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THE
BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
A CONTRIBUTION
TO
The Hatural History of the County.
BY
JAMES EDMUND HARTING, F.Z.S.
LONDON:
JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW.
M.DCCC.LXVI.
ian
7
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E. NEWMAN, PRINTER, 9, DEVONSHIRE STREET, BISHOPSGATE. —
INTRODUCTION.
“ THE advantages of local Faunas,” says Professor
Bell,* “are too generally understood and acknow-
ledged to require any lengthened proof or illus-
tration.
“Tt may, indeed, be doubted whether the study
of the animals of particular tracts of country have
not contributed, more than any other means, to
the advancement of Zoological knowledge, espe-
cially as regards those important branches of it,
the geographical distribution of animals, and the
influence of climate, of soil, and of other local
circumstances, in determining the range of species,
the changes of varieties, and the extent and periods
of migration.”
From time to time there have issued from the
press various local Natural Histories; but no
* ‘ History of British Quadrupeds.’
a3
V1 INTRODUCTION.
work, so far as I am aware, has yet been pub-
lished upon any branch of the Zoology of Mid-
dlesex.
To write the complete Natural History ‘of a
county is an undertaking for which few can find
time, even if they possess the necessary qualifi-
cations; but by a division of labour the task
becomes not only lightened, but more perfectly
executed ; and it has been with a view of contri-
buting towards a Natural History of Middlesex that
I have ventured to publish these notes on birds.
I do not profess to be a scientific Ornithologist,
according to the modern acceptation of the term, that
is to say, I neither understand nor take an interest
in the endless and complicated subgenera, and other
fanciful divisions, which some naturalists adopt ;
but I am an ardent lover of the study of the habits
and manners of birds, and of the wonderful adapta-
tion of their structure to those habits. With this
love of the feathered race, and the advantage of
constant observation owing to a continued residence
in the country, I have endeavoured to note down
such particulars, gleaned during my rambles, as
may enable a stranger to form a good notion of
INTRODUCTION. Vil
the distribution of our resident and migratory
birds. I have not aimed at giving minute descrip-
tions, which may be found in the works of Messrs.
Yarrell, Jenyns, Gould, and other authorities. I
have merely endeavoured to state, as concisely
as possible, the name of the species, whether resi-
dent or migratory, the season of the year when
each is most frequently seen, the length of time
they remain with us, and the localities in which
they are to be found during their stay. In many
cases, also, I have added various particulars re-
specting their food and habits which I have noted
down at different times from actual observation in
the course of my rambles.
Amongst our British birds are many spe-
cies so closely allied, and so nearly resembling
each other, that it requires a practised eye to dis-
tinguish them. Of these I may mention the
Willow Wren and Chiff Chaff, the Gold Crest and
Fire Crest, the Cole Tit and Marsh Tit, the Pied
and White Wagtail, and the Green and Wood
Sandpipers. With regard to these and a few
others, I have deemed it advisable to point out
the distinguishing characteristics, for the advantage
Vlll INTRODUCTION.
of those who may wish to extend their orni-
thological inquiries in the county. In such cases
I have necessarily been compelled to depart from
my rule of abstaining from particular descrip-
tions. In noticing, also, such scarce birds as
the Spotted Sandpiper, Schinz’ Sandpiper, and
Sabine’s Gull, here for the first time recorded as
having occurred in Middlesex, with other rarities
(as the Little Ringed Plover) which have fallen
to my own gun, a particular description has been
given, when practicable, either because the birds
were obtained in a fresh state, or because the
description of the species as British by other
authors, has been taken from a limited number of
specimens. ‘This seemed advisable, in order to con-
firm or add to such former descriptions.
It frequently happens that we become aware of
the presence of a bird long before it is seen, merely
by its note. This is more especially the case with
the waders. In order to distinguish birds when at
a distance, we should be well acquainted not only
with their flight but also with their note; and on
this account, wherever it has been practicable, I
have reduced the notes to a key by means of a
INTRODUCTION. 1x
small whistle.* The musical expression thus ob-
tained I have introduced into the text, but the
reader must not attempt to interpret these notes
by the piano; for by this means he will not obtain
the faintest notion of the sounds which they are
intended to convey. The reason of this will be
obvious ; the pipe of a bird is a wind instrument,
the piano is a stringed one. A flute or flageolet
will give the proper sound, but the most perfect
expression will be obtained with a small whistle,
two and a half inches long, and having three perfo-
rations, similar to the whistle used by the Sardinian
Picco who performed so wonderfully in London
some years since. By reducing the length of the
tube by a stop or plug, the whistle may, by expe-
riment with the bird, be adjusted to the exact pitch,
and the stop be then fixed.
I have found a whistle so constructed very useful
as a bird-call when I have been anxious to get a
shot at Plovers, Sandpipers, and other waders.
* The high notes of the smaller birds are so much above
the reach of the ear that it is scarcely possible to take them
down.
x INTRODUCTION.
In enumerating the various species recorded, I
have thought it expedient to follow some fixed plan
or system, and I have adopted that pursued by
Mr. Yarrell as being the most simple and natural
of modern systems. Those who desire to see
figures of the birds here noticed may refer to the
‘History of British Birds’ by that author, where
they will be found faithfully and beautifully de-
lineated.
It will be seen, from the following pages, that
no less than 225 species of birds have been found
in Middlesex. Of these 60 are resident, 68 migra-
tory, and 97 rare and accidental visitants.
The woods around Hampstead, Highgate, Edge-
warebury, Stanmore, Pinner, and Harrow, still
afford protection to various members of the Hawk,
Owl, Crow, and Woodpecker families, in spite of
the persecution they are constantly receiving at the .
hands of keepers, birdstutffers, and mere collectors.
The Warblers are found suddenly scattered over
the country at the period of their vernal migration.
Wheatears and Stonechats then appear on the fal-
lows; Whinchats in every grass-field; Willow
Wrens and noisy Whitethroats in the green lanes ;
——
INTRODUCTION, X1
and the handsome Butcher-bird in the tall tangled
hedges, while all along our brooks the Sedge War-
blers and amusing Tits are found hunting inces-
santly for their insect food.
Owing to the greater portion of the farms in
this county being grass-land, and to the compara-
tive scarcity of stubble and root-crops, Partridges
are by no means so numerous as in adjoining
counties, and Pheasants are only to be found where
strictly preserved.
Peewits breed regularly with us every year, and
Golden Plovers are not uncommon in winter. At
that time, too, Fieldfares and Redwings find plenty
of food in the hawthorn hedges, and flocks of Wood
Pigeons visit the cleared bean-fields and stubbles
wherever these are to be found.
In the order to which the Peewit and Golden
Plover above-mentioned belong,—viz., the Gral-
latores, or Waders, as well as in the Order Nata-
tores, this county has proved singularly rich,
considering that it is a midland county and cannot
boast of the attractive sea-coast which Norfolk,
Sussex, and other counties famous for this class
of birds possess.
xi INTRODUCTION.
The large reservoirs of Kingsbury and Elstree,
and the River Brent and Silk Stream, to say
nothing of the Thames, appear to have a special
attraction for various species of waders and wild
fowl which visit us during the year; no less than
forty-six species of the former and twenty-one of the
latter having at different times occurred. Snipe,
both the Common and the Jack, are numerous
in winter; occasionally a Woodcock is killed, and,
more rarely, a Solitary Snipe (Scolopax major).
At this season, too, the Common Wild Duck
and Teal are frequent visitants at the reservoirs
above-named, as well as in the brooks and quiet
ponds which le out in the fields at a distance from
any road.
The heronries at Osterley Park, in this county,
and Wanstead Park in the adjoining county of
Hissex, send forth many a long-legged visitor, and,
in the autumn particularly, this species is common
enough. I have seen seven or eight of these birds
at one time, fishing within a few yards of each
other. When the water of the reservoirs has been
drawn off for the service of the Regent’s Canal,
the herons obtain plenty of food among the shoals
INTRODUCTION. XH
of Roach and Gudgeon with which the tributary
Brent abounds.* They also find plenty of frogs
and water-rats along the brooks.
In the spring and autumn, when the wind blows
from the east and south-east, we frequently find
Gulls upon the river and larger pools; and flocks
of graceful Terns may be seen fishing at the re-
servoirs when they visit us on their way to and
from their breeding-stations. The subject of mi-
gration is a curious one, and the laws which govern
it are yet imperfectly understood; but to advance
here all that might be said in this regard would be
beyond the limits of the present work. It appears
highly probable, from their constitution, that most
birds incline to remain as much as possible w
the same temperature throughout the year, and
hence their gradual movements north and south
as they feel the effects of heat and cold. If a
* The reservoirs here referred to are those at Kingsbury,
Elstree, and Ruislip, and a sketch of the first-named, or
rather of a portion of it, was selected as a frontispiece from
the fact that so many rare and beautiful birds have been at
various times observed there.
b
XIV INTRODUCTION.
sudden change comes, like a sharp frost, we find
birds lying dead under the hedges. This is a proof
of their sensitiveness. Some species better able to
endure cold, but still averse to it, if they do not
die, disappear suddenly, and we are often sur-
prised at the extraordinary scarcity of a species
one day which on the previous day was plentiful.
T have always attributed the cause to sudden change
of weather. No doubt the abundance or scarcity
of food has some influence upon birds in their
migration, but not to the same extent, I conceive,
as change of temperature.
The assistance I have received from various
sources, whilst preparing these notes for the press,
merits some recognition at my hands.
To my valued friend, Mr. Frederick Bond, I am
particularly indebted for numerous communications
respecting the birds of this county, with which,
as a sportsman and a naturalist, he has been
acquainted for more than thirty years.
Mr. W. H. Power has furnished me with some
interesting information relating more particularly
to the neighbourhood of Ealing; and I am indebted
INTRODUCTION. XV
to Mr. Belfrage for many ornithological notes from
Muswell Hill.
Several of the London taxidermists have sent
me various particulars relating to rare species
captured in this county and transmitted to them
for preservation; and, whenever such captures
have been previously recorded on such authority
as that of Messrs. Yarrell, Jenyns, or Gould, I
have noticed it in my text, generally in the author’s
own words.
I have gleaned some information from the pages
of ‘The Zoologist,’ and have thus been enabled to
avail myself of the experience of Mr. Newman,
Mr. Mitford, Mr. H. Hussey, and other observant
naturalists in this county.
As before stated, these notes are offered rather
as a contribution towards a Natural History of
the county than as a complete treatise. Should
they, tend to awaken a taste for the study of Nature
in those who have hitherto been unobservant, or
induce those who already possess such tastes to
prosecute the study with renewed vigour, and
acquire fresh knowledge concerning our Fauna,
xvl INTRODUCTION.
I shall rejoice to think that my task, besides being
one of pleasure to myself, has proved a source of
entertainment and utility to others.
J, i.
Kingsbury,
June, 1866.
WHISTLE USED AS A BIRD-CALL.
(Reduced one-fourih.)
THE
BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
OrpvER RAPTORES.—Samily Fauconip2.
GoLDEN Eaaue, Aquila chrysaétos.
WHITETAILED Eacie, Aquila albicilla. Although
I am unable to record the actual capture of
either the Golden Eagle or Whitetailed Eagle in
Middlesex, both these birds have nevertheless been
observed in the county, and therefore deserve a
passing notice. During the autumn of 1859, a
gentleman well acquainted with the bird saw a
Golden Eagle on the wing in the neighbourhood
of Barnet, and the following week the capture of one
in Kent was reported. He conjectures that it was
the same bird.
“The Whitetailed Eagle, as a species, 18 more
numerous than the Golden Eagle, and on some
parts of the coast may be seen frequently.”
The individuals which have occasionally been
observed straying inland, in search for food, have
no doubt followed the course of a river from its
B
2 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
mouth. Yarrell records several instances in which
the Whitetailed Eagle has been killed within a
jew miles of London, and mentions, amongst other
places, Henley, Epping, Coombe Wood, and Wim-
bledon Common. It is more than probable, there-
fore, especially when we consider the great height
at which an Eagle soars, that this bird has unper-
ceivedly visited the county much oftener than has
been stated.
Osprey, Falco halieétus. Although the Osprey
has several times been killed in the adjoining
counties of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire,
and has been shot on the Thames at Maidenhead,
Tam at present aware of one specimen only which
has been actually obtained in Middlesex, though
I have no doubt that this species, like the last-
named, has frequently paid us a visit without being
noticed. |
On the 1st October, 1868, an Osprey was shot
near Uxbridge, and on the following day I h d
an opportunity of examining it. It proved on
dissection to be a male, and was probably in its
third year. The stomach was empty, with the
exception of a small quantity of coarse sand, but
the bird was nevertheless in good condition. It
had been observed in the neighbourhood of Ux-
bridge for some days before it was killed, and many
attempts were made to secure it before it was finally
shot.
RAPTORES. 5)
In September, 1865, a pair of Ospreys fre-
quented for some days a sheet of water on the
estate of Mr. J. D. Taylor, of Southgate. As
this property is in a ring fence, and strictly pre-
served, the Ospreys no doubt discovered an agreeable
resting-place, and finding themselves undisturbed for
some time, remained, and were observed to capture
fish, which they carried to the mast-head of a plea-
sure-boat, where they devoured it. In so doing,
the boat was rendered so dirty as for some time
afterwards to be unfit for use. At night it was
supposed that they roosted in the adjoining wood.
It would seem that the pleasure derived from obser-
vation of these noble birds in a state of freedom
was excelled by a desire to possess one or both
of them; and unfortunately, with this view, they
were several times shot at. Instead of the desired
result, however, this only had the effect of driving
them away. They visited a piece of water about
four miles distant, belonging to a friend of Mr.
Taylor's, at Enfield, and soon afterwards disappeared,
and were not again seen.
PEREGRINE F'aucon, Falco peregrinus. This noble
bird was formerly not uncommon in the winter
and early spring, when gunners were not so nu-
merous, and Ducks and Teal more plentiful than at
present in our brooks and reservoirs. A pair of
these birds for many years frequented the top of
BR
A BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
St. Paul’s, where it was supposed they had a nest:
and a gentleman with whom I am acquainted has
assured me that a friend of his once saw a Pere-
srine strike down a Pigeon in London, his attention
having been first attracted by seeing a crowd of
persons gazing upwards at the hawk as it sailed in
circles over the houses.
In the winter of 1857, a young bird of this
species was caught by a birdcatcher between Hamp-
stead and Finchley; and I have seen a female
Peregrine that was shot in January, 1862, at Forty
Farm, in the parish of Harrow. During the second
week of November 1865, a Peregrine was killed
in Canon’s Park, Edgeware, and another seen. The
following week one was shot at Stanmore, and it
is supposed that these were a pair. This Falcon
has also been killed near Highgate, at South-
gate, and on Old Oak Common.
Hossy, Falco subbuteo. This handsome bird,
in appearance like a little Peregrine, is with us a
summer visitant. It is, however, of such unfre-
quent occurrence, that it may be of interest to
mention the instances of its appearance or capture
which have come under my notice. A specimen
in the collection of Mr. Bond was taken by a bird-
catcher at Kilburn, and one in the possession of
Mr. Spencer was caught on Primrose Hill, as late
as the month of October. On the 138th May, 1861,
three eggs of the Hobby were taken from an old
RAPTORES. 5
crow’s nest in Pinner Wood, and one of these I
have since added to my collection.
A correspondent sent me word that a Hobby
had been killed at Harrow during the early part
of 1862; and on the 24th April, 1863, Mr. Bond
shot a beautiful bird of this species at Kingsbury.
I saw it the same day and afterwards dissected it.
Although the plumage was that of an adult male,
it proved, to my surprise, to be a female, and a
cluster of rudimentary eggs was apparent in the
ovary. Upon opening the stomach, I found it
full of the elytra and remains of large beetles and
chafers, which confirms the statement of Mr.
Yarrell respecting the food of this species.
I have seen a handsome male Hobby in the
collection of Mr. James Dutton, of Hammersmith,
which was shot at Chiswick, in July, 1863; and I am
informed by that gentleman that a second was
more recently obtained in the same locality. I
once found the remains of a Hobby, which had
been shot, in Bishop’s Wood, Hampstead.
Meyer, in his ‘Illustrations of British Birds,’
says that the Hobby may be distinguished from
the Merlin or Kestrel, when flying, by its narrow-
pointed wings and slender form, and adds that it
chooses for its prey, larks, swallows, and martins,
which it pursues in the air, following them easily
in all their evolutions, and strikes with such
B38
6 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
unerring aim that it seldom fails to secure the
selected prey.
I have seen a female Hobby which was killed
on Hampstead Heath, while in pursuit of a wounded
swallow. This was on the 22nd August, 1864.
Mr. Belfrage, who has kept the Hobby in confine-
ment in his garden at Muswell Hill, observed that
the note of this bird is so similar to that of the
Wryneck, that in the spring, when he has had fre-
quent opportunities of hearing both birds at once,
he could scarcely distinguish the one from the
other. This remark I am able to confirm, from
observation of a tame Hobby which I have kept
for some time, and which is still alive.
Meru, Falco esalon. Visits the South of
England in October, about the time that the Hobby
retires. In this county itis a rare visitant. Only
two instances of its occurrence have come under my
notice. In the winter of 1857, a birdcatcher netted
an immature female Merlin on Hampstead Heath ;
and an unusually large bird of this species was shot
at Stone Bridge, on the Brent, in April, 1861. The
latter specimen I obtained for my collection. From
the size and markings, I believe it to be also an
immature female, but this fact was not ascertained
when it was skinned. Meyer says that the Merlin,
when on the wing, may be distinguished from the
Hobby by the greater length of its tail in pro-
portion to the wings, and by its more robust form.
RAPTORES. 7
© Kestret, Falco tinnunculus. By far the com-
monest hawk we have, and particularly numerous
in autumn. It appears to be partially migratory,
for comparatively few pairs remain here to breed.
Mr. Belfrage informs me that he once found a pair
of these birds nesting in a hollow tree. A remark-
able instance of fearlessness in a Kestrel in defending
its nest, came under my observation in the spring
of 1864. A lad had climbed to the nest in a tall
fir-tree, and was about to grasp the eggs, when
the bird which he had disturbed from them swooped
at his hand, which he withdrawing suddenly, one
of the eggs was broken to pieces by the talons of
the bird.
A curious incident occurred here one day in
November, 1865. A cat belonging to a neighbour was
lying concealed ina drain in a meadow, watching her
opportunity to seize a field-mouse, when a Kestrel
swooped upon a mouse, so close to her that with
a sudden spring she caught the bird, and even-
tually killed it; a termination to her hunt as un-
looked for by her as it was unexpected by the
Kestrel, who had probably been so intent upon
the moving mouse as to overlook the motionless
cat. This was related to me by the owner of the
cat, who took the bird from her a few minutes
after the event.
During the autumn of 1862 I observed Kes-
trels almost daily, and frequently saw three or
8 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
four on the wing at once. The food of this bird
appears to be chiefly field-mice (Mus sylvaticus and
Arvicola agrestis), grasshoppers, and beetles. Occa-
sionally, too, it will eat carrion; and it is to be
regretted that farmers and keepers take every
opportunity of shooting or trapping the Kestrel,
under the mistaken notion that it is destructive
to game and poultry, for it is in reality a most
useful bird.
SPARROWHAWK, falco nisus. Formerly common
in Caen Wood, Hampstead, and in the woods near
Hdgewarebury, Stanmore, and Pinner. It is still
to be seen occasionally, but this species is gradually
becoming scarcer, owing to the persecution which
it meets with on all sides.*
It has been doubted whether the female Sparrow-
hawk ever has a slaty-blue back like the adult
male. That this is the case with this species, as
well as with the Hobby,t I have little doubt.
Mr. Bond informs me that he has more than once
shot a Sparrowhawk in the male plumage, which
* Unfortunately this is not the only bird that is
becoming scarce here; for, under the mistaken notion
that they do more harm than good, not only hawks and
owls, but crows, magpies, jays, and even woodpeckers,
and many other of our handsomest British birds, are
alike shot down indiscriminately, and nailed against a
tree or barn to rot.
+ See ante, p. 4.
RAPTORES. 9
proved on dissection to be a female,* and I believe
that the difference of plumage will be found to depend
upon age. The Sparrowhawk is sometimes sur-
prisingly bold, and I can vouch for the following
fact, which I scribbled down in my note-book at the
time :—
“June 7, 1863.—Old Powell, at Harrow Weald,
was at work in his garden yesterday, when a Sparrow
dashed up against him, closely pursued by a Spar-
rowhawk. The Hawk, nothing daunted by his
presence, seized the Sparrow, which had fallen at
Powell’s feet, and bore it screaming away.”
I have heard of other similar instances; and in
the majority of cases the female Sparrowhawk,
which (as is the case with all the females of the
Raptores) is the larger bird, was the delinquent.
Of a pair of Sparrowhawks in my own collection,
the male was obtained at Edgewarebury and the
female at the Well Springs in this parish; and I
have seen others which had been trapped or shot
at the Hale, Edgeware, Brockley Hill, and Elstree.
A nest was taken in the Mount, Harrow, in the
spring of 1861, from the top of a Scotch fir; but it
is rarely that the Sparrowhawk is found breeding
here.
By far the greater number of specimens which
* See a letter from him on this subject in the ‘ Magazine
of Natural History.’
10 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
have come under my notice have been females; but
I apprehend that the reason of this is, that the
female Sparrowhawk is much bolder than the male,
and that it more frequently comes near us when in
search of food. ‘The male bird, on the contrary,
being of more retired habits, keeps to the woods.
Mr. Belfrage tells me that he has remarked the
same with regard to the Kestrel. |
Kire, falco milvus. A curious fact, touching the
earlier Ornithology of Middlesex and the economy
of London, is mentioned by the old naturalist,
Charles Clusius, in a note to his translation of the
works of the French Ornithologist, Pierre Belon.
He says: “ Vix majorem in Cairo milviorum fre-
quentiam conspici existimo, quam Londinw Treno-
bantium in Britannia, qui nullo non anni tempore
frequentissimi istic apparent, cum eos enim inter-
ficere vetitum sit, ut spurcitiam in plateas, vel etiam
ipsum flumen Thamesin qui urbem alluit ab incolis
ejectum, legant et devorent; maxima quantitate eo
confluent, adeoque cicures redduntur, ut.per confectas
etiam homines predam ab ipsis in alto volantibus
conspectam, comissere non vereantur, quod sape
numero dum istic essem, admiratus sum.’—Op. C.
Clusit, p. 108.
Clusius visited England during the reign of Eliza-
beth, in 1571, and a fact like this, of daily occurrence,
and therefore little likely to be recorded by a native
of London, would at once strike a foreigner. As
RAPTORES. 1}
the Kite is now one of our rarest birds, and is hardly
ever seen in the neighbourhood of London, this
reminiscence of its former frequency, when it was a
welcome guest, is most interesting to an ornitho-
logist. According to My. Yarrell, “in the southern
counties of England, the Kite is rare.” The fol-
lowing notice of the occurrence of this bird at
Kingsbury, I have extracted from ‘The Zoologist’
for 1850 :—
“On Wednesday the 3rd inst., as I was standing
in the village (Kingsbury) talking to a friend, a fine
specimen passed over our heads within twenty yards:
it is the only one I have ever seen in this neighbour-
hood.” —F’. Bond, April 9, 1850.
I have since been informed by My. Bond that,
subsequently to this notice, and about five years
later, he saw, from the windows of his own house,
a Kite sailing over Grove Park, in the same
parish. The forked tail was seen very plainly, and
the general appearance of the bird was unmis-
takeable.
Common Buzzarp, Falco buteo. Accidental, being
more partial to wooded districts. Some years ago,
a fine male Buzzard was caught by a birdcatcher at
Kilburn, and was purchased by Mr. Bond for his
collection. I have only once seen a buzzard in this
county. It was sailing in circles over the fields
between Edgeware and Mill Hill; and although this
bird has the reputation of being very sluggish in its
1? BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
habits, with its large broad wings it certainly looks
majestic when in flight. It has occasionally been
seen in the neighbourhood of Harrow, and once at
Harrow Weald. One day in May TI paid a visit to
an old keeper residing at the last-mentioned place,
with whom I used frequently to converse on the
subject of birds and shooting, and from whom at
odd times I have received some useful information.
His first exclamation on seeing me that day was,
“Oh, Sir! you should have been here this morning,
we had such a beautiful Buzzard-hawk flew over
our garden.” He knew the bird well, and had once
kept a pair in confinement. His son also saw the
bird, and told me of it before he knew that his
father had seen it.
On my asking the old man how he could account
for the appearance of a straggler of this species, at
this time of year, and in a neighbourhood where it
is so rarely observed, he replied that he had seen
the bird more frequently in the midland counties,
and he had remarked that whenever one of a pair
had been shot ortrapped, the survivor wandered often
to a considerable distance in search of a new mate,
and he had little doubt but that such was the case
with the bird he had seen that morning.
Hen Harrier, Falco cyaneus. Accidental. An
adult male Hen Harrier was shot several years since
in the parish of Willesden, and in 1862 another was
seen near Blackpot Farm, Kingsbury. This latter
RAPTORES 18
bird was observed several times, and many attempts
were made to secure it, but in vain. From its size
and markings, it was supposed to be a female, or
“Ringtail.” Yarrell observes that no less than
twenty lizards were found in the stomach of one
killed near London.
Family StRIGIDz.
Eacue Own, Strix bubo. I am only aware of one
instance in which this rare British bird has been
obtained in a wild state in Middlesex. The fol-
lowing notice of its occurrence at Hampstead is
communicated by Mr. Thomas Hall, in ‘The
ZLoologist ’ :—
“On the 8rd of November, 1845, my father pre-
served for Mr. Burgess, Temple House, Hampstead,
a female specimen of the Great Horned Owl (Strix
bubo). It was caught, after much trouble, in a hedge
near the house, and was kept for some time, until
it died. It was very fierce during its captivity, and
had been severely wounded in the wing by shot,
previously to its capture.”
From the rare beauty of this species, and the
readiness with which it submits to confinement, it
has always been a great favourite with those who
delight in keeping live birds in their grounds,
although its scarcity in England renders it, of course,
difficult to procure. Many years ago, the Harl of
C
14 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
Burlington had an Eagle Owl alive in the park at
Chiswick ; and Edwards, in his ‘ Natural History of
Birds,’ mentions one that was kept “at the Mourn-
ing Bush Tavern, by Aldersgate, London.” Sir
Hans Sloane, too, had one of these birds which he
kept for many years alive in London, and which was
well known to the curious of his time.
Lone-EARED Own, Strix otus. This species is
partial to woods and plantations, where it remains
concealed during the day, and from its retired habits
it is not often that an opportunity occurs for ob-
serving it. A male bird in the collection of Mr.
Bond was obtained in Colin Deep Lane, Hendon;
and one in my own collection was shot at the Well
Springs, Kingsbury, on the last day of December,
1862. ‘This latter bird was in company with another,
which was also shot, but which I did not see. I
think it very probable, however, that they were a
par. In June, 1861, some eggs of this species
were taken from an old tree in Wembley Park, and
one of the birds which was caught on the nest was
afterwards sold in London. On the 29th May, 1863,
I obtained four eggs of the Long-eared Owl from a
hollow tree in Canon’s Park, Edgeware ; and more
recently I have seen a Long-eared Owl, which was
shot in January, 1865, in Forty Lane, between
Kingsbury and Preston; and another in the col-
lection of Mr. Mitford, of Hampstead, which was
obtained in that neighbourhood. This species was
RAPTORES. TS
at one time common in Caen Wood, Hampstead,
and may still occasionally, though rarely, be seen
there. It is also found in Pinner Wood, where lL
have reason to believe that it breeds, and in Ruislip
Wood, on the north-west side of the county. The
food of the Long-eared Owl is very similar to that
of its congeners, consisting chiefly of field-mice and
small birds.
SHORT-EARED OwL, Strix brachyotus. An occa-
sional winter visitant. In the winter of 1840-41, a
male and female of this species were killed in a field
near Kingsbury Reservoir. A few years later, towards
the end of October, a pair of Short-eared Owls rose
with a covey of Partridges and were shot by Mr.
Bond and his brother, each, oddly enough, killing a
Partridge and an Owl. One of the Owls was of an
unusual variety, being so light in colour as to look
almost white at a distance. Since that time several
Short-eared Owls have been killed in this neigh-
bourhood. One was shot in November, 1860, near
Caen Wood, Hampstead. Another was killed in an
open field, near the same wood, in December, 1861.
This bird I saw very shortly afterwards. Several
examples have occurred near Scratch Woods, Edge-
warebury, and on Edgewarebury Common. The
last of which I have heard was killed at Edgeware-
bury in November, 1865.
It is asserted that the Short-eared Owl never
perches, but roosts upon the ground, and a writer
CR
16 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
in “The Zoologist” (p. 8818) says, he has taken
some pains to inquire from good authorities whether
they ever saw this species perching, and he has
invariably been answered in the negative. In all
the examples that have come under my notice, the
birds were shot in the open country, and not from
trees. It is well known that the Short-eared Owl
is more diurnal in its habits than any other of the
genus; that it seeks its food by day in the open
meadows and among coarse herbage, and is thus
more frequently found by sportsmen upon the
sround; but I think it not unlikely that it retires
to a tree to roost at night.
The food of the Short-eared Owl consists of small
birds and field-mice, particularly the latter; and I
have often thought it a wonderful provision of nature
that, just at the time when the ground is cleared of
crops, and the field-mice are more easily seen and
captured, the Short-eared Owl arrives to thin their
numbers.
When we reflect on the great amount of devasta-
tion which is occasionally committed by mice, we
cannot but consider the Owls as our best friends ;
and overlooking the small and unfrequent loss
of a young rabbit or partridge, we should cer-
tainly extend {to them protection and encourage-
ment.
Barn or WuHitTE Owt, Strix flammea. This Owl,
the commonest of our Strigide, breeds under the
RAPTORES. LF
church eaves, and here and there in hollow trees.
The nest is generally placed so securely that the
eggs are with difficulty obtained.
I have only once been able to reach the nest of a
Barn Owl in Kingsbury Church, and then found
but a single egg. I have several times, however,
obtained eggs of this bird from hollow trees in
Canon’s Park, Edgeware, and I have reason to be-
lieve that the Barn Owl breeds regularly in Northolt
Church and in the tower of the old church at
Stanmore.
Upon examining a great number of pellets,
picked up under the eaves of our village church, I
was rather surprised to find that they contained a
greater proportion of the skulls and bones of birds
than of mice or voles. In some years, as for
example the autumn of 1862, the short-tailed vole
(Arvicola agrestis) was particularly numerous, a
favourite cat often bringing in three or four a
day for a period of about three months. I had,
therefore, supposed that these voles, being so much
easier to capture than small birds, would form the
chief food of the Barn Owls; but it proved other-
wise: the skulls I obtained were almost invariably
those of Finches.*
* I am told by two excellent naturalists that this is
contrary to their experience.
c3
18 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
The flight of an Owl, whether by day or night, is
so peculiar as to distinguish it at once from every
other bird. Shakespeare, who must have been a
close observer of nature, has happily characterized
it, when he speaks of “the night-owl’s lazy flight.”*
Elsewhere, the same poet truly says that,—
“The Owl, if he arise by day,
Is mocked and wondered at ;
for although the Short-eared Owl is, to a certain
extent, diurnal in its habits, the contrary is the case
with the other members of the family, and it is
unusual to see an Owl abroad before twilight.
Nevertheless, a few instances of the Barn Owl
flying by day have occasionally come under my own
observation ; but I have always considered that in
every such case, the bird must have been disturbed
or frightened, and that the flight was not a voluntary
one. It is disputed by some naturalists whether
the Barn Owl ever hoots; but although its usual
note is a screech, 1 think there can be little doubt
that it also hoots occasionally; and good evidence of
this fact will be found in ‘The Zoologist’ for Octo-
ber, 1863, p. 8765.
Tawny Own, Siriz aluco. Rare. An adult male
of this species was shot at the Well Springs, Kings-
* Henry Vi, Parti. Act 11. Se. 1.
t Henry VL, Part me, Act v.Se.4.
RAPTORES. 19
bury, in the spring of 1844, and another was killed
in Caen Wood, Hampstead, in the spring of 1859.
A third, in the collection of Mr. Mitford, of Hamp-
stead, was also obtained in that neighbourhood.
The Hon. I’. C. Bridgeman, who has published a
short notice of the birds of Harrow, says that a nest
of this bird was found in a hollow tree in the Grove,
Harrow, in the spring of 1862; and I am informed
by Mr. J. W. Ford, of Enfield, that the Tawny Owl
has occasionally been observed in that neighbour-
hood. ‘The ordinary food of this bird consists of
water-rats, field-mice, and small birds. I have,
however, heard of its capturing fish; and in the
stomach of an adult Tawny Owl, shot in April,
which I examined, I found nothing but insects, the
greater number of which were large moths.
SCOPS-EARED Ow1L, Strix scops.* “One example
of this little Owl was taken some time since near
London.” +
LirrLte Ow1, Strix passerina.j This Little Owl,
which is occasionally found in England, is not the
Strix passerina of Linneus, but Strix passerina of
Latham, Pennant, Montagu, Bewick, and Temminck.
* This, and the two following species, I have inserted on
the authority of Edwards and Yarrell as having been
obtained in this county.
} Yarrell’s British Birds, vol. i., p. 128.
tid. vol. ips. 168;
20 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
The Strix passerina of Linnzus, which is also the
Strix passerina of Bonaparte (Consp. Gen. Aviuwm,
p. 36), and Strix arcadica of Temminck (Man, vol.1.,
p- 96) has not been found in this country. It is a
smaller bird, and corresponds with the Sparf-uggla
(Sparrow Owl) of the Swedes. Itis the Strix pygmea
of Bechstein and Meyer, and Strix noctua of Retzius.*
As some confusion seems to exist in the identifi-
cation of the smaller Owls, it may be as well to
point out here the distinguishing characters of the
bird which occasionally visits this country.
Mr. Wheelwright, writing on the Ornithology of
Lapland, and referring to the Swedish Little Owl
(Strix passerina of Linneus) says: “It differs from
the Little Owl of Britain, in that its toes are covered
thickly with downy hair-like feathers, even to the
very claws, and the tail extends nearly an inch and
a half beyond the closed wings, whereas in the
British bird it is scarcely longer than the wings
themselves. Moreover, in the Little Ow! of Britain,
the first wing-feather is equal in length to the sixth,
the second like the fifth, the third longest. In
the Little Swedish Owl, the first is like the ninth,
the second like the sixth, the third and fourth the
longest.”
* The synonym of Stria nudipes, applied to our Little
Owl by Nilsson, is a misnomer, as the bird has feathered
toes like its Swedish congener.
RAPTORES. |
Edwards gives a coloured plate and description of
a Little Owl, and adds, that “the bird from which
it was taken came down a chimney in St. Catherine’s
parish, by the Tower of London, and was supposed
to be a foreign bird escaped from on board some
ship in the river Thames; but I have since been
informed by Peter Theobald, Esq., of Lambeth, that
just such another Owl came down one of his chim-
neys, by which I imagine it is a native of England,
though httle known.”
The first-mentioned example “was a hen, many
egos being found on opening it, and the bird being
living when I made my observations on it, enabled
me to make the description more perfect. It was
the property of a gentleman in St. Catherine's, a
neighbour of my good friend Mr. Joseph Ames,
Secretary to the Society of Antiquaries, London,
who procured me a sight of it.” *
I have been assured by Mr. Constantine Minasi
(brother to the late Consul for the Two Sicilies), a
gentleman well acquainted with birds, that some
years ago, while returning one evening from shooting
at Kenton Park, Sunbury, he distinctly saw a
Little Owl on the wing.
TEeneMALM’s Owt, Strix Tengmalmi “In 1836,
a specimen, recently shot, was purchased at a
* Edwards’ ‘ Gleanings in Nat. Hist.,’ vol. 1, p. 228.
92 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
poulterer’s shop in London.” * But this may have
come from Holland. I have frequently seen Owls and
Hawks of different species in Leadenhall Market,
which had been sent from Holland with the wild
fowl.
OrpdER TINSESSORES.—Family Lanrap2.
GREAT GREY Sueike, Lanius excubitor. A winter
visitant of rare occurrence.
Mr. Edward Newman, in a letter to me dated
10th January, 1863, made the following remark with
regard to this bird, which I have thought of sufficient
interest to quote here. He says: “It visits England
regularly but rarely every winter, but very seldom
in the summer. I have taken great pains to collect
the occurrence of this bird in England. It passes
southwards and northwards exactly at the same time
as Collurio, but does not travel the same journey;
so that Hacubitor may be passing from the Orkneys
to the Thames exactly at the same moment that
Collurio is passing from the Thames to the Mediter-
ranean.”
In the “ Zoological Journal” for April, 1825, p. 26,
Mr. Yarrell says that, in January of that year, “a
Great Grey Shrike was taken in a clap-net near
* Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds,’ vol. i., p. 163.
INSESSORES. 23
London, by a birdcatcher, in the act of striking at
his decoy linnet. This bird fed well in confinement,
several times taking small birds or raw meat from
the hand; but was very eagerly parted with by his
new master on finding that the note of the Shrike,
once heard, had stopped the songs of all his wild
birds.”
Mr. Spencer tells me that, in November, 1831, he
saw a fine Grey Shrike in a field between Kilburn
and Hampstead. A male of thisspecies was shot at
Wembley Park in January, 1841, by the gardener of
the Rev. Mr. Gray, and two were obtained at Kentish
Town and Kilburn in the winter of 1850, as recorded
by Mr. Newman in ‘The Zoologist’ for that year.
A keeper with whom I am acquainted caught one of
these birds in a net near Harrow, and subsequently
shot another in the same neighbourhood.
A specimen in my own collection was shot, in the
adjoining parish of Hendon, in the winter of 1854.
This bird, when first seen, was flying along the
brook between Hendon and the Hyde, in pursuit of
a small bird, and the shooter at the time was igno-
rant of the species. He told me afterwards that,
although he had lived many years in the neighbour-
hood, and had shot a great number of birds, some of
them rare, yet this is the only bird of the kind he
had ever seen.
As recently as November, 1862, a specimen of
this Shrike was killed near Kentish Town.
94 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
REDBACKED SHRIKE, Lanius collurio. A common
summer visitant, usually arriving about the first
week in May, and remaining until the end of August.
After the young are hatched and able to fly, they
keep together in families until the time comes for
them to leave us. I have counted as many as seven
together in a hedge-row in August. On examining
the contents of the stomach of some specimens killed
early in August, I found only the remains of beetles
and chafers; no trace of any small bird, nor flesh of
any sort. ‘This bird has not been numerous here of
late years. Perhaps this is owing to the prevailing
habit of “plashing,” * or “laying” the hedges, for
the Butcher-bird delights in a tall tangled hedge.
Family Muscicarip&.
Sporrep FriycatTcHEeR, Muscicapa grisola. te
Length of scapular . 1 inch 1 line Ss it Make cr
Greatest width of furcal
bone : ‘ . 4 lines ; tayo a
The only note which I have heard uttered by the
Little Ringed Plover is,— |
Die Sl Jt
Since writing the above, I have been informed by
Mr. Mitford, of Hampstead, that he shot a little
Ringed Plover at the same piece of water on the
20th August, of the same year. This specimen,
which was also immature, he intended to have pre-
served, but being called from home before he had
time to skin it, it was unfortunately cooked and
eaten.
He remarked a curious fact with regard to it,
which was that, a few minutes after it had been
shot, it was as stiff as if 1t had been dead for some
hours, from which he inferred that the bird had only
just arrived from passage, as he had remarked the
154 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
same thing with regard to other birds killed soon
after their arrival at the time of their migration to
this country.
Lapwine or Preewir, Vanellus cristatus. This
species is resident with us throughout the year, but
receives an increase to its numbers in spring and
autumn, when large flocks are frequently seen on
the fallows and wastes. At one time these birds
used to breed regularly in a large rushy field near
Kingsbury Reservoir, but, finding their nests con-
tinually plundered, they deserted the place and
moved to a less frequented spot about two miles
distant. In a rough field, near Elstree Reservoir,
I have known more than twenty nests found in a
day. Mr. Belfrage has remarked that Peewits breed
at Chertsey, and I have found the eggs at Kenton
and at Wembley. I have tried to rear the young,
which run as soon as hatched, but have never suc-
ceeded in keeping them alive for more than a few
days.
The ordinary note of the Peewit is—
{
as si
In the breeding season, as we approach the nest,
it is—
GRALLATORES. 15D
uttered quicker and more frequently, as the bird
tumbles in the air in the most grotesque way, while
it endeavours to allure us away from the eggs.
Sometimes the note is—
Pee
and this is generally uttered when the birds are on
the ground and pairing. It is, perhaps, the most
efficient note to use as a call.
In some places the Lapwing is known by the
name of Green Plover, and it is this bird which fur-
nishes us with the delicacy known as “‘ plover’s eggs.”
It is easily known at a distance by its black and
white appearance, rounded wings, and slow, laboured
flight.
SANDERLING, Calidris arenaria. This handsome
little bird may, with propriety, be considered as the
connecting link between the Plovers and Sandpipers.
Like the former it has no hind toe, and any one who
has examined a recently-killed specimen cannot fail
to have remarked the high Plover-shaped head which
this bird possesses, while its bill, in length and sub-
stance, appears intermediate between those of the
two above-mentioned genera.
It is more maritime in its habits than many of its
congeners, frequenting the sands and mud-flats by
the sea, and seldom flying far inland. The plumage,
156 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
which varies quite as much as that of the Dunlin,
differs according to the season.
Many persons confound this bird with the Dunlin,
calling both Stints, but it may be easily known at
all times of the year from that bird by its superior
size, shorter and stouter bill, longer and stouter
tarsus, and particularly by the absence of a hind toe.
The Sanderling, moreover, never at any season has
the black breast-feathers which mark the summer
plumage of the Dunlin.
I am not aware of more than three instances of
its occurrence in this county. In a note in ‘The
Zoologist, dated 17th June, 1844, Mr. Bond has
recorded the fact that one was shot at Kingsbury
Reservoir, and I have seen two others which were
obtained at the same piece of water about ten years
later. These two were in the autumn plumage.
No collector, so far as I am aware, has yet ob-
tained authentic eggs of the Sanderling, and where
this bird breeds seems to be still a mystery.
Throughout the autumn and winter months they
may be seen in flocks on some parts of the coast,
but as soon as the warm spring days return, they
suddenly depart, no one knows whither. I once
shot three Sanderlings on the Lancashire coast as
late as the 30th May, but this must be an unusual
date at which to find them here, or they must be
late breeders. On looking to the contents of the
stomach, I found the food to consist of small
GRALLATORES. 157
univalves, sandhoppers, and marine insects, mingled
with minute particles of gravel.
TurnsTone, Strepsilas interpres. It 1s very rare
to find this species so far inland, so thoroughly
marine is it 1n its habits, and I am not aware, more-
over, that it is considered common on any part of
our coast. It retires to the far North for the
breeding season, and appears to be most plentiful
here in the autumn and early spring.* Although its
habits confine it chiefly to the sea-shore, individuals
nevertheless occasionally mingle with a flock of
Ring Plovers or Dunlin, and thus stray some little
distance inland in company with these birds.
This usually happens about the time that the
various flocks of waders are migrating in spring and
autumn.
On the 24th August, 1865, I most unexpectedly
met with a Turnstone so far inland as the Reservoir
at Kingsbury, which must be thirty miles from the
nearest sea-point. I was walking round this sheet
of water with my gun, and had just fired both barrels
at a couple of Ring Plovers, killing one and missing
the other ; and while standing perfectly still, endea-
vouring to mark down the fugitive, a bird came
flying up the water, uttering a loud note, which at
* The latest stay that I have. remarked for this species is
the 18th May, on which date I once shot two out of a flock
on the Northumbrian coast.
P
158 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
once attracted my attention, and not observing me,
I suppose, alighted within gunshot upon the shingle.
I instantly recognized it as a Turnstone, and quickly
endeavoured to load one barrel with as little delay
as possible, knowing that the bird could only be a
passing visitant, and would make no stay here were
it unmolested. The first motion of my arm, how-
ever, alarmed it, and, again uttering its peculiar loud
twitter, it got up and passed close enough for me to
see that it was a young bird. It then rose high in
the air, and flew down the water, when I lost sight
of it, and never again saw it.
On mentioning this circumstance the following
day to the keeper, he informed me that he had
noticed this bird at the water for two days pre-
viously, but it had eluded his attempts to shoot it.
He described the species accurately, and added that
many years ago he had killed two, late in autumn,
at the same Reservoir.
OYSTERCATCHER, Hematopus ostralegus. Pro-
vineial, Sea-pie. From the contrast of its colours,
black and white body, orange bill, red eye, and pink
legs and feet, the Oystercatcher is one of the most
attractive of our waders, and J hardly know a pret-
tier sight than a flock of these birds, as viewed
through a glass, feeding upon a rocky shore at low
water. ‘The changing attitudes in the flock, now
compact, now scattered, with an occasional quarrel
for a mussel or small crab, furnish a study alike for
GRALLATORES. 159
the naturalist and artist; while ever and anon a
noisy individual utters its ringing call-note—
N
’
ce
or, if disturbed and on the wing, its loud, clear
whistle—
sl Oi
= =
1
aoa
The Oystercatcher is essentially a seashore bird,
and is rarely found at any distance inland. In a
list of water birds occurring at Kingsbury Reservoir,
published in ‘The Zoologist’ for 1848, I find the
Oystercatcher included ; and in July, 1859, Mr. Bond
shot a male of this species at the same piece of
water. I have recently examined a specimen in
winter plumage, killed at Elstree Reservoir, early in
April, 1866.
Mr. Yarrell says: “I have known this bird killed
as high up the Thames as Oatlands (near Shepper-
ton), which is at least fifty miles from the mouth of
the river.”
In its usual haunts the Oystercatcher is extremely
wary, and keeps out in the open and most exposed
part of the coast, generally in small flocks of about
ten or adozen. On this account it is very difficult
to approach, except under cover or in a boat. Many
pe
160 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
a time have I crawled on hands and knees for half-
a-mile along the sands to try and get a shot, without
success, and no one who has not tried it knows the
luxury of standing upright after this tiring work.
Unless the ground present some cover in the shape
of a sea wall or a few scattered boulders of rock, the
surest way to obtain a shot is with a boat. Instead
of rowing alongshore, however, it is better to put
out to some distance, and then bear down directly
on the flock. In this way they allow a nearer ap-
proach, and as they almost invariably follow the
coast-line, or cross the water when flying, a good
right or left shot may be obtained. If you are well
concealed, you may arrest the flight of a single bird,
and attract it within shot by imitating the call-note
above given, but this artifice seldom succeeds with a
flock unless it consists of only a few birds. The
loud whistle secondly noted above is more fre-
quently heard in the breeding season, and is uttered
frequently, as if in alarm when the eggs or young
are approached. At this season the Oystercatcher
becomes more fearless. On two or three occasions
when I had found the nest, one of the parent birds
continued to fly round me within shot. This I sus-
pected to be the female, but the plumage of both
sexes is so similar that they can only be distin-
guished by dissection.
Many authors state that the Oystercatcher always
lays four eggs. Out of a score of nests which I have
GRALLATORES. 161
taken (during the last week of May and first week of
June) not one of them contained four eggs. The full
complement appeared to be three, for in several in-
stances I found three eggs so much incubated that
it was impossible to blow them.
I have noticed a peculiarity which this bird appears
to have, in common with some few other of the
waders. When alighting at the edge of the water,
the flocks always pitch with their heads to the wind,
and no doubt the reason for this is, that were they
to alight with the wind at their backs, they might be
carried over the edge into the water.
In concluding my notes on this species, it may be
observed that the term ‘ Oystercatcher’ is a misno-
mer; for, although the bird has a long powerful
bill with which it can detach limpets from the rock,
and break open mussels and small crabs, an oyster
entirely baffles all its attempts.
Family ARDEID.
Heron, Ardea cinerea. The Heron is a common
resident, and appears most numerous in autumn, at
which season many may be seen in the course of a
walk, fishing at our reservoirs and brooks. The
majority of these are young birds. One day in,
September I counted seven within a short distance
of each other.
There is a heronry at Osterley Park, in this
P38
162 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
county, the seat of Earl Jersey,* and another at
Wanstead Park, in the adjoining county of Essex,
the property of Lord Cowley; and it is no doubt to
these colonies that the stragglers which we see
belong.
I have elsewhere observed that the Regent’s Canal
Company draw off the water from the reservoirs of
Kingsbury and Elstree, in order to supply the lochs
on the canal, and when the water has been much
reduced by this means, as well as by evaporation
and want of rain, the Herons are in their glory.
They are then enabled to wade out to some distance,
and regale themselves among the roach and eels
with which the reservoirs abound. One day in
November, i864, a full-grown young Heron was
found at Kingsbury firmly held by a fishing line, the
hook fixed in its throat, and the line twisted round
its legs ; 1t had swallowed a bait set for pike.
A favourite haunt of the Heron is the Well Springs
at Kingsbury, before mentioned. Besides the brook
there is a quiet sheltered pond, and it is not an
uncommon thing to find two or three Herons fishing
there in the evening.
Their feeding-time is usually at daybreak and
dusk. In the middle of the day I have seen three
or four in company standing out in the middle of a
* There was formerly also a heronry at Oatlands Park,
near Shepperton, but this no longer exists.
GRALLATORES. 163
field, apparently resting themselves and digesting
their morning meal.
At this time they are very difficult to approach, as
they keep at a distance from all cover which can
conceal an enemy. At daybreak, however, I have
more than once come suddenly upon a Heron while
busily employed under the steep bank of a brook,
and have thus been able to knock him down
with snipe-shot before he could get out of range.
It was ludicrous to observe the surprise of the
bird when he first became aware of my _ pre-
sence, and, with a hoarse croak, clumsily endea-
voured to get away. Under similar circumstances,
a friend once got within ten yards of a Heron,
which was either so surprised or frightened at his
appearance that, instead of attempting to fly, it
crouched down in the water, and he was compelled
to throw a stone at it before it would rise. I once
witnessed the same thing with regard to a Snipe.
The Heron is one of the earliest birds to breed,
and generally lays in March. It is one of the few
waders which resort to trees for the purpose of
nidification. I climbed to a nest in one of the
heronries above mentioned, on the 5th April, and
brought down four eggs, which were considerably
incubated. The nest was situated upon the top of
an elm, composed of large twigs, principally elm
and willow, and lined with smaller twigs, fibre, and
dry grass.
164 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
The bright bluish green eggs, equal in size to
those of a Wild Duck, contrasted prettily with the
dark material upon which they were laid. Two
of the eggs were more incubated than the others,
from which we may infer that the bird commences to
sit before the full complement is laid. Several other
nests on the same day contained young of various
ages, so that no precise date for laying can be given.
If, in the early part of the spring, the weather be
mild and open, the Herons commence building
much sooner than otherwise.
PurreLe Heron, Ardea purpurea. Mr. Selby has
recorded the capture of a Purple Heron, “ near
London,” but gives no particulars nor date.
Squacco Heron, Ardea ralloides. A specimen of
this bird was shot at Kingsbury Reservoir in 1840,
and a second example has since been obtained at
the same place, but I am uncertain of the exact
date.
Birrern, Ardea stellaris. Owing to the increased
drainage of marsh and waste lands, this handsome
species 1s everywhere becoming scarce. It was for-
merly in much request for the table, being considered
a delicacy, and in bills of fare of some of the ancient
city feasts the Bittern, as well as the Heron, appears
as game. ‘The nature of the soil in Middlesex
cannot be considered favourable to this species, for
it is a marsh-loving bird; consequently instances of
its occurrence in this county are rare. A specimen
GRALLATORES. 165
was obtained at Kingsbury Reservoir in 1848, as
recorded in ‘The Zoologist’ for that year, and
Mr. James Dutton, of Hammersmith, sent me word
that a fine Bittern was shot at Jessop’s Ait, Chis-
wick, on the 7th January, 1854. About the same
time another was killed near Kew Bridge, by the
toll-keeper there. A fourth example occurred at
Redhill, in the parish of Hendon, during the winter
of 1856. ‘This bird was shot at the brook running
through the field which adjoins ‘The Bald-faced
Stag,” and either that winter or the following a
Bittern was killed at Stanmore by Mr. F. King.
LirtLe Birrern, Ardea minuta. Rare. Colonel
Montagu mentions one which was shot near London
in the month of May, 1782, and was placed in the
Leverian Museum.
The Rey. L. Jenyns, in his ‘Manual of British
Vertebrates,’ records the occurrence of a specimen
at Uxbridge Moor, and adds that this bird has been
killed, in more than one instance, near London.
A male Little Bittern, in good plumage, shot at
Elstree Reservoir in 1840, is in the collection of
Mr. Bond, and another, also a male, was more
recently obtained at Kingsbury Reservoir. The
capture of the last-named specimen is recorded in
‘The Zoologist’ for 1843. On the 18th September,
1847, a Little Bittern was killed on the River Lea,
near Hinfield, by a bargeman, and sent to Mr. Bond.
It was a young bird of the year, and from its
166 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
appearance had probably been bred in the neigh-
bourhood, as there were some remains of the nestling
down and it was not fully fledged.
Nieut Heron, Ardea nycticoray. According to
Pennant, the first specimen of the Night Heron
killed in England was shot near London in May,
1782, since which time, probably, many others have
been obtained in this county without any record
preserved. In a list of water birds occurring at
Kingsbury Reservoir, which was published in ‘ The
Zoologist’ for 1843, the Night Heron is included.
As its name implies, this bird is nocturnal in its
habits, secreting itself by day among reeds and
rushes, and takes wing on the approach of evening,
with harsh, disagreeable notes, to visit its feeding
grounds,
SPoonBILL, Platalea leucorodia. So far as I am
aware, that rare visitant, the Spoonbill, has only
once been observed in the county. On the 28rd
October, 1865, a pair of Spoonbills were seen at
Kingsbury Reservoir, and, on being disturbed and
shot at, flew to some little distance and alighted in
a field near a flock of geese. It is conjectured that
one of the birds was wounded, and, dropping down
to rest, was joined by the other, for had not this
been the case both birds would probably have gone
away at the first alarm. However this may be, they
were pursued by two gunners, who, finding them
very shy, and not to be approached directly, employed
ae
GRALLATORES. 167
a third person to go round and drive them, whilst
they concealed themselves in a favourable position
under a bank where some overhanging bushes
formed a good screen. This plan had the desired
effect ; for the birds on being again disturbed came
right over them, and were both killed. I heard of
the occurrence the following day, and, ascertaining
that the birds had been sent to London for preserva-
tion, IL traced them to the birdstuffer with whom
they had been left, and fortunately arrived in time
to see them before they were skinned. I then care-
fully noted down the description and measurements
of each, and the same evening saw them skinned,
and ascertained the sexes by dissection.
They proved, on examination, to be male and
female birds of the year. The bill was of a brownish
flesh-colour, darker towards the tip (the reverse of
what is seen in old birds), and in both specimens
was very soft and weak, that of the male bird being
the darker of the two.
The chin and lore of both were completely bare ;
the former of a yellow and the latter of a greyish
colour.
A remarkable feature was the tongue, so won-
derfully small in comparison with the length of bill:
in the two specimens under examination, the
tongue was not more than an eighth part of the entire
length of bill. There was no appearance of any
erest in either bird, nor could any trace of buff-
168 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
colour be observed on the breast. The true colour
of the eve could not with certainty be determined,
since the birds had been dead for some time before
IT saw them; but it appeared that the irides were
hazel and pupils black. The upper portions of the
plumage were of a dirty white colour, darker on the
back and scapulars, the under parts of a purer
white. All the quill-feathers with black shafts,
presenting a curious and very pretty appearance
when expanded. The first four quill-feathers white,
with dark brown tips, as follows :-—First, with dark
brown stripe on outer web ; second, first half of outer
web brown, then white ; third and fourth outer webs
nearly all white. The first quill shortest; the
second longest in the wing. The tail square and
white; the legs black. The feet semi-palmated,
and with the under surface remarkably concave.
The respective measurements of each were as
follows :—
Male. Female.
fis ink ft. am
Total length : < h& 2 62
Leneth of bill rete 0 63
‘A wing from carpus 1 22 1 2
a tibia nO? 7h O° GE
ds tarsus « - O 5 0 51
x, tail 0 5 Oo
Extent of wings 4 A 4 3
Both birds were in pretty good condition; the
male being the plumper and heavier bird of the two.
GRALLATORES. 169
With a view of ascertaining what food they had
recently obtained, I carefully examined the stomach
of each. That of the female was almost empty,
with the exception of a few small fish-bones (from
their size, probably roach), a small mass of vegetable
fibre, together with the fruit of a Sparganium and a
single carpal of a Potamogeton, probably P. pectt-
natus. That of the male was distended with a larger
quantity of small bones and remains of fish. The
bones had the appearance of being ground up small,
being all very much of one size, although the inner
coating of the stomach was by no means rough or
hard, and there were no traces of gravel or quartz,
nor, indeed, of any substance which would produce
or aid such a result.
I was informed by two or three persons who saw
these Spoonbills on the wing, that they flew like
Herons, but faster, and with the head and neck
stretched out like a Duck instead of being thrown
back, Heron-like, between the shoulders. They
were not heard to utter any note. I examined the
birds carefully with a view to ascertain whether they
had escaped from confinement, but as the wings
were quite perfect, the tail-feathers not in the least
worn, and the whole plumage, although immature,
yet in good order, I have no doubt that the birds
were really wild. Moving southwards at the approach
of winter, and tempted, no doubt, to make a resting-
place of the expansive reservoir above-named (which
Q
170 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
would be perceived by a bird in flight at a con-
siderable distance), they had unfortunately alighted,
and, as it would seem, had barely time to snatch a
hasty meal before they met a cruel and unexpected
death.
Family ScoLopacipz.
CurLteEw, Numenius arquata. Although not a
regular visitant like some of the Sandpipers and
Plovers, the Curlew is occasionally observed during
the periods of migration in spring and autumn. It
is generally heard before it is seen, and has a loud
wild note, which may be rendered thus :—
=
af
is
Besides this note, which sounds like “ cour-lieu,”
it has another harsher call, “ wha-up ;”’* and in the
spring I have heard a note like “ whee-ou, whee-ou.”
Curlews differ much in size, and I have often
been surprised at the great variation which exists
in the length of the bill in different individuals. A
friend has suggested that this difference is one of
sex; and I have made a note of his suggestion, in
order to test it by the dissection of any specimens
* In some parts of the country the Curlew is known by
the name of ‘ Whaup.”
GRALLATORES. E7E
I may obtain. I incline to think, however, that age
is more probably the cause of the variation.
WuHIMBREL, Numenius pheopus. Provincial, Tit-
terel. A rare visitant. Mr. Spencer tells me that
he has once observed this species at Kingsbury
Reservoir ; his brother killed one there in the spring
of 1850, and I have seen an indifferent specimen
which was shot at the same piece of water in the
autumn of 1859. So recently as the 10th May,
1866, a solitary Whimbrel was shot at Kingsbury
by Mr. Charles Wharton, of Willesden. It was a
male bird, and the measurements, as given by Mr.
Wharton, in ‘The Zoologist’ for June, 1866, were
as follows :—Length, from tip of bill to end of tail,
174 inches; length of bill, 34 inches; extent of
wing, 283 inches.
It is not an uncommon bird on the Sussex coast
in spring and autumn, where it is sometimes seen
in large flocks. At the approach of the breeding
season it retires North. It is a wary and difficult
bird to shoot, and is best approached in a boat. It
has a loud clear note, which sounds very musical
when heard over the water.
SPoTTeD or Dusky Repsuank, Totanus fuscus. Of
rare occurrence. A fine bird of this species, in full
Q 2
te oy 3 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
breeding plumage, was killed at Kingsbury Reser-
voir, in June, 1841, and was for some time in the
possession of a gentleman at Eton. I understand
that it is now in the collection at Eton School. A
second example, in winter plumage, was shot at
Stone Bridge, on the Brent, in 1849; and in August,
1859, a third was killed at the reservoir above
named.
RepsHAnk, Totanus calidris. An uncertain visit-
ant, appearing occasionally at the periodical migra-
tions in spring and autumn. Mr. Jesse forwarded to
Mr. Yarrell a bird of this species, which had been
killed at Hampton in autumn. Mr. Bond has shota
few specimens at different times at Kingsbury Re-
servoir, and Mr. Mitford saw one there as recently
as the 25th April, 1865. I have three examples in
my own collection, obtained at the same piece of
water ; one an adult male in summer plumage, shot
in May, 1868; and two, male and female birds of
the year, killed on the 17th August following. The
two latter birds have not the rich markings peculiar
to the adult bird in summer plumage, their breasts
being almost spotless; the bill, head, and back
lighter in colour, and the legs of a paler orange tint.
On examination I found the stomachs of these birds
filled with a mass of vegetable fibre which I was
unable to recognize, together with numerous small
particles of gravel.
GREEN SANDPIPER, T'otanus ochropus. There are
GRALLATORES. 173
many birds which, though never found breeding in
England, visit us either occasionally by accident, or
regularly at certain periods of the year. Owing to
the increased and increasing number of field-natu-
ralists throughout the country, the habits of most
of these, during their stay with us, are now, pro-
bably, pretty well known. There are, nevertheless,
a few about which we have still something to learn,
and amongst these few, I believe, may be classed
the Green Sandpiper.
In the various works on British birds which I
have perused, the information afforded on the habits
of this species is very scant. Most authors agree in
considering it a scarce and uncertain visitant to this
couutry, and indeed assert that its habits are yet
imperfectly understood.
Having had good opportunities of studying the
habits of this bird in Middlesex, the following notes,
it is hoped, will be the more acceptable to ornitho-
logists, since they are the result, not of plagiarism,
but of actual observation.
Notwithstanding its reputed rarity, I have long
considered the Green Sandpiper as a regular visitant
to this country in spring and autumn. It appears
first in April, and generally arrives about the 25th
of that month, and may then be found, singly or in
pairs, along the brook sides, where it frequents the
little bays of mud and sand that are often formed
where the stream winds. At this time of year the
Q 3
174 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
Green Sandpiper seldom stays more than a month,
eenerally departing again in the third week of May,
as, I believe, to breed further north.* The period
occupied in journeying from this country to Lapland
or Sweden and back, and in rearing a brood of
young, appears not to exceed six or seven weeks ;
for I have seen this species in Middlesex on the
25th May and the 17th July. After the bird has
returned to us again in July, it appears in no hurry
to depart for some time. The duties of incubation
are over, the old birds are accompanied by their
young, and nothing but the cold of winter would
seem to drive these united families from our
shores.
From July to November inclusively, I. have ob-
served Green Sandpipers at the brooks and ponds,
and not unfrequently in wide ditches where a little
water is collected. Occasionally, though rarely, I
have known a Green Sandpiper killed in December
and January.t
* On dissecting a female Green Sandpiper, shot on the
last day of April, I found rudimentary eggs in the ovary,
which strengthened the impression that this bird, like many
other of the Sandpipers, makes a resting-place of our waters
on its way to and from its breeding grounds.
+ The Rev. L. Jenyns, in his ‘ British Vertebrate
Animals,’ referring to this bird, calls it “‘ an occasional visitant
in this country, principally during the autumnal and winter
mouths, but scarcely to be called common.”
GRALLATORES. Les
These birds, in autumn, keep in little family
parties of five or six, until their numbers have been
thinned by the sportsman, who discovers that, like
many other Sandpipers, they are a good substitute
for Snipe, both as regards sport and food. As the
autumn advances, they leave the open sheets of
water, such as reservoirs and large ponds, where
they may be first seen on their return, and betake
themselves to the more sheltered brooks, where they
run along the edge of the water under the shelving
bank, and seldom appear in the more exposed and
deeper portions of the stream.
By crawling on hands and knees I have sometimes
been enabled to watch a Green Sandpiper unob-
servedly, and when on the ground it looks very
small compared with its appearance when flying.
It is more sluggish in its movements than the
Common Sandpiper, and, when in search of food,
it works one piece of ground thoroughly before
trying another. Now the Common Sandpiper gets
over the ground at a great rate, picking up a bit
here and a bit there, but probably leaving a good
deal behind, and in this respect reminding us of
the too-eager sportsman in the Partridge season
who does not half work his ground, and leaves many
birds behind him.
The Green Sandpiper, however, is not so much a
surface feeder, but bores a good deal for its food,
and I have often seen a small tract of mud
176 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
completely covered with holes made by this bird. On
examining specimens killed in the months of April,
May, July, August, September, October, and No-
vember, I found the food to consist of insects ;
chiefly small beetles, spiders, very small red worms,
and woodlice, the first-named in the greatest pro-
portion. Occasionally the stomach contained a
small mass of vegetable fibre which I could not
recognize ; but I never found any common earth-
worms, and remarked that the Green Sandpiper
does not appear to require so much grit to aid its .
digestion as many others of the genus. It is ex-
ceedingly wary, and rises on the least alarm, never
suffering a near approach, like some Sandpipers,
after it has once caught sight of you. When on the
wing, the white upper tail-coverts afford a conspi-
cuous mark of distinction, and offer a pretty contrast
with the dark back and wings of the bird. The
note is very musical. Some Sandpipers utter a cry
on rising; but this species generally rises silently,
and flies some little distance before piping, and on
this account, unless the sportsman is on the look-
out, it often escapes a shot. As winter approaches,
the Green Sandpipers gradually disappear, and after
the last week of October it is rarely that one is seen
until the following April. As I have before stated,
however, I have obtained a bird of this species
during the first week of November, and I have
heard, on reliable authority, of the occurrence of a
GRALLATORES. ery 76
few in December and January. It is somewhat sin-
gular that this bird, though remaining with us during
so many months in the year, should never have
been discovered breeding here. Mr. Wheelwright,
the only Englishman, I believe, with the exception
of the late Mr. Wolley, who has taken the eggs of
the Green Sandpiper, says that a peculiarity in its
breeding habits is, that instead of nesting on the
ground like other waders, it makes use of the de-
serted nest of some other bird, and frequently lays
its eggs at a considerable height from the ground.
This fact not being generally known may, per-
haps, account for the eggs never having been taken
in England. The search may always have been
made in a wrong direction.
Woop Sanpprper, Totanus glareola. I am in-
clined to think that the Wood Sandpiper is not so
rare a bird as is generally supposed ; so few persons
are acquainted with its specific distinction, that it is
probably often mistaken for the Green Sandpiper,
and on that account it may be well to point out here
in what respects it differs from that bird.
It is rather smaller in size, has proportionately
a shorter bill and longer tarsus; the legs are lighter
in colour, and it has not the white markings under
the wings which are conspicuous in the Green Sand-
piper. A marked difference, also, exists in the tail-
feathers. In the Green Sandpiper the tail is, for
the greater part, white; the outside feather on each
178 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
side with one small dark spot on the outer web
near the end; the next feather with two dark spots ;
the third and fourth with two rather broad dark
bands; the fifth and sixth with three or four dark
bands; but all the marks are on the distal half of
the tail-feathers, leaving the basal half pure white.
In the Wood Sandpiper, the tail-feathers are
barred with narrow transverse white bars on a
sround colour of greenish black. The axillary
plume in the Green Sandpiper is greyish black,
with narrow angular white bars: in the Wood Sand-
piper it is white, faintly marked with transverse
dusky bars.
There is another point, also, in which these birds
differ, and which appears to have been hitherto
overlooked. In the Wood Sandpiper the shaft of
the first quill-feather is white, the remaining shafts
dusky ; whereas in the Green Sandpiper the shafts
of all the quill feathers are dusky.
Mr. Bond has obtained five specimens of the
Wood Sandpiper at Kingsbury Reservoir. I saw
one at the same place on the 4th August, 1863, just
after it had been killed. The person who shot it
told me that he had wounded another which was in
company with it, but not having broken a wing it
managed to escape. He was ignorant of the species,
and called them Greenshanks, but said that he had
several times shot such birds before at the same
piece of water.
GRALLATORES. 179
I have seen two birds of this species in the col-
lection of Mr. Minasi, which were shot by that
gentleman at Kingsbury Reservoir. He remarked
that they looked smaller and lghter in colour than
the Green Sandpiper when flying, and he at first
mistook them for the young of that species. Both
birds were in summer plumage.
Common Sanppirer, Totanus hypoleucos. Pro-
vincial, Summer Snipe. This bird does not. belie
its name, being the commonest species of Sand-
piper that visits us, generally arriving about the
first week in May, and after leaving us for June
and July—to breed, as I believe, further North—
it returns again at the end of July or beginning
of August, and remains until the middle of Sep-
tember. Both old and young birds are then to
be found. This bird and the Green Sandpiper
always remain here later than any other species,
and, unlike the Ringed Plover, Dunlin, and some
others, they do not stay so much at the broad water
of the reservoirs, but may be found singly, or in
pairs, along the course of our brooks.
The stomachs of several specimens which I have
examined contained either a mass of semi-digested
beetles and aquatic insects, or vegetable matter only ;
and, as in the case of the Ringed Plover, there
were always several minute pebbles or particles of
coarse sand. The note, whichis loud for so small a
bird, sounds like “‘ weet-weet-weet.”
180 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
SporrED Sanpprrer, Totanus macularius. A
native of North America, and of rare occurrence in
England, where not more than half-a-dozen speci-
mens have as yet been met with. A bird of this
species, formerly in the possession of Mr. Milton, and
sold with his collection at Messrs. Stevens’ in April,
1852, was stated to have been obtained at Kingsbury
Reservoir. It was purchased at the sale by Mr.
Bond, who traced it to the person who had received
it in the flesh and stuffed it, and fully satisfied him-
self of the truth of the statement.
GREENSHANK, TJotanus glottis. A rare and uncer-
tain visitant in spring and autumn. A specimen, in
the collection of Mr. Bond, was obtained in this
parish in 1839. Two Greenshanks were shot at
Kingsbury Reservoir on 2nd September, 1844, both
of them birds of the year. In August, 1862, I saw
one at this Reservoir for three successive days; it
was exceedingly shy, and although I tried to ap-
proach it both by land and in a punt, I could never
get within shot. On 1st August, 1868, seven Green-
shanks appeared at the Reservoir. Two days later
four of them had disappeared, and of the remaining
three one was afterwards shot; the others escaped.
One day in August, 1864, I flushed a Greenshank
from a small pond on Hungry Downs, between
Kingsbury and Stanmore. It uttered a peculiar
whistle on rising, which first attracted my attention.
I marked it down in the corner of a field, where I
GRALLATORES. 181
knew there was another pond, and upon walking
there again disturbed the bird, and obtained a good
view of it. There had been a heavy fall of rain in
the morning, and the footprints and borings of the
bird were plainly visible on the mud around the pond.
The Greenshank is a very wary bird, and diffi-
cult to approach except under cover; but I have
sometimes put one up within shot from a salt-marsh,
where the herbage was pretty tall and thick. On
one occasion, under shelter of a sea-wall, I was
enabled to get pretty close to three Greenshanks
that were feeding on a mud-flat. A peculiarity
which I remarked in their manner of feeding was,
that they placed the bill upon the surface, the under
mandible almost parallel with the mud, and as they
advanced, scooped from side to side, after the fashion
of the Avocet, leaving a curious zigzag line im-
pressed upon the mud. The food consists of smail
mollusks and beetles.
Avocet, Recurvirostra avocetta. Its graceful
form and beauty of colour, black and white, with
long blue legs, render this bird one of the most
attractive of our waders. Fifty years ago it was
not uncommonly met with in our fens as a summer
visitant, and specimens might occasionally be seen
hanging up for sale in the London markets.
The extensive drainage of marsh land, and culti-
vation of wastes where it used to breed, together
with a great increase in the number of gunners,
R
182 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
will probably account for its present extreme rarity
as a British bird.
By chance, perhaps through adverse winds, an
Avocet makes its appearance at the period of migra-
tion in spring or autumn; butif not shot from its
attractive colour, it makes but a temporary stay,
and, impelled by curious instinct, speeds away to a
more secluded region, where it may rear its brood in
safety. A curious habit, which has obtained for it
the name of Scooping Avocet, has been alluded to
under the head of “ Greenshank.”
So far as I am aware, the Avocet has but once
been observed in Middlesex. A solitary bird, in
fine plumage, was shot at Kingsbury Reservoir in
May, 1854, by a gentleman unknown in the neigh-
bourhood, who carried the bird, for preservation, to
London, where it was seen by an acquaintance, who
lately informed me of the fact.
BLACKTAILED Gopwit, Limosa melanura. Owing,
probably, to the extraordinary difference between the
summer and winter plumage of the Godwits, which
change from a bright chesnut beneath in summer
to a pale stone-colour in winter, a good deal of con-
fusion has been created by some authors, who state
that there are several species of Godwit in England.
There are but two species, the Blacktailed and
the Bartailed, both of which undergo the same sea-
sonal change of plumage. Ata distance the former
may always be known from the latter by its superior
GRALLATORES. 183
length of leg. In the Blacktailed Godwit the tarsus
measures three inches, and the bare part of the tibia
one inch and three-quarters ; whereas, in the Bar-
tailed Godwit, the tarsus measures but two inches,
and the bare part of the tibia only three-quarters of
an inch. In addition to this, a closer inspection
will show a marked difference in the tail-feathers, a
difference sufficiently indicated by the names which
have been given to each. An examination of some
specimens in April and May showed the food to
consist chiefly of small univalve shell-fish.
The Blacktailed Godwit is the rarer of the two
species in England, although, curiously enough, its
eggs are far oftener met with than those of its con-
gener. It has occasionally been found breeding in
our fens, which has never been the case with L. rufa.
Mr. Yarrell, in his ‘ History of British Birds,’
referring to the occurrence of this species in
England, notices three examples which appeared
at Kingsbury Reservoir in spring; and the occur-
rence of this rare wader in the county is also re-
corded in ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1843.
BarTAILED Gopwit, Limosa rufu. Examples of
this, the Common Godwit, have occasionally been
found at our reservoirs and on marshy ground, but
it is a scarce and uncertain visitant.
An experienced wild-fowler informs us that the
Godwits come with an east wind, and are more
plentiful in mild winters than in severe ones. At
R 2
184 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
this time of year they may be found upon the coast
in flocks, and in their winter dress greatly resemble
Whimbrel, from which birds, however, they may be
distinguished at a distance by their note, which
sounds like “lou-ey, lou-ey.”
The Bartailed Godwit has twice been observed
in this county in the spring; on both occasions at
that famous resort of waders, Kingsbury Reservoir.
In May, 1851, an adult bird was shot there, in full
summer plumage, and on the 29th April, 1863, four
others were seen at the same sheet of water.
Rurr, Machetes pugnazx. Female, Reeve. An
uncertain visitant, appearing occasionally during
the vernal and autumnal migrations in May and
August. On the 25th August, 1864, Mr. W. H.
Power saw three of these birds at Kingsbury Reser-
voir, and shot one of them, which proved to be an
old male. On the 21st May, 1866, during a high
wind from the east, five Ruffs passed over the head
of a friend* who was walking round this sheet of
water, and he shot one of them, a Reeve, in very
beautiful plumage. Previously to the above dates
several Ruffs had been killed in the county, and
since the formation of the reservoir at Kingsbury, in
1838, about a dozen examples of this bird have been
killed there. The curious frill which is peculiar to
the male bird, and from which he derives his name,
* Mr. W. Swindell.
GRALLATORES. 185
is only assumed during the breeding season. After
that time the Ruff and Reeve are so much alike
that they can only be distinguished with certainty
by dissection. The colour of the legs varies a good
deal in different individuals ; being in some orange,
in others grey, and in others again yellowish brown.
I have only once been fortunate enough to see this
bird in a wild state, on which occasion I met with a
Reeve when Snipe-shooting in October. It was
remarkably tame, and as I did not fire when it first
rose, being anxious to observe its habits, it dropped
again within twenty yards of the spot from whence
it rose, and commenced feeding. It uttered no cry,
and flew slowly, with a lazy beat of wing. After watch-
ing it for some time, on its again rising I killedit. An
examination of the stomach showed the food to con-
sist of numerous small mollusca, worms, and beetles.
Wooncock, Scolopax rusticola. Formerly not
uncommon in winter, but now scarce. This, pro-
bably, is owing to the increased cultivation of waste
lands, and the careful way in which the hedges are
now trimmed, and ditches cleared; the Woodcocks
no longer being able to find the thick cover in
which they used once to delight. In the more
wooded neighbourhoods of Edgewarebury and Stan-
more, where game is strictly preserved, Woodcocks
are more frequently seen, though by no means plen-
tiful ; and seldom a season passes in which I do not
hear of one or two having been shot at Harrow Weald,
R 3
186 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
Kingsbury, and Willesden. Wembley Park used to
be a famous place for Cocks.
The male and female Woodcock closely resemble
each other, but may be distinguished by the follow-
ing marks, as pointed out by the Rev. Mr. Bree :*—
“ The front, or outer edge, of the first quill-feather
of the cock bird is marked alternately with dark and
light spots, of a somewhat triangular shape, while in
the hen the corresponding feather is without spots,
and, in lieu of these, presents a uniform light-
coloured stripe, extending the whole length of the
feather.”
SABINE’S Snipe, Scolopax Sabini. It is much
disputed whether Sabine’s Snipe is a distinct species,
or only a variety of the Common Snipe. In support
of the latter view, it is asserted that it is not only a
rare bird in Britain, but that no locality is known
where it is common; nor have the eggs ever been
discovered. On the other hand, if we consider how
very much varieties differ inter se, it appears sin-
gular that of the comparatively few varieties of the
Common Snipe which have been noticed, the ma-
jority of them should agree in being of the same
dark colour and similarly marked. I. have seen
five specimens of the so-called Scolopax Sabini : one
in the collection of my friend Mr. Knox, of Trotton,
Sussex, which was shot on Appledram Common,
* «Magazine of Natural History,’ vol. iii., p. 147.
GRALLATORES. 187
near Chichester; one in the British Museum, from
Queen’s County, Ireland ; and three Irish specimens
in the Dublin University Museum; and I am in-
clined to believe that S. gallinago and S. Sabini are
distinct species, for the following reasons :—Firstly,
in S. Sabini, there is a total absence of white in the
plumage, and none of the bufi-coloured markings
on the head and back which appear in S. gallinago ;
secondly, the number of tail-feathers in S. Sabini is
twelve, whereas S. gallinago has fourteen; thirdly,
the tarsus in S. Sabiniis stouter and about an eighth
of an inch shorter than in S. gallinago ; fourthly, in
S. Sabina the eye is placed much higher in the head,
as in S. rusticola; and lastly, if S. Sabint were only
a variety of S. gallinago, however dark in colour the
feathers might be, they would ai all events be of the
same shape. But it will be observed that in S. gal-
linago the feathers of the back are lanceolate in
form, while in S. Sabini they are more ovate; in
this respect more nearly resembling S. rusticola.
A specimen of Sabine’s Snipe is recorded in
Morris’s ‘Game Birds and Wild Fowl’ as having
been obtained near London. In the winter of 1860-
61, two friends were shooting along the Brent, when
a Snipe rose, at which they both fired, and the bird
fell. On picking it up, they remarked that it was an
extraordinarily dark-coloured Snipe, but as it was
much shattered it was not thought worth preserving.
Some of the feathers, however, were afterwards shown
188 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
to a well-known taxidermist, and he expressed an
opinion that, judging from the shape and colour of
the feathers, the bird killed was Sabine’s Snipe.
GREAT or SoriTary Snire, Scolopaxz major. This
bird affects drier situations than the Common Snipe,
and is generally met with in autumn, when the few
which visit us at that time, on their migration south-
wards, ‘are generally found to be young birds. As
its name implies, it is much larger than the Common
Snipe, and of a stouter build. It flies more slowly
and steadily than that bird, and may be recognized
by its peculiar habit of spreading the tail, which has
avery rufous appearance, like a fan, and by its having
the under parts spotted instead of white. It differs
also in some other respects, which are apparent on
a closer inspection ; as, for instance, in having the eye
placed very high in the head, like the Woodcock,
and in having sixteen tail-feathers instead of fourteen.
Seldom a year elapses without specimens of the
Great Snipe being obtained in some of the eastern
counties, but in Middlesex it is a rare bird. A
specimen, in the collection of Mr. Bond, was killed
in Hendon Fields in November, 1851, and five years
subsequently another was shot, late in autumn, on
the Brent, by William Sawyer, the keeper at Kings-
bury Reservoir. I have seen a third, which was
killed on Bushy Heath.
Common Snieez, Scolopax gallinago. A few of these
birds annually make their appearance here in
GRALLATORES. 189
August, possibly driven from the moors by the
grouse-shooters ; but the large “wisps” of Snipe do
not come until October, from which month, until the
end of March, the bird is tolerably common, and
may be found at the brooks, ponds, and wide ditches,
as well as upon any marshy ground. Duringasharp
frost they get to the sides of running streams and to
the little dykes that intersect large water-meadows.
The food consists chiefly of small mollusca, insects,
and earth-worms, and I have sometimes found a
mass of vegetable matter in the stomach.
Occasionally, where the situation is favourable,
Snipe remain throughout the summer. They are
early breeders, and I have taken the eggs in Sussex,
considerably incubated on the 29th April, although,
in Lancashire, on the 3rd May, I found some eggs
perfectly fresh. Probably the same observation made
with regard to the Ringed Plover applies here, viz.,
that the further north the breeding-place, the later
the period of incubation.
The situation of the nest is not always similar; I
have seen it sometimes within a few yards of a pool
of water, a slight depression in the ground, with no
other lining than some dry blades of the grass
which grew around it and were trodden down;
sometimes at a considerable distance from water,
the hollow made by a horse’s hoof thickly lined
with dry grass. On one occasion I found a nest
which was buried in the top of a tall tussock, with
190 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
waving rushes completely overhanging and almost
concealing it. The eggs, always four in number,
vary a good deal in the markings, but the ordinary
type is a pale olive-brown ground-colour with dark
purplish-brown blotches chiefly at the larger end.
The peculiar noise called “ drumming,” which the
Snipe is sometimes heard to make, has been the
subject of much discussion among sportsmen and na-
turalists. Some assert that the sound proceeds from
the bird’s larynx, while others maintain that it is pro-
duced with the wings. From personal observation I
have no doubt that the latter is the more correct view,
and I came to this conclusion from remarking that
the “drumming,” or, more properly, the “ buzzing”
sound was only produced when the bird was on the
wing, and descending through the air in a diagonal
line, at which time a shivering of the wings was very
perceptible. On one occasion, having disturbed a
pair of Snipe from their nest, they continued to fly
round me in circles, making this peculiar noise for
nearly half-an-hour. Sometimes, when they passed
pretty close to me, falling diagonally through the
air, [ could perceive that the bill was closed, while
the wings shivered. As both these birds were heard
to “drum,” it is presumed that the sound is not
peculiar to the male bird, as some have supposed.
Karly one morning I surprised a Snipe standing in
the middle of a very shallow brook, and apparently,
at the same moment, he became aware of my
GRALLATORES. 191
presence. Instead, however, of taking wing, he
crouched down in the middle of the water, immersing
the bill, and keeping the head and back as flat as
possible. In that position the bird remained for
more than a minute, and at a distance might well
have been mistaken for a stone; but having come
out on purpose to try and shoot a few Snipe, I did
not feel inclined to let him escape, and so threw a
pebble at him, when he rose and was killed.
Snipe are occasionally found so near London as
Hampstead Heath, which is somewhat curious, con-
sidering that that neighbourhood is now so thickly
populated. I remember to have seen in ‘ The Field’
newspaper, a few years since, a notice to tbe effect
that a live Snipe was found one winter’s day in the
Strand. It was fluttering along the pavement, and,
oddly enough, was picked up by a gamekeeper, who,
like itself, was a stranger in London, and who, as
may be supposed, was considerably surprised at
meeting with this country acquaintance there.
JACK SNIPE, Scolopax gallinula. 'Vhe first flights,
so far as I have been enabled to observe, arrive here
during the first week of October. I once shot three
Jack Snipe as early as the 2nd of that month, but
they generally arrive about the 7th. This bird
appears to have such an attachment to particular
localities, that at any time in the month of October
I can walk to a certain spot, feeling confident of
finding a Jack Snipe. At one pond in particular,
192 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
which is bordered by flags, and appears to furnish
some specially attractive food, I have frequently put
up two or three of these birds at once, although, by
the way, Mr. Yarrell says the Jack Snipe is even more
solitary in its habits than the Common Snipe. So
far as my limited experience goes, I have always been
led to think the contrary; for I have often found
several Jack Snipe within a few yards of each other.
On one occasion I flushed six from about half-an-
acre of marsh. As a rule, they will be very close,
even after a gun has been fired, and will almost
suffer themselves to be trodden on before rising.
One day a Jack Snipe got up, which I shot at and
missed, but killed with the second barrel. Without
moving, I reloaded, and, cocking my gun, made a
single step in advance, when another Jack Snipe
rose within three yards of me. This was curious ;
for notwithstanding the noise made by firing twice,
and then reloading, the bird never stirred until I
moved my feet. I have since thought that perhaps
the vibration of the ground, or the movement of the
herbage, caused by walking was felt by the bird, and
alarmed it more than the noise. The Jack Snipe
really appears to be so deaf that the French name
for it, “ Bécassine sourde,” is not an inappropriate
one. It is very light, weighing only about two
ounces. I once watched two of these birds running
over the weeds in a pond, apparently in pursuit of
insects. On my approach they retreated hurriedly
GRALLATORES. 193
to some rushes at the side of the pond, and I had
some little difficulty to make them rise.
I once kept a Jack Snipe in confinement for some
days, and, as the bird is a very difficult one to
observe when on the ground in its wild state, a
transcript of some notes made on its movements in
my aviary may be interesting.
“ October 8th.—Found some Jack Snipe to-day,
and shot three. One of them, curiously enough, was
struck in the carpal joint of each wing, which caused
the bird to fall. It being otherwise apparently un-
injured, I carried it home alive in my pocket, and
turned it into the aviary, first shaking down some
straw temporarily, for cover, and putting in a supply
of worms and water.
“ October 9th.—Jack Snipe alive and well. Cut
several large sods with plenty of rushes growing on
them, and put them in the aviary instead of the
straw. Procured an old tea-tray and filled it with
water, strewing some gravel and sand at the bottom,
thus making a capital pool. Scattered some worms
among the rushes and in the water, and left the
bird in quiet.
“October 10th.—Jack Snipe alive and active, but
still very shy, and will not feed while I am near.
Looked in later in the day, and found him still
squatting in the rushes. Gave him some boiled
liver, chopped fine, which Mr. Hancock says is a
fine thing for all waders in confinement, as it more
S
194 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
nearly approximates to their insect food than any-
thing else.
“ October 11th.—Until to-day Jack Snipe has
been very shy, hiding in the rushes on the least
alarm. This morning, while watching through a
window in the aviary, I saw him come out and feed.
I had previously fancied, and, indeed, read some-
where, that the Jack Snipe moved with the body
nearly horizontal like a Land Rail, but I am now
able to state, from my own observation, that the bird
walks in a very erect position, with a firm and stately
tread, nodding his head at every step. On seizing a
worm he passes it through his bill, pinching it all
over from end to end, and then swallows it whole. Al-
though he will pick up a worm from the surface, he
prefers boring for one and drawing it from a sod.
He stands in the pool which I have made for him,
and picks up small particles of gravel strewn on the
bottom, but does not appear to drink much. When
at rest, the head reclines upon the back, between the
shoulders, giving the bird the appearance of having
no neck; the bill rests on the ground in front, the
breast touches the ground, and the tarsus and tibia
touch and are parallel. On the least alarm the bird
rises so suddenly as to cause an involuntary start on
the part of the observer.
“ October 12th.—At 6 a.m., this morning, Jack
Snipe was alive, and apparently doing well. Before
coming into breakfast at nine o’clock I again visited
GRALLATORES. 195
the aviary, when, much to my disappointment, I
found him dead among the rushes.”
Brown Snree, Scolopax grisea. A specimen of
this rare Snipe, in the collection of Mr. Bond, was
killed some yearS ago on the banks of the Thames,
near Battersea; and a second, in my own collection,
was shot on the Brent, near Stone Bridge, in Octo-
ber, 1862.
The summer plumage of this bird has procured
for it the name of Redbreasted Snipe. Both the spe-
-cimens above mentioned are in autumn plumage, with
only a faint tinge of buff upon the breast. It is a
native of North America, and, in some parts of that
continent, is very plentiful Itis very rarely met with
in England. By some naturalists it is considered as
the connecting link between the Snipe and Sand-
pipers, and in its relative proportions and general
colour it is intermediate between these two families.
CurLEW SanpprPer, T'ringa subarquata. Two
examples of the Curlew Sandpiper, both birds of the
year, were obtained at Kingsbury Reservoir on the
2nd September, 1844. A third, killed some years
later at the same place, is in the collection of Mr.
Bond. Mr. W. H. Power informed me that his
brother shot a Curlew Sandpiper at this Reservoir
on the 17th September, 1864, which was in company
with a flock of Ringed Plovers; and that on the 2nd
September following they each killed a Curlew
Sandpiper, out of a flock of Ring Plovers, at the same
$2
196 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
place. These birds were in autumn plumage, with
just a faint trace of buff-colour on the breast. I
have seen a bird of this species, in autumn plumage,
in the collection of Mr. Minasi, which that gentle-
man shot at the same piece of water.
As far as I have been able to observe, the Curlew
Sandpiper is more fearless than many other of the
waders, and will suffer a near approach before taking
wing. I once shot a Curlew Sandpiper which
allowed me to approach within a few yards, although
a flock of birds with which it had been feeding had
taken wing some time previously. It appears very
sociable in its habits, and may generally be seen
with a flock of Ringed Plovers or Dunlins. From
the former it is easily distinguished when on the
wing, and, when flying among a flock of the latter,
it may be recognized by its upper tail-coverts, which
are white. The note is something like that of the
Dunlin, but louder. It is very rapid in flight, but,
if not fired at, will, like the Jack Snipe, alight again
at no great distance.
Knot, Tringa canutus. In a note upon the arrival
of summer birds at Kingsbury, dated 17th June,
1844, and published in ‘The Zoologist’ for that
year, the occurrence of the Knot at Kingsbury Re-
servoir 1s mentioned ; but this is the only notice of
the appearance of this species in the county that I
have been able to obtain.
The Knot, lke the Godwits and the Curlew
- GRALLATORES. 197
Sandpiper, has such a very different appearance in
summer and winter, that in these two states of
plumage it might well be considered as belonging to
two distinct species. During the summer months the
general colour of the Knot, from chin to vent, is a
bright chesnut, while the back is prettily mottled with
brown, grey, and buff. After the autumnal moult
the colour of the under parts gradually gets lighter
and lighter, until, in mid-winter, it is pure white, at
which time the upper part of the head and back is
almost of a uniform grey. A precisely similar change
is observed in the Blacktailed and Bartailed God-
wits, and in the Curlew Sandpiper, although these
birds never become so purely white beneath as the
Knot.
Upon examining the contents of the stomach of
two Knots killed in May, I found in one of them
three shells of the common periwinkle, and in the
other about one hundred and fifty small univalve
shells belonging to the genera Rissoa and T'urbo.
Lirriz Srint, T'ringa minuta. Occasionally found
at. our reservoirs during the periodical migrations
in spring and autumn, but more commonly at the
latter season, when the little flocks which arrive here
consist chiefly of young birds.
Towards the end of August, 1862, five Little
Stints, two old and three young, were shot at the
Reservoir at Kingsbury, and one of them, an adult
female, I obtained for my collection.
S 3
198 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
Early in May, 1863, Mr. Bond saw a pair at the
same place; and on October 9th of the same year,
of a second pair which visited us, I was fortunate
enough to secure the male. Mr. W. H. Power and
his brother killed four Little Stints at Kingsbury
Reservoir in the autumn of 1864.
On the 10th June, 1865, an unusual date to find
this species, four Little Stints appeared at the same
piece of water, and one of them was shot by Mr. H.
Greenwood, of Hampstead. This specimen I had
subsequently an opportunity of examining, and it
proved to be an adult bird in summer plumage.
The different appearance which it presented in
comparison with examples obtained in the same
locality in spring and autumn was very striking.
The upper portion of the plumage had a rich reddish
brown tinge, like the same parts in the Dunlin
when in summer dress. The spots on the throat
and upper part of the breast were also of a rufous
tint, like the same parts exhibited by the Sander-
ling in summer.
Temuince’s Stint, Tringa Temmincku. This
eraceful little bird, our least British Sandpiper, is
frequently confounded with the Little Stint, 7’. m-
nuta, and so escapes notice; but, on a careful com-
parison, it will be found to differ from that species
in several particulars. ‘Temminck’s Stint may be
regarded as a miniature Common Sandpiper, exhibit-
ing amore uniform colour throughout, and having
GRALLATORES. 199
light-coloured legs; while the Little Stint, like a
miniature Dunlin, displays a more mottled and varied
plumage, and has black legs. Nor need the parallel,
I think, be confined to the plumage only, for, as far
as my experience goes, Temminck’s Stint, ike the
Common Sandpiper, affects the soft mud around in-
land pools and marshes, while the Little Stint, like
the Dunlin, prefers the sand and shingle of the sea-
shore. The most essential differences between these
two species may, perhaps, be best shown as follows :—
TEMMINCK’S STINT. Litre Stint.
Colour, more uniform. Colour, more varied.
Tarsus, light brown, short and| Tarsus, black, longer and
slender. stouter.
Wings, first quill-feather with | Wings, all the quill-feathers
white shaft; all the other with white shafts.
quill-feathers with dusky
shafts.
Tertial-feathers reach to very | Tertial-feathers do not reach
near the end of the pri- within a quarter of an inch
maries. of end of primaries.
Tail, three outer feathers on | Tail, three outer feathers on
each side almost white; * each side all pale grey ; no
the first outside white, white.
with a faint dusky spot on
outer web; the second
white, with a narrow dusky
streak on outer web; the
third white, with broad
dusky streak on outer web.
* In India this bird is called the Whitetailed Stint.
200 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
Although Temminck’s Stint assumes a more
mottled plumage in summer, and the Little Stint
amore uniform colour in winter, the difference in
the wing and tail-feathers, as pointed out above,
will be at all times, I think, a sufficient guide in
determining the species.
Temminck’s Stint is occasionally, although rarely,
found here during the migration in spring and
autumn. The earliest notice which I have met with
of the occurrence of this species in Middlesex, is
-eontained in the last volume of Yarrell’s ‘ British
Birds.’ At p. 75, vol. iii., that author says: “ Mr.
Bond sent me word that he met with a pair of old
birds in the spring of 1839, on the margin of Kings-
bury Reservoir, in Middlesex, and several young
ones in the autumn of the same year, obtaining one
of the old ones and five young ones.” In May, 1859,
Mr. Spencer received a specimen that had been
killed by his brother at this Reservoir. Mr. Bond
shot a young bird of this species at the same piece
of water on 31st August, 1861, which he has since
presented to the British Museum.
Several small Stints, said to be Temminck’s,
appeared at the Reservoir on the 4th August, 1863,
and one of them was shot; but as I unfortunately
did not see it, I am unable to say for certain whether
it was 7’. Temmincku or 7’. mninuta.
Dunuin, Tringa variabilis. A regular passing
visitant in spring and autumn, and the first, of
GRALLATORES. 201
the genus Tinga, to arrive. I have a pair in my
collection in summer plumage, killed at Kingsbury
as early as April 7th. It frequents large sheets of
water, such as the Reservoirs of Kingsbury, Ruislip,
and Elstree, and is seldom found along the streams,
as is the case with the Common and Green Sand-
pipers.
On the return of this species in August after the
breeding season the plumage is very different to that
assumed in April. It becomes much duller; the
rich reddish brown of the upper parts changes to a
dull grey, and the black feathers on the breast
disappear entirely, leaving all the under parts pure
white.*
The period at which the Dunlin arrives at its full
summer plumage probably depends upon the age of
the bird. I saw two on the 11th June, one of which
had a rich reddish brown back and completely black
breast, the other a grey back and scarcely any trace of
black on the under parts. The latter was, no doubt,
the younger bird, and probably a bird of the previous
year.
The Dunlin has more rarely been found here in
winter.
* In the autumn of 1865 I saw an entirely white Dunhn,
which had been recently shot at Aldborough, on the Suffolk
coast. The quill-feathers were much worn, and the bird
had the appearance of great age.
202 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
Four of these birds were seen at Kingsbury
Reservoir by a local keeper, who is well acquainted
with the species, on the 4th January, 1864. ‘They
were near the edge of the water, and crowding so
close together that he believed he could have killed
all four at a shot, and would have made the experi-
ment had he not been crawling to Ducks. Most
of our Sandpipers may be distinguished, when on
the wing, by their note. That of the Dunlin is—
It is usually more tame and fearless than many of
the Sandpipers, and will occasionally suffer a near
approach before taking wing.
The beautiful flight of the Dunlin, when in large
flocks, must have been observed by all who, from
time to time, pay a visit to the seaside. The ap-
pearance which they present when moving in a large
body through the air has been faithfully described
by Mr. Thompson in his ‘ Natural History of Ire-
land’ “When immense flocks divide, fly right and
left, and shoot into single strings, they strike upon
the eye while the sun shines upon them, and the
dark banks of the bay serve as background, hke
silver lines, occasionally of great length. A flock
flying for a great distance just above the margin of
the flowing tide, has strongly resembled, from their
GRALLATORES. 203
white plumage being displayed, a single wave sweep-
ing rapidly onwards. When the back or breast is
turned towards the spectator every bird is indi-
vidualized, or distinctly marked; but when they
sweep so as to show only the line of the back, they
are almost invisible.”
Family Ratuip2.
Lanp Rar or Corn Crake, Gallinula crex. A
common summer visitant, generally appearing about
the first week in May, and in some seasons parti-
cularly numerous. As the farms in this county are
nearly all grass-farms, and we have very little clover
or seed crops to afford a shelter for these birds after
the hay is cut, they generally leave us about the end
of July; and although I have found Rails abundant
in September in Sussex and Hampshire, it is rarely
that they are to be found here in that month. I
cannot help thinking that a few must stay with us
the whole winter, for specimens are sometimes seen
in the London markets at Christmas; and I once
saw a Land Rail just after it had been shot, early
in January. This bird, however, may have been
wounded, and thus disabled from joining the flight
at the time of its migration.
SPOTTED CRAKE, Gallinula porzana. Owing to
the manner in which this bird hides amongst thick
cover, and to its unwillingness to take wing, it is
204 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
not often seen, and is, therefore, considered rare.
Mr. Yarrell accurately remarks that this species is
more aquatic in its habits than the last-named, fre-
quenting the sides of streams and ponds wherever
a good supply of rushes or flags is to be found
wherein to hide. It is a very shy bird, and seldom
seen on the wing; for being by nature of slender
and compressed form, like all the Rails, it makes its
way through thick rushes or flags with the greatest
ease, and, unless hard pressed, is always very loth
to rise.
Notwithstanding this, however, sportsmen, with
the aid of a good dog, occasionally flush and kill a
specimen, and I am able to record the capture of no
less than twelve in this county. Others, probably,
have occurred of which I have not heard. Mr. Blyth
saw a Spotted Crake in the London market in the
month of January, 1834; and one, in the collection
of Mr. Bond, was obtained some years later at
Kingsbury, as recorded in ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1843.
Two specimens were shot at Jessop’s Ait, Chiswick,
in the autumn of 1862, by a market-gardener named
Anstice ; and in the following year one was shot near
Stone Bridge, on the Brent, on the 16th October,
which proved to be a bird of the year; and another,
now in the collection of Mr. Dutton, of Hammer-
smith, was killed at Jessop’s Ait, above-mentioned,
on the 12th November. This last bird, which I
have seen, is a female. Mr. Dutton informs me
GRALLATORES. © 205
that he has seen two others, in a birdstuffer’s shop,
which were also obtained at Chiswick in the autumn
of 1863.
I have seen two specimens of the Spotted Crake
in the collection of Mr. Minasi, which were shot by
Mr. W.K. Heseltine, at Laleham, in 1857; and
another, in the same collection, which was caught
some years previously at Hyde Bridge, on the Brent,
by a retriever belonging to Mr. Minasi.
With regard to the last example of which I
have heard as having occurred in this county,
my friend, Mr. W. H. Power, writes me word as
follows :—
“‘T shot one of these birds at West Drayton, as it
was crossing the river Colne, which here divides the
counties of Middlesex and Buckinghamshire. My
dog started it from an osier-bed full of tall reeds,
and I killed it under the impression that it was a
young Moorhen. This was on the 2nd August,
1860.”
Lirtte Crane, Gallinula pusilla. Montagu truly
observes that the habits of the smaller species of
Gallinules are their principal security :—‘‘ They are
not only equally capable of diving and concealing
their bodies under water, with only the bill above
the surface to secure respiration, but run with
celerity and hide themselves amongst the rushes
and flags of swampy places, and are with great diffi-
culty roused, even with the assisiance of dogs,
T
906 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
depending more on concealment in thick cover
than upon their wings to avoid danger. From
these circumstances it is that they are so rarely
obtained.”
Yarrell mentions a specimen of the Little Crake,
belonging to Mr. Foljambe, which was purchased in
the shop of a London poulterer in May, 1812.
About the same time Mr. Plasted, of Chelsea, ob-
tained another, which was shot on the banks of the
Thames near that place. This latter bird corre-
sponded with the figure and description of Montagu’s
Olivaceous Gallinule, and was believed to be an
adult male.
MooruHen, Gallinula chloropus. Common resi-
dent. Found all along our brooks and at quiet
pond sides.
I hardly know a prettier object in a country walk
than a Moorhen in its proper haunt. Look at
that bird running along the bank, startled at our
approach as we follow the winding brook. Now he
stops to listen, and, with stately tread, lifts his
dainty green legs, and peers about with bright hazel
eye. Now he has caught sight of us, and, quick as
thought, has run to the edge and dropped like a
stone into the water. Now we have lost him! no:
there he is again, ten yards further on, and making
for that clump of rushes on the opposite side. How
he nods his head at every stroke, and flirts up his
little white tail, uttering at intervals a sharp “‘ keck-
GRALLATORES. 207
keck!” How pretty those white feathers under the
wing look, and how the bright red bill contrasts with
the dark colour of the head! Now he has gained
the rushes, and feels safe, and there he will hide till
we are gone.
If surprised in a small pool where there is little
cover, the Moorhen, instead of taking wing, dives,
and, coming towards the surface in the vicinity of
some water-plant, remains entirely submerged, with
the exception of the bill, which it just protrudes
above the surface to enable it to breathe.
From what I have observed, I believe that a Moor-
hen cannot remain in this position without some
assistance from a reed, water-lily, or other plant.
In other words, it brings itself to anchor by means
of its long toes with which it grasps the stalk of a
plant, and thus keeps its body below the surface
while its bill only is above. Sometimes, in shallow
water, the feet touch the ground, and the toes are
then inserted in the mud or gravel.
On one occasion, while walking along the Brent,
I surprised a Moorhen in a shallow. The bird must
have seen me before I observed it; for I first be-
came aware of its presence by noticing the bright red
forehead on the surface of the water. As the brook
at that particular spot was too shallow to admit of
the bird’s diving, and as there was no friendly cover
near at hand, it continued submerged for several
minutes, until I threw in a stone, when, with one
m2
208 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
motion, it rose from the water into the air and flew.
While it remained in the water I was not more than
three yards from it, and was easily able to see that
it touched the bottom of the shallow.
On another occasion I suddenly disturbed a Moor-
hen in a small isolated pond with plenty of cover
at a short distance from the brink, but none near
enough to reach quickly without flying. An elm
tree had fallen half-way across the pond, and at
several feet from the bank it overhung the water for
some distance without touching it. The Moorhen
first dived and re-appeared two or three times, and
then, as if inspired with a sudden thought, dived
again and came up under the fallen tree, but showing
only the head and keeping the rest of the body en-
tirely submerged. All my efforts to drive it from
thence were unavailing, and it then occurred to me
that, by crawling out along the tree, I might possibly
be able to seize the bird unawares. Accordingly,
handing my coat to a friend who stood on the bank
to tell me when I should be directly over the spot, I
crawled on hands and knees along the tree, until, at
my friend’s signal, I knew that I was immediately
above the Moorhen. I then quietly put my hand
in the water, about two feet behind it, and groped
gently along until I could feel the legs. ‘There were
several small branches growing laterally from the
tree, and many of these were under water. I soon
discovered that the Moorhen’s feet passed round
GRALLATORES. 909
and under one of these, and that by this means the
body was kept submerged. I had little time then
for reflection, fearing lest the bird might escape ;
so, seizing the legs, 1 drew it out of the water and
brought it safe to land.
It is, perhaps, scarcely fair to draw conclusions
from two or three instances; but, as I have never
observed a Moorhen submerge its body and keep
its head or bill above water, except in the vicinity
of water-plant, reeds, or branches, I think I am not
far wrong in concluding that the bird is unable to
exercise this peculiar habit without the assistance
which is thus afforded.
There seems to be some difference of opinion as
to whether the male and female Moorhen both
have the red forehead and the red garter; but I
have now little doubt upon this point, having satis-
fied myself, both by observation of the birds alive
and by dissection after death.
I have often seen the female bird on the nest,
with crimson forehead ; and in several cases where
I have known a single pair of Moorhens, and no
more, to frequent a small pond, I have remarked
that both birds had the conspicuous red patch.
Again, after a Moorhen hunt in the autumn,
when some three or four brace had been bagged,
there were often found to be as many males as
females, and all had the red forehead unless they
were young birds. My own observations, therefore,
T 3
210 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
induce the following conclusions. When fully adult,
both sexes have the red forehead as well as the red
garter (though, possibly, the male may have the
brighter colour), but when immature neither sex is
so marked. In young birds the forehead and legs
are olive-coloured, andremain so until the following
spring, when the red colour appears as in the parent
birds; but the period at which this change takes
place no doubt depends upon the age of the birds,
those which are hatched first in the preceding year
being the first to show the red in the succeeding
spring.
Water Rat, Rallus aquaticus. From its skulk-
ing habits seldom seen. It runs with great rapidity,
and is a difficult bird to flush without the help of a
good dog. On one occasion I chased a Water Rail
for about thirty yards along a wide ditch, and,
although close behind, and making frequent though
ineffectual attempts to cover it with my cap, it would
not take wing, and succeeded in reaching a thick
patch of cover, where I lost it. On visiting the spot
early next morning with a setter, it was nowhere to
be found.
I have not yet satisfied myself whether this bird
is resident in the county throughout the year or not.
I have searched diligently, and made various in-
quiries, but have only been able to ascertain one
instance in which the Water Rail has been seen
here in summer and a nest found. ‘This was at a
GRALLATORES. 911
small pond near Kingsbury, where a dog belonging
to my friend Mr. Bond caught several young birds
one summer. With this exception, the few speci-
mens which I have seen in this county were all
obtained between September and March. I am
inclined, therefore, to consider that this bird with us
is only a winter visitant.
Mr. Spencer shot a Water Rail, in January, at
Silk Stream, in Hendon parish; and I have seen
two others that were killed in December, 1861. A
fourth occurred near Elstree Reservoir towards the
end of October, 1863; and Mr. W. H. Power has
twice shot this bird in the neighbourhood of Han-
well and West Drayton, where he states that it was
formerly not uncommon. He has only observed it
between the 25th October and the middle of March,
and, owing to its retiring habits, and the thick cover
which it frequents in summer, it is difficult to ascer-
tain whether it remained to breed. I have seen
three specimens in the collection of Mr. Minasi, all
of which were killed by himself and his brother (the
late Consul for the T'wo Sicilies) on the banks of
the Brent; and Mr. J. W. Ford, of Enfield, informs
me that this bird has occasionally been killed in his
neighbourhood.
As recently as the 26th September, 1865, one
was shot on the Brent, in Willesden parish, by Mr.
W. H. Greenwood, of Hampstead.
P12 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
Family Lopwerpip#.
Coot, Fulica atra. The Coot is only found resi-
dent throughout the year on such pools of water as
are strictly preserved.* Except during winter, it
is a rarer bird than the Moorhen, but at that sea-
son, especially if the weather be severe, it visits us
in some numbers, in ‘ coverts” of from ten to
twenty and upwards. The greatest number of
Coots reckoned in one “covert” inland, was forty-
one; but when the fresh-water pools and rivers,
which this bird much prefers to the sea, are frozen
up, they visit the coast, and may there be counted
by hundreds. A Coot may always be known from a
Moorhen on the water by its attitude; the former
swims with head and tail very low, the head poked
forward ; the latter, vice versd, with head erect and
tail jerked up almost at right angles to the back.
The Moorhen’s white tail, or, rather, under-tail
coverts, also serve to distinguish it, the same parts
in the Coot being black.
In some respects Coots differ a good deal from
other water-birds in their habits. They feed by day
and roost at night, grazing like geese on the tender
leaves and shoots of young grass, and varying their
* A Coot, with perfect wings, has twice been observed
upon the Serpentine in Hyde Park.
GRALLATORES. 913
food with fresh-water molluscs, small fish, and
aquatic insects. Again, most wild fowl, when
wounded, endeavour to escape by swimming or
diving; but a wounded Coot makes for the land,
and its running powers are so great, that, especially
over a mud flat, the sportsman will find great diffi-
culty in bagging it, before it gains cover, without the
aid of a good dog.
Coots pair in April, making a large nest of flags
or rushes by the water-side, and laying from five to
seven eges of a stone-colour speckled with black.
The note of the Coot somewhat resembles that of
the Moorhen, but is more guttural. It has been
likened, not inaptly, to the sound “ krew,” sharply
pronounced.
Although the two birds, in many points, have
some resemblance, the difference of structure, par-
ticularly in the bare patch on the forehead, from
whence the name “ Bald Coot,’ and the peculiar
formation of foot, has caused Fulica atra to be
placed in a distinct family, Lobipedide, that is the
lobe-footed kind. ‘To this family, also, belongs the
bird next to be considered.
Grey Puaarope, Phalaropus platyrhyncus. ‘The
few examples of this graceful little species which
are met with in England generally appear in autumn,
and are, for the most part, young birds on their
way south, it is supposed, for the winter. So sel-
dom does an opportunity occur for observing it, that
214 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
the habits of the Grey Phalarope are but little known,
and, so far as I am aware, no authentic specimens
of its eggs have been received in this country. Mr.
Bullock, in a letter to Col. Montagu, referring to
the Rednecked Phalarope,* a bird, it is presumed,
of very similar habits, says: “It swims with the
greatest ease, and, when on the water, looks like a
beautiful miniature of a Duck, carrying its head
close to the back, in the manner of a Teal.”
In the ‘ Zoological Journal’ for April, 1825, Mr.
Yarrell has recorded the fact that a Grey Phalarope
was shot while swimming on the Thames, near
Battersea, in November, 1824. It was seen there
by a gardener, who went home, a distance of a
mile and a half to fetch his gun, and, on his
return, found the bird still swimming and feeding
near the same spot. “It proved to be an old female,
having nearly completed its winter plumage, but
still bearing sufficient marks of its summer dress to
form an interesting state of change.” Mr. Bond shot
a pair of Grey Phalaropes at Kingsbury Reservoir,
in September, 1841, killing the female on the 28th
and the male on the 30th of that month ; and I learn
from Mr. Spencer that his brother shot two birds of
this species, at the same sheet of water, in the autumn
* This bird, although commoner in some parts of Britain
than the Grey Phalarope, and breeding in limited numbers
in the Orkneys, has not been met with in Middlesex.
NATATORES. Das
of 1850. I have lately seen a specimen in winter
plumage which was killed in November, 1862, on
the Thames, at Blackwall.
OrpER NATATORES.—Family AnatTipm.
GREYLAG GoosE, Anser ferus. ‘This species, al-
though supposed by many to be the original stock
of our domestic goose, and formerly not uncommon
in most winters, is now rarely met with in England.
The term “ greylag” has no reference, as some sup-
pose, to the colour of its legs, which are pink, but is
probably a modification of the word “lake” (lacus,
Lat.; lago, It.) When flying, or at a distance, this
bird so closely resembles the other so-called Grey
Geese—that is, the Bean, Pinkfooted, and White-
fronted Geese, that it is impossible to distinguish
the species. On a nearer inspection, however, it
cannot be confounded with any of these, except,
perhaps, the Pinkfooted, which it resembles more
than any of the others, but from which it differs
in a few points to be mentioned presently. The
following table will suggest the readiest means of
distinguishing the four species of British Grey
Geese
216 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
SPECIES. Bim. Lzes.
GREYLAG . .| Flesh-colour; nail | Flesh-colour.
white.
Bran. . . .-| Orange; nail, edges | Orange.
and base black.
PINKFOOTED .| Pink; nailand base | Pink, tinged with
black. vermilion, like
Egyptian Goose.
WHITEFRONTED| Pink; nailand base | Orange.
white; forehead
white.
In addition to these differences of bill and legs,
the first and third differ from each other in the
following respects. The Greylag invariably has
some black feathers on the belly, which the other
has not, and the grey colour in the wings of the
Greylag runs through the wing like a double bar,
which is very conspicuous when the pinions are
stretched ; whereas in the wing of the Pinkfooted
Goose the grey colour is more uniformly distributed
in a mass.
It is the Greylag Goose which is still to be found
breeding in the Highlands. Mr. St. John once
thought that the Pinkfooted Goose bred on one of
the lakes in Sutherlandshire, and went there to
ascertain this point, accompanied by my friend, Mr.
John Hancock. The birds proved, however, without
exception, to be the Greylag.
Wild Geese may be known on the wing by their
NATATORES. al Gy
peculiar mode of flight. They generally proceed in
a wedge-like form with a single bird as leader ; but,
if only a few in number, they fly in a straight line,
in close order, looking as if linked together by a
string; hence they are spoken of as a “skein” of
geese. When in the water or on land, they are called
by the fowler a “ gaggle.” Their habit is to remain
on the water by day, flying inland in search of food
a little before dusk. They may then be looked for
upon the fields of growing corn, where they do much
damage by nibbling off the tender shoots and young
blades. They are generally wary enough to keep in
the centre of the field, so that it 1s not easy to get
within shot of them.
Occasionally a small skein of Geese drop down
upon our reservoirs in hard weather, but seldom stay
longer than a day, for their large size at once attracts
attention, and they either get shot or frightened
away. An intelligent labourer tells us that, in former
years, he has several times seen Wild Geese in
winter upon some of the small retired ponds on
Hungry Downs, and that on one occasion he counted
fourteen there. During the winter of 1860-61 two
Geese were shot by the keeper at Kingsbury Reser-
voir, out of a gaggle of thirty which alighted in a
field on the Brent, in the parish of Hendon. From
his accurate description of them, I have no doubt
that they were Anser ferus. In January, 1864, I
observed some small skeins of Grey Geese passing
U
218 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
over, but they made no stay. They were at too
great a height to determine the species. My last
memorandum with regard to Geese seen here is to
the effect that four-and-twenty passed over Kingsbury
early one morning during the first week of March,
1865. They were flying in the direction 8.W.
It is more than probable that the Bean Goose, A.
segetum, which is generally known as the Common
Wild Goose, and which is of more frequent occur-
rence in winter than the Greylag, has many times
been killed in Middlesex, but of this I have no
direct proof. In anote in ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1843,
Mr. Bond, referring to wild-fowl killed at Kings-
bury Reservoir, says: ‘‘One or other of the Grey
Geese has occurred several times, but I have not
been able to get hold of one to examine.”
WHITEFRONTED GoosE, Anser albifrons. Pro-
vincial, Laughing Goose and Bar Goose ; the former
synonym arising from its noisy cackle when on the
wing ; the second, from the dark bars upon its breast.
Although it has been stated above that the Greylag
Goose is supposed to be the original parent of our
domestic stock, many naturalists consider that the
Whitefronted Goose has a stronger claim in this
regard, and urge in support of their views that many
of our tame birds are found to have the character-
istic orange legs and white forehead of A. albifrons.
An experienced wildfowler says that this bird does
not come so far inland as the other Grey Geese, and
NATATORES. 919
seldom alights in corn-fields, its favourite resorts
being fens, marshes, and rivers near the sea-coast,
where, from its being a regular winter visitant to
this country, it is often shot by puntmen.
Meyer, in his finely-coloured work,* mentions a
Whitefronted Goose which he shot on the Thames,
near London, in February, 1847.
This species is not uncommon on the poulterers’
stalls in London, from November till March, and
fetches a good price for the table. Looking at some
Whitefronted and Pinkfooted Geese in March, 1865,
as they hung in a poulterer’s stall, there appeared a
noticeable difference in the wings, the Whitefronted
having dark grey, and the Pinkfooted light grey
shoulders.
Brent Goose, Anser brenta. This is the smallest
and most abundant of our British Geese, but, from
being exclusively marine in its habits, never feeding
on fresh-water herbage, nor resorting to the fields
and marshes, like the Grey Geese, its appearance so
far inland must be considered as purely accidental,
and probably to be attributed to unusually severe
weather on the east coast. Mr. Bond has recorded
the occurrence of this species at Kingsbury Reser-
voir, in ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1843.
REDBREASTED GoosE, Anser ruficollis. A very
rare visitant to this country, being a native of
* «T)lustrations of British Birds. ’
ues
220 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
Northern Asia and Siberia. Col. Montagu, in his
‘Ornithological Dictionary,’ states, on the authority
of Dr. Latham, that a bird of this species was shot
near London in the severe frost of 1766. This
bird passed into the collection of Mr. Tunstall, and
is now preserved in the museum at Newcastle-on-
Tyne, where I saw it in May, 1863. From this
specimen Bewick executed the beautiful engraving
in his ‘ British Birds.’
CanapA Goose, Anser canadensis. Many winters
ago five of these birds appeared on the Reservoir at
Kingsbury. Mr. Bond observed them on the water
while taking a stroll with his gun, and with some
difficulty managed to stalk them. He got a single
shot, killing one dead, and wounding another so
severely that it was barely able to get away and top
the wall at the head of the reservoir. Notwith-
standing a long search he failed to find it that day,
but the following week he learnt, from the landlord
of the ‘Spotted Dog’ at Willesden, that a Goose
exactly answering his description had been killed
some days previously by a boy who found it lying,
disabled, in a ditch, and had furnished him with an
excellent dinner. Mr. Bond was of opinion at the
time, from an examination of the bird first killed,
that it was not an escaped specimen, but a veritable
wild goose. ‘The weather at the time was very
severe.
Mute Swan, Cygnus olor. So much has been
NATATORES. Pada i
said by Mr. Yarrell, in his admirable treatise on
British Birds, with regard to this Swan, and so fully
and ably has that author described the swanneries
in Middlesex, whether belonging to the Crown, to
private individuals, or public companies, that I can
here add nothing which would not be a repetition.
As I have drawn attention, however, in many
instances to the notes of birds, I may now include
that of the Swan. This bird being identified with
Orpheus, and called also the bird of Apollo, the god
of Music, powers of song have been often attributed
to it and as often denied. It is, however, perfectly
true that it has a soft low voice, rather plaintive,
and with little variety, but not disagreeable. I have
heard it often in the spring, and sometimes later in
the season, when moving slowly about with its
young. Col. Hawker, in his ‘ Instructions to Young
Sportsmen,’ says: “The only note which I ever
‘heard the Wild Swan in winter utter, is his well-
known ‘hoop. But one summer evening I was
amused with watching and listening to a domesti-
cated one as he swam up and down the water in the
tegent’s Park. He turned up a sort of melody
made with two notes, C, and the minor third E fiat,
and kept working his head, as if delighted with his
own performance.”
The melody, taken down on the spot by a
first-rate professor, Auguste Bertini, was as fol-
lows :—
299 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
Allegro, or by Maelzel’s Metronome —126.
Witp Swan or Hoorver, Cygnus ferus vel musicus.
Formerly an occasional winter visitant to the Thames
and our reservoirs, but none have been seen for
many years. Itis only during severe weather that
Wild Swans come so far inland, and even then they
make no stay, for their conspicuous size and colour
at once attract attention, and all the guns in their
neighbourhood are directed towards them.
Although a Swan rises very heavily from the
water, flapping along the surface for some distance
before it is fairly on the wing, yet, when once
launched, it is a bird of powerful flight, and the loud
whistling sound caused by the rapid beats of its
pinions may be heard at a considerable distance.
Tame Swans in hard weather will occasionally
take flight, and wander a long way from ther owners,
but the sportsman need never be afraid of shooting
a tame Swan in mistake for a wild one; for as the
bird comes within shot, flying with outstretched neck,
which looks unnaturally long for the body, he has
only to look at the head, and if the base of the bill
appears very black, with the tip yellow, let him
reserve his fire; but if the colours are reversed, and
NATATORES. 9233
the bright yellow appears close to the forehead, let
him aim a little in advance and pull. He will have
the satisfaction of picking up the largest of all wild
fowl, if not the most dainty.
A smaller species of Wild Swan, now well-known to
naturalists by the name of Cygnus Bewickw, has, of
late years, frequently been met with in England.
Until attention was drawn to its specific distinction,
it was confounded with the commoner species, but
besides being about a third smaller than C. ferus, it
differs from that and other species of Swan slightly
in the form and colour of the bill, and considerably
in its anatomical structure.*
From its general outward resemblance, however,
to C. ferus, it is easily overlooked, and it is not im-
probable that among the Wild Swans which, from
time to time, have been shot in this county, C. Be-
wickw has occurred, although not recorded.
In February, 1861, while passing through Lea-
denhall Market, I noticed at one of the poulterers’
stalls a Swan which was new to me. My attention
was first attracted by the colour of the legs, which
were grey instead of black, and, on a closer inspec-
tion, the shape and arrangement of colour in the
beak differed considerably from the only three species
of Cygnus with which I was acquainted. Believing
it to be the Polish Swan (C. immutabilis of Yarrell),
* See Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds,’ vol. 111., p. 205.
224 BIRDS OF+MIDDLESEX.
a rare visitant from the Baltic, I should have pur-
chased the bird for preservation, had it not been that
it was evidently long killed, and much disfigured
with mud and congealed blood. I therefore con-
tented myself with making a sketch of the head,
and noting down some particulars in my pocket-
book, when, on reaching home and referring to
authorities, I found my suspicions verified; it was,
without doubt, C. immutabilis.
Mr. Yarrell, who named the species “immutabilis, ”
from a peculiarity in the Cygnets, which are always
white instead of grey, like those of other Swans, ob-
served that, ‘“ during the severe weather of January,
1838, several flocks of these Polish Swans were
seen pursuing a southern course along the line
of our north-east coast, from Scotland to the
mouth of the Thames, and several specimens were
obtained.”
SHOVELLER, Anas clypeata. An occasional winter
visitant, never appearing in any numbers, and, al-
though arriving in company with other Duck, always
separating on reaching the inland fresh water. ‘The
habits of the Shoveller bring it nearer to the shore,
where it seeks its food in shallow water, while the
majority of the other species which visit us keep out
in deeper water, obtaining their food by diving during
the day, and coming inshore at night.
Seldom more than five or six Shovellers are seen
here at one time. Occasionally I have known a
NATATORES. 995
single pair to remain about the fresh-water pools until
comparatively late in the spring,* when all the other
Ducks had departed except the Common Wild
Duck.
GapwauL, Anas strepera. A rare bird in England,
where it is an uncertain winter visitant. So far as
IT am aware, but one example has occurred in Mid-
dlesex. This was an adult male, which was obtained
at Kingsbury Reservoir in 1842-43, and is now in
the collection of Mr. Bond. The word “ Gadwall”
is said to imply “ Grey Duck,” and its loud voice
has procured for it the specific term “ strepera.”
The habitat of this species seems to be KH. and
N.E. Europe; and the British Islands generally lie
too far west to be much visited by it.
Priyrain, Anas acuta. The Pintail is seldom found
in any numbers on the coast, and is considered to
be rather an inhabitant of fresh water. It has occa-
sionally been killed on our reservoirs and fresh-
water pools in winter, but its appearance 1s very
“uncertain.
It is a particularly graceful bird in all its move-
ments, and, from the way in which it carries the
head and neck, occasionally skimming the bill along
the surface of the water, it puts us much in mind of
a Swan.
The food of the Pintail, when inland, seems to be
* Latest stay observed, April 9th.
296 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
chiefly vegetable matter and the seeds of aquatic
plants. On the coast the diet is varied with small
univalve shell fish. It is excellent eating.
A remarkable instance of affection in a bird of
this species came under my observation in the winter
of 1863-64. A sportsman, returning home late one
evening, surprised a pair of ducks in an old gravel-
pit, now half full of water. As they rose he killed
the duck with the only charge he had left, dropping
her in the middle of the water. Before he could
get her out, he observed that the drake, which had
flown to a considerable distance, finding himself
alone, returned to the spot, and, notwithstanding
that his enemy was still moving on the bank, after
making one or two circles in the air, alighted on the
water close to the dead body of his mate. Swimming
round and round her, from time to time he uttered
a mournful note, and appeared very unwilling to
leave the spot. Instead of pitying the distress of
the poor mallard, and regretting the loss he had —
occasioned, the sportsman, I am sorry to add, has-
tened home, the distance of nearly a mile, and pro-
curing some more powder and shot, returned and
killed the faithful bird, which still remained upon
the water near its mate. I saw the pair shortly
afterwards; they were the Pintail Duck, in re-
markably good plumage.
Witp Duck, Anas boschas. Of the Wild Ducks
which are observed here during the year, by far the
NATATORES. Pais
greater number are winter visitants, a few pairs only
remaining throughout the summer to breed in fa-
vourable localities. The arrival of the winter visitants
generally commences in October, and, as the season
advances, especially if there be much cold and ice,
a gradual increase in the numbers takes place, which
reaches its maximum height in February, after which
time a perceptible decrease is observed, and by the
end of March none are to be seen, except the few
scattered pairs which meditate nesting.*
“Wild Ducks rarely collect into dense flocks, like
Brent Geese or Widgeon; they are more scattered,
and hence do not offer such tempting shots. They,
and Teal also, differ from those birds and from other
wild fowl by suddenly bounding from the water
right into the air, without giving any warning
to the shooter; whereas the others swim a little
off, or give some indication that they are about to
rise.’ +
* While I am writing (20th April, 1866), a Wild Duck is
sitting upon twelve eggs about a mile from hence. Yester-
day, April 19th, she had left the nest, and was swimming at
some little distance from it, when I came suddenly upon
her. Instead of taking wing, she only swam slowly away
from me, and seemed in no way alarmed at a setter who
stood eyeing her from the bank. On my speaking to the
dog, she rose off the water, and, after circling round two or
three times, went off in the direction of the nest.
+ Thompson’s ‘ Natural History of Ireland,’ vol. in. p. 83.
228 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
Ducks always fly with the head and neck stretched
out in a line with their bodies, and may be distin-
guished from Widgeon by the steadier and greater
recularity of their movements in the air, and, when
within range, the brown of the Duck’s feathers may
be distinctly discerned. Ducks, when bent on long
flights, do not all move through the air at the same
altitude, but some much higher than others; and
large flights generally seem to have a break in the
centre, and present a figure very much resembling
the outline of North and South America as it appears
on the map. When flying near the surface of land
or water they are often in a confused mass.*
Occasionally I have found a pair of. Wild Ducks
ina small quiet pond at a distance from any road,
and in eutumn often come upon them in ditches,
where they resort to pick up acorns, of which they
seem very fond. At other times they feed upon the
seeds and leaves of aquatic plants, worms, snails,
and small shell-fish.
In ‘The Zoologist’ for 1860-64 (pp. 6922, 9049) will
be found a list of the wild fowl observed in winter
in the London waters. From this list it appears
that, exclusive of hybrids, no less than eight species
have been noticed—viz., Gadwall, Widgeon, Teal,
Shoveller, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Ferruginous
Duck, and Golden Eye. The observer, Mr. Henry
* Folkard’s ‘ Wild Fowler,’ p. 113.
NATATORES. 999
Hussey, thinks that “they are too numerous to have
escaped from the Zoological Gardens, and the faci-
lities for breeding in the other London waters are
very small indeed. Hence it is more than probable
that the birds, having perfect wings, are really wild
birds.”
While on the subject of London waters and wild
fowl, I am tempted to give the following extracts for
the amusement of ornithologists in London.
“St.James’ Park was much enlarged and improved
by Charles II., who added several fields to it, and
caused it to be planted with lime-trees. He also
contracted the water into a canal, 100 feet broad
and 2800 long, with a decoy and other ponds for
water-fowl. The same monarch had likewise an
aviary adjoining to the Bird-cage Walk, thus named
from the cages which were hung in the trees.’’*
*“‘ Charles,’ says Cibber, ‘‘ was often here amidst
crowds of spectators, feeding his ducks and playing
with his dogs, and passing his idle moments in afta-
bility even to the meanest of his subjects, which
made him to be adored by the common people; so
fascinating in the great are the habits of conde-
scension.”
Tran, Anas crecca. Of late years Teal have much
decreased in numbers, and, though formerly regular
winter visitants, are now very uncertain in their
* * London and Middlesex,’ by Rev. J. Nightingale.
>.<
230 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
appearance. Within the last five or six years I have
remarked that they are most plentiful here in Fe-
bruary, during which month they may be found in
the brooks and at quiet pools which lie at a distance
from any public thoroughfare.
Teal, as a rule, suffer a much nearer approach
than any other species of Duck, and, on being dis-
turbed at a brook which has plenty of cover along
the banks, they will, after flying a short distance,
drop down suddenly again, ike Snipe and Wood-
cock. Owing to this peculiarity, a friend once
bagged five Teal out of one “ sprig,” in three double
shots.
During the winter I frequently see Teal swimming
in company with Wild Ducks; but, although they
mingle together when on the water, on being dis-
turbed the species always separate, the Teal going
off in one flock, the Ducks in another.
Mr. Thompson says: ‘‘ On looking to the contents
of the stomachs of twenty-seven Teal, killed at
various times, from late in autumn until the be-
ginning of spring, I have ascertained that they feed
chiefly on the seeds of aquatic plants of various
kinds; among others, of rushes, duckweed (Lemna),
&c.; also on other vegetable matter, and occasionally
on insect larve; a quantity of sand and gravel, like-
wise, is taken into the stomach.”
The nest is generally placed at a distance from
water, and, being concealed with much care, it
NATATORES. pas |
requires a careful search to discover it. I once had
the extraordinary good fortune to find three Teal’s
nests in one day. They were all situated among
heath, and, as they exactly resembled each other,
the description of one will suffice. I accordingly
extract, vetbatim, from my note-book.
“ Between two preserved covers lay an open tract
of unbroken ground, about fifty acres in extent. A
strong growth of heather, about a foot high, waved
over a thick carpet of soft moss (two species), while
here and there, in a small open space, a little pool
or puddle appeared. Although it would have been
difficult to find a more suitable locality for a Teal’s
nest, the thick growth of heather almost made me
despair of finding one; and I stood still, musing for
some time, when my eye fell upona feather—a small
feather—clinging to a spray of heather. This appa-
rently insignificant circumstance was to me most
significant. Peering under the bush on which it
hung, great was my delight at discovering the neat
little nest of a Teal containing ten fresh eggs.
Placed in a hollow at the foot of the overhanging
bunch of heather, it was composed of moss and dry
grass, very compact, and lined with down from the
bird’s breast. The poor Duck, in flying from her
home, had dropped a feather at her doorway, which
betrayed her.”
The young, as soon as hatched, are extremely
lively, and display wonderful power in diving. Under
x 2
O32 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
date April 29th, I find the following entry in my
note-book :—
“While observing a Snipe which continued to fly
round me, ‘drumming,’ my attention was diverted
by the peculiar chirping of some young chicks, and,
looking along the narrow and shallow stream, which
ran into the pond on my left, I saw on my right
several young Teal, only a few days old, actively
swimming towards me. As soon as they caught
sight of me, instead of retreating to the flags on
either side of the stream to hide, they instantly
dived, and, the water being clear, although with a
muddy bottom, I could easily see them shooting
along, with outstretched necks, looking more lke
fish than birds. ‘Thinking to catch one, I held my
umbrella over the water, prepared to strike, when,
although so much above me, they seemed to perceive
my movements, and turned rapidly, continuing their
dive.
“By a quick stroke, however, I held one to the
bottom with my umbrella in one hand, while I seized
the little fellow by the legs with the other. The
rest, meantime, escaped. My little captive appeared
to be only three or four days old, and was wonder-
fully active and noisy. His description was as
follows :* —
* TI depart, in this case, from my rule of abstaining from
particular descriptions ; firstly, because young Teal are dif-
NATATORES. 933
“Upper mandible brownish grey, a distinct nail
at the extremity; edges emarginate and yellowish
pink; under mandible yellowish pink ; inner edges
of both perceptibly serrated. Crown, nape, back,
and sides dark olive-brown; over the eye a yellow
line; a dark brown line from base of bill through
eye to occiput, meeting the dark brown on head.
Cheeks yellowish, with dark spot on the ear; chin
and neck yellowish ; throat dusky; breast and belly
a nondescript colour, between yellow, grey, and
white. Wings rudimentary, dark olive-brown above,
yellow beneath, small white plumules in place of
secondary quills. Legs and toes minutely reticu-
lated, pale brown; webs a darker brown, almost
black.”
Winceon, Anas Penelope. A regular winter visit-
ant, arriving towards the end of October, their
numbers increasing as the season advances. In
most winters Widgeon are more plentiful than any
other species of wild fowl, affording capital sport to
the wild fowler, and furnishing a very dainty dish.
* Their movements on the wing are quicker than
Ducks, and the size of their bodies being smaller,
ficult to obtain at any time, and an opportunity of examining
one seldom occurs ; and secondly, because the delicate colour
of the bill and legs so quickly fades after death, that a de-
description from life may be with some naturalists a deside-
ratum.
x 3
934 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX
and their necks shorter, it is not difficult to distin-
suish their species. Widgeon, when in flight, always
keep up their call-note ; Ducks fly in silence.” *
This last remark, however, is not in accordance
with my own experience, for I have frequently heard
Ducks, when suddenly sprung, commence to quack,
continuing their cry until out of hearing.
Mr. Waterton remarks+ that the Widgeon differs
from many other wild fowl, both in the nature of its
food and in the time of procuring it. “ ‘The Mallard,
the Pochard, and the Teal obtain nearly the whole
of their nourishment during the night. On the
contrary, the Widgeon procures its food in the day-
time, and that food is grass.”
I have observed Widgeon call a good deal at night.
Their soft whistling note, like “ whee-ou, whee-ou,”
may be heard on still nights at a great distance.
When sitting on the water, they look smaller and
blacker than Ducks.
Common Scorer, Anas nigra. Provincial, Velvet
Duck and Black Duck. ‘This is almost exclusively
a sea bird, and is seldom seen inland, except during
heavy gales, when it comes no further from the coast
than possible, but accepts the nearest refuge, and
that only as a temporary retreat.
T have seen two examples of the Common Scoter
* Folkard’s ‘ Wild Fowler.’ London, 1859, p. 113.
+ ‘Essays in Natural History,’ Ist Series, p. 180.
NATATORES. dS Is
which were shot on Kingsbury Reservoir in severe
weather ; and a local keeper states that many years
ago, before this sheet of water was so much fre-
quented, a few ‘Black Ducks’ generally made their
appearance every winter.
Pocuarp or Dun Birp, Anas ferina. A winter
visitant, varying much in numbers in different years.
It is a wary and suspicious bird, and on this account,
as well as through its expertness in diving back
through the pipe, it is rarely taken in a decoy. Like
the Wild Duck and Teal, it feeds chiefly at night, its
diet consisting of the seeds of aquatic plants and other
vegetable matter, varied with different species of fresh-
water shells.* ‘The note is a low whistle, except when
the birds are suddenly sprung, when they quack like
the Wild Duck. Dun Birds fly very rapidly, with a
noisy twitter of the wing, and may be known by the
shortness of their pinions and their heavy-looking
bodies, and especially by their flying in a closely-
packed lump, and not in line or figure as Widgeon
and Duck.
FERRUGINOUS or CaSTANEOUS Duck, Anas nyroca.
This bird, sometimes called the “ Whiteeyed Po-
chard,” is a rare winter visitant from the East. It
somewhat resembles the Pochard in appearance, but
may be distinguished by its smaller size, dark brown
* Some bivalves belonging to the genus Pisidiwm recog-
nized,
236 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
back, and a white bar across the wing. Examples
are occasionally seen in the London market, hanging
up with other wild fowl, but are probably imported
to this country from Holland.
So far as I am aware, the Ferruginous Duck has
only once occurred in Middlesex, if we except the
birds seen by Mr. Hussey,* which it is not certain
were not escaped and semi-domesticated specimens.
On the 24th December, 1863, Mr. W. H. Power
was shooting at Kingsbury Reservoir, and, sheltered
by the high bank at the head of this sheet of water,
he approached sufficiently near to a solitary Duck to
kill it with a cartridge. It proved to be a female of
this species, and is now preserved in Mr. Power’s
collection.t
Scaup, Anas marila. Willughby remarks that
this bird is called the Scaup Duck, because it feeds
upon “ scaup,”’ 1.e., broken shell-fish. It is almost
exclusively a sea bird, and is seldom found inland
upon fresh water, except in severe weather.
Two examples only of this Duck have come under
my notice in Middlesex. They were both killed at
* See ante, p. 228.
+ The Rev. L. Jenyns and Mr. Yarrell state that speci-
mens of the Red-crested Pochard, or Whistling Duck (Anas
rujina) have been obtained in the London market ; but these
may have come from Holland, from whence great numbers
of wild fowl are sent to our markets every winter. This
bird is an inhabitant of North-eastern Europe.
NATATORES. 237
Kingsbury Reservoir. One of them is in the collec-
tion of Mr. Bond, who recorded its capture in ‘ The
Zoologist’ for 1843 ; the other is in the collection of
Mr. C. Minasi, and was, I believe, obtained about
the same time.
Turrep Duck, Anas fuligula. A regular winter
visitant, but varying much in numbers in different
years. As many as thirty have been seen at one
time during hard weather upon Kingsbury Reservoir,
but it is seldom that so many can be counted in one
“team ;” the more usual number is ten or a dozen.
They are expert divers, and in open water difficult
to get at, but a little hard work and stratagem will
repay the sportsman who bags a couple; for, besides
affording good sport, he will find them excellent
eating.
Mr. Thompson says that in fresh water the Tufted
Duck feeds upon the seeds of several species of
plants, soft vegetable matter, insects of various
kinds; amongst others, the Notonecta, or boat-fly,
and minute bivalve shells, such as Pisidia. In one
example were four of the Limneus pereger, full-
grown shells and animals, both being perfect.
Some Tufted Ducks, killed on the coast, exhibited
numerous small mollusca, Rissoa ulve, and other
Rissoe, together with Littorine, and small shells of
Mytilus edulis. In addition to this food, all con-
tained sand and gravel.
GOLDENEYE, Anas clangula. An uncertain winter
aa3 * BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
visitant, never appearing in large flocks like some
others of the Duck tribe, but usually seen in little
parties of ten or a dozen. These parties keep much
by themselves, and seldom associate with the Com-
mon Wild Ducks and Mallards, as do the Pochard,
Teal, and some others, which, no doubt, is owing to
a difference in their habits and in the nature of their
food. The Goldeneyes are expert divers, and, from
their extreme wariness and the difficulty of ap-
proaching them, afford capital sport to the wild-
fowler.
They generally keep out in the open water by
day, coming inshore to feed by night, where they
remain till morning. At early dawn, after feeding,
they appear lazy and disposed to remain alongshore,
so that, if there be any cover to screen an approach,
the sportsman will find this the best time to get at
them. Col. Hawker, in speaking of these birds,
which in some places are called “ Curres,” gives
the following good advice :*—“ If you see a single
“ Curre” by day, when he dives, you must run ; and
the moment he comes up, squat down. So you may
go on till within ten yards of him, and then stand
ready to shoot him as he flies up, which he will do
on coming up again and seeing you suddenly appear
so close.”
I have found this plan very successful, not
* ‘Instructions to Young Sportsmen,’ p. 310.
NATATORES. 939
only with Ducks, but also with Grebes and
Divers.
In the winter of 1863-64, out of a small flock of
Goldeneyes which visited Kingsbury Reservoir,
three were shot by Mr. W. H. Power. On the 25th
March, 1865, I saw two male Goldeneyes at this
sheet of water. ‘They were very shy, and kept out
a long way from the shore. I tried to approach
them, both by land and in a boat, but could never
get within gunshot of them. On the 2nd April
following, two male Goldeneyes, probably the same
two, were on this reservoir, and I again tried, un-
successfully, to get a shot at them.
Smew, Mergus albellus. A rare winter visitant,
seldom coming so far inland, except in severe
weather.
Mr. Bond has recorded, in ‘ The Zoologist’ for
1843, the occurrence of a single bird of this species,
which was shot on Kingsbury Reservoir. Mr.
Spencer informed me that his brother killed three
of these birds at the same sheet of water in January,
1849: two of these were immature males, the third
an adult female. The last Smew which came under
my notice as having been killed in the county was
a fine old male bird, shot at the above-named reser-
voir during the winter of 1860-61. The adult male
Smews are rarely met with, the majority of the birds
which visit us being females and immature males.
But little is known respecting the habits of this
240 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
species in the breeding season, or of its nidification,
and, with the great majority of collectors, an egg of
the Smew is still a great desideratum.
REDBREASTED MERGANSER, Mergus serrator. Pro-
vincial, Sawbill. This species has been shot two or
three times on Kingsbury Reservoir, but in every
instance in winter. Mr. Yarrell observes that they
visit the Thames, and he received from Mr. Jesse a
fine specimen that was killed during severe weather
above Putney Bridge.
Mr. James Dutton, of Hammersmith, wrote me
word that two Redbreasted Mergansers were shot
on the river in his neighbourhood, in January,
1854, and another specimen, in his brother’s col-
lection, was killed on the river, near Chiswick, in
the winter of 1855.
GoosanvDER, Mergus merganser.
disappointed, we turned homewards in the driving
rain, and left Podiceps cristatus in the enjoyment of
the liberty it had so hardly earned. The following
day it had disappeared.
The food of the Grebes is chiefly fish, but they
also take numbers of insects.
A fine Crested Grebe, kept on the water in St.
James's Park, is mentioned by Mr. Yarrell, and
Mr. Thompson says: “ This was probably the same
individual which afforded much amusement to a
friend and myself one evening at the end of April,
by the extreme agility displayed in flycatching. It
pursued its prey in all possible ways, shooting its
neck vertically upwards for any passing over-head,
the next moment to one side or other, and again
making a rush along the surface of the water for two
or three yards after some winged insect. I never
saw so much agility displayed by any bird in this
pursuit ; allthe numerous species of Anatide on the
water, though busied by flycatching also, were the
veriest dolts compared with the Grebe.”
EARED GREBE, Podiceps auritus. The rarest of
our British Grebes. The earliest notice which I
have been able to find of its occurrence in this
county, is in Edwards’ ‘Gleanings.’ That author,
writing in 1743, says that he found several birds of
this species in the London markets, during the hard
ie
244 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
winter of 1839, but had never previously observed
it. He subsequently obtained one which was “taken
about the large ponds at Hampstead, near London,
and sent alive to Sir Hans Sloane, who, when it
died, sent it to me that a draft of it might be pre-
served.” Ofthis example the author gives a coloured
figure and description, and adds that, as he had the
bird soon after it was dead, before the colour of the
eyes and feet was changed, he was thereby enabled
to describe it accurately. He does not give the
date of the capture, but the description given 1s
that of an adult male in imperfect summer plumage.
In the ‘ British Miscellany’ (p. 19, t. 70) there is
a representation of a male and female of this species,
accompanied by the nest and eggs, which were taken
in a pond on Chelsea Common, in June, 1805. Two
specimens, killed at Kingsbury Reservoir in 1841,
are mentioned in Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ (vol. u1.,
p. 421), and the subsequent occurrence of this rare
species at the same sheet of water is recorded in
‘The Zoologist’ for 1843.
LirtLnE GRrReEBE, Podiceps minor. FProvincial,
Dabchick. This interesting little bird appears
most numerous in spring and autumn, when there
is apparently a migration through the county. It
seldom remains to breed, except in the most fa-
vourable localities, such as quiet ponds, where an
abundance of fiags, or other thick cover, affords
sufficient shelter; and the majority of the birds
NATATORES. Q45
which have come under my notice were in the winter
plumage. I have noted the species as occurring at
Hampstead, Hendon, Elstree, and Kingsbury. On
the 11th February, 1863, Mr. Henry Hussey ob-
served a Little Grebe on the Serpentine in winter
plumage. He has also, on one occasion, seen this
bird on the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens.
He says: “It kept well out in the middle of the
pond, but, by means of a glass, I could distinguish
its size, shape, and action, and satisfy myself that it
was not a young duck, of which, indeed, there was
not one in the pond. It seems to me very extra-
ordinary that a bird whose powers of flight are sup-
posed to be very small, should make its appearance
ina pond without an atom of cover in or near it, and
surrounded by many miles of brick and mortar.”
The activity displayed by the Little Grebe when
in pursuit of fish, its usual food, may be witnessed
by all who will pay a visit to the Regent’s Park
Zoological Gardens, where several are at present im
excellent health.
BLACKTHROATED Diver, Colymbus arcticus. Rarely
found inland, except during severe weather. So far
as | am aware, but one example has occurred in
Middlesex. This was a young male, which was shot
by Mr. Bond in the winter of 1848, at Kingsbury
Reservoir.
ReDTHROATED Diver, Colymbus septentrionalis.
Of more frequent occurrence than the last-named.
Y 3
246 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
I have seen a Redthroated Diver in winter plumage
that was killed on the Thames, between Richmond
and Twickenham, nearly opposite Kel-Pie Island;
and birds of this species have frequently been seen,
and occasionally shot, on Kingsbury Reservoir,
during winter. The last which came under my
notice was killed there on the 9th February, 1864.
Family Laripz.
Common TERN, Sterna hirundo. Provincial, Sea
Swallow. During the periodical migrations in spring
and autumn we are visited by several species of
Tern, of which the most numerous 1s Sterna hirundo.
These birds generally arrive with an east wind, and,
if not disturbed, remain upon the river and about
the reservoirs for some days. The first flocks arrive
during the first week of May, and consist almost
entirely of old birds. In August, on the return south-
wards, young as well as old birds are seen. At night
T have seen them roosting upon boats, and upon posts
projecting above the water below high-water mark.
The flight of all the Terns is exceedingly graceful,
and there can hardly be a prettier sight, or one more
interesting to the ornithologist, than a flock of these
birds fishing in undisturbed enjoyment.
A peculiar trait in the character of Terns is, that
when one is killed or wounded its companions fly
screaming towards it, and the quickness with which
NATATORES. QAT7
they perceive its fail is very surprising. They dart
down until almost touching it, and, finding that it
cannot rise, keep circling over it with mournful
cries, until repeated shots deal death or teach them
caution. Sir William Jardine truly says,* that all
the Terns are very hght, and the body being com-
paratively small, the expanse of wings and tail so
buoys them up, that, when shot in the air, they are
sustained, their wings fold above them, and they
whirl gently down like a shuttlecock.
When inland the food consists of small fish, which
are taken very dexterously, with a graceful plunge ;
while, in specimens killed on the coast, I have found,
in addition, shrimps and small sand-eels. In Mid-
dlesex the Common Tern justifies its name, and is
more frequently met with than any of the other
species, although in some years the Black Tern is
very common. Examples have frequently been met
with on the Thames, more than forty miles above
Gravesend. None of the four species which visit us
ever remain to breed.
Arctic TERN, Sterna arctica. Although less plenti-
ful than the last-named, small flocks visit us annually
in spring and autumn, the two species frequently
consorting together. The habits of both S. hirwndo
and S. arctica are very similar, and the general
resemblance such, that, except by the note (which is
* ‘ British Birds,’ vol. iv., p. 275.
248 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
difficult to imitate),* it is impossible to distinguish
them on the wing.
The Arctic Tern is so frequently confounded with
the Common Tern, which it certainly very much
resembles, that I may be excused for departing, in
this case, from my rule of abstaining from descrip-
tions, to point out here the leading features by which
the two species may be distinguished. Many authors
give measurements of the wing, tail, and total length ;
but, from an examination of a great number of spe-
cimens of each, it appears that individuals of the
same species vary so much, according to sex and
age, that these measurements are practically of but
little use. We are also told that the Arctic Tern
is always much darker beneath than its congener,
but I have seen some Common Terns, shot in June,
which were quite as dark as many Arctic Terns
which I have examined. Again, many naturalists
say that while the bill of the Common Tern is red,
with a black tip, that of the Arctic is invariably red
throughout its whole length; but this is ouly the
case with fully adult birds. The young of both
* Mr. W. Thompson remarks that the cry of the Common
Tern resembles the sound “ pirre,” and that of the Arctic,
“« che-eép, cheep, or chip,” when uttered quickly ; while that
of the Roseate Tern sounds like “crake,” uttered in a hoarse
grating key. See ‘ Nat. Hist. of Ireland,’ vol. i., pp. 273,
284.
NATATORES. 249
species at first have the bill of a dark horn-colour,
orange-red at the base. As the bird gets older, the
dark colour recedes further from the base, while the
red becomes brighter, and finally only the tip of the
bill remains black in the Common Tern, while in the
Arctic species the black colour disappears entirely.
The only features which really appear to be constant,
and may consequently be considered indicative of
the species, are the comparative length of bill and
tarsus, and the length of closed wings im proportion
to the tail. In a few words, the differences may be
shortly stated as follows :—-
Common TERN. Arctic TERN.
Bill, longer and stouter, ave- | bill, shorter and more slen-
rage = 2 in., red, black at der, average — | in. 6 lines,
tip. in old bird red throughout.
Tarsus, longer, average 8% | Tarsus, shorter, average 62
lines. lines.
Tail, equal to, or (generally) | Tail, longer than closed
shorter than closed wings. wings.
Underparts, whiter. Underparts, greyer.
Black-cap, extends perhaps a | black-cap,rather shorter and
little further, and is more
pointed in form. |
more rounded in form.
This last statement requires confirmation. In
most cases the shape and colour of the eggs may
be taken as a good indication of the species to which
they belong, but those of the Common and Arctic
Terns so nearly resemble each other, and at the
same time vary to such an extent in the colour and
250 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
disposition of their markings, that it is scarcely
possible to separate them when mixed.
Lesser Tern, Sterna minuta. Examples of this
graceful little bird are observed here in spring and
autumn, but it is very irregular in its movements,
and is the least common of the Terns which visit us.
In appearance and habits it much resembles the
Common Tern, and its note is also similar. (See
ante, p. 248, note.)
Buack Tern, Sterna nigra. Next to the Common
Tern this is the commonest of the four species
which visit us, and is the earliest to appear in the
spring. In 18631 shot one on the 25th April; it
proved to be a male bird in incipient summer plumage.
Adult males in full summer dress are seldom ob-
tained, the majority of those which appear in spring
being old birds in winter or incipient summer plum-
age, and, in autumn, the females and young of the year.
The Black Tern evinces a great partiality for
fresh water, and, so far as I have been able to ob-
serve, does not prey upon fish to the same extent as
its congeners. The stomachs of several which I
examined contained a quantity of insects. Their
flight is very graceful, closely resembling that of the
Swallow (hence the popular name of Sea-Swallow),
and, during May, they may be seen sporting over
the water in company with innumerable Swallows
and Sandmartins, with whom they always appear to
be on very good terms.
NATATORES. 251
Sapsine’s Guiu, Larus Sabini. This rare and
beautiful little Gull, from its peculiar form of tail,
which is forked, and from the slenderness of its bill
and legs, may well be considered as the connecting
link between the Terns and Gulls. It was first met
with and killed* by Captain Sabine, R.A., in July,
1818, on low rocky islands off the west coast of
Greenland, and was described and named after him
by his brother, Mr. Joseph Sabine, in the 12th vol.
of the ‘Linnean Transactions.’ Three specimens
only were known to Mr. Yarrell as having occurred
in England,t and Mr. Thompson records but four
captures in Ireland.}
The species was first described as British by the
last-named gentleman, in a paper read before the
Linnean Society, in April, 1834, and in every
instance, hitherto, the specimens obtained in Britain
have been young birds in the plumage of the first
year.
I have now the pleasure of recording the capture
of a fourth example in England, and the additional
satisfaction of being able to include it in my Cata-
logue of Middlesex birds.
Early in September, 1862, Mr. J. Sorrell, of the
Trinity House, proceeded in a boat towards the
* In the adult black-headed plumage.
+ Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds,’ vol. ii., p. 550.
t Thompson's ‘ Birds of Ireland,’ vol. iil., pp. 309—814.
*
252 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
mouth of the river for the diversion of shooting
Gulls, which, at this season of the year, appear in
some numbers ; and, when nearly opposite Blackwall,
he killed the rare specimen which is now before
me.
Referring to Mr. Thompson’s description of the
first British example recorded, and which was taken
from a young bird shot in Belfast Bay, I find, on
comparison, that it will apply to the bird now under
consideration, except in a few particulars presently
to be mentioned. The description of the Thames
bird is as follows :-—
Bill slender and dark brown; irides hazel; fore-
head, cheeks, throat, and sides of neck white ; crown,
nape, back, scapulars and wing-coverts smoke-gray,
the tip of each feather margined with dirty white,
giving all the upper parts of the plumage a peculiar
mottled appearance. Throat, breast and under parts
white. Primaries black, with outer half of inner
webs white, and the 4th, 5th and 6th tipped with
white: secondaries white: upper and under tail-
coverts white. Tail-feathers twelve in number,
white, with tips black to the extent of an inch from
their extremities, giving the appearance of a broad
black band when the tail is spread. The two outer
tail-feathers the longest, the two centre ones the
shortest (an inch shorter); the intermediate ones on
each side growing shorter as they approach the
centre, giving the tail a very forked appearance
NATATORES. 253
when spread.* Legs, toes and webs flesh-colour ;
nails dark brown.
The measurements as follows :+—
Inches. Lines.
Total length : : res Ai 6
Length of bill . A , Wess 10
4 wing from carpus : er EO 6
z taal... b ; wa 6
‘s tibia (bare portion) . iyte! 9
= tarsus : ; Tee 2)
- middle toe and nail_ .. ag al Dy
Extent of wing . : : ae ey
It will be seen, from the above description, that it
applies to a bird of the year, and it is somewhat
remarkable that none but immature examples of this
species have hitherto been met with in Great Britain,
all of which were obtained in autumn.
The bird now under consideration differs from
that described by Mr. Thompson in the following
particulars :—the “space immediately above the
eye,’ instead of being “ white,” is pale grey; the
“under part of the throat and upper part of the
breast,” instead of being “ pale ash-colour,” is white ;
* This is, probably, sufficiently conspicuous when the
bird is flying to afford a ready means of distinguishing it.
+ It is proper to state that these measurements were
taken after the bird was stuffed, and cannot, therefore, be
considered as quite exact.
OA: BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
and there is no “white spot of an oval shape” on
the outer web of the sixth primary. From this I
conclude that the bird now before me is older than
that described by Mr. Thompson, and approaches
more nearly the adult plumage.
Lirtite Guu, Larus minutus. Almost as rare a
visitant to this country as the last-named, being an
inhabitant of Eastern Europe. It was first noticed
as a British species by Col. Montagu, who described
a specimen in the collection of Mr. Plasted, which
had been shot on the Thames near Chelsea. This
was a young bird in the plumage of the first year,
and at the sale of Mr. Plasted’s collection it passed
into the possession of Mr. Leadbeater. I have
lately seen a beautiful specimen of the Little Gull
in nearly mature spring plumage, which was shot
from a boat while flying over the Thames in Black-
wall Reach, in the early spring of 1863. Adult
birds in summer have the head black, in this respect
resembling the mature Sabine’s and Blackheaded
Gulls at the same period of the year.
BULACKHEADED GuLL, Larus ridibundus. Of the
few species of Gulls which visit us in spring and
autumn, the Blackheaded Gull is certainly the com-
monest. It would be more properly described as
the Brown-headed Gull, for the colour of the head
in summer certainly approaches nearer to brown
than black. An old bird of this species in the
breeding plumage, with red bill and legs, hazel eyes
NATATORES. Baw
with orange eyelid, and the back and wings pale
grey, while all the under parts are snowy white, is
one of the most beautiful of all the Gulls.
In winter the brown head disappears almost
entirely, a few spots or streaks only of that colour
remaining on the crown, ear-coverts, and nape.
The young birds may always be known from their
parents by having the grey of the back more or less
spotted with brown, the scapulars, particularly, pre-
senting a very mottled appearance, and by having
the tail, which is square, and in old birds pure
white, barred with black at the extremity.
The Blackheaded Gull differs chiefly from others
of the genus in its partiality for fresh water, and in
its breeding inland in colonies upon the ground
instead of in cliffs facing the sea. Oftentimes the
centre of a marsh is selected, where, from the treach-
erous nature of the soil, the eggs are comparatively
safe. Hlsewhere, when discovered, they are eagerly
earried off and sold as “ Plover’s eggs,” and, in
truth, are very good eating. When visiting a breed-
ing station of the Blackheaded Gull during the last
week of May, 1864, one or two facts presented them-
selves which seemed worthy of note. In the first
place none but old birds in full summer dress were
breeding; amongst several hundred I could not
detect a single bird in the plumage of the second
year. In the next place the period of laying seemed
uncertain, varying with different individuals, some
Z2
256 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
having young hatched while others had empty nests,
or only a single fresh egg. Again, it appeared that
incubation commences as soon as the first egg is
laid, for some nests contained both eggs and young
birds.
The nests, as usual, were placed on the ground
within a few feet of each other, and were, for the
most part, built in tussocks of coarse grass, and
composed entirely of the same material. The ma-
jority of them contained three eggs each, but many
had four, and, in a few instances, I noticed three
egos, cracked, and a young bird. Several of the
young birds, two or three days old, were running
about or hiding in the coarse herbage, while over-
head, it might be safely asserted, hundreds of the
parent birds were dashing about on outstretched
wings, rending the air with their wild screams. It
was truly a beautiful and interesting sight! The
variety which exists in eggs of the Blackheaded Gull
is very curious, and, if we except those of the Com-
mon Guillemot, perhaps no other eggs vary so much.
I may mention a few of the most marked varieties
which I have taken, the common type being dark
olive-brown, with dark spots and blotches.—Var. 1.
Green, with darker spots or blotches. Var. 2. Light
grey, with olive blotches. Var. 3. Pale sea-green,
with a zone of brown spots at larger end. Var. 4.
Pale bluish white, with scarcely any markings at all.
There is no breeding station of the Blackheaded
NATATORES. OOF
Gull in Middlesex, but the bird is (or was) plentiful
towards the mouth of the Thames, both in Kent and
Essex, breeding on some of the low flat islands on
the coast, and in the marshes of the interior.
I have seen and shot several at Kingsbury,”
which must be thirty miles from the sea, but it is
only during spring and autumn (when the birds are
on their way to and from their breeding-grounds), or
after a gale, that they are found so far inland.
Nearer the coast I have seen them in flocks upon
the ploughed fields, busily searching for worms and
grubs, thus rendering good service to the farmer.
Besides worms, the stomachs of several which I
examined contained small beetles and flies, remains
of fish and shrimps, and small univalve shells be-
longing to the genus Rissoa.
The Blackheaded seems the most fearless of all
the Gulls, and, like the Lesser Tern, will occa-
sionally suffer a very near approach.
Early one winter’s morning, while standing on
Wellington Quay, Dublin, I was much entertained
in watching a flock of Blackheaded Gulls which
were hovering round the mouth of a sewer and pick-
ing up the bits of offal which floated out. At first,
on my approach, they seemed disposed to retreat,
* The last I killed so recently as the 11th April, 1866. It
was one of three immature birds which frequented the reser-
voir at Kingsbury for two or three days.
Z 3
258 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
but finding that I had no hostile intentions,
they continued their fishing, and I was enabled
to watch them at the distance of about forty yards.
Seeing that they were getting but a precarious
breakfast from the water, it occurred to me to try
and feed them. Accordingly I got a roll at the
nearest baker’s, and began throwing small pieces
into the water. At first the birds paid no attention,
and I inclined to think my good intentions in their
regard were not appreciated; but at length one
bolder than the rest swooped down and carried off
one of the pieces. His example was shortly followed
by others, and I soon had the inexpressible delight
of seeing the whole flock busy feeding within a few
yards of me as I leant over the quay.
Their flight was exceedingly graceful and buoyant,
and oftentimes in circling round, on the look-out for
food, the birds swept so close to my face that with
a buttertly-net I might have caught one. I was
particularly interested with the dexterous way m
which a piece of bread was taken from the water.
Hovering for an instant over the spot, the bird
swooped down, and bending the body in the form of
a semicircle, it seized the morsel in its bill without
wetting the wings or body, and only just skimming
the water with its toes.
KirriwakeE, Larus tridactylus. Neither the Kit-
tiwake nor the Common Gull, next to be considered,
are met with so frequently as the Blackheaded Gull,
NATATORES. 959
which is, in fact, the “Common” Gull in Middlesex,
nor do they appear so regularly in the spring and
autumn. In severe weather, after a strong wind
has been blowing from the east or north-east, a few
individuals are sometimes seen, but they make no
stay. Sir Humphrey Davy says :*—“ I believe that
the reason of this migration of sea-gulls and other
sea-birds to the land, is their security of finding
food. They may be observed at this time feeding
greedily on the earth-worms and larve, driven out
of the ground by severe floods, and the fish on which
they prey in severe weather in the sea leave the sur-
face when storms prevail, and go deeper.” On re-
ferring to my note-books for different years, under
the head of Kittiwake Gull, I find record of one
killed at Elstree Reservoir in May, 1850; another
at the same place in the spring of 1858; three at
Kingsbury Reservoir in May, 1859; one at this
sheet of water in August, 1863; and another, a fine
adult male, now in my collection, shot also at Kings-
bury, on the 8rd April, 1865. This last bird was in
company with two Blackheaded Gulls, which disap-
peared, with loud screams, when their companion
fell.
The Kittiwake may always be known from the
Common Gull, which it closely resembles in size
and colour when fully adult, by the absence of a
* *Salmonia,’ p. 193.
260 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
hind toe, which peculiarity has obtained for it the
specific name of tridactylus.
Common Gutu, Larus canus. This bird, although
called the “Common” Gull, is by no means so in
Middlesex, and indeed, so far as I have been able
to observe, it is nowhere so numerous in the South
of England as its congener the Kittiwake. The few
examples which have been met with in this county
must be considered as accidental visitants. Mr.
Jesse notices one that was killed in winter at
Hampton Court, and I have seen some half-dozen
examples in different stages of plumage which were
shot lower down on the Thames, by Blackwall, in
September. Three specimens of this Gull have
come under my notice at Kingsbury; the last, on
the 5th January, 1864, was an adult bird in winter
plumage. Dr. Giinther informed me that towards
the end of October, 1865, he observed a flock of
these Gulls in Bushy Park. They numbered about
twenty, and were so busily engaged in fishing at one
of the ponds that he was enabled to approach within
a very short distance, and thus identified the species.
A larger, brown Gull, believed to have been a Skua,
accompanied them, and remained in the neighbour-
hood for several days.
The variation of colour in the legs and toes of
different individuals of Larus canus is very remark-
able. Not only do the old birds differ in this respect
from the young, which is the case with many birds,
NATATORES. 261
but the former also differ inter se in summer and
winter. An old bird, killed in June, had the tarsi
and toes bright yellow, while another adult bird,
shot in February, had the same parts greyish green.
Two old birds, procured in October, exhibited the
yellow colour only around the tarsal joint, the rest
of the leg and foot being pale greenish grey. Tem-
minck calls this species “‘ Mouette a pieds bleus.”
Lesser BuackBackED GuLL, Larus fuscus. Ina
list of water-birds occurring at Kingsbury Reservoir,
published in ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1848, the occur-
rence of the Lesser Blackbacked Gull is recorded ;
but it is a rare bird in Middlesex, and only met with
in severe weather, or after there has been a preva-
lence of east wind. I have seen a young bird of
this species, which was shot at Kingsbury Reservoir,
in autumn ; and in October, 1865, William Sawyer,
the keeper at this reservoir, killed a fine old bird in
good plumage.
Gulls appear to be longer in arriving at maturity
of plumage than, perhaps, any other class of birds.
Many species attain the adult plumage after the first
moult; but I believe most, if not all, of the Gulls
pass three years in a state of gradual transition
before they display the colours of their parents.
Whether they pair and breed before they have
assumed the adult plumage has not yet, so far as I
am aware, been ascertained, but my own observa-
tions lead me to think that they do not.
262 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
When visiting a stronghold of the Lesser Black-
backed Gull at the Farne Islands, in the breeding
season, I do not remember to have seen a single
individual at this time in the mottled plumage pecu-
liar to the immature bird. And I have remarked
the same thing with regard to the Blackheaded* and
Herring Gulls.| Independently of its smaller size,
the Lesser Blackbacked Gull may be distinguished
from its congener, the Great Blackbacked Gull, by
the colour of its legs, which (in adult birds) are
yellow; those of the larger species being flesh-
colour. |
Herrine Gui, Larus argentatus. An accidental
visitant; no regular migration in spring and autumn
taking place, as in the case of the Terns.
The few Herring Gulls which I have seen, killed
on the Thames and at our reservoirs (generally in
autumn), were all immature birds.
In other counties I have remarked a habit of the
Herring Gull, when inland, of visiting newly-
ploughed ground, to feed on the worms and grubs
which are turned up; and there can be little doubt
that in this respect it is a very useful bird to the
farmer.
The different cry of different Gulls, although
* See ante, p. 255.
+ See “ A Visit to the Dorsetshire Coast in the Nesting
Season,” ‘ Zoologist,’ 1865, p. 9677.
NATATORES. 268
difficult to imitate, is worthy of attention, since it
helps us to determine the species at a distance, and
this is the more impcrtant in the case of immature
birds. The ordinary note of the Herring Gull isa
hoarse laugh or cackle, of five syllables, so to speak,
and sounding lke “ wa-a-a-a-agh,” quickly uttered.
GREAT BLACKBACKED GuLL, Larus marinus. This
Gull may often be seen towards the mouth of the
Thames, and used formerly to breed there, in the
marshes on the flat shores of Kent and Essex.
Occasionally individuals stray up the river to a
considerable distance. I have heard of one which
was killed as high up as Putney during a frost. Mr.
Bond shot an old bird of this species many years ago
at Kingsbury Reservoir. On the 7th March, 1862,
I saw a large grey Gull at this sheet of water, which
I took to be an immature specimen of the Great
Blackbacked Gull: it had probably been driven
inland by the east wind of the previous day. On
looking to my note-book for 1864, also, I find an
entry to the effect that, on the 5th January, in that
year, two large grey Gulls, probably of this species,
were seen at Kingsbury. The cry of this bird
sounds like “ ke-aw, ke-aw.”
In September, 1863, I brought home a live Great
Blackbacked Gull which had been slightly winged. It
was a bird of the year, in the mottled plumage pecu-
liar to all young Gulls. As it is still alive (May, 1866)
and in good health, I have had an opportunity of
264 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
observing the change of plumage for two years and a
half, and so gradually does this change take place
that it is only at long intervals that any great dif-
ference of plumage can be noticed. When the bird
was first captured, it was spotted all over. In Sep-
tember, 1864, when, perhaps, fifteen months old, the
spots on that portion of the plumage which ulti-
mately remains white, disappeared, and the back
and wings from being spotted became light brown,
with patches of dark grey feathers appearing here
and there at regular intervals. The bill at this time
was of a dark horn-colour; the eye very dark.brown,
almost black ; the legs and toes light brownish white.
In September, 1865, at the age of two years and
three months, the head, neck, breast, and tail had
become a purer white ; but the crown and nape were
still speckled with dark grey, and the distal half of
the tail was transversely and irregularly marked with
grey. On the back and wings the light brown
feathers had given way, in irregular patches, to
others of a dark grey colour, and the upper parts
might now be described as almost of a dark slate-
colour, just a tinge of brown still pervading. The
bill was gradually getting lighter in colour at the
base, but might still be described as of a ight horn-
colour; the eye dark brown; the legs and toes a
nondescript colour between brown, pink, and white.
In May, 1866, at the age of three years, the full
adult plumage not yet attained, the description of
NATATORES. 265
the bird was as follows :—Bill, black at tip, extreme
point white, base yellowish white; eye dark brown,
pupil black, eyelid yellow; crown pure white, nape
white, with longitudinal light brown streaks (as
in Larus canus), the feathers of the nape being white
with light brown quills and tips; back and wings
above brownish black, approaching nearly to black,
the feathers being of two shades, and darkest towards
the roots. [This induces the inference that the
change is effected, not by a complete moult, but by
a gradual change of colour in each feather, the light
tips wearing off and giving place to new material of
a darker shade.] The whole of the under parts pure
white; upper and under tail-coverts pure white ;
principal tail-feathers white, marbled with light
brown, the two centre ones the most devoid of
markings. Wings, first primary black with white
spot at tip (one inch long by half-an-inch wide) ;
second primary black, with smaller circular white
spot of a quarter of an inch diameter; third and fourth
black, with just the tip of feather white and much
worn, the inside web of each feather much lighter,
inclining to grey. Secondaries dark slate-colour,
inner webs lighter, tips white. Legs and feet pale
flesh-colour, lightest at tarsal joint, darkest on webs ;
toes dark horn-colour.
The omnivorous habits of the genus Gull are fully
exemplified in this tame bird. Nothing seems to
come amiss to him,—meat, both raw and cooked,
2 A
266 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
fish, mice, small birds, snails, worms, and flies, are
all consumed in turns, as opportunity offers. Ifa
live mouse is turned down on the lawn before him,
he at once gives chase, and, coursing rapidly in
pursuit of it, ike a Wagtail after a fly, seizes it with
unerring aim behind the head, and after a sharp
pinch or two, which crushes the skull and larger
bones, the unfortunate mouse is swallowed whole.
Sparrows and other small birds are treated in the
same way, being invariably first crushed and then
swallowed, head-first, whole. In this way I have
seen him take five Sparrows in rapid succession.
A curious fact with regard to this Gull is that he
catches Sparrows for himself very dexterously, and
the way in which he does itis this :—About the time
that the fowls are being fed, he makes his way to
the poultry-yard, and, mingling with the hens, walks
very slowly about with head drawn in, so as to make
his neck look very short, and as if, in fact, he were
trying to look as much like a fowl as possible. As
soon as the general rush for the grain is over, the
Sparrows drop down one by one, and then it is that
the Gull, drawing gradually within reach, sud-
denly darts out his long neck and seizes an un-
fortunate Sparrow by the head. So rapidly is this
done that escape for the unsuspecting Sparrow is
hopeless, and in another second he is crushed and
devoured.
As I have said, this Gull has swallowed as many
NATATORES. 267
as five Sparrows at a meal, and his capacity in this
respect is very wonderful. On one occasion a cat
brought two of her kittens out upon the lawn to
enjoy the sun, but while engaged in bringing the
second, the first was unceremoniously carried off by
the Gull, who thought, no doubt, he had secured a
good meal. Instead of tearing it up piecemeal,
however, as a Hawk would have done, he vainly
endeavoured to swallow it whole, and while thus
engaged he was discovered by a horrified member of
the family with the kitten’s head down his throat,
while he was making frantic efforts to get the rest of
the body to follow. Of course the poor kitten was
rescued and restored to its anxious mother, and the
Gull was left to testify his disappointment by the
most discordant cries.
A little white terrier is extremely jealous of
the Gull, and whenever the latter appears at the
window to be fed, the dog rushes forward, barking
furiously, but always contriving to keep just out of
reach of the formidable bill. One day the dog was
observed in the garden, trotting slowly towards the
house, while his enemy the Gull was standing unseen
by him behind a Laurustinus, as if watching for an
opportunity to be revenged. No sooner had the
dog passed the shrub than he was seized by the
back, violently shaken, and carried, howling, across
the lawn, without offering the least retaliation. He
was then released, and probably never ran so fast in
2Aa2
268 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
his life before as he then did, to escape. Ever since
he has kept at a most respectful distance, and, when-
ever he is obliged to pass by the Gull, his walk
quickens to a trot, and the trot to a gallop, as if
his ribs still smarted with the sharp digs he had
received.
In the garden this Gull is very useful, feeding
upon snails, worms, and beetles, and I have several
times seen him running like a Wagtail in pursuit
of flies and moths.
He is now so tame that he comes up to the house
to be fed, and will take a Sparrow from my hand.
When he feels hungry he usually makes his presence
known by a loud trumpeting or braying, which often
has the desired effect ; but occasionally, when I have
passed him without taking any notice, I have received
a reminder in the shape of a sharp pinch in the calf
of the leg.
As soon as the wounded wing got well, he used
to take long flights in the neighbourhood, but
always returned to be fed. At length, for fear that
he might get shot, | was compelled to cut one wing
to keep him at home, and here he still lives a useful
and ornamental under-gardener.*
* I regret to say that, since these notes were written,
this amusing bird is dead. He was discovered one morning
in the small fish-pond, where he took his daily swim, cold and
stiff. A post-mortem examination failed to reveal the cause
NATATORES. 269
Guaucous Guu, Larus glaucus. An immature
specimen of the Glaucous Gull was purchased in
London, in a fresh state, by Mr. Bartlett, during
the winter of 1838. This winter was a very severe
one, and numbers of rare wild fowl visited us
from the north. It is not improbable, therefore,
that the bird in question was killed upon the river,
or upon one or other of the large sheets of water
in the county. It was placed in the collection
of Mr. Yarrell, and a full description of it will be
found at p. 619, vol. iii., of that author’s ‘ History
of British Birds.’
PomarineE Sxua, Lestris pomarma. The Skua
Gulls differ so much in their structure and habits
from the others of the family Laride, that they have
been considered entitled to generic distinction. They
seldom take the trouble to fish for themselves, but
give chase to other Gulls and force them to dis-
gorge the fish which they have taken, and so active
are they on the wing, that they frequently catch a
disgorged fish before it reaches the water. A
of his death, which can only be accounted for by supposing
that, owing to a clipped wing and the removal of some steps,
he was detained a prisoner in the water all night, and perished
from cold and cramp. The night in question was excessively
cold, and before morning there was a sharp frost. Ex-
cept in very calm weather, Gulls never remain all night
upon the water.
De
970 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
young bird of this species was shot some years
ago at Kingsbury; the exact date I have been
unable to ascertain, but the capture of this spe-
cimen is recorded in ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1843.
Another example, also a young bird, was killed
near Harrow in 1841, and, more recently, a third was
picked up dead in Wembley Park. Mr. Yarrell men-
tions an example of this species that was shot some
years since in Hackney Marshes, near London, and
observes that early in the winter of 1837 many
were received in the London markets for sale,
and among them were eight or ten birds which had
been caught alive.
I have lately seen a young Pomarine Skua which
was shot on the Thames, towards the mouth of the
river, in August, 1862.
Ricuarpson’s or Arotic Sxua, Lestris Richard-
sonw vel parasitica. The following notice relating
to the occurrence of this species in Middlesex oceurs
in Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds,’ vol. iii., p. 683 :—* Some
years since I sawa young bird that had just been
shot on the Thames at Battersea; and in the autumn
of 1842 four young birds of the year were shot on
the Reservoir at Kingsbury, a few miles north of
London. Two of these specimens were more uni-
formly dark brown than the other two, from having
lost many more of the light brown margins of the
first set of feathers.”
In the ‘Zoological Journal’ for April, 1825,
NATATORES. 271
there is a note from Mr. Yarrell to the effect that
a young Arctic Gull (Lestris parasiticus) was shot on
the Thames, near Battersea, in September, 1824.
This, probably, is the specimen referred to in the
‘History of British Birds.’
In the autumn of 1862 an immature bird of this
species was shot on the Thames, in Greenwich
Reach, and is now in my collection. Several of
the Common Skua (Lestris cataractes) were ex-
hibited for sale in the London market during the
winter of 1837, but no particulars of their capture
could be obtained.
ForkTAILED PetreL, Thalassidroma Leach. The
Petrels being such thoroughly oceanic birds, are of
rare occurrence in a midland county; but, as in the
case of Gulls and Terns, individuals are occasionally
driven inland by severe weather, and are generally
found to be much exhausted. A Petrel of this
Species was caught alive, in an exhausted state, by
a man at work on the high road between Edgeware
and Stanmore, on the 4th January, 1850. Mr.
Yarrell says several have been observed “ near
London,” and one, shot near the Steam Mill, op-
posite Bow Creek, in March, 1864, lately came under
my notice.
Storm Perret, Thalassidroma pelagica. The same
remark will apply to this as to the last-named species:
it is only after a prevalence of high winds, or severe
weather on the coast, that it leaves its true element
272 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX.
and comes inland. A Storm Petrel was shot in
November, 1824, from a coal-barge, while flying
over the Thames between the bridges of Blackfriars
and Westminster. The capture of this specimen 1s
recorded by Mr. Yarrell in the ‘ Zoological Journal’
for April, 1825, and in the ‘ History of British
Birds, where, however, the date given is March,
1825.
Towards the end of October, 1857, a Storm Petrel
was knocked down with a stick and caught on the
Edgeware Road, at Paddington, about seven o'clock
in the evening. It was a wet, windy night, and the
bird was much exhausted. It was supposed to have
strayed up the river from the coast.
mye b HN Et X:
Scuinz’s Sanpprper, Tringa Schinzw (Buona-
parte). While the foregoing pages were in the
press, I accidentally met with a county-killed spe-
cimen of this rare Sandpiper in the collection of
my friend Mr. H. E. Dresser. He had purchased
it at a sale at Messrs. Stevens’ in December, 1865,
but no particulars respecting it were given in the
Sale Catalogue, nor could he ascertain where it
had been killed. On taking down the case in
which it was mounted, in order to examine the
bird more narrowly, I discovered on the back a
small label, on which was written, “Schinz’s Sand-
piper. Shot by Mr. Goodair at Kingsbury Reservoir,
1856.”
The particular season at which it was killed
does not appear; but the bird is in winter plumage,
and may possibly have found its way to our reser-
voir in company with a flock of Dunlins, the only
Sandpipers which visit us in winter.
I have associated the name of Buonaparte with
the specific name given above, in order to distin-
guish the subject of these notes from the European
Tringa Schinzw of Brehm, which is now con-
sidered to be only a variety of the Dunlin, T’ringa
variabilis.
eet APPENDIX.
Tringa Schinz of Buonaparte is a native of
North America, and of extremely rare occurrence
in England. Although resembling the Dunlin in
habits and general appearance, particularly in the
winter plumage, it may be distinguished from that
bird by its shorter and straighter bill, longer and
more slender legs, white upper tail-coverts, and
longer wings, which, when closed, reach con-
siderably beyond the tail.
Four examples only of this bird are recorded
to have been met with in Great Britain. It is,
therefore, gratifying to me to add a fifth example
to the list, and I have the additional satisfaction of
being able to include this species amongst the
“ Birds of Middlesex.”
EN DE X I:
Avocet .
B.
Bee-eater :
Bittern, Common .
pinibtle
Blackbird
Blackcap
Brambling
alianch
Bunting, ia leneaded
- Cirl
Su Common.
‘5 Lapland .
Es Ortolan .
Snow
Yellow
Basar Common
Chaffinch
Chiff Chaff
Coot
Corncrake
Crake, Little
» Spotted
Creeper
Page
- 208
. 114] Eagle, Golden
Crow, Carrion
5, Hooded
Crossbill, Common
A; Parrot
Cuckoo .
Curlew .
» stone
‘Be
Dipper . :
Diver, Blackthroated
» Redthroated
Dotterel
Dove, King
oy | etock:, 5
» Lurtle
Duck, Ferruginous
» Gadwall
3» Goldeneyerw:
a ita
=, Lochard F
» Redcrested (note)
3 | Heaps.
» scoter
» Shoveller
i) Lutted
i Wil
Dunlin .
E.
276
Eagle, Whitetailed
F.
Falcon, Peregrine .
Fieldfare
Flycatcher, Pied
sf Spotted
G.
Gadwall
Goatsucker
Godwit, Bar eedee
» Blacktailed
Goldcrest 3
Goldeneye
Goldfinch
Goosander
Goose, Brent
» Canada
» Greylag
,, Redbreasted
,, Whitefronted
Grebe, Eared
,, Greatcrested
an) tittle
Greenfinch
Greenshank .
Grosbeak, Pine
Grouse, Sand
Gull, Blackheaded.
5, Common
,, Glaucous
» Great Blackbacked
>», ELerrnine
55 Feneain
» Lesser Binelbecieed
on uistle. .
INDEX.
age
1 | Gull, Sabine’s
H.
3 | Harrier, Hen
29|Hawfinch .
26 | Hedge Sparrow
24 | Heron, Common
» Naght
»» » Euunple
5» squacco
. 2251 Hobby .
- 129 | Hooper
- 183 | Hoopoe.
240 | Jackdaw
. 219 | Jay
. 2438 | Kestrel .
. 241 | Kingfisher
. 244 | Kite
53 | iitirake
. 180 | Knot
269 | Landrail
263 | Lapwing :
. 262 | Lark, Shore .
256 . woky
6 |. Wad.
254 4 Lannet .
Page
. 102
M.
Magpie
Martin, House
a». ) Purple
a LOG. F
Merganser, Redbreasted .
Merlin .
Moorhen
N.
Nightingale .
Nightjar
Nuthatch
O.
Oriole, Golden
Osprey :
Ouzel, Ring .
Owl, Barn
»» Hagle
»> Little
» -Longeared
», scopseared
» Shorteared
1 lawny :
Tengmalm’s .
Oystercatcher
Partridge ;
: Redlegged
Pastor, Rosecoloured
Peewit .
Petrel, Forktailed .
» storm
Phalarope, Grey
Pheasant
Pipit, Meadow
» Pennsylvanian
» Richards’
x» Rock
it, reer ine
Plover, Golden
» Great :
» Little Ringed
» Ringed
Pochard
Quail
Rail, Land
» Little
» Spotted
... Water’ .
Raven .
Redbreast
Redpole, Lesser
» Mealy
Redshank, Common
me Spotted or
Dusky
Redstart, Common
» Black
Redwing
Regulus, Goldenerewade.
Ring Ouzel
Robin
2B
. 141
Sanderling
Sand Grouse
Sandpiper, Common
= Curlew.
ey Dunlin
- Green .
bs Schinz’s
» Spotted
Wood
Scaup .
Scoter, Chane
Shorvcller
Shrike, Great Grey
» Redbacked
Siskin . :
Skua, Pomarine
»» Richardson’s or
Arctic
Smew ,
Snipe, Brown
» Common
me (oredt
i = AC
»» sabine’s
Sparrow, Hedge
Pe Pipuee
es Tree
Sparrowhawk
Spoonbill
Starling, Common .
i Redwinged
Stint, Little .
» Lemminck’s
Stonechat
INDEX
Page | Page
98 | Swallow 123
184 | Swan, Bewick’s 223
» Common or Mute 220
i Polish: : ‘7226
» - Wild, or Hooper . 222
Swift, Cae : _ ee
17. ALPINE. (Or White-
bellied 128
Hie
Teal , 229
Tern, Arctic . 247
3 + Black . 250 -
» Common 246
», Lesser. : 250
Thickknee or Stone Gus
lew. We
Thrush, Meazel 28
| Fs Song 30
| Tit, Bearded . ; . 069
» Blue ; ! ew
» Cole : ; . «Van
» Crested . fue ee 4a
,» Great : « Om
» ongtailed |. - 58
,, Marsh 58
Turnstone. : oe 5
Twite 90
W.
Wagtail, Grey 65
, Greyheaded 64
; Pied 62
3.) days 66
White 62
2 Yellow 66
Warbler, Dartford .
- Garden
» Grasshopper
He Reed :
“4 Savi’s
Warbler, Sedge
Water Rail
Waxwing
Wheatear
Whimbrel
Whinchat :
Whitethroat, Common
Es Lesser
Widgeon
Woodcock
, 48%
Li
INDEX. 279
Page
54
50
43
45
44
210
60
AQ
4]
dL
51
. 233
. 185
Page
Woodpecker, Green . 104
» Great Black . 110
os 3 spotted . 106
»» Middle Spotted 107
» Lesser Spotted 109
Wren, Common . 2 BLA
sgn eee” , < 45
» Willow : py
~~ Wood. . : Pe
Wryneck yw. ; EES
aye
Yellowhammer : Pay i
INDEX IL.
see
Accentor modularis, 37
Alauda arborea, 72
» arvensis, 72
» alpestris, 74
Alcedo ispida, 121
Anas acuta, 225
» boschas, 226
» creecad, 229
i Gfistata, ‘Bor
» Clangula, 237
» Clypeata, 224
» tferina, 235
3 Inara, 236
» nigra, 234
»» nyroca, 235 (note)
», penelope, 233
strepera, 225
eten albifrons, 218
» brenta, 219
» Canadensis, 220
3 erus, 215
» ruticollis, 219
Anthus arboreus, 66
» aquaticus, 67
5.) anleatdi, OS
» Pennsylvanicus, 69
»», pratensis, 67
Ardea cinerea, 161
» muinuta, 165
»» nycticorax, 166
» purpurea, 164
» Yralloides, 164
Ardea stellaris, 164
B.
Buteo vulgaris, 11
Bombycilla garrula, 60
C.
Calidris arenaria, 155
Caprimulgus europzeus, 129
Certhia familiaris, 114
Charadrius hiaticula, 146
~ minor, 149
- morinellus, 145
a pluvialis, 143 ~
Cinclus aquaticus, 27.
Columba eenas, 134
2 palumbus, 132
a turtur, 157
Colymbus arcticus, 245
i septentrionalis, 245
Corvus corax, 95
» cornix, 97
» corone, 95
» frugilegus, 98
» glandarius, 103
» Mmonedula, 102
pica, 102
Crex porzana, 203
5, pratensis, 203
», pusilla, 205
2B 3
282
Cuculus canorus, 118
- hepaticus, 119
Cygnus Bewickii, 228
» serus, 222
» Immutabilis, 223
=) olor 220
Cypselus apus, 127
» alpinus, 128
E.
Emberiza cirlus, 77
‘he citrinella, 77
a hortulana, 78
» lapponica, 74
Se miliaria, 75
F nivalis, 75
¥ schceniclus, 76
F,
Falco albicilla, 1
» ssalon, 6
» buteo, 11
», chrysaetos, 1
» cyaneus, 12
» halizétus, 2
» Imilvus, 10
> onisus, 8
», peregrinus, 3
3, subbuteo, 4
tinnunculus, 7
Fringilla coeelebs, 79
a cannabina, 87
i. canescens, 88
- carduelis, 86
: chloris, 83
Bs coccothraustes, 84
& domestica, 82
sy linaria, 89
INDEX.
ee
Fringilla linota, 87
* montana, 82
» montifringilla, 80
” montium, 90
spinus, 86
es atra, 212
G.
Gallinula chloropus, 206
fal
Mematopus ostralegus, 158
Hirundo purpurea, 126
“A riparia, 125
es rustica, 123
- urbica, 124
di
Lanius collurio, 24
» excubitor, 22
Larus argentatus, 262
» canus, 260
» tfuscus, 261
» glaucus, 269
» marinus, 263
» minutus, 254
» ridibundus, 254
3 aD, 251
tridactylus, 258
Lestris parasitica, 270
» cataractes, 271
55 pomarinus, 269
» Richardsonu, 270
Limosa melanura, 182
»s) Letula, LSo
Loxia curvirostra, 91
», pityopsittacus, 92
M.
Machetes pugnax, 184
Mergus albellus, 239
» merganser, 240
we. Serrator, 240
Merops apiaster, 121
Motacilla alba, 62
Ms boarula, 63
< flava, 66
. neglecta, 64
a Rayi, 66
Yarrelliu, 62
Muscicapa atricapilla, 26
Pe erisola, 24
N.
Numenius arquata, 170
a pheopus, 171
O.
(Hidicnemus crepitans, 142
Oriolus galbula, 36
Ee
Parus ater, 57
» biarmicus, 59
», ceruleus, 57
» caudatus, 58
cs pucee 56
» major, 5
clams. 58
Phctor roseus, 94
Perdix cinerea, 140
» coturnix, 14]
INDEX. 2838
Perdix rubra, 141
Phalaropus hyperboreus, 213
Phasianus colchicus, 137
Picus major, 106
» martius, 110
» medius, 107
5 mammor, 109
madias 104
Piaialen leucorodia, 166
Podiceps auritus, 243
i eristatus, 241
es minor, 244
Pyrrhula enucleator, 90
my vulgaris, 90
R.
Rallus aquaticus, 210
| Recurvirostra avocetta, 181
Regulus cristatus, 55
8.
Saxicola cenanthe, 42
» rubetra, 41
» rubicola, 40
Scolopax gallinago, 188
“ gallinula, 191
Sg grisea, 195
‘ major, 188
x a 185
Sabini, 186
eae europea, 116
Sterna arctica, 247
» hirundo, 246
» minuta, 250
6IMera, 200
Strepsilas interpres, 157
Strix aluco, 18
284
Strix bubo, 13
brachyotus, 15
flammea, 16
otus, 14
passerina, 19
scops, 19
Tengmalmi, 21
Starnus priedatorius, 92
aa vulgaris, 93
Sylvia priidiaees. 45
atricapilla, 49
cinerea, 51
curruca, 51
hortensis, 50
locustella, 43
luscinia, 48
luscinoides, 43, note
pheenicurus, 39
phragmitis, 44
provincialis, 54
rubecula, 37
rufa, 53
sibilatrix, 52
tithys, 39
trochilus, 52
Syrrhaptes paradoxus, 138
E.
Thalassidroma Leachii, 271
55 pelagica, 271
Totanus calidris, 172
fuscus, 171
27
INDEX.
Totanus glareola, 177
elottis, 180
hypoleucos, 179
macularius, 180
, ochropus, 172
Tringa canutus, 196
minuta, 197
Schinzi, 273
subarquata, 195
Temmincki, 198
variabilis, 200
ade iliaca, 32
merula, 34
musicus, 380
pilaris, 29
torquatus, 35
viscivorus, 28
Troglodytes vulgaris, 114
39
39
39
99
U.
Upupa epops, 121
V.
Vanellus cristatus, 154
» melanogaster,
x
| Yunx torquilla, 113.
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