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PReELISH BIRDS IN
RHEIR. HAUNTS
By the late
Rev Ci AS TOLINS, Pes
Author of Flowers of the Field
Edited, Revised, and Annotated by
J. A. OWEN
Author of Birds in their Seasons, etc
Collaborator in all Books by a ‘Son oF THE MaArsues ’
Illustrated with 64 Coloured Plates (256 Figures) by
WILLIAM FOSTER, M.B.O.U
WITII A GLOSSARY OF COMMON AND PROVINCIAL NAMES AND
OF TECHNICAL TERMS
LONDON
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS LIMITED
NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO
Tg09
UNIFORM WITH THIS WORK.
FLOWERS OF THE FIELD. By Rev. C.A.
Jouns, F.L.S., revised throughout by
CLARENCE ELLIOTT; with 268 coloured
Figures, and 245 Text Illustrations,
THE FERN WORLD. By F. G. HEatu.
With Text Illustrations and 12 Coloured
Plates.
THE BALANCE OF NATURE AND MODERN
CONDITIONS OF CULTIVATION. By
GEORGE ABBEY. With 150 Illustra-
tions.
LONDON:
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LTD.
EDITORS PREEACE
Tuts admirable work by the late Rev. C. A. Johns, F.L.S., which
is now offered in a new form, has already proved the making of
many a naturalist and it will be a delight and help to many more
nature lovers who wish to determine a species without recourse to
bulky scientific works.
In editing the present edition I have carefully preserved all Mr.
Johns’ delightful personal stories and his descriptions of the birds
and their daily life in their haunts, but Ihave brought the scientific
arrangement of the species up to date, as well as altered the nomen-
clature, in accordance with present-day knowledge and use.
We begin with the Passeres because modern ornithologists are
now nearly all agreed that this order attains the highest Avian
development.
I have rectified statements as to the local distribution of various
species which, with the progress of time and local changes, no longer
apply, and have added facts here and there which I considered of
some value.
The faithful and beautiful presentments made by Mr. William
Foster for this new edition have no need of our commendation to
the public,
J. A. OWEN.
B.B. iii b
SVoOrEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE
GENERA OF BIRDS
(Numbered in accordance with the Plates and Descriptions in this Volume.)
ORDERS BASSE RES
(PERCHING BIRDS)
Bill various ; feet adapted for perching on trees or on the ground (not
for grasping, wading, or swimming) ; toes four, all in the same plane, three
before and one behind ; claws slender, curved, and acute. Food, various ;
that of the nestlings, perhaps in all instances, soft insects.
FAMILY TURDIDZ
(THRUSHES)
Bill as long as the head, compressed at the sides ; upper mandible arched
to the tip, which is not abruptly hooked, notch well marked, but not accom-
panied by a tooth; gape furnished with bristles; feet long, with curved
claws. Food—insects, snails and fruits.
SUB-FAMILY TURDINZE
Young in first plumage differ from adults in having the upper and under
parts spotted.
Genus 1. Turbus (Thrush, Blackbird, etc.) Bill moderate, compressed
at the point; upper mandible notched, bending over the lower
one; gape furnished with a few bristles; nostrils basal, lateral,
oval, partly covered by a naked membrane; tarsus longer than
the middle toe; wings and tail moderate; first primary very
short or almost abortive, second shorter than the third or fourth,
which are the longest. Page 1
2. SAxicoLa (Wheatear). Bill straight, slender, the base rather broader
than high, advancing on the forehead, compressed towards the
point ; upper mandible keeled, curved, and notched; gape sur-
rounded by a few bristles ; nostrils basal, lateral, oval, half closed
by a membrane; first primary half as long as the second, which
is shorter than the third, third and fourth longest ; tarsus rather
long ; claw of the hind toe short, strong and curved. Page 10
3. PRATiNCOLA (Chats). Bill shorter and broader than in Savicola ;
bristles at the gapestrongly developed. Wings and tail rather short.
Page 12
4. RutTici_La (Redstarts). Bill slender, compressed towards the point,
a little deflected and very slightly emarginate ; gape with tolerably
large bristles. Nostrils basal, supernal, and nearly round. Wings
moderate ; the first quill short; the second equal to the sixth ;
the third, fourth and fifth, nearly equal, and one of them the longest.
Legs slender, the tarsus longer than the middle tee, and covered
in front by a single scale and three inferior scutelle. Page 14
Vv
vi SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS
Pat
6.
ErftHacus (Redbreast). Bill rather strong, as broad as it is high
at the base, where it is depressed, slightly compressed towards
the tip; upper mandible bending over the lower and notched,
nostrils basal, oval, pierced in a membrane, partly hid by bristles
diverging from the gape; first primary half as long as the second,
fifth the longest ; tail slightly forked. Page 16
Dauias (Nightingale). Bill rather stout, straight, as broad as
high at the base; upper mandible slightly bent over at the tip ;
gape with a few short bristles; nostrils basal, round, pierced in a
membrane ; first primary very short, second and fifth equal in
length, third and fourth longest ; tail somewhat rounded ; tarsus
elongated. Pacem,
SUB-FAMILY ACCENTORINZE
Bill strong and broad at base; upper mandible overlapping lower and
slightly notched at tip.
7
Io.
12.
ACCENTOR (Hedge-sparrow). Bill of moderate length, strong,
straight, tapering to a fine point; edges of both mandibles com-
pressed and bent inwards, the upper notched near the tip; nostrils
naked, basal, pierced in a large membrane; feet strong; claw
of the hinder toe longest, and most curved ; first primary almost
obsolete, the second nearly equal to the third, which is the longest.
Page 20
SUBFAMILY SYLVIINZE
Young on leaving nest differ slightly in colour from adults.
Sytv1A (Whitethroats, Blackcap, Warblers). Bill rather stout,
short, not very broad ‘at base; upper mandible decurved towards
point, which is slightly emarginate; nostrils basal, lateral, oval,
and exposed ; gape with bristles. Wings moderate, first quill very
short. Tail with twelve feathers, generally rounded. Tarsus
scutellate in front and longer than middle toe ; toes and claws short.
Page 21
ACROCEPHALUS (Reed, Marsh, Sedge, and Aquatic Warblers). Bill
nearly straight, with culmen elevated, wide at base, compressed
towards tip, and slightly emarginate; edges of lower mandible
inflected ; nostrils basal, oblique, oval, and exposed ; moderately
developed bristles at gape. Forehead narrow, depressed. Wings
rather short, first quill minute, third usually longest. Tail rounded,
rather long. Legs long; feet large and stout, hind toe strong ;
claws long and moderately curved. Page 25
LocusTELLA (Grasshopper Warbler). Differs from other Sylviine
chiefly in its more rounded tail and longer under tail-coverts. The
late Professor Newton found the tendons of the tibial muscles
strongly ossified in this genus. Page 28
PHyYLLOscopus (Chiffchaff, Willow and Wood-warblers). Bill slender,
rather short; upper mandible decurved from middle and compressed
towards tip, which is very slightly notched ; nostrils basal, lateral,
oblong, partly operculate, membrane clothed with small bristle-
tipped feathers, internasal ridge very thin; gape beset with hairs.
Wings rather long, first quill comparatively large, third or fourth
longest. Tail slightly forked, twelve feathers. Tarsus scaled in
front, rather long. Toes long, claws curved. Page 30
SUB-FAMILY REGULINZ:
Arboreal. Each nostril covered by a single stiff feather.
Recutus (Gold and Fire-crested Wrens). Bill very slender, awl-
shaped, straight, compressed ; cutting edges bent inwards about
SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS vii
the middle; nostrils partly concealed by small bristly feathers,
directed forwards ; first primary very short, second much shorter
than the third, fourth and fifth longest ; tail moderate; tarsus
slender, rather long. : Page 33
FAMILY PARIDAt
(T1Ts)
Bill short, straight, conical, sharp-pointed, destitute of a notch; nostrils
basal, concealed by reflected bristly hairs. Small birds, remarkable for their
activity, not highly gifted with musical power, constantly flitting and climb-
ing about trees and bushes, which they examine for small insects, suspending
themselves in all attitudes, feeding also on grains and fruits, and not sparing
small birds when they are able to overpower them.
13. AcR&DULA (Long-tailed Tit). Bill much compressed, both mandibles
curved, upper considerably longer than lower. Eyelids with wide
bare margins. Length of wing quills increases to fourth and fifth,
which are longest. Tail very long, narrow, graduated, outer feathers
one-third length of middle pair. Tarsus long, feet moderate.
Page 35
14. Parus (Great, Blue, Cole, Marsh, and Crested Tits). Bull slightly
compressed, upper mandible hardly longer than lower. First wing
quill short, fourth or fifth longest. Tail moderate, even or slightly
rounded. Tarsus moderate, feet strong. Page 37
RAMEY PAN WRID AL
(REEDLINGS)
15. PANGrRuUS (Bearded Tit or Reedling). Bill short, subconical; upper
mandible curved at tip and bending over lower one, which is nearly
straight ; the edges of both somewhat inflected and not notched.
Nostrils basal, oval, pointed in front and partly covered by reflected
bristly feathers. Wing with ten quills, first almost obsolete, third
longest, fourth and fifth nearly equal to it. Tail very long and,
much graduated. Tarsus long and scutellate in front ; feet stout ,
claws not much hooked. Page 42
FAMILY SITTIDA
(NUTHATCHES)
16. SitrA (Nuthatch). Bullmoderate, strong, and slightly conical; lower
mandible ascending from angle to point. Tongue short, horny
tip abrupt and furnished with strong bristles. Nostrils basal,
rounded, in deep hollow, covered by short feathers and hairs. Wings
rather long; first quill much shorter than second, fourth or fifth
longest. Tail short, flexible, broad, nearly square. Legs short,
stout, tarsi scutellate ; toes long, strong, hind toe especially, outer
toe joined at base to middle toe; claws large, much hooked.
Page 44
FAMILY CERTHIID#
(CREEPERS)
Bill either straight and subulate or slender, long, and curved; _ nostrils
basal; tail never emarginate; fourth toe coalesced at first phalanx with
middle toe. Principally insectivorous.
17. CERTHIA (Creeper). Bill rather long, slender, compressed, decurved,
pointed ; nostrils basal, lateral, elongate, partly covered by mem-
viii SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS
brane. Wings moderate, rounded, first feather short, fourth and
fifth longest. Tail of twelve feathers, long, stiff, pointed, slightly
decurved. Feet large, tarsus slender; fore toes long, united at
base as far as first joint ; claws moderate, but much curved ; hind
toe short, but with long curved claw. Plumage soft and thick,
especially above. Page 47
FAMILY TROGLODYTID
18. TROGLO6ODYTES (Wren). Bill moderate, compressed, slightly curved
not notched, pointed. Nostrils basal, oval, partly covered by
membrane. Wings short, concave, rounded; first quill rather
short, fourth or fifth longest. Tail generally short; its feathers
soft and rounded. Tarsus rather long and strong, middle toe united
at base to outer but not to inner toe; hind toe as long or longer
than middle toe; claws long, stout and curved. Plumage long
and soft. Page 48
FAMILY CINCLIDZZ
19. CincLus (Dipper). Bill moderate, slightly ascending, angular, higher
than broad at base, straight, compressed, and rounded near tip ;
upper mandible slightly decurving at point. WNostrils basal, lateral;
in depression, cleft longitudinally, partly covered by membrane.
Gape very narrow, without bristles. Wings short, broad, convex ;
first quill very short, second not so long as third or fourth, which
are nearly equal. Tail short. Legs feathered to tibio-tarsal joint ;
tarsus longer than middle toe; lateral toes equal in length, outer
toe slightly connected with middle. Whole body closely covered
with down. Page 51
FAMILY ORIOLID:
Bill with notch in upper mandible; ncstrils placed well in front of base
of bill and quite bare.
20. Or16LUs (Oriole). Bill an elongated cone, depressed at the base ;
upper mandible keeled above, notched near the point, bending
over the lower one; nostrils basal, lateral, naked, pierced hori-
zontally in a large membrane; tarsus not longer than the middle
toe; wings moderate; first primary very short, second shorter
than the third, which is the longest. Page 53
FAMILY STURNIDZ
(STARLINGS)
Bill nearly straight, short at the base, diminishing regularly to a sharp
point, which is not distinctly notched ; the*ridge of the upper mandible;
ascends upon the forehead, ‘dividing the plumage of that part; nostrils
placed low in the bill; planta tarsi entire ; wings moderate, not reaching to
end of tail. An extensive and widely diffused family, comprising species for
the most part above the average size of Passerine birds, yet inferior
to the Crows. They are in general social, feeding much on the ground ;
their legs and feet are robust, their gait stately, their plumage, though com-
monly of dark colours, is lustrous, with reflections of steel-blue, purple, or
green.
21. StTuRNus (Starling). Bill straight, forming an elongated cone, depressed
broad at the base, bluntish; upper mandible broader than the
lower ; nostrils at the base of the bill, partly closed by an arched
membrane ; first primary very short, second longest. Page 54
SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS ix
22. Pastor (Rose-coloured Starling). Bill slightly arched, forming an
elongated cone, compressed ; nostrils at the base of the bill partly
covered by a feathery membrane; wings with the first primary
very short, second and third longest. Page 56
FAMILY CORVIDA
(Crows)
Bill powerful, more or less compressed at the sides; upper mandible
more or less arched to the point without distinct notch; gape nearly
straight ; nostrils concealed by stiff bristles. Hallux very strong, but
with its claws not as long as the middle toe and claw. Birds of firm
and compact structure; their wings long, pointed, and powerful; their
feet and claws robust. In disposition bold and daring, extremely sagacious,
easily tamed and made familiar. Most of them have the power of imitating
various sounds, but their natural voices are harsh. They evince a remarkable
propensity for thieving and hiding brilliant and gaudy substances. In
appetite they are omnivorous.
23. PyRRHOCORAX (Chough). Bill longer than the head, rather slender,
arched from the base, and pointed; nostrils oval; feet strong,
tarsus longer than the middle toe; wings rounded, first primary
short, fourth and fifth the longest; tail even at the end.
Page 50
24 NucirraGa (Nutcracker). Bill about as long as the head, straight,
conical, the base dilated, and dividing the feathers of the fore-
head ; mandibles blunt, the upper somewhat the longer ; nostrils
round ; wings rather long and pointed ; first primary shorter than
the second and third, fourth longest; tail nearly even.
Page 57
to
tn
GARRULUs (Jay). Bill shorter than the head, conical; both mandi-
bles equally curved, the upper notched near the tip ; crown feathers
forming a crest; wings rounded, fourth, fifth, and sixth primaries
nearly equal, and the longest ; tarsus longer than the middle toe ;
tail: moderate, shghtly rounded. Page 58
26. Pica (Magpie). Bill, nostrils, and feet as in Corvus; wings short
and rounded; tail long, graduated. Page 59
to
N
Corvus (Raven, Crows, Rook), Bill not longer than the head, strong,
straight at the base, cutting at the edges, and curved towards
the point ; nostrils oval; feet strong, tarsus longer than the middle
toe; wings pointed, first primary moderate, second and third
shorter than the fourth, which is the longest ; tail moderate, rounded.
Page 61
FAMILY LANIID/E
(SHRIKES)
Bill strong, arched, and hooked, the upper mandible strongly notched
after the manner of the FaALtconip#&; claws adapted for capturing insects
and even small birds. Sylvan. Young barred below.
28. LAnrus (Shrike, or Butcher Bird). Bill short, flattened vertically
(compressed) at the sides; gape furnished with bristly feathers
directed forwards ; wings with the first three primaries graduated,
the third and fourth being the longest, Page 73
x SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRD-
FAMILY AMPELID/®
(CHATTERERS)
Bill stout, approaching, especially in the form of the lower mandible,
to that of the Corvide; the upper mandible is however somewhat broad
at the base, flat, with the upper edge more or less angular and ridged, and
the tip distinctly notched. Feet usually stout, with the outer toe united
to the middle one as far as, or beyond, the first joint. They feed
principally on berries and other soft fruits, occasionally also on insects.
29. AmPELIS (Waxwing). Bill as above; nostrils oval, concealed by
small feathers directed forwards; wings long and pointed; first
and second primaries longest, some of the secondaries and tertials
terminating in wax-like prolongations of their shafts.
Page 76
FAMILY MUSCICAPID/E
(FLYCATCHERS)
Bill broad, flattened horizontally (depressed), shghtly toothed and adapted
for catching small flying insects; nostrils more or less covered by bristly
hairs; feet generally feeble.
30. Muscicapa (Flycatcher). Bill moderate, somewhat triangular, de-
pressed at the»base, compressed towards the tip, which is slightly
curved downwards; gape armed with stiff bristles; tarsus equal
to or longer than the middle toe ; side toes of equal length; wings
with the first primary very short, and the third and fourth longest.
Page 77
FAMILY HIRUNDINIDZ
(SWALLOWS AND MARTINS)
Beak short but broad, and more or less flattened horizontally ; mouth
very deeply cleft ; feet small and weak; wings with nine visible primaries,
long and powerful, and thus adapted for sustaining a protracted flight in
pursuit of winged insects, which form the sole sustenance of these birds ;
tail long and usually forked ; plumage close, smooth, often burnished with
a metallic gloss. Migratory birds, spending the summer in temperate climates,
but being impatient of cold, withdrawing in winter to equatorial regions.
31. Hrirunpo (Swallow). Bill short, depressed, very wide at base, com-
missure straights Nostrils basal, oval, partly closed by membrane.
Tail deeply forked, of twelve feathers, the outermost greatly elon-
gated and abruptly attenuated. Legs and feet slender and bare ;
toes rather long, three in front, one behind ; claws moderate.
Page 80
32. CHELipON (Martin). Bill short, depressed, very wide at base, com-
missure slightly decurved. Nostrils basal, oval, partly closed by
membrane and opening laterally. Tail forked, of twelve feathers,
outermost not abruptly attenuated. Legs and feet slender, closely
feathered above; toes rather long, three in front, one behind ; claws
moderate, sharp. Page 83
33. CoTILE (Sand-martin). Bill short, depressed, very wide at base,
commisssure straight. Nostrils, wings and tail as in chelidon.
Legs and feet slender, and bare except for tuft of feathers on tarsus
just below hallux; toes moderate, three in front, one behind ;
claws strong. Page 84
SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS x
FAMILY FRINGILLID/Z
(FINCHES)
Remarkable for the shortness, thickness, and powerful structure of the
bill; the upper and lower mandibles are usually equally thick, and their
height and breadth are nearly alike, so that the bill when closed presents
the appearance of a short cone, divided in the middle by the gape. By its
aid they break open the hard woody capsules and fruit-stones containing
the seeds and kernels which form their chief food. At nesting-time many
species
live on insect larve, with which the young are almost exclusively fed.
The wings have nine visible primaries. This family is one of immense extent,
consisting of relatively small birds.
34. Licurrinus (Greenfinch). Bill compressed towards tip, with scarcely
35-
36.
37:
39.
40.
4l.
B.B,
perceptible notch at point ; nostrils basal, concealed by stiff feathers
directed forwards ; wings rather pointed, first quill obsolete, second,
third and fourth nearly equal and longest. Tail rather short,
slightly forked. Tarsus scutellate in front ; toes moderate ; claws
arched and laterally grooved. Page 86
CoccoTHRAUSTES (Hawfinch). Bill tapering rapidly to point, culmen
rounded ; mandibles nearly equal, edges inflected and slightly in-
dented. Nostrils basal, lateral, oval, nearly hidden by projecting
and recurved frontal plumes. Wings with first quill obsolete,
third and fourth primaries nearly equal, sixth, seventh, and eighth
curved outwards. ‘Tail short, and nearly square, ‘Tarsus scutellate
in front, covered at sides with single plate, stout and short ; claws
moderately curved, rather short and strong. Page 87
Carpué is (Goldfinch and Siskin). Bill a rather elongated cone,
compressed at the tip, and finely pointed ; wings long, pointed ;
first three primaries nearly equal and the longest; tail slightly
forked. Page 88
Passer (Sparrows). Bill somewhat arched above ; lower mandible
rather smaller than the upper; first three primaries longest.
Page 92
FRINGILLA (Chaffinch and Brambling). Biil straight,sharp, pointed ;
mandibles nearly equal; first primary a little shorter than the
second, much shorter than the third and fourth, which are nearly
equal and the longest. Page 95
AcaANnTHIS (Linnet, Redpolls, Twite). Bill a short straight cone,
compressed at the tip; wings long, pointed ; third primary some-
what shorter than the first and second, which are equal and the
longest ; tail forked. Page 98
PYRRHULA (Bullfinch). Bill short and thick, the sides tumid ; upper
mandible much arched and bending over the lower one; first
primary nearly equal to the fifth, second a little shorter than the
third and fourth, which are the longest. Page 101
Loxta (Crossbill). Bill thick at the base; both mandibles equally
curved, hooked at the tips, and crossing each other at the points.
Page 103
EmBerizA (Buntings, Yellow-hammer). Bill with upper mandible
not wider than lower, edges of both inflected and those of latter
gradually cut away (sinuated); the palate generally furnished
with a hard bony knob; wings moderate, first primary obsolete,
second, third and fourth nearly equal. Tail rather long and slightly
¢
xii SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS
forked. Claws considerably curved, that of hind toe: of moderate
length. Page 106
43. PLECTROPHENAX (Snow Bunting). Bill with upper mandible narrower
than lower, otherwise as in Emberiza. Wings long and pointed,
first primary obsolete, second and third nearly equal and longest
in wing, fourth considerably longer than fifth. Tail moderate
and slightly forked. Front claws rather long and curved; hind
claw considerably curved and elongated. Page 110
44. CaLcartus (Lapland Bunting). Bill with considerably inflected
cutting edges (tomia) ; claws of front toes short and slightly curved ;
hind claw nearly straight and elongated; other characters much
as in Plectrophenax. Page 111
FAMILY MOTACILLIDZ
(WAGTAILS AND PipIts)
Wings with nine visible primaries. Inner secondaries nearly as long as
primaries.
45. Moraciiia (Wagtail). Cutting edges of both mandibles slightly
compressed inwards; nostrils basal, oval, partly concealed by a
naked membrane; first primary acuminate and nearly obsolete,
second and third nearly equal and longest; one of the scapulars
as long as the quills; tail long, nearly even at the end; tarsus
much longer than the middle toe. Page 111
46. ANTHUs (Pipit). Bill and nostrils very much as in Motacilla ; two
of the scapulars as long as the closed wing ; first primary acuminate
and nearly obsolete,-second shorter than the third and fourth,
which are the longest; hind claw very long. Page 116
FAMILY ALAUDID:
(LARKS)
Wings with nine or more visible primaries. Planta tarsi scutellate. Grani-
vorous birds, frequenting open spaces, and singing during their flight ; nesting
on ground and seeking their food there by running ; they are ‘ pulverators’,
i.e. they shake dust or sand into their feathers instead of bathing.
47. ALAuDA (Lark). Bill moderate, slightly compressed at edges ; upper
mandible more or less arched from middle. Nostrils basal, oval,
covered by bristly feathers directed forward. Gape straight.
Wings long; first primary short but unmistakably developed ;
second, third and fourth nearly equal, but third longest. Tail
moderate, slightly forked. Tarsus longer than middle toe; claws
slightly curved and moderate, except that of hind toe, which is
generally elongate and nearly straight. Page 119
48. Orocorys (Shore-lark). Bill rather short, subconic ; upper mandi-
ble slightly arched. Head—in adult male—with tuft of long,
erectile feathers on either side of occiput. Wings long; first
primary so smallasat first sight to seem wanting, second longest but
third nearly its equal, fourth decidedly shorter, outer secondaries
short and emarginate at tip. Tail rather long, slightly forked.
Tarsus shorter than middle toe; claws moderate and very slightly
curved, that of hind toe being comparatively straight, Page 122
SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS xiii
ORDER PICARIZ
Opposed to the Passeres. The feet are relatively weaker and smaller.
FAMILY CYPSELIDZ
(SwIFTs)
Tail of ten feathers (swallows have twelve). Gape very wide.
49. CypsEtus (Swift). Bill very short, flattened horizontally, triangular ;
upper mandible curved downwards at the point; gape extending
beyond the eyes; legs very short; toes all directed forwards ;
wings extremely long ; first primary a little shorter than the second.
Page 123
FAMILY CAPRIMULGID
(GOATSUCKERS)
The bill in this family resembles that of the Swallows, but is shorter and
weaker ; the gape is enormous and its sides are, for the most part, furnished
with long and stiff bristles, which point forwards; the wings are long, and
formed for powerful flight; the feet are small, and feathered to the toes ;
plumage soft and downy, and beautifully mottled with black, brown, grey,
and white, varying in colour with the soil of their habitat ; the claw of the
middle toe is dilated on one side and toothed likeacomb. Tail of ten feathers.
Nocturnal birds, feeding on large insects, which they capture in their flight.
50. CApRimuLGUS (Goatsucker or Nightjar). Bill very short, somewhat
curved, broad and flattened at the base; upper mandible curved
downwards at the tip; gape extending beyond the eyes, and armed
with strong bristles ; wings long; first primary shorter than the
second, which is the longest. Page 125
FAMILY PICID
(WOODPECKERS)
Feet short, but of unusual strength ; the rigid toes diverge from a centre,
two pointing forwards, and two backwards; claws large, much curved,
and very hard and sharp; breast-bone shallow ; flight weak and undulating.
SUB-FAMILY PICINZ
Tail feathers stiff and pointed: nostrils covered with bristles.
51. DENDROcOoPUS (Spotted Woodpeckers). Bill about as long as the
head, robust, straight, irregular, compressed, pyramidal, laterally
bevelled at the tip; tongue long and extensile, the tip barbed ;
nostrils basal, oval, concealed by reflected bristly feathers ; wings
with the first primary very short, fourth and fifth longest; tail-
feathers graduated, stiff and pointed. Fourth toe much longer
than third. Prevailing colours of the plumage black and white,
or black and red. Page 127
52. Gerctnus (Green Woodpecker). Bill hard, broad at base, compressed
at tip; upper mandible slightly arched, ending abruptly with
shallow groove on each side running parallel to and near the culmen,
and longer than lower mandible, which is pointed and has the
gonys nearer the tip than the base and the tomia rounded. The
fourth toe equal to the third. Prevailing colour greenish, otherwise
much as in Dendrocopus. Page 129
xiv SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF- BIRDS
SUB-FAMILY IYNGIN&
Nostrils partly covered by a membrane.
53. Iynx (Wryneck). Bill shorter than the head, straight, conical;
tongue long and extensile ; nostrils without bristles, partly closed
by a membrane; wings with the second primary somewhat the
longest ; tail-feathers soft and flexible. Page 131
FAMILY "ALCEDINIDZ
(KINGFISHERS)
Bill long, stout, and pointed, with angular sides, not serrated ; feet small
and feeble, the outer and middle toes united to the last joint ; wings rounded
and hollow, ill adapted for protracted flight; form robust, with a large
head and usually a short tail. Predatory birds, feeding on fish, insects,
and even reptiles, birds, and small quadrupeds. Scattered over the world,
but Australia and South America contain the greatest number of species.
54. Atckpo (Kingfisher). Bill long, straight, quadrangular, sharp ;
wings short with the third primary the longest ; tail very short.
Page 132
FAMILY CORACIID/
(ROLLERS)
Bill corvine in shape ; culmen rounded ; nostrils near base of upper mandi-
ble and hidden by bristly feathers; tail feathers twelve.
54. CorActas (Roller). Bill compressed, straight, with cutting edges ;
upper mandible slightly hooked at the point; sides of the gape
bristled ; tarsus short; wings long; first primary a little shorter
than the second, which is the longest. Page 134
FAMILY MEROPIDZ
(BEE-EATERS)
Bill long ; culmen with sharply defined ridge ; toes joined for part of length
55. Merops (Bee-eater). Bill long,compressed, slightly curved, slender,
with cutting edges, broad at the base; upper mandible keeled,
the tip not hooked ; tarsus very short ; wings long, pointed, second
primary the longest ; centre tail feathers elongated. Page 135
FAMILY UPUPIDZ
(HooPoEs)
56. Upupa (Hoopoe). Bill longerthan the head, slender, slightly arcl ed,
compressed ; feathers of the head long, forming a two-ranked
crest; tail even at the extremity. Page 136
FAMILY CUCULID/&
(CucKoos)
Bill moderate, rather deeply cleft, both mandibles compressed, and more
or less curved downwards ; nostrils exposed ; wings for the most part short;
tail of ten feathers lengthened; toes four, two pointing backwards and
two forwards, but the outer hind toe of each foot is capable of being placed
at right angles with either the inner or outer front toe. esha, Iie Ueldey, thie, ><, (Cayo 5 sb.<
138 THE CUCKOO
breed in spring, a fact in its history as little known as the migration
of the Cuckoo. It bears a certain resemblance to the Cuckoo, parti-
cularly in its barred plumage, certainly a greater one than exists
between a caterpillar and a butterfly,so that there were some grounds
for the belief in a metamorphosis, strengthened not a little by the
fact that the habits of the bird were peculiar in other respects.
Even so late as the time of our own countrymen, Willughby and
Ray (1676), it was a matter of doubt whether the Cuckoo lay torpid
in a hollow tree, or migrated during winter. These authors, though
they do not admit their belief of a story told by Aldrovandus of a
certain Swiss peasant having heard the note of a Cuckoo proceed
from a log of wood which he had thrown into a furnace, thought
it highly probable that the Cuckoo did become torpid during winter,
and were acquainted with instances of persons who had heard its
note during unusually mild winter weather. A Cuckoo which had
probably been hatched off too late to go away with the rest remained
about the tennis ground of a relative of the present editor
until the middle of November, getting very tame. Then, unfortun-
ately, a cat got it. The assertion again of the older naturalists,
that the Cuckoo is the object of hatred among birds generally, seems
credible, though I should be inclined to consider its habit of laying
its eggs in the nests of other birds as the cause rather than the con-
sequence of its unpopularity. The contrary, however, is the fact,
numerous anecdotes of the Cuckoo showing that it is regarded by
many other birds with a respect which amounts to infatuation,
rather than with apprehension. The statement that it lays but
one egg is erroneous, so also is the assertion of Willughby that it
invariably destroys the eggs found in a nest previously to depositing
its own. Pliny’s assertion that the young bird devours its foster
brothers and sisters is nearer the truth, but his account of its crown-
ing act of impiety in swallowing its nurse, is, I need not say,
altogether unfounded in fact. Having disposed of these errors,
some of which are entertained by the credulous or ill-informed at
the present day, I will proceed to sketch in outline the biography
of this singular bird, as the facts are now pretty generally admitted.
The Cuckoo arrives in this country about the middle of April ;
the time of its coming to different countries is adapted to the time of
the foster-parents’ breeding. During the whole of its stay it leads a
wandering life, building no nest, and attaching itself to no particular
locality. It shows no hostility towards birds of another kind, and
little affection for those of its own. Iftwo males meet in the course
of their wandering they frequently fight with intense animosity. I
was once witness of an encounter between two birds who chanced
to meet in mid-air. Without alighting they attacked each other
with fury, pecking at each other and changing places just as one
sees two barn-door cocks fight for the supremacy of the dunghill.
Feathers flew in profusion, and in their passion the angry birds heeded
Crossbill, im. 2 F White Winged Crossbill d 2
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THE CUCKOO 139
my presence so little that they came almost within arm’s length of
me. These single combats account for the belief formerly enter-
tained that the Cuckoo was the only sort of Hawk that preyed on
its own kind. The female does not pair or keep to one mate. It is,
however, frequently accompanied by a small bird of another kind,
said to be a Meadow Pipit.
The Cuckoo hunts for its food both in trees and on the ground.
On its first arrival it lives principally on beetles, but when cater-
pillars become abundant it prefers them, especially the hairy sorts.
In the months of May and June, the female Cuckoo lays her eggs
(the number of which is variously estimated from five to twelve),
choosing a separate locality for each, and that invariably the nest
of some other bird. The nests in which the egg of a Cuckoo has
been found in this country are those of the Hedge Sparrow, Robin,
Redstart, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Wagtail,
Pipit, Skylark, Yellow Bunting, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Linnet,
Blackbird and Wren; the Pipit being the most frequent. It has
now been ascertained that the nests of birds in which the Cuckoo lays
its eggs in different countries number 145 species.' Insome of these
instances, the position and structure of the nests were such that a
bird of so large a size could not possibly have laid an egg in the usual
way. Hence, and from other evidence, it is pretty clear that the
egg is in all cases laid at a distance from the nest and carried by the
bird in her bill to its destination. The bird can have no difficulty in
accomplishing this seemingly hard task ; for the gape of the Cuckoo
is wide, and the egg disproportionately small, no larger in fact than
the egg of the Skylark, a bird only a fourth of its size. The period
during which a nest is fit for the reception of a Cuckoo’s egg is short ;
if a time were chosen between the completion of the nest and the
laying of the first egg by the rightful owner, the Cuckoo could have
no security that her egg would receive incubation in good time, and
again if the hen were sitting there would be no possibility of intro-
ducing her egg surreptitiously. She accordingly searches for a nest
in which one egg or more is laid, and in the absence of the owner
lays down her burden and departs. There are certain grave sus-
picions that the intruder sometimes makes room for her own egg by
destroying those already laid ; but this, if it be true, is exceptional.
If it were very much larger than the rest, it might excite suspicion,
and be either turned out, or be the cause of the nest being deserted ;
it would require, moreover, a longer incubation than the rest, and
would either fail to be hatched, or produce a young Cuckoo at a
time when his foster-brothers had grown strong enough to thwart
his evil designs. As it is, after fourteen days’ incubation, the eggs
are hatched simultaneously, or nearly so, the Cuckoo being generally
' Mr. Wells Bladen, of Stone, wrote an interesting brochure on this point.—
J. ASO;
140 THE CUCKOO
the first. No sooner does the young bird see the day, than he pro-
ceeds to secure for himself the whole space of the nest and the sole
attention of his foster-parents, by insinuating himself under the
other young birds and any eggs which may remain unhatched, and
hurling them over the edge of the nest, where they are left to perish.
‘The singularity of its shape’, says Dr. Jenner, ‘ is well adapted for
these purposes ; for, different from other newly-hatched birds, its
back from the shoulders downwards is very broad, with a consider-
able depression in the middle. To the question which naturally
suggests itself, ‘Why does the young Cuckoo thus monopolize the
nest and the attentions of its foster parents ?’ the solution is plain.
The newly-hatched bird must of necessity be less in size than the
egg from which it proceeded, but a full-grown Cuckoo exceeds the
dimensions of a whole brood of Pipits; its growth therefore must
be rapid and cannot be maintained without a large supply of food.
But the old birds could not possibly with their utmost exertions feed
a brood of their own kind and satisfy the demands made by the
appetite of the voracious stranger as well. The latter consequently
saves them from this impossible task, and, by appropriating to his
single use the nourishment intended for a brood of four or five, not
only makes provision for his own well-being, but helps them out of
a difficulty. So assiduously is he taken care of that he soon becomes
a portly bird and fills his nest ; in about three weeks he is able to
fly, but for a period of four or five weeks more his foster-parents
continue to feed him. It is probable that the young Cuckoo actu-
ually exercises some fascination over other birds. There is a case
on record in which a pair of Meadow Pipits were seen to throw out
their own young ones to make room for the intrucer. In another
instance, a young Cuckoo which had been taken from the nest and
was being reared by hand escaped from confinement.. Having one
of its wings cut, it could not fly, but was found again, at the expira-
tion of a month, within a few fields of the house where it was reared,
and several little wild birds were in the act of feeding it. The
Bishop of Norwich! mentions two instances in which a young
Cuckoo in captivity was fed by a young Thrush which had only just
learnt to feed itself.
In the days when omens were observed, it was considered a matter
of high import to hear the song of the Nightingale before that of
the Cuckoo. Thus Chaucer says : ;
it was a commone tale
That it were gode to here the Nightingale,
Mcche rathir ? than the lewde * Cuckowe singe.
So, when on a certain occasion he heard the Cuckoo first, and was
troubled in consequence, he represents the Nightingale as thus
addressing him :
1 Familiar History of Birds. 2 Farlier. 3 Unskilful.
THE CUCKOO 141
be thou not dismaied
For thou have herd the Cuckow erst than me,
For if I live it shall amendid be
The nexte Maie, if I be not afraied.
More recently Milton thus addresses the Nightingale :
Thy liquid notes that close the eye of day,
First heard before the shallow Cuccoo’s bill,
Portend success in love.
Whether any traces of this popular belief yet linger in our rural
districts, I do not know; but I can recall my childish days in the
west of England (where there are no Nightingales), when I looked
forward with implicit faith to the coming of the Cuckoo, to ‘ eat up
the dirt’, and make the Devonshire lanes passable for children’s
spring wanderings.
The song of the Cuckoo, I need scarcely remark, consists
of but two notes, of which the upper is, I believe, invariably,
FE flat, the lower most frequently C natural, forming, however,
not a perfect musical interval, but something between a minor
and a major third. Occasionally two birds may be heard
singing at once, one seemingly aiming at a minor, the other
a major third; the effect is, of course, discordant. Sometimes
the first note is pronounced two or three times, thus ‘ cuck-cuck-
cuckoo’, and I have heard it repeated rapidly many times in suc-
cession, so as to resemble the trilling note of the Nightingale, but in
a lower key. The note of the nestling is a shrill plaintive chirp,
which may best be imitated by twisting a glass stopper in a bottle.
Even the human ear has no difficulty in understanding it as a cry
for food, of which it is insatiable. Towards the end of June the
Cuckoo, according to the old adage, ‘alters its tune’, which at
first loses its musical character and soon ceases altogether. In July
the old birds leave us, the males by themselves first, and the females
not many days after; but the young birds remain until October.
Referring to the young cuckoo’s manner of ejecting the eggs of
its foster-parents, and the reason for this apparently cruel action,
the editor refers our readers to Mr. W. H. Hudson’s interesting
chapter in Idle Days in Hampshire.
142 THE BARN OWL
ORDER STRIGES
FAMILY STRIGID#
Sus-Famity STRIGIN/E
THE BARN OWL
STRIX FLAMMEA
Beak yellowish white ; upper parts light tawny yellow minutely variegated
with brown, grey, and white ; face and lower plumage white, the feathers
of the margin tipped with brown. Length fourteen inches; breadth
nearly three feet. Eggs white.
RETURNING from our Summer-evening’s walk at the pleasant time
when twilight is deepening into night, when the Thrush has piped
its last roundelay, and the Nightingale is gathering strength for a
flesh flood of melody, a sudden exclamation from our companion
‘What was that ?’ compels us to look in the direction pointed at
just in time to catch a glimpse of a phantom-like body disappearing
behind the hedge-row. But that the air is still, we might have
imagined it to be a sheet of silver paper wafted along by the wind,
so lightly and noiselessly did it pass on. We know, however, that
a pair of Barn Owls have appropriated these hunting-grounds, and
that this is their time of sallying forth; we are aware, too, how
stealthily they fly along the lanes, dipping behind the trees, search-
ing round the hay-stacks, skimming over the stubble, and all with
an absence of sound that scarcely belongs to moving life. Yet,
though by no means slow of flight, the Barn Owl can scarcely be
said to cleave the air; rather, it fans its way onwards with its
down-fringed wings, and the air, thus softly treated, quietly yields
to the gentle force, and retires without murmur to allow it a passage.
Not without meaning is this silence preserved. The nimble little
animals that constitute the chase, are quick-sighted and sharp of
hearing, but the pursuer gives no notice of his approach, and they
know not their doom till they feel the inevitable talcrs in their sides.
The victim secured, silence is no longer necessary. The successful
hunter lifts up his voice in a sound of triumph, repairs to the nearest
tree to regale himself on his prize, and, for a few minutes—that is,
until the chase is resumed—utters his loud weird shriek again and
again. In the morning, the Owl will retire to his private cell and
will spend the day perched on end, dozing and digesting as long as
the sunlight is too powerful for his large and sensitive eyes. Peep
in on him in his privacy, and he will stretch out or move from side
to side his grotesque head, ruffling his feathers, and hissing as
THE BARN OWL 143
though your performance were worthy of all condemnation. Yet
he is a very handsome and most amusing bird, more worthy of being
domesticated as a pet than many others held in high repute. Taken
young from the nest, he is soon on familiar terms with his owner,
recognizes him by a flapping of wings and a hiss whenever he
approaches, clearing his premises of mice, and showing no signs of
pining at the restriction placed on his liberty. Give him a bird,
and he will soon show that, though contented with mice, he quite
appreciates more refined fare. Grasping the body with his talons,
he deliberately plucks off all the large feathers with his beak, tears
off the head, and swallows it at one gulp, and then proceeds to
devour the rest piecemeal. In a wild state his food consists mainly
of mice, which he swallows whole, beetles, and sometimes fish,
which he catches by pouncing on them in the water.
The service which the Barn Owl renders to the agriculturist, by
its consumption of rats and mice, must be exceedingly great, yet
it is little appreciated. ‘‘ When it has young’’, says Mr. Waterton,
‘it will bring a mouse to the nest every twelve or fifteen minutes.
But in order to have a proper idea of the enormous quantity of mice
which this bird destroys, we must examine the pellets which it
ejects from its stomach in the place of its retreat. Every pellet
contains from four to seven skeletons of mice. In sixteen months
from the time that the apartment of the Owl on the old gateway
was cleared out, there has been a deposit of above a bushel of pellets.”’
The plumage of the Barn Owl is remarkable for its softness, its
delicacy of pencilling on the upper parts and its snowy whiteness
below. Its face is perfectly heart-shaped during life, but when the
animal is dead becomes circular. The female is slightly larger than
her mate, and her colours are somewhat darker. The nest of the
Barn Owl is a rude structure placed in the bird’s daily haunt. The
eggs vary in number, and the bird lays them at different periods,
each egg after the first being hatched (partially at least) by the
heat of the young birds already in being. That this is always
the case it would not be safe to assert, but that it is so sometimes
there can be no doubt. The young birds are ravenous eaters and
proverbially ugly; when craving food they make a noise re-
sembling a snore. The Barn or White Owl is said to be the
most generally diffused of all the tribe, being found in almost all
latitudes of both hemispheres, and it appears to be everywhere
an object of terror to the ignorant. A bird of the night, the
time when evil deeds are done, it bespeaks for itself an evil
reputation ; making ruins and hollow trees its resort, it becomes
associated with the gloomiest legends ; uttering its discordant note
during the hours of darkness, it is rarely heard save by the benighted
traveller, or by the weary watcher at the bed of the sick and
dying ; and who more susceptible of alarming impressions than
these ?_ It is therefore scarcely surprising that the common incident
144 LONG-EARED OWL
of a Screech-Owl being attracted by a solitary midnight taper to
flutter against the window of a sick room, and there to utter its
melancholy wail, should for a time shake the faith of the watcher,
and, when repeated with the customary exaggerations, should
obtain for the poor harmless mouser the unmerited title of ‘ harbinger
of death’.
Sus-Famity SYRNIINZ
LONG-EARED OWL
ASIO OTUS
Beak black ; iris orange yellow; egrets very long, composed of eight or ten
black feathers, edged with yellow and white ; upper parts reddish yellow,
mottled with brown and grey; lower parts lighter, with oblong streaks
of deep brown. Length fifteen inches; breadth thirty-eight inches.
Eggs white.
THOUGH not among the most frequent of the English Owls, this
species occurs in most of the wooded parts of England and Ireland,
as indeed it does in nearly all parts of the world where woods are
to be found. It is more common than is usually supposed in France,
where it unites in its own person all the malpractices which have
been popularly ascribed to the whole tribe of Owls. It is there
said to be held in great detestation by all the rest of the feathered
tribe ; a fact which is turned to good account by the bird-catcher,
who, having set his traps and limed twigs, conceals himself in the
neighbourhood and imitates the note of this Cwl. The little birds,
impelled by rage or fear, or a silly combination of both, assemble
for the purpose of mobbing the common enemy. In their anxiety
to discern the object of their abhorrence, they fall one after another
into the snare, and become the prey of the fowler. The Long-eared
Owl is not altogether undeserving of the persecution which is thus
intended for her, her principal food being field-mice, but also such
little birds as she can surprise when asleep. In fact, she respects
neither the person nor the property of her neighbours, making her
home in the old nests of large birds and squirrels, and appropriating,
as food for herself and her voracious young, the carcases of any
that she finds herself strong enough to master and kill.
The cry of this bird is only occasionally uttered—a sort of barking
noise. The note of the young bird is a loud mewing and seems to
be intended as a petition to its parents for a supply of food. A
writer in the Zoologist,1 who has had many opportunities of obsery-
1 Vol, ii. p. 562,
Brown Owl,
Short-eared Owl J Long-eared Ow! J young.
Barn Owl and Egg. [face p. 144.
ae
. THE SHORT-EARED OWL 145
ing this species in its native haunts, says that it does not confine
its flight entirely tothe darker hours, as he has met with it in the woods
sailing quickly along, as if hawking, on a bright summer day. It is
curious to observe, he says, how flat they invariably make their nests,
so much so, that it is difficult to conceive how the eggs retain their
position, even in a slight wind, when the parent bird leaves them.
The eggs are four to six in number, and there are grounds for
supposing that the female bird begins to sit as soon as she has laid
her first egg.
THE SHORT-EARED OWL
ASIO ACCIPITRINUS
Face whitish ; beak black ; iris yellow; egrets inconspicuous, of a few black
feathers ; eyes encircled by brownish black; upper plumage dusky
brown, edged with yellow; lower pale orange, streaked with brown.
Length sixteen inches; breadth thirty-eight. Eggs white.
From the name, Hawk-Owl, sometimes given to this species, we
should expect to find this bird not so decidedly nocturnal in its
habits as the preceding ; and such is the case ; for, though it does
not habitually hunt by day, it has been known to catch up chickens
from the farmyard, and has been seen in chase of pigeons. TH attacked
during daylight, it does not evince the powerless dismay of the last
species, but effects a masterly retreat by soaring in a spiral direction
until it has attained an elevation to which its adversary does not
care to follow it. Unlike its allies, it frequents neither mountains
nor forests, but is found breeding in a few marshy or moorland
districts; later in the year it is met with in turnip fields and
stubbles. As many as twenty-eight were once seen in a single
turnip-field in England ; from whence it has been inferred that in
autumn the Short-eared Owls are gregarious, and establish them-
selves for a time in any place they fall in with, where field-mice or
other small quadrupeds are abundant. In England this bird is not
uncommonly started by sportsmen when in pursuit of game. It
then flies with a quick zig-zag motion for about a hundred yards,
and alights on the ground, never on a tree. By some it is called
the Woodcock-Owl, from its arriving and departing at about the
same time with that bird; it is not, however, invariably a bird of
passage, since many instances are on record of its breeding in this
country, making a rude nest in a thick bush, either on the ground,
or close to it, and feeding its young on mice, small birds, and even
the larger game, as Moor-fowl, a bird more than double its own
weight. The Short-eared Owl affords a beautiful illustration of
a fact not generally known, that the nocturnal birds of prey have
the right and left ear differently formed, one ear being so made as
to hear sounds from above, and the other from below. The opening
B,B, I,
146 THE TAWNY OWL
into the channel for conveying sound is, in the ght ear, placed
beneath the transverse fold, and directed upwards, while in the /eft
ear the same opening is placed above the channel for conveying
sound, and is directed downwards.
In the severe weather of January, 1861, I had the gratification
of seeing three or four of these Owls among the sand-hills of the coast
of Norfolk, near Holkham. I imagined them to be in pursuit of
the Redwings and other small birds which had been driven by the
intense cold to the sea-coast, since they flew about as Hawks do
when hunting for prey, and occasionally alighted among the sand-
hills. I even fell in with several heaps of feathers, showing where
some unhappy bird had been picked and eaten. A few days after-
wards, however, I inquired at another part of the coast whether
there were any Owls there, and received for an answer, ‘ No, be-
cause there are no Rabbits’ ; from which I inferred that these birds
have the reputation of hunting larger game than Thrushes, a charge
which the size and power of their hooked talons seem to justify.
THE TAWNY OWL
SYRNIUM ALUCO
Beak greyish yellow ; irides bluish dusky ; upper parts reddish brown, vari-
ously marked and spotted with dark brown, black, and grey ; large white
spots on the scapulars and wing coverts; primaries and tail feathers
barred alternately with dark and reddish brown ; lower parts reddish
white, with transverse brown._bars and longitudinal dusky streaks ; legs
feathered to the claws. Length sixteen inches; breadth three feet.
Eggs dull white.
Tus bird, the Ulula of the ancients, took its name from the Latin
ululare; the word used to denote, and partially to imitate, the
cry of the wolf; it enjoys also the doubtful honour of giving name
to the whole tribe of ‘ Owls’, whether they howl, hoot, or screech.
This species is much more common than the Barn Owl in many
districts, although it is decreasing in others. Owing to its nocturnal
habits, and dusky colour, it is not so often seen as heard. It has
many a time been my amusement to repair, towards the close of
a summer evening, toa wood which I knew to be the resort of these
birds, and to challenge them to an exchange of greetings, and I
rarely failed to succeed. Their note may be imitated so exactly
as to deceive even the birds themselves, by forming a hollow with
the fingers and palms of the two hands, leaving an opening only
between the second joints of the two thumbs, and then by blowing
with considerable force down upon the opening thus made, so as
to produce the sound hoo-hoo-hoo-o-o-o. I have thus induced a
bird to follow me for some distance, echoing my defiance or greet-
MARSH HARRIER 147
ing, or whatever he may have deemed it ; but I do not recollect
that I ever caught sight of the bird.
Squirrels, rats, mice, moles, shrews, and any small birds that he
can surprise asleep, with insects, form his principal food. These he
hunts by night, and retires for concealment by day to some thick
tree or shrubbery, either in the hill country or the plains. The
nest, composed principally of the dried pellets of undigested bones
and fur, which all the Owls are in the habit of disgorging, is usually
placed in a hollow tree: here the female lays about four eggs, from
which emerge, in due time, as many grotesque bodies enveloped in
a soft plush of grey yarn: destined, in due time, to become Tawny
Owls. The full-grown females are larger than the males, and,
being of a redder tinge, were formerly considered a distinct species.
The old birds utter their loud hoo-how! or to-whit, in-who ! chiefly
in the evening.
ORDERS A CCLIPITREsS
PAVIDEY BALCONIDZAS
Sus-Famity BUTEONIN
MARSH HARRIER
CIRCUS AZRUGINOSUS
Head, neck, and breast yellowish white, with numerous longitudinal brown
streaks ; wing-coverts reddish brown ; primary quills white at the base,
the rest black ; tail and secondaries ash-grey ; lower plumage reddish
brown ; beak bluish black ; cere, irides, and feet yellow ; claws black.
Length twenty inches. Eggs white.
Tue Harriers are bold predatory voracious birds, having somewhat
of the appearance and movements of the Hawks. On a closer
inspection, however, they are seen to approach nearer in character
to the Owls. In the first place, they hunt their prey more in the
morning and evening than at any other time of day. In the next
place, these twilight habits are associated with a large head, and
a somewhat defined face formed by a circle of short feathers ;
while the plumage generally is soft and loose, and their mode of
hunting resembles that of the nocturnal predatory birds, rather
than that of the Falcons. They are remarkable for the great
difference which exists between the plumage of the two sexes, which
has made the task of discriminating the number of species very
difficult. Less active than the Falcons, they yet carry on a for-
148 HEN HARRIER
midable war against small birds, reptiles, and mice. The Harriers
or Harrows are so called from their havrying propensities. Of similar
import is the etymology of the English word ‘ havoc’, which may
be clearly traced to the Anglo-Saxon hafoc, or hawk. The habit
of the Marsh Harrier is not to station itself on a tree or rock, thereon
to explore the country; but while hunting, it is always on the
wing, skimming along the ground, and beating about the bushes
with a noiseless, unsteady flight, and always taking its prey on
the ground. Rabbit-warrens afford this bird a favourite hunting-
ground, where it either pounces on such living animals as it can
surprise, or performs the office of undertaker to the dead bodies
of rabbits killed by the weasels, burying them in the grave of its
craw. In this ignoble office it is said to be sometimes assisted
by the Buzzard, and both birds have been accused of setting to
work before their unhappy victim has breathed its last. On the
seashore, the Marsh Harrier commits great depredations among
young water-fowl, and is often mobbed and driven from the neigh-
bourhood by the assembled old birds. The Partridge and Quail
often, too, fall victims to its voracity, so that the Marsh Harrier
receives no quarter from gamekeepers. It places its nest generally
near water, in a tuft of rushes, or at the base of a bush, constructing
it of sticks, rushes, and long grass, and lays three or four eggs.
The Marsh Harrier is a widely dispersed species, being found,
says Temminck, in all countries where there are marshes. It
occurs now but sparingly in most parts of Great Britain and Ire-
and. It is better known as the Moor Buzzard.
HEN HARRIER
CIRCUS CYANEUS
Tail longer than the wings; third and fourth primaries of equal length ;
upper plumage of the male bluish grey ; lower white. Upper plumage
of the female reddish brown; lower, pale reddish yellow, with deep
orange brown longitudinal streaks and spots. Beak black ; cere greenish
yellow ; irides reddish brown ; feet yellow ; claws black. Length, male,
eighteen inches; female, twenty inches. Eggs white.
THE Hen Harrier and Ringtail were formerly considered distinct
species ; and no wonder; for not only are they different in size,
but dissimilar in colour, one having the upper parts grey, the lower
white ; and the other the upper parts reddish brown, and various
parts of the plumage of a light colour, barred and streaked with
deep brown. The experienced ornithologist, Montagu, suspect -
ing that they were male and female of the same species, under-
took to clear up the matter by rearing a brood taken from the
same nest. The result was that at first there was no great
difference except in size, all having the dark plumage of the Hen
Peregrine Falcon 9? Kestrel 9 g
Montagu’s Harrier 9? Hen Harrier g ace pares:
» a . - 7 . f4 rh
ee — —
MONTAGU’S HARRIER 149
Harrier ; but after the first moult, the males assumed the grey and
white plumage, while the larger birds, the females, retained the
gayer colouring, and the latter was the Ringtail. In habits both
birds resemble the Marsh Harrier, but do not confine themselves
to damp places. They frequent open plains, hillsides, and inclosed
fields, hunting a few feet above the surface of the ground, and
beating for game as skilfully as a well-trained spaniel. The moment
that the Harrier sees a probable victim he rises to a height of twenty
feet, hovers for a moment, and then comes down with unerring
aim on his prey, striking dead with a single blow, Partridge or
Pheasant, Grouse or Blackcock, and showing strength not to be
expected from his light figure, and slender, though sharp talons. Not
unfrequently he accompanies the sportsman, keeping carefully
out of shot, and pouncing on the birds, killing them, and carrying
them off to be devoured in retirement. He preys exclusively
on animals killed by himself, destroying a great quantity of game
small mammals, birds and reptiles. It is a generally-diffused bird,
by no means so common as the Kestrel and Sparrow-hawk, but is
met with occasionally in most countries of Europe and Asia, and
in various parts of the British Isles. It is far from improbable
that this bird may frequently be seen, without being recognized as
belonging to the Hawk tribe; indeed, the beautiful form and
light blue and white plumage, might cause it to be mistaken for a
Gull. It builds a flattish nest of sticks, just raised above the
round, in a heather, or furze-bush, and lays four to six eggs.
MONTAGU’S HARRIER
CIRCUS CINERACEUS
Wings a little longer than the tail; third primary longer than the fourth and
second ; upper plumage bluish grey ; primaries black, secondaries with
three transverse dark bars ; lateral tail-feathers white barred with reddish
orange ; under plumage white, variously streaked with reddish orange.
female—upper plumage brown of various tints; under, pale reddish
yellow, with longitudinal bright red streaks. Beak black; cere deep yellow ;
irides hazel; feet yellow; claws black. Length seventeen inches.
Eggs bluish white.
Tuts bird, which is of rare occurrence in Britain, resembles the
Hen Harrier very closely, both in appearance and habits, although
it is smaller and more slender, and the wings are longer in pro-
portion. On the Continent, especially in Holland, it is more
frequent. It received its name in honour of Colonel Montagu,
who was the first to ascertain the identity of the Hen Harrier
and Ringtail, and to separate the present species from both.
150 COMMON BUZZARD
COMMON BUZZARD
BUTEO VULGARIS
Upper plumage, neck and head, dark brown ; lower, greyish brown, mottled
with darker brown; tail marked with twelve dark transverse bands ;
beak lead-coloured ; cere, iris, and feet yellow. Length twenty to twenty-
two inches. Eggs white, variously marked with pale greenish brown.
THE Buzzard, though ranked very properly among birds belonging
to the Falcon tribe, is deficient in the graceful activity which char-
acterizes the true Falcons. In sluggishness of habits it approaches
the Vultures, and in its soft plumage and mode of flight the Owls ;
but differs from the former in feeding on live prey as well as carrion,
and from the latter in its diurnal habits. In form indeed it resembles
neither, being a bulky broad-winged Hawk, with stout legs and a
short much-curved beak. It can fly swiftly enough when occasion
requires, but its favourite custom is to take its station on some
withered branch, or on the projecting corner of a rock, whence
it can both obtain a good view of the surrounding country, and,
when it has digested its last meal, sally forth in quest of a new
one as soon as a victim comes within its range of observation.
It pounces on this while on the ground, and pursues its chase with a
low skimming flight, keeping a sharp look-out for moles, young
hares and rabbits, mice, reptiles, small birds and insects. At
times it rises high into the air, and, soaring in circles, examines the
surface of the ground for carrion. It has neither the spirit nor
daring of the noble Falcons, submitting patiently to the attacks
of birds much less than itself, and flying from the Magpie or Jack-
daw. As an architect the Buzzard displays no more constructive
skill than other birds of its tribe, building its nest of a few sticks,
either on a rock or in a tree, and not unfrequently occupying the
deserted nest of some other bird. It has, however, a redeeming
point, being a most assiduous nurse. The female sits close, and
will allow the near approach of an intruder before she leaves her
eggs. In captivity, strange to say, though by nature having a
strong inclination for the flesh of chickens, she has been known
to sit on the eggs of the domestic hen, to hatch a brood, and to
rear them with as much solicitude as their natural mother could
have shown, distributing to them morsels of raw meat, not com-
prehending, of course, their repugnance to such fare, and bearing
with extreme patience and good humour their unaccountable pre-
ference for barley and crumbs of bread. The male bird is scarcely
less affectionate as a parent: an instance being recorded of one,
which, on the death of his partner, completed the period of incuba-
Roughlegged Buzzard 9 Kite
Common Buzzard. Honey Buzzard. [p. 150.
THE HONEY BUZZARD 151
tion and reared the young brood by himself. The Buzzard rarely
molests game, and more than compensates for the mischief it does
work, by the destruction of undoubted vermin; yet the hostility
shown by gamekeepers against all birds except those which it is
their business to protect, has so thinned its numbers that the
Buzzard, though once common, is now become rare,
THE HONEY BUZZARD
PERNIS APIVORUS
Lores and spaces between eyes and bill are covered with feathers. The head
of male is ash-grey, his upper parts brown ; three blackish bars cross the
tail; upper parts white-barred and spotted with brown on the breast.
Length twenty-two to twenty-five inches; female slighter the larger..
This species visits us during May and June, and a few stay to
nest, placing the nest upon the remains of that of some other large
bird. Wasps, wild bees and larvee form their food in summer, but
other insects are eaten, and sometimes mice, birds, other small
mammals, worms and slugs. From two to four eggs are laid, both
male and female taking part in the incubation. The sitting bird is
regularly fed by the other.
The Honey Buzzard has bred from the New Forest up to Aber-
deenshire. Unfortunately, as much as £5 having been offered
for a couple of well-marked eggs of this species in the New Forest
by collectors, their numbers have become very few. Nearly £40
has been offered by extravagant collectors for a good pair of the
birds. By the year 1870 nearly all were driven away from that
district.
THE ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD
BUTEO LAGOPUS
Tarsi feathered to the claws ; plumage yellowish white, variegated with several
shades of brown; a broad patch ‘of brown on the breast ; tail white in
the basal half, the rest uniform brown; beak black; cere and irides
yellow ; feathers on the legs fawn-coloured, spotted with brown ; toes
yellow ; claws black. Length twenty-six inches. Eggs whitish, clouded
with reddish brown.
Tuis bird, which is distinguished from the preceding by having
its legs thickly clothed with long feathers, is a native of the colder
countries of both Continents, being only an occasional visitor
152 THE GOLDEN EAGLE
in Great Britain during autumn and winter. It is sometimes seen
in large flights on the Yarmouth Denes in October and November,
at the same time with the Short-horned Owl. It mostly frequents
the banks of rivers, where it feeds on vermin, reptiles, and the
carcases of animals brought down by the floods. In softness of
plumage and mode of flight, it resembles the Owls even more than
the preceding species, and often extends its hunting expeditions
until far into the evening. When not alarmed, it flies slowly and
deliberately, and seemingly has neither the inclination nor the
power to attack living birds, unless they have been previously
disabled by wounds or other cause. The Rough-legged Buzzard
builds its nest in lofty trees, and lays three or four eggs; but
there are no well-authenticated instances of its breeding in this
country.
TEE SPOTTED EAGER
AQUILA NAIVIA
General colour reddish brown ; tail brown abeve ; legs feathered in front of
the toes. Length twenty-six inches.
THIS species is only a rare straggler to Great Britain.
Sus-Famity AQUILIN/
THE GOLDEN EAGLE
AQUILA CHRYSAETOS
Tail longer than the wings, rounded ; plumage of the head, back of the neck
and legs, lustrous reddish brown, of the rest of the body dark brown ;
primaries nearly black; secondaries brownish black; tail dark grey,
barred and tipped with brownish black ; beak bluish at the base, black
at the extremity ; iris brown; cere and feet yellow ; claws bluish black.
Length of the male three feet, that of the female more; breadth eight
feet. Eggs dirty white, mottled with pale reddish brown.
Tue fable of the Eagle soaring to a great height in order to enjoy
a gaze at the sun in his unclouded brilliancy, is founded probably
on a belief of the ancients, thus stated by the naturalist Pliny :—
‘Before its young are as yet fledged, the Eagle compels them to
gaze at the rays of the sun, and if it observes one to wink or show
a watery eye casts it from the nest as a degenerate offspring ; if,
on the contrary, it preserves a steady gaze, it is saved from this
hard fate, and brought up.’
‘The Golden Eagle’, says Macgillivray, ‘seems to prefer live
Osprey Golden Eagle J
Sea Eagle. Spotted Eagle. 5 11.
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THE WHITE-TAILED (SEA) EAGLE 153
prey to carrion, and easily secures Grouse, in searching for which
it flies low on the moors, sailing and wheeling at intervals. Hares,
roes, and even red deer, it also attacks, but it does not haunt the
shores for fish so much as the Sea Eagle does. There seems very
little probability that Eagles have the sense of smell very acute,
but that their vision is so is evident. I am not, however, inclined
to think that they perceive objects from the vast height to which they
sometimes soar, because I never saw one descend from such an
elevation in a manner indicating that it had observed a carcase or
other eatable object ; whereas, on the other hand, I have very
frequently seen them flying along the sides of the hills, at a small
height, obviously in search of food, in a manner somewhat resem-
bling that of the Sparrow-Hawk, but with much less rapidity.’
The Golden Eagle breeds only in the Highlands, but it is not an
unfrequent visitor to the Lowlands of Scotland in the cold season.
Those birds which have been recorded as visiting England were
generally not this species but the White-tailed or Sea Eagle in
immature plumage. It prefers mountains or extensive forests,
building its eyrie either on rocks or lofty trees. In France, Sweden,
Spain, and Switzerland, it is frequently observed. Its note, called
in the Highlands ‘a bark’, is sharp and loud, resembling at a dis-
tance, as, on the only occasion I ever heard it, it seemed to me, the
croak of a Raven. It lays two or sometimes three eggs, and feeds
its young, which are very voracious, on birds and the smaller
quadrupeds.
THE WHITE-TAILED (SEA) EAGLE
HALIAETUS ALBICILLA
Tail not longer than the wings ; upper plumage brown, that of the head and
neck lightest, lower, chocolate brown ; tail white ; beak, cere, and feet
yellowish white ; claws black. In young birds the tail is dark brown, and
the beak and cere are of a darker hue. Length of the male, two feet four
inches ; of the female, two feet ten inches. Eggs dirty white with a few
pale red marks.
THE White-tailed Eagle, known also by the name of the Sea Eagle,
is about equal in size to the Golden Eagle, but differs considerably
in character and habits; for while the latter has been known to
pounce on a pack of Grouse and carry off two or three from before
the very eyes of the astonished sportsman and his dogs, or to
appropriate for his own special picking a hunted hare when about
to become the prey of the hounds, the White-tailed Eagle has been
observed to fly terror-struck from a pair of Skua Gulls, making
no return for their heavy buffets but a series of dastardly shrieks.
The ordinary food, too, of the nobler bird is living animals, though,
154 THE OSPREY
to tell the truth, he is always ready to save himself the trouble of a
chase, if he can meet with the carcase of a sheep or lamb; but the
White-tailed Eagle feeds principally on fish, water-fowl, the smaller
quadrupeds, and offal, whether of quadrupeds, birds, or fish. On
such fare, when pressed by hunger, he feeds so greedily that he
gorges himself till, unable to rise, he becomes the easy prey of the
shepherd’s boy armed but with a stick or stone. The Eagle is
sometimes seen on the southern sea-board of England in autumn
and winter when the younger birds that have been reared in the
north of Europe are migrating south; but its eyries are now only
on the west and north coasts, and especially the Shetland Islands.
It inhabits Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Scotland, and the
north of England, where it frequents the vicinity of the sea and
large lakes. In winter it appears to leave the high latitudes and
come farther south, not perhaps so much on account of cold as
because its ordinary prey, being driven to seek a genial climate,
it is compelled to accompany its food. Consequently it is more
abundant in Scotland during winter than summer, and when seen
late in autumn is generally observed to be flying south, in early
spring northwards. It builds its nest either in forests, choosing
the summit of the loftiest trees, or among inaccessible cliffs over-
hanging the sea. The materials are sticks, heath, tufts of grass,
dry sea-weed, and it lays two eggs. The young are very voracious,
and are fed by the parent birds for some time after they have
left the nest, but when able to provide for themselves are driven
from the neighbourhood to seek food and a home elsewhere.
THE OSPREY
PANDION HALIAETUS
Wings longer than the tail; feathers of the head and neck white, with dark
centres ; on each side of the neck a streak of blackish brown, extending
downwards ; upper plumage generally deep brown ; under white, tinged
here and there with yellow, and on the breast marked with arrow-shaped
spots ; tail-feathers barred with dusky bands ; cere and beak dark grey ;
iris yellow. Length two feet ; breadth five feet. Eggs reddish white,
blotched and spotted with dark reddish brown.
‘ENDOWED with intense keenness of sight, it hovers high in the
air, and having descried a fish in the sea, it darts down with great
rapidity, dashes aside the water with its body, and seizes its prey
in an instant.’ So says the ancient naturalist Pliny, describing a
bird which he calls Haliaétus, or Sea Eagle. Eighteen centuries
later, Montagu thus described a bird, which, when he first observed
THE OSPREY 155
it, was hawking for fish on the river Avon, near Aveton Gifford, in
Devonshire : ‘ At last’, he says, ‘its attention was arrested, and
like the Kestrel in search of mice, it became stationary, as if examin-
ing what had attracted its attention. After a pause of some time,
it descended to within about fifty yards of the surface of the water,
and there continued hovering for another short interval, and then
precipitated itself into the water with such great celerity as to be
nearly immersed. In three or four minutes the bird rose without
any apparent difficulty, and carried off a trout of moderate size,
and instead of alighting to regale upon its prey, soared to a prodigious
height, and did not descend within our view.’ There can be no
reasonable doubt that the bird thus described at such distant
intervals of time is the same, and that.the Sea Eagle of the ancients
is the Osprey of the moderns. Wilson thus eloquently describes
its habits under the name of the “‘ Fish Hawk’: ‘ Elevated on the
high dead limb of some gigantic tree, that commands a wide view
of the neighbouring shore and ocean, the great White-headed Eagle
seems calmly to contemplate the motions of the various feathered
tribes that pursue their busy vocations below. High over all these
hovers one whose actions instantly arrest all his attention. By his
wide curvature of wing, and sudden suspension in air, he knows him
to be the Fish Hawk settling over some devoted victim of the deep.
His eye kindles at the sight, and balancing himself with half-open
wings on the branch, he watches the result. Down, rapid as an arrow
from heaven, descends the distant object of his attention, the roar
of its wings reaching the ear as it disappears in the deep, making
the surges foam around. At this moment the eager looks of the
Eagle are all ardour ; and, levelling his neck for flight, he sees the
Fish Hawk once more emerge struggling with his prey, and mount-
ing in the air with screams of exultation. These are the signals for
our hero, who, launching into the air, instantly gives chase, soon
gains on the Fish Hawk: each exerts his utmost to mount above
the other, displaying in the rencontres the most elegant and sublime
aérial evolutions. The unincumbered Eagle rapidly advances,
and is just on the point of reaching his opponent, when, with a
sudden scream, probably of despair and honest execration, the
latter drops his fish; the Eagle, poising himself for a moment, as
if to take a more certain aim, descends like a whirlwind, snatches
it in his grasp ere it reaches the water, and bears his ill-gotten booty
silently away to the woods.’
The Osprey has been observed on various parts of the coast of
Great Britain and Ireland, especially in autumn, and in the neigh-
bourhood of the Scottish Lakes, not merely as a stray visitor, but
making itself entirely at home. It is known in Sussex and Hamp-
shire, as the Mullet Hawk, because of its liking for that fish. It
may be considered as a citizen of the world, for it has been found
in various parts of Europe, the Cape of Good Hope, India, and
156 THE SPARROW-HAWK
New Holland. In America, we have already seen, it is abundant.
It builds its nest of sticks on some rock or ruin, generally near the
water, and lays two or three eggs. It has not been known to breed
in Ireland.
Sus-Famity ACCIPITRIN/A:
THE SPARROW-HAWK
ACCIPITER NISUS
Upper plumage dark bluish grey, with a white spot on the nape of the neck ;
lower reddish white, transversely barred with deep brown; tail grey,
barred with brownish black ; beak blue, lightest at the base ; cere, irides,
and feet yellow ; claws black. /emale—upper parts brown passing into
blackish grey; lower, greyish white barred with dark grey. Length,
male twelve inches, female fifteen inches; breadth, male twenty-four
inches, female twenty-eight inches. Eggs bluish white, blotched and
spotted with deep rusty brown.
SINCE the introduction of firearms, the Goshawk and Sparrow-
Hawk have lost much of their reputation, every effort being now
made to exterminate them, for carrying on, on their own account,
the same practices which in bygone days they were enlisted to pur-
sue on behalf of others. For hawking, it must be remembered, was
not exclusively a pastime followed by the high and noble for amuse-
ment’s sake, but was, in one of its branches, at least, a very con-
venient method of supplying the table with game ; and that, too,
at a period when there were not the same appliances, in the shape
of turnips, oil-cake, etc., for fattening cattle and producing beef
and mutton in unlimited quantities, that there are now. The
produce of the fish-ponds, woods, and fields was then a matter of
some moment, and much depended on the training of the Hawks
and diligence of the falconer whether the daily board should be
plentifully or scantily furnished. In recent times, even, some
idea of the intrinsic value of a good Hawk may be gathered from
the fact that, in Lombardy, it was thought nothing extraordinary
for a single Sparrow-Hawk to take for his master from seventy to
eighty Quails in a single day. In the Danubian Provinces and in
Hungary, the practice of hunting Quails with Sparrow-hawks is still
in vogue ; but with us, the agile bird is left to pursue his prey on his
own account. And right well does he exercise his calling. Unlike
the Kestrel, which soars high in air and mostly preys on animals
which when once seen have no power of escape, the Sparrow-Hawk
is marked by its dashing, onward flight. Skimming rapidly across
the open fields, by no means refusing to swoop on any bird or
quadruped worthy of its notice, but not preferring this kind of hunt-
THE SPARROW-HAWK 157
ing-ground, it wings its easy way to the nearest hedge, darts along
by the side, turns sharply to the right or left through an opening
caused by a gate or gap, and woe to any little bird which it may
encounter, either perched on a twig or resting on the ground. Un-
erring in aim, and secure of its holdfast, it allows its victims no
chance of escape: one miserable scream, and their fate is sealed.
And even if the prey detects its coming enemy, and seeks safety in
flight, its only hope is to slip into the thick bushes and trust to con-
cealment : resort to the open field is all but certain death. Nor
is it fastidious in its choice of food—leverets, young rabbits, mice,
partridges, thrushes, blackbirds, sparrows, larks, pipits, and many
others are equal favourites. It resorts very frequently to the home-
stead and farmyard, not so much in quest of chickens, which, by the
way, it does not despise, as for the sake of the small birds which
abound in such places. There it is a bold robber, little heeding the
presence of men, suddenly dashing from behind some barn or corn-
rick, and rapidly disappearing with its luckless prey struggling in
its talons, pursued, perhaps, by the vociferous twitter of the out-
raged flock, but not dispirited against another onslaught. This
coursing for its prey, though the usual, is not the only method of
furnishing his larder pursued by the Sparrow-Hawk. He has been
known to station himself on the branch of a tree in the neighbour-
hood of some favourite resort of Sparrows, concealed himself, but
commanding a fair view of the flock below. With an intent as
deadly as that of the fowler when he points his gun, he puts on the
attitude of flight before he quits his perch, then selecting his victim,
and pouncing on it all but simultaneously, he retires to devour his
meal and to return to his post as soon as the hubbub he has excited
has subsided somewhat. At times he pays dear for his temerity.
Pouncing on a bird which the sportsman has put up and missed, he
receives the contents of the second barrel ; making a swoop on the
bird-catcher’s call-bird, he becomes entangled in the meshes; or
dashing through a glazed window at a caged Canary bird, he finds
his retreat cut off.
As is the case with most predaceous birds, the female is larger
and bolder than the male, and will attack birds superior to herself
in size. Though a fierce enemy, she is an affectionate mother, and
will defend her young at the risk of her life. She builds her nest, or
appropriates the deserted nest of a Crow, in trees, or if they be
wanting, in a cliff, and lays four or five eggs. The young are very
voracious, and are fed principally on small birds, the number of
which consumed may be inferred from the fact that no less than
sixteen Larks, Sparrows, and other small birds, were on one occa-
sion found in a nest, the female parent belonging to which had been
shot while conveying to them a young bird just brought to the
neighbourhood of the nest by the male ; the latter, it was conjec-
tured, having brought them all, and deposited them in the nest
158 THE SRED KITE:
in the interval of nine hours which had elapsed between their dis-
covery and the death of his partner.
The Sparrow-Hawk is found in most wooded districts of Great
Britain and Ireland, and the greater part of the Eastern Continent.
Sus-Famity MILVINAt
THE RED KITE
MILVUS ICTINUS
Upper parts reddish brown ; the feathers with pale edges ; those of the head
and neck long and tapering to a point, greyish white, streaked longitu-
dinally with brown ; lower parts rust coloured, with longitudinal brown
streaks ; tail reddish orange, barred indistinctly with brown ; beak horn
coloured ; cere, irides, and feet yellow; claws black. Female—upper
plumage of a deeper brown; the feathers pale at the extremity ; head
and neck white. Length, twenty-five inches; breadth five feet six
inches. Eggs dirty white, Pere at the larger end with red-brown.
' TuE Kite’ , Pliny informs us, ‘seems, by the movement of its tail,
to have taught mankind the art of steering —nature pointing out
in the air what is necessary in the sea’. The movement of the bird
through the air indeed resembles sailing more than flying. .‘ One
cannot ’ says Buffon, * but admire the manner in which the flight of
the Kite is per formed ; his long and narrow wings seem motionless ;
it is his tail that seems to direct all his evolutions, and he moves it
continuously ; he rises without effort, comes down as if he were
sliding along an inclined plane; he seems rather to swim than to
fly; he darts forward, slackens his speed, stops, and remains sus-
pended or fixed in the same place for whole hours without exhibit-
ing the smallest motion of his wings.’ The Kite generally moves
along at a moderate height, but sometimes, like the Eagle, rises
to the more elevated regions of the air, where it may always be
distinguished by its long wings and forked tail.
In France, it is known by the name ‘ Milan Royal’, the latter title
being given to it not on account of any fancied regal qualities, but
because in ancient times it was subservient to the pleasures of
princes. In those times, hawking at the Kite and Heron was the
only kind of sport dignified with the title of ‘Chase Royal’, and
no one—not even a nobleman—could attack the Kite and Heron
without infringing the privileges of the king.
Though larger than the noble Falcons, it is far inferior to them in
daring and muscular strength ; cowardly in attacking the strong,
pitiless to the weak. It rarely assails a bird on the wing, but takes
its prey on the ground, where nothing inferior to itself in courage
seems to come amiss to it. Moles, rats, mice, reptiles, and partridges,
are its common food; it carries off also goslings, ducklings, and
Marsh Harrier & Hobby
Merlin 3 Sparrow Hawk ? [ face p. 158.
THE PEREGRINE FALCON 159
chickens, though it retires ignominiously before an angry hen.
When pressed by hunger, it does not refuse the offal of animals, or
dead fish; but being an expert fisherman, it does not confine itself
to dead food of this kind, but pounces on such fish as it discerns
floating near the surface of the water—carries them off in its talons,
and devours them on shore.
The Kite is more abundant in the northern than the southern
countries of Europe, to which latter, however, numerous individuals
migrate in autumn. It is of very rare occurrence in the southern
counties of England, where no doubt it has gained discredit for
many of the evil deeds of the Sparrow-Hawk. It builds its nest of
sticks, lined with straw and moss, in lofty trees, and lays three or
four eggs. A few still breed in some districts in Scotland, also in
the wilder parts of Wales, but their eggs are, unfortunately, soon
taken.
Sus-Famity FALCONIN/®
THE PEREGRINE FALCON
FALCO PEREGRINUS
Tail not longer than the wings ; upper plumage dark bluish grey with darker
bands ; head bluish black, as are also the moustaches descending from
the gape ; lower plumage white ; breast transversely barred with brown ;
beak blue, darker at the point; cere yellow; iris dark brown; feet
yellow; claws black. Female—upper plumage tinged with brown,
lower with reddish yellow. Length fifteen inches; female seventeen
inches. Eggs dull light red, spotted and blotched with deep red.
THE Peregrine Falcon occupies among the ‘ noble’ birds of prey a
place second only in dignity to the Gyr Falcon. Indeed, from its
being more generally diffused and therefore more easily obtained,
it is a question whether it was not considered, in England, at least,
the special bird of falconry. In France it appears to have been
used almost exclusively as the Falcon of the country; and as the
number of Gyr Falcons imported to England must have fallen far
short of the demand when the gentle science was in full vogue, here
also the Peregrine must be considered the bird of falconry. The
‘noble’ Falcons were those which flew fearlessly on any birds,
no matter how much larger they were than themselves, and at
once deprived their prey of life by pouncing on a vital part, devour-
ing the head before they lacerated the carcase. The name Peregrine
(foreigner) was given to this bird on account of its wide dispersion
through most regions of the globe, and for the same reason it has
long borne in France the name of Pélerin (pilgrim), and not on
account of its wide range in search of quarry. It is a bird of haughty
aspect and rich colouring, sagacious, powerful, and daring ; a type
160 THE PEREGRINE FALCON
of the chivalry of the Middle Ages, a veritable knight-errant, always
armed, and ready to do battle in any cause against all comers.
In France the Peregrine Falcon is most abundant in the marshy
districts of the north, which are much frequented by Snipes and
Wild Duck; with us it is most commonly seen in those parts of the
sea-coast where sea-fowl abound. The high cliffs of the Isle of
Wight, Beachy Head, North Wales, and the Scottish coast have
been favourite haunts, and there it once reigned supreme among
the feathered tribe, but it becomes more scarce, alas! of late. It
makes its eyrie in the most inaccessible part of the cliff, constructing
no nest, but laying two to four eggs in a cavity of a rock where a
little loose earth has been deposited; sometimes in the deserted
nest of the Raven or Carrion Crow. If either of the old birds
happens to be shot during the period of breeding, it is incredible in
how short a space of time the survivor finds a new mate. Within
a short distance from their nest they establish a larder well sup-
plied with Puffins, Jackdaws, and above all, Kestrels ; while the
immediate neighbourhood is strewed with bones. Remarkable
as are both male and female bird for muscular power and _ high
courage, the latter, which is also considerably larger, is by far the
superior. The female was, consequently, in the days of falconry
flown at Herons and Ducks, and she was the falcon proper among
falconers ; the male, termed a Tiercel or Tiercelet, was flown at
Partridges and Pigeons. In their native haunts they seem to cause
little alarm among the Puffins and Razor-bills by which they are
surrounded, but the sudden appearance of a pair in a part of the
cliff frequented by Jackdaws, causes terrible consternation ; while
any number of intruders on their own domain are driven away with
indomitable courage. When pressed by hunger, or desirous of
changing their diet, they condescend to attack and capture birds
so small as a Lark, and it is remarkable that however puny may be
the prey, the Falcon preserves its instinctive habit of dealing a
deadly blow at once, as if afraid that under all circumstances the
natural impulse of its quarry were to stand on the defensive. Even
in ordinary flight the movement of its wings is exceedingly quick,
but when it stoops on its prey its rapidity of descent is marvellous,
accompanied too, as it is, by a sound that may be heard at a dis-
tance of two hundred yards. Perhaps no bird has had more written
about it than this Falcon, numerous treatises have been composed
on the art of ‘ reclaiming’ it, or training it for hawking, and the
proper method of conducting the sport. We have at present space
only to add a few words on the latter subject. The art of the
falconer is to intercept the Herons when flying against the wind.
When a Heron passes, a cast or couple of Falcons are thrown off,
which dart into the air, flying in a spiral direction to get above the
Heron. As soon as the first has attained the necessary elevation,
she makes a stoop, and if she misses, a second stoop is made by the
THE HOBBY 161
other in her turn. When one has succeeded in striking its prey,
the other joins in the attack, and all three birds come to the
ground together, buoyed in their descent by their expanded wings.
The falconer now comes to the rescue, for though the Heron makes
no resistance in the air, as soon as it reaches the ground it uses
its formidable beak in defence, and unless prevented may work much
mischief to its pursuers.
As when a cast of Faulcons make their flight
At an Heronshaw that lyes aloft on wing,
The whyles they strike at him with heedlesse might
The wary foule his bill doth backward wring.
On which the first, whose force her first doth bring,
Herselfe quite through the bodie doth engore,
And falleth downe to ground like senselesse thing,
But th’ other, not so swift as she before,
Fayles of her souse, and passing by doth hurt no more.
Faerie Queene.
In France the ‘ cast’ consisted of three Falcons, which were trained
to perform particular duties, the first to start the game in the
required direction, the second to keep guard over it, and the third
to deal the fatal swoop.
The ‘ Lanner ’ of Pennant is a young female Peregrine.
THE HOBBY
FALCO SUBBUTEO
Wings longer than the tail; upper plumage bluish black; beneath, reddish
yellow, with longitudinal brown streaks; moustaches broad, black ;
lower tail-coverts and feathers on the leg reddish ; beak bluish, darker
at the tip; cere greenish yellow ; iris dark brown; feet yellow; claws
black. Female—all the colours duller, and the streaks below broader.
Length twelve to fourteen inches; breadth about two feet. Eggs
yellowish white, speckled with reddish brown.
THE Hobby is a less common bird fsEngland than in France, where
it is said to be a constant companion of the sportsman, and to be
endowed with enough discrimination to keep out of shot. Not
satisfied with appropriating to its own use wounded birds, it pur-
sues and captures those which have been fired at unsuccessfully,
and not unfrequently even those which have been put up but have
not come within shot. It is frequently taken, too, in the nets
spread for Larks, or inveigled into the snare of the fowler who pur-
sues his craft with limed twigs and the imitated cry of the Owl.
It is a bird of passage, both on the Continent and in England, arriv-
ing and taking its departure at about the same time withthe Swallow.
In form and colouring it somewhat resembles the Peregrine Falcon,
B.B. M
162 THE MERLIN
but is much smaller and more slender; the wings, too, are larger
in proportion, and the dark stripes beneath are longitudinal instead
of transverse. Its natural prey consists for the most part of Larks
and other small birds, beetles, and other large insects. It is said
also to prey on Swallows; but swift as its flight undoubtedly is,
it is somewhat doubtful whether these birds are not sufficiently
nimble to elude it, unless, indeed, it attacks individuals exhausted
by cold or other cause. It has been trained for hawking small birds ;
but owing, perhaps, to its migratory habits, it was found to be im-
patient of captivity, and was not much prized. Hobbies frequently
hunt in pairs, and an instance has been recorded where one hunted
a Lark in company with a Hen Harrier; but the latter, a bird of
heavier flight, was soon compelled to give up the chase. It builds
its nest, or appropriates a deserted one, in high trees, and lays three
or four eggs.
THE MERLIN
FALCO SALON
Tail longer than the wings; upper plumage greyish blue; lower reddish
yellow, with longitudinal oblong dark brown spots; tail barred with
black ; beak bluish, darker at the tip; cere yellow ; irides dark brown ;
feet yellow, claws black. Female—above tinged with brown; below,
yellowish white. Length eleven to twelve inches; breadth two feet.
Eggs mottled with two shades of dark reddish brown.
THE Merlin, or Stone Falcon (so called from its habit of alighting
on stones to watch the flight of the small birds which it intends to
make its prey), is a beautiful little bird, but notwithstanding its
small body ranks among the ‘noble’ Falcons. Associated with
the Sparrow-Hawk, it was, on the Continent, anciently trained to
hunt Quails—and the old falconers are loud in its praises. In
England, it was accounted especially the Ladies’ Hawk. In a
state of nature, it has been observed to attack the Partridge, Mag-
pie, Starling, Blackbird, etc., but its favourite prey is the Lark ;
and it was to fly at this bird principally, that it was formerly trained.
In hawking with Merlins, three of these birds were assigned to
the Magpie, two to the Lark, and in the chase of the Quail and
Land-rail, the Sparrow-Hawk was associated with it. The Merlin
is more frequent in the northern than in the southern part of
Great Britain, and is seen more frequently in winter than in summer,
but is nowhere common. In Norfolk, many are caught at the
autumnal equinox in the fowlers’ nets. It occasionally, perhaps
generally, breeds in Northumberland, Cumberland, and North
Wales, placing its nest upon the ground amongst the heather, and
laying four or five eggs.
SHBUD, TIS MP Rd de 163
TPHb WEST REL
FALCO TINNUNCULUS
Wings shorter than the tail; upper plumage, neck and breast, dark-lead
grey ; sides, under tail-coverts and thighs, light-yellowish red, with longi-
tudinal narrow dark streaks; beak blue, lighter towards the base ; cere
and feet yellow ; irides brown; claws black. Female—upper plumage
and tail light red, with transverse spots and bars of dark brown ; lower,
paler than in the male. Length fifteen inches ; breadth thirty inches.
Eggs reddish white, blotched and mottled with dark red-brown,
THE Kestrel being the most abundant and by far the most conspicu-
ous in its habits of all the British birds of prey, is probably, in most
instances, the bird which has been observed whenever the appear-
ance of ‘a Hawk’ has been mentioned. Though rapid in flight
whenever it chooses to put forth its full powers, it is more remark-
able for the habit which has acquired for it the name of ‘ Wind-
hover’; and there can scarcely be any one, however unobservant,
who makes even but an occasional expedition into the country, but
has stopped and gazed with delight on its skilful evolutions. Sus-
pended aloft, with its head turned towards the wind, but neither
advancing against the breeze, nor moved by it from its position, it
agitates its wings as regularly and evenly as if they were turned on
a pivot by machinery. Presently, impelled as it were by a spirit
of restlessness, it suddenly darts forwards, perhaps ascending or
descending a few feet, and making a slight turn either to the right or
the left. Then it skims on with extended, motionless pinions, and
once more anchors itself to the air. But on what object is it intent
all this while ? for that some design is present here is indubitable.
Not surely on the capture of birds, for at that slight elevation its
keen eye would detect the movement of a bird at a mere glance ;
nor has it the dashing flight one would expect to see in a hunter after
game furnished with the same organs of motion as itself. But,
if intent on the capture of small animals which creep out of holes
in the earth and hunt for their food among the grass, surely no
method can be conceived of exploring the field so quickly and so
completely. The Kestrel, then, though stigmatized by game
keepers with an evil name, does not merit the reproaches heaped on
it ; while to the farmer it is an invaluable ally, destroying countless
beetles, the grubs of which would gnaw away the roots of his crops ;
caterpillars, which would devour the foliage ; and, above all, mice,
which would fatten on the grain. For such food its appetite is enor-
mous, and its stomach capacious, an instance being recorded of a
specimen having been shot, the craw of which contained no less
than seventy-nine caterpillars, twenty-four beetles, a full-grown
field mouse, andaleech. To this varied bill of fare it adds, as occasion
offers, glow-worms, lizards, frogs, grasshoppers, and earth-worms.
In the winter, indeed, when these animals have withdrawn to their
retreats, it is compelled by hunger to provide itself with what my
164 THE KESTREL
readers would consider more palatable food; for now it preys on
any birds which it is swift enough to overtake, and strong enough to
master. The skill with which it plucks the feathers from birds before
tearing them to pieces, certainly argues in favour of the theory that
a bird-diet is not unnatural to it, or, that the habit, if an acquired
one, came to an apt learner. But in autumn and winter, game-
birds are fully fledged and being quite able to take care of themselves
are by no means lable to fall a prey to the Kestrel. Thus, admitting,
as we fear we must, that if, while hovering for mice, it detects a
young Partridge in the hay-field, it is unable to withstand the
temptation of carrying it off as a delicate repast for its young,
yet an occasional trespass of this kind far from counterbalances
the advantages it confers as a consistent destroyer of vermin.
The Kestrel appears to be generally distributed over the country,
showing no marked predilection for upland or lowland, heath or
marsh. It is very frequently seen near the sea-coast, to which in
winter it habitually resorts, finding there, no doubt, greater facilities
for obtaining food. Like others of its tribe, it possesses little archi-
tectural skill, placing its nest in a hole in a cliff, in ruins, or on lofty
trees, often appropriating the deserted dwelling of some more indus-
trious builder than itself. On the Continent it resorts to buildings
in towns and cities, as, for instance, the Louvre in Paris, and the
towers of cathedrals. During summer it hawks principally in
the gardens and orchards near the town, and when harvest is gathered
in, repairs to the corn-fields to hunt for mice among the stubble.
When taken young from the nest, it is easily tamed, and becomes
one of the most amusing of pets. Even after being fully fledged
and allowed its liberty, it will remain in the neighbourhood of the
place where it was reared, coming regularly to be fed, and recogniz-
ing the presence of its master by repeating its wild note, lee, klee,
klee, and flying to meet him. An anecdote is recorded in the Zoo-
logist of a male Kestrel having, in the second year of his domestica-
tion, induced a female bird to join him in his half-civilized life, and
to assist him in rearing a joint family. ‘ Billy’ still continued to
make himself quite at home at the house where he was brought up,
coming fearlessly into the nursery and making friends with the
children ; but his mate never threw off her wild nature so far as to
do this, contenting herself with waiting outside, and asserting her
right to her fair share of whatever food he brought out. Tame
Kestrels have been observed to have the habit of hiding their food
when supplied with more than they can consume at the time.
I have often noticed, too, in the case of tame Kestrels, that the
Chaffinches and other small birds which frequent gardens show no
instinctive dread of them, as if they were their natural enemies,
but perch on the same tree with them, fearless and unnoticed.
The Kestrel was formerly trained to hunt small birds, and in
the court of Louis XIII was taught to hawk for Bats.
THE COMMON CORMORANT 165
ORDER sl EGANOPODES
FAMILY PELECANIDA
Feet entirely webbed, or all four toes connected by webs.
THE COMMON CORMORANT
PHALACROCORAX CARBO
Tail of fourteen feathers. Waintey—head, neck, and all the under parts,
black, with green reflections ; close to the base of the bill a broad white
gorget ; on the neck a few faint whitish lines ; feathers of the back and
wings bronze-colour bordered with black; primaries and tail black ;
beak dusky ; orbits greenish yellow ; irides green ; feet black. Summer
—feathers of the head elongated, forming a crest ; on the head and neck
numerous long silky white feathers ; on the thighs a patch of pure white.
Young birds brown and grey, the gorget greyish white. Length three
feet. Eggs greenish white, chalky.
PHALACROCORAX, the modern systematic name of the genus Cor-
morant, is given by Willughby as a synonym of the Coot, and with
much propriety, for translated into English it means ‘ Bald Crow’.
Applied to the Cormorant, it must be considered as descriptive of
the semblance of baldness produced by the white feathers of the
head during the breeding season. The Cormorant Willughby
describes under the name of Corvus aquaticus, or Water Raven.
The English name, ‘ Corvorant’, is clearly Corvus vorans, a voracious
Raven ; and ‘ Cormorant’ perhaps a corruption of Corvus marinus,
Sea Raven.
Seaside visitors are pretty sure of seeing more than one specimen
of this bird, if they care to look for them, for the Cormorant fre-
quents all parts of the coast as well as lakes and rivers, and does
not leave us at any period of the year. Often we may see two or
three of these birds flying along together at a slight distance above
the surface of the sea, distinguished by their black hue, long out-
stretched neck, and rapid waving of the wings. They fly swiftly
in a straight line, and seem to be kept from dipping into the water
by making ahead at fullspeed. There is no buoyancy in their flight,
no floating in the air, or soaring; their sole motive for using their
narrow but muscular wings is clearly that they may repair to or
from some favourite spot with greater speed than they can attain
by swimming or diving. Occasionally, while engaged in a boating
expedition, we may encounter a party of three or four occupied
in fishing. They are shy, and will not allow a near approach, but
even at a distance they may be distinguished by their large size,
sooty hue, long necks, and hooked beaks. They sit low in the water,
often dipping their heads below the surface, and in this posture
advancing, in order that their search for food may not be impeded
166 THE COMMON CORMORANT
by the ripple of the water. A sheltered bay in which shoals of
small fish abound is a choice resort, and here they make no long con
tinuous stay in the swimming attitude, but suddenly and frequently
dive, remaining below a longer or shorter time, according to the
depth which they have to descend in order to secure their prey, but
when successful, occupying but a very brief space of time in swallow-
ing it. Not unfrequently they may be discerned from the shore
similarly occupied, floating or diving in the midst of the very
breakers. Sometimes, but rarely, one settles on a rail or stump of a
tree close to the water in a tidal river. The capture of fish is still
its object, and it is quite as expert in securing its prey from such a
station as when roving at large on the open sea.
All along our coast there is at various intervals a rock popularly
distinguished in the neighbourhood by the name of ‘ Shag rock ’.
Such a rock is generally low, isolated, and situated at a safe distance
from land ; or, if near the shore, is close to the base of a steep cliff.
Hither the Cormorants, when their hunger is appeased, repair for
the threefold purpose of resting, digesting their food, and drying
their wings. The process of digestion is soon completed, but
the time consumed in drying their thoroughly drenched wings
depends on the amount of sunshine and air moving. Of these,
whatever they may be, they know how to avail themselves to per-
fection. They station themselves on the highest ridge of the rock,
wide apart, and in a row, so as not to screen one another, raise their
bodies to their full height, and spread their wings to their utmost
extent. No laundress is more cunning in the exercise of her voca-
tion. Indeed, they can hardly fail to recall the idea of so many
pairs of black trousers hung out to be aired.
Cormorants do not confine their fishing expeditions to the sea,
but frequently ascend tidal rivers, and follow the course of streams
which communicate with fish-ponds and lakes, where they commit
great havoc ; for the quantity of fish which they devour at a meal
is very great. Pliny has observed that the Cormorant sometimes
perches on trees ; and the truth of this remark has been confirmed
by many subsequent writers. They have been even known to
build their nest in a tree, but this is a rare occurrence.t They
generally select exposed rocks, where they collect a large quantity
of sticks and rubbish, and lay three or four eggs in a depression on
the summit.
Most people are familiar with a representation of a fishery with
the help of Cormorants conducted by the Chinese ; but it is not so
generally known that a similar method once was practised in Eng-
land. Willughby quoting Faber’s Annotations on the Animals of
Recchus, says: ‘It is the custom in England to train Cormorants
1 A pair hatched two young in the Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park
in 1882.
Shag 3 Brent Goose 9?
=
Bernacle Goose 9? Cormorant J ;
» [face p 166
THE SHAG 167
to catch fish, While conveying the birds to the fishing-ground
the fishermen keep the heads and eyes of the birds covered to pre-
vent them from being alarmed. When they have reached the rivers,
they take off the hoods, and having first tied a leather strap loosely
round the lower part of the neck, that the birds may be unable to
swallow down what fishes they catch, throw them into the water.
They immediately set to work and pursue the fish beneath them
with marvellous rapidity. When they have caught one they
rise to the surface, and, having first pinched it with their beaks,
swallow it as far as the strap permits, and renew the chase until they
have caught from five to six each. On being called to return to
their masters’ fist, they obey with alacrity, and bring up, one by
one, the fish they have swallowed, injured no farther than that
they are slightly crushed. The fishing being brought to an end,
the birds are removed from the neighbourhood of the water, the
strap is untied, and a few of the captured fish, thrown to them as
their share of the booty, are dexterously caught before they touch
the ground.’
THE SHAG
PHALACROCORAX GRACULUS
Tail graduated, of twelve feathers. In winter, general plumage deep greenish
black ; feathers of the back glossy with black borders ; orbits and pouch
greenish yellow ; bill dusky ; irides green ; feet black. In summery, head
crested. Young birds greenish brown above ; light grey below. Length
twenty-eight inches. Eggs greenish blue, chalky.
EXCEPT in the smaller size and differences of plumage mentioned
above, there is little to distinguish the Shag from the Cormorant.
Both, too, are of common occurrence, and frequent the same
localities ; except that the Shag is more disposed to be gregarious : it
does not, however, commonly resort to tidal rivers, and is still more
rarely found on inland lakes ; its food and method of obtaining it are
precisely similar, so that a description of one bird will suit the other
almost equally well. The Shag is called sometimes the Green
Cormorant, from the tint of its plumage; but this name is not in
common use. Another of its names is the Crested Cormorant ;
but this is vague, inasmuch as both species are crested in spring.
In Scotland a common name for it is Scart, applied also to the Great
Cormorant.
168 THE GANNET
THE GANNET
SULA BASSANA
Crown butt-yellow ; general plumage milk-white ; quills black; bill bluish
grey at the base, white at the tip ; orbits pale blue ; membrane prolonged
from the gape and that under the throat dusky blue; irides yellow ;
feet striped with green, the membranes dusky ; claws white. Bzrds of
the fivst year, general plumage dusky brown, beneath greyish. In the
second year, greyish black above, marked with numerous triangular
white spots, whitish below. Length three feet. Eggs dull greenish
white.
Ir would not be difficult to compile, from various sources, a descrip-
tion of the Gannet and its habits which would fill more pages than
my readers, perhaps, would care to peruse. To avoid this contin-
gency, I will limit myself to a statement of my own personal acquaint-
ance with the bird and its ways, and a transcript of notes kindly
furnished me by a friend who visited the Bass Rock, one of its
favourite haunts in the breeding season.
Extract from my own Journal. August 27th. I lay for a long
time to-day on the thick herbage which crowns the splendid cliffs,
‘‘ the Gobbins’’, near the entrance of Belfast Lough,watching through
a telescope the proceedings of some Gannets, or Solan Geese. This
bird, which is allied to the Pelicans rather than the Geese, is of a
large size, much bigger than a Gull, from which, also, it may be
distinguished at a distance by its greater length of neck, the intense
whiteness of its plumage, and the black tip of its wide-spreading
wings. But apart from all these distinguishing characters, its mode
of fishing is, by itself, sufficient to mark it. In flight it is eminently
wandering ; it circles round and round, or describes a figure of
eight, at a varying elevation above the water, in quest of herrings,
pilchards, or other fish whose habit is to swim near the surface.
When it has discovered a prey, it suddenly arrests its flight, partially
closes its wings, and descends head foremost with a force sufficient
to make a jet d’eau visible two or three miles off, and to carry itself
many feet downwards. When successful, it brings its prize to the
surface, and devours it without troubling itself about mastication.
If unsuccessful, it rises immediately, and resumes its hunting. It
is sometimes seen swimming, perhaps to rest itself, for I did not
observe that it ever dived on these occasions. My companion told
me that the fishermen on the coast of Ireland say that, if chased
by a boat when seen swimming, it becomes so terrified as to be un-
able to rise. The real reason may be that it is gorged with food.
He was once in a boat on the Lough, when, a Gannet being seen a
long way ahead, it was determined to give chase, and ascertain
whether the statement was correct. As the boat drew near, the
Gannet endeavoured to escape by swimming ; but made no attempt
either to dive or to use its wings. After a pretty long chase, the
Gannet ?
Whooper Swan Bewick’s Swan 3
[ face pp. 16S
THE GANNETT 169
bowman secured it in spite of a very severe bite which it inflicted
on his hand, and carried it home in triumph. It did not appear
to have received any injury, and when released, in the evening
of the same day, swam out to sea with great composure. A fisher-
man in Islay told me that in some parts of Scotland a singular
method of catching Gannets is adopted. A herring is fastened to
a board and sunk a few feet deep in the sea. The sharp eye of the
Gannet detects the fish, and the bird, first raising itself to an eleva-
tion which experience or instinct has taught it to be sufficient to
carry it down to the requisite depth, pounces on the fish, and in the
effort penetrates the board to which the fish is attached. Being
thus held fast by the beak, and unable to extricate itself, it is
drowned. Gannets are frequently caught in the herring-nets, at
various depths below the surface. Diving after the fish, they be-
come entangled in the nets, and are thus captured in a trap not
intended for them. They perform good service to fishermen, by
indicating at a great distance the exact position of the shoals of
fish.’
Gannets breed in great numbers on several parts of our rocky
coast; from the extreme north to Lundy Island in the Bristol
Channel. The two most important stations are St. Kilda and the
Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth. On this rock stand the ruins of
the once formidable stronghold of the Douglas family, the Castle
of Tantallan. In circumference the island is about a mile; on the
northern side it rises to an elevation of eight hundred feet, whilst
towards the south it shelves almost down to the sea. The isolated
position of this rock, and the difficulty of landing on it, have rendered
it a fit retreat for sea-fowl of various kinds ; and as the proprietor
‘ preserves ’ them, they flourish without sensible diminution. The
discharge of a gun causes the whole of the colony to take wing ;
and as they rise into the air, the eye of the spectator is dazzled by
the mazy intercrossings of white wings, the ear bewildered by the
discord of confused screamings. A visit paid at sunrise, when
flocks of various kinds are wheeling about in all directions, will
more than reward the early riser for his activity, for Scotland scarcely
offers a more interesting sight. Of all the numerous birds which
frequent the rock, the Solan Goose is the most abundant and most
profitable, as almost the only revenue of the island accrues from
the sale of these birds to the country people of the mainland,
and at the Edinburgh market, where they have fetched, for the last
century and a half, the unvarying price of two shillings and four-
pence a head. The size of the Gannet is somewhat larger than
that of the domestic Goose.
‘ The only parts of the island where they can be approached are
on the south and west sides. They sit lazily and stupidly on and
about their nests, which are composed of a mass of weeds and grass,
and will suffer themselves to be stroked, patted, or knocked on the
170 THE COMMON HERON
head, as the case may be, with a most philosophical gravity. They
are frequently shot ; but as they then generally fall into the sea,
a boat has to be on the alert, or they are soon washed away. The
plan of lowering a man by means of a rope held by the others, is
also adopted; but this is most dangerous. The Frigate Pelican
[The Skua ?] often chases a successful Gannet till the terrified bird
disgorges its prey, which the pursuer seizes before it reaches the
water.’
‘A Solan Goose to most people would not afford a delicious meal,
being a rank, coarse, fishy dish; but many of the poorer classes
eat them with a relish—nay, as a delicacy—and during the winter
would fare ill had they not these birds for food.”
The Gannet lays but one egg; and the young bird is nourished
on semi-liquid food disgorged by the parent. On its first exclusion
from the egg its skin is naked, and of a bluish black hue, but is
soon covered with a white down. Through this the true feathers
appear, which are black, the adult plumage being pure white.
For an interesting account of the capture of these birds at St.
Kilda, the reader is referred to Professor James Wilson’s Voyage
vound the Coast of Scotland. From a calculation once made of
the number of Gannets consumed by each family in a year, on this
island, it appeared that the total secured, not taking into account
a large number which could not be reached for various reasons,
was 22,600: and this number was considered to be below the
average, the season being a bad one.
ORDER HERODIONES
FAMILY ARDEID/
THE COMMON HERON
ARDEA CINEREA
A crest of elongated bluish black feathers at the back of the head; similar
feathers of a lustrous white hanging from the lower part of the neck ;
scapulars similar, silver grey ; forehead, neck, middle of the belly, edge
of the wings, and thighs, pure white; back of the head, sides of the
breast, and flanks, deep black; front of the neck streaked with grey ;
upper plumage bluish grey; beak deep yellow ; irides yellow; orbits
naked, livid ; feet brown, red above; middle toe, claw included, much
shorter than the tarsus. In young birds the long feathers are absent ;
head and neck ash-coloured ; upper plumage tinged with brown ; lower,
spotted with black. Length three feet two inches. Eggs uniform sea
green.
THE Heron, though a large bird, measuring three feet in length
from the point of the beak to the extremity of the tail, and four
feet and a half in breadth from the tip of one wing to the other,
THE COMMON HERON 171
weighs but three pounds and a half. Consequently, though not
formed for rapid flight, or endued with great activity of wing, its
body presents so large a surface to the air, that it can support itself
aloft with but a slight exertion. It is thus enabled, without fatigue,
to soar almost into the regions assigned to the Eagle and Vulture ;
and when pursued by its natural enemies, the Falcons, to whom
it would fall an easy prey on account of the largeness of the mark
which its body would present to their downward swoop if it could
only skim the plains, it is enabled to vie with them in rising into
the air, and thus often eludes them.
The Heron, though it neither swims nor dives, is, nevertheless,
a fisher, and a successful one, but a fisher in rivers and shallow
waters only, to human anglers a very pattern of patience and
resignation. Up to its knees in water, motionless as a stone,
with the neck slightly stretched out, and the eye steadily fixed,
but wide awake to the motion of anything that has life, the Heron
may be seen in the ford of a river, the margin of a lake, in a sea-
side pool, or on the bank of an estuary, a faultless subject for the
photographer. Suddenly the head is shot forward with unerring
aim; a small fish is captured, crushed to death, and swallowed
head foremost ; an eel of some size requires different treatment,
and is worth the trouble of bringing to land, that it may be beaten
to death on the shingle; a large fish is impaled with its dagger-
like beak, and, if worth the labour, is carried off to a safe retreat,
to be devoured at leisure. If observers are to be credited, and
there is no reason why they should not, a full-grown Heron can
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THE CRANE 235
Willughby, whose Ornithology was published about a hundred
years later, says that Cranes were regular visitors in England, and
that large flocks of them were to be found, in summer, in the fens
of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire. Whether they bred in Eng-
land, as Aldrovandus states, on the authority of an Englishman
who had seen their young, he could not say on his own personal
knowledge.
Sir Thomas Browne, a contemporary of Willughby, writes, in
his account of birds found in Norfolk: “Cranes are often seen here
in hard winters, especially about the champaign and fieldy part.
It seems they have been more plentiful ; for, in a bill of fare, when
the mayor entertained the Duke of Norfolk, I met with Cranes
in a dish.’
Pennant, writing towards the close of the eighteenth century,
says: ‘On the strictest inquiry, we learn that, at present, the
inhabitants of those counties are scarcely acquainted with them ;
we therefore conclude that these birds have left our land.’ Three
or four instances only of the occurrence of the Crane took place
within the memory of Pennant’s last editor; and about as many
more are recorded by Yarrell as having come within the notice
of his correspondents during the present century. It would seem,
therefore, that the Crane has ceased to be a regular visitor to
Britain. It is, however, still of common occurrence in many parts
of the Eastern Continent, passing its summer in temperate
climates, and retiring southwards at the approach of winter. Its
periodical migrations are remarkable for their punctuality, it hav-
ing been observed that, during a long series of years, it has invariably
traversed France southward in the latter half of the month of Octo-
ber, returning during the latter half of the month of March. On
these occasions, Cranes fly in large flocks, composed of two lines
meeting at an angle, moving with no great rapidity, and alighting
mostly during the day to rest and feed. At other seasons, it ceases
to be gregarious, and repairs to swamps and boggy morasses, where
in spring it builds a rude nest of reeds and rushes on a bank or
stump of a tree, and lays two eggs. As a feeder it may be called
omnivorous, so extensive is its dietary. Its note is loud and
sonorous, but harsh, and is uttered when the birds are performing
their flights as well as at other times.
The Crane of the Holy Scriptures is most probably not this species,
which is rare in Palestine, but another, Grus Virgo, the Crane
figured on the Egyptian monuments, which periodically visits the
Lake of Tiberias, and whose note is a chatter, and not the trumpet
sound of the Cinereous Crane. In the north of Ireland, in Wales
and perhaps elsewhere, the Heron is commonly called a Crane.
A certain number of Cranes have been noticed in the Shetland
Isles, and some in the Orkneys. The latest seen in Ireland was in
1884, County Mayo.
236 THE GREAT BUSTARD
FAMILY OTIDIDA
No hind toe.
THE GREAT BUSTARD
OTIS TARDA
Head, neck, breast, and edge of the wing ash grey ; on the crown a longitu-
dinal black streak ; bill with a tuft of elongated loose feathers on each
side of the lower mandible; upper plumage reddish yellow, streaked
transversely with black ; lower whitish ; tail reddish brown and white,
barred with black. Female—smaller, without a moustache, the streak on
the crown fainter. Length nearly four feet. Eggs olive-brown, irregu-
larly blotched with dull red and deep brown.
Tue Great Bustard was formerly not unfrequent in Britain, but
of late years it has become so rare that it is now impossible to
describe its habits on the testimony of a living eye-witness. In
several parts of the Continent it is indeed still to be met with;
but I find so many discrepancies in the various accounts which I
have consulted, that it is hard to believe all the writers who de-
scribe it to have had the same bird in view. Some of these the
reader may examine for himself.
The earliest mention of it which I find occurs in the Anabasis of
Xenophon, who describes a plain or steppe near the Euphrates
full of aromatic herbs, and abounding with Wild Asses, Ostriches,
and Bustards (Ous). The latter, he says, ‘ could be caught when
any one came on them suddenly, as they fly to a short distance
like Partridges and soon give in. Their flesh is delicious.’ Pliny’s
description of the Bustard is very brief. He says it approaches
the Ostrich in size; that it is called Avis tarda in Spain, Otis in
Greece ; its flesh is very disagreeable, in consequence of the strong
scent of its bones.’ Our countryman Willughby, who wrote in
the middle of the seventeenth century, gives a longer account.
“The Bustard has no hind claw, which is especially worthy of
notice ; for by this mark and by its size it is sufficiently distin-
guished from all birds of the tribe. It feeds on corn and the seeds
of herbs, wild cabbage, leaves of the dandelion, etc. I have
found in its crop abundance of the seeds of cicuéa, with but a few
grains of barley even in harvest-time. It is found on the plains
near Newmarket and Royston, and elsewhere on heaths and plains.
Bustards are birds of slow flight, and raise themselves from the
ground with difficulty, on account of their size and weight ;_ hence,
without doubt, the name ¢avdu was given to them by the Latins.
By the Scotch, on the authority of Hector Boethius, they are
called Gustarde.’
M. Perrault, who wrote in 1676, gives an account of a tame
Bustard which was kept for a while in summer in a garden, and
died of cold in the winter. ‘ He killed mice and sparrows with
THE GREAT BUSTARD 237
his bill by pinching their heads, and then swallowed them whole,
even when of considerable size. It was easy to observe a large
mouse going down his throat, making a moving tumour till it
came to the turn of the neck ; it then moved backwards, and al-
though out of sight, yet its progress was traced by the feathers
between the shoulders separating, and closing again as soon as it
passed into the gizzard. He was fond of worms, and while the gar-
dener was digging, stood by him and looked out for them. He
ate the buds of flowers, and particularly of roses; also the sub-
stance of cucumbers, but not the outside. From these observa-
tions the Bustard is evidently fitted more particularly to live on
animal food.’
The average number of Bustards annually supplied to Chevet,
the great game-dealer of the Palais Royal, Paris, about fifty years
ago, was six. Its principal place of resort in France was the wild
country between Arcis-sur-Aube and Chalons, in most other dis-
tricts it was as little known as with us.
Several authors of undoubted veracity state that the adult male
Bustard has a capacious pouch, situated along the fore part of the
neck, the entrance of which is under the tongue, capable of hold-
ing several quarts of water—it is said not less thanseven. Montagu,
in his Ornithological Dictionary, expresses his doubt whether the
bird could carry as much as seven quarts, or fourteen pounds,
while flying ; he admits, however, that ‘it is large, as may be seen
in the Leverian Museum’ ; and he adds, ‘ that it is only discover-
able in adults, as it is most likely intended for the purpose of
furnishing the female and young in the breeding with water.’ Of
this pouch a figure is given by Yarrell, copied from Edwards’
Gleanings of Natural History, and there inserted on the authority
of Dr. James Douglas, the discoverer. Some doubts having arisen
in Mr. Yarrell’s mind as to the accuracy of the statement, he took
much pains to ascertain the truth by dissecting several adult
males, and found no peculiarity of structure—a result which was
also arrived at by Professor Owen, who dissected one with a view
of obtaining a preparation of the supposed pouch for the Museum
of the College of Surgeons. A paper by Mr. Yarrell,t read before
the Linnean Society since the publication of his admirable work
on Ornithology, contains many other interesting particulars res-
pecting this bird, to which the reader is referred.
Bustards have been seen in England at various intervals during
the last eighty or a hundred years, sometimes in small flights and
sometimes as solitary specimens, more frequently in Norfolk than
in any other county, but they have ceased to breed in this country.
I lately met a gentleman in Norfolk who well recollected the time
when Bustards were to be met with in that county. On the lands
i Eine Trans,, Vol. xxi. PD: 155.
238 THE PRATINCOLE
near Flamborough Head there used to be droves of them. They
were occasionally seen in the middle of the large uninclosed plains
with which Norfolk formerly abounded, and in such situations he
had himself seen them. When disturbed they move off rapidly,
employing both their feet and wings, rising heavily, but at an
angle so acute that they advanced perhaps a hundred yards
before they attained the height of a man. When once on the
wing, they flew swiftly. They formerly bred in the parish of
Deepdale, and he could himself recollect an instance when an
attempt was made to rear some in captivity from the eggs, but failed.
The Bustard is now only a very rare visitor to Great Britain. Its
last fertile eggs were taken in Norfolk and Suffolk about the year
1838.
ORDER LIMICOLA:
FAMILY GLAREOLIDA
THE PRATINCOLE
GLAREOLA PRATINCOLA
Crown, nape, back, scapulars, and wing-coverts, greyish brown ; throat and
front of the neck white, tinged with red, and bounded by a narrow black
collar, which ascends to the base of the beak ; lore black ; breast whitish
brown ; lower wing-coverts chestnut; under parts white, tinged with
brownish red; tail-coverts, and base of tail-feathers, white; the rest
of the tail dusky, much forked; beak black, red at the base; irides
reddish brown; orbits naked, bright red; feet reddish ash. Length
nine inches and a half. Eggs pale stone colour, spotted with grey and
dusky.
THE Pratincole, called on the Continent, but without good reason,
Perdrix de mer, or Sea Partridge, is a rare visitor to Great Britain,
inhabiting for the most part the northern part of Africa, and the
countries in the vicinity of the Don, the Volga, the Caspian, and
the Black Sea. It has been observed also from time to time in
several of the countries of Europe.
In some of its habits it resembles the Plovers, as it frequents
open plains and runs with great rapidity. In nidification, also,
and in the shape, colour, and markings of its eggs it is associated
with the same tribe ; while in its mode of flight and habit of catch-
ing flies while on the wing, it approaches the Swallows. Hence
it was named by Linneus, Hivundo pratincola, and under this
designation it is figured in Bewick. Its true place in the system
is, however, undoubtedly, among the waders, several of which
not only feed on insects, but are expert in catching them on the
wing.
THE THICK-KNEE OR STONE CURLEW 239
Fave y CAR ADRIUDA;
Tit DiiiCk KNEE OR STONE CURLEW
‘EDICNEMUS SCOLOPAX
Upper parts reddish ash with a white spot in the middle of each feather ;
space between the eye and beak, throat, belly, and thighs, white ; neck
and breast tinged with red, and marked with fine longitudinal brown.
streaks ; a white longitudinal bar on the wing; first primary with a
large white spot in the middle ; second, with a small one on the inner web ;
lower tail-coverts reddish, the feathers, except those in the middle,
tipped with black; beak black, yellowish at the base; irides, orbits,
and feet, yellow. Length seventeeninches. Eggs yellowish brown clouded
with greenish, blotched and spotted with dusky and olive.
THOUGH a citizen of the world, or at least of the eastern hemis-
phere, this bird is commonly known under the name of Norfolk
Plover, from its being more abundant in that county than in any
other. It is also called Thick-knee, from the robust conformation
of this joint ; and Stone Curlew, from its frequenting waste stony
places and uttering a note which has been compared to the sound
of the syllables curlut or turluw. Like the Cuckoo, it is more fre-
quently heard than seen, but that only by night. In some of its
habits it resembles the Bustard, and is said even to associate, in
Northern Africa, with the Lesser Bustard. Its favourite places
of resort are extensive plains ; it runs rapidly when disturbed, and
when it does take wing, flies for a considerable distance near the
ground before mounting into the air. It frequents our open heaths
and chalk downs and breeds in Romney Marsh and in the uplands
of Kent and Sussex.
By day the Thick-knee confines itself to the ground, either
crouching or hunting for food, which consists of worms, slugs, and
beetles, under stones, which it is taught by its instinct to turn over.
After sunset, it takes flight, and probably rises to a great height,
as its plaintive whistle, which somewhat resembles the wail of a
human being, is often heard overhead when the bird is invisible.
It is singularly shy, and carefully avoids the presence of human
beings, whether sportsmen or labourers. Yet it is not destitute
of courage, as it has been seen to defend its nest with vigour against
the approach of sheep or even of dogs. Nest, properly speaking,
it has none, for it contents itself with scratching a hole in the ground
and depositing two eggs. The males are supposed to assist in the
office of incubation. The young inherit the faculty of running at
an early age, being able to leave their birth-place with facility
soon after they are hatched; but the development of their wings
is a work of time, for their body has attained its full size long before
they are able to rise from the ground. Before taking their depar-
ture southwards in autumn, they assemble in small parties, number-
ing from four to six or seven, when they are somewhat more easy
240 THE GOLDEN PLOVER
of approach than in spring. In the chalky plains of La Marne in
France they are very numerous ; and here, by the aid of a light
cart, fowlers in quest of them have little difficulty in shooting
large numbers, the birds being less afraid of the approach of a horse
than of a human being. But when obtained they are of little
value, as their flesh is barely eatable.
The Thick-knee is migratory, visiting us in the beginning of
April to stay till October. His flights are made by night.
THE CREAM-COLOURED COURSER
CURSORIUS GALLICUS
Plumage reddish cream colour; wing-coverts bordered with ash-grey; throat
whitish; behind the eyes a double black bar; lateral tail-feathers black
towards the tip, with a white spot in the centre of the black ; abdomen
whitish. Length nine inches. Eggs unknown.
THOUGH the specific name Europzeus would seem to imply that
this bird is of frequent occurrence in Europe, this is not the case.
Not more than three or four have been observed in Great Britain,
at various intervals, from 1785 to 1827; and on the Continent
it is an equally rare visitor to the plains of Provence and Languedoc.
It is a native of Syria, Egypt, and Abyssinia, frequenting pools
and other moist situations. It is singularly fearless of man, and
when disturbed prefers to run, which it does very swiftly, rather than
to take flight. Its winter residence is supposed to be the central
lakes of Africa, from which it returns to the countries named above
early in autumn, and disappears at the approach of winter. Nothing
is known of its nidification. About the autumn of 1868 one was
shot in Lanarkshire.
THE GOLDEN PLOVER
CHARADRIUS PLUVIALIS
Winter—upper plumage dusky, spotted with yellow, cheeks, neck, and breast
mottled with ash-brown and buff; throat and abdomen white; quills
dusky, white along the shafts towards the end ; beak dusky, feet deep
ash-colour; irides brown. Summev—upper plumage greyish black,
spotted with bright yellow; forehead and space above the eyes white ;
sides of the neck white, mottled with black and yellow; lore, throat,
neck, and lower parts deep black. Length nine inches. Eggs yellowish
green, blotched and spotted with black.
Tue Golden Plover is a common bird in the south of England during
the winter months, and in the mountainous parts of Scotland and
the north of England during the rest of the year; yet so different
are its habits and plumage at the extremes of these two seasons,
that the young naturalist who has had no opportunities of observing
them in their transition stage, and has had no access to trustworthy
Kentish Plover 9 3 Grey Plover 7 (Summer and Winter)
Golden Plover 3
Ringed Plover young and Q [face p. 240.
THE GOLDEN PLOVER 241
books, might be forgiven for setting down the two forms of the
bird as distinct species.
In the hilly districts of the north of Europe, Golden Plovers are
numerous, sometimes being, with Ptarmigans, the only birds which
relieve the solitude of the desolate wastes. Though numerous in
the same localities, they are not gregarious during spring and
summer, and are remarkable for their fearlessness of man. So
tame, indeed, are they that, in little-frequented places, when dis-
turbed by the traveller they will run along the stony ground a few
yards in front of him, then fly a few yards, then stand and stare
and run along as before. On such occasions they frequently utter
their singular cry—the note so often referred to in Sir Walter Scott’s
poems—which, like the Nightingale’s song, is considered simply
plaintive or painfully woe-begone, according to the natural tem-
perament or occasional mood of the hearer. This bird builds no
nest ; a natural depression in the ground, unprotected by bush,
heather or rock, serves its purpose, and here the female lays four
eggs, much pointed at one end, and arranges them in accordance
with this.
At the approach of autumn, no matter where their summer may
have been passed, Plovers migrate southwards in large flights,
those from Scotland to the southern counties of England, where
they frequent wide moist pastures, heaths, and reclaimed marsh-
land. From the northern parts of the continent of Europe they
take their departure in October, either to the European shores of
the Mediterranean, or to the plains of Northern Africa. In these
migrations they are not unfrequently joined by Starlings. They
travel in close array, forming large flocks much wider than deep,
moving their sharp wings rapidly, and making a whizzing sound
which may be heard a long way off. Now and then, as if actuated
by a single impulse, they sweep towards the ground, suddenly alter
the direction of their flight, then wheel upwards with the regularity
of a machine, and either alight or pursue their onward course.
This habit of skimming along the ground and announcing their
approach beforehand, is turned to good purpose by the bird-catcher,
who imitates their note, attracts the whole flight to sweep down
into his neighbourhood, and captures them in his net, a hundred
at a time, or, when they are within range, has no difficulty in killing
from twelve to twenty at a shot. Not unfrequently, too, when
some members of a flock have been killed or wounded, the remainder,
before they remove out of danger, wheel round and sweep just over
the heads of their ill-fated companions, as if for the purpose of
inquiring the reason why they have deserted the party, or of alluring
them to join it once more. This habit is not peculiar to Plovers,
but may be noticed in the case of several of the seaside waders,
as Dunlins and Sanderlings. In severe winter weather they desert
the meadows, in which the worms have descended into the ground
B.B, R
242 ELE GRE YSPEOVER
beyond the reach of frost, and so of their bills, and resort to the
muddy or sandy sea-shore. In the Hebrides it is said that they do
not migrate at all, but simply content themselves with shifting
from the moors to the shore and back again, according to the weather.
In the northern parts of France, on the other hand, they are only
known as passengers on their way to the south. From making
their appearance in the rainy season they are there called fluviers,
whence our name Plover, which, however, is supposed by some
to have been given to them for their indicating by their movements
coming changes in the weather, in which respect indeed their skill
is marvellous.
The Golden Plover, sometimes called also Yellow Plover, and
Green Plover, is found at various seasons in most countries of
Europe ; but the Golden Plovers of Asia and America are considered
to be different species.
THE GREY PLOVER
SQUATAROLA HELVETICA
Wintey—forehead, throat, and under plumage, white, spotted on the neck
and flanks with grey and brown ; upper plumage dusky brown, mottled
with white and ash colour; long axillary feathers black or dusky ; tail
white, barred with brown and tipped with reddish; bill black; irides
dusky ; feet blackish grey. Swmmey—lore, neck, breast, belly, and
flanks, black, bounded by white; upper plumage and tail black and
white. Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs olive, spotted with
black.
Many of the Waders agree in wearing, during winter, plumage in
a great measure of a different hue from that which characterizes
them in summer ; and, as a general rule, the winter tint is lighter
than that of summer. This change is, in fact, but an extension of
the law which clothes several of the quadrupeds with a dusky or a
snowy fur in accordance with the season. The Grey Plover, as
seen in England, well deserves its name, for, as it frequents our
shores in the winter alone, it is only known to us as a bird grey
above and white below. But in summer the under plumage is
decidedly black, and in this respect it bears a close resemblance to
the Golden Plover, with which, in spite of the presence of a rudi-
mentary fourth toe, it is closely allied. My friend, the Rev. W. S.
Hore, informs me that he has seen them in Norfolk wearing the full
black plumage in May. The occurrence of the bird, however, in
this condition, in England, is exceptional; while in the northern
regions, both of the Old and New World, it must be unusual to see
an adult bird in any other than the sable plumage of summer.
The Grey Plover is a bird of extensive geographical range, being
known in Japan, India, New Guinea, the Cape of Good Hope, Egypt,
THE GREY PLOVER 243
the continent of Europe, and North America. In this country, as
I have observed, it occurs from autumn to spring, frequenting the
seashore, and picking up worms and other animal productions cast
up by the sea. Grey Plovers are less abundant than Golden
Plovers ; yet, in severe seasons they assemble in numerous small
flocks on the shores of the eastern counties, and, as Meyer well
observes, they are disposed to be “ sociable, not only towards their
own species, but to every other coast bird. When a party either
go towards the shore, or leave it for the meadows and flat wastes,
they unanimously keep together; but when alighting, they mix
with every other species, and thus produce a motley group.” They
fly in flocks, varying from five to twenty or more, keeping in a line,
more or less curved, or in two lines forming an angle. Their flight
is strong and rapid, rarely direct, but sweeping in wide semicircles.
As they advance they alternately show their upper and under
plumage, but more frequently the latter; for they generally keep at
a height of sixty or a hundred yards from the ground, in this respect
differing from Ringed Plovers, Dunlins, etc. Occasionally one or
two of the flock utter a loud whistle, which seems to be a signal for
all to keep close order. Just as Starlings habitually alight wherever
they see Rooks or Gulls feeding, so the Grey Plovers join themselves
on to any society of birds which has detected a good hunting-ground.
During a single walk along the sands I have observed them mixed
up with Dunlins, Knots, Gulls, Redshanks, and Royston Crows ;
but in no instance was I able to approach near enough to note their
habit of feeding. They were always up and away before any other
birds saw danger impending. In autumn they are less shy.
The people on the coast describe the Grey Plover as the shyest
of all the Waders, and could give me no information as to its habits ;
but Meyer, whose description of this bird is very accurate in other
respects, states that “its general appearance is peculiar to itself ;
it walks about on the ground slowly and with grace, and stops every
now and then to pick up its food ; it carries its body in a horizontal
position on straight legs, and its head very close to its body, conse-
quently increasing the thick appearance of the head.”
The Grey Plover breeds in high latitudes, making a slight hollow
in the ground, and employing a few blades of grass. It lays four
eggs, on which it sits so closely that it will almost be trodden on.
When thus disturbed its ways remind one of the Ringed Plover.
244 THE DOTTEREL
THE DOTTEREL
EUDROMIAS MORINELLUS
Winter—head dusky ash; over cach eye a reddish white band, meeting at
the nape ; face whitish, dotted with black ; back dusky ash, tinged with
green, the feathers edged with rust-red ; breast and flanks reddish ash ;
gorget white ; beak black ; irides brown ; feet greenish ash. Summer—
face and a band over the eyes white; head dusky; nape and sides of
the neck ash; feathers of the back, wing-coverts, and wing-feathers,
edged with deep red ; gorget white, bordered above by a narrow black
line ; lower part of the breast and flanks bright rust-red ; middle of the
belly black ; abdomen reddish white. Young birds have a reddish tinge
on the head, and the tail is tipped with red. Length nine inches and a
half. Eggs yellowish olive, blotched and spotted with dusky brown.
THE Dotterel, Little Dotard, or Morinellus, ‘little fool’, received
both the one and the other of its names from its alleged stupidity.
‘It is a silly bird’, says Willughby, writing in 1676; ‘but as an
article of food a great delicacy. It is caught in the night by lamp-
light, in accordance with the movements of the fowler. For if he
stretch out his arm, the bird extends a wing ; if he a leg, the bird
does the same. In short, whatever the fowler does, the Dotterel
does the same. And so intent is it on the movements of its pursuer,
that it is unawares entangled in the net.’ Such, at least, was the
common belief; and Pennant alludes to it, quoting the following
passage from the poet Drayton:
Most worthy man, with thee ‘tis ever thus,
As men take Dottrels, so hast thou ta’en us
Which, as a man his arme or leg doth set,
So this fond bird will likewise counterfeit.
In Pennant’s time, Dotterels were not uncommon in Cambridgeshire,
Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire, appearing in small flocks of eight or
ten only, from the latter end of April to the middle of June ; and
I have been informed by a gentleman in Norfolk that, not many
years since, they annually resorted also in small flocks to the plains
of that county. Of late years, owing most probably to their being
much sought after for the table, they have become more rare ; and
the same thing has taken place in France.
The Dotterel has been observed in many of the English counties
both in spring and autumn, and has been known to breed in the
mountainous parts of the north of England; but I may remark
that the name is frequently given in Norfolk and elsewhere to the
Ringed Plover, to which bird also belong the eggs collected on the
sea-coast, and sold as Dotterel’s eggs.
THE RINGED PLOVER 245
THE RINGED PLOVER
GIALITIS HIATICULA
lorehead, lore, sides of the face, gorget reaching round the neck, black; a
band across the forehead and through the eyes, throat, a broad collar,
and all the lower parts, white ; upper plumage ash-brown ; outer tail-
feather white, the next nearly so, the other feathers grey at the base,
passing into dusky and black, tipped with white, except the two middle
ones, Which have no white tips ; orbits, feet and beak orange, the latter
tipped with black. | Young—colours of the head dull; gorget incom-
plete, ash-brown ; bill dusky, tinged with orange at the base of the
lower mandible ; feet yellowish. Length seven and a half inches. Eggs
olive-yellow, with numerous black and grey spots.
On almost any part of the sea-coast of Britain, where there is a
wide expanse of sand left at low water, a bird may often be noticed,
not much larger than a Lark, grey above and white below, a patch
of black on the forehead and under the eye, a white ring round the
neck, and a black one below. _ If the wind be high, or rain be falling,
the observer will be able to get near enough to see these markings ;
for sea-birds generally are less acute observers in foul weather than
in fair. Ona nearer approach, the bird will fly up, uttering a soft,
sweet, plaintive whistle of two notes, and, having performed a
rapid, semicircular flight, will probably alight at no great distance,
and repeat its note. If it has settled on the plain sand or on the
water's edge, or near a tidal pool, it runs rapidly, without hopping,
stoops its head, picks up a worm, a portion of shell-fish, or a sand-
hopper, runs, stops, pecks, and runs again, but does not allow any
one to come so near as before. The next time that it alights, it
may select, perhaps, the beach of shells and pebbles above high-
water mark. Then it becomes at once invisible ; or, if the observer
be very keen-sighted, he may be able to detect it while it is in motion,
but then only. Most probably, let him mark ever so accurately with
his eye the exact spot on which he saw it alight, and let him walk
up to the spot without once averting his eye, he will, on his arrival,
find it gone. It has run ahead with a speed marvellous in so small
a biped, and is pecking among the stones a hundred yards off. Its
name is the Ringed Plover, or Ringed Dotterel. Fishermen on
the coast call it a Stone-runner, a most appropriate name ; others
call it a Sea Lark. In ornithological works it is described under
the former of these names.
The Ringed Plover frequents the shores of Great Britain all the
year round. It is a social bird, but less so in spring than at any
other season ; for the females are then employed in the important
business of incubation, and the males are too attentive to their
mates to engage in picnics on the sands. The nest is a simple
hollow in the sand, above high-water mark, or on the shingly beach ;
and here the female lays four large, pointed eggs, which are arranged
in the nest with all the small ends together. The young are able
246 THE KENTISH PLOVER
to run as soon as they break the shell; but, having no power of
flight for a long time, avoid impending danger by scattering and
hiding among the stones. The old bird, on such occasions, uses
her wings ; but not to desert her charge. She flies up to the intruder,
and, like other members of the same family, endeavours to entice
him away by counterfeiting lameness or some injury.
The Ringed Plover sometimes goes inland to rear her young, and
lays her eggs in a sandy warren, on the bank of a river or the margin
ofalake ; but when the young are able to fly, old and young together
repair to the seashore, collecting in flocks, and for the most part
continuing to congregate until the following spring. Their flight is
rapid and sweeping, consisting of a succession of curves, while per-
forming which they show sometimes their upper grey plumage, and
at other times the under, which is of a dazzling white. Occasionally,
too, as they wheel from one tack to another, every bird is lost sight
of, owing to the perfect unanimity with which, at the same instant,
they alter their course, and to the incapacity of the human eye to
follow the rapid change from a dark hue to a light.
Not unfrequently one falls in with a solitary individual which
has been left behind by its companions, or has strayed from the
flock. Such a bird, when disturbed, utters its whistle more fre-
quently than on ordinary occasions, and, as its note is not difficult
of imitation, I have often enticed a stray bird to fly close up to me,
answering all the while. But it has rarely happened that I have
succeeded in practising the deception on the same bird a second
time.
THE KENTISH PLOVER
AAGIALITIS CANTIANA
Forehead, a band over each eye, chin, cheeks, and under parts, white ; upper
part of the forehead, a band from the base of the beak extending through
the eye, and a large spot on each side of the breast, black ; head and nape
light brownish red; rest of the upper plumage ash-brown; two outer
tail-feathers white, the third whitish, the rest brown; beak, irides, and
feet, brown. Female wants the black spot on the forehead, and the other
parts black in the male are replaced by ash-brown. Length six and a
half inches. Eggs olive-yellow, spotted and speckled with black.
THE Kentish Plover differs from the preceding in its inferior size,
in having a narrower stripe of black on the cheeks, and in wanting
the black ring round the neck. It is found from time to time in
various parts of the country, breeding in Kent, Sussex and the
Channel Islands, but is most abundant on the shores of the Mediter-
ranean. Its habits resemble closely those of the allied species.
On the authority of the Greek historian Herodotus, a little bird
is found in Egypt called the Tréchilus, which is noted for the friendly
Curlew 5
Dotterel F Peewit 2
Norfolk Plover 2 [face p. 246.
THE LAPWING, OR PEEWIT 247
and courageous office it performs for the Crocodile. This unwieldy
monster, having no flexible tongue wherewith to cleanse its mouth,
comes on shore after its meals, opens its jaws, and allows the Tro-
chilus to enter and pick off the leeches and fragments of food, which,
adhering to its teeth, interfere, with its comfort. This story was
long believed to be a fable; but the French naturalist Geoffrey
de Saint Hilaire has, in modern times, confirmed the veracity of the
father of history, and pronounces the Tréchilus of the ancients to
be the Pluvier a Collier interrompu, the subject of the present chapter.
The Cayman of South America is also said to be indebted for a
similar service to the kindly offices of a little bird, which, however,
is not a Plover, but a Toddy.
THE LAPWING, OR PEEWIT
VANELLUS VULGARIS
Feathers on the back of the head elongated and curved upwards ; head, crest
and breast, glossy black ; throat, sides of the neck, belly and abdomen
white ; under tail-coverts yellowish red; upper plumage dark green
with purple reflections ; tail, when expanded, displaying a large semi-
circular graduated black patch on a white disk, outer feather on each
side wholly white; bill dusky; feet reddish brown. Young—throat
dull white, mottled with dusky and tinged with red; upper feathers
tipped with dull yellow. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs olive-
brown to stone buff, blotched and spotted with dusky black.
THE Peewit, or Green Plover, as it is sometimes called, is among
the best known birds indigenous to the British Isles. This
notoriety it owes to several causes. The lengthened feathers on
the back of its head, forming a crest, at once distinguish it from
every other British Wader. Its peculiar flight, consisting of a
series of wide slow flappings with its singularly rounded wings,
furnishes a character by which it may be recognized at a great
distance; and its strange note, resembling the word ‘ peweet ’
uttered in a high screaming tone, cannot be mistaken for the note
of any other bird. In London and other large towns of England
its eggs also are well known to most people ; for ‘ Plovers’ eggs’,
as they are called, are considered great delicacies.
Peewits are found in abundance in most parts of Europe and Asia
from Ireland to Japan. They are essentially Plovers in all their
habits, except, perhaps, that they do not run so rapidly as some
others of the tribe. They inhabit the high grounds in open countries,
the borders of lakes and marshes and low unenclosed wastes, and
may not unfrequently be seen in the large meadows, which in
some districts extend from the banks of rivers. They are partially
migratory ; hence they may appear at a certain season in some
particular spot, and be entirely lost sight of for many
248 OYSTER CATCHER
months. Individuals which have been bred in high latitudes are
more precise in their periods of migration than those bred in the
south. In Kamtschatka, for instance, their southern migration
is so regular that the month of October has received the name of
the ‘Lapwing month’. In Britain their wanderings are both more
uncertain and limited ; for, though they assemble in flocks in autumn,
they only migrate from exposed localities to spots which, being
more sheltered, afford them a better supply of food.
In April and May these birds deposit their eggs, making no further
preparation than that of bringing together a few stalks and placing
them ina shallow depression in the ground. The number of eggs is
always four, and they are placed in the orderso common among the
Waders, crosswise. Lapwings are to a certain extent social ,even
in the breeding season, in so far that a considerable number usually
frequent the same marsh or common. It is at this season that
they utter most frequently their characteristic cry, a note which is
never musical, and heard by the lonely traveller (as has happened
to myself more than once by night) is particularly wild, harsh, and
dispiriting. Now, too, one may approach near enough to them to
notice the winnowing movement of their wings, which has given
them the name of Lapwing in England and Vanneau in France
(from van,a fan). The young are able to run as soon as they have
burst the shell, and follow their parents to damp ground, where
worms, slugs, and insects are most abundant. When the young
have acquired the use of their wings, the families of a district unite
into flocks. They are then very wary, and can rarely be approached
without difficulty ; but as they are considered good eating, many
of them fall before the fowler.
OYSTER CATCHER
HEMATOPUS OSTRATEGUS
THE plumage of this species is entirely black and white ; head,
neck, scapulars and terminal half of the tail black ; rump, upper
tail-coverts white ; legs and toes pink ; eyelids crimson. Length,
sixteen inches. The young have the feathers of the back and
wings margined with brown. The Oyster Catcher inhabits the
shores of Great Britain and Ireland throughout the year. The
first time I came upon a flock of these birds I was able to approach
them nearer than on any other occasion. They frequently uttered
a harsh note ina high key which, though unmusical, harmonized
well with the scenery. I had many other opportunities of
observing them on the shores of the Scottish lochs, and I was
OYSTER CATCHER 249
once induced, on the recommendation of a friend, to have one
served up for dinner as an agreeable variation from the bacon and
herrings which mainly constitute the dietary of a Scottish fishing-
village inn. But I did not repeat the experiment, preferring fish
pure and simple to fish served up through the medium of a fowl.
The nature of its food sufficiently accounts for its strong flavour,
Oyster Catchers frequent rocky promontories or the broad banks
of mud, sand, and ooze, which stretch out from low portions of
the coast. Here they feed on mussels and other bivalves, limpets,
worms, crustacea, and small fish; mixing freely with other birds
while on the ground, but keeping to themselves while performing
their flights. In their mode of using their wings they remind the
spectator of Ducks rather than of Plovers, and they advance in
a line, sometimes in single file, one after another, but more fre-
quently wing by wing. When they alight, too, it is not with a
circular sweep, but with a sailing movement. When the mud-
banks are covered by the tide they move to a short distance
inland, and pick up slugs and insects in the meadows, or betake
themselves to salt marshes and rocky headlands. They have also
been observed many miles away from the coast ; but this is a rare
occurrence. Their nest is generally a slight depression among
the shingle above high-water mark; but on rocky shores they
make an attempt at a nest, collecting a few blades of grass and
scraps of sea-weed. They lay three or four eggs, and the young
are able to run soon after breaking the shell.
In high latitudes Oyster Catchers are migratory, leaving their
breeding grounds in autumn, and returning in the spring; con-
sequently, those coasts from which they never depart afford an
asylum in winter to vast numbers of strangers, in addition to their
native population. On the coast of Norfolk, for example, they
are to be seen in small parties all through the summer; but in
winter, especially if it be a severe one, they may be reckoned by
thousands. They here seem to have favourite spots on which to
pass the night. One of these is what is called the “‘ Eastern point ”’
of Brancaster Marsh, a place of perfect security, for it is difficult
of access under any circumstances, and cannot be approached at
all with any chance of concealment on the part of the intruder.
Towards this point I have seen line after line winging their way,
all about the same hour, just before sunset, all following the line
of the coast, but taking care to keep well out at sea, and all ad-
vancing with perfect regularity, every individual in a company
being at the same height above the water. They are very wary
at this season, insomuch that though I must have seen many
thousands, and examined upwards of twenty species of sea-shore
birds, which had been shot in the neighbourhood, not a single
Oyster Catcher was brought to me.
A common name for this bird is Sea-pie, another appropriate
250 THE TURNSTONE
one is ‘ Mussel picker’; and it is thought that ‘Catcher ’ comes
from the Dutch aekster (magpie). The note is a shrill keep, keep.
It swims well, and sometimes it will take to the water of its own
accord. Although the nest is commonly on shingle or among
sand-hills, or a tussock of sea-pink on a narrow ledge of rock, Mr.
Howard Saunders has seen eggs of this bird in the emptied nest of
a Herring-gull and on the summit of a lofty ‘ stack.’
THE TURNSTONE
STREPSILAS INTERPRES
Crown reddish white, with longitudinal black streaks ; upper part of the back,
scapulars, and wing-coverts, rusty brown, spotted with black ; rest of the
plumage variegated with black and white; bill and irides black; feet
orange-yellow. Length nine inches. Eggs greenish-grey, blotched
and spotted with slate and brown.
TuHeETurnstone is a regular annual visitor tothe shores of Great Britain,
and indeed of almost every other country, having been observed
as far north as Greenland, and as far south as the Straits of Magellan ;
but it is rarely inland. It arrives on our coasts about the be-
ginning of August, not in large flocks like the Plovers, but in small
parties, each of which, it is conjectured, constitutes a family. It
is a bird of elegant form and beautiful parti-coloured plumage,
active in its habits, a nimble runner, and an indefatigable hunter
after food. In size it is intermediate between the Grey Plover
and Sanderling, being about as big as a Thrush. The former of
these birds it resembles in its disposition to feed in company with
birds of different species, and its impatience of the approach of
man. For this latter reason it does not often happen that any
one can get near enough to these birds to watch their manceuvres
while engaged in the occupation from which they have derived
their name, though their industry is often apparent from the num-
ber of pebbles and shells found dislodged from their socket on the
sands where a family has been feeding. Audubon, who had the
good fortune to fall in with a party on a retired sea-coast, where
owing to the rare appearance of human beings, they were less fearful
than is their wont, describes their operations with his usual felicity :
‘‘They were not more than fifteen or twenty yards distant, and I
was delighted to see the ingenuity with which they turned over
the oyster-shells, clods of mud, and other small bodies left exposed
by the retiring tide. Whenever the object was not too large, the
bird bent its legs to half their length, placed its bill beneath it, and
Avocet.
Red-necked Phalarope. Grey Phalarope ?
Bar-tailed Godwit 2
[face p. 250.
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THE TURNSTONE 251
with a sudden quick jerk of the head pushed it off, when it quickly
picked up the food which was thus exposed to view, and walked
deliberately to the next shell to perform the same operation. In
several instances, when the clusters of oyster-shells or clods of
mud were too heavy to be removed in the ordinary way, they would
not only use the bill and head, but also the breast, pushing the
object with all their strength, and reminding me of the labour
which I have undergone in turning over a large turtle. Among the
seaweeds that had been cast on shore, they used only the bill,
tossing the garbage from side to side with a dexterity extremely
pleasant to behold.t In like manner I saw there four Turnstones
examine almost every part of the shore along a space of from thirty
to forty yards ; after which I drove them away, that our hunters
might not kill them on their return.’’
A writer in the Zoologist” gives an equally interesting account
of the successful efforts of two Turnstones to turn over the dead
body of a cod-fish, nearly three and a half feet long, which had
been imbedded in the sand to about the depth of two inches.
For an account of the habits of the Turnstone during the
breeding season—it never breeds with us—we are indebted to Mr.
Hewitson, who fell in with it on the coast of Norway. He says,
‘We had visited numerous islands with little encouragement, and
were about to land upon a flat rock, bare, except where here and
there grew tufts of grass or stunted juniper clinging to its surface,
when our attention was attracted by the singular cry of a Turnstone,
which in its eager watch had seen our approach, and perched itself
upon an eminence of the rock, assuring us, by its querulous oft-
repeated note and anxious motions, that its nest was there. We
remained in the boat a short time, until we had watched it behind
a tuft of grass, near which, after a minute search, we succeeded in
finding the nest in a situation in which I should never have expected
to meet a bird of this sort breeding ; it was placed against a ledge
of the rock, and consisted of nothing more than the dropping leaves
of the juniper bush, under a creeping branch of which the eggs,
four in number, were snugly concealed, and admirably sheltered
from the many storms by which these bleak and exposed rocks are
visited. .
1 From this habit, the Turnstone is in Norfolk called a ‘ Tangle-picker ’.—
(Cs INS Me
EVO ix Das Ofc
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Ww
THE AVOCET
FAMILY SCOLOPACID/
THE AVOCEr
RECURVIROSTRA AVOCETTA
General plumage white; crown, nape, scapulars, lesser wing-coverts, and
primaries, black; bill black; irides reddish brown; feet bluish ash.
Length eighteen inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched and spotted with
dusky.
Tuts bird has become so rare, that having recently applied to two
several collectors in Norfolk, once the headquarters of the Avocet,
to know if they could procure me a specimen, I was told by one that
they were not seen oftener than once in seven years—by the other,
that it was very rare, and if attainable at all could not be purchased
for less than five pounds. In Ray’s time it was not unfrequent on
the eastern maritime coasts. Small flocks still arrive in May and now
and again in the autumn, but collectors never allow them to breed.
They used to rest on the flat shores of Kent and Sussex. Sir
Thomas Browne says of it: ‘ Avoseta, called shoeing horn, a tall
black and white bird, with a bill semicircularly reclining or bowed
upward ; so that it is not easy to conceive how it can feed; a
summer marsh bird, and not unfrequent in marsh land.’ Pennant,
writing of the same bird, says: ‘ These birds are frequent in the
winter on the shores of this kingdom; in Gloucestershire, at the
Severn’s mouth; and sometimes on the lakes of Shropshire. We
have seen them in considerable numbers in the breeding season near
Fossdike Wash, in Lincolnshire. Like the Lapwing, when disturbed,
they flew over our heads, carrying their necks and long legs quite
extended, and made a shrill noise (¢w7t) twice repeated, during the
whole time. The country people for this reason call them Yelpers,
and sometimes distinguish them by the name of Picarimt. They
feed on worms and insects, which they suck with their bills out of
the sand; their search after food is frequently to be discovered
on our shores by alternate semicircular marks in the sand, which
show their progress.! They lay three or four eggs, about the size of
those of a Pigeon, white, tinged with green and marked with large
black spots.’ Even so recent an authority as Yarrell remembers
having found in the marshes near Rye a young one of this species,
which appeared to have just been hatched; he took it up in his
hands, while the old birds kept flying round him.
The Avocet is met with throughout a great part of the Old World,
1 Tt is not a little singular that the Spoonbill, a bird which strongly con-
trasts with the Avocet in the form of its bill, ploughs the sand from one side
to another, while hunting for its food.
THE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE 253
and is said to be not unfrequent in Holland and France. A writer
of the latter country says that ‘ by aid of its webbed feet it is enabled
to traverse, without sinking, the softest and wettest mud ; this it
searches with its curved bill, and when it has discovered any prey,
a worm for instance, it throws it adroitly into the air, and catches
it with its beak’.
hie GREY PMArAROPRE
PHALAROPUS FULICARIUS
Wintey—plumage in front and beneath white ; back of the head, car-coverts,
and a streak down the nape, dusky ; back pearl-grey, the feathers dusky
in the centre, a white transverse bar on the wings ; tail-feathers brown,
edged with ash; bill brown, yellowish red at the base; irides reddish
yellow; feet greenish ash. Suwmmerv—head dusky; face and nape
white ; feathers of the back dusky, bordered with orange-brown ; front
and lower plumage brick-red. Length eight inches and a half. Eggs
grecnish stone colour, blotched and spotted with dusky.
Tue Grey Phalarope, without being one of our rarest birds, is not
of irregular occurrence. Its proper home is in the Arctic regions,
from whence it migrates southward in winter. It is a bird of varied
accomplishments, flying rapidly like the Snipes, running after the
fashion of the Sandpipers, and swimming with the facility of the
Ducks. In all these respects it does not belie its appearance, its
structure being such that a naturalist would expect, @ priort, that
these were its habits. During the breeding season, the Phalarope
quits the sea, its usual haunt, and repairs to the seashore, where it
builds a neat nest, in a hollow of the ground, with grass and other
weeds, and lays four eggs. The usual time of its appearance in
Great Britain is autumn; sometimes it comes then in numbers ;
but specimens have been obtained in winter. On all these occasions
it has shown itself singularly fearless of man.
THE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
PHALAROPUS HYPERBOREUS
Head deep ash-grey ; throat white; neck bright rust-red ; under plumage
white, blotched on the flanks with ash ; back black, the feathers bordered
with rust-red ; a white bar across the wing; two middle tail-feathers
black, the rest ash, edged with white; bill black; irides brown; feet
greenish ash. Length seven inches. Eggs dark olive, closely spotted
with black.
Tue Red-necked Phalarope, or Lobefoot, is, like the preceding
species, an inhabitant of the Arctic regions, but extends its circle
254 THE WOODCOCK
of residence so far as to include the Orkney Islands, in which numer-
ous specimens have been obtained. It builds its nest of grass, in
the marshes or on the islands in the lakes, and lays four eggs. The
most marked habit of these birds seems to be that of alighting at
sea on beds of floating seaweed, and indifferently swimming about
in search of food, or running, with light and nimble pace, after the
manner of a Wagtail. They are often met with thus employed at
the distance of a hundred miles from land. They are described as
being exceedingly tame, taking little notice of the vicinity of men,
and unaffected by the report of a gun.
THE WOODCOCK
SCOLOPAX RUSTICOLA
Back of the head barred transversely with dusky ; upper plumage mottled
with chestnut, yellow, ash, and black ; lower reddish yellow, with brown
zigzag lines; quills barred on their outer web with rust-red and black ;
tail of twelve feathers tipped above with grey, below with silvery white ;
bill flesh-colour ; feet livid. Length thirteen inches. Eggs dirty yellow,
blotched and spotted with brown and grey.
THE history of the Woodcock as a visitor in the British Isles is briefly
as follows: Woodcocks come to us from the south in autumn, the
earliest being annually observed about the twentieth of October. On
their first arrival, they are generally found to be in bad condition ; so
weak, in fact, that I recollect many instances of flights having
reached the coasts of Cornwall, only able to gain the land. Their
condition at these times is one of extreme exhaustion ; and they
become the prey, not only of the sportsman, but are knocked down
with a stick, or caught alive. In the course of a very few days
they are enabled to recruit their strength, when they make their
way inland. They have been known even to settle on the deck of
a ship at sea, in order to rest ; or actually to alight for a few moments
in the smooth water of the ship’s wake. Their usual places of
resort by day are woods and coppices in hilly districts, whither they
repair for shelter and concealment. Disliking cold, they select,
in preference, the side of a valley which is least exposed to the wind ;
and though they never perch on a branch, they prefer the conceal-
ment afforded by trees to that of any other covert. There, crouch-
ing under a holly, or among briers and thorns, they spend the day
in inactivity, guarded from molestation by their stillness, and by
the rich brown tint of their plumage, which can hardly be distin-
guished from dead leaves. Their large prominent bead-like eyes
are alone likely to betray them; and this, it is said, is sometimes
THE WOODCOCK 255
the case. So conscious do they seem that their great security lies in
concealment, that they will remain motionless until a dog is almost
on them or until the beater reaches the very bush under which they
are crouching. When at length roused, they start up with a whirr,
winding and twisting through the overhanging boughs, and make
for the nearest open place ahead; now, however, flying in almost a
straight line, till discovering another convenient lurking-place,
they descend suddenly, to be ‘ marked’ for another shot. About
twilight, the Woodcock awakens out of its lethargy, and repairs
to its feeding-ground. Observation having shown that on these
occasions it does not trouble itself to mount above the trees before
it starts, but makes for the nearest clear place in the wood through
which it gains the open country, fowlers were formerly in the habit
of erecting in glades in the woods, two high poles, from which was
suspended a fine net. This was so placed as to hang across the
course which the birds were likely to take, and when a cock flew
against it, the net was suddenly made to drop by the concealed
fowler, and the bird caught, entangled in the meshes. Not many
years ago, these nets were commonly employed in the woods, near
the coast of the north of Devon, and they are said still to be in use
on the Continent. The passages through which the birds flew
were known by the name of ‘cockroads’, and ‘ cockshoots’.
The localities which Woodcocks most frequent are places which
abound in earthworms, their favourite food. These they obtain
either by turning over lumps of decaying vegetable matter and
picking up the scattered worms, or by thrusting their bills into the
soft earth, where (guided by scent it is supposed) they speedily find
any worm lying hid, and having drawn it out, swallow it whole,
with much dexterity. When the earth is frozen hard, they shift
their ground, repairing to the neighbourhood of the sea, or of springs ;
and now, probably, they are less select in their diet, feeding on any
living animal matter that may fall in their way. In March they
change their quarters again, preparatory to quitting the country ;
hence it often happens that considerable numbers are seen at this
season in places where none had been observed during the previous
winter. They now have a call-note, though before they have been
quite mute ; it is said by some to resemble the syllables pztt-pitt-
coor, by others to be very like the croak of a frog. The French have
invented the verb crower, to express it, and distinguish Woodcock
shooting by the name crotile. Some sportsmen wisely recommend
that no Woodcock should be shot after the middle of February ; for it
has been ascertained that increasing numbers of these remain for
the purpose of breeding in this country; and it is conjectured, with
reason, that if they were left undisturbed in their spring haunts,
they would remain in yet larger numbers. As it is, there are few
counties in England in which their nest has not been discovered ;
and there are some few localities in which it is one of the pleasant
256 THE GREAT SNIPE
sights of the evening, at all seasons of the year, to watch the Wood-
cocks repairing from the woods to their accustomed feeding-
ground.
The nest is built of dry leaves, principally of fern, and placed
among dead grass, in dry, warm situations, and contains four eggs,
which, unlike those of the Snipes, are nearly equally rounded at
each end.
There have been recorded numerous instances in which a
Woodcock has been seen carrying its young through the air to
water, holding the nestling between her thighs pressed close to her
body.
During its flight, the Woodcock invariably holds its beak pointed
in a “direction towards the ground. Young birds taken from the
nest are easily reared ; and afford much amusement by the skill
they display in extracting worms from sods with which they are
supplied. The Woodcock is found in all countries of the eastern
hemisphere where trees grow; but it is only metas a straggler
on the Atlantic coast of the United States.
THE GREAT SNIPE
GALLINAGO MAJOR
Crown black, divided longitudinally by a yellowish white band ; a streak of
the same colour over each eye ; from the beak to the eye a streak of dark
brown ; upper plumage mottled with black and chestnut-brown, some
of the feathers edged with straw-colour ; greater wing-coverts tipped
with white ; under parts whitish, spotted and barred with black; tail
of sixteen fedthers; bill brown, flesh-coloured at the base. Length
eleven and a half inches. Eggs brownish olive, spotted with reddish
brown.
THE Great Snipe, Solitary Snipe or Double Snipe, is intermediate
in size between the Woodcock and Common Snipe. Though not
among the rarest of our visitants, it is far from common. It is,
however, an annual visitor, and is seen most frequently in the
eastern counties in the autumn. Its principal resorts are low damp
meadows and grassy places near marshes, but it does not frequent
swamps like its congeners. This difference in its haunts implies a
different diet, and this bird, it is stated, feeds principally on the larvee
or grubs of Tipule (known by the common name of Father Daddy-
Long-legs), which are in summer such voracious feeders on the roots
of grass. It breeds in the northern countries of Europe, and in
some parts of Sweden is so abundant that as many as fifty haye
Great Snipe Jack Snipe g
Common Snipe Woodcock g
(face Pp 256.
THE COMMON SNiPE 2
been shot in a day. When disturbed on its feeding-ground, it rises
without uttering any note, and usually drops in again, at no great
distance, after the manner of the Jack Snipe. It may be distin-
guished by its larger size, and by carrying its tail spread like a fan.
In the northern countries where it breeds it is found most commonly
in the meadows after hay-harvest, and as it is much prized for the
delicacy of its flesh it is a favourite object of sport. It is remarkable
for being always in exceedingly good condition, a remark which
applies to specimens procured in this country as well as those shot
in Sweden. The nest, which has rarely been seen, is placed in a
tuft of grass, and contains four eggs. The Zoologist once mentioned
the fact of four solitary Snipes being killed in the county of Durham
in August, and two of these were young birds, scarcely fledged,
THE COMMON SNIPE
GALLINAGO CA&LESTIS
Upper plumage very like the last ; chin and throat reddish white ; lower parts
white, without spots ; flanks barred transversely with white and dusky ;
tail of fourteen feathers. Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs light
greenish yellow, spotted with brown and ash.
THE Common Snipe is a bird of very general distribution, being
found in all parts of the eastern hemisphere, from Ireland to Japan,
and from Siberia to the Cape of Good Hope. It is common also
in many parts of America, especially Carolina, and is frequent in
many of the American islands. In Britain Snipes are most numer-
ous in the winter, their numbers being then increased by arrivals
from high latitudes, from which they are driven by the impossi-
bility of boring for food in ground hardened by frost or buried be-
neath snow. In September and October large flocks of these birds
arrive in the marshy districts of England, stopping sometimes for
a short time only, and then proceeding onwards ; but being like
many other birds, gregarious at no other time than when making
their migrations, when they have arrived at a district where they
intend to take up their residence, they scatter themselves over
marsh land, remaining in each other’s neighbourhood perhaps, but
showing no tendency to flock together. Their food consists of the
creeping things which live in mud, and to this, it is said by some,
they add small seeds and fine vegetable fibre ; but it is questionable
whether this kind of food is not swallowed by accident, mixed up
with more nourishing diet. The end of their beak is furn‘shed
with a soft pulpy membrane, which in all probability is highly
BB, S
258 THE COMMON SNIPE
sensitive, and enables the bird to discover by the touch the worms
which, being buried in mud, are concealed from its sight. Snipes
when disturbed always fly against the wind, so when suddenly
scared from their feeding-ground, and compelled to rise without
any previous intention on their part, they seem at first uncertain
which course to take, but twist and turn without making much
progress in any direction ; but in a few seconds, having decided on
their movements, they dart away with great rapidity, uttering at
the same time a sharp cry of two notes, which is difficult to describe,
but once heard can scarcely be mistaken. When a bird on such
an occasion is fired at, it often happens that a number of others,
who have been similarly occupied, rise at the report, and after
having performed a few mazy evolutions, dart off in the way
described. At other times they lie so close that beween the sportsman
and the bird which he has just killed there may be others concealed,
either unconscious of danger, or trusting for security to their powers
of lying hid. This tendency to lie close, or the reverse, depends
much on the weather, though why it should be so seems not to have
been decided. But the movements of Snipes generally are governed
by laws of which we know little or nothing. At one season they
will be numerous in a certain marsh; the next year perhaps not
one will visit the spot ; to-day, they will swarm in a given locality ;
a night’s frost will drive them all away, and a change of wind a few
days after will bring them all back again. If very severe weather
sets in they entirely withdraw, but of this the reason is obvious ;
the frozen state of the marsh puts a stop to their feeding. They
then retire to milder districts, to springs which are never frozen,
to warm nooks near the sea, or to salt marshes. Perhaps the
majority perform a second migration southwards; for, as a rule,
they are most numerous at the two periods of autumn and spring—
that is, while on their way to and from some distant winter-
quarters. After March they become far less frequent, yet there
are few extensive marshes, especially in Scotland and the north of
England, where some do not remain to breed. At this season a
striking change in their habits makes itself perceptible. A nest is
built of withered grass, sometimes under the shelter of a tuft of
heath or reeds, and here the female sits closely on four eggs. The
male, meanwhile, is feeding in some neighbouring swamp, and if
disturbed, instead of making off with his zig-zag winter’s flight,
utters his well-remembered note and ascends at a rapid rate into
the air, now ascending with a rapid vibration of wing, wheeling,
falling like a parachute, mounting again, and once more descending
with fluttering wings, uttering repeatedly a note different from his
cry of alarm, intermixed with a drumming kind of noise, which
has been compared to the bleat of a goat. This last sound is pro-
duced by the action of the wings, assisted by the tail-feathers, in his
descents. One of its French names is Chévre volant, flying goat, and
Knot 3.
Wood Sandpiper. Sanderling 3
Whimbrel J (face p. 258.
THE JACK SNIPE 280
the Scottish name ‘ Heather-bleater ’, was also given to it as descrip-
tive of its peculiar summer note. The female sits closely on her
eggs, and if disturbed while in charge of her yet unfledged brood,
endeavours to distract the attention of an intruder from them to
herself by the artifice already described as being employed by others
of the Waders.
‘Sabine’s Snipe’, which was at one time thought to be a distinct
species, is now admitted to be a melanism, a dark variety of the
Common Snipe, recent examination of specimens having proved
that its tail contains fourteen feathers and not twelve only, as was
supposed. It is seldom found outside Great Britain.
ES PACKS SNIPE
GALLINAGO GALLINULA
Crown divided longitudinally by a black band edged with reddish brown ,
beneath this on either side a parallel yellowish band reaching from the
bill to the nape; back beautifully mottled with buff, reddish brown, and
black, the latter lustrous with green and purple ; neck and breast spotted ;
belly and abdomen pure white; tail of twelve feathers, dusky edged
with reddish grey; bill dusky, lighter towards the base. Length eight
and a half inches. Eggs yellowish olive, spotted with brown.
As the Great Snipe has been called the Double Snipe, on account
of its being superior in size to the common species, so the subject
of the present chapter is known as the Half Snipe, from being con-
trasted with the same bird, and being considerably smaller. The
present species is far less abundant than the Common Snipe; yet
still it is often seen, more frequently, perhaps, than the other, by
non-sporting observers, for it frequents not only downright marshes,
but the little streams which meander through meadows, the sides
of grassy ponds, and the drains by the side of canals, where the
ordinary pedestrian, if accompanied by a dog, will be very likely
to put one up. Its food and general habits are much the same as
those of the Common Snipe ; but it rises and flies off without any
note. Its flight is singularly crooked until it has made up its mind
which direction it intends to take ; indeed it seems to decide even-
tually on the one which was at first most unlikely to be its path,
and after having made a short round composed of a series of dis-
jointed curves, it either returns close to the spot from which it was
started, or suddenly drops, as by a sudden impulse, into a ditch a
few gunshots off. I have seen one drop thus within twenty yards
of the spot where I stood, and though I threw upwards of a dozen
stones into the place where I saw it go down, it took no notice of
them. It was only by walking down the side of the ditch, beating
the rushes with a stick, that I induced it to rise again. It then
260 THE SANDERLING
flew off in the same way as before, and dropped into the little stream
from which I had first started it.
From this habit of lying so close as to rise under the very feet of
the passenger, as well as from its silence, it is called in France la
Sourde, ‘deaf’. In the same country it is known also as ‘St.
Martin’s Snipe ’, from the time of its arrival in that country, Novem-
ber 11 ; with us it is an earlier visitor, coming about the second week
in September.
A few instances are recorded of the Jack Snipe having been seen
in this country at a season which would lead to the inference that
it occasionally breeds here ; but no instance of its doing so has been
ascertained as a fact.
THE SANDERLING
CALIDRIS ARENARIA
Winter—upper plumage and sides of the neck whitish ash; cheeks and all
the under plumage, pure white; bend and edge of the wing and quills
blackish grey ; tail deep grey, edged with white; bill, irides, and feet,
black. Swmmeyv—cheeks and crown black, mottled with rust-red and
white ; neck and breast reddish ash with black and white spots; back
and scapulars deep rust-red, spotted with black, all the feathers edged
and tipped with white; wing-coverts dusky, with reddish lines, and
tipped with white; two middle tail-feathers dusky, with reddish edges.
Young in autumn—cheeks, head, nape, and back variously mottled
with black, brown, grey, rust-red and dull white. Length eight inches.
Eggs olive, spotted and speckled with black.
THE early flocks of Sanderlings often consist of old as well as young
birds, which is not the common rule with Waders. They are plenti-
ful on our sandy shores, and they sometimes visit inland waters.
By April the return passage begins. The note is a shrill wick /
They arrive on our shores early in autumn, keeping together in
small flocks, or joining the company of Dunlins, or Ringed Plovers.
In spring they withdraw to high latitudes, where they breed ;
they are not, however, long absent. Yarrell mentions his having
obtained specimens as late as April and June, and I have myself
obtained them as early as the end of July, having shot at Hunstan-
ton, on the coast of Norfolk, several young birds of the year, on the
twenty-third of that month; and on another occasion I obtained a
specimen on the sands of Abergele, in North Wales, in August. This
leaves so very short a time for incubation and the fledging of the
young, that it is probable that a few birds, at least, remain to breed in
this country, or do not retire very far north. Little is known of their
habits during the season of incubation, but they are said to make
their nests in the marshes, of grass, and to lay four eggs.
Like many other shore birds, they have an extensive geographical
range, and are found in all latitudes, both in the eastern and western
hemispheres,
THE KNOT 261
THE CURLEW SANDPIPER
TRINGA SUBARQUATA
Bil curved downwards, much longer than the head. Wintey — upper tail-
coverts and all the under parts white; upper plumage ash-brown,
mottled with darker brown and whitish; breast the same colours, but
much lighter; bill black; iris brown; feet dusky. Swmmer—crown
black, mottled with reddish; under plumage chestnut-red, speckled
with brown and white ; much of the upper plumage black, mottled with
red and ash. Length seven and a half inches. Eggs yellowish, with
brown spots.
Tus bird, called also the Pigmy Curlew, is of about the same size
as the far commoner Dunlin, from which it is distinguished not
only by the difference in the colour of its plumage, but by the greater
length of its beak, which is curved downwards. Pigmy Curlews
are observed from time to time in this country at the periods of
autumn and spring, and it is said that a few remain with us to
breed, but their nest and eggs have never been detected. In their
habits they resemble the Dunlins, from which they may readily
be distinguished, even when flying, by their white upper tail-
coverts. They are of wide geographical range, but nowhere
abundant, and visit us on passage in spring and autumn.
THE KNOT
TRINGA CANUTUS
Beak straight, a little longer than the head, much dilated towards the tip ;
tail even at the extremity ; a small part of the tibia naked. Wéanter
throat and abdomen white; breast and flanks white, barred with ash-
brown; upper plumage ash-grey, mottled with brown; wing-coverts
tipped with white; rump and upper tail-coverts white, with black
crescents ; bill and legs greenish black. | Swmmey—streak over the eye,
nape, and all the under plumage, rusty-red, the nape streaked with black ;
back streaked and spotted with black, red, and grey. The upper
plumage of young birds is mottled with reddish brown, grey, black, and
dull white; legs dull green. Length ten inches. Eggs unknown.
THE Knot, Willughby informs us, is so called from having been
a favourite dish of King Canutus, or Knute. It is a migratory
bird, visiting the coasts of Great Britain early in autumn, and
remaining here till spring, when it retires northwards to breed.
During the intervening months it keeps exclusively to the sandy
or muddy seashore, assembling in small flocks, and mixing freely
with Dunlins, Sanderlings, and Purple Sandpipers. Some authors
state that it feeds principally early and late in the day, and during
moonlight nights; but I have seen it on the coast of Norfolk in
winter feeding at all hours of the day in company with the birds
mentioned above, and differing little from them in the mode of
obtaining its food. But I remarked on several occasions that,
262 THE DUNLIN
when a flock was disturbed, the Knots often remained behind,
being less fearful of the presence of man; in consequence of which
tardiness in rising they more than once fell to our guns after their
companions had flown off. On their first arrival, they are said to
be so indifferent to the vicinity of human beings that it is not difficult
to knock them down with stones. Their provincial name in Nor-
folk is the Green-legged Shank, the latter name, Shank, being
applied for shortness to the Redshank. Dr. Richardson states that
‘ Knots were observed breeding on Melville Peninsula by Captain
Lyon, who tells us that they lay four eggs on a tuft of withered grass,
without being at the pains of forming any nest.’
Flocks of young make their appearance early in August, the
adults arriving a little later.
THE, DUNELN
TRINGA ALPINA
Bill a little longer than the head, slightly bent down at the tip; two middle
tail-feathers the longest, dusky and pointed; a small part of the
tibia naked. Wdanter—throat and a streak between the bill and eye
white ; upper plumage ash-brown streaked with dusky; upper tail-
coverts dusky; lateral tail-feathers ash, edged with white; breast
greyish white, mottled with brown ; bill black; feet dusky. Summer—
most of the upper plumage black, edged with rust-red ; belly and abdo-
men black. Young birds have the upper plumage variously mottled
with ash-brown, dusky, and reddish yellow; the bill is shorter and
straight. Length eight inches. Eggs greenish white, blotched and
spotted with brown.
THE name variabilis, changeable, has been applied to this species
of Sandpiper on account of the great difference between its summer
and winter plumage. It was formerly, indeed, supposed that the
two states of the bird were distinct species ; of which the former
was called Dunlin, the latter Purre. It is now known that the two
are identical, the bird being commonly found to assume in spring
and autumn colours intermediate between the two.
Except during the three summer months, May, June, and July, the
Dunlin is common onall the shores of Great Britain, where there are
extensive reaches of sand or mud. I have obtained specimens on
the coast of Norfolk as early as the twenty-fifth of July ; but, gener-
ally, it is not until the following month that they become numerous.
From this time until late in the winter they are reinforced by con-
stant additions ; and in very severe weather the flocks are increased
to such an extent that, if it were possible to number them, they
would be probably found to contain very many thousands. Such
a season was the memorable winter of 1860-61, when, during the
coldest part of it, I made an excursion to the coast of Norfolk for
the purpose of observing the habits of the seaside Grallatores and
Natatores which, in winter, resort to that coast. Numerous as
Dunlin 2? J
Little Stint. Temminck’s Stint
({ face p, 262
Cream-coloured Courser.
THE DUNLIN 263
were the species and individuals of these birds which then flocked
to the beach and salt-marshes, I have no doubt, in my own mind,
that they were all outnumbered by Dunlins alone. Of nearly
every flock that I saw feeding on the wet sand or mud, fully half
were Dunlins ; many flocks were composed of these birds alone ;
while of those which were constantly flying by, without alighting,
the proportion of Dunlins to all other birds was, at least, three
to one. Added to which, while the parties of other birds were
susceptible of being approximately counted, the individuals which
composed a flock of Dunlins were often innumerable.
At one time, we saw in the distance, several miles off, a light
cloud, as of smoke from a factory chimney: it moved rapidly,
suddenly disappeared, and as suddenly again became visible. This
was an enormous flock of Dunlins, consisting of many thousands
at least. They did not come very near us; but smaller flocks
which flew about in our immediate vicinity presented a similar
appearance. As the upper surface of their bodies was turned
towards us, they were of a dark hue; suddenly they wheeled in
their flight as if the swarm was steered by a single will, when they
disappeared ; but instantaneously revealed themselves again flying
in a different direction, and reflected glittering snowy white.
Dunlins, while feeding, show a devoted attention to their occupa-
tion, which is not often to be observed in land birds. They run
rapidly, looking intently on the ground, now stopping to pick up
some scrap of animal matter which lies on the surface of the sand,
now boring for living prey where they detect indications of such
prey lying hid. Occasionally an individual bird appears to suffer
from lameness, and halts in its progress as if its legs were gouty.
Frequently they chase a receding wave for the sake of recovering
a prize which has been swept from the beach: never venturing
to swim, but showing no fear of wetting either feet or feathers.
While engaged in these various ways, they often keep up a short
conversational twitter, in a tone, however, so low that it can only
be heard at a very short distance. While flying, they frequently
utter a much louder piping note, which can readily be distinguished
from the call of the other seaside birds. I observed that a small
detached flock, when disturbed, generally flew off to a great dis-
ance; but if other birds were feeding in the neighbourhood, they
more frequently alighted near them, as if assured by their presence
that no danger was to be apprehended.
Dunlins have bred in Cornwall and Devon; but in many parts
of Scotland, in the Hebrides and Orkneys ‘ they frequent the haunts
selected by the Golden Plovers, with which they are so frequently
seen in company, that they have popularly obtained the name of
Plovers’ Pages. Sometimes before the middle of April, but always
before that of May, they are seen dispersed over the moors in pairs
like the birds just named, which, at this season, they greatly re-
264 PURPLE SANDPIPER
semble in habits. The nest, which is composed of some bits of
withered grass, or sedge, and small twigs of heath, is placed in a
slight hollow, generally on a bare spot, and usually in a dry place,
like that selected by the Golden Plover. The female lays four eggs,
and sits very assiduously, often allowing a person to come quite
close to her before removing, which she does in a fluttering and
cowering manner.’ +
In a few specimens which I obtained, the bill was considerably
curved downwards throughout its whole length, thus approaching
in form that of the Pigmy Curlew ; but the dusky upper tail-coverts
sufficiently distinguished it from its rarer congener.
PURPLE SANDPIPER
TRINGA STRIATA
Bill longer than the head, slightly bent down at the tip, dusky, the base reddish
orange; head and neck dusky brown, tinged with grey; back and
scapulars black, with purple and violet reflections, the feathers edged
with deep ash; breast grey and white; under plumage white, streaked
on the flanks with grey ; feet ochre-yellow. Length eight and a quarter
inches. Eggs yellowish olive, spotted and speckled with reddish brown.
THE Purple Sandpiper is described as being far less common than
the Dunlin, and differing from it in habits, inasmuch as it resorts
to the rocky coast in preference to sandy flats. The few specimens
of it which I have seen were associated with Dunlins, flying in the
same flocks with them, feeding with them, and so closely resembling
them in size and movements, that a description of the one equally
characterizes the other. It was only, in fact, by the difference of
colour that I could discriminate between them ; and this I did, on
several occasions, with great ease, having obtained my specimens
singly while they were surrounded by other birds. According to
Mr. Dunn, ‘ The Purple Sandpiper is very numerous in Orkney and
Shetland, appearing early in spring, and leaving again at the latter
end of April ; about which time it collects in large flocks, and may
be found on the rocks at ebb-tide, watching each retiring wave,
running down as the water falls back, picking small shellfish off
the stones, and displaying great activity in escaping the advancing
sea., 1t does motvbreed there.
This species has a wide geographical range. It has been often
observed in the Arctic regions, where it breeds. It is well known
in North America, and is found in various parts of the continent of
Europe, especially Holland.
1 Macgillivray.
LITRE STINT 265
TEMMINCK’S STINT
TRINGA TEMMINCKI
Bill slightly bent down at the tip, much shorter than the head ; tail gradu-
ated. Wintey—upper plumage brown and dusky; breast reddish ;
lower plumage and outer tail-feathers white; bill and feet brown.
Summer—All the upper feathers black, bordered with rust-red ; breast
reddish ash, streaked with black. Length five and a half inches. Eggs
unknown.
TEMMINCK, in whose honour this bird was named, states that it
‘inhabits the Arctic Regions, and is seen on its passage at two
periods of the year in different parts of Germany, on the banks of
lakes and rivers ; probably, also, in the interior of France ; never
along the maritime coasts of Holland; very rare on the Lake of
Geneva. Its food consists of small insects. It probably builds
its nest very far north.’ A few have been killed in England, and
it occurs in many parts of Asia and in North Africa, but it is nowhere
abundant, being an irregular visitor, only on migration.
LITTER STINT
TRINGA MINUTA
Bill straight, shorter than the head ; two middle and two outer feathers of
the tail longer than the rest (‘ tail doubly forked ’); tarsus ten lines;
upper plumage ash and dusky; a brown streak between the bill and
the eye; under plumage white; outer feathers of the tail ash-brown,
edged with whitish ; middle ones brown; bill and feet black. Length
five and a half inches. Eggs reddish white, spotted with dark red-
brown.
A RARE and occasional visitant, appearing from time to time in
small flocks on the muddy or sandy sea-coast. My friend, the Rev.
W. S. Hore (to whom I am indebted for many valuable notes,
incorporated in the text of this volume), obtained several specimens
of this bird in October, 1840, on the Laira mud banks, near Plymouth.
In their habits they differed little from the Dunlin. They were at
first very tame, but after having been fired at became more cautious.
In their food and mode of collecting it, nothing was observed to
distinguish them from the other Sandpipers. They come on passage
in spring and autumn.
266 THE RUEF AND REEVE
THE RUFF AND REEVE
MACHETES PUGNAX
Male in spring—face covered with yellowish warty pimples; back of the
head with a tuft of long feathers on each side; throat furnished with a
ruff of prominent feathers ; general plumage mottled with ash, black,
brown, reddish white, and yellowish, but so variously, that scarcely
two specimens can be found alike ; bill yellowish orange. Male in winter
—face covered with feathers ; ruff absent; under parts white ; breast
reddish, with brown spots ; upper plumage mottled with black, brown,
and red; bill brownish. Length twelve and a half inches. Female,
“The Reeve ’—long feathers of the head and ruff absent ; upper plumage
ash-brown, mottled with black and reddish brown ; under parts greyish
white ; feet yellowish brown. Length ten and a half inches. In both
sexes—tail rounded, the two middle feathers barred ; the three lateral
feathers uniform in colour. Eggs olive, blotched and spotted with
brown.
Boru the systematic names of this bird are descriptive of its quarrel-
some propensities: machetes is Greek for ‘a warrior’, pugnax
Latin for ‘ pugnacious’. Well is the title deserved ; for Ruffs do
not merely fight when they meet, but meet in order to fight. The
season for the indulgence of their warlike tastes is spring ; the scene,
a rising spot of ground contiguous to a marsh; .and here all the
male birds of the district assemble at dawn, for many days in suc-
cession, and do battle valiantly for the females, called Reeves, till
the weakest are vanquished and leave possession of the field to
their more powerful adversaries. The attitude during these con-
tests is nearly that of the domestic Cock—the head lowered, the
body horizontal, the collar bristling, and the beak extended. But
Ruffs will fight to the death on other occasions. A basket con-
taining two or three hundred Ruffs was once put on board a steamer
leaving Rotterdam for London. The incessant fighting of the
birds proved a grand source of attraction to the passengers during
the voyage; and about half of them were slain before the vessel
reached London. Ruffs are gluttonously disposed too, and, if
captured by a fowler, will begin to eat the moment they are supplied
with food ; but, however voracious they may be, if a basin of bread
and milk or boiled wheat be placed before them, it is instantly
contended for; and so pugnacious is their disposition, that even
when fellow-captives, they would starve in the midst of plenty if
several dishes of food were not placed amongst them at a distance
from each other.
Many years have not passed since these birds paid annual visits
in large numbers to the fen-countries. They were, however, highly
prized as delicacies for the table, and their undeviating habit of
meeting to fight a pitched battle gave the fowler such an excellent
opportunity of capturing all the combatants in his nets, that they
have been gradually becoming more and more rare. The fowler, in
fact, has been so successful that he has destroyed his own trace.
Green Sandpiper ¢
Common Sandpiper 2 Purple Sandpiper fd
Curlew Sandpiper. [face p. 266.
GREEN SANDPIPER 267
Another peculiarity of the Ruff is, that the plumage varies
greatly in different individuals—so much so, indeed, that Montagu
who had an opportunity of seeing about seven dozen in a room
together, could not find two alike. These birds are now become
rare, but occasional specimens are still met with in different parts
of Great Britain, and at various seasons; but if they are ever
served up at table, they must be consignments from the Continent.
The female builds her nest of coarse grass, among reeds and rushes,
and lays four eggs. The brood, when hatched, remain with her
until the period of migration; but the males take no interest in
domestic affairs. The few that have not been caught become more
amicably disposed during the latter portion of the year. They
lose the feathery shields from whence they derive their English
name, and, assuming a peaceful garb, withdraw to some southern
climate. The Ruff is about one-third larger than the Reeve ;
and the latter is, at all seasons, destitute of a prominent collar.
Formerly these birds bred in the east of England.
GREEN SANDPIPER
TOTANUS OCHROPUS
Upper plumage olive-brown, with greenish reflections, spotted with whitish
and dusky ; lower plumage white ; tail white, the middle feathers barred
with dusky towards the end, the two outer feathers almost entirely
white ; bill dusky above, reddish beneath; feet greenish. Length nine
and a half inches. Eggs whitish green, spotted with brown.
Tuts bird, which derives its name from the green tinge of its plum-
age and legs, must be reckoned among the rarer Sandpipers. In
habits it differs considerably from most of its congeners, in that it
is not given to congregate with others of its kind, and that it resorts
to inland waters rather than to the sea. It is seen for the most
part in spring and autumn, at which seasons it visits us when on
its way to and from the northern countries in which it breeds.
Specimens have been killed late in the summer, from which it has
been inferred that the Green Sandpiper sometimes breeds in this
country ; but the fact does not appear to have been confirmed
by the discovery of its nest. While migrating it flies very high,
but when scared from its feeding-ground it skims along the surface
of the water for some distance, and then rises high into the air,
uttering its shrill whistle. In its choice of food, and habits while
feeding it resembles the Common Sandpiper. It lays its eggs in
deserted nests and old squirrel dreys—and breeds probably in wild
parts of Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire. The Son of the Marshes
considers that it does so.
268 THE COMMON SANDPIPER
THE WOOD SANDPIPER
TOTANUS GLAREOLA
Winter—a narrow dusky streak between the bill and eye; upper parts deep
brown, spotted with white; breast and adjacent parts dirty white,
mottled with ash-brown; under plumage and tail-coverts pure white ;
tail-feathers barred with brown and white; two outer feathers on each
side with the inner web pure white; bill and legs greenish. Swmmer—
head streaked with brown and dull white; the white of the breast
clearer ; each of the feathers of the back with two white spots on each
side of the centre. Length seven and a half inches.
THIS species closely resembles the last both in appearance and habits.
It received its name of Wood Sandpiper from having been observed
occasionally to resort to boggy swamps of birch and alder, and has
been seen even to perch on a tree. Its most common places of
resort are, however, swamps and wet heaths. Like the last, it is a
bird of wide geographical range, nowhere very abundant, and
imperfectly known, coming only on passage in spring and autumn.
THE COMMON SANDPIPER
TOTANUS HYPOLEUCUS
Upper parts ash-brown, glossed with olive; back and central tail-feathers
marked with fine wavy lines of rich dark brown; a narrow white streak
over each eye; under plumage pure white, streaked at the sides with
brown ; outer tail-feathers barred with white and brown; bill dusky,
lighter at the base; feet greenish ash. Length seven and a half inches.
Eggs whitish yellow, spotted with brown and grey.
To this bird has been given not inappropriately the name of Sum-
mer Snipe. In form and mode of living it resembles the Snipe
properly so called, and it is known to us only during summer. Un-
like the last two species, it is a bird of common occurrence. One
need only to repair to a retired district abounding in streams and
lakes, at any period of the year between April and September, and
there, in all probability, this lively bird will be found to have made
for itself a temporary home. Arrayed in unattractive plumage,
and distinguished by no great power of song—its note being simply
a piping, which some people consider the utterance of one of its
provincial names, ‘ Willy Wicket ’—it may nevertheless be pro-
nounced an accomplished bird. It flies rapidly and in a tortuous
course, likely to puzzle any but the keenest shot; it runs with
remarkable nimbleness, so that if a sportsman has marked it down,
it will probably rise many yards away from the spot ; it can swim
if so inclined ; and when hard pressed by a Hawk, it has been seen
to dive and remain under water until all danger had passed away.
It has never been observed to perch on the twigs of trees, but it
has been noticed running along the stumps and projecting roots
of trees. Its favourite places of resort are withy holts (where it
THE COMMON REDSHANK 269
searches for food in the shallow drains), moss-covered stones in
rivers, the shallow banks of lakes, and the flat marshy places inter-
sected by drains, which in low countries often skirt the seashore.
Its food consists of small worms and the larve and pup of the
countless insects which spend their lives in such localities. It may
be presumed, too, that many a perfect winged insect enters into its
dietary, for its activity is very great. Even when its legs are not
in motion, which does not often happen, its body is in a perpetual
state of agitation, the vibration of the tail being most conspicuous.
Sandpipers do not congregate like many others of the Waders ;
they come to us generally in pairs, and do not appear to flock to-
gether even when preparing to migrate. The nest is a slight de-
pression in the ground, most frequently well concealed by rushes
or other tufted foliage, and is constructed of a few dry leaves,
stalks of grass, and scraps of moss. The Sandpiper lays four eggs,
which are large, and quite disproportionate to the size of the bird.
Indeed, but for their peculiar pear-shaped form, which allows of
their being placed so as to occupy a small space with the pointed
ends all together, the bird would scarcely be able to cover them.
The parent bird exhibits the same marvellous sagacity in diverting the
attention of an intruder from the young birds to herself, by counter-
feiting lameness, which has been observed in the Plovers. The young
are able to run within a very short time after exclusion from the
egg, there being an instance recorded in the Zoologist of a gentleman
having seen some young birds scramble away from the nest while
there yet remained an egg containing an unhatched chick. Early,
too, in their life they are endowed with the instinct of self-preserva-
tion, for Mr. Selby states that if discovered and pursued before
they have acquired the use of their wings, they boldly take to the
water and dive.
The Sandpiper is found in all parts of Europe and Asia, but not
in America.
THE COMMON REDSHANK
TOTANUS CALIDRIS
Wintey—upper plumage ash-brown ; throat, sides of the head, streak over
the eye, neck, and breast, greyish white; rump, belly, and abdomen,
white ; tail marked transversely with black and white zigzag bars, tipped
with white; feet and lower half of both mandibles red. Swmmer—
upper feathers ash-brown, with a broad dusky streak in the centre;
under parts white, spotted and streaked with dusky ; feet and lower half
of both mandibles vermilion red. Length ten to eleven inches. Eggs
greenish yellow, blotched and spotted with brown.
Tue Redshank is a bird of frequent occurrence on all such parts
of the coast as are suited to its habits. Nowhere, I suppose, is it
more abundant than on the coast of Norfolk—at least, on those parts
270 THE COMMON REDSHANK
of the coast where it can have access to muddy marshes. It does
not, indeed, confine itself to such places, for it is not unfrequently
to be seen on the seashore, feeding in the neighbourhood of Dunlins,
Knots, Grey Plovers, and other Waders; or, when its favourite
haunts are covered by the tide, a solitary bird or a party of three
or four meet or overtake the stroller by the seaside, taking care
to keep at a respectful distance from him, either by flying high over
his head or sweeping along, a few feet above the surface of the sea,
in the line of the breakers or in the trough outside them. They
may easily be distinguished from any other common bird of the
same tribe by the predominance of white in their plumage, Other
Waders, such as Dunlins and Sanderlings, present the dark and light
sides of their plumage alternately, but the Redshank shows its dark
and white feathers simultaneously, and if seen only on the wing
might be supposed to be striped with black and white. Keen-sighted
observers can also detect its red legs. Its flight, as accurately
described by Macgillivray, ‘is light, rapid, wavering, and as if
undecided, and, being performed by quick jerks of the wings,
bears some resemblance to that of a Pigeon’. During its flight it
frequently utters its cry, which isa wild shrill whistle of two or three
notes, approaching that of the Ringed Plover, but louder and less
mellow. At low water, it frequents, in preference to all other places
of resort, flat marshes which are intersected by muddy creeks, and
in these it bores for food. It is very wary, flying off long before
the fowler can come within shot if it happens to be standing
exposed ; and even if it be concealed under a high bank, where it
can neither see nor be seen, it detects his approach by some means,
and in most cases is up and away before any but the most expert
shot can stop its flight. On these occasions it invariably utters
its alarm note, which both proclaims its own escape and gives warn-
ing to all other birds feeding in the vicinity. Scattered individuals
thus disturbed sometimes unite into flocks, or fly off, still keeping
separate, to some distant part of the marsh. On one occasion only
have I been enabled to approach near enough to a Redshank
to watch its peculiar movements while feeding, and this observation
I was much pleased in making, as it confirms the account of another
observer. A writer in the Naturalist, quoted by Yarrell and Mac-
gillivray, says: ‘I was very much struck with the curious manner
in which they dart their bill into the sand nearly its whole length,
by jumping up and thus giving it a sort of impetus, if I may use
the word, by the weight of their bodies pressing it downwards.’
This account Macgillivray, with an unamiable sneer too common in
his writings when he refers to statements made by others of facts
which have not fallen within his own observation, considers to be
so inaccurate that he pronounces the birds to be not Redshanks
at all, and calls them ‘ Irish Redshanks’. On the occasion to which
I have referred, I saw at a distance a largish bird feeding on a bank
Redshank ¢
Greenshank. Blacktailed Godwit ?
Ruff & Reeve.
[face p. 270.
THE GREENSHANK 27!
of mud close to an embankment. Calculating as nearly as I could
how many paces off it was, I cautiously crept along the other side
of the embankment ; and when I had reached what I supposed
was the right spot, took off my hat and peeped over. Within a few
yards of me was an unmistakable Redshank, pegging with his
long beak into the mud, and aiding every blow with an impetus of
his whole body. In my own mind I compared his movements
with those of a Nuthatch, with which I was quite familiar, and, the
surface of the mud being frozen hard, I imagined that the laborious
effort on the part of the bird was necessitated by the hardness of
the ground. Perhaps this may have been the case; but, whether
or not, it is clear enough that the bird does, when occasion requires
it, lend the weight of his body to the effort of his beak in searching
for food. I should add that I did not know, at the time, that any
similar occurrence had been recorded.
The food of the Redshank consists of worms, marine insects,
and any other animal matter which abounds on the seashore. In
small communities it builds its nest of a few blades of grass in
the marshes, in a tuft of rushes or long grass, never among the shingle
where that of the Ringed Plover is placed, but often under a shrub
(popularly known on the coast of Norfolk by the name of ‘ Rose-
mary’), the Sueda fruticosa, Shrubby Sea Blite, of botanists. It
lays four eggs, which are considered delicate eating.
THE GREENSHANK
TOTANUS CANESCENS
Bill strong, compressed at the base, slightly curved upwards. Wintery—fore-
head, all the lower parts, and lower back, white ; head, cheeks, neck and
sides of the breast, streaked with ash-brown and white; rest
of the upper feathers mottled with dusky and yellowish white; tail
white, middle feathers barred with brown, outer white with a narrow
dusky streak on the outer web; bill ash-brown; legs yellowish green,
long and slender. Swmmeyr—teathers ot the back edged with white,
breast and adjacent parts white, with oval black spots; middle tail-
feathers ash, barred with brown. Length fourteen inches. Eggs olive-
brown, spotted all over with dusky.
AN unusual colour and disproportionate length of leg are characters
which sufficiently distinguish the Greenshank and account for its name.
It is far less common than the Redshank, but seems to resemble
it in many of its habits. It is sociably disposed towards birds of
its own kind and allied species, but utterly averse to any familiarity
with man, insomuch that fowlers rarely come within shot of it. It
frequents low muddy or sandy shores and brackish pools, the oozy
banks of lakes, ponds, and rivers, preferring such open situations
as allow it a clear view of threatening danger while there is plenty
of time to decamp. In the course of feeding it wades unconcernedly
Die. THE BAR-TAILED GODWIT
through pools of shallow water, and, if so minded, hesitates neither
to swim nor to dive.
Its visits to England are paid most commonly in spring and
autumn, while it is on its way to and from the northern climates
in which it breeds. ‘In Scotland it is seen’, says Macgillivray,
“in small flocks here and there along the seashore, by the margins
of rivers, and in marshy places breeding there in the north, but it
is nowhere common, and in most districts of very rare occurrence. By
the beginning of summer it has disappeared from its winter haunts,
and advanced northwards; individuals or pairs remaining here
and there in the more northern parts of Scotland, while the rest
extend their migration.’ The same author describes a nest, which
he found in the island of Harris, as very like those of the Golden
and Lapwing Plovers, with four eggs, intermediate in size between
the eggs of these two birds. Another nest was also found by Selby,
in Sutherlandshire. There can be therefore no doubt that the
north of Scotland is within the extreme southern limit of its
breeding-ground. During the winter it is to be seen in the west of
Ireland only.
THE BAR-TAILED GODWIT
LIMOSA LAPPONICA
Beak slightly curved upwards ; middle claw short, without serratures. Winter
—upper plumage variously mottled with grey, dusky, and reddish ash ;
lower part of the back white, with dusky spots ; tail barred with reddish
white and dusky ; lower parts white. Swmmerv—all the plumage deeply
tinged with red. Young birds have the throat and breast brownish
white, streaked with dusky, and a few dusky lines on the flanks. Length
sixteen inches. Eggs unknown.
On the coast of Norfolk, where I made my first acquaintance with
this bird in the fresh state, it is called a Half-Curlew. In like
manner, a Wigeon is called a Half-Duck. In either case the reason
for giving the name is, that the smaller bird possesses half the market
value of the larger. It resembles the Curlew in its flight and the
colour of its plumage ; but differs in having its long beak slightly
curved upwards, while that of the Curlew is strongly arched down-
wards ; and it is far less wary, allowing itself to be approached so
closely that it falls an easy prey to the fowler. It appears to be
most frequently met with in spring and autumn, when it visits
many parts of the coast in small flocks. In Norfolk it is met with
from May, the twelfth of that month being called ‘Godwit day,’ by
the gunners, although it is almost unknown up north at that season.
The specimens which were brought to me were shot in the very
severe weather which ushered in the year 1861. These birds have
nowhere been observed in England later than the beginning of
THE COMMON CURLEW 273
summer, from which fact the inference is fairly drawn that they
do not breed in this country. Their habits differ in no material
respects from the other seaside Waders, with whom they frequently
mingle while feeding, not, seemingly, for the sake of good fellowship,
but attracted by a motive common to all, that of picking up food
wherever an abundance is to be met with. Their note is a loud,
shrill cry, often uttered while on the wing. The female is much
larger than the male.
This bird is sometimes called the Sea Woodcock. Its flesh is
good eating, but is far inferior in flavour to that of the true
Woodcock.
THE BLACK-TAILED GODWIT
LIMOSA BELGICA
Beak nearly straight ; middle claw long and serrated ; upper parts ash-brown
the shafts of the feathers somewhat deeper ; breast and adjacent parts
greyish white; tail black, the base, and the tips of the two middle
feathers, white; beak orange at the base, black at the point; feet dusky.
Summey—much of the plumage tinged with red. Length seventeen and
a half inches. Eggs deep olive, spotted with light brown.
Tuis bird is, in outward appearance, mainly distinguished from the
preceding by having two-thirds of the tail black, instead of being
barred throughout with white and black. Like its congener, it is
most frequently seen in autumn and spring, while on the way to
and from its breeding-ground in the north; but it does not stay
with us through winter, though occasionally a few pairs used to
remain in the fen-countries to breed. It is by far the less common
of the two, and seems to be getting annually more and more rare.
Its habits, as far as they have been observed, approach those of
the other Scolopacide. In its flight it resembles the Redshank.
Its note is a wild screaming whistle, which it utters while on the
wing. It builds its nest in swamps, among rushes and sedges,
simply collecting a few grasses and roots into any convenient hole,
and there it lays four eggs.
THE COMMON CURLEW
NUMENIUS ARQUATA
General plumage reddish ash, mottled with dusky spots; belly white, with
longitudinal dusky spots; feathers of the back and scapulars black,
bordered with rust-red ; tail white, with dark brown transverse bars ;
upper mandible dusky ; lower, flesh-colour; irides brown; feet bluish
grey. Length varying from twenty-two to twenty-eight inches. Eggs
olive-green, blotched and spotted with brown and dark green.
DweELLeErs by the seaside —especially where the tide retires to a
great distance leaving a wide expanse of muddy sand, or on the
B.B, . iz
274 THE COMMON CURLEW
banks of a tidal river where the receding water lays bare extensive
banks of soft ooze—are most probably quite familiar with the note
of the Curlew, however ignorant they may be of the form or name
of the bird from which it proceeds. A loud whistle of two syllables,
which may be heard for more than a mile, bearing a not over-fanciful
resemblance to the name of the bird, answered by a similar cry,
mellowed by distance into a pleasant sound—wild, but in perfect
harmony with the character of the scene —announces the fact
that a party of Curlews have discovered that the ebb-tide is well
advanced, and that their feeding-ground is uncovered. The stroller,
if quietly disposed, may chance to get a sight of the birds themselves
as they arrive in small flocks from the inland meadows ; and though
they will probably be too cautious to venture within an unsafe
distance, they will most likely come quite close enough to be dis-
criminated. Not the merest novice could mistake them for Gulls ;
for not only is their flight of a different character, but the bill,
which is thick enough to be distinguished at a considerable distance,
is disproportionately long, and is curved to a remarkable degree.
Curlews are in the habit of selecting as their feeding-ground those
portions of the shore which most abound in worms and small crus-
taceous animals; these they either pick up and, as it were, coax
from the tip to the base of the beak, or, thrusting their long bills
into the mud, draw out the worms, which they dispose of in like
manner. When the sands or ooze are covered, they withdraw
from the shore, and either retire to the adjoining marshes or pools,
or pace about the meadows, picking up worms, snails, and insects.
Hay-fields, before the grass is cut, are favourite resorts, especially
in the North; and, in districts where there are meadows adjoining
an estuary, they are in the habit of changing the one for the other
at every ebb and flow of the tide. From the middle of autumn
till the early spring Curlews are, for the most part, seaside birds,
frequenting, more or less, all the coast ; but at the approach of the
breeding season they repair inland, and resort to heaths, damp
meadows, and barren hills. Here a shallow nest is made on the
ground, composed of bents, rushes, and twigs of heath, loosely put
together. The eggs, which are very large, are four in number.
During the period of incubation the male keeps about the neigh-
bourhood, but is scarcely Jess wary than at other seasons. The
female, if disturbed, endeavours to lure away the intruder from
her dwelling by the artifice, common in the tribe, of pretending to
be disabled; and great anxiety is shown by both male and female
if any one approaches the spot where the young lie concealed.
The latter are able to run almost immediately after they are
hatched, but some weeks elapse before they are fledged. It seems
probable that an unusually long time elapses before they attain
their full size, for the dimensions of different individuals vary to
a remarkable degree. Eight or nine specimens were brought to
THE BLACK TERN 275
me in Norfolk in the winter of 1861, and among them about half
seemed full-grown ; of the others some were so small that, at the
first glance, I supposed them to be Whimbrels.
The Curlew is found on the sea-coast over the whole of Europe
and Asia, and along the northern coast of Africa.
The flesh of this bird is said by some to be excellent eating. This,
perhaps, may be the case with young birds shot early in autumn
before they have been long subjected to a marine diet. My own
experience of birds shot in winter does not confirm this opinion. I
have found them eatable, but not palatable.
THE WHIMBREL
NUMENIUS PHAEOPUS
General plumage pale ash-colour, mottled with white and dusky spots ; crown
divided by a longitudinal streak of yellowish white; over each eye a
broader brown streak ; belly and abdomen white, with a few dusky spots
on the flanks ; feathers on the back, and scapulars deep brown, in the
middle bordered by lighter brown ; rump white ; tail ash-brown, barred
obliquely with dark brown; bill dusky, reddish at the base; irides brown ;
feet lead-colour. Length not exceeding seventeen inches. Eggs dark
olive-brown, blotched with dusky.
THOUGH by no means a rare bird, the Whimbrel is of far less com-
mon occurrence than the Curlew, and is seen only at two periods
of the year, in May and August, when performing its migrations.
It resembles the Curlew both in figure and habits, though much
smaller in size ; its note, too, is like the whistle of that bird, but
somewhat higher. It is gregarious, but unsociable with other
birds. The extreme southern limit at which the Whimbrel breeds
is considered to be the Orkney and Shetland Islands. It is known
to visit most of the countries of Europe and Asia in spring and
autumn, but is nowhere very abundant.
ORDER GAVE
FAMILY LARID/
Sus-Famity STERNINZ®
THE BLACK TERN
HYDROCHELIDON NIGRA
Bill black ; feet purple-brown, the membrane short ; head and neck black ;
upper parts lead-colour ; under parts dark ash-grey ; under tail-coverts
white ; tail not much forked, shorter than the wings ; irides brown. In
winter, the lore, throat and breast are white. Length ten and a quarter
inches. Eggs dark olive-brown, blotched and spotted with black.
Tue Black Tern is a common bird in most temperate countries
276 THE SANDWICH TERN
which abound in extensive marshes. In its habits it is scarcely
less aquatic than the preceding species, but differs from them all
in preferring fresh water to salt. It was formerly of frequent occur-
rence in England ; but draining and reclaiming have, within the last
few years, given over many of its haunts to the Partridge and Wood
Pigeon ; and it is now but rarely known to breed in this country.!
A few, however, are not unfrequently seen in spring and autumn,
when on their way from and to their winter quarters, which are
the warmer regions of the globe. In Norfolk its name still lingers
as the ‘ Blue Darr’, a corruption, probably, of Dorr-Hawk (another
name of the Nightjar), a bird which it closely resembles in its mode
of flight. Like the Dorr-Hawk, the Black Tern feeds on beetles
and other insects, which it catches on the wing, but adds to its
dietary small fresh-water fish, which it catches by dipping for them.
While in pursuit of its winged prey, it does not confine itself to the
water, but skims over the marsh and adjoining meadows, sometimes
even alighting for an instant to pick up a worm. Black Terns are
sociable birds among themselves, but do not consort with other
species. They lay their eggs in the most inaccessible swamps, on
masses of decayed reeds and flags, but little elevated above the level
of the water. The nests are merely depressions in the lumps of
vegetable substance, and usually contain three or sometimes four
eggs. They are placed near enough to each other to form colonies ;
and the birds continue to flock together during their absence in
warmer climates. Large flocks have been seen in the Atlantic,
midway between Europe and America. In Holland and Hungary
they are said by Temminck to be numerous. This author states
that the Black Tern commonly lays its eggs on the leaves of the
water-lily.
THE SANDWICH TERN
STERNA CANTIACA
Bill long, black, the tip yellowish ; tarsus short (one inch); tail long; head
and crest as in the last ; nape, upper part of the back, and all the lower
parts brilliant white, tinged on the breast with rose; back and wings
pale ash-grey; quills deeper grey; tail white; feet black, yellowish
beneath. Young bivds—head mottled with black and white ; back, wing-
coverts, and tail-feathers varied with irregular lines of black; bill and
feet dark brown. Length eighteen inches. Eggs greyish green, blotched
with brown and black.
Tue Sandwich Tern, which takes its name from the place where
it was first seen in England, is not uncommon on many parts of the
coast during the summer months. In some places it seems to be
1 The Rev. R. Lubbock states in his Fauna of Norfolk, 1845, that it has
ceased to breed regularly in Norfolk, but that eggs had been recently obtained
at Crowland Wash in Lincolnshire,
Sandwich Tern.
Black Tern. Arctic Tern,
Roseate Tern. [face p. 276
THE ROSEATE TERN 277
abundant. A large colony inhabits the Farne Islands. They breed
as far north as the Findhorn. Upon this coast it is called par
excellence ‘The Tern’, all the other species passing under the general
name of ‘Sea Swallows’. Its habits are so like those of the
Common Tern, to be described hereafter, that, to avoid repetition,
I purposely omit all account of its mode of fishing, and content
myself with quoting, on the authority of Audubon and Meyer,
incidents in its biography which I have not noticed in the Common
Tern. The former author says: ‘Its cries are sharp, grating,
and loud enough to be heard at the distance of half a mile. They
are repeated at intervals while it is travelling, and kept up inces-
santly when one intrudes upon it in its breeding-ground, on which
occasion it sails and dashes over your head, chiding you with angry
notes, more disagreeable than pleasant to your ear.’ Meyer, writing
of the same bird, says: ‘The Sandwich Tern is observed to be
particularly fond of settling on sunken rocks where the waves
run high, and the surf is heavy: this being a peculiar fancy belong-
ing to this species, it is sometimes called by the name of Surf Tern.’
DHE ROSEATE TERN
STERNA DOUGALLI
Bill black, red at the base; feet orange, claws small, black; tarsus three-
quarters of an inch long ; tail much forked, much longer than the wings ;
upper part of the head and nape black; rest of the upper plumage pale
ash-grey ; tail white, the outer feathers very long and pointed ; cheeks
and under plumage white, tinged on the breast and belly with rose.
Length fifteen to seventeen inches. Eggs yellowish stone-colour, spotted
and speckled with ash-grey and brown.
Or this Tern Dr. M’Dougall, its discoverer, says, ‘It is of light
and very elegant figure, differing from the Common Tern in the
size, length, colour, and curvature of the bill; in the comparative
shortness of the wing in proportion to the tail, in the purity of the
whiteness of the tail, and the peculiar conformation and extra-
ordinary length of the lateral feathers. It also differs from that
bird in the hazel-colour and size of the legs and feet.’
Roseate Terns have been discovered on several parts of the coast,
principally in the north, as in the mouth of the Clyde, Lancashire
and the Farne Islands. They associate with the Common Terns, but
are far less numerous. Selby says, ‘ the old birds are easily recog-
nized amidst hundreds of the other species by their peculiar and
buoyant flight, long tail, and note, which may be expressed by the
word crake, uttered in a hoarse grating key.’ They rarely nest in
Great Britain.
278 THE COMMON TERN
THE ARCTIC TERN
STERNA MACRURA
Bill slender, red throughout ; under plumage ash-grey ; tail much forked,
longer than the wings ; legs orange-red, in other respects very like the
last. Length fifteen inches. Eggs as in the last.
Tuis bird, as its name indicates, frequents high northern latitudes,
to which, however, it is not confined; since in the Orkneys and
Hebrides it is the common species. It breeds also on the coast
of some of the northern English counties, but not farther south
than the Humber, though several instances are recorded of large
flocks making their appearance in different places at the season
when they were probably on their way from their winter quarters
~—far away to the south—to their breeding-ground. In the
rocky islands, which they frequent from May to September, they
form colonies and lay their eggs, generally apart from the allied
species. The eggs closely resemble those of the Common Tern,
but are somewhat smaller. In its habits and general appearance
the Arctic Tern comes so close to the last-named species, that
the birds, even when flying together, can only be distinguished by
the most practised eye.
THE COMMON TERN
STERNA FLUVIATILIS
Bill moderate, red with a black tip ; head and long feathers on the back of the
head black ; upper parts bluish ash; quills ash-grey, brown at the tips;
tail much forked, not longer than the wings, white, the two outer fea-
thers on each side dusky on the outer webs; under parts white, tinged
with grey on the breast; irides reddish brown; feet coral-red. Young
birds have a good deal of white about the head, and the feathers on the
back are tipped with white; tail ash-grey, whitish at the tip. Length
fourteen inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched and spotted with ash and
dusky.
On those parts of the coast where the Common Tern is abundant,
no sea-bird is more likely to attract the notice of the visitor than
the Common Tern. It is less in size than any of the common species
of Gull, with which, however, it is often confounded by the unob-
servant. It is more lively and active in its motions, not ordinarily
flying in circles, but, if I may use the expression, ‘rambling ’
through the air, frequently diverging to the right or left, and raising
or depressing itself at frequent intervals. These characters alone
are sufficient to distinguish the Tern from any of the Gulls ;
but it presents yet more striking features. Its tail is elongated
and forked like that of the Swallow, and from this character
rather than from its flight it is commonly known as the Sea
Swallow. Its mode of taking its prey is totally different from
Ng
aS,
Lesser Tern 3
Oyster Catcher 2
{face p. 278.
Common Tern,
Turnstone go wmm.
THE LITTLE (OR LESSER) TERN 279
that of the Gulls. Very frequently a single Tern may be observed
pursuing its course in a line with the breakers on a sandy shore at
the distance perhaps of from fifty to a hundred yards from the beach.
Its beak is pointed downwards, and the bird is evidently on the
look-out for prey. Suddenly it descends perpendicularly into the
water, making a perceptible splash, but scarcely disappearing.
In an instant it has recovered the use of its wings and ascends again,
swallowing some small fish meanwhile if it has been successful, but
in any case continuing its course as before. I do not recollect
ever to have seen a Tern sit on the water to devour its prey when
fishing among the breakers. Often, too, as one is walking along
the shore, or sailing in a boat, when the sea is calm, a cruising party
of Terns comes in sight. Their flight now is less direct than in the
instance just mentioned, as they ‘ beat’ the fishing-ground after
the fashion of spaniels, still, however, making way ahead. Sud-
denly one of the party arrests its flight, hovers for a few seconds
like a Hawk, and decends as if shot, making a splash as before.
If unsuccessful it rises at once, but if it has captured the object on
which it swooped, it remains floating on the water until it has re-
lieved itself of its incumbrance by the summary process of swallow-
ing it. I do not know a prettier sight than a party of Terns thus
occupied. They are by no means shy, frequently flying quite
over the boat, and uttering from time to time a short scream,
which, though not melodious, is more in keeping with the scene
than a mellow song would be.
In rough weather they repair to sheltered bays, ascend estuaries,
or follow the course of a river until they have advanced far inland.
They are harbingers of summer quite as much as the Swallow itself,
coming to us in May and leaving in September for some warmer
coast. They usually breed on flat shores, laying two or three eggs
on the ground, in marshes, or on sandy shingle. The eggs in my
collection were procured on the coast of Norfolk, but I have seen
the birds themselves in the greatest numbers in Belfast Lough and
in Loch Crinan. They have bred as far north as Sutherland.
TEs Lit Ree (OR LESSER) TERN
STERNA MINUTA
Bill orange, with a black tip; feet orange ; forehead, and a streak above
the eye, white; crown black; upper parts pearl-grey ; under, white ;
tail much forked, shorter than the wings. Young bivds have the head
brownish, with darker streaks ; upper plumage yellowish white and dusky ;
bill pale yellow, with a dark tip; legs dull yellow. Length eight and a
half inches. Eggs stone-colour, spotted and speckled with grey and
brown.
On the sandy and marshy shores of Norfolk, the Lesser Tern is a
bird of common occurrence in summer, either single, or in small
280 TEE Ee EeiN
parties of three or four. Not unfrequently, as the seaside visitor
is sauntering about on the sands, one of these birds seems to take
offence at its dominion being invaded. With repeated harsh cries it
flies round and round the intruder, coming quite close enough to
allow its black head and yellow beak to be distinguished. Its
flight is swift, something like that of a Swallow, but more laboured,
and not so rapid. If fired at, it takes little notice of the noise ;
and, knowing nothing of the danger, continues its screams + and
circling till its pertinacity becomes annoying. When feeding it
presents a far pleasanter appearance. Then, altogether heedless
of intrusion, it skims along the surface of the drains in the marshes,
profiting by its length of wing and facility of wheeling, to capture
flying insects. At least, if this be not its object, I can in no other
way account for the peculiar character of its flight. At other
times, either alone or in company with a few other individuals
of the same species, it is seen flying slowly along, some fifteen or
twenty feet above the surface of a shallow tidal pool, or pond, in a
salt marsh. Suddenly it arrests its onward progress, soars like a
Kestrel for a second or two, withits beak pointed downwards. It
has descried a shrimp, or small fish, and this is its way of taking
aim. Employing the mechanism with which its Creator has pro-
vided it, it throws out of gear its apparatus of feathers and air-
tubes, and falls like a plummet into the water, with a splash which
sends circle after circle to the shore; and, in an instant, having
captured and swallowed its petty booty, returns to its aerial
watch-post.
eae
~ Sie) pete aad
{iso We eee Poa, ai .
*# 7 31 An
i ere ae
THE BROWN-HEADED GULL 281
like a Swallow’s than that of the Common Tern, and in size it does
not so very much exceed the Swift as to make the comparison out-
rageous. <=
7 ' f Sane
2 § a :
odd
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: colt A sft of des
eed, as pee
AG Bid nk
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a Rye
THE KITIIWAKE GULL 28
GLAUCOUS GULL, OR BURGOMASTER
LARUS GLAUCUS
General plumage white; back and wings bluish grey; tail and termina
portion of the quills white; bill strong, yellow; legs livid flesh-colour.
Young mottled with white, grey, and light brown ; shafts of the quills
white ; in other respects like the last, but the bill is longer and stouter.
Length about twenty-nine inches; breadth five feet two inches. Eggs
as in the last, but of a greener hue.
THE Glaucous Gull, a large, handsome, and powerful bird, resembles
in many of its habits the species last described, but it has not been
known to breed in even the most northerly of the British Isles. It
pays occasional visits to our shores in winter. A few specimens
only have been shot in the southern portion of the island, and no
large number in Scotland; but in the neighbourhood of the whale
fishery it is common enough. It is very voracious, and not only
eats fish, whether dead or alive, and shares with the whale-fisher
in his booty, but pursues other sea-fowl, compels them to disgorge
their prey, robs them of their eggs, and, if they resist, kills and
devours them.t In short, it is the very tyrant of the Arctic Ocean.
Its predatory habits were noticed by the early navigators in these
waters, who gave it the name of Burgomaster ; but as no accurate
description of the bird was brought home, and as some of our other
large Gulls are open to a charge of similar rapacity, the name was
naturally transferred by Willughby to another species, which he
calls the Wagel (probably the Great Black-Backed Gull in immature
plumage). This was in 1676. A hundred years later Brunnich
gave it the name of Glaucous Gull; but it is still called Burgo-
master by the Dutch, and by Arctic voyagers generally.
Mr. St. John gives the name of Wagel to the Great Grey Gull.
NI
THE KITTIWAKE GULL
RISSA TRIDACTYLA
Hind toe represented by a small knob without a claw. Summer plumage
—head and neck pale bluish ash, a few fine dusky streaks before the eyes ;
forehead, region of the eyes, and all the under parts, pure white ; upper
plumage bluish ash; first primary with the outer web black, four first
tipped with black, two or three of them ending in a small white spot,
fifth having the tip white bordered with black; bill greenish yellow ;
orbits red ; irides brown; feet dark olive-brown. In winter, the whole
of the head and neck is white. Young birds have the head white, mottled
with grey and dusky; upper feathers tipped with brown; bend and
upper edge of the wing black; primaries black; tail black, towards the
end tipped with white; bill, orbits, and irides, black; feet pale brown.
Length fifteen and a half inches. Eggs stone-colour, spotted with grey
and two shades of brown. ;
THE Kittiwake Gull takes its name from the cry with which in the
* A specimen shot in Norfolk was found to contain a full-grown Golden
Plover entire,
288 THE GREAT SKUA
breeding season it assails any intruder on its domain. It is a beauti-
ful bird, especially in its variegated immature plumage, remarkable
for its delicacy of colouring and the easy grace of its flight, frequent-
ing high cliffs in summer, while engaged in the duties of incubation,
and at all other times preferring the open sea to estuaries, and feed-
ing on such small fish as swim near the surface. It is very abun-
dant in the Arctic regions of both hemispheres during summer,
and extends its southern limits so far as to include the British Isles,
but is most numerous in the north. Its nest, built of seaweed or -
bents, is placed high up in the face of a precipitous cliff, generally on
a narrow ledge, and in close proximity with others belonging to
birds of the same species. It contains three eggs, and the young
birds remain in their airy nest until fully fledged, when, as
well as their parents, they disperse over the neighbouring seas,
rarely venturing either to perch on land or fly over it. The
young of the Kittiwake, previous to its first moult, is sometimes
called the Tarrock. Colonel Irby says that the Kittiwake is a
partially resident species. Marked birds have been known to
follow vessels across the North Atlantic.
Sus-Famity STERCORARIINZ! (Rosser Gutts)
THE GREAT SKUA
STERCORARIUS CATARRHACTES
Upper plumage brown, of several shades ; shafts of the quills, basal half of
the primaries, and shafts of the tail-feathers, white ; under, reddish grey,
tinged with brown ; two central tail-feathers but slightly elongated, not
tapering; tarsus two and a half inches long, somewhat rough at the back.
Length twenty-five inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched with brown.
TuE Skuas, called also Skua Gulls, are sufficiently distinguished
from the true Gulls by their strong hooked bills and talons, and
by the habits of daring and voracity founded on these characters.
The present species, though called common, is only to be so con-
sidered in high latitudes ; for it is very rarely seen on the coasts of
England, and has become scarce even in the Shetland Islands, where
it was at one time frequent. Mr. Dunn! says: ‘“‘I never saw this
bird in Orkney, and there are only three places in Shetland where
it breeds—viz. Foula, Rona’s Hill, and the Isle of Mist ; in the latte
place it is by no means numerous, and is strictly preserved by the
landlords, on whose property it may have settled, from a superstition
that it will defend their flocks from the attacks of the Eagle. That
} Ornithologist’s Guide to Orkney and Shetland, p. 112,
TWIST-TAILED OR POMATORHINE SKUA 289
it will attack the Eagle if he approaches their nests is a fact I have
witnessed: I once saw a pair completely beat off a large Eagle
from their breeding-place, on Rona’s Hill. The flight of the Skua
is stronger and more rapid than that of any other Gull. It is a
great favourite with the fishermen, frequently accompanying their
boats to the fishing-ground, or Haaf, which they consider a lucky
omen ; and in return for its attendance, they give it the refuse of
the fish which are caught. The Skua Gull does not associate in
-groups; and it is seldom that more than a pair are seen together.
During the breeding season it is highly courageou: ; and will strike
furiously at, and will even pursue, any one who may happen to
approach its nest, which is constructed among the heath or moss ;
the female laying two eggs.’’
Some authors state that the Common Skua obtains its livelihood
by levying contributions on the White Gulls, compelling them to
disgorge their prey, and catching it before it reaches the water ;
but Dr. Edmonston, who had great opportunities of watching the
habits of these birds, says that they do not adopt the practices
correctly attributed to the Arctic Gull, or Richardson’s Skua. The
voice of the Common Skua is said to resemble that of a young Gull,
being sharp and shrill; and it is from the resemblance of its cry
to that of the word Skua, or Skui, that it obtains its popular name.
That it is remarkably courageous and daring, all accounts agree.
Mr. Low says that, when the inhabitants are looking after their
sheep on the hills, the Skua often attacks them in such a manner
that they are obliged to defend themselves with their cudgels held
above their heads, on which it often kills itself ; and Captain Vetch,
in the Memoirs of the Wernerian Society, says that it not only
drives away Ravens and Eagles, but that the larger quadrupeds,
such as horses and sheep, which venture near its nest, are imme-
diately put to flight. Its northern name is Bonxie.
TWIST-TAILED OR POMATORHINE SKUA
STERCORARIUS POMATORHINUS
Upper plumage uniform dark brown; feathers of the nape long, tapering
lustrous ; sides of the face and under plumage white ; a collar of brown
spots on the breast, and similar spots on the flanks ; shafts of the quills
and tail-feathers white, except at the tip; two central tail-feathers
projecting three inches, not tapering; tarsus two inches long, rough at
the back, with projecting scales. Length twenty-one inches. Young
biyrds— upper plumage dusky brown, mottled with reddish yellow ;
under, yellowish white, thickly set with brown spots and bars. Eggs
ash-green, spotted with dusky.
Tue habits of this bird vary but little from those of the other species.
Its home is in the Arctic seas, from which it strays southwards in
winter, and has been occasionally seen on our coasts. The follow-
B.B. U
290 RICHARDSON’S SKUA
ing account of the capture of one of these birds, in 1844, indicates
a bird of unusual daring and voracity: “ About the beginning of
last October, a Pomarine Skua was taken in the adjoining village ©
of Ovingdean. It had struck down a White Gull, which it would
not quit: it was kept alive above a fortnight, and then died. The
very first day of its captivity it (is said to have) devoured twenty-
five Sparrows. Once it escaped, and immediately attacked a Duck,
which it held till recaptured.’ +
RICHARDSON’S SKUA
STERCORARIUS CREPIDATUS
Crown dusky ; cheeks, neck, and under plumage white, tinged with yellow or
brown; rest of the plumage dusky, the wings and tail the darkest.
Two central tail-feathers tapering from the base, pointed, and projecting
six inches; tarsus less than two inches. Length twenty-one inches.
Eggs olive, with a circle of brown spots near the larger extremity, the
rest speckled with the same colour.
Tuis species of Skua, most familiarly known, perhaps, as the Arctic
Gull, received its distinctive name, ‘ Richardson’s’, in honour of
the eminent Arctic naturalist. It is distinguished from the species
already described by its longer tail, but the habits of all are much
alike ; indeed, the names of ‘ Arctic Gull’, “ Boatswain’, ‘and Man-
of-War’, appear to be sometimes employed indiscriminately.
Richardson’s Skua, like the rest, inhabits the Arctic seas, but
extends its wanderings southwards in far greater numbers than
either of the other species, so that its occurrence on the east coast
of England is not unusual. According to Mr. Dunn, ‘numbers of
this bird breed in Orkney and Shetland, appearing regularly in
May and leaving in August: it is confined to a few situations and
is strictly preserved, from the same motive as the Skua Gull. It
constructs its nest on low, not mossy, heaths in exposed situations.
The female lays two eggs, and has recourse to the same stratagems
that the Plover employs to decoy you from the nest ; but when a
person approaches near to the place where the nest is built, becomes
bold and fierce, and strikes severely with the feet and bill.’ The
following account is taken from Mr. St. John’s Wild Sports of
the Highlands: ‘‘I was much amused the other day by the
proceedings of a pair of the Black-toed Gull or Boatswain.
These two birds were sitting quietly on an elevated ridge of
sand, near which a number of other Gulls of different kinds were
fishing, and hovering about in search of what the waves might
cast up. Every bird, indeed, was busy and employed, excepting
these two black robbers, who seemed to be quietly resting, quite
1 Zoologist, vol. iii. p. 880,
Puffin Jd Black Guillemot d 2
Razorbill J Guillemot ? [ face p. 290.
long te
' iz _ _*" ie ee a "
THE RAZOR-BILL 291
unconcerned. When, however, a Gull had picked up a prize, these
birds seemed instinctively to know it, and darting off with the
rapidity of a Hawk (which bird they much resemble in their manner
of flight), they attacked the unfortunate Gull in the air, and in spite
of his screams and attempts to escape, they pursued and beat him
till he disgorged the fish or whatever he had swallowed, when one
of them darted down and caught the substance before it could reach
the water. The two then quietly returned to their sandbank,
where they waited patiently to renew the robbery, should an
opportunity occur. As the flock of Gulls moved on with the flow
of the tide, the Boatswains moved on also, hovering on their flank
like a pair of plundering freebooters. I observed that, in chasing
a Gull, they seemed perfectly to understand each other as to who
should get the spoil; and in their attacks on the largest Gulls
(against whom they waged the most fearless warfare), they evidently
acted so as to aid each other. If another pair of Boatswains
intruded on their hunting-ground they immediately seemed to send
them further off ; not so much by actual battle, as by a noisy and
screaming argument, which they continued most vigorously till
the new-comers left the neighbourhood.
‘“T never saw these birds hunt for their own living in any other
way than by robbing the other Gulls. Though not nearly so large
as some of the birds which they attack, their Hawk-like swoops
and great courage seem to enable them to fight their way most
successfully. They are neatly and powerfully made, their colour
a kind of sooty dull black, with very little gloss or shining tints on
their feathers.”
ORDER VEYGORODES
FAMILY ALCID/
THE RAZOR-BILL
ALCA TORDA
Wings reaching to the origin of the tail ; head and upper parts black ; a band
across the wing ; an interrupted line from the eye to the base of the bill,
and all the under parts white; bill black, with three or four furrows, of
which the middle one is white; irides hazel; legs dusky. In summery
the line from the eye to the bill is pure white, and the whole of the throat
and neck is black, tinged with red. Length seventeen inches. Eggs
white, blotched and spotted with two shades of brown.
In general habits, the Razor-bill closely resembles the Guillemot
and Puffin. Indeed, in some parts of the coast, the Razor-bill is
called a Puffin, and the latter a Sea Parrot ; and in Cornwall both
292 THE COMMON GUILLEMOT
Guillemotsand Razor-bills are known by the common name of Murre.
At a distance the birds can only be distinguished by a practised
eye ; but on a close inspection they cannot be possibly confounded.
Razor-bills are common on many parts of our coast during the
later summer months. They are more frequently seen swimming
than flying, and if pursued by a boat are little disposed to take
alarm until they are approached to within twenty or thirty yards,
when they dive, but soon reappear not very far off. If two birds
be in company and one be killed by a shot from a gun, its companion,
instead of taking measures to insure its own safety, seems to lose
the power of self-preservation. It paddles round its companion
as if unable to comprehend the reason why it neither dives nor flies,
and if pursued suffers itself to be overtaken and knocked down by
an oar. This sympathetic feeling is not confined to birds which
have paired, or to members of the same family ; for in an instance
which came under my own notice, both birds were only a few months
old, and, as the Razor-bill lays but one egg, the birds could not
possibly have grown up together. Towards winter, Razor-bills
migrate southwards, either to avoid cold or to find waters where
their prey swims nearer to the surface than in our climate. In
spring they return northwards, and repair, like Puffins, to places
of habitual resort for the purpose of breeding. At this season, also,
they are eminently social, laying each an egg in close proximity
on a ledge in the rocks, lower down than the Puffins, but above
the Guillemots, all of which birds flock to the same portion of
coast, often in countless multitudes. The egg differs from that
of the Guillemot not only in colour but in shape, being less
decidedly pear-shaped. It is much sought after as an article of
food, and is said to be very palatable.
The ‘Auk’ of Arctic voyagers is this bird. The Razor-bill is
one of the best known of the Auk family, or Alcide, although less
plentiful than the Guillemot or the Puffin.
THE COMMON GUILLEMOT
URIA TROILE
Bill much compressed, longer than the head, greyish black ; upper plumage
brownish black; the secondaries tipped with white; a whitish patch
behind the eye on each side; under plumage white ; feet dusky ; iris
brown. Length nearly eighteen inches. Eggs greenish or bluish,
blotched and streaked with black.
Tus is one of our common sea-birds during a great portion of the
year, though little known to ordinary seaside visitors, owing to its
habit of keeping well out to sea and having nothing ostentatious
in its habits. Yet, during a cruise in a yacht, on almost any part
of the coast, a practised eye will often discover a few stragglers,
THE COMMON GUILLEMOT 293
distinguished among other sea-birds by their black and white
colours, short neck, and sharp beak. They swim low in the water ;
and when disturbed do not invariably dive like the Grebes and Divers,
but readily take wing. They are essentially marine birds, never
resorting to fresh water, and living exclusively on fish, which they
capture by diving, an art in which they are scarcely less skilful than
the true Divers, and which they practise in the same way—by the
means, namely, of both wings and feet. Occasionally, a small
party may be observed, flying in single file near the surface of the
water. On the eastern coast of England, the Guillemot is best
known by the name of Willock. It is also called Tinker’s Hue,
or, as Yarrell gives it, ‘ Tinkershere ’ ; and in the west of England
it is often called a Murr. The old writers describe it under the
name of Greenland Dove, or Sea Turtle-Dove ; and in Scotland it
has a variety of other names. Tinker’s Hue is, I presume, the
sobriquet of a white bird with a smutty back; Murr is clearly a
corruption of Mergus, or ‘ diver’. Yet more commonly it is known
as the ‘ Foolish Guillemot’, a term of reproach analogous to that
of ‘ Booby’, given to it from the indifference which it evinces, in the
breeding season, to one of its few, but that one the most formidable
of its enemies, man. Early in spring Guillemots throng together
from all parts of the open sea, and repair to some lofty cliff, where,
on a narrow ledge of rock, which in their folly they deem inaccessible,
they lay each a single egg. As the bird holds the egg between her
legs, she could not well cover more than one; and though a con-
cave nest is very needful to keep eggs together when there are
several, no such contrivance is necessary when there is one only ;
so the Foolish Guillemot builds no nest, but lays a solitary egg on
the bare rock. The egg, which is large, is thick-shelled and rough,
so that it receives no detriment from the rock; and it is not likely
to roll off, for at one end it is thick, and at the other tapers almost
to a point; consequently, if accidentally moved by the parent
bird when taking flight, it turns as if on a pivot, but does not fall
off. At this season, the cliffs to which Guillemots resort are fre-
quented also by myriads of other sea-birds, such as Razor-bills,
Puffins, and Gulls, each congregating with its own species, but
never consorting with another. In Iceland, the Faroe Islands, St.
Kilda, the Orkneys, and many parts of the coast of Scotland, the
breeding season of these birds is the harvest-time of the natives.
Either by climbing from below, or by being let down with ropes
from above, the egg-collectors invade the dominions of these literally
feathered ‘tribes’. The Foolish Guillemots, rather than leave
their charge, suffer themselves to be knocked on the head, to be
netted, or noosed. Although stationed so close to each other that
a Foolish Guillemot alone could know its own egg, they learn no
wisdom from the fate of their nearest neighbours. They are
captured in detail for the sake of their feathers; and their eggs
294 THE LEE AUK
are taken for food. In St. Kilda and, perhaps, elsewhere, young
birds are also taken in large numbers, and salted for consumption
in winter. Such as escape this systematic slaughter flounder, as
well as they are able, into the sea when nearly fledged, or are carried
thither by their foolish mothers. There they learn to swim, to dive,
and to fish, and about the middle of August old and young disperse.
Huge baskets of their eggs are sometimes brought to the markets
of seaport towns (I have seen them so far south as Devonport),
and sold for a price exceeding that of domestic fowls, for they are
much larger, and are said to afford good eating. Wilson, in his
Voyage round the Coasts of Scotland, says that the natives of St.
Kilda prefer the eggs of these, and other sea-fowl, ‘when sour ;
that is, when about ten or twelve days old, and just as the incipient
bird, when boiled, forms in the centre into a thickish flaky matter,
like milk.’+ Great quantities are used in the neighbourhood of
Flamborough Head early in the nesting season.
THE BEACK GUILLEMOT
URIA GRYLLE
Upper plumage black ; middle of the wings and under parts white ; iris brown ;
feetred. Length thirteen andahalfinches. Eggs whitish grey, blotched
and speckled with grey and two shades of brown.
THE Black Guillemot, is a resident species breeding on the Isle of
Man, and on the Irish coasts. In Scotland it is common. Its
mode of life, as described by Macgillivray, who was familiarly
acquainted with it, differs in no material respect from that of the
species already described. It is, however, much smaller, and lays
two or sometimes three eggs. Macgillivray says that, on those
parts of the coast which it frequents, attempts are often made to
rear it in captivity; but always unsuccessfully. In summer,
these birds may be readily distinguished from other sea-fowl, by
their black and white plumage and red feet : the predominant tint
of the plumage in winter is white, with a tinge of grey; and in high
latitudes the proportion of white increases.
TRE LITTLE Ak
MERGULUS ALLE
Head and upper parts black ; two bands across the wings ; a spot above the
eye and all the under parts white. In swmmey the throat and front of
the neck are also black. Lengthabout seveninches. Eggs uniform pale
blue. ;
Tue Little Auk is essentially a northern sea-bird, coming to us in
winter, and is described by Arctic voyagers under the name of
PANNE tile 305-215)
Red-throated Diver 2? Winter and ¢ Summer.
Little Auk 2 Black-throated Diver wm. and Jd
Great Northern Diver J [ face p. 294.
rs
2
ve A ay i tk 1 are
a
a .
LL 6 “if
THE PUFFIN 295
Rotche. It is an indefatigable swimmer, and has considerable
powers of flight ; but it does not possess the faculty of diving to the
same degree as the Divers and Grebes, as it generally stays but a
short time under water. Henceit must find its food near the surface ;
and this is supposed to consist of the small crustaceous animals which
are so abundant in the Arctic waters. Little Auks are eminently
social birds, and have been observed occasionally in such numbers on
the water and floating masses of ice as almost to hide their resting-
place. They rarely travel far south; and when they visit our
shores, which is in winter, and after tempestuous weather, they are
supposed to have been driven hither against their will. Instances
are recorded of specimens having been found far inland, disabled
or dead. It lays only a single egg.
THE PUFFIN
FRATERCULA ARCTICA
Crown, collar, and upper parts, black ; cheeks, region of the eyes, and throat,
greyish white; under parts pure white; bill bluish grey at the base,
yellow in the middle, bright red at the tip; upper mandible with three
transverse furrows, lower, with two; iris whitish; orbits red; feet
orange-red. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs whitish, with
indistinct ash-coloured spots.
UNLIKE the majority of sea-birds which have been passing under
our notice, Puffins visit the shores of the British Isles in summer,
and even in winter they are not absent. They make their appear-
ance about April or May, not scattering themselves indiscriminately
along the coast, but resorting in vast numbers to various selected
breeding-places, from the Scilly Islands to the Orkneys. Their
home being the sea, and their diet small fish, they possess the
faculties of swimming and diving to a degree of perfection. They
have, moreover, considerable powers of flight ; but on land their
gait is only a shuffling attempt at progress. Their vocation on
shore is, however, but a temporary one, and requires no great amount
of locomotion. Soon after their arrival they set to work about
their nests. Fanciful people who class birds according to their
constructive faculty as weavers, basket-makers, plasterers, and so on,
would rank Puffins among miners. Building is an art of which
they are wholly ignorant, yet few birds are lodged more securely.
With their strong beaks, they excavate for themselves holes in the
face of the cliff to the depth of about three feet, and at the extremity
the female lays a solitary egg—solitary, that is to say, unless another
bird takes shelter in the same hole, which is not unfrequently the
case. Puffins generally show no overweening partiality for their
own workmanship ; sloping cliffs which have been perforated by
rabbits are favourite places of resort ; and here they do not at all
scruple to avail themselves of another’s labour, or, if necessary,
to eject by force of beak the lawful tenant. If the soil be unsuited
295 THE PUFFIN
for boring, they lay their eggs under large stones or in crevices in
the rock. The old bird sits most assiduously, and suffers herself
to be taken rather than desert her charge, but not without wound-
ing, with her powerful beak, and to the best of her ability, the hand
which ventures into her stronghold. Myriads burrow on Lundy
Island. Lunde means Puffin, and ey Island, the name being given
by the old Scandinavian rovers who settled there.
The young are fed by both parents, at first on half-digested fish,
and when older on pieces of fresh fish. At this period they suffer
their colonies to be invaded without showing much alarm, and are
either shot, knocked down with a stick, or noosed without difficulty.
As soon as the young are fully fledged, all the Puffins withdraw to
southern seas, where they pass the winter, and do .not approach
land until the return of the breeding season. ‘‘ A small island near
Skye, named Fladda-huna, is a great breeding haunt of Puffins, a
species which arrives in the earlier part of May, literally covering the
rocks and ledgy cliffs withits feathered thousands. Although these
have no concern with our Grouse-shooting season, they almost totally
disappear on the twelfthof August.” + It was just about this period
(August 7) in the present year (1861) that I observed several large
flocks of Puffins, floating with the tide through the Sound of Islay,
and was told by an intelligent gamekeeper that “‘ these birds habitu-
ally swim through the sound at this season, but always fly when
returning’’. The reason probably is that the young are not at the
former period sufficiently fledged to undertake a long flight, though
they find no difficulty in swimming. By spring they have attained
their full strength, and are able to adopt the more rapid mode of
progress. In Scotland there are many large colonies, also in the
cliffs by Flamborough Head, and on the Farne Islands.
Puffins and some other sea-birds appear to be either liable to a
fatal epidemic or to be surprised by some atmospheric disturbance,
being unable to resist which, they perish in large numbers. I have
seen a portion of the sea-shore in Cornwall strewed for the distance
of more than a mile with hundreds of their remains. All the softer
parts had been apparently devoured by fishes and crustaceous
animals, and nothing was left but the unmistakable parrot-like
beaks. A friend informs me that he witnessed a similar pheno-
menon in Norfolk, in September, 1858; but in this instance the
carcases of the birds were not devoured, and the birds were of different
kinds. He estimated that about ninety per cent. were Guillemots,
and the remainder Puffins, Razor-bills, Scoters, and a sprinkling of
Black Throated Divers. A similar mortality among sea-birds is
recorded in the Zoologist as having taken place on the coast of
Norfolk, in May, 1856. On this occasion they were so numerous
as to be thought worth collecting for manure.
1 Wilson’s Voyage round the Coast of Scotland.
THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER 207
Other names by which the Puffin is known are Sea Parrot, Coul-
terneb, Mullet, Bottlenose ; and, in Scotland, Ailsa Parrot, Tammie-
Norie, and Tammas.
FAMILY COLYMBID/
THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER
COLYMBUS GLACIALIS
Bill, with the upper mandible, nearly straight, upwards of four inches in
length ; head and neck violet-black, with a double gorget white, barred
with black ; upper parts black, spotted with white ; under parts white ;
bill black ; irides brown; feet dusky, the membranes whitish. Young
very like the next, but distinguishable by their superior size and the
direction of the bill. Length thirty-three inches. Eggs dark olive-
brown, with a few spots of purplish brown.
THE name Divers is, on the sea-coast, loosely applied to a ¢ribe
of sea-birds, including the Grebes, Cormorants, and other birds,
which, when pursued, place their safety in diving rather than in
flying. In works on natural history the term is, however, employed
to designate the genus CoLyMBus, and with great propriety ; for,
however skilled any of the above birds may be in this mode of
progression, the true divers surpass them immeasurably. First
among these in size and dignity is the Great Northern Diver, a
native of high latitudes in both hemispheres, never perhaps coming
farther south than the Shetlands for breeding purposes, and
visiting our waters only during winter.1 The Northern Diver,
or Imber or Ember Goose, appears to be tolerably frequent in
British waters. In Scotland it prefers saltwater lochs and sandy
bays to the open sea, though occasionally seen some miles from
land. It swims deep in the water, but advances rapidly. When
in pursuit of prey it sinks beneath the surface without plunge
orsplash, the head disappearing last, and it traverses perhaps
two or three hundred yards of water before it rises again.
Montagu says that it propels itself by its feet alone ; Audubon,
on the contrary, states that it uses the wings under water. The
latter author is most probably correct, for it dives more swiftly
than the Grebes, and these birds undoubtedly make a vigorous
use of their wings. Where shoals of small fish, such as sand-eels
1 Mr. Yarrell, vol. iii. p. 426, quotes Sir Thomas Browne as an authority
for the fact that Divers formerly bred in the Broads of Norfolk. A careful
examination of that author will show, however, that Sir Thomas Browne had
seen only a single specimen of the Northern Diver, his ‘ Divers’, or ‘ Dive-
fowl’, being the Crested and Lesser Grebes, etc., which, as we have seen
above, continue to breed in the Broads.
298 THE BLACK-THROATED DIVER
and sprats, abound, or where fish even of a much larger size are
numerous, the Northern Diver finds a rich harvest. Occasionally
while thus engaged it meets its death by dashing into the herring
nets, and there getting entangled. A fine specimen was recently
shown to me in the island of Islay, which had been thus captured.
Though it has never been known to take wing in attempting to
elude pursuit, it is often seen flying with strength and rapidity,
outstripping even the Grebe, which, in proportion to its size, is
furnished with far larger wings than itself.
The adult male, which is a very handsome bird, is of rare occur-
rence, most of those which visit our shores being young birds.
The nest is usually placed near the edge of a reedy lake or large
river, having a well-beaten track leading to it from the water’s
edge. This is formed by the bird in its clumsy effort to walk, a
feat which it only performs on such occasions. The nest itself is
bulky, and is formed of the vegetable substances found in the
immediate vicinity, such as grasses and other herbaceous plants.
It contains two, and sometimes three, eggs. The young are able
to swim and dive very soon after they are hatched, and are fed
for about a fortnight by their parents, at the expiration of which
time they have to hunt for themselves.
THE BLACK-THROATED DIVER
COLYMBUS ARCTICUS
Bill slightly curved upwards, with the middle of the lower mandible equal in
width to the base, exceeding three inches in length; head ash-grey ;
throat and front of the neck black, lustrous with violet and green; be-
neath the throat a narrow band streaked with white and black; sides and
front of the neck streaked with white and black; back black, with a
longitudinal patch of white and black bars on the upper part ; scapulars
with twelve or thirteen transverse white bars; bill dusky; iris brown ;
feet dusky, with whitish membranes. Young birds have the head and back
of the neck greyer and the upper plumage dark brown, edged with
bluish ash; under plumage white; cheeks white, spotted with ash ;
upper mandible ash-grey, lower dull white. Length twenty-four to
twenty-eight inches. Eggs dark olive-brown, spotted with purplish
brown.
Tuts Diver differs from the preceding species principally in being
of inferior size. The predominant tints of the plumage are the
same, and the habits of the two are so similar that a separate descrip-
tion is unnecessary. The present species is, however, far less
common, though it breeds in the Outer Hebrides and in Scot-
land, where both eggs and young birds have been observed, and
migrates southward in winter. It lays two eggs, near the edge
of a fresh-water loch; and Mr. Selby observed that a visible
track from the water to the eggs was made by the female, whose
progress upon land is effected by shuffling along upon her belly,
Red Necked Grebe.
Slavonian Grebe. Black Necked or Eared Grebe.
Great Crested Grebe 2 Winter od Summer [face p. 298
ag®
THE RED-THROATED DIVER 299
propelled by her legs behind. In the breeding season the old
birds are often seen on the wing, at which time also they have
a peculiar and loud cry, which has been compared to the voice of a
human being in distress.
THE RED-THROATED DIVER
COLYMBUS SEPTENTRIONALIS
Till slightly curved upwards, with the edges of both mandibles much incurved,
not exceeding three inches in length ; head, throat, and sides of the neck
mouse-colour ; crown spotted with black ; neck both above and below
marked with white and black lines ; on the front of the neck a large orange-
coloured patch ; back dusky brown ; lower parts white. Young birds—
upper plumage mouse-colour, darker on the back, where it is marked
by longitudinal white lines ; wings dusky ; feathers on the flanks dusky,
some of them edged with white; all the under plumage pure white
Length twenty-six inches. Eggs chestnut-brown, spotted with darker
brown.
THE name ‘Loon,’ given in some districts to the Crested Grebe, is
elsewhere given to the Red-Throated Diver. The term is an old
one, for our countrymen, Ray and Willughby, quoting yet more
ancient authorities, describe the Northern Diver under the name
of ‘Loon’,and the Black-Throated Diver under that of ‘Lumme’,
the latter being the name of the bird in Iceland and Norway, and
the former probably an English corruption of the same word, which
in the original signifies ‘lame’. :
On no part of our coast must we expect to hear this bird popularly
called by the name of ‘Red-Throated’, for, though common on
many parts of the coast, almost all the specimens observed are
young birds of the year, which have the throat pure white. Several
were brought to me by the seaside gunners on the coast of Norfolk.
In May birds with red throats are noticed. A writer in the
Zoologist! says that they are very numerous in winter off the
coast of the Isle of Wight, passing and repassing in small flocks
and in two lines about a mile apart. Of the hundreds which fell
under his notice one only had a red throat, and this was captured
under singular circumstances. On April 24, 1839, some fishermen
observed an object floating which they imagined was a keg of
spirits, but which proved to be a large fish of the kind known as
the Fishing Frog, or Angler. On hauling it on board with their
boat-hooks, the fishermen discovered that the animal had nearly
choked himself by swallowing, tail foremost, an adult Red-throated
Diver. The head of the bird protruded from the throat into the
mouth of the captor, and, strange to say, it had not only survived
its imprisonment, but was unhurt. It was extricated and pre-
sented to the Zoological Gardens, where it lived for six months.
WON; ath, oh Cy#ic
300 THE GREAT CRESTED GREBE
Another writer in the same magazine? says that he saw a large
number in Norway during the breeding season, but not one without
the dark red throat.
This species, like the rest of the genus, obtains its food by diving ;
when pursued it rarely tries to escape by taking wing, though it
has the power of flying with great rapidity. During the breeding
season especially, it often flies about over the water with its long
neck outstretched, and uttering a wailing scream.
I am informed by a friend, that while fishing in a boat in calm
water off the coast of North Devon, he has many times seen Divers
pass through the water, at a considerable depth below, propelling
themselves by a free and active use of their wings.
From October to May only these Divers frequent our coast.
Towards the end of spring they withdraw northwards and build
their nests, of coarse grass and other herbs, close to the edge of a
fresh-water loch. They lay two eggs, and the male is said to take
his turn in the office of incubation. Many stay to breed in the
Orkneys and Outer Hebrides, and in Ireland.
PODICIPEDIDA:
THE GREAT CRESTED GREBE
PODICIPES CRISTATUS
Bill longer than the head, reddish, the tip white ; distance from the nostril
to the tip seventeen or eighteen lines; cheeks white; crest and ruff
dark brown and chestnut; upper plumage dark brown; secondaries
white; breast and under parts silky white; bill brownish red; irides
red; feet dull green. Female—crest and ruff less conspicuous, colours
generally less bright. Young bivds have neither crest nor ruff. Length
twenty-one inches. Eggs white.
THE Great Crested Grebe is thus described by Sir Thomas Browne,
under the name of Loon: ‘A handsome and specious fowl, cris-
tated, and with divided fin-feet placed very backward. They
come about April, and breed in the broad waters ; so making their
nest in the water, that their eggs are seldom dry while they are set
on.’ Fifty years ago the Loon continued to be so common on
the Broads of Norfolk that eighteen or twenty might be counted
together. It is more or less resident in England and Wales—in
the meres of the Midlands and the lakes of Breconshire, and has
lately bred in the vicinity of the Clyde.
The movements of this bird in the water are described as most
graceful ; in swimming it vies with the Swan, and it is a skilful
diver. As seen perched upin a museum its form is ungainly, but
1 Zoologist, vol. ix. p. 3084.
RED-NECKED GREBE 301
in its native element it might serve as the standard of perfection
among water birds. The legs, compressed so as to present a sharp
edge, cut the water with a minimum of resistance ; the webbed
feet are placed so far backwards that they fulfil at once the office
of propellers and rudder; the body is conical and covered with
satiny plumage, which throws off water as perfectly as the fur of
the otter; the long neck tapers to exceedingly narrow dimensions
and terminates in a small head produced into a slender bill. The
conformation of the greyhound is not better adapted for fleet run-
ning than that of the Grebe for rapid diving. The chase, I need
scarcely add, consists of fish; but the Loon will feed on frogs,
tadpoles, and any other small animals which fall in its way. It
frequents fresh water during the summer months, but on the
approach of winter repairs to the sea, not, it would seem, from
any desire of varying its food, but to avoid being frozen up. It builds
its nest among rushes or decaying weeds, but little above the level
of the water, and lays four eggs, the male assisting his partner in
the office of incubation.
The young can dive and swim immediately that they are hatched ;
but if the mother be suddenly alarmed while they are with her,
she takes them under her wing and dives with them.
The name Loon is supposed to be a corruption of the Finnish
designation, Leomme or Lem, ‘lame’, given to several of the
Colymbidé on account of the awkwardness with which they advance
on land.
The Loon is found in lakes throughout a great portion of both
the eastern and western hemispheres, but not very far to the north.
It rarely flies, except at the period of migration, when it passes
swiftly through the air, with neck and feet extended to their full
length.
RED-NECKED GREBE
PODICIPES GRISEIGENA
Bill as long as the head, black, yellow at the base ; distance from the nostrils
to the tip eleven lines ; crest very short ; head and crest lustrous black ;
cheeks and throat mouse-colour ; a black band along the nape; breast
bright rust-red ; lower parts white; flanks spotted with dusky; feet
black, greenish yellow beneath. Young birds have the head, neck, and
back, dusky ; throat, cheeks, breast, belly, and abdomen, silky white ;
sides of the breast spotted with grey. Length sixteen inches. Eggs
dirty greenish white.
THE Red-Necked Grebe is smaller than the Loon, from which it
differs also in wanting the elongated crest, in having a more robust
bill in proportion to its size, and is further distinguished by the
grey hue of its cheeks, on account of which last character it is
known in France under the name of Grébe Jou-gris. It is a native
302 THE Lilie, GREBE, OR DABCHICGIS
of the north-eastern parts of Europe, and is fairly common along
the eastern coast of Great Britain from autumn to spring. In
habits it differs little from the last described species, but is less
common, occurring both in fresh-water lakes and along the sea-
coast.
SLAVONIAN GREBE
PODICIPES AURITUS
Bill strong, shorter than the head, compressed throughout its whole length,
black, with the tip red ; eyes with a double iris, the inner yellow, the outer
red ; distance from the nostrils to the tip of the bill six or seven lines ;
head and bushy ruff glossy black; two horn-like crests orange-red ;
lore, neck, and breast, bright chestnut ; upper plumage dusky ; second-
aries and under parts white; bill black, rose-coloured at the base and
ted at the tip. Young—crest and ruff wanting; upper plumage and
flanks dusky ash, under parts white; irides white, surrounded by red.
Eggs dirty white.
THE Slavonian, or Horned Grebe, approaches so closely in habits
to the two preceding species that it is unnecessary to say more than
that it inhabits the northern parts of America and Europe, visiting
us from autumn to spring. Audubon describes its nest as a rude
structure of weeds, situated at a distance of about twelve feet
from the water’s edge; but other authors state that though it
constructs its nest of these materials, it disposes it among weeds in
such a way that it rises and falls with every alteration in the level
of the water. It lays from five to seven eggs, and the male is
supposed to assist in the office of incubation.
THE LITTLE GREBE,-OR, DABCHTIEGK
PODICIPES FLUVIATILIS
Bill very short, shining, compressed ; no crest or ruff ; distance from nostrils
to tip of the bill five lines ; tarsus with a double row of serratures behind ;
head black; cheeks bright chestnut ; breast and flanks dusky, mottled
with white ; upper parts dark brown, tinged with green ; primaries ash-
brown ; secondaries white at the base and on the inner web, under parts
dusky ash, tinged on the thighs with reddish ; bill black, whitish at the
tip and base of the lower mandible ; irides reddish brown ; feet externally
greenish brown, beneath flesh-colour. Young birds are ash-brown
above, slightly tinged with red ; breast and flanks reddish white ; belly
pure white ; bill brown and yellowish ash. Length nearly ten inches.
Eggs dirty white.
Tue Lesser Grebe, or, as it is more commonly called, the Dabchick,
is the only species with which it is possible to become familiarly
acquainted in Britain. It frequents rivers, ponds, and lakes, in
all parts of the country, rarely flying, and still more rarely coming
to land.
Rambling by the side of asluggish river, the sides of which are lined
Manx Shearwater 3
Stormy Petrel Fork Tailed Petrel 9?
Fulmar face p. 302.
THE LITTLE GREBE, OR- DABCHICK 303
with reeds or bulrushes, one may often descry, paddling about with
undecided motion, what appears to be a miniature Duck no longer
than a Blackbird. It does not, like the Moor-hen, swim with a jerk-
ing movement, nor when alarmed does it half swim and half fly ina
direct line for the nearest bank of weeds. If you are unobserved,
it swims steadily for a short distance, then suddenly disappears,
making no splash or noise, but slipping into the water as if its
body were lubricated. It is diving for its food, which consists of
water insects, molluscs, small fish and worms. As suddenly as it
dives so suddenly does it reappear, most likely not far from the
spot where you first observed it:
A di-dapper peering through a wave,
Who, being looked on, ducks as quickly in.
SHAKSPEARE,
Another short swim and it dives again ; and so it goes on, the time
spent under the water being far in excess of that employed in taking
breath. Advance openly or make a noise, it wastes no time in
idle examinations or surmises of your intentions, but slips down as
before, not, however, to reappear in the same neighbourhood. Its
motives are different : it now seeks not food, but safety, and this it
finds first by diving, and then by propelling itself by its wings under
water in some direction which you cannot possibly divine ; for it
by no means follows that it will pursue the course to which its bill
pointed when it went down. It can alter its line of flight beneath
the water as readily as a swallow can change its course of flight
through the air. But wherever it may reappear, its stay is now
instantaneous ; a trout rising at a fly is not more expeditious. You
may even fail to detect it at all. It may have ensconced itself
among weeds, or it may be burrowing in some subaqueous hole.
That it has the power of remaining a long while submerged, I have
no doubt. There is in the parish of Stamford Dingley, Berks, a
large and beautiful spring of water, clear as crystal, the source of
one of the tributaries of the Thames. I was once bending over
the bank of this spring, with a friend, watching the water, some
five or six feet down, as it issued from a pipe-like orifice and stirred
the sand around like the bubbling of a cauldron, when there sud-
denly passed between us and the object we were examining a form
so strange that we were at first doubtful to what class of animals
we should refer it. In reality, it was a Dabchick, which, alarmed
probably by the noise of our conversation, was making for a place
of safety. As it passed within two or three feet of our faces, we
could distinctly see that it propelled itself by its wings; but it
appeared not to have observed us, for it kept on in a direct course
towards the head of the spring. We searched long in the hope
of discovering it again, but failed; and as there were no weeds
among which it could possibly hide above water, and we could
examine the bottom of the spring almost as thoroughly as if it
304 THE PUEMARK PETRELE
contained air only, we could but conclude that our apparition had
taken refuge in a hole under the bank.
Early in spring, when Dabchicks leave the small streams and
watercourses for broader pieces of water, they have been observed
to fly ; and during the building season also they have been seen
circling round in the air near the locality of their intended nest.
The nest itself is constructed of weeds of all kinds, forming a thick
mass raised but a few inches above the surface of the water, and
invariably far enough from the bank to be inaccessible except by
wading. The Dabchick lays five or six long-shaped eggs, pointed
at either end, of a chalky white colour. These the bird, when
she leaves the nest, covers with weeds for the purpose of conceal-
ment, and on her return continues the work of incubation without
removing the covering, so that the eggs soon lose their white hue,
and before the period of hatching have become very dirty. The
young birds can swim and dive immediately on leaving the egg.
I have never myself seen a Dabchick fly through the air or walk
on land, neither have I ever heard its note. The latter, a low
clicking and chattering sort of noise, it is said to utter in spring.
It breeds even in St. James’ Park. Females smaller than males.
ORDER -TUBINARES
FAMILY PROCELLARITIDA
THE FULMAR PETREL
PROCELLARIA GLACIALIS
Head, neck, under plumage, and tail, white; wings bluish ash, the primaries
brownish grey ; beak, irides, and feet, yellow. Young of the year grey
tinged with brown, mottled on the back with deeper brown ; bill and feet
yellowish ash. Length nineteen inches. Eggs white.
In some of the Outer Hebrides Fulmars breed ; but the great station:
to which tens of thousands annually resort, is the remote island
of St. Kilda. To the Fulmar indeed, and in a less degree to the
Gannet and two or three other sea-birds, the island is indebted for
its being able to boast of human inhabitants. Eggs and birds,
fresh or salted, furnish them with food; the Fulmar with oil:
and feathers pay their rent. In the Shetlands it is said to be increas-
ing.
— James Wilson says: ‘ The oil is extracted from both
the young and old birds, which, however, they must seize on sud-
denly and strangle, else, as a defensive movement, the desired (and
pungent) oil is immediately squirted in the face and eyes of their
opponent.’ This oil is ejected, not, as it is sometimes said, through
tubular nostrils, but directly through the throat and open mouth.
THE MANX SHEARWATER 305
The flesh of the Fulmar is also a favourite food with the St. Kildans,
who like it all the better on account of its oily nature.
The Fulmar is essentially a sea-bird, and never comes to land
except in the breeding season, when it builds its nest of herbage on
the grassy shelves of the highest cliffs, and lays a single egg, if
which be taken, it lays no more. The young birds are fed with
oil by the parents, and on being molested spurt out through the
throat and open mouth the same fluid, which, being of a rank
smell, infects not only the nest, but the whole neighbourhood. The
young birds, which are taken early in August, are boiled, and made
to furnish a large quantity of fat, which is skimmed off and pre-
served for winter use. The old birds are considered great dainties.
In the Arctic regions the Fulmar is well known for its assiduity
in attending on whale ships, keeping an eager watch for anything
thrown over; and when the operation of cutting up a whale is
going on, helping itself most greedily to stray pieces of offal, and
venturing so near as to be easily knocked down by a boathook or
to be taken by hand.
Owing to the rankness of its food, the smell of the Fulmar is
very offensive. A specimen recently shot was brought to me in
Norfolk, early in January, 1862, and being a great rarity, was
carefully preserved and set up; but on being sent home from the
bird-stuffer’s it was banished to an outhouse, where it has remained
for three months without losing anything of its offensive odour.
THE GREAT SHEARWATER
PUFFINUS MAJOR
Bill two inches long ; tail pointed ; upper plumage dusky ; under, deep ash
grey. Length eighteen inches.
THE Great Shearwater is far less abundant than the preceding
species, and may indeed be considered a rarity. A few solitary
specimens have from time to time been shot on various parts of
the coast, and they have occasionally been noticed in considerable
numbers off the coast of Cornwall. In the Scilly Islands, where
they are called ‘Hackbolts’, they are said to be yet more frequent.
The Great Shearwater differs little in habits, as far as they are
known, from the other species.
THE MANX SHEARWATER
PUFFINUS ANGLORUM
Bill an inch and a half long; tail rounded ; upper plumage brownish black
lustrous ; under white ; sides of the neck barred with grey ; sides spotted
with grey. Length fourteen inches. Eggs nearly round; pure white.
THAT a bird whose generic name is Puffinus should sometimes be
called a ‘ Puffin’ is not surprising; and the reader who meets
B.B, x
306 THE MANX SHEARWATER
with the name in books should satisfy himself whether the subject
of his study be an Auk or a Shearwater, before he admits as facts
any statements about the ‘ Puffin’ which may fall in his way.
Yarrell, for instance, gives the name of Puffin to the bird already
described under the name of Fratercula Arctica, while by Montagu
that bird is described under the name of ‘ Coulterneb’, ‘ Puffin’
being given as a synonym for the Shearwater. Off Cornwall it is
called skiddeu and brew.
The Shearwater is so called from its mode of flight, in which it
‘shears’ or skims the water; and its distinctive name, Manx, it
owes to its having been formerly very abundant in the Calf? of
Man, a small island lying south of the Isle of Man.
The Manx Shearwater is, during the greater portion of the year,
an ocean-bird, and only ventures on shore during the breeding season.
It then repairs to some island, or portion of the coast little frequented
by man, and in society with other birds of the same species there
takes up its summer quarters. A sandy or light earthy soil, scantily
furnished with vegetation, is preferred to any other station. Its
nest is a hole in the ground, either the deserted burrow of a rabbit
or a tunnel excavated by itself, or less frequently it lays its one
egg in the crevice of a rock. During the day Shearwaters, for the
most part, remain concealed in their holes, and lie so close that they
will suffer themselves to be dug out with a spade and make: no
attempt to escape. Towards evening they quit their hiding-places,
and paddle or fly out to sea in quest of food. This consists of small
fish and other marine animals which swim near the surface, and are
caught by the birds either while they are floating or ‘ shearing ’
the water. No nest ever contains more than one egg, but that one
and the chick which it produces are objects of the greatest solicitude.
Unfortunately for the poor Shearwaters, their young, though
fed on half-digested fish oil, are delicate eating ; consequently,
some of the stations of these birds have been quite depopulated,
and in others their numbers have been greatly thinned.
Willughby tells us that in his time ‘ Puffins’ were very numerous
in the Calf of Man, and that fully fledged young birds, taken from
the nests, were sold at the rate of ninepence a dozen. He adds,
that in order to keep an accurate reckoning of the number taken,
it was customary to cut off, and retain, one of each bird’s legs.
The consequence was that the state in which the birds were sent
to market was supposed to be their natural condition, and the
Puffin was popularly believed to be a ‘ monopod’ (one-footed bird).
This station is now nearly, if not quite, deserted ; but colonies
still exist in Annet, one of the Scilly Islands, on the south coast
of Wales, in the Orkneys, and in the Shetlands. In the Scilly
1 ‘Calf’, on many parts of the coast, is a name given to the smaller of two
rocks in proximity, of which the larger is called the ‘Cow’,
THE STORM-PETREL 307
Islands the Shearwater is called a Crew, from the harsh note uttered
by the bird when its burrow is invaded ; in the north, a Lyrie or
Scrabe.
THE STORM-PETREL
PROCELLARIA PELAGICA
General plumage like the last ; tail even at the extremity ; legs moderate ;
membranes black. Length scarcely six inches. Eggs white.
UNDER the name of ‘ Mother Carey’s Chickens’ the Petrels must
be known to all readers of voyages. According to the belief popular
in the forecastle, these birds are invisible during calm or bright
weather; but when the sky lowers, and a storm is impending,
suddenly, no one knows whence, forth come these ill-omened heralds
of the tempest, inspiring more terror than would be caused even
by the hurricane which they are supposed to commence. In reality,
the Petrels are scarcely birds of the day ; they love to hide them-
selves in holes and behind stones. It is not, therefore, surprising
that when the sea is calm, and the sun bright, they lurk in their
hiding-places, if near enough to land ; or, if on the open ocean, le
asleep on the surface of the water, unnoticed, because still and of
small size. An overcast sky, however, awakes them as twilight
would, and they leave their hiding-places, or rise from their watery
bed, not because a storm is impending, but because the cloud which
accompanies the storm brings them the desired gloom. When in
motion they are more conspicuous than when at rest, and they
follow the wake of a ship for the same reason that other sea-fowl
do, for the sake of the offal thrown overboard. They will some-
times accompany a ship for days, showing that they have untiring
power of wing, and to all but the superstitious greatly relieving
the monotony of the voyage.
The Petrel builds its nest, a rude structure of weeds and rubbish,
either in the hole of a cliff or under stones on the beach, and lays
a single egg. It rarely comes abroad by day, and if disturbed ejects
from its mouth an oily matter, after the manner of the Fulmar.
Towards evening it comes forth from its stronghold, and skims the
sea in quest of food, which consists of floating animal matter of all
kinds. Its name, Petrel, or Little Peter, is derived from its habit
of occasionally skimming along so close to the surface of the sea as
to dip its feet in the water, and present the appearance of walking ;
but its ordinary flight is very like that of the Swallow.
The Storm-Petrel breeds in the Orkney, Shetland, and Scilly
Islands and a few on the Welsh coast, also in the Channel Islands,
but a genuine ocean-bird quits the land as soon as its young are
able to accompany it. It is frequently seen in the Atlantic and
308 THE FORK-TAILED PETREL
Mediterranean, and is not an uncommon visitor to our shores,
especially during severe weather.
Its note is only heard during the season of incubation, when its
retreat is often betrayed by a low twittering.
Storm-Petrels are gregarious birds; they breed in colonies,
and skim the sea in small flocks. The French steamers which sail
between Toulon and Algiers are said to be regularly accompanied
by these birds.
THE FORK-TAILED PETREL
_ PROCELLARIA LEUCORRHOA
General plumage like the last ; tail forked ; legs moderate ; membrane dusky
Length seven and a quarter inches. Eggs white, marked with small
rusty spots.
Tue Fork-Tailed Petrel, a native of North America, does not
differ materially in habits from the other species. It is met with
almost annually on our east coast, and is common off Cornwall.
In Ireland it is frequent. This species was first declared to be
a British bird by Bullock, who found it at St. Kilda in 1818.
GLOSSARY OF COMMON AND
BeOVINCIAL NAMES AND OF TECHNICAL
TERMS.
dS: male Q : female
Aberdeen Sandpiper: a name for Bearded Reedling
the Knot Bee-bird: a name sometimes
Aberdevine : name for the
Siskin
Accentor, Hedge : Sparrow, Chan-
ter or Warbler
Alk: the Razorbill
Allamotte: the Petrel
Allan: the Skua
Alp: a name for the Bullfinch
Annet: the Kittiwake Gull
Arctic-bird: the Skua
Arctic Skua
» Tern
Assilag: the Petrel
Awl: the Woodpecker
a
Badock: the Skua
Bankjug: the Chiff-chaff and
Willow Warbler
Bargander: the Sheldrake
Barley-bird : the Siskin and Wry-
neck
Barred or Lesser-spotted Wood-
pecker
Bar-tailed Godwit
Basal: at or near the base
Beam-bird: the Spotted Fly-
catcher
Bean Crake: the Land-Rail
Goose
”?
309
given to the Flycatcher ;
sometimes to the Willow
Warbler
,, ~eater
,, -hawk: the Honey Buzzard
Beech-finch: the Chaffinch
Bergander: the Sheldrake
Bernicle Goose
Billy: the Hedge Sparrow
Billy-whitethroat: the White-
throat
Bittern
Black-a-top : the Stonechat
Black-billed Auk: a name given
to the Razor-bill in the winter
plumage of the first year
Blackcap: a name sometimes
given to the Black-headed Gull,
the Marsh Tit, and Coal Tit
Black Duck: the Scoter
Blacky-top : the Stonechat
Bloodulf : the Bullfinch
Blind Dorbie: the Purple Sand-
piper
Blue-backed Falcon :
grine Falcon
, -bird: the Field-fare
, =cap): the Blue Tit
Darr: the Black Tern
Hawk: the Peregrine Falcon
the Pere-
”
310 i. GLOSSARY
Blue-headed Wagtail :
headed Wagtail
», tailed Bee-eater
» Jit: the Tom Tit, the Blue-
the grey-
cap
,, -=winged Shoveler : the
Shoveler
Boatswain: the Skua
Brake-hopper :
Warbler
Brambling, or Bramble-finch
Bran: the Crow
Brancher: the Goldfinch in its
first year
Brantail: the Redstart
Brent Goose
Broad-bill: the Shoveler
Bronzie: the Cormorant
Brook Ouzel: a name given to
the Dipper, and incorrectly to
the Water-Rail
Brown Owl, or Tawny Owl
the Grasshopper
Pe -Leader Gull: Black-
headed Gull, Red-
headed Gull or Hooded
Gull
» Starling: a name some-
times” fiven! stow ane
young of the Starling
i aabern.c. ¢the Pern am 16s
immature plumage
Budfinch: the Bullfinch
Bullfinch, Common
i Pine, or Pine Grosbeak
Bunting, Lapland, or Finch
Burgomaster: the Glaucous Gull
Burrow Duck: the Sheldrake
Bustard, Great
the Kittiwake Gull
the Jackdaw
the Long-tailed Duck
Cargoose: the Crested Grebe
Carinate: in the form of a keel
Carrion Crow
Car-swallow :
Cackareer :
Caddaw :
Calloo:
the Black Tern
Cere: the wax-like membrane
which covers the base of the bill
in the Falconidae
Chaldrick or Chalder : the Oyster-
Catcher
Chanchider :
catcher
Channel Goose: the Gannet
Chanter, Hedge: Sparrow, Ac-
centor or Warbler
Charlie Miftie: the Wheatear
the Spotted Fly-
Chank, and Chank-daw: the
Chough
Chepster: the Starling
Cherry-finch : the Hawfinch
Cherry-sucker, Cherry-chopper,
and Cherry-Snipe : the Spotted
Flycatcher.
Chevy Lin: the Redpoll
Chickell: the Wheatear
Chickstone: the Stonechat
Chippet Linnet: the Redpoll
Church Owl: the White Owl
Churn Owl: the Nightjar
Churr: the Dunlin
Cirl Bunting
Clack Goose, Clakes: the Bernicle
Goose
Clatter Goose : the Brent Goose
Clee: the Red Shank
Cleff: the Tern
Clinker: the Avocet
Cloven-footed Gull: the Tern
Coal-and-candle-light : the Long-
tailed Duck
Coal Goose :
Coaly Hood:
Coal Mouse
Cob: the male Swan
Cob : the Great Black-backed Gull
Cobble : the Great Northern Diver
Cobbler’s Awl: the Avocet
Cobweb: the Spotted Flycatcher
Cockandy: the Puffin
Cock-winder: the Widgeon
Coddy Moddy: the common Gull
in its first year’s plumage
the Cormorant
the Bullfinch or
GLOSSARY 311
Coldfinch : the Pied Flycatcher
Colk: the King Duck
Colin; a name in New Spain for
Quail
Compressed: flattened vertically
Coot-foot: the Phalarope
Copperfinch: the Chaffinch
Corbie: the Raven
Corndrake: the Land-Rail
Cornish Crow, or Daw: the
Chough
Gannet: the Skua
Cornwall Kae: the Chough
Coulterneb: the Puffin
Crake, Little
» spotted
Crank bird: the Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker
Craw: part of the stomach in
birds
Cream-coloured Plover:
foot or Courser
Courser Gull: the Glaucous Gull
Creeper, Creep-tree, or Tree-
creeper. These names are in
some places given to the Nut-
hatch
Crested Cormorant: the Shag
Heron, Common or Grey
Cricket-bird: the Grasshopper
Warbler
Cricket Teal :
Swift-
the Garganey
Crooked Bill: the Avocet
Crossbill : Common
Cuckoo’s Leader or Mate: the
Wryneck
Culmen: the ridge of the upper
mandible
Cultrate: in the form of a bill-
hook or pruning knife
Curlew-Jack: the Whimbrel
Curwillet: the Sanderling
Cushat: the Ring Dove
Cutty Wren: the Common Wren
Cygnet: the young Swan
Daker Hen: the Land-Rail
Danish Crow: the Hooded Crow
Darr, Blue: the Black Tern
Dertrum
Depressed : flattened horizontally
Deviling : the Swift
Dick Dunnock: the Hedge Spar-
row
Dippearl: the Tern
Dirty Allen: the Skua
Dishwater: the Wagtail
Diving Pigeon: the Guillemot
Dobbler and Dobchick: the
Lesser Grebe
Door Hawk and Dorr Hawk: the
Nightjar.
Dorbie: the Dunlin
Doucker: a popular name for a
Grebe or Diver
Doveky: the Black Guillemot
Dove-coloured Falcon : the Pere-
grine Falcon
Draine: the Missel Thrush
Duck Hawk: the Marsh Harrier
Ducker: a popular name for a
Grebe or Diver
Dulwilly: the Ring Plover
Dunkir and Dunair: the Pochard
Dun Crow: the Hooded Crow
Dundiver: the female and young
of the Merganser
Dung Hunter: the Skua
Dunlin
Dunnock: the Hedge Sparrow
Earl Duck: the MRed-breasted
Merganser
Easterling : the Smew
Ebb: the Bunting
Ecorcheur: the Shrike
Egret: a tuft of long narrow
feathers found on the lower part
of the neck of the Herons. The
name is also sometimes ex-
tended to the two tufts of fea-
thers, resembling ears or horns,
in some of the Owls
312
Elk: the Hooper Swan
Emmer or Ember Goose:
Great Northern Diver
Emmet Hunter: the Wryneck
Erne: the Eagle
the
Falk or Fale x tne Razor-vill
Faller: the Hen Harrier
Fallow Chat, Fallow Finch, Fallow
Lunch, or Fallow Smich: the
Wheatear
Fanny Redtail: the Redstart
Fauvette : the Garden Warbler,
also applied to others of the
Warblers.
Feather-poke: i.e. ‘“‘sack of
feathers’’ is the Chiff-chaff,
so called from the materials
and form of the nest
Felt and Feltyfare: the Fieldfare
Fiddler : the Common Sandpiper
Field Duck: the Little Bustard
Field Lark: the Skylark
Fiery Linnet: the Common Lin-
net
Finch, or Lapland Bunting
Fire-crested Regulus or Wren
Fire-tail: the Redstart
Flapper: a young Duck
Flopwing : the Lapwing
Flusher: the Butcher-bird
Foot: The foot of a bird consists
of four, never less than three,
toes, with their claws, and the
joint next above, called the
tacsus) 5
French Linnet: the Redpoll
Magpie: the Red-backed
Shrike
; Pie: the Great Spotted
Woodpecker.
”
a flight of Wild Geese
the Auk and _ the
Gaggle :
Gairfowl :
Razorbill
GLOSSARY
Gallinule: the Moor Hen; this
name is sometimes applied to
the Crakes
Gallwell Drake :
Garden Ouzel:
,, Warbler
Gardenian Heren :
the Night Heron
Gaunt: the Crested Grebe
Gidd: the Jack Snipe
Gillhowter: the White Owl
Gladdy: the Yellow Hammer
Glaucous Gull
Glead, Gled, or
Kite
Goat Owl and Goat-sucker :
Nightjar
Goldeneye
Golden-crested Regulus, Warbler
or Wren
Oriole or Thrush
*. Plover
Gorcock: the Moor Cock
Gorsehatch : the Wheatear
Gorse-duck: the Corn Crake
Gorse Linnet: the Common
Linnet
Goud Spink: the Goldfinch
Gouldring: the Yellow Ham-
mer
Gourder: the Petrel
Gouk: the Cuckoo
Graduated: a term applied to
the tail of a bird when the
middle feathers are longest
and the outer ones are shorter
in gradation
Greenwich Sandpiper :
Grey: the Gadwall
Grey-bird: the Thrush
Grey-Duck: the Gadwall
,, Coot-footed Tringa:
Phalarope
, Crow: the Hooded Crow
» Falcon: the Hen Harrier
» Heron: common or Crested
Heron
the Land Drake
the Blackbird
the young of
Glade: the
the
the Ruff
the
GLOSSARY 313
Grey Lapwing, or Sandpiper: the
Grey Plover
, Linnet: the Common Linnet
» Owl: the White Owl
» Partridge: the Common
Partridge
,, Ohrike, Lesser:
coloured Shrike
» Skit: the Water-Rail
, lag: Fen, Stubble, or Wild
Goose
the Ash-
Grisette : the Whitethroat
Ground Lark: the Pipit and
Bunting
a Wren: the Willow War
bler
Guldenhead: the Puffin
Gull-tormentor: the Skua
Gunner: the Great Northern
Diver :
Gurfel: the Razorbill
Gustarda: the Bustard
Hackbolt: the Greater Shear-
water
Hadji: the Swift
Hagdown: the Greater Shear-
water
Haggard: the Peregrine Falcon
Hagister: the Magpie
Half-Curlew : the Whimbrel and
Godwit
» -Duck: the Wigeon, Po-
chard, etc.
», -snipe: the Jack Snipe
Harle: the Red-breasted Mer-
ganser
Harpy: the Marsh Harrier
Hawk Owl: this name is some-
times given to the Short-eared
Owl
Hay-bird, or Hay-Tit: the Willow
Warbler
Hay-Jack: the Garden War-
bler and Whitethroat
Heather Bleater: the Snipe
Heath Throstle: the Ring Ouzel
Hebridal Sandpiper: the Turn-
stone
Heckimal: the Blue Tit
Hedge-Chicken: the Wheatear
» Jug, the Long-tailed Tit
Hegrilskip ; the Heron
Helegug: the Puffin
Hellejay: the Razor-bill
Hern, Hernshaw, Heronshaw : che
Heron
Heronsewgh: the Heron
Herring-bar: perhaps a corrup-
tion of Herring-bird, Diver
Herring Gant: the Gannet
5 Gull
Hew-hole: the Woodpecker
Hickwall: the Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker
High-hoo: the Woodpecker
Hiogga: the Razor-bill
Hissing Owl: the White Owl
Hoarse Gowk: the Snipe
Hoddy: the Crow
Holm Cock and Holm Screech:
the Mistle Thrush
Hoop: the Bullfinch
Hornfinch: the Petrel
Horniwinks: the Lapwing
Horra: the Brent Goose
Horsefinch: the Chaffinch
Horsmatch: the MRed-backed
Shrike, the Wheatear and Whin-
chat
Howlet: the Brown Owl
Howster: the Knot
Huckmuck: the Long-tailed Tit
Hullat: the Owl
Icebird: the Little Auk
Imber, or Great Northern Diver
Isle of Wight Parson: the Cor-
morant
Iris (plural, Irides) : the coloured
circle of the eye surrounding
the pupil
314
Isaas: the Hedge Sparrow
Ivy Owl: the Barn Owl
Jack Curlew :
Jackdaw
Jack-nicker: the Goldfinch
» Saw: the Goosander
», snipe
Jar Owl: the Night Owl
Jay, Jay Pie, or Jay Pyet
Jenny: the Wren
Jid or Judcock: the Jack Snipe
the Whimbrel
Kadder and Kae:
Kamtschatka Tern:
Tern
Katabella : the Hen Harrier
Kate: the Hawfinch
Katogle: the Eagle Owl
Kiddaw: the Guillemot
King-Harry: the Goldfinch
Kip) the, @ern
Kirktullock : the Shoveler
Kirmew and Kirmow: the Tern
Knee: a name often given,
though inaccurately, to the
junction of the tarsus and tibia
of a bird.
Knot
the Jackdaw
the Black
Lamhi or Lavy: the Guillemot
Land Curlew: the Great Plover
Lary: the Guillemot
Laughing Goose: the White-
fronted Goose
Lavrock: the Skylark
Leg-bird: the Sedge Warbler
Lesser wing-coverts : the feathers
which overlie the greater wing-
coverts, or those next the quills
Ling-bird: the Meadow Pipit
Linlet: a young Linnet
Lobefoot: the Phalarope
Long-tongue: the Wryneck
GLOSSARY
Loom or Loon: the Diver
Lore: the space between the beak
and the eye
Lough Diver:
Lum, Lungy:
Lumme :
Lyre:
the Smew
the Guillemot
the Diver
the Manx Shearwater
Madge Howlet: the White Owl
Maglowan : a name for the Divers
Magpie Diver: the Smew
Malduck, or Malmarsh: the Ful-
mar
Mallemoke: the Fulmar
Mandibles : upper and under, the
two portions of a bird’s bill
Man-of-war bird: the Skua
Manx Shearwater: the Manx
Petrel
Marketjew Crow: the Chough
Marrot : the Guillemot and
Razorbill
May-bird, or Mayfowl : the Whim-
brel
Mavis: the Thrush
Meadow Crake, or Drake:
Gallinule
si Pipit, Titlark or Titling
the
Meggy-cut-throat: the White-
throat
Merlie: the Blackbird
Mew or Mow: a Gull
Millithrum : the Long-tailed Tit
Minute Gallinule : the Little
Crake
» Merganser: the young
Smew
» ?
GLOSSARY 317
Redstart, Common
np Black
Red-throated Diver
Red-winged Blackbird :
bird, or Starling
Reed-bird: the Sedge Warbler
Reed Bunting : the Black-headed
Bunting
Fauvette : the Sedge Warbler
, Pheasant: the Bearded Tit
,, Sparrow: the Black-headed
Bunting
,, Warbler or Wren
Reeve: the female of the Ruff
Richardson’s Skua
Richel Bird: the Lesser Tern
Rind-tabberer : the Green Wood-
Maize-
pecker
Ring Blackbird: the Ring Ouzel
,, Dove
Ringed Dotterel, or Plover
Guillemot
-necked or Great Northern
Diver
Ring-tailed Eagle: the Golden
Fagle in its second year’s
plumage
Rippock: the Tern
Rochie: the Little Auk
Rock -birds : the Auk, Puffin, and
Guillemot
Dove, Rocker Dove, Rockier
Dove
Hawk: the Merlin
Lark, or Pipit
= Ouzel: the King
,, Sandpiper : the
Sandpiper
Rodge: the Gadwall
Rood Goose, or Brent Goose
Rose-coloured Ouzel, Pastor, Star-
ling or Thrush
» Linnet: the Redpoll, and
¥ Common Linnet
Rotck, or Rotcke: the Little
Auk
Rothermuck ;
Ouzel
Purple
the Bernicle Goose
Ruddock: the Redbreast, Robin
Ruddy Goose, or Sheldrake
» Plover: the Bar-tailed
Godwit
Ruff (female Reeve)
Runner: the Water-Rail
» stone: the Ringed Plover
the! Eider
the Jack
St. Cuthbert’s Duck :
St. Martin’s Snipe:
Snipe
Sandcock :
Sanderling
Sandsnipe : a Sandpiper
Sandwich Tern
Sandy-loo : the Ring Plover
» Poker: the Pochard
Sarcelle: the Long-tailed Duck
Saw-bill: the Merganser
Scale Drake: the Sheldrake
Scallop-toed Sandpiper : the Pha-
larope
Scammel: the Bar-tailed Godwit
Scapulars: the feathers which
rise from the shoulders and
cover the sides of the back
Scar Crow: the Black Tern
Scarf and Scart: the Shag
Scaurie: the Herring Gull
Scooper: the Avocet
Scotch Goose: the Brent Goose
Scout: the Common Guillemot
Scurrit: the Lesser Tern
Scrabe : the Manx Shearwater
Scraber : the Black Guillemot
Scraye: the Tern
Screamer and _ Screecher :
Swift
Screech : the Missel-Thrush
» Martin: the Swift
», Owl: the Barn Owi
Scull: the Skua
Scuttock : the Guillemot
Sea Crow: the Cormorant, and
Black-headed Gull
,, Dotterel : the Turnstone
» Hen; the Guillemot
the Redshank
the
318
Sea Lark: the Rock Pipit and
Ring Plover
», Mall, Mew, or Mow: the Gull
7 Parrot: the Putin
,, Pheasant: the Pintail Duck
., Pie: the Oyster-catcher
,, Sandpiper : the Purple Sand-
piper
», Snipe: the Dunlin
, Swallow: the Tern
,, Titling : the Rock Pipit
,, ~Lurtle-dove: the Guillemot
and Rotche
,, Wigeon: the Scaup
,, Woodcock: the Godwit
Seaford Goose : the Brent Bernicle
Secondaries: the quill-feathers
arising from the second joint of
the wing
Sedge-bird, Sedge Warbler, or
Sedge Wren
Selninger Sandpiper: the Purple
Sandpiper
serrator: the Ivory Gull
Serrated : toothed like a saw
Serrula: the Red-breasted Mer-
ganser
Sheldapple: the Crossbill
This name and “Shelly ’”’ are
sometimes given to the Chaf-
finch
Shepster : the Starling
Shilfa : the Chaffinch
Shoeing-horn : the Avocet
Shore-bird: the Sand Martin
3 Pipit: the Rock Pipit
Short-eared or -horned Owl
Shrieker : the Black-tailed Godwit
Shrimp-catcher : the Lesser Tern
Shrite : the Missel Thrush
Silvery Gull: the Herring Gull
Skart : the Cormorant, and Shag
Skein: a flight of Geese
Skiddaw: the Guillemot
Skiddy Cock, Skilty, or Skit: the
Water-Rail
Skite: the Yellow Hammer
GLOSSARY
Skitty : the Spotted Crake
Skrabe : the Black Guillemot
Snake-bird: the Wryneck
Snite: the Snipe
Snow-bird: the Ivory Gull
, -*Bunting: Flake, or Fleck
Snuff-headed Wigeon: the Po-
chard
Solan, or Solent Goose : the Gannet
Solitary Snipe: the Great Snipe
Song Thrush: the Common
Thrush
Sparlm-fowl : the female Mergan-
ser
Spectacle Duck: the Goldeneye
Speculum: the bright feathers
which form a kind of disc of
the wing of the Ducks
Speckled-bellied Goose : the White-
fronted Goose
» Diver: the young of the
Great Northern Diver
Spider-diver : the Dabchick
Speney: the Petrel
Spink: the Chaffinch
Spoonbill, White
Spotted-necked Turtle Dove: the
Turtle Dove
Sprat Loon, the young of the
Great Northern Diver
,, Mew: the Kittiwake Gull
Spurre: the Tern
Standgale, or Stannel: the Kestrel
Starling, Common, Stare, or
Starenil
Staynil: the Starling
Steel Duck, Larger : the Goosander
» » Lesser: the Merganser
Stint : the Dunlin, or any similar
bird, is often so called on the
coast
Stock-Dove
Stonechacker or Stoneclink: Stone-
chat
Stone Curlew: the Great Plover
Stonegale : the Kestrel
Stone Hawk: the Merlin
GLOSSARY
Stone-smirch : the Wheatear
Stork, White
Storm Cock: the Missel Thrush
Petrel, or Storm Finch
the Guillemot
Summer Snipe: the Sandpiper
» Teal: the Garganey
Duck, or Sheldrake: the
Long-tailed Duck
Sweet William : the Goldfinch
Swiftfoot : the Courser
Swimmer, Little: the Phalarope
Swine-pipe: the Redwing
Straney :
Tail-coverts: upper and under,
feathers covering the basal
portion of the tail feathers above
and below
Tailor, Proud: the Goldfinch
Tammie Cheekie and Tammie
Norie: the Puffin
Tang-waup: the Whimbrel
Tangle-picker: the Turnstone
Taring, Tarrot: the Tern
Tarrock: the young of the Kitti-
wake Gull
Tarse : the male Falcon, a name
used in falconry
Tarsus: the bone of a_ bird’s
foot next above the toes. In
a domestic fowl the tarsus is the
portion between what is called
the ‘“‘ drumstick ’’ and the toes ;
the shank
Tatler: a Sandpiper
Teal Cricket: the Garganey
Teaser: the Skua
Teewit : the Peewit
Tertiaries : the quills which spring
from the third or inner joint of
a bird’s wing
Thistlefinch : the Goldfinch
Three-Toed Sandgrouse
Thrice-cock : the Mistle Thrush
Throstle : the Thrush
319
Tibia: the joint of a bird’s leg
next above the tarsus; the
“ drumstick.”’
Tick : the Whinchat
Tidley : the Wren
Tinkershere, or Tinker’s hue:
the Guillemot
Tippet Grebe: the Crested Grebe
Titlark, and Titling : the Meadow
Pipit ,
» seas the Rock Pipit
Tom Pudding: the Dabchick
Tommy Norie: the Puffin
Tomtit : the Blue Tit
Tony Hoop: the Bullfinch
Tope: the Wren
Tom Harry: the Skua
Tor-Ouzel: the Ring Ouzel
Towilly : the Sanderling
Tonite : the Wood Warbler
Tree Pipit, or Lark
» Sparrow
oneeler = the Tree Creeper
Tuchit : the Lapwing Plover
Tufted Duck
Tuliac : the Skua
Turkey-bird : the Wryneck
Turtle, Sea: the Guillemot and
Ricke
Twink: the Chaffinch
Twit Lark: the Meadow Pipit
Tystie : the Black Guillemot
Ulnia: the Tawny Owl
Under tail-coverts: the feathers
which overlap the base of the
tail beneath
Under wing-coverts : the feathers
which cover the wings beneath
Upper tail-coverts: the feathers
which overlap the base of the
tail above
Upper wing-coverts : the feathers
which overlap the base of the
quills
Utick : the Whinchat
320
the Smew
the Water-Rail
Vare Wigeon :
Velvet Runner :
Wagell: the young of the Great
Black-backed Gull
Wall Hick: the Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker
Wash-dish and Washerwoman :
the Pied Wagtail
Water-hen : the Moor-hen
,, Crow, the Dipper
,, Junket : the Common Sand-
piper
,, Ouzel or Dipper
,, Sparrow: the Sedge War-
bler
» Tie: the Wagtail
, Wagtail: the Pied Wagtail
Waxen Chatterer or Waxwing
Wease-alley : the Skua
Weasel Coot: the young Smew
» Duck: the Smew
Weet-weet : the Common Sand-
piper
Wellplum :
chard
Whaup :
Whautie :
Wheel-bird, or
Nightjar
Wheety-why: the Whitethroat
Winthrush: the Redwing
Whit-ile, i.e. Whittle : the Green
Woodpecker
Whewer: the Wigeon
Whey-bird: the Whitethroat
Whilk: the Scoter
Whim: the Wigeon
Whimbrel or May-bird
Whin Linnet: the
Linnet
Whistling Plover :
Plover
Whistling Swan :
Swan
White Baker ;
catcher
the Red-headed Po-
the Curlew
the Whitethroat
Wheeler: the
Common
the Golden
the Whooper
the Spotted Fly-
GLOSSARY
White-breasted Blackbird: the
Ring or Water Ouzel
,, -faced Duck: the Pochard
; Tinch : the Chaffinch
,, sheaded Goosander: the
Smew
,, -cheaded Cormorant: the
Common Cormorant
,, headed Harpy: the Moor
Buzzard
, Nun: the Smew
-spot Cormorant: the
Common Cormorant
-tail: the Wheatear
-Winged Black Duck: the
Velvet Scoter
Whitterick : the Curlew
Whitty-beard: the Whitethroat
Whitwall and Witwall : the Green
Woodpecker
Wierangel: the Ash-coloured
Shrike
Willock and Willy: the Guille-
mot
Willow-biter : the Tomtit
Willywicket : the Common Sand-
piper
Windhover and Windfanner :
Kestrel
Windle,
the
Winnard, and Wind-
thrush: the Redwing
Wing-coverts: several rows of
feathers covering the basal part
of the quills above and below,
and called the upper and under
wing-coverts ; the feathers out-
side these are called the lesser
wing-coverts
Winglet : a process arising from
near the base of the terminal
joint of the wing, answering
to the thumb in the human
hand
Winnel and Windle-Straw :
Whitethroat
Winter-bonnet : the Common Gull
, Duck; the Pintail Duck
the
GLOSSARY 321
Winter-Gull, or Mew: the Com-
mon Gull in its winter
plumage
, Wagtail: the grey-headed
Wagtail
Witch: the Petrel
Witwall: the Green Woodpecker
Woodcock Owl: the Short-eared
Owl
Sea: the Godwit
. -Snipe: the Great Snipe
Woodcracker: the Nuthatch
Wood Grouse: the Capercaillie
Woodpie: the Green Woodpecker
Wood Sandpiper
Shrike Woodchat
Woodspite, Woodwall, and Wood-
wele: the Green Woodpecker
Wood Warbler, or Wren
Writing Lark: the Bunting, so
called from the markings of the
eggs
B.B
Yaffil, Yaffle, Yaffler, Yappingale :
the Green Woodpecker
Yardkeep and Yarwhip: the Bar-
tailed Godwit
Yarwhelp : the Stone Plover and
Godwit
Yeldrin and Yeldrock : the Yellcw
Hammer
Yellow legged Gull: the Lesser
black-backed Gull
» Sandpiper: the young of
the Ruff
i Owl: the White Owl
40 Plover: the Golden
Plover
D Poll: the Wigeon
Warbler : the Willow
Warbler
Yeldock, Yoit, Yoldrin
and Yowley, the Yellow
Hammer
Yelper: the Avocet
INDEX OF BIRDS AND OF ILLUSTRATIONS
The first numeral refers to the text, the second to the illustration
facing the page named.
PU eee 5 264); p. 204.
MVOCEL: 252): p. 250
Bearded Reedling: 42 ;
Bee-eater . 135 5 p. 134!
Bitter +173); ps 232
Blackbird: 7 ;)pp. 6, 8
iBlackcap = 23; p. 22
Brambling : 97; front
Bullfinch : 101; p. 100
Bunting, Cirl: 108; p. 108
,, Corn (or common) :
p-. 108
Es Eaplands) ii rb.) -p:
oe eelxced.s 100); p. 208
wf Snow: I10; p. 108
» Yellow (Yellow Ham-
Mien) = LOZ; Pp. LILO
Burgomaster : see Gull, Glaucous
p- 46
106;
108
Bastard) ‘Great: 236; p._ 220
Buzzard, Common: 150; p. 150
we ELONey <= 151; 9p. 150
Rough-legged : 151; p.
150
Capercaillie: 212; p. 220
Chaffinch : 95; p. 96
Chiffchaff : 30; p. 30
Chough: 56; p. 62
Coot (233% 1p. -232
Cormorant, Common: 165; p.
166
s Green*: 167
Courser, Cream-coloured: 240;
p:. 262
B.B,
Crake Com 225); sps 230
Littler: 3230 5. p. 230
WL SpPOLteds 229); ps 230
Crane 234 3p. 234
Crested Tit: see Titmice
Crossbill; 103,53. p. 138
is Two - barred (White-
winged) : 106 ; p.138
Crow, Carrion: 65; p. 68
i Eloeded::, 67; ps 08
Cuckoo: 137; ps 133
Curlew, Common: 273; p.
”
2406
Dabchick: see Grebe, Little
Dipper 53.5 ps 52
Diver, Black - throated: 298 ; p.
294
Great Northern: 297; p.
294
» Red-throated : 299; p.294
Dotterel\: 244; p. 246
Dove, Ring (Wood Pigeon) :
Ag p. 208
Rock: 208; p. 208
Stock: 207; p. 208
Turtle 20095, p. 208
Duck, Black: see Scoter, Black
Hider 71975, p-.193
Golden-eye : 195; p. 194
”?
203;
Longtailéd? —190);, pa 195
Pintail : 190; p. 199
Scaup: 194
Tufted: 19455 p: 104
ee Waldas 1G5::. p.<1toO
Dunlin : 262; p. 262
324 INDEX
Eagle, Golden: 152; p. 152
», 9ea, or White-tailed :
T5353 P8652
3 spottedi: 15255 preg
Falcon: see Peregrine Falcon
Fern Owl: see Nightjar
Pieldfare!:°s- apa 2
Blycatchers Pied; 705 “p. 78
- spotted = 775. p. 78
Fulmar: see Petrel, Fulmar
Gadwall: 189; p. 186
Gallinule : see Moorhen
Gannet: 168; p. 168
Garganey : 192 p. 190
Godwit, Bar-tailed : 272; p. 250
;, Black-tailed: 2735" p:
270
Gold Crest: see Wren, Gold-
Crested
Goldfinch : 88; p. 96
Goosander: 201; p. 202
Goose, Bean: 178; p. 178
7 ebermicles mon; p. 166
5) eM 1S0}7 p.) 166
3 GcLey ae 170. par 78
\Pinkfooted : 179; p. 178
3) White = fronted™ 177: sip:
178
Grebe: Black-necked : p. 298
Ls Great-crested : 300; p.
208
st eittleSg027) Sps202
ype dxed-necked=. 3057") ip:
298
p slavohian : 3025.4p..298
Greenfinch : 86; p. 78
Greenshank : 271; p. 270
Grosbeak, Pine: 102
Grouse, Black: 213; p.
7 Neds 2156p. 6204.
204
Guillemot, Common: 292; p.
290
; Black : 294; p. 290
Black or Brown-headed :
281%) ps. 202
Gull,
Gull, Common : 283; p. 280
» Glaucous : 287 pazee
» Great Black-backed: 286;
Pp. 280
1» lerting 7285 5 ps 262
» Kittiwake: 287; p.282
,», Lesser Black - backeil :
285; p. 280
» Little: 2380p i282
Harrier, Hien: 148; ps E48
» Martsh + a47 ssp ae
a Montagu’s: 149; p. 148
Hawfinch: 87; p. 96
Hawk, Sparrow: 156; p. 158
Heron, Common: 170; p. 234
ba Night > 2735 ps 234
Hobby ; 16m; p., 158
Eloopoe : 136 57p. 134
Jackdaw: 61; p. 68
Jay: 58; p. 62
Kestrel’: 163, 5 (ps 148
Kingfisher : 132; p. 134
Katecer5 ci; pe 150
Kittiwake: see Gull, Kittiwake
Knot: 261 p. 258
Lapwing: 247; p. 246
Wark, shore? 122); ps 226
5, Sky. L1Q= pagrzo
» Wood :. 1225) pmaaze
Minnet = 98; iromt
» Mountain: 1005) pames
Magpie: 59; p. 62
Martin, House: 83; p. 84
3) wands 845 1p. Ot
Merganser : 202; p. 202
Merlin: 162; p. 158
Moorhen : 231; p. 232
Nettlecreeper : see Whitethroat
Nightingale: 17; p. 16
INDEX 32
Nightjar: 125; p. 220
Nutcracker: 57; p. 58
Nuthatch: 44; p. 46
Oriole: 53; p. 52
Osprey’: 154; p. 152
Owl, Barn or White: 142; p.144
oy eons — eared 2 i445 “p. 144
we SHont-cared:)) 4'5)3° 9p. 144
i lawny or Brown: 1460; p.
ey
Ox-bird : see Dunlin
Ox-eye: see Great Tit
Oystercatcher: 248; p. 278
Partridge, Common: 222; p. 214
5 Ixed-leseed 3" 22555, =p.
214
Penguin: see Razorbill
Peewit : see Lapwing
Peregrine Falcon: 1593 p. 148
Petrel, Fork-tailed: 308; p. 302
eekulmar: 3045 p. 302
Pe ScOE 307.5 sp. 302
Phalarope, Grey: 253 p. 250
5 Red-necked : 253; p.
250
Pheasant : 219; p. 220
Pipit, Meadow: 117; p.
ROCK LESS p: 116
PI WECE -OrLO p- EI6
Pigeon, Wood; 203; p. 208
Plover, Cream - coloured : 240
Ee GOlden)"240°>.p. 240
Py mGteen 247
7 GIey.. 242°> p.. 240
ay Wentish: 24605 p..240
i need = 2445p. 240
, stone or Great Norfolk:
220); (Pp. 240
Pochard (or Dunbird) :
194
Pratineole 238; p: 226
Ptarmigan? 217 ;- p> 226
Putin: 295; p. 200
I16
193; P.-
we
Ouail=" 226 sp. 7226
Raven : 63; p. 62
Razorbill : 291; p. 290
Redbreast: see Robin
Redpoll, Lesser: 99; p. 100
3 Meals 995 p. 100
Redstart; 145) sp. 12
u Black 16) 3p. 12
Redshank : 269; p. 270
Redwing : 2; p. 2
Reedling, Bearded :
Reedling
Reeve, Female of Ruff :
King, @uzel> 1072p. 6
Ringtail: see Hen Harrier
Robin’: 165 p. 16
Rollers 1034: "ps £34
Rook : 68; p. 68
Ruff and Reeve :
see Bearded
266
2005 pa 270
Sanderling : 260; p. 258
Sandgrouse : 211; p. 226
Sandpiper, Common : 268 ; p. 266
Curlew; 261 5) p. 266
Greens, 2677. p> 200
Purple: 264; p. 266
Wood: 268; p. 258
”
”
”
”
Scaup: 194; p. 194
Scoter, Black (or Common):
199; p. 198 ;
Pe SUliehee2 Ok
wu Welvet: 200); jp. LOS
Shas 107-> p. “160
Shearwater, Great: 305; p. 285
. Manx: 305; p. 302
Sheld-drake : 184; p. 186
Shoveler: 189; p. 186
Shrike, Great ‘Grey: 73; ‘p: 58
OMmlEeSSere GLeVvaen 74
,» Red-backed: 74; p. 58
», Woodchat: 76; p. 58
Siskin : 90; p. 96
Skua, Greats 288); —p. 266
» Richardson’s: 290; p.
» Lwist-tailed: 289; p.
Smew : 202; p. 202
286
288
326 INDEX
Snipe, Common; 257; p. 256
a Jacks 250 p."256
» Great or Solitary: 256;
p- 256
Sparrow: House: 92; front
» Hedge :) 20; p. 26
cs cee 2 945 front
Spoonbill, White: 176; p. 232
Starling : 54; p. 52
Stint, Little : 205— p: 262
», Rose-coloured :
52
» Lemminek’s : 265; p.
Stonechat : 13; p. 12
Stork: 175 ; p. 234
Stork, Black: 175
Swallow: 80; p. 84
i Night: see Nightjar
Swan, Bewick’s: 181; p- 168
», Whooper or Wild: 180;
p. 168
Swift : 123; p. 84
SO ioe
Teakser91 > 9. 190
Perm, Arctic: 278°; 3p: 276
o Blacks 275.5, p. 276
Common : 278; p. 278
Little : 279; p.«278
Roseatem 277 ; p: 276
,, Sandwich: 276; p. 276
Thick-knee : see Plover, Great 230
Thrush, Seng: 15 Mistles, sre: Wpse2
Titmouse, Great: 37; p. 34
a Blue: 39; p. 40
“A Cole: 40; p. 40
» Marsh: 41; p. 40
ee Bearded : 42
oe Crested : 42; p. 40
Pr Long-tailed : 35; p. 34
Titlark : see Pipit, Meadow
Tree-creeper : 47°, p. 40
Turnstone: 250; p. 378
Twite: see Linnet, Mountain
Wagtail, Blue-headed :
112
a (GTEY SES eps tee
Pied 3025 paki
White > 111 ; Spa riz
Yellow: 115 } po Ene
Warbler: Dartford: 25; p. 26
is Garden: 23.5 ps2
Grasshopper : 28; p. 30
Marsh: 27; p. 26
Reed > 25.- pi 26
sedge : 27°; py 20
Willow : 31; p. 30
P Wood 3325 pegs
Waterhen : see Moorhen
Water Rail: 230; p. 230
Waxwing: 76; p. 78
Wheatear: 10; p. 16
Whimbrel : 275; p. 258
Whinchat: 12; p. 12
Whitethroat : 21; p. 22
e IWeSses 22). ae22
Wigeon : 192; p. 190
Windhover : see Kestrel
Woodcock : 254; p. 256
Woodpecker, Green: 129; p. 178
115 Sop.
bs Great Spotted: 127;
p. 128
a Lesser Spotted: 129;
p. 128
Wren, Common: 48; p. 46
,» Gold-erested 3933 pa 8
» Hire-crested : 35 7 pa a4
Wryuneck ? 131 5 p., 126
Yellow Hemmer: see Bunting,
Yellow
. &
Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London,
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