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. B. LODGE

9

H'f^^

FOR THE PEOPLE

FOK EDVCATION

FOR. SCIENCE

LIBRARY

OF

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM

OF

NATURAL HISTORY

PICTURES OF BIRD LIFE

TO THK M KMOU V

OF

THE LATE

THOMAS J. MANX

HYDE HA EL

SAW15UI IXJEWOUTH

WITHOIT WHOSE

!•: X C O U R A G E Mi: X T A X I) A S S I S T A X C E

THIS WOHK
WOILD XEVEK HAVE BE E X BEG EX.

■~4

■^

p

ICTURES OF
BIRD LIFE .

ON

WOODLAND, MEADOW, MOUNTAIN
AND MARSH

R. B. LODGE

MEDALLIST ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

WITH

NUMEROUS COLOUR AND HALF-TONE ILLUSTRATIONS
FROM PHOTOGRAPHS FROM LIFE BY THE AUTHOR

S. H. BOUSFIELD & CO., LTD. LONDON

NORFOLK HOUSE 1903

NORFOLK STREET

w.c.

C O X T E X T S

/

CHAPTER

I. PHOTOGRAPHY FOR XA'l't KALISTS

n. AUTOMATIC PHOTOGRAPHY RY ELEC TRK ITY

in. PHOTOGRAPHIC OUTFIT .

lY. RIRD LIFE IX A SUBURRAX PARISH

Y. A LIXCOLXSHIRE MUD-FLAT.

\l. THE SEA-BIRDS OF THE FARXE ISLAXDS

YII. THE XORFOLK BROADS

YIII. BIRD LIFE LX DUTCH MARSHES .

IX. BIRD LIFE IX THE SPAXT.sH MARISMAS .

X. BIRD LIFE IX DEXMARK-OX THE FJORD

XL BIRD LIFE IX DEXMARK— IX THE FOREST

XII. A A\ EEK IX DERBYSHIRE ....

PAGE

9

24

36

43

174

18(;

■2()C>

224

2().>

331

347

3o7

ILI.USTRATIOXS IX COLOUR

KINGFISHER

WHINCHAT

SPARROA^'-HA^VK

BAR-TAILP:D GODWrr (Wimkr Piamage)
A PAIR OF KnTn\ AKFS .
SPOONBILL AND YOINC;
A PAIR OF LITTLE ECJRETS NESTING
HERRING-GULL

I-

^niiiti

vjrii'fi'

Fiifii

.'/

P"<l<-

()4

;3

144

55

178

5J

194

JJ

240

9 9

810
;J44

ILLUSTRATIONS IN HALF-TONE

Ambush at Spoonbill's Nest

Author, The .

avocet feeding

,, Nest of, Denmakk
,, „ ,, Spain .

,, „ ,, Holland

Bee-eatek, End of Nesting Bureow
,, ON Topmost Twig

Blackbird, Nest of . . .

Blackcap, Hen, on Nest

Bbay taking Birds out of Flight-ne

Bunting, Common ....
,, Reed-, and Nkst .
,, ,, Cock .

Hen .

Buzzard, Nest of .

Camera hidden in Hedgerow
Chaffinch, Cock .

,, Hen, and Nest

Chiff-chaff, Nest of .
Climbing to Rook's Nest
Coot, Nest of . .
Cormorant
Cormorants sitting
Ckow, Carrion-, Nest of
Cuckoo, Young, fed by

201,

PAGE

16
280
255
339
32.J
253

208
305
40
61
180
333
105
222
102
353

!I8
!)7
367
41
358
202
203
113

Hedge-
sparrow . 134,
in Hedge-spar-
row's Nest

Curlew

135

1.33
185

Dipper, Nest of
Duck, Tufted .

„ ,, Nest of

,, Wild, Nest of
Dunlins feeding

PAGE

3G4, 365
. 300
. 3(il
. 147
. 26(;

17'

Diagram of Electric Trap Connections 28

Early Morning at the Nets
Eg<;-shells as Bait .... 27
Egrets, Little, and Nest . . . 287
,, ,, in Nesting Colony 285, 289
Eider sitting I'J!)

Flamingoes, Distant View of . . 3.30

Flycatcher, Spotted, and Ne.st . . 87

,, ,, sitting . . 84

Giving a Back up a Tree . . . 351

GoDwiT, Bar-tailed, Winter Plumage 175

,, Black-tailed, and Nest . 341

Goldfinch and Nest .... 101

Goshawk, Nest of 355

Grebe, Great Crested, Nest of. . 249

,, Little 172

,, „ FEEDING Young . . 173

,, ,, on Floating Nest . 109

Greenfinch, Nest of . . . . 94

Guillemots and Kittiwakes . . 190

,, on the Pinnacles . . 191

Gull, Black-headed, and Nest . . 247

,, Common, Nest of ' . . . 345

Lesser Black-backed . . . 197

Illustrations in Half=tone

(jluLL, Le.S!>ek Black- liACKEi), Ne.st of . VM> Nkjhtingai.e takinc Meal-wokm
,, ,, ,, Young, caught Night.iar and Young

IN Net .

Gun Camera in PiHoah

Harrier, Marsh-, Nest of .

,, Montague's, Nest of

Hawfinch, Nest of
Heron, Buff-backed

,, „ AND Nest

,, NlOHT-

„ ,, Nest of .

,, ON Nest

,, Purple, Automatic Photo of

„ ,, Nest of, Holland

,, ,, ,, ,, Spain .

„ ,, ,, „ YoUN(i .

,, Richmond Park.

Ibis, Glossy, and Nest

Jackdaw, Nest of .

Kestrel and Nest.

Kingfisher on W.vter-hen's Ne.st

Kite, Nest and Young.

,, ,, OF

,, Black, Nest of .
Kittiwake on Nest

Lapwing

,, Automatic Photo of

,, Nest of .

,, Sitting

,, Young, crouching .

Martin, House-, and Nest .
Nightingale and Nest .

,, SITTING

. 183

,, Nest of .

. 13

,, O.N Upper Bk.vnch

Nkjht.iaus, Young .

. 239

. 211

Owl, Barn- ....

. !)'J

,, ,, Bones from Casting

. 292

,, ,, Castings

. 297

,, ,, YouN(;, IN Dow>

. 295

,, Little .

. 301

,, Long-eared .

. 14.5

,, Short-eared .

. 234

,, ,, Ear of

. 237

,, ,, Nest of

283

,, Tawnv .

235

Oyster-catcher

14G

,, Nest of

291

110

143
130

271
268
273
193

160
25
161
162
163

92

52
53

PAGE

32

126
125
122

129

138
141
140
137
282
219
213
217
215
142
223
200

Partridge, Nest of

. 152

Pheasant, Hen, sitting

. 153

,, Nest of

. 154

Photographing Nest up Tr

EE . . 10

Pinnacles, The

. 189

Pintail, Nest of .

. 338

' Pipit, Meadow-, Nest of

. 78

„ Tree-, Nest of .

. 79

Plover, Rinced, at Enfieli

) Sewage-

farji ....

. Kw

Plovers, Grey

. 275

Pratincole

. 309

Puffin, Nestling .

. 188

Puffin's Burrow .

. 195

Puffins ....

. 194

Raven, Nest of

. 304

Redbreast, Rorin .

. 49

,, „ Nest of

. 50

Redstart and Nest

. 48

Rook and Nest

. 117

,, Nest of

. 114

Ruff ....

. 343

8

Illustrations in Half-tone

PAGE

Sandpiper, Com.mon, Xest ok

. 363

Setting Photo-trap

. 30

Shrike,

Grey ....

. 328

,,

Eed-backed, Cock .

. 80

,,

Hen .

. 80

,,

„ Nest ok

. 83

,,

WOODCHAT-

. 205

Skylark

, Nest of .

. 118

,,

Young .

. 121

Sparrow

, Hedge-, Nest of .

. 67

Spoonbill

. 2-1

,,

Nest of .

. 233

„

Nests

. 28-t

,,

Young .

. 230

Spoonbills, Young .

. 228

Starling (2 Positions) .

. 100

,,

Nest of .

. 109

Stilt .

. 278

„ (3

feeding)

. 312

,, Nest in Water .

. 315

„

ox Mud

. 318

Stork, Black, Nest of .

34!), 350

,, White, anl> Young .

. 250

,,

,, Greetings

. 251

„

„ IN Denmark .

. 331

„

„ IN Seville

. 277

„

,, KLAPPERING .

. 251

„

,, ON Ground .

. 332

„

„ ON Nest

. 225

Stowing

Cameras in Boat .

. 335

Swallow

. 88

,,

Nest of .

. <J1

Tern, Black, Nest of, Holland . 240

>> .> ,, Spain . . 323

>. ,, (2 Positions) . . . 243

„ Common, and Nest . . . 245

Tern, Lesser, Nest of .

,, Sandwich, Nests of .

,, Whiskered ....
Thrush, Missel-, Nest of .
,, Song-, Nest of
„ „ Young .

Tit, Bearded, and Nest

,, Blue, and Stump with Nest

,, Long-tailed, Nest of .

,, ,, ,, Half-m.vde

,, Marsh-, Nest of .
Turtle-dove and Nest .

W.VDiNG in Broads

,, IN Spanish Lacjoox .
Wa(;tail, Pied ....

,, ,, Nest and Young

,, Yellow ....

,, „ AND Nest .

Warbler, G.vrden-, Nest of

,, ,, sitting .

„ Gre.\t Reed-, and Nest

„ ,. ,, Young .

Peed-, Nest of .

,, ,, SITTING

„ Sedge-, and Nest

,, ,, FEEDING Young

Watek-hen and Nest .
Whinchat, Co:k ....
„ Nest of . . .

Whitp:throat, Greater .

,, ,, (3 Positions)

,, ,, Nest of .

,, Lesser, Young

Willow- wren and Nest
,, -VT Nest .
Wood-pigeon, Nest of

PICTURES OF BIRD LIFE

CHAPTEU 1

Photography for Naturalists

Tliei'e are so many ji-eiitleiiu'ii wlm have leisure and means, tliat we beg ti)
suggest that tliose wIid lia\e tlie opportunity sliouhl make it their pleasure and
l»usiness to visit smne of these nrangs in tlieir tropical forests. Li't thinii for ruicr
li-drr titc ijiDi (IikI njir (if Ikiiiic, iiikI tithe iiiilji llii' frlrscttjtr imtl fif/i/-i//ii.\.\, tlif xlxctfh-
hiHik luiil jii'iiril. Naturalists and anatomists know quite enough of the structure,
as comjjared with man, of the orang, gorilla, and chimpanzee. There are skeletons
and skins in abundance of all these in England, but nobody, not even Professor ( ^\\i}n
himself, can tell the social manners an<l customs of an animal from his skeleton
and the structure (if his muscles, ^\'hat is wanted now to till up this vacant gap
is an account of the home life of the gi'eat aj)es. This is mit to hr Dhtniiiril liij shiiot'iiiij
mill jirrsi'i-iifiiii/ t lie III. hilt fill iiirrtiiii/ thrill ils it ircrr in ii J'ririiilljl ii'Hjl.

Tins Avrote Fniiik I^iickland. now many years ago. respecting
some specimen of orang-otang which had just reached England.
If lie had hved in these days of photography, I feel positive
iie would lia\ e included the camera and tele-photographic lens
in liis suggested outfit.

.At any rate, liis condemnation of mere killing is wortliy
of consideration. Tliere is so nuich slaughter of wild animal
life going on ail o\er tlie world, tliat at tlie present rate of
destruction there will soon he nothing left to kill.

But before the comini)- extermination the substitution

10

Pictures of Bird Life

of the camera for more deadly weapons opens up a no^el
form of sport to cxcry loAer of wild life, — one no less
fasciiiatino' aiul iiitinitcly more difficult than tliat followed

r^^^ktt^l:^^!!^

Photographing Nest up a Tree with an Improvised
Tripod made of Youxg Trees.

by the wielder of gun and rifle : a sport, too. which has
the immense adyantage of in no way diminishing the fast
dwindling number of our fcr(c fiaf//r(c. and one M'hicli at

Photography for Naturalists 11

tlie same time produees permanent and trutliful reeords
of the eountless beautiful forms around us.

In tlie whole ran<;e of pliotograpliic j)ossil)ilities, wide
as it is. where can any sid^jeet be found more worthy of
ones best energies and keenest enthusiasm than the portrayal
of the inner life, haunts, and habits of the wild free inha])itants
of woodland, meadow, mountain, and marsh (

As Buekland says, there are so many men who have
the time and the money, and there must l)e so many who
badly Mant a new sensation, and some definite object in
life, that I wonder it has never struck some of them what
a good time they could have. Hundreds have yachts lying
idle half the year, and find the time go slowly for want of
an occupation. ^Nlost sportsmen have at least a hking for
natural history and collecting, which only wants encouraging
to turn them into enthusiasts. I^et them start an expedition
photographic — and collecting too, if they like — with some
definite object in \ iew : some long-debated point in natural
history to clear up, or some newly disco\ered fact to pro\'e
more comincingly by means of photographs, or some fast-
disappearing species to be photographed before it finally
vanishes from off the face of the earth.

The dwindliu"" faima of South Africa badlv needs a
photographic historian. That this would not be an impossible
task I.,ord Delamere's interesting series of photographs is
conclusive proof. It is a pity that there are not more such
expeditions.

Uganda, from all accounts, would be a paradise for a

12 Pictures of Bird Life

photograpliic natumlist, if it could be worked at onee, before
the abundance of wild animal life is thinned down to the
level of those parts which have been shot o\er for a longer
period.

But going no farther than the confines of Europe — though
skins and specimens, both dead and ali\'e, of almost every
European species are a drug in the market — tiiere is yet a
grand opening for photographs of the most extreme interest.

AVe know now for certain that the Flamingo does not sit
astride of a tall conical mud mound, as depicted in the old
books ; but a photograph from life of a Flamingo sitting
would be worth some labour, and be more convincing than
a drawing. The I^ammergeyer on its natiAC rocks, the Great
Bustard, and the Crane woidd be fine prizes to strive for.
The photographing these " at home " would be ten or twenty
times as difficidt and a hundred times more interesting than
the mere feat of shooting them, and could only be done by
the most enthusiastic perseverance and ingemiity.

It would be no work for the ul)i({uitous hand camera.
The whole apparatus, from lens to camera and tripod, would
need to be carefully designed for its special purpose, and
difficulties, as far as possible, foreseen and guarded against.
Some portable form of automatic release, electric or other-
wise, might be contri\'ed, combined perhaps on occasion by
a flash-lighting contrivance.

The portability of the hand or folding pocket cameras
is imdoubtedly tempting to the tra^eller or s])ortsman
already loaded witli necessaries, and the facility Avith which

14 Pictures of Bird Life

one can l)e carried about at tlie same time as a "iin or
rifle, or on horseback or camel-back, often leads to its
being included in an outfit, and used for work for M'hich
it is absolutely useless. I wonder liow many yards of
film have been exposed on objects completely out of their
range, and de\'eloped after returning home, ichoi it is too
late to rcctifij the inistdkc. It cannot be too strongly
insisted on tliat serious work, sucli as Xatural History
work is. can only be accomplished l^y taking troul^le and
by using proper instruments, even though they are liea^y
and extremely awkward to cai'ry. I do not deny for a
moment that good subjects luive l)een obtained with a
pocket camera, but I say unhesitatingly that for every
chance of a successful sliot the carrier of a pocket camera
only misses a lumdred for want of a longer focus lens,
and in all probability the one solitary opportunity would
have had more justice done to it with another instrument.

After ten years' experience 1 only remember one
occasion wlien a small camera would have been useful,
and then, tliougli I could liave exposed more plates, I
slioidd certainly have been disappointed at the small size
of the birds depicted h\ it.

Suppose for a moment that it had been possible for
Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie-BrowiTs expedition to Siberia,
Lord Ulford's yachting cruises after birds in the Mediter-
ranean, and the Crown Prince Rudolphs expeditions to the
Danube and Palestine to have been accompanied by a com-
petent photographer pro\'idcd with the modern appliances

Photography for Naturalists 15

which have since })een iinented, there is no {l()u})t thut the
value of these expeditions would ha\ c been mucli augmented.

How intcrestini'' to future venerations of ornitholomsts
to see permanent })hotoi>rapliic records of tlie first recorded
nests of the httle Stint and Crrey no^ er. with the ])irds
tliemselves photographed on or near the nests, as first dis-
covered l)v Seebohm ; or some of \\ OUeys I^apland disco\ cries !
AVhat pictures of tlie great raptorial l)irds Prince Uudolpli
could lune <)l)tained if he had had a tele-photo lens wliile
in ambusli at their nests !

A most interesting expedition could be made now in
pursuit of tlie P^agles and \"idtures of Southern Europe. In
Spain alone there are still to be found in the l)ig pine-woods
and rugged sierras fi\'e different kinds of Eagles and fom-
species of \ ulture. Some of these are yearly decreasing in
numbers, and in a few more years will be extremely rare.
Hungary and the country round the Danube is also par-
ticularly rich in raptorial and marsh birds.

But enough has been said to show what a wide opening
there is for the })h()t()graphic naturalist, and what a scope
for serious work in a new and })ractically luitroddcn field for
research.

Unfortunately the field is too big for anv man of small
means. Unless backed by money, whether his own or pro-
vided by employers, no one can hope to do more than pick
up a few crumbs here and there in the way of results.

The attempt to obtain photographs of wild and li\ing
animals is beset with many difficulties, not the least of which

16

Pictures of Bird Life

arc the photograpliic* and optical difficulties placed in liis
WAX by the limitations of liis craft, thouQ-h some of them are

Ajibush .near Spoonbill's Nest, ix which I remained in
Four Feet of Water for Five Hours.

gradually being removed by fresh discoveries and in^•entions,
such as that of the tele-photo lens.

One of the difficulties is tluit the small size of most birds

Photography for Naturalists 17

and of luaiiN' animals renders iieeessarv a \ erv elose approaeli
in order to obtain a photogTaph of a ])ra('ti('al si/e, ^Vgainst
this elose approaeli the extreme timidity of ])i-aetieally the
whole animal ei'eation is an almost insu])eral)le barrier. Thus
the use of \erv long-foeus lenses beeomes an absolute
neeessit\-. and e\ en with the most powerful a small object
like a biixl must be photographed from a Aery few yards, or
e\cn feet, and the necessary extension of camera becomes
exceedingly cumbrous and awkward at such close quarters,
and requires, again, a \ ery heavy and rigid tripod to support
the weight. Photographing small birds with a camera between
three and four feet long on a big tripod resembles shooting-
Snipe with a Maxim-gun.

Hy using the tele-photo lens, in\'ented a few years ago
by Mr. Dallmeyer, a long-focus lens and consequent large
image may be obtained without the corresponding increase
in the length of camera.

]5ut this desirable result is only arri\ ed at by a great loss
of rapidity. It is necessary to giAC a comparati\'ely slow
exposure even with the fastest plates obtainable. The longer
the extension of camera the ])igger the magnification, but the
greater the loss of rapidity. I find that a short camera with
a more nuxlerate magnification gives a gain in rapidity, and
improA es the definition and depth of focus, and it is noticeable
that my cameras by degrees get shorter and shorter.

The latest step in this direction consists of a short camera
carrying a tele-photo lens, and provided with a reflecting
focussing device, which is mounted on a light gun-stock,

•7

18 Pictures of Bird Life

and can be used like a rifie by resting the elbows on the
knees.

Another difficulty is the retiring nature of many birds,
which prefer leafy retreats and shady corners embowered in
foliage, where the quality of the light is not quick enough for
the short exposures which are needed for their acti\'e move-
ments and restless behaviour.

For some subjects, such as a bird on its nest, an ordinary
lens may be used on a carefully hidden and preA'iously focussed
camera, the shutter of which may be manipulated from a
distance by means of a string, a long pneumatic tube, or even
by electric current. Here great exactitude in focussing is
required, and even with the most careful preparations many
exposures will be wasted. It is impossible without much
" stopping down " to get both sides of a nest in sharp focus
on the plate ; and unless the bird occupies the exact spot
allowed for it, it will be more or less out of focus. It is
generally safest to focus the nearest edge of the nest, as a
bird M'ill, as a ride, prefer to face any object of which she
has any suspicion. She will also prefer to sit head to wind.
Then, not only must the camera be most carefully concealed,
but the operator himself nuist also be completely out of
sight. Then, when, after many hours of waiting, the desired
exposure has been made, there is the necessity for him to
show himself in order to change the plate if another cliance
is wanted, and it is never safe to trust to one plate in this
work. This is not only a great drawback. Init causes much
loss of time.

Photography for Naturalists 19

AMicii liiddeii up with tlie ciuiieni, as when using' tlie
tclc-plioto lens, you may sometimes expose a dozen plates
one after the other witliout haAino- to alarm the bird by
betrayino- your hidino-plaee, and there is })esides more ehoiee
of pose, and the birds mo\'ements ean be followed without
your beint)' restrieted to one partieular spot, and when there
is time the foeus ean be ()l)tained with more certainty. Too
often, howe\'er, the bird is on the moye, and the time for
consideration is of the shortest.

On these occasions self-effacement must be studied as a
fine art. ^Vll animals do their best to shun the attention of
mankind, for yery excellent reasons of their own : and the
photographic enthusiast, though he may oAcrfiow with bene\'o-
lence towards the whole animal creation, is \iewed with just
as much suspicion as the prowling gunner — with more, in fact,
inasmuch as iiis weapon is so much more Indky and dangerous
in appearance.

It is quite possible, howeyer, to get gradually on familiar
terms with l)irds indiyidually, and to gain their confidence,
if you can spare time to spend a day or two at tlieir house —
I should say, their nest. I haye succeeded in making friends
Ayith se\'eral pairs of Nightingales, Whinchats, A\^hitethroats,
and other timid birds. By constantly yisiting them and by
moving quietly and gently, they soon lay aside all fear, and
appear to recognise one as a friend of the family, who may
safely be trusted not to betray the confidence placed in his
good faith. When they have once arri\ed at this satisfactory
state of mind, the chief difficulties are removed, and work

20 Pictures of Bird Life

iiuiv be done at close quarters without the usual precautions
as to hidino".

The most portable disguise for g-eneral use among the
greenerx' of hedges, woods, and reeds is a large piece of
green fal)ric. By liaving it lined witli a yellowisli brown,
the reverse side would be useful on sand, sliingle. and open
moors. It may nearly always be supplemented with advantage
by cut pieces of bracken, leafy branches, reeds, or wliatcAcr
is suital)le and appropriate for the locality.

In such a difficidt class of work the failures and disappoint-
ments are many and bitter, and success always very uncertain.

I liaxe gone a])road for a week after a particular bird
and succeeded in exposing two plates at short range, only
to find on my return liome tliat tliey were both liopelessly
fogged. I ha\e ridden miles, and carrieil a hea\y camera,
only to find the nest deserted or pulled out ])y boys, or
waded nearly up to my neck in stagnant water for lialf
a day to no purpose.

One day I cycled thirty -five miles, carrying a camera,
after a particular nest, aiul liad the pleasure of riding the
thirty-fixe miles liome again without ha\'ing impacked
the camera — se\enty miles for nothing, not havhig suc-
ceeded in finding tlie wished-for object — and Ivdve often
and often been out every day for a fortniglit and more
without liaving exposed a plate. And liere let me say that
carrying a whole-plate camera and spare lenses, and perhaps
another camera as Avell. with tele-plioto lens and all be-
longings, over hedge and ditch, plouglied field and marsh.

Photography for Naturalists 21

A'iiricd pcrliaps by climhiiiL'' to the top of sc'\eii or ei^lit l)i<>'
trees, is very liard work under a hot sun such hard work
that nobody l)ut an enthusiast Mould ever taekle it twiee.

The loni;- waiting' at nests is oenerally sujjposed to be
very tedious sort of woi-k : l)ut this is a oi-eat mistake. Thei-e
is always soinethini>' to l)e seen of exceedint^" interest. If it
■were possible to photograph birds as (juiekly and as easily
as it is to shoot tlieni. the ])hotographer would know no
more about tiieni and their habits than the man who shoots
a bird the instant he sees it — //* he nni. It is during' this
waiting that one learns.

The mere ])leasure of seeing a rare bii'd at elose quarters
is alone sutfieient eompensation for any amount of waiting,
and there is the ehance of a successful photograph thrown
in. as it were : there is also a great probability of seeing
all sorts of unexpected incidents and details of wild life.
The fact is. the way to see Xatiu'c face to face is not to
tramp about either witii or without a gun. but to sit in a
ditch or up a tree, oi- burrow into a thick hedge, and stop
there half a day. oi-. better still, a whole day. You will see
mucli moi'c than when walking about, and those birds vou
do see will be unconscious of danger instead of fleeing for
their li\'es.

The great thing is not to move : it is the movement which
frightens or perhaps calls attention to your presence. By
merely standing perfectly still, it is quite })ossible to have
birds and animals all round you. taking no more notice than
if you were a post or tree. A good plan is to co\'er up

22 Pictures of Bird Life

your face [and to wear dirty old dotr-skiii gloves that have
seen plenty of hard wear. Von can then move your hands
slowly and raise a field-glass to your eyes, when any move-
ment of tlie bare liands would be fatal. If anything suddenly
approaches close to you, half close the eyes and look through
the half-closed lids. If you must move — and after a time
it becomes impossible to remain motionless — do so slowly
and cautiously, watching for a suitable opportimity.

Coughing, sneezing, and smoking nnist be strictly for-
bidden. I ha\'e myself giAen up smoking altogether, as being
the easiest wav out of tlie difficultv : otherwise, while waitinsf
about, there was always present the longing for a smoke, all
the stronger for being forbidden.

Also, and most important of all, go alone, whenever
practicable. One man working on the lines suggested Mill
see four times as much as two. It is very often impossible
to do tliis. In strange localities, and especially abroad, it
will often be necessary to have a guide, or boatman, or
keeper : and on such occasions the advantage of being-
taken straight to the birds saves so nuich time wandering
about in a strange country as to outweigh any disadvantages.

Away fi'om home, too, nuich more weight has to ])e
carried, so as to be prepared for anything that may turn
lip — spare plates, lenses, etc., generally more than it is
possible to carry single-handed. JLven then it is as well,
whenever after anything s]:)ecial, to leave your man at a
little distance, and go on alone. I try always to plan out
beforehand each dav's Mork : but one nuist alwavs be

Photography for Naturalists 2:?

prepared to alter or modify, or e\en completely re\erse,
all ones plans at a moments notice, for the least thing
may render them all useless.

This branch of photography will be found of most
absorbing interest, provided one has. to start with, the
necessary enthusiasm, without which the many failures and
the constant disappointments would soon prove overwhelming.

The worst of it is, that when a good photograph of
any bird has been (obtained — as good, that is, as can be
reasonably expected — or even when it is the \ery best that
can be possibly done by photography, it falls so lamentably
short of the beautv of the orioinal.

CHAPTER II

Automatic Photography by Electricity

S)'OONBlLL {Platalca Icucorodui).

Sinc'p: writino'
the foregoing
cluipter, the
idea o f the
automatic elee-
t r i e release
til ere in sug-
gested lias be-
come an ac-
c o m p 1 i s h e d
fact.

In 11)01 1
devised an elec-

tric shutter to l)e actuated automatically by the pressure of
a bird's foot, and in the chapter dealing with I^ird I^ife
in Dutch ^Marshes will be found an account of how it was
used successfully in portraying an unconscious Purple Heron
in the very act of stepping on to its nest. This was in the
midst of a certain " meer," which must remain nameless, where
these Herons, so common on the Continent, but so extremely

Automatic Photography by Electricity

25

nire on our side of tlie C'luiimel, nest in ^vcat nunil)crs.
One advantaoe in this very interesting nietliod of photo-
trappino- is tiiat it enables one to work with several cameras,
as is e\-ideneed by the fact that, at the very time the Purple
Heron was conipletino- the electric circuit, and thereby auto-
matically photographing itself, I was hnid at work a good
mile away, making exposure after exposure at adult Spoon-
bills standing in their nest and surrounded by their half-
fledged family.

Lapwing isiTTiXG. Autojiatically photographed bv Liectricity.

Truly this was a red-letter day, thus to obtain photographs
of these two fine birds, so interesting and so desirable in every
way in the eyes of an ornithologist, and yet so extremely
difficult, owing to their excessive timidity as well as to their
lo\ e of remote and unapproachable localities !

JNIany have been the attempts, carefully planned and
patiently carried out. but all in ^ain, to circumvent this timidity
and photograph them "at home" — attempts begun in ]89o,
and only successfully ended in 1901.

26 Pictures of Bird Life

It would, however, liave been the lieiglit of rashness to rush
over to Holland to use an initried and untested apparatus,
espeeially one so delicate in manipulation. A whole week was
first spent at a I^apMing's nest not far from my house. Day
after day the trap Avas carefully set. and watched throuo-hout
the whole day from the shelter of a thick hedtie half-way across
tiie next field. Squatting in this prickly retreat, tlie birds could
be watched through the field-glass, and their actions and
behaviour noted. Each day one or other of the birds went on
to the eggs, and, duly setting the current in action, exposed the
plate ; l)ut it was not imtil the end of the week that a success-
ful photograph was obtained. First one slight alteration or
modification became necessary, and then another. The shutter
made for some time a slight noise — very slight it was. but quite
enough to cause the mother bird to spring up and completely
blur tlie photograph before the exposure was cojnpleted. Since
then some considerable improvements have been effected, and
to complete the circuit a bird now has only to touch an
invisible silk thread. This can be made to match the place —
green over grass, yellow oAcr sand, and so on — and can be
so delicately set that a 15utterfly, settling on it. would set the
battery at work. I Iuiac released the shutter by dropping a
piece of thin newspaper an inch square on to this thread.
Another difficulty had to be got over at the last moment. The
Lapwing sat on the release so long that the battery, kept in
action all tlie time, ran out. It then became necessary to work
out an automatic " cut off,"' which would prevent this waste
of battery action, howe\'er long the pressiu'e was maintained.

Camera hidukm in Hkdgerow. Trap set for a Jackdaw, baited with
Eggs. ( Fpont of Camera and Shutter painted Grass-green, j

Egg-shells set .as Bait for Crows or Jackdaws. Plate exposed by Finger
touching Green Silk stretched over Eggs.

28

Pictures of Bird Life

JB

S, Spring ; S', Screw, — both connected with insulated wires to battery
and electro-magnet of shutter. The slightest touch on silk causes S to
touch 5', which completes the electric circuit, and causes the shutter to
open and shut, wherebj' the plate is exposed.

The camera, it is needless to say. niiist be most carefully
concealed ; it is, in fact, upon the thorouoli concealment that
eventual success depends, for very many birds will not ap})roach
their nest if their suspicions are too much aroused, but will
desert their eggs alto^-ether, and some birds will even desert
their young ones. I lun e known 'i'urtle-doAes to do so ; but
this is, I imagine, a very extreme case.

When a nest is, like a Lapwing s, placed in the middle
of a field on the bare ground, it is not an easy task to so
diso-uise the camera as not to alarm tlie ])arent birds. It is
impossible, of course, to so conceal it as to leave nothing sus-
picious ; there must be some lump which did not exist before,
however you may attempt to do away witli it. And it is just
here that human ingenuity comes into play. It is. for instance,
a capital plan to gradually accustom the birds to this necessary
lump before they begin to sit, l)y piling up two or three clods
of earth some yards away, and gradually decreasing the dis-
tance, so that thev become familiarised with its appearance.

Automatic Photography by Electricity 29

Tlicii. wlicii you actually coninieuce operations, place the camera
ill position at tlic rjolit distance, taking advantage, if possible,
of any natural mound or rise of ground, but keeping the light
behind tlie camera. ^Vs you may take it for granted that a Lap-
wing will ncA er come on at first under two hours (it will nmch
more likely be foui-). it l)ecomes necessary to make a mental
calculation as to the position of the sun in two oi- four hours'
time, and aUow accordingly. This is really an important point.
'I'hen focussing must be most carefully done ; and those who
have ne\'er experienced the delights of lying down Hat in a
muddy field, and focussing a camera on the ground, will be
considerably surprised at the difficulty in^ohcd and the time
taken up by this essential operation. The lower the camera is,
the more difficult it becomes to focus sharply the foreground
grass as well as the exact spot where the ])ird is expected, and
the swing-back nnist be used to the very fullest possible extent.
Then the shutter is set, and the wires connected with the dry
battery, a proper circuit being arranged with the two terminals
of the shutter and the release on the nest, which oidy wants
completion by the pressure of the bird itself. The wires,
insulated with green silk or gutta-percha, nuist be hidden in
the gi-ass or bui-ied, the battery hidden with the camera by
being co^'ered with a brown or green cloth, and then artistically
disguised witli earth, stones, thistles, dry cow-dung, or anything
there happens to be ai-ound, and at the last moment, not before,
the slide withdrawn. It is a good plan to shield the lens with
a cap until everything is completed ; for on se\'eral occasions
I have gone through all these operations, generally an hour's

:u)

Pictures of Bird Life

bETTiNG Fhuto-tkap. Expusure made by touching biLK Thread.

work, and then, inadvertently relcasino- the sluitter, ha\ e wasted
a plate, and had to eonmienee ao-ain dc novo. If tall grasses
or plants eonie into undue proniinenee, eut them down at an
early stage of the proceedings, and make sm-e tliat none of
your disouisements come in front of the lens, and that no
wind which may spring up can blow grasses or lea\'es in front
of it after you \\i\\q gone.

^^^hate^'er you do, a\'oid, if possible, any field tenanted by
sheep, horses, or cattle. I have had a pony come smelling around
my carefully arranged wires, with a pair of Lapwings dancing
about in front of its nose, until I have had to jump up and
drive it off to save a wasted plate. Once, M'hen depending
upon a string from a hiding-place, a cow swallowed scAcral
yards of it, in spite of my frantic efforts to frighten her away.

Automatic Photography by Electricity 31

and sliccp have broken it and wasted plates no end. On
anotlier occasion, M'hen })aitint>' for Hooded Crows witli a dead
rabbit, niv bait was discovered by a bi^- l)lack doo- ; and though,
being pegged down, lie could not take it away, he released the
shutter and left a photograph of his mongrel carcass instead
of the desired Hoodie. All of which things are aggravating
to ones patience and waste a lot of \jduable time.

The })est place for the shutter is behind the lens, for many
reasons; but some birds cannot stand the uncanny look of the
.single eye looking at them. I have watched a Lapwing go up
to the camera, look into the lens, gi\'e a bol) or two, as if to
bow to it, and then settle on her eggs. l?ut it seems fatal
to success with any of the Crow family. Jackdaws I have
tried, as well as Hoodie Crows, with rabbits, eggs, and a variety
of attractions for the corvine taste, when the camera has
been perfectly invisible, but the lens looking out (although on
one occasion I made a tunnel about a foot long in front of it)
was ah\ays detected sooner or later. I watched a Jackdaw
once walk round with every precaution, then hurry forward, and
raise his beak to dig at two hen's eggs temptingly displayed,
when the tail of his eye caught sight of the lens, and that was
quite sufficient. That Jack departed eggless, but un-photo-
graphed, lea^-ing me \'ery wroth, but at the same time amused
at his hurried and undignified departure.

There is a good deal of interest in this phototrappi ng,
and not a little uncertainty. You may find you have caught
nothing, or that you ha\ e got something you never expected,
more especially mIicu depending upon a bait to attract to

82

Pictures of Bird Life

the desired spot. Meal-worms are the o-reat honnc-hoiiv/ic
f'oi- Xiohtiiigales ; but Robins are equally fond of them: and
as these latter are mueh more numerous and twiee as bold,
the ehanees are that some hungry Kobin will diseover the
attraetive morsel first and promptly annex it. And if a
llobin onee finds out that you are puttino- out Fiieal-worms,
it will eome again and again, and seize them as fast as
you can put them out, without waiting till your back is
turned ; so that, unless you want to be ruined in plates,
you will have to give it up and select another })laee.
Even at a nest you may perhaps get another than the
rightful owner thereof, and the residt may possibly be
more valuable ; for the negati^'e of an egg-stealing Crow
caught in fUi^vdutc (Jelicto, or of a Cuckoo visiting some
small bird's nest with felonious intent, would be of extreme
interest and value. There is, in fact, all the uncertainty
of regular trapping without the element of cruelty wliich

is almost uiunoid-
able.

Instead of the
long hours of hope-
less suffering and
intolerable agony,
only to end in a
cruel death, the
bird or animal, by
simply touching a

Nightingale taking Meal-worm. thl'Cad. ll a S rC-

Automatic Photography by Electricity 33

corded its presence and aj)])earaiK'e on a sensitive plate
without kno\vint>* tliat anything- lias happened. A permanent
record of the bird's appearance has been obtained without
any sacrifice of life or the suffering of any pain.

'I'he varied natiu'c of the positions selected by birds
makes it impossible to depend upon any one particular
method of using or releasing the automatic photo-trap.
AN'hat is possible on the ground, for instance, is not by
any means practicable up a tree ; and there is ])lenty of
occasion for all one's resource and ingenuity. In the case
of water-birds it should be possible, on a small and narrow
stream, to stretch a silk thread from bank to bank just
above the surface of the water, so that any swimming bird
Avould touch it in passing and complete the electric circuit.
There is, in fact, no end to the devices which may be
made use of in this branch of work. It is hardly necessary
to say that the greater ones knowledge of the habits of
birds the greater chance there is of success.

It is ([uite possible to induce some birds to perch upon
any twig you may select, or to put a twig or l^ranch on
purpose for them to sit on, with every chance of their
acceptance of your invitation. AMiinchats, Butcher-birds,
and Spotted Flycatchers, for instance, are fairly easy to
manage in this respect, and I have succeeded in persuading
Nightingales to settle where I wished. Some species seem
to be gifted with abnormal acuteness of sense. \A"ater-hens
are as difficidt as any birds I know to circumvent. When
you are expecting them to approach by water, they are in

3

34-

Pictures of Bird Life

Cock Whinchat {Pralincola riibetra).

all probability on the ground
somewhere behind your hiding-
place, perfectly aware of your
presence, and taking stock of all
your proceedings.

There are few scenes in bird
life more satisfying in an artistic
sense than the picture of a A\ ater-
hen lazily paddling among the
reeds, nodding its head and flirting
its tail at e^ery stroke, so as to
display the white under-tail coverts,
bird and reeds reflected in the glassy surface, and the
reflections just broken by the ripple caused by its move-
ments. What hours I have spent in the vain endeavour
to portray such a simple and common scene as this, wliicli
may be enjoyed in almost every pond in the kingdom !
It is necessary for success to get the bird in a patch of
water reflecting the sky, and it is such a skulker that it
seems to know what you want, and to be persistent in
keeping to the reflection of the bank and trees, where its
dusky plumage does not get the contrast necessary for a
good photograph in the short exposure which alone you
are enabled to gwe.

In watching the ways of Xatiu-es children, the artistic
beauty of the unconscious pictures they make amid the
scenes of their daily life is, I think, the greatest induce-
ment to the desire of obtaining pictorial records of their

Automatic Photography by Electricity 35

actions. The artist will, in fact, derive as much pleasure
as tlie naturahst, and tlie sensations of eacli will be so
blended as to make any attempt to analyse them or to
differentiate one from the other a matter of impossibility.

CHAPTER in

Photographic Outfit

As to tlie photographic outfit, it may perliaps be useful
if I desc'ril)e my own kit. wliich is now tlie result of about
ten years' experience.

The lenses are the most important as well as tlie most
expensive items, several of them being necessary. First comes
the Tele-photo lens before mentioned. This is a difficult — in
fact, a very difficult — lens to work Avith : but it is an absolute
necessity for an ornithologist. INIine is tlie simple form, as
first brought out by the inventor, INlr. Dallmeyer, iioav, I
believe, not made, as it has been superseded by the later
form with a Portrait lens and a Negative lens attached to
the back. AVitli this lens the majority of the birds as
depicted in this volume have been photographed. Then I
use two Optimus lenses, a 11. R. of lO^-inch focus and a
Euryscope of Hh inch : with these two nearly all the nests
have been photographed. Irately 1 ha^e procured a Dall-
nieyer Stigmatic of 7-inch focus. This is a most useful
lens, and I wish I had had it sooner ; in confined situations a
short-focus lens is often a necessity, and in dozens of cases

would have saved me much trouble and given a better result.

36

Photographic Outfit 37

The ciiineras consist of a wliole-plate Optinms camera, on
an Ashford stand tlie best, the liolitest, and tlie stronii'est
of all stands. (I have stood on mine before now.)

I liave also a qnarter-plate reflecting camera, pr()^ ided
with a focnssing eye-piece and mirror, throngh which I can
look horizontally on to the f()cnssino--o-lass, which <»•i^'es the
exact image seen throngh the lens itself 4'his takes the
Tele-photo lens, and also the Knryscope and the Stigmatic.
Here, I may say, all my things are interchangeable — all the
cameras "o on the same stand, all the lenses oo in all the
cameras, etc., etc. Instead of slides or changing-boxes there
is a single slide, with a leather changing-sleeve attached
thereto, which holds a box of plates, and when they are
used any nnmber of fresh boxes can be used one by one.
This camera, besides fixing on to the ^Vshford stand, also
screws on to a gim-stock made of willow, so that I can
use it from the shoulder like a gun, or rest it on my knee
like a rifle, or with the Knryscope lens it can be used
as an ordinary reflecting hand camera.

Then there is the electric camera described in Chapter II.
This is a half-plate, rather solidly made, which takes all
lenses, and is provided with metal dark - slides and the
electric shutter behind lens of my own design, made by
JMessrs. Dallmeyer.

(This camera has since become unusable, having suffered
too nuicli from exposure to damp by being left in wet
ditches and similar places all night, so as to be ready for
the proverbial early bird in the morning. I now use a

38 Pictures of Bird Life

,5x4 caiuera, fitted with an old focal plane sliutter. whieli,
lunve\'er, works now before the lens. It takes a sintj-le lens
of 14-inch focus, besides the R.R., Eiiryscope, and Stiginatic,
and has a changing-box with twelve plates.)

As for plates, they are all good, and I firmly believe in
everybody sticking to one brand and kno^^'ing what it will
do bv experience. For tele-photo work the very fastest
plates are hardly fast enough sometimes. Cadett Ijighting
and Spectrum and Imperial flash-light plates ha^ e been used,
and are all of them very good. For nests I prefer a plate
of ordinary speed, and have found Imperial ordinary plates
most excellent. Except for working in a very high wind,
I would not ask for anything better ; but on such occasions
their special-rapid plate is perhaps to l)e preferred. Another
beautifully clean and brilliant plate for nest work is the
A\"arwick instantaneous plate. For developers I believe in
old-fashioned pyro, with soda as accelerator. But in these
matters we all have oiu* own opinions and prejudices, and
there is plenty of room for difference of opinion.

Then, besides the purely photographic outfit, a good
field-glass is a sine qua iion. AVith such a load of necessary
tools to be carried about, every ounce of weight is a
matter of importance, and before the introduction of the
prismatic glasses a powerful glass was a serious addition
to the kit, already over-heavy. Xow a glass as powerfid
as a telescope weighs so little as to l^e luinoticed. Tlie
innate timidity and incessant watchfulness displayed by each
and every member of the animal creation make some

Waui.xg i.N Si'AxisH Lagc

40 Pictures of Bird Life

assistance to tlie sight absolutely necessary, and an ordinary
field-glass is an immense improyement on the naked eye :
but the new prismatic glasses present the object Avitli
such clearness and ^•i^•id distinctness that they are as
superior to the old-fashioned glass as that was to the
unassisted eyesight, while being half the size and half tlie
M'eight. They also giye a much larger field of yiew.
I^ooking at a bird forty or fifty yards away with a C^oerz
glass, medium power, I haye been fairly astonished at the
brilliancy and microscopic sharpness rendered by it. Not
only can you distinguish clearly the delicate markings of the
plumage, but the yery fibre of its feathers and the twinkle
of its eye can be seen as distinctly as if you were watching
a bird in a caoe close at hand. In fact, you can sec it
much more distinctly, for the glass appears to giye a strong-
stereoscopic effect, so that the bird seems to stand out from
its siuTonndings in a most Monderful manner.

If nmch of marsh ^york be attempted — and it is,
I think, the most fascinating — then wading-trousers are
necessary. They should come well up to the shoulders, like
those which are ^xoYn by salmon-fishers, as the water is nearly
always yery deep and the bottom soft. The camera then
can be manipulated in four and Hxe feet of Mater. Nothing
is more aggTa^•ating than the attempt to use a camera on
its tripod on a small boat or narrow punt. As a rule it is
absolutely impossible to gi\e anything but an instantaneous
exposure, and for photographing nests instantaneous exposures
are no good. A small stop, a moderately fast plate, and

Photographic Outfit

41

Climbing to a Rook's Nest.

a prolonged exposure is tlie rule, except in a, very few
exceptional instances.

If I had been l)orn a ])ird. I should have liked to have
been web-footed and to have lived in a niarsli. Nothing
oi\'es me greater pleasure than working in sucli situations,
surrounded on all sides by a waving sea of fresh green reeds.
As I sit trying to collect my scattered thoughts, distracted
by the usual uncouth noises of a suburban street, I long
for tlic silent recd-bcd and tlie pleasant days I have spent
wading in remote and watery wildernesses alone witli the
birds, and wonder whether T sliall ever enjoy tlie like again.

Vov I'ock work rojies and a crowbar will be wanted.
It is one tiling, liowcver, going down a roj^e, and another
t(j get a decent photograph when you are down.

42 Pictures of Bird Life

For tree-c'limbiiig a sliort lengtli of rope is sometinies
very useful, and so are. on occasions, climbing-irons. They
want some practice, howe^'er. and are awkward things, and.
in fact, rather dangerous, imtil you are used to them, when
they will no doubt enable you to climb trees otherwise
impracticable. I am not a good climber. Ijut 1 have
generally managed to do without their assistance. They
add considerably to the load to be carried, and are best left
at home in reserve, unless you know they are likely to l^e
wanted.

CHArJEU IV
Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

FoKTUXATE indeed it is for Eiiglisli luitumlists tliat the
migratory impulse among birds induces so many species
to visit this country. Our resident birds are but few,
and are in too many instances dwindhng in numbers, or

Nest of ^Misskl-thkush {Tiirdiis viscivonis).

u

l^icturcs of liird Life

Nl'.SI Ul' S()N(, I IIUI'MI i'l'llll/ll'. Iinislill\).

cM'W nTJidiinlly Ix-comiiin' cxliiicl : .-iiid if il were nol Coi-
llic coiisl.'inl p.-issiiiL;- lo :iii(l do of llic siiiiimci" .'iiid wiiilcr
iiii^r.'iiil s, our (icids .'iiid woods woidd \n- ;iliiiosl d(\oid
of liCc.

More csijccimIIn is llic I'ncl lo l)c ;i|)|)i(ci;d cd l)\ siihiirhnn
ol)S(r\(rs. I)\\(ll<is III llic c<)iiiili-\. .'iiid more |);ii I icul;irl\
iic;ir llic co;isl, li;i\c llic rcniil.ir iiilliix of \;isl Mocks ol"
wild low I lo l;ikc llic |)l;icc of llic dcp.-irl iiii;- siiiiiincr \isilors.
Around l.oiidoii, liowcxcr. Ilicrc is no siicli ;irri\;il lo w;ilcli

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

4.5

lor, ;iii(l coiiiparal i\ cK' (cu hiids arc lo he seen iiiilil llic
advciil ol' sprido'.

'riicii. as soon as I lie first ( liiircliafr, l)ia\iiio \\\^■ cold
and hoislcroiis winds of Matrli, is licaid in I lie tree lo|>s,
Llicrc is Ilic ccrlainlv llial one wclfonic snninicr IVicnds will
soon })(• here, and lliat tlionsands of liny voyagers liaAc
aircadv slaitcd on tlicir I"M^ journey. IiCa\in^' Ixliind

\(A.:.i. J jiiii;-,in,o ,J iiiilii . uui.n.it./.

tlxni IIh- land of caclns. |>alni. and aloe. llic\' speed e\ei-
noitliwards, eiflier ar-ross I lie Straits of (lihraltar and
tlll•oll^^ll S|)aiii and I''ranee. or tlirf^ioli Italy lin Malta,

I'lyin^ inoslly \i\ ni^lil, and recdinn hv da\', fliev pi-(,*ss
forward, o\ci- j^lain and sierra, \ incyunj and monntain.
Losin/4' niinibers in nets and traps, and pre\cd upon l>\'
Hawks and jMcdat.oi'y hcasts, at, last. Iea\in^; tlie hitter cold

4()

Pictures of Bird Life

of the iiiountain-passes and tlic dangers of tlie sea-passage,

tliey reach tlie liedgerow in Old England where they were

born : and all the summer through the quiet fields and

leafy lanes, even close up to the great city itself, are

Nest of Blackbird {Tiirdiis jiicnila).

enlivened by a diversity of feathered life, and graceful
forms and joyous sounds greet us on every side.

A suburban parish, only partly outside the I^ondon
postal district, and on the fringe of a dense population,
is not the most likely neighbourhood for observing the
life habits of wild birds, and yet it is siu'prising what a
number of species are to be met with as more or less

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

47

re_i>ul;ir \isit<)i's at one season or tlie otlier, witliout taking
into account those accidental occurrences which liappen
from time to time. For such an event as tlie pickino-
up of an exhausted IV'trel or other pehigic s])ecies in an
inlaiui locahty seems to me to l)e cpiite devoid of any
more than a passing interest, and to have no ornitliological
imj)ortance Avliatever. Tlie particular county in whicli the
storm-ch-i\en wanderer happened to fall has no real claim
to consider it as an inhabitant, although our l?ritish and
county lists of species are, as a matter of fact, artificially
swelled by the inclusion of many such cases.

"Sly idea in compiling these notes is not so much to

IS'est of WniNCHAT {F>(i/i iioila nibctra).

48

Pictures of Bird Life

gather together records of such rare and unusual e\ents,
but rather to describe what I liave myself seen of tlie
abundance of suburban bird hfe, to enumerate tlie different
species (ninety-one) observed dining the years 181)4 to 1903
in tlic parisli of Enfield, and to illustrate, as far as pos

Redstart and Nest (^Riiticilla pliaiiiciinis).

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 49

sihlc by ph()t()i»Taplis, their nests,
theii" et»t>s and young, and, aboxe
all. the })irds tliemselves, feeding,
sitting on their nests, tending their
young ones, and, in fact, engaged
in their ordinary piu'suits. amid
the scenes of their daily life.

Knfield parish, one of tlie
largest in England, is a ery nearly
connected with the outskirts of
London, only a few open spaces

Robin {Erilhactis riibetra).

now intervening between Totten-
ham and other dense centres of population ; and year by
year these fe^^' spaces are gradually being absorbed and
swallowed up by the rapidly advancing tide of bricks and
mortar. Hows of mean-looking houses now co\ er what were
but a few years ago pleasant orchards and green fields, and
places where the I^ark sang and Blackbird and Thrush piped
from the tree-tops now resoimd with the yells of the coster-
monger and the hideous jangle of the piano-organ.

Old historic mansions and spacious gardens are giving
place to streets of small houses, to accommodate the
thousands of workmen brought backwards and forwards daily
by the cheap workmen's trains, which are the most potent
factors in the transformation which is rapidly altering the
aspect and character of the place. It is quite right and
proper that this should be so — better far that the thousands
of working men and women and the little children should

4

50

Pictures of Bird Life

be enabled to live amid wliolesoiiier siiiToiiiidings than pent
up in the squalid courts and alleys of London ; but at
the same time it is impossible to avoid looking back with
some pardonable regret to the old state of things.

To the northward, however, tlie houses become fewer,
and a large expanse of fine open coimtry stretches for
some miles between l^arnet and Potter's Par, M'hile to the
eastward Epping Forest and the marshes of the Lea afford

slielter and food
for many of the
feathered tribes.
I J a r g e a\' o o d s
and game pre-
serves, and the
estates of large
landed proprietors,
interspersed with
farms of pastoral
land, ensure an
abimdance of bird
life which com-
pares A'cry favoiu'-
ably with many a
more remote local-
ity. Besides the
ordinary species
which might be

Xest of Robin- {Erithaciis ntbetia). CXpCCtcd HI an

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 51

iiihiiul place, several inaritinie species have tbiiiKl tliat the
])()()ls and filter-beds and Hooded fields of the sewage-
farin afford them suitable food and congenial surroundings,
approximating closely to the mud-flats and banks of tidal
ooze, so beloved by many of the waders and kindred
species. Here, at certain seasons especially, tliey may
be observed in munbers wading in the shallow water
and busily feeding, just as if they were in some tidal
estuary.

The adjacent marshes afford sport to the Cockney gunner
during the winter months. AMien snow lies on the around,
and the pools in the forest and elsewhere are covered with
ice. many Snipe and Ducks and a few Teal frequent the banks
of the old Kiver Lea. as it Avanders in devious course beside
the navigable canal. To get these, however, it is necessarv
to be up betimes. The first gun over the ground after the
grey dawn has broken and the first rays of light h'dve begim
feebly to })enetrate the fog, which hangs thickly o\'er
the low-lying marshlands on each side of the river, may
have good sport in suitable w^eather ; but it is not very
encouraging, for one who has three or four miles to tramp
()\ er frozen snow on a foggy December morning before day-
break, to find, wlien he arriAcs at the river, footsteps in the
snow, which ])rove conclusively that somebody, perhaps one
who lives close to the spot, has got the start of him. Such
lias been my experience before now, in the days when the gun
was more familiar to me than the camera. At other times,
waiting for the dawn. I have heard all round me the big

.32

Pictures of Bird Life

Hocks of ].apwin<>s
feedint^, and the
swish of wings as
a lot of Golden
Plover have dashed
past in their im-
petuous Hi(>ht. and
have discerned
through the mist
the gre y a n d
o-hostly figure of a
motionless Heron,
intent on procur-
ino" some fish for
breakfast. In such
weatlier many
Fieldfares, lled-
wings, and I^arks
are shot l)y a class
of men who do
not consider, or

,1 I 1 ,, 4-K^ NiGin IMPALE [Dauluis hiscinia) and IS'est.

care, tliat by tne

constant popping at such small game the more desirable

birds are dri\'en away t(^ quieter retreats.

JNIost of my observations and work have been done on
a small farm of poor land, chieHy pastoral, quite close to
the inhabited part of the parisli. But one or two important
characteristics help to make it a very good hunting-ground

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

5;}

for the ()rnitli()l()«>ist. One is that it is bordered on one side
hy a hiroe wood, strictly |)l•eser^'ed : and the otlier consists
in the tact that it is watered by a small stream, which
carries off' the surface-water of the valley through which it
runs. 'i'his stream through nuicli of its length is covered
o\er with an almost im])enetra})le thicket of bramble, wild
rose, sloe, and othei' ])rickly shrubs and bushes, the iiome of
many A\'ater-hens, Wild Ducks, Xigbtinoales, Sedoe-warblers,
liullfinches. Turtle-doves, and many other kinds which delioht
in similar situations. Some of these strongholds are only to
be explored with <»reat difficulty, and at the imminent risk
of damage to both person and clothing, the only method
being to crawl in on all fours, or even, prone on one's
stomach, to wriggle in like a lizard.

The farm, too, a})ounds in large, old-fashioned hedges, high

NH.im\._.ALL [Diiii/uis Inscinia) sitting.

54

Pictures of Bird Life

enough to proxide nesting-sites for many A\"ood-pigeons. and
thick enough to slielter myriads of Niglitingales and small
])irds. These hedges are, however, gradually being reduced
and ••plashed." to the noticeable dimimition of the number
of birds to be seen ; and the recent introduction of sheep
seems to tend to dri\'e away the Xightjars, which formerly
nested annually among the bracken at the edge of many

hedges bor-
dering on the
wood.

The .Alis-
sel-thriish is a
most abimd-
ant species
t h rough out
the year. It
may be no-
ticed more
particularly
perhaps at the
end of the

Greater Whitethroat (Syhta cinerea).

sunmier, when great numbers of them frequent the grass-
fields, hopping about over the parclied turf, apparently
finding food of some kind — but what I have never been
able to discover. .\t tliis season of the year tlie ground is
sometimes as hard as iron, and the short turf almost ])urnt
up, dry, and yellow, on which these fine, bold-looking birds
are extremely conspicuous, and look \ery light in colour.

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

DO

At otlier times they are lujt so luiieli in e\'icleiiee, and the
first intimation of their presence is fi['enerally tlie harsli.
cackhng ahu-ni-note as they leave some high liedge or hush.
The nest is huilt very early in the year : and thougli
there is generally no attempt at any eoncealment, the nests

Kesi of Gkeaier Whitethroat (Sjlvi'a ciiicrea).

do escape notice more often than those of the ]51ackbird
and Thrush, partly perhaps because the situation is rather
higher — generally about seven or eight feet from the ground,
and occasionally on the extreme summit of a small larch-
tree. They are more usually firmly fixed in the main fork
of a hawthorn- or fruit-tree, ne\er among the smaller twigs,

5(5

Pictures of Bird Life

and a r e
s t r o n g 1 >' ,
a 1 ni o s t
r o u g h 1 y .
made — a
most appro-
priate and
fittinir home

Greater Whitethroat (Sylvia cincrea).

for sucli a Ijold, liardy
songster, whieli braA es the
wildest weather with its
clicerv song.

The Missel-thrnsli ap-
pears to lia\'e no fear wlien
nestin"-. and will drive away
any bird, whatever its size,
if it A'entures too near. I
liave se^•eral
times been
ban Iked of
])hotograph-
i n g s o m e
other species
when I liave
i n a d a" e r t -
ently liidden
np near a
Missel-thrnsh"s nest. Both
birds ha\e persistently
mobl^ed me, and made such
an uproar witli tlieir liarsli.
continuous scolding as to
])lainly betray my presence
to e\ cry bird within hearing.
Tlie Song - thrush, in
spite of the enormous

Bird Lite in a Suburban Parish

Oi

nuinbcr of its nests wliich are destroyed by Ijoys and vermin
(one is almost tempted to write "boys and otlier vermin")
in tlie early part of the year, is still one of tlie eommonest
of onr native birds. In tlie early hours of tlie niornin(>', and
again in the evenin<4-, it mounts to the topmost spray of
some tree and ])()urs forth its pleasant s()n<^'. This is but a
simple melody, mostly made up of repetitions of sinole notes,
in which traces of almost articulate speech can be detected.

Young Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia ciiniica).

One bird repeats, "Did he do it f did he do it?" and
another, " Cup of tea, cup of tea," over and over again. Eut
so pure and fresh is its voice, and so clear and melodious
are its notes, as to earn for it the admiration of all. Its
rank as a musician is so fidly recognised, even by science,
as to be shown in its scientific name — Turdiis niu.sicu.s ; and
not only so, but it has earned for its family the foremost
place in the scientific order of birds, as embodying the highest

58

Pictures of Bird Life

Garden-warbler (Sy/i'ia horhvisis).

type of a\'iaii development. 'i'lie family of Thrushes now
heads the list of birds, licc Eagles deposed. Art has
triumplied over strength.

Tlie nest is so well known as to be familiar to everybody :
and in tlie earlier montlis of tlie year — for no ])ird ])egins to
nest earlier than tlie Thrush — it is frequently made as though
the bird rather coiu'ted ()])serA'ation than desired to coneeal
it ; and the lovely blue eggs spotted with black are ruthlessly
taken by the first boy who jiasses that way — too often only
to be smashed at once, out of sheer mischief and Ioac of
destruction. Only a Aery small proportion, of the first clutches
of eggs can ever be hatclied ; l)ut luckily the birds have
several broods, and the later nests, made after the hedges
are in full leaf, have a better chance of being unobser\ed.

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

59

IJke so iiianv otlicr timid hii'ds, it shows c'oiisi(lcnil)lc couraire
ill defence of its youni>-. One day last year, passing- along a
hcd<>'C-sidc, I heard a Thrush in distress, and found the mother-
bird d()in<>- her best una\ailingly, of course to drive away
a pair of niaraudino- Jackdaws, which were bent on devourino-
her half-Hedged youn*)-. One young bird had to be killed
to put it out of its pain, the black robbers haviug pecked
hu'ge holes in its plump and tender body. On returning
some hours later, the empty and bloodstained nest showed
that the villainous Jackdaws, undeterred at l)ein<>' dri\'en off'
had returned as soon as my back was turned, and had
completed their nefarious ban(juet.

On another occasion, while waiting for a Xightjar to

Nest of Gardex-warbler {Sylvia hortciists)

60 Pictures of Bird Life

return to lier two ci^fO's. a Tlirush. which had a nest in a
neighbouring bush, saw tlie Xiglitjar Hitting about, and so
hustled and drove it about that it took refuge ahiiost
between my feet, and remained there quite a considerable
time.

The nest is carefully and curiously made, beino- finished
off with a liniuD* of nuid and cow-dimi>', moulded })v the
bird's breast into a deep. cu})-like form, and tlien rubbed
over witli powdered rotten wood. AN'liy the birds should
take the pains to make such a watertight nest cannot be
explained. One woidd suppose that a looser construction,
wliich Mould allow the rain to drain throuoli, would be mucli
more practically useful. Two or tlu-ec djiys are allowed for
this lining to set and harden ))cfore tlie eoos are laid.

The Thrush is essentially a bird which follows cultiva-
tion : fields and gardens are more to its liking than moors
and wild, barren situations, where the lling-ouzer takes its
place. Its favoiu'ite locality is a large garden, with a good
expanse of well-kept lawn, and plenty of shelter in the form
of laurel and evergreen bushes and shrubberies. Hours
before the gardener is up and about the Thrushes are
hopping over the lawns, and scratching the fallen leaves
and damp places for worms, slugs, and snails : the shell of
these last are cracked by beino- banoed violently aoainst a
stone. For these nsefid services, carried on most indus-
triously all the year round, and for the chorus of bird nmsic
daily for a great part of the year, it is surely entitled not
only to protection and safety, but to a share of the fruit in

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

Gl

due scusou. If it takes ti few stru\v})eiTics wlieii tliey are
ripe, surely it lias fully earned them by kee})iiig the
beds elear of sluos and eaterpillars and other insect pests
throughout the year. Too many of us accept their services,
and enjoy their ])resence and sweet minstrelsy, but grudge
them their fair share of the produce they June helped to

Hen Blackcap {Sylvia atiicapilld) <'\ Ni-i.

raise. It would be just as reasonable to expect the gardener
to work without wages.

Though a resident with us throughout the year, the
Thrush appears to be subject to migratory impulses from
one part of tlie country to another, and innnense numbers
cross the sea.

The Redwing- and the Fieldfare are only winter visitors,
arriving regularly every autumn from their Scandinavian

62 Pictures of Bird Life

homes, and reniainiiii? witli us well into the sunnner, lontj
after our resident Tlirushes hiixe begun their nesting opera-
tions. I^ike all birds whicli breed in northern latitudes, they
appear to know perfectly well tlie difference in the seasons
in their siunmer and winter resorts, and are never deluded
by warm weather here to take a too early departure, only
to find themselves without food in a region still covered
with snow and ice.

Knlikc some birds wliicli ^'isit us from wild and un-
inhabitated districts, these l)irds are remarkably shy and wary
— the Fieldfare particularly so — and do not readily allow a
nearer approach than about a hundred yards. A\"hen this
limit is reached, the whole Hock, which has been clustered on
the topmost branches of some high tree, fly off to another,
about fifty or a hundred yards farther on, each bird utter-
ing its loud alarm note — " Chack. cliack ! "' — as it takes wing.
This note can be heard high overhead when large flocks
are on the move from one part to another, and doubtless
ser^'es to keep the flock together, as each bird proclaims its
wdiereabouts, and stragglers can trace the progress of the
main body.

The Blackbird is another frequenter of gardens and cul-
tivated fields, and there are few lawns where tlie "Ouzel
cock so black of hue " may not be seen, before the morning
dew is off the grass, hunting for worms and slugs. AVith
what intentness it listens, its head on one side, and tlie
bright, lustrous, orange-rimmed eyes eagerly scanning tlie
grass ! Then with a spring it hops forward, and the

(U

Pictures of Bird Life

WlLLOW-WREX AT NeST.

luckless worm is seized by the
orange beak, dragged out,
and promptly swallowed, de-
spite its convulsive wriggles
and squirmings.

Sharing the labours of the
Thrush, it also shares the
rewards, taking its tithe of
ripe strawberries and cherries.
To me the fairest and best-
kept garden in the world
would seem but a barren
wilderness without such
glimpses of bird life, — the Blackbird and Thrush on the
dcMy grass ; the Robin, Avith its bold and sprightly familiarity :
the sober Flycatcher, performing its quiet but useful services
throushout the lono- summer dav : the burnished Swallow,
on tireless wings, sweeping to and fro so unceasingly ; and
the lovely ^Martin, twittering happily in its mud nest under
the eaves. The presence so near our houses of such graceful
visitors as these ought to be looked upon as a privilege and
a constant enjoyment, without taking any account of the
undoubted good they do in dcAouring grubs and insects.

'J'he Blackbird is, too, a most accomplished musician,
and its mellow flutings are by some preferred to the song
of the Thrush. By its constant vigilance, and its loud,
rattling alarm-note, which gives warning to all within
hearing that danger is approaching, it merits the title of

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

65

the " sentinel " of the Helds. Many a proinisiiio- " stalk."
with hoth L>un and camera, has been banlked hy its timidity
and nneeasino- ^ ioihmee.

The Stoneehat is very scarce and h)cal. and I oidy
remember seein*^' two or three about, and ha\e never yet
succeeded in finding a nest. In the next parish, however,
of Edmonton, it is a common ])ird. Numbers mav be seen

Sedge-warbler feeding Young (AcrocepJia/iis (>liyagmtiis).

in the cemetery there any day througlunit the sunnner,
and I feel sure that they nest in the long grass at the
sides of the graves. The birds themselves are fond of
sitting on the gra^-estones. This cemetery is quite a
fa\()urite resort for birds : the following species breeding
there to my knowledge — Lark, ^leadow-pipit, Hlackbird,
Thrush, Partridge, Red-legged Paitridge. C'arrion - crow,
jNIartin, Swallow, Hedge-sparrow, and Cuckoo.

5

.Seuok-waki.i 1 K (Airoccpliahts pltrai;iintis) and Nest.

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

67

TiR'W'liiiK'liat,
oil tlic coiitnirv,
is ex('ce(liiii>ly
ahutulnnt intact,
<juite one of tiie
cominoncst birds.
In every field and
meadow a ])air or
t w o o t" t Ii e s e
spi-johtly and
handsome little
l)irds may he seen
tlittini)' from the
top of some low
plant or spray to
another. The
note sonnds like
"Ft i (' k - n t i ek.
utiek - tiek - tick,"
ineessantly re-
peated, and that of the yount>- jnst after leavin<>- the nest is
Just like •• Eoypt-Eoypt."' Their nest is one of the most
diffieult to find, so well hidden is it amono- the lon^' ^rass.
It is generally, or at all e^'ents very often, placed at tlie
foot of some little saplin<>- or upright plant, which serves
as a })ercli for tlie birds.

One pair, which had a nest of youn<)^ underneath a
fallen branch, always perched on one end of it every time

Nest of Hedge-sparrow (Accentor nwdidaris

68 Pictures of Bird Life

they came with food. This fact once ascertained, it was
comparatively easy to pli()tot>i'apli tliem from the slielter
of a busli not many yards away. On one sucli occasion
an extra lart»'e montliful was plainly visible in tlie he'dk of
the bird, but not until the plate was developed did 1 guess
the natm^e of it. It proved to be a large beetle — a most
indigestible-looking morsel for nestlings ; but I suppose the
bird might be trusted to know its own business best.

Another pair became very tame, finding by experience
tliat I was not dangerous, and I made a series of exposures
eventually at a distance of not more than two yards in the
open, without any attempt at concealment, Tlie cock ^^'as
in this case nnich the bolder, contrary to my usual
experience. So tame did he get, that eventually he Mould
come and sit, just in front of the camera, on different
twigs stuck in the ground for the purpose ; and I finished
up by photograj^hing him as he sat on the handle-bar of
my bicycle.

For these photographs I used the latest development of
camera for this work — vh. a tele-photo lens and a short
reflecting camera, mounted on a gun-stock. This is a
much handier weapon tlian a camera on a tripod in
following a bird about in its movements from place to
place and from twig to twig. AMien using the tripod
in photographing a moving object at short distance, the
readiest way is to place the jioint of one tripod leg — tlie
back one — on the toe of your boot. Then, by moving your
foot backwards and forwards, the camera can be raised and

Blue I'it {Pants cwnikiis) and Eluer-stump containing Nest

70

Pictures of Bird Life

lowered Avith greater ease and speed, and with less noise
and risk of slipping, and it leaves you a hand free. This

alone is a
great ad^'an-
tage. I eould
often find a
use for three
or four hands,
and a spare
eye or two
would be use-
ful.

3Ianipu-
lating a whole-
plate camera
up a tree, for
instance, or
on a Ion g
ladder, is Acry
often an awk-
ward l)it of
work, and,
singlc-lianded,
may \ery well
take over an

hour's hard laboiu- before you can get satisfactorily focussed.
To obtain the pliotograpli of tlie Spotted Flycatcher's nest
on page 87, the spike of one leg of the tripod rested on

Nest of Warsh-tit (Pants paliisins). Hole excavated by
Bird cut open to show Nest.

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 71

the topmost nm^' of the hiddcr, and was tliere lashed witli
string", the rcinaiiiing two legs beino* lashed to overhanging'
boughs of the tree — an oak. .As tliese boughs were thin, and
moved freely with the slightest motion, focussing was no easy
job, especially as I had to stand on the ladder and lean
backwards to look into the focussing-glass. The only hold
within reach being the same thin boughs whicli beld the
legs, the operation was somewhat of a shaky one, and the
subsequent work of putting in the double back and with-
drawing the slide had to be performed with no hold at
all, both hands being occupied. Under the circumstances
I was rather surprised that the negati\e was any good,
especially as the f.32 stop necessitated an exposure of
ten seconds. And this was only an ordinary case, with no
special difficulties about it. A more difficult as well as a
more dangerous work was the photographing of a Barn-
owFs nest at the top of a thirty-foot ladder. I^eaning
backwards t(j focus, my weight was entirely supported by
the extreme tips of two fingers on the edge of the hole
(I could not reach with the other fingers), while the other
hand w^orked the focussing-screw. To ensure getting at
least one good negative, I tried to expose both plates,
and, owing to the difficulty of the situation, only exposed
the same plate twice over, thereby spoiling both !

The Redstart is often met with, though it can hardly be
described as conmion. It is a conspicuously beautiful bird, and
the nest is sufficiently scarce to be worth finding. Holes in
old apple- and pear-trees are fa^'ourite places ; the one shown

72

Pictures of Bird Life

was in a sycamore-tree, at a most convenient height from
tlic oTound. The six eggs were exactly as they appear in
the photograph, phiinly visible from the ontside, which is not

nsually the
case.

The Red-
breast is with-
out doubt THE
bird of the
suburbs — the
universal and
favoured fre-
q u enter o f
e^'ery garden.
Its cheery song
d u r i n g the
winter, when
other songsters
are silent, and
its familiar
boldness, make
it a welcome
o- u e s t wit h
everybody, and
one pardons it

for its greediness and pugnacity. 'i\v() ri\al Robins will
fight with a fierce disregard of consequences almost incredible
in a bird of such small size.

Nest ov Long-iailed Tit (Acicdula uiiidata).

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

73

Tlie l{()l)in iiiuy. with ji little perseverance, be induced to
feed from ones hand, and to enter a room throu(>h the open
window, and its ways are then very en<^at>in_<>-. It is always
a mystery to me how it escapes the claws of the prowling
cat. AVhile nestino- operations are in ])rof)Tcss, however.

Half-made Nest of Lung-tailed Tit {Acrcditla aiiulata).

it is, like many other birds, nmch quieter and less con-
spicuous.

Gardening operations, and especially digging, interest
Kobins not a little. An infallible way to luring one within reach
is to take a spade and dig a few spadefuls of earth. Then
leave the spade sticking uj) and retire a little. If there is a
Robin anvwhere near, it will certainlv come and search over

74

Pictures of Bird Life

the iip-turned eartli for worms, and afterwards it will as
certainly sit on the liandle of tlie spade. If a camera be left,
focussed on tlie handle, and a long string or tube be fitted to
the shutter, you may get a photograph of it, provided the
shutter is a noiseless one, otherwise the result will be failure.
The first time I tried it, the Robin did all I expected of it ; but
although the shutter Avas set about the twentieth or thirtieth
part of a second, five exposures only secured me five photo-
graphs of an empty spade-handle. This will gi\e an idea
of the lightning quickness of a birds movements ; at the
click of the shutter it had hopped off quickly enough to
avoid being taken.

The Nightingale is a very abundant species, much more
so than people in general seem to imagine. On their first
arrival, before pairing, and also after the young are hatched,
these birds make a curious croaking noise, like so many

I'iKD Wagtail i^Motacilla lui^nbns).

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

io

Pied Wagtail's Nest with Young {Molacilla liigtibris).

frogs. Their song may be heard in every direction in the
fields and in many of the gardens, not only in the evening,
but at all hours of the day. The quite mistaken notion
that it only sings at night is probably traceable to the
poets, who are also responsible for the idea that the song-
is of a melancholy nature. This may be perceptible per-
haps to the poetic mind, which may be, and probably is,
more sensitive to minute shades of expression than that
of ordinary folk ; to me the song seems the result of
intense joy.

Poets are, in fact, not to be trusted, however nmch they
may be admired. The truth is not in tliem and concerns
tliem not. A good rhyme or a well-rounded sequence of

70

Pictures of Bird Life

words is more important to tliem than tlie mere triitli of
any fact.

I think it is Mrs. Hemans wlio writes of the sky-blue
eggs of the Lark ! Tennyson is more poetic, and also more
correct, when he writes :

As the miisie of the moon
Sleeps in the plain eggs of the Nightingale.

And even Tennyson is not altogetlier perfect. Some of liis

allusions to birds are, how-
ever, particularly happy.
A\ hat, for instance, can
be more true than the
line —

As careful Robins eye the
delver's toil ?

Vou can ahnost see the
redbreasted favourite of
cliildliood. Cock - robin,
watching with sidelong-
glance and bright black
eyes the spadefuls of earth

thrown up by the gardener, and pouncing eagerly on luckless

worm or earwig as soon as imco^ered.

Or, as a forecast of spring, what coidd be more fitting than —

The building Rook 'ill caw from the windy tall elm-tree,

And the tufted Plover pipe along the fallow lea,

And the Swallow 'ill come back n^ain with summer o'er the Vvave?

Yellow Wagtail {Mofaci/la rail).

Nightingales, though shy and retiring, may be easily

78

Pictures of Bird Life

Nest of Meadow-pipit {^Aiit/uis praictisis).

watched, especially when the young are hatched and the
])arent hirds are husy supplying them with insect food. I
liave had a close and friendly acquaintance Mith more tlian
one pair, and lla^'e photographed what I liave some reasons
for supposing to he the same pair for two successive summers.
The second nest was situated a few yards away from the
spot where they had successfully reared a })rood the previous
year. On the first attempt, I had to wait in a ditch covered
over with a green cloth for se\'en hours before the mother-
bird appeared at the nest. On their second \'isit they appeared
to recognise me as a friend of the family, and laid aside so
nuich of their usual timidity that I did not go through the
formality of the usual careful concealment. Tliough equipped

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

79

^vitli a most ahirining-lookiiig camera, they A'isitcd tlieir nest
to feed their young quite openly and fearlessly, and enahled
me to get se\'eral photographs within half an hour.

It is a delightful experience to thus watch at close (piarters
the whole domestic economy of sucii intei-esting birds, and
to see the mother-bird flit from spray to spray in her search
for caterpillars and insects. They are most particular in
keeping the nest clean, searching it after every visit, and re-
moving in their beak the refuse of the young birds, Hying
right off and dropping it many yards away.

The distribution of the Nightingale in England is curious,
'i'hough so conunon in many parts, it fails to penetrate

Nkst ok Trkk-pii'u {^Anlliii»\tnviatii).

80

Pictures of Bird Life

'xd

^^^^■jHJ

"On the Watch."
Hen Red-backed Shrike (Lnniiis colliiiio)

\QY\ far westwards and north-
wards. It is only ((uite re-
cently that it lias been recorded
from Devonshire and Yorkshire,
and in one Lincolnshire locality
where formerly it was unknown
it now nests sparingly e\ery
year. The increased range of
snch a famous songster is an
interesting fact, especially in
these days of extermination.
The first thino- that strikes

o

one on seeing a Xightingale
is its large size and ruddy
colour, especially about the
tail. In its general appear-
ance and attitudes it is a

typical Robin. The
same sprightly move-
ments, large bright
eyes, drooping Avings.
and long legs are at
once noticea])le. The
young birds in their
first plimiage are also
exceedingly like young
Robins, and may easily
be taken for them. cock red

-BACKED Shrike (Ldiiuis (olliuio) seizing an Insect.

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 81

Tlie nest is renlly a wonderful eoiistruetioii of dead oak-
lca\'es a most intraetal)le l)iiildin<)-iiiaterial, one would tliink.
The \ery deep hollow is lined Mith hair. In sueli a setting
the oli^e-brown eggs have a uni(jue appearanee — in faet, neither
nest nor eggs ean possibly be mistaken or eonfounded with
those of any other British bird. It is invariably plaeed on
the ground, and whether in a diteh at the foot of some sapling,
or amid the stalks of a dense bed of nettles, it is always well
eoneealed, and only found after a careful search.

Their song, about which so much has been written in prose
and \erse, is matchless in its purity and quality. In passionate
intensity it is unri\alled, and its characteristics are so unmis-
takable that once heard it can never again be mistaken. It
ceases after the young are hatched, after wliich the croaking
note is the only sound uttered.

The most common of all the A\ arblers, and the one
which has the widest distribution, is the (Treater A\"hite-
throat. From its partiality to nettle-beds it is often known
as the " Xettle-creeper," and in some parts as the " Hay-
bird " or '• Hay-chat." It is an unobtrusive little bird both
in appearance and habits, and one not often seen in the
open, preferring, as it does, the shelter of thick hedges and
bushes. Here it creeps about all day, finding abundance
of food in the minute caterpillars and other insects so
numerous during the sunmier. So persistently shy and
skulking is it that for some years I tried in ^ain to
obtain a ])hotograph : every attempt, however patient, always
resulted in failure. But eventually a pair was found nesting

6

82 Pictures of Bird Life

in a thick bed of nettles, and by visiting tliem daily tor
some time they became so familiarised to my presence that
I had no difficulty in getting a series of photographs in
different positions.

^Nlost birds, it will ])e found, approach their nest in the
same direction. Small birds like the AVarblers generally creep
through the thickest of tlie surrounding vegetation in mouse-
like fashion, and slip quietly and silently into the nest from the
back. A^erv often the first intimation of the approach of
the parent comes from the young birds, which suddenly pop
up then* heads and open their beaks suggestively. Some-
times from your hiding-place you can see a leaf or spray
quiver as the bird noiselessly makes her way along. Some,
again, i\y openly from the top of one bush to another, like
AVhinchats. and others keep up a constant wailing, querulous
note like ^^"illow-wrens. But after a little watching you
will nearly always find there is some particular branch on
which the birds perch every time. The camera can then be
pointed and focussed on the place, all ready for the next
opportunity.

This particular pair of AVhitethroats invariably used a
bramble-stalk which grew up diagonally, and at the foot
of which the nest was placed. Starting at the top. they
always crept down the stalk, gradually assuming a more
perpendicular })osition till the nest was reached, when,
stooping down to feed the young birds, their tails pointed
straight upwards. 15y focussing different parts of this bramble,
I obtained a ^'ariety of interesting positions, including one

Nest of Red-backed Shrike (Laiiiits cvlhuio).

84

Pictures of Bird Life

sli()wiiii>" tlic old l)ird's beak and ])art of lier head inserted
down the youno- bird's gaping tliroat.

Tlie I^esser Wliitethroat is distinctly more uncommon than
the last species, though se^'eral nests are found each year.
They are very similar in construction to the last, but a
little smaller, and are very often much higher up, some-
times almost at the top of a high hedge. In such a
situation you very seldom find a nest of the Greater
Whitethroat, which prefers a more lowly nesting-site among
brambles and low bushes. The eggs are roimder and smaller,
and of two quite distinct types : one, except in size, closely
resembles the eg-o- of the Cireater AMiitethroat, and is of a
freckled greenish white ; the other is always very roimd, and
the spots are distributed in a zone round the larger end,
leaving the rest of the e^^^ almost colourless.

Spottkd Flycatcher i^Miiscicapa gnsola).

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 85

The birds are slighter and more elegant in a|)|)earaiice,
and not (jnite sueli persistent sknlkers. Any close approach
to their nest is nuieh resented : the little birds, with erected
crests and excited actions, will follow an intrnder, A'igorously
scolding the while with harsh and chiding note.

The Ciarden-warl)ler in some seasons almost rivals in
numbers the Cxreater AMiitethroat, 1898 brinoini)- an unusual
number of these l)irds to our neighbourhood. The nest much
resembles those of the two former species, but is perhaps a
little more shallow, A fa\'om-ite locality is among the bare,
leafless stems of bramble, below the thick co^er of green leaves
which clothes the outside of the bush, and roofs in, as it were,
the space below. The eggs, howcAcr, are much more like
those of the Blackcap — in fact, it is sometimes impossible
to distinguish them. I have seen it somewhere stated that
the Garden-warbler and the Blackcap are never found in
equal abundance in the same place. Here, at all events,
facts seem to bear out the statement, for the Blackcap
is much less conmionly met with than the other. I
have found a few nests, on one of which I plioto-
graphed the russet-headed hen-bird, and have seen the cock
Blackcap take his share of domestic duties.

From its diminutive size and feeble flight the Goldcrest
is not a species one would expect to find in the habit of
migrating. It does so, however, in considerable nimibers,
and occasionally remarkably large flocks arrive on the eastern
coast during autumn, some years being noted as bringing
umisual numbers.

86 Pictures of Bird Life

Howard Saunders says : " An unusual spring rusli took
place in JNIarch and April. 1882. On sueli occasions bushes
in gardens on the coast are co\ered with birds as with
a swarm of bees : crowds H utter round the lanterns of light-
houses, and the rigging of fishing-smacks in the Xorth Sea
is thronged with weary tra\"ellers."

The following graphic account from the pen of the late
Mr. Cordeaux appears in the Zooh^/sf for December, 1892:
" During this time the immigration was immense ; greatest
in number were Golden-crested AVrens. . . . Goldcrests
everywhere — in hedges and gardens, dead thorns and hedge-
trimmings, rubbish-heaps, beds of nettles and dead Umbelli-
fera?, the reeds in ditches, side of haystacks, and the thorn
fences of sheds and yards. Tlie sallow thorns were dcfisri//
Cf'oti'ded. JNlany found shelter in the long sea-grass, and
others, again, crouched on the bare, rain-swept sands between
the sea and the dunes. ^lany might have been taken with
a butterfly-net. On this day I saw a a cry handsome Fire-
crest. I was standinti' in shelter of a bio- fence, watching
the Goldcrests working inland up the hedge and flitting close
to my face, wlien one tried iirst to alight on the stick of
an umbrella which I held horizontally over my shoulder, and
then perched on a twig within a foot of my nose."

The date of this great '' rush " of Goldcrests was
October 14th, 181)2.

These exceedingly restless little birds are more readily
observed in the winter and early spring, when their minute
forms are more easilv seen in the leafless hedges.

Spoited Flycatcher [Mitsacapa gnsola) and JSesf of You.nl

88 Pictures of Bird Life

l^'obably tlie first intiiiuitioii
of its presence will be the sound
of a slirill succession of ]iii>h-
pitched notes like *• Zi-zi-zi," as a
small })arty of (4oldcrests explore
a small wayside busli. How in-
cessantly they fiit from branch to
branch, sometimes head down-
wards like a Tit, sometimes
hovering like a moth, until, after
having finished a rapid examina-

Swallow {Hiniiidu ritstica).

tion of the busli. they all dart ofi

with undulatino- fli"ht one after the other to the next I Thev
are often to be seen in company with Tits of several kinds.
Durino- the sunnner thev are not so readilv seen amoni'- the
heavy and sombre foliage of the firs and evergreens in wliich
they build their nest. This nest, one of the most l)eautiful
examples of bird architecture we ha^e, is always suspended
from the underside of a spreading horizontal bough of some
fir. larch, or yew, and, being compactly made of green moss,
very easily escapes notice. Even when found, it is not an
easy nest to photograph, owing to the deep shadow cast
by overhanging branches, especially if of spruce or yew.
Two attempts ha^■e been fjiilures, owing to the utter im-
possibility of seeing anything on the focussing-glass.

If the Swallow be the harbinger of summer, the Chiflf-
chaff is that of spring. A^"hile hedges and trees are still
bare and leafless, its note may be heard in the tree-tops like

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 89

" Chip-cliip-t'hip," at such a hei«>lit tluit tlie minute form is
barely visible. Tlie bird is smaller than tlie AVillow-wren,
and has darker letJS. Tlie nest is domed like the A\"illow-
wren"s nest ; l)ut the eggs, instead of being spotted with red,
lune dark purple spots. It is very fond of frequenting
large gardens with plenty of imdergrowth and low buslies.

The AVood-wren is more local, and I have not met with
it nearer than Broxbourne and Epping Forest.

By far tlie commonest of the three is the A\"illow-wren,
which abounds in e^ery direction. Perhaps the place of all
others to look for it with certainty is in the outskirts of
a wood or plantation, where the trees are more open, and
where bushes, sallow, and such-like predominate amid
bracken and coarse grass. Here its slender, yellowish-})rown
form may surely be seen searching the twigs and foliage
with graceful actions. Here its nest may be found care-
fully hidden among the coarse grass and bracken, domed
at the top, and comfortably liiied with feathers. On the
ground is the usual place, but I ha\e seen one quite three
feet high, and there is no doubt that it does occasionally
depart from its usual custom.

The nests are generally found by the bird flying out,
for they are by no means easy to discover. On two occasions
I have, while waiting near a Nightjar's eggs to photograph
the old bird, found a AVillow-wreifs in close proximity
by seeing the birds go in and out. They will fcigii lame-
ness in order to entice you away from the \'icinity of their
eggs or young.

90 Pictures of Bird Life

The Reed-warbler I liave not yet identified with certainty ;
it is not unhkely that it may liave oceurred once or
twice, as I liave been told, on the Lea, and I am almost
snre I saw one in a small patch of reeds one day early
in JMay.

The Sedge-warbler is exceedingly abnndant. The name
of this bird is. however, I think, very misleading. It is
not })articularly fond of sedge, nor is it at all restricted to
marshy places. Any thick hedge and rough, prickly bank
will afford it a suitable home, and it is rather partial to
railway embankments. It is certainly very fond of osier-
beds and marshes, but in the latter it occurs in the drier
parts. In either of them its characteristically loud song may
be heard all day and Avell into the night.

It is perfectly surprising to see with what frequency
and regularity the young of these insect-eating birds are
supplied with food by their parents. Xo sooner lias the
mother-bird distributed a fat grub or luscious, juicy cater-
pillar to each of her four or five young ones than she is
back again with a fresh supply, in what always seems to
me an incredibly short space of time. Their prying eyes
and nimble actions search out so tlioroughly every leaf and
stem that it seems wonderful that any insects at all escape.
AVhat their numbers would be without this check upon
their increase is impossible to estimate.

On one or two occasions the curious reeling note of
the Grasshopper-warbler has been noticed in spring, probably
from birds freshly arrived and simply passing through, for

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

91

on a second ^isit to the spot on the next day nothing
further has heen seen or heard of them. I lia\e lieard of
one nest, liowever. })eino- found, wliieli. I am glad to say.
was left unmolested.

The Hedge-sparrow is, of course, ahundant. Its beautiful
nest and eggs are among the first to be found in early

Nest of Swallow (^Hirundo nistiai).

spring. Tliis ])ird is a frequent, if unwilling, host for the
Cuckoos eggs. For two years I have attempted, by im-
covering all the Hedge-sparrows' nests I could find, to induce
a Cuckoo to lay, but so far without success. These birds
perhaps prefer to find nests for themselves.

Five species of Titmice are represented on my list —

92

Pictures of Bird Life

the Great Tit, the Bhie Tit, tlie Coal-tit, tlie Marsh-tit, and
the I^ong-tailed Tit.

The first four I have fre(|iiently seen in my small
garden in the autumn. They are all very fond of sun-
flower seeds, and are very quiek to find out where they are
grown. I have often been interested in watehing them fiy

straight to my

sunflowers, one

after the other,

to feast on

the ripe

seed s.

HOUSE-
MARTIX

{IJiniiido

urbica)
AND Nest,

the droop-
ing flower-
heads, they
extract a seed
with infinite quiek
ness and dexterity.
As a rule they will

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 93

Hy off Avitli each one. and return }:)resently for another ; but
sometimes I liave seen tliem eat one on tlie fenee. (xraspin^-
the seed witli one foot, they hannner it witli tlie beak two
or tliree times very quiekly, and soon oet at tlie nutty
kernel. In the winter we fasten bacon-rind to a tree for
tlieir benefit. Tliey soon find out and \isit reo-uhu'ly any
titbit put out for them, such as fat, eoeoa-nut, a bone, or
a hmi]) of suet.

Both (xreat Tits and Bhie Tits are well known to be
fond of eurious nesti no-sites ; many of the lamp-posts around
are regularly used by them, and I have seen pumps and gate-
posts also used. On one occasion T was just in time to
rescue a pair of JNIarsh-tits which had been caught by two
boys from their nest in a hollow gate-post. They were
going to kill them, till I persuaded them to release them,
for the sake of their family, plainly audible but out of
reach, in the centre of the post.

The l^lue Tit in the photogra})h had a nest of young
in the hollow elder-stump, but popped in so quickly that it
was impossible to photograph it. 'J'he hole was accordingly
stopped up with brown paper. This ga^ e me a chance, as
the bird pondered as to the best means of getting in to its
hunoTv brood, which were clamouriiiii' for food.

The I^ong-tailed Tit \aries in many particulars from the
rest of the family. Instead of a loosely constructed heap
of feathers and moss in a hole, it builds for itself a beautiful
domed nest in the almost bare hedges of early April. How
the numerous long-tailed family, numbering from six to

94

Pictures of Bird Life

eight, can li\e in sucli a small abode is a mystery I have
never been able to sohe. After the brood are fledged,
mstead of ])eino- sent off to do for themsehes as best they
may, the whole family of young and old keep together
throuo'hout the autunm and winter months. Often in
company with numbers of other Tits and CToldcrests. tlie

Kest of Greenfinch {Frhigilla clitoris).

merry 2>'ii'ty flits along from tree to tree and from bush
to bush, always busy, and incessantly uttering their shrill
call-note to tell their companions of the whereabouts of
each member.

This bird suffers much from l)oys. The nest in a leaf-
less hedge is very conspicuous, and the flrst boy who

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 95

passes ])ull.s it out as a matter of eoiirse. Hut tlie ])ir(ls.
ill spite of this treatment, stiek to tlie same lied^e and
make anothei" elose to tiie same ])laee, wliicli i»eiiei"ally
suffei's a similar fate. I knew tliis s|)rin_i»' one pair of
Louii-tailed Tits wliieli built four nests ])efore tliev were
able to rear a brood in safety. They did sueeeed at last,
for after my return from Denmark I saw tlie whole family
party. They built in the same hedge year after year, and
I always know where to find two nests every season, one
at eaeh end of tiie farm I mostly frequent,

'i'his year I found a half-finished nest, whieli shows the
method of eonstruetion. It exaetly resembled a Chaffineh's
nest, but one of the Lon^'-tails entei-ed it Avhile T was in
the aet of foeussing with the lens not more than a foot
away. It was pulled out the next day before it was
finished, being the third of those just mentioned as made
by the same pair of birds.

The Xuthateh is eoiinnon enough, and may l)e often
heard by those who know its liquid note. Its whole life
being spent among the lofty branehes and rugged trunks
of large trees, it is not a ])ird whieh is often seen. Its
climbing powers are wonderful, even ri^'alling those of the
Woodpeckers, and excelling them in one ])articular. Al-
though unprovided with the stiff tail or the climbing foot
of these birds, it can run down a per])endicular trunk,
whereas they, with the assistance of the fulcrum of their
tail feathers, can only run up. ^As is well known, they
have the curious habit of filling up the aperture of the

i)(; Pictures of Bird Life

hole ill which they nest with chiy tiiid mud, so as to reduce
the size of the opening.

The AVren, though not niucli bigger than tlie Goldcrest,
and hke it of sliort and feeble tliiJ'ht, is also in the habit
of migrating, though more irregularly. 15oth on the west
and east coasts of Scotland and the east coast of England
it has been recorded in the returns furnished by the lighthouse-
keepers as arriving generally in small numbers. Once,
however, mention was made of "great numl^ers seen in the
Isle of INIay."

Its nest is ^ye\\ known, but is none the less a wonderful
construction for such a tiny being. It is very nuich
addicted to building a number of nests which are ne^er
used. The materials of these nests are cleverly adapted
to their siu'roundings. If among ivy or green leaves,
they are cosily made of green moss. A very finomite
situation is in the side of a haystack, and then the
material used is invariably hay ; while, should it be in
dead ivy or dried plants, it is made of dead and withered
leaves.

A well-known frequenter of the farmyard, as well as the
stream-side and meadow, is the Pied AVagtail. This ])ird,
though only clad in sober black and white, is exceptionally
dainty and elegant in a])})earance and ways. It trips along
so lightly, constantly Hirting its tail-feathers up and down ;
then running a few paces, it stops suddenly and darts off in
another direction or Hies to some stone or post. The flight
is Aery undulating, and the note, constantly uttered on the

98

Pictures of Bird Life

Cock Chaffinch {Friiigilla cwlebs).

wing, sounds exactly
like '*Chis - wick,
chis-wick." On the
sewage-farm it is ex-
ceedingly numerous
all the year round.

The beautiful Yel-
low \\^igtail is found
in some numbers in
tlie same place.

\ nest photo-
graphed two or three
years aoo was in a
ditcli-side, and con-
tained six eggs, very like Sedge-warbler's in appearance.
The birds were very sliy, and it took me two days to
photograph tlic hen on lier nest, and I liad almost given
up the idea of getting them off the nest, when at last 1
noticed that before flying across the ditch they always
settled on a tall dock just opposite. This gave me a chance
of obtaining some good positions, in spite of a very strong
wind which was lilowing at the time.

In the same locality are also innnense numbers of Meadow-
pipits, which feed all the year round about the Httle pools
on the numerous insects so abundant in such places. Here
you can see them to advantage when they are busily
engaged feeding or chasing one another, which they are
so fond of doiup-.

o

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

99

The Tree-pipit is more frequently roiiiul in the fields,
and seems to he particuhirly addieted to railway emhankments,
where its nest
may frequently
b e f o u 11 d .
Unlike the
Meadow -pipit,
whieh is resi-
dent, the Tree-
pipit migrates
before the ap-
p r o a e h o f
winter.

The Red-
baeked Shrike
is a eommon
s p e e i e s all
round the
north of Lon-
don. On the
topmost twigs
of the tall
hedge in whieh
the nest is
placed it sits

on the watch for insect prey ; for though it will kill small
birds and mice, by far the greater part of its food is com-
posed of beetles and other insects. The castings show

Nest of Hawfinch {Coccu/Ziraiistes z'li/i^cins).

100 Pictures of Bird Life

abundance of beetle wing-eases. Tliese are generally eauglit
by the bird pouncing down on tlieni on tlie ground. During
haymaking operations it is keenly ()bscr\'ant of insects dis-
turbed by the machines, swooping down on wliatex er it
may see and carrying it to the young, wliicli are fed long
after tlicy ]ia\e left the nest. All the Shrikes have a
curious and characteristic habit of mo\ing the tail round
and round in a circular fashion, cjuite unlike the usual up-
and-doM'u motion in vogue with most birds.

Every garden of any size round London contains a pair
or more of Spotted Flycatchers. These, from the vantage-
point of croquet-hoop, dahlia-stick, or teimis-net. spend the
whole long summer's day in catcliing Hies. Here tliey sit
on tlie watcli. repeatedly flying off to catcli passing insects
with an audible snap of tlie beak, returning generally to the
same place to wait for another. The Sj^otted Flycatcher
is one of the latest to arrive of the summer migrants, and
one of the most silent. It appears to have no song, but
often utters its short, shrill note.

Three species of Hirundines are found, but the Sand-
martin only in small numbers. For some time the nearest
colony of these birds I coidd find Mas at Broxbourne. but
in a gravel-pit near the I^ondon Koad there are a few biu'rows
which the men working there declare to \vd\e been used this
summer. Numbers can be seen at the end of sununer passing
along southwards and hawking o^ er the Xew Kiver. and the
pools at the sewage-farm are frequented by innnense numbers
just before their final departure.

GuLUFiNcit {Can/ite/is elcgans) and Nest.

102

Pictures of Bird Life

The Swallows nest in every eowshed and barn around,
and also inider all the New lii^'er bridges, where thev are
particularly safe from molestation.

In Spain tlie Swallows nest freely in the rafters of tlie
rooms, instead of outside and in tlie ehinmeys, as with us.
Entering one day an ^Vndalusian ■' ])()sada." or wayside inn,
several Swallows were (juietly sitting on their nests just over
the head of the brown and sun-dried liost. I photographed
one perching on a nail projecting from tlie whitewashed
wall of the '' patio "' of the British Consul's house at Bonanza,
the small port at the mouth of the Guadalquivir.

In this country it is the Martins which chicfiy frequent
human habitations, but always outside under the caACs. Here
they build up, pellet by pellet, a curious, o^'ell-like abode
of mud. and line it j)rofiisely with feathers and a few straws.

Hkn Reed-bl'nting (Eiiibciisa schaniciits) feeding young.

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 103

The nest is ehieHy l)uilt in the early part of tlie day, and
then left to dry before the work is resnnied the following
niornino-. 'i'he l)irds may be seen eoUeeting nind from
puddles in the road and in farmyards and ])onds, and I
have even watehed them pieking it nj) from the metals of
a tram-line after rain. A pretty sight it is to see a House-
martin ehasing' a big- white feather as it is earried hither
and thither by the gusts of wind, and finally earrying it off
to line its newly finished nest.

15oth Swallows and INIartins, though not aeeoimted
songsters, have a remarkably sweet but short song, uttered
both on the wing and while perehed on a roof or bare
branch of a tree, as they so often do on first arrival. After
the young have left the nest, they are often to be seen
perching in small companies on a leafiess branch ; young
Swallows may readily be distinguished from the adults by
the absence of the two long pin-feathers in the tail.

The whole question of bird nfigration is a cm*ious one ;
and while we know more about it than in the days of Gilbert
AMiite, there are many points which have yet to be cleared
up. One of the most curious facts about it is the departure
of the young Swallows and other lairds before that of their
parents.

]Mr. Dixon writes in one of his books, " The JNIigration
of Birds" (pp. 178-9): "The young i)irds are the greatest
blunderers — the birds which have practically no knowledge
Avhate^'er of the road ; and ha^ e to de})end entirely on the
guidance of older birds. That this is the case is abundantly

1()4 Pictures of Bird Life

pr()\ ed by the fact that nearly all the birds that accidentally
wander to the l^ritish Islands, from more or less remote
countries, are birds of the year,"

This would seem at first si^ht to account for the frequent
arrivals, on the east coast especially, of birds which do not
visit us habitually, occasionally even of those Avhich lune
never before been met with in any part of Europe.

For instance, the Asiatic species L/tsciuio/a .scZ/icarrJ (Kadde's
Bush-warbler), a young- bird, was recorded in KiKn^Icd^c as
shot in I.incohishire on February 1st, 1899. There is no
other record of this bird in Europe.

A specimen of the Siberian Meadow-lnmtino- {E)iil)cri:,(i
cioidcs) was shot at Flamborough in Xo\"ember, 189G, and has
also ne^er been obtained in any part of Europe before, not
even in Heligoland.

It would be interesting, if such a thing were possible, to
find out what cause led these wanderers from the north of
Asia to visit this country. P^or the true home of the latter
species seems to be in " Turkestan, Siberia, Mongolia, Man-
churia, and Korea, and over a great part of China *" (Saunders).

Three specimens of the Desert- wheatear {Sd.ricold dcscrti),
a native of Xorth African deserts, have been obtained in
England. One of tliese is described as a young bird (Saunders).
But if other competent observers are correct, Dixon is wrong,
both in his facts and in his deductions from them. For the
late Herr Gatke, who studied the migratory movements of
birds for fifty years at Heligoland, that wonderful natural
observatory of bird life, altogether denies that the majority

Embcriza schaniclus) and Nest.

106

Pictures of Bird Life

of " accidental " ^'isitors arc iniiiia-
ture : in fact, from a list furiiislied
by him to JNJr. Cordeaiix, an oAcr-
whelniing majority were adults, and
in a letter to the Zoologist. INIay,
1898, lie writes : " Ornithologists
ouoht to oive up the worn-out myth
of inexperienced youno- birds de-
pendent on the teaching and guidance
of their experienced parents ; for the
moment tlie young are tolerably well
able to take care of themselves parents and young separate,
and become total strangers to each other. 'J'lie first perfect
plumage of tlie latter being completed, in a few weeks they
start of their own accord, and entirely by tliemsehes, on

their first

Starling (Stiiniits viilgans).

Starling visiting Nest in Old Woodpecker's Hole.

migratory
excursion ;
w li i 1 s t
many of
tlie parent
birds de-
^'()tc tlieni-
s e 1 \' e s to
a second
l)ro()d,orat
all events
luue to go

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 107

through tlie tedious process of ehun<^e l)y moult of their entire
phniiaoe, l)ein_i>- thus (letaiued for one or two mouths from
followino- their offsprino- into winter quarters. This liokls
good for nearly all i-egular passengers in Heligoland, the sole
exception being the Cuckoo, which, leaving the care of
hatching its egg and rearing its young to kind-hearted foster-
parents, is free to go south whenever it j^leases. The most
striking instance of young birds preceding their parents by a
month or two is furnished by Starhngs {Sfuruus vulgaris) ;
young grey birds appearing here by hundreds and thousands at
the hitter end of .June, without in any case being accompanied
by a single okl one, the autumnal movement of the latter
commencing about the end of September, lasting through
October, and occasionally till late in November."

These are the o])inions of an ornithologist who has had
far more opportunity for the observation of the mysteries
of bird migration than any other natm-alist. For fifty years
he systematically Jioted e\'ery arrival to the island of Hehgo-
land, where there are actually no resident birds to cause
confusion, and which has a list of feathered visitors greater
than the whole list of the birds of the British Islands,
A^early the whole popidation of Heligoland has ])een trained
by him to obser\e and catch the feathered visitors to this
island rock on their ])assage, and every important capture
has passed through his hands, and a record has been kept
of its age, plumage, sex, date, and the pre\'ailing wind and
weather. The late JMr. Seebohn disputed the accuracy of
Herr Gatke's list, alleging the difficulty of distinguishing

108 Pictures of Bird Life

tlic minute differences between tlie pluniaijce of many hirds
(especially Turdina') in their first sprint- dress and adults.
Hut the fact that y<)uni>- birds do mi(>Tate half across the
surface of the ^lobe without any assistance from their
parents is sufficieirtly astonishing, and the wonder is. not
that one or two o'o astray, but that so many tliousands
succeed in findino- their way alone and with no previous
experience to guide them.

It is known also that birds which are bound to the extreme
northern latitudes, instead of starting early on account of the
longer distance, actually start some months later. They know
in some mysterious way that if they arri\'e at their destination
too soon they will find the country thickly covered with
snow and the rivers still ice-bound.

Chapman notes that in Spain " there is a distinct arrival
of Swallows in February (early in March many already have
eggs), yet the 'through transit' of \ast bodies — destined
perhaps to populate Lapland and Siberia — is conspicuous
throughout April and even into ^lay."

^^'here^'er trees are foimd, there the 'I'ree-creeper may be
seen, creeping spirally up the trunks and l)ranches. \\nien
stationary, the sharpest eye would witli difhculty detect it
at all, and wlien i>i()\ ing ujjwards in jerks it might be taken
for a mouse. The back is mottled with different shades of
brown, making it almost invisible against the weather-stained
branches. AVatching its progress, it suddenly disappears round
the farther side, and after an internal its sihery breast and
long curved beak come into view again higher up. With its

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

109

.stifi:' tail-feathers it siij)j)()rts its weight while it searches the
interstices of the rouoh bark for small insects. The nest
may be found s(|ueezed })etween the trunk and the bark wliere
it has become loose, as it often is in old willow-trees. From
the nature of the situation it is most curiously com])ressed,

Nest of bxARLiiNG {Stitj-nus vii/^<ins).

even for such minute and slender forms as the Tree-creepers
and their young family.

The (xreenfinch is a really handsome bird, though so
common and little esteemed. It is a hardy and ornamental
bird for the aviary (it is too big and clumsy to show to
advantage in a cage), but the worst of him is his dreadfully
monotonous voice. 'I'he long-drawn and constantly repeated
" Che-e-ep " in early spring is the most aggravating bird-

110

Pictures of Bird Life

note I know of, tlic only one amongst l^ritisli birds I really
dislike. AMien nesting has fairly beoun. however, the birds
are very silent, and tiie nest in eonsecjuenee escapes notice,
thoiio'h gardens
and shrubberies
are very fa\ our-
ite places for
them to choose.
The nests are
well and com-
fortably made,
a n d h a y e a
charm of their
own, without
h a V i n g t h e
special beauty of
the Chaffinclrs
nest.

For the home
of the Chaffinch
is distinctly the
work of an artist.
Without in any
way losing any
useful quality —

for in warmth, comfort, and durabihty it is second to
none — in decorative effect and tasteful situation and appear-
ance it is entitled to rank among the highest efforts of

Xest of Jalkuaw itoivii^ iiioiiidiila) cut out.

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 111

bird arc'liitecturc. \\'lietlier j)l;ic'C'(l in tiie oiuirlcd and rugged
bniiiclies of the elder, or liiddeii anioiig the dehcate white
spaiioles of "may " or l)hiekthorii, it is always worth stopping
to admire ; still more so if tlie mother-bird remains on her
eggs, looking at you with (juiet and fearless eyes, as slie will
do if you move discreetly. The ])icture tlien is perfect in
every way. Do not spoil it by disturbing her and robbing
her of her treasures.

The nortliern suburbs of London and tlie adjacent country
is the chosen home of the Ilawfincli. In the numerous
orchards and market-gardens in tiiis neiglibourhood it is
a fairly abundant species. I^nfortunately their fondness for
green peas leads tliem into trouble, and makes them very
unpopular with gardeners. In spite of the numbers wliich
suffer from their misdeeds in this direction, it is one of the
few birds whicli appear to be increasing in numbers and
spreading into localities where it has been pre^'iously looked
upon as a rarity.

I have seen numbers of the nests botli in the aj^ple-
and pear-trees of orchards and in luiwthorns in parks and
fields. The birds are very silent and unobtrusiAc, but are
sometimes seen while lying in wait for other birds. The
enormous beak is their chief characteristic, and one by which
they may be readily known. Another feature, which is only
seen when in the hand, is the curious notching of tlie primary
feathers.

The Goldfinch is too much in demand among bird-catchers
ever to be a common bird near I^ondon or any other large

112 Pictures of Bird Life

town. Still, a good inaiiy niav ])e seen at times if one
knows wlicre to look for them. In one field, chiefiy remark-
able for its fine ero]) of thistles, and where tlie bird-catelier
is not a pcr.so//(i i^Tdfa, lart>e floeks of young Goldfinehes and
Ijinnets may be seen during autinnn. And there are not
many sights in Nature prettier than a small floek of these
elegant birds elinging to the bending thistles with expanded
wings, and flying from one to another. If the time is winter,
and there is a eoAering of snow on the ground, the beauty
of the sight is still further inereased. AMien one ])ateli of
thistles is exhausted, they fly off to another with a joyous
twitter, leaA'iny" the downy seed-feathers floating in the air
and strewn on the surfaee of the snow.

The only nest I have seen was about ten feet up
the trunk of a small oak in a Avood, placed between the
trunk and the small leafy twigs growing out of it. In such
a place they are much safer than when nesting in hedges
and orchard trees. I lune some reason for thinking that
they nest more often than is thought at considerable heights
in large trees.

The House-sparrow is, as a matter of course, abundant —
extremely abundant : where is it not ( In towns its presence
may be tolerated, and even welcomed, but tiiere is no doubt
tiiat in the country it does mucli damage, ^^^hile the corn
is yet green in tlie ear, and after it is ripe. Sparrows in
flocks may be seen on their way to feast on the precious
grain. Clinging to the bending ears, they strip them speedily,
and break down as much as they de\'om\ They also let the

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

113

damp and rain into the thatclicd root's of stacks and
cottages l)v ])ullin<>' out the straws. AVlierever food is to
be found SpaiTo\\s are certain to be there, eager for
their share.

Is there a good rise of INIay-fly on tlic trout stream ?

Nest of Carrion-crow {Corviis coroiie)

In competition witli the Swifts and Swallows, which gyrate
on untiring wings, and sweep so gracefidly to meet the
gauzy flutterers above the water they have so recently
left, are numerous Sparrows ; despite their thick-set clumsy
bodies and short wings, they too attempt the difficult
feat, and e\en try awkwardly to pick them from the

8

114

Pictures of Bird Life

surface. In spite of many failures they do succeed by
perseverance in obtaining a sliare. and pick tliose up whicli
are drowned and washed against tlie grassy banks.

Drop a crust of bread, or spill the contents of a nose-
bag in the street ! Before a minute has passed a group
of watchful Sparrows are squabbling excitedly over tlie tind,
and chasing the first comers in the hope of tlieir dropping
a bit. Talk about the struggle for existence ! Eacli mouthful
a Sparrow eats seems to be obtained by the exercise of
unrivalled energy and watchfulness. Xo wonder they thrive
and increase and nudtiply ! There is one period of their
existence, however, diu'ing which they do some good.

Nest of Rook (Corvns frugilegns).

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish ll.>

AX'hilc reurin<4" their y()un<>' — and they have at least two,
if not four, broods every year — tliey feed them on (JTubs
and insects. It is only fair that this should be put to
their credit, for it is apt to be overlooked.

One of their worst habits is that of oustin<>- the House-
martins from their nests, and appropriating them to their
own use. The theft is invariably betrayed by the imtidy
ends of straws and rubbish left sticking out of the entrance-
hole in straggling disorder.

I have often watched a Sparrow sitting on a roof,
intently observing a pair of INIartins building up their mud
nest under the eaves. AVith the greatest interest it Matches
all their proceedings, chirping impudently now and then,
as if to hurry up the patient builders. Presently the nest
is finished, and the lining nearly in, and the Martins go
off for one more feather. On coming back, they find the
Sparrow has taken possession of the home they have made
for their own use with so much skill and labour.

As for the ancient fable of the INIartins building up
the robbers by blocking up the hole with mud and leaving
them to die of starvation, I simply cannot believe it. AA^hat
w^ould the Sparrows be doing while the building up was in
progress and afterwards, if it was e\er completed ? AVith
their strong beaks they could, with the greatest ease,
demolish the mud as fast as it was l^rought, and break
up the whole nest from inside. The nests are so fragile
that a clumsy finger roughly inserted is enough to bring
the whole structure to the ground. Xo ; the story is of

116 Pictures of Bird Life

a class witli many otliers very ])()|)uhir a few years ago,
which get rc})cated over and ()^'er ao-aiii as gospel —
*• Anecdotes of Natural History," whicli should l)e taken,
most of them, c//>// ^luuio saiis.

The Tree-s])arrow is common, building a mucli neater
nest in holes in apple-, willow-, and other trees. Its smaller,
rounder, and browner eggs may be easily distinguished from
those of the commoner species. The ])ird itself is some-
what of a handsome one.

Patclies t)f furze-grown conuiion-land around are not of
great extent or Acry numerous. Wherever they exist there
are plenty of Linnets ; l)ut these birds are not found in any
abundance away from tlieir favourite liaunts, tliough tliey
do nest sometimes in tlie hedges. In tlie autumn tliey
flock to tlie thistles in company witli (Toldlinches.

The I^esser Redpole, with the Hramblefinch. is oidy known
as a winter visitor, wlien flocks of these sprightly, acti^'e,
restless little ])irds wander soutliwards.

The Bullflnch is al)undantly found, tliough it is more
in evidence in the autumn and winter. In the nesting
season it keeps \ery (piiet, and chooses the thickest hedges
and the most retired places in the woods, and shuns notice
as much as possible. In walking along the bare hedges in
winter, i^reat numbers of their nests may be seen, which
have escaped obser\'ation during the leafy months of summer.

The Corn-l)unting is scarce, the reason probably being,
as Saunders remarks in his " Manual of British Birds,"
that ''it is principally to be found where grain of some

W A sjmK ' / r y W r •*■

p/r

m

w

r^^'"V«MBiiC>S^iw \:\ J

P^HB^^^fel/M

y^

^^

ir^^m

wG^KRlmi^^^'^^^JSIl 1

Rook {Ccrvi/s fnigi/egns) and Nest.

118

Pictures of Bird Life

kind is orowii, and where arable land is turned into grazing
ground the Corn-bunting is scarce or even disappears."

The Yellow-hammer, or Yellow hunting, is connnon
enough at all seasons. Its soniewliat monotonous song,
Avliich is supposed to sound like " A little bit of bread
and no cheese," is very familiar, for it is somewhat of a

roadside bird, where it may frequently be seen on the top
of some small tree or bush. The dusty herbage of the
roadside bank is quite as often chosen as a site for its
nest as the greener and fresher field bank. It is, too,
nearly as fond of furze as the I^innct.

The Reed - bunting (or Reed - sparrow) is given to

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 110

marshes and damp situations, though it is l)y no means
restricted to reeds. In one small osier-bed (since drained)
I always found one pair of birds nestino-. The birds, 1
ha\e thought sometimes, try to delude you as to the true
position of their nest by great pretended anxiety when you
are searching in quite the wrong direction. Tliis may be
only fancy on my part ; but be that as it may, the nest
is by no means an easy one to find.

The cock is one of our handsomest native birds.
Though its colours cannot compete with the brilliance of
the Kingfisher, yet it makes in its way quite as effective
a picture. In its favourite and characteristic attitude, clinging
to an upright stalk of reed or rush, its strongly contrasted
plumage shows up so well against the riverside background,
whether of green reeds rustling crisply in the summer's
breeze, which rocks the bird backwards and forwards, or
against the sere and yellow tints of autumn, or the cold
glare of freshly fallen snow. For it is a resident, and
does not fiy from us at the approach of winter to warmer
climes. The hen is not so boldly marked, and, as she
creeps cautiously through the tangled undergrowth to feed
her young, is not nearly so conspicuous.

The Starling is a typical suburban bird, where it is
nearly as great a hanger-on to mankind as the common
Sparrow. It finds by experience that houses and buildings
are provided with all sorts of holes and corners, in chinmeys,
under tiles, and in gutter-pipes, which make very convenient
places for nests. Here they are really quite as safe, if not

120 Pictures of Bird Life

safer, than in the fields, where lar^e numbers of them
nest in lioles in trees. The Starhn^- lias a bad habit of
taking possession of the holes which tlie A^'^oodpeckers have
industriously hewn out for themselves in trees, and liave
also been known to oust the Swifts from their nesting-
holes in buildings {Zoo/o^isf, June, 1899). In either case the
theft is betrayed by the straws sticking untidily out of
the entrance, which tell the tale to e^'ery passer-by. The
young Starlings, too, in tlie nest have a peculiarly strong
and pungent odoin% which may be readily detected from
a short distance by anybody familiar with the birds. On
several occasions this smell, so well known, has called my
attention to the nest in places which I should have passed
unnoticed. The young in first plimiage congregate together
in small flocks, and as the suimner advances these flocks
join forces, till in autunm their numbers are prodigious.
In the Norfolk reed-beds the damage done by their
roosting in tlie reeds and breaking them down by their
combined weight necessitates the regular employment of
men to scare them off at tlie approach of evening.

This first plumage is unspotted, and the young birds used
to be described and known as " Solitary Thrushes." AN^hy
Solitary it is difficult to imagine ; it is the most inajjpropriate
title that coidd possibly be given them. The Starling is not
liked by fruit-growers, as it is undoubtedly fond of cherries ;
but against this must be set the immense amount of good
it does all the remainder of the year in clearing the land
of noxious insects. The grubs of the Cockchafer and Crane-

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

121

fly, or Daddy-long-legs, which do so much mischief in
devouring the roots of grasses, are the favourite food.
\\'^atch a dozen StarHngs running over the grass, their
lustrous ])lumage shining in the sun. and see how busy
they are in searching for these pests.

Once, while waiting at a Starling's nest in an apple-
tree, a \\"ryneck settled on the edge of the hole and

^ — 7 ' — ./ I -A^

msism

1iV/

^^^^^^^BfiJ^^^^HSS^^^KJB^^ih^BLi

^H

. ■ '.^^##f7:

^^'^.■^i^ '--■V>^j'\

YouNo bKVLAKK i^.lltiiiila aivciisis).

looked in, evidently house-hunting. Before I could press
the shutter the Starling, which happened to be inside,
hustled her away in a great hurry, and thus lost me a
chance I shall proba})ly not get again.

The harsh scream of the Jay may be heard, and occa-
sionally a glimpse of this fine bird may be seen : but I have
not yet found a nest. It is very conmion in the forest, and

122

Pictures of Bird Life

NiGHijAK [Copn'iiiiilgiis cnropaiis) ox Upper Branch of Oak-tree.

in the autumn luunbers of Jays spread into tlie surrounding
country, and fill the places of those shot and trapped by
keepers. The Jay, no doubt, is Aery fond of eggs ; but
I fancy that the Blackbirds and Thrushes suffer more from
their depredations than any of the game birds. Keepers,
however, iuA aria])ly destroy all they can. The ^Magpie also
suffers for similar misdeeds, and is in consequence generally
a scarce l)ird wliere game is preserved. I have seen them
sometimes even close to the town, and heard of their nesting
in an orchard. But nowhere in England is the Magpie
the abundant and familiar species it is in Ireland, Sweden,
France, or Spain, where sometimes it seems to be the most
eommon bird, and also the tamest.

Jackdaws are, in my opinion, more mischievous than
the Jay or JNIagpie. I have caught tliem in the act of
devouring young Thrushes piecemeal, and eggs of all ground-
breeding birds are regular objects of food. I^apwings, when

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 123

nesting, know perfectly well wluit tlie Jackdaws are after,
and if they see one qiiarterino- a field containing their nests
they will dri\'e it off. AVater-hens also will niolj any
prowling Jackdaw, and attempt to drive it away from the
neighbourhood of their nest. Last year every I/ark's nest
known on one farm was destroyed by Hooks, Crows, and
Jackdaws.

Jackdaws are generally strictly ecclesiastical birds ; but
Enfield has some dissenters, for the Jackdaws here have
made a gallant attempt to fill up the spire of the
AVesleyan cluipel by dropping sticks through the round
holes near the top. AA^hen I saw the accumulation, there
must have been a couple of cartloads, for the base of the
spire, ten feet each way, was filled up to the height of
l)etween four and five feet. I belie\'e it had been cleared
out once before. There were no eggs, only a few dead
Sparrows. I suppose, by the time they have filled up
the interior level with the holes, they will think about
laying.

The Carrion-crow is another marauding species, and one
Avhich is decidedly on tlie increase round London, where
game-preserving is not very strictly carried out. I have
to-day (March 12th, 1000) been up to a typical nest in a
big hedgerow oak, which is to all appearance ready for eggs.
(Two eggs were eventually found in tliis nest, and at that
time there were two Crows' nests in the same tree, belong-
ing to two pairs of birds which I have seen in the tree
at the same time — a most unusual event.)

124 Pictures of Bird Life

JNIanv AVater-hens' and A\"ild Ducks' nests have been
robbed l)y tlic Crows before I could t^-et up to photograph
them. The Crows' nest is. in fact, hke one of the castles
of old, commanding from a lieight a ricli lowland district,
the Crows themselves being worthy representati^'es of the
robber barons. Like them, they Vive by liarrying periodically
their weaker neighbours. From tliem nothing is safe.
Eggs and young birds are a regular article of diet ; young
rabbits, partridges, pheasants, and hares are all carried off;
toll is taken of all the chickens and young ducklings within
reach ; and, failing these, carrion and insects of various sorts
are devoured.

Tlie Hooded Crow I do not remember seeing so far
south.

The Kook. of coiu'se, abounds in all suburban districts,
thougli unfo^'tunately it now seems to })e on the verge of
extinction as a nesting species in I^ondon itself, the Gray's
Inn rookery being the only one left.

A pleasant thing it is in spring-time to liear the
familiar caws and to see the birds busilv at work. rej)airing
the old nests, damaged by the winds of winter, and making
them ready for another seasons tenancy. \"ery deep and
cosy are these nests in reality, warmly lined and comfort-
able, though they look so rough from Ijclow.

When the bitter east winds are howling tlirougli the
leafless branches, and tlie tapering twigs are bending in tlie
gale like a ship's topmasts, tliis depth is necessary to prevent
their squab young from being thrown out. .Vs it is. some-

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

12o

times after a stiff' nale many young birds will be found
dead on the ground below.

The ]{ook is a bird whieh is gradually deteriorating in
character. For long he has l)een considered a most respect-
able member of society, a friend to the farmer durinii' the
greater part of the year, whose only fault was a liking for
seed-corn, and a propensity for stealing sticks from his
neighbour's nest when his back was turned, instead of
honestly collecting them for himself 15ut of late years
there has l)een a constant growl from game-preservers that
he is acquiring an ever-increasing taste for eggs — not only
for I^apwings" eggs and such-like, which would be forgiven

Nest of Nightjar (Capyiimilgus ciirupa'iis).

126

Pictures of Bird Life

Nightjar (C'apriiiiiils^iis cttropaiis) and Young One.

him, but he must have Partridges' eggs, and for sucli a
heinous crime there is no forgiveness.

Xow, tlie worst of it all is that it is too true ; and a pity
it is, for he is a great ornament to the fields. He is the
largest common bird we have left, and his presence in the
rookery of ancient elms gives an added dignity to many
an ancestral estate. His familiar figure would be missed,
and his absence would be mourned as a personal loss by
many, if sentence of death or banishment were passed upon
him. That Rooks are not averse to animal food e\Q\\ is
shown by an extraordinary account of the systematic hunting
of Field-voles by Rooks in Thuringia AVald. It will be
found in the October number of the Zoologist for 1892.

From a letter in the Zoologist of January, 1900, by
A\\ AVilson. it would seem that some injustice has been done

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 127

this bird. An examination of tlie contents of the stomachs
of dead Rooks by the Highland Agricultural Society appeared
to demonstrate tliat tlie birds had Yixcd bv eating* m-ain
instead of noxious grubs and insects, and in consequence
many rookeries have been destroyed. Mr. Wilson, however,
goes on to say that " another point of general interest to
ornithologists has been brouglit out here by INIr. Turnbull,
B.Sc, who has examined dead Rooks where a rookery was
being ' cleared out,' and fomid gru})s and wire-worms in the
l)irds when dissected shortly after they Mere killed, but
grain only in those examined a day or two after being
destroyed, his contention being that digestion went on after
death, and that this accoimted for little but grain being
found in those the subject of the Highland Agricultural
Society's Report. This digestion after death is worthy of
attention, and tends to bring out the views most commonly
held on the food of the Rook. Tliose forwarded to the
Highland Agricultural Society were driven by rail to Edin-
burgh from INIontrose, and time must have elapsed before
they Mere examined."

The Raven is no longer to be foimd, having been for
many a year driven aM^ay from most inland localities in
England. Persecution has been too much for it, and it
now betakes itself to the overhanging ledges of the preci-
pitous cliffs round the coast, MJiere it still nests in compara-
tive safety. Enfield, hoM^ever, can boast of being the last
locality in Middlesex frequented by these fine birds, and
can shoM' the tree still standing on M'hich they used to

128 Pictures of Bird Life

nest. This is one of a group of niagnifieent elms known as
tlie " Three Sisters," elose to tlie New lliver. In countries
where game preservation is not thought so muc-li of. and
where tlie population is more scanty, the Raven still nests
in trees. Two nests I took in tlie south of Spain in 1897
were placed on the toj) of tall pine-trees, and contained
five eggs apiece. This was in 3 J ay : with us nidification
is begun in January, and eggs are laid while snow is thick
on the ground.

Among our native songsters, the Skylark ranks with
the best, and abounds e\ery where, on either pasture or
arable land. A little later than the Thrush to be"in, it
e^en rivals that hue musician in the superb (piality of its
song. Rising higher and higher over the tields. it poiu's
forth its joyous melody with a vigour and zest perfectly
marvellous, until, its highest pitch being reached, it descends
still singing, till, nearing the ground, it folds its wings and
drops back to earth. Occasionally I lia\'e both heard and
seen the Lark sing on the ground. Once in particular I
well remember one singing lustily while perched on a clod
of earth within a few yards of where I was hiding. It has
even been known to sing at night {Zoologist, October, 1892).

The nest, like most of those placed on the ground, is
exceedingly difficult to find. Even on almost bare ground
it makes the most of some small inequality, perhaps only
sheltered by one small, low plant, so that it takes a sharp
eye to discover its whereabouts. Hundreds of nests are
destroyed annually by Rooks, Crows, and Jackdaws, which

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

129

either find tlieni accidentally wliile j)ickiii*^- up woniis or
grubs, or else they systematically look for them as a regular
article of diet.

Tlie next bird on my list is of an entirely different
character. 'I'lie Swift ])ractically lives in the air. wheeling
round in innnense circles at great heights, and dasliing in
erratic and never-tiring flight throughout tlie hours of day-
light. It never seems to rest, or to alight, except to roost
and to nest, for which piu'poses it resorts to holes in the
roofs of thatched cottao'es, under tiles, and in holes and
crevices of church towers and large buildings. Its harsh
scream has earned for it in some places the name of '* Jacky-
screamer " or " Deviling." It is quite one of the latest to
arrive of our sunnner visitors, and the first one to depart.

YOUXG NiGHTIARS.

i;3()

Pictures of Bird Life

They nest in some of tlie houses in the London Road. One
in particuhir, whose gable-end faces the street in a narrow
|)[irt. seems to aeeonnnodate se^'eral pairs on the end of the
beams which support tlie gable. The eggs are two, some-
times three in number, and are deposited among a few"
straws, cemented together by the viscid saliAa of the birds.
The country here is not generally fa\'ourable to the habits

N

V

.

giiuiiia|i.^^»ik ^'^'■i,,,,,^ ^ ■*-

Young Kingfisher {Alcedo ispida) sitting on Water-hen's Nest.

of the Xightjar ; but wherever bracken is found at the edges
of some of the woods a few pairs may be foimd nesting — or
rather laying, for nest-making troubles them not.

The two eggs, curiously resembling round pieces of chalk
or mottled pebbles, are simply deposited on the bare ground.
In such places, amid dead lea^'es and sticks and loose stones,
they are not easily seen ; and the bird herself, while incubating,
is absolutely in\isil)le to tlie keenest eyes, unless they knew

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 131

beforchaiui exactly where to look. As she sits, with ])iifFed
out and nearly closed eyelids, she resembles iiothiiio" so much
as a short bit of dead lichen-covered stick. On two occasions
at least I have noticed similar pieces of stick lying close to
the eggs, as tiiough the bird relied on the protective resem-
l)lance they bore to her mottled, russet-coloured plumage.

The young birds exactly resemble two lumps of dry
earth or nuid. Even wlien in the hand they appear as if
they had been dipped in wet mud, which had dried on
them. So much is this the case that I have felt inclined
before now to dust them, to try to get some of it off. A
young Xightjar in the attitude of being fed has a most
extraordinary appearance, owing to the immense size of its
open mouth.

The flight of the Xightjar is indescribably light and
noiseless, though sometimes it has a curious habit of clapping
its wings behind its back.

Quite one of the prettiest experiences with birds I have
had was to see one fly up, hover o\'er her eggs, and Anally
settle down on them, while I was hiding under my concealed
camei'a not nuich more than a yard away. I had already
])h()t()graphed her four times, after carefully crawling up to
her and climbing <)\-er a fence with the camera in full view
and \ery near to the nest. She e^■entually hatched her
young ones, and, I belie\'e, brought them off all right.
But from two other nests the birds deserted on my trying
to hide up for them. They return to the same place to nest
year after year — not necessarily to the same spot : but a patch

132 Pictures of Bird Life

of bracken or bit of open ground in a wood is often tenanted
regularly by Nightjars. I can generally find a nest, whenever
I want one, by knowing wliere to look.

A Nightjar, when perched on a thick branch, always sits
lengthwise ; when on a thinner brancli, howe^'er, it adapts itself
to altered circumstances, and then sits across like other birds.
The lengthwise attitude, however, seems to be preferred ; for
I notice that, if the branch be of a medium tliickness, it
will sit diagonally across it — that is, as near to the lengthwise
position as possible. The ciu'ious churring noise only made
towards evenino- seems to be akin to the reelino; of tlie
Grasshopper-warbler, a vibratory sort of sound, difficult to
locate. It has a weird soimd as the darkness deepens and
the songs of other birds are hushed. It now rises and
falls, sometimes appearing to be close at hand, sometimes
far away. Presently tlie l)ird may be seen on the wing,
skimming across the glades of the wood, over which the
branches cast fantastic and grotesque shadoMs in the light
of the moon. If by chance the bird should settle near at
hand, you will be astonished at tlie strength and power of
the note, however it may be produced. The same thing
is very apparent with tlie Cuckoo's note. I have been
sometimes perfectly astonished at the powerful \ibrations
made by a Cuckoo which has settled close to me — one I
remember seemed to shake the tree in which it sat, a \'ery
large oak.

As Howard Saunders remarks, the Nightjar is known in
every country in which it is found "by some name equivalent

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

133

to Cioatsiic'kcr." Tliis is due to one of tliose mistaken and
utterly exploded ideas which used to be so common in natural
history, tit only to rank witli tlic metamorphosis of Barnacle-
2'eese fi-oni barnacles, and other ridiculous fables, wliich have
been gra^'ely described and even illustrated by professed eye-
witnesses.

In the delicate markings and general colour of its plumage
the AVryneck resembles the Nightjar. It is, however, a bird
of A'cry different habits, being arboreal, like the AVoodpeckers,
though not provided with the climbing foot of those birds,
or the powerful beak and stiff, pointed tail-feathers. Its
habits are somewhat different. Unable to hew out for itself

Young Cuckoo {Ctuii/iis caitonts) in Hedge-sparrow's Nest.
(Below iu an old nest is an egg and dead nestling, presumably ejected by the young Cuckoo).

134

Pictures of Bird Life

VuuNG Clxkoo fed bv Heuge-sfarrow.

a liole for its nest, it has to fall back upon some natural
hollow in which to deposit its white eggs.

The Green AVoodpecker is the largest representative of a
class of birds extraordinarily well fitted in e^ery detail for
tlie life they are destined to lead. The}' are, in fact, very
higlily s^iecialised, even among birds, wliich show ])eculiar
proofs of adaptability to all sorts and conditions of life.

There is not a condition in the life of Nature's beings
that some bird cannot adapt itself to, even to Ijurrowing
holes under the earth, and, more wonderful still, to boring
tunnels in the hard and solid wood of large trees in which
the sitting female can incubate her eggs free from danger
and molestation. In almost e^ery case of birds nesting in
holes two facts are \'ery apparent. One is, that the eggs
are almost invariably white, or white inconspicuously spotted

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

1:35

with red. the exceptions being tlie })lue ef^g-s of Starlin^j^
and Juekdaw : and tlie otlier is. tliat tlie birds themselves
are generally' of l)rilliant plnniage in both sexes. A bird
sitting oil eggs, if brilliantly coloured or conspicuously
marked, is of course mucli safer out of sight down a hole ;

Young Cllkuo h.u uy Hedce-sparkow.

juid the fact tliat all the brilliantly plumaged hen-bh'ds on
the Britisli I>ist nest in covered situations, witli a few
exceptions among the ground-building birds, seems to indi-
cate that they are perfectly aware of the fact. The
exceptions to tliis rule take other steps to the same end.

130 Pictures of Bird Life

Kiiowino- tliat tliev are conspicuous, instead of sitting close,
thev leaxe their egg's at th slightest suspicion of danger,
warned by their mates, wliicli keep watcli oxei- them. But
tlieir eo-o-s, wliich Avould be in danger if wliite, hke those
of l)irds nesting in lioles, are inxariably exceedingly diffi-
cult to see, being in colour and markings so like tlie
surroundino- oTound as to be indistinguishable. Birds which
sit closely on an o])cn nest are always so protectively
coloured as to })e Acry inconspicuous.

To return to the AVoodpeckers. Tlie whole structure of
tlieir bodies in every particular is admirably adapted to their
peculiar way of life. The feet are xery powerful : and in
place of the toes in front and one behind, as is usual with
birds which merely grasp their perch, they have two hind
toes and two front ones. This gives the birds a better
purchase in grasping the inequalities of the rough bark, and
in supporting themselves in an upright attitude. Additional
support is further prox ided by the long, stiff, incurxed tail-
feathers, M'hich serxe as a fulcrum. The beak is like a
natural pickaxe, with which the l^ird, while grasping firmly
with its strong feet, can give the most tremendous blows,
sufficient not only to dislodge large pieces of bark in searching-
after insects, but to dig grubs and caterpillars out of the
solid wood. The nest-hole is constructed l)y boring a perfectly
circular hole into the tree, which turns at right angles to a
depth of several inches. The hollow is then slightly enlarged,
and the glossy white eggs hi':d on the chips at the bottom.

The tongue is perhaps the most extraordinary feature

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

1:57

ill the \\'()()(l])ccker. ])ciiii>' (•aj)al)lc of proti'usioii to tlic extent
of four iiu'hes. The tip is sluirply j)oiiited iiiid barbed,
and eovered witli a olutiiKJus secretion. The anatomical
peeuharities of tiiis curious tongue are worth describing.

YuUNG Bak.\-o\vl i^.b/ij.v Jlauniua') ix Down,

Instead of the root of tlie tongue being fixed to tlie tliroat,
the tono'ue itself ooes some distance down the throat, and
tlien divides into two tendinous processes, whicli rise again
and curve round the liead, one on each side, and are firmly
attached to the frontal bone, near the base of the upper

138

Pictures of Bird Life

mandible of tlie beak. The length of a specinien wliich
I have had m spirits for twenty years is 8 inches, including
the tendinous processes, the tongue proper being 4| inches.

The length of the whole
bird from beak to tail is
only 1'2 5 inches.

All tliree AVood-
peckers are fairly com-
mon round London, the
Lesser Spotted being on
tlie whole the most
abundant. The curious
drumming noise made
by Woodpeckers in
spring-time may be
often heard, as they sit
on a dead bough and
hammer it witli tlieir
beak with inconceivable
rapidity. The effect is
a curious drumming,
vibratory noise, which may be heard for a long distance,
and is very difficult to localise. I once followed the sound
for a long way, tliinking at every step the bird was in the
next tree, and tlien the next. At last it flew out quite
fifty yards from wliere I had thought it to be. It is sup-
posed to be a call-note between the sexes before pairing,
and is only heard in spring-time.

Barn Owl {Sliyx Jlamnica).

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 139

Yoiiuo- AVoodpec'kcrs, l)ef'ore leaving tlie nest for good,
run in und out of their hole and climb the trunk as nimbly
as the old birds.

In spite of tlie persecution it imdergoes, in consequence
of its brilliant plumage, the Kingfisher still holds its own,
and is, I firmly believe, as common as it was thirty years
ago. Hundreds are shot, in spite of tlie Hird Protection
Acts, and more still are netted in the autumn, wlien there
seems to be a decided migratory movement among tliem.
Kingfisliers then are frequently met with in places where
at other seasons you never expect to see them. Bird-catchers
catch tliem wlien netting the ditches and small streams for
Blackbirds and Thrushes ; I have had four brought to me
alive in the course of one week. Some I have bought, and
after keeping them a few days have released them at the
bottom of my garden, along wliich passes the Xew River.
One of tliese birds took Sticklebacks out of a soup-plate
after the first day, but they never live long in captivity.

Tliey nest here regularly in certain places. In the bank of
some small brook the Kingfisher makes a hole, or finds a rat-hole
ready made, at tlic end of which it enlarges a small cavity.
Here the minute bones of tlie small fish on which she feeds
are disgorged, and on these she lays her shining white eggs,
almost globular in form. I have occasionally seen the bird
hover like a little Kestrel and plunge into the water after
its food ; but its usual tactics are to sit motionless on some
overhanging spray or protruding stump, on the watch for
any small fish or aquatic insect. On these it drops suddenly,

140 Pictures of Bird Life

Castings " of Barn-owl.

and generally succeeds in niakino- a capture. It then resumes
its perch, or sometimes another one near at liand. M'ith the
prey — if a fish — crosswise in its beak, and it is only swallowed
after being repeatedly banged violently against its percli.

By watching these lovely birds, it is possible to find out
their favourite perches along a length of stream. To these
they fly regularly, and A'isit one after the other. At one
such perch, a thin rootlet sticking out from a bank, I watched
at close quarters an adult Kingflsher this year for a long
time. He had in his beak a small fish, apparently from the
shape a very young Jack. Just abo\'e the bank was a hole,
from which apparently a brood of young Kingfishers had
recently flown, and I Mas doubtful if they were nesting
again, either in the same place or elsewhere near at hand.
Momentarily I expected to see it fly into some liole or
other, and watched it closely, hoping thereby to discoAcr
its nest. Finally, however, after waiting a considerable time,
it swallowed the flsh itself, head foremost, after flrst taking it
by the tail-end in its l)eak and swinging its head round viciously

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

141

against the twig it sat on. Every bone in tlie fish's body
must have been sniaslied by tlie repeated blows. The
nioA'enients of tliis bird, as of otliers I liave watehed, were
\'ery jerky, and its attitude the re\'erse of gracefid.

A regular perch in another stream was a tree-stump lying
across the water, with se\'eral projecting arms. In the
middle was a A^"ater-llen's extra nest. This made an excellent
station for a pair of Kingfishers — or perhaps I should say
two Kingfisliers, young birds of the year, fidly fledged and
quite capable of looking after themselves. Repeatedly, during
a day spent in ambush squatting in a small elder-bush,
concealed by twigs and nettles, these two birds returned to
the place, sometimes sitting on the stump, sometimes on
the outer sticks of the A^^ater-hen's nest. Sometimes one only

could be seen,
but generally
both of them
were in view
at the same
time. ]Many
plunges were
made after
sticklebacks
\\^ h i 1 e we
watched, and
never once did
they miss their

Bones and Skulls froji "Castings" of Barn-owl.

(The five shrews' skulls were from one " casting.") prCy.

142

Pictures of Bird Life

Tawny Owl (Syrm'uiu aliico).

I once saw a Kingfisher liotly
])ursued by a Sparrow-hawk.
Both birds flashed past nie at
topmost speed while fly-fishing
in a small Lincolnshire stream.
There was but a small space be-
tween them, and I could mark
the bright yellow eyes of the
Hawk, and the feet among the
])reast-feathers ready to strike,
but a thick and high hedge pre-
vented me from seeing the end
of the chase. There is no doubt,
however, that, unless the Kingflsher coidd take shelter under
a bank or drop into the water, it must have been taken.
They are not birds capable of prolonged effort in fliglit,
though for a short distance they tra^•el ^'ery quickly.

One of tlie most curious habits among birds must
surely be that which characterises the Cuckoo, of laying
its eggs in the nests of other birds, and thereby ridding
itself of the burden of bringing up its offspring. Other
birds show such devotion to their young — love of off-
spring being so predominant in their natiu'es that life itself
is freely sacriflced in their defence — that this callousness
on the part of the Cuckoo is very abnormal and very
difficult to account for.

The South European form, the Greater Spotted Cuckoo,
also practises the same parasitical custom, but restricts

Kestrel [Fa/co tiiiiiuiuiihis) and Nest.

144 Pictures of Bird Life

itself almost exclusively to laying in tlie nest of tlie
Magpie. The Aiiierieaii Cuckoo, liowever, builds a nest
and rears its own progeny like other birds.

The sound of the well-known and familiar note of our
bird is always eagerly expected, as a welcome harbinger
of spring. It sometimes happens that numbers of Cuckoos
arrive sinniltaneously. as if they travelled in large flocks,
and that their mocking cry of " Cuckoo " is heard in all
directions, and the birds conspicuously seen in numbers about
the flelds and hedgerow trees, where the day before there
was not one to be heard or seen.

The nests particularly favoured by them seem to be
those of the Hedge-sparrow, Meadow-pipit, Pied A^^agtail,
and Robin, and I lune seen the egg in nests of the A\^illow-
wren and Redstart. The latter nest was, as usual with
the Redstart, in a very small hole in a cherry-tree, into which
it was perfectly impossible for the Cuckoo herself to have
entered. In sucli cases it is supposed that the egg is deposited
on the ground and then placed in jiosition by the beak.

Young Cuckoos are gifted with most inordinate and
insatiable appetites, and grow apace. To make room for
their unwieldy ])odies, they have a most objectionable habit
of ejecting the other and rightful occupants of the nest. The
illustration on p. 138 shows the details of one such tragedy,
in a more complete way than would be possible, as a rule.
Here, however, the accidental circumstance of a second old
nest immediately below having caught the ejected nestling
and an egg enables me to show a complete record. The

Sparrow Hawk.
( Acctpltcr Nisus. )

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

145

little inoiistci-
above, ehartieter-
istieally eiiouob.
has its iiiouth wide
open, sereeeliiiio"
for more food.
The nest was that
of a Hedi>e-spar-
row, plaeed in the
very eentre of a
variegated holly-
bush.

The foster-
parents show the
greatest attention
to the usurper long
after it has left the
nest, and may
sometimes be seen
busily feeding it
when it is eapable of flight, and is many times bigger than
the two of them put together.

The l?arn-owl, though one of a })ersecuted raee, still
holds its own. In 1!K)1 a pair built in the eaves of an un-
occupied house in a side street. Though the united hissings
and snorings attracted attention of a hostile character from some
persons who shoidd have known better, the nocturnal family
were luckily protected l)y the inhabitants of the neighbouring

10

Heron {Ardca ciitcica) axd rsEsr.

146

Pictures of Bird Life

Heron (Ardca cincrca), Richmond Park Heronry.

house, and with the exception of two, which fell from the
nest, the brood got off safely. The house has since been
luifortunately let, and the hole carefully boarded up by the
new tenant, because of his children, as he told me ! I
never myself knew of an Owl eating children, but I sup-
pose he thought he would be on the safe side. On another
occasion I was summoned by a breathless choir-boy one
Sunday evening to come at once to the cluu-cli, as some
Owls were in the roof. 'J'here I found parson, organist,
and choir gazing up at a small hole in tlie oak panelling
of the chancel roof, at the imminent risk of a crick in the
neck. From this hole it appeared that an Owl had appeared
during the service. Eventually it was agreed, on my sug-
gestion, that as they had taken sanctuary in tlie cIuutIi

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

147
rhere,

they should be allowed to remain unmolested.
accordin()ly, I hope they still abide in safety.

Occasionally, when riding home in tlie gloaming, I have
seen a ghostly form fly over the fields on silent wing,
and tlie '" AVhoo-whoo " of the Tawny Owl may be often
heard after nightfall. Sometimes I find one resting in the

]Nest of Wild Duck (^Aitas dosais).

caA'ity of an ancient oak, up whose trunk 1 have scrambled
inside like a chimney-sweep. Some castings taken from the
hollow were full of the glittenng wing-cases of beetles. The
Tawny Owl breeds here regularly in some numbers, but
this particular hole seems to be only used for resting in
diu'ing the day, and I have never found more than one

148

Pictures of Bird Life

bird ill it. There is no doubt that tliere would be more
of tliese two speeies if it were not for tliat most iniquitous
of traps — the pole-trap.

On a keeper's gallows near here are nailed up three
Barn-owls, one Tawny Owl, and two Kestrels, all of

Nest- of Wood-pigeon- {Cohiiulxi paliiiiibiis).

them victims of a pole-trap erected outside ])etween two
large woods. Xow, all of these birds are absolutely harm-
less to game, and of the greatest possible use to the
farmer.

The late Mr. Cordeaux describes the barbarity of the
pole-trap with such vivid eloquence that I should like to

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 149

bring his words before every game-preserver in the kingdom :
" The Owls (Short-eared Owls) have been exterminated
})v the keepers with tiieir deadly ))ole-traps a eruel form
of bird nnn-der which no iuimane person would tolerate or
adopt. . . . The useful l^arn-owl, too, has been ruthlessly
destroyed whenever opportunities offered in this same eruel
fashion. Noiselessly across the waste in the twilight, like
a flitting phantom, comes the soft - winged Owl, and
seeing, as if placed ready for his use, a post of vantage
from which he may mark each stealthy movement of the
mischie^'ous Field-vole, stays his flight to settle on the
treacherous perch ; and then during all the long sad
night — and too often, we fear, through the succeeding
day — with splintered bone protruding through smashed
flesh and torn tendon, hangs suspended in supreme agony,
gibbeted head downwards till death puts an end to his
suffenngs. A\"ell may we ask. Can all the game-pre-
serving in the world justify this ignorant and needless
wrong ? "

Owls and other raptorial ])irds eject the indigestible
parts of their prey in the form of pellets, so that it is
perfectly easy to show exactly on what they feed. On
putting the castings of a Barn-owl into warm water, you
find bones of mice with their skulls embedded in the skin.
Out of bushels of these castings taken from hollow trees
inhabited by Owls for many years, not the slightest trace
of the remains of any game bird is to be found. The
few bird-remains will be Sparrows' skidls. The I>ong-

150 Pictures of Bird Life

eared Owl is the only species which may perhaps be
suspected of occasionally taking young Pheasants, but I
cannot help thinking that its opportunities in this direction
are ^'ery few and far between.

The Kestrel, hanging on suspended wings o^er the
fields mouse-hunting, is not at all an uncommon sight,
and is one which I frequently enjoy. These birds make
no nest for themselves, but make use of an old A\'ood-
pigeon's, Crow's, or Squirrel's nest. One found two years
ago was on the top of an ash-tree, and tlie five eggs reposed
on a comfortable bed of broken-up castings of mouse fiu"
and bones, among which I detected only one bird's wing,
tliat of a hen Blackbird. And yet tliis bird is killed as
vermin by nine keepers out of ten.

Another nest was found immediately outside tlie town,
in an old Crow's nest high up in an immense elm. It was
only found the day before the young left it. For four days
a friend and myself lay in Mait with cameras pointed at two
young chickens tethered witliin sight of the nest. On the
first day the hen Kestrel hovered immediately over tlie un-
conscious chickens ; but just as she appeared ready for the
fatal stoop, she detected me crouching behind a big tree and
sheered off. Though we tried difierent places for the bait
and changed oiu* hiding-places, it was all to no avail. One
whole day we spent on an overhanging brancli of a neigh-
bouring tree, well hidden, as we thought, by the surrounding
leaves, helped out }:)y cut-down branches. But though we
were unsuccessful in tliese attempts to photograpli. we were

152

Pictures of Bird Life

ji])le to see a "ood deul of tlie birds, watcliini>" them throiisfh

i7> 'OCT

our glasses, both on trees and on tlie <>r()imd.

Oiiee T saw two of the young birds perelied on tlie
goal-posts of a f()()tl)all ground, one at eaeli end. In the
same field were also a family of vouni>' Tawny Owls with

Nest of Partridge {Pcrdix ciiicrea).

their ])arents. One eyening the wliole fiye were Hying
round us, as my eompanion, erouehing with me behind a
tree-trunk, gaye a eapital imitation of tlie note. I am
myself no good at imitating the notes of birds : but lie,
by blowing into his elasped and hollowed hands })etween
the thumbs, ean produee the '* AVhoo-whoo " to perfeetion.

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

I5;j

The first attempt l)r()iii>lit tlicm from a distant tree, till
they settled just ovei* our iieads, where we eould see their
forms hy the moonlight against the sky.

Tile gallant little Sparrow-hawk is not nearly so eommon
as the Kestrel, and I lune not seen a nest nearer than
Epping Forest. Many are hi'ought to me in the autunui
by bird-eatehers, whieh ha\ e been eaught in the aet of
attacking their call-birds, I think the majority of them are
taken in the neighbourhood of Xorthaw. Oeeasionaliy the
l)ird-eatehers take Kestrels in the same way. One day I had
a beautiful little cock Kestrel brought to me. To save it
from the fate of being killed and set up in a public-house
bar, which is what its captor pui-j:)osed to do with it, if I

IIl.n PiiiiA.'sAM {Pluisiainis culchiciis) u.n Nest

154

Pictures of Bird Life

did not buy it, 1 i>{ive liim wliat he asked, took it to the
door, and released it before his eyes, to his great indigiuition
and disgust. That was the seeond I had restored to hl)erty,
and gladly I watched its Hight, and rejoiced at its narrow
escape from the hideous fate in store for it.

Herons, witliin tlie memory of at least one inhabitant.

Nest of Pheasant {^Pliasicuiits cvlchiciis).

used to nest on the island at Bush Hill Park. Nowadays
the nearest heronries are tlie well-known ones at AVanstead
Park and Richmond Park. At the former there are at least
sixty pairs of these birds nesting on tlie island in the lake,
in company with Rooks. At Richmond there are about a
dozen nests on some large oaks in one of the enclosures.

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 155

The Heron does not always, however, nest on trees, wliere,
to tell the truth, he seems somewhat out of place : tor in
Holland I have seen it nesting among the reeds, in just the
same sort of a place as that chosen by Pin-ple Herons, except
that, if possible, it was more difficult of access. For, in spite
of every effort, I failed in my attempts to photograph the
nests which contained young birds. The water was very
deep, almost up to my neck, and the })ottom exceedingly
soft and treacherous, and the six exposures I made, after
an infinity of exertion and trouble, were all failures.

But though the Heron no longer nests with us, it may
frequently be seen following its vocation as a fisher along
the brooks and ponds, or flying over to some more distant
feeding-place with slow and dignifled flaps of its great
rounded wings.

Once, while hidden under a spreading tree waiting for
Water-hens, a Heron unexpectedly perched on the extreme
summit of a dead tree, exactly opposite my hiding-place.
Creeping forth to clear the branches oAcrhead, I just suc-
ceeded in focussing the bird in a splendid position, when
its keen sight detected my presence. The suddenness with
which it took its departure before I could secure the photo-
graph left the branch on which it had perched in violent
vibration for some time afterwards. On my next ^•isit to
the place the branch was missing, as though the bird had
perched once again and broken it. As the spot was, 1
knew, a regular resort for Herons, I paid se^•eral early
visits before daybreak, hoping that this particular tree was

lof) Pictures of Bird Life

used regularly as a look-out statiou before descending
to tlie Avater. wliich is ^ery sluit in by ti-ees all round.
Xever again, however, was I favoured with another ehanee.

Though the Teal may occasionally })e met witli in
winter, the AVild Duck is the only re})resentative of the
family which nests. In the sununer months it is a connnon
thing to find its nest, or to see the old duck, followed
two and two by her numerous family. To these she is a
devoted mother. In the event of dang-er the voung" ones
scatter, hiding in any cranny or hole, while she flutters,
apparently wounded and lielpless. in the hennc attempt to
distract attention from her brood.

The nest is sometimes a considerable distance from
water. I have seen one in the middle of a field, quite
a hundred yards away from the water ; another was hidden
under a furze-bush, and contained eleven eges. These Mere
safely hatched, and the resulting ducklings afterwards seen
on several occasions with their mother on a small brook
about eighty yards from the nest. JMany nests, though
carefully and artfully liidden under overhanging brambles
and luxuriant nettles and long grass, have been never-
theless discoAcred by the Carrion-crows and robbed of
CA'ery egg.

The ^Vood-pigeon flourishes exceedingly in all the Avoods
around, and nests abundantly not only in the trees, but
less often in the tall hedgerows. It has even within this
last ten years in\aded I^ondon itself, numbers nesting in
all the parks and in many of the squares and gardens. In

Water-hen {^Gal/tiiula dikro/nis) and JSEii

158 Pictures of Bird Life

these unlikely localities it may often be seen sittint^- on
its scanty nest, only a few feet above tlie ])assino- tlirono*,
of wliom it takes not the slightest notice. It is very
extraordinary, for one wlio knows tlie war}' habits of this
bird in more secluded places, to watch it boldly feeding with
tame Pigeons and Sparrows, and ri\'alling tliese habitues of
Cockneydom in audacity. It will come readily within a foot
or two if you throw food to it. The nest does not rank
very high as a specimen of bird architecture. \ rude and
open platform of sticks, through whicli the eggs may be
readily seen from below, suffices for tlie purpose. I ha^e
found AVood-pigeons very sliy at the nest, and, however
carefidly hidden, have not succeeded in photographing the
sitting bird. Two attempts this year failed, and in botli
cases the birds deserted tlieir eggs.

One nest was on the top of a tall rose-brier in a small
wood, and the camera was fastened to the branches of an
adjacent oak-tree and well hidden witli leaves, while I retired
witli a long tube to the shelter of some thick bushes, where
I was perfectly concealed from \ iew. Here I waited nearly
tlie whole day; and though several times the birds could be
heard in the surrounding trees, sometimes very near to the
nest, yet they never visited it again.

AVhile waiting, the excited clucking of a hen Partridge
attracted my attention, and presently, while lying motionless
full length on the ground, a large brood of young Partridges,
only about a day old, came running up two and two, followed
by their mother, a Red-legged Partridge, in a great state of

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 159

agitation. Thev ne\er saw nie, though tlie wliole family
ahnost laii ()\er my feet. They had evidently been alarmed
by some haymakers in the next field, just over the hedge.
None of these, either, had the slightest idea of my presenee,
though they were working for hours only a few yards away.
In the same clump of bushes behind the Wood-pigeon's
nest was also a Turtle-dove's nest and a Hullfinch's nest,
both with young, while a little farther down was a (Toldfineh's
nest A\'ith four eggs, and a Nightjar brooding o^er two
young ones.

After the departure of the Partridges a friendly Robin
came and inspected me, and accepted an iuAitation to share
my lunch. Perching on the camera-case, it hopped down
and ate all tlie crumbs thrown to it, constantly coming back
for more throughout the day. A Turtle-dove preened its
feathers hard by, while Thrushes and Bullfinches flitted in
and out of the bushes and hopped all roimd me. Besides
all these, a family party of little brown AA^rens busily searched
the bushes immediately in front of my face, till I expected
them to perch on my head and search my pockets for
food. One of them was certainly within six inches of my
nose, and a Thrush came almost as near. The A\^rens
simply ignored me altogether, treating me as a piece of a
tree or an inanimate log.

But though the A\^)od-pigeon is shy, the Tiu'tle-dove
is still more so, and is the only bird I have known to desert
her nest, and abandon her helpless young ones to die miserably
of star\'ation, because I have hidden myself near in order

160

Pictures of Bird Life

Latwim.. i^Vaiuilits ci istaliis).

to photograph them. Turtle-doves are very a})iindant, and
after the spring arri\'al tlieir deep '' Tiir-tiir "' may be heard
in every direction. They nest in all the tall old-fashioned
hedo'es so common about here. The nest is e^•en sli "'liter
and ruder, and of coiu'se much smaller, than the Wood-
pigeon's. But this very rudeness of construction only serves
to enhance tlie beauty of the two pearly wliite eggs reposing
side by side on tlie network of brown sticks. It is a nest
which has a great charm about it, someliow.

The Stock-dove is tlie most imcommon representative
of the family, but may be seen here and there. Unlike the
others, it nests in hollow trees.

The Partridge is fairly plentifid for so near to London.
In some roadside fields it may be heard or seen almost at
any time. It seems, in fact, like the I^apwing, to tuue a

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

1(>1

stroni^' predilection for eeitiiiii favoured localities, though per-
haps not to the extent that those bu-ds undoubtedly have.
Some ])eeuharity of food {)r()cura})le is proba})ly the secret of
it, and in connection with this I have been told that Dutch
clo^'er has a oreat attraction for I'artridg'es, and that fields
containin*)- anv are always sure finds for them.

Nest of Lapwing {I'a/ie/hts a i-ihUus).

A hen Partridge, while sitting, is a good example of pro-
teeti^'e coloration. It is almost impossible to distinguish
her crouching form amidst the thick growth of grass and
hedgeside vegetation. She seems to bin-row into the ^'ery
heart of a clump of grass or dead bracken, without lea\ing
a trace or mark of her presence. If approached quietly, she

11

162

Pictures of Bird Life

Lapwing {l-'aiicZ/iis cristatits) sitting.

will only crouch closer and remain motionless, though keenly
obser^'ant all the while of e^'ery movement on your part.

The quiet heroism shown by birds while incubating or
brooding over tlieir young is Aery touching. Tlie slightest
noise or rustle may mean some cruel and ruthless enemy ;
yet they never move, tliough it is so easy for them to
spring up and fly away. But imless you blunder on to
them Avith sudden noise and crash of broken branches, tliey
will remain sooner than betray the whereabouts of their
nest.

The hen Pheasant is another example of the protectively
coloured and close-sitting bird. One was almost trodden on
before I saw the markings on her russet plumage hidden
among the dried grasses under my feet. After photograph-
ing her from four different positions, she only left her egg^
eventually on my attempting to pull up by tlie roots some
of the grass which hid her from view ; and e^en then,
instead of flying off, she ran towards me with all her feathers
fluffed out, hissing like an angry goose. The Pheasant will

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

103

sometimes cover her egos over on leaving them, as if slie
knew tliat they would be readily seen by their numerous
enemies without some concealment.

All these gallinaceous birds show great pugnacity in the
pairing season. On the C'ontinent, where ideas of sport
differ from ours, advantage is taken of this in shooting them
to a decoy-bird.

The Corn-crake, though mmierous in the I>,ea Valley, does
not commonly occur elsewhere, and I do not often hear
it. except in the marshes. A pair frequented a meadow
at AN^inchmore Hill in 1901, but no nest was found.
Xor have I myself seen the A\^ater-rail.

The Coot frequents a pond in the neighbourhood, and
nests there sometimes, but irregularly. In 1901 a thorough
search was made by wading all o\'er the pond among the

\(jL.\o LaPWI.NG (I'dih/illa Cl/i/tl/l(i) (.kuL cHl.Nt,.

164 Pictures of Bird Life

reeds, but no trace of tlic ])irds could })e seen, nor any
nests but A\^ater-hens" nests found.

The A\ ater-hen — a name wliicli always seems to be so
much more appropriate than ^Nloor-hen — is a uni\ersally
common subur])an species. It is even found abundantly in
a perfectly wild state in most of the I^ondon parks. In
such localities, like the AX^ood-pigeon, it lays aside its usual
timidity, and feeds boldly with the other wildfowl when fed
bv visitors, and by its presence adds very nuich to the interest
of the many lakes — like the one in St. James's Park, the
Serpentine, and others.

Though such an acpiatic species, its feet are not webbed,
and it always appears to swim, not exactly with difficulty,
but with more or less exertion. The long toes seem to be
better adapted for rimning o^er the broad siu'face of floating
lily-leaves than for swinmiing. ^Nluch of its time is spent
on land, exploring ditches and threading the long herbage
which grows in rank abundance in damp and marshy
situations.

In its habits there is a curious minghng of boldness and
extreme timidity. It will build its nest perfectly openly in
a roadside pond, and yet its presence is often unsuspected
by the great majority of the passers-by. At the approach
of a footstep it slips noiselessly from the nest, barely making
a ripple, and either hides under the bank or among the
reeds or rushes. Failing any hiding-place of this kind, it
will dive and hold on to the weeds at the bottom, only
putting up the tip of its beak to breathe till the danger is

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

10.5

past. Its youiii*" are e(}iially adepts at liidino- from the
iHomeiit tliey are well out of the et4'«>'. 'I'hey will croueh
and hide in any hole and eranny, and remain perfectly
motionless until told by the parent-bird that the coast is
clear. One I cau<^ht, not more than a day or two old. on
beino" released, dived undei" some crowfoot in shallow watei%
keepini»- its head under so lon^^- that to save its life I fished
it oirt again. Then, replacint>- it in the water, I took out

Ringed Plover i^^-Egialitis Itiaticiila), photographed at Enfield
Sewage-farm.

my watch and timed it while it dived aoain, aiid found it
could remain perfectly sul^merged for sixty seconds. At
the end of this time it came up, oasping- for breath, but
dived a()-ain directly afterwards.

Several broods are hatched durino- the summer, and the
half-oTown youno- of the first will assist in feeding the freshly
hatched young of the second brood. To accommodate the
young birds, the parents generally make a second nest. This
is often composed of green weeds, built up in shallow water

166 Pictures of Bird Life

and perfectly exposed to A'iew : and on this they will })rood
o\'er their young. Sometimes the second nest is made of
sticks, placed athwart a fallen branch or tree ; and these are
often of such a length and thickness as to cause surprise
at the birds being al)le to manipulate them.

The hours I have spent trying to photograph A^^lter-

hens Ivdxe been generally wasted. Hiding up at one which

seemed to be well placed for tlie purpose, though I was

carefully liidden under a thick busli, one of the birds quickly

found me out. Hearing a slight rustle behind me, I turned

cautiously, and she flew away from close behind me. As

there was no other hiding-place within reach, I climbed a

tree, and sat there. After a time — comparatively short,

perhaps an hour — one of them swam out from round the

corner, and proceeded straight to the nest, immediately below

me. This should have resulted in a successful photograph,

but for some stupid mistake in arranging the camera. On

trving the same plan again, however, the birds must have

seen me descending, for they refused to approach a second

time, though I waited patiently for hours. Finally I was

obliged to give up any further attempt, for my hiding-place

was discovered by some boys. Unfortunately the road

^y'ds near, and one of them on their way home from school

"spotted" me up tlie tree while they were all looking over

the fence for some mischief to do. I heard one say, " There s

a rabbit!" and another, "There's a man up a tree ! "" "I

can see his ears move ! " — that nnist have been the rabbit s,

I presume. Then they saw my bicycle on the ground, and

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 107

proceeded to slioiit and throw stones at nie, and finally
climbed over the fence to meddle ^^'itll the bicycle. I was
eventually oblioed to sliow myself and descend to dri\'e them
away ; and after all the uproar it wns not worth while
starting aoain. I had already been up the tree about five
hours. It was probably as well that I could not catch any
of the young rascals.

The Golden Plover is only a winter \'isitor to the marshes
in hard weather — wildfowl weather — and seems to be decreasing
in numbers ; but the I^apwing is a resident all the year round.
Large flocks of these birds may be seen during the winter
in the marshes and cabbage-fields, but \'ery early in the
year they pair, and resort to certain fields in which they
are accustomed to nest. Their characteristic flight, as, with
rounded wings, they now rise in the air and now swoop
down almost to the groimd, uttering their wild, plaintive cry,
" Pee-weet, weet-a-weet," adds a great charm to the land-
scape, and enli\'ens many a bare expanse of fallow and
moor. From the note is derived not only the English
name " Peewit," but the Dutch name " Kie\ it," and also
the P'rench *• Dix-huit."

The eggs may be readily found with a little practice,
but an unaccustomed eye has some difficulty in seeing them,
even when pointed out. Both sexes being of ^'ery con-
spicuous plumage, and the nests being on open ground,
they are very shy while breeding, and lea\'e their nests as
soon as a stranger approaches within two hundred or three
hundred vards. Farm-labom"ers, llowe^'er, do not excite

168 Pictures of Bird Life

imicli alarm as tliey go about their daily work. The male
birds keep strict watch, and give the alarm to the sitting
females. These never rise direct from the eggs, but run
SDuie distance before taking flight.

If at your approach both birds wheel aroimd with loud
outcries, and perhaps tumble to the groimd as though injured,
or fly immediately over your head, you may depend upon_ it
that they have young ones hiding among the grass. If they
h'dve eggs, they Hy right awa}'. If now you hide up in some
ditch or convenient bush and watch, the bird which first
appears with wailing cries and tumbling flight is the cock.
It is no use watching him : his duty is to humbug you ;
and if you do not know his tricks, he will do it very
cle^'erly.

If you pay too nuich attention to him. you may miss
seeing the hen, Mhich will fly silently and quietly low do^^n,
and settle in tlie farther corner of the field, standing at first
perfectly motionless for some time. I think that generally
for the first few yards the direction in Avhich she runs
will be likely to point to the nest, but it is very difficult
to say with certainty. An}'way, after a yard or two she
will stop and pretend to feed and preen herself, an.d then
start off in another direction. She Avill then run about in
an apparently aimless fashion, as if thinking of an}i:hing
rather than sitting on eggs ; but always, in the long-run,
she will approach the nest by slow degrees.

It is very pretty to see her daintily tripping over the
rough groimd, now stopping to ])ick uj) an insect, now

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish

109

LiTiLE Gkebe (Puditcps Jhivialilis) on FLoAiiNG Nest
IN St. James's Park.

standing motionless, as if listening : then, stretching her
wings, running nim])ly in the opposite direction. Some-
times she will be almost hidden from sight in the furrows,
and lier movements can only be traced by lier erect crest.
Tlien perhaps she will Hy off to anotlier part of tlie field,
and repeat the whole performance over again. Xow and then
she will stand on some molehill or little elevation facing
your hiding-place ; then tlie snow-wliite breast and black
collar are very conspicuous against tlie grass. (This black
collar in the lien has a white patch in the centre.) Even when,
after endless deviations and precautions, she does eventually
reach the nest, she will run up and doMu and round and
round, as if nothing was there, many times before actually
settling on her eggs.

170 Pictures of Bird Life

Then, if you have ciiimingly arran(>ed your camera, and
covered it up carefully with clods of earth and tufts of
grass, and set the shutter, you can pull the long string pro-
vided to release it : and you ///(/// get your photograph, or
you may not. I lun e known the bird time after time
spring up at the click of the shutter, either in time to
escape altogether or to give only a blur and flash of wings.

The freshly hatclicd young birds seem to leave tlie nest
as soon as they are dry. and do not return to it. They can
not only run nimbly after their mother, and hide when
danger threatens, but they can swim, like young A^"ater-hens,
without any doubt or hesitation. I fancy they must drink
a good deal. A young I^apwing crouching in the grass is
curiously inconspicuous. I have often found one, and then,
having taken my eyes off it for a moment. Jiave been unable
to see it again for a considerable time.

Mention has alreadv been made of the sewa"'e-farm
as attracting wading-birds to its tanks and tilter-beds.
Doubtless on migration these birds, wlien passing over at
night, have been attracted by the gleaming pools, and on
alighting have found plenty of food and shelter, until they
have regularly visited such a congenial spot. Xo doubt a
similar state of things would be found to exist in other sewage-
farms : but it is very interesting to And sucli l)irds at all so
near London — in fact, within the London postal district ; and
more interesting still to And them nesting. In 1901 I was
able to communicate to the l^'icld and the Zoologist an account
of the nesting of the Hinged Plover at the Enfield sewage-farm.

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 171

1 luul .se\'eral times watched siiuill nunihers of Dunlins und
Ringed Plo^'ers through the winter, but a few of tlie latter
lingered on until the sinnmer. At last, one day a pair were
noticed wliich, by their behaviour, Mere unmistakably nesting ;
but unable to find anything, I feared that the eggs had
been destroyed by a harrow, which was at work o\'er the
ground chiefly haunted by them. Being about to go
abroad, I was unable to continue the search, but tiie super-
intendent, a good naturalist, kindly undertook to keep his
eye on them. On my return he told me he had caught
and handled two yoimg Ringed Plovers in down, which
had got into one of his carriers, and were unable to extricate
themsehes until he came to the rescue. This j)l'i<^es the
fact of their having nested beyond a doubt.

'J'he sight of these daintiest of birds tripping over the
oozy margins of the pools and wading in search of food
was a great treat, and one day I was actually able to
photograph them ^hile so employed. With them were
sometimes a few Redshanks, which also remained on the
farm throughout the sunnner, but apparently, from their
actions, did not nest ; but 1 often enjoyed their wild note
and the sight of them feeding. Knots, Curlews, and
Green Sandpipers may also be frequently observed.

Snipe are extremely common here during the winter
months, and in 1001 a pair nested. For daily one of them
used to " drum "' overhead ; but hours of searching up to
my knees in li(piid sewage failed to discover the nest — the
coarse, rank vegetation was too thick.

\7-2

Pictures of Bird Life

During a short spell of frost and snow one Januury.
T spent five days in the attempt to photograph a Snipe on
the ground. For fi\e hours eaeli day I sat on the snow
covered over with a sheet, in the middle of a flooded field.
I^apwings were Aery numerous, and sometimes came rather
close, and Snipe were constantly seen flying over. Se\'eral
were on the ground in front of me for a considerable time ;
but the dim light of a winter's dav was not enouffh to

LiTiL'c Gklll { /'•'ii'.'u'ps yiiiii ifi/is).

distinguish them in the photograph from the nuiddy ground on
which they sat, and the photographs were of no practical use.

AVild Geese may often be seen flying over in their
accustomed ^^-shaped formation during tlie winter months.

Black-headed (iulls frequent occasionally not only tlie
sewage-farm, but also an artificially flooded pond made for
skating. One day I saw a flock of quite a hundred birds flying
about and settling on the ice. Every now and then the (tuIIs
were driven off by a Carrion-crow which seemed to resent their
presence, but after wheeling round they soon returned to the spot.

Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 17'3

Tlie l)al)cliick, or Little Cirebe, nests oeeasionally in the
various ponds, and I lune been interested in watching
the quaint actions of this diminutive diver, which, hke
tlie A\\)od-pioeon and tlie W^ater-lien, has taken to nesting
regularly in the London parks. It is really a great deal
more safe in the heart of London than anywhere else ; for
these birds are carefully protected, and a great deal of interest
is taken in them, so that they do not stand much chance

Little Grebe {Podiccps flitviatilib) jlldi.\u iis Yol.ng.

of coming to harm. Two whole days spent opposite their
nest in St. James's Park were very enjoyable, and resulted
in some good photographs.

Xow that the Great Crested Grebe nests in Richmond
Park, perhaps we may indulge in the hope that these most
stately and ornamental of all water-birds will also establish
themselves in one of the London parks, where they would
be heartily welcomed, and would give as much pleasure to
I^ondoners as the yearly visits of the Black-headed Gulls
which are now so regularly expected.

CHAPTER V

A Lincolnshire Mud^flat

Mud, miles and miles of mud, and tidal ooze are the chief
characteristic features of the shores of the A\^ash. A little
farther north, Avhere the sand predominates, the shallow sea
is full of innumerable shrimps, which are caught, not from
boats, but in nets trailed astern from a cart ; but below
Skemiess the mud beo-ins. The Friskney Flat, for instance,
is three miles wide and nearly ten miles in length. At low
tide the sea is in^'isible from the sea-wall, save as a narrow
streak midway between the lincolnshire and Norfolk coasts.

This vast expanse of mud, as autumn approaches, is
peopled by immense numbers of birds, chieHy waders, M'hich
appear with unfailing regularity every year. JNIany of them
hail from the mysterious solitudes of the frozen north, never
yet trodden by the foot of man ; others from Scandinavian
fells and the desolate "tundras" of Siberia.

In those far-distant shores they have spent the short
summer nesting and rearing their young broods, until the
signs of quickly approaching winter began to be perceptible,
warning them to start on their southward journey to warmer
climes. Gradually they are working down, stopping to rest

A Lincolnshire Mud=flat

17.5

Bar-tailed Godwit (Liniosa lappoutcd),
Winter Plumage.

and feed in suitable places.
As they travel onM ards their
places are constantly taken
by fresh arrivals, while they
pass along our coasts, and
through the Aast marshy
plains of Southern Europe,
until they are lost in the
great African Continent, the
winter quarters of so many
millions of the feathered race.
In the spring they begin their
return journey with equal
regularity.

Hence it is that the mud-Hats of the AVash, which all
the summer through have been almost devoid of bird life,
are now ali^e with immense flocks, busily running over
the shimmering surface, and flying along the water's edge
as the encroaching tide restricts their feeding-groimds and
drives them along before it.

AMiite flocks of Gulls, like drifting sea-foam dot
the distant margin. Curlews, Godwits, Redshanks, Knots^
and Oyster-catchers explore the shallow pools tufted with
samphire. Ever and anon circling flocks of Dunlins, now
dark against the sky, now gleaming white against the moist
muddy surface, dash past in search of fresh feeding-grounds ;
while others trip nimbly over the shining sands, or with
half-expanded wings, like tiny pleasure-boats, run before the

176 Pictures of Bird Life

wind. By day the scene is one of* great animation, and the
constant alTi^'al of countless thousands fills the silent watches
of the night witli the beatings of innumerable wings and the
mysterious sound of their cries to one another. We see the
flocks whicli safely reach our shores : but who can estimate
the mnnbers of weary wanderers which fall utterly spent
and exhausted into the pitiless sea, or dash themselves
against the lanterns of liglitships and lighthouses, attracted
to tlieir death by the glaring rays ?

On first arrival many of them are ridiculously tame, and
show by their boldness how unaccustomed tliey are to tlie
presence of man. Dunlins, instead of flying off at one's
approach, will often run behind a tuft of grass, and con-
tinue feeding in the most fearless and imconcerned manner,
and Godwits also show little fear. Danger, however, besets
them on every side, and they soon learn caution and how to
take care of themselves. Shore-shooters and gunners take
toll of them, and they are caught wholesale in the Higlit-
nets, wliich at this season are stretched over the Hats at right
angles to the incoming tide. During the night the treacherous
meshes entangle numbers of them wliile flying from one
feeding-ground to another, six or seven dozen Knots taken
out of one net being a not uncommon experience.

At Friskney lives old l^ray, tlie most skilful Higlit-netter
on the coast ; and three or four days were spent with liim a
few years ago in watching his methods of circunnenting wild-
fowl.

Turning out of our lodgings before daybreak one cold,

A Lincolnshire Mud=flat

177

mw niorniiio-, we walked luilf a mile in drizzling rain to
Bray's cottao-e, tiudin^)- the old man strugglino^ into his big
sea-boots. Then shouldering a lot of empty bags, destined
to receive the bodies, ali\e and dead, of the night's catch,
we proceeded together to the flats. On reaching the sea-

Early Morning at the Nets.

wall, we turned off along it to the left for some distance,
in order to a\'oid a creek which winds in a devious direction
towards the sea.

These creeks are quite invisible a few yards away, and
help to make this coast a \'ery dangerous one for strangers ;

12

178 Pictures of Bird Life

for the tide achances so rapidly on the Hat sliores. tliat any
shooter rash enough to venture alone, without knowing- all
the creeks and inequalities behind him, may suddenly find
himself cut off by half a mile or so of deep water, and
will be lucky if he escapes with his life.

l*icking our way along in the grey morning light over
the slippery mud. and splashing through the pools, ^ve
begin at last to be able to see in the distance the long-
line of the nearest net, and can soon distinguish various
birds suspended in the meshes. On one of the upright
stakes sits a fine Peregrine P'alcon, e\-idently attracted by
the fiuttering of the captured birds, but too knowing to
venture to strike at them. As we advance, she soars into
the air and soon disappears. AVe had heard rumours of a
large Hawk about the shore a day or Uxo before.

The nets are from two hundred to three hundred feet
in length, each piece six feet high and thirty-five yards
long, suspended between upright stakes driven into the
mud. As soon as a bird strikes the net. which is made
of very fine twine, and with a large mesh, it is entangled,
and the more it struggles the more hopelessly it becomes
bound. Sometimes, indeed, it is no easy task even for a
practised hand to free it from the toils. The nets must
be \isited at daybreak : for if left, the Grey Crows will find
them, and help themselves to the smaller birds, and to
those which have been caught in the lower meshes and
drowned by the adAancintr tide.

After visiting four or Hve nets, the round taking us

^1

A Lincolnshire Mud=flat 171)

five or six miles over very bad ground, tlie bags getting
heavier and heavier as we proceed, we are by no means
sorry to get back to tlie village and a good breakfast.

The take has not been anything very great — the bulk
of the birds being 151ack-headed and Common CtuIIs, one
immature Great Elack-backcd Gull, and some Lapwings,
Godwits, Stints, Dunlins, Knots, and a Curlew, the greater
number alive and uninjured. These are turned out into
pens awaiting their disposal, and the dead ones put aside.

They eat the Gulls here, the market-price being one
penny each ; and the orthodox manner of cooking them is
to make w^hat they call a " pot-pie." I believe they are
skinned and boiled as a preliminary, and was assured that
they were very good. However, I did not feel tempted
to try, so cannot say from experience whether they are to
be recommended as a dish for epicures. They are cheap
enough, at any rate.

But wading- and sea-birds are not the only ones which
come ashore here. The Grey Crows, which haunt the shores
all the winter, as well as the fields more inland, come over
from the Scandinavian Peninsula, and also Woodcocks and
Sliort-eared Owls. The former of these are seldom caught,
presumably because they fly too high ; but the latter are
often taken in the nets.

I saw myself one day the arrival of a Short-eared Owl.
hustled and mobbed by a lot of Rooks. It is often flushed
from turnip-fields by Partridge-shooters, and, coming about
the same time as the A\"oodcock, is known sometimes as

180

Pictures of Bird Life

tlic >\^)()(k'()C'k-()\v], ;uid in Norfolk as the INhirsli- (or INlash-)
owl. It c\cii nests on the oround aniono- sed(>"es and eoarse
orass. but is now better known and more eoninion as a
winter visitor than a resident breeding speeies. However,
whenever tlie eountry is devastated by a plague of voles —

Bray taking Birds out ok Flight-net.

sueh as took jilaee in Seotland in 1898 — tlie Short-eared
Owls rtoek to tlie infected s})ot and do good serxice, as is
shown by tlie report of the Committee appointed l)y the
Board of Agriculture, published in the Zofj/o^^isf for ^April.
1893 :—

" In consequence of the vast multiplication of their

A Lincolnshire Mud=flat 181

fa\()iirite food, tlie vole, these Owls have not only arrived
in unusual numhcrs, but have remained and bred all over
the district affected, laying from eight to thirteen eggs
(though I'rof Xewton. in his edition of * ^'arrel^s British
Hirds,' mentions seven as an unusual mnnber), and rearing
more than one brood. The shepherd on Crooked Stone
counted fourteen nests on his ground. The small wood
behind the farmsteading of Howpasley presented a remark-
able appearance, the ground being densely covered with
the ' pellets " or ' castings ' of Owls, being composed of the
fur and bones of voles."

Some years bring a remarkable invasion of Golden-
crested A\^rens. and with them generally may be found a
specimen or two of the rarer Fire-crest. On these occasions
the hedges and bushes in the neighbourhood are thickly
covered with tiny wanderers, sometimes too fatigued with
their journey to proceed until refreshed by rest. Snow-
buntings also come over more or less regidarly, if not in
such large numbers.

Occasionally there will be a sudden invasion of some
unusual species in great numbers to the eastern shores of
England. The winter of 1893-4 will be remembered for the
numbers of Lapland Huntings, which before the preA ious year
had only been known as very occasional stragglers. In 1888
there was the extraordinary passage of Pallas's Sand-grouse,
not only to the eastern counties, but all ()\er England and
Scotland, and the whole of Europe. In 181)2 large numbers
of Ruddv Sheldrakes invaded Britain ; and early in 1895,

IS'i Pictures of Bird Life

uiul ui>ain in 11)00, tlic sliores of I^iiicolnshire and Norfolk
were strewn with IJttle Auks, either dead or dying.

It is fortunate, seeing so many rare wanderers turn
up on our eastern coasts, tliat there liave been competent
observers ever on tlie watch to detect them in both I^in-
cohishire and Norfolk. For years jNIr. Caton-Haigh and the
late jNIr. Cordeaux in I^incolnshire, and Messrs. Gurney and
Southwell and the late Mr. Stevenson in Norfolk, have
watched the arrivals annually, and have recorded not a few
occiuTcnces of most extreme interest : for among crowds of
the common migrants there is always a chance of a rarity ;
and folhnving the rush of small birds, for the purpose of
preying upon them, are often large birds of prey — such as
Falcons and Buzzards.

The (xreat Grey Shrike is a tolerably common winter
\ isitor on our east coast while in attendance on flocks of
little birds.

But while birds which breed in Scandinavia, T^apland,
and Sil)eria may be expected to visit us on their south-
Avard passage, it is less easy to account for the occasional
occurrence of American and Asiatic species. How is it
that hardly a year passes without a few such occurrences ?
Among the order of Limicola? there are no less than
twelve American species which have been recorded from our
coasts, and some of these on several occasions.

It is inconceivable that these birds, which are none of
them noted for very strong and long-sustained flight, should
have crossed the Atlantic in defiance of all known habits

A Lincolnshire Mud=flat

183

of their class. Tt is more reasonable, surely, to suppose that,
retuniint>- southwards froui their eireunipolar ])reeding'-groinids
(and it seems customary for all this class of birds to nest
at the farthest northern limit of their rantre), they lost
their way or became mixed with Hocks of similar habits
which were l)()und for the European route instead of that
through the American Continent.

Lesser Black-backed Gull (^imjl-\ture_) caught in I-'ligh i-.nli.

How else can the presence be accounted for of so many
of this kind of bird ? — the Solitary and Spotted Sandpipers,
the Pectoral Sandpiper, Bartram's Sandpiper, Bonaparte's
Sandpiper, the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Eskimo Curlew,
Red-breasted Snipe, Yellowshank, American Stint, Kill-deer
Plover, and I^csscr (Tolden Plover — ])irds which usually
ranoe throui^h tiie entire length of the great ^Vmerican

184 Pictures of Bird Life

Continent, from tlie Arctic Circle to I'atagonia and
Chili.

The extent of the worlds surface covered by birds in
the course of the year, many of them of minute size and
feeble flio-ht. is really a most interesting and fascinating
part of the study of bird life, and one too often neglected
by naturalists.

We are too insidar even in oiu' ornithology, and rather
too much inchned to rank all birds not on the " British "
hst as outsiders, imworthy of any consideration at all. It
really adds very much to the interest of any particular
bird seen to know where it has come from and whither it
is bound.

These Knots just taken out of Bray's nets, for instance,
have come recently from the farthest north. Various Arctic
explorers have found them and their young in lat. 81°
and 82' ; but no eggs are known to exist in any collections,
national or private, though the birds in their grey winter
plumage are so abundant in the autumn. Those Avhich
escape the dangers from nets, shore-shooters, and birds of prey
will work their way south, passing, many of them, through
the Spanish marismas, where they are extremely connnon on
passage, and, according to Saunders, down the west coast
of Africa as far as Damaraland ; and the retiu'ii journey
brings them l)ack again, passing up our eastern shores, in
the red breeding-plumage, the following May. Trulv a
wonderful annual performance.

What a ^^leasiu'e it is to ])e al)le to follow to their

A Lincolnshire Mud=flat 185

foreiii;!! })rec(liiit^-<>r()uiKls hirds whicli lunc only l)cc'ii known
as winter visitors, or perhaps only as stuffed specimens or
skins in a museum ! A little experience like tliis does
more to broaden ones views and open one's mind than
anythino- I know of.

Curlew (^Nimicnitis ai quaitts).

CHAPTER VI

The Sea-birds of the Fame Islands

AxYiu)])Y desirous of seeing sea-fowl ''at home." and of
watching tlieir habits and customs, sliould make a point
of visiting tlie Fame Islands. Tliis group of little rocky
islets, set in the North Sea five or six miles from the coast
of Northumberland, has been known for ages past as the
summer resort of countless numbers of sea-birds. Ever since
the days of St. Cuthbert, and probal)ly for centuries before
that, they have flocked in myriads to these remote rocks
for nesting purposes.

I^atterly, liowever, the continued existence of this interest-
ing breeding-station being imperilled by tlie greed of the
fishermen, and by the thoughtless cruelty of the tourists
from the neighbouring towns, tlic islands have l)een leased
])y an association of naturalists, who employ, during the
season, four watchers to Ywe on the islands for tlie protec-
tion of tlieir featliercd tenants. Tliis lias resulted in a most
satisfactory increase in the numbers of the birds, which have
been in some dano-er of extermination, and also in the
remarkable tameness displayed by them.

Having arrived at North Sunderland or Ijamborough, it

The Sea=birds of the Fame Islands 187

is necessary to eiigao-e a fisliing-'' coble," as the ])oats of this
locahty are called. They are fine seaworthy boats, lugger-
rigged, and manned by a crew of three.

After leaving the small fishing-harbour, I found no indi-
cation of the existence in the immediate neighboiu'liood of
any large nuniber of breeding sea-l)irds. A few Terns were
to be seen hovering with graceful fiight and swooping down
on the scraps of fish from the herring-boats, with some
stray (tuIIs and a few (Tannets engaged in their unique
manner of fishing. As the boat rushes forwards cner the
heaving waves, a few Puffins and Guillemots may be passed,
riding buoyantly over the billows. These, as the boat ap-
proaches, suddenly dive, to come up again far away on the
other side. The water is so clear and transparent that the
brilliant colour of the Puffins' legs may be distinctly seen
as they scull themselves along under water. Exceedingly
comical they look, with their trim, squat figures and im-
mense, gaily coloured beaks. I'hery now and then one will
pop iq) from below with a little silvery fish hanging from
its beak, and fly off with it to its solitary young one,
anxiously awaiting its arrival at the mouth of the nesting-
l)ui'r()w. Both they and the CTuillemots are as nuich at
home below the surface as they are above it, and are most
expert in catching such slippery customers as sand-eels and
the fry of various fishes.

I'/ic sight of the islands to which a visitor is always
taken first is the *' Pinnacles,"' where the CTuillemots Ijreed.
An extraordinary scene it is too, and one well worth the

188

Pictures of Bird Life

jNestling Puffin {Fralercnla arctica) in Down at Mouth of Burrow.

journey alone. Off one end of the largest island — called, 1
tliink. Staple Island are four detached, fiat-topped rocks or
stacks, risino- straiglit up from tlie sea to the lieight of forty
or fifty feet, so that the top of them is exactly level with
the end of the adjacent island, of whicli at one time they
doubtless formed a part. 'I'he whole of the upper surface
of tliese stacks is yellow-waslied from tlie droppings of tlie
birds, whicli crowd together in such mnubers as to com-
pletely cover the fiat tops. Nothing is to be seen but a
dense mass of (Tuillemots, so closely packed together tliat
a fresh l)ird coming up from the sea has some difficulty in
finding standing-room ; and it is quite a common tiling to
see several birds standing on the top of their companions,
struggling to squeeze in.

The Sea=birds of the Fame Islands

189

Each of tliese birds is eii(>aocd in iiieubatino- its single
egg. Like tlie Puffins, they only lay one, and, like these
birds also, the egg is disproportionately large foi" the si/e
of the bird, so niueh so that it would not l)e capable of
covering two.

Their eggs, as is Avell known, show an extraordinary
diversity in colour and markings. The ground-colour of
some is quite white, others are l)right green, and every con-
cei\'able shade of yellow and brown, and sometimes blue, is
to be seen. The markings are generally striking and bold
in character ; but tliese, too, vary as much as the groimd-
colour, so that out of hundreds of ei>"s no two will be
found alike. It may be that this diversity ser\es a useful

.tri^t^

The PiNNAi 1 xs. Drawn from Photogkaphs.

190

Pictures of Bird Life

purpose in eiiablin<>- eud\ bird to identify its own eo<.-, wiiicli
would, if tlie et><>'s resembled one unotlier, be a matter of
some diffieulty. Tlieir remarkably pointed shape lias been

supposed to be tor
the purpose of les-
sening the risk of
their rolling over
the edge of the
roek — a risk to
whieh they are pe-
euliarly liable,
being simply de-
posited on the bare
surfaee without the
slightest vestige of
nest to keep them
in position. It
nuist be admitted
that their shape
does make them
less likely to roll,
the tendency being
for them to re-
volve on their own
axis.

Guillemots and Kittiwakes on the Pinnacles.

All the birds are in constant motion, continually bowing
their heads up and down in a particularly grotesque fashion,
and emmged in preening their feathers and quarrelling with

The Sea=birds of the Fame Islands

191

one another. Xiiinhers are constantly ieaving the rocks for
the sea below, and others as constantly arri\in<)'. The surface
of the sea is also thickly dotted with birds. It is perfectly
easy to watch them from the edge of tlie main island, whicli
is only separated from the nearest stack by a gap of ten or

Guillemots on the Pinnacles.

fifteen yards. All the narrow ledges of rock near the top
are also occupied by tlie (xuillemots.

The lower crannies and holes in tlie precipitous sides
of the stacks, as well as of tlie island itself, are occupied
by the Kittiwakes. Some of their nests are so near to
the restless waves, which constantly break o^er the base of
the rocks, that many eggs and young birds must be washed

192 Pictures of Bird Life

out of them in roiioli weatlier. The nests are fairly large
and well made, apparently of seaweed and tin'f, wedged into
the clifF-face wherever there is a liole or eraek large enough
to hold it.

Tlie pure and spotless plumage of tliese heautiful Gulls
looks of a dazzling white against the dark and rugged rocks,
and the scene is one of great beauty. The sea below, bathed
in the glorious rays of tlie midday sun, glitters as if com-
posed of molten jewels, and is fretted into a network of
creamy foam as tlie everlasting surge beats incessantly
against tlie opposing cliffs. Fresli l)irds are constantly
arriving witli food for tlieir young, or flying off for supplies,
and tlieir shrill cry of '* Kitty-kea, kitty-kea," resounds
from all sides.

The Kittiwakes, though nesting in such numbers on the
same rocks, are never so crowded together as the Guillemots.
Each pair of birds build their nest just wherever they can
find a suitable })lace in the perpendicular face of the cliff.
They never build on a Hat surface like the larger Gulls. If
two or three suitable crannies happen to be close together,
there will be a nest in each ; if not, they will be corre-
spondingly farther apart.

They present the most charming little pictures of bird
life. Standing on the extreme edge of one of the numerous
rifts and chasms, or on a jutting promontory of rock, you can
look across a few feet of space right into the nests. At
the time of my visit, the first week in July, the nests for
the most part contained freshly hatched birds, sometimes

13

194

Pictures of Bird Life

one egg and one young one. In many cases one or botli
of the parents remained standing on or about tlie nest
without displaying the shghtest fear or timidity.

Puffins (Frafcrcii/a arclica).

Most of the islands appear to be of the same formation,
sloping gradually at one end into the sea, and at tlie other
rising abruptly to the height of about forty feet. This
higher part is worn into fantastic pinnacles and jutting
crags by tlie action of the wa^'es. In some parts there is
a depth of peaty soil covered with short turf, and some-
times with a luxuriant growth of bladder campion and
dock.

This peaty soil is completely honeycombed by the
Puffins for their nesting-burrows ; whether these lioles,
which exactly resemble rabbit-holes, are made by tlie Puffins

> ^

w

< f^

The Sea=birds of the Fame Islands

195

themselves, or by the rabbits whieh are also found here, I
do not quite know. At any rate, the Puffin is well equipped
witli his big l)eak for excavating a hole for himself, or
equally well fitted, by means of the same weapon, for ousting
tlie rabbits ri ct (uinis from their habitations.

At the end of these l)urrows the Puffins lay one large
white Qgg^. They may be readily cauglit in the lioles,
which are not as a rule beyond arm's-length. But l)efore
going Puffin-catching it is advisable to put on a stout
glove ; for the first intimation that the bird is at liome
will be a sharp nip, and you realise that the Puffin has

Puffin's Burrow, showing Egg and Head of Bird.

caught you first. It can l)ite liard — nearly hard enough to
take a piece out of yoiu- glove — and hang on vindictively,
its little black eyes seeming to twinkle with anger and

190 Pictures of Bird Life

resentment at being disturbed. On putting one down on
the ground, it is at first unable to rise, but flutters along

Nest of Lesser Black-backed Gull {Lams /iisais).

to the ediie of the cliff in order to launch itself into the
air ; once started, however, it is quite at home.

The young Puffins in their downy dress are curious little
objects, sooty brown or dull black in colour, with white
chests. Their beaks have neither the size nor the brilliant
colours of the old ones. The old Puffins are fond of sitting
in small groups on elexated points of rock, discussing, I
presume, the weather and the state of the fish-market.
The postures of these birds are very comical, some bolt
upright, others sitting or squatting, and others flapping their
little short wings as if to dry them.

The Sea=birds of the Fame Islands

197

Kacli island lias its own special inhabitants. The Guille-
mots are entirely restricted to the ])innacles, while the chief
stron<^hold of the Cormorants is on the JNIegstone. The
Terns in 181)5 were nesting in large numbers in the " AVide-
opens/" The Lesser Black-backed Gulls and the Herring-
gulls nest all over the islands, making their untidy nests
indiscriminately anywhere on the flat surface, ne^er on the
perpendicular sides of the cliffs. JNlany are in the corners
of the bare rocks, and others are placed amid the tall docks
and campion. One nest was particularly well constructed
of bladder campion pulled up by the roots, with the white
flowers still fresh.

The eggs are Aery ^'ariable in colour, from dirty white
to a dark oli\'e-brown, and the eggs of the two species so
nuich resemble one
another that it is
impossible to identify
them unless you see
the birds. The
Herring-gulls, how-
ever, are much in
the minority, not
much more than five
per cent, being of this
species. Young birds
of both species, in
dirty yellow down mottled with brown, are to be seen running
about the rocks and paddling in the pools of rain-water. As

Li ^'iLR Hl \c K-n \( Ki I) Gull (Lants fiisciis).

198 Pictures of Bird Life

you approach them they croiieli into a corner, and so much
do they resemble the rock on whicli they are squatting tliat
when motionless it is difficult to avoid treading on them.

The adult Gulls wheel round to the spot in hmidreds,
the moment the boat touches their island domain, amid
great excitement and loud and angry cries. On landing, you
are greeted Avith many unsa^'oury salutes as tlie birds soar
overhead, every step being accompanied by splashes on the
rocks on every side. It is like ])eing under tire. 15efore I
had landed two minutes, both my coat and liat were
plentifully besprinkled, while the birds laughed derisively,
" Ha, ha, ha." They are most bold-looking and handsome
birds, but are great robbers. liA'ing chiefly by plundering
their weaker neighbours, devouring both eggs and young,
if left unprotected for a moment.

AVhen trying to approach the other birds, I found their
inquisitive behaviour a great nuisance. Just when I was
most anxious not to attract attention, they would wlieel
around me with much clamoiu- and outcry.

On the island known as the " Wide-opens " there were
large colonies of both the Arctic and Sandwich Terns. There
used to be a settlement of the I^esser Terns, which some
years ago died out, and I do not know whether the attempt
to re-establish them by placing eggs from other localities in
the nests of the larger species has been successful or
not. The Common Tern used to nest also, though I saw
none. Since the better protection of tlie ])irds a few pairs
of tlie rare Roseate Terns have nested anmiallv, and seem

The Sea=birds of the Fame Islands

199

to he increasing again. It is not so easy, liowcvcr. for an
inexperienced eye to distinguish an isohited pair or two of
any particuhn* species, mingled with so many liundreds of the
common kinds.

On hmding, the numhers of white forms Hying in wild
confusion give one the idea of a snowstorm, and the in\ asion

Eider-duck {Soiiuitena inuUissiiiia) sitting.

of their nesting-ground is greeted by a babel of incessant
outcry. The note is a repetition of " Kreee-kr-ee."

The Arctic Terns were mostly nesting in the shingly
shores, some among the stones, and others among the drift-
wood and seaweed abo\e high-water mark. Not much of
a nest is made in these situations. The Sandwich Terns'
nests were generally higher up, among the bladder campion ;
and here the nests were simple hollows in the ground,

200

Pictures of Bird Life

sometimes ^ery close together. Two and tliree eggs is the
full ehiteh. JNIany young birds had been hatehed, and
dozens of them were dead in the nests, killed by a lieavy
storm of wind and rain on tlie pre\'ious day. Tlie eggs
of the Sandwieli Terns are very richly coloured and marked,
and are nuich more handsome tlian those of the Arctic
Terns, as well as nmch larger. They appear shy at the
nest, and when sitting the long swallow-like wings are
crossed high over tlie back, and the head is very upright.

After photographing the nest of a Sandwich Tern con-
taining an egg, a young bird, and the empty shell from
which it had just emerged, the other egg also hatched

Kest of Oyster-catcher {Hainatopiis ostralegiis).

The Sea=birds of the Fame Islands

201

before 1 had taken the camera away. Voiin^- in down are
yellowish <>Tey. Terns are very ])hieky in dcfenee of their
nests, and I saw one ])ursue a Lesser Bhiek-baeked (inll

Cormorants {FJiahcrocor.ix carbo).

which liad approached too near, striking at it repeatedly,
and following it resolntely for a considerable distance. One
of the watchers had been strnck on the head the previous
day by one of tlieni.

Xear to the Tern colony were two nests of Eiders.
On one the duck was sitting hard, and our photographic
operations did not disturb her. There is no bird which
sits closer than the Eider. This one allowed us to stroke
her on the nest. The other nest only lield tln-ee eggs and
a small quantity of the famous down, which is not de-
posited in any (piantity until the full clutch of eggs is
laid. The nests are sometimes on the bare rocks, often

•202

Pictures of Bird Life

among tlie campion, where they are perfectly hidden, and
at tlie foot of tlie ruined buildings or inside the rooHess
walls.

On the rocks at the water's edge was a Hock of about

thirty Eiders.

mostly ducks.

Cormorant {Phalacyocorax caii/o).

but

anions'

them were a
few drakes.
Only one of
these was in
the beautifid
male plumage
— the others
had begun to
assume the
duck plumage,
and were in
••eclipse"
dress, a very
interesting
sight.

Farther on

was a small flock of five or six Oyster-catchers, uttering
their somewhat plainti\-e pipe as they searched the seaweed-
covered rocks, unco\-ered by the falling tide. Close to
an old wreck, cast up high and dry by the fierce gales
of winter, was a nest belonging to some of them. This

The Sea=birds of the Fame Islands

'203

was better made tluiii is usual with these birds, l)eins:
a fairly substantial struetiu'e of stalks, in which were three
eggs and two rab])it bones by way of ornament.

On a patch of wet sand, reflecting the coloiu-s of sky
and clouds, and on which the long billowy swell l)roke
lazily in little ripples, a large flock of Terns had settled,
while others soared and hovered abo\'e them, their white

Cormorants {Phalacrocorax carbo) sitting,

wings and snowy plumage looking ^ery brilliant against
the sunlit sea.

On the highest point of rock of the neighbouring island
Avere a number of Cormorants on their nests. These I
determined to photograph, if it were possible — though I
must say 1 hardly expected that they would allow of a
close enough approach.

When landed, it took some time to chmb up to the

204 Pictures of Bird Life

top of their rocky islet, necessitating several journeys to
o-et up tlie camera and belonginos. Tiie climbing was easy
and simple enougli. merely clambering up huge boulders,
one on the top of the other : but laden with cameras and
breakables it took some time, especially as they were very
slippery. However, at last I got ever>i:hing up. and there,
forty yards away, were fifteen or sixteen Cormorants sitting.
Covering the camera with a large green bag, and getting
inside myself, I started crawling on my knees in their
direction, imtil slowly and laboriously I reached the rocks
on which tlie nests are placed.

All this time the Gulls were wheeling overhead, and
screaming their hardest, and the Cormorants began to show
serious alarm, one bird in particular standing up in the
nest, as though meditating Hight. As the flight of one
would probably lead to the departure of the whole lot, I
thought it better to halt until their confidence was regained
a little. While waiting I exposed a plate or two on them
in case of failure in getting any nearer, and when they
appeared to ha^e settled down I proceeded. It was now
necessary to mo\e ^•ery cautiously indeed, an inch at a
time. o\"er tlie rough surface, through pools of stagnant
rain-water, nearly squashing on my way se\eral young
Gulls, until I was witliin five yards of the nearest birds,
and could see the close scaly nature of their plumage and
their emerald-green eyes. Though tliey looked curiously in
my direction, I was enabled to obtain several good photo-
graphs before they flnallv took alarm and flew off.

The Sea=birds of the Fame Islands 205

The nests were large structures of seaweed and large stalks
of some kind, piled up on the rocks, sometimes so close
too-ether as to toucli. The nests were very flat, and the
majority held two chalky- white eggs, though some had three,
and one nest contained four. The smell in their immediate
proximity was \'ery strong, and the rocks around were
plentifully whitewashed.

At the time of my visit I had seen some small birds
flitting about the rocks ; but being then unaware that the
l^ock-pipit was one of the species to be met with, I did
not take particular notice of them ; nor did I see any
nest of the Ringed Plovers on the little shingly beaches
to be found on some of the islands.

The Gannets, which may be seen fishing around, are
visitors from the Bass Rock, which is only about forty miles
farther north, a mere trifle for these grand birds when
in search of food. To see them plunge from the clouds
is nearly as flne a sight as to watch an Osprey catch its
flnny prey.

Permission to visit this sea-birds' paradise is necessary;
and when that is procured, you are allowed to land in company
with one of the watchers, who ne\er leaves you, and is
responsible for your discreet behaviour. Xo eggs must be
taken, except perhaps a few of the Lesser Black-backed
Gull, w^iich predatory species has to be kept rather in
check, as any undue increase in their numbers would mean
danger to their weaker neighbours.

CHAPTER VII

The Norfolk Broads

Among all the counties of England, Norfolk easily comes
out first for its list of birds, and a very large percentage,
of rare occurrences are recorded by Norfolk naturalists.

For this there are se^'eral reasons, — the chief, perhaps, being
its position, right in the track of migration, wliere so many
migrants from northern latitudes first strike our coast ; and
secondly, the large extent of marsh and water still remain-
ing in what is known as the Broad district, where wading
and water-birds, driven away from the rest of England by
drainage and cultivation of their former haunts, may still
find a congenial refuge. Here they linger in ever-dwindling
numbers, but they are vevy reluctant to be dri\'en away.
Again and again do they attempt to nest and establish them-
sehes more firmly — only to have their eggs taken, their
young broods destroyed, and themselves shot without mercy.

The naturalist desirous of seeing some of these ^ anishing
species on English soil must hasten before it is too late.
Some have already ceased to nest even in the most secluded
spots in this unique and semi-aquatic district, and to read
the yearly Norfolk notes in the Zoologist is sad work.

The Norfolk Broads 207

Year )jy year the record is ratlier of disappearances than
occurrences — of dwindhn^^ numbers in tlie phice of abun-
dance. It is true tliat a few species added to the hst
of British birds are mostly from Norfolk ; Init these are
without exception accidental visitors — strays of migration,
whicli may never be seen again on our coast. Poor con-
solation for the steady diminution whicli is taking place
of regular breeding species, many of whicli are already
extinguished, and others, too many others, on the \'ery
A'erore of annihilation.

The Great Bustard, Little Bustard, Hen-harrier, Ruff,
Spoonbill, Bittern, Avocet, Black Tern, Savis Warbler,
and Black-tailed Godwit have vanished as nesting species,
never, I fear, to return as such — a sad list of submerged
species once plentiful as regular summer visitors, and now
victims not so much of over-population, or even cultivation
(for there is plenty of room to spare for them still), as of
senseless persecution and the greed of collectors.

JNIost of these may still be met with haunting the scenes
Avhere formerly they were so abundant, but only as straggling
individuals on migration, and are too often recorded in the
local papers as '" shot and added to the collection of Mr.
So-and-so." I^uckily a local association has taken in hand
the protection of the birds on Breydon Broad, or there is
no doubt whate\er that the number of bird murders would
be far higher than it is.

At this famous resort for rarities Black Terns and Ciodwits
may often be seen, and every year Spoonbills spend some

208

Pictures of Bird Life

days not more tliaii a few miles from the spot wliere, two
Imndred years aoo, tliey were accustomed to nest. In 1895,
in May, a small Hock of twelve Spoonbills visited Breydon.
and were so effectually protected by the watclier employed
by the association as to escape the usual fate of such rare
birds in Flnoland. and in 1899 six visited the same place.

Wauing after Bearded Tits, etc., in the Broads.

In 1901 twelve Spoonbills came, and again they escaped
molestation. INIr. Gurney, who records the fact, mentions that
they were sufficiently well known to have acquired the
nickname of " Banjo-bills," not an inappropriate designation.

The Short-eared Owl, the ^larsh-harrier, Montague's
Harrier, the Gargeney Teal and Shoveller, and the lo\ely
Bearded Tit are all fast-disappearing species, and every year
sees their numbers still further diminishing.

IJKARDED Tit (Paiiiinis bianniciis) and Nest.

14

210 Pictures of Bird Life

Tlie best way to investigate tlie bird life of this most
interesting district is to li\e on board a small yacht or
wherry with accommodation for sleeping ; and if two or
three men witli similar tastes join in an expedition of this sort,
it is by far the cheapest as well as the most enjoyable way.
There is the great advantage of being always on the spot,
and having a temporary home close to your day's work,
instead of having to trudge long distances daily to and
from the nearest inn.

A party of four spent ten days in such a yacht in
May, 1899, living in the midst of oin- feathered friends, and
a most enjoyable time we had. Our e\ening meals under
the awning over the boom, while we discussed the events
of the day and om- plans for the morrow, were enliAcned
by the drumming of a Snipe across the river : and the
latest sounds as we turned in for tlie night were the
ripple of the water past our bows, the reeling of the
Grasshopper-warblers, and the Sedge-warblers chattering in
the reeds.

In the immediate neighbourhood of our boat we found
several nests of the Bearded Tit, and saw every day
some of the birds, ^lost beautiful and most distinguished-
looking of all our native birds they seem to me, and it
is a thousand pities they are getting so scarce. I am
glad to say our party had, before starting, resolved not to
take a single egg of the Bearded Tit during oiu' stay.

It is easy enough to find the nests if you know how
and where to look ; but you must be prepared to wade.

212 Pictures of Bird Life

and to wade deep. For, witli a long experienee in wading
in various out-of-the-way parts of the world, I must say that
wadino- in the Broads is about the trickiest of any. ^Many a
time, vvliile wading with a good firm bottom in about tlu'ee feet
of water, I ha\'e suddenly, and witliout tlie slightest warning,
gone plump througli a deep hole in tlie Hoor, so to say,
u]) to my shoulders, and then have been unable to touch
the bottom. For this reason it is necessary to carry an
oar, or a "' (piant " (as a ])imt-pole is called in the Broads).
The edges of these holes are luckily firm, and, witli tlie
help of an oar, you can get your knee o\'er and struggle
up again ; but they are exceedingly dangerous.

A " quant " is also a most useful tool with which to
poke about among the reeds and sedge, and in searching
for Bearded Tits' and Heed- warblers' nests it is almost
indispensable. By parting tlie reeds in front of you as you
advance slowly, and as quietly as possible, you can see the
nests of the latter suspended between the reed-stems ; and
for the former you can hear the rustle of the bird as it
silently slips off' its nest and creeps through the thick
growth. Then you know exactly where to look for the
nest, and will probably find it a few feet in front of you
among the confused tangle of dead vegetation, where other-
wise it would most probably escape observation altogether.
For its construction is of the roughest, as far as the outside
appearance. The inside, liowe\'er, is beautifully lined with
the flower of the reed — the " fane," as the marshmen call
it — and sometimes a feather or two.

214 Pictures of Bird Life

All the nests I have seen have been in a sedoe-bush —
i.e. a thick, tangled mass of sedge, Avhich ents like a knife.
I have never seen one among reeds proper : they are
generally on the edge of a little pool, and witliin a foot
of the water. Only one has been found over dry land, and
this was but a few feet from a pathway leading to a l)()at-
house, and contained voimo-.

The nestlings have the most extraordinary palates I
ever saw. A\'hen they open their mouths — as all young
birds do when any one approaches them — they may be seen
to be most brilliantly coloured and spotted, — far more so
than any other ^\\t\\ which I am acquainted.

The parent-birds, after the young are hatched, are
particularly bold and tame, taking very little notice of
anybody watching them. It was, in fact, a matter of some
difficulty to keep them off the nest when I wanted to photo-
graph them on tlie surrounding reeds. Though standing
but a yard or two away, I ha^•e had to quite drive them
out of it.

Nearly the whole of one day was spent squatting in the
same clump of sedge in which was a nest of six eggs.
Here most of the sitting was done by the cock. It was
most interesting to watch these charming little birds hunting
round a small reed-encircled pool for insects, and to see
their graceful postures and elegant nlo^'ements. Their
coloration matches admirably the localities in which they
delight, and in which alone they are to be seen. The
musical note, " Ching-ching," just like a sharply struck banjo-

21() Pictures of Bird Life

string, is (jiiite unique and characteristic, and, once heard,
can never be mistaken. Tlie eggs are very faintly streaked
with fine Hues instead of spots, and are thus different in
appearance from the eggs of tlie other Tits.

These birds have suffered so mucli from the marslmien, in
the interest of collectors and dealers, tliat it is to be hoped
they will be accorded a more effectual protection in the
near future, before they are quite wiped out. (I wonder
how many clutches have been taken by Joshua Xudd alone !)
Tlie present laws are a complete failure, simply because
nobody takes the slightest notice of them. The area over
which the Bearded Tit is to be foimd is so restricted that
the species is in imminent danger of speedy extinction.
The wonder is, not that there are so few left, but that
there are any at all, considering how unmercifidly the eggs
ha\'e been taken, and how perfectly easy it is for anybody
to shoot them.

But the Harriers are in a nmch worse plight than the
Bearded Tits. The Hen-harrier has quite gone, none having
nested now for many years ; the JNIarsh-harrier has almost
gone (the last nest was in 1899, but both birds were
trapped) ; Montague's Harrier still lingers, and on rare
occasions a brood of young are hatched, but seldom reach
maturity ; and in a few years this fine species will be
numbered with those of other days, and no more will the
sight of it quartering the marsh delight the bird-lover.

It was therefore a great pleasure to be able to photo-
graph a nest of four eggs, though the pleasure was discounted

The Norfolk Broads

217

Head of dead Short-eared Owl. Facial Disk lifted to show True Ear.

by tlie knowledo-e that the nest was a deserted one. Tlie
situation was a small open space on tlie groinid in tlie
midst of a perfect sea of sedge the height of a man. Such
a nest in sucli a spot can only be found by the most
patient watching of the old birds. Xot far away we picked
up some half-de\'oured remains of a le\eret, for which,
I fear, the Harriers were responsible.

This day was a memorable one, for we liad that same
morning pliotographed a nest of another rarity — that of a
Short-eared Owl. This was also among sedge and ruslies,
the mowing of wliich liad disturbed the sitting bird from
her six eggs, causing her to desert them. Tliough a circle
had been left uncut all round lier, slie never returned
to them.

218 Pictures of Bird Life

This Owl is known as the ^larsh-owl in this district, and
often elsewhere as the A\'o()dcock-owl. It is a migratory
species, arri\'ing from Scandhiavia about tlie same time as
the AVoodcock. But in suitable localities, such as this, it
nests in small numbers. It is much more diurnal in its
habits than any of our other owls ; and instead of nesting in
hollow trees and ruins, always does so on the ground among
sedge or heather. Though comparatively scarce as a general
rule, whenever any part of the country is de^-astated by
a plague of voles, then these Owls, witli the wonderful
instinct of most birds in discovering any unusual abundance
of food, tiock to the affected spot in great numbers, and
remain there as long as the supply of food is sufficient
for them, when they disappear as mysteriously as they
arrived.

The so-called " ears " of tlie Short-eared Owl and the
Long-eared Owl are, of course, not " ears " at all. being
merely tufts of feathers, in no way connected with tlie
organ of hearing. The true ear is an immense and com-
plicated cavity, occupying nearly the whole side of tlie
head, and concealed by the short feathers of the facial disk.
The illustration shows the ear-cavity of a Short-eared Owl,
taken, of course, from a dead specimen. By lifting up the
movable mask, or facial disk, and pinning it back, the
large extent of the true organs of hearing may be plainly
seen. This bird is a particularly silent one. Beyond a
hissing and a clapping or snapping of the beak, it appears
to make no sound whatever.

The Norfolk Broads

'2W

Large numbers
of tliese Owls are
taken in the fliglit-
nets of the Lin-
eohishire and Nor-
folk coasts on their
arrival in this
country. I once
saw one come over
in the early morn-
ing mobbed by a
lot of Rooks.

The hr-woods
are inhabited by
the Long-eared
Owl, which nests
very early in the
year in old squir-
rels' nests and
Wood - pigeons'
nests — sometimes
e ^^ e n o n the
ground, but this is
exceptional.

Daily we saw
a Shoveller-duck,
which must have
been breeding

LON'G-EARED Owl (As!u uf/lSK

'220

Pictures of Bird Life

somewhere not far from our anchorage : but no amount of
searching enabled us to disco^'er its nest. Every morning
and evening we could see a Great Crested Grebe, accom-
panied by its single young one, and many a time watclied
the mother Grebe })ring up a small eel. and, after banging
and shaking it about, present it to the young bird.

In these days of extermination, it is a relief to turn to
one bird whicli is increasing in numbers and extending its

range, as
seems really
to be the
case with
the Cxreat
C rested
Grebe. On
some of tlie
Inroads in
Norfolk,
especially
wliere indis-
criminate shooting is not allowed, it is quite abundant, and
in many parts it is becoming established where formerh^
it was not known. A pair of these most stately water-
birds have these last few years nested in tlie Penn Ponds in
Uiclimond Park, and appear to ha\e laid aside some of
tlieir usual timidity.

Tlie Tufted Duck is anotlicr l)ird whicli seems to be on
the increase. The chief stronghold of this expert diver

Ref.d-warbler {Arrucfphaliis stirpcnis) sittixg.

West of Keed-warbler (Acrocephalus styeperus,

'^OO

Pictures of Bird Life

seems to ])e in Xorthainptonshire, but it nests in the south
of Xorfolk witli the Pochard, Shoveller, Teal, Gargeney,
WWd Duck, and Gadwall.

At the time of our visit — ]May — the reeds in every
direction were ali\'e with yoimg- Coots and AA^ater-hens, and
tlieir curious cries were incessant. That of the young
Water-hens sounds just like " Joey-joey." ^Ve were also,
I tliink. late for AVater-rails, and also for Redshanks and

I^apwings, botli of which liad half-
grown young ones.

Of smaller })irds, the Reed-warblers
liad liardly ])egun to nest. They are
always late, appearing to wait until
the reeds ha\'e grown up to a fair
lieight. June and Jidy are more likely
months for their nests, and I have
found fresh eggs in August. The nests
are very easy to find, and are generally
cner water, but occasionally on dry
ground, among meadow-sweet, and
even in lilac and willow. The unique method of suspension
between upright stems makes them very interesting objects.
In Xorfolk thev are made of drv orasses, lined with reed-
flower : but in Canvey Island, where tlicre are sheep, the
nests are made almost entirely of wool, in which the greenish
eggs look ^'ery pretty indeed.

Perhaps the commonest bird is the Reed-bunting — locally
called the Rlackcap. Its short and somewhat monotonous

Reed-bunting
(Emberisa schoenidus).

The Norfolk Broads 228

song is constantly to })e heard in every direction ; and tlie
black-headed male bird, fiirting its white tail-feathers wliile
clinging to the dried and yellow reed-stems, is a very
common siglit in all tlie drier parts of the marsh and on
the reed-ronds.

Many Sedge-warblers, Yellow AA^agtails, JNIeadow-pipits,
A\'inchats, and otlier connnon birds, all add by their
presence to the beauty and interest of tlie scene.

The botanist, too, may find many rare plants peculiar
to the district, and tlie entomologist comes to capture
rare and beautiful insects procurable nowhere else. The
sight of that splendid butterfly the swallow-tail, flying
in hundreds from flower to flower, is alone worth the
journey to see, especially as, with the exception of one
small fen in Cambridgeshire, the sight can be enjoyed
nowhere else in England.

Oyster-catcher {Hcciiiatopiis ostialcgiis).

CHAPTER VIII
Bird Life in Dutch Marshes

They are all ir.JiiL' iin\\- : no liiiiLTtT <ln the Ruffs trainpli' tlie sedire into a liard

ffoor ill their tiirlitiiitr-i"iiiir^- "hile tlie s()l)er Reeves stand roiind, adniiriiiii- the

toiiruainent (if their l()\ers, jfay \\ith ears and tippets, no t\\(i of them alike. (i(tne
are Ruffs and Reeves, Spoonbills, Bitterns, Avosets.

Thi's Kingsley wrote in liis eloquent lament over the disap-
pearance of tlie old fen country and its wild inhabitants
and their picturesque associations. And gone they truly are
as regular and common visitors.

But fortunately the memory of places seems to linger
strangely in tlie minds of birds. They are very reluctant to
forsake altogether any locality frequented by tliem through
many generations : and for years they or their descendants,
impelled by Ave know not what inherited instinct or ghost
of a memory, will revisit the once-familiar spots, in spite of
persecution, and in spite of sadly altered circumstances.

Of the Lincolnshire fen country barely a trace remains,
to such an extent has it been drained and culti\ated. growing
roots and corn where formerly the " Coot clanked and the
Bittern boomed, and tlie Sedge-bird, not content with its
own sweet song, mocked the notes of all the birds around ;
while high overhead hung motionless Hawk beyond Hawk»

Bird Life in Dutch Marshes

225

Whiie Stork {tnuiiui ctllxt) on Nkst.

l^Lizzard Ijcyoud Buz-
zard, Kite beyond Kite,
as far as the eye could
see.

In Norfolk the fen
fauna is making a last
stand, niucli as tlie
English did after the
Conquest in tlie old Ely
fen, and, hke tlieni, they
are year l)y year dwin-
dling down and being
o\'erwliehncd by a new
order of things ; so tliat
the ornithologist desirous
of observing their habits,
being unable to find
them with any degree of
certainty, is compelled
to cross the North Sea
and follow them to their
li aunts in I) a n i s li
marshes, and in the
'• meers " and " polders "
of Holland, while there
is yet time. Even there
the greed of mankind is
pressing heavily on them,
15

22()

Pictures of Bird Life

— so niuc'li so that it is only a question of time — a few
more years — and they will have to be followed still farther
afield, to eountries where they ean find more free and

unoceiipied space and less human
persecution.

Holland is the nearest and
most easily accessible, and it was
there that I first experienced the
delio'hts of working in a fresh
country, where birds which had
hitherto only been seen in books
and museums were to be met
with at home, full of living grace
and beauty.

I weaving London at eight in
the evening by the comfortable
Hook of Holland route, rid
Harwich, one finds oneself on
Dutch soil about five oV'lock the next morning, almost
without knowing that there has been any sea passage at all.
Then about four hours' journey brings one to the house
of a Dutch friend, to whom I am indebted for my first
introduction to a large fresh-water '* meer," inhabited by
many of the birds whose extinction and diminution we
ha^•e just been deploring in England.

The exact locality of this place I prefer to keep to myself,
for there are now but two localities in the whole of North-
western Europe where the Spoonbill still nests, and this is

\oUNG Gki \1 I\];ru-WARBLER

(^Acroccpliahis tuidoidcs) .

Great Reeu-warbler (Acrocephahis tiirdoidcs) and Nest.

Yul:s(. bi 111, Mill. L-, [Flalalai lencoiodia).

Bird Life in Dutch Marshes 229

one of thcni, 1 am indeed l)ouiid by promise as well as
by iiK'Iinatioii not to reveal the place to any one. or in any
way to endant^er the retreat of these tine birds.

A few years ago a colony of them used to frequent
another marsh in th.e neighbourhood, which was subsequently
drained, and is now cultivated land. They then betook
themselves to their present resort, and in a few years this
was also drained. Fortunately, however, the expense of
pumping exceeded the value of the reco\'ered land, which
was indeed almost worthless, and after several thousand
pounds had been spent the place was allowed to revert
into its original state, and the Spoonbills and other feathered
inhabitants returned to find shelter and safety once more in
the reed-beds of this most interesting " meer."

It is indeed a most charming place for an ornithologist —
full of lasting interest and delight, where he can revel in
the sight of many banished birds nesting in large numbers
undisturbed and immolested. Three ^'isits made to this spot
have each been more enjoyable than the one before, and I
hope to be able to revisit at some future day the scenes
of so much pleasure.

The birds are not by any means the only inhabitants of
this place. It is full of fish. Inuiiense pike, great, fat,
slimy tench, red-finned roach, and eels abound in its deep
waters, and constitute a source of profit to the lessee, who
employs a fisherman to protect his rights, and to net and
bring to market his captures.

The fish are caught mostly in drum-nets placed in

Young Spoonbill {Plataka hucorodia).

Bird Life in Dutch Marshes 231

narrow clianiiels cut in tlie reeds, and as soon as caiioht
they iire all placed in a stew-pond at the back of the
keeper's house. It is a sight, on the eve of market day, to
see tills steAV emptied by means of an innnense net raised
by the united efforts of four or five stout Dutchmen. As
it nears the surface, it is seen to contain a solid mass of
fish struggling and kicking, 'i'hen they are picked out by
large landing-nets, and placed in \ arious receptacles according
to kind.

The first bird to be seen, as one leaves the keeper's
cottage for the "• nicer "' in a flat-bottomed punt, is probably a
Black Tern, sitting on one of the stakes of the drum-nets,
or skimming o^'er the surface of the water after dragon-flies.
Tliis bird takes the place of the Swallows, which are scarce,
and, so they say, decreasing in numbers every year. Then
as one progresses Coots are heard, plunging and clanking
amid the reeds on each side, and presently a brown bird
about the size of a Thrush darts across and dives into the
thickest part of the reeds. This is about all one sees of
the Great Reed-war])ler, though its harsh, grating song
may })e heard in every direction. By standing still and
motionless, you may see the bird, as it sings, gradually
mounting the upright reed-stem until it reaches the top ; but
at the slightest movement it will drop into the thick imder-
growth, still singing, though invisible. It is a great skulker.

The song is unmistakable, when once heard, and soiuids
like " Kara-kara-karra," etc., from which the Dutch name
*' Karakeite " is derived. Groote KiU'akeite and Kleine Kara-

232 Pictures of Bird Life

keite serve respectively for the Great Reed-warbler and the
smaller species.

The nests are suspended between the iiprigiit reed-stems
in exactly the same fashion as those of our lleed-warbler,
but are of course much larger. A nest in my possession
measures 2h inches across the hollow, and 5 inches deep
outside, against li and 4 inches respectively. In tlie deep
hollow, lined witli the flower of the reed, the four eggs look
very liandsome, being very boldly spotted and marked with
ricli purplisli spots at the larger end. The birds are very
common, and the last time I was tliere we saw hundreds
of their nests.

It is very curious that tliis bird, so common in Holland
and Xorth France, only separated from our coast l)y a narrow
twenty miles of sea, should be so exceedingly rare with
us. Barely half-a-dozen cases are known of the bird l^eing
seen in England, and I believe that there is not one
authenticated instance of its having nested.

However, the Spoonbills are the chief objects of interest,
and we push on for their haunts in the far corner of the
" meer," passing many interesting sights, but stopping for
nothing.

A Great Crested Grebe, accompanied by a single young
one, passes ahead of us, and is soon lost to siglit : Coots and
Ducks get up on each side; and we pull past the edge of
a large colony of Black-headed Gulls, whose harsli screams
accompany us until they consider we are off their particular
domain, when thev leave us and return to their nests.

•234

Pictures of Bird Life

Purple Heron {Ardea purpurea), automatically photographed by the
Bird itself treading on an Electric Trap connected with Hidden
Camera.

Presently the rising of several Spoonbills from the reeds
shows that their nesting-plaee is not far away ; and as the
punt leaves the ehannel, and is foreed throiioh the tliiek reed-
bed. Spoonbills are getting np all around us in every direction.
Presently, after niueh exertion, the first nest becomes visible
through the reeds.

On a large and bulky platform of sticks and dead reeds
we can make out three nearly Hedged young birds standing
up. T'nfortimately, howc\'er, the noise necessarily made in
forcing our clumsy craft along has alarmed them so nuicli
that two out of the three, after hesitating on tlie brink,
.scramble out, and, plunging through the water, finally dis-

Bird Life in Dutch Marshes

235

appear. Several others from neighbouring nests do the
same, but eventually we find one nest whose occupants are
not quite so fully developed.

The scene is a most striking one. On the rude platform
of sere and yellow stalks are two young Spoonbills, whose
snow-white plumage in the bright sunshine is in strong

Young Purple Hero.xs i.\ Nist.

contrast to the green background. Their legs look swollen
and rather limp, and one of them prefers to squat, as if
its legs were hardly equal to supporting its hea\'y body.
The other stands tottering on the edge, desiring to see the
last of our company and wishing to depart.

Finding them, however, is one thing, but photographing
them is not quite so easy as we expected. The punt is

236 Pictures of Bird Life

too luirrow and too iiiista])le for the tripod, which has to be
put o\'erboard into deep water with a soft muddy bottom.
At hist, after many striitJ-g-les, and nearly faUing headfirst out
of the punt in tlie act of focussing, tlie exposure is made.
This first attempt, however, proves conchisively that wading-
trousers are an absohite necessity for this marsh work,
and my second and otlier visits found me better provided
in this respect ; 1 could then accompany the camera over-
board into nearly fi^•e feet of water, and if necessary remain
hidden up for liours while waiting for the return of the
old birds.

An attempt to photograph the old birds on this occasion
was a failure, as was also another more determined one
the following year in the south of Spain, where, though
I could see a dozen Spoonbills all roimd my hiding-place,
tlie intervening reeds made any photograph of them
impracticable.

On a second visit to this same Dutch locality the Spoon-
bills had been disturbed by poachers, who had taken a
number of their eggs, and in consequence, while the birds
which had escaped molestation had lialf-grown young, many
others were still sitting on eggs. The curious part of it
was that the clutches were umisually large, especially for
second layings ; in one nest were six eggs, and in another
seven.

At one of these nests I liid up witli a camera, over waist-
deep in water, and covered o\'er with reeds, for five hours.
For nearly the whole of this time the Spoonl)ills were

238 Pictures of Bird Life

circling round and roinid my ambush, sometimes looking
as if tlicy meant to alii>ht, until by degrees tliey dropped
down to their nests hidden in tlie reeds. At last 1 heard
a tremendous Happing, and, on looking out of my peep-
hole, had the gratification of seeing one of these mag-
nificent birds alighting on its nest, not seven yards away.
As bad luck would have it, I had left one reed between
us, and a leaf of this dangled in front of the bird, and
I liad to wait, watching the mnisual sight for several
minutes, until it departed. Then I crept out of my
ambush and cut down the offending reed, and retired again
under cover. It was not long before it returned : and while
on the point of making the exposure its mate alighted also
on the nest, and I liad the pair of them in full view,
standing up just in front of me. I was able to expose two
plates without disturbing them, and naturally thought that
success had at last been achieved. However, on developing
them, after my retiu'ii home, l)oth plates, from which I had
expected so nuich, were hopelessly fogged and quite useless —
a typical example of the uncertainty of photographic work
among birds.

Four years later, in 1901, I was more fortimate, and
succeeded in obtaining several photographs of these interesting
and beautiful birds with their lialf-grown young ones. They
are peculiarly silent : only once have I heard them utter a
low sort of croaking noise whilst flying round me. They fly
witli tlieir neck outstretched in front and their legs behind,
and look very white against the blue sky. The budding

'240

Pictures of Bird Life

primaries of tlie young birds, while in tlie nest, are of a jetty
blackness, and the beaks at the same age are flesh-coloured.

1 have always found, in close proximity to the nesting-place
of Spoonbills, whether in Holland or Spain, nests also of the
Purple Heron. At times these nests arc exceedingly difficult
to approach, though now and tlien one may meet with them

Nest of Black Tern {^Hydroclielidoii nigra).

on fairly solid ground, but always well surrounded and hidden
by a thick growth of tall reeds. In such places, where they
can find tlie solitude and quietness they desire, they lay five
beautiful pale blue eggs on a rough nest of dead reeds and
sedge. The birds are particularly and excessively shy and
retiring. At one nest, which held three freshly hatched birds

Bird Life in Dutch Marshes 241

not an Iiour old, and two eggs wlicre tlie youno- cliicks liad the
tips of their beaks through the shell and were \ igorously
clamouring to be let out, I waited hidden tlie wliole day in the
hope of a photograph, l^ut no ; tlie parent birds obstinately
refused to return, though it was impossible for them to see me.
One Purple Heron, probably one of the pair to which the nest
belonged, alighted not five yards away from me, a little to one
.side of the nest on which the camera was focussed. 15ut so
.suspiciously did the bird watch my hiding-place that it was
impossible for me to turn the camera in its direction, and I
coidd only watch it myself Just in front of it, in a great state
of excitement, was a Reed-warbler ^'igorously scolding the
great long-legged Heron, and plainly betraying the nearness of
its own nest, which, sure enough, I afterwards found close at
liand with four eggs. If this Purple Heron had not been seen
alio'htinff, it is very doubtful whether it would ha\e been
recognised as a ])ird at all. The long, thin reddish-coloured
neck and head exactly resembled a reed-stem, while the
yellow beak looked like a dead leaf.

The smell round all the nests of Herons and Spoonbills is
very strong and unpleasant, rivalling in evil odours a nesting-
place of Cormorants. One colony of Purple Herons was
strewn about witli small perch in ii state of decay, and the
stench was horrible.

In this " meer "' the Common Herons also habitually nest
among the reeds exactly in the same way as the Purple
Herons. They are generally located in a far-away corner,
where the growtii of reeds is thickest and the depth of

16

242 Pictures of Bird Life

water greatest. The bottom is so soft and treacherous
tliat six attempts to photograph tlie young birds in their
nest utterly failed. Every moment I expected to dis-
appear from sight, camera and all. In the water around
these nests were floating numbers of small roach, and others
were lying on the nests rotting in the sun, putrid and fly-
blown, each one contributing its share to the usual perfimie
of a heronry. A strong stomacli and plenty of enthusiasm are
wanted for tliis work. Besides tlie strong smell from the nests,
each step in the deep stagnant water and eacli prod witli tlie
pinit-pole stirs up bubbles of evil-smelling gas e^'oh'ed from
the rotting vegetation, and after a prolonged stay in such
unsavoury quarters one's clothes become saturated witli evil
odours.

On one occasion all tlie nests of some Piu-ple Herons
appeared to be empty wlien, after some struggling, I had
reached the spot, though standing up in the punt we had seen
young birds in e^ery jiest. After a lot of hunting about in
vain, it occurred to me to look imder the nests, whicli, for a
wonder, were Ijuilt on dry ground, or at any rate comparatively
dry for Purple Herons. There in a space of a few inches
between tlie nests and the ground all the young Herons were
crouching motionless, hoping, no dou])t. that the enemy would
depart without detecting them. One luckless individual had
allowed me to tread on it sooner than move, and on retracing
my steps to return to the punt its body was found crushed by
mv liea\v nailed brogues.

The colouring of these nestling I'urple Herons is very

Bird Life in Dutch Marshes

243

strikino-. 'i'lieir reddish plumage shows oft the yellow eyes
and hcak, o-reen le^^'s, and briglit blue primary (piills, so tliat

three or four
of these bi-
zarre - looking
young birds
standing in
their nest
make a most
effective pic-
t u r e . T h e
adult birds

are a trifle
smaller than
the Common
Herons, and
look darker in
colour.

It was a
common sight
in our progress
in the punt
along the canal -

like channels cut in tlie reeds to see these birds, disturbed by
our presence, rising from the reeds with flapping wings and

Black Tern {Hydrocliclidon nigra).

244 Pictures of Bird Life

drooping leg's, and to surprise them on their way liome. On
seeing us tliey would pull up in their Hight, and sheer oft' in
anotlier direetion with nuieh eonvulsi\e and laborious energy.
At tlieir nests they are \ ery noisy, making tlie most extra-
ordinary grunting and groaning.

The diffieulty in photographing tliese wary birds, so striking
in their appearanee and so interesting in tlieir habits, and the
])ietures(pie nature of tlieir haunts, only made me more anxious
to make another attempt on different lines.

Aeeordingly. in 11)01, a speeial expedition to the same place
was made in order to photograph the S]:)oonbills and Purple
Herons })y means of an automatie electric trap arrangement,
M^iicli had been devised for their especial benefit. The idea
was that, ])y placing this arrangement on the nest, the bird, on
its return, would, by treading on it, depress the \eyev of an
electric switch, and so put the current of a dry battery in
action, which would operate a shutter worked by an electro-
magnet on a concealed camera. l^y this plan there would
not be so much to alarm the birds, so quick to detect the
presence of any hidden photographer, who would be free to
work in another direction with a spare camera. However, on
arri^ al at the colony of Spoonbills' nests, it was at once evident
that this plan was impracticable for them ; for the young birds
were more than half grown, and ceaselessly wandered up and
down their nest, and would inevitably have sprung the trap
long before the parent birds returned. A modification of the
plan had to be adopted, and a string was fixed to the switch
to be pulled from a hiding-place in the reeds a little distance

240 Pictures of Bird Life

away. However, the adult Spoonbills came so much more
readily than ever before that this was given up as unnecessary,
and many exposures were made from a distance of only a])out
fi^'e yards.

Here, sitting in the water and covered over M'ith reeds
for several hours, tlie imusual treat was enjoyed of watching
botli the parent S^Doonbills accompanied by their lialf-grown
young ones. As soon as tlie old birds had settled, after much
flapping of great white wings, the young birds would tease
tlicm for food, uttering a whining, chipping noise, luitil the
parent would open its cin-ious beak, and allow the young birds
to insert tlieir beaks as far as the crop and feed like young
pigeons. This I watched repeatedly.

Another Aery noticeable fact was tliat tlie orange mark on
tlie throat, described simply in the Miimial of BritisJi Birds
as '• gular region orange,"' gave them exactly the appearance
of having had their throats cut ; for the colour is just tliat
of dried blood, and the shape and position resemble a gash
with a knife across the throat.

After lea\'ing them, the trap was set at a Purple Heron's
nest not far off. which held four eggs. But the water was
deep, and the difficulty in hiding the camera very great.
After wasting half a day. we failed to score any success : and.
to make it worse, my large sheath-knife fell out into fixe feet
of water, and I failed to recover it. That made the second
knife lost in the depths of this " meer." A pair of spectacles
was also dropped, but these I fished up again : and a box
full of exposed plates also fell overboard — these, of course.

248 Pictures of Bird Life

were not wortli any attempt at recovery, as the water would
liave utterly spoilt them.

After this another nest was foiuul better situated for our
purpose, where the camera could be effectually hidden on
a heap of piled-up reeds level with tlie water and co\'ered
over with wet sedge and rubbish. The nest beino- made of
reeds, a dry reed-stem was used as the lever of the switch,
and was placed across the nest. After leaving this for a
few hours, we were delighted to find, on our first visit to it,
that the bird had returned and had sprung the shutter.

The first impression was tliat, instead of tlie Heron
herself being recorded on the plate, we had succeeded in
photographing a ]Marsh-harrier in the act of stealing eggs ;
for we had left fom^ ^^g^ hi the nest, and foiuid but three,
while the reed-stem serving as a switch was broken short
off, and the nest itself smeared with blood. In connection
with these marks of disorder, the sight of a JNIarsh-harrier
rising from the reeds as we approached appeared to be
rather suspicious. Further investigation, however, showed
us that the Heron herself nuist ha\e broken the reed and
her own egg at the same time, for we found it eventually
in the water below the nest. The plate, too, on de^ elop-
ment. showed the Purple Heron in the act of stepping on
to her nest in a most typical and characteristic attitude,
the reed-stem plainly visible imder one u})lifted foot.

Two other exposures were subsequently made by this
same bird, to my great satisfaction, as proving that for
parti cidarly shy birds this method is really practicable in

^;EST OF Great Crested Grebe {Podiceps cristatits).

250

Pictures of Bird Life

obtaining photooraphs, while they are perfectly unconscious
of any danger. Hiding the camera successfully is tlie chief

difficulty. If
tliis can be
done at the
nest of any
bird, it is al-
most a cer-
tainty ; but if
its suspicions
are aroused by
any very un-
usual appear-
ance, it will
probably desert
its eggs, instead
of returning to
tliem as usual.
AVe liad
proof of this,
unfortunately ;
for a whole day
was gi\'en to
the nest of a
Marsh -liarrier.

where the mistake was made of attempting to hide the
camera on its tripod by co^■cring it witli reeds, instead of
placing it on a heap of reeds and then covering it o\er.

White Stork and Young {Cicoiiia alba').

Bird Life in Dutch Marshes

251

White Storks. Greetings.

The bird, tliou<>li its four eggs
were hard sat on, deserted sooner
than approach such a suspicious-
looking object, and tliev Avere
eventually sucked l)y Crows.

It was a great treat to ])e
able to watch the fine flight of
these Harriers, as they soared in
great circles, hardly seeming to
move their broad wings, while
they sailed round against the blue
sky. Every now and then they

would settle on some low bushes near their nest, which was

situated on a dry part of the marsh, and placed on a small

mound amid the sedge. The nest itself was carefully made

of sedge. This failure was a great disappointment : but had

the camera been hidden as at the

Purple Heron's nest, 1 am confident

that a successfid photograph woidd

have been obtained. There woidd

have been a better chance, perhaps,

if the eggs had been hatched and

the young birds waiting to be fed.
This is the only Harriers nest

I ha\'e seen here, though in former

years an odd bird or two have been

ol)served. From the train window.

in 181)7. I watched one flying over

Stork kl.^ppering.

2.52 Pictures of Bird Life

the "ineer"' in Avliich I liad worked for a wliole week
witliout seeing" one. On my first A'isit two, I think, were
noticed in the immediate neighbonrhood. One of these was
quartering o^'er some meadows, wliicli were being mown —
on the look out, probably, for Godwit's eggs, or else young
Godwits. laid bare by the mowers. At any rate, several
Godwits were fiying in an excited and alarmed state. One
of tliem I noticed perching on a gate-post, as a Redshank
will sometimes do in similar circumstances. Doubtless the
^larsh-harrier would nest much more often in a place so
suitable for its habits ; but too many Harriers would prob-
ably mean too few^ Ducks — at any rate, that is the opinion
of the old keeper, who, I understood, had killed no less
than seventeen in one season, lender the circumstances their
comparative scarcity is easily accounted for.

Thougli Coots and AVild Ducks are to be met with in
numbers indiscriminately all ()\ er tlie " meer," the other birds
breeding there keep Aery nuicli to the neighbourhood of the
particular part selected by tliem. any intrusion into wliicli
causes a great commotion and excitement. Tlie Spoonbills
and Herons fly off at once, and when sitting liard leave
their nests Avith some reluctance : but tlie (tuIIs and Terns,
Avitli harsh cries and angry protests, flock round the tres-
passer as soon as he approaches tlieir nesting-place ; nor do
thev cease tlieir scolding for a moment as loim" as he remains.
He is made to understand immistakably that he has no
business there, and that his presence is deeply resented.
I haA'e been sometimes fairly mobbed by ]51ack Terns in

Bird Life in Dutch Marshes

2.58

their mioTy excitement at my presence so near tlieir freslily
hatched yoiino-. Sometimes their nests are substantially
l)uilt in shahow water, similar to those seen in the
south of Spain. Hut in the deeper waters which generally
pre^■ail tliey adoi)t other methods, and lay their very
dark, pointed eggs, without any attempt at a nest, on

Is'esi" or AvocKT {Rccurvirtstra avucetta).

the Boating masses of reed-stems, scum, and rubbish of
all kinds whicli accimiulates, and gradually forms a kind
of floating island, in which seeds of various marsh plants
and flowers s})ring up and grow luxuriantly. In such
places perhaps a dozen nests may be seen, sometimes
alone, but often in company with Connnon Terns'. At

'2o4< Pictures of Bird Life

other times they will lay on tlie heaps of cut reeds at the
edffes of the channels.

On returning to their nests, wliich they will do when
sitting while you are watching them from a \'ery short
distance, they have a pretty way of remaining for a second
or two witli their fully expanded wings in an upright
position before finally closing them. In this attitude they
have a particularly dainty and fascinating appearance. They
appear to feed their young on dragon-flies, which naturally,
in sucli an expanse of marsh, are exceedingly abundant.

Black Terns are regular JMarsh-terns, and nest habitually
in fresh-water situations ; but I must say I was surprised
to find the Common Tern breeding in such a locality,
looking upon it as a maritime species. It seems, however,
that this Tern, while nesting in many places round our
coasts, and on islands off the coast, is also addicted in
some parts to nesting on the shores of fresh-water lochs ;
and this appears to be its more usual habit in Ireland,
where it is common. On the island of Texel I lune seen
their nests on short turf in company Avith Oyster-catchers'. I
hiive even fancied that their eggs in sucli a place are more
inclined to a greenish coloration than when laid on shingle.
AVhile waiting to photograph a Common Tern at the
extremity of a long floating island, a Redshank pitched close
to the nest. Although engaged in changing a plate at the
moment, I managed to get it in in time to make an
exposure ; but before it was possible to repeat it, the Tern
Hew up and hustled the Redshank away.

Bird Life in Dutch Marshes

255

AvocET {Rcciirvirus/ja avocctta) fkeuing.

The young Black Terns are adepts at paddling along
the surface of the water, when disturbed, in the endeavour
to escape. They are clad in down of a rich mottled
chocolate colour, and the hare patch of skin round the
eyes is pale blue. The young of the Conniion Tern are
also difficult to photograph for the same reason : they
are most persistent in tlicir attempts to swim away from
any intruder. Very mucli larger than the Black Terns, and
of a dirty yellow mottled colour ; they very much resemble
young Black-headed Gulls in general appearance.

A colony of Black-headed (4ulls is a most interesting
and picturesque sight. The birds themselves are perfect
pictures of grace and beauty. Their black, or rather dark
brown, hoods, red legs and feet, and snowy plumage, with
jet-black primaries, are in such striking contrast, and their
easy and buoyant flight is a treat to behold, as the birds
float past and poise overhead, each one scolding its hardest.

256 Pictures of Bird Life

Their chosen retreat, too. is perhaps the prettiest l)it of
tlie wliole '• ineer." Tlieir nests are placed in an open space
smTonnded l)y reeds, and spano^led witli tlie tloatin(>' leaves
and white flowers of the water-lily, rivalling their own spot-
less plnniage in purity and })eauty. Though the water is
deep — quite three or four feet — the nests are solid structures
of reeds, apparently l)uilt up from the bottom. In a small
hollow in the top the tlnx-e <)li\'e-brown eggs lie on a
lining of smaller and finer material. Other nests are made
on the edge of a small island, and many are hidden from
sight in the midst of the surrounding reeds.

On a long heap or stack of cut-down reed-bundles rows
of the CtuIIs may be seen perching, and there are generally
two or three preening themsehes on the to]) of a notice-
board close to tlieir nesting-place. Tliev may be seen
hunting for food oAcr the luxuriant meadows which sur-
roimd the " meer," and searching the dykes and ditches.

Coots are exceedingly numerous : but, cm-iously enough,
the A\^ater-hen seems to })e (piite a scarce bird in Holland,
where one would naturally expect it to al)()uud. 'i'he country
seems to be made on purpose for it. and yet I do not
remember ever seeing more than one.

On my last ^isit I had tlie pleasure of listening daily
to the " boom * of a Bittern ; and a weird sound it is —
certainly not what anybody would connect in any way witli
a bird. The Dutch name. " Roer-dump," expresses the
sound very well. The first part resembles a big indrawn
sigh, and the second a hollow '* dump." The keeper

Bird Life in Dutch Marshes 257

declared that tlie bird did not nest tliere, wliicli I d()ii])t ;
but in June the young birds would have proba})ly flown.
I should think tlie Bittern would be very difficult to locate
from its " boom," which appears to have a ventriloquial
effect.

The Bearded Tit seems to be only a rare winter visitor.
Xor could I liear an)i:hing of tlie Sliort-eared Owl.

A Magpie was nesting in a poplar just opposite the
keepers cottage.

The Cxreat Crested (irebe is fairly common, and I fancy
the pike must take toll of tlie young ones. I liave never
seen more than one young bird following the parent. The
keeper talks of another Grebe, or " Loem," breeding here —
probably the Eared Grebe. We saw in tlie distance one
day a (Ti'ebe, not a Great Crested, and too big for a I^ittle
Grebe ; but I could not understand what he said about it,
and it was too far off to make it out.

The reeling note of the Grasshopper-warbler may be
constantly heard. It is known here as the " Schneider,"
which means, I presume, " Tailor." If this is because of
the resemblance of its note to a sewing-machine, it would
seem to point to the bird's comparatively recent occurrence.

The Stork, though popularly supposed to be a welcome
guest in every Dutch village, if not in every house, is not
by any means so widely distributed, and it is quite possible
to travel a very long way and never see a sign of one.

In the beautiful and extensive grounds of the gentleman
before mentioned, there is a nest on the top of the usual

17

258 Pictures of Bird Life

pole erected on their behalf ; ])ut he has improved on the
cart-wheel ordinarily placed in position on the top through-
ont Holland, by having made an iron cage arrangement to
receive and hold the sticks of which the great nest is com-
posed. This is witliin siglit of his library window, looking
across the corner of the garden and carriage-drive, and from
his easy-chair he can watch their movements, and see the
parent Storks standing in their contemplative attitude at
the edge of the nest, or watch them arriving with food
for their young ones. xVfter the young are hatched, they
never appear to be left imguarded. but one or other of the
old birds stands sentry until relieved by the arrival of its
mate. Then it will spread its wide black wings and launch
itself into the air from its lofty perch. Any strange Stork
passing over, even though so high in the air as to be well-
nigh invisible, is always watched with every sign of alarm
and suspicion by the sentry : while the approach of its mate
is greeted witli '* klappering,"" tliat mode of language peculiar
to the Stork family. Tlie nest is gained by a gradual rise
after skimming low down close to tlie groimd : and when
it is finally reached by the returning bird, the siglit of the
meeting between the pair is most grotesque. Each bird
politely bows to its partner, and tlien, throwing back their
great red beaks until tliey rest on their backs, they each
" klapper " vigorously.

To see them, one would suppose they were congratulating
themselves on meeting once more after a long and perilous
journey. In reality, the journey has been to the distance

Bird Life in Dutch Marshes 259

of some adjoining meadow in search of frogs. Their power
of Higlit is superb, and it is a fine siglit to see half-a-
dozen Storks soaring easily upwards till hxst to sight among
the clouds.

There are two other Storks' nests not far away — one at
my friend's old house, where he lived up to three years
ago, and one in the grounds of his father-in-law. The only
other nest I know of was to be seen a few years ago from
the railway near The Hague ; but 1 have missed it lately,
though I h'dve looked for it when passing.

In the tall trees at one end of the meadow, and quite
close to the house, is a heronry, and from my bedroom
window in the early morning I could listen to the extra-
ordinary noises made by the birds when feeding their young.
At the side of tlie house is a louff a^'enue of magnificent
lime-trees, and in the holes in these trees were many
Owls" nests. One hole was pointed out as having held Barn-
owls for several years, and the ground below was strewn ^\ith
castings. One of these yielded the skulls of no less than
five shrew-mice, besides other bones ; another one contained
the skull of a small rat. The grounds of this fine specimen
of a Dutch country house consist of eight hundred acres, and
the trees contained therein are worth a special visit. The
lime-trees in particular are exceptionally fine. Besides Barn-
owls, both the Tawny Owls and Little Owls nest near tlie
house. The latter, I was told, are frequently seen in the
daytime, and are very tame.

Golden Orioles were very numerous, their liquid note

260 Pictures of Bird Life

being constantly lieard in the lofty tree-tops. They are
seldom seen, howe\'er ; I saw but a passing glimpse of
one, and my liost told me that lie had only once seen a
nest. They are in\'ariably suspended from the pendent
extremity of a topmost branch of a high tree, and in con-
sequence are seldom found, and can only be reached by
cutting off tlie brand i.

The Icterine AX'arbler is another species which nests in
the garden and grounds, but I liave never seen it.

Desirous of seeing some of tlie rarer waders, particidarly
Avocets, a journey was made to a more northern locality,
where they still may be found. Tliough late in the season,
several Avocets' nests were seen still with eggs. The nests
were on the caked mud of a dried-up creek, and consisted of
a few stalks such as are usually to be found in a Lapwing's
nest, and each nest contained four eggs. These beautiful
and unique birds are perliaps the most gi'aceful and elegant
of all the waders, and have always excited the utmost admira-
tion wlierever I have met with them, whether on the sandy
creeks of the Zuyder Zee, or on tlie mud-flats of the tawny
Guadalquivir and the marismas below Seville, or the fjords
and marshes of AVest Jutland. AVhether daintily tripping
over dry mud or the shining surface of tidal ooze, wading in
shallow pools, swimming, or flying, all their actions are full
of grace and beauty, and by moving quietly they are fairly
easy to approach. In fact, we were able, on the Guadal-
quivir, to run close enough to them in the electric launch
to have touched them with a boat-hook as they ran about

Bird Life in Dutch Marshes 2G1

tlie mud-fiats alouo- tlic shore at low tide. We foimd them,
in this Dutch ishiiid, M'ith the same preference for the
company of Redshanks which had been noticed in Spain.

Many Redshanks' nests were carefully hidden in the
tufts of long o-rass : C^odwits were also numerous, but we
were too late for eo;os. By their excited demeanour they
had evidently youno- birds hidden in the luxuriant orass

Nest of Lesser Ter.x [S/ci/ut uiinula).

in the meadows, in which they breed. This grass was far
too thick and liigli to permit of anything like a successful
search bein"' made for them. Thev are tlie Black-tailed
Godwits, which, at the beginning of the nineteenth century,
were accustomed to nest in the eastern counties of England.
The Bar-tailed Godwits, so common along our coasts in the
autumn and winter, do not nest anywhere south of Lapland.

262 Pictures of Bird Life

Oyster-catc'liers and Common Terns were nesting on
the sliort turf, and I^esser Terns on tlie shingly patches,
while the little pools were inhabited by numerous 151ack-
headed Gulls.

Tlie llufts. or rather the Reeves, were presmnably
tending tlieir young in the meadows, M'liere they also nest,
like the Godwits, and we saw very little of them.

In this place I had tlie advantage of a guide wlio could
speak very good English, and liad, besides, a knowledge
of the different birds, and where tliey were to be met
with. In most I^utch towns there is very little difficulty
with the language, as almost everybody with any education
speaks English perfectly well. The upper classes invariably
speak it with amazing fluency and correctness. In my three
visits to the '* nicer," however, I have failed to find a soul
who could understand or speak one single word of English.
Twice have I spent a week there — once in a large farm-
house, and again at the keeper's cottage — without being
able to communicate with anybody, save by signs.

Tlie whole of each day was spent with a young Dutch-
man, the son of the keeper, who punted me about from one
nest to another, and acted as guide among the intricate
channels of the "nicer." Here, attain, all communication
was by signs, helped by a few Dutch words left by my
Dutch friends in my pocket-book when they drove me over
and made all arrangements for my stay. Above all, the
Dutch names of all the birds to be met with were pro-
vided ; and with these I got on very m ell, especially as my

Bird Life in Dutch Marshes 263

boatman very (|uifkly <>()t into my ways and understood
what Mas wanted.

Tlie eliief difficulty at tirst was to make liini understand,
when it was necessary for me to wait in conceahncut at a
nest in order to photograph tlie ])ird itself, tliat lie was
wanted to go right away, and to stop away until lie was
called. Xothing is more annoying, when engaged in this
work, after waiting for hours, half broiled by the sun, oxer
waist-deep in stagnant water, and covered o\'er with wet
reeds, just at a critical moment, when you are expecting
the bird you hiive waited so long for, to hear yom* boatman
pottering about close to and preparing to come to you.
These are the occasions when the ignorance of the language
makes itself felt, and when you feel as if you would like
to know some of the stronger adjectives in local use in
order to do full justice to yoin- feelings.

On one occasion he failed to come when I did want
him. Though I shouted till I was hoarse, he did not appear,
and I began to wonder what had become of him. The water
was generally so deep, and the bottom so soft and uncAen,
that I hardly liked being left alone ; and if anything had
happened to my boatman when in such a situation, unable to
move a yard without getting over my head, and encumbered
with a hea^y camera and wading-trousers, the result might
have been decidedly unpleasant. If I stopped there for a
week, there would be no chance of anybody coming within
hail. In this case I was able, luckily, after a time to wade
in the direction in which I thought he had gone, and

204 Pictures of Bird Life

presently saw liiin. or rather his punt, some distance off!
Of the l)t)atnian liiniself tlie only visible sign was one leg.
with a wooden shoe on the end of it. sticking up in the air.
Shouting and yelling had no effect whatever, and doubts
came into my mind as to the cause of his silence. A\^as
he drunk, or in a fit. or dead '. ^Vfter some difHculty 1
managed to wade out to him, and found him lying on his
back fast asleep in the sun. Even then he only woke up
Avhen I tij^ped the punt to one side and nearly rolled him
out of it.

H()we\'er, we got on very well together, and he was
invariably very obliging and intelligent. His people, too,
did everything in their power to make me comfortable, and
to help me in my work : and the hours I spent with him
exploring all the innermost recesses of this famous resort
of rare birds are among the most enjoyable I have e^'er
experienced anywhere.

CHAPTEll IX

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas

Sfaix is iiiKl()iil)teclly
tlie country wliic-li
offers most attnictious
to the oriiitliologist at
the present day. First
of all, the country it-
self lias many natural
advantaoes in tlie im-
mense range of climate
and temperature, owin<)-
to its pliysical pecu-
liarities. The snow-
clad heights of the
sierras look down on
sunny vineyards and
olive-groves twelve
thousand feet below,
where the orange,
banana, and other sub-tropical fruits and plants grow freely
and abundantlv. Tlie soil, too, is of as diverse a character

WooucHAT-sHRiKE {Laiiiits poiiieraiius).

•_>(;(>

Pictures of Bird Life

as tlic rest of tliis paradoxicjil couiitrv. tlie })aiTen and
metalliferous provinees of Xortheru Spain euhninating- in the
fertile gardens of Andalucia and the swampy rice-fields of
N'aleneia. Then, too. the greater part of the country is

Dunlins {Tringa alpina) feeding.

uninhabited. Even in tlie cultivated parts the population
is confined to the towns and ^'illages, and the vast spaces
of barren sand-dunes, tlie flooded marismas of the south,
and the pine- and cork-woods are absolutely without a
human habitation, save the temporary shelter of reeds
and })ranches used by the few herdsmen and cliarcoal-
burners. ^Vnd, above all, the propinquity of Gibraltar and
the southern apex of Andalucia to the great African Con-
tinent, the winter resort of so many migratory birds, is
taken advantage of by them as the shortest and easiest
route to follow. So that a \qv\ large proportion of the
birds Avhich migrate to and from the northern countries of
Europe pass through Spain twice every year. Besides these,
there are many others which cross o\ev from Africa, and nest

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas 267

ill tlie south of tluit eountiy, as their fartliest Jiortlieni hniit
in an ordinary wii>% tliou^li most of tliciu are represented in
our hst of British birds l)y a few stra^'glers which lia\e, at
long intervals, reached our shores.

Tlie larger raptorial birds, wliieli are almost exterminated
in more populous and civilised countries, are here found
in great abundance. The carrion-eating ^^ultures nest in
numbers in tlie inaccessible heights of the sierras, and
range over the open country in search of food. The car-
cases of drowned oxen and sheep, and those of the luckless
horses, victims of the brutal bull-ring, are cleared away in
an incredibly short space of time by these scavengers, which
throng to the feast from far and wide. Even the very bones
disappear, the " Quebrantahuesos," the Bone-smashers, as the
Egyptian \"ulture and the Lammergeyer are called, carrying
them one by one high in the air, and then dropping them
on to the rocks in order to get at the marrow. The
(xolden P^agle and Imperial Eagle, Bonelli's and the Short-
toed Eagle, and the Booted Eagle are all to be found,
some of them preying on the rabbits and the smaller
quadrupeds, and others on the innumerable snakes and
lizards which aboimd in every direction.

Of the larger Hawks, the Kites, partly carrion- and
partly reptile-eaters, are exceedingly numerous. The Egg-
eating Harriers are to be seen daily quartering the lower
gi-ounds and reed-beds for what eggs and young birds they can
find. The knightly Peregrine and the more humble Kestrel
are also numerc^us. But perhaps it is that extraordinary

268

Pictures of Bird Life

and unique region known as the " niarisnia " which affords
the greatest di^'ersity of bird hfe. Here come, either at
one time of tlie year or tlie otlier, ahnost every species
of marsh, aquatic, and wading birds on our hst of British
birds, with many others unknown to us. The Great Bustard

iSEST OF KijL [^MiTi'ns ir^^alts).

still frequents the rolling plains and tawny corn-fields of the
south, and the stately Crane nests amid tlie reed-grown
lagoons.

So tliat, when I received an invitation to join a yachting
party at Gibraltar, for the piu"pose of exploring the mouth
of the Guadalquivir and the famous marismas of tliat dis-

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas 269

trict ill searc'li of birds, it is needless to say tliat it was
accepted witli alacrity. It was the very thing I had been
lono'ing to do for years ; all needful preparations were made
with the greatest enthusiasm, and a start was made with
anticipations which were more than fulfilled. Travelling
overland through France — for I had been unable to catch
the steamer did not present anything wortliy of notice.
Birds, indeed, appeared, as far as one could judge from the
passing train, conspicuous by their absence, with the ex-
ception of ^Magpies, wdiicli were more plentiful than I had
exer seen them before. Tlieir nests were to be seen by the
dozen, sometimes two, and even three, in one leafless tree.

Railway traAxUing was nc^t altogether so comfortable as it
might have been, though it was partly or altogether my own
fault that tlie join-ney from I^ondon was so long and tedious.
Starting on Sunday evening, I did not land on the quay
at Gibraltar until Friday evening. Still, the journey was an
experience I am glad not to have missed. It gave me an
opportunity of seeing something, however cursory, of the
whole length of Spain, from north to south, and many typical
glimpses of an extremely interesting and picturesque people,
and of noting the effects of climate on the \arious races.

The country south of the I'yrenees is very picturesque :
rocky valleys, covered with oak and chestnut, generally had
a small stream rippling along over the shallows, and looking
very " trouty " — as I believe they are. Here the people
are frugal and industrious, the soil not being very produc-
tive, and labour being absolutely necessary to get a living.

•270 Pictures of Bird Life

It was a common sight to see a couple of men, one on
each side of a scarlet petticoated woman, diggina on a steep
hillside, keeping step and time together. All six brown
arms would raise their spades above the head, down would
go the blades all together, like clockwork, being pressed
farther down by their bare feet. At e^•ery station — and
there was one every few miles — the train would wait while
many kegs and boxes of produce of some kind or other
were leisurely packed on board : and when we did at last
get under Avay again, tlie children would run alongside,
iumping on and off the footboard for some little distance
with familiar contempt. On every train travel a couple of
the ubiquitous '• guardas civiles," in their neat black-and-
white uniform, and armed with riHe and sword-bayonet.
One of these men would, every time he wanted a smc^ke,
open the l:)reech of his rifle, gi\'e it a tap, and out would
come a cigarette. Tliey are a long way tlie best-set-up and
most soldierly troops in Spain. Every station was also occu-
pied by a " carabinero,"' in shabby uniform of most atrocious
cut and coloin- or combination of colours. One I remember
liad a ])lue coat, red trousers, and bright green worsted
gloves !

JMagpies again are \'ery numerous : they appear to be the
commonest bird throughout both France and Spain. As the
train climbed higher and higher up into tlie sierras north of
^ladrid, the snow-covered peaks began to be \ isil)le on each
side, and the nights were bitterly cold. Tlie people here
were Avrapped in their long Spanish cloaks, a most service-

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas

271

al)le garnieiit for such a climate, where the winds are of
an icy coldness.

At one of the moinitain stations a party of sportsmen
aliffhted, and I watched tliem mounting' their liorses, which
were waiting outside in charge of two or tliree keepers.
One of the ''guns" carried a large Parrot's cage, in whicli

Kite's Nest with Young (Milviis rcgalis).

was a ''Reclamo," a tame cock Partridge, a Red-leg (our
Partridge being unknown south of tlie Pyrenees), whose
call was to be used to attract his kith and kin within reach
of the ambushed guns. This is the usual Spanish fashion
of shooting Partridges !

Through a gap in the mountains the line passed close
to the Escurial, and brilliant uniforms and many ladies

'272 Pictures of Bird Life

were on the pkitforiii of the httle station, not far from
JMadrid.

South of Madrid the country is monotonous in the ex-
treme at tliis time of year (JVlarch) ; a barren-looking phiteau
appeared to stretch to the horizon, imbroken by tree or
shrub. The ^'ines iiad not yet begun to sprout, and appeared
to ])e so many rows of dead and hfeless stinnps.

A few small parties of Swallows and Kestrels now
began to be seen, all of them working northwards : and the
farther south the more numerous they became, until by
the time Andalucia was reached many Swallows and JMartins
were noticed perching on the stations and telegraph-wires.
Xow and then a Bee-eater might be seen, and cactus hedges
and aloes bordered the line.

Beggars infest all the stations, which are quite open to
all comers, cripples of all sorts and descriptions, and pedlars
shout their appeals and call attention to their wares. Some
of them sell water — " Agua, agua " ; others oranges, which are
cheap and delicious : and boys run about witli trays of fearsome-
looking cakes and eatables, of whose composition I know
nothing, nor want to — most unholy-looking compounds, whicli
would, I shoidd imagine, make very excellent fly-traps.

The herdsmen and shepherds are invariably armed with
long rusty guns slung on their backs, and mostly clad in
leather from head to foot, looking much more like brigands
than honest men. Appearances are, however, deceptive ; for
further experience showed tliat tliis class of men were
invariably very polite and obliging.

18

274 Pictures of Bird Life

At Gibraltar I waited ten days before the yaeht alTi^ed,
being delayed by bad weather coming from Cyprus. During
the whole of this time I applied in vain for permission
to photograph at the adjutant's office. In spite of repeated
promises I never got it, and had to lea\'e without ]ia\'ing
had a chance of doing many things that I wanted to.

Swarms of Kestrels clustered like bees up and down
the rugged face of the stujDcndous cliff of the north front.
I was never tired of watching them soaring o\'erhead and
listening to their wild, chattering cries. It is possible to
climb up the sloping foot of the cliff, and there I could
sit and see them hovering or perching on the ledges and
crevices of the perpendicular Kock above. In the holes and
crannies were many pigeons, and towards e\'ening the Swifts
would come tumbling out, to wheel around the narrow
streets, uttering their weird screams. The Kestrels, I imagine,
must feed largely on beetles, no other food being plentiful
enough to .support such immense mnnbers of them.

In the beautiful public gardens on the south side were
many familiar English birds, whose notes came at first as
a surprise from amid the luxuriant tangle of semi-tropical
foliage — from date-palms, oranges, ])ananas, pepper-trees, and
many others, festooned witli strange climbing plants, whose
brilliant flowers fill the air with sweet perfume and attract
numbers of butterflies.

From the parade-ground above these gardens tlie great
bare Rock rears its imposing height from tlie belt of pines
and low brushwood wliich clothes the lower slopes. Below

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas 275

lie at uiK'hor tlie stately warships and large passenger-
steamers, which are ever arriving and departing ; and across
the narrow straits can be plainly seen Centa and the African
nionntains.

Between the north front and the nentral gronnd there
is a wide moat, on which are numbers of Coots and JNlallards,
feeding and swimming about in the most unconcerned manner
witliin a few feet of the noisy and busy traffic constantly

Grey 1-'i,cjvi;ks iSijaatniold lnii'€iiai ).

passing along the dusty roads leading to the Spanish lines.
Though so tame, these are perfectly wild birds, free to come
and go as they like ; and they may be seen towards e\ening
flying in from seawards, and, after wheeling round, pitching
down on the water.

It was reported in the hotel that an Egyptian ^^llture
was in the habit of daily ^•isiting the officers' mess of the
South Wales Borderers, where food was regularly provided

276 Pictures of Bird Life

for it. Not lui\ing the necessary permit to pliot()<4Taj)li from
the mihtary authorities, I arranged to oo up Avitli the local
photographer, as he had a commission for some work there,
and, passing myself off as liis assistant, intended to devote
myself to the \"ultin'e. I^nfortunately he was prevented from
going, and the opportunity was missed.

The fact is, the ordinary civilian in (ribraltar, especially
when making a short and temporary stay, is soon made to
realise that he is only there on sufferance, wliich indeed is the
case ; and unless he has introductions, or is known to the
powers that l)e, lie does not stand much chance of doing
anytliing, beyond going o\er the galleries in charge of a
sergeant and inspecting tlie lighthouse. I could have for-
gone these sights with much equanimity if I could have seen
the Bonelli's Eagles which liave nested for many years within
sight of one of tlie signal stations, or the Osprey's nest, or
the celebrated apes.

As it was, these were forbidden pleasm-es ; and being
unable to do anything on the Hock, I crossed oxev to
Algerciras, and went inland a short distance by train to some
cork-woods, at a place called Almoraima.

Leaving the little station, I found myself in very Eng-
lish-looking country ; tlie light, sandy soil was covered with
bracken, here and there were small reed-grown lagoons and
swamps, and from the oak- and cork-trees could be heard the
" Pink-pink '" of chaffinches and the notes of many Titmice
and Blackbirds. From yonder rose-spangled thicket entwined
with honeysuckle came the joyous melody of a Nightingale,

278

Pictures of Bird Life

aiul Cuckoos announced tlieir arrival in every directic^n. But
among these sounds were mingled the liquid notes of the
Bee-eaters, as they poised in mid-air or perched on some
bare twig on the watch for passing insects.

]More conspicuous still on the bare branches of the lower
bushes were the AVoodchat Shrikes, their white breasts shining
in the sun. and showing off' the rich chestnut of head and
back. They are very bold and familiar, much more so than

the B ee-
eaters. which
dash off at
the slightest
attcm])t at a
11 e a r a p -
proach. Sev-
eral of these
graceful and
brightly col-
oured birds
were h()\'er-

ing in front of some holes in a high bank : but so cai-lv in
the season — mid-April — it did not seem worth while to try
to dig out the holes. AVhile watching to find out if the
birds were entering them at all. I saw tlie tail of a big lizard
sticking out of one of them.

Lizards and snakes are exceedingly numerous, and run to
a very large size, lioth are credited with dexouring birds
and their eggs, and even rabbits : and in their turn they

Stilt i Hiiiiantupiis candidtts).

Bird Life in thie Spanish Marismas 27'.>

are devoured bv many f)f tlie raptorial bir(K. \'ei'y soon
after leaxiiii;' the station a I'lishiiig" sound beliind made me
turn (juickK'. and I saw au Kagle elcjseiy pursuing another
one. whieli had tiiinly gripped in its chiws a large lizard.
In tlieir excitement tliey had approaelied (piite elose to me.
l-'rom theii- white-harred breasts, they were seen to be tlie
Snake-eagle, or Short-toed Eagle — a migratory species wliieh
crosses into Spain in tlie sunnner to teed on the numerous
snakes and hzards. and nests in tlie cork- and pine-trees.

Passing on tlie wav a I'oadside " venta."" I went in for
sometliing t(j eat and drink. The aeeonmiodation in these
places is of tlie roughest, though I had some capital eggs
and some sour wine. " Huevos fritos" (fried eggs) are the
oidv thijigs eatable, so far as my exjK-rienee goes, in Spain.

On entering. 1 found the host, sun-dried and lean, sitting
on a rcnigh beneh on the earthen lioor of the pubhe room.
In one corner stood sundry mules and donkeys, and cocks
and hens ran in and out of the open doorway. Just o^-er
his iicad nian\' Swallows were visiting their nests in the
rude rafters, perfectly tame and unconcerned. I heard after-
wards that only the day before a man had been dangerously
stabbed in this same " venta "" in a (piarrel with a rival over
the old maifs daughter. probabl\- the same girl who waited
on me. However. I knew nothing then of all this, and
enjoyed my meal and rest : for carrying a camera o\-er rough
country under an Andalucian sun. even in April, is trying
work.

i)n one side of the line a small stream runs, full of

•280

Pictures of Bird Life

fisli. a|)})arently dace, and water-turtles appeared to })e very
common. Here I saw a Marsh-liarrier for the first time,
disturbin(( it from a dead and withered tree wliicli overhung
tlie stream.

A Sandpiper was also seen, which I took to be the Green
Sandpiper : and a Kinofisher — the only one 1 saw in Spain

The Author.

throughout my visit. .Vccordini>" to Chapman, it is •• most
numerous in winter."' A Blue Tit was noticed iiestiiii;- in a
birch-tree at the waterside. Unfortunately I did not see
the Crested Tit. wliich is to be found in the nci(>hboui"h()<)d.
I^ooking into a small bush for nests, a green tree-frog
was espied a few inches from my face, clinging to one of

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas 281

the upright stalks. It was perfectly motionless, and tiie
curious, compressed form, of a most \ i\id and brilHant t>Teen,
was wonderfully inconspicuous amid the leaves. After
watchiufj" and photographing it, I gave it a sliglit touch-up,
and tlic tiling vanished into tlie next busli witli a Hying leap,
nor could a close search detect it again.

^V pair of the inevitable " guardas " were occupants of my
carriaoe on the way l)ack : and on arriving at the termiiuis
I was requested to move, and then saw for the first time
that my next-door neighbour was a prisoner, chained hand
and foot, so that he had to he half lifted out of the carriage.
He was most likely bound for the convict prison on a small
rock-island in the bay.

At last the Mclcome arri\'al of the yacht released me
from waiting in idleness, and I went on board at once, as
glad to leave Gibraltar as I had been to see it on first
arri\"al.

llunning round to the (Tuadalquivir under steam just
took up one day, and we made for San I.ucar de Barrameda
after dark, anchoring off' the town, on which we turned the
search-light from the bridge, in order to see what sort of a
place it appeared.

Earlv the next morning brought the British Vice-Consul
and a letter from friends to whom we had introductions,
giving us permission to visit and collect over a celebrated
preserve on the property of the Duke of iSIedina Sidonia ;
and, according to instructions, we proceeded farther up the
river, and brought up again off' a rude and rickety landing-

282

Pictures of Bird Life

stji<>"e. The country inlaiul appeared to ])e eovered witli
pine-trees, 'rhi-ou<>h the <)la.ss many waders could be seen
feeding along tlie nniddy edge of the rixer. The tide in all
these Spanish ri\ers, as well as the Portuguese, runs with
aina/ing \ elocity ; theii- turbid waters race along with such
powei" and sj)ced tiiat accidents are fre(jucnt.

Astern of the yacht were the usual crowd of (iulls. h<)\ ering

on tile look-out lor Hoating
morsels ; with them were gener-
ally a Kite or two, also on the
watch. Both on the (iuadalquivir
as far as Seville, and on the
Tagus off' Lis})on, Kites were
daily to be seen |)icking uj)
garbage and refuse from the
different vessels, '[""hey are much
the commonest raj)torial bird in
Spain, and are the first to be
seen where\er you go. 'i'he
anchor was scaix'clv down l)efore
I had landed with all my e(|uipment. W'dU mc. to assist
in cai-rying the things, was a luckless valet, who, I fear,
did not enjoy himself half as nmch as I did. I never saw
any man more completely out of his element, when after-
wards, u]) to my knees in water, busily engaged in photo-
graphing a large flock of Dunlins in a dri\ing rain-storm.
I looked round and saw him ^ainlv endeavouring to find
shelter under a pine-tree, which afforded about as much

Lrni.i: Owl {.ll/uiu hocIiki).

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas

•283

shelter as a h\<y C'al)ba<»e-.stalk, witli my waterproof o\cr liis
arm. It was no i>'ood to me, as I was already soaked to
the skill, and was, ])esides, too husv to i><) for it, so I
shouted to him to ])ut it on himself; but when we finally
returned to the yaeht, lie slli^ered and sliook and looked
such a ])i('ture of utter misery tliat I liad to get him

Nest of Purple Heron {Ardca purpurea).

a stiff " q-o " of brandy to put a little life into him again.
\Miile engaged in the thick of this storm. I was sur-
prised and disgusted to hnd myself hailed from behind,
and. turning, saw two mounted keepers with guns
sliouting to me. On showing them, however, a letter
from their employers, they said no more — though, as it

284.

Pictures of Bird Life

was ill Eiifflish, thev could not luive understood u single
word of its contents.

On first landiii"' liere among tlie pine-trees not many birds
were seen, only a few Kites and an Eagle, and accordingly we
turned along tlie shore, where were some Avocets and

Two Nests of .Spoonbills (^Flatalca Icucui ikIki ).

Redshanks. They were, howe\'er, very wild, and there was
no appearance of their ha\'ing begun to nest.

Following the muddy banks of a small creek led us to
some marshy ground grown over with immense rushes, from
which we disturbed some half- wild pigs. Presently small
waders, like Dunlins, Knots, and Kinged I'hn ers. began to be
more numerous, and large flocks of birds could be seen in

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas

28.>

the (listaiic'c, over what ap})eared to l)e a hirge slieet of water ;
aiul wc soon foiiiul ourselves staiidino- on tlie shores of a
^ ast iiihuul hike, dixided at the lioi'izon from tlie sk\' by h)\v
pine-trees. 'I'lie nearer sliores were aH\ e with Hocks of bii'ds
busily feedino-, the Dunlins esj^eeially almost re^j^ardless of our
presence as they ran about over the nuid and ex])l()red all the

Little Egrets (Ardca gcii-clia) in JN'esting Colony.

little creeks. CTodwits and lar(>er birds waded in the farther
shallows, M'liile (tuUs and Terns flew overhead ; but the chief
interest was centred on the Flamingoes, which stood in Ion"'
lines along the farther shore exactly like regiments of soldiers.
Tiien it was realised that we were really in the marisma
which we had come to see, and that all we had read and heard
about the wealth of bird life was more than true.

286 Pictures of Bird Life

The scene was one full of interest and animation, and I
enjoyed it to tlie utmost. I was soon hard at work, and found
that after a while the birds were too busy to take much notice of
me crouching behind the camera enveloped in my green cloth.
The weather, howe^'er, got so bad, and the wind and rain so
heavy, that it was impossible to work, and we retm-ned to our
ship in a rough kind of punt, exceedingly leaky and rickety,
pulled by two natives, arriving in a very dripping condition.

On board we foimd a Spanish "• shikari,*' sent by the
friend to whom we owed the privilege of working in this
paradise for naturalists, as guide, factotum, and assistant
generally; and a first-rate fellow I found him, always obliging
and willing, and with a good knowledge of the local birds
and beasts. He could also skin birds and blow esfos, and
altogether was a great acquisition. Xot one word of English,
however, could he speak ; it is, in fact, unusual to find any
Spaniard outside the large towns able to speak anything
except his own language, and not very usual tliere.

The next day we had a long roimd tln-ougli the pinales
and over the sand-dunes, and after a while came to a Kite's
nest up at the top of a big pine-tree. As I was ^ cry nuich
out of condition, and it was a stiff climb, all swarming to
the top, I suggested he should tackle it, and gave liim a
back till he was standing on my shoulders, and then I
pushed his feet up as far as I coidd reach ; but as soon as
this support was withdrawn he came tmnbling down again.
As a climber he was a dead faihn*e, though it is only fair
to say that he had a nasty cut on one hand.

•288 Pictures of Bird Life

His failure made me determined to get up somehow,
Avhatever happened, and I got him to g'i\ e me a back. Finally,
after a hard struggle, I reached the nest, somewhat to my own
surprise. Unfortunately it was empty ; but we soon found
more nests, and that afternoon I successfully tackled
nine pine-trees, taking altogether three clutches of Kites'

1 shall not soon forget the pleasure experienced on looking
into my first Kites nest, and seeing the three great round eggs,
so richly spotted and marked. All the nests were lined
with horse-dung, and without exception contained a bit of
rag of some description and a piece of newspaper. One
such piece I still haye, containing an account of the Cretan
War, which was going on at tlie time.

There are two species of Kites — the resident Common
Kite, '• jNIilano real " of tlie Spaniards, and " ^lilano negro,"
the Black Kite, a migratory species. The eggs of these
two are indistinguishable, and in order to identify them it is
necessary to make sure of the birds. The flight of both
is magnificently easy and graceful, as they glide along,
steering themsehes by their long forked tail, which is in
the Black Kite less deeply cleft ; and the l)ird is somewhat
smaller and more dusky-looking, as seen from ]:)elow.

On one nest, in a large cork-tree, the bird remained
while I was climbing up to it, and I did not know she
was there. On getting my head aboye it and looking in, I
Avas considerably astonished at seeino- tlie nest, as I tliouojit,
unfold a big pair of wings and fly away. IMy eyes, in fact.

Bird Life in the Spanisli Marismas

289

were so close to it tliat I liardly realised at first wliat I
was looking at. There were two young l)ircls, clad in dirty
white down, one nnicli larger tlian the other, 'i'lie interior
of tlie nest — or ratlier the surface, for it Avas only a rough,
fiat platform of sticks — was covered with horse-dung, which
was perfectly ali\e witli maggots. The young birds' crops
were very full, as also tlieir larder ; for the nest contained an
eel. the tail of a rat, a Green A^^oodpecker, and a lledshank.

<

^r-

'

.•f

*

■. ^ ■

IMa'^*^ ' "tM-J

i

Little Egrets {A idea garsetta).

This cuts a sorry figure, llowe^■er, with the larder in a A\^elsh
Kite's nest, as found by Tx)rd Aberdare, and recorded in
the Zoologist. A drowned puppy, ^i rabbit, and the hind-
quarters of a small pig indicate a liberal scale of housekeeping,
compared with whicli the Spanisli larder appears quite mean
and poverty-stricken, as befits, perhaps, a poor and jio^ erty-
stricken country.

(It was from a Spanish newspaper found in a Kite's nest

19

290 Pictures of Bird Life

that I^ord I^rilford first learnt the news of the assassination
of President I^incohi.)

Descending the smooth, branchless trunk of one of these
pine-trees, witli tlu-ee Bhick Kite's eggs in my coat-pocket,
I had the misfortune to shp, and hmded on my back.
However, tliere was no damage done, except the breakage
of one of the eggs, which made a great mess in my pocket.
It might liave l^een worse, though.

These eggs of the Black Kite and Common Kite, together
with two clutches of Magpies' eggs, were all we found on
this day ; but I was perfectly satisfied and well content.

AVe found on our return that one of the sailors had
brought in two large round white eggs from a nest in a
pine, wliich he described as lined with grass and containing
a rabbit. Tliese were subsequently submitted to a great
authority on Spanish ornithology — Mr. Howard Saunders —
and were by him pronounced to be those of tlie Booted
Eagle {Aquihi pcuiuitd).

The Imperial Eagle is found also among these pine-trees,
and we saw se^'eral. They were described by Benitez as
*' Aquila real. ' AVe came across an immense nest on the
extreme summit of the largest pine-tree I e\'er saw. I was
too tired even to attempt it ; and witliout rope or climbing-
irons it would have been impossible to ascend, as the tree was
much too large to clasp. The nest was, besides, probably
empty, as these birds })reed very early, beginning in January.
An immense primary feather was lying on the ground below,
the only evidence seen of the birds.

Glossy Ibis {Plegadis falcinellus) and iNest.
(The bird in front is a Buff-backed Heron. )

292

Pictures of Bird Life

The Golden Eagle and Bonellis Eagle are confined to
the sierras during the nesting season, and nothing was seen
of either of them.

The next day was spent steaming up the river to Seville^
where a stay was made of several days. The scenery, as
seen from the Guadalquivir, can hardly be described as

interesting or picturesque
to anybody but an orni-
thologist. To us, however,
tliere was mucli to watch
for and plenty to interest.

AVliere the river divides
and forms the Isla ]Mayor
^\'e coidd from the bridge
look across a fiat expanse
of marsli and shallow
water, in whicli were stand-
ing whole battalions of
Flamingoes in Hocks of
hundreds. Here and there
on stacks and buildings
could be seen Storks standing by and sitting on their nests.
Sometimes the sliores and tlie edge of the water, when
shallow enough, were })lack with hundreds of cattle drinking,
for this is a famous grazing-ground for tlie bulls destined
for the national sport of the bull-fight. In one place we
saw thousands of Sand-martins resting on their passage norths
and several large flocks of Starlings were noticed.

Buff-backed Heron {ArHca biibiilciis).

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas 293

On the niiiddy banks in the lower reaehes were nunierons
Avoeets, Curlews, Godwits, lledshanks. Grey IMovers. and
other waders. These appeared to be mostly on passage ; for
on one day a partieular species may be very ])r()minent. and
on the next there will be none of it to be seen, and some
other will be equally numerous. Flying past were Pratincoles
and AVhiskered Terns, with Marsh and ^Montague's Harriers
and numerous Kites. AVhere the river narrowed as we ad-
vanced farther up, tlie Ijanks were covered with thick reed-
beds, from which c^une the well-known harsh and grating
sono' of the Great Reed-warblers ; while from the bushes
we heard a strange and unfamiliar song, which, while it
reminded us of the Nightingale, was e\-idently from some other
and unknown musician.

At last we reached our destination, and moored in mid-
stream near to several Enghsh cargo-steamers.

Seville and its attractions I must leave to abler pens to

do justice to.

-Quien no ha ^ isto Sevilla, no ha visto maravilla," says
a Avell-known Spanish proverb, and a ^-ery true one. For
he Avho has not seen Seville lias indeed missed a marvel.
It is, I think, the most picturesque place I ever saw,
and contains some gems of jNIoorish architecture. Storks
were nesting on one at least of the churches, and there
is another nest on the summit of a tower in the public
gardens. There was also one on tlie top of a dead tree
a few miles below Se\-ille. A strong migration of A\^ry-
necks appeared to be passing through Seville ; the gardens

•294 Pictures of Bird Life

in every direction were full of them, mid tlieir note
resounded on all sides.

On April SOtli, 1897, the yacht left the CTuadalqiii\'ir,
bound for Gil)raltar, JNIalaga, and Tangiers.

Benitez had a few days previously been sent to make
arrangements for food, wine, bedding, and otlier necessaries for
a fortnights stay up in tlie Coto, and accordingly he and
1 were landed on the quay at Bonanza on the w^ay down.
Here we found a large open cargo-boat, into wliich we stowed
away our luggage and oiu'selves, and were soon running up
against the strong tide imder an immense lateen sail, and in
a short time landed again higher up the river. While om-
goods and chattels were being landed by the Spanisli crew
Benitez vanished among the pines, presently returning with a
pack-mule for the luggage and himself, and a horse for me.

Then I had my first experience of the carrying capacity
of the Spanish mule. It seemed almost impossible for any
one beast, sliort of an elephant, to have carried all oiu*
packages, — some large and cumbrous, bedding and sucli
things ; others exceptionally heavy, full of photographic
materials, plates, and so on. But one by one they were
all stowed away in the two luige pack-saddles, and, when
these were full, piled on the top and made fast witli ropes.
As eacli package was hoisted up, the beast only straddled
his legs out a little farther apart to support the weight ; and
then, when all was secin-ely fastened, Benitez was hoisted
up by the boatmen, and perclied himself on top of every-
thing. Tlie load was one whicli far exceeded the mule itself

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas

295

alon^'

in hulk, and would have heen a tremendous load for an Kno-Hsh
road.

Hut how can I describe the track al()nt>' which we journeyed
for four or five
hours { ^Vctual
road there was
none, but a barely
visible track
wandered
through pine-
forests and thick
prickly scrub,
skirting round im-
penetrable thickets
and morasses of
unknown depth.
Often the heather
came over our
heads ; sometimes
we ploughed along
painfully over an
endless succession
of sand-dunes,

t h r O U o- h W hose Nigh t-heron {NycHcoi-ax griseiis).

loose surface our animals sank fetlock-deep. Many miles of
the way were through thick and most tenacious mud, whose
surface was not yet dried into the l)rick-like hardness of those
parts from which the water had earlier receded. There the

290 Pictures of Bird Life

surface was s])lit up into countless cracks and reticulations ;
but here e\'eiT footstep sank deeply, and it was with difficulty
the beasts were able to drao- their feet out again. Sometimes,
aoain. we waded through shallow water or deeper creeks,
Avhere it was as nuich as we could do to cross without
swimminii". And this was what Benitez had described to me
as a "ood road — " un bueno camino " ! I l)elie\'e he really in
this case lost his way, for we returned afterwards in nuich
less time, and the going- was certainly better.

I do not believe that there is a decent road in the
whole of Andalucia. If there is, I nevev saw one : even
in the large towns the streets are bad enough. There is no
Avheeled traffic possible from place to place. E\-erything is
carried by pack-mule, or " borrico," strings of donkeys being
often met with in the most out-of-the-way places, laden with
goods ; and all travelling is done on horseback.

Our progress, as we plodded along, was sometimes amid
the famihar cries of Lapwings and Redshanks, mingled with
those of stranger birds. A\^e now passed for the first time
numbers of Stilts wading in the shallow water. They allowed
us to ride within a few yards, and when they Hew their extra-
ordinary long red legs were stretched out straight behind.
Pratincoles flew round, looking on the wing like huge
Swallows. Eagles and Kites soared o\'er the pine- and cork-
trees, and in the more marshy spots we were accompanied
by Black and AMiiskered Terns. Around every group of
cattle and half-wild horses, feeding on the succulent water-
plants, and often perched on their backs, were numbers of

298 Pictures of Bird Life

the pretty Buff-backed Herons. They feed on ticks and
other insect parasites, from which their Spanish name is
derived — " Ag-arrapatosos "' (Tick-eaters). Besides tliese, we
saw plenty of Storks, Ibises, I^ittle Egrets, and Purple
Herons.

For the last hour or so of our journey we had seen
in front of us o^•er tlie marsh a large white house, sur-
rounded by a few trees. This proved to be our destination.
The house, like all Spanish houses, is built in a square,
enclosing a large open space, or " patio."' The entrance was
a large arched doorway, high enough and wide enough,
when the thick and massive double doors, studded with
iron bolts, are tlu'own })ack, to allow three mounted men
to ride in abreast without stooping. A camp-bed was soon
unpacked from the long-suffering mule, and rigged up in
an upper room, and the baggage carried up, and presently a
hot meal and a wash made things seem comfortable.

The house is in an ideal position for ornithological work,
on the very edge of tlie " marisma," where it first begins
imperceptibly to merge into dry land. Behind are sand-
dunes, pine- and cork-woods, and vast heather-covered wastes.
From my window every evening I could see the flocks of
Egrets and Herons wend their homeward flight, followed
by strings of Glossy Ibis, looking intensely black against
the glow of the sunset sky. Every night I was serenaded
by a pair of Barn-owls, which often sat on the balcony
outside my window. Tlieir uncaimy cries could be heard
far into the night, together with the cat-like mew of one

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas 299

of tlie smaller Owls — I think a Scops-owl. In tlie early
mornings tlie first sound to greet my ears was the familiar
chatter of Starlings. These, however, are not our English
Starling {StKniiis vulgcms), but the unspotted Sardinian
Starling {S. unicolor), which have a very glossy appearance in
the brioht sunshine ; otherwise their habits, nest, and cffg-s
seem to be identical with those of our well-known bird.

Each morning we used to start off at about eight o'clock :
myself, the guarda-mayor, Augustin, and another guarda,
JNIaiuiele, on horseback, with Benitez 03i the mule — " el
mulo maldito," as he used to call it — in whose capacious
packs were stored away cameras, plates, water-bottles,
wine, food, and wading-trousers, together ^ith two large
baskets for eggs.

It is impossible to get along without horses, and
it was a no^'el and not impleasant experience to go bird-
nesting thus mounted. Sometimes for miles Ave rode through
water from six inches to three feet deep. In the dry
plains the bushes were too thick and high to permit of our
penetrating far afoot. The bracken and heather grow to
a height unknown in p],ngland, and the numerous muddy
creeks and swamps would have been impassable without
horses. These are small, wiry, and unkempt-looking beasts,
on which one sits perched up high on a peaked Spanish
saddle covered with sheepskin, and provided with stirrups
like huge triangular iron boxes. The bits are cruel and very
powerful, and lune to be carefully used by strangers. ]My
horse would always go off full gallop every time the slightest

.•500 Pictures of Bird Life

pressure was put on the bridle. The very first time of
niouutiuo- liim, on takino- up the reins he started buck-jumping,
and tearini)- round as hard as he could go ; and the harder
I pulled the faster he went. Benitez, perched on liis nude,
shouted to me in Spanisli ; but I was too nuich occupied
to understand him, until presently I began to realise tliat
lie meant me to slack off the pressure on the bit. On
my doing so tlie beast quieted down directly and went all
right. J^ut if ever he stumbled o\'er the rougli sun-baked
mud, and I tried to pick him up witli tlie bridle — an instinctive
habit I could ne\er l)reak myself of he would invariably
go off at full gallop as hard as he could pelt ; and I daily
expected to get my neck broken in one of these wild
outbursts over hard mud, punched into innumerable deep
holes, where the cattle had trodden it when wet and soft.
But all Spanish horses are wonderfully surefooted, and we
never came to grief, however dangerous the ground. The
finish up of every day's work was a race home with Augustin,
as soon as the house became visible and the ground fairly
level. In these races my horse invaria])ly came in first, and
the pace he could go o\'er any description of ground was
astonishing.

For tree work being mounted is a decided advantage.
Standing on the saddle enables one to investigate many
holes M'hich would otherwise only have been reached by
climbing, and would often bring one within reach of a branch
if the tree had to be ascended, and even if there were no
branch the height thus gained made a sfood start. On

Nest of Night-heron {Ayciicorax griseiis).

;302 Pictures of Bird Life

coming down I always foiuid the liorse where I liad left
him, so that I could slip into the saddle and ride off to
the next one ; while eggs could be picked up from shallow
water, and even from level ground, without the trouble of
dismounting.

On one occasion, while standing on my saddle to peer
into a large hole in a cork-tree, I saw in it two Barn-
owls, whicli were standing side by side in their usual sedate
and contemplative attitudes. One of them flapped out in
my face, and the other was grabbed before it could make
its escape. There was no nest, nor any sign of eggs, and
my capti\'e was soon released. Soon afterwards another
Earn-owl flew from a hole at the end of a broken branch,
in which we found freshly hatched young, clad in pure
white down. The Barn-owl (" I^echuza ") is Aery much
disliked by Spaniards, who view it with the same super-
stitious alarm with which it is regarded l)y the ignorant of
most European nations.

The old cork-trees were nearly always full of holes,
which serve as convenient nesting-places for numerous Jack-
daws, Rollers, and three different species of Owl. Underneath
the soft spongy l)ark the wood is intensely hard, but in
spite of this the Spanish Green A\^oodpecker {Gcciuiis
sJuirpii) bores large holes down into the interior.

V\Q ne\er succeeded in getting eggs of this Woodpecker,
though they are exceedingly common, but twice found their
holes occupied by I.,ittle Owls. In one were foiu- eggs, and
in the other we caught the old bird, which was reluctant

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas .*3()8

to leave her freshly hatched young. After replacing the
youngsters and releasing her, she at once scrambled in after
them again. 1 have since often wished I had kept these
quaint-looking little objects — the whole family, in fact. Owls
are very easily reared and kept in confinement, and I lune
had several kinds at different times, and found them very
amusing. The odd contortions and grotesque poses of the
I^ittle Owl are above all irresistibly fuimy.

Soon afterwards a Holler was seen to leave a hole in
another cork-tree ; but we were quite unable to make any
impression witli any tools in our possession, and were in
consequence unable to reach the eggs. These birds tumble
about in tiie air and beha\'e in a most extraordinary manner,
making the wliolc time an indescribable racket. The first one
I saw puzzled me : to all appearance the bird was stark
staring mad.

Birds of all sorts are always to be found in numbers
round these old cork-trees. One group of magnificent trees,
under whose welcome sliade we had stopped to lunch, was,
I remember, fairly alive with birds. ]Many I^ittle Owls
Hew from the numerous holes and cavities ; AVoodpeckers
were to be seen, as we rode up, climbing nimbly all over
the great gnarled and twisted branches ; and a large colony
of Jackdaws were busy nesting. AVe found many nests full
of eggs ; one of them l^eing among the roots underground.
Among these trees the only Hoopoe and the only Great
Spotted Cuckoo seen during my visit were observed. The
former appeared to hiive left a small round hole aljout

304

Pictures of Bird Life

tliiity feet up one of the smaller trees, but on climbing
to it tliere was no appearance of any nest.

Soon after starting on our first day, a colony of Spoon-
bills were seen nesting among the reeds about fifty yards
from tlie sliore in a lagoon. The wliite plimiage of tlie

Nest of Raven {Curviis corax).

birds could be seen througli tlie thick growth, as we rode
alono- the ed"-e of the water. One of the men was :,ent
round for a punt not far away, while we dismounted and
hobbled the horses. By the time tlie camera had been got
ready and wading-trousers got into, ^lamiele had arrived
with a rickety. Hat-bottomed affair, called a "' lanclia." in whicli

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas

;j().5

I was paddled oxvv to tlie
nests witli some difficulty.
There were about a dozen, of
exactly similar a])pearance and
construction to those I had
seen in Holland, Hat, rough
platforms of dry yellow reeds
and sticks, just raised above
the surface of the water, which
was rather deep — quite foin-
feet. Each nest contained
eggs, two, three, or four in
number, which varied con-
siderably in shape, some being
very rounded, and others,
again, remarkably elongated.

I was soon overboard, and
astonished ^Nlanuele consider-
ably by telling him in Spanish,

as well as I was able, to go away, but had the usual diffi-
culty in making him understand that I wanted him to go
right away out of sight and hearing. I was most anxious
to photograph one of these birds at its nest, and it was
obviously useless for me to hide up while he was pottering
a}K)ut in a punt within siglit of them all. However, at last
he was made to understand what I really wanted, and he
departed, very unwillingly, being, I dare say, very doubtful
of my intentions.

•20

Bee-eater (Mcmps apinsler) on Topmost
Twig of a Cork-tree.

306 Pictures of Bird Life

As soon as he had really gone, after cutting down some
of tlie reeds round the most exposed nests, which were utilised
in making a screen to hide myself and the camera. I waited
as patiently as I could, standing in tlie water and crouching
behind my improvised shelter for about three or four hom-s.
All this time the Spoonbills flew round and round overhead.
At first their circles were ^ery wide and high in the air ;
but gradually they came closer and closer, and lower and
lower still, till presently they were skimming along just
o\'er the reeds, and, when passing their nests, would drop
their legs, as if going to aliglit. But their minds would
misgive tliem, and round tliey would go once more.

At last, however, first one and tlien another actuallv
alighted, until I coidd see seven or eight Spoonbills standing
on their nests all round me, their crests waviu"- in tlie wind,
and their orange gorgets plainly \'isible. Between us, howcAcr,
were too many reeds wa^ ing about in the wind to make a
successful photograph possible. The birds wliicli belonged
to the nest I was waiting for obstinately refused to alight,
being e\'idently suspicious of the clearing I liad made : and.
after waiting so long, part of tlie time in a heavy rain-
storm, I was eventually obliged to gi^'e it up and signal for
the punt.

AVhile waiting in am])iish here, a Purple Heron had been
noticed in an isolated clump of tall rushes at a little distance.
The water was too deep to permit of approaching it until
the arrival of the " lancha." when we found there a nest and
five eggs.

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas 307

On returniiio- to dry hind, we found Benitez and Auefustin
luird at work blowing a large basketful of l^iu'ple Herons'
and Coots' eggs.

Leaving the Spoonbills, an hour's further ride over an

endless succession of sand-dunes brought us in sight of another

lagoon, surrounded on all sides by sand, wliicli appeared to

be gradually filling up the water. As oiu' ea\ak*ade rode

up, some low tamarisk-bushes, growing thickly massed together

in the water, were seen to be crowded with immense nvunbers

of white birds, which, as we approached, rose into tlie air

in dense clouds, circling round with a great deal of noisy

clamoin- and confusion. It was a most extraordinary and

interestino- siolit ; and I realised that in front of us was a

breeding colony of tlie Southern Herons, which are such

a characteristic feature in the ])ird life of this aquatic region.

There were Buff-backed Herons in thousands. These

alone were well A^ortli the journey to see, for they breed

nowhere else in Europe : and with them were countless

numbers of the lo^-ely and graceful Little Egrets, which

have suffered so nuich persecution on account of their beautiful

plumes, the demand for which has almost exterminated them

in more accessible localities.

Squacco Herons Avere not so numerous, though I did
see a few of tliese beautiful little birds ; and there was quite
a goodly lunnl^er of Xiglit-herons and Glossy Ibis.

Seebohm's most graphic description of a somewhat similar
nesting colony on tlie Danube came into my mind as I gazed
on the animated scene before me. and I appreciated then,

308

Pictures of Bird Life

more even than I had before, the truth and power of his
descriptions.

The liorses were off-saddled, and I was soon in the waders

■^-■^Tf :

r'*

• 4

End of Bee-eater's Nesting Burrow {Mctops apiaster).

and hard at work ])hotograpliing the birds, as they chistered
thickly on the topmost twigs of tlie buslies in all sorts of
grotesque and curious attitudes. As soon as one bird liad
grasped a slender twig in its awkward-looking feet, and
while still struggling to preserve its balance in the high
w4nd, another one would fly up and knock it off, only
itself to be ousted by a third a moment afterwards. Others
were constantly flying roimd and attempting to settle, and

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas

309

eaeli individual ])ird added its quota to the unceasing babel
of extraordinary croaks, oriuits, and groans witli wliicli all
the Heron family express tlieniselves. Tlie sand-dunes
around were also thickly co^'ered with masses of birds,
which would e\'ery now and then again rise and circle
round and round, protesting witli all their miglit against
oiu" intrusion into their own particular domain. The bushes
were full of their nests — mere sliglit platforms of sticks —
but there A\'ere as yet no eggs.

JNIy work on tliis first day came to a most untimely
end ; for leaving the camera on its tripod in the water,
while I went ashore for a fresh supply of plates, during my

'^«pwr '■"^^w^^

-.^w^

f,^^.Jir

Pratincole {Glareo/a pratiiicota).

absence it blew o\er into nearly four feet of water. Trying
to raise it, I got my bag of dark-slides wet ; and, in conse-
quence, e\'ery plate I had exposed was wasted. The gelatine

310 Pictures of Bird Life

films swelled with the wet, so that I had to sinasli the
plates into pieces before I could o-et them out of the slides.
AVe had a long ride home that day in a complete state of
saturation.

However, I had two more days" work in tliis laooon, and
obtained photographs of most of the birds and their nests.

On INI ay 5th we took plenty of eggs of the Buff -backed
Herons and Egrets, and by tlie 8th the Xight-herons,
Squaccos, and Glossy Ibises had laid.

These last birds had an intensely black and funereal
aspect amid the throngs of whiter birds. I do not know
whether their Spanish name, " jNIorito," has anything to do
with this idea. It always struck me as being possibly
derived from inors (death). It would certainly be appropriate,
though in reality there is no black at all in their plumage,
which is altogether glossy green and brown. They are birds
of extremely powerful flight ; the noise made by the wings
of quite a small party of them when flying past is perfectly
astonishing. They lay eggs of a very dark greenish-blue
colour, which ha\'e a somewhat pointed shape.

The eggs of all this group are easily distinguishable one
from another, though they are all of different shades of blue.
Those of the Buff*-backed Herons are pale in colour, and
rounded, while the I^ittle PLgrets lay eggs pointed at both
ends. They are, besides, smaller and somewhat darker.
The Xight-heron's are also elongated and very pointed,
more so even than the Egrefs, but are much larger in
size, and as pale in coloiu' as the flrst named. The

1—^ '^^

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas 311

Sqiiacco's ct)gs are pale, Aery round, and by far tlie smallest
of them all.

\\(^ were not fortunate enough to find any nests of the
Bittern ("Ave toro ") or the Little Bittern, botli of wliieli
are eommon enough. l*lenty of Mallards and Coots were
observed while we were at this heronry, and a Little (^rebe
was also seen. The loud song of a C4reat Reed-warbler also
elaimed our attention, but a thorough search among the
reeds failed to find any nests. In fact, nowhere in Spain
did we find a nest of this eonunon W^arbler, the reason
probably being tliat they nest later. They are certainly
late breeders in Holland, and our own Reed-warbler always
seems to me to Mait until the reeds have well grown up
before it begins to make its beautiful home.

Xo account of this district would be complete without
a mention of the sand-dunes, which are such a striking-
feature of the country. They appear to be encroaching fast
on the forests and lagoons, the fine particles carried by the
wind filling up the latter and burying the former.

On tlie dazzling surface only broken by tall tufts of sea-
pinks and the yellow-spangled cistus-bushes, are many tracks
of various birds and animals. The curious footprints of the
Stone-plover, or Thick-knee, are very numerous, and several
clutches of eo-os were found on the bare sand. Here is the
slot of a passing red deer, and the curious track of the
lizard, and there the serpentine trail of a snake. One
mark puzzled us for a long time, until an accident revealed
its origin. It looked as if some animal with many feet

312

Pictures of Bird Life

biiLis (^HiinaiitupKs caiuiutus) feeding.

had passed o^ er
the loose surface :
but the sight one
day of a hirge
pine-cone being'
rolled along by
the wind plainly
revealed t li e
cause of the mys-
terious track.

These pine-cones, by-the-bye, are largely used as fuel
in some parts. Large piles of them may be seen exposed
for sale in the market-place of Coruiia, and doubtless in
otlier places also. In one hollow among the dunes the
surface of the sand was covered with pieces of broken
pottery, most of Avliich appeared to have been rudely en-
gra\-ed. A sliort search resulted in the finding of five
bronze coins, Aery nuicli abraded and corroded. One of
them showed the impression of a head and some letters of
an inscription, and all were apparently Roman. Tlie most
curious feature about tliese dunes is the extraordinarily abrupt
fasliion in wliicli tliey terminate and hang suspended, as it
were, over the country below.

The foot of the steep slope of sand may reach, perhaps,
for a foot or a couple of feet up the stem of a ])ine-tree,
while half-way up otlier trees are seen to be buried up to
half their heiglit and some only liave the top branches visible ;
these show by their green foliage that they are still alive

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas 313

and struoo-lino- for existence in the deatli-like ^rip of the
jdl-devourinty sand. A few more years and their dead
branches will protrude in the midst of a sandy desert, withered
and bleached M-ith exposure until they are finally engulfed
and lost completely to sight. If in future ages this covering
of sand should be removed, the sight would be very weird
and curious, and would no doubt afford endless speculation
and give rise to many ingenious theories among the learned
of those days.

In one of the pine-trees at the foot of one of these
threatening slopes we found a Raven's nest. This was at
the summit of the tree and strongly compacted of sticks,
and the deep hollow ^-ery thickly and comfortably lined
with red cow-hair. It contained five eggs, as did also another
nest not Aery far away. In the same forest was a Stork's
nest on the extreme summit of one of the pine-trees, and
on it, against the sky, we could plainly see two young birds
and both the parents. These forest-building Storks are always
very shy, and nuich more difficult to approach than those
which frequent the towns and houses.

There was another nest in a large dead cork-tree not
far from the house, which overlooked a small muddy creek
or marsh, in which we generally noticed in passing many
Storks feeding, and an occasional Purple Heron or Egret.
Crawling into position one evening, and hiding among the
bracken, which was about six feet high, I had the treat of
watching a flock of about fifty Storks feeding. The great
birds solemnly stalked through the shallow pools, feeding

814 Pictures of Bird Life

like a flock of geese. Sometimes two of them would
quarrel aud spar up to one another with their great red
beaks, making a great clattering.

In the midst of a patch of reeds between me and them I
saw tlie long thin neck and the briglit eye of a Little Egret
looking warily around, as if to make sure there was no danger
near. Seeing nothing, it stepped slowly and gracefully into
the open, and commenced to feed. But suddenly all the
birds looked up, though I could neither see nor hear anything
to alarm them. All the Storks took to flight, and the Egret
retired into cover as quietly and noiselessly as he had emerged.
The stampede was presently explained by the sight of a
mounted herdsman, '• garrocha " in hand, homeward bound.
A picturesque figure he looked, but a ^ery unwelcome one
to me.

The herds of cattle are tended throughout the day by
mounted herdsmen, armed with a heavy iron-tipped club,
or with the '* garrocha." a kind of short, blunt lance. I never
knew the bulls to interfere with anybody. I have often
ridden through tliem and walked close past them, carrying
the camera. Avithout attracting any unwelcome attentions.
But one evening, as Benitez and I were riding home, he
pulled up his mule suddenly and motioned me to stop,
saying "El toro " (the bull), as a small herd of cows and
calves, followed by a magnificent black-and-white bull,
crossed the track a few yards in front of us. AN^hether this
particidar bull was known to be of a l>ad character I do not
know, but on this occasion, at any rate, he trotted quietly

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas

315

after liis seraglio without deigning" to take tiie sliglitest
notice of us.

On tlie level plains Eee-eaters were eonstantly to he
seen. Their jnodii.s opcrdndi appears to he something simihir
to that of tl\e Flycatchers. Instead of keeping constantly
on the wing like the Swallows, they sit on some hare twig

Nest of Stilt {Hiniantopiis catididiis).

or branch, on the look-out for passing insects, and dash
out after tliem, returning either to the same or to some
other perch. Their burrows are to be found in banks such
as at tlie side of a ri^'er or road, and also on the level
ground. One day we borrowed a spade from a herdsman's
cottage and dug out several holes. The soil was a very
light, sandy earth, covered with scanty turf. The burrows were

316 ' Pictures of Bird Life

about four feet lont^* ; and tlie egg-cliamber — for they make no
nest, but lay four roiuid, sliinino* wliite eggs on the earth at
the end of the hole — was generally about two feet below the
surface. The holes may be easily found by tlie lieap of freslily
excavated soil at tlie entrance, from the amoimt of whicli
a rough guess may be made of the length of the hole, and
whetlier it is wortli digging out. Three or four of the
birds were caught in tlie burrows : two I released ; tlie others,
on dissection, proved to be males.

Encircled by the shallow water of the marismas are
mmierous small islets, on which grow sometimes a scanty crop
of thistles and samphire. To these desolate spots in the
month of INIay myriads of wading-birds resort to lay their
eggs on the baked and sun-dried mud. In such places tlie
Pratincoles deposit their curiously coloured eggs under a tuft
of samphire or in the footprint of some horse or ox. They
are ^'ery roimded, and thickly spotted with rich, dark markings,
and have an almost velvety appearance, which makes them
utterly unlike the eggs of any other bird. There is no
attempt at any nest.

These birds ha\'e a habit of settling on the ground in
front of anybody. AA'hile riding, I have known twenty or
thirty of them to settle repeatedly in front of my horse,
rising with a strange cry on a close approach, and settling
again farther on, and repeating the performance over and over
again. On the dried mud they are practically invisible, unless
the white chest can be seen, for tlie upper parts are the exact
colour of the ground. The gape of the mouth is a bright sealing-

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas 317

wax red. On May 4th they had just eoiumeiieed to hiy, and
a few days later we could have taken hundreds of then' eg^s.

In tlie tufts of samphire and coarse grass were many
Redshanks' nests, and with these there was much more
attcjupt at concealment, the eggs being more or less hidden
})y the canopy of green above them.

In company with the Redshanks were invariably many
Stilts, the two species nearly always being found together,
both while nesting and feeding. In their hal^its. too, they
are very similar, except that the Stilt is a nuich quieter
bird when breeding. I have seen with them none of the
noisy excitement which is so conspicuous when the breeding-
oround of Redshanks is invaded.

The Stilt is a particularly beautiful bird. As Seebohm
truly says, "they look the perfection of beauty and grace";
and it was one of the most interesting experiences of this
expedition, to Avatch them running over the mud and wading
in the shallow water. They were exceedingly numerous — I
should say the most abundant species in this locality, so
prolific of bird life.

On INIay 8rd, before we had ridden more than a mile,
JNIanuele, who was riding somewhat in advance, pulled up
and hailed me with the shout, " Un nido " (a nest). On
reaching the spot, I saw my first Stilts nest. It was a
solid construction of tamarisk stalks and small twigs, built
up from the bottom of the water, about ten inches deep.
This was spangled with numerous delicate white blossoms
like water-crowfoot, and thinly grown over with a spiky

818

Pictures of Bird Life

grass or rush. It lield four very richly coloured eggs,
pointed like Redshanks'.

After photographing the nest /// situ, I attempted to
wait for tlie old bird ; but there was no cover Avhatever,
and! did not succeed — more especially as the three Spaniards
were ridino- about searching for more eggs. I could ne\'er

Nest of Stilt (Hi/naiito/>its caiididiis).

make them imderstand that tlie photographs were more
important than the eggs. The eggs were, I suppose, more
tangible objects to them, and they were certainly indefatigable
in assisting me to tlie utmost of their })owers.

Curiously enough, this first nest was the only one seen
in the water. All the others — and we found hundreds of
them — were on the nuid, and the nests were very nmch

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas 811)

slififhter. In uiiv siiuill hollow in the sim-cnicked surface
the birds would make a neat linino- with a few stalks,
and on these the c<)f>s would be laid. In one we found
five ea'ii's, but four was the usual iuuu})er. Tlie nests were
always in small colonies, not necessarily close together, but
scattered over a limited area of ground.

The birds are tame and fairly easy to approach. AVhen
mounted, you can ride close to them without their showing
any alarm ; but they do not allow a man on foot to take
such liberties. However, if you remain quiet, they do not
mind coming quite close.

A male bird dissected by me had in its stomach some
green caterpillars. Tlie measurements of this bird coincide
exactly with those recorded by Gilbert AVIiite of one shot
near Selborne :^ —

Total length, l)eak to tail
Beak ....

Bare part of tibia .
1 arsus ....

Frequently, wlien exploring this waste of waters, we
would come on a colony of AVhiskered and Black Terns,
nesting in company together. Overhead the birds woidd
gyrate, witli the harsli scolding remonstrance usual with all
the Terns under similar circumstances. Seen tluis from
below, the Whiskered Tern appears of a peculiar leaden

m

inches,

9i
2

?9

81

.,

^

?'

tmge.

Their nests are very slight, mere iioatino- rafts of Q'reen

820 Pictures of Bird Life

rushes, laid fiut on the water, so tluit the eggs are lialf
awash. Tliese are of a decided green colour, very darkly and
richly spotted ; and \ ery pretty they look on their green
raft, surrounded by tlie white crowfoot blossoms. Three eggs
are laid. The colour fades ^'ery nuicli after tlie eggs liave
been blown and kept a sliort time.

I dissected one male bird, and found in it an entire
oTeen caterpillar, two inches long, and tlie remains of another
one. The irides of tliis bird were brown, the legs and feet
dark red.

The nests of the Black Terns, whicli were not nearly so
numerous as those of the larger species, were much more
solidly and substantially made, built up from the bottom,
and rising higher above the surface of the water.

Both the Caspian and Gull-billed Terns are recorded as
nesting in Spain, but no nests of either were met with.

Avocets, though they liad been so numerous on the
Guadalquivir, were not met witli at any distance away from
its banks, and appear to nest later tlian tlie otlier species.
I particularly enjoyed tlie opportunity of renewing acquaint-
ance with this charming wader, the most elegant of an
elegant family, whose dainty ways, graceful attitudes, and
beautiful plumage I had so much admired on my visit to
Holland the previous year.

AVhile feeding on the mud-Hats of the Guadalquivir, we
found Avocets veiy tame and easy to approach. In the small
electric launch belonging to the yacht we could almost get
near enough to touch them with a Ijoat-hook, as they ran

21

322 Pictures of Bird Life

over tlie shining surface of the tidal ooze. \\e noticed
that they constantly hop about on one leg, as if lame.

Until the close of our stay there appeared to be no
indications of their having begun to nest. In fact, not
before INIay 1.5th, the very last day I set foot in Spain,
did we find any of their eggs ; and then it was quite at
the end of a long day's search that Benitez called out to
nie that he had at last found a nest. There were altogether,
in this spot of quite a limited area, about a dozen nests.
Most of them were made of the beautiful rosy feathers of
the Flamingoes. A large flock of these birds had been
feeding close to the spot, and numbers of their feathers
were lying about and floating on the water. This beautiful
and unique nesting material gave them a very striking and
effective appearance.

Only one nest contained four eggs, which was the
usual clutch in the Dutch nests ; the rest of them iield
but three. The eggs are somewhat larger than those of
the Stilt and Redshank, and are of a duller clay colour.
Numbers of the birds were wading in every direction, but
were not so easy of approach as those on the ri^'er-banks,
and I did not do much good with them.

The Flamino'oes we had seen in the morninef ; but these
long-legged and long-necked fowl are exceedingly difficult
to approach. AVading slowly, in a crouching attitude, and
holding the muffled camera in front, so as to appear as little
human as possible, I found it a matter of difficidty to get
within two hundred yards of their ranks. Any attempt to

•^^^ Pictures of Bird Life

decrease tliis distance invariably disturbed tlieni, and after
tlie second such disturbance they left the place altogether.
It was a fine sight to see their serried lines l)reak up in
confusion, with much flapping of thousands of scarlet wings,
and a great uproar of gaggling ^'oices.

One of the ambitions of the trip had been to photogra])h
a Flamingo on its nest, but this was doomed to disappoint-
ment. Xo sign of any nest did we see in the whole of
the inunense district explored by us. The place where they
were met with was merely a feeding-place : and if they were
nesting at all. it was certainly at a great distance — possibly
on the islands where tlic (ruadakpuN ir divides its clumnels,
Isla Menor or Isla ^Nlayor. They are, however, always very
late nesters. Cliapman, who was the first to describe the
bird's real nesting habits from personal observation, gives the
end of Jime, and says that in some years they do not breed
in Spain at all.

Vultures also were not met witli so frequently as I had
expected. The Griffon breeds exclusively in the sierras,
but none were seen while on the wing in search of food,
in which search they range o\er an immense area at a high
altitude, imtil a carcase is discovered, wlien tlie descent of
one bird becomes the sional to all the other Vultiu'es within
sight. The Egyptian \'ulture was often seen, l)ut not at
very close quarters.

On the wing this bird looks very grand, and its power
of flight is superb. Once I stalked one on the ground, ushig
the pack-mule as a '* stalking-horse " : but the shutter of

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas

325

mv caiiiem luid become rusted from its Imvino; been blown
over into tlie water while photo ()Taphin(>' Herons, and I was
unable to work it. A\"hile tinkerino- at it, the })ird flew off
slowly, and settled on a dead tree at a short distance. After
a long and careful stalk tlu'ough the brushwood, it took
alarm long before anything like a close enough approach

^T^%

Nest of Avocet {Rcciirvirostra avocetta) made of Flamingoes' Feathers.

had been made ; and, to my surprise, it was followed by
seventeen otliers, wliicli liad been in the same tree, but
invisible through the bushes. This was the most intimate
acquaintance made witli tlie A ultures during the Avhole of
our ^'isit — much to my disappointment : for these large
birds, despite their repulsive liabits, are, by their size and

326 Pictures of Bird Life

their picturesque appearance, interesting subjects for tlie
camera.

The hope of an opportunity of visiting some of the
breeding-places of both Griffons and Egyptian A^ultures was
not reahsed, though both species breed in the sierras not far
from Gibraltar.

The Harriers, too, were a failure, thouo'h the sig-ht of
an " Aguilucho "' was a daily occurrence. Though always
on the look-out for a nest, and systematically beating
through in line several likely looking swamps, we ncAcr
succeeded in finding one. If at any time we marked down
a bird, it was only to find it liad been regaling itself on
Purple Herons' or Coots' eggs.

In fact, none of the larger Hawks or raptorial birds
were found breeding, though we did get several clutclies of
Kestrels' eggs from old Kites' nests, or rather what ^vc took
to be Kestrels'. The birds, however, were not seen ; and on
comparison with eggs of Kestrels taken in England, these
eggs are decidedly smaller, and very round — some exceed-
ingly richly coloured, and others blotched with reddisli o^■er
a pale ground-colour. They luive been pronounced not to
be Lesser Kestrels' by a competent autliority. Possibly they
are Hobbies' ; but, in the absence of identification of the
birds, they are not of much value or interest.

A pair of Peregrines were subsequently seen apparently
breeding in the cliffs near Coruna, thougli no nest could
be found. A Kestrel was also disturbed from a hole in
the cliff- face, which contained bones and pellets. These

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas 327

cliffs would doubtless have rewarded a l)etter and more
prolonged search if we had had more time to spare. As
it was, we only put in for two or three days on our run
home after leaving Lisbon.

In T^isbon we saw nothino- ornithologically interesting.
A few Kites hovering oAcr the Tagus, and an apparently
wild Stork in the Zoological Gardens, which flew down and
began to walk about the paths close to us in a most
familiar manner, were the only things seen.

The end of this most enjoyable expedition came all too
soon, but the memory of it will last for the rest of my life.
The only drawback to my complete enjoyment of such a
unique opportunity was that I was alone during the best
part of it — the stay in the marisma itself; and that the
health of my friend, whose guest I had been from England,
and to whose generous kindness I was indebted for the
whole of the expedition, would not permit him to leave his
yacht. IJttle did I think that, after my return to England,
I shoidd only see him once again.

Spain is a most interesting country for the naturalist,
and would well repay a much more prolonged trip. But
not many discoveries can be expected. It is ill gleaning
after such experienced workers as Chapman, I^ord Lilford,
Colonel Irby, Howard Saunders, and the late Prince
Rudolf hiive been over the ground. And though so near
and easily reached, the conditions of life, away from the
hotels of the large towns, are entirely different from any-
thing that might be expected, and travellers ignorant of the

828

Pictures of Bird Life

country would prol)ably find tlieniselves very ill prepared for
roughing' it among the wilds.

The heat in ]May was terrific, appearing to scorch through
my clothes, and even through my boots. We never stirred
out without a large earthenware jar. or chattie. in tlie pack-
saddles, full of water. In s])ite of this. I have often been

Grey Shrike (Laiinis iiicndioiialti).

glad of a drink from the store of a charcoal-burner or
herdsman.

Xo wonder tlie natives look so dried up and copper-
coloured. The little blood left in their \e\\\s by the
mosquitoes must be entirely parched uj) by the intense and
fiery heat of the long simuner months — a heat which com-
pletely dries up the water from the whole of an immense
area. AVith the exception of the deeper lagoons, what was

Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas 329

up to ^Icirc'h a vast inland sea })ec*()nies in time an arid
desert. Lca(>iies of tawny mud stretch to the horizon,
unbroken by tree or slirul), and baked by the lieat into
tlie liardness of })rick.

Tlie natives suffer very nuieli from fever, but tlie popula-
tion is exceedingly scanty. These consist of a few " guardas "
to protect the red-deer, wild boars, and other game of the
" cotos '" ; some herdsmen in charge of the herds of semi-wild
horses and cattle : and a shifting gypsy-like population of
charcoal-burners and timber-fellers, who live in huts made
of pine-boughs, grass, and nuid. These huts they will erect
in a day. I have passed in the evening an inhabited hut of
this description where there was none in the morning.

The Spanish peasant, whether herdsman, charcoal-burner,
or what not, is a very good fellow and a keen sportsman,
witii the manners of a gentleman ; and I thoroughly enjoyed
my stay among them.

Life in the marismas is enjoyable enough during the
day, but the ardent ornithologist has to pay for his pleasure
at night. Then the hosts of mosquitoes come forth in their
thousands and take their revenge. I have met mosquitoes
in various parts of the world, and thought they were bad
enough in the W^est Indies and in Newfoundland, but never
have I seen them in such numbers or of such bloodthirsty
ferocity. Towards the end of the time they were daily,
or rather nightly, getting worse, until the only way to get
any sleep at all was to mufHe my head in a puggaree
sufficiently ])()rous to breathe through, and to draw my

330

Pictures of Bird Life

stockings over my arms. That puzzled them, but the heat
was simply awful. The first necessary of life in this region
is mosquito-curtains, the second being perhaps a horse.

Is not this the country where a " man "" and a "• horseman "
are synonymous — a land of '• caballeros " ?

Distant View of Flamingoes in the Marisma.

White Stork {Ctconia dlba).

CHAPTER X

Bird Life in Denmark — On the Fjord

FoK many years, to visit Denmark, and to see for niyselt
some of the episodes of marsli bird life, as described by
Seebohm, has been a great but impossible ambition.
This year, however (1908), the wish lias been at last
fulfilled : and thouoh I did not actually see the Tarm
marshes described ])y him, yet I rather fancy I nuist lla^'e
gone over some of the ground visited by liini in tlie
inunediate neighbourhood. Since his time, however, tilings
have altered somewhat, and fresh restrictions have been
made, by which a (TO^'ernment permit is necessary before
one is allowed e\'en to set foot on the ])est part of the
ground.

332

Pictures of Bird Life

The fact is that these restrictions ha\e arisen in con-
secjuence of tlie unreasonable looting' of eggs by Englisli
visitors, and, the place belonging to the Danish Government,
it lias been constituted a national preserve, owing to the
representations by Danish ornithologists, wlio became alarmed
at such systematic robbery. From wluit I can see, how-
ever, these restrictions either do not apply to nati\-es or

are more difficult to enforce
in tlieir case, for both slioot-
ing and taking of eggs are
done with more or less im-
])unity on their part. And
it nmst be remembered tliat
in many cases the doings of
A'isitors, especially foreign
\ isitors. are often exaggerated
by the natives to serve their
own purposes.

After due consultation of
authorities and maps, and

obtaining the necessary permission, my friend J and

myself left I^ondon on May 4th, arriving at Elsbjerg early
on May (Jtli.

All this west coast of Jutland is extremely barren, and
the scenery monotonous in tlie extreme. Travelling orni-
thologists, however, can always find beauties in tlie most
arid and desolate countries, as long as they are not (piite
devoid of bird life, and even travelling by train is not

^^^^^jj^.'

»^^^^B

9

^^Ksth-j^

^^^^^ ^H

^^y'^Wjf^

Cl

^1^

d

White Stork (Cicctiia alba).

Bird Life in Denmark On the Fjord

333

quite lost time. By keeping a good look-out. it is won-
derful what a lot one may see from the train-window.
One does not ha\-e to go far in Denmark to disecner
what innnense numbers of Skylarks tiiere are in every
direction. The songs of innumerable Larks are incessant
the whole day.

Tlie next discovery is the great al)undance of tlie AMiite
Stork. It is far and away more numerous liere than in
Holland,
where it is
not bv any
means so
universally to
be found as
is popidarly
s u p p o s e d .
Here, liow-
e\'er — or, at
all events,
throughout

Jutland — nearly every fariuliouse (and, outside the towns,
almost every house is a farniliouse) has a place reserved on
the gable-end of its thatched roof ibr a Stork's nest.
Besides these, there are in the towns also very many nests
on the house-roofs ; and to see the stately form of a AMiite
Stork frog-himting in the meadows close to the street is so
conunon that it ceases to be noticeable.

To gi\'e some idea of their luunljcrs. it may be

Bunting ( Einbcnzn uiduuia).

334 Pictures of Bird Life

mentioned that on the barns and outbiiildhigs belonging to
the house of a Danish nobleman there were, at the time
of our visit, no fewer than twenty occupied nests of the
White Stork. INIost interesting it was to see so many of
these great, handsome birds standing on their nests, and
flying overhead with great beaksful of dry grass to line
them with, or carrying a hoiinc-houcJic in the shape of a fine
fat frog for their wi^'es, busily engaged in family duties.

Another bird almost as much favoured by the Danes
is the Starling. Xearly every house, and even many of
the railway-stations, put out bird-boxes for their accommo-
dation. Some had a small house, with painted windows and
doors and red chimneys, moimted on a pole outside ; while
the larger houses sometimes provided free lodgings for sixty
or a hundred pairs of Starlings, with a separate entrance-
hole and a perch outside for eacli pair. It was very funny
to see rows and rows of Starlings all jabbering away at
once, like so many old women.

Driving along the sandy roads of Jutland, a very con-
spicuous bird is the Common Bunting. Uttering its simple
and monotonous song while perched on the telephone- and
telegraph-wires at the roadside, a Bunting is passed so
frequently that one begins to tliink it the conunonest bird
in Denmark.

Another roadside bird is the Crested T^ark ; but it
seems actually to prefer the village street to the country
road, and here it runs about under one's feet close to the
houses in the familiar way one expects from a Sparrow

Bird Life in Denmark — On the Fjord

:i;55

rather tliaii a Lark. The crest is most conspicuous, bciiify
carried as a rule Aery upright ; and the bird is a strikino-
and interestino- one on first acquaintance.

On one by-day, wlien it was ahiiost too windy to set
up a camera, I walked about three or four miles on
purpose to see something of the Crested Lark, and cer-

JStowing the Cameras in the Boat.

tainly did see a few birds, l)ut quite failed in discovering
any nest. On reaching the small village inn, liowever, where
we were staying, there were two Crested I^arks running
about the road just in front of the door ; and I really
believe, if I had staved in, I mitrht have been able to
photograph them out of my window.

336 Pictures of Bird Life

On first {iiTi\'al in Jutland, to our orcut disappointnient
we saAV at once tliat ^ye were nearly a fortnight too earlv.
An exceptionally late and cold spring- had so delayed
matters that some of tlie birds had only just arrived, and
had barely commenced to nest, the first days work only
resulting in finding a few Redshanks' and Peewits' eggs.

The fjord, which runs inland for nearly thirty miles
through a narrow entrance, is \'ery shallow and studded
with numerous islets only a few inches above high water,
and surrounded by sand-dunes and salt marslies. It is
an ideal spot for Terns, Cxulls, Plovers, and marsh-birds
generally, and is in springtime resorted to by many
thousands of birds, wliich find here a congenial spot in
which to nest and ])ring up their young broods. Running-
down under sail in a small boat belonging to one of the
fishermen — who spoke, by the way, excellent English — we
found, on May 7th, tliat, if eggs were scarce, the birds
themselves were present in inunense numbers. Field-
glasses in hand, we were hard at work identifying the
various species. Our destination was some distant islands
up the fjord, to reach which necessitated, after sailing six
or eight miles, walking o\'er a marshy promontory, carrying
the cameras (four miles each way), and then wading to
the islands in question, where we hoped to find the birds
a little more advanced than on the mainland. On our
way we saw numbers of Kentish and l^inged Plo^'ers on
the shingly shores and sandy islets. A\^iding in the shallow
water were numerous Avocets, Redshanks, and Dunlins ;

Bird Life in Denmark— On the Fjord

337

and overhead were countless Arctic, I^esser, and Sandwich
Terns, and Black-headed, Common, Lesser Black-backed, and
Herring Gulls. In the distance, magnified and distorted by
the mirage, which plays sucli curious pranks with the sight
in these shallow, sandy seas, were immense flocks of Brent
Geese, and smaller ones of Scoters. Terns sat on all the

Nests of Sandwich Tern l^S/enid can/iaca).

stakes of the salmon-nets which bar the passage in every
direction the whole length of the fjord, and Pintails and
other Ducks flew past in the distance.

After landing, oin- progress across the marsh was
accompanied by a perfectly incessant babel of harsh and
angry protests from tliousands of indignant birds. Circling

22

338

Pictures of Bird Life

Redshanks, with their " Tip-tip." the Avocets' " AMiit-whit-
whitter-whitter-whitter," and tlie " Kree-ee " of thou-
sands of Terns gyrating unceasingly overliead, would make
anybody think that the whole marsh was full of their
eggs. But not a bit of it ; there was hardly an egg to
be seen. A few Redshanks' nests held one and two eggs,
and the others were almost without exception empty.

INIany Dunlins
in pairs ran
about in their
usual tame and
familiar man-
ner only a few
yards away,
but had not
even tlien

begun to nest.
Some day.s
later we foimd
numbers of
nests like
Redshanks', eacli in a small tuft of grass, only very nuicli
smaller ; but they had not begun to lay wlicn we left.
Blue-headed AVagtails were also numerous, and tliey also
had apparently not begun to nest.

The walking was bad — soft and slippery mud, bright
yellow in colour from the iron, I believe, wlien undis-
turbed, but black as ink when trodden on. The whole

Nest ok Pintail (/Jti/i/n ai /i/n >

Bird Life in Denmark— On the Fjord

339

marsh was intersected with creeks, some shallow, otliers
much deeper, all of wliich had to be waded ; so tliat by
degrees we t^'ot wetter and wetter. ^^c had started
carryiiio- a pair of wadiiio-trousers ; })ut between two of
us it would have taken a week to have crossed tliat

Nest of Avocet { Rcciirvirosfia avocetta).

marsh dry, so we put them down half-way to be picked
up on our return, and from being wet up to oiu' knees
we were soon wading up to oiu' waists, off to the island

we had come to investigate.

The first island, a narrow strip about a hundred yards
long, as my friend tersely expressed it, " fairly stank of

840 Pictures of Bird Life

birds " — that peculiar smell so familiar to both of us,
which is so noticeable wherever large numbers of sea-])irds
are nestiuo- in a confined space. ^Vt each end Mas a
strong colony of Sandwich Terns. Tlieir extremely hand-
some eggs were thickly scattered over the ground, so close
together that I was able, a few days later, to photograph
fifteen nests on one whole plate, in doing which I broke
several eggs by treading on tliem. The eggs were curiously
different (in no case were there more than two eggs in a
nest) ; but in Acry many instances one egg would be heavily
l)lotchcd or zoned round witli dark markings, wliile the
other was uniformly spotted all over. There were three
Aery handsomely marked eggs, Init in each case they were
odd, not matching the other egg.

On approaching the island, the Terns rose Cfi iiki.s.sc in
the air, and himg like a dense cloud over their nests,
returning to them as soon as we moAcd on a little. There
were two or three Avocets' nests, witli foiu" eggs each ; and
a colony of 15hick-headed Gulls, eacli witli three eggs.

This island seemed to verify our expectation that tlie
islands would be earlier than the mainland, and we deter-
mined to go off to the second island, rather a larger one.
It was a good long way round, however, and we had to
negotiate some deep creeks on our way. Half-way we saw
a big lot of Ruffs on a hill, evidently just arrived ; but,
unfortunately, two men with guns were working up to tliem,
and afterwards we heard tliem fire sexeral times.

By this time we had waded off to the other island.

Bird Life in Denmark — On the Fjord

341

where soon after hmdiiig we found a small colony of
Avocets' nests, with three and two effgs in each, a few
witli four, and a Redshank's nest or two. After which,
a low range of sandhills, covered with dry curly grass,
raised our expectations ; for J said at once it exactly

'^^2^^^'

Black-tailed Gudwit (Liiiiosa belgica) and Nest.

answered Chapman's description of where he found the Tin-
tail breeding. AVe gave it, therefore, a close and thorough
search, and had not proceeded far M'hen I saw at my feet
a Duck's nest, the eggs in which, ten in mnnber, were
entirely hidden and co\ered over Avith down.

This was a puzzle. AVe expected IMntails' nests, and

'U2 Pictures of Bird Life

the eggs and doMii appeared to be Pintails' ; but Avitlioiit
seeing the birds we felt we liad no proof. I^uckily a
few steps farther I put a duck off her nest of twelve
eggs, which appeared to be a Pintail, tliougli I coidd not
be quite certain she was not a Shoveller : and close at hand
was yet another nest, apparently deserted, with a broken
egg, three nests, all close together, M'itli the same type
of egg and the same down. l^ut. to make quite certain,

J , who had waded a deep creek on ahead, put off another

duck from a nest, an immistakable Pintail, wliicli was
joined by a I'intail drake, wliich had been seen about ;
and tlie two went off together. As all the eggs were alike,
^\^e now felt quite satisfied that they were really Pintails,
and were rather pleased with our luck.

The worst of it was tliat I now wanted badly the
whole-plate camera, which our boatman liad carried, while
1 liad the tele-photo lens and another camera. The said
boatman liad left us in tlie lurcli, and was calmly lying
down a mile away, on the other side of a deep creek,
Avhicli liad baulked him. Instead of a whole-plate photo-
graph, whicli was wanted to do justice to a nest like a
Pintail's, I had to make the best of a quarter-plate, by
substituting a short-focus lens I had with me for the
tele-photo lens in the bird-camera. I was rather sore over
this, and took care to let our man know how he had hindered
us : but he was afterwards so willing", and alwavs so rcadv
to help and obliging, that I easily forga^'e him.

Our return home, against a })itterly strong head-wind.

Bird Life in Denmarl< — On the Fjord

343

was an unpleasant experience in our saturated condition.
We did not reach our inn until late that evening, in a
wretched state — ^wet, cold, and more or less miserable ; and
we must have presented a funny appearance on our way
from the boat to our headquarters. Two mad Englishmen
enjoying themselves in their own peculiar way was probably
the opinion of the natives.

KuFK lyMudu'lt'i JiKi^na.x).

Tliis wetting and exposure brought on, a few days
later, a bad attack of rheumatism, for the first time in my
life ; and I was compelled to wear wading-trousers for the
remainder of my visit. And walking even such a distance
as seven or eig-ht miles, which was the minimum, in wet
wading-trousers and heavy brogues, carrying a big load
of cameras, is very liard and slow work, especially as it had
to be done on one leg, the other being practically useless.

•344 Pictures of Bird Life

These two days convinced iis that onr best plan Avas
to go off to a distant forest, to the proprietor of which
we had introdnctions. and return in two or three days,
by whicli time we hoped that some of the other birds
woidd have begun to lay.

After an interAal of foiu* days, we re\'isited both these
islands, finding many more eggs in them, and a few on
tlie mainland. The patcli of grass on the second island
was then full of nests, but even then many were still
empty.

On iVlay 11th a Reeve was flushed from her nest of
four eggs, and a Black-tailed Godwit's nest was found Avitli
three pointed eggs of a greenish brown : the flrst I had
seen — as in Holland, wliere these birds are very common
in the meadows, 1 had always been too late for eggs.

On tlie 13th another Reeve's was foimd, also with four
eggs, in the same patch ; and the same day a second nest
of the Black-tailed Godwit, with four eggs, was seen on the
mainland on short grass, on wliich tlie nest and eggs were
as open as a I^apwing's nest.

Tlie marsh now held a fair number of nests, Avocets
and Redshanks chiefly, with full clutches of eggs. Here
also we got two nests of the Connnon (tuH. witli two eggs
each. These were on the ground at the edge of a broad
creek, studded with numbers of circular islands of turf,
on which the (tuIIs were sitting about : but tliough I
waded out to nearly all of them, no more nests were to
be found.

-1 i:
:-> "5:

Bird Life in Denmark — On the Fjord

:U5

Some of tlie little sandy islands in the fjord by now
began to luue a few eggs — Ringed l*lovers' and Arctic
Terns' and a few Black-headed Gulls'.

On a long day's work the question of food is a diffi-
culty. With so many photographic things to carry, the

Nest of Common Gull {Lai'us caiitts).

supplies were cut down to the minimum, and no drinkables
were taken at all. xVt the same time, the work is ex-
hausting, and one's appetite is apt to become insatiable. I
was often glad to devour raw the eggs of (xulls, Kedshanks,
and Terns, and found them very refreshing indeed.

Towards the end of our stay the numbers of birds

340 Pictures of Bird Life

seemed daily on the increase, and we could see that a little
later all this neighbom-hood would be indeed a " paradise
for ornitholog'ists."

Many thousands of Brent Geese still lingered, postponing
their departure for their Arctic breeding-grounds. The
whole expanse of marsh traversed by us was cohered with
the evidence of their recent abundance. It resembled, in
fact, a huge farmyard, and it was difficult to hnd a clean
spot large enough to sit down on. Tlie fishermen in the
autumn and winter shoot great numbers of them from
hiding-places, in which they lay prone on the watch. I
heard of one man having killed twenty-one wild Swans from
one of these in one day last autunm.

The place is evidently a favoured resort of birds the
whole year roimd. As soon as the sinnmer visitors depart
with their families, their place is taken by winter birds
which have sj^ent the summer in distant northern latitudes.

chaptp:r XI

Bird Life in Denmark — In the Forest

Not tlie least pleasant of our experiences in Denmark
was the visit to a certain forest under the "-uidance of the
owner. Armed with introductions, we had called on him one
morning early in May, 1903, after telegraphino- our intended
arrival the night before, in the hojjc that lie would let us
have the freedom of the forest in charge of a keej)er or
forester for a couple of days. We had not reckoned, how-
ever, on Danish hospitality. Though our telegram had not
been received, we were welcomed with tlie utmost geniality
and kindness, and pressed to stay for at least a week. In
the meantime om* luggage was sent for from the station ;
and after a good dinner, to which we were able to do ample
justice after oiu" long journey, our host drove us over himself
to the forest.

On the way thither we saw a I^apwing dri\'e off a passing
Ra^'en from the ^'icinity of her nest, in spite of the angry,
barking protests of the sable marauder ; and we had barely
entered the outskirts of the forest when we saw a Buzzard
leave a spruce-fir on the summit of a small hill.

Then, leaxing the carriage, we were taken a short distance

348 Pictures of Bird Life

to the last year's nest of a Kite, near to which was a fresh
nest in a beech-tree. This nest, however, liad palpal^ly
been chnibed to. and we did not tronble to ascend. I^eaning
af>ainst the beech was a felled sprnce-fir. on which boot-
marks coidd ])lainly be seen all the way up. Subsequent
events showed that tliis suspicion was only too true, and
we were able eventually to open the eyes of the owner
to what had been going on in his forest, probably for years,
without his knowledge or permission. His foresters had
been tempted to take the eggs of the rarer birds, breeding
in the forest under their charge, and sell them to a dealer
in Copenhagen.

I had hoped to have been able to obtain some Kites'
eggs to help restock the hills of A\"ales. where the last
pair of Kites in Kngland are now lingering. The idea was
to put a clutch of fresh Kite's eggs in a Buzzard's nest.
as this bird is still fairly plentiful in AVales, and their eggs
and habits are very similar. I was quite unprepared to
find that the Kites in this remote Danisli forest were in
nuich the same ])light as the AW-lsli Kites, and from the
same cause. The greed of egg-collectors and dealers has
nuich to answer for in exterminating rare birds. For when
once a bird bemiis to i>et scarce and its eo'^s to be in
demand, the systematic r()l)])ery of tiiem year after year
for the dealers soon ends in extermination, as it gives tliem
no chance of recoverinof.

Far more important than the Kites nest in an orni-
thological sense was the nest of a Black Stork. This was

Nest of Black Smmx ( ;>

nil 11:^1,1

350

Pictures of Bird Life

also empty, probably robbed, as was a Buzzard's nest elose
to it.

Tliere was a second nest of tlie Black Stork not \ery
far from the first, belonging to the same pair of birds. This
also was empty ; and our theory was that, the first clutch
of eggs having been taken, the birds had nested again, but
liad not yet liad time to lay again. This second nest was

\fy'/ - [ 1^1

Wi

^^^

^ « "i ^V^V ¥uS

^b^^^

\ m^

W^^>^^^^^^^

K

^MM

Xai^' ,%,%~^-- ■ y

/^v^^^^l

^K^

wCZr -x'X^H

\^^ ^^^^H

1

mM

Xest of Black Stork yCiconia nigra).

half-way up a \ev\ large beech, in a fork on the main trunk.
The first nest was at the extremity of some horizontal boughs
of a small beecli-tree, and was not more than twenty feet
from the ground, overhanging the hollow of a hillside. The
ground was covered with a russet layer of last year's leaves,
and the trees were just beginning to open out into leaf,
and were clothed sparingly in the brightest of green.

Bird Life in Denmark In the Forest

:35l

T he nest
was a rough
flat platform of
sticks, hned, as
was also tlie
other nest, witli
a layer of soft
green moss.
On visiting the
spot the second
day, we were
fort u n a t e
enough to see
one of the
Black Storks
soaring on
broad wings
over the valley,
where it made
a most impres-
sive picture.

This was the first Black Stork ever seen by either of us in
a wild state, this bird being of extremely shy and solitary
habits, and entirely restricted to the most remote and
secluded forests in P^iu'ope, and is nowhere an abundant and
familiar bird like the AMiite Stork, wliich simply swarms
in Denmark, nesting abundantly both in the towns and on
the farmhouses.

Givi.Nij A Balk up a Tree.

352 Pictures of Bird Life

Some of the beccli-trees in this forest, especially
those in the sheltered Atilleys, were of enormous size, and
extremely difficult to climb, owing- to tlie growth of moss
and lichen wliich encrusted their trunks. This comes off
directly it is grasped, and we found any swarming simply
impossible. One inmiense tree defied our utmost efforts,
thougli there was a buzzard's nest nearly at tlic top. \\e
spent an hour in unavailing efforts to tlirow a rope over the
lower branches, and were finally compelled to give it up.
Unfortunately mc had omitted to bring any climbing-irons.
The whole time we were there the two Buzzards were
sailing round in circles, and the hillsides resounded with
their plaintive, mewing cries. After some time a Goshawk,
which proved to be nesting in the vicinity, daslied out in
pursuit, and with sliarp and angry cry and menacing atti-
tude fairly dro\'e away for a while the Buzzards from the
neigbourhood of their own nest.

Tliis Goshawk's nest we afterwards visited, and found it
empty. It liad also been robbed ; for we saw the egg—
desthied for Copenhagen with tlie rest. The culprit in this
business was the son of the head forester, who. ])orn and
bred in tlie forest, could climb like any cat.

Xo wonder the larger birds are getting scarce, — the
Black Storks reduced to one or, at the most, two pairs for
the whole of Denmark, the Sea-eagle to one pair, and
the Kites, Ospreys, and Goshawks gradually diminishing
in numbers ; for Denmark has few extensive forest districts,
except on some of the numerous islands.

Xest of Buzzard {Biiko vulgaris)

23

SoJ- Pictures of Bird Life

A Raveii".s nest, wliicli probably contained young, we did
not trouble to go up to : and one of several Hooded Crows"
contained five sat-on eggs — other nests being empty and
liolding young birds : ugly, inicanny-looking little wretches
they Avere too. The Hoodie is here extremely abundant
and very familiar. Though so shy and wary when in
England during the winter months, here, in Denmark, the
Hoodies nest alono- the roadsides, sometimes in ridiculouslv
small trees ; and round the farmhouses, in the little belt
of trees which serve as a shelter from the cold winds,
there is generally a nest of either the ^Magpie or Hooded
Crow. In every direction the birds burly figure is a con-
spicuous object in the landscape — that is, in the wooded
parts. Some parts of Denmark, particularly in A\"est Jutland,
are almost de^'oid of trees : and there the Hooded Crow is
not to be seen.

Two days, or really two half-days, were not enough for
this most interesting forest. We saw a good deal in the
time, considering how short it was : but a week would not
have been too nmch to do justice to it. However, our
short stay in Denmark — ten days — would not allow us to
stop any longer, and ^ye were compelled reluctantly to tear
ourselves away all too soon, leaving many things un^-isited.
Eagle-owls, for instance, nest here — probably some of the
smaller ()a\'1s also : but we saw nothing- of them. In the
forester's house we saw a stuffed Nutcracker and (iyrfalcon,
but ascertained tliat these had been shot in the winter.
There were also nianv heads of roe- and red-deer, witli a

Bird Life in Denmark In the Forest

:i.>.5

pic'ture.s(|ue oroup
of o'liiis, rifles, and
r 0 u t c (I u .V - (I c -
chdsscs. Tlie horns,
howc\'cr, seemed
small. Foxes,
badgers, and liares
are also fairly
common.

In another fifty
years or less Den-
m a r k a\' i 1 1 b e
co\'ered with for-
ests of spriice-fir.
All the sandy and
barren waste-land
is being extensively
planted in c\qy\
direction by the
Government. This
far - seeing policy
sliould make a
great difference to
tlie country ; for
much of it is at
present perfectly
unproductive, and
incapable of grow-

Nest of GosJ^A\^ k yA^mr pali(iiibaritts).

356 Pictures of Bird Life

ing anything better tlum coarse grass and low slirubs — sucli
as sallows or willows a few inches high.

On some of the hillsides, exposed to the prevailing
westerly winds, trees were seen with every appearance of
great age, but most curiously stimtcd and deformed from
the constant struggle with the elements. Some were blown
perfectly flat against the hillside, so that nowhere were they
more than a foot above the ground, and not more than ten
or fifteen feet in length. It is impossible to imagine a
more eloquent testimony to the bleak nature of the country
during the greater part of the year.

CHAPTEK XII

A Week in Derbyshire

Ax invitation from an enthusiastic ornithologist to spend a
few days luider his guidance among the birds of Derbyshire
was too good a chance to miss, and accordingly one day
early in June, 1908, I stepped out of the train, and found my
friend waiting for me, witli the intelligence that he thought
he could take me to a Tufted Duck's nest that afternoon.

After a hasty meal, off we started to some large ponds
about three miles away ; and sure enough, on nearing our
destination, a pair or two of these ducks were seen about
the neighbourhood of a small island. Having on our way
procured the key of the boathouse from the keeper, we
soon found ourselves afloat in a small and remarkably crank
boat, in shape not unlike a tul). Shoving oiu* craft in
between the overhanging alder-branches, we stepped out
very gingerly, for caution was much needed to avoid
capsizing. We connnenced our search among the dry grass
wliicli covered the small island, each of us taking one side
till we met again, liaving found nothing but a fine specimen
of a Coot's nest, a bulky mass of sticks at tlie base of an
alder-tree a couple of feet out in the water. As we felt

358 Pictures of Bird Life

convinced the Duck's nest was there, notwithstanding our
faihu'e to discover it, we went round again ; and this time

with better success, for J at last found it right under the

stem of the boat. If we had driven her ashore a httle
farther, Ave must have smashed everv e^g. The nest was

Nest of Coot [Ftilica atra).

quite concealed imder a tuft of dry grass, and contained
eight eggs, with Aery little doAvn. For the size of tlie
Tufted Duck, her eggs are distinctly large — appreciably
larger than the eggs of the Pintail avc liad found but a
fcAV Aveeks before together in Jutland, though the Pintail
must be a far heavier bird.

A Week in Derbyshire 359

Oil another ]xmd on tlie same estate ^ve saw quite
four pairs of Tufted Dueks, whieli were doul)tless nestintr
on some small islands round whieh tliev were swimminLi" ;
but there being no boat, we did not imestigate fartlier.

A pair of Sandpipers were seen on a grassy ])ank at
the end of the lake, but our search for tlie nest was fruitless.
So late in the season, there was a probability of tlieir liaving
been hatched. However, next day I was able to })liotograpli
a nest of tliese interesting little birds. Snugly liidden under
a drooping leaf, the nest was by no means easy to find ;
but witli tlie richly spotted pear-shaped eggs it made a
pretty picture beneath the tall burdocks, which must appear
a veritable forest to the slender forms of the Sandpi])ers.
Such plants afford excellent covert, of which these birds
are Aery fond of availing themselves, more especially as they
grow luxuriantly along the edges of these Derbyshire rivers,
and on the small islands wliich are the fa\ourite resort of
the Sandpipers. They are charming little birds, whose
acquaintance I had long much desired to make, and their
wild, shrill note is a fit accompaniment to the lovely scenes
amid which they are so exclusively found.

One day was spent in a large wood on an estate which
had been neglected in the way of game preservation, and
was in consequence better stocked than usual with Hawks
and Owls and other birds not usually allowed to exist by
keepers. A Kestrel's nest was one inducement for the long
tramp, but unfortunately it was found impossible to photo-
graph it. The situation Avas remarkable. On the summit

360

Pictures of Bird Life

of a steep hill, c•()^'ered with bracken and oak-trees, up whose
sHppery slopes we toiled in a breathless condition, were two
bold and isolated pinnacles of rock, and in a crevice half-
way 11}) the perpendicnlar face of one of these peaks the

Kestrels had fi^ e eggn. 15nt J , wlio had descended it by a

rope, reported the eggs perfectly ont of sight, qnite at arni's-
leno'th down a \'ery narrow fissure — evidently not witliin
the range of possibility for a photooraph. and an attempt
at a A'iew of the rock was not entirely a success.

The wooded sides of the hills were full of A\^ood-wrens ;
and as the nest of this })ird was wanted badly, we tried to
watch the female bird to it. But in vain ; for while the
hen was plaintively whining in the tree-top overhead, among

Tufted Duck {Fiiligiila crislata).

8(32 Pictures of Bird Life

whose luxuriant foliat)c it was ))y no means easy to see the
slender form, thousands of bloodthirsty midges made our
lives a burden to us below, and finally we gave up the
attempt.

Passing a large pond surroimded by a perfect jungle
of undergrowth and large trees, we were attracted by the
wild note of the Dipper ; and on field-glasses being directed
to the spot, we could see the white breast of a Dipper
on a stump at the farther end. Examination of a damp
moss-grown wall by a small ^^'aterfall soon revealed the
nest, amid a tangle of pendent vegetation. From the damp-
ness of the situation, the moss, of which the nest was
composed, was quite green and fresh-looking — in fact, it had
sprouted, and grass was growing on the top of it. It held
young birds nearly fledged. The nest, though so large, is
very easily passed over unnoticed by an inexperienced eye.
It is particularly solid and thickly felted together, the
heavy penthouse-looking roof overhanging the cup-like
receptacle, Avhich holds the eggs. The following day, in
lovely Dovedale, we were fortunate in finding a late clutch
of eggs, pure white and very pointed, but only four in
number, though they were hard sat on — in all probability
a second laying. This nest was on the rock-face, about
eiffht feet from the surface of the water, which swirled
below over a small weir of moss-grown stones. In close
proximity were two old and disused nests, all amid tufts
of dandelions and tassels of hanging grass, among M'hich
the nests were very inconspicuous from the farther bank.

Nest of Loji.^ion Sandpiper (Tofanits //_vy ■

804

Pictures of Bird Life

The bird here was very uneasy about our presence ; and
after flitting up and down, actually went into the nest
M'hile we were M^atching it, remaining in all the time I

Xkst cif Dipper {Cii/c/us aqiiaticiis).

was wading the ri\'er, and only left it at last wliile I was
getting the camera into position below lier. 'i'lie white
breast of the bird is a very conspicuous object among

A Week in Derbyshire ;$(;.>

the stones and boulders, and is \isible from a considerable

Nest of Diitlk yLuulus aqitaticus) in a 'rKLii-biL'.MP,

distance. The fliglit is very Kingfisher-like, swift and arrowy,
with quick beats of the short rounded wings.

Its chosen liaunts are certainly the loveliest and most

366 Pictures of Bird Life

})ieturesque spots to be found in Britain, being restricted
as tliey entirely are to the wild rocky glens and dales
of Devonshire, Derbyshire, AVales, Yorkshire, and the Xorth.
In such places the Dipper is a resident, living amid the
swirl and dash of the rinming stream and the spray of the
waterfall, in company witli the Sandpiper and the Kingfisher.

Bridges possess a great attraction for the Dipper, and
I was shown one nest among the iron girders which
supported a small roadside bridge, close to the ^'illage.
Overhanging banks and amid the roots of trees are also
probable sites for their nests.

While I was engaged in photographing one nest on an
old tree-stump overhanging a small islet, just below the
junction of the Dove and the Manifold, my friend was
seated on the bank watching with his Goerz prismatic
glass a Sandpiper, which was calling on the farther bank
bet^^'ecn sixty and a hundred yards away. It says a good
deal for the power of this glass tliat he was able, at such
a distance, to watch such a slender form as a crouching
Sandpiper creep through the long grass and finally settle
on her nest. AValking round to the nearest bridge a quarter
of a mile downstream, we came back up the opposite bank
and went right to the nest, from wliich the bird Hew. It
contained three young birds and an egg on the point of
hatchin"-.

Another bird which haunts these rocky streams is the
Grey AVagtail, the most elegant, perhaps, of a particularly
elegant family. It may be distinguished from the other

3(>8 Pictures of Bird Life

Waoliiils by the greater leiio-tli of its tiiil. Kiidcr the «4hiss
the (^rey A\"agtail is of (juite exceptional beauty ; l)iit it
breeds early, and I did not meet with any nests.

Among the rocky towers and pinnacles whicli o\erhang
Dovedale, and add so much to its l)eauty. Kestrels breed
in comparative safety. Climbing on hands and knees up a
narrow gorge in searcli of their nest, we heard some young-
Kestrels chatter loudly, as one of tlie parents sailed round
into view : and though they were e\'idently, from the sound,
(juite close to us, sluit in as we were between two rock-
walls, it w^as impossible to locate exactly the position of the
nest. We worked our way up to the top, coming down on
the other side of the most probable rock, but failed to
discover it. In all probability we should have been imable,
without a rope, to ascend the extra twenty or thirty feet
which separated us from the nest. Jackdaws also clustered
round the rocks, some of which resemble spires, while others
take the semblance of ruined towers : and over tlie valleys
may nearly always be seen the sable form of a Cai-rion-
crow.

In the caves at the entrance to Dovedale from ^lill-
dale, known as tiie Doveholes, a pair of Dippers have
for many years nested in security from any human foes ;
for their chosen retreat is in a chimney-like aperture in
the roof of the largest cave, quite out of all reach.

INIy friend's garden, as befits an ardent ornithologist,
was well fitted up Avitli bird-boxes, mostly inhabited by
Starlings, Great Tits, and the usual inhabitants of such

A Week in Derbyshire ;{(;<>

retreats. The Starlings and Blackbirds ivnai-d this oaideii
as their own prixate estate: and while the\- tolerate with
more or less e({uaniinity the presence of the occnj)ier and
his family, they resented my appearance with a camera in
quite outra(>eons lani>uaoe.

While a C'hift-chaff'"s nest near the <>r()nnd in one coi-ner
was beinq- ])hotographed, the hen hii-d went in IVeely to
feed her youiio- within a yard or two of the camera. All
the time her husband " chipped "" vigorously overhead, l)ut
appeared to leave all the work to his wife. Two paii's of
Flycatchers built on the house, and another nest was placed
on the hinge of an outhouse door. Hoth were in such
awkward positions for the camera that my attempts \\ere
spoilt by insufficient exposure.

24

INDEX

Africa, l?.-), 184, 'im

„ South. 11
Al^eciras, 27')
Almorainia, 27*>
America, 182
Aiidalucia, 266, 272
Arc-tic Circle, 184
Artistic beauty of birds, 34
Asliford stand, 37
Asia, 182
Auk, Little, 182
Automatic photography l»y electricity.

12, 24-35, 244, 246, 248
Avocet in Denmark, 336, 338
in Norfolk, 207
nesting in Denmark, 340, 341
„ in Holland, 260
., ,, ill marisma, 320, 322

on Guadalquivir, 284, 293

Baits, 31, 32

Barbarity of pole-trap, 148
Bee-eater, 272, 278, 315, 316
Bittern, 207, 224, 256, 311

Little, 311
Blackbird, 40, 62 64, 122, 276
Blackcap, 85
Bonanza, 204
Branibletinch, 116
Bray, 176

Breydon Broad, 207
Broxbourne, 89, 100
Buckland, Frank, 9
BuUtiuch, 53, 116, 159

Bunting, Corn- or Common, 116, 334

,, Lapland, 181

„ Reed-, 118, 119, 222

,, Siberian Meadow-, 104
Yellow, 118
Bustard, Great, 12, 207, 268

„ Little, 207
Butcher-bird, 33

Cadett plates, 38
Camera, electric, 37

i-eflecting, 37
Cambridgeshire, 223
Castings, Kestrels', 150

Owls', 147, 149
Canvey Island, 222
Caton-IIaigh. Mr., 182
Chaffinch. 110. Ill, 276
Chapman, Mr. Abel, 108, 324, 327, 341
Chickens as bait for Kestrels, 150
Chiff-chaff, 45, 88, 89, 369
Chili, 184

Climbing, 42, 204, 28(>, 352, 368
Climbing-irons, 42, 352
Coot at (Jibraltar, 275

.. in Derbyshire, 357

,, in Enfield, 163

.. in Holland, 231, 232, 252, 256

,, in Lincolnshire, 224

,, in Norfolk, 222

., in Spain, 307
Concealing camera, 29
Condemnation of killing, 9
Cordeaux, Mr., 86, 106, 148, 182

Index

371

Cormorant, H>7, 20;1, i>04
Corncrake, K!.')
Copenliaf^eii, .'54H
Crane, 12, 208
Creeper, Tree-, J OH

Crow, Carrion-, (Jo, 12:'., I.")(». 1. ■)('.. 172, .">(!!{
,, Hooded oi- (iiry, in Knfield. 124
,, .. .. nestinif in .Jut-

land, ;!.")4
,, ,, ,, on the A\"asli, IJH,

17!)
}) ,, ,, pliotoij-raphinii-, ;ll

Cuckoo, .32, Cn, 91, 142-145
,, American, 144
„ (ireat Spotted, 142, 800
,, in Spain, 27H
,, migrating-, 107
,, nests favoured by, 144
„ young, 144, 14.')
,, powerful note of, l;!2
Curlew, 171, 17.5, 17!), 20;]
,, Eskimo, 180

DaJjcliick, 170
Dallmeyei-, Mr., 17, Of!
Damaraland, 184
Danube, 1.5, .007
Denmark, 22.5, .0.01

bird life in fjord, 001 .04()
,, ,, ,, in forest, 047-0.50

Derbyshire, a week in, 0-57-069
Destruction of Larks' nests by Crows and

Jackdaws, 128
Devonshire, 80
Dipper, 0(;2 OC.C, 0GB
Disguise, 20, 29
Dixon, Mr., 10.]
Duck, Eider-, 201, 202

,, Tufted, in Norfolk, 220

,, ,, nesting in Derbyshire, 0-57,

0.58

„ AVild, .5.0, 124, 1.5(;, 2.52
Ducks, .51
Dunlin in Denmark, MOO, .008

Dunlin in Knfield. 171

,, in Lincolnshire, 17-5, 170, 17'.l
in Spain, 282, 284
Dutch marshes, bird life in, 224-2()4

Eagle, Bonelli's, 207, 290, 292

,, Booted, 207, 290
Golden, 207, 292

,, Imperial, 2(!7, 290

„ Sea-, 0.52

,, Short-toed or SnaUe-, 207. 279
Eagles, 1.5, 204, 290
Ear of Owl, 218

Egg-sliells as bait for .lackdaws. .".l
Egret, Little, 298, O07, .".10, 010, 014
Eider, 201

Electric photography, 24-;J.5
Enfield, 49, 127

,, sewage-farm, .51, I70
Epping Forest, .50, 89
J^sbjerg, 0.02
Europe, South, 17-5

Failures, 20, 20, 2.5, 71, 1-5.5, 100, 2;!0,

208, 241, 246, 2.50, OCX!
Falcon, Peregrine, 17B, 2(!7, 020
Fame Islands, sea-birds of, 180-20.5
Fieldfare, .52, 01, 02, (;4
Firecrest, 181
Flamborough, 1 04
Flamingo, 12, 121, 28.5, 292, 022
Flycatcher, Spotted, 00, 70, 100, 069

,, ,, photographing nest

of, 70
France, 122, 202, 209. 270
Friskney, 174-170

Gadwall, 222
Gannet, 187
(iargeney, 208
(iatke, Herr, 104, 107
(ieese, Brent, 007, 040

., Wild, 172

Gibraltar, 200. 208. 209. 294

37*2

Index

Glass, field-, ;]8, 40, ;5(>(5
Godwit, Bar-tailed. liBl

Black-tailed, in Holland, :i(il
,, „ in Norfolk, 207

, , . . nesting- in Denmark ,

:344
Godwits, l7o, 17f;, 17!). -I'll. 28.5
(ioerz glass, 40, .360
(ioldcrest, 8.5, 8(5, 88, 181
(Joldtinch, 111, 112, 1.59
Goshawk, 8-52
Grebe, Eared, 257

Great Crested, 17.3, 220, 232
.. Little. 173, 311
(ireeniincli, 109, 110
(.iuadalquivir, 2(;8, 274-27(), 281, 282, 204,

320
Guillemot, 187, 188-191, 197
Gull, Black-headed, 172, 179, 232, 2.5.5.
337, 340
,, Common, 179, 337, 344
,, Herring-, 197, 198, 337
.. Lesser Black-hacked. 197, 198, 20.5.
337
Gulls, 17-5, 187. 204, 282, 28.5, 33(), 34.5
(iun camera, 17. 08
(iurney. .Mr., 182, 208
(iyrfalcon, 3.54

Hague, The, 2.59

Hammer, Yellow-, 118

Hand camera, uselessness of, 12, 14

Harrier. Montague's, in Norfolk, 208, 210
., in Spain, 293

Harriers, 267, 326

Hen-, 207, 216
Marsh-, in Holland, 248, 2.50
in Norfolk, 208, 216
in Spain, 280, 293
nest in Holland. 2.51

Harvie-Brown. Mr., 14

Hawfinch, 111

Hawk, Sparrow-, 1.5.3

Heligoland, 104. 107

Heron. .52. 1-54. 1-5.5. 241. 242

BuH'-hacked. 298. .307. 310
Night-. 307, 310

Purple, in Holland. 240. 241. 244,
24(;
in Spain. 298. 30(i. 313,
pliotographing })y elec-
tricity, 248
,, .. young, 243

,, Squacco, 307, 310
Hirundines, 100
Hobby, 326
Holland, 22.5
Horse, Spanish. 299
Hoopoe, 303
Hungary, 1-5

I1)is, Glossy, 298, 307
Imperial plates, 38
Irby, Colonel, 327
Ireland, 122, 2-54
Isla Mayor, 292
., MeiuM-, 324

Jackdaw, 31, .59. 122. 123. 302. 308
Jay. 121, 122
Jutland. 332

Kestrel. 1.50, 1.52, 1.53, 207, 272.326.3.59.
308
,, at Gibraltar, 274
,. release of, 1.53
Kingfisher, 119, 1.39 142
in Spain, 280
Kingsley, Charles, 224
Kite. liiack. 288. 290

Common, climbing to nest of, 28(),
288
,, ,, in Denmark, 348

,, „ in Lincolnshire, 22.5

„ „ in Spain, 2(57, 282, 284,

280, 293, 29(),
.327
., ., nest of, 288, 290
„ „ newspaper in nest of, 288. 289

Index

;i7.-i

Kite ill Wales, ;U»
kittiwake, 1!)1 l!t4
Kiiouledtre, 104
Korea. 104

Lanimeriieyer, }2

Lapland, lo, 108, 182. 2(51

Lapwing-, 20, 28, ;)1, Km. J(!8, Ki'.), I7<».

222, 21)(i, :U7
Lark, Crested, '■V-)4, '■)'■]■'>

,, Sky-. 411. .•)2, 128. ■.]:^:^
Lens, tele-j)li()t(). 17, •><>
Liltord, Lord, 14, ;]27
Liniie(da», 182
Lincolnshire, 80, 104

iniul-Hat. 174-185
Lisl.on. 282. :'.27
London. l'>i\. 170. 17^3

-Madrid. 270

Maifpie. 122. 2."')7. 2(;!). 270. 2!)0, :lo4

Malaya. 2i»4

Mallard, 27-')

Manchuria, 104

Martin, House-, (54, 102, 10:1, ll.l. 272

Sand-, 100, 2!)2
Martins and Sparrows, llo
Meal-worms as hait for Xiu-htiiiirah's and

ll(d)iiis. ;]2
Migration. 41 -40, 103
Mongolia, 104
Mule, Spanish pack-, 204. 2!l!l

Nightingale. ]<». 32, o3, -U, 74-81, 27<)
Nightingales and Meal-^^■orl^s, 32
Nightjar, 54, 5!J, 89, 130-133, 15'J
Nightjars, young, 129
Norfolk, 174, 180, 182, 206, 225

Broads, 206-223
Northamptonshire, 222
Northumherland, 186
Nudd, Joshua, 21 (J
Numlter of hirds seen in Entield, 48
Nutci'acker, 354

Optimus camera, 3"
lenses, 36
Oriole, (Jolden, 25i», 260
Osprey, 276, 352
Outfit, photograpiiic. 36-42
Owl. Hani-. 145. 14(;. 147. 250. 2'.»8. 3(»2
,, in Holland, 250
„ in Spain, 208, ;')02
,. castings, 147, 140. 250
.. Little, 250, 303
.. Long-cared. 150. 218. 21'.»
.. Scops-, 200
,. Slun-t-eared. 140. 170. 180. 181.

208
„ „ ear. 218

iic>t. 217
,, Tawny. 147. 148, 152. 250
„ .. in Holland. 250

Oyster-catcher. 175. 202. 254. 2(;2

Partridge, il'>, 160. 161, 271

„ Red-legged, il'>. 158. 271

Patagonia, 184

Petrel, 47

Pigeon, Wood-, 54. 156. 158, 150, 173

Pheasant, 1()2

Photographic outfit, 36 42

I'hotographing at (Tihraltar, 274
Blackcap. 85
„ Blue Tit, 03)

„ Chiff-chaff's not. 360

,, Common Tern ami ]{cil-

shank. 254
„ Cormorants, 204

„ Crestcfl Lark, 335

Dahchick, 173
,, Dipper's nest, ."itili

„ Dunlins, 282

,, ,, in marismas. 286

„ Eider. 2(»1

,, Flamingoes, 322

„ (i(drlcrest's nest, 88

„ Herons, 155, 242

374

Index

I'hotograpliing Kestrel's nest, oOO
Kingfisher, 141 .
,, Lap\ving, ]70

., Long-tailed Tit's nest, 95

,, Marsh-harrier, 2ol

,, nest((f Montague'sHarrier.

216
,, ,, of Short-eared Owl,

217
,, nests and l)irds, 4!)

,, Nightingales, 7H

,, Nightjar, i:ll

,, Pheasant, lfi2

Pintail's nest, ;342
„ Purple Herons, 241, 24(;,

248
,, Ringed Plover, 171

,, Robins, 7'>, 74

,, Sandpiper's nest, :3.5i)

,, Sandwich Tern's nest, 200

„ Snipe, 172

,, Southern Herons, 308

„ Spoonbills, 288, 244, ;30.5

,, ., in marismas, .304

„ Stilt's nest, 818

,, Swallow, 102

,, Turtle-dove, KJO

,, up a ladder, 71

,, up a tree, 70

,, \'ulture, 324

,, AFater-hen, 1G6

„ AVhinchats with gun

camera, 08
„ ^\'hitethroats, 82

,, VV^ood-pigeon, 158

* ,, • 'i'ellow Wagtail, i)8
,, young Spoonbills, 236

Photography, automatic, by electricity,
24-85
,, for naturalists, 9 23

Pinnacles, 187
I'intail, 837, 341, 842
Pipit, Meadow-, 65, 98, 223
,, Rock-, 205

Pipit, Tree-, 99
Plates, dry, 38
Plover, (Jrey, 15, 293

(rolden, 52, 167

Kentish, 886
,. Kill-deer, 188

Lesser Golden, 188
,, Ringed, 170, 171, 205, 284, 886,
845

Stone- or Norfolk. 311
Pochard, 222
Pole-trap, 148, 149
Pratincole, 293, 296, 3,16
Puffin, 187, 194 196
Pyrenees, 269, 271

Quant. 212

Rabbit as bait for Hooded Crows, 81
Raven in Denmark, 3)47, 354
in Enfield, 127
,, in Spain, 818
Redbreast and meal-worm, 82

Robin, 3.2, 64, 72, 7;'-, 76, 159
Redpole, Lesser, 116
Redsliank, Denmark, -.VM, 888, 341

Enfield, 171

Holland, 254, 261
,, Linc(dnshire, 175

Norfolk, 222

Spain, 284. 289, 298, 29(), 817
Redstart, 71
Redwing, 52, 61
Richmond Park, 154, 178, 220
Roller, 802, 303
Rook, 76, 124-127, 179
Rudolph, Prince, 14, 827
Ruff, Reeve, 262, 340, 344

St. James's Park, 173
San Lucar de Barrameda, 281
Sand-grouse, Pallas's, 181
Sandpijjer, Bartram's, 183
,, Bonaparte's, 183

Index

375

Sandpiper, Biiff-hreasted, 188
Coiiiinoii, .']o9, ;?()()
,, (iret'ii, 171, 280

., Pertoral, 18:3

,, Solitary, 18:5

Spotted, 18:1
Saunders, Howard, 8fi, 104, l:]i', 184, 2!!0,

:327
Scandinavia, 174, 182, 218
Scoter, :3:>7
Scotland, 181

Sea-birds at the Fame Islands, 18(}-20o
Searching for nests, Bearded Tits', 212
Seebohm, Mr., 14, 15, 107, ''>07, •il7.

:3:U
Seville, 282, 292, 2J):3
Seuaire-farni. 170
Shelldrake, Ruddy, 181
Shoveller, 208, 219, 222
Shrike, fireat Grey, 182
.. Red-backed, 99, 100
., Woodchat, 278
Siberia, 14, 104, 174, 182
Snipe, ol, 171, 172

Red-breasted, 18:3
Southwell, Mr., 182
Spain, lo, 108, 122, 128, 2:36
Spanish marismas, 184

bird life in, 26o-:3:30
Sparrow, Hedge-, 0.5, 91, lOo

House-, 112, 11:3, 114, llo
Tree-, 110
S]>arro\\-hawk, 1-5:3
S])()oiibi]l. 2')

fec<ling young. 2K>
in Holland, 22<i. 2:!2. 240. ^U
240
„ in Norfolk, 207, 208
,, nesting in Spain, :304-:3OG
,, photographing by electricity in
Hollan.l. 244
Staple Island, 188

Starling, 107, 119-121, 292, :3:34, :3()8
,, Sardinian, 299

Stevenson, Mr., 182
Stilt, 290, :517-:519

measurements, :{19
Stint, American, 18:}
„ Little, 1.'). 179
Stock-dove, KJO
Stonechat, (!-")
Stork, Black, :!48 iV,]

White, in Deiuuark, :):}:3
,, ., in foiH'st, :!]:)

.., ., in Lisbon, :}27

., in marisuia, 298
in Seville, 29:?
on (niadal<jui\ ir. 292
.in Hcdland, 2.")7, 2-58
Suburl)an pai-i.-li. bird life in, 4:)-17'5
Swallow, 04, 70, 102. 108, 2:51, 272
Swan, \\'ild, :340
Sweden, 122
Swift, 120

Tagus, :>27
Tangiers, 294
Teal, .51, 15(5, 222
Tele-photo lens, 17. -lO. :57
Tennyson, 70

Tern, Arctic, at Fame Islands, 198, 199,
200
in Denmark, :5:37, :34o
.. Black, in Norfolk, 207

., in Holland, 2:31, 2-52, 2-54
., , in Spain, 29(5, :319

., •, young, 2-5.5

., Caspian, :320

C'ounrion. at Fames. 198

in Holland, 2-5:5, 2-54
.. (iull-billed, .320
.. Lesser, 198, 262, :3.'37.
.. Roseate, 198
.. Sandwich, at Fames. 198, 199. 200

in Denmark. :3:57. :540
.. Whiskered. 29:3, 296, :519
Terns, 187, 20:3, 28-5, :3:36, :3:38, :34-5

376

Index

Texel. '2-^4

Thnisli, Missel-, o4-on

Soiiir-. 40, o() ()], 122
'I'liuriiiiria \\'al(l, 120
Tit. IMue. '.»2. ii;]

in Spain, 280

.. Bearded, 208, 210 21(*), 2-57

.. Coal-, 1)2

, . Crested. 280

.. (rreat, 92, !).3, 008

.. Long-tailed, J»2. i);5. i)4, Do

., Marsh-, 92. 9:3
Titmice, 91, 270
Turkestan, 104
Turtle-dove, 28, .5:3, 159. 100

Uganda, 11

^'alenl•ia. 20()

A'ole plague, 180, 181

A nles and Rooks. 120. 127

\'ulture. Egyptian. 207. 275. •"^'24

(iritfon. :!24
^'ultl^■e<. ].'). 2C)5. ;524

A\'ailing. 40. 212. 2:?0. 242. 203, ;3;39
Wagtail. Hlue-lieaded, :5:}8

(irey, oO()

Pieii, 9(), 98
„ Yellow, 98, 228
^\"aiting at nests, 21
A\^ales, 348
AVanstead Park. 154
\\ arliler. (rarden-. 85

(h-asshopper-, 90, 210, 257

A\'ar1.ler. (Ireat Reed-, 231, 295, 311
icterine, 200
Rjidde's Bush-. 104
Reed-. 90. 212. 222. 311
„ Savi's. 207

Sedge-. 53. 90. 22;). 224
A\'arwick plates, 38
\\ash, 175
A\'ater-hen, 33, 53, 124, 155, 104, 1()5,

100, 173, 222, 250
A\'ater-rail, 222
AVlieatear, Desert-. 104
M'hinchat, 19, 33, 07, 08. 82. 223
AMiitethroat, Greater, 19, 81, 82

Lesser, 84. 85
\\il>.)n. Mr. W., 120
\\ inchmore Hill, 103
U'.dley. 15
Woodcock. 179
Woodpecker, (ii-een. 134-138

tongue of. 130
,, Lesser Spotted, 138

., Spanish (ireen. 302

A\"ood peckers, 95, 130, 138
A\'ren, 96, 159

AA'illow-. 82. 89
AVood-, 89, 360
A\ryneck, 133, 293.

Vellowshank, 183
Yorkshire. 80

Xoo.'oi/isf, 80, 100. 1211. 120. 12;3. 149.

170, 200, 289
Zuyder Zee, 2()0

Printed and bound by Hazell, Waison & Vinew, Ld., London and Aylesbury.

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