QL at Ma! a 677.2 Bed ao L58 ae 1914 pee Birds WHANDBOOK AND GUIDE { ee S BRITISH BIRDS ON EXHIBITION IN THE LORD DERBY NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, LIVERPOOL. LIVERPOOL : C. TINLING & CO., LTD., 53, VICTORIA STREET. 1914. PRICE SIXPENCE. a. yon | _ Se oe : a . : 68T HSV) "dl0UL) AIOVEL NUMTOL) AH, HANDBOOK AND GUIDE MOM EE: BRITISH BIRDS ON EXHIBITION IN tae LORD DERBY NATURAL HISTORY WESEONE LIVERPOOL. ILLUSTRATED BY TWELVE PLATES AND PLAN OF ARRANGEMENT. LIVERPOOL: C. TINLING & CO., LTD., 53, VICTORIA STREET. W914": CONTENTS: PAGE AMET OCUCH OM wetene ss seecminl sce nels sctac'e sv sist dele aalsdlo'sseiseieleeis sciaeusniouiat seeslesoemmesanwemeeseee v. Description of British Birds (exhibited with natural surroundings)............... 1 Changes Ofsplumagemin rb1s by ITS wesc assess eacle-celelasisse saesiseieiseeeseeeereca cere 58 Domesticated Birds ise .messceccecssecncssecaseee selena ces eiciewiec scabies acisienseoneaeewecainsemserer 58 Mihoebrinis nes indsaeb con Colle chiomimrenecmrccscecincel-cesssacelsceccrsciessdeceeeeeeceeceerc ree 59 (Clommnyomimiiy@) Sumnhy ott TStiRSIS IBEFES, Goo-conpoconeqansbaqboqnacHononcbandonsncbaoodsSconSan oar 59 Reference List and Index to Cases With the Curator’s Compliments. —_#-2 © ¢— hist Or ILLUSTRATIONS. The Plates are reproduced from the Groups in the Gallery. Siem ster lor ao lone rc neat sed nt ceae sores teat ce idaaa deaisntdalddudanasateescetsmcene Frontispiece. Plan of the arrangement of cases in British Bird Gallery ......... 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The Liverpool Museum was the first institution of its kind in Great Britain, if not in the world, to place on exhibition a case showing a species of Bird mounted with a representation of its habitat. This was in the year 1865, and the group, that of the Bald Coot, was exhibited at the British Association Meeting held in Birmingham, the same year. It is still in existence and because of its historical interest is placed on exhibition. Considerable advances in technical detail have been made since then, and the collection now possesses a large number of highly educational and artistic groups mounted on this principle, the work on which has all been done in the Museum. The Committee has been fortunate in possessing on the staff an artist in taxidermy, the present Head Taxidermist and Assistant in Vertebrate Zoology, Mr. J. W. Cutmore, and I have pleasure in acknowledging his skill in this work. This little booklet is on the lines of the British Museum Guide, from which much useful help has been received. I hope that this ‘ Guide and Handbook,” will serve not only as a useful companion to the visitor while in the Museum Gallery, but also as an instructive and interesting handbook for future reference. JOSEPH A. CLUBB, Curator of Museums. FREE Puspiic Museums, LiveRPooL, January, 1914. Ne ODO CT ON: The latest list of British Birds contains about 400 species. But opinion differs much as to the number which should be allowed to rank as British. Birds are not subject to physical barriers, such as affect mammals, reptiles or fresh water fishes, and their ranks are constantly reinforced by migrants from the continent and even from the far distant shores of America. Thus in addition to the resident species and annual migrants, the British Islands are visited by straggler species which have been blown out of their course on migration—so that birds which have occurred but once may be included in the British List, and others are doubtful as not sufficiently authenticated. Of the total number about 130 are residents (species that breed and are found in this country throughout the year), about 55 are regular summer visitors or migratory birds which breed here, about 70 are spring and autumn migrants, and winter visitors which do not breed here, the remainder being rare and accidental wanderers. The following lists of these respective groups, omitting the rare and accidental visitors, may be useful. All birds that may be found throughout the year in some part of the British Islands are included in the “‘ Resident ” list, but it is open to question whether certain of these, of which the main body is migratory, should be so regarded. A.—RESIDENT BIRDS. Included in this list are all species of which representatives remain throughout the year in some part or other of the British Islands. Certain of these species have their numbers greatly augmented at certain times in the year by visitors from the continent. Blackbird Capercaillie Bullfineh Chaffinch Bunting, Cirl Chough 3 Corn Coot aE Reed Cormorant 55 Yellow Green (Shag) Buzzard, Common Crossbill vl. Crow, Carrion 2 Hooded Curlew, Common Dipper Diver, Black-throated . Red-throated Dove, Ring (Wood Pigeon) a0 Rock 0) Stock Duck, Eider Dp Garganey 35 Mallard 5 Pintail - Pochard Scoter, Common Sheld-, Common 5 Shoveller 55 Teal ip Tufted 45 Widgeon Dunlin Eagle, Golden Falcon, Peregrine Gannet Goldfinch Goosander Goose, Grey Lag Grebe, Great Crested ae Little Grouse, Black 53 Red Greenshank Greenfinch Guillemot, Black Common Gull, Black-headed ; Common ,; Great Black-backed > Lesser 5 > Herring Kittiwake Hawfinch Hawk, Sparrow Harrier, Hen Heron, Common Jackdaw Jay INTRODUCTION. Kestrel Kingfisher Kite, Common Lapwing (Peewit) Lark, Sky 53 Wood Linnet Magpie Merganser, Red-breasted Merlin Moorhen Nuthatch Osprey | Owl, Barn 5, Lattle ,, Long-eared ;, Short-eared , Tawny (Wood Owl) Oyster Catcher Partridge, Common 2 Red-legged Petrel, Fulmar Leach’s Fork-tailed oe Storm Pheasant Pipit, Meadow 5 Rock Plover, Golden » Ringed Ptarmigan Rail, Water Raven Razorbill Redpoll, Lesser Redshank Robin Rook Shearwater, Manx Siskin Skua, Arctic or Richardson’s » Great Snipe, Common Sparrow, Hedge x House Tree >> INTRODUCTION. Starling Stonechat Swan, Mute Thrush, Mistle a Song Tit, Bearded » Blue en Ooal , Crested » Great , Long-tailed » Marsh Vil. Tree Creeper Twite Wagstail, Grey a Pied Warbler, Dartford Woodcock Woodpecker, Great Spotted xe Green - Lesser Wren, Common ;, Golden Crested B.—MIGRATORY BIRDS. (a) Summer Visitors. Includes all species which visit purposes. Blackeap Bittern, Little Buzzard, Honey Chiffchaff Cornerake (Landrail) Crake, Spotted Cuckoo Curlew, Stone Dotterel Dove, Turtle Flycatcher, Spotted 5 Pied Garganey Grebe, Black Necked or Eared Harrier, Montague’s Hobby Martin, House 55 Sand Nightingale Nightjar Oriole, Golden Osprey Ouzel, Ring the British Islands for nesting Phalarope, Red-necked Pipit, Tree Plover, Kentish Puffin Quail Redstart Sandpiper, Common Shrike, Red-backed Swallow Swift Tern, Arctic a Black Ee Caspian - Common - Gull-billed = Little <5 Roseate (rare) » sandwich Wagtail. Blue-headed rf Yellow : White Warbler, Garden 35 Grasshopper 55 Marsh ‘5 Savi’s mp Sedge a Reed s Willow a Wood Wheatear Whinchat Whitethroat 5 Lesser Whim brel Wryneck Vill. INTRODUCTION. (6) Winter Visitors and Passing Migrants. Includes the regular winter visitors and migrants making a short stay in the British Islands on their autumn and spring passage. Auk, Little Avocet Bittern Brambling Bunting, Lapland x Ortolan Snow Buzzard, Rough-legged Crake, Little a Baillon’s Duck, Ferruginous ,» Gadwall ,» Golden-eye ,, Long-tailed » scoter, Velvet » scaup Diver, Great Northern Eagle, White-tailed Falcon, Greenland Fieldfare Firecrest Goose, Bean 5 Bernacle ap Brent e Pink-footed ap White-fronted Godwit, Black-tailed oh Bar-tailed Grebe, Red-necked a Sclavonian Goshawk Grosbeak, Pine Gull, Glaucous VOY , Leeland ,» Little Hoopoe Harrier, Marsh Knot Lark, Shore Nutcracker Owl, Scops Snowy Tengmalm’s 99 99 Pastor, Rose-coloured Phalarope, Grey Pipit, Scandinavian Rock Plover, Grey Pratincole Redpoll, Mealy Redstart, Black Redwing Redshank, Spotted (Dusky) Ruff Sanderling Sandpiper, Green Wood Purple Pe Curlew Shrike, Great Grey Snipe, Great _ diel Smew Skua, Pomatorhine Stint, Little , Lemminck’s Swan, Bewick’s », Whooper 39 9° Turnstone Waxwing The Lancashire and Cheshire records contain about 260 species, so that about 130 species recorded in other parts of the British Isles have not been seen in this neighbourhood. Of this total the resident species INTRODUCTIRN. IBS number about 85, the summer visitors or migratory birds which breed about 31, the winter visitants and migrants making a short stay on their autumn and spring passage, but do not breed here, about 77, the remainder being stragglers or occasional visitors. In the British Bird Gallery all nesting birds of the neighbourhood, together with species common in other parts of the British Islands, are mounted with nests and natural surroundings, and in the following pages a short account is given of each of these species, stating if resident or summer migrant, the character of country frequented, nature of food, colour of eggs and number of clutch, character of nest and other additional points of interest. The winter migrants and species that have only been recorded on rare occasions are on exhibition. Some of these latter such as the Collared Pratincole, which is the first recorded specimen in Britain, are of special interest. A case is added illustrating the changes in plumage of many birds according to age and season; also a case of domesticated birds. In addition to a cabinet of British Bird’s Eggs there is a case illustrating many interesting facts connected with egg structure, texture, colour, form, etc. ] H | [| & fw] Le >| & PLAN OF THE LOCATION OF THE BIRD GROUPS IN THE GALLERY. The Groups are contained in cases, numbered 101 to 232, and they are described consecutively in the following pages. Given the number of a particular bird group, its location in the Gallery may be readily defined. A Reference List (Index), with the common names of the birds arranged alphabetically, is given on pp. 67-69. we =e wy be TeaTeoTod ZC 3 9 fo) izzy) Via mt) 7 Pees eee a 7 8 & al & is) ae 2 wool, and is built in a tree or on a ledge of rock. The eggs (see British Bird Egg Cabinet, drawer 6) are from four to five in number and closely resemble those of the Rook and Hooded Crow. The food consists of small mammals, birds and eggs, and all sorts of carrion and refuse. Great damage is done in game preserves by the depreda- tions of these crows. Case 102. HOODED or GREY CROW (Corvus corniz). Local names: Royston Crow, Sea Crow. The Royston Crow, as this species is also called, visits England and Wales from October onwards in large numbers, while in the north and west of Scotland and in Ireland it is resident. Its favourite food seems to consist of cockles, and when the bird finds a difficulty in opening one of them, it flies up in the air and lets the mollusc fall upon a rock or hard ground so as to break the shell. It also does great damage to the eggs of game birds, and is considered by the gamekeeper quite as destructive as the Carrion Crow. The nest is a solid structure, often built in cliffs, of the usual Corvine type, composed of twigs and branches, coarse roots, moss, wool, and a few feathers. There are three to six eggs in a clutch, of a green or greenish blue, generally clouded with brown spots and mottlings and overlaid with larger mottlings of greenish-brown (see British Bird Egg Cabinet, drawer 6). Case 103. RAVEN (Corvus coraz). A resident species, local and diminishing in numbers.