THE BIRDS OF BRITAIN
FOR THE PEOPLE
1 FOR EDVCATION
FOR SCIENCE
LIBRARY
OF
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
OF
NATURAL HISTORY
THE BIRDS OF BRITAIN
THEIR DISTRIBUTION
AND HABITS
cambrid(;e university press
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aiokfio: THE MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA
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THE BIRDS OF BRITAIN
THEIR DISIRIBUTION
AND HABITS
V
BY
A. H. EVANS, M.A., F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.
ERRATUM
p. 65. In the legend of the picture read ' Pied ' for ■ Spotted/
Cambridge :
at the University Press
1916
0
.V'sr. /^
PREFACE
TT is hoped that tliis Uttle work, though phmarily
intended for schools, may be found useful by those
who require a short hand-book which includes the
results of the most recent observations, and is adapted
to modern nomenclature. The author wishes to tender
his thanks to Mr W. Eagle Clarke, who is now pre-
paring a new edition of Yarrell's British Birds, for
glancing over the proofs, in order that they may be in
general agreement with the forthcoming Avork ; while
he cannot fail to recall with great regret the times
when he was working in company with the late Howard
Saunders, then engaged in compiling his well-known
Manual of British Birds, or short form of Yarrell.
A. H. E.
9 Harvey Road, Cambridge,
24 Febniary, 1910
a 'A
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
Archa^opteryx lithographica. From T}>e C'amhruhje
Natural Hislorij, Vol. ix
A Falcon. To shew the nomenclature of the external
parts. From The Cambridge Natural History, Vol. ix
The Zoo-Geographical Regions
Ring- ousel
Wheat ear .
Redstart
Robin
Nightingale at nest
Willow- Wren at nest
Reed- Warbler's nest
Grasshopper-Warbler at nest
Dipper
Dipper's nest
Bearded Tit at nest
Long-tailed Tit .
Long-tailed Tit's nest
Coal Tit .
Wren
Wren's nest
Tree- Creeper
Pied Wagtail
Red- backed Shrikes
Waxwing in Zoological Gardens
H. W. Richmond
J. Holmes
K. J. A. Davis
H. W. Richmond
T. L. Smith .
J. Holmes .
W. Farren .
H. W. Richmond
J. Holmes
W. Farren ,
J. Holmes
T. L. Smith .
H. W. Richmond
T. L. Smith .
H. W. Richmond
J. Holmes .
H. W. Richmond
4
14
21
23
25
27
28
32
35
37
40
41
42
44
45
47
52
53
54
50
Gl
64
X
Ill Hi^f ration
«?
PAGE
24.
Spotted Flycatcher
H. W. Richmond .
65
25.
Swallow's nest
?»
67
26.
Sand-martins' burrows
,,
68
27.
Bullfinch ....
J. Holmes .
78
28.
Corn- Bunting
H. W. Richmond .
81
29.
Starling ....
J. Holmes
85
30.
Jay ....
»>
88
31.
Magpie
>?
90
32.
Magpie's nest
K. J. A. Davis
91
33.
Raven's nest
T. L. Smith .
92
34.
Rook ....
J. Holmes .
95
35.
Skylark
»»
96
36.
Sw^ft on nest
H. W. Richmond
100
37.
Goatsucker and eggs .
99
101
38.
Woodpecker's nesting- holes
A. C. V. Gosset
104
39.
Green Woodpecker
J. Holmes
. 106
40.
Kingfisher .
,■>
107
41.
Hoopoes
H. W. Richmond
. 109
42.
Cuckoo
J. Holmes .
. 110
43.
Tawny Owl
f>
114
44.
Griffon Vulture at Zoological Garde
Qs H. W. Richmond
. 116
45.
Marsh-Harrier
J. Holmes
. 118
46.
Golden Eagle at Zoological Garden
g H. W. Richmond
. 122
47.
Greenland Falcon at Zoologica
Gardens ....
. 126
48.
Peregrine Falcon.
. J. Holmes
. 127
49.
Merlin's nest and eggs
. T. L. Smith .
. 12C
50.
Kestrel ....
. J. Holmes .
. 131
51.
Cormorants and nests, on Farn
Islands ....
. H. W. Richmond
. 135
52.
Gannets nesting on Bass Rock
J5
. ISt
53.
Common Heron .
. J. Holmes .
. 13^
54.
White Storks at Zoological C
jardeE
Ls H. W. Richmond
. 14]
I II list I'dfinus
XI
•AOE
55. Spoonbill and Ihisos at ZooIop;ical
Gardens . . . . .
H. W. Pvichinoiul .
143
.")«;.
Mute Swan on nest
T. L. Smith .
145
57.
Sheldrake and nest
J. Holmes .
150
58.
Nest and eggs of Teal .
T. L. Smith .
154
59.
Red-breasted Merganser
H. W. Richmond
162
GO.
Rock- Dove ....
>>
166
61.
Hen Capereaillie .
„
170
G2.
R'xl (J rouse
J. Holmes .
172
(33.
Pheasant ....
,,
175
()4.
Red-legged Partridge .
»»
1 / /
05.
Water-rail on nest
K. J. A. Davis
180
6G.
Coot
J. Holmes .
182
G7.
Coot's nest and eggs .
T. L. Smith .
183
68.
Common Crane at Zoological
Gardens ....
H. W. Richmond
185
69.
Great Bustards at Zoological
Gardens ....
j>
186
70.
Stone-Curlew and eggs
j>
189
71.
Ringed Plover on nest
K. J. A. Davis
191
72.
Lapwing ....
J. Holmes
. 194
73.
Oyster-catcher .
H. W. Richmond
. 196
74.
Oyster-catcher's eggs .
,,
197
75.
Avocets ....
>>
. 198
76.
Woodcock ....
»»
. 200
77.
Common Snipe .
. J. Holmes
. 202
78.
Ruff
. H. W. Richmond
. 209
79.
Redshank's nest and eggs .
. T. L. Smith .
. 213
80.
Curlew on nest .
. R. LI. Bruce,
. 217
81.
Common Tern
. H. W. Richmond
. 224
82.
Herring-Gull
»>
. 228
83.
Guillemots and Kitti wakes on th
Fame Islands .
>»
. 231
Xll
IIIffsfrafioHi
84. Ai'ctic Skua on its eggs . . H. W. Richmond
85. Great Auk, from the Cambridge University specimen
Guillemots on the "Pinnacles,"
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
Fame Islands .
Black Guillemots.
Pujfifins on Fame Islands
Red-throated Diver on its eggs
Great Crested Grebe on nest
Little Grebe's nest
Little Grebe's nest with eggs
covered ....
Storm-Petrel
Fulmars on eggs
H. W. Richmond
K. J. A. Davis
T. L. Smith .
H. W. Richmond .
PAGE
234
237
239
240
242
245
247
249
249
251
255
These illustrations, of which all but the first three are original,
have been reproduced from photographs, taken for the most part
from Nature, but in some cases at the Zoological Gardens or else-
where. It is my pleasant duty to offer my thanks to the many kind
friends who have assisted in this work, especially IVIr H. W. Richmond
of King's College, Cambridge, the authorities of the Zoological
Society, and those of the Natural History Department of the British
Museum.
INTRODUCTION
ON THE CLASS AVES, OR BIRDS IN GENERAL
Birds are distinguished from all other living
creatures by their covering of feathers. They are
moreover bipeds, and have beaks, wings, and tails ; but
these features are not peculiar to them, while the power
of song and the method of reproduction by eggs are also
held in common with other animals. Again, ability
to fly, in the true sense of the term, is a possession of
most species at the present day, but Palaeontology
teaches us that of old there were flying Lizards, and
even now we have flying mammals in the shape of
Bats. None of these points therefore, with the excep-
tion of the first, are unfailing characteristics of the
Class Aves.
There is no doubt that the ancestors of our birds
bore a remarkable resemblance to reptiles, and that,
if they did not actually spring from them, as is now the
orthodox belief, both must have certainly arisen from a
common origin, that is, from some creatures combining
in themselves those points which the two classes have in
common. This is the more evident when we consider
the earliest known fossil bird, now termed Archceo-
pteryx lithographica, which was discovered at Solenhofen
in the kingdom of Bavaria. It was about the size of
a Rook, and was in all probability a tree-loving species.
Introdfiiction
/^
:.^^:
iiiiiliiiiiJii!;:'"- |jiniin;i!!!i;!!i
,4 / , l^
Archaeopteryx lithographica
Introduction 3
It had teeth in both jaws of the short blunt beak, a long
lizard-like tail with twelve big feathers on each side,
wings with both primary and secondary quills, and
perhaps a weak keel to the breast-bone. The first two
of these points, with other features of the skeleton,
distinguish it so sharply from all other birds that it
has been placed in a Subclass by itself, termed Archce-
ornithes (ancient birds).
Certain of the latter-day birds have no keel to the
breast-bone and therefore no attachment for the flight-
muscles — for instance Ostriches, Emus, and Cassowaries;
these have been separated from the others and termed
Eatitce, as opposed to forms vdth. more or less of a keel,
which are known as Carinatce, the latter including all
our British species, as will be seen below.
We cannot here deal with osteology or anatomy,
but the subjoined figure will explain the technical
terms used for the feathers on different parts of a
bird by scientific writers. They do not grow on all
parts of the body alike, but on certain tracts called
pterylce, while the unfeathered parts are named apteria.
It may be of interest to our readers to learn that the
sprouting feather consists of a " barrel " or quill which
bears, a tuft of rays called barbs, and that these again by
splitting ordinarily produce " barbules." The earliest
and softest feathers are those which are collectively
called " down," while below each down-feather is
formed a contour or webbed feather, so that eventually
the latter protrudes with the former at its tip. Sub-
sequently this falls off, as may easily be observed in
the young of any down-clad species. Many nestlings,
however, have little or no down at all ; on the other
hand many down-feathers remain continually in their
1—2
4 hitrodiiction
original state. In contour-feathers the barbules give
rise to '' barbicels " which regularly end in little hooks
crowD (vertex)
hind-head {occiput)
ear coverts , auriculars.
rape {nuc^,
hind-neck {cervix)''
back {dorsum\
scapulars.--^
rump {uropygium)
upper-tail coverts
lore
orbit I forehead {/rons)
\ ,'. i / .nostril
■ -■' ,•■' , cere
\/' .-'' ., ridge {cultnen)
'ity\. maxilla
'\,. cutting edges {tomia)
mandible
gonys-
throat {gu/a)
.""lesser coverts
■fore-neck {jugulum)
. median coverts
" bastard wing {alula)
greater coverts
"•••breast {patus\
secondaries {remiges sicundarO)
A Falcon
To shew the nomenclature of the external parts
that catch in the folded margins of the next row and
serve to produce a firm surface or " web " on each side
Introduction 5
of the shaft. If barbicels, or even barbules, are absent,
the feather is called decomposed : if the barbs also are
wanting, we have bare quills, wires or bristles.
Birds do not, however, perpetually keep the same
coat of feathers, but have periodical " moults," or
annual changes. The young do not always lose their
main quills in their first year ; on the other hand
certain groups of birds not only pass through a regular
autumnal moult, but have a second change of the smaller
feathers in the following sprmg. These processes
account for the difference between the summer and
winter plumages, while some species are known to have
three moults, and therefore a distinct summer, autumn,
and winter coloration. Decorative plumes are generally
assumed in the spring, and are chiefly to be found
among the males, which are in the great majority of
cases brighter — and larger — than the females. The
young are generally similar to the female in colour
before they moult.
There are curious exceptions to the above rules, for
instance in the Phalaropes and Hemipodes the female
is the larger and brighter bird — and there the male
takes her place in courtship and incubation ; in
Penguins the feathers flake off, instead of moulting
properly ; Gannets take some six years to attain their
full adult plumage ; most of the Duck tribe lose all
their wing-quills at once and then become flightless,
while the males temporarily assume the plumage of
the females and are said to suffer "eclipse."
The colour of a bird's plumage varies with the
seasonal moults, for the most part by new feathers
taking the place of the old, but also by the partial or
entire wearing away of the edges, whereas change of the
6 Introduction
actual colouring matter, if indeed it occurs at all, must
be most exceptional. Gloss and iridescence are due to
the structure of the feathers, which may be polished or
shew little ridges under the microscope.
Newly hatched birds often run from the shell, and
are therefore called ''nidifugous " or "nest-deserting,"
but the majority are "nidicolous" or "nest-inhabiting,"
and fly only when fully fledged ; some again of those
which run from the shell can only move to short
distances for a considerable time. These habits are
naturally related to the position of the nest.
With the exceptions already mentioned, and ex-
cluding the time of moult, birds have extraordinary
powers of flight, though these powers are in constant
use only in the case of certain forms, and in others
are put forth periodically ; speed, endurance, and Hke
factors here come to be considered, while the style of
movement, including the amount of wing-action or
oarage, and tail-action or steerage power, varies to
an enormous extent. The greatest example of un-
tiring flight is that of an Albatros, which will follow a
ship for days together ; but the same habit, to a less
extent, must to most people be familiar in the Gull
tribe, which also follow vessels for long periods, and
remain on the wing for hours, when looking out for
food. These birds are not always flapping their wings,
but glide or skim along with intervals of muscular
action ; while it is evident that they are greatly in-
debted to the supporting power of the air and its
force against the flight-feathers. Vultures, Eagles and
Buzzards, Falcons and Hawks have a different kind of
flight ; they either cleave the air at a great pace or
move along slowly but powerfully; and even if they
Introdiietion 7
soar and circle round in the sky, or hover, as in the case
of the Kestrel, their wings are for the most part in a
state of constant motion. Many of this family are
noted for the swiftness with which they dash upon their
prey, so different, for instance, from the soft noiseless
progress of an Owl. Storks and Cranes on migration fly
for huge distances at great elevations ; Swans, Geese,
and Ducks, heavy creatures though they are, move at
a pace that is readily admitted by the gunner who
misses them ; Pheasants, Partridges, and Grouse can
travel at great rates, and the first-named rise with
amazing suddenness from the ground ; among the
Plovers the Lapwing is noted for its noisy "winnowing"
flight, partly due to the wide expanse of its wings ;
Woodpeckers follow an undulating course. Kingfishers
dart from place to place. Larks soar, and almost every
group of birds has different methods, of which these
are but a few striking examples.
Again, the smallest species traverse incredible dis-
tances on migration. .This is not perhaps so marvellous
in the case of the Swallow, which careers through the
air in untiring fashion at any time, and only alights at
intervals, nor in the case of the more powerful Swift,
which seems to be able to remain aloft indefinitely, and
is rarely seen to perch except at the nest or when
roosting ; but it is astonishing beyond measure in
birds of apparently limited flight, such as Thrushes,
Wagtails, Pipits, and dozens of others. Of these the
Golden-crested Wren is perhaps the most w^onderful, for
though the weight to be supported is here inconsider-
able, the delicate structure appears to be little fitted to
cope with the stormy weather that is often prevalent
at the seasons of passage.
8 Introduction
The mechanics of flight are, of course, far beyond
our scope, nor will we attempt to account for all the
different modes of progression, but we may call atten-
tion to the fact that the power of locomotion does not
depend on length or strength of mng alone, while the
shape of a bird's body, which is often provided with
air-sacs, and the more or less hollow bones, are well
calculated to make progress in the air as easy as
possible.
Consideration of flight naturally leads us to the
subject of Migration, which, indeed, we have already
been obliged to mention. From ancient times it has
been one of the marvels of bird-life, being referred to
in the book of Job, by Homer, and the later Greek
and Latin poets, as well as by countless subsequent
writers. Yet we seem to understand the phenomenon
only slightly better than of old, though great efforts
have been made of late years to gain more definite
knowledge of the magnitude and direction of the move-
ments.
In the first place it is necessary to mention three
classes of birds which are often confounded under the
name of migrants. The true or summer migrants, as
regards Britain, are those which, after breeding in our
country, leave it for the winter and return again in spring,
the times of their arrival and departure being more or less
variable quantities. The partial migrants on the other
hand are those which may be said to be more or less
resident in Britain as species, though many individuals
leave us on migration, and many that have not bred
with us visit us at the colder seasons. The birds of
passage are those which are only seen for a shorter or
longer period in autumn, pass on to more genial
Introduction 9
climates, and are frequently again in evidence for
similar periods in spring. The term resident is applied
not only to species which never or very exceptionally
leave us, but also to those which are for the greater
part non-migratory or only share in limited movements
within the kingdom. The word "resident" in fact is
often used in a comparative sense, and many birds of
this description are really partial migrants ; this must
necessarily be the case as long as we cannot safely
assert that the individuals met with in winter are the
same as those breeding with us in summer.
Many attempts have been made to ascertain the
distances travelled on migration and the direction
followed by the flocks, as well as their numbers, the
altitude of flight, the pace in the several cases, the most
favourable weather, and so forth. Much has been dis-
covered with regard to the four last points by continued
observations at Lighthouses and Observatories, coupled
with those made on the rate of flight of individual birds ;
but much less success has attended the constant efforts
to determine the two first points. Mr Eagle Clarke in
particular has spent an immense amount of time at the
seasons of migration at Lighthouses, or on Lightships ;
the keepers of the Lighthouses have aided by trans-
mitting specimens that have been killed at the Lights
from many quarters, while Mr Clarke has prepared an
abstract of such reports ; marked rings have been
fastened to birds' legs at the nesting places by ornitho-
logists in different countries with a view to ascertaining
where they occur at later periods ; and finally watchers
have noted the arrival and departure of the different
species and filled lengthy lists with their observations.
Yet all this good w^ork has but resulted in confirming
10 Introduction
what was already pretty well understood — that is,
the great distances traversed by certain birds, and
the general direction of their movements. On the
other hand a mass of the most valuable information
has been accumulated with regard to the methods of
migration. Species which ordinarily travel in flocks
can be separated from those which are apt to do so singly
or in pairs ; the numbers in the flocks have been proved
often to be incalculable ; the altitude has been reckoned
in certain cases and found to be so great that it is clear
that only the lower flocks are really brought within our
ken ; bad weather has not proved to be in all cases an
obstacle to migration, though the direction of the wind
has always to be considered.
Apart from the distances traversed, the direction of
migration, that is, the broad lines in which different
species travel, is a question of great moment. Birds
which breed to the south of the equator certainly tend
to migrate northwards ; but so Uttle is known of the
habits of these southern forms that we must follow
the course, usual at present, of confining our remarks
to those that breed in the northern hemisphere, while
noting that the movements are of much less extent in
the southern half of the globe.
On migration the young usually start before the
parents, though in exceptional cases, such as that of the
Cuckoo, which is reared more often than not by one of
our resident species, they linger till a later date. Once
started, the direction is distinctly influenced by the
conformation of the land ; coasts, river- valleys, and so
forth making for ease of travel, high mountain ranges
for difficulty ; but even the last-named are not un-
commonly surmounted, and the old idea that straight
Int)'(nlnrft(ni 1 1
lines were more or less followed lias, in tJie minds of
most people, given Wcay to the eertainty that the flocks
gradually spread over large areas, and that considerable
deviations occur, for which at present it seems im-
possible to account. Many birds, such as our Swallows,
are seen to collect together some time before they leave
us, others, such as Woodcocks, arrive simultaneously in
large flocks, while close observation soon shews that a
very great number of other species act similarly, and
that " rushes " continually occur, which are most
strikingly witnessed at Lighthouses. Migration, how-
ever, takes place largely at night.
The causes of migration have been a fruitful source
of discussion, but there is a general agreement that
changes of temperature and the available food-supply
are the most effective. Exceptionally hardy birds,
such as Penguins in the southern oceans and the
Spitsbergen Ptarmigan in the north, especially if they
live on the sea or in districts thinly populated by their
kind, need hardly migrate at all; but, as regards the
more delicate forms, the colder weather that begins in
autumn might of itself be sufficient to drive the birds
from their breeding quarters. This colder weather also
diminishes the supply of insect food, while the season
of berries and other fruits soon comes to an end, and
even the smaller mammals on which some birds feed
almost cease to be seen. It does not follow that
northern species stand in need of very high tempera-
tures during the winter; if so, they would probably
stay in great numbers near the equator, instead of so
constantly passing further to the south, and, as already
stated, the more adaptable species, specialized to that
effect, may remain throughout the year in Arctic or
1 2 Introduction
Antarctic climates. All birds that fly are capable of
migration to a greater or less extent, but all do not
take full advantage of their capabilities.
The return migration in spring to the northerly
breeding haunts may be due to some hereditary instinct
— whatever that expression may mean — or to the fact
that the birds seek what they know to be the places
most favourable for rearing their young in the particular
manner to which they are accustomed, or even to the
pressure of the species of the southern hemisphere
which may be returning from their winter quarters,
though this argument does not seem very convincing.
It has also been suggested that migration may be
due to the same cause as an extension of breeding
range ; that is, the numbers may become too great to
be contained in the original summer haunts, and under
pressure a certain proportion may move further to the
south, when they cannot well go further northward.
But, since it can hardly be contended that there is
absolutely no room left in most areas for the birds' nests,
and since so many of them breed in colonies and
do not at present dispute the possession of every inch
of soil, this argument practically resolves itself into
that concerned with scarcity of food.
Finally it may be observed that the length of the
journeys taken by various species of birds differs
immensely ; many move to comparatively short dis-
tances, while such forms as the Turnstone and the
Sanderhng, which breed in the far north, go so far
south in winter that they may practically be con-
sidered cosmopolitan.
Migration naturally leads to thoughts of geographical
distribution, and care must be taken not to confound
Introduction 1.3
the two questions. By distribution we mean, unless it
is otherwise stated, the limits within which a species
ranges in the breeding season, just as tlie bird's range
is, if unqualified, taken to mean its summer range.
Even in Britain distribution is often limited, as in the
case of the Snow Bunting of the Scottish highlands or
the Nightingale of England ; but the range of each
species will be found given in detail below, and need
not delay us here. Many birds throughout the world
are extremely local ; many are only found in deserts,
isolated islands, and so forth, while the Red Grouse may
be given as the example nearest to our doors, as it is
absolutely confined, as a native species, to the United
Kingdom. But Britain is a comparatively small area,
and it is necessary to survey the whole globe in distri-
butional questions. This is far beyond our scope, and
we need only state that, taking into consideration birds
alone, Dr P. L. Sclater suggested a division of the
world into six Regions, the Palsearctic, Ethiopian, Indian,
Australian, Nearctic, and Neotropical (see map), in each
of which he considered the forms — taken as a whole —
to be more closely connected with each other than with
those of another Region. The Palaearctic and Nearctic
(of the Old and the New Worlds) together form the
Holarctic ; New Zealand may be considered separately.
If our readers ever proceed from the study of British
Birds to that of foreign species, they will be greatly
struck by the prevalence of very peculiar forms in
certain countries, by the wonders of the Arctic and
Antarctic areas, by the marvels of desert and island
life, by curious extinct birds, by extraordinary habits
of courtship, sexual display, parasitism, and many other
subjects, but even within our islands they may spend
14
Introduction
a pleasant and useful lifetime in observing the species
they meet with, in protecting them and carefully noting
their habits, which will often be found to be much more
peculiar than is usually supposed to be the case. Their
cleverness is not uncommonly remarkable, and their
structure admirably adapted to the needs of their
The Zoo-Geographical Regions
existence, while the changes of plumage are of them-
selves a lifelong study and are none too well understood
even at the present day, especially with regard to the
young bird. No doubt all the species on our list cannot
be found in any one locaUty, but there is no district
where much good work may not be done.
CLASSIFICATION
Birds may roughly be classed as land birds and
water birds, but there are many that can hardly be
included properly in either category ; it is still less
possible to divide them by their dwelling-places, as
those of the woods, fields, shore, and so forth ; we
require some formal classification into " Families "
under the larger groups called "Orders," though it is
clear that no linear arrangement can be entirely
satisfactory, or will shew all the relations between the
members of the "class " Aves. We will therefore give
here the scheme used in the following pages, which is
almost the same as that in Howard Saunders' Manual
of British Birds. The nomenclature is almost exactly
that of the new List of the British Ornithologists' Union.
AVES CARINAT^
ORDER I. PASSERES
Family Turdid^ Family Oriolid^
Subfamily Tnrdince Family Lanhd^
Subfamily Sylviinoi Family Ampelid^
Subfamily Accentorince Family Muscicapid.^
Family CiNCLiDiE Family HmuNDiNiDiE
Family Panurid^ Family Fringillid^
Family Parid^e Subfamily Fringillince
Family Regulid^ Subfamily Emberizince
Family Sittid^ Family Sturnid^
Family Troglodytid^ Family CoRViDiE
Family Certhhd^ Family Alaudid^
Family Motacillid^
16 Classification
ORDER II. PICARI^
Family Cypselidjs Family Alcedinid^
Family Capreviulgid^ Family Corachd^
Family Picid^ Family Upupid^
Subfamily lyngince Family CucuUD^
Subfamily Picince
ORDER III. STRIGES
Family Striged^
ORDER IV. ACCIPITRES
Family Vtjlturid^ Family Falconid^
ORDER V. STEGANOPODBS
Family Pelecanid^
ORDER VI. HERODIONES
Family Ardeid^ Family Ibidid^
Family Ciconhd^ Family Plataleid^
ORDER VII. ODONTOGLOSS-^
Family Phcenicopterid.?e
ORDER VIII. ANSERES
Family Anatid^
Subfamily Anserince
Subfamily Cygnince
Subfamily Anatince
Subfamily Fuligulince
Subfamily Mergince
ORDER IX. COLUMB^
Family Coltjmbid^
ORDER X. PTEROCLETES
Family Ptbroclid^
Classifica t ion 1 7
ORDER XI. GALLING
Family Tetraonid.e Family Phasianid^
ORDER XII. GRALL^
Suborder Pulicarise Suborder Otides
Family Kallid.e Family Otidid.^
Suborder Grues
Family Gruid^
ORDER XIII. LIMICOLJE
Family (Edicnemid.^ Family Charadrhd.e
Family Glareolid^e
ORDER XIV. GAVIJB
Family Larid/E Family STERCORARnDiE
Subfamily Sternince
Subfamily Larince
ORDER XV. ALCjga
Family Alcid^
Subfamily Alcince
Subfamily Fralerculince
ORDER XVI. PYGOPODES
Family Colymbid^ Family Podicipedid^
ORDER XVII. TUBINARES
Family Procell.iriid.e Family Diomedeid^
Family Puffinid^
B. B.
18 Order I
ORDER I. PASSERES
This Order includes all the true singing birds, in
which the vocal organs are most highly developed ;
moreover in every respect they certainly represent the
highest stage of development in the Class. The members
are of all sizes and colours, and for the most part haunt
trees or bushes, so that they have been somewhat
arbitrarily called perching birds, though perching is not
a habit peculiar to them. The toes are all on the same
level and never webbed ; the young are born naked and
helpless ; but these characteristics will not alone deter-
mine the Order, which contains about half of the birds
that are at present known.
It may be well to mention three important points
before gomg further, to prevent future confusion.
First, the descriptions of the Orders must be taken to
refer to British forms alone ; second, the range of a
bird is used in the sense of its breeding range ; third,
what is commonly termed a bird's leg is mainly its foot,
the real leg being often hidden by the plumage. The
word foot is hereafter used in its correct sense.
Family TURDID-^, or Thrushes, Warblers,
and their Allies
Subfamily Turdinse, or Thrushes, Chats, Redstarts,
Bluethroats, Robins, and Nightingales
This Subfamily is very closely allied to that of the
Warblers (Sylviince), but differs in the more or less spotted
condition of the young, above and below, imtil their
autumn moult ; of this the Robin is a good instance.
Passer es 19
Three typical Thrushes are residents or partial
migrants in Britain. Of these the Mistle, i.e. Mistletoe-
thrush (Tardus viscivorus), is the largest, and is especially
noticeable in early spring, when its loud churring notes,
coupled with a harsher song than that of the Common
Thrush, may be heard in the roughest weather. Hence
it is known as the Stormcock, while it is often called a
Feltyfare in mistake for the Fieldfare. In plumage it
is greyer than the common thrush, with white instead of
orange-buif under-wing ; in flight it is swifter ; in food
it shews a greater liking for fruit and berries, including
those of the mistletoe. The young have much white on
the ^^ing-coverts. The Mistle-thrush is a bird of the
hedgerow and copse, not of thick woods, and has spread
to the northern islands of Scotland and to Ireland
during the last century or so, ^vith the increase of
plantations. The nest, a solid structure of grass and
moss, lined with finer materials, is seldom placed near
the ground, but occupies some conspicuous fork of a
branch ; the four or five greenish or reddish white eggs
are finely marked with rusty red and lilac. This species
is an early breeder, but is certainly to a large extent
migratory ; it is a shy bird, though bold at the nest.
It occurs throughout most of the Palsearctic region,
but not within the Arctic circle.
The Common or Song-thrush (T. musicus clarkii) is
too familiar to need description either as regards its
plumage or its varied song. Its foreign range is not very
dissimilar to that of the last species, but the continental
form is distinguishable from the British in coloration,
and we are thus able to gain a rough idea of the number
of individuals that arrive from abroad in autumn or
leave us for the winter, though some are undoubtedly
2—2
20 Order I
resident. With us it ranges even to Shetland, and
occurs fairly high on the hills, the well-known mud-
lined nest being occasionally placed on the ground, but
generally in trees and shrubs. It lays from four to six
blue eggs with black or brownish spots. Except during
the moult the song may be heard at any season, while
the bird has its first brood exceptionally early in the
year. The food consists of berries and insects, worms,
slugs, and snails, especially the last, which are usually
smashed on some favourite stone.
The Blackbird (T, merula) is so called from the cock,
which is black with orange bill, while everyone knows
that the hen and young are dull brown with the bill
dusky. When feeding on the ground this species has
not quite the " hop and run " action of the thrush, but
its food is the same and its flight similar. It is, how-
ever, a bird of lower levels, constantly flushed from
hedgerows or bushes, and less often sitting on tree-tops
to sing. The song is comparatively flute-like and
mellow. The nest of dry grass and mud, with grass
lining, contains about five green eggs with small rufous
markings, and is placed at no great height from the
ground or even on it. Common throughout Britain and
a partial migrant, the Blackbird is not found outside
Europe, except in Asia Minor, Palestine, and north-west
Africa, with the Atlantic islands.
In the hilly moorlands from Cornwall and Wales to
northern England and Scotland it is represented by the
Ring-ousel or Hill-blackbird {T. torquatus), character-
ized by the white chest, less conspicuous in the female
and still less in the young, and also by the yellowish
bill with black tip. This migratory species arrives
about April and leaves us by October, with the exception
Passeres
21
of belated individuals, while it only breeds in northern
Europe, the central and southern European form being
distinguishable. Its ringing note or whistle is a
characteristic sound of our higher hill-slopes, but the
performer is less often seen than heard, for it is a
shy bird except at the nest. This is like that of the
Blackbird, but is placed among rocks, in heather, or
Ring-ousel
on banks of streamlets; the eggs are brighter both in
the ground-colour and the larger spots. Berries form
a considerable part of the food, especially on passage,
which the birds compass easily.
We now come to two migratory species, common
with us in winter, the Redwing and the Fieldfare, which
somewhat resemble a small Song-thrush and ^listle-
thrush respectively. The Redwing (T. iliacus) may.
22 Order I
however, be distinguished by the red, in place of orange -
buff, below the wing and the broad whitish stripe above
the eye; the Fieldfare {T. pilaris) by the distinctly
grey head and rump and the yellower breast. They
both breed in northern Europe and in Asia eastward to
the Lena river, but the former alone nests in Iceland
and the Fseroes, while the latter ranges further south
to central Germany and Austria-Hungary, and often
forms colonies. The nests and eggs are much like those
of the Blackbird. These Thrushes come in large flocks
in October or earlier, and leave about April ; the
Fieldfares keeping more together and being easily
recognisable by their harsh chattering cries as they fly
about the fields and hedgerows, whereas the Redwings
separate and have a more melodious call. They are
shy birds of swift flight, often shot for the table in
winter, and not uncommonly killed by severe cold, the
Redwing being the first to succumb to the effect of the
weather.
Very different in appearance from the true Thrushes
are the Chats, Redstarts and Bluethroats, the Redbreast
and the Nightingale ; nevertheless they are the con-
necting links with the Warblers, which are usually on
anatomical and other grounds included in the Family
Turdidce as a Subfamily Sylviinoe. The habits vary,
but the food seems always, if we leave the Robin out
of consideration, to consist of insects and their larvae,
spiders, worms, and small moUusks. The Chats are
conspicuous and lively birds, with jerky flight, pleasant
little songs, and sharp clinking call-notes that explain
their name, the largest being the Wheatear, i.e. white-
rump {(Enantlie cenanthe), which is locally abundant on
moorlands, downs, and sandy warrens. It is one of our
Passeres
23
earliest spring migrants, arriving in mid-March, and
making pretty straight for its breeding quarters, while
it leaves the country by October. But it is not till
April or May that it builds its nest of grass lined with
fur, hair, or feathers, which is placed in a rabbit-burrow
or similar excavation in most cases, though it may be
Wheatear
in holes in walls or peat-stacks on the moors, while a little
building material at the entrance generally betrays
the site. The five or six eggs are very pale blue, rarely
with a few purplish specks. The Wheatear, from its
similar note, is often confounded with the Stonechat,
but may readily be distinguished by its grey back,
black cheeks, wings, and tail, white rump and breast.
24 Order I
The female is browner and buff below. The range
extends over the whole Palsearctic region from Jan
Mayen and Mongolia southwards and even to the
Azores, but a larger race inhabits north-east America
and Greenland and visits Britain on migration.
The Whinchat {Saxicola rubetra) is found in rough
grassy places of various descriptions, with a preference
for moors and newly planted copses ; it is mottled with
brown and buff above and is fawn-coloured below,
having over the eye a distinct white streak — which is
buff in the female — and some white on the wing and tail.
The nest, usually placed near the base of a small shrub
or large herbaceous plant, is a mossy structure with a
lining of fine grass, and contains about six green-blue
eggs, generally with rufous spotting. The hen-bird sits
very closely, while when disturbed both parents flit
before the intruder, perching on the shrubs, and re-
peatedly uttering their alarm note of " u-tick." Breed-
ing takes place about mid-May, but the bird arrives
a month earlier and stays till October. Abroad it
ranges through Europe to west Siberia, though it keeps
to the hill country in the south.
The Stonechat {8. rubicola) should really be called
the Whinchat or Furzechat, as it is most common
among furze, where it may be seen throughout the year,
though as a species it is partly migratory. The cock,
a brown bird with black head, a ruddy breast, a white
patch on the wing and a partial white collar, is very
conspicuous as it flits in a fussy way from one perch
to another, uttering its clicking notes as a warning to
the hen, which is almost brown. The nest is placed
among heather, rough grass, or very low gorse, and is
made of moss, grass and so forth, with a finer lining ;
Passer es l^:*
the five or six eggs are greenish with rufous spots,
usually placed in a ring. They may be found from
early April to August, so doubtless two broods are
reared in a season. The nest is well concealed and the
hen sits closely. Our bird is confined to Europe and
north Africa, but has several near relatives.
^^^^KStf^l^lt^^m 's^^^ ''^'
^mz.
Redstart
The Redstart or Fire-tail (Phoenicurus phoenicurus)
is well know^n throughout England and Scotland from
April to September, but is rare in Ireland and hardly
reaches our northern isles. It is by no means shy and
often very bold at the nest, w^hile a bird of active ways
with grey back, white forehead, black face and throat,
chestnut breast, and orange-red rump and tail, wliich
26 Order I
it is always flirting, is not easily overlooked, even in
the wooded country which it chiefly haunts. Its sweet
low warble is perhaps most commonly heard in the
valleys of our northern hills; the nest of moss, grass,
and roots, lined with hair and feathers, is generaUy built
in a hole in a rotten tree or wall, and contains some six
pale blue eggs. The bird has a wide foreign range from
northern Norway to Lake Baikal, and southward
throughout Europe to the Atlas mountains in north
Africa, but complications arise from the existence of
several closely allied forms. The hen has a plain head
and brownish back.
The Black Redstart (P. tiiys), as its name implies, is
black with a red tail, the upper surface being somewhat
greyer with a white wing-patch and the two central tail
feathers brown, as they are in the Common Redstart.
To travellers in Germany it is a well-known bird, for it
builds its nest round houses and sheds, while it is specially
interesting to us as having been suspected of breeding
in England and being a frequent autumn visitor. The
female resembles that of the last species but is greyer ;
the male has a richer song ; the eggs are white. The
range extends from the Baltic and the Urals to
Rumania, Palestine, and north Africa.
The Red-spotted Bluethroat (Cyanosylvia suecica) is
an irregular autumn and rare spring migrant, which
deserves special notice as linking the Redstarts to the
Robin and the Nightingale, and so to the Warblers. It
has the general habits and nest of the Robm, while the
song is little inferior to that of the Nightingale, and the
eggs are similar. The male is brown, with white eye-
stripe, rufous rump, and blue throat ; the throat has
a red central spot and is bounded by black, followed by
Passeres
27
a rufous patch above the white belly : the female has
little blue on the throat and a brown chest-band. This
species only breeds in the north of Europe and Asia, but
there is a form with a white instead of a red spot which
carries on the range to France and west Russia.
Our familiar Robin or Redbreast (Erithacus rubeciila
melophilus) needs no description; its plumage, habits,
Robin
and song are equally well known. It may be mentioned,
however, that it is not known to breed in the Faeroes or
Shetlands, though it ranges from north Europe and
west Asia to Africa and the Atlantic islands, while the
continental race is clearly distinguishable and visits
us in winter and the African form has also been separ-
ated. Holes in banks, walls and trees are utilized for
the nest of leaves and moss lined with liaii*, while the
28
Order I
bird has a great fancy for an old can or box, as
occasionally happens with the Wheatear and Stone-
chat. The first brood may be hatched early in April ;
the eggs are white mth rufous spots.
The Nightingale {Luscinia megarliynclia) is no doubt
our most wonderful songster, though it is approached
by the Thrush and nearly equalled by the Blackcap and
Nightingale
the Garden Warbler. Its song, however, gives way to
a harsh churr when the young are hatched, as in the
case of so many Warblers. Arriving in April it soon
becomes common in eastern England, though less
abundant westward, and barely known in Devon,
Hereford and Cheshire. Exceptionally it has been
found breeding in Glamorgan and north Yorkshire, as
well as on one occasion in Northumberland. Though
Passer es i29
the Nightingale remains with us till September, it is
little seen after the breeding season, and even then
chiefly as a reddish brown bird which pops out in front
of the observer and flies along to a neighbouring hedge
or bush. The curious nest is made outside of dry
leaves, usually of the oak, and is placed in vegetation
on the ground, or close to it ; the five or six eggs are
olive coloured or greenish with olive-brown markings.
The range extends from central Europe to Asia Minor
and north Africa.
Subfamily Sylviinse, or Warblers
In treating of the Warblers, the first point to notice
is that all students of bird-life must learn their notes in
the field. We cannot pretend to reproduce them here,
and the syllables given to represent them in books are
rarely understood alike by any two persons. This is,
moreover, true of most bird- voices ; we may truthfully
talk of a croak, a click, a hoot, a warble, and so forth,
or speak of such as harsh or sweet, but attempts to
imitate them on paper are sure to mislead. Warblers
live on slugs, worms, spiders, insects — aquatic or other-
wise— and their larvae, according to the species, and
some on fruits also ; insects are often captured on the
wing, while the smaller members of the group flit
characteristically among the leaves of trees, hunting
for their prey.
With this prelude we may proceed to the Common
Whit ethr oat (Sylvia communis), the familiar species of
our more open woods and roadsides, easily recognised by
its early arrival, its habit of springing up a few feet in
the air to utter its monotonous notes before settling again
on the hedgerow, its white throat and its ruddy brown
30 Order I
colour above. The more shy Lesser Whitethroat (S.
curruca) has a white instead of a buff breast and a very
much finer song of a somewhat similar character ; it is
always a more local bird, not nesting in Ireland, very
seldom north of the Border and sparsely in Wales, while
the commoner species is universal south of Sutherland
and Caithness. Similarly, outside of Britain, the range
of both covers Europe south of lat. 65° N. and south-
west Asia, though in some parts the smaller bird is the
more abundant. Moreover it extends to Siberia, while
its congener breeds in Algeria and Tunisia ; but all
depends on the number of forms we recognise, as
several are closely aUied. The flimsy nest of grass-
stems and cleavers is placed in low bushes, brambles
and hedges ; but the Common Whitethroat is fond of
nettles and coarse herbage to conceal its nursery, while
that of the Lesser is more often in young hawthorns,
blackthorns, and similar situations, and seems absurdly
small in comparison. Its five or six eggs, moreover,
have a clearer white ground than those of its congener,
with olive and brown rather than green markings, and
resemble those of the larger Garden Warbler.
The Blackcap Warbler (S. atricapiUa) and the Garden
Warbler {S. simplex) are in song worthy rivals of the
Nightingale, which some may even consider inferior,
though it certainly has more variety of phrases. But,
while the songs of the two species may be easily mistaken,
the male Blackcap with its black crown, grey nape and
under parts can never be taken for the ohve-brown
Garden Warbler with its whitish lower surface. The
female, which has a red-brown instead of a black head,
is particularly hard to identify in a dark thicket ; yet
this is often necessary, as the nests are similar and the
Passeres 31
whitish eggs with yellowish brown spots may correspond
exactly. It is generally ])ossible to make a correct
guess at the nest, which in the Garden Warbler is less
flimsy and better lined with hair, but the very green
variety of its eggs and the rare red variety of those of
the Blackcap can alone be guaranteed without a sight
of the parent. All the Warblers so far mentioned arrive
about April and leave us in September, but the Common
Whitethroat is the earliest and the Garden Warbler the
latest. The Blackcap and Garden Warblers both range
in Britain up to mid-Scotland, and the former a little
further north ; they vary in abundance locally, but
agree in being scarce in Ireland. They breed over
Europe, except the more Arctic portions, and in north-
west Africa, but the eastern limits in Asia seem to lie
in w^estern Siberia, and only the Blackcap nests in the
Atlantic islands.
The Dartford Warbler {Melizophilus undatus) is a
jolly little dark grey bird with chestnut breast, which
is usually seen flitting restlessly about the gorse bushes
or tall heather ; it is now scarcer with us than formerly,
and is confined to East Anglia, Shropshire, and the
south of England. Abroad it occurs in north-west
France and in barely separable forms to Italy, Morocco,
and Algeria. Though skulking at other times this local
resident is often bold enough in the breeding season,
when the cock utters his scolding notes from a spray
just ahead of the intruder, and shifts his quarters
but slightly when disturbed. The nest and eggs much
resemble those of the Whitethroat, but the latter are
somewhat longer with more olive or even reddish
markings. The site of the nest is in a gorse bush or
heather clump, while in winter the birds move from place
32
07'der I
to place for shelter, as they are the reverse of hardy.
The foreign range is complicated by the presence in the
Mediterranean of the more uniformly grey Marmora's
Warbler.
Willow Wren
The WiUow Warbler or Willow "Wren" (Phyllo-
scopus trochilus) is the commonest of three little yellowish
Warblers which appear very early in spring and leave
under ordinary circumstances in September. It is no
less abundant in the north than in the south and in
Ireland, and even breeds in Shetland, while abroad the
typical form ranges from Lapland and north Russia to
the Mediterranean, except for the Balkan Peninsula.
The Chiff chaff (P. collybita), a more local bird, which
barely extends to northern Scotland, is only found in
its typical form from France and Germany southward
in Europe and is replaced east of the Volga by the
Siberian Chiff chaff, known also to breed in north
Russia. The Scandinavian Chiffchaff occupies north
and east Europe, and a smaller form is found in the
Canaries. The Wood Wren (P. sibilatrix) is the rarest of
our three species, and prefers oak woods and hill-valleys ;
it is a somewhat less northern bird than the Willow Wren,
but reaches the Mediterranean. All three are yellowish
green above and lighter below, with a yellow streak
over the eye, but the distinctly yellow breast of the
Wood Wren clearly distinguishes it from the other two,
in which the breast is yellowish white. The Chiffchaff
is duller and smaller than the Willow Wren mth darker
feet. But, apart from plumage, they are easily recogni-
sable by their notes and breeding habits. The song of
the Willow Wren consists of a few sweet reiterated notes,
occasionally swelling into a song like that of the Garden
Warbler ; the Wood Wren, after a similar start, ends with
a long drawn trill; the Chiffchaff says "chiff-chaff"
most distinctly. The song is usually accompanied by
a quivering of the wings : the hens merely utter a
plaintive sound. The nests are oval balls of grass with
a side entrance ; but those of the Willow Wren and Wood
Wren are very seldom placed above the ground, while
that of the Chiffchaff is nearly always in a low bramble,
small shrub, fern or grass-tuft ; the W>.!(^od Wren lacks the
E. B
34 Order I
usual feather lining and has five or six eggs thickly spotted
with purplish black, the spots in the ChifFchaff being
also purplish though sparse, and in the Willow Wren red.
The last-named does not coat its nest with dry leaves,
as the others constantly do. These three birds are
regularly seen foraging over the green leaves on the
higher branches of trees for flies, aphides, and the like,
a habit which has given them the name of Phylloscopus
or " leaf -investigator " ; the Chiff chaff is the earliest to
arrive, the Wood Wren the latest.
We now come to another small group of three
migratory Warblers, which visit us between the latter
part of April and September ; their general coloration
is reddish brown with huffish white under parts, and
they have a conspicuously rounded tail. Careful atten-
tion is necessary on the part of a beginner to distinguish
them by their hurried babbling notes, apart from diffi-
culties with regard to the plumage. All are aquatic,
but the Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus streperus) is seldom
found except in beds of reeds (Phragynitis vulgaris)
and does not range north of Yorkshire, or to Ireland :
abroad it occurs from south Sweden and south-western
Siberia down to the Mediterranean, north-west Africa,
and Baluchistan. The Marsh Warbler (A. palustris)
has a shghtly more southern foreign range, and is at
present only recorded as breeding mth us in Somerset,
Gloucester, Worcester, Oxford, Wilts, Hants, Sussex,
Kent, Surrey, Bucks, Cambs, and Norfolk; it usually
haunts osier holts and damp copses, and eschews reed-
beds. The Sedge Warbler (A, scJioenobcenus) breeds
throughout Britain in suitable places, but always near
water, though a small ditch may suffice, whereas the
last-named species has been known to nest in cornfields.
/*(isseres
35
Abroad the Sedge Warbler extends throughout Europe
from 68° — 70° N. lat. to the Mediterranean, and west-
ward in Asia to north Siberia and the Altai mountains.
Reed Warbler's nest
Experts themselves often fail to distinguish skins of the
Reed and Marsh Warblers, but the latter is more olive
above and has brownish flesh-coloured in place of
3—2
36 Order I
purplish brown legs. Both these birds are nearly white
below and have an obscure buff streak over the eye :
the Sedge Warbler on the contrary has a buff breast,
a distinct yelloAvish white eye-streak, and a streaked
instead of a plain crown. The respective haunts and
habits are, however, characteristic, while the birds,
though in constant motion except when singing, can
scarcely be called shy and are easily observed. When not
built in herbaceous plants or bushes, the Reed Warbler's
nest is slung between three or four reeds standing in
water, and is an elongated structure with a deep cup, lined
with w^ool or hair, to contain the four or five greenish
white eggs with olive and grey blotching; it almost
dwindles to a point below, and is a curiously hard-looking
fabric, which, it may be remarked, is one of the most
favourite nurseries of the Cuckoo. The Marsh Warbler
seems independent of w^ater, except that, in the same
way as its congeners, it reUes largely for food on aquatic
insects and their larvae, while the flatter nest is never in
reeds but is usually placed in rough herbage or small
willowS; meadow-sweet and willow-herb being specially
favoured sites. The eggs are distinguishable by their
white ground-colour and clearer markings. The Sedge
Warbler is still less particular as to site or materials, but
generally uses some moss ; its five or six eggs, moreover,
are of an almost uniform yellowish brown, owing to the
closeness of the spotting. They often have a black streak
at the larger end, as in the similar eggs of the Yellow
Wagtails. Breeding takes place early in May ; while the
Reed and Marsh Warblers do not begin, as a rule, till
late in the month.
Most people have heard of the Grasshopper Warbler
or "Fen Reeler" (Locustella ncevia), so called from its
Passer es 37
notes, \\ hiili resenibk; the sounds made by a cricket, a
grasshopper, or the line running off a fisherman's reel.
Certainly few would believe that they come from a bird's
throat. Normally it only sings for a couple of months
Grasshopper Warbler
after its arrival in mid- April, yet it does not leave the
country till September, though, being local and irregular
in appearance, it may easily be overlooked. Moreover
it is a skulking species, which loves sedgy or rushy flats
or coarse grass on banks and at hedge-bottoms, while
38 Order J
it does not despise clearings in woods and heathery
moors. Imaginative ^^^:•iters even talk of it creeping
like a mouse. Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire and the
Norfolk Broads are favourite resorts, but the discovery
of the nest, always a matter of difficulty, there becomes
almost an impossibility except to sedge-cutters. It is
composed of grass and a quantity of moss, and contains
five or six lovely white eggs with dull pink stippling.
This Warbler has a characteristic habit of spreading its
tail on being flushed from the nest, a fact which draws
attention to an otherwise inconspicuous brown bird with
darker streaks above and lighter tints below. It ranges
in Britain as far north as Skye, and over the continent
of Europe south of the Baltic, with south Norway and
Finland ; but eastward the limits are doubtful. The
food consists mainly of aquatic insects and their larvse.
Savi's Warbler (L. luscinioides) was only recognised
as distinct by Savi in 1824, though Temminck had
previously seen a Norfolk specimen and determined it
as a Reed Warbler. To our country it was always an
uncommon summer migrant, but it probably bred
regularly in the Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, and Hunting-
donshire fens, if not in Suffolk, until its disappearance
in 1856. Southward from Holland, where it is now
much rarer than formerly, it is found scattered over
Europe, reaching to north-west Africa and west
Turkestan. Savi's Warbler resembles its congener in
general habits, but has a far harsher note ; in colour it
is of a plainer reddish brown. The nest is most
peculiar, being composed of broad sedge leaves or of
the grass Glyceria aquatica ; the eggs are marked with
purplish grey instead of pink.
Pdssrres 1^9
Subfamily Accentorinae, or Hedge-sparrows
We will now turn to the Hedge-sparrow and the
Dipper, though the former has sometimes been placed
nearer to the Thrushes, and the latter may possibly be
akin to the Wren : the truth, which we should constantly
bear in mind, being that no linear arrangement can
ever accord exactly with nature, since a bird often
exhibits striking affinity to species other than those to
which it stands next in a list.
The Hedge-sparrow {Accentor modularis) is a resident
or partially migratory species, the numbers of which are
vastly increased by immigrants from the north in the
cold season. It breeds far up our hills, though not in
some of our bleakest islands, and occupies Europe from
the northern limit of forest-growth to north Spain, as
well as the Caucasus and Persia. Tts shuffling gait on
the ground, its weak flight, its mossy nest and five or
six deep blue eggs are matters of ordinary knowledge,
but its sweet note is sometimes mistaken for the less
melodious strains of the Robin. The Hedge-sparrow
breeds very early and rears more than one brood in the
year, while it often acts as foster-parent to the Cuckoo.
The nest maybe found in low^ hedge-bushes, shrubs, heaps
of brushwood, and the like, and almost invariably has a
foundation of little dry twigs. In winter the bird will
eat almost any scraps that are given to it, but the natural
food is of insects, worms, spiders, and seeds. The
colour is brown with blue-grey head and lower surface.
Family CINCLID^, or Dippers
The Dipper {Cinclus cinclus) is one of many forms
that occur in suitable spots throughout Europe and Asia,
and extend to the Atlas mountains. By some our species
40 Order I
C. c. hritamiicus is considered distinct. The Water-
Ousel, or Water-Crow, to use local names, is one of
the most interesting of British birds from its striking
appearance, its unusual habits, and its peculiar nest ;
it is a nice fat brown bird with a white chest and chest-
nut belly, which may be seen flitting from boulder to
boulder on our rapidly running hill-streams, bobbing
about on its stony perch and constantly diving into the
Dipper
water, where it uses its legs and wings below the surface.
Naturally it is not suited by our southern and eastern
counties, but it is found from Cornwall and Wales
northward to the Orkneys, and also in Ireland, while
its cheery song may be heard even in the severest
weather in its upland haunts, which it seldom cares to
leave. Its food consists of small mollusks, spiders,
beetles, and insect-larvse, and to some extent of fish-
spawn, but its utility far outweighs its harmfulness.
Passeres 1 1
The nest is a big roiiiul hall of moss, oi- moss and grass,
lined with leaves, generally of the oak or beech, and
has a side entrance ; it is built in a hole in a wall or
bank, among protruding tree-roots on river sides or
not uncommonly beneath a bridge or close to a water-
wheel ; in many cases it is stuck against a rock or large
Dipper's nest
boulder with the slightest possible support. The five
or six somewhat pointed white eggs are laid from March
onwards, and a third set has even been known to have
been deposited in the same nest,
at once.
The fledglings swim
42 Order I
Family PANURID^, or "Bearded Tits"
This remarkable family, of doubtful position, con-
tains only one British member (Panurns biarmicus), a
Bearded Tit
slender and chiefly fawn-coloured bird with long black
cheek-patches and an inordinately long tail, from which
it is called " Reed-Pheasant " in Norfolk. The male has
a grey head, the female lacks the black on the face. It
Pftssms 43
is now coiilined in Britain to the Inroads and Devonshire,
but used to breed in other of the eastern and southern
counties, and ranges abroad from temperate Europe to
central Asia or even Manchuria, though limited by the
fact that it requires large reed-beds to dwell in. These
it seldom leaves even in the hardest weather, and there
pairs or little parties may be seen by anyone who punts
slowdy past their haunts, flitting along the tops of the
reeds, uttering their curious sharp note of "ping-ping,"
and soon dropping down in the vegetation. This note
may even be heard in winter, and is only clearly audible
on a calm day ; in summer close observers may watch
the hen building her nest of broad sedges or reeds and
the cock bird supplying her with dry reed-flowers for the
lining. The site chosen is always on the ground among
the reeds, generally in open spots which hardly bear a
man's weight, and eggs may be found from April to
August ; they are round and white with dehcate blackish
brown scrawls, and are about six in number. Many
nests are cut over by the marshmen. The food consists
chiefly of small moUusks and seeds of the reed, so that
in almost every particular this species differs from the
remainder of the Titmice, while its anatomy is certainly
not that of a Parus. It has been introduced of recent
years at Hornsea Mere in Yorkshire.
Family PARID^, or Tits
Titmice are familiar winter-guests of the house-
holder, and are resident in our islands, or migrate to
a comparatively small extent ; in fact different scientific
names have been given to distinguish them from tlie
various continental or Asiatic forms. All but one belong
to the genus Paras, and in strictness should be called
44
Order I
Titmouses (German " meise "), though we hope that
no one will follow such a practice. Our Long-tailed Tit
(^gitJialus caudatus roseus) is a local race of jE. caudatus
i^
Long-tailed Tit
of Europe and Asia, and may also breed in France
and the Pyrenees. It is distributed as far north in
Scotland as trees occur, and over the rest of the kingdom
is very seldom absent, though locally uncommon. The
/^f,S'.s7'>7'S
l.-J
well-know II nest is an oval ball of moss covered with
lichens and warmly lined with feathers, while the beauti-
ful fabric contains from seven to ten snudl white eggs,
Long-tailed Tit's nest
generally with indistinct pink spots. Forks of lichen-
covered birches are a favourite site in north Scotland ;
but thick hedges, gorse-bushes, small shrubs or the ivy
on trees are commonly utilized ; in various counties the
46 Order I
bird is known as the " Bottle-tit " or "Feather-poke."
After breeding these Tits keep in flocks, seeking for
insects and larvae, while they are more often seen than
heard, for their notes are gentle ; they fly pretty well,
though unsteadily. The extremely long tail distinguishes
them from other Tits, as does the black and white
coloration, relieved by a rosy rump and belly best seen
at close quarters.
The remaining species of Titmouse are all similar in
their ways, flocking in winter, climbing about the trees,
prying about the bark or leaves for insect-food, and
laying from flve to eight white eggs with bright red
spots. But in certain points they differ. The three
commonest are the Great, Coal, and Blue Tits, the Coal
Tit usually predominating in pine-woods, and the others
elsewhere. The Great Titmouse, or Oxeye (Parus major),
which becomes rare in the north and north-west of
Scotland, is sufficiently distinguished from its congeners
by the broad black stripe down the yellowish under
parts, though its black head and white cheeks are most
conspicuous. In different forms it breeds south of the
Arctic circle to the Mediterranean Islands, north-west
Africa, Palestine, Persia, Burma, China, and Japan,
while the British form has recently been separated from
the others. It makes a nest of moss, surmounted by
a felted mass of wool, fur and hair, in a hole in a tree
or waU, when it does not choose a pump, a wooden
letter-box, or other extraordinary situation. Its notes
are comparatively harsh, and a rasping cry of two
repeated notes which it often utters is commonly
mistaken for that of the Chiffchaff ; it also imitates the
voices of other birds. The Great Tit is no doubt guilty
of spoiling many fruit-buds, which may or may not
Passe rrs \7
contain harmful insects ; it also eats peas, nuts, and
seeds to some extent, and is always attracted by meat-
bones, suet, cocoa-nuts and tlie like, hung up for it in
Coal Tit
winter. Occasionally it will even murder another bird,
but insects are its staple food.
The Coal Titmouse (P. ater britannicus), a smaller
species with no black stripe down the breast, has the
nape-patch as well as the cheeks white ; it does not
48 Order I
breed in the Orkneys or Shetlands and abroad is
represented by P. ater, with grey in place of olive back.
Specimens, however, which many people think indis-
tinguishable from the latter, are found breeding in
Scotland, and the Irish bird, with a yellow rather than
a whitish breast, has been lately separated ; the truth
being that it is difficult to draw the line between forms
so closely related. The call-note of the Coal Tit is sharp
and loud, so that it cannot easily be mistaken for those
of its congeners; the nest resembles that of the Great
Tit, but is usually placed in a hole in a wall or stump
or in the ground, less commonly in a bank-side or the
thatch of a shed. The bird is not so fond of an artificial
nesting-box as the Great and Blue Tits are.
Until the last few years our somewhat browner
backed Tits with merely the cheeks white were all
united under the name of Marsh Titmouse, though not
necessarily found near marshes. It has been ascer-
tained, however, that two forms have been confounded
under that title, the Marsh Tit with shiny black head in
the adult (P. palustris dresser i) and the Willow Tit
(P. borealis kleinschmidti) with dull black head. Even
yet perfect unanimity has not been arrived at, and
every reader of these pages must form his own opinion ;
but it appears that the birds breeding in Scotland and
the Border counties of England should be referred to the
Willow Tit, while further south both forms occur, with
the Marsh Tit predominant in some or most of the
districts, and especially in Kent. The latter seems to
prefer woods, the former copses, hedgerows, and gardens.
The WiUow Tit cuts a neat round hole and lines the
excavation with felted down, hair, and the like; the
Marsh Tit does not usually cut its own hole and has a
more decided substructure of moss. The Willow Tit's
soft repeated cry resembles that of the Wryneck at a
distance, the Marsh Tit's notes are merely somewhat
sharper than those of the Blue or Coal Tits. Such at
least is the writer's experience, and it is corroborated
by that of others ; yet further information is desirable,
as the birds are only locally common, and it is no easy
matter to find a nest in such a position as to enable
the observer to lift the parent bird off the eggs and
examine it. Irish birds also need further examination.
The Blue Titmouse (P. cceruleus) with its blue crown
and nape, black throat and streak across the white
cheeks, and yellow breast is a very famiUar object in
our gardens at any season ; it does not extend in
summer to the northerly isles of Scotland and similarly
shuns the more Arctic parts of Europe. Othermse it
occupies the whole continent except Spain — in a form
rather brighter than ours — and meets south of the
Mediterranean and in Russia other allies which are
sufficiently distinct to be characterized as species.
Whether flitting along our hedgerows, hanging pen-
dulous in search of insects on the trees, or engaged in
building a nest in some hole of a tree or wall, the Blue
Tit is always the same brave confiding little bird, which
hisses violently at us when caught on its eggs, and
resembles the Great Tit in its fondness for nest-boxes.
The Crested Tit (P. cristatus) is particularly interest-
ing from the fact that it is confined in Britain to the
ancient forests of the Spey and its tributaries. It has
neverbeen actually proved to breed elsewhere in Scotland,
but a slightly different form occurs in many parts of
the Continent. This local species is brown, with butfish
white under parts, having the head and neck beautifully
E. B. 4
50 Order I
marked with black and white, the crest pronounced and
erectile. In habits it is not unlike other Tits, but its
note is rather loud and very characteristic. It inhabits
Scotch fir woods, but does not invariably bore its nesting-
holes in dead pines, as it occasionally chooses hard-
wood trees, or even ready-made holes in wooden or iron
posts. The eggs are seldom more than six or seven and
are particularly brightly marked.
Family REGULIDJE, or Gold-crests
A very familiar bird is that smallest of British
species the Gold-crested Wren (Regulus regulus), which
ranges over Britain, as well as Europe, to the Caucasus
and Asia Minor, within the limits of tree-growth —
except Spain and Portugal. The continental form is
hardly, if at all, distinguishable from that which
occurs in this country, while it is one of the curious
facts of nature that this delicate looking little creature
migrates to and fro in immense flocks in autumn
and spring, often for weeks together. We are never
without the bird, which is often found in company
with Tits. Its caU-note is somewhat similar, but it has
also a low song. It is fond of searching for its insect -
food on fir trees, especially spruces, and on the latter it
usually builds its beautiful little mossy nest lined with
feathers, which is slung like a hammock under the tip
of a bough and contains from five to ten white eggs
ringed or covered with reddish buff markings. Alterna-
tive sites are the ivy on tree-trunks or small bushy
conifers.
Constantly confounded with our common species is
that rare immigrant the Fire-crested Wren (R. ignicapil-
lus), which is also an olive-green bird with an orange
Passe res 51
crown margined on each side by a black band. Little
reliance can be placed on the colour of the crown in
males as a distinction, but the Fire-crested Wren is more
sulphur-green on the neck and has a distinct black
line through the eye. The females have lemon-yellow
crests, the young have none. The last-named species
does not range further north than the Baltic, but is
the more common in some parts of southern Europe
and of north-west Africa ; it also breeds in Asia
Minor.
Family SITTID^, or Nuthatches
The Nuthatch (Sitta ccesia), notwithstanding its loud
whistling spring notes, is a shy bird, which attracts
little attention as it creeps quietly about the tree-
trunks or fhes heavily to a new hunting-ground of the
same description in search of insect-food. The grey
upper parts are not conspicuous and the buff breast is
hardly more so. Nowhere really common, it is generally
found in well-timbered districts and especially old parks,
while it is only a casual visitant to Scotland and perhaps
Ireland; the foreign range extends over Europe with
the exception of Scandinavia and Russia, where a white-
breasted form occurs, and Corsica, where there is a dis-
tinct species. As in the case of most of our residents
it breeds early, choosing a hole or crevice in a tree —
or more rarely in a bank — and lining it thickly with dry
leaves or fir-scales, upon which lie the six or more white
eggs with red and lilac spots, similar to, but larger than,
those of the Great Tit. The nesting-hole is plastered up
with mud, so as to leave only a circular entrance. This
species is known as the Nut-jobber from its habit of
hammering open with its powerful bill the nuts of which
4—2
52 Order I
it is fond, and it is a pretty sight to watch it at work
upon a hazel-nut stuck in the chink of a post. The
winter notes are Tit-like, the spring notes shrill, the
summer cries vary.
Family TROGLODYTID^, or Wrens
Wrens have a wide range in the world, and unlike
most Palsearctic families extend to temperate South
Wren
America ; nevertheless we have only one British species
(Troglodytes troglodytes), which is too common to need
many details. Its simple but joyous song cheers us
even in winter, and there are few road-sides where we
do not often catch a sight of its restless little brown
I'
03
body and uptilted tail ; it is found far up our hills
and in our bleakest islands, while the numbers are
increased in winter by migrants from abroad. The
well-known big oval nest of moss, dry leaves, ferns, or
Wren's Nest
the like is often placed in most curious positions ; the
elongated white eggs are much less spotted than those
of Tits, and are from six to ten in number. Our form
of Wren occupies all Europe and does not reach west
54
Order I
Asia or north Africa, but variations in size and colour
have caused examples from Iceland, the Faeroes, Shet-
land, and St Kilda to be considered distinct subspecies.
Family CERTHIID^, or Tree-creepers
The Tree-Creeper {Certhia familiaris) is found in
Europe, northern, eastern and central Asia, and North
Tree-Creeper
America, and, as might be expected with so widespread
a species, has been split into innumerable subspecies,
with which we cannot concern ourselves here, though
it should be noted that our race has been named
(7. familiaris hritannica. Being a quiet little brown
bird with whitish under parts it may easily escape notice,
Passf rrs 55
})ut it is never particularly common, tliough it is well
known to country-folk as the Woodpecker, from its
habit of creeping up the trunks and branches of trees,
supported by its stiif-pointed tail feathers. The beak
and claws are long and curved. Though it will eat
seeds, the proper food consists of insects, in search of
which the Creeper works spirally up a tree, finally
flying off to begin at the base of another. It has
a very low sweet song and a sibilant call-note. The
nest has a foundation of small twigs below the main
material of a little roots, grass, or moss, the interior
being thickly lined with feathers, on which lie six or
more very thin-shelled white eggs with red and lilac
markings, like and yet unlike those of a Blue Tit. The
nest should be looked for behind loose slabs of bark,
but may be placed under eaves of sheds, in crevices
of walls, or even in the foundations of large birds'
nests, as is sometimes also the case with Tits.
Family MOTACILLID^, or Wagtails and Pipits
A certain similarity may be observed between
Wagtails and Pipits in their general habits, notes, and
even nests and eggs, while systematists may now be
said, on anatomical grounds, to be unanimous in com-
bining them in one Family, though the Pipits have un-
doubted affinity with the Larks as well. The Wagtails
are slim, lively, and confiding little creatures, with jerky
undulating flight and a characteristic habit of keeping
the hinder part of the body in constant motion when
on the ground. It is very amusing to watch them on
a grassy flat or a garden lawn ; they make impetuous
darts after insects for a yard or two, suddenly stop and
almost fall forward on their heads to secure their fly or
56
Order I
worm, and then make a fresh dart forward, or run
with twinkling feet for a considerable distance. Ever
and anon they fly up in the air after their prey, but
this habit is more evident when they flit from stone to
^-
Pied Wagtail
stone along a stream. Our Pipits have shorter tails
than our Wagtails, and all are characterized by more
or less white lateral tail-feathers. The Pied Wagtail,
Water Wagtail, or Dishwasher (Motacilla lugubris) is
our resident black and white species — resident, that is
Passer en 7)7
to say, in appearance, though large numbers pass to
and from the Continent in autumn and spring, and even
in Britain none are to be seen in the far north in winter.
Abroad it breeds in Holland, Belgium, and north-west
France, if not in south-west Norway; but in Europe
generally, and perhaps even northern Africa, the repre-
sentative form is M. alba, whether it be considered a
distinct species or not. This form has, in the male,
a light grey instead of black mantle, while even the
females are much lighter. The young are less easily
distinguished ; and when, as is rarely the case, M. alba
is reported as breeding in England, the male should
always be carefully examined for fear of error.
The song is short and not very noticeable, but the
sharp double call-note is familiar to all who live near
water-sides in spring, for the birds must then always
be near water, though the smallest runnels will often
suffice. Later in the year they frequent our lawns and
are common on the sea-shore. The nest is placed in
a hole in a wall, bank, quarry, refuse-heap, or pollard
willow, or among tree-roots projecting from a stream-
side; it is made of grass or roots and lined wdth hair
and feathers. The half-dozen eggs are greyish white
with small dark grey or blackish spots.
The beautiful Grey Wagtail {M. boarula) is to be
seen throughout the year in the valleys of our hill-
country, though very rarely at lower levels except
towards winter ; it is perpetually confounded with the
Yellow Wagtail on account of its bright yellow breast,
though its crown and back are grey and its throat
black. This species ranges from south Sweden and
mid-Russia to the Mediterranean, closely allied forms
occurring in the Azores, the Canaries, and Asia. Holes
58 Order I
in masonry, ledges of rocks, or projecting tree-roots
by streams are the almost invariable sites for the
nest ; the structure is more mossy than in the Pied
Wagtail, and the eggs are closely marked with brownish
yellow. The true Yellow Wagtail {M. rail), which is
greenish olive above and yellow below with browner
mngs and tail, is only a summer visitor to us, and
frequents marshy flats, water-meadows and such
places, though not uncommonly placing its nest in
young corn or rye-grass. It is always built on
the ground, in some depression of the soil, and is
similar to that of the Pied Wagtail, though the eggs
are even yellower in their markings than those of the
Grey Wagtail, and have often the same black hair-line
at the larger end. The Yellow Wagtail breeds locally
in south Scotland, and also in western Holland and
western France ; it is, however, impossible in our
limited space even to name the many allied forms
that occur abroad. The best known in Britain is the
Blue-headed Wagtail (M. flava), which breeds irregu-
larly mth us, chiefly in the south and east of England,
and is common in most parts of the Continent ; adults
may be distinguished from those of M. rail by the
blue-grey head and the white in place of yellowish
stripe over the eye. In the adult male of the latter
the crown is almost yellow.
Three Pipits breed with us, besides accidental
visitors, and two are resident or partly migratory.
Of these the best known is the Meadow-Pipit or Tit-
lark (Anihus pratensis), abundant on our moors and
by no means rare on rough ground at lower altitudes.
It is found throughout Britain ; from Iceland to west
Siberia ; and thence to the Pyrenees, north Italy, and
Passeres 59
Palestine ; south of which limits it is practically a
bird of passage, for A. bertheloti of Madeira and the
Canaries is considered a distinct species. As the
Titlark is a plain streaky brown bird with white breast
striped with the same colour, it would not be specially
conspicuous, were it not for its habit of soaring a little
way up in the air to utter its shrill song, and flying
restlessly round an intruder while giving vent to the
sharp alarm notes, which account for one of its names ;
this generally takes place near the nest — a plain cup of
bents placed in some depression of a rough grass field, on
a bank, or among heather — w^hich contains about five
white eggs very thickly marked mth brown. The
Cuckoo is often reared by this species, and almost
invariably so on the moors, which afford the regular
food of insects, worms, small mollusks, and seeds in
abundance.
The less demonstrative and more local Tree -Pipit
(A . trivialis) differs little in appearance, but has a much
shorter and more curved hind-toe. It only visits us
between April and September, and is not found in the
northern islands of Scotland or in Ireland. Except for
Iceland and the Faeroes, the foreign range is much as
in the last species, though a separable race extends
further eastward, to Japan and China. In habits, how-
ever, it is absolutely different, for it frequents open
copses or the outskirts and rides of woods, where it pours
out its sweet notes while sitting on the tree-tops or while
soaring to a considerable height in the air above them.
Away from these quarters it is seldom seen, and there
it builds a similar nest to its congeners, but lays very
remarkable eggs. No British bird, except the Guillemot,
shews such a range of coloration in the markings,
60 Order I
which may be purple, red, rich brown, or almost black,
while the pinkish or greenish ground-colour varies in
accordance. In Scotland the Tree-Pipit is often called
"Wood-Lark," a very natural mistake where that
species does not occur.
The Rock-Pipit {A. petrosus) is larger than the
Meadow-Pipit, and rather more olive, while the outer
tail-feathers are marked with smoke-colour rather than
white. It is entirely confined to our rocky shores, but
ranges abroad from Norway to north and west France ;
elsewhere matters are complicated by the occurrence of
a form with a reddish breast. Since Meadow-Pipits also
breed on our cliifs, observers must be careful in their
identification, for the habits as well as the plumage
are similar, and both birds feed on the shore after the
breeding season. The Rock-Pipit's eggs are merel}^ a
little larger.
Family ORIOLID^, or Orioles
The Golden Oriole (Oriolus wiolus) might be rele-
gated to our list of irregular migrants, were it not for
the fact that it now breeds in Kent and occasionally
in our eastern and southern counties. All should
therefore be on the look-out for a beautiful bird of the
size of a Thrush, golden in colour with black wings
and tail, and use every means to preserve it, if seen,
or permit it to breed in safety. The nest is a sort of
cradle of grass, wool and bast, slung in the fork of
a branch ; the large eggs are white with round purplish
black spots. The Golden Oriole has a swift but heavy
flight, a lovely flute-like song and a harsh call, but it
eats too much ripe fruit to be popular abroad, though
insects form part of its diet; it often frequents town
Passeres
()1
gardens in Europe, south-west Asia, and north-west
Africa, and is one of the brilUant members of a large
family extending over a great part of the globe. The
female shews little yellow.
Family LANIID.^, or Shrikes
The only member of this family that breeds regu-
larly in our islands is the Red-backed Shrike or Butcher-
Red-backed Shrikes
bird (Lanius collurio), which gradually decreases in
numbers as far north as southern Scotland and is only
a straggler to the north of that country or to Ireland.
Arriving early in May it is a conspicuous object as it
sits on the tops of bushes, telegraph-wires, and the like,
62 Order I
while its big nest of grass and moss is hardly less
conspicuous than the bird itself, in the solitary haw-
thorn bushes which it selects by preference. It may,
however, be placed in a thick hedge or shrub, or on
a low branch of a tree, while it is always lined with
wool and hair, and contains some five eggs varying in
tint from reddish to greenish white, with fine blotches
or spots of the corresponding colour, not uncommonly
collected into a zone. This Shrike is very wary, but
fairly bold in the breeding season, after which it is
little seen till its departure in August : it feeds on
small mammals and birds, beetles, bees, and other large
insects, and occasionally keeps a small stock impaled
on thorns near the nest. These " larders," however,
are not so common as has been supposed. For short
distances the flight is strong, while the bird has a harsh
and somewhat Chat-like note, as well as a slight song.
The foreign range extends over northern Europe and
Asia to Transcaspia and north Persia, and over southern
Europe except the Iberian Peninsula. The male is
chestnut-brown above with grey head, black and white
tail, and black face, and pinkish buff below ; the female
is red-brown above, and whitish below with crescentic
markings recalling those of some hawks.
The Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator), distinguished
by its chestnut head and white wing-bar, is a common
continental species which visits us at very irregular
intervals, but must be mentioned here as having
possibly bred twice in the Isle of Wight. It is there-
fore one of the birds for which a watch should be kept
in the south.
Besides these we have two other members of the
family that occur in Britain, the Great Grey and the
Lesser Grey Shrikes. The hitter (L. minor) is only a
straggler from south and central Europe, hut the former
(L. excubitor) is a pretty regular immigrant in the cold
season, especially to our eastern coasts, though it has
never been known to breed with us. It comes from
northern and central Europe, but the range can hardly
be defined here, on account of the various species or
races that have been described from Europe, Asia, north
x4f rica, and North America. It is very doubtful whether
the form that occasionally visits us, with one white wing-
bar (L. major), is separable from the typical form with
two bars. The colour is grey above and white below,
with black cheeks, wing- and tail-feathers. The nest is
larger than in the case of the Red-backed Shrike, and
the eggs are greenish white with olive markings.
Family AMPELID^, or Waxwings
Perhaps the most beautiful of our constant but
irregular visitors is the Waxwing (Ampelis garrulus),
a bird of many colours. It is mainly fawn-brown, with
more chestnut head, crest, and lower tail-coverts, black
cheeks and throat, and with yellow and black on the
wings and tail. Added to this the tips of the shafts of
the tail-feathers and of many of the secondaries are
wax-like and scarlet. In some years few visit us, in
some great numbers arrive, chiefly on our northern and
western coasts, and may be seen satisfying their hunger
on the berries untouched by the other birds ; they
generally come in our hardest winters, driven from their
summer haunts in Arctic Europe and Asia, where they
are very changeable in their breeding quarters, which
extend eastwards at least to Alaska and the Rocky
Mountains. The nest was unknown until Wolley procured
64
Order I
it in Lapland in 1856, and is an unusual structure like
a platform of twigs, surmounted by a large open cup
of lichens and grass ; the eggs also are of a peculiar
grey-blue tint with roundish blotches and streaks of
blackish brown and lilac. The Waxwing's low con-
tinuous note is not much heard, and the bird is shy in
Waxwing-
summer, when its food consists mainly of insects. Its
flight is strong and often high.
Family MUSCICAPID.^, or Flycatchers
We next come to a much more modest species, the
plain brown Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa grisola),
so called from its streaked breast ; it is very late in
arriving from the south, and only remains with us
Passer eg
()5
from May to September, while it ranges over the
Pala?arctic region eastwards to Lake Baikal and Dauria,
exeept the extreme north. The low but pleasing song
and the sharper call-note are familiar to most of us,
and may even be heard in London ; but this confiding
bird is best known from its habit of sitting on a post,
Spotted Flycatcher
stake, or the outer branch of a tree, whence it is con-
stantly darting out after the insects which it captures on
the wing. Thus it is often termed Post-bird, and another
name is Beam-bird, from its fancy for a beam on which
to place its nest. More (common sites, however, are
creepers on buildings, hollows in broken or pollard
trees, and holes in walls, besides many curious positions.
E. B. 5
66 Order I
The five pretty eggs are spotted with rufous on a
greenish-white or even a green ground, and he in
a mossy nest, hned with warm materials, and often
adorned with lichen. This species does not breed in
the Hebrides, Orkneys, or Shetland.
That much rarer bird the Pied Flycatcher (M. atri-
cainlla) has a more restricted range abroad, where it only
extends southward in its various forms to north Africa
and eastward to Persia and Palestine, while, being a
particularly arboreal species, it is decidedly local. In
Britain, where it remains from May to August, it breeds
chiefly in the west, from south Wales to Cumberland,
irregularly in Scotland, but not in Ireland. Artificial
boxes in our shrubberies have proved a great attraction
to this bird, a somewhat curious fact, as it naturally fre-
quents water and seldom leaves the sides of open shady
streams, where it makes a pretty picture as it flits,
Warbler-like, from oak to alder or ash, often uttering
its sweet little song, and the male in particular exhibiting
his bright black and white colours in contrast to the
brown female relieved by dusky white. The insect-food
is very commonly taken on the wing and conveyed
straight to the brooding hen. The nest is composed
entirely of roots and grass lined with hair, and thus
can easily be distinguished from that of the Redstart,
which has precisely similar pale blue eggs. It is
always in a hole, and generally in a tree.
Family HIRUNDINID-^, or Swallows
Three members of this family are common and
well known in Britain, the Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
with long streamers or outer tail-feathers, chestnut
throat and buff under parts separated by a metallic
/*(fss( res (17
blue chest-band, the Hoiise-inartin (Delichon urhica)
with shortly forked tail, conspicuous white rump and
lower surface, and the Sand-martin {Riparia riparia),
which is not blue-black above like the others, but is
brown with a mottled band of the same colour on the
white breast. It has, moreover, a tuft of feathers above
the hind-toe. All three have very short beaks with
a wide gape. It will be seen below that the Swift is
not a Swallow, but a " Picarian " form allied to the
Swallow's nest
Humming-birds. The nesting habits are as distinct
as the coloration, for both the Martins breed in colonies,
while the Swallow does not. It builds an open cup
with pellets of mud, and lines it warmly with straw
and feathers to hold the five or six white eggs with
brown and greyish markings ; the House-martin sticks
a half-cup of the same substance, with an aperture at
the top of one side, under eaves, in window corners,
under rock-shelves or mouldings at the top of bridges,
adds a bedding of straw, chaif, or softer materials, and
(58
Order I
lays four or five pure white eggs ; the Sand-martin makes
a grass or straw nest thickly lined with feathers at the
end of a tunnel, which it bores in a bank or even a big
heap of sawdust, and also lays white eggs. Sometimes
it uses a hole in a wall.
All these species are migrants, and are with us from
about the end of March to November at the latest.
Sand-martins' burroAvs
but the Sand-martin is generally observed first and
departs a little earlier ; moreover, it breeds in the
Nearctic region, in north-west India, and on the Nile,
as well as in the Palsearctic region, while the other two
species are confined to the latter. So too it is found in
the Neotropical region as well as in the south of the
Old World in winter, while the typical forms of the
Swallow and the House-martin do not migrate to
Passeres fio
America, though they go further south in Africa and
reach the Cape of Good Hope. When about to leave
for their winter-quarters, the members of this family
collect into flocks, especially in the case of the Swallows,
which just before crossing the sea may be seen massed
on roofs, telegraph-wires, and so forth, or even crowded
together in huge quantities on the roads. The twitter-
ing notes and the flight are well known to everyone ;
the food consists of insects taken in the air or from
the surface of the water. The birds always seem too
busy to be shy, and are too quick and irregular in
their movements ever to be in much danger from
shooters ; occasionally, however, they take it into their
heads to attack a man, swooping down with much
noise and brushing him with their wings, for no apparent
object. Swallows commonly perch on trees, Martins
rarely. All may have two or even three broods, es-
pecially when their first nests are usurped by Sparrows.
Family PRINGILLID^, or Pinches and Buntings
The members of this very large Family are for the
most part stout-looking birds with strong bills, which
feed mainly upon seeds and fruits, though the diet of
the young consists also of insects and their larv*.
They vary considerably in size and coloration, as may
be seen from the Sparrow and Linnet; the Hawfinch
and Crossbill; the Goldfinch, Bullfinch, and Chaffinch;
the Common, Yellow, and Snow Buntings. The sub-
family FringillincB contains the true Finches, where the
mandibles fit closely together, the subfamily Emberi-
zince the Buntings, where the bill, when shut, shews
a distinct gap. This seems a small point, but the
subdivision is in agreement with the appearance and
habits of the birds.
70 Order I
Subfamily Fringillinae, or Finches
The Greenfinch or Green "Linnet" (C Moris Moris),
one of our most famihar residents, breeds throughout
Britain and Europe generally, south of the Shetlands and
the more Arctic districts ; it has also been reported from
western Asia and north-west Africa, but southward
and eastward closely allied forms forbid exact limits
to be defined. The olive-green colour, relieved by a
little bright yellow and blackish brown, is best seen
as the family parties flit before us along the hedgerows
in summer, while in the breeding season the monoto-
nous droning call-note is most usually heard as the
bird sits unseen in the dense foliage. The flight is
strong, and large numbers arrive from abroad towards
winter ; the song is feeble, and the flocks on the
stubbles are pretty quiet. The nest, placed in a tree-
top at some height from the ground, in a shrub or a
hedge, is composed of roots, moss and wool, and lined
with wool, hair and feathers ; the four to six eggs are
greenish or reddish white with red-brown spots, as in
a true Linnet.
The Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) is a most
interesting species of peculiarly heavy build, with a
comparatively short tail and immense beak ; it used to
be a rare resident in England, and is still extraordinarily
erratic, but has certainly spread northwards of late
years to Dumfriesshire and Fifeshire, besides becoming
locally common in the south. It breeds throughout
the Palsearctic region, except the more northern parts,
if we do not separate the eastern Asiatic and other
supposed western forms. Its food consists of seeds
and fruits, such as haws, beech-mast, kernels of cherry-
stones, and peas, with caterpillars for the young,
so (liiit it finds its strong beak of tiie greatest use.
Rows of peas are often nearly stripped when the young
have left the nest. This struc^ture, composed of roots
and grass, often with an admixture of lichens and a base
of twigs, is placed in the fork of a large hawthorn or
fruit-tree, if not towards the top of a pollard or on
some horizontal branch, and contains five or six curious
bluish or greenish eggs with fine olive and greyish
markings, which may be either spots or scrawls.
Breeding takes place in May, when the bird is remark-
ably shy, as indeed is its usual habit. The flight is
laboured. The characteristic whistle, however, soon
draws attention to it ; the song, on the other hand, is
inconsiderable. After the nesting season the Hawfinch
often wanders about the country, and it is then that w^e
not uncommonly hear reports of a big faw^n-coloured
bird with a black throat, grey neck, and blue and white
on the wing having been seen in a garden.
The Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis britannica), one
of the few species that live not unhappily in a cage,
though a delicate-looking bird of the Canary type, is also
partly faw^n-coloured, but is beautifully marked with red,
yellow, black and white. It is difficult to form a clear
idea of its numbers in England as, after a serious
decrease in the nineteenth century, it seems to be
undoubtedly increasing again ; but nests might now
be found in any county, while such has been the case
across the Scottish Border even as far north as Perth-
shire and 8kye. Many migrants pass to and from the
Continent at the usual seasons, and scientific names
have been given to several more or less distinct forms ;
it is impossible, therefore, to lay down any exact limits
for each, but they occur throughout Europe, north
12 Order I
Africa, and western Asia. The bird's fondness for
the seeds of thistles, groundsel, and other composite
plants is unfortunately well understood by bird-
catchers, who take many individuals in their clap-nets
when and where they have no business to do so ; but
the sweet song is little appreciated save in captivity,
though country-folk are generally able to recognise the
clear call-note. The Goldfinch often escapes observa-
tion as it passes lightly above our heads, for its bright
colours shew up badly on the wing ; while the nest,
a pretty little cup of moss and wool with the softest
of linings, is usually well hidden at the top of a fruit
or other tree, though occasionally placed in a hedge or
shrub. The four or five eggs are very pale bluish white
with purplish or blackish spots.
The Siskin {Spinus sjnnus) is comparatively rare,
and in Britain only breeds regularly in eastern and south-
western Scotland and in Ireland, though occasionally
in various English and Welsh counties where spruces
and larches abound. From autumn to spring, however,
flocks are seen in many other districts, feeding on the
seeds of the alders and ragwort or flitting about the
country-side ; yet the bird is local with us and also
abroad, where it inhabits northern and central Europe
and Asia as far as Japan. Perhaps it is best known
in cages, for it is a favourite on account of its sweet,
if not varied, song and the bright colours of the male,
which is greenish olive with yellow breast and rump,
black and yellow wing and tail markings; and also
has a black crown and throat. The female shews much
less yellow and no black above and is streaked, especially
on the whitish under parts, with brown. The flight,
the nest and eggs are much as in the Goldfinch, but the
nest is usually high up in ;i silver tip or laicli. and }:>hice(l
on a horizontal brancli ; sometimes it is much nearer
to the ground or even in a bush. The substructure is
commonly of little twigs and the eggs are bluish in tint
with dark spots.
We need not enter into any details about the colour
or habits of the House Sparrow (Passer domesticiis), but
may observe that the harm it does by interfering with
the nests of the insectivorous Martin and devouring
grain is to a great extent counterbalanced by its
destruction of insects and their larvae. South of the
Arctic Circle the Sparrow is said to range to Spain and
Austria and also to Irkutsk and Dauria in Asia, but it
is only found near the dwellings of man, and is repre-
sented in parts of south Europe by the possibly distinct
Italian and Spanish Sparrows.
A second resident species, the Tree Sparrow (P. mon-
tanus), needs careful observation to distinguish it from
the last-named, as, roughly speaking, it occupies the
same localities both at home and abroad, tliough it is
curiously local, while it extends to the Mediterranean,
Siberia, China, Japan, and possibly northern Africa.
The crown and nape are rich broAvn, the white cheek
shews a black patch, and the wing two white bars,
while in the cock Sparrow the crown is grey, there is
no cheek patch, and the wing has only one bar. More-
over the sexes are alike in the Tree Sparrow, whereas
everyone is familiar with the dowdy brown hen of the
other species. In both the cocks have black throats.
Again the large untidy nest of the House Sparrow is
placed in spouts, gutters, holes in masonry, banks or
trees, and also in hawthorns or the like in the open;
that of the Tree Sparrow is invariably in a hole, whether
74 Onhr 1
it be in a wall, railway cutting, pollard willow or what-
not, and is built with much less straw and feathers,
while the eggs are decidedly smaller and more delicate
than those of its congener, and generally marked with
deep brown instead of black and grey. In fact, just
as the House Sparrow's eggs are rather like those of the
Pied Wagtail, those of the Tree Sparrow are generally
like those of the Meadow Pipit. The chirping and
chattering notes of the two species are also easily
distinguished by those well acquainted with them.
The Chaffinch (Fringilla coelehs) is resident with us,
though its numbers are greatly augmented in autumn
by flocks which come from the north, for the bird
ranges over Europe from the Arctic Circle southward
and also across west Siberia. It is too well known to
need description, but in north Africa and the Atlantic
Islands the allied species are most interesting and
practically to be considered distinct. After the breeding
season the males keep by themselves to a consider-
able extent till spring, and thus the Chaffinch gains the
name of " coelehs,'' or bachelor. It is only too tame
and familiar in most places, and is very fond of scratch-
ing up and eating newly sown seeds of cabbage, turnip
or radish ; yet both cock and hen are general favourites,
and their call-note of " spink-spink " is always pleasant
to the ear. The song varies considerably, but is always
of the same stamp ; the nest of moss and wool, studded
outside with lichens, is one of our prettiest pieces of
bird-architecture ; and the eggs, which are spotted
with red-brown, have a curious dull greenish ground-
colour, or are rarely quite blue.
The Brambling or Mountain-Finch (F. montifringilla)
arrives on our eastern coasts about October, and only
Passeren
i •)
remains witli us till March, for supposed instances of
its breeding in Britain are erroneous. Huge flocks
often visit us, but are much rarer in the west and in
Ireland ; abroad it spends the summer in Subarctic
Europe and Asia, where it builds a rougher nest than
the Chaffinch on the trees or bushes that are available,
and lays very similar eggs. It is extremely fond of
beech-mast, and is therefore commonly met with in
winter on the ground under beech trees, but it also
eats seeds in general as well as insects. The summer
habits are a little different from those of its congener,
as might be imagined in a far northern climate, while
the song, if it should so be called, is harsh and jarring.
The black upper parts, and w^hite for green rump dis-
tinguish the male from the cock Chaffinch. The female
is chiefly brown above.
That well-known cage-bird the Linnet {Acanthis
cannabina) is a resident in Britain in the usual sense
of the word ; that is, the flocks move southwards within
the kingdom in winter and are joined by large numbers
from the Continent. Abroad it ranges in its various forms
over the Palsearctic region to Kashmir. Bird-catchers
know it as the Grey, Brown, or Red Linnet, the reason
for the various names being that breeding males have
the brown plumage decorated with red on the forehead,
crown, and breast, while hens and individuals not in
perfect plumage exhibit no red, which is, moreover,
generally lost in captivity. Restless at the nest, and
shy at all times. Linnets are usually seen flocking to
the stubbles to feed, flitting about gorse-covers, or
passing overhead with a somewhat jerky flight as they
utter reiterated twittering notes ; in a cage the song
seems to become more full and to consist partly of
76 Order I
imitations. The food is of grain and seeds and partly
of fruit. The nest of roots, Kned with wool and hair, is
placed in low hedges, bushes, or even in rough herbage ;
gorse-covers are favourite spots, and large colonies have
been found in thickets of privet. The five or six eggs
are greenish or bluish white with rufous spots, large
specimens resembling those of the Greenfinch.
The Twite or Mountain-Linnet (A. flavirostris) is
often mistaken for the Linnet proper, but is readily
distinguished at close quarters by the very short beak
and the rose-red rump of the male ; it represents its
congener on our higher hills and moorlands from Devon,
central and northern England, to Scotland and Ireland,
being specially abundant in the northern isles. The
" Heather Lintie," as it is called in Scotland, only breeds
abroad from Scandinavia to Finland, if we separate a
paler Asiatic form. Its habits in general are those of
the Linnet ; but the nest is either in the heather or on
some grassy slope, often near the sea, while the eggs
are distinctly bluer and rounder than those of its
congener.
The Redpolls, as a genus, have given a considerable
amount of trouble to ornithologists, who estimate quite
differently the value of the various forms — which are
worthy of specific, which of subspecific rank. Apart
from accidental occurrences, however, we are only here
concerned with two of these, the Mealy Redpoll and the
Lesser Redpoll, and they are sufficiently distinct. The
Lesser Redpoll {A. cabaret) is best known in the cold
season, when flocks, great or small, are seen feeding on
the seeds of birches, alders, or conifers, that form the
chief article of their diet ; they generally fly high
overhead, uttering their twittering cries, which resemble,
Fasseres 77
but can readily be distinguished from, those of the
Linnet. They change their feeding-grounds continually
and are strong on the wing, yet they can hardly be
called shy, and are fairly tame in the breeding season.
The male of this smallest of our Finches is a pretty
little brown bird with black throat, red crown and
breast, and pinkish rump ; the female has no red save
on the head, and even this is lacking in the young.
The nest, placed in a tall hedge, a shrub, or a low
growth of poplar, alder, willow or hazel, is even prettier
than the builder, being composed of grass, moss, and
wool, thickly lined with willow or poplar down, where
such is obtainable ; the half-dozen eggs are of a darker
greenish blue than in the Linnets, and have rufous
blotches. This species nests locally from the Orkneys
and Inner Hebrides to the south of England and Ireland,
while abroad it is by some considered to range over
western and central Europe. But here again the
question of forms makes a definite statement dangerous.
It certainly breeds in the Alps.
The Mealy Redpoll proper {A. linaria) migrates to
our northern and north-eastern coasts from the far
north after breeding ; it is most common in hard
winters, and is little seen south of Yorkshire, though
when it does come it generally comes in flocks ; in
the west and in Ireland it is rare. It is a larger and
much lighter bird than the last species, being streaked
with white above ; in habits, however, it hardly differs,
allowing for any changes due to a residence in the
extreme north of Europe, Asia, and America ; down is
there less easy to procure for the nest, which is a little
larger, as are the eggs.
The Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) is so well known
78
Order I
in cages that it would hardly be necessary to call
attention to its coloration, were it not that the con-
spicuous black head, grey back, white rump and red
breast easily enable the male to be identified out of
Bullfinch
doors. The female is browner above and vinous-brown
below. It is a shy bird, a frequenter of woods and
thickets in the breeding season, and more or less retiring
at any time. South of the latitude of Skye it is generally
common in suitable locaUties, though often overlooked ;
Pasticrcs 71)
wliik' iiiaiiy gardeners shoot it at sight for tin- damage
it does ill spring to tlie buds of fruit- trees, possibly iii
search of insects. These with their larva?, seeds and
berries constitute the food. The fUght is rather heavy,
the notes low and mournful, but they develop into a
line piping song in captivity, for the lUillfinch is an
apt pupil when taught. The nest, built in a bush,
creeper, or thicket, is made of roots lined with hair,
and contains four or five bright greenish blue eggs with
purple spots ; it has invariably a foundation of dry
twigs. If we separate the northern European and
western Siberian bird from ours it will stand as P.
pyrrhula proper, and the British as a subspecies pileata.
The Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) has been much in
evidence since 1909, when larger flocks of the Conti-
nental race than usual appeared in June and July, and
remained to breed in 1910. They were not confined
to any single district, but were most abundant in the
conifer woods near Thetford in Norfolk — where some
pairs are still nesting — in 1914. The local keepers
assert that a few birds have always bred there, and
exceptional instances for other counties had been on
record for many years back ; but the Crossbill used only
to be known as a regular inhabitant with us of the fine
old Scotch-fir woods of the shires from Aberdeen and
Inverness northwards, where the local race is by some
considered to differ from the Continental and is named
Loxia curvirostra scotica. This species has now nested
for a considerable number of years in Ireland. It builds
a compact or sometimes careless structure of twigs,
grass and moss, not uncommonly decorated with lichens,
and lays four or five eggs a little larger than, but
similar to, those of the Greenfinch. Scotch-firs are
80 Order 1
preferred, but larches are also utilized, and the nest
is more often on a horizontal branch than near the
trunk of the tree. The male is very conspicuous when
he sits in the morning on some tree- top, pouring forth
his lively song and shewing off his crimson colours ;
only birds in perfect plumage, however, are so bright,
the remainder being orange and the females greenish,
while all have browner wings and tail. The young are
much greyer. The Crossbill's presence is generally
made evident by the number of fir-cones with their
seeds extracted which lie below the trees, but insects
of different sorts, caterpillars and fruit give variety to
the diet. As cones become scarce the flocks move to
new places, and their low sibilant notes are heard
no more ; the flight is strong, as might be expected
from the size of the bird. This species, in slightly
varying forms, breeds in the conifer-districts of both
the Palsearctic and the Nearctic regions, a specially
stout-billed race having been denominated the Parrot
Crossbill. The characteristic crossing of the tips of the
mandibles is not peculiar to the Crossbills ; it has, for
instance, occurred exceptionally in Redpolls.
Subfamily Bmberizinae, or Buntings
The Corn-Bunting (Emberiza calandra), a heavy plain
brown bird with whitish under surface streaked with
the same colour, is with us at all times of year, though
a certain amount of migration is known to take place.
It breeds in various places throughout the Palsearctic
region save in the far north and east, and is abundant,
though local, in Britain. It prefers uncultivated districts
and those without woods, not ascending to any great alti-
tude, and being nowhere more common than in Orkney
P((ssnrs
n\
and Shetland, its heavy flight and (honing note dis-
tinguish it from all our other Buntings, and it is always
in evidence during summer on its favourite perches,
which are usually a bush-top or a telegraph-wire.
After breeding, it is often seen in flocks, and lives
almost entirely on grain. The nest of grass and hair
is placed among coarse herbage or in young corn, and
the large eggs, which are laid in May or later, have
Corn-Bunting
a yellowish or purplish ground-colour, finely blotched
and streaked with browns and lilacs.
A brilliant yellow head, equally bright under parts,
and a red-brown rump, hardly marred by brown streaks,
are the well-known characteristics of the male Yellow
Bunting or Yellowhammer (Emheriza citrinella), while
the song of " a little bit of bread and no cheese" and
the eggs beautifully spotted and scrawled with purplish
E. K. 6
82 Order I
or reddish brown are familiar to us all. In most other
respects it resembles the Corn-Bunting, that is in flight,
food, choice of perch, nest, and sociability. It breeds,
however, several times in a season and often builds
its nest in young trees or bushes. Northwards it is
much less common than its congener and abroad hardly
extends southwards beyond the Pyrenees and the Alps.
The female is much browner.
The rarer and more retiring Cirl Bunting {Emheriza
cirlus) of central and southern Europe and north-west
Africa is also a resident in southern England, but
has not been proved to breed north of Yorkshire and
rarely does so in north Wales. It may almost be called
abundant, however, in parts of Hampshire and Devon-
shire. If a clear view is obtained, the male is easily
distinguishable from the Yellowhammer by its black
throat, lores and ear-coverts, and much less yellow
head and lower parts. The female is almost brown
above with a buff instead of a black throat. The song
is like the first part of that of the Yellowhammer, but
has not the concluding phrase ; the flight and nest are
similar, but the eggs have a somewhat blue ground-
colour and more spots than scrawls. The site chosen is
usually in some dry sunny locaUty near houses, especially
on chalk downs or west-country "combes," and the
actual place most commonly a low bush.
It is rather unfortunate that we have been obliged
to transfer the popular name of Black-headed Bunting
from Emberiza schoeniclus to a foreign species, nor does
the decision seem absolutely necessary ; but it is useless
now to complain, and fortunately we have a good
alternative in "Reed Bunting." The black head and
breast, white collar and belly, and mainly red-brown
/*<fsscns V,'A
upper parts make the male a very conspicuous object as
he sits on the top of some bush or chngs to the highest
reeds, whence he flits along before an intruder to
another similar spot. He is by no means shy and
constantly utters a sharp call-note, besides which he
has a clear drawling song of the type usual in Buntings.
The hen is brown with reddish head and black streaks
on the throat. In winter the birds sometimes gather
in flocks, but generally frequent the fields and especi-
ally the ditches ; for there seems to be little migration
to or from the Continent in the case of our home-bred
birds, though occasionally numbers cross to us from
abroad. There the range extends over all the Palse-
arctic region, except north Africa, if we do not
separate smaller or much larger billed forms ; in Britain
this species has not been found breeding in Shetland.
The food includes insects from the marshes, small
crustaceans and mollusks, grain and seeds of various
plants. The nest, of grass and moss or dead marsh-
herbage, is placed in a low shrub, or in vegetation just
clear of the ground, but always in damp spots ; it is
hned with hair or dry reed-flowers and contains about
five brownish white or distinctly green eggs with
purplish brown markings, which may include a few
scrawls.
The Lapland Bunting (Calcarius lapponicus) was, if
not overlooked, a decidedly rare winter migrant to
Britain until 1892, when a large irruption took place,
followed by others in each subsequent year. Its habits
are more those of a Pipit than a Bunting, and with us
it generally keeps to the shores and coast-lands. The
black crown and face of the male are in striking con-
trast with the chestnut nape and white sides of the
C— 2
84 Older I
neck; otherwise the bird is chiefly brown, while the
female is much plainer brown. As its breeding haunts,
though circumpolar, are in the Arctic and Subarctic
countries, the eggs were for long rare in collections ;
they are richly spotted with brown and are laid in
a grassy nest warmly hned with feathers, which is
placed on a dry spot in a marsh — commonly to the
north of the tree limit — in a willow swamp or similar
place. The song is said to resemble that of the Linnet.
The Snow Bunting {Plectrophenax nivalis), also an
inhabitant of the more Arctic regions of both worlds, as
well as Iceland and the Faeroes, is of particular interest
to British ornithologists, for not only do large numbers
visit us between October and April, but a good many
pairs are now known to breed at the tops of the loftiest
Scottish mountains. There the nest, of such substances
as can be procured, is placed deep among the boulders
of the " screes," but in the north of Europe it is often
more exposed and almost at sea level. The five
roundish white eggs are prettily marked with rust-
colour, brown and lilac. The song is more melodious
than in Buntings generally ; the flight is strong ; the
food consists of insects in summer, while in winter the
birds frequent our sea-side dunes, fields, and stack-
yards for the seeds and grain to be found there. The
cock is a beautiful white bird with black on the mantle,
tail and wings, which becomes chestnut in autumn ; he
is whiter again in winter, but the hen and the young,
are always much duller, the former being greyer with
blackish head.
Passeres
85
Family STURNID.^, or Starlings
It is difficult to believe that the Starling {Stumus
vulgaris), which is now so abundant from Shetland to
Starling
Cornwall, was hardly known north of the Scottish
Border at the beginning of last century. The increase
of late years has been enormous, and it is now no
Hi] Order I
uncommon thing to discover a winter " roost " of many
thousands, which literally break down reeds, shrubs or
even small trees by their combined weight. Abroad
our bird is sufficiently common throughout most of
Europe except the far north, Spain, Portugal, Sardinia,
Corsica, Sicily, and the Faeroes ; in Asia a form
occurs in Siberia and from Asia Minor to north India.
The question of its range is complicated by the occur-
rence of an unspotted species in south Europe. The
buff markings on the black plumage mth its green and
purple sheen are only characteristic of the adult Starling,
for the young are plain brown with duller yellow bill.
In this state they are often seen in autumn flocking to
our shores, where migrants also arrive from abroad ;
but the birds are more familiar to us on our houses
and in our woods, where they make a very untidy straw
nest in almost any sort of hole and lay some six pale
blue eggs. Occasionally heaps of stones on roadsides
are made use of. Starlings are decidedly beneficial to
the farmer, as they eat huge quantities of slugs, worms,
insects and their larvae ; the only harm they do is to
ornamental berries or fruit, if we except the few small
birds they are occasionally known to kill. Wary but
by no means shy, their funny ways and queer little
hurried runs when feeding on the ground are known
to every observer, but the varied shrill notes of these
admirable mimics often delude him as to their author.
The flight is strong, but somewhat spasmodic. Our
breeding stock is partially migratory.
The Rose-coloured Starling (Pastor roseus) with its
beautiful rose-pink body, black wings, tail, neck, and
crested head, is an irregular visitor to Britain, generally
between spring and autumn, when it attaches itself to
/^^s.s7'>v'X 87
companies of Starlings. It is a south-eastern European
and west Asiatic species, occasionally flocking to Italy
and Hungary, which breeds in large colonies, that con-
stantly change their quarters, perhaps according to the
food-supply. A favourite article of diet is the migratory
locust, but other insects, berries, fruit and grain are
also eaten. The nests of grass and feathers are placed
in holes in old ruins, cliffs, and banks ; the eggs are
bluish white. It is a comparatively shy bird, with the
general habits of a Starling, and a harsh chattering cry.
Family CORVID^, or the Crow Tribe
The glossy black Chough {Pyrrhocorax pyrrJiocorax),
with its brilliant red bill and legs, was evidently a much
commoner bird in Britain of old than at the present
day, when it barely holds its own on the cliffs of the
west and in Ireland. On the east the last nest appears
to have been recorded about the middle of the nine-
teenth century, at St Abb's Head in Berwickshire. It
rarely breeds inland in our country, but it does so in
many parts of the high mountains of western and
southern Europe, Asia, Abyssinia and north-west Africa.
It also inhabits the islands of the Mediterranean, the
Canaries and the coasts of west Europe, with the ex-
ception of Scandinavia. This shy bird is non-migratory
and may therefore be seen at any season actively hunting
for food on the ground, after the manner of the Starling,
but it has no special fancy for fruits. Occasionally it
utters notes resembling " chough-chough,'' but the
usual cry is clear and ringing ; the flight may be pro-
longed, but generally consists of circling movements
varied by tumbling. The nest, placed in some hole in
a steep slope, a cave or clifl-face, and often most
nn
Order I
difficult of access, is made of twigs, heather and the
like, with wool and hair for lining ; the four or five
Jay
eggs are yellowish or greenish white with markings of
grey, brown, and lilac.
Passeres 89
A wary and subtle bird is the .Jay {Garruhis glan-
darius), as much admired for its beauty as hated by
gamekeepers for its destructive tendencies. Fawn-
colour, black and white are mingled in its plumage in
due proportion, while a large crest and a mottled
blue wing-patch enhance its attractiveness. The food
consists of worms and insects, acorns, nuts, and
other fruits, and unfortunately also of the eggs and
young of birds ; the flight is heavy and the reiterated
notes harsh and screaming. The nest, sometimes built
in the fork of a tree, but ordinarily in thick bushy
copsewood, is of twigs, grass and roots, while the four
or five greenish eggs are closely freckled Avith olive and
occasionally exhibit a black scrawl. Owing to perse-
cution the Jay is local with us and to the northward
only reaches Inverness-shire ; the typical form, more-
over, is now held to differ from the British, which is
again a close ally of other European, Asiatic, and north
African species.
Not many years ago the pretty long-tailed black
and white Magpie {Pica pica) was often seen in most of
our counties, and was well known for its cunning ways
and jarring notes. Now, how^ever, the balance ot
nature has been so much disturbed by game-preservers
that the bird is becoming rare, except where the pre-
servation is incomplete. No doubt its fate is more or
less merited, as it is destructive to young birds and
eggs, but it used to be a great feature in the landscape,
being continually seen moving with strong but low
flight from one shelter to another, or in spring busy
round its wonderful nest. This is a great roundish
mass of sticks lined with clay and then with roots,
while the top or roof is comparatively thin and flat,
90
Order I
and access is gained at the side. The eggs, generally
more than six in number, are greenish white with olive
and brown markings. If we ignore various forms
that have been described, the Magpie ranges over
Europe, north Asia, north Africa and even western
North America, but there are fairly recognisable sub-
species.
Magpie
The genus Corvus, or Crow, includes not only the
Crows proper, but also the Jackdaw and the Raven, all
of which are big glossy black birds. The Jackdaw
(C. monedula) breeds throughout the Palsearctic region
as far eastward as the Yenisei river, with the exception
of the more Arctic parts of Europe, the Faeroes and
Iceland ; it is easily distinguished by its grey nape,
while its note is not a caw, but a repetition of " jake,
P(fsscre8
91
jake." The curious tumbling flight, the gregarious
habits, and the thievish propensities are matters of
common knowledge ; the food consists of insects,
worms, slieeps" parasites, and so forth,- and also of any
eggs the bird can procure. Single pairs often choose
hollow trees or chimneys for their big stick and wool
1)
Magpie's nest
nest, but colonies are very common and build in holes
in cliffs, ruins, church towers, and other like places, as
well as in rabbit- holes on the hills. Some half-dozen
green or more rarely bluish eggs are laid, with black,
brown, and olive blotches or spots.
The Raven (C corax) is now a rare bird in most
places, though formerly it commonly bred inland in
92
Order I
big trees ; such sites for the nest are practically a
matter of ancient history in our southern counties,
those now chosen being on hill-side crags or sea-side
cliffs, and usually in spots very difficult of access on
Raven's nest
account of overhanging rock-faces. A great mass of
sticks lined with softer materials is collected in some
larger hole or vertical fissure, and on these are deposited
about five green eggs with olive and brown markings
distributed over the shell : most exceptionally the
Passer €s \v.\
coloration is red. They are laid very early in the
north, but often hiter from the Border Country to
south-west England. This fine glossy black bird is still
fairly abundant in northern Scotland, on the Welsh
coast and in Ireland ; abroad it breeds throughout
Europe, northern Asia and North America, but other
species or races take its place in Africa. The flight is
powerful but slow, and both sexes tumble in the air,
generally in the neighbourhood of the nest ; the note
is a harsh barking sound, the food is of all descriptions,
including weakly lambs, small mammals, birds, eggs,
and carrion.
The Carrion Crow (C. corone) and the Grey or
Hooded Crow (C. comix) may be considered together,
for the latter is little more than a grey-backed and
grey-breasted race of the former, which interbreeds with
it where their ranges overlap. Many migrants arrive in
autumn, and do not all leave us in winter. In Britain
the black bird reaches from the south to about mid-
Scotland, but the particoloured bird is almost confined
in the breeding season to the north of the Firth of
Forth, the Isle of Man, and Ireland, while it also has
a more northerly and south-easterly range in Europe.
This, however, must be taken as a very rough state-
ment, as a great amount of overlapping takes place,
and both forms extend to northern Asia, while even in
Britain nests may be found down to the Scottish
borders. Rooks are often called Crow\s, but the true
Crows have a decidedly harsher voice and are, if any-
thing, more difficult to approach ; they are notorious
egg-stealers and destroy much young game, but they
feed also on other small birds and mammals, on carrion,
insects, and fish, when they can catch it. They are
94 Order I
therefore a public nuisance and not beneficial, as Rooks
are. From autumn to spring numbers are seen in the
open country or on the shore, but in spring our native
stocks retire to the woodlands or the hill-country,
where they build on a tree or rock a large nest of
sticks, lined with wool and other soft materials. The
four or five eggs resemble those of the Raven, but are
smaller. On the sea-coast the nest is often in a cliff.
Colonies are not formed. The flight is similar to that
of the next species.
The Rook (C. frugilegus), on the other hand, breeds
in colonies often of hundreds of birds, the larger
rookeries being also used as winter resorts. The nests
are usually on lofty trees, but in quiet places may be
much nearer the ground and exceptionally on it ; they
are built of sticks and mainly lined with straw, while
the eggs are "small editions" of those of their congeners.
In the rookeries a vast amount of cawing is always
going on, and the birds are tame enough, but at other
times they are very wary, and constantly post sentinels
when feeding in the fields. The amount of insect pests
that is consimied must be incalculable, and the Rook
is doubtless of the greatest utiHty, but in certain places
it takes to bad habits and imitates the Crow in the
destruction of eggs of game. This simply points to
the fact that the natural food-supply will only maintain
a certain number of individuals, and that any excess
should be checked by shooting the young. This species
is found breeding throughout Britain as far north as
the Orkneys ; it does not do so in southern Europe,
but ranges over the northern portion and to Siberia.
An adult Rook is characterized by a broad tract of
white warty skin round the base of the bill, but the
V/S.s7'/V'X
young have that part feathered, and are best dis-
tinguished from (Vows by the dark or Hvid, as opposed
to pale flesli -coloured, inside of the mouth. These
Rook
birds are constant migrants to and from the Continent.
The flight is powerful, if slightly laboured.
Family ALAUDID^, or Larks
The Skylark (Alauda arvensis) is too well known to
need any description, but it must be noted that its
erectile crest has sometimes caused it to be taken by
96
Grader I
the uninitiated for the very different Crested Lark.
Whether it be seen rising from the ground and flying
low before us, diligently dusting itself on the roads, or
soaring high in the air, it is always the same familiar
friend, while its joyous song, uttered on the wing at
all times of year, is one of the most delightful sounds
of the country-side. The notes are no doubt most
Skylark
perfect in the breeding season, when the male rises as
far as the keenest sight can follow him and serenades
his sitting mate, but they may generally be heard in
sunny weather even in winter. The food consists
chiefly of insects and worms, with a certain proportion
of seeds ; the nest is made of grasses, and is built in
pastures, young corn fields, or rough herbage, or even
on banks and sandy flats, and generally contains four
/^^s■^7 yv s 1)7
or five eggs of a wliitish ground-colour thickly dotted
with brown and grey. The Skyhirk is a great migrant
and is constantly seen passing backwards and forwards
to the Continent on passage, while it breeds throughout
the Pahiearctic region (in several forms), and even
beyond the Arctic Circle northwards.
The Wood-lark (Lullula arborea) is easily distin-
guished from the Skylark by its smaller size, short tail
and much broader buff streak over the eye, or at
a distance by its lighter appearance and somewhat
Chat-like movements. It does not frequent the interior
of woods, but is to be found on dry sunny fields or
banks on their outskirts, heaths and sandy places,
where it makes its nest in rather bare spots and lays
four or five eggs, generally with brighter markings than
those of its congener. They are small and vary con-
siderably in colour. The sweet song of reiterated notes
is uttered while the bird is hovering at a moderate
height in the air, or while sitting on the outer branch
of a tree ; it is very noticeable in autumn, as well as
spring, and would be more generally admired were the
songster not so local, for it is never abundant, though
found in small colonies in England, chiefly in the
eastern and southern districts, in Wales, and Wicklow
in Ireland. In Europe and north-west Africa this
species breeds in the temperate regions, as it does in
Persia and Transcaspia, but it is equally local or but
little commoner than with us, while it hardly changes
its quarters in Britain during the year. In Scotland the
Tree-pipit is often termed " Wood-lark," but the former
bird does not arrive till the latter has begun to breed,
while the habits, nest and eggs are quite unmistakeable.
The food is similar to tliat of the Skylark.
E. B. 7
w
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