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MRNA ANAAAAAAARAAAAAAAAAAAAAASL A / MMMM AMAM AA AAAA AA AAAAAAAAA AA ar a a Ae AARAAAAAAA LAAASAS 47 Ay ARAKAAAAA AA AAAAA, , JEEEEEEAABERESEY 7 j= ‘ , BY ¥ m0 MEM Wy J * \ yi ay = ac Kee em We . it @1 @ eo aca NCEE OS t a — Gis, «< = a < Cr aa << ote —-_z_. a —- —— ome re Pe, SS CORA ASS ie ov a 4 # ,. = CS en Neg, SSROARS ata eta LC S Sass << « are. . tue ex. ~<= SS _ ere a — andes Se es Dt eer A OG < £ SA Oe re ae p= a # : < < Cewes — 2 a ce aa EE Ce ae A AE CH CO ia exces < rie - x , SSeS Lc ae S rx r - \CC Aer -< ao tee << ee Oe Sy eee eG OL Saar C.F. MAUDE, RECTORY, PURWASH. BRITISH OOLOGY ; BEING ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS, WITH lecia OF EACH SPECIES, AS FAR AS PRACTICABLE, DRAWN AND COLOURED FROM NATURE: ACCOMPANIED BY DESCRIPTIONS OF THE MATERIALS AND SITUATION OF THEIR NESTS, NUMBER OF EGGS, &c. BY WILLIAM C. HEWITSON. VOR. -L «« Some to the holly-hedge, Nestling repair, and to the thicket some ; Some to the rude protection of the thorn Commit their feeble offspring: The cleft tree Offers its kind concealment to a few, Their food its insects, and its moss their nests. Others apart far in the grassy dale, Or roughening waste, their humble texture weave. But most in woodland solitudes delight, In unfrequented glooms, or shaggy banks, Steep, and divided by a babbling brook,” nn een E EEE EERE NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE: PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR, BY CHARLES EMPSON, 32, COLLINGWOOD STREET. uw getipn see Hoke ib bbislive HITE A AATIUSERE: HA HAE OF LICAM MOTT AaB zO.L0> oa eee if, ’ ‘ r => i inw ed * ~~ > ‘7 ee ep nes nemnenres) - a ae ; vi, i fe shel PET WD LY h rineeme Vir acnart a ure ro PC ae was mente 4 sips Ves : | TOTES 8 CA, b. A We. | A Ltt {hp head Paige set) wane -. : Dre Pet Mi $e O02 6 Dale tindey t ethane ¥ tt tis eat > gts . Boyt hd ry wour wlio! iedpiads G wie tite “at He eg) aipbowd ecth! 1Re aft - Stated i Ped Com Aste laut 3) aii 9 7 Is Ree 9s Vai agmens tr tr amend ah) ook eheth! ales! sey atl yi? saz gt ve hares wong pads asiigyes teatitas th watt tpn gyidinasl ie, 4 4 Ste aphgetatese pe is tyeeit Pets pre) Hy edhe td, ~ ian Pidiotat via tng epee S- mr tng ee hah — Snes t tanned eee ee e 4 t z | i oF Be uae i ie a ; ‘. wav? Tp Marenows7 pumas sw fa "he ‘ a oi) ‘ i > r 2 . 4 r ~ 7? 7 ‘ ‘ i = x . } % i ick bos thu Rel b etiimic me uf 207 i-2 ptar t~ geet. B/ocis7B lacktered 2b: [-2. uy ro ‘ THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF NORTHUMBERLAND, DURHAM, AND NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, AND TO EACH OF ITS MORE ARDENT MEMBERS ESPECIALLY, AMONGST WHOM THE AUTHOR HAS THE PLEASURE OF ENUMERATING MANY FRIENDS, THIS VOLUME OF BRITISH OOLOGY IS DEDICATED. 4 HOCRI TAR ITAK at) : ey: “40 na oa avieninay, ice eka AIA \ Ries A eee | Oia oT : iW. | tagaroaten enaamane PAREN AON 81 heed i Ra aa ie ‘wont epee Rese el | pmuraamunr 30 aagehta aint ants str i? ey Aram A te "| _ paearite van 1 a “10000 sates A ard ES derADiage ex iGa) Pay oy j " jf f 7 oy i : 1 ; 4 . i : , ‘ : f | t i 4 t aan 4 Ml . we Baas a i SUBSCRIBERS’ NAMES. Bryan Abbs, Esq., Cleadon House, near Sunderland. John Adamson, Esq., F.L.S., F. A. S., Newcastle. E. Aked, Esq., Hebden Bridge, Halifax, Yorkshire. Matthew Anderson, Esq., Jesmond Cottage, near Newcastle. Mrs. Anderson, Jesmond House, near Newcastle. George Clayton Atkinson, Esq., Newcastle. James Atkinson, Esq., York. Richard Atkinson, Esq., Liverpool. John James Audubon, Esq., F. R.S., F. LS. John Ayer, Esq., Heslington, near York. Sir Henry Browne, K. C. B., Bronwylfa, Wales. Edward Backhouse., Jun., Esq., Sunderland. Jonathan Backhouse, Esq., Polam Hill, Darlington, Durham. William Backhouse, Jun., Esq., Newcastle. Addison John Creswell Baker, Esq., Creswell House, Northum- berland. Rev. Thomas Baker, Whitburn, Durham. Robert Barclay, Esq., Leyton, Essex. T. A. Beck, Esq., Esthwaite Lodge, Cumberland. Mrs. Bell, Woolsington Hall, near Newcastle. John Bell, Esq., Thirsk, Yorkshire. Thomas Bell, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S., F.G.S., 17, New Broad Street, London. Richard Sparling Berry, Esq., Bolton Lodge, near Lancaster. Charles William Bigge, Esq., Linden House, Northumberlanu. Henry Birkbeck, Esq., Norwich. J. Blythe, Esq., Naturalists’ Museum, Clyde Street, Glasgow. W., Blythe, Esq., Burnham, Norfolk. John Bockett, Esq., Clapham Common, near London. Captain Bowen, R. N., Warringtree, Essex. George W. Braikenridge, Esq., F. S. A., F.G.S., Brislington, near Bristol. Mrs. Brandling, Shotton Hall, Durham. vi LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. Charles John Brandling, Esq., Middleton Lodge, Yorkshire. John Brandling, Esq., Kenton Lodge, Northumberland. Rev. R. H. Brandling, Gosforth House, near Newcastle. William Henry Brockett, Esq., Newcastle. William Burrell, Esq., Broome Park, Northumberland. Sir George Crewe, Bart., Caulk Abbey, Derbyshire. Lady Crewe, Ditto Cambridge Philosophical Society. Ralph Carr, Esq., Dunston Hill, near Newcastle, 2 Copies. Abel Chapman, Esq., Woodford, near London. Miss E. H. Chapman, Newcastle. Frederick Chapman, Esq., Whitley, near Newcastle. John Chapman, Esq., West Jesmond, near Newcastle. William Chapman, Esq., Newcastle. W. H. Charlton, Esq., Hesleyside, Northumberland. Henry H. Cheek, Esq. Anthony Clapham, Esq., Benwell Grove, near Newcastle. J. C. Clarke, Esq., Kinnersley Castle, Herefordshire. James Graham Clarke, Esq., Fenham Hall, near Newcastle. William Clark, Esq., Belford House, Northumberland. W. B. Clark, Esq. Ditto, Miss Jane Clayton, Newcastle. Charles Colville, Esq., Duffield Hall, Derbyshire. © Charles Conway, Esq., Pontihydyrum Works, near Newport. Thomas Cookson, Esq., Hermitage, Durham. John Cooper, Esq., Bungay. Miss Craster, Craster House, Northumberland. D. W. Crompton, Esq., F. L. §., London. Right Hon. Earl Durham, Lambton Castle, Durham. Lady Dundas, Beechwood, near Edinburgh. Miss D. M. Dale, Newcastle. Henry Dale, Esq., North Shields. John Davidson, Esq., Ridley Hall, Northumberland. Dixon Dixon, Esq., Benton West House, near Newcastle. Henry Doubleday, Esq., Epping. Henry Dover, Esq. John Drayson, Esq., Pattishall House, near Towcester. Anthony Easterby, Esq., Carville Hall, neat Newcastle. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. Vil John Elton, Esq., Redland, near Bristol. Mr. Charles Empson, Newcastle. Hon. W. Twisleton Fiennes, F. L. S., F. H:S., Belvidere, Dartford, Kent. Mrs. Farrer, John’s Street, Berkeley Square, London. A. Fenwick, Esq., Bishopwearmouth, Durham. Thomas Fenwick, Esq., South Hill, Durham. Mrs. Fitzheugh, 3, Stanhope Street, London. F. M. Flintoff, Esq. Benjamin Flounders, Esq., Yarm, Yorkshire. George Foljambe, Esq., Osberton Plane, Retford. George Townsend Fox, Esq., F. L. S., Durham. Rey. John Fox, D. D., Provost of Queen’s College, Oxford. Rey. William Darwin Fox, Epperstone, near Nottingham. Mrs. Fuller, Holcombe Cottage, Surrey. Right Hon. Earl Grey, Howick, Northumberland. Mrs. Galton, Lymington, Hampshire. Rev. Thomas Gibson, Tyrril Lodge, near Penrith, Cumberland. John Bevans Giles, Esq., London. Rey. Thomas Gisborne, M. A., F. L. S., Durham. Miss Godart, Newcastle. Mrs. Godfrey, Old Hall, Essex. John Gould, Esq., A.L.S., 19, Broad Street, Golden Square, London, 7 Copies. John Hatfield Gossip, Esq., Hatfield Hall, near Doncaster. John Gray, Jun., Esq., Wheatfield House, near Bolton-le-Moors. John Edward Gray, Esq., F. R.S., British Museum. Miss Grey, Castle Eden, Durham. Mrs. Gurney, Norwich, 2 Copies. Miss Gurney, Northrepps Cottage, Cromer. Joseph John Gurney, Esq., Norwich. Tansley Hall, Esq., Ely, Cambridge. Mr. Albany Hancock, Newcastle. Mr. John Hancock, Newcastle. Major-General Sir Thos. Hardwicke, F. R. S., F.L. S., M. Asiat. Soc., Lodge, South Lambeth. Thomas Emmerson Headlam, Esq., M.D. George Helsham, Esq., Woodbridge, Suffolk. Henry Hewitson, Esq., Seaton Burn House, near Newcastle. Mrs. Hewitson, Do., 2 Copies. Vill LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS Joshua Hewitson, Esq., Heckley House, Northumberland. Middleton Hewitson, Esq., Newcastle, 2 Copies. Mr. Middleton Hewitson, Junr., Kirkby Stephen, Westmorland. John Hey, Esq., Leeds,’ Yorkshire. T. C. Heysham, Esq., Carlisle. John Hodgson, Esq., M. P., Elswick House, near Newcastle. Rev. J. Holmes, Gaudy Hall, Norfolk. Arthur Todd Holroyd, Esq., M. D., Harley Street, Cavendish Square, London. _W. J. Hooker, Esq., L.L.D., F.R.S., F.L.S., F. A. S., F. H.S., Regius Professor, Glasgow University. C. Hurt, Jun., Esq., Woxworth, Derbyshire. Mrs. Hutchinson, Sheriff Hill Cottage, near Newcastle. William Hutton, Esq., F.G.S., Newcastle. Sir William Jardine, Bart., F.R.S., Ed. F.L.S., Applegarth, Dunfries-shire. Edward James, Esq., Deckham Hall, near Newcastle. P. F. De Jersey, Esq., M. D., F.L.S., Romford. Benjamin Johnson, Esq., North Elswick, near Newcastle. Mrs. Kensington, New Bridge Street, London. Miss Kerrich. Edward Kerrich, Esq., Elmer, near Leatherhead, Surrey. John Kerrich, Esq., Geldston Hall, Norfolk. Rey. W. J. Kerrich, Paulsperry, 2 Copies. Hon. Mrs. Liddell, Eslington House, Northumberland. Joseph C. Lamb, Esq., Ryton House, near Newcastle. John Lambert, Esq., Alnwick, Northumberland. Richard Lambert, Esq., Newbrough House, Northumberland. Miss Laslie, Newcastle. M. De Cardonnel Lawson, Esq., Acton House, Northumberland. Mr. Benjamin Leadbeater, F.L.S., 19, Brewer Street, Golden Square, London. W. A. Leighton, Esq., Leighton Ville, Shrewsbury. R. Leyland, Esq., Halifax, Yorkshire. Robert Losh, Esq., Jesmond Grove, near Newcastle. F. Lumley, Esq., Tickhill Castle, near Bawtry, Yorkshire. Lady Milner, Nun. Appleton, near York. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. ix Manchester Natural History Society. Mrs. Markham. William Marshall, Esq., Newton Kyme, Yorkshire. John Martin, Esq., F. L. S., London. Jacob Maude, Esq., Selaby Park, Durham. John Morgan, Esq., F. L.S.,7, Broad Street Buildings, London. Thomas Meynell, Jun., Esq., Fryerage, Yarm, Yorkshire. Newcastle Literary and Philosophical Society. Norfolk and Norwich Institution. Thomas Norris, Esq., Redvales, near Bury, Lancashire. Mrs. Ormston, Newcastle. C. C. Oxley, Esq., Ripon, Yorkshire. Shirley Palmer, M. D., Birmingham. Rev. Thomas Pearson, M. A., Fellow of Queen’s College, Oxford. Joseph Pease, Esq., M. P., South End, Darlington, Durham. Miss Peters, Newcastle. Miss Pratt, Sedlescomb Rectory, Battle, Sussex. Rev. J. D. J. Preston, Askam, near York. Lady Ridley, Blagdon Hall, near Newcastle. The Radcliffe Library, Oxford. John Ramsay, Esq., M.D., Newcastle. William H. Rudston Read, Esq., Frickley Hall, near Doncaster. Mrs. Richmond, Ravensworth, near Newcastle. Right Hon. Lord Stanley, F. L.S., and F.H.S., President of the Linnzan and Zoological Societies. John D. Salmon, Esq., Stoke Ferry, Norfolk. Bryan John Salvin, Esq., Burn Hall, near Durham. William Thomas Salvin, Esq.. Croxdale Park, near Durham. R.B. Sanderson, Esq., West Jesmond, near Newcastle. George Selby, Esq., Middleton Hall, Northumberland. Prideaux John Selby, Esq., F. L.S., Twizell House, Northumberland. James Smith, Esq., Rector of the Grammar School of Banff, Scotland. J. F. South, Esq., F.L.S., 12, St. Thomas’ Street, Southwark, London. John Spedding, Esq., Newcastle. Mr. Joseph Standish, 40, Kennington Lane, Lambeth, London. x LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. George Stephenson, Esq., Liverpool. Mrs. Steuart, Ewhurst, near Guilford, Surrey. _ William Stokoe, Esq., Hexham, Northumberland. N.C. Strickland, Esq., Lincoln College, Oxford. Rev. George Thackeray, D. D., Provost of King’s College, Cam- bridge, 69, Wimpole Street, London. Rev. George Townsend, M. A., Durham. Walter Calverly Trevelyan, Esq., Wallington Hall, Northumberland Miss Tulip, Brunton House, near Newcastle. Samuel Tuke, Esq., York. Dawson Turner, Esq, M.A., F.R.S., F.A.S., and F.H.S., M. R. I. A., Yarmouth. J. R. Turner, Esq-, Manchester. Rev: William Turner, Newcastle. Rev. Frederick Vane, M. A., Fellow of Queen’s College, Oxford. N. A. Vigors, Esq. M.P., F.R.S.,. F.L.S., and F’G.S. Secretary to the Zoological Society, London. Mr. William Wailes, Newcastle. George Walker, Esq., East Wood, Nottingham. Simeon Warner, Esq-, Blackheath. Godfrey Wentworth, Esq., Wooley Park, near Wakefield, Yorkshire Rev. Robert Meadows White, M.A., Fellow of Magdalen Col- lege, Oxford. Mrs. Whittear, Norwich. Allan Wilkie, Esq., Glen Allen, Northumberland. Mr. Williamson, Scarborough. Mr. R. R. Wingate, Newcastle. Henry Witham, Esq., F.G.S., Lartington, Yorkshire. W. Wood, Esq., F.R.S., F. L.S., Strand, London, 2 Copies. Rev. Jacob George Wrench, D.C. L., F.S.A., Salehurst Vicar- age, Sussex. John Bowes Wright, Esq., Newcastle. William Yarrell, Esq., F. L.S., London. York Subscription Library. Yorkshire Philosophical Society. C.F. MAUDE, RECTORY, BURWASH. INTRODUCTION. AN anxious wish to add a portion, however humble, to- wards the illustration of those glorious works from which I have myself derived such abundant pleasure, together with a desire to impart to others a portion of that pleasure, led to the production of the present work; and however deficient in its accomplishment, should it be the means of turning the atten- tion of any one to this, or any other branch of Natural His- tory, my object will have been fully gained ; and I shall have the happiness of knowing, that I have been partly the means of adding many a bright hour to their lives; feeling, as I do, firmly convinced, that next to those pleasures to be derived from religion, and the discharge of its various duties, there is no pursuit so calculated to impart pure sensations of pleasure, and to elevate the mind. There is not a pursuit which diffuses the same serenity over the feelings, which soothes us in the hour of trouble, and which, when other pleasures flit away, continues to afford undiminished enjoyment to the last. For my own part, that taste for Natural History which I have b 2 enjoyed from the earliest recollection, has proved to me an inestimable blessing. ‘To its influence I owe all the brighter hours of my life; whether, in the full enjoyment of health and happiness, I have trod the green fields, in the joyous spring, delighted with the early flowers, and the first song of the Sky Lark; or have wandered as a school-boy through the woods, “ to pull the flower so gay ;” or in the autumn of the year have traversed the heathery mountains, purpled o’er with blossoms, to watch the flight of the Moor Bird, and listen to the busy hum of a thousand bees; that taste has brightened every beautiful object in nature, and added a zest to every pleasure. If, on the other hand, any of the ills of life have been my lot; if {I have been “afflicted with any sorrow,” then, in- deed, have I felt its influence alleviating every cause of un- happiness. It is with a satisfaction unalloyed by any unpleasant feel- ings, that the lover of nature looks back upon and retraces in his memory the many happy hours which he has spent in the pursuit of his favourite object. Never shall I forget the first dawning of a love for nature upon my mind, as its various beautiful objects came crowding upon my notice—“ wonders yet to me;” nor that strange feeling of delight which I have experienced from the capture of some long-chased butterfly, or the discovery of the nest of some then unknown bird. However unimportant in itself the branch of Natural His- tory which I have attempted to imitate, the beautiful and varied objects which compose it, are amongst the first to ex- cite the imagination, and call forth in boyhood those feelings, 3 that love for nature, which is inherent in us all. And I would ask, who is there, however the cares or the pleasures of life may have blunted those earlier feelings, who has not one day derived pleasurable emotions from their contemplation, and who does not remember those joyous times when, at the first breaking loose from school, he has hied him to the wood and the hedge-row, in search of his painted prize? Few can have failed to notice that wonderful and all-ab- sorbing feeling of anxiety, that utter disregard of self, which, during the breeding season, produces so remarkable a change in the nature of many of our birds: converting that wariness for which they are at other times remarkable, into the most heedless disregard of danger. Numerous anecdotes are related of the devotedness of the Partridge, and other species of birds, in the protection of their young. The Misletoe Thrush, usually so shy, seeks the immediate neighbourhood of our houses, during the season of incubation, rearing its young ones within sight of our windows, and spreading terror amongst the rest of the feathered race, by its pugnacious persecution of all intruders. A Kestel Hawk, belonging to a gentleman in Derby, whilst quietly seated upon an apple-tree, unconscious of harm, having excited the suspicions of a Misletoe Thrush, which had its nest near, received its death-blow from its bill, at a single pounce. I have before noticed the assiduity with which the Eider Duck covers its eggs; and I have since had a further oppor- tunity of admiring it. Upon one of the Norwegian islands we visited, where they are very numerous, we were accompanied 4 by the keeper of the island, who seemed to have a personal and familiar acquaintance with each of his flock, pointing them out to us, and even stroking them on the back. Many of the smaller birds will allow themselves to be taken in the hand, rather than leave their nests. Some have been even known, upon having their young ones taken from them, to follow them into captivity. The obstinate perseverance with which the Blue Titmouse continues to rebuild its nest, although it has been time after time destroyed, is very remarkable ; and still more so the per- tinacity with which it continues to sit its eggs, in defiance of all intrusion; and to retain possession of the hole in which they were placed, sometimes for days after they have been taken from it. I am not prepared to argue the point, whether or not the ovarium of a bird is supplied, at its first creation, with the germs of all those eggs which it is to lay through life. Against this opinion may be stated, the number of eggs laid by the common Fowl, and other birds, in a state of domestication; but these are not fair examples, as they may have been ren- dered thus prolific, either by the mode of life to which we have subjected them, or by some peculiar organization. I have often observed upon the coast of those extensive breed- ing places of the sea birds, where the eggs are constantly plundered, numbers of the various species of Gulls, Oyster Catchers, and Sandpipers, which, though quite matured, were yet in flocks, and unemployed. These might be birds the ovariums of which were exhausted. Notwithstanding the numerous accounts we hear of the fecundity of some of our 5 smaller birds, I am much inclined to think that their powers of incubation are limited, and that the usual number of eggs only, (which it is allotted them to lay,) are sufficiently de- veloped to be brought to maturity at one time. ‘Those birds, however, (which under ordinary circumstances would only breed once in a year,) have nevertheless, if deprived of their eggs, the power of producing, a short time afterwards, a second and even a third set ; but usually diminished in their numbers, as well as in their size. That the colouring of birds’ eggs is an animal matter, and dependent upon the health of the bird, there can be little doubt. The day previous to their being produced, and after the shell has become hard, they are, in those birds which I have examined, pure white; a large proportion of the colour is also easily rubbed off, for some time after they are laid. Thus we find in their eggs the same want of colour, which is also occasionally observable in the feathers of white varieties of birds. Fear, or any thing which may affect the animal functions, exerts its influence upon the colour also. The eggs of birds which I have captured on their nests, during the time that they were laying, and kept in close confinement, have thus been deprived of much of their colour. The colour of eggs, as well as their size, is dependent upon the age of the bird; and during a few years after which it has first become capable of production, they increase in size and intensity of colour, till its arrival at full maturity. That the varied and beautiful hues which adorn the eggs of birds, are given them by the God of nature, as a protection from their enemies, by resembling the various surfaces upon 6 which they are deposited, (as stated by M. Gloger, a German naturalist,) taken as a general rule, I am by no means ready to admit. On the other hand, I think I am prepared to show, that such precautions would be for the most part unnecessary and superfluous; and we never find nature thus wasting her resources. By far the most numerous class of birds are those which build in trees or bushes, and at an elevation from the ground; and the nest (which then forms the object of search and de- tection) being once discovered, further precaution to conceal the eggs would be of no avail; and on this account we find such an instinctive anxiety amongst the feathered race to conceal and protect the homes of their future offspring. I could quote a number of instances, any of which are suffi- cient to excite our wonder and admiration. Who has ever discovered the nest of the Common Wren, concealed and buried as it is amongst the same material of which it is itself constructed, without a feeling of pleasure and surprise? I have frequently seen it let into the hollow of some moss-clad stump, or so nicely woven into the side of a clover stack, when, had it not been for the small round hote of entrance, discovery would have been perfectly evaded. The nest of the Chaffinch is little less worthy of remark ; built upon the branch of some tree clothed with lichens, it is covered with the same material. I have before mentioned a beautiful instance, with regard to the Chaffinch; but as it illustrates so admirably that anxiety which birds evince for the concealment of their nests, I will repeat it here. A Chaf- finch had built its nest in my father’s garden, in Newcastle ; 7 and being unable, amongst the smoke and dirt of a town, to procure the white lichens which in its own green fields it had been accustomed to do, it substituted in their place small pieces of white paper. Those birds which, from the large size of their nests, are prevented from thus concealing them, have recourse to other means of protection. The Hawk, the Crow, and the Magpie, place theirs in places difficult of ac- cess; the nest of the latter being defended besides by a roof of thorns, which are not easily penetrated. That there are several instances in which the eggs of birds are admirably adapted to and closely resemble in colour the ground upon which they are deposited, I have frequently found, much to my annoyance, when in search of them; and these are just the instances where such protection is most necessary, and where contrasting colours would lead to their detection ; and amongst those birds which make little or no nest, depositing their eggs, for the most part, upon the bare ground, or the shingle of the sea beach, and leaving them un- covered on the least alarm. Of these are the Ring Dotterel, Oyster Catcher, the Sandpipers, Peewit, and the Terns, espe- cially the Lesser. Amongst the other ground builders, their protection consists in the careful and constant assiduity with which they are covered by the parent bird; and more so in the adaptation of their feathers than their eggs, to the sur- rounding surface; as the dull and very similar colouring of the females of nearly all the Duck tribe, of the hen Pheasant, and the Grey Hen, (Tetrao tetrix,) so strongly as they are contrasted too with the brighter colours of their mates, (which do not assist in incubation,) will illustrate most 8 admirably. Were I to mention those birds, the eggs of which do not bear any resemblance to the surface on which they are deposited, I should have to enumerate much the greater por- tion of our British Birds. Who will say that there is any resemblance whatever in colour, between the clear blue eggs of the Thrush, and the mud-lined interior of its nest? Neither do the bright blue eggs of the Hedge Sparrow bear much more resemblance to the nest. What likeness do the eggs of the Swans, the Geese, the Harriers, and the numerous species of Ducks, (all white, or nearly so) bear to the ground upon which they are placed? and why, if their colours are intended for their concealment, are eggs so entirely different in that respect, placed in situations perfectly alike ? It may be asked, for what purpose then are these beautiful colours lavished so abundantly? For the same purpose for which they adorn the plumes of the Humming-bird, or the wing of the resplendent butterfly—to gladden our eyes, “'To minister delight to man, to beautify the earth.” And thus it is that the eggs of nearly all those birds (the Owl, Kingfisher, Bee-eater, Roller, Nuthatch, and the Woodpeckers,) which conceal them in holes, are white, because in such situations colour would be displayed to no purpose. The number of eggs laid by various tribes of birds, as, well as the different genera of the same family, vary much. ‘The more typical species of these are, however, for the most part nearly alike in this respect. In every instance we shall find the same beneficent influence acting for our welfare; increas- ing rapidly, by the number of their eggs, those species which are of the greatest use to us, and bestowing upon those 9 intended for our more immediate benefit, a most wonderful power of ovo-production; and at the same time curtailing in their numbers those species which, in their greater increase, would soon become injurious to us. Most of the Rasores, which, as game, form so agreeable an addition to our table, as well as the Duck tribe, lay numerous eggs. The Warblers and the various species of Titmice, which render us such essential service, in the destruction of the numerous insects which would otherwise become a nuisance, are unusually prolific. In their relative sizes, the eggs of birds differ in a remark- able degree from each other, as | have shown, when describing those of the Guillemot; and this will be seen by the compari- son of afew species. The Guillemot and the Raven are them- selves of about equal size ; their eggs differ as ten to one. The Snipe and the Blackbird differ but slightly in weight; their eggs remarkably. The egg of the Curlew is six or eight times as large as that of the Rook; the birds are of about the same size. The eggs of the Guillemot are as big as those of an Eagle; whilst those of the Snipe equal the eggs of the Par- tridge and the Pigeon. The reason of this great disparity in size is, however, obvious: the eggs of all those birds which quit the nest soon after they are hatched, and which are con- sequently more fully developed at their birth, are very large, and yet so admirably formed to occupy the least possible space, that the Snipe has no more difficulty in covering its eggs, though apparently so disproportionate, than the ‘Thrush or the Blackbird. As I have elsewhere remarked, much useful and highly c 10 interesting information might be gained towards the classifi- cation of birds, by paying some attention to their eggs; and it is very gratifying to find, in thus regarding them, that, with the exception of a few instances, were we to take the eggs of our British birds as our only guide, we should arrive at the best and most approved arrangement of the different genera. All those new genera which have been lately adopted, are clearly indicated in the difference of their eggs, and in none more than in those of the Snow Bunting and the Bearded Titmouse ; the former of which was associated with the genus Emberiza, the latter with that of Parus; the very great simi- larity which the eggs of each of these genera (Emberiza and Parus) bear to each other, at once pointing out the intruders. T would not, however, have any one place too implicit reliance on their eggs, for the arrangement of the birds. There are puzzling instances in which, by so doing, we should be led into error, and be tempted to place apart from each other the eggs of the Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, the Common and Tythis Redstarts, and to separate those of the Common and Misletoe ‘Thrush from the rest of the genus, the Swallow from the Martin and the Swift, the Little Bittern from the more common species, and the Woodcock from the Snipe; and placing too much reliance upon those minute differences which serve so beautifully to connect and represent neigh- bouring genera, we should be led into a similar mistake with regard to the eggs of the Pied Wagtail, the Grasshopper Warbler, the Wood Wren, and the Wheatear. The generic characters of eggs are in some cases as dis- tinctly marked in contour and in colour as are the birds Il themselves. Any one would immediately recognize the close affinity which those of the different species of Crows bear to each other, as also those of the Owls, the Ducks, the Divers, the Buntings, the Titmice, the Sea Gulls, and the Terns, (greatly as the latter differ individually). In shape, the eggs of the Grebes are very peculiar, as are those of the more typical waders. This affinity is not confined to genera only, but may be traced, more or less, in most of the families, and is very remarkable throughout the Scolopacidx, in colour, shape, and number. The eggs are, with one exception only, much pointed at the smaller end, and are invariably four in number. There is too, in many genera, a beautiful analogical resem- blance with others nearly allied to them. The Eagles and Hawk tribe (nearly all of which breed aloft,) approach in their habits of breeding on the ground and the colour of their eggs, by the genus Circus, that section of the Owls which is the most Hawk-like, the species of which (departing from the habits of the rest of the family) breed also upon the ground. The eggs of the following genera, Corvus, Fregilus, Pica, and Garrulus, are all closely allied, as are those of the Roller, Merops, and Alcedo. Eggs are subject to much variety, and are not without those apparent discrepancies which beset the study of other branches of. Natural History, and which are only to be reconciled by oft-repeated observation, and by combining with their study a knowledge of the nests in which they are found. And thus, as regards the different species of a genus, although the eggs of some of the Thrushes usually bear but slight resemblance 12 ~ to each other, we shall find upon a closer acquaintance with them, that there are other connecting links. The nests of all the species are much alike, each being strongly cemented with clay ; and much as the eggs of the Common Thrush and the Blackbird appear to differ at first sight, they nevertheless run imperceptibly into each other, in some of their varieties. I have seen eggs of both species, of a clear spotless blue. My friend Mr. Doubleday, one year found several nests of the Blackbird, at Epping, in one locality, the eggs of which were all of this description; a variety perpetuated, probably, through the several individuals of one family. No one who has seen the nests of the Swallow and the House Martin, (resembling each other as much as they differ from those of all other genera,) will need to be told that they are closely allied, much as the eggs differ in colour. With regard to birds of the same species, although the eges of most of them are subject to more or less variety, some are constant, or nearly so, in their colouring, whilst others display an almost unceasing variety. Amongst the former, are those chiefly of one colour, to which may be added a few others, which seldom vary much. These are the Kite, Golden Oriole, Lesser Whitethroat, the various species of Titmice, Reed Bunting, Goldfinch, and Black Grouse. The eggs, on the other hand, which are subject to the greatest variety, are those of the Water Birds, the Gulls, Terns, Guillemots, &c.; and of the land birds, the Red Grouse, the Rook and Carrion Crow, Yellow Bunting, and House Sparrow, and above all, the Tree Pipit. There is, notwith- standing, in all these a character, by which a little experience 13 will for the most part enable us to determine the species ; and though we might not readily believe the eggs of the Tree Pipit to belong to the same species, we shall have no difficulty in referring them to the right genus. In places where those materials are to be met with which instinct has taught individuals of the same species of bird to make use of in the construction of their nests, we shall usually find the same adopted. I know of no other bird which seems so much to consult its own taste in this respect, as the Com- mon Wren. The materials of its nest are as different as the situations in which it is placed. It may be found built en- tirely of clover, and in places where moss is abundant; its interior is also formed according to the taste of the owner, and is as often found without any lining at all, as it is thickly lined with feathers. There are many instances in which circumstances have led to a deviation from the usual habit. Those Eagles and Hooded Crows inhabiting the Shetland Islands, which would build their nests of sticks, were such materials to be had, are there compelled to substitute the larger species of sea weed. A Carrion Crow which resorted to the Fern Islands to breed, for the same reason, (the absence of sticks) made its nest in a hole in the ground, surrounding it, to give it sufficient depth, with a wall of sods. There are a few deviations from the usual instinct, which, not being influenced by local causes, are very remarkable ; and in no instance which has come under my notice, more so than in the nest of a Blackbird, sent me by my friend, the Rey. W. D. Fox, which is lined with black hair, instead of 14 its usual composition, dry grass; the same circumstance having occurred several years in succession. With regard to the situation of their nests, birds seem to be left much more at the disposal of their own choice, and adapt them with surprising skill, to places apparently most unsuit- able. Some species, leaving their natural mode of life, and their own wild haunts, have adapted their habits to our own, and being to a certain extent domesticated, have become our confiding friends and delightful companions. For us the Swift, the Martin, and the Swallow, once the inhabitants of the inland rocks and lonely sea cliffs of our coast, are now the voluntary inmates of our dwellings, cheering us with their cheerful notes and elegant motions. The shy Hawk, the wily Raven, and the midnight Owl, leaving their native woods, have built their nests in the towers and steeples of our towns and cities. The Magpies too, which with us are so suspicious of wrong, build their nests under the eaves of the Norwegian cottages. Numerous instances might be given, in which birds have chosen the most strange and singular situations for their nests, adapting them as though reason was their guide. The most remarkable on record is that of the Rooks, which, for ten successive years, built their nest upon the vane at the top of the Newcastle Exchange, revolving with every change of wind. The House Sparrow, the nest of which, when built in trees, is large and carefully arched over, dispenses with the labour of constructing its own roof, by placing it under the eaves of our dwellings. I am unwilling to close the present work, and to take leave of my subscribers generally, without expressing my thanks for 15 the kind feeling which they have evinced towards me, and more especially those who have so greatly contributed to the following pages :—to William Yarrell, J. D. Hoy, Henry Doubleday, J. D. Salmon, the Rev. W. D. Fox, P. J. Selby, and J. Hancock, I would express the best thanks this ac- knowledgment can convey. ‘To some of those subscribers, (endowed with a kindred feeling for the beauties of nature,) whose friendship I greatly value, I shall ever look with plea- sure on these illustrations, as having formed the medium of introduction. Of many defects I am very sensible, and have to regret - errors into which I have fallen, from my inattention to modern nomenclature. Previous to the commencement of the work, every leisure hour had been spent in the fields; and my at- tachment to the confined system of Linnzus, then led to its adoption ; in my progress, however, as the necessity of a more extended arrangement became apparent, it has been gradually adopted. This has led to a want of unison on the whole, which I much regret ; but which I have endeavoured, in part, to obvi- ate, by an index, containing the modern names, where previ- ously omitted. For the length of time which has elapsed since the first commencement of the work, my best apology is the number of rare and hitherto unknown eggs, which the ex- ertions of those ardent in the pursuit of Natural History have enabled me to figure. I have still, however, to regret the omission of the eggs of numerous species, which are yet desiderata to the cabinets of this country, part of which I trust at some future period to procure. a ee wre Wi Jah ae: MK, + Ae ‘Aweate take ore EE hy sh Ae AC Rei YY ae THe ie Hiiitte 7 i iW i ae ime we Hl: te 5 sc hi 5 RO tr ae ay ee ae C Ana ill ea prt iii ane bal fda ari af alt “ata eer iat baat, ying 4 aa “ ai Sy ik af a TAT aN: ai “A ‘8 al ef tee whe ny be 7 ery vr ’ = ay) ce : te ; ; ” ne ee ny ry Ahi ee Te eee Oa eeu peas Milian pe : ing’ | reat ‘sian hg A aft Peek (eo iiaile id gente an tit ot) it Ba i vs atest atti 4 Mio et eu Prane ane oy wo Rael ee Ae aire ae ayy: qt 40K : PERE Witt hi spi Hats pardon ‘ie at a8 ai iy Ababa a “ie pew x Per Aaa Ley | rata wo eave ‘asl ae Ot i ide Bae | iy tae y Ws: at aii Ane A els cose cet ay 4 \ HOE eR WIE og viet d eee fis a % \ x ‘ ’ =e presi ‘t vd a ‘i a Biel vi “heat poe sae ee i eh OF BY any if pid ane ¥ 448 0 fay fy Ne" | ne Healy waite ; sifeee t hi! esr it ve feed ‘i a | he | es y ail (ed ke a! Wis in th De aay AOS Pa ti ; ) eb aoe Rigi ie BA sa mals fi ea oo red ay ; ip ety, (ht (10) We ce Poti Cy Obst at er ‘Wipe ta b i Ri: alee ae (antag aah sc hotin al e | Mee nits ber Uy q A nk Sit eee iit oe , iB 2 pn sit Haine wi ie wl we he ‘wae Ayia ay | iow if ‘ ay a ua gd ir ol if Goo . ve % Ht P Ay hia Yu wig ? ke, 9 10 ¥ 4 ae : a a % > é Poh | a a. ; = = Mira - ‘ 4 7 P ‘ r P i ye Bhai ae, ae aD Pat ree INTRODUCTION. I HAVE much pleasure in being able to add fifteen new eggs to those of 229 species before figured. For these I am altogether indebted to the kindness of those friends, whose assiduity in the pursuit of Natural History has enabled them to add so many rarities to their collections: to them I must again tender my best thanks, which I do most sincerely, for the liberality and kindness with which they have transmitted to me from a distance, things so fragile, and at the same time so rare and difficult to obtain. Since the publication of the former part of my work, I have—with all those who may take an interest in the sub- ject—to lament the death of Mr. Hoy, who was one of our most arduous and indefatigable collectors, and to whose ex- ertions—as the oft-repeated mention of his name through- out its pages will testify—my work has owed so much. I am sorry that with regard to the eggs now figured — with the exception of that of the Redwing—I have no in- formation to offer from personal observation. They are most of them eggs of birds which have never yet been de- tected breeding in this country. For the little I have given I am indebted to the pages of others, and chiefly to those of Mr. Yarrell’s book, which is a rich store of our ornithological knowledge up to the present day. Finding from the complaints of some of the subscribers to my work, to whom the scientific names of our birds are not familiar, that I have committed an oversight in not giving an index of their English names, I have now added one, which may be pasted into the respective volumes. apr ty a yt bal PRPEVIT S dict Oe ic Rae } : fir’ Aaa S © PRE TO: sae: Resi t wea sahalie 02 Enaigetadtis Aaee ® f > A * ra " By mr Se Ne ee ai pee SR iale ar) Orsigs 1@ OF Bia ey fe Ya erie a } inet. . ie oe Cements ellie, i 5 Tax &, wight (eng Yes HE Bak oy BG, 1 02ka = ORDER I.—RAPTORES, OR BIRDS OF PREY. No. of Plate. XXVI. XLV. CXLVI. LXII. XXVII. CXXII. CXXVIII. XXIV. CXXXII. CXVII. CXL. LXXXVI. LXXXIl. LXXVIU. xX. VI. CVII. CXXXVI. cS —_——cooer SYSTEMATIC INDEX. VOL. I. FAMILY, FALCONID2. Eggs round or nearly so ; from three to five in number. Nomenclature used in British Oology. Falco chryscetos Falco albicilla Falco haliceetus Falco Islandicus Falco peregrinus Falco tinnunculus Falco subbuteo Falco esalon Falco nisus Falco palumbarius Milvus vulgaris Pernis apivorus Buteo vulgaris Circus ezruginosus Circus cineracius Circus cyaneus Nomenclature to be substituted. Aquila chryseeta albicilla Pandion haliceetus Accipiter fringillarius Astur palumbarius Circus hyemalis FAMILY, STRIGIDA, Strix otus Strix brachyotus Strix flammea Strix stridula Strix bubo Strix scops Strix Tegmalmi Strix passerina Otus vulgaris — brachyotus Ulula stridula Bubo maximus Scops Aldrovandi Noctua Tegmalmi passerina wo ORDER II.—INCESSORES, OR PERCHING BIRDS. TRIBE, DENTIROSTRES.—FAMILY, LA NIADZ. Eggs nearly always four or five in number.—Sometimes numerous. No. of Plate. CVIII. II. VI LVI. LXXxIl. XII. XXiIi. XC. CX. LXX. XLII. CXVI. CXLVII. CXVIII. CXV. LXXXVII. LXXVI. CXXXIIl. LXXXI. CV. { —S— mae eer to a ts Ot eh se Nomenclature used in British Oology. Nomenclature to be substituted. Lanius excubitor - rufus collurio FAMILY, MERULIDA. Turdus musicus viscivorus merula pilaris torquatus Cinclus aquaticus Oriclus galbula FAMILY, SYLVIADE. Saxicola rubicola tubetra cenanthe Philomela luscinia Erythaca rubecula Pheenicura ruticilla tythis Suecica Salicaria arundinacea phragmitis locustella Curruca hortensis ———— atricapilla sylviella cinerea Melizophilus provincialis Sylvia hippolais ——— sibilatrix trochilus Regulus auricapillus ignicapillus ‘ Parus coeruleus palustris caudatus cristatus major ater biarmicus Accentor modularis alpinus Sylvia rufa Bonen Calamophilus biarmicus No. of Plate. Nomenclature used in British Ooloyy. Nomenclature to be substituted. Motacilla alba Motacilla Yarrellii LIX. ———— boarula . flava CXXXV. — neglecta Anthus aquaticus ESVIL. { pratensis CXIV. arboreus FAMILY, MUSCICAPIDA. VIII. { Muscicapa luctuosa ; grisola TRIBE, CONIROSTRES.—FAMILY, CORVIDZ. LXIX. Corvus corax XCI. corone XCVIL. cornix LXXxI. — frugilegus XLIV. monedula LXV. Pica caudata Fregilus graculus CXxII. { Garrulus glandarius FAMILY, STURNID. IX. Sturnus vulgaris FAMILY, FRINGILLIDZ. CXXXIV. Loxia curvirostra Pyrrhula vulgaris ALI. { Coccothraustes vulgaris XVI { Fringilla chloris Coccothraustes chloris i ceelebs CXXXVII. Carduelis elegans Linaria cannabina XCVI. montana : minor XLL { Passer domesticus montanus Emberiza miliaria Ill. ———- citrinella — schoenicuius CXXVI. hortulana XI { cirlus ‘ nivalis Plectrophanes nivalis CXXXIX,. { Alauda arvensis arborea TRIBE, SCANSORES.—EAMILY, PICIDZ. No. of Plate. Nomenclature used in British Oology. Picus major XCV — viridis c — minor Yunx torquilla FAMILY, CERTHIADZ. Sitta europea aS Certhia familiaris CLIV. Troglodytes europceus FAMILY, CUCULID. LV. Cuculus canorus CXLIX. Coccyzus Americanus TRIBE, TENUIROSTRES. CXI. Upupa epops TRIBE, FISSIROSTRES.— FAMILY, MEROPID. CXIiIl. Coracias garrula X. Merops apiaster FAMILY, HALCYONID. X. Alcedo ispida FAMILY, HIRUNDINIDZ. XXI. Hirundo rustica ——_——. urbica XIV. 1 ———— riparia Cypselus murarius FAMILY, CAPRIMULGIDZ. XXX. Caprimulgus ceuropeus VOL. I. Index to thé English Names of Birds in the order in which they are PLATEFe 26 Golden Eagle 45 White-tailed Eagle 146 Osprey — Gyr Falcon 62 Peregrine Falcon 27 Kestril 122 Hobby 128 Merlin 24 Sparrow Hawk 132 Goshawk 117 Kite 140 Honey Buzzard 86 Common Buzzard 82 Moor Buzzard — Ash-coloured Harrier 78. Hen Harrier 20. Long-eared Owl — Short-eared Owl 7 White Owl - Wood Owl 107 Eagle Owl — Scops-eared Owl — Tengmalm’s Owl - 136 Little Owl 108 Great Shrike — Wood Chat 2 Red-backed Shrike 6 Thrush - Blackbird - Missel Thrush 58 Fieldfare — Ring Ouzel 72 Water Ouzel 13 Golden Oriole 22 Stone Chat — Whin Chat — White Rump 90 Nightingale — Redbreast 110 Redstart {start -. Tythis or Black Red- arranged PLATE. 110 Blue-throated Red- start 70 Reed Warbler — Sedge Warbler — Grasshopper Warbler 42 Greater Pettychaps — Black-cap — Lesser White-throat 116 White-throat 147 Dartford Warbler 118 Chiff-chaff — Yellow Willow Wren 115 Willow Wren 87 Golden-crested Wren — Fire-crested Wren 76 Blue Titmouse —- Marsh Titmouse — Long-tailed Titmouse 133 Crested Titmouse 81 Greater Titmouse — Cole Titmouuse — Bearded Titmouse 105 Hedge Sparrow — Alpine Accentor 59 Pied Wagtail — Grey Wagtail — Yellow Wagtail 134 Grey-headed Yellow Wagtail 68 Rock Lark — Tit Lark 114 Tree Pipit 8 Pied Flycatcher - Spotted Flycatcher 69 Raven 91 Carrion Crow 97 Hooded Crow 71 Rook 44 Jackdaw 65 Magpie 112 Cornish Chough PLATE. 9 Starling 135 Crossbill 43 Grosbeak 16 Green Linnet — Chaflinch 137 Goldfinch 96 Grey Linnet — Mountain Linnet — Lesser Redpole 41 House Sparrow — Tree Sparrow 3 Yellow Bunting - Common Bunting - Black-headed Bunt- ing 126 Ortolan Bunting 11 Cirl Bunting — Snow Bunting 139 Sky Lark — Wood Lark 95 Green Woodpecker — Great Spotted Wooil- pecker — Lesser Spotted Wood- pecker — Wryneck 49 Nuthatch — Creeper 154 Common Wren 55 Cuckoo 149 American Cuckoo 111 Hoopoe 113 Roller 10 Kingfisher — Bee-eater 21 Swallow 14 Martin — Sand Martin — Swift 30 Night Hawk Draw om Stone bu W Cats or XXV + Snatea: ty CBallmandal XXVIL. FALCO CHRYS#TOS. (x1yw.) GoLpEN EaGue. Tus noble bird is now very rare in Britain, and will, I fear, with many of the same persecuted tribe, ere long become extinct; it breeds in the Highlands of Scotland, in Orkney, and in Shetland; and, though I traversed the whole of the latter group of islands, and spent six weeks amongst them, I could only hear of three or four eyries belonging to our two species of eagles, and could only ascertain with cer- tainty that one of them was the breeding place of the Golden Kagle: this was in the cliffs of Foula (perhaps the finest in the British empire), and at an elevation of about 1,100 feet above the sea, being then 100 feet from the summit, and seem- ing from the almost perpendicular surface of the rock to bid defiance to the approach of anything not endowed with wings ; but even to this dizzy height the hardy natives had climbed and borne away the young ones. The Eagle begins to breed in March or early in April, returning to the same cliffs for many years together, and choosing those which are the least accessible ; it makes a nest of great size, composed of a quan- tity of sticks, and lined with softer materials, roots, straw, dry grass, and wool. In Shetland, where there are no sticks to be met with, there being no wood growing upon the islands, it has recourse to the long root-like pieces of sea-weed, of which to form the outer part of its nest. I have not been able to ascertain with certainty the number of eggs which it lays, but would, from what I have heard, suppose that two is the most common number, though, it is said, to lay three or four: in the nest mentioned above there were only two young ones, and these, the old birds would, I think, find quite a suffi- cient charge for which to provide food. Mr. Salmon, however, mentions a nest in Orkney, from which three young were taken. The egg from which the accompanying plate is drawn, was kindly sent for that purpose by P. J. Selby, Ksq., of Twizell House; it was the first egg laid by the bird, though he has had it for many years in confinement, I was at first unwilling to figure it, knowing that eggs produced under such circumstances very frequently differ greatly from those laid in a state of nature; but upon com- paring it with one in the British Museum, I find that they are similar. Iam also greatly indebted to John Blackwall, Esq., of Crumpsall Hall, near Manchester, for a drawing made from one likewise laid by a bird in confinement ; it is rather less, with the spots lighter and more generally disposed than the one in the Plate, which may be considered rather brighter in colour, and more strongly marked than common. ‘ \ =a + * | mS f 4 4 . Draws on Stone by Wi 0. Hewstson. Pritted bu TE, Bil NaaCE XLV. FALCO ALBICILLA. (xryv.) Wuiltet-TAILeD Eac ie, Sea Face. The Sea Eagle is more numerous than the Golden Eagle and breeds like it in the most inaccessible rocks of Orkney, Shetland, and the Highlands of Scotland. Latham also men- tions an instance of its breeding in the north of England, near Keswick, in Cumberland, communicated to him by Dr. Hey- sham. The nest is usually formed of a large quantity of sticks, but in Shetland, where no such materials are to be met with, they have substituted in their place those long foot-stalks of the larger sea-weeds, by which they are attached to the rocks ; and so pliable are these, and so well do they seem to answer the purpose, that I should much doubt whether a Shetland Eagle, having his choice of both, would ever have recourse to the more commonly used material ; the nest is lined with dry grass, wool, and any such soft substance; the eggs are two, and sometimes three, or probably even four in number. The few specimens which I have examined are either altogether spotless or like the plate very faintly marked. I think it most probable that some will be found much more boldly spotted. bya soe WAI ds oad a el | awe etaenleO ta, edyot slifieexonai eon: add ot dt, ol eh | VO saaste onli: stalin” -bsrahies®. to sic std snot Denlgath te Hiroe act rik gaibooid ett, sosnihe ‘got er +e cold of hataaiacrancnos chaalindlinnt 7 - pilotta to: tna “ip oyial 0 26 hocsrot yYlawens af sae ad gilt ioant| a atl of 010 daivatans dou on stoi baal (silt 0 wilfade-tock gaol: avodl? aaelq sii ed itch 4 cg wlaor ot af Bgdoathy ota yall. doisive: 4d abssve. galt rorrcenms oF 989 ail ob Hew op beta Bal san I aignk, iaelted@ podind w idnob iio blo ‘\gilil 10 cepltagy sadsogotle, xed mo-hooictaxs oxad td “| sleriong tame if, Aoidd’ T ‘-boadtann “etnias ‘ior. 9 ame tate ans @ ortoent Home inwod bi ald ontd 7 oy Pe ny : - ad nike pa eve ie Pats of 5% CXLYL. Drawn on Stone py VC lewitsan Day e Hagne Latif? to the Queen. CXLVI. FALCO HALIGQETUS. OsPREY, FISH Hawk. SPECIMENS of the eggs of the Osprey, kindly sent me from the collections of Sir William Jardine and Mr. Yarrell, although very similar in colour, differ considerably in shape ; one of them possessing the roundness which marks the eggs of the Raptores, whilst the other is considerably more lengthened, and of a form, which would appear from Wilson, to be characteristic of this species. A note, accompanying the specimen from Sir W. Jardine, states, that it was pro- cured from Loch Menteith in Perthshire, a favourite station with the bird. Mr. Selby mentions his having seen the Osprey on Loch Awe, “ where an eyrie is annually esta- blished upon the ruins of a castle near the southern extremity of the lake, and another in a similar situation nearly opposite the egress of the river Awe.” For a further account of this species, now so rarely to be observed at home, I have had recourse to the faithful descriptions of Wilson, whose oppor- tunities of observing it were so frequent. “ The nest of the Fish-Hawk is usually built on the top of a dead or decaying tree, sometimes not more than fifteen, often upwards of fifty feet from the ground. It has been re- marked by the people of the sea coast, that the most thriving tree will die in a few years after being taken possession of by the fish-hawk. This is attributed to the fish oil, and to the excrements of the bird, but is more probably occasioned by the large heap of wet salt materials of which the nest is composed. In my late excursion to the sea shore, I ascend- ed to several of these nests that had been built in from year to year, and found them constructed as follows : —Externally, large sticks from half an inch to an inch and a half in diame- ter, and two or three feet in length, piled to the height of four or five fect, and from two to three feet in breadth ; these were intermixed with corn-stalks, sea-weed, pieces of wet turf, in large quantities, and lined with dry sea-grass; the whole forming a mass observable at half a mile’s distance, and large enough to fill a cart. About the first of May, the female begins to lay her eggs, which are commonly three in number, sometimes only two, rarely four.”—Fig. 1. FALCO ISLANDICUS. (LATHAM.) GYR FALCON. Two eggs of this rare bird are in the collection of Mr. Yarrell, by whom they have been kindly forwarded to me. They are the only specimens I have heard of, with the exception of one in the museum at Leyden, a drawing of which was, with the greatest kindness, sent me by Professor Temminck, through the instrumentality of Mr. Hoy. The Jer Falcon breeds in rocks, in those countries, which are rendered difficult of access, from the severity of their climate. We were not so fortunate as to meet with it in Norway, although we were told, that had our time permitted, we might have done so, by penetrating, for some days’ journey, into that part of the country which was covered with snow. So “ee A ie \ e Ag 4 a AS Wings Sit eae fic le OR ai “. tie hg _) “ . Pd Pea RL oe hs “Oe 2 ae ‘ LXIL. on. Stone hy W.C.Hewitson LXIT. FALCO PEREGRINUS. (x1yy.) PEREGRINE FALCON. Tue Peregrine Falcon is, I fear, like the rest of this no- ble tribe of birds, daily drawing nearer to its total extinction in this country. It is now only to be met with in those places which are inaccessible to, or unvisited by, its extermi- nating enemy, the gamekeeper, Its resort during the breed- ing season is in those lofty and steep rocks which occur most frequently upon the sea coast, upon the ledges of which it makes but a slight nest, of a few sticks or coarse grass, and lays four or five eggs, resembling those represented in the plate, differing only from the figures’ there given, in being sometimes rather smaller and of a lighter colour. For the egg drawn at Fig. 1, a variety showing more of the light ground-colour than is often seen, I am indebted to the Hon. Mrs. Liddell; the other was very kindly sent me by James Smith, Esq., rector of the Grammar School of Banff, together with one very much lighter, and having all the appearance of having been laid before it had received its final colouring. These were taken, towards the end of April, from the fine cliffs which bound the Murray Firth, there being no nest whatever. The Rev. W. D. Fox informs me, that a pair of these birds have frequented the rocks of the Isle of Wight, and although annually plundered of their eggs, or young ones, have, for many successive years, returned to the same spot ; and, what is more remarkable, although one of the sexes has been sometimes shot, the remaining bird has never failed to bring with it a mate the following spring. oth ae , teest nina teh a y o* BVA MENTS ia ni ee i (fai veie , 5 dale é fabs ei Giese es: Cems eRe: 7 Miho A enpliol: GER Re Wiad. set "7! 2 " > ¢ ; Be (ek GARY Ai elie Se RTA tore Feige: ' bia ; Q 1f 2? ‘ } 2 Witt igeet 2 ye # ; a pt hie ede rd ; bs The ght TL , a ee i) ere loa j is ftait. i Tey hie ee EE ' Teall Vat morte fe evant AE, hee oR 6 . ba tial A Et Hike bh ¥ bar: Exeeah ae rene HEE Oy Gad ia thn Labi: opt Ta aT es i a gel Hie onthgit tie As ros ais . re Tigw! vey that > Pili eal hs ian ‘ern eh aPE “i ibe A bret: tye att abl + oi meh vin Pe ha ae 1 ipa 2 Rare nt iyi er Hehe hi oe a bas Paes 1.4 ™ i py stele 9; wr teach } | is va Fini uied 4 4 a; rf al * KXVII band a Proniad. be ¢ * Eewiksor:. Fram on Stones by W XXVIT. FALCO TINNUNCULUS. (11yv.) KeEstTRIL. Few opportunities occur of observing the habits of this tribe of birds during the time of their nidification, from their shy and retired dispositions, and from the places of their re- sort being usually remote and inaccessible. The Kestril is, however, one of our commonest species, and is, in conse- quence, much more frequently met with than any of the others; it builds in rocks and precipices, making a slight nest of sticks, sometimes lined with dry grass and wool ; it is placed upon a ledge or in the crevice of the rock ; it breeds, likewise, in old ruins, either on the top or in some hole left by the falling of the stones. Mr. Selby has known it under the failure of more favourable situations, to breed in the de- serted nest of a Crow or Magpie. Its usual time of incu- bation is towards the end of April or beginning of May. It lays four or five beautiful eggs, differing considerably in the intensity of their rich colouring. Fig. 1 is the most com- mon; Fig. 2, a variety very much resembling the eggs of the Hobby, which I have seen, and also some of those of the Merlin. i ae va A ere ine oe 45, c Ag “— ph ease a ’ 7 3 oY 7 gilt! ty atin ook rd. ae gat Let awe Pear | ih fines Rb anges Reeth td iio! d one a ane? Carte Res ange cheats Linknied ‘, ; omy bus a atte ¥ "eae SP he 11 f es As PRT SL SAP Pi taet Bee h: rh sh tes ey tiptaes2n) Bei\ A ea 4310: or. re cd ¥ Aiea dort WEI eies soseert sags . Wise 7 3 wee. eM = wien Lite. 223 Pri eh oes ‘ = 45h Kei v fen t 5 $ sgt.’ = 743 ail iM b ves j 4? cat; t0h pes ' 5 tf } ie iMsi7iy .# i le FOL T id . a a *; f ‘ F Pe * fy i f *> | waren (a 4 *4 hes i] ete % 5 ey ; Ss / 5 ler wort j 4 i toa es ae sichetOity sa ttl hits es ig ramos itu ot} es Ei ny. shite O49" fy + onildty fT sAd i wind? to) anion Orin se : ~ - ‘ 5 ‘ ’ oe . a5 . ° Lr i > : % * ¢ Po 9 a ‘at co | : ¢ . 4 wil ag’ i ta te i ys OA “. er eek, fe A, hi vi ae - - hie . ey mr a } is 7 2 ey ae . CAXIL. Drawn. on Strme by ¥ rey, avn on. Stmme by WC. Wewits on. Day ScHaghe Jath**>+o the King CXXII. FALCO SUBBUTEO. (Lrinv.) Hospy. Tuts beautiful species of Hawk is I believe rare, throughout this country, and as far as my own observation goes, is more common in Yorkshire than elsewhere ; not having however, had an opportunity of seeing much of its habits, I avail myself of the information of Mr. Hoy. The Hobby is a late breeder, seldom having eggs before the first week in June. It very rarely, if ever, builds its own nest, but takes possession of that of a Crow or Magpie, pre- ferring those which are placed near the tops of high trees : its usual number of eggs is three, sometimes, however, only two; Mr. Hoy tells me, he has never met with more than three ; they are not subject to vary much, all the specimens which I have seen, with the exception of Fig 2, being very similar to Fig. 1 of the plate; they resemble closely some eggs of the Kestrel, but are more regularly marked, and less suffused with colour. Fig. 2, though of very rare occurrence, is given to show a light coloured variety, to which the eggs of some other species of Hawks are subject; those of the Kestrel, Merlin, Sparrow-Hawk, &c. The Hobby, though it may be met with breeding in large woods, seems very partial to isolated groves of fir or other trees, situated in an open country, where it can not only pur- sue with advantage the feathered tribe, but also capture vast numbers of coleopterous and other insects, upon which it feeds very much. I have once seen the nest of the Hobby upon a ledge of rock on the face of a perpendicular cliff, in a situation similar to that frequently occupied by the Kestrel. 1p, yh alias ' this i ey ny rial ; a ey onl oll io moiety of, 40h, te Vote tat inal Tg it ce hey iti bil adil bo Neel end & toed eh hat eblited sare: xa eR ly ilivaah grat, 1D adear fi ite Beats | sete hy 3 re te , Q Wi jae! Ce Sar | jakadll saerid if yal ey enna: ot nate ] ping) an apcsiohey hig sowed ents psi at tye Aw fake Pre “ih eve of i sere Me rot eared y i” orn aaah 4 f ie tet! wich write oii ile isaiacescalys ah Vode son ona ut | oy, ye at 8 a9 Dy puntata adi ibiiat of ingond etn aha Ds es a fynals lebgle A < athe ad te 63 ay ati es ’ i Natal fini: fre dias, sabia ‘arp AL, haball lab eed i 1 Tee, gander pnd), ore ie abt get LG RIE. .000 ay ditty i i wi ah es DA ee DH't ‘prorlny: 19) f Teel a b ; a fa! ith hod tie ate Abii "ey" bout Ws (% " nie oan Ha of eraler, aqiib! Haw. W840i Kid wedi ati mitt may os) ‘ agiek a sitet (Gud ebnignh® oa, Riv Wary £ we, nettoosd hash dayebenit bea seyret to neengucet aa Sacra AW athfiher ants hur af yoo whorls Mess “ f . “ad ie ee wid Sai ovit. gl) be adeit od Biidrae wt tol ptoqs he teount Baul dgieber drow odd te ae Yeon Bote. + "Wid witty 5 Yo ertdate atte Dauint nay: ‘Pite . chines rscyeq wont vito! wi ebro, fry vu Aone La Wl a? ae pre oi sith “dao enbinivede eat gainbni bas ent, tir (peed Sie ae ee band yen te shinidan Gd? toi) ook oF Sobral, “gir @ tt dwruglordss, syoboidwoGk 1h base, sipceaie at to wegddto ot qittaciopiolst nas i! body. $4ae ie yaw i pt Ao! sttebesionmads fied alloy, uo", exolodfia von af MMe . ton “al yteisyro Poe, adi Ver, bec sgueneteas ga Lae edly ve toh ad} s wrctariereqgs alk: at inial eserves -aatoe ae af disilyque tatoue sued? ham ey (elo ay 10) gneiss ads 970 . Jathz*+p y ke Haghe Lith=>to tne. Day x Hage > XVI. LXXXVI. BU'TEO VULGARIS. (ruem.) Common BuzzaArp. Tue Common Buzzard is now, like all our larger birds of prey, driven to seek shelter in a few of the more extensive woods, far from which it is rarely seen ; its nest is built in trees, of sticks, lined with a quantity of wool, fur, and such like materials ; its eggs, which are three or four in number, vary much according to the age of the bird, being sometimes entirely spotless. The beautifully marked one, here figured, is from the collection of Mr. R. R. Wingate, who had the eggs brought him from the same place for some years, and, no doubt, the produce of the same bird ; the first year they were white, or nearly so, the second, slightly marked with a dirty indistinct yellowish-brown, increasing each year in in- tensity, till they assumed the beautiful colouring of the Plate ; the spots are mostly larger and lighter, and the sur- face of the egg is smeared here and there with indistinct co- louring. Bh ade : | *) ane y : tr i d A. AO Pei fae } x Ac: he “. ’ Vik nN ee abrid 2p! ‘ col won at arnt svieialz4- : he a os ee “a wi Sain Sate . ia — “i a * olin ai te it SAA 2 doldie a 18 eamniboee gaisd efrtid yf Ww ig id: oe « hiputeait iad sco! Heal asies +HioWee: ad tes Aykb bad ob alayelt? Kk 1 to cirri Gas jes09¢ acti. wi ‘asad, satsa okt auortt stiit. 4s 8 yet TOE fetal eal i i baidt amine ad 10 Hee ca Wi AS ad wt wth aliases condia dinate _9d¥ to: gnixuolos 1shionad: id hammuety ( » - + ‘ Vt «ee A a ye Rey hy ; u "> 4% 1 - vd »ieRa = 4th’? tothe Kno y WO. Hevrirsox. Day KPaphetath’ > tothe Ainge LXNXVIILI. CIRCUS CYANEUS. (riem.) Hen Harrier. Tue Hen Harrier breeds in the marshy districts of this country, chiefly in the fens of Cambridgeshire ; the nest is placed upon the ground, from which it is raised by a conside- rable quantity of flags, sedge, and reeds ; the eggs are four or five in number; and though, perhaps, most frequently of a bluish-white, are yet very often marked with light spots of yellowish brown, mixed with a purplish hue, and in some ' instances, as shown in the second Figure of the Plate, with deeper and more distinctly defined spots of brown. The eggs of the three species of Harrier may be readily known from others nearly allied to them, by the fine greenish blue of the inside, which may be seen upon holding them up to the light. ‘lo Mr. Heysham I am indebted for specimens from the neighbourhood of Carlisle ; and to the Rev. W. D. Fox, for others from the fens of Cambridgeshire. ‘4 iis, oy ‘ the ae uf i : Hi ; F este Age ; eo hae A fae Pas ar seed a Wise ee Bats caer (ny, BONA TE BK way ws hen q a Sn aiyy A Come ee es _* ey a Weg RRL Nea Bait af. ree et booee add 7a | ~obieivo et 4 wat sui, "eu “ott Tiboie Bax siahion ‘ane we te ytasupyd toni wepichiary guadt bas setae pl Phin 506 ditw hetwm gota vou be red pete at bis oueel itpileeriney & dive baxiere ‘corrond datwe give steal orl) to: ying th Sinton ad’ at aves, at a oAT word. Té Hoge hoaftety Utonitiib arpa award vlibite ad qt taba 7 earage nih arimene rt dainivong ath ot vif cont of hoilla Yfinim gO) qe stadY guthidd hog age wif yank dotda 9b * stort ecesetinage wl hisidabst aia L etenclagoH * Ae e tail “.. we voi wild Od Baik” ; daibieD to hinosks oeiiRh ee 5) te east ott coi née + J \ ir u ‘ \ f nev i% i oe alee j « d Kesh ‘ ri 4 ‘ a) ag | a 4): any { é S eth Pat iy ; # . he fi i w cA ' ; j ‘ r (ia x : 1 " 7 yan | y , ‘ Ma ‘ i, Yd “4 » Pes) at ) ; te a? $ F ‘ i J‘ | ' yy 7 “a * / . ‘ ~ XK on Stone! wy WC ewkeow XX. STRIX OTUS. (11yy.) LonG-EARED OWL. Tue Long-eared Owl is one of our earliest breeders, lay- ing its eggs frequently in March ; these it deposits in the de- serted nest of a Crow or Magpie; they are four or five in number, and of a glossy white—Fig. 1. The young ones remain a long time in the nest before they are able to fly. STRIX BRACHYOTOS. (satTHam.) SHORT-EARED Ow, Hawk Ow. Tue Short-eared Owl, departing from the habits of the rest of the genus, nestles upon the ground on moors and other waste lands. Though they for the most part retire farther north to breed, yet a few of them remain upon the Northum- berland moors, where Mr. Charlton, of Hesleyside, informs me, he has frequently found their eggs amongst the heath in his own neighbourhood. Mr. R. R. Wingate has also met with the young on the same moors before they were able to fly, Their eggs are four or five in number as at Fig. 2; for the egg there drawn, I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Yarrell. The Rev. Geo. Low, in his Fauna Orcadensis says, that this Owl is very frequent on the hill of Hoy, where it builds its nest amongst the heath; and is so impudent in breeding time, as to take up chickens from the door, and chase pigeons in day-light. In a nest which he found, were the remains of a moor-fowl and two plovers; it was placed in a large heath bush, made without any art, and intolerably feetid. ae tri +0 boas Res scndk zsiqycht wo word ange J ee Sls han, bad Iwoodttine obits lel i >. ay ee a , a pee ” Ni 2. Prag, & ohio t v : (i > 4 oD a te 7 . i ao eyed! oP wav aac habe 2 “4 4, b ‘ ‘ » 3 . a + P < ’ 7 is " . Pie a * ary ) - 5 ae ee a ——— a .) RE ie PA! ids be i es a4 ‘ “3 es ’ P 4 x > >> *, f Ly j ie! \ e > a mot tet Mont Sica 10 Ses tint oboe a adivogoh ai aeotht ‘gdottele uk ik Din se ve ee “yeorpal oly i en Gases.) iaorru net ‘ae i ‘ ‘ ple bal n a ~ or y i: 8 — eh ? ~ = wet Pag -* i i Mena sea Mabadro EL Ad ee wii ou be ao. mn ; al d Gendas ‘a ti wet alas) aie eifaral lwo it ae “ ofiamoq sodas earisisnoe bth ode) Dan .2tode, dy : eet, ay hide al ah aad 19 wor) a ty deve : 5 L y" 3a2 te ohh silt 3 Pyar. ih of utiged aide’ .slvsidl Yor teat Gah 9 ir ousted val OA 2903 eens ca! %. Tose < +) om, Q ' . ' " ’ As WS eee , nat’ ae. it t i ie . | er oo ay Thee mt Bi aa ' y vi a a“ ¥° 4 tor i pry’ pred ‘4k Drawn on StmebyW.C Hewits an. i CVII. STRIX BUBO. (LINN.) EAGLE OWL, GREAT EARED OWL. THERE is a strong and perfect similarity in the eggs of the different species of Owls, which we would scarcely ex- pect to find in birds differing from each other so much in the place of their breeding. The eggs of those species which are deposited in the hollows of old trees and deserted ruins, and those which are found on the bare sod, exposed to the broad light of day and the pelting storm, are alike without colour. The Eagle Owl breeds in the north of Europe, laying its eggs, which are two or three in number, upon the bleak and unsheltered summit of some lofty mountain. In such situa- tions Linnezus found its eggs in Norway; it was not, how- ever, our luck to be alike successful, although we traversed in their search the pine-crested mountain ridges, the rocky precipices, and the snow-clad heights of that most glorious and magnificent country. In one instance only we had the gratification of seeing one of these noble birds at large, as it topped the heathery summit of the hill which we were climb- ing, and was lost to our anxious gaze. STRIX SCOPS. (LINN.) Scorps EARED OWL. THIS very minute and beautiful species of Owl is excluded by Mr. Gould, from the list of our British birds, although it has undoubtedly (in more than one instance) been captured in this country. On/the Continent, in some parts of France and Italy, it is not uncommon, and lays its eggs, which are four or five in number, in the holes of trees. Fig. 2. STRIX TENGMALMI. (GMEL.) TENGMALM’S OWL. ALL the information which we have with regard to the breeding of this Owl is comprised. in the quotation which I have borrowed from the work of Mr. Selby. In Europe it is widely distributed through the northern and eastern parts, being found in Sweden, Russia, Norway, and part of Ger- many, inhabiting the thick and extensive pine forests. In North America, according to Dr. Richardson, it has a wide range, embracing all the woody country from the Great Slave Lake to the United States. It breeds in the holes or clefts of trees, and lays two eggs. Fig. 3. Dravnon Stone hy W.C Hevitson. Day &Haghe Lath? to the kme¢. CXXXVI. STRIX PASSERINA. (LiNy.) LitrLe Owl.. So little is at present known regarding the habits of the different species of Owls, which are only periodical and rare visitors to our shores, that I feel much indebted to Mr. Hoy for the following information regarding the present species, as well as for specimens of its eggs. The Little Owl is like the rest of the family, an early breeder. It not unfrequently makes its nest in the holes of trees ; old ruins, however, and the towers of churches, are its favourite resort. It appears to be of a quarrelsome disposition, two pairs being rarely met with as near neighbours, during the breeding season. The male commences hooting in January, if the weather is mild, and may be heard at intervals during the night, throughout the whole season. The eggs are generally four, sometimes five, and vary a little in size, as well as in contour. The Little Owl makes no nest, although an accumulation of rubbish, arising from its castings, may be frequently found in the hole, which is often made use of, for a long time previous to incubation. © i + | AMIGOS ae an (is w om a Viton pai + acd, ats eyoritgasy | ai owl 9 athe ; wah = wit ly ged shan aaito « doide git owl i le } * ‘i la ign ad¥ scdhtane0 awe fink tek: vw Lycee fie nibotsony ia ow dd: hint whe h te fol ‘ yout at ot pistobai aerice fwd 1 lel aonb we vt aps Ai oi? PREPS gi. gothada tes uate is Aya bale 14 pasting YRS BR Hinnal’ ee Sau gilt iia ue Jaeha D a arabe te at fede afl eodiat cio: pos | ast we vive to ay ou) yl baa .% ronal Aaaee ‘ sting and ‘arot tiedighih' oi sissiabarenniy & fee iad yertharrd!. atte aires prinichityion yes Rh ‘rin iin ads Li ean ak peaitoad eboeastl tne shalt 4 _ ot yurh alarentat ie fvnae sh waite aged” en | _aosanon oboetel seh deie mV Bunn. vl attain dal event yfavaipg ay seivtha tetintsp 308 “100 dpaodi la aod ou eaent bao g foebaeil 4 144d ne? Ou Stome by WC Hewitson CVIIL. Day KHaghe litt to the Kmg CVILI. LANIUS EXCUBITOR. (LINN.) GREAT SHRIKE, BUTCHER BIRD. THE eggs of the three species of Shrike, differing as they do greatly from those of other birds, bear a very close and beautiful resemblance to each other. Like the Red Backed Shrike this species builds its nest in thick bushes and high hedges; it is large, and composed of umbelliferous plants, roots, moss, and wool, lined with finer roots and dry grass. The eggs are four or five, and it is said, sometimes six or seven in number. ‘Those which I have seen differ but slightly from each other in colour and mark- ings, and do not present the very beautifully spotted varieties of the eggs of the Red Backed Shrike. To the liberality of my friend, Mr. H. Doubleday, I am indebted for specimens of the eggs of this and the following species ; also for the loan of others to Mr. Yarrell, and Mr. Scales, of Norfolk. LANIUS RUFUS. (Briss.) WooDcHAT. The right of the Woodchat to a place in the list of the birds of our islands, though considered by many as doubtful, is however established upon good authority, as mentioned by Mr. Selby. Of its nidification we have no satisfactory ac- count. The eggs which I have seen bear a near resemblance to each other. To Mr. Leadbeater I am indebted for the specimen from which my drawing is made. Plate CVIII. Fig. 2. a8 wth mate ns oe Py oo .. ti paren mse’ ft ltd faesats in@ oa is ‘nelle ema et ¥ saybod dylth: brie “wou dice heal foow: ban BRON atiirs abil ro wk isa at de His een 40 wot gta a_go yf) evap tt Coup J datte neddladdninie ot case nf HO aid tects bow wwolao WF addi dow amg xh oly aud itor Ber dba seSlastia ay aie att Yraeaing Rak oh Hi a ' Get rit he ad wail if frodl adi? 6 age Wo opal sidtrots ATA bir ye ib qf or vf sae adh. Die aids to as gA3 "to accothisaigect ft) Gea WM fien.: lien; aif, oo! ds ale. do at oth ‘it: ante. i OS? See a of Bs (Se maninlge telat ie 4 he ASR On rs sta Paha eit Gea) ava it aisense STW Cie ae te waHa00.8 es ye n, Bip nh Lee roth) 16 ms ath A A beat 8 ny OO ort! we id ) Llidiob as yaa 4 biwubiawas duno? .abediag sa | . ws bonobicont an idtodion hooy iroges hodetldiites 18 ' va ‘cwolgaeiine ott pred’ ‘ae, HoWAIADic xi 10 — ‘goguidiyraat naar “nets ie aad soni ont, Iideide agg att. } ofl aor halctabat’ (ee. H salwadbiaat AM ol si “TLL nel ‘sbi ‘al ghiwarb doishy aie a3 ay ~ aay a “~te Drawen one Stone by VC. Hemisen . II. LANIUS COLLURIO. (11NN.) Rep-Backep Suriker, or Butcuer Biro. TuE nest of this bird is generally built in a thorn hedge or bush; it is large, and composed of coarse materials: the outside is formed of the stalks of umbelliferous plants, succeeded by moss and fine grass, with a small portion of wool, and is lined with tender roots, interspersed with a few hairs ; the eggs, four or five in number, are beautifully varied in colour and marking, as shown in the accompanying plate. I possess one with the spots round the narrow end. The name given to this bird is very appropriate; its butchering propensities have been doubted by some ; I once, however, had the opportunity of being a witness to them. Seeing one busy in a hedge, I found, upon approaching it, a small bird (on which it had been operating,) firmly fixed upon so blunt a thorn that it must have required consider- able force: its head was torn off, and the body entirely plucked. i.) bel ite 6 cal ihiied ek is 99 al i hail oe i ‘ed: vatanstody vetuey Yo badoq inion bis = tia f nee eons felons * ‘ated rc boa hae a iitinnaad ota Nabaan a ni sal ath ‘1 e ” my eal Baiymaqaroyon add: ant rw iyl ei Tpke ye Aye ‘senreteege at babu wtoct od binge Fn ily © ati cotphagigesa » tor a " nie aid OFF wea BAe). mle: h 4 guna it Batdoo nord avec anit ee gel ot nanativ & yniad: to’ wimudioqgo ada . a mite tea atichoooayga Skip sfamat I coahrorl ne > are “baa. hiieh a (edninaveae inne bad ay did : “ay pate ‘geval Ynetuin: bi Yon aiid, 4 nae ‘ . a Sy’ nl) fips Fe sig emer Twn $ : es] . L pte hs i rs > ete he 7 ae : p en a tr ; : r ca, a, dd Sued a Sei Drawn onStone by WC Aewvbsor . V1. ~TURDIS MUSICUS. (a1yy.) Turusu, Turosrite, Grey Birp, &c. Tue nest of the Thrush is composed of moss and dry grass, with the addition of a few sticks, straw, and roots, cemented together in the inside by a composition of clay and rotten wood. With Mr. Jennings, I am much inclined to think, that cow-dung is rarely if ever used; he also excludes clay, and says, “* I am led to this conclusion by the lightness of the nest ; the Blackbird’s is much heavier, in consequence of being clayed,” ‘This may be very easily accounted for. The plaster used by the Blackbird is in much greater quantities, and is of mud only, and is scarcely ever quite dry. That used by the Thrush, on the other hand, is in small quantities, is exposed to the atmosphere and the absorption of the rot- ten wood, and becomes so perfectly hard and dry as to be water-tight. I have known the bird deterred several days from laying its eggs, in consequence of the nest being half full of water. I this spring found some that had particles of reeds and thistle-down in lieu of wood. The situations chosen to contain these materials are ex- tremely variable. Thick bushes, evergreens, dead fences, tall whins, brambles, wall-fruit trees, &c. In the latter, I have seen one against a house, close under the window of the second story. The Thrush breeds early in April, laying four, sometimes five eggs, usually spotted with black; rarely with reddish brown, inclining to purple. Fig. 1. TURDUS MERULA. (1yvy.) BLACKBIRD. Time of incubation, and situation of its nest, similar to the last. It is found sometimes very openly exposed. I have met with it in thorn hedges, occasionally on the top of a naked stake fence, or summit of a stone wall, in evergreens, in a heap of dead sticks, and even within a few inches of the ground, on the stump of a pollard tree. It is formed chiefly of grass, and a few dry sticks, roots, and leaves, bound to- gether with mud, which it uses in a much greater quantity than the Thrush. It is then completed by a lining of fine grass, upon which she lays four or five eggs. Fig. 3, shews the usual colouring ; fig. 2, a variety: there are also many intermediate ones. TURDUS VISCIVORUS. (a1nv.) Misset Turusu, Storm Cock, &c. Tue Missel Thrush, otherwise a very shy bird, becomes more familiar in the spring ; it approaches our orchards and gardens, building its nest (which resembles that of the Black- bird) about the middle of March, in fruit trees, generally at the first divarication of the branches ; it builds also, perhaps as frequently, in plantations, in firs, oaks, &c., ten or fifteen feet above the ground. I know no bird that seems (in some instances) to have so little idea of concealment as the Missel Thrush ; it is sometimes scarcely possible to pass by its nest without discovering it. It is formed of large quantities of straw, matting, wool, and grass, which are frequently left hanging down on all sides, as though the nest had been tora to pieces ; a little moss is sometimes used, it is then cemented with mud, and afterwards thickly lined with fine dry grass. I have seen a nest of this bird, the foundation of which was mud, strongly cemented to, and nearly encircling the branches between which it was placed. The female lays four or five eggs, varying a good deal in the ground-colour, from a greenish to a red tint. When sit- ting, she defends them most resolutely. I know an instance of one flying at a man’s face, when disturbed. Plate VI. Fig. 4. ee et ee ae « = iain oth Mae bale fA oh ¥ si Drawn on Store &. WO Flere sar LVIIL. TURDUS PILARIS. (x1wy.) FIeLDFARE. Tue great difficulty of obtaining the eggs of those British: birds which resort to other countries to breed, had determined me to pay a visit for that purpose to the north of Norway.— It was, therefore, with peculiar interest that I watched the prolonged stay of the Fieldfare in our own country, weeks after the Blackbirds and Thrushes had commenced nidifica- tion. It was not until the end of April that the last of them took their departure from our island. In a few days after- wards, on the 14th of May, we enjoyed the pleasure of again seeing them in their own wild native woods, engaged so soon after their arrival, in all the bustle of preparation for the pro- duction of other colonies, to visit us in future winters. We had, during a long ramble through those almost impassable woods, met with many nests of a previous summer, which we supposed must have been once tenanted by the birds of which we were in search; and after having climbed many a tree to no purpose, were returning home disappointed, when our attention was attracted by the harsh cries of several birds, which we at first supposed must be Shrikes, but which after- wards proved to be Fieldfares, anxiously watching over their newly established dwellings, we were soon delighted by the discovery of several of their nests, and were surprised to find them (so contrary to the habits of other species of tne genus Turdus, with which we are acquainted) breeding in society. Their nests were at various heights from the ground, from four to thirty, or forty feet or upwards, mixed with old ones of the preceding year; they were, for the most part, placed against the trunk of the spruce fir, some were, however, at a considerable distance from it, upon the upper surface and towards the smaller end of the thicker branches; they resem- ble most nearly those of the Ring Ouzel ; the outside is com- posed of sticks, and coarse grass and weeds gathered wet, mat- ted together with a small quantity of clay, and lined with a thick bed of fine dry grass ; none of them yet contained more than three eggs, although we afterwards found that five was more commonly the number than four, and that even six was very frequent; they are very similar to those of the Black- bird, and even more so to the Ring Ouzel ; indeed, so closely do the eggs of the three species resemble each other, that a drawing of any one might apply tothe whole. Fig. 1, of the Plate, shows the commonest variety of the egg of the Field- fare; it is also often found like Fig. 2; Fig. 3, a variety of the Ring Ouzel ; Fig. 4, its most frequent colouring. The Field- fare is the most abundant bird in Norway, and is generally diffused over that part which we visited, building, as above noticed, in society, 200 nests, or more, being frequently within a very small space. TURDUS TORQUATUS..: (aryv.) Rine Ovze. Tuer Ring Ouzel breeds in most of our wild mountain dis- tricts, at a distance from human habitation ; its nest is very similar to that of the Blackbird, being outwardly composed of coarse grasses, with a slight layer of clay, and thickly lined with fine dry grass; it is most usually built upon a ledge of rock ; the eggs are four or five in number, and as shown in the plate, resemble very nearly those of the Fieldfare and Black- bird. I have never known the eggs of the Blackbird assume the markings of Figs. 2 and. 4, this being the only specific dif- ference between the eggs of the three species.—Figs. 1 and 3 may apply alike to all. « te ee al N 74€ ’ dt A ‘a ory aes ; eh Aye } . A, c ‘ ” ' Bate ae 0 2 : oe ae ae |): Nate ae: ria Yr atonal ri i, ¢ c er aa, (4 hehe Ce ma y 1 ‘ nf - Aa i "ig Vé ate fyi ‘y 5 a se BS ee ee oh web “a a: aia) api Mes ot Ta ei ee ne op 7/9 yt Ae 1 Tegra T4iA ayy "Sige a a. en ake ny a, ho ets Tee ee Ser Naa’ ath if ts CF pate ae xiss “ne AF A GR! ey a é Ve 7 ‘77 it tare, Vo tee vent te! ¥ ; p ie i” ) OF Use PN cy oo Ce a a: oO je ? . a we ’ ‘ r Ne OPA Radel: 4 ARIE 1-4 SO ne, a en eens | bee cy a ee eae ins F NeAay Bi Ante Pr bis ii phe Ra * P a + se or} m ¢ , Ate * : ME TG salts , ¢ : ow by ae AS. ane. ‘ a a? ‘ 4 } 2 4 , ; eA ? . ‘ en ; a _ ne : an 5 a ve s aren oe ca’ Wil aka’ nia aN a a tes) Bos Sh imtud ok ie TAR he ie ase ¥ 4 Oy, Be ars, fakes ei, ris at Pe os i ope a eat 5 EEE NBR, Nie. ce By es cea Nee ai § tate nite PRM Kae. Sh PS HAI mt ae ols as ye a hi a ae x. Bey SRO es | de “sh ee ab yh beg anid > Se his i ee a Od) Ge hey ALD Tuy f rw Nd 4 uit ‘ roy a ee, Yo Lo "4. ‘i Poi "pags ‘e { fis" us a : ww ial oss RSMEANS 0 Grp eM E “t BAIN ; “ ‘ rg - - (ingot hale a Bi a ET ae ; Geli’ en ay, tS) Wa iN sy bathe 2 ee A; “es | es es ret ete bie ips / roe kw), ae i s <=P.¥ poe Drawn on Stone by W.C. Hewits on. aha) (LSM ‘ i sae 4 r 1 A ‘ ¢ ‘ > ag 2 , to LXXII. CINCLUS AQUATICUS. Water Crow, Warer Ouzet, Dirrer. In nidification, as well as in general appearance, the Water Ouzel approaches very closely to our Common Wren. ‘This active little bird seems to prefer those mountain streams, the currents of which are rapid and often broken ; there it may at all times be seen, either passing rapidly along the water, or seated upon some rock warbling its sweet notes, when all around it is cold and ice-bound ; it begins to prepare its nest early in the month of April, It is, as above-mentioned, si- milar to that of the Common Wren; like it—it is com- posed of an abundance of moss, interspersed with a few straws, and is covered with a dome, leaving merely a hole for the entrance of the bird; this is, too, at the lower part (as I have seldom failed to notice in the nest of the Wren), neatly smoothed down, and kept straight by a few strong grass stalks ; it is not so deep inside as other nests of similar for- mation, being very thickly lined with a large quantity of dead leaves of the beech and oak, chiefly the latter, with a few straws and flags; it is, for the most part, placed either against the bank of the river, or the moss-grown surface of some rock. My friend, Mr. Benjamin Johnson, informs me, that he has known of one for many years, in succession, built upon the rafters in one of the salmon fish locks upon the river Tyne ; the eggs are four or five in number, being, when unblown, of a delicate blush-colour. I once surprised a nest of young Water Crows, which, although they could scarcely fly, in- stantly took to the water, down the stream of which they were hurried with such rapidity that I supposed it impossible that any of them could weather it; they did so, however, and landed safely far below. olen WA. ott’ iota % eins ai ene 2 . Dune eae tiie int Yao 0 hi oil oh “ate aa inte , oD abl winigses it root | vin Meer coddont ote bong Diy iadetae idihttae te 0 va bier shuld apala Migs. wuieset 4 eid. poe ihe “walter Heh buereri rare syst heb ane wokit SO iene er uth roy nie AS byes th? At sasiont e vt Hane le ’ Me ‘eigeaet roe bid ant tb ; Seah bg ci ote ch Seeds A: gel ‘ me ae ST ¥ ae tee fuel 4 j “ert ps Sr bhita Nis ltt eae “t te rr alo ‘ge igh sg laaeiant uitvonh Wario) ©, he. hosted: TL Wa) fan, vse deve Sam: ng’ Med 3 ai 9 cht ima Carine re} Ww tea th BE sil bixt tat . Ty svete wa i eh “uit: Ee Ss, (4 «hit nasties lov te: i yoelio, as atheck yet’ og Seits: op Trionll 9 serlunncifa sige w ditve boril wveaiclt ree ee agate a ative odak, ‘alt aphoilala sdliben, sso she setae aid bi i ia ay A El og tnt ohh AHS (RE bs al nove ‘aetne “to sagbis data mameaniy cls 75 \nainith om +o it end oak sinil) Aon eeevorbinl oe peewee oelie od esgic jhivucl oie Ri earano'e cLdegen ant why ¥ 2 bray re corn be “Mee vagal Hei girlies wpe i tee “ene igs oak) geil cada sth) wit to ea oe b 38 i ytdsontt 39 ‘Hae. a Posing q woliia, deat(d 4} ae: A acfrsrepee biden: yal i} itis (hy Bad abe a; 3 . eye “thet dtd ey i ee eee PA Oto "7 Saad, ohhh Simendygys’ 4 frnaoayeyia! Mbndd, vSthicjors pea - bee emia oe Bil ne ‘if “loco blwos ie by i bs eae! AVERT Tae A ha he r Con} 2) bie, N¢ Wie i wees be Sil ‘ i 't yf, ’ ‘ a h Deon or Stone by W' C Lewes on Eronied iy CHdimandw. XIII. ORIOLUS GALBULA. (11yv.) GOLDEN ORIOLE. Tue Golden Oriole, though an occasional visitor, does not breed in this country. It is, however, abundant in France, and various parts of the Continent, all the year. I have not myself seen it in its usual haunts, and shall, therefore, give the following description from Shaw’s Zoology, which is the most minute, and with which other authors agree; the sub- stance of which is as follows :—‘‘ The Golden Oriole is re- markable for constructing its nest upon a different principle from those of the generality of European birds, supporting it only by the edge or rim, so that it bears the appearance of a shallow purse or basket. It generally builds in high trees, but places the nest in rather a low part of the tree, upon the forked extremity of some slender branch. It is formed of straws, grasses, or other vegetable fibres proper for the pur- pose, thickened with the stems of finer grasses, intermixed with mosses and lichens, and lined with finer materials, as the silk bags of chrysalides of moths, the egg-bags of spiders, feathers, &c. The number of eggs is four or five—Plate 13. i ‘ F hie Niven vk iy h (ania) A LOE 9) coe dort edoh cetinhy fantlqndio, rn ow * oad. nt doohdsidda serra wod et day KIT ‘ ‘#\' Bie ear’ i “iy om = | jor ora ¥ inayat Ula aon tine) 864 ae es tany 6 @ 0 Sa | Poe a eee ere ao fae , ot eh cee - spice bw Hive iis ih ( : vA pene } pee 48} saovga erode radio doicive ditw, beng y Seaearea at unblOW aA Mas colle on. nk bitw Te rontnig l Plan a4 Pre 4 at Ne er / 4 La ’ ty Tat Ae] | tiay TOE di be gee od § # at it et 1a my ‘3 cateniet lo valowes9, OAL TO on S00 ae @ lo asta | vt dist oth cit * 7 f) geld sooty, ert min to borer? ab oT wate 911) 10) neal a 'TE fits ‘ haiti renal ; i oMait wile tt rare i # ot: op She ” Nia Dh an plats oxen “agent bine hanil -f on “ye le meahign 1 jo: edethigns: of) ed boat af ig "a ie eats hay AY atal'T- . an? ft ta wok ab ey beth He ACRE’ iets Dhani on Stone by WC Hewson. r XXII. SAXICOLA RUBICOLA. (secusr.) STONE-CHAT. Tue Stone-chat is much less common than either of the following species, it breeds, too, in places less frequented, on whinny commons and heaths; the nest is placed on the ground, at the bottom of a whin, or other bush, or amongst the heath; it is composed principally of grass, with a small quantity of moss, hair, and a few feathers ; the eggs are five, or more commonly six, in number, sometimes, though rarely, seven; they are readily distinguished from those of the Whin-chat, being much less blue, and more closely sprinkled throughout with light reddish-brown. It breeds in May or June ; it is, however, very difficult to mention any particular date for the time of nidification of our smaller birds, as indivi- duals of the same species are frequently either building their nests, laying their eggs, sitting them, or feeding their young ones at the same time.—Plate X XII., Fig. 1. SAXICOLA RUBETRA. (secusr.) Wuin-cHaTt, GRAss-CHAT. Neary all our ornithologists have described the eggs of the Whin-chat as being of a pure and spotless blue colour, but they have evidently not examined many, or they would not have come to a conclusion so generally erroneous. It is quite true, that, in many instances, it is the case, the eggs out of the same nest being frequently both spotted and spotless ; yet, out of nearly two hundred of the eggs which I have seen, the larger proportion were spotted, most of them as distinctly as Fig. 3, of the accompanying Plate, whilst one in my col- lection, taken by myself, bears the unusually strong marking of Fig. 2.—They are almost invariably six in number; the nest is most commonly built upon the ground in meadows and rough pastures, where it is snugly and beautifully concealed, and sheltered under a tuft of grass, or beneath a whin bush, sometimes in the bush (when thick), at a slight elevation from the ground ; it is composed outwardly of the stalks of plants and grass, with a small portion of moss, and is lined with finer grass ; like the nests of most birds that build upon the ground, it is loosely put together, and is not easily carried away whole. ‘Time of incubation about May or June. SAXICOLA G2INANTHE. (secusv.) Wurtt Rump, WHEAT-EAR. Tue places chosen by the White-rump for nidification are various, it will sometimes place its nest upon the ground, under the shelter of a sod or stone, at others, in a deserted rabbit-warren, in a stone quarry or gravel pit, or in a chink in a wall; I have also found it in a sand-bank, at the mouth of a hole perforated by the Sand Martin. The nest is made of the finest grasses, mixed throughout with small pieces of wool and moss, feathers and hair, the outside being nearly as fine as the lining. The eggs are five or six in number, and very elegantly formed.—Figure 4 of the Plate. ‘ \ a ‘ ar +; oo. i Drawn dy W.C.Hewits om. Day kighe Tate + therm. XC. PHILOMELA LUSCINIA. (SWALNS.) NIGHTINGALE. Or the delicious song of the Nightingale, we, in the North of England, are unfortunately deprived. Doncaster has long been considered by Ornithologists as its Northern limit: I have, however, the pleasure of extending its boundary line a little further. It has been heard several times within four or five miles of York, and has also been once or twice taken in traps in that neighbourhood. In the South of England, in many parts of which it is very abundant, it is nevertheless somewhat partially and whimsically distributed ; according to Mr. Neville Wood,* it has never been met with in any part of North Wales, nor does it occur further West than Somerset- shire: he remarks, “ The reason of this is by no means well explained; and indeed it would seem to be perfectly arbitrary, as some of the counties which are not favoured by its melody are remarkable for balminess of climate, and softness of air ; nor can it be the coldness of climate in the Northern counties, that prevents its visiting these, as ‘it is found in much more Northern latitudes in other countries.” The Nightingale makes its nest, like the Robin Redbreast, upon the ground, amongst the roots of trees, or upon a hedge bank: its base is composed of loose herbage, rushes, and dry leaves ; the nest itself is a compact matting of leaves—princi- pally oak,—rushes, and grass, lined with a thin covering of fine grass. The eggs are four or five, sometimes six, in num- ber; they are commonly of a pure and spotless drab, some- times, however, distinctly freckled all over with a darker colouring.—Plate XC. Figs. 1 and 2. * See an interesting paper by him, in No. 12 of the Analyst. ERYTHACA RUBECULA. (SwaALns.) REDBREAST, ROBIN. THE Robin Redbreast is one of those few birds, which, escaping the destroying and persecuting hand of man, is rather an object of his protection. It becomes early a favourite with us, and one of the most pleasing nursery tales of our childhood teaches us to look at it with interest and affectionate regard. ‘This kind feeling towards it seems to have established a mutual confidence between us, and no bird is on such fami- liar terms with us, and well it repays all our kindness. It is our companion, and cheers us with its song alike in the gloom as in the sunshine of the year; and in the Autumn, when the dark days of Winter are approaching, and the gay visitors of our Summer months have taken their departure, when the butterfly has ceased its flight, and the leaves are falling around us,—then it is that the Redbreast, taking up its station close to our dwellings, and amongst the noise and bustle of our towns, cheers us the day long with its sweet and simple song. Whether it is in imagination only, I know not, but to me the note of the Robin has, in the Autumn of the year, a tone of melanchely in it, peculiarly in accordance with the feelings, and differing from the joyous carol of the gayer months. Alighting close upon your threshold, and evidently courting your acquaintance, the Robin must be to every one an object of interest. “* Half afraid, he first Against the window beats; then brisk alights On the warm hearth ; then, hopping o’er the floor, Eyes all the smiling family askance, And pecks, and starts, and wonders where he is ; Till more familiar grown, the table crumbs Attract his slender feet.” The Redbreast was the friend of Burns, sharing alike with other animals those kind feelings, with which he regarded every object of the creation, and calling forth some of his beautiful lines. For many winters a Redbreast used to take up its quarters for the night, in a room in which I slept, coming to the window for admission at night, and making signs of impatience to be let out in the morning. Its nest is composed of moss, dried grass, and leaves, lined with hair, and sometimes a few feathers; it is placed in a broken woody bank, often by the side of some slightly frequented country lane, where it is sheltered by the overhanging brushwood,— also, not unfrequently in a hole of an old ruin, or garden wall. Mr. Selby mentions having known several instances, in which its nest occupied the inside of a watering-pot. During the late Summer, a pair of Redbreasts had their nest in some ivy against a garden wall, which the owner was about to remove; but, being at the same time unwilling to disturb them, he took the nest and eggs, and placed them in a neighbouring bush ; and, much to his satisfaction, soon had the pleasure of seeing the old one reseated upon her eggs. The eggs are mostly four or five, sometimes six, and even seven, in number; they are commonly freckled all over like the one in the plate, sometimes more sparingly so, and encircled with a zone of spots near the larger end: the variety figured is one that rarely occurs. Figs. 3 and 4. ree 0 anroa dro ene A statins’ sof . tale od 03 aa reagidbost, Bee hth iso 1h: mo edt . cal iyi Q oP r id Bietc Pet. pie [ seid a axnd . ait) 102. oot amige Pll ot 6 n . —_ — ae ae = =, = = - ~ < 33 mere rs 5% sais oer: tiv Bit rt pM Bias 2aKty Boith oii “hoo: ft oral ‘basal as $8 78 rid est" oy Be t L RE Yuya otivon Lo obte act yal Whew, booed setigeyed ils ud Bovattadles ad Sine nobieny’ 10 ' wep aie AGE a ae ; et SN Na a¥ % hy ‘Wad { ee i ‘ H ‘ al ie Senta, An Lb teased { ¥ r 4B am i Mt OG POE, >) ure ; f Pa 4 4 tides ee ' Th ihe. 0 . ‘i 9 A ahi Ae hou Ag * i " j x P| : wah) 4 ‘ Yoh iu Pe ERS: = As heat i" ; { vie . y ae + e if ex . \ ay % 1 ad a Ay ' as N aye, } ; ) . i d ‘ * f { . , } . eee Ge “ D ‘a iy o f rit f “ . ae « Gar fot sth ith bye 0 ih gvowse We it RTO k Foal Ye i ee 4 fy vt ‘ 4 ‘4 “a Sheet i gt) Ae tt ‘ | Aa 3" tthe ath wet culty cf ey wolls oF, A abs a5 dt an ' gq. 4 4 + i, pe aa tho ¥ ra erect ‘alt hy gifs + yintntog id Ngee J ios » Me Mn bine i br a ebb a ate ‘al 88 4 € ey " a /4 riba isck iM f Frots ty Dy a Te, Hein tru wy i ie +a" oa 4 * E “Oaks tL Prats ML RD aan! . AL shifet ary oe), 6." aa et * GIs West te ee Gat oe a tpt ; ac 4 es ‘a 4 7 J 4 ee at oa i ) wai. & ans 2 Lhe, iar ay! N m" if 5 Ley AEA ie be ber a , ins Wis P afd ‘ © ae ER 6 as Me $i it Wie dns Nota Eee ty LEX. Day KHaghe Lith? to the King. Drawn oi Stone by W.C.Hemtson . LXX. SALICARIA ARUNDINACEA. (serpy. Reepv Warster, Reep Wren. Tne Reed Warbler has never (that I am aware of) been mef with in the north of England ; and in the south it appears to be local; it is, however, rather abundant in the counties of Kent and Sussex. To my friend, Mr. Doubleday, of Epping, I am indebted for the eggs, together with a most beautiful nest of this bird. It was built, as they usually are, amongst reeds, by four of which it was supported, and to which it is firmly attached. Mr. Bolton mentions one which was in a low hazel, and Mr. Sweet found another in the low side branches of a poplar ; I should think, however, that such instances are of rare oc- currence. In the nest of the Reed Warbler we have an example of the wonderful adaptation of the habits and in- stincts of animals to the situations in which nature has placed them. Built, as the nest of this bird is, high upon reeds, which are are agitated by every breeze that blows, the eggs would be in continual danger of rolling out, if the little archi- tect did not make its habitation less in diameter, and deeper, in proportion, than those of birds which have not this danger to contend with, and so effectually is this evil prevented, that although, as observed by Montague, the reeds in which it is placed are often bowed by the wind to the very surface of the ' water, yet the eggs remain secure. They are four or five in number, and in the few which I have seen vary but slightly. The nest is composed almost entirely of the flowering tops of reeds, finer towards its centre; the outside is bound round and kept firm by long grass mixed with wool, by which it is also attached to the reeds.—Plate LXX., Fig. 1. ; a oR Nye aee BSP AE errs Barer: : sala a ied eg cotioapl (ob bs ai ado darex: i F odd cebyergeaiy, abe sireakinto (hating! Hinoapaine and vam ‘Yume yods. ig tea ich coqschavong nls: emds agitaudtr se daopeet bai dave anigaiiday tol yd: helnsomen “elodckaigh + | weihior; wgyya saskt, vei liv wevligs on ass eéaicouotangciatixe Sienna, tai aoa fayyink oda ulrgqenod baad yaa, atv 4 wd ocd Laan gaiclt Sy gyipthe qoute a » is SN Hace . Tuk: slide ae pcmaoains, baw xe : ae ery : , ; f Resse tis, sho. . Mada # reared tks Cine. pty e fiae',\ _ oe ee mans Tn PA Pata uh Ay: ‘bee 5, Pik. Hehe sie Say canst pein, “Waketns dosinl hahie * ie hy wre figs ie GOS Ai aes haga g nh Bove shite’ Bias we, Fy, pig tare A age Ba ie fs / he be Nat Lasgih ok Ba 4 stage ages eT} tates re ea a 5 ayy é ths iy ah ua ane helio, ae ist » a ? it phrasal ee as ERY wi ike | a 7] ’ ME J ’ aoe i \ : \ i i} ‘ i lib; : 4 ts ~ 7 ; i Gi 4 t ip < 2 4 Lat 7 r} ’ : : h i ie) rhs eth | > 4 I ‘i ' . a hid t td’, y . ’ yt! , Ei 's/ ives we Soy " r fd ik ag a . ; ao/ vit Chats ; 4%, Sela ; ! ' Ja. aa Pte ae 2 4 ei) ; * Renae WE LAR Vty Gory, ‘ a) . ree MG AUT EOE hie WAG ; + Kise , > s * ALM. Drown on Stone ty WC Hemtsow. Printed by ¢.uldmande, XLII. CURRUCA HORTENSIS. (rLemrne.) GREATER Perrycuars, GREATER FauverrE, GARDEN WARBLER. Tue Garden Warbler builds its nest about the end of May or beginning of June, in bushy woods, amongst brambles and every species of low tangled brushwood ; in our gardens and pleasure-grounds, in evergreens, and other thick shrubs. It is formed outwardly of umbelliferous plants, becoming finer towards the inside, and mixed with the stalks and some flowering heads of grasses, together with very fine roots, and a few hairs. The eggs are four or five in number, and differ very considerably in their appearance ; sometimes as in Fig. 1, so closely resembling those of the Blackcap that it is quite impossible to distinguish the two species; at other times ap- pearing in the more distinct and beautiful markings of Fig. 2, kindly sent me by the Rev. W. D. Fox, and approaching very closely to the eggs of the Lesser Whitethroat. There are many intermediate varieties; some with the clear colouring of Fig. 2, and having the blotches of neutral tint and dark brown, but smaller and more regularly spread over the sur- face; some likewise differ considerably in their proportionate length. Though you may examine this bird when upon the nest it isextremely difficult to get a good view of it afterwards ; it drops instantly into the thick herbage below, and conceals it- self most effectually. | oily eet h ‘a \ * ‘ = / N ft, gk wi? wh Cio Rr pt "ih y b \ % ye / / ] A ‘ uy. . 4 Bis §, - s 4 a . , i fe F Aa ui a " le ii > ni , we Me ze al . t, iy at) i. 4 sd CXV. SYLVIA TROCHYLUS. (LATH.) WILLOW WREN, YELLOW WREN. DEAR to me as are each of the sweet birds of summer, there is not one the return of which I have yearly witnessed with so much pleasure; and however more highly the rich melody of some of the other warblers may be prized, there is a simplicity and a sweet cadence about the note of the Wil- low Wren, which I prefer to all of them, and which never fails to impart the most pleasurable sensations. It is a feeling which none but the lover of nature can at all appreciate ; and, however difficult for others to understand, I know that some of the chief enjoyments of my life have emanated from these “ delightful visitants of spring:” and I feel a regard for each of them, as the amusing companions of many a solitary walk. The Willow Wren is one of the most abundant of the war- blers, and almost every wood and copse is enlivened by its beautiful form and graceful motions. “* Thou fairy bird, how I love to trace The rapid flight of thy tiny race ; For the wild bee does not wave its wing More lightly than thine, thou fairy thing.” It is too an inhabitant of more northern countries; and I shall not readily forget the delight I experienced, on hearing its soft sweet note whilst seated within the Arctic Circle, upon one of the bleak isles of Norway. The Willow Wren builds its nest upon the ground, some- times in the midst of woods when not very thick, but more commonly near their margin, or in any grassy bank where brushwood occurs. In shape it resembles that of the Common Wren, being arched over, with the entrance at one side; it is however much more fragile, and not easily removed entire, being composed of grass and moss, with dead leaves, warmly lined with feathers. Of the eggs I have seen but the two varieties figured ; they are of about equal occurrence. Mr. Neville Wood, in his British Song-Birds, quotes a letter from Dr. Liverpool describing the readiness with which the Willow Wren becomes sociable. To this I can add a most interesting instance. To ascertain, beyond the possibility of doubt, the identity of the two varieties of eggs figured, I had captured on their nests several of the birds. Amongst these was one which I carried home and confined during the night in a large box; and such was its tameness that when I took it out the following morning, and would have set it at liberty, it seemed to have no wish to leave my hand, and would hop about the table where I was sitting, picking up flies which I caught for it. In the autumn, previous to their departure, the Willow Wrens frequent our orchards and gardens, where they may be seen busily picking insects from the pea straw and other vegetables ; the young ones easily distinguished by their brighter colouring of yellow. At the time at which I write this, August 14, they may be heard amongst the extensive cider orchards of Somer- setshire, warbling their farewell song, but in a tone far differ- ent from that of their first glad visit in the spring, and so subdued that it is scarcely audible. Hewitson. . ‘ fal 1S Draws. om_Stene by WV ‘ i) ~ ' — = a 5 € ~~ Ps apt i 4 7 ~~ te , x pa -_* = , = ' ~ Z " = et . if = - . = = = = > : ‘ é =< 7 5 ; : ok - a -¥ rs = LXXXVII. REGULUS AURICAPILLUS. (sexny.) Go.tpEN Crestep WReEN. Tus, the least of all our British birds, is very generally dispersed throughout the island, and may be met with from the most northerly part of Scotland to the southern extre- mity of England; we likewise saw it whilst traversing the pine forests of Norway. In activity and habits, when in search of insects, it resembles much the various species of Tit- mice, and may be seen like them suspended from the branches of trees, and in all those beautiful and graceful attitudes so peculiar to the tribe; its chief resort is in fir plantations, and its nest is usually placed in a tree of that species ; it is most commonly suspended beneath the sheltering branch of a spruce fir, attached to some of the slender drooping twigs, at other times built upon its upper surface ; I have seen it, also, but rarely, placed against. the trunk of the tree, upon the hase of a diverging branch, and at an elevation of from twelve to twenty feet above the ground ; it is composed of the soft- est species of mosses, interwoven with wool, a few grasses, dead leaves, and spiders’ webs ; with the latter it is fastened to the twigs, and is lined with a quantity of feathers, those of the smaller birds being carefully selected for the purpose ; its eggs vary from seven to eight, which is the number most frequent, to ten, or even eleven ; their commonest colour being that of Fig. 1; for specimens of the pretty variety accom- panying it I am indebted to the Rev. W. D. Fox, of Derby- shire, who meets with it breeding abundantly in his own neighbourhood, indeed I have never seen it so numerous else- where as it is in that county. TROGLODYTES EUROPGUS. (cuvrer.) Common Wren, Kirry Wren. Tue nest of the Wren is of an oval form, arched over and protected on every side; it is a most beautiful specimen of strength, warmth, and neatness, and so compact is it, and closely interwoven, that one in my collection might be kicked about the floor without at all disarranging or disuniting those minute particles of moss, of which it was first formed ; it is usually constructed of green mosses, and from its close resem- blance to the situation in which it is placed is admirably pro- tected from discovery ; this is most commonly against the moss-grown side of a rock, a bank, or an old tree, in the de- cayed side of which the nest is formed, and were it not for the small hole of entrance, would be regarded only as a portion of the tree; I have sometimes found the nest covered outside with dry ferns, and have not unfrequently met with it against the side of a clover stack, constructed entirely of the clover, and becoming a piece of the stack itself, and were it not for the flight of the bird from the spot, it would have run no risk of detection. No bird is so jealous of discovery or intrusion. Amongst a great number of nests which I have found in the progress of building, I have never known one proceeded with after having been discovered and touched. It is impossible to _ thrust the finger into the tiny entrance without disarranging the neatness and beautiful symmetry of its form ; this I have found has, in every instance, caused its abandonment by the owner, and may readily account for the numbers of unfinished nests which we used at school to call ‘ cocks’ nests,’ suppos- ing that they were built by the male bird for its own sai cular abode. The Wren is a hardy solitary little bird, and may be seen in some of our bleakest and most unsheltered districts ; we saw it on some of the most sterile heaths of Shetland, the only support for its nest being the bank of some mountain gully, its only shelter the overhanging sod. Notwithstanding the number of eggs which the Wren has been stated by some Ornithologists to lay, I have never suc- ceeded in finding more than eight, and seldom more than se- ven in the same nest ; they are not usually so much spotted as Fig. 3, and are often white, or nearly so. Ornithologists differ as to the lining of the nest of the Wren, some maintaining that it is thickly lined with feathers, whilst others deny that it has any in its composition. I have found it both ways, but cannot, from recollection, say which most frequently. Ce a st 1 VA r V ” 1” . i) i 4 : 4 } Bei q if RO deal aot sug Asia ogy Yo stan ond “peti que tava eva t Ris ‘ote. said ebhide it ‘46 sétntor ‘arte’ a eg HAN ayo? walt ‘fait eideiety at i sort of Peiai fick ove 1 egehinaernat ICRP Ree eat if’ st dail’ 46 OH athivsan’ Hert”, wana arch a | ORS, Avian PRY Te mens se Heat) ia ‘ aban, Beales Taal) ALAND he ty “ Ae yh nt ae Ag i PY via ee sR! ee Ai 8 Same ION Sih Ad pend : e Y \yitinys Peas Pag nig Ahi ah he sah Met DAE IRA € Cae rye me fi dial ict Ch wedi woes Ny fit Wns pa rll 4 , * y ki be | i py ts aatiity; oy ar nah with ie hi k sie ut Pheu (Mea bei in its Mah 36 ge ays “ a f bald PAY, y TO NaN ARES, NR AN Te, 8 ant aa duis Sie me i = (AR hich es aegis ae one, ideal chee RAM OG ne a at or a Ce gee i iM Pam ain athietl eticus. ‘90 dius sprint ane se Nahuaha tase WE ‘ytaigeteth Care err eae ae x Sates gent gece ial pines Ta a p phate ety eh ial bts WR a ae) Miia i i Ke cai? spinton hy alehy: « whi bp if ncn hy: ey | j Sabie Nh pi phi im bees Hy, henge yer Cay iM is oasuatt lies “yadda id igi at SMA, | Dalits): alae Ae oe Ne i ey pM, Bibi Vis Mee W sw wie hart, rise ie wel Al geet be eA A tha ad eas “ibe rani ye Hip) ter Rie ii te ON RR Sa , i em i ae oh ey Wade sy, v9 EK 9 4 % $s iat fy lad ey ai ae ee 7 5 oe ay awe * 4 ] in Noe N - ‘ 4 ‘ ) 1 re 4 a a a f a ” aks : s s ‘ IT ’ y , )' ines r >t) aa la . a i yraless: § a i ; pa ‘ ‘ ey a? . y we t ‘ : i ‘ { vt i 1 j ’ iP » . . ) ’ 2. ah a i ty ' ¥ \ ~ i et ‘ n " a, a *¢ 4 . : iy at , P| ‘ t * ( WiC Hemitson. i ie LXXVI. PARUS CASRULEUS. § (x1yy.) Buve Trrmovusr, Biuecar, Tomrir, Bituy-BITER. Tue Titmice, the eggs of three species of which are figured in the annexed plate, are amongst the most familiar of our feathered friends; they are with us the year through, and when our other truant visitors have forsaken us for brighter skies, draw nearer to our dwellings, closely prying into every corner, and clearing our fruit trees of innumerable insects, affording us constant amusement by .their unceasing gaiety and activity, and by their ever varying and elegant attitudes ; they are the mountebanks of the feathered race ; every hour of their little lives is spent in constant usefulness, and for our benefit, notwithstanding which, they are by many considered as a nuisance, and no pains spared to destroy them; there are parishes, even in which a price is set upon their heads, and paid for their destruction, under a delusion, which I am happy to say is, with many such absurdities, speedily vanish- ing. Why they are thus persecuted, it is difficult to guess ; I much doubt whether their great services are accompanied with any harm to us; their progress in a garden may ap- pear to the owner to be strewed with buds, the future hopes of his industry ; these are, however, but the infected part of his trees, and have been carefully examined and pulled to pieces by these little birds to destroy the lurking enemy within, which, if permitted to multiply unchecked, would soon defoliate his trees. The Blue Titmouse, by far the most numerous of the race, and to which what I have said chiefly refers, is a most ob- stinate little fellow; and when he has once taken possession of a hole for his nest, will bravely defend it, not only against the inroads of other birds, but against our intrusion ; no means, save a forcible ejection with the hand, will induce him to leave it, against the entrance of which he will fight fiercely, making at the same time a singular hissing noise. Amongst many most interesting instances, confirmatory of the fact, the two following are kindly furnished me by T. C. Hey- sham, Esq. :—‘‘ A few years ago, when upon an Entomologi- cal excursion, wishing to examine the decayed stump of a tree which was broken to pieces for that purpose, and the fragments dispersed to a considerable distance by a severe blow, a Blue Titmouse was found sitting upon fourteen eggs in a small cavity of the root ; notwithstanding the above se- vere shock, it remained immoveable till forcibly taken off the nest.” *‘ Karly this spring, a pair had taken possession of a hole in a tree where the Pied Flycatcher had regularly built for the last four years, and being anxious it should continue to do so, the nest and eggs were removed, the latter to the number of sixteen; in defiance of all these annoyances, the female still kept possession of the hole, where I saw it repeatedly af- terwards, for several weeks, sitting upon the bare wood. I have myself known one continue building its nest, for many days together, under the handle of a pump, although its la- bours were daily destroyed by its action. The Blue Titmouse builds its nest of grass, moss, hair, and feathers ; it is placed, for the most part, in holes of trees and old walls; the eggs are from seven to eighteen in number ; I believe sometimes even more. I have always been accustomed to receive with jealousy and caution any of those reports in which most of bird-nesters seem so much to delight, regarding the great number of eggs laid by some of our smaller birds, never hay- ing myself met with a nest containing more than eight or nine eggs: it is, however, a curious fact, that the Blue Tit- mouse will lay twice that number, as in the instance given by Mr. Heysham. I have one, from authority upon which I can place dependence, in which the nest contained eighteen eggs; they are white, minutely marked with reddish or yel- lowish dots, most towards the larger end, and occasionally forming a circle round it.—Plate LX XVI., Fig. 1. PARUS PALUSTRIS. (x1yy.) Marsan Tirmouse. Tue Marsh Titmouse breeds in holes of trees, taking con- siderable pains in hollowing out a suitable cavity for its nest ; it is made with more care than that of the preceding, and is formed of moss, grass, and the soft down of the willow, with which it is also lined. I am not aware that the eggs exceed seven or eight in number; I have never found more ; they frequently resemble those of the Blue Tit very closely ; the spots are, however, usually larger, and the form rounded and more like eggs of the Willow Wren.—Fig. 2. PARUS CAUDATUS. (11nv.) i Lone-raAiLep Trrmovuse, Borriz Trr, &ce. ApmrraB_e and strikingly wonderful, as are the complicated and beautiful constructions of the bright birds of other climes, there are none more surpassingly so than that of the Long- tailed Titmouse ; it is in everyway perfect as the safeguard of the tiny beings that are to be reared under its protecting roof, and fostered by its warmth ; covered in, and defended as it is against every wind that blows, except at the small hole of entrance of the parent bird; it is formed, too, of the softest materials ; its exterior is of moss, twisted together throughout with wool and the nests of spiders, and covered over, outside (as the nest of the Chaffinch), with pieces of white lichen; its inside is so thickly lined with feathers, as to obtain for it, in some parts, the name of featherpoke.— With all its capabilities, I have never been able to detect ‘‘ the hole behind for its tail to come through,” mentioned by Mr. Selby. The Long-tailed Titmouse is by no means com- mon; I have never met with it so often as to destroy the no- velty and interest which its appearance never fails to excite ; they are most sociable little beings, and except during the breeding season are very rarely seen alone ; united, during the winter months, they may be seen in families passing from hedge to hedge, and flitting after each other in such rapid and uninterrupted flight, as though their little aerial bodies were sustained by the breath of heaven alone. With the ex- ception of the Golden-Crested Wren, the eggs of the Long- tailed Titmouse are smaller than those of any other British bird ; they are from seven to sixteen in number ; the spots are sometimes scarcely visible,—Fig. 3. Upon finding the nest of almost every bird, we may predict, with tolerable cer- tainty, the number of eggs it will contain (provided the bird has begun to sit); but with the Blue and Long-tailed Tit- - mouse, it is far different. There is a strange uncertainty in the number of their eggs; I have found each with seven eggs only, and hard sitting; the nest is placed commonly in some - thick bush, or on the bough of a tree. I have seen it in the latter situation, so closely resembling a part of the tree, that had it not been that my attention was attracted to the spot by the repeated flight of the birds in that direction, I should never have discovered it, nor did I even then till I had watched one of them enter it. It is an early breeder, and is frequently sitting on its eggs towards the end of April. , wenger: Wigan | hs ha ‘4 at he a eae yoy} om a 7! aah * ' ps Dikiy aye eh Ps ef * vs \ f ‘pn Ses) Ss ee -E =" ns, | "vee mr l Draw andiauny WE eitson. + CXXXIIL. PARUS CRISTATUS. CresTED 'TITMOUSE. Tue Crested Titmouse is said to have been met with in the pine forests of Scotland, where however, the recent researches which have been made in the hopes of finding it, have proved ineffectual. Dr. Latham, first records it as a British species, from a specimen sent him from the neighbourhood of Glenmore, and Mr. Selby, quoting the information of Sir Wm. Jardine, states, that it is met with near Glasgow. It breeds according to Temminck, in the holes of trees and rocks, and sometimes in the deserted nest of a squirrel. The eggs which closely resemble those of the other Titmice, are said to be eight or ten in number; the one figured in the Plate was kindly lent for that purpose by my friend Mr. Yarrell. cal hiv tose iat fats Ne fiae. ee ont oil Saao4 aft (io taming, wind ” cbiuafhe: rt te. i a geri 1 anit “eel ot atioiue ¢ inert ov daid fay ‘a rea bi Aste py omit pee elie, os tt abou ‘ee “octane Te Foca sipid gil ule seheytl an . alia ane a i wart nietot ect oily wulligtig < iN, woul’ ¥ woore Abe, sah ob tegen Wa sah ek ‘wh wt moe bieres 1 al eke” erie Ye ih haneserd galt ith mamnbtaneoes O te goin! T wot (an ‘tes gaorl yal fuargnet ‘lou y hotel i gtit thd Leergit samo arth: d vinchs of Oa aT eis) 40: ‘alga 4 4M Basha vir rH dicerasee twee woe rim. 7 is 7 az i ed . i * ‘ F ' i ’ Wy , — : H > (0) x 1 = A mab ih ve PS i i U wi \ i) 7 = } . we e i i rae t i % aa ‘ * i bd tO reed i) a + ia a ; ain y ; . af y ‘ ) “a t 1 a * - - i cy \ - Pe | r v 7 ‘ ‘ - * eb ; 4 . Wid f + in a LXXXT. Om Stone by WC Hewitson. Dag tHaghe Lith*® to the King. LXXXI. PARUS MAJOR. (11Ny.) GREATER TrrmousE, Ox-ryeE. Tue Greater Titmouse breeds in the holes of trees; its nest is of moss and feathers, with some hair ; its eggs are, however, sometimes laid upon the fine particles of the rotten wood alone; they are from seven to eleven in number, and are, as I stated, when speaking of that bird, exceedingly si- milar to those of the Nuthatch.—Figs. 1 and 2. PARUS ATER. (1yy.) Coxe Trrmovse. TxeE Cole Titmouse also breeds in the holes of trees, usu- ally at a less elevation from the ground than the other spe- cies, sometimes in cavities which occur amongst the exposed roots; or, as mentioned by Mr. Selby, in the entrance of a mouse-hole ; the nest is of moss, wool, hair, and feathers, and the eggs from six to eight in number.—Fig. 3. PARUS BIARMICUS. (a1ny.) BEARDED TrTMOUSE. Tue Bearded Titmouse is so sparingly dispersed through this country, being confined chiefly to a few of our fenny counties, Norfolk, Suffolk, Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, and Lincolnshire, that very little has been known of its ha- bits and nidification till of late years. Not having myself had an opportunity of seeing it in its native haunts, I have copied the following account by J. D. Hoy, Esq., from the pages of Loudon’s Magazine, Vol. III., Page 328 :—“ The borders of the large pieces of fresh water in Norfolk, called Broads, particularly Hickling and Horsey Broads, are the fa- vourite places of resort of this bird ; indeed it is to be met with in that neighbourhood wherever there are reeds in any quantity with fenny land adjoining. I have found them nu- merous during the breeding season on the skirts of Whittle- sea; and they are not uncommon in the Fenny district of Lincolnshire. It begins building in the end of April. The nest is composed on the outside with the dead leaves of the reed and sedge, intermixed with a few pieces of grass, and in- variably lined with the top of the reed, somewhat in the man- ner of the nest of the Reed Wren (S. Arundinacea), but not so compact in the interior ; it is generally placed in a tuft of coarse grass or rushes near the ground, on the margin of the dikes in the fen; also sometimes fixed among the reeds that are broken down, but never suspended between the stems; the eggs vary in number from four to six, rarely se- ven.—Fig. 4. “ ah stabeane We Oe yy) e : { at We ja gir Ny vy : vi ont? an af Cee) UJ yo We wine 1h ib ml fhe 9) ve of ; 7 : » p> js ro j be cael : , oh ‘ ra Pa aN ~ Drawn an.Stone by WC Hewitson Day RHagheLith™ totheKing CV. ACCENTOR MODULARIS. (Cvuv.) HeEpDGE AccCENTOR, HEDGE SPARROW. ALTHOUGH plain in its attire, and ungifted with much power of song, the Hedge Sparrow has many claims to re- commend it to our notice. Like the Robin Redbreast it is always resident with us: and, though without the delightful and engaging familiarity of our favourite, its quiet, unobtru- sive habits, and its simple song, heard alone or accompanied only by the sweeter notes of the Redbreast, or the harsher tones of the Wren, at a time too when all nature is wrapt in the melancholy garb of winter, and the full concert of the grove is hushed, render its companionship peculiarly acceptable. The Hedge Sparrow is one of our earliest breeders, and begins to lay its eggs in March, or early in April; its nest is most commonly placed in a thick low hedge, sometimes in an evergreen, a whin bush, or in the ivy against a wall. It is composed of pieces of stick, coarse grass, moss, and bits of wool, lined with hair. I remember once finding a nest which was built in a whin bush, composed almost entirely of dry grass. Twice I have seen a nest with eggs in it, and so imperfectly finished that the thorns were sticking through the inside; this is the only bird’s nest in which I have ever met with a similar instance. The eggs are four or five in number. ACCENTOR ALPINUS. (Becust.) ALPINE ACCENTOR. THE Alpine Warbler has gained a place amongst our British birds, having been once killed in this country. Ac- cording to Mr. Selby, “it is an inhabitant of the mountainous regions of Europe, and particularly affects those districts which are of an abrupt and rocky character. Upon the Swiss Alps it is very common, and may be always seen by travellers in the environs of the convent upon Mount St. Bernard. In summer it ascends to very elevated stations, where it breeds in holes and under ledges of the rocks, laying four or five eggs.” They are similar to those of our common Hedge Sparrow, being larger and of the same beautiful greenish blue, but somewhat more intense in colour. To the rich collection of Mr. Yarrell I have again had recourse for the accompanying figure. ” FLarvt ls oi i rar LA, A g Avinted by (0&8 & Ez Mitchell, LIX. MOTACILLA ALBA. (1yy.) Prep Waerait, Warer Waoral. Tue Pied Wagtail builds its nest in the holes of walls, bridges, and in the broken banks of rivers, upon the ground ; it is composed of roots and grasses, lined with finer roots and hair ; its eggs are from four to five in number, sometimes of the contour of the one figured in the Plate, frequently much more rounded, and resembling in shape those of the other species; they are, also, occasionally more strongly marked, often with spots of a deep brown. MOTACILLA BOARULA. (11Nv.) Grey Wacral. Tue nest and situation in which it is placed, so nearly resem- ble those of the Pied Wagtail, that a separate description is unnecessary; it is, perhaps, more compact and more frequently placed upon the ground. This Wagtail is much the rarest species of the three. I possess eggs from Mr. Heysham, of Carlisle, and also (together with a nest beautifully lined with white hair) from Mr. Leyland, of Halifax, where, he informs me he meets with them every year; the eggs are, in number, four or five.—Fig. 2. MOTACILLA FLAVA. (ayy. YeELLow Waeralt. Tue eggs of the Yellow Wagtail, as will be seen by the Plate, very closely resemble those of the Grey Wagtail, so much so, that either of the figures may be considered as varieties of the other; those of the Yellow Wagtail often as- suming the colouring of Fig. 2; whilst those of the Grey Wagtail are frequently of the deeper hue of Fig. 3; the nests resemble nearly those of the other two species ; the eggs are, in number, four or five; but I have known them lay as many as six. 1G ban’ 4) ne i a ae iy ye i fay * in ppt ver’ 4 mae PeN8, ol J » if ae 1A Pt) ae f ania eens Laee® Mee Lye We? a : us veal 38 Ne hy acl ea biased tin ua i 4) , a MY atee eal ~~ Ji Wises vee iment ee : eas > pHoely Sy (tee ss bvat Greie * (ey y Ana ee aR oi ae E Ha eee \ J Ne } i * CXXXV. LOXIA CURVIROSTRA. (Liny.) CROSSBILL. I am not aware of any instance in which the Crossbill has been detected breeding in this country, except the one which the liberality of Arthur Strickland, Esq. enables me to record. The nest and eggs of this species were taken from a larch fir near his residence at Boynton, near Burlington, in Yorkshire, during the summer of 1829. The nest is mace of sticks loosely put together, and crossed in a similar manner to that of the Ring Dove, mixed with white lichens, and very like the more clumsily built nests of the Hawfinch. Mr. Selby is of opinion, that the Crossbill breeds with the earliest spring, or even in winter, having killed several in this country early in June, which showed plainly from the denuded state of their breasts, that they had been engaged in incubation some time previous to their arrival. Those which we saw whilst in Norway, in May and June, were always in flocks, and had either not commenced or else had done breeding. andl! lider naff tobibi tailed ¢ith ee doidve sees wits Nera AyHtsitios ade ent eee: Brisas of ope acifenanyy pant, Baeal.t Tea) i uit Mg, “pit istigi i Pec ee Trt te aie be i aeokio Se Melgeibyaey: tie ctor ke, arial tfaerrok wid obaiy ake eae ofl elit ‘Me i 7 be wd ey ally. of romhtaar abut, ot oti bacrissie “inng ai ‘ikooete of oilil ry Digs Across! oy iA we Faiiricke: Wet edled hl Vatorieglt: afd te Abana ti uf te erties higihyay jth ibe ne, adysaned Iie) ahs ti isi iss Ytewion éhdt int Levvvae baltia wa en rs todd. atin Dodiinrsty gels stir ilntioky bowel Set eaioe moledirint ttt boxeyeny sioad bad ‘tt Ma tt deliley. seta ow: ob: ibe oa Lawpein: had heen ad: rath, ny pani 9 ‘roy bo mat than: oud wily sc goed: Bind oaks 0 owe a LXViil. > 4 i) Diawn on Stone by W.C Hewits on. Day & Haghe Lith? to the & s gne. » the Mnng, LXVIII. ANTHUS AQUATICUS. (secnsr.) Rock Lark. Tne Rock Lark is, I believe, confined almost entirely to the sea-coast, upon some parts of which it is very abundant ; it makes its nest upon the ground, or upon ledges of the rock bounding the sea-beach. I have frequently found them upon the Fern and Coquet islands, and once met with one snugly sheltered in the centre of a heap of dry sea-weed which lay upon the sandy shore ; it is composed entirely of fine dry grass, and though beautifully firm, and sufficiently compact in its proper place, very soon falls to pieces when removed ; the eggs are four or five, rarely six, in number, and possess a character of roundness peculiar to the species; some of the varieties, though never very far removed from that drawn at Fig. 1, differ from it considerably in their general hue, as- similating more nearly to the browner colouring of the eggs of the Skylark. ANTHUS PRATENSIS. (11yv.) Tit Lark. Tue eggs of the 'Tit Lark are less subject to variety than those of the other species, not often differing from the deep sombre hue of Fig. 1, except in the intensity of tints; some are less deeply freckled throughout, whilst others are marked with a distinct ring of darker colour round the larger end ; Fig. 2 is, however, a most remarkable variety, though of very rare occurrence. ‘The Tit Lark builds its nest in meadows and pastures, and on open heathy moors, where it abounds ; it is, like that of the Rock Lark, composed entirely of dry grass ; the eggs are four or five, rarely six, in number. ee, aes ~ ® ft @ “ eis mas 4. +) x on . i . « ae i J Day KHaghe litp. On Stor e by WC Hewtson ay kHag. CXIV. ANTHUS ARBOREUS. (BECHST.) TREE PIprr. Or the Land Birds there is no species the eggs of which present so many or such distinct varieties, as those of the Tree Pipit. Of the most prominent of these for contrast, and for their beauty and richness of colouring, I have done my best to give a tolerable representation in the plate. Of Fig. 1 I have seen but few specimens. Fig. 2 is the most common, with another variety resembling it in the same closely freckled appearance ; but of a different and darker colour, and very neatly like, in that respect, the eggs of the Meadow Pipit, or Tit Lark, from which they are however easily dis- tinguished by their greater size and more rounded form. Fig. 3, and the richly coloured variety Fig. 4, are of about equal. occurrence. With the exception of Fig. 1, I possess all the other varieties in abundance, taken whilst at school ; and had there been another species of bird to which they could belong, their great difference would have rendered their identity doubtful. I have, however, for some years taken particular pains to establish all of these varieties beyond a doubt, having caught the bird upon them, and also received specimens of each from my friend Mr. Doubleday, taken in the same way. In woody countries the Tree Pipit is very abundant, and in none more so than in Devonshire, Somersetshire, and some parts of Cumberland ; differing in this its choice from the very closely assimilated species, the Tit Lark, which, though itmay be met with in the more cultivated districts, is far more abundant on the open heaths, where it is followed by the Cuckoo. ‘The nest of the Tree Pipit is composed chiefly of dry grass, mixed with moss, lined with finer grasses, and sometimes a few hairs. It is placed upon the ground, and is rarely far distant from trees, being frequently found in the ~ heart of woods and plantations, by the side of a drive or foot-path. Mr. Neville Wood, in his book of British Song- Birds, mentions an instance (the only one of which I have heard) of its having been found in a low bush. The favourite resort of the Tree Pipit is a grassy bank on the margin of a wood, especially if ornamented by a few trees, on the branches of which it delights to perch. Drawn on Stone by WC Hewttsow. VIII. MUSCICAPA LUCTUOSA. § (vEmMm.) Prep FiycarcHer. ee Tus species, though rarely met with in other parts of England, arrives annually in Cumberland and Westmorland, where it breeds in very considerable numbers. It is here, however, quite local; and though I have seen it in plenty enlivening the beautiful banks of the rivers Eamont and Low- ther, and upon the Eden, at Edenhall, yet, in a trip through the Lakes, I never met with it, except on the woody borders of Ullswater. To a friend of mine, Mr. John Gibson, who resides at Tyrril, near Penrith, who has for some years observed the habits of this bird, I am indebted for the following informa- tion, accompanied with the nests and eggs :— The Pied Flycatcher builds its nest about the end of May and beginning of June, in the holes of trees, walls, and bridges, and appears particularly partial to the neighbourhood of a stream of water. The hole chosen is generally too small to admit the hand, and the nest rarely at the depth of more than four or five inches; it is slight, and composed of small quan- tities of dried grass and straws, lined with very fine grass and hairs, with occasionally a few dead leaves. It usually lays from four to six eggs; but Mr. Heysham, who meets with it near Carlisle, and has published some interesting papers relative to its nidification, &c., informs me that the Pied Flycatcher fre- quently lays seven or eight eggs, several instances of each hav- ing come under his observation during the last spring (1831) ; that the eggs also differ considerably in size and conforma- tion, those contained in one nest that he took being unusually small, nearly oval, and almost white ; he has found the nest two successive years in the stump of a felled tree. Bewick mentions an instance of a nest and young of this bird having been found in Axwell Park, near Newcastle-on- Tyne. Bolton also met with them in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and other straggling notices are given of its appear- ance; but Cumberland and Westmorland are its favourite resort. Fig. 1. MUSCICAPA GRISOLA. (x1yv.) SrorreD FiycatcHEer, Bream-Brrp, &c. — Buixips about the middle of June, in very various situa- tions—in walls and bridges, where a stone or brick has been pulled out, in stumps of trees in holes that are pretty open, on the branches and amongst the roots of trees overhanging a river, upon the boughs of wall-fruit trees, and in many other such places. Its nest is formed of small twigs, roots, and moss, inter- woven with spider’s webs, and is lined with hair and feathers. It lays four or five eggs, resembling Plate VIII., Figures 2 and 3. Se ie Hat yan aM, Klatt re LXITX . Drawn on Stme by W.C .Hewitson. Day kKHaghe li th*S Lo the King LXIX. CORVUS CORAX. (1yNvy.) RAVEN. Tue Raven, which, a few years ago, used to breed in old ruins, and even in some of our church steeples, is now only to be met with far removed from man’s dwelling place, lead- ing a solitary and persecuted life; it is, in consequence, one of the shyest and most wary birds in this country. In Nor- way, on the contrary (as I have before noticed with regard to the Magpie), where persecution is unknown, they so abound, that we at one time counted as many as eighteen to- gether ; there they are pert and confident, and would frequently remain quietly seated till we had passed them at the distance of a few yards. The Raven breeds in the most wild and inaccessible dis- tricts which this country affords, building its nest upon ledges of steep and lofty cliffs; it is large, and composed of sticks matted together with mud, and lined with a quantity of roots, wool, and the fur of animals: it is one of the earliest breed- ers amongst our feathered tribes, and frequently rears its young ones under some of our most inclement skies ; its eggs are four or five in number. For a fine series of specimens from which those figured in the plate are selected, I am in- debted to Charles-Whaley Spurgeon, Esq., of Lynn, Norfolk. Fig. 1,is the most characteristic of the species, although va- rieties resembling Fig. 2 are by no means unfrequent. onalvi edt ta ude peeniet had ay ne onan sal Ms Wi ier hte “rage ey ; coldly lakes ai on! fF q ‘gla we df ot “baal! asalig ! | yy , oft sea penta it eRALE Myon csig i . <0 ak Pathnay ait at cre ¥ cole feourt faa hyinyat dite havifots svotad vad F an) ¥ arti 9 oe ‘dot ettvecesakciut ai splint atau Pe My be ngyilgh ne “desea! eae Gatitucs etait ste 19 aie YWinstyait bkuow bony daablinorhiie hisq io YAS rer “atts papi ama hina Miw toon edt iG shane ote natn a ieaur-ati grit wathaittg sphere wis iis s habrefatipns ot Aye ted teaihyas sl A ] eipomiisoarye Jo -aatisen ate gt seat ‘hai aelon we. obey 4! bf, Peto antaele pa. pole tt WE etre ne Hinodite aaitiog atht to ditainatousadt tari ada at ae ae th Genet mt aa @ ait patie ¥ ‘ i gs . ! yy) ' ’ { ie 5 > Ww ‘ 4 ¢ *. } ‘ aoe & i ' a ¢ ¢ « ‘ * ; - ‘ : ‘ J *): ‘| ’ | iu - aed uf 1. L< Paws, ae : 4 d ‘ < “ude % Pe . 1 = r * 4 ys i ae iy, \* . . 4 ; _ » “ ni ares ‘vita y ; * CMe w ieee 5. a d vhs a | D> ae : _ ; on i a its , a Pad aa rir 7 Be ‘ 7 wy : . ‘ ~ ) eae ia shan ; Le . < cag 9 i, f pe ly a “ate wal» 7 he Cn D wi hale vet IN ad a 7 reat balan © oe Raa ie a eee aye ht he a : Bai i. a a f i 7 * Pd Agro es ae nee % wu 4 5 ; i Hache Lith? ’tothe King, XCI. CORVUS CORONE. (LINN.) CARRION Crow, CorBy Crow, BLACK-NEB, &c. THE Corby Crow has of late been a subject of discussion with Ornithologists; Mr. Rennie maintaining that it is in the habit of covering its eggs with the lining of its nest during its absence, which Mr. Waterton denies. I would be unwilling to contradict the statement of any one, unless with positive proof to the contrary, allowing that there may be chance de- viations from a general habit, and one of such deviations I take the instance mentioned by Mr. Rennie, to be. I know not whether he is in the habit of climbing, and, having looked into a crow’s nest, describes what he has himself seen. Mr. Waterton is truly an out-of-door naturalist, and few Ornithologists enjoy such an opportunity of observing the habits of birds; living, as he does upon his own property, on which all the persecuted feathered race find a refuge and a home, there remain alike unmolested, and under his pro- tection, the Hawk, the Owl, and the Crow; he is no copyist, and gives his facts from his own personal observation. It has long been a propensity with me, (and one from which I have derived much pleasure,) to look into every bird’s nest that comes within my reach; and, to gratify this propensity, I have rarely passed the nest of a Magpie, or Crow, without becoming ac- quainted with their contents. I have thus climbed to some dozens of Crows’ nests, but never yet met with one, the eggs of which were covered. The Crow builds its nest in trees, sometimes in a thick fir ; it is built of sticks, strongly cemented together with clay ; it is then lined with roots, and afterwards with a large quantity of wool, pieces of fur, and any other soft material, often two or three inches thick. The eggs are four or five in number, and though very much resembling those of the Rook, are mostly B larger: this is not always, however, the case; they vary much, as the plate will shew. Fig. 1 is not unusual; Fig. 2, with other dark vaieties, of various shades of colour, is the most common ; Fig. 3 aremarkable one; I took two of this singular variety from a nest, together with one which was as deeply coloured as Fig. 2. In 1832, a pair of these birds took a sin- gular fancy into their heads; deserting the habits of their forefathers, and the society of their species, they repaired to one of the Fern Islands to breed, apparently thus subjecting themselves to very great inconvenience. Contrary to their usual habits, they built their nest upon the ground (there being no trees upon the islands); this was of most curious construction, and instead of sticks, of which it is always formed, and which the neighbourhood would not supply, the outside of the nest was formed of small pieces of turf, neatly laid upon each other, and formed into a compact wall; this was lined with the usual quantity of wool, which was all brought from the main-land, at the distance of four or five miles, We > ul : a 7 ‘ ‘ar Fave ‘ ol! . : on o's 4 ‘ + 'y 7 * r* g Pvt Vy" le aii bard i ; a) *aae : 4 - fox 4 W , VO : %, ‘ be ‘ a f wi? .? ° 4 a ‘ J i)? ] 4 : bal v 4 4 4 ‘ ‘. ‘ % ; ‘ : a\VWEVe? ‘ ad 4 » 7. ° Led me : rly at 7 eed nial Sl ad i , i is ” i ; j f! ’ . 4) alg . a an ips f x j i. « Jet AS i R ae te A ; ‘ at -@ a4 ia ¢ er, SNe are ; * r% pms > s | al 4 ‘ 4 A ¥re \ } a. : / 6 : we Nip ch 4: h > : ve . i. a ate te ay » igh wm es “0 yer ( : S , oa dh padae i We XCVIT y KILaghe DTAawy oF XCVII. CORVUS CORNIX. HoopEp Crow, Norway Crow. THE Hooded Crow leaves the shores of England during the spring of the year (no breeding place, that I am aware of, existing on the English coast) and retires further north for the purposes of incubation. It is then tolerably abundant in Scotland, and is dispersed sparingly through the Orkney and Shetland Islands. It seems to accommodate itself with per- fect indifference with regard to the situation of its nest. In Scotland it is found, according to Selby, in trees, rocks, and precipices on the sea shore. In Shetland, where trees do not exist, and it would be almost as difficult to find a stick, it builds its nest upon the cliffs or single rocks, which rise above the ocean, and resorts to the same substitute as the eagles, forming it of the long and very flexible branches of the larger sea weeds, lining it with quantities of dry grass, wool, hair, and any other soft material. In Norway, they inhabit here and there the boundless forests, but never at a distance from the sea; arising probably from their partiality to shell fish. On one of the islands, at sea, we found a solitary pair of Hooded Crows, which had established their nest in the rock, in the very camp of their enemies, the Sea Gulls, which took every possible opportunity of annoying them, and upon our driving one of them from the nest, persecuted it without mercy. One of the eggs was hatched, another just chipped. We wished much to obtain the shell without causing the death of the young one, and in order to accomplish this, my friend, Mr. John Hancock, per- formed the accouchment most admirably with a lancet, and left the young Crow sprawling uninjured at the bottom of the nest. The eggs are four or five in number, and do not differ from those of the Corby Crow, or Rook, unless in size, the average being, I think, somewhat less than those of the former, and larger than those of the latter. In colouring too, they approach more closely to those of the Rook. These latter observations are not established upon the examination of as many eggs as I would have wished, and are therefore given with diffidence. WAS og tg | JEAN on Stame by WC Hewitsm LXXL. LXXI. CORVUS FRUGILEGUS. (L1Ny.) Reox. Tere are few scenes in nature which present a more lively and unceasing interest than a rookery. With the ear- liest dawn of spring the Rook returns to those family trees which have probably been in the possession of its forefathers for ceaturies. Immediately on its arrival all is turmoil and confusion, and many a fight takes place ere a mutual under- standing is established, and each remains in undisputed pos- session of its own particular bough; many attacks are made by the stronger on the nests of the weaker party, whose foun- dation is often pulled in pieces to furnish materials for the con- struction of the nests of the victors. The Rooks commonly begin to build in March, though they may be seen on a bright day carrying an occasional stick for a month before; it is at this early season of the year, when most of the feathered tribes are yet under the influence of winter, that the joyous caw of the Rook is heard with so much pleasure, and its oft repeated visits to each tree in its neighbourhood in search of those twigs most adapted to its wants, add such an interest to their yet leafless branches ; most of trees furnish contributions in their turn, but the elm seems the favourite ; the extremities of its branches are easily broken off, and are fine and pliable. I have often watched this industrious bird for hours, and have many times seen it, when carrying too large a stick, fairly borne away by the wind, and after a fruitless struggle be obliged to let it fall— Rooks seems greatly to prefer those trees which are lofty, and near some dwelling ; however, at times, they deviate rather whimsically from theirusual habits. There are several instances of their building in trees of a lower growth, as in the case of was haminai freavrnis ! wietalat dicen badosinty rs ld eebdornpahaiiee beattike — camlogngeromne: ochtiqe racer ia ae he dnonpor! team oray Bt fgets dh sri i ae Nene) P? as aya li wage hein Be ul “if, fi! a iearial | j wy wy HEL, us ohn! tH eu 7) ; r tw, Die oa 3 ee \ rita ieee ; Ver re { Bs a ate . \ \ i f a2 ee Le on ; ery : , NE AY Owe ree pte’ alt Wary f Sad \ Ln jisg’ dick 5 1 CP ia Tee a a A a SN bi f “decugrevart a j ‘al Deane ty ty wee ay ibyptotnes So Tele . : c Si Ly _ ' ‘ eT ATU Pi Caren RTS" REO ARERR 73) i Cai . } wie | ¢ » ee (eye fu 4 7 5 a i yey rr Wad , ‘hu 4 ¥ a As ils : ‘ fy 4 yan i eas ; “4 & Avs! ’ : | of . r , : as , Vie, | Ve OAT? i} cay et t ot 04 Ma Le ds pont eA ‘ , FORD Wah el oe at p Mel ; I Y ‘ ‘ “" P LAA ata f . A yy ‘ t a ts rar 7 - ail 5 ; ) , A . ‘ . ‘ ; i prin? \ , + hs ods 4 a ry = ¢ e ' Z ) M y y fe ’ } ' it eae ep te 4 ry ; : f | oye: sAens i ey ey " r UME ‘ P : / ¢ ‘' Ds c y if wi " * ray trite yay fay eff ; a . ‘ rm " - 5 ; iy ‘ype Sih bei tear eyait ( a hen Viney ye pe ip Pion : : 4 Y Pre Je j : P ‘ 4 ' yy sit i Ye a ALA faa \f i ms i x 4 j m " ‘ We aie . he ' RRR RSF nif Veaeien SAG }) Avon 4 ; é Tr, mA AL a SEO 7 : 5 aiid 7 4 eee es 7, fret Tien an Hah BM PEDO i FN; ? ‘ j t " fa , » s ’ i se pes \ hm ‘ > 4 wy i? ’ i / : p i ye ee ee re PD sed Ay) ia es | eae ee ae ae des - a / t 4 mata tr ° 4 ; "-., “Te a 6 J ¢ Vireaee)) | (edt gaied’ etal add nk sont’: ngdiya ab xi -va0 Io dokega a ab aaiye aeed TL toidy, Sabatino | | Highs ft fers! ot ‘ei sieht ee : Meith LXV. uwn on Stame by W.CHewitson. DaykHaghelath™ LXV. PICA CAUDATA. (nray.) Maaprre, PIANE?. Tunis elegant and well known bird is another of those which are in this country doomed to the most exterminating de- struction, because they exercise those instincts which are im- planted in them by the God of Nature. It has become (in consequence of its persecuted life, and contrary to its dispo- sition) one of the shyest birds we meet with ; a little of its nature will, however, even here, prevail in its selection of those trees for its nest, which are near some human dwelling. In Norway, a country where it meets with nothing but kind- ness, it is upon the most familiar terms with the natives. In the town of Drontheim, it builds its nest under the eaves of their warehouses, and on the churches, upon the roofs of which, and the surrounding tombstones, a dozen of them may be seen at one time. In the country, and even upon the islands adjacent to the coast, we scarcely saw a single house without two or more of these lively birds, under the very eaves of which they com- monly build their nests, or in some stunted tree close by, where the nests are piled upon each other for many feet in depth, the accumulation of the undisturbed and quiet posses- sion of many years. We were always much pleased with the kind feeling evinced by the inhabitants towards the feathered race ; in some of their houses holes are cut for the admission of the Starling ; against others pieces of wood are nailed to support the nest of the House Martin. At Christmas, too, sheaves of corn are placed on the roofs of their houses, that their feathered friends may join in the general festivity of the season. It is, in consequence of this, that the Magpie walks into the houses with pert confidence. In no instance did we see one in the forests far from man’s dwelling place ; on the contrary, its appearance was always a sure and welcome sign of our vicinity to some house. The Magpie builds its nest, for the most part, in trees, sometimes in thorn bushes and hedges, at a few feet only from the ground. Some have supposed, I think without any suffi- cient reason, that those choosing the latter situation were a distinct species; the formation of the nest, and the colour of the eggs, are alike in both. In firmness of texture, and strength of construction, no piece of arehiteeture, of like materials, can at all vie with the nest of the Magpie; its outside is of thorns, arched over, and so compactly put together, that it is by no means an easy matter to force an entrance for the hand, except at the proper door way ; it is so thickly cemented at the bottom, and plastered inside with clay, that when placed at the top of a high tree, shot will scarcely penetrate it ; the lining is composed of fine roots; the eggs are six or seven, rarely eight, in number, and differ in the diffusion of colour, with many intermediate between Figs. 1 and 2 of the Plate ; some have the spots large and distinct. Oy oe ls . vem ie yt ime hye LAT ‘aa ms pa f | Bessie Pes Wo Rae! "Se inal bal ig Ae ary. 9 Mb Mg) ph) Ba’ ait st oar.) tie i" Pe + ‘ . Pay MU 4 thy ‘* v . ‘ at ve a. “ei 7 7 Me ore we Sahin Site gy en a Wed hak ~e iy war a oe Rea oat a a its > pa tye ee yeh ‘ea ga on eee Beh is Nae: 1S CSAP ie |: ay ay be . | tL ail | ete a rt a rT Fa a oe ar a bi a ie a } we wie ae yy ae CRE * Day k Haghe Lith** to the King ur C Hewrts On Stone by Vy CXII. FREGILUS GRACULUS. (Cvuv.) CoRNISH CHOUGH. RED-LEGGED CRow. To the persevering kindness of the Rev. W. D. Fox, I am indebted for the egg from which the accompanying drawing is made, together with the nest in which it was taken, with four others. The Red-legged Crow is tolerably frequent around the British islands. It abounds on the Isle of Man; is said to breed on some of the Western Isles of Scotland; is met with sparingly near Berwick-on-Tweed, and on the coasts of Devonshire and Cornwall. Mr. Fox has also observed them on all the steep rocks and promontories of the Isle of Wight, and on the nobie cliffs of the Isle of Purbeck, in Dorsetshire. It is likewise found on most of the rocky shores of North and South Wales. It is, notwithstanding its pretty general distribution, a matter of great difficulty to procure its eggs; and it was not till after some years of fruitless endeavour, that Mr. Fox succeeded in obtaining them. This, he tells me, is owing to the “ excessive caution the birds employ in selecting their places of nidifica- tion. These are always on the face of the steep cliff, and in general in clefts, far in; the passage to which turns at right angles frequently, so that you cannot reach the nest, or even see it.” He adds, “I obtained a young one, which I much regretted losing, as he promised to be very clever, and attached to me. He followed me very well, and seemed to have all the cunning of the Magpie.” Montague mentions an instance of a pair of Choughs, which bred for many years in the ruins of Crow Castle, in the vale of Llangollen. And Temminck says, that they breed on trees, though rarely. The nest is composed outwardly of sticks, succeeded by a quantity of roots and dry grass, lined with very fine roots, grass, and wool. If I may judge from the specimens of the eggs which I have seen, they differ but slightly from Fig. 1, of the plate. GARRULUS GLANDARIUS. JAY. THE harsh cry of the Jay, “ discordant heard alone,” if not disagreeable, is, to myself at least, unaccompanied with any of those delightful sensations which the wild wood note of every other bird never ceases to impart. I speak in ignorance of the more agreeable notes mentioned by Montague, never having heard any other than the loud, peevish, quarrelsome sort of cry which it mostly utters. The Jay is at all times a very shy bird, and difficult to approach. It hides during the breeding season in the thickest and least frequented parts of our woods; and builds its nest upon the bough of a low tree. It is formed of sticks, lined with fine roots; and is in some instances very compactly put together. The eggs are from four to six in number, and differ con- siderably; but as, from their size, they cannot easily be mistaken for those of any other bird, I have not thought it necessary to figure any varieties. ‘They are frequently much darker, as well as considerably lighter than the plate; are sometimes of a greener colouring; and not unfrequently en- circled towards the larger end with a distinct ring of darker spots: in some instances, this ring is near the smaller end. eee aren ie ° “yy 4 ; a : 4 4 as hae m . Lrason om Stomu by WC Bowitson : a ‘ st aa" ' ¥ \ repo Th ; ee SO ee aM * 5% IX. STURNUS VULGARIS. (11yy.) STARLING oR STARE, CHEP-STARLING, Xe. Tue Starling is too well known to need much description. It is an early breeder, and repairs to its accustomed haunts at the end of March or beginning of April, to commence ni- dification. It builds its nest of dried grass, in the holes of trees, church-steeples, ruins, old walls, and in cliffs by the sea-coast, and not unfrequently in dove-cotes, and is, in con- sequence, accused of sucking the Pigeon’s eggs. Whether this is the case, I am not able to say, but Montague very much doubts the fact. The female lays four or five eggs, dif- fering sometimes a little in size. hina cs bao Bo ! \ 4 Me ? ; Coty Rin Sraomarteryn y ara yh ae. oy ‘eiuad acest qe, ae ak ede fins ar ia ogandaigaie oF tah le sybase ae a ee to salou odd ste Rerty. 3 hele Or pote elit 7 gAY ed AUD ook, Bon linge, ho veeatir S Hi M le 1 too sb at, bisa: eatos-stobrnt \ vfteiupy casi wi Bet) ia" oinerl dogk OF sepia we oaegiT ae gaihite to 5 | A AS dtiyal aM deb ogne of, cifidin, tone ented Er Sak ; Cee elt aa”, ari a weet ofeaatink wht perk RP oy bs canes aOet ad aftlib \ a ie _ ae a uit ) a aU eae | ca * ‘ t! fy ‘ ‘an ‘ : 1 7 ; nity a mvp hdl annie wh: CXXXYV . Drawn on.Stone hy W.C. Hewitson. Day kHaghe Tith** tothe King. CXXXIV. MOTACILLA NEGLECTA. (GouLp.) GreY HEADED YELLOW WAGTAIL. Since the marks of difference which distinguish this species from the Common Yellow Wagtail, with which we are so familiar, were first pointed out by Mr. Gould, it has been added to the list of our British Birds. The first specimen which was noticed in this country, was killed by my friend Mr. Doubleday; others have since occurred in various parts, two of which are recorded in the Magazine of Zoology and Botany, one killed near Newcastle- upon-Tyne, the other in Suffolk, by Mr. Hoy, to whose kindness I am indebted for a nest and a series of the eggs, collected by him whilst on the Continent, (from which the most prominent varieties are selected for the Plate,) and also for the information following. “The M. Neglecta arrives about the middle of April, and is then seen following the plough in search of insects. It differs from the Yellow Wagtail in its breeding places ; whilst our species most commonly makes its nest in dry situations in corn fields, the Continental species prefers low, wet lands, placing its nest upon the ground in marshes, by the side of ditches in meadows, on the borders of inland pools and meres, and often on the boggy parts of heaths.” To the correctness of these observations I can bear witness. Whenever we observed them whilst in Norway, though not then aware that the species which we were noticing, was distinct from that which we had been accustomed to see at home, they were upon marshes so wet and bogey, that it was with difficulty we could explore them. Of these, my friend Mr. John Hancock shot one, for future examination, which proves to be the M. Neglecta. We did not, however, notice any difference in its habits, as mentioned by Mr. N. C. Strickland. The nest is formed of coarse grass, and those mosses which grow in wet situations, strengthened by pieces of strong heath, and lined with fine grass and roots, moss and hair. The eggs, which are four or five in number, are rarely so much coloured as the darkest figure of the Plate. ie oe yh aN yak ay * s @ 7 he = ¥ ‘ “ é ; ¥ . * > % ‘ . . we j J ae ; 7 r 7‘, ae | * > : ‘ _> Lirawone ore Stoney WC Hemitsan | X LOT eo Franke. by Enlr enad XLII. ‘ « - . » COCCOTHRAUSTES VULGARIS. (srisson.) GROSBEAK. Tus bird has before been said to breed in this country, but the instances are very rare, if not altogether doubtful. Mr. Doubleday, of Epping, has for some years suspected that it must breed in the neighbouring forest, having occa- sionally seen the bird, and likewisé some eggs of a species unknown to him, and has, by his assiduity during the summer of the present year, established this very interesting fact by finding several of their nests and eggs: to his kindness and liberality (which will in various instances contribute to the value of this work,) I am indebted for the nest and eggs of this rare bird, together with the following information. It breeds in May and June; in some instances in bushy trees at the height of five or six feet, and in others near the top of firs, at an elevation of twenty or thirty feet; the nest is remarkably shallow and carelessly put together, being scarcely deeper than that of the Ring Dove; in materials it resembles that of the Bullfinch, but is by no means to be compared to it in neatness and compactness of construction ; it is chiefly formed of sticks, interspersed with pieces of white lichens from the bark of trees, and is loosely lined with roots : the eggs are from four to six in number, varying as shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the annexed Plate. PYRRHULA VULGARIS. (srisson.) Tue Buiurincnu. Tue Bullfinch is seldom seen during the summer months, except in the thickest woods and copses, commonly choosing ~ a black-thorn bush for the reception of its nest; I have rarely seen it in any other situation, though it is also built upon the flat branches of yew and fir trees. It is composed of moss and roots, lined with wool and hair, much resembling that of the Green Linnet, but differing from it in being formed upon a platform of sticks, in which it resembles the Grosbeak ; it lays four or five eggs, much like those of the Linnet, but having a blue ground colour. The Bullfinch breeds in May and June. oJ : ’ . A > ee * ota’ . 4 fase” &> . ~ ¥ i b Pes ) + . ? | a7 ov ‘o ¥ é y « * 7 cee : aaet . Vie? » 7 ’ - & » y 4 ‘ . Ae ti Oe we ‘ter § may eae psa * . . > > ¥ 7 qs wine 4 le ey, nea Md « Ti. | i oa ape ie ea . ! 5 . \ >» ia 3 > Aiate Pe ‘ a) w5' 4 rary ; , . b ; é fi *, . ’ ‘ * a ; ‘ ral ¥ 7 i r . * i 4 ry ahaa hie —_ seers Ae vt ‘By as” Drown cr Stone ty WCTemisow XVI. a FRINGILLA CHLORIS. (remm.) GreEN Linnet, Green-F incu. Few birds breed more abundantly in this country than the Green Linnet. Its nest is loosely put together on the out- side, which is composed of small twigs, roots, moss, and wool, becoming finer and more firm as the structure advances, and is thickly lined with wool, very fine roots and grass, hair, and a few feathers. It may be found in almost every tall hedge, in thorn bushes, in evergreens, in hollies, in ivy against trees and walls, and, in one instance, I have met with it upon a pollard apple tree. It is most commonly at an elevation of five or six feet or more, very rarely lower. The eggs are four or five, differing but slightly, as in Figures 1 and 2 of the annexed plate. Birds in a state of nature rarely lay those half-grown mis- shappen eggs which our common fowls frequently do, but there are odd ones occasionally found. I have one from the nest of the Green Linnet, not more than half the usual size, and quite white. FRINGILLA CELEBS. (x1v.) CHAFFINCH, SKELLY, SHELL-APPLE, ScoBBy, Pick-A-TREE, &c. Lixe the above, this is a common and well-known bird, the nest of which must have been admired by every one de- riving any pleasure from the observation of the beautiful and wonderful contrivances of birds in the formation of their nests. Few birds can compete with the Chaffinch in the neatness, symmetry, and elegant arrangement of the materials of its nest. They are principally moss, so worked and matted toge- ther with wool, that it is no easy matter to pull it into pieces as small as those of which it was first formed. In the inside is a very thick lining of dry grass, wool, feathers, thistle-down and hair, and, in fact, any soft material that can be met with, admirably smooth and even. Its beauties do not end here; the outside is equally worthy of admiration. It is covered with the grey and yellow lichens, picked from the bark of trees, forming a pretty contrast with the green moss, and apparently ornamented according to the taste of the little architect, and bound round the outside with the stalks of umbelliferous plants or grasses. To these lichens the Chaf- finch seems to be particularly partial, and we can attribute this partiality to nothing but an unerring instinct guiding it in the choice of that which shall best conceal its abode from the sight of its enemies, by its resemblance to the tree upon which its nest is built, which tree is frequently clothed with the same lichens. I have never found its nest without a co- vering of this sort, or something to substitute it. I was particularly struck with one, now in my possession, which was built upon a branch of a large willow, in a situa- tion near which no lichens grew, which has white paper torn into small pieces by the bird, and with great ingenuity fixed to the outside in lieu of them. Mr. Rennie mentions several like instances; he says—‘‘ I have found the nest webs of spiders, bundled up into little tufts, and stuck in similarly to lichens; and in the cotton factories at Catrine, in Ayrshire, I have seen many Chaffinch’s nests stuck over in the same manner with small tufts of cotton wool.” The Chaffinch builds in very many different situations, preferring old moss-grown apple trees, white thorn bushes, and crab trees. ‘There are, however, few trees upon the branches of which its nest is not sometimes found; occasion- ally upon the flat bough of a spruce fir, in hollies, and often in hedges, contrary to the opinion of Mr. Jennings, who says, they “rarely or never” are found in the latter situation. I once found one on the top of a stake fence. ‘The nest is small in comparison with that of most other little birds, be- ing usually only one inch and three-fourths in diameter inside. It contains four or five eggs, mostly like Fig. 3 of the plate, sometimes varying as Fig. 4. I have the eggs from one nest so much like those of the Bullfinch, that I should have con- sidered them such, had I not seen the old bird upon them. EE Oi a ay a Ye ¢" “iy Drarmon Stone hy WC Hewitson. : j CXXXVII. CARDUELIS ELEGANS. (STEPHENS.) GOLDFINCH. I HAVE no where seen the Goldfinch so abundant as it is in the Midland Counties of Derby, Nottingham, and Leices- ter, where it is universally known by the absurd name of Proud Tailor. Most of the gardens and orchards which surround the various villages and farm houses, are their resort during the summer months. The favourite position for their nest, in such situations, is similar to that chosen by the Chaffinch, the bough of an apple, or of a pear tree; when in the neighbouring inclo- sures, that of alow elm. It is also frequently built in ever- greens. The eggs from which the accompanying drawing is made, were selected from a nest containing the unusual number of six, which was built at the top of a lofty laurel, in the garden of my friend Mr. F. Simpson, who had for weeks (during the long and protracted spring,) previous to the discovery of the nest, noticed the constant resort of the birds to that particular tree, upon which they seem to have fixed their choice, on their first arrival in the neighbourhood. The nest was of beautiful construction, and reminded me much (surrounded as it was by the leaves of the laurel,) of those diminutive homes of the Humming Bird, which are fre- quently brought to this country, circled by evergreen leaves. The nest is very small and is sometimes a good deal like that of the Chaffinch in neatness of outline, although without its compactness of form; it contains also a much greater proportion of moss in its formation, ‘The outer part is of moss and roots, closely intermixed and twisted together with wool, and ornamented outside with lichens, it is thickly lined with the soft seed of Willows and thistles mixed with the down of feathers, and a few hairs. The eggs, which are mostly four or five, vary very little, and are much like those of the different species of Linnet. Drawn oo. Stone hy W.C Hewits on Day kKHagheTith™* to the Kg. XCVI. LINARIA CANNABINA. (SWAILNS.) GREY LINNET, BROWN LINNET. Ir has long been a matter of doubt, whether or not there are two species of Grey Linnets. The difference I have observed in the size of the nest and eggs, has often led me to think that there are. Those nests which I have found in hedges, and in situations similar to those chosen by the Green Grosbeak, are generally larger, as well as the eggs in them, than those which I have taken in whins. The Grey Linnet builds its nest in hedges and furze ; it is composed of small sticks and stalks of plants, mixed with moss, roots, and wool, and is lined with hair and feathers, with sometimes a mixture of thistle or willow down. The eggs are four or five, not unfrequently six in num- ber. Plate XCVI. Figs. 1 and 2. LINARIA MONTANA. (Ray.) MOUNTAIN LINNET OR TWITE. THE Mountain Linnet frequents, during the breeding sea- son, the mountainous heathy districts of England and Scot- land; I have also met with it in the Shetland islands. Its nest, which is composed of heath and dry grass, lined with wool, fine roots, hair, and feathers, is placed either in some whin bush, or amongst the tall heather, and contains from four to six eggs, differing only from those of the Grey Linnet in being somewhat smaller. Fig. 3. LINARIA MINOR. (Ray.) LESSER REDPOLE. In the position of its nest, the Lesser Redpole differs con- siderably from either of the preceding species ; it is placed in situations much less sheltered, being usually found, like the nest of the Chaflfinch, upon the bough of a low tree, or single thorn, bordering the margins of mountain woods, sometimes in a tall hedge, upon the branches of the crab-tree. It is of elegant construction, being formed of stalks of plants, roots, mosses, and dry grass, with hair towards the inside, and beau- tifully lined with the white catkins of the willow, equalling the finest cotton-wool. I have found the nest, however, without any of the last mentioned material; hair, fine grasses, and feathers being substituted in its stead. The eggs are four or five in number: the time of incubation, June. Fig. 4. ALI. Drom on Stone by WoC Heweesow. Fronted. by CG Hulimonded, XLI. PASSER DOMESTICUS. (srisson.) # House Sparrow. Or all our birds none is better known than the saucy, meddlesome Sparrow. It is more generally spread through- out the British islands than any other bird, and is to be met with wherever man has fixed his dwelling place ;* it is of a less amiable disposition than any of our feathered tribe, obtruding itself into the abodes of other birds during their absence, and, with the greatest impudence, keeping possession of them, and driving away the rightful owner. I have many a time observed them basking in idleness day after day upon the roof of a house, watching the progress of the House Martin in the construction of its nest, and no sooner has this little friend of man (with the greatest anxiety and industry) completed that home in which its daily toil was to have been repaid by the pleasures of bringing up its family, than they pounce down and forcibly possess themselves of it. I have noticed several pairs of Martins constantly toiling for a whole summer, building nest after nest to no purpose ; and though I have taken part with these helpless birds, and ejected the old sparrow and its eggs, yet they have failed to establish themselves. The Sparrow adapts the form of its nest with singular readiness to the very opposite situations in which it breeds: it is commonly placed in the spouts of houses, in holes of old walls and buildings, and is then very loosely put together; they also frequently take up their ‘abode in and iam the nests of Rooks and Magpies, - : . * My friend Mr. Atkinson tells me, as an exception to this, that there are no Sparrows in the Hebrides. and what is most curious, in a bird at other times too idle to make any nest at all, it very frequently constructs one in firs and other thickly-foliaged trees of a very large size, arched over at the top, and leaving only a small hole for entrance; it is composed of a quantity of straw and hay, and is thickly lined with feathers; it lays four or five, sometimes six eggs, very much varying in colour: those in the Plate, Figures 1 and 2, are selected as the most frequent; they are sometimes quite white, at others very slightly spotted: I have seen one much resembling the eggs of the Skylark in colour. PASSER MONTANUS. (arisson.) TREE SPARROW. Tue Tree Sparrow is by no means so rare a bird as it has been generally considered by Ornithologists. It breeds abundantly in Yorkshire, Northumberland, and Derbyshire, and no doubt throughout the country. To the kindness of the Rev. W. D. Fox, of Osmaston Hall, near Derby, I am indebted for the eggs here figured, together with varieties of the eggs of this and of several of our small birds: he has, during the last summer, found many nests of the ‘Tree Spar- row in which the eggs were generally freckled throughout, resembling Figure 3 of the Plate, but of various shades of brown, with the beautiful variety at Figure 4 occasionally amongst them. ‘They build in holes of high trees and of low pollard willows; their nest is much like that of our common Sparrow, being formed of dry grass lined with feathers, and contains four or five eggs; the time of breed- ing is May and June. Dravire ow Stone oy WC Lewrvisor LI. EMBERIZA MILIARIA. (11NN.) 4 Common Buntinc, Corn Buntine, Buntine Lark. Tue Common Bunting, perhaps better known by the name of Bunting Lark, builds its loosely constructed nest on or near the ground, sometimes in briers, but more commonly in a clump of grass and occasionally at the root of a low shrub ; the outside is composed of straw or small sticks, the remainder of dry grass, becoming finer towards the lining, which is sometimes completed by a few fine roots or hairs. The eggs are four or five in number, and generally resembling fig. 2 of the accompanying plate. Fig. | is a variety. EMBERIZA CITRINELLA. (11NN.) Yettow Buntinc, YELLow Hamner, YELLow Yow Ley, or Gop SPINK. THE situation and materials of the nest of the Yellow Hammer are similar to the preceding; it is also frequently found on a hedge-dyke, and has sometimes a particle of moss in its composition. The eggs are from three to five in number, and vary considerably in shape. Fig. 4 represents the usual form and marking; fig. 3 a variety. I have one varying the reverse way, being much longer than fig. 4. The female sits very closely, and is not easily driven from her eggs. 2 ~ EMBERIZA SCHANICULUS. (u1Nn.) Reep Sparrow, BLACKHEADED BunTiNnG, BLAck Cap. >) ] THERE are very different opinions with regard to the nidi- fication of this bird. Some authors in describing the situation of its nest have, no doubt, confounded it with the Sedge Warbler, (Sylvia Phragmites,) as noticed by Mr. Selby and the Rev. L. Jenyns. It generally builds its nest in a clump of grass or low bush, preferring a marshy situation. That it does, sometimes, choose a more elevated site, placing it between reeds, above the water, I am quite certain: the instances may be rare, as noticed by Mr. Bolton in his Harmonia Ruralis; I have, however, found one in that situation, more than two feet above the water, supported by the common reed. The nest is composed of the stalks of various plants, some moss, and ‘is lined with hairs. The eggs are four or five, varying only in the depth of colour, fig. 5 and 6. They very much resemble the eggs of the Chaffinch in marking, but are darker. CXXYVI. Ou Stune by WC Hewitson. Day &Haghe Lith*® to the King. CXXVI. EMBERIZA HORTULANA. ORTOLAN BUNTING. In Italy, Germany, and various parts of the Continent, the Ortolan Bunting is an abundant species. I am fortunate in being able to give some account of it from an eye-witness of its habits. The liberality of Mr. Hoy has also furnished me with the nests and several beautiful varieties of the eggs, from which the figures are drawn; each the representative of a different nest. The Ortolan Bunting begins to build early in May; it places its nest almost invariably in the corn, preferring rye to other kinds; indeed it is partial to light sandy soils, where rye is much cultivated. The nest is placed in some little hollow in the ground, in the manner of that of the Skylark; it is formed of dry grass and roots, thickly lined towards the interior with very fine roots ; in some the inside is finished with a few hairs. The eggs are four or five, sometimes, though rarely, six in number. As will be seen by the plate, they resemble a good deal those of the Yellow and Black-headed Buntings. Mr. Hoy adds, “ I have never found them breeding except amongst corn. The male is almost incessant in his monotonous song during the pairing season: it much resembles others of the tribe, having some resemblance to that of the Cirl as well as the Reed Bunting.” my ey A Ths x iy ae ( f i \ Cla \ ans het WL et iy ee a Pik mh Keanted oy © /aiomrva iran on Stone by WC Homison XI. EMBERIZA CIRLUS. (t1yv.) Cirut Buntinea. Tue Cirl Bunting was first discovered in this country by Colonel Montague ; and as I have never seen its nest, I shall copy his own words. He says—‘‘ We first discovered this species near Kingsbridge, in 1800; they are indigenous to Devonshire, but seem to be confined to the southern parts of that county, contiguous to the coast, having found them ex- tending as far as Teignmouth, at both of which places we found their nests, but have never observed them far inland. It generally builds in furze, or some low bush ; the nest is composed of dry stalks, roots, and a little moss, lined with long hair, and fibrous roots ; the eggs are 4 or 5 in number.” EMBERIZA NIVALIS. (11nv.) Snow Buntine, Tawny Buntine, Snow Frakes, &e. Tue Snow Bunting has never been known to breed in this country, but only visits us during the winter, and repairs to more northerly regions to propagate its species. Pennant says that they breed in Greenland ; they were also met with in several of the places visited by Captain Parry in his northern voyages. Captain Lyon found them on Melville Island, and describes their nests as being “‘ placed in the crevices of rocks, or amongst loose stones, and constructed of dried grass, neatly lined with white deer’s hair.” Lieutenant Ross likewise de- scribes one which was found at the Whale Fish Islands early in July, formed of dried grass, and lined with feathers, which were covered with a fine white down. They lay six or seven eggs. Though the same species generally chooses nearly the same situation for its nest, no certain dependence can be placed upon the fact; and of this a curious instance has occurred to me, since describing, in a former number, the nest, &c. of the Yellow Hammer, a bird which generally breeds near the ground, but, contrary to its usual habit, I found a nest and eggs in a fir tree, at an elevation of about six feet—strongly exemplifying a remark made to me by Mr. Yarrell, that as the Buntings become more nearly allied to the Larks by the length of their hind claws, so they likewise resemble them in their habit of building on the ground. Of this, the Common Bunting (Emberiza miliaria) and Snow Bunting, both of which have the claw produced, are instances ; the former very rarely, the latter I believe never, raising its nest above the ground. The kindness of Mr. Yarrell has enabled me to figure the two rare eggs in the accompanying plate, together with many others which will occur throughout: the work, some of which could only be obtained from his rich cabinet, the contents of which he has with the greatest liberality offered for my use. CXXXTX Day & Haghe Loth®Sto the King CXXXIX. ALAUDA ARVENSIS. (Liny.) Sky Lark. Tue eggs of the Sky Lark, though not quite so remark- able as those of the Tree Pipit for extreme variableness in their colouring, are subject to great variety. I am not satisfied that those in the Plate (although chosen from a large series of specimens) will illustrate to the eyes of others those which they have been used to look upon as the most characteristic of the species. I have found it more difficult than in any other drawing, to select those which I consider the most prevalent. Fig. 1 is frequent as is Fig. 2 with many shades of the same greenish colouring. There are varieties much lighter, and less closely freckled than either, but I have never before met with one which so closely resembles the eggs of the Woodlark, as Fig. 3; another from the same nest, is lighter, with the markings smaller, and a good deal like some eggs of the Pied Wagtail. The eggs of the Sky Lark differ much in shape; some are long and pointed at the smaller end, and in form, similar to the eggs of the Waders, whilst others are short and broad. Specimens from the collection of Mr. Doubleday, though slightly coloured elsewhere, are circled near the larger end with a continuous zone of deep brown. The nest is made almost entirely of dried grasses, finer towards the inside, mixed with a few roots; it is placed upon the ground, and may be found in almost every situation which the country affords—the grassy meadow, the corn field, the open pasture, and on the bare sod of the ploughed land; it may also be met with amongst the long tufts of grass which abound in lands partially boggy, and in newly made plantations. The Sky Lark breeds earlier, but I have mostly found its eggs in May or June; they are from three to five, very often not exceeding three. ALAUDA ARBOREA. Woop Lark. UnTiL very lately the egg of the Woodlark has been known by few, and has been represented in most collec- tions by that beautiful variety of the egg of the Tree Pipit, which is drawn in Plate C XIV. Fig. 4 of this work. In my various inquiries for the eggs, I was unable to obtain them, and until supplied with a beautiful series of varieties by my kind correspondent, Mr. Hoy, I had never seen them. I have since received a nest and eggs from Mr. Doubleday, taken in Epping Forest. The difficulty of procuring its eggs, may be accounted for, by the value which is set upon the young birds, and the eagerness with which they are sought in order to rear them for the cage. The Woodlark, though not a rare bird, being met with in most of the southern counties, is, I believe, nowhere numerous. It has been frequently taken by the bird-catchers, within a few miles of York, and is not unfrequent in various parts of Derbyshire. It is partial to newly enclosed lands, and to light, heathy districts, and makes its nest for the most part, on those bare pastures which usually surround them, especially if trees or plantations are near at hand. The nest, which is formed of coarse grass and roots, mixed occasionally with moss, and the skeletons of decayed leaves, lined with the same materials, though finer, together with a few hairs, is placed in a tussock of grass, sometimes at the foot of a scrubby bush. Mr. N. Wood mentions an instance, in which he found one upon the stump of a felled tree. Mr. Hoy informs me, that he has found the eggs early in March, in mild seasons, and as late as the end of July; they are four or five, and usually resemble either Fig. 4 or 5 of the Plate, but without the beautiful blotches of Fig. 5, which are of rare occurrence. I have some that are larger than either figure, and less clearly spotted. These eggs, though, for the most part, showing but slight resemblance to those of the Sky Lark, are, nevertheless, admirably repre- sented by the eggs of that species, as a reference to Fig. 3 will sufficiently indicate. ', s ry by Lb ipso Att PTO Sg A \ é } ay a ai ly ? bf 4 ‘On Stome by W. C Hewitsom. XCV. PICUS VIRIDIS. (Linn.) GREEN WOoOODPECKER. THE Green Woodpecker very soon discovers its neigh- bourhood, by its loud and very singular cry ; this is the more remarkable in rainy weather. The loud, joyous, laughing note, which it then utters, has often reconciled me to a wet jacket. It builds its nest in the trunks of trees, frequently at a considerable height above the ground. In Norway, where the churches are chiefly of wood, we observed a Green Wood- pecker, which had chosen for its nest the elevated situation of the spire, in the side of which it had, most irreverently, bored its hole. The hole of entrance is frequently so small, that the eggs are accessible only after the long and laborious use of the axe. They are four or five in number, and are laid upon the fine particles of the rotten wood, which remain at the bottom of the hole; they are of a pure white, and so glossy that they have the appearance of having been varnished. The Green Woodpecker begins to sit early in May. Fig. 2. PICUS MAJOR. (LINN.) GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER. THE Great Spotted Woodpecker is surely either a rare bird in this country, or one which most effectually evades the D ers Wy 19 (ith ele destin en i ater ‘had Phe Cae xf Pees rn anek We ree Ac ce sey wheel Me € we OG hea aa fe ae y cael con aba biapaha 17 ei vege eer Ae sdetails vestimct 0 Ppa tit inlhiq thier: Sebebeo to: ap giiaecia tates boon abit of Udhteaveee nh datdind oO Voor 1 vhett prs sions ababginp site cuttin hin cipro! hiel B Het 4 onde i byetuan Dae iia oivranilion aa it Ba’ Hohhot am’? | a hoarse he atelier ‘efbue Piles oy oith aire: oh i ettufeges etic shined wMeee Sheil “ee ad eyqa ae itt ia toed eating hire saga ie -ahuvsooxreg te Sree } He, artes Wain Wells sea ten: eae . Bee wh i Fe erie: Wea Oley Wan Cawley reeanh bf Nea \ on a an ie BE tah ara besbe jst Cary: cero t) Hoe a mM he ; Ceacumiee Ren: UY yet TUM WA | o) Chae i) i im ‘ * t i ~ : ‘~ Ps ‘be (igh Mesh Penta, ot Hey Tay he. eget il . - 3 at 7 : \ i we ene fy Luh Ae pA. RUM OE RA, RE Pee cg te A - i - Po iaie Ae: ap | 3 t } iy Cul va ‘ my Bie — f oi i af Mr / i yr ub pai i; ie | " ; ae , ay aE ve : ' ° ‘pa j ee - Foi a ae cal , 4 rf : P \ i "a | Hy ‘4, | ' i 4A. 7 i ‘ awit } v . ; u tte) Wo eT) oe ‘4 “py ‘s . » ee he war iN Lies H sd ele f 7 . Wy eer tha Pn yy emer ‘ a ie ee i): : / me de i in! ARNO Rh ac ining ty units ie: Siva bay hy: tie eer i) aie ry aa ay Loan, wen’ ‘y mele whiaeti ‘ es vay ne ta 4 a a wie ier Super he bias a: ay aw * y ; : "iy, 5 ae 1 f i\- ' + 7 ed ae ; ; Dn! +1) i -1@ Ta ' ae Wide of rl hs a ee eee AN an ok XLIX. SITTA EUROPAEA. (11Nn.) NurHATcH. The Nuthatch breeds like the Woodpeckers—in holes of trees, the entrance to which is most admirably protected and contracted by a plaster of clay till it is just sufficiently large to admit the ingress of the bird; this it defends against its enemies with the greatest courage, making a hissing noise like the Blue Titmouse when attacked. The nest consists of a few dry leaves, with sometimes a little grass; its eggs are from five to seven in number, and, as seen at Figure 2 of the plate, generally so closely resembling those of the Greater Titmouse that it is exceedingly difficult, if not sometimes im- possible, to distinguish them. Figure 1 is a variety seldom met with. CERTHIA FAMILIARIS. (x1yvy.) CREEPER. The eggs of the Creeper resemble almost as closely those of the Blue and Marsh Titmouse, particularly the latter, as the eggsof the Nuthatch do those of the Greater Titmouse; they are, however, usually rather longer in proportion to their breadth, and have the spots more concentrated at the larger end. Of these, Figure 3 is arepresentation. There are other varieties which differ in shape as well as in the arrangement of the spots, being rounder and freckled all over; if mixed with eggs of the Titmice, and even with some of those of the Willow Wren, it would be very uncertain work to attempt to separate them. The Creeper builds in holes of trees, in such places as those out of which a branch has been torn, or where the bark pro- trudes from the tree leaving sufficient room behind it. ‘The nest is formed of dry grass and bits of moss, lined with feathers, and very loosely put together; the eggs are from six to nine in number. ie Nas? ty ae om, Saal Se Beek, \y i Na en i CLIV. TROGLODYTES EUROPGSUS. (CuviER.) COMMON WREN. Kitry WREN. THE nest of the Wren is of an oval form, arched over, and protected on every side. It is a most beautiful specimen of strength, warmth, and neatness; and so compact and closely interwoven, that one in my collection might be kicked about the floor, without disarranging or disuniting those minute par- ticles of moss of which it was first formed. It is usually con- structed of green mosses, and from its close resemblance to the situation in which it is placed, is admirably protected from discovery: this is most commonly against the moss-grown side of a rock, a bank, or an old tree, in the decayed side of which the nest is formed; and were it not for the small hole of entrance, would be regarded as only a portion of the tree. I have found it in the middle of a furze or whin bush, and constructed chiefly of dry grass; sometimes covered outside with ferns; and not unfrequently against the side of a clover stack, formed entirely of the clover, and becoming a piece of the stack itself; and were it not for the flight of the bird from the spot, it would have run no risk of detection. No bird is so jealous of discovery or intrusion, as the Wren. Amongst a great number of nests which I have found in the progress of building, I have never known one proceeded with, afier having been once discovered and touched ; it being quite impossible to thrust the finger into the tiny entrance, without disarranging the neatness and beautiful symmetry of its form. This I have always found to cause its abandonment by the owner; and may readily account for the number of unfinished nests, which we used at school to call “ cocks’ nests,” sup- posing that they were built by the male bird, for its own particular abode. When incubation is proceeded with, and the eggs have been sitten upon for some time, the Wren, like all other birds, becomes much more attached to them, and is not then so easily driven to forsake them. The Rev. W. D. Fox has communicated to me a remarkable instance of this attachment, in one which would suffer its nest to be taken in the hand and examined, remaining the while quietly seated on its eggs. The Wren is a hardy solitary little bird, and may be seen in some of our bleakest and most unsheltered districts. We saw it on some of the most sterile heaths of Shetland; the only support for its nest being the bank of some mountain gully; its only shelter the overhanging sod. Notwithstanding the number of eggs which the Wren has been stated by Ornithologists and others to lay, I have never succeeded in finding more than eight, and seldom more than seven, in the same nest. ‘They are sometimes much less spotted than either of the figures, and are not unfrequently quite white. Ornithologists differ much as to the inside of the nest of the Wren ; some maintaining that it is thickly lined with feathers, whilst others deny that it has any inits composition. I have found it both with and without such lining; but cannot from recollection say which most frequently. Jui fz Mitchie CLs LV. CUCULUS CANORUS. (1iny.) Cuckoo. So much is already known of the singular and apparently unnatural way in which the Cuckoo deserts its egg after lay- ing it in the nest, and leaving it to the care of another bird, that not having myself had an opportunity of making any original observations, I have thought it unnecessary to re- peat what has been already so much better written by others. I should have been exceedingly gratified could I have settled two very interesting points which yet remain undetermined, viz., what number of eggs the Cuckoo lays in one season, and whether or not it ever carries its egg (after having laid it) to the nest of another bird. Mr. Williamson, of Scarbo- rough, informs me that he has found its egg in the nest of a Rock Lark, close under the projecting shelf of a rock, and in a situation where he considers it impossible for the Cuckoo to have deposited it in any other way. Though not myself in- clined in favour of this supposition, yet there is something that renders it highly probable. Unless the Cuckoo is thus able to transport its eggs after having laid them, numbers must be dropped to no purpose, when at the point of laying them it is unable to find the nest of another bird in which to leave them. Le Vaillant, in his account of his travels in Africa, mentions having, in many instances, shot a species of Cuckoo in the act of thus transporting its own egg in its mouth. The eggs of the Cuckoo are found in the nests of several species of small birds. It, however, seems instinctively to prefer those, the eggs of which most nearly resemble its own. Amongst these are the several species of Lark, the Pied Wagtail, and the Grasshopper Warbler ; it most fre- quently, however, makes choice of that of the Titlark, which is common on those open heaths, its favourite resort. The egg, which is remarkable for its small size, is thus, together with its colour, most admirably fitted for the deception which it is intended to practise. Though very similar in some in- stances to those of the Skylark, there is a character about it peculiar to itself, by which it may be readily known ; its shape is more oval; it is, also, in most instances, marked with mi- nute black dots. To Mr. Blackwall, I am indebted for several specimens, from which the above figures are selected. They are rarely so dark as Fig. 1 ; and usually rather more so than Fig. 2. Uy ee) ay We Ma ir Pris?! Fpacakly ds a 7 yy) i aire 3 vp dreds i lh iy utatia td 7 oy dyter Jat Ot ee Mi ‘Aes Al Pande hea y's Fahy - fe eR ne Ak oe al ; f BBs Tht) fan 4, pare b te - re Drawn im Stone by WC Hewitson. CXL A. Day KBaghe Lith? tothe Queen.. CXLIX. COCCYZUS AMERICANUS. (BoNAP.) AMERICAN CUCKOO. Upon the authority of Mr. Gould, I have figured the egg of the American Cuckoo, furnished me from the collection of Mr. Yarrell. Mr. Gould states that it has been four times taken within the British Islands, twice in Ireland, once in Wales, and in Cornwall. I copy the following from Wilson’s American Ornithology. “The singular, I will not say unnatural, conduct of the European Cuckoo, (Cuculus canorus) which never constructs a nest for itself, is so universally known, that the whole tribe of Cuckoos have, by some inconsiderate people, been stigma- tized as destitute of all parental care and affection. Without attempting to account for this remarkable habit of the European species, I will only remark, that the bird now before us builds its own nest, hatches its own eggs, and rears its own young. Early in May they begin to pair, when obstinate battles take place amongst the males. About the tenth of the month they begin building. The nest is usually fixed among the horizontal branches of an apple-tree; sometimes in a solitary thorn, crab, or cedar, in some retired part of the woods. It is constructed with little art, and scarcely any concavity, of small sticks and twigs, intermixed with green weeds and blossoms of the common maple. On this almost flat bed, the eggs, usually three or four in number, are placed. While the female is sitting, the male is usually not far distant, and gives the alarm by his notes, when any person is approaching. The female sits so close, that you may almost reach her with your hand, and then precipitates herself to the ground, feigning lameness, to draw you from the spot; fluttering, trailing her wings, and tumbling over, in the manner of the Partridge, and many other species.” Ne ey Dini Seas NC aera CXL. UPUPA EPOS. (LINN.) Hoopoe. THE best account of the summer habits of the Hoopoe which I have seen, is by Mr. E. H. Greenhow, in the seventh volume of Loudon’s Magazine, which [I will here take the liberty of transcribing in his own words :—“ On the Bordeaux side of the Garonne, and near the city, are large spaces of marshy ground, intersected by broad ditches and creeks, ter- minating in the river, where, from the advantage derived from the water, many poplars and willows are planted, for the sake of the twigs, which are much used for tying vines. ‘These trees, being topped at about ten or twelve feet from the ground, so as to induce them to sprout much, become very thick, and in the course of a few years gradually decaying at the centre, are attacked by numerous tribes of insects. In these retired places, which are frequented only by a few cow- herds and country people, the Hoopoe, which is a very shy bird, may be frequently observed examining the rotten wood, and feeding on the insects with which it abounds. The Hoopoe flies low and seldom, unless when disturbed ; its food being so abundant as to require little search. It remains the whole year, and breeds in a hollow willow, about the end of May, laying two eggs. The young come out in June.” Instances are given, which render it probable that the Hoopoe would breed in this country, if permitted, on its next periodi- cal visit, to remain unmolested. Montague mentions a pair which began a nest in Hampshire; and Mr. Blyth says, that other two frequented a garden in the neighbourhood of Tooting, Surrey, in 1833. “yey eeooed Monn iuorge of dnc abit ot *od'T: ebunuds. ti doithy itive ahggacti oh: “wal af tuo saso% BeIOg, OAT ~ very. oir ata to hoadusodibaion BALE ek eobapy a bates eoqoodt auth hl ‘oidad Baten a te cove Khare oot oi “woidsork) Ef 2k iM iat HOM a vel ded oro Ati: r doidkiz eotsisuiga ME a‘rokt Patt obrogkads Ps fie Vis gto ww aid cd aides : to sons syinl ote We as iss boas orien) oat, vilsxio fag adoify bao 4d bats: woonet Di Nicciong, | pe ‘Bovieb gystantbs odd csort corisish i Cent} ab sadagi ot} et chodinaly anus! eirattiu han éeciqucy | aaiC, (1s onadl T douir sabe ior igess oud. ote: dain” aiy silt snertt taat ovisees to’ aod fuiods tn ‘bag ‘6 yoeyaogb: ‘Ulsobarg: xing, wat 6 Io! aargos) ial edQQuEi W vodixy atoregtorr. ve Botan: OS W8R 2 xd ¥liso boperacrpre om edidw Aoaley hy ne i i . le qr 9 ab doidor Aaqookt ody alqoog (wanton fy fae ehuow nation otf _atirinnsne, boreado ylwanpaiy oft ed ae ‘Buch att ¢ bok iinet isos aeihin robise bet ph 9 atiininae ID ‘idouoe. alitif atinpot ‘O} an emda to. hae odlt tod wollte wollod o ai abox te Sinn jue ee eft saul atdfadog fi Whar toil every nn “ihohed izoa alt.ao Dationop Ye dtouer othy at heard tin B enolase sogdicoM *balaalowun: citer an A il ayia dia baw; nulafecguata EE cot fever, 8 ion § | at ee hd ah Peat iu “e ‘- ‘ ab aie A on a ae Mee X yaw i YF ne 7 ba OF Wee 1“ mani! } Vy ht 4 ; Cae 4 re Gt a » * } “ t é , Ww? ° ie ‘ j i f * t ry On Stone by WU. Hewits om. taps. CXIII1. CORACIAS GARRULA.. (LINN.) ROLLER. THE Roller is one of those few occasional visitants of the British Islands, the brilliancy of whose plumage at once tells us that it has but little right to a place in our catalogue. The few instances of its occurrence with us have been chiefly in the North of Britain. It is common in the forests of Germany, and not unfrequent in other parts of the north of Europe. It is said to breed in the holes of decayed trees, laying from four to seven eggs; these bear a close resem- blance to those of the Bee-eater and Kingfisher, in the round- ness of their contour, and the glossy varnished appearance of the shell. yo ii or G3 ‘ ' ee -) -W ulate laietaata we snorld YO duo = affal: adad Sy wdsrauleg saorte 1d woinitityl off uu Avtolites sick me oaale a of sdgre aftiil herd a siya ae a dit snoatiiaid ai te asustiats 4 death, 9G? ae caddis e830 leith te fh0%h-@ Yo di allt lo ahi ‘mutta a inet pain st 4 ane . waoifioys anf yh aslo adh af Sand off Stim. ci f a Saest A90!'F G 1K ak SHAE ¢ eRe AC Eo | ots be a wbcktner? acid ot tad el AtAe fra voter soit oh Th 08 TO adanta: is ds Bortaincior rao | F out, ua Wolo a ? +4 § < sei" ih, Mea , i * I ’ 4 : L hy ' 7 - ivy a y y Es LS oe D ri et ee \ -— * J ; ; \ ve -) ad , on a . 4s ‘ iy . ty * . : ‘ t ad , a ut > . _ “7 va he i” ‘ : — . 4 a : oe f Le fa A ' wn V6 he wt ‘oe ae i cg eee sh (ould a Oe % it MEP) | ; er ‘Dh (te eae whe a " ‘ ‘ Dravnn on Stave by WC Hewitson: Frnt ty CHulinvanded X. ALCEDO ISPIDA. (x1yv.) KINGFISHER. : Tus splendid bird breeds sparingly in the sand banks of many of our rivers, in a hole at the depth of two or three feet, in which it lays six or seven eggs, sometimes upon a collection of small fish bones, but I think more commonly on the bare sand. From the many absurd and exaggerated accounts given of the nest of this bird, Colonel Montague was induced to pay particular attention to its habits, and gives the following very accurate and interesting particulars, perfectly agreeing with my own observations :—‘* The hole chosen to breed in is always ascending ; at the end is scooped a hollow, at the bottom of which is a quantity of small fish bones, nearly half an inch thick, mixed in with the earth. This is undoubtedly the castings of the parent birds, and not the young, for we have found it even before they have eggs. The hole in which _ they breed is by no means fouled by the castings; but before the young are able to fly, it becomes extremely foetid by the feeces of the brood, which is of a watery nature, and cannot be carried away by the parent birds, as is common with most of the smaller species ; in defect of which, instinct has taught them to have the entrance to their habitation ascending, by which means the filthy matter runs off, and may frequently be seen on the outside.” MEROPS APIASTER. (xrv.) Bre-EaAter. Tue Bee-Eater is only an occasional visiter of this island, but breeds on various parts of the Continent, in holes in the sandy banks of rivers, in manner much like the Kingfisher, and lays from five to seven eggs. The egg from which the accompanying drawing was made is in the collection of William Yarrell, Esq., and was given him by Baron Laugier, who said that it was taken out of a hole perforated four feet deep in the bank of a river. The alliance between the Kingfisher and Bee-eater, shown in their formation, is much more striking in their habits ; their mode of breeding is the same ; their eggs are also per- fectly alike, each having a bright glossiness peculiar to them. D, bias 2 Fea. yy! , or? ee ne 4 ny Ve \ has pA Dae ah a'¢ XX. Trew on Stone ty WC Hewison. Fratted by CRulmanded XXI. HIRUNDO RUSTICA. (i1yy.) CHIMNEY, oR Barn SWALLow. Or all the feathered tribes that enliven our summer months by their visit, none is so interesting, so truly harmless, none so useful as the Swallow ; were it not for its friendly aid in the daily destruction of millions of insects, they would become an insupportable nuisance, our atmosphere would be choked with them, and, no doubt, many of the vegetable productions of nature almost exterminated by them. Is it in return for all these services that they are made the mark of the fowling- piece, that hundreds of them are destroyed (as though a noi- some thing) for amusement, and from mere wantoness? Pity it is that some superstitious dread is not, in imagination, at- tached to the destruction of these delightful visitants of spring, and that they are not regarded almost as sacred, like the Ibis of old, the Stork of Holland, the Purple Martin, of the United States, or even as the Robin Redbreast, of our own country. No emblem of the returning summer brings with it the same delightful feelings and recollections as the Swallow ; it came to us last year, after a long and tedious winter, as the harbinger of more sunny skies, it will come again, and on its arrival all nature will again begin to look green and gay ; wherever we go, in town or country, this cheerful and most elegant of birds is our companion, in one instant crossing our path, and in the next coming to meet us, sweeping “ over our fields and rivers, and through our very streets, from morn- ing to night, that the light of heaven itself, the sky, the trees, or any other common objects of nature, are not better known than the Swallows.” The Swallow makes its nest in our chimneys, in barns, out-houses, and sheds, fixing it upon the cross beams, and against those that support the roof, occasionally also in the shaft of a deserted coal-pit. I have seen the nest of one against a door which was daily opened, many times, and yet the poor bird continued to sit till the nest was shaken down and destroyed, and even built a second time and shared the same fate. White mentions a curious instance of one that made its nest on the wings and body of an Owl that happened by acci- dent to hang dead from the rafter of a barn, and afterwards in a large conch shell which was put in the same place; the Owl being taken down and placed in Sir Ashton Lever’s mu- seum. The nest is similar to that of the House Martin, with the exception of its being open at the top; it is made of the same materials, mud and clay, rendered more adhesive by mixing with it small pieces of straw; it is lined with dry grass and feathers, and contains four or five eggs, varying as shown in the annexed Plate, the first figure being the most common. "< sa “at * 4 fe + a. + z Draw ow Stone by W: C Hanitsen. XIV. HIRUNDO URBICA. (u1yv.) Martin, House Martin, on Winpow SWALLow. Tur Martin builds its nest (as every one is aware) under the eaves of our houses and at the corner of our windows, occasionally also against cliffs overhanging the sea. Some particular property in the surface seems to be requisite in order to establish a firm foundation, which is, I think, most readily obtained against a house that is rough-cast : it will, in some situations, make numerous beginnings, which are again and again abandoned ere it fixes upon its site. The nest is composed of mud, rendered more adhesive by mixing with it small pieces of straw; and, as observed by White, in his History of Selborne, it is provident enough not to advance its work too fast, but by building only in the morning, gives it sufficient time to harden, lest, while soft, its own weight pull it down. The morning is certainly the usual hour of working, but an interesting exception is related in Loudon’s Magazine of Natural History, by Mr. Couch, who says, “‘ I have known them neglect a fine morning, and carry on the work through the afternoon, from no other ap- parent reason than the facility of procuring mortar at that period from a small distance, in a place which in the morn- ing was covered with the tide.” That the bird has the power of adding some glutinous moisture to the clay, I think there is no doubt, as it is conveyed not in its bill, but within its mouth. ‘ This,” says Mr. Rennie, “ will be evident to any person who will take the trouble of picking up a little mud from the same place where the swallows collect it, and trying to make it adhere to a wall, as they do in their nests.” The lining is fine grass and feathers, and no sooner has it com- pleted its snug little house, than the saucy pert old sparrow CYPSELUS MURARIUS. (trmm.) Swirt, Brack Martin, Screrecu, Devixine, &c. Time of nidification towards the end of May, and as the young do not come out till they are able to fly strongly, and are slow in arriving at maturity, it is the latter part of July before they make their appearance: it has, in consequence, only one brood in the year. I have no hesitation in saying, that the Swift makes no nest, but occupies that of the Sparrow. Though very closely observed, it has never been seen carry- ing any sort of material for that purpose. It usually brings forth its young in holes of old ruins, towers, and steeples, some- times under the tiles of churches and houses, and in lime-kilns. White says—“ In this village (Selborne) some pairs frequent the lowest and meanest cottages ;” and farther adds, “* we re- member but one instance where they breed out of buildings, and that is, in the sides of a deep chalk-pit.” In addition to this, I have seen them inhabiting cliffs by the sea side. A correspondent of Loudon’s Magazine, observing a number of Swifts at a distance of thirty miles from any place where it was likely they should breed, upon making inquiry, discovered that they were occupying for that purpose the holes in trees perforated by the Woodpecker. The Swift lays three or four eggs. Beet Saaae * " md -e au P i « - ° Ca 45 & 7 ; ' ‘al * q s a . . ' * « ’ ’ t y mata j , % f sa # =y - te ra ch al re a . J ? * — a oe, ae ~ a +4 4 ~ oo Pa . ‘ i / % 7. i _ KK E Draw on Stone by WC Hearison. ‘Prnteds iv alanvanded. XXX. CAPRIMULGUS EUROPAEUS. (xryy.) Niext Hawk, Nicur Jar, Fern Own, &c. Tue Night Hawk is most common in those open and moorland tracts of country immediately surrounding a more cultivated and woody district. In such situations it deposits its eggs without any nest whatever, amongst heath, fern, and long grass, or in a slight hole upon the bare ground, never far from the neighbourhood of woods, to which it seems very partial; its eggs being also frequently found in open grassy spaces, and drives occurring in the midst of them; they are two in number, very beautifully mottled, and, in some in- stances, very closely resembling marble; their shape is also peculiar, being nearly a perfect oval. Many errors have occurred respecting this bird, it having been frequently mistaken for the Cuckoo. Though the young Cuckoo bears some resemblance to the Night Hawk, yet it would be a very difficult matter to confound the two birds in a state of maturity, the one being very light, and almost of an uniform ash-colour, the other very dark, and richly co- loured throughout. Yet this mistake has been fallen into by the Rev. Mr. Stafford, and also by the Rev. Mr. Wilmot, of Derbyshire, who, in a letter to Dr. Darwin, evidently and most undoubtedly, describes the nest of the Night Jar as that of the Cuckoo, though he approached so near as to observe her some time, and almost to touch her before she rose from the nest. The American species of this genus, of which Wilson has given such interesting descriptions, all closely resemble ours in their mode of breeding. In Audubon’s Ornithological Biography, a most singular account is given of a bird of this genus, the Caprimulgus Carolinensis. Being well assured that this bird must have some means of removing its eggs when discovered, and being determined to ascertain in what way it was effected, he says, ** T made up my mind to institute a strict investigation of the matter,” and gives the following curious particulars :— ‘¢ When either the male or female (for each sits alternately) has discovered that the eggs have been touched, it ruffles its feathers and appears extremely dejected for a minute or two; after which it emits a low murmuring cry, scarcely audible to me as I lay concealed at a distance of not more than twenty yards. At this time I have seen the other parent reach the spot, flying so low over the ground that I thought its little feet must have touched it as it skimmed along ; and, after a few low notes, and some gesticulations, all indicative of great distress, take an egg in its large mouth, the other bird doing the same, when they would fly off together, skim- ming closely over the ground until they disappeared amongst the trees; should a person refrain from touching the eggs, the bird returns to them and sits as before.” Our Night Jar breeds in June; and, as it may possibly resort to the same means of evading disturbance by removing its eggs, I have copied the above account, hoping that it may lead some one to watch its habits. apie °° gah pane: ar Yetaiee te Silive. seat <3 oR aeetaptes Ving: eas ‘Seviedothy y a rete ai rahe aa Bae vy Coney g toupabs: leapt ae ei panei f Ribiee Lhe snes ieriath. 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