TUFTS UNIVERSITY
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Tufts College Library

GIFT OF ALUMNI

\ 71

HISTORY

OP

BRITISH BIRDS.

BY

THE REA^ F. 0. MORRIS, B.A.,

MEilBER OF THE ASHMOLEAX SOCIETY.

VOL. ly.

CONTAINING FORTY-EIGHT COLOURED ENGRAVINGS.

'Ghria in excelsis Deo.'

LONDON:
GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS, 5, PATEUNOSTEil ROW.

at

V.4

CONTENTS
THE FOUETH VOLUME.

PAGE

Golden Oriole 1

Alpine Accentor 5

Dunnock .......... 8

Eedbreast 14

Blnebreast 36

Eedstart . . , 39

Blackstart 45

Stonechat .......... 51

Wliincliat .......... 56

Wheatear 61

Grasshopper Warbler 68

Savi's Warbler 72

Sedge Warbler 74

Eeed Warbler 78

Xightingale 82

Thrush Nightingale 89

Great Sedge Warbler . ...... 91

Eufous Sedge Warbler 92

Blackcap .......... 94

Orphean Warbler 99

(jrarden Warbler ......... 101

Whitethroat 105

Lesser Whitethroat . . . . . . .110

Wood Warbler 114

Willow Warbler 118

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lY CONTENTS.

PAGE

Melodious Willow Warbler 123

Chijff Chaff 125

Dartford Warbler . . .' 130

Wren 133

Dalmatian Eegnlus 142

Goldcrest . . . 143

Mrecrest 150

Wood Pigeon 153

Stock Dove 164

Eock Dove 167

Turtle Dove 172

Passenger Pigeon . 175

Pheasant 178

Capercaillie 185

Black Grouse 190

Eed Grouse 196

Ptarmigan ' . 203

Partridge 210

Eed-legged Partridge 220

Barbary Partridge 223

Virginian Partridge 225

QuaH 229

Andalusian Quail 234

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niSTOET OF BEITISH BIEDS.

GOLDEN ORIOLE.

Oriolus galhula, Pennant. Montagu. Bkwick

Oriolus — -..- ? GaJhula — A dimimitive of Galbns — Yellow.

This splendid bird is a native of the continent of Europe,
and of portions of those of Africa and Asia In the first
named it is plentiful in Spain, Italy, and France, and is also
found in Germany, Bayaria, Holland, and Malta, in the latter
on its passage at the seasons of migration. It occurs in
Persia, and Asia Minor, and in Egypt, and other parts of
the northern shores of Africa.

The Golden Oriole, though not one of our very rarest
visitors, is yet sufficiently unfrequent to justify an enumeration
of the different specimens recorded as having occurred. In
Yorksliire one, a fine female, was killed in the spring of 1834,
near the Lighthouse at the Spurn Point, at the mouth of
the Humber. In April, 1S2-I, one was shot at Aldershot, in
Hampshire Two are related by Dr. Moore to have been
met with m Devonshire. In Cornwall several have been
obtained; one near the Land's End in 1833. In Lancashire
one, near Manchester, in July, 1811, and one at Quenimore
Park, near Lancaster, In Surrey one vv^as seen by Mr. Meyer,
on Burwood Common, near Walton-on-Thames, and one was
shot near Godalming, in 1833. One seen near Cheshunt. In
Suffolk two were taken near Saxmundham, and the nest is
said to have been found in that county. In Norfolk a pair
were shot at Di^s, one at Hethersett, near Norwich, in April,
1821, and one, a male, at Heigham, in the environs of Xorwich,
on the 8th. of May, 18-17; the female, it is believed, was seen
at the same time: a pair also built in the garden of the
Rev. Mr. Lucas, of Ormsby. In the county of Durham one

VOL. ly. B

2 GOLDEN ORIOLE.

was killed near Tynemouth. In Kent, two built near
Elmstone, and were unfortunately shot in June, 1849. Two
others had a nest and young near the village of Ord, in the
corresponding month, in the year 1836. Several young ones
were shot in the neighbourhood in the summer of 1834, and
occasional visitors had been seen in that locality for some
years previous. Another pair built at Oxney, near Kingsdown,
about the year 1841. One was shot near Sandwich, and
another, a male, as it would appear near Walmer.

In Ireland, one was seen for some months in a garden
between Castle Martyr and Middleton, in the county of Cork,
in the summer of 1817.? One was shot near Bantry, at the
seat of Lord Bantry, and another seen at Cahirmore, near
Eoxboroueh. One was shot in the county of Wexford, in
May, 1823; another near Grorey, in 1837.? One near Donagh-
dee, in the county of Down, on the 11th. of May, 1824; one
at Ballymona, in the county of Waterford, in 1824 or 1825,
and another, a male, near Woodstown, in June, 1838; one
near Arklow, in the county of Wicklow, in the summer of
1827.? One on the coast of Kerry, in the summer of 1838;
and one, a male, in a garden at Ballintore, near Ferns, in the
summer of 1837.

In Scotland, or the northern islands, none appear to have
as yet been seen.

It is a migratory species, moving southwards in April, and
northwards again in the month of September.

These birds frequent woods and groves, and in the fruit
season repair to orchards. They are described as being very
shy in their habits. The female is so careful of her young,
that she will sometimes suffer herself to be taken on the
nest. They are capable of being kept in confinement, though
not, it is said, without difficulty, and have been taught to
whistle tunes. They are generally seen singly or in pairs,
excepting while the members of the family continue together
in the autumn. These are the only salient points that I
am aware of, in regard to the habits of this species.

They feed on insects and their larvse, and on the various
fruit-^ that come in their way — figs, cherries, olives, and grapes.

Their song is described as loud and clear, and their call-
note as somewhat resembling their own name, given to them
similarly in different languages on that account. It is loud,
and somewhat resembling that of the Parrot.

The nest is flat iu shape, and placed in the angle formed

GOLDEN ORIOLE. 3

bv the branching boughs of a tall tree, to which it is firmljr
attached. It is made of stalks of grass, small roots, and
wool, cleverly interwoven together, and is lined with the finer
portions of the materials. The one taken in Kent, alluded
to before, is described by J. B. Ellman, Esq., of Rye, in the
'Zoologist,' page 24:96, as h iving been suspended from the
extreme end of the topmost bough of an oak, and composed
entirely of wool, carefully bound together with dried grass.

The egg^ are commonly four or five in number, of a white
colour, sometimes with a tinge of purple, and a few spots of
black, brownish black, or grey, and claret colour.

Male; length, nine inches and a half; bill, light brownish
red, flattened at the base, and laterally compres.-ed at the
tip: the upper bill is nearly straight at the base, and gently
arched towards the tip; there is a prominent ridge along it;
it is toothed near the extremity. Iris, red — the space between
it and the eye is black; head, crown, neck on the back and
in front, and on the sides, and the nape bright yellow. Chin,
throat, and breast^ brioht yellow. The wings, when closed,
reai h to within an inch of the end of the tail; the greater
wing coverts have their tips and margins yellow; lesser wing
coverts, yellow; primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, black,
their tips yellow, excepting those of the two outer primaries,
and the outer margins of all, excepting the first, are also
yellov; underneath, the wing feathers are greyish black; the
first quill feather is not half so long as the- second, the second
not so long as the fourth, but longer than the fifth, the
third the longest; greater and lesser under wing coverts, yellow.
The tail, which is slightly rounded, is black, excepting the
two middle feathers, which are greenish yellow at the base,
and yellow on the terminal edge, and the outer feathers,
which are yellow from the tips to the middle on the outer
webs; underneath, the black feathers are greyish black; upper
tail coverts, bright j^ellow; under tail coverts, also bright
yellow. Legs and toes, bluish grey; claws, light brownish
red.

It is to be observed that the male bird does not attain
the brilliant yellow plumage until the third year: its beautiful
colours 'grow with its growth.'

In the female the bill is also light brownish red: the black
streak between it and the eye is wanting. Forehead, yellow,
with a tinge of green; head, crown, and neck on the back,
yellowish green — in front the latter is pale yellowish ^ivy.

4 GOLDE^^ ORIOLE.

and on the sides greenish yellow; nape, also yellowish green;
chin and throat, dull greyish white, marked with longitudinal
pale hrown lines. Breast, dull greyish white, with larger
longitudinal pale brown lines, and bright yellow on the sides,
which are also streaked in the same way; back, greenish
yellow. Greater and lesser wing coverts, brownish black,
tipped with pale yellow, and dull yellowish at the base;
primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, brownish black, their
edges greenish yellow, and their tips, excepting those of the
two outer ones, pale yellowish white. Tail, brownish black,
yellowish at the base, and with less yellow at the end and
sides than in the male; underneath, it is yellowish grey; upper
tail coverts, greenish yellow; under tail coverts, bright yellow.
Legs and toes, bluish grey; claws, light brownish red.

Young; bill, more brown than in the male; head, crown,
neck on the back, and nape, dusky yellowish grey; chin,
throat, and breast, yellowish white, the latter with a central
line of brown on each feather, and the last-named yellow on
the sides; back, dusky yellowish grey. Primaries, secondaries,
and tertiaries, brown; tail, brownish olive* colour; upper tail
coverts, tipped with yellow; under tail coverts, yellow.

The female is duller in colour than the male.

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ALPINE ACCENTOR.

ALPITs^E WAKBLEE. COLLAEED STAEE.

Acoejitor aJpinus, Fleming Selbt.

MoUicilla alpina, Gmklix.

Sturnus col/aris, Gmelin. Latham.

" montanicust Gmelix Latham.

Accentor — A chanter — caf,tn, to sing — (a factitious word.)
Alpinus — Alpine ,

Foe want of a vernacular name for this species, I am
compelled for the present, much against mj will, to adopt,
as in some similar cases, one that I by no means approve
of, but I have done so only as a temporary thing, and in
hope of 'a good time coming,' when the Queen's English
shall 'enjoy its own again' — a consummation much to be
wished by every lover of his country's tonguet

This bird is not uncommon in Germany, France. Spain,
Switzerland, and Italy; and Temminck includes it among the
Asiatic species, as a native of Japan. It frequents the highest
parts of any alpine districts, as its name suggests; this at
least in summer, but in winter it seeks and finds a milder
temperature in the warm and sheltered valleys, and thus, like
the lowly and humble in life, escapes the severest of the
storms and tempests which the lofty and the aspiring are
neces-arily exposed to, in the higher atmosphere in which
their lot is cast or their place chosen: in severe weather it
approaches firm-yards, villages, and houses.

One of these birds, a female, was observed in the garden
of King's College, Cambridi^e, on the 23rd. of November,
1S22, aiid obtained by the Provost, the liev. Dr. Thackeray;
another, no doubt the male, was seen by him at the same
time, both together frequenting the grass-plots of the College
garden, and climbing about the buttresses of the venerable
building. A second was shot in a garden on the borders of

ALPLN^E ACCEIS'TOE.

Epping Forest, in the county of Essex; and a third at Wells,
in Somersetshire, in 1833, in the garden of the Yer}^ Rev.
Dr. Goodenough, Dean of Wells; a fourth was seen by the
Eev, R. Lubbock, at Oulton, in Suffolk, in the year 1824,
about the month of March; and a fifth is said to have been
obtained in Devonshire.

This species is peculiarly tame and confident in its habits,
moving away but a short distance if nearly approached. It
is mostly to be seen on rocks or on the ground, and seldom
perches on trees; it frequently shufiles its wings and tail after
the manner of the Dunnock.

Its food consists of flies and other insects, grasshoppers,
earwigs, ants' eggs, and small seeds.

Its note is described as resembling the syllables 'tree, tree:^
its song is said to be pleasing.

The nest is placed among stones or in some cavity or crevice
of the mountain rock, as also at times, it is said, on the roofs
of houses in such situations, as also under the shelter of the
alpine rose or other lov/ bush. It is made of moss and fine
grass, and is lined with wool and hair.

The eggs, four or five in number, are of a beautiful light
greenish blue colour. There are said to be two broods in
the year.

Male; length, six inches and a half to seven inches; bill,
strong, straight^ and fine-pointed; the upper bill is dusky
black, yellowish white at the base; the lower bill is orange
yellowish white, except at the tip, wdiich is brownish black;
iris, dark brown. Head, crown, and neck on the sides and
back, dull light brownish grey; the latter in front is dull
yellowish white, with a small black spot on each feather;
nape, brownish grey; chin and throat, dull white, with a
small black spot on each feather of a ca^escent shape, which
loses or gains its perfect form according to the season of
the year; it is bordered below with a black band; breast
above, dark grey, varied lower down and on the sides with
orange chesnut brown marks, the edges of the feathers white,
and then greyish or yellowish white, tinged Vv^ith yellowish
brown, and spotted with darker brown; back, brown, the
feathers being greyish brown on the edges, w^ith longitudinal
patches on the centre of each of dark blackish brown, more
or less visible in different seasons of the year; on the lower
part it is greyish brown, in some specimens reddish grey,
with dark shaft streaks.

ALPLNT ACCEXTOE. 7

The wings have the first feather very short, the second
longer than the fourth, the third the longest, but all these
three nearly equal; greater wing coverts, reddish brown, varied
with dusky black, edged w4th yellowish ash-colour, and tipped
with a white triangular-shaped spot; lesser wdng coverts,
yellowish grey, those next the greater w'mg coverts dusky
towards the end with pure white tips: two white bands are
thus formed across the wings, but they are more or less faded
off in different seasons of the year. Primaries, blackish brown,
edged wdth yellowish rust-colour; secondaries, blackish brown,
the inner ones narrowly margined with reddish brown ; tertiaries,
darker blackish brown on the centre of each feather, the sides
deeply edged with reddish brown, and tipped wnth dull faded
white. Tlie tail, which is slightly forked, is dark brown ash-
colour, tipped wdth dull buff white, the outside feathers ter-
minating in a large reddish wdiite spot upon their inner webs,
and the inner feathers less extensivtly so; the base is lighter
than the rest, and all the feathers are wnder there than at
the tip, they are also edged wnth yellowish grey; the rufous
tips fade and wear into dull white at the season of the year;
underneath, it is grey, also tipped with dull yellowish w^hite;
the upper tail coverts are very long, reaching to within an inch
of the end of the tail; under tail coverts, dark greyish brown,
broadly edged wath dull yellowish white. The legs, which
are scaled in front, and the toes, are strong, and pale reddish
orange brown, the toes brownish; claws, dusky black; the hind
claw is very strong, much curved, and very sharp at the tip,
where it is compi-essed.

The female resembles the male, but her colours are more
dull, less rufous, more spotted on the under parts, and more
gre}^ on the sides; the spots on the breast are smaller and
paler, and the under bill less yellow.

The young have the bill horn-colour, dingy yellow at the
base, the back much tinged with brown, the white edges
of the rust-coloured feathers on the sides much more extensive,
nearly prevailing over the other colour. Before the first
moult the whole of the upper parts are ash-colour, without
spots: the feet and claws are paler than in the adult.

DUNNOCK.

SHUFFLE- WI]SrG. HEDaE-SPAEEOW. HEDGE-WAEBLEB.
WOfTEE FAT7YETTE.

Accentor modularis, Jenyns.

3Iotacilla modulariSf LiXN.-f:us.

Syii'ui mGduiariSy Latham.

Curruca sepiaria, Brlsson.

Accentor — A chanter, (a factitious word.)
Modularis. Modulor — To sing — to warble — to trill.

Uj^obteusiye, quiet, and retiring, without being shy,
humble and homely in its deportment and habits, sober and
unpretending in its dress, while still neat and graceful, the
Duiinock exhibits a pattern which many of a higher grade
might imitate, with advantage to themselves and benefit to
others tli rough an improved example.

It inhabits all the more temperate parts of Europe, going
as far north as Norway and Sweden, which it leaves, according
to M. Nillson, at the approach of winter. In Italy it is
plentiful in the latter season; so it is also in France; arriving
there in October, and leaving in the spring. In Asia, my
friend ]Mr. Hugh Edwin Strickland has noticed it, in Asia
Minor, in Dcccaiber.

It is common likewise in Scotland and Ireland. It occa-
sionally visits Orkney in October. It was observed near
Kirkwall during the winter of 1842, and again in the same
season in 1844.

Hardy in its habits, it needs not to migrate, but remains
in its local habitation throughout the year. In the depth of
winter, indeed, it approaches more nearlj^ to houses, which
again it leaves with the change of season for the hedge-side,
the garden, the orchard, the plantation, or the pleasure-ground;
and there, or among bushes, it passes its summer, seldom

dukn-ock:. \i

advancing into open ground, or frequenting trees of larger
size.

Even in the depth of the severest winter, when, as in this
Fehruarv, 1853, the ground is everywhere covered with snow
a foot deep, and you would think that every motion must
be chilled in the breast of even the hardiest bird that is
exposed to the damaging attacks of the two Sveird sisters,'
cold and hunger, by night and by day; you will see the
Dunnock flirting about some low bush in the splendid sun-
shine that succeeds the bitter blasts which have come and
gone, and warbling its unpretending little lay, as if to shew
that an even and quiet temper is that which will best sustain
under the most adverse circumstances of life. Xow it has
conie down upon the snow, and its tiny feet move nimbly
over the crystal surface, its tail quickly moved up and down
the while; now it stops for a few moments, now hops on
again, and now is gone, in company with its mate, pursuing
or pursued. Or, half-hopping, half-walking, its usual gait, it
approaches the door, in search of any chance crumbs, which,
if you are charitably disposed, you will have placed there
for any feathered pensioners, whom the inclemency of the
season may compel to a more intimate acquaintance than
they otherwise would have chosen. 'Never turn thy face from
any poor man,' says the Holy Word, 'and then the face of
the Lord shall not be turned away from thee,' and so in
like manner let your benevolence embrace even those whose
actions alone can speak their wants. — '0 give relief, and
Heaven vvill bless your store.'

These birds never under any circumstances, or at all events
very rarely indeed, enter into houses by the open door or
window, as some others do through stress of weather, though
so devoid of shyness in their approaches to them. The
neighbourhood of the hedge is their favourite haunt, from
whence they venture but a little way into the field, or the
road. Sometimes however thev are seen in towns, in such
places as squares, where trees and shrubs are planted.

They are by no means gregarious, though three cr four
may sometimes be observed at no great distance from each
other. They are seldom seen among or on the upper branches
even of a bush or hedge, and as Mr. Macgillivray remarks,
it is very rare to see two Hying in the same direction,
although they are generally observed in ])airs. In dry sunny'
weather in summer, they may be seen sometimes basking in

10 DIJIflS^OCK.

the sun. They are inoffensive towards other birds, and
friendly also with one another. In one instance, however, a
relative of Mr. Thompson, of Belfast, witnessed a fight between
two of them, in which one was killed: the victor, after
having slain his antagonist, twice or thrice uttered a song of
triumph, at the 'finale' of which he each time flew at and
again struck his victim. They display great concern if their
nest be disturbed, and endeavour to entice any intruder away:
they roost at night in some accustomed place. They are
easily tamed, and kept in confinement, and in that state shew
much attachment to other birds. They are fond both of
dusting and w^ashing themselves. It would seem that they
roost on the ground. In hard winters they not very unfre-
quently perish from want.

Their flight is straight, and generally very short, as also
low.

The food of this species consists of small seeds, particularly
those of the grasses, grain, and insects, minute snails,
chrysalides, and larvae, in addition to which small fragments
of stone are swallowed; and in search of such, or any other
minute eatables, too small even for you to observe at all what
they are, you will see it quietly, peaceably, and industriously
searching about, advancing with that gentle raising and
shuflling of the wings, most exhibited in the breeding season^
from wdience one of its vernacular names. It also frequently
moves the tail up and down, with a somewhat similar motion-
and in the spring floats in the air in a manner foreian to
its usual habit. Even though you may approach within a
few yards of it, it moves or flits but a little way off, or
hops into the nearest covert until you have passed by.
The young are fed with insects.

The song of this gentle, modest, and retiring little bird,
which is heard even in winter, and continued until the end
of May, and in fact for nearly the whole of the year, is, as
might be expected, of a quiet and subdued tone. It is,
however, particularly mellow and pleasing, making up in
soft richness what it wants in compass and power: I have
heard it on the 19th. of February, which is about the
period that it is usually commenced. It frequently utters it
in fair w^eather, from the middle or top of a bush, hedge,
or low tree, though sometimes from the ground, or on a
wall, repeating it eight or nine times in succession; but should
the temperature change, and a storm of the 'bitter piercing

DUNjS'OCK. 11

air' of the north succeed a comparatively milder time, it
chills the heart of the little warbler, and his strains are in
consequence curtailed. Yet, on the other hand, Mr. Weir
has heard the Dunnock singhig regularly at night about
eleven o'clock, in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, even in
the darkest evenings of autumn and winter, and when the
weather was cold and frosty. Its ordinary note is a small
cheep. The shuffling of the wings just spoken of, frequently
accompanies its musical performances. It has been observed
in confinement to imitate the notes of other kinds of birds
kept with it, making a strange medley of all together.

The nest is generally placed in hedges, low furze or other
bushes, or shrubs, a few feet from the ground, but also in
lack of these, in holes of walls, stacks of wood, in the ivy
against a wall, and other similar places. The Hev. Charles
Forge, of Driffield, records in the 'Zoologist,' pages 65S-9,
that he found one among the small branches of an elm
tree, standing apart from any hedge. It was placed close
to the bole or trunk of the tree, at about ten feet from
the ground. Exteriorly, it was composed of w^heat straw,
intermingled with small recently-dead twigs of the elm, to
which the dried leaves were still attached. It had no other
lining than the green n.oss commonly used by the Hedge-
Chanter in the construction of its nest, and contained a single
egg. One has been known built on a disused garden roller.
An outhouse is sometimes made use of for the purpose.

It is deep and well rounded, and from four and a half to
five inches in diameter on the outside, and nearly two
inches deep. It is made of small twigs and grass, lined
with moss, and then w4th hair, grass, wool, or down, or any
appropriate substances at hand.

The eggs, which are sometimes seen so early as the beginning
of' April, are four or five, rarely six, though sometimes, it is
said, seven in number, and of a very elegant oreenish blue
colour, with a rather glossy surl'ace. Archibald Hepbui-n, Esq.,
records in the 'Zoologist,' page 481, his having seen an egg
of this species, which was thrown out of the nest by the
parents, and was of a bluish white colour, mottled and
speckled with light brown; it was much rounder than the
usual shape, and was empty inside.

Incubation lasts eleven days, and two broods are often
reared in the year; preparations for one being made about
the middle of March, and for the latter at the beginning

12 DTJNNOCK.

of May: three are sometimes hatched. Meyer, in his ^British
Birds,' meotions having seen a nest on the 21st. of January,
and fomid one with a newlj-laid egg in it on the 22nd. of
July. The same situation is frequently resorted to from
year to year.

Male; weight, near six drachms; length, from five inches
and three quarters to six and a quarter; bill, dark brown,
lighter at the base; the corners of the mouth dull yellow;
iris, dark blackish brown with a tint of red. Head and
crown, dark bluish grey streaked with brown; neck on the
sides, dark bluish grey streaked with brown; nape, grey,
streaked longitudinally with brown; chin, throat, and breast,
rather dark bluish grey, the latter lighter lower dowm, and
on the sides pale yellowish brown, the centres of the feathers
darker; back above, brown, the centres of the feathers
reddish, and the outsides yellowish brown, thus forming dark
streaks of an oval shape.

The wings, which when closed reach to about a third of
the length of the tail, and expand to the width of eight
inches and three quarters, have the first feather very small,
the second a little longer than the seventh, but shorter than
the sixth, than which the third is a little shorter, the fourth
and fifth nearly equal in length, but the fourth rather tbe
longest; and the former very little longer than the- sixth.
Greater and lesser wing coverts, yellowish biown, the middle
ones tipped with whitish, forming a mark across the wings;
primaries, dark dusky brown; secondaries, dark dusky brown;
tertiaries, also dark dusky brown, margined with reddish
brown; larger and lesser under wing coverts, brown, bordered
with whitish. The tail, which is slightly forked, and rather
curved downwards, and has the side feathers a little bent
outwards, is dusky brown, the feathers narrowlj^ edged With
reddish brown; upper tail coverts, brown; under tail coverts,
pale yellowish brown or slate-colour, the centres of the feathers
dark along the shafts; legs and toes, dark yellowish orange
brown; claws, black, the hind claw as large agam as either
of the others.

The female is scarcely to be distinguished from the male,
but is smaller, measuring in length from five inches and a
half to nearly six inches; the wings expand to the width of
eight inches and a half; her plumage is moi'e dull, the spots
larger, and the lower part of the back more olive-coloured.

The vouno^ before the first moult have the bill light

brownish above, below yellowish, the corners of the mouth
red; over the eye is a pale yellowish grey streak; the eye is
at first dusky, and afterwards dark red; the crown of the
head is deep yellowish grey; the throat and breast are dusky
greyish or yellowish white, marked with small oval spots of
a darker shade; on the sides, which are rusty yellowish, each
feather greyish yellow towards the shafts. The upper parts
confusedly mottled with dusky and Hght brownish red, .the
tips of the feathers being of the latter colour; the greater
and lesser wing coverts tipped with rusty yellow; the secondary
coverts tipped with dull white. The tail brown, the feathers
with light reddish margins: the under tail coverts rusty
yellowish with black shaft streaks; the feet light brownish
red. The moult takes place in July or August.

The colours fade with the advance of summer, the reddish
brown edges of the feathers become narrower, and the grey
of the breast paler.

White varieties are sometimes met with. The Eev. Dr.
Thackeray, of King's College, Cambridge, obtained one which
had the head, neck, body, and wing coverts, dull white, varied
with a few markings of the natui'al colour; the wings and
tail piu'e white, the bill and legs pale reddish. The Eev.
Hobert Holdsworth, of Brixham, had another which was of
a nearly uniform reddish buif colour. The late William
Thompson, Esq., of Belfast, mentions one obtained, near
Clonmel, in February, 1S3S. the plumage of which was entirely
of a cream-colom* of one shade, and the under plumage -of a
paler hue. One was seen at Weston-super-Mare, Somersetshire,
in 1S51, which had the wings and tail white, and the back
and breast mottled with brown. A nest of piebald- ones was
reared in the same neighbourhood a few years previous. One
near Lewes, Sussex, in 1S49, which was entirely white, with
the exception of a red patch or two on the wing.

14.

EEDBREAST.

E0EI:N". EOBI^f JiEDBEEAST. RUDDOCK. EOBIlSrET.

Syhm ruhecula. Pennant. Fleming.

Motncilla rubecu/ay Montagu. Bi<:wiCK.

Erydmca rubecuLa^ Selby. Gould.

Sylvia. Sylva — A wood. Rubacula. Ruoer — Red— ruddy.

The thoughts of our earliest years are those, each one of
which, '3Dre perennius,' abides with us through hfe, while those
of later years pass away, oftentimes like a shadow without
recall. Who then is there in whose oldest memory the
legendary tale of the 'Babes in the Wood' does not for eyer
dwell; and who is there in remembrance of it that with, the
E-obin's so-called faults will not 'loye him still?' Faults he
certainly has, or at least dispositions which would be such
in us, but he fulfils to the letter the mission of his nature,
and that is what 'no man living' can say of himself.

An inhabitant of the \vildest wood and the gayest garden,
the most frequented road, and the most retired lane, the
hedge of the pasture field, and the neighbou.rhood of every
€Ountry-house, the Robin is an acquaintance of both old and
young, and to each and every one he seems like an old friend.

As you walk along the liedgerow side at almost any season
of the year, it may be, 'nescio quid meditans nugarumi,' your
wandering thought is for the m.oment arrested by the sight
of a Redbreast perched on one of the topmost sprays, or
by the sound of the pretty note that its owner w^arbles
before you: you cannot help but stop a moment, and speak
a word to the well-knowai bird, as if to an old acquaintance;
and you almost fancy from his winsome attitude, the attention
he seems to pay, and the quietness with which he remains,
that he understands, if not your language, yet the purport
of it, and is aware that you are a friend who will not hurt
or harm him.

REDBREAST. 15

It is a constant resident throughout the year in all the
more temperate and warmer parts of Europe — Saxony, Spain,
Italy, and Holland; visiting Denmark, Xorway, and Sweden,
in the summer. In the northern parts of Africa, it is also
known. In Asia, H. E. Strickland, Esq. has seen it in Asia
Minor; and Keith Abbot, Esq. in Persia.

With us it is universally distributed in the three kin^'doms;
and even in the depth of the most lonely wood you are
sometimes almost startled by the suddenness with which an
unexpected Robin will make his appearance on some neigh-
bouring branch. In Shetland it occasionally occurs, and in
Orkney, though not very numerous, it is seen throughout
the year; and also even in the bare islands of the outer
Hebrides.

The Eedbreast remains with us throuo^hout the year, unless
in^'eed it be a contradiction of this statement, that some are
supposed to migrate hither from more northern parts in the
winter: they are believed to perform their migrations sino-ly.
In summer they for the most part, but by no means universally,
remove from that more close propinquity to human habitations
which in winter they had sought, to a greater distance, where
retirement is to be better gained. Numbers have been known
to alight on a vessel in the Mediterranean, and apparently
much fatigued with their journey to and from its opposite
shores. The same Robin generally frequents the same haunt,
and it is probably his jealousy of any interference with his
prerogative, that makes him so ready to attack any trespa-ser,
though of his own kith and kindred, that ventiu'es within
the bounds of his domain — he desires to be like Eobinson
Crusoe, 'Monarch of all he surveys.'

In severe weather many fall victims to the exterminating
effects of hunger and cold. The female bird is very attentive
to the charge of her nest, and has often been known to allow
herself to be taken in the hand without deserting it. One
has been taken on the n^st and placed with it in a cage,
where she continued to sit; and another, though taken off
the nest six times in a single day, and even detained in a
cage for a few minutes, returned to her charge when set at
liberty, and successfully hatched her eggs.

As one proof, 'unum e multis,' of the pugnacious disposition
of the Robin, for which he is indeed noted, Mr. Geor2:e B.
Clarke has sent me the following anecdote, since recorded in
*The Naturalist,' volume i, page 45: — *I thought I wnuKl try

16 EEDBEEAST.

it with one of its own species stuffed, of which I have a
very fine one. I first of all placed it inside the window, so
that the Eobin in the garden could see it, and he immedi-
ately flew to the window and commenced pecking at the glass;
but not succeeding in getting at the stuffed one, he flew
away for about a minute, and then returned and commenced
again at the glass, through which he could see the bird. I
then placed the stuffed Robin outside, on the window-sill, and
went and hid myself, so that I could see what the Robin
would do now that he could get at it; he very soon returned,
and commenced peeking at the stuf!:ed bird most furiously.
At last he knocked it off the sill of the window; he followed
it as it fell down, and seemed to be quite pleased at being
victorious, and continued pecking at and pulling feathers out
of it, while it was lying on the ground. I then came out
of my hiding-place, and frightened him away, or else he
would soon have spoiled my bird.'

An exactlv similar circumstance has also been related to
me by Dr. Henry Moses, of Appleby, since the above was
registered. He had placed a recently-stuffed Robin in the
garden to dry; some Sparrows and a Dunnock soon began
to eye him curiously, and with evident signs of hostility;
they did not, however, seem to like his look — a piece of wire
which had been left projecting from his head giving him a
rather fearful appearance — and sheered off. No sooner, how-
ever, had they been gone than a Robin made a n)ost furious
attack ui on his supposed rival, dashed at him with the greatest
violence, buffeted him with his wings, knocked out one of
his eyes, and -o miserably mauled and distorted him, that he
was rendered totally useless as a specimen of the art of
taxiderm}^ It m^ust be acknowledged that the Robin is of
a very masterful temper and disposition. You are looking
out of your window, watching perhaps a, Dunnock, a Tomtit,
or even a Sparrow in the tree in front of it: on a sudden
the bird is flown, vanished as if by the wave of the wand
of a magician; but the next moment the. cause appears, and,
in the place of the quiet Shuffle- wing or Hvely Titmouse,
the necromancer, a pert Redbreast, stands, whose only object
in appearing there seems to have been to dislodge those,
who would have remained with a Sparrow or a Thrush,
un disturbing and undisturbed. He is even unsociable with
those of his own kind; in winter so many as two are
scarcely seen together, and as for other species he rarely

BEBBREAST. 17

iningles at all with them. If the nest of the Robin be
approached he utters a feeble cheep, and will occasionally
attack even a cat, or overcome a bird of his own size.

Mr. R. F. L )gan, of Havvthornbrae, Edinburgh, relates the
following in the 'Zoologist,' page 1211: — 'While busy setting
some recent entomdogical captures, my attention was arrested
by something dashing against the window of a small room
adjoining that in which I sat. Enquiring into the cause of
the racket, I observed a male Redbreast fly from the window,
uttering his notes of anger and defiance. He returned in a
few minutes, and dashed furiously against the window glass,
striking it with his bill and feet simultaneously; this he
repeated several times and then retreated to the top
of an adjoining wall, where he sung loud notes of triumph,
after which, however, he resumed his imaginary conte-t, and
kept it up at intervals, by which time he had apparently
come to the conclusion, either that he had vanquislied his
foe, or that his efforts were of no avail, as I have seen nothing
of him since.'

Two have been known to unite together in attacking a
flock of Sparrows, and instantly to put them to flight. One
which had become somewhat tame from being fed, on another
being brought in a cage, attacked the cage with the utmost
possible fury, beating it with his wings, and peciving at it
with all his might and main. Two have been found so intent
on single combat as to be both taken with the hand, and
on one of them being set at liberty he set up a song of
defiance at the other confined in a cage; and when the latter
was released too, the original battle was a^^ain renewed. Others
have been seen to light till one was killed. Even within a
house two will fight, if one trenches on the domain of the
other. 'Unum arbustum non alit duos erithacos.' Thus also
Bishop Stanley, *My own belief being that several species of
birds are in the habit not only of, generally speaking, confining
themselves to certain localities, but at certain hours of the
day frequenting particular spots; an instance in proof may
be given of a Robin which, during a considerable poraon
of the winter took shelter in Norwich Cathedral, perching
during the morning service, and almost always within a minute
or two of the same time, on a particular part of the Cathedral,
when, after warbling a few notes for a short time, it Hew to
another particular spot, and from thence to a third, generally
terminating its course by alighting on the pavement.' This

VOL. IT. C

18 EEDBEEAST.

appreciation of time has been observed by others. *Eobins,'
says Mr. Thompson, 'and other small birds seem to have a
good idea of time, as evinced by their coming to particular
spots at the period of the day when food is given to them,
and in some cases at none other.'

But if apparently unfriendly with other birds, and quan-el-
some with those of his own kind, w^ith us he is familiar and
on the best of terms, and though the instances of this on
record must be few indeed compared with those that have
not been thus noticed, 3'et they are most amply abundant to
give him a character which no other bird possesses.

It may often be noticed how nearly one will approach to
some poor man at w^ork upon the high-roads, the crumbs
from w^hose frugal meal he has doubtless been made, or has
made himself a partaker of Others, accustomed to be fed at
a window-sill, have often been known to tap at the window
if shut, as if to remind their friends of their wants. In one
instance, recorded in the 'Zoologist,' page 1211, Mr. Robert
M. Lingwood mentions one which thus tapped at a window
without any previous acquaintance wath the owners of the house
to w^hich it belonged: — 'The following is an instance of re-
markable tameness in a Robin: — I was sitting in a room
with a blazing wood fire, when my attention v:as attracted
by two or three taps at the window opposite the fire-place,
which I found were caused by a Robin. I opened the window,
and in a few minutes, the bird flew direct into the room,
and after survejHing the different parts of it, commenced feeding
on the flies in the window; I put some crumbs on the floor,
and he almost directly began to feed on them, and then
commenced singing; he stayed in the room about twenty
minutes, and then took his departure, having shewn no signs
of fear, and affording myself and others much pleasure.'

The following occurs in 'The Naturalist,' old series, volume
iii, page 44: — 'Early in winter, a Robin was seen to frequent
a .mulberry tree close to the window of the late Mr. Haj'don's
printing office, (the father of the late well-known artist,)
where it sang very sweetly. The workmen opened the window,
and at length the bird flew in, and being fed, did not seem at
all uneasy of its new situation. It sang almost daily, generally
in the morning and eveiiing, wholly disregarding the operations
of the workm.en, and apparently well satisfied with its new
companions, until the following spring. The window being
opened at that season, it flew away, but, singular to say,

EEDBTIEAST. 19

returned to the tree at the approach of wi'^ter, and was again
received into the office, whete it took up its old station till
March. Some of the workmen would not believe that it was
the same bird, and one of them, having: ca-ght it, marked
the breast feathers, under the throat, with printing-ink. The
next spring came, and the bird took its departure, as before,
returning again at the end of September, to the old mulberry
tree, with several other birds of its kind. The window was
quickly opened to the welcome old songster, when it flew
into the office, followed by two other birds, probably its young.
It displayed greater familiarity than before, even perching on
the caps of the men, and there singing."

In "The NaturaHst" for March, 1853, there is a very
interesting account given, as forw^arded to me by Mrs. Harriet
Murchison, of Bicester, of one of these birds, whtse tameness
in a room equalled that ctf any of those I have here nan-at^d;
and Mr. Thompson also records anotlier history, forwarded to
him by a lady from Hazelbank, in the county of Antrim. Two
birds became quite tame, one of them feeding out of the hand
quite fearlessly: — 'In a short time he became more familiar,
and seemed to watch our approaches, for he frequently met
us on the little walk leading from the house, and when we
did not attend to him, he would come dashing past, striking
my bonnet violently with his wing, or fluttering in my face;
he would sometimes sit upon a twig, as if to hold a conversation
with me, for he would be quite silent while I talked with him,
and so soon as I paused, he began a little soft and sweet
muttering in his throat, as if in reply, which he would cease
the moment I again spoke. When we found him absent,
and called, Terry! Terry! he was soon at our side; and
his hearing must be very acute, for I have seen him flying
towards us from a very great distance. To give an idea of
his extreme composui'e and satisfaction while sitting on the
hand, he has more than once, after feeding, tucked up
one of his little feet under his feathers, as we often see
barn-door fowls do, and roosting on a finger, deliberately
prepare himself for sleep; which on one occasion he indulged
in so long as to completely weary his perch. He would eat
off my lap, hop about me without any concern, pick at my
shawl, and then look up into my face and begin his little
song or prattle.' The occupation of land and notions about
tenant-right would seem to have been the cause of various
disputes; and on such occasions, the writer says, *It would

20 EEDBEEAST.

have been amusing, had it not been distressing, to view these
beauteous little creatures, who seemed only formed for harmony
and love, bristling up with rage, every feather like Squills
upon the fretful porcupine,' eyes on fire, and their tiny heads
making circles of defiance before the first collision, which
always terminated by our separating the combatants, who
retreated severally to their respective districts; so fierce have
they been that they have even fought upon our hands.' The
broods of the two birds in due season appeared, but were
of different dispositions, like their parents, or, rather, differently
educated in consequence of the difference in them. The one
set came not near at all; the others were brought close to
the ladies, but the moment the old bird perceived them
approach too near, he would dash among them with a great
flutter, and scatter them to a proper distance; he was so
much on the alert, that they never succeeded in attracting
them, and they disappeared entirely during the summer. Mr.
Thompson narrates a similar action on the part of the parent
of a young Eobin which followed a relative of his through
the garden, ate food from his hand, and also gave him its
'most sweet company' by perching on his knee or shoulder
when he was seated in a garden-chair; this degree of familiarity,
however, was not at all approved of by an old bird, most
probably the parent, which several times rushed quickly past
and drove it away.

The lady concludes, 'The only source of annoyance our birds
had with us, were from the dog and the cat, who occasionally
accompanied us in our walks, — of the latter they were very
much afraid, although she was quite amenable to orders, and
did not attempt to molest them, — but, strange to say, with
the dog they were much better friends, although, in defiance
of all correction, he would frequently make a bounce at them,
but only in play; Terry seemed to know this, often remaining
quietly on my hand, while E-ory stood at my side gazing
at him, and we were much amused to watch occasionally a
kmd of race between them as they accompanied us dov/n the
avenue to the front gate, a distance of about two hundred
and fifty yards, the dog running before us, and the bird fiying
from tree to tree during the whole way and back again.'

The Eev. E. I. Moor, in a letter to Mr. Meyer, says, *A
young naval friend of mine, Mr. R. Burroughes, told me that
as his ship was once in the Bay of Biscay, at a considerable
distance from any land, a common Robin Redbreast was picked

EEDBEEAST. 21

up one morning on deck, weak and wounded; it had been
driven against a mast of the ship in the night, which was
rough and squally. The bird was attended to, and recovered,
and continued with the vessel until she reached Bengal, where
it was taken to land and liberated It used to fly about
the rigging, and come down on the deck to be fed. Mr.
Burroughes added, that it was highly curious to see the Kobin
preparing to shelter itself about the different parts of the
rigging, etc., upon the approach of any coarse weather.'

At a gentleman's house in Darley Dale, in Derbyshire, as
mentioned in the 'Derby Eeporter,' a Eobin domiciled for three
successive winters, having had ingress and egress during the
day, with the privilege of free access to a well-stocked larder,
partaking at will of what it contained. Its roosting-place
was usually on a Christmas bough in the kitchen, which
was retained for its dormitory. It used to enter for the
night at dusk of evening, having during the day occasionally
€ung for hours together to the domestics, as if to reward
them for cherishing it thus bountifully. Each year it built
its nest in the trunk of a tree near the house, and fed its
young from the larder. Being so familiar with the household,
it would fly undauntedly from room to room, and occasionally
alight on the family breakfast-table, sometimes perching and
chirping, as if to ingrat.ate itself with its hospitable enter-
tainers.

Mr. Macgillivray says, 'In ihe summer of 1835,. a male
Robin in my garden became so tame thciC he picked from
the hand of the gardener; and in the middle of the day,
when the latter took his diimer, he constantly attended for
tlie purpo.se of obtaining a portion of it. Upon the knee of
my wife I have frequently seen him alight, and take bread
out of her hand as lamiliarly as if he had been tamed from
the nest. To me he likewise became very inuch attached:
lie continued so during tlie autumn. One cold morning in
the beginning of winter, as I was standing at the door of
my house, having heard my voice, he immediately flew to me,
and, seeming to ( lann my protection, followed me into the
jiarlour, wlier-j he was quite at ease. I caught him and put
him into my jranet ni wliich, during tlie winter, lie sang
most delightfully. Being sorry to see liim alone, I got for
liim a helpmate to cheer him in liis confinement. About the
middle of April I set them at liberty-, and, to my surprise,
a few days after 1 discovered a \ery neat nest which they

22 EEDBEEAST.

had built. Abont eight days after this, while 1 was sitting
in the parlour, my old friend flew in, and immediately
recognised me; after keeping him for two weeks, I put him out,
when he flew to the garden, where he remained during the
summer, and with his partner reared a brood of six fi.ne
Kobins.'

The Robin, when accustomed to be undisturbed frequently
approaches very near to those who are working in gardens,
to pick up any insects which they may happen to disturb*
and will sometimes even alight on the edge of the basket
of a fruit-gatherer. One has been known to enter a room
where a person was writing, and perch upon the inkstand,
returning again after flying out, to sing some time; another
entered a room, and rested on the knee of a person sitting
there. A curious instance of somewhat analogous to reasoning
power in a bird of this species, is related in the 'Magazine
of Natural History,' volume viii, pages 545-6: — 'It was ob-
served standing tip on a bough which overhung a stream, and
intently watching some object which was floating down, the
water. When it came opposite to him he darted down upon
it, took it in his claws, and was flying away with it, but
being too heavy for him, it fell again into the water. Not
to be thwarted, however, he again took his station upon
another bough lower down the stream; there he awaited the
arrival of the object, again repeated his former operation, and
finally bo/e away the prize.'

Occasionally one will alight on the shoulder of a person
sitting out of doors, or on the back of the rustic seat, and
sometimes venture to take food from the hand. In the winter
Hobins will far from un frequently enter a room, and continue
to frequent it for a month, and one has been known to enter
a cottage daily, even in summer, to seek the accustomed
crumbs which he had been in the habit of finding there.
Numerous indeed are the notices of the fearless confidence of
the Redbreast — the natural cause of the favour with which
in all countries in Europe he is regarded.

The former instances are those of English occurrence;
the following ones narrated by the late William Thompson^
Esq., of Belfast, in his 'Natural History of Ireland,' will
shew that there the Robin is the same as with us: — 'In the
very mild winter of 1831-2, a Redbreast very frequently made
one at a breakfast table, helping itself to all that it wanted.
In summer it built in one of the outhouses, and visited the

EEDBEEAST. 2S

kitchen daily, and in the autumn used to ^ing in the hall.
Another was in the habit of entering a house to feed,
another even to go into a lantern to eat the candle in it,
and other sto alight on the hands of labourers to eat there-
from. One which was used to visit the abode of a tame
Eagle at feeding time, flew on to his perch as soon as he
had left i' for the ground, and then alighted on the chain
by which he was fastened; another visited the same cottage
for four or five winters in succession, taking up its abode
within doors altogether, until the return of spring. One of
a pair, when the days were very fine and bright in October,
regularly frequented a stable, and when perched upon the
stall, sang without being in any degree disturbed by the
general business of the place going forward, even within two
or three feet of his station. ' A pair of Redbreasts that were
assiduously watched during their nidification in a conservatory,
were one morning found in great consternation, in consequence
of their nest having been taken possession of by a bat, which
they eventually compelled to change its quarters. A young
Robin of the year, caught in the autumn, and kept in a
cage, made its escape, but on the appearance of snow returned,
and was evidently at home with the lady of the house and
a servant who had been accustomed to feed it, shewing more
partiality to them than to the other inmates.'

The Robin is very easily captured in a trap, more so
than almost any other bird, but it only bears confinement
at all well in the winter; and if kept for its own sake in
severe weather, should be released when a change has come.
*It is always active and lively, and watchful of all that passes.
If a new bird is put into the cage or aviary it inhabits, the
Robin is the first that takes notice of it, and immediately
approaching, utters its note of surprise, bows repeatedly with
its peculiar dipping motion, erects its tail, and in various ways
endeavours to express its interest or surprise. Its attention
is particularly directed to young birds, eitlier of its own or
other species.'

The flight of this bird is usually rather quick and straight,
mostly performed near the ground, and for only a short
distance — from one neighbouring resting-place to another. It
progresses by a few hops at a time, when it suddenly lialts,
tosses up its liead or looks askance, and after a brief pause
advances a^rain.

The Robin feeds on various fruits, seeds, and berries, such

24 REDBREAST.

as elderberries and blackberries, as also on flies, beetles, and
other insects, earwigs and worms; the larger are frequently-
held in one claw, and so picked: occasionally it will capture
insects on the wing, sallying out at them time after time.
The hard parts of any are cast up, as is done by the Hawks.
One has been seen to attack the formidable stag beetle on
the wing, Avhen both fell together to the ground; what the
result w^ould have been was not ascertained, for the former
flew aw^ay on the observer coming up. In the winter this
bird fi-equently visits the sea-shore, searching among the sea-
weed for small murine insects. In summer he eats not a few
currants and other small fruits, with which the young are
sometimes fed; but insects are his chief food. Its manner of
feeding is not an assiduous pecking about, but it hops on for
a few steps, and then halts, and then hops on again with a
diligence of observation to which we for the moment are
blind, though w^e presently are almost sure to see its successful
result. Now and then it turns up the grass or leaves in
search of or in pursuit of its prey. A little gravel is swallowed
to aid the trituration of its food.

There is something peculiarly touching in the soft, sweet,
and plaintive note of the Eedbreast, especially when first
re-heard again at the close of summer, vhen the leaves begin
to fade and fall, and autumn gives j^resage of the storms and
cold of returning winter. So likewise when winter has again
in its turn passed away, and the first signs, though ever so
faint, of long-wished-for spring bjgin to dawn, then is the
well-known note a pleasant sound to the ear that loves the
the country for the country's sake. The Eobin in fact sings
throughout the year, except while too much engaged with his
family in the nest. And as for his annual, so also for his
diurnal habit; retiring late to roost, his voice is heard in
ever}^ lane and garden, while any glimmer of twil'ght remains,
but then it ceases, and up he is betimes again after daybreak,
before the sun, and his ^Good Morning' is a pleasant welcome
to the early riser on the following day.

Two birds are often heard answering the one to the other
from some little distance, especially in fine calm and clear
rvenings, but also even in dull or rainy weather, when many
other kinds are dulled to silence. The one waits till the
other has ended, before he begins, and thus the conversation
is carried on. Either may been seen to stretch forward the
head, and bend the neck to catch what is sung, offering no

EEDBEEAST. 25

response until the other has ended what it had to say. The
ordinary note is a 'tsit, tsit,' frequently accompanied by an
upward flirt of the tail, and a shuffle of the wings. If
alarmed for its young, the note of the Kobin is peculiarly
wailing.

*In a wild condition,' says Mr. Couch, ^hirds of the same
species will not sing near each other; and if the approach be
too close, and the courage equal, a battle follows. Ked breasts
offer a frequent example of this, and if an intruder ventures
on the accustomed domain, the song may be low^ and warbling,
or apparently reserved or suppressed, and neither of them will
appear to condescend to notice the eflPorts of its competitor.
But this restraint -cannot endure^ long; the music becomes
more developed — it rises higher; the attack is sudden, and
the flght so violent, that they fall to the ground together,
and one is killed, or both may be taken with the hand.*
Tw^o, fighting in the air, fell together into a hat that hap-
pened to be lying on the ground, and were both captured;
on one occasion tw^o of these birds caught fighting in a yard
at Belfast were kept all night in separate cages; one was
given its liberty earlj' in the morning, and the other,
seeming tamer, w^as kept with the intention of being per-
manently retained; so unhappy, however, did it appear, that
it too was released. The other then came and attacked it
again, when the tamer bird was again captured, and the
wilder one flew away. In the evening, when the coast
seemed to be clear, the former was again let go, but the
other, from some ambush, again attacked, and this time
killed it. One kept in a greenhouse at Merville, in the
county of Antrim, killed every intruder of its own species,
amounting to about two dozen, that entered the house; and
and on an examination of three of the victims, a deep
wound was found in the neck of each, evident!}^ made by
the bill of their antagonist. Another pair fighting, were
singularly separated by a Duck, which went up to them for
the evident purpose of parting them. Another pair fought
till the leg and wing of one were broken.

*In speaking of the Robin,' says Mr. Jesse, *I may observe
that when they sing late in the autumn, it appears to be
from rivalship, and that there are always two singing at the
same time. If one of them is silenced, the other immediately
ceases its song. I observe also that they always sing while
they are preparing to fight with each other. The Hedbreast

26 EEDBEEAST.

is indeed a very pugnacious bird: I lately observed two of
them, after giving the usual challenge, fight with so much
animosity, that I could easily have caught them both, as
they reeled close to my feet on a gravel walk. After some
time one of them had the advantage, and would have killed
his opponent, had they not been separated. Indeed these
birds will frequently fight till one has lost his life. It has
been asserted that the female Robin sings, and I am much
inclined to be of this opinion, having heard two Robins sing
at the same time in a situation where I had every reason
to believe there was only a pair.'

Mr. Thompson mentions his having seen and heard about
a dozen Redbreasts perched on the fruit trees in different
parts of his garden, singing at the same time; and he adds
that so' many of them sending forth their notes at once,
satisfied him that the young birds of the year take their
part in the concert, and that the fact of every individual
in view trilling its note together, favours the idea that the
female bird is possessed of song. Several may at times be
heard even in the depth of winter, and while the ground is
covered with snow, singing and answering one another as at
a moe genial season, though not a gleam of sunshine may
enliven tne dreary scene. Their song has several times been
heard in moonlight nights, and one kept in a cage ha.s. beea
known to sing when candies were brought into the room,
and when there was music, to rival it with all his power.

Of a Redbreast kept in confinement Mr. Couch says, 'On
placing a mirror near its cage, it immediately expressed the
recognition of its fellow by a particular low and sweet note,
and would give vent to its satisfaction in a loud song. In
fine weather this bird was generally placed outside, and daily
carolled his glad notes to his own image reflected from the
window.' One taken in a trap was accompanied by a com-
panion even into the house into which it was taken. In
some instances they are sociable and friendly with other birds
kept in confinement with them.

Nidilication commences very early in the spring, and the
egg^ ai^e usually laid about the beginning of April; but
young birds have often been found in the nest by the end of
March. Jn backward seasons they are usually later. Mr.
Macgillivray mentions one seen on the 9th. of May, 1831,
and another on the 2nd. of June, 1837, which he beheved
to be the first brood of that year. A Robin's nest con-

EEDBEEAST.

27

taining several eggs was taken near York the first week in
February, ISi^;, there being snow on the ground at the time,
and the temperature ranging from 30^ to 23^ Fahrenheit:
another, which had five esrgs, was found at Moreton in the
Marsh, in the second week of January, 18^^; another, with
the hke number of eggs, in a garden at Wheldrake, near
York, the lOth. of the same month; and one, also with
eggs, near Belfast, on the 20:h. of February, IS^^G. A nest
with two eggs, on which the hen bird was sitting, was
found near the end of Xovember, 1851, at Gribton, Dum-
friesshire, the seat of Francis Tvlaxwell, Esq.

The nest of the Robin, which is built of fine stalks, moss,
dried leaves, and grass,, and lined with hair and wool, with
sometimes a few feathers, is generally placed on a bank
under the shelter of a bu<h, or sometimes in a bush itself,
at a low heii^-ht from the ground, and occasionally in a hole
in a wall covered with iyv, a crevice in a rock, among fern
and tangled roots — the entrance perhaps being through some
very narrow aperture, or an ivy-clad tree. It measures about
five inches and three quarters across, and two and a half in
internal diameter. It is concealed with sreat care and success.
His late Majesty King: William the Fourth had a part of
the mizen-mast of the Victory, against which Lord Xelson
was standing when he was mortally wounded, placed in a
building in the grounds of Bushy Park when he resided
there. A large shot had passed through this pa"t of the
mast, and in the hole it had left, a pair of Robins built their
nest and reared their young. The relic was afterwards removed
to the dining-room of the house, and is now in the armoury
of Windsor Castle. 'Victoria pacem.'

*A Robin,* says Mr. Jesse, 'lately began its nest in a myrtle
which was placed in the hall of a house belonging to a friend
of mine in Hampshire. As the situation was considered rather
an objectionable one, the nest was removed. The bird then
began lO budd another on the cornice of the drawing-room, but,
as this was a still more violent intrusion, it was not allo^ved to
be completed. The Robin, thus batiled in two attempts, began
a third nest in a new shoe, which was placed on a shelf in
my friend's drawing-room. It was permitted to go on with
its work until the nest was compleced, but as the new shoe
was likely to be wanted, and as it would not be bench led by
being used as a cradle, the nest was carefully taken out, and
deposited in an old shoe, which was put in the situation of

28 BEDBREAST.

the new one. Here what remained to be done to the nest was
completed; the under part of the shoe was filled up with
oak leaves, the eggs were deposited in the nest, and in due
time hatched, the windows of the room being always left a
little open for the entrance and egress of the birds. My
friend informed me that it was pleasing to see the great
confidence the Robins placed in him. Sometimes, in the
morning, the old birds would settle on the top of his glass,
nor did they seem the least alarmed at his presence.'

A loft is frequently built in, and in one instance, the nest
having been obliged to be removed, for an alteration in the
wall, the hen bird did not forsake it, though placed elsewhere,
even while dislodged mortar and stones fell • dangerously near
her. A nest was placed on a shelf in a pantry, among some
four-sided bottles, so that it was made of a square shape.
When the housekeeper had to go in for any article, the bird,
instead of flying out of the window, as might have been
expected, alighted on the floor till she had gone, when it
immediately returned to its nest. The eggs were eventually
forsaken, and a new nest, the work probably of the same
bird, was made in the room over it, which happened to be
a workshop for a museum. At first its absence was desired
more than its company, and it was endeavoured to be scared
by the sight of some fierce-looking stufled animals, but it
seemed to be aware that the lion was dead, and eventually
fixed its abode on the head of a shark, enshrouded by the
tail of an alligator. Two ladies at Larne, seeing a Kobin
anxious to build, placed a box in the porch of the house for
its accommodation, which it speedily occupied. Another pair
resorted for nidification to a hole left by a knot in one of the
timbers of a ship under repair, and even the deafening sound
of the driving of the trenails close to it did not affect the
quiet tenacity with which it kept its place. One, taken from
its nest, stayed in the hand of the person who found it, and
on his putting it back again, remained till the eggs were
hatched the following day.

Mr. Jesse relates the following:: — *A gentleman had directed
a waggon to be packed, intending to send it to Worthing,
where he himself was going. For some reason his journey
was delayed, and he therefore directed that tlie waggon should
be placed in a shed in the yard, packed as it was, till it
should be convenient for liim to send it off. While it was
in the shed, a pair of Kobins built their nest among some

BEDBREAST. 29

straw in it, and had hatched their young just before it was
sent away. One of the old birds, instead of being frightened
away by the motion of the waggon, only left the nest from
time to time for the purpose of flying to the nearest hedge
for food for its young; and thus alternately affording warmth
and nourishment to them, it arrived at Worthing. The
affection of this bird having been observed by the waggoner,
he took care in unloading not to disturb the Robin's nest;
and the Eobin and its young returned in safety to Walton
Heath, being the place from wlience they had set out; the
distance travelled not being less than one hundred miles.
Whether it was the male or female Robin which kept with
the waofcron I have not been able to ascertain: but most
probably the latter; for what will not a mother's love and a
mother's tenderness induce her to do?'

*Amongst Robin Redbreasts,' says Bishop Stanley, *many
instances of strange selection have come to our knowledge,
quite as singular as those hitherto mentioned. Thus, we know
of one which attempted to build in the library of a gentleman's
house, at least so it was suspected, from a few suspicious
materials, such as dried leaves, etc., having been occasionally
found amongst the shelves, without any person being able to
ascertain from whence they came. Probably disappointed by
perceiving they were swept away as soon as deposited, the
domestic bird resolved to try another equally sheltered situation,
and, accordingly, selected the dining-room, which, as the fiimily
never entered it till luncheon-time, she had all to herself
from the moment the housemaid had done her duty in the
morning and retired, leaving, as she was accustomed to do,
the window open. How long the bird had carried on her
operations unnoticed, we know not, but a servant accidentally
moving the drapery of one of the window-curtains, discovered
in the folds of a festoon the Robin's nest. In this instance
the bird availed itself of a situation in which, during the
greater portion of the day, she was in solitude and silence; but
solitude and silence do not seem essential to all Robin Red-
breasts, for we lately heard of a pair which took possession
of a pigeon-hole book-shelf in a school, which was constantly
frequented by seventy children. The hole selected was at the
farthest extremity of the room, immediately above the heads
of a junior class of little girls, from four to Pive years of
age, who, much to their credit, never disturbed the bird.
There she laid and hatched five eggs. One of the young ones

80 BEDBBEAST.

died in a few days, and the body was carried off by the
parent birds. The remaining four were regularly fed in
the presence of the children, and in due time reared. Soon
after their departure the old bird repaired the nest, and laid
three more eggs, which she attended to with the same
perseverance and success. We have often alluded to the
frequent returns of birds to the same nests, and perhaps
the most singular feature in this anecdote is that about twelve
years ago a Kobin built in that identical pigeon-hole. Why
the visits were not renewed every year it is impossible to
conjecture, but that the pair of the present year were either
the same old birds, or young ones of the brood then reared
in it, is more than probable, from the circumstance of this
pigeon-hole being again selected, when others, forming the
school library, within the same framework, would have equally
suited the purpose. Another nest was constructed, and for
two successive ^^ears, in a still more extraordinary situation,
which we give, not on our own authority, but fully believing
it corroborated, as it may in a manner be said to be, by the
proofs of confidence already given. A few years ago, a pair
of Kobins took up their abode in the parish church of
Hampton, in Warwickshire, and affixed their nest to the church
Bible, as it lay on the reading-desk. The vicar would not
allow the birds to be disturbed, and therefore supplied himself
with another Bible, from which he read the lessons of the
service. A similar instance occurred at Collingbourne Kingston
Church, iri Wiltshire, on the 13th. of April, 1834; the clerk,
on looking out for the lessons of the day, perceived something
under the Bible in the reading-desk, and in a hollow place,
occasioned by the Bible's rei^ting on a raised ledge, found a
Robin's nest containing two eggs. The bird not having been
disturbed, laid four more, which were hatched on the 4th. of
May. The still more extraordinary part of the story is, that
the cock bird actually brought food in its bill during Divine
service, which is performed twice every Sunday; and it is
further highly creditable to the parishioners, particularly the
junior portion of them, that the birds were never molested,
and not an attempt ever suspected to be made on the nest
and eggs deposited in so hallowed a spot. We can remember,
indeed, a Bobin hopping more than once familiarly, as if aware
how safe from peril it was at such a moment, upon our
own Bible, as it lay open before us, reading the lessons on
Christmas-day.'

EEDE-REAST. 31

Mr. Thompson, of Belfast, mentions one which built its
nest in the curtain of a bed in an occupied house, but the
window being closed against it, it laid an egg on the window-
sill. This circumstance caused pity for the bird, the window
was re-opened, and the egg placed in the nest, where the
usual number was duly deposited and incubated.

Mr. John Cope, of Abbots Bromle}', near StaflTord, has
obliged me with the following instances: — ^A pair of Kedbreasts
built their nest on a part of a steam-engine continually in
motion night and day, and close to the colliers at work, at
the Heath colliery, Westbroinwich, belonging to the Earl of
Dartmouth, I believe in the year 1846 or 1847. Another
pair, and a pair of Spotted Flycatchers, each built their nests
in one post of a hovel in my orchard this year; the nests
not more than six inches apart. One of the Eedbreasts
became attached to me by some means unknown; it attended
me always wdien in the garden, and hopped on my feet when
I turned up a worm. It now attends at the door, and will
enter the house and perch near me for crumbs.'

In such situations it is ordinarily placed, but a variety of
others are at times chosen, some of then whimsical enough.
One pair built their nest in a disused saw-pit, and although
after the female had begun to sit it was again w^orked in,
and though the persons employed continued at their occupation
close to the nest every day, during the hatching of the eggs
and the rearing of the young, yet the old birds, apparently
without alarm, completed their task. To begin a nest in a
saw-pit in which work is being carried on, and to rear their
young without fear of the men, is quite a common occurrence.
Another pair reared three successive broods in an uninhabited
cottage, adjoining a blacksmith's forge, the first nest being
built in a child's cart, hung against the wall, and this, though
constantly inspected by the neighbours w^ho became aware of
the circumstance, the second on a shelf close to an old mouse-
trap, and the third on another shelf on a bundle of papers.
The passing and re-passing of persons by the nest all through
the day is often seemingly altogether unheeded. In one
instance a nest has been observed placed in a school-room where
there was a continual noise throughout the day. One has been
known to be built in a watering-pot, hung up to the branch
of an apple tree by a path in a garden, and several other
instances of the like kind have occurred. Another in the

32 REDBREAST.

window-curtain of a bed-room at Koydon Hall; and another
behind a figure on the top of a small monument in Thorpe
Church, the old ones entering through a broken pane of glass in a
window, and feeding their young during Divine service. A
pair of Eobins quartered themselves with their nest in a
bed-room in a gentleman's house; and another in a skull,
dug up with a number of others, near the old wall of Clonmel,
supposed to have lain buried there since the time when the
town was beseiged by Oliver Cromwell, who doubtless 'made
a breach in the battlement,' as in the celebrated castle of
Blarney, in the adjoining county. Whether Cavalier or
Roundhead had owned the skull, it would puzzle Old Mortality
himself, or any other antiquary to decide — 'Pulvis et umbra
sumus.'

Mr. Frank Clifford, of Elvedon Eectory, near Thetford^
mentions one which began to build on the top of a book-case
in a study. Being disturbed from thence, the next day she
laid an egg on the carpet in the drawing-room, and began
another nest in a bed-room, on the top of the bed. The
housemaid turned it out several times, but as soon as her
back was turned, Robinetta resumed her work, so that at last
the room window was shut to keep her out. She then laid
another egg in the drawing-room, and then attempted to
establish her quarters in a store-room, but here too her room
seems to have been desired rather than her company, so that
she was banished thencefrom also. For several days she still
continued hovering about her favourite haunts, but never
again attempted to enter the house.

Another singular circumstance occurred to the same family
the same year. — They had a small box nailed to a gate-post
by the road side for the postman to drop their letters into
as he passed, and to hold others intended for him to take.
The aperture in the lid was only large enough to admit a
newspaper, but through this a Robin used to pass, and to
convey into the box materials for a nest, which was duly
finished and a number of eggs laid. A flower-pot in a garden
is a by no m.eans unfrequent receptacle. In 1851 a nest
was built in a watering-can hung up against the wall of a
house in Union Terrace, York, and six eggs were laid in it»

Gentle reader, if indeed you be of gentle blood, and will
read the following touching lines of the poet Thompson ^
descriptive of the return of a bereaved parent bird to her

BEDBEEAST. 33

robbed home: if ever you have plundered a Eobin*s nest, or
that of any other bird, let me hope that you will *steal no
more:' —

-'To the ground the vain provision falls!

Her pinions ruffle, and, low drooping, scarce

Can bear the mourner to the poplar shade;

Where, all abandoned to despair, she sings

Her sorrows through the night; and on the bough

Sole sitting, stiil at every dying fail

Tai<es up again her lamentable strain

Of winding woe; till wide around, the woods

Sigh to her song, and with her wail resound.'

Here is no ^poetic license,' but if you think there is, the
following well written 'plain prose' of the amiable Mr. Jesse
will satisfy the possible doubt: — 'I had an opportunity,' he
writes in his 'Grleanings in Natural History,' 'this summer of
witnessing the distress of a Kobin, when, on returning to her
nest with food for her young, she discovered that they had
disappeared. Her low and plaintive wailings w-ere incessant.
She appeared to seek for them among the neighbouring
hushes, now and then changing her mournful cry into one
which seemed like a call to her brood to come to her. She
kept the food in her mouth for a short time, but when she
found that her cries were unanswered, let it fall to the
ground.'

So also Yirgll, though speaking of a different species, in
his 'Fourth Georgic,' for nature was the sa^e eighteea
hundred years ago as she is now, —

•QuAlis populea moerens phiiomela sub umbra
Amissos qiieritur foetus, quos durus arator
Observans nido inplumes detraxit: at ilia
Flet noctem, ramoque sedens, mi-erabi!e carmen
Integrat, et maestis late ioca qua^stibus implct.'

Thus well rendered by Dryden —

*So, close in poplar shades, her children gone,

The mother Nightingale laments aU^ne,

Whose nest some prying churl had found, and thence

By stealth convex 'd the unfeather'd innocence.

But she supplies the night with mournful strains,

And melancholy music tills the plains.'

The eggs, generally five or six in number, are of a
delicate pale reddish white, faintly freckled with rather darker
red, most so at the larger end, where a zone or belt is

TOL. IV. D

Sli REDBREAST. ^

sometimes formed. Some are entirely white. N. Eowe, Esq.,
of Worcester College, Oxford, has written me word of five
eggs found in the elegant gardens of that, my own, college,
whose 'classic shades' I so well remember, and which were
quite white and spotless. He also tells me since of a nest
and eggs taken near Exeter on New Year's day, 1853. My
friend E. C. Taylor, Esq., of Kirkham Abbey, Yorkshire, has
forwarded me one of the like colour, found in a nest in that
beautiful neighbourhood, my own, as I may call it, through
the tie of property and former residence.

Male; length, five inches and nearly three quarters; bill,
brownish black; the red of the breast reaches over its base;
iris, black, large, and lustrous; the red of the breast narrowly
surrounds it. Head, crown, neck on the back, and nape,
yellowish olive brown; chin, throat, and breast on the upper
part, orange red, bordered with bluish grey; on the lower
part the latter is white, and pale brown on the sides; back,
yellowish olive brown. The wings, which expand to a trifle
over nine inches, have the first feather about half the length
of the second, the third, fourth, and fifth nearly equal, but
the fourth the longest in the wing, the fifth scarcely shorter,
the sixth a little longer than the second; underneath they
are dusky grey: greater and lesser wing coverts, some of them
tipped with buff; primaries and secondaries, greyish brown,
their outer edges olive green; greater and lesser under wing
coverts, tinged with yellow. Tail, yellowish olive brown with
a tinge also of green, their outer edges, especially at the
base, reddish brown, and obliquely pointed; underneath, it is
dusky grey: the feathers are narrow. Upper tail coverts,
yellowish olive brown; under tail coverts, pale brown; legs,
toes, and claws, yellowish brown. As the plumage becomes
old the olive green of the upper parts become tinged with
grey, the wings and tail are faded, and the red of the neck
and breast is paler or more yellowish.

The female is scarcely so large as the male, and her colours
not so bright; length, five inches and a half; eyelids, black,
as in the male; expanse of the wings, nine inches.

The young bird differs totally in colour from the adult. At
first it is sparingly covered with loose down of a greyish
brown colour. When fully fledged, the upper bill is light
purple brown, the edges yellow, the lower bill yellowish on
its sides and the chief part of the remainder, and dark brown
at the end. The head, crown, neck on the back, and nape,

EEDBEEAST. 85

have the brown feathers mottled with dull orange and buff,
with pale olive brown tips, cMn, throat, and breast, tinged
with dull reddish or yellowish brown, the feathers margined
with darker brown. The back has the brown feathers mottled
wilh buff or pale brown tips. Greater and lesser wing
coverts, partially tipped with dull orange buff, or very pale
brown; toes, pale yellowish red, paler underneath.

After the first autumnal moult the young birds resemble
the female, but the red of the breast is more tinged with
orange; the legs dark brown.

Varieties are not of very great rarity. The Rev. E,. P.
Alington records in the 'Naturalist,' old series, one which
had the wing primaries white. In the same work, vol. ii,
page 53, I mentioned one which had the mandibles slightly
crossed. This vear also, February, 1853, while waiting for a
train at the Hutton station, on the York and Scai borough
line, one came into the room in search of food, the gr und
being covered with snow, and, having caught it for a moment,
I saw that the lower bill was almost entirely gone, yet the
bird appeiired in good condition. How it couid have managed,
or does manage, is a difficulty to me, as it must, I fear, be
in some degree to itself.

One has been seen which had the part which is usually
red a light bluish grey, the back and wings bluish green.
White ones are not very unfrequent; others are greyish
white; some yellowish white. One has been seen which had
the whole of the primary anl secondary feathers of the
wings white, as also those of the tail, with the exception of
the tips, which were of a dull grey colour: it was a young
bird of the year. One all but entirely u hite — one of the
primaries slightly edged with brown; one pale buff, with the
usual red breast; one with the bill white, the back white,
with a few streaks of light brown, the breast with more
white than usual, the wings nearly all white, with a few
pale olive feathers, the legs very light coloured, the breast
red; one with the whole upper plumage a very light fawn-
colour, the quills and larger feathers of the wing whitish,
the red breast retained, the legs and toes much lighter
coloured than usual. Of a brood of young Kobins, two of
which were white, and one partially so, all moulted into the
usual colour.

36

BLUEBREAST.

BLUE-TlinOAT'RD WABELER. BLUE-THKOATED RRDSTART.
BLUE-THKOATED ROBIN.

Sylvia suecica, Jenyns.

MoiaciUa svecica^ Bewtck.

Phuemcura suecica, Selby. Goctld.

Fic^dula sued a, Eyton. Bechstein.

Curruca suecica, Selby.

Sylvia. &yiva — A wood» Suecica — Of Sweden.

This elegant bird, whose bright pli^-^nage reminds one of
the gay colours indicative of the tropical regions, occurs
throughout Europe; but almost exclusively in the summer — •
very few being ever seen in the winter. It is found as far
north as Russia, Norway, Siberia, Lapland, Finland, Bothnia,
and the northern parts of Sweden, as also in G-reece, France,
and Holland, the southernmost parts of Spain, G-ermany,
Thuringia, Prussia, and Italy. It is least frequent on the
western side of the continent. In the north of Africa it is
found in the winter.

It is said to frequent low marshy grounds, the borders of
streams, and the outskirts of forests; but if the season be
ungenial and backvv^ard, it approaches dwellings and farmsteads
in search of food. Towards the autumn it advances into
the more cultivated districts for the like purpose, probably
with its family, whose additional wants have to be supplied.

Of these birds one was shot at Margate in September, 1842,
so Edward Cole, Esq. has informed me; one also was shot
by Mr. T. Embledon, on Newcastle Town Moor, in May,
1826- another in Dorsetshire, and one, a male, was found
dead upon the beach near Yarmouth, Norfolk, on the 21st.
of September, 1841.

The Bluebrea^t migrate* iiurihwafds ift the spring, anij

BLX7EBHEAST. 37

f50uthwardp in the autuTnn, the former at the end of March
or beginning of April, the latter in the end of August or
beginning of September. They perform their migrations in
large flights, ^compagnions de voyage.'

This species has "a. habit ol continually spreading its tail,
which it also moves up and down after the manner of the
Eodbreast. It is thought very good for the table, an 1 is
often served up on the continent. Like the Robin, it is

of solitary and ]jugnacious habits, but may readily be kept
in continement, and becomes very familiar. It roosts upon
the ground, and is fond of bathing itself.

Ill its liight also, which is performed near the ground, and
is a series oi' s])rings, it resembles that species. It does not
run, but advances quickly by hopping", the wings drooped
and the tail elevated, and when stationary, stands very
upright, displaying the beautiful cerulean blue of its breast,
and the small white cloud on its centre.

Its food consists of insects and their larvae, worms, and
berries.

The note is described as very pleasing, and Bechstein says
that it is of a double sound. It utters its song from the
top of some bush, the tail outspread at the time, from
whtMice, if alarmed, it drops into the concealment of the
undci'wood beneath. It also sings in the air, rising to a
moderate height, where it disports itself in the way that the
W(M)(.l Lark does, and descending to a resting-place some
little distance otf: it is said to sing during the night. If
tlie nest be approached, it utters a note of anger or alarm:
its song is conunenced witli the earliest dawn of day. The
ordinary note is described by Meyer as resembling the
words *tack, tack,' *feed, feed.*

The nest is placed on the ground, among the larger herbage,
on the sides of banks, and among low biTishwood. It is
well c()nc(:;aled, and is composed of dried grass and a little
mo.ss, the blossoms of the reed, leaves, small stalks, and
roots, and is lined with finer moss, hair, and the beautifiJ
down ol' the cotton-grass. There are two broods, and the
first IS sometimes on the wing so early as the end of May.
Th«* male assists the female in the work of incubation.

Tht; eggs are four or five, or six in number, and of a
greenish blue colour. The shell is very delicate and fragile.

Male, lengtli, five inches and a half to six inches; bill,
dark brown at the tip, the rema.nder yellowish, lightest at

'^

38 BLXTEBEEAST.

the base; the feathers about its base are yellowish white;
iris, dark brown, over it is a pale whitish streak; bristles
surround the base of the bill. Head, crown, neck on the
back, and nape, brown; chin, throat, and breast on its upper
part, bright blue, with a silky white spot on its centre; below
the blue is a black streak, then a line of white, succeeded
by a broad band of bright chesnut, below which it is dull
white, and on the sides light reddish brown or buff; lack,
brown.

The wings have the first feather very short, the second
equal to the sixth, the third, fo irth, and fifth nearly equal,
but the fourth the longest in the wing; greater and lesser
wing coverts, brown, the margins paler; primaries, secondaries,
and tertiaries, brown, the outer edges of the two latter
lighter brown. The tail, which is rounded at the end, extends
one inch beyond the tips of the closed wings; the two middle
feathers brown, all the others bright chesnut on their basal
half, and the outer half nearly black; under tail coverts, light
reddish brown, inclining to grey; legs, pale brown; toes and
claws, dusky brown.

Female; iris, dark brown, over it is a yellowish white line;
chin and throat, on the upper part,' white, bounded by a
crescent-shaped patch of dull blue mixed with some black,
the horns of the crescent directed upwards; this is followed
by pale reddish brown, and lowier down by dull white, which
also prevails on the sides. Tail, not so bright as in the
male.

Some old females almost equal the male in the bu'illiancy
of their colo 'rs.

The 3^oung are at first brown, mottled with a paler shade.
Head, crown, neck on the back, and nape, du^iky, with oval
spots of reddish brown along the shafts of the feathers; chin,
the same. The throat in the male has a large pale brown
patch, indicative of the future white one; breast, dusky, with
oval spots of reddish brown along the shafts. Under tail
coverts, whitish.

The young male resembles the adult female, the blue colour
advancing by degrees.

Individuals vary very considerably in colour, the tints being
more or less bright, no doubt according to age.

39

REDSTART.

RED TAIL. FIRE-TAIL. BEA2<'-TAIL. FIEET BEAX-TAIL.

Suh'a Phoenicurvs, Latham. Pennant.

Phij-.tiicur I ruholla^ Selby Swainsun.

Rutioll I Fhce/lir7jruS, 1^1 ACGILLIVKAY.

MoUcilla Fhcenicurus, Montagu.

Sylvia. Sylvi — A wood. Phoenicurus. PAcenzx— Purple — red.

Oura — A tail.

This is an exceedingly pretty bird, a^id one which it is
always inierestins^ to watch. As it flirts out a little way
from its accustomed cover, and as suddenly returns to it, you
cannot help looking for its re-appearance with interest, even
though in the constant habit of thus making its transient
acquaintance.

It is a lively and graceful species, an^l, thougli not common,
yet is not uncommon, in the districts throughout which it
occurs. It frequents the most retired and the most sequestered
scenes, and is to be seen in close propinquity to the inhabited
house in the country, as well as in the wild and retired
dingle, among the ivy-clad rocks of the overhanoing inland
clift*, and by the margin of the wood and the thicket, on the
hawthorn hedge, and in the orchard, the trim garden and
the tangled bank of the winding lane.

So also, it is not shy, nor yet familiar, for though, on the
one hand, it never enters into .a house, so, on the other, it
is not found among the open and barren parts of the country,
nor in places that are entirely destitute of wood, and fearlessly
builds its nest in the crevices of the wall of an inhabited
hou^e.

The Redstart is distributed over the greater part of Europe,
from Holland, France, Spain, and Italy, to Germany, Russia,

40 EEDSTAET.

Siberia, Denmarlr, Sweden, and IN'orway. It is known also
in Asia Minor, Persia, and Japan.

In this country it is least frequent on the western side of
the island, but occurs in Cornwall and Wales, as well as in
Yorkshire and Suffolk, Kent, Surrey, and Middlesex, Norfolk,
Northumberland, Berkshire, Derbyshire, and Westmorland,
and even in Sutherlandshire and other parts of Scotland; it
breeds commonly about the wooded glens and gardens near
Dunrobin Castle in that county, as also in Linlithgowshire
and Edinburghshire.

In Ireland it is very rare: one was shot many years ago
Dear Belfast in December, 1828, and another in the same
neighbourhood; one, about the year 1830, near Kingstown;
and one at Tanderagee, in the county of Armagh; at least
there seems no doubt that the birds were all of this species:
one was shot in the Queen's County in February, 1847.

In Orkney it is but an occasional visitor: a specimen was
shot at G-rainback, near Kirkwall, on the 24:th. of May, 1847,
and one in Sanday, by Mr. H. Moncrieff, in the winter of
1844. In the outer Hebrides it has not been noticed.

It is of a somewhat timid nature, but when the hen bird
is sitting, the male is more than ordinarily visible in con-
spicuous situations near the nest: after the breeding season
both birds retire rather further from observation. 'They are
the most restless and suspicious of birds during this season of
hatching and rearing their young; for when the female is
sitting, her mate attentively watches over her safety, giving
immediate notice of the approach of any seemingly hostile
thing, by a constant repetition of one or two querulous notes,
monitory to her, or menacing to an intruder: but when the
young are hatched, the very appearance of any suspicious
creature sets the parents into an agony of agitation, and
perching upon some dead branch or post, they persevere iD
one unceasing clamour till the object of their fear is removed:
a Magpie near their haunts, with some reason, excites their
terror greatly, which is expressed with imremitting vociferation.
All this parental anxiety, however, is no longer in operation
than during the helpless state of their offspring; which being
enabled to provide their own requirements, gradually cease
to be the objects of sohcitude afnd care; they retire to some
distant hedge, become shy and timid things, feeding in un-
obtrusive silence.'

It is of migratory habits, and visits us for a summer

REDSTART. 41

residence, arriving here the beginning or middle of April; in
Scotland not till the latter end of that month, or the
beemninor of Mav. It has once been known on the 25tb.
of March. It retires again in August or Se^jtember. On its
first arrival it betal^es itself to gardens or the neighbourhood
of old walls.

The Kedstart, though a bird ol' rather wary and retired
habits, notwithstanding which, hovv'ever, it frequently comes
to build in towns and villages, is easily tamed, and becomes
much attached to the person that feeds it, ahgh.ing on the
hand in some instances, and eating out of it: one pair have
been known to build in confinement. It has a liabit of
frequently shaking its tail, with an up-and-down m.otion, the
feathers being lattially expanded at the same time; it also
frequently dips the body up and down, particularly if appre-
hensive of the approach of any danger, often uttering a quick
shrill note the while, and if disturbed falls, as it were, and
glides along the opposite edge of the nearest cover to some
neighbouring resting-place, to screen itself from observation.

It advances on the ground by a series of leaps

Its food consists of i'ruits and berries, currants, raspberries,
elderbeiries, and others; ants and their eggs, worms and
spiders, caterpillars, beetles, and other insects. These latter
it both seeks on the ground and also on the wing, pursuing
them in the air after the manner of the Flycatchers, flitting
between times from branch to branch. The young are fed
with caterpillars, and, doubtless, any other 'unconsidered
trifles' suitable to their wants. The young on leaving the
nest generally betake them.selves to any neiglibouring bushes,
hedges, or trees, wliere for some days they are nourished by
the parent birds, until able to lorage for themselves. When
they are abroad, tliese situations seem to be preferred to
their previous lodging-places.

The Kedstart is, even in its wild state, somewhat of a
Mocking-bird; if brought up from the nest it may be taught
to sing any tune that is whistled or sung to it; and indi-
viduals have been known to imitate very closely the notes of
the Sparrow and the Chaffinch, the Garden Warbler and the '
Lesser Whitethroat. Its song is soft, melodious, and sweet,
though not of extensive stave; and it has been heard alter
ten o'clock at night, and by three again in the morning.
Its ordinary note, which is constantly heard throughout tiie
day, especially in a tone of anxiety if any danger be appre-

42 EEDSTAET.

hended, according to one writer, resembles the word ^chippoo;*
Macgillivray, alwavs accurate, likens it to the syllables 'oi-chit.*
It is said to sins^ most in the morning and evening, and
this is probably the case, as with other birds. It sometimes
utters its song while on the wing, and even while flying from
one station to another.

The nest, which is more or less well concealed, and is
rather loosely constructed, is built of moss, dry grass, and
leaves, and lined with hair and feathers. It is frequently
placed in a hole in an old wall, mider the eaves of a house,
in a hollow or hole in a tree, or even between the branches
of one, as also against a wall, if extraneous support is afforded.
One has been known to have been placed in a watering-pot,
others in flower-pots, and one in a hole in the ground, even
where such a choice was not made from necessity. It is
frequently placed close to or in the wall of a house, and that
where persons are constantly passing, even within reach of
the hand. Another has been known also placed on the ground
under an inverted flower-pot; the hen bird successfully reared
her brood, the flower-pot, which was at first unwittingly
remove^], having been replaced by the Kev. J. C. Atkinson,
who relal-es the circumstance in the 'Zoologist,' page 355.
Bishop Stanley mentions one he had known 'built on the
narrow space between the gudgeons or narrow upright iron
on which a garden door was hung; the bottom of the nest,
of course, resting on the iron hinge, which must have shaken
it every time the door was opened. Nevertheless, there she
sat, in spite of all the inconvenience and publicity, exposed
as she was to all who were constantly passing to and fro.*
Another has been known in like manner to sit through the
din of three looms at work from five o'clock in the morning
until ten at night, within twelve feet of the nest. The same
situation, if the birds have been undisturbed, is frequently
resorted to from year to year. One pair have been known
to revisit the same garden for sixteen seasons in succession:
a pair resorted for four successive years to the ventilator of
a s'ab'e. The female is sedulously devoted to her eggs or
young, and will sometimes sufier herself to be touched before
flying ofl" from the nest, if, however, they be molested she
will forsake it; both birds indeed are most assiduous in their
attentions to their brood, one or other of them being to be
seen in constant motion, conveying food to them, or retiring
in search of it. In one instance, the male bird having been

EEDSTAET. 43

killed while the hen was si'tini^, another partner joined the
widow and became foster-father to the orphaned family.

The egi^s, wliieh are of a uniform light greenish blue colour,
are generally fi'om four to six or seven in number, but occa-
sionally so many as eight have been found. They much
resemble those of the Dunnock, but are of a paler colour
and a more slender and delicate form, as well as considerably
smaller.

Male; weight, about three drachms and three quarters;
length, five inches and a half to five and three quarters; bill,
black, as is the space about it; its corners are yellow; iris,
dark brown; over the eye is- a line of white. Upper part of
the forehead, white; head on the sides, black; crown, neck
on the back, and nape, deep bluish grey, tin^^ed with light
brown; chin and throat, black; breast, rusty yellowish red on
the upper part, below nearly white; back above, bluish grey,
on the lower part rusty red. The wings have the first
primary feather about a third of the length of the second,
which is rather shorter than the sixth, the fourth the longest,
the third and fifth scarcely shorter; greater wing coverts,
brown, edg^ed with paler; primaries and secondaries, greyish
black; underneath, they are grey; greater and lesser under
wing coverts, beautiful rust red. The tail, rather long, is
rusty red, except the two middle feathers, which are brown
on the inner webs; in some specimens they are wholly brown.
The nnme Redstart, I may here observe, is derived from the
words red and steort, the Saxon for a tail. Under tail
coverts, reddish orange; legs, toes, and claws, blackish brown,
with a tinge of red.

Femde; length, about five inches and a quarter; head and
crown, with a shade of grey brown; chin, dull white; th.roat,
reddish white; breast, incliiiinof to pale rufous, on the lower
part reddish white; back, yellowish brown, with a shade of
grey, on the lower part rusty red, but much duller than in
the male. Greater and lesser wing coverts, primaries, and
secondaries, greyish brown, margined with reddish; tail, rusty
red, but much duller thm in the male, as are the upper tail
coverts; under tail overts, paler. Very old females are said
to approximate to tlie colour of the male.

In the young male of the year the white forehead is
wanting; neck in front, variegated with white; the throat
has the black intermixed with white feathers, as is tlv' case
with the orange ou the brca.:)t; breast, mo tiled with yellowLsh

44 EEDSTABT.

and duslrj brown; "back, pale reddish brown, tinged with pale
grey on each feather. Greater and lesser wing coverts, broadly
edged with pale brown; tail and tail coverts, rufous. At the
end of the summer, the edges of the feathers being worn,
the back becomes more grey, the black and the red less
edyed, and the wings and tail lighter.

A variety of a white colour was shot by Martin Curtler,
Esq., of Bevere House, Worcester, in June, 1849.

45

BLACKSTART.

BLACir REDSTAET. BLACK RED-TAIL. TITHT8 REDSTART.

Sylvia Tithys, Jenyi^S.

*" Gibraltariensis, Latham.

Phcenicura Tithys, GouLD. SsLliY.

Ficedula Tithys, Eyton.
Mot a cilia atrata^

Sylvia. Sylva — A wood. Tithys-

This species is rather common in the southern parts of
Europe, G-ermany, Thuringia, France, Greece, Spain, Switzer-
land, and Italy, but very rare in the more northern parts,
in Sweden, namely, and also in Holland, the character of the
latter country being of coui'se unsuited to its Alpine habits
— the very Antipodes of them. The Prince of Musignano
obtained one at sea in the spring of 1828, four hundred miles
to the west of Africa, durmg a gale from the eastward: it
was caught, together with some other small birds, in the
rigging of the ship. The Blackstart has been met with also
in Asia.

This very neat and elegant bird, first made known as a
British one by Mr. Gould, is but of rare occurrence also,
generally speaking, in this country. I am much obliged and
indebted to John Gatcombe, Esq., of Wyndham Place, Ply-
mouth, for a highly-finished drawing of the male and female,
the latter the first mature one as yet depicted, and from
which the plate is taken. In Yorkshire, two or three are
stated by Mr. Allis, on the authority of Mr. H. Denny, to
have been caught by some bird-catchers at Osmondthorpe.

The earliest recorded one, before alluded to, was eapturcd
at Kilburn, near London, in the month of October, 1S21),
**acL another has aincti ht?t;u »mserved m the Ko^eiiL's Park.

46 BLACKSTAET.

One was obtained at Bristol in 1830; one at Worthing in
1849; two at Hollington in 1849; one, a male, at Piddinghoe,
near Lewes, on the 31st. of March, and another on the 7th.
of April, 1850; one near Lewes, on the 20th. of November,
1849; one by Mr. J. B. Ellman on the 20th. of March, 1851;
and one at Brighton, Sussex, in 1830, near which place six
others were subsequently procured by Mr. George Swaysland,
one at Hove on the 16th. of October, 1839, another on the
8rd. of the following December, the remainder, three males
and a female, afterwards, one of the fornjer in March, 1848,
one also on the 26th. of November, 1851; one at Ealton,
near Eastbourne, in the same county, in April, 1852; one
near Oxford in March, 1852; one near Swanpool, in Cornwall,
in May. 1847; and one in Norfolk, about the first week in
November, 1849. One was shot near Bristol in December,
1835, while flying about in company with some Stonechats
among fuize bushes; others have occurred, as hereafter noticed,
in an inland county.

A male was shot on the rocks under Plj^mouth citadel by
John Gatcombe, Esq., as he informs me, in March, 1849, and
a female in November, 1850. Four have been procured, and
five or six others seen, near Penzance, Cornwall; one, believed
to be a female, captuied by some boys at Larigan, between
that place and Nevvlyn ; one shot near Marazion, in January,
1842, by Mr. Yingoe, of Penzance; another near Larigan in
December, 1842; and a fourth by Alfred Greenwood, Esq.,
near Marazion, on the 8th. of February, 1843; one at Perran
at the end of March, or beginning of April, 1843; and one
or two at Hayle on the 28th. of November in the same year;
one near Falmouth in 1849. William Felkin, Esq., Junior,
of Carrington, near Nottingham, has written me word of one
killed near London; another was shot near Alverstoke, Hamp-
shire; and another, on the 2nd. of December, 1842, near
Bonchurch, in the Isle of Wight. Two at Teignmouth,
Devonshire, where another had been previously procured, one
on the 3rd. and the other on the 10th. of January, 1844, by
Bobert C. P. Jordan, Esq. and his brother, who subsequently
saw several others, and procured a male on the 30th. of that
month, and a female on the 21st. of February; about twenty
more were procured near Devonport, in the same county,
between the months of November, 1843, and February, 1844,
as recorded in the 'Zoologist,* pages 495-6, by W. S. Hore,
Esq.; one, a female, in Torbay in November, 1849, and

BLACKSTART. 47

another, a male, in 1847; so also R. A. Julian, Esq., Junior,
relates in *The Naturalist,' volume i, page 44, that upwards
of twenty were procured in the year 1850, sixteen of them
by one person, in the nei<_>hb;mrhood of Plymouth and
Devonport, in Devonshire, and Mount Edgecombe, in Corn-
wall. One was obtained at Bembridge, in the Isle of Wight,
by A. G. More, Esq., on the 9th. of December, 1852.

In Ireland, one was shot near Wexford in February, 1836;
one on a cliff near Youghall, in the county of Cork, in
January, 1843; one at Castlefreke, near Kosscarberry, in the
west of the county of Cork, in the first week in November,
1845; another, a female, was taken on board a steam-vessel
on the 5th. of November, 1841, when midway between Belfast
and Glasgow. One was taken in Scotland by Provost Sinclair
in 18)1, in his garden at Cullen, recorded by Mr. Edward,
of Banff, in 'The Naturalist,' vol. i, page 145.

This bird addicts itself to mountains, hilly, rocky, and
stony places, but it also in the breeding-season frequents
villages and towns, where it shews its natural predilection
for elevated situations, by resorting to the highest buildings,
towers, steeples, churches, and castles, in the same way that
we see sheep, and even the youngest lambs, exhibiting a
similar instinct by choosing the summit of the most humble
ridoe on which to recline, as would their kindred, the wild
goats, for wdiom 'the high hills are a refuge,' delight to peer
at you from the giddy peak of some overhanging crag or
dangerous precipice, to them a secure resting-place, whereon
they find a safe footing, and from whence they look down
with scorn on the plain below. These are the situations "in
which the Blackstart too delights, and here, even above the
last region of vegetation, it passes the summer time among
the hoary rocks, the broken fragments of the mountain's former
peak, which have in ages past been reft from their place by
some fearful force from within or without, or have yielded
to the universal law of decay, to which even the 'sturdy rock,
for all his strength,' must in time inevitably submit.

They are gay, lively, and active birds, and of a shy nature,
but nevertheless aj)])ear to be easily caught in traps.

These birds usually arrive in this country the first week
in November, and in one instance have been observed so soon
as the 28th. of October; they depart again at the end of
March; or beginninii: of April. In mild seasons they liave
been known to reujain throughout the year in Switzerland,

48 . BLACKSTART.

finding a milder temperature in the warm and sheltered gorges
— the humble protected by the lofty and the great, the lowly
valley by the regal mountain so elevated above it, towering,
as it does, towards the sky with its glittering crown of
perpetual snow.

The flight of the Blackstart is light and quick, and it rises
and falls in its sportive evolutions with much elegance and
ease. In walking, they are very erect, and they osciliate the
tail in the same manner as the other species, and have also
a dipping motion of the body, especially if alarmed.

Their food consists of berr.es and small fruity, worms, larvae,
and insects; the latter they too pursue on the wing, in the
same way that the Flycatchers do.

The ordinary note is likened by Meyer to the words *fid-
fid,' *tack-tack.' Its song, which is clear, but not extensive,
is begun with the earliest dawn, and is hardly put an end
to b}'- the return of darkness or the close of day; it is,
however, somewhat intermitted while a young family has to
be provided for — a cause sufficient to silence other jocund
voices beside those of the birds — but otherwise is continued
throughout the year: the common note just described is then
constantly repeated.

Two broods are frequently reared in the year, the first
being hatched by the beginning of May, and the second soon
following it, being abroad in June. The same situation is
frequently returned to year after year. The nest, which is
rather large, is placed among the clefts of stones or rocks,
and also in the holes of walls and ruins, the spires, towers,
and higher parts of churches, and the roofs of houses. It is
formed of grasses, moss, wool, and the dry stalks and fibres
of plants, and is lined more or less with hair or feathers.

The young are hatched after thirteen days' incubation.

The eggs are from five to seven in number, and of a very
pure glossy white in colour, and the shell peculiarly fagile
and transparent. I have been favoured by K. W. Hawkins,
Esq., of Eugeley, Staffordshire, with the nest and egg of this
bird, taken at Longdon.

This species is also of a slender form. Male; length, six
inches and a quarter; bill, black, compressed towards the tip;
iris, blackish brown; over it is a narrow black mark. Fore-
head, banded with black, the feathers margined with light
grey; head on the sides, black, the feathers margined with
light grey. Crown, neck on the back and sides, and nape,

BLACKSTART. 439

greyish black, with a tinge of slate-coloured blue; chin, throat,
and breast on the upper part and sides, slate black, the featliers
margined with light grey; lower down the breast is light
grey, and ultimately greyish white; back on the u;jper part,
greyish black; on the lower part brownish red.

The wings have the first feather scarcely an inch long, the
second shorter than the third, which is the longest, but
scarcely exceeding the fourth and fifth, which are equal, the
sixth not quite so long as the third, the seventh of the same
length as the second; greater and lesser wing coverts, greyish
black, edged with lighter grey; primaries, secondaries, and
tertiaries, dusky greyish black, the two latter edged with
greyish white, of which colour is a large portion of the
outer web of the second-named, forming a white patch when
the wings are closed — the primaries underneath are leaden
grey; greater and lesser under wing coverts, dull greyish
white. Tail, light chesnut red, except the two middle feathers,
which are dark reddish brown, inclining to black, edged with
brownish orange. Mr. Thompson, of Belfast, says, that on
two of the Irish specimens the tail was tipped with blaciv,
which colour prevailed particularly on the outer web of the
feathers — underneath it is chesnut brown; upper tail covert.s.
brownish red; under tail coverts, dull pale reddish. Leg^,
toes, and claw^s, black.

The moult takes place in August.

The female has the whole of the upper parts dark yellowi-'i
brow^n. Length, five indies and three quarters; chin, yellowish
brown, with blackish spots; throat, darker brown; breast, light
yellowish grey; back, on the lower part, reddish brown.
Primaries and secondaries, darker than the rest of the plumage,
the latter broadly margined with yellowish white; tertiaries,
also edged with buff wliite. Tail, brownish red, but duller
than in the male; under tail coverts, dull pale reddish brown.

The young resemble the female until the following sjn-ing.
The male bird is of a darker grey than the female-, and the
lower part of the back of a lighter red. The colour would
appear to darken with age.

*In plumage,' says Mr. Gatcombe, in The Naturalist,' volume
i, page 227, *these birds vary considerably: I have obtained
them with black breasts, yet without a shade of white on
the tertials; then again with the white on the wings very
strong, and not a sign of black on the breast: this ai)pear8
to me very strange, as the black almost invariably appoar^^

VOL. IV. • E

OO BLACKSTAET.

before the white. The young males of the year are easily
distinguished from the females, by being of a more uniform
slate grey, without the brown tinge that is observable in the
female It appears that the males are several years in arriving
at their full plumag^e; in very old birds the back is almost
as dark as the breast/

51

STOXECHAT.

STONECHATTER. STOXECLIXK. STONE SMITH.
MOOE TITLIXa. BLACK CAP.

Sylvia ruhicola, Pexnant.

3IotaciUa Tschecautschiay Gmelin.

" rvhicola, Montagu. Bewick.

Saxicola rubicolaf Fleming. Selby.

(Enanthe nostra tertia, Ray. Willughby.

Si/Ivia. Sijlva — A wood, Ituhicola. Rubus — A bramble.

Colo— To inhabit.

This species is extensively distributed, being found through-
out Europe in Holland, G-ermany, Switzerland, France, and
Italy, as also, it is said, in some parts of Russia. In Asia
it has been noticed in different parts of Hmdostan, and in
Asia Minor, as also, according to M. Temminck, in Japan.
In Africa Le Yaillant and Dr. Smith obtained specimens at
the Cape of Good Hope.

In England, though nowhere abundant, it is not uncommon
in suitable localities in all parts of the island, Yorkshire,
Dorsetshire, Devonshire, Cornwall, Suffolk, Norfolk, Northum-
berland, and other counties; in Ireland also, Scotland so far
north as Sutherlandshire, and in the Hebrides. In the
Orkneys it makes its appearance but rarely; one was shot
near Kirkwall in 1847.

It frequents uncultivated places, the sides of cliffs by the
sea, open moors and heaths, warrens and chases, commons and
downs, at least those parts of such where low brusliwood, the
wild broom, and the gorse, with its golden blossoms, so
deservedly the admiration of Linnaeus when in this country
he for the first time saw it, the bramble, the juniper, and.
the sloe, afford it alike a shelter and a home. Sucli lonely
spots it enlivens with its gay and handsome appearance, ita

52 STONECRiLl

varied and conspicuous plumage presenting an attractive object,
to which, if otherwise unobservant of it, its singular note will
probably draw your attention.

It is of a restless and noisy habit, and seldom remains long
in one spot, perching on the topmost part of a bush or stone,
or hanging on some reed that bends with its weight, and
flying down from thence to pick up something from the ground;
on the latter, however, it but seldom stops for any lengthened
space.

The Stonechat is a hardy bird, and remains with us
throughout the year; but would seem to make a partial home
migration in the autumn, leaving the wilder for more sheltered
and warmer situations; the young birds at all events seem to
quit their place, if the parents remain behind About the
end of March they return again to their haunts.

They are found singly or in pairs, though several individuals
may frequently be seen near together in the same immediate
neighbourhood. In very severe winters they come into gardens,
and approach quite close to cottages and houses. They, too,
like others of their class, have a frequent movement of the-
body and the tail. They are very anxious for their young,
if danger approaches, and keep flying about in evident alarm
as long as it appears to threaten. They often seem to vanish
suddenly from sight, dropping as it were, from where they
stood, and then after flying close to the ground for some way,
rise up again to some other resting-place. They are not shy
in their habits, though rather wary. They may be kept if
taken from the nest, but only with great care.

The flight of this species is, for the most part, a succession
of short flits or starts. They roost upon the ground, and
are sometimes taken by bird-catchers in their nets.

Their food is made up of insects, larvse, and worms; the
former they frequently take on the wing, making short sallies
from their stand on the top of a bush.

The ordinary note of this bird, which is somewhat of a
melancholy cast, is a *chat' *chat, chat,' resembling the sound
produced by striking two stones together; hence the name
of the bird, unless it be derived from its supposed habit of
frequenting stony places, which however is not the case, farther
than that barren districts, which are its favourite resort, are
for the most part stony, not having come under the hand of
the cultivator — these are the two roots of the name, and
*utrum horum mavis accipe.' Buffon likens the note to the

STONECHAT. 53

-word *ouistrata;' and Gmelin to that which he has assigned
in consequence as its specific name.

The song of the Stonechat is of little power, but soft, low,
and sweet. It is uttered either from the top of some bush,
or when hovering for a short space at a low elevation above
it. It is seldom heard before tlie beginning of April, or after
the middle of June, but sometimes so early as the middle
of February. The author of the 'British Song Birds' registers
a notion that the name of 'Wheatear' was intended for the
present species, as indicative of the 'noise it makes while
hopping about the stones!' Yarrell says it imitates the notes
of other birds. The parents are very clamorous when they
are engaged with their young, shewing great anxiety to
di'aw any strangers from the nest, and uttering incessantly
their short snapping note.

These birds pair in March, and commence building towards
the end of that month.

The nest, which is large and loosely put together, and
composed of moss, dry grass, and fibrous roots, or heath,
lined with hair and feathers, and sometimes with wool, is
placed among the grass, or other herbage, at the bottom of
a furze, or other bush, or in the bush itself, as also in heather,
and even, occasionally, in some neighbouring hedge, adjoining
the open ground which the bird frequents. It is exceedingly
difficult to find, on account of its situation in the middle of
a cluster of whin bushes — such not admitting of the most
-easy access, the female also sitting very close, and, when off
the nest, being very watchful of all your movements, hopping
quickly from bush to bush, and disappearing suddenly by
reti'eat into the cover.

Tlie eggs, generally five or six in number, rarely seven,
are of a pale greyish or greenish blue colour, the larger end
mniukdy speckled with dull reddish brown. They are laid
the middle or latter end of April, sometimes in the earlier
part of that month; and have been known so late as the
12th. of July — perhaps a second brood.

The young are usually hatched by about the middle of
May, and are abroad by the end of that month, or the
beginning of June. They have been seen coming out from
under a bush to be fed by the old ones, and then immedi-
ately retiring to their concealment.

!Male; weight, five drachms; len^cth, five inches and a quarter,
to five and a hall"; bill, black; iris, dark brown; bristles are

64i STO:jfECHAT.

farnislied at the base of the bill; head, crown, neck on the
back, and nape, nearly black, the feathers broadly edged with
rufous brown after the autumnal moult; neck on the sides,
white, tinged with light red — the white less pure after the
summer. Chin and throat, black, the . feathers edged \vith
rufous brown after the moult; breast, rich orange chesnut
brown, fading into yellowish white lower down: it is paler
after the summer. Back, black, the feathers edged with
yellowish brown, most so after the autumnal moult.

The wings, which expand to the width of nine inches, have
the first quill feather less than half as long as the second,
which is much shorter than the third, but nearly equal to
the seventh; the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth nearly equal,
but the fourth rather the longest; underneath they are leaden
grey, edged with dull white. Greater and lesser wing coverts,
blackish brown, margined with rufous brown after the autumnal
moult; those that cover the tertiaries white, but partly hidden
by the others; primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, brownish
black, edged with pale reddish brown, most so after the
moult. Tail, short and even, and nearly black, tipped with
rufous brown after the autumnal moult, the outer feathers
margined with brownish white; upper tail coverts, white,
tipped with reddish, and having a dusky spot; under tail
coverts, nearly white. Legs, toes, and claws, black.

Female; length, five inches and a quarter; bill, black; iris,
dark brown. Head on the sides, dusky brown; crown, neck
on the back and nape, brown, streaked with dusky and brownish
red, the margins of each feather being of the latter colour,
the white space on the sides of the neck less than in the
male; the neck in front is yellowish brown. Chin and thr.jat,
blackish brown, mixed with light greyish brown; breast,
yellowish brown, with a tinge of dull red; back, brown,
bordered with buff. The wings extend to nearly nine inches
in width; primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, brown, edged
«vith buff, darker, and the white on the latter much smaller
than in the male. Tail, brown, edged with buff, darker than
in the male; upper tail coverts, yellowish red, with a dusky
streak. Legs, toes, and claws, black.

The young at first are mottled with greyish white,
subsequently the bill is dusky above, light brown beneath;
iris, dark brown. Head on the sides, dusky, mottled with
brown; on the crown, neck on the back, and nape, blackish
brown, the centre of each feather marked in a triangular

STOKECHAT. 55

shape with light greyish or brownish yellow; chin and throat,
greyish; breast, light yellowish brown, waved or mottled with
a different shade, paler than in the male; back, greyish brown,
the feathers spotted with dusky white at the end of each.
Greater and lesser wing coverts, tipped partially with light
red, and a few of the inner ones are more or less white;
primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, brownish black, the two
first of the former- edged with brownish white, the others
with brownish red. Tail, brownish black, the feathers edged
with brownish red, the outer one with brownish white; upper
tail coverts, reddish brown. Legs and toes, greyish brown.

The young males after the first moult resemble the adult
female, and after the second they gradually come to their
proper plumage. The moult is complete! in November.

66

WHmCHAT.

GRASSCHAT. FUEZECHAT.

Sylvia ruhetra. Pennant.

M:)tan//a rnhetra^ Montagu. Bewick.

Saxivola rubetraj Fleming. Selby.

Bvbt'tra majnr^ Brtsson.

CEfianthe secunda, Ray,

Sylvia, Syha — A wood. Rnhetra, Ruhetum — A place where

brambles or bushes grow.

There is sometliiiig in the appearance of this bird, which,
accustomed as one may have been to its constant recurrence
summer afier summer, still attracts the eye, as if the object
were one which presented some novelty of form, or attractive
peculiarity hitherto not observed, which could not but be
regarded with new attention.

It is found in Europe — in Denmark, N'orway, Sweden, and
the temperate parts of E^ussia, and throughout the whole of
the southern parts of the continent — France, Germany, Greece,
Switzerland, Spain, and Italy, to the shores of the Mediter-
ranean. It occurs also in Asia Minor.

In Yorkshire, this is one of the most common of the
summer visitants, as also in various other counties — Suffolk,
Norfolk, Dorset, Devon, Northumberland, Wilts., Hants.,
Somerset, Middlesex, Surrey, Sussex, Kent, and Gloucester-
shire; in Cornwall, it is more rare as you advance westwards,
but one has been killed at Scilly, as recorded by Edward
Hearle Rodd, Esq., in the 'Zoologist,' page 3276: it also
occurs in Wales. In Scotland it travels even to Sutherland-
:-hire, Rosshire, Morayshire, and Aberdeenshire; and in Ireland
is more or less plentiful throughout the island.

It occasionally visits Orkney in the summer, and has been
observed once or twice in Sanday, but is not known to breed
there.

W.HINCHAT.

WHIXCHAT. 67

It has been met with by Eobert Gray, Esq., of South croft,
Govan, Glasgow, near Dunbar, in the end of December; also
by Mr. H. Barlow, of Cambndge, in the mild winter of
1*833, and one was found dead by the Rey. Robert Holds-
worth, of Rrixham, at the entrance of the River Dart, in
Devonshire, during a yery severe frost, on January the 20th.,
1829: one has also been seen in Xorfolk in the winter. In
the neighbourhood of Southampton, Mr. William D. Ealshaw
writes in 'The Naturalist,' old series, volume ii., pag^e 234,
that some remain throughout the year, and that White of
Selborne, in his Natural History of that place, Letter xxv.,
to the Hon. Daines Barrington, makes a similar assv^rtion;
Bewick does so also.

The Whinchat is found in a variety of situations, not only
on *the wildest waste sae black and bare' and tho^e which
are uncultivated, where the thorny shrub which has been
appropriated to its name blooms and blossoms, but also
among pasture fields, on whose hedges it may be seen perched
and swaying itself about, mindful of the approach of danger
at any point, or turning its head aside to catch a glimpse of
any passing insect.

Ti^.e Whinchat arrives in different parts of the country
from about the middle to the end of April, and in backward
seasons not until the beginning of May. It departs again
at different periods in October, or the beginning of November,
according to the state of the season.

It is generally easy of approach, particularly when it has
a nest, shewing much anxiety for its young, and endeavouring
to draw away any intruder, by flitting close before him;
returning to its place by one or two more lengthened flights,
when the desired object has been gained. It almost invariably
perches on the topmost or outermost spray of the hedge or
bush: it may be kept in confinement, and is esteemed as an
article of food for the table.

It sometimes shutlles its wings contemporaneously with the
motion of the tail, which it has in common with the allied
species. If disturbed and followed, it drops near the ground,
along which it skims, until it alights again on some other
busli.

The flight of these birds is lio^ht and nimble, and the
tail is sometimes fanned. In hovering over a bush the wings
are rapidly fluttered.

They live on flies, beetles, and other insects, slugs, cater-

58 WHINCHAT.

pillars, worms, and small mollusca; also some say on berries.
Tlie first-named are sometim.es seized in the air, the bird
watching for them from its station on some bush or twig,
to which it returns after each successful sally.

Its song is agreeable, sweet, and melodious, though desultory,
and is uttered from the top of some hedge or bush, or while
hovering in the air over it. One brought up from the nest
by Mr. Sweet, used to sing the whole day through, and
very often at night, imitating the notes of the Whitethroat,
Redstart, Willow Warbler, Missel Thrush, and Nightingale.
The ordinar}^ note is a ^chack,' or *chat;' also when alarmed,
a 'tick,' 'tick,' resembling the sound produced by striking
two pebbles together, and, says Macgillivray, a *peep, tick,
tick, tick, tick;' each syllable repeated from one to six times,
but rarely so often, and accompanied by a slight upraising
of the wings, and a shake of the tail.

The nest is placed in the lower part of a gorse bush, a
few inches above the ground, where the thorns and stalks are
dying off, so that the materials of the nest assimilate in
appearance to the situation in which it is placed, and it is
thus the rather screened from observation. More frequently
it is placed in the grass at the foot of it, and has been
known in a hedge adjoining a road. AVhere there are no
gorse bushes, it is placed in the rouo-h grass in a pasture field,
or in a meadow^ It is loosely built of stalks of grass and
moss, and is lined with finer portions of the former; a layer
of wool has been known between the two, and occasionally
some hair or leaves: it measures six inches across, and two
and a half internally. It is very carefully concealed, and
extremely difficult to find; the bird approaching it stealthily
by a labyrinthine track.

The eggs are of a glossy bluish green colour, with some
minute specks, and sometimes, though very rarely, of dull
reddish browm; they are five or six in number, usually the
latter, very rarely seven.

Tlic young are hatched towards the end of May, and two
broods are produced in the season, the first being abroad from
the middle of June to the beginning of July, and the second
in August.

Edwin Cottingham, Esq. has favoured me with a drawing
of the nest and eggs.

Male; weight, about four drachms and a half; length, five
mches to five and a quarter; bill, polished black; a brown

WHI>'CHAT. 59

streak runs from its base to the eye, and over this a broad
white one on each side, nearly meeting at the back; iris, dark
brown; under it is a dark brown patch; bristles beset the
base of the bill. Head on the sides, dark brown or brownish
black; on the crown, neck on the back and nape, mottled
brown, the centre of each feather being dark, and the edges
pale; chin, white, ^\hich colour runs back from it ou the
side of the neck to the shoulder; throat and breast, faw^n-
colour, ending in pale buff, duller on the sides; back, mottled
brown, the centre of each feather dark, the remainder paler;
on the lower part it is yellowish reddish brown, streaked with
blackish brown.

The winsrs reach to within half an inch of the end of the
tail, expanding to the width of nine inches and a quarter;
the first quill feather is veiy short — less than an inch in
length, the second equal to the lifth, the third the longest,
the fourth nearly as long; greater wing coverts, dusky black,
those next the body pure white, as are some of the lesser
wing coverts; primaries, dark brownish Hack, some of the
outer ones white at the base; secondaries, dark brown, white
at the base; tertiaries, dark brown, edged with light brown.
Tail, short, white at the base, except the two middle feathers,
the remainder dark brownish black, edged and tipped with
pale brown; the end half of the tail is greyish black under-
neath; under tail coverts, white tinged with light ferruginous.
Legs, toes, and claws, polished black, the latter long, slender,
and very sharp.

As the season advances, the plumage shews darker, the pale
edges of the feathers wearing off; the wings become of a
more uniform but lighter brown, the neck in front and
breast paler, and the white more pure: towards autumn these
alterations are still more strong.

The female resembles the male, but her colours are less
bright and distinct, and the white patches less extensive.
Length, about five inches, or rather over; the streak over
tlie eye is yellowish white. The breast has more yellow and
less red in its tint; the back has the spots broader, and of
a much lighter brown. The wings expand to the width oF
nine inches and a trifle over.

The young, in their nestling plumage, are mottled with
grev and white; but when fully Hedged in the autumn, re-
semble the female; until then the bill is greyish brown; the
white stieak is wanting, and the well-defined black band

00 WHIKCHAT.

through t"he eye. Head, crown, neck on the back, and nape,
dull yellowish brown, streaked with dark brow^n, the tips of
many of the feathers paler. The throat has the feathers
margined with dusky; breast on the lower part, yellowish
brown, passing into brownish white; back, dull. Lesser wing
coverts, whitish; primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, brownish
black, broadly edged with brownish red. The tail, excepting
the two middle feathers, is partially white only at the base,
the rest brownish black, the feathers broadly edged with
brownish red. Legs and toes, greyish browu.

--V^^^<§^3^H^

WHEATEAii.

61

WHEATEAR.

FALLOW-CtTAT. AVHITE-TATL.
STOXE-CHACKER. CHACK-BIKD. CLOD-HOPPEE.

Syhia cennnthe, Penxaxt. L\tham.

Motacilla cenanfhey LiNX.i^.us. MoxTAGU. Gmelin.

" -' WiLLUGHBY. Kay.

Saxicola ananthe, Fleming. Selby. Bechsteix.

Sylvia, Si/loa—A wood. CEnmithe — Some species of bird, imagined

to be the Wheatear.

Most plentiful in the more temperate parts of Europe, the
Wheatear is foimcl more or less throughout the Continent,
from the shores of the Mediterranean to those of the Frozen
Sea. In Holland they are very abundant; they are also found
in Dalmatia and Greece, Denmark, Sweden, and the Ferroe
Islands, Norway, Lapland, and Iceland. In Asia they have
been observed, in Asia Minor. In Arctic America one, but
only one, was seen by Captain James Eoss, K.N., in Felix
Harbour, on the 2nd. of May, 1S30, but it was killed by
cold or hunger the same night.

The Wheatear is found in greater or less plenty from the
Land's End to Cape Wrath. In Yorkshire I continue to
notice a few of these birds near the 'Langton Wold' cricket-
ground, a spot which, for the beauty of its panoramic view
can hardly be equalled, certainly not exceeded, by any other
cricket-ground in England; in the exquisite purity of the air
to be there enjoyed it also stands pre-eminent, as well as in
the excellence of the ground itself for the noble pastime.
Others are to be seen along the low cliffs between Bridlington
Quay and the solitary house of Auburn, the only relic of
the village of that name; not, I suppose, Goldsmith's *love-
liest village of the plain,' for the encroaching ocean has long
since washed away the very foundations of it, and the relics

I

62 WHEATEAE.

it is said, are still to be seen below the water when the
latter is sufficiently clear, in one sense indeed his description
suits it as a 'Deserted village,' for the signs of life are
banished from it for ever, and if its consecrated church-yard
still receives the dead, it is those who perish by shipwreck
on the retired coast, but who will one day come forth when
*the sea shall give up the dead that are in it.'

This species is also common in the neighbourhood of Halifax
in open situations, and in Gloucestershire, on Durdham Downs,
near Bristol; in Lincolnshire; in Cambridgeshire, near New-
market; in Derbyshire, near Melbourne; and in Oxfordshire;
near Brighton and Eottingdean, Sussex; Burwood Common,
in Surrey; Middlesex; in Devonshire and Cornwall it is less
frequent, both as a resident and on its migration. But the
most abundant haunts of the species, at least in the later
portion of the year, are the pastoral districts, the open
downs of the south of England, particularly those of Sussex
and Dorset, as also the dry sand-banks to be found on some
parts of the coast; such, and other barren and stony wastes,
are their habitual resort, and they are seldom seen in any
more cultivated places, except such are immediately adjacent
to the former. Mr. Thompson has noticed them in a dock-
yard at Belfast, close to the town, perching on the piles of
timber.

They are spread in like manner through Wales and Scotland,
where, among other localities, the Pentland Hills, Arthur's
Seat, and Salisbury Craigs, near Edinburgh, are favourite
resorts. In Sutherlandshire they are very abundant in the
mountainous districts.

In Ii'eland the Wheat ear is also a regular summer visitant.

In the Orkneys it occurs, as likewise very plentifully in
the outer Hebrides and the Shetland Islands.

This is a migratory species, and arrives here about the
middle or towards the latter end of March but, but earlier
or later with the season. They seem to cross the Channel
during the night, few arriving after nine o'clock in the
morning, and none after twelve. They seem fatigued with
their journey, and occasionally perch on the fishing-boats at
sea. They do not always travel every day, and consequently,
as soon as those who have first come are able to travel further
inwards, it frequently happens that of the numbers to be
seen in the morning none are visible in the afternoon, and
it may not be for a day or two that their places are supplied

WHEATEAR. G3

by fresh visitors. The males and females both seem to arrive
simultaneously, but not, at least not in general, in associated
flocks. They depart again in the end of August or beginning
of September, and may be seen in large numbers by the
sea-shore before finally quitting: the land; some continue until
the first week in October. Mr. Sweet saw a pair hopping
and flying briskly about on the 17th. of November, in Hyde
Park. White, of Selborne, relates that Wheatears have been
observed in winter in many parts of the south of England.

In Orkney they arrive generall^^n April; a pair were observe(i
in the year 1847 so early as the 23rd. of March; and Mr.
Macgillivray saw one near Edinburgh on the 28th. of February:
Monta^'u had also seen them in February. In backward seasons
they are later in their arrival. Thus, in Ireland, in 1837,
they did not appear till the loth, of April; and in 1840,
not until the 29th. of that month. In Scotland, Sir William
Jardine says that they arrive the fii'st week in IMarch.

They are seen for the most part singly or in pairs, are
somewhat shy, and, always on the alert, on being alarmed
flit away suddenly over the nearest eminence, if there be one,
and so place it between them and the approaching intruder.
Their careful watchfulness is shewn by a frequent turning of
the head to the right and left: but, ^Tutti le volpi si trovano
in pellicera.' 'Xo fox so cunning but he comes to the furriers
at last,' and countless numbers of these birds are taken every
year on the southern Downs for the table, being much esteemed
as a delicacy, and sold as such in the season at the various
inns. Pennant says that nearly two thousand dozen have
been taken in one season in the neighbourhood of Eastbourne,
in Sussex, alone. The snaring time is from the last week in
July to about the third week in September, and the shepherd
^Trappers' manage each from five to seven hundred traps: one
shepherd has been kno^^m to take eighty-four dozen in one
day. In King Charles the Second's time, it is stated by Sir
Thomas Brown, in his ^\ccount of the Birds found in Norfolk,'
that Wlieatears were taken with a Hobby and a net. When
alarmed, these birds will sometimes prefer trying to hide
themselves in some shelter to taking flight. If removed from
their native haunt, and set at liberty, they find their way
back to it.

Wheatears very seldom alight on a tree, though Mr. Mac-
gillivray lias once seen one do so, and rarely also upon a low
bush or hedge, but for the most part perch on the summit

64 WHEATEAR.

of some small hillock, stone, wail, bank, or other eminence.
They fly near to the surface, smoothly and rapidly, by a
series of short starts, and hop along the ground also with
great celerity, inclinino^ the body on stopping, and then standing
very upright. Mr. Thompson, of Belfast, mentions having
seen them about the Giant's Causeway, descending from a
considerable height to their nests, with motionless wings
raised above the body in a singular manner.

They feed on beetles, flies, and other insects, caterpillars,
grasshoppers, small snails, slugs, and worms, the former being
sometimes taken on the wing, springing after them from an
eminence, or even from the level plain, as well as following
them on the ground; the bird frequently returning, after the
manner of other fly-catching species, to its previous post on
some raised clod, or grass-grown ant-hill — its watch-tower
both against alarm and for prey.

Mr. Sweet, in his ^British Warblers,' says, that in confine-
ment the Wheatear is continually in song, and sings by night
as well as by day, and that their winter song is the best
and most varied. Their warble is soft and pleasant, and is
frequently uttered on the wing, while the bird hovers over
the nest with flickering wings and expanded tail, as also when
perched on some wall, mound, or other projection. It is often
continued uninterruptedly for a considerable time. The ordinary
note is a sharp chat.

The nest, which is commenced the middle of May, is some-
times well hid in the innermost recess of some crevice among
rocks, in an old wall, stone-quarry, gravel-pit, sand-pit, or
chalk-pit, and frequently in a deserted rabbit-burrow, or the
hollow under some large clod, tuft, or stone. Mr. Hewitson
has known one in the bank of a river, in a hole deserted
by a Sand Martin. It is rudely constructed of fine dry stalks
of grass or moss, feathers or wool, rabbits' fur, hair, or any
other *odds and ends' that may chance to be procurable.

The eggs, usually from four to six in number, sometimes,
though very rarely, seven, are of an elegant rather elongated
form, and of a uniform delicate pale blue colour, deepest at
the larger end. A. J. Drake, Esq. has some varieties quite
white.

The young are abroad from the middle of May to June,
so. that a second brood is frequently reared before the end
of July.

Male; weight, about six drachms and a half; length, six

WHEATEAE. G5

inclies and three quarters; bill, deep black, Tnodcvateiy strong,
the upper one slightly notched, much compressed towards
the tip, and somewhat widened at the base; the ijiside of
the mouth and the tongue are also black, iris, brt)wn — the
eyelids black; a black streak runs to and over and widely
under it irom the base uf the bill, expanding behind it, and
over it is a band of white from the ibrehead, wliicli is also
white; a few bristles surround fche base of the bill. Head,
crown, neck on the back, and na))e, bluish grey, each feather
slightly tipped with pale brown; the sides of the neck become
rufous after the autumnal moult, and the other parts tinged
with brown; chin and throat, dull white, tinged with pale
rufous after the autumnal moult; breast, pale yellowish or
reddish brown, a])pr<jaching to cream -colour; on its lower part
dull white, sb^t^htly tinged with yellowish, which becomes rufous
after the autunmal moult; back above, grey, with a tinge of
pale reddish brown; below, white for a small part.

The wingb, rather long, extendmg to the width of one
foot and half an inch, have the first quill feather about
three quarters of an inch long, the second a little shorter
than the third and fourth, which are the longest, and of
nearly equal leno-th, but the third rather the longer of the
two, the fifth the same length as the second; greater and
lesser wing coverts, almost 1)1 ack, but broadly edged with
rufous brown after the moult; primaries, secondaries, ami
tertiaries, brownish black, all more or less margined and
tipped with brownish white; they are broadly edged with rufous
brown after the moult; greater and lesser under wing coverts,
blackish brown, broadly edged with white. The tail has the
side feathers white on their inner part for two thirds of
their length, the remainder black, and all are white on their
lower part; the two central feathers have less white: it is
tipped narrowly with buH* white after the moult; the side
feathers slighcly turn outwards; they are all broad and rounded
at the end; upper tail coverts, white, very conspicuous in
flight; under tail coverts, also white, which verges to pale
rufous after the autumnal moult. T>egs, long, thin, and black;
toes and claws, black, the latter rather long, moderately curved,
and very sharp until worn bv age.

The female nearly resembles the male, but her colours are
less pure; length, six inches and a half; bill, deep l^lnck;
iris, brown; the streak over the eye is brownish white, and
less distinct, tinged with red lu the ;uitumn, and there is

66 WHEATEAR.

a broader band of brown under it. Forehead, brown, tinged
with red in the autumn; head, crown, neck on the back, and
nape, light reddish brown, intermixed with grey; chin, throat,
and breast above, hght reddish brown, the remainder pale
gi'cyish brown, and cream-colour m the autumn; back above,
light reddisii brown, intermixed with grey; below, dull white.

The wings extend to the width of eleven inches and a
quarter; primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, blackish brown,
edged with (bill reddish brown; greater and lesser under wing
coverts, blacivish brown, broadly edged with brownish vvhite.
Tail, daj'k Idackish brown, the inner part of the feathers
white at tlie base in a graduated manner, excepting the two
middle oiics, ol' which the shaft only is white at the base,*
and a small portion of the downy part of these feathers;
upper tail coverts, dull white. Legs, toes, and claws, brownish
black.

The young, when nearly fledged, have the streak over the
eye rufous, and the line through it is imperfect; the dark
band on the side of the head is wanting. Head, crown, and
neck on the back, Hght greyish brown, the central part of
each feather on the head paler; back, in the male, on the
lower part, white, but most of the feathers tipped with brown
in the females. Greater wing coverts, deep brown, broadly
margined and tipped with brownish red; lesser wing coverts,
dusky, with greyish ^^ellow margins. Tail, deep brown, the
feathers white at the base, and broadly margined and tipped
with brownish red.

After the first autumnal moult the young birds assume the
adult plumage, but the colours are more tinged with brown.

These birds vary considerably in size, and also, according
to age, in colour; the grey of the back and the white of the
breast being more pure, and the black and brown being
deeper in old birds; the wearing of the edges of the feathers
in the summer also produces a change.

Both young and old birds moult before leaving the country.

J. H. Gurney, Esq., of Easton, near Norwich, records in
the ^Zoologist,' page 2923, a curious variety of this bird killed
at Thetford, m July, 1850. It was a female. The wings
were white, excepting a few feathers on the shoulder, and two
or three ad-joining the primaries on the centre of each wing,
which were of a pale buff. The rest of the plumage was
the same as us^al, but all lighter in colour.

Another singular variety of this bird was shot at Spetchley,

WHEATEAE. 67

near Worcester, in 1846, by E. Berkeley, Esq., of that place.
'The black streak over the eves, cheeks, and ears, was gone,
but there is a slight trace of the white line; the flight feathers
and wing coverts are white, edged with a band of buff; the
upper tail coverts and part of the tail is white, as in ordinary
birds of this species, but all the rest of the plumage in this
specimen is a kind of buff.'

C8

GRASSHOPPER WARBLER.

CEICKET BIED.

Syhia hruatella. Pennant. Montagu. Bewick.

Curruca locusteUa, Fleming.

Salitaria hcustellaj Sklky.

LocusLella avicula^ GuuLD. Ray,

Sylcia, Sylva—A. wood. Locustella — A diminutive of Locusta^ a Locust.-

0:n' the European continent this species is found in the-
southern and central parts — Italy, France, Germany, Holland,
and Switzerland, as also in Sweden and Denmark, and the
south of Russia and Siberia. In Holland it is said to be
rare.

In Yorkshire the Grasshopper Warbler is abundant in the
neighbourhood of Huddersfield, as Peter Inchbald, Esq., of
Storthes Hall, informs me; as also in several other parts, and
has been met with near Askern, and at Scarborough, in the
garden of Dr. Murray, and in Rain cliff Wood near that town,
as communicated to the 'Naturalist,' old series, by Mr. Patrick
Hawkridge, in volume ii., p. 385. One was shot near
Barnsley, by Dr. Farrar; at Hebden Bridge it is met with
rarely; it is frequent about Sheffield, but rather rare near
Leeds. Xear Halifax a few pairs breed every summer, and
others in several localities near Doncaster, as at Wadsworth,
Hutmoor, and Rossington; a few also near Bridlington; and
at Buttercrambe Wood, and at Langwith. It is not uncommon
in the county of Rutland, in the neighbourhood of Uppingham,
so R. W. Hawkins, Esq., of Rugeley, and also J. R. Little,
Esq., of St. John's College, Cambridge, have written me word;
and the latter gentleman adds that it has been found very
frequently of late years in Cambridgeshire. In Sussex it has
been noticed near Eastbouine; in Surrej^ near Tooting; and
in Middlesex, a few miles from London; also in Hampshire,

GEASSHOPPER WAEELEE. GO

Dorsetshire, near Kingsbrklge, in Devonsh^'re; Gloiicestersliirs,
Cornwall, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cumberland, Nortiiumberiand. and
Durham; in Wiltshire on Malmesbury Common, Deruvshire,
Oxfordshire, and also in Wales.

In Scotland it has been seen at Musselburgh, near Edin-
burgh; in Ayrshire, and in Galloway, at New Abbey.

In Ireland also it is a regular summer visitant to su" table
localities from south to north. The neighbourhood of Belfast,
in the counties of Down and Antrim, Carrie kfergus, Killaloe,
in the County Clare, Wexford, Clonmel, and Youghal, are
mentioned by the late William Thomi»son, Esq. among; others.

Eesorting 'o the close shelter of hedgres, underwood, ^edgy
places, and thickets, this bird is for the most part out of
sight, and is chiefly visible in the morning.

It is another of our migratory species, arriving in this
country about the middle of April, and leaving us agam in
September. One has been picked up in August, cast up on
the shore by the waves. It does not arrive in Scotland and
the northern parts of the kingdom until the begmning of
JVTay.

*In its habits,' says ]Mr. Yarrell, 4t is shy, vio^ilant, and
restless, secreting itself in a hedge, and creeping along it for
many yards in succession, more like a mouse than a bird;
stldom to be seen far from a thicket, a patch of furze, or
covert of some sort, and returning to it again on the least
alarm. During the breeding-season, when bushes and shrubs
are clothed with leaves, it is difficult to obtain a sight of
this bird; yet, when near its haunt, its note rings on the ear
constantly, and. like that of other aquatic Warblers, may be
heard about sunset particularly, and sometimes even during
the night.' The bird is occasionally to be seen for a moment
or two on the lower branches of some tree or shiiib in its
haunt, but is soon hid again from view. It has been ob-
served to run out from its hidingr-jilace along and to the
extremity of some open branch, deliver its song, and tlien
return to its retreat. The iemale, confuied with lier brood,
conceals l.erself even more assiduously tiian the njale.

On the ground it runs very fast in a graceful manner,
often jerking the tail and tossing up the head; aiui also is
said to hop; it climbs about reeds with great dexterity
and nimbleness.

Its food is composed of flies, gnats, boctk-a. and oilier
insects, grasshoppers, small snails, and slugs.

70 GEASSHOPPER WARBLEE.

Its stridulous note, from whence its name, strikingly
resembles the chirruping somid of the large green grasshopper,
or rather locust, to be heard so loud and shrill in the southern
counties in the fine summer evenings. It is often continued,
particularly in the earlier portion of the year, for two or
three minutes without cessation, and may be heard at a
considerable distance. Farther on in the season it is most
heard at night, but is not continued in general later than
July or August. The note is faint at its first commencement,
but it Vires acquirit eundo,' and gradually becomes louder
and louder, till it is audible at a considerable distance. It
is suspended on the slightest alarm, and the bird vanishes
into its cover, from whence, when the danger has passed, it
emerges again to utter its chirping cry from another bush.
At times they utter it in the air, hovering over the bush
which contains their nest. It has been suggested that the
object of this note may be to decoy the large grasshoppers,
who may mistake it for the call of their own species. In
the earlier part of the day it sometimes sings perched on
the top of a twig, and shivering its wings. 'Nothing,' adds
Gilbert White, 'can be more amusing than the whisper of
this little bird, which seems to be close by, though at a
hundred yards distance, and when close to yoior ear is scarce
any louder than when a great way off*.' This ventriloquistic
power is certainly very remarkable, but in many cases the
sound has, in all probability, proceeded from a Grrasshopper
Warbler of the insect species.

The nest, of a cup shape, is formed in a rather firm manner
of grass, with sometimes a little moss, lined with finer portions
of the same. It is difiicult to find, owing to the careful
habits of the bird, and is placed on the ground, and has
been met with at the foot of a small bush by the road side;
it is completely hidden in the middle of some large tuft,
through which there is no entrance but such as tne bird
threads for herself, creeping along like a mouse to and into it.

The eggs are from five or six to seven in number, of a
pale reddish white colour, freckled all over with specks of
darker red; they seldom vary much.

The young soon quit the nest on being disturbed, trusting
by instinct to their habitual powers of concealment.

Male; weight, about three drachms and a quarter; length,
five inches and nearly three quarters; bill, dusky brown, the
base of the und.r mandible paler than the other parts, inclining

GRASSHOPPEU WATIBLEB. 71

to yellow; it is tVm, and much compressed from the middle
to the tip, the upper one notched: the corners of the mouth
are reddish yellow; iris, brown. Head on the crown, neck
on the back, and nape, olive brown, the centres of the feathers
darker, criving it a spotted appearance; chin, yellowish white;
throat and breast, very pale yellowish brown, with an olive
tint on the sides, spotted with darker brown; back, olive
brown, mottled by tiie edges of the feathers being lighter
thpn the centre: the upper part of it is the darkest.

The wings, which are very short, extending to the width
of seven inches and a half, and reaching only a very little
beyond the base of the tail, have the first feather very short,
tl:e second longer than the fifth, but shorter than the fourth,
the third the longest; primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries,
dark dusk}^ brown, edged with reddish brown; underneath,
their shafts are white and glossy; greater and lesser under
wing coverts, light yellowish grey. The tail, which is long
and of the 'cuneiform character,' extending an inch and a
half beyond the wings, is brown marked in some lights with
numerous obscure transverse bands: the feathers are edged
witii reddish brown, and are very soft and broad; under tail
covei-ts, pale brown, streaked along the centre of each feather
with darker brown. Le^s, strong, and as the toes and claws,
pale brownish yellow, lighter in autumn, the latter thin and
narrow, but hooked and strong, their tips dusky.

With the advance of sunniier, owing to the abrasion of
the feathers, the upper j^arts of the plumage become of a
gieyisii brown colour, and of the lower parts paler.

The female resembles the male, but the dusky lines, oa
the f)re jiart of the neck are wanting. Breast, uniform pale
yellowish brown colour.

Young; upper bill, li2:ht brown; the lower, dull yellow.
Head, crown, neck on the back, and nape, light yellowish
brown, spotted with dusky; throat, pale brownish 3'ellow;
breast, brownish yellow, tinged on the sides with hrown;
back, light yellowish brown, s})otte I with du-ky. Primaries,
secondaries, and tertiaries, dusky; ed^^^ed with li^lit yellowish
brown; greater and lesser under wiui; coverts, ^^ellowish grey.
Tail, du>ky, the fe;«thers edged with light yellowish l)ri)wn;
under tail coverts, yellowish grey, with a faint du>ky streak
along the middle. Legs and toes, gieyi^h yellow.

SAVI'S WARBLER.

Sylvia luscinnides^ Gottlt>,

Saiicaria luscinoidesj YarrelL,

Sylvia. Sifva — A wood.

LuseinoirJeii. Lusclriia—A Ni^htiiiirale. E dos—ThQ form, figure, or

likeness uf any thing.

This species, named after Professor Savi, who first noticed
it, belonu^s to the south of Europe, occurring in Italy and
France. It also is found in Africa, in E^ypt.

One of these birds was procured many vears ago, by the
E,ev. James Brown, in the marshes near Norwich, and was
duly recorded by the Rev. K. Sheppu-d and the Rev. W.
Whitear, in their ^Catalogue of the Norfolk and Suffolk Birds,
with remarks,' send the account published in the 'Transactions
of the Linnsean Society,' 1825. Others were procured in
Cambridgeshire, in the Fens, in the spring of 1840, by Mr.
J. Baker, a notice of which was published in the 'Annals
of Natural History,' volume vi., page 155; and a pair
subsequently by Mr. Joseph Clarke, of Saffron Walden. I
am, however, informed by Mr. Bird, that, according to Mr.
Frederic Bond, who has also given me the same account
himself, these Warblers are quite common in Cambridgeshire
fens, where they breed regularly every year, as also in Hunt-
ingdonshire; the latter gentleman has also procured the nests
from Backsbite, in the parish of Milton, near Cambridge —
the 'Alma Mater' of more than one race. Wicken Fen, near
Ely, is another locality, as S. R. Little, Esq., of St. John's
College, Cambridge, writes me word. A pair were also
procured, as stated in the 'Account of the Birds found in
Norfolk, by William Richard Fisher, and John Henry Grurney,
Esqrs.,' at South Walsham, in the summer of 1848.

This species is of shy habits, rapidly descending, on alarm,
into the reeds.

SAYl's WAEBLER. 73

The note is described as somewhat resembling the sonnd
made bj a spinning-wheel: it is generally uttered from the
top of some reed on which the bird perches.

The nest, which is placed on the ground, is formed of the
leaves of the reed, wound round and interlaced, but without
any other lining.

The eggs are of a whitish colour, minutely speckled nearly
all over with pale red and light grey, in some the red,
and in others the grey predominating.

Male; length, ^ve inches and a half; bill, brown; head,
crown, neck on the back, and nape, reddish brown; chin
and throat, almost white; breast, pale reddish brown. Tail,
reddish brown, indistinctly barred with darker narrow bands;
legs, toes, and claws, pale biown.

7i

SEDGE WAEBLER.

SEDGE BIED. SEDGE WEEDS'. EEED EATJYETTE.

Sylvia snJiraria, Latham.

'* phrngmttia^ Tkmminck.

Sahcarta pkraqmitis, Selt^Y.

Caiamoherpe phragmitiSy Macgillivrat.

Sylvia. Sylva—A wood. Salican'a— Of or pertaining to willows.

Salix — A wiiiovy.

The Sedge Bird is generally spread over Europe, its range
extending even to the Arctic Circle; in the middle parts of
the continent, it is however the most numerous. In Holland
it is Yery abundant; and is found also in France and Grermany,
Norway, Russia, and Siberia, Italy and Sweden. In Asia,
it has been noticed by my friend Mr. Hugh Edwin Strickland,
in Asia Minor.

Throughout England it is more or less abundant, according
to the nature of the locality. In Yorkshire this bird is
very common in the Driffield neighbourhood, and also near
Thirsk, Doncaster, Barnsley, Sheffield, Hobmoor, York, Swil-
lini^ton, and Brotherton, in fact in most parts; near Halifax
and Huddersfield it is less numerous. It is plentiful also in
Essex. Suffolk, Hampshire, Dorsetshire, Devonshire, Norfolk,
Lincolnshire, Northumberland, and Lancashire. In Cornwall
it seems to be not uncommon.

In Scotland it is nowhere abundant, but is most met
with in the southern and middle divisions. In Sutherland-
shire it is constantly to be heard at night, about reedy lochs
and swamps, and is to be met with even to the northern-
most extremity. The Sedge Warbler, as its name imports,
is for the most part found in the neighbourhood of water,
but such is not exclusively the case, for it often resorts to
thick hedges, lanes, and other cover at some distance from
it.

m.&

SEDGE WAEBLER. 75

It misrrates to us the latter part of April, or sometimes
later with the season, seldom arriving in Scotland before
the beginning of May. The males are believed to arrive
before the females. They come in small parties of from two
to five or six each. They are late in leaving, some being
seen till the middle of October, even in the north of Eni^land:
one has beer^observed near High Wycombe, in Buckingham-
shire, in winter.

This ^'s another species of hidling, though not exactly of
shy habits, and is most frequently seen if disturbed, for
otherwise it keeps to its haunt in the middle of the thick
hedge, tall sedg^e, reeds, or other aquatic plants among which
it harbours. This very day on which I am writing, I watched
one for some time playing at hide and seek with me, in some
large hawthorn bushes which covered the steep bank of a
stream, overhanging it almost down to the water's edge;
beyond all doubt the nest was there. Now it would tiy a few
yards oft*; now, if thinking itself unobserved, slyly return to
its place; now sing lustily from some hidden covert, and on
a sudden emerge and shew itself; then again descend to the
recesses of the thick brake, and so quickly reap])ear at a
little distance, that it would almost seem as if it had flown
straight without hindrance through the tangled underwood;
once more it would set up its ringing note, a watchman
springing his rattle to alarm his household, for such in its
small way it closely resembles, and finally disappear from
view and from hearing together, unless again disturbed. The
hen bird sits close on lier nest, and you may often pass
close by witliout her leaving it. It* alarmed for her young
she evinces great anxiety, moving in and out of the neighbjuring
cover. These birds are able to be kept in confinement.

They feed on insects of various kinds, some of which are
captuivd on the wmg, and others snatched from the su.face
of tlie water; also on worms and small slugs.

The note, which is heard from the midst of ^the busli,* or
when perched on the top of a small branch or spray, as also
while Hying for some short distance to the next cover, is very
powerful for so small a throat, and they sing sometimes in
a most violent chiding sorb of manner, as if in detiance of
approach. The common note is a small shrill cheep, but
their song, though somewhat of a chatter, is very lively, and
not without a mellow modulation. It is lieard at niglit even
as late as twelve o'clock on the fine still summer evciiinirs,

76 SEDGE WABBLEB.

with little intermission, and even still on *till morning comes
again.' Any sudden alarm brings forth its rattle with renewed
vigour. It is correctly said by some to imitate the notes of
other birds; I have heard it myself close y take off the
chirping of the Sparrow. Mr. James R. Garrett, says Mr.
Thompson, has known it repeat the cricket-Hke note of the
Grasshopper Warbler, and suddenly burst out into the song
of the Swallow or some other bird. So also Mr. Stewart
narrates, as quoted in the same work, that he has heard it
mimic the clear warble of the Thrush, and the hoarse twitter
of the Sparrow; to which Mr. Selby adds the notes of the
Lark and the Linnet.

N. Eowe, Esq., of Worcester College, Oxford, has taken the
nest in a seringa tree. It is usually placed at about two,
and never at a greater height than three or four, feet from
the ground, on a stump of a willow or alder tree, but generally
among the tall grass or flags that grow along the side of
the river or pool. G. B. Clarke, Esq., of Woburn, has been
kind enough to forward me specimens of the nest and eggs.
The nest is made of stalks of grass, and other smaller plants,
lined with finer parts of the same and hair: it is rather large,
and but loosely put together. Selby says that moss is
sometimes used. The young leave the nest very soon.

The eggs, four, or generally five. Sir William Jardine says
six or seven, in number, are of a pale j^ellovv sh brown colour,
marked with light brown and dull grey. They are usually
closely freckled all over. Mr. JEeysham mentions a nest which
contained three quite white. Sometimes they are uniform dull
yellow: they are laid early in May.

Male; weight, about three drachms; length, about four inches
and a third; the u])per bill, broad at the base, is brownish
black, the lower pale reddish brown, the end dusky, a pale
brown streak runs from it to the eye, and a short way down
the side of the neck; iris, brown; over it is a broad yellowish
white band, proceeding from the base of the bill. Head on
the crown, brownish black, the edges of the feathers streaked
with light brown, in the latter part of the summer it becomes
nearly uniform brown'sh black; neck on the sides, yellowish
brown, on the back and nape, reddish brown, tinged with
gre}^ the middle of each feather being dark brown; chin and
throat, nearly white; breast, brownish white, strongly tinged
with yellowish brown on the sides; back above, reddish brown,
tinged with grey, the middle of each feather being dark brown,

SrDGi; WAEBLER. 77

2Tid the lower part light reddish yellow brown, the centres
of the feathers brown.

The wings are rather short, expanding to the width of
seven inches and nearly three quarters; the first feUher is very
short, the third the longest, the second a little shorter still.
Greater and lesser wing coverts, pale dusky reddish brjwn,
edged with pale greyish brown; primaries, secondaries, and
tertiaries, dark dusky brown, the latter edged with pale greyish
brown. The tail, which extends three quarters of an inch
beyond the closed wings, and is rather long, straight, and
slightly rounded, is dusky brown, the feathers edged with pale
greyish brown, underneath it is dusky brown; upper tail coverts,
reddish brown, darker than the back; under tail coverts,
yellowish brown: legs, pale yellowish grey; toes, a little darker;
claws, brown, the hinder one rather short and hooked — all
somewhat curved and sharp.

The female resembles the male, but is slightly larger. The
stripe over the eye is less distinct. The crown is more tinged
with brown; the back is of a paler tint, and less bright on
the lower part. Upper tail coverts, less rufous than in the
male; under tail coverts, mixed with dusky brown.

The young when fully fledged have the bill greyish brown
above, and pale reddish brown beneath; head and crown,
reddish brown, spotted with brownish black ; neck on the back
and nape, reddish brown; chin, throat, and breast, dull brownish
white. Back on the upper part, reddish brown, spotted with
brown; toes, pale reddish brown.

A very curious variety of this species is recorded by
W. F. W. Bird, Esq., in the 'Zoolocrist,' page 3632, as having
been killed in Sussex, in July, 1852: — 'It was a bird of this
year, but full grown, and of a uniform light canary colour
aJl over, except that on the top of the head there were a
few spots or small streaks of pale olive.'

78

REED WAEBLER.

NIGHT WAKBLER. EEED WEEN.

Sylvia arundJnacea, PENNANT. Bewick.

Motacilla aruridnmcea, MoNTAGU.

Currura arundinacHa, Fleming.

Snncaria arundmacea, Sklby. GoulD,

Passer arundinacea minor, RaY.

Sylvia. Sylva—A wood. Arundinacea — Of, or appertaining to reeds.
Arundo — A reed.

The Reed Warbler is abundant in Holland, Italy, Germany,
and France, and is found in other temperate parts of Europe,
but is more rare in the south.

The Rev. John Lightfoot was the first to notice this bird
as a British one, and his account of it, communicated to
Sir Joseph Banks, was read before the Royal Society, and
printed in the^r Transactions for the year 1785. Now, however,
it is plentifully known, though somewhat locally in many
parts. In Yorkshire it is tolerably common in some districts;
among others, near Thirsk and Huddersfield, and has been
met with near Ripon. It builds in the gardens of Worcester
College, Oxford, as James Dalton, Esq. has informed me.
In the counties of Essex, near Epping; in Surrey, on the
Abbey River; and in Kent, about Romney Marsh and Sandwich.
In Suffolk, near Sudbury; Staffordshire, near Tutbury; in
Norfolk, near Yarmouth; in Nottinghamshire; Staffordshire,
'by the Trent; Sussex, near Arundel; Northamptonshire;
Derbyshire, near Melbourne, and other parts; Oxfordshire,
and near London. In Devonshire it is considered rare; also
in Cornwall.

In Ireland Mr. Templeton saw one near Belfast; and
Robert J. Montgomery, Esq., of The Manor House, Raheny,
near Dublin, shot one there on the 21st. of December, 1843.

EEED W'aEBLEE. 79

Misrratory in its habits, it arrives here generally the end
of April or the beginning of the month of May, and leaves
us again about the commencement of September.

I have been favoured by J. G. Bonney, Esq., of Kugeley,
Staifbi-dshire, with a full account of the habits of this bird.
Wherever it . does occur it is found in that part of England
in great abundance. It is rather shy, and loves to ensconce
itself among reeds, where, eschewing the advice so often
inculcated in early life on another species, it is for the most
part heard but not seen. It is almost continually on the
move, running rapidly up and down the tall stems, and
hopping about from one to another w^th great agility. It
frequents places where such trees and plants as willows, reeds,
and rushes abound.

It may be kept in confinement, and in that state has
been heard by Mr. Sweet to sing occasionally all the winter.
Mr. Meyer has known it build close to the town of Chertsey.

Its food consists of various water insects and their larvae,
worms, slugs, and the smaller dragon-flies: the winged kinds
are sometimes hovered for and taken on- the suiface of the
water, or carefully searched after among the stems and
branches of the willows and aquatic plants in its resorts.

Its ordinary note is rapidly hurried, harsh, loud, garrulous,
and unmusical, uttered almost incessantly when its nest is
supposed to be in any danger — a mere 'kurrrrrrr.' It has
been likened by Mr. Bonney to the w^ords 'chree, que, treet,*
repeated w^ithout any order. The song of the one just now
mentioned is described, as very variable, consisting of a great
number of notes, and sung w^ith many changes of voice, so
diversified as to resemble the song of several different birds.
It appears to be heard at night, and is chiefly uttered from
the midst of the dense foliage — the 4ocus in quo' the bird
secretes itself.

The nest is a very artistical piece of work, and is generally-
placed between three, four, or five stems of the common
reed that grow near to one another, at a height commonly
of about three feet above the water, but one has been known
as much as nine feet from the ground. To these the self-
taught architect fastens the cordage that supports her tent,
twining and interlacing it, that is, part of the materials of
which it is composed, round and round them at intervals,
until the whole is firmly fixed, not so firmly however but
that the reeds may be easily slipped out without injuring

80 EEED WARBLEB.

the structure. It is formed of dried grass, long stalks, dry
leaves, lichens, and wool, as also at times some moss, and is
lined with the blossom of the reed. It generally consists of
two parts, a loose foundation of the first-named materials,
and the actual nest, which is composed almost exclusively of
the last-named. This upper part can sometimes be detached
from the lower, as if from a socket, the whole being narrow
and deep to secure the eggs when the reeds are swayed down,
so that the frail fabric, the bird all the while sitting in it,
is often brought close to the very water's edge. The depth
outside is from about three to fiwe inches, and the inside about
three, by about three in width at the top and two at the
bottom. The nest, however, is not invariably placed among
reeds; it is at tim.es found in a blackthorn, whitethorn,
willow, or among the clustering branches of an osier bed.
Mr. Sweet met with one in the low part of a poplar tree,
and Mr. Bolton another in a hazel bush. It is said that
the nests of birds of the first and second years' age are not
so neatly finished as those whose builders have had more
experience. When destroyed sometimes by floods, even two
or three times, these birds have been known by Mr. Briggs
to build a fourth. James Dal ton, Esq., of Worcester College,
Oxford, has taken one suspended in a box tree, near the
piece of water which is there so great an ornament. N.
Kowe Esq., of the same College, has found it in a lilac tree.
G. B. Clarke, Esq., of Woburn, has also forwarded to me
specimens of the nest and eggs of the present species, as
have likewise J. G. Bonney, Esq., and Mr. Dalton.

The eggs, usually four, or sometimes five or six in number,
are of a dull greenish white colour, spotted and freckled
with darker greyish green and light brown. In some in-
stances the spots are almost black, in others inclining to a
brownish green; occasionally the egg is marked with one or
two little black lines at the broad end. The arrangement
of the spots is endless — some varieties are equally marked
all over; in some the spots are in a ring round the broad
end; in others the base is covered; some are but slightly
marked; others are completely covered over; one rare variety
has been seen almost white, faintly mottled with pale grey
blots; some quite white have been known. They are frequently
not laid until after the beginning of June.

The young are hatched in July, and are said to quit the
nest soon, being able, before acquiring the art of flying, to

EEED WABBLEB. 81

make their way about the stalks of the reeds with their
parents.

Male; weight, nearly three drachms; length, five inches
and a half; bill, broad at the base, pale brown, the under
mandible inclining to yellowish white, brown towards the
end — an indistinct dusky streak runs from its base to the
eye and behind it, and a pale yellowish brown streak over
it; iris, pale orange brown; eyelids, pale yellowish white;
there are two or three strong bristles on each side of the
bill. Head, crown, neck on the back, and nape, uniform
. rather pale brown with a tinge of chesnut; chin and throat,
white, of a silvery cast in old birds. Breast, pale greyish
yellow, darkest on the sides; back, pale reddish brown.

The wings extend to within an inch and a half of the end
of the tail, the quills are nineteen in number, the first
feather is about a quarter the length of the second, the
second and fourth nearly equal; primaries, secondaries, and
and tertaries, dark dusky chesnut brown, bordered with olive
brown. Tail, rather long, and a good deal rounded at the
end, the outside feather being a quarter of an inch shorter
than the middle one; the two middle feathers are the longest,
and a little pointed; it is dark dusky brown, bordered with
olive brown; under tail coverts, pale buff. Legs and toes,
pale greyish or yellowish brown, the claws a little darker,
the hind one strong, long, and hooked; the soles yellowish.

The female is scarcely distinguishable from the male, but
is rather smaller. Length, about five inches.

The young of the year are darker coloured than their parents,
and more mottled. The white streak over the eye is very
faint mitil after the moult.

VOL. IV.

82

NIGHTINGALE.

F'fJvia luscinia, Pe?jnant. Temmtnck.

Motacilla luscinia, Montagj. Blvvick.

C'l'rruca luscinia^ FLEMING.

Philomela lusciniay Selby. Gould.

Sylvia. Sylca — A wood. Luscinia — A Nightingale.

The Nightingale is found in Europe, in Eussia even and
the more temperate parts of Siberia, Sweden, Holland, Den-
mark, Germany, France, Spain, Ital}', and the islands of
G-reece. It is known also in Asia — in Asia Minor and Syria;
and in Africa, in Egypt along the Nile, and in other
northern districts.

In Yorkshire I have known them in great plenty in the
neighbourhood of Doncaster, but the bird-catchers make sad
havoc among them. They have also been known near York,
and at Skelton, about five miles north of the ancient city;
also in woods near Barnsley, near Beverley, and near Leeds;
in a wood a mile from Shipley, near Bradford; at Walton,
near Wakefield; Braham Park, near Wetherby; near Hud-
dersfield, at Cinderfield Dyke Wood in Bradley; and in the
wood at Cawood on the Ouse below York. I am also
persuaded that I heard it, *ni fallor,' some few years ago,
about a mile south of Mai ton, seventeen miles north-east of
York, by the road-side, as I was walking home one moonlight
night. It is occasionally heard near Sheffield. It is well
known in Sussex, Hampshire, and Dorsetshire; some parts of
Gloucestershire; in Devonshire, near Teignmouth, Honiton,
Exeter, and the eastern parts of the county, once near
Kingsbridge, at Exmouth, and Barnstaple; in some parts of
Somersetshire; Doveridge, in Derbyshire; Cumberland, as far
north as Carlisle; Essex; Eichmond Park, Surrey; Suffolk;
Norfolk, though less numerous than in some counties, at
Gunton, Burgh, and elsewhere; Lincolnshire, in some situations;
and in the Park of Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire, it is very

NTGHTIKOALE. 83

abundant. It has also frequented the Regent's Park, Hyde
Park, a-.id Kensington Gardens, near London.

In Scotland a pair are said by Mr. Robert D. Duncan to
have bred in Calder Wood, in West Lothian, in the year 1826.

In Ireland it has hitherto been altogether unknown.

Woods, groves, plantations, and copses are its favourite
resort, but it is also found in gardens, even in the neigh-
bourhood of London, and also among thick hedges in shaay
and sheltered situations.

Insects of various sorts, spiders, and earwigs furnish them
with food. The young are fed principally with caterpillars.

The Nightingale favours us with its company about the
middle or end of April, sometimes it is said, not until May,
the males arriving about a week or ten days before the
females. It has been known to arrive on the Suffolk coast
as early as the 7th. of that month. It departs again in
August or September. It would appear that its migration
is made in an almost due south and north direction, few
being found in Devonshire, and none in Cornwall, Wales, or
Ireland, nor any, it is said, in Brittany, or in the Channel
Islands. Many have been introduced into the western parts,
and others into Scotland by Sir John Sinclair, bub they have
never returned the following year — the birth-place possesses
an overpowering attraction for some, but the Nightingale takes
a still higher ground, and will pine in any place but that in
which it ought to have been bom. They seem to travel
by night, and to arrive singly, one by one. The older
birds too are thought to arrive before the younger ones.

It its habits it is not shy, and, as is too well known, may
be kept in confinement: uniortunately they are easily captured.
Bechstein has known one which thus lived, for twenty-five
years. Those taken on their first arrival are said to do
better than those taken afterwards — slavery is somewhat the
same in birds as in the human species. The right-minded
man and the right-minded ornithologist will reprobate both.
These birds return to their native haunt, and each one appears
to exercise propietorship over its own more peculiar domain.
In one instance, related by Mr. J. D. Salmon, of Thetford, in
the * Naturalist,' old series, volume ii, page 52, they liave been
known to breed in confinement, namely, at Norwich, in the
year 1833. The female laid five eggs, which were all i:atched;
and though the male died, the female did not relax her
cares, but successfully reai-ed three young.

84 KIGHTTNGALE.

The late Bishop Stanley relates the following account of
one which was reared from the nest in the spring of 1885:
— *It soon became tame, and was kept in a cpge till May,
1837, singing always in the winter from Christmas till April,
and shewing no symptoms of impatience at the usual pe. iod
of migration; it \vas silent the rest of the year. Last May
it was permitted to go out of its cage, wliich was hung up,
open, at the door of the offices. At first it returned regulai-ly
in the evening to its cage, and was taken in, and released
again the next morning. As the season advanced, it some-
times stayed out all night in the shrubberies and pleasure-
grounds, but if called by any of the" servants, whose voice
it knew, would return and feed out of their hand. For a
a day or two, towards the close of summer, it seemed rather
Tineas}^, but this soon wore off. As the evenings got cool,
in the autumn, it returned to its cage before nightfall, and
was taken as usual into the house; as the season still further
advanced, it was to be permanently housed, and was expected
to sing again at Christmas.'

He also mentions a remarkable instance of their removing
their eggs, under peculiar circumstances, as communicated to
the French Academy of Sciences by M. Merveaux. — A pair
of these birds had built their nest in his garden in the
lower part of a hedge, containing four eggs, when some
water in the neighbourhood rose with such impetuosity as to
inundate the garden. He watched them with some anxiety,
and one day when the w^ater had reached to within six
paces of the nest, he only perceived two eggs. He at first
thought that the nest had been abandoned; but coming to
it very soon after, he only saw one, and this time he waited
to see the result, and was much astonished to see the last
egg disappear with the birds, who, flying cautiously, but
rapidly, carried it to a new nest, at the highest part of the
hedge, where he saw all the four eggs deposited in safety,
and where they were afterwards hatched.

Its flight is swift, light, smooth, and even, though not
extended far. On the ground it stands very erect. When
alighting on a branch the wings are slightly shaken or
quivered.

It takes its prey just in the same way that the Thrush
does, flying to the ground, hopping quickly along in search
of any, then suddenly seizing it, and after a sidelong glance
returning to its post, often the very spot from which it had

NIGHTINGALE. «£>

descended. It also searches for insects along the branches
and under leaves. It is fond of the et^gs of ants, and of
the larvae of wasps, hornets, and bees. The young are said
to he fed with caterpillars.

It is a fancy of Vieilot, and the idea, t}iou2:h fanciful, is a
pretty one, that the Nightingale loves a neighbourhood where
thete is an echo, as if aware of and admiring its own music.
-Certainly the echo of such sounds, for most beautiful they
are, are well worth listening to, and the softened strain may
be niistiken by the enamoured bird for the answeiing note
of his partner, and so may have a heightened enchantment
to his ear.

The name of Nijfhtingale is derived, as Pennant remarks,
fro ill the word night, and the Saxon word galan — to sing;
and 'oft in the sally night' when you are far away from
every wordly association, and there is nothing but the voice
of the Nightin^^ale to break the 'charmed air' and the rept-se
in which all nature is hushed, your, s )ul may well be raised
to happy and holy contemplation, and you will be able to
enter into the spirit of the Old Hundredth Psalm, and
* Prase GOD from whom all blessings flow.'

When the young are hatched the song ceases in great
measure, though it is in fict continued in some de^^ree to
witlim a .few days of their departure. They do not sing on
tlieir very Hrst arrival; it is not till the females have come
that the s.^renade begins; then 'Buona notte, Buona notte
amato i e le,' is the ni^^htly strain for about a f )rtnight, until
the arrival i^i a family busy it too much with sublunary
care-. If the female be accidentally destroyed, the male then
resumes his song until he finds another partner, which, curioug
to say, as in the case of other s[jecies, he j^enerally me.ts
with, l)ut where or how is ^passing strange.' A warning note
is excised by the approach of danger, or a snapping of the
bill utt^-red against it, and a short 'tack,' heard also at other
timt's. The Nightingale begins its morning song from half-
past, three to four o'clock. Sometimes, indeed, especially if
the nioon be shiniui^, it sini^s throughout ti\e ni^ht, and its
sotii^, attended however by its peculiar ol>jurgatory note,
insie.id of being checked, is only excited the more by any
casual disturbance. The sound of music or other noise will
arouse their attention, and at times their rivalry. An anecdote
is on record of one, which entered into cotnpetition with the
inslruaient of a perfoniier, and f;ll at his feet exhausted

86 I^-IGIITIIS'GALE.

with the strugf^le to outvie him. Pliny, too, says *They
emulate one another, and the contention is plainly an animated
one. The conquered often ends its life, its spirit failing
sooner than its song.' It has been known to imitate the
human voice.

It is the opinion of Mr. Charles Muskett, of Norwich, as
expressed in a letter to me, that the older the bird, the more
perfect the song. The voice of the Nioh ting ale may be heard,
it is said, when the air is calm, to fill a space of a mile in
diameter. Meyer says that a young one, taken from the nest,
has been known to sing on the seventh day after its removal,
and as it was conjectured to be about nine days old when
taken, its musical career was commenced on the sixteenth
day of its existence. They sing by day as well as by night.
I have heard them on every side of me in Edhngton Woody
near Doncaster, a place where they abound. Mr. Newman
relates in the 'Magazine of Natural History,' volume v, page
654, that on the i2th. of December, either in 1823 or 1824,
he heard the Nightingale singing clearly and distinctly,
although not ver}^ loudly, at Godalming, in Surrey. He also
mentions that he has seen it in that neighbourhood in the
month of October, and once in November. The poet Cowper
has some stanzas addressed 'To the Nightingale, which the
autlior heard sing on New Year's Day, 1792.'

The nest of the Nightingale, which is almost always placed
• on the ground, in some natural hollow, amongst the roots
of a tree, on a bank, or at the foot of a hedgerow, though
sometimes two or three feet from, the surface, is very loosely
put together, and is formed of various materials, such as
dried stalks of grasses, and leaves, small fibrous roots, and
bits of bark, lined with a few hairs and the finer portions
of the grass. It is about five inches aud a half in external
di'^ meter, by about three internally, and about three and a
half deep.

Here again let me 'enter a plaint' in behalf of the bird
and her nest. He who robs a Nightingale's nest robs his
neighbour, as well as the owner of it, and is guilty at once
of burglary and petty larceny. Mr. Meyer observes, 'The
attachment of this species to its young, and its grief at
their loss, have been noticed by many writers, ancient and
modern. Our friend, the Kev. E. J. Moor, ^ends us, on this
subject a memorandum from his journal: 'one evening, while
I was at college,' he says, 'happening to drink tea with the

TlTGHTINaALE. 87

late Eev. J. Lambert, fellow of Trinity College, he told me
the following iact, illustrative of Virgil's extreme accuracy in
describing natural objects. We had been speaking of those
well-known lovely lines in the fourth Georgic on the Night-
ingale's lamentation for the loss of her young, when Mr.
Lambert told me that riding once through one of the toll-
gates near Cambridge, he observed the keeper of the gate
and his wife, who were aged persons, apparently much
dejected. Upon inquiring into the cause of their uneasiness,
the man assured Mr. Lambert that he and his wife had
both been made very unhappy by a Nightingale, which had
built in their garden, and had the day before been robbed
of its young. This loss she had been deploring in such a
melancholy strain all tlie mght, as not only to deprive him
and his wife of sleep, but also to leave them in the morning
full of sorrow; from which they had evidently not recovered
when Mr. Lambert saw them.' '

The eggs, of a regular oval form, are of a uniform* glossy
dull olive brown colour. They are sometimes tinged with
greyish blue, especially at the smaller end; some are greenish;
others brownish green; some are paler, mottled with olive
brown; and some are longer in shape than others. They are
four or five to six in number. They are laid in May, and
are rather large for the size of the bird. The male and
female both sit on them, but the latter the most. The
young, which are hatched in June, often leave the nest and
hop about on the ground in its neighbourhood before they
are able to fly.

Male; weight, about six drachms; length, six inches and
three quarters. The upper bill is blackish brown, with a
tinge of red, tbe lower one pale yellowish, and dusky brown
at the tip; iris, dark brown, the feathers of the eyelids
brownish white.. Head, crown, neck on the back, and nape,
uniform dull chesnut brown; chin and throat, dull greyish
Tj'hite; breast, pale greyish brown, but lighter again lower
down. Back, reddish brown, varying considerably in different
individuals, some being much more red, and others more
grey.

The wings, of eighteen quills, have the first quill feather
very short, the second equal in length to the fiflh, the third
the longest, the fourth almost as long. They extend to the
width of ten inches and a half; primarif^s, secondaries, and
tertiaricB, reddish brown, the inner webs dusky brown. The

88 inaHTINGALE.

tail, which reaches an inch and a quarter heyond the closed
wings, is rufous brown, and rather rounded at the end. It
is straight* and rather long, the feathers rather broad; under
tail coverts, dull yellowish white. Legs, toes, and claws, pale
greyish brown.

The female resembles the male, but is rather less in size.
Length, six inches and a half; throat, not so white as in
the male. The wings expand to ten inches in width.

The young have the feathers on the breast with dark
margins, and the back spotted with reddish jellow or buff
colour.

89

THRUSH NIGHTINGALE.

Sr/h a Turdoidea^ ? IeybR,

riulomela TurdoideSy Blyth. Gould,

St/Ivia. Sylva—A wooa. Turdoides. J urdus — A Thrush.

Eidos—TliQ iorm, figure, or iikeuess of a thing.

This species occurs throughout Silesia, Bohemia, Pomerania,
Franconia, and other parts of Germany; and is plentiful also
in Hungary, Austria, and Poland, but more rare m France.

Mr. Gould says that it is generally found in woods situated
on the tops of hills, and also in plains, particularly those iji
the neisfhbourhood of runnino; streams.

One of these birds, a male, was captured near the village
of SsvalweH, three or four miles west of Newcastle, *the New-
castle that is upon Tyne,' by Mr. Thomas Eobson, of the
former place. Another is recorded by Mr. Edward Newman
in the 'Zoologist,' page 3i76, as having been shot near
Dartford, in Kent, on the 8th. of May, 1852. Mr. John
Hancock procured the eorg of another from Northamptonshire;
and N. Rowe, Esq., of Worcester College, Oxford, has informed
me that two eggs of this rare Biitish bird were taken at Stad-
discombe, near Plymouth, in Devonshire, in 1850, and that
the Kev. H. Itoundell procured others in Kent.

Its song, which is chiefly heard by nii2:ht, is strong, loud,
and deep; but, though more powerful, not so melodious as
that of the Nightingale.

The nest is built in small thickets, but most frequently
in low and damp situations.

The eggs are of a brownish olive colour, stained with deep
brown.

Male; bill, dark brown; head, crown, neck on the back, and
nape, dark brown; chin, white; throat, whitish; breast, clear

90 THEUSH NIGHTINGALE.

greyish brown, spotted with dark dashes; back, dark brown.
Greater and lesser wing coverts, reddish brown; primaries^
secondaries, and tertiaries, brown. Tail, rich brownish red;
legs and toes, light reddish brown; claws, blackish brown.
The female resembles the male.

01

GREAT SEDGE WARBLER.

Salicaria turdoides, Selby,

Salf'x — A willow. Turdoides. Turdus^A. ThriTih. Eidos—ThQ

likeness or resemblance of any tiling.

I AM exceedingly happy in being able to giye a figure of
the present species as a new British bird, having received
information from Mr. Chaffey, of Dodington, Kent — information
which may be most implicitly relied on — that one was killed
in Kent on the 4th. of May, 1853, by the side of a pond
near Sittingbom'ne, by Mr. Gr. Thomas, of that place.

The Great Sedge Warbler is exceedingly abundant in
Holland, and frequents also the low flat lands of France to
the shores of the English Channel, so that it is anything
but surprising that one should have found its way across, a
'Pathfinder' perhaps for many another, or still more probably,
a follower of many others which may have come over in
previous ^^ears and have been overlooked.

Its food consists of insects — the smaller dragon-flies, gnats,
and others.

This is considered a delightful Warbler, from whence its
specific name, as approximating in the excellence of its tones
to those of the Thrush. Its notes are hurried, but loud and
rich.

The nest is located among the stalks of reeds.

Tiie eggs are five in number, obtuse, greenish white, spotted
with black and ash-colour.

Male; bill, brown, darkest along the upper edge and at
the tip; over the eye is a white stripe. Head, crown, neck
on the back, and nape, uniform light brown; chin, throat,
and breast, white, delicately tinged with brown; back, light
brown. Wings, brown; tail, light brown; legs and toes^
light brown.

The female does not differ appreciably from the male.

92

RUFOUS SEDGE WARBLER.

Salicnria pafactoies, Gotjld. Schlegel. Tkmminck.

St/lvia galactoteSy Temminck.

Salicaria. Salix—A willow — as one might say, Willow Bird.
Gulactotes — ?

In Europe this newly- discovered British species inhabits
Greece and Spain. It is also a native of Africa, belonging
to Egypt; and in Asia has been obtained from the neigh-
bourhood of Mount Caucasus.

On the 16th. of September, 1854, one, a male, was shot in
this country by Mr. G. Swaysland, of Brighton, near a part
of the Sussex Downs, known by the name of Plumpton
Bosthill.

This bird is described as of wary habits.

The eggs are of a pale greenish white colour, spotted and
speckled over *invicem' with two shades of darker greenish
brown.

Male; length, seven inches. The bill is slightly curved;
the upper mandible is brown above, the sides pale yellowish
brown, of which colour is the lower mandible; from the base
of the bill there is a dark streak going back to the eye.
Iris, reddish brown; over and under the eye, and passing
backwards, is a short cream-white streak. Head, crown, neck,
and nape, fawn-colour; chin, throat, and breast, dull white;
back, fawn-colour.

The wings have the first quill feather short, the second
and sixth of nearly equal length, the third, fourth, and fifth
equal in length, and at the same time the longest in the
wing. Greater and lesser wing coverts, fawn-colour; primaries
and secondaries, brown, the outer edges reddish buff; greater
and lesser under wing coverts, delicate fawn-colour. The tail,
which is much cuneated, and consists of twelve feathers, has

^"'^■*x

EUFOUS SEDGE WAEBLEE. 9*^

the two long middle ones reddish buff, the others reddish
buff over two thirds of their length, each gradually shortening,
then crossed by a broad band of black, the remainder white,
the outside paler on each side, with the largest portion of
white. Underneath the tail is marked as on the upper surface,
but is not so bright. Upper tail coverts, reddish buff. Legs,
toes, and claws, pale brown.

BLACKCAP.

BLACKCAP WAEBLER. MOCK ISTIGHTINGALE.

Sylvia atricapilla. Pennant. Jenyns.

MotaclUa atricapillay Montagu. Bewick.

" mosqu'tay Gmelin.

Curru^a atricapillaj Gould. Fleming.

Sj/Jvia. Si/Jva — A wood.
Atricapilla. ^^er— Black. Capiilus— The, hair of the head.

The Blackcap is more cosmopolite in its character than
any other of the British Warhlers. It frequents the whole
of the temperate parts of Europe, from Spain and Portugal
to Grermany, Italy, Lapland, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden.
In Africa it is found from the northern parts to the Cape
of Grood Hope, and midway in Senegal, as likewise in
Madeira and the Azores. In Asia also it is known, in
Persia, Java, and Japan.

Throughout England it is met with in all quarters of the
country, but mostly in the south, from Sussex to the Land's
End, and from Suffolk and Norfolk to Derbyshire and Wales.
In Cornwall it is scarce; in Yorkshire it is commonly dis-
tributed, but is least plentiful it is said near Huddersfield,
where, however, some are believed to stay throughout the
year. One was caught in the township of St. John in Bed-
wardine, near "Worcester, on the 20fch. of January, 1843.
Another in January, about the year 1847, near Dover; and
one on the 22nd. of December, 1852, in Norfolk.

In Ireland it seems to be a regular summer visitant to
certain districts, but must be considered very local. Dr.
Harvey, in his ^Fauna of Cork,' mentions two taken there
in November, 1839; and one was found dead in the garden
of Mr. Ball, near Youghal, in the second week in January,
1838. Eoberfc J. Montgomery, Esq., Jun., shot two on the

BLACKCAP. 95

21^t. of December, 18 IS, at the Manor House, Rah en v, near
Dublin. Mr. Templeton noticed it at his own residence,
Cranmore, on the 17th. of June, 1818, and twice since. One
was procured in the garden of the Bishop of Dovn, near
Belfast, on the 1st. of March, 1834: one near Dublin, the
■first week in December, 1833; and one in the Phoenix Park,
about the middle of May, 18M. Two in the same locality
in December, 1843; one at Donnybrook, once so celebrated
for its fair, in October, 1846; one at Rathfarnham, also in
the same county, in January, 1847; and one at Moore's
*Svveet Vale of Avoca,' in the county of Wicklow, on the
23rd. of May, 1837. One of a small party of six or seven,
probably the family of the year, was procured at Clonmel, on
the 27th. of December, 1834; others at Ballibrado, in the
county of Tipperary; one near Waterford on the 9th. of
October, 1830, and another on the 21st. of August, 1834, at
Dun more, in that county; and one at Dunmore, in Galway,
on the 1st. of November, 1842.

In Scotland it is sparingly distributed throughout the
southern parts. Mr. T. Edwards has heard them sing near
Banff, at Mayen and Rothiemary, and in the grounds of
Duff House. It is not uncommon in the Valley of the
Clyde, especially about Hamilton. They occur also near
Paisley in Renfrewshire, Stevenston, in Ayrshire, and have
been met with in Perthshire and Forfarshire.

In Orkney one was shot in San day, in the summer of
1846.

It haunts thick hedges and brakes, woods, groves, and
plantations, shrubberies, lanes, orchards, copses, and thickets.

It migrates hither, in uncertain numbers, the middle of
April, or earlier with the season, and leaves again in September.
In late seasons it does not arrive till the beginning of May,
and has been observed on the other hand on the 9th. of April.
One has been killed in Kent, in January, and one seen. in
Surrey in December; and Mr. Allis says that he has been
informed that some have been known to remain throughout
the year in Yorkshire. The males do not travel quite 'pari
passu' with the females, but arrive some days before them.
It appears however to be certain, from the many instances
already adduced, that some must stay with us every winter,
and especially, it would seem, in Ireland.

It is a bird of rather shy and timid habits, and at the
same time lively and restless in its movements, quickly

96 BLACKCAP.

retiring, on being observed, into tbe denser parts of its cover.
It is also of a solitary nature, more than two individuals
being seldom seen in company. The cultivated parts of the
country are its resort. It is capable of being kept in con-
finement. In the 'Zoologist,' page 356, Vivian Walmeslev,
Esq. relates a curious circumstance of a Blackcap attackino*
a rabbit which he had shot, and appearing to triumph at
its death.

It seldom takes a long flight, but flits from bush to bush.
The Blackcap feeds on insects, caterpillars, berries, ivy and
others, and fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries, cherries,
pears, and currants. The first-named are sometimes captured
when flying, but chiefly found in various parts of the trees
or bushes which the bird frequents, and in pursuit, or rather
in search of them, it creeps among the dense foliage, or threads
its w^ay through the tangled underwood with the most graceful
nimbleness and minute investigation.

A very beautiful roundelay is that of the Blackcap, inferior
only in the estimation of many to that of the Nightingale.
It is usually first heard in the middle of April, but in very
mild seasons has been noticed so soon as the 29 ih. of March.
It will sometimes be continued until August, if there should
be a second brood. Its tones, though desultory, are very
rich, deep, fall, loud, varied, sweetly wild and witching. It
is generally given forth from some of the higher branches or
twigs of the bush or hedge. The notes of other birds are
also imitated — those of the Nightingale, Blackbird, Eobin,
Thrush, and Grarden Warbler. The throat is much distended
in a somewhat curious manner, while the bird is singing.
When the young are hatched, 'the song becomes broken, the
melody gradually ceases, and we hear only the visual call-
notes. Either are easily interrupted; and a shglit noise, or
the intrusion of a stranger, will induce silence, and the bird
will remove itself gradually and quietly to the closer parts
of the thicket; or having gained the edge of a more limited
shrubbery, it will silently flit to some more extensive and
secure retreat.'

The nest, built about the end of May or the beginning of
June, is commonly placed in a bramble or other bush, some-
times in a honeysuckle, a raspberry, or currant tree, about
two or three feet or rather more from the ground; sometimes
among nettles. It is made of dry grass and small fibrous
roots, with occasionally a little moss and hair — the latter as

BLACKCAP. 97

a lining, and the outer parts cemented together with spiders'
webs and wool. It is strong and tolerably compact, though
slight. Anything like meddling with it, or intruding upon
it, is jealously watched, and the smallest disturbance causes
the nest to be forsaken. Several in fact are frequently
abandoned, either from apprehension or caprice, before they
have been finished. Alfred Newton, Esq., of Elveden Hall,
near Thetford, mentions in the 'Zoologist,' page 1024, his
having known a nest to be found there on the 11th. of
March, 1845, which contained an egg at that early date.

The eggs, usually four or five in number, are of a pale
greenish white colour, mottled with light brown and grey,
with a few spots and streaks of dark brown. They vary a
good deal both in size and shape.

Frederick Stafford, Esq., of De Warren House, Northfleet,
Kent, has informed me of his having obtained from the county
of Norfolk, four eggs of this species of a beautiful salmon-
colour, in no w^ay the effect of incubation, as only one egg
had been deposited when the nest was first discovered. This
pink variety is not very unfrequent. J. A. Drake, Esq. has
also forwarded me a good variety.

Both birds sit on the eggs, but the female naturally the
most. The male frequently sings while so engaged. The
female, when sitting, is occasionally fed by her partner. The
young are said to leave the nest rather soon, roosting with
their parents on the adjoining boughs.

Male; weight, about four drachms and a half; length, five
inches and three quarters to six inches and a trifle over; bill,
dark horn-colour, paler beneath, the edges yellowish grey; the
inside of the mouth bluish grey; ii'is, dark brown. Head on
the crown, black; its sides, the neck on the back, and nape,
ash-coloured; chin, throat, and breast, ash-coloured, the latter
white on the lower part, tinged with yellowish grey. Back,
brownish ash-colour.

The wings, which extend to nine inches and about a quarter,
have the first quill feather very short, the second longer than
the sixth, but shorter than the fifth, the third the longest ;.
primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, greyish bro\vn, their
outer edges pale yellowish brown; underneath they are grey;
greater and lesser under wing coverts, white. Tail underneath,
grey; legs and toes, lead-coloured, the latter tinged with green
beneath; claws, brown.

The female resembles the male, but her plumage is more

VOL. IV. H

98 BLACKCAP.

tinged with brown. Length, six inches and nearly a quarter.
Head on the sides, grey, with a greenish tinge; on the crown,
reddish brown, reaching farther back than in the male; nape,
grey, with a greenish tinge. Breast, yellowish brown, ap-
proaching to white on the centre, and darker on the sides
and across the breast. The wings expand to the width of
nine inches and a quarter.

The young, when fully fledged, resemble the adult bird.
Head on the crown, greyish brown.

00

ORPHEAN WARBLEE.

Sylvia OrpheUy

Temminck,

** griseay

ViELLOT.

Curruca Orphea,

Gould.

Sylvia. Sylva — A wood. Orphea. Orpheus — A famous musician

of antiquity.

This species is a common one in the southern parts of
Prance, and is very abundant in Italy, particularly in Lom-
bardy and Piedmont, also in Tuscany; and is sometimes
found in Switzerland and the adjacent districts.

One specimen of this bird, an 'avant courier' it may be
hoped of others, was shot on the 6th. of July, 184S, in a
small plantation near Wetherby, in the West Riding of
Yorkshire, and preserved by Mr. Graham, of York, for William
Mordaunt Edward Milner, Esq., M.P. for York. It was a
female, and appeared to have been sitting the same summer:
the male bird was also observed with it for a considerable
time previously. An account of this interesting occurrence
was published in the 'Zoologist,' pages 3107-8-9-10.

Its food is composed of insects and berries.

The Orphean Warbler builds sometimes in low bushes, often
in company with others of the same species, and not uncom-
monly in holes of rocks and walls, as also in the eaves and
roofs of deserted or isolated houses and buildings.

The eggs are four or five in number, nearly white, irregu-
larly marked with yellowish blots and brown spots, chiefly at
the larger end.

Male; length, a little over six inches; bill, black, thick,
and very strong, the upper mandible very much grooved, the
lower one yellowish brown at its base; head on the crown,
brownish black, fading into the colour of the back; neck on
the back, and nape, cinereous brown, with a tinge of olive;

100 OKPHEAK WAEBLEB.

chin and throat, white; breast, white, with a very delicate
rose tint.

Wings, almost black, edged with ash-coloured brown; pri-
maries, dark cinereous brown, with a tinge of olive; tail, dark
cinereous brown, with a tinge of olive, the outer feather on
each side being white, tinged with reddish brown on its inner
edge, the second tipped with white; under tail coverts, pale
reddish brown; legs, toes, and claws, black and strong.

Female; length, a little over six inches; head, crown, neck
on the back, and nape, dark ash-coloured brown; chin, dull
white; throat and breast, white, ending in light brown;
back, dark-coloured brown. Wings, imdemeath, light brown;
tail, brownish black, the outermost feather on each side
white, and the next edged with dull white; legs, very
strong; toes and claws, black.

101

GARDEN WARBLER.

GEEATEE PETTYCHAPS.

Sylvia hortensis, Latham. Bschstkin.

Curruca hortensiSj Selby.

Motadlla hortensii, MoNTAGU.

Sylvia. Sylva—A wood. Eortensis— Belonging to gardens.

De. Latham was the first to notice this as a British bird,
— a specimen having been obtained in Lancashire, and for-
warded to him by Sir Ashton Lever, the founder of the
Leverian Museum.

It is found throughout the continent of Europe, from Italy
to Denmark and Sweden in the summer.

In Yorkshire it occurs in various situations, as near Hud-
dersfield and Hebden Bridge, Hahfax, Sheffield, Leeds, and
York; in the East-Riding it is more uncommon, being mostly
met with in its passage. Mr. B. Fawcett, of Driffield,
obtained one in his garden there, the present year, 1853, and
from it the plate is coloured. Near Scarborough it is scarce,
according to Mr. Patrick Hawkridge, in 'The Naturalist,' old
series, vol. ii., p. 333. In Norfolk it is not very numerous.
In Oxfordshire it occurs in gardens in abundance, as likewise
in Cambridgeshire. In Derbyshire it is sparingly distributed.
It occurs also in Wiltshire, SuflPolk, Devonshire, Lincolnshire,
Durham, Northumberland, and other counties. In Cornwall
it is rare — has been met with at Budock.

In Scotland it has been noticed in Dalkeith Park and
Midcalder, Lothian, between Lasswade and Roslin, at New-
battle and Dalhousie, the Corstorphine Hill and Currie near
Edinburgh, and various other parts.

In Ireland it seems to be extremely rare. Mr. Templeton
met with one on the 21st. of May, 1820. It regularly breeds

102 GAEDEN WAEBLEE.

in the gardens about Sunday's Well, near Cork; and also has
been observed at Ballibrado, in the county of Tipperary, more
years than one, by Mr. Henry Fennell, of that place.

This is a very favourite bircL of mine, one that you always
fancy to be uncommon, even while knowinsf that the contrary
is the case. It is frequently overlooked, like others of divers
races who are of a retiring nature, and more disposed to earn
than to seek the reward of merit.

For the most part it frequents gardens, as its name indi-
cates, and also orchards and woods, even such as are more
remote from human habitation, leaving the latter however in
the autumn for the former. It often builds close to houses.

It arrives in this country about the end of April or beginnmg^
of May,, and departs again in September.

In its habits it is unobtrusive, shy, and retiring, especially
when engaged with its nest, and always interesting to watch.
It is extremely active and agile, gliding quickly among the
boughs and branches of its shelter, and when on the ground
advancing by a series of leaps. Its sweet song generally
gives you notice of its vicinity, but if your neighbourhood
is made known to it, the song ceases, and the bird drops
silently into the nearest cover, and from thence retreats by
hopping or flitting to some more secure distance. It is
capable of being kept in confinement.

Its manner of flight is short and rapid.

Insects, caterpillars, worms, and fruits are its food, and
with the latter the young are also at times fed; the former
are sometimes captured on the wing, the bird darting upwards
after them, and their unerring capture is indicated by an
audible snap of the bill. Most fruits, both wild and cultivated,
seem to suit its taste — the berries of the elder, the piivet,
the ivy, the barberry, the plum, the apple, the pear, cherries,^
strawberries, figs, and peas.

Its note, which is heard up to August, is exquisitely sweet,
rich, and flute-liko. It is one of those species which, as the
Psalmist says, ^sing among the branches.' Its voice is mostly
uttered from the depth of some shady recess, but sometimes
also from the top of a moderate-sized tree. Some of the notes
are low and soft, others loud and clear, and the harmony
of the whole falls with a most pleasing cadence on the ear
of the listener. It is heard throughout the greater part of
the day.

The nest is made of goose-grass, and other grasses, straws,.

GAEDEN WAEBLER. 103

and small roots, mixed sometimes with a small quantity of
moss, and lined with a little wool or horse-hair, and fine fibres
of plants. It is attached to the branches with spider-cots
and the cocoons of chrysalides. It is generally placed between
the branches of some low blackthorn, wbitetliorji, or other
bush, not far from the gromid, as ah-'o at times on tlic ground
among the taller wild plants. It is rather loosely constructed.
One is said to have been found iji an open fiold among some
tares, and another has been taken in a row of j)eas in a garden
by Mr. Yarrell. Mr. Jesse mentions his having found one
three times in succession among the *Ivy green' against a
wall. It is not very carefully concealed.

The eggs, four or five in number, of a dull yellowish grey,
or pale purple brown, spotted and blotted with darker markings
of the latter colour. James Dalton, Esq., of Worcester
College, Oxford, has obligin2:ly forwarded me a specimen from
the beautiful gardens of that College, where it used to my
knowledge to be an annual visitant.

Both male and female are believed to take their turn on
the nest. Two broods are commonly reared in the season.

Male; weight, somewhat above five drachms; length, about
six inches; bill, dusky brown, the base and edges of the lower
mandible yellow, the inside of tlie mouth orange; iris, dark
brown — a small space round it is whitish. Head on the sides,
pale brownish; on the crown, the neck on the back, and the
nape, light greyish brown, with a faint tingo of olive; the
neck on the sides is brownish grey; chin and throat, yellowish
white, the lower part of the latter ajid upper part of the
breast tinged with reddish brown, ^s are tlie sides, the re-
mainder yellowish white, almost white below. The wings,
which extend to the width of nine inches, are broad and
rather pointed; the first feather is extremely short, being only
a fifth of the length of tlie second, which is as long as the
fourth, and shorter than the third, which is the longest in
the wing; primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, light dusky
brown, slightly margined with olive; greater and lesser under
wing coverts, of a fine buff yellow. Tail, straight, the feathers
narrow, and dusky brown in colour; under tail coverts, pale
greyish brown, the margins white. Toes and claws, greyish
brown.

The female closely resembles the male both in size and
appearance, but is lighter in colour on the upper part, and
more uniformly greyish brown beneath.

104 GARDEN WARBLER.

The young, when fledged, resemble the old birds, but the
space about the eyes is greyish white. The breast is more
tinged with yellow; back, of a richer yellowish brown tint.
Greater and lesser under wing coverts, pure yellow. Toes and
claws, yellowish brown.

105

WHITETHROAT.

COMMON WHITETHEOAT. MUGGY. :N^ETTLE-CEEEPEE.

Sylvia rinerea. Pennant. Jbntns.

Motacilla st/lvia, Montagu. Bkwick.

Curruca sylviaj Fleming.

" cintrta^ Gould.

Sylvia Sylva — A wood. CVn«rca— Cinereous — ash -coloured.

This appears to be the commonest of the Warblers that
are summer visitors to this country.

In Europe it is known likewise in Denmark, Sweden,
Russia, Norway, and the more temperate parts of Siberia;
Germany, Holland, France, Spain, Italy, and Sardinia. In
Asia it has also been noticed, in Asia Minor.

It is to be seen in every county of England, from Kent
and Sussex to Cornwall and Durham and Northumberland.
In Yorkshire it is common, but is less numerous farther
north.

In Scotland it has been seen in Sutherlandshire and Argyle-
shire, and indeed in most of the sheltered valleys of the
north; and in Ireland is also a periodical visitant.

In Orkney one was shot in Sanday, by the late William
Strang, Esq., the 27th. of May, 1850.

It frequents hedges principally, as also the outskirts of
plantations and borders of woods, gardens and whin covers,
thickets and any brushwood, as well on low as on higher
ground. In summer, when the young are able to fly, their
parents often bring them into gardens, where they do some
mischief among the fruit.

About the third week in April, or a little later, is the
period of its appearance among us, arriving in Scotland some-

]08 "WHITETHEOAT.

times not before the lOfch. of May. The males come over
about ten or twelve days before the females. They leave
again about the end of September. One was noticed in
Scotland by Mr. Weir on the 10th. of September. In Ireland
they usually arrive the beginning of Ma}^, but sometimes
earlier. Mr. Thompson, of Belfast, heard one near there on
the 23rd. of April, 1842, and another was observed at Crom.ac
on the 24th. of April, 1836; one near Carricfergus on the
21st. of April. Its earUest arrival noted in the county of
Wexford was the 1st. of May, and the latest the 21st. of
August; but one was seen near Eel Fast on the 15th. of Sep-
tember, 1837, and one was sliot in .December, 1843, at
Eaheny, near Dublin, by Mr. Iv. J. Montgomery.

They are very lively and active m their habits, and somewhat,
though not very, shy, skuttling away into their cover on any
alarm: more than two are not seen together. They are easily
kept in confinement, but are said to grow less and less familiar
as they get older, even if reared from the nest. They delight
to mob cats if they make their appearance, and keep up the
note of alarm until they have retreated. Meyer mentions
one which, no doubt to attract him from its nest, which was
near, tlirew itself down the side of a bank, and then struggled
and shuffled along, keeping itself just out of reach, until it
finally flew away.

Caterpillars, small beetles and other winged insects, and
the smaller fruits and berries — currants, raspberries, goose-
berries, elderberries, cherries, and other such, compose their
food. The former as well as the latter are soucrht amonof
shrubs, bushes, and plants, and also at times pursued in the
air. Sand and other stony particles are found in considerable
quantity in the gizzard, to aid the digestion of the food.

The song of this species, which is heard immediately after
its arrival, is quick and hurried: some of the notes, wliich
are few, and therefore often repeated, are sweet and pleasing,
though others are perliaps rather harsh. While singing lustily
the throat is distended, the crest rather raised, which indeed
is done at all times when the bird is excited, and the wings
and the tail Irequently sliaken. Sometimes it sings in the
air, hovering in an odd sort of llickering manner, occasionally
poising itself, or even rising in. a fitful fanciful way over
and around the bush or tree from which it has ari.-en, and
into wliich it ai^aiij descends, or iUtting to some neighbouring
tree, from whence agaia it frequently returns; it also sings

WHITETHEOAT. 107

at timeg when flying froni bush to bush. Its alarm note
has been likened to the syllable 'shurr/ and the call-note
to *hwed, hwed;' a eomnnon *cha, eha, cha' is also very
frequent when it is m some secluded shelter, but is left off
when disturbed. Mr. Jesse says that he has noticed that
it imitates the notes of the Swallow and the Sparrow,
and has also observed that the imitative notes are always
the commencement of the Si ng. The Whitethroat begins ta
sing at eai'ly dawn, and is often heard at mid-da}'-, and till
the dusk of the evening. *If you be walking,' says Mr. Weir,
'along a hedge in the early twilight, the little creature is
sure to come up, announcing its presence by its song, and
flitting in advance for perhaps a long way. One morning in
July, 1835, when approaching Edinburgh, after walking all
night from Glasgow, I encountered several Whitetliroats in
this manner, some of which accompanied or preceded me
several hundred yards, although I could not see one of them.'
'Although it allows a person to approach very near, it flits
incessantly and with extreme agility among the twigs, and if
pursued, generally keeps on the other side of the hedge, flies
off* to a short distance, emits its song, sometimes while on
wing, more fi-equently the moment it alights, then glides
along, takes flight again, sings, and so continues for a long
time. If you follow it to a distance, it often returns in
the same manner.' The song ceases about the middle of
July. The objurgatory note, if the nest be approached, is a
sort of *churr.'

The nest, thin in width and loosely compacted, though
still elastic and not flimsy, is placed near the ground, not
more than two or three feet above it, in a low hed^e, or
sometimes in a bramble, furze, sloe, wild rose, or other bush,
as also frequently among nettles or other tall weeds or her-
baceous plants on the ground, or beside a bank; Mr. Jesse
mentions one built in a vine close to a window. It is for
the most part a 'straw-built shed,' composed chiefly of dried
stalks of grasses, though other plants are occasionally used,,
and lined with finer portions of the same, and a good deal
of hair of various kinds, with which it is often, though not
always, thickly woven on the inside, which gives it accord-
ingly more or less consistency. The same situation is I'requently
resorted to year after year; a trifling distui'bance will cause
the owner to desert it before the eirsrs are laid, but the
reverse is the case afterwards: much care is not taken m its

108 WHITETHEOAT.

<3oncealment. The young quit the nest early, even before
they are full able to fly, if alarmed for their safety. Two
broods, and not uncommonly three, are reared in the season;
in the south of Scotland, however, the first nest is seldom
completed before the end of May. The bird has been known
to build close to a public road, and in the immediate vicinity
also of an occupied dwelling-house.

The eggs, four or five in number, are of a greenish white
ground colour, with spots and speckles of greenish grey and
brownish grey.

Male; weight, about four drachms; length, from about five
inches and a half to nearly six inches; bill, bluish brown;
the base of the under mandible yellowish brown, and the
corners of the mouth yellowish green; between it and the
eye is a tinge of grey; iris, bronze yellow; eyelids, olive
brown; over the eye is a streak of yellowish white. Head
on the crown, slate grey, with a tinge of brown; neck on
the sides, pale brownish grey; on the back and nape, lighter
greyish brown than the head; chin and throat, silvery white ;
the latter has the feathers somewhat puffed out, as when it
is inflated in singing; breast above, pale dull white, tinged
with rose-colour, and on the sides shaded off to yellowish
white, and into greyish white below; back, reddish brown,, but
tinged with olive on its lower part.

The wings, which extend to within an inch and a half of
the end of the tail, and expand to the width of eight inches
and a half, have the first feather extremely short, the second
and third of equal length, and the longest in the wing; the
edge of the outer quill is white; underneath, they are grey;
greater and lesser wing coverts, reddish brown; primaries, pale
brown, narrowly edged, and the secondaries and tertiaries also
pale brown, broadly edged with brighter chesnut than the
former. The tail, somewhat rounded, the feathers being grad-
uated and slightly decreasing in length from the middle to
the side ones, is brown, the margins light coloured, the outer
feather on each side dull white over the greater portion, or
even the whole of the outer web, and often a portion of the
inner; the next two feathers are tipped with the same;
underneath, the tail is grey; upper tail coverts inclining to
olive brown; under tail coverts, pale brownish white, with a
tinge of faint rose red. Legs, pale rust-coloured brown; toes,
rather darker, with more of an olive tinge; the claws, dusky
brown.

WHITETHEOAT. 109*

The female is of duller hue altogether, and is nearly without
the rose tint on the breast.

The young, when fledged, have the bill less dusky than in
the old birds, and there is a light space between it and the
eye; the breast is greyish white, tinged with brown; the back
and all the upper parts are of a uniform reddish brown; the
quill feathers more broadly margined with light red; the side
tail feathers reddish white; the shafts dusky.

Mr. Macgillivray writes, 'Individuals shot in May vary little
in their colours, and are generally in full plumage, with the
tips and edges of the feathers entire. It is therefore certain
that this species moults in its southern residence. Individuals,
however, occur in which some of the old feathers remain. I
have before me, on the 25th. of May, 1837, two specimens
recently shot. In the female the plumage is all new and
perfect; the tail considerably rounded, the two middle feathers
being longest, the lateral three eighths of an inch shorter;
while the male, although otherwise fresh, has one of the middle
tail feathers quite rageed, half of the outer web being worn
off, and the other middle feather growdng, and shorter than
the lateral, both which are also unrenewed; the wings and
the rest of the plumage are perfect. As the season advances,
the colours fade, and the feathers are more or less worn; the
upper parts assume a greyer tint, and the lower a more dusky
hue, the reddish colour on the fore-neck becoming more con-
spicuous; the red edgings on the quills are sometimes almost
obliterated, and the head is much darker. In specimens shot
in July the tail feathers are often in a singularly ragged
condition, especially the two middle and the lateral.*

110

LESSER WHITETHROAT.

Sylvia.

Sylvia sy'vieUa,

Pennant. Montagu,

*' dumetnrum,

Latham.

" currncUy

Temminck.

Motacilla cu/mca^

LlNNvtUS.

" sylvielhif

Bewick.

*' d'ltnetorumj

Gmklin.

Curruca sy/vie/la,

Fuming.

•* garrula.,

Gould.

. Sylva—-A wood.

Syhiella—A diminutive of Syl

The Rev. John Lightfoofc was the first discoverer of this
as a British species, having met with it near Bulstrode, in
Buckinghamshire.

On the continent this plain-plumaged hnt beautiful little
bird is met with from south to north, as far as Sweden, from
Sp \n and Italy, but migratory in all. In Asia also it has
been noticed, in the East Indies.

The Lesi^er Wiiitethroat is found throughout the southern
and eastern counties of England, and becomes more rare to the
westward and northward. In Yorkshire it is not an unusual
species in the neighbourhood of Thirsk, as Mr. Swarbreck
writes me word; also near Halifax, Doncaster, Huddersfield,
Hebden-Bridge, Sheffield, and York: near Bridlington it is
seldom seen, and then only in spring and autumn, and is
not known to breed there. In Cumberland one was shot by
Mr. J. Barnes, at Rose Hill, near Carlisle, in the summer of
1849. In Devonshire one was shot at Mutley, recorded by
R. A. Julian, Esq., Junior, in 'The Naturalist,' volume i, page
87: it occurs also in other parts. In Cornwall two were
seen near Budock Church, March 14th., 1848, as mentioned
by Mr. Cocks, page 63. In Cambridgeshire it is far from
uncommon. In Derbyshire it is common, and in Surrey is
extremely plentiful. It is found in Durham, Wiltshire,

'\

LESSER TVniTETnEOAT. Ill

Hampshire, Somersetshire, Gloucestershire, Suffolk, Xorf'^^k,
Eucks., Lincolnshire, and Northumberland.

In Wales it is rare.

In Scotland it has been noticed near Edinburgh, where,
however, it is extremely rare; as also at Musselburgh, and
in Haddingtonshire and Ayrslnre; also about Paisley, in Een-
frewshire; and more commonly, it is said, at Hamilton, in
Lanarkshire.

It has not yet been met with in Ireland or in Orkney.

This bird frequents gardens, hedges, copses, shrubberies,
snd thickets, especially the first-named if affording ample
shelter. It is not unfrequently to be seen in trees, where,
perched on some open branch, with its plumage puffed out,
its snow-white breast is an object of observation. It is at
times to be observed on commons, but only where there are
trees.

It arrives here about the middle or the latter part of
April, but sometimes earlier, for iSlr. Edward Blyth has taken
the nest on the 23rd. It reaches Scotland about the 10th.
of May; and even in England is occasionally as late as the
beginning of that month. Some few remain till the first
week in October, but the greater number take their departure
in September.

In its habits it appears shy and retiring, but is also noisy,
volatile, cheerful, spirited, and restless, so that it is the more
frequently under observation, but keeping especially close if
approached, when it utters its alarm note, in the midst of
the tangled underwood, where it builds, through the interstices
of which it threads its way with extreme readiness. It is of a
pugnacious and petulant disposition, attacking and driving
away other birds of larger size than itself. It is able to be
kept in confinement. It may be seen sometimes crossing a
field, or flying from one tree to another in a fluttering un-
steady sort of manner, and in any way but 'as the crow
y flies,' uttering its monotonous cry all along.

Insects of different kinds and their larvse are their ordinary
food, and the winged kinds are sometimes taken in the air,
while the others are assiduously sought after among the leaves
and branches, "^ey make sad havoc in gardens among such
fruits and vegetables as currants, cherries, raspberries, and
peas; but the evil is abundantly recompensed by the vast
quantity of aphides and injui'ious insects which they otherwise
destroy.

112 LESSEE WHITETHEOAT.

The song is short and of small compass, being without any
very great variety, and the ordinary note somewhat harsh^
in the estimation of most; at times, however, a faint and
low inward warble is audible, often continued, almost without
any cessation, for several minutes. The song generally ends
with the harsher shake, which is loud and shrill. It is usually
uttered from the depth of the brake or cover, though occa-
sionally from the summit of a bush or branch of a tree, and
also on the wing. It is heard till nearly the end of July.
A *sip, sip, sip' is frequently introduced; the common note,
however, is the only one that is heard on the wing, unless
when the bird is immediately about to alight, and then the
pleasing warble just now spoken of is sometimes to be heard:
a low gurgling sound is on some occasions emitted also by
this bird.

The nest, which is begun about three weeks after the
arrival of the birds, is of slight construction, and is made of
dry grass and a little wool, or moss but rarely, lined with
small fibres, roots, and hairs; it is rather loosely interwoven,
and is bound together with spiders' webs and such like ma-
terials. It is sometimes placed among the herbage on a bank^
as well as in the lower part of a hedge, or in some low
shrub — a nut tree, gooseberry bush, blackthorn, broom, _wood-
bine, and among briers and brambles, generally at a height^
in the latter, of about four or five feet from the ground, but
sometimes as much as six, seven, eight, or even ten.

The eggs are of a greenish white colour, spotted, most
numerously at the larger end, and sometimes in the way of
a zone, with small dots and patches of brown and light grey.
James Dalton, Esq., of Worcester College, Oxford, has for-
warded me a specimen for the use of this work.

Incubation lasts from twelve to fourteen days, commencing
about the 20th. of May. Two, and sometimes even possibly
three, broods are reared in the season.

The young birds in their nesting plumage nearly resemble
the old ones, but the colour of the head and the back are
more uniform.

Male; length, five inches and a quarter; bill, brownish
black; the base of the lower mandible, brownish yellow; iris,
yellowish white; it is said to become whiter with age, and in
some specimens to be perfectly white. Head on the crown,
brownish grey, darker than the back; neck and nape, brownish
grey; chin, throat, and breast, white, the latter tinged with

LESSEB WHITETHEOAT. 113

red, the sides brownish or yellowish grey, but all with a
shade of pink; back, brownish grey, inclining to pale yellowish
brown on its lower part.

The wings extend to the width of eight inches; the quills
are eighteen in number; the first is very short, the second
rather shorter than the third, which and the fourth are of
nearly equal length, and at the same time the longest in the
wings: underneath, the wings are grey; greater and lesser
wing coverts, widely edged with yellowish brown; primaries,
secondaries, and tertiaries, blackish brown, edged with greyish
or yellowish brown, the latter the most widely so. The tail,
rather long, blackish brown, the outer feather on each side
with an oblique longitudinal band of greyish white extending
over the outer half of the inner web and the whole of the
outer one; the tips of the next three feathers are also whitish;
underneath, the tail is grey. Legs, toes, and claws, bluish
grey.

The female is slightly smaller; she resembles the male in
appearance, but the sides of the head are paler in colom-, the
crown, the neck on the back, and nape have the grey tinged
with brown, the back and upper parts more tinged with
yellowish brown, and the breast with grey.

In the young the eye is dark coloured.

VOL. IV,

114

WOOD WARBLER.

TELLOTV ■WARBLEE. WOOD WEEN. LAEGEE WILLOW WEEIT.
TELLOW WILLOW WEEN. GEEEN WEEN.

Sylvia sylvicoJa^

Pennant.

Motacllla trncJulus,

Bewick.

Sylvia sihUatrix,

Selpy.

Curruca sibilatiix,

/

Fleming.

ReguLus non-cribtatus major,

WiLLUGHBY.

Sylvia. Sylva — A wood. Sylvinnla — An inhabitant of woods.

Sylva — A wood. Colo— To inhabit.

This little bird is also a native of Europe, being met with
from Germany, Holland, and France, to Sweden. It is not
however anywhere very plentiful.

It passes the winter in Asia and Africa, Egypt, and other
northern parts.

It is not uncommon in most of the southern counties, as
far west as Devonshire, and Montagu says Cornwall; also in
Suffolk, Norfolk, Derbyshire, Durham, and jSTorthumberland.
In Cambridgeshire it is said to be more rare. It advances
some way into Scotland, and is found also in Wales.

It betakes itself to woods and plantations, prefe^.ing those
of larger size to smaller thickets, and gardens, frequenting
those where ancient trees flourish — th^ wide-spreading beech,
and the noble oak, the graceful birch, and the stately pine,
'fit for the mast of some great ammii'al.'

The Wood Warbler arrives at periods varying from the
latter end of April to the early part of May. The males
precede the females by a week or ten days.

In its habits it is the reverse of shy, often admitting of a
very close approach, and when engaged with its nest is very
bold. It is at the same time lively and restless, and its

wo

..' U . V. A .

WOOD ■VTAEBLEE. 115

movemeiits are quick, dexterous, and facile in g^liding over
ani among the branches in quest of its prey. It is lonely
and unsociable as to any intercourse with its fellows. It
frequents trees for the most part, even those of large size.

Its flight is rapid and undulating.

Their food is composed of insects and their larvae, the
former being sometimes captured on the wing, and both
sought for as well among the branches and foliage of trees.
Mr. Weir has seen one dart against a large humble bee with
an audible blow, and the insect having fallen towards the
ground, repeat the attack.

The song, uttered from a twig, or the very top of the
tallest tree, is, though simple, very sweet and iDeautiful. It
is at first rather slow, bat afterwards becomes more hurried,
and is accompanied by a cm-ious shaking of the wings, and
a slight upward movement of the tail: when the bird first
arrives, it is kept up nearly throughout the day. It resembles
the syllables 'twee, twee, twee,' and is continued at intervals
till about the middle of September, the time of its leaving.
It m\j be heard a very long way off. 'It seems not without
considerable exertion that these sounds are uttered, as the
little singer may be seen with its throat inflated, the feathers
of the head and neck erect, the wings drooping, and the
little beak directed upwards and vibrating with the jarring
expression of the notes thus disengaged.' The note is some-
times uttered while the bird is on the wine? from pla*^^ ^o
place, as also when descending from the spray to which
it had arisen. They have also a sibilous triii, ironi wiieuce
one of the specific names — a 'tzit, tzit;' and during the time
they are engaged with their young, when the song is inter-
mitted, a dull and plaining sort of call — a mournful 'tweet.'

The nest, which is domed, and of an oval shape, cleverly,
but not thickly, interwoven, is almost always placed on the
g»*ound, among herbage in woods, the entrance being through
a small hole in the side. It is made of grasses, leaves, and
moss, lined with the finer parts of the first and hair. It is
widl concealed, and is usually to be found on the side of
gome slope, where the sun's rays gaining transitory admittance
t'nrc.ugh the boughs above encourage the vegetation, and
dispel the dank and humid atmosphere which otherwise would
prevail in such a place. INIr. Sweet says that he has often
fouTul the nest on the stump of a tree.

The eggs, six, or more commonly seven in number, are of

225 WOOD WAEELEB.

a white ground coloinr, thickly spotted and speckled all over
with dark purple, red, and grey, forming a mass at the larger
end. Some are, however, much less marked than others. _

Male- len<^th, five inches and nearly a quarter; bill, blackish
brown 'but"lii?hter in colour along the edges, the upper
mandible the darkest, the lower one more of a brownish
Yellow, the inside of the mouth is orange yellow; a streak
of bri-ht yellow passes from the base of the lower_ mandible
over the eye; under it, before and behind the eye is a brown
line Iris, rich dark brown, eyelids, pale yellow; head on the
sides, yellow, tinged with brown and green; on the crown,
neck on the back! and nape, olive green, tinged with yellow
Chin throat, and breast, yellow, the latter on the lower part
white; back, olive green, tinged with yellow.

The Winers, when closed, reach over three-fourths of the
length of the tail, extending to the width of eight mches and
three quarters; the first feather is short, the third the longest
in the wing; underneath the wings are grey; greater and
lesser win- coverts, greyish brown, edged on the outside webs
with yellowish green. " Primaries and secondaries, greyish
brown, each feather with a narrow outer edge of bright
yellowish green, excepting the two first, with famt bi-o^'nish
white; tertiaries, greyish brown, with a broader edge of
yellowish white; greater aad lesser under wmg coverts greyish
brown, margined'with pale yellow. The tail, g>;ey-h bjown
the outer edges of the feathers yellow, excepting the s,de
ones, which are edged with pale brown; the ^^^^^^V^-'l^-^
rather shorter than the others, making it slightly foiked
underneath it is grey; upper tall coverts, ohve g^een, and
very long; under tail coverts, white, also very long. Legs

toes, and claws, brown. , , . i. • • „ „„a

The female closely resembles the male, both m size and

appearance, but the dark eye streak is not so distinctly

^^A^the season advances, the yellow edgings of the wings
and tail gradually disappear, and the breast becomes of a

^'Setoung, which are completely fledged at the end of
June, or beginning of July, when fuUy grown, re-mble *heir
parents in appearance, but the colours are less d stmct, and
of a lighter tint. Their moult does not take place during
their stay in this country. , .

Mr. MacgilUvray says, 'I have not observea any other van-

TVOOD WAEELEB. 117

ations than those dependant upon the wearing of the phimage,
and the lading of the tints. The above des<3riptions are
fr >m individuals in perfect plunaage, not in the smallest degree
worn, obtained in May. Many individuals arrive in that
state, and must therefore have moulted in their winter resi-
dence, while iu others the quills and tail are more or less
worn. Towards the end of summer, the colour of the upper
parts of the male is yellowish brown, tinged with grey; the
wings and tail, wood-brown; the lower parts nearly pure white.
By the middle of June the female is of a nearly uniforna
gicyish brown above, and the yellow on the fore neck is
almo t obliterated. The new plumage is completed by the
end of September.'

This S{'eeies was first noticed as a British one by Mr.
Lamb, m the 'Linnsean Transaction's.'

113

WILLOW WAEBLEH.

TELLOW WAKBLEE. WILLOW WEEX. HUCK-MtTCK,

Sylvia trochilus, Pexnant. Selby. Jenyns.

Motacilla tiochilus, Montagu. LlNxN^us.

" acredalay Livx.kus.

Rtgulus trochiCusy Fleming.

Sylvia, Sylva—A wood. Trochilus—'A little bird called a Wren.'

In Europe, the bird before us is common in Spain, France,
and Italy, and also visits Kussia, Norway, and its islands
even within the arctic circle, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and
other parts. In Asia it has also been observed in Persia,
by my friend Mr. Strickland, and Mr. Gould has received
specimens from India. Meyer says that it is common also
in North America.

In this country it is plentiful in the southern and eastern
counties — Kent, Sussex, Hants., Wilts., Dorset, Devon, Corn-
wab, Essex, SuflPolk, Norfolk, Dei'byshire, Durbam, and
Northumberland: in Cornwall it is rare. In Yorkshire ic is
very abundant near Sowerby and Thirsk, as Edward D.
Svvarbreck, Esq. informs me.

It occurs also in Scotland, even in the extremity of the
mainland, plentifully in Sutheidandsbii^e, about Tongue and
Loch Assynt, Laing and Loch Naver, Leith Water, Currie,
Slateford, Edinburgh, and tbe Pentland Hills. In Ireland
also, throughout the island, even in the extreme west, from
south to north — from Kerry to Donegal.

In Orkney it is noted as having been observed at Clesti'on,
in Orphir, during spring"; it appeared in the neighbourhood
of Ellsness, in April, 1825; and one was killed by Mr. Strang,
May 20th., 1839. Another was seen in a plantation at
Muddisdale, near Kirkwall, June 2nd., 1847.

WILLOW WAEELEE. 119

Tills bird frequents the hedges of meadows, especially those,
if there be any such now left, that have not been laid low
by the pruner's hook, and that both on hill and plain alike,
as also the borders of streams, the nurseries of the alder, the
hazel, the birch, and the withy, orchards, woods, brakes,
plantations, thickets, furze covers, gardens, brambles, bushes,
and trees, seeming to have a preference for osiers and willows,
and hence its name. It is pleasant indeed to watch it in
the autumn, when the greater numbers are to be seen, gliding
and shifting about among the branches of fruit trees and
bushes, now hopping here, now frisking there, as i^ seeming
to think that its diminutive size or conscious innocence was
a guarantee for its safe security from molestation or injury.
The female shews great attachment to her young, and though
taken off the nest, has been known to return to it on being
set at liberty.

One of our earliest sylvan visitants, its arrival in this
country is generally the second week in April, but sometimes
so soon as the end of March, and its departure the second
week in September, or the beginning of October: Mr. Thompson,
of Behast, has heard it sing on the 24th. of the former month,
as also so late as the 10th. of the latter. In Scotland it
does not arrive till the third or last week in September.
They would seem to come over in small flocks: the males
before the females.

This species also is easily tamed and reconciled to captivity.
Mr. Hewitson mentions one which he captured at night, and
which in the morning shewed no wish to fly away, but
hopped about on the table, picking up the flies which he
placed for its breakfast. Another, taken from the nest and
placed in a cage, immediately began to eat the insects offered
to her. The Willow Wren is very lively, brisk, and vigorous
in all its habits and actions, moving and flitting from branch
to branch in search of its food; it is of a pugnacious
character, and even the young, when foraging for themselves
in the autumn, will drive away other birds that intrude u]ion
their neighbourhood. A curious instance is recorded in the
*Field Naturalist' by a lady, of a nest which she accidentally
disturbed and took up, being still proceeded with, and two
eggs laid, and though it was again disturbed and almost
ruined, and the eggs displaced by a flock of Ducks, on her
placing them in it a-^ain and restoring it to somethinir like
its proper form, another egg was laid the same day, and four

120 WILLOW WAEBLEE.

more the next week. On these the bird sat, and brought
out seven young ones. When engaged with its young the
Willow Wren suffers a rather near approach, moving about the
brambles near its nest with evident and restless anxiety.
They begin to build about a fortnight or three weeks after
their arrival.

It flies with rapidity, and in an undulating manner, but
only ordinarily for a short distance; at times it betakes itself
to the ground, where it is equally quick and nimble in its
movements.

The food of the Willow Warbler consists of flies, even of
large size, gnats, spiders, apliides, and other insects, and
caterpillars, and for these it naturally resorts to those situ-
ations where they are in the greatest plenty — woods, plantations,
copses, shrubberies, groves, and thickets, bushes on commons,
gardens, and the wooded banks of the 'clear and winding
liver.' They are sought for within the buds and beneath
the leaves, and the birds do much service by destroying the
creatures which do so great an injury to rose trees and
flower-beds. A snap of the bill may often be heard when an
insect is captured on the wing.

Its song, though of not much variety, is plaintive, mellow,
soft, and pleasing, and is both uttered at times on the wing
as well as from some high tree. It consists, says Mr. Mac-
gillivray, of a repetition of the syllable 'twee,' ten or more
times, the first notes prolonged, the rest gradually falling
and becoming shorter. It may be heard at a distance of
as much as six hundred yards or more, and is continued
till the middle or end of July, after which time it begins
to wane in strength, though repeated in fine weather till the
last. It begins with the highest note, and gradually goes
lower, dwelling on each several tones, in all five whole notes
of music. It is wont also, particularly in the early summer
months, to emit a small and rather shrill cheep. When
warbling its sweet and melodious lay, the throat is somewhat
swelled out, and the whole body thrills with the effort. In
the autumn it is so low and subdued that it is almost
inaudible — a gentle adieu on the eve of its departure, before
the inhospitable northern winter steals on. The note of the
young birds is still weaker than that of the old ones.

The nest, which is very large for the size of the bird, of
an oval but rather fiat shape, though it varies in form
probably according to the situation in which it is placed, is

WILLOW WAEBLER. 121

built of moss, leaves, or fern, and grass, a hollow beine left
in the side for the ingress and egress of the bird. It is
lined with feathers, and with hair, the former being the
innermost, and is pretty firmly compacted. It is placed on
the ground, generally in woods, or among the long grass,
brushwood, or weeds on the bank of some wooded hedge by
the outside of a wood, or the edge of a pathway or open
place in such. One has been met \vith in the ivy on a
wall, and another in a field, several yards from the fence.
The nest is carefully concealed.

The eggs, of a rotund form, but varying much in size
and marks, are from four to six or seven in number, and
mostly light pinkish white, with numerous small specks of
pale rusty red; some are less thoroughly spotted, and some
most marked at the larger end, while others are only sparingly
dotted; they are a little polished: pure white ones have been
met with. The female bird sits very close upon them, and
the male feeds her on the nest, she chattering to him the
while, and he to her, and sometimes takes her place in the
course of the day, while she searches for food.

The young are hatched the end of May or beginning of
June, and are fledged about the middle or end of that month,
or the beginning of July. A second brood, if reared, is
abroad by the beginning of August.

Male; weight, about two drachms and three quarters;
length, five inches; bill, dusky brown; the under mandible
pale yellowish brown at the base, its edges dusky orange;
those of the upper one paler; iris, dusky brown; over it is
a light-coloured yellow streak, fading off backwards into
white; under the eye is also an obscure yellow streak: the
yellow colours fade with the advance of summer. Head on
the sides, pale olive colour, or greenish grey, with a tinge
of yellow; on the crown, neck on the back, and nape, dull
olive green; the neck on the sides is pale olivaceous, or
greenish grey, tinged with yellow; chin and throat, greyish
white, streaked with yellow; the latter fades with the advance
of summer; breast, silvery white, with a strong tinge of
yellow, which fades towards the autumn; below, the latter
is nearly white, but tinged with yellow; back, dull pale
olive green, fading into greyish brown later in the summer.

The wings, wdiich expand to the width of seven inches and
three quarters, have the first quill feather very short, hein^
only three quarters of an inch long, the second slight Ij longer

122 WILLOW WAEBLER.

than the sixth, but not so long as the fifth, the third, fourth^
and fifth nearly equal in length, and the longest in the wing;
the quills nineteen in number: greater and lesser wing coverts^
greyish brown, edged on the outside webs with yellowish
green; primaries, excepting the two first, secondaries, and
tertiaries, darker brown, edged with yellowish green, the latter
the most so; greater and lesser under wing coverts, bright
yellow, some of the feathers extending over the outer edge.
The tail, which is rather long, and of a greyish brown colour,,
the feathers edged extensively with yellowish green, has the
two middle feathers slightly shorter than the other ones;
underneath, it is greyish brown; it reaches an inch beyond
the end of the wings; upper tail coverts, dull ulive green;
under tail coverts, whitish, strongly tinged with yellow. The
legs are ver}^ slender and delicate, and, as the toes, light
yellowish brown; claws, brown.

The female is a little larger than the male, and her colours
are not so bright; length, a little over five inches; the wings
extend to the width of about eight inches.

The young bird at first resembles the parent; after the
autumnal moult the whole of plumage of the under parts
becomes more yellow than in the old birds.

The moult takes place as soon as the yonng are dismissed,
and the new plumage is perfect by the middle of September.

Mr. Macgillivray says, T have not observed any other
remarkable variations than those connected with the periodical
change of plumage. The above descriptions refer to individuals
having their feathers perfect. When these birds arrive in
this country in April, the old individuals have their plumage
considerably worn, in consequence of which the yellowish
green edgings are diminished, and the yellow tints more or
less obliterated. At the same period, individuals are met with
having the plumage in all respects perfect, and of a much
brighter colour. They most probably are young birds reared
in the southern regions during the absence of the species, or
at least young birds of the previous year, which have been
long in moulting. As the season advances the upper parts
become of a nearly uniform greyish brown; the yellow tints
fade, so that the line over the eye becomes nearly white, as
does the greater part of the lower surface.'

WILLOW Wi

123

MELODIOUS WILLOW WARBLER

MELODIOUS WILLOW WEEN".

Sylvia h'ppo'a/Sf Temminck.

Sylvia, Sylva — A wood, Hlvpolais — ..,,

The Melodious Willow Warhler appears to be dispersed
tbrouo-hout the greater part of the European continent, being
fouijd from the shores of the Mediterr^-nean to Sweden.

E. Plomley, Esi., M. D., F. L. S., of Maidstone, in Kent,
recorded in the 'Z(3ologist,' pages 2238-9, the first occurrence
of this bird in Britain, but only a '.flying visit;' one having
been obtained at Eythorne, near' Dover, in that county, on
the 15th. of June, 1843. It came into the possession of Mr.
Chaffey, of Dodington, also in Kent who obligingly drew my
attenton to it when I saw h s excellently preserved collection.

'It is somewhat singular/ says Mr. Grould, writing before
the occurrence of the above named specim.en, 'that this species,
so familiar to every naturalist on the continent, and which
inhabits the gardens and hedgerows ot those portions of the
coasts of France and Holland which are immediately opposite
our own, should not, like the rest of its immediate congeners,
inore diminutive in size, and consequently less capable of
performing extensive flight^, have occasionally strayed across
the Channel, and enlivened our glens and groves with its rich
and charming song, which is far superior to that of either of
the three other species of the group.*

'Its food consists of insects, such as aphides, and other small
kinds to which are added caterpillars, etc'

Those who have not had an o )portunity of listeniuG: to
the song of this lib Lie tenant of the grove, can scaioely form

124 MELODIOUS WILLOW WABBLER.

an idea of its power and melody, in which resipeets it is onlj
equalled by those of the Blackcap and Nightingale.'

Mr. Grould also mentions that it builds on trees, as well as
at times in shrubs in gardens.

The eggs are five in number, of a reddish white colour,
blotted with spots of darker red.

Male; bill, yellowish brown; between it and the eye is a
small patch of yellow; iris, dark brown; head on the crown,
neck on the back, and nape, greenish ash-colour; throat and
breast, pale yellow; back, greenish ash-colour. Primaries,
secondaries, and tertiaries, brown, the edge of each feather
being lighter; tail, brown, the edges of each feather hghter.
Le2's and toes, yellowish brown.

W. F. Wrati-law Bird, Esq., to whom this work is much
indebted for valuable information and assistance, always accorded
in the most ready, handsome, and courteous manner, and in
the true spirit of the love of science, has forwarded a foreign
skin of this species, from which the plate has been coloured.

125

CHIFF CHAFF.

LESSEE PETTTCHAPS. LEA.ST WILLOW WEE:N'.

SyJvra rufa,

31 0 ta c i lla h ipp olaisy

Sytvia hippolu'-S,

Temminck.
Montagu.
Latham. Jenyns.

Selby.

Sylvia. Sylva — A wood. Wppnlah — 'A "bird called the

Hedge Spar^u^v.'

This diminutive bird extends in its European range as far
as Xorway in the summer, remaining through the winter in
some of the southern parts of the Continent. It is common
in France, G-ermany, and Italy, and especially in Holland,
and has been observed also in Asia Minor. Specimens killed
in the more southern parts are said to have the yellow tints
much more brilliant than those obtained farther north.

It is met with throughout England, from Sussex, Essex,
Suffolk, Xorfolk, Derbyshire, and Worcestershire, to Cornwall,
"Westmoreland, Durham, and Northumberland. In Yorkshire
it is common enough in most parts, but appears to be rather
scarce in the neighbourhood of Halifax, Huddersfield, and
Hebden Bridge. Xear Falmouth it is uncommon: Mr. May
shot one on the 12th. of December, 18^9, and on the 22nd.
of the same month another was killed at Swanpool, by Mr.
Williams, and several were seen near Penzance in February,
1852. In Devonshire it is very common.

It has been noticed also in various parts of Scotland,
especially in the Lothians: in the neighbom'hood of Edinburgh
Mr. Macgillivray says it is very rare.

It occasionally visits Orkney during summer, but is not
known to breed tliere: one was killed in Sanday, by William
Strang, Esq., in November, 1850.

12G CHIF? CHAFP.

It occurs in Wales also, and in Ireland in certain localities
from noi-th to south; in a few places near Bt^lfast, in the
counties of Down and Antrim, and near Cusliendall, to the
north of the hitter; and in the pav-v of Shane's Castle, about
Eryansford, and Kostrevor, in the former; in the county of
Dublin, at Ghism* i and the Phcenix Park; near Clonmel,
Gloi^heen, and Waterford; Casde Warren and GlengarilF, in
the county of Cork; and has once been obtained near Tralee,
in Kerry.

It inhabits c^roves, woods, coppices, beds of reeds, gardens,
the sides of small streams v/here trees ^vow, such as, in the
latter situations, the alder and the aspen, and in the former
the oak, the fir, and the birch. Among these it may be
seen in the early vernal season, in she tered places, searching
among the boushs and branches for its iood, and emitting
at intervals its shrill no^e.

This is one of the earnest of our summer, or rather of our
spring visitants, ari'iving here the end of Mai'ch, or the
beginning of April. Some have been seen, by Montagu, so
oarly as the 12th. and the .14th. of the former month, and
several by the 20th. He also once saw one about Christmas,
in 1802: near Swansea it has been heard on the 30th. of
January. In Devonshire it arrived in the year 1S51 on
March 21st., 1848 on March 23rd., and in 18-49 on March
18th., and commonly is seen or heard from the 25th. to the
*20th.; one was shot near Torquay on the 10th. of January,
1851. In Kent it has been known on the 24th., in the
year 1851, and in Bedfordshire by George B. Clarke, Esq.,
on the 22nd. of that month, in 1852. In Oxfordshire on
the 25th., by the Revs. A. and H. Matthews, and in Yorkshire
on the banks of the Don, near Sproitborou.rh, the seat of
Sir Joseph Copley, Bart., by Peter Inchbald, Esq. It leaves
us also late, not till the beginniiig of October, giving u^ a
longer stay than most others; some few however have bcrn
known to remain in the southern counties, having been met
with at all seasons of the yt*ar; and Mr. Macgillivray had
one, killed near Newhaven, in January, 183 J. It is somewhat
uncertain in its appearance, many appearing in one year, while
not an individual is to be seen the next. It is very possible
that those individuals which have been noticed at so early a
date in the year have remained in this country through the
winter. In Ireland, its earliest recorded arrival is the 3rd.
of April, and on the 7th. of that month it was seen in 1838

CHIFP CHAFF. 127

and 1^44, and not till the 15th. in 1847; a year in which
the vernal migrants were very late in making their appear-
ance. One w^as heard on the 8th. of September.

In the spring these birds keep for the most part in the
same haunt. They are lively, active, and restless in their
movem.ents, often frequenting trees of lofty growth, especially
in situations where they are surrounded wdth tangled vege-
tation. The}^ display much anxiety for the safety of their
young; if tlie latter be taken out of the nest, it is said that
the old birds will ho er about, and even come and stand
beside and flutter around them. They are easily captured,
and soon become tame in confinement. Mr. Sweet mentions
one which used to perch on the hand without shewing the
least symptom of fear, and also would fly up to the ceiling,
and bring down a fly in its beak every time.

Their food consists of small caterpillars, aphides, small
moths, and flies; and the latter they sometimes catch on the
wing: the young are fed with caterpillars, flies, and other
insects.

The song, frequently heard overhead from the upper part
of some tall tree, and on one occasion so early as the 5th.
of February, is melodious and varied. The ordinary bitone
note is a mere 'cheep, cheep, cheep, chee,' likened by some to
the syllables 'chiff-chaff',' whence the name, and a 'chiff, cheff",
chaff*,' almost a 'vox et prseterea nihil,' but it comes from
the tops of the trees with a ringing sound, reminding one of
the faint chime of the distant village church bell; it is con-
tinued even till late in September. The alarm cry Meyer
represents by the word 'hoo-id;' the note is also frequently-
repeated on the wing.

The nest, which is arched over, is skilfully constructed of
various indiscriminate materials, according to the situation it
is placed in, fern, moss, leaves, grasses, the bark of the birch
tree, the shells of chrysalides, wool, and the down of flowers,
with sometimes feathers and a few hairs for lining for the
whole of the interior; it is arched over more than half-w^ay,
the other portion of the upper half being left open by the
side; if the roofing be removed, even three or four times, the
patient little architect will renew it. It is placed on the
ground, generally, but not always, in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of trees, or on a hedge bank, or near a brook, or
on the m( ss-clad stump of a tree, beneath the shelter of the
trailing boughs of some bramble, furze, or other bush, or clod

128 CHirr CHAFr.

of earth. Mr. Henry Doubled ay has found one at a height
of two feet from the ground, in some fern; and Mr. Hewitson
mentions another, ' which was built in some ivj against a
garden wall, at a like elevation. Occasionally the nest is
placed in a row of peas, or a bed of ground-growing wild
plants.

The eggs, usually seven in number, are more than ordinarily
rounded at the larger end, and pointed at the smaller. They
are hatched in thirteen days: they do not vary much, and
are of a white ground colour, with very small dots and spots
of blackish red or purple brown, chiefly at the thicker end,
which they sometimes surround in the \*,ay of a zone or a
belt. Mr. JN^eville Wood saw a nest which contained five eggs
of the usual colour, and the sixth pure white. The shell is
very thin, and but little polished. The eggs are laid towards
the middle or end of May, and the young birds are fledged
about the middle of June: they quit the nest early.

Incubation lasts thirteen days, and the male occasionally
relieves the female at her post. Two broods are sometimes
reared in the season.

Male; weight, nearly three drachms; length, four inches
and a half; bill, dark brown, the edges of both and the lower
one at the base, pale yellowish red, the base beset with bristles;
there is a pale yellowish brown mark over the eye, more or
less obscure, and between the eye and the bill the space is
grey: a narrow circle of the former colour surrounds the eyes;
iris, dusky. Head, crown, neck on the back, and nape, greenish
ash-colour, or brownish olive, the green almost disappearing
in the building-season; chin, throat, and breast, pale dull
yellowish white, the yellow colour chiefly in indistinct streaks,
and also nearly disappearing in the building- time; back,
greenish ash-colour, or brownish olive, the edges of the feathers
paler than the remainder.

The wrings, which extend to the width of six inches, "have
the first quill short, the second a quarter of an inch shorter
than the third, which is of the sam.e length as the fifth, and
rather longer than the fourth, the former two being the
longest in the wing, and the seventh a little longer than the
second, which in some specimens does not exceed even the
eighth; the under surface of the wings is grey; greater and
lesser wing coverts, also greenish ash-colour or brownish olive,
duller in. the summer; primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries,
rather darker brown, the edges of the last-named rather

CHIFF CHAFF. 129

lis^hter; greater and lesser under wing coverts, pale yellow.
The tail, which is rather long, is blackish grej, the feathers
bordered with olive green; the side feathers have whitish
edges, and are a little longer than the middle ones, beneath
it is grey; upper tail coverts, brownish olive; under tail
coverts, pale dull brownish white, tinged with yellow. Legs
iand toes, dark brown, the soles of the latter yellowish; claws,
lighter.

The female cannot be distinguished in appearance from the
male.

The young, in their nestling plumage, are greenish brown
above, and dull yellowish white on the breast, and nearly
resemble the adult, but the yellow and green tints are
somewhat brighter, the bill, legs, and toes paler in colour.

VOL lY.

i:]0

DAETFORD WARBLER.

EUEZE WEEN.

Sylvia provincialist Schlegel.

•' dartfordiensis, Latham.

Motacilla provinc alis^ Gmflix.

3Jelizoph;/us provinciulis, Selby.

Cuiruca provinciahs, Fleming.

Sylvia. Si/Iva— A wood. Provincialis — Provincial.

IjST Spain, Italy, and the south of France this species is
met with.

The earliest specimen noticed in Britain was obtained on
Bexley Heath, near Dartford m Kent, in April, 1773, and it
thence derived its Anglican name. The circumstance was
first made known by Dr. Latham, and Pennant recorded it in
the 'British Zoology' published in 1776. Since then the
bird has been repeatedly met with in various parts of the
south of England, occurring^ on most of the furze-clad commons
of Kent, Surrey, and Middlesex; at Blackheath, Barnes
Common, Burwood Common, St. George's Hill, Wimbledon
Common, Wandsworth Common, Codalming, and Shooter's
Hill; in Devonshire, near Teignmouth, Kingsbridge, and to
the north of Exeter; Truro, Falmouth, and Penzance, in
Cornwall; Alton and Andover, in Hampshire; in Worcestershire;
Melton Mowbray, in Leicestershire; the Downs near Lewes,
Sussex, in September, 1850; and near Chichester, as A. Fuller,
Esq., of Broyle House, informs me — one in 1852, and five
previously. A few have been known to breed on Cannock
Chace, Rugeley, StaflPordshire, by R. W. Hawkins, Esq.; and
one has occurred on the Denes near Yarmouth, ]^orfolk.

The Dartford Warbler is exclusively confined to heaths
and commons, the rough cover of such affordins: it the se-
curity that it desires.

w %

DA.ETFORD WAEBLER. 181

These birds appenr, *sans doute,' to live with us throughout
the year, being seen even in mid-winter, as well as in the
summer.

In their habits they are very shy, concealing themselves,
on being approached, in .the cover on the open downs and
waste places where they dwell, into which they creep in a
quiet but secure manner. They prefer those places where the
furze is very thick, and also frequent thorn bushes. They are
capable of being kept in confinement, and are exceedingly
active in all their movements, assuming a great variety of
attitudes. They shew much anxiety for the safety of their
young, using every art to allure intruders from the spot,
almost suffering themselves to be touched before they move
away.

They fly with a short jerk, confining, for the most part,
Iheir movements to the bushes, to which they attach themselves.

Their food consists of flies, grasshoppers and other insects,
and the former of these are captured on the wing, sallied
after from timxC to time from the tops of bushes, the station
being again resumed. In r-onfinement they are also frugiferous.

The note, which has been heard so early as the end of
February, in the year 1830, is described as weak and shrill,
but often repeated, either when the bird is perched on some
topmo-t or outside twis*, or when hovering over the bush;
it is sometimes continued for half an hour at a time. The
bird has also a common 'cha, cha, cha,' or 'tscha, tscha, tscha.'

The nest, which is slight in its make, is placed in a furze
bush, to the stems of which it is attached, at a height of
aJ)out tvvo feet from the ground. It is built of dry stalks
and grass, mixed with bits of the gorse; the materials are
apparently but loosely put together, though in reality firmly
compacted, and have a slight interweaving of wool.

The eggs are of a whitish grey ground colour, slightly tinged
with green, speckled all over with olive brown and ash-colour;
towards the larger end the markings are more run together,
and form a sort of zone.

Two broods appear to be reared in the year; for Montagu
found the nest and eggs after the middle of July, and saw
another pair of birds at the same time which had a nest near,
the earlier brood being hatched early in May.

Male; length, five inches or a little over; bill, slender, and
nearly black, particularly towards the point; the edges of the
upper mandible are reddish yellow, as is the base of the

132 DAETFOED WAEBLEE.

lower one; iris, reddish yellow. Head on the sides and crown,
neck on the. back and nape, blackish grey; the chin, which is
streaked with whitish, throat, breast^ and sides, reddish brown
or light reddish purple; on the lower part the breast is nearly
white, back, blackish grey or brown, partly tinged with olive,
the feathers somewhat hair-like.

The wings, which are very short, have the first quill feather
the smallest, the second of the same length as the seventh,
the third and the sixth equal, the fourth and filth also equal,
and the longest; underneath, the wings aie purple grey; greater
and lesser wing coverts, blackish brown, edsred with grey;
primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, blackish brown edged
with grey or rusty olive-colour. The tail, which is long,
extending two inches beyond the closed wings, and cuneiform
or wedge-shaped, is blackish brown, the side feathers, which
are nearly half an inch shorter than the middle ones, tipped
and margined with greyish white; underneath, it .is purple
grey; upper tail coverts, greyish black; under tail coverts,
reddish purple grey. Legs and toes, light reddish brown;
claws, dusky.

The female resembles the male, but is more tino^ed with
light brown on the upper parts, and on the lower is of a
lighter rufous; the throat is more stieaked with whitish.

The young are similarly marked; the eye is yellowish.

WREN.

COMMON WREN. KITTY WREN. JIMPO.

Sylvia frogJo^i/fpfi, Prvxaxt.

3iotai illii tr oglody fe ?, M o N T a G u. B \C WICK.

1 roglodyies vn/gnris^ Tkmminck.

" euioputuSt CuviER.

Siflvfn. Syha — A woorl. Trnglo^^i/tes— The name of an

aLcleiu race of people, said to live ia holes and caves.

Rtcharb Dowoen, Esq., Mayor of Cork in the year 1845,
will doubtless be rather su-prised at seeiii,^*, if, which is perhaps
rather problematical, he ever should see, his name at the head
of an article in this 'History of British Birds,' but I place it
there to do him all due honour for liaving issued a proclamation
d -ring his mayoralty to forb d, on t'e score of cruelty, the
hunting of this little bird on St. Stephen's Day by all the
idle fellows of the country. There are different traditions as
to the origin of this absurd custom, — one dating from the
time of the incursions of the Danes, when it is said that a
Wren perched on a drum, and there sang so loud as to awaken
the enerny, who would otherwise have been slaughtered in
their sleep, and the other from such a recent date as the
reign of William 111., when it is said that the noise of AVrens
picking up the crumbs on a drum-head, in like manner saved
his army from being cut off early in the morning by James
II.; the result being to make these birds ever since objects
of detestation to the Jacobites, and of iavour with the
Orangenien It is however manifest that these traditions
cannot both be true, and I shall therefore take the libertj
of not believing either of them. SutHce it to say that on
tlie Saint's day in questio », the *Wren Boys' go about the
hedges pelting the uulbrLunate ViCtim with sticks and stones,

134 WEE27.

and carry it about when caught, on the top of a pole in iho-
midst of holly or ivy, singing some doggrel verges, which
begin with

'The '^ren, the Wren, the Idni? of all hirds,
St. Srepiien'> day was caught in the furze;
We hunted him up, we hunted him down,
We bunted him all aLout the town.' etc., etc.

The whole being an • excuse for begging, and its consequent
debauchery.

Take the following for a contrast, from an American paper,
whose editor I must likewise do honour to by naming it — the
'Clinton Courant,' though I cannot him, for the following
right-minded sentiment so well put: —

'Leaning idly over a fence a few days since, we noticed
a little four-year-old 'Lord of the creation' amusing himself
in the grass, by watching the frolicsome flight of birds wliich
were playing around him. At length a beautiful Bob-o-iiuk
perched himself upon the drooping bough of an aprde-tr e,
which extended to within a few yards of the place whbre the
urchin sar, and maintained his position apparently unconscious
of the close proximity of one whom birds usually consi(ier a
dangerous neighbour. The boy seemed astonished at his
impudence, and after regarding him steadily for a minute or
two, obeying the instinct of his baser part, he picked up a
stone lying at his feet, and was preparing to throw it, steadying
himself carefully for a good aim. The little arm was reached
backward without alarming the bird, and Bob was within an
ace of damage; when lo! his throat swelled, and forth came
nature's plea: — 'A link — a link — a 1-i-n-k, Bob-o-link — B jb-o-
link! — a-no-vveet — a-no-weet! I know it — I»know it! — a link —
a link — a link — don't throw it! — throw it! — throw it! — throw
it!' etc.; — and he didn't. Slowly the lltcle arm subsided to
its natural position, and the despised stone dropped. The
minstrel charmed the murderer! We heard the songster
through, and watched his unharmed flight, as did the boy
with a sorrowful countenance. Anxious to hear an expression
of the little fellow's feeling, we approached him and enquired,
*\Vhy didn't you stone him, my boy? you might have killed
him and carried him home.' The poor little fellow looked up
duubtingly, as though he suspected our meaning, and with
an expression, half shame and half sorrow, he replied, 'Could n't!
cos he sung sol' Who will say that our natui'e is wholly

WEEIT. 135

depraved after that, or aver that music hath no charms to
soothe the savage breast? Melody awakened humanity, and
humanity — mercy; the angels who sang at the creation whispered
to the child's heart. The bird was saved, and God was glorified
by the deed. Dear little boys! don't stone the birds.'

The Wren is found in Europe as far north as Sweden, the
Ferroe Islands, Iceland, and 'Greenland's icy mountains,' as
also in the other direction in Spain and Italy.

In Asia it has also been noticed, namely, in Asia Minor,
by my friend Mr. Hugh E. Strickland.

.In England it is a universal favourite, and plentiful in most
districts. In Yorivshire it is said to be less common near
Halifax than in other parts. It is known likewise throughout
Ireland, Scotland, Shetland, and most parts of Orkney.

It remains with us throughout the year, braving the rigour
of the northern winter, and generally without harm; in severe
seasons, however, if the snow be deep on the ground, not a
few perish.

The AYren is one of our best known and most familiar birds,
frequenting not only lanes and hedges, but gardens close to
houses, and sheltering itself in the neighbouring and often
ivy-clad outbuildings, several at times roosting together, and
frequently in the old nest, for warmth's sake, in such places
or among heaps of stones, or the hollows in the roots of old
and decayed trees, in the cold and frosty winter nights. They
make, says William Ogilby, Esq., a prodigious chattering and
bustle before finally settling down for the night, as if contending
which shall get into the warmest and most comfortable place,
and frequently come to the mouth of the hole to see that
they are unobserved. They may be the family of the preceding
year, -and if so it would shew that the bond of social union
continues unbroken till the following spring.

They often sufier a near approach, but nevertheless are easily
alarmed, and then quickly steal back into the concealment
which' is most congenial to them, or fly away to some short
distance, and then again seek the friendly shelter of the hedge
or bush, and retire into their pristine obscurity. These birds
may be kept in confinement. They too shew anxiety about
their young, and the Kev. W. D. Fox communicated to Mr.
Hevvitson an account of one which would sufier its nest to bo
taken in the hand and examined, reniaining the whde quietly
seated on its eggs. C. Conway, Esq. writes in the 'Magazine
of Natural History,* volume viii. page 54i7, of one to which

136 WEEK",

he was attracted by its loud vociferations, which he found to
be caused by the proxinaity of a Weasel, its nest doubtless
being near. They are somewhat pugnacious, and have been
observed fighting together with much animosity. In the day-
time they may be seen with erect tail, now here, now there,
creeping like a mouse among the branches. They are fond of
seclusion, and are of solitary habits, being never seen in flocks,
and seldom but in the spring in pairs, and choosing sombre,
quiet, and lonely places for their tenantship.

Their flight, usually short and near the ground, is performed
in a straight line, with repeated fluttering of the wings.

The young are assiduously attended to by the parent birds,
and fed with insects and their larvae and worms, the same that
they themselves feed on; these, however, are not their exclusive
food, for they make free with currants in the season.

The note, which is heard throughout the greater part of
the year, but is not so powerful in the winter months, is very
lively, clear, and cheerful, and while uttering it the whole body
vibrates wiih the efi'ort, the bill is rai^ed and (Opened wide,
the throat swelled out, and the wings drooped. It is generally
given forth from the upper braiich of a hedge or bush, and
when it is ended the singer descends from her place in the
orchestra quite 'a la mode.' I was sitting in my breakfast-room
one morning, when I heard a loud, clear, ringing note in the
garden, whose authorship I could not divine, nor, on going
out to endeavour to do so, detect. The followino: mornino: I
heard it again, and this time was more fortunate. It was that
of a Wren! There he or she the 'cantatrice' stood, pouring
forth a volume of song enough almost to make the very welkin
echo it. I was never more astonished at anything of the kind,
it was so utterly disproportionate to the size of the tiny bird.-
William Thompson, Esq. too says, *0n the yard wall before
my window in the country, a Wren once appeared on the 23rd.
of September singing with such extraordinary loudness as
immediately to attract other birds to the spot. First came
a Hedge Sparrow to buff'et it, followed by a male and female
Chafiinch, also with sinister intent, but it maintained its
position against them all, and sang away as fiercely as ever.
A Robin too alighted beside the songster, but, unlike the others,
did not seek to disturb it. For this strange proceeding on
the pait of the Wren there was no apparent cause.' *When
a bird of pre}'' appears, the little Wren often gives the alarm,
by uttering rapidly its note of fear, 'shrek! shrek!' so quickly

WEEN. 137

repeated that it vsonnds lil?e a miniature watchman's rattle;
this is usually accompanied with a curtsying or dipping motion
in the manner of the Redbreast.'

The nest, very large in size in proportion to the h'rd, and
ordinarily of a spherical shape, domed over, but flattened on
the side next the substance against which it is placed, varies
much both in form and substance according to the nature of
the locality which furnishes the materials and a locus standi'
for it. It is commenced early in the soring, even so s )on
as the end of the month of March, the birds pairing in
February. One found by my second son, Reginald Frank
Morris, this autumn, in the beautiful grounds of Mul^-rave
Castle, near Whitby, the seat of Lord Norman by, was placed
against the trunk of a large tree, about eight or ten feet
from the ground, and was chiefly composed externally of dry
leaves. Others are variously made of fern and moss, grass,
small roots, twigs, and hay, closely resembling in most cases
the immediate situation in which they are placed; some are
lined with hair or feathers, and others not. The nest is firmly
put together, especially about and below the orifice, which is
strengthened with small twigs or moss, and i- in the i«pper
half and nearly closed by the feathers inside. It is in thickness
from one inch to two inches, and about three inches wide
within by about four in depth, and outside about five wide
by six deep. At times they are found on the ground, and
also in banks, as well as against trees, even so high up as
twenty feet, also un ler the eaves of the thatch of a building,
in holes in walls, the sides of stacks, among piles of wood
or fai::gots, or the bare roots of trees, and under the projection
at the top of the bank of a river; one has been kn )wn to
be placed in an old bonnet fixed up among some peas to
frighten the birds, and one close to a constant thoroughfare.

Mr. Hewitson mentions one built against a clover stack,
and formed entiiely of the clover, and so becoming part of
the stack itself.

The late Mr. Thompson, of Belfast, records one adapted from
a Swallow's of the preceding year, built against a rafter
supporting a floor; another which did not j)resent any ap-
pearance of a dome and was placed in the liole of a wall inside
a house, the only entrance being through a broken pane of
the window; and another constructed in a bunch of ht rbs
hung up to a beam against the top of an outhouse, almost
the entire nest being formed of the herbs, and the whole

13S TTEEN.

bunch very little larger than the nest itself. The door of
this house was generally kept locked, the only mode of entrance
at such times being beneath it, where there was barely room
for the birds to pass through: — in all these instances the
broods were reared in safety. H^ also mentions the circum-
stance of a Wren having been detected in the act of purloining
materials from a Thrush's nest, which was built in a bush
adjoining its own tenement, then in course of erection, the
thefts being committed during the temporary absence of the
owner in search of food for its young. Mr. E. Davis, Jun.,
of Clonmel, also communicated to him the curious fact of a
family of young Wrens, which having left their own nest,
and being probably in want of shelter, took possession of that
of a Spotted Flycatcher, having apparently broicen or thrown
out all the eggs but one. Other situations for nests are the
tops of honeysuckle and raspberry bushes, in the latter case the
nest being made of the leaves of the tree; inr";fir trees, trellis-
work, granaries, the branches of wall-fruit (trees, a id lofcs,
use being made occasonally of the holes previously tenanted
by Sparrows and Starlings. One has been known ~ budt
withinside that of a Swallow, and another in the old nest
of a Thrush ; one, again, in the newly-finisl^ed nest of a
Martin, another on a branch of a yew tree among the foliage^
and another in one of the hatches in the river at Wmchester.
Mr. Jesse relates a curious anecdote of a Wren's nest, the
owner of which being disturbed by some children watching
it, blocked up the original entrance, and opened out a new
one on the other side.

Ten days or a fortnight are occupied in the construction
of the tenement, a few small stems of grass supported on the
rugged bai'k or any rough part of the tree, if placed aga-nst
one, indicating its commencement, and this is subsequently
built on to, till all is completed. I ha^e been favoured with
specimens by W: Kobson, Esq., of Pier Head, London, and
W. iiiidge]-, Esq., and a drawing of one by the liev. H. V,
Alington.

Ill the eighth vol: me of the ^Magazine of Natural History/
a corrosp(MKlent narrates that in watching a pair oi' Wrens
building their nest, he noticed that one confined itself entirely
to the consti-uction thereof, which it never left for a moment,
whilst the other was as incessantly passing and re-passing
with materials for the structure. These materials, however,
this helper never once attempted to put into their places;

-WHEN. 139^

they were always re2:ularly delivered to the i^rand architect
that was emnloved in constructing^ the building, liennie says
that the Wren does not 'bei3:in at the beginning' with its
nest, but first works at the outhne of t!ie whole, and afterwards
encloses the sides and top, and that if it be phiced under
a bank, the top is begun first. The liitle bii'd often carries
a piece of moss nearly as large as itself, or a straw of even
greater length than itself, by wliich it is threatened to be
overborne in its Hight, and if it should chancj to drop it,
will pick it up aaain.

The eggs are usually from seven to eight in number, but
generally not more than eight, though as many as a dozen^
or even fourteen, have been found, of a pale reddish while
colour, the former tint being transient; some are du>^ky white.
This ground colour is sprinkled all over with small spots of
dark crinisoi red. and these most numerous at the obtu.«e
end; some are auit'^ white: the shell is- very thin and pollsneJ.
The male feods the female wMle sittinof. Two broods are
produced in the sea-on. Tne least disturbance vvdl cause
the nest to be forsaken, and a new one buiil, and this aoam
and again, if so retiuired, until the e<r<4S aie laid; ev<ii then,
if they or the your.g be once handled, this species wiJl ^ome-'
timei desct them. This may be the Cdn-e of tenantiess
ne-:ts of th-^ AVren being so tr<:rp)ently found, or son^e inler-
ru)Hion o^ the ordinary course ol livin:^-; it i<, howevet, Sa<d
that a fo»'-aken nest will sometimes be again returned to.
Tb[i< seve^'al nests of the ^ame^ year are olten found near
togetlier, tli^ rvo-k of one and the same pa r of birds; and
other nests, io the making of which both birds a^-^i-st. a*"e
not ver^'' unfrenucntly ])ut toii^ether in the autumn, ^n 1 m
the«c the l)irds shelter theniselvef: in the winter, possibiv as
be-ng of the newest, and therefoie the best, constrncnon.
and made too late in the year for a further brood; these
nests seldom, if ever, contain any feathers. The young are
said to return to lodge in the nest for some time alter
being fled<j:ed.

As an ilJu-t>-ation of the paper in 'TIip Nalnralict/ vo'ume
i., paire 5, by my brother. Dr. Beveiley U. Morris, on the
po ver that buds have of comj^ressins: their boddv bulk. I
may mention an instance, gi en by Mr. JMeyer m li's work,
o) a AVren he had, wiiicli tlew without .seem.ng difHculty
through the wh'es of a cage little more than the third of
an inch asunder.

140 WREN.

Male; weight, about two drachms and three quarters; length,
about four inches or a little over; the bill js rather long,
and rounded at the tip, and is slender in shape, the upper
mandible dark brown, the lower paler, the tip only dark;
iris, dark brown; over it is a streak of pale brown. Head
on the crown, neck on the back, and nape, rusty reddish
brown barred transversely with narrow streaks of dark brown;
chin and throat, plain greyish d ill buff, as is the breast, but
darker lower down, and reddish brown on the sides; back,
reddish brown, marked with transverse dusky bars.

The wings, which are much roundel, have the first feather
only half as long as the second, which is of the same length
as the seventh; the third, fourth, Hfth, and sixth nearly
equal in length, but the fourth the longest, with three or
four small round white spots; greater and lesser wing coverts,
also rufous, and barred; primaries, barred alternately wdth
tawny brown and black; secondaries and tertiaries, dusky,
barred on the outer webs_with reddish white. The upper
tail coverts, which extend over^jnoie than half the tail, have
the two outer feathers shorter than the others; under tail
coverts, of like length, reddish brown, indistinctly barred with
darker brown, and tipped with dull white. Legs, toes, and
claws, light brown.

Tlie female is rather less in size, rather more red in colour,
and the transverse bars less distinct.

Since this article was written, and while it was on its way
to the press, I have received the most melancholy intelligence
of the awful death on the railway, near Jxetford, of my dear
friend whose name I have mentioned in it, Hugh Edwin
Strickland. Little did 1 tliink, whcii I sat next to him at
the diimer on the first day of the meeting of the British
Association at Hull, lor whii-h w».» had secured the two arljoining
places, that 1 siiould never «ee hin\ nirain; as little that a
letter he forwarded to me in ihe interim wDuld be the last
I should ever receive Jrom him; a< liltlu when he spoke of
having attended every, or nearly oxQvy j)revious meeting that
he would never attend anoth<r; and as little when we wished
one anotlier good-bye in his lodging, where he left me writing,
on the last day of the meeting, but twenty-four hours
before his death, that we should never again meet in this
world! Alas! that the words of Professor Sedgwick, near

WEEX. 141

whose right hand he sat, and whose place in the chair he
had so fitly and worthily occupied from time to time, so
eloquently and feelingly, and as it were, forebodingly, uttered
on the afternoon of the same day in his concluding speech,
that possib.y some of those then present might not meet
together at the next anniversary, should so soon and so fatally
be fulfilled! My departed, long valued, and ever-to-be-lamented
friend lost his life literally through his devotion to science, hav-
ing gone on the line to examine a geological formation; and
sure I am that in every relation of lile his loss will never
be forgotten, as it can never be repaired. On one only other
occasion in my life, when another valued friend, W. V. J.
Surtees, was most unfurtunately drowned at Oxford, have
I ever had such a shock as the sudden account of his death.
Peace to the memory of the departed. How little do we
know Svhat a day may bring forth!*

142

DALMATIAN EEGULUS.

Regulus modestuSf GouLD.

Regulus — A diminutive of Bea: — a king. 3Iodestus —

Modest— sober.

The Baron De Feldegg, of Frankfort, shot one specimen
of this bird in Dalmatia, in the year 1829, tl.e first on
record; and tji^only other that has as yet been met with
was killed by ]\l>vJo]in Hancock, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
in the county of Northumberland, near Hartley, on the sea
coast, on the 23th. of September, 1S3S. These are the only-
two, 'par nobile,' of these Kinglets that have yet been discovered
in our continent, and none have been known anywhere else.

It feeds on inse -ts.

Male; length, barely over four inches; bill, brown, the
Tinder mandible paler at the base, from which a light lemon-
coloured streak extends over the eye to the back of the
head, and another short similar streak beneath the eye,
through which a narrow band of dusky passes. Head on
the crown, greenish yellow, the centre with a streak of paler;
neck and nape, gieenish yellow: chin, throat, and breast, pale
yellow; back, greenish yellow. The wings extend to the
width of six inches and a half, and reach, when closed, to
within three quarters of an in -h of the end of the tail; the
wing coverts are crossed with two conspicuous bands of lemon-
colour; primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, dusky, edged
with pale yellow, becjming broader on the secondaries. Legs
and toes, brown, the ui.der soi-face of the latter inclining
to yellow; claws, .browu.

.,GOLDCREST.

143

GOLDCREST.

GOLDEN-CEESTED KINGLET. GOLDEN-CRESTED WEEN.
GOLDEN-CEOWNED WEEN.

Hegulus cristatu.% Fleming. Ray.

aur capi/lus, Selby. JenyXS.

" vulgaris, GoULD.

Mntaciila reguius^ Montagu.

^yivia regulusy Pennant. Temminck.

Regulus—A diminutive of Rex— a. king. Cm^a^ws— Crested.

The Goldcrest, the smallest of our British Birds, is a European
species, and its northern range extends to the Arctic circle,
being found in part of Russia and Siberia, Denmark, Nor-
way, and Sweden, and south to Grermany and the shores of
the Mediterranean. It has been obtained also in Asia, in
Persia, and, according to Temmixick, in Japan.

This truly elegant and diminutive bird is generally distributed
over the whole of England, from the 'Land's End to John
O'Groat's House;' as also in Wales, Scotland, and in Ireland.
It is more common in the north than in the south. In
Yorkshire it is plentiful. In Orkney it is pretty numerous
during winter; many arrive there in October and November,
during gales from the east. It occurs also in Shetland.

Two of these little birds are stated in the 'Zoologist,'
page 188, by Mr. George Swaysland, to have been met with
at sea, forty miles from land. They remain with us all the
year through, at least many of them do.

Additional ones come over to us in the autumn, and in
like manner some again depart in the spring. In the mid-
land counties fresh parties come in December, and some
depart in March. On the Norfolk coast there are arrivals
every year in October and November, and the birds are at
first often so exhausted as to suiier themselves to be taken

144 GOLDCEEST.

with the hand. Selby relates his having observed an immense
flight on the 26th. of October, 1822, after a heavy gale
on the two preceding days from the north-east, which also
brought over the liedwings, Fieldfares, and Woodcocks. He
ascertained the flight to have extended from Berwick-on-Tweed
to Whitby, in Yorkshire. They were completely exhausted
on their first arrival, and numbers were taken with the hand,
but they shortly afterwards spread over the country, and at
Christmas few more than the usual numbers were visible. Ke
also adds the following, and it is certainly a very remarkable
fact, as proving that non-migratory birds may become so on
occasion, at all events to some distant part of the country,
which indeed probably is the ease with some of the present
species every year for some cause or other, prescient of
unfavourable seasons or inclement weather: —

'A more extraordinary circumstance in the economy of this
bird took place during the same winter, namely, the total
disappearance of the whole tribe, natives as well as strangers,
throughout Scotland and the north of England. This happened
towards the conclusion of the month of January, 1823, and a
few days previous to the long-continued snow-storm so severely
felt throughout the northern counties of England, and along
the eastern parts of Scotland. The range and point of this
migration are unascertained, but it must probably have been
a distant one, from the fact of not a single pair having
returned to breed, or pass the succeeding summer, in the
situations they had been known always to frequent, nor was
one of the species to be seen till the following October, or
about the usual time, as I have above stated, for our receivings
an annual accession to our indigenous birds.' Spurn Point,
at the south-east extremity of Yorkshire, is said to be a favourite
place for assemblage on arrival and departure. For a week
or more in the month of October they come thither in a
succession of small parties, and when they have formed inta
flocks of a few thousands, they disappear. The same thing
was observed in November, 1844, on a smaller scale, on Looe
Island, in Cornwall. In the year 1833, on the 7th. of October,
a flock alighted on the rigging of a ship fourteen miles from
land off' Whitby.

Their favourite haunt is the pme, fir, or larch plantation,
or wood, where they may be seen hanging m every variety
of attitud-"', pictures of active existence, intent on their life's
great business, the procuring of their food. They also at

GOLDCREST. 145

times are seen on open heaths, among furze bnshe?, and visit
h^'dgcs, and birch, oak, cedar, willow, alder, and other trees,
and even such low plants and bushes as the bnoon'i, in their
vicinity, and rose trees and creepins: jdants near houses. Tliey
arc hrely and affile in all their movements, and seldom even
hop without using their wuiirs.

They are gregarious in tlieir habits, and, except during the
breeding season, travel in Hocks, or rather societies, of greater
or less numl^ers. When tluis roaming, as indeed at all times,
they are far from sliy; and you can well watch them
fluttering iVom bough to bough, from tree to tree, from
plantation t(» plantation, ever in motion, and always interesting
to beh'jld. 'J'luiy arc oi"teu joined by flocks of different species
of Titmice, and a hnv Creepers. They are hardy and robust,
though of sucJi tojuhir make, and brave the severity of the
northern winter, thongh to some individuals of them it proves
fatal. 'J'he female is very fearless and intrepid when she has
a nest to protect, and will sulfer a very close approach before
quitting it. 'They will evi^n continue on the branch while
the nest is insjieeted, uttering shrill and distressing cries, and
erecting the crest, as if wishful to attack the aggressor.'
T. J. Wilkinson, Esq., of W^alsham Hall, Suffolk, has sent
me the following instance of this: —

*I myself can record a remarkable instance of the courage
and intrepidity di<r:]dayed l>y this cliarming little ci-eature,
during the process of uicuhntiou. I one day perceived a nesl
on a fir tree, in our orohai'd plantation, upon whieli I ascended,
and after a considerable deal of tj'ouble, succeeded in removing
her fi'om her nest, when to my great surprise she defended
it with the utmost lirmness and resolution sitting on a twig
over against it, pecking and flying at my hand till I withdrew
it, when she resumed lier seat with aj)parent trajujuillity. An
instance of the docility uf this c'egant little bird perhaps would
not be out of place. Tn April, 1851, a pair budt their nest
between the woodwork of our drawing-room window and the
brickwork of the house, which oidy allowed them an aperture
to enter not large enough to admit the first finger; and in
spite of the piano, which was constantly played on, and close
to the window, they hatched, but unfortunately, when the
Hall was being repaired, the workmen pillaged the nest of
its inhabitants.'

Two of these birds have been known to fight so deterniinedly
that they were captured together with the hand and placed

VOL IV. L

140 aOLDCEEST.

in a cage, where one having' died of his wounds, the other
again mounted upon it, pecked at it, and tried to draw it
round the cag^e, and this though itself too d ed shortly
afterwards. Tiie female selected a new mate, and LuJt a nest
over the spot where the fatal battle was fought. Colonel
Montagu also mentions one which would feed her young in
a room even when the nest was taken into the hand. He
found that she fed her brood once in every minute and a
half or tw^o minutes, averaging thirty-six times in the hour,
and this for full sixteen hours in a day. The young ones,
eight in number, would thus receive^ if equally fed, seventy-
two feeds each day, the whole amounting to five hundred and
seventy-six. The male would not venture into the room.

They appear to bear confinement pretty well. In severe
seasons many perish, and several are frequently at such times
found dead in outhouses, the thatch of roofs, and holes in
ivy-covered walls, where they had assembled together for
mutual warmth under their shelter fj-om the extremity of the
wintry blast, and have been known to take up their abode
in the nest of the Wren. In those times of scarcity they
will even approach houses in search of food, and will enter
greenhouses and hothouses. Even in mild seasons some are
found in a lifeless state, but only single birds. They usually
go in companies of twenty or thirty. It is said that they
may be shaken down from a branch by striking a blow against
the trunk of the tree.

In their longer passages from wood to wood, their flight,
which is weak, is rather rapid, irregular, and undulating, but
in their shorter flittings more straight. They sometimes
exhibit an odd bowing movement of the body, especially in the
spring when two are about to fight. They often run up trees
with the nimbleness and agility of the Creeper.

Their food consists principally of small winged and other
insects and their larvae, and also of small seeds. In pursuit
of the former they carefully search branch after branch, their
elegant crests, so to call them, shewing to advantage every
now and then; they also seize their prey on the wing, and
hover sometimes over the branches before darting on it, and
also creep nimbly in a mouse-like manner, up the trunks of
trees, seldom in a straight line, but usually in a sloping
direction, the capture of an insect being often denoted by a
shuffle of the wings: one has also been observed creeping up
a wall in like manner, searching for insects. *The activity

GOLDCEEST. 147

of ih^s little bird is very surprising: it will alight on the
braieh of a tall tree in the copse, and after a momentary
suivej, will dart on its prey reposing on the back of the
stem, suspend itself for a moment by a rapid motion of its
wings, then return to a branch, again glance at the stem,
and flit to it; in this manner it gradually mounts to the
ton of the tree, and, should its prey prove to be plentiful,
will ascend and descend several times in succession, occasionally
darting into the air at some unwra-y gnat sporting in the
beams of the winter sun.'

Their song, as may be supposed, is a very small one; and
Pennant mentions his having heard the bird utter it for a
considerable time while hovering over a bush. It is very
soft rather sweet, and pleasing, and is heard even in the
beo'inning or middle of the early month of February, and
sometimes as soon as the end of January: it is mostly given
forih from a branch, or in a hedge, or while the bird is
flving from tree to tree; as well as when hovering in the
manner spoken of. The ordinary note is weak and feeble, but
rather shrill; and in the quiet stillness of the depth of the
wood it cannot fail to draw the attention, especially when
the whole of the little party are incessantly uttering it; it is
a mere *tzit, tzit,' and 'see' or 'sree.'

These birds begin to pair even by the end of February,
and Mr. Selby has known the young birds fully fledged so
eaily as the third week in April, the nest being built in
March. The nest is placed underneath and generally near
the end of the branch of a fir, or occasionally on an oak,
cypress, holly, yew, or other tree, as also not very unfrequently
in a laurustinus or other bush, and, though very rarely, in a
hedge, supported by some of the smaller offshoots, and further
attached to these by the moss and lichens of which it is
composed being interwoven with them, mixed sometimes with
willow down, cocoons, spiders' webs, wool, grasses, and a few
hairs. It measures ahout three inches and a half in diameter
inside, and is deep and of a spherical shape, the orifice being
almost always in the upper part: some however are not
perfectly round. It closely assimilates in colour to the branch
beneath which it is fixed. It is sometimes placed near the
top of the tree, and at others only two or three feet from
the ground: a very high c^ale has been known to dislodge
the eggs — *\Vhen the wind blows the cradle will rock.' These
birds have beeu. known to steal the materials Horn the nests

148 OOLDCKEST.

of Cbaffinclies to make their own; one was noticed to do so
most slyly, watching its opportunity, and approaching Irom
the opposite direction; but on the Chaffinch detecting and
chasing it, it did not repeat the tlieft. It is frequently Uned
with feathers, and is altogether a singularly elegant piece of
architecture; the feathers are so placed as to project inward:
two nests have been found on one b anih. Mr. Hewitson
says 'It is sometimes placed upon the upper surface of the
branch; and I have also seen it, but rarely, placed against
the trunk of the tree upon the base of a diverging branch,
and at an elevation of from twelve to twenty feet above the
ground/ He also mentions in the 'Zoologist,' page 825, his
having once met with the ntst in a low juniper bush, very
little more than a foot from the ground. Deser'ed nests of
this species are frequently to be met with, but the reason is
not known. The eggs in one nest were observed placed in
two rows, with the small ends touching each other.

The eggs are four, five, six, or seven, to eight, or ev^en ten,
or even eleven in number; they are of a very pale reddish
or brownish white, the larger end being much the darkest
coloured, light reddish brown: some have bjen known pure
white, sparingly spotted with reddish brown here and there.
They are smaller than those of any other British b;rd, and
are sometimes almost of a globular shape. The 3'oung are
fed by both the parents. It is thought that two broods are
reared in the year, and that the second is less numerous than
the first. Eggs, fresh laid, have been met with in May and
June, while young birds have been known fully fledged by
the third week in April. The same nest has also been
known to have been used twice the same season, two broods
being hatched and reared; but whether by the same parents
or not, of course could not be told.

Male; weight, about seventy-six or from that to eighty
grains; length, three inches and a half, to three and three
quarters; bill, blackish: the mouth, dusky orange; iris, dark
brown; the eyelid, black: the eyes are surrounded by a pale
dusky ring, encircled by another of dull white. Forehead,
pale greyish v/hite with a tinge of yellow; head on the sides,
yellowish grey, on the crown, in its centre, bright reddish
orange, the feathers elongated and of a silky texture; the
inner webs of the inner feathers pale yellow, on each side of
this is a black band; neck on the back and nape, light
yeUowish. olive green, with a tint of brown; chin, throat,

GOLDCREST. 149

and "breas^, pale brownish or yellowish srrev, the sides tinged
with rufous yellow; b^clc, lieht yellowish olive green, with a
tint of brown, the lower pai'd is the lightest — inclining to
greenish yellow.

The Wings expand to the width of six inches and a half;
the first feather is very short — about a third the length of
the second, the third nnuch longer, the fourth rather the
longest, the fifch neai'lv^ the same. Greater wing coverts,
purple brown, bordered with ye lo wish green, and tipped
with white; lesser wing coverts, als3 purple brown, bordered
with 3^eliowish green, and partly tipped with white; primaries,
sec .mdaries, and tL^rtia:ies, dusky margined with yellowish
green; six of the outer secondaries and inner primaries black.
The tail, s imewhat lorked, is dusky, the feathers margined
with yellowish green; up-er tail coverts, light yell wish olive
gr^en; legs, toes, and claws, brown.

The fe nale preciselv r sembles the male, but is rather
sma'ler, the length being three inches and a half, and the
cro\vn has only yellow and no orans^e on its centre. '. le
wini>'s extend to tlie width of six inches.

The young in tlieir fii'st plumage have no vellow on the
head, the up]:>er pai-t of it being light gre ish brown, with
two lateral bands of greyish black; the head on the sides
is yellowish grey; the necK on the back and nape, greyish
yellow green; chin, throat, and breast, greyish white, with a
tinge of yellow; the quill feathers dusky, margined with dull
yellowish green; tail, the same; lerrs and toes, pale brown.

The moult is completed the en^' )f August, but the orange
and yellow on the crown is not lully developed.

M. Temminck says that accidental varieties have the toTD of
the head azure blue, that others of more frequent occurrence
have the head and part of the pluma^^e of a whitish colour,
and frequently the feathers of the crest of a deep yellow.
Montagu also mentions a pair of a cream-colour, with the
usual yellow crown. In the British Museum is a white one,
with pale orang:e-colour on the crown of the head, and very
pale yelL)w on the lower ])art of the back. Another, kept in
an avi-iry, had the tips o' T^he wings and tail white, and the
crest yellow,

150

FIEECREST.

riEE-CEESTED KTT^GLET. EIRE-CROWNED KINGLET..
FIEE-CEESTED WRfc:N.

Bepnlus ignicapiflus, Jenyn«. Macgillivrat.

Sylvia iqnicupillay Temminck.

L'egulus—A diminutive of Bex— a. kinp:. Ignicapillus. Ignis — Fire.

CapiUus — A head of hair.

This closely-allied species, which M. Brehm was i\\Q first
to discriminate, is found in large forests in Germany, and
m Belgium, France, and Switzerland; Meyer says that it also
belongs to North America.

The liev. Leonard Jenyns first made known this bird as a
British one, having obtained a specimen in his gaixien at
Svvaffhani Bulbeck, near Cambridge, in the month of August,
1832. It was a young bird, and had therefore probably been
reared in the same neighbourhood. Since then Mr. J. E.
Gray has observed others at Brighton, in Sussex; one was
obtained also near Durham, and another was caught on the
rigging of a ship five miles out at sea, off the coast of
Norfolk, in the early part of October, 1836; another was
killed on the North Denes, near Yarmouth, the 6th. of
Noveniber, 1843; one was shot in the parish of St. Clement,
Cornwall, and Edward Hearle Rodd, Esq., of Penzance, says
in the ^Zoologist,' page 3753, that this species frequents that
Keighbourhood, chiefly at Larrigan Valley, in greater or less
numbers QWQry year about the beginning of December, and
that one was killed near Marazion in 1852. It has also
been met with in Sutherlandshire, by Mr. Bantock, the Duke
of Sutherland's gamekeeper.

These birds frequent fir and other plantations, as well as
also larger trees. They too associate with the Titmice. They

nUECBEST. 151

are said to be more pliv tlian the Goldcrests, and to go
in smaller parties, more than six or seven, no djuhfc the
family party, "being seldom seen together. They are, like
them, remarkably restless, and brisk and quick in ail their
motions, one moment intently engaged in the search for
insects, the next, as if on some secret signal, 'exeunt omnes.'
The male and female are 6aid to exhibit great attachment
to one another.

They feed on the same kind of food as the other speeies,
and the livelong day witnesses their ceaseless pursuit ot the
insects which infest the places where they therefore seek and
find them.

The nest is built of moss, wool, and a few grasses, lined
with fur and feathers. It is suspended from the branch of a
fir or other tree.

The eggs are said to be from five or six to eight or ten
in number, and of a pale reddish yellow tint, minutely
speckled with yellowish grey about the larger end, but they
vary in size and colour.

Male; length, not quite four inches; bill, black, broadened
at the base; a black streak proceeds from its base through
the eye, and below it is another; the inside of the mouth is
orange-colour; iris, dark brown; over the eye is a greyish
white streak, and also another -under it. The crest, fiery
red; on each side of it is a black streak, forming the third;
forehead, greyish white, tinged with red or yellowish; neck
on the back and nape, yellowish olive green, with a tint of
brownish ash-colour; chin, throat, and breast, greyish white,
strongly tinged on the sides with buff"; back, yeliuwish olive
green, with a tint of brown.

The wings have the first quill feather very short, the second
shorter than the third, the fourth and fiiih nearly equal, and
the longest; greater wing coverts, dusky, broadly bordered
with greenish white, and tipped with greyish white; lesser
wing coverts, also dusky, broadly bordered with greenish
white; primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, dusky, margined
with yellowish green, the last-named most widely so, except
towards the base, where their outer web is dusky black,
forming a dark spot. Tail, dusky, margined with yellowish
green; it is slightly forked, and extends three quarters of aa
inch beyond the closed wings. Legs and toes, yellowish
brown, the soles yellow and rough; claws, brown.

The female Ima the crcsb iiery orange red, but somewhrt

152 riEECEEST.

faded; the Lands on the sides of the head are less ohvious
than in the male, and the whole plumage jiot so bright.

In the young the base of the bill is horn-colour; the crest
is pale lemon yellow, and indistinct; the forehead and head
on the sides are cinereous, without any streaks; the upper
plumage duller than in the adult, the lower tinged with
yellow.

The figure is from a design bj the Eev. Richard Pye
Alinorton.

153

WOOD PIGEON.

TiTSa DOVE. CUSHAT. QUEEST.

Cohimha pilumhus, Pennant. Montagu.

Culumha—k Pigeon. Falumhus—A Wood Pigeon.

TiTTS hircl is a universal favourite, au emhlein, as it 13
al vays cons'deveil, of peace, innocence, and conjugr^l fidelity,
*It was a Dove, ever since sacred to peace,' says Booth, 'that
brou'a:ht the ohve branch to the ark of Noah, for which she
has her place among constellations; and the christian world
still personate the iiOLY Spihit under the mvstic emblem of
a D >ve.'

It is found in Europe as far north as the southern parts
of Siberia and Russia, as in summer in Denmark an i S>veden;
likewise so far sjuth as the latitude of Made ra, and in the
nortliern part of the African contment, and in Asia.

The Ring Djve occurs throughout the whole of England
and Scotland, so far north as Tongue in Sutherlandshire,
and has been see.i several times in the Orkneys. It has
be^n killed in Sandny — one was shot in Oruhir in the
autumn of 1844?, another at Pab^lale by Mr. Dugu d, and a
tliird at the same place by Mr. Ranken, the 15ih. of
October, 1S16.

It is with us a stationary inhabitant, but in the winter many
are said to come over from the continent, and a departure
aTain is accordingly supposed to take place in the spring.
Of the enormous Hocks which con^reirate m t1ie winte:*, some
do not sepaiate till late in the sprincr, while oti ers, ia
parlinmealary plira^e, *pair for the session' by the beginning
of Mai'ch. In hard weather they sometimes make limited
niigiations, but such are not often called Ibr — tlieir ibod,
unless covered with buow, being almost evex;) where to be met

Wlcil.

154 WOOD PIGEON.

The "Wood Pigeon is very good eating, except when in
the winter it feeds on turnip-tops, and then a disagreeable
flavour is imparted to it. When they come home to roost
in their accustomed trees in fir plantations, or tall oaks, ash,
or other trees in woods, by lying in wait below they are
easily to be procured, but in the open day they are shy, and
not easily approached, unless it may be when engaged with
their young. They are capable of being tamed if brought
up from the nest, and have even been known to shew some
personal attachment, perching on the head or shoulders of
their fjiend, and eating out of the hand. I have seen them
more than once kept in cottages, and sadly out of their
element they have seemed. They have not flown away in
some instances even when at liberty to do so.

The late Frederick Holme, Esq., of Corpus Christl College,
Oxford, wrote in the *Zoolog'st,' page 1025, 'One of a pair,
kept in a cage, having made its escape, liberty was given
to the other; but it continued about the grounds, at first
descending warily from a tree to take the food left on the
ground, then feeding from the hand fVom the lower branches,
till at length it became so perfectly tame and familiar that
it tapped with its bill at the window, and would come,
though with caution, into the sitting-room.'

Of another, tamed from the nest, the lie v. J. C. Atkinson
writes in the *Zoologist,' page 661, 'When the evening
approached I went to seek for him, and proceeded to call
him by whistling the call I used when I i^ed. him. He
instantly responded, and flew to my shoulder or head, and
was taken in for the night. Occasionally I neglected to do
so until long after his roosting-hour, but he never once
ref sed to come when I called him; at last I left him out
all night. He then roosted in some fir trees about a stone's
cast irom the house. No sooner did I make my appearance
in the garden in the morning than I was sure to see him
come flying to me for his breakfast: and at any time in
the day, if I omitted to feed him at the stated intervals,
he came to remind me of my neglect as soon as he saw
me. Soon after he was regularly turned out in the day-time,
I had taken him to the bed of peas, and there indulged
him with the green peas, of which he was particularly fond;
but he did not like the trouble of shelling thein for himself;
and if he saw me in that part of the garden, and was at
all hungry, he generally flew first to me and then to the

WOOD PIGEOIT, 155

peas: if 1 did l^'j follow him afc once, but continued where
J was, ht? soon returned, and after waiting* a Utile, presently
went back again. This I always understood as an invitation
to go and open the pea pods for him; and it was one
I alwa3's acceded to, although sometimes I caused it to be
repeated several times.

He was now as nearly in a state of nature as possible;
with abundance of his natural food within his reach, uncon-
trolled, as far as liberty was concerned, and with numerous
birds of his own species in tl.e neighbourhood. There was
nothing to prevent his making (;ff if he chose, yet he never
shewed the least inclination to do so. He flew to nie fear-
lessly as ever, to the very last day of nny stay at home; if
he saw me lying on the grass, he came and nestled on my
bj-enst. I walked about the garden, and in an.d out of the
house with him on my shouder; and though he never
favoured any of my friends with the same symptoms of
confidence and attachment as he did my>elf, he was under
no kind of fear of them. At last 'Black Monday' came
round again. I loved him too well to confine him; still
less could I think of ta ing him back to school with me;
so I left him to do as he liked.

For the first three or four days of my absence he con-
tinued to keep about the house; he seemed to be looking
for something he had lost; once, and once only, he ficw
on my father's shoulder, but seemed instantly to be aware
that it was not his well-loved mister, and stayed no longer
than to find it out. He was seen about the garden for
long afterwards, but came no more near any of my relatives.

Som.e of his habits were sufficiently amusing. For instance,
if a dead bird were sliewn to him, his ire was instantly
roused, and he attacked it with the greatest fierceness; a
rough harsh note was first emitted, and then followed a
shower of pecks and blows of the wing upon the bird, the
feathers of which were dispersed in all directions. So deter-
mined was the onset, that the* bird was half })lucked in a
very short time. 1^ while sleeping — previous, that is, to his
being left out all niiiht — I awakened him unceremoniously,
his anger was expressed much in the same way; — the rough
coo and blow were instantly g ven.

I hav« never had another Ring Pove so thoroughly tame
as this one, though I have succeeded in lamili ir z'ul'' sevei'al;
the fact is, I never took so much pains and trouble with

Ib'o WOOD PIGEON".

any oth^r; and with respect to the individual in question,
my firm impression is, that had I stayed at home until the
breeding'-season, at the arrival of which time he might
probably have left me; but even then I should have expected
him to pay me frequent visits for food, and most likely to
have nested in the immediate vicinity of the house.

It is well known that few birds are wilder and more
distrustful than the Hing Dove in autumn and winter; but
that at the approach of spring they throw off much of their
wildness, and become comparatively familiar and confiding;
and it appears to me somewhat remarkable that the strongest
case of this change of their habits I ever heard of, has since
occurred in the garden about wliich my tame Dove spent his
time. A pair of thece birds nested in a shrub about twenty
yards from the front of the house. Under the shrub was placed
a garden chair, v/hich was usually occupied several hours in
the day. Reading aloud was frequently resorted to by the
parties occupying the chair; and three or four children were
pursuing their sports all round, and, like all other children,
did not always pursue them in ^solemn silence.' But this
was not all. — The nest was not six feet from the ground, and
visitors were often introduced to the sitting bird, wiio,
seeming to care nothing for the close approximation of
human eyes to her own, sat on in S|nte of all, and in due
time hatched. This regardlessness of the eye of man has
always seemed to me very strange. Look steadfastly at your
favourite dog, and he turns away his eve in apparent uneasiness,
and will not look at you, even though you call him, while
he suspects you are still gazing at him. The wild-fowl
shooter will tell you to be careful not to look at the
approaching flight of Wild Ducks, for they will *see your
eye' and turn another way. Walk under the tree in your
garden, where the Ring Dove is sitting, take no notice of
her, and she will take none of you: come back again and
look steadfastly at her as you pass, and in nineteen cases
out of twenty slie will fly otf. Yeb in the case I am des-
cribing, the visitor's eye was often not more than two feet
from the bird, and unless it was long fixed on her, she never
moved. During the time of incubation, the male, or that
bird which was not sitting, for 1 believe the male relieves
the female for a space of seven or eight hours every day —
the Domeistic Pigeon certainly does — was generally to be
seen sitting in an ash tree at the bottom of the garden. A

WOOD PIGEON. 157

similar instance of e:xtraordmary confidence was exhibited, and
probably by the same birds, in the following sprinor.

Some people, we all know, adopt \ery singular theories on
certain subjects; and so long as thej are theories merelv^ or
quite innocent, or their upholders do not seek to enforce
their adoption upon other people, I do not see why the
theorists should be disturbed in their belief, and on this
ground I claim indulgence when I assert my belief that
these very familiar and fearless Ring Doves were either the
direct descendants of my old pet, or that one of them was
the identical pet in question. 1 make a point of believing
this, for it is to me a satisfactory belief, and it is not after
all a very singular theory, although it must be confessed
that a period of ^ve or six years intervened between the
departure of my bird and the occurrence of this instance of
fearless tameness.'

The following, too, occurs in 'Jesse's Scenes and Tales of
Country Life:' — 'Every sportsman knows that the Common
Wood Pigeon (the King Dove) is one of the shyest birds we
have, and so wild that it is very difficult indeed to get
within shot of one. This wild bird has however been known
to lay aside its usual habits. In the spring of 1839, some
village boys • brought two young Wood Pigeons, taken from
the nest, to the parsonage house of a clergyman, in Glouces-
tershire, from whom I received the following anecdote: — 'They
were bought from the boys merely to save th^ir lives, and
sent to an old woman near the parsonage to be bred up.
She took great care of them, feedmg them with peas, of
which tJiey are very fond. One of them died, but the other
grew up and was a fine bird. Its wings had not been cut^
and as soon as it could fly it was set at liberty. Such,
however, was the effect of the kindness it had received, that
it would never quite leave the place. It would fly to great
distances, and even associate with others of its own kind;
but it never failed to come to the house twice a day to be
fed. The peas were placed for it in the kitchen window.
If the window was shut, it would tap with its beak till it
was opened, then come in, eat its meal, and then fly off
again. If by any accident it could not then gain admittance,
it would wait somewhere till the cook came out, when it
would pitch on her shoulder, and ^o with her into the
kitchen. What made this more extraordinary was, that the
cook had not bred the bird up, and the old woman's cottage

158 WOOD PTGEON.

was at a litfle d'staripe; l)ut as it had no peas left, it came
to the parsonage to be fed. This went on for some time;
but the poor bird having lost its fear of man, was therefore
exposed to constant danjjfcr from those who did not know
it. lb experienced the fate of mo.-t pets: — a stranger saw
it quietly sitting on a tree, and shot it, to the great regret
of all its former friends.' '

Another tamed one has been known, after flying away to
a considerable distance, and remaining absent for several
hours, to return again.

In a few instances they have been known to breed in
confinement.

The following is from *The IN'aturalist,' volume i, page 23,
from the pen of my friend the Rev. R. P. Alington, a true
lover of nature, and one of the best and most thorough of
out-of-door naturalists; it is a good specimen too of the 'multum
in parvo:' — 'As soon as twilight commences, the various ilocks
begin to collect, and settle in numbers upon the larch firs:
when they arrive at their roosting-ground, they not unfre-
quently take two or three turns high in the air, and then
the whole flock will commence dropping, with closed wings
and a rushing sound, upon the trees: they generally spend
half an hour or so upon the very topmost branches, their vincus
breasts glittering in the setting sun. As darkness comes on
they retire to the lower bianclies to roost; as each bird
descends, a loud flap of the wing may be heard — an exciting
«ound to the expecting gunner — now is the time for him:
the increasing darkness prevents the birds leaving the wood,
and many may be secured during the last half hour of the
lingering light. But during the day their extreme shyness
renders it a most difficult task to get within shot. In the
clear, cold, Irosbv days in winter, they may be heard at a
considerable distance — their wings making a whistling sound.
As sprmg comes on, their numbers, in this district, rapidly
decrease, and they leave, (where they go 1 know not,) to
breed — a very few to all appearance remaining here. These
now desert the woods, and very often approach the garden
to feed upon the new-sown pea.'

The late Bishop Stanley says, *That birds of this specieS'
can form odd attachments, we may learn from the following
st /ange association between a House Pigeon and a cat: — The
Pi;eon had made her nest in a loft much infested with
rats, which had more than once destroyed her eggs, or

WOOD PIGEON. 159

devoured her joiing^ ones. Her repealed losses at length
induced her to rebuild her nest in another part of the loft,
where a cat was raising three kittens, with whom she contrived
to form a strong friendship. They fed from the same dish,
and when the cat went out into the field, the Pigeon was
often observed to be fluttering near her. The Pigeon, aware
of the advantage of her protection, had placed her nest close
to the straw bed of the cat, and there in safety reared two
broods of young ones; and, in return for the protection she
experienced from the cat, she became a defender of the young
kittens, and would often attack with beak and wings any
person approaching too near.'

In a Scotch paper for February IBth., 1S3S, it is stated,
*A circumstance, perhaps unprecedented in the annals of
freezing, was discovered here last w^eek. A person found in
this neighbourhood, (Crieff,) a Wild Pigeon literally frozen
to the branch of a tree, and so intense was the freeze, that
the individual cut the branch, and carried the Pigeon home
in that state alive.*

*If the habits,' says Meyer, *of the Wood Pigeon are
accurately observed, it will be seen that it leads a very
regular life, and that it divides the day after the following
manner: — From six to nine in the morning the time is
occupied in searching for food. About ten o'clock the whole
party returns home, and may be heard calling their 'hoc,
hoo, coo, coo, hoo.' At eleven the calling ceases, and the
party is again off in search of drink, and probably also to
bathe, as we know them particularly to delight in the latter
exercise. From twelve to two is again set apart as a season
for resting, after which they go to feed until five; then return
to their wood, where they repeat their concert until seven,
when, aft^^r having taken some more water, they retire to
roost.' This, however, cannot apply to the winter portion of
the year.

AVood Pigeons are often seen in vast flocks, as well as in
smaller ones, and some will occasionally intermingle with tame
Pigeons in a field. Several pairs will frequently build near
each other, as if in this respect of gregarious habits, but
s'ngle nests shew also that it is not the universal rule. The
young birds, no doubt *in terrorem' both active and passive,
swell out their necks if approached, and utter a puffing sort
of sound. This in one instance was known to alarm and
frighten away a foster tame Pigeon, under whom the eggs

160 WOOD PIGEOIT.

had been placed; she was possibly as strange to them as their
unknown language was to her.

Its flight, though rather slow at times, is on occasion strong,
swift, straight, and powerful, the pinions sounding as it cuts
thb air, the result of repeated strong and regular fla})pings
of the wings, and generally at a considerabl/? height in the
air, unless the wind be very high. On the ground it moves
in an easy and graceful manner, now walking more erect,
and nodding the head at every step, now in a lower position,
and now peering about in suspicion of any approach of
danger. It roosts near the tops of the tallest trees it can
resort to, and comes home for that purpose about sunset,
leaving them again at sunrise for the fields. Before settling
they usually wheel about the spot where they desire to alio^ht,
and if disturbed from it, fly off to a short distance and then
return, bat if more frequently alarmed move away. *In fine
weather they bask in the sun on dry banks, or in the open
fields, rubbing themselves, and, as it were, burrowing in the
sand or soil, and throwing it up with their wings, as if
washing in water, which they often do, like most birds. In
drinking they immerse the bill to the base, and take a long
draught.'

On arriving at a feeding place, they alight suddenly, and
generally stand for a short time to reconnoitre. While
searching for food the bodv is depressed, and they walk
quickly along, moving the head backwards and forwards. The
flock disperse about, but keep out of the way of danger.

The Wood Pigeon feeds on grain in all its stages — wheat,
barley, and oats, peas, beans, vetches, and acorns, beech-mas%
the seeds of fir cones and wild mustard, charlock, ragweed,
and other seeds, green clover, grasses, small esculent roots,
ivy and other berries, and in the winter on turnip leaves
and their roots in hard weather — the first-named are all
swallowed whole. It may safely be said that any damage it
does, and some it must be confessed is done by it among
seed tares, and pea fields, is abundantly compensated by the
good that it effects in the destruction of the seeds of in-
jurious plants. Even the larger ones that they eat are swallow^ed
whole.

The well-known note of the Cushat — its soft *coo, coo-coo,
coo-coo,' begun sometimes towards the latter end of February,
and continued till October, always harmonizes well with every
quiet rural scene; and pleasant it is to listen to the plaintive

WOOD PIGEOIS". 161

'melancholy music' as you Svalk in the fields to meditate/ or
lie on some grassy bank in the settled summer time, when
all nature has thrown off the mantle that cold had wrapped
around her, and again comes forth in her renewed beauty,
courting scrutiny in the full blaze of the sun, ^shining in
his strength.' 'You may look, and look, and look again/
and in every insect that hovers about you, every overhanging
flower, every passing cloud, every murmuring breeze, and the
note of every bird, see what you cannot see, and hear what
you cannot hear, the hand and the voice of God.

Early in the spring, at sunrise, the Eing Dove cooes to
his mate, perched on the same or some neighbouring bough,
then mounts in the air, and floats or sails to the top of
the nearest tree, or, cooing all the while, will continue rising
and falling several times, with a peculiar sort of flight, and
when at its greatest elevation flapping the wings together
backwards with a distinct sound, audible at some distance
on a still day.

The nest, wide and shallow, placed usually at a height of
from sixteen to twenty leet from the ground, is little more
than a rude platform of a few crossed sticks and twigs, the
largest as the foundation, so thinly laid together that the
eggs or young may sometimes be discovered from below. It
is often built in woods and plantations, but not unfrequently
also in single trees, even those that are close to houses,,
roads and lanes, the oak and the beech, the fir or any other
suitable one, or even in ivy against a wall, rock, or tree, or
in a thick bush or shrub in a garden, or an isolated thorn,
even in the th.ck part, so that in flying out in a hurry, if
alarmed, many of the loosely-attached feathers are pulled out.
One pair built in a spruce fir not ten yards from a garden
gate, where they were constantly liable to disturbance by the
ringing of the bell, and the passing in and out of the
members of the family. Another pair dwelt two years in
succession close to a window by a frequented walk, and this,
though a cat destroyed the young.

The eggs, which are delicious eating, are two in number,
pure white, and of a rounded oval form; two and sometimes
three broods are produced in the season, but the third may
possibly be only the consequence of a previous one having
been destroyed or prevented: the eggs are hatched in sixteen
or seventeen days. The \oung are fed from the bills of the
parent birds with the food previously swallowed, reduced to-

VOL. IV. M

162 WOOD PTOEOK.

a sort of milk. The male and female both take their turns
in hatching the eggs and in feeding the young, the former
sitting from six to eight hours — from nine or ten in the
morning to about three or four in the afternoon.

The first brood are abroad by the beginning of May; the
second in the end of July. Mr. Macgillivray has known the
young unfledged in October, and a pair with down tips to
the feathers on the 26th. of that month; Mr. Hewitson, too,
so late as the middle of September; and E,. A. Julian, Esq.,
Jun., on the 15th. of that month, 1851, at Minchenay, near
Holbeton, Devon; so also E. C. Nunn, Esq., at Trevan Wood,
near Diss, Norfolk, on the 25th. of the same month in the
same year.

Male; weight, about twenty ounces; length, one foot five
inches and a half to one foot six inches; bill, pale reddish
orange yellow, red at the base, powdered over with a white
dust; the cerB almost white; iris, pale yellow; the eyelids
yellowish red, the bare part above them blue. Head, crown,
and neck on the back, greyish blue; on the sides some of
the feathers are bright green and some cream-coloured, and
below purple. The ring around, which is glossy white, and
composed on each side of twelve or fourteen scale-like feathers,
is begun to be assumed at about the end of two months,
and a fortnight sufiices for its full development. In front
the neck is brownish purple, fading towards the breast and
sides into light greyish blue. Nape, greyish blue; chin, bluish
grey; throat, purple red; back above, greyish blue, tinged
with brown; below, light greyish blue.

Extent of the wings from two feet four to two feet five
inches. The first quill feather is nearly as long as the fourth,
the second and third the longest; greater and lesser wing
coverts, dark bluish grey, the first four or five feathers of
each white or partially white, forming a white bar, much the
most conspicuous when the wings are spread. Primaries,
greyish black, the outer edges narrowly white; tertiaries, dark
bluish grey; greater and lesser under wing coverts, light
greyish blue. The tail, of twelve feathers, is long and very
broad, slightly rounded at the end, the two middle feathers
bluish grey, the ends, for a third of the whole length, dark
bluish grey, the others dull greyish blue in colour at the
base, lighter in the middle, and greyish black at the end;
underneath it is greyish black, with a band across the middle
of bluish grey; upper tail coverts, light greyish blue. The

WOOD PIGEOTf. 163

legs, which are feathered below the knee, and the toes, are
purple red, darkest behind — they are covered with scales.
Clavv^s, dark brown.

The female differs very little from the male — the colours
not so bright. Length, one foot five inches and a quarter.
The wings expand to the width of two feet four inches. The
tail tinged with brown.

The young are at first covered with pale yellow down, and
have the eyes closed by a film, through which the pupil of
the eye may be plainly seen, for nine days after they are
hatched. When fully fledged they are of the same colours as
the adult, but duller in tint, and tinged with brown, the
white ring and the iridescent hues being wanting. After the
first moult the plumage is complete, but becomes afterwards
somewhat deeper and purer. Varieties have sometimes been
met with spotted with white. A liver-coloured one was shot
by Mr. Georcre Johnson, of Melton Boss, Lincolnshire.

1G4

STOCK DOVE.

Columba cenas, P.iNNANT. Selcy.

Columba—A Dove. Oinos — Wine; from the vinous colour of its

breast.

The Stock Dove is found in Europe — in Germany and
France, Spain and Italy, Sweden, Norwa3^ and Fnihind. In
North Africa, and also in Madeira; as likewise in Asia —
namely in Persia; and in Africa — in Egypt, and in the islands
of the IModiterranean.

In Yorkshire, a few have been met with in the neighbour-
hood of York, and a few are also noticed in the vicinity of
Sheflleld. In Norfolk it is common, but local; also in
Hertfordshire and Essex. Tlie same is the case in other
southern and midland counties.

It frequents woods, coppices, and groves, and tlieso both
ir* low and more hilly countries, suiting itself alike among
oaks and fruit trees, beeches and firs, or any others tiiat
present facilities for building purposes.

It remains in some parts of the country throughout the
year, but is migratory in others, leaviiig its summer haunts
towards the end of October.

The Stock Dove becomes easily tame in confinement, and
will even return to its cage after being loosed from it.

They roost in trees, and consort with the King Dove in
winter, at which time they also assemble in large flocks.
They are restless in their habits. While the hen is sitting,
her partner frequently comes to look ai'tca* her. Like others
of the genus they are much attached to each other, and
though several pairs build in the same neighbourhood, are
never seen to quarrel. They are cleanly and neat in all their
habits. The young birds are much esteemed as an article of
food.

STOCK POYE. 165

Their fll!:>-ht is excperlinely rapid. On first taking wing",
they clap their pinions together on^e or twice, which, when
"niany are in company, causes a considerable sound. On the
ground they are active and lively, running quickly in rather
an upright posture, with a stately depoitment, nodding the
head at each step. They perch on trees, but the larger
bi'anches only are suitable for their footing.

Their food is composed of young green leaves, seeds of
plants and trees — hemp, rape, and others, berries, beech-mast,
acorns, peas, and grai i of various sorts.

Ti^e note, mos'.ly heard in the mornmg, but both at 'Night
and Morn,' is a repeated *coo-oo-oo.'

Nidification begins about the end of March, or the beginning
of April.

The nest, w^hich is flat and shallow — a mere layer of a few
sticks slightly put together, is often placed on the ground in
an old deserted rabbit burrow, where any exist, and in this case
on the bare sand or earth, a few sticks being occasionally
used; and in such places under furze and other bushes, where
the surface is hollowed; also, ordinarily, in any suitable holes
in trees, from four or five feet to ten times that height irom
the giound. The same hole is sometimes resorted to again,
but not the same year, and if disturbed by other would-be-
tenants, they stoutly defend their own: a second brood is
reared in the year. Incubation lasts about seventeen days,
and in about a month the young are able to fly. The parents
are very careful of the eggs, and will even sit on them till
taken off* with the hand. James Dalton, Esq., of Worcester
Colle^-e, Oxford, has found the nest of the Stock Dove in a
hollow of a decayed elm tree, something more than a foot
in dt^pth, at Hillesden, near Bucking-ham; the nest was made
of hay or grass. Leaves are on occasion used likewise for
the purpose.

The eggs, white, are smaller than those of the Queest, and
somewhat pointed at the smaller end, but rounded on the
whole, and of an oval shape.

Male; length, one foot two inches; bill, pale reddish orange
brow 1, the edges greyish yellow, the bare part round it ])ale
yellowish red; the cere, red, excepting the hind part, which is
white; iris, yellowish scarlet red; head and crown, bluish grey;
neck on the sides, glossy iridescent green and pur[)!e red; on
the back and nape, bluish grey; chin, bluish ii;rey. Breast
above, brownish purple red, shading oli* downwards into bluish

166 STOCK DOTE.

grey, grey on the lower part and sidles. Back above, bluish
brown, then bluish grey, and on the lower part grey.

The wings rather long — two feet two inches in expanse^
have the second quill feather the longest, the third nearly of
the same length, the first a little shorter; greater and lesser
wing coverts, bluish grey: sometimes one or more of these
feathers has a single leaden grey spot; primaries, dark leaden
grey, the outer margins paler; secondaries, light bluish grey
at the base of the outer web, the ends dark leaden grey, the
three inner have a large patch of black on their outer webs;
tertiaries, bluish grey, the last three with a leaden grey spot
on the outer web; greater and lesser under wing coverts, grey.
The tail, of twelve feathers, and slightly rounded at the end,
is bluish grey for two thirds of its length, then succeeded by
a narrow band of a lighter grey, the end dark leaden grey:
the inner part of the outer web of the outer feather on each
side is almost white; upper tail coverts, grey; under tail
coverts, grey; the legs are feathered in front one third down,
and are, as the toes, carmine purple red; claws, light brown,
yellowish grey towards the end.

The female scarcely differs from the male, except in size,
and in the less purity of colours. Length, one foot one inch
and a half. The wings expand to the width of not quite
two feet two inches.

The young are at first without the metallic shades on the
sides of the neck, and the spots on the tertiaries.

Individuals vary slightly in colooi*. The quills of the
wings when worn become browner.

167

EOCK DOVE.

EOCKIEE.

CoJumha livia, Selby. Jenyns. Gould.

Columba — A Pigeon, or Dove. Livia — {Queerer for Livida — Black

and blue— lead-colour.)

If you look at each and every one of the Pigeons that fly
about the barn and fold-yard, or rise in a flock from the open
field, nay, if you glance at any of those that hang up in the
poulterer's shop in the. narrowest street in London, — in even
which, by the way, you can, if your lot is cast in the great
city, make frequent ornithological observations, and, losing
yourself for a moment in pleasing thought in the Haymarket,
the Turnstile, the Rookery, the Grove, or the Strand— apolo-
gies now for the scenes that gave them their names of old —
realize the 'rus in urbe,' — you will see that every individual
bird, let the varied colours of its plumage be what they
may, has a patch of white over the tail. This will at once
shew you tliat it must derive its origin from the species at
present before us, which has the like distinguishing mark,
and not, as might naturally be supposed by any one who
was not cognizant of the fact, from the common Wild
Pigeon of the woods.

The name of this species designates its habits of life, as a
dweller among rocks and cliffs of the sea-girt isle or the
mainland; but in the interior it puts up with old ruins or
towers. It is a native of the former situations in Denmark,
Norway, and Sweden, in the rocky islands of the Mediterranean,
eastward as far as Greece, and northward to the Ferroe
Islands; and likewise occurs in North Africa, Madeira, and
Teueniie; and in Asia — in Japan and Persia.

168 EOCK DOVE.

In Yorkshire, the Eoek Dove is plentiful among the high
•cliffs of Flaraborough and Speeton.

In Scotland, it fi-equents most of the rocky shores of
Sutherlandshire, also those of Eoss-shire, Morayshire, and
Cromarty; in fact any such on both the east and west coasts.

In Oikney, the Wild Pigeon abounds, being found almost
everywhere where there are rocks or caves to aff*ord them a
secure building retreat. The same is the case in Shetland
and the Hebrides, or Western Islands.

These birds are commonly believed to pair for life; if the
female be killed her partner exhibits the most expressive
emotions of distress; and it is long, if ever, before he changes
his widowed state: some are even said to have bean known
to have died with grief — 'I did mourn as a Dove,' says
Daniel, borrowing from nature the most expressive image
that he could use. They are capable of being easily tamed
if taken young, which indeed is evidenced by the domesticated
race, and one has been known to have lived full twenty years.
Mr. Edward, of Banff, has recorded in the 'Banffshire
Journal' an instance of a Common Pigeon having lived to
the seventeenth year of its R^e; and of one which he brought
up, the late lamented Macgillivray thus feelingly writes, in
recording its untimely fate: — 'Long and true was my sorrow
for my lost companion, the remembrance of which will
probably continue as long as life. I have since mourned
the loss of a far dearer Dove. They were gentle and loving
beings; but while the one has been blended with the elements,
the other remains, 'Hid with Cheist in GrOD,' and for it I
'mourn not as those that have no hope.' '

Wild Pigeons live peaceably among their neisrhbours, and
amicably among themselves, and if any slight differences, for
the most part for the same dwelling-place, ever arise,
^Amantium irse amoris integratio est.' In the winter they
collect into flocks, as also in the autumn and the spring
sometimes of several hundred or even thousand individuals, and
then may be approached, with care, rather more nearly than
at other times, for ordinarily they are shy. Macgillivray
writes, 'When searching for food, they walk about with great
celerity, moving the head backwards and forwards at each
step, the tail sloping towards the ground, and the tips of the
wings tucked up over it. In windy weather they usually
move in a direction more or less opposite to the blast, and
keep their body nearer to the ground than when it is calm,

EOCK DOYE. 169

the whole flock going together. When startled, thej rise
suddenly, and by striking the ground with their wings, produce
a crackhng noise. When at full speed, they fly with greit

celerity, the air whistling against their pinions They usually

alight abruptly when the place is open and clear, and, if very
huncrry, immediately commence their search, although, on
ali2:hting, they frequently stand and look around them for
a few moments. On other occasions, however, they fly over
the field in circles, descending gradually. When flying from
the rocks to the places where they procure their food, and
when returning in the evening, they do not mount high in
the air; and when passing^ over an eminence, they fly so low
as almost to touch it. When the wind is very high, and their
course is against it, they fly in the same manner, taking
advantage of the shelter.

It is a fine sight to see them from the top of some high
cliff', scudding and shooting along below with the great
velocity for which their flight is so remarkable, the wings
rapidly beating the air. If however m no hurry, they fly
more leisurely, and with slower strokes. In walking, or ratlier
running, in the fields in feeding, they sometimes aid their
advance by a flutter of the wings, and I have observed, in
a flock of tame Pigeons feeding in a field, the hind ones,
every few moments, flying over the rest, and taking their
places in front, to have their turn of the best pickings, and
this in constant succession, as if the whole of the flock
admitted the right in each other, and claimed it individually
for themselves. At times, especially in the spring, they may
be seen circling in the air, sailing about before settling, with
the wings closed together over the back. They roost in their
holes and caves, and occasionally, it is said, on the ground
in open fields. They are fond of bathing, and also of rolling
themselves in, and sprinkling thennselves with dust.

The food of the Eock Dove consists of grain and seeds,
such as barley, peas, oats, charlock, and wild mustard, and
they also feed, in default of these, on difl*erent species of snails;
a few fragments of stone, or, where old buildings are inhabited,
of mortar, are also swallowed. The quantity of grain con-
sumed is very great; thus, in two specimens examined by
Mr. Macgillivray, the number of seeds of ^rain found were,
in one, over a thousand, and in the other, five hundred and
ten. 'Now supposing there may be i\ve thousand Wild
Pigeons in Shetland or in Fetlar, which feed on grain for

170 EOCK DOYE.

six months every year, and fill their crops once a day, half
of them with barley, and the other half with oats, the number
of seeds picked up by them, would be two hundred and
twenty-nine million five hundred thousand grains of barley,
and four hundred and fifty million grains of oats — a quantity
which would gladden many poor families in a season of
scarcity. I am unable to estimate the number of bushels,
and must leave that task to the curious. What is the
number of Pigeons, wild and tame, in Britain; and how much
grain do they pick up from the fields and corn yards? Ifc
is probable that were the seeds of the cereal plants, which
all the granivorous birds in the country devour annually,
accurately known, it would prove much higher than would
be imagined; yet by far the greater part of it would be of
no use to man, were all the birds destroyed, it being irre-
coverably dispersed over the fields.* Every morning they fly
off from their fastnesses, to levy contributions on the nearest
cultivated countiy, resorting to regular feeding places while
food is to be found in plenty; but when the contrary is the
case, they are compelled to seek for it in all directions.

They drink often, and, as do the other Pigeons, by a
continued draught. The young ones are fed with food pre-
viously swallowed by the parents, and they receive it with a
fluttering of the wings and a low plaining note of hunger.

The Rock Pigeon does not perch in trees, but in lieu
thereof takes its stand on some high spot, at the same time
secure and outlooking.

The note is a *coo-roo-coo' quickly repeated, the last *coo'
prolonged.

They build in companies, many often in the same cavern.
The nest is composed of sticks and dry stalks, and blades
of grass and other plants, laid together without much care.
The bed is fresh made, without much trouble for a new
brood as soon as the former has been sent at large. The
first eggs are laid about or towards the middle of April, and-
the latest, the latter end of August; the young are seea
about the end of September.

The eggs are white, and two in number; while the hen is
sitting, the cock bird feeds her, and even at other times she
"^ill often take a morsel from his mouth: at night he remains
close to the nest. The young birds are fledged in about three
weeks, and- after a few days education by their parents, go
their ways "o provide for themselves.

nOCK DOTE. 171

Male; weight, eleven ounces; length, one foot one inch to
one foot two inches; bill, dull brownish black, with a tinge
of orange — -it is much compressed about the middle both in
depth and width, cere, brownish black m front, the hind
portion white. Iris, pale orange; eyelids, reddish, head,
crown, and neck on the back, dark bluish grey, the latter
on the sides glossed with purple red, and green reflections,
the former the foremost; ehhi, bluish grey. Throat, purple
and green, varying witli the light, breast, light greyish blue;
back on the upper part, Ught bluish grey, then bluish grey,
and on the lower part white.

The wings, which expand to the width ol" from two feet
one inch to two teet tliree inches, have the first feather
shorter than the second an(4 third, which are nearly of equal
length and the longest in the wmg, tlie fourth much shorter
than the first. Grreater wmg coverts, dull bluish grey, each
with a black spot near the end forming a conspicuous black
band; lesser wing coverts, light bluish grey, primaries and
secondaries, dull bluish gr^y on f-he outei- web of the first
and part of the second feather, and bghter on the , inner,
dusky towards the end; tertiaries, lis'ht bluish grey tipped
with black, and exhibitn.g a second conspicuous band of black;
greater and lesser under wing coverts, white. The tad, of
twelve teathcrs, bluish grey for two thirds of its length, the
shafts black, an uich of the end l^a^len black, the ])and thus
formed widest m the middle; the outer w^b of the side
feather is white as tar as xhc black band. Upper tail
coverts, dark bluish grey ; legs and toes, carmine red, the
form.er scaled m front, and the latter on their upper surface;
claws, brownish black. The ieathers of the body adliere
loosely, and easily come off.

The female is of less bright colours than the male. Length,
one foot one inch, to one foot one inch and a half; the neck
has less green. Extent of winijs, from two feet one inch, to
two feet two inch-.-s and a h il!', the black bars on these are
shaded with grey, and tli<'ir tips are tinned with brown. The
tail has the tip also tiiiL''"d wiih br .wn.

The y^>uiig are at fiiot cuveicd with velljw down.

172

TURTLE DOVE.

Cohtmhn Tintur, LlvNiEUS. LathaM.

Turtur auritus, BaY.

Columha—A Pigeon. Turtur— The Turtle Dove.

This beautiful bird is an inhabitant of Africa, from whence
it crosses to Europe, and is met with in Germany, Italy, and
other countries of the continent. It has been noticed also
in Asia — mj A.sin Minor, the East Indies, Japan, China, and
the ishin«.ls of ibo .Sonlli Seas.

The Turllc l>ovo breeds in Bagley wood, Berkshire, near
Oxford, as .James .Dalton, Esq., of Worcester College, has
iniurmed me. In Y^rksliire one was obtained some years
since near Halifa.x, and one also in 1821^, 'near fair Rother-
ham,' not so fai]- in tliese times of smoke, as in the days of
yore, those of ihe 'Dragon of Wantley;' another was shot
at High Carton, near York, one seen by Arthur Strickland,
Esq., neaj- ]>\ivlii!gton, and one taken near Scarborough. It
is tlie most, ])lontirul in the 'Eastern Counties.' In Cam-
bridireshir',', a few individuals of this species visit the plantations
in the neighbnurliood of Bottisham, every spring, and it has
also been noticed at Stretchwood and Wood-Ditton. In
Norfolk, it is pretty common in the summer; as also in
Essex and Sulfolk. In Kent, where it is the most plentiful,
I have seen it in the neighbourhood of Sittingbourne. A
few occur in Dorsetshire, Devonshire, and Cornwall; and one
has also been observed in Northumberland, in the autumn —
namely, on l^restwick Car, in September, 1794, as recorded
by Bewick. 1'homas Eyton, Esq., of Eyton, says that it is
found in Shropshire 'All round the Wrekin.' It has also
been observed in Lancasliire, and even in Cumberland.

In Scotland, Charles St. John, Esq has twice seen a pair
in Morayshire, in the autumn. Sir William Jardine, Bart.

D

TITT^TLE DOTE. 17»^

shot one in the garden of Jardine Hall, Dumfriessh'r?, and
another was shot in Perthshi j, so late as the 20th. of
October, in the year 1834?. Two also in Aberdeenshire, one
near Old Aberdeen, in Aui^ust, in 1S49, and the other in
September, ISoL, both of them younir birds. In Oi'kney one
was shot many years since, by Mr. Strang; another at
Deernen, nea.** Kirkwall; and one in Holm, in 1850.

Witli us they are mi^^rafory, arrivmg in the spring the
latter end of A])ril, and departing the end of August or
September. Tlie males arrive before the females, and they
appear to pair only for the season.

They go in small flocks of some twenty in number,
frequenting the open fields when feeding, and at other times
resorting to woods. On their first arrival they are not shy,
and may be easily approached; but when the nest is begun^
and afterwards, tliey bccom.e gradually more and more so.
They frefjuent wooded districts, both hilly and flat. They
may be kei)t in continenient, but in that state are quarrelsome
with other birds.

They roost in trees, among the concealment of the leaves.
Their llight is airy and light.

They feud on various kinds of o^rain and seeds, and are
especially fond of peas, with which fields are sown; as also of
the sei'<ls ol' tiie fir tree, but all are sought for on the ground
where they nniy have i'allen; they also eat small snails, and
swalhnv bits ol' stone, sand, or mortar. They are fond of
drinking and bathing, and on this account frequent the
neiLrhb«>ii)h.'>'>d ni' streams.

The noir resembles the syllables *tur, fur,' more or less
often ri'j»eated, and more or less quickly — doubtless the origin
ol tlie name.

The nest is carelessly constructed of a few twigs and sticks,
and is placed in trees at no great height from the ground —
some ten or twenty fuet — but well hidden among the foliage.
It is, however, itself so slight, that the eggs may be seen
throii<^h it.

The eggs are two in number, and glossy white, of a narrow
oval and rather pointed form. They are laid about the middle
of May, and are hatelM.»tl in sixteen or seventeen days. The
f'Muale sits on the yo'ii.g, if the weather be cold, U»lli night
and day. Two and somfliuh's three brooils are produced in
the year. 'J'he yo»ing soon lenrn to shift ft»r tln.'in.Nolves.

Male; weight, rather more than six ouncoi; length, a trifle

174 TIJBTLE DOTE.

over one foot; bill, dark greyish black, the tip of the upper
one yellowish brown: it is much compressed about the middle,
and the end is hard in substance; inside it is reddish. Iris,
bright orange yellowish red, the bare space around it light
red — darker than in the female; head on the sides, yellowish,
fading off into the pink of the neck and breast; on the crown,
and neck on the back, light greyish blue; on the sides the
latter has a rounded patch of black, each of the feathers
tipped with white, surrounded with a tinge of blue; in front
it is a delicate light purple red colour, fading off backwards
into grey; chin, pale brown; throat and breast, delicate light
purple red, bluish grey on the sides; back, greyish brown above,
on the lower part brownish in colour.

The wings, one foot nine or ten inches in expanse, long and
acute, have the second quill the longest, the first nearly as
long, the third a little shorter than the first, the others
rapidly diminishing in length; greater wing coverts, mostly
grey, the others greyish brown, with narrow whitish edges;
lesser wing coverts, edged with grey, with broad hght reddish
margins, and a central pointed black spot, the outer one
bluish grey; primaries, greyish brown. The inner secondaries
edged with grey, with broad light reddish margins, and a central
pointed dark spot; the outer ones greyish brown, with narrow
whitish edges; greater and lesser under wing coverts, bluish
grey. The tail, long and much rounded, of twelve feathers,
greyish brown, the two centre ones brown; all the others tipped
with white, widest on the side feathers, the outer web of the
side one white; underneath it is blackish brown, tipped with
white; under tail coverts, white. Legs and toes, carmine red —
the latter underneath dull yellowish; claws, blackish brown.

The female is less in size, and lighter-coloured.

The young, at first covered with yellow down, have, their
first year, the bill dark brown; iris, dusky, till they are about
half a year old, then it becomes by degrees yellow and orange:
the red round the eye appears the second year; they assume
also the black on the side of the neck the second year. Breast
on the sides, bluish grey; back, darker brown than the neck
in front; greater and lesser wing coverts, tipped with buff
white; primaries, slightly tinged on their outer edges with
rufous. Tail, brown, the lateral feathers with their outer webs,
and the next two with their ends white; underneath it is
blackish brown; under tail coverts, whitish. Legs, toes, and
claws, brown.

PASSENGER PIGEON.

175

PASSEXGETl PIGEOX.

Cnlumha migratoria, FLEMING. YarRELL.

Ectopistts migratorius, Selby.

Columba—A Pigeon. Mlgratoria—MigrsLtory.

This Pigeon, far-famed on account of its extraordinary
numbers, is a native of North America, from north to south.
Captain Sir John Ross, R. N., mentions one which flew on
board the Victory in Baffin's Bay, during a storm, in the
73 J degree of latitude, on the 31st. of July, 1829. It has
been taken also in Europe, in Russia and Norway; and one
was shot, while perched on a wall near a dove-cote, at West-
hall, in the parish of Monymeal, Fifeshire, Scotland, on the
31st. of December, 1825.

The Passenger Pigeon, as imported by its name, is of
migratory habits in its native country.

These birds may be kept in confinement, and a pair built
and hatched their young in the menagerie of the Zoological
Society in the year 1833, and another pair about the same
time in that of Lord Derby, at Knowsley, in Lancashire. In
their native regions their numbers seem to be almost incredibly
vast; for miles and miles and miles flock follows after flock,
and that so fast as scarcely to be able to be reckoned as
they pass; Audubon counted one hundred and sixty-three
flocks in twenty-one minutes. If a Hawk threatens them,
their movements, he says, are singularly beautiful, as they
wheel with the force of a torrent and a noise like thunder
with inconceivable velocity in various changing figures, the
whole mass gliding through the air as if a single living body.
He gives a surprising account of the numbers in which, in
their peregrinations, they are captured in the easiest manner
in consequence of their dense propinquity to each other, and

176 PASSENGER PIGEON.

certainly the whole account gives a very *high flown*
representation of their flight.

Epitomising his calculations, Alexander Wilson says, 'Allowing
two Pigeons to the squn^e yard, we have one billion,, one
hundred and fifteen millions, one hundred and thirty-six
thousand Pigeons in one flock, (flight;) and as every Pigeon
consumes fully half a pint per day, the quantity required to
feed such a flock, must be eight millions, seven hundred and
twelve thousand bushels per day.'

Their flight is extraordinarily rapid. It has been conclusively
proved that they have travelled, at the rate of about a mile
in a minute, between three and four hundred miles in six
hours.

Dr. Saynisch, a German naturalist, thus describes their
nesting-places, and it certainly is corroborative of Audubon's
account. 'The gathering together of these birds, for the
purpose of incubation, was exhibited on a scale perfectly
astonishing. For a length of nine miles they had occupied
ever}^ tree and sapling in the whole breadth of the valley,
which is from a quarter to a third of a mile wide. Thoubands
and millions of nests were seen on the beech, birch, and
maple trees, every tree of which contained several nests; and
I counted on some of them from twenty to fifty nests.
Unlike most birds, they are said never to return to their
nesting-places in a succeeding year; we therefore only saw
their deserted nests; yet even these were interesting, as
evidences of the countless numbers which had congregated
here. During the season, when the young Pigeons or 'squabs'
were ready to fly, their retirement was invaded by numerous
persons, who filled sacks and carts with them; there requiring
no other trouble than the shaking of the young trees, or
cutting down those of greater size. This year the Pigeons
established themselves in a new spot, in the beech woods,
ten miles to the west.'

It would appear that the nest, which is placed in trees,
and is only a layer of a few sticks, is put together in a
single da3% and that the young are hatched in sixteen days;
— both male and female assisting in making the nest, the
former bringing the materials, and the latter arranging them,
and also in the work of incubation.

The egg, for only one is laid, is pure white.

Male; length, one foot five inches; bill, orange colour; iris,,
pale yellow. Head on the sides and cro^vn, bluish greyj

PASSENGER PIGEON. 177

Beck on the sides, iridescent reddish chesnut, purple in some
lights, and green in others; on the back, bluish grey; nape,
brownish grey; chin, bluish grey; throat and breast, rich
chesnut, paler lower down and on the sides; back, bluish
grey.

The wingfs have the first and third quill feathers equal in
length, lonofer than the fourth, but shorter than the second,
which is- the longest in the wing; greater and lesser wing
coverts, bluish grey, with a few oblong spots of black; pri-
maries, leaden grey, the outer maro;ins paler, the shafts black;
tertiaries, brownish grey. The tail, long and cuneiform, the
four middle feathers the longest, tapering and pointed at the
end; the four outer ones on each side graduated in length.
The two middle ones are blackish brown; the next on each
side white, tinged with grey on a portion of the outer web,
and leaden grey at the base; the four outside feathers on
each side white, partly tinged wdth grey, and at the base
with leaden grey; upper tail coverts, bluish grey; under tail
coverts, white. Legs and toes, rather long, and reddish orange
in colour; claws, bLick.

The female is smaller than the male; length, about one
foot four inches; her colouj's are less bright, and more tmged
with brown.

VOL TV.

178

PHEASANT.

C0MM0:N' PHEASAl^T. EINa-NECKED PHEASANT.

Phasianus Colchicus, Linn^us. Latham.

Phasianus — A Pheasant. Colchinus — Of Colchis.

In treating of the game birds, I foresee that it will he
difficult to confine myself strictly to their natural history.
When one comes to think, to speak, or to write of the *flood
and field,' I ask any reader who has handled, though it may
have been in days gone by, *the rod and the gun,' whether
nature and art are not here so closely connected together, that
their confines are easily overstepped, and in fact one will be
out of bounds, trespassing perhaps, before he knows or thinks
where he is. I believe, indeed, that the old common law of
England gives you leave and license to follow your game when

struck, but 1 must not forget that I am now holding

the pen and no other implement, and must guide, and not
be guided by, the 'grey goose wing.' I will only say that,
as a magistrate for the East Riding of Yorkshire, I have always
felt that a poacher, if not a really bad character, was not
necessarily a being so utterly depraved, as to be deserving of
nothing but to be prosecuted with the ^utmost rigour of the
law.'

The Pheasant, though not strictly speaking one of our native
birds, having been introduced formerly — it is supposed, as
imported by its names, from the banks of the Eiver Phasis,
in Colchis, in Asia — yet, as now and long since naturalized
among us, claims and receives a place accordingly in every
natural history.

This splendid bird is plentiful in a great part of Europe—
the north excepted, and in Asia, from the shores of the Black
Sea to Tartary, Persia, the East Indies, China, and its northern
region, the formerly famous and marvellous Cathay. It is

i

I

i

PHEASANT. 179

-common now throughout this country, as also pretty generally
in Ireland; and in Scotland occurs even so far north as
Sutherlandshire.

The favourite resorts of Pheasants are woods wherever
-situated, and whether larger or smaller, and thick plantations,
especially if near rivers and marshy places, osier beds, and
islands overrun with tangled vegetation, long grass, rushes,
reeds, and brambles, and at times they resort to hedgerows.
Their large size and conspicuous appearance render them an
easy prey to prowling marauders on many a 'shiny night at
the season of the year,' and their value for the table furnishes
a strong incentive to take them, even if the natural instinct
of the chase did not sufficiently provide it. The paths that
they form in thickets, invite the treacherous snare, the air-gun
can easily reach them on their visible roost, or even a noose
at the end of a pole; should they fly, the difficulty is to miss
them with a gun; and should any of these means not be
resorted to, a villainous sulphur match will bring them down.

In the winter the males generally keep by themselves, and
in spring, about March, again choose a domain and haunt of
their own, strutting, crowing, and clapping their wings to the
admiration of the females. The former are as they have need
to be, more wary than the latter. One has been known in
defence of his wives to attack and drive ofi* a cat, which was
accidentally approaching. Of another it is related by the Kev.
Leonard Jenyns, that it was so bold and fierce, that it Vas
accustomed to make frequent sallies upon persons passing near
the place of its resort. I saw it myself fly boldly at the
proprietor of the grounds, who purposely approached the spot,
in order that I might witness the extent of its courage and
ferocity; it coinmenced pecking his legs, and striking with its
^vings, pursuing him for a considerable distance down one of
the walks. Some wood-cutters, who were at work close by,
were in the habit of protecting their legs with strong leather
gaiters from the attacks of this bird, which was constantly
interrupting and annoying them in this manner.' Ot another
it is recorded that having roosted in the neighbourhood of a
farm-yard, where game fowls were kei)t, it killed three cocks
in succession, but was slain by a fourth, which the owner armed
with spurs for protection. Another went into a farm-yard,
and for several months ke|»t compiiny with the hens there,
making his appearance at daybreak, and retiring into the woods
to roost at ni^ht.

180 PHEASANT.

The cock Pheasant deserts the hen as soon as the eggs are
laid, and she aloiie has the rearing of tlie young.

When fed in hard weather, thej learn to come at the call
of the k eper. The hen will sometimes hatch her eggs in
confinement. They are foolish birds, and one has been known
to 'run fcirther into the danger, than try to get out of it^
a id await its fate with patient stupidity, without the least
attempt to extricate iiself

The male Pheasant is polygamous, having from six to nine
mates. Its natural habits confine it to the ground, and there
it roosts in the summer and autumn, among long grass or
bushes; but in the winter commonly in trees at a height of
ten or twenty feet from the ground; in the early spring the
hen roosts near the cock, either in the same tree or in some
one close to it, whose shelter it also seeks at -other times if
alai'med. In the early part of the winter open ti-ees are resorted
to, but in more severe weather, those of an evergreen kind —
hollies and firs. In strictly preserved places, they often derive
boldness from conscious security, and display but very little
fear of man.

Its flight is straight, laboured, and heav}^, performed by
quick flappings of the wings; the tail expanded: in descending^
it steadies its wings and sails before alighting. A considerable
sound is made by its first rising. They run very fast on
occasion, and if alarmed, either speed into the nearest cover
or take wing. If not disturbed, but feeding quietly, they
move about leisurely, running every now and then, the wings
rather drooped, and the tail nearly straight, but rather more
elevited than at other times.

It feeds on cereal grain of the various kinds, and beans,
beech-mast, chesnuts, acorns, blackberries, sloes, hips and haws,
and other small wild fruits; also the shoots and leaves of
various plants, turnip tops, and grass, the roots of the golden
buttercup, and of various grasses and bulbous plants; worms,
grasshoppers, gnats, and other insects. It does a large
amount of damage in its consumption of the first-named:
where there are ant-hills, the hen bird leads her young to
them, in the grass-fields, and afterwards into those of corn.
Mr. Macgillivray found a quantity of a species of fern in
one. If they come into a garden, they devour grapes,
potatoes, carrots, cabbages, and turnips, and scratch the
ground in search of food. They are particularly fond of
sunflower seeds and buckwheat.

PHEASANT. 181

Tlie crow of the Pheasant, which bears but an humble re-
semblance to the ^Cock's shrill clarion,' is be^un to be heaid
in March, and then frequently in Apiil and Mav^ The hen
in like manner utters a low chirp — a *tshee,' when startled
to take wing, and a slight call on the appearance of any
danger. The cocks crovv at all hours of the day, from the
time of quitting their night's ro -st to the time of their
again retiring to rest, and in the autumn early in the
morning or late at night. They are particularly excited by
thunder or any other loud noise, such as the blasting of
rocks, or the firing of cannon, even when so distant, as has
been observed, as thirty miles; while their own crowing in
concert on such occasions may be heard, it is said, at a
distance of txvo miles. The explosion of Curtis and Harvey's
powder mills, at Hounslow, was answered by them at a
distance of fifty miles, as witnessed by A. E. Knox, Esq.
*Ti)e Common Pheasant, as is \\ell known,' says the Rev.
Leonard Jenyns, 'betrays the ^>lace of his repose by his
repeated crowing; the cock bird, for the hen appears to be
nearly mute on these occasions, springs from the gri und on
to the tree selected for roosting w th a harsh scream or
chuckle, that continues unremitted till he has assumed his
perch; it is then softened into a more harmonious crow,
consisting of two, and in some cases tiiree notes, which are
repeated at intervals for a considerable time. Besides his
cry, which is heard to a considerable distance, there is a
weak inward noise immediately following, which sounds
exactly like an echo of the first, consisting of the same notes
on y in a difierent key, and uttered very softly.'

The nest, a very slight fabrication of a few leaves, is made
upon the ground, sometimes in the open fields, but more
Commonly in woods and ])lantations, among underwood, under
fallen or felled boughs and branches of trees, in long grass,
and in hedgerows.

The eg^s are begun to be laid in April and May, one
afte»- another for four, five, or six weeks, and incubation
lasts from twenty-four to twenty-six d\ys. They are from
six to ten and even fourteen in number, smooth, and of a
light olive brown ci)lour minutely dotted all .;ver. Some are
greyish white tinged with green. The hen sits for four and
twenty hours on the brood after they are hatched, which
takes place in June or July, and they keej) with her till
they begin to uiuult to the lull plumage. They soon learu

182 PHEASAITT.

to run about with her, and when half grown begin to roost
on the same tree. It would appear that two hens wilL
sometimes lay in one and the same nest, and also that that
of the Partridge will occasionally be made use of, even if it
air: ady contain eggs, the Pheasant expelling their proper
owner, and hatching them with her own, and bringing up
the young. The eggs are subject to considerable malformation.
Mr. Hewitson mentions one sent to him by the Hon. Mrs.-
Liddel, which was of a cylindrical shape.

Male; weight, Yerj variable — from two pounds and a half
to three pounds, and even, in some instances, over four
pounds; length, two feet ten inches to two feet eleven.
Bill, whitish or pale yellowish, or pale greenish horn-colour,,
the base rather darker. The eye is surrounded by a bare
skin of a bright scarlet colour, minutely speckled with bluish
black: in parts it approaches deep red, and in some seasons^
crimson. Iris, pale yellowish orange, with a tinge of brown,
the eyelids flesh-coloured: over the ear is a sinall tuft of
dark golden-green feathers, set out in the spring. Head on
the crown, deep brownish green, with yellowish marginal
edgings, the feathers rather elongated and silky; neck behind,.
deep green, and on the sides and in front, greenish blue
and purple blue, alternately reflecting burnished shades of
green, purple, and brown, in different lights. Throat and
breast above, dark golden red, each feather margined with
glossy black and reflecting tints of gold and purple; lower
down, brownish black glossed with green, the margins of the
feathers being of the latter colour, and in young birds
tinge I with reddish. Back, on the upper part dark orange
red, within which is a yellowish white band, the feathers
margined with velvet black, and with a central oblong spot
of the same; lower down dark orange red, the centre of each
feather dark, with an outer band of pale yellow, with spots
of light blue and purple, then light brownish red, the feathers
elongated, with loose filaments.

The wings, rounded in form, and of twenty-four quills,,
expand to the width of two feet eight inches; the third
and fourth quills are the longest, the first equal to the
seventh: underneath, the wings are yellowish green. Greater
and lesser wing coverts, red of two shades, the inner
dark, the outer yellowish grey, variegated with dusky and
whitish; primaries, dull greyish brown, varied with pale
greyish yellow; secondaries, broad, rounded, and a little

PHEASANT. 183

shorter than the primaries, and more tingled with brown on
the outer edges. The tail is sHghtly arched, and of eighteen
feathers; the two middle ones frequently measure as much
as two feet — more or less according to age. It is pale
yellowish brown with a tinge of green, with narrow transverse
black bars about an inch apart, and a broad border of dull
red on each side, the loose margins glossed with green and
purple: the outer feathers are the shortest, and the shafts
dusky; upper tail coverts, light brownish red; under tail
coverts, variegated with reddish. The legs, light brownish
lead-colour, have conical spurs behind, about a quarter of an
inch long, dull the first year: *they have about seventeen plates
in each of their anterior series.' Toes, light brownish lead-
colour; the first one, which is very small, with five, the second
with twelve, the third twenty-two, the fourth nineteen scales^
or thereabouts. Claws, brown.

The female resembles the male. Length, two feet two inches;
bill, horn-colour, tinged with green: over the eye is a bare
space, but more feathered than in the male; the head has the
feathers on the crown somewhat elongated and tinged with
red; neck on the back and nape, yellowish brown tinged with
red; throat and breast, paler and less mottled than in the
male; back, greyish yellow, variegated with black and yellowish
brown. The wings extend to the width of two feet six inches;
primaries, pale greyish brown, mottled with greyish yellow;
the tail is much shorter than in the male; it is yellowish grey,
minutely mottled with black, and with oblique irregular spots
of black, with a pale yellow line on the centre of each feather.
The legs, brown, have about seventeen scales in each row; the
toes, darker brown; the first toe, says Macgillivray, has five
scales, the second nine to fifteen, the third twenty-two, the
fourth seventeen or eighteen. Claws, dark brown.

The young of the year, in their first plumage, resemble
the females; being of a dull greyish yellow, variegated with
brown and black. The females are the dullest, and the space
under the eye is more feathered.

The Pheasant is far from unfrequently found with more
or less variegation of plumage. It appears unquestionable
that this, as might not unnaturally be expected as the result
of some constitutional indrmity, is in many instances, though
not in all, transmitted from the parent to the ofispring; in
Borne, part of the progeny are pieii, and part of the ordinary
colour. Pied young have been known to be produced from a

184 PHEA.SANT.

white male and a female of the proper colour; their descendants
in the following year were only white or pied, and the varieties
went on year after year. Doubtless in m ny cases the
destruction of the old birds, signalled out for their very
markings, is the reason of the non-production of other such;
^ex nihilo nihil fit.'

The Eing-necked specimens are rather lighter-plumaged than
the Eingless. One variety, by no means uncommon, especially
in the female, is entirely white, and even the bill and legs.
One had a single coloured feather under the throat, another,
one or two only on the shoulders; a hen bird in the cock's
plumage, even the white ring round the back and sides of the
neck, is another. Individuals more or less mottled, patched,
and speckled with white are by no means unfrequeut. A
variety called the Bohemian Pheasant is of a stone-colour,
with the usual markings Cream-coloured ones are also met
with. One is mentioned by G. B. Clarke, Esq., in *T]ie
Naturalist,' volume ii., page 182, which had a silvery appearance
when the sim shone on it, and the tail was of a darker colour
chaii isual: it was shot in Woburn Park.

The hen bird sometimes j^artially assumes the plumage of
the cock, and m these csises savij Yarrell, *they may be l?aov.'n
by their partial want of brilliancy of tint; the golden-red
feathers on the breast/ generally v/ai\t the contrast oi the
broad dark .'olvcr-iike luai-gin; the legs iiiid fed rctaini^jg their
smaller and more slender female chiiraetor, and ar^ without
spurs.'

Hyl'rids liave occurred from allianrep vvilh tlte Cominon
Pnwi, ilu Black G-ro !.-• . tjie Turkey, the vrumea Lowl, tho
Golden Phe.tsant, and the iSiiver Pheasant.

CA-PEHCALI.

J

1S5

CAPERCAILLIE.

WOOD GEOUSE.

Tetran urogaUtiSy PfnvaNT. MontagU.

Urogallua major, BkissON.

Teirao — From the Hindoostanee. UrogatUs, Urus — A bull.

Gallus—A Cock.

This chieftain Grouse, the pride of the northern forest, has
long since disappeared from the scene where his race for as^es
dwelt: the gallant Capercailzie of Scotland is no more. The
year ''45' was a 'memorable' one in the records of the clan,
for then he last was seen in Strath Spey, though he held his
own in Strath Glass and Glen Moriston till 1769. The warning
to Lochiel might have been appaed to the bird, the 'Lowlands'
proved the destruction of both. Still he claims a place in my
^History of British Birds,' and though the native branch of
his family is extinct, collateral ones continue to hold sway
in other lands, and individuals from them have several times
been introduced with a view to their re-naturalization here,
and with some success. In 1838 and 1839, Lord Breadaibane
received fifty-lour adult birds from Norway; and their
descendants in large numbers dignify the old woods about
Taymouth Castle, Drummond Hill, Kenmore Hill, Croftmorraig
Hill, and others, and several move down every year to Strath
Tay, Blair Athol, Dunkeld and Crieff, so that the *king of
the game birds may now be said to be restored to his hereditary
dominions.' Lord Fyfe also introduced a pair at Mar Lodge,
about the beginning of January, 1828, and a second pair in
February 1839. The Duchess of Athol had some sent to her
at Blair. They are said to have been formerly found in Ireland.

The Capercaillie inhabits the northern countries of Euroj^e,
as far as the pine tree flourishes, which is \kiry Jiearly to the

186 CAPERCAILLIE.

North Cape itself: the forests of this and other species are
its resort. It is the most plentiful in Norway, and very
scarce in the southern parts of Sweden. It is found in Jut-
land, Kussia, Norway, Prussia, Siberia, Poland, G-ermany,
Livonia, and Hungary; it is said also to occur on the
Pyrenees on the borders of Spain, on the Appenine range in
Italy, in Switzerland, Grreece, and some of the islands of the
Grecian Archipelago, and in Upper Alsace: in France it is
"rare. It is found also in Asia — in Tartary.

Professor Nillson says that in the larger forests it remains
all the year round; but that those which inhabit the sides
of mountains, or any more open part of the country, descend
in hard weather to lower ground.

The Capercaillie is for the most part on the ground, though
commonly also he perches on the trees, and the latter especially
in tim.e of snow. He generally roosts at sunset in trees, but
is also said to shelter himself in the snow. He is of shy
habits, and is difficult to rise, running off on the slightest
alarm. His favourite haunt is in the depth of the forest of
the pine, the beech, and the oak, among tangled brushwood,
fallen trees, and rude rocks; in these indeed he is alone found.
Combats occasionally take place between the males. The young
cocks do not attain their full growth till the third year, or
upwards. They are frequently domesticated, so much so as
to feed out of the hand, and have been known to breed in
confinement. They at times, however, become fierce and will
attack people, and one has even been known to do so in the
wild state, battling with any intruders on his wood. Another
had the same habit, and w^as removed to a distance of fourteen
miles, but the next day he was back at his old place. They
will occasionally* breed with the Black G-rouse. In their
manners they are said to be dull and heavy, but the females
less so than the males, and also less shy. Mej^er says that
if surprised, she crouches flat to the ground with her brood,
and if approached closely, she and they fly off to the lower
boughs of some tree, and do not wait then for a second
approach. The male, he adds, is very unsociable, roving about
by himself till the spring, w4ien he joins his mates for a few
weeks, and then returns to his former habits, leaving the
females to take care of the nests, eggs, and broods.

As a game bird, it is of course made use of for the table,
but is not particularly good eating; the eggs, however, are
so. It will keep, when dried, for a year. Abroad, they are

CAPEECAILLIE. 187

caiig^lit in traps, and also are watched for by gunners, who
lie in wait for them all night, and in the morning steal a
march upon them while engaged in singing, as their noise
is also called, pausing when they cease, and drawing nearer
again when they re-commence. These birds are generally
found in packs at the beginning and dm-ing the continuance
of winter, dispersing again with the return of spring. The
packs are said to consist sometimes of as many as fifty or
a hundred birds, and to frequent the sides of the lakes and
morasses which abound in the northern forests.

Their flight is said to be not particularly heavy or noisy,
considering their size, and they can take a flight of several
miles at a time. The wings are clapped very quickly together.
In walking the body is carried in a horizontal position, the
tail drooped, and the head stretched out. If need be they
can run fast.

These birds feed on grain, juniper berries, cranberries,
blaeberries, and other berries, and the leaves of small shrubs,
the buds of the birch and other trees, and insects, and also,
but probably only in winter and the early months, the males
it is said, the most so, on the leaves of the fir, which
impart a perceptible flavour to them: they drink frequently.
The young are at first fed with ants, worms, and insects.

The play of the Capercaillie, for so is his note called, is
harsh and grating, and is said to resemble the syllables
*|)eller, peller, peller.' It is made from the first dawn of day
to sunrise, and from a little after sunset till it is quite dark;
but it is dependant on the state of the season. While
playing, his neck is stretched out, the tail raised and spread,
the wings drooped, and the feathers ruffled out, and he seems
absorbed in his thoughts, and may be more ^easily approached
than at other times. 'These sounds he repeats at first at
some little intervals, but as he proceeds they increase in
rapidity, until at last, and after perhaps the lapse of a
minute or so, he makes a sort of a gulp in his throat, and
finishes by drawing in his breath. During the continuance
of this latter process, which only lasts a few seconds, the
head of the Capercaillie is thrown up, his eyes are partially
closed, and his whole appearance would denote that he is
worked up into an agony of passion.' The voice of the female
resembles the sound 'gock, gock, gock,' — a call to her mate
and to the young. Old birds will not permit the young,
even of the second year, to play. h\ however, the old birds

138 CAPERCAILLIE.

be killed, the young ones in a day or two usually be^^in to
call. This they do in certain stavions or playing groiuids,
to which they keep for years tooether. Several may be heard
playing at the same time on thesd jilayino- grounds. The
ben birds assemble at the call, an'd the cimnter then descends
fiom the tree. He does not play irom the same tree every
day; and is seldom to be met with on the same spot for two
, days together.

About the beginning of May nidification commences, and
the nest, composed of grasses and leaves, is made uj)on the
ground, in long grass or heather, under the shelter of a
tree, or bramble or other bush.

The eggs are from half a dozen to a dozen in number, of
a pale reddish yellow brown, spotted oil over with two shades
of orange brown. Incubation is said to last for a month, the
hen alone sitting, the males keeping in the neighbourhood.
1l danger approaches, she runs off a little way, but returns
again as soon as she can with safety. The young leave the
nest soon after they are hatched, and keep with the mother
bird till towards the approach of winter; the cocks leaving
her before the hens.

Male; weight, from nine or ten to thirteen or even seven-
teen pounds; length, two feet nine or ten, to three feet four
inches; bill, much hooked, the upper extending over the end
and sides of the lower one, both whitish horn-colour; the
skin over the bill is cast at certain seasons; iris, hazel; over
it is a crescent-shaped bare patch of bright scarlet, and under
it a small mark ol white feathers. Head and crown, the
feathers of which are rather elongated, neck on the back and
in front, and nape, brownish black, minutely freckled with
greyish white; chin and throat, the feathers of which are
rather elongated, and able to be raised at will, greyish black.
Breast above, dark shining green, the base of the feathers
black; lower down, brownish black with a few white spots
on the tips of the feathers; on the sides waved with- grey
and black: there is a white spot on the shoulder. Back,
dark ash-colour marked with black.

The wings, of twenty -eight quills, and expanding to the
width of four feet four inches, in some specimens only to
four feet, have the first feather, which is intermediate between
the seventh and eighth, two inches shorter than the second,
and the second one inch shorter than the third, and the
fourth and fifth nearly equal, the fourth the longest, Yarrell

CArLRCATLLTE. IS9

gn.vs ilic iifili. ^r^ntc^ and 1o.-?»m' wing: coverts, dark redd'sh
brown, Irecklcl ^rivh I'^'Kt *>rowii, darker or not with the
ai>*e o\' t\w hir«?' iil'tidries, secondaries, and tertiaries, dark
greyish brown, halt 'f ihe outer webs of the second, third,
fourth, and lil'".! \\v.\]> are white, the outer webs of tne
secondaries are \7avod with reddish brown, and slii^htly tijoped
with white; greater and lesser under wing coverts, white,
excepting some of the outer ones.

The tail, rather long, and much rounded, consists of eight en
feathers, black, with some irregular white marks, and one
interrupted white bar near the end; upper tall coverts,
partially tipped with white; the outer feathers longer thaa
the middle; under tail coverts, greyish black spotted with
white on the tips. Legs, grey, covered with downy feathers,
above the knee greyish brown tipped with white, below
greyish brown minutely waved with reddish brown; toes,
bare of feathers and dark greyish brown, and strongly
pectina-ed; claws, blunt and blackish brown.

Female; weight, from five to six pounds; length, two feet
two inches; bill, dusky brown; iris, hazel; head, crown, neck
on the back, and nape, dai-k brown, barred and freckled with
yellow brown and black. Throat and breast, yellowish
chesnut, the feathers of the latter margined with black, and
with an editing of greyish white. Primaries, secondaries, and
tertiaries, dusky, mottled on the outer webs with light
brown. Tail, dark rust-colou*, barred with black and tipped
with white; under tall coverts, with broider edges of white.
Lesfs, greyish brown; toes and claws, ])ale l)rown.

The young at first resemble the female, the males slowly
gaining their proner ])lumage.

The hybrid between this species and and the Black Grouse
has the bdl black, the shining feathers on the neck of a
rich plum-colouT, and the oaier feathers of the tail the longest.

190

BLACK GROUSE.

BLACK GAME. BLACK COCK.

Tetrao tetrix. Pennant. Montagu,

Urogallus minor ^ Ray. Willoughby,

retrao—^Qucere, from the Hindoostanee Teetur.) Tetrix— The same?

*1t is a reverend thing,' says Bacon, 'to see an ancient
castle or building not in decay, or to see a fair timber tree
^oiind and perfect; how much more to behold an ancient
family which hath stood against the waves and weathers of
time.' While we utter a 'lament,' then, over the lost clan
of the Capercailzie, let us at least boast ourselves of his still
surviving cousin, the largest of our present game fowl, con-
spicuous for his size and jet black plumage, is a noble bird.

Black Grrouse are common in Russia, Siberia, and Lapland,
and are found in Germany, Poland, Holland, France, Swit-
zerland, and Italy along the Alps.

In Yorkshire they are tolerably plentiful in some woods
near Sheffield, and one was captured in a street of that town,
in 1843; ^one was taken at Hebden Bridge, one near Hep-
tonstall, and one near L^ghtcliffe: in Northumberland they
are very abundant. Individuals have at different times been
turned out in Norfolk, and a few are still occasionally met
with in these localities; a i'emale was shot at Clenchwarton,
near Lynn, about the last week in April, 1852. In Somer-
setshire, they breed on the Quantock and Blaokdown Hills,
near Taunton, and also in Devonshire. A grey hen was
observed in Northamptonshire, in September, 1849, near
Oranford, the seat of Sir George Bobinson, Bart., and after-
wards near Grafton Park; the following May and June, her
nest containing ten eggs was observed. In Sherwood Forest,
Nottinghamshire, and the New Forest, Hampshire, it is also

BLACK GROUSE. 191

located; one, a grey hen, is recorded by J. B. Ellman, Esq.,
in the "Zoologist," page 3330, as having been caught near
Lewes, Sussex, on the 30th. of October, 1851: the cock bird
was seen at the same time. One, a female, was shot near
Hampton Court, Herefordshire, the seat of J. Arkwright, Esq.,
in March, 1850; another, also a female, was found dead at
Elvedon, in Suffolk, on the 12th. of October, 1844; a male
had been seen in the adjoining parish the first week in Sep-
tember. One was captured on IJrchfont Down, near Devizes,
Wiltshire, in April, 1851, by a gamekeeper of Lord Broughton
De Gifford; one shot near Forest Hill, Oxfordshire, in October,
1836. They breed regularly near Axmouth, Devonshire; and
also on Exmoor, Dartmoor, and Sedgemoor.

These birds have now become quite localized in various
parts of the neighbourhood of Windermere, Westmorland,
having made their first appearance in that district in 1845.
They are found in Surrey, in St. Leonard's Forest, near
Horsham, Tilford, and Hindhead, Farnham, Bagshot, Guildford,
and Dorking, celebrated for another breed of fowl, and in
which neighbourhood, at Hurtford, in the year 1815, H. M.
Thornton, Esq., of Chobham, also recently so famous for the
military camp there, turned out five birds: the race had
before existed there, but had been extinct about fifty years.
They are found also in Shropshire, near Corwen, and in other
parts, and in Staffordshire, and, it is said, in Worcestershire
and Lancashire, and near Finchamstead, in Berkshire.

In Scotland it is abundant in Sutherlandshire, Dumfries-
shire, and Galloway, and in many other parts, and some of
its Islands — Mull, Skye, and others, and Selby says, in some
of the Hebrides. It is also met with in some parts of
Wales, where it is strictly preserved.

Its natural resorts are the lower parts of hills and valleys
where there is a natural growth of birch, alder, and willow
trees, and a wild vegetation prevails of fern and heather,
woods and herbage aftbrding it a shelter, and also water, near
which it is only to be found, whether the morass or the
mountain stream.

It is a singular circumstance in the natural history of this
bird, as pointed out to me by Mr. D. M. Falconer, of Loan
Head, Edinburgh, that the female does not begin to breed
until three years. This fact he seems, by the account he
has sent to me, to have established. If alarmed, they fly
off to a place of security, or drop and remain motionless till

192 BLACK GROUSE.

the danger has passed. In the winter and the early part of
the sprino^, they are more shy than at other times. Tliey
are fine eating. The male birds are polygamous, and after
leaving the females and the young, keep by themselves in
small flocks in the autumn and winter, living amicably together;
some, ho ^ever, rejoin the broods, and may be seen basking
in the sun with them on the hill side in the middle of the
day, bat in the spring the *organ of combativeness' is developed,
and they exhibit considerable animosity towards each other, and
may at such times be easily approached, when intent on
battle. In these conflicts they fight in the same manner as
the game cock, with tail raised and spread and the head
lowered, each leaping up against his match, and striking at
him. The winner takes possession of the homestead he has
won, and there, no 'Noir Faineant,' each morning and evening
he gallantly struts, trailing his wings over the ground, and
with outspread tail, throat puffed out, and the brilliant wattle
swelled, both challenges with his harsh note the admiration
of the females, and bids defiance to all comers.

They are restless and wild before rain. Both birds endeavour
to draw away intruders from the brood, and the hen is the
first to rise after running some way off*, and then in an
apparentl}^ disabled manner. At the beginning of the season
they lie very close, so as oft^n to allow themselves to be
taken with the hand, but later on they go in packs, and
become very wild; sometimes hundreds assemble together. It
has been attempted to domesticate them, but without success.

They fly in a heavy manner, and in a direct line, at a
tolerably fast rate, and can on occasion proceed to a consi-
derable distance. Their proper station is on the ground,
where they walk about nimbly enough, and also roost at
night, but they can perch adroitly on the bran che^f of trees,
and move about among them. They may often be seen in
spring on the top of a low wall.

They feed on juniper berries, bilberries, blaeberries, cran-
berries, whortle berries, crow berries, and other mountain
fruits throughout the summer, as also on the fresh twigs of
heather, ling, and other shrubs; in the spring on the tops
of the cotton grass, willow catkins, grasses, rushes, heath-
sedge, and buds of trees, the alder, the willow, and others;
and in the winter on soft twigs of all kinds, including fir,
the leaves of the turnip and rape, and even, Sir William
Jardine says, on fern. They will scratch away the snow to

BLACK • GROUSE. 193

Tincover their food. Sometimes in summer they make inroads
into the corn-fields, and devour barley and other grain, as
also insects and ants' eggs, with which the young are fed.

The Black Cock in the spring, about tbe middle of March,
pairing going on then, and in April and May, utters a growling
kind of note, as well as a squeal or scream.

The nest is placed not far from water, or in a marshy spot,
among heath, or in newly-made plantations, and sometimes
in hedgerows, generally under the shelter of some low
bush or among high grass, in some hollow, and is composed
inartificially, but neatly, of grass and a few twigs laid together.

The e^gs are from five to eight or ten in number, of a
pale yellowish red or yellowish white colour, irregularly
spotted and dotted with reddish brown. They are laid in
May.

In the male the colours are a little lighter or deeper
according to the season. AVeight, nearly four pounds; length
to the end of the side tail feathers, one foot ten or eleven
inches, or from that to two feet; bill, brownish black; iris,
dark brown, over it is a bare space of deep red, richest in
spring, and under it a white mark; the eyelids pale yellowish
brown, are thinly covered with very small feathers. Head,
crown, neck on the back and nape, deep glossy purple bluish
black; chin, throat, and breast, brownish black, on the lower
part the feathers tipped with white; back, deep glossy purple
bluish black.

The wings short, expanding to the width of two feet six
to two feet nine inches, broad, and much rounded, and of
twenty-five quills, have the fourth the longest, the third and
fifth almost as long, the second longer than the seventh,
the first longer than the eighth, and about the same length
as the seventh; greater and lesser wing coverts, black, partially
white at the base; primaries, deep brownish black, with brownish
white shafts, the inner ones white at the base; secondaries
and tertiar es, white at the base, and slightly tipped with
whitish, forming a bar and band — brownish black at ihe end;
greater and lesser under wing coverts, excepting those on the
outer edge of the wing, white, a few of them shewing at
the bend when the wing is closed. The tail is of eighteen
black feathers, three, four, or five of the o. ter ones on each
side gradually elongated and turned outwards in the form of
a lyre; upper tail coverts, brownish black; under tail coverts,
white. Legs, short, feathered with hair-like feathers in froLt^

VOL. IV. 0

194 BLACK aEOTJSE.

and on the sides speckled with white, and covered hehind
with rounded scales; toes, rather small, brownish black, bare
of feathers, and with lateral fringes; the first is very small,
the second and fourth nearly equal, the third much longer,
the front ones connected by short scaly membranes; on the
first toe there are ten, on the second eighteen, on the third
thirty, on the fourth twenty-two, narrow plates. Claws,
blackish brown.

The female, called the G-rey Hen, is in weight about two
pounds; length, one foot five or six inches; bill, brown;
iris, hazel, over the eye there is a narrow red mark; head,
crown, neck on the back, and nape, yellowish red, barred
with brownish black, each feather on the head with three,
and on the neck with four bars of the latter; chin, throat,
and breast, yellowish red, barred with brownish black, the
bars larger and curved, the ends greyish white, the sides
more red; below it is greyish white, barred with black and
brown; the back above, yellowish red, more broadly barred,
the last bar forming a pointed patch; on the lower part it
is of a deeper red, barred with brownish black.

The wings have a tuft of white feathers at the bend, as
in the male; they expand to the width of two feet seven
inches; greater wing coverts, greyish brown, their edges mottled
with red, the middle ones tipped with white; primaries, greyish
brown, also mottled on their edges with red; secondaries,
greyish brown, more widely mottled with red, and undulated,
and their tips white. The tail, very short, has the four outer
feathers a little longer than the others, but almost straight,
the tip greyish white; upper tail coverts, also darker yellowish
red, conspicuously barred with brownish black; under tail
coverts, greyish white, partially marked with irregular patches
of brown and red along the centre towards the end. Legs,
greyish white, obscurely mottled with reddish and blackish;
toes and claws, brown.

The young do not entirely lose their early plumage till
towards the following year.

In a considerable number of instances this species has been
known to pair w4th the Pheasant, in a few with the Red
Orouse, and in one with the Common Fowl; also with the
Capercaillie, and, though very rarely, with the Ptarmigan.
In some instances the female has assumed to a considerable
extent the plumage of the male. Sir William Jardine men-
tions one, shot by the late Sir Sidney Beckwith, entirely of

BLACK GEOrSE. 195

a whitish grey, having the cross marking^s of a darker and
browner shade.

One, a hybrid between the Black Cock and the Capercaillie,
partaking in pai^t of the plumage of each, was obtained on
the Marquis of Breadalbane's moors in Perthshire, about
September, 1852.

106

EED GROUSE,

GOE-COCK. MOOE-COCK. MOOE-EOWL. MUIE-rOWL.

Lagopus Scoticus, VlELLOT.

Tetrao Scoticus, Latham.

Lagopus. Lagos — A hare. Pous — A foot. Scoticus — Scotch.

The hardy Grrouse, coeval with the Ancient British of these
islands, is alone to be met with here. It is a native of various
parts of England and Wales, but is, as indicated by its specific
name, especially abundant in Scotland, not only in the north,
in Sutherlandshire and Rosshire, but on the Grampian central
ranges, and in the south on the Pentland Hills, the Lammer-
muir, immortalized by Sir Walter Scott for the fatal bridal,
and the mountains of Peeblesshire, Selkirkshire, and Dumfries-
shire. In the Hebrides it is likewise plentiful, and in Oi^kney^
it is found in various parts of the mainland, in Hoy, Waas,
Eonsay, and Eday. In Ireland it is met with in most
suitable localities.

The red bird, like the Red Indian, gives way before the in-
roads of cultivation, and flourishes only where nature is yet
to be seen in her primitive aspect. Attempts have been made
to re-establish the Ancient Briton in Devonshire Dorsetshire,
Sussex, and Surrey, but in vain; aboriginal inhabitants, like
my own ancestors in ages long gone by, before Koman, Saxon,
Dane, or Norman had set foot on the soil, when once driven
into the fastnesses of Wales and the wild districts of the country,
there alone they can yet maintain their tribe.

H. R. H. the Duke of Gloucester turned out eight brace
and a half on Bagshot Heath in 1829, but, excepting two
killed two years afterwards on Cobham Heath, nothing more
was seen of them, though every precaution had been taken to

*

k

RED GEOUSE. 197

secure their stay. One was killed in Xorfo'Ik many years
since near Downham, and one in 1794; near Wedhampton, in
Wiltshire.

In the wild state they abound, in certainly a remarkable decree
considering the vast numbers that are shot every year, wher-
ever there is sufficiently long heather, which affords them
both home and food. The nature of the latter imparts a
peculiar bitter flavour to them, but the taste for it is soon
acquired, and there is hardly a better game bird. They pre-
fer drier places to the low and swampy. In the mora remote
parts of Scotland they are looked upon as birds of good omen,
and their morning crow is considered as a signal for the dark
spirits of the night to take their departure. They are capable of
being kept in a state of domestication, and in some instances
have been known to breed in captivity; one pair in the aviary
of the Dowao^er Duchess of Portland, and another pair at Mr.
Grierson's, of Eathfarnham, in the county of Dublin; Lord
Stanley also had a pair which laid ten eggs and brought out
eight young: they had had a brood the year before he obtained

tir^m/

The Grou.^e frequents the higher, but not the highest, parts
of the heather-clad mountains, as likewise the hills and
moors, and also is found in the level country if interspersed
with heath. Archibald Hepburn, Esq. mentions in the
'Zoologist,' page 186, his having in one instance known a
hen bird among bent-covered sand hills, six miles from the
nearest heath, and there she brought up a brood of young.
in winter they for the most part descend to lower ranges
from the higher ones. Thev generally go in pairs, but a
single bird is often seen; when the snow is on the ground
they congregate in flocks. In the spring the cock is j)U'j:naeiou3
among his fellows, but not so much so as many other kindred
birds; at that time he is very bold, and seems to scorn fear,
as perched upon some old wall or hillock he crows aloud or
struts about, even though you pass quite close.

If disturbed from the nest, on which, however, she will
often sit till about trodden upon, the hen Grouse will shutlle
through the heath in an awkward and apparently disabled
manner, or fly with a low and undecided flight to a little
distance, and then run otF among it, and will not take wing till
y^\ii has proceeded to a considerable distance, in the endeavour
to allure the intruder to follow her; sometimes she even falls
a sacrifice to her careful anxiety: the male does not sit.

198 BED GEOUSE.

Both parents, when the young are hatched, attend to their
wants, and both will attempt to defend them against enemies,
and even the Scaul-crow is sometimes beaten off. Towards
the beginning of winter several flocks often unite together,
to the number of thirty or forty, forming what are called
packs, and are then more shy than previously. In severe
winters these packs accumulate into very large bodies: in
1782-3 it is said by Thornton that four thousand were observed
together.

Their flight, for the most part low and heavy, but strong,
and often extended to a considerable distance, is straight,
accompanied by a whirring of the wings, which are rapidly
moved, and at times, especially if declining along the mountain
side, they sail with outstretched and motionless pinions.
They do not ordinarily fly much, but prefer the concealment
of the heath, a natural protection against their various natural
enemies, their colour also assimilating to it: they therefore
run to some distance, or squat down to conceal themselves,
rising if the danger appears too proximate; then the male
stretches up his head to reconnoitre, and with a loud call
takes wing, followed by the female and the young.

The tender leaves and shoots of the heath and ling are
the main articles of food of the Grouse, as also those of cotton
grass and various grasses, the willows, the trailing arbutus,
the bedstraw, the whortleberry, the crowberry, the bilberry^
and the berries of the latter-named of these, but they also
feed voraciously on corn, if any is grown within their reach,
oats especially, and swallow small particles of stone in aid of
digestion. The pieces of the heath which they take are about
half an inch long each, and these they select as they walk
about among the heather. When not feeding they rest within
its shelter, or bask in the sun in some open place, under the
cover of some tuft or bush.

The bold challenge of the Moor-cock, imaginable into a
*go, go, go-back, go-back,' a call of defiance, or of alarm to
their mate or young, or both, in the spring or the autumn,
as the case may be, is heard both early in the morning, soon
after dawn, and late in the evening, as also at times throughout
the day: the ordinary note is a deep and quickly-repeated
*coc, coc'

The Moor-cock pairs early in the spring, commonly in^
January, but sometimes even earlier. A brood of young
Grouse, able to fly a little, were discovered on the 5th. of

BED GEOTJSE. ^^^

March, 1794, near Pendle Hill, in Yorkshire by the game-
keeper of Mi'. Lister, afterwards Lord Eibblesdale; and a nest
wZ fifteen eggs was found on the 2.5th. of March, 183o, on
Shap Fell, Westmoreland. The female usually begms to lay
fn March or April; she sits very close and Mr. Salmon says
that one allowed him to take her off her eggs.

The nest is made of twigs of heather and grass, with
occasionally a few of the bird's own feathers, and is placed
among heath in some shght hollow.

Thf e-s are usually six or seven but sometimes from
eight to Twelve, or even more, in number, of 'f^'^^t shades
of ground colour-reddish white, brownish yellow, vel ow .h
grey or yellowish white, thickly clouded, blotted, and dotted
S blackish and brown: they are nearly of a regular osal

^'^ While the young are hatching, the hen utters an occasional
chuckle. The Heath Poults leave the nest shortly after they
are bached, and are soon able to fly; they keep toge her tiH
the end of autumn, unless disturbed by shooters: the v aio
attended by both the parents. At the beginnmg of the
seZn the/lie close, but graduaUy become wild as they are

"^'llak; weight, about nineteen or twenty ounces, and fi-om
that tJ twenty-three, or even to tw-enty-four and tlneo
Quarters or upwards; the Grouse of Yorkshire are said to
rJhe 'smallest, but Daniel, in h^ 'Eural SporW mentions
one killed near Kichmond, in Yorkshire, which weighed
twenty-five ounce.., and Pennant another which weighed
twenty-nine; one killed in Wales weighed thirty ounces, and
anotl r twenty-six ounces; another near Todmorden, in Lau-
Lhire one pound fifteen ounces. Length, from one foot
Sreelnches and a quarter, to a little over one foot four and
a half bill, brownish black, half hidden in feathers-there are
a few small white feathers at the base, ending in a thread
of white on the side of the head; ins, chesnut brown ; the
membrane over the eyebrows red, the feathers of the eyelids
wh"te Head, deep chesnut brown; the crown irregularly
barred in summer \vith brownish black, as is the neck on
the back and nape; chin, throat, and breast, -Wish chesnut
brown, the latter blackish brown on its middle part, the
chesnut bars being narrower than the black ones, and some
of the feathers a?e white at their tips; the ground colour
paler and more barred m summer. Back, reddish brown.

200 BED GEOUSE.

minutely barred with brownish black, most of the feathers
having also a patch of black.

The wings, short, broad, and rounded, have the third and
fourth feathers nearly equal and the longest, the fifth longer
than the second, which is longer than the sixth, the first about
the same length as the seventh, but shorter than the sixth;
they expand from two feet one inch and a half, to two feet
three. Greater and lesser wing coverts, reddish chesnut brown,
barred with black lines; the primaries, ten, dusky brown; the
secondaries, fifteen, mostly dusky brown, the outer margins
minutely mottled with reddish brov/a, and the inner five
reddish brown minutely barred with brownish black, and with
patches of black; tertiaries, also brown, edged on the outside
and freckled with lighter brown; greater and lesser under
wing coverts, white, bat in some individuals spotted and barred
with brown. The tail, short, straight, and slightly rounded,
of sixteen feathers; under tail coverts, chesnut, with a bar of
black, and the end and the tips white. Legs, feathered, light
grey, sometimes mottled with brown; toes, feathered also,
light grey; the first toe is extremely short, the third the longest,
the fourth a littl » long^er than the second; they are roughened
underneath, and the ftont ones webbed at the base, and, with
three plates at the end. 'The number of scutellse that may
be clearh^ traced is, on the several toes, three, five, nine, and
six.' The claws are rather 1 -ng, arched, flattened, and the
tij)s blunt; they are blackish brown at the base, and greyish
yellow at the end.

The fem.ale is a good deal smaller and less bulky, as also
paler in colour. Weight, above sixteen ounces; length, one
foot threp inches and a quarter; bill, brownish black, the
white featliers at the base of the bill are duller; iris, hazel;
the menil't" e over the eye is less, and not so bright,
and the \\ feathers on the eyelids are also duller. Head,

crown, neck on the back, and nape, yellowish chesnut brown,
tinged with red with a few black spots, all paler in summer;
chin, throat, and breast, pa.le brownish red barred with brownish
black, and tipped with yellowish, paler in summer; on the
sides barred with black and yellowish; back, yellowish chesnut
brown tinged with red, paler in summer, the tips of most of
the feathers j^ellowish.

The wings expand to the width of two feet one inch and
a quarter; greater and lesser wing coverts, barred with black
and tipped with yellowish; prim.aries, secondaries, and tertiaries,

EET) GROrSE. 201

paler brown more tinged with grey; greater and lesser under
wing coverts, mostly white, but some of tht?m brown, and
others barred. The tail has the four middle feathers barred
with black, and tipped with yellowish, the rest barred with
reddish, except towards the tips, which are yellowish grey;
up)>er tail coverts, barred with black, and tipped with yellowish.

The young are at first covered with pale yellowish grey down;
the head, chesnut, margined with darker brown, the lower
parts mottled with pale brown, and the upper with deep brown.
After a month's growth the bill is brownish black, the tip of
the upper one whitish; iris, hazel. Head, crown, neck on the
back, and nape, bi'ow^iish black, each feather edged and barn^d
with yellowish red; the neck on the sides and in front, greyish
yellow. Throat, greyish yellow; breast, yellowish grey, barred
with brownish black; back, browmish black, each feather edged
and barred with yellowish red. The primaries, secondaries, and
tertiaries have the outer webs greyish brown, irregularly edged
and barred with pale reddish yellow. Legs, ^^ellowish grey;
claws, pale brown.

When fully fledged they resemble the adult female. Head,
crown, neck on the back, and nape, pale yellowish red,
barred with blackish brown; chin, throat, and breast, j^aler.
Back, pale yellowish red, mottled and barred with brownish
black and pale yellow, most of the feathers having a small
whitish spot at the tip. Primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries,
greyish brown barred with greyish yellow. Tail, greyish
brown barred with greyish yellow.

After the moult, which takes place in the middle of winter,
the male has the head and neck on the back still much barred
and blotted, the breast chiefly brownish black tinged with
grey; the legs and toes grey. The female has most of the
feathers tipped with whitish, and is altogether of a paler
and more yellow colour than the male, and the tail more or
less barred. In summer, also, still paler than in winter.

Red Grouse vary considerably in colour, those in Wales
and the western side of the island being lighter coloured,
and those on the eastern side darker; the Ibrmer also are
said to be the largest: scarcely two can be Ibund exactly
alike. Some have the breast nearly black, some with a good
deal of white;* some have the back with much blacK — different
localities furnish birds of diflerent *shades of character.* In
oiie, a cream-coloured or light yellowish brown variety, the
usual markings were preserved; the cpiills and greater wing

202 HED GEOUSB.

coverts were of a bluish grey cast, as was the lower part
of the breast: it was a young bird. Individuals are met
with more or less variegated with white; others pale greyish
yellow, faintly mottled with dusky: one mottled with brown
and white was shot by Lord Stanley. Some birds are very
dark, some have the quill feathers entirely or partly white.
Sir William Jardine mentions one in which the quills were
dull white, the ground colour yellowish white, the dark
markings on it pale reddish brown*

A .■!

H I *

''=-'-/ r-^V <ii'~^^"

203

PTARMIGAN.

Lagnpns vulgaris^ Fleming.

" miitusy Selby. GouLr>.

Tetrao lagopusy Pennant. Montagu.

Lagopus Lagos — A hare Fous — A foot. Vulgaris — Common.

This beautiful bird, the Ptarmigan of the Gaelic, whose
snowy whiteness puts one in mind of the far-famed Campanero,
the Bell-bird of the Brazils, belongs to Northern Europe,
Asia, and America, even within the Polar circle, as the
accounts of the Arctic expeditions so often testify, extending
also in its range to more southerly districts — Germany, Savoy,
Switzerland, and even to Spain and Italy, from Xorway,
Lapland, Sweden, and Eussia, and the Arctic regions.

It is said also to have been an inhabitant formerly of
Wales and the north of England, but it has followed the
fortunes of the Gael to the Highlands of Sutherlandshire and
other counties, and there finds a comparative secm-ity, which
across the 'Border' it could no longer count upon. In
Westmoreland and Cumberland, in the neighbourhood of
Keswick, it was formerly to be found.

In the Hebrides also it occurs, in the Island of Harris,
and, I believe, in South Uist, Lewis, Skye, Mull, and Jura.
In Orkney it existed till a few years ago in Hoy, but wholesale
slaughter effected their extermination. Mr. Dunn met with
it in Shetland.

True 'Children of the mist,' and free as the pure air they
breathe, the Ptarmigans frequent the upper parts and summits
of the highest mountains, where utter desolation reigns around,
and nature is seen in the most wild and savage beauty. These
scenes they never leave — the mountaineer's love for his native
mountain is stronger than any other 'Love of one's country.'
In extremely severe and stormy weather they come a little
lower down, or take advantage of the shelter of the clefts

204 PTiLRMIGAN-.

that are met with in some lonely glen, but never cease to
be birds of the snow. There the scanty vegetation, diminished
from even the st anted growth of the lower parts, and barely
nourished by the sterile soil that has gathered among the
crumbling masses of fallen rocks, seem shrunk into itself,
shunning the cold of the upper regions, and the withered
and blighted remains of the pine forest or the birch wood
tell a like tale of the curdling blasts that have frozen out
their life in years that are gone.

As you wander on, you suddenly come upon some small
lake, of unfathomable depth, whose blue waters reflect the
dark forms of the surrounding craggy rocks and giddy precipices
which tower about the lonesome valley far below. Peak '
upon peak and range upon range arise in the far distance,
and here and there a silver stream trickles down their hoary
sides, threading its devious way in its time-worn gully among
the wrecks of the mountain top that have fallen or been
hurled from their primeval place. It is indeed a 'solemn
silence' that prevails, and mysterious, strange, and melancholy,
but yet thrilling with pleasure is the feeling that swells the
heart. Above, the clouds of heaven roll along, going you
know not whither, nor can your fancy guide you, their edges
gilded with crimson and purple by the rays of the setting
sun, who yet shines below and through them on -the hills
in a thousand different shades and lights 'passing away.'
Again, on the side of the brow hangs a heavy mass of
vapour, faintly painted too on its western border with the
red of the alpine rose; this next is spread into wreaths of
grey mist, which seem to cling to the humid earth; and in
the far distance rises up a dark and lurid mass of cloud,
the murky form of which seems pregnant with the lightning,
whose flash j^ou seem instinctively aware of, the foreboding
of nature warning you to retreat to shelter. Now the sun
sets in glory and gorgeous splendour behind the farthest peak,
and now the black cloud lowers nearer and nearer, silently
moving up the vault; now the whispers of the rising gale come
on and on to the ear, and darkness unexpectedly begins to fall
and gather on all around, 'Away, away to the mountain's
brow,' if you doubt the 'Omnipresence of the Deity;' there
*on such a night' you must, like Moses, veil your face, and
be 'afraid to look upon God.' There is that in such a scene
to awe the heart, and he • is not worthy the name of man
who does not fear before the presence of the Almighty.

PTARMIGAN. 205

In winter the Ptarmigan descends somewhat lower, but
seldom ventures into the plain. He seems to revel in the
falling snow, burrows a chilly bed in it, wherein he lies or
plumes himself, runs gaily over ^ crystal surface, or, perched
on the tallest rock, turns his o^ainless breast towards the
drift, and challenges its whiteness with his own. The driving
sleet he willingly welcomes, heedless of the cold; it would
seem as if his winter dress, put on together with the snowy
mantle that covers the face of the earth around him, gave
him a similar protection from the frost; and when the summer
comes again, he too changes his garb, and once more is in
uniform with the grey rocks, the companions whom he loves,
and never leaves.

If a person comes in sight, they remain motionless, and
often lie very close till they are approached within a few
yards; otherwise some sentinel, perched on the top of a stone,
gives the alarm and flies away, followed by the rest of the
flock, who rise up all around. They gather into large flocks
even by the end of Jul}', and separate again and pair early
in the spring; then the pairs, and in due time their broods,
almost the sole occupants of the mountain tops, blend the
grey colours of their plumage with these of the moss-covered
rocks, to which nature has well and wisely adapted them.
At this season they are tame, and only run away before
an intruder, uttering their low wild cry. 'In this way they
will often reach the opposite edge of the rock, and will, as
it were, drop off"; but the expeciation of fljiding them on
some lower ledge will be disappointed, for they have, perhaps,
by that time sought for and reached the opposite side of the
mountain, by a low wheeling flight, as noiseless as the solitudes
by which they are surrounded.' Like so many other birds,
these too flutter oft* in well-simulated disablement to draw
away attention from their young. These latter, as soon as
able to fly, seem instinctively aware of the protection aflbrded
to them by the resemblance of their plumage to the grey
lichen-covered rocks and stones, and will lie motionless, likj
stones, in another sense also of the word, almost close to your
feet. In very bright weather they avoid the glare of the sun
on the snow, and seek the shady side of the mountain.

Ptarmigans are good eating, and therefore in request for
the table. They ac(iuire a somewhat bitter taste. 'In the
year 1839, one dealer alone shipped six thousand for London,
two thousand for Hull, and two thousand for Liverpool;

206 PT±BMIGAN.

and early in March, 1840, a salesman in Xeadenhall marlret
received fifteen thousand Ptarmigan that had been consigned
to him. Sir A. De Capell Brooke calculated that sixty
thousand had heen killed during one winter in Lapland:
and Mr. Lloyd says that a dealer in Norway will dispose
of fifty thousand in a season.' It is from these countries
that such prodigious numbers come, and they are all taken
in horse-hair nooses. The Ptarmigan is a bird easily kept in
confinement, and has been known to breed in the tame state.

Their flight is low, straight, and moderately rapid, and
causes a whirring noise; they do not ordinarily fly far, and
when alighting run on a little way. In walking about, the
back is rounded up and the tail drooped, but if observant
of supposed danger, the attitude becomes attentive. They
can run very fast if necessary, and do so if alarmed, dipping
into the air over some eminence, and so disappearing. At
night they roost either under a stone or tuft, or else in
the snow, scooping out a hollow in which they almost
completely bury themselves, and indeed sometimes it proves
their grave, in which they are snowed up, though they can
remain, it is said, for a week, till a thaw or some increased
exertion on their own part releases them.

They feed on the buds, berries, leaves, blossoms, and seeds
of various plants and shrubs — the heath, the cranberry, the
cloudberry, the bilberry, the cro wherry, the dwarf bii'ch, and
others, and walk about among them to select such as are
most to their liking, and also swallow small fragments of
stone and sand to aid the triturition of their food. Snow
seems to supply their drink, for they go in search of it in
the summer months. The young are at first fed with insects.

Their call or note is a wild, harsh, hoarse, grating croak,
which harmonizes well with the desolate scenes which the
presence of the bird almost alone enlivens. It is sometimes
low, and sometimes more loud is heard at a great distance
in the thin air of the exalted regions which furnish these
Grouse with a dwellmg-place. It is occasionally prolonged
for some length of time, and is heard occasionally when the
bird is flying, as well as when he is settled.

The Ptarmigan pairs early in the spring, and the eggs are
begun to be laid in June, and to be sat upon by the
beginning of July, incubation lasting three weeks. The hen
alone brings up the brood, and has been known to do so
even when the male had been taken, and so also if one of

PTAEMIGA2r. 207

the young had been picked up, to go clo?e to the person
taking it, as if to demand it back again; she gathers them
under her wings in cold and stormy weather.

The nest, if any be formed, for sometimes the bare earth
is laid upon, is composed of a small portion of heather or
grass, placed in some slight hollow imder a rock, stone, or
plant, and is very difficult to be detected, 'for,' says Sir
William Jardine, 'the female, on perceiying a person approach,
generally leaves it, and is only discovered by her motion
over the rocks, or her low clucking cry.' The male on the
first sign of dangler has flown oflP, and she thus follows him,
the young dispersing in all directions, hiding themselves and
laying still under any stones, tufts, or bushes. Meyer says,
*It is reported that the male Ptarmigan behaves very re-
markably during the time when the female sits on her eggs,
and that under these circumstances he will sit immoveable
in one spot for hours together, even on the approach of
danger; and when stationed thus near the nest he has been
known to remain there, looking around on the landscape quite
unmoved. As soon as the yoimg are hatched, both parents
become alert and busy, and towards autumn more careful, and
finally very shy in the winter. If the weather is fine and
sunny in winter, they are all again slow to move.' But the
male, it would appear, leaves the education of the young to
the hen bird, rejoining them all again later in the season,
and then several families pack together.

The eggs, from seven or eight to twelve in number, of a
regular oval form, are of a white, yellowish white, greenish
white, or reddish colour, blotted and spotted with brown and
brownish black.

The male in winter is pure white, except the space between
the bill and the eye, the feathers of which, and a few behind
it, are black, the shafts of the quills, and the outer feathers
of the tail, which are also deep black. Length, one foot one
inch and a half to three inches and a half; bill, blackish
brown; iris, yellowish brown, and the membrane over it ver-
milion red. In spring the forehead, head on the crown and
sides, neck on the back, and nape, are marked with bands
of brownish black and reddish yellow alternately, the former
the broader, and all slightly tipped with white, the b:in<ls
narrower in autumn, and turning to grey, followed by the
white of winter. Throat, deep brownish black; breast, ex-

208 PTAEMIGAlf.

cepting its fore part and sides, which are also deep brownish
black, with a few interrupted, narrow, irregular bars of reddish
yellow, and a white spot on the tip, below, chiefly white ii?
summer, all white in winter; back, irregularly barred in
summer with brownish black and reddish yellow or bluish
grey marks, narrower in autumn, and changing .to grey, then
to white; the tips of the feathers white.

The wings extend from the width of two feet one inch to
two feet two; the first qnill is an inch and a half shorter
than the second, the second rather longer than the fifth, the
third and fourth nearly equal, and the longest; greater and
lesser wing coverts, white, some of them in summer minutely
waved with yellow or greyish white and brownish black, the
bars narrower in autumn, and fading into grey before the
white; primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, white, the shafts
black, some of the first-named minutely waved wdth yellow
or greyish white and brownish black, the bars narrowing in
autumn. The tail, of eighteen feathers, in summer has the
two middle feathers barred minutely with ^^ellow or greyish
yellow and brownish black, more narrowly in autumn, the
rest brownish black, the two middle ones white towards
winter; the two middle tail feathers are very long; under
tail coverts, white. The legs, white, feathered, as are the
toes on their upper parts and sides, but the soles bare; the
first toe is very short and elevated, the third much longer
than the second, w^hich is of about the same length as the
fourth; the front toes are webbed at the base, and have three
terminal scales; the hind toe has two series of scales: their
shape well fits them for scratching in the snow. The claws
are rather long, and arched, the hind one the most so, but
smaller, brownish black, pale towards the end.

The female, in the white plumage of wdnter, is sometimes
most delicately tinged with faint rose-colour. Length, one
foot two inches and a half to one foot two and three quarters;
bill, black; the membrane over the eye pale red, and there
are no black feathers before and behind it. The wings are
in extent from one foot eleven inches to two feet or two feet
one; primaries, with their shafts brown. The tail, black towards
the end for two thirds of its length, but the tip white; the
two middle feathers white, or in some minutely waved and
dotted with grey and reddish brown, and in summer barred
with yellow and black. The winter plumage continues white

ptaem:tga>''. 209

until the spring, when the white feathers become barred with
yellow and black, and changed into blackish, barred with
greyish white on the back.

The young are at first covered with a light yellowish grey
down; the head on the crown with a light chesnut mark, edged
with a darker shade; the back patched with brov/n. The
plumage soon changes, the upper parts becoming spotted and
barred with pale grey and brown, and the wings and the under
parts white. They acquire the white plumage the first winter,
but the spots and bars larger than in the second.

The Ptarmigan of this country rarely become so beautifully
and perfectly white as those of more northern countries.

These birds vary greatly in their summer plumage, some
being most elegantly banded or mottled, and others more or
less dotted and even patched and spotted vdih black; in old
birds the dark markings dwindle to mere slender waved lines,
or even a series of dots.

It woiald appear from Macgillivi-ay's measm'ements that these
birds differ occasionally in the proportionate length of their
several parts.

The plate is taken fi-om a design by the Eev. E. P. Alington>

VOL. IT.

210

PARTRIDGE.

COMMON PAETEIDGE.

Ferdix cinereOf Latham. Jentns.

Tetrao perdix, LiNNiEUS.

Perdix^A Partridge. C^'nerea— Ash -coloured.

An acquired taste is a proverbial expression, and, as such,
redolent of truth. There is too, if I may so say, such a thing
as an acquired scent, and that of a turnip field, as a rendezvous
of the Partridge, is a good instance of it. It is not, ^a priori,'
particularly agreeable, and yet I think that I shall not be
adjudged to be far wrong by some, at all events, of my readers,
■n pronouncing it to be one of a most exhilarating and pleasant
nature in the month of October.

Partridges are found in most temperate climes, and are
probably nowhere more numerous than in England. They
belong to Europe, and also it is said to Asia and Africa: in
the former they occur from the south of Siberia, through
Russia, to the shores of the Mediterranean; in Norway they
are rare, and only occur in the extreme south, which is
somewhat remarkable. In Africa, in Barbary and Egypt.

They are plentiful throughout England, Scotland, Ireland,
and Wales, and are sometimes found in very wild situations,
where they w^ould not naturally be looked for.

The Rev. Gr. Low mentions in the ^Fauna Orcadensis,' that
in his time Partridges were introduced into Waas, one of the
Orkney Islands, but unsuccessfully. More lately the experi-
ment has been again tried by the Earl of Orkney, who
introduced them into Ronsay, in 1840. Since then Mr.
Balfour, of Trenaby, has made a similar trial in Shapinsay;
and Hi both these islands the result has been successful.

i

PARTRIDGE. 211

In some countries they are stationary, but in others are
said to be migratory.

They frequent the cultivated districts, but coveys are not
unfrequently met with on the edges of moors in the neigh-
bourhood of the former locahties. They often wander to
wastes and commons, where gorse, broom, and other wild
shrubs and plants flourish, and occasionally enter woods.

Partridges are fond of dusting themselves, and shuffle their
feathers, in roads or dry places, like so many other birds. In
the mornings they repair to the stubble, grass fields, and
hedge sides, which they leave for the shelter of clover, turnip,
or potato fields during the midday, returning again towards
evening to their former feeding-grounds. At night they
generally lodge in the middle of a field, to be the more
secure, sometimes keeping to the same place for a fortnight
together; but this exposes them to the nets of the fowler,
and they require to be protected by bushes being stuck in
the ground at intervals. They lie in a cluster w4th their
heads outward. Where well preserved, they become very tame,
and exhibit much indifference to the presence of man. It is
curious to see how totally they already seem to disregard the
passing of a railway train, sometimes alighting close to one,
or remaining in a field adjoining quite near. Some have been
killed by flying against a train in motion, and others, as indeed
various other birds, by dashing in their flight against the
telegraph wires, the 'electric shock' proving fatal to them.

Like so many other birds, they also, and even in an especial
degree, use earnest devices to entice away supposed enemies
fi'om their nest. One has been known to feign to be dead,
and scarcely could be frightened to get up, but then it flew
away quite well; another to peck at the feet of a person who
approached her young. 'The art of the Partridge is familiar
to the sportsman, and excites admiration in all the lovers of
nature. At the signal for silence and retreat the infant young
may be seen to run to the nearest cover, while the parent
seems seized with a sudden lameness and inability to fly; or
the male wnll practice this device, fluttering ofl' to a distance
in an apparently disabled manner, and then suddenly dropping,
as if dead, will return by some circuitous route to the place
he had left, the hen meanwhile having collected the young
under her wings. Or else she flutters along the ground with
drooping wings in an ojiposite direction to that which the
brood has taken, and not until she has successfully misled the

212 PARTEIDGE.

observer, does she resume her power and wmg away to a
greater distance.' The parent bh'ds exhibit great affection
for their young in. leading them out and calHng them together
to feed. Hen birds have been found dead with their broods
under their wings, perishing themselves from the effects of
cold and hunger, sooner than leave them to exposure in severe
weather. The male is very pugnacious in spring, driving off
all intruders, and endeavouring to guard his mate. Mr.
Selby tells of a pair which attacked a Crow which threatened
their young, and held him till taken from them by a person
who came up; and Markwick says that he saw a pair fly
up at and buffet a Kite which had been hovering over their
brood. They are believed to pair for life. The male birds
have combats together in the spring, and use their claws as
offen sive weap on s .

A hen Partridge has been known, on perceiving that her
nest was discovered, to cover the eggs over with leaves so
completely, that it (the nest,) could not again have been,
casually noticed; and each morning as she laid a fresli egg,
she covered all over again. Montagu mentions one which,
being taken with her eggs, continued to sit on them, and
brought out the young. Mr. Jesse relates a curious anecdote
of a Partridge which, being disturbed by a plough driven
close to her nest, removed the eggs, nineteen in number,
assisted perhaps by her mate, to a distance of forty yards
under a hedge, before the return of the plough, an interval
of twenty minutes: such instances have more than once
occurred. Of another he says, 'A farmer discovered a Partridge
sitting on its eggs in a grass field. The bird allowed him
to pass his hand down its back without moving or shewing
any fear; but if he offered to touch the eggs, the poor bird
immediately pecked his hand.' One has been known to fly
at and attack a person who picked up one of her young
running in a road, on hearing its cry.

Of another it is related in the ^Zoologist,' pages 1601-2,
by Arthur Hussey, Esq., *It soon shewed it liked to be
always with me, and was perfectly happy in my lap; or when
I have been painting, it would sit on my left arm dressing
itself or sleeping in entire security. I used to take it into
my mother's room, and if it could lie on her gown at her
feet, it was contented, but was always on the watch for my
coming back, and on seeing me would jump up and run to
meet me. It was now so tame and pleased with being fondled

PAETEIDGE. 213

&s to excite much astonishment. My mother soon became
very fond of it, and by degrees it was more with her than
with me. Its cage was never inhabited; it wonid never sleep
in confinement; therefore was awake and quite aUve all the
evening, being either in the lap or on the sofa. When he
had changed his feathers and attained his full plumage, he
refused to be handled, but his habits were as sociable as. before.
His knowledge of every one was most extraordinary: his
likings and dislikings were very strong; and he was so curious
and observant, that no piece of furniture could be moved
without his finding it out, and if the carpet was not smooth,
he would set to work instantly to render it so by picking
and scratching.

He was very fond of gay colours, and no new cap or gown
could be put on without its catching his attention. He never
ofiered to go up or down stairs, and very rarely used his
wings. On being gently chastised when he did fly, he would
run and hide himself like a child, as if he knew he had done
wrong. A box of earth was given him to rub in, which he
thoroughly enjoyed. His feathers were always glossy and in
the most perfect order, which I attribute to his always having
plenty of green food, such as grass and clover cut small. In
the winter he liked wheat, but rarely touched it in the summer;
was very fond of sugar and cake; di-ank very little water;
and liked his food diy. He never forgot any one he had
made acquaintance with, and the return of any of the family
after many months absence, caused him so much joy and
excitement that I have been compelled to shut him up. He
would distinguish their voices even before they got out of the
carriage. His partiality for my mother was very great, and
if she was asleep, nothing would tempt him to quit her, but
he never liked her to be in the di-awing-room. In the evening
he always came into the drawing-room, and remained till we
retired. He slept at my bed-side, and never disturbed me,
nor got up himself, till I was called, and then he had a
particular call if he fancied I was gone to sleep again. Once,
from being frightened, he flew out of the window, and being
recovered after much trouble, (it was in a town,) he never
again offered to get out. After this we had nets at the
window, and the net being one day left down in my room,
by running up to my mother and then into my room ho
attracted her notice, and she followed him, he standing before
the window, and when the net was repW.'cd sliewing himself

214 PAETETDGE.

satisfied. Unlike most pets, he died a natural death on the
1st. of January, 1843.'

Bishop Stanley writes, *We are not indeed without instances
of wild Turkeys at this day in our own country, and a
curious anecdote has reached us of a friendship taking placa
between a flock of these birds and a Partridge. It occurred
at Tyninghame, in Scotland, where there is a breed of Turkey's
which never enter into the poultr^^-house or j^ard, but roost
in the trees, and live chiefly on beech-mast and anything else
they can pick up, though they are tame enough to come about
the house to be fed in the time of frost and snow. About
eight or ten years ago, a cock Partridge, full grown, suddenly
joined himself to a flock of the^e Turkeys, and remained with
them constantly during the whole summer, autumn, and
winter: at night he slept under the trees in which they
roosted; in the day he fed with them, and was not the least
frightened or disturbed by people walking among them. He
took great liberties with the old Turkey cock; when he saw
him going to pick up a worm or any seed, he used to run
under him between his legs and snatch it out of his mouthy
the Turkey cock never resenting the indignity. Early in the
spring he left them, as it was supposed to find himself a
mate for the pairing-season, but in the beginning of autumn
he rejoined his old friends, and continued with them as
formerly until the next pairing-time, when he again disappeared,
but returned no more, having probably been killed.'

He adds — 'In a gentleman's family one was reared which
became so familiar, that it would attend the parlour at
breakfast and other times, and would afterwards stretch itself
before the fire, seeming to enjoy the warmth, as if it were
its natm-al bask on a sunny bank. The dogs of the house
never molested it, but mifortunately it one day fell under the
paws of a strange cat, and was killed.' The hen Partridge,
which alone sits, displays great pertinacity in keeping on her
nest, and offers a bold resistance to any feathered plunderers;
but if quietly approached, will suff*er herself sometimes to
be touched, and even to be removed with the eggs, which
she will continue to sit upon and will hatch; but then, with
her brood, she will naturally endeavour to return to the
fields. The young, if approached, will sometimes lie close,
*with listening ears and watchful eyes,' but if the intruder
comes too near, will start off with a faint cry.

In winter they sometimes pack together in large companies

PAETBIDaE. 215

of as many as thirty or forty, especially in wild and open
parts of the country. Single survivors of other coveys are
taken into the community. Partridges are easily tamed to
a certain extent, so as even to take food from the hands
of strangers, and have been known to lay in confinement.
Sir Thomas Mary on Wilson, Bart., had seven or eight young
ones reared in his aviary at Charlton, m the summer of
18^2. Part of a brood of young ones brought up under a
hen, after having been set at liberty a mile off, have been
known to return and be fed by the person who before had
had the care of them during the winter months. An anecdote
is related in the 'Zoologist,' pages 1601-2, by Arthm- Hussey,
Esq., of Eottingdean, of one which, having been brought
up from about a day old, became most thoroughly tame.
Another evinced great personal attachment to a lady, and
would sit for hours on the back of her chair, and roost
near the head of her bed at night, never failing to shew
every symptom of distress and concern during her occasional
absences. If alarmed, the Partridge, proverbial for timidity,
cowers down, or runs off with great rapidity, as it may be
likewise seen to do in pm'suit of its companions; or, if closely
pressed, takes wing.

In their flight, which is strong and rather quick, they
gradually rise to a little height, and then fly off in a direct
course, with a loud *whirr' — the effect of the quick pulsation
of the wings. At the end of a long flight, after being alarmed,
they finish in a sailing manner, and alight sidelong. In feeding,
the back is arched up, and if alarmed the head is raised
erect, and thus it walks about, till, if need be, it runs along,
and then takes wing. If they lie close it is very difficult to
see them.

They feed in the mornings and evenings, and live on grain,
beans, and seeds, worms, caterpillars, beetles, and other insects,
as also in times of scarcity on turnip tops and roots, young
clover, or probably any tender leaves: the young are at first
fed with insects — ants and their eggs especially, if there are
any to be met with. The Partridge must do far more good
than harm, devouring immense numbers of noxious insects,
wireworms and others, as well as the seeds of injurious plants;
at the same time some injury is caused by their scratching
and picking up grains of newly-sown wheat, and eating the
young green shoots that have come up. They sulfer much
in times of deep snow from want of food. In the summer

216 PAETEIDGE.

they are mostly concealed by the standing corn, and in the
autumn in any other cover, and along hedges and ditches,
and in osier beds, where there are any, and other situations.
Some are said to subsist on heath and whortleberries in places
where these grow, and to acquire the flavour of Grouse: they
drink but little.

The call of the Partridge, *chicurr, chicurrr,' is heard early
in the spring, and even in the winter months, at the close
of day, a summons together after separation; I have heard
it on the 7th. of this pr^>ent December, 1853, after a hard
white frost still unthawed in the shade. It is especially
frequent in the still summer evenings, when the silence is
pleasingly broken in upon by it, or the ^droning flight' of
the beetle, or some other country sound, equally speaking to
the listening ear of happy rural life. They have a note of
<jaution and warning, on hearing which the young steal away
to the nearest place of security, and there remain concealed
till a cluck from the dam announces that the danger has
disappeared.

These birds begin to pair very early, even so soon, as has
been observed, as the 3rd. of February in Yorkshire, and by
the 1st. elsewhere; usually between that date and the 14th.,
and are then found in ploughed and clover fields. At those
times there are often fierce combats between the male birds.
Some few never pair at all, perhaps for want of mates. The
young of more than one nest sometimes join together in
coveys. It is said that they remain as long as three weeks
in the neighbourhood where they think of making their nest,
apprehensive of choosing a dangerous site, and if the one
first selected appears to be such, they fix themselves somewhere
else.

The nest is only a few straws placed in a mere hollow
scratched in the earth, under the shelter perhaps of some
tuft, generally in open grass and other fields, among peas,
corn, weeds, or herbage, at the foot of a tree or bush, or
by a post, but at times in a small plantation, among shrubs,
under a hedgerow, even by the road-side, and on the moors
in the vicinity of cultivated land; sometimes in holes of
decayed trees, as much as three or four feet from the ground,
and even on the top of hay-stacks; I have been told of a
nest placed in this situation, the coveys hatched, and safely
reared. A brace of Partridges have been known, their own
nest having been destroyed, to take up with the nest and

PAETEIDGE. 217

eggs of a pair of Pheasants, the hen of which had been killed,
on the estate of Colonel Burgoyne, in Essex. The hen
bird alone sits, the male keeping watch, and when the young
are hatched he joins the covey, and protects and feeds them
with the dam.

The eggs, which are of a pale greenish brown colour, are
laid towards the end of May or the beginning of June, and
are usually ten or twelve in number, but sometimes as many
as fifteen, eighteen, or even twenty. The 'Norfolk News'
mentions a nest hatched at Ditchingham between the 13th.
and 18th. of April, 1851. Twenty-two eggs are recorded to
have been found in one nest, and thirty-one in another, two
hen birds having occupied the same one, and in the former
instance the cock bird gathered half of the united family under
his wings, the pair sitting side by side, but looking different
ways. The young leave the nest almost as soon as they are
hatched. Incubation lasts about twenty-one days, beginning
about the 20th. of June.

*It is a curious fact,' says Mr. Jesse, *that when young
Partridges are hatched and have left the nest, the two portions
of each shell will be found placed the one within the other.
I believe that this is invariably the case. This is doubtless
done by the chicks themselves in their last successful effort
to escape from prison.' Only one brood is reared in the
year, unless indeed the first nest be destroyed, and so a third,
if the second happen to be, but in these cases the eggs are
fewer, and the young are said to be less strong.

The Partridge varies much in weight according to the quality
of the country it inhabits. Male; weight about fifteen ounces;
length, one foot and half an inch; bill, light greyish blue,
strong and short, the upper mandible a good deal curved,
overhanging and extending beyond the lower one; iris, hazel;
over and behind it is a bare space of bright red, and a band
of light yellowish chesnut red, edged with grey. Forehead and
head on the sides, light yellowish chesnut, edged with grey;
crown, greyish brown, with slender yellow shaft Hues; neck
on the back and sides, and the nape, grey, minutely waved
with blackish brown; chin and throat, Hght yellowish ches-
nut, edged with bluish grey; breast, bluish grey, minutely
freckled and waved with blackish brown, and on its lower
part is a horse-shoe-shaped mark of brownish red, on a whitu
ground; the shaft streaks white; on the sides it is barred with
-chesnut; back, minutely banded with dots of brownish black,

218 PARTEIDaE.

lines of brownish yellow and grey, with bars of brownish
red, the latter colour widening on the lower part, the shafts
yellowish.

The wings, expanding to the width of one foot eight inches,
are short aod much rounded, and have the fourth feather the
longest, the third nearly as long, the fifth also about the
same, the first nearly equal to the sixth and seventh; greater
wing coverts, dark greyish brown, widely banded with greyish
yellow; primaries, dark greyish brown, widely banded with
greyish yellow; secondaries, fifteen, the first very short. The
tail, of sixteen brownish red feathers, is very short, and much
hidden by the coverts; the tips of all the feathers are reddish
white, the two middle ones and the edges of the next pair
marked with dots of brownish black, lines of brownish yellow
and grey, with bars of brownish red; upper tail coverts,
some of which are long, freckled with two shades of brown,
and barred with chesnut; under tail coverts, pale yellowish
grey or whitish. Legs, short, and rather strong, above the
knee greyish white; toes, pale greyish blue, tinged with
yellow; claws, dusky brown, short, strong, and blunted with
use.

Female; length, one foot; the part about the bill paler;
the crown marked with small oblong yellowish white streaks;
the neck on its lower part is more mixed with brown; the
patch on the breast is not so large, though sometimes nearly
so, and in some is only composed of a few spots on a greyish
white space; on its lower part it is white, and the chesnut marks
on the sides are broader; the back has the band longer,
and the yellowish white streaks broader; the wings are one
foot seven inches in expanse.

In the young at first the bill is greyish brown, the tip of
the upper mandible yellowish; there is no red mark behind
the eye. Crown, chesnut brown, patched with brownish black;
forehead, neck, and nape, greyish yellow, marked with black;
chin and throat, pale yellowish chesnut; the breast, after the
first moult, has the horse-shoe small, and in the females
generally wanting; back, greyish yellow, marked with black
spots, afterwards greyish brown, barred with brownish black;
on its lower part clouded with brown. Wings brown, with
black spots, afterwards patched with brownish red; the tail,
after the first moult, has the four middle feathers barred;
legs and toes, yellowish grey brown.

The Partridge is very subject to variety. In the ^Cambrian'

PAETEIDaE. 219

newspaper it is stated that two brace were shot near Brecon;
'there breasts were snowy white, and round their heads was
a ring of the same colour.' One was shot near York in
September, 1851, which had the upper mandible very much
elongated and curved upwards and backwards, something like
that of the Avocet. It is difficult to understand how the bird
could have well fed itself, nevertheless it was in good condition.
White varieties are not very unfrequently met with, and
cream-coloured ones; others with the tints all faded, and
others more or less pied with white. Sir William Jar dine
describes one with the usual markings, but of a deeper general
hue, and without the horse-shoe; the head, neck, and patch
on the breast brown, and the space about the bill black. A
very curious circumstance is recorded in 'The Xaturalist,'^
volume iii., page 37, by John Dixon, Esq., of eight young
birds being killed, all with a malformation of the bill, it
"being bent upwards.

220

RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE.

GUEENSET PARTRIDGE. FRENCH PARTRIDGE.

Perdix rufa^ Montagu. Fleming.

Tttrao rufusy Bewick.

Perdix— k Partridge. Ru/a, Rufus—'Red.

This Jiandsome species is a native of various parts of the
south of Europe, being plentiful in Germany, France, Portugal,
Spain, and Italy, and also met with in Austria, Bohemia, and
Switzerland, likewise in Guernsey and Jersey, and it is said
in Madeira. It also occurs plentifully in the north of Africa,
and in Asia — in Japan.

Red-legged Partridges were introduced into this country in
the reign of King Charles the Second in the neighbourhood
of Windsor, and afterwards more recently by the Duke of
Northumberland, and the Earl of Rochford; also by the
Marquis of Hertford at Sudbourn, near Orford, in Suffolk,
and by Lord Rendlesham, at Rendlesham, in the same neigh-
bourhood. These have increased, and are now abundant upon
Dunmingworth Heath, and from Aldborough to Woodbridge,
from whence they have spread over the adjoining counties.
Some were turned out by the Marquis of Hastings, at Don-
nington Park, Derbyshire, but a few seasons saw them
extinguished. The Rev. T. Fowler, in two instances, has known
these birds found upon the beach in an exhausted state, as
if after a long flight. They have been met mth in Essex,
near Colchester. In Yorkshire several are said to have been
shot near Doncaster. Some have made their appearance in
Roger Wildrake's ^moist county of Lincoln;' others near
Royston, in Hertfordshire; and the species has been met with
at Up^vay, near Weymouth, Dorsetshire.

The Hon. Thomas Littleton Powys has written to me of

RED-LEaOED PARTRIDGE. 221

the occurrence of but one of these birds in the neighbourhood
of Lilford, Northamptonshire, which, as he observes, 'con-
sidering its abundance in Norfolk and Suffolk, is rather a
curious circumstance.' One was shot near Anglesea Abbey,
Cambridgeshire, on the 11th. of September, 1S21; and others
have been met with in that county. A pair in 1S35 on the
Chiltern Hills, near Stokenchurch, Oxfordshire, where a covey
of six were found on the 21st. of September, 1848, by Mr.
Willoughby Beauchamp.

In Orkney several were introduced in late years.

They frequent cultivated grounds, and especially hilly parts
where bushes and copsewood abound, but seem to give a
preference to heaths, commons, and other waste lands.

They are good, but not nearly so good to eat as the native
species. They have been known to breed in confinement.
The male birds frequently fight in the spring of the year.

They run very fast, and are not easily put up; and in
those parts of the country where they have become naturalized,
they have had the eifect, from some cause or other, of
banishing the indigenous Partridge. They perch at times in
trees, and, if convenient, on a hedge, gate, or rail.

Their dietary is composed of seeds, grain, clover, and other
vegetables, beetles, flies, and other insects, ants, and their
eggs, spiders, caterpillars, and small snails, and they scratch
on the ground after the manner of the other birds of this
class.

The note is likened to the syllables 'cokileke,' and is often
heard in the spring.

The nest is made of grass and a few feathers of the bird
itself, and is placed among corn, grass, or clover, or near a
bush.

Mr. Jesse says that a clergyman, in the county of Norfolk,
found the nest in the thatch of a hayrick, and informed him
that such is no unfrequent occurrence. Other similar instances
are mentioned.

The eggs are usually from ten to twelve in number: as
many as eighteen have been sometimes found. They are of
a reddish yellow-white colour, spotted and speckled with
reddish brown. The young leave the nest soon after being
hatched. The male takes no part in the incubation of the
eggs, and leaves the care of the brood to their mother till
they are half grown, when he returns to them, and continues
with them till the following spring.

^22 RED-LEGGED PAETEIDGE.

Male; length, one foot one and a half to one foot two
inches; bill, bright red; a black band runs from its base to
the eye and down the neck, widening towards the front,
where both sides meet, and from it numerous black spots and
streaks descend towards the breast; iris, reddish orange; eyelids,
red; over the eye is a bare red space, and a white line runs
over it. Forehead, grey ; sides of the head, white, tinged with
grey; cro^Ti, neck on the back, and nape, reddish brown; on
the sides, greyish white, tinged with brown and spotted with
black, margined with greyish brown, and followed by a broad
band of ash-colour; chin, white; throat, white, tinged with
grey; breast, light yellowish red; on the sides are broad bands
of red, followed by others of grey, white, black, and reddish
yellow; below, it is clear rufous; back, reddish brown, tinged
with grey.

The wings, very short, extending to the width of one foot
mne inches, have the second, third, and fourth quills nearly
equal, and the longest, the first nearly as long as the sixth;
greater and lesser wing coverts, reddish brown, tinged with
grey; the primaries, greyish black, and, except the first, with
part of the outer webs yellowish brown; seven of the second-
aries have also part of the outer web dull yellow; they too
are gre^nsh black, as are the tertiaries. The tail, of sixteen
feathers, has the four middle ones reddish brown, tinged
with grey, the others brownish red; upper tail coverts,
reddish brown, tinged with grey; under tail coverts, light
yellowish red. Legs, with a blunt spur, and toes, bright
red; on the first are five, on the second sixteen, on the
third twenty-two, and on the fourth eighteen narrow plates;
claws, dusky brown.

Female; length, one foot one inch; the crescent on the
rfcck is narrower, and pale, and the spots on its lower part
much smaller; the legs, light yellowish brown, have no spur.

223

BARBARY PARTRIDGE.

Perdix petrosa, Latham.

Perdix—K Partridge. Petrosa— Of the rocks— Rocky.

The Barbary Partridge, as its name conveys, is found on
the north-western and north^n-n coasts of Africa, from Senegal
to Morocco, Barbary, and Algeria, where it is said to be ver}-
common. It is found also in the islands of the Mediterranean,
Majorca, Minorca, Corsica, Malta, Sardinia, and Sicily; in
Europe also in Spain, France, Italy, and Greece; and in Asia
in the region of the Caucasus.

A specimen of this species, a female, was found dead in a
field at Edwardthorpe, near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire,
in April, 1842. It had every appearance of being a wild
bird. About the same period another was shot by a nobleman
on the estate of the Marquis of Hertford, at Sudbourn, in
Suffolk. It appears that about the year 1770, some eggs
had been imported into that part of the country by the
then Marquis and Lord Bendlesham. Edwards wrote in 1S02
that they were frequently brought over. This one may
therefore have been a descendant of some of these, or itself
a *Sallee Rover,' but of the most harmless kind.

These birds go in flocks, frequenting all places that afford
them cover, and even come into gardens. They are, however,
shy in tlieir habits. They are eaten as food, though not of
any superior quality.

The}' feed on grain, seeds, and insects.

They build in barren places and desert mountains, among
low bushes on the ground.

The eggs are a« many as fifteen, of a dull yellowish colour,
thickly dotted with greenish olive spots.

Mr. Couch says of one of tliese birds which he had, that
it possessed great strength in its legs, especially in leaping

224 BAEBAET PAETEIDGE.

without the assistance of its wings, and was able to spring
from the floor to the top of a table with little seeming effort.

Male; length, one foot one inch; bill, red, as is a bare
space over the eye; iris, hazel; head on the sides, bluish
ash-colour, with a narrow black edge above; crown, neck on
the back, and nape, rich chesnut brown, coming round in
front to the bottom of the neck, handsomely variegated with
small triangular-shaped white spots. Chin and throat, bluish
ash-colour above and below the collar; breast, brownish grey,
with a tinge of reddish buff, barred on the sides with white,
black, and bright chesnut; on the lower part yellowish brown,
and then reddish buff. Back, greyish brown.

G-reater and lesser wing coverts, a mixture of brown and
grey, broadly edged with chesnut. Primaries, brownish black
on the inner webs, the outer web of the fourth greyish brown,
of the others light brown on their inner half, pencilled with
dusky transverse markings; tertiaries, a mixture of brown and
grey. The tail, rich chesnut brown, has the middle feathers
pencilled with dusky transverse markings; under tail coverts,
brownish grey, with a tinge of reddish buff. The legs, — which
have blunt spurs — toes, and claws, red.

The female is smaller, the colour not so bright, and she is
without the spui's.

225

VIRGINIAN PARTRIDGE.

Perdix Virginianay Latham. Jentxs,

Ferdix—A Partridge. Virginiana— Of Virginia.

The species before us has been introduced into this country
from America, where it is indigenous in both continents. Mon-
tagu mentions that several had been turned out in different
parts of the British Empire, and he speaks of one shot near
Mansfield, in Nottinghamshire. In Norfolk, some were turned
out by Mr. Coke, (Lord Leicester,) near Holkham, and some
of their descendants are believed still to exist; a nest with
several eggs was found at Barton, in that county. Several
have been killed in the county of Surrey; others were intro-
duced at Teddesly, in Staffordshire, by Edward John Littleton,
Esq., of that estate; one was shot at Eotherfield, near Tun-
briclge Wells, Kent, a female, about the first of Januai y,
1850; another, a male about the same time and place; and
one near Chelsham Court, Godstone, Surrey, in the middle
of October, 18-15: it was supposed to be one of a number
procured from America, which had been turned out near Wind-
sor by His Royal Highness Prince Albert.

In Ireland, General Gabbit liberated many on his estates,
but it is said that in two years the breed was lost.

In their native country they are migratory.

The Virginian Partridge can be kept in confinement, and
has been known to breed in that state. They are taken in
large numbers for the table, being very much esteemed, and
are captured in various ways. They frequent the neigh-
bourliood of woods, but rarely the woods or forests themselveB,
and conceal themselves among bushes, brushwood, and herbage,
from which they emerge to feed in the open fields; they
"jerch at times in low trees. In severe weather they come

VOL. IV. u

226 VIEGINIAN PAETEIDGE.

close to barns in search of any * waifs or strays* in the shape
of food, mix with the poultry, and seem almost half-domesti-
cated. They suffer severely in times of deep snow and length-
ened winters. About the beginning of September they collect
in flocks of from four or five to thirty. They usually roost
at night on some high ground in the middle of a field,
and they are said to he in a circle with their heads outwards ;
in trees also sometimes.

They fly with a whirring sound, straight, steadily, and quick.

Their food is made up of Indian corn, buckwheat, and
other grain, seeds, berries, and insects.

The call, says Wilson, consists of two notes loud and clear,
with sometimes an introductory one, and resembles the words
*Bob White;' another account describes it as two short low
whistles, followed by one long, loud, and shrill.

Nidification begins early in May.

The nest, placed under or in some thick tuft of grass that
shelters and conceals it, is described as well covered with a
hood, an opening being left on one side for entrance, and is
composed of leaves and fine dry grass, both birds assisting
in its fabrication.

The eggs, from ten or twelve to fifteen or even twenty-
four in number, this latter quantity the joint produce in
all probability of two birds laying in the same nest, are
pure white, without any spots, and broad at one end, and
pointed at the other.

The hen bird performs the task of incubation for four weeks,
and the whole family keep together till the following spring.
The young leave the nest at once on being hatched, and
are conducted forth by the female in search of food, and
from time to time are sheltered under her wings, collected
together by a twittering cry. Should danger appear to
threaten, she displays extreme anxiety, boldly attacking an
intruder, or using every artifice and stratagem to draw him
away, feigning lameness, 'throwing herself in the path, flut-
tering along, and beating the ground with her wings, as if
sorely wounded, uttering at the same time certam pecuhar
notes of alarm, well understood by the young, which dive
separately among the grass, and secrete themselves till the
danger is over; and the parent, having decoyed the pursuer
to a safe distance, returns, by a circuitous route, to collect
and lead them ofi*.' She shews the greatest assiduity and
the most sedulous and unremitting attention in their further

VIEGTNmS- PARTEIDGE. 227

care. Wilson mentions a curious anecdote of some young
ones which had been hatched under a hen, and which,
Vhen abandoned by her, associated with the cows, which
they regularly followed to the fields, returned with them
when they came home in the evening, stood by them while
they were milked, and again accomipanied them to the
pasture. These remained during the winter, lodging in the
stable, but as soon as spring came they disappeared.'

Of a cock bird, one of a pair kept in confinement, and
which reared a brood, a correspondent of the 'Magazine of
Natural History' wrote, 'Previously to and during the time
the hen was sitting,^ the cock serenaded her with his harsh
and singular notes, some of them very similar to the mewing
of a cat. He had also a peculiarity of constantly running
round in a circle, till the ground where he performed his
evolutions was worn as bare as a road, and the turf trodden
down. Nothing could be more cordial and harmonious than
this happy family. AYhen the shades of evening approached,
they crowded together in a circle on the ground, and
prepared for the slumbers of the night by placing their tails
all together, with their pretty mottled chins facing to the
front in a watchful round-robin. When food was thrown in
for them, the male bird would peck at the grain, but not
eat any himself until he had called his family around him
hrst to partake of the food, which he did with many soft
blandishments, and with much strutting and spreading of the
wings and tail.'

Male: length, a little over nine inches to nine and a half;
bill, according to Meyer, bluish horn-colour, or black, as
described by Wilson and Macgillivray, dusky black according
to Yarrell; from the base of the upper mandible begins a
black band, which continues above the eye, and forms a
broad collar round the throat; over the eye and down the neck
is a white streak underneath the black one. Iris, dusky black ;
under the eye is a black .band running down the neck on
each side and meeting in front; forehead, white; crown, rich
red brown, edged on each side with black, of which colour
are the centres of the feathers, and they are occasionally
elevated in a crest-like manner. Neck on the sides and nape,
also yellowish red brown, pencilled or spotted with white and
black; most of the feathers edged with bluish ash-colour and
pale yellow. Chin and throat, white, bounded by the band
of black. Breast, on the upjjer part, pale reddish brown; the

228 YIEGrNTAN PAHTEIDGE.

feathers of the lower part pale yellowish or greyish white,
edged with arrow-heads of black, and those on the sides
elegantly marked on their centres with rich chesnut brown,
bordered with black lines and white margins. Back above,
yellowish red brown, sUghtly pencilled all over with black;
most of the feathers edged with bluish ash-colour and pale
yellow.

The wings, of twenty-three quills, have the first and eighth
feathers of the same length, the second equal to the sixth, the
fourth the longest in the wing, the fifth nearly equal to it,
the third about equal to the seventh; lesser wing coverts,
yellowish red brown, pencilled with black. Primaries, greyish
brown; secondaries and tertiaries, dusky, or greyish brown,
the inner ones of the former variegated with the black mark-
ings; the latter edged with yellowish white. The tail, of
twelve feathers, short and much rounded, is greyish blue or
ash-colour, sprinkled with reddish brown, waved towards the
end with yellowish red; upper tail coverts, olive brown and
yellowish brown, pencilled with black; under tail coverts, light
yellowish red, with dusky streaks on the centres of the feathers
and whitish tips. Legs and toes, light ash-colour; claws,
dusky.

Female; length, nine inches; the band over the eyes and
the head on the sides, light yellowish brown; crown, paler
than in the male; neck in front, light red on the lower
part; on the back and the nape, paler than in the male.
Throat, light yellowish brown, margined with black, brown,
and yellowish red spots; breast, light red; back, paler than
in the male. The tail, more undulated with red and greyish
white.

The young at first have the bill brownish yellow; iris, light
hazel; the head on the sides, dusky; the upper parts light
yellowish brown, with patches of grey.

v

229

QUAIL.

COMMON QUAIL.

Perdix coturniXf Latham. Je.nyns.

Tetrao coturnix, Li>'>\eus.

Perdix^A Partridge. Coturnix—A Quail.

The Quail is very abundant on the continent of Europe,
in Italy and France, and in Sicily, and the Greek Islands.
They go as far north in summer as Lapland, and the more
temperate parts of Siberia and Eussia; and are also found in
Africa, even at the Cape of Good Hope; and in many parts
of Asia, in China, India, Malacca, and Japan.

In England they are much less common than they were
fifty years ago, while the contrary is the case in Ireland, but
in some seasons they are more plentiful than in others.

In Yorkshire they seem to have been formerly more abundant
than they are now. They are occasionally met with about
Sheffield, and used to breed in the vicinity of Halifax, likewise
near York, also near Leeds, at Seacroft, Killingbeck, and
Churwell, and near Huddersfield, Burlington, and other ]>laoes.
In Norfolk they are not uncommon near Yarmouth, but in
most parts are limited in numbers. They were formerly far
more numerous there.

N. Kowe, Esq., of Worcester Collei^re, Oxford, has informed
me of their breeding near Crediton, Devonshire, in a corn-field
on Staddon Heights, where the eggs were taken on the 1st.
of Aui>ust, 1850; and also on the moors about the Harbridge
Flats on the borders of Surrey and Berkshire. In Cornwall

230 QUAIL.

they seem to be rather rare; one was taken on board a
pilot-boat about twenty miles at sea, May 10th., 1850; and
two were shot in September in the same year.

The Quail occurs near Lilford, Northamptonshire, as the
Hon. T. L. Powys has informed me, and also near Aldwinkle
and Titchmarsh; likewise in some parts of Berkshire they are
common, while in others they are hardly ever seen, as William
Hewet, Esq. has written me word. In Lincolnshire the Eev.
E. P. Alington says they appear singly in autumn; in the year
1851 more were seen than usual; formerly they used to occur
in bevies in the parish of Stenigot, near Horncastle. One was
met with in June, 1840, within a hundred yards of the town
of Melbourne, Derbyshire.

Captain Turton, of the Third Dragoon Guards, has written
me word that the Quail is the Partridge of Ireland, and that.
if the country gentlemen would go to the expense of preserving
them, as they do in England, they might have as many as
there are Partridges in our best preserves.

In Scotland it occurs but seldom; in Sutherlandshire it
appears occasionally near Dunrobin, and also has been met
with in Aberdeenshire, in the parish of Towie, and in Morayshire.
In Orkney one was shot in Sanday, by Mr. Strang, in May,
1833.

Quails migrate north and south in spring and autumn in
countless thousands, and vast numbers are taken by bird-
catchers. As many as one hundred thousand are said to have
been taken in one. day in the kingdom of ^N'aples. Three
thousand dozen are reported to have been purchased in one
year by the London dealers alone. They migrate in flocks,
and the males are said to precede the females. They are
believed to travel at night. They arrive here the end of
April, or beginning of May, and depart early again in Sep-
tember. Not being strong on the wing, yet obliged to cross
the sea to seek a warmer climate in winter, thousands are
picked up by the shores on their arrival in an exhausted
state; many are drowned in the passage, and some are fre-
quently captured on board of vessels met with 'in transitu.'
Not a few, however, seem to remain throughout the winter.
— One was obtained in this parish, Nafferton, Yorkshu'e, in
December, 1851; one at Halliford, in Middlesex, the 18th. of
September, 1841. One was shot near Worcester, in January,
1850; another, a male, the same month at Parson Drove, near
Wisbeach, in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshii-e, on the 16th.;

QUAIL. 231

another on the 30th., at March; and another on the 31st.^
captured near Guyhirn.

In Bedfordshire, one in February, 1833; in Shropshire, one
at Shiffnal, on the 20th. of January, 1846. In Norfolk, at
Reedham on the 11th.; at Bawburgh on the 14:th.; near
Loddon, a pair, male and female, on the 19th.; one near
Norwich, on the 23rd. of December, 1846; and another in
the follomng month, January, 1847. On the 26th. of August,
1848, a hen bird and a young one were captured at Drayton.
Two were killed at Bottisham, Cambridgeshire, on the 11th.
of November, 1825; and one at Topham, in the end of
January. One at Normanby-by-Spital, Lincolnshire, by the
E-ev. Edward Cooper, B.A., on the 1st. of February, 1853.
Two in Oxfordshii-e, followed by two others on the 10th. of
November, 1846, and the 9th. of December, 1848. In De-
cember, in Oxfordshire, near Spoden; and on the 12th. of
February, 1840, at East Ilsley, m Berkshire, and they have
also been seen in that county in the winter not far from
Wallingford, William He wet, Esq. tells me. The Rev.
Frederic Fane writes me word of others killed in December
and January, in Hampshire and Dorsetshire; another also in
that county at Brickland, near Weymouth, the last week io
January, 1853.

The males have desperate encounters with each other in the
spring. These birds are very delicate eating, and the demand
in consequence keeps pace with the large supply. They are
easily kept in confinement, and as easily fattened. They are
captured in nets and traps, into which latter they are decoyed
by imitating their note, and are also shot in numbers.

They run with great rapidity, and can take long flights,
as proved by their migration, but while here they are difficult
to put up a second time after they have been once flushed.
They fly quick, straight, and low, rismg suddenly and uttering
a scream.

They feed on grain, seeds, green leaves, and insects.

Their voice is a shrill whistling note, a Svhit, whit,' usually
repeated three times in succession, and considered on the
continent as a sort of song. It is often and incessantly re-
peated nearly the whole of the day in the spring season, but
especially towards the evening. When fighting with one
another they utter a sort of croak. Bechstein likens the
note of the male to *verra, verra/ followed by the word
*pievervie;' that of the female by *verra, verra, pupu, pupu,'

232 QUAIL.

and when alarmed or enraged, their cry, he says, resembles
the word 'guillah.'

For a nest the female scrapes out a small hollow in the
ground, into which she collects a few bits of dry grass, straw,
clover, and such like. She alone sits, and very closely, on
the eggs, but the male assists her in the care of the young.

The eggs are yellowish white, orange-coloured white, or
greenish, blotted or speckled with brown. They vary much
in number, from six to fourteen, or even, it is said, twenty,
though generally ten. Incubation lasts about three weeks.
The young follow the dam as soon as they are hatched.

Male; length, eight inches; bill, greyish brown above, greenish
blue beneath, the tip yellowish: iris, hazel; over it, and
extending down the side of the neck, is a band of yellowish
white, formed by marks on the centres of the feathers. The
crown, with a narrow band of yellowish white, formed by
marks on the centre of each feather, and neck on the back,
black, the feathers edged with brown; nape, a mixture of
brownish black, light red, and yellowish grey; chin and
throat, pale chesnut brown; on the latter are two crescents
of brownish black, with a black patch at the base, its sides
light yellowish brown or reddish, spotted \vith black and
yellowish white; breast, above, light yellowish brown or
reddish, with straw-coloured shaft lines; on the middle
and lower part pale yellowish white; and on the sides light
brownish red, each feather with a central band of white,
edged with brownish black; the back is variegated with
brownish black, light red, and yellowish grey, with four
longitudinal bands of yellowish white pointed streaks.

The wings, of twenty feathers, have the first three of
nearly equal length, but the first a little longer than the
third, the second the longest; they expand to one foot two
inches in width; greater and lesser wing coverts, pale riifous
brown, streaked with brown and yellowish grey; primaries,
dusky brown, banded on the outer webs with pale red, the
first one with its outer edge white. The tail, of fourteen
feathers, dark brown, barred with whitish; upper tail coverts,
rufous brown; under tail coverts, pale yellowish white. Legs,
toes, and claws, greyish yellow.

The female is paler in general colour; the neck is without
the crescents and the black patch: a dusky streak passes down
from behind the eyes; chin and throat, pale yellowish white;
the breast is marked with small dark spots on each side of

QUAIL. 233

the straw-coloured shafts ; greater and lesser wing coverts, crossed
with yellowish white bars; legs and toes, greyish yellow.

The young of the year resemble the female; the males do
not acquire the black patch till the second year.

Varieties have occurred of a white and of a yellowish white
colour, some spotted with white, and others dusky all over.

AllTDALITSIAN QFAIL. 235

nape, dark yellowish brown, with numerous bars of chesnut,
black, and buff white; chin, dull yellowish white; throat and
breast on the upper part, pale chesnut, the latter on the
sides yellowish white, the feathers tipped with black, and with
a crescent-shaped mark of rich orange buff, deepest in front;
on the lower part buff white and pure white; back, yellowish
dusky brown, finely pencilled transversely with zigzag markings
of reddish ash-colour, and lines of brown and chesnut, each
feather being finely margined with white. G-reater and lesser
wing coverts, yellowish brown, with large spots of a paler
shade, witli a darker spot in the centre of each; primaries,
dusky greyish brown, with a light-coloured line along the edge
of the outer web. Tail, greyish brown; upper tail coverts,
yellowish lusky brown; under tail coverts, white. Legs and
toes, pale yellowish brown.

EKD OF VOL. IT.

B. FAWCETT, KNGJlAVi^H AM) i'lUXTEll, DIUKFIKU).

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