^^^VVuseumo/^ 1869 THE LIBRARY OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS ^74^-// TnZ ?AG£S l":^; THIS VOL(jy>£ HAVE 3££^^ i::T£RL£AV£D WITH k>i ACID FRcH ?A?£a TO P£aH!T SIMD'MG A^:3 TO cI£DjC£ FU:^TH£R D£T£ai» o?ATiC>:. OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS T/ieir Habits^ Music, and Characteristics BY CHARLES DIXON AUTHOR or "rural bird-life," "the birds or OUR RAMBLES," "ANNALS OF BIRD-LIFE," "IDLE HOURS WITH NATURE," "TH£ MIGRATION OF BIRDS," ETC. Mltb illustrations of everg Species, bg lb. Stannar^ LONDON LAWRENCE AND BULLEN, Ltd. 16, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C. 1897 ^.7 riihts riiervcd 'cl ^7/ /r/^'7n57 PREFACE The ever-increasing interest which birds excite, the ever-widening circle of students and admirers they continue to attract, is most eloquent testimony to the exceptional charm of Ornithology as a science. Of all wild creatures Birds are incomparably the popular favourites. Their engaging ways, their comings and their goings at appointed times and seasons, their gay colours, their beautiful nests and pretty eggs, their domestic affections and ties, and above all their wonderful music, attract the least sentimental among us, arouse our sympathies, and charm the majority of us to a degree unapproached by any other living forms. The music of the fields and woodlands is one of the most gratifying pleasures of the country. The variety of these songs is great, their beauty a refresh- ing and perennial one. But vast numbers of people to whom the songs of birds are a constant source of delight, know very few of these singers by name ; vi PREFACE they are at a loss to identify them, although familiar enough with many of their songs, and are practically ignorant of their habits and economy. The present volume has been written to furnish just the popular information respecting our favourite song birds that the less informed average observer would like to acquire. It is neither an ambitious nor a scientific treatise, but a simple guide to the characteristics, the songs, and the habits of those common birds of ours whose voices at one season of the year or another gladden almost every country stroll. That it may prove a pleasant and informing companion to these rambles is the hearty wish of its author, who has used every endeavour to make it so. C D. Paigfiton, Devon, 1897. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PAGE I LIE WARBLERS THE WARBLERS THE BLACKCAP WARBLER {Syh'iu atricapUlo) THE GARDEN WARBLER {Sylvia horte?isis) THE COMMON WHITETHROAT {Svlvill clnerca) THE LESSER WHIIETHROAT {Sylvia CUrrUCO) THE WILLOW WARBLER {^PliylloSCOpUS trochilus) THE GOLDCREST {^Re^uhis cristatiis) THE SEDGE WARBLER (yAcrchcphalus pkragDiitis) THE REED WARBLER {^AcrocepJialiis streperus) THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER {LoCUStellu nCSVia) 21 . 26 ... • 32 • 38 • 44 ... • 49 )" '■ • 55 . 61 . 68 ... • 74 THE THRUSHES THE THRUSHES THE NIGHTINGALE {Eritkacus Iiisciuia) THE Vi.o)im {Erif/iacus rid'eatla) THE HEDGE ACCENTOR {AccentOK lliodularis) THE SONG THRUSH {TurduS IHUsicus) ... THE MISTLE-THRUSH {TurduS viscivorus) THE BLACKBIRD {Merulii Vulgaris) THE RING OUZEL {Merula torquata) ... 83 88 94 100 106 1 12 118 123 THE DIPPERS AND WRENS THE DIPPERS AND WRENS ... THE DIPPER {Cinclus aquatiais) THE COMMON WREN {Troglodyfes pavvulus) 131 134 140 viii CONTENTS THE PIPITS PAGE THE PIPITS ... ... ... ... ... 147 THE TREE PIPIT {AtiiJius trivialis) ... ... ... 149 THE MEADOW PIPIT {AntJius prutensis) ... ... 155 THE ROCK vwYi {Aiithus obsciirus) ... ... ... 161 THE LARKS THE LARKS ... ... ... ... ... 169 THE SKY-LARK {Alaudu arvetisis) ... ... ... 172 THE WOOD-LARK {Alaudu arborco) ... ... ... 178 THE BUNTINGS THE BUNTINGS ... ... ... ... ... 185 THE YELLOW BUNTING {Emberiza citrinelld) ... ... i88 THE ciRL n\j'!:iTi'>iG {Emberiza cirlus) ... ... ... 194 THE REED BUNTING {Emberisa sch(X)iiclus) ... ... 200 THE FINCPIES THE FINCHES ... ... ... ... ... 207 THE GOLDFrncu {Cardue/is e/,gi7fis) ... ... ... 210 THE LINNET {Lviofa cantiabiiia) ... ... ... 216 THE TWlTic {lAnuta flavirostiis) ... ... ... 222 THE LESSER REDPOLL (Z/«MZ ;7//^.f^^;Zj) ... ... 227 'J HE sis\^\t\ {Chrysoinitrts spinus) ... ... ... 23;? THE CHAFFINCH {Fri?!gi//a avicbs) ... ... ... 2 j9 THE BULLFINCH, GREENFINCH, AND CROSSBILL... ... 245 THE SWALLOWS THE SWALLOWS ... ... ... ... ... 253 THE SWALLOW {Hiriiudo rustica) ... ... ... 255 THE HOUSE-MARTIN {Cliclidoil urbicd) ... ... ... 261 THE STARLINGS THE STARLINGS ... ... ... ... ... 269 THE STARLING {Sturnus Vulgaris) ... ... ... 270 THE CUCKOOS THE CUCKOOS ... ... ... ... ... 279 THE CUCKOO (yCuculiis caiwrus) ... ... ... 282 LIST OF ILLaSTRAT'ONS THE BLACKCAP WARBLER IHK GARDEN WARBLER ... THE WHITETHROAT ']HE LESSER WHITETHROAT THE WILLOW WARBLER ... THE GOLDCRIST THE SEDGE WARBLER THE REED WARBLER THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER THE NIGHTINGALE THE ROBIN THE HEDGE ACCENTOR ... THE SONG THRUSH THE MISTI.E-THRUSH THE BLACKIiIRD THE KING OUZEL THE DIPPER THE COMMON WREN THE TREE PIPIT THE MEADOW PIPIT THE ROCK PIPIT THE SKY-LARK ... THE WOOD-LARK To face page 26 32 „ 38 44 50 . 56 62 68 74 88 94 „ 100 ,, 106 112 „ 118 124 134 „ 140 » 150 „ 162 172 „ 178 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS THE YELLOW BUNTING ... ... To face page i88 THE CIRL BUNTING >j » 194 THE REED BUNTING V ,> 200 THE GOLDFINCH ,, ,, 210 THE LINNET ... 11 » 2l6 THE TWITE 11 » 222 THE LESSER REDPOLE ... 11 11 228 THE SISKIN •1 11 234 THE CHAFFINCH ,. „ 240 THE BULLFINCH „ ,, 246 THE SWALLOW 1- M 256 THE HOUSE-MARTIN ). 1, 262 THE STARLING... » 11 270 THE CUCKOO ... 11 )) 282 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS INTRODUCTION A FEW general remarks upon the Songs of Birds appear to us to be the most appHcable way in which to introduce to the reader the more particular subject matter of the present volume. In the first place it may prove interesting to sketch briefly the general features of bird song through the year. Birds by no means sing promiscuously. They have their times of song as well as their intervals of silence, and these vary a good deal with individual species. Fortunately our favourite song birds are scattered very generally over the country; there are very few places indeed where the music of some bird is not heard ; whilst the best cultivated and more populous areas are literally crowded with songsters of every grade of excellence. Spring and early summer is the great season of song : autumn and winter melody is scarce and fitful. Let us run briefly through the 2 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS months, tracing the commencement and gradual increase of avine song and then its similar decline — like the swelling melody from some stupendous organ-pipes, beginning in low and fitful strains, then rolling and swelling out in grand majestic cadence, then fading away like the fainter and fainter vibra- tions of an oft-repeated echo as the year completes its course. In January the Mistle-Thrush is by far the most prominent singer ; his loud carol may be heard each day from the tall leafless trees, very often amidst driving rain or sleet or the howling of the w^ind. The Robin is the next chorister of importance, and his cheery hope-inspiring strains are a daily promise of better and warmer days in store. The Wren, too, sings pretty generally throughout the first few weeks of the opening year, but there are days in this month when his voice may be hushed ; still more irregularly does the Hedge Accentor warble. The days are at present all too cheerless to woo him into constant voice. Not so the Starling, for he is another chorister that warbles freely during the entire month, although his voice is somewhat constrained and fitful. Two other birds deserve passing notice. They are the Song Thrush and the Sky- Lark, for both may be heard to sing, the former especially, but in the southern counties chiefly. These half-dozen singers relieve the monotony of one of the most dismal months of the year j we might liken their music to INTRODUCTION 3 the first few preliminary strains of an orchestra about to commence in real earnest. February shows, on the one hand, a perceptible decline in the voice of the Mistle-Thrush, and an equally apparent increase in the melody of the Song Thrush. There are days now when the former bird is silent or fitful in voice, but the latter bird sings more and more freely right through the month. Now, too, the sweet-voiced Blackbird may be heard at intervals trying over his long-lost song. The Robin sings with increasing freedom ; the Wren and the Hedge Accentor much more regularly. The Starling's song becomes more persistent, and the Sky- Lark may fairly be said to resume its usual song towards the end of the month. Should the season be mild and open the Wood-Lark too regains its voice. Two other familiar birds regain their song in February, the Chaffinch and the Yellow Bunting. March may be said to mark the real commence- ment of the vernal chorus which is soon to swell into such a perfect torrent of song that each individual singer will almost lose his identity in the growing volume of melody. One notable exception, however, is presented in the Mistle-Thrush. All through the boisterous days of this month, when spring seems ever struggling with winter for supremacy, the " Stormcock " sings with waning power, and is often silent altogether for days. The Song Thrush now is in full voice, and the Blackbird's mellow song 4 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS increases. The Robin is also in full song, but the Wren sings by no means regularly or constantly yet. The Hedge Accentor may now be said to have quite regained his voice for the spring ; the Yellow Bunt- ing and the Chaffinch nearly so. The Starling is a constant singer now ; the Sky-Lark nearly so. Now too the Linnet and the Twite resume their song ; the Reed Bunting sings frequently ; the Wood- Lark becomes much more vocal. The Dipper also resumes his song in an irregular sort of way, as also does the Cirl Bunting ; whilst during the last few days of the month the Greenfinch's twittering song may be heard occasionally. The first of the summer migrants now reach our English shores, but neither the Wheatear nor the Chiffchaff lay claim to musical skill. The note of the latter bird, however, is a characteristic one in the southern woodlands during the closing days of March and onwards through the summer in all localities. April, with its warm sunshine, its balmy airs, and its fleeting rains, marks a rapid change in the melody of the birds. One singer, however, now loses his voice, for during the last half of this month the Mistle-Thrush becomes silent. This is the solitary exception, so far as our British singing birds are concerned, for every other may now be heard in brilliant voice. The Song Thrush, the Blackbird, the Robin, the Wren, and the Hedge Accentor — most familiar of all our singing species — are now INTRODUCTION 5 literally overflowing with song. The CIrl Bunting is now in full song, so too are the Dipper, the Lesser Redpole, the Linnet, and the Twite. Among the resident birds that regain their song in April, mention may be made of the Meadow Pipit. The songs of our summer migrants may now be heard in rapidly- increasing volume. The sweet-voiced Blackcap is heard from the middle of the month onwards, so too is the Willow Wren. During the last week of the month we hear the Tree Pipit and the VVhItethroats, and the glad welcome " song " of the Cuckoo re- sounds once more from the old familiar woods. The Goldcrest is again in full song ; whilst the same may be said of the Wood- Lark and the Sky- Lark. The Ring Ouzel has returned to the moorlands and his wild lay is added to the general chorus. April is undoubtedly a month of song, but the music of the birds is by no means constant and complete ; one or two singers have but lately arrived and are scarcely in song ; but the voices of such birds as Thrushes, Starlings, Finches and Larks are almost if not entirely at their best. May is the one month of song predominant over all the rest. One singer has vacated his place entirely in the general orchestra (the Mistle-Thrush), but all others seem as if they would absolutely dis- solve in song. Each sweet singer of the woods and fields is now in fullest voice. The various Warblers make the thickets and hedges sweet with a volume 6 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS of varied and almost continuous song ; the higher trees are resonant with the songs of Buntings and Chaffinches, the evergreens with the love-notes of Bullfinches, Greenfinches and Goldcrests ; the open breezy fields re-echo the song of the Tree Pipit, the Wood-Lark and the Redpole ; the water-side the per- sistent melody of Sedge-bird, Reed Warbler, Reed Bunting and Dipper. Intermingled with this burst of song, the sweet plaintive minstrelsy of Robin and Wren and Accentor is heard continuously ; whilst the gorse coverts and thickets are full of singing Linnets and skulking Grasshopper Warblers. The Thrush and Blackbird are in constant and splendid voice, the Sky-Lark sheds a torrent of song from the clouds. The sombre Nightingales are now in almost overpowering voice ; the Swallow and the Martin sing at intervals as they fly along, or briefly rest. Morninor and evenino- are the times to hear this matchless orchestra at its best ; for then which- ever way we may turn some sweet warbler or another greets us gladsomely ; here, there and every- where the songs of birds are sounding. From before dawn until the sun's rays gain too much power, and then in the late afternoon until dusk the crash of song is bewildering. June is almost an exact counterpart of May so far as concerns the songs of birds. It is another month of almost constant song, a little less energetic perhaps as a whole, but cer- tainly one of the two most musical months in the INTRODUCTION 7 year. The earlier singing species, such as Thrushes, Wrens, Robins, Accentors and Chaffinches, show a trifling falhng off. The one singer, however, whose note appears to suffer greatest decHne is the Cuckoo, and towards the end of the month especially his mellow call is harsher and the first note is sometimes repeated, a sure sign of its approaching cessation. July brings many important changes in the music of the birds. The Song Thrush and the Blackbird become silent during the first three weeks ; the Robin loses his voice after the first ten days or so. The Wren and the Hedge Accentor, however, warble pretty regularly throughout the month, as also do the Yellow Bunting, the Greenfinch and the Sky- Lark. The Willow Wren sings pretty constantly through the month, but the Starling is now an irregular songster. The Blackcap usually becomes silent during the first week, the White- throats a little later : the Tree Pipit and the Chaffinch seldom sing after the middle of the month ; the Meadow Pipit and the Cuckoo are mute after the first eight days. The song of almost every species is hushed some time in July. The reader may be pardoned for inquiring the cause of this silence. This universal hush is due to the approach of the moulting season, a period during which no bird at liberty is known to indulge in song. August is a particularly quiet month amongst the singing birds ; but it is remarkable for one or two events in 8 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS the musical life of our favourites. Towards the very end of the month the Mistle-Thrush regains his song after a four months' silence ; but the Robin after the first week may be heard in voice, either the young males, or the earliest of the newly moulted old males. The Wren sings very irregularly through August ; the Hedge Accentor becomes silent during the first half of the month ; whilst the Willow Wren, now in its moult for the most part, is but a fitful songster. The Blackcap, the Garden Warbler, the Whitethroats, and other kindred species are silent altogether ; the Starling sings occasionally. The Pipits now are mute ; the Chaffinch and the Sky- Lark have lost their song. The Yellow Bunting and the Greenfinch may be heard in song during the first half of the month only, then their voices sink to rest for a season. September is another month of fitful song. Bird music is now scarce again, and the few songs that are heard are consequently prominent amongst so much silence. One of the loudest songsters of the month is the Mistle-Thrush, who has now completely regained his splendid voice, which may be heard daily. The other British Thrushes are absolutely songless ; but the Robin is now in brilliant tune again, and his charming song is one of the most beautiful features of the closing year. The Wren is silent during most of this month, but regains his voice during the last few days ; whilst the Hedge INTRODUCTION 9 Accentor less frequently keeps him company. Curiously enough the Willow Wren regains his song in September, just before he leaves us, but it is odd birds only that now break into music. The Starling sings at varying intervals, as he will continue to do right through the winter, as also will the Sky-Lark. Now and then during the last ten days of the month the Chaffinch may be heard to sing fitfully ; the Yellow Bunting sings irregularly ; the Greenfinch a little during the closing half ; the Pipits and Warblers remain mute until the following spring. October is very similar to September in the character of its song. The Mistle-Thrush, of course, is in fine voice ; and very rarely the Song Thrush and the Blackbird, now safely over their moult, may be heard to sing a little, mostly young birds gaining the first rudiments of their musical education. The Robin sings with admirable per- sistency and regularity throughout the month ; the Wren and the Hedge Accentor much more frequently than before, although in a decidedly irregular manner. The Chiffchaff and the Willow Wren may some- times be heard during the first week of the month, but not after ; they then finally quit our country for the winter. All the Warblers are gone south to their winter resorts ; but the voice of the Chaf- finch, sounding strangely out of season we always think, may sometimes be heard, as also that of the Yellow Bunting. The Greenfinch not unfrequently 10 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS breaks out into song during" October, the Sky- Lark occasionally. Sad November still more reduces the sum of avine song, and but three species can be classed as regular singers. These are the Mistle- Thrush, whose song only seems to gain in power and beauty as the weather becomes more and more inclement ; the Robin and the Wren, whose melody gladdens our hearts like the voices of old familiar friends amidst the general desolation of the ruined choirs. The Hedge Accentor is a capricious song- ster now, and the least inclemency of weather will close his jerky music at once. Our old friend the Starling still delights us at intervals, and the Sky- Lark daring exceptionally favourable weather is tempted to soar heavenwards in a fitful burst of song. December, again, is marked by little variety of bird music, although the month is by no means a silent one. Songs are sung more fitfully, much depending upon the weather, but a warm day is sure to be a musical one in some degree. Cock Robin remains faithful to his muse, and the Misde- Thrush gladdens us amidst the wintry sadness with his voice. The Wren and the Hedge Accentor (especially the latter) sing on at intervals, but the Starling becomes perceptibly more musical. Here and there in the southern counties a Song Thrush breaks into fitful song, and a warm day still con- tinues to tempt the Sky- Lark to musical effort. This completes the song cycle of the months, bringing us INTRODUCTION ii to the dawn of a new year, when every note but hastens and foretells the approach of yet another glorious concert swelling and declining as another season passes on. The various actions of birds whilst singing are not without interest, and are also an aid to the identification of the species uttering them. Amongst some species the habit of soaring predominates, as with the Pipits, attaining its greatest development in the Sky- Lark. Other birds accompany their song with nervous movements of the wings, or vibrations of the plumage, as for instance the Starling. Most birds sit or stand perfectly still whilst uttering their song, but the Swallow and some other species warble most freely as they fly. We may profitably conclude this introductory chapter with a few remarks on the philosophy ot avine song. The song of birds, there can be little doubt, is one of the many forms in which natural beauty is expressed. Some birds display their charm by a wonderful adornment of colour, by glowing plumage, by painted wings, by flowing plumes or handsome crests. These birds do not sing. Throughout the bird world it is exceptional for a fine songster to be decked in brilliant plumage ; all our best singers are clad in sombre or incon- spicuous plumage. Another fact of some interest is the extraordinary variety of song. Few species form their music out of the same combination of 12 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS notes, and it is a fact which every observer will soon recognize, that very closely allied birds differ to an astonishing degree in the quality of their voice. We could not have a better example of this than that furnished by the Willow Wren and the Chiffchaff. These two birds are so much alike that it requires a person with some considerable knowledge to distinguish them, yet the songs of the two species are so utterly dissimilar that no one could possibly confuse one with the other. The Willow Wren's song is sweet and plaintive, a little run of beautiful notes ; whilst that of the Chiffchaff is a monotonous double cry, not easily mistaken for that of any other British species. If we admit that song is a secondary sexual character this diversity need not surprise us, for of all characters this is the most variable We may here remark that only in the Passeres do we find birds of true song — birds which are distinguished from all others by the organs at the end of the windpipe being specially developed for the production of these sweet sounds, the sweetest by far in all animated nature. This organ of voice, technically called the "syrinx," is really a modification of the lower part of the trachea, and consists of a series of muscles attached to the extremities of the bronchial semi-rings. There has been much diversity of opinion expressed concerning the origin and purpose of Song. It is a popularly prevailing idea that song, INTRODUCTION 13 or the instinct of song, amongst birds, is but an outward expression of exuberant internal joy. But there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that this wondrous accomplishment originated in Sexual Rivalry, developed and perfected, fostered and increased by that stronger and more assertive vitality which is without exception so characteristic of birds with any pretensions to musical skill. We, however, hasten to admit that these musical acquirements are also employed to express joy, and are even widely indulged in as a pastime or pleasurable diversion ; many species singing more or less constantly throughout the year, and even when sexual rivalry is dormant. But it is a rule without any exception whatever, that all birds sing their best when inspired by Love, and that in no case does this music show the faintest decline in power at a season when amorous instincts are predominant. Song each season is resumed at the commencement of sexual rivalry, and dies completely away with the decline of that sexual stimulus. Sexual rivalry and song are therefore inseparable ; wherever there is music there is love, or what pertains thereto. Every person who pays close attention to the subject will find that song declines perceptibly in brilliance and persistency after the laying season is over and the more acute stages of sexual strife are passed. The singing period of all song birds is a season of irritation 14 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS and war. Rival males sing at each other, chase each other from tree to tree or through the branches, fight fiercely, and sometimes seem so lost in their ecstatic rage as to be utterly oblivious to their own personal safety. Birds have been known actually to die under the violent exertions of song that a rival has inspired. Robins, to take a homely instance, often get so excited whilst singing against a rival that their song breaks into harsh sounds which are nothing but screams of defiance. We have often watched rival males of this species gradually approach each other singing at intervals between each stage of their progress, and then finally engage in combat. Mild tempera- ture and abundance of food may be a strong incentive to song, but only indirectly as these conditions affect the sexual impulses. Another branch of this interesting subject which the student must not fail to notice is the very perceptible amount of Variation in the songs of individuals of the same species. This is a very difficult study, for it requires a fine musical ear and some training ; and yet it is one that has hitherto received little attention, although a most promising and pleasing field of inquiry. We have repeatedly remarked variation in the songs of the same species in widely different localities, especially in the notes of some of our common birds in Algeria. Captain S. G. Reid states that the resident Chiffchaffs in INTRODUCTION 15 the Canary Islands, for instance, have acquired a much longer and desultory song than is heard from this species elsewhere. The late Lord Lilford has recorded an instance of very peculiar variation in the song of the Robin. It is also rather difficult to say what is real variation in a song, or what may be due purely to imitation. Mr. C. A. Witchell in his little work entitled The Evolution of Bird Song, has recorded a great many instances of what he considers legitimate imitation. But we think he assumes too much, and that a great deal of what he attributes to an imitative faculty is nothing but a similarity of coincidence ; whilst we cannot refrain from saying that this author should have been more careful to acquaint himself with what other natural- ists have already written and suggested before making so many dogmatic statements, or claiming as novelty much that had long been published. And here we may repeat what we wrote several years ago on yet another branch of this intensely interesting subject : The standard of perfection or excellence in the songs of birds is by no means an uniform or constant one. This is especially remark- able at the period when a species resumes its voice after a long interval of silence, and in the maiden efforts of young indivfduals. Any moderately observant person may remark innumerable instances of this peculiarity in every singing species. Look- inor throuo-h our note-books we find many observa- 1 6 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS tions 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, we 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. We have remarked the same thing in a Mule Canary, after his moult. Many young birds are very indifferent songsters, the art having apparently to be learnt with considerable effort. Especially is this apparent in the case of young Robins, which some- times begin to sing btlore they have quite lost the spotted dress of their youth. Some fully adult individuals of probably every species are much finer songsters than others, the music apparently im- proving with the age of the bird up to a certain period. We might here remark, that in some few 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 bewitchinof sweetness. Several instances INTRODUCTION 17 in which the female bird sings as well as the male are given in future pages of the present work. The various call-notes of birds are equally worthy of study ; they will be found described under the several species, and should on- no account be ignored, as they are, to say the least, valuable aids to the identification of the birds themselves. Do birds sing by Instinct or by Imitation ? It is a very popular belief that birds are hatched with an inherited ability to sing like their parents ; that when the proper season arrives these young birds without tuition or experience warble off the song characteristic of their species. This is an utterly erroneous assumption not supported by a scrap of direct evidence. Daines Barrington, no mean authority although an old one, writes : " notes in birds are no more innate than language is in man, and depend entirely on the master under which they are bred, as far as their organs will enable them to imitate the sounds which they have frequent oppor- tunities of hearing." He further tells us that he has " educated nestling Linnets under the three best singing Larks — the Sky- Lark, Wood- Lark, and Titlark, every one of which, instead of the Linnet's song, adhered entirely to that of their respective instructors. When the note of the Tidark Linnet was thoroughly fixed, I hung the bird in a room" with two common Linnets for a quarter of a year, which were full in song ; the Titlark Linnet, how- c i8 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS ever, did not borrow any passage from the Linnet's song, but adhered steadfastly to that of the Titlark." Every bird-fancier knows how readily under suitable conditions young birds will acquire a song totally unlike the one characteristic of their species. Many other similar facts might be brought forward to prove that the songs of birds are acquired by imita- tion, and that if young birds never hear the song of their species they are totally unable to produce it. A bird's song is just as much an acquired faculty as the acquisition of a language by a child ; and young birds, as Dr. Wallace pertinently remarks, " must be taken out of hearing of their parents very soon, for in the first three or four days they have already acquired some knowledge of the parent notes, which they will afterwards imitate." Having said this much by way of introduction, we hope we have indicated various directions in which the study of Avine Song may be pursued with profit. There are many ways in which the songs of birds are in- structive, and their philosophy may be studied with advantage whilst their varied strains are appealing to our sense of enjoyment. Our favourite song birds shall now be reviewed in proper sequence. THE WARBLERS THE WARBLERS Some systematlsts are disposed to class the Crows as the most highly specialized of all known birds ; and if certain peculiarities are considered their right to the distinction seems to be beyond question. Other naturalists have similarly urged the claims of the Thrushes to that honour, but with less satis- factory evidence to support their views. The Crows, as was long ago remarked by the illustrious Mac- gillivray, rank amongst some of the most highly organized birds. This assertion was based not only upon great anatomical, but wide general knowledge, and has been abundantly confirmed by later investi- gations. This exalted position of the Crow family {CoTvidcB) is largely due to the very interesting morphological fact that the young birds resemble the adults in colour, a fact which assuredly indicates higher development than is attained by the majority of other birds — and perhaps all other groups col- lectively— in which the young are more or less char- acterized by a plumage differing in many important respects from that of their parents. Tested by this 22 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS fact the Thrushes {Turdind) with their spotted young must justly give up their claim to precedence in favour of the Warblers [Sylviint^), in which the young almost universally very closely resemble the adults in colouration. There can be no doubt that of these two groups the latter is the most advanced from a common ancestor with spotted plumage, and therefore justly claims the post of honour in the present volume. Fortunately it is not our province here to attempt to define the limits of the Sylviinae — a group which scarcely two systematists agree as to the species claiming to be included. Possibly with the addition of many forms at present excluded it may yet claim ♦o be elevated to a family rank. For our present purpose it will be most convenient to follow the arrangement adopted by Seebohm in the fifth volume of the British Museum Catalogue of Birds. The Warblers, as there restricted, number several hun- dreds of species distributed over the greater part of the Old World, but only a very small proportion of these can be fairly classed as " British." The " American Warblers " form a distinct family, Minotiltidse, peculiar to the New World, and are characterized, among other things, by having nine instead of ten primaries in the wing. Both groups are essentially of Inter-Tropical origin, and in the majority of instances are able only to exist in colder and temperate latitudes by the exercise of migratory THE WARBLERS 23 habits. The typical Warblers are not remarkable for any great variety or beauty of plumage, their clothing is exceptionally chaste and unassuming ; but on the other hand their New World representa- tives are more brilliantly adorned — probably at the expense of vocal power. Amongst the Old World Warblers are to be found some of the sweetest singers of all known birds. They are essentially a musical group, but their vocal qualities are of very varying degrees of excellence, not only between the less nearly related species, but amongst others which are apparently very closely allied. To some extent it would seem that the quality of the voice was correlated with generic distinctions. In the Grass- hopper Warblers {Locustella) the song is most monotonous ; in the Reed Warblers [Acrocepkahis) it is certainly more musical, but of very unequal merit ; in the Willow Warblers {^Phylloscopus) it is also of variable musical quality ; in the Bush Warblers {Cettia) it attains considerable beauty ; in the Tree Warblers (Hypolais) certainly more ; whilst in the typical Warblers {Sylvia) it probably reaches its highest degree of attractiveness. Yet of all these groups not one (even of exceptional claim to musical skill) can be mentioned in which the song is of equal merit in all the species comprising it. In every group specially remarkable for vocal power some species invariably introduce discord, their musical abilities falling immeasurably short c^ the standard 24 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS of excellence reached by the most favoured members. This generic resemblance also extends very notably to the eggs, but as oology is of only secondary importance in the present book we need not make more than a passing allusion to the interesting fact. Certain species of Warblers are remarkable for the extraordinary way in which their vocal efforts re- semble those of other and often remotely allied birds ; this, we believe, is not conscious imitation to anything like the extent that has been ascribed to it by certain writers, but pure coincidence. Of the birds in this group which are not British, and yet famous for their vocal acquirements, mention may be made of the following. The Icterine Warbler [Hypolais iderina), or Tree Warbler, as it is called in some localities, is a particularly loud and persistent singer. The song is almost as loud, and certainly quite as varied as that of our own Song Thrush ; it has also the peculiarity of being repeated every few notes many times in succession, a fact which also in- creases the similarity. This melody has been much over-rated, but certainly exceeds that of the Sedge Warbler with which it is often compared. Cetti's Warbler [Cettia cetti) and some of its allies are said to possess a song almost rivalling that of the Nightingale; and what is even more interesting, to continue in voice almost throughout the year. The Orphean Warbler [Sy/via orpJiea) almost excels the Blackcap in the melody and richness of its voice ; THE WARBLERS 25 whilst the Barred Warbler [Sylvia nisoria) possesses some notes of exquisite sweetness. Some of the smaller Warblers in the genus Sylvia are also remarkable for their vocal powers. Of these we may mention the Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melano- cephala), Tristram's Warbler [Sylvia algeriensis), and the Spectacled Warbler [Sylvia conspicillala). The Rufous Warbler [Aedon galactodes) has a peculiar song more resembling that of the Robin, and described by one competent authority as low, soft and mellifluous. None of the Willow Warblers [Phylloscopns) appear to excel our own familiar Willow Wren [P. trockihcs), in their musical attain- ments. The Warblers, as a rule, sing during the early part of the breeding season only. The British Islands are specially favoured with birds of this group, some of the finest songsters in the entire series being summer visitors to our country, and these we will now proceed to describe in detail. THE BLACKCAP WARBLER Sylvia atricapilla With the solitary exception now of the Dartford Warbler all the species in the present group are summer migrants to the British Islands. The excessively local and rare Savi's Warbler was once said to be a resident in the fens, but the drainage of its favourite haunts has apparently caused its complete extermination, and thus left the Dartford Warbler in sole possession of the peculiarity of permanent residence with us. In our islands England and Wales are the Blackcap's head-quarters, but even here the southern and south-western districts are the most favoured, whilst everywhere there is a strongly marked tendency to localness. In Scotland and Ireland it is rarer and even more locally distributed, especially in the latter country. South of latitude 66" in the west, and lat. 57° in the east, the Blackcap is generally distributed over continental Europe. Southwards it extends to North Africa (with the adjoining islands), and east- 26 Bl.ACK Cai THE BLACKCAP WARBLER 27 wards to Asia Minor, Palestine and Western Persia. In some of the more southern portions of its range (practically throughout the basin of the Mediter- ranean) it is apparently a sedentary species, but its winter limits extend in Africa to within ten degrees of the equator. The Blackcap makes its appearance in the British Islands during the first half of April, a little earlier in the southern districts than in the northern ones. Thus in South Devon, where this bird is exception- ally common, I find the date of arrival to be on an average the loth of April ; in South Yorkshire it is about a week later. In places where it is common the Blackcap is most ubiquitous in its choice of a haunt. It may be met with in all sorts of places, in gardens, orchards, hedges, plantations, shrubberies, woods, and the dense thickets by the side of streams. We have repeatedly remarked its partiality for, and its exceptional abundance in, the vicinity of houses ; it is therefore perhaps the most familiar and the best known of the typical British Warblers. Arriv- ing as it often does long before the trees are in full leaf, and given to song almost directly after its appearance, it cannot readily be overlooked. It is neither so shy nor so skulking in its habits as the Garden Warbler and the Whitethroats, and as often as not may be watched for minutes in succession on the bare branches as it sits and sings fearlessly within a few yards of the observer, every now 28 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS and then fluttering into the air to seize a passing insect. To the casual observer the Blackcap generally proclaims itself by its song. The males appear to arrive a day or so before the females, but as soon as the latter come music begins, and is continued with almost undiminished vigour until the end of June, the song finally ceasing for the year early in July. The song, however, is never given forth so vigorously as in the first few weeks of spring ; the bird then seems literally overflowing with music and warbles almost continuously the livelong day. He is by no means a retiring singer, but may often be watched in the less tangled branches, now low down in the underwood, anon high up the trees. Not only does he sing whilst sitting on some branch, but as he flits from one spray to another, and even occasionally whilst on the wing. If disturbed from one place he will immediately flit off to another at no great distance and recommence his song at once. Of all the Warbler band the Blackcap, to our mind, is the most splendid singer, and his melody is absolutely unrivalled. The notes, clear and flute- like, pour forth in a perfect torrent of wild, sweet melody full of the most pleasing variations, and so loudly uttered that the listener is often led to think that a much larger and more powerful singer is producing them. Often the very nearness of the song is absolutely startling, and as we stand THE BLACKCAP WARBLER 29 entranced listening to its powerful cadence we may notice the black-capped little musician quietly sitting amongst the vernal foliage, with head turning from side to side and throat bubbling with the exertion, trying his hardest to drown the efforts of a rival in a neighbouring tree. The modulations of the song are exquisite. First, it may be, the song is heard in a low key, as if the author of it were a hundred yards away ; then gradually it becomes louder and louder, giving us the impression that the bird is coming nearer, until finally we are greeted with a torrent of sound, as if Blackbird, Song Thrush, Wren, Robin and Warbler were all singing in concert. But the Blackcap has been stationary all the time ; it may be not half-a-dozen yards away, and in amazement we learn that this wondrous music, now low and soft, anon rich and loud and full, has issued from the same little throat at one unchanging distance ! Next to the exceeding sweet- ness of the song, the pertinacity of the singer is sure to strike the observer. All through the balmy days of April, May and June the song may be heard, and not unfrequently it mingles with that of the Nightingale and the Sedge Warbler during the hot, sultry, summer night. Nay more, the Blackcap occasionally sings whilst taking his turn upon the eggs. At least one eminent authority thinks this " hardly credible." But we can assure the sceptics of the fact, after having watched the 30 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS bird so engaged, as we peeped between the under- wood not six feet away, scarcely daring to breathe, and seen the little singer, quite unconscious of our presence, crouching low on the flimsy nest warbling loudly with trembling throat and dark eyes flashing defiance. It is said that the Blackcap sings during the winter in the south of Europe, but this we think is a mistake, for February (the date given) in Italy is quite equal to April in England, so far as many of the habits of birds are concerned. The Blackcap is a very defiant singer, like the Robin in this respect, brooking no rivals, and trying its best to out-sing every other bird within hearing. It is at these times that the song is heard to best advantage. The call-note of this species is similar to the sound produced by knocking two small pebbles together — a clear tec or tack deliberately repeated. As soon as the eggs are hatched the song of the Blackcap begins to wane. Towards the end of April Blackcaps commence nesting duties. The nest is a slight cup-shaped structure made chiefly of dry grass-stalks, roots, cob- webs and cocoons, and lined with a little horse-hair. It is usually placed not far from the ground (from three to ten or twelve feet) in thickets, in dense hedges, gorse-bushes, or in holly and other low trees. A site is often selected near to running water, and the nest is not unfrequently slung in the branches drooping over a stream. The eggs, laid THE BLACKCAP WARBLER 31 at the end of April, in May, or even in June, are four, five, or six in number, usually white in ground- colour, clouded with olive- or buffish-brown, and here and there spotted and streaked with dark brown. A rare variety is pale red, mottled with darker red and sparingly spotted and streaked with purplish-brown. But one brood is reared in the season. If the first nest comes to grief, another and yet another will be made. A peculiarity of this species is that it will con- tinue to lay the full clutch of eggs in the same nest, if they are as regularly removed as soon as laid. The food of the Blackcap is chiefly composed of insects and larvae, but berries and fruits of various kinds are also eaten. The bird leaves our islands in September. The Blackcap has the general colour of the plumage greyish-brown, palest on the under parts. In the male the upper part of the head is black : in the female it is rusty brown. The bird is a little over six inches in total length. THE GARDEN WARBLER Sylvia hortensis The Garden Warbler is even more locally dis- tributed in the British Islands than the Blackcap. It is decidedly an English species, its range in Wales, so far as is yet known, not reaching beyond Pembrokeshire and Breconshire ; in Scotland to the southern and central counties only ; whilst in Ireland it embraces the counties of Cork, Tippe- rary, Fermanagh, and Antrim, and possibly those of Dublin and Wicklow. Its extra British range is very similar to that of the preceding species, but is a little more northerly, reaching lat. 70° in the west and lat. 65° in the east. Its eastern limits are about the same, but it appears only to pass South Italy, Greece and Asia Minor on migration, breeding however in Palestine and North-western Persia. The winter home of the Garden Warblers breeding in the northern hemisphere is in the African portion of the Inter-Tropical Realm. The Garden Warbler is a later migrant than the 32 X .rf^KrV SI2l^r^■^v"fcl Garden Warbler The garden warbler 33 Blackcap, not reaching its British haunts before the end of April or early in May. Although very similar in its habits and in the haunts it frequents to the latter bird, it is much more retiring and apt to be overlooked even in districts where it is compar- atively common. It should also be remarked that in localities where the Blackcap abounds the Garden Warbler appears to be proportionately scarce, but whether this is due to the antipathy of the birds for each other's society, or the absence of some favourite food, or necessity of actual existence, we are not exactly prepared to say. Cover of some kind is most essential to this unobtrusive and skulking bird. It delights in thickets, the tangled underwood in plantations and shrubberies, fruit gardens, orchards, dense hedges, and the interlaced vegetation growing near to streams. As in the Blackcap, the male Garden Warblers appear to migrate a few days in advance of the females ; and with their advent song commences. The Garden Warbler is of a most retiring nature, delighting to thread its way through the tangled branches with mouse-like celerity, every now and then indicating its whereabouts by uttering a harsh teck, or less frequently by bursting into song. On rarer occa- sions it may be seen amongst more open situations, sometimes at a considerable height in the trees, whence it now and then soars into the air to capture an insect ; but our experience of this species invari- 34 OUR FAVOURITE SOXG BIRDS ably is that it seeks to hide itself from observation almost directly it feels itself to be an object of scrutiny. During the breeding season the Garden Warbler usually proclaims its presence by its song. Gener- ally the sweet little singer is safely hidden amongst the bowers of dense vernal foliage, and so quickly does he glide from one part of the cover to another that at most a fleeting glimpse is obtained. There is but one other British Warbler that can outrival the present species in vocal power, and that is the Blackcap. If this bird be not present for direct comparison there is little in the quality of its voice to mark inferiority. It certainly is a softer, more subdued song, wanting that loud flute-like joyous character which is such a feature of the Blackcap's melody, but it is exquisitely sweet notwithstanding. It is a song w'hich, to us, always leaves the im- pression that the singer is bashful, and alarmed at its own temerity in venturing to join in the spring- tide chorus at all — a song which expresses in sweetly eloquent language the unassuming disposi- tion of the great vocalist himself, a characteristic of much human as well as avine genius. The Garden Warbler is certainly not such a persistent singer as the Blackcap ; it is more fitful, and heard to best advantage in early morning. The song, as is usual in this group, is continued until the eggs are hatched, when it abruptly dies away for the year. THE GARDEN WARBLER 35 From notes made during a great number of years, recording observations on the song of the Garden Warbler, we find that it is in fullest power during May and the first half of June ; that the bird sings little during inclement weather ; and lastly that on very rare occasions it may be heard warbling on still, hot summer nights. The typical Warblers are not anything like such night-singers as the Reed Warblers, and we are inclined to think that in most cases their night song is due to their being disturbed, and not from any natural nocturnal habit. The breeding season of the Garden Warbler is in May and June. The birds apparently pair after their spring migration, and nest-building commences very soon after that event is settled. The nest may be found in a variety of situations, but is generally never many feet from the ground. It is variously placed amongst brambles and briars, in low thorn trees, or in gooseberry and currant bushes. In other cases it is placed amongst nettles or in amongst the foliage of growing peas. Wherever it is built, however, the birds are most careful to select a spot in which it is absolutely concealed by surrounding leaves. The nest is a flimsy net-like structure, composed of round dry grass-stalks chiefly, with perhaps a scrap or two of moss and a few roots : sometimes, but not always, a slight lining of horse- hair is added. The sides of the nest are skilfully interwoven with the surrounding twigs and stems ; 36 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS whilst the inside is moderately deep and beautifully rounded. The eggs are from four to six in number, and are white, or white tinged with buff or green, in ground-colour, blotched, spotted and freckled with olive-brown, dark brown, and buffish-brown, with a few underlying splashes of paler brown and grey. The pink variety, so familiar in the eggs of the Blackcap, does not appear to occur in this species, although we should remark that a single ^'g^ in the British Museum, taken by Gould, is ascribed \vair<^ The Les^kr Whiietlroat THE LESSER WHITETHROAT 45 of Spain, but the usual haunts are in North Africa from the Desert to within about ten degrees of the equator. Two very closely allied species are found in Asia, The Lesser Whitethroat undertakes its migrations about the same time as the preceding species, arriving in its English haunts during the last half of April or the beginning of May. In its habits, and the haunts which it frequents, the Lesser White- throat very closely resembles the Garden Warbler. It has the same retiring skulking ways, shunning observation and passing most of its time amongst the sheltering foliage ; it resorts to similar cover, hedgerows, thickets (especially near to water), large gardens, shrubberies, and coverts, where it has a habit, not so noticeable in the Common White- throat, of frequenting the taller trees, and the higher hedges. The partiality of this bird for dense cover, combined with its unobtrusive song, causes it to be much overlooked even in localities where it is fairly common. It has the same secretive ways as the rest of its allies, hopping very quickly and stealthily from twig to twig through the tangled thickets, the trembling of a branch here and there, or the occasional harsh call-note, being the only indications of its presence. If observed in more open places, which happens less frequently, the Lesser Whitethroat will be found to resemble in its actions nearly allied birds. 46 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS It is in the habit of carefully searching the foliage for insects ; and when doing so in the loftier trees may be seen to flutter for a moment at the extremity of a twig as it subjects each leaf to piercing scrutiny. Now and then even, Flycatcher like, it starts into the air in chase of a passing fly, and the sharp click of the bill may be heard as it closes upon the unfortunate insect. The call-note of this White- throat is a shrill tec; the bird has also a harsh scold- ing note, very similar to that uttered by allied birds, when alarmed or chased. The vocal powers of the Lesser Whitethroat can scarcely be described as of a very high order. The first part of the short and to some extent monoto- nous song is certainly the best, but the promise of the opening strains is not continued, and they soon pass into little more than a trill. This song is uttered rather persistently, especially during the first few weeks of the bird's sojourn in our area, but begins to decline at the close of June, and ceases altogether in July. This Whitethroat may also be heard occa- sionally to warble whilst fluttering in the air, and still more rarely to sing at night. Some birds take a perfect delight in seeking an exposed perching place from which to sing ; but the Lesser Whitethroat courts seclusion and a shady place to indulge in song. As this is neither loud nor very attractive, the poor little singer is often overlooked and his vocal efforts disregarded. THE LESSER WHITETHROAT 47 The Lesser Whitethroat apparently pairs after its arrival in this country. It is a somewhat late breeder, the eggs being laid in May or June. The nest is not commenced until the vegetation affords it ample concealment. The favourite site for the nest is amongst briars and brambles, less frequently near the top of a thick hedge or in a gorse-bush. It is nothing like so deep as that of the Common White- throat, but is equally slight and flimsy-looking, a mere net through which the eggs may often be readily perceived. It is made chiefly of fine round dry grass-stalks, skilfully interwoven with the sur- rounding twigs, and often bound together with cocoons and roots, and lined with a little horse-hair. The nest much more closely resembles that of the Garden Warbler and the Blackcap, than that of the Common Whitethroat, its shallowness being its chief distinguishing characteristic. We have frequently noticed, both in the present species and the Black- cap, that nest after nest will be commenced and left unfinished, deserted for no apparent reason, just as is often the case with the Wren. The eggs of the Lesser Whitethroat are from four to six in number, pure white or pale buff in ground-colour, blotched and spotted with various shades of olive-brown and grey. As usual most of the spots are round the large end of the ^^^g. In general appearance they resemble those of the Garden Warbler rather than those of the Common Whitethroat. This White- 48 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS throat rears one brood only in the year. The hen is a very close sitter, and when driven from the nest is soon joined by her mate, the two birds then flitting uneasily to and fro amongst the cover, uttering harsh notes of remonstrance. The food of the Lesser Whitethroat is chiefly composed of insects and their larvae ; but later on in the summer this fare is varied with fruit of various kinds, berries, and even green peas. The migration south is undertaken in Septernber, but laggards have not unfrequently been noticed in October, and odd birds have been found in this country even as late as November. The Lesser Whitethroat is a very plain-looking little bird, having the general colour of the upper parts brownish-grey, tinged with brown on the back and ear-coverts. The wings and tail are brown, the outermost feathers of the latter being tipped with white. The general colour of the under parts is silvery-white, with an almost imperceptible brown shade on the breast and flanks. The axillaries and under wing-coverts are white. The female closely resembles the male in colour ; both sexes are about five inches in total length. THE WILLOW WARBLER Phylloscopus trochilus Of all the Warbler band that visit the British Islands each recurring spring the Willow Warbler is not only the best known, but the most widely distributed, and, we were going to add, the greatest popular favourite too. With the exception of the remote and inhospitable Orkney and Shetland Islands, together with some of the Hebrides, the Willow Warbler is found during spring and summer throughout Great Britain and Ireland, in all areas suited to its requirements. It is a species of equally wide range in continental districts, being a summer visitor to most parts of Europe from the Mediter- ranean nearly to the Arctic Ocean. Its summer range also includes the extreme north of Africa. In Asia it ranges equally far north, and has been met with as far east as the valley of the Yenesay. Its winter range includes Persia, Palestine, Asia Minor, Greece, Turkey, Sicily, the south of France, and Spain ; whilst in Africa it extends to an undeter- so OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS mined area of the Inter-Tropical Realm. Throuc^h- OLit this vast area it everywhere appears to be an exceptionally common bird. The Willow Warbler is one of the earliest migrants to reach our shores in spring, and this fact in itself is one that endears the bird to us and makes it an object of special admiration. We notice the charming fairy-like little creature back in its old haunts very often during the first week of April, especially in the southern counties of England — in the very vanguard of the advancing army of migrant birds, almost simultaneously with the Wheatear, and the Chiffchaff. It is a little later in the northern districts ; but during six years' observation of its arrival in South Devon we find the dates to vary from the 7th to the 15th of April. The Willow Warbler may be heard and seen almost everywhere, from the suburban garden, the London park, or the town pleasure-ground, to the moors and upland wilds. It, however, prefers hedges, gardens, planta- tions and orchards, to woods, but is not averse to trees as well as the lower kinds of vegetation. Another thing that renders the Willow Warbler so attractive is its fearless ways, its habit of courting notice. It is no skulking creature like the Blackcap or Garden Warbler ; it seems to invite observation, and is one of the most trustful and least suspicious of all our smaller wild birds. How can we describe the feeling of pleasure we experience at seeing the }|€H>rf S|w^^^ Willow Warblf.r THE WILLOW WARBLER 51 Willow Warbler for the first time in spring ! There it is once more, just the same as in the many years that have come and gone, trustfully flitting from branch to branch in the still leafless trees, or mayhap amongst the fragrant apple and pear blos- soms in the hoary old orchard, where we have noted its arrival for more seasons than we care to recall. Silently it searches about in quest of food, or every now and then pauses and breaks out into that song which captivates our hearts with its simple sweetness. Day by day we watch its familiar ways, and yet they never bore us ; time and again we can listen to its plaintive call-note, or its witching song, and yet they are ever attractive. By the hour together we frankly confess we can watch the actions of this little Warbler without feeling one jot of weariness. Its ways are so engaging, its appearance so deli- cately trim and neat, as it flits about in Tit-like quest of food. Its exceeding^ trustfulness is one of the secrets of its attractiveness, for at arm's-length it will search the branches for food without the least show of fear. Every now and then the bird will start into the air in chase of an insect, or perhaps flutter at the extremity of a branch to search the very outermost leaves. The call-note of this species is inexpressibly soft and sweet, a double piping cry which no words can describe. The Willow Warbler is not only a sweet singer but a most persistent one. There is nothing 52 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS particularly striking in the little refrain, the few notes being uttered in a very attractive descend- ing scale ; but when the birds are singing in all directions, first one and then another, here, there and everywhere, the effect is charming in the highest degree. It is a little song, plaintive yet soothing in the extreme, soft and rich in tone, commencing with a few low and sweet notes, which gradually become louder and richer, and then finally die away in strains so low that they are scarcely audible a few yards away. This song is sometimes uttered whilst the bird is flying, especially in spring, or even when hopping from branch to branch. None of our song birds sing more persistently all the spring and early summer ; but in July and August this song becomes less frequent, is chiefly heard at dawn, and by the end of the latter month dies away in the annual moult. It is regained, however, after the new dress is assumed, in all its former beauty, a fact which we have not remarked in any other migratory Warbler, if we except the Chiffchaff, but that bird's note scarcely attains the dignity of a song. Whether the Willow Warbler pairs for life or not, we are unable exactly to say, but there is some evidence to suggest that the same spots are visited for nesting purposes year by year. The cosy little nest of this species is usually made upon the ground, amongst the luxuriant herbage on a bank by pre- ference, but many other sites are selected. We THE WILLOW WARBLER 53 have seen many nests placed amongst the tall meadow grass of the hay-fields ; whilst the shelter of a low bush or a cluster of briars, tangled grass and brambles is not unfrequently selected. Very rarely it is placed above the ground, amongst ivy or the suckers growing at the foot of a tree. In shape the nest is semi-domed, or perhaps a better description of it is that of a moderately deep narrow nest placed on its side. It is more open than that of the Chiffchaff, and is somewhat loosely put together, outwardly made of dry grass, leaves, roots, and scraps of moss, and copiously lined with feathers and a little hair. We have counted as many as two hundred feathers in the lining of a single nest. The parent birds are very wary in conveying the materials, and may often be watched for a long time with a feather in their bill hopping restlessly about, tiring out all but the most persistent patience. The eggs range from four or five to as many as eight, and are generally pure white in ground-colour, blotched and freckled with pale reddish-brown. But one brood appears to be reared in the year, and the eggs for this are laid even as early as the end of April or as late as June. The food of the Willow Warbler from the bird's arrival until July is principally composed of insects and larvse, but in the later summer months when the fruit is ripe this species subsists largely upon that pro- duct of the garden. The return migration of this 54 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS species begins at the latter end of August and lasts through September into October, whilst stragglers have been met with as late as November. The Willow Warbler has the general colour of the upper parts olive-green ; there is an ill-defined pale yellow eye-stripe ; the wings and tail are brown. The general colour of the under parts is yellowish- white, shading into buff on the breast and flanks. The axillaries, under wing-coverts and thighs are yellow. The newly moulted dress is much more yellow in tinge. The female resembles the male in colour, and the total length of the bird is five inches. The Wood Warbler [Pkylloscopits sibilatrix) and the Chiffchaff {Phy Hose opus colly bit a or rufa) are both well-known summer visitors to our islands, but as their vocal powers are limited it has not been deemed necessary to treat them in a detailed manner in the present volume. THE GOLDCREST Regulus cristatus As questions of classification do not come within the scope of the present work, we need have no hesitation in placing the present bird in such close proximity with the Warblers, with which birds it has much in common, although by many authorities it is included with the Tits. After all there is something very Willow Warbler-like in its habits, appearance, and organization, so with the Warblers it shall stay for our present purpose. Unlike all the other species which we have described hitherto, the Goldcrest is a resident in the British Islands. It should, however, be remarked that this species visits our area, often in vast numbers, from conti- nental Europe every autumn, but the individuals that breed with us appear to be sedentary. The Gold- crest is found practically throughout the British Islands wherever there are suitable haunts to shelter it, and these appear only to be wanting in the Outer Hebrides, the Orkneys, and the Shetlands. Outside 56 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS these limits this bird has a very extensive range, being found, subject to certain shght modifications, from Europe to Japan. The typical form is found throughout Europe in all suitable localities, from the Arctic Circle southwards. The Asiatic birds present some slight differences, but scarcely of a specific value. There is no reliable evidence to show that this species has ever occurred in Africa, although it is said to pass Malta on migration. The Goldcrest is most frequently found in shrub- beries, plantations, gardens, and parks where larch, fir, and yew trees are plentiful. It may of course often be observed amongst deciduous vegetation, in woods, hedges, coppices and the like, but trees of an evergreen character are always its delight. There is much in the habits of this engaging little species — the smallest British bird — to remind us of the ways of Tits and Willow Warblers. Indeed the Goldcrest is very fond of consorting with the first- named birds, especially with Coal Tits, and during the autumn and winter months. We remark the same method of searching for food as in the Willow Warbler, the restless hopping and flitting here and there, the darting into the air in chase of passing insects, the pause every now and then for the utterance of song. Although neither shy nor skulk- ing it goes so quietly about its avocations as to be often overlooked. Very often the first sign of its presence is the wonderfully high-pitched call-note i|c?vYY^|^^^a.TA Gold Ckp THE GOLDCREST 57 — so bat-like and acute as to be inaudible to some ears, and located with the greatest difficulty. As likely as not the tiny bird is discovered much nearer than was expected. It is a most trustful little creature, and may be watched searching the twigs and leaves in a variety of grotesque attitudes, with- out exhibiting the slightest fear of man. Its activity is great, and it soon passes on its way, flitting from tree to tree in a wavering manner, followed by or following its companions, now lost for the moment, then appearing again where we might least have expected it. This engaging bird is readily identified by its glowing orange or lemon-coloured crest (the latter tint being peculiar to the female), and this striking decoration gleams with great brilliance in the sunlight, rendering mistake impossible. In autumn the Goldcrest becomes to a certain extent gregarious ; but we think the resident individuals are not so socially inclined as those other ones of this species that come in flocks from over the sea. These autumnal flights of Goldcrests do not appear to reach South Devon, and here we do not remark such gatherings as we were wont to do long years ago in the woods of Yorkshire. The bird is fairly common here, but it is generally seen in pairs, save in the summer, when the broods and their parents are wandering about in company. The Goldcrest is a songster of considerable merit, but unfortunately he sings in too low a strain. His 58 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS voice is exceptionally sweet and clear, but the song is so softly poured forth that it generally escapes notice altogether. It is of about the same duration as that of the Willow Warbler, but cannot be heard at a quarter the distance. Neither is the bird a very persistent chorister. The song is perhaps heard most frequently in spring, but after ceasing in the moulting season it is often regained in autumn in all its simple beauty. It is in fact a song that must be searched for ; it is in nowise obtru- sive ; but the reader may rest assured that when he does succeed in fairly hearing it he will not be disappointed. The Goldcrest breeds amongst the evergreen trees it loves so much to frequent. Its nesting season is in April and May. It is probable that this bird pairs for life, although a new nest appears to be made each season, but the same little cluster of trees will be resorted to for years in succession. It is also worthy of remark that even a small plantation will often accommodate several pairs of birds. The nest is usually slung or suspended hammock-wise under the extremity of a drooping fir or yew branch. It is said sometimes to be placed tipon the branch, but this must be a very exceptional circumstance. It is nearly globular in form, and is a charming example of avine architecture, being composed externally of moss, spiders' webs, hairs, and a few bits of lichen, well felted together, and warmly lined THE GOLDCRESr 59 with feathers. The foliao^e surroundino' it is skil- fully interwoven, so that the whole appears nothing but an unusually dense clump of twigs and leaves. The eggs are usually from five to eight in number, but ten have been found. They are pale reddish- white in ground-colour, sometimes pure white, minutely speckled with brownish-red, chiefly on the larger end. Both eggs and nest are unique so far as British birds are concerned, and cannot possibly be confused with those of any other species. The Goldcrest is shy and retiring during the nesting season, and a close sitter, but the tiny moss-built home is easily discovered by those who know where to seek it. But one brood is reared in the season, and young and old keep in company after the former leave the nest. The food of the Goldcrest is chiefly composed of insects and their larvae, but small seeds, notably of the birch and heather, and soft berries, such as those of the yew, are also eaten. In districts which come within the limits of the migrations of this bird its annual wanderings are very interesting. The bird is well known along the shores of the wild North Sea and to the men who sail its waters. Sometimes vast swarms of this tiny migrant are met with far out to sea, and they have been known to cluster on the rigging of ships, and to visit lighthouses and light-vessels in astonishing numbers. For further particulars relating to the migrations of the Gold- 6o OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS crest we may refer the reader to the present writer's works on the subject. The GolJcrest has the general colour of the upper parts olive-green, strongly suffused with yellow in the newly-moulted plumage. Along each side of the forehead are two black streaks which enclose the crest of bright orange-yellow. The wings and tail are brown, each quill feather with a greenish margin, and the greater and median wing-coverts are tipped with white, thus forming two conspicuous white bars across the wings. The under parts are nearly uniform greyish-brown. The female closely resembles the male in colour, but the crest is yellower, and the plumage generally less brilliant. The young birds in first plumage have no trace of the yellow cre^^t. The total length of this diminutive species is not more than three and a half inches. THE SEDGE WARBLER ACROCEPHALUS PHRAGMITIS It seems scarcely credible now-a-days that such a common bird as the Sedge Warbler was so little known in Gilbert White's day that the old Hamp- shire naturalist actually confused it with the Reed Warbler. But ornithology like other sciences is a progressive one, and doubtless the ornithologists of a future age will regard many of the achievements of present day students with as much astonishment as we do those of a past generation of naturalists. The Sedge Warbler is another very common and widely dispersed member of the present group, and appears to visit the greater part of the British Islands in spring and summer for the purposes of reproduction. In some parts, especially in the southern counties, it literally swarms, but in the more northern districts it becomes not only more local but decidedly rarer. We do not find it breeding in the Shetlands, or the Outer Hebrides, although it may do so in the Orkneys, and certainly does so in Skye. In Ireland 6i 62 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS it appears to be equally widely distributed. Outside the British Islands its range is very wide, extending over the greater part of Europe and Asia at least as far east as the valley of the Yenesay, where Seebohm remarked the bird's abundance. Its northern range in the west reaches almost to the limits of continental land, but in the east does not appear to extend much above the Arctic Circle. I n South Europe and North Africa the bird appears to be a passing migrant chiefly, although it may possibly breed sparingly in Algeria, the south of France, Italy and Greece. It certainly breeds in Palestine, and is said to do so in Corfu and Crete. Absent apparently from Persia, it visits North-western Turkestan, although its eastern limits in Asia are not yet determined. The winter range of this species extends from Asia Minor to some unknown area in the Ethiopian portion of the Inter-Tropical Realm. The Sedge Warbler is a somewhat late migrant to our area, usually not appearing, even in southern localities, before the last ten days of April, and in the northern and more remote w-esttrn ones not until the beginning of May. Although this bird belongs to the reed or marsh Warbler group, its haunts are by no means confined to swampy localities. Its favourite resorts, so far as may be estimated by the number of individuals, are osier- and reed-beds where the ground is more swampy than covered with water, tangled thickets near pools and marshy spinnevs by Sedge Warbler THE SEDGE WARBLER 6^ the river-side. It, may, however, often be observed in dense hedges far from water, and weed- and briar- choked ditches. We cannot call the Sedge Warbler a particularly shy or retiring species. If alarmed it is skulking enough, but if not disturbed it will fear- lessly go its way in full view of the observer, and may very frequently be seen clinging to the topmost point of a reed or bush, or flying from one side of a stream to the other with no attempt at concealment. Sedge Warblers are very quarrelsome birds, especi- ally just after their arrival, and before each pair has comfortably settled down into a chosen spot for the summer. Even then the birds resent intrusion, and no matter how abundant they may be, each pair are attached to a certain beat from which they are ever ready to drive off trespassers. Before the vegetation is full grown the birds may be watched hurrying about more like mice than birds, and the celerity of their movements is very noteworthy. The Sedge Warbler is the Song Thrush of the swamps ; and his song is even more varied than that of that bird, much more persistently uttered, and far longer in duration. One might fancy that the little brown singer, hidden away amongst the iris and osiers, had borrowed a few notes from every other songster of the grove, and was trying them over in a deliciously sweet and rambling manner. For as many as ten minutes without a pause, he will con- tinue to utter his varied strains, now harsh, now 64 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS sweet, now loud and clear, now Jow and plaintive. Sometimes a few notes are warbled in splendid tune, but the sweeter tones are broken and interrupted by the introduction of chirps like those of a House Sparrow, croaks like those of a frog, or a long string of chattering cries, which at once recalls the song of the Wren. Many of the sweeter notes resemble those of the Whitethroat, the Goldfinch, or even the rapturous voice of the tame Canary, When once fairly setded down to song the Sedge Warbler is not easily stopped. He will continue to run through the entire range of his song in spite of the noise of advancing steps, or even of the stones thrown into the thickets to scare him. If compelled to change h's perch, he often does so singing as he flies ; or, for a brief instant the song is hushed, and then breaks out anew in some more secluded corner of his haunt. As is so characteristic of the Song Thrush, the Sedge Warbler frequently repeats a note, or a series of notes, several times in succession, before passing into another variation of his ever- changing song. The Sedge Warbler is a most persistent night singer ; and when several birds are singing in concert, as they often do in districts where the species is common, the effect is extremely beautiful to the ear during darkness, when surround- ing objects are hidden in gloom, and there is nothing to disturb our undivided attention. All night long the Sedge Warblers sing almost incessantly, but as THE SEDGE WARBLER 65 the dawn arrives a marked falling-off takes place. No one unacquainted with the song of this species can ever realize its beauty or its infinite variety, from a written description ; it must be heard to be appreciated. Our observations of this species show that it does not sing much during the hottest part of the day, neither does it sing during cold windy weather, unless disturbed. The song is most per- sistently uttered at night, and is particularly charm- ing about the middle of May — on the fine, warm, moonlight nights of that glorious month of flowers and foliage. Sometimes the bird may be heard singing high up in trees near its swampy haunts, and occasionally flies from the topmost branches to the reeds below, warbling all the way. In far more cases than we have here space to specialize has the song of the Sedge Warbler been attributed to the Nightingale ; and this generally happens in districts where the latter bird is either rare or entirely absent — a confusion which has led to much popular error in the distribution of the more local species. A person familiar with the song of both birds can, of course, never fall into such an error, for the notes of the Nightingale are incomparably the sweetest. The song of the Sedge Warbler is continued well on the summer, but falls off as soon as the eggs are hatched, and ceases prior to the moult, not to be regained until the following year. The Sedge Warbler pairs soon after its arrival, if 66 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS indeed it does not mate for life, as certain districts are visited annually for nesting purposes. The nest is made in willow-bushes, amongst dense thickets of briar and bramble, or close hedges, or amongst the coarse grass and reeds at the foot of the osiers, even on the pollarded stumps themselves, but never sus- pended to the reeds. It is small and loosely put together, made of dry grass, bits of moss and sedge, and lined with a little horse-hair or vegetable down, and sometimes a feather or two. The eggs are five or six in number, bluish-white in ground-colour, more or less thickly clouded and mottled with buffish- brown or greyish-brown, and often streaked with a few pencillings of very dark brown. The parent bird sits closely, and does little to betray the where- abouts of the nest. But one brood is reared in the year, and young birds and their parents appear to keep in company and to migrate together. The food of this Warbler is chiefly composed of insects and their larvae, but evidence is not wanting that this fare is varied during the latter months of its sojourn in our islands, with fruit and certain soft berries. Sedge Warblers are certainly migrating southwards in August, but September is the usual time of departure from us, and odd birds may occasionally be met with in October. The Sedge Warbler has the general colour of the upper parts russet-brown, each feather (except those on the rump) having a darker centre, which gives the THE SEDGE WARBLER 67 bird a somewhat spotted appearance. Above the eye is a buffish-white stripe. The under parts are buffish-white shading into pale buff on the breast and flanks. The female closely resembles the male in colour. This Warbler is about five inches in length. THE REED WARBLER ACROCEPHALUS STREPERUS. The Reed Warbler is essentially an English species, by no means uncommon in the southern, midland, and eastern counties, and in many parts of Wales. It is, however, we believe, entirely absent from Devon and Cornwall. It becomes rare and local in Lancashire and Cumberland, and in York- shire is only known to breed as far north as Ripon, but is common at Hornsea Mere. It may possibly breed regularly in the valley of the Tyne ; but its summer range does not extend to Scotland or to Ireland, Outside the British area the Reed Warbler has a somewhat extensive range, breeding through- out Europe south of lat. 58°, and eastwards through Asia Minor, Palestine, Persia, Turkestan, South- western Siberia, and Baluchistan, Its winter range is apparently restricted to the Mediterranean Basin and the Ethiopian portion of the Inter-Tropical Realm, The Reed Warbler must be classed amono-st the 68 ■I ^: Reed Warbler THE REED WARBLER 69 later of our summer migrants, not reaching the British area before the end of April or the beginning of May. Owing to its partiality for certain haunts it is a somewhat local species, and what is even more remarkable, is its absence from many ap- parently suitable districts. But this, we are con- vinced, is more due to the law which governs the dispersal of species, than to any capriciousness upon the part of the bird itself The favourite resorts of this Warbler are reed-beds, and the reed- and willow- fringed banks of slow-running rivers, and stagnant dykes and pools. Brushwood and thickets by the water-side, and less frequently localities affording plenty of cover, at some distance from water, may also be given as its haunts. A casual observer might be led to suppose that the Reed Warbler is gregarious, but such is not the case ; although many pairs may be met with in a comparatively small area, each keeps to certain limits and resents in- trusion. The Reed Warbler is more retiring in its habits than the Sedge Warbler, and is not so readily observed, skulking persistently amongst the thickets and the reeds, eluding observation by its mouse-like actions, and only betraying its whereabouts by a harsh scolding note, as if of remonstrance, by a snatch of song, or by tlie vibiation of a reed or twig as it glides from stem to stem with marvellous celerity. The general habits of the Reed Warbler are almost exactly the same as those of the Sedge 70 OUR FA VOURITE SONG BIRDS Warbler, with this difference, that the latter species is not so shy and skulking in its movements. Reed Warblers may often be seen amongst the branches of moderately high trees by the water-side; they have the same habit of flitting across the open spaces from one cover to another ; they are similarly nocturnal, and possess the same restless activity. The Reed Warbler is another very persistent singer, and during the early summer his song is one of the most characteristic features of the reed-beds. The song is not unlike that of the Sedge Warbler, a chattering melody, in a lower tone, but what it lacks in loudness it certainly gains in gentle sweet- ness. We should describe it as being more monotonous than the Sedge Warbler's, and there is perhaps a more frequent introduction of harsh notes. The bird habitually sings at night, commenc- ing in the warm soft twilight of the early summer evenings, and warbling almost incessantly until the sun reappears above the eastern horizon. Cold sunless days and windy nights almost invariably silence this little reed bird's voice. It continues in song until the eggs are hatched, but is by far the most musical during the first few weeks of its sojourn with us. This species also sings as it flies, and is one which is not readily silenced when once fairly in voice. The birds appear to pair after their arrival in the summer quarters, but as the same reed-beds are THE REED WARBLER 71 visited annually for breeding purposes, one might almost be led to think that they mate for life. Be this as it may, the birds are very quarrelsome and noisily pugnacious until each pair has settled down into its summer quarters, but the time of nest-build- ing depends a good deal on the state of the weather. If warm and genial, operations soon begin, but cold dull weather seems to retard them. The eggs are laid during May and June. The nest of this Warbler is either made amongst the reeds, in the slender branches of willows and alders overhanging the water, or less frequently in a thick hedge by the river-side. It is made at varying heights from the ground, or rather water, sometimes being within a few inches of the surface, at other times several feet. When made amongst the reeds it is sus- pended between three or four stems, whilst those placed in branches are slung from several slender twigs, the material being woven round each in turn. The nest is a deep well-made structure — quite a different type of architecture altogether from that of the typical Warblers — composed of dry sedge and grass, the ribbon-like leaves of the reeds, roots, bits of moss, wool, and vegetable down, lined with finer down, sometimes a feather or two and a little hair. In some cases the nest is very elongated, almost funnel-shaped, with a considerable foundation below the cavity containing the eggs; others are more cup-shaped, and these are made with much less 72 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS material. The four or five eggs are pale greenish- blue — almost white in some cases — in ground-colour, spotted and blotched with olive-brown, freckled and sometimes streaked with darker brown, and with underlying markings of grey or paler brown. The female sits the most, and both birds become excited and utter harsh scolding notes if disturbed at the nest. But one brood is reared in the year; if the first lot of eggs be taken, a new nest will be made and another clutch produced. The food of the Reed Warbler is chiefly composed of insects and their larvse; many imagos are caught whilst on the wing. In the later summer months there seems to be little doubt that smnll soft fruits and berries are also eaten. This Warbler is a comparatively early migrant in autumn, its journey south commencing towards the end of August, but many birds appear to delay their departure until the first half of September. The Reed Warbler is a very plain-looking little bird, having the general colour of the upper parts olive-brown strongly suffused with rufous, especially on the rump and upper tail-coverts. The wings and tafl are brown, the feathers with paler margins. The under parts are white, shading into buff on the breast, flanks, and under tail-coverts. The female closely resembles the male in colour, and the total length of this species is a little over five inches. Mention might here be made of the nearly allied THE REED WARBLER 73 Marsh Warbler i^Acrocephahis pa/usl>is), which is one of the rarest of our summer migrants. Its song, which we have not heard, is said to be much finer than that of the Reed Warbler; but this species, so far as is at present known, is so rare and local that it scarcely merits more than passing notice in the present volume. THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER LOCUSTELLA N^^VIA This interesting little species, the "Grasshopper Lark " of Pennant and Gilbert White, and the " Reel Bird " still of many country folk, is one of the most skulking of our native birds. The Grass- hopper Warbler, as most modern ornithologists now designate it, is a very widely distributed species in our islands, if somewhat local, and perceptibly more abundant in some districts than others. It is a regular summer visitor to most parts of England and Wales. In Scotland, although rarer and more local, its chief resorts appear to be south of the Forth, although it is known to breed sparingly here and there at least as far north as Skye. We also find it widely distributed in Ireland, but local there, as everywhere else, and with its head- quarters in the eastern and southern counties. It is a summer visitor to various parts of Central and Southern Europe (south of the Baltic), and is said to visit South-western Asia as far as the 74 \ Grasshopper Waki THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER 75 Altai mountains. Its winter quarters appear to be in the basin of the Mediterranean. The habits of a bird so skulking and shy as the Grasshopper Warbler are difficult to describe, because they are difficult to observe. Although the bird may be absolutely common in a district, it shows itself so rarely and so transiently that ordinary observers might well be pardoned for overlooking it altogether. This Warbler is not only skulking, but it is excessively shy. We have a certain sheltered valley here in South Devonshire, whose slopes aie clothed with a dense thicket of gorse ; and here in spring numbers of Grasshopper Warblers locate themselves. Upon their first arrival, which takes place during the last half of April or the beginning of May, they are sometimes very abundant, as if they had migrated in company and were resting for a short time before spreading over the surrounding country ; perhaps many of the birds pass on to more northern haunts, for the species is never so common after the first week or so of its appearance. Be this as it may, it is quite an exceptional event to catch a glimpse of a bird ; and we have found from long experience that the most successful way to see them was to visit their haunts very early in the morning, and to remain very quiet. The skulking little fellows would then regain confidence, or perhaps relax their wariness, and if we saw a couple of birds ■j6 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS during the course of a morning's watch we felt contented — gratified that we had at least outwitted them to some extent. And even then generally all we saw was a male bird run mouse-like up some twig taller than the rest, sing for a few fleeting moments, and as suddenly drop down again. It is perfectly useless to try and flush the Grasshopper Warbler ; he will seldom or never commit himself, and for hours you may follow him backwards and forwards, led on by the alluring and curious song, without once catching a glimpse of the dusky singer. The Grasshopper Warbler is by no means confined to marshy places, although it shows a strong partiality for them in some localities. Its favourite resorts are thickets, the brushwood in plantations and game coverts, matted hedge-bottoms, ditches, and the longer vegetation on commons and moors. We have frequently met with this species on the moors, miles away from woods, frequenting the tall ling and clusters of stunted thorns and brambles. If one is ever fortunate enough to drive this Warbler from the cover, its flight will be ft)und to be desultory and apparently feeble, and is never prolonged for any great distance, the bird's one effort being to hide itself as quickly as possible. The song of the Grasshopper Warbler once heard can never be forgotten. Not that it possesses any sweetness ; its sole charm is its apparently never- ending monotonousness. Of all our favourite song THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER 77 birds it stands out prominently as the most curious singer. The song is composed of one long tremu- lous trill, louder than the noise made by the grass- hopper, but just as monotonous. This sibilant song often lasts without cessation for two or three minutes together, now sounding startlingly near, or very remote as the bird changes its position in the thick cover — loud and close when the singer is up in the branches, low and remote when down in the grass and weeds. We have often heard the song of this species likened to the sound made by a fisherman's winch when the line is running out at full speed. The song of this Warbler may be heard at all hours of the day and night ; but it becomes specially loud and continuous in the dusk of the summer's evenings. If disturbed whilst singing the bird appears to show little uneasiness, and is not readily silenced. The song may cease for a moment as the bird's retreat is approached, but it bursts out anew directly afterwards in another part of the cover ; and you may chase the bird up and down for an hour or more without once getting a peep at the hidden songster. This song is heard most persistently through the early summer, but wanes after the eggs are hatched, and ceases altogether before the moult. The nesting season of the Grasshopper W^arbler is in May and June. Although many pairs of birds may be nesting within a small area of suitable 78 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS ground, this Warbler is neither gregarious nor sociable, and each pair have their own nook from which they drive away all intruders. The nest is either made upon the ground, or less frequently a short distance above it. It is one of the most difficult of our British nests to find, being hidden away under briars and brambles, or amongst rank long grass, at the foot of a bush, often in such dense situations that the birds approach it by a kind of "run" through the herbage. It is a somewhat compact and deep structure made of dry grass, moss, and dead leaves, and lined with finer round dry grass-stalks. Nests of this Warbler have been found amongst clover. The eggs are from four to seven in number, white, suffused with pink in ground- colour, densely sprinkled with reddish-brown and grey. On some eggs a few hair-like dark brown lines occur. These eggs are not readily confused with those of any other species. The bird, as might be expected, is a very close sitter, and leaves the nest when disturbed in a stealthy manner. But one brood appears to be reared in the year. The food of the Grasshopper Warbler is chiefly composed of insects and larvae, but late in the season fruits of various kinds are sought for. The migration south begins in August and is continued through the following month ; but as the species is such a retiring one the exact date of departure from any given locality is not very easily determined. THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER 79 The Grasshopper Warbler has the general colour of the upper plumage olive-brown, each feather with an ill-defined dark centre : the wings and tail are dark brown, with paler brown margins to the feathers. The chin and centre of the belly are white, shading into buffish-brown on the breast, flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts, the latter having dark centres. There is little difference in the colour of the sexes ; and the total length is about five and a half inches. THE THRUSHES THE THRUSHES The Thrushes are another somewhat hetero- geneous group whose limits are by no means easily defined, and concerning which taxonomists express considerable diversity of opinion. There can be no doubt whatever that the Thrushes are closely allied to the Warblers, and also to the Flycatchers. From the former group, as has already been remarked, they differ morphologically in having a spotted nestling plumage — a fact which unquestionably indicates an inferior degree of organization, and also a strong affinity with the latter group. Within this group are included species which have very popularly been supposed to belong to the Warblers. These are the Robins, the Nightingales, the Accentors, and the Redstarts. In the present state of our knowledge it is quite impossible to give even the approximate number of species in this family ; but if we restrict it to about the same limits as were assigned by Seebohm it cannot number much less than two hundred and sixty species and 83 84 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS well-defined geographical races. Species are much more .sedentary in the present group than in the preceding one, although there are many which undertake migrations of varying magnitude. The Thrushes are a much more showy group than the Warblers, some of the species being remarkable for exceptional beauty. Their vocal powers are of varying degrees of merit, but amongst them must be included some of the finest of known songsters. As is usual with secondary sexual characters, great diversity even in obviously closely allied species is presented. The Thrushes {Tjirdus), Ouzels (Mem/a), Rock Thrushes [Monticola), and the Robins and Nightingales (Erithaacs), are by far the finest songsters in the family, the latter perhaps claiming the foremost place. The Bluebirds (Siaiia) of America, and the Chats (Saxkohi), Red- starts {Ruiici/ia), and Stonechats {Pratincola) of the Old World are less noted vocalists. The present family is practically a cosmopolitan one, and their centre of dispersal is unquestionably the Inter- Tropical Realm. Many of the finest songsters in the present family are unfortunately non-indigenous to the British Islands, or only occur therein as rare and abnormal migrants. Of these absentees it may prove of interest to the reader to mention the following — all exceptionally famous for their vocal attainments. Perhaps none of the typical Thrushes excel the sweet singers of our own land ; there are THE THRUSHES 85 many foreign species in this group justly famed for their music, yet so far as we can gather our native songsters lose nothing by comparison with them. One very noteworthy characteristic of the melody of many of the typical Thrushes is the curious repeti- tion of the notes, most pronounced perhaps in our own Song Thrush. The American " Robin " {T^Lvdiis 7?iigratorius) is also especially remarkable in this respect, repeating each series of notes many times in succession. The Rufous Thrush {Ttirdiis rufive^itris) of South America is also another singer of exceptional merit ; with the same peculiar- ity of repeating note after note in quick succession. Some of the non-British Robins, again, are birds of surpassing song. That of the Ruby-throated Robin {^Erithacus camfchatkeusis) is described b\' Seebohm, who heard it in the valley of the Yenesay, as scarcely inferior to that of a Nightingale. Again, that of the Arctic Bluethroat [Erithacus suecica) is thus very accurately described by the same eminent authority. Upon first arriving at its summer quarters in the high north, the song is uttered in a very subdued strain, but the rapid advent of summer appears soon to improve the bird's voice, and it becomes louder and longer until almost rivalling that of the Nightingale in sweetness. Seebohm writes respecting the imitative character of the song : " Often we were puzzled by the mimicry of this fine songster. On one occasion, after listening 86 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS for some time to the well-known musical cry of the Terek Sandpiper, ^irr-r-r-w/iuz, blended with the songs of scores of other birds, on approaching we saw our little friend perched high in a willow-bush, with throat distended, bill rapidly vibrating, and uttering the tirr-r-r-zuhui with perfect distinctness. We have heard the Blue-throated Warbler also imitate, amongst other bird-voices, the trilling first notes of the Wood Sandpiper, or the full rich song of the Redwing. Sometimes he runs these together in such a way as to form a perfect medley of bird- music, defying one who is not watching to say whether or not the whole bird-population of that part of the forest are equally engaged in the concert at the same time." Other fine singers are the Rock Thrushes, birds which appear to be intermediate between the Chats and the Thrushes. By some authorities the Rock Thrush i^Monticola saxatilis) is declared to be the finest songster in Europe. It is certainly in very high request as a cage-bird, and it is said that birds of exceptional vocal merit command very high prices. The song is perhaps louder than that of the Blackcap, and combines the rich flute- like tones of the Blackbird with the pleasing variety of that of the Song Thrush. The Blue Rock Thrush (JMonticola cyanea) is an equally fascinating songster. Its wild, rich, varied song sounds par- ticularly beautiful on the stony mountain-sides, and is certainly one of the things that help the most THE THRUSHES 87 to break the monotony of the wilderness. The Bluebirds of the New World are justly famed for their vocal powers, the common and best known species [Siaiia sia/is) possessing a soft melodious song of bewitching beauty. The males of this species are much addicted to early morning song, and have the same habit as the Rock Thrushes of the Old World, of singing during flight. The Bluebird has the additional attraction of being a perennial song- ster ; and it is said that at no time of the year is its voice heard to greater advantage than on a warm sunny winter's day. In the Bluebirds and the Rock Thrushes we have certainly a most interesting exception to the almost universal rule that music is not associated with great brilliancy of plumage. In both these groups birds of exceptional brilliancy occur, the Bluebird especially being a species of the brightest tints. The music of the extra British Chats and Redstarts calls for no exceptional mention. The birds in the present group are perhaps more persistent vocalists than the Warblers, for many of the species regain their song after the autumn moult, and sing more or less frequently throughout the colder months. Indeed in some cases the song is peculiar to the stormiest seasons of the year. The present group is fairly well represented in the British Islands, not only as regards number of species, but quality of voice. These we now pro- pose to deal with in detail. THE NIGHTINGALE Eritiiacus luscinia The transition from the Warblers to the Thrushes appears to be most naturally made by way of the Nightingales and Robins, and these birds therefore claim the post of honour in the present group. Of these the tuneful Nightingale is justly famed the most, for of all avine singers it is undoubtedly one of the very sweetest. Although somewhat local the Nightingale cannot be considered a rare bird, whilst in some districts it swarms to such an extent as practically to constitute itself a nuisance to those unfortunate people who sleep lightly, or are easily disturbed in their slumbers. The Nightingale is essentially an "English" bird, for it is only known to breed in one or two parts of Wales, and is entirely unknown in Scotland and Ireland. Its range even in England is peculiarly restricted, and is for the most part confined to the area of the plains, from Somerset to Kent, northwards to Yorkshire. South of Scandinavia yj- Nightingale THE NIGHTINGALE 89 and west of Russia the present species is a summer visitor to Europe. It breeds somewhat sparingly in North Africa, and is said to do so in Palestine. Its winter quarters are in the Ethiopian portion of the Inter-Tropical Realm. The Nightingale is neither a very early migrant to the British Islands, nor a very late one, usually arriving about the middle of April in the southern counties and about a week or ten days later in the northern ones. The male birds are generally a few days in advance of the females, but song is not resumed until the arrival of the latter. In many of its habits, and in the haunts it frequents, the Nightingale very closely resembles the Robin. The actions of the two species are so much alike that even a casual observer must quickly perceive the birds' close affinities. In one respect, however, the Nightingale loses by comparison, it is nothing near so tame and confiding, loving more to skulk and hide amongst the dense cover, and always more fearful of observation. The favourite haunts of the Nightingale are small woods, plantations, marshy spinneys, the vicinity of hop-gardens, quiet lanes, shrubberies and old-fashioned orchards. This bird certainly shows a partiality for wet ground — places in which food is plentiful. Nightingales appear to migrate to their breeding-grounds in companies ; and it is a fact of frequent occurrence to find certain small plantations fuH of newly arrived 90 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS birds which may remain for days before they scatter over the surrounding district to their particular nesting-places. We have repeatedly re- marked this in the Kentish coppices, and as the males are at this time very musical, the least pretext starting rival birds into song, the effect is very charming. The Nightingale has the same abrupt way as the Robin of hopping out from the cover on to a bare spot with a flick of his wings and tail, and pausing for a moment before seeking amongst the fallen leaves or the short grass for food. Although fond of concealing itself in the dense vegetation of its haunts, the Nightingale is not a tree-haunting species, and it also spends a good deal of time upon the ground. It is shy and wary, and has a habit of slipping very quietly off into the cover when alarmed, its chestnut tail outspread during flight and looking very con- spicuous as the bird flits before us. Its alarm-note is a decidedly harsh and unmusical croak, but the call-note is a very plaintive weet, and it also has a peculiar habit of snapping the mandibles together if much disturbed. To most people the chief point of interest con- nected with the Nightingale is its song. The music of no other bird is surrounded with such romantic glamour, its voice has become inseparably associated with our literature, and has been a poet's theme for ages uncounted. Possibly it does not merit the wild THE NIGHTINGALE 91 praises that have so lavishly been bestowed upon it, because all attempts faithfully to describe it most miserably fail ; it is not the music that is described, but only the impressions it makes upon the recorder, and the stock of our adjectives has long been ex- hausted by one clever writer after another in the vain effort to place on paper this wonderful song. Perhaps we are most correct in saying that the song of the Nightingale is not excelled by that of any other known bird. It is impossible alike to describe the varied notes as to give the order of their sequence. The song is varied to an exceptional degree, the sweeter notes being marvellously beautiful, but these are often punctuated by others which are harsh if not absolutely unmusical. The wonderful way in which the song pours forth in a perfect torrent as if ex- pressing the fiercest rivalry, or changes to lower or softer tones as if of endearment, or yet again to notes indicative of triumph, of taunt, or threat, or passion, is known to every one at all familiar with its voice. The song is also characterized by much repetition, but we do not think the bird is much of an imitator of the songs or cries of other species. Much that is attributed by some writers to imitation or mimicry is merely due to coincidence, or even fancied resem- blance on the part of the listener. Upon its arrival the Nightingale will be noticed to sing much during the day, but as the spring draws on it becomes more of a nioht vocalist, and we have remarked that the 92 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS song is exceptionally fine in the twilight, both just before sunrise and after sunset, especially during warm settled weather. The bird continues in fine voice throughout May, but in June a falling-off is perceptible, and finally the song is hushed during the latter part of the breeding season. This species is in great request as a cage-bird, but it is one that takes poorly to captivity. Whether the Nightingale pairs for life we are not prepared to say, but individual birds are certainly in the habit of returning to certain haunts each season to breed, and these are very jealously guarded from intrusion. The Nightingale nests in May. In our islands the nest is usually placed amongst the rank herbage in the bird's haunts, often in a bank, in a hedge-bottom, or in a drift of last season's dead leaves. Sometimes it is made amongst ivy a foot or more from the ground, but more generally it is upon the ground. This nest is something similar to that of a Robin, of large size, and chiefly composed of dry grass, bits of rush, leaf, and quantities of dead leaves, usually those of the oak, and lined with roots, finer grass and a little horse- hair. The five or six eggs vary from dark olive- brown to bluish-green, sometimes with a darker cap at the end, and streaked with one or two hair like lines or scratches. The female bird performs the chief duty of incubation ; and both parents are very undemonstrative at the nest. THE NIGHTINGALE 93 The food of the Nightingale is chiefly composed of small worms, grubs, insects, and in fruit-time cur- rants, raspberries, and wild strawberries. The young appear to be reared on the larvse of moths and butterflies, and on ants and their eggs. The south- ward migration of the Nightingale takes place in September. The Nightingale has the general colour of the upper plumage russet-brown, shading into dull chestnut on the tail ; the wings are dark brown. The under parts are buflish-white, suffused with brown on the breast and flanks. The female resembles the male in colour, and the total length is about six and a half inches. THE ROBIN Erithacus rubecula Of all our favourite song birds the Robin is most familiar and best beloved. We have finer singers, it is true, yet none so prime a favourite as the Robin. These sweeter vocalists pay us but fleeting visits and desert us with the change of season ; not so the Robin, for as the winter draws nigh he approaches us still more trustfully, and warbles to us notes of prophetic cheerfulness. Wherever there is sufficient cover this species may be found resident throughout the British Islands from the Orkneys to Land's End. Like many other birds that might be mentioned, the Robin has extended its range northwards with the planting of trees and the bringing of waste lands into cultivation. Its extra British range embraces the whole of Europe up to or even beyond the Arctic Circle. In Russia, how- ever, it is said to become rarer, and no cases have been recorded of its breeding east of the Urals. South of the Mediterranean its range extends to < .i^^^..^ ,V. •i]cn.V Si,.. **. Robin THE ROBIN 95 the western parts of North Africa, and the bird is said to be a winter visitor to Turkestan, Persia, Palestine and Egypt. Its southern range in Africa is at present undetermined, but it includes the Canaries, Madeira, and some of the Azores. The Robin is a resident in the British Islands, but there can be no doubt that its numbers are increased in some localities by migrants from the Continent, It is a very common bird on passage at Heligoland, both in spring and in autumn. The haunis of the Robin are changed somewhat according to season. In summer the bird shows more tendency to frequent woods, shrubberies, fields, hedgerows and lanes ; in winter it draws nearer to houses, and then may be observed more commonly in gardens, about sheds and farm- yards. We hasten to qualify these remarks by saying that many birds live all the year round close to our habitations ; the number of these house Robins increases in winter. With the return of spring a marked decrease of numbers is perceptible, for then the birds have retired to their more remote nesting-places in woods, hedgerows and the like. Robins that live in the immediate vicinity of houses are most engagingly trustful in their habits, ex- hibiting a fearlessness which wins all hearts. As if by some subtle reasoning sense the Robin seems to know that he is safe from harm ; the expression in his large dark eye is one of trustfulness and 96 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS confidence. The dainty way in which he suddenly alights almost within arm's-length, with a nod and a flick of his wings and tail by way of greeting, must be familiar to every reader. There is something very Thrush-like in the actions of the Robin. We note the same sudden and silent method of hopping towards some tempting morsel, the monient's pause, the quick seizure and swallowing, followed by another pause ; the same nervous flicking of the wings ; the same abrupt departure into the adjoin- inor bushes, the same look of inquiry from the round, full eye. The Robin is a pugnacious bird, and quickly resents any intrusion into a favourite retreat. It is seldom indeed that two Robins can tolerate each oiher's presence in the same spot for a moment ; the weaker usually retires, as if with an apology for che intrusion ; but very often a combat decides the right of place. This pugnacity is by no means iirected exclusively against other Robins, but •xtends to Sparrows and many other birds. The present species is a bird of the underwood, rarely being seen far above the ground, unless when en"^awd in sono^. It is an active little bird enough, by no means a skulking one, and yet one that likes to be for ever in and out of its cover ; now hopping into the open path or on to a post or wall, then back into the bushes or the wood-heap. It rarely flies for any great distance at a time, save when migrating, and its flight seems by no means powerful, THE ROBIN 97 and usually taken at a very moderate height. The usual call-note of the Robin is both clear and sharp, and generally uttered several times in quick succession accompanied by a bobbing motion. The weeping note, almost peculiar to the nesting season, is particularly plaintive, and in some districts is said by the country folk to be an ill omen. A " weep- ing" Robin in Devonshire is said to foretell death. The singularly sweet and plaintive song of the Robin is practically unique so far as British birds are concerned. There is no other song with which it can be compared ; it has a distinct character peculiarly its own. Of all our native bird music it is perhaps the saddest ; and yet withal it is a cheer- ful song, a melody of hope poured forth amidst the ruined woods and dripping trees touched with the decay of autumn, or from out the snow-decked branches when gaunt winter reigns supreme. In its way the Robin's melody is national music ; and in almost every part of the world to which England has sent her sons as colonists, some bird more or less like a Robin in appearance, has been chosen as the deputy of the red-breasted bird which the emigrant ever associates with " Home." The song of the Robin is not a very lengthened one, but is warbled time after time with pleasing persistency. Then again, with the exception of the moulting season in July and August, it is a perennial song, one that is heard summer and winter alike, and comes out in 98 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS greatest prominence when most other songs are hushed. The Robin's trustfulness when singing is exceeded by no other British bird ; the bird's pugnacity is also very great ; he brooks no rival, and will almost scream defiance, answering every challenge and being answered in return. He also possesses the habit, particularly noticeable in many of the Thrushes, of visiting a certain perch each day to sing. The voice of the Robin is exceptionally sweet and beautiful in autumn and in the very early spring ; in summer his music is not so prominent and is apt to be lost in the universal bird chorus so characteristic of that season. The Robin occa- sionally sings at night, and very frequently in the dusk. The Robin may be found nesting almost every- where in country and suburban districts. Possibly the bird pairs for life. It is also double-brooded, and eggs may be found from March to July ; in exceptional cases earlier or later. The nest is generally placed in a cosy nook — a hole In a wall, amongst the exposed roots of trees on banks, beneath overhanging banks, and in Ivy either on the ground or growing over walls. Curious sites are very frequently selected, such as an old water-can, a meat-tin, a flower-pot, or In a shed or green-house. The nest Is bulky, made outwardly of moss, dry grass, great quantities of leaves, and coarse roots, most of the material being In the front, the cup being THE ROBIN 99 as far back as possible, and neatly lined with fine roots, horse-hair, and very rarely a few feathers. The eggs are from five to eight in number, usually six, and are white in ground-colour, spotted and freckled with brownish-red and grey. Sometimes perfectly white eggs may be found. The Robin sits closely and is often very tame at the nest ; if disturbed it usually perches close by and commences to utter a persistent piping cry. It is much attached to a nesting-place, and will continue to occupy certain spots in spite of repeated disturbance. The food of the Robin consists of worms, insects and their larvse, and various fruits and berries. The bird is said to be very partial to grapes. In winter, as is well known, it will eat almost any kind of scraps that may be thrown to the starving birds. The general colour of the Robin is olive-brown, shading into buffish-brown on the flanks, and greyish- white on the centre of the belly ; the forehead, ear- coverts, throat and breast are bright orange-chestnut. The female resembles the male in colour ; but the young birds in nestling plumage are spotted with buff and black, and have no trace of a " red " breast. The total length of this species is about six inches. THE HEDGE ACCENTOR Accentor modularis Although the Hedge Accentor, or Hedge Sparrow, as it is otherwise called, is not a very remarkable songster, it is certainly a favourite one, and we cannot bring ourselves to exclude it from tlie present work. Although future research may yet succeed in showing that the taxonomic position here assigned to this species will have to be changed, there can be no doubt that its affinities (if we accept the test of a spotted nestling) are more with the Thrushes than with the Warblers, and with them we have accordingly provisionally associated it. The Hedge Accentor, with the sole exception of a few of the most barren of the Hebrides, and the Orkneys and Shetlands, may be said to be generally distributed throua^hout the British Islands, more or less resident in every county, but becoming least abundant in the wilder and uncultivated districts. It is another of those species which have very perceptibly increased their area of distribution t"-i flEDGE Accentor THE HEDGE ACCENTOR loi within recent times. South of latitude 70° in the extreme west, and latitude 60° in the far east, the Hedge Accentor is commonly dispersed throughout Europe (although said to be very rare in Eastern Prussia), but in the south it is principally a winter migrant and in the north a summer one. A few, however, retire to the mountains to breed in Spain, Italy, Asia Minor, Palestine, and the Caucasian countries. South of the Mediterranean it is only known as an abnormal migrant. As previously stated, in some parts of its range the Hedge Accentor is a bird of regular passage. It is one of the most familiar birds at Heligoland, so Gatke tells us, and its migrations are a well- known feature of the ornithological life of the island. Although one of the most solitary of birds, evincing litde sociability with its kind, it appears to migrate in companies, even in spring. It would perhaps be more difficult to say where the Hedge Sparrow is not found, than where it is. It is almost as familiar as the Robin, and equally as ubiquitous, and in its choice of a haunt manifests a decided partiality for cultivated districts and the dwellings of man. Dressed in sober-coloured plumage, un assuming and somewhat retiring in disposition, it attracts little attention, and is as often as not over- looked altogether. It is essentially a ground bird and one that frequents the lower vegetation, rarely visiting the higher branches, except occasionally to 102 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS sing. In its method of gliding rapidly through the dense cover it puts us in mind of the Warblers ; whilst its habit of suddenly hopping from the hedge to the ground at once suggests the Robin. It is a bird that flies little, and seldom for long distances, always preferring to elude pursuit by keeping to the bushes, and is at all times a restless bird, strongly addicted to the habit of nervously flicking the tail and wings. We have said that the bird is eminently a solitary one, rarely seen even in the company of its mate, save during the breeding season; and yet there are times when the Hedge Sparrow seems to become unaccountably social. This is during the pairing season, and at that time the little creature develops a most pugnacious habit, and fights frequently with rival birds. The call-note of this species is a particularly plaintive one, a peevish and complaining cry that seems to express discontentment with things in general. The familiarity of this species is only exceeded by that of the Robin. It will often attend us in our outdoor avocations, say when gardening, and actually drop down upon the newly-turned earth at our feet to pick up some tempting scrap of food. As a sonorster the Hedw Accentor does not claim very high rank, but there are one or two features in its music which are certainly of a re- deeming character. In the first place, in all fairly sheltered localities, it is a perennial song, not quite THE HEDGE ACCENTOR 103 such a freely uttered one as that of the Robin, but one that is generally evoked by a sunny interval in the winter's dreariness. In the second place it is decidedly a cheerful song, yet just a trifle plain- tive, somewhat resembling the first part of the Wren's song, beginning full of promise, but un- fortunately stayed before better things are reached. To our mind it always gives the impression of a performance which has been suddenly checked and disturbed in the middle. The Hedge Accentor is certainly a persistent singer, especially in early spring, warbling forth one little refrain after another with delightful perseverance. It is a bird that is frequently heard well into the dusk, and is one of the earliest of our songsters to recommence at dawn. Another thing which endears the Hedge Accentor to most of us is its charming little nest, often built in situations that betoken trustfulness of the rashest kind. It is also one of our earliest birds to make an effort in this direction, and many a pretty nest comes to grief through a late fall of snow or a prolonged frost. The favourite nesting-places of this species are hedges, shrubberies, gardens, and low underwood. The bird appears to pair very early, even in January, and often months before a nest is made. Although several nests may fre- quently be found in the same hedge we do not notice any social tendency. The nest is never built I04 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS very far above the ground, and is usually placed In a whitethorn hedge, amongst briars and brambles, in low bushes or heaps of hedge-clippings. Less frequently it may be seen amongst ivy, or in ever- green bushes and gorse-coverts. The nest is made externally of moss, dry grass, dead leaves and a few slender twigs ; internally of hair, wool, and feathers. The cup is deep and exquisitely rounded. The eggs are from four to six in number and are of a beautiful turquoise-blue, without spots of any kind. Boih parents incubate them, the sitting bird re- maining on the nest until the last moment, and then fluttering away into the cover without further demon- stration. This species is much attached to its nesting- place, and for years will build its mossy home in one locality. Many nests come to grief, through being made in exposed situations ; indeed the nest of the "Dunnock" is the school-boy's first and most frequent prize in the earlier months of the year. Several broods are reared during the course of the spring and summer, the nesting season of this species extending from February to July. The Hedge Accentor, in our islands, is one of the Cuckoo's most favourite foster-parents. The food of this species consists of small worms, insects and larvae, and small seeds of various kinds. In winter the bird frequently comes near to houses to pick up any scattered crumbs, and Is often seen near piggeries or in fowl-runs and farm-yards. THE HEDGE ACCENTOR 105 The Hedge Accentor has the general colour of most of the upper parts brown, the feathers having dark brown centres which give the bird a streaky- appearance ; the head, nape, and ear-coverts are grey ; the wings and tail are dark brown, most of the feathers of the former with margins and tips of reddish-brown, and those of the latter with pale brown. The throat is grey, shading into a paler tint on the breast and centre of the belly, and into pale brown on the flanks, which are streaked with darker brown. The female resembles the male in colour, but the young in nestling plumage are mottled and spotted with dark brown and buff, and the slate-grey is wanting. The total length of this bird is about five and a half inches. THE SONG THRUSH TURDUS MUSICUS We now reach the typical Thrushes, and of them the Song Thrush has an unquestioned right to premier place. Of all our larger birds of song it is not only the most familiar, but unquestionably the most popular favourite. He is the one vernal chorister that appeals most widely to the multitude. The Song Thrush is one of the most generally dis- tributed of British birds, and may be found, at least as a summer resident, in all parts of the country, with the trifling exception of some of the wilder Hebrides and the Shetlands. Outside our area the range of this species is a somewhat wide one, em- bracing the whole of Europe and Asia, as far east certainly as the valley of the Yenesay, and as far north in the extreme west as the Arctic Circle, but not higher than latitude 60° in the extreme east. In South Europe, North Africa, and South Persia it either ascends mountains to breed, or is a winter migrant only. Its southern limits in Africa appear 106 V Song Thrush THE SONG THRUSH 107 not to be very accurately determined, but are said to extend as far as Nubia, perhaps in exceptional cases only. In the British Islands the Song Thrush is but a partial migrant; that is to say, in some of the least cultivated districts especially, the birds leave during most of the winter. In many continental areas, however, this Thrush is a regular migrant; and in Heligoland vast numbers of birds, particularly in autumn, cross the island, where they are caught for food in large quantities. The migrations of this species in our island are not very clearly defined, and still require much investigation. The Song Thrush is almost as ubiquitous as the Robin and the Hedge Accentor. It is not quite so familiar, but it may be seen in almost every kind of locality at all suited to its requirement, even in parks and pleasure-grounds in the centre of busy cities. It is certainly most partial to the well- cultivated districts, orchards, shrubberies, gardens, hedges, the smaller woods, coverts, fields, and plantations. Nowhere perhaps is it more abundant than in shrubberies ad- joining country houses. It is a ground bird for the most part, finding cover amongst the lower vegeta- tion, and chiefly visiting the higher branches for the purposes of song. We cannot exactly describe the Song Thrush as a perfect recluse, still it evinces little partiality for company, and its social tendencies are most marked during the migration season. It io8 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS is somewhat of a skulking bird too, save when engaged in song, fond of hiding away under thickets and the ground-sweeping branches of evergreen shrubs. Much of its food, however, is sought in the open, upon grass land. It is very fond of feed- ing upon a lawn; hopping out from the sheltering bushes with a somewhat startled and halting manner, looking warily around before trusting itself to search for food, and at the least alarm returning to the friendly cover. It always prefers to hop or run along the ground under brushwood or bushes to taking wing, but when flushed can and does fly rapidly and steadily from place to place. Its harsh grating alarm-note is very frequently heard towards dusk, just prior to the bird settling down to roost; its call-notes are varied, and some of them almost as plaintive as those of the Robin. What perhaps endears the Song Thrush to the multitude is its splendid song. We may correctly describe him as the first musician of the year ; in- deed in some localities (in South Devonshire, for one) he might almost claim to be a perennial songster, for there is scarcely a day in winter, provided it is sufficiently warm and genial, on which his voice may not be heard. From November on- wards we have many repeated notes recorded of this bird's song; but unfortunately a spell of rough weather will silence him, and in this he is very unlike the Robin. The notes of this bird, to our THE SONG THRUSH 109 mind, are fuller of the promise of spring than those of any other. He is indeed the most persistent singer of the spring, always, early and late, over- flowing with music. An attempt to describe the music of this matchless songster is almost as vain as it is unnecessary. If "variety is charming," then the voice of the Song Thrush must be charm- ing indeed. Its charm consists not only in the clear rich notes themselves, but in the perfectly marvellous way in which these notes are varied, perhaps never given forth twice in exactly the same order. Each variation is repeated, often given again and again, and the bird seems literally to amuse itself in forming a variety of combinations. He is a most persistent singer too, and will sit and carol for an amazing length of time from one particular perch, often high up in the trees where his spotted breast is lost in the distance. No wonder that this bird is a favourite captive ; he bears con- finement well, and sings freely in a cage, but we prefer his melody in freedom, behind no other bars than those formed by the bloom-decked branches of the trees. The Song Thrush is to some extent a night singer, especially during April and May ; we have heard this species singing beautifully at two a.m. in a London suburb. It also sings much during light warm rain, and may even be heard during the progress of a thunderstorm. The Song Thrush is an early breeder, the first no OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS eggs in mild seasons frequently being laid by the end of F'ebruary. The nest is built in a very great variety of situations, but the preference is strongest for evergreen shrubs. Perhaps whitethorn hedges and bushes come next in order of choice ; whilst ivy on walls or trees is not an uncommon one. Sometimes less likely sites are selected, as for instance in a shed, or on a wall, or a bank. It may either be built absolutely on the ground, or from a few feet to twenty feet or more above it. The nest is somewhat bulky, and made outwardly of dry grass, bits of moss, dead leaves and a few fine twigs. This is first lined with a coating of wet mud, and finally finished off with another lining of wet rotten wood. Very often the nest is left to dry for a day or so before the first egg is laid, but not unfrequently this is deposited in a wet nest. The eggs are four or five in number, exceptionally six, and are turquoise-blue in ground-colour, more or less thickly spotted with blackish-brown and grey. The spots are rarely very large or numerous enough to conceal much of the ground-colour. The bird is a close sitter, and when driven from the nest often becomes very noisy. Several broods are reared in the season, which lasts from Februar) to August. Young birds are very easily reared in confinement. The food of the Song Thrush consists largely of worms, grubs, and snails. The bird is far more THE SONG THRUSH in of a snail feeder than any other British Thrush, and is very adept at breaking the shells, by striking them on a stone, to obtain the animal lurking within them. It is not so much of a berry feeder as the Fieldfare or Mistle-Thrush, but is somewhat partial to fruit. The general colour of the upper plumage of the Song Thrush is olive-brown ; the wings and tail are darker brown, the coverts of the former being tipped with buff. The under parts are white, shading into fulvous-brown on the breast and flanks, and for the most part boldly spotted with brownish-black. The female resembles the male in colour ; but the young in nestling plumage are spotted with buff on the upper parts. The length of this species is about nine inches. THE IMISTLE-THRUSH TURDUS VISCIVORUS Generic affinity must be our sole reason for placing the Mistle-Thrush next in order of our favourite songsters, and not musical ability. This Thrush is another widely-distributed species in the British Islands, perhaps most abundant in the northern half of England. It certainly breeds as far north as the Orkneys, as well as on many of the Hebrides, and although said to be unknown in Ireland a century ago is now widely dispersed there. This Thrush is another species which has extended its area within recent time, following the planting of trees in any direction which may be compatible with the laws of avine dispersal. Its extra British distribution is a wide one, comprising most parts of temperate Europe, and in the extreme west ranging as high as the Arctic Circle. In Asia, subject to slight modifications of size and colour, the bird ranges at least as far as Lake Baikal and the Xorth-west Himalayas. To the south of Europe Missel Thrush THE MISTLE-TIIRUSH 113 and North Africa the bird is best known as a winter migrant, as it also is in South Persia, but some individuals appear to ascend the mountains to breed on the northern shores of the Mediterranean. To a great extent the distribution of this species is controlled by the presence of wooded country. The Mistle-Thrush is not only our largest but our wariest songster. It is a resident in the British Islands, but subject to a certain amount of local migration, especially in the northern and more ex- posed localities. Flocks of this Thrush also visit our islands in autumn from continental districts. Next to the Ring Ouzel, the Mistle-Thrush is the least familiar of our native Thrushes, showing a marked preference, especially in summer, for wild uplands and the more remote areas. It is also the most gregarious, in this respect resembling the non-indigenous Redwing and Fieldfare. The haunts of this Thrush are chiefly confined to wooded districts, in which, during the non-breeding season, it is generally wandering about. For the greater part of the season it is a somewhat solitary bird, but in autumn there is a strongly-marked tendency to gregariousness displayed. Save when feeding this handsome Thrush is not seen much upon the ground ; neither does It frequent underwood or ever- greens. When flushed it usually hurries off at a considerable height or takes refuge in the taller trees. These remarks more particularly relate to 114 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS the non-breeding season ; but whilst eng-aged in duties of reproduction it not only frequents lower situations but its habits are considerably changed in other ways. Its actions on the ground when feeding are very similar to those of other Thrushes. It hops restlessly about in quest of food, has the same halting startled sort of way with it, is easily alarmed, and when flushed flies rapidly and generally for some distance ere alighting again. After the breeding season, in the late summer and early autumn, it collects into flocks of varying size, but these usually disband again long before the winter is over. The Mistle-Thrush is a sweet and powerful singer, but one very remarkable fact concerning his song is the time of year it is chiefly indulged in. Unlike all the other British Thrushes the present species becomes practically mute when other birds are overflowing with music. His song is confined to the late autumn and winter months, beginning in September and ceasing in March. This peculiar habit has led to the bird being called " Storm-cock " in many country places. We may safely attribute this peculiarity in the Mistle-Thrush to the birds pairing during this period. The song, though some- what short and lacking much variation, is singularly loud, wild, and beautiful, the component notes being both clear and sweet. It is rather monotonously uttered time after time ; but the bird is most per- THE MISTLE-THRUSH 115 sistent in his song, and we have known him remain upon one branch in a lofty elm tree for three hours in succession, singing at regular intervals the whole time. He sings well into the twilight, and often commences before dawn ; whilst the rough weather peculiar to his singing season must be exceptionally- inclement to stay his gladsome voice. We have repeatedly heard this gladsome singer carol sweetly while blinding sleet has been falling, and at other times listened to his well-known lay as it could only be heard in fitful snatches during the brief lulls of a howling gale. A songster such as this surely claims our warmest admiration. If alarmed whilst singing he usually flies off to another tree and at once begins anew. As the breeding season approaches, the habits of the Mistle-Thrush undergo a very marked and curious change. From being one of the shyest and wariest of birds it becomes one of the most trustful. All its wonted reserve seems gone, and it fearlessly approaches our habitations and makes its nest in the most exposed situations. But as some kind of safeguard against such temerity it also becomes more skulking in its habits, more unobtrusive and much more silent. Indeed a pair of these Thrushes will often rear a brood in an orchard, and the fact never become known until the noisy young are abroad, and all inducement to secrecy is over. The favourite breeding-places of this Thrush are ii6 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS woods, plantations, coppices, orchards, parks, and farm lands. In less cultivated districts it frequents the alders and birches on the banks of mountain streams, or the birch and fir woods. We have occasionally known it to breed amongst the ever- greens of shrubberies. The nest is generally placed at some considerable height from the ground, in a fork, or on a branch close to the stem, less frequently amongst slender twigs. It is a very handsome structure made of twigs, coarse grass, tufts of chick- weed, and often large masses of wool, lined first with mud and then with a very thick layer of fine grass, much of it often green. Some nests are almost exclusively made externally of green bog moss with a few twigs round the margin ; but in all cases the lining of fine grass is inserted. Although so frequently made in a very exposed situation, and perhaps with a long streaming tuft of wool dangling from the side, it most unaccountably escapes detec- tion. The eggs are four in number, never more, and rarely less. They are bluish-green or reddish- brown in ground-colour, spotted, blotched, and freckled with dark purplish-brown and pale grey. The parent birds are remarkably quiet during the nesting period unless alarmed. Then their noisy cries and angry demonstrations are very marked, and they will fearlessly dash round an intruder's head or fly to and fro with little show of fear. This Thrush is double-brooded. THE MISTLE-THRUSH 117 The food of the Mistle-Thrush is largely composed of worms and orubs durinsf summer, and of various soft fruits and berries during winter. The bird will also eat seed grain. This Thrush is popularly asso- ciated with the mistletoe, on the berries of which it is thought chiefly to feed. The bird may be respon- sible for decimating many of the seeds of this parasite, but it does not feed upon them to anything like the extent that is so generally believed. The alarm- note of this Thrush is very harsh and grating. The Mistle-Thrush has the general colour of the upper parts olive-brown, suffused with rufous on the back ; the wings and tail are brown ; the under parts are white, boldly marked with large fan-shaped dark brown spots ; the axillaries are white. The female resembles the male in colour, and the nestling is profusely spotted on the upper parts and wing- coverts. The length of this Thrush is between ten and eleven inches. THE BLACKBIRD Merula vulgaris With the Blackbird we reach the Ouzel division of the Thrushes, comprising upwards of fifty species. Our own Blackbird is one of the best known of British songsters and is widely distributed throughout the country, breeding even in such wild and remote areas as the Hebrides and the Orkneys. Like some other birds we have already treated of, the Blackbird has increased its area considerably during recent years, following the planting of trees and the spread of cultivation. The extra British range of this Ouzel is comparatively restricted, reaching in West Europe up to, or slightly beyond, the Arctic Circle, but in Russia apparently not beyond the valley of the Volga. Further eastwards the range extends to Asia Minor, Palestine and Persia, but beyond these countries, in Turkestan, Afghanistan, and Cashmere, our bird is replaced by a larger form. The range of the common Blackbird extends southwards across the Mediterranean into >^^f • H^i^l^"^""^""^ THE BLACKBIRD 119 North Africa, and includes the Canaries, the Azores, and Madeira. In its choice of a haunt the Blackbird shows a decided preference for shrubberies, hedges and thickets, especially "sunk fences"; gardens and orchards are also favourite retreats. It also has a great liking for marshy or swampy places. In our islands the Blackbird is a resident, subject to a certain amount of local movement ; whilst in autumn its numbers appear to be increased by migrants from the Continent. This bird is a well- known and regular migrant over Heligoland. The Blackbird is by far the least gregarious of the Thrushes in our islands ; very rarely a couple may be seen in the same tree, or perhaps several may be flushed from a favourite feeding-place, but they are not drawn together by any social instincts. It is certainly a skulking species, delighting to hide under the spreading evergreens or in the dense hedges and thickets, always trying to elude danger by hopping or running and only using its wings when driven from its shelter, or surprised in the open. The noisy startling cry of this species must be familiar to every reader, uttered as the bird is flushed ; whilst its noisy notes of pink-pink, heard especially at dusk, can be scarcely less well known. The Blackbird feeds much in the open, hopping or flying from his retreat amongst the shrubs and thickets on to the grass land, and seldom or never 120 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS failing to elevate his long tail for a moment just after alighting. He is ever shy and wary, resents close observation, and never fails to return to the friendly cover if approached. He searches for food in the same halting suspicious way that characterizes his congeners. This species is somewhat pugnacious, not only to its own kind, but to other birds that may intrude upon its particular haunt. Combats are of frequent occurrence between cock birds during the mating season. The song of the Blackbird usually begins in February. We do not think this species ever regains its voice after losing it in summer until the return of the following spring : no warm spell in winter will ever coax it into song. Towards the end of February he begins to sing, and continues in fine voice until the end of May ; throughout June there is a very perceptible falling off in his music, and in July his voice is finally hushed until another love season calls it forth anew. The notes of the Blackbird are rich and full and flute-like, but un- fortunately the song lacks variety and length. It is all too short, the clear musical notes are too spk ndid to form so brief a song ; and not only so, the bird has a most irritating habit of spoiling his own performance by frequently introducing a few harsh notes or letting his song end with them. This usually happens when the singer is disturbed by the a; pearance of a rival. The Blackbird is a THE BLACKBIRD 121 very persistent singer, and will sit for long periods warbling at intervals without once quitting his perch. He occasionally breaks into song as he flies. He is also a very early songster and repeatedly warbles well into the dusk of evening. The Blackbird's melody is at its best during April. This Thrush pairs early in the season. Its nest is placed in a great variety of situations, either on the ground, a few feet, or as many as forty feet above it. The favourite situation is the centre of a dense bush, especially an evergreen, and a yew or a holly by preference. Thick hedges, banks, or in the bottom of a hedgerow, or in ivy either on walls or trees are also common sites. The nest is bulky and generally very firmly put together, being composed externally of dry grass, moss and dead leaves, with often a few twigs round the sides ; lined in the first place with mud and then with fine dry grass. The eggs are from four to six in number. In exceptional cases we have found as many as eight. They vary from palest blue to bright bluish-green, in ground- colour blotched, spotted and freckled with varying shades of reddish-brown and grey. The amount of colouring varies considerably ; on some eggs it almost if not entirely conceals the ground-colour, on others it is broken up into blotches and spots. Both birds assist in the duty of incubation. If dis- turbed, the parents sometimes fly away with a noisy chatter, but are not nearly so demonstrative as 122 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS the Song Thrush or the IMistle-Thrush. Several broods are reared during the course of the season, which may be said to begin in March and to last until August. Sometimes several nests of this bird may be found within a small area, but the birds are not in any sense gregarious. The Blackbird breeds in greatest abundance in well-cultivated districts, and is specially common during the nesting season near to houses. During the nesting period it often utters a plaintive piping cry. The food of the Blackbird is largely composed of worms and grubs ; the bird also eats snails, but not to such an extent as the Song Thrush. In summer and autumn berries and fruits are devoured, the bird's depredations in the garden often leading to its death at the hands of the short-sighted owner. We have also known this species to feed on newly sown grain and various small seeds. The male Blackbird has the general colour of the plumage rich black ; the bill and the eyelids are orange-coloured. The female is brown, with more or less rufous on the throat and breast, which are indistinctly streaked w^ith darker brown ; the bill is black. The young in nestling plumage have pale shaft streaks and dark tips to the feathers of the upper parts, and dark bars on those of the under parts. The total length is about ten inches. THE RING OUZEL Merula torquata The Ring Ouzel is one of those less known species that make their home in the wilder districts. It is a bird of the moorlands and the mountains, dwelling amongst some of the most grandly im- pressive scenery that our islands contain. It breeds sparingly on the uplands of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, thence onwards throuu^h the mountains of Wales and the north of England to Scotland, including some of the Hebrides, but neither the Orkneys nor the Shetlands. In Ireland it is locally distributed throughout the mountainous districts. Owing to the presence of one if not two very closely allied forms or races it is at present almost impossible to determine the exact area occupied by the Ring Ouzel in continental Europe. It appears, however, to be the typical form that visits the extreme west of Europe from Belgium to Scandi- navia, up to about lat. 58°. The bird found appar- ently as a resident on the mountains of Central and 123 124 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS Southern Europe was distinguished by Brehm as Meriila alpestris ; whilst that frequenting the Cau- casus has been separated by Seebohm as Merida orientalis. The typical form of the Ring Ouzel retires southwards to winter in the basin of the Mediterranean. The Ring Ouzel is a rather early spring migrant to the British Islands, reaching its more southern haunts at the end of March or early in April, the more northern ones a few days later. The birds appear to migrate in companies ; certainly they arrive on the northern moorlands in flocks which gradually disperse over the surrounding country to the chosen nesting-places. The haunts of this handsome bird are the rocky moorlands, the craggy banks of the upland streams, the wind-swept sum- mits of the peaks and tors. In its habits the present species very closely resembles the Black- bird. It may not be so skulking ; it has neither cause nor opportunity to be so ; for its wild haunts are little frequented by creatures liable to work it harm, and bushes and thickets are by no means common in these upland solitudes. Indeed the Ring Ouzel prefers to haunt the rocks rather than the trees, and when not upon the ground in quest of food may usually be seen sitting on the crags. It is wary enough, especially if not engaged in nesting duties, and in this respect almost exactly resembles the Mistle-Thrush. Upon the ground its actions i/fni-y §&nAT4 Ring Ousel THE RING OUZEL 125 are very like those of the Blackbird — it progresses in a series of halting stages, digs out its food in the same energetic and alert way, and also possesses the very characteristic habit of raising its tail nearly perpendicular when alighting either on the ground or on a rock or a tree. There is also something very Chat-like in the way this species will retreat before you as you advance into its haunts, perching until you come within a certain distance, then flying on again to await your approach, all the time keep- ing up a noisy chattering. Sooner or later, however, the bird will make a detour and return to the spot whence it was first disturbed. The Ring Ouzel is one of the easiest identified of birds — a Blackbird with a crescent-shaped white band across the chest, and with the same noisy and persistent cry of tac- tac-tac heard most frequently if you chance to be near his nest. Very soon after their arrival on the moors the cock birds may be heard in song. It is whilst singing that the male Ring Ouzel appears to relax his usual wariness, for certainly he permits a nearer approach then than at any other time, except when defending his nest. There is nothing very brilliant about the song of this species ; one might almost class it as monotonous ; but after all it is very welcome music in such wild country, and the natural surroundings assist in making it attractive. The male bird has the Thrush-like characteristic of 126 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRD^ perching for a lon^- time in one very conspicuous position, and singing at intervals. The notes are loud and full-toned, but unfortunately the Ring Ouzel has the Blackbird's habit, only much more emphasized, of introducing harsh tones amongst them, and literally spoiling his own performance. A few well-piped notes begin the song, but instead of being continued they fall away into what is little more than a rasping chatter ; and this is repeated again and again, at intervals perhaps of a minute — the song, as it were, always promising yet never accomplishing, or attaining the beauty suggested by the early notes. The Ring Ouzel sings most per- sistently through April, but the song declines in May and ceases in the early summer. Although gregarious upon its first arrival the Ring Ouzel is not even sociable during the breeding season. It is interesting to remark that the present species is the only Thrush that migrates to our islands to breed, the P'ieldfare and the Redwing being winter visitors exclusively. The breeding haunts of the Ring Ouzel are the rock-strewn hill- sides, where birch trees and gorse-coverts are inter- spersed amongst the big boulders and broken masses of millstone grit, the banks of the mountain streams and pools, where the alders take root literally in the water, or even away on the open wind-swept moor where the breast-hio-h bracken and lino- almost con- ceal the hollows and cart-roads. The nest, which is THE RING OUZEL 127 made in April or early May, is either made upon the ground amongst the heath, often at the edge of a sloping bank, or in some low bush or tree. It is very similar in form and materials to that of the Blackbird ; indeed no ornithologist is sufficiently expert to distinguish between them. It is made outwardly of dry grass, dead leaves and a few twigs, then lined first with mud and finally with fine dry grass. The eggs are four or five in number, and so closely resemble those of the preceding species in colour and in size that repetition is needless. It is not an easy matter, however, to confuse the nests of these species, for the Ring Ouzel is exceptionally aggressive and bold in defending it from danger, sweeping past the intruder's face with angry cries and fluttering up and down full of anger. The birds will even evince much of this anxiety for an un- finished nest. But one brood is reared in the season. The food of the Ring Ouzel consists largely of worms, snails, and insects, and larvae of various kinds. In the later summer months it embraces many sorts of soft berries and fruits which are then abundant in the bird's upland haunts. Gardens are also visited by the King Ouzel, often at some considerable distance from its usual haunt, for the sake of the smaller fruits ; and during its migration south- wards in autumn it frequents the vineyards for the grapes. Shortly before the return migration this 128 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS bird may again be observed in family parties and small flocks. The birds leave their mountain haunts in September, but continue to be seen in more low- land districts during the following month, and rarely into November. The general colour of the adult male Ring Ouzel is brownish-black, with the exception of the nearly white gorget, reaching from the shoulders across the breast ; most of the small body feathers have whitish margins. The female is browner in colour, and the gorget is not so distinctly defined and is suffused with brown. The nestlings are barred with black and pale brown, and the wing-coverts are streaked and' tipped with buffish-white ; there is no trace of the white gorget. The total length of this species is about ten inches. THE DIPPERS AND WRENS i THE DIPPERS AND WRENS • In a work of the present scope it is fortunately unnecessary to deal with complicated questions of the affinities and taxonomic position of birds, and in associating the above-mentioned species we must not lead readers to suppose that they are by any means so closely allied as this arrangement may seem to suggest. The birds have certain char- acteristics in common, but this fact may be of no value whatever as an indication of affinities. By earlier writers the Dippers, owing to their aquatic habits, were sometimes associated with the Water Birds; later systematists have grouped them with the Thrushes or the Wrens. Possibly they constitute a very isolated family, with no near-existing relations. About a dozen species of Dippers are known to science, and these are distributed over the moun- tainous parts of Europe, Asia, and America, and the extreme north of Africa. They are all, so far as is known, sedentary species, and do not present much diversity in the colours of their 131 132 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS plumage. Perhaps the Dippers do not rank as songsters of exceptional merit, yet their vocal attainments are considerable, and in some species at all events their music is almost perennial. The Wrens are a much more heterogeneous group, comprising a large number of species, pre- dominating in the New World, yet well represented in various parts of Europe and Asia. They are birds of small size and generally sober plumage. The typical Wrens, of which our British species is a familiar example, are songsters of considerable merit ; but some of the American representatives of the group are still more famous for their musical achieve- ments. One of the most remarkable of these, Cyphorhiniis cantans, is thus described by Bates : " When its singular notes strike the ear for the first time the impression cannot be resisted that they are produced by a human voice ; some musical boy must be gathering fruits In the thicket, and singing a few notes to cheer himself. The tones become more fluty and plaintive ; they are now those of a flageolet, and, notwithstanding the utter impossibility of the thing, one is for a moment convinced that some one Is playing that Instrument." Bates goes on to say that this wonderful little singer is the only Warbler in the forest that arrests the attention of the natives, who sometimes, whilst travelling along the shady creeks in their canoes, rest their paddles as if struck by the mysterious song. The song of the Brown THE DIPPERS AND WRENS 133 House Wren {Troglodytes furvits) of Uruguay is described by Mr. Aplin as sweet, " beginning with a few grating notes, and then going off into a run of remarkably sweet, full notes — the latter part reminding one strongly of a good Warbler's song." Many of the North American Wrens, of which one of the most familiar is the Winter Wren, are celebrated for their cheerful and musical songs. The Wrens are to a large extent migratory birds, especially in the colder regions they inhabit. Even our own well-known British species undertakes migrations in some countries, and is a well-known visitor on passage to Heligoland. The British representatives of the present two groups of birds are few in number. We have but one Dipper indigenous, and two Wrens, one of these being confined to the St. Kilda group of islands. THE DirPER CiNCLUS AQUATICUS The Dipper, Water Ouzel, or " Water Crow " as it is termed beyond the Border, has a very similar dis- tribution in the British Islands to that of the Ring Ouzel, and is confined to the mountainous districts. It is found locally in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, thence northwards through most parts of Wales and the mountains of the north of England to the Border. In Scotland, as might be expected owing to the greater frequency of suitable haunts, it is more widely dispersed, even reaching the outer Hebrides and the Orkneys. In Ireland, again, it is widely distributed. The sedentary habits of the Dipper are favourable to the preservation of slight local dif- ferences, so that throughout the Palaearctic Region there are many subspecific forms and climatic races impossible here to enumerate. The Dipper found in the British Islands, if perfectly identical with conti- nental examples, has a very restricted European .'ange. It is apparently found in Holland, Belgium, 134 ^^^ Hi* H >l&KAa.y/' Dipper THE DIPPER 135 France and Germany, and perhaps in the Iberian Peninsula ; but south of those Hmits it is replaced by Cinclus albicollis, and north of them by Cinclus melanogaster, the latter occurring in the eastern counties of England as an abnormal migrant. There can be little doubt that the Dippers found under ordinary circumstances in the British Islands are perfectly sedentary ; they have no cause to wan- der, and their haunts are tenable the year throughout. The haunts of this remarkable bird are the swift- flowing mountain streams, the rock-strewn, birch and alder-fringed torrents of the uplands and the moors. This species shows little or no partiality for trees, it is for the most part terrestrial or aquatic in its habits, and delights to live on the rocky banks of the stream, flitting from rock to rock before the observer, or flashing past him in rapid flight to a distant retreat, uttering a shrill double chit, it, as it goes. We do not think the Dipper ever seeks to elude an enemy by taking refuge in the water unless wounded ; so that in order to watch its aquatic movements we must stealthily approach its haunts and watch it unawares. The result, to say the least, is a very startling one, for after watching a bird for a {^\^ moments standing on the bank or a water-encircled stone, you will as likely as not see it either drop into the stream or run from the bank and disappear below the surface. Here aided by wings and feet it explores the bed of the stream in quest of food, 136 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS probing and poking round the edges of the stones and pebbles, searching amongst the mossy fringes, or in the finer gravel. Then the bird appears again upon the surface, swimming to the shore or fluttering to some big stone rising above the water ; where after a short pause it will return to the stream to hunt anew. Sometimes the bird may be noticed to drop into the turbulent stream, perhaps just below a fall, where the water is foaming and wildly agitated, and we are apt to give it up for lost ; but if the water be clear the marvellous little diver may be watched darting to and fro in active enjoyment, look- ing like a mass of silver. Dippers are solitary birds, and except in the breeding season are generally met with alone. In fact each pair seem to have a kind of vested interest in a certain length of the stream, to which they keep, resenting the intrusion of other individuals. Among the characteristics of the Dipper may be mentioned the habit of bowing the head nearly to the ground and elevating the tail; this the bird is constantly doing when not alarmed or fearful of too close a scrutiny. The birds have also a way of chasing each other up and down the course of the stream, twittering noisily. So far as our experience extends the Dipper does not sing regularly until the beginning of April ; it may be heard occasionally in March ; but the winter warblings of this species are exceptional. THE DIPPER 137 The Dipper cannot be said to rank very high as a soncrster ; still it is a favourite one with all persons whose business or pleasure takes them into its haunts. It is another of those songs whose beauty- is increased by associations and surroundings. It is short though pleasing, uttered in a low strain, often lost or only caught at intervals above the noise of the purling stream. We have often noticed the Dipper standing on a rock in mid- stream warbling cheerily at intervals ; whether the bird ever sings from the trees by the stream we are unable to say. The Dipper continues in song through April and May ; in June there is a marked falling off, and by the time the young of the second brood are abroad the bird is for the most part mute. It is most probable that the Dipper pairs for life, for it resorts regularly to certain spots to breed season after season. The nest is seldom, if ever, made at any great distance from the stream, and often placed so close to the water as to be kept moist by the falling spray. It is usually placed in a crevice of the rocks, often under an overhanging shelf or slab of rock, in the masonry of a sluice or weir, under a bridge, amongst the exposed roots of a tree, or more rarely in a niche of the rocks behind a waterfall. It is a large and beautiful structure, similar to that of the Wren, globular, with a hole in the side for entrance. 138 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS Externally it is made almost exclusively of green moss, strengthened here and there, notably round the hole, with grass-stalks ; inside this another nest of dry grass, roots, and twigs, and lined with layer upon layer of dead leaves, is formed. Many nests of the Dipper so closely resemble the colour of their surroundings that they are detected with the greatest difficulty. The eggs are from four to six in number, and are pure white, but without the high polish so characteristic of those of the Kingfisher. The sitting bird often allows itself to be taken from the nest without making any effort to escape. This bird is double-brooded. The food of the Dipper consists chiefly of aquatic insects and their larvae, worms and small molluscs. These are obtained both from the bed and the banks of the stream. This species has been accused of destroying the ova of trout and grayling, but we feel convinced, from our long experience of the Dipper, that these statements, if true at all, are greatly exaggerated. We have dissected Dippers at all times of the year and never found anything of the kind in the stomach ; but there can be little doubt that this species catches very small fish occasionally, not habitually, and usually of kinds possessing no commercial importance. The Dipper is a rather pretty-looking bird owing to the strongly contrasted colours of its plumage. The general colour of the upper parts is slate-grey THE DIPPER 139 except the head, which is brown, the feathers of ihe back having pale margins. The chin, throat and upper breast are dazzhng white ; the remainder of the under parts rich chestnut-brown. The female resembles the male in colour. The nestling plumage is mottled above, the feathers having dark margins ; the under parts are white, mottled with grey and brown. The total length of this bird is about seven inches. THE COMMON WREN Troglodytes parvulus Few birds are better known or more widely dis- tributed than this diminutive species. It may be said to be generally distributed throughout the British Islands, from the Scilly Islands in the south to the Shetlands in the north, although in St. Kilda it is replaced by a closely allied form. South of the Arctic Circle the Common Wren ranges over the greater part of continental Europe and the western portions of Northern Africa, including Madeira and the Canaries. Eastwards it is found in Asia Minor, the north of Palestine, and in the north of Persia, but its limits in this direction are difficult to deter- mine, owing to the presence of various climatic races or closely allied species. Indeed in one form or another the Wren is found over a very great part of Asia and North America, but the consideration of these races or species need not concern us further. There can be little or no doubt that the Wren, wherever found in our area, is a resident bird. Although nothing nearly so tame and familiar as the Robin, the present species ranks only second to 140 ^^^>^^ o]^rsrv2^Y4 Common Wrf:x THE COMMON WREN 141 that bird as a popular favourite. It may be met with almost everywhere — woods, hedges, shrubberies, thickets, sunk-fences, dry ditches, gardens, farm- yards, remote districts, and in the vicinity of towns and villages ; all are equally favoured by the tiny nut-brown bird. Few birds are more restless ; it is incessantly on the move, up and down, and in and out, appearing for a moment here and there, then lost to view again, playing an incessant game of hide-and-seek, and in many of its actions more like a mouse than a bird. It is essentially a bird of the undergrowth, rarely seen at any great height from the ground, and through its restless ways only allowing us to gain the most transitory view of its movements. Its actions are by no means Tit-like ; rather do they resemble those of the Hedge Accentor ; for like that bird the Wren will glide and hop with astonishing speed through the thickest cover. Its flight is weak, and when taken just above the ground the bird looks more like a swirling leaf caught by a sudden gust of wind and whirled along than aught else. For the greater part of the year it is also one of the most solitary of birds, and may be watched going its own way quite alone. It is most amusing to see with what agility this bird- mite will twist in and out, squeezing through crevices, and vanishing under roots to appear again in another part of the hedge ; or how impudently it will bob its body up and down and cock its tiny tail over its back as it glides once more into the cover. 142 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS If pursued it will readily creep into the first chink it can . find, or even bury itself in a drift of dead leaves. One thing certainly that makes the Wren an object of endearment to most people is its perennial song. With the exception of a few weeks in autumn, durinor which the bird is undero-oine its moult, its loud and cheery song is one of the most characteristic sounds of the country. The most striking part of the song is its loudness, out of all proportion to the size of its producer. The vigorous way in which it is uttered is also very remarkable, the tiny minstrel seeming to exhaust his entire stock of vital energy in its production. At times it seems as though his little throat would actually burst with the tremendous exertion. The Wren's is a song of every season, in harmony with all, never out of place, always cheerful, spirit-raising, and charming. It rings just as clearly and joyously out amidst the snow-draped hedges as in the height of summer ; it is equally in keeping with spring-tide balminess and wealth of bloom, as with autumn sadness, falling leaves, dripping woods and general decay. The Wren is no fitful songster either ; his glad carol when he is in voice may be heard incessantly all the livelong day, first one bird and then another taking up the stirring chorus. The bird usually remains stationary until the short song is finished, often perched on a bending spray at the top of the hedge ; rarely, however, does it remain in exactly the same THE COMMON WREN 143 spot to repeat its music, and not infrequently it will commence to sing whilst flying, finishing the song after alighting. This song is a somewhat uneven and jerky one, but contains not a few remarkably clear and sweet notes, and is concluded with a rapid trill, the whole ending abruptly as if the performer had been disturbed in the middle of it. The Wren is not quite such an early breeder as some of our resident birds, and does not as a rule begin nesting until April. The breeding-grounds are much the same as the general haunts. In some cases at any rate the Wren pairs annually, rather early in the spring, but in others there is strong evidence to suggest that a life-long union is formed. The handsome nest is built in a very great variety of situations — in bushes and thickets, amongst ivy, suspended from a drooping branch, wedged under an overhanging bank in a crevice of the bare soil or rock, concealed among thatch or in the side of a hay-stack, or in wood-stacks or among the exposed roots of trees. Possibly every reader may be able to name an additional site. The materials of the nest vary almost as much, and to a great extent are selected with a view to harmony with the surround- ing objects. According then to the special circum- stances the nest, which is globular, is made externally of moss, of fern-fronds, dead leaves, dry grass or lichens ; the interior is lined with moss, hair and Tea hers, the latter varying a good deal in quantity. Round the entrance-hole are neatly interwoven 144 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS grass-stalks, fine twigs or roots. The hen-bird alone makes this wonderful nest, the male, however, conveying much of the material. The eggs are from four to eight in number, usually six, and are white, somewhat sparingly spotted with reddish-brown and grey. The Wren is a close sitter ; and when disturbed often becomes very noisy. Several broods are reared in the year. The food of the Wren is largely composed of insects and their 'arvae ; but this fare is varied with ants' eggs, small seeds and soft fruits. As is well known, the bird often visits houses in the winter to pick up food scattered for the wants of starved-out songsters. The young birds, we should say, are fed by their parents for some time after leaving the nest. The call-note of the Wren is a loud and shrill tit or tat, rattled off in quick succession, especially if the bird be alarmed. The Wren has the general colour of the upper parts rufous-brown, barred from below the neck (in- cluding both wing and tail) with dark brown ; the wing-coverts are spotted with white, forming a double bar, and the quills are also barred with greyish ;■ above the eye is a pale huffish streak. The under parts are greyish-brown, shading into rufous on the flanks, belly and under tail-coverts, which are barred with darker brown. The female resembles the male in colour, but is not quite so brilliant. The nestling closely resembles the parent. The total length of this bird is a little over four inches. THE PIPITS THE PIPITS Associated with the Pipits are the Wagtails, but as none of these birds are songsters of any merit we may discard their consideration here. Wagtails sing but little, and at most their music is but a short and twittering refrain, not sufficiently pro- nounced to arrest popular attention or to constitute the bird a "favourite songster" in the sense in which that expression is used in the present volume. The Pipits, although very Lark-like in their appearance and habits, are but remotely allied to that group of birds, one of the most important differences being the unscutellated hind part of the tarsus, which in the Larks is covered with a series of plates. This confusion is still popularly main- tained by the application of the term *' Titlark " to some of the Pipits. About forty species of Pipits are recognized by ornithologists, and these are distributed throughout the world, with the exception of Oceania, or the islands of the Pacific. The Pipits are almost without exception birds of brown or inconspicuous tints, but in South Africa a small 147 148 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS group of somewhat aberrant Pipits is found remark- able for the bright colouration of their breasts ; these are distinguished by systematists under the term Macronyx. Many of the Pipits undertake migra- tions of considerable extent ; others are more sedentary, or move from upland districts to lower country after the breeding season is over. The vocal attainments of the Pipits cannot perhaps rank very high, still some of the species are pleasing songsters ; whilst their habit of singing on the wing brings their music into prominence. There can be little doubt that some of the best songsters in this group are those indigenous to the British Islands. Perhaps the most musical extra British Pipits are the Red-throated Pipit and the Tawny Pipit, both species being abnormal migrants to our area. The song of the former is described by Seebohm as being more melodious and prolonged than that of the Meadow Pipit, and more nearly resembling that of the Tree Pipit. We heard much of the Tawny Pipit's song when travelling in North Africa. The bird has the usual habit of fluttering into the air to sing, but not rising to such a height as the familiar Tree Pipit, and its song is almost as loud as that of the Sky-Lark, but neither so rich nor melodious, and of course remarkably short. Three species of Pipits breed in the British Islands — and therefore sing in them — and these we will now proceed to discuss. THE TREE PIPIT Anthus trivialis Of the three indigenous British species of Pipit the present is the sole migratory one, being a vveli- known summer visitor to our area. The Tree Pipit is found in mo?t of the wooded districts of England, with the exception of Cornwall and parts of Devon, where it becomes very scarce and local, as it also is in Wales. In Scotland it is also a local and by no means common species chiefly confined to the southern districts, although known to breed at least as far north as Sutherlandshire. In Ireland it is either excessively rare, or overlooked, and the evidence of its having bred in the sister isle is incom- plete. The Tree Pipit is found in summer in Northern and Central Europe, and in Siberia as far east as the valley of the Yenesay. In Scandinavia it occurs practically up to the limits of forest growth, but in East Russia not beyond lat. 65°, whilst in Siberia it is not known beyond lat. 62°. South of the Balkans and the Pyrenees it appears to be a winter 149 150 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS visitor only, but a few ascend the mountains in summer to breed. In Greece and Asia Minor it is a passing migrant, but it winters in North-western India, possibly in Persia, and in Palestine and Africa. Its southern limits in Africa are at present undeter- mined, although the bird has been obtained in lat. 5° south at an elevation of 8000 feet (on Mount Elgon), where, however, it may probably breed. The Tree Pipit arrives in its summer haunts in the British Islands in April. It is rather a late migrant, not appearing, even in the south of England, much before the middle of the month, and from one to two weeks later in the north of England and in Scotland. The favourite haunts of this Pipit are farm-lands which are well sprinkled with trees, open spaces in the old forests (such as Sherwood, Epping, and the New Forest), parks, and the borders of woods and plantations. Perhaps an unskilled observer might confuse this bird with the Wood-Lark, but its trim and slim appearance, long tail and Wagtail-like carriage will soon dispel the illusion. We have often remarked how greatly attached this species is to certain haunts, appearing to return to them every summer, even to the iden- tical field or wood, even to use the same perching place on the trees 1 This we believe to be a habit common to all migratory birds, easily remarked in such species as the Swallow, but apt to be overlooked in less familiar species. The Tree Pipit seldom Tree Pipit THE TREE PIPIT 151 wanders from a particular haunt during the entire summer when once it has settled down to nesting duties. We have often known a pair of birds to frequent one small field for several months In suc- cession. Upon the ground this Pipit is a very active and nimble little creature, running to and fro in Wagtail-like manner. It is not at all social during the entire breeding season, but after the young are hatched the birds wander about in family parties, and as the migration time draws nigh more gregari- ous instincts are manifested. The most noteworthy feature about the Tree Pipit is its song and the actions pertaining thereto. Were it not for its song, and the peculiar manner in which it is uttered, this bird would often be overlooked. In fact the Tree Pipit is most readily identified by its habit of soaring into the air from a tree-top, singing as it goes, and after flying for some distance return- ing to the original starting-place. This song flight Is taken nearly perpendicularly at first, then becomes nearly horizontal In Its general direction but in a series of curves, the bird floating and hovering and at last returning with tail and wings expanded and almost motionless, back to the starting-place like a shuttle- cock. The whole time this flight is In progress the bird has been warbling a melodious song, a rapid succession of clear loud notes, followed, as the song and flight draw to a close, by a prolonged and plaintive double note. Early In the season the Tree 152 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS Pipit frequently rises from one tree and settles in another during the progress of these song flights ; but later on when the nest is made, he usually selects some special tree in the vicinity from which he soars. This perch is either on some bare or dead branch, or at the very summit of the tree if amongst the leaves. Occasionally the song is uttered as the bird sits on its perch, but then the prolonged concluding dcmble note is omitted, this being apparently peculiar to the descent. The Tree Pipit is a very pertinacious singer, and spends most of the day engaged in these soaring flights and melodious songs. This song may be heard right through the summer, but becomes less frequent after the young are hatched, and is finally lost in the autumnal moult which begins about the middle of July- Although this Pipit, as its name implies, is a bird of ihe air and the tree-tops, its nest is invariably placed upon the ground. This nest is generally made in May, and its usual situation is amongst the herbage of the fields, not unfrequcntly in very exposed situations, where the grass is cropped short by cattle. May-meadows and corn-fields are very favourite places, but sometimes a hedge-row bank, or a slope in the woods is selected, and occasionally the herb ge beneath a little bush on the open common. The nest is [laced in a slight hollow, and is made of dry grass, moss and roots, and lined with THE TREE PIPIT 153 finer grass and roots, and horse-hair. It is rather loosely put together, not very large, but neatly finished inside. The eggs are from four to six in number and vary considerably in colour. They vary from greyish-white or bluish-white, to pinkish- white and pale olive in ground-colour, mottled, spotted and blotched with various shades of reddish- brown, purplish-brown, and olive-brown, and occa- sionally streaked with irregular blackish lines. On some eggs the markings are very minute and cover the whole surface ; on others they form a zone or cap ; on others, yet again, they assume the character of irregular and large blotches and round spots. This Pipit is a close sitter, and is very care- ful in approaching the nest not to betray its where- abouts. As soon as the song of the male ceases for the season this Pipit spends most of its time upon the ground ; the trees are seldom visited and the birds live almost exclusively amongst the herbage. It is said that this species rears more than one brood in the season, but this must be extremely exceptional. The food of the Tree Pipit is principally composed of small worms, insects and their larvae ; but in August the bird may frequently be flushed from the wheat-fields, whither it repairs to feed upon the soft grain. The ordinary call-note of this Pipit is a low and oft-repeated tick. The southward migration of the Tree Pipit begins in September and lasts nornvilly through October. 154 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS The Tree Pipit has the general colour of the upper parts sandy-brown, the feathers with nearly- black centres ; the eye-stripe is pale buff ; the wings are brown, the greater and median coverts tipped with buffish-white, forming a conspicuous double bar ; the tail is dark brown, the outermost pair of feathers white with an oblong brownish patch on the inner webs, the next pair tipped only with white. The general colour of the under parts is pale buff, palest on the breast, spotted or streaked with blackish -brown. The female resembles the male in colour, and the nestlings are similar to the adults but more profusely spotted. The total length of this bird is about six inches. The Tree Pipit may always be identified by its short and curved hind claw, never so long as the hind toe. THE MEADOW PIPIT Anthus pratensis The Meadow Pipit is one of our commonest birds, and may be found in more or less abundance in every part of the British area, including such outlying islands as St. Kilda, the Orkneys and Shetlands, and the Blaskets. Its extra British range, however, is nothing near so extensive as that of the preceding species. During summer the Meadow Pipit is found generally distributed over most parts of Central and Northern Europe, ex- tending eastwards as far as the valley of the Obi. In the south of Europe it is principally known as a winter migrant, as it also is in North Africa; but in most of this wide area, which includes the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Greece, Asia Minor, and Palestine, a certain number of individuals appear to ascend the mountains to breed. The Meadow Pipit may be readily distinguished from the preceding species by its olive colouration, perceptibly smaller size, and long and nearly straight 1 55 156 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS hind claw, always exceedin^^ the hind toe in length. It is a resident in our country, but subject to con siderable local movement, between the uplands and the lower country. In autumn, too, great numbers of Meadow Pipits visit the British Islands, either to remain in them for the winter, or to pass along the coasts to still more southern countries. We do not think any of the indigenous individuals, however, leave Britain at this season. The abundance or otherwise of this Pipit in many localities is entirely dependent upon the season. Thus in many low- land districts the bird is by far the most common during autumn and winter ; whilst in many upland ones it is only seen during spring and summer. With this proviso the Meadow Pipit may be found on almost every variety of ground ; from the moors and mountains and remote islets, to the commons, fields, highways, and swamps. This Pipit shows a decided preference for wet ground ; summer and winter alike it is sure to congregate in swampy localities. It shows no partiality whatever for trees, rarely perching in them, and passing most of its life upon the ground, where it runs up and down in a very lively and engaging way in quest of food. During prolonged frost this bird may frequently be met with near manure-heaps, or on the banks of running streams, even approaching our houses to pick up anything suited to its taste. In autumn it shows a very marked preference for turnip-field.>, Meadow Pipit THE MEADOW PIPIT 157 skulking closely under the broad leaves and uttering a very melancholy and complaining peep as it is flushed. At these seasons it is also to a large extent sociable, and may sometimes be met with in considerable flocks. If disturbed, the entire flock will rise in scattered order, flitting about in an aimless uncertain way, and eventually settling again, two or three birds at a time, here and there, to repeat the same manoeuvres if alarmed by the report of a gun. The Meadow Pipit is certainly most gregarious during autumn ; in winter the tendency is to gather in small parties ; but as the spring days return a further strongly marked sociability is noticed. It is probable that the larger gatherings are connected with migratory movement. By April most of our resident Meadow Pipits are scattered over their breeding area ; the flocks and family parties are disbanded ; the birds disappear from many haunts, or become perceptibly less numerous, and reappear in others. It is now that this little species perhaps becomes the most interest- ing ; for the warm spring days have roused its long latent powers of song, and for the next few months it becomes one of our most industrious songsters. We always think this simple song of the Meadow Pipit is most in harmony with the wilder districts, with the haunt of the Red Grouse, Ring Ouzel, and Twite, where the least attractive of bird music is ever welcome, and where it cannot be spoiled by 158 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS contrast with richer and more pretentious melody. This song is uttered (as is usual in the present group) whilst the bird is on the wing, and chiefly during the return flight to the perching place, the upward movement being generally accompanied by a rapid repetition of the call-note, but sometimes made in absolute silence. This Pipit starts its song flights from a perch on a wall, large stone, or low bush, and not from trees. Meadow Pipits are generally much more abundant in a locality than Tree Pipits ever are, and consequently their music often fills the air, the birds rising and falling in short song flights here, there, and everywhere on the waste. The song of this Pipit is neither so loud, so varied, nor so rich in tone as that of the preceding bird ; it is also of shorter duration ; perhaps we might class it as of about the same merit as that of the Hedge Accentor. This Pipit continues in fair song for about three months. The Meadow Pipit pairs annually, and early in the year. Its nest may be found in a great variety of places — on the moors, the broads, the cultivated farm-lands, the commons, and even by the wayside, on little frequented country roads. It is always built upon the ground, and almost as invariably well concealed. Sometimes a site is selected among the meadow grass ; sometimes under a stone or a bush, or amongst the long moss in a swamp ; at other times the long heather, a tuft of rushes, or the THE MEADOW PIPIT 159 tangled herbage on a bank. The nest is small and very loosely put together, made of dry grass, moss, dead leaves, or bits of reed, and lined with finer grass, roots and horse-hair. The eggs are from four to six in number, white in ground-colour (al- though this is generally concealed for the most part by the markings), clouded and spotted and sprinkled with dark brown, and sometimes streaked with blackish-brown here and there on the large end. The bird is a close sitter, usually remaining on the nest until almost trodden upon. The young are fed and tended for some time by their parents after leaving the nest. The Cuckoo makes frequent use of the Meadow Pipit in disposing of its eggs, and the latter birds may often be seen in moorland districts feeding a young Cuckoo with the greatest industry. As a rule this Pipit rears but one brood in the season, but occasionally seems to undertake a second. The food of the Meadow Pipit is chiefly composed of small worms, insects and larvae. The bird is specially fond of the smaller aquatic insects and molluscs, and frequently pursues flies in the air. In the colder months small seeds and even grain will be eaten. The Meadow Pipit has the general colour of the upper parts olive-brown, the feathers with dark centres, except on the rump and upper tail-coverts ; the eye-stripe is buffish-white ; the wings are brown, i6o OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS the coverts margined with white ; the tail is dark brown, the white pattern closely resembling that of the Tree Pipit. The general colour of the under parts is white, suffused with buff on the throat and breast, and with olive on the flanks, spotted on the breast and streaked on the flanks with blackish- brown. The female resembles the male in colour ; and the nestlings are similar to the adults, but the spotting is more emphasized. The total length of this bird is nearly six inches. THE ROCK PIPIT Anthus obscurus The Rock Pipit is found in more or less abund- ance on all the rocky coasts of the British Islands. Wherever Britain's bulwarks rear their precipitous sides from the encircling sea the Rock Pipit may be found upon them, from the remote Orkneys and Shetlands in the north to the Scilly Islands in the south, from the Fames in the east to St. Kilda and the Blaskets in the west. The most important length of coast-line from which this species is absent is that lying between the H umber and the Thames. It is as yet an undetermined point whether the Rock Pipit is found outside our limits beyond the Channel Islands and the French coasts. On the rocky shores of the White Sea, and the Baltic, as well as on the coasts of Scandmavia a very closely allied race of Rock Pipit occurs, very similar in winter dress to the British form, but characterized in breeding plumage by the vinous tints of the under parts, which are also devoid of spots. I6l M 1 62 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS The English name of the present bird is but partially descriptive, and to a certain extent even misleading. There is nothing in the term to convey the fact of the bird being exclusively a littoral one, or that its haunts are cliffs rather than rocks. Mac- gillivray's name of " Shore Pipit " is certainly more applicable, but even this is open to the equally fatal objection that it does not convey the fact that the bird is confined to rock-bound shores only. "Sea Pipit " might be suggested as a compromise. This little bird is specially interesting, for it is in this country at least the only Passerine species which is confined to the coast. It is never met with out of sight of the sea under any normal circumstances. It is for the most part a sedentary species, although during the migration periods it may be noticed moving along the coasts on passage, and then inhabits less precipitous localities. These migrants, however, appear to belong to the northern race ; so far as our observations go (and they extend over many years) the British Rock Pipits are sedentary. No coast is too wild and rock-bound for the Rock Pipit ; it may be seen flitting along the face of the beetling cliffs where scarcely a foothold can be obtained, as well as frequenting the boulder-strewed beach, or those localities where the cliffs are more broken into downs. Although an unobtrusive little bird, it is one not easily overlooked, for its complain- ing note is most persistently uttered, and its short Rock I'ipit THE ROCK PIPIT 163 flights just in advance of our steps seldom fail to draw the attention. It may be identified at once by the absence of the white pattern on the tail (which is replaced by smoke-brown) and by its large size. In general colouration it resembles the Meadow Pipit. Its whole life is almost passed between the cliffs and low water mark. It is by no means a shy bird, and may be watched flitting about the stones and rocks, or running about the shingle and weed-scattered shore, if approached too closely rising In a wavering sort of way, cheeping mournfully as it goes, and again alighting a little farther on ; and this will be repeated for a long distance if we care to follow. Except in autumn and winter the Rock Pipit is neither gregarious nor sociable ; although even in summer many pairs of birds may be met with close together along the same range of cliffs. Like many other birds we could name the Rock Pipit becomes increasingly interesting in spring. As soon as the first real warm days arrive the bird regains its long-lost song, and from this time on- wards until the young ones are hatched, its cheerful strains may be heard along the shore, often almost drowned by the roar of the sea dashing against the bird's rock-bound haunts. Sometimes this Pipit may be heard warbling sotto voce as it sits upon the cliffs, but this is exceptional, for the Rock Pipit like its congeners sings chiefly as he flies. He has 1 64 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS the same habit of flying up into the air to warble his short rambling song ; and up and down he goes at intervals all the livelong day. The song is delivered in much the same way as that of the Meadow Pipit, the bird starting upwards rapidly repeating its call-note until the zenith of the flight is reached, when its music commences and is con- tinued until the ground is reached again. The song is sweet and musical, but far too short ; still it does not compare unfavourably with that of the preceding species ; indeed of the two birds its music may be the best ; but in these cases associations go a long way in our determination. The nesting season of the Rock Pipit begins in April, and as the bird appears to be double-brooded, it is continued to July. The nest of this species is so very carefully hidden that its discovery is seldom an easy task, and more often than not the result of accident rather than careful search. It is generally placed in some sheltered nook, as for instance under a flat stone, or a mass of loose rock, or in a chink far up the cliffs in spots absolutely inaccessible. We have found the nest in a great variety of situations — amongst beds of campion and sea-pink, in a deserted Puffln-burrow, in a hole in a ruined wall, and within a few inches of a Herring Gull's nest! The materials vary a good deal in certain districts, and appear to depend upon what- ever is most readily obtainable. In some places THE ROCK PIPIT i65 dry grass is almost entirely used ; in others this is mixed with moss and bits of dry sea- weed. It is lined with horse-hair wherever the birds can obtain it, but in localities where this material is wanting fine dry grass is used in its place. A nest we once found upon the Fame Islands had a single Gull's feather in the lining ; whilst at St. Kilda we noticed that the birds obtained horse- hair for a lining from the snares set in the cliffs to catch Puffins. The eggs are four or five in number, and are greenish- or brownish-grey in ground-colour, mottled, sprinkled and blotched with olive-brown or reddish-lr jwn, and paler markings of greyish-brown. On some eggs a few dark lines and streaks may be noticed. The bird is a close sitter, but when disturbed be- comes anxious for the welfare of its nest, and is soon joined by its mate, the two flitting restlessly about and calling plaintively. The Rock Pipit during most of the year feeds almost exclusively upon small worms, insects, larvae and tiny molluscs. Many insects are secured whilst the bird is chasing them in the air. It also obtains much food on the rocks at low water. During autumn and winter small seeds are eaten. The Rock Pipit has the general colour of the upper parts olive-brown, streaked with darker brown, except on the rump ; the eye-stripe is indistinct and buffish-white ; the wings are brown, the wing-coverts tipped with white ; the tail is dark brown, with the 166 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS light pattern of the outermost feathers smoke-brown, and the next tipped with brown. The general colour of the under parts is pale buff, shading into nearly white on the throat, and into olive-brown on the flanks, spotted and streaked with blackish-brown. The female closely resembles the male in colour ; and the nestlings are similar to the adults, but the imder parts are more profusely streaked. The total lenpth of this bird is about six and a half inches, THE LARKS THE LARKS With the larks we again come to a group of birds containing singers of surpassing excellence. The homogeneity of this family is strongly asserted by the universal character of the scutellated hind tarsus, a peculiarity which divides off the Larks from the other Passeres. Tested by the character of the nestling plumage the Larks are apparently an inferior group to the Pipits, for the young are pro- fusely spotted; but as singing birds their superiority is enormously greater. There are upwards of seventy species of Larks, according to the latest author- ities, and about half as many again of local forms, or climatic races. The Larks are essentially an Old World group, and most abundantly distributed over Europe, Asia and Africa. One species is found in Australia, another in South America, and another (with several allied races) in North America. The typical Larks are all birds of sober plumage, but some of the Horned Larks are a little more showy 169 170 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS in this respect. The Larks are essentially a musical family ; indeed we feel justified in the assertion that no other known birds excel certain species of the present group in their splendid vocal attainments ; and of these fine singers we can fortunately claim two of the very best. Of the extra British species several at least deserve brief notice. One remark- able species is the Crested Lark {Galerita ciHstata), which possesses a sweet and varied song, uttered generally when the bird is standing on the ground. In India this Lark is said to be highly prized for its vocal powers, being kept in a darkened cage, where it is said also to imitate certain sounds. The Calandra Lark {Melanoco^ypha calandra) is another pleasing songster which we had the pleasure of hearing during our journey in North Africa. It is neither so pro- longed nor so beautiful as that of our own Sky- Lark, but the bird is a very industrious singer, and is inces- santly rising from the herbage to warble for a few moments and then to drop down again. By some authorities this Lark is described as one of the finest songsters in Europe ; and if the extent to which it is kept in cages in many South European cities be any indication of its musical attainments these must be exceptionally high. Lastly, we may mention the Shore Lark {Otocoris alpestris), another bird which repeatedly sings whilst standing upon the ground, but more frequently whilst careering about the air high above its nesting-places in the Arctic regions. THE LARKS 171 The sono;^ is sweet enough, but it is of too short a duration, and is somewhat marred by the introduc- tion of harsh notes. This song is often repeated several times during one ascent. We will now pass to a detailed consideration of the two British species. THE SKY-LARK Alauda arvensis This well-known and justly-famed bird is found in all parts of the British Islands, including many of the outlying islets, such as the Hebrides, the Orkneys and Shetlands, Upon the Continent the Sky- Lark's range is very extensive, the bird being found from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Of course over such a vast tract of country there is consider- able variation in colour and size, and many local races or subspecies have been distinguished by naturalists. These we need not attempt to describe here. The Sky- Lark then breeds throughout Europe and Asia up to or a little beyond the Arctic Circle in the west, and about seven degrees lower in the east. Its breeding range also includes parts of North Africa, and the mountains of Persia, Turkestan, Mongolia, the Amoor, and Japan. Its winter range includes South Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor, Greece, Palestine, Persia, North-west India, and North China. 172 'f|enrv|S^n.>l^v^\ THE SKY-LARK 173 The migrations of the Sky-Lark, especially in autumn, are by no means the least interesting part of its history. Each autumn it pours into Western Europe and across the North Sea into our islands in numbers that can be described only as amazing. During October and November millions of this bird must enter our eastern counties or sweep along the British coasts of the North Sea on their way to winter quarters still further south. Day after day, and night after night, this stupendous migration of Sky-Larks goes on, the birds appearing in never- ending flocks. There can be little or no doubt that the birds that breed in our islands are sedentary ; they become gregarious to a great extent in autumn and winter, and are subject to a certain amount of local movement, especially from the more elevated haunts, but this seems all. The Sky-Lark is perhaps the best known, although by no means the most familiar, of all our native birds, and finds a place in our hearts and our literature such as no other species can ever fill. It has found more favour with our poets than any other British bird ; whilst as a cage-bird from England to Japan it is universally esteemed. In our islands the chief resorts of the Sky- Lark are the open fields, and, less frequently perhaps, the breezy up- lands, the commons and the moors. It delights in districts comparatively free from trees, and is always most abundant on the highest land in every 174 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS locality it frequents. The Sky-Lark is a thorough ground bird, living for the most part upon the ground, rearing its young upon the ground, and drawing almost its entire sustenance from it. It cannot be called a particularly shy bird, but it is one that does not permit of a very close approach, unless when skulking in the herbage ; then it often remains in the cover until almost trodden upon before it rises with a very musical double note. It is seldom or never seen to perch in a tree or upon a hedge ; it lives upon the ground, where it runs about in a very Pipit-like way. To some extent the Sky-Lark is a perenn'al songster ; for very frequently, even in mid-winter, an exceptionally warm day will cause it to resume its long-lost music. But this bird is essentially a singer of the spring ; at no other time of the year is it so full of music, nor does its matchless song pour forth in greater volume. The song flights of the Sky- Lark are very remarkable ; no other British bird approaches them, not only for the altitude reached, but for the duration of the ascent. In March and early April, when sexual rivalry is strong within its tiny breast, the song of the Sky- Lark is heard to greatest advantage. Who amongst us, but has not lain down at some time or another amongst the long grass of the meadows, or the shorter herbage of the windy downs, during these warm days of spring to watch the Sky- Lark sour THE SKY-LARK 175 upwards and upwards, looking less and less as he climbs an invisible path on fluttering wings to the clouds ? Ever) where (as we wrote of this bird long years ago), from the grass lands and the fields of grain, from the open downs, from the moors and the heaths, the Larks are rising ; one after the other they go; fluttering, fluttering, fluttering, round and round, upwards in a spiral course two thousand feet or more into the sky, revelling in the freedom of the bound- less air, bubbling over with song and happiness. Fainter and fainter gets the song ; only its loudest strains now reach the earth ; yet fainter still, until the sweeter notes are lost beneath the mighty dome of blue sky, and even the sweet singer himself is almost lost to view. Then the zenith of the flight is reached, and the bird descends once more ; louder and louder now grows his music ; gently, almost imperceptibly he frills; lightly and gracefully he comes, until within a few feet of the ground, when his trembling throat becomes silent, the tired flutter- ing wings are closed, and like a stone he drops into the green cover once more. Aerial movements are, however, by no means essential to the utterance of the song; the bird sometimes warbles just as sweetly upon the ground ; whilst his voice in a cage cannot be accompanied by the soaring flight although often uttered with beating wings. The song of this Lark, if not presenting much variety, is composed of wonderfully clear notes, and is uttered so continu- 1/6 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS ously, so rapturously, and in such a perfect torrent of melody, as to win our highest admiration. Each spell of song lasts from two or three to fifteen minutes. The song of the Sky-Lark ceases in the autumn moult. No bird is more popular as a captive ; it bears confinement well, is easily tamed, and is an exceptionally free singer in its exile. During the breeding season, which lasts from April to July, the Sky- Lark is not a very sociable species. Numbers may nest on a small area of ground, yet each pair keeps to itself. The Sky- Lark apparently pairs annually. The nest is always made upon the ground, amongst the herbage of the fields — grain by preference — and waste grounds, or the heather on the moors. It is somewhat small, and made externally of dry grass, dead leaves, and bits of moss, lined with finer grass, roots and horse- hair. The eggs are from three to five in number, greyish or olive in ground-colour, mottled, spotted and speckled with olive-brown and grey. A rare variety is white in ground-colour, spotted and freckled with reddish-brown and pale grey. The female is a close sitter, like most birds of her group, and in leaving and returning to the nest has a habit of running for some distance through the herbage. This species is double-brooded. The food of the Sky-Lark, in summer, consists ot insects, larvae and worms, but during the remainder of the year of seeds and grain. There can be no THE SKY-LARK 177 doubt that this species is of great service to the agriculturist in consuming vast quantities of the seeds of certain troublesome weeds, as charlock, thistle, groundsel, dock, and the like. The Sky- Lark has the general colour of the upper parts brown, streaked with darker brow^n ; the eye-stripe is buffish-white ; the wings are brown with buff margins ; the tail feathers are dark brown with buff margins, except the outermost pair which are almost uniform white, and the next pair which have the outer webs only white. The general colour of the under parts is buffish-white, darkest on the breast which is spotted and on the flanks which are streaked with dark brown. The female closely re- sembles the male in colour, but the nestlings are spotted on the upper parts with buff and black, and the under parts are buff thickly spotted with blackish- brown. The total length of the Sky- Lark is about seven inches. THE WOOD-LARK Alauda arborea Although the Wood- Lark is very widely dis- tributed over the British Islands it is nowhere common, and is decidedly one of the most local of our indigenous birds. It is pretty generally dis- persed over the southern counties of England from Devonshire to Kent, and northwards to Gloucester- shire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk. Beyond these limits its localness increases, although it may be traced here and there as far as the Lake District. In Scotland it is known only to have bred in Stirlingshire; whilst in Ireland, although -aid to be a resident, its distribution remains at present practically undetermined. There can be little doubt that in many localities the present species is overlooked. Outside the British limits we find the Wood- Lark generally, yet still locally, distributed over Central and Southern Europe. In the west it is not known to breed regularly north of lat. 60°, whilst in the east the valley of the Volga appears to mark its northern and eastern limits. In the more northern districts it is a summer visitor 178 Ki^ CptvK^^v^ Wool il. ARK THE WOOD-LARK 179 only. In the south of Europe, in Asia Minor, the Caucasus and North-west Persia it is principally known as a winter migrant, but some ascend the mountains in these countries during summer. South of the Mediterranean, although perhaps best known during winter, it certainly breeds in Algeria and other parts of North-west Africa. If the observer with but a slight knowledge of birds bears in mind certain very perceptible characteristics of the Wood- Lark he will not readily confuse it with any other species. These are its much shorter tail, giving the bird a very "dumpy" look, especially when flying, its partiality for well- wooded districts, and its constant habit of perching in trees. The favourite haunts of the Wood- Lark, however, are not woods — ^so far the bird's name is a misleading one, and "Tree- Lark" would be far more expressive. The bird loves to frequent open localities over which plenty of trees are scattered, and where the soil is of a dry sandy character. It is thus specially partial to heaths and commons, to fields adjoining woods, or with tall trees in the hedges, and to well-timbered parks. Like the Sky-Lark the present species is more or less gregarious or sociable during the autumn and winter, though never gathering into such vast assemblies, and often mixing with flocks of its commoner congener. During this part of the year the Wood- Lark is not seen to frequent trees very much ; like the Tree Pipit its arboreal habits are i8o OVR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS almost entirely peculiar to the breeding season. Except when inspired by love it is as much a ground bird as any other of its relations, finding most of its food upon the ground, and invariably roosting upon it. When flushed, however, it very often seeks refuge in a tree, and in this respect shows a decided difference of habit from the Sky- Lark. It has the same skulking habits, hiding low amongst the herbage, rising when almost trodden upon, and running about with great nimbleness in quest of food or to elude approaching danger. In very early spring the Wood-Lark's habits change the parties disperse over the breeding-grounds and errantry is over until the young are safely reared. Like the Tree Pipit the present species keeps very closely to a chosen haunt all through the spring and summer ; and another point of resemblance is the method of its song. The Wood-Lark is one of the earliest birds to regain its voice in spring, doing so in mild seasons as early as February. This Lark not only sings whilst perched on the trees and bushes, but often has some particular branch from which it rises into the air to warble. The bird does not soar so high as the preceding species, nor yet so rapidly ; it is more addicted to circling round, floating as it were, or rising and falling just above the tops of the trees. The song is undoubtedly superior to the Sky-Lark's in many respects. It may not be so loud, but it is equally continuous ; the notes are sweeter too, THE WOOD-LARK i8i and in parts may almost be said to rival that of the Blackcap. The Wood- Lark is a most industrious singer ; warbling early and late, often being heard at dawn, as well as in the evening gloom. The bird is almost a perennial singer, and may be heard in voice through the year, with the exception of a few weeks in mid-winter, and during the period of the annual moult. We remember the exceptional abundance of this Lark in some parts of Algeria, where we could count half-a-dozen birds in the air together all in splendid song. We also noted its unusual tameness, for birds would very often sit and sing on some low bush within a few yards of where we stood to listen to them. The possessor of such a matchless voice is an object much sought by the birdcatcher, and has led to the bird's extinction in many places where it was formerly common. The Wood- Lark breeds early, and as it is a double- brooded species the reproduction season may be said to extend from March to June or July. We are of the opinion that this Lark mates for life, for each season pairs of birds will return to certain spots to nest. The nest is almost invariably placed upon the ground, sometimes on the barest turf, but more generally well concealed under bushes or tufts of coarse herbage. It is made externally of dry grass and moss, and is lined with finer grass and horse-hair. The eggs are four or five in number, and are white tinged with buff or green in ground-colour, spotted and dusted with reddish- 1 82 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS brown and grey. On some eggs the markings are evenly dispersed over the entire shell, on others they collect into a zone, or even into a cap at the end. In its secretive actions at the nest this species closely resembles the Sky-Lark. The female appears to incubate the eggs, and during this period the male is in almost constant song. The food of the Wood-Lark consists of small worms, insects and larvse during summer, and for the most part of seeds in winter. The bird is specially fond of small beedes and worms. We should also state that the call-note of this Lark is a musical double one, very similar to that of the Sky- Lark. The Wood-Lark has the general colour of the upper parts brown, all the feathers having dark centres except on the rump, and the upper tail- coverts ; the eye-stripe is white ; the wings are brown, the primary coverts being tipped with white ; the tail feathers are brownish-black tipped with white, the outermost feathers smoke-brown marked with blackish-brown on the inner web. The general colour of the under parts is white suffused with buff, and streaked with brownish-black on the throat, breast and flanks. The female closely resembles the male in colour ; but the nestlings are spotted above with black and buff, and the under parts are yellow profusely spotted with blackish-brown. The total length of the Wood-Lark is about five and a half inches. THE BUNTINGS THE BUNTINGS None of the typical Buntings can perliaps be classed as songsters of high merit, but some at least of the more aberrant species possess vocal powers of considerable beauty The typical Buntings form a group nearly allied to the Finches, from which they are distinguished by their angular gape, the edges of the closed mandibles not meeting through- out their length, but forming a conspicuous gap midway between the gape and the tip. The palate is also furnished with a hard knob which serves as an anvil on which the seeds which compose their principal food are cracked open. It is impossible yet to give the exact number of species which may have to be included in the present family, but the more typical members of it may be set down as between forty and fifty. The majority of Buntings are found in what has been described as the Holarctic realm, or North America, Europe, and the northern half of Asia. Some species are found in Africa, parts of Southern Asia, and South America, but the 185 1 86 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS family as at present limited appears to be unrepre- sented in the Malay Archipelago, Australia, and Oceania. Many of the Buntings are birds of showy or strongly contrasted tints. Of the extra British species specially noted for their vocal powers mention may be made of the following. One of the most melodious of these is the Lapland Bunting {Calcarius lappo7iictis\ a bird which is commonly distributed during summer in the Arctic regions of both hemi- spheres. Seebohm, who had unrivalled opportunities for hearing the song of this Bunting, says that it reminds one both of the song of the Snow Bunting and that of the Tree Pipit. It is not a loud song, but the notes are musical and long continued. It is most frequently heard as the bird indulges in soaring flights like a Lark, being continued until the singer alights, gliding down to a perching-place on outspread wings and tail. A fact of exceptional interest is that the hen-bird possesses a song almost as rich as that of the cock. Of the Snow Bunting [P/ectj'-ophenax nivalis), the same naturalist records that the song is a low and melodious warble, similar to that of the preceding species, the bird flinging himself into the air like a shuttlecock, and descend- ing in a spiral curve with wings and tail outspread, uttering his charming refrain meanwhile. The song of the Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla) is described by Messrs. Alston and Harvie- Brown as more like that of a Warbler, whilst Professor Lilljeborg says THE BUNTINGS 187 chat it is very sweet, most nearly resembling that of a Robin, and uttered as the bird sits conspicuously on the top of a bush ; whilst the song of the Yellow- breasted Bunting [Eiuberiza aureola) is said by the natives of Dauria to be the finest bird music heard in their country. Some of the more aberrant species in the family are also fine songsters, notably the Cardinal of North America, which in some places is justly termed the Virginian Nightingale. None of the British species are specially remarkable for their song ; that of the Common Bunting [Efuberiza miliaria) is most harsh and grating ; but the music of others forms a pleasing variation in the music of the fields. THE YELLOW BUNTING Emberiza citrinella This is by far the commonest Bunting in our islands, universally distributed, and breeding in all suitable localities, including the Orkneys and the Hebrides, but not the Shetlands. Outside our area the Yellow Bunting is generally dispersed over the European continent, as far north as land extends in the west, but in the east not beyond lat. 65^°, whilst in Western Siberia, in the valley of the Obi, its northern limit appears to be lat. 64°. It is a resident in Central Europe, a summer migrant to the more northern areas, and only a winter migrant to the south of Europe, from the Iberian Peninsula to Asia Minor. Its winter range also includes North-west Turkestan and North-west Persia, but no part of continental Africa, although the bird is said to be a resident in Teneriffe. The Yellow Bunting is one of the most showily dressed of our native songsters, easily recognized by its bright yellow crown. It is also very ubiquitous 188 M-,^v, S^2vYvVvir4 Vellow Bunting THE YELLOW BUNTING 189 in its choice of a haunt, and may be met almost everywhere in agricultural districts. It is pre- eminently a bird of the hedgerows and the roadsides in country places, and one that is sure to be met with, especially in winter-time, in the vicinity of farm-yards, manure-heaps and ricks. The Yellow Bunting is a resident in the British Islands, but the sedentary population is considerably increased in autumn by arrivals from continental Europe. During the winter months this bird is to a large extent gregarious, and also socially joins assemblies of other hard-billed species. These flocks of Yellow Buntings frequent the newly-sown fields and the stubbles laid down with clover ; whilst a heavy fall of snow will cause them to visit farm-yards and ricks, where they may often be seen clinging to the corn- stacks, or searching for food on manure-heaps, or congregating about the barns and stables. If dis- turbed, the entire flock usually fly up into the nearest trees or hedges ; sometimes the birds perch on the roofs of the buildings ; and here they sit until one after the other they flit back to the feeding-place and recommence their search for food. Very pretty do these Buntings look amongst the snow, especially when a large flock is busily engaged in feeding, old birds fluttering here and there or rising up into the hedges, or sitting in the snow, where their richly- coloured plumage shows off to advantage. This Bunting runs more than hops, resembling a Chaffinch 190 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS in its gait, whilst its flight, if somewhat unsteady, is quick and well sustained, and a flock will some- times wheel in the air almost with as much precision as a bunch of Starlings. These aerial movements are often performed if a flock has been alarmed in a stiff wind, or just before the birds are about to settle in the trees and bushes where they are in the habit of roosting. As the spring draws near, these flocks of Yellow Buntings gradually disperse, and the birds spread themselves over the surrounding country to breed. The males are now in splendid plumage, and very handsome they look as they sit upon the topmost twigs of the hedges, or flit startled before us along the roadsides. At this season, too, the cocks are pugnacious, and rivals may often be seen chasing each other in fury through the branches, or from one tree or hedge to another. The season of song has now returned. The Yellow Bunting is one of the first birds to regain its song in spring, and in the southern counties may be heard in full voice early in February. It is also one of the last to relinquish it in autumn, and continues in song until September. Its spring- melody is, however, by far the most vigorous and persistent. The monotonous song of the Yellow Bunting is sure to succeed in bringing this species to our notice. Its very persistency arrests our attention ; and as likely as not we shall find the brilliantly-dressed little singer sitting quietly upon THE YELLOW BUNTING 191 the top of some hedge, or even high up some tree, repeating one Httle strain after the other with un- wearying patience. The song consists of one rather sweet note uttered many times in rapid succession, concluded with two harsher notes, the last one continued much longer than the rest. These two notes at the close are sometimes omitted, but usually when the singer has been interrupted for some reason or other. Monotonous as this sone undoubt- edly is, it still sounds very agreeably amongst the first signs of spring ; it is a homely strain, yet one that we may always associate with the opening year with honest pleasure. This song may be said to be punctuated with the prolonged call- notes chee- chee-churj'ze. It is answered, too, by other Buntings in the vicinity, bird after bird taking up the song and uttering it almost in rotation. This Bunting is perhaps less shy when singing than at any other time ; but this to a great extent seems to depend upon whether the bird is conscious of being seen. The singer is often hidden amongst the branches, and will continue repeating his music as long as you fail to notice his actual whereabouts, but when this is discovered, as likely as not he will immediately cease and retire to a safer distance. The Yellow Bunting pairs early, and the nesting season begins at the end of March or beginning of April. The nest may either be made upon the ground or at some distance above it. Perhaps one 192 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS of the most frequently chosen situations is the bank of a hedge, either at the root of the bushes or amongst the tall herbage ; another favourite spot is in beds of nettles or in small bunches of briars and bramble through which tall rank grass is inter- grown. Less commonly a gorse-bush or a low sapling is selected. The. nest is somewhat bulky, a good deal of material being collected, especially for the outer portion. It is made of dry grass, moss, roots and stalks of many kinds of plants, and lined with fine roots and horse-hair. The Yellow Bunting seems to be much attached to its nesting- place, often building in one spot for several seasons in succession ; and continuing to lay ^^