^^«
.{^S^^
FOR THE PEOPLE
FOR EDVCATION
FOR SCIENCE
LIBRARY
OF
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
OF
NATURAL HISTORY
HISTORY
OP
BRITISH BIRDS,
INDIGENOUS AND MIGEATOEY.
I I M /
A
HISTORY
OJ?
BRITISH BIRDS,
INDIGENOUS AND MIGRATORY:
INCLUDING
THEIR ORGANIZATION, HABITS, AND RELATIONS ;
REMARKS ON CLASSIFICATION AND NOMENCLATURE;
AN ACCOUNT OF THE PRINCIPAL ORGANS OF BIRDS, AND
OBSERVATIONS RELATIVE TO PRACTICAL
ORNITHOLOGY. _
ILLUSTRATED BY
NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS.
BY WILLIAM MACGILLIVRAY, A. M.,
MEMBER OP THE WERNBRIAN NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OP EDINBURGH, OF THE NATURAL
HISTORY SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA, OF THE LYCEUM OF NEW YORK, OF THE
LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH CAROLINA;
CONSERVATOR OF THE MUSEUM OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF EDINBURGH,
AND LECTURER ON BOTANY TO QUEEn'S COLLEGE.
VOL. III.
REPTATORES, CREEPERS ; SCANSORES, CLIMBERS ; CUCULIN^ ;
RAPTORES, PLUNDERERS, OR RAPACIOUS BIRDS ;
EXCURSORES, SNATCHERS ; VOLITATORES, GLIDERS;
JACULATORES, DARTERS.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR SCOTT, WEBSTER, AND GEARY,
36, CHARTERHOUSE SQUARE.
1840.
' f"
W. BURNESS, PRrNTER, EDINBURGH.
TO HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY
THE QUEEN,
THIS
HISTORY OF BRITISH BIRDS,
TO WHICH HER MAJESTY HAS BEEN GRACIOUSLY
PLEASED TO EXTEND HER PATRONAGE,
IS DEDICATED,
WITH THE MOST PROFOUND RESPECT,
BY HER MAJESTY'S
MOST FAITHFUL SUBJECT,
AND MOST DEVOTED SERVANT,
WILLIAM MACGILLIVRAY.
EoiNBiKiiH, 26th Jime, 1840.
PREFACE.
It is under circumstances peculiarly pleasing that I now pre-
sent myself to the public. I have accomplished half of my
task, having completed the history of the entire series of British
Land Birds. The few feeble sounds indicative of disappro-
bation, that were elicited by the appearance of my beautiful
Cooers and Songsters, died away without an echo, and the rich
burst of applause with which my charming favourites were
hailed, still resounding in my ears, has inspired me with fresh
energy. I am therefore confident that the present volume is
in no degree inferior to its predecessors, and hopeful that it
will be received with equal favour.
Several keen observers of birds have, to my sure knowledge,
received from the information conveyed in these volumes, an
impulse which will effectually prevent them from ever pervert-
ing nature by forcing her into quinary or ternary arrangements,
or from dwindling into mere describers of skins, and indiscri-
rainating compilers of correct, doubtful, and erroneous observa-
tions. Of such pupils I am proud, and if my exultation should
be held as an indication of vanity, I cannot help it, for I am
constrained to speak the truth. Should any man conceive
himself injured thereby, I hope he may consider that in mat-
ters of science there ought to be perfect freedom of thought,
and that a very obscure individual, like myself, may sometimes
fall upon truths subversive of theories invented by men of the
highest intellect.
ii PREFACE.
In my efforts on the present occasion I have been aided by
several kind friends and successful observers. May they live
to see my labours, in which they have taken so lively an inte-
rest, completed, and their object accomplished I From the
south and the north, the east and the west, information has
flowed in. Scarcely was my second volume published, when
I received, from a gentleman resident in Leicester, who has
long dedicated part of his time to the study of birds, an offer
of assistance, which I gladly accepted, and congratulations,
which excited the most lively emotions, seeing they came from
a man of kindred sentiments, whose heart warmed toward one
whose writings had afforded him pleasure. Well has that
honourable and kind-hearted Englishman, Mr Harley, per-
formed his promises, as the pages of this volume will shew.
From the sea-girt rocks of Zetland, the voice of an old and
dear friend has come to assure me of his sympathy and esteem.
That friend, Dr Lawrence Edmondston, well known as an
enthusiastic observer of birds, who has added much to our
knowledge of those of his native country, has supplied me
with several important articles, and will enrich the remaining
volumes with the results of his investigations respecting the
habits of the feathered denizens of his semi- Scandinavian Isles.
A gentleman familiarly known to my readers, Mr Th. Durham
Weir, — one of whose most strict and scrupulous adherence on
all occasions to truth, of whose almost unrivalled perseverance
and lyncean acuteness of observation, everyone acquainted with
him is well assured, — one who personifies honesty and integrity,
those most precious but most rare qualities, — has not intermitted
his benevolent efforts to forward my views. While he has thus
poured in his contributions from the west, an Anglo-Norman
in the east, my equally enthusiastic and most estimable young
friend, Mr Hepburn, has favoured me with a mass of interest-
ing observations, of which I have been obliged to select only a
part, otherwise I should have extended the present volume
much beyond its legitimate magnitude. Dr Robertson of Dun-
keld, to whom I am personally unknown, has most generously
presented me Math specimens, and offered his aid in procuring
more, as well as in supplying observations. The Rev, Mr
PREFACE. iii
Gordon of Birnie, Mr Barclay, Mr Brown, Mr Duncan, and
Mr Mactier, I feel pride in adding to the list of ornithological
friends. With them too I must associate on this occasion one
who, having finished his task of depicting and describing the
birds of another and more extensive portion of the globe, has
returned to his native land, Mr Audubon, to whom I am in-
debted for specimens of several of our rarer feathered visitants,
and of stragglers from America, of which I have failed in pro-
curing permission to examine those in Edinburgh.
To Mr Macduff Carfrae I again offer my warmest thanks
for his liberal supply of bodies for dissection, and of recent and
prepared specimens for description. To Mr Fenton also I am
in like manner indebted ; as well as to various individuals, far
and near, from Oxford to Elgin, who have sent me eggs, nests,
and birds. In short, circumstances are now very different with
me from what they were, when, among the wild rocks of the
Hebrides, I commenced my labours, without aid or sympathy,
or when, twenty years ago, I first visited Edinburgh, where I
was unknown to a single individual.
In this volume are contained descriptions of the birds to
which I have given the ordinal names of Creepers, Climbers,
Cuckoos, Plunderers, Snatchers, Gliders, and Darters, amount-
ing to fifty-six species, together with two birds omitted in
their proper places, and a species now first added to the British
Fauna.
An Appendix contains observations supplementary to the three
volumes now published ; and at the end is a systematic Index
to the Land Birds, in which they are disposed in families, in
the order in which I conceive they may be most advantageously
arranged. With regard to what I have called Practical Orni-
thology, 1 have found it necessary on this occasion to be some-
what less discursive than I could have wished. The anatomi-
cally disposed student however will find an account of the exten-
sile tongue of the Woodpeckers, the organs of sense of the Ra-
pacious birds, instructions for making skeletons, and the usual
information respecting the alimentary canal of all the species
of which I could obtain bodies, illustrated by numerous figures.
In one of the chapters or Lessons under this head, is a valuable
iv PREFACE.
Catalogue of the Land Birds of the County of Leicester, by Mr
Harley.
The Engravings on Wood, which I think superior to those in
the preceding volumes, have been executed by Mr Bruce, with
the exception of a few by Mr Sclater ; and those on steel, in
the present, as well as the other volumes, by Mr Gellatly.
The drawings for both have been made by myself, in every
case from the objects which they are intended to represent.
Notwithstanding the labour and expense of preparing these
volumes for the public, I am authorized to say that the fourth,
containing the Waders, a great part of which is ready for the
compositor, will be published before the third has been well
dispersed. In it and the fifth or last, I promise descriptions
equally correct, and probably more interesting, as many of the
aquatic birds have been very carefully studied by me, mider
the most favourable circumstances.
W. MACGILLIVRAY.
Edinburgh, 1, Wharton Place,
1*^ June 1840.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Essential Characters of the Orders, and Incidental Remarks on
Birds, - . - . - 1
ORDER VI. REPTATORES. CREEPERS.
Characters of the Reptatores, _ _ - 9
FAMILY I. CERTHIANiE. TREE-CREEPERS AND ALLIED SPE-
CIES, - - - - 12
Genus I. Anorthura. "Wren, - - 13
1. Anorthura Troglodytes. The European Wren, 15
Genus II. Certhia. Tree-Creeper, - - ,S1
1. Certhia familiaris. The Brown Tree-Creeper, 33
Genus III. Upupa. Hoopoe, - - - 40
1. Upupa Epops. The European Hoopoe, - 41
FAMILY II. SITTING. NUTHATCHES AND ALLIED SPECIES, 45
Genus I. Sitta. Nuthatch, - - - 46
1. Sitta europaea. The European Nuthatch, - 48
PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY. SEVENTH LESSON, . 56
Remarks on Woodpeckers. Structure of the Tongue of Picus viridis,
and explanation of the manner in which it is extended and retracted.
Its Trachea and Digestive Organs.
Description of part of the County of Leicester, including Charnwood
Forest.
ORDER VII. SCANSORES. CLIMBERS.
Characters of the Scansorcs, - ^ . 65
vi CONTENTS.
FAMILY I. PICINtE. WOODPECKERS AND ALLIED SPECIES, 69
Synopsis of the British Genera and Species of Picinae, 71
Genus I. Picus. Woodpecker, - - - 73
1. Picus martins. The Great Black "Woodpecker, 77
2. Picus Pipra. The Pied AYoodpecker, - - 80
3. Picus striolatus. The Striated Woodpecker, 86
4. Picus viridis. The Green A\^oodpecker, - 91
Genus II. Yunx. Wryneck, - - - 98
1. YunxTorquilla. The Wryneck, - - 100
ORDER VIII. CUCKOOS.
CUCULIN^. CUCKOOS AND ALLIED SPECIES, . 105
Genus I. Cuculus. Cuckoo, - - - 108
1. Cuculus canorus. The Grey Cuckoo, - 109
Genus II. Coccyzus. Cowcow, _ _ _ 136
1. Coccyzus americaiius. The Yellow -billed Cowcow, 137
PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY. EIGHTH LESSON, .. HI
Eagle-shooting. Organs of sensation of the Rapacious Birds ; structure
of the Eye, Nasal Passages, Ear, and Tongue. Organs of Respir-
ation of Vultures, Hawks, and Owls.
ORDER IX. RAPTORES. PLUNDERERS.
Characters of the Raptorcs, . _ _ KJl
FAMILY I. VULTURINiE. VULTURES & ALLIED SPECIES, 163
Genus I. Neophron. Neophron, - - 165
1. Neophron Pcrcnopterus. The White Neophron, 166
FAMILY II. FALCONIN.E. FALCONS AND ALLIED SPECIES, I70
Synopsis of the British Genera and Species of Falconina^, 174
CONTENTS. vii
Genus I. Buteo. Buzzard, - _ _ 180
1 . Buteo fuscus. The Brown or Common Buzzard, 183
2. Buteo lagopus. The Rough-legged Buzzard, 193
Genus II. Aquila. Eagle, _ _ - 201
1 . Aquila Chrysaetus. The Golden Eagle, - 204
Genus III. Haliaetus. Sea-Eagle, - - 218
1. Haliaetus Albicilla. The White-tailed Sea-Eagle, 221
Genus IV. Pandion, Osprey, - - 237
1. Pandion Haliaetus. The Fishing Osprey, - 239
Genus V. Pernis. Bee-Hawk, - - 252
1. Pernis apivora. The Brown Bee-Hawk, - 254
Genus VI. Milvus. Kite, - - 263
1. Milvus regalis. The Red Kite, - - 264
Genus VII. Xauclerus. Swalloav-Kite, - 276
1. Nauclerus furcatus. The White-headed Swallow-
Kite, - - " - 277
Genus VIII. Falco. Falcon, - - 281
1. Falco Gyrfalco. The Gyr Falcon, - 284
2. Falco peregrinus. The Peregrine Falcon, 294
3. Falco Subbuteo. The Hobby Falcon, - 309
4. Falco vespertinus. The Orange-legged Falcon, 313
5. Falco iEsalon. The Merlin, - - 317
6. Falco Tinnunculus. The Kestrel, - 325
Genus IX. Accipiter. Hawk, - 338
1 . Accipiter Palumbarius. The Goshawk - 340
2. Accipiter Nisus. The Sparrow Hawk, - - 346
Genus X. Circus. Harrier, - - 363
1. Circus cyaneus. The Ring-tailed Harrier, 366
2. Circus cincraceus. Montagu's Harrier, - 378
3. Circus ajruginosus. The Marsh Harrier, - - 382
FAMILY III. STRIGIN.E. OWLS, - - - 388
Synopsis of the British Genera and Species, - 307
^
viii CONTENTS.
fjENUs I. Syhnia. Day-Owl, - - 401
1. Syrnia funerea. The Hawk Day-Owl, - 404
2. Syruia Nyctea. The Snowy Day-Owl, - - 407
3. Syrnia psiloclactyla. The Bare-toed Day-Owl, 417
Genus II. Scops. Owlet, - - 421
I. Scops Aldrovandi. The Aldrovandine Owlet, 422
Genus III. Bubo. Eagle-Owl, - - 425
1. Bubo maxinuis. The Great Eagle-Owl, - - 428
Genus IV, Ulula. Hooting-Owl, - - 435
1. UlulaAluco. The Tawny Ilooting-Owl, 438
2. Ulula Tengmaluii. Tengniahn's Hooting-Owl, 445
Genus V. Apio. Tufted-Owl, - - 450
1. Asio Otus. The Mottled Tufted -Owl, - 453
2. Asio brachyotus. The Streaked Tufted-Owl, 461
Genus VI. Strix. Screech-Owl, - - 469
1. Strix flammea. The European Screech-Owl, 477
. De Ululis, - - - 480
ORDER X. EXCURSORES. SNATCHERS.
FAMILY I. LANIIN/E. SHRIKES AND ALLIED SPECIES, 486
Synopsis of the British Genera and Species, - 488
Genus I. Lanius. Surike, - - 489
1. Lanius Excubitor. The Great Cinereous Skrike, 492
2. Lanius Rutilus. The Woodchat Shrike, - 502
3. Lanius CoIIurio. The Red-backed Shrike, 505
FAMILY II. MYIOTHERIN/E. FLYCHASERS AND ALLIED
SPECIES, - _ _ 5J2
Synopsis of the British Genera and Species, - 515
Genus I. Muscicapa. FLYCATcnER, - - 516
1. Muscicapa Grisola. The Spotted Grey Flycatcher, 518
2. Muscicapa luctuosa. The Pied Flycatcher, 524
CONTENTS.
FAMILY III. AMl'ELlNyE. CHATTERERS AND ALLIED
SPECIES, _ _ - 529
Synopsis of the British Genera and Species, - 530
Genus I. Bombycilla. TVaxwing, - - 531
1 . Bombycilla garrula. The Black- throated Waxwing, 533
FAMILY IV. PSARIN^. THICK-BILLS AND ALLIED SPECIES, 537
Synopsis of the British Genera and Species, - 538
Genus I. Coracias. Roller, - - 539
I. Coracias garrala. The Garrulous Roller, 540
PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY. NINTH LESSON, - 543
Scene from the Fifeshire coast in March. Velvet Ducks, Cormorant.s,
Larks, Lapwings, Shells, and a Sea-Devil. Various observations.
Modes of preparing Skeletons and Digestive Organs of Birds. A
steam-boat in a storm. Recollections of the Hebrides.
ORDER XI. VOLITATORES. GLIDERS.
FAMILY I. HIRUNDIN^. SWALLOWS AND ALLIED SPECIES, 553
Synopsis of the British Genera and Species, - 554
Genus I. Hirundo. Swallow, - - 555
1. Hirundo rustica. The Red-fronted or Chimney
Swallow, - - - 558
2. Hirundo urbica. The Whitc-rumped Swallow, 573
3. Hirundo riparia. The Bank Swallow, - 593
FAMILY II. CYPSELIN^. SWIFTS AND ALLIED SPECIES, 606
Synopsis of the British Genera and Species, - 608
Genus I. Cypselus. Swift, _ - _ 609
1. Cypselus Melba. The White-bellied Swift, 611
2. Cypselus murarius. The Black Swift, - 614
X CONTENTS.
FAMILY III. CAPRIMULGIN.E. GOATSUCKERS AND ALLIED
SPECIES, - - - 627
Synopsis of the British Genera and Species, - 629
Genus I. Caprimulgus. Goatsucker, - 636
] , Caprimulgus europreus. The European Goatsucker
or Nightjar, - - - 633
PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY. TENTH LESSON, 646
Catalogue of the Land Birds of Leicestershire. By Mr James Harlej'.
ORDER XII. JACULATORES. DARTERS,
FAMILY I. ALCEDIN^. KINGFISHERS AND ALLIED SPECIES, 667
Genus I. Alcedo. Kingfisher, - - 669
1. Alcedo Ispida. The Halcyon Kingfisher, 671
Genus II. Merops. Bee-eater, - 683
1. Merops Apiaster. The Yellow-throated Bee-eater, 685
SUPPLEMENT,
Containing omitted Species, - - 689
Loxia leucoptera. The White-winged Crossbill, - 689
Genus. Calamophilus. Pinnock, - 693
I. Calamophilus biarmicus. The Bearded Pinnock, 694
APPENDIX.
Additional Observations relative to the Birds described in the
First, Second, and Third Volumes, - - 700
Corvus leucopheeus. Pied or Ferroe Raven, - 745
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIVE FIGURES.
PLATES.
XIV. Digestive Organs of Creepers and Woodpeckers.
XV. Tongue and Trachea of the Green Woodpecker, Pious viridis.
XVI. Digestive Organs of the Grey Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus.
XVII. Organs of Sensation of Rapacious Birds. The Eye and the Tongue.
XVIII. Organs of Sensation of Rapacious Birds. The Nasal cavity, and the Ear.
XIX. Tracheae of Vultures, Hawks, and Owls.
XX. Digestive Organs of the Sea-Eagle and Golden Eagle.
XXI. Digestive Organs of Hawks and Owls.
XXII. Digestive Organs of Shrikes, Flycatchers, Chatterers, Swallows, Swifts,
Goatsuckers, and Kingfishers.
WOOD CUTS.
Fig. 186. Heads of two species of Dendrocolaptes. Reduced, . page \0
187. Foot of Dendrocolaptes, .... 11
188. Head of European Wren, Anorthura Troglodytes, . . 15
189. Head of Brown Tree-creeper, Certhia familiaris, . 33
190. Foot of Brown Tree-creeper, . . . .34
191. Wing of Brown Tree-creeper, ... 34
192. Tail of Brown Tree-creeper, . • 35
193. Head of European Hoopoe, Upupa Epops. Reduced , 41
194. Foot of European Hoopoe, ... 44
195. Head of European Nuthatch, Sitta europsea, . 48
196. Foot of European Nuthatch, . . . .55
197. Wing of European Nuthatch, . . . 55
198. Foot of Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Picus principalis. Red, one-third, 68
199. Sternum of Pileated Woodpecker, Picus pileatus, . . 70
200. Bill of Picus robustus. Reduced one-third, , . 73
201. Tail of Picus robustus, . . , .76
202. Head of Great Black Woodpecker, Picus martins. Red. one-third, 77
203. Head of Pied Woodpecker, Picus Pipra, . . gO
204. Foot of Pied Woodpecker, . . . .81
20.5, Head of Striated Woodpecker, Picus striolatus, . 86
206. Head of Green Woodpecker, Picus viridis. Reduced one-third, 91
207. Head of Wryneck, Yunx Torquilla, . . . loO
208. Foot of Eudynamis orientalis, . . , 10.5
209. Head of Grey Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, . . 109
210. Head of White Neophron, Neophron Percnopterus. Reduced, 166
211. Sternum of Turkey-Vulture, Cathartes Aura, Red. one-half, 169
212. Head of Brown Buzzard, Buteo fuscus. Reduced one-third, 183
213. Foot of Rough-legged Buzzard, Buteo lagopus. Red. one-third, 194
214. Foot of Golden Eagle, Aquila Chrysaetus. Half-size, , 203
215. Head of Golden Eagle. Half-size, . . 204
216. Foot of White-tailed Sea-Eagle, Haliaetus Albicilla. Half-size, 220
217. Head of White-tailed Sea-Eagle, Haliaetus Albicilla. Half-size, 221
218. Head of Fishing Osprey, Pandion Haliaetus. Red. one-third, 239
219. Foot of Fishing Osprey, Pandion Haliaetus. Red. one-third, 251
220. Head of Brown Bee-Hawk, Pernis apivora. Reduced one-third, 254
221. Head of Red Kite, Milvus regalis. Reduced one-third, . 265
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIVE FIGURES.
Fig. 222.
223.
224.
225.
226.
227.
228.
229.
230.
231.
232.
233.
234.
235.
236".
237.
238.
239.
240.
241.
242.
243.
244.
245.
24G.
247.
248.
249.
250.
251.
252.
253.
254.
255,
256.
257.
258.
259.
260.
261.
262.
263.
264.
265.
266.
267.
268.
269.
270.
271.
272.
273.
274.
275.
276.
277.
278,
Head of White-headed Swallow-Kite. Reduced one thinl, page
Head of Gyr Falcon, Falco Gyrfalco. Reduced one-third,
Head of Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus. Red, one-third.
Foot of Peregrine Falcon. Reduced one-third,
Heads of Merlin Falcon, Falco ^salon. Reduced one-third,
Head of Female Kestrel, Falco Tinnunculus. Red. one-third.
Heads of Sparrow Hawk, Accipiter Nisus. Reduced one-third,
Foot of Sparrow Hawk. Reduced one-third,
Head of Hen Harrier, Circus cyaneus. Female. Red. one-third,
Head of Hen Harrier, Circus cyaneus. Male. Red. one-third.
Foot of Hen Harrier. Reduced one-third.
Head of Montagu's Harrier, Circus cineraceus. Red. one-third.
Head of Marsh Harrier, Circus teruginosus. Red. one-third,
Foot of Mottled Tufted-Owl, Asio Otus. Full size.
Sternum of an Owl. Full size.
Ears of Falcon, Day-Owl, Hooting-Owl, Tufted-Owl, and
Screech-Owl. Reduced, . . . •
Ear of Syrnia nyctea. Full size,
Head of Snowy Day-Owl, Syrnia nyctea. Reduced,
Foot of Bare-toed Day-owl, Syrnia psilodactyla. FuU size.
Head of Scops Owlet, Scops Aldrovandi. Half-size,
Ear of Great Eagle-Owl, Bubo maximus.
Head of Great Eagle-Owl. Reduced one-half,
Ear of Tawny Hooting-Owl, Ulula Aluco. Reduced one-half,
Head of Tawny Hooting-Owl. Reduced one-half,
Ear of Mottled Tufted-Owl, Asio Otus. Reduced one-half,
Head of Mottled Tufted- Owl. Reduced one-half.
Ear of European Screech-Owl, Strix flammea. Reduced one-half,
Foot of European Screech-Owl,
Wing of Great Cinereous Shrike, Lanius Excubitor. Reduced,
Head of Great Cinereous Shrike,
Head of Woodchat Shrike, Lanius Rutilus, .
Head of Red-backed Shrike, Lanius Collurio,
Head and Foot of Tyrannus crinitus.
Head of Spotted Grey Flycatcher, Muscicapa Grisola,
Foot of Spotted Grey Flycatcher,
Head of Spotted Grey Flycatcher,
Head of Pied Flycatcher, Muscicapa luctuosa,
Wing of Black-throated Waxwing, Bombycilla garrula,
Head of Black-throated Waxwing,
Foot of Black-throated Waxwing,
Head of Garrulous Roller, Coracias garrula.
Wing of White-rumped Swallow, Hirundo urbica.
Wing of Black Swift, Cypselus murarius.
Wing of European Goatsucker, Caprimulgus europfeus.
Head of Red-fronted Swallow, Hirundo rustica.
Head of White-rumped Swallow, Hirundo urbica,
Head of Sand Swallow, Hirundo riparia.
Sternum of Black Swift,
Head of White-bellied Swift, Cypselus Melba,
Heads of Black Swift, Cypselus murarius,
Foot of Black Swift, Cypselus murarius,
Foot of European Goatsucker, Caprimulgus europaeus,
Head of European Goatsucker,
Head of European Kingfisher, Alcedo Ispida, ,
Head of Yellow-throated Bee-eater, Merops Apiaster,
Head of White-winged Crossbill, Loxia leucoptera,
Head of Bearded Pinnock, Calamophilus biarmicus.
277
284
294
308
317
325
346
362
365
366
377
378
382
390
392
396
403
407
420
422
427
428
437
438
452
453
472
472
491
492
502
505
513
517
517
518
524
532
533
536
540
552
552
552
558
573
595
608
611
614
626
632
633
671
685
689
694
ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS OF THE ORDERS.
ORDER VI. REPTATORES. CREEPERS.
Bill of moderate length or elongated, slender, more or less
arched, compressed, acute ; upper mandible with moderate
basal sinuses, filled by the nasal membrane, which is covered
by short feathers, its edges slightly overlapping, with a small or
obsolete notch on each side, close to the pointed tip. (Eso-
phagus narrow, without dilatation ; proventriculus oblong,
with cylindrical glandules. Stomach roundish, somewhat
compressed, with moderate lateral muscles, and dense rugous
epithelium. Intestine short and rather wide ; coeca reduced
to very small cylindrical adnate tubes. Feet rather short;
tarsus compressed ; toes much compressed, the first large, the
anterior three little separated ; claws very long, moderately
arched, extremely compressed, very acute. Wings of mode-
rate length, broad, concave, rounded, with the first quill very
short. PI. XIV.
ORDER VII. SCANSORES. CLIMBERS.
Bill large, strong, nearly straight, angular, compressed and
generally cuneate at the point ; upper mandible with the nos-
trils concealed by the reversed bristly feathers of the narrow
basal sinuses. Tongue extensile. (Esophagus of moderate
width, without crop, but dilated below into a very large sac,
on which the proventricular glands are dispersed. Stomach
roundish, of small or moderate size, a little compressed, with a
2 ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS OF THE ORDERS.
thick muscular coat, and thin, dense, longitudinally rugous
epithelium. Intestine of moderate length, and very wide ; no
coeca ; cloaca very large and elliptical. Legs very short ; tar-
sus short ; first toe very short, sometimes wanting, directed
backwards, as is the fourth or outer, which is equal to the third
or longer, the second and third united at the base ; claws re-
markably large, much curved, extremely compressed, broadly
grooved on the sides, and with the tips very acute. Wings
large, much rounded, the first quill very small. Tail short
or of moderate length, often rigid, of ten or twelve feathers.
PI. XIV.
ORDER VIII. CUCULIN^. CUCKOOS.
Bill of moderate size or large, wide at the base, much com-
pressed toward the end, somewhat arched and pointed ; upper
mandible with the ridge more or less arcuate, the edges notch-
less at the end, the tip decurved, acute. Tongue moderate,
flattened, tapering. Oesophagus wide, without crop ; proven-
triculus large ; stomach very large, round, with its muscular
coat thin, and the epithelium soft and rugous. Intestine of
moderate length and width, with large oblong coeca. Toes
broad beneath, first small, fourth directed backwards, second
and third united at the base ; claws moderate, curved, com-
pressed, acute, that of the first toe sometimes much elongated.
Wings long or moderate, much rounded. Tail long, graduated
or rounded, of twelve broad feathers. PI. XVI.
ORDER IX. RAPTORES. PLUNDERERS.
Bill short or moderate ; upper mandible cerate at the base,
without sinus, but with the nostrils perforated in the cere, the
tip decurved, elongated, and pointed. Tongue short, concave,
fleshy, rounded or emarginate. (Esophagus wide, dilated into
a crop in the diurnal species ; proventriculus wide ; stomach
very large, round, with its muscular coat very thin, and the
ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS OF THE ORDERS. 3
epithelium soft and rugous, or very thin. Intestine short and
of moderate width, in a few species which feed on fish very
long and extremely slender ; coeca in the diurnal very small
or obsolete, in the nocturnal oblong and large. Feet strong,
with four toes, of which the outer is versatile in the nocturnal
species ; claws long, curved, tapering, very acute. Wings
always large, but varying in length. Tail of twelve feathers.
PL IV, V, XX, XXI.
ORDER X. EXCURSORES. SNATCHERS.
Bill short or of moderate length, very broad at the base,
compressed only at the tip ; upper mandible with rather wide
basal sinuses, filled by the nasal membrane, which is feathered,
the edges notched close to the decurved acute tip. Tongue
narrow, flat, thin-edged, with the point slit or lacerated.
OEsophagus wide, without crop ; proventriculus oblong ; sto-
mach elliptical or roundish, moderately muscular, with the
lateral muscles distinct, and the epithelium dense and rugous.
Intestine short and wide, with very small coeca. Feet of mo-
derate size or very small ; tarsus slender ; hind toe long and
stouter, lateral toes nearly equal, anterior moderately spread-
ing ; claws rather long, curved or arched, much compressed,
laterally grooved, very acute. Wings generally rather long,
more or less rounded, with the first quill very small. Tail of
twelve feathers. PI. XXII.
ORDER XL VOLITATORES. GLIDERS.
Bill very short in proportion to its breadth ; mouth extremely
wide ; upper mandible with the tip very small, and the nasal
sinuses feathered. Tongue short, flattened, sometimes very
small. (Esophagus wide, somewhat funnel-shaped, but with-
out crop ; proventriculus moderate. Stomach broadly ellipti-
cal, moderately compressed, in the diurnal species muscular,
with thin broadly rugous epithelium, in the nocturnal, very
4 ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS OF THE ORDERS.
large, with the muscular coat thin, the epithelium hard and
rugous. Intestine short and wide, with small or obsolete coeca
in the diurnal, but in the nocturnal large and oblong. Feet
extremely small, with four toes, the anterior spreading ; claws
rather large, arched or curved, acute. Wings very long and
pointed. Tail of twelve feathers. PI. XXII.
ORDER XII. JACULATORES. DARTERS.
Bill large, angular, tapering, straight or arched, pointed ;
upper mandible with very short feathered nasal sinuses, and
without notches. Tongue very small. CEsophagus very wide,
funnel-shaped, without crop. Stomach large, round, with a
very thin muscular coat, and a soft rugous epithelium. Intes-
tine of moderate length, very slender ; no coeca ; cloaca very
large and globular. Feet remarkably small and feeble ; tarsus
very short ; toes short and very slender, the first small, broad
and flattened beneath, the anterior three parallel and united
in part of their length ; claws arched, compressed, acute.
Wings broad, rounded, with the first quill extremely small.
Tail of twelve feathers. PI. XXII.
In commencing a new volume, in which there will neces-
sarily be much of the formality essential to the accurate de-
scription of organs, whether internal or external, one may, not
inaptly, indulge in a little preliminary recreation. A walk
into the fields cannot fail to refresh our feelings, enliven our
sympathies, and prepare us for the task, not altogether one of
unmixed delight, of composing or perusing eight hundred pages
of ornithology. A history unembellished by fiction cannot be
so entertaining as one in which facts are modified and accom-
modated to favourite theories, inferences drawn from loose
statements, precise details represented as unimportant, and
PREPARATORY WALK INTO THE COUNTRY, 5
mellifluous sentences constructed with little regard to common
sense. There remains for me, then, only one method of giving
a general interest to my descriptions, namely that of occasion-
ally digressing from the subject, to connect it with those to
which it naturally bears reference. If in the following pages
some slight attempts at ornament may sometimes be made,
the reader will not discover in them any fabulous incidents,
or any facts so decorated as to lose their proper character.
Making a general inspection of our aerial and terrestrial
birds, I might present some statements respecting their distri-
bution, and the proportion of resident to migratory species ; or,
from facts supplied by observation, I might calculate how
many bushels of grain are annually devoured by one set of
birds, and how many millions of insects and worms by an-
other ; but, leaving such matters to the ingenuity of specula-
tive minds, I prefer a visit to the fields, the woods, and the
moors, on this beautiful day in the beginning of summer. Some
pleasing, if not important, observations may be made, in the
course of a long walk, in any part of the country, for, although
not a single bird may occur that has not been often seen be-
fore, a lover of living nature is hardly ever tired with watch-
ing them.
What first attracts our notice is a colony of Rooks in the
tall trees of the garden. In the hole of that broken limb of
the old sycamore is a starling's nest, as you may be assured by
the loud cries of its greedy young ones. These will suffice to
remind us of the Vagatores. A few Sparrows are seen on the
road, a beautiful Chaffinch chants his not unpleasing song on
the beech-tree, two Green Linnets are flying about the hedge,
and on the stone-wall a Corn Bunting creaks out its curious
cry. These and other Deglubitores have already received our
attention. Leaving the city, we enter a highly cultivated dis-
trict, in which the fields, covered with corn and grass, are
separated from each other by hawthorn fences and stone-walls.
The rains which have lately fallen in profusion have imparted
a healthy vigour to the vegetation. The merry carol of the
Lark comes from on high, and the lively AVhitethroat, flitting
along the hedge, sings its more cheerful than melodious ditty
6 PREPARATORY WALK LNTO THE COUNTRY.
as it flies before us, then hovers a while, still singing, plunges
into the bush, and emerges at a little distance. Scarcely two
birds of this species have the same song, or at least, the voices
of individuals differ greatly, and the parts of the performance
are variously arranged. Although Larks also differ somewhat
in this respect, there seems more uniformity in their song, so
that an inattentive listener would scarcely perceive any differ-
ence between one individual and another. From among the
trees by the brook issues the simple but finely cadenced song
of the "Willow Wren. The restlessness and frequent cheep of
that Pied Wagtail, as it now runs along the pebbly beach,
then betakes itself to a tree, and presently darts over head,
betray its anxiety for its young. From the plantation on the
hill side come at intervals the loud and mellow notes of the
Blackbird, and now the delightfully modulated strain of the
Garden Warbler. Other sounds mingle w^ith these, but we
have heard enough to remind us of our former observations on
the Cantatores. In the border of the grassy field, you may
see running along a solitary Partridge, and several Wood-
pigeons wend their way toward the distant wood. At present
we have little chance of meeting with any other Rasores or
Gemitores.
On that columnar crag is the nest of a Kestrel, of which the
situation is marked by a white spot, and in the wood beneath it
one sometimes meets with the Tawny Owl. How beautifully
these Swallows skim over the pool, now and then dipjnng as it
were into the water ! Some of them have fixed their nests in
the window-corners of the farm-house, while others inhabit the
holes of that sand-pit. To the Raptores and Volitatores, of
which these birds are representatives, our labours will present-
ly be directed. On the bank of the stream, at the commence-
ment of that beautiful wood, there used to be the nest, or at
least the hole, of a Kingfisher, the only permanently resident
representative of the group which I name Jaculatores ; and
on the trunks of those tall trees, should one look sharply, he
might discover the Creeper, which belongs to our Reptatores ;
but the ScANsoREs are so rare in this part of the country that
we have no chance of meeting with a Woodpecker.
PREPARATORY ^\ ALK INTO TPIE COUNTRY. 7
How beautiful those green woods of beech and Hnie, inter-
mingled with stately pines, elms, and sycamores ! The lilac
with its lovely thyrsi, the bird-cherry with its white racemes,
the laburnum profuse of pendulous yellow flowers, decorate the
thickets. On the banks and in the shade of the woods are an
hundred species of plants, the examination of which affords
delight to that botanist, who, with trowel in hand, and three
tin boxes slung to his person, rummages among the tangled
roots. The blue hyacinth, the broad-leaved garlick, the pur-
ple-spiked orchis, the wild strawberry, the goldilock ranuncu-
lus, the creeping bugle, the whorled woodrufl', the delicate
oxalis, the granulated saxifrage, and many more are seen
around us. But see, flitting from the tree to the rock, are two
small birds, which from their peculiar cry of chacJc, chacJc, we
know to be Grey Flycatchers. They represent our Excur-
soREs, not inaptly, as you observe, for one of them has sprung
into the air, seized an insect, and returned to the pinnacle on
which it had perched.
V/ith the exception of the Woodpeckers, we have thus met
with representatives of all our larger groups of land birds, un-
less we consider the Cuckoo as meriting a place for itself and
its companions. As yet not a single bird has occurred of those
which will form the subjects of my fourth and fifth volumes,
namely the Wading and Swimming Tribes. But now we
leave the shade of those beautiful woods, and enter on an open
moor, partly covered with furze and heath. Were w^e to extend
our walk, we should meet with the Lapwing, the Curlew, and
the Snipe ; but to observe the Swimmers, we should have to
betake oursalves to the shores of the distant estuary, whose
blue waters, and projecting headlands, form so conspicuously
beautiful a portion of the extensive landscape presented to our
view.
Let us seat ourselves on this mossy knoll, inhale the pure
air, and gaze upon the blue hills that skirt the horizon, the
extended plains, the green woods, and the brown moors. It is
a beautiful, nay, a happy world, although filled with sin and
sorrow. How lovely then must be that in which grief has no
place, — in which the purified soul lives in the eternal sunshine
8 PREPARATORY WALK INTO THE COUNTRY.
of God's love ! ^Vitllout gratitude for mercies, humility on
account of frailties, hope for happier days, trust in providence,
and an earnest desire to do good to our fellow men, our world,
beautiful as it may be, would not be worth living in, and all
our ornithology, however scientific and orderly we might make
it, however pompously w^e might talk of it, and whatever
applause it might elicit from admiring crowds, would be of no
real advantage to us. Even as it is, the science that has refer-
ence merely to the things of time, seems to me a very small
matter, hardly worth disputing about. And yet, when I de-
scend from this mound, which to me is the temple of God, and
shut myself up in my closet, to pen the pages of a History of
British Birds, I shall sometimes forget to exercise that moder-
ation toward opposing writers which conscience might approve.
But the sky is blackening in the west, large drops are be-
ginning to fall, a thread of yellow light has shot across the
gloom, and as heavy rain and thunder may be expected, let ua
betake ourselves to the Hunters' Tryst, and await the issue.
I always feel excited and nervous during a thunder-storm. The
glory of the dazzling flash, the pomp of the rolling mass of
sound, the thick darkness, and the deluge of waters, impress
me with terror and delight, wonder and dread. It is like the
valley of the shadow of death. When the clouds are past,
and the bow of promise gladdens the eye, and the glorious sun
shines in the clear blue sky, a gladness tempered with awe
comes on the soul, a feeling like that which I hope may be
mine and thine, good reader, when the last trumpet shall sum-
mon us before the judgment-seat.
VI. REPTATORES. CREEPERS.
By the ordinal name of Reptatores, or Creepers, may be
designated an extensive group of birds, which agree in possess-
ing certain forms ©f the bill and feet that render them pecu-
liarly adapted for procuring insects and larvfe in the crevices
of the bark of trees. But the habits of creeping and climbing
are not confined to those birds which have the tail-feathers so
stiffened as to be used for the purpose of supporting them while
they cling to the surface. For example, the Black-and- White
Creeper of America, Mniotilta varia of Vieillot, Certhia varia
of Wilson, is described as precisely similar in its mode of life to
our Common Tree-Creeper, Certhia familiaris. That bird how-
ever belongs to the family of Sylvicolinse, and differs little from
Sylvicola coronata, unless in having the bill considerably longer,
and the claws much slronger. This latter species is said to feed
on insects, caterpillars, berries, and seeds, but does not climb
and creep in the manner above described.
The species to which collectively I give the name of Creepers
are intimately connected on one hand with the Sylvianae and Syl-
vicolinae, some of which, as may be seen from the above state-
ment, are actually creeping and climbing birds, on another with
the Parinse, some of which also creep and climb, and again with
the Paradiseanre, which belong, to the order Yagatores. They
may be generally described as having a more or less elongated,
slender, acute bill, well adapted for being insinuated into the
fissures of the bark of trees ; the tarsi short and slender ; the
VOL. III. B
10
REPTATORES. CREEPERS.
toes also slender, the anterior parallel or more or less syndaety-
lous, the hind toe very stout ; the claws large, extremely com-
pressed, arched, and very acute. It must here however be stated
that in this order the form of the bill varies extremely. There is
a small group or genus of South American birds, to which the
name of Dendrocolaptes has been given. The different species of
this genus are so like each other in form, proportions, plumage,
and colour, that, in so far, one description might almost answer
for all. Their feet are syndactyle, and adapted for climbing,
the toes being long, with strong, curved, acute claws. But the
bill, which commonly affords the best generic character, is so
different in the different species, that while in one it is not very
unlike that of a Flycatcher, in another it resembles that of an
Epimachus, as may be seen from the accompanying engravings.
In defining this genus, then, nothing more explicit can be said
of the bill than what we find in Temminck's character of it : —
" The form of the bill difficult to be indicated by general cha-
racters ; depressed and trigonal at the base, compressed or slen-
der at the point; without notch; straight or more or less
curved, with scarcely any nasal groove." Seeing, then, that
in a very natural genus of this order, the form of the bill varies
so much, we must expect to find in the different families and
genera, variations more remarkable than in most other orders.
The only universal character is that of the syndactylous feet,
having long slender toes, of which the three anterior are as it
REPTATORES. CREEPERS. 11
were pressed close together, the third and fourth actually united
in a great part of their length, the first always long and directed
backwards, the claws strong, extremely compressed, and acute.
Fig. 187.
Now, the birds which exhibit this character in the greatest
perfection, may be arranged so as to form several natural groups
or families. Those of which the bill approaches nearest in
form to that of the smaller Sylvianae, and which in the same
manner have the peculiar characters of the feet less developed,
are the Melliphaginw and the Certhiance^ the latter including
among others the genera Anorthura, Certhia, Thyrothurus,
Tichodroma, and Upupa. One of these genera, namely Certhia,
composed of a few species, has the feathers of the tail depress-
ed, and stiffened. This character is common to all the mem-
bers of another family, although in some genera the shafts do
not protrude. It is composed of the genera Dendrocolaptes,
Sclerurus, Oxyurus, Furnarius, Synallaxis, Anabates, and
others, and may be named Dendrocolaptlnw. The genera
Promerops, Epimachus, Cinnyris, Nectarinia, and others con-
stitute the family of Cinnyrincc. Lastly, the Sittinw formed of
the genera Sitta, Climacteris, and a few others, lead us back to
the Parinas, which they greatly resemble in form and habits,
while they are also in several respects assimilated to the Wood-
peckers.
Not being satisfied as to the accordance of this association of
species with rational principles of classification, because I have
not enjoyed opportunities of making myself acquainted with
the structure, and especially the digestive organs of a sufficient
number of these birds, I shall not offer any extended remarks
on the different families above indicated, but proceed as direct-
ly as is consistent with the method which I have adopted, to
give the history of the very few species that occur in Britain.
12
CERTHIANtE.
TREE-CREEPERS AND ALLIED SPECIES.
The Certhianae are birds of small size, having the body short,
ovate, and compact ; the neck generally short ; the head rather
large and ovate ; the bill of moderate length or elongated, slender,
in some degree arched, with the notches obsolete, the tip acute.
Internally both mandibles are very narrow, concave, with a cen-
tral prominent line. The tongue is usually very slender, emar-
ginate and papillate at the base, channelled above, tapering,
with the point thin-edged, bristly, and rather obtuse. The
digestive organs differ little from those of the Sylvianse, the
oesophagus being of moderate width and nearly uniform
diameter ; the proventriculus oblong ; the stomach elliptical,
moderately muscular, the epithelium dense, with large longi-
tudinal rugae ; the intestine rather short and wide ; the coeca
very small, the cloaca globular. The trachea is also similar to
that of the Cantatores, having four pairs of distinct inferior
laryngeal muscles. Plate XIV, Fig. 1, 2,
The nostrils are linear or oblong, exposed ; the eyes of mo-
derate size; the aperture of the ear large, and roundish. The
plumage soft and blended ; no bristle-feathers at the base of
the bill. VVings rather short, broad, concave, much rounded,
the first quill short ; tail short or of moderate length, rounded.
Anterior toes spreading little, coherent at the base, extremely
compressed, the outer longer than the inner, the hind toe very
long ; claws long, arched, extremely compressed, acute.
To this group belong the genera Troglodytes, nearly allied to
the Sylvianae, Thyrothurus, Certhia, Tichodroma, and Upupa.
Only three species, Anorthura Troglodytes, Certhia familiaris,
and Upupa Epops, occur in Britain.
13
ANORTHURA. WREN.
Bill of ordinary length or rather long, slender, tapering,
acute, slightly arched, subtrigonal at the base, compressed
towards the end : upper mandible with its dorsal outline
slightly arched, the ridge narrow, obtuse, the sides sloping at
the base, towards the end slightly convex and erect, the edges
sharp, direct, and overlapping, without notch ; lower mandible
with the angle narrow and rather acute, the dorsal outline
straight, the back narrow, the sides convex, the edges sharp
and inflected, the tip very narrow ; the gape-line very slightly
arched.
The upper mandible within is concave, with a central pro-
minent line ; the lower deej)ly channelled. The tongue sagit-
tate, very slender, tapering, concave above, slightly jagged
towards the tip. The oesophagus of moderate width, without
dilatation ; the stomach roundish, very muscular, with a dense
longitudinally rugous epithelium ; the intestine short and rather
wide, the cceca very small. Plate XIV, Fig. 1.
Nostrils linear-oblong, wider at the proximal extremity, ex-
posed, with an oblong operculum ; the nasal depression rather
large, narrow, feathered at the base. Eyes of moderate size ;
eyelids feathered. External aperture of ear large, roundish.
The general form is full and short, the body ovate, the neck
short, the head ovate and of moderate size, the wings and tail
short ; the feet of ordinary length ; the tarsus compressed, an-
teriorly covered with seven scutella, of which the upper are
indistinct, posteriorly edged ; toes rather large, compressed ;
first large, and longer than the two lateral, of which the inner
is a little shorter, the third much longer ; the third and fourth
coherent as far as the second joint of the latter. Claw^s long,
arched, extremely compressed, laterally grooved, acute.
Plumage soft and blended, the feathers ovate, loose, with a
very slender elongated plumule. There arc no bristle-pointed
14 ANORTHURA. WREN.
feathers at the base of the bill. Wing shortish, broad, con-
cave, semi-ovate, much rounded, first quill half the length of
the second ; third, fourth, fifth, and sixth longest, and nearly
equal ; primaries ten, secondaries nine, all rounded. Tail
short or of moderate length, rounded, generally raised, and
of twelve weak, rounded feathers.
The Wrens are nearly allied on the one hand to the Phyllo-
pneustse and Reguli, and on the other to the Certhise, differing
however in several essential respects from all these genera.
Their bill is more compressed and arched than that of the
Phyllopneustse and Reguli, but less so than that of the Certhise.
Their feet are stouter than those of the Reguli, but otherwise
very similar ; and the claws of both genera, although long, are
proportionally shorter than those of the Certhiae. In Anor-
thura, the tail is usually but not always raised or cocked,
whereas in Certhia it is just the reverse. Nevertheless all
these genera are very nearly allied, and their food is the same,
although their haunts are somewhat different. The Reguli
search for insects and pupoe upon the twigs and among the
leaves of trees and shrubs ; the Certhiae in the chinks of the
bark of the stems and larger branches ; and the Anorthuras
among stones and on low shrubs.
From the form of their body, and the shortness of their
wings and tail, their flight is direct, being performed by rapidly
repeated flaps. They inhabit both continents, some of the
species extending as far north as any other small birds of a
similar nature. Their colouring is generally dull, or at least
not in any case remarkable for brilliancy. They construct a
very bulky nest, of which the interior is composed of moss and
other soft materials, and often lined with feathers. The eggs
are numerous, that is from five to eight, or even more, generally
white or very light coloured, more or less dotted or spotted.
Only a single species occurs in Britain, where it is a perma-
nent resident, and generally distributed. It is the only species
hitherto found on the continent, although the existence of
another in Italy is conjectured. In North America however,
there are several species, whose habits generally resemble those
of ours, and of which one is so similar that it can scarcely be
distin£ruishcd.
15
ANORTHURA TROGLODYTES. EUROPEAN WREN.
Motacilla Troglodytes. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 337.
Motacilla Troglodytes, Lath. Ind. Orn. IL 547.
Wren. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Troglodyte ordinaire. Sylvia Troglodytes. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I, 233.
Troglodyte ordinaire. Troglodytes vulgaris, Temm. Man. d'Orn. III. 160.
Common Wren. Troglodytes Europseus. Selb. lUustr. I. 390.
Troglodytes Europseus. Common Wren. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 153.
Upper parts reddish-brown^ lower light greyish-brown ; a
brownish-ichite streak over the eye, the hind parts of both sur-
faces barred with dusky, two transverse bands of white dots on the
wings.
Male. — The AVren is one of the most familiarly known of
our small birds, being rendered remarkable, not less by its pecu-
liar form than by the liveliness of its motions. Next to the
Robin, it is perhaps the least liable to molestation from boys and
idle people ; and for this security it is indebted partly to its
small size, and partly to its cheerfulness and innocence. Its
aspect is so peculiar that every person must have taken notice
of it as differing from that of other small birds, the body being
short and full, the tail elevated or erected, the wings short, the
head of moderate size, the bill very slender, and the feet mode-
rate. The various parts having been described in the generic
character, and there being no other species of the genus in this
16 ANORTHURA TROGLODYTES.
countiy, it is unnecessary to repeat here the details already
given. The tongue is four-twelfths and three-fourths in length.
The oesophagus is an inch and eight- twelfths in length ; the
stomach five-twelfths long, and of the same breadth, with the
lateral«muscles very distinct ; the intestine five inches long,
two-twelfths in width in the duodenal portion, one-twelfth to-
ward the coeca, which are only one-twelfth long. The trachea
has four pairs of inferior laryngeal muscles. On the first toe are
twelve, on the second eleven, on the third thirteen, on the
fourth twelve scutella. W^hen the toes are brought together,
the first is nearly as long as the third, the claws included, and
the lateral, of which the outer is very slightly longer, are much
shorter. The plumage is soft, tufty, unglossed, the feathers
ovate, with loose barbs, and very slender elongated plumules.
The wing is shortish, broad, considerably curved or concaA^e,
and much rounded, of nineteen quills, which are all rather
broad and rounded, the first about half the length of the second,
which is rather more than a quarter of an inch shorter than the
third ; the fifth is longest, but the fourth and sixth are nearly
equal ; the rest diminish very slowly, and the inner secondaries
are not elongated. The tail is short, much rounded, of twelve
slightly curved, narrow, very weak, feathers. PI. XIV, Fig. 1.
The bill is dusky-brown above, the edges of the upper mandi-
ble, and two-thirds of the lower brownish-yellow, the tip of the
lower greyish -brown. The inside of the mouth, the tongue,
and the soft skin at the commissure of the mandibles, bright
orange. The irides dark brown, the tarsi and toes pale greenish-
brown, as are the claws. The general colour of the upper parts
is reddish-brown, darker on the head, brighter on the tail-
coverts, quills, and tail. There is a white spot near the tips
of the posterior dorsal feathers, which, however, is hardly per-
ceptible when they are laid. The secondary coverts, and the
first small coverts, have each a white spot at the tip. The
wing-coverts and quills are banded with deep-brown and
brownish-red ; the margin of the reddish bands of the five
outer quills reddish-white. The tail is undulatingly barred in
the same manner ; the dorsal feathers and tail-coverts very ob-
scurely so. A brownish- white line passes from the upper man-
EUROPEAN WREN. 17
dible over the eye, the cheeks are brown, obscurely spotted with
paler. The fore-neck and breast pale greyish-brown ; the sides
and abdomen barred with brownish- white and dusky ; the lower
tail-coverts brownish-red, barred with dusky, and having the
tip white.
Length to end of tail 4j inches ; extent of wings 6^ ; bill
along the ridge |i, along the edge of lower mandible l'^ ; wing
from flexure IjJ ; tail 1^ ; tarsus j^''^ ; first toe y^^, its claw
i\ ; second toe i^g, its claw j% ; third toe |^^, its claw l^g ;
fourth toe i*^, its claw /g.
Female. — The female is considerably smaller, and less
brightly coloured, with more brown on the lower parts, but
otherwise similar to the male.
Length to end of tail 4 inches ; extent of wings 6^ ; bill
along the ridge j%.
Variatioxs. — Very considerable differences occur in the size
of individuals, and some have the bill much longer and more
curved than others, insomuch that I was at one time impressed
with the idea of our having two species of Wren ; but more
extended observation and comparison have convinced me that
these differences, and others seen in the tints of the plumage,
are neither so constant nor so decided as to afford specific char-
acters. When the feathers are worn in summer, the small
white spots on the wings become obliterated. Old individuals
have the upper parts of a redder tint, and the lower with more
white.
Habits. — Excepting the Kinglets, the Creeper, the Chiff*-
chaff", and the smaller Tits, the Wren is the least of our native
birds. Its flight is effected by a rapid and continuous motion
of the wings, and therefore is not undulated, but direct ; nor is
it sustained, for the bird merely flits from one bush to another,
or from stone to stone. It is most frequently met with along
stone-walls, among fragments of rocks, in thickets of whins,
and by hedges, where it attracts notice by the liveliness of its
motions, and frequently by its loud chirring noise. When
VOL. III. c
C
18 ANORTHURA TROGLODYTES.
standing, it keeps its tail nearly erect, jerks its whole body-
smartly ; then hops about with great alacrity, using its wings
at the same time, and continually enunciating its rapid chit.
Although it seldom ascends a tree directly, like the Creeper,
it may often be seen climbing sidewise to some height, and on
fences or bushes it usually makes its way to the top by hopping
from one spot to another. If usually pleased with a low station,
it yet sometimes ascends even to the higher branches of very
tall trees, and may occasionally be seen there in company with
Kinglets and Tits. In spring and summer, the male has a very
pleasing, full, rich, and mellow song, which it repeats at in-
tervals ; and even in autumn, and on fine days in winter, it
may occasionally be heard hurrying over its ditty, the loudness
and clearness of wdiich, as proceeding from so diminutive a
creature, is apt to strike one with surprise, even after it has
long been familiar to him.
During the breeding season, Wrens keep in pairs, often in
unfrequented parts, such as bushy dells, mossy woods, the
banks of streams, and stony places overgrown with brambles,
sloes, and other shrubs ; but towards the end of autumn they
approach the habitations of man, and although never decidedly
gregarious, sometimes a^ipear in small straggling parties. They
are not properly speaking shy, as they seem to conceive them-
selves secure at the distance of twenty or thirty yards, but, on
the approach of a person, conceal themselves in holes between
stones, or among the roots or bushes. In liveliness and ac-
tivity, the Wren rivals the Kinglets, Tits, and Creepers, as in-
deed might be expected from its diminutive size, birds as well
as quadrupeds being generally more slow in their motions the
larger their bulk.
Small as the Wren is, it seems to receive as little injury from
severe weather as any of the larger birds, although after long-
continued frosts, it is said that individuals have often been
found to have perished. For myself, I have never met with a
dead Wren at all, and should conceive such an occurrence as
extremely rare, as the birds would in all probability die in their
holes. In the midst of winter I have met with it in the val-
leys of the Grampians, among the wild woods, where no other
EUROPEAN WREN. J 9
small birds were to be seen, unless a few Tits and Creepers.
Yet it is not the less true that at this season it prefers the vi-
cinity of houses. But the Wrens do not all in summer remove
to the wilds, any more than the Robins, many individuals of
both species remaining in gardens, shrubberies, and such shel-
tered places, where they breed, as well as in sequestered spots.
A pleasant little fable, of which the Wren is the hero, is told
by the Hebridians. At an assembly of the birds the Eagle
was boasting of his strength, asserting that he could mount
higher in the air than any of earth's inhabitants ; when up
started the little Wren, and flatly contradicted the tyrant, chal-
lenging him to a trial of speed. The eagle regarded his puny
rival with contempt, but accepting the challenge, or desirous
of displaying his powers, spread out his huge wings, and
launched into the air. Up rose the royal bird in majestic gy-
rations, over the assembled tribes, up beyond the mountain
tops, up beyond the streaks of grey vapour, up beyond the
specks and lines of the white cirri and cinocumuli that floated
in the blue ocean of ether, up until he seemed but a point in
the eye of the Goshawk and Peregrine, who watched his pro-
gress with more envy than admiration, and of the Raven, who
thought he could mount as high himself, — still up, until he
vanished entirely from the sight of most of the other birds,
who were not accustomed to look so far into the sky. But
where was the little Wren all this time 1 Had he crept with
shame into some hole, or been unwittingly trampled to death
by the broad foot of some gazing gander, or the still broader
of the pillar-legged pelican ? At length the eagle stops, gasp-
ing for breath, with swollen eyes and palpitating heart, un-
able to ascend a foot farther, and, spreading wide his wings
and tail, floats in the dazzling light. The little vain-glorious
thing that had defied him he knows has been left at least a
mile behind. But lo ! up again starts the Wren, who had
nimbly perched on the eagle's back, and kept himself concealed
among the feathers. With a hop, and a jerk of his tail, and
a glance of pride, up springs the little wren into the region of
vacuity, and fluttering there for a moment sings his song of
triumph. The eagle casts a glance of mortified pride upon him.
20 ANORTHURA TROGLODYTES.
which he heeds not, but seizing a feather of his rival's neck,
descends in safety to the ground, to receive the prize to be im-
partially adjudged by the astonished conclave. The moral of
the fable is, that cunning may suj^ply the lack of power.
I knovv' not a more pleasant object to look at than the Wren .
it is always so smart and cheerful. In gloomy weather, other
birds often seem melancholy, and in rain the Sparrows and
Finches stand silent on the twigs with drooping wings and
clotted plumage ; but to the Wren all weathers are alike.
The big drops of the thunder-shower no more wet it than the
drizzle of a Scotch mist ; and as it peeps from beneath the
bramble, or glances from a hole in the wall, it seems as snug
as a kitten frisking on the parlour rug.
It is amusing to watch the motions of a young family of
Wrens just come abroad. Walking among furze, or broom,
or juniper, you are attracted to some bush by hearing issue
from it a lively and frequent repetition of a sound which most
resembles the syllable chit. On going up you perceive an old
wren flitting about the twigs, and presently a young one flies
off", uttering a stifled chirr, to conceal itself among the bushes.
Several follow in succession, while the parents continue to flut-
ter about, in great alarm, uttering their loud chit, chit, chit,
with indications of varied degrees of excitement. On open
ground a young Wren might easily be run down, and I have
heard it asserted that an old one may soon be tired out in time '
of snow, when it cannot easily conceal itself. And yet, even
in such a case, it is by no means easy to keep it in sight, for
on the side of a bank, or by a wall, or in a thicket, it will find
a hole where one least expected it, and, creeping in some crevice
beneath the snow, re-appear at a considerable distance.
The food of birds can be determined only by opening their
crops and stomachs, or by observation directed to living indi-
viduals, the former method however being the only sure one.
The wrens which I have opened generally contained remains
of insects of various kinds, with larva% and sometimes pupge ;
but I have also found in them seeds, and Mr Neville Wood
states that they sometimes eat red currants. In the stomach
of an individual examined in December 1830, I found " many
EUROPEAN WRExV. 21
small hard seeds, an entire pupa, and numerous fragments of
the shells of pup?e and elytra of coleopterous insects." So
small a bird having so slender a bill, might doubtless be taken
as a typical entomophagist ; but it is probable that no species
of this order confines itself exclusively to insects.
The Wren pairs about the middle of spring, and begins early
in April to construct its nest, which varies much in form and
composition, according to the locality. One brought me by
my son, and which he found while gathering plants in a wood
near Melville Castle, is of astonishing size compared with that
of its architect, its greatest diameter being seven inches, and
its height five. It presents the appearance of a rude mass of
decayed vegetables, of an irregularly rounded form. Having
been placed on a flat surface under a bank, its base is of a cor-
responding form, and is composed of layers of decayed ferns and
other plants, mixed with twigs of herbaceous and woody vege-
tables. Similar materials have been employed in raising the
outer wall of the nest itself, of which the interior is spherical,
and three inches in diameter. The wall is composed of mosses
of several species, quite fresh and green, and it is arched over
with fern leaves and straws. The mosses are curiously inter-
woven with fibrous roots and hair of various animals, and the
inner surface is even and compact, like coarse felt. To the
height of two inches there is a copious lining of large soft
feathers, chiefly of the Wood Pigeon, but also of the Pheasant
and Domestic Duck, with a few of the Blackbird. The aper-
ture, which is in front, and in the form of a low arch, two
inches in breadth at the base, and an inch and a half in height,
has its lower edge formed of slender twigs, strong herbaceous
stalks, and stems of grasses, the rest being felted in the usual
manner. This nest is a magazine of botany, there entering in-
to its composition, leaves of Fagus sylvatica, fronds of Aspidium
dilatatum and A. Filix-mas, blades of Phalaris arundinacea,
stems of several grasses and other herbaceous plants, some
twigs of the larch and other trees, and four or five species of
Hypnum. It contained five eggs, of an elongated oval form,
averaging eight lines in length, and six lines in breadth, pure
white, with some scattered dots of light red at the larger end.
22 ANORTHURA TROGLODYTES.
one of them with scarcely any, and another with a great num-
ber. Of three nests presented to me by Mr Weir, one is ex-
tremely beautiful, being composed entirely of fresh green
hypna, without any internal layer, although, no eggs having
been found in it, it possibly had not been completed. It is of
an oblong form, seven inches in length, and four in its transverse
diameter. The mouth measures an inch and eight-twelfths
across, one inch and a twelfth in height. Its lower part is
formed of small twigs of larch laid across and interwoven, so
as to present a firm pediment. The longitudinal diameter of
the interior is three inches and a half. Another, formed on a
decayed tuft of Aira crespitosa, is globular, six inches in
diameter, and compossed of moss, with a lining of hair and
feathers, chiefly of the domestic fowl. The third is globular,
and externally formed almost entirely of ferns, like that de-
scribed above. In all the nests of this species which I have
seen, the lower part of the mouth was composed of twigs of
trees, or stems of herbaceous plants, laid across, and kept to-
gether with moss and hair.
The nests are found in a great variety of situations : —
very often in a recess overhung by a bank, sometimes in
a crevice among stones, in the hole of a wall, or of a
tree, among the thatch of a cottage or out-house, on the
loft of a shed or barn, the branch of a tree, whether grow-
ing along a wall or standing free, among ivy^ honeysuckle,
clematis, or other climbing plants. When the nest is on the
ground, its base is generally formed of leaves, twigs and
straws, and its exterior is often similar ; but when otherwise,
the outer surface is generally smooth, and chiefly composed of
moss.
Several authors have spoken of the nests frequently con-
structed by this bird in spring, and afterwards abandoned, and
have indulged in various conjectures respecting them. I should
suppose that a nest may occasionally be partially or entirely
built, and then deserted because its owners find it unsafe, or
have been frightened from it. The Magpie often commences a
nest and leaves it unfinished, probably for the same reason ; and
the same remark may be made as to the Blackbird and Thrush.
EUROPEAN WREN. 23
But Mr Wood relates a very curious fact respecting the Wren,
which is that it " often builds itself a dwelling in autumn, and
lodges in it on cold nights. These nests," he continues, " are
mostly constructed in the usual localities, though I once found
one situated in an old Garden Thrush's nest, in a Portugal
laurel. Frequently, also, the nests in which one or two broods
had been reared in summer, are tenanted every night through-
out the winter."
On this subject Mr Weir has sent me the following remarks.
" ' During the period of incubation, the male' (says an anony-
mous writer in Mr Loudon's Magazine) ' apparently from a de-
sire to be doing something, constructs as many as half a dozen
nests in the vicinity of the first, none of which are lined with
feathers ; and whilst the first nest is so artfully concealed as to
be seldom found, the latter are very frequently seen.' With
respect to the use of these structures, or cock-nests, as they are
called in England, if we believe that birds, like some insects,
have foresight, a more ingenious theory might be advanced.
During the severity of winter they may be intended as houses
of refuge for them and their families. Whether this be always
the case or not, it will be difficult to ascertain. That they are
however sometimes employed for this purpose I can affirm, as
the whole of those in my neighbourhood, during the late severe
frosty weather (of 1887-8) were occupied by them. I have
one of these nests in my possession, in which they lodged, and
in which there was a quantity of their droppings." The Wren
being a very diminutive bird might be supposed to require this
kind of shelter in winter, w^ere it not that the Kinglets and
Tits, equally small, are not known to lodge in their nests. Our
little friend is a Troglodyte, a frequenter of holes and caverns,
and as it always reposes at night in some sheltered retreat, it
may occasionally or often betake itself to its old nest as well as
to any other place, as that nest is well fitted for its purpose ;
but there seems no reason for supposing that this is habitual
with all wrens, many of which, in the wilder parts of the
country, and in the Hebrides, desert their summer habitations
and in winter reside about the farm yards.
On the 21st of February 1839, he again writes : — " I
24 ANORTHURA TROGLODYTES.
mentioned that during the last severe winter, 1837-8, all
the nests of the kitty-wrens which wanted the lining of
feathers, were occupied by them as their places of repose.
I have this winter paid a little more attention to this curious
fact. In June last, in a plantation in my neighbourhood,
a pair of wrens built three nests at no great distance from
each other. The one in which they reared seven young ones had
a lining of feathers, the other two had none. Every night this
winter, when the ground was covered with snow, or the wea-
ther was very cold, one of the nests without the feathers was
inhabited, I suppose, by the same family, as one of the wrens
a little after sunset stood within a few inches of the nest and
continued chirring until the other eight arrived. It was amus-
ing to observe with what astonishing rapidity they answered
the call, and flew from all quarters to their tight little dormitory.
Their instinct was wonderful. When the wind was from the
west, they occupied the nest which had its mouth to the east,
and when the wind was from the east they took possession of
the other one which had its aperture to the west."
The same gentleman, whose observations enrich this volume,
has transmitted to me an account of the building of a nest, as
extracted from his note-book : " May SO, 1837. — I this day
had a favourable opportunity of observing the erection of one
of the neatest of our British nests. Yesterday a pair of com-
mon Wrens flew about for a considerable time, in a particular
spot in my shrubbery, as if in search of a proper situation for
constructing the dwelling which should contain their intended
brood. About a quarter past six o'clock this morning, they
appeared to be engaged in the most serious consultation. They
hopped up and down amongst the branches of a Spanish juni-
per, each of which they surveyed with particular attention.
At seven o'clock, in one of its clefts, about two feet from the
ground, with the decayed leaf of a lime tree, the female began
to lay the foundation of her building. Although two men were
casting a drain within seven yards of it, yet she, like a steady
and active workman, was so bent upon the completion of her
design, that she laboured as if unaware of their presence. Her
perseverance was indeed astonishing, for she sometimes carried
EUROPEAN WREN. 25
in bundles of leaves nearly as bulky as herself. To her beloved
partner she seemed to give ecstatic delight, for he sat upon the
branch of a Portugal laurel a few feet above her, viewing most
anxiously her operations, and now and then having mounted
to the top of a plane tree, he poured forth his distinct and
sweetly modulated notes, which during the day he continued
to do almost incessantly. To her he gave but little assistance,
thinking no doubt that his song, ' with all the little blandish-
ments and soothing arts,"" was sufficient to alleviate her fatigues,
and to support her under them. That singing produces general
excitement, and a power of more energetic performance in all
the labours which the birds can undertake, is indeed an opinion
entertained by some naturalists. Between eight and nine
o'clock she was most actively employed, for during the space
of ten minutes, she sometimes carried in four, five, and even
six bundles of leaves, in the selection of which she seemed to
be very careful, for I observed that after she had minutely
examined them, when they did not seem to suit her purpose,
she let them drop. I was surprised at the quantity which she
collected for the foundation of her nest. After having rendered
it compact by pressing the leaves with her breast, and turning
herself round upon them in all directions, she began to rear its
sides. In this operation, however, she was not so expeditious,
as she was under the necessity of flying to a greater distance
for materials, in the search of which she sometimes remained
out eight and ten minutes. From the inside she built the under
part of the aperture with the stalks of leaves which she felted
together very ingeniously with moss. The upper part of it
was constructed solely with the last mentioned material. To
round it, and give it the requisite solidity, she pressed it with
her breast and wings, and turned her body in different direc-
tions. Most wonderful to tell, about seven o'clock in the even-
ing, the whole external workmanship of this snug little build-
ing was almost complete. Being very anxious to examine the
interior of it, I went out for that purpose at half-past two
o'clock next morning. I introduced my finger, and so close
was it, that it resisted some very heavy showers of rain. Should
any one wish to have his cars delighted with the sweet melody
26 ANORTHURA TROGLODYTES.
of the songsters of the woods, he must awake and roam about
at this early hour. It is then that they seem to be in ecstacy,
and strive to rival one another in the richness and variety of
their notes. At ten minutes past three o'clock, the male hop-
ped round and round, and if I may judge from his appearance,
surveyed with satisfaction the commodious fabric, in the erec-
tion of which his consort had taken the active part. He then
flew to the top of a tree, and sung in the most animated strains.
At half-past three o'clock, the female went into her nest, in
which she remained for five minutes, and rounded the entrance
into it, by pressing it with her breast, and the shoulders of her
wings. Between half-past three and half-past four o'clock, she
went in five times, with very fine moss in her bill. With
the greatest care she surveyed the whole of her edifice. At
half-past four she went in twice with very tender moss, with
which she adjusted a small dej^ression in the fore part of it.
After having remained out for twenty minutes, she returned
with a bundle of leaves to fill up a vacancy which she had ob-
served in the back of the structure. Although it was an ex-
ceedingly cold morning, accompanied with a boisterous wind
and rain, the male sang most delightfully. Between seven and
eight o'clock, he having either received a reproof from his wife,
or regretting his former remissness, assisted her more frequently
than he had done yesterday. During the space of ten minutes
they went into their abode, generally two and three times, with
moss in their bills. At eleven o'clock, she flew oft" with him
to some distance, in order, I suppose, to enjoy a little relaxa-
tion from her labours. They did not return until a quarter
past one o'clock. From one to four o'clock, they went into
their nest twenty-seven times, at different periods, sometimes
only once in ten minutes, and at other times more frequently,
with fine moss in their bills. From four to nearly five o'clock,
the female carried in a feather three times, and brought to a
conclusion the operations of the day.
" Thursday, 1st June. — I went out a little past six o'clock.
They had not however as yet visited their residence, which I
knew from having put a very slender stalk of a leaf in front of
the door, which they were obliged to remove before they could
EUROPEAN WREN. 27
get admittance. They commenced their work at half-past eight,
between which time and ten o'clock they went in at the rate of
five times in eight minutes. The male frequently assisted the
female this morning, and every time that he did it, he mounted
to the top of the nearest tree, and proclaimed aloud his note
of self-approbation. From ten till a quarter past eleven o'clock,
they went in about three times in the course of ten minutes,
carrying very small quantities of fine moss. She then flew off
with her husband, and remained almost the same space of time
that she had done yesterday, for she did not return to her
nest until about half-past one o'clock. From this time until
half-past two o'clock, when they ceased from their labour, they
frequently brought in fine moss and feathers.
" Friday, 2d June. — This morning, between five and seven
o'clock, the male sang almost incessantly. They did not begin
to build until half-past nine o'clock, when they went in with fine
moss and feathers, sometimes once in ten, at other times once
in fifteen and twenty minutes. About half-past eleven, she flew
off with the male, and did not return until about a quarter be-
fore two o'clock. They carried in fine moss and feathers only
a few times after this. Whilst I was anxiously watching their
motions in the midst of a very thick arbor-vitas tree, about nine
feet from their nest, the female, which was sitting at the door
of it, having noticed me, set up her cry of alarm. The male
upon hearing it appeared to be in a state of great irritation. I
immediately ran off to some distance, pursued by the little
creatures, which were scolding me with great vehemence.
" Saturday, 3d June. — Between six and eleven o'clock, they
brought in a few feathers and some moss. They then dis-
appeared until half-past one o'clock, when they took in a few
more feathers, and then rested from their work.
" On Sunday morning, 4th June, between eight and nine
o'clock, as I was going to feed a pair of goldfinches which I
kept in the tool-house of my garden, I saw the female fly in
twice with feathers.
" On Monday morning I examined the nest. They appeared
to have carried in the same quantity of materials as they had
done on Saturday. This morning, 5th June, they did not be-
28 ANORTHURA TROGLODYTES.
gin to build until twenty minutes before eight o'clock. Be-
tween eight and nine they went in at the rate of two times in
ten minutes, with fine moss and feathers. From nine until
half-past eleven o'clock, they went in nine times at different
intervals, carrying feathers. After this they were not seen for
two hours and a quarter, and brought in only a few feathers in
the afternoon.
" Tuesday, 6th June. — This morning, between seven and ten
o'clock, they carried in feathers ten times, at different intervals,
sometimes once, at other times twice, in ten minutes, and a
very few of them after ten o'clock.
"Wednesday, 7th June. — This morning, between eight and
ten o'clock, they flew in with a few feathers, and then left off
working.
" Thursday, 8th June. — This forenoon the nest was finished.
It was by far the neatest of the kind that I have seen ; and
little wonder, when we consider the long time which they took
in the erection of it. I regret that it was torn down by a cat
that frequented the neighbourhood. The female, which had
gone into it to lay her first eg^, had attracted its notice, and
had in all probability been devoured, as I never saw her again."
What energy and activity on the one hand, enthusiasm and
resolute perseverance on the other! No man ever before so
gave us the history of the erection of a Wren's nest, and
certainly none ever watched birds wnth half the firmness of
my esteemed friend, who thus concludes the letter containing
the above. " If you have glanced over these remarks, which
were taken out of my note-book, I am sure that you must
have exclaimed, Alas ! alas ! I am afraid that my west-country
correspondent, poor fellow ! is now labouring under ornitho-
mania." Truly I made no such exclamation, for I have long
been aware of Mr Weir's " affection," which I believe is in-
curable.
The following statement with which also I have been favour-
ed by him, is of great importance as elucidating the habits of
the AVren in a matter not previously made a subject of observa-
tion, namely the feeding of its young. The number of eggs
which it lays has been variously stated by authors. Mr Weir
EUROPEAN WREN. 29
says that although it is commonly seven or eight, so many as
sixteen or seventeen have been found in its nest : " Robert
Smith, weaver in Bathgate, told me, that a few years ago, he
saw in a nest, which was built on the bank of a rivulet about
two miles from Linlithgow, seventeen eggs ; and James D.
Baillie, Esq. informed me that in June last, he took out of
one which he discovered in a spruce tree near Polkemmet
House, sixteen eggs. He put them in again, and, on return-
ing sometime afterwards, found them all hatched."
" On Saturday, the 17th of June 1837," Mr Weir con-
tinues, " the following observations respecting the habits of
the Wren were made in a hut formed of the branches of trees,
about the distance of six feet from a nest. Shortly after I
had put my finger into it, to ascertain whether or not the
young were ripe, their mother arrived, and perceiving that
the entrance to it had been touched, set up a doleful lamenta-
tion, carefully rounded it with her breast and wings, and with
her partner commenced her natural attention to her offspring,
which consisted of six young ones. Between three and four
o'clock in the morning, they fed them ten times ; and from
four to five twenty-one times. The female now went into the
nest, and remained a few minutes. From five to six o'clock, they
fed their young twenty-one times; from six to seven, also twenty-
one times. The female went into the nest twice, and the male
sang almost incessantly during the last two hours. From
seven to eight o'clock, they fed them twenty-two times ; and,
although they were ripe, the female sat upon them nearly ten
minutes. From eight to nine o'clock, they fed them fifteen
times ; from nine to ten, twelve times ; from ten to eleven,
fourteen times ; from eleven to twelve, eighteen times ; and
from twelve to one, fifteen times. The female went into the
nest for a short time. From one to two o'clock, they fed them
eleven times ; from two to three, eighteen times. The female
went into the nest, and remained a few minutes. From three
to four o'clock, they fed them thirteen times, and from four
to five, seventeen times. During the greater part of this hour,
there was a heavy fall of rain, accompanied with a great deal
of loud thunder. The female entered the nest, and continued
30 ANORTHURA TROGLODYTES.
in it a quarter of an hour. From five to six o'clock they fed
them fourteen times. The female went into the nest for five
minutes. From six to seven o'clock, they fed them ten times ;
and from seven to eight, seventeen times. The female went
into the nest, and remained a short time. From eight to
nine o'clock, they fed them eight times ; and about ten minutes
after this, having again fed them, the female went into the
nest and remained for the night. From the slender branch of
a larch, they supplied with a great variety of flies and insects
their young, whose craving appetite seemed never to be satis-
fied, no less than 278 times in the course of the day. As the
number of insects carried in by them varied, it was impossible
to calculate exactly how many were destroyed."
Young. — The young in their first plumage differ considera-
bly from the old birds. The basal margin of the bill, and the
lower mandible, are yellow, the upper mandible pale brown ;
the feet brownish-yellow. The upper parts are reddish-brown,
the head darker ; the wings and tail barred with blackish ; the
lower parts pale yellowish -brown, the tips of the feathers darker,
the lower tail-coverts slightly barred. The wing-coverts are
destitute of the white tips conspicuous in old birds.
Progress toward Maturity.' — After the first moult, the bill
is more dusky, the feet darker ; the upper parts more or less
undulated ; as are the abdominal feathers and sides ; but the
lower parts are still of a dull greyish-brown colour.
Remarks. — I have preferred retaining the specific name Tro-
glodytes, bestowed by Linnaeus, to converting it into a generic
name, because the hiding in caves or holes, like the ancient
Troglodytae, is not a character common to all wrens, although
it belongs to the present species in a remarkable degree. As
a generic name, Anorthura, proposed by Mr Rennie, seems to
me not merely unobjectionable but very appropriate.
31
CERTHIA. TREE-CREEPER.
Bill rather long, very slender, subtrigonal, tapering, much
compressed, arcuate, acute : upper mandible with its dorsal
outline arcuate, the ridge very narrow, the sides rapidly sloping,
the edges sharp, without notch ; lower mandible with the
angle very narrow and sharp, the dorsal outline decurved, the
ridge narrow, the sides erect, the edges sharp, the tip acute ;
the gape -line arcuate.
The upper mandible concave beneath, with a central promi-
nent line ; the lower deeply channelled. The tongue long,
narrow, decurved, sagittate, tapering, its margins lacerate
toward the tip, which is acute ; oesophagus of moderate width ;
stomach elliptical, muscular ; intestine very short, of moderate
width ; coeca very small. Plate XIV, Fig. 2.
Nostrils linear-oblong, exposed, with an oblong operculum ;
the nasal depression of moderate size, feathered at the base.
Eyes of moderate size ; eyelids feathered. External aperture
of the ear large and roundish.
The general form is slender, although the body is very short,
the wings and tail being elongated ; the neck short ; the head
ovato-oblong and of moderate size; the feet of ordinary length, the
tarsus slender, compressed, anteriorly covered with seven broad
scutella, of which the upper are indistinct, posteriorly edged ;
toes rather large, extremely compressed ; first very large, being
with its claw longer than the third, the second much shorter
than the fourth, the anterior united as far as the second joint ;
claws very long, arched, slender, extremely compressed, later-
ally grooved, very acute.
Plumage very soft, blended, and elongated, especially on the
back ; the feathers ovato-oblong, with very loose barbs, and a
long slender plumule of few filaments. Wing rather long, con-
vex, much rounded ; of nineteen quills ; the first nearly half
32 CERTHIA. TREE-CREEPER.
the length of the second, the fourth longest, the fifth almost
equal, the third and sixth nearly of the same length. Tail
long, of twelve slightly arcuate pointed feathers, of which the
shafts are rather strong, and the extremities of the webs worn.
The transition from the bill of Anorthura to that of Certhia
is very direct, the latter being merely more elongated and curved.
The plumage of the two genera is similar as to texture ; but
while the tail of the former is short and generally raised, it is
in the latter elongated, and employed in supporting the bird as
it ascends the trunks of trees. The toes, and especially the claws,
are longer in Certhia.
The Tree-Creepers resemble the Woodpeckers in their mode
of progression, which is by extremely rapid short hops or starts
against the bark of trees, to which they cling with their sharp
claws. Their bill however is so slender and weak that they
cannot employ it in perforating the bark or decayed wood,
and they are therefore content with searching the chinks for
their food, which consists of small insects and larva?. They
nestle in holes, and have a rather numerous progeny.
Very few species of this genus are known, and only one oc-
curs in Britain, the history of which will afford a good idea of
the habits of the rest.
33
CERTHIA FAMILIARIS. THE BROWN TREE-
CREEPER.
CREEPER. TREE-SPEELER. BROWN WOODPECKER. SNAIGEAR. MEANGLAN-
STREAPACH.
Certhia familiaris. Linn. Syst, Nat. I. 184.
Certhia familiaris. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 280.
Common Creeper. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Le Grirapereau. Certhia familiaris. Temm. Man. d'Orn. L 410.
Common Creeper. Certhia familiaris. vSelb. Illustr. I. 388.
Certhia familiaris. Common Creeper. Jen, Brit. Vert. An. 152.
Upper part of the head darh-hrown^ neck and hack yellowish-
hroicn^ each feather with a median ichitish streak ; rump yelloicish-
red ; wings with a transverse whitish hand ; lower parts silvery.
Male. — The Tree-creeper, which is one of the smallest of
our native birds, weighing only about two drams, is of a slender
elongated form, with the neck short, the head ovato-oblong, and
of moderate size. The bill is nearly as long as the head, arcuate,
somewhat triangular at the base, much compressed toward the
end, both mandibles acute, with the edges sharp, and the upper
destitute of notch. The tongue is slender, sagittate and papil-
late at the base, horny toward the end, concave above, pointed
and bristly. The oesophagus is narrow, without dilatation, an
inch and nine-twelfths in length ; the stomach elliptical, com-
VOL. III. D
34
CERTHIA FAMILIARIS.
pressed, five-twelfths of an inch long, its muscles of moderate
strength ; the intestine five inches long, with very small cylin-
drical coeca, half a twelfth in length, and a quarter of a twelfth
in breadth. See Plate XIV, Fig. 2. The feet are of moderate
length and slender ; the tarsus compressed, with seven anterior
scutella ; the hind toe large, with ten scutella, the second with
eight, the third ten, the fourth twelve ; the anterior toes parallel
and united as far as the second joint ; the claws very long,
moderately arched, extremely compressed, and very acute ; that
of the hind toe extending beyond the claw of the third. The
mobility of the toes is very extraordinary : the hind toe may be
turned outwards until it forms a right angle with its ordinary
direction, and all the other toes may be so twisted as to reverse
the position of the claws. Fig. 190.
The plumage is full, very soft, and blended, on the back much
elongated, with the barbs separated, the feathers there being
an inch long, and thus greatly exceeding the diameter of the body.
There are no bristle-feathers at the base of the bill. The wings,
Fig. 191, are of moderate length, concave, with nineteen
quills, of which the outer is scarcely half as long as the second,
which is four-twelfths of an inch shorter than the third ; the
fourth, which is the longest, exceeds the fifth only by half a
BROWN TREE-CREEPER. 35
twelfth, and the third by one twelfth, while the second and
eighth are nearly equal. The tail is long, arched, much rounded
at the end, of twelve stifF-shafted acuminate feathers, of which
the lateral is eight-twelfths shorter than the middle. Fig. 192.
The upper mandible and the extremity of the lower are
dusky-brown, the basal portion of the latter whitish ; the irides
hazel ; the feet pale flesh-colour tinged with brown, the claws
light yellowish-grey. The upper part of the head is dark-
brown, with linear-oblong brownish-white streaks ; the rest of
the upper parts light brown, with similar streaks, the feathers
on the rump becoming dull yellowish-brown. The small
"wing-coverts are variegated with dusky, light brown, and
brownish-white ; the primary coverts blackish -brown, with a
whitish spot at the tip ; the secondary coverts lighter, with a
larger whitish spot at the end, but only on the outer web. The
quills are dusky, but the inner pale greyish-brown on the inner
web, dusky on part of the outer ; all except the outer three have
a whitish spot at the end ; the w^ing is crossed by a band of
pale brownish-yellow, which, however, does not include the
outer three quills or the inner three secondaries ; the outer
webs of most of the quills are light yellowish -grey toward the
end. The tail is light yellowish-grey, the inner webs dusky,
the shafts yellowish-brown. A white streak extends over the
eye, and the lower parts are of a dull but glistening silvery
white. The concealed part of the plumage is greyish-black.
Length to end of tail 5 ^''tj inches; extent of wings 8; bill along
the ridge ^^^ along the edge of lower mandible ~\^ ; wing from
flexure 2^^ ; tail 1^^ ; tarsus ^\ ; first toe i\, its claw y^| ;
second toe ^''l, its claw ^% ; third toe ^\, its claw ^% ; fourth
toe 1^1, its claw i%.
36 CERTHIA FAMILIARIS.
Female. — The female is similar to the male, but somewhat
less, and having the colours of the upper parts paler.
Length to end of tail 5^% inches ; extent of wings 7^ ; bill
along the ridge 6^ ; wing from flexure 2j% ; tail 2^^ ; tarsus
y"! ; hind toe j%, its claw j% ; middle toe j%, its claw j%.
Variations. — In adult individuals I have not observed any-
remarkable variations in colour ; but the bill varies considera-
bly in length and curvature, as do the claws, some individuals
haviuCT the hind claw a third longer than others. Towards the
end of summer, before the moult has commenced, the colours
are usually much faded. The tint of the lower parts varies,
beinoj often much soiled with matters rubbed from the trees.
Habits. — On the 4th December 1816, while on an excur-
sion in quest of zoological subjects, I happened to stroll into a
fir wood, about four miles distant from my residence in the Old
Town of Aberdeen, and, being a novice, was quite astonished
at seeing a swarm of extremely small birds of dift'erent species,
moving about among the twigs, and apparently searching for
food with incessant activity. Having succeeded in shooting
two of them, I fovmd them to belong to the genus INlotacilla,
and the species Regulus ; but being persuaded that I had seen
other small birds in the flock, I returned next day, and pro-
cured six Reguli, five specimens of Parus ater, a Motacilla
Troglodytes, and a Certhia familiaris. Such was the nomen-
clature in those days, but now the names of only two of these
birds remain as they were. The pleasure which I experienced
must have been greater than that which the sight of a flock of
these tiny and most interesting creatures could now impart ;
but still it affords no slight gratification to watch the motions
of these wanderers of the wild woods, so intent on their search
for food that they take little heed of the near approach of one
who may be bent on thinning their swarms.
At this season, should you fall in with a flock of Reguli and
Pari, scouring a wood, you may be pretty well assured that a
few Tree-creepers will be found at no great distance. There,
clinging to the rough bark at the base of that. old elm, you see
BROWN TREE-CREEPER. 37
one, advancing upwards by short jerks. At each movement it
emits a shrill but feeble cry. See how it climbs, searching
every crevice, now proceeding directly upwards, now winding
round the trunk, presently passing behind it, and in a short
time appearing on the other side. Observe it well, and you
will see that it crouches close to the surface, presses its tail
against it, now and then picks something from a cleft, jerks
itself forwards, never rests for a moment, but seems in utmost
haste, and expresses its anxiety by continually emitting its
lisjDing cry. Yet its efforts are not laborious : it seems to hold
on with perfect ease and unconcern, and although it is now
half way up, it exhibits no sign of fatigue. There, it passes oft'
from the trunk, creeps along a nearly horizontal branch, wind-
ing round it, adhering even to its lower surface, with its back
toward the ground. Having gone as far as it finds convenient,
it flies back to the trunk, which it ascends, until you lose sight
of it among the twigs at the top. What next ? will it creep
down again I No ; there it comes with headlonof flight, glancing
like an arrow, curves as it comes near the ground, alights at
the very root of the next tree, and commences its ascent. You
may watch it for an hour, and you will find it as fresh, as lively,
and as keen as ever. Should it happen to observe you, and
suspect that you mean it no good, it will run up the back of
the tree, appearing now and then at the sides, until it is per-
haps half way up, when it will search all parts alike, being free
of the apprehension of injury. But now, hearing its friends
the Tits and Reguli at a distance, it looks abroad for a moment
from the top of the tree, and uttering a few cries, sweeps away
in a curving, somewhat undulatory course.
Such, in fact, is the ordinary course of action of the Creeper,
which is thus of very peculiar and remarkable habits. It
alights at the bottom of a tree, clinging to the bark with its
claws, and without a moment's delay begins to ascend, which
it does by short starts, leaping forward as it were, and sup-
porting itself by pressing the tail against the bark. In this
manner it proceeds, diligently searching for insects, which it
picks out with the greatest dexterity. Should a person, curious
to observe its motions, go very near, it winds round so as to
38 CERTHIA FAMILIARIS.
keep on the further side of the tree, but seldom flies off. Should
it meet with a horizontal branch, it can easily proceed along its
lower surface, although in that case it usually prefers the sides
or upper part. When it has searched the branch, it flies off to
another, or continues to ascend the stem ; and when it has
attained the higher brancheSj it flies off to the base of a neigh-
bouring tree, and thus proceeds unceasingly. Indeed I have
seldom observed one a single minute at rest. Yet, like other
birds, it has its periods of cessation from labour, and in the
breeding season it is amusing to observe the gambols of a pair,
which may be seen chasing each other along the trunk of a
tree, perching for a moment on the branches, and then scudding
along, all the while emitting their shrill and feeble cries.
These birds are easily shot, for, like the Gold-crested King-
let and Coal Tit, they seem to pay little attention to a person
approaching them, insomuch that I have been within six feet
of one, which yet did not fly off, but merely crept round to the
other side of the tree. While thus employed, it utters every
now and then a very low cheep, and when flying from one tree
to another, repeats this cry more frequently, and somewhat
more loudly. I suppose that it is destitute of song, never having
heard it emit modulated sounds. Its flight is generally short
and rapid, from the top of one tree to the base of another ; but
it may sometimes be seen traversing a space of several hundred
yards, which it does with a quick and undulatory motion, at
a considerable elevation.
It is a permanent resident, occurs in all the wooded parts of
the country, but is nowhere numerous, and never appears in
flocks. In winter it shifts about from place to place, generally
accompanying a flock of Tits or Kinglets, but sometimes seek-
ing for its food solitarily, seldom entering small gardens, but
often appearing in woods near houses, hedgerows, or even on
large single trees. It pairs in April, and about the beginning of
May begins to construct its nest, which it places in some hole
in a tree, or rock, or among the roots in a mossy bank. It is
composed of withered stalks and blades of grasses, moss, fibrous
roots, and other materials, and is lined with feathers. The
eggs, from five to seven or eight in number, are seven and a
BROWN TREE-CREEPER. 39
half twelfths of an inch in length, five-twelfths in breadth, of
a regular ovate form, glossy, white, sprinkled with dots and
small patches of brownish-red, often disposed in a broad belt
near the larger end, and leaving the narrower half unspotted.
Montagu states that " during the time of incubation, the fe-
male is fed by the other sex, whenever she quits her nest in
search of food." The young are abroad by the middle of June,
and I have reason to think that a second brood is frequently
reared.
Although the e])iih.et familiar has been given to this little
bird, it cannot be said to deserve it, for its seeming familiarity
results merely from its close attention to the objects of its search,
and the moment it becomes sensible of the proximity of a per-
son it glides out of his sight. Of all our native birds, the
Robin is that which reposes most confidence in man. It will
often stand, looking at him, until he approaches within two or
three yards, and even then exhibit little alarm ; nay, it will
sometimes enter his dwelling, and seem quite at home there.
But the Creeper is in no sense a familiar bird.
This species is generally distributed over Europe, as well as
North America. I have compared specimens from both con-
tinents, and found them in all respects similar ; Mr Audubon
is of the same opinion ; yet the Prince of Musignano, without
assigning a reason, or giving distinctive characters, chooses to
consider the American bird as a species different from the
European.
Young. — The young when fledged are similar to their pa-
rents, but with the feathers more loose, and the colours duller.
40
UPUPA. HOOPOE.
Bill longer than the head, slightly arcuate, very slender,
compressed, angular, pentagonal at the base, four-sided toward
the end, the point sharp, or somewhat blunted from use ; upper
mandible with its dorsal line slightly arcuate, the ridge very
narrow, the sides sloping and flattened, the edges sharp, with-
out notch, the tip flattened, rather acute ; lower mandible
with the angle rather long and narrow, the dorsal line slightly
decurved, the ridge sharp, the sides at the base erect and flat,
toward the end inclining outwards, the edges sharp, the tip
acute, the gape-line slightly arcuate. Fig. 193.
The mouth of moderate width ; the palate convex, the upper
mandible very slightly concave beneath, the lower almost flat.
Tongue very short, fleshy, flattened, as in Alcedo. Nostrils
oblong, basal. Eyes of moderate size.
The general form is rather slender ; the body ovate ; the
neck of moderate length ; the head ovato-oblong, rather small.
The feet very short, and of moderate strength ; tarsus very
short, roundish, with seven anterior broad scutella, somewhat
sharp behind, with two rows of scales ; toes moderate, com-
pressed ; the first with its claw longer than the tarsus and nearly
equal to the middle toe, the outer adnate at the base, and some-
what longer than the inner. Claws of moderate length, stout,
that of the hind toe slightly arched, compressed, with the
tip acute and abruptly deflected ; the rest well arched, cora-
jDressed, very acute, all laterally grooved. Fig. 194.
The plumage soft and blended, the feathers elliptical, with-
out plumule ; those on the top of the head oblong, much elon-
gated, forming a large crest ; no bristle-feathers at the base of
the bill. Wings rather long, very broad, much rounded ; the
first quill about half the length of the fourth, which is longest ;
the quills nineteen, all rounded. Tail nearly even, often rounded
soft feathers.
41
UPUPA EPOPS. THE EUROPEAN HOOPOE.
*-<^^
Upupa Epops. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 183.
Upupa Epops. Lath. Ind. Om. I. 277.
Hoopoe. Mont. Orn. Diet.
La Huppe. Upupa Epops. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 415.
Hoopoe. Upupa Epops. Selb. Illustr. I. 393.
Upupa Epops. Hoopoe. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 153.
Head and neck' light red^ crest-feathers tipped with black ; fore
part 'of hack light purplish-red, middle part barred with black
and reddish-it'hite, rump ichite, tail-coterts black, barred xcith
white ; icings and tail black, the former with several, the latter
icith a single band of ichite.
Male. — This elegant bird, which is an irregular visitant in
Britain, is about the size of a Missel Thrush, but of a more
slender form, with an elongated attenuated bill, and very short
feet. Not having met with it alive, or obtained a recent spe-
cimen for dissection, I can only describe it from skins. The
generic description already given, will be found to agree with
it in every particular, so that here there is only to be added
what belongs to the species. The elongated feathers on the
head are disposed in several series on each side, the largest
42 UPUPA EPOPS.
being about two inches in length, and are capable of being
erected from their ordinary position, in which they are recum-
bent. The first quill is an inch and five-twelfths shorter than
the second, which is seven-twelfths shorter than the third, the
fourth a twelfth and a half longer, being the longest ; the
secondary quills are very long, broad, and rounded ; the tail is
almost even. The rest of the plumage is very soft and blended.
The bill is black, with the base flesh-coloured ; the feet dusky
brown, the claws paler beneath. The crest-feathers are light red,
largely tipped with bluish-black, succeeding a white band ; the
rest of the head, and the neck all round, light purplish-red ; the
fore part of the back and anterior wing-coverts of the same colour,
tinged with greyish-brown ; the feathers on the middle of the
back and the scapulars are black, with a broad bar of pale red or
reddish-white ; on the rump is a white patch ; and the upper
tail-coverts are white, with a black terminal band. The tail
is black, with a broad band of white disposed in the form of a
crescent, its distance from the tip of the middle feathers being
an inch and a half, from that of the lateral feathers scarcely
half an inch, the outer feather on each side with an additional
white band toward the base ; the smaller wing-coverts are
black, with a white band ; the larger also black, the primary
without white markings, the secondary with two bands of red-
dish-wdiite ; the primary quills are glossy bluish-black, with a
broad band of white toward the end, the band of the first being
only on the inner web ; the secondary quills gradually become
tinged with brown, and assume two additional bands of white,
tinged with red on the inner, which are margined with pale
red. The light-red of the fore-neck becomes paler on the
breast ; some of the feathers on the sides are streaked with
dusky ; and the abdomen and lower tail-coverts are white.
Length to end of tail 12 inches; bill along the ridge 2^ ;
wing from flexure 5^% ; tail 4-1^^ ; tarsus \% ; hind toe |%' '^^^
claw y'^ ; second toe ^^, its claw |i ; third toe ^^, its claw ^^l ;
fourth toe i"tj, its claw ^o.
Female. — The female is similar to the male, differing only
in having the bill and crest shorter, and the plumage paler.
EUROPEAN HOOPOE. 43
Habits. — The Hoopoe has been met with in most parts of
England, as well as in several districts in Scotland, even as far
north as Caithness and Orkney, although not on the western coast
beyond the Frith of Clyde. It is not however a regular summer
visitant, but makes its appearance here and there unexpectedly,
more frequently in autumn than in summer, and in the latter
case seldom breeding. On the continent it appears to be gene-
rally distributed, arriving in the beginning of summer, and
departing in small flocks in September. The form of its tarsi
and claws would lead us to suppose it to be a climbing or
creeping bird ; but although it resides chiefly in woods, it is said
also to betake itself to the fields in their vicinity, and to walk
about in search of its food, which consists of insects and larvae.
Its very short tarsi however are obviously not well adapted
for walking, and were its habits for the most part terrestrial,
its claws could not fail to be in some measure blunted, whereas
they are remarkably acute in all the specimens that I have ex-
amined. Ploughed land, pasture-ground interspersed with
cow-dung, sandy soil, and muddy places by streams, are said
to be its favourite haunts. It breeds in hollow trees, forming
its nest, according to some, of dry cow-dung and roots, or, ac-
cording to others, of decayed wood, or of grass and feathers.
The eggs are said to be from two to five, a little more than an
inch in length, and of a uniform light grey or bluish-white.
It appears that the excrements of the young are allowed to re-
main in the nest, which accordingly is described as having an
extremely fetid odour, similar to that of the Kingsfisher, which
the Hoopoe further resembles in the construction of the bill,
and especially in the form of the tongue. The shortness of
the latter organ however does not render necessary a diet of
fish or frogs, as some have supposed, for Ibises and other
birds having equally short tongues can pick up small insects
and larvae with ease.
This bird has been named Hoopoe from the crest or tuft, huppe
in French, with which its head is adorned. Some however
derive its name from its ordinary cry, which is said to resem-
ble up-up^ or pu-jm. It is said to be shy, although it allows
one to approach within shot, and, when obtained young, to be
44 UPUPA EPOPS.
easily reared on flesh, which however, Bechstein remarks, it
cannot pick up well, because the tongue is too short to turn
the food into the throat, so that it is obliged to throw it up
into the air, and receive it with open bill. The same author,
in his " Cage Birds,"" states that, independently of its beauty,
it is attractive by the drollness of its actions, making a conti-
nual motion with its head, and tapping the floor with its beak.
M. Von Schauroth, in a letter addressed to M. Bechstein, gives
an account of two young Hoopoes, w^hich he took from a nest
placed at the top of an oak. They were exceedingly tame,
climbed on his clothes until they reached his shoulders or
head, and caressed him very affectionately. They w^ere fond
of beetles and JMay-bugs, wdiich they first killed, and then beat
them into a ball, which they threw into the air, and caught
lengthwise.
It does not appear that the peculiar habits of this bird have
been w^ell described, for the brief notices given in books are
not sufficient to enable us to ascertain its character. In exter-
nal form it is very nearly allied to the Wall-Creeper, Ticho-
droma muraria, and for that reason chiefly I have placed it
in the family of Certhianae ; but if not intimately allied to the
Alcedinae, it certainly indicates a transition to them.
An individual of this species was shot near Edinburgh in
the autumn of 1832, and Mr Binnie, farmer at Avon Bank,
about a mile and a half from Linlithgow, states that in 1835,
one was seen in his neighbourhood for seven or eight weeks,
residing chiefly in Kinneil Wood, but occasionally coming very
near his house.
45
SITTING.
NUTHATCHES AND ALLIED SPECIES.
The birds of this family are of small size, the largest not
exceeding a domestic Sparrow, and agree in having the body
short and compact, the neck short, the head of moderate size,
or rather large ; the bill shorter than the head, sometimes
almost as long, straight, or even slightly bent upwards, slender,
pentagonal at the base, four-sided toward the end, with the tip
acute, or somewhat cuneate. The tongue is slender, very thin,
M'ith the point abrupt, and furnished with several bristles ; the
oesophagus rather wide, tapering, without crop ; the proven-
triculus oblong ; the stomach rather large, broadly elliptical or
roundish, muscular, with a dense rugous epithelium ; the intes-
tine rather short and wide ; the cceca very small. Plate XIV,
Fig. 3.
The plumage is very soft, full, and blended ; the wings long,
very broad, with the first quill very small, but the second not
much shorter than the third and fourth, which are generally
longest ; the tail short, broad, and soft. The tarsi are short,
or of moderate length, and slender ; the toes long, slender,
compressed, the anterior coherent at the base, the inner much
shorter than the outer, the hind toe elongated ; the claws long,
well arched, compressed, acute.
In the form of the feet and claws the Sittinse resemble the
Certhianae, while in the structure of the bill they are allied to
the Woodpeckers, and in their aspect and colouring exhibit an
affinity to the Tits. Their habits accordingly present a com-
bination of those of all these birds. Of the few genera form-
ing this family, only one occurs in Europe.
4G
SITTA. NUTHATCH.
Bill of moderate length, straight, slender but strong, some-
what conical, slightly higher than broad, pentagonal at the
base, four-sided toward the end, with the ])oint sharp, or some-
what wedge-shaped from use ; upper mandible with its dorsal
outline very slightly arcuato-declinate or nearly straight, the
ridge rather obtuse, the sides sloping, a little convex toward
the end, the edges sharp, sloping outwards and overlapping,
the point narrow, acute, or blunted, somewhat depressed,
without notch or sinus ; lower mandible with the angle rather
short and of moderate width, the dorsal outline ascending and
slightly convex, the sides sloping outwards and flat at the base,
convex towards the end, the edges thin and directed outwards,
the tip acute ; the gape-line straight.
The mouth narrow ; the upper mandible slightly concave
internally, with three parallel central prominent lines, and two
lateral grooves ; the lower moderately concave, with a strong
central prominent line. Nostrils oblong, in the fore-part of the
short nasal membrane, which is feathered. Eyes rather small ;
eyelids feathered. External aperture of ear large and roundish.
The general form is short and robust ; the body and neck
very short ; the head ovate, rather large. The feet rather
short and strong ; tarsus very short, compressed, with seven
very broad anterior scutella, sharp behind ; toes large, much
compressed ; the first, with its claw, longer than the tarsus or
the middle toe, the three anterior united at the base as far as
the second joint, the fourth longer than the second. Claws long,
much arched, extremely compressed, high, laterally grooved,
very acute.
The plumage soft and blended, the feathers ovate, those of
the back elongated, about the base of the bill short and bristle-
tipped ; but there are no bristle-feathers. Wings long, very
broad, rounded ; quills nineteen ; the first very small, being
SITTA. NUTHATCH. 47
scarcely a third of the length of the second, the fourth longest,
but the third and fifth almost equal ; the third, fourth, fifth,
and sixth cut out on the outer web ; the secondaries long and
rounded. Tail ^sliort, generally even, of twelve moderately
broad, weak, rounded feathers.
The genus Sitta is composed of small birds, varying in size
from that of a Coal Tit or Regulus to the length of six or seven
inches. They inhabit the warmer and temperate parts of both
continents, but are more numerous in America, only one species
occurring in Europe. In the form of their bill, in that of their
feet, but more especially in their general appearance, and in
their colouring, as well as in their habits, they present a con-
siderable affinity to the Tits, between which, on the one hand,
and the Creepers and Woodpeckers on the other, seems to be
their station in a natural arrangement.
The Nuthatches, according to the observation of persons
who have studied their habits, are remarkable for restless
activity, move with extreme quickness up and down the
branches and trunks of trees, searching for insects in the cre-
vices of the bark and among the leaves, cling and hang to the
twigs, turning with astonishing agility in all directions, utter
every now and then a loud shrill note, fly from tree to tree in
the woods, visit the gardens occasionally, and associate with
Creepers, Tits, and small Woodpeckers. Their flight is rapid,
generally short, but sometimes protracted ; their food consists
of insects, pupae, and larvae of various kinds, as well as of
acorns, chestnuts, and other hard fruits, which they split or
perforate with their bill, after fastening them in a crevice.
Not unfrequently they betake themselves to the ground in
search of food, and come into the immediate vicinity of houses
in winter. They nestle in holes, generally formed by them-
selves in decayed trees. They have the singular habit of sleep-
ing with their head downwards, as they cling to the surface
of a tree, and, unlike the Creepers, which can only ascend, they
are equally expert at descending a trunk or branch ; nor do they
require to aid their ascent by pressing their tail against the sur-
face.
48
SITTA EUROP.EA. THE EUROPEAN NUTHATCH.
Sitta europsea. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 177-
Sitta europsea. Lath. Ind. Orn. IL 261.
European Nuthatch. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Sittelle Torchepot. Sitta europeea. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 407.
Sitta europsea. Nuthatcli. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 154.
Nuthatch. Sitta europsea. Selb. Illustr. I. 385.
Upper parts hluish-grey ; throat and cheeks white ; loral space
and a hand behind the eye hlacli ; loiver parts light reddish-yellow,
sides hroionish-red.
Male. — This beautiful and lively little bird, which occurs
in various parts of England, remaining all the year, is one of
the largest species of the genus. Its general appearance may
be learned from the generic character, which applies to it in
every respect ; the body being short and rather full, the neck
very short, the head rather large ; the bill longish, moderately
stout, straight, tapering, and towards the end four-sided ; the
tarsi very short, the hind toe very long, with eight scutella,
the second with eight, the third with twelve, the fourth, which
is considerably longer than the second, with ten ; the claws
long, much arched, that of the hind toe very large and curved
in a semicircle.
EUROPEAN NUTHATCH. 49
The plumage is very soft and blended. The wings rather
long, with nineteen quills, the first about a third of the length
of the second, which is four-twelfths of an inch shorter than
the third, the fourth longest, but scarcely exceeding the third
and fifth. The tail is short, broad, straight, even, of twelve
moderately broad, rounded feathers.
The upper mandible is internally almost flat, with a median
ridge ; the lower somewhat more concave. The tongue is
nearly half an inch in length, emarginate and papillate at the
base, slender, thin, with the point abrupt and furnished with
strong bristles, like that of a Tit. The oesophagus is two
inches and a quarter in length, rather wide, its diameter be-
ing two and a half twelfths ; the stomach large, roundish, ten-
twelfths in length, seven-twelfths and three fourths in breadth,
very muscular, with the epithelium dense and longitudinally
rugous ; the intestine nine inches long, wide, having a dia-
meter of from two and a half to one and a half twelfths ; the
coeca extremely small, being scarcely one-twelfth long, and of
an oblong form ; the rectum one inch long, dilated into an ob-
long sac. The tongue and digestive organs are thus similar to
those of the Tits. The trachea is an inch and eight -twelfths
long, one-twelfth in breadth, of seventy-six rings ; the bronchi
of fifteen rings ; the inferior laryngeal muscles forming a small
knob, and apparently single. PL XIV, Fig. 3.
The upper mandible is greyish-blue at the base, dusky in
the rest of its extent ; the lower pale gi'ey, with the tip dusky.
The iris is brown. The feet are greyish-yellow. The upper
parts of the plumage are light bluish-grey. The quills and
coverts are greyish-brown, margined with the same colour as
the back, the primaries more narrowly, excepting the outer
two, which have no coloured margins. The two middle
feathers of the tail are bluish-grey, the rest dusky brown, and
tipped with grey, diminishing from the outer inwards, the
outer with a white spot on each web, the next two with one
on the inner web only. There is a brownish-black band on
the lore, and another proceeds from the eye down the neck.
The cheeks and throat are white, the rest of the lower parts
light reddish-yellow, excepting the sides, which are of a rich
vol.. HI. E
50 SITTA EUROPiEA.
brownish-red, and the lower tail-coverts, which are white,
w^th a broad edging of brownish-red.
Length to end of tail S^^g inches ; extent of wings 10^ ;
wing from flexure oj^ ; tail l^^^g ; bill along the ridge /g, along
the edge of lower mandible {^ ; tarsus ^| ; hind toe ^%, its
claw |g ; second toe ^-j ; its claw ^'^ ; third toe pj,, its claw
^*2 ; fourth toe j%, its claw ^^j.
Female. — The female is similar to the male, but with the
tints paler, and the size somewhat less.
Variations. — This bird is very little subject to change of
colour. An individual almost white, with only a few light
chocolate feathers at the vent, and here and there a dark fea-
ther intermixed with the rest of the plumage, the legs and bill
quite white, is mentioned in Mr Loudon''s Magazine, Vol. VIII,
p. 112, as having been obtained in Suifolk.
Habits. — The Nuthatch is not generally distributed in Bri-
tain, being of rare occurrence in the northern parts of Eng-
land, and not hitherto observed in Scotland. It is found
chiefly in the wooded parts, but is nowhere very common, and is
seldom seen in companies of more than seven or eight indivi-
duals. Like the Creeper and AVoodpeckers, it ascends the
trunks and branches of trees by means of its long curved
claws, but without employing its tail as a support, and it
descends in the same manner head-foremost, in which re-
spect it difi'ers from all the birds that occur in our island.
In this manner it searches the bark for insects and larva*,
sometimes betakes itself for the same purpose to thatched
roofs, and occasionally alights on the ground, where it pro-
ceeds by short leaps. Besides insects, it feeds on the kernels
of nuts, which, having fixed in a convenient crevice in the
bark, it hammers with its strong pointed bill, until it perforates
the shell, pivoting itself on its legs, and jerking its whole
body forwards. All its actions are abrupt and lively ; it climbs
by short jerks, perches with ease on the twigs, throws itself
into various postures, and is often seen with its head down-
EUROPEAN NUTHATCH. 51
wards, in which position it is even said at times to sleep. Its
flight is rapid, protracted on occasion, but usually short. It
has no song, being furnished with only a single pair of inferior
laryngeal muscles, but utters a shrill cry at intervals.
My excellent friend, Mr Harley, writes me on the subject of
the Nuthatch as follows: — " This bird remains with us throuorh-
out the year, inhabiting the park and old inclosure more than the
hedge-row tree or the dense umbrageous wood. In fact, I have
never seen it upon our hedge-row trees, although I have often
sought for it when I have been watchinf^ the haunts of the
Woodpeckers, which so much resemble it in their habits. In
winter it is not quite mute, but has a small piping note, not
unlike that of the Creeper. This is a call-company note, inas-
much as the Nuthatch in winter feeds in little companies or fa-
milies of four or six individuals. On the 21st November (1839)
I went after a pair of the Greater Spotted Woodpecker and a
pair of Nuthatches, in Ganendon Park (near Leicester), the
weather being mild, but gloomy, and the wind south. It was
not without difficulty that I found the Nuthatches, which in-
variably feed where the trees are most protected from the wind.
Thus, when the south or forest wind is playing upon the park,
the Nuthatches are to be found amongst the large oaks and elms
on the north side of it ; and when a north-easter is blowing,
these birds are found feeding on the beeches, chestnuts, and
pines which grow on the south side. I know of no birds whose
habits and manners are so operated upon by the movements of
the wind. Whether this arises from their being so much ex-
posed to the weather, in consequence of their being almost con-
stantly on the bark of trees at all seasons of the year, I cannot
say. The Nuthatch searches the bark like the Creeper, but
without dcrivins: aid from its tail, and is able to descend with
as much ease as it climbs. You see it now ascending spirally
the bole of an oak, then creeping horizontally along an arm,
now above, now beneath, and again hanging like a Tit, as it
gains the thickened foliage, to examine every crevice of the
bark, and the young buds. It proceeds by short leaps, jerks,
or notches^ and during its progress droops its wings somewhat
after the manner of the Hedge Sparrow. At this season (No-
52 SITTA EUROP^A.
vember) it generally keeps toward the middle and topmost
branches of the trees it inhabits ; but as the spring advances it
not only feeds lower down on the bark, but may then be ob-
served occasionally betaking itself to the ground. The note in
spring is quite dilFerent, having in the vernal months a soft
flute-like sound, which it gets in February, but somewhat
earlier or later according to the nature of the season. The flight
of the Nuthatch is very short, and in fact is only made from
one tree to another, or from branch to branch. When the bird
is flying, it moves its wings very rapidly, and, during these
short flights, its course is not undulating. In its mode of flying
it bears a great resemblance to the Wren. Tlie pair which I
have forwarded for your inspection were shot from the bark of
an oak. You may fire several times into the same tree, with-
out causing the birds, which at this season are in families, to
leave it, although one or two should be killed. When these
two were obtained, four shots were fired, and yet all this can-
nonading did not drive off the other four birds, which remained
until we dejoarted."
In the stomach of these individuals I found fragments of
small coleoptera, several small white pujose contained in very
hard elliptical shells, some farinaceous-looking matter in small
pieces or chips, a few husks of grasses, and several particles of
quartz, the largest two-twelfths in their greatest diameter. The
figure and description of the alimentary canal is taken from one
of these specimens, a male, as are the measurements of the bill,
feet, and other parts.
The Rev. W. T. Bree, in Loudon s IMagazine, Vol. II, p. 243,
states that " it fixes the nuts in a chink or crevice of the bark
of a tree, or the like, and commences a vigorous attack upon
the shell by forcibly and repeatedly striking it with its beak.
This knocking may be heard to a considerable distance. Dur-
ing the operation, it sometimes happens that the nut swerves
from its fixture, and fiills towards the ground ; it has not de-
scended, however, for the space of more than a few yards, when
the Nuthatch, with admirable adroitness, recovers it in its fall,
and replacing it in its former position, commences the attack
afresh. The fall of the nut in the air, and its recovery by the
EUROPEAN NUTHATCH. 53
bird on the wing, I have seen repeated several times in the
space of a few minutes."
A correspondent, J. D., in the same very useful work, Vol.
V, p. 489, has the following notice. " In observing the Nut-
hatch climbing tall trees, as the lime and the elm, when, of
course, insects, not nuts, were the objects sought, I noticed that
the bird ascended in a very zigzag manner, as, at the end of
every few inches of its progress upwards, it diverged either to
the right hand or to the left ; this, it may be presumed, was
less for the purpose of rendering ascent easy, than for that of
enlarging its field of search, and so increasing the chances of
amplifying its meal. During the winter the Nuthatch was
very shy, and as far as my observation went, quite silent. By
the 10th of April and before, it had become, I think, less shy,
and rather frequently uttered one or the other of its two notes :
these are a short broken twitting, and a short, unmodulated,
yet mellow -toned whistle." Another correspondent states that
it " has only a few short notes, one of them peculiar, and so loud
that it may be heard to a considerable distance. It is at all
times a busy and cheerful bird, and particularly before breed-
ing time. Its favourite food is nuts of any kind, and tree seeds.
It builds and roosts in hollow trees, and is seldom seen in the
open fields, unless when in quest of the stones of white-thorn.
It may be, therefore, properly called a forester. Its dexterity
in opening nuts and the stones of fruits is curious ; it fixes the
nut in a crack on the top of a post, or on the bark of a tree,
and, placing itself above it, head downwards, strikes with great
force and rapidity with its strong wedge-shaped bill on the
edge of the shell till it splits it open. When the food of these
birds is plentiful, they have a favourite crack for uushelling
the kernels, as sometimes a peck of broken shells may be seen
under this crack."
According to Montagu, " it chooses the deserted habitation
of a Woodpecker in some tree for the place of its nidification.
This hole is first contracted by a plaster of clay, leaving only
sufficient room for itself to pass in and out. The nest is made
of dead leaves, most times that of the oak, which are heaped
together without much order. The eggs are six or seven m
54 SITTA EUROPvEA.
number, white, spotted with rust colour, so exactly like those
of the Great Titmouse in size and markinfi^s, that it is impossi-
ble to distinguish a difference. If the barrier of plaster at the
entrance is destroyed when they have eggs, it is speedily re-
placed ; a peculiar instinct to prevent their nest being destroyed
by the Woodpecker and other birds of superior size who build
in the same situation. No persecution will force this little
bird from its habitation when sitting ; it defends its nest to
the last extremity, strikes the invader with its bill and wings,
and makes a hissing noise ; and, after every eifort of defence,
will sufi'er itself to be taken in the hand rather than quit.""
Like the American species, it aj^pears from the testimony
of several writers, that the European Nuthatch sometimes
makes a hole for itself; and it would seem that the plaster is
only used when the entrance is unnecessarily large. INIr Harley
informs me that he has known it to nestle in a gate-post, and
keep its station although the gateway was often used. In
Ganendon Park, where it is pretty common, it nestles in elm,
thorn, and maple trees.
In a state of captivity the Nuthatch is fed on hemp-seed,
oats, barley, and nuts, all of which it cracks or splits w^ith its
bill. Its activity, cunning, and di-ollery, render it an agreeable
pet, but it must be kept in a cage entirely of wire, as it de-
stroys wood with its bill. Bechstein, in his Cage Birds, relates
an instance of its familiarity. " A lady amused herself in
winter with throwing seeds on the terrace below the window,
to feed the birds in the neighbourhood. She put some hemp-
seed and cracked nuts even on the window-sill, and on a board,
particularly for her favourites, the Blue Tits. Two Nuthatches
came one day to have their share in this repast, and were so
well pleased that they became quite familiar, and did not even
go away in the following spring, to get their natural food and
to build their nest in the wood. They settled themselves in
the hollow of an old tree near the house. As soon as the two
young ones, which they reared here, were able to fly, they
brought them to the hospitable window where they were to be
nourished, and soon after disappeared entirely. It was amus-
ing to see these two new visitors hang or climb on the walls
EUROPEAN NUTHATCH.
55
or blinds, whilst their benefactress put their food on the board.
These pretty creatures, as well as the tits, knew her so well,
that when she drove away the sparrows which came to steal
what was not intended for them, they did not fly away also,
but seemed to know that what was done was only to protect
and defend them. They remained near the house for the whole
summer, rarely wandering, till one fatal day, at the beginning
of the sporting season, in autumn, when on hearing the report
of a gun they disappeared, and were never seen again."
YouxG. — The young when fledged differ from the adult in
having the colours paler and the plumage more loose.
Fro. 197.
66
PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY.
SEVENTH LESSON.
REMARKS ON WOODPECKERS. STRUCTURE OF THE TONGUE OF PICUS
VIRIDIS, AND EXPLANATION OF THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS EX-
TENDED AND RETRACTED. ITS TRACHEA AND DIGESTIVE ORGANS.
DESCRIPTION OF PART OF THE COUNTY OF LEICESTER, INCLUDING
CHARNWOOD FOREST.
More than half a year has elapsed since we had one of our
pleasant lessons in practical ornithology, and all that time I
have been anxiously expecting a Green Woodpecker from some
correspondent. One wrote to a friend to procure a specimen,
another made inquiries in London, a third engaged three diffe-
rent persons who were sure of obtaining a supply, a fourth, on
being apprized of my wishes, went out directly and shot one.
Here it is, preserved in spirits, along with two Nuthatches.
The birds of the family of Picinae are remarkable for their
habit of ascending the trunks and branches of trees, while
clinging to which with their curved and sharp claws, they derive
considerable aid from their very stiff and strong tail, the tips
of the feathers of which are pressed against the bark. Another
peculiarity is seen in the form of their straight, tapering, angu-
lar, wedge-tipped bill, with wdiich they perforate or chip off
the bark and wood, in search of insects and their larvse. A
third striking character which they possess, although it is not
peculiar to them, is exhibited by their slender, stiff-pointed
and bristled or prickly tongue, which they have the power of
suddenly thrusting out, in order to draw with it into their
mouth the small insects on w^hich they feed. All the species
of Woodpecker, about twenty in number, which I have exa-
mined, present this structure, with slight modifications.
The examination of organs is certainly the most pleasing and
important part of zoology, and, whatever superficial observers
TONGUE OF THE GREEN WOODPECKER. 57
may say, must soon be generally practised ; but as we have a
good opportunity, we may take the measurements of the bird: —
Length loh inches, extent of wings 20 ; wing from flexure 65 ;
tail 4/g ; bill along the ridge Ij^, along the edge of lower man-
dible 1 1 § , width of mouth |^g ; tarsus 1 1% ; hind toe/jj, its claw ^% ;
second or inner toe j%, its claw -{'^^ '•> third 1 inch, its claw /^ '•>
fourth or reversed toe j%, its claw jly. There are six scutella on
the tarsus, four on the first toe, nine on the second, twelve on
the third, and eleven on the fourth. Now for our dissection.
Here the bird is laid on its back, the integuments are removed
from its breast, neck, and head ; and the parts are before us :
the mandibles, the tongue, the hyoid bones, the salivary glands,
the trachea, and its muscles. See Plate XV.
Our principal object is to trace out the apparently complex
apparatus by which the tongue is protruded and retracted.
Two slight diagrams will afford a sufficiently correct idea of the
mechanism employed, which is extremely simple. Let Fig. 1,
a b, be an object or instrument, which is to be carried forward
a certain distance, and then drawn back. All that is neces-
sary is to lengthen it behind, a c, fix a cord to the end or to
some part, c d, pull this cord, and by means of another cord,
a e, restore it to its original position. As the elongated part
or appendage cannot in a bird project straight backwards, for
then it would pass through the vertebras and spinal marrow,
it must be split into two, one-half passing along each side of
the neck ; and as the length of this part must correspond to
the distance to which the tip of the tongue is to be protruded,
it becomes necessary to dispose of it so as not to impede the
functions of the neighbouring parts, and thus it may conveni-
ently be curved over the head, between the skull and the skin.
Fig. 2 represents such an instrument, it being merely Fig. 1
modified : a b, the tongue ; a c, its double appendage ; d c,
the muscles or cords by which it is pulled forward ; a e, those
by which it is brought back.
Now, the tongue of this Green Woodpecker, when examined
superficially, in its retracted state, presents the appearance of a
slender, cylindrical, somewhat tapering, fleshy body, termi-
nated by a slender, flattened horny point, of which the upper
58 PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY.
surface and sides are covered with very delicate acicular, stif-
fish, reversed bristles or prickles. These prickles assist in at-
taching the insect or larva to be seized, but the object is not
transfixed, as some have imagined, otherwise, being so delicate,
the bristles would be broken, or at all events would render it im-
possible to disengage the insect for the purpose of swallowing it.
The fleshy part of the tongue is 1^ inch in length, its horny
tip } ; but it may be drawn out so that the tip shall be pro-
truded nearly 2 inches beyond the tip of the bill ; it being in
this state 3/g inches long. The protrusion is seen to be effect-
ed, not by any elasticity or extensility of the tongue, but in
consequence of its basal part sliding forwards from within a
sheath, which is lined with a smooth membrane, continuous
with that which covers the tongue, of which the basal part
when retracted is withdrawn by a kind of intussusception, or
as if by turning the finger of a glove partly within itself. Be-
sides its general coverinGf, and some delicate muscles, the tonsue
has internally a very slender bone, not thicker than a strong
hog's bristle, 1/^ inch in length, tipped by a broader, some-
what sagittiform bone, f-^ long, which is the basis of the horny
part. The long bone is the basi-hyal, and the small terminal
one the glosso-hyal. Appended to the base of the former are
two filiform bones, Ij inch long, to which are appended two
still more slender bones, 5j inches in length. These bones,
the apohyal and ceratohyal, are flattened and tapering, and
diverging as they proceed backward, curve on the sides of the
neck, ascend, converge on passing the neck, meet on the top
of the head, leave the median line when opposite the eyes,
digressing to the right side, and terminate near the base of the
upper mandible, being attached by two slender ligaments to the
outer side of the depression in which the right nostril is si-
tuated. The length from the tip of the bill to that of the hyoid
bones is 8^''^ inches, AVe have thus the solid parts represented
by the diagrams Figs. 1 and 2.
A tongue of this kind may be protruded in two ways. Either
the elongated apohyal and ceratohyal bones may be made to slide
in a sheath, so that their tips shall pass from the forehead to the
occiput, or even as far as the base of the lower jaw, in which
TONGUE OF THE GREEN WOODPECKER. 59
case the tip of the tongue would advance to a corresponding
distance. Or, the tips of the ceratohyal bones being fixed, or
having only a little motion by means of an elastic ligament,
these bones may form a very large curve, passing down the
sides of the neck to a great distance from the base of the skull,
in which case the straightening of this curve would carry for-
ward the tip of the tongue. In very many Woodpeckers, the
whole ceratohyals with their muscles slide backwards and for-
wards in a sheath ; but in this species the tips of these bones
being nearly fixed, the protrusion of the tongue is effected by
the contraction of the muscle straightening the lower part, or
that nearest the mouth, which moves in a sheath.
A slender muscle proceeds from the lower jaw pretty far
forward, on each side, passes backwards, soon attaches itself to
the corresponding ceratohyal bone, runs along its whole length,
covering or enclosing it, and is attached to its tip. This muscle,
bv contractincr, suddenlv thrusts out the toncrue. To the basi-
hyal bone in the cylindrical part of the tongue, is attached on
each side a muscle, which proceeds downward in front of the
bones of the larynx, on passing which it turns aside, winds
round the trachea behind, reappears on the other side, and is
twice wound round the trachea, to which it finally adheres.
This muscle and its fellow, the trachea being fixed by other
muscles, draw back the tongue when it has been protruded.
In all Woodpeckers these muscles necessarily exist, and are at-
tached to the trachea, but are specially twisted round it only in
the Green Woodpecker among the European, and the Golden-
winged Woodpecker, among the North American species.
To complete the apparatus, two very large, elongated glands,
analogous to the parotid and sublingual in man, secrete a viscid
saliva, conveying it each by a single tube, which opens into
the mouth, at the angle or point of meeting of the crura of the
lower jaw. The fluid thus copiously secreted, fills the place
where the tip of the tongue lies when retracted, so that the
prehensile bristly tip of that organ is always bedewed with it.
Thus a perfectly efiicient instrument for seizing the small and
often agile objects on which the Woodpecker feeds, is provided
by a very simple contrivance.
60 PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY.
Three different views of our Woodpecker's head and neck will
render the structure very obvious. In the lateral view of the
parts, Fig. 8, are seen a h, the two horny mandibles; the tongue,
c d e, its terminal barbed portion, c d, the fleshy part, d e ; the
elongated parts of the hyoid bones, with their muscles, f g ; the
eye and orbit, h ; the salivary glands, i i ; the neck, j ; the
oesophagus, k h ; the trachea, / I ; the lateral or contractor mus-
cles of the trachea, mm:, its cleido-tracheal muscles, nn^ attached
to the furcular bone or clavicle, o.
Viewed from before or beneath, the parts seen are : the lower
mandible, h ; the salivary glands, i ^, turned a little aside ; the
hyoid bones with their muscles, f g^ f g ; the oesophagus, h k ;
the trachea, II; its lateral muscles, m m ; the cleido-tracheal
muscles, n n ; the glosso-laryngeal muscles, ;_> p, M'hich, being
twisted round the trachea at one end, and attached to the base
of the tongue at the other, draw that organ backwards into
the mouth ; and lastly, the muscles, q q, which, arising from
the sides of the lower jaw, attach themselves to the apohyal
bones,///, are continued to their extremity, and on contract-
ing thrust out the tongue.
Fig. 5 represents the apohyal bones and their muscles, a <?,
curving over the occiput, meeting on the top of the head, run-
ning forward in a groove, deviating beyond the eyes to the
right side, and attached to the upper jaw near the right nos-
tril, h.
Several modifications of these parts will be seen in the fifth
volume of Mr Audubon's Ornithological Biography, of which
the anatomical descriptions and drawings were made by me.
The trachea is o^.^ inches in length, from three to two
twelfths in breadth, and composed of about 80 rings, of which
the upper are circular, the rest flattened ; the last entire ring
bipartite, and succeeded by two dimidiate rings. The lateral
or contractor muscles are strong, as are the sterno-tracheal ;
and there are two very slender inferior laryngeal muscles.
The digestive organs may now be examined. See PI. XIV,
Fig. 5. The oesophagus, a b c, is 5\ inches long, its width
from half an inch at the commencement to three-twelfths,
but in the proventricular portion, b c, dilated so as to form an
SCENERY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 61
oblong sac, an inch and three quarters in length, and ten and
a half twelfths in its greatest breadth. The stomach, ccZ, is small,
of a roundish form, considerably compressed, nine and a half
twelfths in length, ten-twelfths in breadth ; its lateral muscles
of considerable strength, one being four and a half twelfths
thick, the other three twelfths ; the lower muscle prominent,
but very thin ; the tendons large ; the cuticular lining dense,
longitudinally rugous, and yellowish-red. The pro ventricular
glands, which are very small, form a belt an inch and a quarter
in breadth. The intestine, d efg, is rather short, but extremely
wide, and destitute of coeca ; its entire length sixteen inches ;
the duodenal portion two inches and three quarters in length,
and seven-twelfths in width ; the rest of the intestine contract-
ing to five-twelfths ; the cloaca, ij, a very large elliptical sac,
ten-twelfths and a half in width. There is no gall-bladder. The
contents of the proventriculus are 638 insects and pupse, most
of them ants, four muscae, and a few coleoptera. In tho
stomach is a mass of the same comminuted, probably 200 more.
Consider how many insects a Green \V"oodpecker would at this
rate devour in the course of a year. Making the above num-
ber the daily average, we find the annual amount to be 305,870,
and that of twenty years 6,117,400. Very possibly the num-
ber may be double. How many muscular motions of climb-
ing, creeping, pecking, tongueing, and swallowing, one cannot
even imagine. What say the skin-and-feather ornithologists
to all this I " A knowledge of anatomy is not necessary to the
naturalist." No truly, not to such naturalists, to whom
not even a knowledge of habits is of much importance. How
is it that the proventriculus and stomach of a ^Voodpecker
should bear so considerable a resemblance to those of a PetreH
The gentleman who has sent me the specimen which we
have now examined, Mr Harley, of Leicester, has also favoured
me with observations relative to the birds of his neighbourhood,
and prefaces them with a brief account of the district, to which
it will be useful to refer on occasion.
" The small river Soar winds its course hard by the town,
turning numerous mills in its progress. After irrigrating many
a mead, and refreshing many a field, it falls into the Trent
02 PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY.
about twenty-two miles north of Leicester. The town is situ-
ated on a bed of fine red clay, which is covered with a thick bed
of gravel. In many parts the soil is deep, but in others scanty.
The north-western side of the town is in general very low, with
much water, caused by the river being turned for navigation,
and its water made available for manufacture and other pur-
poses. On each side of the Soar are low meadows, in many
places wet and marshy, but generally very productive of fine
grasses, which are I believe rather celebrated for fodder. The
part of the county which I mean to describe lies between the
town of Leicester and the south eastern verge of Charnwood
Forest, about six miles distant. After leaving the town, and
proceeding about two miles due west, we come to a sort of blue
clay, and find detached and scattered pieces of limestone, often
containing belemnites. The vegetation here is very scanty, the
trees are stunted, and ranpikes are very common. The land
intervening between this clayey tract and Bradgate Park, or
the Forest of Charnwood, is decidedly woodland, broken, and
often picturesque, particularly about the pretty villages of Austy,
Grooby, and Newtown Linford. Both the red and blue clays are
conspicuous here, but we find them abruptly lost in the granite
of Grooby or the schist of Bradgate Park or Charnwood. Two
most beautiful streams pass through the villages of Newtown
Linford and Grooby. The former rises near to Ulverscroft
Priorj^ winds its way through some picturesque scenery, down
a lovely valley, shaded by alders, and passing on to Newtown
Linford, runs through Bradgate Park, to join the Soar near
Quorndon. The other meanders through a rich and beautiful
part of the country, and falls into the stream just mentioned
six miles from Leicester. The woods here are rather extensive,
particularly Martinshaw, Ulverscroft, and Sheet Hedges. They
chiefly consist of oak, ash, and aspen, intermixed with birch,
and mountain-ash, the underwood being almost invariably com-
posed of hazel, white willow, holly, and honeysuckle. In the
vernal months, these woods are bestudded with the beautiful
Blue Hyacinth, Primrose, Wood Anemone, Sweet-scented
Violet ; and as the season advances, the Stitchwort, with its
white starry flowers, and the little Germander Speedwell are
SCENERY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. €3
conspicuous in every walk. These woods also abound in some
places with the Bear's Garlic, the Red Campion, Ragged Robin,
and Herb Robert.
" I ought not to omit mentioning Grooby Pool, which is de-
scribed by Leland, a distinguished antiquary of the sixteenth
century, as a ' faire and large pole.' He says, ' there is a faire
and large parke by the place, a vi miles in circumpasse, there
is also a poor village by the place, (Grooby, this place gives title
to the Greys, the present Earl of Stamford is Lord Grey of
Grooby) — and a little broke by it, and a quarter of a mile from
the place in the bottom, there is a faire and large pole as lightly
is in Leycestreshire, there issueth a broket out of this lake that
after committs by Grooby and there dryvith a mylle and after
resortith to the Sore River.' Grooby Pool in its present state
contains about forty acres, and is somewhat less than a mile
in circumference. It was formerly much larger, containing
between seventy and eighty acres, and extending, it is supposed,
to the Ashby-de-la-Zouch road ; but successive encroachments
of reeds and other aquatic plants have reduced it to its present
size. It is of an oval form, with a few slightly indented bays
and projecting points of syenitic rock on its margin. Its ut-
most length, drawn in a line, from the flood-gates, through the
island, to the opposite shore, is about 380 yards. It is in few
places more than ten or twelve feet deep, and the greater por-
tion is much more shallow. In the dry summer of 1S26, it
was drained very low, for the purpose of cleaning it out to the
extent of two or three acres, where the water-plants had nearly
choked it up.
" Bradgate Park forms the south-eastern boundary of Charn-
wood Forest, and was in early times commonly called the
' Waste.' Leland says it is ' a forest of xx miles or more in
cumpasse, having plenty of woode, the most part belonging to
the Marquisse of Dorset, the reste to the King, and the Earl
of Huntingdon.' The park in its present state is about seven
miles in circumference, and formed into several divisions by
means of stone-walls, the materials of which are found upon
the spot. It is mostly covered with fern, Pteris aquilina, and
the projecting bare and abrupt rocks, rising out here and there,
64 PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY.
with a few scattered gnarled oaks, shivered and blasted, in their
last stage of decay, present a scene of wildness and desolation
highly contrasted with some of the adjoining beautiful valleys
and fertile country. The rocks are in a great measure schistose,
being of primitive slate or greywacke, and referred by modern
geologists to the Cambrian system.
" The Forest of Charnwood, which this park abuts upon, has
had an extent of fifteen or sixteen thousand acres. The In-
closure Act passed in 1811, when it soon became disafforested,
and was shorn of its ancient glory. Now, it is only in the
more elevated parts, to which the plough is denied access, that
any traces of its pristine condition remain. I may however
mention a tract of land situate amongst the Whitwick Rocks,
which overhang Grace Dieu Priory, as having escaped cultiva-
tion. Here the gorse blooms in its golden beauty, the Fox-
glove, loveliest of our forest flowers, gladdens every dell, and
enamels every rock, and the Blue Bell, Campanula rotundi-
folia, nods to the passing breeze. Here too we find occasion-
ally a patch of brown heath, sometimes tenanted by the Dottrel,
the Grey Plover, and the Ringed Thrush. I suppose this tract
of table-land may extend to a thousand or fifteen hundred acres.
The Trappist monks have a monastery here, and are cultivat-
ing a part of the ground.
" I shall not attempt further description of our forest range,
lest I should become tedious. Yet I ought to say, for your
guidance, that Charnwood Forest is free from timber, and was
so at the time of its inclosure in 1811. But the recently plant-
ed clumps of trees and coppices are growing very rapidly, so
that in another generation there will remain very little of its
present bareness, except the rugged rocks, and everlasting hills.
Around Charnwood Forest, unless in the park and wood, and
very old inclosure, the Elm, Ulmus campestris, is the principal
tree ; and even for miles south of Leicester it prevails."
65
Vir. SCANSORES. CLIMBERS.
In the arrangements of Cuvier and many other naturalists,
a vast number of birds differing from each other in form,
structure, and habits, but agreeing in having their outer or
fourth toe directed backwards, are brought together to consti-
tute an order, destitute of any other common character than
that just mentioned, and to which the names of Scansores or
CHmbers, and Zygodactyli or Yoke-footed Birds, have been
apphed. On the same principle, all birds having only the
first toe directed backwards ought to constitute a single order,
in which Eagles, Pheasants, Pigeons, Finches, and Creepers
should be arranged side by side. In truth, a Parrot, a Toucan,
a Cuckoo, a Trogon, and a Jacamar, are as essentially different
from each other as a Falcon, a Raven, a Nightingale, a Goat-
sucker, and a Humming-bird ; and as the groups of the so-
called order Scansores present strongly marked differences in
their digestive organs, as well as in their habits, I must, in
consistency with the principles which I have adopted, reject
the opinions of those, however esteemed, who choose on occa-
sion to shut their eyes on the truth,
" The third order of birds, or the Climbers," says -Cuvier,
" is composed of birds of which the outer toe is directed back-
wards like the hind toe, whence there results a firmer support,
of which some genera avail themselves for clinging to the
trunks of trees, and climbing upon them. The common name of
Climbers, Scansores, has therefore been given to them, although
VOL. III. F
6() SCANSORES. CLIMBERS.
in strictness it does not apply to all, and although several
birds truly climb without belonging to this order by the dis-
position of their toes." Mr Svvainson however adds these
birds to the Scansores, from which on the other hand he ejects
many which, although zygodactylous, do not climb or even
walk, although he retains a very great number of species which
no person has ever seen climbing. His Climbers are not an
order, but a tribe of the Perchers, and are composed of Toucans,
Parrots, Woodpeckers, Creepers, and Cuckoos, " the junction of
the last with the first being effected by the great hollow-billed
genus Phoenicophseus, and by Scythrops, the Australian genus
of Toucans ; " but he wisely refrains from attempting to give
any general character of the group. INI. Temminck defines his
Zygodactyli thus: " Bill of varied form, more or less arched, or
much hooked, often straight and angular. Feet always with two
toes before and two behind, the outer hind toe often reversible."
M. Lesson observes : " Every bird of which the toes are dis-
posed two before and two behind, is of the order of Climbers.
The manners of most of the species which belong to it are not
known ; besides they vary in almost every genus. This is also
the case with their food, their habits, and the climates in
which they live. Nothing general can be said with respect to
them." It is quite unnecessary to oiFer any remarks on state-
ments like these, for the folly of forming such heterogeneous
associations must be apparent to all.
The Parrots differ from the other birds of this artificial group
in many essential respects. Their tongue is short, tliick, fleshy,
and rounded, or emarginate ; their oesophagus is enlarged to
form a crop similar to that of the gallinaceous birds ; their pro-
ventriculus is very large ; their stomach very small, but mus-
cular ; their intestines of moderate length and width. Their
mode of climbing is by grasping the branches, and they aid
their ascent with their bill. From these and other circum-
stances I should conceive that they form a very distinct order.
The digestive organs of the Woodpeckers differ from those
of the Parrots, as will presently be seen, and those of the
Cuckoos differ as much from both. With the internal struc-
ture of the other groups I am not sufficiently acquainted to be
SCANSORES. CLIMBERS. 67
able to form any reasonable idea of the manner in which they
ought to be arranged. But this is of little consequence in the
present case, as in Britain there are only representatives of two
of the groups, the Woodpeckers and the Cuckoos, the former
of which, with the Toucans and Barbets, I would consider as
forming the order Scansores.
The order Scansores, or Climbers, as here instituted, is cha-
racterized by a large, strong, nearly straight bill, a long or ex-
tensile tongue, and narroio zygodactyle feet. Certain other
birds also climb much in the same manner, as the Certhiae,
Tichodromoe, and Dendrocolaptre, already spoken of, but their
feet differ in having only one toe directed backwards ; and as
we name Raptores birds which are peculiarly rapacious, al-
though species of other groups are equally so, and apply to a
certain series the name of Cantatores or Songsters, although
birds of other groups sing, so, with equal reason, we may de-
signate as Climbers the species of the present group.
The feet of the Climbers are short and of moderate strength ;
their tarsi more or less compressed, anteriorly scutellate, pos-
teriorly with two series of scales ; the toes compressed, of
moderate size, excepting the first, which is short, and some-
times rudimentary or even wanting, the second and third united
at the base, the fourth directed backwards, and longer than the
second; the claws strong, much arched, high, compressed, later-
ally grooved, and very acute. The bill is straight, or slightly
curved, usually about the length of the head, sometimes much
longer, strong, tapering, and compressed toward the end. The
tongue is long, slender, flattened and fringed, or cylindrical, fleshy,
with a horny tip, of which the sides are furnished with reversed
denticulations, spicula, or bristles. In the latter case, the horns
of the hyoid bone being elongated so as to curve over the head,
as far as the base of the upper mandible, or even to stretch round
the right orbit, the tongue is extensile in a degree corresponding
to the space traversed by the tips of these bones, Mdiich can be
drawn backwards over the occiput, and again forwards to be-
neath the ears. See Plate XV. The oesophagus is rather
narrow, and without dilatation ; the proventriculus extremely
large, the stomach roundish, its muscular coat moderately thick,
G8 SCANSORES. CLIMBERS.
and its ejaithelium hard and longitudinally rugous ; the intes-
tine of moderate length, and rather wide, without any traces
of coeca, and the cloaca enormously large. See Plate XIV,
Figs. 4, 5, 6.
They cling to the bark of trees by means of their strong
curved and acute claws, ascend vertically or obliquely, fix
themselves against the surface by their claws, tap the loose
bark of decayed trees with their bill, or detach it in frag-
ments, or break up the rotten wood, to obtain the larvae and
insects which shelter there. They nestle in holes bored by
themselves in decayed trees, are generally of solitary habits,
and reside at all seasons in woods and forests. Their food is
not entirely composed of insects and larva*, for berries and
other soft fruits, as well as seeds, are greedily devoured by them.
The Scansores thus characterized, are composed of three
families ; the Picinse or Woodpeckers, Rhamphastinre or Tou-
cans, and Bucconinae or Barbets. They are connected with
the Cuculinse by the Wrynecks, which have the digestive or-
gans and tongue similar to those of the Woodpeckers, but in
most other respects agree with the Cuckoos. The Jacamars
seem to connect them with the Kingsfishers, while the Trogo-
niuse and Bucconinae are in some measure intermediate between
them and the Parrots.
The great differences in the organization, habits, food, and
distribution of the birds forming the order Scansores of authors,
seem clearly to indicate that the zygodactylous foot is not a
feature of primary importance, and that consequently the cha-
racters of the orders or larger groups must be derived from some
more essential circumstance.
69
PICINiE.
WOODPECKERS AND ALLIED SPECIES.
Like the Psittacinae, the Picinse form a well-defined group,
of which the aflanities are not obvious. Their more essential
characters are to be found in their straight, tapering, angular
bill, which is wedge-shaped at the end, and constructed for the
purpose of splitting or perforating bark and decayed wood ; and
their graduated decurved tail, of which the feathers have very
strong, elastic shafts, with attenuated webs ; together with
their short, strong, zygodactylous feet, and stout, compressed,
curved acute claws. The peculiarities of their tongue and di-
gestive organs have already been described. The skeleton pre-
sents several remarkable peculiarities as compared with that of
a Jay or other bird of that family.
The skull is of moderate size, roundish-oblong, the orbits
with very prominent margins, which are nearly complete, and
thus approach to those of the Psittacinae. A double groove for
the horns of the hyoid bone is apparent in the median part of
the skull, and there is a deep and broad cavity on the forehead,
between the anterior parts of the orbits. The jaws are straight
and rather long, the lower very deep at the base. There are
twelve cervical vertebrae, eight dorsal, twelve lumbar and sacral,
and eight caudal. The ribs, eight in number, are stout, the
two anterior incomplete. Of the caudal vertebrae the last or
eighth is extremely large, presenting a broad plate beneath ;
the seventh is anchylosed with it ; the eighth has a deep notch
behind at its lower part, into which is received the very strong
inferior spinous process of the sixth, when the tail is depressed.
The downward curve of the tail is performed chiefly at the
joints between the fifth and sixth, and the sixth and seventh.
At the latter the tail may be curved upwards, so as to lie flat
70 PICIN^.
on the back. This, however, is not peculiar to Woodpeckers.
The lateral processes of the caudal vertebrae are very large, so
as to prevent much lateral motion. In the accompanying
figure, which represents the sternum of Picus pileatus, the
body is seen to have two notches on each side behind, a rather
low crest or ridge, which however is much prolonged anteriorly,
a slender furcula, of which the crura are extremely compressed,
and not widely separated, long coracoid bones, and scapulse
singularly curved downwards and enlarged at the end, in
which respect they differ from those of any birds known to me.
The humerus is large, and has a small bone in its articulation.
The metacarpus consists of two undivided bones ; there are,
besides the pollex, two digits, one of two phalanges, the other
of one. The pelvis is of moderate size. The femur also mode-
rate. There is a small patella. The tibia is rather stout, and
the fibula extends to half its length ; the tarsal bone is slender ;
the phalanges are two, three, four, and five, as usual ; the last
phalanx of each toe large, compressed, with a deep lateral
groove.
As the Woodpeckers seem to be analogous to the Parrots, it
appears reasonable that they should form several genera, and,
accordingly, some authors, perhaps for the purpose of making or
finding the necessary number of groups for their circles, have con-
structed numerous subgenera, of which the characters are derived
from very slight differences in the form of the bill, and the length
WOODPECKERS AND ALLIED SPECIES. 71
of the tarsus and fourth toe. After a careful examination of
numerous species, I feel convinced that the Picinse are formed
of several genera, which, however, exhibit so little variation
in structure, that in presenting the history of the few which
occur in Britain, it is quite unnecessary to perplex the reader
with insignificant distinctions. The groups into which the
Woodpeckers might be disposed, cannot be recognised by marks
in any degree approaching in prominence to those of the genera
of the FalconlnjE, Psittacinse, Columbinae, Gallinas, and other
natural and equivalent families. The only one of the proposed
genera that would seem to a beginner to have some right to
stand apart, is Colaptes, of which however the characters are
derived from very slight variations in the bill, which has the
culmen a little more arched than is usual, and the wings with
stronger or at least more conspicuous shafts.
The genus Yunx, which differs in having the bill shorter
and more depressed, and the tail soft, may be appended to the
Picinae, as the tongue and digestive organs are nearly similar ;
and Yunx minutissimus of authors is certainly more of a Wood-
pecker than a Wryneck, although its tail is not stiff.
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH GENERA AND SPECIES.
GENUS I. PICUS. WOODPECKER.
Bill about the length of the head, strong, compact, with its
horny covering very thick, straight, pentagonal at the base,
four-sided towards the end, tapering to an abrupt, laterally be-
velled, point. Tail-feathers stiff, decurved, attenuated at the
end.
1. Ficus Martlus, Great Black Woodpecker. Brownish-
black with red on the head.
2. Picus Pipra. Pied Woodpecker. Male with the upper
part of the head, the back, and a band on the neck, bluish-
black, the occiput crimson ; the abdomen and lower tail-coverts
red. Female similar, but with the occiput black.
3. Picus striolatus. Striated Woodpecker. Male with the crown
72 PICINiE.
bright red, the hind-neck and forepart of the back black, the
hind part barred with white, sides of the head and neck white,
with a black band ; lower parts brownish- white, longitudinally
streaked with dusky. Female similar, but with the crown
brownish- white.
4. Picus viridis. Green Woodpecker, Upper parts yellowish-
green, with crimson on the head.
GENUS II. YUNX. WRYNECK.
Bill shortish, slender, straight, tapering, acute. Tail-feathers
soft and rounded at the end.
1 . Yimcv Torquilla. Wryneck. Upper parts brownish-grey,
spotted, undulated, and dotted with blackish-brown.
73
PICUS. WOODPECKER.
Bill rather long, stout, conical, pentagonal, straight, later-
ally bevelled at the tip so as to present an edged, abrupt, wedge-
like termination : upper mandible with the dorsal outline de-
clinate and straight, the ridge sharp, the sides flat and sloping,
with a longitudinal ridge, the edges a little inflected, the tip
narrow and truncate ; lower mandible with the angle short and
rather narrow, the dorsal line ascending and straight, the sides
flattened and nearly erect at the base, but beyond the angle
sloping, and more or less convex, the edges slightly inflected,
the tip slightly truncate ; the gape-line straight.
The upper mandible within is slightly concave, with three
longitudinal prominent lines, the lower more deeply concave,
with a median prominent line. The tongue is extensile, long,
slender, subcylindrical, fleshy, with a horny, tapering point,
of which the margin, and usually part of the upper surface
are covered with acicular reversed prickles. The oesophagus
is of moderate width, without crop, but dilated at the lower
74 PICUS. WOODPECKER.
part into a large sac, on which the proventicular glands are
dispersed. Stomach of moderate size, roundish, a little com-
pressed ; its muscular coat thick and composed of large fasci-
culi, the epithelium thin, dense, longitudinally rugous. In-
testine of moderate length and very wide ; no coeca ; cloaca
very large, globular or elliptical. Plate XIV, Figs. 4, 5, 6.
Nostrils elliptical or oblong, in the forepart of the short nasal
groove, and concealed by reversed bristly feathers. Eyes of
moderate size. Aperture of ear also of moderate size, roundish,
the inner opening like a transverse slit.
The general form is rather slender, the body somewhat elon-
gated, the neck of ordinary length, the head oblong, and of
moderate size. The feet very short ; the tarsus very short, not
robust, with eight anterior scutella, and numerous small scales
on the sides and behind ; the first toe very short and directed
outwards and backwards ; the second of moderate length, and
united as far as the second joint to the third, which is much
longer, and generally about equal to the fourth, which is se-
parated and directed backwards, so that the first and fourth
toes are in grasping placed in opposition to the second and third.
Claws remarkably large, much curved, extremely compressed,
their outline forming nearly a semicircle, their sides broadly
grooved, the tips extremely acute.
Plumage generally soft and blended, the feathers ovate, with
a very slender plumule of few filaments, on the head oblong or
linear ; no bristles. Wings large, being broad and of mode-
rate length, much rounded, of nineteen quills ; the first very
small, being about a third of the length of the longest, which
is the fourth or fifth, the second about as long as the seventh.
Tail short or of moderate length, rounded or wedge-shaped,
of twelve feathers, of which the lateral are very short, and
lie over the next, the rest but especially the central, decurved,
with very strong elastic shafts, and tapering extremities, of
which the barbs or filaments are deflected, strong, elastic, and
by being pressed against the bark afford the bird a strong
support. Fig. 201.
The Woodpeckers search the trunks and branches of trees,
especially those wdiich are decayed, for insects and larvfe, to
PICUS. WOODPECKER. 75
procure which they drive off chips of the bark, or dig into the
wood. The structure of all birds is of course admirably adapt-
ed to their mode of life, and of none more so than of any other ;
but sometimes we are able to trace the connection between a
curious mechanism and its results, as in this case, where the
form and firmness of the bill are obviously so well fitted for
the purpose of digging, while the strong, curved, extremely
fine-pointed claws, enable the bird to cling with ease to the
bark, and its stift' tail, by being pressed against its surface,
steadily supports it while thus engaged. If a person apply the
lower surface of the tail of a woodpecker to his hand, he will
find that it requires a vast force to make it slip backwards,
such a force as can never be overcome by the weight of the
bird. Lastly, the curious but simple apparatus by which the
tongue is extended, so that it can be thrust into a hole or fis-
sure far beyond the point of the bill, while its tip is barbed
with small filaments, which like the teeth of a rake, serve to
pull up the larva or insect, is not less beautiful than easily
intelligible.
These birds are generally distributed, but more abundant in
the warmer regions, although some live on the borders of the
frigid zone. Their residence is in the forests and woods. Be-
sides insects and larvae, they eat seeds of various kinds, berries,
grapes, and other soft fruits, but their stomach is not formed for
grinding, and seeds which they may have swallowed entire are
passed undigested. Their flight is powerful. When they pro-
ceed to a distance they fly in an undulating manner ; but other-
wise directly, or in a single curve, descending from the higher
branches of a tree to the lower part of a trunk, which they
ascend as if by starts, sometimes in a spiral manner, tapping
with their bill, as they proceed, in order to discover the parts
that are unsound, on finding which they dig assiduously into
them, driving off the bark and chips of rotten wood with great
energy, until they have succeeded in obtaining the insects and
larvae which have sheltered in them. They nestle in a hole dug
by themselves in a decayed tree, and deposit the eggs in its
bottom, without generally interposing anything between them
and the wood. The eggs are not numerous, and are generally
7C
PICUS. WOODPECKER.
white. Woodpeckers are for the most part unsocial birds, as
regards their own species ; but frequently they may be seen
in company with Nuthatches, Creepers, Tits, and some other
birds of similar habits.
Four species occur in Britain, but of these one has been
seen only in a very few instances, and the species which is
most common in some districts is not generally distributed.
77
PICUS MARTIUS. THE GREAT BLACK
WOODPECKER.
Fig. 202.
Picus martius. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 17.3.
Picus martius. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 224.
Great Black Woodpecker. Mont. Orn. Diet,
Pic uoir. Picus martius. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 390.
Great Black Woodpecker. Picus martius. Selb. Illustr. I. 375.
Picus martius. Great Black Wood^iecker. Jen. Brit. Yert. An. 151.
Plumage hroicnish-hlacJc ; the male with the upper part of the
head, the female xcith onhj the occiput, crimson.
Male. — The Great Black Woodpecker is one of the largest
species of the genus, being about equal in size to the Ivory-
billed, Picus principalis, of America. Its body is moderately
full, the neck slender, the head rather large, oblong, and com-
pressed. The bill is somewhat longer than the head, straight,
strong, broader than high at the base, tapering, heptagonal,
compressed toward the tip, which is cuneate and vertically ab-
rupt. The upper mandible has the dorsal line almost perfectly
78 PICUS MARTIUS.
straight, the ridge sharp, the slope concave to the lateral ridges,
which are parallel to the dorsal ridge, and nearer it than the
edges, until towards the end, the sides externally of these ridges
sloping and convex, the edges overlapping and strong, at the
end worn flat, the tip truncate ; the lower mandible with the
angle rather long and narrow, the ridge linear, the sides at first
gently sloping, then convex, at the base erect and somewhat
concave, the edges broad and blunt, the tip truncate.
The eyes are of moderate size, the diameter of their aper-
ture three-twelfths and a half ; the nostrils very small, linear-
elliptical, two-twelfths long, basal, concealed by bristly feathers.
Feet short ; tarsus very short, feathered more than half way
down, and having six anterior scutella. The first toe very
small, with four scutella, and several series of small scales ;
the second toe short, with nine scutella ; the third much longer,
with sixteen scutella ; the fourth a little shorter than the third,
and with twelve scutella. Claws very large, high, compressed,
laterally grooved, curved, acute ; that of the third toe largest,
of the fourth next, of the first smallest.
The plumage is soft, moderately glossy, rather blended ; the
feathers oblong and rounded. The short nasal membrane is
covered w^th stiff reversed bristle-feathers. The wings are
very long and rounded ; the quills nineteen ; the primaries
straight, tapering, stiff; the first less than a third of the length
of the fifth, and j^ointed ; the second an inch and a half shorter
than the third, which is five-twelfths of an inch shorter than
the fourth ; the fifth one-twelfth longer than the latter, and
the sixth about as much longer than the fifth ; the secondaries
are broad, rounded, and very long. The tail is rather long, of
ten stiff decurved feathers, having the groove of their shaft very
deep and wide, and their tip emarginate, the terminal filaments
extending beyond the end of the shaft. Besides these, there
is on each side an incumbent small, soft, rounded feather.
The bill is bluish-white, with the tip bluish-black. The
eyes are said to be yellowish-white. The feet and claws black.
The general colour of the plumage is brownish-black, on the
sides of the head glossed with blue ; the whole upper part of
the head bright crimson.
GREAT BLACK WOODPECKER. 79
Length to end of tail 19 inches ; bill along the ridge 2^%,
along the edge of lower mandible 2f ; wing from flexure 9^ ;
tail 7i ; tarsus 1 fV ; first toe ^^, its claw j% ; second toe ^^|, its
,claw {I ; third toe {^, its claw j^ ; fourth toe {§, its claw l^.
Female. — The female is scarcely smaller, with the plumage
more tinged with brown, and only a small crimson patch on
the occiput.
Length to end of tail 18^ inches ; bill along the ridge 2^%,
along the edge of lower mandible S^^^ ; wing from flexure 9^ ;
tail 7t^j.
Habits. — This species has been met with so seldom in Bri-
tain, that nothing has been recorded of its manners as observed
there. M. Temminck states that it " inhabits the north of
Europe, extending to Siberia ; is less abundant in the great
mountain forests of Germany and France ; feeds on perforating
larvae, bees, w^asps, ants, and caterpillars ; and when these fail,
on nuts, seeds, and berries ; nestles in the holes which it bores,
as well as in the natural hollows of trees ; and lays three eggs,
of a shining white." It is said to frequent the pine forests of
the Swiss and Tyrolese Alps, and to extend as far as Asia
Minor.
Dr Latham informs us that it has been sometimes met with
in Devonshire ; Dr Pulteney, that two or three specimens have
been shot in Dorsetshire ; Lord Stanley is said to have shot
one in Lancashire ; and another is reported to have been killed
in Battersea Fields, in 1805. Mr Yarrell states that he has
been told of two instances of its having been killed in York-
shire, and mentions its occurrence in Lincolnshire, Norfolk,
and Hampshire. Although Sir Robert Sibbald includes it
among the birds of Scotland, it has not been obtained in that
country for many years. The above descriptions are taken
from two specimens in my collection, a male and a female,
which I purchased from Dr Madden, to whom they had been
sent by their owner, as having been shot near Nottingham.
That gentleman afterwards obtained for me a certification of
the fact by the person who had procured them.
80
PICUS PIPRA. THE PIED WOODPECKER.
GREATER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. WHITWALL. WOOD-PIE. FRENCH-PIE.
SNAGANDARAICH.
Fig. 203.
Picus major. Linn. Syst. Nat. I.
Picus major. Lath. Ind. Orn. H.
Greater Spotted Woodpecker. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Pic ^peiche. Picus major. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 395.
Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Picus major. Selb. Illustr. I. 376.
Picus major. Greater Spotted Woodpecker. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 150.
Male with the upper part of the head^ the hacJc^ and a hand on
the side of the necTc^ hluish-hlacJc ; a patch of crimson on the hind-
head ; a broad band of white over the forehead and under the eye,
a patch on the side of the necJc, a narrow line over the eye, and
the scapulars, white ; the loicer parts brownish-white, excepting
the abdomen and loioer tail-coverts, which are crimson. Female
similar, but with the occiput black, the white parts tinged with
yellow, and the loicer pcde-brown. Young icith the black parts
tinged with broicn, and the top of the head crimson.
Male. — This species, which is about the size of the Missel
Thrush, is rare in all parts of Britain, although very exten-
PJEU WOODPECKER. 81
sively distributed. The individuals from which my descrip-
tions are taken were killed in the northern part of the middle
division of Scotland ; and I have examined skins of many
others shot in various parts of England, as well as in France.
The form is rather slender, the body elongated, the neck of
moderate length, the head oblong. The bill is straight, strong,
conical, angular, and considerably shorter than the head. The
upper mandible has the dorsal line almost perfectly straight,
the ridge sharp, the sides flat and sloping, an oblique angle or
prominent line from the nasal groove to the edge near the end,
the tip truncate. The lower mandible also has the ridge sharp,
and almost straight, the sides nearly flat, but towards the in-
flected edges rounded, the tip truncate in a slight degree. The
mouth is of moderate width. The tongue vermiform, termi-
nated by a narrow, flat horny point, which is ciliated back-
wards w'ith short bristles. The oesophagus is four inches long,
rather narrow, the proventricular part however very wide ; the
stomach roundish, a little compressed, its muscular coat thin,
and its cuticular lining smooth, somewhat villous, and without
rugae ; the intestine fifteen inches long, its duodenal portion
four-twelfths in diameter ; no coeca. Plate XY, Fig. 4.
The tarsus is very short, moderately stout, with seven ante-
rior scutella, and numerous small scales behind. The first toe
is very short, with five scales ; the other toes gradually longer
and larger, the fourth directed backwards and outwards, the se-
cond with nine, the third with eleven, the fourth with fifteen
scutella. The claws are much arched, deep, extremelycompressed,
broadly grooved on the sides, and somewhat abruptly pointed.
The plumage is soft, blended, and somewhat silky. The
VOL. HI. G
82 nous PIPRA.
wings are large, broad, and rounded ; the quills nineteen ; the
first very small, the fourth longest, the fifth next, the third
longer than the sixth, the second nearly as long as the seventh ;
the secondaries broad, rounded, and incurvate. The tail is of
ordinary length, much rounded or cuneate, of ten feathers,
having very strong shafts, which are decurvate at the end, ex-
cepting the lateral, and worn to a double point, the barbs ex-
tending beyond the end of the shaft ; besides which there is
on each side a very small incumbent soft rounded feather.
The bill is dark purplish-grey, darker at the end, the lower
mandible paler. The feet and claws dusky-grey. The upper
part of the head is glossy bluish-black, with a scarlet band on
the occiput. The forehead, and a broad band under the eye,
including the ear-coverts, with a narrow line over it, white,
the former tinged with brown, the latter with yellow ; there
is a roundish patch of the same colour on the side of the neck,
and an oblong one on the scapular region. The fore-neck,
breast, and sides are brownish-white. A bluish-black band
proceeds from the lower mandible down the side of the neck,
and joins a patch of the same at its lower part. The hind-
neck, back, rump, and upper tail-coverts are bluish-black, the
former mottled with white. The wings are brownish -black ;
the inner secondary coverts white ; there are, speaking gene-
rally, four bands of white spots on the outer and inner webs
of the quills, some of the longer primaries having a spot more
on the outer, and two less on the inner web, and the inner
secondaries unspotted, but with a white tip ; the first quill
also is without spots, but is white towards the base on the
inner web ; the second has only two spots on the outer, and
three on the inner web. The four middle tail-feathers are
black ; the two next are black at the base, but white with
two black bands in the rest of their extent ; the lateral feathers
white in their distal half, with two black bars ; the small in-
cumbent feathers black. The abdomen and lower tail-coverts
are vermilion.
Length to end of tail 9f inches ; extent of wings 17 ; wing
from flexure 5^ ; tail 3f ; bill along the ridge l/g, along the
edge of lower mandible If^g ; tarsus 1 ; first toe f-^j, its claw
PIED WOODPECKER. 83
^^ ; second toe /g, its claw /^ ; third toe ^^, its claw ^^ ;
fourth toe /j, its claw ■{^,
Female. — The female, which is slightly smaller, has the
colours distributed in the same manner ; but the red on the
occiput is wanting, the whole upper part of the head being
glossy bluish-black, excepting the white band on the forehead.
Length to end of tail 9^ inches ; extent of wings 16^ ; tail
S{§ ; wing from flexure 5| ; bill along the ridge l^'^^ along
the edge of lower mandible l/g ; tarsus \l ; fourth toe 1\
horny part of the tip of the tongue ^.
4 •)
Vakiations. — I have not met with any remarkable variations
in adult specimens, beyond a little difference in the number of
white spots on the quills, and black bands on the lateral tail-
feathers. The lower parts are often much soiled by matters
rubbed from the trees.
Habits. — The Pied or Greater Spotted Woodpecker is ex-
tensively distributed in England and Scotland ; but in all
parts is rare, although specimens are not very unfrequently ob-
tained. It is a permanent resident, and has been found breed-
ing in various districts. The most northern tracts in which it
is met with, are the neighbourhood of Loch Ness, whence I
obtained the female described above, in January 1834 ; the
extensive fir woods on the Spey, from a specimen shot in
which, in October 1836, I have taken my description of the
male ; and those in Braemar, In all these tracts it is not
extremely unfrequent ; but in other parts of Scotland it is very
rarely met with. In England it has been found from the
northern counties to those bordering the channel, and is more
common than in Scotland, although less numerous than the
Green Woodpecker. Its food consists of larvae and insects of
various kinds. The stomach of one killed in January I found
filled with small white worms, some of them three-fourths of
an inch long, and a line and a half in breadth, while others
were scarcely an eighth of an inch in length. Its habits are
similar to those of Picus pubescens, P. villosus, and the other
variegated Woodpeckers of North America ; its flight being
84 PIC US PIPRA.
rapid and undulated, its motions abrupt, and its cry loud and
shrill. In ascending a tree it advances by short jerks, directly
or spirally, taps with its bill as it proceeds, and on finding a
place likely to shelter its prey, drives off the bark, and per-
forates the wood. Although a person may approach it while
it is actively engaged, it flies off on perceiving him, or glides
round to the other side of the tree, sometimes remaining still
for a time, as if to conceal itself.
Montagu states that " it rarely descends to the ground in
search of food, and more frequently makes that jarring noise
for which the Woodpeckers are distinguished than either of
the other species, especially when disturbed from the nest,
which,"" he continues, "we had an opportunity of observing. It
was with difficulty the bird was made to quit her eggs ; for
notwithstanding a chisel and mallet were used to enlarge the
hole, she did not attempt to fly out till the hand was intro-
duced, when she quitted the tree at another opening. The
eggs were five in number, perfectly white and glossy, weighing
about one dram, or rather more. They were deposited two
feet below the opening, on the decayed wood, without the
smallest appearance of a nest. As soon as the female had
escaped, she flew to a decayed branch of a neighbouring tree,
and there began the jarring noise before mentioned, which was
soon answered by the male from a distant part of the wood,
who soon joined his mate, and both continued these vibrations,
trying different branches, till they found the most sonorous."
Mr Harley, of Leicester, who has generously and spon-
taneously aided me with observations made on the birds of
the midland counties, writes respecting the present species as
follows : — " We have the Greater Spotted Woodpecker here
also, but it is not quite so common as the Green one. It
affects the deep umbrageous woods of Oakley and Piper. In
AVorcestershire and Herefordshire I have seen it upon the
moss-grown apple trees, particularly the very aged ones. From
the attention I have paid to its habits, I think I say the truth
when I affirm that it affects the tops of trees more than its
congener does. The common people here, who have a know-
ledge of the bird, call it French Magpie ; and in the counties
of Salop and Stafford it is called the Woodpie."
PIED WOODPECKER. 85
The eggs are of an elliptical form, pure white, glossy, an
inch and a twelfth in length, and nine-twelfths in breadth.
Young. — When fledged, the young resemble the adult, with
the following differences. The plumage is looser and less
glossy ; the black of the upper parts is tinged with brown ;
the feathers on the upper and fore part of the head are tipped
with crimson ; the white on the sides of the head and neck, as
well as that of the scapulars and inner large wing-coverts,
soiled with brown ; the longitudinal dark band on the sides of
the neck is narrower and blackish-brown, and the lower parts
are brownish-white, while the red on the abdomen is duller
and of much less extent. In this state, it has been mistaken
for Picus medius.
Progress toward Maturity. — After the first autumnal
moult, the young assume the colours of the adult.
Remarks. — A great number of Woodpeckers, such as Picus
Canadensis, P. Martinre, P. Harrisii, P. villosus, P. pubescens,
P. querulus, P. medius, and P. minor, which resemble the
present in having the upper parts black, patched with white,
may equally be named Spotted Woodpeckers. The older au-
thors, Brisson for example, named it the Larger Spotted ^Vood-
pecker, Picus varius major, to distinguish it from the other
pied European species ; and Linnaeus, agreeably to the binary
nomenclature which he employed, rejected the term varius or
spotted, and gave it the specific name of major. This appella-
tion, however, is obviously inadmissible, as the bird is not the
largest of the spotted or pied species, and much less is it the
largest of the Woodpeckers in general, as the name would imply.
I have therefore changed the specific name to Pipra, which is
said by Aldrovandi and others to have been that given it by
Aristotle. It is difiicult to find a good English name for it,
but that which I have employed may answer our purpose, and
has the advantage of not being new. The name " Red-bellied, ■"
which might distinguish it from our other species, has been
given to an American Woodpecker, and I am acquainted with
oight or ten species which arc equally red beneath.
86
PICUS STRIOLATUS. THE STRIATED WOOD-
PECKER.
LKSSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. HICKWALL. CRANKBIRD.
Picus minor. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 17G.
Picus minor. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 229.
Pic ^peichette. Picus minor. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 399.
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Picus minor. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Selb. lUustr. L 379.
Picus minor. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 151.
Male with the forehead white, the crowii, crimson, margined
with black, the hach and scapulars transversely barred with black
and ichite ; sides of the head and neck white, with a black band ;
lower parts brownish-white, breast and sides icith longitudinal
dusky lines. Female similar, but with the crown white.
Male. — This species, which is of less frequent occurrence than
the last, being confined to the southern and middle parts of
England, is much inferior in size to that species, its length
being little more than five inches. The bill is short, tapering,
with the point bevelled and abrupt ; the lateral ridges of the
upper mandible nearer the margins than the central ridge. The
head is rather large, ovato-oblong ; the neck short ; the feet
short, with the outer toe about the same length as the third ;
STRIATED WOODPECKER. 87
the daws strong, well arched, and very acute. The plumage is
soft and blended ; the wings large, broad, rounded, with nine-
teen quills, of which the first is very small, the fourth longest;
the tail rather short, rounded, of twelve feathers, the lateral
small and incumbent, the rest with strong shafts and emargi-
nate tips.
The bill is greyish-blue, darker at the end ; the iris reddish-
brown ; the feet leaden-blue, the claws dusky. The forehead
brownish-white ; the crown of the head crimson, with a black
band on each side, the occiput of the latter colour ; the sides
of the head and neck are white, with a black band from the
lower mandible to the wing ; the rest of the lower parts
brownish-white, the breast and sides longitudinally streaked
with dusky. The hind-neck and fore part of the back are
glossy black ; the rest of the back and the scapulars trans-
versely barred with black and white ; the wings black, the
secondary coverts with two white bands, the quills marked
with white spots on both webs, except the first which has the
inner web white at the base ; the four middle tail feathers
black, the rest white toward the end, the third from the centre
with the tip obliquely white, the next with two black bars
on the inner webs, the outer with three bars on both webs,
the small incumbent feathers black.
Length to end of tail 5h inches; extent of wings 10 ; bill
along the ridge {'o, along the edge of lower mandible ^^2 '■>
wing from flexure 3| ; tail 2 ; tarsus /| ; hind toe /g, its claw
2g ; second toe ^*^, its claw i*^ ; third toe y|, its claw /| ;
reversed toe /g, its claw /|.
Female. — The female differs from the male in having the
upper part of the head white.
Habits. — This species, which is said to be more abundant
in the northern parts of Europe than in France and Germany,
has not hitherto been met with in Scotland, or even in many
parts of England, although it occurs in most of the southern,
eastern, and midland counties, extending as far north as Derby,
and westward to Shrewsbury and Hereford. It is said by several
88 PICUS STRIOLATUS.
observers to be not uncommon in some districts. Thus, Mr
Gould, in his beautiful Illustrations of the Birds of Europe,
says, " In England it is far more abundant than is generally
supposed ; we have seldom sought for it in vain wherever large
trees, particularly the Elm, grow in sufficient numbers to in-
vite its abode : its security from sight is to be attributed more
to its habit of frequenting its topmost branches than to its
rarity." The Reverend Mr Bree states that "• it is by no means
of rare occurrence in his neighbourhood, where, however, it is
more readily heard than seen. Its loud, rapid, vibratory noise,
most extraordinarily loud to be produced by so small an animal,
can hardly fail to arrest the attention of the most unobserving
ear. Though I have watched the bird during the operation,
and within the distance of a few yards, I am quite at a loss to
account for the manner in which the noise is produced. It
resembles that made by the boring of a large auger through the
hardest wood ; and hence the country people sometimes call
the bird the ' pump-borer.' " Mr Dovaston informs us that
it is a very frequent, but uncertain, visitor to the woods near
Shrewsbury, never failing in April to astonish him " with his
prodigiously loud churr on the ranpikes of trees, which, the
atmosphere being favourable, may be heard more than a mile.
It much resembles the snorting of a frightened horse, but
louder and longer." He then states that the bird, in performing
this sound, " vibrates its beak against the tree ; the motion is so
quick as to be invisible, and the head appears in two places at
once. It is surprising and to me wondrously pleasing, to ob-
serve the many varieties of tone and pitch in their loud churry,
as they change their place on boughs of different vibration, as
though they struck on the several bars of a gigantic staccato.
When actually boring they make no noise whatever, but quietly
and silently pick out the pieces of decaying wood, which, lying
white and scattered beneath on the ground and plants, leads
the eye up to their operations above. They have several fa-
vourite spots, to which they very frequently return. Their
voice is a very feeble squeak, repeated rapidly six or eight
times, ee^ ee, ee^ ee, ee. They bore numerous and very deep
holes in decayed parts, where they retire to sleep early in the
STRIATED WOODPECKER. 89
evening ; and, though frequently aroused, will freely return.
Whatever be the purpose of this enormous noise, they certainly
do very nimbly watch, and eagerly pick up, the insects they
have disturbed by it. They fly in jerks like their congeners,
and always alight on the side of a tree." These notices are
extracted from the earlier volumes of ]\Ir Loudon's ISIagazine
of Natural History, a work replete with information respect-
ing our native birds.
]\Ir Harley informs me that it occurs about Leicester, but is
not a resident all the year round, as are the Green and Greater
Spotted Woodpeckers, remaining only during the vernal, sum-
mer, and part of the autumnal mouths.
Montagu states that it has all the habits of the Greater Spot-
ted Woodpecker, as well as a similar but less strong note.
" The eggs are white, and weigh about thirty-three grains ;
five of them we took out of a decayed tree, deposited on the
rotten wood, without any nest, and at a considerable distance
below the entrance. The aperture corresponded with the size
of the bird, but did not appear recently made. It is probable,
however, it is able to perform this work for itself; and in-
stinct points out the insecurity in making choice of a larger
opening to their place of incubation, as they would then be lia-
ble to be dislodged by the larger species, the daw, and the stare."
This curious little bird appears to be peculiar to Europe,
where it is generally distributed. It usually prefers the higher
branches of trees, although it by no means confines itself
to them, and is so intent on searching for its food that it
pays little regard to a person coming to watch or shoot it.
Like the other species, however, as well as the Creeper, if it
perceive its observer, it moves round to the other side of the
branch to conceal itself. The loud noise above described is
supposed by some to be an amatory performance, as it is heard
only or chiefly in spring, while others conjecture it to be pro-
duced by a rapid tapping of the bill, for the purpose of disturb-
ing insects that are lodged in the bark. This latter opinion is
more probable, for in spring it besides emits its ordinary notes
so much more frequently and loudly than usual, that they may
well pass for a love song.
90 PICUS STRIOLATUS.
All that I have here given respecting its habits is downright
compilation, for, if I have ever seen the bird alive, I have no
recollection of its having afforded me any information.
Young. — When fledged, the young are similar to the adult,
the males, according to Montagu, having the red on the head
before they leave the nest.
Remarks. — Although a small bird, this is by no means the
smallest of even the Pied or Spotted Woodpeckers, and there-
fore I have changed its name to striolatus, expressive of the
manner in vv^hich its breast and sides are marked.
A small Woodpecker, Picus villosus, intermediate in size
between the present and the last, but with the upper part of
the head in the male black, with a transverse red occipital
band, and a white streak over the eye, the red band wanting
in the female, has been stated to have been shot near Halifax
in Yorkshire. It is supposed, however, that the specimens
had come from Halifax in North America. Its habits, accord-
ing to Mr Audubon, are similar to those of our own species.
It is found at all seasons in the woods, orchards, and fences ;
feeds on larvae, insects, seeds of maize, grapes, and other fruits ;
breeds in holes which it bores in trees, laying from four to
seven eggs ; and emits a sharp loud note, as well as a rolling
noise similar to that produced by the other small species.
According to Donovan, Picus tridactylus of Linnaeus has
been shot in the north of Scotland, but I am not aware of its
having been met with in any part of Britain.
01
PICUS VIRIDIS. THE GREEN WOODPECKER.
HEWHOI.E. WOODWALL. WOODSPITE. YAFFLER. YAPPINGALE. POPINJAY.
RAINBIRD.
Fig. 206.
Picus viridis. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 175.
Picus viridis. Lath. Ind. Om. I. 234.
Green Woodpecker. Mont. Om. Diet.
Pic vert. Picus viridis. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 391.
Green Woodpecker. Picus viridis. Selb. Illustr. I. 372,
Picus viridis. Green Woodpecker. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 148.
Male icith the upper parts yellowish-green, the rump greenish-
yellow ; the upper part of the head and hind-neck crimson, the
loral and orbital spaces, and a mystachial hand, black, the latter
tcith a crimson patch ; the lower parts pale greenish-yellow,
tinged loith grey, faintly barred behind with dusky. Female
similar, but without red on the cheek. Young greyish-green
above, the upper part of the head grey, spotted with crimson, the
lower parts greenish-white, transversely barred with dusky.
Male. — The Green Woodpecker, which is about the size of
a Jay, and remarkable for its Hvely colours and great activity,
is of a moderately stout and rather elongated form, ^vith the
92 riCUS VIRIDIS.
neck of ordinary length, and the head ovatooblong and rather
large. The bill is longish, somewhat slender, straight, angular,
and tapering. The upper mandible has the dorsal outline
slightly convex, the ridge sharp, the sides sloping, the elevated
longitudinal line from over the nostrils distinct and close upon
the ridge, the edges sharp and slightly overlapping, the tip
vertically truncate and laterally bevelled. The lower mandible
has the angle lons[ and narrow, the dorsal line straight, the
sides sloping upwards and a little convex, the edges inflected,
thick and blunt, especially in the middle, the tip slightly trun-
cate. The mouth is narrow ; the upper mandible moderately
concave, with three prominent lines ; the lower more deeply
concave, with a median prominent line. On the palate are two
longitudinal ridges, and the posterior aperture of the nares is
linear-oblong, margined with papillse. The tongue is vermi-
form, terminated by a narrow flat horny point, which is fringed
with reversed bristles. The oesophagus is six inches long, of
which the very large proventriculus occupies an inch and a
quarter ; the stomach roundish, rather small, an inch in dia-
meter, somewhat compressed ; its muscular coat thin, its cuti-
cular lining slightly rugous ; the intestine twenty inches long,
its duodenal portion five-twelfths in width ; no coeca ; the
cloaca very large.
The eyes are rather small, their aperture three and a half
twelfths in diameter. The nostrils oblong, two twelfths and a
quarter long, and covered over by the reversed bristly feathers of
the moderately large nasal membrane. The external aperture of
the ear is transversely oblong, its greatest diameter four-twelfths.
The tarsus is very short, feathered anteriorly about a third down,
with six scutella, behind with numerous scales. The first toe
is very small, and directed outwards and backwards, with six
scutella, the second of moderate length, united to the third as
far as the second joint, and having ten scutella ; the third
much longer, with fifteen scutella ; the fourth a little shorter
than the third, directed outwards and backwards, with twelve
scutella. The claws are much arched, deep, greatly com-
pressed, broadly grooved on the sides, and extremely acute ;
the first smallest, the third largest, the second larger than the
fourth.
GREEN WOODPECKER. 93
The plumage is soft and blended ; the feathers ovate, with
a rather large plumule ; those of the nasal membrane stiff",
bristly, and directed forwards ; of the head ovate and downy,
with a narrowed stiff" glossy extremity. The wings are rather
long, broad and rounded ; the quills nineteen ; the primaries
tapering to a roundish point, the secondaries broad and rounded ;
the first quill less than a third of the length of the longest,
the second one inch shorter than the third, which is two and
a half twelfths shorter than the fourth, the fifth almost as long
as the latter. The tail is rather short, cuneate, of ten feathers,
all pointed and slightly decurved, except the lateral, together
with two small incumbent feathers.
The bill is greyish-black, the lower mandible with a yellow-
ish longitudinal band near the base. The irides are white.
The feet are dull bluish-grey, the claws light greyish-brown,
with a tinge of blue. The upper part of the head and the nape
are bright crimson, the tips of the feathers only being of that
colour, while the downy parts are bluish-grey. The lower
part of the forehead, the loral space, the parts about the eye,
at the base of the lower mandible, and a mystachial band, black,
but the latter having a patch of crimson. The upper parts in
general are yellowish-green, the rump and upper tail-coverts
greenish or lemon-yellow ; the wing-coverts of a somewhat
less pure green, being slightly tinged with brown. The edge
of the wing is white ; the alula, primary coverts and primary
quills greyish-black, their outer webs, excepting towards the
end, barred with yellowish-white, the inner with transversely
oblong white spots ; the secondaries and their coverts barred
with whitish, but that colour not apparent externally, the outer
webs being green, with faint light spots, as are the margins of
the primaries at the base, except on the outer three. The tail
is dusky, faintly barred with brownish or greenish-white, the
margins greenish-yellow. The lower parts are pale greenish-
yellow, tinged with grey, the throat and sides lighter ; the
abdomen, and part of the sides, and lower tail-coverts, faintly
undulated with dusky.
Length to end of tail 13:j inches ; extent of wings 21 ; wing
from flexure 6 k ; tail 4} ; bill along the ridge lj%, along the
94 ~ PICUS VIRIDIS.
edge of lower mandible 1^^^^ ; tarsus 1/^ ; first toe ^^|, its claw
^^ ; second toe /g, its claw j^g ; third toe 1, its claw ^§ ; fourth
Female. — The female differs little from the male. The
mystachial band is entirely black ; the red extends less along
the hind-neck ; and the lower parts are of a more yellowish
grey.
Length to end of tail 13 inches ; extent of wings 21 ; wing
from flexure G^^g ; tail 4^ ; bill along the ridge 1/g ; tarsus
1/g ; middle toe 1, its claw /g.
Variations. — In adult birds I have not observed any re-
markable variations ; but it is stated that individuals of a white
or whitish colour are sometimes met with.
Changes of Plumage. — The plumage is completed by the
end of autumn, when the tail-feathers are acuminate, but
rounded, the shaft suddenly attenuated. When worn by use,
they present the appearance of being slit at the extremity, the
barbs extending beyond the tip of the shaft.
Habits. — The Green Woodpecker does not occur in any part
of the northern or middle divisions of Scotland. None of the
birdstuffers in Edinburgh with whom I am acquainted have
ever had a recent specimen ; and if it exist in the southern
parts of that country, it must be extremely rare. Speaking of
the valley of the Clyde, which is remarkably well adapted for
Woodpeckers, the Reverend Mr Patrick says expressly, " No
species of Picus or Woodpecker has ever been observed in this
part of Scotland ;" and I have had no success in my endeavours
to find a locality for the Green Woodpecker north of the
Tweed. Mr Yarrell, I think, must have somehow erred in
alleging it to be " found over a great portion of, if not all, the
wooded districts of England and Scotland." Even in the
north of England it is of very uncommon occurrence, but as
we proceed southward it increases in frequency, and in some
districts, especially the southern and midland, is by no means
GREEN WOODPECKER. 95
uncommon. It is permanently resident, and does not appear
to shift its quarters much, remaining at all seasons in the woods,
and occasionally betaking itself to orchards and gardens. Its
flight is rapid and undulated, when protracted, and all its mo-
tions are lively and indicative of great vigour.
It ascends in a vertical or spiral direction the trunks and
branches of trees, tapping with its bill as it proceeds, to dis-
cover the parts in which the bark or wood is decayed. Having
found a place likely to yield a supply of food, it strikes the
bark smartly, or drives it off with repeated blows, and seizes
by means of its exsertile tongue the insects that have been dis-
turbed in their retreat. The decayed and worm-eaten wood it
perforates for the same purpose, its food consisting not only of
coleopterous insects, but of larvse of all kinds that harbour in
trees, and especially of that of the Cossus ligniperda, the dis-
agreeable smell of which is said to be frequently communi-
cated to it. Often in summer and autumn it betakes itself to
the ground, to search for insects, and particularly ants and
their eggs, which it picks up with its clammy tongue, after
demolishing the nests with its bill. It is even said by some to
extend its tongue in the paths of the ants, and when several of
them have adhered to it, to retract it. Should this statement be
correct, it might, in the estimation of the analogical ornitholo-
gists, entitle the Woodpeckers to hold a station parallel to the
edentulous anteaters among the mammalia !
It is thought to announce the approach of rain by a peculiar
cry, which may be likened to the syllables pie u-pleu ; but its oi'-
dinary note is rather harsh, and in the breeding season it emits
a noise resembling a shout of laughter, whence its name Yaffler.
In spring, like the other species, it produces a remarkable sound,
which has been considered an intimation to its mate, by tapping
with its bill, strongly and rapidly, on some decayed and sonorous
branch, thus causing a noise that may be heard in calm wea-
ther to a great distance. About the beginning of April, having
paired, it begins to prepare a place for the reception of its eggs,
by digging into the decayed wood of a beech, elm, or other
tree, a hole, which is carried obliquely downwards to the depth
of more than a foot, being at the mouth perfectly round and
96 PICUS VIIUDIS.
just sufficient to admit the body, but at the lower part enlarged.
Both the male and the female work alternately, and when the
cavity is completed, it receives no lining of straws or feathers,
but the eggs, to the number of five, of an elliptical form, white,
an inch and a quarter in length, are deposited on the bare wood.
The young often leave the nest before they are able to fly,
creep along the stem and branches, and return to it at night.
In winter it is often seen in the neighbourhood of houses,
and betakes itself for repose to hollow trees. At all seasons it
is shy, although when busily engaged in searching for food, it
will allow a person to approach very near it. In autumn,
when it is fat, it is frequently eaten, and is sometimes seen in
the markets, although usually its flesh is rank and tough.
Mr Harley, of Leicester, has favoured me with the follow-
ing characteristic account of its habits, as observed in his neigh-
bourhood. " The ornithologist desirous of becoming acquainted
with the habits of the Green Woodpecker in this part of the
country, must repair to the hedge-row tree, the elm, the de-
cayed ash, and the ranpikes of the solitary forest oak, and not
to the verdant shades of Grooby or Newtown, or the more im-
penetrable woods of Sheet Hedges. It sometimes approaches
the habitations of man, and I have seen it within a few yards
of the buildings of our populous town. On the 16th of April
1834, at five o'clock in the morning, I had a good view of a
pair of these birds, as they were at M'ork on an ant-hillock, at
the foot of some lofty elms. I remarked the loud sonorous
note of the male to proceed from him equally when on the
hillock as when on the bole of the tree, to which both he and
his partner always resorted when the least danger was appa-
rent, or any unusual noise was made.
" The elm is the most common tree within a few miles round
Leicester, and on its bark the Green Woodpecker appears
happy and at home. Its flight is undulating, but the last un-
dulation, before the bird alights on the bole of the tree, is
much longer than the first. I have never seen it descend the
tree after the manner of the Nuthatch, nor have I reason to
think that it ever does so. Some authors, in their history of
this bird, speak of its carrying away the chips from the foot of
GREEN WOODPECKER. 97
the tree in which it has been preparing a place for its offspring ;
but, although such may be the case, I have never, after a very-
minute search, seen either male or female removing the chips,
which, on the contrary, I have always found in profusion near
their holes. This bird never uses masonry, as the Nuthatch
does, at the mouth of the holes which it chooses for nidifica-
tion. I have never found any appearance of nest, excepting
the decayed wood, on which were laid from five to seven deli-
cate and beautiful white eggs.
" I am not aware of any seasonal difference in the note of the
male, save and except in the vernal months, when he is more
clamorous, and much more frequently repeats his shout. The
loud laugh, the plui-plui-plui is the same, not varying in
cadence, throughout the spring, and perhaps the summer
months. I never saw it scratch when on the ground, even on
the most sandy soils, but I have repeatedly noticed it thrust its
powerful bill into the ant-hillocks, after the manner of the
Rook, and most probably to obtain the eggs as well as the per-
fect ants. This habit of the bird will account for its bill bein^
often found covered with earthy and miry substances.''
On the continent, it is said to be generally dispersed, from
the Scandinavian peninsula to Greece ; and, according to Pro-
fessor Jameson, occurs in the Himalayan range.
Young. — When fully fledged, the young resemble the adult,
with the following difterences : — the upper parts are of a duller
green, each feather on the back with a yellowish-white spot,
and the tip pale ; those of the rump and the tail-coverts barred
with dusky and yellowish-white ; the feathers of the head are
bluish-grey, with a dusky bar, and the tip crimson ; the lower
parts are dull yellowish-white, transversely undulated with
dusky ; the sides of the head and fore-neck streaked with dusky,
and the mystachial band small, and brownish-black, with small
white spots.
J)U
YUNX. WRYNECK.
Bill shortish, sleniler, straight, tapering, acute, rather broader
than high at the base ; upper mandible with its dorsal outline
almost straight, the ridge very narrow at the base, convex to-
wards the end, the sides sloping, but towards the end convex,
the edges sharp and sloping, the tip acute, without notch or
sinus ; lower mandible with the angle very long and rather
narrow, the dorsal outline ascending and straight, the sides
sloping outwards and flat, the edges inflected, thick and blunt,
the ridge convex, the tip acute ; the gape-line straight.
Mouth rather narrow ; the upper mandible concave, with a
central prominent line, the lower more deeply concave, with a
similar line. Tongue extremely extensile, vermiform, v/ith its
terminal part horny, flat, and tapering, without bristles.
Nostrils linear in the upper edge of the membrane, filling
up the large anteriorly rounded nasal groove, and anteriorly
bare. Eyes of moderate size. Aperture of the ear large and
roundish.
The general form rather slender ; the neck short ; the head
oblong, flattened in front. The feet short, and rather slender ;
the tarsus feathered anteriorly a little below the joint, com-
pressed, with seven anterior broad scutella, and an equal num-
ber of smaller ones behind. Toes two before, parallel, and
united at the base ; two behind ; the first very small, and
much more slender than the rest, the fourth dii'ected back-
wards, and almost as long as the third. Claws of moderate
length, arched, extremely compressed, broadly grooved on the
sides, acute.
Plumage very soft and blended ; the feathers of moderate
length, ovate, and rounded. Wings moderately long, straight,
rather acute, of twenty rounded feathers ; the first quill ex-
tremely small and acute ; the third longest ; the second almost
as long, the other primaries gradually diminishing. Tail rather
YUNX. WRYNECK. 99
long, straight, rounded, of ten broad rounded feathers, of ordi-
nary structure.
The genus Torquilla has generally been associated with
the genus Picus, to which it undoubtedly bears a great
affinity. The extensibility of the tongue is the principal
common character, but that organ differs in being barbed in the
one genus and smooth in the other. The fourth toe in the
Picinae is directed somewhat outwards and backwards, whereas
in Torquilla its natural position is directly backwards, parallel
to the first. The bill in Torquilla, however, more closely re-
sembles that of the Picinae than of the Cuculinse, although it
is not wedge-shaped at the point. On the other hand, the
tail has no resemblance to that of the Woodpeckers. In truth,
the genus stands on the limits of the two groups, and forms
their connecting link. The common or European species is
the only one with which I am acquainted, so that the above
generic character has been taken from it exclusively. It ap-
pears that there is only another species as yet known, which is
a native of Southern Africa, and has been named Yunx pecto-
ralis by Mr Vigors.
M. Temminck states that " the first quill is a little less long
than the second, which is the longest ;" Mr Selby that " the
first feather is a little shorter than the second, which is the
longest in the wing ;" and Mr Jenyns that " the first quill is ^
a little shorter than the second, which is longest." The first '
quill I find extremely short, being about a sixth only of the
length of the second, which is very slightly shorter than the third.
lOU
YUNX TORQUILLA. THE WRYNECK.
EMMET HUNTER. LONG-TONGUE. CUCKOO'S MAID OR MATE. SNAKE-BIRD.
BARLEY-BIRD. TURKEY-BIRD
Fig. 207.
Yiinx Toniuilla. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 172-
Yunx Torquilla. Lath Ind. Orn. I. 223.
Wryneck. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Torcol ordinaii-e. Yunx Torquilla. Temni. Man. d'Orn. L 403.
Wryneck. Yunx Torquilla. Selb. Illustr. I. 381.
Yunx Torquilla. Wryneck. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 152.
Plumage of the upper parts hrownish-grey^ spotted, undulated,
and dotted tcith hlackish-hroini ; a longitudinal hand of dark
brown on the hind-neck ; the fore-neck and sides greyish-yellow,
with transverse narrow bars of hrownish-hlack.
Male. — The Wryneck is one of the most beautiful of our
native birds, being of an elegant form, and having its colours,
which however are not brilliant, disposed in a curiously intri-
cate manner. As it is the only species of the genus that occurs
in this country, or indeed in Europe, it is unnecessary to de-
scribe those parts which have supplied materials for the generic
character. Unfortunately I have neglected the examination of
the intestinal canal ; and my note-books supply descriptions of
the exterior only.
AFRYNECK. 101
The bill, feet, and claws are pale greyish-brown .• the iris
light brown. The upper parts are brownish-grey, with small
transverse pointed spots, and numberless undulated dots of
blackish-brown, and greyish-white markings. A broad band
of elongated brownish-black spots extends from the occiput to
the middle of the back. The tail, which is dotted and mottled
like the back and wings, has five transverse undulated bands
of brownish-black, the last narrowest and subterminal. The
quills are brown, marked on the outer webs and inner margins
with broad bars or spots of pale red. The fore part and sides
of the neck are pale greyish-yellow, marked with transverse
narrow bars of brownish-black ; the sides of the body similarly
coloured; the breast paler or whitish, with fewer sagittate dusky
spots ; the lower tail-coverts yellowish-white, with transverse
bars of dusky.
Length to end of tail 7 inches ; extent of wings 11, bill
along the ridge -^^^ along the edge of lower mandible f\ ; wing
from flexure Sj ^ ; tail 3^^ ; tarsus -^^ ; first toe ^i, its claw j| ;
second toe j\, its claw f^ ; third toe ||, its claw j| ; fourth
toe /^j, its claw ^%.
Female. — The female differs very little from the male, the
tints being merely somewhat duller, and the longitudinal band
on the neck and back of less extent. An individual shot about
eight miles from Edinburgh, in the beginning of May 1824,
was as follows. Bill and feet pale brownish-grey. The upper
parts brownish-grey, with transverse markings of blackish-
brown and whitish, the latter terminal ; the whole plumage
minutely dotted ; a line of brownish-black spots from the occi-
put to the middle of the back ; a few roundish spots of whitish
on the wing-coverts ; tail yellowish-grey, barred with five un-
dulated black bands ; the quills brown, their outer webs and
inner margins with a broad bar of pale red ; the fore-neck and
sides pale greyish-yellow, transversely barred with brownish-
black, the rest of the lower parts yellowish- white, with triangu-
lar dark spots , excepting the lower tail-coverts, which are simi-
larly barred.
102 YUNX TORQUILLA.
Length to end of tail 6f inches ; extent of wings 1 1 ; bill
along the ridge | ; tarsus |^ ; third toe and claw l-^'g.
Habits. — The Wryneck arrives from the middle to the end
of April, generally preceding the Cuckoo, to which it is nearly
allied in form if not in habits, and disperses over the country,
extending northward as far as the middle division of Scotland,
in which country, however, it is extremely rare. The late Mr
George Carfrae brought me for examination one shot near
Currie, in Mid-Lothian, in May 1824, and his brother Mr Mac-
duff Carfrae obtained a specimen from Fifeshire in 1835. In
many of the southern, eastern, and midland districts of Eng-
land, it is not very uncommon, but according to Montagu is of
rare occurrence in the western parts.
This beautiful bird seems to be precisely intermediate be-
tween the Woodpecker and the Cuckoo, but in its habits and
the structure of its tongue it is more allied to the former. That
organ is slender, with a horny point, and is capable of being
thrust out to a great length in consequence of the extreme elon-
gation of the horns of the hyoid bone, which curve over the
head and extend to the base of the upper mandible. Two
long salivary glands, situated beneath the tongue, open into the
mouth by two ducts, and pour forth a copious viscid fluid,
which covers the tongue, and thus causes insects, larvre, ants
and other small objects forming the food of this species to ad-
here to it, when it is ejected for the purpose. " We were
enabled," says Montagu, " to examine the manners of this
bird minutely by taking a female from her nest, and confining
her in a cage for some days. A quantity of mould with emmets
and their eggs were given to it ; and it was curious to observe
the tongue darted forward and retracted with such velocity,
and with such unerring aim, that it never returned without an
ant or an egg adhering to it, not transfixed by the horny point,
as some have imagined, but retained by a peculiar tenacious
moisture, by nature provided for that purpose. While it is
feeding the body is motionless, the head only is turned to every
side, and the motion of the tongue is so rapid that an ant's egg,
which is of a light colour, p.nd more conspicuous than the
WRYNECK. 103
tongue, has somewhat the appearance of moving towards the
mouth by attraction, as a needle flies to a magnet. The bill is
rarely used except to remove the mould in order to get more
readily at these insects ; where the earth is hollow, the tongue
is thrust into all the cavities to rouse the ants ; for this pur-
pose the horny appendage is extremely serviceable, as a guide
to the tongue. We have seen the Green Woodpecker take its
food in a similar manner ; and most probably every species of
that genus does the same."
" Shy and unusually timid," says Mr Knapp, " as if all its
life were spent in the deepest retirement, away from man, it
remains through the day on some ditch-bank, or basks with
seeming enjoyment, in any sunny hour, on the ant hills nearest
to its retreat ; and these it depopulates for food, by means of
its long, glutinous tongue, which, with the insects, collects
much of the soil of the heaps, as we find a much larger portion
of grit in its stomach than is usually met with in that of other
birds. When disturbed, it escapes by a flight precipitate and
awkward, hides itself from our sight, and, were not its haunts
and habits known, we should never conjecture that this bust-
ling fugitive was our long-forgotten spring visitant, the Wry-
neck."
But although it thus frequents the ground in quest of food,
it also searches the trunks and branches of trees, and has been
observed clinging to walls. " l^^once," says a correspondent in
the Magazine of Natural History, Vol. IV, p. 450, " saw it
climb the perpendicular face of an old tall wall in the botanic
garden at Bury St. Edmund's ; it was seeking either insects
or grit, and proceeded as if in neither haste nor fear, but uttered
its hawk-like note at intervals." This note is a shrill cry,
which has been compared to the scream of the Kestrel, and
which is more frequently heard in the earlier period of its so-
journ with us.
From its appearing about the same time as the Cuckoo, it is
named in various parts of England, the Cuckoo's mate, maid,
attendant, or messenger. The name of Wryneck is derived
from its habit of moving its head and neck in various direc-
tions, and probably was originally Writhencck, corresponding
J04 YUNX TORQLILLA.
to Torquilla and Torticollis. AVhcn surprised in its nest, it is
described as making a hissing noise, which some compare to
that of a Turkey-cock, others to that of a snake, erecting the
feathers of its head, which it moves to either side, stretching it-
self at full length, and sometimes so frightening the intruder
as to make its escape. It has thus obtained the names of
Snake-bird and Turkey-bird.
The nest is merely the rounded bottom of a cavity or hole
in a tree, which the bird adapts to its purpose by means of its
bill, the small chips of wood answering in place of straw or
feathers. The eggs, which are generally seven or eight in
number, are pure white, ten twelfths of an inch in length, and
seven twelfths in their greatest breadth.
" The Wryneck," says M. Manduyt, " is remarkable for the
habit which has given it its name, that of twisting the neck
with a slow undulatory movement, like that of a snake, turn-
ing its head back and closing its eyes. When caught, it never
ceases this motion, which it also performs when at liberty, and
even the young, while yet in the nest, have the sameUiabit.
If one should go near a male Wryneck confined in a cage, it
immediately ruffles up the feathers of its head, spreads out those
of the tail and raises them, advances and retires, striking the
bottom of the cage with its bill."
It is said to be generally distributed on the Continent, and
to be common among the Himalayan Mountains.
Young. — The young when fledged are coloured in the same
manner as their parents.
105
CUCULINtE.
CUCKOOS AND ALLIED SPECIES.
Of the extensive series of zygodactylous birds, the most
isolated groups seem to be the Parrots and Woodpeckers,
which might therefore be considered as forming two distinct
orders. Feet of this kind are not necessarily scansorial, and
we have seen that the more or less syndactylous feet of Creepers
and Nuthatches are as well adapted for climbing as those of
Woodpeckers ; large, well-curved, much compressed, and ex-
tremely acute, short-tipped claws, whether two only or three
of the toes be directed forwards, forming the essential charac-
teristic of a scandent foot. Now many of the zygodactylous
Fig. 208.
birds have the feet somewhat differently formed from those of
the AV^oodpeckers, inasmuch as the toes are very broad and flat
beneath, so as evidently to be formed for grasping a branch or
twig with security, while the claws are not very different from
those of the Vagatores and other perching birds ; and in some
the toes and tarsi are so very small and feeble that they could
not support a bird in climbing. These latter, such as the
100 CUCULlNiE.
Jacamars, may be referred to the aerial birds, or those which
fly chiefly in procuring their food, but neither climb nor walk
niuch ; and the Cuckoos and An is may be considered as form-
ing an order, to which, however, I refrain from giving a name,
because I have not studied the manners of more than a single
species, nor read a good account of any other than the three
that occur in North America. The digestive organs of these
four species are very similar to those of the Owls, and their
ccEca are large, while those of the Woodpeckers and Toucans
are entirely wanting.
The Cuculinre form a pretty extensive family of birds, gene-
rally inhabitants of the warmer regions of the globe, and of
which none permanently reside in countries subject to severe
winter cold. They feed on insects, worms, and soft fruits, in
procuring which they glide among the twigs and foliage, leap-
ing from branch to branch, but never climbing in the manner
of Woodpeckers or Creepers, nor even after the fashion of
Parrots, which ascend by grasping the branches and aiding
themselves with their bill. The general characters of the
Cuculinae are as follows.
Bill of moderate size or rather large, wide at the base, much
compressed toward the end, somewhat arched and pointed ;
upper mandible with the ridge obtuse and arcuato-declinate,
the edges sharp and overlapping, the tip decurved, notchless,
acute ; lower mandible with the dorsal line straight or decur-
vate, the sides nearly erect, the edges thin and somewhat in-
volute, the tip narrow, but obtuse. Tongue of moderate size,
flattened, tapering. (Esophagus wide, without crop ; proven-
triculus large ; stomach very large, round, somewhat com-
pressed ; its muscular coat thin, the epithelium soft and rugous;
intestine of moderate length and width, with large oblong coeca.
PI. XV. Trachea wdth a single pair of inferior laryngeal muscles.
Nostrils linear, oblong, or circular, direct, in the short bare nasal
groove. Eyes of moderate size. Feet short, of moderate
strength ; tarsus short, with a few very large anterior scutella,
edged behind with two series of scales. Toes four, scutellate,
CUCKOOS AND ALLIED SPECIES. 107
broad beneath ; first small ; second shorter than fourth, and
united at the base with the third, which is very long ; the
fourth or outer reversed so as with the first to oppose the rest
in grasping ; claws moderate, compressed, curved, acute.
Plumage moderately full, generally compact, but various ;
the feathers ovate, with a very short plumule, but having the
downy filaments numerous and close. Wings long or of mo-
derate length, much rounded, the first quill short, the third
and fourth longest. Tail long, ample, graduated or rounded,
of twelve broad, rounded feathers.
In their digestive organs the Cuculinre bear a striking re-
semblance to the Owls and Goatsuckers. They are for the
most part of an elongated form, having the body rather slender,
the neck short, the head rather small and oblong, the tail very
long, and the wings in no instance short. They fly with rapidity,
glide among the foliage with great celerity, advance among the
twigs with ease, but on the ground walk in an awkward man-
ner, on account of the shortness of their tarsi.
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH GENERA AND SPECIES.
GENUS I. CUCULUS. CUCKOO.
Bill of moderate length, rather slender, arcuato-declinate.
Nostrils roundish, with a prominent margin. Feet very short,
slender ; tarsi feathered more than halfway down. Wings and
tail very long.
1. Cuculus canorus. Grey Cuckoo. Bluish-grey above, fore
part and sides of neck ash-grey ; body beneath transversely
barred with white and dusky. " Young with the upper parts
barred with light-red and brown, the lower with brownish-
white and dusky.
GENUS II. COCCYZUS, COWCOW.
Bill of moderate length, slender, arcuato-declinate. Nostrils
linear. Feet very short, slender ; tarsi bare. Wings of moder-
ate length ; tail very long.
1. Coccijzxis Amerkaims. Yelloti'-bUled Cotiroit'. Upper parts
greyish-brown tinged with olivaceous ; lower silvery white.
108
CUCULUS. CUCKOO.
Bill of moderate length, rather slender, arctiato-declinate,
broader than high at the base, compressed toward the end,
acute ; upper mandible with the dorsal line arcuato-declinate,
the ridge narrow but obtuse, the sides sloping at the base, con-
vex toward the end, the edges sharp, with a slight sinus close
to the declinate, acute tip ; lower mandible with the angle
short, the dorsal line slightly decurved, the ridge rather narrow,
the sides sloping outwards, toward the end convex, the edges
thin, the tip narrow and obtuse ; the gape-line arcuate.
Tongue rather short, slender, thin, emarginate and minutely
papillate at the base, the tip acute. CEsophagus wide, taper-
ing ; proventriculus rather large ; stomach large, round, with
the muscular coat very thin, and composed of large flattened
fasciculi ; the cuticular lining soft and rugous ; intestine of
moderate length, rather wide ; coeca large, oblong.
Nostrils elliptical, with a prominent margin. Eyes of moder-
ate size. Feet very short ; the tarsus feathered halfway down,
anteriorly scutellate, scaly behind, and rather sharp. Toes
small, broad beneath ; the first very small, the third longest ;
the fourth longer than the second, and reversed. Claws rather
small, arched, much compressed, laterally grooved, rather acute.
Plumage soft and blended ; the feathers ovate, with a short
plumule ; those on the rump elongated and rather stiff. AVings
long, straight, and pointed, with twenty quills ; primaries taper-
ing and rounded, the first a third shorter than the second, the
third longest ; secondaries short, broad, abrupt, the inner
rounded. Tail long, graduated, of twelve rounded feathers.
This genus is especially remarkable for containing birds which
deposit their eggs in the nests of other and smaller birds of
various genera, leaving them there to be hatched, and thus
committing their offspring to the care of strangers. Only one
species visits this country in summer.
]00
CUCULUS CANORUS. THE GREY CUCKOO.
Cuculus canorus. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 168.
Cuculus canorus. Lath. Ind. Orn. T. 207.
Common Cuckoo. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Coucou gris. Cuculus canorus. Temm. Man. d'Orn. L 3SL IIL 272.
Common Cuckoo. Cuculus canorus. Selb. Illustr. I. 397.
Cuculus canorus. Common Cuckoo. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 154.
In both sexes the upper parts hluish-grey, the fore part and
sides of the neck ash-grey^ the breast and sides of the body bluish-
ichite^ transversely barred with brownish-blacky the quills dusky-
brown, tinged externally with grey^ their inner webs barred with
white ; the tail-feathers greyish-black, spotted along the shafts and
071 the inner web, and tipped with white. Young with the upper
parts transversely barred with light red and clove-brown, the
lower with broicnish-white and dusky.
Male. — This general favourite, whose cry is familiar to all,
either in the oriffinal, or through the medium of imitations, is
one of the most elegantly formed and agreeably coloured of our na-
tive birds. The singular circumstances connected with its mode
of propagation have moreover rendered it an object of peculiar
110 CUCULUS CANORUS.
interest. In shape it bears some resemblance to the Kestrel,
and in colour to the Sparrow-hawk. The body is rather
small in proportion to the plumage, the head ovate, and of
ordinary size. The bill is shorter than the head, at the base
rather broader than high, compressed toward the end, and
somewhat arched. The upper mandible has its dorsal outline
arcuato-declinate, the ridge rather narrow, the sides sloping
and becoming gradually more convex towards the end, the tip
a little decurved, narrow, sharp, with slight indications of
notches, the edges sharp and a little overlapping. The lower
mandible has the angle short and wide, the dorsal outline con-
cave, the ridge narrow, the sides sloping outwards, flat at the
base, convex towards the end, the edges sharp, the tip narrow.
The gape-line is considerably arched, and the mouth wide.
The upper mandible is internally flat, with a slightly promi-
nent central line ; the whole roof of the mouth is also flat, as
in Goatsuckers and Swifts. The posterior aperture of the nares
linear and papillate. The tongue, PI. XV,Fig. 1, a, rather short,
slender, thin, oblong, slightly concave above, emarginate at the
base, with minute papillae, and a large pointed one at each
angle, the tip acute, but varying considerably, as will be after-
wards explained. The aperture of the glottis has numerous
flat, pointed papillae, and two large acuminate ones behind.
The mouth measures ten and a half twelfths of an inch across.
The oesophagus, b, c, is five and a half inches long, and tapers
from a diameter of ten twelfths to that of five twelfths, so as
to be somewhat funnel shaped in its extra-thoracic part. Its
walls are extremely thin, the inner coat longitudinally plicate
when not distended, and plentifully supplied with mucus.
The proventriculus, d, is elliptical, about an inch long, its
greatest diameter seven twelfths ; its glandules large, generally
half a twelfth in diameter, the upper oblong and inclined down-
wards, as is seen in Fig. 2, a, b, and c, the lowest ovate and
directed upwards, those about two-thirds down roundish and
direct, all simple or unlobed. The stomach, Fig. 1, e,/, is
large, round, an inch and three twelfths long, an inch and
two twelfths broad, nine twelfths in thickness ; its muscular
coat is very thin, and composed of distinct flattened fasciculi,
GREY CUCKOO. Ill
SO that there is no division into lateral muscles ; its middle
coat very thin ; the inner or cuticular, Fig. 2, c, d^ slightly
rugous, frequently stuck all over with hairs, as in Fig. 3, but
sometimes quite free of them, varying from a twelfth to half
a twelfth of an inch in thickness, and exceeding the other
coats. The pylorus is an oblong slit, without knobs or valves,
but closed by a thick-edged fold of the inner coat. The intes-
tine. Fig. 1, c, h, i, j, k, which is seventeen inches long, is
rather wide, its diameter varying from four and a half twelfths
to two and a half, enlarging towards the coeca to three-eighths ;
the rectum, Fig. 4, a, b, two and a half inches long, enlarging
to a diameter of nine-twelfths. The coeca, c, d, are about an
inch and a half long, but very frequently unequal in length,
cylindrical, about two-twelfths in diameter, but contracted at
the base. The walls of the intestine are thin and translucent ;
the duodenal fold, Fig. 1, c, k, i, villous internally, the lower
part, i, h, _/, with shallow scrobiculi. The intestine runs at
first along the right edge of the stomach, as usual, returns and
ascends behind the right lobe of the liver, receives the biliary
ducts, descends on the right side, forming several short con-
volutions, then a second fold, which is contorted, ascends on
the left side as far as the middle of the proventriculus, and
then passes along the middle of the sacrum.
The nostrils are ellijitical, a twelfth and a, half long, with
a prominent margin, and placed in the lower and fore part of
the short and broad nasal membrane, which is anteriorly bare.
The eyes are of moderate size, their aperture three-twelfths.
That of the ear elliptical, and four-twelfths. The feet are
very short ; the tarsus feathered halfway down, anteriorly with
four large scutella, posteriorly rather sharp, with eight small
scutella. The first toe is very small, with six scutella ; the
second much longer, with eight ; the third longest, with
eleven ; the fourth considerably shorter, reversed, with eleven
scutella. The claws are rather small, arched, much compress-
ed, laterally grooved, rather blunt.
The plumage is soft and blended ; the feathers generally ovate,
with a short plumule ; those on the rump elongated and rather
strong, the upper and lower tail-coverts stronger than usual.
112 CUCULUS CANORUS.
The wings are long, straight, and pointed, with twenty quills ;
the primaries tapering and rounded ; the first about two-thirds
of the length of the second, the third longest, the fourth next,
the second a little longer than the fifth, the rest graduated ;
the secondaries rather short, broad, the outer abrupt, the rest
obliquely rounded, with a very short acumen. The tail is long,
straight, broad, graduated, of twelve feathers, the outer an inch
and a quarter shorter than the next, whch is eight twelfths
of an inch shorter than the longest.
Length to end of tail 14 inches; extent of wings 23; bill
along the ridge j?j, along the edge of lower mandible 1^ ; wing
from flexure S/^ ; tail 6^^ ; tarsus | ; first toe ^*|, its claw j% ;
second toe ^"1, its claw j% ; third toe j%, its claw i| ; fourth
toe j%, its claw ^\.
The bill is greyish-black, the basal margins and part of the
lower mandible orange. The bare margins of the eyelids are
gamboge yellow ; the iris orange. The tarsus and toes are
orange, the claws ochre yellow. The general colour of the upper
parts is bluish-grey, lighter on the head, tinged with green on
the back and wings, more blue on the rump. The quills are
dusky brown, their outer webs tinged with grey ; the inner
webs of the primaries marked with oblong transverse white
bands. The tail is greyish-black, glossed with green, the
feathers tipped, and along the shafts and inner edges spotted
with white. The throat and fore part of the neck are light
ash-grey ; the breast and sides white, transversely barred with
brownish-black, each feather having three bars ; the lower
tail-coverts yellowish-white, and similarly barred ; the abdomen
with faint bars. The concealed part of the plumage is light
ash-grey.
Female. — There is no such difference between the male and
the female as to colour or size as could enable one to decide
the sex of an individual without opening it. The brown tints
and reddish markings alleged by Montagu and others to be
peculiar to the female, occur in both sexes only in their earlier
years.
Length to end of tail 13| inches ; extent of wings 23 ; wing
fJUEY CUCKOO. J 13
from flexure 8/5 ; tail 6\ ; bill along the ridge |§ ; tarsus ^'^2' ;
middle toe and claw I4.
Variations. — In adult individuals the variations of the ex-
terior are slight, some being more glossed with green on the
back, and some tinged with brown on the wings and fore-neck.
Old birds I have found invariably as above described. The
variations in size, and in the proportions of the parts, are not
important ; nor are those in the length and diameter of the di-
gestive organs considerable. The following are some of the
measurements of five individuals.
MALE.
Length 14
Extent of wings. 23
(Esophagus 5A
Proventriculus... 1
Stomach If
Intestine 18?
Coeca 1 5, 1 j^*2
Changes of Plumage. — I have found individuals in fresh and
perfect plumage immediately after their arrival, so that they
must have moulted in their winter quarters. Thus, one sent
to me by Captain Graham in May 1834 had its feathers quite
new. In the wings were three secondary quills barred with
dusky and light red, which were ragged from wearing, shew-
ing that it was in its second year. In individuals obtained at
a later period, I have not observed much difference in the
plumage, and therefore I believe that the moult does not take
place in this country.
Additional Observations. — The tongue varies considerably
with respect to the form of its tip, as represented by PL XVI,
Fig. 5, a b c d, taken from four specimens which I had kei)t
in spirits for dissection. One has the tongue acutely pointed ;
the second has it narrow, with a slight slit ; the third shorten-
ed, emarginatc, the tips blunted and bristly on the edges ; the
VOL. lU, I
M.
M.
F.
13^
23
F.
14
22
Oc2
51
O2
5i
1
12
9
T2
1
]
12
1 2
1 2
1 2
^12
1 2
^12
19
17
18
18
2,1
5
1 lOJ
-"■12'
n
2,1
1
12
—
114 CUCULUS CANORUS.
fourth rounded without slit, but with the edges and tip bristly.
These differences appear to be produced by use, the first or
pointed form being the normal. Similar changes are exhibited
in the bill, claws, and feathers of many birds.
The oesophagus and stomach, in fact the digestive organs in
general, are very similar to those of the Owls. It is a very re-
markable circumstance that when the bird arrives at first, its food
consisting of coleopterous and other insects, the cuticular lining
of its stomach is smooth ; whereas some time after, when the bird
lives chiefly on hairy caterpillars, it is often completely covered
with their hairs, which are thrust in and arranged in a circular
manner, so as exactly to resemble the pile of some quadrupeds.
This disposition of the hairs shews that the action of the sto-
mach causes the mass of food contained in it to move in a rota-
tory manner. It also shews that the epithelium, although very
soft, is destitute of blood-vessels and nerves, otherwise inflamma-
tion would be induced by so many punctures. Coccyzus Ameri-
canus, a species of a nearly allied genus, which I have dissected,
presents the same circumstance. " In examining this bird by
dissection,"" says Wilson, " the inner membrane of the gizzard,
which in so many other species is so hard and muscular (horny),
in this is extremely lax and soft, capable of great distension ;
and, what is remarkable, is covered with a growth of fine down,
or hair, of a light fawn colour. It is diflftcult," he continues,
" to ascertain the particular purpose which Nature intends by
this excrescence ; perhaps it may serve to shield the tender
parts from the irritating effects produced by the hairs of cer-
tain caterpillars, some of which are said to be almost equal to
the sting of a nettle." This down, of course, is nothing else
than hairs of caterpillars, and it is amusing to observe the idle
ingenuity perpetually displayed in assigning reasons for facts
and phenomena of which people have no adequate knowledge.
On this subject the author of the article Cuckoo in Parting-
ton's Cyclopaedia remarks that " the same has been said, first
probably by some compiler who had read Wilson's article, and
who thought he might safely enough infer it from analogy, of
the stomach of the European Cuckoo, but the writer of this
has dissected several, and never observed anything of the kind."
Then, lot him dissect several more, and learn the truth.
GREY CUCKOO. 115
In examining a female I found not less than twelve eggs
that were in the progress of development. They were disposed
in separate clusters, one of which contained three, another six,
and the third three. One of them had a diameter of nearly
five twelfths of an inch, and therefore was ready to pass into
the oviduct, which was of course highly developed and curious-
ly contorted ; the inner surface of its upper part longitudinally
rugous, the lower transversely and spirally. This observation
is of course decisive as to the Cuckoo's laying more than one
egg in the season, or at a time. Fig. 6 represents the parts in
question : a, the eggs ; b, the oviduct, entering into the cloaca,
c. Fig. 7 shews the internal surface of part of the oviduct cut
open. From the size of the oviduct it would appear that one
or more eggs had already been laid, and it is probable that the
bird continues to lay at intervals from the middle of May to
near the period of its departure ; for INIontagu states that he
found a fully developed egg in one shot on the 26th of June.
The stomach is so large that when distended it almost en-
tirely fills the anterior or lower part of the abdomen, with the
walls of which it is in contact ; and this circumstance has been
adduced as furnishing a reason for the parasitic habits of the
species, it being imagined to prevent incubation. But in many
other birds, the Owls and Goatsuckers, for example, the sto-
mach is similarly situated, and equally large. Indeed, the
connection of the two facts is merely one of the many hundreds
of false reasonings with which natural history is encumbered.
The coeca, as I have already mentioned, vary in size, and are
generally unequal, the left being smaller. Fig. 8 represents
those of another individual.
Habits. — The Cuckoo arrives in the south of England about
the 20th of April, in the south of Scotland towards the end of
that month, and in the northernmost parts of Britain soon after
the beginning of JSIay. The periods of arrival, however, vary
considerably according to the character of the season, and as
the birds do not always announce their return by emitting their
well-known cry, they may sometimes be met with at a time
when their presence is not suspected. There seems to be hardly
116 CUCULUS CANORUS.
any part of the country which they do not visit ; for while some
remain in the southern counties, others settle in the remotest
islands of the north, and although they are met with in the
most cultivated districts, they also frequent the valleys of the
wildest of our hilly and mountainous tracts. Perhaps the most
favourite resorts of the species are parks and plantations bor-
dered with fields and pasture-grounds, or the woods and thickets
of the upland glens ; but on the rocky hills of the most treeless
regions, and the bleak moors or ferny braes of the interior, it
is found often in great numbers, although never in flocks, for if
gregarious during its migrations, as some suppose, it manifests
no social disposition during its residence. Whether it be more
numerous in the south than in the north I cannot affirm, for
while it is stated " that they abound in the Malvern Hills,
making the whole circuit of them resound with their note,""
they are as plentiful in the wooded valleys of the counties of
Ross and Inverness.
In the maritime Highlands and Hebrides, about the time of
the arrival of the Wheatear, every one is on the look-out for
the Cuckoo. Both birds are great favourites with the Celts, the
latter more especially, but both may be the harbingers of evil
as well as of good ; for should the Wheatear be first seen on a
stone, or the Cuckoo first heard by one who has not broken
his fast, some misfortune may be expected. Indeed, besides
the danger, it is considered a reproach to one to have heard the
Cuckoo while hungry, and of such a one it continues to be said
that the bird has muted on him, " chac a chuaig air." But
should the Wheatear be seen on a turf or on the grass, or should
the Cuckoo be heard when one has prepared himself by replen-
ishing his stomach, all will go well. Such at least was the
popular creed twenty years ago, when I began in earnest to
look after birds. The Highlanders have perhaps become wiser ;
at least they are now poorer, and poverty gives rise to reflection.
The Saxons of the south, it would appear, were wont to think
differently of the Cuckoo, and to listen with no friendly feeling
to its cry. But the lover of nature, whether Saxon or Celt,
gladly hails the bird of summer.
GREY CUCKOO. 117
" Cuckoo ! Cuckoo ! O ! welcome, welcome notes !
Fields, woods, and waves rejoice
In that recover' d voice,
As on the wind its fluty music floats.
At that elixir strain.
My youth resumes its reign,
And life's first spring comes blossoming again."
Early in the sunny mornings of May, and towards the close
of day, he who wanders along the wooded valleys will be sure
to hear the ever-pleasing cry of the Cuckoo, unvaried though
it be, as the bird, perched on a rock, or lichen-clad block, or
balancing itself on the branch of some tall tree, cooes aloud to
its mate. Let us pause and listen : the bird is not far distant,
and we may describe its song, such as it is. You hearnothinor
but the same hu-hu, or if you please so to syllable it coo-coo,
repeated at short interv^als ; but if you attend better you will
find that these two loud and mellow notes are preceded by a
kind of churring or chuckling sound, which, if you creep up
unseen, you will hear to consist of a low and guttural inflec-
tion of the voice, during which the throat seems distended.
But the Cuckoo, ever vigilant and shy, has observed you, and
flies off, followed by two small birds, which, by their mode of
flying and incessant cheeping notes, you know to be Meadow
Pipits. They keep pace with it, and when it alights on the
grassy bank, they alight too, and take their stand in its vicinity.
You have heard that Cuckoos lay their egg in the nest of a
Pipit or other small bird, and you at first suppose these to be its
foster-parents. This, however, is not a young Cuckoo, but an old
grey male just arrived from the sunny south. Then what have
the Pipits to do with it 1 I cannot tell, for although I have
rarely in the hilly parts of the country seen a Cuckoo unattend-
ed by one or two of them, I have not observed that it was fed
by them, or that they molested it otherwise than by hovering
about it. They attend upon it, fly after it, stand beside it, and
seem to be concerned about it, to be distrustful of it, to watch
its motions, and to indicate their dislike to it by their con-
tinued cheepings. It seems to me that they take it for a hawk.
But the Cuckoos are not always followed by Pipits, for often
you may see them gliding among the trees without any attend-
118 CUCULUS CANORUS.
ants ; yet so generally are these birds seen together on the open
moors and pastures, that " the Gowk and the Titling " is a
common saying in Scotland. But it is sadly misapplied to a
person following and fawning upon his patron, or to two indi-
viduals of disproportionate size whose friendship keeps them
continually together. The name which the Scots give to the
Cuckoo they also aj^ply to a foolish person, no doubt on account
of his continued and silly babble. Later in the season, you
may see a young Cuckoo followed and fed by Pipits ; but its
colours are very different from those of the old bird. Some-
times also you may find it surrounded by Swallows and other
small birds, which are intent on molesting it to the utmost of
their power.
The flight of the Cuckoo is swift, gliding, even, rapid on
occasion, generally sedate, usually at no great height. In the
hilly parts it may be seen skimming over the ground, alighting
on a stone or crag, balancing itself, throwing up its tail, de-
pressing its wings, and then perhaps emitting its notes. In
woody districts it glides among the trees, perches on their
boushs, and makes occasional excursions into the thickets
around. On the ground I have seldom seen it unless when
cooing, and there it can scarcely walk with more ease than a
Swallow ; but on trees it alights with facility, clings to the
twigs with firmness, glides among the foliage, and by the aid
of its tenacious grasp and ample tail, throws itself into various
and always graceful postures, as it searches for its prey. Its
food consists of coleopterous, lepidopterous, and dipterous in-
sects, in procuring which it must visit a variety of places, and
very much of hairy caterpillars, which it picks from among the .
grass and heath, where, however, it cannot search by walking,
like the plover or curlew, as its feet are too short, and its toes
misplaced for such a purpose. Yet it can hobble round a bush
to pick the worms from it, as well as cling to its twigs. " The
great quantity devoured by the Cuckoos in a short space of
time,'"' says Mr Weir, " is truly astonishing, and would scarcely
be believed, except by those wdio have been witnesses to the
fact. They have for several years been the means of prevent-
ing the gooseberry bushes in my garden from being destroyed."
GREY CUCKOO. 119
The substances which I have usually found in the stomach
of the Cuckoo were insects of various kinds, hairy caterpillars,
and smooth larvae ; but I have also found in it vegetable mat-
ter. Thus, it is recorded in one of my note-books respecting
a male examined in June 1836, that the cuticular lining of the
stomach is " smooth, soft, in this instance without hairs, it
being filled with vegetable fibres and blades of grasses." I have
never met with a fragment of the elytra, the articulation of a
limb, or any other hard part of an insect in the intestines, the
contents of which are a uniform pulpy and impalpable mass of
a light red colour. Of course, the remains of insects in the
stomach must be thrown up in pellets, as in Hawks and Owls.
Hairs and other matters I have several times found in so great
a mass as to distend the stomach nearly to its greatest capacity.
It has been conjectured that the Cuckoo occasionally feeds on
eggs, especially those of the small birds in the nests of which
it deposits its own ; but I am not aware of its having been
caught in the act. It has also been accused of eating young
birds, but no one has found bones or feathers in its stomach.
The Cuckoo is a very shy bird, so that one cannot follow its
motions ; but facts in its history and organization lead to infe-
rences, which may be correct, if carefully educed. Thus, it may
be heard cooing at most hours from sunset to dawn, and I have
listened to its notes at midnight, when they have a very singular
effect. This circumstance has been noticed by others as well as
myself. Thus, in the third volume of the Magazine of Natural
History, p. 466, ^Mr White makes the following statement : —
" During the summer of 1880, the days were wet and chilly,
and the nights clear and calm ; so that the night was, in fact,
more pleasant than the day : so much so, that I frequently
walked out after supper, and as frequently heard both tlio
Cuckoo and the Nightingale from ten till eleven o^clock ; but
on two succeeding evenings, the 4th and 5th of June, the moon
being about full, and shining with ' unclouded majesty,"' I
heard, about ' the witching hour of night,' both the Cuckoo
and the Nightingale ; and on the 9th, as I was returning fronj
a party of friends, with the fair partner of my pleasures and
pursuits, a little after midnight, wc were highly gratified in
120 CUCULUS CANORUS.
hearing a trio, with all the native melody of the grove, perform-
ed by the Cuckoo, the Nightingale, and the Sedge- Warbler,"
It is frequently seen abroad at early dawn, and sometimes
very late in the evening ; while at mid-day you seldom meet
with it unless in woods, or perched on a stone in the moors.
Is it not then somewhat nocturnal l Then, its mouth is wide,
bedewed with a viscid fluid, and the flat form of its palate re-
minds you of that of the Goatsuckers and Swallows, as well
as of the Owls. Its digestive organs are like those of the for-
mer and latter of these birds, and its food is similar, bating
mice and birds. It is therefore probable that it takes a part of
its prey on wing, more especially in the twilight.
Now, if we seek for analogies and affinities, we may feel dis-
posed to think that Cuckoos are " in their own circle analo-
gous"" to what ? — according to Mr Swainson, to the Tenuiros-
tres among the Insessores, and to the Rasores or Gallinaceous
birds in the series of orders. You will naturally think that
their nearest allies are Goatsuckers and Owls ; but if you will
have all things by fives or threes you must not scruple to prefer
remote to direct affinities when it suits your purpose to do so.
- The Grey Cuckoo is not necessarily and therefore not essen-
tially a bird of the woods, like a Woodpecker or a Parrot ;
nor is it therefore a climber. Its haunts are more especially the
open pastures, and although it perches on a tree or a stone, and
has feet like a Woodpecker in this one respect that the outer
toe is turned backwards, it is not therefore any more a climber
than a Thrush or a Swallow, certainly less so than a Siskin
or a Redpoll Linnet. But many birds of similar form are de-
scribed by authors acquainted with their habits as sylvicolous
and as climbing, not indeed in the manner of Woodpeckers,
but somewhat like Parrots, that is by grasping the twigs or
branches, and young Cuckoos kept in captivity have been ob-
served occasionally to employ the same action. The feet of the
Cuckoo however do not present the very strong curved claws pe-
culiar to the truly climbing birds, or rather to those which are
capable of clinging to a perpendicular surface. Some species of
this family have the claws elongated and little curved, and
having also tarsi of considerable length, are thus enabled to walk
GREY CUCKOO. 121
with ease over the grass or other herbage. As to our bird, it
no doubt can cling to the branches with firmness, but it is no
more a climber in any sense than the Jay or the Blackbird,
which, although they often resort to woods, also frequent the
open grounds. In fact, the order Scansores of authors is a most
heterogenous association. Greater differences than there are
between the feet of a Cuckoo and those of a Linnet^ occur in
even the most possibly natural family, namely in the Cheli-
dones ; and if a certain arrangement of the toes, without re-
gard to their strength and the form of the claws, were so im-
portant as some ornithologists would have us to believe, the
Swifts and Swallows ought to stand in different orders ; the
common Gull and the Kittiwake in different genera.
The most remarkable trait in the character of the Cuckoo
is its confiding the charge of hatching its eggs, and rearing its
young, to some other bird, always much smaller than itself.
The species on which it thus imposes its progeny is gene-
rally the Meadow Pipit, Anthus pratensis. In Scotland I
have never heard of its laying in the nest of any other bird,
but in England its egg has been found in those of various
species : — the Hedge Chanter, White Wagtail, Sky Lark,
Nightingale, Garden Warbler, and others. The egg is small
in proportion to the size of the bird, being generally not much
larger than that of its foster parent, its average length from ten
to eleven twelfths of an inch, its greatest diameter from eight
to nine twelfths, its colour white, greyish-white, or reddish-
white, speckled with ash-grey or greyish-brown. Various con-
jectures have been hazarded as to the cause of the dispropor-
tionately small size of the eggs. If we say that as the Cuckoo
is physically constrained to deposit its egg in the nest of some
small bird of the insectivorous kind, its egg must be nearly of
the size of those of its dupe, we may state a truth, but we aflbrd
no explanation of the phenomenon. Why should it be so con-
strained I why does it not form a nest, hatch its eggs, and rear
its young ? Because, as some say, it leaves its summer resi-
dence early in July, and as it remains only two months there,
it could not leave its young in a sufficiently advanced state to
shift for themselves. But why should it hurry away so fast I
122 CUCULUS CANORUS.
has it not abundance of food ? does it not go away at the very
time when insects and larvae are most abundant ? If it dreads
the cold of early autumn, is not that of April or even May
much greater ? and if its tender young find enough of heat un-
til September, how is it so much more sensitive ? It has been
alleged, conjecturally I believe, that the ovary is less plentifully
supplied with blood than that of other birds of similar size, and
therefore the eggs are not developed. I can see no difference
in this respect between the Cuckoo and the Magpie or Jay ;
but if there were, although the smallness of the eggs might be
accounted for in so far, how is it necessary that they should be
small 1 In short, all that we know about the matter is just
this : The Cuckoo arrives in the end of spring, and departs in
July ; it forms no nest, but deposits its eggs singly in the nests
of various small birds, which hatch them, and rear the young.
The latter not being well fledged until September, remain two
months behind their parents.
The eggs of birds are not proportioned to their size. The
single egg of the Auks is enormously large ; the three eggs of
the Cormorant very small ; the numerous eggs of the Geese
moderate ; those of the Wren very large. It is as incompre-
hensible that a Guillemot should lay only one egg of extrava-
gant size, as that a Cuckoo should lay twenty of the opposite
kind. Were we to suppose that eggs few in number are pro-
portionally large, observation would convince us that this is
not always and regularly the case. The Curlew lays four eggs ;
and the Hooded Crow five ; but although these birds are nearly
equal in size, one of the eggs of the former weighs more than all
those of the latter. The Hock Pigeon and Jackdaw are about
the same size ; so are their eggs ; but the former lays only two,
and the latter five. It must not therefore be said that the
Cuckoo's eggs are very small, because they are very numerous.
According to the statement of M. Temminck, the phenomena
in question have been explained as follows : — " M. Schlegel,
one of the assistant naturalists of the museum, has furnished,
in an essay crowned by the Natural History Society of Harlem,
details of the greatest interest as to the very probable causes which
induce the Grey Cuckoo, as well as all the species which lay
GREY CUCKOO. 123
ill the nests of small Insectivorous birds, not to hatch and rear
its young ; and he considers as a principal cause of this pecu-
liarity the choice of their ordinary food. The nourishment of
the Cuckoo consists almost entirely of very hairy caterpillars,
as Bombyx caja, &c., the great bulk of which overloads and
singularly inflates the stomach, aiFording at the same time very
little nourishment. From this nutrition results a great de-
velopment of the whole organ, and an unceasingly returning
hunger. The development of the stomach appears to influence
that of the eggs in the ovary, which are known to be very
small, and which the bird lays at intervals of from six to eight
days. The sum of the author's observations is, that the Cuckoo
cannot attend to incubation, as it is incessantly occupied in
pursuing its prey ; that it cannot, by means of the food which
it prefers, satisfy the wants of from four to six voracious young
ones, which grow with an astonishing rapidity. The position
and great size of the stomach would hinder digestion during
the act of incubation ; should incubation take place, the con-
stantly recurring need of food would be injurious to the neces-
sary development of the young in the egg ; to lay from four to
six eggs, the Cuckoo would take so many weeks, and the first
egg would be addled before the last were laid. Lastly, the
young could not be developed in time to perform their migra-
tion, for want of the food necessary for themselves and their
parents. If such is actually the cause of this phenomenon in
some species of Cuckoos, which I am inclined to believe it to
be, it would follow that certain species, which are not sub-
jected to this same mode of nourishment, may nestle and attend
to incubation exactly like other birds."
Now, I have found by dissection that the two common Cuckoos
of North America have the stomach capable of great distension,
and covered internally with hair, so as to be precisely similar to
that of the Grey Cuckoo. What then comes of all the above
reasoning? Moreover, the Barn Owl has a stomach when
collapsed an inch and a quarter long, and when distended three
inches, and it occupies precisely the same place as in the Cuckoo,
and is larger in proportion to the size of the bird. Yet the
Owl incubates, and although it has but a short time to look for
124 CUCULUS CANORUS.
food, and therefore fills its stomach as full as it can, and swal-
lows hair, down, and feathers, hatches its eggs and digests its
food quite efficiently.
It appears from the observations of various persons, that the
Cuckoo, having found a nest, watches for the absence of its
owner, then deposits its egg, and flies oif ; that in general the
nest in which it places its egg contains none or few eggs ; that
the owners of the nest sometimes eject the intruded egg ; and
that in a few instances two Cuckoos' eggs have been found in
the same nest. It is also stated that the Cuckoo, on depositing
its egg in a nest already containing eggs, sometimes carries off
one or more of them ; but frequently nests have been found
containing the ordinary number of eggs along with that of the
Cuckoo. Pipits and other small birds finding a Cuckoo at or
near their nest manifest alarm, anxiety, and hatred towards it,
just as they would toward a Jay or other suspected bird.
It was known to the ancients that this bird leaves its egg
to be hatched by another, but they mingled the real with the
fabulous, believing that the young devoured not only those of
its foster-parents, but finally the latter themselves. The man-
ner in which the young Cuckoo's fellow-lodgers disappear from
the nest is perhaps as marvellous as anything else in the his-
tory of this strange bird. A pair of Pipits, Wagtails, or Hedge
Chanters, would find it a sufficient task to provide their own
young with food, and probably would be unable to satisfy in
addition the incessant cravings of the young Cuckoo, which
grows very rapidly, and as it soon completely fills the nest,
would crush to death or suffiacate its feebler fellow-lodgers.
The young Cuckoo, as if in order to obtain sufficient nourish-
ment, and prevent the protracted misery of its foster-brethren,
ejects them from the nest, and their parents, unable to replace
them, or failing to recognise them, leave them to perish. The
exclusive occupation of the nest by the young Cuckoo was first
satisfactorily accounted for by Dr Jenner, the discoverer of
vaccination, who, in the Philosophical Transactions for 1788,
states that having found a nest of the hedge-sparrow contain-
ing a cuckoo's egg and three of the hedge sparrow's, but the day
following a young cuckoo and a young hedge-sparrow, two of
GREY CUCKOO. 125
the eggs having disappeared, he " saw the young cuckoo, though
so lately hatched, in the act of turning out the young hedge-
sparrow. The little animal, with the assistance of its rump
and wings, contrived to get the bird upon its back, and mak-
ing a lodgement for its burden by elevating its elbows, clam-
bered backwards with it up the side of the nest till it reached
the top, where, resting for a moment, it threw off its load with
a jerk, and quite disengaged it from the nest. It remained
in this situation for a short time, feeling about with the ex-
tremities of its wings, as if to be convinced whether the busi-
ness was properly executed, and then dropped into the nest
again. With these, the extremities of its wings," he conti-
nues, " I have often seen it examine, as it were, the egg and
nestling before it began its operations ; and the nice sensibilities
which these parts seem to possess, seemed sufficiently to com-
pensate the want of sight, which as yet it was destitute of. I
afterwards put in an egg, and this, by a similar process, was
conveyed to the edge of the nest and thrown out. These ex-
periments I have since repeated several times, in different nests,
and have always found the young cuckoo disposed to act in the
same manner."" He then states that its shape is well adapted
for this purpose, as its back is very broad, with a depression in
the middle, which is not filled up until it is about twelve days
old. When two cuckoos' eggs happen to be deposited in the
same nest, a severe contest takes place between the newly-
fledged young, and continues until the weaker is ejected.
These observations have been verified by Montagu, who, in
the Introduction to his Ornithological Dictionary, makes the
following statement. " I first saw it (the young Cuckoo) when a
few days old in the Hedge-Sparrow's nest in a garden close to a
cottage, the owner of which assured me the Hedge-Sparrow had
four eggs when the Cuckoo dropped a fifth; that on the morn-
ing the young Cuckoo was hatched, two young Hedge -Sparrows
were also excluded, and that on his return from work in the
evening, nothing was left in the nest but the Cuckoo. At five
or six days old I took it to my house, when I frequently saw
it throw out the young Swallow (which was put in for the pur-
pose of experiment) for four or five days after. This singular
126 CUCULUS CANORUS.
action was performed by insinuating itself under the swallow,
and with its rump forcing it out of the nest with a sort of
jerk. Sometimes, indeed, it failed after much struggle, by-
reason of the strength of the Swallow, which was nearly full-
feathered, but after a small respite from the seeming fatigue,
it renewed its efforts, and seemed continually restless till it suc-
ceeded. At the end of the fifth day this disposition ceased,
and it suffered the Swallow to remain in the nest unmolested.""
Similar observations made by Mr Blackwall,, are recorded
in the Manchester Memoirs, 2d series. Vol. lY. " On the
30th of June,"" he relates, " I took a young Cuckoo that was
hatched in a Titlark's nest on the 28th, seven days after the old
birds had quitted the neighbourhood ; and this nestling, while
in my possession, turned both young birds and eggs out of its
nest, in which I had placed them for the purpose, and gave
me an opportunity of contemplating at leisure the whole pro-
cess of this astonishing proceeding, so minutely and accurately
described by Dr Jenner. I observed that this bird, though so
young, threw itself backwards with considerable force when
any thing touched it unexpectedly."'"'
Beyond this, there is nothing marvellous in the history of
thejyoung bird, which, carefully fed by its foster-parents, who
no doubt believe it to be their own progeny, grows apace. It
appears that very many species of birds having hatched the eggs
of other birds, consider the produce to be really their own ;
and j^tliat many also without having incubated will adopt a
helpless youngling and feed it. It is not more wonderful that
the^Pipits or Wagtails should harbour no suspicion of the alien
character of the great bird which fills their nest, than that a
hen should continue to perform a motherly part toward the
ducklings which manifest the difference of their nature by
gladly betaking themselves to the water of which she has a
salutary dread. While the young Cuckoo remains in the nest,
it is plentifully supplied with food by its fi-iends, who, ignorant
of the destruction of their own young, and having their parental
feeling excited by its continued demands, cheerfully labour in its
behalf When it can fly, and has left the nest, they continue to
provide for and protect it to the best of their power, and this
GREY CUCKOO. 127
conduct of theirs seems the more strange that it contrasts with
that of other little birds, even of the same species, but espe-
cially Swallows, which fly after and endeavour to molest it.
Mr Durham Weir has sent me the following notes having
reference to this subject : " ' There is one point," says a modern
naturalist, ' in the anomalous history of the Cuckoo, which has
not been so well authenticated as the rest, and that is, whether
the male falls into the same dupery as the female, and aids in
rearing the Cuckoo V That he sometimes assists the female, in
giving food to her adopted young one, I can affirm, as several
instances have occurred to my knowledge. In June 1835, the
following one came under my notice. Upon the top of JNIony-
foot Hill, Linlithgowshire, I knew a Titlark's nest built under
a bush of heath. It contained five eggs, one of which had been
deposited in it by a Cuckoo. The rightful owners, a few days
after they had been hatched, were lying dead on the ground,
having been turned out by the intruder, wdio became the sole
occupant of the nest. One afternoon, I observed the male and
female Titlarks repeatedly flying in with worms and flies in
their bills, and feeding the nestling with the greatest care and
anxiety. ^Yhen I went near the nest, they hovered about me,
uttering their cry of alarm. They always flew off together, and
returned with the food which they had obtained. When about
three weeks old, this young Cuckoo assumed an air of boldness,
and when I handled it, it ruffled its feathers, and put itself in
an attitude of defence. I took it home with me, and kept it
between four and five months. It soon became very tame and
even familiar. It was at times fierce and pugnacious, and when
teased, it came out of its cage and fought with my fingers, spar-
ring and buffeting with its wings, like a game-cock. Its vo-
racity was insatiable. The Cuckoo for some weeks after it is
fully fledged, is fed by its foster parents. When they see any
one approaching their charge, they give it instant warning, on
which it flies off to some distance. These young birds are so
very shy, that although I have pursued them for hours, I have
seldom been able to get within shot of them.''''
In a subsequent communication, dated the 16th July 1S38,
he presents the following very interesting account of a young
12« CUCULUS CANORUS.
Cuckoo, which is fairly worth all the notions of the closet na-
turalists from Pliny to the present day.
" In this part of the country, the nest of the Titlark is the
one almost invariably selected by the Cuckoos for depositing
their eggs. Indeed, I have never seen them in any other. In
Balgornie ISIoor, situate in the extremity of the parish of Bath-
gate, on Saturday the 19th of May 1838, a pair of Titlarks
finished their nest. The female laid an egg upon Sunday, Mon-
day, and Tuesday. During one of these days, a Cuckoo took
the opportunity of dropping her egg amongst those of the Tit-
lark. How she succeeded in doing this, I know not, as the nest
was built upon the side of a deep perpendicular ditch, the top
of which was thickly covered over with strong heath in the
shape of a dome, and the entrance into it was very narrow.
" Nearly the same period of incubation seems to be required
for hatching both kinds of eggs. Upon Wednesday morning
the 23d, the female Titlark began to sit upon the eggs, and
upon that day fortnight, the 6tli of June, they were all hatch-
ed. I saw them a short time after this had taken place. The
young Cuckoo appeared to be about one-third larger than the
Titlarks, and of a dark colour. It was constantly ga^^ing for
food. Upon its back, from the shoulders downwards, there was
a particular depression, which I do not recollect of hawing seen
in any other young bird. On the afternoon of the 10th, two of
the Titlarks were found lying dead at the bottom of the ditch.
The other one had disappeared.
" On Wednesday afternoon the 13th, the feathers of this young
bird had a strong resemblance to the prickles of the hedge-hog,
and it had grown so fast that it nearly filled the whole nest.
When any thing touched it unexpectedly, as has been remarked
by Mr Blackwall, it threw itself back with considerable force.
It was bold and fierce. AVhen I put my finger near its bill, it
ruffled its feathers, stood upon its legs, struck at it with its wings,
and even attempted to bite. For several hours I watched the
motions of the foster parents in order to ascertain whether they
Avere still kind to the charge committed to their trust, and they
continued to pay it the same uuM-earied attention. During the
space of an hour they fed it generally ten or twelve times. The
GREY CUCKOO. 129
female occasionally remained in the nest several minutes. Both
were exceedinglyshyand cunninof. So long as I was within sight
of them they would not feed the Cuckoo. I was therefore
obliged to conceal myself in a plantation with the branches of
the Scotch fir. When they brought food they always alighted
at the distance of about fifteen or twenty yards from their nest,
and stole softly amongst the grass at the bottom of the ditch,
and now and then stood still and looked around them with a
jealous glance to see if their motions were watched. So art-
fully was their retreat concealed, that no one to whom it was
not pointed out, would have had much chance of discovering it.
As it was at a distance from my residence, I found it inconve-
nient to watch the habits of this Cuckoo so frequently as I
wished. I therefore put it into the nest of a Titlark in my im-
mediate neighbourhood, in which were five young ones about
six days old, three of which I allowed to remain. I went next
day in the expectation of seeing the young Cuckoo lying dead.
To my astonishment, however, the female was covering it most
carefully, with outstretched wings, from a very heavy shower
of rain which was then falling. How she devoted her care to
this surreptitiously introduced stranger, while her own young
ones had in the meantime been expelled by the Cuckoo, and
were at that moment lying lifeless within two inches of her
nest, is a mystery in the economy of nature, which it would be
extremely difficult to solve. I do not recollect having seen it
mentioned in any book which I have perused, that the cry of
the Cuckoo when young resembles that of the titlark. This
perhaps was the reason why the foster parents were so sud-
denly reconciled to their newly adopted nestling. They fed it
most assiduously. On the afternoon of Thursday the 21st, it
pursued my fingers, when I teased it, nine or ten inches beyond
the nest, sparring with its wings, and crying like a hawk. As
has been noticed by Colonel Montagu, when about fourteen
days old, the restless disposition of these birds appears to cease,
for after that, this Cuckoo suffered young birds to remain un-
molested in the nest.
" From a hut formed of heath, within sixteen feet of the
same nest, on Saturday the 30th of June, I made the follow-
VOL, III. K
130 CUCULUS CANORUS.
ing observations. The male Titlark had disappeared for two
or three days, having been, in all probability, destroyed by a
Sparrow Hawk, which had young ones in the neighbourhood.
The female, notwithstanding the loss of her partner, continued
to shew to the Cuckoo the same unremitting kindness. Before
she went to feed it, she always alighted upon the top of a
Scotch fir, where she remained for some minutes looking
anxiously around. She then flew down upon the ground at
the distance of several yards from the nest, making zig-zag
windings, and occasionally standing still. She brought to it
sometimes snails, at other times a mouthful of large worms,
some of which were more than three inches in length. One
might have almost been inclined to believe that she was aware
of the nature of the intruder and the voracity of its disposition,
for I have never seen any of them bring such quantities of meat
when feeding their own young. At the regularity with which
she supplied its wants, I was truly surprised. For nine suc-
cessive hours, during which I had watched her, she gave it
food exactly four times in each hour. I remained until nine
o^clock. She however left off her parental duties at a quarter
past eight o'clock. In the morning she attempted to satisfy its
craving appetite more frequently, generally seven or eight times
within the hour.
" I shall now give you a short account of the manner in which
the egg that I lately sent you was discovered to have been depo-
sited in the nest of the titlark. In its size, tint, and markings
it was the same as the one out of which the Cuckoo was hatched,
whose habits I have just now described. Two sons of Mr David
Tripeny, farmer in Coxmuir, assei-ted to me, that upon Sun-
day forenoon the 24tli of June 1838, when they were sitting
in a plantation tending their cattle, they saw a Cuckoo alight
at no great distance from them, upon a hillock of moss. It
picked up an egg with its bill, and after having looked round
about as if to ascertain whether there was any one in sight, it
hopped down with it amongst the heath. The lads immediately
ran to the place into which they had observed it descend, and
when at the distance of about six feet, they saw it rise from
the side of a titlark's nest into which it had introduced its head.
GREY CUCKOO. 131
In tlie nest, which was arched over with strong heath, and had
a narrow entrance from the side, there was a newly dropped
Cuckoo''s egg along with one of the titlark's own. As I have
no reason to doubt the accuracy of this observation, it confirms
the statement of the celebrated Yaillant with respect to the
Gilded Cuckoo, although the correctness of it is questioned by
some, namely, that she puts her eggs into different kinds of
nests by conveying them with her bill, and satisfactorily ac-
counts for the way in which the Common Cuckoo, in some
instances at least, is enabled to deposit her eggs.
" Two eggs of the Cuckoo are sometimes dropped in the same
nest. One forenoon about the middle of June last, in the nest
of a Titlark in my neighbourhood, built amongst heath, and
which contained three eggs, there were two Cuckoo"'s eggs. In
this nest it was observed that the Cuckoo''s eggrs were hatched
fully a day sooner than those of the Titlark. On the third
or fourth day after this, the young Titlarks were found lying
dead on the ground, and the Cuckoos were in possession of the
nest. They remained together in it nearly five days. On the
morning of the sixth day, however, one of them had disap-
peared, and the other, which was the strongest, was brought
up by its foster parents until it was able to provide for itself.
It is very probable that the young birds which so soon dis-
appear after they have been ejected from their nests, are car-
ried away by mice, as these animals prowl about at night in
pursuit of their food. I have heard the old Cuckoos crying
during every hour of the day and night. They cease to emit
their notes about the middle of July, and are seldom seen be-
yond that time. The young disappear about the middle or end
of September.""
It has been supposed that Cuckoos do not pair, but live in
promiscuous concubinage, the fruits of which are consigned to
the charge of other birds ; and the supposition may prove cor-
rect, although as yet observations are wanting to confirm it.
The old birds arrive in full plumage, and depart without hav-
ing moulted. The young also take their departure previously
to moulting, which, as in the old birds, takes place in winter.
A young Cuckoo kept by the late Mr George Carfrae, being
132 CUCULUS CANORUS.
fed on flesh, continued alive until the end of the following
spring, when it had assumed the colours of the old bird, only
that the fore-neck and breast were tinged with red, and the
back with brown. Mr Richardson, engraver, in Preston
Street, Edinburgh, obtained in the summer of 1838, a young
Cuckoo unable to fly, ^vhich he fed chiefly with meat. It
lived through the winter, having been kept near the fire, and
is now, on the 20tli of October 1889, in good health. It moult-
ed in spring for the first time, and then assumed the plumage
of the adult. It is very seldom however that one can be rear-
ed in captivity and brought through the winter. Another in-
dividual which I have seen had not moulted in November
when it died, and one kept by Montagu from July till the
14th of December, underwent no change of plumage. I am
therefore not inclined to credit the assertion of M. Temminck
and others, that when the young depart in autumn, " they
have all the upper parts of a uniform very dark olivaceous grey ;
some faint reddish bands on the nape ; broader bars of the
same colour on the secondary quills ; the throat and breast
transversely barred with reddish-grey and black ; but all the
rest of the plumage precisely as in adult individuals."
In speaking of the Song Thrush, I adduced, as related by
Mr Weir, an instance of its feeding a young Cuckoo. An-
other of the same nature is related by the Bishop of Norwich,
in his Familiar History of Birds. The case was this : — A
young Cuckoo was taken from the nest of a Hedge-Sparrow,
and a few days afterwards, a young Thrush, scarcely fledged,
was put into the same cage. The latter could feed itself, but
the Cuckoo, its companion, was obliged to be fed with a quill ;
in a short time, however, the Thrush took upon itself the task
of feedmg its fellow prisoner, and continued so to do with the
utmost care, bestowing every possible attention, and manifest-
ing the greatest anxiety to satisfy its continual cravings for
food. " The following," he continues, " is a still more extraor-
dinary instance, corroborating the above, and for the truth of
which we can vouch in every particular. A young Thrush,
just able to feed itself, had been placed in a cage ; a short time
afterwards a young Cuckoo, which could not feed itself, was
GREY CUCKOO. 133
introduced into the same cage, a large wicker one, and for some
time it was with much difficulty fed ; at length however it was
observed that the young Thrush was employed in feeding it,
the Cuckoo opening its mouth and sitting on the upper perch,
and making the Thrush hop down to fetch food up. One day
when it was thus expecting its food in this way, the Thrush
seeing a worm put into the cage could not resist the tempta-
tion of eating it, upon which the Cuckoo immediately descend-
ed from its perch, and attacking the Thrush, literally tore ono
of its eyes quite out, and then hopped back : the poor Thrush
felt itself obliged to take up some food in the lacerated state it
was in. The eye healed in course of time, and the Thrush
continued its occupation as before, till the Cuckoo was full
grown.""
A case of a like nature, but referring to the Cow Bunting, a
small bird whose mode of propagation is similar to that of the
Grey Cuckoo, is related by Wilson, in his American Ornitho-
logy. Having taken from the nest of a Maryland Yellow-
throat, a young male Cow Bunting, he " placed it in the same
cage with a Red Bird, Loxia cardinalis, who at first, and for
several minutes after, examined it closely, and seemingly with
great curiosity. It soon became clamorous for food, and from
that moment the Red Bird seemed to adopt it as his own, feed-
ing it with all the assiduity and tenderness of the most affec-
tionate nurse. When he found that the Grasshopper which he
had brought it was too large for it to swallow, he took the in-
sect from it, broke it in small portions, chewed them a little
to soften them, and, with all the gentleness and delicacy ima-
ginable, put them separately into its mouth. He often spent
several minutes in looking at and examining it all over, and in
picking off any particles of dirt that he observed on its plum-
age." But this assumption of the office of a nurse has been
manifested by many birds of the orders Cantatores, Deglubi-
tores, and Yagatores, with regard to helpless individuals, not
only of their own but of other species ; insomuch that it would
seem to result from the excitement of the parental instinct ef-
fected by the solicitations of the destitute orphan.
Young. — The young Cuckoo when Hedged may be described
134 CUCULUS CANORUS.
as follows. The bill, which is much shorter and less curved
than that of the adult, is dusky, with the sides of both mandi-
bles yellowish ; the iris brown, the feet and claws dull yellow,
the latter a little dusky towards the end. The upper parts are
transversely banded with light red and dark greyish-brown,
most of the feathers being also tipped with reddish -white. The
alula, j)rimary quills and their coverts are clove-brown, narrow-
ly tipped with reddish-white, marked along their outer webs
with squarish spots of light red, and on their inner with bars
of paler red, the spots and bars not extending to the shafts ; the
secondary quills and their coverts are like the back. There is
more red on the rump, and the tail-feathers are diagonally
banded with light red and blackish-brown, with a white tip,
the part of each red band close to the shaft being also white.
On the occiput are generally some partially white feathers.
The fore-part and sides of the neck are transversely banded
with blackish-brown and white, more or less tinged with red.
The rest of the lower parts, including the wing-coverts, are
white, with narrower and more distant bands of dusky ; the
lower tail coverts reddish-wdiite, with dusky spots and imper-
fect bars.
The above description is taken from a bird shot in Forfar-
shire, and having the bill two-twelfths of an inch shorter than
that of an adult, with the tail-feathers not fully developed. M.
Temminck is therefore in error when he describes this state of
plumage as characteristic of the bird when a year old :~" Top of
the head, nape, back and all the coverts of the wings transverse-
ly barred with deep red and black ; quills blackish, terminated
by a small white spot ; the ovoidal spots of the inner barbs of
a reddish-white ; on the outer barbs red square spots ; feathers
of the tail red, marked with diagonal black bands ; a broad
transverse band towards the end, and all tipped with white ;
on the shafts small white spots ; sides and fore part of the
neck of a reddish- white with numerous blackish-bands."
A young bird having the tail and wings yet so short that it
was unable to fly, and which was found in the King's Park
near Edinburgh, was similar to the above, but with the upper
parts darker, and an individual sent to me by Mr Weir in 1838
was coloured in the same manner. At this early age M. Tem-
GREY CUCKOO. 135
minck describes it as follows: — At the period of leaving the nest,
the young have all the upper parts of a greyish-brown ; the fea-
thers and quills terminated by a white band ; red spots disposed
upon the wings, and those of an ovoidal form on the inner barbs
of the quills, equally red ; a large white spot on the occiput ; fore-
part of the neck and breast marked with very close blackish
bands ; belly, thighs and abdomen whitish, with black bands
as in the adults." It is only however when the feathers are
yet short that the upper parts are greyish-brown, with whitish
bands, for when they elongate, the red bars appear. Mr Selby's
figure of an individual a little more advanced is very inaccurate,
for the black bands on the tail are transverse, which is never
the case in any young Cuckoo, and the markings in general are
very rudely represented.
M. Temminck's account of " the young at the time of
leaving the nest" is thus sufficiently correct; but his " Cuckoo
at the age of one year," is merely the young fully fledged ; and
his " young such as they are when they emigrate in autumn"
either imaginary, or birds in the first spring, and indeed he
elsewhere states that the young do not moult before their de-
parture. His statements as to the " Coucou roux, or Cuculus
hepaticus of the systems," are therefore partly incorrect. In
this state, as I have shewn, it is merely the fully-feathered
young bird, and not " the common grey Cuckoo in its second
year." He is aware that this rufous bird is never seen in spring
in the northern countries, and therefore he supposes that the
Cuckoo during its second year remains in the southern and
eastern parts of Europe, where he has often followed them for
hours in the beginning of spring. The fact appears to be
merely this. The young Cuckoo departs in its first plumage,
moults in the south in early spring, revisits its native country
in the beginning of summer, when it is grey glossed with green
on the upper parts, but has brownish bars on the sides of the
neck, and frequently a few of the feathers of the first plumage
remaining. In this state many authors have described it as
the adult female ; but the latter I have found of the same
colours as the male ; and these grey Cuckoos tinged with red
or brown, are both male and female.
136
COCCYZUS. cowcow.
Bill nearly as long as the head, slender, arcuato-declinate,
broader than high at the base, compressed toward the end,
acute ; upper mandible with the dorsal line arcuato-declinate,
the ridge narrow but obtuse, the sides sloping at the base, con-
vex and erect toward the end, the edges sharp, with a slight
notch close to the declinate acute tip ; lower mandible with
the angle short, the dorsal line slightly decurved, the ridge
rather narrow, the sides nearly erect, toward the end convex,
the edges sharp, the tip narrow and rather obtuse ; the gape-
line arcuate.
Tongue very slender, thin, emarginate at the base, with long
slender papillse, the edges toward the end lacerated, the tip
rather acute. CEsophagus rather wide, tapering ; proventri-
culus rather large ; stomach large, roundish, with the muscu-
lar coat very thin, and composed of a single series of small
fasciculi ; the cuticular lining soft ; intestine of moderate
length, rather wide ; cceca large, oblong.
Nostrils linear-elliptical or oblong, half-closed by a membrane.
Eyes of moderate size ; eyelids bare, unless at the margin.
Feet short ; tarsus feathered one-third down, rather stout,
with seven very broad scutella. Toes small, broad beneath ;
the first very small, the third longest, the fourth longer than
the second, and reversed. Claws rather small, arched, much
compressed, laterally grooved, acute.
Plumage soft and blended ; the feathers ovate, with a short
plumule. Wings of moderate length, pointed, with twenty
quills ; primaries tapering and rounded, the first a third shorter
than the second, the third longest ; secondaries short, broad,
rounded. Tail very long, graduated, of ten feathers.
This genus differs from Cuculus chiefly in having the bill
more arched, the nostrils linear in place of elliptical, and with-
out a prominent margin, and the tail composed of ten instead
of twelve feathers.
137
COCCYZUS AMERICANUS. THE YELLOW-
BILLED COWCOW.
CAROLINA CUCKOO. COWBIRD. RAIN-CROW.
Cuculus americaaus. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 170.
Cuculus americanus. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 219.
Cuculus carolinensis. Wils. Amer. Orn. IV. 13.
Coccyzus americanus. Audub. Synops. 187.
Coccyzus americanus. Carolina Cuckoo. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 155.
Bill brownish-black above, yellow beneath ; plumage of the
upper parts light greenish-brown, the head tinged with grey, of
the lower parts silvery white ; tail-feathers, the middle excepted^
brownish-black, tipped with white.
Male. — This elegantly formed but plainly coloured bird has
occurred so seldom in Britain, that I am obliged to have re-
course to specimens from its native country, for its form and
plumage, and to the M^orks of Mr Audubon, for its habits. It
is considerably inferior in size to the Grey Cuckoo, and of a
more delicate form, having the body slender, the neck of mo-
derate length, the head rather small. The bill is slender,
considerably arched, and in all respects as described in the
generic character. The roof of the mouth is flat ; the upper
mandible very narrow toward the end, slightly concave, with
three longitudinal ridges, the lower deeply channelled. The
tongue is very slender, ten and a half twelfths long, horny in
the greater part of its length, with the edges lacerated, and the
tip rather acute. On the tarsi, which are short, and rather
stout, are seven very large scutella, which almost meet behind ;
the first toe has six, the second eight, the third twelve, the
fourth sixteen scutella ; the toes are small, and the claws
slender and somewhat bluntly pointed. The plumage is blended,
on the upper parts somewhat compact and glossy. The third
]38 COCCYZUS AMERICANUS.
quill is longest, the second and fifth are nearly equal, and the
first is as long as the seventh. The lateral tail-feathers are
two inches and a quarter shorter than the middle.
The upper mandible is brownish-black, its basal margins
and nearly the whole of the lower mandible yellow, of which
colour also is the bare space about the eye. The iris is hazel,
the tarsi and toes are greyish-blue, the claws black. The gene-
ral colour of the upper parts is light greenish-brown, the head
tinged with grey ; that of the lower greyish or silvery white,
the inner webs of the quills are brownish-orange. The tail-
feathers, the two middle excepted, which are coloured like the
back, are brownish -black, tipped with white, of which colour
is nearly the whole outer web of the lateral feathers.
Length to end of tail 12h inches ; extent of wings 16 ; bill
along the ridge i^| ; along the edge of lower mandible 1 ^% ;
wing from flexure 5^% ; tail 5/^ ; tarsus 1 ; hind toe j%, its
claw I'g ; second toe j\^ its claw j% ; fourth toe j\, its claw
j% ; fifth toe 11, its claw {Vj.
Female. — The female resembles the male in colour, and is
little inferior in size. One which I examined for Mr Audubon
had the oesophagus three inches and seven twelfths long, six
twelfths wide at the commencement, gradually diminishing to
four twelfths ; the proventriculus five twelfths in breadth ; the
stomach very large, broadly elliptical, compressed, an inch and
two twelfths long, one inch in breadth ; its walls extremely
thin, its muscular coat being formed of a single series of small
fasciculi. Being distended with remains of insects, and a great
quantity of hairs, it seemed to occupy almost the whole cavity
of the abdomen beyond the sternum. The inner coat, or epi-
thelium was soft, destitute of rugae, red, and stuck over with
some of the same kind of hairs as those intermixed with the
remains of the insects. The proventricular glands large, cylin-
drical, forming a belt about nine twelfths broad. The pylorus
extremely small, with a thickened margin ; the intestine four-
teen inches and three quarters long, its width from three and
a quarter twelfths to two and a half twelfths ; the coeca one
inch and eight twelfths long, oblong, narrow at the commence-
YELLOW-BILLED COWCOW. 139
ment ; the cloaca oblong. The digestive organs are thus in
all respects precisely similar to those of the European Grey
Cuckoo.
Length to end of tail llf inches ; to end of wings 9 ; extent
of wings log ; wing from flexure 5j% ; tail 5j\.
Habits. — The Yellow-billed Cowcow is distributed over the
United States of America from Texas to Nova Scotia, and ex-
tends into the interior as far as the Rocky Mountains. It breeds
in all these districts, which it visits from March to May, re-
tiring about the middle of autumn, although some remain in
Florida through the winter. Its habits have been described
by Wilson, and Mr Audubon ; but in the works of the latter
observer are found many particulars relative to its manners and
organization not contained in that of the former. To him
therefore I have recourse for the following condensed notice
respecting it. Moving with a rapid and silent flight from one
place to another, it wends its way with ease among the bran-
ches, occasionally inclining its body to either side. When
migrating southward, it flies high, in loose flocks, but arrives
singly in spring, the males preceding the females. Its notes
resemble the word cote, repeated eight or ten times, whence its
name of Cowcow or Cowbird. It feeds on insects and larvse,
occasionally on eggs of small birds ; and, in its turn, often falls
a prey to the Pigeon Hawk. Berries of many kinds, as well
as grapes, aftbrd an abundant supply of food in autumn. On
the ground " they are extremely awkward at walking, and
move in an ambling manner, or leap along sidewise, for which
the shortness of their legs is ample excuse."" The nest is flat,
formed of sticks and grass, and placed on a horizontal branch,
often not far above the ground. The eggs, four or five, are
bright green, and of an elongated oval form.
In June 1837, Mr Audubon visited at Charleston, the
grounds of Mr Rhett, to examine a nest of this species, in which
were found two young birds nearly able to fly, which scrambled
off" among the branches, but were caught ; three others, all of
diiFerent sizes, one apparently just hatched, another probably
several days old, the third, covered with pin-feathers ; lastly,
140 COCCYZUS AMERICAN US.
two eggs, one containing a chick, the other newly laid. Mr
Rhett stated that in another nest " eleven young birds had
been successively hatched and reared by the same pair, in one
season, and that young birds and eggs were to be seen in it at
the same time for many weeks in succession." Dr T. M.
Brewer, of Boston, corroborates this statement, observing that
" the female evidently commences incubation immediately
after laying her first egg. Thus 1 have found in the nest of
both our Cuckoos one egg quite fresh, while in another the
chick will be just bursting the shell ; and again, I have found
an egg just about to be hatched, while others are already so,
and some of the young even about to fly."
Now the stomach of both this species and the Black-billed,
which incubate and rear their young, being as large as that of
our European Cuckoo, and their food the same, namely hairy
worms and insects, the reasoning founded on these facts to ex-
plain the peculiar habits of the latter bird, is obviously false.
This succession of eggs and young in the same nest at consi-
derable intervals, is one of the most curious phenomena in the
history of birds, and nearly as marvellous as that which has
rendered so celebrated the Grey Cuckoo.
An individual of this species was killed in the preserves of
Lord Cawdor, in Wales, in the autumn of 1882, and is now
in the museum of the Zoological Society of London. Another
is stated to have been obtained in Cornwall, and Ireland has
furnished two more. The species thus merely ranks with us
as a very rare straggler.
Remarks. — Mr Jenyns calls the tarsi of this bird " long,"
although by his own statement they measure not quite an inch.
In the second part of a popular compilation entitled " The
Natural History of the Birds of Great Britain and Ireland,"
published in October 1839, it is said that " for all that we
know of its habits we are indebted to Alexander Wilson."
On the contrary, all that is related above of its habits is derived
from John James Audubon.
HI
PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY.
EIGHTH LESSON.
EAGLE-SHOOTING. ORGANS OF SENSATION OF THE RAPACIOUS BIRDS j
STRUCTURE OF THE EYE, NASAL PASSAGES, EAR, AND TONGUE. OR-
GANS OF RESPIRATION OF VULTURES, HAWKS, AND OWLS.
Having examined the series of land birds characterized by
their habit of walking or leaping on the ground or on trees,
when searching for their food, we now come to those which, in
pursuing their prey, are incapable of advancing through the
instrumentality of what anatomists call their sacral extremi-
ties, but trust entirely to those named the atlantal, although
generally they can hop or hobble on the ground, and a few
perform there a kind of locomotion not altogether unworthy of
being called walking.
It is now the early part of summer, and we have anticipated
the sun, for while with our guns we advance along the hill side,
he still lingers behind the grey mass of granite that obstructs
our View of the Minsh. The sandy pastures have assumed a
lively tint of green, the yellow pilewort and pink-tipped daisy
are scattered profusely around, and the Draba verna strives,
half in vain, to ornament the turf of the rude stone-wall, on
which are seen a pair of Wheatears, anxious for the safety of
their not yet finished nest. Although the Golden Plovers
have betaken themselves to the moors, and the Redwings
have fled to the north, the mellow notes of the gentle Ring
Dottrel come from the pebbly beach, the cry of the Cuckoo
is heard on the hill, the Snipe drums away on rapid wing,
and the little bays are filled with flocks of Terns, screaming
joyously as they pursue the shoals of sand-eels. Hark to the
cry of the Corn Crake issuing apparently from that patch of
142 PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY.
yellow iris, whose light green leaves are scarcely yet long
enough to conceal it ; and now bursts from the summit of that
moss-clad crag, projecting from the granite vein, the mellow
song of the ever-welcome Thrush.
Here on the shore the rocks are clad with a profusion of
scurvy-grass, rose-root, and beautiful tufts of sea-pink. Flocks
of llock Doves, mixed with Starlings, issue from the coves at
the base of the tall cliff, which seems to frown in scorn on the
sullen waves that in vain strive to scale its sides, as they rush
gloomily in from the Atlantic. The sun now shoots its bright
beams across the shelves of the gneiss rock ; having reached
the margin of which, let us ascend some hundred yards, and
cast our eyes over the wide waste of waters. Far away in the
north-west are the dimly-discovered hummocks named the
Flannan Isles ; nearer is the rock of Gaskir, the resort of
multitudes of seals ; and still nearer, though yet many miles
distant, the little group of the Glorik Rocks, on which thou-
sands of Gulls and Terns rear their young, usually in security,
though sometimes plundered by the prowling crew of one of
the few boats that venture far upon those desolate seas, where
the sight of a ship is a phenomenon that calls forth the admi-
ration of the shepherd, as he rests by the mountain cairn. The
frolicsome lambkins chase each other around their dams that
are quietly grazing among the heath. See, here is a skin,
with the skull and legs appended, — all that has been left by
some hungry polecat or raven. Take care, good pupil, for
being literally on the brink of a precipice, with about a hun-
dred feet below you the nest of an Eagle, which is itself at
least four hundred feet from the water, should you slip, you
will spoil our sport.
Surely this heap of stones must be artificial, and yet of
what use can it be ? That you will find out presently, but in
the meantime pull from its side the bunch of heather and get
in, while I expose the dead sheep that has been left here on
purpose. Now, good pupil, here we are, in the bosom of
mother earth ; sit thee down, put thy gun in trim, rest its
muzzle on the edge of that hole, point it at the dead sheep,
EAGLE SHOOTING. 143
and fall not asleep, while I read a page or two of this choice
book. The eagle has not yet come abroad, and possibly the
first thing to attract his notice may be this very carcass.
" The Golden Eagle has ever been associated with majesty
or nobility ; in ancient mythology, an eagle was alone thought
worthy to bear the thunder of Jove. By rude and savage
nations he is combined with courage and independence. The
young Indian warrior glories in his eagle's plume as the most
distinguished ornament with which he can adorn himself. The
dress of the Highland chieftain is incomplete without this
badge of high degree. And if, by the trammels of system
(which, nevertheless, is indispensable, when the number of
objects to be arranged exceeds eight thousand) we are forced
to place him in an aberrant or less honourable situation, yet,
when met with on his native mountains, free and uncontrolled,
we cannot refuse the tribute which has been rendered to him
by our predecessors."" That we sha'n't. Let him but present
himself, and he shall have a tribute of buckshot. But here in
the bag are some remaining leaves of another valuable book,
and as fortune favours the brave, so here we have a sketch of
the Golden Eagle. " Their feathers are tinted and tempered
in the fury of the blast ; and they acquire not their full depth
and lustre till they have borne that for four successive winters ;
and so it would be vain to hope that we could either obtain or
preserve them in confinement." Come, mind your gun, and
don't stare at me. I read fairly. " Her strength of endurance
also enables her to keep her footing and preserve her existence,
under circumstances to which the powers and the life of almost
any other animal would be obliged to yield. The same elastic
ligament, which, of its own nature, and without effort from
the bird, compresses her toes in clutching, enables her to cling
to the pinnacle of the rock, and to cling the more firmly the
ruder the blast. The claws are not used in those cases, as that
would injure their points and unfit them for their proper func-
tions ; but the pads and tubercles hold on upon places where
the foot of all else would give way ; and the Eagle sits with
closed wings and close plumage, as if part of the rock itself,
while the wind roars and the snow drives, tearing the bushes
144 PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY.
from their roots, sending them rolling over the precipices, and
literally scourging the wilderness with ruin. The strength of
the hill ox, the fleetness of the mountain deer, and the re-
sources of the mountain traveller, are often unavailing ; and
when the storm breaks, the signal of the raven and the crow
points out the place of their bones ; but the bones of the eagle
are not thus given by nature to be tugged at by ignoble birds.
Queen of the tempest, she rides as secure amid its fury, as
when, on a cloudless and breezeless day, she floats down the
valley with easy and almost motionless wing." This may
be poetry, but, sure I am, it is not natural history. I have
seen an Eagle abroad in a tempest, on this very coast, and a
sad time she had of it, for when the blast came upon her una-
wares, she was driven about by it, with ruffled feathers, until
she recovered her position and faced the wind. While all the
time a Raven and some Gulls seemed to enjoy the exercise of
labouring with strong beats against the breeze, then with up-
turned side giving way to it, bearing up again in an eddy,
now shooting high, then slanting downward, the Eagle was
glad to make the best of her way to a shelf of the rock. I
have seen storms here, that constrained the very Cormorants
and Rock Doves to remain for days in their caves, and then,
be assured, no Eagle was abroad.
A Black-backed Gull has alighted near the carcass. How
prettily it walks with its small steps as it eyes the carrion
with apparently some apprehension. Do you think it smells
us 2 Shall I fire ? — No, it will help to entice the Eagle,
which may observe it from a distance. The Gull sees some-
thing, as you may perceive by its turning its head to one side,
and looking wistfully upwards. Heard you not the croak of
the Raven ? Ah I there thou art, thou old prowler ! Many
hard winters hast thou struggled through, and yet there thou
art as grave and fierce as ever, with thy glossy plumes glit-
tering in the morning sun. Approach, fear not, for thou
shalt receive no harm. There he stands on a tuft, eyeing the
dead sheep, and now bending his body forward, he croaks
aloud. Presently his mate will be here. The Eagle too,
knows the signal croak of the Raven. Should he come, let
EAGLE SHOOTING. 143
him settle on the carcase, and then let fly. In the meantime
it is amusing to watch the carrion birds. The Gull walKs
about, scarcely venturing a tug, but the Raven, alightmg on
the head, strives to pick out an eye, which he has now done.
Having gulped it down, he croaks again, and is joined by an-
other. They tear up the flesh in morsels, and seem to enjoy
their good fortune, yet not without fear., for every now and
then they listen and cast a glance around. — There, they are
all off. Some sudden alarm. Have they not smelt us ? — No,
they have seen a dog, or a shepherd, or an Eagle ; they have
not gone far. — Beautiful bird ! thou wert worthy of being
the thunder-bearer of Jupiter ! There thou standest perched
on the ribs of that dead sheep, and gatherest up thy large
wings, and erectest thyself, casting a glance of pride on those
birds which thy presence has awed. — But the explosion puts
an end to admiration, and the smoke has obscured the view ;
let us out, and see what the buckshot has done to those " mus-
cles which are as firm as pieces of cable, and their tendons
almost as rigid as dried cat-gut."
Returning fi-om this imaginative digression, we may now ex-
amine the organs of sense in a bird of the rapacious family.
One well suited for this purpose is the common Buzzard,
which is sufficiently large to enable us to see the difi'erent parts
of the organs in a satisfactory manner, and not so rare but that
a person desirous of verifying our observations may contrive to
procure a specimen. In the head of this bird, of which one
has just arrived from Dr Robertson of Dunkeld, Plate XVII,
Fig. 1, we observe externally, the upper mandible, a; the
lower mandible, b ; the tongue, c, with the aperture of the
windpipe at its base ; the palate, d, having in its median line,
the long slit, placed opposite the aperture of the glottis, and
into which, when the mouth is shut, the air passes into the
canal of the nose ; the cere, e, or bare skin at the base of the
upper mandible, in which are perforated the nostrils ; then the
eyes, over which are the supraocular ridges ; and lastly, the
external aperture of the ear, concealed among the plumage.
Let us now examine these parts in succession.
VOL. III. I,
146 PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY.
The Eye. — The aperture left between the eyelids, when the
bird is awake, is of a circular form, half an inch in diameter.
There are two canthi, or angles, slightly marked, an anterior
or inner, and a posterior or outer. Of the eye itself the cornea,
or transparent part, projects considerably, and through it we
perceive the iris, an annular membrane of a yellow colour,
surrounding a circular space, the pupil, through which the
black colour of the interior of the eye is seen. The eye is de-
fended externally by the Eyelids, of which there are two, an
upper and a lower. Over the latter is a thin ridge, projecting
horizontally, and named, from its position, the Supraocular
Hidge. It is produced by a thin flat bone, appended to the
frontal, and at its outer edge is covered by a dense bare skin,
like the cere. The Upper Eyelid is formed externally of skin,
covered with small soft feathers, internally of a thin layer of a
fibrous structure, and a delicate membrane continuous with
that of the anterior surface of the eyeball, and therefore named
the conjunctiva. It has a bare crenate margin, fringed exter-
nally with small bristles, which are the prolonged shafts of fea-
thers. This eyelid is very thin, having no cartilage, and so
narrow as not to cover more than a fourth of the eye when
closed. The Loicer Eyelid is much larger, covers three-fourths
of the eye, and is similarly constructed, but on turning it out.
Fig. 2, so as to examine its inner surface, wo find interposed
between the fibrous layer and the conjunctiva, a concave,
yellowish-white, dense, thin, flexible, cartilaginous plate, of a
circular form, which, when the lid is raised, exactly covers
the cornea or transparent part of the eye. Its principal object
seems to be to give firmness to the eyelid ; but may it not also
be intended to prevent, when the bird is asleep, the transmis-
sion of light through it I The eyelids are closed by means of a
thin orbicular muscle, which surrounds the eye, and is attached
to the inner edge of the orbit. A small muscle, the levator
palpebral superioris, arising from the upper part of the orbit
internally, and attached to the hind part of the upper eyelid,
raises it up. The lower eyelid is depressed or drawn down by
a corresponding muscle, the depressor palpebrw in/erioris.
STRUCTURE OF THE EYE. 147
Removing these parts, we come next to a membrane lying
in its folded state, Fig. 4-, along the upper and fore edge of the
eye, but capable of being stretched out so as entirely to cover
the external surface of the organ. Fig. 3 represents this organ,
the Membrana nictitans, which is formed by a reduplication of
the tunica conjunctiva, and is frequently designated by authors
as a third eyelid. The lower eyelid turned down is seen at a ;
the posterior bony edge of the orbit at h, the eyeball covered
by the conjunctiva at c, the cornea, through which are seen
the iris and pupil, at d. The nictitant membrane, e f g, is
drawn over two-thirds of the eye. It is seen to advance back-
wards in an oblique manner, with a semicircular edge, and
having at its lower part a very slender tendon, which passes
over the edge of the eyeball, in a sheath. But to understand
this mechanism, we must remove the eye, carefully separating
its muscles. In Fig. 6 is seen a small triangular muscle, «,
named the pyramidalis, arising from the lower and fore part
of the back of the eyeball, and of which the tendon curves over
the optic nerve, and passing downwards over the edge of the
eyeball, ascends in front, and is found to be that of the nicti-
tant membrane, wdiich we were tracing. This position of the
pyramidalis is perhaps rendered necessary by the great extent
of the movement of the nictitant membrane, the tendon of
wdiich, unless curved, would be too long to be conveniently
disposed of. But the optic nerve, being immediately below
the curve of the tendon, would be liable to be injured by it,
were it not for a peculiar contrivance. A broad thin muscle,
b, of a somewhat square shape, and therefore named quadratus^
arises from the upper part of the posterior surface of the eye-
ball, proceeds downwards and backwards, and terminates in a
thin edge, of ligamentous tissue, in which is a sheath, for the
reception of the tendon of the pyramidalis. The quadratus
muscle acting simultaneously with the pyramidalis, the tendon
of the latter is carried in an arch quite clear of the optic nerve.
The nictitant membrane being attached by its upper and ante-
rior margin to the eyeball, and folding up in consequence chiefly
of its elasticity, and partly by the action of some muscular fibres,
forms no impediment to the motions of the eyeball. To bring
148 PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY.
it over the eye eftectually and expeditiously, so as not to obstruct
vision for an instant, the tendon attached to its free or poste-
rior edge might be placed high toward the outer edge of the
orbit ; but when the membrane was retracted, the tendon would
be across the eye, or would require some mechanism inconsis-
tent with the free use of these parts. The tendon is therefore
carried over the edge of the eyeball, and as it must be drawn
upwards, it is attached to a muscle, the quadratus, placed high
on the eyeball ; but as this direct connexion would leave the
tendon too short, it is continued farther, curves downward, and
ends in another muscle placed near the lower and anterior edge
of the eyeball. The uses of the membrana nictitans are to
clear the eye of extraneous objects, as dust, accidentally intro-
duced, to moisten its surface by diffusing the lachrymal fluid
over it, and occasionally to protect it from the light.
Having removed from the orbit, or cavity in which it was
contained, the Eyeball, we observe that it is of enormous size
in proportion to that of a quadruped, being an inch and one
eighth in diameter. Its form is not globular, but composed of
two segments of unequal spheres, and an intermediate portion.
Viewed anteriorly. Fig, 5, it presents the transparent con-
vex cornea, the iris and pupil ; a dark coloured rim to which the
cornea is attached, like a watch-glass in its case, then a circle of
bony plates, included in the fore part of the rough glistening
membrane, or sclerotica, which bounds the posterior part of
the eye. Viewed from behind, Fig. 6, it presents a small
segment of a large sphere formed by the sclerotic coat, the optic
nerve, cut across at its entrance into the eye, and the muscles
by which the eyeball is moved. Of these there are six, four
straight, and two oblique. The recti, or straight muscles,
arise from the bottom of the orbit, around the aperture for
the passage of the optic nerve, and are attached to the eye by
thin tendons, of which the fibres blend with those of the scle-
rotic coat. The rectus superior, marked c, by pulling down the
upper edge of the eyeball, directs the axis of the eye upwards,
and is thus named attollens oculi. The rectus inferior, or depri-
meus, d, has the opposite eifect. The rectus posticus, exter-
ntis, or ahducens, e, directs the axis of the eye outwards, while
STRUCTURE OF THE EYE. 149
the rectus anticus^ internus, or adducetis, f, directs it forwards.
Acting simultaneously, these muscles would by compressing
the sclerotic coat, produce an effect upon the internal parts
which will be afterwards explained. The two oblique muscles
arise from the inner or fore part of the walls of the orbit, and
are inserted in the same manner as the recti : the ohliquus
superior, g, and ohliquus inferior^ /^, of which the action is to
direct the eye forwards.
Viewing the eyeball laterally, as in Fig. 7, we observe that
its posterior surface forms the segment of a sphere, of which
the radius is seven and a half twelfths of an inch, while the
anterior or transparent part forms the half of a sphere, of which
the radius is three twelfths and a half. These two segments
are united by an intervening portion, convex in the greater
part of its extent, but concave toward the anterior part. We
have now to examine the structure of the ball of the eye.
The dense membrane or coat which inverts the posterior part
of the eye, as far as the cornea, b b, is named the Tunica scle-
rotica, on account of its comparative hardness. It is rather
thin, firm, somewhat elastic, and of a glistening bluish white
colour. Although, according to authors, divisible into three
layers, it seems to me to be separable into two only, of which
the inner is transparent, and of an almost horny hardness. But
at its anterior part, c c, it is strengthened by a broad belt, com-
posed of a series of distinct flat bones, overlapping each other
by their edges, and interposed between the inner and outer
membranes. At the anterior edge of this bony circle, the
membranous structure is resumed ; and lastly, there is a thick-
ened margin of the same nature, but of a dark colour, h b, to
which the remaining convex part of the outer coat of the eye
is attached.
Before describing the sclerotic bones, we may examine this
anterior membrane, b b b, which, on account of its bearing some
resemblance to clear horn, is named the Tunica cornea. It is
of considerable thickness, and has its outer and inner layers of
denser structure than the intervening portion. Being per-
fectly transparent, it allows the free transmission of the rays
of light to the interior of the eye. It is so firmly attached to
150 PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY.
the anterior edge of the sclerotica as to seem continuous with
it ; but some have supposed it to be inserted as if into a groove.
The Sclerotic Bones, represented by Fig. 8, are in this eye
fifteen in number, and, aUhough not precisely equal in size,
arranged in a particular manner. The lowermost, a, overlaps
those next to it with both its margins ; the next on the right
hand overlaps by its right margin its successor, and all the rest
lie in the same relative position, to the number in all of nine,
exclusive of the first, until we come to that marked c, which
is analogous to a, being overlapped by those on each side of it.
From a to c, there are only four, exclusive of these two, which
overlap it in the same manner as the nine on the other side,
but in the contrary direction. The bone opposite to a is h, and
were the arrangement symmetrical, ought to be the central ;
but the two key-bones of the arch, a and c, are not opposite to
each other.
Let us now make a vertical section of the eyeball, and take
note of the appearances disclosed, Fig. 9. Here we observe
first the external coat, the sclerotica, a ; within it a delicate layer,
the choroid coa^, covered with a dusky substance, the pifjmentum
nigrum, b ; anteriorly, and commencing at the posterior edge
of the sclerotic bones, a zone having a plaited or fibrous ap-
pearance, c, which at its anterior margin is attached to the
lens, d, a round, considerably flattened, transparent body ; then
another zone coming off near the base of the cornea, or the iris,
e, having a circular hole in its centre, the pupil ; and, lastly,
the anterior transparent coat of the eye, or the cornea, f.
The optic nerve is seen at g, penetrating the sclerotic coat, en-
tering an oblique sheath, and reappearing internally in a nar-
row slit, h ; from the side of which rises an elongated plaited
membrane, /, named the pecten. The optic nerve, on entering
the eye, expands into a very delicate pulpy layer named the
retina, or net, which how^ever is not a very appropriate term,
it being not a piece of net-work, but a delicate pulpy substance.
This internal cavity of the eyeball is filled with fluid con-
tained in a filmy transparent membrane. The space behind
the lens, d, is occupied by a fluid named the vitreous, ©r glassy ;
and that anterior to the lens is filled by another named the
STRUCTURE OF THE EYE. 151
aqueous, or watery, which is divided into two portions by the
iris ; the space from which to the cornea, f, is named the aii-
terior chamber of the aqueous humour, while that from the cor-
nea to the lens, d, is named its posterior chamber. Let us now
examine these parts a little more minutely.
The Choroid Membrane, 6 &, is a filmy layer, which lies im-
mediately within the sclerotic, and extends as far forward as
the ciliarif circle, c. It is profusely covered with a substance
of the colour of China ink, named the pigment.
Within the choroid coat is the Betina, which is the pulpy
expansion of the optic nerve, and the seat of the sensation of
sight. It extends over the greater part of the choroid coat,
but being extremely delicate, is apt to be in a great measure
destroyed in examining the parts. As already mentioned, the
optic nerve, g, in entering the eye becomes suddenly attenuated,
and presents itself internally of a linear form, in a fissure of
the membrane, h, from which the retina expands.
At this point is a body or part peculiar to the class of birds,
varying in form and extent in the different species ; but in the
Buzzard, presenting the appearance of a delicate membrane,
nearly four-twelfths of an inch long, three-twelfths in height,
and composed of twenty plaits, disposed in the manner of a
frill or ruffle. On this membrane, once considered as muscular,
and named the onusculus pectinatiis, are ramified the branches
of the ophthalmic artery, which enter along with the optic
nerve. Its uses are not known.
Opposite the posterior margin of the circle of sclerotic bones,
the choroid membrane divides into two laminre, of which the
inner becomes much thicker, and forms a broad zone of radi-
ating fibres or plicae, covered with black pigment, and of which
the central extremities adhere to the lens. This zone, c, is
named the Ciliary Circle. The outer layer of the choroid mem-
brane proceeds forward, and unites with the Iris, e, which is a
broad zone, composed of fibres, of which those of its outer part ra-
diate toward the pupil, while the inner, or those surrounding the
pupil, are circular. This membrane is extremely contractile and
dilatable. When the radiating fibres contract, the pupil is enlarg-
ed, and when the circular fibres contract, it is reduced in size.
152 PRACTICAL ORxMTIIOLOGY.
We have still to examine the fluids or humours of the eye,
of which there are three.
The vitreous Jmmour, which fills the space behind the lens and
ciliary zone, is a transparent, somewhat gelatinous watery fluid,
enclosed in a membrane, named the hyaloid, and intersected by
filmy laminae or cellules, so that an incision into the mem-
brane does not cause the whole of the fluid to escape. The
pecten projects into the midst of this humour, generally termi-
nating somewhat behind the lens, but sometimes reaching it.
The chry stall ine humour is that which, with its capsule, con-
stitutes the lens. This body is of a round, somewhat flattened
form, its posterior surface more convex than the anterior.
Fig. 10, a, represents it as viewed laterally ; h, as seen from
before. Its capsule, or coat, is much denser than that of the
other humours. Although the contents of this capsule are
fluid, the central parts are much denser than those toward the
exterior.
The aqueous humour^ or that which fills the part anterior to
the lens, is perfectly limpid, and, like the vitreous, enclosed in
a delicate capsule or membrane.
Omitting here any account of the blood-vessels and nerves
with which the eye is supplied, I may briefly explain the man-
ner in which vision is effected. The retina, or expansion of
the optic nerve, at the bottom of the eye, is the part which
gives the sensation of light ; and the other parts of the eye are
intended for collecting and modifying the rays emanating from
objects, so as to produce, through the retina, an image of these
objects. Kays of light being deflected from their course in
passing from a rarer into a denser medium, those proceeding
from an object, and passing through the cornea, are made to
converge in a small degree. If the rays are too numerous or
intense, they are diminished by the contraction of the pupil,
which, on the other hand, enlarges when the rays are scanty
and the light feeble. The rays to which the pupil gives ad-
mittance now penetrate the chrystalline lens, which being a
dense body with two convex surfaces, refracts them so as to
cause them rapidly to converge as they traverse the vitreous
humour. The parts of the organ are so adjusted that the focus
STRUCTURE OF THE EYE. ]53
or point at which the rays meet falls exactly on the surface of
the retina at the bottom of the eye. The whole surface of the
posterior chamber of the eye being lined with a black^sub-
stauce, absorbs all the rays that would otherwise by being re-
flected cause an indistinctness in the image produced. The
objects placed within the range of vision are represented on the
retina in an inverted position ; and many physiologists have
supposed that it is the picture on the retina that is perceived
by the sensoriura ; hence they have puzzled themselves to ac-
count for the erect appearance of erect objects ; but there is no
reason whatever for imagining that the picture which we per-
ceive formed on the retina of an eye of which a portion of the
sclerotic and choroid coats have been cut out, is what in the
natural state of the organ is observed by the mind. All that
can be safely said on the subject is simply that the rays of
light reflected from objects are in the eye arranged so as to
produce on the delicate expansion of the retina an impression
which is conveyed by the optic nerve to the sensorium.
The eyes of birds vary considerably in form, the convexity
of the cornea and lens being greater or less, and the proportions
of the other parts undergoing alterations. Thus in Owls, the
sclerotic zone is so large as to occupy more than a third of the
length of the eyeball, to which it gives somewhat of a cylin-
drical form. In the Pelicans, the sclerotic zone is narrow, and
the cornea much less convex than in Hawks and Owls. But the
manner in which the focus of distinct vision is adapted to dis-
tant and near objects is not well understood, and at all events
does not at present require our attention. The degree of con-
vexity of the cornea cannot have much effect, and does not
appear to be liable to much alteration in the same individual ;
but if the convexity of the lens may be increased or diminished,
or its distance from the retina altered, the eye can obviously be
thus adapted to various distances.
There still remain to be noticed some clandular organs,
which are situated within the orbit. The lachrymal gland,
which is situated near the outer angle of the eye, is of a some-
what elliptical form, and small size. The fluid which it secretes
having moistened the surface of the cornea, is received into two
154 PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY.
minute apertures at the inner angle, which lead to a short duct
that conveys it to the nasal cavity. The Harderian gland is
larger, composed of a cluster of lobules or mucous follicles, and
is situated near the inner angle of the eye. Its fluid, which is
poured out by a single duct opening beneath the nictitant mem-
brane, also serves to moisten the eye.
The Organ of Smell. — Let us now make a vertical section
of the head, in the direction of its middle line. We thus obtain
a view of the brain, the walls of the cranium, the septum be-
tween the eyes, the cavity of the nose, and the cells of the man-
dible, together with some other parts. The olfactory or first
pair of nerves are those by which the impressions of odorous
particles are conveyed to the brain. Their filaments are dispersed
over a delicate vascular membrane, which lines the interior of
the nose, and is enlarged by being extended over certain pro-
minences named the turbinated bones.
In this section then, Plate XVIII, Fig. 1, we observe the
walls of the cranium, varying greatly in thickness, abed;
the brain, divided into the cerebellum situated below and
seeming to form the larger portion, from atob; the cerebrum,
or upper portion b c ; and the optic lobe in front, between
these two portions, e. The cerebrum is by far the largest por-
tion of the brain, it being more extended in breadth than the
cerebellum. Besides these parts are seen : the pharynx or
passage from the mouth into the gullet, f\ the aperture of the
glottis, g ; the tongue, h, with the right branch of the hyoid
bone at its base ; the median outline of the palate, ij k. The
passage from the posterior aperture of the nares, ij, opening
opposite the glottis, g, is seen extending obliquely upwards
and forwards, taking a somewhat winding direction, to the
nostril, /. In the upper part of this cavity, which is enlarged,
and recedes backward from the nostril, are three prominences :
one of a somewhat roundish form, m, hollow, membranous,
nearest the brain, and placed opposite the anterior part of the
orbit ; one of an elongated form, lying in the direction of the
nasal passage, formed of a somewhat cartilaginous plate, n,
once rolled upon itself, and by its upper edge attached to the
ORGAN OF SMELL. 155
outer wall of the nasal cavity ; and a very small fold, o, close
upon the nostril.
On the surface of these parts is extended a delicate vascular
membrane, bedewed with a mucous fluid. The nasal cavities
are separated by a septum, which is covered with the same
membrane. The prominences, m n o, are attached to the outer
wall, not to the septum. Although the analogous parts in the
mammalia are supported by osseous plates, named turbinated
bones, these prominences being always membranous or cartila-
ginous in birds, ought to be named turbinated bodies, rather
than bones. The olfactory nerve comes off from the anterior
prominence of the cerebrum, at p, proceeds directly forwards
in a bony tube, and entering the cavity of the nose at m, is
distributed upon the upper turbinated body, and the septum
of the nostrils. The passage from the posterior nares to the
anterior is subservient to respiration. Its upper part, from m
to 0, being formed as in the mammalia, in which observation
and experiment have shewn it to be the seat of smell, must be
subservient to the same purpose. But although the parts are
thus obviously adapted for the perception of odours, it does not
appear that birds possess that faculty in a very remarkable
degree. It is indeed doubtful whether it be of any use to them
in discovering their food.
No bird is destitute of eyes, or furnished only with imper-
fect organs of sight ; but there are birds in which the nostrils
are wanting, as I have ascertained by careful dissection. Such
are the Gannets and Cormorants.
Besides the olfactory nerve, there is seen passing across the
nasal cavity, a nerve, e m Jc, much larger than the olfactory. It
is a branch of the fifth pair, which coming off from that nerve
presently after it emerges from the brain, passes obliquely up-
wards and forwards, crosses externally the olfactory nerve at
its entrance into the nasal cavity, then descends, crosses that
cavity, and entering amidst the cellules of the upper jaw,
divides into numerous filaments, which are distributed chiefly
to the roof of the mouth. It is probably subservient to the
sense of taste.
156 PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY.
The Ear. — In the Buzzard, as in all the birds of the Fal-
conine family, the external aperture of the ear is of an elliptical
form. Its margin is fringed with slender feathers, of which
the anterior lie over and protect it from injury, or prevent
the entrance of dust or other objects. From this external
fringed aperture. Fig. 2, a b, which we slit open behind, there
proceeds obliquely backwards a short passage, the Meatus
auditorius externus^ having at its base anteriorly an elliptical
space, c, covered with skin. Immediately behind this, and
placed obliquely so as to incline backwards and outwards, is a
delicate, semitransparent membrane, d, of an elliptical form,
about four and a half twelfths of an inch in its greatest dia-
meter, convex externally, or rather presenting the appearance
of a short cone, its apex being supported by a small bone placed
internally. In the natural state of the parts, this membrane is
concealed by a muscle, e, inserted into the lower jaw, and here
cut across and put aside. From its resemblance to the parch-
ment of a drum or tambour, stretched in a circular frame, it is
named the Memhrana tympani. Behind it is a cavity, of the
same width at first, but gradually, though irregularly narrow-
ing. This cavity, named the Tympanum, or drum of the ear,
is lined with a delicate membrane, and, although closed by the
membrana tympani externally, communicates with the external
air by means of a bony canal, the Eustachian tuhe^ which opens
into the hind part of the posterior aperture of the nares. It
also communicates by three apertures with the cells in the sub-
stance of the cranium, and by two is connected with the more
internal parts of the organ. The cavity of the tympanum con-
tains air. There is situated in it a slender bone, of which the
base, a roundish flattened disk, fills one of the two apertures
above mentioned, while the tip, having three cartilaginous pro-
cesses attached to it, rests against the membrana tympani, and
causes it to protrude. It is moved by a slender muscle attached
to its outer extremity, and counteracted by two tendinous cords.
The internal cavity of the ear, which is filled or bedewed with
an aqueous fluid, is of an irregular form, and communicates
with three curved bony tubes, lined with a membrane, and
ORGANS OF TASTE AND TOUCH. 157
filled with fluid. These are named the Semicircular Canals, of
which, in this bird, the largest is the posterior, or superior, f^
and has a vertical position ; the anterior, g, is next in size,
and in crossing the middle one, h, communicates with it. At
their entrance into the vestibule these canals have an enlarged
space, named the Ampulla. In man and the mammalia, there
is moreover a large spiral cavity divided longitudinally by a
partition into two cavities, which communicate at the tip ; but
in the Buzzard all that represents this part is a small oblong
space, having internally two cartilaginous cylinders, which
divide it into two cells, one of which opens into the vestibule,
while the other communicates with the membrane closing the
foramen rotundum of the tympanum.
As in the eye the retina or expansion of the optic nerve re-
ceives and conveys to the brain the impression of light ; so the
delicate fibrils of the auditory nerve distributed over the inner
surface of the internal cavity of the ear, receive and impart to
the brain the impression of sounds. Bodies which emit sound
by being thrown into a state of vibration, communicate to the
air impressions causing a peculiar motion of its particles. The
air thus acted on is admitted by the external aperture of the
ear, and strikes against the membrane of the tympanum, the
slender bone attached to which communicates the impression
to the internal ear, in which the extremities of the auditory
nerve receive it, and convey it to the brain. But of the man-
ner in which the perception of sounds is effected we know
very little. Fig. 3 represents the external aperture of the ear
in the Peregrine Falcon.
Having thus partially examined the organs of sight, smell,
and hearing, we may now" advert to those of Taste and Touch.
In man and the mammalia generally, the tongue is the Organ
of Taste ; and in birds it must be so too ; but they seem to pos-
sess the faculty only in a very imperfect degree. As birds do
not masticate their food, but the moment the object or morsel
is seized, swallow it entire, their tongue is more an organ of
prehension than of taste, and is generally more or less sheathed
158 PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY.
with a horny substance, and at the base furnished with conical
papillre similarly sheathed.
As to the Organs of Touch, there seems to be no other part
than the bill that can be specially referred to as subservient to
this faculty. The skin is sentient, but receives impressions
only through the medium of the feathers. The bare skin of
the feet and cere is never employed as an organ of touch, for
which purpose it is obviously ill adapted, being generally much
thickened and callous. In all birds the bill is more or less
employed as an organ of touch, and in many, as Snipes and
Ducks, is abundantly supplied with filaments of a branch of
the fifth pair of nerves.
These observations will suffice to introduce the organs of
sense to the notice of the student of Ornithology, who, with
the aid of the treatises on Comparative Anatomy, and multi-
plied dissections made by himself, may easily acquire a suffi-
cient knowledge of the subject.
The Respiratory Organs of the Rapacious Birds may now
be briefly alluded to. I find nothing in the lungs that difters in
any remarkable degree from what is observed in the other land
birds. The trachea is, in all the species examined by me, con-
siderably flattened, of nearly uniform diameter, or somewhat
tapering, with numerous rings, which are usually slender, and
rather cartilaginous than osseous. In the Vultures, the infe-
rior larynx, Plate XIX, Fig. 1, cc, is much flattened, and the
trachea bifurcates, b, without having its last ring furnished
with a partition ; the bronchial half-rings, c d, are few and
very slender, and the lower portion of the bronchi, d e, is en-
tirely membranous. The lateral muscles, //, of the trachea
are large, and terminate in the sterno-trachealis, fg->fg-, with-
out being prolonged in part so as to form a pair of inferior
laryngeal muscles. In three respects, then, the trachea of the
Vultures differs from that of the Hawks and Owls ; namely,
in having no bone of divarication, in being destitute of inferior
laryngeal muscles, and in having a large portion of the bronchi
membranous.
RESPIRATORY ORGANS. ]59
In the Falconine Birds, or Eagles and Hawks of all kinds,
the last entire ring of the trachea. Fig. 3, is furnished with a
septum ; the lateral muscles, ij, which are generally strong,
terminate in two slips, one, j k, forming the sterno-trachealis,
the other, jf, passing to the last tracheal ring, or the mem-
brane intervening between it and the first bronchial ring. The
bronchi are furnished with slender half-rings in their whole
length, (/ h. The upper larynx. Fig. 8, has on each side of
the aperture of the glottis, an external muscle, a, the apertor,
and a smaller inferior muscle, 6, the constrictor. In this re-
spect it does not differ from that of the Vultures and Owls.
In the latter birds, the trachea is very short and wide, with
remarkably slender, cartilaginous rings, Fig. 9. The lateral
muscles, ij^ which are rather slender, divide, as in the Hawks,
into two, the sterno-tracheal, jh, and inferior laryngeal, jf.
The last entire ring has a septum, and the bronchi are very
short and wide, with slender half-rings in their whole length.
It seems difficult to conjecture why the Vultures should be,
properly speaking, destitute of inferior larynx. What is there
in their voice or respiration that renders an inferior laryngeal
muscle, or a division of the last tracheal ring, inexpedient ?
Such questions tend to shew that much remains to be studied
in the anatomy and physiology of birds.
Observations like these may appear unnecessary to the per-
sons who view birds merely as composed of skin and feathers ;
but to them I now cease from addressing myself. They will
gradually disappear from the earth, and their place will be
occupied by men who will study birds as organic beings. The
attempt which I have made to establish a rational method of
study in this most interesting department of science, however
feeble it may be, will yet form, I am well persuaded, the com-
mencement of a new era among my countrymen, whom I hope
yet to see perfecting my favourite study to such a degree as to
render these volumes antiquated and eftete. For my own part,
I am well pleased to think that my labours, however little ap-
preciated by such of my contemporaries as evidently conceive
themselves to be the sole depositaries of ornithological know-
160 PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY.
ledge, will be productive of beneficial results, inasmuch as they
will stimulate to increased exertion some of those young and
ardent naturalists who, to my certain knowledge, have derived
pleasure from even the rude attempts at observation of so hum-
ble an individual as myself.
Let us now proceed to examine the Rapacious Birds of our
beloved country. On that bleak pinnacle of columnar green-
stone is perched the ever-watchful Sea-Eagle, while that mis-
named the Golden sails in widening circles over the summit of
the snow-patched hill. The shrill cry of the Kestrel issues
from the ivied crag, and the Sparrow Hawk glides like a me-
teor over the green thicket. Forms of beauty present them-
selves on every side, and behind them is a band of nocturnal
plunderers, which we must endeavour to see in more animated
postures than those assumed by them now, when the glare of
day, hateful to their eyes, is to us reflective of all the loveliness
of nature.
IGl
IX. RAPTORES. PLUNDERERS.
By the term Raptores may be designated an order of birds,
the predatory habits of which have obtained for them a renown
exceeding that of any other tribe, with the exception of those
species, essentially differing in disposition, and more important
in an economical point of view, which are known collectively
as the Rasores or Grallinaceous Birds. All the species of this
great class are in some sense plunderers, but those which we
now have to examine, being characterized by a form and com-
bination of organs adapting them for seizing and devouring
quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, and other animals, seem peculiarly
entitled to the appellation. The most obvious peculiarities by
which they are distinguished from other groups are observed
in their hook-pointed bill, and long, curved, acuminate claws.
In form and magnitude they vary exceedingly, some being of
great size or very robust, while others are remarkably slender
or diminutive. In the proportions of their wings and tail, as
well as in the texture and development of their plumage, they
have scarcely any common character besides that of being in
every case furnished with powerful organs of flight. Even
their digestive apparatus, although in some essential respects
uniform, presents several striking modifications.
In general, the tongue is short, fleshy, concave above, rounded
or emarginate ; the oesophagus very wide ; the proventricular
glandules forming a complete belt ; the stomach large, round-
ish, with a thin muscular coat, composed of a single series of
VOL. III. M
162 ' RAPTORES. PLUNDERERS.
large fasciculi of fibres, and a soft epithelium ; the intestine of
moderate length and width, or very long and narrow, with the
coecal appendages rudimentary or wanting, but in one of the
families large ; the cloaca always globular and of gi-eat size. —
See Plates IV, V, XX, and XXI.
The tarsi vary much in length and thickness ; and, being
sometimes feathered, more frequently bare, with either small
scales or large scutella in front, present no common character.
The toes are always four, placed on the same level, padded
and papillate beneath ; but they vary in length, thickness,
relative size, and direction ; and the claws, although generally
large, very acute, and well curved, differ considerably in the
different genera.
Birds of this order occur in every country, but of the three
famihes into which they may be arranged, one, that of the Vul-
tures, is peculiar to the warmer regions, so that in Britain the
appearance of such birds is merely accidental, and as yet only
a single instance is on record. The Vulturince, characterized
by a bill of moderate length, having the base cerate and the
tip decurved, an ovato-oblong head, which, with part of the
neck, is destitute of feathers, very ample wings, anterior toes
webbed at the base, claws large and moderately curved,
gradually pass into the second family, or that composed of
Eagles and Havi'ks. In this family, the Falconinw^ the bill is
short and stout, with the base cerate, the tip elongated and
decurved ; the head large, broad^ and feathered ; the wings
very long and broad ; the claws very large, much curved, and
extremely acute. The Striginw or Owls are for the most part
nocturnal, and are distinguished by their excessively large
roundish head ; very short cerate bill, of which the tip is elon-
gated and decurved ; extremely developed eyes and ears ; very
soft plumage, long, broad, and rounded wings, and feathered
tarsi and toes.
163
VULTURINiE.
VULTURES AND ALLIED SPECIES.
The occurrence of birds of this family in Britain being
limited to a single instance, it is not expedient to enter into
very minute details respecting their structure and habits. The
only species which I have had an opportunity of examining as
to their digestive and respiratory organs, are the two, among
the smallest of the order, which occur in the southern parts of
North America. Three other species peculiar to that conti-
nent, and four of those belonging to Asia and Africa have come
under my observation in the living state or in the form of pre-
pared skins. The general characters derived from the com-
parison of these are as follows.
The body robust ; the neck rather long ; the head rather
small, ovato-oblong, and, with part of the neck, destitute of
feathers. Bill of moderate length, generally stout, sometimes
rather slender ; the upper mandible with a bare skin or cere
at the base, compressed, with the tip elongated, decurved, rather
obtuse, but thin-edged ; lower mandible rather slender, with
the extremity rounded and thin-edged. Tongue of moderate
length, concave above or induplicate, rounded or slightly emar-
ginate. CEsophagus very wide, and dilated into an enormous
crop ; proventricular glandules forming a broad continuous
belt ; stomach large, moderately muscular or very thin, with
a soft rugous epithelium ; intestine of moderate length and
width ; coeca wanting.
The trachea of the Vultures differs from that of the Eagles
and Hawks in several respects, while it agrees with them in
being considerably flattened, somewhat tapering, and composed
of slender rings. The inferior larynx is remarkable for being
much flattened, and for bifurcating without having a septum
164 VULTURINiE.
to its last entire ring, while the bronchi are partly membranous.
The lateral muscles, which are large and of great breadth, so
as to cover the anterior surface, terminate in the sterno-trache-
ales, so that there are no inferior laryngeal muscles. In PI.
XIX, Fig. 1 represents the inferior portion of the trachea of
Cathartes Aura of the natural size, a b ; the bifurcation, b ; the
last entire ring, c c ; the ringed part of the bronchi, c d^ c d%
the membranous portion, d e^ d e\ the lateral or contractor
muscles, /"/, ending in the sterno-tracheales, g g.
The sternum, Fig. 211, p. 169, as represented by that of Ca-
thartes Aura, has two notches on each side behind, the crest
more elevated in the middle but less so anteriorly than in the
Hawks.
Eyes of moderate size, without projecting superciliary ridges.
Aperture of ears rather small and simple. Tarsus stout, bare,
shorter than the middle toe ; hind toe small ; second a little
shorter than the fourth ; claws large, moderately curved, acute,
or blunted by use. Plumage full, rather compact, the feathers
ovate, those on the neck lanceolate. Wings very long, broad,
with the third, fourth, and fifth quills longest ; tail of moderate
length.
These birds inhabit the tropical and temperate regions of
both continents, seldom extending into the colder. Feeding
on animal substances of all kinds, they render important ser-
vice to the inhabitants of those countries, where putrefaction
takes place with great rapidity, for which reason they are fos-
tered in the neighbourhood of cities. Many of the larger
species, however, capture their prey in the manner of Eagles
and Hawks, although in general they are timid and compara-
tively inactive. Whether by smell or by sight, probably the
latter, they descry their prey at a great distance. They soar
to a vast height, sail in circles, and on ordinary occasions fly
with moderate rapidity. The smaller species are gregarious,
the larger solitary. They nestle on the ground, or in rocky
places, forming a rude bed for their eggs, which vary from two
to four. The young are at first covered with down, and remain
in the nest until fully fledged, being at first fed with animal
substances disgorged from the crops of their parents.
165
NEOPHRON. NEOPHRON.
Bill nearly as long as the head, straight, slender, slightly
compressed ; upper mandible covered to beyond the middle
with the cere, its dorsal line slightly declinate, a little convex
above the nostrils, at the end decurved, the ridge broad and
convex, the sides convex, the edges straight, toward the end
sharp, the tip decurved, thin-edged, and pointed ; lower man-
dible with the angle long and narrowed, the dorsal line con-
vex, the back rounded, the sides nearly erect, the tip obtuse,
with its edge-line decurved.
Nostrils large, medial, oblong, nearer the ridge than the
margin. Eyes and auditory apertures of moderate size. Feet
rather short and stout ; tarsus roundish, with small angular
scales ; toes scutellate only toward the end, being covered with
transverse series of scales in the rest of their extent ; the first
toe very small, the third very long, the second shorter than the
fourth ; the anterior toes webbed at the base. Claws rather
long, arched, strong, moderately compressed, blunted.
Fore part of head and throat without feathers, but having
scattered over them very small downy or bristly plumelets.
Plumage full and dense. Wings very long, ample, concave ;
primaries rather pointed, the third longest, the first short. Tail
of moderate length, much rounded, of fourteen feathers.
This genus differs from Cathartes only in having the bill
more slender, the third quill longest in place of the fourth and
fifth, and the tail of fourteen instead of twelve feathers. Were
it not for geographical considerations, these differences would
not be of much importance.
16G
NEOPHRON PERCNOPTERUS. THE WHITE
NEOPHRON.
EGYPTIAN VULTURE. PHARAOH'S CHICKEN.
Vultur Percnopterus. Gmel. Syst. Nat. I. 249. Adult.
Vultur fuscus. Gmel. Syst. Nat. I. 248. Young.
Vultur Percnopterus. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 2. Adult,
Vultur leucocephalus. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 2. Adult.
Vultur fuscus. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 5. Young.
Vultur ginginianus. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 16. Adult.
Catharte alimoche. Cathartes Percnopterus. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 8 ;
III. 6.
Egyptian Neophron. Neophron Percnopterus. Selb. lUustr. I. 4.
Neophron Percnopterus. Egyptian Neophron. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 79.
Adult with the plumage white, excepting the primary quills and
hasal part of the secondaries, ichich are black. Young dark
brown, spotted with brownish-yeUoiv, suhseqiiently of the latter
colour.
Male. — This Vulture, the smallest of the European species,
is somewhat larger than the American Cathartes atratus or
Black Vulture, which it greatly resembles in form. Its bill
WHITE NEOPHRON. 167
is slender, and nearly of the same length as the head ; the fore-
head, sides of the head, and a small portion of the throat are
denuded and smooth ; on the rest of the head and neck the
feathers are lanceolate and acuminate, on the body ovate, ob-
tuse, and compact. The wings are very large, and extend
when closed nearly to the end of the tail, which is much
rounded or graduated, and composed of fourteen feathers. The
tarsi are of moderate length, reticulated with hexagonal scales ;
the hind toe short, with four scutella, the second shorter than
the fourth, and having three scutella, the third very long, with
four, the outer with six. The claws are moderate, compressed,
arched, concave beneath, bluntly pointed.
The bill is dusky, toward the base flesh-coloured ; the cere
orange-yellow ; the bare part of the face and throat pale yel-
low ; the iris red ; the feet greenish-yellow, the claws black.
The plumage is yellowish- white, excepting the primary quills,
and the basal portion, with a great part of the inner webs of
the secondaries, which are black.
Length to end of tail 27 inches ; bill along the ridge 2^,
alonw the edo^e of lower mandible 2 A ; wing from flexure 18 ;
tail 8 ; tarsus Sj ; hind toe |§, its claw -^^ ; second toe Ij^^^,
its claw \l ; middle toe 3, its claw \l ; outer toe lj§, its
claw 1^2.
Female. — The female is similar to the male, but somewhat
inferior in size.
Young. — In its first plumage, the young, according to M.
Temminck, has the bare part of the head of a livid hue, and
thinly covered with grey down ; the cere and feet ash-grey ; all
the plumage of a dark brown colour, variegated with yellowish-
brown spots ; the quills black ; the iris brown. Subsequently
the plumage is of a lighter tint, and assumes its white colour
in the third or fourth year.
Habits. — Very little is known respecting the habits of this
bird, beyond what is common to it and most other vultures of
small size. It appears to be generally distributed in Africa,
168 NEOPHRON PERCNOPTERUS.
being found at the Cape of Good Hope, in Abyssinia, Egypt,
and Barbary. In Asia it is also very extensively dispersed,
having been met with in Arabia, India, and Persia, In Eu-
rope, it is abundant in Turkey, Spain, and Portugal, and occurs
in the south of France ; but beyond this to the northward its
appearance is accidental. It is said to live in pairs, and to
become temporarily gregarious only when attracted to a parti-
cular spot by the presence of food. Although it feeds chiefly
on carrion, oftal, and refuse, it attacks lizards, serpents, and
small quadrupeds.
In October 1825, an individual was killed in Somersetshire,
and was obtained by the Rev. A. Mathew, of Kilve, in that
county, who lent it to Mr Selby, by whom it has been figured
and described in his Illustrations. " When first discovered, it
was feeding upon the carcase of a dead sheep, and had so gorged
itself with the carrion as to be unable or unwilling to fly to any
great distance at a time : it was therefore approached without
much difficulty and shot. Another bird, apparently of this spe-
cies, was seen in the neighbourhood a few days, but could never
be approached within gunshot : this was supposed to be the mate
of the one killed. It measured two feet seven inches in length,
and in extent of wing five feet nine inches. Its bill from the
forehead to the tip is two inches and a half long, the tarsus
three inches, and the middle toe with its claw the same. The
bill is brownish-black or horn-coloured. The cere, which is
somewhat bulging at the base, and occupies half the length of
the bill, wine-yellow. Nostrils situated on the middle of the
cere, large and open. Crown of head, cheeks and throat, cover-
ed with a naked skin, of a livid flesh-coloured red, with a few
straggling bristly feathers between the bill and eyes, and upon
the margins of the mandibles. Ears round, open, and large.
Occiput and nape covered with a close thick-set white down,
with small black feathers intermixed. Neck clothed with long
arched and acuminated feathers, forming a kind of ruft'of a deep
umber brown, tijaped with cream-yellow. Back and scapulars
cream-white, the latter intermixed and varied with umber-
brown. Lesser wing-coverts nearest the body deep umber-
brown, margined with a paler shade : these are succeeded by
WHITE NEOPHRON.
169
two rows of cream-coloured sharp-pointed feathers. Greater
coverts umber-brown, varied wdth cream white. Secondaries
pale umber-brown, their tips and margins yellowish- white.
Quills black. Tail cuneiform, umber-brown at the base, the
tip yellowish- white. Upper parts mixed with umber-brown.
Legs strong and fleshy, of a pale yellowish-grey. The tarsi
covered with a rough reticulated skin : the middle toe with
four entire scales upon the last phalange ; the exterior and inte-
rior each w^ith three ; hinder toe short and strong. Claws
blackish-brown, strong, but not greatly arched. Its sex unfor-
tunately was not ascertained. From the above description it
would appear that this individual had not acquired its ma-
ture plumage, which, in the perfect adult, is of an uniform
white, except the greater quills, which are black, and in which
state it is recognised as the Vultur ginginianus of Latham and
other authors."
170
FALCONIN.E.
FALCONS AND ALLIED SPECIES.
Assuming the Falcons properly so called as presenting the
more distinctive characters of the great family composed of the
birds commonly known as Eagles, Hawks, Buzzards, and
Kites, we may designate these species by the general name of
Falconinse. Although they exhibit numerous and well-marked
modifications of the various organs, they are easily defined as a
group, and individually distinguished from all other birds. Of
compact form, with a rather large, roundish, feathered head,
hooked bill, eyes of moderate size directed laterally, and long,
curved, very acute claws, they are equally distinct from the
Vultures and the Owls, although closely allied to both.
The bill, Plate IV, Fig. 1, is short, stout, compressed to-
ward the end, the upper mandible w^ith its dorsal line more or
less convex from the base, and decurved toward the end, its
sides convex, the edges sharp, and with a sinus or notch near
the tip, which is elongated, trigonal, and acute ; the lower
mandible with the angle wide, the dorsal line convex, the edges
sharp and decurved or emarginate close to the rounded tip.
The mouth is wide ; the palate flattened, with two longitudinal
papillate ridges, and an anterior median ridge. The posterior
aperture of the nares is oblong, with an anterior slit, and two
transverse papillate flaps. The tongue is of moderate length,
fleshy, deeply emarginate and papillate at the base, with one
of the lateral papilloe on each side larger, the sides nearly paral-
lel, the tip rounded and horny beneath. The oesophagus is
very wide, and about the middle of the neck is dilated into a
large sac or crop lying towards the right side, the trachea pass-
ing along the other. At its upper part, it has a layer of in-
conspicuous longitudinal muscular fibres, and in its whole
FALCONS AND ALLIED SPECIES. I7I
length a distinct coat of transverse fibres, while the inner coat
is smooth, but, when the organ is empty, arranges itself into
longitudinal folds. The pro ventricular glands, which are small
and very numerous, form a broad belt. The stomach is large
or of moderate size, roundish, with its muscular coat thin and
composed of a single series of fasciculi, converging toward two
thin circular tendinous spaces ; its inner coat or epithelium
soft, dense, and more or less rugous. The intestine is gene-
rally rather short and of considerable width, but sometimes
very long and extremely narrow ; the coeca are always ex-
tremely small, and the rectum has a very large globular dila-
tation or cloaca.
The trachea diifers from that of the Vultures in having a
pair of inferior laryngeal muscles, and a septum in the last
entire ring. Its structure will be best understood by referring
to Plate XIX, of which Fig. 2 represents, a, the tongue, ^,
its basal portion, covered with apertures of mucous crypts ; c,
aperture of the glottis ; d e, the trachea, flattened, tapering,
and composed of sixty-six rings, of which one at the bifurca-
tion, when taken out and viewed from beneath, is seen to have
a median septum, Fig. 3, or in other words, to be composed of
two united rings. Beyond it are two half rings, Fig. \, ff.
The bronchi, g Ji, g h, are composed of about sixteen half rings.
The lateral muscles, ij^ ij, are strong, and terminate partly, as
usual, in the stern o-tracheales, j k,j k, and partly in a single pair
of inferior laryngeal muscles, jf, jf, inserted into the mem-
brane interposed between the last ring of the trachea and the
first of the bronchi. This muscle is better seen in the lateral
view. Fig, 4 ; and the septum of divarication in Fig. 5, which
represents a median longitudinal section. Fig. 6 also shews
the inferior laryngeal muscles separated. Fig, 7 represents the
anterior aspect of the upper larynx, in which are seen the two
hyo-thyroid muscles, a a ; the thyroid bone, b b ; and the com-
mencement of the contractor muscles, c c. Fig, 8 shews the
upper larynx viewed from behind, with the apertor muscle,
and the constrictor, b.
The eyes are always large, lateral, but more or less inclined
forwards ; both eyelids equally mobile. Nostrils small or of
172 FALCONINiE.
moderate size, varying from circular to linear, and opening near
the anterior margin of the cere. The aperture of the ear is
round or elliptical, and rather large.
The legs are of moderate length or elongated ; the tibia very
muscular ; the tarsus sometimes feathered, generally bare,
usually scutellate in front and behind, sometimes scaly all
round. The toes are four ; the first large and stout, the third
longest, the second larger than the fourth ; the anterior some-
what webbed at the base ; all scutellate toward the end, some-
times in their whole length, padded and tuberculate or papillate
beneath. The claws are long, moderately compressed, tapering,
very acute, and with a great range of motion, although not re-
tractile, as usually alleged.
The plumage is generally full ; the feathers compact on the
upper parts, those on the outer side of the tibia elongated ; but
great variations are observed in their form and texture. The
skin is entirely covered with soft down, which on the fore part
of the breast, on the sides under the wings, and on part of the
abdomen, is usually not intermixed with feathers, although
more or less covered by them. Individually the feathers are
very downy at the base, with a large plumule ; the tube is
short, but enlarged, the shaft slender.
The wings are of great size, but vary in form, being very
long or of moderate length, pointed or rounded. The tail,
which is always of twelve feathers, is never small, but varies
extremely in length and form, being even, graduated, emargi-
nate, or forked.
The cranium, PL I, is generally roundish, with the orbits ex-
tremely large, their septum with a vacuity in the centre ; the
nasal cavity rather large ; a distinct superciliary bone projecting
from the edge of the orbit ; the jaws short. The vertebras vary
in number, but are generally thus : twelve cervical, nine dorsal,
twelve sacral, eight caudal. The ribs, seven in number, are
rather stout ; the pelvis large. The sternum is usually of great
size, deeply convex, with a very prominent keel, the posterior
margin even, the coracoid bones very large and spreading, the
furcula very wide and of great strength ; the scapulae of mode-
rate size and slightly curved. The bones of the inferior extre-
FALCONS AND ALLIED SPECIES. 173
mities vary in length and thickness according to the species.
The phalanges of the toes are, as usual, two, three, four, and live.
The Falconinfe prey on quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, fishes,
and insects, which they pursue by flying, not by walking.
Indeed most of the species, owing to the form of their feet,
are incapable of progression on the ground, and when they have
to move to short distances, are obliged to leap, with the aid of
their wings. They seize their victims with their talons, thrust
into them their long acuminate claws, and, when of suffici-
ently small size, carry them off to some secure retreat. The
bill is not generally used for inflicting wounds, but with it they
remove the hair or feathers, previously to eating the flesh, which
they tear up with ease, often swallowing the bones. Having
filled the oesophagus, which is always capable of being much
dilated, they retire to some sequestered place, and remain quiet
until the food is digested. The insoluble parts are vomited in
roundish pellets, in which the bones are enveloped by the hair
and feathers. Their sight is very acute, as is their sense of
hearing. Their flight presents modifications, according to the
species, being strong and rapid in the Falcons, more buoyant
in the Harriers, light and gliding in the Hawks, heavier in the
Buzzards and Eagles ; but in all it is remarkably powerful.
They perch with ease, and when at rest on a branch or pin-
nacle, keep the body nearly erect, and the neck much retracted.
On a level surface, they incline the body forward, and draw up
their claws.
These birds are for the most part solitary, and although some
species at times congregate when food is abundant, none of
those that occur in Britain are gregarious in the slightest
degree. Their cries are loud and shrill, with little modulation ;
their trachea being of nearly uniform width, its rings generally
cartilaginous, and the inferior laryngeal muscles reduced to a
single pair. They pair early in spring, and form a rude flat nest
of sticks, twigs, and other materials, lined with wool or hair,
the eggs vary from two to seven or eight, the larger species
having fewer than the smaller, and are of a roundish or ellip-
tical form. The young are at first clothed with light-coloured
down, and remain in the nest until fully fledged, when they
174 FALCONING.
differ considerably in colour from their parents, it not being
until the third or fourth year that the adult plumage is com-
plete. When the old birds have transverse bands, the young
generally have longitudinal spots ; in many species, the spots
and streaks of the young disappear with age ; the tints usually
become purer and lighter the older the individual ; and on the
other hand many which are patched or spotted with white when
young, gradually assume a darker tint. In consequence of
these variations, great errors have been committed in naming
and distinguishing the species. The moult commences in the
end of summer, and is completed by the beginning of winter ;
but in some species, the Eagles in particular, new feathers are
found at all seasons.
The males are always much smaller than the females.
When the sexes differ in colour, the young resemble the female,
which is generally darker and more variegated than the male.
Of the nineteen species that occur in Britain, some, as the
Kestrel, Sparrow Hawk, and Hen-harrier, are generally dis-
tributed, while others, as the Eagles, are confined to the nor-
thern and more mountainous tracts, and several, as the
Honey Buzzard and Red-legged Falcon, are rare or irregular
visitants.
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH GENERA AND SPECIES.
GENUS I. BUTEO. BUZZARD.
Bill short, compressed toward the end, with the upper out-
line sloping a little to the edge of the cere, then decurved, the
sides rapidly sloping, the edges with a distinct rounded festoon ;
nostrils elliptical, oblique ; head large, broad, flattened ; feet
short, robust ; tarsus roundish, feathered in front halfway down,
anteriorly and posteriorly scutellate, or feathered in its whole
length ; wings long, broad, rounded, the fourth quill longest,
the outer four with the inner web abruptly narrowed.
\. Buteofuscus. Brown Buzzard. Tarsus bare ; upper parts
chocolate-brown, lower variegated with white ; tail barred
with dusky and greyish-brown.
FALCONS AND ALLIED SPECIES. 175
2. Buteo lagopm. JRough-legged Buzzard. Tarsus feathered ;
upper parts brown, variegated with yellowish ; lower yellowish,
with a large brown patch on the breast ; tail white to beyond
the middle, the rest brown.
GENUS IT. AQUILA. EAGLE.
Bill shorter than the head, very deep, compressed ; its upper
outline nearly straight and sloping to the edge of the cere, then
decurved, the sides slightly convex, the edges nearly straight,
with a slight festoon ; nostrils oval, oblique, head large,
roundish, flattened above ; feet rather short, very robust ;
tarsus roundish, feathered to the toes ; wings long, the fourth
quill longest.
1. Aquila Clirysa'etus. Golden Eagle. Plumage dark-brown ;
occiput and hind-part and sides of neck and legs light brown-
ish-yellow ; wing-coverts light brown ; tail dark brown. Young
with the basal three-fourths of the tail white.
GENUS III. HALIAETUS. SEA-EAGLE.
Bill nearly as long as the head, very deep, compressed,
with its upper outline nearly straight to beyond the cere, then
decurved, the sides sloping and slightly convex, the edges
nearly straight, with a slight festoon ; nostrils oblong, oblique ;
head large, oblong, flattened ; feet rather short, very robust ;
tarsi roundish, bare for two-thirds, scaly, with about six scu-
tella in front ; claws large, curved, flat beneath ; wings long,
the third quill longest.
1. Haliaetus Alhicilla. White-tailed Sea-Eagle. Adult with
the head and neck light brownish-grey ; the tail pure white.
Young with the head and neck dark-brown, streaked with
paler, the tail brownish-black, irregularly varied with white.
GENUS IV. PANDION. OSPREY.
Bill short, as broad as deep at the base, its upper outline
straight to the edge of the cere, then decurved, the sides con-
176 FALCONINiE.
vex, the edge with a shght festoon ; nostrils oblong, oblique,
large ; head of moderate size, ovate ; legs with the feathers
short, tarsus very short, remarkably thick, covered all round
with scales ; toes very thick, with conical papillae beneath, the
outer versatile ; claws long, curved, convex beneath ; wings
extremely long, and rather narrow.
1. Pandion Haliaetm. Fishing Osprey. Brown above,
white beneath, with a brown patch on the breast. Young
with the feathers tipped with white.
GENUS V. PERNIS. BEE-HAWK.
Bill short, rather small, compressed toward the end, its
upper outline gently curved from the base, the edge with a
very slight festoon ; nostrils large, oblong, oblique ; head of
moderate size, ovate ; feet short and strong ; tarsus short,
roundish, feathered anteriorly for half their length, covered all
round with hexagonal scales ; claws long, little curved, slender,
concave beneath ; space before the eyes covered with very
small compact feathers ; wings and tail very long.
1. Pernis apivora. Broicn Bee-HawJc. Umber-brown
above.
GENUS VI. MILVUS. KITE.
Bill short, stout, compressed toward the end, its upper out-
line convex and sloping to the edge of the cere, then decurved,
the sides convex, the edge with a distinct festoon ; nostrils
elliptical, oblique ; head large, ovate ; legs very short, strong ;
tarsus roundish, feathered for half their length ; wings very
long, the fourth quill longest ; tail very long, forked.
1. Milms regalis. Salmon-tailed Kite. Reddish-brown
above, with narrow dusky streaks, lower parts of a lighter tint.
GENUS VII. NAUCLERUS. SWALLOW-KITE.
Bill short, wide at the base, much compressed toward the
end, its upper outline decurved from the base, the sides slightly
convex, the edge with a slight festoon ; nostrils round, with a
FALCONS AND ALLIED SPECIES.
//
central papilla ; head rather large, roundish, flattened ; feet
short ; tarsus very short, thick, scaly all round ; toes with
pointed papillae beneath ; wings extremely long, pointed, with
the third quill longest ; tail long, and very deeply forked.
1. Nauclerus furcatus. White-headed Sicalloic-Kite. Head,
neck, and lower parts white ; back, wings, and tail black.
GENUS VIII. FALCO. FALCON.
Bill short, robust, with the upper outline decurved from
the base, the sides very convex, the edge with a festoon and a
prominent angular process ; nostrils round, with a central tu-
bercle ; head large, roundish ; feet strong ; tarsi moderate,
reticulate ; claws long, well-curved ; wings long and pointed,
the second quill longest ; tail rather long, nearly even.
1. Falco islandicus. Gyr Falcon. White, spotted with
dusky. Young brownish-grey or light grey above, beneath
yellowish- white, with longitudinal dusky streaks.
2. Falco peregrinus. Peregrine Falcon. Wings nearly as
long as the tail. Adult greyish-blue above, beneath whitish,
with transverse dusky spots ; head and a band on the cheek
black. Young blackish-brown above, beneath reddish, with
longitudinal dusky spots.
3. Falco Subbufeo. Hobby Falcon. AVings longer than the
tail. Adult greyish or brownish-black above, whitish beneath,
longitudinally spotted with dusky •, a black band on the cheek.
4. Falco vespertinus. Orange-legged Falcon. Wings as long
as the tail. Male deep bluish-grey, with the abdomen and
legs yellowish-red. Female with the crown yellowish-red,
the back greyish-blue, the tail grey, both barred w^ith black.
5. Falco JEsalon. Merlin Falcon. ^Vings shorter than
the tail. Male greyish-blue above, with dusky lines, reddish-
yellow, with oblong dusky spots beneath. Female greyish-
brown above, yellowish- white, with large dusky spots beneath.
Young with the upper parts brown, spotted with light red.
6. Falco Tinminculus. Kestrel Falcon. Wings shorter than
the tail. Male light red, spotted with black above ; the head,
hind-neck, rump, and tail bluish -grey. Female and young
VOL. 111. N
178 FALCONINiE.
with the upper parts and tail light-red, spotted and barred
with black.
GENUS IX. ACCIPITER. HAWK.
Bill short, robust, with the upper outline sloping and nearly-
straight to the edge of the cere, then decurved, its sides con-
vex, the edges with a prominent festoon ; nostrils elliptical,
oblique ; head of moderate size, roundish ; feet of moderate
length ; tarsi moderate or rather long, slender, feathered for
at least a third, broadly scutellate before and behind ; claws
long, well-curved ; wings of moderate length, very broad, much
rounded, the fourth and fifth quills longest ; tail long, rounded,
much exceeding the wings.
1. Accipiter Palumharius. Goshawk. Male dark bluish-grey
above, with the head greyish-black, the lower parts white,
narrowly barred with grey. Female greyish-brown above,
beneath like the male. Young brown above, with the head
and neck pale red, streaked with dusky, the lower parts yel-
lowish-white, with longitudinal dusky spots.
2. Accipiter Nisus. Bparroio Hmvk. Male dark bluish-grey
above, reddish- white, with transverse bars of yellowish-red
beneath. Female greyish-brown above, beneath greyish-white,
barred with dark-grey.
GENUS X. CIRCUS. HARRIER.
Bill short, compressed, attenuated, with the dorsal line slop-
ing to beyond the cere, then decurved, the sides sloping, the
edge with a slight festoon ; nostrils large, ovato-oblong, with
an oblique ridge ; head oblong, of moderate size ; legs long,
slender ; tarsi long, compressed, scutellate before and behind ;
claws long, slender, moderately curved, flat beneath ; plumage
very soft ; a distinct ruff from behind the eye to the chin ;
wings long, much rounded, the fourth quill longest ; tail long,
slightly rounded ; quills and tail-feathers downy as in owls.
1 . Circus cyaneus. Ring-tailed Harrier. Tail about two
inches longer than the wings. Male light bluish-grey. Female
brown above, light yellowish-red Avith brown streaks beneath.
FALCONS AND ALLIED SPECIES. I79
2. Circus cineraceus. MontagiCs Harrier. Wings as long
as the tail. Male light bluish-grey, the wings with a black
band. Female umber-brown above, pale-red beneath.
3. Circus cerug'inosus. Brown Harrier. Dark umber or
chocolate, with the head whitish or yellowish.
Of the species here enumerated two are common and gene-
rally distributed : the Sparrow Hawk and the Kestrel. Two,
less common, are extensively dispersed : the Common Buzzard,
and the Common Harrier. Some are common in particular
districts, but not of general occurrence : the Merlin, which in
many parts of Scotland and the north of England is nearly as
plentiful as the Sparrow Hawk, the Kite, which is not rare in
the West Highlands, the Sea-Eagle, which is still numerous in
the Hebrides, and along the north-west coast, and the Golden
Eagle, which is scattered over a great j)art of the northern and
middle divisions. Of the rest, the Osprey, although very scarce
is extensively distributed, the Goshawk is so rare that a native
specimen is hardly to be seen in our museums, the Ash-coloured
Harrier is confined chiefly to the south of England, the JNIoor
Harrier is very scarce anywhere, as is the Hobby, while the
Peregrine Falcon is seen in pairs scattered at wide intervals,
and the Jer Falcon is confined to the extreme north. The
Honey Buzzard occurs as a straggler, which is also the case
with the Rough-legged Buzzard, the Orange-legged Falcon,
and still more with the Fork-tailed Kite, of which only two
individuals are recorded as having been seen.
180
BUTEO. BUZZARD.
This genus is composed of species for the most part of large
size, or from fifteen to twenty-five inches in length, and having
an obvious aflSnity on the one hand to certain species of the
genus Accipiter, and on the other to the smaller Eagles. Be-
tween the Buzzards and the latter birds there is in truth no
well-marked distinction, and the Rough-legged Falcon, so
called, is, I think, exactly intermediate between the two genera.
The Buzzards are not remarkable for elegance of form, or for
courage and activity. They are generally robust, having the
body full and compact, the neck rather short, the head large,
roundish, and flattened above.
The bill shorter than the head, moderately stout, broad at
the base, compressed toward the end ; upper mandible with
the cere of moderate size, the dorsal line slightly convex and
considerably declinate to the edge of the cere, then decurved
in the fourth of a circle, the ridge broad and somewhat flattened
at the base, narrowed and convex toward the end, the sides
rapidly sloping and slightly convex, the edges with a slight
sharp-edged rounded festoon, succeeded by a shallow sinus
ending in the curve of the tip, which is deflected, trigonal,
elightly concave beneath, acute, and at the end nearly perpen-
dicular ; lower mandible with the angle of moderate length,
wide, the dorsal line slightly convex, the ridge broadly con-
vex, the sides rounded, the edges a little inflected, at the end
decurved, the tip broad and rounded.
INIouth wide ; palate flat anteriorly, having a broad soft
ridge, from the posterior part of which proceed backwards
two very prominent, nearly parallel, soft ridges, bearing small
pointed papillfB. Between these ridges is a depression which
corresponds to the tongue. A transverse papillate edge pro-
ceeds inwards from the middle of these ridges, and they ter-
BUTEO. BUZZARD. 181
minate in a similar curved edge behind. Posterior aperture
of the nares narrow-elliptical behind, linear before, with papil-
late margins. Tongue short, fleshy, rather narrow, concave
above ; its sides nearly parallel, the tip rounded and emargin-
ate, its free part beneath horny ; the lower surface of the sides
toward the base furnished with large mucous crypts ; the base
concave, and fringed with pointed papillae directed backwards.
Space between the base of the tongue and the aperture of the
glottis covered with mucous crypts, of which there is also a
lateral series on each side ; the posterior part of the pharynx
supplied with similar bodies irregularly disposed. Aperture
of the glottis defended behind by a number of papillae directed
backwards, and arranged in two lateral lobes, with a small in-
termediate lobe. CEsophagus very wide, and about the middle
of the neck dilated into a large sac or crop, inclining to the
right side. At the upper part it has a slight outer layer of in-
conspicuous longitudinal muscular fibres, and in its whole
length is encircled by transverse fibres ; its inner coat is smooth
and even when dilated, but when contracted is thrown into
longitudinal rugae. At the lower part is a broad belt of cylin-
drical crypts, constituting the proventricular glands. The
stomach is large, round, a little compressed ; its muscular coat
thin, and composed of a single series of fasciculi converging
toward two roundish thin tendinous spaces ; the inner coat
smooth and very thin. The pylorus with three or four pro-
minent rugae. The intestine of moderate length, rather wide ;
the coeca very small ; the rectum wide, and dilated into a
globular cloaca.
Nostrils broadly elliptical, oblique, lateral, nearer the ridge
than the edge. Eyes large ; eyelids fringed with bristly fea-
thers ; a thin projecting superciliary ridge. Aperture of the
ear roundish, and rather large.
Legs of moderate length, stout ; tibia rather long and mus-
cular ; tarsus roundish, feathered anteriorly for half its length,
with broad scutella before and behind, scaly on the sides. Toes
of moderate size ; the first and second stoutest, the latter a little
longer, the third much longer, the fourth longer than the second,
and connected at the base by a pretty large web ; all scutellate
182 BUTEO. BUZZARD.
unless toward the base. Claws long, well curved, tapering,
very acute, convex above, compressed, flat beneath ; the first
and second largest, the fourth small, the third internally edged.
Plumage full, very soft and elastic, but somewhat compact,
and rather glossy. Cere bare ; space between the eyes and bill
with radiating, very small, bristled-tipped feathers, with downy
barbs at the base. Feathers of the head narrow and pointed,
of the neck broader, of the other parts broadly ovate and
rounded. Wings long, very broad, rounded ; the third and
fourth quills longest, the first very short, the outer four with the
outer web attenuated, and the inner abruptly cut out ; secondary
quills very broad and rounded. Tail of moderate length, or
rather long, broad, rounded, of twelve broad feathers.
The Buzzards are considered as among the least active birds
of this family ; yet their flight is strong and buoyant, very simi-
lar in character to that of the Eagles, which they resemble in
form, although many of them are very intimately allied to
some species of the genus Accipiter, wdiile others approximate
to the Circi. They sail in circles like the Eagles, mounting to a
great height, seek out their prey by flying low over the fields,
seldom pursue birds on wing, but pounce upon them on the
gpound, and, besides these animals, feed on small quadrupeds,
reptiles, insects, and worms. Species of this genus are found
on both continents. In Britain two are met with, the Com-
mon or Brown Buzzard, and the Rough-legged Buzzard.
183
BUTEO FUSCUS. THE BROWN OR COMMON
BUZZARD.
GLEAD. GLADE. KITE. PUTTOCK.
Fig. 212.
Falco Buteo. Linu. Syst. Nat. I. 127.
Falco Buteo. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 23.
Buzzard. Mont. Orn. Diet.
La Buse. Falco Buteo. Temm. Man. d'Oru. I. 63 ; IIL 35.
Common Buzzard. Buteo vulgaris. Selb. Illustr. L 55.
Buteo vulgaris. Common Buzzard. Jen. Brit. Tert. An. 87.
Male with tJie upper parts deep hrown, the feathers margined
with paler, the lower parts yelloicish-white, icith longitudinal ob-
long brown spots, the tail icith numerous brown and pale bands.
Female deep broicn above and beneath, the throat streaJced icith
whitish, the breast spotted with the same. Young with the fea-
thers margined with light red.
The Buzzard, although the most common of our larger Plun-
derers, has been very unsatisfactorily described by authors, most
184 BUTEO VULGARIS.
of whom merely state that it varies exceedingly in colour, in-
somuch that two similar individuals can hardly be found, with-
out attempting to disclose the cause or method of this varia-
tion. I cannot say that I have completely solved the mystery ;
but the following descriptions will, I hope, be found to throw
considerable light on the subject. I shall begin with a pair,
an adult male and female shot in Ayrshire in Maj 1837.
Male. — In size this species is rather larger than the Pere-
grine Falcon or Goshawk, but of a less compact form. It is
a robust bird, with the body full, the neck rather short, the
head large, roundish, and flattened above. The tarsi roundish,
anteriorly feathered halfway down, with twelve anterior and
fifteen posterior scutella, the sides covered with angular scales,
the digital joint, and the basal part of the toes with transverse
series of small scales, besides which there are on the first toe
four, on the second five, on the third eleven, on the fourth six
scutella. The toes are strong, of moderate length, the first
stouter, the second next, the outer proportionally much smaller,
and connected by a pretty large web. The claws are long, well
arched, and finely pointed.
The digestive organs being in all respects as described in the
generic character, it may suffice here to state that the oesopha-
gus is six inches long, the crop three inches wide ; the sto-
mach two inches in diameter ; the intestine four feet four
inches in length, with a diameter varying from five and a half
twelfths to two and a half twelfths ; the coeca three twelfths
long ; the rectum five.
The plumage is full and soft, rather compact and glossy
above ; the upper and fore part of the cere is bare, the space
between the bill and eye covered with bristly feathers, which
are slightly downy at the base ; the superciliary ridge bare, the
eyelids ciliated. On the head the feathers are small and lan-
ceolate, on the neck larger, broader, and more rounded, on
the back broadly ovate, on the lower parts ovato-oblong, on
the outer part of the leg elongated. The wings are large and
rounded, with tv;^enty-fivc quills, the first four primaries abruptly
cut out on the inner web, the first six attenuated on the outer ;
BROWN OR COIVIMON BUZZARD. 185
the first quill four inches shorter than the third, which is long-
est, but exceeds the fourth only by one-twelfth of an inch,
the fifth very little shorter, the second intermediate between
the fifth and sixth, the first equal to the eighth. The tail is
rather long, broad, and slightly rounded, the middle feathers
being about three quarters of an inch shorter than the lateral.
The bill is black, at the base greyish-blue, its soft margins
at the base yellow ; the cere and bare space over the eye
greenish-yellow ; the irides brownish-yellow ; the feet bright
yellow ; the claws black, tinged with blue at the base. The
general colour of the upper parts is umber-brown, glossed with
a tinge of purple ; but on the head and hind neck streaked with
yellowish- white, the bases and margins of the feathers being of
that colour. The feathers of the back and wings with the mar-
gins pale, or brownish grey ; they and the scapulars barred with
white in their concealed part ; the bases of all being white,
which becomes apparent on the hind-neck when they are
raised ; the upper tail-coverts are barred with whitish. The
primary quills are brownish-black toward the end, the secon-
daries brown, a great part of the inner webs toward the base
white, barred with brown, the bars more extended on the
secondaries. The tail is marked with ten or twelve brown
bars, alternating with others of a pale greyish -brown, the tips
whitish. The cheeks and sides of the neck are yellowish-
white, with brown linear or oblong markings ; the throat,
fore-neck, and middle of the breast yellowish-white, with the
shafts brown ; the ground colour of the other parts the same,
but each feather with an oblong brown longitudinal mark ;
the lower tail-coverts barred ; the feathers of the legr tinned
with reddish, and barred or patched with brown. The lower
wing-coverts yellowish-white, spotted and barred with brown ;
and the white of the inner webs of the primaries forming a
conspicuous patch.
Length to end of tail 19^ inches ; extent of wings 49; wing
from flexure 16| ; tail 9 ; bill along the ridge H^"^, along the
edge of lower mandible l/^ ; tarsus 2{?^ ; hind toe j%, its
claw 1 ; second toe 1, its claw ly'g; third toe 1{'|, its claw J§;
fourth toe 1, its claw i\.
186 BUTEO VULGARIS.
Female. — The female is considerably larger than the male,
and although similar in colouring difters in several respects.
The colours of the bill, iris, and feet are the same as in the
male. The upper parts are of a darker and more uniform
brown, the bases of the feathers dull grey, and only white on
the hind-neck ; the whitish bands on the scapulars more ob-
scure. The wings and tail are coloured as in the male, only
the last brown bar on the latter is much broader than the rest.
The predominant colour of the lower parts is chocolate-brown ;
but the cheeks and throat are streaked with dull brownish-
white ; the fore-neck obscurely, the middle of the breast con-
spicuously transversely spotted or barred with yellowish-white,
intermixed with reddish ; the inner and anterior feathers of
the legs barred with brownish-red ; the lower tail-coverts
white barred with brown ; the lower surface of the wing as
in the male but much darker, the white patch consequently
more conspicuous.
Length to end of tail 22 inches ; extent of wings 51 ; wing
from flexure 17 ; tail 9| ; bill along the ridge Ij'^^ ; tarsus 3 ;
first toe 1, its clawl^; second toe "|, its claw Ij ; third
toe 1.J, its claw l^V ; fourth toe 1^^^, its claw if.
Another individual shot in Aberdeenshire, in May 1817,
was similar to the above ; the whole upper surface rich brown,
on the upper part of the back the feathers laterally margined
with light ferruginous, the scapulars and wing-coverts with that
colour and white ; the primary quills nearly black, glossed
with purple toward the end ; the secondaries nearly of the
general tint ; all with the inner webs edged with white, and
barred with a deeper shade of brown ; on its lower surface,
the wing much lighter, there being a white patch including
part of the inner webs of the five outer quills ; the coverts
barred with white, their ground colour being toward the base
light ferruginous, toward the end deep brown ; the tail deep
brown, barred with grey and reddish, or marked with alter-
nate bars of brown and brownish-grey, the last dark bar being
the broadest, and the tips red dish- wdiite ; nine dark bars on
the middle, and ten on the lateral feathers; on the lower
surface the prevailing colour brown, of a lighter shade than
BROWN OR COMMON BUZZARD. 187
the upper ; on the fore-neck spotted, on the breast barred with
white ; the tibial feathers brown, tipped with ferruginous.
Length 21 A inches; extent of wings 50.
These differences between the adult male and the adult
female I have found to be very constant, although individuals
of each sex vary considerably.
Variations. — Males vary in having the w^hite of the lower
parts more or less extended, and the streaks and spots of
greater or less breadth. Sometimes the white is so extended
on both surfaces that it might be said to form the ground
colour, which is then merely spotted with brown. Females
differ also in the extent of the white spots and bars beneath,
but they are always darker and more uniformly coloured than
the males. Great differences are observed in the number of
the scutella, and I have seen a male, which had none on the
fore part of the tibia, it having been covered with small scales.
The following tables shew the variations in the scutella and
digestive organs.
M. M. M. M. F, F. F.
Scutella of tarsus ...11 12 13 11 14 12 10
Firsttoe 4 4 8 3 4 4 4
Second toe 4 4 4 5 4 4 4
Third toe 10 11 11 14 12 14 13
Fourthtoe 5 4 6 8 7 7 6
M. M. F. F. F. F.
(Esophagus in length, 7? 6 8 6 8 8
Crop in width 2i 3 2 3 8
Stomach 3 2 2 3 3
Intestine 51 52 56 52 54 55
^06Ca y g i'j2 i"<j 12 12
Changes of Plumage. — The moult sometimes commences
very early, so that even by the middle of jNIay I have seen it
far advanced ; but in general it is not completed until the be-
ginning of w'inter. AVhen the feathers are old they become
very ragged and pointed, change from deep glossy brown to
188 BUTEO VULGARIS.
greyish-brown, with the edges yellowish or even whitish-
brown ; so that individuals in this state seem very different
from those of which the plumage is fresh, and in those which
are moulting the contrast between the old and new feathers is
very conspicuous.
Habits. — The Buzzard is generally distributed in Britain,
in the southern parts inhabiting the wooded tracts, and in the
northern preferring the wilder and more hilly districts. Its
food, as disclosed by the substances which I have found in
its oesophagus and stomach, consists of small quadrupeds,
tbe mole, short-tailed and long-tailed field mice, shrews, young
birds, the red grouse, the grey partridge, various small birds,
lizards especially aquatic species, beetles, larvae, and not un-
frequently large earthworms. In one instance I found the
stomach filled with the latter; and in another, with leaves of
plants and roots, along with beetles and an earthworm. The
mole, large as it is, I have sometimes found swallowed entire,
and animals of smaller size it seldom tears to pieces.
When searching for food, the Buzzard flies low over the
ground, advancing quietly with an equable and moderately
buoyant flight, and occasionally wheeling to either side. It
seldom pursues a bird on wing, but prefers pouncing on its
prey as it reposes or cowers on the ground, and it is said some-
times to devour carrion. When merely proceeding from one
place to another, it flies in a direct course, and with great speed,
shooting along at times without apparently moving its wings,
in the manner of the Eagles ; and although it cannot in this
respect be compared with the Sparrow Hawic or the Peregrine
Falcon, it by no means deserves the opprobrious epithets of
lazy and sluggish and indolent which have been conferred
upon it. At times, whether for amusement or gentle exercise,
it gradually ascends in the air to a great height, and sails along
in a circling manner with widely extended wings. When thus
engaged it so much resembles an eagle that the observer, not
being able to calculate its distance with certainty, might mis-
take it for such, although the large white patch on the lower
surface of the wing, which is very conspicuous, suffices to dis-
tinguish the bird.
BROWN OR COMMON BUZZARD. 189
The history of the Buzzard is less remarkable than that of many
other birds of this family, and as it is not apt to attract attention,
little can be said of it. After procuring a sufficiency of food, it
retires to some large tree in a secluded place, or to the ledge of
some rock, and there reposes until digestion is far advanced. It
is this circumstance which has induced many persons to consider
it as of a remarkably indolent disposition ; but in this respect
it does not diiFer from the Eagles, or indeed any other species
of the same family. Toward the commencement of the breed-
ing season it assumes more activity, and is more frequently seen
soaring in circles. Its cry, which is loud and shrill, is also more
commonly heard at this season.
In the wooded districts of England it is said to nestle on
trees ; but in Scotland it chooses for its nest a shelf of a rock,
or the edge of a steep scar or bed of a hill torrent, and forms it
of sticks, twigs, and heath, with a rude lining of wool and
grass. The eggs, three or four in number, are broadly ellip-
tical, two inches and a quarter in length, an inch and ten-
twelfths in breadth, dull white, spotted and patched with
yellowish-brown. During incubation, the male brings food to
the female, and sometimes takes her place on the eggs. The
young are at first covered with whitish down, and after leaving
the nest are assisted by their parents until able to shift for
themselves.
" The Common Buzzard," as Mr Hepburn informs me, " is
a rare bird in Haddingtonshire. No one can help remarking
its sluggish habits compared with those of the other Raptores
found in the Lothians. It hunts the fields in a wavering direc-
tion, often turning and twisting, about a dozen or sixteen feet
from the ground, dropping down on the unsuspecting mouse,
and seizing the unwary bird perched on the hedge. So far as
I have seen, it does not come near the dwellings of man in
search of its food. One of these birds daily hunted our fields
from August to November 1837, and again during the same
period in 1838. Besides devouring mice, the Buzzard is of
great service to the farmer in effectually driving off the Ring-
Doves from the corn. Here you may see them feeding in flocks,
often containing as many as 500 or sometimes above 1000. He
190 BUTEO VULGARIS.
is accused of killing game, and sufters accordingly ; but the
gleanings of the fields are not left to maintain game alone, be-
ing shared by mice and small birds, and yet the poor Buzzard
is shot when endeavouring to fulfil one of the great ends for
which he was created, namely, setting bounds to their increase.
When will our senators see the errors of game-laws, and the
moral evils they inflict on the lower orders ? Not till then
will the farmer and nurseryman experience the full benefit of
our rapacious birds."
This species, which is permanently resident, is still pretty
numerous in many of our wilder districts. In Edinburgh,
next to the Sparrow Hawk, Kestrel, and Merlin, it is that
most frequently sent to the bird-stufters. It is more plentiful
in the interior than along the coast, and although it occurs in
the larger Hebrides, it is rarely seen there, and in the Shet-
land Isles, as Dr Edmondston informs me, ranks merely as a
straggler.
Young. — I have not examined a young bird taken from the
nest, nor one that could with certainty be said to be in its first
plumage, and have failed in my endeavours to obtain an account
of one in this state, as no person of my acquaintance has paid
attention to the subject. A male shot in October, having its
plumage complete, and known to be a young bird by the soft-
ness and vascularity of its bones, was as follows.
The cere and soft margins of the bill greenish-yellow, the
iris hazel, the tarsi and toes yellow with a tinge of green, the
bill and claws black. The upper part of the head and the
hind-neck are dark-brown, longitudinally streaked with yel-
lowish-white, the lateral margins of the feathers being of that
colour. The rest of the upper parts deep brown glossed with
purple, all the feathers laterally margined with light-red ; the
scapulars and some of the large wing-coverts with several bands
of white on their inner webs, of which the edge is mottled with
reddish. The hind part of the back is of a uniform dark brown ;
but the upper tail-coverts are barred with light red. The pri-
mary quills are brownish-black, with the outer webs tinged
with grey toward the end, the inner white from the base to be-
BROWN OR COMMON BUZZARD. 191
yond the middle, and having several irregular dusky bands.
Tail banded with brownish-grey and blackish-brown, there be-
ing ten bands on the middle feathers, and twelve on the outer,
the last dark band little larger than the next, the tips whitish.
The sides of the head and throat are yellowish-white, streaked
with brown ; the rest of the lower parts yellowish-white lon-
gitudinally marked with oblong brown spots, the sides chiefly
brown ; the lower tail-coverts with a brown spot ; the plumage
of the legs and tarsi irregularly banded with brown and light
red. The dull light-red edgings of the feathers are character-
istic of the young, as is also the case in the Sparrow Hawk,
Merlin, and many other species.
A female of the same age differs chiefly in having less white
on the lower parts, the breast being of a nearly uniform browni,
although on many of the feathers are large reddish- white spots.
The feathers of the legs and tarsi are variegated with brown,
white, and light red, as are those of the abdomen, and the
lower tail-coverts are yellowish, barred with brown.
Progress toward Maturity. — At the next moult the bird
assumes a more uniform brown colour on the upper parts, the
• light red markings becoming light brown, or brownish- white.
It appears that, as it advances in age, the marginal white of
the feathers extends, until the lower parts in the males become
nearly white, there being merely an oblong brown spot on each
feather, and the white predominates over the brown on the
upper parts. In the females similar changes take place,- but
the lower parts are always more brown than in the males. I
have seen some individuals that had the plumage white, with
the exception of the quills, tail, and some oblong spots on the
upper parts and breast. It thus appears that at first the co-
lours of the plumage are darker than when the bird has attain-
ed maturity, and that the white predominates over the brown
in old age ; but it must be confessed that sufficiently correct
observations have not been made on this subject, and that
much remains to be done before the variations of colour in this
species are well understood. The iris in young birds is brown,
in adult birds yellow ; and, as corroborative of the view which
192 BUTEO VULGARIS.
I have taken above, Mr Fenton informs me that in all the
very light-coloured birds which he has prepared the iris has
been yellow.
M. Temminck states that in adult individuals, the upper
parts, the neck and breast, are dark brown ; the throat and
belly brownish-grey, but variegated with spots of a darker
brown, the tail with twelve transverse bands, the bill lead-
colour, the cere, iris, and feet yellow. Very old individuals,
he says, have the plumage very deep brown or chocolate co-
lour, the throat whitish with small longitudinal brown streaks,
some white transverse bands on the belly, and yellowish bands
toward the abdomen. The young of the year, according to
him, have the general colour light brown, variegated with
whitish and yellowish, the throat v/hite with longitudinal spots,
the feathers of the breast bordered with white, the middle of
the belly whitish with large longitudinal oval or cordate spots.
Birds of this latter kind I think are old males, those described
in the preceding sentence old females.
In the third part of his Manual he however alleges that all
this has been confirmed by observations subsequently made,
and yet inconsistently states that both the Common Buzzard
and the Rough-legged Buzzard shew as many varieties of plu-
mage as the Ruff. " No birds are more numerous in Holland
than these two species of Buzzard ; they come to us on their
migration in autumn, and remain part of the winter in our cli-
mates. They all vary, without regard to sex, in size, without
its being possible to find any regular difterence in the colours
of the plumage, which may be more or less variegated, barred,
spotted, patched, or whitish with large brown markings."" On
the contrary, I think there is method in the colouring of these
birds ; and have no doubt that a few good observers might soon
discover the order.
193
BUTEO LAGOPUS. THE ROUGH-LEGGED
BUZZARD.
ROUGH-LEGGED FALCON.
Falco lagopus, Gmel. Syst. Nat. I. 260.
Falco lagopus. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 19.
Rougli-legged Falcon. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Buse pattue. Falco lagopus. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I, 65 ; III. 37.
Rough-legged Buzzard. Buteo lagopus. Selb. Illustr. I. 58.
Buteo lagopus. Rough-legged Buzzard. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 87.
Tarsi feathered to the toes ; upper parts broicn, the head and
neck streaked with white, lower parts yelloidsh-ichite, with a broad
patch' of hroii'ii on the breast ; the tail white for more than half its
length. Old birds almost entirely chocolate brown, the forehead
and base of the tail white, the latter barred icith ichite and brotoif
In form, proportions, and plnmage, the " Rough-legged
Falcon" so closely agrees with the Common Buzzard, that,
although it differs in having the tarsi feathered to the toes, in
place of being feathered for half their length, I cannot con-
sider it necessary to refer it to a separate genus. This spe-
cies exhibits great variation in the tints of the plumage, and
especially in the proportion of brown to yellowish -white, some
individuals being almost entirely of the former colour, while
in others the latter predominates.
Male. — Although females of this species often equal and some-
times exceed in size those of the Common Buzzard, the male is
usually smaller than in that species. The general form is ro-
bust, the body being full, the neck rather short, the head very
large, roundish, and flattened above. The bill is short and
comparatively small, broader than high at the base ; the dorsal
line of the upper mandible declinate and slightly convex to the
edge of the cere, then decurved in the fourth of a circle, its
VOL. III. o
194
BUTEO LAGOPUS.
edges with a very slight festoon, the tip trigonal and descend-
ing obliquely ; the lower mandible with the angle wide, the
dorsal line convex, the sides rounded, the edges sharp, inflected,
and decurved at the tip, which is rounded and thin-edged. The
nostrils are large and ovate ; the eyes also large. The feet are
rather short and robust ; the tarsi roundish, feathered in their
whole length ; the toes short and proportionally smaller than
in the Common Buzzard ; the hind toe considerably shorter
and scarcely stronger than the second, the fourth of about the
same length, much more slender, and connected by a small
web ; the toes with transverse series of scales at the base, the
first with five, the second with four, the third with seven, the
fourth with four scutella. The claws are long, moderately
curved, rather slender, very acute, that of the third toe with a
thin eds[e along; the inner side.
The plumage is full, remarkably soft and rather blended.
The space between the bill and the eye is covered with small
bristle-tipped downy feathers. On the head and neck the fea-
thers are lanceolate, on the back and breast broadly ovate and
rounded ; on the legs short and narrow, those on the outer side
of the tibia however being elongated and of an oblong form.
The wings are long, reaching to the end of the tail, and much
rounded ; the first four quills with the inner web abruptly at-
tenuated, the first six with the outer also narrowed ; the secon-
ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD. 195
daries broad and rounded ; the first quill two inches and ten
twelfths shorter than the second, which is an inch and a twelfth
shorter than the third, the fourth slightly longer than the lat-
ter ; the first and seventh about equal. The tail is long, broad,
slightly rounded and slightly cmarginate.
The cere and toes are yellow, the superciliary ridge greenish,
the iris yellow ; the bill and claws black, greyish-blue at the
base. The radiating loral bristles black, their downy base
white. The head and neck are yellowish-white, with linear-
oblong streaks of umber-brown, the central part of each feather
being of that colour ; the back umber-brown tinged with grey,
the feathers glossed wnth purplish toward the end, margined
with yellowish-white and light reddish-brown, and having
their concealed parts white. The edge of the wing is whit-
ish, the brown feathers close to it margined with light red ;
the quills and larger coverts are brown, the primaries blackish-
brown toward the end, the outer webs of the first six tinged
with grey, and the base of all white, that colour being apparent
on the outer edge of the outer four or five, and extending to
the narrowed part of the inner web of all. The upper tail-
coverts are white, with a large brown spot near the end ; the
tail white for nearly two-thirds from the base, the remaining
or terminal part brown, but with a small portion of the tip
brownish-white. The ground-colour of the fore-neck and the
rest of the lower parts is yellovv'ish-white or pale ochre, the
throat with linear, the neck with lanceolate, the breast with
obovate brown spots ; but the sides and middle of the breast
are brown •-, the abdomen and lower tail-coverts unspotted ;
the short plumage of the legs and tarsi reddish-yellow, mottled
with dark brown ; the elongated tibial feathers paler, with an
oblong brown spot. The lower wing-coverts are yellowish-
white, each with a narrow brown mark, but the larger or pri-
mary coverts chiefly brown ; almost the whole under surface
of the quills white, the attenuated part of the primaries being
greyish-black, and the ends of the secondaries pale grey.
The alimentary canal, as examined in an American speci-
men, belonging to INIr Audubon, is in all respects similar to
that of the Common Buzzard ; the tongue being ten twelfths of
196 BUTEO LAGOPUS.
an inch long, fleshy, concave above, rounded ; the oesophagus
six and a half inches long, expanded into a crop two inches
and eight twelfths in width ; the stomach roundish, somewhat
compressed, two inches and a quarter in diameter ; its muscu-
lar coat thin ; the pylorus with three knobs ; the intestine
three feet seven inches in length, from five twelfths to a
twelfth and a half in width ; the rectum four inches long, five
and a half twelfths wide ; the cloaca globular ; the coeca three
twelfths long.
Length to end of tail 21 inches ; extent of wings 51 ; wing
from flexure 17 ; tail 9i ; bill along the ridge 1^^ ; along the
edge of lower mandible ly% ; tarsus 2.? ; hind toe /|, its claw
1/2 ' second toe /I, its claw 1^^^; third toe l/g, its claw
\^ ; fourth toe |§, its claw j%.
Female. — The female, which is much larger, resembles the
male in colour ; an adult individual in my collection differing
only in having the light-coloured parts more tinged with yel-
low, the small wing-coverts more largely edged with brownish-
red, the scapulars and larger wing-coverts broadly margined
with yellowish-white ; but as scarcely two adult individuals
agree in every particular, it is inexpedient to enter into a very
minute description.
In an individual killed in Fifeshire in December 1839, the
oesophagus was seven inches long, the crop two inches and a
half in width ; the stomach two inches in diameter ; the in-
testine four feet one inch long ; the coeca three twelfths, and
the cloaca an inch and a quarter in diameter.
Length to end of tail 23i inches ; extent of wings 56 ; wing
from flexure 18 ; tail 10 ; bill along the ridge 1^% ; tarsus 2j% ;
first toe |S, its claw 1^^^ ; second toe \%, its claw l^-^j ; third
toe I5, its claw {^ ; fourth toe Ij^^, its claw j|.
Variations. — Although the individuals commonly met with
present a considerable diversity of colouring, I do not find that
the differences are of much importance, being confined to changes
in the relative extent of the white and brown markings, stronger
shades of yellow on the white, and the presence or absence of red-
ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD. 197
dish margins. Indications of bars on the tail are usually mot
with, and its broad brown band is darker or lighter.
Habits. — The Rough-legged Buzzard, which is a native of
the colder regions of both continents, now and then makes its
appearance in Britain, toward the end of autumn or in winter ;
but if it ever remains to breed with us, the instances must be
extremely rare, and I am unable to find any description of its
nest, eggs, or young, as observed in this country. In the
southern division of Scotland it has several times been pro-
cured, and, as My Yarrell remarks, " it has been killed once
or oftener in every county in England." Yet Mr Selby, I be-
lieve, is the only person who has described its habits from per-
sonal observation, he having had an opportunity of watching
two birds that had settled in his neighbourhood. " Their
flight," he says, " was smooth, but slow, and not unlike that
of the Common Buzzard, and they seldom continued for any
length of time on the wing. They preyed upon wild ducks
and other birds, which they pounced upon on the ground ; and it
would appear that mice and frogs must have constituted a great
part of their food, as the remains of both were found in the
stomachs of those that were killed."
On the continent, according to M. Temminck, it inhabits
the borders of woods, in the vicinity of water ; in autumn and
winter is frequent in the northern countries, and sometimes
makes its appearance in Holland, usually in company with the
Common Buzzard. Its food, he says, is composed of water-
rats, hamsters, moles, young rabbits, hares and birds, often of
serpents and frogs. From the Scandinavian Peninsula and
other northern parts it is seen as far south as the shores of the
Mediterranean, and is even said to have been met with at the
Cape of Good Hope.
In America it is confined to the northern parts. According
to Dr Richardson, " it arrives in the fur countries in April or
May, and, having reared its young, retires southward early in
October. It winters on the banks of the Delaware and Schuyl-
kill, returning to the north in spring. It is by no means an un-
common bird in the districts through which the expedition
198 BUTEO LAGOPUS.
travelled, but, being very shy, only one specimen was procured.
A pair were seen at their nest, built of sticks, on a lofty tree,
standing on a low, moist, alluvial point of land, almost encir-
cled by a bend of the Saskatchewan. They sailed round the
spot in a wide circle, occasionally settling on the top of a tree,
but were too wary to allow us to come within gun-shot ; so
that, after spending much time in vain, we were fain to relin-
quish the chase. In the softness and fulness of its plumage,
its feathered legs, and habits, this bird bears some resemblance
to the owls. It flies slowly, sits for a long time on the bough
of a tree, watching for mice, frogs, &c., and is often seen skim-
ming over swampy pieces of ground, and hunting for its prey
by the subdued daylight, which illuminates even the midnight
hours in the high parallels of latitude."
Mr Audubon found it plentiful in winter in the neighbour-
hood of Boston, and observed it in various places from the Bay
of Fundy to the eastern parts of North Carolina, beyond which
it seldom proceeds. " It is a sluggish bird,"" he says, " and
confines itself to the meadows and low grounds bordering the
rivers and salt-marshes, along our bays and inlets. In such
places you may see it perched on a stake, where it remains for
hours at a time, unless some wounded bird comes in sight,
when it sails after it and secures it without manifesting much
swiftness of flight. It feeds principally on moles, mice, and
other small quadrupeds, and never attacks a duck on the wing,
although now and then it pursues a wounded one. When not
alarmed, it usually flies low and sedately, and does not exhibit
any of the courage and vigour so conspicuous in most other
hawks, suffering thousands of birds to pass without pursuing
them. The greatest feat I have seen them perform was scram-
bling at the edge of the water, to secure a lethargic frog. They
alight on trees to roost, but appear so hungry and indolent at
all times, that they seldom retire to rest until after dusk. Their
large eyes indeed seem to indicate their possession of the faculty
of seeing at that late hour. I have frequently put up one, that
seemed watching for food at the edge of a ditch, long after sun-
set. Whenever an opportunity offers, they eat to excess, and,
like the Turkey Buzzards and Carrion Crows, disgorge their
ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD. 199
food, to enable them to fly off. The species is more nocturnal
in its habits than any other hawk found in the United States."
Although it has not been met with between the Alleghanies
and the Rocky Mountains, Dr Townsend found it breeding on
the banks of Bear River, westward of the latter. " Its nest was
placed in a willow, ten feet from the ground, and formed of
large sticks. It contained two young almost fledged."
Remarks. — A hawk precisely similar in every respect, except-
ing colour, to the Rough-legged Falcon, was described by Pen-
nant and Wilson under the names of Falco Sancti- Johannis and
Falco niger. This bird Mr Audubon, by an extensive compari-
son of specimens, found to be identical with that species, and it
has been referred to by Nillson as the young of the Buteo lagopus.
Mr Audubon, however, is positive as to its being the old bird,
and gives analogical and other reasons in support of his opinion,
young birds taken from the nest not having been seen by him.
These reasons will be found in the second and fifth volumes of
his Ornithological Biography. The state of plumage alluded
to is chocolate or blackish-brown, but with some of the charac-
teristic markings of the species, such in particular as the white
bases of the quills, remaining.
No person, however, has seen these black individuals breed-
ing ; but on the contrary, Dr Richardson, as mentioned above,
observed a pair of the usual colour having a nest; and Dr Towns-
end, in stating the fact mentioned above, concludes with saying
" the birds were in the same plumage as that figured by you" —
that individual then figured being an ordinary Buteo lagopus. It
is thus clear that the light-coloured birds breed, and therefore
must be considered adult, unless the black be also found breed-
ing, in which case some additional circumstance would be re-
quired to settle the question. If the old birds are black, how is it
that none have ever been seen in Britain, or in Holland, although
these countries are not by any means on the limits of their
migration, the species occurring as far south as the ISIediterra-
nean I On the other hand, if the young birds are black, how
do they not appear iji these countries, since in the southward
migration of an arctic bird the young generally proceed far-
thest I There are two ways of solving the difficulty. The dark-
200 BUTEO LAGOPUS.
coloured birds are tliose in their first or nestling plumage ; or
they may. on a more minute examination, and on being kept
some years in captivity, turn out to be of a different species.
The birds alluded to above are as follows : — Bill bluish-
black ; cere and basal margins orange ; feet orange ; iris
hazel, superciliary ridge dull green ; general colour of the
plumage blackish-brown or chocolate-brown ; the inner webs
of the quills, the nape under the surface, and the forehead,
wdiite ; the feathers of the legs barred with reddish ; the tail
deep black, with five narrow white bands, and tipped with
brownish-white. A male in this state in INIr Audubon's col-
lection had " the general colour of the plumage deep blackish-
brown ; the forehead and a large patch on the hind-neck white,
streaked with blackish-brown ; all the feathers of the back,
the scapulars, the wing-coverts, the quills, and the tail-feathers,
are white toward the base, and more or less barred with whitish,
or light grey, or pale brown ; in consequence of wdiich the
upper parts are obscurely mottled ; the axillar feathers, some
of those on the sides, and some of the tibial feathers, with the
lower tail-coverts, are similarly marked ; the white forms a
conspicuous patch on the under surface of the wing, as it occu-
pies the greater part of the primaries as well as part of the
inner webs of the secondaries ; the tail brownish-black, barred
with greyish- white, tinged with brown, there being on the mid-
dle feathers six of these black bands, the last very broad, the
tips brownish- white.
If these really belong to this species, we might suppose
that the young, at first of a nearly uniform dark brown, but
with the bases of all the feathers white, gradually become
lighter, the brown colour contracting so that the edges of
the feathers become white or yellowish until the brown is re-
duced to mere streaks on the head and neck. The tail, at first
banded with blackish-brown and white, ultimately becomes
brown, the basal part being white at all ages ; or, in other
words, the bands, at first numerous, are ultimately reduced to
one ; as is the case with Butco borealis, Falco sparverius, and
F. Tinnunculus, and to a less extent with Buteo pennsylvani-
cus, in which the young has seven dusky bars, while the adult
has only three.
201
AQUILA. EAGLE.
Bill shorter than the head, very hi(i;h, at the base of nearly
the same breadth and height, gradually compressed : upper
mandible with the cere broad and bare, the dorsal line nearly
straight along the cere, then decurved in about the third of a
circle, the ridge broad and convex on the cere, narrowed but
convex in the rest of its extent, the sides sloping, toward the
end slightly convex, the edges soft to beneath the nostrils,
then sharp, with a slight festoon, the tip prolonged, slightly
curved inwards, trigonal, acute, concave beneath ; lower man-
dible with the angle of moderate width, and rounded, the
edges soft, obtuse and straight for half their length, towards
the end sharp, inflected, and decurved, the dorsal line convex,
as are the sides, the tip rounded and thin-edged.
Mouth wide ; palate flat, with two longitudinal soft pro-
minent papillate lines ; upper mandible slightly concave within,
the lower more deeply concave ; posterior aperture of nares
oblong, with an anterior slit. Tongue fleshy, deeply emar-
ginate and papillate at the base, with one of the lateral pa-
pilla large, concave above, the sides nearly parallel, the tip
rounded, slightly emarginate. (Esophagus very wide, dilated
into a very large crop lying toward the right side. A broad
belt of pro ventricular glands. Stomach large, roundish, its
muscular coat thin and composed of a single series of fasciculi ;
the tendinous spaces round and thin. The intestine rather
short, wide, at the anterior part, very narrow toward the
rectum, the duodenum forming a single loop ; coeca very small,
cloaca very large and globular. Plate XX, Fig. 2.
Nostrils broadly elliptical, oblique, subbasal, in the fore part
of the cere. Eyes large, with a broad projecting superciliary
ridge ; eyelids bare, edged with bristly feathers having a few
filaments at the base. External aperture of ear large, round,
202 AQUILA. EAGLE.
with a broadisli dermal margin, beset with linear-lanceolate
feathers.
The body is robust and compact, of great breadth anteriorly ;
the neck of moderate length ; the head large, roundish, very
broad behind, flattened above. The feet of moderate length,
extremely muscular ; the tarsus very short, thick, round, fea-
thered to the tarso-digital joint, in some species partially bare
and scaly. The toes of moderate length, very stout ; the
first and second shortest and thickest, the fourth next in
length, but the most slender ; the third and fourth connected
by a pretty large web, the third and second by a very slight
one ; all covered above by transverse series of roundish scales,
scutellate toward the end. Claws strong, tapering, curved,
rounded above, laterally flattened, very acute, concave, and
marginate beneath ; the first and second largest, the fourth
remarkably small, the third with an edge and a broad groove
on the inner side.
Plumage compact and imbricated. The space from the eye
to the cere covered with very small bristle-feathers, which are
downy at the base. On the head and neck the feathers are
lanceolate and pointed, on the body broadly ovate ; the scapu-
lars large and strong ; outer tibial feathers elongated, the rest
short. The fore part of the breast in the region of the furcula,
the abdomen and part of the sides covered with downy feathers
only ; but a large tuft from the thorax overlaps the abdomen.
Wings very long, broad, and rounded, with twenty-seven
quills, and six strong humerals. The first quill of the same
length as the eighth, the second shorter than the fifth, the fourth
longest, the third almost as long ; the first six are abruptly cut
out on the inner web, and narrowed on the outer, leaving large
intervals when the wing is expanded ; the primaries pointed,
the secondaries very broad, broadly obtuse, with a minute tip.
Tail of moderate length, or rather long, rounded, extending
considerably beyond the tips of the wings, broad, of twelve very
broad feathers.
This genus is composed of birds of large or moderate size,
some of which approach the Haliaeti in form, while others
manifest a direct affinitv to the Buzzards. In Haliaetus, the
AQUILA. EAGLE.
203
bill is longer and higher, the feet larger, and the tarsi bare.
A still more distinctive character exists in the intestinal canal,
which is extremely elongated and narrow, with a singularly-
convoluted duodenum in Haliaetus, whereas in Aquila it is
short, rather wide, and with the duodenum of the usual form.
The Eagles are powerful and vigorous birds, rather heavy and
somewhat slow, like the Buzzards, but diiferingfroni the Hali-
aeti in feeding less on carrion than on animals killed by them-
selves. They nestle in rocks, whether on the sea-shore or in
the interior, prefer mountainous regions, and are generally dis-
tributed, one or more species occurring in every known region.
In Britain only one is met with, which is now almost entirely
confined to the northern parts,
I have ascertained, by comparing birds shot in winter with
those newly fledged, that the young retain their first plumage
until the following spring, or, at least, that the colouring of
their winter plumage is similar to that of their first state. The
Foot here represented, and the Head on the following page,
are those of a young male shot in winter.
204
AQUILA CHRYSAETUS. THE GOLDEN EAGLE.
BLACK EAGLE. RING-TAILED EAGLE. BROWN EAGLE. lOLAIR DHUBII.
Falco Chrysaetos. Linn, Syst. Na(. I, l-J."). Adult.
Falco fulvus. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 12,5. Young.
Falco Chrysaetos. Lath. Ind. Orn. L 12. Adult.
Falco fulvus. Lath. Ind. Orn. L 10. Young.
Golden Eagle. Mont. Oiu. Diet. Adult.
Ring-tail Eagle. Moat. Orn. Diet. Young.
Aigle Eoyal. Falco fulvus. Temm. Man. d'Orn. 38.
Golden Eagle, Aquila Chrysaiitus. Selb. lUustr.
Falco Cbrysaetus. Golden Eagle. Jen. Brit. Vert. An.
Tail slightly rounded, longer than the wings ; the general
colour brown ; the feathers of the head, neck, tarsus, and inner
part of tibia light yelloicish-broicn, the tail broicnish-black, more
or less variegated icith grey. Young dark-broicn, with the basal
half of the tail ichite.
The Golden Eagle, which, with the excejotion of the White-
tailed Sea-Eagle, is the largest of our Raptores, is the only
GOLDEN EAGLE. 205
bird of its genus that occurs in Britain. The disparity be-
tween the male and the female is as great as in any species of
this family, some individuals of the former measuring only
two feet and a half in length, while many of the latter extend
to three feet two inches. If not the most celebrated, it is at
least the most esteemed of its tribe, and, through the misre-
presentations of poets and amateur naturalists, possesses a char-
acter for courage and generosity, which a more intimate ac-
quaintance with it than such persons usually acquire, soon
suffices to dispel. Yet the Eagle is a magnificent bird, and
when met with on some grim alpine crag projecting from the
grey mist, inspires a kind of respect, of which some degree of
fear is an essential ingredient. Even in the menagerie he has
a truculent aspect, with those bright but overshadowed eyes,
that harmonizes with his wild nature ; and, here, extended
dead on the table, as just arrived from the Braes of Lochaber,
his broad chest and brawny limbs indicate a power capable
of giving effect to those death-dealing talons and expansive
wings.
]\1ale. — The body is robust, compact, ovate, very broad
anteriorly ; the neck of moderate length ; the head short,
very broad behind, and flattened above. Bill shorter than
the head, very deep, compressed toward the end ; the cere
large, the edges of the upper mandible with a slight festoon,
its tip trigonal and decurved. The legs are rather long, and
\^ery muscular ; but the tarsi short, stout, roundish, and
feathered to the joint. The toes are covered above with
transverse series of roundish scales, padded beneath, with soft
conical, generally flattened papillae. On each of the toes are
four terminal scutella. The claws are strong, tapering, acu-
minate, curved, rounded above, laterally flattened, concave
beneath ; the first and second largest, the fourth comparatively
very small.
The upper mandible is concave within, and has a median
ridge ; the palate flat, with two longitudinal papillate ridges.
The posterior aperture of the nares oblong behind, linear
20() AQUILA CHRYSAETUS.
before, margined with minute papillae. The tongue is an
inch and a quarter in length, concave above, emarginate and
papillate at the base, horny beneath, with the tip rounded and
slightly emarginate. The oesophagus is thirteen inches long,
at the commencement an inch and a half in width, but pre-
sently enlarging to form a great sac or crop three inches in
width, and four in length ; it then contracts on entering the
thorax, and again enlarges to the width of an inch and a half.
Its transverse muscular fibres are conspicuous in its whole ex-
tent, and on its inner surface open numerous mucous crypts. The
stomach is roundish, a little compressed, two inches and a half
in diameter, its tendons seven-eighths, its muscular coat thin,
and composed of a single series of fasciculi. The proventri-
cular glandules, which are cylindrical, form a continuous belt
an inch and a half in breadth. The intestine is four feet eight
inches in length, at its anterior part seven twelfths in width,
toward the rectum only two-twelfths. The coeca are two-
twelfths and a half long. The rectum is six inches and a half
in length, about nine-twelfths in width, but enlarges into a
globular sac two inches in diameter. Plate XX, Fig. 2.
The nostril, which is broadly elliptical, oblique, with a
soft ridge internally from the upper side, is five-twelfths long,
and three-twelfths in breadth. The aperture of the eye is
eight-twelfths, that of the ear five-twelfths.
The cere is bare above, but its sides, and a broad space from
the bill to the eye, are covered with bristle-feathers, having a
few downy filaments at their base ; the supraocular ridge is
bare, as are the eyelids, which however are ciliated. On the
head the feathers are small, narrow, lanceolate, and acumi-
nate ; on the neck similar, but larger and broader ; on the
back ovate and acuminate, those before larger ; the scapulars'
large and strong ; on the lower parts also ovate, on the tibia
and tarsus short and blended, on the outer side of the former
elongated. The feathers of the abdomen are loose and downy.
The wings, which when closed reach nearly to the end of the
tail, are very long and broad ; the primaries ten, the secon-
daries seventeen, the humerals six of large size ; the outer
GOLDEN EAGLE. 207
six quills abruptly cut out on the inner, and gently attenuated
on the outer web ; the fourth longest, the third a quarter of an
inch shorter, the second an inch and a third shorter than the
fourth, the first five inches and a half shorter, and of the same
length as the eighth. The tail is of moderate length, nearly
straight, broad, and slightly rounded, the lateral feathers being
only three quarters of an inch shorter than the longest.
The bill and claws are black, shaded toward the base into
greyish-blue ; the cere and soft skin at the base of the bill rich
yellow ; the bare part of the eyelids flesh-colour ; the iris hazel ;
the toes rich pure yellow, their soles of the same colour but
paler. The bristly feathers about the base of the bill are black.
The feathers of the upper part of the head, the hind part and
sides of the neck light yellowish-brown ; those of the inner and
fore part of the tibia, and of the tarsus all round, of alight reddish-
brown ; as are the lower tail-coverts. The general colour of the
rest of the plumage is deep-brown, glossed with purple ; the
edges of the wrings pale brownish-grey ; most of the wing-coverts
and the inner secondaries umber-brown, margined with paler.
Alula, primary coverts and primary quills brownish-black ;
their inner w^ebs irregularly barred with greyish-white, as are
both webs of most of the secondaries. The tail is dark brown,
blackish toward the end, but toward the base paler, with irre-
gular pale greyish-brown markings. On all parts of the body
the bases of the feathers are white ; the down on the breast,
abdomen, and sides pale grey, on the latter intermixed with
brown.
Length to end of tail 33 inches ; extent of wings 72 ; bill
along the ridge 2f\, along the edge of lower mandible 2i^2,
cere ^■'^ ; wing from flexure 24 ; tail 12?; tarsus 4 ; first toe
l/^j its claw 2i^| ; second toe 1^1^, its claw 2^% ; third toe
2/g, its claw 1^ ; fourth toe l^g, its claw li^|.
Female. — The female greatly exceeds the male in size, but
scarcely diffiers in colouring. One from Inverness-shire, which
w^eighed twelve pounds fourteen ounces, had the fifth quill
longest, the fourth next, the third and sixth scarcely shorter,
208 AQUILA CIIRYSAETUS.
the first four inches and a half shorter than the second, which
was half an inch shorter than the third ; the tail very slightly
rounded, the lateral feathers only ten-twelfths shorter than the
longest. The general colour of the plumage dark-brown ; the
upper part of the head, hind part and sides of the neck, inner
tibial feathers, those of the tarsus, and the lower tail-coverts,
yellowish-brown. The edge of the wing greyish-brown ; the
wing-coverts and inner secondaries edged with brownish- white ;
the primary quills brownish-black, their inner webs mottled
with greyish ; the secondaries brown, with their inner and part
of their outer webs variegated with greyish-white. The tail
brownish-black at the end, greyish-brown in the rest of its ex-
tent, with faint irregular bars of grey. The base of the plumage
white, conspicuous on the hind-neck, when the feathers are
raised.
Length to end of tail 87 inches ; extent of wings 87 ; wing
from flexure 26^ ; tail 14 ; bill along the ridge 2/^, along the
edge of lower mandible 2|, cere i§ ; tibia 7i ; tarsus 4i ; first
toe ly^g, its claw 2/^ ; second toe 1^%^ its claw 2^^ ; third toe
2i^j, its claw li"| ; fourth toe 1{S, its claw 1^%.
Variations. — Adult individuals differ little in colour. Males
vary from two feet six inches to thirty-four inches or somewhat
more ; females from two feet ten to three feet two or three
inches. Males generally measure about six feet in alar extent,
and females about seven ; the smallest male measured by me
was only five feet six, and the largest female seven feet three
inches ; but larger measurements have been given. The fol-
lowing tables of variations in the number of scutella, and in the
dimensions of the digestive organs, may be useful : —
M.
Scutella on first toe 4
Second toe 8
Third toe 4
Fourth toe ... 8
M.
M.
M.
F.
F.
F.
F.
F.
4
8
8
4
4
4
8
4
8
8
8
8
4
8
4
4
8
4
8
4
4
8
5
3
8
8
8
8
4
8
4
3
GOLDEN EAGLE. 209
M.
M.
F.
F.
F.
—
1 3
••■12
12
12
12f
13
14
3
3
3
3
—
2i
—
2i
—
2
56
51
9
66
14
68
65
3
4
—
1
12
—
—
I
4
—
3
12
—
—
2
12
5
12
4
12
—
3
12
CA
7
7
2
2
2i
M.
Tongue in length.... I5
CEsophagus 13
Crop in width 3^
Stomach 2^
Intestine 50
Length of duodenum —
Greatest width j'%
Least width y|
Coeca in length /^
Rectum —
Cloaca in diameter... 2
Changes of Plumage. — The moult appears to commence ahout
the middle of spring and to be completed in December ; but
I have never examined an Eagle at any season without finding
new feathers. ^Vhen old the feathers are generally ragged, irre-
gularly pointed, and of a light greyish-brown colour ; when new
of a rich brown glossed with purple, many of them brownish-
black. The wing-coverts seem to be the feathers last renewed.
Habits. — The Golden Eagle is not seen to advantage in the
menagerie of a zoological society, nor when fettered on the
smooth lawn of an aristocratic mansion, or perched on the rock-
work of a nursery-garden ; nor can his habits be well described
by a cockney ornithologist, whose proper province is to concoct
systems, " Work out" analogies, and give names to .skins that
have come from foreign lands carefully packed in boxes lined
with tin. Far away, among the brown hills of Albyn, is thy
dwelling-place, chief of the rocky glen ! On the crumbling
crag of red granite that towers over the fissured precipices of
Loch-na-gar thou hast reposed in safety. The croak of the
Raven has broken thy slumbers, and thou gatherest up thy huge
wings, smoothest the feathers on thy sides, and preparest to
launch into the aerial ocean. Bird of the desert, solitary though
thou art, and hateful to the sight of many of thy fellow crea-
tures, thine must be a happy life. No lord hast thou to bend
thy stubborn soul to his will, no cares corrode thy heart, sel-
VOL. III. p
210 AQUILA CHRYSAETUS.
dom does fear chill thy free spirit, for the windy tempest and
the thick sleet cannot injure thee, and the lightnings may flash
aromid thee and the thunders shake the everlasting hills, with-
out rousing thee from thy dreamy repose. Thou hast a good
conscience, and what shouldst thou dread, although a thousand
victims have been sacrificed to thy lust of rapine, and even now
the blood of that helpless fawn which thy keen eye discovered
among the long heath crusts thy hooked bill. Thou hast a
commission to plunder ; thou art a robber by right ; mercy and
peace are not of the elements of thy nature ; like the ancient
Gael of those wild glens thou goest about armed for strife ; even
thy love is fierce, and thy nurslings are nurtured with blood.
Proud bird of the desert, how joyous must thou be, wdien on
strong wings thou glidest over the mountain-tops, and soarest
away into the blue sky, until the clouds are beneath thee, and
thou floatest in the ether, nearer to heaven than living thing
has ever been. Oh that I too had the wings of an Eagle, that
I might visit the place of thy rest, and perch on a pinnacle be-
side thy mate as she broods over her young ones on the rocks
of Glen Dee. But thou art now almost ready, and before thou
startest, let me take thy portrait.
See how the sunshine brightens the yellow tint of his head
and neck, until it shines almost like gold ! There he stands
nearly erect, with his tail depressed, his large wings half raised
by his side, his neck stretched out, and his eye glistening as he
glances around. Like other robbers of the desert, he has a
noble aspect, an imperative mien, a look of proud defiance ;
but his nobility has a dash of clownishness, and his falconship
a vulturine tinge. Still he is a noble bird, powerful, indepen-
dent, proud, and ferocious, regardless of the weal or woe of
others, and intent solely on the gratification of his own appe-
tites ; without generosity, without honour, bold against the de-
fenceless, but ever ready to sneak from danger. Such is his
nobility, about which men have so raved. Suddenly he
raises his wings, for he has heard the whistle of the shepherd
in the corry, and, bending forward, he springs into the air.
Oh that this pencil of mine were a musket charged with buck-
shot ! Hardly do those vigorous flaps serve at first to prevent
GOLDEN EAGLE. 211
his descent ; but now, curving upwards, he glides majestically
along. As he passes the corner of that buttressed and battle-
mented crag, forth rush two ravens from their nest, croaking
fiercely. While one flies above him, the other steals beneath,
and they essay to strike him, but dare not, for they have an in-
stinctive knowledge of the power of his grasp, and after follow-
ing him a little way they return to their home, vainly exulting
in the thought of having driven him from their neighbourhood.
Bent on a far journey, he advances in a direct course, flapping
his great wings at regular intervals, then shooting along with-
out seeming to move them. In ten minutes he has progressed
three miles, although he is in no haste, and now disappears
behind the shoulder of the hill. But we may follow him in
imagination, for his habits being well known to us, we maybe
allowed the ornitholomcal license of tracinof them in continu-
ance. Homeward bound, his own wants satisfied, he knows
that his young must be supplied with food.
Over the moors he sweeps, at the height of two or three hun-
dred feet, bending his course to either side, his wings wide-
spread, his neck and feet retracted, now beating the air, and
again sailing smoothly along. Suddenly he stops, poises him-
self for a moment, stoops, but recovers himself without reach-
ing the ground. The object of his regards, a Golden Plover,
which he had spied on her nest, has eluded him, and he cares
not to pursue it. Now he ascends a little, wheels in short
curves, presently rushes down headlong, assumes the horizon-
tal position when close to the ground, prevents his being dashed
against it by expanding his wings and tail, thrusts forth his
talons, and grasping a poor terrified ptarmigan that sat cower-
ing among the grey lichens, squeezes it to death, raises his
head exultingly, emits a clear shrill cry, and springing from the
ground pursues his journey.
In passing a tall cliff that overhangs a small lake, he is as-
sailed by a fierce Peregrine Falcon, which darts and plunges
at him, as if determined to deprive him of his booty, or drive
him headlong to the ground. This proves a more dangerous
foe than the Raven, and the Eagle screams, yelps, and throws
himself into postures of defence ; but at length, the hawk, see-
212 AQUILA CHRYSAETUS.
ing the tyrant is not bent on plundering his nest, leaves him to
pursue his course unmolested. Over woods and green fields
and scattered hamlets, speeds the Eagle, and now he enters the
long valley of the Dee, near the upper end of which is dimly
seen through the thin grey mist the rock of his rest. About a
mile from it he meets his mate, who has been abroad on a simi-
lar errand, and is returning with a white hare in her talons.
They congratulate each other with loud yelping cries, which
rouse the drowsy shepherd on the strath below, who mindful
of the lambs carried off in springtime, sends after them his
malediction. Now they reach their nest, and are greeted by
their young with loud clamour.
Let us mark the spot. It is the shelf of a rock, concealed by
a projecting angle, so that it cannot be injured from above, and
too distant from the base to be reached by a shot. In the
crevices are luxuriant tufts of Rhodiola rosea, and scattered
around are many alpine plants, which it would delight the bo-
tanist to enumerate. The mineralogist would not be less pleased
could he with chisel and hammer reach that knob which glit-
ters with crystals of quartz and felspar. The nest is a bulky
fabric, five feet at least in diameter, rudely constructed of dead
sticks, twigs, and heath, flat, unless in the centre, where it is
a little hollowed and covered with wool and feathers. Slovenly
creatures you would think those two young birds, clothed
with white down, amid which the larger feathers are seen pro-
jecting, for their fluid dung is scattered all over the sticks,
and you see that had the nest been formed more compactly
of softer materials it would have been less comfortable. Strewn
around too are fragments of lambs, hares, grouse, and other
birds, in various stages of decay. Alighting on the edges of
the nest, the eagles deposit their prey, partially pluck off" the
hair and feathers, and rudely tearing up the flesh, lay it before
their ever-hungry young.
The nest of the Golden Eagle is sometimes plundered by
letting a person down to it on a rope, and more rarely by climb-
ing to it. This species is bolder than the Sea Eagle, and has
been known to attack individuals thus occupied. In Suther-
land, two young men having plundered a nest, were returning
' GOLDEN EAGLE. 213
with the spoil, when they were assailed by one of the eagles,
which repeatedly struck at them with her wing. In Forfar-
shire, a farmer in ascending to an eagle's nest, was encoun-
tered by the old bird, which had returned with food for the
young, and escaped only by throwing to her his bonnet, after
which she flew to the ground, and on returning was shot by
him. If any of the stories told respecting children that have
been carried off by eagles be true, it is probable that the feat
has been performed by this species. Should one of the birds
be shot during the breeding season, it has been observed that the
survivor generally procures a mate in a very short time, and that
even after the young have been hatched. The eggs are usually
two, sometimes only one, and very rarely three. They are infe-
rior in size to the egg of a domestic goose, of a broadly oval shape,
three inches in length, two inches and four-twelfths in breadth,
yellowish- white, clouded and spotted with light brown, some-
times white, with a few reddish dots. One in my possession,
which was taken from the oviduct, is pure white, but probably
it would have received some colouring matter, which is depo-
sited after the shell is completed, had the bird not been shot.
The food of the Golden Eagle consists of the flesh of hares,
rabbits, lambs, fawns, moles, black-grouse, red-grouse, ptar-
migans, partridges, curlews, plovers, lapwings, and probably
other species. I have seen one carry off a lamb several weeks
old, and have been informed by the shepherds in the Hebrides
that it thus commits great havock in the beginning of summer.
One of them also told me that he had seen two eagles, but
whether of this or of the other species he did not know, attack
a doe in winter, which they would probably have destroyed had
he not interfered. Although it does not much frequent the
sea-shore, it does not disdain a dead fish, and in winter it often
eats carrion. I have seen several Golden Eagles hovering over
and around a dead sheep, and in the Hebrides they are often
shot on carcases placed near a covered pit in which the gunner
lies concealed. The substances which I have found in the
crops and stomachs of Golden Eagles from the Highlands that
were sent to the bird-stuftcrs in Edinburgh, were portions of
hares, ptarmigans, grouse, wool, and once a mole.
214 AQUILA CHRYSAETUS.
In searching for prey, it flies at no great height, sometimes
only a few yards from the ground, generally two or three hun-
dred feet, advancing with regular flaps of the wings and alter-
nate sailings, often wheeling in circles wide or narrow accord-
ing to circumstances. It never balances itself in a particular
spot, hovering, in the manner of the Kestrel, with a rapid un-
dulating motion of the wings, its weight and the great length
of those members, rendering, I suppose, such a mode of explor-
ing the ground beneath it impracticable. On such occasions it
moves in silence, and often solitarily, but I have many times
seen a pair flying together. Should they meet another bird of
the same species, or a White-tailed Sea-Eagle, they usually
emit their loud yelping cries, and maintain a proper distance.
These cries are louder and clearer than those of the species just
mentioned, but precisely similar in character.
It is chiefly in the Outer Hebrides that I have studied the
habits of the Golden Eagle, which, however, is less common
there than the other species, although by no means rare. It
occurs in all the mountainous parts of the northern and mid-
dle divisions of Scotland, both in the maritime and inland dis-
tricts, but is far more numerous in the western than in the
eastern portions of these divisions. Individuals are now and
then met with in the southern division, and in various parts of
England, but it seems doubtful that any now breed to the
south of the Friths of Clyde and Forth. Vast numbers have
of late years been destroyed in consequence of the extension of
sheep-farming in the Highlands ; and upwards of twenty indi-
viduals appear to be annually prepared in Scotland as domestic
ornaments.
In a state of captivity the Golden Eagle usually retains all
its original ferocity, and cannot be much trusted, although per-
haps somewhat more generous than the White-tailed Sea-
Eagle. One or two instances, however, are mentioned of its
having been perfectly tamed, and even trained to hunt. It is
commonly reported to attain a very old age.
On the Continent of Europe its distribution extends from
Norway to the Alps and Pyrenees ; and in North America it
has been observed from Labrador to Pennsylvania.
GOLDEN EAGLE. 215
Mr Low, in his Fauna Orcadensis, has the following state-
ment respecting this species : — " It is very frequent in the hills,
where it makes its nest in the rocks, which is often placed
within reach, and, when this is the case, always becomes a
prey to destruction. These birds are very strong, and make
vast havock (in breeding time especially) among lambs and
young and old swine, which they often destroy in the moun-
tains, rabbits, and poultry. A clergyman some time ago told
me he met with one of them mounted in the air, with a pretty
large pig in her talons, which she dropt alive upon his firing
at her. We have even a tradition here of an eagle's having
taken up a child from behind some reapers, in the Parish of
Orphir, and carried it to her nest in Hoy ; but by the assiduity
of the people, who immediately followed her, the child was
rescued." In the island of Harris there is a similar tradition
of an eagle's having carried a child across the Minsh to the
island of Skye, a distance of more than sixteen miles. Mr
Dunn states that in Orkney the Golden Eagle breeds among
the cliffs on the west side of Hoy Hill, but is so scarce that he
only saw a single pair. In Shetland it ranks in the account of
the birds of that country sent to me by Dr Edmondston as a
very rare visitant.
Among the " vulgar errors'" which the light of truth has
not yet entirely dispelled, is the notion of eagles soaring to a
great height that they may have the pleasure of gazing on the
unclouded glory of the sun, for which purpose it is said their
eyes are furnished with a semi-transparent membrane, that is
drawn over the cornea to prevent the injury likely to result
from too great a blaze of light. But all birds, the red grouse,
for example, the domestic goose, the sparrow, which no one
suspects of a peculiar or poetical propensity to admire the sun-
beams, have a membrane of the same kind as that of the Eagle.
Another error is, that Eagles soar to a vast height for the pur-
pose of surveying the subjacent lands and sea, in order to dis-
cover their prey. I have never seen an eagle descend upon an
object from such a height, and when obviously searching for
food, eagles always fly low over the surface, just as Buzzards,
Harriers, and Sparrow Hawks do.
216 AQUILA CHRYSAETUS.
Young. — When fully fledged the young bird has the bill
brownish-black, paler at the base ; the cere greenish-yellow ;
the iris dark brown ; the feet lemon-yellow; the claws brownish-
black. The feathers of the head and hind-neck are brown,
tipped with light yellowish-brown ; the back and breast deep
brown, the wing-coverts and inner secondaries paler and tipped
with whitish ; the feathers of the inner and fore part of the
tibia, and those of the tarsus, white at the end ; the lower tail-
coverts white, with a brown spot ; the primaries brownish-
black, the secondaries dark brown, with their bases white,
mottled Avith greyish-brown ; the tail wdiite, with a broad ter-
minal band of brownish-black. The white bases of the feathers
appear in patches on the back and hind-neck.
A newly fledged bird from Norway, remarkably beautiful on
account of the mottled state of its plumage, I may with pro-
priety describe, as the precise markings of the young of this
family have never been accurately given by any author. The
horny part of the bill is blackish-brown, yellowish at the
base, the cere and basal margins yellow ; the feet yellow,
the claws deep black. The down and bases of all the fea-
thers pure white. The forehead is brown, the hind-head
and back part of the neck dull yellowish-brown ; the plu-
mage of the other parts is dark chocolate, but the white
is apparent everywhere, unless on the smaller wing-coverts ;
the feathers on the edge of the wing yellowish-brown, with a
central dusky streak. The basal half of the quills and larger
wing coverts being white, that colour is very conspicuous on
the wing ; the terminal portion of the quills brownish-black,
of which dots and small spots encroach on the white part. The
tail is white, w^ith a terminal band of brownish-black, four
inches in breadth on the outer w^ebs of the outer, and three on
those of the inner feathers, being narrow^er on the inner webs.
The large tufty feathers on the abdomen, as well as the inner
tibial and tarsal feathers, are white ; the lower tail-coverts
greyish- white, with a light brown patch at the end.
Progress toward Maturity. — A Scottish male of the flrst year
examined in the end of December was as follows. The soft skin
at the base of the bill, the cere and feet rich pure yellow ; the
GOLDEN EAGLE. 217
bill and claws lifflit blue at the base, brownish-black at the
end. The basal or concealed part of the whole plumage, as
well as the down, is pure white. The pveocular region whit-
ish, the bristles black ; the head and hind-neck umber-brown,
each feather tipped with light yellowish-brown ; the general
colour of the plumage is a rich deep brown, on the back and
scapulars highly glossed with purple. The primary quills,
their coverts and alula, deep black towards the end ; the secon-
dary quills deep brown, obscurely mottled with greyish ; the
tail white, with a broad brownish-black terminal band, on the
middle feathers three, on the lateral four inches in breadth ;
upper tail-coverts similar, having only a terminal band of
brown. All the feathers are more or less tipped with whitish
or pale brown ; and on the short feathers of the legs the white
tips are so large as to form the principal colour ; the white
base of the dorsal feathers appears here and there, and that of
the primary quills is also apparent.
As the bird advances in age, the light yellowish-brown of
the head and hind-neck assumes a richer tint, sometimes ap-
proaching to chestnut ; the short feathers of the legs acquire a
similar tint ; the deep brown of the body undergoes little
change, but the wing-coverts become of a lighter hue and the
breast often more brown ; the whitish tips disappear on the
body ; the white of the basal portion of all the feathers and
quills gradually diminishes from the enlargement of the brown,
so that the white patches on the back and hind-neck disappear ;
the quills ultimately being brownish-grey, irregularly banded
or mottled with darker ; and the tail becoming banded and
mottled with dark brown on a brownish-grey ground, while its
upper coverts are deep brown, and the lower chestnut.
After examining about fifty individuals, alive, newly killed,
or preserved, I think that the plumage is darker in early than
in old age, many young birds having the back and breast
blackish-brown, and the ends of the quills deep black ; but the
yellowish-brown parts become of a richer tint. The diminu-
tion of the basal white of the feathers is perfectly analogous to
what we observe in the Sea-Eagle, in which however the tail
ultimately becomes white, the change commencing near the tip.
218
HALIAETUS. SEA-EAGLE.
Bill nearly as long as the head, very high, at the base of
nearly the same breadth and height, gradually compressed ;
upper mandible with the cere large and bare, the dorsal line
nearly straight along the cere, then decurved in the fourth of
a circle, at the end slightly incurvate, the ridge along the cere
broad and flattened, in the rest of its extent convex, gradually
narrowed to the tip, the sides flattish and nearly erect, the edges
thin, nearly straight, with a slight festoon anterior to the cere,
then decurved, the tip elongated, trigonal, acute, concave be-
neath ; lower mandible scarcely a third of the height of the
upper, its angle long, of moderate width, and rounded, the
edges soft, obtuse, and straight for more than half their length,
then sharp and gradually decurved, the ridge broad and con-
vex, the sides ascending and convex, the tip rounded and thin-
edged.
Mouth wide, palate flat, with two longitudinal prominent
lines ; upper mandible slightly concave within, the lower more
deeply concave, posterior aperture of the nares oblong, with an
anterior slit. Tongue fleshy, deeply emarginate and papillate
at the base, with one of the lateral papillfie large, concave above,
the sides nearly parallel, the tip rounded. (Esophagus very
wide, with a very large crop lying toward the right side. A
broad belt of proventricular glands. Stomach large or of mo-
derate size, roundish, its muscular coat thin and composed of
a single series of fasciculi ; the tendinous spaces round and thin.
The intestine very long and narrow ; the duodenum extremely
elongated, and instead of forming a single loop as usual, dis-
posed into a coil of several folds, in which respect it differs from
that of any other British genus. The coeca are very small, the
cloaca very large and globular. Plate XX, Fig. 1.
Nostrils oblong, oblique, sub-basal, near the ridge, in the
HALIAETUS. SEA-EAGLE. 219
fore part of the cere. Eyes large, with projecting superciliary
ridge ; eyelids edged with bristly feathers. Aperture of ear
rather large, and roundish.
The body is robust and compact, of great breadth anteriorly ;
the neck of moderate length ; the head large, roundish, ovate.
The feet short, very strong ; the tarsus very short, feathered
halfway down, scaly in the rest of its extent, with anterior and
posterior scutella, the latter small. The toes are very stout ;
the first and second about equal, the fourth a little longer than
the second, the third or middle toe much longer, all scaly at
the base, and scutellate toward the end. Claws very large,
curved in the third of a circle, higher than broad, flattened on
the sides, broadly convex above, concave and marginate be-
neath, acute ; the first and second largest, the third with an
edge and a broad groove on the inner side.
Plumage compact and imbricated. The space from the
eye to the cere thinly covered with very small bristle-feathers.
On the head and neck the feathers are lanceolate and acumi-
nate ; on the upper parts broadly ovate and rather obtuse ;
on the lower parts ovate, on the outer part of the tibia elon-
gated, on the tarsus small and soft. In the furcular region,
the feathers do not meet, but leave a space covered with
very soft down. Wings very long, broad, and rounded,
with thirty quills, of which the first is a little shorter than
the seventh, the second than the fifth, the third and fourth
longest ; the first seven with the outer web attenuated, and
the first five with the inner web emarginate ; the primaries
pointed, the secondaries very broad, and broadly obtuse, with
a minute tip. Tail of moderate length, extending consider-
ably beyond the tips of the wings, broad, rounded, of twelve
very broad feathers.
This genus is composed of birds of large size, which fre-
quent the shores of the sea, lakes, and rivers, nestling in rocks
or on high trees, and feeding on carrion, fish, small quadru-
peds and reptiles. They are less bold and vigorous than the
true Eagles, somewhat sluggish, but yet possessed of great
strength, and when impelled by hunger they attack animals
of considerable size. Fish forms a great portion of their diet,
220
HALIAETUS. SEA-EAGLE.
and it is curious to observe how in this genus, as in the
Ospreys, the intestine becomes elongated and attenuated, like
that of the ichthyophagous Ferae. The singular curvature of
the duodenum, Plate XX, Fig. 1, ?', w^hich I have found in
the White-headed Sea-Eagle of America, as well as in our
own, affords a character by which the genus Haliaetus is dis-
tinguished from Aquila, which moreover has a very different
physiognomy, and is intimately allied to Buteo.
The accompanying figure represents the foot of Haliaetus
Albicilla, and may be compared with that of Aquila Chrysaetus,
given in p. 203, when it will be seen that the two genera are
as well distinguished by their feet as by the form of the bill.
221
HALIAETUS ALBICILLA. THE
SEA-EAGLE.
WHITE-TAILED
CINEREOUS EAGLE. GREY EAGLE. SEA-EAGLE. ERjft. OSPREY
lOLAIR BHUIDHE. lOLAIR RIAMHACH.
Fig. 217.
Vultur Albicilla. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 123. Adult.
Falco Ossifragus. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 124. Young.
Falco Albicilla. Lath. Lid. Orn. I. 9. Adult.
Falco Ossifragus. Lath. Lid. Orn. I. 12. Young.
Cinereous Eagle. Mont. Orn. Diet. Adult.
Sea Eagle. Mont. Orn. Diet. Young.
Aigle Pygargue. Falco Albicilla. Temm. Man. d'Orn. L 49-
Cinereous Sea-Eagle, Haliaetus Albicilla. Selb. Illustr. L 18.
Aquila Albicilla. Cinereous Eagle. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 80.
Adult with the hill, feet, and irides yellow; the plumage of
the head, neck, and part of the hack and breast, greyish-yellow,
or pale broicn, tinged with grey ; of the hind part of the hack
darker, the ahdomen and legs chocolate broicn ; the quills brown-
ish-black, the tail white. Young with the bill brownish-hlack, the
irides brown, the feet yellow ; the plumage pale hroicn, with elon-
gated dark brown spots ; the tail dark broicn, variegated with
white.
222 HALIAETUS ALBICILLA.
Male. — The White-tailed Sea-Eagle, the only species of
its genus that occurs in Britain, and the largest of our rapa-
cious hirds, not excepting the Golden Eagle, although inferior
in grace and activity to the smaller species of this family,
exhibits, when excited, an appearance of power and ferocity
calculated to inspire that kind of respect which we pay to men
endowed with similar qualities. In its ordinary attitude, with
its body inclined, its large wings hanging by its side, with the
secondary quills and coverts projecting over the primaries, its
feathers ruffled, and its neck retracted, it presents in some mea-
sure the aspect of a vulture, which Linnaeus erroneously con-
ceived it to be. Its body is large, firm, and muscular ; the
neck of moderate length ; the head broadly ovate, the bill
larger and higher than in any species known, excepting Hali-
aetus Washingtoni ; the legs exceedingly strong, and widely
separated, the toes robust, and the claws very formidable.
The tongue of an individual supplied by Mr Carfrae, is an
inch and seven-twelfths long, its average breadth eight-twelfths,
its base deeply emarginate and beset with fine pointed papilla?,
of which two of the lateral are large, its sides nearly parallel,
its upper surface concave, its tip rounded. The oesophagus is
twelve inches long, at the middle and lower part of the neck
dilated into an enormous crop, three inches in width, then con-
tracted to an inch and a quarter, and again gradually enlarged
to two inches and a quarter. The stomach is round, a little
compressed, two inches and a quarter in diameter ; its walls
extremely thin, the muscular layer being composed of a single
series of parallel fasciculi ; the epithelium thin, soft, and
smooth •, the tendinous spaces round, very thin, and eight-
twelfths in diameter. The intestine is very long and slender,
its entire length being twelve feet three inches, its width at
the commencement four-twelfths, the widest part five-twelfths,
and the narrowest only two-twelfths. The duodenum, instead
of forming a simple loop, as usual, is greatly elongated, so as
to measure twenty inches, and is bent upon itself from left to
right, presenting the appearance of a coil of rope. The coecal
appendages are slight knobs, three-twelfths in length. The
rectum, which is five inches long, has a width of ten-twelfths,
WHITE-TAILED SEA-EAGLE. 223
and dilates into a globular cloaca, two and a half inches in
diameter, into which it opens by an aperture of half an inch.
The lobes of the liver are very large, the right being three
inches and a half in length, the left three inches; the gall-
bladder elliptical, and an inch in length. Plate XX, Fig. 1.
The trachea is ten inches long, considerably flattened, some-
what tapering, its breadth ten-twelfths at the commencement,
at the middle seven and a half twelfths, at the lowest part six
and a half The rings are all cartilaginous, a hundred and
twenty-five in number ; the bronchi wide, short, with twenty
half-rings. The lateral muscles are moderate, the sterno-tra-
cheal very strong, and there is a single pair of inferior laryngeal
muscles going to the last dimidiate ring of the trachea.
The space between the bill and the eye is thinly covered
with bristle-like feathers, which are downy at the base. The
feathers on the head are of moderate length, those on the neck
long, all lanceolate and acuminate, with loose margins ; on the
upper parts of the body they are broadly ovate and acute, on
the lower ovate and rather obtuse. The wings, which when
closed reach nearly to the end of the tail, have thirty quills, of
which the first is a little shorter than the seventh, the second
about the same length as the fifth, the third and fourth longest.
The tail is of moderate length, broad, and much rounded, the
lateral feathers being three inches shorter than the middle.
The cere and bill are pale yellow ; the iris bright yellow ;
the tarsi and toes gamboge, the claws black, with a tinge of
greyish-blue. The plumage of the head, neck, fore part of the
back and breast, with the upper wing-coverts greyish-yellow,
the feathers all greyish-brown at the base ; of the other parts
greyish-brown, edged with yellowish-grey ; the scapulars and
feathers of the rumjD glossed with purple ; those of the abdo-
men, tibiae, and subcaudal region, inclining to chocolate brown ;
the quills and alular feathers brownish-black, with a tinge of
grey, the inner secondaries inclining to greyish-brown ; the
shafts of all white toward the base ; the lower surface of the
quills and the large coverts tinged with greyish blue. The
upper tail-coverts and the tail are white (generally freckled
with dusky grey at the base). The down on the breast is pale
grey, that on the sides darker.
224 HALIAETUS ALBICILLA.
Length to end of tail S6 inches ; extent of wings 72; bill
along the ridge 3j%, along the edge of lower mandible 3, its
height l-/g ; wing from flexure 24 ; tail 11| ; tarsus 4; first
toe 1/j, its claw 2j% ; second toe Ij^* its claw 2j% ; third toe
8, its claw lj% ; fourth toe 2^^^, its claw l^'^^.
Female. — The female does not differ from the male in colour,
and her superiority in size is often not very remarkable.
Length to end of tail 40 inches ; extent of wings 80 ; bill
along the ridge S{^, along the edge of lower mandible 3j%, its
height lj% ; wing from flexure 27^ ; tail 12 ; tarsus 4^ ; first
toe H, its claw 2^ ; second toe 1^%, its claw 2^% ; third toe
Sj^^, its claw 1/2 ; fourth toe 1/^, its claw l^^.
Vahiatioxs. — In adult individuals the colouring varies in a
considerable degree, older birds having the tints lighter. In
some instances the plumage is of a purplish-grey, or bluish-
grey, but, I think, never in the wild state. Great differences
are also observed in size. Thus I have examined one that mea-
sured seven feet four inches between the tips of the wings, and
saw in South Uist the skin of one which measured nine feet,
while others do not much exceed six.
The variations which I have noticed in the digestive organs
of this species will be best exhibited in a tabular form :
M. M. M. M. F. F.
Tongue in length j^ ^i\ — — — —
Esophagus in length. 15 12 12 12 12^ 15
Width of crop 4i 3 3 — 3i 4
Diameter of stomach. 1^^ 2^ 2 — 2^ 2
Length of intestine... 180 147 143 170 — 120
Length of duodenum. 24 20 21 _ _ _
Greatest width i^| i\ 1% ^2 j^ i
Smallest width j% j% ^^ ^% A ^V
Length of coeca /^ -^^ ^^ — ^^ A
Length of rectum 6 5 5 — 5 —
Cloaca in width 2 2A 2 — — 2
M.
F.
F.
10
10
lOi
1
1
1^
1
T2
6
12
6i
T'2
6
T3
120
135
137
18
16
16
WHITE-TAILED SEA-EAGLE. 225
On comparing these measurements with those of the Golden
Eagle, differences will be seen sufficient to indicate more im-
portant distinctions than those derived from the form of the
bill.
The trachea^ of several individuals were as follows :
M.
Length 10
Width above i§
Width below ^'1
Rings 125
Bronchial rings 20
Similar differences are found in the number of scutella : —
Adult.
Anterior tarsal 7-56773
Posterior tarsal 0-10730
Hind toe 3 3 3 2 4 5 4
Second toe 4 3 3 4 4 5 4
Third toe 12 12 14 11 12 12 11
Fourth toe .... 6 6 7 4 7 6
These differences will serve to shew what degree of depend-
ence may be had on the scutella as affording specific distinc-
tions.
Change of Plumage, — The moult is not completed until
the end of autumn, when the feathers are of a deeper tint than
in summer. The change is very gradual, and new feathers
may be seen at any period, as in the Golden Eagle.
Habits. — The White-tailed Sea-Eagle usually chooses for
its retreat the shelf of some lofty precipice overhanging the sea,
and there in fancied security forms its nest, and reposes at night.
Individuals have been known to remain attached to the same
spot for many years, nor does it appear that this bird ever relin-
quishes its residence to its young, but drives them off to find a
VOL. III. Q
Young.
3 8
6 6 7 6 7 4
4
16 10 10
4 4
4 4 4 4 5 4
4 4
5 4 5 5 4 4
11 12
12 13 13 14 13 12
7
7 7 7 6 7 5
226 HALIAETUS ALBICILLA.
habitation for themselves. For this reason, most of the wan-
dering individuals that have been shot at great distances from
the breeding places, have been young or immature birds. The
male and female remain together through the winter, when
they generally search for food in company. Toward the middle
of spring, they begin to construct their nest, which is of great
size, being about five feet in diameter, flat, and composed of
sticks, twigs, heath, often dried sea-weeds, as well as tufts of
grass, wool, and other materials. The eggs, two in number,
rarely one, are about the size of those of a domestic goose, but
broader, pure white, or yellowish-white, generally with some
pale red dots or spots chiefly at the larger end. From never
finding the eggs exposed, I have thought that the male sits
upon them in the absence of the female, although this is mere
conjecture, and I am not aware of any positive observations
that have been made on the subject. The young make their
appearance about the beginning of June, and are then covered
with down of a greyish-white colour. They are plentifully
supplied with food, and grow rapidly, but do not leave the
nest until the middle of August, when they are enticed abroad
by their parents, who continue to supply them with food for
many days.
During the breeding season, these birds, in places where
they are numerous, are subjected to much annoyance, and fre-
quently fall victims to the vengeance of shepherds and farmers.
There are few places that can be selected by them altogether
beyond the reach of man ; for even when the nest has been
built on the face of a precipice, it may usually be got at by let-
ting down a person on a rope, or even by creeping along some
crevice or sheep-path, or it may be within shot from the base
of the rocks, or some projecting crag. I have been within
three yards of an eagle upon her nest, and yet, from the peculiar
nature of the spot, was unable to shoot it, and indeed hardly
escaped with my life, for, after the bird had flown off, and the
excitement of hope was over, I began to consider how I should
return, and finding myself on the brink of a perpendicular rock
five hundred feet high, with an abrupt slope above me, and a
dangerous slanting descent of several hundred yards to accom-
WHITE-TAILED SEA-EAGLE. 227
plisli, I sat down in despair, and niiglit have remained there
for hours, had not a shepherd opportunely come to my aid.
Sometimes the breeding place is easily accessible, being in a
small rock by the side of a lake, and I have seen one that
could have been reached with a fishing-rod. On a flat islet
in a small lake in Harris, one of the Hebrides, a pair of these
birds bred for many years, although there are lofty crags in the
neighbourhood.
In these islands, where the Sea-Eagles are still numerous,
the nests are sometimes destroyed by letting down into them a
bundle of heath and straw inclosing a burning peat ; or an
adventurous person is lowered in the same manner. On such
occasions the parent birds, although they evince the greatest
distress, seldom attempt to molest their enemy, but fly in circles
at a distance, giving expression to their rage by loud screams,
and frequently stretching out their feet and expanding their
talons, as if to intimidate him. Yet it appears that they will
sometimes hazard an attack, for in the island of Lewis I was
told of two such instances, a pair having assaulted a woman
who was descending a rock on her way home from the moors,
and inflicted some severe scratches on her neck and shoulders,
and another individual having unexpectedly struck with its wing
a man who was watching its arrival on the edge of a cliff over-
hanging its nest.
When the breeding season is over, the young disperse, and
although these birds are not of social habits, several indivi-
duals may often be seen at no great distance traversing the hills
or shores, when there is plunder to be obtained. At seasons of
mortality among sheep, as in the end of autumn, wdien the
braxy commits its ravages, or in the end of spring, when severe
weather often causes the death of the young lambs, they are
not uncommonly seen hovering about. Their food consists of
carrion of every description, for which they search the moors
and pastures, stranded fish, young sea-birds, and small quad-
rupeds. Their sight must be keen, like that of other birds of
prey, but in looking for food they do not soar to a vast eleva-
tion, as has been alleged by many, but fly at the height of a few
hundred yards, sweeping along the hill sides with a steady
228 HALIAETUS ALBICILLA.
motion, or winding in curves with outspread wings. I have
often seen them far out at sea, hovering and saiHng in this
manner, and several persons have told me that they sometimes
clutch up fishes that happen to come to the surface. They
may also occasionally be observed watching on the banks of a
lake or river, and attacking the salmon or trouts when they
come into shallow water. That they fare well is evinced by
the abundance of provision which they bring to their young ;
but their courage and address do not seem to be equal to their
powers, for, unless pressed by famine, they scarcely venture to
molest an animal larger than a hare. When an otter has
caught a fish, and is eating it on some rock, an eagle has been
seen patiently waiting its departure, in order to obtain the
refuse. Grouse are sometimes destroyed by this species, and
instances have been known of its carrying off a domestic fowl
that has strangled to a distance from the house. But the Sea-
Eagle has more of the Vulture than of the Falcon in its cha-
racter, and at all times would be well content with mere
carrion.
It is no easy matter to approach an Eagle so near as to
obtain a distinct view of it, and yet I once crept to within fif-
teen yards of one, and, after all, missed it. Once too, in the
mist, on the top of a high hill, another swept close over my
head. At a distance, and with the aid of a glass, one may
often in the Hebrides observe their attitudes, as they repose on
some pinnacle or shelf, basking in the sun, with partially ex-
panded wings and tail, somewhat in the manner of Cormorants.
On a level surface, such as an extensive sand, where I have
often seen them, they stand with the body inclined forwards, the
wings gathered up, and the head elevated. Owing to their great
weight, and the vast size of their wings, they rise from such
a place with difficulty, first throwing themselves forward, and
then spreading out and flapping their wings, so as to strike
their points on the ground.
But the Sea-Eagle is now on wing, and as he gradually
mounts in wide curves, sailing at invervals, you cannot fail to
gaze on him with delight. With his feet concealed among the
feathers of the abdomen, his head drawn close to his shoulders.
WHITE-TAILED SEA-EAGLE. 229
and his magnificent wings spread out to their full extent, and
even seeming to curve upwards at the points, he sweeps along
the sides of the hills, advancing with apparently little effort,
and, should he spy a carcase, hovers over it in short curves until
satisfied as to his security should he alight upon it. Very fre-
quently he is led to the spot by seeing the Raven there, for that
bird is more quick-sighted than even the Eagle. On alighting,
he stands for a time, then clumsily leaps up to the carcase,
perches upon it, and begins to tear open the abdomen, the
eyes having already been removed by the Crows, Should a
dog come up, the eagle retires to a short distance, or sweeps
overhead, making a pretence of pouncing on the intruder, who,
while he allays his hunger, keeps an eye on the foe, and snarls
when threatened with a visitation.
A beautiful sight it is, on some sunny day, when two Eagles
are seen floating lazily in the blue sky, far above the tops of
the brown hills. Slowly and majestically, with wide-spread
wings, they sail in wide circles, gradually ascending, until at
length you can scarcely perceive them. They may continue
this exercise for more than an hour, and should you enquire
the object of it, you may be satisfied that it is not for the pur-
pose of spying their prey, for no one ever saw an Eagle stoop
from such a height. On ordinary occasions, when proceeding
from one place to another, they fly in the usual manner, by
slowly repeated flaps. In the breeding season, should two
males encounter each other, they sometimes fight in the air,
throwing themselves into singular postures, and screaming
loudly. The cry of this species is so shrill, that in calm wea-
ther one may hear it at the distance of a mile, and it often
emits a kind of clear yelp, which resembles the syllable liicJc,
Mick, Mick, or qneek, qiieek, queek, and which seems to be the
expression of anger or impatience.
In its own class, the Sea-Eagle has few enemies capable of
injuring it, the Golden Eagle being the only bird powerful
enough to contend with it eft'ectually ; but it is often molested
by the Raven, the larger Gulls, and sometimes by Hawks,
especially when it happens to come near their nests. On
this subject, Mr Dunn has the following statement : — " I
230 HALIAETUS ALBICILLA.
once saw, while shooting on Rona's Hill, a pair of Skua
Gulls chase and completely beat off a large Eagle : the Gulls
struck at him several times, and at each stroke he screamed
loudly, but never offered to return the assault. He was sailing
along close to the steep part of the cliffs near the breeding-
places of these Gulls, and was most probably looking out for a
repast, M'hicli he would doubtless have secured had he not
received the hint that his company could be dispensed with.
I have also seen from ten to fifteen of the Arctic Gulls attack
an Eagle and beat him from their habitations." From the
attacks of quadrupeds it is perfectly secure, and if a weasel
ever destroyed an eagle, the story has been repeated so often
by travellers and other romancers, that no credit can now be at-
tached to it. Its great enemy is man, who destroys its nest,
breaks its eggs, kills or carries off its young, traps it in various
ways, or by lying concealed in a covered pit or hut, shoots it
as it feeds on the carcase laid out to attract it.
Owing to the persecution to which it is thus subjected, it
has been almost entirely extirpated in England. In the sou-
thern division of Scotland, or from the borders to the Friths of
Forth and Clyde, it is probable that half a dozen pairs are not
now to be found. In the middle division, it is still rare ; but
in the northern, and especially in the Hebrides, it is in many
places not uncommon. Stragglers, however, especially young
birds, are now and then killed in all parts of the country, even
in the south of England ; and, although its numbers have thus
been reduced, it is probable that it will never be entirely extir-
pated. It does not appear to be necessarily or essentially mari-
time, but rather to frequent the sea-coast because of the facility
of finding secure resting-places on the cliffs ; for it is met with
in the interior, even in Braemar and about Lochlagan. But
in such places it is less frequent than the Golden Eagle, which,
on the other hand, also breeds on maritime rocks. In Orkney,
as I am informed by Mr Forbes of South Ronaldshay, it breeds
on several of the headlands ; and Dr Laurence Edmondston has
favoured me with the following account of it as observed in
Shetland.
" This, I believe, is the only species of Eagle that breeds in
WHITE-TAILED SEA-EAGLE. 231
Shetland, where however it is rare. Perhaps the whole of the
islands could not produce more than a dozen of pairs. It is
generally, unless at the breeding season, found in single indi-
A-iduals. It feeds chiefly on rabbits and sea birds, especially
the young of the larger gulls ; but it does not neglect carrion,
if it is to be had, in lonely places, and before it becomes very
putrescent. It is not very destructive to sheep. In spring, it
often sweeps along the cottages very early in the morning, to
the fjital experience of the poultry. During summer and har-
vest, large flocks of geese pasture among the most retired hills,
without any protection, and in the vicinity of its favourite
haunts, yet its depredations on them are rare. This abstemious-
ness must not, however, be taken for amiable self-denial, but
for a most uneagle-like pusillanimity. The wing of the gan-
der, which not unfrequently is uplifted in defence of his young,
has a moral if not a physical power, which the robber Erne
seems to quail under.
" Occasionally, during warm weather, skate and holibut bask
on the surface of the water, and the Eagle pounces on them ;
but several instances have occurred of this aquatic hunt being
fatal to him. Indeed, I am inclined to think that this habit
is one chief way in which his numbers are kept down. If the
fish is not so large as to be able immediately to drag him under
water, he elevates his wings, and in this way, if the wind
happens to be blowing on the land, he often manages to reach
it in safety. An instance of this once occurred to my grand-
father, who, concealing himself until the bird had thus sailed
ashore, seized both him and his victim, a small holibut.
" It is not to be supposed, whatever the natives may say, that
the Eagle in this case, regards his wings as sails. He keeps
them as long as he can in the air, because this is their natural
element, and because he, finding he has ' caught a Tartar,'
wishes to disengage himself. And, whatever be the intention
of spreading his canvass to the breeze, it as often destroys as
saves him by carrying him from as to the land. After reach-
ing the shore, the first thing he docs is to extricate his claws
with his beak, and by repeatedly stroking his feathers to dry
232 HALIAETUS ALBICILLA.
himself sufficiently for flight, and then, and not before, he
feasts on his slippery victim if he perceives the coast clear of
danger and detection.
" The account given by Von Buch of the mode in which
Eagles in Norway sometimes attack cattle, may be more ap-
parently than really improbable. Granting the fact however,
it is not likely that it relates to the Albicilla, a bird by no
means remarkable for courage ; though, like the wolf, there is
no saying to what lengths hunger may impel him. Nor would
the attack be probably made with so reasonable and politic a
calculation of means as that of throwing dust in the eyes of his
victim. A fact however may be very commonplace, while its
theory may be marvellous enough. In this way, perhaps, it may
be accounted for : — Eagles are numerous in Norway ; so are
fish. In their attempts to catch them, their plumage may be
wetted, and in drying it they may roll themselves, like poultry,
in sand or mould, and soon after may be seen to attack the
diminutive cattle of these regions, as the Golden Eagle, I be-
lieve, sometimes assails deer, by striking at their heads and
eyes. And why might not the Erne attack a weak horse or
ox, as well as the Raven ? or, it may be their habit, like that
of Crows and Ravens, during warm weather, especially when
annoyed by vermin, or during the moulting season, to wash
themselves, and then roll amongst the sand or dry earth.
" He is attacked, or rather molested, by every bird, great or
small, when he approaches their nests. Gulls, Lestres, Oyster-
catchers, Terns, all repeatedly dash up to him, but yet not dar-
ing contact, their clamours, not their blows, being the weapons
to which they prudently have recourse, and they thus literally
scold him from his propriety, and their territories ; for with a
very rustic awkwardness, and want of self-possession, he makes
his obeisance, and decamps.
" He breeds on the most inaccessible clifts, remote from the
vicinity of other birds, unless it may be a pair of Ravens ; lays
two eggs, sometimes three, it is said ; and generally has two
young ones. He is seldom shot, being very circumspect, but
if wounded, is very tenacious of life. I have seen one fly a
WHITE-TAILED SEA-EAGLE. 233
mile with a musket ball through his body. In the few at-
tempts made to domesticate him here, he has been true to his
nature, fierce and ruthless."
In Orkney, according to Mr Low, " this very large species
is very often seen, and sometimes surprised on our low shores,
feeding on fish, which it has either caught itself, or has been
left by the otter. I have often seen it soaring, at a vast height
in the air, immediately over a conger or other fish, which has
by any accident been left dry by the tide ; and this may shew
us the vast strength of this creature's sight, which can take in
such a small object at such a great distance." The Great Black-
backed Gull soars over a stranded fish in the same manner ;
but the object of both birds in so doing is merely to pass the
time until, in the absence of enemies in the neighbourhood,
they can feast in safety.
Like the story of the weasel that killed the eagle by fastening
on its throat, which has been twenty times repeated, and every
time told as new, that of eagles carrying off children has been
appropriated in almost every district in the Highlands. Per-
haps the story of its sailing to land with a fish in its claws,
may be classed with the rest. Such an occurrence undoubtedlv
took place, as related above, but who has seen it repeated ? A
weasel too may have killed an eagle, and an eagle may have
killed or carried oft' a child ; but when and where has this been
done a second time I
I have never seen this bird truly domesticated ; but indivi-
duals are frequently kept chained or caged, and some have
lived in captivity to a very old age. When thus confined, it
loses its timidity, and becomes savage and ferocious, so as
readily to attack a dog, a child, or sometimes even a grown
person. In this state it may be fed with meat, oftal, or fish.
It readily clutches any living animal of small size, and should
a piece of meat, a rat, or other article of food be thrown to it,
it will often catch it in its mouth, or with one of its feet. On
comparing its cry when in this state with that of the Golden
Eagle, I have found it louder and shriller. The trachea of
both is unossified and very wide, but that of the Sea-Eagle is
nearly double the size of that of the other.
234 HALIAETUS ALBICILLA.
Young. — The descriptions generally given of the young of
this bird seem to me to be hypothetical rather than derived
from strict observation. I have been very fortunate however
in obtaining in the autumn of 1839 an individual not quite
fledged, the quills and tail-feathers not having attained their
full length. The down on all parts is light-grey, on the legs
intermixed with slender white tufts. The bill is brownish-
black, the base of the lower mandible yellow, the cere green-
ish-yellow ; the feet yellow, the claws black. The bases of
all the feathers are brownish-white, their middle parts light
reddish-brown, their tips only blackish-brown. The head and
nape are dark brown, each feather with a minute brownish-
wdiite spot on the tip. On the middle of the back and on the
wings light reddish-brown is the prevalent colour, the black
tips of comparatively small extent ; on the hind part of the
back there is much white, that colour extending farther from
the base. The quills and larger w^ing-coverts are blackish-
brown, with a tinge of grey ; the tail-feathers brownish- white
in the centre, black toward the margins, with irregular white
dots. The lower parts are of the same colours as the back, or
are pale reddish -brown, marked with longitudinal streaks and
spots of dark brown ; the lower wing-coverts brown, the tail-
coverts white, with light brown tips.
Progress toward Maturity. — In the second year the young
exhibit little difference, being however of a darker tint on the
back and wings. An individual at this age has the bill brown-
ish-black, tinged with blue, its base and the cere greenish-
yellow ; the iris hazel-brown ; the feet gamboge, the claws
brownish-black. The head and nape are deep brown ; the
base of all the feathers on the upper parts is white ; on the
hind-neck and fore part of the back that colour, tinged with
yellowish-brown, prevails, a lanceolate or obovate deep brown
spot being on each feather toward the end ; on the middle
of the back the brown prevails, on the hind part white, and
the rump and upper tail-coverts are light-brown, tipped with
darker. The scapulars are dark-brown, with a purplish tinge ;
the wing-coverts dark-brown at the end, but most of the larger
pale-brown in the greater part of their extent ; the quills
WHITE-TAILED SEA-EAGLE. 235
black, with a purplish-grey tinge, the secondaries gradually
becoming more brown, and all faintly variegated with light
grey and brown on the inner webs. The tail is brownish-
black, with a tinge of grey, and more or less finely mottled
with whitish. The lower parts maybe described as brownish-
white, longitudinally streaked with dark-brown, there being
a lanceolate patch of the latter on each feather ; the lower
wing-coverts and feathers of the legs dark-brown ; the lower
surface of the quills bluish-grey ; the lower tail-coverts white,
tipped with brown ; the down on the breast pure white.
At the first moult the light-brown becomes darker, and the
proportion of white is somewhat diminished, unless on the tail,
where it is on the contrary increased. The bill and claws are
still brownish-black, and the cere greenish-yellow. At each suc-
cessive moult the bill assumes a lighter tint, passing through
shades of brown, until it ultimately becomes i^ale-yellovv ; the
iris undergoes a similar change ; the proportion of white at
the base of the feathers diminishes, the dark part enlarges in
extent, but becomes paler ; the tail-feathers, which are at first
freckled with white, or brownish-white, become patched, and
finally, at the age of six or seven years, pure white.
In an individual kept by Dr Neill, at Canonmills Cottage,
and which was procured by him in the autumn of 1827, in its
first plumage, the changes have taken place as above described ;
but in November 1839, when in perfect condition, the colour
of the plumage was purplish-grey, tinged with blue, the edges
of the feathers lighter ; the anterior parts paler ; the quills
greyish-black ; the tail pure white ; the bill and cere pale
greyish-yellow, the eye brownish -yellow, and the feet orano^e.
But the beautiful purplish-grey tint of this individual, al-
though sometimes seen in captive eagles, does not occur in
those enjoying their freedom.
Remarks. — For the purpose of obtaining some general re-
sults by an extended comparison, it may here be well to re-
mark that in this species the bill and iris change from dusk}--
brown to pale-yellow, and that the plumage, at first white at
the base, and dark-brown at the end, gradually loses its white.
236 HALIAETUS ALBICILLA.
while the dark parts become paler and more extended, the
final colouring being more uniform. The tail forms no ex-
ception, for its basal white also diminishes ; but the white
which is gradually substituted for the brownish-black, spreads
from near the end to the base. The American White-headed
Sea-Eagle follows the same rule ; but in it, not only the tail,
but also the head and neck become Avhite.
This species is said to be rare in the south of Europe, and
to be most numerous in the colder parts of the temperate
zone, extending as far as Iceland. M. Temminck remarks
that " in its migrations, it seems to follow the largest flocks
of Bean-Geese, which in autumn betake themselves to the
estuaries of rivers ;"" but from Dr Edmondston's account, this
eagle is hardly a match for a goose, which yet is surpassingly
strange, when we are told by Mr Audubon that its brother,
the White-headed Eagle, captures Swans. Haliaetus Albi-
cilla has not been found in America, but the American H. leu-
cocephalus is said to breed in Norway.
It is indeed strange that a bird so robust, with a body much
larger than that of the Golden Eagle, and with the most for-
midable bill and talons, should not be distinguished for its
feats of daring and strength. The faculties and instincts of
animals correspond with their organization, and one cannot
help thinking that these enormous claws were given for the
purpose of piercing and carrying off" nobler game than rabbits
and rats. Yet it cannot be denied tliat this huge bird possesses
not a tithe of the spirit of the Peregrine Falcon or Sparrow
Hawk ; for I have seen it sailing about and screaming, while
a person was dangling on a rope above its nest, without so
much as making a pretence of attacking him, unless by thrust-
ing out its feet and alternately opening and closing its talons.
237
PANDION. OSPREY.
Body compact, of moderate size ; neck of moderate length ;
head ovate, and not remarkably large.
Bill shorter than the head, stout, as broad as high at the
base, gradually compressed : upper mandible with the cere
rather narrow, the dorsal outline a little declinate and slightly
convex as far as the edge of the cere, then decurved in about
the fourth of a circle, the ridge broadly convex at the base,
narrowed toward the end, the sides rapidly sloping and con-
vex, the edges sharp, slightly inflected, with a festoon, and a
wide sinus at the curvature, the tip deflected, trigonal, very
acute ; lower mandible with the angle short and rather wide,
the dorsal line convex, the back broadly rounded, the sides
convex, the edges inflected, decurved toward the end, the tip
being obliquely truncate and rounded.
Mouth rather wide ; palate flat, with two prominent papil-
late ridges, and an anterior median ridge. Tongue short,
emarginate at the base, with numerous very slender papillae,
one of which on each side is large, its upper surface concave,
the tip rounded. CKsophagus very wide, enlarged into a crop
of great capacity, then narrowed in entering the thorax, again
enlarged at the proventriculus, of which the glands are ex-
tremely numerous, very small, oblong, and form a broad con-
tinuous belt. Intestine extremely long and slender, forming
very numerous convolutions ; coeca very short ; cloaca very
large and globular. Plate XXI, Fig. 1.
Nostrils oblong, oblique, lateral. Eyes of moderate size,
without projecting superciHary ridge ; eyelids edged with
bristly feathers. Aperture of ear rather small and roundish.
Feet very robust ; tibite long and muscular ; tarsi very short,
thick, covered all round with imbricated scales, of which the
posterior are smaller, and have the upper angle elevated into
238 PAN DION. OSPREY.
a point ; toes thick, strong, free ; the fourth versatile and
larger than the second ; all with a few hroad scutella at the
end, but in the rest of their extent covered above with imbri-
cated scales, those on the sides and especially on the lower
surface, rising into a conical central point ; some of them on
the inner side of the outer toe being so prominent as to resem-
ble short spines. Claws long, rather slender, well-curved,
rounded above and beneath, with the sides flattened, the tip
very acute ; those of the hind and outer toe largest, that of
the middle toe with an inner longitudinal edge, and a flat
surface.
Plumage compact. Cere bare above ; eyelids feathered ;
space between the bill and eye sparsely covered with bristly
feathers. On the head and neck, the feathers are rather
short, narrow, tapering, and compact ; on the back broad,
rounded, but acuminate ; on the breast similar ; on the ab-
domen softer and more elongated ; on the tibia short, slender,
and rather soft, the outer not elongated as in the Eagles, Buz-
zards, and most other genera of this family. Wings extremely
long, comparatively narrow, rounded, wnth twenty-eight quills;
the third longest, the first longer than the fifth ; primary quills
tapering and rounded, secondary broad and rounded, tertiary
or humeral largely developed. Tail rather long, a little round-
ed, of twelve broad feathers.
The genus Pandion appears to have a considerable affinity
to Haliaetus, with which it seems to be connected by a group
of which Falco Ichthyaetus of Dr Horsfield is the species best
known. The more remarkable peculiarities in the structure of
the Osprey, the only species which I have examined internally
as well as externally, are : the extreme elongation of the in-
testine, which toward its lower extremity is not larger then a
raven's quill ; the inferior convexity of the claws ; the want
of a tuft of long feathers on the outer side of the tibia ; the
conical pointed form of the scales on the lower surface and
sides of the toes, and the great length of the wings. The flight
of this bird is light and buoyant, as well as strong, and ac-
cordingly the ridge of the sternum is very elevated, although
the body is not large in proportion to the other parts.
239
PANDION HALIAETUS. THE FISHING OSPREY.
FISHING EAGLE. FISH HAWK. BALD BUZZARD. lOLAIR-UISG.
Fig. 218.
Falco Haliaiitus. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 129.
Falco Haliaetus. Lath. Ind. Oin. I. 17.
Ospiey. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Aigle Balbusard. Falco Halisetus. Temm. Man. d'Orn. L 47 ; IL 25.
Osprey. Pandion Haliaetus. Selb. Illustr. I. 24.
Aqiiila Haliseetus. Osprey. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 81.
Adult toith the hill hliiish-hlack, the cere light blue, the feet pale
greyish-blue ; the plumage abote deep umber-brown, the upper
part of the head and neck white, the middle of the crown dark
brown ; a broad band of dark broini on the cheeks and neck ;
the loicer parts ichite, the neck streaked icith brown.
Young with the feathers of the tipper parts deep brown, ter-
minally margined with reddish-white.
Male. — The Osprey, which is distinguished from all the
British species of this family, by living exclusively on fish.
240 PANDION IIALIAETUS.
which it captures for itself, has a form and structure intelh-
gibly correspondent with its habits. It is now so scarce a bird
with us that many years may eLapse before a person can procure
one entire for examination. I have been fortunate however
in this respect, having obtained three individuals, two of which
were killed in Scotland. The body is proportionally small, but
compact and muscular ; the pectoral muscles in particular being-
very large, and the spine of the sternum correspondingly promi-
nent. The head is of moderate size, oblong ; the neck rather
short, and strong. The bill shorter than the head, very strong,
rather higher than broad at the base ; the upper mandible with
the cere narrow, the dorsal line a little declinate as far as the
edge of the cere, then decurved in nearly the third of a circle,
the ridge broadly convex, the edges with a slight festoon, the
tip deflected, subtrigonal, acute, and at the end perpendicular
to the gape-line ; the lower mandible with the angle short and
rather wide, the back broad, flattened at the base, rounded to-
ward the end, the edge-line arched, the tip obliquely truncate
and rounded.
The mouth is of moderate width, its breadth being one inch
two twelfths ; the palate flat, with two prominent papillate
ridges, corresponding to the tongue, and an anterior median
ridge. The posterior aperture of the nares oblong, anteriorly
linear, slightly papillate on the margins. The tongue is one
inch long, sagittate and finely papillate behind, concave above,
with the margins rather thick, and the tip rounded, the back
horny as usual. The oesophagus is nine and a half inches long,
at first little more than an inch in width, but presently dilated
into a sac or crop, of which the greatest width is three inches ;
it then contracts to ten-twelfths of an inch, and enlarges to an
inch and a quarter in the proventricular portion. The coats
of the oesophagus are very thin ; the proventricular glands ex-
tremely numerous, very small, and arranged so as to form a
continuous belt, an inch in breadth. The stomach is round, a
little compressed, two inches in diameter ; its muscular coat
extremely thin, the inner smooth, without epithelium ; the
central tendons five-twelfths in breadth. The pylorus has a
slightly thickened margin, and three small knobs, terminating
FISHING OSPREY. 241
a simicircular elevated line or ridge, and a smaller line pro-
ceeding from it. The intestine is extremely elongated, slender,
and arranged into numerous convolutions, forming in all forty-
six folds. The duodenum forms a loop in the usual manner,
and is not convoluted as in the Ichthyaeti. Its widest part
measures three twelfths of an inch across, and the narrowest
part of the intestine toward the coeca scarcely two-twelfths.
The coeca are five inches distant from the rectum, four-twelfths
long, three-twelfths in width. The rectum has at first a width
of seven-twelfths ; and the cloaca is globular, and one and a
half inch in diameter. The intestine from the pylorus to the
anus measures eleven feet three inches ; the oesophagus and
stomach eleven and a half inches ; the alimentary tube in all
twelve feet two and a half inches. The lobes of the liver are
less unequal than usual, one being three inches long, the other
three twelfths shorter; the gall-bladder oblong, and ten twelfths
in length. Plate XXI, Fig. 1.
The nostrils are oblong, oblique, lateral ; the eyes of mode-
rate size ; the eyelids with three series of short ciliary bristles.
There is no projecting lachrymal bone. Aperture of the ear
small and circular. The legs are of moderate length, but ex-
tremely stout ; the tibia long and very muscular ; the tarsus
very short, very thick, feathered anteriorly halfway down,
covered all round with thick scales, of which the anterior are
larger and flattened, those behind more prominent, on the
outer side conical. The toes are extremely stout, scutellate
toward the end, the first having five, the second five, the third
four, the fourth four entire scutella ; the rest of the upper parts
with thick flat scales, the sides and lower surfaces with smaller
roundish scales, those on the large pads beneath conical, rigid,
and acute. There is a cluster of nine large pointed papillae on
the inner side of the outer toe at the end, and a similar but
smaller cluster on the opposite side of the third or middle toe.
The hind toe is very short, and has considerable motion late-
rally ; the fourth or outer largest, and reversible so as to form
a right angle with the third, which is considerably longer, the
second or inner beins shorter than the outer. The claws are
large, well curved, compressed, rounded above and beneath,
242 PANDION HALIAETUS.
and tapering to a fine point ; that of the middle toe with a flat
surface and sharp edge on the inner side. Fig. 219.
The phimage is dense and compact. The feathers of the
head and neck small, lanceolate, and acuminate ; those of the
occiput and upper part of the hind-neck rather long, and erec-
tile into a kind of crest ; of the fore part of the back large, and
ovate, of the hind part small ; the scapulars very large and
strong ; feathers of the breast ovate, of the anterior part of the
abdomen longer, so as to cover a flap of large downy feathers,
lying over the very dense downy plumage of the abdomen ;
lower tail-coverts long, compact only at the end. Wings ex-
tremely elongated, with ten primaries, eighteen secondaries,
and five strong humerals ; the outer four quills are abruptly
cut out on the inner web, the second, third, and fourth slightly
so on the outer ; the first a little longer than the fifth, the third
longest ; the shafts strong, towards the end elastic. Tail rather
long, nearly even, of twelve broad, rounded feathers.
Bill brownish-black, toward the base bluish, as are the soft
margins ; cere light greyish-blue ; iris deep yellow ; feet pale
greyish-blue ; claws black. The general colour of the plumage
on the upper parts is deep brown, glossed with purple, the
margins of the feathers paler. On the crown of the head and
the occiput, the feathers have merely a central streak of dark
brown, the rest being yellowish- white ; the sides of the head are
white ; a broad blackish -brown band from the eye down the
side of the neck. Quills dark brown, the primaries toward the
end brownish-black, and glossed with purple, the inner webs
barred with greyish-white ; tail light brown, faintly barred
with darker, the tips yellowish-white, the inner webs, those
of the two middle feathers excepted, marked with confluent
greyish-white spots. All the lower parts are white, excepting
the lower part of the neck and a portion of the breast, on which
there are numerous light brownish red streaks, and the lower
wing-coverts, which are spotted with brown.
Length to end of tail 24 inches, to end of wings 26 ; extent
of wings 64 ; wing from flexure 20 ; tail 9i ; bill along the
ridge Ij'i \ length of cere -^ ; edge of lower mandible 1/^ ;
depth of bill at fore-edge of cere {^ ; tarsus 2\ ; first toe \l.
FISHING OSPREY. 243
its claw 1/2 ; second toe lj%, its claw 1^1 ; third toe 1^^, its
claw ly-g ; fourth toe 1^'g, its claw 1^%.
Female. — The female differs little from the male in colour,
but is considerably larger. The feathers on the upper part of
the head arc more broadly streaked with brown, and the co-
loured patch on the fore part of the neck and breast is larger.
Length to end of tail 26 inches, extent of wings 68 ; wing
from flexure 20 ; tail 10 ; bill along the ridge 2, along the
edge of lower mandible 1/j ; tarsus 2^% ; first toe 1, its claw
1 jg ; second toe l/g, its claw l^^g ; third toe If, its claw \j\ ;
fourth toe 1-}, its claw I5.
Yariatioxs. — In adult birds I have not observed any re-
markable variations, the white on the head and neck being
merely more or less pure, the brownish-red on the breast more
or less marked, and sometimes almost entirely wanting.
Changes of Plumage. — The moult is completed in Decem-
ber. After being worn and bleached, the feathers in autumn
become of a dull light-brown, the pale-coloured tips are abrad-
ed, and the yellowish-white terminal band of the tail has dis-
appeared. In winter, when the plumage is fresh, it is much
more beautiful, glossy, and deeply coloured, as is the case with
all the birds of this family.
HABrrs. — The Osprey prefers for its habitation the remote
and thinly peopled districts beyond the Grampians ; but even
there it is of extremely unusual occurrence, unless in particu-
lar spots where it finds abundant food and comparative security.
In the Outer Hebrides I have never met with it ; but at the
mouths of rivers, and especially on lakes, along the north -west
coast of Scotland, it may here and there be seen. A pair
generally take up their residence on an island of Loch IMaree,
the waters of which are well supplied with trout and salmon ;
and on all the larger lakes, such as Lochlagan, Loch Tay, Loch
Awe, and Loch Lomond, a few may be met with. On the
other side of the country, it is seen in Caithness and Suther-
244 PANDION HALIAETUS.
land, as is attested by my friend Mr A. G. Macgillivray. In-
dividuals liaA^e frequently been seen, and sometimes shot on
the Tweed. Mr Stevenson of Edinburgh has in his collec-
tion a fine specimen killed there by himself I have seen one
that was shot in Fifeshire, and another among the Pentland
Hills, near Edinburgh. Mr S. H. Greenhow of Tynemouth
informs me that in 1835 four Ospreys were shot in April and
May in that neighbourhood, and another in September. Speci-
mens have been shot in all the eastern and in a few of the mid-
land counties of England. Mr White of Selborne has men-
tioned an instance of its having been killed on a pond not far
from that village ; and Montagu and Dr ]\Ioore certify its not
very unfrequent occurrence in Devonshire.
It appears that the Osprey is not a permanent resident with
us, but arrives in spring, and departs towards the end of
autumn, or in the beginning of winter. Its breeding-places
are generally the ruined buildings on islands in lakes. Mon-
tagu states that he once saw its nest " on the top of a chimney
of a ruin, in an island on Loch Lomond ; it was large and
flat, formed of sticks laid across, and resting on the sides of the
chimney, lined with flags." According to the same observer,
it " flies heavily, not much unlike the common Buzzard, but
not unfrequently glides slowly along with motionless wing.
When examining the water for prey, its wings are in con-
tinual motion, although it remains stationary for a consider-
able time ; its superior weight perhaps renders it difficult to
continue suspended in the air, with the imperceptible motion
of the wings observed in the Kestrel." When crossing the
bridge over the river Avon, at Aveton GifFord, in April 1811,
he " observed an Osprey hawking for fish ; at last its attention
was arrested, and, like the Kestrel in search of mice, it became
stationary, as if examining what had attracted its attention.
After a pause of some time, it descended to within about fifty
yards of the surface of the water, and there continued hovering
for another short interval, and then precipitated itself into the
water with such great celerity as to be nearly immersed. In
three or four seconds the bird rose without any apparent diffi-
culty, and carried off" a trout of moderate size, and instead of
FISHING OSPREY. 245
alighting to regale upon its prey, it soared to a prodigious
height, and did not descend within our view."
Little of importance can be added to these notes from the
accounts given by more recent observers in Britain, where the
bird is so uncommon as to render a continuous account of its
habits almost impracticable. In North America, however,
where it is very abundant, it has been more satisfactorily ex-
amined. " The flight of the Fish Hawk," says Wilson, the
Scottish ornithologist of America, " his manoeuvres while in
search of fish, and his manner of seizing his prey, are deserving
of particular notice. In leaving the nest, he usually flies direct
till he comes to the sea, then sails around, in easy curving lines,
turning sometimes in the air as on a pivot, apparently without
the least exertion, rarely moving the wings, his legs extended
in a straight line behind, and his remarkable length, and cur-
vature or bend of wing, distinguishing him from all other
hawks. The height at which he thus elegantly glides is vari-
ous, from one hundred to one hundred and fifty and two hun-
dred feet, sometimes much higher, all the while calmly recon-
noitering the face of the deep below. Suddenly he is seen to
check his course, as if struck by a particular object, which he
seems to survey for a few moments with such steadiness that
he appears fixed in air, flapping his wings. This object, how-
ever, he abandons, or rather the fish he had in his eye has dis-
appeared, and he is again seen sailing around as before. Now
his attention is again arrested, and he descends with great ra-
pidity ; but ere he reaches the surface, shoots off on another
course, as if ashamed that a second victim had escaped him.
He now sails at a short height above the surface, and by a zig-
zag descent, and without seeming to dip his feet in the water,
siezes a fish, which, after carrying a short distance, he probably
drops, or yields up to the Bald Eagle, and again descends, by easy
spiral circles, to the higher regions of the air, where he glides
about in all the ease and majesty of his species. At once, from
this sublime aerial height, he descends like a perpendicular
torrent, plunging into the sea with a loud rushing sound, and
with the certainty of a rifle. In a few" moments he emerges,
bearing in his claws his struggling prey, which he always
246 PANDION HALIAETUS.
carries head foremost, and, having risen a few feet above the
surface, shakes himself as a water-spaniel would do, and directs
his heavy and laborious course directly for the land. If the
wind blow hard, and his nest lie in the quarter from whence
it comes, it is amusing to observe with what judgment and
exertion he beats to windward, not in a direct line, that is, in
the wind's eye, but making several successive tacks to gain
his purpose. This will appear the more striking, when we
consider the size of the fish which he sometimes bears along.
A shad was taken from a Fish Hawk near Great Egg Har-
bour, on which he had begun to regale himself, and had al-
ready ate a considerable portion of it ; the remainder weighed
six pounds. Another Fish Hawk was passing ISIr Beasley"'s,
at the same place, with a large flounder in his grasp, which
struggled and shook him so, that he dropt it on the shore."
Yet the weight of the Osprey itself is only from four to five
pounds. Sometimes, according to the same author, it over-
rates its strength, and " the bodies of sturgeon, and several
other large fish, with that of a Fish Hawk fast grappled in
them, have at different times been found dead on the shore,
cast up by the waves." It may be so, but Wilson does not
say that he has seen an Osjjrey at anchor on a sturgeon. The
descent from " the higher regions of the air" too, I think re-
quires proof. Mr Audubon says that " whilst in search of
food, it flies with easy flappings at a moderate height above
the water, and with an apparent listlessness, although in reality
it is keenly observing the objects beneath. No sooner does it
spy a fish suited to its taste, than it checks its course with a
sudden shake of its wings and tail, which gives it the appear-
ance of being poised in the air for a moment, after which it
plunges headlong with great rapidity into the water, to se-
cure its prey, or continues its flight, if disappointed by having
observed the fish sink deeper." It is only when it has satisfied
its hunger that, according to this more accurate observer, it
sails about at a great height over the neighbouring waters.
According to the same author, the nest is generally placed
in a large tree near the water, but occasionally at no greater
height than seven or eight feet. On the Florida Keys he saw
FISHING OSPREV. 247
it twice on the ground, and once on the roof of a low house.
" The nest is very large, sometimes measuring fully four feet
across, and is composed of a quantity of materials sufficient to
render its depth equal to its diameter. Large sticks, mixed with
sea-weeds, tufts of strong grass, and other materials, form its
exterior, while the interior is composed of sea-weeds and finer
grasses." The eggs, as he informs us, are three or four, of
a broadly oval form, yellowish-white, densely covered with
large irregular spots of reddish-brovA^n. An egg of this bird
in my possession is two inches and four twelfths in length,
one inch and ten twelfths in its greatest breadth, of a short
ovate form, with the narrow end much rounded, its ground co-
lour white, with large irregular blotches of dark greenish-
brown, and numerous small spots of light brownish-grey.
According to the American ornitholo<?ists above mentioned,
the female, while incubating, is supplied with food by the
male, and the young remain in the nest until perfectly fledged
and able to provide for themselves. Their parents however
assist them for several weeks after they have gone abroad.
This bird is indeed remarkably affectionate and gentle, seldom
molests any other species, confining itself entirely to the pur-
suit of its finny prey, and is more social than any other of its
family. In America it is greatly molested by the ^Vhite-
headed Sea7Eagle, which frequently wrests from it the fish
which it has just caught. In our country no instance of this
kind has been observed ; but with us, both the Osprey and the
White-tailed Eagle are of so rare occurrence that their encoun-
ters must be very unusual.
An examination of the organs of this bird, with reference to
its habits, may prove interesting not only in itself, but with
respect to other birds. We may assume that in a family of
a rapacious character destined to seize on living prey, it has
been intended to confine itself to fish, which it must clutch
from the deep as they swim near the surface. As fishes only
occasionally come within reach, the Osprey is furnished with
extremely long wings and strong drepressor muscles, by means
of which it is enabled not only to fly with ease to great dis-
tances over the water, and remain long on wnng without un-
248 PANDION HALIAETUS.
dergoing fatigue, but also to fix itself in a particular spot with
a quivering or undulating motion, in order to watch the pro-
per moment for descending. Then, as it has to plunge into
the water, or at least is liable to come in contact with it, the
plumage of its lower parts is rendered more dense and com-
pact than usual, and the elongated tufts seen on the outer side
of the tibiic in other hawks, are here replaced by short feathers.
On the upper parts, however, the plumage is not more compact
than in Eagles or Buzzards. Great rapidity of flight, and the
power of executing sudden turnings, are not necessary for
this mode of life, and therefore the tail is not so long as in
hawks generally, for the Osprey, having spied its prey, merely
drops perpendicularly upon it. The peculiar form of its prey,
the slippery nature of its surface, and the facility wdiich it has
of getting out of reach, render necessary a very powerful in-
strument of prehension, and accordingly the foot has the tibia
extremely muscular, the tarsus very short, the toes of extreme
thickness, and covered beneath with prominent conical points.
All the toes are possessed of great mobility, and the lateral can
be placed at right angles to the first and third, so as to ensure
an ample and secure grasp. The very elongated, well-curved,
pointed claws are obviously excellent instruments for this pur-
pose ; and while in other hawks they are flat beneath and
edged, they are in this rounded, so as when introduced into
the soft flesh not to tear it, and at the sametime be readily
withdrawn should such a measure be rendered expedient by
the bird's having seized a fish too strong for it. The oesophagus
and stomach do not differ essentially from those of other birds
of the family ; but the intestine is excessively elongated and
attenuated. It is the same, but in a less degree, in the Sea-
Eagles, which feed partially on fish. And hence it might be
inferred that an intestine of this form is best adapted for ex-
tracting the nutriment from that sort of food, but how or why
does not appear ; and many birds that feed in the same man-
ner have short and wide intestines. The capacity of the in-
testinal tube of the White-tailed Sea-Eade is not greater than
that of the Golden Eagle, although the length is as five to one ;
nor is that of the Osprey greater than that of the Buzzard, al-
FISHING OSPREY. 249
though the length is as eight to one. Crude conjectures are
easily made. Thus, it has been supposed " that the small
quantity of nutriment which fish, as an article of food, is
known to afford, rendered this extent of canal necessary, in
order that every portion of the nutriment might be extracted,"
and that although some fish-eating water-birds have a short
intestinal canal of large calibre, yet they can catch fish much
more readily than the Osprey, and can therefore fill their sto-
mach oftener. This explanation is obviously unsatisfactory,
since birds very similar in mode of flight and habits, as the
Frigate Pelican, liaA'e a wide intestine. It has been suggested
by me that the arrangement is made on account of the Osprey's
plunging into the sea, and being thus liable to sudden shocks,
which have less effect upon a slender coil of intestine. But
many plunging birds, as Gannets and Terns, have the intes-
tine wide, while in the Herons, which never plunge, it is as
narrow as in the Osprey.
In North America the Osprey, according to Mr Audubon,
is generally distributed, occurring all over the United States,
from Texas northward, as well as along the north-western
coast. In Europe it is said by various authors to be found in
Siberia, Norway, Russia, Germany, Holland, Switzerland,
Spain, and Italy. In Africa it has been obtained in Egypt
and the Cape of Good Hope. M. Temminck states its occur-
rence in Japan, and there is a specimen from New Holland in
the museum of the University of Edinburgh.
YouxG. — When fully fledged, the young differ considerably
from their parents, their upper parts being much darker, and
all the feathers there margined with white, giving them a re-
markably beautiful appearance. At this age, the bill is black,
the cere on both mandibles greyish-blue, the iris rich yellow^ ;
the feet pale blue, wuth a tinge of green, the soles flesh-coloured,
the claws black. The feathers of the head are white, each
with a central brownish-black lanceolate streak, those of the
occiput and nape white, with pale reddish-yellow tips. A
black band passes over the eye, and a broad band of the same
colour extends from behind the eye on each side down the neck,
250 PANDION HALIAETUS.
the two meeting behind. On the upper parts in general, the
feathers are chocolate-brown, tinged with purple, and margin-
ally tipped with reddish-white. The quills are banded with
white on the inner webs, their general colour brown, but the
outer four purplish-black ; the tail greyish-brown, the middle fea-
thers with seven, the lateral with eight brownish-black bands,
the inner webs whitish between the dark bands, the shafts
brownish-white, the tip light yellowish-red. The lower parts
are white ; the throat with longitudinal dusky lines, the lower
part of the neck and fore part of the breast with lanceolate
light-brown spots, besides which there are on many of the fea-
thers one or two concealed darker spots ; the axillar feathers
white, with three spots, dark-brown, reddish-brown, and
brownish-yellow. The larger lower wing-coverts are white,
with three broad blackish-brown bands ; the next brownish-
yellow, with large dusky spots, the rest brown, tipped with
yellowish- white ; those on the edge of the wing yellowish,
with a dusky lanceolate spot ; the lower tail-coverts white,
tip])ed with reddish-yellow.
The Osprey thus aftbrds another example of a falconine bird,
which when young has the tints much darker than when adult,
although more variegated.
Remarks. — Having dissected three individuals of this species,
I may here present a comparative view of the dimensions of
their digestive organs.
M. M. F.
Tongue in length — 11
CEsophagus in length 9^ 9^ 9^
Widthofcrop 2i 8 2|
Narrowest part | ^ § -^^
Stomach in diameter If 2 1\^
Intestine in length Ill 135 117
Greatest width of intestine l\ {'^ ||
Least width of intestine ^^ J| j^|
Length of coeca ^^ /^ ^^
Length of rectum 4^ 5 4
Diameter of cloaca 1 li 2\
FISHING OSPREY.
251
The trachea of two indivitkials examined, a male and a fe-
male, was in the former 7, in the latter V/g inches long ; its
breadth at the upper part ^ |, ^^1 ; its rings 102, 96, the two
lower dimidiate. Right bronchus of 22, 18 rings, left of 16,
15. The contractor muscles large, as are the sterno-tracheal ;
a single pair of inferior laryngeal muscles, going to the mem-
brane between the last ring of the trachea and the first bron-
chial ring.
In preparing the digestive organs of an individual of this
species, I found that the fluid of the proventricular glands had,
after a lapse of about a week, dissolved many of the glands into
a pulp, as well as the transverse muscular fibres lying over them,
while the rest of the tube in its whole length was perfectly
sound.
252
PERNIS. BEE-HAWK.
Bill shorter than the head, somewhat broader than hi<,di at
the base, comj)ressed towards the end, strong : upper mandible
with the dorsal line eonvexo-declinate as far as the edge of
the large bare cere, then decurved in the third of a circle, the
ridge rather narrow, the sides convex, the edges soft at the
base, beyond the nostrils hard, direct, and sharp, with a very
slight festoon, the tip descending, slender, acute ; lower man-
dible with the angle of moderate length, broad, and rounded,
the back broad, the sides rounded, the edges thin, somewhat
inflected, the tip rounded but thin-edged ; the gape-line arcuate.
Mouth rather wide ; upper mandible internally a little con-
cave, lower broadly channelled with a median prominent line ;
palate flat, with two longitudinal soft ridges. Tongue short,
deeply concave above, with the sides nearly parallel, the tip
rounded but emarginate, its free part horny beneath, its base
with a concave outline, and fringed with pointed papillae. The
other parts in the mouth as in the Buzzards and Kites. CEso-
phagus very wide, and about the middle dilated into a very
wide crop. At the upper part it has an outer layer of incon-
spicuous longitudinal fibres, and in its whole length is encircled
with slender fibres ; its inner coat is smooth, when dilated
even, and when contracted thrown into longitudinal rugae.
Proventricular glandules small, oblong, forming a complete
belt. Stomach large, roundish, its muscular coat very thin,
and in fasciculi.; its tendons rather large and roundish. Intes-
tine of moderate length, rather wide ; cloaca elliptical, very
large ; no coeca.
Jiody rather elongated, moderately full ; neck rather short ;
head of moderate size, flattened above, ovate. Nostrils linear-
oblong, or narrow elliptical, oblique, lateral, about equally dis-
tant from the edges and ridge. Eyes rather large ; eyelids
closely covered with sniall compact feathers, and destitute of
ciliary bristles, but with the margins bare ; the superciliai-y pro-
PERNIS. BEE-HAWK. 253
jection small. Aperture of ear large, transversely elliptical.
Legs short, robust ; tarsi very short, strong, roundish, covered
with feathers for half their length in front, on the rest of their
extent with flat hexagonal scales, of which the anterior are large.
Toes of moderate length, strong, the first stouter, the fourth
most slender, and connected with the third at the base by a
pretty large web ; all covered above with transverse series of
scales, and toward the end with scutella, beneath with round-
ish, prominent, hard papillae. Claws long, rather slender,
arcuate, less curved than in any other British genus, tapering,
acute, rather compressed, laterally somewhat convex, with a
slight groove, concave beneath ; those of the first and second
toes nearly equal and strongest, the third longest, and having
an inner sharp edge.
Plumage compact, soft, slightly glossed. Cere bare, being
destitute of bristles ; feathers on the fore-part of the head,
cheeks, loral space, and chin, very small, ovato-oblong, obtuse,
compact ; those on the rest of the head oblong, of the hind-neck
ovate, of the rest of the upper parts broad and rounded, of the
fore-neck and breast oblong ; the feathers of the abdomen and
tibiae more compact than usual ; the outer tibial feathers elon-
gated ; the lower tail-coverts very long and compact. Wings
very long, broad, rounded, of twenty-three or twenty-five quills,
of which the third is longest, the outer five abruptly cut out
on the inner web ; all the rest rounded, with a minute tip.
Tail long, broad, even or slightly emarginate, but at the sides
rounded, of twelve broad, acuminate feathers.
This genus, of which the species are not numerous, appears
to be intermediate between Buteo and Milvus, and in the
general form and short strong tarsi to approximate to Pandion.
It is distinguished from Buteo by having the bill longer, the
cere broader, the feet much shorter and stronger, the tarsi des-
titute of scutella, the wings and tail much longer. From
Milvus it differs in having the bill more slender, the feet much
stouter, the tarsi not scutellate, the tail not forked. From all
the genera of this family it is distinguished by the imbricated,
compact, scale-like feathers on the parts about the base of the
bill.
254
PERNIS APIVORA. BROWN BEE-HAWK.
HONEY BUZZARD.
Fig. 220.
Falco apivorus. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 130.
Falco apivorus. Lath. Lid. Oin. L 25.
Honey Buzzard. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Buse Bondree. Falco apivorus. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 67 ; IIL
Honey Buzzard. Pernis apivorus. Selb. Illustr. L (52.
Buteo apivorus. Honey Buzzard. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 88.
Tail with four broad and numerous small diisJcy bands ; icings
with two similar bands. Adult male loith the anterior part of
the head brownish-grey, the tipper parts deep broicn, the throat
white, ii'ith longitudinal dark lines, the rest of the loicer parts
white, with broad batids and spots of brown. Young male with
the head broivn, anteriorly tinged tcith grey, the upper parts deep
broicn, the throat light reddish, with longitudinal dark lines, the
rest of the lower parts deep brown, with darher longitudinal lines.
Female with the forehead bluish-grey, the upper parts deep broicn,
the lower pale yellowish-red, with large reddish brown sp)ots.
Young with the head white, spotted with broicn, the upper parts
deep brown, the feathers broadly edged with light red, the loicer
parts light yellowish-red, spotted icith brown.
BROWN BEE-HAWK. 255
The colouriug of this bird, which varies nearly as much as
that of the Brown Buzzard, is still a subject of dispute, some
authors considering the individuals of which the head and lower
parts are white, as adult, while others are of opinion that they 'are
young. The Honey Buzzard being of very rare occurrence, so
that one has little chance of meeting with a live or recent spe-
cimen in the course of many years, this question cannot be de-
cided by me. I shall therefore confine myself to the description
of two individuals obtained in Scotland, one of which I had the
good fortune to receive entire. The other I have examined
after it was preserved and mounted. They were both males,
but while one was of a nearly uniform brown colour, the other
was brown above, and white spotted with brown beneath. The
former would be considered a young bird by M. Temminck, the
latter an adult.
Young INIale. — This individual was killed near Stirlinof in
June 1838, and came into my hands on the 9th of that month,
when it was perfectly fresh. The description which I took at
the time is as follows : — The form is rather slender and elon-
gated, the body moderately full, the neck of ordinary length or
rather short, the head ovato-oblong. The bill, although slen-
der, compared with that of other birds of this order, is rather
stout. The aperture of the mouth is wide, and extends to be-
neath the anterior angle of the eye ; the cere large ; the upper
mandible with its outline as far as the edge of the cere convexo-
declinate, then curved in the third of a circle, the sides convex,
the edges soft to beneath the anterior extremity of the nostrils,
then hard, direct, and sharp, the tip slender, acute, descending;
the lower mandible comparatively small, with the back broad,
the sides rounded, the edges as in the upper, the tip rounded ;
the gape-line arched from the base. Nostrils oblongo-linear,
large, oblique. Upper mandible a little concave, lower broadly
channelled, with a median prominent line. Tongue deeply
concave above, M'ith the sides nearly parallel, the tip rounded
but emarginate. Eyelids feathered, but their margins bare.
Limbs short ; tarsus robust, anteriorly covered with feathers
halfway down, on the rest of its extent with angular scales.
256 PERNIS APIVORA.
Toes of moderate size ; the first stoutest, the second next, the
fourth least ; the first with four large scales above, the second
with three, the third with four, the fourth with three. The
claws long, rather slender, tapering, arcuate ; the first and se-
cond strongest, the third longest, with a thin inner edge, the
second next in length, the fourth smallest.
Plumage compact. The feathers on the fore part of the
head and cheeks ovate, compact, and small, especially on the
loral space, and about the eye. The feathers in general are
ovate, curved, with a large downy plumule, on the lower parts
nearly as compact as on the upper. Wings long and very broad,
extending to two inches and a half from the end of the tail ;
quills twenty-three ; the outer six separated at the end when
the wing is extended, and having the inner web cut out to-
wards the end, but indistinctly in the inner two ; all the rest
rounded, with a minute tip. Tail long, a little emarginate and
rounded at the end, the feathers broad. The first quill is two
inches and seven-twelfths shorter than the second, which is
eleven-twelfths shorter than the third, the latter exceeds the
fourth by only one-twelfth, the rest gradually diminish. The
middle tail-feathers are three-twelfths shorter than the third,
which exceeds the lateral by ten -twelfths.
The cere is of a dusky green colour, but at the base pale yel-
low. The bill black, the base of the lower mandible flesh-
coloured. The mouth flesh-coloured ; the mandibles black
within, excepting the median line of the upper ; the horny
part of the tongue black. The margins of the eyelids black ;
the iris pure yellow. Tarsi and toes orange, claws black. The
loral space and anterior part of the forehead are brownish-grey ;
the head reddish-brown ; the rest of the upper parts umber-
brown, the feathers generally darker on the shaft and towards
the end. The primary coverts and primary quills are blackish-
brown at the end, and in the rest of their extent have generally
on both webs three bands of dark-brown on a lighter ground ;
the inner webs white, except at the end, where they are light
brown, mottled with darker ; the outer quill however has only
a single dark band, reduced to two spots ; the second and third
have two bands, also reduced to spots ; on the secondaries the
BROWN BEE-HAWK. 257
dark bands are reduced to two, and gradually approximate
inwards. The tail-feathers have the tips brownish- white ;
then a broad band of brownish-black, and a dusky space with
seven indistinct darker bands, betw^een which and the base are
three large blackish bands. Upper tail-coverts light umber.
The throat is light reddish-brown ; the rest of the lower parts
umber, each feather with the shaft and a portion near it dusky.
The feathers of the legs are lighter, as are the lower tail-coverts,
which have two bands of white toward the base. The con-
cealed and downy jDarts of the plumage are white, which ap-
pears on the hind-neck and head when the feathers are raised,
as it extends over more than half their length. The lower
wing-coverts umber-brown.
The digestive organs are in all respects similar to those of
the Common Buzzard. The oesophagus is six inches long, its
width at the upper part one inch. The crop is very large, its
width being two inches ; the proventricular belt three fourths
of an inch in breadth. The stomach is large, roundish, an
inch and a half in diameter ; its muscular coat very thin, and
disposed in fasciculi ; the tendons rather large and roundish.
The intestine twenty-two inches long, its diameter from five-
twelfths to two-twelfths ; the duodenum only three inches and
a half in length. The cloaca is elliptical, two inches long.
There are no coeca. The crop contained four pieces of meat,
which had apparently been cut with a knife ; and the sto-
mach was filled with fragments of bees and numerous larvae,
among M'hich no honey or wax was found.
The soles were crusted with mud or earth ; the claws very
slightly blunted.
Length to end of tail 24 j inches ; extent of wings 52 ; wing
from flexure 16f ; tail 111 ; bill along the ridge l^^^, along
the edge of lower mandible also l^i ; tarsus 1^^ ; first toe ^|,
its claw 1 ; second toe 1^%, its claw 1 ; third toe 1^%^ its
claw 1/g ; fourth toe Ij-^, its claw j%.
That this individual was not a young bird of the season
is evident, not from the firmness of its plumage but from the tex-
ture of its bones, as well as the period at which it was procured.
Yet if we compare the Bee-Hawk with the Kite, we shall
VOL. III. B
258 PERNIS APIVORA.
be induced to consider our specimen as young, for in the latter
species the young are much darker than the adult, and have
the bands on the tail more distinct. I am therefore inclined
to agree with M. Temminck in this matter. The other speci-
men which I have examined I shall now describe.
Adult Male. — In form and proportions this individual
agreed with the above. The tarsi, which are feathered ante-
riorly about halfway down, are covered with flat hexagonal
scales, of which the anterior are very large, and six in a line.
The toes are covered above with transverse series of scales, en-
larging toward the end, where they change into scutella, of
which there are four on the first, three on the second, three on
the third, and four on the fourth. The claws are long, slen-
der, curved in about the fourth of a circle, flat beneath, ex-
tremely acute. The plumage is soft, but compact, rather
glossy on the back and wings. The cere quite bare. The fea-
thers on the loral spaces and fore part of the head and cheeks
small, ovate, and compact ; those on the rest of the head short
and rounded ; on the body broad and rounded ; the elongated
feathers of the tibise and abdomen more compact than usual.
The wings very long, broad, and rounded ; the first five pri-
mary quills deeply sinuate on the inner web, and beyond the
sinus having their edges nearly parallel until near the rounded
tips ; the secondary quills thirteen, very long, broadly rounded,
with a minute acumen. Tail nearly as long as the body, neck,
and head, even, but with the lateral feathers on each side a
little shorter.
Bill black ; cere dusky ; tarsi and toes yellow, claws black.
The head to behind the eyes, the auriculars, and the short fea-
thers margining the lower mandible, are light brownish-grey.
That colour gradually passes on the hind-neck into deep umber-
brown, which is the general tint of the upper parts, which are
however shaded with grey, the shaft of each feather, together
with a patch on the centre, being blackish-brown. All the
feathers are white at the base, those on the hind-neck for two-
thirds of their length. The larger wing-coverts and scapulars
are brownish-grey in the middle ; the secondary quills grey in
BROWN BEE-HAWK. 259
the middle, faintly barred with brown, brownish-black toward
the end, the margins of the tips pale brown. The alular fea-
thers and primary quills are similar, their grey part sprinkled
with brown dots, and a large portion of their inner webs white.
The tail-feathers are umber-brown, tinged with grey ; their
base white, that colour succeeded by a bar of deep umber ;
then, within half an inch, another bar of the same colour, par-
tially concealed by the tail-coverts ; the next brown bar, which
is all exposed, is a little more than half an inch distant, and at
an interval of six inches, on which are six faint bands of brown,
is a subterminal bar of blackish-brown, an inch and a half in
breadth ; the tips brownish- white. The sides of the neck are
greyish-brown above, umber-brown below ; the throat white,
with brownish-black shaft-lines ; the lower part of the neck
anteriorly pale brown, with brownish-black lines ; the breast,
sides, abdomen, and lower tail-coverts, white, with broad
transverse bands of umber-brown. These bands are formed in
this manner : — The feathers of the lower neck have a large
terminal triangular spot, those of the fore-breast have a similar
spot, and about the middle a band ; those on the lower breast
and sides a spot and two bands ; the long feathers on the side
a spot and three bands ; those of the abdomen two, the lower
tail-coverts three, the axillar feathers four bands. The outer
lower w^ing-coverts are chocolate-brown, the rest banded with
white and brown ; the lower surface of the quills and tail-
feathers is pale grey, with white shafts, and three bands of
brownish-black, two being sub-basal, and one terminal.
Length to end of tail 24 inches, to end of wings 23 ; extent
of wings estimated at 50 ; wing from flexure 15f , tail 10 ; bill
along the back li%, along the edge of lower mandible 1/g ;
tarsus 2 ; first toe \°, its claw {^ ; second toe 1^''^, its claw 1 ;
third toe l/^, its claw 1^1^ ; fourth toe lj%, its claw {^.
Habits. — The Bee-Hawk is of rare occurrence in any part
of Britain, and being consequently in great request among col-
lectors, has little chance of remaining unmolested whenever it
makes its appearance. In the northern and middle divisions of
Scotland it has not yet been met with, and in the southern I
260 PERNIS APIVORA.
am aware of only three instances of its having been killed. In
the Statistical Report of the Parish of Hamilton, the Rev. Mr
Patrick states that one was shot at Chatelherault in the autumn
of 1831. The light-coloured specimen above described, which
formerly belonged to Dr Bushnan, then of Dumfries, but is
now in the museum of the University of Edinburgh, was killed
at Drumlanrig in that county. The other, also described, and
now in my collection, which has in four years gradually in-
creased to two thousand specimens, was killed near Stirling.
In Northumberland and Durham several individuals, some of
M'hich have been described by the Hon. ]Mr Liddel, J. P. Selby,
Esq., and Sir William Jardine, Bart., have been obtained of
late years. James Wilson, Esq., one of the very few zoologists
of Edinburgh, remembers having seen in Penrith three, which,
with some others, were shot in Cumberland by Lord Lons-
dale's game-keepers. It has several times been killed in Nor-
folk and Suffolk, as well as in Dorsetshire, Devonshire, and
Worcestershire. In the midland and western parts of England
it appears to have been very seldom met with.
Owing to the unfrequency of its appearance, its habits are
very little known. It has been seen attacking the nests of
wasps, and these animals with their larvje have been found in
its stomach. In consequence of its efforts in digging them out
of the ground, its feet have been seen covered with soil, as have
its bill and the fore part of the head. Willughby and Vieillot
say it runs very swiftly, like a domestic fowl, but this state-
ment, if we judge from analogy and the structure of the feet,
seems to require confirmation. Various observers have found
in its crop and stomach remains of moles, mice, birds, frogs,
lizards, snails, and caterpillars, and it has been seen skimming
over water as if in pursuit of insects. In the crop of a female
shot in Selborne Hanger, White says there were found limbs of
frogs and many grey snails. Willughby relates that a pair which
bred in the deserted nest of a kite, fed their young with larvae
of wasps, as well as with lizards and frogs. M. Temminck
adds hamsters to its bill of fore, and doubtless it feeds much in
the same manner as the Buzzard, which it usually excels in
fatness, although that bird is generally found in excellent con-
BROWN BEE-HAWK. 261
dition, especially in autumn and winter. Indeed, owing to the
great quantity of oily fat under the skin, it is difficult to pre-
pare specimens of it. Its flight is said to be low and not usually
extended, and this may be the case when it has assumed a sta-
tion in a favourable locality ; but from the length and form of
its wings and tail, it must have a mode of flight very similar
to that of the Kite. With us it is apparently a summer visi-
tant, and not a permanent resident, for all the specimens whose
dates of capture or death are recorded, have been obtained in
summer and autumn.
A few instances of its breeding in England are known.
White, in his celebrated Natural History of Selborne, says,
" A pair of Honey Buzzards built them a large shallow nest,
composed of twigs, and lined with dead beechen leaves, upon
a tall slender beech, near the middle of Selborne Hanger, in
the summer of 1780, In the middle of the month of June, a
bold boy climbed this tree, though standing on so steep and
dizzy a situation, and brought down an egg, the only one in
the nest, wdiich had been sat on for some time, and contained
the embryo of a young bird. The egg was smaller, and not so
round as those of the common buzzard, was dotted at each end
with small red spots, and surrounded in the middle with a
broad bloody zone." Mr J. ISI. Brown informs me that he
" once found a nest of the Honey Buzzard in the woods of
Abergeldie in Aberdeenshire. It was built in a tree, and re-
sembled that of the Common Buzzard. There were three eggs,
of a whitish colour spotted with light and dark brown. The
male was shot, before it was known what species had been met
with." M. Temminck says its eggs are " marked with large
reddish-brown patches, and are often entirely of that colour, or
with numerous spots so close together that the white is scarce-
ly perceptible." An egg from France, in the museum of tho
University of Edinburgh, is of a broadly elliptical form, two
inches and half a twelfth in length, one inch and six and a half
twelfths in breadth, white, with blotches of greenish-brown,
which have probably been at first reddish-brown. Mr Yar-
rell, in his History of British Birds, mentions his having seen
three or four specimens, one of which resembled that described
262 PERNIS APIVORA.
by White, while another in his collection is "mottled nearly all
over with two shades of orange-brown : long diameter two
inches and one line ; transverse diameter one inch nine lines."
Two young birds seen by AVillughby were " covered with a
white down, spotted with black. Their feet were of a pale yel-
low ; their bills between the nostrils and the head, white."
Beyond this, I apprehend, there is little certainty, for the
young partially or fully fledged have not, it would appear, been
described from observation. It may however be expedient to
adjoin the following notice by M. Temminck. " The young
of the year have the cere yellow, and the iris light-brown ; the
head spotted with white and brown ; the lower part of the body
of a reddish- white with large brown spots ; the feathers of the
upper parts margined with reddish.
" The female and the young have only greyish-blue on the
forehead ; the fore part of the neck marked with large spots of
light-brown ; breast and belly of a yellowish-red with spots of
deep brown; upper parts of a reddish-brown with darker spots;
often the lower part of the body whitish with spots of reddish-
brown."
263
MILVUS. KITE.
Bill shorter than the head, somewhat broader than high at
the base, much compressed toward the end, strong ; upper
mandible with the dorsal line slightly convex, and descending
a little to the edo^e of the large bare cere, then decurved in the
fourth of a circle, the ridge broad and flattened at the base,
toward the end narrow but conveXj the sides rapidly sloping,
and but slightly convex, the edges soft at the base, beyond the
cere hard, direct, and sharp, with a slight festoon, the tip de-
flected, tapering, trigonal, rather blunt ; lower m.andible with
the angle large, wide, anteriorly rounded, the outline slightly
convex, the back broad, the sides rounded, the edges thin,
somewhat inflected, the tip rounded, but thin-edged ; the gape-
line nearly straight.
Mouth wide ; upper mandible internally a little concave,
with a median ridge, lower deeply concave, with a median
prominent line ; palate flat, with two papillate longitudinal
soft ridges ; posterior aperture of the nares oblongo-linear,
margined with acute papillse. Tongue short, fleshy, sagittate,
and papillate at the base, concave above, horny beneath,
rounded and emarginate. QEsophagus wide, about the middle
dilated into a moderate crop ; proventricular belt complete.
Stomach roundish ; its muscular coat thin, being composed of
a sinde series of fasciculi, the lateral tendons roundish. In-
testine of moderate length, slender ; coeca very small ; cloaca
very large and globular. Plate XXI, Fig. 2.
Body moderately full, compact ; neck short ; head of mo-
derate size, ovate, rather flattened above. Xostrils rather
small, elliptical, oblique, lateral, nearer the ridge than the
edge, and close to the anterior margin of the cere. Eyes large ;
eyelids feathered, and furnished with ciliary bristles ; the su-
perciliary ridge prominent. Aperture of the ear large and
264 MILVUS. KITE.
roundish. Legs short, robust ; tibiae short ; tarsi very short,
roundish, feathered anteriorly for more than a third, then
covered with a few large scutella, on the sides and behind with
angular scales ; toes of moderate length, strong, the first and
second nearly equal, the third much longer, the fourth more
slender than the rest, a little longer than the second, and con-
nected with the third by a pretty large basal web ; all covered
above in nearly their whole length with large scutella, laterally
and beneath with prominent tubercular scales. Claws long,
well curved, tapering, compressed, very acute, convex on the
sides, concave beneath ; the first and second largest, and nearly
equal, the third longest, and having an inner sharp edge.
Plumage soft, rather blended; slightly glossed. Cere bare
on its upper part ; space between the eye and bill closely
covered with small, slender, bristle-tipped feathers, of which
the base is downy. Feathers of the head, neck, and breast
oblong and pointed, of the outer part of the tibia elongated, as
are the lower tail-coverts, of the abdomen softer and loose, of
the upper parts broadly ovate and rounded. Wings extremely
long, broad, narrow, but rounded at the end ; the third quill
longest, the fourth almost equal, the first short ; the primary
quills of moderate strength, broad, toward the end tapering, in-
curved, with the tip rounded, the outer five having the inner
web cut out. The secondary quills thirteen, long, broad,
rounded, with a minute tip. Tail very long, broad, forked or
emarginate, of twelve broad feathers.
The genus Milvus, of which the species are not numerous,
is very intimately allied to Pernis, from which it is distin-
guished by the still more elongated wings and tail, the bristly
nature of the covering of the loral space, and the more curved
claws. It approximates to the genus Elanus, which has the
wings and tail extremely elongated, and differs further in hav-
ing the tarsi destitute of scutella. The Kites are remarkable
for their gliding and buoyant flight. They prey on birds,
small quadrupeds, reptiles, insects, sometimes fishes, and occa-
sionally eat the flesh of dead animals. Only one species occurs
in Britain, in some districts of which it is still rather plen-
tiful.
265
MILVUS REGALIS. THE RED KITE.
COMMON KITE. GLED, GLEAD, GLADE. RED GLED, SALMON-TAILED GLED,
FORK-TAILED GLED. PUTTOCK. CROTCHET-TAILED PUTTOCK. AN
CLAMHAN GODHLACH.
Falco Milvus. Linn. Syst. Nat. T. 126.
Falco Milvus. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 20. Old,
Falco austriacus. Lath. Ind. Orn. L 21, Young.
Kite. Mont. Orn. Diet,
Milan Royal. Falco Milvus. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I, 59,
Kite or Glead. Milvus vulgaris. Selb. lUustr. I. 74.
Common Kite. Milvus Ictinus. Jen, Brit. Vert. An. 86.
Male u'ith the upper parts reddish-hroicn, marTced icith longi-
tudinal hlackish-brown streaks, the lower parts light broicnish
red^ with narrower dusky streaks. Female with the head and
upper part of the neck gregish-ichite, streaked with dusky, the
other parts nearly as in the male. Young of a duller broicnish-
red, with the central dark markings of the feathers broader.
Tail deeply emarginate.
266 MILVUS REGALIS.
Male. — The Kite is distinguished from the other native
birds of this family by the superior elegance of its buoyant
flight, as well as by its elongated wings, and deeply emarginate
tail. Its form, which closely approaches to that of the Bee-
Hawk, is not less graceful than that of any other British species,
the body being short, ovate, and compact, the head of mode-
rate size, the neck short, as are the feet, while the organs of
flight are greatly elongated, and the bill and claws of moderate
size. On the tarsus are seven anterior scutella, of which the
lower two are divided, on the first toe are three, on the second
six, on the third twelve, on the fourth six scutella, besides se-
veral basal series of scales. The hind claw is deeply grooved
on the sides, and slightly larger than the second, the third with
a very thin prominent inner edge.
The mouth is wide, measuring an inch and two-twelfths
across; the tongue and other parts as described in the generic
character. The oesophagus six inches and a half long, the crop
two inches in width ; the stomach round, and two inches in
diameter, its muscular coat very thin. The intestine five feet
long, from four to two and a half twelfths in width, until the
commencement of the rectum, which is half an inch wide, and
forms a large globular dilatation.
The plumage is rather compact on the upper parts, more
blended on the lower ; the feathers very downy at the base,
with a rather large plumule. The loral space is covered with
divergent slender bristle-tipped feathers ; the greater part of
the cere bare ; the cilia? large and strong. The feathers of the
head, neck, and breast are narrow and pointed, of the back
ovate and rounded, of the sides, outer part of the tibia, and
subcaudal region, elongated and obtuse ; those of the abdo-
men downy. The wings are broad but pointed, although
the first quill is four and a half inches shorter than the
fourth, which scarcely exceeds the third, the second half an
inch shorter than the fifth ; the outer five quills deeply cut out
on the inner web, and less so on the outer ; the secondary quills
very broad, rounded, with a minute acumen ; the primary
coverts broad and rounded, the alula large. The tail is very
long, deeply emarginate, of twelve broad, rounded feathers, the
RED KITE. 267
outer curved a little outwards at tlje tip, and three inches
shorter than the central. The tips of the wings when closed
reach to the end of the middle tail-feathers.
The bill is brownish-black, its base, basal margins, and cere
pure yellow ; the superciliary ridge and eyelids dull yellow,
the margins of the latter dusky. The iris is pale yellow. The
feet of a rich yellow inclining to orange, the claws brownish-
black. The general colour of the head and neck is light
brownish-yellow, longitudinally streaked with blackish-brown,
the tips of the feathers on the head greyish- white ; the an-
terior part of the forehead, the cheeks, and the throat greyish-
white, streaked with brownish-black. The anterior upper
parts of the body are light reddish-brown, each feather with
a narrow lanceolate median brownish-black mark. On the
scapulars the dark markings are broader. The middle and
hind parts of the back are light red, with linear dusky streaks.
The alula, primary coverts, and outer five primary quills
are deep bluish-black ; the other primaries have the greater
part of the" outer web greyish-brown ; and the inner web of all,
except the first, is paler, barred with brownish-black, with the
marginal portion yellowish-white. The secondary quills are
greyish-black, tinged with purple ; their inner webs more or
less barred or mottled, and their tips reddish- white ; the inner
secondaries similar to the feathers of the back, but with their
inner webs barred with dusky. The tail is brownish-red, with
dusky shafts, the outer two feathers on each side having the
greater part of the outer webs blackish-brown, their inner webs
with about twelve faint dusky bars, and most of the other
feathers with traces of similar bars. The fore part of the neck,
the breast, and the sides are light yellowish- red, each feather
with a very narrow, tapering medial dusky streak, and a red-
dish-white tip ; the abdominal and tibial feathers, and the
lower tail -coverts, much paler, with only the shafts dark brown
until near the end.
Length to end of tail 25 inches ; extent of wings 61 ; wing
from flexure 19 ; tail 13g ; bill along the ridge 1/^, along the
edge of lower mandible 1 j\ ; tarsus 2 ; first toe | g, its claw 1 ^% ;
second toe j^, its claw 1^% ; third toe l/^j, its claw || ; fourth
268 MILVUS REGALIS.
Female. — The female, although considerably larger, differs
little from the male in colour, the upper parts being merely of
a deeper tint, the head paler and tinged with grey. The fol-
lowinf is the description of a fine individual obtained in Dum-
bartonshire. The tongue is ten-twelfths of an inch long, with
the base emarginate and papillate, the tip rounded. The oeso-
phagus six inches long, the crop an inch and a half in width.
The stomach globular, an inch and four-twelfths in diameter ;
its muscular coat very thin, being composed of a single series
of fasciculi. The whole length of the intestine is five feet six
inches ; the duodenum, which is eighteen inches long, is con-
voluted in four folds. The cloaca is globular, an inch and a
quarter in width. On the tarsus are seven scutella, of which
one of the lower is slit ; on the first toe three, on the second
three, on the third ten, on the fourth six. The wings extend
half an inch beyond the fork of the tail, of which the lateral
feathers are three inches and a half longer than the middle.
The first quill is three inches and a quarter shorter than the
second, which is an inch and three quarters shorter than the
third, this latter being four-twelfths shorter than the fourth,
which exceeds the fifth by ten-twelfths. The bill and claws
black ; its base and the cere rich yellow, as are the tarsi and toes ;
the iris pale yellow. The head and upper part of the neck are
greyish-white, longitudinally streaked with blackish-brown. The
general colour of the fore part of the back, scapulars, and wing-
coverts, is brownish-red, each feather with an elongated central
deep-brown space, broader on the scapulars, and much narrower
on the wing-coverts. Alula, primary coverts, and outer five
quills brownish -black, the other primaries greyish-brown ex-
ternally ; the secondaries deep brown, the inner greyish-brown.
The inner w^ebs of the primaries toward the base are greyish-
white, of the secondaries grey, all barred or mottled with dark
grey. The middle and hind parts of the back, with the upper
tail-coverts, light red, each feather with a brownish-black shaft-
line. The tail light red, the two outer feathers on each side
dusky on their outer webs, all barred with deep brown, the
bars on the outer feathers twelve, on the middle reduced to
nine small central traces. The lower parts are light red, with
RED KITE. 269
longitudinal pointed streaks of blackish-brown, which gradually
become narrower, so as to be confined to the shafts on the
tibial and subcaudal feathers, which are of a lighter tint. The
base of all the feathers is white, and the scapulars, which are
very large, have four or five transverse dusky bars.
Length to end of tail 27 inches ; extent of wings 63 ; wing
from flexure 19| ; tail 14; bill along the ridge lj%, along
the edge of lower mandible 1^'| ; tarsus 2^% ; hind toe ^S^
its claw I'l-ij ; second toe \^, its claw l^^ ; third toe 1^^,
its claw Y2 ' fourth toe 1, its claw i%.
An individual shot in Nairnshire, in April 1832, and simi-
lar to the above, was 271 inches in length, and 64 in alar ex-
tent. The entire length of the intestinal canal was 70 inches,
of which the oesophagus measured 7 ; the stomach 2 inches in
diameter.
Yariatioxs. — Differences in size are not very remarkable in
individuals of this species ; nor are those of colour very decided,
consisting chiefly of a greater or less breadth of the dusky
streaks, and a varying depth of tint in the reddish parts.
Changes of Plumage. — The moult is not completed until late
in autumn. When the plumage is new, the tints are much
brighter and deeper than in summer, toward the end of which
the dark parts are tinged with greyish-brown, the red are
faded, and the paler margins and tips abraded.
Habits. — In the northern parts of Scotland, the Kite is of
very rare occurrence ; in the outer Hebrides I am not aware of
its having been observed ; and in the counties to the south of
the Friths of Tay and Clyde, it is of extremely rare occurrence ;
but from Stirling and Perth westward, it is often seen, and in
some parts of the counties of Dumbarton, Argyle, and Perth,
cannot be considered as scarce. In Cumberland and West-
moreland it appears to bo more frequent than in the eastern
parts of the north of England ; while in the southern it is very
seldom met with. ISIontagu remarks that in twelve years'
residence he never observed but one individual in the southern
270 MILVUS REGALIS.
parts of Devonshire. Thus, although the species is not widely
extended on the Continent, being found from Norway to Italy,
and thus is not peculiarly a northern bird, it is more abundant
in the middle districts of Scotland than in any part of Eng-
land, where, owing to the care bestowed on the preservation of
game, it has less chance of thriving than in a wilder country.
The flight of this bird is remarkably elegant, the lightness of
its body, and the proportionally great extent of the wings and
tail, producing a buoyancy which reminds one of the mode of
flying of the Gulls and Jagers. When searching for food, it
moves along at a moderate height, wheeling and gliding in an
undulatory course, and proceeding at intervals with motionless
wings. Like the Buzzard and Eagles, it sometimes soars to a
great elevation, gliding in circles, and sailing gracefully with
outspread wings and partially expanded tail, the peculiar form
of v/hich renders it recognisable even at a very great distance.
All the hawks which prey chiefly on mice, lizards, and other
small animals which they seize when on the ground, have a
habit of fixing themselves at intervals in the air, apparently for
the purpose of examining the space beneath them, and this re-
markable character is observed in the Kite, although it is not
so decided as in the Kestrel. " One cannot," says Buftbn,
" but admire the manner in which the flight of the Kite is
performed ; his long and narrow wings seem motionless ; it is
his tail that seems to direct all his evolutions, and he moves it
continually ; he rises without effort, comes down as if he were
sliding along an inclined plane ; he seems rather to swim than
to fly ; he darts forward, slackens his speed, stops, and remains
suspended or fixed in the same place for whole hours, without
exhibiting the smallest motion of his wings."" This mode of
flying is very different from that of the heavy-bodied, compact,
pointed-winged Falcons, which speed along with quick beats
of the wings, pursue their prey in open flight, and seldom at-
tack a bird on the ground. The Kite on the contrary usually
obtains its food there, for, as it consists for the most part of
snakes, lizards, frogs, small mammalia, and young birds, it
cannot gratify those observers wdio are pleased with nothing
less than the dashing flight of the fierce Peregrine, and are
RED KITE. 271
profuse in contemptuous epithets when speaking of those hawks
which, being furnished with very long rounded wings, are not
well able to overtake a bird in open flight. Occasionally it
feeds on carrion, dead fish, and insects, as well as worms, and
has been accused of destroying young lambs, and committing
depredations on poultry. But little apprehension is now neces-
sary on the latter score, and in truth the Sparrow Hawk is the
kite of the farm-yard. A writer in Mr Loudon's Magazine of
Natural History says he has frequently seen a kite come from the
forest at Blois to fish in the Loire, which it seemed to do with
much success, seldom appearing to miss its prey ; and both on
the continent and in this country it has been seen feeding on
dead fish.
Very contradictory accounts of the moral and physical powers
of this bird have been given by authors. Thus, Willughby re-
presents its audacity as such as to render it an object of appre-
hension and hatred to housewives on account of its depredations
on poultry ; and Montagu relates that one was so intent on
obtaining some chickens from a coop, as to afford a servant
girl an opportunity of knocking it down with a broom. The
same author states that a kite, v*'hich had been for some time
hovering over a woman who was washing some entrails in a
stream, came down and carried oif a portion of them that ex-
tended some yards into the water, in spite of all her efforts to.
frighten it away. These are acts of courage or audacity ; but
then they are met with remarks on the cowardly character of
a bird which allows itself to be defeated by the Sparrow Hawk,
and intimidated even by a clucking hen. The following cha-
racter by M. Valmont Bomare is of a mixed kind, and in most
respects, I believe, not incorrect. " The Kite, when it flies,
extends its long wings and balances itself in the air, where it
remains a long time in a manner motionless, without its wino-s
appearing to be agitated ; but it directs at its will all its mo-
tions by those of its tail ; always master of its flight, it quickens
or slackens it, shoots along or remains suspended in the same
point, according to circumstances. Its sight is very penetratino-.
This powerful bird pursues only field-mice and young birds ;
in defect of these it pounces on reptiles, even grasshoppers,
272 MILVUS REGALIS.
dead fish thrown ashore by the waves, and sometimes on car-
rion. It is not afraid of approaching dwelling-places, and car-
ries off a great number of ducklings, goslings, and chickens ;
but the mere anger of the hen is enough to drive it back, and
it presently flies oiF. No bird has a more easy or rapid flight.
It is named the Royal Kite, because it was subservient to the
pleasure of princes, who hunted it with the falcon and sparrow-
hawk ; but the epithet royal is ill merited by the kite. In
fact we see this cowardly bird, which ranks among the ignoble
hawks, because it is not susceptible of any education, although
endowed with all the faculties which ought to give it courage,
and having no defect of arms, strength, or agility, refuse to
fight, and fly before the much smaller sparrow hawk, turning
and rising to conceal itself in the clouds, until the more active
and courageous hawk overtakes it, assails it with wings, talons,
and bill, and drags it to the earth less wounded than beaten,
and more vanquished by the dread than by the strength of its
enemy.''"'
There is nothing marvellous in a Falcon's beating a Kite, it
being a more muscular and vigorous bird. As to the Sparrow
Hawk, its audacity seems scarcely to have any bounds, for it
has been seen to strike even a Golden Eagle, and it "is very
probable that it might disable a Buzzard as well as a Kite. If
this bird does not defend itself against its puny antagonist, it
must be because its organization does not fit it for this sort of
warfare, and if it seldom ventures to attack a large bird or
quadruped, it must be for the same reason ; yet the Kite,
judging from its appearance, is well furnished with arms, for
its bill is powerful, and its claws well curved and finely pointed,
and it has a kind of flight not excelled in ease and flexility
by that of any other British bird of prey. Few of our birds
have been yet studied with suflicient minuteness and care, so
that the accounts given by authors are not always to be de-
pended upon. For my part, I am more disposed to give credit
to those who admire the Kite for its good qualities, rather
than despise it for its inferiority to some other birds. As to
its ignobility, or, in other words, its incapability of being
taught, this is contradicted by Mr Thompson of Belfast, who,
RED KITE. 273
in the ISIagazine of Zoology and Botany, states that " Mr R.
Langtry, when at Loch Awe, in Argyllshire, early in the sum-
mer of 1833, procured from the nest two young Kites, which
proved a highly interesting addition to his aviary. They at
once became very tame and familiar, and were so gentle in
disposition as to be most engaging. Every morning they had
their liberty, never flew far, but soared to a great height in the
air, and, in still repeated circles, displayed their graceful and
peculiar flight. To either lure or fist they always returned
when called. Mice were j^referred by them to birds or any
other food. ^Vhen these Kites were on wing, rats let off from
the cage-trap were expertly caught by them."
In the south-eastern counties of Scotland this bird is so sel-
dom seen that when it happens to present itself it excites a
great degree of curiosity. " In the neighbourhood of Bath-
gate," ]SIr Weir writes to me, " the Fork-tailed Kite very
seldom appears, as during the long period of twelve years I have
seen one male only. For three successive seasons he frequented
this parish, and was in the almost daily habit of visiting the
same localities, making his appearance at his different haunts
about the same hour each day. Amongst partridges and other
birds he committed very great havoc. His flight was easy and
graceful, consisting of curves and extensive circles, which were
performed by the almost imperceptible motion of his wings,
and guided by his forked and elongated tail. Ke occasionally
soared to a great height. When with outstretched wings he
performed some of his majestic aerial evolutions, he has
again and again delighted and astonished the inhabitants,
who believed that he was one of Jove's noble birds that
had come from the cold regions of the north to visit this
our more genial clime. In the pursuit of this very shy bird I
have spent many a weary hour in wandering over mountain
and dale ; indeed, I had almost given up the hope of ever get-
ting within reach of him, until one morning when shooting I
observed him at a distance intent upon securing a partridge
for his repast. lie fortunately pounced upon it near an old
and very long wall on the lauds of Coston, in the parish of
Bathgate. "With almost breathless anxiety and high palpita-
VOL, III. T
274 MILVUS llEGALIS.
tion of heart, I crept upon my hands and knees until I was
within sixty yards of the place where he stood. Up he started
so soon as I raised my head above the wall. I levelled my
gun, and brought him to the ground. In securing this my
long-wished-for prize, I had some difficulty, as when I ap-
proached him, he struck at me with his bill and talons most
fiercely and resolutely. I assure you (for you, Sir, experi-
mentally know the enthusiasm with which one is excited when
in pursuit of a fine specimen of the feathered tribe) that I could
not have been elated with gi-eater self complacency, even though
I had, at the late far-famed tournament, encountered and defeat-
ed the noble Earl of Eglinton, or the redoubtable Marquis of
Waterford, aye, and received the well-earned pahn of victory,
and the smiles of ajaprobation from the ' bewitching and match-
less Queen of Beauty.' This Kite is the one which belongs
to Mr Henderson, and which you have at present." It is the
specimen from which I have taken the description of the male.
I have never seen a Kite's nest, but have examined two eggs
taken from one in Argyllshire, of which one was bluish-white,
the other yellowish -white, clouded with reddish-brown ; their
form broadly elliptical, the greatest diameter two inches and a
quarter, the breadth an inch and eight twelfths. Mr Yarrell,
in his well-arranged and beautifully illustrated History of
British Birds, says, " The nest, formed of sticks, and lined
with various soft materials, is usually placed in the forked
branch of a tree in a thick wood. Two, and sometimes three
eggs, of a short oval form, measuring two inches and two lines
in length by one inch nine lines in breadth, of a soiled white
colour, marked with a few reddish-brown spots over the larger
end, are laid early in the season." Two eggs from France
which I have seen were of this kind, being white, with a few
dots of brown, and almost precisely of the same dimensions.
In defending its nest the Kite shews no lack of courage, for it
has been known to attack the aggressor, and in all cases threat-
ens him by its loud screams and violent plunges.
Young. — The young, which at first are covered with white
down, are when fledged of a darker and duller colour than the
RED KITE. 275
adult. The head and neck are of a darker tint, but have the
feathers tipped with whitish ; on the rest of the upper parts
the feathers are brownish-black, with broad yellowish- red mar-
gins, their tips whitish, the dark central markings being larger
than in the adult, and on the back and wings glossed with pur-
ple. The tail is much darker, its dark bars, of which there
are twelve on the outer feathers, distinct and extending over
both webs, the tips yellowish-red. The throat is whitish, with
very slender shaft-streaks, the rest of the lower parts brownish-
red, fading behind into dull light-red, the elongated central
markings brownish-black, gradually becoming narrower, and
disappearing on the abdomen, tibial feathers, and lower tail-
coverts, of which the basal part of the shaft only is dusky.
The cere and feet are pale yellow, the bill and claws brownish-
black, the iris yellowish-brown. In the female the last dusky
bar on the tail is larger than the rest, but not in the male.
Progress toward ^Maturity. — In the second plumage, the
colours and markings are nearly the same as in the adult state,
but the feathers on the head are largely tipped wath white,
those of the lower part of the hind-neck with yellowish. As
the bird advances in age, the head assumes more of a greyish-
white tint, the lower parts become of a lighter red, the dark
central markings of the feathers grow narrower. The female
has always more greyish -wdiite on the head, some of the fea-
thers of the back tinged with grey, and the red of the lower
parts lighter than in the male.
Kemarks. — The gradation of colouring in this species deserves
to be here alluded to, as, with others, it affords an analogy in
cases not known from direct observation. In the first place,
the young are darker than the adult ; the central dark mark-
ings of their feathers are larger, and the light-coloured margins
narrower, wdiile the tips are whitish on the head and neck.
The dark brown or blackish tints become tinged with grey,
the light tints become paler but clearer, and the dark bars di-
minish in size as the bird advances in age. Such appears also
to be the case in the Buzzards and Perns, and such it certainly
is in the Hawks and Falcons.
27(i
NAUCLPmUS. SWALLOW-KITE.
Bill short, broader than high at the base, much compressed
toward the end, of moderate strength ; upper mandible with
the dorsal line declinato-decurvate from the base, the sides
nearly flat, the ridge broad as far as the edge of the cere, the
sharp edges with a slight festoon, the tip slender, acute, and
declinate ; lower mandible with the angle very wide, the dor-
sal line slightly convex, the ridge broad, the edges slightly in-
flected, much decurved toward the tip, which is rounded.
Palate flat, with two longitudinal ridges ; upper mandible
with a tuberculate median ridge, lower deeply concave ; pos-
terior aperture of the nares oblongo-linear, with the edges
papillate. Tongue somewhat decurved, emarginate and finely
papillate at the base, flat above, its tip narrow and acutely
emarginate. Oesophagus of nearly uniform width, being des-
titute of crop, and thus resembling that of the Owls ; its walls
extremely thin ; stomach very large, round, slightly compress-
ed, its muscular coat very thin, and composed of a single
series of fasciculi. Intestine short and rather wide ; pylorus
with three knobs, duodenum forming a loop in the usual man-
ner ; no coeca ; rectum short, with a large globular dilatation.
Head rather large, roundish, flattened above. Eyes large ;
nostrils round, with a central papilla ; aperture of ear roundish
and rather large. Neck short, body compact. Feet short ;
tarsus very short, robust, covered all round with scales ; toes
of moderate size, scutellate above, covered beneath with pro-
minent pointed papillae. Claws rather long, well curved,
slender, acuminate.
Plumage blended, glossy, on the back and wings rather com-
pact. Wings extremely elongated, rather narrow, and pointed ;
the third quill longest ; the secondaries short and rounded.
Tail extremely long, very deeply forked, of twelve feathers.
277
NAUCLERUS FURCATUS. THE WHITE-HEADED
SWALLOW-KITE.
SWALLOW-TAILED HAWK. SWALLOW-TAILED KITE.
J:
Falco furoatus. Linn. Syst. Nat. I, 129.
Falco furcatus. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 60.
Swallow-tailed Elanus. Elanus furcatus. Selb. Illustr. T. 17 .
Milvus furcatus. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 86.
Swallow- tailed Hawk. Falco furcatus. Aud. Oru. Biogr. L 368 ; V. 371.
Nauclerus furcatus. Audub. Synops. 14.
Head, neck^ and low er yarts white ; back, ti'ings, and tail black.
Male. — This beautiful bird is at once distinguished from all
the British falconine species by its very long and deeply forked
tail, as well as by its peculiar colouring. It agrees in every
respect with the generic character, it being in fact the only
species of its genus known to me. The oesophagus of an indi-
vidual which I examined for INIr Audubon measured five in-
ches and a half in length, and one inch in width throughout ;
the stomach was two inches and a quarter in diameter ; the
intestine twenty-two inches long, and from five-twelfths to
three-twelfths in width ; the rectum three inches and a half in
length, and its cloacal dilatation one inch in diameter. In
another individual, the intestine was twenty-two inches long.
278 NAUCLERUS FURCATUS.
The very short, thick tarsi, strong, scutellate and tuberculate
toes, and long taper-pointed claws, entirely unfit it for walk-
ing, and its extremely elongated wings and tail render it
more aerial in its habits than any other of this essentially
aerial tribe of birds. The feathers are oblong and rounded,
but unless on the back and wings blended. The first quill is
equal to the fifth, the second shorter than the fourth, and the
third longest.
The cere, edges, and base of the bill are light blue, the rest
black ; the iris dark ; the feet greenish-blue, the claws flesh-
coloured. The feathers of the head, neck, breast, and other
lower parts, are white, slightly tinged with grey ; the rest of
the plumage black, glossed with purplish-blue.
Length to end of tail 22 inches, to end of wings 19 ; extent
of wings 47; bill along the ridge 1^% ; wing from flexure 18 ;
difference between the middle and outer tail-feathers 8 ; tar-
sus \\ ■, first toe j\, its claw j% ; second toe j%, its claw i% ;
third toe ^h-, its claw f^ ; fourth toe j\, its claw j^^.
Female. — The female is distinguished from the male only
by her superior size.
Habits. — The proper country of this bird is the tropical and
temperate regions of America. In summer it seldom advances
farther northward than Kentucky and Virginia, so that not-
withstanding its buoyant and rapid flight, its occurrence in Bri-
tain is calculated to excite some surprise. An individual is
recorded by the late Dr. Walker, Professor of Natural History
in Edinburgh, to have been killed at Ballychulish in Argyll-
shire, in 1772 ; and another was caught in Shawgill, near Ask-
rigg, in Wensleydale, in Yorkshire, in September 1805. As
the Scottish specimen does not appear to have been preserved,
and that obtained in England made its escape a month after its
capture, it might be doubted whether the species has a decided
claim on our recognition, were it not that we can hardly suppose
it to have been mistaken in either case, its form and colouring
being so peculiar. For its habits and distribution reference
must be made to the Ornithological Biography of Mr Audubon,
WHITE-HEADED SWALLOW-KITE. 279
he being the only person who has described them from obser-
vation. The following condensed statement will be found to
contain all that is necessary for our purpose.
The Swallow-tailed Hawk is not uncommon in Texas. In
the States of Louisiana and Mississippi, where it arrives early
in April, it is abundant ; in the large prairies of the Attacapas
and Appellousas it is extremely common ; in Florida and Vir-
ginia it is of rare occurrence ; it is sparingly met with in South
Carolina, and has been seen once or twice in Pennsylvania.
Its flight is singularly beautiful, its motions in the air combin-
ing the utmost grace and ease. " Gliding along in easy flap-
pings, it rises in wide circles to an immense height, inclining in
various ways its deeply forked tail, to assist the direction of its
course, dives with almost the rapidity of lightning, and, sud-
denly checking itself, reascends, soars away, and is soon out of
sight. At other times a flock of these birds, amounting to fif-
teen or twenty individuals, is seen hovering around the trees.
They dive in rapid succession amongst the branches, glancing
along the trunks, and seizing in their course the insects and
small lizards of which they are in quest. Their motions are
astonishingly rapid, and the deej) curves which they describe,
their sudden doublings and crossings, and the extreme ease
with which they seem to cleave the air, excite the admiration
of him who views them while thus employed in searching for
food. They always feed on the wing. In calm and warm
weather, they soar to an immense height, pursuing the large
insects called musquito-hawks, and performing the most sin-
gular evolutions that- can be conceived, using their tail With an>
elegance of motion peculiar tp themselves. Th^r pri/iGipali
food however is large grasshoppers, grass-caterpillars, small
snakes, lizards, and frogs. They sweep close over the fields,
sometimes seeming to alight for a moment to secure a snake,
and holding it fast by the neck, carry it oft' and devour it in
the air. They are very fond of frequenting the. creeks, which
in that country are much encumbered with 'drifted logs and
accumulations of sand, in order to pick up some of the nume-
rous water-snakes which lie basking in the sun. At other
times they dash along the trunks of trees, and snap off the
280 NAUCLERUS FURCATUS.
pupae of tlie locust, or that insect itself. Although when on
wing they move with a grace and ease which it is impossible
to describe, yet on the ground they are scarcely able to walk."
In the stomach of one which I opened in the presence of Mr
Audubon were six slender light green snakes, one of them
twenty-two and a half inches in length, together with a large
larva, three inches long, and two coleopterous insects. In an-
other, the stomach contained a green snake nineteen inches
long, six lizards, and four very large coleopterous insects, with
two eggs of reptiles seven twelfths and a half long.
" The Swallow-tailed Hawk pairs immediately after its ar-
rival in the Southern States, and as its courtships take place
on the wing, its motions are then more beautiful than ever.
The nest is usually placed on the top branches of the tallest
oak or pine tree, situated on the margin of a stream or pond.
It resembles that of Corvus Americanus externally, being
formed of dry sticks, intermixed with Spanish moss, and is
lined with coarse grasses and a few feathers. The eggs are
from four to six, of a greenish- white colour, with a few irregu-
lar blotches of dark brown at the larger end. The male and
the female sit alternately, the one feeding the other."
Young. — " The young are at first covered with buff-coloured
down. Their next covering exhibits the pure white and black
of the old birds, but without any of the glossy purplish tints of
the latter. The tail, which is at first but slightly forked, be-
comes more so in a few weeks, and at the approach of autumn
exhibits little difference from that of the adult birds. The
plumage is completed the first spring."
281
FALCO. FALCON.
The Falcons are by most ornithologists considered the typi-
cal birds of the great family to which they belong, or those
possessing in the greatest perfection the peculiar characters by
which the second group of the diurnal rapacious birds is distin-
guished. It appears to me that there is little occasion for dis-
puting the pre-eminence thus assigned to them. They are
birds of small or moderate size, of a compact form, remarkably
muscular, with the anterior part of the body very broad and
deep ; the neck short ; the head large, round, and flattened
above.
The bill short, very strong, of nearly equal breadth and
height at the base, moderately compressed toward the end :
upper mandible with a broad cere, the dorsal line convex from
the base, the ridge rounded, the sides convex, the edges ante-
riorly thin and overlapping, with a medial festoon or convex
prominence, and an anterior angular process, usually called a
tooth, the tip trigonal, acute, decurved, with its lower part
nearly perpendicular to the gape-line ; lower mandible with
the angle wide and rounded, the dorsal line very convex, the
back broad and convex, the edges involute, with a rounded
notch on each side near the tip, which is truncate.
Mouth wide ; upper mandible internally nearly flat, with a
prominent central line, lower deeply concave, with a slight
ridge ; palate flat, with two longitudinal soft, minutely papil-
late ridges. Tongue short, fleshy, concave above, sagittate and
papillate at the base, with the sides nearly parallel, the tip
rounded and emarginate. (Esophagus wide, with a large dila-
tation or crop ; its walls thin, the inner coat smooth, when
contracted forming longitudinal plicae. Proventricular glands
oblong or cylindrical, arranged so as to form a complete belt,
somewhat marked with longitudinal depressions. Stomach
282 FALCO. FALCON.
large, round, its muscular coat very thin, composed of a single
series of fasciculi, its tendons rather large and round. Intestine
of moderate length and width ; cloaca elliptical or globular, very
large ; cceca very small. These organs are minutely described
in Vol. I, p. 53, and illustrated by Plate IV, representing
those of Falco peregrinus.
Nostrils sub-basal, lateral, round, with a central papilla or
knob, connected with the upper edge by a thin plate. Eyes
large, with the eyelids generally bare, but margined with
bristly feathers like eye-lashes ; the superciliary ridge promi-
nent and bare. Aperture of ear round, and rather large. Legs
of moderate length, stout ; tibia rather long and very muscu-
lar ; tarsus short, rounded, reticulated or covered with scales,
of which the anterior are larger and subhexagonal. Toes
strong, scutellate above, padded and papillate beneath •, the
first short, the third much longer than the fourth, which ex-
ceeds the second, and is connected by a basal membrane.
Claws well curved, long, tapering to a fine point, a little com-
pressed, rounded above and on the sides, flat beneath, with two
sharp edges ; those of the first and second toes largest.
Plumage generally compact, on the abdomen loose. Cere
bare ; space between the bill and eye covered with radiating
bristle-tipped plumelets. Feathers of the head short and nar-
row, of the neck rather long, of the back and breast ovate or
oblong, of the outer part of the tibia elongated. Wings very
long and pointed ; the second longest, the first little shorter ;
one or two of the primaries having the inner web abruptly cut
out at the end ; secondaries thirteen or fifteen, of moderate
length, broad and rounded. Tail long, broad, rounded, of
twelve broad, rather pointed feathers. -
The Falcons, which are more compact and muscular than
most of the other birds of this family, differ from them in their
mode of flight, it being performed by regular beats, with little
sailing or gyration, although they are capable of hovering or
remaining fixed in a spot by means of rapid movements of the
wings. They generally descend perpendicularly on their prey^
which they capture in the air as well as on the ground. Their
food consists of small quadrupeds, birds of various kinds, rep-
FALCO. FALCON. 283
tiles, and insects. They breed on rocks, in trees, or on the
ground, forming a bulky nest of sticks, twigs, and other^coarse
materials, and laying from three to six eggs, generally speckled
or spotted with red or brown. The young are covered with
thick white down. The difference in size between the male
and the female is very remarkable in this genus ; the sexes are
sometimes similar in colour, and sometimes different, in which
case the young resemble the female. The Falcons, on account
of their docility, and their superiority of flight and mode of
capturing their prey, were considered by falconers as " noble,"
while the other hawks and the eagles, being less easily induced
to relinquish their natural habits, were termed " ignoble."
Being for the most part very destructive to game, they aro
much persecuted with us ; but in this respect they differ little
from their brethren, every hawk being considered by the game-
keeper as a malefactor.
Six species occur in Britain : the Gyr Falcon, the Peregrine
Falcon, the Hobby, the Merlin, the Red-footed Falcon, and
the Kestrel.
284
FALCO GYRFALCO. THE GYR FALCON.
JER FALCON. JERKIN. ICELAND FALCON. GREENLAND FALCON.
Falco rusticolus. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 125. Adult.
Falco Gyrfalco. Linn, Syst. Nat. I. 130. Adult.
Falco islandicus. Lath. Ind. Orn. I, 32. Adult.
Falco Gyrfalco. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 32, Adult.
Falco sacer, B. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 34. Adult.
Jer Falcon. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Faucon Gerfaut. Falco islandicus. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 17 ; III. 9.
Jer-Falcon. Falco islandicus. Selb. lUustr. I. 36.
Falco Islandicus. Jer-Falcon. Jen, Brit. Vert. An. 81.
Adult of both sexes white, having the upper parts marked with
semilunar or sagittiform dark-grey spots ; the bill light blue, the
cere and feet pale-yellow. Young brownish-grey above, spotted
with yelloivish or reddish-white, the tail with numerous light bars,
tchich on the middle feathers are generally opposite, but sometimes
alternate, the lower parts yelloivish-white, longitudinally spotted
with duskv.
GYR FALCON. 285
The Gyr Falcon, tlio most powerful, and one of the most
beautiful species of its genus, lias frequently been met with in
various parts of Scotland, as well as in England, although it
can scarcely be considered as a permanent resident, there being
no authentic account of its breeding with us. Formerly it
was divided into several species, and very recently attempts
have been made to separate its members into two, under the
names of Iceland Falcon and Greenland Falcon. Of the dif-
ferences which have given rise to this opinion some account
will be given in the sequel ; and as, in such a case as this,
minuteness of description is especially necessary, I shall give a
full account of the several specimens which I have examined.
Male. — The general appearance of this bird is indicative of
the highest degree of activity and vigour, its form being re-
markably compact and robust, its neck short, its head rather
large, round, and flattened above. The bill is short, as broad
as high at the base, with the dorsal line of the upper mandible
decurved from the base, the sides convex, the edges thin and
overlapping, with a slight festoon, and a distinct angular pro-
cess, the tip trigonal, descending, acute, and rather short ; the
lower mandible with the angle formed by the separation of its
crura very wide, the dorsal line convex, the back very broad
at the base, the sides rounded, the tip directly truncate, with
a nearly semicircular notch behind it on each side. Palate
nearly flat, with two longitudinal papillate ridges; upper man-
dible with a prominent broad median ridge beneath ; lower
deeply concave. Cere of moderate breadth, and mostly bare.
Nostrils basal, lateral, round, with a central prominent papilla
terminating a ridge from the upper edge. Eyes large, with a
bare projecting superciliary ridge ; eyelids ciliated. Aperture
of the ear rather larfre and roundish. Lc^s robust, rather
short ; tibia very muscular ; tarsus feathered more than half-
way down, its exposed part covered with scales, of which the
anterior are larger, but not scutelliform ; toes strong, of mode-
rate length, padded and papillate beneath, scutellate above,
unless toward the base, where they are scaly ; the first too
short, the second much longer, and nearly as long as the fourth,
286 FALCO GYRFALCO.
wliicli is connected with the third by a rather large basal web.
On the first toe are five, on the second ten, on the third eighteen,
on the fourth ten scutella. Claws large, strong, well curved,
somewhat compressed, flattened and marginate beneath, taper-
ing to a fine point.
The plumage is compact. The space between the bill and
the eye is covered with short bristle-tipped plumelets. The
wings are long and pointed, of twenty-five quills ; the first
quill ten-twelfths of an inch shorter than the second, which is
longest, and exceeds the third by a quarter of an inch, the
fourth two twelfths shorter than the first, which has the inner
web abruptly attenuated toward the end ; the second also at-
tenuated, but without a notch, as is the third in a less degree.
The secondaries are rather short, and most of the outer have a
terminal sinus or slight notch on the inner web. Tail long,
straight, slightly rounded, of twelve broad feathers, which at
the end taper to a point.
Bill very pale blue, at the end darker, at the base pale
yellow ; cere, superciliary ridge, and edges of eyelids yellow ;
feet pale yellow, the bases of the digital scutella blue ; claws
bluish black. The general colour of the plumage is white ;
the forehead, cheeks, throat, tibial feathers, abdomen, and
lower and upper tail-coverts unspotted. On the rest of the
lower parts each feather has a small guttiform greyish-brown
spot. The tips of the bristles about the base of the bill are
dusky. On the upper part of the head and neck each feather
has a linear-lanceolate streak ; on the back and wings each
has a subterminal cordate, generally pointed, or sagittiform
spot of dusky-grey. The quills and their coverts are barred
with that colour ; the outer primaries greyish-black toward
the end, and with the bars on their inner webs not extending
to the margin. The tail is white, with the exception of seven
spots toward the edges of both webs of the two middle feathers.
These spots are not all exactly opposite to each other, some of
them being alternate.
Length to end of tail 21 inches ; bill along the ridge 1/^ ;
wing from flexure 151 ; tail 9 ; tarsus 2^ ; hind toe H, its
claw l:i ; second toe l/g, its claw 1^^^ ; third toe 2, its claw
1 ; fourth toe Ij^^, its claw ^§.
GYR FALCON. 287
The above description is taken from the skin of an indivi-
dual obtained in Shetland.
Female. — The female is much larger than the male, but
scarcely differs in colour. The following description is taken
from the individual figured by Mr Audubon, which was at
least seven years old, and was procured in Iceland. The fes-
toon on the edge of the upper mandible distinct, but the angu-
lar process or tooth in a great measure worn down. All the
other characters as above ; the second quill longest, the third
two-twelfths shorter, the first three quarters of an inch shorter
than the second ; the tail slightly rounded, the lateral feathers
being three quarters of an inch shorter than the longest. The
bill is very pale blue, the upper mandible black at the end,
the lower yellow ; the cere, superciliary ridge, edges of eyelids,
tarsi, and toes pale yellow ; the claws black. The general
colour of the plumage is white ; the feathers of the back, the
scapulars, the wing-coverts, and the secondary quills with a
greyish-black, generally arrow-shaped spot near the end. The
anterior dorsal feathers have also a dark shaft-line, those
farther back a lanceolate streak, and those on the rump a
similar streak with an additional spot. The primary quills
have seven partial bars toward the end, besides a large subter-
minal space of the same dark colour ; and the secondary quills
and coverts have three or four bars or spots ; the shafts of all
the quills dusky above, as are those of the two middle tail-
feathers, which have eight spots on the inner, and four on the
outer margin. On the lower parts are no markings excepting a
few lanceolate streaks on the sides, and on the elongated tibial
feathers.
The oesophagus seven inches and a half long, of great width,
dilated into a large crop ; proventricular glandules oblong,
arranged into four very prominent longitudinal ridges, with
deep grooves between them. The stomach round, compressed,
about an inch and a half in diameter ; its muscular coat thin,
and composed of a single series of large fasciculi ; its inner coat
soft and irregularly rugous ; the pylorus with three knobs. The
intestine is thirty-six and a half inches in length, from five
288 FALCO GYRFALCO.
twelfths to four-twelfths in width, until the rectum, which is
three inches and a half long, half an inch in width at the com-
mencement, and dilated into a globular sac two inches in dia-
meter ; the cocca only two-twelfths long.
Length to end of tail 23i inches, to end of wings 2H ; extent
of wings 51^ ; wing from flexure 17 ; tail 9f ; bill along the
ridge l/y, ; tarsus 2y\ ; hind toe 1^';,, its claw lj\ ; middle
toe 2y'g, its claw {h, but worn.
Variations. — The only variations that present themselves
in the adult state refer to the greater or less extent of the dark
markings, which are sometimes entirely wanting on the head,
neck, and tail. They are jirecisely analogous to those seen in
the Snowy Owl, and require no particular description, although
on paper slight difterences of this kind have a formidable
appearance.
Habits. — The Gyr Falcon has been met with by various
observers in Norway, Sweden, and several of the northern coun-
tries of Europe ; in Iceland, Greenland, Labrador, and the Fur
Countries of North America. It breeds in the arctic regions,
and presents itself in the temperate parts of Europe only as an
occasional visitant, and generally in winter. When falconry
was in vogue, it was procured in Iceland and Norway, the
birds from the former country being more highly esteemed, and
by some considered as of a different kind from those obtained
in the latter.
Of its habits in the wild state little is known to ornithologists,
and it does not appear that in Britain they have ever been the
subject of observation to any person capable of describing them.
Mr Audubon, who found it breeding in Labrador, w^iere he
obtained two specimens, states that its flight resembles that of
the Peregrine Falcon, but is more elevated, majestic, and rapid.
" They rarely sailed when travelling to and fro between their
nest and an island where multitudes of Puffins were breeding,
and to which they daily resorted, but used a constant beat of
their wings. ^Vhen over the Puffins, and high in the air,
they would hover almost motionless, as if watching the proper
GYR FALCON. 289
moment to close their pinions, and when that arrived, they
would descend almost perpendicularly on their unsuspecting
victims. Their cries also resembled those of the Peregrine
Falcon, being loud, shrill, and piercing. Now and then they
would alight on some of the high stakes placed on the shore as
beacons to the fishermen who visit the coast, and stand for a
few minutes, not erect like most other hawks, but in the posi-
tion of a Lestris or Tern, after which they would resume their
avocations, and pounce upon a Puffin, which they generally
did while the poor bird was standing on the ground at the very
entrance of its burrow, apparently quite unaware of the approach
of its powerful enemy. The puffin appeared to form no impe-
diment to the flight of the hawk, which merely shook itself
after rising in the air, as if to arrange its plumage, as the Fish
Hawk does when it has emerged from the water with a fish in
its talons." Only four individuals were seen, which were be-
lieved to be of one family. The nest, which was placed on a
precipice, " was composed of sticks, sea-weeds, and mosses,
about two feet in diameter, and almost flat."
Dr Richardson, who found it a constant resident in the
Hudson's Bay territories, where it is named the Speckled Part-
ridge Hawk and the Winterer, and where it usually preys on
the Ptarmigan, although it also destroys Plovers, Ducks, and
even Geese, gives the following anecdote illustrative of its bold-
ness in defence of its young : " In the middle of June 1821, a
pair of these birds attacked me, as I was climbing in the vici-
nity of their nest, which was built on a lofty precipice on the
borders of Point Lake, in latitude 65^°. They flew in circles,
uttering loud and harsh screams, and alternately stooping with
such velocity, that their motion through the air produced a
loud rushing noise. They struck their claws within an inch
of my head. I endeavoured, by keeping the barrel of my gun
close to my cheek, and suddenly elevating its muzzle when
they were in the act of striking, to ascertain whether they had
the power of instantaneously changing the direction of their
rapid course, and found that they invariably rose above the
obstacle with the quickness of thought, shewing equal acute-
ness of vision and power of motion."
VOL. III. u
290 FALCO GYRFALCO.
The eggs are said to be similar to those of the Peregrine
Falcon, but larger. It does not appear, however, that there is
much certainty on this subject.
Young. — The skin of a young bird fully fledged, from Green-
land, in my collection, may be described as follows. The bill
is similar in form to that of the adult, but with the festoon of
the upper mandible very slight ; its colour pale blue, the base
of the lower mandible yellowish, the tip of the upper bluish-
black ; the cere greenish-blue. The tarsi and toes are greyish-
blue, the soles yellowish ; the claws black. The general colour
of the plumage on the upper parts is brownish-grey. On the
forehead the slender feathers are edged with yellowish-white ;
on the upper part of the head and the hind-neck, all the feathers
have a large oblong yellowish-white space on the inner web to-
ward the end. These white markings are larger and more
conspicuous on the hind-neck, most of the feathers on which
have also a patch on the inner web toward the base. On the
rest of the upper parts the feathers are narrowly margined with
paler ; the anterior dorsal feathers and small wing-coverts with
two small marginal subterminal yellowish-white spots ; the
middle and posterior dorsal feathers similarly marked ; and the
upper tail-coverts with the spots approaching in form to bars.
The first primary has twelve slight marginal spots on the outer
web, and on the inner fifteen transverse indentations which do
not reach the shaft ; the inner webs of all the other quills
barred in the same manner, but the outer without markings.
The tail is also barred, there being on the two middle feathers
twelve, on the lateral fifteen bars, or series of transverse nar-
row spots, on both webs, which, although opposite to each
other on the middle feathers, do not meet or run into the shaft,
and toward the lateral become more oblique, and sometimes
are not opposite ; the tips white, or formed of two confluent
spots of that colour. The lower parts are yellowish- white,
longitudinally marked with linear-oblong brownish grey bands ;
the long feathers on the sides and legs, and the axillars, with
the dark part larger, and the inner web with one or more light
patches or spots, A small part of the throat without spots,
GYR FALCON. 291
and the lower tail-coverts with only the shaft and a narrow
oblong space toward the end dark.
Length to end of tail 21 inches ; wing from flexure 15 ;
tail 9 ; bill along the ridge Ij ; tarsus 2^^^ ; middle toe 1{|,
its claw 1.
Progress toward Maturity. — In the next stage, as it
would appear, the upper parts become of a more uniform
bluish-grey, most of the whitish spots having disappeared from
the back, and upper part of the head. Of this kind were the
two birds figured by Mr Audubon, and obtained by him in
Labrador, as mentioned above. Li this state also I have exa-
mined the skin of a female from Shetland. In one of these
the light bars on the tail had nearly disappeared ; but in the
two females they were quite distinct, and those on the middle
feathers opposite, though not continuous. In the Shetland
specimen, which is apparently a female, its length being twenty-
four inches, the lower parts are yellowish-white, with longitu-
dinal oblong, brownish-grey spots ; the upper parts slate-grey
tinged with brown, the feathers margined with paler ; the bill
light blue, dark at the tip, and yellowish at the base ; the feet
blue, but with the edges of the scutella yellowish.
Dr Richardson, who no doubt has had opportunities of ob-
serving the changes which take pla je in the colouring, says : —
" The young Gyr-falcons show little white on their plumage,
being mostly of a dull brown colour above. As they grow
older, the white margins encroach on the brown, which be-
comes merely a central blotch, indented on each side by the
white ; while in aged birds the plumage is mostly pure white,
varied only by a few narrow transverse bars on the upper parts."
Remarks. — Mr Hancock, in a paper read to the British As-
sociation, and published in the Annals of Natural History, Vol.
II. p. 24'1, is decidedly of opinion that two species have been
confounded under the synonymous appellations of Jer or Gyr
Falcon and Iceland Falcon. Both species, Falco Islandicus
and Falco Groenlandicus, he says, are precisely similar in their
first plumage, with this exception, that the young F. Islan-
dicus has the bars on the two middle tail-feathers " non-con-
292 FALCO GYRFALCO.
timious, or not opposing each other, whilst they are continuous
in the young F. Groenlandicus." The distinctive characters
which he assigns to the adult of these species are the follow^ing :
Falco Islandicus. Ground of the upper plumage a dark lead
or mouse colour, barred and spotted with cream colour ; (on
the) under parts the ground is buff, marked with streaks,
heart-shaped spots, and bars of dark mouse colour. Wings
reaching to within about li in. of the end of the tail. Adult
male 1 foot 9 in. ; extent of wings 3 feet 10 in. Adult female,
length 1 foot 11 in. ; extent of wings 4 feet 2 in.
Falco Groenlandicus. Ground of the plumage pure white ;
upper parts elegantly marked with arrow-shaped spots of a dark
grey ; under parts and head streaked with the same ; wings
reaching to within 2 inches of the end of the tail ; second pri-
mary the longest. Adult male, length 1 foot 9 in. Adult
female, length 1 foot 11 in. ; extent of wings 3 feet 10 in.
It is further stated that all the mature specimens from Ice-
land seen by the author, amounting to seven, have the upper
mandible furnished with two processes, whilst in the many
Greenland specimens examined, only two had the double pro-
cess, and these were apparently very old individuals.
Without expressing any decided opinion upon the subject, I
have to observe that analogically the alternation or continuance
of the bars on the two middle tail-feathers is of no value as a
character ; for, having examined a great number of skins of
Falco Tinnunculus, Falco ^salon, Buteo vulgaris, Cuculus
canorus, Eudynamis orientalis, and several other species having
numerous bars on the tail, I find that in all of them the bars
are sometimes continuous and sometimes alternating. In the
Snowy Owl, the bird which most resembles the Gyr Falcon
in its style of colouring, the bars are either direct or alternate.
Unless therefore every one of these species is composed of two,
there is no reason to believe that this character is sufficiently
distinctive in the case of the Gyr Falcon. In the two adult
*' Greenland Falcons," one of which, however, was from Ice-
land, and that upon unquestionable authority, the festoon or
second tooth was conspicuous, while in the younger individuals
it is scarcely apparent. As to the diflference of half an inch in
GYR FALCON. 293
the comparative length of the wings and tail, it is obviously
of no account, and cannot even be determined with certainty
in skins. Farther observations, however, are necessary to de-
termine whether the grey birds from Iceland, if kept several
years, remain of the same colour or change to white.
Of all the dcscribers of birds, Brisson seems to me to be the
most accurate, and yet his Gyrfalco Islandicus, which he says
is found in Iceland, is represented as having the bands on the
two middle tail-feathers continuous, and the upper parts dusky
spotted with whitish. The figure, however, is not correct in
the form of the bill and several other particulars. But whether
there be two species or not of Jer Falcons, I believe that those
above described by me are all of one single species, of the
many specific names given to which I think the best are those
of Gyrfalco and candicans. Linnaeus, whose specific names
have the best claim upon us, named it Falco Gyrfalco, and re-
ferred to Brisson's figure and description, both of which repre-
sent an adult white bird. This name, therefore, ought un-
questionably to be retained.
294
FALCO PEREGRINUS. THE PEREGRINE
FALCON.
BLUE HAWK. GREY HAWK. HUNTING HAWK. fiOSHAWK, FALCON.
COMMON FALCON. SHEABHAG.
Fio. 224.
Falco peregriiius. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. ^3. Adult.
Falco communis. Lath. Ind. Orn. L 30, Young.
Faucon pelerin. Falco peregrinus. Temm. Man. d'Orn. 1. 22 ; IIL H.
Peregrine Falcon. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Peregrine Falcon. Falco peregrinus. Selb. Illustr. I. 30.
Falco peregrinus. Peregrine Falcon. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 82.
Wings ifhen closed about half an inch shorter than the tail.
Adult male with the head, hind-neck, and a broad band on the
cheelxs, black, the upper parts deep bluish-grey, fading behind into
ash-grey, and barred with greyish-black, the lower parts white,
the breast and sides transversely spotted and barred with dusky.
Female with the upper parts more dusky, the loxrer reddish- white,
with larger markings. Young with the upper parts deep brownish-
hlack, faintly spotted icith reddish, each feather tipped xcith light
red, the lower parts yellowish-white, with longitudinal dusky
streaks.
PEREGRINE FALCON. 295
Equal in beauty of form, and little inferior in Btrength or
spirit, the Peregrine Falcon is next in size to the species last
described, and like it exhibits the peculiar characters of the
genus in great perfection. It I'anka next to the Gyr Falcon in
the estimation of those who train rapacious birds for the chase,
and, being the species usually employed in hunting the larger
kinds of game, has obtained pre-eminently the name of Hunt-
ing Hawk. Although nowhere very numerous, it is exten-
sively distributed in Britain, so that specimens are plentiful in
museums and private collections.
Male. — In form the Peregrine Falcon is compact and ro-
bust, its body being ovate, anteriorly broad, with the breast
full and well-rounded, the neck short, the head large, round,
and rather flattened above. The bill is short, thick, and
strong ; the upper mandible with the cere rather short, the
dorsal line curved from the base, the ridge convex but rather
narrow, the sides convex, the edges with a slight festoon, and
a prominent angular process, the tip trigonal, descending, and
acute ; the lower mandible with the angle broad and rounded,
the dorsal line convex, as are the sides, the edges somewhat in-
volute, the tip directly truncate, with a distinct sinus behind.
The interior of the mouth, the tongue, and the digestive or-
gans having been minutely described at p. 53 of Vol. I, and
figured in PL IV, it will here suffice to give the measurements
of these parts in the individual selected for description. The
cEsophagus is six inches in length, an inch in width at its com-
mencement, and presently dilating into a crop two inches in
width ; the stomach two inches and two-twelfths in length and
breadth, its round central tendons three-eighths in diameter ;
the intestine three feet long, varying in width from three-
eighths to two-eighths, but the rectum, which is three inches
long, is wider, and dilates into a globular cloaca, an inch and
a half in width ; the coeca only a twelfth and a half in
length.
The nostrils are round, a twelfth and a half in diameter,
with a central papilla ; the eyes large, their aperture four and
a half twelfths ; the eyelids bare, but ciliated, the projecting
296 FALCO PEREGRINLIS.
supraocular ridge also bare ; the aperture of the ear roundish-
elliptical, four-twelfths in width. The feet are robust ; the
tibia of moderate length and very muscular, the tarsus short,
feathered more than halfway down, and covered all round with
reticular scales, of which the anterior are larger and subhexa-
gonal ; the toes large ; the first rather long, with six scutella,
the second longer, with nine, the third very long, with eighteen,
the fourth longer than the second, with ten scutella, and con-
nected with the third by a basal web. The claws are large,
strong, well-curved, rounded above, considerably compressed,
narrow and marginate beneath, with a fine taper point.
The. plumage is very close and compact on the upper parts,
less so on the lower ; the feathers of the head short and oblong,
of the back ovate and rounded, of the lower parts ovato-oblong
and rounded, of the outer part of the tibia elongated. Even
the abdominal feathers and lower tail-coverts are firm, and the
plumage is altogether denser and stronger than that of any other
British species of this family. The space between the bill and
the eye is covered with bristle-pointed plumelets. The wings
are pointed and very long ; the quills twenty-three ; the pri-
maries of moderate breadth, narrowed toward the end, the first
quill with a sinus on the inner web, and half an inch shorter
than the second, which is longest, and exceeds the third by four
and a half twelfths ; the secondaries are broad, and obtuse,
with an acumen. The tail is rather long, exceeds the wings
by half an inch, and is slightly rounded, the middle feathers
being three quarters of an inch longer than the lateral.
The bill is pale blue, toward the end bluish-black, tinged
with yellow at the base, especially on the lower mandible ; the
cere oil-green, the bare orbital space orange-yellow, the iris
dark hazel, the feet greenish-yellow, the claws bluish-black.
The head, hind-neck, and a large mystachial patch on each
side, are black, with a tinge of bluish-grey. The general co-
lour of the upper parts is deep bluish-grey, on the back and
tail-coverts fading into ash-grey ; the dorsal feathers, wing-
coverts, and tail coverts barred with greyish-black. The pri-
mary quills are greyish-black, their inner webs marked with
reddish -white bars, of which there are fourteen on the first
TEREGRINE FALCON. 297
quill ; the secondary quills lighter, their outer webs obscurely
barred with dark grey, the inner barred like those of the pri-
maries. The tail is greyish-blue, the middle feathers with
eleven, the lateral with thirteen bars of greyish -black, those to-
ward the base narrower and more grey, the last much larger,
the tips white. The throat and sides of the neck are white,
without markings ; the general colour of the rest of the lower
parts is white, on the sides of the body and outer part of the
tibite tinged with grey ; the fore-neck with very slender cen-
tral streaks on the feathers ; those on the breast at first lan-
ceolate, then roundish, and lastly transverse ; the sides and
tibiae distinctly barred with greyish-black ; the bars on the
sides of the rump, the lower tail-coverts, and abdomen fainter ;
the lower wing-coverts white, with dark bars.
Length to end of tail I65 inches, to end of wings 16; ex-
tent of wings 365 ; wing from flexure 12^ ; tail 6^ ; bill along
the ridge 1 ^V, along the edge of lower mandible 1^% ; tarsus
lj% ; hind toe 1|§, its claw 1^'^ ; second toe lj%, its claw i"| ;
third toe 2, its claw j% ; fourth toe 1^, its claw j%.
Female. — The female, which is much larger, is easily dis-
tinguished by the tints of the plumage, which is reddish on
the lower, and less blue on the upper parts. The proportions
are similar ; the diameter of the nasal aperture two-twelfths,
of the eye five and a half twelfths, of the ear four-twelfths.
The oesophagus is seven inches long, an inch and a quarter in
width at the top, two inches and a half in the dilated part ;
the stomach two inches and three-fourths in diameter ; the
intestine forty-nine inches in length, its width in the duodenal
part three-eighths, toward the end two-twelfths ; the coeca a
twelfth and a half in length ; the cloacal dilatation of the rec-
tum an inch and a half in width. The first quill is four-
twelfths shorter than the second, which exceeds the third by
half an inch.
The bill is greenish-yellow at the base, then pale blue, with
the tip black ; the cere and eyelids yellow ; the iris dark hazel ;
the feet greenish-yellow, the claws bluish-black. The general
colour of the upper parts is deep grey, of the head greyish-
298 FALCO PEREGRINUS.
black, its anterior feathers tinged with brown, the tint on the
back lighter, on the rump ash-grey ; the upper parts barred
with greyish-black as in the male ; the transverse spots or bars
on the inner webs of all the quills reddish-whit^ ; the tail
barred as in the male, wuth the tip reddish-white, and the
subterminal dark bar proportionally larger. On the inner web
of the first quill are fourteen spots ; on the middle tail-feathers
ten, and on the lateral thirteen dark bars. The cheeks and
niystachial bands are greyish-black ; the throat and sides of the
neck reddish- white ; the general colour of the lower parts
reddish- white, richer on the breast, paler behind ; the spots as
in the male, but larger, and of a deeper black ; the lower wing-
coverts also more largely barred.
Length to end of tail 19^ inches, extent of wings 42^ ; bill
along the ridge 1/j, along the edge of lower mandible 1^ ;
wing from flexure 14f ; tail 7 2 ; tarsus 2^^ ' ^^^t toe 1, its
claw Ij^ ; second toe I/3, its claw 1 ; third toe 2 j, its claw { l ;
fourth toe ij\, its claw |§.
Variations. — The above descriptions are from a male and a
female shot on the Pentland Hills in January 1838, and now
in my collection. Variations are observed in size, the males
measuring from sixteen to eighteen inches in length, the fe-
males from eighteen to twenty-three. In colour, adult males
vary little, the head being greyish-black or brownish-black,
the bluish-grey of the back deeper or lighter, sometimes ap-
proaching to ash-grey behind ; the fore-neck sometimes with-
out streaks or spots, sometimes slightly marked ; and the spots
and bars on the breast and sides narrower or broader. The
females are brownish-grey, greyish-brown, or blackish -grey
above, seldom of so light a tint as the males, and generally more
obscurely barred. They are always yellowish or reddish be-
neath, the tint on the breast being sometimes very rich. The
intestinal canal varies considerably in length, as do the coeca,
of which I have seen one w^anting. The following table con-
tains measurements of the digestive organs in different indivi-
duals.
PEREGRINE FALCON. 299
M.
M.
M.
F.
F.
F.
F.
Tongue in length...
—
9
12
8*
T5
9
T2
9
T2
GEsophagus
6
6
6i
7
6i
7i
7
AVidth of crop
2i
1 9
2
2i
—
2
2i
Stomach in diameter
9 2
1 1 1
2
2A
2A
2 2
^12
2i
Intestine in length . . .
36
36
38
49
51
54
50
Its greatest width...
3
H
4J
13
4
12
3
s
3
5
4
12
4
12
Its smallest width..
3
s
2
2
T2
A
25
12
25
12
/2
Cceca in length
T2
1*
T3
T2
12
15
12
3
T2
2
12
Rectum
s
3
3
3
3
34
Cloaca in diameter..
—
U
—
—
—
li
The scutella vary considerably, although less than in many
species.
M. U. il. M. F. F. F. F.
First toe 66676767
Second toe 9 9 9 10 9 11 12 9
Third toe 18 17 17 16 18 17 18 18
Fourth toe 10 10 10 11 10 12 10 10
Changes of Plumage. — The moult takes place early in sum-
mer ; but I think is not completed until November, for seve-
ral specimens examined in that month exhibited young feathers
about the head. Perhaps a renewal of parts of the plumage
takes place in the Falcons, as in the Eagles, at all seasons. At
all events, the plumage is perfect in the beginning of winter,
and then all the feathers on the wings and back have a slight
edging of paler. In summer the tints are much faded, and
the feathers more or less w^orn and ragged.
Harits. — Although it seldom happens that one can have an
opportunity of seeing much of this beautiful Falcon, unless he
watch it in one of its breeding places, it is not difficult in Scot-
land to become in some degree acquainted with it, for even at
the present day, after unrelenting war has been waged against
the rapacious birds for many years, the Blue Hawk is not re-
markably scarce with us. In Edinburgh more specimens are
annually prepared than of any other species, excepting the
300 FALCO PEREGRINUS.
Sparrow Hawk, Kestrel, Merlin, and Buzzard. I have ex-
amined about fifty individuals, of which more than ten were
recent and entire, so that if my descriptions are not correct, I
deserve the censure of " the candid critic." ISIy opportuni-
ties of studying the living birds have enabled me to offer the
following remarks.
The flight of the Peregrine Falcon is very rapid, being per-
formed by quickly repeated beats, much in the manner of the
Rock Dove. In searching for prey, it does not fly so low as
the Sparrow Hawk or Hen Harrier, nor does it glide among
trees, but keeps to the open country, scouring the hills and
moors, and, on discovering a fit object, pouncing upon it in
perpendicular or slanting descent, or pursuing it in direct
flight, but always keeping above its quarry until a favourable
opportunity of clutching it occurs. It may be occasionally
seen balancing itself in the air, but it seldom floats or as it
were sails in circles, like the Eagles, Buzzards, and other rapa-
cious birds which have long, broad, and rounded wings. Its
speed must be very great, and has been variously estimated at
sixty or a hundred and fifty miles an hour, and yet it does not
much exceed that of a Pigeon. Even a Grouse, which the
closet-naturalists tell us is ill adapted for rapid flight, is not
overtaken by a Peregrine in a moment. I have in my mind
a vivid picture of a chase which I witnessed on the Pentland
Hills. One day when reclining among the heath I was aroused
by a sudden noise, and on looking up observed two Red Grouse
advance over an eminence and shoot obliquely downward across
the face of the hill with marvellous speed, and without utter-
ing any cry, although there was a loud sound from their wings.
As I was wondering what could be the cause of all this head-
long hurry, a Peregrine Falcon appeared on the eminence, and
shot along with easier and more rapid flight, after the grouse,
which soon disappeared round the hill, so that I could not see
the result of the chase. The Brown Ptarmigan or Red Grouse,
and the Grey Partridge are with us its favourite victims ; but
it also feeds on Black Grouse, Pheasants, IMallards, Teal,
Pigeons, Gulls, Pufiins, Auks, Guillemots, rabbits, and young
hares. It has been seen to feed upon a dead sheep, but this
PEREGRINE FALCON. 301
sort of food appears to be less palatable to it than to Eagles
and Buzzards. Although not addicted to committing depre-
dations among domestic poultry, it sometimes manifests little
regard for the proximity of man, and has been known to snatch
a wounded bird from before the sportsman. For the most
part it is solitary and silent, pursuing its avocations as if little
disposed to pay attention to any thing else ; but sometimes a
pair hunt together, and in the breeding season it is rather cla-
morous in its rocky haunts, emitting a loud, clear, and shrill
cry, like that of the Kestrel. It has few enemies besides man,
for none of our native birds seem capable of injuring it, and it
is so bold as sometimes to attack the Eagle, should he approach
its domain. AVith its rapid and gliding flight, it forms a less
conspicuous object than the Buzzard, which, as it floats slowly
along, presents a more interesting feature in the wild scenery
of our hilly ranges.
Under ordinary circumstances it is shy and vigilant, so that
one seldom finds an opportunity of shooting it ; but at its
breeding place it is in general easily approached, as the female
is not readily put from the nest, and the male flies around,
uttering loud screams. No instance is recorded of its breeding
in trees, the nest being always placed on the face of a maritime
cliff or inland precipice, generally beyond the reach of man,
unless with the aid of a rope. It is bulky, and composed of
sticks and herbaceous plants, varied according to the locality.
Thus, in the Bass Rock, it is formed solely of grass and other
soft materials, there being no ligneous plants there. The eggs,
three or four in number, are of a broadly elliptical form, two
inches or a little more in length, and about an inch and seven
twelfths in breadth, dull light red, dotted and patched with
darker red. The young, which are at first covered with white
down, are abundantly supplied with food. So great is the
strength of this bird that, according to the keeper of the Bass
Rock, it has been knowm to carry to its nest there at one time
a male Black Grouse, and at another a I'heasant. Auks,
Guillemots, Kittiwakes, various sea birds, Plovers, Pigeons,
and Brown Ptarmigans, are the food usually brought to the
young in that place.
302 FALCO PEREGRINUS.
" In May 1889,*" says my son John, " I fell in with a nest of
the Peregrine in one of a range of cliffs in the neighbourhood
of Tantallon, on a bold headland, the most projecting part of
the coast. It M'^as situated on a shelf, at the distance of about
forty feet from the base of the cliff, and above it was a precipice
of about sixty feet or more. From its situation, owing to a
portion of the crag which formed an arch over it, and pre-
vented inspection from above, as well as the abruptness of the
neighbouring rock, it seemed perfectly secure from all intruders;
but from a rock in the sea immediately opposite, a good view
of it could be had. It was constructed externally of sticks and
sea weeds, which formed a mass about two feet in diameter.
The rock around it was profusely covered with white patches of
dung. In the course of the same afternoon I saw a fine female
Peregrine which had been shot that day by the gamekeeper at
Dirleton. I was informed by him that he had killed it at sea
close to a small island, nearly opposite North Berwick, on
which, as well as on the Bass, a pair annually breed. When
killed it had a partridge in its talons."
" In Shetland," says Mr Dunn, " it selects the most moun-
tainous parts, where it can settle on the shelving rocks of the
stupendous cliffs, and breed in security in the midst of plenty ;
it is rare that more than a single pair have their nest on the
same cliff, or even near to each other. I once found two
pairs during the breeding season on Noss Head or Hang Cliff;
and a better place they could not have chosen, from the secu-
rity it affords and the abundance of food which the nests of
the sea-birds, abounding in the same rocks, supply them with.
During my visits I captured several specimens of the Peregrine
Falcon, and also procured some of their eggs. It is a shy bird,
and diff.cult to get within shot of. I have repeatedly lain in
wait for it on the tops of the cliffs, and observed it flying slowly
along the face of the rocks immediately below me, but out of
distance, watching the opportunity during the absence of the
Herring Gulls and Kittiwakes, to pick a young one from their
nests, which it frequently does with great dexterity. I know
of no certain method of decoying this bird ; the way in which
I obtained my specimens was by first finding out their breed-
PEREGRINE FALCON. 303
ing-place, and then lying in wait for and shooting the birds as
they flew to and from their nests."
The breeding places which I have seen are in the island of
Pabbay, Berneray of Barray, the Bass Rock, and the rocks
at the head of IMofFatdale. Tantallon Castle rock, St. Abb's
Head, and the Isle of May are also mentioned as nesting
places. In Shetland it is not uncommon, according to Dr Ed-
mondstone and Mr Dunn ; and as it usually bears the name of
Goshawk, it is probable that J.Ir Low alludes to it as occurring
in Orkney under that appellation. In the northern ranges, as
well as in the Grampians, it is not unfrequently met with ;
but it seems to be more abundant in Peebles-shire and the ad-
joining mountainous districts of the counties of Selkirk and
Dumfries, than in most parts of Scotland ; so that although it
often breeds on maritime cliffs, this habit is not determined
by any predilection for the sea. In some of the northern dis-
tricts of England, and in Wales, it is also here and there met
with. The Isle of Wight, several parts of Devonshire and
Cornwall, Holyhead, and some other places of resort are men-
tioned in that country, in the low and cultivated parts of which,
however, it is very uncommon. According to Mr Thompson,
it occurs in suitable localities throughout Ireland.
My friend Mr Hepburn has favoured me with the following
notes. " Some years ago, when I frequently rambled amongst
the wild moors in the northern parishes of Peebles-shire, and
about the head waters of the Clyde, I almost daily saw the
Goshawk, as the country people call the Peregrine Falcon,
hunting about in quest of Red Ptarmigans and Partridges, to
the former of which he is said to be very destructive. Mal-
lards and Teal also constitute part of his food. In East
Lothian I have not met with it on the Lammermoors, and but
seldom on the sea-coast. A gamekeeper in this neighbour-
hood, when going his rounds one day, observed a Peregrine
Falcon, after a rapid pursuit, drive a Pheasant dead to the
ground. On finishing a meal he departed ; and the keeper,
after fixing the carcase to the ground with pegs, went home for
a trap, which he placed near the dead bird in such a way that
nothing could reach it without either removing or springing
304 FALCO PEREGRINUS.
the trap. Some hours after the Falcon arrived, alighted near
his prey, examined the barrier, and essaying the entrance,
touched the fatal spring, and was a prisoner. It frequently
preys on the domestic pigeon, either driving it to the ground,
or trussing it in the air, and carries it off to some quiet place.
In this district it usually goes by the name of King Hawk."
Mr Thompson, in the second volume of the Magazine of
Zoology and Botany, gives a number of very interesting anec-
dotes illustrative of the habits of this bird, one of which I take
the liberty of transferring to this page. " Mr Sinclaire, when
once exercising his do^s on the Belfast mountains, towards the
end of July, preparatory to grouse-shooting, saw them point,
and on coming up he startled a male Peregrine Falcon off a
grouse (Tetrao Scoticus) just killed by him, and very near the
same place he came upon the female bird, also on a grouse.
Although my friend lifted both the dead birds, the hawks con-
tinued flying about, and on the remainder of the pack, which
lay near, being sprung by the dogs, either three or four more
grouse were struck down by them, and thus two and a half
or three brace were obtained by means of these wild birds, being
more than had ever been procured out of a pack of grouse by
his trained falcons."'' This is a striking example of the disre-
gard for the presence of man which a very shy bird will occa-
sionally exhibit when impelled by the cravings of appetite.
An eagle has seized a domestic fowl almost in the midst of a
number of people, and another has carried off a grouse just
disabled by a shot ; and yet were one to attempt to approach
an eagle when not occupied, he would find his endeavours
fruitless.
The Peregrine Falcon appears to be at least as common in
North America as in Europe. The birds of both regions are
those which have been most minutely and correctly described,
and it is to a Scotchman that the world is indebted for the first
accurate account of those of the United States. Wilson, how-
ever, knew very little of the Peregrine Falcon, which has been
better studied by his successor Mr Audubon, who states that in
America its habits are precisely the same as in Europe. " Hav-
ing arrived within a few feet of the prey, the Falcon is seen
PEREGRINE FALCON. 305
protruding his powerful legs and talons to their full stretch.
His wings are for a moment almost closed ; the next instant
he grapples the prize, which, if too weighty to be carried off
directly, he forces obliquely toward the ground, sometimes a
hundred yards from where it was seized, to kill it, and devour
it on the spot. Should this happen over a large extent of water,
the Falcon drops his prey, and sets off in quest of another. On
the contrary, should it not prove too heavy, the exulting bird
carries it oiF to a sequestered and secure place. He pursues
the smaller Ducks, Water-hens, and other swimming birds,
and if they are not quick in diving, seizes them, and rises with
them from the water. I have seen this hawk come at the
report of a gun, and carry off a Teal not thirty steps distant
from the sportsman who had killed it, with a daring assurance
as surprising as unexpected." In Labrador and Newfoundland,
where he found it more abundant than elsewhere, " the nests
were placed on the shelves of rocks, a few feet from the top,
and were flat, and rudely constructed of sticks and moss. In
some were found four eggs, in others only two, and in one five ;
in one nest only a single young bird was found. The eggs vary
considerably in colour and size, which I think is owing to a
difference of size in the females, the eggs of young birds being
smaller. The average length of four was two inches, their
breadth an inch and five-eighths. They are somewhat rounded,
though larger at one end than the other ; their general and
most common colour is a reddish or rusty yellowish-brown,
spotted and confusedly marked with darker tints of the same,
here and there intermixed with lighter. The young are at first
thickly covered with soft white down. They take food almost
immediately after being removed from the nest. Remains of
Ducks, Willow Grouse, and young Gulls were found about
the nests, which are easily discovered by the excrements on the
rocks."
In the olden times, when ferocious feuds afforded occupa--
tion to the nobility, and when even the pursuits of peaceful
days had reference to bloodshed, hawking was a favourite
amusement with those whose rank entitled them to enoface in
jt. Various species of predatory birds were trained for this
VOL. III. X
306 FALCO PEREGRINUS.
purpose, and among the most esteemed was the Peregrine Fal-
con, which being easily procured, remarkable for docility, and
by its expertness in the art of destruction well qualified to af-
ford amusement, not to barons bold only, but to gentle dames,
was the kind commonly employed. The female, or Falcon pro-
perly so called, was flown at Herons, Geese, Ducks, and in
general the larger sorts of birds, while to the male, who, from
being about a third smaller, was called the Tiercel or Tiercelet,
were allotted partridges and other small game. When old the
bird was a Hagard, when well trained and handsome a Gentle
Falcon (bien fait, bien dresse, d'une jolie figure), when in its
first plumage a Red Falcon. Many other names were em-
ployed, which, having been taken up by the ornithologists,
gave rise to much misconception ; although of late years the
intricacies resulting from the errors of describers have been
unravelled, and the Peregrine Falcon in all its stages is now
simply the Peregrine Falcon. It is from this species that the
art of Falconry derives its name, although it appears that two
others, superior in size, and at least equal in courage and
strength, were employed, namely, the Iceland or Gyr Falcon,
also named the White Falcon, and the Lanner. " The Fal-
con," says BuiFon, " is perhaps the most courageous of all
birds in proportion to its size ; it throws itself directly and per-
pendicularly upon its prey, whereas the Goshawk and most
other birds of prey come laterally upon it ; it falls like a shot
upon its victim, kills it, eats it on the spot if it be large, or, if
it be not too heavy, carries it off rising perpendicularly. It is
seen all of a sudden pouncing upon its prey, as if it fell from
the clouds, for it comes from such a height, and in so short
a time, that its appearance is always unforeseen, and often un-
expected. It is frequently seen to attack the Kite, but it treats
him as a coward, chases him, strikes him with disdain, and
does not put him to death." Although the eloquent Count
is not always to be trusted, such, according to other authors, is
the style of hunting of the Falcon, which in pursuing its prey
advances directly towards it, keeping above its level, and sud-
denly closing its wings, dashing down upon it, and either clutch-
ing it and bearing it away, or driving it to the ground, or in the
PEREGRINE FALCON. 307
case of a large bird, as the Heron, grappling it and descending
with it. It is not by coming against it with its breast, nor by
hitting it with its vrings, nor by tearing it with its bill, that it
destroys its prey, but by grasping it with its long toes, and
thrusting into its vitals its curved and pointed claws. The art
of Falconry has of late years been partially revived.
Since the above was in types I have been favoured by Mr Weir
with the following note : — "That the Peregrine Falcon is able to
carry a weight nearly equal to its own, and that for a distance of
a considerable number of miles, is proved by the following fact.
Mr George Craven, gamekeeper to P. G. Skene, Esq. of Pit-
lour, Fifeshire, informed me that in the first week of June
182.9 he took out of one of their nests, which he discovered in
the Isle of May, an old cock Red Grouse. He likewise saw
the bones of several birds of the same species. He also in-
formed me that the female generally lays her eggs in April,
and that they are two, three, and sometimes four. They have
usually two young ones, and seldom three. They sit on the
ecfss one month. The vouns; are ready to be taken for taminoj
in the second week of June, and are able to fly about the be-
ginning of July. For some time past he has been in quest of
them for the Duke of St Albans, who is Falconer to her INIa-
jesty. These falcons he says are now very scarce, there being
only one pair for four which he has formerly seen. Almost
all the former breeding places have been unproductive these
two last years. The places in which he has seen eyries are
the Isle of May, the Bass Rock, King Craig near Kilconquhar,
the Lomonds, the rock at Newburgh, Benerty Rock near Kin-
ross, Glenturit, and many parts of the Highlands."
Young. — The young when completely fledged are as follows.
The bill is light greyish-blue, with only a small portion of the
tip dusky, the edges of the upper mandible, and the base of the
lower yellowish ; the cere greenish-blue ; the iris dark brown ;
the feet greyish-blue, tinged with yellow, and the edges of the
scutclla yellownsh ; the claws brownish-black. The upper
parts are deep greyish-black, all the feathers marginally tipped
with light red ; those on the nape with a large portion of that
308
FALCO PEREGRINUS.
colour, of which there is also a band over the eyes. The
feathers gradually become grey toward the base ; the scapulars
have several light red spots toward the margins ; the primaries
are black, their inner webs marked with transverse light red
spots, of which there are ten on the first quill ; the secondaries
are similarly marked on their inner webs, and on the outer
have very inconspicuous spots of the same. The tail is black,
shaded with grey, tipped with reddish-white, and barred with
spots of light red, of which there are five on each web of the
middle feathers, and seven on those of the outer, the spots on
the outer webs being small and roundish, on the inner trans-
verse. The mystachial band is black ; the lower parts reddish-
wdiite, with longitudinal brownish-black streaks, which are
broader on the sides, some of the elongated feathers of which
are of that colour, with lateral round spots of light red ; the
lower tail -coverts, however, are barred with greyish-black ;
the lower wing-coverts variegated with reddish-white and
greyish-black. The females have the upper parts somewhat
tinged with brown. Individuals vary in tint, and in the mark-
ings, especially of the tail, which are more or less extended
across the webs.
Pkogress toward Maturity. — At the second moult, the
birds assume the colouring described as peculiar to the adult,
differing only in having the markings on the lower parts larger,
and the upper parts less blue. The tint becomes purer and
lighter as the birds advance in age.
309
FALCO SUBBUTEO. THE HOBBY FALCON.
Falco Subbuteo. Linn. Syst. Nat. T. 127.
Falco Subbuteo. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 47.
Hobby. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Faucon Hobereau. Falco Subbuteo. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 25 ; II. 12.
Hobby. Falco Subbuteo. Selb. Illustr. I. 43.
Falco Subbuteo. Hobby. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 82.
Winps when closed extending beyond the tail. Male with a
black cheek-band, the upper parts greyish-black, the lower yellowish-
white, icith longitudinal brownish-black streaks, the lower tail-
coverts and tibial feathers red. Female with the upper parts
dark brown, the lower reddish-white, with broader dark brown
markings, the lower tail-coverts and tibial feathers of a lighter red.
Male. — The Hobby bears a striking resemblance to the
Peregrine Falcon, but is much inferior in size, and differs in
having the wings longer, and the lower parts longitudinally
streaked. The head is large, roundish, and flattened above ;
the neck short ; the body ovate. The bill is short and strong ;
the upper mandible with its dorsal outline decurved from the
base, its sides convex, the edges with a slight festoon, and a
prominent angular process, the tip trigonal ; the lower man-
dible with the angle short and wide, the dorsal line convex^
the back broad and rounded, the edges inflected, with a semi-
circular notch on each side close to the directly truncate tip.
Internally the upper mandible has a strong central ridge, the
lower, which is dee])ly concave, an elevated central line. The
tongue is fleshy, oblong, sagittate and papillate at the base,
concave above, horny with a median groove beneath, its tip
rounded and emarginate. The tarsi are feathered anteriorly
for a third of their length, short, slender, compressed behind,
covered before and on the sides with angular scales, of which
five over the joint are scutelliform. The toes are slender, con-
310 FALCO SUBBUTEO.
nected at the base by short webs, the first strong, the fourth
considerably longer than the second, the third much longer ;
the hind toe with eight scutella, the second with twelve, the
third eighteen, the fourth fourteen.
On the upper parts the plumage is firm and rather compact,
on the lower rather blended. The cere is for the most part
bare ; the loral space covered with diverging bristle-tipped
plumelets. The feathers of the head are short and rounded,
of the back oblong, as are those of the breast, of the sides of
the body and outer part of the tibia elongated. The wings are
very long, narrowed toward the end, and pointed ; the second
quill longest, but not much exceeding the first, which has the
inner web abruptly cut out toward the end. The tail is rather
long, slightly rounded ; the feathers broad, rounded, but when
new acuminate.
The bill is light blue at the base, bluish-black toward the
end ; the cere, eyelids, and feet yellow, the claws black. The
general colour of the upper parts is greyish-black, the shafts of
the feathers darker, and their margins of a paler tint ; the hind
part of the neck above the middle white ; the quills black,
with transverse yellowish-brown spots on the inner webs ; the
tail dark brownish-grey, the inner webs of all the feathers, ex-
cepting the two middle, with transverse reddish-white marks ;
the throat and sides of the neck are white ; a mystachial black
band proceeds from the angle of the mouth on each side ; the
breast and abdomen are yellowish-white, with longitudinal
dark-brown streaks ; the tibial feathers, and the lower tail-
coverts bright orange-red.
Length to end of tail 12 inches, extent of wings 26 ; wing
from flexure 10 ; tail 51 ; bill along the ridge ^%, along the
edge of lower mandible j-^ ; tarsus l^-^^ ; hind toe ^% , its
claw ^^1 ; second toe j§, its claw j% ; third toe l^%, its claw /| ;
fourth toe l^^g, its claw j%.
Female. — The female, which is considerably larger, resem-
bles the male in colour, diflferingonly in having the upper parts
tinged with brown, the lower reddish- white, the tibial feathers
and lower tail-coverts of a lighter red, and the tail obscurely
HOBBY FALCON. 311
marked with darker bands. The other markings are nearly
as in the male, but those on the lower parts are broader.
Length to end of tail 14 inches, extent of wings 28 ; wing
from flexure 10 f ; tail 6 ; bill along the ridge j% ; tarsus 1^ ;
middle toe and claw 2.
Habits. — Few instances of the occurrence of this bird in
England have been recorded, and I have never seen an indi-
vidual procured in Scotland. In the former country it is sup-
posed to arrive in April, and depart toward the end of Pctober,
" about the time the Merlin arrives in the southern parts." It
seems to prefer inland situations, and is said by Montagu to
build in trees, sometimes taking possession of a crow''s deserted
nest. The eggs, three or four in number, are broadly elliptical,
bluish-white, blotched with greenish-brown. Of two specimens
fr-om France examined by me, one measured an inch and eight
twelfths, the other an inch and five twelfths in length, while
the greatest breadth of both was an inch and two and a half
twelfths. Its habits have not been well described by those who
have had opportunities of observing them in Britain, but its
flight is said to be extremely rapid, and its courage inferior to
that of no other species, so that when hawking was in vogue,
it was trained for the chase, although it does not appear to have
been a favourite. Its food consists of small birds and insects.
" We have frequently," says Montagu, " witnessed the flight
of this species in pursuit of a Sky-lark, which appears to be its
favourite game ; and it is astonishing to observe how dexter-
ously the little bird avoids the fatal stroke until it becomes
fatigued. A Hobby in pursuit of a Lark was joined by a Hen-
Harrier, who not being so rapid on wing, was usually behind,
and ready to avail himself of the sudden turns the unfortunate
Lark was compelled to make to avoid the talons of the Hobby ;
however, after numberless evolutions, the Hen-Harrier relin-
quished, being unequal to the chase, and left the deadly stroke
to one better adapted for rapid and durable flight, and aerial
evolutions. The country was open, and as far as the eye could
discern the chase continued, but doubtless without a chance of
the Lark's avoiding the fatal blow." The northern limits of the
312 FALCO SUBBUTEO.
range of this species in Britain, in so far as is known, are the
counties of Durham and Cumberland. It is said to be gene-
rally distributed over the continent of Europe, extending in
summer to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, and specimens
have been received from India.
Young. — When fully fledged the young have the upper parts
brownish-black, but with the margins of ail the feathers yel-
lowish-white. The forehead and a line over the eyes are yel-
lowish-grey. The quills have their inner webs marked as in
the adult, and their tips reddish-\vhite, as are those of the tail-
feathers, which are marked with transverse bands of light red,
disappearing at the inner third of the outer web, the two mid-
dle feathers plain. The throat is yellowish-white, and that
colour extends in a band over the hind-neck ; the mystachial
bands are narrow ; the breast and abdomen yellowish- white,
with longitudinal dark brown streaks ; the tibial feathers pale
yellowish-red, streaked like the breast ; the lower tail-coverts
yellowish- white, with the shafts brown.
313
FALCO VESPERTINUS. THE ORANGE-LEGGED
FALCON.
RED-LEGGED OR RED-FOOTED FALCON. ORANGE-LEGGED HOBBY.
Falco vespertinus. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 129.
Falco vespertinus. Lath. Lid. Orn. I. 46.
Faucon k pieds rouges ou Kobez. Falco rufipes. Temm. Man. d'Oru. L 33.
Orange-legged Hobby. Falco rufipes. Selb. Illustr. I. 45.
Falco rufipes. Red-legged Falcon. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 83.
Wings when closed about the same length as the tail. Male
with the plumage of a uniform deep greyish-blue, excepting that
of the abdomen and legs, and the lower tail-coverts, tvhich are bright
yelloicish-red ; cere orange-red, feet reddish flesh-colour . Female
with the upper part of the head and the hind-neck yellowish-red,
the back greyish-blue, bari'ed with black, the tail bluish-grey with
black bands, the lower parts light yellowish-red, iclth oblong brown
spots. Young with the head reddish-broicn icith black shaft-lines ;
the feathers of the back deep brown edged icith light red, the space
about the eyes blackish, the lower parts yellowish-white, with lon-
gitudinal broicn spots.
Male. — The Orange-legged Falcon is similar in form to the
Hobby, but is easily distinguished in all stages by its colours,
which differ from those of any other British species. The head
is rather large and round ; the bill very short and strong ; the
upper mandible with the dorsal line decurved from the base,
the sides convex, the edges with a distinct festoon, and a nar-
row dentiform process, the tip trigonal and acute, the lower
mandible with the angle short and very broad, the dorsal line
convex, the back broad and rounded, the sides convex, the
edges inflected, with a semicircular notch on each side close
to the directly truncate tip. The tarsi are slender, feather-
ed anteriorly for more than a third down, covered in the
314 FALCO VESPERTINUS.
rest of their extent with angular scales, of which four on the
inner and fore part are larger, and three over the joint scutelli-
forni. The toes are slender, the anterior connected by short
basal webs, the hind toe short, with five scutella, the second
shorter than the fourth, and with eight, the third with thir-
teen, the fourth with six scutella. The claws are slender,
compressed, acuminate, curved in the fourth of a circle.
On the head and neck the plumage is blended, on the back
rather compact, on the lower parts rather loose ; the feathers
in general ovate and rounded ; the greater part of the cere is
bare ; the loral space covered with divergent bristle-tipped
plumelets. The eyelids are bare, but furnished with ciliae. The
wings are long and pointed ; the quills twenty-three, the second
longest, the first five-t\^^elfths shorter than the second, two-
twelfths shorter than the third, and having the inner web
abruptly cut out to the distance of an inch and a half from the
end, the second with the inner web narrowed. The tail is
long, somewhat rounded, the middle feathers being three-
fourths of an inch longer than the lateral.
The bill is pale yellow at the base, yellowish-brown toward
the end ; the cere and eyelids orange ; the feet light yellowish-
red, the claws pale yellow, with their tips brown. The general
colour of the plumage is deep greyish-blue ; the quills lighter,
with their shafts brownish-black ; the tail blackish-blue ; the
abdominal, tibial, and subcaudal feathers, light yellowish-red.
Length to end of tail 12 inches, to end of wings llf ; wing
from flexure 9, tail 5i ; bill along the ridge j%, along the
edge of lower mandible j^ ; tarsus ly\ ; first toe ■{%, its claw
/j ; second toe ji^, its claw 1^^ » third toe Ij^'^, its claw j% ;
fourth toe jo, its claw i\.
Female. — The adult female has the bare parts coloured as
in the male. The upper part of the head and the hind-neck
are light brownish-red ; the back, wing-coverts, and secondary
quills leaden grey, transversely barred with bluish-black ; the
tail light grey barred with black, there being ten bars on the
lateral feathers, and the two middle feathers being more faintly
marked ; the primary quills greyish-black, but their inner
ORANGE-LEGGED FALCOxV. 3l5
webs barred, with paler intervals. The cheeks and throat are
white ; the eyes encircled with black, of which there is also a
short mystachial band ; the breast and sides pale red, with red-
dish-brown longitudinal streaks ; the tibial feathers plain red-
dish, the abdomen and lower tail-coverts lighter ; the lower
wing-coverts rufous, with dark-brown transverse bars ; the
lower surface of the primaries greyish-white, with transverse
bars of black ; that of the tail bluish-grey with bars of bluish-
black, the last bar larger.
Length to end of tail 13 inches ; wing from flexure 9^ ;
tail 5g ; bill j\^ ; tarsus 1 j^^^ ; middle toe 1^^^, its claw ^%,
Habits. — It is to Mr Yarrell that we are indebted for the
first notice of the occurrence of this beautiful falcon in Britain.
In the fourth volume of jMr Loudon's Magazine of Natural
History, he states that three individuals, an adult male, an
adult female, and a young male, were obtained in May 1830,
at Horning, in Norfolk, and that a female was shot in Holk-
ham Park. Another individual, he informs us, was shot in
the same county in 1832. Two specimens obtained in York-
shire, one in the county of Durham, and two more, one of
which was kept two years in the Menagerie of the Zoological
Society, the other obtained in the neighbourhood of Devon-
port, complete the list of individuals procured in England.
None have hitherto been found in Scotland, and only one is
recorded as having been killed in Ireland. According to M.
Temminck, it inhabits woods and thickets, and is common in
Russia, Poland, Austria, Tyrol, Switzerland, and the dis-
tricts on the northern side of the Appenines. It is said to
feed on small birds and coleopterous insects, and to nestle in
trees ; but its habits have not been fully described.
YouxG. — When fledged, the young are described by Mr
Yarrell as follows : " The top of the head reddish-brown with
dusky streaks ; the eyes encircled with black, with a small
pointed moustache descending from the anterior part of the eye ;
ear-coverts white ; upper surfoce of the body dark-brown ; the
feathers ending with reddish-brown ; wing primaries dusky
316 FALCO VESPERTINUS.
black, the inner edges and tips buffy white ; the tail-feathers
dark-brown, with numerous transverse bars of reddish-brown ;
throat white ; sides of the neck, the breast, and all the under
surface of the body, pale reddish-white, with brown longitu-
dinal streaks and patches on the breast ; the thighs and their
long feathers uniform pale ferruginous ; beak, cere, irides, and
other bare parts as in the adult female."
Remarks. — In form this species is very intimately allied to
the Hobby, which it also resembles in the reddish colour of the
tibial and subcaudal feathers. It is proportionally somewhat
more slender, and has the claws smaller, while some slight
differences in the scales of the tarsus are also observed. The
bird to which the adult male approaches most nearly in colour
is Harpagus diodon, in which the festoon of the bill is pro-
longed into a second toothlike process, and the wings shorter.
In respect to colour, it is also nearly allied to Falco plumbeus.
The specimens from which I have taken the descriptions of the
adult male and female, are from the Continent.
317
FALCO .ESALON. THE MERLIN FALCON.
STONE FALCON. ROCK HAWK. SPARROW HAWK.
Falco Litho-falco. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 47. Adult Male.
Falco /Esalon. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 49. Female and Young.
Stone Falcon. Mont. Orn. Diet. Append. Adult Male.
Merlin. Mont. Orn. Diet. Adult Male and Female.
Faucon Emerillon. Falco JLsalon. Temm. Man. d'Orn. L 27
Merlin. Falco Esalon. Selb. lUustr. I. 51.
Falco Esalon. Merlin. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 83.
II. 13.
The icings rchen closed about mi inch and a half shorter than
the tail, the inner icehs of the first and second quills abruptly cut
out toward the end. Male with the upper parts deep greyish-
hlue, each feather icith a black central line, the tail barred with
black, the lower parts light reddish-yellow, ivith oblong blackish-
broicn sjyots. Female with the upper parts greyish-broicn, ths
shaft-lines darker, the tail barred with pale reddish, the lower
parts yellowish-white, with large longitudinal markings. Young
tvith the upper parts broicn, spotted icith p)ale red, the lower
reddish-white, marked as in the female.
Male. — The Merlin, which is the smallest British species of
its genus, is a very beautiful bird, of a form proportionally as com-
318 FALCO iESALON.
pact and muscular as the Peregrine, with the body rather short,
ovate, and of somewhat greater depth than breadth anteriorly ;
the neck short ; the head lai-ge, broadly ovate or roundish, and
flattened above. The bill is very short and strong ; the upper
mandible with its dorsal outline decurved from the base, in
nearly the fourth of a circle, its ridge obtuse, its sides convex,
its edges sharp, with a slight festoon, and a distinct angular
process, its tip sharp-edged, rather flattened, acute ; the lower
mandible with the angle short and wide, the dorsal line con-
vex, the sides rounded, the edges inflected, with a semicircular
notch on each side close to the directly truncate tip.
Internally the upper mandible has a strong central ridge ;
the lower, which is deeply concave, an elevated line. The two
longitudinal palatal ridges are minutely papillate ; the poste-
rior aperture of the nares oblong behind, linear before. The
tongue is short, fleshy, sagittate and papillate at the base, ob-
long, channelled above, horny vrith a median groove beneath,
rounded and emarginate at the end. The oesophagus is four
inches and a quarter in length, wide, dilated on the lower part
of the neck into a crop an inch and a half in width, then con-
tracted to ten-twelfths, but at the lower part enlarged. The
walls are thin, the mucous coat disposed in longitudinal plaits,
which are larger and more numerous in the crop, but dis-
appear, as in the other birds of prey, when the organ is filled.
The proventricular glands form a belt three quarters of an inch
in length, wdiich has six shallow longitudinal grooves. The
stomach is roundish, somewhat compressed, an inch and a
quarter in diameter when distended ; its walls thin, the mus-
cular coat being formed of a single series of fasciculi ; the ten-
dinous spaces five-twelfths in diameter. The pylorus has three
small knobs or valvular prominences. The intestine measures
thirty-one inches in length, and varies from three-twelfths to
a twelfth and a half in width, until the rectum, which is wider,
gradually dilates, and forms a globular cloaca, three-fourths of
an inch in width. The coeca are extremely small, forming a
shallow sac, not more than half a twelfth in depth.
The eyes are large, the eyelids furnished with short ciliary
bristles, the superciliary ridge bare and prominent. The nos-
MERLIN FALCON. 319
trils roundish, nearly a twelfth in diameter, with a central pa-
pilla. The aperture of the ear roundish, rather large, three-
twelfths in length.
The tarsi, which arc feathered anteriorly more than a third
down, are short, slender, somewhat compressed, covered with
angular scales, of which the anterior are much larger, and four
over the joint are scutelliform. The toes are slender, scutellate
above, prominently padded beneath, the anterior connected by
short basal webs, the first short, with eight, the second con-
siderably shorter than the outer, and Avith ten, the third long,
with twenty-one, the fourth with eleven scutella. The claws
are well curved, long, slender, narrowed beneath, and tapering
to a fine point.
On the upper parts the plumage is compact, on the lower
blended. On the head the feathers are short, ovato -lanceolate,
and acuminate, on the other parts oblong, on the sides and
outer part of the tibia elongated. The cere is bare above, the
loral space covered with radiating bristle-tipped plumelets.
The wings are long, rather broad, narrowed tov/ard the end ;
the primaries strong, tapering, obtuse, the second longest, the
first nine-twelfths, the second one-twelfth shorter ; the first and
second with the inner web abruptly cut out near the end, the
third slightly sinuate ; the secondary quills thirteen, broad,
rounded, and somewhat incurvate. The tail is long, nearly even,
but with the lateral feathers four-twelfths shorter than the next.
The bill is pale blue at the base, bluish-black toward the
end ; the cere and bare parts about the eye greenish-yellow ;
the irides darlc-brown ; the feet orange-yellow, the claws black.
The inside of the mandibles is pale blue, the palate of a dark
leaden blue, the tongue flesh-coloured, with its horny part blue.
The general colour of the upper parts is a deep greyish-blue,
each feather with a central black line. The anterior part of
the forehead, the loral space, and the cheeks are greyish- white,
with blackish lines ; over the eye is a greyish-white line, mar-
gined beneath with black, of which there is also a semicircular
line anterior to the eye. On the hind-neck is a broad half
collar of pale red, with small lanceolate black spots. The
edge of the wings is whitish ; the alula and primary coverts
320 FALCO iESALON.
dark greyish-blue, the outer feather of each spotted with white.
The primary quills are blackish-brown tinged with grey. The
outer margin of the first spotted with white, several of the rest
with faint bluish spots on the outer web, and all having the
inner web barred with white ; the secondary quills of the same
colour as the back, their inner webs barred with white. The
tail is light bluish-grey, the outer with eight, the middle with
six black bars, of which the last is very broad, the tips greyish-
white with a central black line. The throat is white ; the
rest of the lower parts white tinged with yellowish-red, each
feather with a linear brownish-black spot, the markings on the
neck being linear, on the breast lanceolate, on the sides broader.
The tibial feathers are light yellowish-red, and their dusky lines
are small ; those of the abdomen are without markings, and
the lines on the low^er tail-coverts are very slender. The lower
wing-coverts are variegated with reddish-brown and greyish-
white, the latter in roundish spots ; the lower surface of the
quills and tail-feathers beautifully barred with dark-grey and
greyish- white.
Length to end of tail 11 inches; to end of wings 9g ; ex-
tent of wings 26 ; wing from flexure 85 ; tail 5^ ; bill along
the ridge j%, along the edge of lower mandible j% ; tarsus 1/^ ;
first toe j%, its claw j'^ ; second toe j%, its claw |-^g ; third
toe lj%, its claw j% ; fourth toe \^, its claw ^'^.
Female. — The female, which is much larger and more robust,
differs considerably in colour. The third quill is one-twelfth
of an inch shorter than the second, which exceeds the first by
ten and a half twelfths. The tail is slightly rounded, the late-
ral feathers being nearly a quarter of an inch shorter than the
middle. The bill and other bare parts are coloured as in the
male. The general colour of the upper plumage is deep brown
tinged with blue, each feather having a medial black line.
Part of the hind-neck is yellowish-white, spotted with brown.
Most of the feathers on the back are in some faint degree ter-
minally margined with reddish ; the quills, larger coverts, and
alula, have a regular series of transversely oblong light red
spots on both webs, and are tipped with reddish -grey. The
MERLIN FALCON. 321
primaries and tail are of a darker tint than the back ; the
latter with eight bands on the lateral, and six on the middle
feathers, of pale reddish spots, and a terminal band of greyish-
white. The markings on the face are as in the male, but
larger ; the throat is yellowish- white, bounded on each side by
a brown mystachial band. The lower parts are pale reddish-
yellow, with numerous brown spots larger than those of the
male, but similarly proportioned, some of the posterior lateral
feathers with two round white spots on each web. The lower
wing-coverts are brownish-red, spotted with yellowish-white ;
and the lower surface of the quills and tail dark brownish-
grey, barred with light red.
Length to end of tail 12^ inches, to end of wings 11 ; ex-
tent of wangs 29 ; wing from flexure 9i ; tail 5f ; bill along
the ridge j|, along the edge of lower mandible \ ^ ; tarsus 1 j"^ ;
hind toe j\, its claw ^^g ; second toe |f, its claw ^^^ ; third
toe 1|^, its claw j^ ; fourth toe {^, its claw ^"g.
Vakiations. — Males vary a little in the colour of the upper
parts, which in old individuals is of a fine leaden blue, in
younger birds tinged with brown. The bands and spots on
the quills and tail-feathers vary in form and extent ; and I
have seen individuals in which no markings remained on the
tail excepting the last black band, and others in which they
were obliterated on the middle feathers only. The red tinge
on the lower parts is more or less intense. The females also
vary, but only in slight degrees, the upper parts in old indivi-
duals being tinged with blue.
Habits. — This beautiful little Falcon is by no means un-
common in many parts of Scotland. In the Hebrides, Shet-
land Islands, and various districts of the northern, middle,
and southern divisions of the mainland, it is now and then
seen. Mr Selby states that he has frequently met with it
in the north of England, and various authors have described it
as occurring in the middle and southern districts in winter, but
disappearing toward the end of spring. In Scotland, it cer-
tainly remains all the year round, for I have seen specimens
VOL. III. Y
322 FALCO 7ESAL0N.
killed at all seasons. Among the Pcntland Hills, and those of
the Greywacke range extending from St Abb's Head westward,
it is met with in summer dispersed in pairs at long intervals ;
but in winter it forsakes the higher grounds and betakes itself
to the plains.
The flight of this species more resembles that of the Sparrow
Hawk than of the Peregrine Falcon. It sweeps along, at no
great height, glides over the fields, shoots by the edge of the
wood, examines the thorn fence, and sometimes alights on a
tree or wall, as if to survey the ground. Although it may
occasionally pounce on a partridge, it usually preys on smaller
birds, such as larks, thrushes, chaffinches, sandpipers, snipes,
and plovers. In September 1882, I shot at Musselburgh an
individual which had just secured a sanderling after a long
pursuit. In the island of Harris, many years ago, I had one
which had come to the ground with a starling, and was caught
by a herd boy. The crops and stomachs of all those which I
have dissected contained exclusively small birds ; but it is said
to prey upon insects also, which is very probable, they being a
favourite food of most small hawks.
The place which the INIerlin chooses for its nest is some re-
tired spot among the hills, generally in the midst of heath or
on rocky ground. The nest is rudely constructed of some twigs
and tufts of heath, and the eggs, three or four in number, great-
ly resemble those of the Kestrel, being broadly elliptical, about
an inch and seven-twelfths in length, an inch and two-twelfths
in breadth, light red, or reddish- white, confusedly dotted, fre-
quently also spotted or blotched, with deep red. Should one
approach the nest, especially when there are young in it, the
Merlins fly around and over head with great anxiety, uttering
shrill cries, but keeping at a safe distance.
I believe there are few additional facts to be gleaned in our
best ornithological books, and my correspondents seem to have
little knowledge of the Merlin, for the only one who has sent
me some notes respecting it is Mr Hepburn, who says : — " It
is a rare bird in East Lothian, where it is named the Rock
Hawk, from the circumstance of its nest being placed on the
ground amongst rocks in such situations as the south side of
MERLIN FALCON. 323
Traprain Law and the craggy acclivities of the Garleton Hills.
Like the Sparrow Hawk, it often watches its prey, previous
to making the fatal swoop. One fine day in August 1833, as
a companion and I were rambling about the environs of Had-
dington, he shot at some small birds in a hedge, when to our
surprise and delight a Rock Hawk tumbled out of it. Being
apparently but slightly wounded, he was caged with a Kestrel,
but refused all sustenance, and soon died. I have sometimes
seen a Merlin glide into one of the tallest trees around our
dwelling, survey the bushes in the garden, dart on his prey,
and carry it off. I suspect that the Merlins migrate from this
neighbourhood in winter, but they are so rare that it is difficult
to be assured of this."
The Merlin was formerly trained for the chase, and seems
to have been a special favourite with the ladies ; but it was
not held in much estimation by the men, as it is hardly quali-
fied to kill partridges. It is said to be generally dispersed over
the European continent, but has not hitherto been found in
America, the individuals alleged to have been met with there
having turned out to be Pigeon Hawks.
Young. — The young, when fledged, resemble the adult fe-
male, but have the upper parts spotted with red. A male in
my collection, and which I obtained when newly killed, had
the bare parts as in the adult, but the cere and supraocular
ridge of a duller tint. The general colour of the upper parts
is dark brown, but already tinged with grey, the feathers edged
and barred with pale brownish-red, those on the back having
each, one, two, four, or six concealed spots of that colour. The
alula, primary coverts, and primary quills are blackish-brown,
spotted on both webs with light red, the secondaries lighter ;
all the quills terminally margined with reddish-white. The
tail is blackish-brown, barred, the middle feathers with five,
the lateral with six bands of light red, and all of them tipped
with reddish-white over the eyes and on the hind-neck, the
bands are light reddish, spotted with dusky. The throat is yel-
lowish-white ; the cheeks yellowish-red, streaked with brown,
the eye margined anteriorly with black. The lower parts are
324 FALCO ^SALON.
pale reddish-yellow, with broad longitudinal streaks of dark
umber brown ; the lower tail-coverts and some of the abdomi-
nal feathers without markings, and those on the tibial feathers
very slender. Some of the feathers on the sides have one or
two pairs of round spots. The lower surface of the wings and
tail transversely banded with dusky grey and pale reddish.
A female individual is similar, but has the upper parts rather
lighter, the lower less tinged with red, and the markings there
of a lighter brown ; the number of light bands on the lateral
tail-feathers, including the tip-band, nine ; which I think is
invariably the number in old and young.
Remarks. — The Merlin is so intimately allied to the Pigeon
Hawk of America, Falco columbarius, that were individuals
of both species presented for inspection, it would be very
difficult to distinguish them. In all the specimens of the latter
that I have examined, the light bands on the tail-feathers were
fewer, being five on the middle, and eight on the lateral feathers.
But I know very few instances of so perfect a mutual resem-
blance in two species ; and it is therefore not altogether im-
probable that Falco columbarius may exist in Britain, as the
only other two North American Falcons occur there.
In a work on the Rapacious Birds of this country which I
published some years ago, I remarked that I had not met with
individuals of different sexes that varied much in size ; but
having since then examined a great number of individuals, I
am now of opinion that the male is generally much smaller
than the female. The smallest male which I have seen mea-
sured eleven and a quarter inches in length, and the largest
female thirteen and three quarters ; but in actual bulk their
difference was very great.
325
FALCO TINNUNCULUS. THE KESTREL.
KESTRIL, KASTRIL, KISTRIL. WINDHOVER. STONEGALL, STEINGALL,
STANNEL. KEELIE. SPARROW HAWK. CLAMHAN RUADH.
Fro. 227.
Falco Tinnunculus. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 127.
Faico Tinnunculus. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 41.
Kestrel. Mont. Ora. Diet.
Faucon Cresserelle. Falco Tinnunculus. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 29.
Kestrel. Falco Tinnunculus. Selb. lllustr. I. 47.
Falco Tinnunculus. Kestrel. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 84.
T/ie u'ings ivhen closed about two inches shorter than the tail.
Male icith the head, hind-neck, rump, and tail light greyish-
blue, the latter icith a broad subterminal black bar ; the back
and icing-coverts pale-red, with oblong or triangular dark spots ;
the loioer parts light yellowish-7'ed, icith longitudinal linear and
guttiform spots. Female with all the tipper parts light-red, icith
transverse spots and bars of dark-brown, the loicer parts paler,
icith oblong dark markings. Young similar to the female, but
with the spots larger.
Male. — The Kestrel, which is one of the most beautiful of
our falcons, may be described as to form and proportions in
326 FALCO TINNUNCULUS.
the same terms as the Merlin ; the body being moderately full,
the neck very short, the head large, broad, and flattened above.
The bill is short and strong ; the upper mandible with its
dorsal line decurved from the base, in about the third of a
circle, its sides convex, its edges sharp, with a moderate fes-
toon, and a distinct angular process, the tip descending, tri-
gonal, acute ; the lower mandible with the angle wide and
short, the dorsal line convex, the back broad, the sides con-
vex, the edges inflected, with a semicircular notch on each
side close to the almost directly truncate tip.
Internally the upper mandible has a very prominent median
ridge ; the lower, which is deeply concave, an elevated line.
The two longitudinal palatal ridges are minutely papillate ; the
posterior aperture of the nares narrow-oblong behind, linear
before. The tongue is fleshy, short, emarginate and papillate
behind, channelled above, horny beneath with a median groove,
roundish and emarginate at the end. The oesophagus is four
inches and a half in length, dilates into a crop an inch and a
half in width, then contracts to half an inch, again dilates
considerably in the proventricular part, which has a belt of
glandules three quarters of an inch in breadth. The stomach
is roundish, somewhat compressed, two inches in diameter ;
its muscular coat thin, its tendinous spaces about half an inch
in diameter. The pylorus has three valvular knobs. The
intestine is two feet in length, four-twelfths in width in the
duodenal portion, three-twelfths toward the coeca, which are
three-twelfths in length, oblong or somewhat tapering; the
cloacal dilatation of the rectum globular, an inch and a quarter
in width.
The eyes are large ; the supraocular ridge bare and promi-
nent ; the eyelids with short ciliary bristles. The nostrils are
round, nearly one-eighth in diameter. The aperture of the
ear roundish, rather large. The tarsi are feathered anteriorly
more than a third down, rather short, slender, covered with
angular scales, of which the anterior are larger, especially a
row of nine on the inner side, which are almost scutelliform,
and four over the joint, which are true scutella. The toes
are of moderate length, rather slender, scutellate above, tuber-
KESTREL FALCON. 327
culate and papillate beneath, the third and fourth connected
by a very short basal web ; the first toe short, with seven scu-
tella, the second of the same length as the fourth, with nine,
the third with sixteen, the fourth with eleven scutella. The
claws are moderately curved, long, rather slender, narrowed
beneath, tapering to a fine point.
The cere is partially bare above, as is the lower eyelid : the
feathers on the loral space and at the base of the bill, bristle-
tipped. On the head, the feathers are short, ovato-oblong,
and rather rounded ; on the neck more elongated ; on the back
broadly oblong and obtuse ; on the lower parts also all the
feathers are oblong, on the sides of the body and outer part of
the tibia elongated. The wings are long, of moderate breadth,
narrowed toward the end ; the primary quills of moderate
strength, tapering, and obtuse ; the second longest, the third
about a twelfth shorter, the first more than three quarters of
an inch shorter than the third ; the first and second with the
inner web abruptly cut out toward the end ; the secondary
quills thirteen, broad, and rounded. The tail is long, round-
ed, the lateral feathers an inch and a quarter shorter than the
middle.
The bill is pale greyish-blue, toward the end bluish-black,
at the base tinged with yellow ; the cere and bare parts about
the eye pale orange. The palate flesh coloured, its sides pale
blue. Irides hazel. Tarsi and toes orange ; claws black ;
tinged with bluish-grey at the base. The feathers of the upper
part of the head, and hind part and sides of the neck are light
greyish-blue, each with a dusky shaft-line ; the cheeks are of
the same colour tinged with yellow ; some of the frontal
feathers are yellowish. The lower part of the hind-neck, the
back, and the upper wing coverts are light red, each with the
shaft dusky, and a triangular greyish-black spot near the end.
The primary quills and their coverts are greyish-black tinged
with brown, margined with paler, their inner webs with
numerous white bars confluent on the margins, there being
eight on the first quill ; the outer secondary quills are similar,
and the inner gradually become like the feathers of the back.
The rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail, are light greyish-blue,
328 FALCO TINNUNCULUS.
with dusky shaft lines ; the tail with a subterminal black bar,
an inch and a quarter in breadth, the tips greyish-white. The
throat is yellowish- white. Anterior to the eye is a semicircle
of black, continuous with a narrow, broken mystachial band
of the same. The lower parts are pale yellowish-red, each
feather with a narrow central line ending in a lanceolate or
triangular spot of brownish-black ; the feathers of the abdomen
and the lower tail-coverts are paler and unspotted, those of
the tibia of a clearer red, some of them with a dusky line.
Length to end of tail log inches, to end of wings 11^; ex-
tent of wings 28 ; wing from flexure 9f ; tail 6^ ; bill along
the ridge ^"|, along the edge of lower mandible /g ; tarsus 1^ ;
first toe /g, its claw j% ; second toe j%, its claw j% ; third
toe 1, its claw j\ ; fourth toe ^%, its claw |%.
Female. — The female differs less in size than in any other
British species of the genus ; but is readily distinguished from
the male by having all the upper parts light red, of a paler
tint, and barred with dark brown, each feather of the back
having four dark and three red bars, exclusive of the tip. On
the scapulars the bars are more numerous ; the secondary
quills are similarly marked ; but the primary quills are as in
the male, only their light confluent spots being more or less
tinged with red. The head and hind-neck are longitudinally
streaked ; the rump feathers are tinged with grey, as are those
of the tail ; on which are twelve dusky bars, of which the last
is about three quax'ters of an inch in breadth, the tips being
whitish. The lower parts are pale yellowish-red ; the throat
and abdomen without markings, the fore neck longitudinally
streaked with dark brown, the breast with guttiform spots, the
feathers of the sides barred. The lower wing-coverts are whitish,
with oblong dusky spots. The colours of the bill, eyelids, feet,
and claws, as in the male.
Length to end of tail 14^ inches, to end of wings 12j ; ex-
tent of wings 80 •, wing from flexure 9| ; tail 7^ ; hill along
the ridge ^% ; tarsus 1^-^ ; first toe |, its claw ^^g ; second
toe 1%, its claw j% ; third toe 1^^, its claw j% ; fourth toe j%,
its claw J J.
KESTREL FALCON. 329
Vakiations. — The males vary little in size. The grey of the
head is sometimes tinged with brown ; the red of the upper
parts varies considerably in tint ; the spots in size and form ;
and the tail may retain traces of its original ten bars, which
on the middle feathers may be either direct or alternate, with
the exception of the last, which is always continuous. The
females assume more grey on the head, rump, and tail as they
become older. The ccecal appendages of the intestine vary in
size, from a quarter of an inch in length to half a twelfth ; or
they may be wanting on one or on both sides.
Change of Plumage. — When fresh, the colours of the plu-
mage are much richer than toward the period of renewal, when
they are sometimes much faded.
Habits. — The peculiar habits of this beautiful Falcon are
well adapted for illustrating the range of vision of the diurnal
rapacious birds. It has been alleged that Eagles, Kites, and
Ospreys, not to mention other species of the same family, are
capable of perceiving a very minute object at a most marvel-
lous distance, even from a height at which they seem no larger
than a midge or a mote. Experience, however, has led me to
discredit such assertions, and to consider them as resulting
rather from a vigorous imagination than from actual observa-
tion. There is no truth, not even probability, in the assertion
that Eagles perceive living prey from a height exceeding a few
hundred yards, although it is certain that they can distinguish
the carcase of a sheep at a much greater distance. The Hen-
harrier, the Sparrow Hawk, and the Kestrel, when searching
for small birds, mice, and other objects, fly at a height of from
ten to fifty feet. The latter never hovers at a greater dis-
tance from the ground than forty feet, and we know that its
power of distinguishing its prey does not extend over a much
greater range, for in traversing a meadow, it requires to as-
sume numerous stations in succession. A Falcon, however,
can perceive a Heron or other bird at a vast distance in the air,
and I have seen domestic fowls aware of the presence of an
Eagle two thousand feet above them.
330 FALCO TINNUNCULUS.
The Kestrel, when searching for food, is easily distinguish-
able by its habit of hovering over the fields, — a habit which,
although sometimes observed in other species, is in it so re-
markable as to attract the notice of the least observant, and to
have procured for it the name of Windhover. There it comes,
advancing briskly against the breeze, at the height of about
thirty feet, its wings in rapid motion, its head drawn close be-
tween its shoulders, its tail slightly spread in a horizontal di-
rection, and its feet concealed among the plumage. Now it
sails or glides a few yards, as if on motionless wings, curves
upwards some feet, and stops short, supporting itself by rapid
movements of its pinions, and expanding its tail. In a few
seconds it flies forwards, flapping its wings, shoots off to a side,
and sails, then rises a little, and fixes itself in the air. On
such occasions it is searching the ground beneath for mice and
small birds, feeding or reposing among the grass. Having
discovered nothing, it proceeds a short way, and again hovers.
In a few seconds it wheels round, flies right down the wind
at a rapid rate, to the distance of some hundred yards, brings
up, and hovers. Still nothing results, and again it glides away,
bearing up at intervals, fixing itself for some seconds in the air,
and then shooting along. When about to hover, it rises a few
feet in a gentle curve, faces the wind, spreads its tail, moves
its wings rapidly, and thus balancing itself, keenly surveys the
ground beneath. The range of the tips of the wings at this time
is apparently about six or eight inches, but sometimes for a few
seconds these organs seem almost, if not entirely, motionless.
The bird has once more suddenly drawn up, and is examining
the grass with more determinate attention. It slowly descends,
fixes itself for a moment, inclines a little to one side, hovers so
long that you may advance much nearer, but at length closing
its wings and tail, falls like a stone, suddenly expands its wings
and tail just as it touches the ground, clutches its prey, and
ascending obliquely flies off with a rapid and direct flight.
The food of this species consists chiefly of mice, Mus sylvati-
cus, Mus domesticus, Arvicola agrestis, and shrews, especially
Sorex araneus. But it preys on many other animals, and in the
numerous individuals which I have opened, I have found re-
KESTREL FALCON. 331
mains of young larks, thrushes, lapwings, and several small birds,
both granivorous and slender-billed, together with the common
dung-beetle, many other coleoptera, and the earthworm. It is
also said to feed on lizards, and it has been known to carry off
young chickens. Mice it sometimes swallows entire, more
frequently breaks into two or three portions, but the birds, if
fledged, it generally plucks. One is surprised on opening the
stomach to find how large a mass it contains, rolled up into a
ball, and, if digestion has far advanced, composed externally of
hair and feathers, with the bones and teeth in the interior.
This mass of refuse is ejected by the mouth in pellets, as is
the practice with all the birds of this family. I have never
happened to see it pursue a bird in open flight ; but in such
districts as the Outer Hebrides, where if field mice exist, they
are extremely rare, it can have no other prey during the winter.
When advancing from one place to another, without search-
ing for food, the Kestrel flies at a considerable height, with
rapid flaps of its wings, and occasional sailings. In the neigh-
bourhood of its haunts it may often be seen wheeling in irre-
gular curves, nowhere more beautifully than when its breed-
ing-station is on some maritime cliff. On such occasions, as
well as when perched on a rock or tree, it frequently emits a
loud shrill cry, somewhat similar to the syllables plee, plee, plee,
or Mee, Jclee, klee, or, as the country people in the south of Scot-
land interpret it, keelie, keelie^ keelie. At the commencement
of the breeding season it is remarkably vociferous ; but when
traversing the fields in search of plunder it is seldom heard to
emit any cry. It resorts to rocks on the coast, or in the in-
terior, to ruined castles or other buildings, sometimes to towers
or steeples in the midst of towns, and frequently to trees in
flat wooded districts. It often takes possession of the deserted
nest of a crow or magpie, but in rocky tracts, and in the un-
woodcd parts of the country, it breeds on cliffs or on craggy
banks, usually scraping a slight cavity for its eggs. Those who
maintain that the Kestrel always breeds in trees, may be in-
formed that on the face of the Castle Rock of Edinburgh, fac-
ing Princes Street, there has been a Kestrel's nest for more
332 FALCO TINNUNCULUS.
than twenty years. Indeed in Scotland, twenty nests might
be pointed out in rocks, for one in a tree. The eggs, which
vary from three to five, are of a broadly elliptical or roundish
form, pale reddish-orange, or reddish-white, confusedly dotted
or patched all over with dull brownish-red. They vary in
length from an inch and a half to an inch and three-fourths,
with an average breadth of an inch and a quarter.
This Falcon appears to be the most numerous of our rapa-
cious birds, being generally distributed in England and Scot-
land, from Devonshire to Cape Rath and the Shetland Isles,
and from the eastern to the western shores. It is difficult to
say where it is most abundant, it being found equally in bare
and in wooded tracts ; but in rocky maritime pasture-lands,
and in the gi"assy valleys of the interior, it is more frequently
seen, while in the central heathy parts it is of very rare occur-
rence. It is less frequent in the north than in the south of
Scotland, and it would probably be more numerous in England
than in the latter district, were it not liable to be destroyed by
game-keepers.
Mr Harley, who resides in Leicestershire, states that it
abounds there. " The numbers," he continues, " are greatly
diminished in the brumal months, and therefore we may con-
clude that a partial migration then takes place. It generally
nestles in the spruce fir, selecting the deserted nest of a Carrion
Crow or Magpie, in one of each of which I have found its eggs.
Like the Cuckoo, it does not make a nest for itself. Atkinson,
in his Compendium, says ' it breeds in hollow trees, and lays
four or five pale reddish eggs f but I have never met with it
breeding in such places. I have known a bird of this species,
which was kept two or three years as a garden pet, lay three
eggs, and sit upon them with the same patience as if she had a
partner. The eggs of course were unproductive. The kestrel
when pinioned will climb up a cage side, or a small tree, hold-
ing fast by the bill, after the manner of a parrot. I saw one
doing so at Bradford, in Yorkshire, in January 1839. Con-
finement and domestication bring out new habits in animals.
Thus, my Goldfinch will climb all round a large breeding-cage,
KESTREL FALCON. 333
just like a parrot, seizing fast hold by the bill, and moving the
feet alternately. In this way he will clamber either up or
down, horizontally or diagonally, all over the cage."
Kestrels taken from the nest are easily tamed, so as to be-
come familiar, confiding, and in some degree obedient. The
species was formerly trained to pursue small birds, such as
quails, snipes, and larks, and was held in considerable estima-
tion. Mr Thompson of Belfast states that " the kestrel has
been so far trained by Mr AVilliam Sinclaire as, when given
its liberty, to attend and soar above him like the peregrine fal-
con, and fly at small birds let off from the hand. One of these
hawks, which was kept by this gentleman in the town of Bel-
fast, had its freedom, and flew every evening to roost in an ex-
tensive plantation in the country, about a mile distant, in fly-
ing to and from which it was at first recognised by the sound
of the bells attached to its legs. This bird returned regularly
to its town domicile at an early hour in the morning."
Mr Waterton, who has given a pleasing account of this bird
in his Essays on Natural History, finds it migratory in his
neighbourhood, and is "of opinion that a very large propor-
tion of those which are bred in England leave it in the autumn,
to join the vast flights of hawks which are seen to pass periodi-
cally over the ISIediterraneau Sea, on their way to Africa.
Last summer," he continues, " I visited twenty-four nests in
my park, all with the windhover's eggs in them. The old
birds and their young tarried here till the departure of the
swallow, and then they disappeared. During the winter, there
is scarcely a windhover to be found. Sometimes a pair or so
makes its appearance, but does not remain long. When Fe-
bruary has set in, more of the windhovers are seen ; and about
the middle of the month their numbers have much increased.
They may be then heard at all hours of the day ; and he who
loves to study nature in the fields may observe them, now on
soaring wing, high above in the blue expanse of heaven ; now
hovering near the earth, ready to pounce upon the luckless
mouse ; and now inspecting the deserted nests of crows and
magpies, in order to secure a commodious retreat, wherein to
perform their approaching incubation. Allowing, on an aver-
334 FALCO TINNUNCULUS.
age, four young ones to the nest, there must have been bred
here ninety-six windhover hawks last summer : add the parent
birds, and we shall have, in all, one liundred and forty-four.
Scarcely five of these birds were seen here from Michaelmas
to the latter end of January."
I have not observed any deficiency of Kestrels in the districts
bordering on the Frith of Forth in winter, when, on the con-
trary, I think they are more numerous there than in summer.
Probably, like the Merlin, this species merely migrates from
the interior to the coast. In the inland parts of East Lothian,
Mr Hepburn also finds it more numerous in summer, as will
be seen from the following notice with which he has favoured
me.
" Though by no means an uncommon bird in this county,
yet from the middle of October 1838 to March 1889, I did
not see a single individual ; but as spring advanced, their num-
bers increased. This season, I have seen none since the 15tli
of October. From this I think it is probable that they an-
nually migrate from this district ; but as I only began in May
1838 to pay particular attention to matters of this kind, I can-
not speak decidedly on the subject. Delightful truly it is to seek
the haunts of the Kestrel on some calm spring morning, when
love has tuned every throat in song, and to observe what
effect the season has upon its race. There they are, high up
in the blue vault of heaven, soaring about, now descending to
search the fields, and again mounting aloft. Hark how the
woods and rocks resound to their joyous kee^ kee, heelie, heelie.
There is grace in every action, and to me mnsic in each note.
They commonly make use of the deserted nest of the Carrion
Crow, laying from three to five eggs, about the end of March.
The young are fledged in June. Many years ago I knew of
a Kestrel's nest in a hole in a precipitous old-red-sandstone
rock, on the banks of Whittingham water. A young man, who
knows the species well, informs me that he has frequently
known it to nestle in such situations. Two or three pairs
breed annually among the rocks on the south side of Traprain
Law, about one mile from this place.
" It is much to be regretted that the Kestrel should suffer for
KESTREL FALCON. 335
the Sparrow Hawk, with which it ia in this neighbourhood al-
most always confounded. I have often spoken to game-keepers
in its behalf, but the mangled forms which I too often seo
nailed against the walls of the dog-kennel, shew that ray
friendly advice has been disregarded. With us its food con-
sists chiefly of mice, and when in search of prey it glides softly
through the air in large circular sweeps, at a moderate eleva-
tion, now poised on fluttering pinions, now resting in the air
without motion, and now descending on the unconscious quarry.
With all deference to the superior knowledge of that distin-
guished naturalist Mr Waterton, I shall humbly endeavour to
account for its migration. After the fields are cleared of the
grain, the Field-mouse begins to form a store, and nestling in
a warm bed of leaves of trees, bushes, and the cultivated grasses,
he probably feels little desire to bask in the sun, without a
blade of any thing to screen him from his numerous foes. The
ground, too, is very damp at this season, and, all things con-
sidered, it prefers moving during the darkness, so that the Barn
Owl does not starve. I have dug the burrows of the mice in
December, and have often found from a half to three quarters
of a pint of grain in them. Consider how very few beetles are
moving during this season, and it is not to be wondered at that
the Kestrel leaves us. Birds constitute no part of its food. If
you doubt this, go to the fields and observe for yourself The
Lark ceases not his song in its presence, and the Brown Lin-
net passes it unheeded, as with mellow note he bounds to his
nest in the golden-blossomed furze. When he comes to the
stack-yard, no anxious cluck is heard from the domestic hen to
her young, the Chafl^nch and Sparrow continue jncking up the
seeds at the barn door, and tlie Swallow, his rival in graceful
flight, sings his song from the top of the chimney of the steam-
engine. I however own that when a locality is much disturbed
by the Sparrow Hawk, the Kestrel is liable to be mobbed.
" I have no means of ascertaining how many mice it requires
per diem. Allow 4, which is surely a moderate estimate, and
multiplying by 210, the number of days it remains with us, we
find the result to be 840 mice. Supposing the sexes to be in
equal proportion, there would be 420 pairs. Adult mice are
336 FALCO TINNUNCULUS.
said to breed four times in the year. Allow that one half have
4 litters, one fourth 3 litters, and the remaining fourth two lit-
ters. Give 7 to each birth, which is about the average, and
the amount will be 9555. Thus, a single Kestrel, during a re-
sidence of 210 days, is the means of destroying 9555 -1- 840 =
10,395 mice. If we were to calculate how many young the
progeny of these 840 mice would produce, and so on, the num-
bers would exceed belief. It is quite certain, at all events,
that the Kestrel, feeding for the most part on mice, must de-
stroy vast quantities of them, and that he well deserves protec-
tion as the benefactor of man. I much fear, however, that all
humane considerations will be little heeded so long as the pre-
sent game-laws are in force.''''
In one particular Mr Hepburn is certainly mistaken ; for, as
I have stated, I have repeatedly found remains of birds in its
stomach. Upon the whole, the habits of this species arc pretty
well known, and as I have nothing further of importance to
say on this head, we may now inspect the young, which are at
first covered with greyish-white down.
Young. — When fledged they nearly resemble the adult fe-
male. The bill is light greyish-blue, toward the end yellowish-
grey ; the irides dark brown ; the cere and superciliary ridge
pale greenish-blue, the feet yellow, the claws broAvnish-black
with their tips paler. The head and hind-neck are light
brownish-red, with longitudinal blackish-brown streaks ; the
upper parts of the body, the wing-coverts and tail, light red,
the feathers transversely marked with broad dark brown bands,
of which the last is somewhat triangular. The primary quills
and their coverts are dark brown, the latter with light red spots
on the inner, the former on both webs. There are eight dark
bars on the tail, the last three-quarters of an inch in breadth,
the tips dull reddish- white. The lower parts are pale yellowish-
red, the sides of the neck and the breast with longitudinal dark
brown streaks, the sides marked with streaks transversely
barred. The feathers of the legs, abdomen, and subcaudal
region light reddish -yellow, some of the former having a dusky
shaft-line.
KESTREL FALCOxM. 337
Progress toward Maturity. — At the first moult, the male
assumes a greyish-blue colour on the head, rump^ and tail ;
but the head is still tinged with red, and the tail barred on
both webs. At the next moult, the tints are purer, the dark
markings smaller, and the spots on the outer webs of the tail-
feathers have disappeared. The dark markings of the female
also become more attenuated ; but the parts which ultimately-
become greyish-blue in the male, are in her merely tinged with
that colour, and the tail continues barred.
Remarks. — The comparative shortness of the middle toe,
the enlarged anterior scales of the tarsus, and the rounded tail,
of this bird, have induced some ornithologists to separate it
from the genus Falco ; but if differences so slight suffice to
form generic characters, hardly two species can be kept to-
gether. Falco tinnunculoides of the south of Europe, and
Falco sparverius of America, are the species most nearly allied
to the Kestrel, which in form differs little from the Merlin.
The young of that species bear a considerable resemblance in
colour to the young and female of the Kestrel, the latter of
which was figured by Buffon as a Merlin.
I omitted to mention in the proper place that, as the Rev.
Mr Gordon, of Birnie, informs me, " the Kestrel, which is
the most abundant of the small hawks in Morayshire, builds
at the Rocks of Covesea, on the cliffs above Mill of Birnie,
and in ravines about the Glen of Rothes, as well as in many
similar situations."
VOL. III.
338
ACCIPITER. HAWK.
The genus Accipiter is composed of birds, generally of mode-
rate size, which collectively occupy a station intermediate be-
tween the Falcons, Buzzards, and Harriers. Some of the larger
species approach in form to those of the genus Buteo, and being
proportionally more robust, with shorter and stronger tarsi, and
a less elongated tail, have by some been formed into a separate
genus, to which the name of Astur is given ; while the smaller
and more slender species are taken to constitute the genus Ac-
cipiter or Nisus. It does not however appear to me that the dif-
ferences as to form and proportions between the largest and the
smallest of these species are sufficient to constitute generic cha-
racters. The body in all is light, rather broad anteriorly, very
narrow behind ; the neck short or of moderate length ; the head
rather large, roundish or broadly ovate, and flattened above.
Bill short, stout, compressed toward the end ; upper man-
dible with its dorsal line decurved from the base, nearly in the
fourth of a circle, the ridge convex, the sides sloping and some-
what convex, the edges sharp and overlapping, with a promi-
nent broad lobe beyond the middle, the tip trigonal, a little
concave beneath, and deflected ; lower mandible with the angle
wide and rounded, the dorsal line convex, the ridge broad,
the sides rounded toward the end, the edges inflected, the tip
obliquely truncate and rounded.
Mouth rather wide ; palate flat, with two prominent longi-
tudinal lines ; upper mandible slightly concave, lower deeply
channelled ; tongue short, fleshy, concave above, rounded and
slightly emarginate. (Esophagus wide, about the middle di-
lated into a large crop ; proventricular glands small, oblong,
forming a complete belt. Stomach roundish or oblong, a little
compressed, its muscular coat very thin and composed of a
single series of fasciculi, its inner coat smooth and soft ; intes-
ACCIPITER. HAWK. 339
tine rather short and of moderate width ; coeca very small ;
rectum with a globular dilatation.
Nostrils ovato-oblonw, lateral. Eyes rather large ; eyelids
ciliated ; the lachrymal ridge prominent. Aperture of the ear
roundish, rather large. Legs of moderate length, slender ;
tarsus rather long or of moderate length, generally slender,
anteriorly scutellate, laterally scaly, posteriorly with large scales
or scutella ; toes slender, covered above with numerous short
scutella, beneath tuberculate, there being a long fleshy knob
on the last joint of each, and one at the next joint of the outer
two ; the third and fourth toes connected by a basal web, the
first and second nearly equal, the third much longer. Claws
long, well-curved, tapering, compressed, convex above, slightly
concave beneath, acuminate.
Plumage compact above, blended beneath. Cere with bristle-
tipped plumelets at the sides ; space between the bill and
eye covered with radiating slender feathers of the same nature.
Feathers of the head rather short, of the neck moderate, of
the sides and outer part of the tibia elongated, all more or less
oblong and rounded. Wings long, much rounded, with twenty-
three quills ; primaries moderately strong, the first short, the
fourth and fifth longest, the outer five with the inner web
somewhat abruptly cut out. Tail very long, straight, even or
slightly rounded, of twelve rather broad rounded feathers.
The species of this genus are distinguished by their elegant,
generally slender form, the prominent festoon of the upper
mandible, their comparatively short rounded wings, lengthened
tail, and slender tarsi and toes, of which the third is very long
in the smaller species. They fly low when searching for food,
advancing with a rapid gliding and stealthy flight, dart upon
their prey on the ground, or in the air, or perched on trees or
bushes, between the branches of which they glide on occasion
even at full speed. They nestle in trees, or on rocks, forming
a rude nest of twigs and some soft materials, or appropriate the
nest of a Crow or other bird, and lay from three to five large,
broadly elliptical, spotted eggs. Species occur in all parts of
the globe. Two are met with in IJritain, one very common,
the other extremelv rare.
340
ACCIPITER PALUMBARIUS. THE GOSHAWK.
Falco Palumbarius. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 130.
Falco Palumbarius. Lath. Ind. Orn. L 29. Adult.
Falco gentilis. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 29. Young.
Goshawk. Mont. Orn. Diet.
L'Autour. Falco Palumbarius. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 55 ; IIL 27.
Goshawk. Astur Palumbarius. Selb. Illustr. I. 2,9.
Accipiter palumbarius. Goshawk. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 85.
Male about twenty inches long, with the upper parts darh
bluish-grey, the crown of the head and a broad band on its sides
black, the lower white, transversely barred with blachish-grey, and
marJced with longitudinal shaft-lines. Female about twenty-five
inches long, with the colouring similar, but the upper parts grey-
ish-brown. Young broion above, the feathers edged with reddish-
%1'hite, the head brown, the nape yelloicish-white, streaked tcith
dark brown, the lower parts yellowish-white, with longitudinal
oblong dusky spots.
Male. — The Goshawk, which has become so exceedingly
rare in Britain, that I have never been able to obtain a recent
specimen, and have not seen more than half a dozen in muse-
ums, is among the most beautiful of our rapacious birds, being
in form intermediate between the Sparrow Hawk and the
Brown Buzzard, but in most respects much more nearly allied
to the former than to the latter. Its body is moderately full,
its neck rather short, its head of moderate size, roundish, and
flattened above. The bill short, strong, with the dorsal line of
the upper mandible nearly straight and slightly declinate to the
edge of the cere, then decurved in about the fourth of a circle,
its sides slightly convex, the edges with a rather prominent
broad lobe, behind which is a slight festoon, the tip trigonal
and acute ; the lower mandible \vith the angle wide, the dorsal
GOSHAWK. 341
line convex, the sides rounded, the edges arched, the tip
obliquely truncate.
The palate is flat, with two soft longitudinal ridges, the
upper mandible slightly concave, the lower deeply concave,
both with a slightly prominent median line. The tongue fleshy,
sagittate and papillate at the base, channelled above, with the
tip rounded and emarginate, its lower surface horny, with a
shallow median groove. The eyes large ; the eyelids bare, but
ciliated ; the supraocular ridge distinct. Nostrils oblique, ob-
long, broader behind. Aperture of ear roundish, and rather
large. Feet of moderate length ; tarsi anteriorly feathered for
nearly half their length, rather short, strong, anteriorly covered
with fourteen short but broad scutella, laterally with angular
scales, behind with numerous scutella. The toes strong, of mo-
derate length, the first and second stoutest, and nearly equal in
length, the third much longer, and connected by a basal web
with the fourth, which is longer than the second ; on the first
are six, on the second four, on the third eighteen, on the fourth
ten scutella. Claws strong, well arched, considerably compress-
ed, acuminate.
The plumage is full, compact above, blended beneath ; the
cere laterally covered with bristle-tipped plumelets, as is the
loral space ; the feathers of the upper parts oblong and rounded,
of the head short, of the lower parts narrower, those of the
outer part of the tibia elongated. The wings are of moderate
length, broad, and rounded ; the primaries strong, tapering to
a rounded point ; the outer five with the inner web, and the
second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth with the outer web, nar-
rowed toward the end ; the secondaries, thirteen in number,
broad, and abruptly rounded. The tail is long, broad, rounded,
of twelve rounded feathers, of which the outer is an inch shorter
than the middle.
The bill is light blue at the base, bluish-black at the end ;
the cere greenish-yellow ; the iris reddish -orange, the supra-
ocular ridge yellowish-green ; the feet yellow, the claws black.
The general colour of the upper parts is deep bluish-grey ; the
upper and hind parts of the head, and a broad band from the
cheeks to the nape, black ; over the eye a white band streaked
342 ACCIPITER PALUMBARIUS.
with brownish-black ; the fecathers of the nape white, with only
the tips black. The alula, primary coverts, and primary quills
are hair-brown, with the shafts lighter along the middle ; the
primaries barred with dark brown, the intervals between the
bars being on the inner webs whitish, and variegated with
grey ; the secondaries greyish-blue externally, their inner webs
wdth broad alternate bands of whitish variegated with grey.
The tail brownish-grey, the middle feathers with four, the
lateral with seven broad bands of brownish-black, the terminal
band much larger, the tips white. The lower parts are greyish-
white •: the fore-neck and breast with longitudinal dusky lines,
the breast with transverse nndulatcd bars of blackish-grey,
of which there are four on the anterior feathers ; the tibial
feathers beautifully barred with a lighter tint ; the lower
tail-coverts white, the lower wing-coverts white, barred with
deep grey.
Length to end of tail 20 inches, to end of wings 16| ; extent
of wings 43 ; wing from flexure 13 ; tail 11^; bill along the
ridge 1^; along the edge of lower mandible l^'^ ; tarsus 3;
first toe 1/?; its claw 1^% ; second toe lj%, its claw lj% ;
third toe 1^^§, its claw 1 ; fourth toe 1i%, its claw j§.
Female. — The female resembles the male in colour, but has
the upper parts tinged with brown.
Length to end of tail 26 inches, to end of wings 23^ ; extent
of wings 45 ; wing from flexure 131 ; tail 12 ; bill along the
ridge lj\ ; tarsus 3j ; hind toe l^^^, its claw if ; middle toe
2 J. 2, its claw 1.
Habits. — Of this beautiful species, considered with reference
to Britain, nothing is known beyond the fact of its having
rarely been met with in Scotland, and still more rarely in Eng-
land. It is said by several persons to be not very uncommon
in Shetland and Orkney ; but until specimens obtained there
are produced, I must take leave to suppose that the natives
of these islands have mistaken the Peregrine Falcon for
the Goshawk. In many districts the latter name is that
usually given to the Peregrine, and it does not appear that the
GOSHAWK. 343
true Goshawk has been obtained in any part of Scotland for se-
veral years, insomuch that we might very reasonably apprehend
the total failure of the native breed in that country. Mr Fen-
ton informs me that he saw one which was shot in Forfarshire
about fifteen years ago, and in the museum of the University
of Edinburgh is a young bird said by the late Mr Wilson to
have been shot in Scotland. I have nothing to add to its his-
tory since in 1836 I penned the following remarks in my de-
scriptions of the Rapacious Birds of Great Britain : — " In the
more inland parts of the middle division of Scotland, especially
among the Grampians of Aberdeenshire, it may now and then
be observed ; but the few opportunities of studying its manners
which have occurred to me were so fleeting, that I can add no-
thing to its history in this respect. When you are least ex-
pecting its appearance, it sweeps rapidly past you, or is seen
swiftly winging its way over the fields or woods with a bird in
its talons. In so far as I am acquainted with it, it resembles
the Sparrow Hawk in its manners." According to M. Tem-
minck, it is essentially a northern bird, which migrates south-
ward in winter, few remaining to breed in the central parts of
Europe. It was much esteemed when falconry was in vogue,
and w^as flown at Pheasants, Partridges, Grouse, Ducks and
Herons, as well as hares, which it pursued in direct flight,
without rising above them like the Peregrine Falcon, from
which it further differed in pursuing its quarry into woods and
thickets. Its flight, which is rapid and gliding, is performed
at a small height ; its activity almost equals that of the Sparrow
Hawk ; and its disposition is sanguinary, suspicious, and unso-
cial, insomuch that it has often been known to kill its com-
panions in captivity. Authors differ respecting the nest and
eggs, and a good history of this bird is a desideratum, which
cannot be accomplished by British observers, at least in their
own country. Were it not doubtful whether the Goshawk of
North America be really of the same species, I might refer to
Mr Audubon's account of its habits. A specimen of that bird
in my collection, and three others which I have seen, differ in
some respects from ours, more especially in having the trans-
verse markings on the lower parts more numerous and more
344 ACCIPITER PALUMBARIUS.
undulated, and the head and cheek-bands deep black. Mr
Audubon, however, states that the American Goshawk exhibits
numerous variations of plumage, some having transverse bars
of large size on the breast, and even if it should be distinct
from the European bird, its habits are probably very similar.
They are thus described by him : —
" The flight of the Goshawk is extremely rapid and pro-
tracted. He sweeps along the margins of the fields, through
the woods, and by the edges of ponds and rivers, with such
speed as to enable him to seize his prey by merely deviating a
few yards from his course, assisting himself on such occasions
by his long tail, which, like a rudder, he throws to the right
Or left, upwards or downwards, to check his progress, or enable
him suddenly to alter his course. At times he passes like a
meteor through the underwood, where he secures squirrels and
hares with ease. Should a flock of wild pigeons pass him when
on these predatory excursions, he immediately gives chase, soon
overtakes them, and forcing his way into the very centre of the
flock, scatters them in confusion, when you may see him emerg-
ing with a bird in his talons, and diving towards the depths of
the forest to feed upon his victim. When travelling, he flies
high, with a constant beat of the wings, seldom moving in large
circles like other hawks, and when he does this, it is only a few
times in a hurried manner, after which he continues his jour-
ney." He further describes it as restless, seldom alighting un-
less to devour its prey, which consists of small quadrupeds,
grouse, ducks, pigeons, snipes, and other birds. Its nest,
which is placed on the branches of a tree, near the trunk, is
large, and constructed of twigs and coarse grass, with a lining
of fibrous materials. The eggs dull bluish- white, or greenish-
white, sometimes spotted with brown, but often without mark-
ings. Those of the European Goshawk, according to M. Tem-
minck, are greenish-grey, without spots.
Young. — When fledged the young difl^er much in colour
from their parents. The bill is dark brown, paler toward the
base ; the cere and legs greenish yellow, the claws brownish-
black. On the upper part of the head the feathers are dark
GOSHAWK. 345
brown, with light yellowish-red margins ; on the hind-neck
yellowish-white, each with a terminal streak of dark brown.
The general colour of the upper parts is hair-brown or greyish-
brown, the feathers edged with yellowish-red ; the scapulars
with three broad conceded whitish bands. The quills are
brown, broadly barred with darker, and tipped with whitish.
The tail is alternately banded with dark brown and light
greyish-brown, and largely tipped with white, there being five
dark bands on the middle feathers. The lower parts are light
yellowish-red, or reddish-white ; the throat, legs, and lower
tail-coverts with longitudinal blackish-brown lines, the ante-
rior part of the breast with oblong, and the rest with lanceolate
spots of the same colour.
Remarks. — In a list of the birds of Shetland, with which I
have been favoured by Dr Laurence Edmondston, that gentle-
man, whom a long residence and continued observation have
rendered familiar with the productions of those islands, has
the following note : — " Falco Palumbarius is not uncommon
at all seasons. I have not myself seen its nest, but it is said
to build in rocky cliffs. It preys chiefly on rabbits and pigeons."
A Shetland specimen of this very rare bird would be a great
acquisition to the London or Edinburgh Museums.
340
ACCIPITER NISUS. THE SPARROW HAWK.
SPEIRSHEOG.
Falco Nisus. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 131.
Falco Nisus. Lath. Iiul. Oiii. L 44.
Sparrow Hawk. Mont. Orn. Diet.
L'Epervier. Falco Nisus. Temm. Man. d'Orn. L 5(j; TIL 28.
Sparrow Hawk. Accipiter fringillarius. Selb. Illustr. L 32.
Accipiter fringillarius. Sparrow Hawk. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 85.
Male about twelve inches long^ with the upper parts dark bluis/i-
grey^ the lower reddish-white^ transmrsehj barred with yelloicish-
red. Female about fifteen inches long, icith the upper parts
greyish-brown, the lower greyish-white, transversely barred with
dark grey. Young brown above, the feathers margined with
light red, the markings on the lower parts more dusky, and the
last band on each feather someichat cordate or p>ointed, the female
more tinged with red. In all stages, six dusky bands on the
lateral, and four on the middle tail-feathers.
The Sparrow Hawk, although bearing a general resem-
blance to the Goshawk, is of a much more slender form, inso-
much that many ornithologists, for this reason alone, have re-
SPARROW HAWK. 347
ferred it to a separate genus. The principal character on
which this distinction is founded exists in the comparatively
slim and elongated tarsi and toes ; but as gradations occur be-
tween the sharp-shinned Hawk of America, which has the
tarsi still more slender, and the Goshawk, I cannot see the
propriety of forming the group into two genera. A greater
difference as to size is seen between the male and the female
in this than in any other British bird of prey, and even be-
tween individuals of the same sex the differences are such that
many persons have supposed the Sparrow Hawk divisible into
several species.
Male. — This remarkably elegant bird has the body slender,
the neck short, the head of moderate size, broadly ovate, and
rather convex above. The bill is very short, moderately stout,
compressed ; the upper mandible with its dorsal line decurved
from the base, nearly in the fourth of a circle, the sides rapidly
sloping and nearly flat, the edges anteriorly sharp, with a broad
rounded dentiform process or festoon about the middle, the tip
trigonal and very acute ; the cere short, and in the greater part
of its extent bare ; the lower mandible with the angle short,
broad, and rounded, the dorsal line convex, the back broad at
the base, the sides rounded, the edges sharp and inflected, the
tip obliquely truncate, with a shallow sinus, thin-edged, and
rounded.
Internally the upper mandible is slightly concave, the lower
deeply concave, with a prominent median line. The palate is
flat, with two soft longitudinal, slightly papillate ridges. The
posterior aperture of the nares is oblong behind, linear before.
The tongue is half an inch long, sagittate and serrulate at the
base, oblong, fleshy, broadly channelled above, wuth the tip
rounded and emarginate. The oesophagus is four inches and a
half long, at the upper part half an inch wide, then dilated into a
crop an inch in width, after which it contracts to five twelfths.
The proventricular portion is eight twelfths long ; its glandules
cylindrical, forming a continuous belt having four slight lonoi-
tudinal depressions. The stomach is of a roundish form, some-
what compressed, an inch and a half in diameter ; its muscu-
lar coat very thin, the fibres arranged in fasciculi, the tendons
348 ACCIPITER NISUS.
about three twelfths in diameter, the inner surface smooth.
The pylorus is very narrow, and has three valvular protuber-
ances. The intestine is two feet six inches long, three-twelfths
in width in the duodenal portion, its smallest diameter two
twelfths ; the coeca very small, being only two twelfths in
length, three and a half inches distant from the extremity.
The rectum, at first three twelfths in width, dilates toward the
end so as to have a diameter of one inch.
The eyes are large, the eyelids margined with ciliary bristles,
the lachrymal ridge prominent. The nostrils are rather large,
oblique, oblong, broader behind. The aperture of the ear
roundish, and rather large. The tarsi, which are feathered
anteriorly for nearly a third of their length, are rather long,
very slender, compressed, narrower before than behind, with
an anterior elongated plate, obscurely marked with eighteen
scutella, the sides with hexagonal scales, as is the hind part,
on which they are much larger. The toes are very slender ;
the first short, the second stouter and somewhat longer, the
third very long, and connected by a basal web with the fourth,
which is longer than the second. On the first toe are nine
scutella, on the second fourteen, on the third twenty-eight, on
the fourth eighteen and several basal scales. The claws are
well curved, compressed, laterally grooved, finely acuminate,
the first and second largest and about equal.
The plumage is moderately full, soft, on the upper parts
rather compact, on the lower blended. The loral space is co-
vered with bristle-pointed feathers curving upwards. The
wings are rather long, broad, m.uch rounded ; the fourth and
fifth quills are longest and about equal, the first three inches,
the second an inch and a quarter, the third four twelfths shorter.
The outer five are slightly attenuated on the outer, deeply on
the inner web. The secondary quills, thirteen in number, are
broad and rounded. The tail is long, straight, even at the
end, of twelve rather broad, rounded feathers.
The bill is light blue at the base, bluish -black at the end ;
the cere and eyelids greenish-yellow ; the iris orange ; the
tarsi and toes yellow, the claws like the bill. The palate
livid-blue. The general colour of the plumage on the upper
SPARROW HAWK. 349
parts is slate blue, or deep greyish-blue, with darker shaft-
lines. The feathers on the nape are white at the base, and on
each of the scapulars are two broad bands of the same colour.
The outer primaries are dusky greyish-brown, and all the
quills have the inner web marked with dusky bands, between
which the inner margins are greyish-white. The tail is deep
grey, with six broad bands of blackish-brown on the lateral
and four on the middle tail-feathers, the last band broader and
more distinct, and the tips greyish-white. The upper part of
the cheeks is bluish-grey, the rest and the sides of the neck
yellowish-red, the throat reddish-white. The fore part of the
neck, the breast, sides, abdomen, and tibiae, are transversely
barred with reddish- white and yellowish-red, the latter colour
prevailing on the breast and sides ; each feather having five
bands of white, and an equal number of pale red and dusky.
The coloured bands become fainter on the hind parts, and gra-
dually disappear on the abdomen^ some of the feathers of which,
as well as the lower tail-coverts, are white. The tarsal fea-
thers are light red. The lower wing-coverts reddish- white
barred with dusky. The dark bars of the wings and tail are
more conspicuous on their lower surface.
Length to end of tail 13 inches, to end of wings 11 ; extent
of wings 23 ; wing from flexure 8 ; tail 6^ ; bill along the
ridge j%, along the edge of lower mandible j% ; tarsus 2j ;
first toe i\, its claw ~'^ ; second toe ^%, its claw i% ; third
toe lj%, its claw y| ; fourth toe ^|, its claw ^%.
Female. — The female, which is much larger than the male,
and proportionally somewhat more robust, diifers considerably
in colour. The bill and tarsi are much stouter, insomuch that
the latter are not very different in strength from those of some
species of the division to which the name of Astur is applied.
In an individual shot on the 2d October 1839, the (^esophagus
was four inches and three quarters in length, the crop an inch
and a half in width, the contracted intrathoracic part seven-
twelfths wide. The stomach a little compressed, round, an
inch and a quarter in diameter. The proventricular belt com-
plete, an inch and three-twelfths in breadth, without grooves.
350 ACCIPITER NISUS.
The intestine two feet three inches in length, its widest part
two and a half twelfths, the narrowest, tow^ard the rectum, a
twelfth and a quarter. The cooca are two slight knobs, one-
twelfth in length and diameter. The rectum three inches
long, its cloacal portion an inch in width. The gall-bladder
oblong, half an inch in length ; the entrances of the cystic and
hepatic ducts four-twelfths apart. This individual not having
been described, I now take another shot on the 18th May
1834.
The form of the parts is as described in the male. On the
tarsus are eighteen indistinct anterior scutella, on the first toe
six, on the second eight, on the third twenty-seven, on the
fourth fourteen and several basal series. The fourth quill is
longest, the fifth little shorter ; the tail a little rounded, the
lateral feathers being half an inch shorter than the longest.
The bill and claws are light blue at the base, black toward the
end ; the cere and supraocular edge light greenish-yellow ; the
iris orange ; the feet yellow-orange. The general colour of the
upper ]:)arts is brownish-grey ; the feathers of the hind-neck
white at the base, the scapulars and inner secondary coverts
with two large concealed bands of the same colour. On the
tail are four dusky bars, and an obscure basal bar, the tip
greyish-white. The quills are obscurely barred with dusky,
and have their inner webs in the intervals yellowish-white,
unless toward the end. The general colour of the lov>'er parts
is greyish-white, transversely marked with narrow bars of
dusky-grey and brownish-red, each feather on the breast hav-
ing five bars, the throat with longitudinal lines of deep brown.
The abdomen is less barred, and the low^er tail-coverts are
white ; the lower wing-coverts reddish-white, barred with
dusky ; the lower surface of the quills and tail-feathers pale
grey, tinged with red, and barred with dark brown.
Length to end of tail 15^ inches ; extent of wings 28^ ;
bill along the ridge {^, along the edge of lower mandible i"| ;
wing from flexure 9i% ; tail V/^ ; tarsus 2/,^ ; first toe /|,
its claw J I ; second toe i?|, its claw {^ ; third toe 'lj%, its
claw j'^j ; fourth toe 1, its claw j%.
SPARROW HAWK. 351
Variations. — Males vary in length from twelve to thirteen
and a half inches, and proportionally in bulk. In adults the
colour of the upper parts scarcely varies, but on the lower the
red bars vary in breadth and purity. The largest females are
seventeen inches long, the smallest fourteen. Very old indi-
viduals are sometimes nearly as blue on the back as the males,
but generally greyish-brown, or hair-brown tinged with bluish-
grey, is the prevailing tint. The length of the alimentary
canal varies considerably. The iris varies in the males from
yellow to orange and even yellowish-red.
M.
(Esophagus in length. . . . 4^
Crop in width ... 1
Stomach in diameter — 1/^
Intestine in length SO
Coeca -^^
Rectum 3^
Cloaca in width —
The individual of which the intestine was only nineteen
inches long is mentioned in my work on the Ilapacious Birds
of Great Britain as the smallest seen by me, and only twelve
inches in length. Facts like these shew that in birds the length
of the intestinal canal varies in birds as much as in quadru-
peds. The scutella are pretty regular as to number in this
species.
Habits. — The manner of life of this elegantly formed and
marvellously agile little hawk is better known than that of the
congenerous Goshawk, it beinw the most common and most
extensively dispersed of our native species of diurnal plunderers.
In spirit, activity, dexterity, and daring, it has no superior,
and in these respects contrasts strongly with the Eagles and
Buzzards, which yet are not sluggish birds, although we are
apt to consider them as such, when we compare them with the
Falcons. The ground, the tree, the fence-rail, or the stone
wall, merely aftbrd it a resting-place, or a point of observation,
M.
M.
F.
F.
F.
3i
4i
5
4!
41
1
1
li^.
U
H
1
u
lA
U
H
19
30
334
27
29
1
2
1^
t"^
1
T3
2
—
3i
3i
3
3
1
1
1
ItV
352 ACCIPITER NISrS.
for, like most of the Raptores, it is incapable of walking effi-
ciently, the curiously prominent f)ads on its soles, and its beauti-
fully taper claws rendering such mode of progression imprac-
ticable, no hawk having the power of retracting the latter
organs in the manner of the Feline tribe, or in such a degree
as to prevent their points from touching the ground. Its flight,
however, is in some respects unrivalled, and while its wings
are of sufficient length and breadth to give it a velocity nearly
equal to that of the Merlin, its tail is so large and mobile as to
enable it to execute with never-failing promptitude the most
abrupt turnings, as w^ell as the most delicate declensions.
There it comes, silently and swiftly gliding, at the height of
a few feet, over the grass field, now shooting along the hedge,
now gliding over it to scan the other side, and again advancing
with easy strokes of its half-expanded wings. A beautiful ma-
chine it is certainly, and marvellously put together, to be no-
thing but a fortuitous concourse of particles, as some wise men,
believing no such thing themselves, would have us to believe.
As if suspecting the concealment of something among the grass,
it now hovers a while, balancing itself with rapid but gentle
beats of its wings, and a vibratory motion of its expanded tail ;
but, unable to discover any desirable object, away it speeds,
bounds over the stone wall, and curving upwards alights on
that stunted and solitary ash, where it stands in a nearly erect
posture, and surveys the neighbourhood. From such a station
it will sometimes dart suddenly on some perhaps unsuspecting
bird not far off, but more frequently it proceeds to a distance
before it finds its prey. Should it meet with a Lark or a
Thrush in its way, it may pursue it in open flight, gliding
rather behind than above it ; but this is not its usual mode of
hunting, and frequently its efforts prove unavailing, for the ob-
ject of pursuit by gliding to either side during the swoop of its
enemy, and at length finding refuge in a hedge or thicket, often
escapes with its life. With a swift but stealthy pace it speeds
in silence, casting keen glances beneath and around, until find-
ing a bird unprotected and heedless of its approach, it clutches
him in an instant. So rapid is the descent of this plunderer
that to one who has unexpectedly witnessed it, nothing can be
SPARROW HAWK. ' 353
much more surprising. I have seen a Sparrow Hawk rush
headlong into the midst of a dense thicket, and suddenly emerge
on the other side carrying off a thrush in his talons. How a
bird at its utmost speed could thread its way between branches
and twigs seems almost incredible. When it steals upon the
farm-yard or orchard, it will sometimes make a dash at a bird
without succeeding, and pass along ; or, should the bird fly off,
it may pursue it in open flight. On two occasions of this kind,
I have seen a Thrush escape by entering a house, and some-
times the hawk has been known to follow the trembling fugi-
live thither. When a favourable opportunity occurs, it is often
quite heedless of the presence of man, and I have seen one come
suddenly upon some Pipits and Wagtails feeding in a field in
which three ploughs were going, and carry off" one of the Pipits
from within a few yards of one of them. While some Sparrows
were quietly enjoying the pickings of some horse-dung on one of
the streets of Edinburgh, on which many persons, including Mr
Audubon and myself, were passing, a Sparrow Hawk glancing
among them carried one off* in a moment.
That rapacious birds, when intent upon their prey, or pressed
by the cravings of hunger, are sometimes unguarded or insen-
sible to danger, is strikingly illustrated by the following anec-
dote, for which I am indebted to Mr Weir : " Mr David
Smith informed me that in May 1837, when on board of the
St. George steam-boat, which sails between Newhaven and
Kirkaldy, a Lark alighted upon the rigging of the vessel,
when about a mile from Seafield, closely pursued by a Spar-
row Hawk, which in this situation darted at it, and pulled out
most of the feathers of its tail ; but the bird having escaped
flew upon the deck in the midst of the passengers, still fol-
lowed by its enemy. For two or three seconds both birds stood
within a very short distance of each other. The poor little
songster, upon recovering from its fright, took wing, but, alas,
was very soon overtaken by the hawk, which was observed
carrying it off" in triumph suspended from its claws."
This clever little bird never soars in lazy gyrations like the
Eagles and Buzzards, nor does it follow a circling course while
looking for food. Its range of distinct vision cannot be very
VOL. III. A A
354 ACCIPITER NISUS.
great, as it does not a^ipear to observe birds in a hedge or field
at the distance of some hundred yards, and its low flight, at
the height of only eight or ten feet, indicates a correspondingly
short extent of sight. But then the quickness of its perception
is astonishing, for when sweeping along nearly at full speed, it
will readily discover any object favourably situated for being
seized. In the fields, it preys on leverets, young rabbits, field-
mice, partridges, larks, pipits, and wagtails ; by the hedges
and in woods, on blackbirds, thrushes, sparrows, chaffinches,
and buntings. Although it very frequently visits stack-yards,
gardens, and the vicinity of houses, its chief object seems to be
to obtain small birds, not to look after the poultry ; yet it has
been known to seize on pigeons, and more frequently on
chickens. Montagu says he has '• frequently known them
carry away half a brood of the latter before the thief was dis-
covered. They fly low, skim over a poultry-yard, snatch up a
chick, and are out of sight in an instant."" Its depredations in
the fields and in game-preserves render it highly obnoxious
to the keepers, so that it is often shot ; its occasional at-
tacks upon tame birds in cages render it hateful to the fair
owners of these interesting pets, and its visits to the farm-yard
and barn-door are little approved of by thrifty housewives. Its
good qualities, its indomitable courage, love of liberty, extreme
agility, and elegant figure, are forgotten, and all classes join in
persecuting the little plunderer. It does not appear that it has
any deadly enemies among birds or quadrupeds, and of the
former few ever attempt to molest it, unless when it has at-
tacked a nest, and is bent on carrying off the young. A pair
of Missel Thrushes vv'ill sometimes defend their nest against it,
and that successfully, although sometimes one falls a sacrifice.
Mr Weir informs me that it is very difiicult to decoy the
Sparrow Hawk into a trap. " The only one," he continues,
" which I ever had, taken in this way, was the one that I
presented to you in April 1838. It w\is caught by Mv George
Craven, gamekeeper to P. G. Skene, Esq., on his property of
Pitlour, in the parish of Strathmiglo, Fifeshire. Having ob-
served the hawk one morning pounce upon a pigeon, he al-
lowed him to devour a part of it before he chased him away.
SPARROW HAWK. 35;)
He then took the remaining portion and fixed it to the ground,
placing around it three or four rat-traps, in one of which he
was caught by the leg. He told me that in his neighbourhood
he had been observed to make sad havoc amongst the partridges
and pigeons."
When a Sparrow Hawk suddenly appears in a place where
there are many small birds, they usually betake themselves to
the nearest wood or thicket, where after a little they give vent
to their feelings in loud cries. Sometimes it is pursued by
birds of various species, which, although incapable of seriously
molesting it, continue to hover round it, uttering cries expres-
sive of their alarm and hatred. I have seen one flying rapidly
off in the evening with a bird in its talons, followed at full
speed by a Wagtail, uttering hurried cries all the while. In
this case it is probable that the hawk had carried off its mate
or one of its young. I think, however, that the birds on which
it usually preys do not gather about it or pursue it unless some
of their relatives or companions have been swept away by it.
Often, however, a flock of Swallows follow a Sparrow Hawk a
long while, hovering at a considerable distance, and keeping up
an incessant chatter. The prevalent idea on this subject is, that
small birds being the natural prey of hawks, they have an in-
stinctive antipathy to their destroyers, and when one of the
latter is observed, they call to each other, and collecting in a
band, assume a sufficient degree of courage to impel them to
pursue and harass him, knowing that their number secures
them against an attack, as in his perplexity he cannot fix upon
an individual. To this it may reasonably be objected that, hav-
ing no power, even when united in bands, to oppose a hawk,
these birds ought naturally to conceal themselves from his
view, in order to ensure their safety. After attending to this
subject for some time, and observing that in most cases, the
hawk when pursued by small birds had one of them in his
talons, and was thus so encumbered as to be incapable of mo-
lesting them, I am still of the same opinion as when I offered
the following solution of this question: — " How does a bird,
which under ordinary circumstances manifests extreme terror
at the sight of another, under other circumstances muster suf-
356 ACCIPITER NISUS.
ficient courage to pursue it ? Is it certain that a hawk is un-
able to single out a bird from a flock ; or, is there more reason
to think that a troop of swallows, which have no weapons that
could inflict the least injury on a hawk, could in the smallest
degree aftect it with fear? It is observable in our own species,
that cowards, the moment the danger is over, assume so much
more courage than is natural to them, that in the midst of the
excitement they will even make a venture which in ordinary
circumstances they would not have courage to do. The small
birds that w^e speak of are all cowards, in the presence of hawks
at least, and when one of the latter comes unawares among
them and carries off" one, or passes over without pursuing them,
they soon recover from their fright, and being elated beyond
their ordinary state, in a degree corresponding to their former
depression, they muster spirit enough to go on for some time
w^ith a mock pursuit." It is this sudden revulsion when the
danger is over, that renders clamorous in the trees birds which
were perfectly silent wdien the hawk was gliding past them.
With the view of presenting as complete an account of this
bird as possible, I shall now introduce a notice respecting it
from the pen of my friend Mr Hepburn.
" The Sparrow Hawk is common in all the cultivated parts
of East Lothian. When searching a field it sometimes hangs
in the liquid void precisely like the kestrel. In the dim twilight
I often see it coursing about its favourite hunting-grounds, on
the lookout for some bird that may have incautiously roosted
within reach of its formidable grasp. For many years an indi-
vidual of this species has almost daily visited our stack-yard
during the winter season, generally betwixt noon and three
o'clock. As he glides in lowly flight over the fields to his lar-
der, as the stack-yard may be termed, his detested presence is
first announced by the ' twink'' of some Chaffinch perched on
a tall tree. Its companions repeat the alarm cry, and in com-
pany wnth Buntings and Linnets fly up to the trees, a few
perching on the bushes. The Sparrows feeding near the barn-
door seek the middle of the neighbouring hedge, or betake
themselves in a compact flock to the shelter of the evergreens
in the garden, where they remain perfectly quiet till the danger
SPARROW HAWK. 357
is over. Not so the other birds, which, from their command-
ing position, emit cries expressive of their fears. The clear
notes of the Chaffinch are distinguishable above the rest. Two
or three hundred of these birds twinking in chorus produce a
fine effect on a calm frosty day like this. The Hawk now
perches for a minute or so on the hedge, and as the stacks screen
him from view, the fears of the poor birds subside for a little ;
but there he comes ; swift as the arrow from the bow he rushes
from between the stacks, gains the plantation, dashes fearlessly
among the bushes after the fugitives, clutches his quarry, and
is off as swiftly as he came. Sometimes, when he has stealthily
approached the garden, without being observed, perhaps the
noise of a party of Sparrows squabbling amongst themselves
attracts his attention. Swift as thought he glides along the
walk ; if the bushes are too thick for a dash he flies rapidly
round them ; then woe to the wretched creature that first meets
the glance of his keen eye. At another time he has found a
flock of Sparrows in the close-pruned hedge that surrounds the
stack-yard. He first beats one side, then the other, the birds
always betaking themselves to the opposite side ; and thus he
persecutes them till one in its fright exposes itself. A shriek
follows, and all is over. I only once observed this hawk rush
from a great height in the air upon a flock thus circumstanced.
Its usual manner of approaching its prey is by gliding close
over the ground.
" It follows an ingenious method of procuring a choice supply
of food from August to November, when the leaves are on the
trees that surround our dwelling. Not far from the garden-
hedge is a row of tall willows. Within the garden, and not
fourteen yards from them, stands a beautiful white birch, which
shoots up to the height of about twenty-four feet. Its stem is
entwined with an aged honeysuckle, in which for the last three
years ten pairs of Sparrows have built their nests, which in
some places embrace the entire circumference of the stem, while
in others they are piled irregularly above one another. Softly
and warily does the Sparrow Hawk glide into one of the top-
most boughs of the willows, and keen are the glances of his
bright eye, which grows brighter when he sees the Sparrows
358 vVCCIPlTER NISUS.
bickering in the honeysuckle. Balancing himself on his perch,
with half-o])cned wings, and levelling his neck for flight, down
he rushes. The yelloping instantly ceases ; then what a rust-
ling of the leaves of the neighbouring bushes, followed by a
death-yell ! and now you see the bold robber bearing away his
bloody victim to some quiet corner to devour it at leisure. I
have seen Pipits, Larks, Wagtails, and Swallows evade the.
swoop of this fell destroyer by dexterously darting to one side,
rising above the pursuer, again darting aside, and rising as he
descends, and so on, gradually diminishing the distance from
the earth, until the persecuted bird finds a shelter, or the
tyrant gives up the pursuit in disgust. What a treat it is to
behold the elegant evolutions performed by both parties !
" This hawk preys chiefly on small birds, partridges, leverets,
and young rabbits. Should the gamekeeper disturb it when
feasting, he sets a trap near the remains, and is often successful
in capturing it. It is sometimes caught in traps baited with
dead rabbits. It is very fond of Washing. Here it prefers the
branches of the old oak in the wood for building its shallow
nest of slender twigs, in which it deposits from three to live
eggs. The young I have seen fledged so late as the SOth of July,
but the usual time is about the end of Jinie.
" One evening in June 1838, on my way home from fishing,
I walked through a wood near Ruchlaw mill. Observing a num-
ber of rabbits gambolling in a green glade, I stood to see their
sports, when in a short time a Sparrow Hawk swept down from
a neighbouring ash, and fixed his claws into an old one, which
rushed shrieking to the brink of a precipice overhanging AVhit-
tingham Water. Running forward I arrived in time to see
both saved from certain death, by being caught by a briar bush
growing on a little natural platform. Still the hawk kept his
hold, till I shouted, on which he flew off."
The Sparrow Hawk is dispersed over all parts of Britain,
but is more plentiful in the cultivated districts than in the
heathy or mountainous portions of the country. In the Outer
Hebrides, where there are no trees, it breeds in rocks ; but in
wooded districts, it either builds its nest in a tree, or, more
frequently, takes possession of the deserted nest of a Crow.
SPARROW HAWK. 359
When formed by itself, its nest is nearly flat, composed of
sticks and slender twigs, rudely put together, with some grass,
moss, or wool in the central small depression. The eggs, from
three to five in number, are very broadly ovate or roundish-
elliptical, bluish-white, blotched and irregularly spotted, some-
times sparingly, sometimes profusely, with umber-brown of
various shades ; the largest in my collection is an inch and
eight-twelfths long, an inch and four-twelfths in breadth, the
smallest an inch and seven-twelfths in length, and an inch and
a quarter in breadth.
" In one of the plantations on Boghead," Mr Weir writes,
" for several years past a pair of Sparrow Hawks have
reared their young, either in the deserted nest of the Carrion
Crow or JNIagpie. They were uncommonly bold, and with the
rapidity of an arrow skimmed over the ground. Amongst
partridges, pigeons, and other smaller birds, they committed
great destruction. With almost unerring aim they pounced
upon their prey. From a hut formed of the branches of trees
I watched for several hours the habits of a pair of these vora-
cious birds whilst they were engaged in feeding their young,
which were nearly half fledged. During the time that I re-
mained in it, the female continued to sit upon them. The
male, sometimes at shorter, and at other times at longer inter-
vals, alighted upon the top of a tree, at the distance of about
forty yards from the nest, with a bird in his talons. The fe-
male always took it from him, and divided it amongst her nest-
lings. Sometimes he arrived with a blackbird or a thrush,
but more frequently with a lark, a yellow bunting, or a chaf-
finch. Being anxious to know whether the male is in the
habit of feeding his offspring, I one morning, in a place of con-
cealment, watched another pair of them for four or five hours.
The male always alighted, as in the former case, upon the top of
a tree at some distance from the nest, with a bird in his claws,
and called upon his mate, who came and caught hold of it in her
bill. I shot her as she was carrying it to her young. About
nine o'clock in the morning I went home. At six in the even-
ing I returned with a boy, who climbed the tree to see what was
in the nest. He had no sooner looked into it, than with asto-
360 ACCIPITER NISUS.
iiishment he exclaimed, ' Ah ! Sir, the poor little things are
gasping.' They were in fact almost suffocated by the dead birds
about them. He threw down no less than sixteen, amongst
which were larks, yellow buntings, chaffinches, hedge-sparrows,
and green linnets. I took home the young, which were four in
number. They seemed not to have been fed during the day, as
they were exceedingly hungry. In these two instances it would
appear that the male bird provided the food, but did not give it
to his family. Whether this is always the case wnth the Spar-
row Hawk I cannot ascertain until I have further opportunities
of observing their habits."
Young. — The young are at first entirely covered with soft
white down. Their feet are yellow, the claws dusky, inclin-
ing to flesh-colour at the base. The first plumage, when the
feathers are but partially grown, is dark greyish-brown on the
upper parts, the feathers terminally margined with light red,
and on the lower parts light red barred with dusky. When
fully fledged they have the cere greenish-yellow, the bill dusky
at the end, pale blue with some yellow at the base, the iris
light brown, the feet greenish-yellow. The feathers of the
upper parts are greyish-brown, margined with light red, that
colour prevailing on part of the hind-neck, those of the nape
white excepting the tips, the scapulars with two large reddish-
white spots ; the tail-feathers are wood-brown, the two mid-
dle with four, the lateral with six dusky bands. The lower
parts are dull reddish-white, the throat and part of the neck
with longitudinal linear dusky streaks, the breast and sides
barred with dusky, there being generally four dusky bars on
each feather, that toward the end heart-shaped and pointed ;
the lower tail-coverts reddish-white ; the lower wing-coverts
pale reddish, barred with dusky ; the spaces between the dark
bands on the inner webs of the quills reddish -white.
Progress toward Maturity. — In the first plumage there is
little difl^erence between the male and the female. In the se-
cond, the male and female are of the same greyish-brown above,
the feathers narrowly bordered with light red. The lower
parts are more tinged with red, and more broadly barred, in
SPxVRROW HAWK. 361
the male than in the female. As the hirds advance in age, the
brown or dusky bands on the lower parts of the male become
converted into light red, which colour ultimately predomi-
nates ; whereas in the females, the reddish colour gradually
disappears, the bars becoming dusky and then deep grey, their
intervals reddish-white and then greyish-white. The upper
parts change from brown to deep greyish-blue in the male, and
to brownish-grey in the female. I have seen a few old females,
however, of as blue a tint as the males. The bars on the wings
and tail become fainter the older the bird is, but without vary-
ing in number ; there being six on the outer and four on the
middle tail-feathers in both sexes.
Remarks. — The habits and gradations of plumage of the Spar-
row Hawk are satisfactorily known, and have been more fully
described in the preceding pages than they have hitherto been.
The numberless differences in tints and markings, as well as in
size, have led some ornithologists to divide this species into
two or more. Having been at one time impressed with the
idea of there being two species in Britain, I have paid much
attention to the subject, and examined about a hundred indi-
viduals, until, having traced the gradations in the two sexes, I
am convinced that we have only one Sparrow Hawk in Scot-
land at least. As to the difference in size between the sexes,
it is by no means greater than is observed in the American
Accipiter fuscus and A. Cooperi, birds which have a wonder-
fully close resemblance to A. Nisus, although differing in size,
the male of A. Cooperi being about equal to the female of A.
Nisus, and the male of the latter considerably larger than that
of A. fuscus.
By a note in the third part of M. Temminck's ^Manual, it
appears that Mess. Becker and ]\Ieisner have invented a greater
Sparrow Hawk, Falco nisus major, which is said to have the
bill strong, the cere yellowish-grey, the iris and feet lemon -
yellow ; the head greyish-brown marked with numerous white
spots ; the nape brownish, here and there marked with white
feathers ; all the upper part of the body and tail more brownish
than bluish or grey ; the breast, lower part of the body, and
3(J2
ACCIPITER NISUS.
tliif,4is bcii-red with dusky on a white ground ; tail with five
bands and a terminal light brown band, its lower surface dull
white. It differs from the smaller species — 1st, In being larger ;
the tail an inch and a half longer ; 2dly, In having the eggs
larger, more rounded, greyish-white, and only dotted with
brown at large intervals ; 8dly, In the male and the female be-
ing almost precisely similar ; 4thly, In the males having no
reddish-brown on the belly or thighs. On this subject I would
off^er a few remarks. Young males of the common Sparrow
Hawk often have no red on the lower parts, and in this state
are very similar to old females ; individuals of either sex vary
as much as to render the tail of one two inches longer than
that of another individual of the same sex. As to the eggs,
one finds in the same nest a large egg and one considerably
smaller, a blotched egg, an egg merely dotted, and an egg al-
most destitute of markings. The colouring as above given
differs in nothing from that of many common Sparrow Hawks,
excepting in the white spots on the head, and the different
number of bands on the tail, both of which circumstances may
be incorrectly stated. Finally, however, it is very possible that
two species may be confounded under the same name.
363
CIRCUS. HARRIER.
The birds which constitute the genus Circus are remarkable
for presenting characters indicative of an approximation to the
Owls on the one hand, and on the other to the Hawks, pro-
perly so called, and the Buzzards.
The bill is short, as broad as high at the base, compressed
and attenuated toward the end : upper mandible with its dor-
sal outline declinate and nearly straight as far as the edge of the
cere, then decurved in about the fourth of a circle, the ridge
on the cere broad and flattened, afterwards narrow but convex,
the sides rapidly sloping and moderately convex, the edges with
a broad festoon, the tip deflected, subtrigonal, acute ; lower
mandible with the angle medial, wide, and rounded, the crura
sloping upwards and feathered, the dorsal line somewhat convex,
the back broad, the sides rounded, the edges involute, beyond
the middle sharj) and slightly arched, the tip obliquely trun-
cate. Figs. 230, 231, 233, 234.
Mouth wide ; upper mandible concave beneath, with a groove
on each side, and thin projecting margins ; lower mandible
deeply concave, its edges fitting into the grooves of the upper.
Palate flat, with two longitudinal papillate ridges ; posterior
aperture of nares oblong, anteriorly linear, with papillate mar-
gins. Tongue short, fleshy, concave above, horny beneath,
sagittate and papillate at the base, its tip rounded and slightly
emarginate. CEsophagus, PI. XXI, Fig. 3, a be d, very wide,
with an extremely large crop, be; its pro ventricular portion,
d e, much dilated, and having a complete belt of glandules.
Stomach, e, very large, round, somewhat compressed ; its mus-
cular coat very thin, being composed of a single series of fas-
ciculi, its tendinous .spaces small. Pylorus without valves ;
intestine, efj, of moderate length and width ; coeca very small,
cloaca, J I, very large and globular.
364 CIRCUS. HARRIER.
Nostrils large, ovato-oblong, in the middle and fore part of
the cere, and having an oblique plate from the upper edge.
Eyes large ; eyelids feathered and ciliated ; the lachrymal ridge
not projecting. Aperture of ear very large, elliptical or oblong,
with a bare space extending from it to the base of the lower
jaw.
Head of moderate size, ovate ; neck rather short ; body very
slender, much compressed behind. Tibia long and muscular ;
tarsus long, slender, compressed, "with a series of large oblique
scutella on the fore and outer part, reticular oblong scales on
the sides, and scutella behind, unless at the upper and lower
parts. Toes rather small, slender ; prominently padded be-
neath, scutellate above unless at the base ; the third and fourth
connected by a pretty large basal web ; first stouter, but con-
siderably shorter than the second, third much longer, fourth
longer than the second. Claws long, moderately curved, slen-
der, compressed, rounded above, flat beneath, tapering to a fine
point. Those of the first and second toes much larger, that of
the third with a dilated thin inner edge. Fig. 232.
Plumage very soft, and generally blended. Loral spaces and
sides of the cere covered with rather long, bristle-tipped jjlume-
lets, partially concealing the nostrils. Feathers oblong, and
rounded ; those of the head of moderate length, of the neck
bulky. A distinct ruff of narrow decurved feathers extends from
behind the eye to the throat. On the sides the feathers are
elongated, on the abdomen downy, on the outer part of the
tibia long. AVings long, broad, much rounded, of twenty-
three quills ; primaries rather broad, obtuse ; the fourth and
third longest, the first much shorter, being about equal to the
seventh ; the outermost four having the inner web sinuously
cut out toward the end ; and with the outer web attenuated ;
secondaries broad, broadly rounded, with a minute tip. Tail
long, nearly even, or rounded, of twelve broad rounded feathers.
In this genus the general appearance approaches to that of
Accipiter. The bill is intermediate in form between that of
Accipiter and Buteo ; the elongated tarsi resemble those of the
former genus, and the toes might belong to either. The plu-
mage, especially in the females, is almost as soft as in some
CIRCUS. HARRIER,
365
owls, and in them its colours farther indicate an affinity, which
is more decidedly shewn by the structure of the ear, and the
ruff of oblong feathers. It seems somewhat strange, however,
that the digestive organs make no approximation to those of
owls ; for while in the latter the oesojjhagus is of uniform
width throughout, and the coeca are large and oblong, these
parts are in the Harriers much the same as in Buzzards.
The Harriers, when searching for food, fly low, with a gliding
and gentle motion, often in circles, pounce upon small quadru-
peds, birds, and reptiles, or sometimes pursue birds in open
flight, and feed occasionally on insects and fishes. They nestle
on the ground, laying three or four eggs, migrate from the
colder districts at the approach of the cold season, and as a
genus are very extensively distributed on both continents.
Three species are found in Britain : the Ring-tailed, Mon-
tagu's, and Moor or Marsh Harriers.
The accompanying figure represents the head of a female of
the common or Ring-tailed species.
30G
CIRCUS CYANEUS. THE RING-TAILED
HARRIER.
COMMON HARRIER. I!EN HARRIER. RLUE HAWK. BLUE KITE.
RKOVVN KITE. BLUE OR BROWN GLEUE. BREID-AIR-TOIN.
Fig. 231.
Falco cyaiieus. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 12G. Male.
Falco Pygargus. Linn. Syst. Nat. L 12fi. Feniale.
Falco cyaneus. Lath. Ind, Oni. IL 30.
Falco cyaneus. Mont. Trans. Linn. Sec. IX. 182.
Busard Saint Martin. Falco cyaneus. Tcmm. Man. d'Orn. L 72.
Hen-Harrier, Circus cyaneus. Selb. lUustr. L CC.
Buteo cyaneus. Hen-Karrier. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 89.
The wings extending to about two inches from the tip of the
tail ; the fourth quill longest.^ the third almost equal. Male
with the plumage light bluish-greg, the outer primaries black fo-
tcard the end, the tail-coverts white. Female umber-brown above,
pale reddish-yellow longitudinally streaked xcith brown beneath,
tail-coverts white. Young similar to the female, with the tints
richer.
RING-TAILED HARRIER. 3G7
Male. — The Common or Ring-tailed Harrier is of a slender
elongated form, although its body, when the feathers are re-
moved, is found to be short, as in the Owls. Like them also
it is very light, so that the bulk of the bird consists chiefly of
its plumage. The head is rather large ; the bill slender,
when compared with that of the falcouine species hitherto de-
scribed.
The upper mandible is somewhat concave within, the lower
deeply so, and having a median prominent line. The tongue
is eight and a half twelfths long, fleshy, saggittate and papillate
at the base, concave above, horny beneath, and with the tip
rounded and slightly emarginate. The oesophagus, PL XXI,
Fig. 3, abcd^ is six and a half inches long, wide, dilated into
a crop, be, which when fully distended is three inclies in width ;
then contracted to ten-twelfths, and again at the proventriculus,
d k, dilated to an inch and a half. The glandules are very small,
and form a continuous belt nearly an inch in breadth. The
stomach, e, is roundish, somewhat compressed, an inch and
three-fourths in diameter ; its muscular coat extremely thin,
the inner soft, the tendinous spqces about a third of an inch in
breadth. The intestine, efhj, is thirty-four inclies long, from
three-twelfths to a twelfth and a half in width ; the rectum three
inches in length, with a large globular cloacal dilatation, an inch
in diameter. The coeca are extremely small, oblong, two-twelfths
in length, and one-twelfth in width. The pylorus has a thicken-
ed margin, without knobs, but with tv\^o small ridges. The two
lobes of the liver are nearly equal in size ; and there is an ob-
long gall-bladder, half an inch in length.
The eyes are large, and the eyelids are feathered, and mar-
gined v^'ith ciliary bristles ; the supraocular ridge also feathered.
The nostrils large, ovato-oblong, with an internal oblique ridge
from the upper part. The aperture of the ear is elliptical,
very large, half an inch in length, and margined with slender
recurved feathers. From its inferior margin proceeds down-
wards and forwards to the base of the lower jaw a narrow space
of bare skin nearly three quarters of an inch long. The tarsi
are feathered anteriorly about a third of their length, rather long,
slender, with eighteen large anterior oblique scutella, of which
368 CIRCUS CYANEUS,
the lower are smaller, the sides reticulated with subhexagonal
scales, the hind part with twelve scutella, and hexagonal scales
above and below. The toes are small, the outer connected
with the third by a basal w^eb of considerable size ; the first
considerably shorter than the second, the fourth a little longer
than the latter, the third much longer ; all scutellate above,
unless at the base, tuberculate and papillate beneath, there
being a long fleshy pad or tubercle on the last joint of each,
and one on the next joint of the outer tw^o ; the first toe with
six, the second with five, the third with seventeen, the fourth
with seven scutella. The claws are long, compressed, rounded
above, flat beneath, curved in the fourth of a circle, tapering
to a fine point ; those of the first and second toes largest, that
of the third with a thin internal edge. Fig. 232.
Plumage very soft, blended, somewhat compact on the wings
and back; otherwise as described in the generic character. The
wings are long, broad, and much rounded ; the fourth quill
longest, the third two-twelfths of an inch shorter, the second
an inch shorter than the third, and the first two inches and a
half shorter than the second, and about equal to the seventh.
The first five have their outer webs attenuated toward the end,
and the first four are sinuate on the inner webs ; the secondary
quills broad and rounded. The tail is long, straight, of mode-
rate breadth, nearly even, the lateral feathers being about
three-fourths of an inch shorter than the longest.
The bill is bluish-black, the cere yellow, the inside of the
mouth dark bluish-grey ; the iris yellow ; the tarsi and toes
orange-yellow, the claws black. The general colour of the
plumage is light greyish- blue ; the head and scapulars of a
deeper tint ; the hind part of the back paler, the upper tail-
coverts white, as are the bases of the occipital feathers. The
outer six primaries are black, on the outer web tinged with
grey, but at the base white ; the rest and the secondaries of
the general colour on their outer webs, but on the inner whitish
and obscurely mottled with dark grey. The middle feathers of
the tail are of a lighter tint than the back, and the rest gradually
become paler until the outer web of the lateral becomes white ;
the inner webs of all but the two middle white, with eight
RING-TAILED HARRIER. 369
bars of dark grey. The bristle-tipped feathers of the loral
space and cere are white at the base, black toward the end.
The fore-neck, and anterior part of the breast are greyish-blue,
paler than that of the upper parts ; the middle of the breast,
the abdomen, and tibial feathers bluish-white ; the lower wing-
coverts, the bases of the outer primaries, and the lower tail-
coverts are white.
Length to end of tail 18i inches; extent of wings 39 i ;
wing from flexure 13 ; tail 8^ ; bill along the ridge lj\, along
the edge of lower mandible l^^^, width of mouth 1 ; tarsus 2j% ;
hind toe j%, its claw ^^ ; second toe ^f, its claw ^^| ; third
toe 1/^5 its claw ji ; fourth toe ^^, its claw j\.
Female. — The female is much larger than the male, and
differs so much in colour, that until not many years ago she
was thought to be of a different species. The plumage also is
softer, the ruff more conspicuous, and the feathers on the neck
more developed. The oesophagus is five inches long, at the
commencement ten-twelfths in width, then dilated into an
enormous crop three inches and a quarter in length behind, two
inches and ten twelfths in depth, and two inches and a quarter
in breadth ; its width is then one inch, and the proventriculus
expands to an inch and a half. The stomach is oval, somewhat
compressed, two inches long, its tendons five-twelfths in dia-
meter. The intestine is thirty-five inches in length, Vvith a
width of four-twelfths in the duodenal portion, and of but little
more than one-twelfth toward the coeca, which are only one-
twelfth in length ; the rectum, at first half an inch in width,
enlarges, and is dilated into a globular cloaca an inch and a
half in diameter. The fourth quill is one-twelfth longer than
the third, which exceeds the second by ten twelfths, and the
first is two inches and three-fourths shorter than the latter.
The lateral tail-feathers are nearly three-fourths of an inch
shorter than the longest.
The iris is yellowish-brown, but the bill and feet are co-
loured as in the male. The general colour of the upper parts
is umber-brown, the upper part of the head is deep brown, the
feathers slightly edged with light yellowish red ; the anterior
VOL. III. n R
370 CIRCUS CYANEUS.
part of the forehead, a band over the eye, and the loral space,
pale reddish-yellow ; the bristle-tips at the base of the bill
black. The feathers of the cheeks are dull brown edged with
yellowish-red ; those of the ruff light yellowish-red, with a
medial brown band. The upper hind part, sides, and fore
part of the neck, the breast, and sides, are light reddish-yellow,
each feather with an oblong umber-brown mark. Some of the
long feathers on the sides have four light spots, like those of
the female Merlin and Kestrel, and the central part of the outer
tibial, abdominal, and subcaudal feathers, is light brownish-red.
Many of the upper wing-coverts, and some of the scapulars,
have one or two round, light red spots. The bases of the occi-
pital feathers are white. The quills are umber-brown, slightly
margined with paler, their inner webs whitish, broadly barred
with dusky-brown, there being three bars on the outer and four
on the next three. The upper tail-coverts are white, with
lanceolate reddish-brown medial spots. The tail is white for
about an inch at the base, deep brown in the rest of its extent,
the four middle feathers with four greyish- brown bands, the
rest with five bands of a light reddish tint ; these bands much
narrower than the intervening dusky spaces ; the tips reddish-
white. The lower wing-coverts are reddish- white, with a cen-
tral brown spot ; the lower surface of the primary quills is
greyish-white, with conspicuous dark bars.
Length to end of tail 21 inches, to end of wings 18g ; ex-
tent of wings 46 ; wing from flexure 15 ; tail 10 ; bill along
the ridge 1/^, along the edge of lower mandible lj% ; width
of mouth l^^g ; tarsus 8 ; first toe j%, its claw l^\ ; second toe
^§, its claw lj\ ; third toe 1^, its claw {I ; fourth toe \^,
its claw j%.
Variations. — Adult males vary in length from seventeen to
nineteen inches, females from nineteen to twenty-one and a
half. The scutella vary a little in number, except on the se-
cond toe, which in all the specimens examined by me has five.
In the males, the blue of the upper parts varies in tint, being
darker in young individuals, which have the bands on the tail
also more distinct. In old males, the lower parts are often
RING-TAILED HARRIER. 371
pure white, the tail greyish-white, with the bars obsolete. The
females exhibit less variation, but in old individuals the brown
of the upper parts is lighter, and the tail is tinged with grey.
Changes of Plumage. — Toward the period of moulting, the
tints fade very considerably, and the feathers become irregu-
larly acuminate by being worn.
Habits. — Having examined the form, and somewhat of the
structure of the Hen-Harrier, we are prepared for the exhibition
of its faculties. Kneel down here, then, among the long
broom, and let us watch the pair that have just made their ap-
pearance on the shoulder of the hill. Leave these beautiful
flowerets to the inspection of that lank-sided botanist, who
drags himself slowly along, with a huge tin cannister on his
back, and eyes ever bent on the ground. Should he wander
hitherward, he will be delighted to cull the lovely tufts of
maiden-pinks that surround us ; but we look heavenward, like
the astronomers.
How beautifully they glide along, in their circling flight,
with gentle flaps of their expanded wings, floating as it were
in the air, their half-spread tails inclined from side to side, as
they balance themselves, or alter their course ! Now they are
near enough to enable us to distinguish the male from the
female. They seem to be hunting in concert, and their search
is keen, for they fly at times so low as almost to touch the
bushes, and never rise higher than thirty feet. The grey bird
hovers, fixing himself in air like the Kestrel ; now he stoops,
but recovers himself. A hare breaks from the cover, but they
follow her not, though doubtless were they to spy her young
one, it would not escape so well. The female now hovers for
a few seconds, gradually sinks for a short space, ascends, turns
a little to one side, closes her wings, and comes to the ground.
She has secured her prey, for she remains concealed among the
furze, while the male shoots away, flying at the height of three
or four yards, sweeps along the hawthorn hedge, bounds over it
to the other side, turns away to skim over the sedgy pool, where
he hovers a short while. He now enters upon the grass field,
372 CIRCUS CYANEUS.
when a Partridge springs off, and he pursues it, with a rapid
gliding flight like that of the Sparrow Hawk ; but they have
turned to the right, and the wood conceals them from our view.
In the meantime, the female has sprung up, and advances,
keenly inspecting the ground, and so heedless of our presence
that she passes within twenty yards of us. Away she speeds,
and in passing the pool, again stoops, but recovers herself, and
rising in a beautiful curve, bounds over the plantation, and is
out of sight.
The Hen-Harrier feeds upon small birds and the young of
larger, on young hares and rabbits, on mice, frogs, lizards, and
serpents. For the most part, it pounces upon its victims as
they repose on the ground ; but it also pursues birds in open
flight, and so far from confining itself to feeble game, as some
allege, it has been known to seize the red grouse, ptarmigan,
and partridge. Thus, my son, while searching for insects on
the Pentland Hills, in the summer of 1885, saw a pair when
flying low over the heath start a red grouse, which one of them
captured after a short chase ; and in September of the same
year, Mr Martin, gamekeeper to the Earl of Lauderdale, shot
a male as it was carrying off a bird of the same species. In
the crop of one examined by me I found the remains of a grey
ptarmigan, and several writers allege that it pursues not only
partridges, but teal. Mr Slaney, for example, states that they
" are very destructive to game. In shooting, the writer has
Been the hen-harrier dart at a partridge which his dogs put up,
and carry it off. By following the marauder some distance he
got the partridge, which was quite dead, with a very slight
mark on the head. Another day he shot the ring-tail, and on
examining the spot where the hawk got up, found a partridge
half devoured. This had been killed, as appeared by the fea-
thers, at a little distance, but carried to the edge of a plash of
water, where the plunderer had an opportunity of washing his
beak and claws betw^een every mouthful, and eating his quarry
like a gentleman ! — or rather, in this case, a lady."
When flying from one place to another, without searching
the ground, it moves with considerable rapidity, at such a
height as to clear the trees and other elevated objects without
RING-TAILED HARRIER. 373
deviating. It is not, however, known to soar to a great height
like the Buzzards and Eagles ; but, when satiated, retires to
some quiet place, or perches on a wall, a stone, or a stump, until
digestion is advanced. Although its large eyes and ears would
indicate a disposition to prey at night, I am not aware of its
having been seen abroad later than the Sparrow Hawk. On
obtaining its prey, it usually devours it on the spot, carrying
it off only when it judges itself liable to be molested. It has
obtained a reputation for its exploits in the poultry-yard, which
with more propriety belongs to the Sparrow Hawk, although
there is no reason to doubt its occasional abduction of a chicken.
In its rambles, it searches the cultivated fields, as well as the
pastures, but in summer and autumn is partial to heaths and
commons ; and in such places it reposes at night, and rears its
young.
This species, although nowhere very common, is generally
dispersed, and in some districts pretty numerous in the breed-
ing season. In Scotland, it betakes itself to the hilly tracts
and moors from the middle of spring to the end of autumn ;
but in winter frequents the lower cultivated districts. It is a
permanent resident, and does not appear to receive any acces-
sion of numbers, or to undergo any periodical diminution. Be-
ing easily approached when it has young, and even when in-
tent on searching for food, it is frequently killed by game-
keepers and others, so that specimens are easily obtained, and
besides the six in my collection, I have examined probably
thirty. In respect to frequency, it ranks, I think, next to the
Buzzard, although there are districts in which it is extremely
rare. Thus, I had one sent to me from West Lothian as an
unknown species of Hawk, and in the northern isles it is very
seldom met with. Owing to this partial scarcity of the spe-
cies, I have not been favoured with any observations respecting
it by my correspondents ; and as I have never had the good
fortune to find its nest, I am obliged to refer to a very valuable
account of its breeding by Sir William Jardine, in a note in
his Edition of Wilson's American Ornithology : —
" In a country possessing a considerable proportion of plain
and mountain, where I have had the greatest opportunities of
374 CIRCUS CYANELS.
attending to them, they always retire, at the commencement
of the breeding season, to the wildest hills, and during this
time not one individual will be found in the low country. For
several days previous to commencing their nest, the male and
female are seen soaring about, as if in search of, or examining,
a proper situation, are very noisy, and toy and cuff each other
in the air. When the place is fixed, and the nest completed,
the female is left alone ; and when hatching, will not suffer the
male to visit the nest, but on his approach rises and drives him
with screams to a distance ! The nest is made very frequently
in a heath bush by the edge of some ravine, and is composed
of sticks, with a very slender lining. It is sometimes also
formed on one of those places called scars, or where there has
been a rut on the side of a steep hill after a mountain thunder-
shower ; here little or no nest is made, and the eggs are merely
laid on the bare earth, which has been scraped hollow. In a
flat or level country, some common is generally chosen, and the
nest is found in a whin or other scrubby bush, sometimes a
little way from the ground, as has been remarked in the de-
scription of the American birds. The young are well supplied
with food, I believe by both parents, though I have only seen
the female in attendance ; and I have found in and near the
nest the common small lizard, stone-chats, and young grous.
" When the young are perfectly grown, they, with the old
birds, leave the high country, and return to their old haunts,
hunting with regularity the fields of grain, and now commit
great havock among the young game. At night they seem to
have general roosting-places, either among whins or long heath,
and always in some open spot of ground. On a moor of con-
siderable extent I have seen seven in the space of one acre.
They began to approach the sleeping ground about sunset ;
and, before going to roost, hunted the whole moor, crossing
each other, often three or four in view at a time, gliding in the
same manner as that described by Dr Richardson of the Cir-
cus Americanus. Half an hour may be spent in this way.
When they approach the roost they skim three or four times
over it, to see that there is no interruption, and then at once
drop into the spot. These places are easily found in the day.
RING-TAILED HARRIER. 375
and the birds may be caught by placing a common rat-trap,
or they may be shot in a moonlight night. In both ways I
have procured many specimens."
The eggs vary from three to five, and are of a broadish ellipti-
cal form, and of a bluish- white colour, sometimes faintly dotted
with brown, their average length an inch and three-fourths,
their breadth an inch and four twelfths. The young are at
first covered with white down.
Young. — When fledged, the young of both sexes resemble
the adult female. The bill is brownish-black, the bases of
both mandibles yellow, the iris dark hazel, the feet yellow,
the claws brownish-black. The upper parts are deep umber-
brown, the smaller wing-coverts with two spots of light red,
the upper tail-coverts white, each with a reddish-brown lanceo-
late streak, the tail with four bands of light red ; the hind-
neck, ruff, and lower parts light yellowish-red, longitudinally
streaked with dark brown ; the lower surface of the outer quills,
and the tail, very conspicuously barred. The males may be
distinguished from the females by their inferior size.
Progress toward JNIaturity. — Montagu, who first ascer-
tained the change which the male undergoes, gives the follow-
ing description of one which he had reared from the nest, and
which he killed in the middle of October, when in its second
year, it having undergone no change in the first year, except-
ing in some new feathers of the wings and tail, which replaced
those that had been plucked by him for the purpose. " The
plumage of the Ring-tail, or female, still remains about the
neck, the smaller coverts of the wings, the thighs, and part of
the belly, intermixed with the male plumage ; the top of the
head and wreath have also a mixture of the feathers of both
sexes ; the quills, scapulars, and tail, are completely mascu-
line ; in the last of these are a few small broken bars of cine-
reous brown, on a white ground, in the three outer feathers,
the exterior margins cinereous-grey ; the six middle feathers
are almost wholly grey, and the markings are very obscure be-
neath. From the account here given of the Heu-Harrier, it
is quite clear that the change of plumage is effected in the
376 CIRCUS CYANEUS.
autumn of the year after it leaves the nest, and not in the same
year."
A specimen in my collection, which was shot in October,
and which retains a few brown feathers on the head, ruff, and
wings, several of the coverts of the latter being spotted with
light red, shews the second plumage of the male. The general
colour is light bluish-grey ; the scapulars and many of the
feathers of the back dark greyish-brown toward the end, as
are the extremities of the inner secondaries ; the upper tail-
coverts are pure white ; the tail is light grey, with seven faint
dusky-grey narrow bars, unless on the middle feathers. The
blue of the lower parts gradually fades into white behind ; the
lower wing-coverts are white ; but some of them are very
faintly barred with grey, as are the axillary feathers and some
of those of the sides, and the lower tail-coverts have a small
roundish spot of the same near the end.
The females undergo little change as they advance in age,
their dark brown parts merely acquiring a greyish tinge, the
light red fading into greyish-yellow, and the bars on the wings
and tail becoming narrower. The tail-feathers, quills, and
larger coverts of the males, are covered with a velvety down,
"when new, and those of old females are so in a less degree ;
but the first plumage of both sexes has the surface bare and
glossy.
Remarks. — I have carefully compared specimens of the
American Marsh Hawk with several of our Hen-Harrier, and
have not observed any difterence of size, proportions, or colour,
on which to found a specific distinction, in adult males, or in
young males, or adult and young females. But in males pass-
ing into the adult state, there are markings such as I have not
seen in European specimens, the feathers of the lower parts
being white, with several spots of light red along their centre,
these spots on the sides of the body and on the tibise assuming
the appearance of transverse bars. If European individuals be
found to present this character, I think there can be no reason-
able doubt as to the specific identity of these birds, which
moreover agree in their internal characters, at least in those
RING-TAILED HARRIER.
377
presented by the digestive organs. A bird from Northern
India now before me, a male in the adult plumage, has faint
bars of reddish spots on the sides and lower tail-coverts. The
habits of the American bird, as described by Mr Audubon,
are generally similar to those of ours, the differences being such
as might arise from accidental circumstances. That celebrated
ornithologist is convinced of the identity of the species, but
several authors consider the American bird different from the
European.
Fjo. 232.
378
CIRCUS CINERACEUS. MONTAGUES HARRIER.
ASII-COLOURED HARRIER. ASH-COLOURED FALCON.
Ash-coloured Falcon. Falco citieraceus. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Busard Montagu. Falco cineraceus. Temm. Man. d'Orn.
Ash-coloured Harrier. Circus cineraceus. Selb. Tllustr. I. 70.
Buteo cineraceus. Ash-coloured Harrier. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 90.
The icings extending a little beyond the tail ; the third quill
much longer than the fourth. Male with the plumage light bluish-
grey^ the outer primaries black toward the end, the tail-coverts
white. Female umber-brou'u above, pale reddish-yellow, with
longitudinal bright red streaks beneath, tall-coverts white. Young
similar to the female, but having the lower parts of a uniform
bright red.
Male. — This species, which was first clearly distinguished
from the Common Harrier, and accurately described, by Mon-
tagu, is somewhat smaller and more slender than that species.
The head is rather small, and ovate ; the bill small and com-
pressed ; the upper mandible with its dorsal line sloping and
somewhat convex on the cere, its sides slightly convex toward
the end, its edges with a broad festoon, its tip slender and very
MONTAGU'S HARRIER. 379
acute. The tarsi, which are long and slender, are feathered
anteriorly about a fourth down, and are covered in front with
about eighteen scutella, on the sides with reticular scales, be-
hind with twelve scutella. The toes are small, similar to those
of the common species, the first with eight, the second with
ten, the third with eighteen, the fourth with fourteen scutella.
The claws are of moderate length, well curved, slender, and
finely pointed.
The plumage is very soft and blended, and the cervical ruff,
although less apparent than in the common bird, is similarly
formed. The wings are very long, rather narrow, rounded,
and when closed extend a little beyond the tail ; the third quill
is longest, exceeding the second and fourth by nearly an inch,
the first a little longer than the fifth ; the outer four primaries
with their inner webs sinuate toward the end ; the secondaries
broad, rounded, and slightly repand. The tail is long, straight,
and nearly even.
The bill is black, the cere greenish yellow ; the iris bright
yellow, the tarsi and toes yellow, and the claws black. The
general colour of the upper parts is light greyish-blue, the sca-
pulars of a darker tint. The bristle-tipped plumelets of the
loral spaces and cere white at the base, black toward the end.
On the secondary quills are three transverse brownish-black
bands, of which only the last appears when the wings are
closed ; the outer seven primaries are black toward the end,
the first almost entirely so, and the seventh only tinged on
the outer web. The tail is light grey, which fades outwards
into white, and has four bands of a darker tint, becoming
brownish-red on the outer feathers. The fore-neck and part of
the breast are of the same bluish-grey as the back ; the rest of
the breast, the abdomen, and lower tail-coverts are white, each
feather with a light red longitudinal band ; the lower wing-
coverts also white, with reddish bars.
Length to end of tail 17 inches, to end of wings 17^ ; wing
from flexure 15 ; tail 91 ; bill along the ridge 1 ; tarsus 2/^ ;
first toe 5, its claw j% ; second toe /^^ its claw ||j ; third
toe lj%, its claw ^\ ; fourth toe 1, its claw j\.
380 CIRCUS CINERACEUS.
Female. — The female, which is considerably larger than the
male, has the bare parts coloured as in it, but the plumage very
similarly to that of the female of the Common Harrier, from
which however it may readily be distinguished by the bright
red streaks on the lower parts. The general colour of the
upper parts is dark umber-brown. The hind head and nape
are brownish-red, with dark-brown streaks ; some of the frontal
feathers, a band above, and one below the eye whitish ; the
cheeks dark brown. The rump and upper tail-coverts are
white, with brownish-red streaks. The quills are dark brown,
as are the middle tail-feathers ; but the rest have five bands of
a lighter brown. The lower parts are light red, or reddish-
orange, with longitudinal streaks of a deeper tint.
Length to end of tail 19 inches, to end of wings 20 ; wing
from flexure loi ; tail 10 ; bill along the ridge 1 j\ ; tarsus 2-j\ ;
first toe -i^, its claw /^ ; middle toe 1/g, its claw ^12 •
Habits. — Montagu's Harrier has been found in most of the
southern and eastern counties of England, but has not hitherto
been observed beyond Northumberland. Its habits are said to
be similar to those of the common species. Small birds and
lizards have been found in its stomach. Its nest is placed on
the ground, and it lays four or five bluish-white eggs, smaller
than those of the Hen-Harrier. The young, which, according
to Mr Jenyns, are hatched about the second week of June, are
at first covered with white down. Besides the fact of its occur-
ring on the continent from Poland southward, little more is
known of its history. I have never seen it alive, and the spe-
cimens above described were merely skins.
Young. — Montagu has described a young male in its first
plumage as follows : — " The bill dusky : cere yellow : irides
so pale a yellow as to appear nearly white. The whole upper
part of the head ferruginous, with small dusky spots ; on the
hind head, and nape, a broken patch of white ; immediately
above and beneath the eye is a pale streak ; the coverts of the
ears, extending down to the lower mandible, are dark chocolate
brown : the quills the same ; the first three or four pale ferru-
MONTAGU'S HARRIER. 381
ginous about the middle of the inner web ; the secondary quills
the darkest, and all more or less tipped with ferruginous, ex-
cept on the upper parts of the back ; and those on the back of
the neck are deeply margined with that colour : the lower part
of the rump, and coverts of the tail, white, with a few
streaks of bright ferruginous : the lesser coverts of the wings
are deeply margined with ferruginous ; the chin is dusky
brown : the whole under parts, from chin to vent, includ-
ing the thighs, under tail-coverts, and under coverts of the
wings, bright ferruginous without spot, except the shafts, being
somewhat darker, appearing on close inspection like fine slen-
der streaks ; the tail-feathers have five alternate darker, and
five paler bars, but the upper ones are nearly obsolete ; these
bars on the outer feathers are bright ferruginous and white,
with one bar near the end darker ; the second is similar, but
has the ferruginous bars inclining to chocolate-brown, and
the white ones run into pale ferruginous on the outer webs ;
the three next become gradually darker, with the pale bars less
conspicuous, and more ferruginous than white ; the two middle
feathers have the bars marked only by a shade of difference in
colour, and are scarcely defined."
382
CIRCUS ^RUGINOSUS. THE MARSH HARRIER.
MOOR HARRIER. MOOR BUZZARD. HARPV. DUCK HAWK, KITE.
Falco jeruginosus. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 1,'W.
Falco seruginosus. Lath. Iiid. Orn. I. 2.j.
Falco rufus. Lath. Lid. Orn, I. 25.
Moor Buzzard. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Busard Harpaye ou de marais. Falco rufus.
Marsh Harrier. Circus rufus. Selb. Illustr.
Temm, Man. d'Orn. I. fi9.
L 66.
Adult umber-brown tinged with grey above, deep reddish-brown
beneath, the head, part of the neck, and the shoulders, yellowish-
white. In very old individuals, the primary quills and tail-
feathers ash-grey. Young deep chocolate, the wing-corerts tipped
with brownish-red, the quills and tail-feathers with reddish-white.
After the first moidt, more or less pale reddish or yellowish-w'hite
on the head and neck.
Male. — The Marsh Harrier, although resembhng the com-
mon species in form, (lifters from it in having the bill and feet
stronger, and the ruff" less conspicuous. These characters, to-
gether with its brown colour, give it somewhat of the appear-
ance of a Buzzard. The body is ovate, very narrow behind,
MARSH HARRIER. 383
the neck short, the head of moderate size, and oblong. The
bill is short, about the same height and breadth at the base,
compressed toward the end ; the upper mandible with its dor-
sal outline sloping and nearly straight as far as the edge of the
cere, then decurved in the fourth of a circle, its ridge broad
and flattened on the cere, then convex, the sides rapidly de-
clinate and slightly convex, the festoon rather prominent, the
tip trigonal and acute ; the lower mandible with the angle
wide, the dorsal outline convex, the back broad and rounded,
the sides convex, the edges inflected, the tip obliquely rounded.
The eyes are large ; the eyelids feathered, and margined
with ciliary bristles ; the nostrils ovato-oblong, rather large,
with a ridge from the upper edge ; the aperture of the ear
broadly elliptical and of large size. The tarsi are feathered
anteriorly about a fourth of their length, rather slender, com-
pressed, with eighteen anterior scutella, about ten scutella be-
hind, and reticular scales on the sides. The toes are of mode-
rate length, covered above with scutella, unless toward the
base, there being five on the first toe, four on the second, fif-
teen on the third, and ten on the fourth ; the fourth toe a little
longer than the second, and connected with the third by a basal
web. The claws are long, curved in about the fifth of a circle,
tapering to a fine point ; the first and second largest, the third
with a thin edge.
The plumage is soft and blended, rather compact on the back
and wings, somewhat glossy ; the feathers ovate and rounded.
The ruff, although formed as in the other species, is very incon-
spicuous. The loral spaces and sides of the cere are covered with
bristle-tipped plumelets, which partially conceal the nostrils.
The wings are long, broad, and much rounded ; the primary
quills strong, the outer four cut out on both webs ; the fourth
longest, the third only two twelfths of an inch shorter, the first
and sixth about equal ; the secondary quills thirteen, broad,
and rounded. The tail is long, of considerable breadth, slightly
rounded.
The bill is brownish-black, at the base tinged with yellow ;
the irides orange ; the cere greenish-yellow ; the tarsi and toes
rich yellow, the claws brownish-black. The general colour of
384 CIRCUS ^RUGINOSUS.
the upper parts is deep umber-brown, of the lower deep reddish-
brown. The upper peart of the head and a large portion of the
neck, including the throat, are white tinged with yellowish-
brown ; the bristles at the base of the bill black, the shafts of
the feathers of the head brown. The smaller wing-coverts are
of a paler brown, their tips brownish-white, and some of the
scapulars have a broad yellow line along the middle of the
outer web. The primary quills are blackish-brown, the rest of
a lighter tint, all slightly margined with brownish-grey. The
tail is light brown, tinged with grey, and tipped with brownish-
white, the lateral feathers irregularly marked with brownish-
red on their inner webs. The downy parts and bases of the
feathers are grey, but on the head and neck pure white.
Length to end of tail 21 i inches ; wing from flexure 16^% ;
tail 10 ; bill along the ridge 1^^^, along the edge of lower
mandible 1 j-\ 5 tarsus 8/^ ; first toe |%, its claw l^^^ ; second
toe 1, its claw li^a ; third toe lj%, its claw 1 ; fourth toe 1/^,
its claw j%.
Female. — The female, which is considerably larger, is simi-
lar to the male. An individual selected for description is as
follows : — The upper parts are umber-brown, with the terminal
margins of the feathers paler ; the lower dark reddish-brown.
The head, upper part of the hind-neck, the fore part of the
loral space, and the throat are yellowish-white, with brown
shaft-lines. The bristles about the base of the bill are black ;
the hind part of the loral space, a portion of the cheek, and
the ear-coverts, brown. Some of the feathers on the middle
of the neck behind, and on the fore part of the back, together
with a patch on the wing near the scapulars, are yellowish-
white, with brown shaft-lines. The primary quills are blackish-
brown, with a tinge of reddish purple ; their inner webs at the
base brownish-grey mottled with darker ; the secondary quills
chocolate-brown ; all the quills slightly margined with brown-
ish-grey. On the rump, the feathers are tipped with brownish-
red. The tail-feathers are brown tinged with grey, tipped with
reddish- white ; the inner webs of most of them paler, and
variegated with brownish-red. The lower parts are of a deep
MARSH HARRIER. 385
chocolate-brown ; but many of the feathers on the fore-neck
and breast are yellowish-white, with brown central streaks.
Length to end of tail 24? inches, extent of wings 52 ; wing
from flexure 10/^ ; tail 9/3 ; bill along the ridge 1^^^ ; tar-
sus 3? ; first toe I S , its claw 1 /^ ; second toe 1, its claw 1/| ;
third toe l{^, its claw {i ; fourth toe H, its claw jg.
Variations. — Individuals coloured nearly as above, differ
considerably in the extent of the yellowish or reddish-white on
the head, neck, back, and wings, and in the tints of the tail
and wings, which sometimes approach to grey. Very old birds
have the secondary quills and tail ash-grey ; but I have not
seen a British specimen so coloured.
Habits. — In Scotland, the ISIarsh Harrier is of much less fre-
quent occurrence than the Ring-tailed. I have once met with
it in the Island of Harris, but it must be very rare in the
northern and middle divisions. Dr Neill informs me that it
frequents the rabbit-links of Gulan, in East Lothian, and that
he once had an adult female which was caught there in a trap
and preserved alive by Mr Yule of Luffness Mill, who sent it
to him. None of the bird-stuffers in Edinburgh have had a
specimen for at least five years back. It appears to be some-
what more numerous in the southern counties of Scotland, and
is said to occur in most parts of England, being more frequently
met with however in low and marshy tracts. According to
Montagu, " it is the most common of the falcon tribe about
the sandy flats on the coast of Caermarthenshire, where it preys
upon young rabbits." He mentions his having once seen nine
individuals feeding on the carcass of a sheep. Its food is said
to consist of water-fowl, young ducks in particular, water-rats,
frogs, lizards, fish, and insects. It flies low, skimming along
in the manner of the common species, seldom pursues a bird
in open flight, but pounces upon its prey when on the ground.
" In the breeding season,"" as Montagu informs us, " when the
female is sittinji, the male will soar to a considerable heiofht,
and remain suspended on wing for a great length of time. The
nest is most frequently made on the ground, amongst short
VOL. III. c c
386 CIRCUS iERUGINOSUS.
wood, furze, or fern, and is composed of sticks, rushes, or
coarse grass. Sometimes, though rarely, it builds in the fork
of a large tree." The eggs, he adds, " are perfectly white,
without any spots, considerably less than those of the common
buzzard."
Young. — When fully fledged, the young have the cere
greenish-yellow, the bill yellow at the base, brownish-black
toward the end ; the iris deep brown ; the feet yellow, the
claws brownish-black. The general colour of the plumage is
dark chocolate brown ; the feathers of the upper parts slightly
tipped with reddish-brown ; the upper tail-coverts tinged with
red ; the larger wing-coverts largely tipped with pale brown.
Progress toward Maturity. — After the first moult, the
upper part of the head and the nape are light brownish-red,
the smaller wing-coverts are tipped with light red ; the quills
are darker than at first ; but the general colour of the plumage
is still deep chocolate. It appears that as the bird advances in
age, the brown of the upper parts assumes a lighter tint, the
tail becomes tinged with grey, its inner webs lighter, the pri-
mary quills, on the contrary, darker, and the white on the
head and neck purer and more extended. In extreme old age,
as M. Temminck alleges, or merely in maturity, as others say,
the secondary quills and tail-feathers become light ash-grey; but
this only in the male, which thus tends to approximate in co-
louring to the males of the other species. 1 have before me a
specimen from India in this state ; but I have not seen one
killed in Britain that shewed more than a tinge of grey on the
tail. The individual here alluded to has the upper parts cho-
colate brown, the head and hind-neck yellowish-red streaked
with brown ; the secondary quills ash-grey ; the tail very pale
ash-grey, fading almost into white on the lateral feathers ;
seven of the primary quills black ; the throat and part of the
fore-neck yellowish-red, the rest of the lower parts brownish-
red. In its proportions it agrees with another specimen from
the same country, which exhibits the ordinary state of plumage,
the general colour being very dark chocolate ; the head, neck,
and throat yellowish-white ; the cheeks and ear-coverts brown.
MARSH HARRIER. 387
I think, therefore, there can be no reasonable doubt as to the
identity of these grey-tailed individuals with the rest.
Remarks. — The Marsh Harrier, it thus appears, is dark
coloured when young, and gradually becomes lighter as it ad-
vances in age. This, I think, is the general rule with respect
to the falconine birds, although there are exceptions. The pre-
sent species, as I have said, exhibits a considerable affinity to
the Buzzards, and thus, in the eyes of those who prefer a cir-
cular arrangement, may with propriety be placed last in the
series.
We have now examined all the British species of the family
of Falconinre, of several of which I have been enabled to give
a pretty full account. Some of them, however, have not yet
been well described ; and therefore an account of their habits
is a great desideratum, the supplying of which by any observers
who have had opportunities of stiulying them, would be highly
gratifying to me, wliicli I cannot conceive to be of much im-
portance to any other than a very benevolent person, and use-
ful to science, which might induce even a very selfish one to
communicate his observations.
388
STRIGIN^.
OWLS.
The Common Barn Owl of Europe has generally been taken
as the type of the great family of nocturnal rapacious birds,
and it no doubt possesses in an eminent degree the faculties
and peculiarities of organization which characterize the Owls,
although many species exhibit them in equal perfection. It
has also been made the type of the genus Strix, from which
accordingly the name of the family is derived. The Wood
Owl and the Long-eared Owl appear to me to have better
claims to the chieftainship ; but as it is clearly impossible to
determine such a question, we may rest contented with an ap-
proximation to the truth.
Although the Harriers and Buzzards already described mani-
fest a considerable affinity to some of the Owls, yet the Fal-
coninae are separated from the Striginas by a wide interval,
insomuch that an Owl can never be mistaken for a Hawk, by
any person who has paid the least attention to birds. The
Striginaj are distinguished by their extremely large feathered
head, short and apparently very thick neck, moderately full
body, long, broad, and rounded wings, short tail, full and
peculiarly soft or downy plumage, feathered tarsi, versatile
outer toe, and hooked bill and claws. But although they seem
thus portly, their bulk is chiefly made up of feathers, for their
body is in reality very small, extremely narrow behind, although
of considerable breadth before, their neck slender and of mo-
derate length. Their head however, whether viewed in its
natural state or denuded, is larger than that of any other family
of birds, although the brain is of very moderate dimensions.
The bill is always shorter than the head, furnished with a
cere concealed by the feathers, generally stout, wide at the base,
OWLS. 389
compressed toward the eud ; the upper mandible with its dorsal
line declinate and decurved, the sides more or less convex, the
sharp edges destitute of a prominent lobe, the tip prolonged,
tapering, and curved over the extremity of the lower mandible,
which has the angle wide, the dorsal outline short and convex,
the edges toward the end sharp, somewhat inflected, and de-
curved, with a shallow sinus on each side close to the rounded
tip. The mouth is very wide ; the palate flattened, sloping
upwards at the sides, with two longitudinal papillate ridges,
and an anterior median ridge. The posterior aperture of the
nares is elliptical or oblong behind, linear before, with the
margins generally papillate. The tongue is small, fleshy, nar-
row, sagittate and papillate at the base, channelled above,
horny beneath, with the tip narrowed and emarginate or bifid.
The oesophagus is very wide, of nearly equal calibre through-
out, being destitute of the dilatation or crop observed in that
of the Falconine and Vulturine birds. It is very thin, encir-
cled by very slender muscular fibres, with its inner coat smooth,
but, when the muscular is contracted, disposed into longitudi-
nal plaits. The proventricular glandules are small, very nu-
merous, cylindrical, and form a broad belt. The stomach is
always large, roundish, somewhat compressed, with its mus-
cular coat thin and composed of a single series of fasciculi,
which are somewhat separated from each other, and converge
toward two thin circular tendinous spaces ; its inner coat or
epithelium thin, soft or somewhat hard, generally smooth,
sometimes rugous. The intestine is short, of considerable
width or narrow, gradually diminishing to the commencement
of the rectum ; where there are two coeca, which are large,
narrow at first, but dilating toward the end. The rectum,
which is wide, has a very large globular dilatation or cloaca.
These parts will be seen in PI. V, which rej^resents the diges-
tive organs of the Snowy Owl, and in PI. XXI, of which
Figs. 5 and 6 represent those of the Eagle Owl.
The trachea, PI. XIX, Fig. 9, is generally short, wide, with
numerous slender and unossified rings, and a single pair of infe-
rior laryngeal muscles. The figure referred to represents the
M-indpipe of the Snowy Owl of the natural size : — a, the
390
STRIGIN^.
tongue ; h, its basal portion ; c c, part of the hyoid bones ; d e,
the trachea, flattened, somewhat wider above, composed of
ninety rings, of which one at the bifurcation is similar to that
of the Hawks, Fig. 3. The bronchi, p k, g A, are wide, very
short, composed of about fourteen half-rings. The lateral
muscles, ij, ij, are rather slender, and terminate partly, as
usual, in the sterno-tracheales, j k, j k, and partly in a single
pair of inferior laryngeal muscles, j/, j/, inserted into the first
bronchial ring.
The eyes are always extremely large, fixed in the orbits, or
having very little motion, directed obliquely forwards, so that
an object may be perceived by both at once, although, as their
axes are never parallel, they cannot both be directed to the
game point. The upper eyelid is very large, and both are cili-
ated with barbed plumelets, and have a broad, thin, bare mar-
gin. Nostrils rather large, or of moderate size, round, oval, or
elliptical, and placed near the anterior margin of the cere, but
generally concealed by bristles. The aperture of the ear is
never small, generally very large, often of extreme size, and
frequently furnished with an operculum or lid.
The legs are of moderate length, or short ; the tibia muscular ;
the tarsus covered with feathers, which however are sometimes
destitute of filaments, and being thus reduced to the shafts,
resemble hairs. The toes are also feathered, but in many spe-
cies the feathers upon them are reduced to the shafts. In a
few Asiatic species, both tarsi and toes are bare, and covered
OWLS. 391
with small prominent scales. The first toe is shortest, and
admits' of much lateral motion ; the fourth or outer is next in
length, and capable of being turned backwards, so that when
the bird is perched, the first and fourth toes are opposed to the
second and third. The toes have two or three scutella at the
end, and are padded and papillate beneath. The claws are
long, well curved, tapering, very narrow beneath, and extremely
acute.
The plumage is remarkable for its mass, and the softness of
its texture. On the sides of the head are slender radiating
feathers, having loose and more or less bristly filaments, and
forming two circular disks or masks, which are sometimes com-
plete, but often deficient above the eye, in which case the
feathers there are of ordinary texture. Another remarkable
feature is formed by a kind of ruff, formed of narrow recurved
feathers, arranged in several series. It sometimes extends on
each side from the anterior part of the forehead, round the disk
and behind the ear, to the chin, or angle of the lower mandible,
and is then said to be complete ; but sometimes it occupies
only a portion of the posterior margin of the disk. The larger
the ear the more extended the ruff, so that in those species
which have the external auditory organ small, the ruff is scarcely
apparent. On the upper part of the head the feathers are of
moderate length ; and sometimes on each side of the head is a
tuft of elongated feathers, which on being erected suggests the
idea of a horn or ear, thus giving rise to the erroneous names
of Horned Owls and Eared Owls. On the neck the feathers
are long, soft, and elastic ; on the body ovate, those on the
lower parts of looser texture, and on the abdomen entirely downy.
An elongated tuft is seen on the femur, but never on the tibia,
as in most falconine birds. The shafts of the feathers are slen-
der and very easily broken ; they have a short tufty plumule ;
their downy parts occupy more than three -fourths of their
extent ; and frequently their surface is villous or tomentose,
being covered with delicate barbicels, which are generally more
apparent on the quills. Numerous very slender hairs, termin-
ated by a few filaments, are interspersed among the plumage.
The wings are always broad, generally long, and more or less
rounded ; the primary quills ten. the secondary thirteen or fif-
392
STRIGIN^:.
teen ; the filaments of the outer web of the outermost quill
usually separated at the end and recurved. The tail, always of
twelve more or less arched feathers, varies in length, but is
generally short and even, or slightly rounded.
The cranium is always short, of extreme breadth behind,
somewhat triangular, and of very large size ; but its bulk is in
a great measure produced by the separation of its two tables by
the intervention of numerous cells. The orbits are excessively
large, and separated by a bony septum, Avhich is generally com-
plete, sometimes thickened, and in the genus Strix more than
a quarter of an inch in breadth, and cellular. The superciliary
bone is not present as in the Falconinae, or exists merely in a
rudimentary state, and is never distinct. The nasal cavity is
rather large ; that of the ear extremely so ; but not in propor-
tion to the external parts. The vertebrae vary in number ;
but there are generally twelve cervical, eight or nine dorsal,
twelve sacral, and eight caudal ; of which the last is usually
not half the size of that of the falconine birds. The ribs,
seven in number, are very slender. The sternum is very short,
small when compared with those of the Hawks or Vultures,
OWLS. 393
with the sides nearly parallel, the ridge or keel very prominent,
and well advanced, the posterior margin with four notches.
The coracoid bones are long, considerably flattened, moderately
spreading ; the furcula very slender, of the form of the letter
V, never so wide as in the Hawks ; the scapulae very long, nar-
row, and nearly straight. The bones of the wing are of mode-
rate length. The pelvis is rather large ; the femur short, the
patella distinct, the tibia rather long, the fibula, which is slen-
der, partially united to it ; the tarsus generally short, never
long ; the phalanges of the toes two, three, four, and five.
Owls in general are of nocturnal habits. Their enormous
eyes, of which the iris is most delicately sensitive, enable them
to perceive an object in the dim twilight, or even amidst the
gloom of night ; and the extreme development of the external
aperture of the ear, with its marginal fringes, is calculated to
collect and concentrate the faintest undulations of sound. It
is generally believed that the eyes of Owls shine in the dark,
but I have failed to discover any such reflection of light from
them, although I have examined those of two species with
reference to this subject. They prey on small quadrupeds,
birds, and insects, especially nocturnal lepidoptera and large
beetles. Some species also prey occasionally on fishes. They
kill their prey by pouncing upon it, and thrusting their talons
into it. If large, they carry it off' in their claws, but if small,
transfer it to the bill. Small birds and mice are usually swal-
lowed entire ; large animals are plucked and torn into morsels ;
and the indigestible parts being subsequently collected into
pellets in the stomach, are disgorged. Many owls and hawks
feed on precisely the same animals, — the Barn Owl and the
Hen Harrier for example. AMiy the Hawks should have a
very large oesophageal dilatation, and minute or obsolete coeca,
while the Owls have the oesophagus of uniform width, and the
cocca large, is by no means obvious. Fanciful explanations are
easily made, and as easily refuted. The only hawk known to
me which has no crop is Nauclerus furcatus, described at
p. 277 ; yet there is nothing peculiarly strigine in its form or
manners.
In accordance with the nocturnal habits of the Owls, a pecu-
394 STRIGIN.T..
liarly noiseless and buoyant flight was necessary, to enable tlieni
to steal unawares upon a timid and vigilant, and hover with ease
while searching for a concealed or lurking prey. They fly in an
apparently unsteady or wavering manner, and so gentle is the
motion of their downy wings, that one is not by hearing ren-
dered sensible of their immediate presence. Some species how-
ever have a more direct, vigorous, and hawk-like flight. When
alighted on a flat surface, they bring forward the outer toe,
and incline the body considerably, so as not to injure the tail ;
but when perched on a narrow space, they stand nearly erect,
and reverse the outer toe. By day they repose on rocks, or
other elevated objects, or in the hollows of trees, in recesses of
buildings, or cavities of rocks, some species however on the
ground. The form of their feet, and especially the elongation
and curvature of their finely pointed claws, incapacitate them
from walking, so that in moving from one place to another
they advance by awkward Laps. They are solitary, or live
in pairs, their kind of food rendering associations injurious.
Their peculiar physiognomy gives them an appearance of gro-
tesque gravity, which men have mistaken for wisdom ; while
their nocturnal habits, and retired and often gloomy haunts,
together with their harsh or uncouth cries, have wrought upon
the imagination until the Owl has become associated with
calamity, desolation, and death. Owls however are generally
very harmless, and often very beneficent creatures. Such of
them as are truly nocturnal, seem bewildered and blinded when
accidentally abroad by day, and are liable to be insulted and
buffeted by other birds. When surprised or irritated. Owls hiss
in the manner of the domestic cat, and click their bills. Some
species have a harsh shrieking cry, and others emit various
sounds, not always disagreeable, which are denoted by the
term hooting.
They nestle in the hollows of trees, in crevices of rocks, in
dark corners in buildings, on lofts in outhouses, in dove-cots,
and sometimes on the ground. The nest is rudely constructed
of twigs and grass ; or sometimes there is none at all ; or the
deserted nest of another bird is adopted. The eggs are gene-
rally roundish, or broadly elliptical, but sometimes oval, always
OWLS. 395
white, and vary from two to five. The young, which are at
first covered W'ith greyish, brownish, or whitish down, remain
long in the nest, and after going abroad are aided for some days
by their parents. When fledged, they generally differ very
little in colour from the old birds ; the older the individual is,
the more simple is its colouring, the dark markings gradually
diminishing in extent, and the tints becoming lighter.
The moult, which is very gradual, commences in summer,
and is completed by the end of autumn. The plumage, owing
to its delicate texture and great elasticity, suffers little from
friction, and its colours are generally little acted on by the wea-
ther. The males are always smaller than the females ; but
the sexes seldom differ in colour.
Some species are in a great measure diurnal, and in aspect
as well as manners approach the Falconine birds. They have
the plumage somewhat more compact, and the aperture of the
ear smaller. The form of their cranium also is very similar to
that of the diurnal Raptores. The larger the conch of the ear,
and the more downy the plumage, the more strictly nocturnal
are the habits. Hence, in arranging the Owls into genera, it
is of importance to attend particularly to the organ of hearing.
Various arrangements, exhibiting various degrees of inge-
nuity, have been proposed. All that I have seen are very de-
fective ; and I have not yet acquired sufficient knowledge
of the subject to frame a satisfactory classification, having
dissected only about fifteen species, and examined the skins of
about double that number. I shall therefore discard criticism
on the present occasion, relinquish the hope of excelling my
predecessors, and confine my efforts to the construction of such
an arrangement of the British Owls as may enable the student
readily to distinguish their species and genera. Let us in the
first place attend to the ear.
In birds generally, and in the Peregrine Falcon in particu-
lar, taking it merely as a convenient example, the external ear,
Fig. 237, «, is of a roundish form, and of moderate size. It pre-
sents a circular thickened margin of skin, a little raised above
the surrounding parts, and having its outer edge beset with slen-
der feathers, of which the anterior are recurved, much longer
396
STRIGlNiE,
than the rest, and capable of covering the aperture. Within
this rim is an irregular cavity, having at its lower part a trans-
verse oblong aperture, the commencement of the passage that
leads to the membrane of the tympanum, on which the im-
pulses of the air impinge. In man and the mammalia this
passage, the meatus auditorius externus, is of considerable
length, but in birds extremely short, sometimes not more than
a twelfth of an inch.
Fig. 23/.
Now, in some Owls, for example the Snowy Owl and the
Hawk Owl, Strix nyctea of Linnseus, and Strix funerea of
Gmelin, the external ear differs from that of Hawks only in
being proportionally much larger. In these birds, it is of an
ellijitical form. Fig. 287, h, and its greatest diameter is not more
than from a third to a half of the height of the skull. In the
Eagle Owl, Strix Bubo of Linnaeus, the external ear is about
half the height of the skull, being an inch or a little more in
length, and nearly of the same form as in the Snowy Owl. In
both cases, it has the margins little elevated, and beset with slen-
der feathers. In several Asiatic species which I have examin-
ed, otherwise allied to the Eagle Owl, I have found the aper-
ture of the ear proportionally much smaller. In our common
Tawny Owl, Strix Aluco, it is of medium size, for that of an owl,
although in fact very large, Fig. 237, c, being more than half
the height of the skull, and has moreover an elevated anterior
semicircular flap or lid. Such an ear, having its margins elevat-
ed in whole or in part, bears some resemblance to the human ex-
ternal ear, which having by anatomists been likened to a shell,
OWLS. 397
is named the conch. In the large-eared Owls then, the external
ear also is called a conch. In our " Long-eared" Owl, Strix
Otus, so called on account of its ear-like tufts of feathers, the
conch is higher than the skull. Fig. 237, c?, for it extends in a
semicircular direction from the base of the lower mandible to
above the middle of the eye, and has anteriorly in its whole length
an elevated opercular margin. Lastly, in the Barn Owl, Strix
flammea, the conch is as long as in the last-mentioned species,
but is thinly covered with feathers, and has not distinctly ele-
vated margins, but is furnished with an anterior operculum,
not extending along more than half its length, Fig. 237, e.
Were generic characters to be derived solely from the conch,
we should have only four genera of Owls : those with a mo-
derately large simple aperture, h ; the head tuftless or tufted, the
tarsi feathered or bare, very short or rather long, the tail very
short, short, or longish ; those with a large aperture, having
an anterior operculum in part of its length, c ; those with an
excessively developed conch, of which the margins are elevat-
ed in their whole length, d ; and lastly, those having an equally
elongated conch, without elevated margins, but with an oper-
culum, e. These genera, being thus well characterized, mio-ht
perhaps suffice ;, but as in other groups we take our characters
from the bill, wings, and feet, it may with justice be said that
we ought to treat the Owls in the same manner.
HY^OPSIS OF THE BRITISH GENERA AND SPECIES.
GENUS I. SYRNIA. DAY-OWL.
Bill very short, strong, with the upper outline decurved
from the base ; nostrils ovate or elliptical, rather laro-e ob-
lique ; conch elliptical, simple, or without operculum its
greatest diameter not more than half the height of the skull •
facial disks incomplete above the eyes ; ruff incomplete
and inconspicuous ; head very large, roundish ; tarsi very
short, feathered ; wings very large, the third quill loncrest
398 STRIGINiE.
the first with the outer filaments thickened but scarcely recurv-
ed at the end.
1. Syrnia funerea. Hawk Day-Owl. Tail long, much
rounded ; upper parts brownish-black, spotted with white,
lower parts barred with brown and white.
2. Syrnia nyctea. Snowy Day-Owl. White, with dark
brown spots on the upper parts, and bars beneath ; toes covered
■with loose-edged shaggy feathers. Young with the dark mark-
ings larger.
S. Syrnia psilodactyla. Bare-toed Day-Owl. Upper parts
wood-brown, spotted with white, lower yellowish- white with
longitudinal brown spots ; toes covered with bristles, between
which the scales are apparent.
GENUS II. SCOPS. OWLET.
Bill short, strong, with the upper outline decurved from the
base ; nostrils roundish, large ; conch elliptical, simple, having
only a slightly elevated fringed margin, its length about a third
of the height of the head ; facial disks incomplete above the
eyes ; ruff inconspicuous and incomplete ; head very large,
roundish, with two elongated tufts ; tarsi of moderate length,
slender, covered with short feathers or half-bare ; wings long,
rounded, with the third quill longest.
1. Scops Aldrovandi. Aldrovandine Owlet. Tufts of about
twelve feathers ; upper parts variegated with grey and brown,
and streaked with brownish black ; lower pale grey.
GENUS III. BUBO. EAGLE-OWL.
Bill short, deep, convex, with the upper outline decurved
from the base ; nostrils roundish or broadly elliptical ; conch
elliptical, simple, fringed, without operculum, its length from
a third to half the height of the skull ; facial disks incomplete
above the eyes ; ruff inconspicuous and incomplete ; head very
large, roundish, with two elongated tufts ; tarsi very short,
strong, densely feathered, as are the toes ; wings with the first
quill short, the fourth longest.
OWLS. 399
1 , Bubo maxinms. Great Eagle-Owl. Tufts of about eighteen
feathers, projecting more than two inches ; upper parts varie-
gated with (lark brown and light reddish-yellow ; lower parts
of the latter colour, with longitudinal blackish-brown spots and
streaks, and numerous transverse undulating lines.
GENUS IV. ULULA. HOOTING-OWL.
Bill short, strong, with its upper outline decurved from the
base ; nostrils large, elliptical or roundish ; conch more than
half the height of the head, extending from the level of the
upper part of the eye to the base of the lower jaw, fringed, and
having anteriorly an elevated semicircular, stiff, operculum,
beset with slender feathers ; facial disks very large and com-
plete ; ruff conspicuous and complete ; head extremely large,
and round ; tarsi very short, and with the toes densely feather-
ed ; wings much rounded, with the fourth quill longest, the
first about the length of the tenth.
1. Ulula Ahico. Tawny Hooting-Owl. Greyish-brown,
mottled and longitudinally streaked with dark brown. Young
birds brownish-red, similarly marked. In all, large white spots
on the wings.
2. Ulula Tengmalmi. Tengmalm's Hooting-Owl. Upper
parts liver-brown spotted with white, lower yellowish- white
with longitudinal brown markings ; tarsi and toes with long soft
downy feathers, which distinguish it from Syrnia psilodactyla,
GENUS V. ASIO. TUFTED OWL.
Bill short, of moderate strength, with its upper outline
slightly decurved from the base ; nostrils large, oblong, ob-
lique ; conch of extreme size, extending from over the middle
of the eye to the base of the lower mandible, of a semilunar sub-
elliptical form, having anteriorly in its whole length an oper-
culum stiffened with long narrow feathers, and posteriorly a
broad membranous fringed membrane ; facial disks very large
and complete ; ruff conspicuous and complete ; head very large,
subtrigonal, witli two small tufts ; tarsi short and with the toes
400 STRIGIN.E.
densely feathered ; wings with the first quill about the length
of the fourth, the second longest,
1. Asio Otiis. Mottled Tufted-Oivl. Tufts of about twelve
feathers, projecting about an inch ; upper parts light reddish-
yellow, spotted and undulated with brown and greyish-white ;
lower parts buff-coloured, less spotted ; the eye half encircled
with dark brown.
2. Asio Bracliyotus. Streaked Tufted Old. Tufts of three
feathers, projecting about half an inch ; upper parts light
reddish-yellow, broadly streaked and barred with brown ; lower
parts with narrow brown streaks ; the eye surrounded with
brownish black ; many of the scapulars and wing-coverts with
a large white spot at the end ; the light bands on the middle
tail-feathers with a brown central patch.
GENUS VI. STRIX. SCREECH-OWL.
Bill rather short, compressed, with the upper outline straight
to the end of the cere, then decurved ; nostrils subovate ; conch
of extreme length, semicircular, extending from over the ante-
rior angle of the eye to the middle of the lower jaw, beset with
filaments, margined with slender feathers, and having a short
truncate operculum stiffened with small feathers ; aperture of
meatus square ; facial disks very large and complete ; ruff con-
spicuous and complete ; head extremely large, somewhat tri-
angular ; but the skull not larger than in the last genus, and
more elongated ; tarsi rather long, covered with short soft
featliers ; toes scaly and bristled ; claw of the third toe with
its thin edge serrate.
1. Strix flammea. European Screech-Owl. Operculum with
the feathers complete (they being in the American species re-
duced to the tube) ; upper parts light reddish-yellow, varie-
gated with ash-grey, and dotted with black and white ; lower
parts white, with small dusky spots.
401
SYRNIA. DAY-OWL.
Commencing the series of Owls with those which in their
structure and habits seem to approach nearest to the Falcons
and Hawks, we find the Snowy Owl, in the comparative small-
ness of its auricular conch, general form, and diurnal habits,
the first in order of our British species. The Hawk-Owl, and
several other species, agree with it in presenting the following
generic characters.
Bill short, strong, compressed toward the end : upper man-
dible with the cere short, the dorsal outline decurved from the
base, the ridge broad and convex, the sides convex toward the
end, the tip trigonal, acute, decurved so as to be nearly perpen-
dicular ; lower mandible straight, with the crura short, the
angle wide and rounded, the dorsal line short and convex, the
edges toward the end sharp, inflected, and decurved, with a
shallow sinus on each side close to the rounded tip.
Mouth very wide ; palate flat, sloping a little upwards at the
sides, with two longitudinal ridges, and entirely covered with
minute papillce ; a prominent ridge toward the mandible. Pos-
terior aperture of the nares broadly elliptical, with an anterior
slit. Tongue short, deeply sagittate and papillate at the base,
nearly flat above with a median groove, its sides nearly parallel,
the tip narrowed, rounded, and slightly emarginate. CEsophagus
wide, without dilatation. Stomach large, roundish ; its mus-
cular coat very thin, being composed of a single series of fasci-
culi ; the epithelium thick, moderately tough, and rugous.
Pylorus very small, with two prominences ; intestine of mode-
rate length, rather wide ; coeca large, oblong, narrowed at the
base ; cloacal dilatation globular and very large.
Nostrils ovate, oblique, in the fore part of the cere, which is
generally tumid behind them. Eyes very large ; eyelids with
broad thin crenate margins, but without distinct cilise. Conch
VOL. in, D D
402 SYRNIA. DAY-OWL.
of the ear simple, elliptical, very large, although comparatively
small, being less than half the height of the head, its slightly
elevated margin fringed with linear feathers.
Head very large, broad, rounded, anteriorly narrow^ed ; neck
short ; body of moderate size, much narrow^ed behind. Legs
rather short, stout ; tibia of moderate length ; tarsus short,
feathered ; toes short, covered with feathers of which the fila-
ments are hair-like, but in some species wanting, the shafts
alone remaining ; all with two scutella at the end, padded and
with flattened papilla; beneath ; the first very short, with much
lateral motion ; the fourth longer, and reversible ; the third
longest, but not much exceeding the second. Claws long,
well curved, tapering, very acute, compressed, rounded above,
slightly convex on the sides, narrow beneath ; the third with a
dilated inner edge.
Plumage very full and soft, somewhat compact above, blended
beneath. Facial disks incomplete above the eyes, their fea-
thers with loose filaments ; the anterior longer, more bristly,
and partially concealing the bill. Ruff incomplete and incon-
spicuous. Feathers in general oblong, rounded ; those of the
abdomen downy, of the legs with soft disunited filaments.
Wings large, broad, rounded ; primary quills broad and
rounded ; the first four sinuate on both webs, more deeply on
the inner ; secondary quills fifteen, broad and rounded. Tail
broad, rounded, of twelve slightly arched, rounded feathers.
The largest species of this genus, Syrnia nyctea, has the
appearance of a very robust bird, although, as usual in this
family, the greater part of its bulk is made up of feathers.
The Hawk-Owl, Strix funerea of Linnreus, is of a more elong-
ated form, but belongs to the same genus. The Little or Pas-
serine Owl, Strix passerina of some, and S. nudipes of others,
seems to me to approximate so nearly in the form and size of
the ear, and in other respects, although its tarsi are longer, and
its toes less feathered, that I think there is little reason for
instituting a new genus for its reception. Strix cunicularia,
which has much longer tarsi, forms the ultimate gradation ;
and yet it does not differ more from Strix funerea, than the
Sparrow Hawk from the Goshawk. Those who unite the
SYRNIA. DAY-OWL.
403
Rough-legged and the Bare-legged Buzzards into one genus,
cannot consistently separate Strix cunicularia from Strix nyctea,
on the ground of some difference in the feathering of the tarsi
and toes.
The birds of this genus inhabit open districts in preference
to such as are densely wooded. They are for the most part con-
fined to the arctic regions during the warmer season, and at the
approach of winter advance a little southward. Being adapted
for a residence in regions where for a great part of the year there
is no night, they are enabled to discover and pursue their prey
during the day ; in which respect they differ from most other
Owls. Their food consists of quadrupeds, birds, fishes, and in-
sects. They nestle in rocks, on trees, or on the ground. Of
the two species which have been met with in Britain, neither
is permanently resident. Another has been procured at some
distance from the coast.
The accompanying figure shews the conch of the Snowy Owl,
of the natural size. The shafts only of its marginal feathers
have been represented.
Fig. 238.
404
SYRNIA FUNEREA. THE HAWK DAY-OWL.
HAWK-OWL. HUDSON'S BAY OWL.
Strix canadensis. Briss. Ornith. T. 518.
Strix funerea. Gmel. Syst. Nat. I. 294.
Sfrix hudsonia. Gmel. Syst. Nat. I. 295.
Chouette Caparacoch. Strix funerea. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 8G.
Tail rather long and much rounded ; toes covered with shaggy
feathers. Upper parts hrownish-hlack, spotted and barred icith
tohite ; lower parts white., narrowly barred with dusky.
This Owl, which in form makes a considerable approxima-
tion to a Falcon, having been met with only once, and that
not in any part of Britain, but on the coast, has truly very
little claim upon our recognition. That individual not being
accessible to me, I shall take my description from North
American specimens.
Male. — The head is very large, roundish, and convex above,
the skull having very much the resemblance of that of a Falcon
or Hawk, but with the superciliary bones subulate and anchy-
losed ; the neck very short ; the body of moderate size. The
bill is short and strong, with the upper mandible having the
dorsal line declinate and decurvate, the sides convex, the edges
nearly straight, the tip decurvate, trigonal, and acute ; the
lower mandible with the angle very wide, the dorsal outline
convex, the ridge broad, the edges a little inflected toward the
end, the tip obtuse. Nostrils roundish ; eyes very large ; aper-
ture of ear broadly elliptical, five twelfths of an inch in length,
and simple. Legs very short, robust ; tarsus very short, and,
with the toes, feathered ; claws long, compressed, well curved,
finely pointed, the third with a dilated thin edge.
Plumage full, very soft, and blended. Cere covered with
slender stiffish reversed feathers ; facial disks incomplete above.
HAWK DAY-OWL. 405
Wings rather long, rounded ; the first quill intermediate be-
tween the fifth and sixth, the third longest, the fourth scarcely
two twelfths shorter ; the outer four having the outer web at-
tenuated ; the first in the greater part of its length, and the
second toward the end, with the filaments thickened, and a
little separated. Tail rather long, much rounded, the lateral
being two inches shorter than the middle feathers.
The bill is pale yellow or yellowish-white, the claws dusky,
the iris pure yellow. The facial disk greyish-white, anteriorly
mixed with black filaments. The upper part of the head and the
hind-neck are brownish-black, the former with numerous round-
ish white spots, of which there are three on each feather, the lat-
ter with two broad longitudinal bands of white spots ; the facial
disk margined behind with blackish-brown. The upper parts
are chocolate-brown, with white spots, which are larger on the
scapulars, and disposed in bars on the rump and upper tail-
coverts. Both webs of the quills, excepting the outer of the
first and second, and the inner of the last five, marked with
transverse elliptical white spots. Tail with about eight bands of
narrow oblong white spots ; the quills and tail-feathers tipped
with white. Throat greyish-white, fore part of neck with a
semicircular band of white, and another of brownish-black ;
the lower parts white, barred with dusky, the bars on the ab-
domen and feet fainter, and on the lower tail-coverts greyish-
brown.
Length to end of tail 15 inches, to end of wings 12 ; wing
from flexure 9f ; tail 7h ; bill along the ridge 1 /^ ; tarsus 1 ;
first toe /j, its claw \% ; second toe ~\, its claw \^ ; third
toe \%^ its claw |§ ; fourth toe i%, its claw {u.
Female. — The female, which is considerably larger, resem-
bles the male, but has the ground colour of the upper parts of
a lighter tint, and the white markings smaller.
Length to end of tail 17 inches ; bill along the ridge 1/^ ;
wing from flexure 10 ; tail 8 ; tarsus 1^^ ; first toe y\, its
claw \l ; third toe {^, its claw \l.
Habits. — This bird inhabits the northern parts of both con-
40S SYRNIA FUNEREA.
tinents, advancing little southward in winter. Dr Richard-
son says, " it is a common species throughout the fur countries
from Hudson's Bay to the Pacific, and is more frequently killed
than any other by the hunters, — which may be partly attri-
buted to its boldness and its habit of flying about by day. In
the summer season it feeds principally on mice and insects;
but in the snow-clad regions which it frequents in the winter,
neither of these are to be procured, and it then preys mostly
on Ptarmigan. It is a constant attendant on the flocks of
Ptarmigan in their spring migrations to the northward. It
builds its nest on a tree, of sticks, grass, and feathers, and lays
two white eggs. When the hunters are shooting grouse, this
bird is occasionally attracted by the report of the gun, and is
often bold enough, on a bird being killed, to pounce down upon
it, though it may be unable from its size to carry it off."
M. Temminck states that it sometimes appears as a bird of
passage in Germany, and more rarely in France, but never in
the southern provinces. Whether the solitary individual met
with off" the southern coast of England, came from America or
the Euro^oean continent, or was a tame bird that had escaped,
can only be conjectured. It was captured, in March 1830, in
an exhausted state, on board a collier ; and an account of this
occurrence was presented to the Zoological Society, in 1835, by
Mr Thompson of Belfast.
Remarks. — My account of the digestive organs of a male of
this species, with figures, will be seen in the fourth volume of
Mr Audubon"'s Ornithological Biography. They differ in no
essential respect from those of the other owls ; the oesophagus
four inches and three-fourths in length, and from ten to eleven
twelfths in width ; the stomach an inch and five twelfths long,
an inch and a twelfth and a half in breadth, its epithelium
very soft and rugous ; the intestine eighteen inches long, from
four twelfths to a twelfth and a half in width ; the rectum two
inches long ; the coeca two inches and a quarter in length ;
and the globular cloaca ten twelfths in diameter.
407
SYRNIA NYCTEA. THE SNOWY DAY-OWL.
SNOWY OWL. HARFANG.
Strix nyctea. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 132.
Strix nyctea. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 57.
Snowy Owl. Mont. Orn, Diet. Suppl.
Chouette Harfang. Strix nyctea. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 82.
Snowy Owl. Syrnia Nyctea. Selb. Illustr. I. 9.5.
Noctua nyctea. Snowy Owl. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 93.
Tail rather long, moderately rounded ; plumage xchite., the
head and hack spotted, the wings, tail, and loicer parts barred
with dusky hroini. Young with larger markings.
Male. — Excepting the Eagle-Ovvl, this is the largest spe-
cies met with in Britain, where however it is of very rare oc-
currence, and has not been found breeding. It is more robust
than any other species of its genus, with a very large round
408 SYRNIA NYCTEA.
head, six inches in breadth including the feathers, short neck,
and strong feet. The bill is stout, with the outline of the up-
per mandible curved from the base, its ridge broad, but toward
the end narrowed, the sides very convex beyond the cere, the
tip acute and decurved ; the lower mandible with the angle
wide, the dorsal line convex, the sides rounded, the edges in-
flected, with a shallow notch on each side, close to the rounded
tip.
The mouth is two inches in width ; the palate and tongue as
described in the generic character ; the latter nearly an inch in
length ; the oesophagus nine inches long, and an inch and a
quarter in width. The stomach large, roundish, two inches in
diameter, with a very thin muscular coat, and a thick, rugous
epithelium ; the intestine forty-two inches long, from five to
three twelfths in width ; the coeca five inches long, half an
inch wide toward the end ; the cloacal dilatation of the rectum
globular, and two inches in diameter. The digestive organs of
another male have been minutely described and figured in the
First Volume, p. 61, PI. V.
The nostrils are ovate, four and a half twelfths long ; the
aperture of the eye eleven twelfths. The external ear is as al-
ready described, an inch in length, and about half as broad.
The tarsus short ; the toes with two distinct scutella at the end ;
the claws long, well curved, slender, tapering to a fine point ;
the first and fourth rounded beneath, the second flattened, the
third convex, but with an inner sharp edge.
On the face the feathers are long and slender, with disunited
filaments, and the bill is nearly concealed by them. The facial
disks are incomplete, not extending above the eye, the feathers
there being short ; and the ruff" occupies only a small space on
each side. On the upper parts, the feathers are broad, rounded,
and somewhat compact ; on the lower ovato-oblong and softer.
The wings are long, broad, rounded ; the primary quills broad
and rounded ; the outer four deeply sinuate on the inner web, and
slightly narrowed on the outer ; the first shorter than the fifth,
an inch and a half shorter than the second, and having the tips
of its outer filaments free and recurved ; the third longest, be-
ing a quarter of an inch longer than the second, and two-
SNOWY DAY-OWL. 409
twelfths loDger than the fourth ; the secondary quills broad
and rounded. The tail is rather long, moderately rounded,
and exceeds the closed wings about an inch and a half.
The bill and claws are black ; the inside of the mouth deep
flesh-colour, the tongue paler, the iris pure yellow, the thin
edges of the eyelids blackish-brown. The general colour of
the plumage is pure white ; the upper part of the head, and
the back spotted with dark brown, the scapulars and wing-
coverts having two transverse spots toward the end ; the quills
and tail-feathers are banded, and the breast and sides narrowly
barred, with the same. To speak more particularly: — The
forehead, fore-neck, part of the breast, lower wing-coverts, ab-
domen, and lower tail-coverts are white- The rest of the lower
parts are transversely barred with blackish-brown, the bars
varying in breadth from one to two twelfths, and placed at in-
tervals of about half an inch. The feathers on the upper part
of the head are tipped with brown, on part of the hind-neck
without markings ; the rest of the upper parts banded ; the
quills banded on both webs, as are the tail-feathers, except the
outer, the rest having toward the end a number varying from
one to four.
Length to end of tail 28 inches, to end of wings 21^ ; extent
of wings 56 ; wing from flexure 171 ; tail 9? ; bill along the
ridge 1^%, along the edge of lower mandible 2; tarsus 2^^ ;
first toe j%, its claw 1^% ; second toe 1^'^, its claw lj\ ; third
toe lij^i its claw li% ; fourth toe ^"g, its claw lj\.
Female. — The female greatly exceeds the male, but in co-
lour differs only in having the dark markings larger.
Length to end of tail 26 inches, to end of wings 24 ; extent
of wings 65; wing from flexure 18; tail 9f ; bill along the
ridge 2 ; tarsus 2^ ; first toe j%, its claw 1 ^ g ; second toe 1/^,
its claw 1 j^*2 ; third toe 1/g, its claw lj\ ; fourth toe j%, its
claw l/g.
Variations. — Some individuals are almost entirely white,
the spots on the head and back being very small, and those on
the wings and tail almost obliterated. Others have the mark-
4J0 SYRNIA NYCTEA.
ings large, and the bars on the lower parts distinct. But I atn
not aware of any other differences in adults, excepting the tint
of the markings, which varies from light to dark brown. The
bands on the middle tail-feathers are sometimes continuous or
direct across both webs, and sometimes alternate.
Habits. — It appears that the only part of Britain which can
lay claim to this species as a permanent inhabitant, is Shet-
land, where, however, it is not numerous, although several
specimens have been obtained. It has also been more than
once procured in Orkney. In the spring of 1833, after a severe
gale from the north, an individual was wounded and caught
on the Culbin Sands, near the mouth of the river Findhorn,
my authority for which fact is the Rev. Mv Gordon of Birnie.
Mr Selby states that in the latter part of January 1833, during
a severe snow-storm, two individuals, a male and a female,
were killed near Rothbury in Northumberland. JMr Denny
states that on the 13th of February 1836, a male was shot
three miles below Selby-on-the-Moor, in Yorkshire. It is re-
markable that no instances are recorded of its having been met
with on our western coasts, although specimens have been ob-
tained in various parts of Ireland.
As a British species, the Snowy Owl was first described in
1812, by Mr Bullock, who met with it in the course of a tour
through Orkney and Shetland. But, as will presently be seen,
it had previously been found by Dr Laurence Edmondston, of
Shetland, who in 1822 published a detailed account of its
habits in the Transactions of the Wernerian Society of Edin-
burgh. That gentleman being the only person who has re-
corded observations made upon it in this country, an extract
from his paper cannot fail to be interesting.
" Its form and manner are highly elegant ; its flight less
buoyant, and more rapid, than that of the other owls ; and the
superior boldness and activit}^ of its disposition, the uncommon
size of its talons, and vigour of its limbs, secure it against dan-
ger from feathered enemies. It affects solitary, stony, and ele-
vated districts, which, by the similarity to it in colour of the
rocks, render it diflicult to be discovered, and by the inequali-
SNOWY DAY-OWL. 411
ties of their surface afford it shelter from the rays of the sun ;
but on the approach of twilight, it may be seen perching on the
exposed eminences. It then quits its haunts, and frequents the
cultivated fields, prowling over the low grounds in quest of
mice and small birds. When first observed to leave its retreat,
it is frequently assailed by crows and other birds ; but it re-
ceives their attacks rather as an amusement than an annoy-
ance, and dashes through the air despising their hostility.
It preys chiefly on sandpipers, on which it pounces with pre-
cision and agility as it skims along the marshes. The speci-
men given to Mr Bullock's museum had an entire one in its
stomach when I shot it ; and a mouse perfectly whole was
taken from that of the present specimen. I may here remark,
that the stomach appears to be peculiarly small, and less mem-
branous than what occurs in other carnivorous birds, and the
food seems to be swallowed entire ; indeed, its bill being fea-
thered to its point, renders this almost necessary."
With regard to the stomach I must here offer a few remarks.
I have carefully examined the digestive organs of several indi-
viduals, and have described and figured those of one in my
First Volume, p. 62, PI. V. In it the stomach was not small,
nor more muscular than that of the Eagle-Owl ; but its inner
coat or epithelium was thick and very rugous ; which I think
often happens in birds kept in confinement, as was the case with
this. Another individual was preserved in spirits. My de-
scription of its digestive organs, in the fifth volume of Mr Au-
dubon's Ornithological Biography, contains the following pas-
sage relative to the part in question. " The stomach is large,
roundish, two inches two-twelfths in length, two inches one-
twelfth in breadth, its muscular coat very thin, being com-
posed of a single series of fasciculi; the inner coat thick,
moderately tough, and rugous." Again, the feathers about the
bill do not render it necessary that its prey should be swallowed
entire ; and observations made in America on wild birds, and
at Dr NeilPs on a captive, shew that the Snowy Owl can tear
its prey into morsels as readily as an Eagle or a Hawk. These
circumstances I mention because ornithology requires to bo
purified of erroneous facts and inferences.
412 SYRNIA NYCTEA.
I have recently been favoured by Dr EJmondston with
the following notice respecting this beautiful bird : — " The
first time I saw it was in 1808. An individual had been
shot by a lad who hung it up as a scarecrow. At that period
I knew nothing of book ornithology, or of animals, farther
than might be expected of a boy passionately devoted to the
observation of their habits and distinctions. The next oppor-
tunity of seeing one was in the spring of 1812, and when I
had enjoyed the privilege of a little acquaintance with the
High Priest of Natural History, Linnaeus. A few days after I
succeeded in shooting the individual, the skin of which I pre-
sented, about a month or two afterwards, to my friend Mr
Bullock, who was then on a visit here collecting materials for
his beautiful museum in London. He had seen the bird in
Orkney in July 1812, but this was the first specimen he had
obtained, and it was the first recorded instance of one beinff
killed in Britain. It continued to be exhibited in his collec-
tion till its dispersion. At the same time I communicated to
him the facts and observations I had collected resjarding the
species, and which I afterwards published in the Memoirs of
the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh ; and in this manner
were the claims of the Kat-yogl to British citizenship first ad-
vanced.
" I have always doubted whether it bred here. Presump-
tions were in favour of the affirmative, but actual proof was
wanting. I have been lately informed that its nest was found
two years ago, in August, in a low rocky ledge not far from
here. The young, three in number, fully fledged, were of a
brown colour, sprinkled with grey. If it migrate at all, it is
in winter, though even during that season I have met with it.
I have seen it many times and in different localities, but I
never saw one in that state of plumage which I am led to think
is that of the young. The predominant colour of all was white,
a little more or less dotted with brown, hardly ever more so,
I think, than the specimen given to the Edinburgh Museum
alluded to by you in your ' Rapacious Birds.' The females
are much larger than the males, and less white in the plumage.
"It is not a common or easily discovered bird ; but I do not
SNOWY DAY-OWL. 413
recollect a year or season, when attentively looking out for it,
and familiar as I am with its habits and favourite haunts, in
which I have failed to discover it. It is by no means shy, and
there is little difficulty in approaching it within near shot, until
it has been fired it, or otherwise alarmed. It is easily ren-
dered familiar, if I may judge by observations made on indi-
viduals wounded and kept confined ; and its disposition appears
gentle and intelligent. I should be apt to call it an amiable
owl. It is viewed as a bird of evil augury, and to this super-
stitious fear which it inspires it has no doubt often been in-
debted for its protection.
" Whatever ornithologists may assert of its habits in America,
it does not prey by day in Shetland, nor, so far as I know, in
other parts of Europe where it is found. Perhaps the freer
republican institutions of the New World afford more scope
for its enlightened rapacious propensities than do the disciplined
habits, dull despotism, and dense population of the Old, and
thus transform the bird of Minerva into that of Jove, staring
even Phoebus out of countenance."
The Snowy Owl occurs in the northern parts of the conti-
nent of Europe, whence it migrates southward at the approach
of winter. It is equally an inhabitant of North America,
where it appears to be more abundant ; and as its habits have
been observed there by Mr Audubon and Dr Richardson, it
may be proper to present an extract from the writings of each
of these celebrated naturalists. The former writes thus : —
" The Snowy Owl hunts during the day, as well as in the
dusk. Its flight is firm and protracted, although smooth and
noiseless. It passes swiftly over its hunting ground, seizes its
prey by instantaneously falling on it, and generally devours it
on the spot. When the objects of its pursuit are on wing, such
as ducks, grouse, or pigeons, it gains upon them by urging its
speed, and strikes them somewhat in the manner of the Pere-
grine Falcon. It is fond of the neighbourhood of rivers and
small streams, having in their course cataracts or shallow rapids,
on the borders of which it seizes on fishes, in the manner of
our wild cat. It also watches the traps set for musk-rats, and
devours the animals caught in them. Its usual food while it
414 SYIINIA NVCTEA,
remains with us, consists of hares, squiiTels, rats, and fishes,
portions of all of which I have found in its stomach. In several
fine specimens which I examined immediately after being
killed, I found the stomach to be extremely thin, soft, and ca-
pable of great extension. In one of them I found the whole of
a large house-rat, in pieces of considerable size, the head and
the tail almost entire."
Dr Richardson also informs us that it hunts by day, and
remarks that unless it could do so, it would be unfit to pass
the summer within the arctic circle, where at that season
there is no night. " When seen on the barren grounds, it was
generally squatting on the earth, and, if put up, it alighted
again after a short flight, but was always so wary as to be ap-
proached with great difnculty. In the woody districts it shews
less caution ; and, according to Hearne, has been known to
watch the grouse -shooters a whole day, for the purpose of
sharing in the spoil. On such occasions it perches on a high
tree, and, when a bird is shot, skims down and carries it off
before the sportsman can get near it. It preys on lemmings,
hares, and birds, particularly the willow-grouse and ptarmi-
gan. I have seen it pursue the American hare on the wing,
making repeated strokes at the animal with its foot ; but on
that occasion, through the intervention of an Indian, it was
driven from its quarry."
In a state of captivity this bird is found to be gentle, and at
first very timid. One which Dr Neill kept for some months,
and vsdiich was procured in Sanda, one of the Orkney Islands,
in April 1835, I had opportunities of observing. On a level
surface, it stood with the body much inclined, the head raised,
the wings hanging loosely along the sides, one generally having
the tip placed over that of the other. On a perch it secured
itself by directing the outer toe backwards, and inserting the
tips of all the claws. It was easily alarmed, or irritated, and
then raised its head, opened its mouth wide, hissed exactly
in the manner of a cat, and at times clicked its mandibles.
Occasionally when displeased, it uttered a sharp low cry, some-
what resembling the syllable quee quickly repeated. Ldid not
see it until the winter, when its plumage was marked in the
SNOWY DAY -OWL. 415
manner usually considered as indicative of youth ; but it had
moulted in the previous autumn, and when procured had the
markings still larger. It died in the beginning of April, when
its body having been sent to me by Dr Neill, I had an oppor-
tunity, for the first time, of examining the interior of a Snowy
Owl. As already mentioned, its digestive organs have been
described and figured in my First Volume.
An individual kept by Mr MaccuUoch of Pictou, was at first
very timid, and ultimately very gentle. Of three young birds
reared from the nest, as mentioned by Mr Thompson, two were
wild, sometimes fasting for one or two days, though food was
within reach, while the other, a female, was somewhat playful
and quite familiar even with strangers. These birds were not
affected by bright sunshine, and were capable of observing birds
passing at a great height in the air.
M. Temminck states that the Snowy Owl " nestles in steep
rocks, or on the old pines of the frozen regions ; and lays two
eggs," which, according to M. Vieillot, are marked with black
spots, but, according to other naturalists, of a pure white. Dr
Richardson says that in the northern regions of America it
" makes its nest on the ground, and lays three or four white
eggs, of which two only are in general hatched."
Young. — According to M. Temminck, the young are at first
" covered with a brown down, and their first feathers are also
of a light brown." Dr Edmondston, it has been seen above,
was informed that three young birds " of a brown colour
sprinkled with grey" had been seen in Shetland. Mr Audu-
bon says " I have shot specimens which were, as I thought,
so young as to be nearly of a uniform light brown tint, and
which puzzled me for several years, as I had at first conceived
them to be of a difierent species. This indeed led me to think
that, when young, these birds are brown." Afterwards how-
ever he declares that the young are " pure white." The truth
appears to be that from personal observation no ornithologist
can say whether they be pure white or pure scarlet. Mr
Thompson however has thrown some light on the subject. In
the Annals of Natural History, Vol. I, p. 242, he states that his
416 SYRNIA NYCTEA.
friend Mr Langtry received in October three Snowy Owls which
had been taken in the previous month of August, from a nest
on the coast of Labrador, at which time they were covered
only with down.
" On arrival, when they were in good condition, the birds
under consideration were as follows : — One much smaller than
the others, and presumed to be a male, was considerably whiter
than the specimen shot in a wild state (which was white, with
the upper parts spotted and barred, and the breast and sides
finely and distantly undulated with brownish-black), but dis-
played two markings which it does not possess ; the back of the
head where it joins the body being blackish-brown, and another
patch of this colour on the body just before the carpal joint of
the wing. The supposed females, which are much larger than
the last mentioned, differ exceedingly from it in markings.
They have the facial plumage, or that within the disk, the
throat, body beneath the wings, under surface of the latter, and
the legs and toes pure white. The plumage of the head from
the disk posteriorly, back, upper side of wings, and whole
under plumage between the folded wings, presents as much of
a blackish-brown colour as of white, the former being disposed
in the same manner as described in the specimen above alluded
to ; but the bars and other dark markings are so broad as to
occupy equal space with the white or ground colour."
Progress toward Maturity. — According to Mr Audubon
and Dr Richardson, the brown spots and bars on the plumage
gradually contract as the bird advances in age. Those indi-
viduals which are almost entirely white are therefore sup-
posed to be very old ; and this change is in analogy with that
undergone by the Jer Falcon.
417
SYRNIA PSILODACTYLA. THE BARE-TOED
DAY-OWL.
LITTLE OWL. PASSERINE OWL.
Chouette Chev^che. Strix passerina. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 92. Ill, 49.
Little Owl. Noctua nudipes. Gould. Birds of Europe.
Little Night-Owl. Strix passerina. Aud. Orn. Biogr. V. 269.
Little Night-Owl. Noctua passerina. Selb. lUustr. 107.
Noctua passerina. Little Owl. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 94.
Toes covered with sha/t-bristles, between which the scales are
apparent ; upper par'ts brown, the head with linear-oblong, the
neck, bach, and wings with roundish, the tail with four bands
of transverse, white spots ; lower parts yellowish-white, with lon-
gitudinal brown spots.
Male. — This species, which has frequently been confound-
ed with another of smaller size, and having the toes densely
feathered, may be compared to the Jay in bulk, although
greatly inferior in weight, and differently proportioned. It has
more of the appearance of an Ulula or Hooting-Owl than of
a Syrnia or Hawk-Owl. Its ear however corresponds with
that of the latter genus, and if its tarsi are a little longer, and
less feathered than in it, the difference seems to be of little
importance. It is at once distinguishable by having the toes
covered with bristles only, from all our Owls, excepting the
Screech-Owl, which otherwise has little resemblance to it,
and the Scops Owlet, which has tufts on the head.
The head is very large, the neck short, the wings of mode-
rate length, the tail small, the tarsi short, and the toes stout.
The upper mandible has its outline curved from the base, the
sides convex toward the end, the edges direct, the tip decurv-
ed and acute ; the lower mandible has the angle wide, the
dorsal line convex, the edges toward the end inflected and de-
VOL. III. E E
4]8 SYRNIA PSILODACTYLA.
curved, with a sinus on each side close to the abruptly round-
ed tip. The cere is rather short, and bare above ; the nostrils
roundish, each in the fore part of a remarkable bulge. The
conch is of an elliptical form, five twelfths of an inch long,
simple, and fringed. The tarsi are moderately stout, and co-
vered with downy feathers ; but the toes with adpressed bris-
tles, allowing the obscurely defined transverse series of scales
to be seen, each moreover having two terminal scutella. The
claws are long, stout, tapering, very acute, and little curved ;
the first and fourth smaller and rounded beneath, the second
flattened but narrow, the third with a thin inner edge.
The facial disk is incomplete, the feathers over the eye being
of the ordinaiy kind, and even its lower part not entirely radi-
ant, for its posterior portion has much of the usual texture of
ear-coverts. The bristle-tipped plumelets at the base of the
bill are long. The ruif is very inconspicuous and incomplete,
the feathers being merely a little more curved than the rest.
The plumage is very soft, on the lower parts downy, the fea-
thers generally ovato-oblong. The wings are long and round-
ed ; the outer four sinuate on the inner web, and narrowed on
the outer, the first with the tips of the filaments slightly re-
curved, the third longest, the fourth scarcely shorter, the se-
cond a little longer than the fifth, the first shorter than the
sixth. The tail is short, nearly even, somewhat arched, and
rather narrow.
The bill is greyish-yellow, somewhat dusky toward the base ;
the claws yellowish-brown, with the tips dusky. The general
colour of the upper parts is umber-brown, tinged with grey.
On the upper part of the head are numerous linear-oblong
white spots, there being one along the middle of each feather ;
on the hind-neck the spots are large and roundish or irregular ;
on the back and scapulars most of the feathers have two round-
ish spots ; the wing coverts one. All the quills have marginal
whitish spots, those on the outer webs being triangular, on the
inner transversely oblong. The tail is marked with four bands
of narrow transverse spots. The anterior feathers of the disk
are whitish, with dusky shafts, the lower whitish, barred and
tipped with greyish-brown, the posterior brown tipped with
BARE-TOED DAY-OWL. 419
white. The throat is white, and a band of that colour curves
upward on each side to the ear ; on the fore-neck is a brownish
belt, and beneath it a white space ; the general colour of the
rest of the lower parts is yellowish- white, each feather with
a broad longitudinal band of brown ; the abdominal and sub-
caudal feathers unspotted ; the tarsal yellowish, with some faint
brown spots externally.
Length to end of tail 10^ inches, to end of wings 10; wing
from flexure 61 ; tail 3; bill along the ridge ^§, along the
edge of lower mandible j% ; tarsus 1 5 ; first toe j% , its claw
1% ; second toe j%, its claw j''^ ; third toe j^, its claw |*g ;
fourth toe i\, its claw j^.
Female. — The female resembles the male in colour, but is
considerably larger. I have not however examined a sufficient
number of specimens to be able to speak decidedly on this
subject.
Variations. — In the few individuals which I have seen,
there was considerable difference in the feathering of the tarsus,
that part being in one feathered to the toes, but in another hav-
ing its lower third as bare as the latter organs, that is, covered
only with shafts. Similar differences I have seen in the Bur-
rowing Owl of North America, the tarsal feathers becoming
by being worn reduced to the shafts. The tint of the upper
parts varies from umber-brown to wood-brown, becoming
lighter toward the period of renewal.
Habits. — This Owl is of very rare occurrence in Britain, al-
though instances are mentioned of its having been met with
from Devonshire to Northumberland. It is said by M. Tem-
minck to be found in almost all the countries of Europe, in
places where there . are old houses or deserted towers, and to
be common in Holland and Germany, but not to extend north-
ward beyond the 55th degree of latitude. Not having seen it
alive, or met with a recent specimen, I cannot speak of its
manners or internal structure. The former are described as
similar to those of the smaller owls in general. It feeds
420 SYRNIA PSILODACTYLA.
on mice, small birds, and insects ; frequents old buildings,
towers, and churches, where it also nestles, laying two eggs,
on which the male sits alternately with the female. Accord-
ing to some, it is nocturnal, and may easily be captured, on
discovering its retreat, by placing a bag-net over its hole. In
captivity, it thrives pretty well, and it is often exposed for sale
on the Continent. This species not having been clearly 'dis-
tinguished by many authors from Strix Tengmalmi, it is not
expedient to venture upon many remarks respecting it. I shall
therefore conclude with an abridged extract from M. Valmont-
Bomare. Its ordinary cry, which it repeats when flying, is
poupou, poupou ; but when settled it emits a louder and sharper
cry, so distinct that one might take it for a person calling out
aime, heme, esme. M, Buffon says that one of his people was
so deceived by the cry of one at night, that he went to the
window, and called out, " Who is down there ? My name is
not Edme but Peter." It is not entirely nocturnal, but flies
during the day much better than any of the other owls, and
often pursues swallows and other small birds, although seldom
with success. It succeeds better with mice and young rats,
which it tears to pieces with its bill and claws. It also plucks
birds very neatly before eating them, whereas most other owls
swallow feathers and all. It lays five eggs, M^hich are spotted
with white and yellowish.
421
SCOPS. OWLET.
The genus Scops is composed of several small Owls, of which
the more remarkable characters indicate a station intermediate
between the genera Syrnia and Bubo. They have the small
and simple conch of both, but differ from the former in gene-
rally having elongated tufts on the head, and from the latter
in having the wings longer, the tarsi more slender, and the
toes more or less bare.
Bill short, stout, compressed toward the end : upper mandi-
ble with the dorsal line curved from the base, its sides slightly
convex, the edges anteriorly sharp, the tip prolonged, acute,
and decurved ; lower mandible with the angle wide, the dorsal
line convex, the edges decurved, with a slight notch on each
side, close to the rounded tip.
Nostrils roundish. Eyelids with broad thin crenate margins,
and without distinct ciliary fringes, although feathered. Conch
elliptical, simple, about a third of the height of the head.
Head very large, roundish ; neck short ; body slender. Legs
rather short; tarsi slender, feathered ; toes short, bare, reticu-
late, at the end scutellate ; claws long, slightly curved, taper-
ing, compressed, acute, narrow beneath, but that of the third
toe with a thin inner edge.
Plumage full and soft, on the upper parts somewhat com-
pact. Facial disks incomplete above the eyes ; ruff incon-
spicuous and incomplete. Feathers generally ovato-oblong ;
those of the abdomen downy, of the tibi?e siliiy, of the tarsi
short, and somewhat dense. Wings long, with the third quill
longest. Tail rather short, slightly rounded, of twelve some-
what arched feathers. Some of the species, as Strix portori-
censis, are destitute of tufts on the head.
422
SCOPS ALDROVANDI. THE ALDROVANDINE
OWLET.
SCOPS EARED OWL. LITTLE HORNED OWL.
Strix Scops. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 129.
Strix Scops. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 56.
Little Horned Owl. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Hibou Scops. Strix Scops. Temm. Man. d'Orn. 103.
Scops-eared Owl. Scops Aldrovandi. Selb. Illustr. L 92.
Bubo Scops. Scops-eared Owl. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 91.
Head with tufts of about twelve feathers ; plumage light grey
variegated with brown, and marhed with longitudinal brownish-
black lines and transverse undulations ; le^igth about eight inches.
This pretty little Owl being of very rare occurrence in Britain,
I have never met with it alive, nor even examined a fresh spe-
cimen, so that the following description is necessarily taken
from preserved individuals, of which the sex had not been per-
haps accurately determined.
Male. — The general form is not materially different from
that of the Great Eagle-Owl, although the wings and tarsi are
ALDROVANDINE OWLET. 423
longer. The head is very large, broad, and rounded, the bill
short, stout, compressed toward the end, with the upper out-
line decurved, the lower convex, the cere of moderate length,
the tip of the upper mandible acute, that of the lower round-
ed. The tarsi are of moderate length, and covered with short
rather compact feathers ; the toes bare, each with four terminal
scutella ; the claws slightly curved, compressed, very acute.
The conch of the ear elliptical, four twelfths of an inch long.
The nostrils roundish and large.
The plumage is full, on the upper parts more compact than
in any other British Owl ; the feathers generally ovato-oblong
and obtuse, on the sides and tibiae very long and downy. The
facial disks are discontinued over the eyes, and the ruff is short
and inconspicuous. On each side of the head, over and behind
the eye, is a large tuft of about twelve feathers. The wings
are very long ; the third quill longest, the second scarcely
shorter, the first nearly as long as the sixth. The tail is rather
short, slightly arched, and somewhat rounded.
The bill is black ; the claws whitish at the base, dusky at
the end. The general colour of the plumage is light grey, the
fore part of the back tinged with reddish-brown, all the feathers
with a central brownish-black line, and transverse minute un-
dulations of the same colour. On the outer scapulars is a large
whitish spot near the end ; the quills are banded and undulat-
ed with greyish-brown and greyish-w^hite, the primaries having
conspicuous white spots between the brown bands on the outer
web ; the tail similarly marked. The facial disks minutely
dotted with brown ; the lower parts greyish -white, undulated
with brown, and longitudinally streaked with dusky; the tarsal
feathers brownish-grey, with a median dark line.
Length to end of tail 7^ inches ; wing from flexure 6j ;
tail 3^ ; bill along the ridge j% ; tarsus 1 ; hind toe j^^, its
claw ^^1 ; second toe j''^, its claw j^^ ; third toe i%, its claw j^^ ;
fourth toe jij, its claw ^ ^.
Female. — The female is somewhat larger than the male, and
has more brown on the upper parts, but is otherwise similar.
424 SCOPS ALDROVANDI.
Length to end of tail 85 inches ; wing from flexure 6| ;
tail Sj's ; bill along the ridge f ; tarsus 1 ; hind toe ^3, its
claw J I ; third toe Z^, its claw y|.
Habits. — This species was introduced into the British Fauna
by Montagu, " upon the undoubted authority of Mr Foljambe,
of Osberton, an accurate ornithologist,"" who had in his collec-
tion a specimen shot in Yorkshire, and, besides being aware
of another in that of Mr Fothergill, of York, had heard of
others that had been seen in the same county. Since that
time, several individuals are recorded as having been obtained
in various parts of England, where however the species is of
very rare occurrence, and supposed to be merely migratory.
It is said not to extend to the northern parts of the Continent,
but to be not uncommon in the southern portions of Germany
and in France, to become plentiful in the countries bordering
on the Mediterranean, and to occur in Africa, as well as in
Asia. Authors state that it feeds on mice and large insects,
is of nocturnal habits, nestles in the fissures of rocks or in ca-
vities in decayed trees, and lays from two to four roundish
white eggs. Mr Spence, the celebrated entomologist, informs
us, in the Magazine of Natural History, that in summer it is
very common in Italy, where it is remarked for constantly re-
peating its plaintive and monotonous cry of keiL\ Jcew, at regu-
lar intervals of about two seconds all night long. In that
country it feeds wholly on beetles, grasshoppers, and other in-
sects, and takes its departure when the cold season approaches,
in order to pass the winter in Africa and southern Asia.
425
BUBO. EAGLE-OWL.
The Eagle-Owls are perhai^s not generically well distin-
guished from those of the genus last described, with which
they agree in most particulars, differing however in their large
size, short and stout tarsi, and comparatively shorter and more
rounded wings.
Bill short, robust, compressed toward the end ; upper man-
dible with the cere large, the dorsal outline decurved from the
base, the ridge broad and convex, towards the end narrowed,
the sides convex and nearly erect beyond the cere, the tip sub-
trigonal, acute, decurved so as to be nearly perpendicular ;
lower mandible straight, with the crura short, the angle wide
and rounded, the dorsal line short and slightly convex, the
edges toward the end sharp and inflected, ultimately decurved,
■with a distinct sinus on each side close to the abrupt tip.
Mouth very wide ; palate flat, sloping upwards at the sides,
with two longitudinal papillate ridges, between which are nu-
merous small reversed papillae, and a median ridge toward the
mandible. Posterior aperture of the nares short, elliptical,
with an anterior slit. Tongue short, oblong, sagittate and
papillate at the base, its upper surface with a median longi-
tudinal groove, the sides nearly parallel, the tip rounded, and
retuse. (Esophagus very wide, without dilatation ; proven-
triculus studded with cylindrical glandules, and dilated below.
Stomach large, roundish ; its muscular coat very thin, being
composed of a single series of fasciculi ; the central tendons
small and thin ; the inner surface smooth and soft. Pylorus
very small, without valvular prominences. Intestine of mode-
rate length, rather wide ; coeca large, oblong, narrowed at the
base ; cloacal dilatation globular and very large. Plate XXI,
Fig. 4.
Nostrils roundish or elliptical, oblique, in the fore part of
426 "BUBO. EAGLE-OWL.
the cere. Eyes extremely large, fixed, oblique ; eyelids with
broad thin crenate margins, and ciliary fringes of short dis-
tantly barbed feathers, the upper eyelid much larger. Conch
of the ear simple, elliptical, very large, being from a third to
half the height of the skull, its slightly elevated margin fringed
with slender feathers. Fig. 242.
Head very large, broad, somewhat flattened above, anteriorly
narrowed ; neck short ; body short, stout, of greater depth
than breadth, much narrowed behind. Legs rather short,
stout ; tibia of moderate length ; tarsus short, rounded, closely
feathered ; toes short, strong, covered with short close feathers ;
all with two scutella at the end, padded and with conical pa-
pillae beneath ; the first very short, with much lateral motion ;
the fourth longer, and reversible so as to be placed at a right
angle to the third, which is considerably longer than the second.
Claws long, well-curved, tapering, very acute, rounded above,
convex on the sides, narrow beneath ; the third with a dilated
inner edge.
Plumage very full and soft, somewhat firm above, but blend-
ed. Facial disks incomplete above the eyes, their feathers
oblong, with loose filaments, the anterior longer, stiffer, and
partially concealing the bill. Ruff" incomplete and inconspi-
cuous. Feathers in general oblong and rounded ; those of the
thorax and abdomen downy, but covered by two large bunches
arising on the sides and fore part of the thorax. Wings long,
very broad, much rounded ; primary quills broad and rounded ;
the first three sinuate on the inner web, the first four with the
outer web slightly cut out ; the third quill longest ; secon-
dary quills about fifteen, very broad, and rounded. Tail of
moderate length, broad, rounded, of twelve slightly arched,
rounded feathers.
The birds of this genus are among the largest that occur in
the family of Striginas, presenting in this respect some vague
analogy to the Eagles among the Falconinse. Some of the
smaller bear a great resemblance to the species of the genus
Asio, which are equally furnished with tufts on the head, but
are readily distinguished by the different form and much larger
dimensions of their conch. They prey on quadrupeds and
BUBO. EAGLE-OWL.
427
birds, are not entirely nocturnal in their habits, reside in
wooded regions, and nestle in trees, on rocks, or on the ground.
Some individuals of a single species have been obtained in
Britain ; but it does not appear probable that at the present
day any permanently reside there.
The accompanying figure represents, of the natural size, as
taken from a recent specimen, the external ear of the Great
Eagle-Owl, The aperture of the ear, properly so called, or
the entrance of the meatus auditorius externus, is of small
size, and of an elliptical form. There is no operculum, but
the margin is thickened all round, and beset with feathers, of
which the shafts only have been represented.
428
BUBO MAXIMUS. THE GREAT EAGLE-OWL.
GREAT HORNED OWL. GREAT EARED-OWL. GREA.TOWL. ATIIEMLVN OWL,
GRAND DUKE AND DUCHESS.
Strix Bubo. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 131.
Strix Bubo. Lath. Ind. Orn. L 51,
Great Eared Owl. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Hibou Grand-Due. Strix Bubo. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 100.
Great-Horned or Eagle-Ovvl. Bubo maximus. Selb. Illustr. L 82.
Bubo maximus. Eagle-Owl. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 90.
Tufts of about eighteen feathers, projecting more than two inches
heyond the plumage of the head ; upper parts variegated with
dark hroton and light reddish-yellow ; lower parts of the latter
colour, with longitudinal hlachish-brown spots and streaks, and
GREAT EAGLE-OWL. 429
numerous transverse undulating lines; facial disks greyish-hrown,
obscurely barred ; throat with a patch of ivhite ; bill and clau's
blach toward the end^ greyish-blue at the base.
Male. — The Great Eagle-Owl is the largest species of this
family that occurs in Britain, where however it is very seldom
met with, insomuch that I am obliged to have recourse to
foreign specimens for description. An individual from Norway
presents the following characters.
The body is robust, although, as usual, the feathers form the
greater part of its bulk; the neck short; the head very large, flat-
tened above, narrowed anteriorly. The bill is short, very robust,
considerably compressed ; the cere rather large, and nearly bare,
although concealed by the feathers in the neighbourhood. The
upper mandible has the dorsal outline decurved from the base,
the ridge broad on the cere, and convex in its whole length, as
are the sides toward the end, the edges soft and straight as far
as the middle, then sharp, arched, with a faint lobe, the tip
very strong, decurved, and acute ; the lower mandible with the
back and sides convex, the edges inflected toward the end, with
a distinct notch on each side close to the rounded tip.
The nostrils are large, broadly elliptical, oblique, divided by
a soft projecting ridge, their greatest diameter four twelfths of
an inch. The eyes extremely large, fixed, and obliquely placed.
Conch more than half the height of the skull, elliptical, an inch
in length. The tibia is rather short ; the tarsus short, robust,
and with the toes feathered. The first toe very short, the se-
cond considerably longer than the fourth, and in about the
same degree exceeded by the third ; the two latter connected
by a short web ; all with three terminal scutella, and their
lower surface padded and papillate. The claws are very long,
curved in the third of a circle, the first in a semicircle, taper-
ing, convex above and on the sides, with a groove beneath, ex-
cepting the third which is broader, with a dilated inner edge.
The plumage is very full, soft, blended, and elastic. The
facial disks extend round two thirds of the eye, leaving the up-
per part covered with shorter feathers ; those at the base of
the cere are linear, with strong shafts and bristly filaments.
430 BUBO MAXIM US.
The eyelids are fringed with short feathers having disunited
filaments. The ruff extends from a little above the ear to the
chin, and is formed of oblong, slightly curved feathers. Over
and above the eye, on each side is a double series of elongated
feathers, of which there are nine in each row, the longest pro-
jecting upwards of two inches beyond the rest of the plumage.
On the upper parts, the feathers are oblong and rounded ; on
the throat downy, on the fore-neck ovato-oblong, on the upper
part and sides of the thorax elongated, oblong, rather pointed,
and covering those of the thorax and abdomen, which are
downy. On the outer side of the tibia is a tuft of very soft
elongated feathers ; and the tibiae, tarsi, and toes are covered
with soft blended feathers. The wings are long, of great breadth,
and rounded ; the quills twenty-seven ; the primaries very
broad, the first four cut out on the inner web near the end, the
outer two only having an abrupt sinus ; the second, third, and
fourth with the outer web slightly narrowed; the first with the
barbs of the outer web free and recurved at their extremity in
its whole length, the second and third toward the end. The
first quill is an inch and a half shorter than the second, the
third longest, exceeding the second by two twelfths, and the
fourth by one twelfth. The tail is broad, arched, rounded, the
lateral feathers being an inch shorter than the longest.
The bill is greyish-blue at the base, bluish-black toward the
end ; the cere dusky ; the soft edges of the mandibles flesh-
coloured, as is the inside of the mouth. The iris is bright
orange ; the bare edges of the eyelids and the margin of the
nictitant membrane dusky. The scutella are pale greyish-
blue, the claws of the same colour as the bill ; the soles pale
flesh colour.
The facial disks are pale yellowish-brown, faintly barred
with dusky ; their anterior part greyish-white, with the shafts
black at the end. The feathers of the lower eyelid are greyish-
white, of the upper chiefly black. Those over the eye, and the
long tufts, are brownish-black, internally edged or mottled with
reddish. The general colour of the upper parts is reddish-yel-
low, spotted, barred, and minutely dotted with dark brown.
On the lower part of the hind-neck, most of the feathers have
GREAT EAGLE-OWL. 431
only a median longitudinal blackish-brown band. The small
wing-coverts at the flexure, the alula, and the primary coverts,
are almost entirely dusky. The quills are barred with brown-
ish-black, and in the intervals yellowish-red, nearly pure on
the inner webs, but on the outer closely and minutely undulat-
ed with brown. The tail is similar, but with less yellow. The
feathers on the upper part of the throat are white ; a band of
barred and mottled feathers then crosses the throat, being con-
tinuous with the ruff; and on the middle of the neck is a white
patch, with some dusky spots. The rest of the neck is reddish-
yellow, each feather with an oblong brownish-black longitu-
dinal band, and transverse lateral undulated bars. On the
thorax and sides the feathers are similar, the central dusky
patch gradually becoming narrower, and on those farthest back
ceasinsr ; while the narrow transverse bars become numerous
in the same proportion. The large tibial feathers and lower
tail-coverts are greyish yellow, mixed with red, and barred
with dusky ; those of the tibiae more tinged with yellow, and
more faintly barred. The downy or concealed part of the
plumage is dark greyish-blue.
Length to end of tail 24 inches ; extent of wings 58 ; wing
from flexure 19 ; tail 11 ; bill along the ridge 2^ ; cere ^^ ;
edge of lower mandible 2 ; tarsus 2^% ; hind toe Ij, its
claw ly'^ ; second toe 1|§, its claw l^^^ ' third toe 2/^, its
claw lj% ; fourth toe ly'g, its claw 1^%.
Female. — An adult female, which was presented to me by
Mr Audubon, and which I killed for the purpose of examin-
ing its digestive organs, was in all respects similar to the above-
described male, but somewhat darker in its tints. The tongue
fleshy, oblong, an inch and two twelfths in length, deeply
sagittate and papillate at the base, having the posterior half of
its surface covered with small papilla?, its lower free part horny,
the tip slightly emarginate. The entire length of the alimentary
canal five feet two inches. The pharynx two inches wide, the
mouth an inch and three-quarters. The oesophagus, Plate XXI,
Fig. 4), a be, nine inches and a half in length ; its outer coat very
thin ; its width from two inches to an inch and a half, when mo-
432 BUBO MAXIMUS.
derately dilated. The proventriculus, b c, of which the glan-
dules are very numerous and cylindrical, gradually dilates into
the stomach, c d ; which is roundish, somewhat compressed,
three inches and a half in its greatest diameter ; its muscular
coat thin, and composed of a single series of fasciculi ; the ten-
dons roundish, very thin, about nine twelfths in diameter ; the
epithelium soft, smooth, and even. The intestine, defg, is forty-
nine inches long; its diameter in the duodenal part nine twelfths,
then gradually contracting to four twelfths. The coeca, Fig. 5,
cd, cd, narrow for half their length, then enlarged into an oblong
sac ; one of them five inches long, the other four and a half.
The rectum, b c, at first about eight twelfths in width, enlarges
into a nearly globular cloaca, j, two inches in width.
Length to end of tail 26 inches, to end of wings 24 ; extent
of wings 61 ; wing from flexure 20 ; tail 10 (somewhat worn) ;
bill along the ridge 2/^, along the edge of lower mandible 2 j^g ;
tarsus 2f ; first toe Ij, its claw l^f ; middle toe 2j|, its
claw 2 1^2.
Habits. — The Great Eagle-Owl is said by authors to inhabit
the continent of Europe, from Sweden, Norway, and Lapland,
southward to the shores of the Mediterranean. It has also
been obtained from some parts of Asia ; but its range over
that continent is unknown. M. Temminck states that it is
very common in Russia, Germany, and Switzerland. Indivi-
duals have been obtained in Devonshire, Sussex, Yorkshire,
the county of Durham, and one or two other districts in Eng-
land. In Scotland, I am unable to refer to any authentic ac-
count of its capture. Mr Low, who is often quoted as an
authority for its occurrence in Orkney, merely says he has
been credibly informed that it " is still to be found, especially
in the hilly parts, where it is often surprised sleeping." It
can hardly be supposed now to breed in any part of Britain,
so that the individuals occasionally seen there are probably
stragglers from the continent.
All that appears to be known of its habits amounts to
very little. It is not very uncommon in the Scandinavian
countries, where it resides in the forests, feeds on quadrupeds
GREAT EAGLE-OWL. 433
and birds, especially hares and grouse, forms a bulky nest,
which is generally placed on a rock or on the ground, and de-
posits two or three broadly elliptical, white eggs.
The Bishop of Norwich, in speaking of the attachment of
Owls to their young, relates the following instance, witnessed
by a Swedish gentleman, who resided several years near a steep
mountain, on the summit of which two Eagle-Owls had built
their nest. One day, in July, a young bird, nearly fledged,
was caught by the servants, and shut up in a large hen-coop.
On the following morning a young partridge was found lying
dead near the door of the coop ; and night after night, for four-
teen days, the same mark of attention was repeated. The gen-
tleman and his servant watched several nights, in order that
they might observe through a window, when and how this sup-
ply was brought ; but in vain, although there could be no doubt
that the parents of the bird were the caterers.
The one which I kept alive for some time, generally perched
on the highest place it could find, inserting the tips of the first
and fourth claws behind, the rest before. On a flat surface
however the outer toe was not directed backwards, but out-
wards, and the claws extended. It generally rested the whole
tarsus, and sometimes stood on one foot. When sleeping, it
kept its feathers close, its neck erect, and the tufts on the head
usually raised. It seemed incapable of walking, and in shift-
ing its place leaped, assisted by its wings. When alarmed, or
irritated, it raised its feathers, depressed its head, stared with
expanded pupils, hissed at intervals like a cat, and snapped its
bill.
The eyes reflected no light in the dark or twilight. When
irritated or looking intently on an object, it dilated the pupil,
and when listless or dozing with half-closed eyes, contracted it.
The iris exhibited the most delicate mobility, and was conti-
nually expanding or contracting. It frequently drew the nicti-
tant membrane over the eye, generally employing both mem-
branes simultaneously, but at times only one. Sometimes also
it moved the upper eyelid of one eye while the other remained
drawn up. When it was asleep, the upper eyelid covered more
than two-thirds of the eye.
VOL. III. F F
434 BUBO MAXIMUS.
In perching it steadied itself with its wings, which it often,
even when undisturbed, extended and flapped for a minute or
more. On being roused from sleep it sometimes yawned,
stretched out and flapped its wings, and extended its legs in
succession. It trimmed its feathers with its bill, but never
applied to the uropygial gland, and in scratching its head and
cheeks, invariably used the inner dilated edge of the middle
toe. When it observed an object which it thought it might
capture, it stood erect on its toes, drew its feathers close,
stretched out its neck, raised its tufts, and fixed its eyes so
steadfastly on it, that its attention could not be diverted even
by pushing it with a stick.
One kept by Sir William Jardine, he describes as being ex-
tremely active at night, when he " sometimes keeps up an
incessant bark, so similar to that of a cur or terrier, as to an-
noy a large Labrador house-dog," who, in replying, nightly
disturbed his neighbours.
Young. — The young, which at first are covered, according
to Linnaeus, with soft whitish down, are when fledged similar
to their parents, but with the lighter tints more tinged with
red.
435
ULULA. HOOTING-OWL.
The species of this genus closely resemble those which have
been united under the generic designation of Syrnia, from which
however they are distinguished by having the head larger, the
neck thicker, the facial disks more expanded, the ruff complete
so as to encircle the face, and the conch furnished with a
prominent anterior operculum.
Bill short, strong, compressed toward the end : upper man-
dible with the cere large, and tumid behind the nostrils, the
dorsal outline decurved from the base, the ridge broad, convex,
anteriorly narrowed, the sides rapidly sloping, convex toward
the end, the tip trigonal, acute, decurved so as to be nearly
perpendicular ; lower mandible straight, with the crura short,
the angle wide and rounded, the dorsal line convex, the edges
toward the end sharp, inflected, anteriorly decurved, with a
sinus on each side close to the abruptly rounded tip.
Mouth very wide ; palate flat, sloping a little upwards at
the sides with two longitudinal ridges, and a median tubercu-
lated ridge toward the mandible. Posterior aperture of the
nares oblong, with an anterior slit. Tongue short, narrow,
deeply sagittate and papillate at the base, covered above with
minute papillae, its sides nearly parallel, the tip rounded and
emarginate. CEsophagus wide, without dilatation. Stomach
very large, roundish ; its walls very thin, the muscular coat
composed of a single series of fasciculi ; the inner surface soft
and slightly rugous. Aperture of the pylorus extremely nar-
row, with a semicircular flap. Intestine of moderate length,
rather wide ; coeca large, oblong, narrowed at the base ; cloa-
cal dilatation globular and very large.
436 ULULA. HOOTING-OWL.
Nostrils roundish, near the ridge, in the fore part of the
cere, which is tumid behind them. Eyes very large, obliquely
situated, slightly mobile ; eyelids with broad, thin, papillate
margins, but without distinct cilise. Conch of the ear some-
what elliptical, extending from the level of the upper part of
the eye to the base of the lower jaw, and having an anterior
semicircular operculum, fringed with linear-oblong feathers ;
the meatus auditorius oblique, elliptical, at the lower part of
an elliptical deep cavity, which is about half the length of
the conch.
Head extremely large, broad, rounded, or somewhat trian-
gular, with the sides flattened and sloping forwards ; neck
short ; body short, slender, of greater depth than breadth an-
teriorly, much compressed behind. Legs of moderate length,
stout ; tibia rather long ; tarsus short, feathered ; toes short,
covered with feathers of which the filaments are hair-like and
separated ; all with two scutella at the end, padded and papil-
late beneath ; the first very short, with much lateral motion,
the fourth reversible and shorter than the second, the third not
much longer. Claws long, well curved, tapering, very acute,
compressed, rounded above, slightly convex on the sides, nar-
row beneath, the third with a dilated inner edge.
Plumage very full and soft, somewhat compact above, blend-
ed beneath. Facial disks very large, complete or entirely sur-
rounding the eye, and composed of stiffish linear-oblong feathers
with loose barbs ; the anterior longer, more bristly, and par-
tially concealing the bill. E-uflf complete and conspicuous.
Feathers in general oblong, rounded ; those of the abdomen
downy, of the legs with soft disunited filaments. Wings long,
very broad, convex, much rounded ; primary quills broad and
rounded, the first five cut out on both edges, abruptly on the
inner ; the fourth longest, the first about the same length as the
tenth ; secondary quills thirteen, broad, and rounded. Tail
broad, rounded, of twelve arched, rounded feathers.
To this genus belong, as I have ascertained by the examina-
tion of recent specimens, Strix nebulosa, Strix cinerea, Strix
acadica, Strix Aluco, and Strix Tengmalmi, of authors ; al-
ULULA. HOOTING-OWL.
437
though the first two, having the conch proportionally smaller,
might perhaps be referred to a genus apart. In Britain two
species are met with, one common and generally distributed,
the other of rare occurrence.
The accompanying figure represents the ear of the Tawny
Owl, Ulula Aluco, which is proportionally larger than that of
the Eagle-Owl, and moreover furnished with an anterior oper-
culum or flap.
438
ULULA ALUCO. THE TAWNY HOOTING-OWL.
BROWN OWL. TAWNY OWL. WOOD OWL. GREY OWL. IVY OWL. BEECH OWL.
SCREECH OWL. HOWLET. JENNY HOWLET. CUMHACHAG. CAILLEACH-
OIDHCHE.
Strix Aluco. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 132.
Strix stridula. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 133.
Strix Aluco. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 59.
Strix stridula. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 58.
Tawny Owl. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Chouette Hulotte. Strix Aluco. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 89.
Tawny Owl. Ulula stridula. Selb. lllustr. I. 103.
Syruium Aluco. Tawny Owl. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 93.
Upper parts in both sewes h'ownish-red, more or less tinged
xcith grey^ marked tcith longitudinal dark-hrotcn streaks, and
traiisverse lines of a lighter tint ; the lower parts reddish-xchite^
or yellowish., with longitudinal linear-lanceolate and transverse
undidated dark-broicn markings ; large white spots on some of
the scapulars and wing-coverts ; hill greyish-yellow ; iris bluish-
black. Young birds more tinged with red, old birds more grey.
Male. — The Tawny Owl has the appearance of a remark-
ably full and robust bird, having the head proportionally larger
TAWNY HOOTING-OWL. 439
than that of any other British species ; but for this portliness it
is indebted chiefly to its ample covering of extremely soft fea-
thers, for when plucked, its body is very small, and its muscu-
lar apparatus of very moderate development.
The bill is short, rather stout, considerably compressed ; the
upper mandible with its outline decurved from the base, the
sides rapidly sloping, slightly convex, the tip acute and decurved;
the lower mandible with the crura narrow, the angle wide and
rounded, the dorsal line short and slightly convex, the edges
anteriorly decurved, with a sinus close to the tip, which is
obliquely rounded.
The mouth is very wide, measuring an inch and three-fourths
across; the palate flattened, with two lateral 'longitudinal soft
ridges, and an anterior tuberculate ridge running to the tip of
the mandible ; the lower mandible deeply concave, with a pro-
minent median line. The tongue small, seven-twelfths long,
concave above, and emarginate. The oesophagus is five inches
in length, very wide, without dilatation ; the proventriculus
with a belt of very small cylindrical glandules, and gradually
enlarged into the stomach, which is when inflated two inches in
diameter, roundish ; its muscular coat very thin, being com-
posed of a single series of distinct fasciculi ; the centi'al tendons
very thin and roundish ; the inner coat soft and slightly rugous.
The pylorus is extremely narrow, and closed by a thin valvular
margin. The intestine is twenty -five inches long, from four-
twelfths to two-twelfths in width. The cceca, which come oft'
at the distance of three inches from the extremity, are oblong,
narrowed toward the base, three inches in length, four-twelfths
in their greatest width.
The nostrils are roundish, in the fore edge of the cere, which
is somewhat prominent behind them, and although bare above
and anteriorly, concealed by the bristly feathers at the base of
the bill. The eyes are very large, oblique, slightly mobile ;
the eyelids with a bare crenate margin. The conch of the ear
is of a somewhat elliptical form, an inch and a twelfth in length,
extending from near the top of the head to the base of the lower
jaw, having an elevated margin behind, and a distinct semi-
circular operculum before, both beset with linear-oblong feathers.
440 ULULA ALUCO.
The plumage is very full, elastic, and extremely soft. The
facial disks are complete, though narrower above the eyes. The
ruff also is complete, extending from the base of the upper
mandible to the throat, and composed of narrow recurved fea-
thers. The feathers in general are oblong, with their downy
part greatly extended, those on the upper parts somewhat com-
pact, on the lower almost downy ; on the tarsi and toes very
soft and blended. The wings are long, very broad, much
rounded ; the outer six quills a little sinuate on the outer and
inner webs ; the barbs of the outer web of the first, and the
sinuate portion of the second and third, free and recurved ; the
first two inches shorter than the second, which is one inch
shorter than the third, the fourth a quarter of an inch longer
than the latter, and slightly exceeding the fifth ; the secon-
daries thirteen, very broad and rounded. The tail is of mode-
rate length, arched, a little rounded, the lateral feathers nearly
an inch shorter than those in the middle.
The bill is pale greyish-yellow, the cere flesh-coloured. The
iris bluish-black. The soles of the feet are flesh-coloured, the
claws greyish-yellow at the base, dusky toward the end. The
inside of the mouth is light flesh-coloured, excepting the ante-
rior part of the palate, which is of a dull greyish-blue tint.
The general colour of the upper parts is light yellowish-red,
longitudinally streaked, mottled, and transversely undulated
with dark brown ; the hind part of the back mottled and barred,
with the streaks reduced to lines. Some of the outer scapulars,
.smaller wing-coverts, and outer secondary coverts, have a
large white spot on the outer web toward the end. The quills
are broadly barred with umber brown and dull light yellowish-
red tinged with grey ; the primary coverts darker, but similarly
barred. The tail-feathers, except the two middle, which are
like the hind part of the back, are marked like the quills, and
tipped with yellowish-white. But both they and the quills
are finely barred or mottled with brown, especially toward the
end. The facial disks are greyish- white, the anterior with
black shafts, those behind tinged with yellowish-brown. The
ruiF is yellowish-red, inclining to white anteriorly, mottled with
brown above, at the middle brownish -black. The lower parts
TAWNY HOOTING-OWL. 441
are yellowish -white ; the breast and sides longitudinally streak-
ed, and transversely undulated with blackish-brown, the latter
also tinged with reddish. The legs are yellowish- white, faintly
mottled with brown.
Length to end of tail 14 inches, to end of wings 12 ; extent
of wings 31 ; wing from flexure lOg ; tail 6^ ; bill along the
ridge 1^^^, along the edge of lower mandible lj% ; tarsus lj§ ;
first toe j\, its claw j% ; second toe 1^^^, its claw ^§ ; third
toe 1/2? its claw ~'g ; fourth toe ^%, its claw j\.
Female. — The female, which is considerably larger, resem-
bles the male in colour. The bill is light yellowish-grey ; the
iris bluish-black ; the claws yellowish-grey at the base, dusky
toward the end. The general colour of the upper parts is pale
yellowish-red, streaked and undulated with blackish-brown ;
many of the feathers on the nape, and some of the outer scapu-
lars, smaller wing-coverts, and outer secondary coverts, with a
white spot on the outer web toward the end. The lower parts
are reddish-white, but otherwise marked as in the male, and
the sides tinged with red. In the female, then, the upper
parts are of a somewhat duller brown, and the lower more
tinged with red ; but otherw^ise the differences are not remark-
able. In an individual obtained in June 1885, the oesophagus
was five inches long ; the stomach tsvo inches and a half; the
intestine thirty inches. One of the coeca was four inches three-
fourths in length, the other a little shorter. The rectum three
inches and a half long.
Length to end of tail 16 inches, to end of wings 14 ; extent
of wings 84; wing from flexure 11; tail 7; bill along the
ridge Ig ; tarsus l^^ ; hind toe j%, its claw j% ; second toe Ij,
its claw {° ; third toe 1^, its claw j% ; fourth toe j%, its
claw 1*2.
Variations. — Individuals vary considerably in the tint and
intensity of their colours, some having the upper parts of a
much duller brown than others, and the lower with more white.
As the period of moulting approaches, little change takes place
in the colours.
442 ULULA ALUCO.
Habits. — In the northern parts of Scotland, this species is
seldom if ever met with ; but in the wooded portions of the
middle and southern divisions, it is more frequently obtained
than any other, excepting the Long-eared and Barn Owls. In
most parts of England suited to its nature, it has also been ob-
served, and in some is said to be nearly as common as any
other species. Its habits are strictly nocturnal, and when
forced from its retreat by day, it is oppressed by the glare of
light, seems bewildered, and may easily be destroyed. It is
generally in the shade of some dense wood that it reposes,
usually in an elevated station among the branches, but some-
times on the ground. At night, it emits a loud and doleful
cry, which has been likened to the syllables hoo-hoo-hoo, and
which Buffon remarks " has a considerable resemblance to the
cry of the wolf, a circumstance which induced the Latins to
give it the name of Ulula, which comes from ululare^ to howl
or cry like the wolf." Besides this hooting noise, as it is
termed, it occasionally utters a harsh scream. Its food con-
sists of young hares, rats, mice, moles, birds of various species,
beetles, and other insects. Several persons have stated that it
also feeds on fish, and I found the stomach of one nearly filled
with earth-worms, which had been torn into fragments of
about half an inch in length.
I have never seen the nest of this bird. Montagu, however,
states that it breeds in the hollows of trees, sometimes in barns,
prepares very little nest, or even deposits its eggs on the de-
cayed wood. According to M. Temminck, it lays in the de-
serted nests of buzzards, crows, and magpies. The eggs, three
or four in number, are pure white, smooth, an inch and eleven-
twelfths in length, an inch and a half in breadth. The young,
which are at first of a dull yellowish-grey colour, are supplied
with mice, rats, and young hares. As stated by the Rev. Mr
Bree in the Magazine of Natural History, Vol. I, p. 179, they
are also fed with fish. " Some years since, several young owls
were taken from the nest, and placed in a yew tree in the gar-
den of Allesley Rectory, near Coventry. In this situation, the
parent birds repeatedly brought them live fish, bull-heads (Cot-
tus Gobio), and loach (Cobites barbatula), which had doubt-
TAWNY HOOTING-OWL/ 443
less been procured from the neighbouring brook, in which these
species abound. Since the above period, I have on more than
one occasion found the same fish, either whole or in fragments,
lying under the trees on which I have observed the young owls
to perch after they have left the nest, and where the old birds
were accustomed to feed them.'"'
This Owl, as well as other species, has in fact been seen to
seize fishes in the water. On this subject the Bishop of Nor-
wich makes the following remarks : " It has been conjectured
by some, that as fish are attracted by a light or any shining sub-
stance, there maybe a luminous appearance in the large, round,
and bright eyes of an Owl, like those of a cat, which are known
to all for their glaring in the dark, by which the fish are at-
tracted within reach of its beak or claws." Now, in the first
place, I have carefully observed the eyes of two species of Owl,
but found that they emitted no light in the dark ; and secondly,
in all the eyes of Owls that I have dissected, there is no tape-
tum, like that which reflects light in quadrupeds, but the cho-
roid coat is entirely covered with pigmentum nigrum.
Young. — The young of both sexes resemble the adult, with
this difference only, that they are more tinged with red.
Progress toward Maturity. — It appears that the older the
individuals, the more grey they assume on the upper, and the
more white on the lower parts ; but at what period of life they
assume the colouring which gave rise to the idea of a distinct
species is not known. An individual which is presumed to be
old may be described thus : The general colour of the upper
parts is pale umber, tinged with grey, longitudinally streaked
with darker brown, and transversely barred, undulated, and
dotted with greyish-white and greyish-brown. The facial disks
are greyish-white, the anterior feathers with the shafts black
toward the end, those behind with a faint brown bar near the
tip. The ruff is reddish above, white below, but mai-ked with
dark brown, that colour occupying nearly the whole of the
feathers in the middle part. The lower parts arc greyish- white,
streaked and barred as in the young.
444 ULULA ALUCO.
Remarks. — The habits of this species have not been minutely
described by authors ; and the differences in the tints of its
plumage are not satisfactorily traced. Although my descrip-
tions have been taken from recent specimens, as well as skins,
I must confess that my knowledge of the Tawny Owl is not of
the most respectable character. The young of both sexes are
of more ferruginous tint than old birds, and so continue for at
least a year ; but whether the individuals of which the plumage
is much tinged with grey, are of both sexes, has not yet been
determined. If analogy be of any importance, we might infer
from well ascertained facts that the young of both sexes are
the tawny, and the adult the greyish birds. Thus, Dr Bach-
man, in Mr Audubon's Ornithological Biography, Vol. V,
p. 829 : " There is no doubt about the correctness of the changes
of plumage of this species (Strix Asio), for I have seen it in its
various stages from red to grey. I kept it more than a year in
domestication, when it underwent all its changes. I have taken
the young red birds from the nest, and the old in the same
hole, very grey. The bird breeds in the red state the following
spring, and does not become grey until two years old. Specimens
have been procured partially red and grey in the intermediate
state."
445
ULULA TENGMALMI. TENGMALM^S HOOTING-
OWL.
Strix funerea. Linn. Fauna Suecica, p. 25.
Strix Tengmalmi. Gmel. Syst. Nat. I- 291.
Strix Tengmalmi. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 60.
Chouette Tengmalm. Strix Tengmalmi. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 94.
Tengmalm's Night-Owl. Noctua Tengmalmi. Selb. Illustr. 105.
Noctua Tengmalmi. Tengmalm's Night-Owl. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 94.
Strix Tengmalmi. Tengmalm's Owl. Fauna Bor. Amer. II. 94.
Upper parts chocolate-brown^ spotted with white ; fail with Jive
rows of transversely elongated spots ; lower parts yellowish-white,
with longitudinal brown markings ; tarsi and toes covered icitk
downy feathers ; length about ten inches.
This pretty little Owl, the Strix funerea of Linnaeus, Strix
passerina of many authors, and Strix Tengmalmi of Temminck,
has often been confounded with Syrnia passerina already de-
scribed, from which, however, it is easily distinguished by dif-
ferences in colour, inferiority of size, and especially by the dense
covering of feathers upon its toes, those organs in that species
being almost bare. The American bird described by Dr Richard-
son, Mr Audubon, and others under the same name, and con-
sidered identical by them, has lately by the Prince of Musi»-
nano been named Nyctale Richardsoni, and viewed as distinct
from his Nyctale Tengmalmi ; but as he has not given descrip-
tions, it is impossible to know whether this determination has
been founded on reason, or caused by caprice. On this sub-
ject I shall presently ofter some remarks, but in the meantime
proceed to describe the bird, of which however my specimens
are American.
Male. — In form this species resembles the Brown Hootino--
Owl, and the Passerine Day-Owl ; the head being very lar^e.
446 ULULA TENGMALMI.
the neck short, the body full, but only in appearance, owing
to the thick and very soft plumage. The bill is short, very
deep and strong ; the upper mandible with its outline decurved
from the base, the ridge and sides convex, the tip acute and at
the end nearly perpendicular ; the lower mandible with the
angle wide, the dorsal line slightly convex, the edges inflected,
and toward the end decurved, with a distinct sinus on each
side close to the abruptly rounded tip. The nostrils are broadly
elliptical, oblique, in the fore part of the short cere, which
bulges out behind them. The eyes are large. The conch is of
an elliptical form, and of great size, being an inch and a quarter
in length, extending from near the top of the head to the base
of the lower jaw, and having an anterior semicircular oijercu-
lum stretching along its whole length. It is thus very differ-
ent from that of Syrnia passerina, being proportionally as large
as that of Ulula Aluco, and precisely of the same form. The
head is extremely large, and somewhat triangular. The feet
are rather short ; the tarsi and toes covered with very soft
downy feathers ; the latter having two scutella at the end.
The claws are well curved, slender, compressed, and taper to a
fine point.
The facial disk is complete, being composed of series of ra-
diating feathers having disunited filaments. The ruff is also
complete, extending from the base of the upper mandible to
the throat, and composed of several series of narrow, slightly
recurved, rather compact feathers. The plumage is full, very
soft, and blended ; the feathers broadly oblong and rounded at
the tip. The wings are rather long, very broad, much rounded,
and convex ; the first five quills having the inner web cut out
near the end ; the second, third, and fourth with the outer nar-
rowed ; the first quill equal to the seventh, the second four
twelfths of an inch shorter than the third, which is longest, but
scarcely exceeds the fourth ; the filaments of the outer web of
the first with their tips free and recurved ; those of the second
and third similar toward the end. The tail is of moderate
length, slightly arched, and somewhat rounded.
The bill is greyish-brown at the base, yellowish- white at the
end ; the claws yellowish-brown, with their tips dusky. The
TENG MALM'S HOOTING OWL. 447
general colour of the upper parts is chocolate-brown, or rather
greyish-brown, tinged with olivaceous. The feathers of the
head have each a central oblong white spot ; those of the hind-
neck are similarly marked with larger spots, some of which are
so disposed as to form a semicircular band ; the scapulars have
two or four large round spots near the end ; and some of the
dorsal feathers and wing-coverts have single spots on the outer
web. All the quills have marginal white spots on both webs ;
those on the inner much larger. On the tail are five series of
transversely elongated narrow white spots. The facial disks
are yellowish -white, anteriorly black, tinged with brown behind.
The ruff also yellowish-white, mottled with black. The chin
is white, the throat brown ; the general colour of the lower parts
yellowish-white, longitudinally streaked with brown. The
central part of each feather being of the latter colour ; some of
the posterior lateral feathers have two white spots near the end.
The plumage of the tarsi and toes greyish-yellow, with faint
transverse bars of brown.
Length to end of tail 10^ inches ; bill along the ridge 1 ;
wing from flexure 6{^ ; tail 4^ ; tarsus ^§ ; hind toe j% ; its
claw 1^2 ; second toe j'^^, its claw ^\ ; third toe j%, its claw j% ;
fourth toe /g, its claw y|.
Female. — The female is considerably larger, but precisely
similar in colour.
Length to end of tail 11| inches, to end of wings lOf ; wing
from flexure 7i ; tail 4^ ; bill along the ridge 1 ; tarsus j^ ;
first toe j%, its claw /^ ; second toe ^^i its claw j\ ; third toe
1% , its claw ^% ; fourth toe ^% , its claw ^^^ •
Remarks. — The description given by INIr Selby from an
individual killed at Morpeth, in Northumberland, in 1812, is
as follows : — " Bill much curved and compressed ; the culmen
and tip yellowish- white, the sides dark-grey. Facial disk black
at the posterior and anterior angles of the eye-orbits ; the rest
greyish-white, mixed with black. Ear-conch large, with a nar-
row operculum. Velvety feathers behind the auditory open-
ing, brownish-black. Crown, nape, and hind part of the neck,
448 ULULA TENGMALMI.
liver-brown, spotted with white ; those upon the latter parts
large, and surrounded by a margin of liver-brown. Back, wing-
coverts, and scapulars, liver-brown, spotted with white ; the
spots upon the mantle nearly concealed by the overlaying tips
of the feathers. Quills liver-brown ; their exterior webs having
three or four oval white spots, forming imperfect bars. Points
of the outer barbs of the whole of the first quill open and re-
versed ; those of the second the same for one-half of its length ;
of the third a small portion only near the tip. Third and fourth
quill-feathers the largest in the wing ; the third rather exceed-
ing the fourth. The first and second having their inner webs
notched, the second and third with their outer webs sinuated.
Tail extending nearly an inch beyond the closed wings, liver-
brown, crossed by five interrupted white bars, or rather rows
of spots, the last about half an inch from the tip. Under plum-
age white, varied with paler liver-brown. Legs having the
tarsi short, and, as well as the toes, thickly clothed with soft
hair-like feathers. Claws of a tolerable length, and moderately
incurved." This description agrees sufficiently with mine, and
with those given by Mr Yarrell, who, however, does not inform
us as to the country of his specimens, and by M. Temminck,
who among his synonyms makes no reference to the American
birds.
Habits. — This species is said by authors to inhabit the nor-
thern parts of Europe, and to extend in diminished numbers as
far south as France, Switzerland, and Italy. A very few in-
dividuals have been met with in England. Mr Selby, as al-
ready mentioned, procured one shot in Northumberland, and
Mr Yarrell states that in 1836 "a recently shot specimen was
purchased in a poulterer's shop in London ; and in May of the
same year, Mr John Leadbeater of Brewer Street received a
specimen for preservation which had been shot in Kent." M.
Temminck says it nestles in the natural holes of pines, laying
two pure white eggs ; and feeds on mice, moths, beetles, and
other insects, as well as sometimes on birds. In North Ame-
rica, according to Dr Richardson, it appears to inhabit all the
wooded country from Great Slave Lake to the United States,
TENGMALM'S HOOTING OWL. 449
and is very common on the banks of the Saskatchewan. He
informs us that it is strictly nocturnal, and " when it acciden-
tally wanders abroad in the day, is so much dazzled by the
light of the sun as to become stupid, and it may then be easily
caught by the hand. Its cry in the night is a single melan-
choly note, repeated at intervals of a minute or two." Mr
Hutchison states that it builds a nest of grass, halfway up a
pine tree, and lays two white eggs.
Remarks. — This species is undoubtedly in all essential re-
spects so similar to the Tawny Owl, that there can be no rea-
sonable question as to the propriety of referring it to the same
genus. Yet our most recent authors have thought otherwise.
Thus, Mr Yarrell refers the Tawny Owl to the genus Syrnium,
which he places between Strix and Surnia, of which the Barn
Owl and Snowy Owl are typical, while Tengmalm's Owl is
referred to the same genus (Noctua) as the Passerine Owl,
from which it diifers entirely in the form and size of the ear,
which in the latter is small and destitute of operculum, where-
as in the former it is very large, and has a distinct anterior
semicircular operculum extended along its whole length.
VOL. III. G G
450
ASIO. TUFTED-OWL.
Although furnished with tufts of feathers on the head, the
birds of this genus are distinguished from those on which the
generic appellation of Bubo has been bestowed, by the enor-
mous size of their auditory concha, more elongated wings, and
other peculiarities.
Bill short, moderately strong, compressed toward the end :
upper mandible with the dorsal line decurved from the base,
at first slightly, the ridge broad on the cere, which is large,
narrowed anteriorly, convex in its whole length, the sides con-
vex toward the end, the edges soft as far as the nostrils, then
sharp, direct, and decurved, the tip acute and descending
obliquely ; lower mandible with the crura narrow, the angle
wide, the dorsal outline very short, slightly convex, the back
and sides rounded, the edges toward the end sharj), inflected,
decurved, with a slight sinus on each side close to the oblique-
ly truncate tip.
Mouth very wide ; palate prominent, sloping upwards at the
sides, with two lateral soft ridges, and an anterior elevated cen-
tral line running to the mandible ; posterior aperture of the
nares narrowly elliptical, with an anterior fissure. Tongue
short, narrow, fleshy, oblong, deeply emarginate and papillate
at the base, its upper surface with a median groove, its tip
thin, and emarginate. (Esophagus very wide, of nearly equal
diameter throughout ; proventricular glandules small and cylin-
drical. Stomach large, roundish, its muscular coat very thin,
being composed of a single series of distinct fasciculi, the cen-
tral tendons thin and roundish ; the epithelium thin, soft, and
somewhat rugous. Pylorus closed by a thin margin. Intes-
tine of moderate length and width ; coeca of considerable
length, oblong, contracted toward the base ; rectum dilated
into a very large oblong cloaca.
ASIO. TUFTED-OWL. 451
Nostrils large, medial, lateral, oblong, oblique. Eyes very-
large, obliquely placed ; eyelids with broad crenate thin mar-
gins, and ciliary fringes of small feathers having distant fila-
ments. Conch of the ear extremely large, extending from over
the middle of the eye to the base of the lower mandible, and
of a curved elliptical or semilunar form, with an anterior semi-
circular flap or operculum in its whole length, and a broad
membranous margin behind, both beset with recurved feathers.
The aperture of the meatus elliptical, in the lower part of the
conch, bounded anteriorly by the eye, above by a ligament
stretching to the operculum, and behind by a ligament extend-
ed along the edge of the temporal bone. Above the meatus is
a deep depression, above which another ligament passes to the
operculum.
Head very large, short, somewhat triangular, with the sides
flattened and sloping forwards. Neck short ; body short,
deeper than broad, much compressed behind. Legs short,
moderately stout ; tibia muscular ; tarsus short, and with the
toes covered with soft somewhat silky feathers, having the fila-
ments disunited. First toe very short, with much lateral mo-
tion ; the fourth next in length, the third longest ; all with
two terminal scutella. Claws long, moderately curved, slen-
der, tapering, extremely acute, compressed, with the sides con-
vex ; the lower surface of the first rounded, of the second and
fourth narrow, flattened or slightly grooved ; the third with a
dilated inner edge.
Plumage full, and extremely soft. Facial disks very large,
complete, composed of linear-oblong softish loosely-barbed fea-
thers. The ruff complete, and composed of oblong, compact,
but very soft, recurved feathers. Bill partially concealed by
bristly feathers directed forwards ; cere bare above. A tuft of
elongated feathers on each side over the eye. The feathers in
general oblong, rounded, loosely margined, almost downy ;
those of the abdomen downy ; of the feet soft and glossy.
Wings very long, broad, and rather pointed ; primary quills
broad and rounded ; the second longest, the first and fourth
about equal, the first only having a slight sinus in the inner
web close to the tip ; its outer barbs free and recurvate, as are
452
ASIO. TUFTED-OWL.
those of part of the second. Tail rather short, shghtly arched,
of twelve broad, rounded, weak-shafted feathers.
The species of this genus seem to be those to which the Circi
are most nearly allied. In external aspect they approach the
genus Bubo, but are less robust. They also bear a considerable
resemblance to the Hooting Owls, but have the head much
smaller, and its fore part more narrowed by the large disks,
which almost meet upon it, as in the genus Strix. Their
habits are nocturnal ; but they are capable of flying by day.
Two species occur in Britain, one of them the most common of
all our Owls, with the exception of Strix flammea.
'^-'Iiljilf
453
ASI OTUS. THE MOTTLED TUFTED-OWL.
LONG-EARED OWL. COMMON EARED OWL. HORNED OWL.
Fi6. 24".
Strix Otus. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 132.
Strix Otus. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 53.
Long-eared Owl. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Hibou Moyen Due. Strix Otus. Temm. Man. d'Orn. 102.
Long-eared Owl. Otus vulgaris. Selb. Illustr. I. 85.
Otus vulgaris. Long-eared Owl. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 91.
Tufts conspicuous, projecting an inch and a half beyond the
plumage of the head ; upper parts light reddish-yellow, longitu-
dinally streaked, transversely barred, finely undidated with brown
and greyish-white ; lower parts light reddish-yelloio, with oblong
brown streaks, and faintly undulated ; facial disks zvhitish in their
anterior half, pale yelloicish-brown behind, the eye half surrounded
by dark brown. Young icith the facial disks yellowish-broicn,
and the dark markings on the lower parts broader.
454 ASIO OTUS,
Male. — This Owl, which is one of our most common spe-
cies, is readily distinguishable by the elongated tufts of feathers
on its head, taken in connection with its size, which is about
that of the Barn or White Owl, and the minutely mottled co-
louring of its upper parts. Although apparently robust, owing
to the great bulk of its plumage, its body is but small and its
neck slender. The head is very large and somewhat triangular ;
the bill short, of moderate strength, and considerably com-
pressed ; the upper mandible with its dorsal outline decurved
from the base, its sides rapidly sloping and but little convex,
its edges covered with skin, continuous with that of the palate,
as far as the nostrils, then direct, sharp, and decurved ; the tip
acute and deflected ; the lower mandible with its crura narrow
and flexible, the angle elongated, the dorsal line slightly con-
vex, the edges inflected, the tip abruptly rounded, with a sinus
on each side.
The mouth is very wide, measuring an inch and a twelfth
across ; the palate flat, with two longitudinal ridges, and the
sides sloping upwards. The aperture of the posterior nares
oblong, with an anterior fissure. The tongue is small, narrow,
seven-twelfths long, sagittate and papillate at the base, its tip
thin and bifid. The oesophagus is five inches and a quarter
long, of nearly uniform width, measuring about an inch across
when inflated. The proventricular glandules, which are large
and very distinct, form a belt three-fourths of an inch in
breadth. The stomach is large, thin, round, a little flattened,
an inch and three-fourths in diameter ; the fibres of its muscu-
lar coat rather coarse, the tendinous spaces circular, and about
half an inch in diameter ; the epithelium soft and rugous. The
intestine measures twenty-two inches in length, from three-
twelfths to a twelfth and a half in width ; but in the rectum,
which is two and a half inches long, becomes wider, and ex-
pands into an extremely large ovate cloaca, an inch in width.
The coeca are two inches and three-fourths in length, for an
inch and a half only one-twelfth in width, then enlarging into
an oblong sac, of which the greatest breadth is half an inch.
The nostrils are large, oblique, oblong, in the fore part of
the cere, and having internally a ridge curved backwards from
MOTTLED TUFTED-OWL. 455
the inner edge. The eyes are very large ; the eyelids, which
are equally mobile, with broad, thin, crenate margins, and ci-
liary fringes of distantly barbed feathers. The conch of the
ear extends in a semilunar form from over the eye to the base
of the lower mandible ; its posterior elevated margin three
inches in length, its anterior raised into a semicircular flap or
operculum, beset with recurved feathers. The tarsi are short
and rather stout ; the toes also short, and feathered ; the outer
two connected by a short basal web ; the first very short, the
second and fourth nearly equal, all with two terminal scutella.
Claws long, tapering to a very fine point, curved in the fourth
of a circle, compressed but convex on the sides, the first and
second rounded beneath ; the inner two much smaller.
The plumage is extremely soft ; the feathers generally ob-
long. The facial disks, which are large and complete, are com-
posed of circular series of weak, slender, slightly recurved fea-
thers, having distant filaments. The ruff" also is complete, its
feathers oblong and recurved. The disks meet at the base of
the upper mandible, where the feathers are more bristly. The
wings are long, and of great breadth ; the primary quills very
broad, with slender shafts, the outer a little incurved toward
the end ; the second longest, the first nearly an inch shorter ;
the secondary quills fifteen, broad and rounded. The first
quill with a sinus near the tip of the inner web, and the barbs
of the outer web free and recurved at the end in its whole
length ; those of the second toward the end also recurved, as
is the case with the first alular feather. The tail is rather short,
slightly arched, a little rounded, the lateral feathers being some-
what more than half an inch shorter.
The bill is brownish-black, the cere flesh-coloured, as is
the inside of the mouth. The irides are orange ; the claws
brownish-black ; at the base tinged with grey. The ground
colour of the plumage is buft'or reddish-yellow. The upper part
of the head minutely mottled with whitish, brownish-black,
and light-red ; the two elongated tufts, of which the largest
feathers are an inch and a half in length, are lidit reddish
towards the base, brownish-black in the central part to the
456 ASIO OTUS.
end, their inner edge white, mottled with dark-brown. The
rest of the upper parts may be described as longitudinally
streaked with dark brown, barred and finely undulated with
the same, and with greyish- white. The first row of coverts is
tipped with white on the outer web ; and the edge of the
wing, and the outer margin of the first alular feathers are of
the same colour. The alula and primary coverts are greyish-
brown, barred with darker ; the quills and scapulars pale grey,
barred with dark brown, and having more or less buff toward
the base of the outer web, that colour being conspicuous on the
outer six primaries. The tail is barred and dotted in the same
manner ; the dusky bars narrow, eight or ten in number. The
facial disk is white anteriorly, with the tips black, reddish-
yellow behind ; and the feathers on the upper eyelid are black.
The ruff is reddish, mottled with black. The lower parts are
in genera] similar to the upper, but with more buff, and fewer
spots, each feather with a linear-oblong dark-brown streak, and
several irregular transverse bars. The feathers of the tibiae,
tarsi, and toes are pure buff. The lower wing-coverts are light
buff; the primary coverts white, largely tipped with dark-
brown ; the quills yellowish- white, banded with brown toward
the end.
Length to end of tail 14^ inches, to end of wings 15^; ex-
tent ©f wings 86; bill along the ridge lj%, along the edge of
lower mandible 1^% ; wing from flexure II5; tail 5f ; tarsus I5;
first toe 5, its claw ^% ; second toe 1, its claw ^% ; third toe H,
its claw j"| ; fourth toe f, its claw j\.
Female. — The female, which is considerably larger, has the
upper parts lighter, but in other respects is similar in colouring.
Length to end of tail 16 incli£S, to end of wings 17 ; extent
of wings 40 ; bill along the ridge 1^ ; wing from flexure 12 ;
tail 5f ; tarsus l^'^ ; hind toe ^^j, its claw ^% ; middle toe 1^,
its claw j^.
Variations. — This species exhibits little variation in its co-
lours, some individuals merely having more grey than others
MOTTLED TUFTED-OWL. 457
on the upper parts, and the buff of the lower being more or
less intense. The intestinal canal varies a few inches in length,
and the coeca are very seldom equal.
Habits. — This Owl is a constant resident, and occurs in
most of the wooded districts of England and Scotland. Next
to the Barn Owl, it is our most common species, although not
of frequent occurrence in any part of the country. It is strictly
nocturnal, coming abroad in the evening, and resting by day in
woods and thickets. The first individual which I ever saw
alive, I shot in a small wood of pinus sylvestris, near Elgin, to
which I was directed by Mr Barclay of Calcoats. It was re-
posing on one of the higher branches of a tall tree, and allowed
me to approach within forty yards. The food of this species
consists of small glires, moles, and birds, as well as insects.
If disturbed by day, it flies in a buoyant but rather slow and
wavering manner ; but of its nocturnal flight I am unable to
speak. It generally appropriates the deserted nest of a rook
or other large bird, but sometimes forms one for itself, and lays
from three to five eggs, which are elliptical, an inch and nine
twelfths in length, an inch and four twelfths in breadth, smooth,
and of a pure white colour. The young, which are hatched
in the beginning of May, are at first covered with down, not
•white as some have stated, but of a light yellowish-grey tint,
barred with faint brown, and have two conspicuous tufts on
the head. They frequently emit a loud rather shrill cry, and
even when they have come abroad in June, continue for some
weeks to importune their parents for food in the same manner.
The old birds at night occasionally emit a plaintive cry.
" The Long-tufted Owl," Mr Hepburn informs me, " is rather
a common species in East Lothian, roosting and nestling in our
dark pine woods. Sol will sometimes surprise the nocturnal
wanderer, feasting on his prey in the meadow. He seeks the
friendly shelter of the hedgerow or neighbouring wood, where he
hopes to remain in peace until night again throws her veil over
nature. Vain are his hopes, for a prying wren has discovered
the intruder, and sounds an alarm. The robin, the white-
throat, the chanter, and other birds hasten to the spot. First
458 ASIO OTUS.
and foremost are the chaffinches. They buffet him, peck at,
and menace him on every side, while the Owl turns his eyes
from party to party, evading their blows as well as he can.
^he uproar is now great, each bird in his mother-tongue vent-
Itig execrations against the poor Owl. On such occasions one
may get within a few feet of it, the distance varying according
to the depth of shade in which he may be sitting. At length
he takes wing, generally flies a short distance, often pursued by
a chaffinch or two. On alighting he is still persecuted ; and
unless he gain some suitable roosting place among the fir-trees,
the alarm-notes of these watchful birds are heard the live-long
day.
" I have seldom seen it hunting for prey before it is quite dusk
I have known it occupy the deserted nest of the wood-pigeon
and the carrion crow, merely adding a few sticks and wool.
Indeed it seldom makes a nest for itself. The young, usually
four or five, are hatched in the beginning of May. Its cry,
consisting of two or three notes, is plaintive ; I have often heard
it when walking through our woods at night. Its food consists
of small quadrupeds, as well as of beetles in their season."
An individual of this species, which was sent to me in win-
ter by the Rev. Mr Adam, having been left at night perched
on the back of a chair in my drawing-room, tore to tatters six
valuable skins of birds from the Rocky Mountains, and an
equal number of nearly equally rare specimens from India. A
young bird which I kept for some time, on perching, stood at
first with the body inclined, afterwards nearly erect, and slept
in the latter posture, with its neck rather extended, its feathers
drawn close, and its tufts recumbent. When irritated it raised
its plumage, threw its body forward, and uttered a sharp cry.
It seized its food with its bill ; if large transferred it to one of
its feet, but if otherwise retained it in his bill. In flying, it
carried a small object in its bill, but a larger in its foot. It
could close one eye, while the other remained open, and when
placed in a strong light, frequently drew the membrane over
the lighted eye, while the other remained unsheathed, though
for the most part it winked with both simultaneously. The
irides contracted unequally, according to the degree of light.
MOTTLED TUFTED-OWL. 459
When perched at night it sometimes emitted a clicking noise,
like that of a spring, with its bill ; but when provoked, it
neither hissed nor snapped, but uttered a shrill, tremulous,
plaintive cry, or succession of short notes, erecting its tufts at
the same time.
On the European Continent this species extends from the
Scandinavian Peninsula to the shores of the Mediterranean. It
has also been found in Africa. In North America it is very
extensively dispersed, but, according to Mr Audubon is more
abundant in the middle and eastern than in the southern and
western parts. Its habits there, as described by him, are the
same as with us. " During the day it is not uncommon to see
it perched on the top of a low bush or fir. At such times it
stands with the body erect, but the tarsi bent and resting on a
branch, as is the manner of almost all Owls. The head then
seems the largest part, the body being much more slender than
it is usually represented. Now and then it raises itself and
stands with its legs and neck extended, as if the better to mark
the approach of an intruder. Its eyes, which were closed when
it was first observed, are opened on the least noise, and it
seems to squint at you in a most grotesque manner, although
it is not difficult to approach very near it. It rarely on such
occasions takes to wing, but throws itself into the thicket, and
makes off on foot by means of pretty long leaps. When en-
camped in the woods, I have frequently heard the notes of this
bird at night. Its cry is prolonged and plaintive, though con-
sisting of not more than two or three notes repeated at inter-
vals. Its food consists of rats, mice, and other small quad-
rupeds, as well as birds of various species ; its stomach having
been found by me crammed with feathers and other remains of
the latter."
But the Prince of Musignano, holds the American Long-
cared Owl to be distinct from the European, and in his Com-
parative List has named the former Otus Americanus, the
latter Otus vulgaris. As no reasons are assigned, and as I
have compared skins and recent birds from both countries, I
take leave to deny the accuracy of this statement.
460 ASIO OTUS.
Young. — When completely fledged, the young are coloured
like their parents, but with the tints much deeper, and the dark
markings broader. The iris is orange ; the bill brownish-grey,
at the tip greyish-yellow; the claws greyish-brown. The
facial disks are yellowish-brown ; the bars on the wings and
tail are more strongly marked, and the reddish-yellow on the
six outer quills is of a richer tint.
Progress toward Maturity. — After the first moult the dark
markings are still considerably broader than in the adult, and
the lower parts more barred. In old individuals, the lower
parts are pure buff, with narrow longitudinal spots only, the
transverse bars having disappeared.
461
ASIO BRACHYOTUS. THE STREAKED TUFTED-
OWL.
SHORT-EARED OWL. HAWK OWL. WOODCOCK OWL. MOUSE-HAWK.
Strix Ulula. Lath. Ind, Orn. I. 60.
Strix brachyotos. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 55.
Short-eared Owl. Mont. Orn. Diet.
Hibou brachiote. Strix brachyotus. Temm. Man. d'Orn. I. 99.
Short-eared Owl. Otus Brachyotos. Selb. lUustr. I. 88.
Otus brachyotos. Short-eared Owl. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 92.
Tufts inconspicuous, projecting about half an inch beyond the
plumage of the head ; upper parts light reddish-yellow^ with broad
longitudinal streaJcs and transverse bars of deep brown ; lower
parts light reddish-yellow, with narroio longitudinal brown streaks;
facial disk ichitish in its anterior half, pale yellowish-broicn be-
hind, the eye completely surrounded with brownish-black ; middle
tail-feathers icith a brown central patch in each of the light-colour-
ed spaces between the dark bands. Young similar to the adult.
Male. — This species closely resembles that already described,
being of nearly the same size, and agreeing in the tints of its
plumage, but is easily distinguished by attending to its pecu-
liar markings, independently of the less elongated tufts on its
head. Although seemingly robust, when covered with feathers,
its body on being denuded is found to measure only two inches
and a quarter in its greatest depth, two inches in its greatest
breadth, and to be so much compressed behind as to measure
no more than ten twelfths in the abdominal region. The head
is very large, and somewhat triangular ; but it is proportionally
smaller than that of any other of our Owls. The bill is short,
moderately stout, and considerably compressed ; the upper
mandible with its dorsal outline decurved from the base, bulir-
ing a little on the cere, the sides sloping and but little con-
vex, the edges soft as far as the nostrils, then direct, sharp, and
402 ASIO BRACHYOTUS.
(lecurved, the tip acute and deflected ; the lower mandible with
its crura narrow and flexible, the angle wide and elongated,
the dorsal line short and convex, the edges inflected, the tip
obliquely truncate, with a slight sinus on each side.
The mouth is very wide, measuring an inch and a twelfth
across ; the palate flat, with two longitudinal ridges, and the
sides sloping upwards ; the aperture of the posterior nares nar-
rowly elliptical, with an anterior fissure. The tongue is small,
narrow, seven-twelfths long, sagittate and papillate at the base,
bristly on the sides, its tip thin and slightly bifid. The oeso-
phagus is five inches in length, of the nearly uniform width of
four and a half twelfths when contracted, and of ten-twelfths
when inflated. The proventricular glandules, which are rather
large, form a belt about eight-twelfths in breadth. The sto-
mach is nearly globular, two inches and two-twelfths long, two
inches in breadth, and an inch and a quarter across ; its mus-
cular coat thin, being composed of a single series of rather coarse
fasciculi : its tendons about four-twelfths in diameter, the epi-
thelium soft, thin, and longitudinally rugous. The pylorus is
extremely narrow, and closed by a thin margin. The intestine
is twenty-two inches long, from five -twelfths in width to a
twelfth and a half; the rectum three inches long, for an inch
and a half of its length three-twelfths in diameter, then enlarged
into a globular cloaca, an inch in width. The coeca are three
inches and two-twelfths long, for two inches narrow, having a
breadth of only one-twelfth, then expanded into an oblong sac,
of which the greatest breadth is five-twelfths.
The nostrils are large, oblong, oblique, in the fore part of the
cere. The eyes very large ; the eyelids with broad thin crenate
margins, and ciliary fringes of small distantly barbed feathers.
The tarsi are short and rather stout ; the toes also short, and
feathered ; the first shortest, the third longest, the second con-
siderably longer than the fourth ; two terminal scutella on the
hind toe, three on the rest. The claws are long, slightly arched,
tapering, extremely acute, compressed, the first and second nar-
row and rounded beneath ; that of the fourth toe smallest, of
the first a little larger, those of the other toes much larger and
nearly equal.
STREAKED TUFTED-OWL. 463
The plumage is extremely soft and blended, although some-
what firmer than that of the other species. The facial disks
are complete, and composed of circular series of weak, slender,
slightly recurved feathers having distant filaments. The ruff
is also complete, and composed of oblong, recurved, compact
feathers. The cere is bare above, but it and part of the bill
are concealed by bristly feathers. On the upper parts the fea-
thers are oblong ; those on the hind part of the back entirely
downy ; on the lower parts also oblong, and mostly downy ; on
the tibiae short, extremely soft, and somewhat silky ; on the
tarsi and toes small, soft, and blended. The wings are long,
broad, and somewhat rounded ; the primary quills very broad,
with slender shafts ; the first sinuate on the inner web, the se-
cond faintly so ; the second longest, the third scarcely shorter,
the first a little longer than the fourth ; the secondary quills
fifteen, broad and rounded ; the first primary in its whole length,
the second towards the end, and the first alular feather, with
their external barbs disunited and recurved at their points. The
tail is rather short, slightly arched, somewhat rounded.
The bill is brownish-black ; the cere flesh-coloured ; the irides
bright yellow ; the claws brownish-black, tinged with grey.
The anterior half of the facial disk is white, the feathers with
black tips ; the posterior yellowish with black shafts ; and
the eye is surrounded by a ring of brownish-black, which is
much broader behind. The ruft- feathers are yellowish, with
an oblong brownish-black spot. The upper part of the head,
hind-neck, and fore part of the back, are reddish-yellow, with
the central part of each feather dark-brown. The scapulars
and wing- coverts are spotted and banded in large patches with
the same colour, many of them having also a large yellowish-
white spot on the outer web near the end. The edge of the
wing is whitish ; the alula and primary coverts dark brown,
the outer webs pale bufi^" at the base ; the quills buft', with a
narrow space along the shafts, the ends, and two or three broad
bands, dark brown. The tail is buff", with five broad bands of
brown, the tip yellowish-white : the two middle feathers with
the light-coloured spaces ocellate, having a brown patch in the
middle. The lower parts are pale buff, whitish behind ; the
464 ASIO BRACIIYOTUS.
neck with oblong, the breast and sides with linear dark-brown
markings ; the upper part of the throat, the abdomen, lower
tail-coverts, legs and feet without spots. The lower surface of
the wing is yellowish-white ; some of the coverts with a brown
spot ; the quills broadly banded with dusky toward the end.
Length to end of tail 15 inches ; to end of wings 17 ; extent
of wings 88 ; bill along the ridge 1 j^g ; along the edge of lower
mandible 1/^ '■> wing from flexure llf ; tail 6| ; tarsus l^'^u ;
first toe ■{'^^ its claw ^% ; second toe l^^g, its claw {g ; third
toe li^^, its claw i% ; fourth toe ^%, its claw |^g.
Female. — The female is considerably larger than the male,
but similar in colouring, the upper parts have their brown
markings lighter, the lower parts of a richer tint, and with
broader streaks. The oesophagus five and a half twelfths long,
nearly an inch in width when inflated. The stomach two
inches and a quarter in diameter. The intestine twenty-three
inches and a half in length, from four twelfths to two twelfths
in width ; the rectum wide, its dilatation globular. The cceca
two inches and three fourths in length ; the greatest width half
an inch, the smallest nearly one twelfth.
Length to end of tail 16 inches, to end of wings 18 ; ex-
tent of wings 40.
Variations. — Individuals vary in the tints of their plumage,
the ground colour being yellowish-red, bufl', or yellowish -white;
but the differences are not very remarkable.
Habits. — This species may be considered as permanently re-
sident in Britain ; for although towards the end of October
there is an immigration from the north, and in spring a cor-
responding diminution takes place, yet many individuals breed
in the country. It is by no means an extremely rare bird ; but
probably the circumstance of its residing in exposed places ren-
ders it more easily detected, which may be the reason why more
specimens should be obtained of it than of any other, in pro-
portion to their respective numbers. In winter it is dispersed
over the country from the northern parts of Scotland to the
STREAKED TUFTED-OWL. 46ff
southern counties of England. Although often raised by sports-
men and others, it is not certain that it usually hunts during the
day. It is found in stubble fields, or among turnips, by the side
of a hedge, or on the grassy margin of a brook or ditch, where
it rests in an erect posture. On being disturbed, it flies off in
an undulating manner, with a buoyant flight, shooting away
in various directions, and inclining its body alternately to either
side, much in the manner of the smaller gulls. After proceed-
ing some hundred yards, it generally alights, when a person
may get within shot, although it does not allow so near an ap-
proach as most other species.
Bewick having mentioned the occurrence of twenty-eight
in a turnip field in November, Montagu thinks that the cir-
cumstance of its being thus occasionally gregarious may be ac-
counted for by the abundance of food in a particular place.
*' Mr Austin assures us that a few years since, mice were in
such vast abundance as to destroy a large portion of vegetation
in the neighbourhood of Bridgewater ; and in autumn a great
many of the Short-eared Owls resorted to that part in order to
prey on them. They were found in the fields amongst the high
grass."
In December 1835, I came upon one standing by the side
of a ditch, about a mile from Edinburgh. On my approach
it flew ofi:, and although shot at, without being wounded how-
ever, alighted at the distance of about two hundred yards, by
the edge of a turnip field. Before I got half way to its new
station, it rose, ascended to a considerable height, and hovered
about, very much in the manner of a gull. A rook presently
made up to it, and endeavoured to peck at it, but the owl took
care to keep beyond reach, by rising in a spiral direction. It
was then attacked by another rook, and afterwards by two
more ; but it still kept above them, and continued to ascend
until it gained a great elevation, when they left it one by one.
After sailing a long time in circles, it flew off to a great dis-
tance. It was a clear sunny day ; yet the owl seemed in no
degree incommoded by the light.
Montagu states that " the Short-eared Owl comes to us in
October, about the time the Woodcock makes it appearance,
VOL. III. II a
466 ASIO BRACHYOTUS.
and departs at the same time with that bird, in March ; whence
its name of Woodcock Owl. With us this bird is observed
never to perch on a tree, but generally hides itself in long
grass, fern, or the like ; and seems partial to open, barren si-
tuations. When disturbed it flies a little way, and lights again
on the ground. In dusky weather it will prey by day, and
sometimes fly at small birds as well as mice. It is a bold bird,
but seems contented in confinement. One which was taken in
a lark-net became tolerably tame in a few months, and when
hungry would take food from the hand. It was mostly fed
with small birds and mice, but would eat any raw meat, which
it first took in its bill, and immediately placed in its talons,
and devoured it by piecemeal. When it was asleep or undis-
turbed the aurated feathers were very distinguishable, standing
above the rest about half an inch ; but on its being disturbed
they were instantly depressed, and the head apparently enlarg-
ed by the feathers round the face being somewhat raised.""
Since Montagu's time, however, it has been found breeding
in England. The late Mr Hoy, an enthusiastic observer of
birds, says in Mr Loudon's Magazine, " I am acquainted with
two localities in the south-western part of Norfolk, where pairs
of this bird breed ; and I have known several instances of their
eggs and young being found. One situation is on a dry heathy
soil, the nest placed on the ground amongst high heath ; the
other in low fenny ground, among sedge and rushes." Sir
William Jardine has also found it breeding in Dumfriesshire.
Two nests which he discovered on an upland moor, and which
contained five eggs, " were formed upon the ground among the
heath ; the bottom of the nest scraped until the fresh earth
appeared, on which the eggs were placed, without any lining
or other accessory covering. When approaching the nest or
young, the old birds fly or hover around, uttering a shrill cry,
and snapping with their bills. They will then alight at a short
distance, survey the aggressor, and again resume their flight
and cries. The young are barely able to fly by the 12th of
August, and appear to leave the nest some time before they
are able to rise from the ground." Mr Low, in his Fauna
Orcadensis, says, " It is very frequent in the hills of Hoy, and
STREAKED TUFTED-OWL. 467
builds its nest among the heath. It is impudent in breeding-
time, sometimes catching up chickens from the doors. I have
likewise seen it in chase of pigeons in daylight, which is not
ordinary with the owl kind. In a nest I found in Hoy were
the remains of a moorfowl, two plovers, besides the feet of
several others, and the birds, two in number, ready to fly. The
nest was in a large heath-bush, made without any art ; intoler-
ably fetid, by reason of the heat of the weather, which had
putrified some part of the provisions ; and which was still in-
creased by the dung of the birds, which the parents did not
seem so attentive to remove as I have observed the smaller
birds upon such occasions."" It is very remarkable that a bird
of so small muscular development should be able to kill and
carry off a red grouse, the weight of which is more than double
its own ; but Mr Low could not have been mistaken, as he
describes the bird with accuracy.
The ordinary food of this species consists of small quadru-
peds and birds. It is generally distributed on the continent of
Europe, and has been found in some parts of Asia and Africa.
It is also extensively distributed in America, being plentiful to
the north of the St Lawrence in summer, and extending in
winter southward as far as Florida. Having compared Ame-
rican skins and recent specimens with European individuals, I
feel assured that the Short-eared Owl of Wilson, Richardson,
and Audubon, is the same as ours. Its habits, as described by
Mr Audubon, are similar to those of our bird. He found it
plentiful in Florida, during winter, where he was " surprised
to see the great number which at that period were to be found
in the open prairies, rising from the tall grass in a hurried man-
ner, and zig-zagging for a few yards, as if suddenly wakened
from sound sleep, then sailing to some distance in a direct
course, and dropping among the thickest herbage. On being
pursued and repeatedly started from the ground, those birds
extended their flight so far as to be quite out of sight before
alighting. I never started two birds at once, but always found
them singly at distances of from twenty to thirty yards ; and
although on several occasions as many as three were seen on wing,
they having been put up by my companions and myself, they
468 ASIO BRACHYOTUS.
never flew towards each other, but went off in different direc
tions, as if unaware of each other"'s presence. Its predilection
for the ground forms a very distinctive pecuHarity in the habits
of this owl, as compared with the Long-eared ; for, although it
alights on bushes and trees, this seems more a matter of neces-
sity than of choice. The only nest of this bird that I have
found, contained four eggs, of a dull bluish- white, and of a
somewhat elongated or elliptical form, an inch and a half in
length, and an inch and an eighth in breadth. The nest, which
was placed under a low bush, and covered over by tall grass,
through which a path had been made by the bird, was formed
of dry grass, raked together in a slovenly manner, and quite
flat, but covering a large space, on one side of which were
found many pellets and two field-mice. On examining the
pellets I found them to be formed of the remains of bones of
small quadrupeds, mixed with hair, and the elytra of various
coleopterous insects. In its diurnal flight, the flappings of its
wings are noiseless, as in most other species, and it is apt to
sail many yards before alighting. Like the rest of the family,
when reposing, they stand as if crouched on the full length of
their tarsi, and the slight crests or tufts of feathers on their
head are, on such occasions, usually so lowered as to be scarcely
perceptible."
The substances which I have found in the stomach, were
remains of field-mice, and small birds. Montagu found in the
stomach of one the fragments of a sky-lark and a yellow-hammer.
The male above described, which was shot in January 1836,
contained four heads of mice, with a great quantity of hair and
bones. One examined by Mr Harley, at Leicester, on the 1st
November 1839, contained " the entire hind foot of a field-
mouse and numerous small bones, likewise a great quantity of
fur, but no remains of beetles. This individual weighed 14 oz,
and measured in length 15 inches, in extent of wings 401.""
Mr Hepburn says, " one that I examined was shot at Tyning-
ham, the noble seat of the Earl of Haddington, on the 27th of
May 1838. The contents of its stomach were mice and coleop-
tera. On the 29th July 1839, I examined two newly fledged
Short-tufted Owls, shot in the morning of that day in the Birks
Wood in the parish of Whittingham."
469
STRIX. SCREECH-OWL.
The genus Strix, of which the Barn Owl of Europe, Strix
flammea, and the American Screech-Owl, Strix Americana,
are characteristic species, is distinguished from the other genera
by pecuUarities which are obvious to the most superficial ob-
server, and which may readily be selected from among those
constituting the following generic description.
Bill short, of moderate strength, compressed tow^ard the end :
upper mandible with the dorsal outline straight to the edge of
the cere, then decurved in the fourth of a circle, the ridge broad
at the base, narrowed and convex anteriorly, the sides convex
toward the end, the edges soft until nearly opposite the nostrils,
where they are a little inflected, then sharp and direct to the
end, the tip acute and decurved over that of the lower mandi-
ble ; which is straight, with the crura narrow and flexile ; the
angle long, the dorsal line short, ascending and somewhat con-
vex, the back and sides convex, the edges soft until near the
end, when they become sharp, inflected, and curve downwards,
forming on each side a small sinus, close to the rounded tip ;
the gape-line slightly sinuous.
The mouth is very wide ; the palate concave in the middle,
sloping upwards at the sides, with two longitudinal papillate
ridges, and an anterior median tuberculate ridge. Posterior
aperture of the nares elliptical with an anterior slit, the mar-
gins of which and the space between it and the ridges are
covered with minute papillae directed backwards. Tongue nar-
row, fleshy, sagittate and papillate at the base, one of the papillae
on each side being much larger, the sides nearly parallel, the
upper surface flattened, with a median groove, the tip thin, bifid,
with two pointed lobes, a small portion beneath horny, with a
median groove. (Esophagus very wide, of uniform diameter ;
proventricular glands forming a continuous broad belt. Sto-
470 STRIX. SCREECH-OWL.
macli very large, roundish, a little compressed ; its muscular
coat very thin, and composed of a single series of coarse fasci-
culi ; the central tendons thin and small, the inner coat very
thin, perfectly smooth, and even. Pylorus very small, closed
by a rim, or having one triangular prominence. Intestine of
moderate length, narrow, contracting toward the coeca ; which
are long, of the same diameter at the base as the intestine, gra-
dually enlarge, and terminate in an oblong extremity ; cloacal
dilatation extremely large and globular.
Nostrils medial, large, ovate, oblique, in the anterior edge of
the cere. Eyes very large, slightly mobile, obliquely situated ;
eyelids with ciliary fringes of small feathers having distant
filaments, and broad, thin, crenate margins, which are discon-
tinued at the two canthi or angles ; both eyelids equally mobile.
Aperture of the ear, properly so called, large, subrectangular,
oblique, with an upper and a lower somewhat elevated margin,
and an anterior operculum, which is large, erect, somewhat
semicircular, subtruncate, and beset with feathers. Conch
extremely large, semicircular, extending from over the ante-
rior angle of the eye to the middle of the lower jaw ; its surface
sparsely covered with long, slender feathers, of which the basal
half is destitute of filaments.
Head extremely large, broad behind, somewhat trigonal,
•with the sides flattened and sloping forwards. When the fea-
thers are removed the skull is found to be more elongated than
in the other genera, its anterior part remarkably spongy, so that
the septum between the orbits is of great thickness. The neck
is as thick as the head, and exceeds in this respect the greater
part of the body ; but on being denuded is found to be slender.
The body also is slender, deeper than broad, and much com-
pressed behind. Legs rather long, of moderate strength ; tibia
longish and muscular ; tarsi of moderate length, covered with
small downy feathers ; toes short, covered above with trans-
verse series of small scales, together with adpressed shaft-
bristles, and two or three large terminal scutella, beneath pad-
ded and covered with flattened papillae ; the third and fourth
connected by a very small basal membrane ; the first very
short, the third longest, but not much exceeding the second
STRIX. screech-owl. 47I
which is considerably longer than the fourth. Claws long,
moderately curved, tapering, extremely acute, rounded above,
convex laterally, very narrow and grooved beneath, that of the
second toe longest, the inner dilated thin edge of the third cut
transversely or serrated.
Plumage extremely full, soft, and downy. Two very large,
complete, facial disks, composed of circular series of slender,
slightly recurved feathers, having distant filaments. Cere
covered on the sides with bristles concealing the nostrils. Mar-
gining the conch externally is a beautiful and perfect ruff, of
several series of linear-oblong curved feathers, having the fila-
ments loose, unless toward the end. The feathers of the narrow
frontal space are concealed by those of the disks and ruff. The
feathers in general are oblong, elongated, very downy ; on the
wings shorter and more compact ; on the tarsi very short and
downy, on the toes generally reduced to the shafts. Wings
long, very broad, of twenty-five quills, which are rounded, and
all entire on the margins ; the outer with the external fila-
ments free and recurved, the second longest, the first and third
slightly shorter. Tail short, decurved, even, of twelve broad,
rounded, rather weak feathers.
The extreme lightness of the birds of this genus compared
with their bulk, renders their flight in the highest degree buoy-
ant, insomuch that it assumes a character of unsteadiness. In
descending upon their prey, they must employ a mode consi-
derably different from that of the heavy-bodied Falcons, which
drop headlong almost with the velocity of a stone. The soft-
ness of their plumage renders their flight noiseless, and they
are thus enabled to steal unawares upon the quarry until with-
in a distance at which they can pounce with certainty. It is
perhaps owing to this circumstance that the tails of owls in
general are very short and narrow compared with those of
Hawks, which, having a more rapid flight, and being heavier,
require an instrument to enable them to perform sudden devi-
ations, and to break their fall, when they come upon their prey.
The Screech-Owls have, when at rest, an amusing aspect of gra-
vity, which degenerates into grotcsqueness when apprehension
of danger or curiosity induces them to examine the approaching
472
STRIX. SCREECH-OWL.
observer ; the extreme mobility of their neck enabling them to
throw themselves into various postures with ease. Although
it appears that they can see by day sufficiently well to enable
them to find their way, it is not until toward evening that
they sally forth in quest of food. They nestle in buildings,
rocks, and other high places, as well as on the ground. The
eggs, two or three in number, are elliptical or oval, being
more elongated than in the other genera. Only one species
occurs in Britain, where it is generally distributed.
Fig. 248 represents more especially the external ear of the
Screech-Owl. Fig. 249 shews its foot, and more particularly
the serrated claw. This figure is of the full size ; the other
reduced.
l^ ^' % <% fee ^
'///^
Fia. 249.
473
STRIX FLAMMEA. THE EUROPEAN SCREECH-
OWL.
BARN OWL. CHURCH OWL. SCREECH OWL. HISSING OWL. WHITE
OWL. YELLOW OWL. GII.LIHOWTER. HOWLET. HOOLET. CAILLACH-
OIDHCHE-GHEAL.
Strix flammea. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 1.'53.
Strix flammea. Lath. Ind. Orn. L GO.
Barn OwL Mont. Orn. Diet.
Chouette Effraie. Strix flammea. Temm. Man. cl'Orn. L 91; IL 48.
Barn or White Owl. Strix flammea. Selb. Illustr. L 99.
Strix flammea. Barn Owl. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 92.
Operculum margined with linear oblong perfect feathers ; bill
yellowish- white ; claws blacTcish-grey ; upper parts light reddish-
yellow ; variegated with minutely mottled ash-grey^ and small
black and white spots ; facial disks and lower parts ichite ; the
latter with small dusky spots. Young similar to the adidt, but
with the upper paints darker.
Male. — The Common Barn Ova4 of this country, to which
I have given the name of European Screech-Owl, to distinguish
it from an American species, which has usually been confound-
ed with it, is one of the most beautiful birds of the family to
which it belongs, and, were it not for the enormous size of its
head, would not be deficient in elegance of form. The propor-
tions of its parts being fully described in the generic character,
it is unnecessary to repeat them here. There is a peculiarity
in this species however which requires to be attended to : the
operculum is fringed with delicate feathers having all their
parts complete, whereas in the very closely allied American
Screech-Owl, these feathers are destitute of the filaments and
shaft, being reduced to the tube.
The tongue is three quarters of an inch in length, narrow,
474 STRix flammp:a.
and bifid. The oesophagus four inches and a half long, and of the
nearly uniform width of nine twelfths; the stomach two inches
in diameter, round ; its muscular coat very thin ; the pylorus
extremely narrow; the intestine twenty-three inches long, from
four and a half twelfths to a twelfth and a half in width ; but
enlarged beyond the coeca, which are two inches and a quarter
in length, a twelfth and a half in width for one inch, then di-
lated into an oblong sac, of wdiich the greatest width is three
twelfths ; the rectum two inches long, its cloacal dilatation
globular, and one inch in width.
The plumage is extremely soft, the feathers generally oblong ;
the disks and riift' complete ; the wings long, the first quill
one twelfth of an inch shorter than the second, which exceeds
the third by four-twelfths ; the tail short, decurved, almost
even at the end.
The bill is yellowish-white; the cere and inside of the mouth
light flesh-colour ; the iris black, the edges of the eyelids dark
brown ; the scales of the toes dusky, the claws dark purplish-
grey. The facial disks are white, with a large brownish-yel-
low spot before the eye ; the rufl-feathers reddish-yellow in
their upper third, then yellowish white, and toward the bill
tipped with brown. The general colour of the upper parts is
light reddish yellow, variegated with ash-grey, each feather
being toward its extremity of the latter colour, minutely un-
dulated with darker grey, and having near its tip a small
oblong space marked with two white and two dusky spots.
The quills are of the general colour, minutely dotted with
grey ; the primaries with four or five indistinct dusky bars or
spots on both webs, and having more than half the breadth of
their inner webs white ; the secondaries similarly marked,
but with their tips and nearly the whole of their inner
webs white. The tail has four bars, with a slight basal bar
or spot, the lateral feathers yellowish-\vhite with the bars
smaller. All the under parts are pure white, each feather,
excepting on the throat, with a small faint roundish dusky
spot near the tip.
Length to end of tail 1 i inches ; extent of wings 35 ; wing
from flexure 111 ; tail 5 ; bill along the ridge 1.^, along the
EUROPEAN SCREECH-0\\ L. 475
edge of lower mandible I5 ; tarsus 2/^ ; hind toe ^, its claw
^2 ; second toe 1^, its claw |^2 ; third toe 1^^, its claw j% ;
fourth toe ^% , its claw i\ •
Female. — The female is considerably larger, but differs
little in colour, the upper parts being merely somewhat darker.
In a perfect specimen examined on the 3d October 1835, the
diameter of the aperture of the eye was seven twelfths, that of
the ear measured four and a half twelfths in one direction, and
two and a half twelfths in the other ; the operculum an inch and
a twelfth in length, five and a half twelfths in height. The
bill flesh-coloured, with a small portion of the tips yellowish-
white ; the cere and inside of the mouth flesh-coloured ; the
iris black ; the edges of the eyelids and nictitant membrane
blackish-brown ; the tarsal scales purplish-brown, the scutella
and claws dark purplish-grey ; the soles dull greyish-yellow.
The facial disks white, with a brownish-red patch anterior to
the eye. The inner feathers of the ruff" white, the rest buff,
those of its lower third tipped with brownish-black. The
upper parts are light reddish-yellow, variegated with ash-grey,
which on the hind-neck and back is the prevailing tint, when
the feathers are laid close, although it occupies only a small
portion of the end of each, which is minutely mottled with
greyish-white and dark greyish-brown, and has along the me-
dian line from two to five small spots of dark brown and white.
The primary quills are mottled with grey at the end, the secon-
dary more or less over the outer webs ; there are five faint bars
of brownish-grey in dots and undulations on the outer, and
greyish-brown spots on the inner webs ; all the quills 2')uro
white on three-fourths of the breadth of their inner webs. The
tail is more distinctly marked with five dark grey bands ; the
inner webs, excepting the two middle, and the outer webs of
the two lateral, white. The sides and fore part of the neck of
a most delicate pale bufl"; the rest of the lower parts, including
the surface of the wings and tail, white ; some of the feathers
of the sides and a few of the lower wing-coverts have two small
dark spots near the end.
QEsophagus four inches and a half long ; stomach broadlv
476 STllIX FLAMMEA.
oval, two inches and three-eighths in length, one inch and
three-eighths in breadth ; the central tendons five-eighths by
five-twelfths, and six-eighths by five-twelfths ; pylorus very
narrow, with a roundish knob projecting from its thickened
margin ; intestine nineteen feet long, in the duodenal part five-
twelfths in width, at the smallest near the coeca two and a half
twelfths ; the coeca two inches and two-twelfths in length, for
one inch of the uniform width of two-twelfths, then enlarged
into an obovate sac, five-twelfths in its greatest width ; the
rectum two inches and a half long, with a large globular
cloaca.
In another individual shot in April 1836, the tongue was
nine-twelfths long, the oesophagus four inches and a half, ten
twelfths in width ; the stomach two inches in diameter ; the
intestine twenty-two inches long ; the coeca two inches and a
quarter, the rectum two inches.
Length to end of tail 1.5 inches ; to end of wings I5h ; ex-
O ^ CD - ^
tent of wings 38; wing from flexure 11 f ; tail 5 ; bill along
the ridge I5 ; along the edge of lower mandible 1^]- ; width
of mouth 1 ; tarsus 2/^ ; hind toe |%, its claw f-g ; second
toe Ij, its claw \h ; third toe lj\, its claw -}!? ; fourth toe
^%, its claw i§.
Variations. — In individuals apparently adult, some slight
differences are observed in the colouring. The bill is ivory-
white, or tinged with yellow, or flesh-colour ; the facial disks
rarely without a reddish patch, which however varies in size ;
the ruff" sometimes entirely white, sometimes tipped with buff
or yellowish -brown, its lower part often dark brown or dusky.
The upper parts are more or less grey or yellow, and the lower
sometimes pure white, sometimes tinged with yellow, but
usually marked with small dusky spots.
Changes of Plumage. — Toward the period of moult, there
is less grey on the upper parts, and the spots on the lower are
fewer, the tips of the feathers having been partially abraded.
Habits. — If we give " a local habitation ■" to the White Owl,
EUROPEAN SCREECH-OWL. 477
let it be, not a barn, nor a cathedral, but this huge mouldering
tower, once the seat of the powerful lords of iJorthwick. To
it I give the preference, because, as the minister of the parish
remarks, " It is pleasing to recollect, that it has not been
stained or rendered in any respect horrible to the imagination
by the perpetration of any of those darker and more atrocious
crimes which were so common in Scotland during the times
of the Jameses, and which still seem to adhere in gloomy co-
lours to the ruins that awaken our interest. But families," as
the reverend man observes (gentleman, I say not, for no bishop
of a christian church can be distinguished by any title that be-
longs merely to the world) " have their times of rise, of gran-
deur, and of ultimate decline. The immense possessions of
this once powerful and respectable family have long fallen to
other occupants, their race has become almost extinct, and the
scene of their greatness and splendour is an uninhabited and
fast crumbling ruin. It is solemn, amidst such thoughts, to
stand, while the shadows of evening are falling on the surround-
ing glen, beside the ever-murmuring brook that hastens down
the valley, and to permit the scene before us to make its na-
tural impression on our minds. A few scattered lights are
beaming from the humble windows of the lowly cottages that
lie under the shadow of the ruin ; the castle itself, in all its
gloomy and solitary grandeur, still lifts its imposing mass into
the dusky air ; and over all are the enduring lights of heaven,
which have witnessed, without change, so many revolutions
among the dwellings of men, and which are destined, through
the long coming years of the history of our race, to shine on so
many myriads who have as yet no intimation of the wonders
of that ever-varying scene into which they are eventually to be
ushered. The present, the past, and the future, are thus brought,
by the different features of the scene, at one moment before us ;
and each portion of the picture derives additional interest from
the others with which it is associated. The effect of the whole
is an impression that is at once solemn and imposing."
If the belief of ghosts had not long ago been extinct among the
more enlightened at least, to which class I and my readers be-
long, I had taken that shriek for the cry of the beautiful, guilty,
478 STRIX FLAMMEA.
and deservedly miserable queen Mary. But it may not be :
we are now reduced to the necessity of seeking for natural
causes. Gliding downwards from one of the higher windows
comes the bird of night. Meteor-like it sweeps away, flying
at the height of a few feet from the ground ; and in endeavour-
ing to trace its course, we lose all that mysterious feeling which
its scream excited. The poor bird in fact has nothing to do
with the ghosts of grim and bloody barons, or gay ladies : it is
a thing of mere bone, muscle, and feathers, intent on procur-
ing a few heedless mice, to satisfy the cravings of its own
appetite and that of its voracious young. Yet, so frail, so sen-
sitive, or so imaginative is humanity, that the harsh sound
causes to thrill in the breast of him on whose ear it unexpect-
edly comes, a cord which emanates directly from the organs of
wonder and fear, if such indeed there be, for man must ever be
to man a great mystery. The spectral bat now flutters on
leathern wing, the beetle bounces away into the dim shade,
silence and darkness envelope the earth, and if the lone wan-
derer be not a mere philosopher, some holy thought, some sadly
pleasing emotion, some sense of the presence of God, must
arise in his breast. But let us proceed more methodically.
The Barn Owl chooses for his place of repose some obscure
nook in an old building, the steeple of a church, a tower, a
dovecot, or a hollow tree. There he remains from sunrise to
sunset, in a nearly erect posture, with retracted neck, and
closed eyelids, dozing away the hours in which, from the struc-
ture of his eyes, he is unable to perceive his prey, and waiting
for the return of twilight. If approached in this state, instead
of flying off*, he raises his feathers, hisses like an angry cat,
clicks his bill, and thus threatens the intruder. Should he by
any accident be driven abroad, he seems dazzled and bewil-
dered. Incapable of distinctly perceiving the objects around
him, he flits about with an unsteady flight, and is glad to be-
take himself to some dark retreat, where he may be sheltered
from the light, as well as from his numerous enemies. The
appearance of an Owl in open day is a phenomenon that ex-
cites the curiosity as well as hatred of many species of birds,
even the smallest of which will gather around, chide, and ha-
EUROPEAN SCREECH-OWL. 479
rass him, while the larger will not hesitate to attack him with
their bills and wings. The Blue Tit, being among the boldest
of our little birds, takes a prominent part in these proceedings,
and the Chaffinch, gentle as it is, distinguishes itself by its vo-
ciferous animosity. Sometimes this Owl reposes in the upper
part of a tree in a dense wood, or even in a thicket ; and should
it be discovered in the latter situation by any of these birds,
their outcries presently bring a band of enemies around it. But
although the Barn Owl is thus so imbecile by day as to suffer
itself to be insulted with impunity by the pettiest aggressor, it
assumes a very different character when darkness restores to it
the faculty of clearly distinguishing objects.
By watching near its haunts, or taking his station in the
neighbourhood of some farm-steading frequented by it, one
may dimly see it advance with silent and gliding flight, skim-
ming over the fields, shooting along the hedge-bank, deviating
this way and that, and now perhaps sweeping over head, with-
out causing the slightest sound by the flappings of its downy
wings. On perceiving an object, it drops to the ground, se-
cures its prey in a moment, and uttering a shrill cry, flies off
with it in its claws. In a little time it returns, and thus
continues prowling about the farm-yard for hours. The do-
mestic mouse, Wood Mouse, Common Arvicola, Shrew, Lark,
and young birds of different species, are the objects which I
have found in its stomach. The mice are generally swallowed
entire, often without their bones being broken, but the birds
are torn to pieces. Young hares and rabbits, as well as lepi-
dopterous and coleopterous insects are said by several persons
to form part of its food. Mr Waterton, whose opportunities
of observing its habits are unrivalled, he having in a manner
domesticated this species, informs us that it carries off rats,
and occasionally catches fish. " Some years ago," he says,
" on a fine evening, in the month of July, long before it was
dark, as I was standing on the middle of the bridge, and minut-
ing the owl by my watch, as she brought mice into her nest, all
on a sudden she dropt perpendicularly into the water. Think-
ing that she had fallen down in epilepsy, my first thoughts
were to go and fetch the boat ; but before I had well got to the
480 STRIX FLAMMEA.
end of the bridge, I saw the owl rise out of the water with a
fish in her claws, and take it to the nest."" It has been alleged
that it does not prey on Shrews ; but I have found four skulls
of these animals, along with two of an Arvicola, in the stomach
of one. The quantity which it swallows may seem surprising
to a person who does not consider how many mice may be
squeezed into a sac two inches in diameter. Hemains of eight
or ten animals may sometimes be found in its stomach, but in
various degrees of decomposition, the greater part of some hav-
ing passed into the intestine before the rest have been procured.
The skulls and other bones, enveloped in the hair, are ejected
in pellets, after the bird has retired to its resting-place. " When
it has young," says Mr Waterton, " it will bring a mouse to
its nest about every twelve or fifteen minutes. But in order to
have a proper idea of the enormous quantity of mice which
this bird destroys, we must examine the pellets which it ejects
from its stomach in the place of its retreat. Every pellet con-
tains from four to seven skeletons of mice. In sixteen months
from the time that the apartment of the owl on the old gate-
way was cleaned out, there has been a deposit of above a
bushel of pellets.'"
The shriek of the White Owl, occasionally heard at night,
and usually in solitary places, which few persons enter with-
out some feeling of awe, has given it a kind of mysterious
character with the vulgar ; and it must be confessed that, in-
dependently of any superstitious feeling, its cry coming unex-
pectedly on the ear, in a church-yard, or among the crumbling
ruins of some monastery or castle, is little calculated to inspire
pleasant ideas. In like manner, the long loud wailing cry of
the Great Northern Diver, heard from the dark bosom of the
ocean, by a person wandering at night on the lonely shores of
the Hebrides, infallibly strikes him with no inconsiderable
degree of awe. The White Owl has no other cry, if we except
the hissing noise which it makes. The snoring sound heard
from its nest, Mr Waterton informs us is the cry of the young
for food.
The nest, which is placed in the usual retreat of the bird,
is composed of twigs and straws loosely arranged. The eggs.
EUROPEAN SCREECH-OWL. 481
from two to five in number, an inch and a half in length, an
inch and a quarter in breadth, and thus of a broadly elliptical
form, are pure white and smooth. The young are at first
covered with white down. It appears that several broods are
produced annually, for young birds have been found in? the
nest from April to December. Mr Blyth, in the Field Natu-
ralists' Magazine, Vol. I, p. 1 87, states that a nest of the Barn
Owl was found in the neighbourhood of Tooting, containing
" two eggs, and when these were hatched two more were laid,
which latter were probably hatched by the warmth of the
young birds ; a third laying took place after the latter were
hatched, and the nest at last contained six young Owls of
three different ages, which were all reared."
The Barn Owl is more extensively distributed, and more
numerous, in Britain than any other species. Few ruined
buildings of large size are destitute of a pair ; but it is very
seldom met with in the wilder and bleaker districts, or in the
northern isles. Its favourite haunts are in the cultivated and
sheltered parts of the country, where meadows and corn-fields
foster the animals on which it habitually preys. In most parts
of England it is not very uncommon, and the same may be
said of the southern and middle divisions of Scotland. There
can be no doubt that, whatever little depredations it may oc-
casionally make upon the gamekeeper's charge, it ought to be
protected as a benefactor to the farmer. This will especially
appear from the following account of it given by my friend
Mr Hepburn.
" The Barn Owl is by no means a very common bird in our
part of East Lothian. Shortly before sunset it leaves its retreat,
skims along the hedge-rows, hunts over the meadows and corn-
fields like a spaniel, and drops suddenly on its quarry. You
see him approach the homestead, on noiseless wing tlireadinc
the labyrinth of stacks. He now enters the outhouses or the
barn, and speedily reappears, with a mouse in his claws.
Perching on the top of a stack he devours his prey, preens
his feathers, and shrieks. Should plenty of food occur, he
will remain all night, and visit the place very frequently. It
is at this time, especially if the weather be fine, that mice
482 STRIX FLAMMEA.
betake themselves to the outside of the stacks, where all night
long they sport amongst the extremities of the sheaves, and
doubtless drink the crystal dew-drops in their season. From
his watch-tower the owl swoops down amongst them, or nimbly
seizes them as he glides between the stacks. A sorry adept
indeed he must be if he does not often secure one in each foot
at a time. Five or six years ago, in the month of June, July,
and August, I have often, with the assistance of a terrier,
killed from a hundred and twenty to a hundred and fifty mice
in one stack, containing the produce of about two acres and
a half. In the very centre of the stack, about three feet from
the ground, where the heads of the first six or eight sheaves
meet, I have frequently seen about a peck of grain separated
from the ears, and so broken by their gnawing as to resemble
very coarse meal. Nor must we forget the owl's services in
the meadow and corn-field. With such facts before his eyes,
where is the man who has the least interest in the cultivation
of the soil, that will not protect this beautiful and highly use-
ful bird ? I have endeavoured to put it on a good footing with
game-keepers, but apparently with no better success than in
the case of the poor Kestrel. Although Mr Jenyns, in his
valuable Manual of British Vertebrate Animals, says that the
Barn Owl rejects the Shrew, I found in the stomach of one
which I procured on the 30th November 1839, an entire indi-
vidual of the Sorex araneus, of which the bones only were
broken."
The above account, I believe, contains as much of the history
of this bird as is well known ; but I cannot conclude without
referring the reader to a very pleasing paper on its habits, in
Mr Waterton's Essays on Natural History, in which its hoot-
ing, said to have been heard by a naturalist, is put much
on the same footing as the double-doored nest of the Long-
tailed Mufflin.
Young. — When fledged, the young have the bill and inside
of the mouth pale flesh-coloured, the iris black, the scutella and
claws pale purplish-brown. By this time the thin edge of the
middle claw, which was at first entire, is partially serrated, hav-
EUROPEAN SCREECH-OWL. 483
ing several parallel transverse slits toward the end. The facial
disks are dull white, with an orange-hrown spot before the eyes ;
the ruff white, with the tips of the lower feathers reddish. The
upper parts are pale reddish-yellow, mottled with grey and
brown, as in the adult ; the quills and tail of a lighter tint,
tinged with grey, and thinly mottled ; the tail with faint indi-
cations of bars.
Progress toward Maturity. — The young differing so little
from the adult birds, the changes that take place in the colour
of the plumage are very slight.
Remarks. — Several species not hitherto well described, being
very intimately allied to the present, have usually been con-
founded with it, so that its distribution has been considered as
extending over most parts of Europe, the whole of Africa, a
portion of Asia, New Holland, and both divisions of America.
The " Barn Owl" of the United States however is a distinct
species, characterized, among other peculiarities, by its oper-
culum, of which the feathers in all the individuals examined
by me are as it were reduced to the tubes, the shafts being
wanting. That species also is confined to the warmer regions,
whereas ours extends far north ; and its eggs are of a very elong-
ated form, compared with those of ours. M. Temminck alleges
that " Tespece est absolument la meme dans toute TAmerique
Septentrionale ;" and again, " les individus de TAmerique Sep-
tentrionale different seulement par quelques legeres teintes plus
sombres." Should the gentleman ever see this book, I hope he
will look to the ear, and reflect that the males of the American
birds are much larger than even the females of ours, the colour
of the claws different, the lower parts always reddish. These
absolute assertions are hurtful to the credit of ornithologists,
and impose upon students, especially those who have the organ
of credulity largely developed, or very active, or not counter-
acted by others.
480
DE ULULIS.
Gentle Reader ! — A lesson in Practical Ornithology ought to
come here ; but as the Owls have occupied so much space that
only a single page is left for it, I hope you will excuse me if I
substitute the relation of an occurrence which has afforded me
some amusement.
Having one night in April laboured very assiduously in
correcting these sheets, I became somewhat imaginative about
three in the morning, and leaning back in my chair, beheld
four Hooting-Owls, which, having entered by the chimney,
alighted on the table in the midst of my books and papers.
They had probably been attracted by the odour emanating
from a Buzzard^s skull, which I had recently dissected ; for
they presently rummaged about in search of something to
pick at. Nothing here but dry sapless stuff, " Macgillivray"'s
Raptores, &c." observed one of the owls ; " Guts and giz-
zards," quoth another, " fit only for Turkey-vultures."" " Te-
dious technicalities and objectless digressions," shrieked the
third. " Besides," said the fourth, who had a dung-beetle
in his bill, which he crushed and swallowed, " the fellow^ ought
to imitate us, he has no respect to the majesty of nature, but
when he sees a wren hopping in a whin-bush, he runs after it, and
chirps to it." The owls now scattered my proof-sheets about,
then marshalling in order, stared upon me with their " moony
eyes," and swelling their throats w^ith solemn gravity, emitted
such a volley of discordant sounds, that, hardly knowing whe-
ther to laugh or to cry, I awoke. The light of morning
gleamed through the shutters, and a Blackbird and Mavis sung
their melodious matins in the garden of Heriot's Hospital oppo-
site. Sweet birds, said I, it is not the first time I have been
cheered by you. Willingly do I respond to your " harmonious
call." The birds of night having received due attention, I now
proceed to give the history of a more lively race.
481
X. EXCURSORES. SNATCHERS.
The fifteen British land birds which remain to be described,
belong to nine genera, each of which is with us the representa-
tive of a family. These genera are Lanius, Coracias, ISIuscicapa,
Bombycilla, !Merops, Alcedo, Caprimulgus, Cypselus, and Hi-
rundo. A detailed account of the structure and affinities of the
families to which they may be referred would occupy more space
than it might be expedient to devote to them in a work like
this ; and of two of them, Coracias and ISIerops, I have not had
opportunities of examining the internal organs. I shall, how-
ever, in conformity with the plan adopted, present some remarks
on these families, which in many essential respects differ so
much from each other, that I am convinced they cannot with
propriety be referred to less than three groups or orders, of the
same value as those hitherto employed. At the same time it
appears to me that in their general organization, Lanius, Cora-
cias, Muscicapa, and Bombycilla, approach so nearly to the
Thrushes, Warblers, and Tits, that they might perhaps be in-
cluded in the same group. Merops and Alcedo, which appear
to be nearly allied, are distinct from those just mentioned, and
with other genera might form an order. Hirundo appears to
be closely allied to Muscicapa and other genera of the same
family, as well as to some of the Cantatores ; while Cypselus
and Caprimulgus seem to belong to a separate group, the former
being analogous to the diurnal, the latter to the nocturnal Rap-
tores. Although 1 thus do not profess to place these nine
VOL. III. I 1
482 EXCURSORES. SNATCIIERS.
genera or families in their natural position, I think they may
be arranged into three groups or orders : the first, that of the
Excursores, containing the Shrikes, Rollers, Flycatchers, and
Chatterers ; the second, or that of the Volitatores, being com-
posed of the Swallows, Swifts, and Goatsuckers ; and the third,
or that of the Immersores, including the Bee-eaters as well as
the Kingsfishers.
The birds of which the family of Excursoees is composed,
namely the Shrikes, Flycatchers, and Chatterers, of which the
older systematic writers formed only three genera, but which
latterly, on account of their vast number, and the diversity of
form exhibited by them, have been divided into numerous
groups, have for the most part a peculiar habit of assuming a
station on a twig or other eminence, and of sallying forth from
it to seize upon insects that may happen to approach, after
which they return to their perch, or assume another station.
These excursions of theirs, and the dexterous manner in which
they snatch their insect prey, have induced me to name them
as above.
They are generally of small size, averaging perhaps that of a
Song Thrush, sometimes very diminutive, and seldom exceed-
ing a Jay or a Jackdaw. Their bill is short or of moderate
length, broad at the base, compressed at the end, the upper
mandible having a small decurved tip, behind which, on either
side are a sinus or notch, and a toothlike process, which is fre-
quently very prominent. The palate is flat ; both mandibles
concave toward the end, with a prominent median line ; the
tongue narrow, flat, emarginate and papillate at the base, thin-
edged, with the point slit or lacerated. The oesophagus is
wide, destitute of crop ; the stomach is elliptical, moderately
muscular, having two distinct lateral muscles, its epithelium
dense and rugous ; the intestine short, and wide ; the coeca
very small. The trachea is cylindrical or somewhat taper-
ing ; the inferior larynx with four pairs of muscles, sometimes
blended into two pad-like masses. Plate XXII, Figs. 1, 2, 3.
The body is ovate ; the neck short ; the legs very short and
small, or of moderate size ; the tarsus much compressed, cover-
ed anteriorly with about seven scutella, of which the upper are
EXCURSORES. SNATCH ERS. 483
often blended ; the toes four, compressed ; the hind toe stouter
and with its claw nearly as long as the third toe, which is
united to the second at the base, the lateral toes nearly equal.
The claws are rather long, curved or arched, much compressed,
laterally grooved, and very acute. The wings. Fig. 250, vary
in length, but are generally rather long, more or less rounded,
of eighteen quills, the first very small, the third and fourth
longest. The tail is composed of twelve feathers, but varies in
size and form.
The skeleton does not differ materially from that of the Can-
tatores, Vagatores, and Deglubitores. The same may be said
of the arrangement of the plumage, the principal difference
existing in their having the base of the upper mandible fur-
nished with strong bristles directed obliquely forwards. Figs.
250, 254, the object of which seems to be to enable them with
more certainty to seize their insect prey. Their feet, Figs. 254,
257, are generally smaller, especially the toes, and they are little
addicted to walking or leaping on the ground, many of them
being by the feebleness of their posterior extremities incapaci-
tated for performing these actions effectually.
Species of this order occur in all parts of the globe ; but
their number increases with the increase of temperature, and
those which reside in the colder regions migrate southward as
winter approaches. These circumstances are evidently in con-
nexion with the supply of insect food, besides which, however,
they eat worms, mollusca, and sometimes fruits. The larger
species are addicted to the pursuit of mice, small birds, frogs,
lizards, and other reptiles, which, as well as large insects, they
generally spit on thorns. They are shy, ferocious, tyrannical,
and unsocial birds ; frequent woods, thickets, hedges, and gar-
dens ; and have a rapid, buoyant, undulating flight. Their voice
is generally harsh, but many of them imitate the cries of other
birds, and some have a modulated and pleasant song. They
nestle in trees and bushes, sometimes in holes in walls, and
construct an elaborate nest, lining it with soft materials. Their
eggs are generally about five. The young are born blind and
bare, and are assiduously tended, and courageously protected by
their parents. These birds are in fact remarkable for their au-
484 EXCURSORES. SNATCHERS.
dacity, for they will not hesitate to attack a hawk or other bird
greatly superior to them in strength, and usually succeed in
driving it off.
In Europe there are proportionally few of these birds ; and
in Britain, not more than five species have been found, of which
only one is common. If we confine ourselves to the consider-
ation of the characters and affinities of our indigenous birds
therefore, we can form no correct idea of the connexions of
the order, or of the groups into which it may be divided. Of
these groups it is unnecessary here to indicate more than the
names and principal characters, with some of the genera of
which they are composed.
The Laniincc, Shrikes or Butcher Birds, of which may be
mentioned the genera Lanius, Falcunculus, Malaconotus, and
Thamnophilus, have the bill of moderate length or short, broad
at the base only, compressed in the rest of its extent, with a
decurved tip, and a prominent toothlike process ; the wings of
moderate length, and concave ; the feet of ordinary length,
rather stout, the claws large and curved. Three species are
found in Britain, but none are resident.
The MyiotlierinWi or Flychasers, exemplified by the genera
Myiothera (Tyrannus, Vieill.), Dicrurus, Muscicapa, Musci-
peta, and Todus, have the bill of moderate length, or rather
long, broad, depressed, with a suddenly compressed, very small,
deflected tip, and a distinct notch ; the mouth wide ; the tarsus
very short, with very large scutella, the toes very small, and
the wings rather long and straight. They are the typical birds of
this order, or those which present its characters in the greatest
perfection. Two species occur in Britain, both summer birds.
The Ampelina^ or Chatterers, including the genera Ampelis,
Casmarhynchus, Rupicola, Calyptomina, Procnias, Bomby-
cilla, Pipra, Pardalotus, Vireo, and some others, have the bill
generally short, broad at the base, compressed at the tip, which
is small and deflected, with a distinct notch, the mouth wide
(but rarely if ever opening beyond the eyes, as has been erro-
neously stated), the feet very small, and the wings generally
long. They are in some respects allied to the Hirundinae or
Swallows, as well as to the Myiotherinre. Only a single
EXCURSORES, SNATCHERS. 485
species occurs in Britain, and that merely as an irregular visi-
tant.
The Psarlnw, including the genera Psaris, Eurystomus, Co-
racias, Irena, and several others, have the bill generally large,
with its sides convex, its height and breadth nearly equal at
the base, the tip of the upper mandible very small and deflected,
with a sinus on each side, but seldom with a tooth-like pro-
cess ; the tip of the lower mandible narrow and obliquely trun-
cate ; the nostrils large ; the tarsi very short, with very large
scutella, the toes rather large, the claws moderate and well
curved ; the wings large and broad. Only one species, Cora-
cias garrula, occurs in Britain.
These latter birds have been placed by some in connexion
with the Crows, and by others with the Kingsfishers and Bee-
eaters ; but I think their general structure, their very short
broadly scutellate tarsi, broad wings, and more or less bulging
bill, of which the tip is always deflected, indicate that their
position is near the Shrikes and Flycatchers.
486
LANIINiE.
SHRIKES AND ALLIED SPECIES.
The Shrikes and allied genera differ from the Myiotherinae
chiefly in the form of the bill and feet, the former being stronger,
less expanded at the base, and more compressed towards the
end, with a stronger dentiform process, the latter much stouter
and more elongated.
The bill is rather short, or of moderate length, strong,
as high as broad at the base, compressed ; the upper man-
dible with the dorsal outline straight or convex, the ridge
more or less rounded, the sides convex, the edges sharp, the
notch and dentiform process well marked, the tip slender, de-
clinate or abruptly decurved, and acute ; the lower mandible
with the angle rather short and broad, the dorsal outline con-
vex and ascending, the back broad at the base, the sides con-
vex, the edges more or less inclinate, the tip small, ascending,
with a sinus behind. Fig. 251.
The nostrils are rather small, roundish or elliptical, in the
fore part of the rather large nasal membrane, which is covered
with bristly feathers at the base. The eyes are of moderate
size. The aperture of the ear roundish and large.
The general form is compact, moderately full ; the body
ovate ; the neck rather short ; the head large, broadly ovate or
roundish, and flattened above. The feet are short, but of mo-
derate strength ; the tarsus short, but longer than the hind toe
and claw, its anterior scutella generally blended above ; the
toes moderate, compressed ; the hind toe much stouter, the
outer toe united at the base w^ith the third ; the claws rather
large, much arched, compressed, laterally grooved, and very
acute.
The plumage is soft and blended ; the feathers ovate and
SHRIKES AND ALLIED SPECIES. 487
rounded. About five large stiff bristles at the base of the upper
mandible on each side ; smaller bristles on the nasal membrane.
Wings, Fig. 150, of moderate length, broad, semi-ovate, often
concave, rounded, with nineteen quills ; the first not generally
half the length of the second, sometimes wanting ; the third,
fourth, and fifth longest. Tail of twelve straight feathers of
moderate breadth, varying in length and form, generally a little
emarginate and rounded.
The Laniinje, composed of the genera Lanius, Falcuncu-
lus, Telephonus, Malaconotus, Thamnophilus, Vanga, Barita,
and others, are in a manner intermediate between the Myiothe-
rinte, Turdinae, Corvinoe, and Falconinre, of which they com-
bine the characters and habits. With, the Myiotherinae they
agree to a certain extent in the form of their bill and feet, and
in their being addicted to the pursuit of insects ; but they differ
in having the bill stronger, although more compressed, and the
feet better adapted for walking and perching securely. In the
latter circumstance, in the form of the wings and tail, and in
some degree in that of the bill, they are allied to the Turdinre,
which they also partly resemble in habits, being to a great ex-
tent plurivorous. The affinity of many of them to the Hawks
is very striking, especially in the form of the bill, which is
strong and more or less hooked, as are their claws. Accord-
ingly, not content with insects, worms, mollusca, and fruits,
many of them attack live birds and quadrupeds. So great in
fact is their resemblance to the Falconinjs in these respects that
they have frequently been placed by systematists in the same
order. They are truly rapacious birds, and certainly a Shrike
is as nearly allied to a Falcon as many Vultures are. Nor
would it at all, in my opinion, be less in accordance with the
affinities of these groups were the analogical systematists to con-
sider them as the insessorial section of the Raptores, rather than
as the raptorial section of the Insessores. I therefore humbly
suggest to Mr Swainson the propriety of removing the Dididaa
out of the Raptorial circle, as nature has fairly expunged them
from her album, and putting in their place the Laniidae. The
Falconidae and Strigidae might form a single group. The ^^ul-
turida? may remain. And thus the Raptores will be composed
488 LANIIN^.
of three orders, not circularly disposed however, which birds
can never with truth be, as they have affinities not in two, but
in twenty directions. With this ternary commencement it
will by no means be difficult to find other ternary groups to
agree analogically, so that a beautiful system of nine orders
will arise, each order divided into three suborders, the latter
into as many nations, tribes, families, genera, and species.
Such an arrangement would be much more symmetrical than
one of fives, and could be easily elaborated without the neces-
sity of risking so temerariously the respectability of the scheme
by alleging that a bird like Gypogeranus is a rasorial eagle, or
Khynchaea a rasorial snipe.
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH GENERA AND SPECIES.
GENUS I. LANIUS. SHRIKE.
Bill short or of moderate length, stout, broad at the base, com-
pressed toward the end ; upper mandible with a large tooth-like
process on each side, and a narrow decurved tip ; head large,
roundish ; legs of moderate length ; tarsus rather short, com-
pressed, with seven anterior scutella ; hind toe rather stout,
lateral toes nearly equal ; claws arched, compressed, acute ;
plumage blended ; bristles stiff; wings of ordinary length, with
the first quill very short, the fourth longest ; tail long, graduated
or rounded.
1. Laniiis Excuhitor. Great Cinereous Shrike. Ash-grey
above, white beneath ; quills black, with their bases white.
2. Lanius rufus. Woodchat Shrike. Upper parts variegated
with black, white, and red ; lower white. Female with the
colours duller, the breast with transverse brownish lines.
3. Lanius Collurio. Med-hacked Shrike. Back and wing-
coverts brownish-red, upper parts of head, hind-neck, and rump
ash-grey ; breast and sides rose coloured. Female with the
colours duller, the lower parts greyish-white undulated with
dusky.
489
LANIUS. SHRIKE.
Bill rather short, strong, pentagonal at the base, higher than
broad, much compressed toward the end : upper mandible with
its dorsal outline convex, the ridge rather narrow, the sides
sloping at the base, nearly erect toward the end, the nasal sinus
moderately large and anteriorly rounded, the edges slightly
overlapping, the notch distinct, with a marked projection be-
hind it, the tip considerably decurved, compressed, slender,
and acute ; lower mandible with the angle short and rounded,
the dorsal outline ascending and convex, the sides convex, the
edges direct, the tip slender, curved a little upwards^ and
acute ; the gape-line somewhat arched.
The mouth rather wide ; the upper mandible internally con-
cave, with a strong prominent median line ; the lower more
deeply concave, with a similar line ; the palate soft, flat, with
two longitudinal ridges. The posterior aperture of the nares
oblongo -linear, edged with small papillae. Tongue sagittate
at the base, tapering, concave above, its edges thin, the tip slit
and lacerated. The oesophagus of moderate width, without
crop or dilatation ; the proventriculus oblong, with short cylin-
drical glandules. The stomach elliptical, moderately muscu-
lar, its tendons round ; the inner coat thin and rugous. The
intestine short, its duodenal portion wider ; the cceca very
small and cylindrical ; the rectum very short, with an oblong
dilatation. Plate XXII, Fig. 1.
Nostrils rather small, roundish, in the fore part of the nasal
membrane, which is covered with bristly feathers directed for-
wards. Eyes of moderate size ; eyelids feathered on the edges
only. External aperture of the ear roundish and rather large.
The general form is compact ; the neck short ; the head
ovate, large, and flattened above. The legs are rather short,
and of moderate strength ; the tarsus rather slender, com-
490 LANIUS. SHRIKE.
pressed, with seven anterior scutella, sharp behind, the long
lateral plates with several transverse divisions ; the toes rather
small, much compressed, the outer and middle toe united as
far as the second joint ; the first much stouter and compara-
tively long ; the two lateral nearly equal, the middle much
longer ; the claws rather long, arched, much compressed, later-
ally grooved, rather slender, and extremely acute.
Plumage soft and blended ; the feathers ovate and rounded.
A row of stiffish bristles along the base of the upper mandible.
Wings of moderate length, broad, semiovate, rather rounded ;
quills nineteen ; primaries ten, tapering to a rounded point ;
secondaries broader and more rounded. Tail long, straight, of
moderate breadth, rounded, of twelve rather narrow rounded
feathers.
The Shrikes are remarkable for the direct affinity which
they exhibit to the Falconine birds, in the structure of their
bill, and in their rapacious habits, most of the larger species
killing small birds, mice, and other animals. In their general
form, their plumage, and the structure of their feet, however,
they resemble the Turdinae and Sylvianae, to which they are
further allied in their mode of flight, in the structure of their
digestive organs, and consequently in feeding chiefly on insects
and soft fruits. Referring to British birds, we should find our
Shrikes more nearly allied to the ISIissel Thrush and Fieldfare
than to any other species ; and should scarcely suspect them of
having any affinity to the Flycatchers, with which, however,
the genus is connected by the intervention of several genera of
exotic birds, such as Edolius, Graucalus, and Tyrannula. Their
habit of perching on a twig or other elevated spot, whence they
sally forth in pursuit of insects, and the comparative shortness
of their toes, are also indicative of this affinity.
They are generally unsocial birds, whose sympathies do not
extend beyond the circle of their own family, tyrannical, and
consequently disliked by their neighbours of the insectivorous
tribes, many of which exhibit as much alarm at their presence
as they would on approaching a hawk. But their boldness is
not directed solely toward the weaker birds, for they exhibit
great courage in defending themselves and their nests from
LANIUS. SHRIKE.
491
more powerful enemies. Their voice is generally harsh and
screamy ; they fly in an undulating manner, and seldom alight
on the ground, where their motions are constrained. Species
of this genus occur in the warm and temperate parts of the old
continent, and in North America. In the colder regions they
are generally migratory, as their food consists chiefly of insects,
which they frequently seize on wing while passing near their
selected station on a twig. The larger insects they usually
impale on a thorn, or fix in the fork of a branch, in order to
tear them asunder conveniently, as they do not generally, like
the hawks, stand on their prey while feeding. In their nidifi-
cation they resemble the Thrushes, and other birds of the Tur-
dinse, Sylvianas, and Sturninse, forming an elaborate hemi-
spherical nest, in which are deposited from four to eight spotted
eggs. The young are born blind and naked, and are fed with
insects and worms, sometimes also with the flesh of small qua-
drupeds and birds.
Three species are found in Britain : the Great Cinereous,
the Woodchat, and the Red-backed Shrikes.
492
LANIUS EXCUBITOR. THE GREAT CINEREOUS
SHRIKE.
GREV SHRIKE. BUTCHER BIRD. MOUNTAIN M.\GPIE.
t
^
Lanius Excubitor.
Lanius Excubitor.
Cinereous Shrike.
Pie-grieche grise.
Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 135.
Lath. Tnd. Orn. I. 67.
Mont. Orn. Diet.
Lanius Excubitor. Temm.
Man. d'Orn. I. 142.
Great Cinereous Shrike. Lanius Excubitor. Selb. Illustr. I. 148.
Lanius Excubitor. Cinereous Shrike. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 95.
Male with the upper parts light ash-grey^ the lotcer white ; on
the side of the head from the nasal memhrane to behind the ear^
a broad black band, margined above with white ; quills brotcn-
ish-black, their bases white, forming tico patches of that colour ichen
th 
