten-
tion of its foster-parents. I am of opinion that the
other young birds are in nine cases out of ten killed
either by suffocation or starvation before they are
thus expelled ; and it is not improbable that the
old birds in many if not in all cases eject the
dead nestlings themselves, as they often do under
perfectly normal circumstances. I am well aware
that self-preservation is a strong passion in all
living creatures, and that such an instinct of
ejection may exist in the young Cuckoo, but we
know next to nothing about the circumstances, and
the evidence bearing thereon is of such a vague
character that no cautious student is justified in
accepting it without a certain amount of incredulity.
It is astonishing that so little has been observed
of this portion of the Cuckoo's economy, and still

THE CUCKOO AND HIS KINDRED. 135

more astonishing that what little has been noticed
or SLirmisetl is so widely accepted as unquestionable
fact.

A word on the changes of plumage in the
European Cuckoo will bring my few fugitive
observations on a most interesting species to a
close. I am not aware that these changes of
plumage had ever been correctly described, or
were at all clearly understood, until Mr. Seebohm
and myself worked out the subject from a great
number of specimens some ten years ago. There
is no difference in colour between the adults of both
sexes, this final stage of plumage being reached
when the bird is not quite two years old. In
this adult plumage the upper parts are slate-grav,
suffused with brown on the wings, and becoming
nearly black on the tail ; the quills are barred with
white on the inner webs, and the tail feathers are
tipped with white, and show more or less obscure
traces of white bars least conspicuous on the
central feathers ; the under parts are grayish-white,
darkest on the throat, and barred with dusky-brown
below the breast. The bill is black, paler at the
base, and with yellow edges ; the orbits, irides, legs
and feet are yellow. The young in first plumage
have the feathers of the upper parts barred with

I ^G JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

chestnut-brown and tipped with white, the males
not being so rufous on the rump, upper tail coverts,
and tail as the females, and the white tips are purer
and more clearly defined. This plumage is carried,
until the following spring, when sexual differences
become still more marked, the males losing all
traces of chestnut, but retaining the white tips ; in
the females, however, the chestnut becomes more
brilliant, but the white tips are lost. After the
next autumn moult but few traces of immaturity
are to be seen, and these much more pronounced
in females than in males ; whilst after the following-
spring moult the adult stage is reached. It might
here be remarked, that the Cuckoo moults twice in
the year. The Cuculus hepaticus of Latham is the
female Cuckoo in the rich liver-brown or " hepatic "
stage of plumage assumed after the first spring
moult. The reason birds in this stage are so rarely
obtained in the British Islands is, that they do not
breed in this plumage, and only exceptionally
migrate so far north. It has been said that males
also assume this hepatic phase, but after careful
examination of a great number of specimens, I
liatly contradict the statement.

V.
THE BASS ROCK AND ITS BIRDS.

It has been my good fortune to visit the Bass
Rock repeatedly in quest of ornithological know-
ledge during the past twelve years, and I can safely
say that each time my interest has increased. The
Bass is one of the best situations for studying the
habits of certain sea-fowl in our islands, all the
more so because it is, comparatively speaking, easily
accessible. You may journey all the way to St.
Kilda and find that tlie economy of the Gannet
may be much more readily studied at the Bass.
As I am repeatedly asked by unknown correspond-
ents for information concerning the best means
of reaching and the proper time for visiting the
Bass, a few^ lines on that subject may doubtless
prove useful to the reader who may be tempted to
follow in the writer's footsteps, and see the famous
Rock for himself Perhaps the best time for a
visit is towards the end of May or early in June,
especially if eggs are required ; but if the wonderful

138 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

sight presented by the young birds is a greater
temptation, then the trip shotdd be postponed until
July or early August. The town of North Berwick,
easily reached by rail from Edinburgh or the south,
should be made the base of operations. Three
miles from Berwick, along the shores of the Forth,
is Canty Bay, and here at the little inn nestling at
the bottom of the steej) grassy downs the tenant
who rents the Bass resides. Boats are usually in
readiness to carry visitors across the two miles of
sea which separate the Bass from the mainland;
but if it should chance that the tenant is already
away on the rock a signal is made — by spreading a
white table-cloth on the hill-side — which soon results
in his return. It might here be remarked, that the
Bass is a jealously guarded private property, and
that the birds thereon are kept literallv under lock
and key free from the molestation of trespassers.
The tenant — the host of the Canty Bay inn — looks
to make a considerable portion of his rent from the
eggs and young birds, and also from the rabbits
which overrun the rock. There is only one safe
landing-place on the Bass, on the southern side
where the cliffs flill to the water's edge in a series of
downs. Here the ruins of an old fortress have
been utilized to protect the rock from the visits of

THE BASS ROCK AND ITS BIRDS. 139

poaching fishermen, and at the top of the broken
grass-grown steps a rough door lias been placed,
which is kept carefully locked. No other way on
to the Bass is possible, except by scaling the cliffs.
Years ago the rock was used as a prison, and it is
said that many illustrious captives were confined
thereon.

Just as at St. Kilda, my first impressions of the
Bass were most disappointing. Many birds may
be seen with a good glass from Canty Bay, but as
the boat chafes and bumps against tlie rocky
landing-place — in a little creek which terminates in
a cave frequented by Shags — no one without a
previous knowledge of the place would dream that
such a vast and wonderful bird colony was so close
at hand. The Bass slopes to the south and east,
but on the north, north-east, and west falls in more
or less broken precipices to the sea, hence but few^
birds are visible until the edge of the cliffs is
reached. I well remember on my first visit seeing
a Willow Wren, an odd bird that had probably
stopped for a rest in its flight across the Forth ;
on other occasions I have flushed Blackbirds and
Twites from the hill-sides, but I do not think any of
these species breed there. The Rock Pipit is not
uncommon, and of course is a resident ; the Jack-

140 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

(law, the Peregrine Falcon, and the Rock Dove also
breed regularly thereon. There can be little doubt
that the Bass is visited by various other species of
land birds during the seasons of spring and autumn
migration, but, owing to the utter absence of
observers, they pass unnoticed. At the isle of May,
a few miles to the eastward, and where there is a
lighthouse, much migration has been remarked,
and several rare wanderers have been obtained. As
a "stepping-stone," or resting-place for birds cross-
ing the Forth, the Bass must often prove most
welcome, although the May is more favourably
situated in the path of migrants.

The one bird that predominates over all others,
land birds and sea-fowd alike, is the Gannet {S\da
bassand). As is well known, the Gannet is closely
allied to the Cormorants, and by many authorities
is included in the same family. There are, however,
many important structural differences between the
Gannets and the Cormorants, which appear to
warrant the birds being placed in separate families.
The Gannets are chiefly birds of the tropics, but
range in the southern hemisphere at least as far
south as New Zealand. But one species is found
in the North Atlantic Basin, and this is the one
that breeds so abundantly on the Bass. During

THE BASS ROCK AND ITS BIRDS. 141

the non-breeding season the Gannet is seldom seen
near land, spending its time in a nomad life at sea,
wandering to and fro in quest of food. Its powers
of wing are marvellous. It may be said literally to
live in the air, only settling on the water to sleep or
(and much less frequently) to digest its food. Early
in spring the Gannet ceases its nomad life, and
begins to gather at the old accustomed breeding-
places, which are used year by year for time out of
mind. At the Bass the birds appear in April, but
further north at St. Kilda I was assured that the
bulk of the individuals does not arrive until May.
The number of Gannets that breed on the Bass
has been variously estimated at from six thousand
to ten thousand pairs, the latter possibly being
nearest the mark. Besides the adult breeding birds
there are a few immature individuals to be seen,
readily distinguished by their more or less speckled
plumage. The scene tliat bursts upon the view
when the edge of the cliffs is reached beggars all
attempt at description. Many writers have essayed
the task of putting on paper the wonderful sight,
but all have felt the utter impossibility of doing
justice to the bewildering scene. It is a far more
fitting subject for the graphic pencil of some
accomplished artist-naturalist. The air, the cliffs.

142 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

the grassy slopes, the sea below, are lilled with birds,
those on the land clamouring harshly at the intru-
sion, those in the air drifting hither and thither,
silent and apparently effortless as huge flakes of
living snow. The Gannet commences to breed
early in Mav, but nesting does not become general
until the middle or even towards the end of the
month. From the rough ground near the summit
of the cliffs to hundreds of feet down their broken
or precipitous sides Gannets' nests may be seen in
every suitable spot, sometimes so close together
that the brooding birds actually touch each other
as they sit upon them. The nest of the Gannet is
a rude aifair, dirty and offensive in the extreme, and
composed of turf, straw, sea-weed, and any other
vegetable refuse obtainable, massed toojether into a
conical heap, wet with droppings and slimy from
fish. As incubation proceeds many of these struc-
tures are trodden out of all semblance to nests by
their owners. Each nest contains but a single egg,
and the observer will remark how the parent Gannet
treats this solitary treasure with the utmost indiffer-
ence, often standing upon it whilst barking hoarsely
at being; disturbed in its duties. Numbers of fish
are lying about in or near the nests, half digested,
freshly caught, or rotting in the sun.

THE BASS ROCK AND ITS BIRDS. 143

But the interest of the curious scene is by no
means confined to the cliffs. The fluttering tlirong
of birds saihng to and fro is absolutely bewildering;
tlie difficulty of following any one of these flying
units in its trackless course for long together diffi-
cult in the extreme. Backwards and forwards, up
and down, along the line of the clifls, the Gannets
fly, whilst numbers are constantly arriving from the
fishing-grounds, or starting off" to them for fresh
supplies. The Gannets are by no means peaceable
neighbours, and are for ever quarrelling with each
other, resenting any intrusion. The eflect of this
may easily be imagined when the birds live in such
very close companionship. Perhaps of still greater
interest to the enthusiastic ornithologist is the scene
some distance down the cliffs, should he possess the
necessary nerve to avail himself of the assistance of
a rope and climb down to behold it. Here he will
also meet with various other species of sea-birds at
their nests, and will find the homes of the Gannets
in even greater numbers.

As he gets down the broken cliffs and reaches
the more inaccessible portions, he will meet with
the Guillemot, although this bird is nothing near
so abundant here as at Flamborough, or on the
Pinnacles at the Farnc Islands, and is scattered up

144 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

and clown. Every now and then odd birds will
dash from the rocks with a startling whirr of wings
and appear to tumble head-first down into the sea-;
now and then perhaps a dozen may be seen stand-
ing quietly over their eggs, anxiously watching
every movement, some poking their treasure from
under them, others dashing away at once and
knocking ofF their egg in their eagerness to get
away. I have repeatedly remarked that the eggs
of the Guillemots breeding on the Bass are, speak-
ing generally, much handsomer than the eggs of
the same species obtained at the Fame Islands,
which seems to suo-g-est that the colour standard
has been lowered by the incessant selection of the
finest marked eggs by collectors, combined with the
ease with which they may be obtained at the latter
locality. There can be little doubt — indeed I have
collected much evidence in support of the fact —
that the power or capacity in a bird of producing
exceptionally handsome eggs is an inherited power,
and that it is continued season after season. In
places, therefore, where the eggs are much taken, a
bird has little chance of transmitting this power to
posterity, and in the course of time these exception-
ally beautifid eggs gradually become extinct. The
same remarks I found also to apply to the Guille-

THE BASS ROCK AND ITS BIRDS. 145

mots breeding on St. Kilda. During my visit I
must have examined tliousands of eggs of the
Guillemot, yet I did not meet with one specimen
remarkable for special beauty of colouring. The
St. Kildan in taking these eggs has no eye what-
ever to their beauty, all are picked up indiscrimin-
ately, but as the handsome eggs are much the
rarest they are by far the soonest exterminated. I
think it may be safely said, that wherever the eggs
of the Guillemot are much taken, the standard of
brilliancy and variety of colour will be a low one.
I have remarked in the case of the Ring Ouzel, the
Song Thrush, the Common Sandpiper, the Rook,
and some other species, that in certain districts the
eggs have been much more richly marked than in
others, and this relatively higher standard of beauty
has been maintained for many seasons in succession.
The subject is one of considerable interest to the
scientific oologist, and requires careful investigation.
But to return to the Bass. Here and there a
few Razorbills may be met with, but the bird is
scarce and the eggs difficult to obtain. More
interesting, owing to its greater abundance, is the
Puffin. There is a very remarkable colony of this
species established here in the masonry of the old
fortress overlooking the sea, whilst numbers of

146 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

birds burrow into the soft earth on the cUffs, or lay
their sohtary egg in deep fissures of the rocks.
Many Puffins may be seen visiting or leaving their
nest-holes in the walls of the fortress, but otherwise
the bird is not much in evidence, except on the sur-
rounding sea. The Kittiwake is also a tenant of
the cliffs, breeding in most abundance far down
towards the sea, where the rocks fall sheer like walls
of solid masonry. Odd nests may be discovered
here and there in more accessible spots, but never
near the top of the cliffs where the Gannets breed
in such vast abundance. The noisy clamour of
this beautiful little Gull is to my mind one of the
most charmino;, as it certainlv is one of the most
characteristic, features of the wave-washed cliffs.
A few pairs of Herring Gulls also breed on the
sloping, undulating downs on the north side of the
Bass. These nests are remarkably difficult to find,
unless stumbled upon by accident. The birds too
are excessively wary, and if the nests are not marked
correctly when their owners are first flushed, nothing
remains but a close and svstematic search. I used
often to try and surprise these birds on their nests
by creeping stealthily over the brow of the hill, but
every time in vain. The wary birds had invariably
left their eggs, and were either on the wing or

THE BASS ROCK AND ITS BIRDS. 147

running some distance from the nests, in spite of
all my care. I think their mates gave the alarm as
they wheeled and poised high up in the air above
the breeding-place, for they could readily see my
approach from their lofty station. The Jackdaw
also frequents the cliffs of the Bass, but we are
inclined to pay little attention to him, surrounded
as he is by so many species of far more local
interest ; whilst here and there on the grassy slopes
a nest of the Rock Pipit may be discovered.

Still confining our observations to the cliffs, we
may have the good fortune to meet with the Pere-
grine P'alcon. A pair of these beautiful birds breed
on the Bass every season, and to niy mind they are
the crowning charm of this w^onderful rock. Often
have I watched them sailing; in circles at a vast
height above the rock, or seen them toying with
each other opposite the cliffs where they nest. As
is so often the case with raptorial birds, the Pere-
grines have several eyries, using one or the other in
turn. None of these, however, are accessible with-
out the aid of a rope ; the man whose nerves are
not sufficiently strong will therefore have to content
himself with watching the parent Peregrines as they
dash rapidly from the cliffs, and commence to fiy
to and fro, chattering their displeasure at the un-

148 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

welcome intrusion of their haunt. The nest — httle
more than a hollow — is made on some ledge of the
cliffs, and the young are hatched before the Gannets
and other sea-fowl commence nesting. Two other
species must be mentioned to complete our list of
the birds of the Bass. These are the Shag and
the Rock Dove, numbers of which breed in the
caves and fissures that honeycomb the rock, and
whose haunts can only be visited with a boat.

Whilst standing on the summit of the cliffs, the
visitor must not fail to notice the excessivelv pretty
sight of the Gannets fishing. The birds may be
observed engaged in this task almost in every
portion of the surrounding sea. The Gannet is a
plunger, capturing its finny prey by darting down
from the air above, and seizing the fish in its long,
spear-shaped beak. One after the other the big
birds may be seen falling like blocks of flashing
white marble into the water, throwing up a cloud
of spray and foam where they strike the surface.
Many fishermen have assured me that they have
known Gannets plunge headlong into boats con-
taining fish; and it is said that in some districts
the birds are caught by fastening a fish to a board
which is allowed to float on the sea. Most admir-
ably is the Gannet adapted to its ways of life. The

THE BASS ROCK AND ITS BIRDS. 149

air-cells on its body — its pneumatic skin — render
it light and buoyant in the extreme ; its wonderfid
extent of wing enables it to keep the air for hours
without the least fatigue. It is, however, incapable
of diving, and the only possible way of sinking its
air-charged body beneath the water is by hurling
itself down from a great height. It should also
be remarked that the nostrils of the Gannet have
become obsolete, probably through uncountable
generations of natural selection, thus preventing
any injury arising from water being driven into
them by the terrific force of contact with the sea
when the bird is fishing.

In August the Gannet harvest takes place, and
vast numbers of the young are killed for the sake
of their feathers and their fat. Formerly a large
trade was done in young Gannets, the tenant of the
Bass baking them and hawking them about the
neighbouring country at a shilling per bird ! Now-
a-days, I am informed, the taste for baked " Solan
Goose" has undergone a change, and the birds are
almost unsalable. The feathers, too, are in less
demand among the makers of feather-beds, owing
to the unpleasant smell which clings to them in
spite of all processes of purification. The curious
visitor may see at Canty Bay the huge ovens where

I50 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

the birds were baked, now I fear but little used.
The demand for eggs continues good, and a fair
trade is done each season amongst collectors and
for culinary purposes.

Although the Bass may not be quite so rich in
species as the Fame Islands, or some few other
haunts of Sea-Fowl, the interest attaching to the
place is certainly very great, if not unique. Prob-
ably not more than eleven species breed regularly
on the rock, and of these four are strictly land
birds. With the exception of the Gannet, the
remainino- water birds are individually small in
numbers, but they form a pleasing variety, and
help to emphasize the interest ever attaching to the
"geese." No person at all interested in bird life
should miss seeing the Bass ; it furnishes an object
lesson in ornithology which is so vividly impressed
upon the mind that no length of time will success-
fully efface it.

VI.
A VISIT TO ST. KILDA.

A VISIT to St. Kilda, to do the thing thoroughly,
is by no means an unmixed pleasure. In the first
place, the means of transit are few, always excepting
the splendidly appointed pleasure steamers that visit
the island at intervals throughout the summer from
Glasgow, but which are of little use to the man
bent on studying the place, the people, and its
birds; for not even a landing on the famous ocean
rocks is guaranteed, and the boats leave the Clyde
at a time of year when, from an ornithologist's
point of view, most of the attraction is over. Even
when the difficulty of transit is overcome, the visitor
upon his arrival must be prepared to rough it, for
there is no accommodation of any kind. P^jr many
years my ambition had been to visit this unrivalled
bird-station, the former home of the now extinct
Great Auk, and the present haunt of the Fulmar,
the Fork-tailed Petrel, and the Shearwater, At
last through the kindness of my friend, Mr. J. T.
Mackenzie of Dunvegan, the factor of St. Kilda, I

152 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

was enabled to visit the flimous islands in his smack,
and to revel in their bird treasures for nearly a
fortnight. This small vessel generally visits the
islands twice in the year, in spring and autumn, to
convey such necessaries as the St. Kildans may
require, and to bring back the few products of the
place — oil, feathers, cloth, salt fish, tallow, and one
or two hides. I might also remark that the islanders
pay their rent on these occasions, either in money
or in kind.

We left Dunvegan, a tiny village on the west
coast of Skye, in the Rol'ert Hadden, a smack of
about eighty tons, at noon on Tuesday, the 3rd
of June. A light wind was barely sufficient to
carry us out of Loch Follart into the Minch, and
we did not arrive in the Sound of Harris until early
on Wednesday morning ; here we lay to until day-
light, for the navigation of the Straits is dangerous.
The wind eventually dropped altogether, and
throughout Wednesday we were becalmed in the
Sound, the sea being smooth as glass. The day
was by no means wasted, for we spent the time in
exploring the various small islands round us, where
we met with the Red-breasted Merganser, the
Oyster-catcher, and the Eider Duck in abundance,
and found many nests ; otters and seals were also

A VISIT TO ST KILDA. 153

common. The sea was alive with birds, especially
Guillemots, Razorbills, and Puffins, all very tame,
seldom diving until our boat was almost upon
them. Now and then a party of Cormorants or
Shags flew silently and swiftly by ; whilst at intervals
we could hear distinctly the gaggle of the Wild
Geese that were breeding on Harris and Uist.
Slowly drifting with the tide, we finally cast anchor
off the island of Obb, and there took on board a
supply of fresh water. We were under w^eigh again
at four, and as soon as the island of Pabbay was
passed we picked up a stiff and welcome breeze,
which sent us into the open Atlantic ; and we were
soon speedily bowling along a course W.N.W.,
with all sails set for St. Kilda, some fifty miles
ahead. We had an unusually rough passage, the
seas running very high, and occasionally sweeping
the deck from stem to stern. Just as dusk was
falling the island of Borreay was sighted from the
rigging, and the excitement of " land ahead " — far-
famed St. Kilda at last — was more than enough to
make us forget the discomforts of the protracted
voyage and the buffetings of wind and waves. W e
met with very few birds en route. About twenty
miles from the islands a few Shearwaters paid us a
visit, flying just above the surface of the big waves

154 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

in silence ; here and there a benighted Guillemot
or a Razorbill was passed, and one or two solitary
Fulmars floated Owl-like round the mast-head and
then vanished in the twilight.

As we slowly approached Borreay the island
became more and more distinctly outlined against
the western sky, whilst beyond again, looming like
a huge black shapeless cloud, St. Kilda proper rose
weird-like from the sea. We eventually passed the
large inaccessible rock called Levenish, which stands
sentinel-like at the mouth of East or Village Bay,
and finally came to anchor, as it seemed, right
under the frow^ning hills at half-past one a.m. on
Thursday. Although almost entirely land-locked,
the Bay was full of heavy sea, and the night was
passed in a weary watch for dawn, our little craft
dancing about like an egg-shell in a mill-race, and
our ears deafened by the booming of the breakers
beating against the rock-bound shore. The natives
were in no hurry to convey us ashore, and not until
eight o'clock in the morning did they make any
attempt to do so. Landing in the smack's boat
was out of the question in such a sea, and can
rarely be accomplished at all without assistance
from shore, owing to the heavy and continuous
swell. A large boat manned by half-a-dozen

A VISIT TO ST. KIIDA. 155

St. Kiklans put out to the smack, and in this \vc
rowed to land. A party of men awaited us on
shore, hauHng us boat and all on to the rocks as a
favourable wave washed us landwards. \\ hat a
welcome we had, to be sure, for we were the first
visitors, the first bearers of tidings from the outside
world for nine weary months. Almost the entire
population — some seventy-eight souls — headed by
their faithful pastor, the Rev. John Macl;ay, were
waiting to receive us, and hand-shaking became
universal. First and foremost in his welcome was
this quaint, genial old pastor, who insisted on our
partaking of his hospitality, plying us meanwhile
with question after question concerning the busy
world we had left : " Who was Prime Minister ? "
— " How was the Queen and Royal Family ? " —
"What great ones of the earth had passed away?"
— " How went the harvest ? " — " What was the
price of corn?" and so on. Alas! Pastor Mackay
is now gathered to his fathers. Doubtless he sleeps
his last sleep on the lonely island he loved so well,
for when I parted from him with a hearty hand-
shake years ago, he assured me, with tears in his
eyes and faltering voice, that nothing could induce
him to leave his little flock, and that he meant to
die, as he had lived, amongst them.

156 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

The first impressions of St. Kilda are decidedly-
disappointing, and the view from the sea suggests
that dreary barrenness which is the one dominant
feature of the Outer Hebrides. As seen from
Village Bay, however, St. Kilda presents a grandly
majestic appearance. The deeply indented bay is
in the foreground ; on the left is the precipitous
island of Doon, looking for the most part bare and
rocky, its jagged peaks rising in many places sheer
from the water, or sloping gradually in downs of
greenest turf. Doon forms the southern horn of
the bay, and is only separated from St. Kilda by a
very narrow strait, which during certain tides is
fordable at low water. At no very remote period
this island evidently formed part of the mainland
of St. Kilda. Next to Doon, on the mainland, rises
the hill MuUach-scaill, or the Bald Top; then in
the background rises mighty Connacher, over-
looking all, sloping more or less gradually from the
shores of the bay, and falling in a majestic precipice
to the open Atlantic on the other ; whilst on the
right rises Mullach-oshavall, or the Top of Oswald,
forming the northern horn of this remarkably
picturesque bay. At the extreme western extremity
of St. Kilda is the smaller island of Soay, separated
by a narrow strait in which stand three lofty stacks

A VISIT TO ST KIIDA. 157

of rock — Stack Biorrach, or the pointed stack (the
most difficult cHfF to climb in the islands), Stack
Soay, and Stack Doonaah, or the bad stack. On
two of these rocks sea-birds breed in abundance.
Soay has an elevation of more than a thousand feet
from the sea, furnishes rich pasturage for many
sheep, and is a favourite nesting-place of myriads
of sea-fowl, especially the Alanx Shearwater, which
swarms to such an extent that many parts of the
island are honeycombed with its burrows. The
Stormy Petrel also breeds here in abundance.
Four miles north of St. Kilda is the island of
Borreay, with the two rock-stacks of Stack-an-
Armin and Stack Lii, the latter being the grand
head-quarters of the Gannets, which not onl}^ swarm
on the flat sloping summit, but on all the ledges
of the lofty sides. So densely do the white birds
cluster on this rock that it may be seen distinctly
from the Long Island, forty miles away, looking
like a large ship under full sail bending to windward.
Borreay also rises more than a thousand feet above
sea-level, and its mighty cliffs swarm with birds.
Many sheep are also pastured here. St. Kilda is the
only island of the group which is inhabited by man.
As soon as I landed on St. Kilda signs of birds
met me at every step. The ground near the

158 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

houses was strewn with wings, feathers, and bones ;
the houses themselves smelt strongly of Fulmars ;
and in a dozen different ways I was reminded that
I was amongst a nation of fowlers. But few living
birds, however, were to be seen. The visitor on his
arrival is at once struck wdth the a[)parent scarcity
of birds, and it is not until he visits the cliffs that
the myriads of fowl are visible. The houses of the
St. Kildans are ranged in a long crescent about
four hundred yards from the shore of the Bay.
Behind and before them are the patches of culti-
vated ground, chiefly sown with grain and planted
with potatoes, enclosed by rough walls that keep
out the sheep and cows. Nearer the shore stands
the store, the little church, and the manse. St.
Kilda is supplied with an abundance of excellent
water, both from springs and the rivulets that
rise on Connacher. The steep sides of this hill
are bare of turf, and seared in many places by small
ravines worn out by the streams which dash down
in rainy weather. Upon climbing the hill in a
south-westerly direction from the village, and pass-
ino; over the shoulder between Mullach-scaill and
Connacher, a wild and novel scene is presented,
far more picturesque than that portion of St. Kilda
we have left behind us. Glen Mor the " Amazon's

A VISIT TO ST KIIDA. 159

Glen," or ''the Glen" as it is known in St. Kilda,
stretches out at our feet sloping gently down to
the distant Atlantic at West Bay. The hills on
either side of this romantic glen fall almost sheer
down in precipices to the sea, and on them Fulmars,
Guillemots, Razorbills, and Gulls rear their young,
whilst here and there a few Shearwaters burrow
into the rich soft soil. At the extremity of the
glen the cliffs are low and the shore is very rocky ;
but a landing can sometimes be made here when
the usual place in Village Bay is inaccessible. In
this glen the finest pasturage in St. Kilda is to be
obtained, and here most of the cows are orazed,
the women-folk going twice each day to milk them.
Not a tree nor a shrub relieves the monotony of
the bare hillsides or sheltered valleys of St. Kilda,
but grass grows luxuriantly, making the place
literally an " emerald isle " ; whilst primroses,
sorrel, and many other plants and weeds thrive
on the cliffs and sloping downs. The hillsides are
studded with numbers of rough hovels, locally
called " cleats," made of boulders and roofed with
turf, in which the St. Kildans drv their " turfs "
for fuel, and their grass for hay, and in which the
sheep take refuge during inclement weather.

It is said that the present natives of St. Kilda

i6o JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

are the descendants of criminals that were banished
to the islands ; but on the other hand, there is a
tradition amongst the people themselves that their
forefathers were smugglers or outlaws. I found
the male population exceedingly civil, obliging,
merry fellows, anxious to assist me in every way
they could, but always with an eye to the " baw-
bees " — the result of contact with tourists. The
ladies, too, were not wanting in hospitality to the
"Sassenach" (as we southerners are termed), many
of them bringing eggs and birds as soon as it
became known that I had come to the islands
especially to collect and examine such objects.

Strange as the fact may seem, when I landed at
St. Kilda scarcely a sea-bird was to be seen, save
a few Puffins and Gulls in the Bay ; the great
bird-stations are behind the hills, where the cliffs
fall almost sheer down to the open Atlantic, and
on the adjoining islands and stacks. Land birds,
however, were much more apparent. One of the
first to arrest my attention was the Hooded Crow,
remarkably tame, perching on the roofs of the
cottages with as little concern as the Sparrow in
a crowded city. Next to this species the Starling
and the Wheatear were the most common, the
latter bird being a regular spring visitor. I had

A VISIT TO ST KILDA. i6i

also not been ashore long before the Wren at-
tracted my notice, and I saw at once that it was
not the typical British form. Unfortunately when
I reached St. Kilda the great annual egg harvest
was nearly over, and of the hundreds of eggs I
took from the rocks but very few were fresh
enough to blow. Fortunately, however, the Fork-
tailed Petrels are rather late breeders, and they had
only just commenced laying. The St. Kildans
eat vast quantities of eggs, especially those of the
Fulmar and of the various species of Auks. I was
also astonished at the state in which an egg would
be eaten, the highly-incubated ones being just as
palatable — perhaps even more so — as those that
were newly laid !

St. Kilda is an ideal commonwealth. Each
morning the adult population will consult together
as to what business is to engage their attention
during the day. Even the most simple affairs of
daily life are seriously debated — all work in union
and for the common good. Shops there are none,
and so far as I could see barter was unknown.
The cliffs of St. Kilda are divided equally amongst
the inhabitants — just like so many allotment
gardens, and a man seldom or never poaches on the
preserves of his neighbours. Each year the rocks

M

i62 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

are portioned out anew, the Saxon Mod or Council
assembling for the purpose, so that no vested
interests accrue in cliffs that are more prolific in
bird produce than others. The adjacent islands of
Doon, Soay, Borreay, and the several " stacks " are
common property, and are hunted at intervals by
a party despatched in one of the boats for the
purpose, the produce of the expedition being
shared equally. The widows and orphans are not
forgotten, and are supported by a voluntary toll
from their more fortunate neighbours, having also
an equal share in the cliffs and so on. The St.
Kildans are adepts at catching birds ; small wonder,
when we bear in mind that the chief sustenance of
these people is the myriads of sea-fowl that
frequent the islands. But as for the men's feats
amongst the rocks as climbers, about which I had
heard so much, I saw nothing extraordinary. The
climbers at Flamborough are every bit as daring.
In fact, hi2;h as the cliffs at St. Kilda are, they
are comparatively easy to climb, being for the most
part broken up into ledges and grassy downs, few
of them falling sheer down to the sea. Even the
mighty cliff of Connacher (1200 feet high, and
perhaps the finest precipice in the British Islands)
does not fall sheer for that distance, but much of

A VISIT TO ST. KILDA. 163

it is broken up into ledges and turf-covered slopes,
on which the Fulmars especially delight to nest.
The Fulmar is the national bird of St. Kilda, even
more important to the natives than the Gannet.
No gamekeeper watches his preserves more jealously
than the St. Kildan his Fulmar nurseries, and every
time 1 went near to the cliffs where the highly-
prized bird was breeding, if I chanced to have a
gun with me, several men or boys were sure to
follow and warn me off the sacred spot. Every
St. Kildan almost constantly wears a coil of rope
slung round his body, and a strong clasp-knife
hung with a string round his neck. Formerly the
ropes were made of hair, and handed down as heir-
looms or marriage presents from one generation to
another. Now ropes of hemp are almost if not
entirely used. The dress of the St. Kildans is
very similar to that of the Highland peasants
generally, and shoes and stockings are dispensed
with except on Sundays and special occasions.
Only Gaelic is spoken, but the minister converses
in English with his visitors.

As I was anxious to obtain a few examples of
the Fulmar, I got Donald M'Queen, the best crags-
man and fowler in the island, to accompanv me
one evening to his allotment in the cliffs for the

i64 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

purpose of getting them, and also to see his method
of catching birds. After arming himself with a
rod, about ten feet in length, at the end of which,
fastened on to a hazel twig, was a horse-hair noose
stiffened like a driving-whip with Gannet's quills,
we started for the rocks. This snaring-pole is kept
in a place of safety in the cottage, and looked after
as carefully as the blow-pipe and poisoned arrows
of the South American Indian. It is also used as
a support or even as a leaping-pole when the fowler
is at work on the cliffs. Notwithstanding the gale
that was blowing from the north-west, Donald fear-
lessly descended the cliffs and crept stealthily as a
cat towards the Fulmars that were sitting on their
nests all unconscious of harm, and then carefully
passing the rod towards one of them he slipped the
fatal noose over its head and drew the fluttering-
captive towards him. The Fulmars sitting near
seemed little concerned at the fate of their com-
panion ; they appeared almost as though they were
under the influence of some spell, and he was able
to snare as many as we wanted with the smallest
possible trouble. Donald was also most careful to
take the egg as well, putting it for safety into his
capacious Scotch bonnet. My success, or rather
want of it, was very different when I tried to follow

A VISIT TO ST KIIDA. 165

Donald's example; not a bird was foolish enough
to wait for me to j)lace the noose over its head,
and in spite of all my care and cunning I did not
snare a single Fulmar. All the sea-birds that
frequent the islands are caught in this manner.
As soon as they are taken the fowler usually breaks
their necks and hangs them in his belt, or ties
them by the neck in bunches. Most of the
Puffins, however, are caught in horse-hair nooses
which are fixed on cords and set in various parts
of the cliffs and downs where the birds breed. The
women attend to most of these Puffin snares.
Great numbers of Puffins and Shearwaters are
taken from their holes, either by the fowler himself
or his dog, which is trained for the purpose. When
climbing the more difficult parts of the cliffs the
St. Kildans go in parties ; sometimes two men
go together, more often three or four — one de-
scending the cliffs, the others standing on the
summit to manipulate the ropes and to assist their
companion to explore those parts of the rocks
where eggs and birds are most abundant. One
of the ropes is generally fastened round the
climber's w^aist, and paid out by the men at the
top as it is required, whilst the other rope is
suspended over the cliff by a stake, and is used to

i06 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

relieve the body-rope as much as possible. As is
usual in nearly all cliff-dimbing, the greatest danger
arises from the loose pieces of rock that are liable
to fall on the fowler. Accidents are not of very
frequent occurrence, and are usually the result of
gross carelessness. Donald pointed out the place
to me where his own father lost his footing and
was dashed from the giddy height into the sea
below. I climbed over the exact spot, which
seemed to me one of the most unlikely places in
the cliffs for such an accident to happen. The
great ambition of a St. Kildan is to excel as a
cragsman, to become a successful fowler ; in fact,
until a man has performed certain feats of daring
in the cliffs he never wins a wife ! The man who
fails to scale the beetling Stack Biorrach is said
never to wdn a St. Kildan maiden's heart. In
former days this proof of daring used to be per-
formed before the entire community, but whether
this be so now-a-days I know not.

Sea-birds form the staple food of the people of
this remote island, the Puffin, the Gannet, and the
Fuhnar being the favourites. These birds are
caught in enormous numbers and salted down for
future use, the feathers and oil being exported.
Great numbers of Puffins are simply plucked, split

A VISIT TO ST. KILDA. 167

'open and dried, being strung across the ceilings of
the cottages and taken down as required. A mum-
mified Puffin is one of the dainties of St. Kilda.
It is recorded that ui)\vards of 89,000 Puffins were
caught by the St. Kildans in 1876. These people
are also passionately fond of sweets, even to childish
greediness, and these were the first articles asked for
on our arrival ; tobacco came next. It is probably
owing to this bird-diet of the adult population,
that nearly every infant born in the island suc-
cumbs to what is known there as the "eight day
fever," usually proving fatal on the eighth day
after birth. " Stranger's Cold " is another peculiar
disease, the arrival of any visitors generally being
followed by a kind of influenza which spreads
throughout the population. Ophthalmic diseases
are also prevalent.

Much has been said concerning the difficulty of
landing and the anchorage at St. Kilda. The only
place at which a landing is attempted is on the
rocks below the manse, and boats require the most
skilful management, even in the finest weather, for
there is always a considerable amount of surf and
ground swell. During the whole time of my stav
there was an exceptionally heavy swell; so bad,
in fact, that I was unable to land on any of the

1 68 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

adjoining islands and stacks, with the exception of
Doon, which a few hours' comparative lull enabled
me to visit. The heavy seas that from time to
time break over St. Kilda are almost past credence ;
in some winters the waves are carried over shoulders
several hundred feet high and sweep in torrents
down the hillsides. During fine weather and
favourable winds the anchorage is excellent, but
should bad weather or contrary winds threaten,
the mariner must make all possible haste out
of treacherous Village Bay, or do as my friend
Mackenzie does, make all snug, drop another
anchor, and abandon his vessel to her fate, to ride
out the storm or go to the bottom !

The Robert Hadden left St. Kilda as soon as her
cargo was discharged, and for a week or more we
were as completely isolated from the civilized world
as if we had been in the heart of Africa — far
without the charmed circle of Her Majesty's Post-
Office, and utterly removed from the telegraph
system. The repose of the place then became
thoroughly apparent, and I passed the quietest days
of all my life on these ocean rocks, amidst their
primitive people and their myriads of birds. We
made the two-roomed house near the shore and the
chapel (built for the accommodation of the Factor,

A VISIT TO ST. KIIDA. 169

I believe) our head-quarters, which after a thorough
overhaul and cleaning up was at last made habitable.
Its great drawbacks, however, were damp and Pulex
irritans, the former endowing me with rheumatics,
from which I have never since been free, and the
latter making indoor life a burden, especially at
night. To hear the chanting song of the St.
Kilda men outside our door, however, made
ample amends for our discomfiture, to say nothing
of the Fulmars, the Fork-tailed Petrels, and the
Peregrines ! In about ten days' time a pleasure
steamer, the Dunara Castle., from Glasgow,
arrived, in which I left St. Kilda with many regrets
and leave-takings tinged with sadness, for the
people of the place had shown me every kindness,
and done all in their power to render my stay
amongst them as profitable as it had been pleasur-
able. Before finally leaving St. Kilda, the steamer
made a circuit of the islands, firing a small cannon
at intervals to scare the birds from the clifis. The
wild grandeur and picturesqueness of St. Kilda and
its neighbouring isles can only be seen to advantage
from the water ; then the endless variety of form
and colour which their impressive headlands and
lofty cliffs assume may be viewed in all their lonely
sublimity, the scene being constantly vignetted in

lyo JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

the countless swarms of sea-birds that Uterally
darken the air. The reader who may or may not
contemplate a visit to St. Kilda will probably
appreciate a short list of the birds that either
regularly frequent the islands or pay more or less
irregular visits to them. I also append the St.
Kilda names of such species as are known to the
natives.

I. White-tailed Eagle Haliaetus albicilla (Bris-
son). Irregular visitor. Would probably breed
here if left unmolested ; but as soon as a pair may
chance to make a nest the natives draw lots as to
who must undertake the perilous task of climbing
the cliff and setting fire to the structure. The
St. Kildans fear that the Eagles would destroy the
sheep and lambs.

■ 2. Peregrime Falcon Falco pcregriiius (Gerini).
Breeds in isolated pairs amongst the least accessible
cliffs, notably on Doon.

3. Kestrel Falco tinminculus, Linnaeus. Ir-
regular visitor ; no evidence of its breeding on the
islands.

4. Sparrow-Hawk Accipiter nisus (Linnaeus).
Irregular visitor; may possibly breed here.

5. SoxG Thrush Turdus musicus, Linnaeus.
Occurs rarely on passage.

A VISIT TO ST KIIDA. 171

6. Rkdwing Tardus iliacus^ Linnaeus, " Smear-
acli." Occurs in tlocks on migration during M.iy
and September.

7. Blackbird il/en</a 7??e/-iJrt (Linnasus). " Lon-
dutlia." Occurs on spring and autumn migration.

8. Wheatear Saxicola anunilhe (Linnaeus).
"Clacharan." Very common on St. Kilda, and
one of tlie most conspicuous land birds in tlie
islands.

9. St. Kilda Wren Truglodijtes parvulus liirtcni-
sis, Seebohm. " Dlira-in-doun." The one bird
peculiar to the islands. For a full account of the
history of this species, confer Our Rare?- Birds,
p. 72; Nests and Eggs of British Birds, p. 132.

10. Ravex Cornis corax, Linnaeus. " Fiach."
Resident and breeds in the islands.

11. Hooded Crow Corvus curuix, LinncPus.
*' Fannag." Very common in St. Kilda, breeding-
abundantly on the cliffs. All those I saw were
thoroughbred, no strain of Carrion Crow apparent.

12. Rook Corvus frugilegus,lAnnix^\\s. " Rock-
eish." Occasionally seen in St. Kilda during winter.

13. Starling Sturmns vulgaris, Linnaeus.
" Druit." Fairly common in St, Kilda, breeding
in the "cleats," and occasionally in holes in the
ground.

173 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

14. House Sparrow Passer doiiiesiicus (LinncTus).
May possibly occur accidentally, I saw nothing of
this species.

15. Tree Sparrow Passer montanus (Linnaeus).
Frequents the islands in small numbers and breeds
there.

16. Twite L'ntota ffavirostris (Linn:rus). Not
uncommon, but doubtless breeds on the islands.
I saw flocks of young birds in June.

17. CoRX BuxTiNG is;;z/"e/7\-,« /^////V/r/V/, Linnaeus.
Reputed to frequent the islands ; I saw nothing of
this obtrusive species.

18. Yellow^ Buxtixg Emberiza cilrinella, Lin-
naeus. I saw one example.

19. Barx Swallow Hiriiudo rustiea, Linnaeus.
Visits the islands some years not others. Is not
known to breed here with certainty.

20. Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba yarreUii,
Gould. " Brachd-an-t'sil." Visits St. Kilda during
spring and autumn migration, but the natives say
that it does not breed there.

21. Meadow Pipit Antluis pratensis (Linnaeus).
Occurs sparingly on St. Kilda, where it breeds and
is a resident.

22. Rock Pipit Anthus obscurus (Latham).
Breeds sparingly in the islands.

A VISIT TO ST KILDA. 173

23. Skylark Alauda aneji.sis, Linnaeus. Occa-
sional visitor.

24. Roller Coracias garrula, Linnccus. One
example appears to have been observed on Sr.
Kilda about half a century ago.

25. Cuckoo Cnculus ccniorus, Linnams. " Cuach."
Occasionally visits the islands. Its a[)pearance is
regarded with awe by the natives, who say that it
portends a calamity — the death of Maclecd, the
proprietor of the islands,

26. Rock Dove Columhd livia, Brisson. Fre-
quents the islands in small numbers and breeds
on them.

27. Ptarmigax Telrao mutus (Montin). One
example has been seen on St. Kilda after strong
easterly winds.

28. Hekox Ardca c'nierea, Linnaeus. " Gorridhgr-
id-heach." Accidental visitor. The natives gener-
ally pick them up dead — starved, as the water round
the coast is too deep to admit of the birds catching
food. The St. Kildan sometimes stalks and snares
this bird as it stands upon the rocks.

29. Corn Crake Crex prateu.sis, Bechstein.
" Trien." Occasional visitor on migration, more
abundant some years than others, and always
chiefly in autumn.

174 JO TTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

30. Oystercatcher Hccmatopus ostralegus, Lin-
n^rus. " Treallachan." Breeds on the islands in
small numbers.

31. Golden Plover Charadrius pluvialis, Lin-
naeus. Very occasional visitor,

32. Turnstone Strepsilas iuterpi-es (Linnaeus).
Has been thought to breed on the islands, but
Intherto all proof of the fact is wanting.

2,2)- Curlew Numenius arquata (Linn^us).
" Guilbnaach." I saw one or two pairs of this
species, which may have been breeding in Glen
Mor or on Doon.

34. Whimbrel Numenius phcropus (Linnaeus). I
saw one pair of these birds. Whether it breeds
here is yet unknown.

o^'^. Common Sandpiper Totanus hypoleucus Lin-
naeus. Sir William Milner states that he saw this
species on the islands in June forty-five years
ago.

■^6. Dunlin Tringa alpina, Linnaeus. Gray
asserts that this species breeds on the islands, but
I think erroneously. It is, so far as I can learn,
only an occasional visitor.

37. Common Snipe Scolopnx gal/iuago, Linnaeus.
*• Niiskin." Said to be a resident on St. Kilda.
I failed to see anything of this species.

A VISIT TO ST KIIDA. 175

38. Woodcock Scolopax ru.sticola, Linnaeus.
"Ootacac." Probably passes on migration.

39. Great Black-backed Gull Larus marirms,
Linnaeus. " Farspach." Common, and certainly
breeds in more or less abundance on Doon and
Soay. Much disliked by the natives because of
its egg-stealing propensities.

40. Lesser Black-backed Gull Lani.s Jliscus,
LinniPus. Breeds in considerable numbers on the
various islands and stacks.

41. Herring Gull Lams argentatus^ Gmelin.
Widely distributed over the islands, but nothing
near so common as the preceding species.

42. Common Gull Larus crams, Linnaeus. Is
said to frequent the islands, but I did not observe
this species.

43. Kittiwake Larus tridactijlus, Linnaeus.
"Ruideag." By far the commonest Gull in St.
Kilda, many of the cliffs being white with them.
Said to arrive in April and to leave in August.

44. Great Skua Stercorarius catarrhactes (Lin-
nccus). An irregular visitor.

45. Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serra/ur,
Linnaeus. " Sheiltach." A rare visitor, the coasts
being scarcely suited to its requirements.

46. Eider Duck Somateria moH'issima (Linnaeus).

176 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

" Gochach." Not very common, but certainly
breeds on Doon. I noticed as many as half-a-
dozen pairs swimming together in the Bay.

47. King Eider Somateria spectabilis (Linnaeus).
Certainly frequents St. Kilda, although no evidence
of its breeding there has yet been obtained. Conf.
Game Birds and JVild Fowl of the British Islands,
p. 447.

48. Swans Cygniis, spec. in. Swans occasionally
visit the islands ; but the species has not yet been
determined.

49. Great Northern Diver Coli/mbiis glacialis,
Linnaeus. " Bunna Chuachel." Accidental visitor.

50. Common Guillemot Uria troile (Linnaeus).
" Lamhaidh." Frequents the cliffs in vast numbers.

51. Brunxich's Guillemot Uria briieniiicJii, E.
Sabine. Sir William Milner states that this bird
breeds on St. Kilda. It is very possible that it
may do so, but there is no recent testimony in
support of the assertion.

52. Black Guillemot Uria grijUe (Linnaeus).
" Gearadh-breacha." Not uncommon, but much
less abundant than the Common Guillemot. It
certainly breeds on Doon as well as St. Kilda.

^2,' Little Auk Mergidus alle (Linnaeus). Rare
winter visitor.

A VISIT TO ST. KILDA. i'tj

54. Razorbill AIca torda, Linnaeus. "Falcadli."
Almost as abundant as the Guillemot.

^i). Great Auk u4lca i jnpeiini s, Liinnscus. "An
erbhoil." St. Kilda was perhaps the only part of the
British Islands where this now extinct species ever
bred. Martin was probably the first naturalist to
give us any information of this bird from personal
observation. He states that it is " the stateliest as
well as the largest of all the Fowls here," and that
"he fiyeth not at all, lays his (.sic) egg upon the
bare rock, which if taken away, he lays no more for
that year." The Great Auk, so far as we have any
record, does not seem to have bred there reo-ularlv.
The last specimen that was taken at St. Kilda ap-
pears to have been in 1822. I am convinced that
much of the information which has been gathered
at St. Kilda respecting the Great Auk is very
unreliable. I should say that the Great Northern
Diver has been confused with it more than once.
I was informed that half a century ago a Great
Auk was said to have been stoned to death on
Stack-an-Armin, the natives believing it to be
an evil spirit. The old man who had assisted
at this ornithological sacrilege recognized at once
the drawing of the Great Auk which I had
brought with me, but none of the vouno-er men

X

178 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

appeared to know anything about this unfortunate
species.

^(>. Puffin Fratercula arctica (Linnaeus). " Bou-
gir." Frequents St. Kilda in incredible abundance.
See Our Rare?' Birds, p. 265.

57. Cormorant Phalacrocorax carta (Linnaeus).
Occurs very sparingly at St. Kilda.

58. Shag Phalacrocorax graculus (Linnaeus).
" Sgarbh." Commoner than the preceding species,
and breeds in the caves and crevices.

59. Gannet Sida bassana, Brisson. " Souler."
Breeds in thousands on Borreay and the adjacent
stacks. Arrives in May, leaves as soon as the
young (which the natives call " Gugha") are strong
on the wing.

60. Fulmar Fidmarus glacialis (Linnseus). " Ful-
a-mair." Par exceUence the bird of St. Kilda. For
a full description of this species see Our Rarer
Birds, p. 292.

61. Manx Shearwater Puffimis anglorum (Tem-
minck). " Scrapire." Very common, especially on
Soay. Conf. Our Rarer Birds, p. 286.

62. Stormy Petrel Procellaria pelagica, Lin-
naeus. " Assilag." Very common, especially on
Soay. It also breeds on Doon and Borreay in
June.

A VISIT TO ST KILDA. 179

63. Fork-tailed Petrfx Procellaria lenclii, Tem-
minck. Breeds on Soay, Borreay, and Doon.
Conf. Our Rarer Birds, p. 300.

A perusal of this list will show how rich St. Kikla
is in interesting birds, and how well the wonderful
islands will repay a visit.

VII.

THE ARTIST'S BIRDS.

But very few Artists, save those who make
Ornithology a special study, possess sufficient know-
ledge, even of the most elementary character, to
introduce the Bird correctly and effectively into
their works. It is cause for surprise that the artist
who portrays inanimate nature with such marvellous
fidelity and feeling should become so palpably
inaccurate when his pencil depicts animate life, and
especially bird-life. Nowhere has this been more
forcibly exemplified to the present writer than at
the exhibitions of the Royal Academy. It may be
safely said that these annual collections of works
thoroughly represent all the best artistic talent of
modern times ; so that a critical review of these
pictures applies to British Art generally. So far as
Ornithology is concerned this is universally and
lamentably true. In no branch of his work does
the artist's mind seem less educated in that fidelity
to detail which Nature inexorably demands as in

THE ARTISTS BIRDS. i8i

that which depicts birds and bird-life. As a conse-
quence, many good j)ictures have been and continue
to be utterly spoiled where the painter rashly essays
to take birds as part of his subject. His faults may
be in tw^o directions. Either from his ignorance of
the bird's anatomy, the structure and arrangement
of its feathers, and tlie mechanical laws that govern
the movements of its legs and wings, his drawings
may be hopelessly wrong ; or, having no knowledge
of the habits, haunts, and characteristics of the
species he elects to paint, he falls into errors of
detail, sufficient to brand his work as faithless to
nature. The cause of much of this inaccuracy is
that artists are too fond of painting their birds from
stuffed specimens, often wretchedly mounted ; or,
which is more unpardonable still, of copying them
from books on ornithology, which in nine cases
out of ten are full of those very errors which
they as artists should seek to avoid by going to
Nature for their inspirations. As the artist goes
to Nature for his rocks and trees and water and
sky, so he must seek her for his birds. The
artist must become a naturalist as well it he
wishes to acquire those skilful touches which imbue
with life the birds and beasts he puts upon his
canvas. Art and Nature are inseparable ; and the

i82 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

mind which is constantly being exercised in noting
the pecuharities in rock and tree and water, should
be employed just as lovingly and patiently in tracing
the habits and characteristics of the furred and
feathered creatures that inhabit them. He will then
be able to catch the happiest and most expressive
attitudes of the various birds, and to surround them
with those faultless details which so largely assist
him in making an effective and truthful picture.
He will then know^ what to select and what to avoid ;
for among birds there are species which never tell
to advantage, however skilfully they may be intro-
duced ; just as there are trees and rocks and cloud
effects which make bad subjects, however w^ell they
may be treated.

At a very recent exhibition I found many works
hanging at the Royal Academy which strikingly
illustrated the truth of the preceding remarks. For
instance, in one large painting we are shown a
group of Swans and Cygnets, on what I took to be
a Highland Lake, seeing that a Golden Eagle is in
the act of swooping down upon them. In the first
place, it is a decided error to place the Mute Swan
{Cygnus olor) on a mountain lake. This species is
nowhere wild in the British Islands. It lives in a
state of semi-domestication under the protection of

THE ARTISTS BIRDS. 183

man in broads and rivers, or on ornamental waters,
and is never known to breed on the wild Scottish
lochs — the haunt of the Golden Eagle. In the
second place, it must be remembered that the Mute
Swan is one of the most pugnacious of birds,
especially during the breeding season, jealously
guarding a particular part of the water from all
intruders. In the face of this fact, however, the
artist shows three adult swans swimming peace-
fully together in company with a pair of cygnets !
Another great error in this elaborate painting is
to be remarked in the swooping Eagle. Apart
from the fact that it is very improbable that a
bird of tliis species would attack one Swan, let
alone three, as the Golden Eagle is a cowardly
fellow, generally molesting weak and defenceless
creatures only, the manner in which the attack
is being made is wrong. All the Birds of Prey
{Raptor es) strike with their legs and feet alone,
never with their beak, which is reserved for the
purpose of tearing the captured bird or animal in
pieces. Yet in this picture we are shown the Eagle
in the act of striking at the Swans with beak as
well as with feet. Such errors as these seriously
detract from the artistic merits of such an imposing
work — mistakes that might easily have been averted

i84 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

had the paniter possessed even small knowledge of
the habits and economy of the Eagle and the Swan.
Then I noticed an interesting picture of startled
Wild Ducks {Anas hoschas) flying from the reeds,
which may be aptly taken as an illustration of
another error into which most painters fall when
portraying a bird in the act of flight. Even if the
bird be fairly well poised in the air we generally
find that the wings are not placed correctly, but
usually with the innermost secondaries at some
distance from the body. Did this space exist in
nature much of the motive power of flight would
be lost by allowing the air to escape through it,
instead of formino- an unbroken line of resistance.
But no such waste occurs, and during flight the
scapulars and innermost secondaries fit close to the
body, furnishing considerable support to the bird
and resistance to the atmosphere. A bird's wing is
admirably formed for the purpose of flight, as any
one may see who cares to take the trouble of
making an examination ; and to paint this beautiful
structure in a distorted, unnatural position is to
sacrifice any artistic merits a picture may possess to
the want of the merest rudiments of ornithological
knowledge. Another indoor-study of Wild Ducks,
for it could never certainly have been taken from the

THE ARTIST'S BIRDS. 1S5

life, representing a bunch of these birds hurrying
from a fringe of tall reeds, also displays a sad want
of technical knowledge. In the first place, flowering
water-lilies indicate the height of summer, a season
when the Wild Duck is most unsocial, and when
the drakes (in a brown, unassuming plumage) are
moulting, and skulking in their habits, and the
ducks are busy with their broods. Then again, the
artist places the drakes in the foreground, which is
literally playing "ducks and drakes " with Anatine
etiquette. The observ^er will find that it is the rule,
"when these birds are alarnied, for the drakes to wait
until the ducks are well on the wing before they
attempt to follow them ! We can quite sympathize
with the artist in wishing to place handsome drakes
in the foreground of his picture, and to introduce
tlie pretty flowers to lend an additional charm to the
clear still pool, but it has been done at the expense
of sacrificing truth to effect.

Another picture which impressed me was a study
of Gulls grouped on a sandy shore. I presume the
birds are Lesser Black-backed Gulls {Larusfuscus),
from the dark-gray colour of the mantle, and that
they have been drawn from stufied specimens or
from examples in captivity. Now had the artist
gone to Nature for his birds, he would have found

iS6 JOTTIXGS ABOUT BIRDS.

that it is the exception not the rule for the immature
birds to Hock with the adults. The larger Gulls
are several years advancing to maturity, and do not
breed nor mix much with the old birds until they
have at least got rid of the brown plumage of their
youth. What is evidently a very young bird is
j)ortrayed in this picture, showing traces of adult
plumage on the mantle and scapulars, but these
feathers are among the last to change their colour
when the Gull has almost reached the fully adult
stage of its existence. We thus again see how want
of knowledge of the habits of the Gulls, and of their
various phases of plumage, have led the artist into
serious errors which mar an otherwise pleasing work.
Of all the admirable sea-pieces in the exhibition to
which these remarks more particularly refer, whether
of lofty rugged rocks, fiat sandy shores, or restless
sea in ever-changing mood of calm and storm, in
which Gulls have been introduced, not one artist
has depicted them correctly. In many of the works
I noticed the painter has had exceptionally good
opportunities for bringing in this graceful sea-bird
where its presence would have been an important
acquisition to the general effect of the scene por-
trayed. Where the birds were shown a few splashes
of black and white pigment, usually in the shape of

THE ARTISTS BIRDS. 1S7

the conventional V? tlo duty for the Gull. In one
instance only did the artist attempt anything more,
but his bird was faulty, and gave one no idea of the
graceful Gull as it is at home, flying buoyantly over
a stormy sea. The attitude for a bird in the air
was wrong, the body was too small in proportion to
the wings. The primary feathers of the latter should
have been drawn recurved at the tips, as would cer-
tainly have been the case in the gale of wind which
the artist wished us to feel was sweeping over the
sea in squally gusts. I wondered deeply at this
inaccuracy, for of all birds the Gulls are perhaps
the easiest to study, as they poise and turn and
hover above the water within a stone's throw of the
observer. The characteristics of their flight can be
readily transferred to canvas, when once the artist
has made himself thoroughly acquainted with them.
Not only can he give a lifelike representation of
these birds, but by a few skilful touches he may
impart their specific identity. So far as British
Gulls are concerned, this is readily done. The
Lesser Black-backed Gull [Larus fiiscu.s) and the
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinu.s) are dis-
tinguished from all other species by their dark-gray
mantle, and the former from the latter by its smaller
size and yellow instead of flesh-coloured legs and

1 88 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

feet. The Herring Guli [Larus argeutaius) is readily
shown by its large size and pale-gray mantle com-
bined. The Common Gull {Larus €cuius)^x]\o\.\^\
similar in colour, is much smaller, and the bill, legs,
and feet are strongly suffused with green. The
Black-headed Gull [Larus ridibujidus), as its name
im[)lies, is characterized by its dark-brown hood in
summer, and by its coral red beak, legs, and feet at
all seasons ; whilst the Kittiwake {Larus tridacty-
lus) is readily identified by its gray instead of black
quills, in conjunction with its rock-haunting habits.
This latter Gull is the Gull par excellence of the
beetling rocks ; just as the Black-headed Gull is the
one to introduce on inland pastures and swampy
grounds.

In this particular exhibition, with one or two
praiseworthy exceptions, the artists have been just
as unsuccessful in their treatment of the land birds.
Let me hasten to accord praise where it is due.
One of the most charming bird pictures in the
galleries was a small painting of Peregrines {Falco
peregrinus). Although so small— little more than
a vignette in fact — the picture was admirably
painted, showing how birds can be painted by an
artist who, as I happen to know, is an enthusiastic
naturalist too. Two clever drawings in water-

THE ARTISTS BIRDS. 1S9

colours, one of Black Game [l^^tran tctrix) and
the other of Partridges [Perd/\v ciiiarea), also
brought with them the scent of the moorlands and
the fielils. Again we have the work of an artist-
naturalist — of one who evidently makesit his business
to studv the habits and peculiarities of the birds he
portrays. In one minor detail, however, the "old
Adam" breaks out. By painting two birds of each
sex an impression is created that Black Grouse are
monogamous instead of polygamous ; neither do
the cocks and hens consort much in autumn, the
season inferred from the accessories. Several small
drawings of Blue Titmice (Parus ccerulens) bring
me back again to the unpleasant task of finding
fault. In one drawing we are shown a pair of these
birds on the ground — evidently painted from badly
stuffed specimens, and by an artist ignorant of
the arrangement of a bird's plumage. Now the
Blue Titmouse is not a ground bird by any means,
but spends most of its time among the slender
branches and twigs, which it diligently searches for
food. How much better then would this study
have been had the pert, comical little birds been
shown clinging to some long droo[)ing twig, and
not clothed in ragged (artistic r) plumes, but neat
and trim and lively, as they always are in life r

T90 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

Many birds that have been introduced into
pictures fairly puzzle the ornithologist as to their
identity. How many times have I heard the
question asked, " What birds are those ? " and what
widely divergent answers have been volunteered.
Now the unfortunate objects were Crows, anon
Swallows, and later still fancy had turned them
into Blackbirds ! Better far had such ornithological
travesties been omitted altogether. For the artist
there can be and is no excuse — he has it in his
power to give correctly, on however small a scale,
the birds he seeks to portray ; but to do so he
must study them as carefully as he would any other
natural objects. How often, for instance, do we
see the Waterhen {GaUinida chloropus) caricatured.
This bird is remarkably neat in its outline and
most graceful in its movements. These traits
should be preserved. Another fault which must
be noticed is the way in which an artist strives to
conceal his ignorance of the dermal covering of
birds, especially the smaller feathers of the wings
(greater, median, and lesser coverts, scapulars,
and innermost secondaries), by dauby clouds of
colour which portray nothing in particular, save
the painter's want of technical knowledge.

It is rather an interesting fact, that the birds with

THE ARTIST'S BIRDS. 191

which the artist is most successful are those Hving
in a state of domestication or under the protection
of man. Tliis goes flir to prove that painters
neglect their golden ()|)portunities of studying wild
bird-life, and when called upon to portray it trust to
memory, to stuffed specimens, or to faulty pictures.
Domestic birds are easy to observe, and the painter
can study them throughout the progress of his
work — hence the reason of his greater success.
The birds selected by the artist at present are
remarkably few, the number of species represented,
or misrepresented, being probably less than a score.
This seems surprising when we know there are
hundreds of birds that might be portrayed to
advantage, and at the same time introduce an
element of variety which would be as welcome as it
would be fresh. The hackneyed Gull, which may
be any one of the half-dozen common British
species ; the Crow, which does duty for anything
and everything black ; the stereotyped \J , which is
anything from an Eagle to a Wren, together with
domestic poultry and Pigeons — these are the artist's
birds, on which he chiefly if not entirely relies to
lend a sense of life to his work. Once let the
artist be brought to see the error of his wavs in
this direction, and there can be no doubt for the

192 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

results. As a rule, artists are keen observers, and
once let them be made to feel the want of a greater
variety in their bird subjects, and we shall quickly
reach a higher standard of accuracy. A man cannot
paint bird-life with the touch of a master without
giving to the birds careful observation, and with that
observation a practically limitless field of artistic
work will be opened out. We have a right to
demand and expect accuracy cf detail from artists
who presume to place on their canvas any of
Nature's beautiful and fauldess handiwork.

Now let us leave the few stereotyped " painters'
birds" and glance at some of the species that the
artists have so long and so unaccountably neg-
lected. We will commence with those that should
belong to the marine painter. Among all the
varied phases of bird-life, there are no birds more
effective when introduced into a picture than those
to be found on the shore. What more strikingly
beautiful, for instance, than a flock of Terns sport-
ing fairy-like above a dark-green sea? Aptly indeed
have they been named the Swallows of the deep —
they live almost in the air, and must be classed
among the most graceful of birds. A dozen species
are classed as British, but out of these not more
than four are common in British seas. All these

THE ARTISTS BIRDS. 193

are summer visitors to our islands, ami all are
remarkable for their gregarious habits and dexterity
of aerial movement. These four species possess
the following characteristics in common. They
have a black cap, extending on to the naj)e, and
the colour of the upper parts is French gray,
darkest on the quills and wing coverts. The wings
are long and pointed, the tail is acutely forked, the
outermost feathers being remarkably long and
narrow, whilst the beak is long and slender and
nearly straight from the base to the tip. The
largest and rarest of these species, the Sandwich
Tern {Stenia ccailiaca), is characterized by its size,
its black beak tipped with yellow, proportionately
less acutely forked tail, and pure white under
surface. The Common Tern {Sterna hiruiido) and
the Arctic Tern [Sterna arctica) are very similar in
appearance, but peculiarities of the former species
are its orange-red beak tipped with black, and very
pale French gray (almost white) underparts, the
beak of the latter species being rich crimson, and
the underparts a much darker tint of gray. The
Lesser Tern [Sterna ni'uinta) is the smallest Euro-
pean species, and is further distinguished by its
white forehead, yellow beak tipped with black, and
white underparts. We need only make a passing

194 JOTTINGS ABOUT TII^^DS.

allusion to the beautiful effect these birds produce
by their bold contrast of colour and delicate
outline, either when following a shoal of fry, attend-
ing the fishing-boats, or flitting buoyantly up and
down the httle creeks amongst the limpet-covered
and sea-weed draped rocks of their island haunts ;
or, yet again, at their breeding-places, where they
literally fill the air like a living snowstorm.

Let us now pass on to some of the other sea-
birds. It would seem that the majority of marine
painters are ignorant of the existence of any other
sea-fowl but Gulls, and consequently those birds are
introduced into every description of littoral scenery.
But every part of the shore has its peculiar birds.
The bold rugged headlands rising sheer from a
restless sea are the abode of the Awk family,
represented in our islands by the Guillemot {Uria
troilt), the Black Guillemot {Uria gnjlle), and the
Razorbill (Jlica torda). The Guillemot and the
Razorbill crowd in incredible numbers on the ledges
and in the crannies and clefts of the cliffs. M'^ell
drawn, these birds make admirable subjects for the
painter, their black and white plumage being dis-
played in effective contrast. The two species are
very similar in colour, but the Guillemot is easily
distinguished bv its long- narrow beak, that of the

CD ^ O '

THE ARTIST'S BIRDS. 195

Razorbill being broad and short, and crossed with a
narrow white line. Rut the artist must be careful
in his treatment of their plumage, which varies con-
siderably according to season. These birds only
frequent the rocks in summer, and then they are in
breeding plumage, characterized by the smoke-black
throat and neck, which in winter are white, uniform
with the rest of the underparts. Let the painter
bear in mind that the plumage of many other birds
changes in colour with the season ; nuptial orna-
ments are assumed and lost ; whilst much diversity
is due to sex and age. The Puffin [Fratercula
arclica) also belongs to the family of Auks, but
prefers to frequent low islands, precipitous downs,
and the summits of the cliffs, where it burrows into
the soft earth to make its scanty nest. The painter
will also do well to follow this interestino; bird out
to s.'a, for when engaged in fishing it forms a
remarkably pretty object for a marine jjicture.
Carefully painted from nature, the Puffin, with its
bold c(jntrast of colour, brilliantly tinted beak, and
exceedingly comical facial expression, is one of the
best bird subjects an artist can select. Another bird
in quiet harmony with the Scottish lochs is the Red-
breasted Merganser {Mergus serrafur), a species of
Duck singularly beautiful in colour, and insepar-

196 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

ably associated with the wild waters of the Western
Highlands and the Hebrides, as well as with many
of the Irish loughs. Again, I often wonder why
the extremely pretty Eider Duck {Somateria
moUissima) has been so entirely ignored by the
marine painter. What could be more effective
than a small party of these handsome birds swim-
ming just outside the surf on a rock-bound coast,
riding buoyantly as corks on the curling crests of
the waves, or diving through the huge green rollers
just as they turn over to break in thunder on the
beach ? But here aoain the artist must be careful
TiOt to introduce this bird into pictures of southern
waters, especially in summer, for it is not known to
breed on our coasts south of the Fame Islands.
Another bird which should be a special favourite
with the marine artist is the Oystercatcher {Hcema-
topus ostralegus). Its black and w^hite plumage,
orange-coloured beak, and pink legs and feet make
it a conspicuous object on the shingly shore, as it
runs along by the margin of the waves.

On the wild northern moors close to the sea the
Skuas have their home. These birds are readily
distinguished from the Gulls by their brown colour
and cuneiform tails. The Great Skua {Slercorarius
catarrliactes) is readily identified by its large size.

THE AIUVST'S BIRDS. ic,-;

uniform brown colouration, and only slightly pro-
longed central tail feathers, which do not project
more than an inch beyond the outer ones; Richard-
son's Skua [Stercorarius ricliard.soni) is distinguished
by its long central tail feathers and lighter under-
parts. These two Skuas are the only ones that
breed in the British Islands, but two other species
occur here on abnormal migration. Then w^e have
the various species of Petrel, all possessing well-
marked characteristics, which may be effectively
introduced into suitable marine paintings. The
tiny Stormy Petrel {Procellaria pelagica)^ with its
square tail; the Fork-tailed Petrel {Procellaria
leachi), with the tail forked ; whilst in both species
the white basal half of the upper tail coverts is
very conspicuous during flight. The Shearwater
{Piiffinus auglnrum), with its strong contrast of
black and wdiite plumage, short tail, and narrow
scythe-shaped wings, is a familiar object of the open
sea. Nor must we fail to notice the many species
of Sea Ducks and Geese that enliven our low-lying
coasts in winter, all of which may be readily por-
trayed and endowed with individuality by the artist
who carefully studies them. Wild Swans and
Geese are grandly effective birds, say when stand-
ing alert and watchful on the low sand-banks at

198 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

dawn or dusk waiting for the ebbing of the tide.
The Cormorant [Phalacrocorax carbo) and the Shag
[Phalacrocorax graculus) may be introduced with
greatest effect into a picture of ocean rocks, either
as the birds are sitting basking in the bright sun-
shine, often with wings outstretched, or near their
nests and roosting-places in the ocean caves and on
the ledges of the chfFs. The latter bird is easily
distinguished from the former by its smaller size,
green tints, and, in the early breeding season, con-
spicuous frontal crest of recurved feathers. It has
also only twelve tail feathers, the Cormorant possess-
ing fourteen. The Cormorant has the bare skin
of the face and throat yellow, whilst in the Shag
it is black. The Gannet {Sulci I'asscnia), in its
snowy plumage, is another bird belonging to this
family, and one singularly effective either when in
the air or seated on the rocks. Gannets fishing in
the deep blue waters of a northern sea would make
a grandly effective subject for the marine j)ainter.
The pretty Ringed Plover {/Egialitis hiaticula) and
the Turnstone {St?'epsilas interpres) are also birds
of a sandy shore appealing strongly to the artist's
careful treatment. But sufficient has been said to
suggest any number of striking studies to the
marine artist, and to enable him to introduce

THE ARTIST S BIRDS. 199

an element oF much-neeJed variety into liis
works.

I pass now to the landscape painter's portion of
the subject. Here the choice is evxn more ex-
tensive, but the artist has sadly neglected his
opportunities. Almost every landscape admits oF
tlie introduction oF bird-liFe in some form, antl
many phases oF bird-liFe contain all the elements
for most effective studies. I pass over most oF the
smaller species — not because they are any the less
worthy, but because their small size is an obstacle
to their successFul artistic treatment, unless drawn
specially and liFe-size. What an infinite variety oF
subjects might be selected, for instance, From the
Raptores, or Birds oF Prey: the Golden Eagle
{Aqiiila chrijsaetus) amongst the mountain crags —
not in the act oF attacking healthy birds or beasts
much stronger and more pugnacious than himselF,
but either standins; on some Favourite crag in
solitude, or striking the weak and defenceless lamb
or death-stricken beast ; or, yet again, at his eyrie
far up the beetling cliffs : the White-tailed Eagle
{Ha/iaetus albicillci), sailing proudly over the moun-
tain lochs, or beating about the sheep farms and
the coasts in quest of carrion : the Peregrine {Falco
peregri)i>(s), all dash and vigour and nervous excite-

200 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

ment, watching the sea-birds, the rabbits, and the
wild-fowl, or swooping after theni in all the heat
and pride of chase : the Buzzard {Buteo vu/gari.s),
sluggishly beating along the uplands in quest of
small and weak defenceless animals: the Sparrow
Hawk [Accipitei- Jii.ms), dashing along the hedge-
rows at dawn or even in quest of small Finches :
the Kestrel {Faico tinnunculus), high up in the blue
sky, floating on quivering wings and outspread tail,
surveying the meadows and the stubbles below for
mice : the Osprey {Pandion haliaetus), making a
meal off a captured fish, or striking at its finny
prey in the clear blue mountain lakes or lowland
broads. The Owls also are remarkably telling
subjects for the painter. What more noble-looking
than the Eagle Owl {Bubo maximus), or the Snowy
Owl {Surnia nyctea), in the act of chasing the
smaller mammals, or at rest, either in the branches
of the pine trees or on the rugged rocks ? Both
these birds, it should be remarked, are only very
rare stragglers to our islands. The Tawny Owl
{Strix aluco) may be happily introduced amongst
ivy ; whilst the Barn Owl [Aluco Jlammeus) is just
as much at home near ruins, barns, or steeples.
All these birds possess well-marked characteristics
and much contrast of colour, which not only

THE ARTIST'S Ty/RDS. 201

renders their representation easy, but very effective
too.

Several of the smaller birds lend themselves
admirably to the painter's art. What, for instance,
can we select more beautiful than a Sky-Lark
{Alauda cirvensis) soaring upwards to the zenith,
vignetted in blue ethereal space? But the bird
must be faultlessly drawn, and the idea of motion
correctly conveyed, otherwise a charming subject
will be irrevocably spoiled. Swallows and Martins
also admit of artistic treatment, and may be intro-
duced into almost any kind of landscape with
advantage. But let us have the Swallow {Hirundo
rustica), with its nearly uniform steel-blue upper
):)lumage and dark band across the chest, extremely
narrow and elongated outer tail feathers, and bright
chestnut forehead and throat ; the House Martin
{Clielidon urh'ca), with white underparts and upper
parts steel-blue, except the rump and some of the
upper tail coverts which are white, forming a
conspicuous patch when the bird is flying, the tail
short and deeply forked, but the outermost feathers
not elongated. The Sand Martin (^Cotijle riparia)
is the least attractive and conspicuous in its plumage,
being brown above and white below, except a brown
band across the chest. The Wheatear {Saxicola

202 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

ocnanlhe) and the Pied and Yellow Wagtails
(^Motacilla alba yarreUii and ]\I. raii) are also birds
of bright and strongly contrasted plumage, that may
be introduced into landscapes with advantage. We
find the Wheatear on downs and upland wastes ; the
Wagtails on the fallows and pastures, often running
about near to feeding cattle, and by the margin of
ponds and streams. The various species of Crows
may also be cited as well adapted to the artist's
needs. Almost every kind of scenery is frequented
by one or other of these birds. The pastures are
tlie chosen feeding-grounds of the Rook [Corvus
frugilegus), distinguished by its purplish black
plumage and bare warty face ; the Carrion Crow
[Corviis corone) is a bird of the woods as well as
the wilderness, and differs from the preceding in
having greenish reflections in its plumage, and the
face covered with feathers ; the Hooded Crow
{Corvus comix), with its mixture of black and grey
plumage, frequents the low meadows and swampy
shores of estuaries during winter, and the Highland
sheep flirms in summer; the Jackdaw [Corvus
monedula), notable for its small size, rounded wings,
and gray nape, is a bird of the ruin, the cliff, and
the hollow tree. The Magpie [Pica caudata), with
its characteristic and familiar garb, frequents the

rilE ARTIST'S BIRDS. 203

fields and coppices, and is often seen j)erclied on
the back of a sheep or cow; the Jay [iiarndus
glandar'uis) is another remarkably handsome bird
of the woodlands; and the black-coated Chough
{P}jrrh()corax graculns), distinguished by its long
slender red bill and legs and feet, may be intro-
duced with effect into the pastures near the sea
along our western coast-line. The Starling [Siunius
'riilgaris) is another bird adapted to the landscape
painter, its characteristic attitudes being very
effective. The beautiful mottled plumage of the
Goatsucker {Caprinnt/gn.s curopieus) appeals strongly
to the artist's pencil — in fact, what could be more
effective than a study of bracken and fern, or a
moss and lichen covered branch, introducing this
cliarming bird as he is at horns, doling away the
hours of daylight, waiting for the dusk, when he
starts up in quest of food ? Let the artist be
careful, however, should he elect to paint him on
a branch, to place him perched along, not across it.
Attention may also be drawn to the various species
of Pigeons, all inhabitants of special districts, and
each possessing well-marked characteristics. The
Game birds, too, must not be neglected — not as
dead trophies, but as living creatures full of interest
and charm. Tlie Pheasant (Pha.sianns culc/ticus),

2 04 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

the Partridge {Ferdix cinerea), and the Red Grouse
[Tetrao scoticus) are too well known to need further
comment; but high up on the mountain tops the
Ptarmigan {Tetrao mutus) has its home. This
Grouse is mottled brown of various shades in
summer, but in winter assumes a snow-white dress
for the sake of protection from various predaceous
creatures. It then closely resembles the Willow
Grouse {Tetrao albus), a bird imported into this
country in large numbers for food ; but the artist
will find a point of distinction in the narrow black
stripe through the e^^e of the male Ptarmigan. He
will also be careful to note that in winter the toes of
the Ptarmigan are covered with thick feathers, almost
hiding the claws, but in summer the greater part of
the toes is almost bare. The Black Grouse {Tetrao
tetrix) and the Red-legged Partridge {Caccahis rufa)
also deserve the attention of the landscape painter.
That magnificent bird, the Great Bustard {Otis
tarda), is now, alas! exterminated from its British
haunts, but I see no reason why a bird of this
species should not be introduced into a picture of
Salisbury Plain, once its favourite home.

Passing notice must be given to the various
species of Plover and Sandpiper that frequent the
uplands in summer and the low coasts in winter —

THE ARTISTS BIRDS. 205

the Curlew {Niunenius arquala)^ the Godvvit
{Limo.sa ruj'a), and the Phalarope (Phaiaropus
hypcrboreus) being especially beautiful and chaste.
Pass now to the graceful Herons. The Common
Heron [Ardea cincrea) requires no introduction
to the painter ; it is a bird eminently suitable for
river scenery. Then we have the Great White
Heron {^Ardea alba), the Little Egret [Ardea
garzetta), the Squacco Heron {Ardea comata), the
Bittern [Bolaurus stellaris), and the Crane {Grus
cinerea), ah lending themselves admirably to the
artist's purpose, and forming fitting ornaments to
the several scenes they frequent. In addition to
the Waterhen {Gallinida chloropus) and the Coot
(Fu/ica atra), must be mentioned the Corn Crake
(Crex praiensi.s), the Spotted Crake {Crex porzana),
and the Water Rail [Railas aquaticus), species
either found in the grass meadows, or on broads
and reed-fringed pools. Many species of Ducks
also claim attention from the landscape painter —
the Wigeon {Anas penelope), the Teal {Anas
crecca), the Shoveller {Anas chjpeata), and the
Tufted Duck {Fuligula cristala), all being inhabit-
ants of inland waters during the greater part of the
year. Let us see no more flocks of Wild Duck in
summer. A party of these birds rising from

2 36 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

among the rushes, all brown and dead, and swaying
inourntully in the wind, growing round a half-
frozen pool, say just as the sun is dipping behind
a mass of crimson cloud — this would form a
subject true to life in every detail, grandly effective,
and portraying Nature as she is, and how she may
be seen on any day in midwinter by the artist who
cares to make the observation.

Let not the artist rest content with British birds ;
there are plenty more beyond the seas even better
adapted to his treatment. A study of Vultures in
the desert ; Ostriches being stalked by some of
the large carnivora ; Storks in the meadows, or
standing on the masonry of temples and mosques;
Pelicans, Flamingoes, and a host of others, all
remarkably effective. Again, what artist has yet
portrayed the glorious dress of the Humming
Birds, the metallic splendours of the Sun Birds, the
rich and loricated hues of the Birds of Paradise,
and a hundred others equahy grand, effective, and
beautiful ? Want of space prevents me going into
further details of this branch of the subject, but I
trust sufficient has been said to call the artist's
attention to many birds hitherto beyond his
notice.

The mention of Humming Birds brings me to

THE ARTISTS BIRDS. 207

tlic subject of portraying birds in motion. How
rarely do wc see this correctly done. With some,
especially small species, the wings are beaten too
rapidly to present any definite shape; and yet we
invariably find that when any of these smaller birds
are depicted in the act of flight, the artist most
erroneously draws the wing- in detail and outline
just as though it were at rest. The body and tail
of the bird are all that can be seen definitely; the
wings appear but haloes of vibrating rays, looking
like puffs of mist on either side, so quickly are they
moved, just as is the case wdth the wings of a moth
or a fly. Larger birds, as a rule, fly more slowly,
and the wing-beats are more deliberate ; moreover?
they often skim or sail for some distance with no
ajjparent effort with the pinions held still and
expanded — note the rapid change in the appearance
of the wings of a Partridge or a Pigeon as the bird
skims or swoops, after flying directly with the
wings rapidly beating. A loitering, skimming, or
hovering attitude should therefore be selected by
the artist in every case w'hen a flying bird is
represented, and great discrimination should be
used in selecting species for [)ortraval in the air.

Apropos of ideal scenes of bird-life, the question
may possibly arise — Should the artist be allowed

2o8 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

sufficient licence to prevaricate truth for the sake of
effect ? I think not. Abundance of efft^ct can be
obtained in a legitimate manner from Nature as
she is — not as she might be. Again, so far as
regards these works in which it is obvious that the
artist has drawn on his imagination for his subject,
the inaccuracies prove the meagreness of his
observation, and unerringly brand them as ideal
compositions. Such pictures almost invariably
introduce us to birds under the most exceptional
circumstances, surrounded by impossible accessories.
So long as such a false system of work prevails we
shall never arrive at any great standard of accuracy.
When the artist begins to observe the birds in
their native wilds, and to paint them as they
are at home, all ideal composition will be discarded
for the genuine subjects, which are infinitely more
interesting than any he may invent or compose.-
With regard to attitude, the artist is quite justified
in painting a bird in any position he may choose,
and so long as the bird is drawn correctly, he
is beyond the reach of criticism ; but when he
makes a subject of his work — when his bird is
surrounded by accessories — then we must demand
harmonious accuracy in every detail.

So far as the artist's birds are concerned, too

THE ARTISTS BIRDS. 209

much detail may be objected to, because a want
of uniformity with surrounding objects would often
result. The question of detail largely depends on
circumstances. It would be manifestly absurd to
enter into minute details of plumage when the
bird is introduced on a small scale, or amongst
surrouLidings where breadth of treatment prevails.
The bird should harmonize as nearly as possible
with the degree of finish to which the entire subject
is brought. It must, however, be remembered,
that, even without entering into minute detail, a
bird can be admirably and truthfully depicted, all
that is necessary in such a case being the few
characteristic " touches " that endow each and every
species with individuality. On the other hand,
when the bird itself forms the dominant idea in
a work of art, it should be drawn with careful detail
and with a high degree of finish — which can be
done however small the scale may be. Then the
accessories should also receive a proportionate
amount of detail in their treatment.

The vahie of bird-life to the artist is un-
questionable, whilst among animal life he has even
wider scope for his skill. Natural history never was
so popular as it is at the present time. Nature
has been familiarized by such illustrious teachers

210 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

as Darwin and Wallace ; whilst the portrayal of
these beautiful objects of her handiwork has risen
to the dignity of Art in the sense of its fullest and
broadest meaning. The stereotyped studies of
"stags" and "dead game" are well-nigh exhausted.
They do not satisfy the demands of a nature-loving
public. There is too much sameness in their
treatment ; many other objects of the animal world,
especially in the kingdom of the Birds, more
beautiful, more interesting, and more effective, await
the artist's skill, which will draw together in still
closer bonds of unity the realm of Nature with the
realm of Art.

VIII.
IN DEVONSHIRE LANES.

No other county throughout the length and
breadth of the British Islands can equal Devonshire
for lanes. They wind in endless mazes across the
green country, over hill and dale, crossing each
other, and branching out on either side like leafy
tunnels of foliage, cool and damp, mossy and
lichen-draped, green as emeralds. Whither all
this wilderness of lanes leads is ever a puzzle to
him who wanders through them. He may choose
one for his route, but is soon placed in a quandary
by arriving where a choice of two is presented,
each as attractive as the other. Whim or fancy
decides the point ; but a little further on a cross-
road, or perhaps a junction of half-a-dozen leafy
ways plunges him once more into a fit of hesitation.
More likely than not there will be no welcome
sign-board to point the road to anywhere. Each
solitary way has some particular charm to tempt
him into its arched green portals ; yet whichever

212 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

one be chosen will quickly lead to many another
call for choice. A typical Devonshire lane has tall
banks of earth on either side clothed with grass
and herbs, flowers and ferns and brambles; the
top of each bank is crowned with a more or less
dense hedge of varying height, the tv^igs and
branches from each interlacing in many places.
The wonderful luxuriance of the ivy, mosses, lichens,
ferns, and other vegetation testifies to the humidity
of the Devonshire climate, and also to its ex-
ceptional mildness — ^a climate that admits of the
wild strawberry and the scabious being in bloom
at the winter solstice, and allows a host of plants
to retain their vitality and verdure throughout the
year, that in less favoured districts shed their leaves
and die completely down in autumn.

From, the naturalist's point of view these lanes
are ever attractive and interesting throughout the
year; summer or winter the wild-life in them proves
a perennial charm, but never are they more alluring
to the lover of Nature than in the leafy months of
May and June. It is then the lanes of Devonshire
look their fairest and their best. The foliage still
retains that delicate shade of green peculiar to its
youth and to the spring. The hazels, elms, and
svcamores are in their fairest arrav ; the thickets

IN DEVONSHIRE lANES. 213

of bramble and briar, of honeysuckle, wild clematis,
and whitethorn are clothed in greenery of the
emerald. On either side the high steep banks are
still gay with the last of the primroses; everywhere
the white and radiant star-flower, the vivid blue
speedwell, and the paler-hued forget-me-not gleam
in brilliant patches of colour amongst the setting
of almost universal green. Everywhere the ivy grows
in astonishing abundance. Here and there the
bluebells clothe the wayside with an azure carpet,
and the unpleasant pungent odour of the white-
flowered garlic taints the air; whilst the blooms
of the crane's-bill, the ragged robin, the wild straw-
berry, and saxifrage gleam in contrast with the rest.
The ferns are full of vitality ; every bank is
garnished with the long narrow leaves of the hart's-
tongue, — the ribbon-fern of the country folk, — the
slender stems of the bracken, or the more delicate
leaves of smaller and more fragile species. Here
and there great tufts of hard fern are lirmly rooted
in the crevices of the mossy bark high up the
trees and on the broad horizontal branches — an-
other indication of the humid atmosphere. Insect
life is now abundant. Flitting and dancing among
the flowers of the wayside we may notice the gaudy
buft-tipped butterfly, the even more ubiquitous

214 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

meadow brown, and the delicate little blue ; now
and then the gloriously-arrayed peacock or admiral
skims past on more powerful wings, mounts the
hedges, and is gone on its mazy way before we
have time to admire its painted charms. Bees
of many species search the blooms for hidden
sweets; whilst the pretty banded shells of various
sorts of Helix garnish the grass and leaves. Life
is everywhere ; in countless variety of forms it is
constantly appealing for admiration and scrutiny.
Here in these lanes we may wander in perfect
seclusion by the hour together without once meeting
a human being. The variety of scene is constant.
Past sleepy little village after village ; past cosily-
thatched farmhouses and cottages, almost buried m
flowers and foliage, and under whose eaves the swifts
are ever gliding and screaming, our route along
the lanes will lead us. Every now and then a
peep is obtained at some orchard, the trees not
yet quite stripped of their pink-and-white bloom,
or across the wide expanse of fields and woodlands
at the far-away blue sea on the one hand, or the
gray heights and blue, misty outlines of the distant
tors and ridges of Dartmoor on the other.

Sometimes where the lane widens out into a bit
of waste common land, now decked with yellow

IN DEVONSHIRE lANES. 215

gorse, we may meet with a party of caravan folk
encamped for the night. The law, we believe, as
it now stands only allows these nomads the privilege
of staying one night at any given place by the
wayside. They must move off again next day.
If the hour be early we may meet their hobbled
horses grazing along the lane ; and the smell of the
blazing fire of faggots taints the fresh morning air
afar. 1 met with such an encampment only yester-
day. It was soon after sunrise, and but one man was
astir. He sat busily engaged making clothes-pegs
by the lire, keeping careful watch meanwhile over
a big iron pot in which a savoury breakfast was
cooking. What stranger could guess the contents
of that mysterious utensil ? The meal may have
been hedgehog, perhaps rabbit, perhaps Pheasant,
or even fowl, flavoured with herbs and cooked
with all a gipsy's cunning. Beneath the van two
children lay fast asleep, only their brown curly
heads being visible under the pile of rags that
covered them. Visions of overcrowded rooms in
the slums of darkest London involuntarily rose
before me as I contemplated these sleeping children
here, with the blue sky for their canopy, and all
fair Devonshire for their habitation. Such a life
has its hardships and its seamy side no doubt, but

2i6 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

it has the immense advantages of fresh pure air,
variety of scene, and a sense of liberty and freedom
that no town dweller can ever realize. The ethics
of caravan life may be rather loose, and the young
gipsy may be taught from his cradle (should he
ever have been blessed with such an infantile
luxury) that game and rabbits are as much the
poor man's as the squire's ; yet, after all, there is
more to be said in favour of his snaring a rabbit
or strangling a Pheasant than there is against the
London gamin's act of picking a pocket or riiiing
a till.

But we must hasten on alons; the lanes under
the meeting canopy of the hedges, past the cop})ices
where the woodmen are already at work peeling
the bark from the oak-trees, and making themselves
hungry as Hawks with their healthy labour; on by
the broad red-earth fields which patient plodding
teams are tilling for mangolds ; past the swampy
corners where the golden spikes and broad green
sword-shaped leaves of the iris hide the pools where
the cattle drink; on and on, along lane after lane,
where almost each step displays some fresh object
of interest to him who loves Nature and Nature's
haunts. The lanes are now melodious with the
songs of birds. True, no Nightingales enthral us

IN DEVONSHIRE lANES. 217

with their songs of sighs, for Devonshire is too
far to the west of the Nightingale's line of northern
flight, and the south-west peninsula of England,
although, so far as we can see, suited in every way
to the bird's requirements, as yet remains deserted.
The day may come, however, when the Nightingale
will gradually increase its range in this direction ;
indeed, signs are not wanting that this emigra-
tion is slowly taking place. At one time, almost
within the memory of the present generation, the
Starling was a rare bird in Devonshire, now it
is one of the commonest species in the county,
having steadily increased its western breeding area
in England. In the lanes, however, there are
Warblers enough to make the hedges ring with
gladsome music from dawn to even. Here the
Blackcap warbles from the meeting branches over-
head, now on a topmost spray, then from some
cool shady nook among the leaves, perhaps just
above the thicket where he and his mate have
slung their tiny net-like cradle which already con-
tains their spotted eggs. This Warbler is remark-
ably common in many parts of Devonshire, especially
in spring — April— when numbers pass the county
on their way to more northern haunts, lingering
here and there for days together. I have remarked

2iS JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

the same abundance of this species in autumn, but
not to such a marked extent. The Whitethroat
is also common enough in the lanes, his garrulous
song and scolding call-notes being one of the most
familiar sounds of the hedgerows. Here, also, the
rare and local Cirl Bunting chants his simple song
from the elm-trees. He is more of a tree-haunting
bird than his cousin, the Yellow Bunting, and his
little song w-ants the prolonged final note which
is so characteristic of that of the commoner species.
There is an unusual interest attaching to the Cirl
Bunting, for it was in Devonshire that Colonel
Montagu ninety-three years ago made the discovery
that it was a British bird, and here amongst the
fields and hedgerows collected the information con-
cerning this species that enabled him to give to
the world so full and so correct an accoimt of its
life-history.

Here also in these lanes the Chiffchaff"', first of
all the Warbler band to reach us from Africa in
spring, sits and chants his monotonous music all
the livelong day. Occasionally, so mild is the
climate of the south-west peninsula, a few Chiffchaffs
remain the winter through ; and by the beginning
of March the little brown singers begin to appear
with almost unfailing regularity, quite from three

IN DEVONSHIRE lANES. 219

weeks to a month before I ever heard them in
Yorkshire. The Tiirusli and the Blackbird dwell
in plenty in the hedges of the lanes, and may be
met with all the winter through, an interesting fact,
especially as regards the former species, which
leaves so many other districts entirely in mid-
winter. In the fields on either side of the lanes
the sweet-voiced Sky-Lark climbs upwards on throb-
bing wings towards the silvery clouds, scattering
broadcast its fountain of lovely song. There, too,
by the wayside we may notice the Red-backed
Shrike, sitting warily on the topmost spray of the
hedge, alert and watching for the beetles that may
chance to drone lazily by. A provident bird is
this, spitting such captures as he cannot eat on
thorns in the hedges, and keeping a larder from
which to draw food at will. Just now in early
June you may find his nest, usually made in the
tallest part of the hedge, and with no attempt at
concealment. Pairs of these birds will frequent
one chosen spot for years, coming each spring from
winter quarters far south of the equator in Africa.

From time to time the voice of the Cuckoo
sounds near and far; and in some of the nests we
visit we may be fortunate enoush to find either
the egg or the newly-hatched young of this parasitic

2 20 JOTTIXGS ABOUT BIRDS.

bird. Now and again he starts from the trees by
the lane-side, and liits across the fields in an un-
wavering course, looking all wings and tail as he
files along, and presently his clear rich notes are
uttered as he nears the trees and disappears within
their dense leafy crowns. It was but yesterday I
peeped into a Hedge Accentor's nest wherein the
curious tragedy of the Cuckoo's reproduction had
been successfully played. The nest was so situated
in a gorse-bush, that the hen Cuckoo had been
obliged to carry her egg in her mouth and drop
it in, choosing a time of coiu^se when the dupes
of owners happened to be away. In due course
the eggs were hatched — two Hedge Accentors and
the young Cuckoo. A day or two after this event
the young Accentors mvsteriously vanished, and
the nest remained in the sole possession of the
young Cuckoo. Already the bird is too big for
the tiny nest, and both the silly Hedge Accentors
are toiling from dawn to dark to feed the youngster,
whose appetite daily grows more voracious. Soon
the young Cuckoo, still unable to fly, will sit
outside the nest to be fed by his foster-parents.

But evening is now at hand ; already the Finches
and the Blackcaps have hushed their music and
sought a roosting-place. Still the Thrushes sing

IX DEVONSHIRE LAAES. 221

on into tlic twilight ; and the swampy corners of
the lanes and the tangled thickets near the ponds
are resonant with the song of the Sedge Warbler.
All night long, in one almost unbroken strain, these
industrious little sin2;ers warble from the osiers and
the reeds, especially during the warm still nights of
May. Indeed May is a month of song, the most
musical, perhaps, of all the twelve, like the glorious
finale of some mighty orchestra ; and during June
and the first few weeks of July the melody of the
lanes will pass almost imperceptibly away.

Another period of the year, when many of our
Devonshire lanes are specially attractive to the
ornithologist, is in April. Migration is then in
progress, and the careful observer may obtain en-
trancing glimpses of the wonderful phenomenon.
Certainly the lanes nearest to the sea are by far
the most interesting so far as regards the arrival
of migratory birds. The dense cover they afford
forms the attraction, and after a migration night
they frequently sw^arm with a variety of species. I
have remarked this specially to be the case after a
rough and stormy night, as if the weary birds were
glad to rest for a time in the nearest cover so soon
as they have safely reached the land. The previous
evening may show a great scarcity of birds in the

2 22 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

lanes, even the resident species keeping close and
silent owing to the rough, unsettled weather. By
sunrise the next morning, however, a great change
is frequently apparent to the most casual observer,
and everv tew yards birds may be flushed from the
cover. Here, for instance, is a note I made on the
23rd of April, 1891 : "The lanes near the downs
this morning are swarming with birds. The night
has been stormy but moonlight, with a strong wind
from the south-east. As I walk along the lanes birds
start up before me almost at every step, and all of
them species that w^ere undoubtedly absent yesterday
— Wheatears, Willow Wrens, Blackcaps, Redstarts
(very abundant), Garden Warblers, and Cuckoos.
Many of them fly with great reluctance, as though
tired out with their stormy journey across the Chan-
nel last night. One little wanderer was exceptionally
interesting, a Pied Flycatcher, which had evidently
come over with the great rush of migrants, and had
been blown by the unusual wind pressure far to the
westward of its usual course to the British coasts.
It was exceedingly tame, and flew before me down
the lane, occasionally taking short flights, and then
settling again on the outer twigs of the hedges.
Now and then it alighted on the road and allowed
me to approach within half-a-dozen yards ; it was

JM DEVONSHIRE LANES. 223

quite alone, and never once uttered a note. I also
remarked a solitary Grasshopper Warbler. With
the exception of the Redstarts, which uttered their
Chaffinch-like call-note, these migrants were remark-
ably silent. It is very possible that none of them
indulge in song until the usual breeding-stations
are reached."

One very remarkable fact about these periodical
arrivals of migrants is, that the birds rarely stay
more than a day in any particular district. More
especially is this the case with the later arrivals of
species that appear early in our islands and remain
here in Devonshire to breed. The earlier indi-
viduals soon spread over their accustomed haunts ;
these later bands are chiefly composed of individuals
that breed in more northerly areas, and merely rest
in our lanes apparently to gain strength ere passing
on again. Thus the lanes that swarm with the
migrant hosts one day are generally deserted to a
bird the next. The pilgrim crowds have passed on
during the interval of darkness, and we see them no
more. I have also remarked that these bird-waves
have frequently coincided with great rushes of
migrants at the Eddystone Lighthouse, whilst the
coasts for many miles have exhibited an abnormal
number of birds, one very convincing proof of the

224 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

vastness of the flight. I have also repeatecll}' re-
marked that certain lanes are more specially favoured
than others year by year as resting-places, which
fact to my mind very clearly proves how closely,
how very closely birds follow certain routes to which
they have become thoroughly accustomed by years
and years of migratory experience.

Many interesting glimpses of the Kestrel and
the Sparrow Hawk may be obtained in these lanes.
During the present spring, for instance, I stood for
nearly an hour watching the movements of a pair
of Kestrels, and saw this pretty Hawk engage in
actions I had never witnessed before. The lane
I watched from w^as on a hill-side ; at the bottom
of the hill another lane ran parallel to it, with a
small stream by the hedge. Time after time I
watched the female bird flutter along this ditch,
which was not more than a couple of feet in wddth,
skimming a few inches above the water, and after
each flight return to an old stump to rest, and
apparently to watch. Exactly the same manoeuvre
was repeated many times until a frog or a mouse
was captured — I was too far away to make out
which — and borne off in triumph to the adjoining
wood. I have never previously known the Kestrel
hunt systematically so close to the ground as this.

IN DEVONSHIRE LANES. 225

Our lanes are also by no means devoid of birds
in winter-time. True the number of species is
fewer, and the abundance or rarity of individuals is
ever iluctuatino;. At this season most birds are
more nomadic in their movements, more socially
inclined, and seem to prefer to wander up and down
in companies. Now the various hard-billed birds,
such as Finches and Buntings, become perceptibly
more numerous ; the Titmice especially are increased
in numbers. Then we may wander far down the
lanes without scarcely seeing a single bird, until we
meet with the social nomads in a mixed and merry
flock ; yet the Wren, and the Robin, and the Hedge
Accentor keep closely to the hedges throughout the
year, and gladden the winter with their cheerful
song.

a

IX.

SEXUAL SELECTION AND THE NESTING OF
BIRDS.

Amongst the various criticisms which have been
made on my Contribution to the Philosophy of Birds'
Nests and Eggs, a paper which was first read before
the Sheffield Literary and Philosophical Society in
1 88 1, and afterwards published in an enlarged form
in the History of British Birds, and again in my
work on Our Rarer Birds, that of the distinguished
American ornithologist, Mr. J. A. Allen, in The
Auk, is hitherto the most important. In order
chiefly to direct attention to this little known
subject, and with the idea of stimulating observation,
I venture herewith to reply to the most salient points
of Mr. Allen's criticism.

In the first place, Mr. Allen seems to think that
so far as concerns such birds in which the male is
bright and the female dull in colour, and which
nidificate in an open site, the " glaring exceptions "

SEXUAL SELECTION— NESTING OE BIRDS. 227

he instances are sufficient to upset any theory
of " protection " that might be based upon the
interesting facts. Now I was under the impression
that in mv essay I had been particularly careful to
deal with these exceptions to the general rule, and
had offered what I believed to be a plausible and
logical explanation of them in my cHvision : " Birds
in which both sexes are dull in colour, and which
build covered nests from motives of safety other
than concealment." It seems to me, however, that
Mr. Allen has been singularly unfortunate in the
selection of the instances which he is pleased to call
" glaring exceptions " to this rule. His first, the
Mandarin and Wood Ducks, Aix galeriadata and
Aix sponsa, of China and North America respect-
ively, may possibly nest in trees, either because the
dnuii of the female is light in colour and conse-
quently conspicuous ; or because the male, contrary
to most species of the Anatimp, keeps close company
with the female after she has commenced to sit
(Conf. IJater Birds of Nortli America, ii. p. 14).
Of his second exception, the birds in the genus
Clangula (Golden-eyes), it seems almost an incon-
testable fact that the paleness of the female's down
is the reason why the eggs are liatched in a covered
site. So that really these exceptions are not excep-

2 28 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

tions at all, and of course come very naturally
under my division : " Birds in which both sexes are
brightly coloured, and which rear their young in
holes or in covered nests." Of Mr. Allen's third
exception, the Sheldrakes, or w^hat British ornithol-
ogists call Mergansers (Mergu.s), the down of these
birds is pale in tint, and would be most conspicuous
in an open site, and therefore the same remarks
apply as to the birds in Clangulci. With regard to
the Grosbeaks, a group in which the brilliandy
coloured male is said not only to sit upon the open
nest but even to sing w^hilst doing so, I must retort
bv pointing out the fact, that these birds generally
nest in dense cover, wdiere the sitting bird is admir-
ably shielded from view by the surrounding foliage.
This latter exception, however, comes more naturally
into that group which I designated as " Birds in
which the plumage of both sexes is showy or brilliant
in colour, and which nidificate in open nests," if both
sexes are known to incubate. The male Blackcap
performs his share of the duty of incubation, and
he also repeatedly sings while sitting on the nest,
but he is so well shaded by surrounding vegetation
that he is hidden from enemies, and may do so with
impunitv. The male Blackbird will also occasionally
sit on the nest in the female's absence, but he is so

SEXUAL SELECTION^NESTING OF BIRDS. 229

well concealed that little absolute risk is incurred.
Here I might record an exceptional instance of
mimicry practised by this sj)ecies, and which only
came under my notice a few days ago (April 1893).
I found a Blackbird's nest wedged deeply amongst
ivy growing thickly over a stump m a hedgerow.
To conceal the run of the nest the old bird had
placed several large tufts of green moss round it,
making it blend so beautifully with the green ivy
leaves that nothing but the keenest scrutiny could
detect the fraud ! This is a wonderful instance
of deviation from architectural type, and shows how
readily a change in the entire nest-building habits
of a species could be initiated.

I am quite prepared to admit that my researches
into the little known subject of bird architecture and
the colours of eggs are to a large extent hypothetical
and not open to absolute proof; but in the entire
absence of any better or more feasible explanations
of the various complex phenomena, I venture to
think that those already offered are at least scientific
and logical, and in accordance with the advanced
views of the present day. Certainly. Mr. Allen
appears not to have anything to suggest in place of
the theories advanced by Dr. Wallace and myself.
I have already shown in my essay and elsewhere

23 o JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

that I believe Dr. Wallace has generalized too
widely ; therefore with that part of Mr. Allen's
criticism I have nothing to do ; but I would agam
strive to impress upon Mr. Allen and other natur-
alists the importance — the vast importance — of com-
munit}/ of origin, m explaining many of the difficulties
with which the nest-building economy of birds is
surrounded. To explain many present anomalies
in nidiiication we must look to a remote past, as I
suggested in my essay — to the ancient history of
dominant forms which in their long descent have
undergone many vicissitudes (including the segre-
gation of representative forms and species), and been
compelled to change their habits, or alter the style of
their architecture, and in some cases have retained a
mode of nest-building which is now not apparently
in harmony with their modified structure or plumage.
Further, Mr. Allen must always bear in mind that
it is the rule to find certain types of nests peculiar
to certain groups or species, such being handed
down from a common ancestor, which we can have
no doubt were of vital importance to that ancestral
form, and harmonized with the conditions of its
existence. It is therefore only reasonable to expect
to find anomalies amongst many species — to find
exceptions to certain broad rules which are readily

SEXUAL SELECTION— NESTING OF BIRDS. 231

explained if we look back to the past history of
those species, as is reflected in allied forms.

Mr. Allen suggests that the only function of
concealment is that of the eggs — not the sitting
female. If this is admitted by a naturalist who
does not appear to believe in Darwin's brilliant
theory of Sexual Selection, his unbelief seems to the
present writer to be condemned by his own state-
ments. If the female bird be not kept dull and
sombre in colour by such a vitally important
function as the hatching of the eggs and the rear-
ing of the young in safety, why, it may be asked, is
she not equally as brilliant in colour as her mate ?
and if Sexual Selection does not give to him his
brilliant dress, whence the gaiety of his attire ? I
hold with much of what Mr. Allen has to say
respecting the colour of eggs ; but I also insist that
this colour is to a very large extent correlated with
the plumage of the female. It seems probable that
the colouring matter on birds' eggs is, or was at
some more or less remote period, influenced by
surrounding colours during the bird's period of
conception. We well know that eggs closely
resemble the colour of surrounding objects — the
dominant colour of a bird's surroundings and haunts
— greens with arboreal birds, sand colour and browns

-32 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

with Plovers, Terns, Gulls, &c., which may possibly
have been implanted on the egg during the concep-
tion and pregnancy. It is a curious and noteworthy
fact, that the eggs of such birds as are nocturnal, or
frequent holes, cav^es, and similar gloomy haunts,
where all sense of colour is lost, are in the majority
of instances ivhite ; whilst in such birds, belonging
to groups in which the eggs are highly coloured, as
incubate in covered or gloomy sites, there is a strong
tendency to deterioration in the vividness and in-
tensity of the markings, or even for them entirely
to disappear. Protective colouring of plumage, or
what we are apt to call Protective Colour, may have
been influenced in a similar way. The peculiar
birthmarks impressed on unborn children through
various accidents or frights to the parent at the
later stages of pregnancy seem in a measure to
confirm this theory of colour on the eggs and
possibly the plumage of birds. I also wish to state,
that most of the exceptions to the general rules
respecting the colour of birds' eggs illustrate very
forcibly what I have endeavoured to impress upon
the reader respecting the importance of keeping in
view community of origin in investigating this
subject. Broadly speaking, it is only amongst the
more highly specialized forms of bird-life that we

Sexual selection— nesting of birds. 233

find colouring matter on the eggs, as amongst the
Accipitres, the Passeres, the Charadrnformes, Ralli-
formes, and GalHformes. By far the greater number
of birds that lay white eggs, in holes, are confined to
the Picarian forms ; and of those which lay white
eggs in open nests, the Humming-Birds belong to
that order, whilst the Pigeons and the Owls show
many important affinities with it.

I now arrive at perhaps the most important if
least satisfactory part of Mr. Allen's criticism, viz.
that which deals wdth the mental powers of birds.
If, as Mr. Allen suggests, we define Instinct as
inherited habit, I venture to assert that it is not
sufficient to explain the phenomenon of a young
bird building its first nest. It implies that a young
bird, hatched even in an alien nest, would be able
to set to work and build a nest typical of the archi-
tecture of its species; it implies that that bird is
born with a faculty for performing a most complex
action ; an amount of precocity which is far more
astounding than any powers of imitation and
memory that I have ascribed to birds. Mr. Allen
cannot produce a scintilla of proof for his assertions
— his Inherited Habit is even more of an hypothesis
than that of Memory and Imitation. As I said
before, it seems monstrously unfair to expect to find

2 34 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

inherited complex mental powers in a bird vvhicli

we cannot find in the human race. If this theory

of Inherited Habit be true, there is just one question

I would wish to ask its propounders. How is it

that a human being is not able to build himself a

residence resembling in its architecture that adopted

by his own peculiar race — an Esquimaux his hut,

an Indian his wigwam, a civilized man his house or

castle of this type of architecture or of that — unless

he has some example to copy or some instruction

to guide him in his task ? As I said before, so I

now say again, " If man is so helpless, why should

not the poor lowly bird be the same ? " That birds

are possessed of wonderful powers of memory has

httn proved over and over again, and not memory

alone, but powers of imitation too. Instance need

not be given here ; they are already known to

readers of these pages. On the other hand, what

proof do we possess in favour of blind instinct,

what data to support hereditary habit r — none,

absolutely none whatever, all is inference, all the

purest hypothesis. What evidence we can gather

all tends to explode this theory of Inherited Habit.

Like most new theories it is being pushed too far,

asked to explain too much, and made to account for

phenomena which are much more plausibly ex-

SEXUAL SELECTIOX— NESTING OF BIRDS. 235

j)laincd in other ways, I do not for one moment
doubt the potency of Inherited Habit in explaining
many simj)]e functions of an organism, such as a
new-born infant sucking at the breast, a young
IDuck taking to the water as soon as it is hatched,
8cC.; but when wc come to such a compHcated [pro-
ceeding as nest-buil(Hng, a matter which requires
much thought, instruction, and some experience,
then I say Inherited Habit is carried too far.

Since writing my Essay on the Philosophy of
Birds' Nests and Eggs, a very interesting instance
has come under my notice, which seems absolutely
to prove that blind instinct, or, to termi it by its
scientific equivalent. Inherited Habit, plays but a
minor part in the art of nest-building. I recorded
the instance in Nature (vol. xxxi., April 9, 1885)
as follows: — "A remarkable instance, however, or
a changed mode of nest-building has just been
brought to my notice by Mr. W. Burton, the well-
known naturalist of Wardour Street. Some tmic
ago his brother (now employed at the Museum i.t
Wellington, N. Z.) took out to New Zealand a
number of young birds of our common native
species, with the object of introducing them to
tlie Antij)odes. Amongst them were some young
Chaffinches [Fr'nigilla crr'/c7".v). These were turned

2-;6

rOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

out, and have thriven well in a wild state, bidding
fliir permanently to establish this charming little
bird in our distant colonies. Some of the birds
have built a nest, and to Mr. Burton I am indebted

{From a Photograph by 11'. H. Clarke, ll'dliiigton, jV. Z.)

for a photograph of the wonderful structure they
have woven. It is evidently built in the fork of a
branch, and shows very little of that neatness of
fabrication for which this bird is noted in England.

SEXUAL SELECTION— NESTING OF BIRDS. 237

The materials with which it is made seem very
different too. The cup of the nest is small, loosely
j)ut together, apparently lined with feathers, and
the walls of the structure are prolonged for about
eighteen inches, and hang loosely down the side of
the suj^porting branch. The whole structure bears
some resemblance to the nests of the Hangnests
(IcTERiD^), with the exception that the cavity con-
taining the eggs is situated on the top. Clearly
these New Zealand Chaffinches were at a loss for a
design when fabricating their nest. They had no
standard to work by, no nests of their own kind to
copy, no older birds to give them any instruction,
and the result is the abnormal structure I have just
described. Perhaps these Chaffinches imitated in
some degree the nest of some New Zealand species ;
or it may be that the few resemblances this extra-
ordinary structure presents to the typical nest of
the Palsearctic Chaffinch are the results of memory
— the dim remembrance of the nest in which they
had been reared, but which had almost been effaced
by novel surroundings and changed conditions of
life. Any wav, w'e have here, at least, a most
interesting and convincing proof that birds do not
make their nests by blind instinct, but by imitating
the nest in which they were reared, aided largely by

23S JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS.

rudimentary reason and by memory. I have not
the least doubt that, had these young Chaffinches
been hatched in an alien nest in this country, and
never allowed to see a nest typical of their species,
or have any connection \v:th old and experienced
birds, the results would have been still more startling
and strange."

O

Nor can I allow that Mr. Allen has disproved the
theory of imitation and memorv by extendino- it to
animals much lower in the scale of development.
Such members must and do possess considerable
power in this respect. Besides, it must ahvays be
remembered that the young bird or animal profits
by the old one's experience, and imitates to a great
extent the work of its companions. " Inherited
Habit" would be proved at once if Mr. Allen's
young turtle sought by resistless impulse a similar
place to deposit its eggs to that which its parents
did before it, if it had been hatched away from its
favourite sands and reared in strict seclusion from
its kind. Inherited Habit is but another name for
blind instinct ; and to maintain that such an extra-
ordinary power is the sole guiding influence in such
a complex undertaking as that of building a nest,
or of singing a song, can and does " border on
absurdity." It ascribes to a bird a mental attribute

SEXUAL SELECTIOX—NESTIXG OF BIRDS. 239

which a man does not possess, and furnishes it with
a power which, if true, would be wonderful in the
extreme. ^^ itli birds as with man, such an art
must be acquired by practice, tuition, imitation, Sec.
It is no more reasonable to suppose that a son will
inherit his father's handicraft, than to presume that
a bird is born with the perfect architectural skill of
its parents.

To the present writer it is little short of astonish-
ing how deeply-rooted this idea of blind, infallible
instinct is, how widely it prevails, how readily it is
accepted even by naturalists of some distinction.
It must be thrust aside, destroyed, forgotten by
every observer who desires to study the fascinating
subjects of bird-architecture, avian song, and avian
migration in the only way that will yield satisf;ictory
results.

'J HE END.

Richard Clay & Sons, Limited,
London & Bungay.

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