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PReELISH BIRDS IN
RHEIR. HAUNTS

By the late
Rev Ci AS TOLINS, Pes

Author of Flowers of the Field

Edited, Revised, and Annotated by

J. A. OWEN

Author of Birds in their Seasons, etc

Collaborator in all Books by a ‘Son oF THE MaArsues ’

Illustrated with 64 Coloured Plates (256 Figures) by

WILLIAM FOSTER, M.B.O.U

WITII A GLOSSARY OF COMMON AND PROVINCIAL NAMES AND
OF TECHNICAL TERMS

LONDON
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS LIMITED
NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO

Tg09

UNIFORM WITH THIS WORK.

FLOWERS OF THE FIELD. By Rev. C.A.
Jouns, F.L.S., revised throughout by
CLARENCE ELLIOTT; with 268 coloured
Figures, and 245 Text Illustrations,

THE FERN WORLD. By F. G. HEatu.
With Text Illustrations and 12 Coloured
Plates.

THE BALANCE OF NATURE AND MODERN
CONDITIONS OF CULTIVATION. By
GEORGE ABBEY. With 150 Illustra-
tions.

LONDON:
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LTD.

EDITORS PREEACE

Tuts admirable work by the late Rev. C. A. Johns, F.L.S., which
is now offered in a new form, has already proved the making of
many a naturalist and it will be a delight and help to many more
nature lovers who wish to determine a species without recourse to
bulky scientific works.

In editing the present edition I have carefully preserved all Mr.
Johns’ delightful personal stories and his descriptions of the birds
and their daily life in their haunts, but Ihave brought the scientific
arrangement of the species up to date, as well as altered the nomen-
clature, in accordance with present-day knowledge and use.

We begin with the Passeres because modern ornithologists are
now nearly all agreed that this order attains the highest Avian
development.

I have rectified statements as to the local distribution of various
species which, with the progress of time and local changes, no longer
apply, and have added facts here and there which I considered of
some value.

The faithful and beautiful presentments made by Mr. William
Foster for this new edition have no need of our commendation to
the public,

J. A. OWEN.

B.B. iii b

SVoOrEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE
GENERA OF BIRDS

(Numbered in accordance with the Plates and Descriptions in this Volume.)

ORDERS BASSE RES
(PERCHING BIRDS)

Bill various ; feet adapted for perching on trees or on the ground (not
for grasping, wading, or swimming) ; toes four, all in the same plane, three
before and one behind ; claws slender, curved, and acute. Food, various ;
that of the nestlings, perhaps in all instances, soft insects.

FAMILY TURDIDZ
(THRUSHES)

Bill as long as the head, compressed at the sides ; upper mandible arched
to the tip, which is not abruptly hooked, notch well marked, but not accom-
panied by a tooth; gape furnished with bristles; feet long, with curved
claws. Food—insects, snails and fruits.

SUB-FAMILY TURDINZE

Young in first plumage differ from adults in having the upper and under
parts spotted.

Genus 1. Turbus (Thrush, Blackbird, etc.) Bill moderate, compressed
at the point; upper mandible notched, bending over the lower
one; gape furnished with a few bristles; nostrils basal, lateral,
oval, partly covered by a naked membrane; tarsus longer than
the middle toe; wings and tail moderate; first primary very
short or almost abortive, second shorter than the third or fourth,
which are the longest. Page 1

2. SAxicoLa (Wheatear). Bill straight, slender, the base rather broader
than high, advancing on the forehead, compressed towards the
point ; upper mandible keeled, curved, and notched; gape sur-
rounded by a few bristles ; nostrils basal, lateral, oval, half closed
by a membrane; first primary half as long as the second, which
is shorter than the third, third and fourth longest ; tarsus rather
long ; claw of the hind toe short, strong and curved. Page 10

3. PRATiNCOLA (Chats). Bill shorter and broader than in Savicola ;
bristles at the gapestrongly developed. Wings and tail rather short.

Page 12

4. RutTici_La (Redstarts). Bill slender, compressed towards the point,
a little deflected and very slightly emarginate ; gape with tolerably

large bristles. Nostrils basal, supernal, and nearly round. Wings
moderate ; the first quill short; the second equal to the sixth ;

the third, fourth and fifth, nearly equal, and one of them the longest.

Legs slender, the tarsus longer than the middle tee, and covered

in front by a single scale and three inferior scutelle. Page 14

Vv

vi SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS

Pat

6.

ErftHacus (Redbreast). Bill rather strong, as broad as it is high
at the base, where it is depressed, slightly compressed towards
the tip; upper mandible bending over the lower and notched,
nostrils basal, oval, pierced in a membrane, partly hid by bristles
diverging from the gape; first primary half as long as the second,
fifth the longest ; tail slightly forked. Page 16

Dauias (Nightingale). Bill rather stout, straight, as broad as
high at the base; upper mandible slightly bent over at the tip ;
gape with a few short bristles; nostrils basal, round, pierced in a
membrane ; first primary very short, second and fifth equal in
length, third and fourth longest ; tail somewhat rounded ; tarsus
elongated. Pacem,

SUB-FAMILY ACCENTORINZE

Bill strong and broad at base; upper mandible overlapping lower and
slightly notched at tip.

7

Io.

12.

ACCENTOR (Hedge-sparrow). Bill of moderate length, strong,
straight, tapering to a fine point; edges of both mandibles com-
pressed and bent inwards, the upper notched near the tip; nostrils
naked, basal, pierced in a large membrane; feet strong; claw
of the hinder toe longest, and most curved ; first primary almost
obsolete, the second nearly equal to the third, which is the longest.

Page 20
SUBFAMILY SYLVIINZE
Young on leaving nest differ slightly in colour from adults.

Sytv1A (Whitethroats, Blackcap, Warblers). Bill rather stout,
short, not very broad ‘at base; upper mandible decurved towards
point, which is slightly emarginate; nostrils basal, lateral, oval,
and exposed ; gape with bristles. Wings moderate, first quill very
short. Tail with twelve feathers, generally rounded. Tarsus
scutellate in front and longer than middle toe ; toes and claws short.

Page 21

ACROCEPHALUS (Reed, Marsh, Sedge, and Aquatic Warblers). Bill
nearly straight, with culmen elevated, wide at base, compressed
towards tip, and slightly emarginate; edges of lower mandible
inflected ; nostrils basal, oblique, oval, and exposed ; moderately
developed bristles at gape. Forehead narrow, depressed. Wings
rather short, first quill minute, third usually longest. Tail rounded,
rather long. Legs long; feet large and stout, hind toe strong ;
claws long and moderately curved. Page 25

LocusTELLA (Grasshopper Warbler). Differs from other Sylviine
chiefly in its more rounded tail and longer under tail-coverts. The
late Professor Newton found the tendons of the tibial muscles
strongly ossified in this genus. Page 28

PHyYLLOscopus (Chiffchaff, Willow and Wood-warblers). Bill slender,
rather short; upper mandible decurved from middle and compressed
towards tip, which is very slightly notched ; nostrils basal, lateral,
oblong, partly operculate, membrane clothed with small bristle-
tipped feathers, internasal ridge very thin; gape beset with hairs.
Wings rather long, first quill comparatively large, third or fourth
longest. Tail slightly forked, twelve feathers. Tarsus scaled in
front, rather long. Toes long, claws curved. Page 30

SUB-FAMILY REGULINZ:

Arboreal. Each nostril covered by a single stiff feather.

Recutus (Gold and Fire-crested Wrens). Bill very slender, awl-
shaped, straight, compressed ; cutting edges bent inwards about

SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS vii

the middle; nostrils partly concealed by small bristly feathers,
directed forwards ; first primary very short, second much shorter
than the third, fourth and fifth longest ; tail moderate; tarsus
slender, rather long. : Page 33

FAMILY PARIDAt
(T1Ts)

Bill short, straight, conical, sharp-pointed, destitute of a notch; nostrils
basal, concealed by reflected bristly hairs. Small birds, remarkable for their
activity, not highly gifted with musical power, constantly flitting and climb-
ing about trees and bushes, which they examine for small insects, suspending
themselves in all attitudes, feeding also on grains and fruits, and not sparing
small birds when they are able to overpower them.

13. AcR&DULA (Long-tailed Tit). Bill much compressed, both mandibles
curved, upper considerably longer than lower. Eyelids with wide
bare margins. Length of wing quills increases to fourth and fifth,
which are longest. Tail very long, narrow, graduated, outer feathers
one-third length of middle pair. Tarsus long, feet moderate.

Page 35

14. Parus (Great, Blue, Cole, Marsh, and Crested Tits). Bull slightly
compressed, upper mandible hardly longer than lower. First wing
quill short, fourth or fifth longest. Tail moderate, even or slightly
rounded. Tarsus moderate, feet strong. Page 37

RAMEY PAN WRID AL
(REEDLINGS)

15. PANGrRuUS (Bearded Tit or Reedling). Bill short, subconical; upper
mandible curved at tip and bending over lower one, which is nearly
straight ; the edges of both somewhat inflected and not notched.
Nostrils basal, oval, pointed in front and partly covered by reflected
bristly feathers. Wing with ten quills, first almost obsolete, third
longest, fourth and fifth nearly equal to it. Tail very long and,
much graduated. Tarsus long and scutellate in front ; feet stout ,
claws not much hooked. Page 42

FAMILY SITTIDA
(NUTHATCHES)

16. SitrA (Nuthatch). Bullmoderate, strong, and slightly conical; lower
mandible ascending from angle to point. Tongue short, horny
tip abrupt and furnished with strong bristles. Nostrils basal,
rounded, in deep hollow, covered by short feathers and hairs. Wings
rather long; first quill much shorter than second, fourth or fifth
longest. Tail short, flexible, broad, nearly square. Legs short,
stout, tarsi scutellate ; toes long, strong, hind toe especially, outer
toe joined at base to middle toe; claws large, much hooked.

Page 44

FAMILY CERTHIID#
(CREEPERS)

Bill either straight and subulate or slender, long, and curved; _ nostrils
basal; tail never emarginate; fourth toe coalesced at first phalanx with
middle toe. Principally insectivorous.

17. CERTHIA (Creeper). Bill rather long, slender, compressed, decurved,
pointed ; nostrils basal, lateral, elongate, partly covered by mem-

viii SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS

brane. Wings moderate, rounded, first feather short, fourth and
fifth longest. Tail of twelve feathers, long, stiff, pointed, slightly
decurved. Feet large, tarsus slender; fore toes long, united at
base as far as first joint ; claws moderate, but much curved ; hind
toe short, but with long curved claw. Plumage soft and thick,
especially above. Page 47

FAMILY TROGLODYTID

18. TROGLO6ODYTES (Wren). Bill moderate, compressed, slightly curved
not notched, pointed. Nostrils basal, oval, partly covered by
membrane. Wings short, concave, rounded; first quill rather
short, fourth or fifth longest. Tail generally short; its feathers
soft and rounded. Tarsus rather long and strong, middle toe united
at base to outer but not to inner toe; hind toe as long or longer
than middle toe; claws long, stout and curved. Plumage long
and soft. Page 48

FAMILY CINCLIDZZ

19. CincLus (Dipper). Bill moderate, slightly ascending, angular, higher
than broad at base, straight, compressed, and rounded near tip ;
upper mandible slightly decurving at point. WNostrils basal, lateral;
in depression, cleft longitudinally, partly covered by membrane.
Gape very narrow, without bristles. Wings short, broad, convex ;
first quill very short, second not so long as third or fourth, which
are nearly equal. Tail short. Legs feathered to tibio-tarsal joint ;
tarsus longer than middle toe; lateral toes equal in length, outer
toe slightly connected with middle. Whole body closely covered
with down. Page 51

FAMILY ORIOLID:

Bill with notch in upper mandible; ncstrils placed well in front of base

of bill and quite bare.

20. Or16LUs (Oriole). Bill an elongated cone, depressed at the base ;
upper mandible keeled above, notched near the point, bending
over the lower one; nostrils basal, lateral, naked, pierced hori-
zontally in a large membrane; tarsus not longer than the middle
toe; wings moderate; first primary very short, second shorter
than the third, which is the longest. Page 53

FAMILY STURNIDZ
(STARLINGS)

Bill nearly straight, short at the base, diminishing regularly to a sharp
point, which is not distinctly notched ; the*ridge of the upper mandible;
ascends upon the forehead, ‘dividing the plumage of that part; nostrils
placed low in the bill; planta tarsi entire ; wings moderate, not reaching to
end of tail. An extensive and widely diffused family, comprising species for
the most part above the average size of Passerine birds, yet inferior
to the Crows. They are in general social, feeding much on the ground ;
their legs and feet are robust, their gait stately, their plumage, though com-
monly of dark colours, is lustrous, with reflections of steel-blue, purple, or
green.

21. StTuRNus (Starling). Bill straight, forming an elongated cone, depressed
broad at the base, bluntish; upper mandible broader than the
lower ; nostrils at the base of the bill, partly closed by an arched
membrane ; first primary very short, second longest. Page 54

SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS ix

22. Pastor (Rose-coloured Starling). Bill slightly arched, forming an
elongated cone, compressed ; nostrils at the base of the bill partly
covered by a feathery membrane; wings with the first primary
very short, second and third longest. Page 56

FAMILY CORVIDA
(Crows)

Bill powerful, more or less compressed at the sides; upper mandible
more or less arched to the point without distinct notch; gape nearly
straight ; nostrils concealed by stiff bristles. Hallux very strong, but
with its claws not as long as the middle toe and claw. Birds of firm
and compact structure; their wings long, pointed, and powerful; their
feet and claws robust. In disposition bold and daring, extremely sagacious,
easily tamed and made familiar. Most of them have the power of imitating
various sounds, but their natural voices are harsh. They evince a remarkable
propensity for thieving and hiding brilliant and gaudy substances. In
appetite they are omnivorous.

23. PyRRHOCORAX (Chough). Bill longer than the head, rather slender,
arched from the base, and pointed; nostrils oval; feet strong,
tarsus longer than the middle toe; wings rounded, first primary
short, fourth and fifth the longest; tail even at the end.

Page 50

24 NucirraGa (Nutcracker). Bill about as long as the head, straight,
conical, the base dilated, and dividing the feathers of the fore-
head ; mandibles blunt, the upper somewhat the longer ; nostrils
round ; wings rather long and pointed ; first primary shorter than
the second and third, fourth longest; tail nearly even.

Page 57

to
tn

GARRULUs (Jay). Bill shorter than the head, conical; both mandi-
bles equally curved, the upper notched near the tip ; crown feathers
forming a crest; wings rounded, fourth, fifth, and sixth primaries
nearly equal, and the longest ; tarsus longer than the middle toe ;
tail: moderate, shghtly rounded. Page 58

26. Pica (Magpie). Bill, nostrils, and feet as in Corvus; wings short
and rounded; tail long, graduated. Page 59

to

N

Corvus (Raven, Crows, Rook), Bill not longer than the head, strong,
straight at the base, cutting at the edges, and curved towards
the point ; nostrils oval; feet strong, tarsus longer than the middle
toe; wings pointed, first primary moderate, second and third
shorter than the fourth, which is the longest ; tail moderate, rounded.

Page 61

FAMILY LANIID/E
(SHRIKES)

Bill strong, arched, and hooked, the upper mandible strongly notched
after the manner of the FaALtconip#&; claws adapted for capturing insects
and even small birds. Sylvan. Young barred below.

28. LAnrus (Shrike, or Butcher Bird). Bill short, flattened vertically
(compressed) at the sides; gape furnished with bristly feathers
directed forwards ; wings with the first three primaries graduated,
the third and fourth being the longest, Page 73

x SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRD-

FAMILY AMPELID/®
(CHATTERERS)

Bill stout, approaching, especially in the form of the lower mandible,
to that of the Corvide; the upper mandible is however somewhat broad
at the base, flat, with the upper edge more or less angular and ridged, and
the tip distinctly notched. Feet usually stout, with the outer toe united
to the middle one as far as, or beyond, the first joint. They feed
principally on berries and other soft fruits, occasionally also on insects.

29. AmPELIS (Waxwing). Bill as above; nostrils oval, concealed by
small feathers directed forwards; wings long and pointed; first
and second primaries longest, some of the secondaries and tertials
terminating in wax-like prolongations of their shafts.

Page 76

FAMILY MUSCICAPID/E
(FLYCATCHERS)

Bill broad, flattened horizontally (depressed), shghtly toothed and adapted
for catching small flying insects; nostrils more or less covered by bristly
hairs; feet generally feeble.

30. Muscicapa (Flycatcher). Bill moderate, somewhat triangular, de-
pressed at the»base, compressed towards the tip, which is slightly
curved downwards; gape armed with stiff bristles; tarsus equal
to or longer than the middle toe ; side toes of equal length; wings
with the first primary very short, and the third and fourth longest.

Page 77

FAMILY HIRUNDINIDZ
(SWALLOWS AND MARTINS)

Beak short but broad, and more or less flattened horizontally ; mouth
very deeply cleft ; feet small and weak; wings with nine visible primaries,
long and powerful, and thus adapted for sustaining a protracted flight in
pursuit of winged insects, which form the sole sustenance of these birds ;
tail long and usually forked ; plumage close, smooth, often burnished with
a metallic gloss. Migratory birds, spending the summer in temperate climates,
but being impatient of cold, withdrawing in winter to equatorial regions.

31. Hrirunpo (Swallow). Bill short, depressed, very wide at base, com-
missure straights Nostrils basal, oval, partly closed by membrane.
Tail deeply forked, of twelve feathers, the outermost greatly elon-
gated and abruptly attenuated. Legs and feet slender and bare ;
toes rather long, three in front, one behind ; claws moderate.
Page 80

32. CHELipON (Martin). Bill short, depressed, very wide at base, com-
missure slightly decurved. Nostrils basal, oval, partly closed by
membrane and opening laterally. Tail forked, of twelve feathers,
outermost not abruptly attenuated. Legs and feet slender, closely
feathered above; toes rather long, three in front, one behind ; claws
moderate, sharp. Page 83

33. CoTILE (Sand-martin). Bill short, depressed, very wide at base,
commisssure straight. Nostrils, wings and tail as in chelidon.
Legs and feet slender, and bare except for tuft of feathers on tarsus
just below hallux; toes moderate, three in front, one behind ;
claws strong. Page 84

SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS x

FAMILY FRINGILLID/Z
(FINCHES)

Remarkable for the shortness, thickness, and powerful structure of the
bill; the upper and lower mandibles are usually equally thick, and their
height and breadth are nearly alike, so that the bill when closed presents
the appearance of a short cone, divided in the middle by the gape. By its
aid they break open the hard woody capsules and fruit-stones containing
the seeds and kernels which form their chief food. At nesting-time many

species

live on insect larve, with which the young are almost exclusively fed.

The wings have nine visible primaries. This family is one of immense extent,
consisting of relatively small birds.

34. Licurrinus (Greenfinch). Bill compressed towards tip, with scarcely

35-

36.

37:

39.

40.

4l.

B.B,

perceptible notch at point ; nostrils basal, concealed by stiff feathers
directed forwards ; wings rather pointed, first quill obsolete, second,
third and fourth nearly equal and longest. Tail rather short,
slightly forked. Tarsus scutellate in front ; toes moderate ; claws
arched and laterally grooved. Page 86

CoccoTHRAUSTES (Hawfinch). Bill tapering rapidly to point, culmen
rounded ; mandibles nearly equal, edges inflected and slightly in-
dented. Nostrils basal, lateral, oval, nearly hidden by projecting
and recurved frontal plumes. Wings with first quill obsolete,
third and fourth primaries nearly equal, sixth, seventh, and eighth
curved outwards. ‘Tail short, and nearly square, ‘Tarsus scutellate
in front, covered at sides with single plate, stout and short ; claws
moderately curved, rather short and strong. Page 87

Carpué is (Goldfinch and Siskin). Bill a rather elongated cone,
compressed at the tip, and finely pointed ; wings long, pointed ;
first three primaries nearly equal and the longest; tail slightly
forked. Page 88

Passer (Sparrows). Bill somewhat arched above ; lower mandible
rather smaller than the upper; first three primaries longest.

Page 92

FRINGILLA (Chaffinch and Brambling). Biil straight,sharp, pointed ;

mandibles nearly equal; first primary a little shorter than the

second, much shorter than the third and fourth, which are nearly

equal and the longest. Page 95

AcaANnTHIS (Linnet, Redpolls, Twite). Bill a short straight cone,
compressed at the tip; wings long, pointed ; third primary some-
what shorter than the first and second, which are equal and the
longest ; tail forked. Page 98

PYRRHULA (Bullfinch). Bill short and thick, the sides tumid ; upper
mandible much arched and bending over the lower one; first
primary nearly equal to the fifth, second a little shorter than the
third and fourth, which are the longest. Page 101

Loxta (Crossbill). Bill thick at the base; both mandibles equally
curved, hooked at the tips, and crossing each other at the points.
Page 103

EmBerizA (Buntings, Yellow-hammer). Bill with upper mandible
not wider than lower, edges of both inflected and those of latter
gradually cut away (sinuated); the palate generally furnished
with a hard bony knob; wings moderate, first primary obsolete,
second, third and fourth nearly equal. Tail rather long and slightly

¢

xii SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS

forked. Claws considerably curved, that of hind toe: of moderate
length. Page 106

43. PLECTROPHENAX (Snow Bunting). Bill with upper mandible narrower
than lower, otherwise as in Emberiza. Wings long and pointed,
first primary obsolete, second and third nearly equal and longest
in wing, fourth considerably longer than fifth. Tail moderate
and slightly forked. Front claws rather long and curved; hind
claw considerably curved and elongated. Page 110

44. CaLcartus (Lapland Bunting). Bill with considerably inflected
cutting edges (tomia) ; claws of front toes short and slightly curved ;
hind claw nearly straight and elongated; other characters much
as in Plectrophenax. Page 111

FAMILY MOTACILLIDZ
(WAGTAILS AND PipIts)

Wings with nine visible primaries. Inner secondaries nearly as long as
primaries.

45. Moraciiia (Wagtail). Cutting edges of both mandibles slightly
compressed inwards; nostrils basal, oval, partly concealed by a
naked membrane; first primary acuminate and nearly obsolete,
second and third nearly equal and longest; one of the scapulars
as long as the quills; tail long, nearly even at the end; tarsus
much longer than the middle toe. Page 111

46. ANTHUs (Pipit). Bill and nostrils very much as in Motacilla ; two
of the scapulars as long as the closed wing ; first primary acuminate
and nearly obsolete,-second shorter than the third and fourth,
which are the longest; hind claw very long. Page 116

FAMILY ALAUDID:
(LARKS)

Wings with nine or more visible primaries. Planta tarsi scutellate. Grani-
vorous birds, frequenting open spaces, and singing during their flight ; nesting
on ground and seeking their food there by running ; they are ‘ pulverators’,
i.e. they shake dust or sand into their feathers instead of bathing.

47. ALAuDA (Lark). Bill moderate, slightly compressed at edges ; upper
mandible more or less arched from middle. Nostrils basal, oval,
covered by bristly feathers directed forward. Gape straight.
Wings long; first primary short but unmistakably developed ;
second, third and fourth nearly equal, but third longest. Tail
moderate, slightly forked. Tarsus longer than middle toe; claws
slightly curved and moderate, except that of hind toe, which is
generally elongate and nearly straight. Page 119

48. Orocorys (Shore-lark). Bill rather short, subconic ; upper mandi-
ble slightly arched. Head—in adult male—with tuft of long,
erectile feathers on either side of occiput. Wings long; first
primary so smallasat first sight to seem wanting, second longest but
third nearly its equal, fourth decidedly shorter, outer secondaries
short and emarginate at tip. Tail rather long, slightly forked.
Tarsus shorter than middle toe; claws moderate and very slightly
curved, that of hind toe being comparatively straight, Page 122

SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS xiii

ORDER PICARIZ

Opposed to the Passeres. The feet are relatively weaker and smaller.

FAMILY CYPSELIDZ
(SwIFTs)
Tail of ten feathers (swallows have twelve). Gape very wide.

49. CypsEtus (Swift). Bill very short, flattened horizontally, triangular ;
upper mandible curved downwards at the point; gape extending
beyond the eyes; legs very short; toes all directed forwards ;
wings extremely long ; first primary a little shorter than the second.

Page 123

FAMILY CAPRIMULGID
(GOATSUCKERS)

The bill in this family resembles that of the Swallows, but is shorter and
weaker ; the gape is enormous and its sides are, for the most part, furnished
with long and stiff bristles, which point forwards; the wings are long, and
formed for powerful flight; the feet are small, and feathered to the toes ;
plumage soft and downy, and beautifully mottled with black, brown, grey,
and white, varying in colour with the soil of their habitat ; the claw of the
middle toe is dilated on one side and toothed likeacomb. Tail of ten feathers.
Nocturnal birds, feeding on large insects, which they capture in their flight.

50. CApRimuLGUS (Goatsucker or Nightjar). Bill very short, somewhat
curved, broad and flattened at the base; upper mandible curved
downwards at the tip; gape extending beyond the eyes, and armed
with strong bristles ; wings long; first primary shorter than the
second, which is the longest. Page 125

FAMILY PICID
(WOODPECKERS)

Feet short, but of unusual strength ; the rigid toes diverge from a centre,
two pointing forwards, and two backwards; claws large, much curved,
and very hard and sharp; breast-bone shallow ; flight weak and undulating.

SUB-FAMILY PICINZ
Tail feathers stiff and pointed: nostrils covered with bristles.

51. DENDROcOoPUS (Spotted Woodpeckers). Bill about as long as the
head, robust, straight, irregular, compressed, pyramidal, laterally
bevelled at the tip; tongue long and extensile, the tip barbed ;
nostrils basal, oval, concealed by reflected bristly feathers ; wings
with the first primary very short, fourth and fifth longest; tail-
feathers graduated, stiff and pointed. Fourth toe much longer
than third. Prevailing colours of the plumage black and white,
or black and red. Page 127

52. Gerctnus (Green Woodpecker). Bill hard, broad at base, compressed
at tip; upper mandible slightly arched, ending abruptly with
shallow groove on each side running parallel to and near the culmen,
and longer than lower mandible, which is pointed and has the
gonys nearer the tip than the base and the tomia rounded. The
fourth toe equal to the third. Prevailing colour greenish, otherwise
much as in Dendrocopus. Page 129

xiv SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF- BIRDS

SUB-FAMILY IYNGIN&
Nostrils partly covered by a membrane.

53. Iynx (Wryneck). Bill shorter than the head, straight, conical;
tongue long and extensile ; nostrils without bristles, partly closed
by a membrane; wings with the second primary somewhat the
longest ; tail-feathers soft and flexible. Page 131

FAMILY "ALCEDINIDZ
(KINGFISHERS)

Bill long, stout, and pointed, with angular sides, not serrated ; feet small
and feeble, the outer and middle toes united to the last joint ; wings rounded
and hollow, ill adapted for protracted flight; form robust, with a large
head and usually a short tail. Predatory birds, feeding on fish, insects,
and even reptiles, birds, and small quadrupeds. Scattered over the world,
but Australia and South America contain the greatest number of species.

54. Atckpo (Kingfisher). Bill long, straight, quadrangular, sharp ;
wings short with the third primary the longest ; tail very short.
Page 132

FAMILY CORACIID/
(ROLLERS)

Bill corvine in shape ; culmen rounded ; nostrils near base of upper mandi-
ble and hidden by bristly feathers; tail feathers twelve.

54. CorActas (Roller). Bill compressed, straight, with cutting edges ;
upper mandible slightly hooked at the point; sides of the gape
bristled ; tarsus short; wings long; first primary a little shorter
than the second, which is the longest. Page 134

FAMILY MEROPIDZ
(BEE-EATERS)
Bill long ; culmen with sharply defined ridge ; toes joined for part of length

55. Merops (Bee-eater). Bill long,compressed, slightly curved, slender,
with cutting edges, broad at the base; upper mandible keeled,
the tip not hooked ; tarsus very short ; wings long, pointed, second
primary the longest ; centre tail feathers elongated. Page 135

FAMILY UPUPIDZ
(HooPoEs)

56. Upupa (Hoopoe). Bill longerthan the head, slender, slightly arcl ed,
compressed ; feathers of the head long, forming a two-ranked
crest; tail even at the extremity. Page 136

FAMILY CUCULID/&
(CucKoos)

Bill moderate, rather deeply cleft, both mandibles compressed, and more
or less curved downwards ; nostrils exposed ; wings for the most part short;
tail of ten feathers lengthened; toes four, two pointing backwards and
two forwards, but the outer hind toe of each foot is capable of being placed
at right angles with either the inner or outer front toe. <A tropical family
of birds, many of which migrate to the temperate regions in summer. Not
so decidedly climbers as the Woodpeckers and Creepers, yet having great
power of clinging. Their flight is feeble, their food soft-bodied insects,

SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS xv

varied in many cases with berries and other fruits, and some of the larger
species will occasionally prey on mice, reptiles, and the eggs and young of
birds. Most, perhaps all of the migratory species, lay their eggs in the nests
of other birds.

57. Ctcurus (Cuckoo). Bill shorter than the head, broad, depressed
at the base, with the ridge curved and the sides compressed towards
the tip, which is entire and acute; nostrils in a membranous groove,
the opening rounded and exposed ; wings pointed, third primary
longest ; tail long, graduated; tarsi very short, feathered below
the heel. Page 137

ORDER STRIGES
(OWLS)

Head large, feathered ; eyes large, dilated and projecting, each surrounded
by a concave disc formed of stiff diverging feathers, concealing the cere
and nostrils; ears large, and of elaborate construction; plumage lax and
downy, adapted for slow and quiet flight; outer toe reversible ; tibia more
than double the length of tarsus. Food, small quadrupeds, birds, and insects.

FAMILY STRIGIDA
SUB-FAMILY STRIGIDZ

Bill somewhat elongated, bending at the top only; head-tufts wanting
nostrils oval, oblique; facial disc large and complete; ears large, covered
by an operculum; wings long, the second primary longest; tarsi long,
feathered to the toes, which are strangely furnished with hair-like feathers ;
claws long, the middle one serrated beneath.

58. Strix (White Owl). Characters given above. Page 142
SUBFAMILY SYRNIINZ

Bill bending from the base; tufts more or less conspicuous or wanting ;
facial disc complete ; ears large, covered by an operculum ; legs feathered
to the claws. ;

59. Asto (Eared Owls). Nostrils oval, oblique; tufts more or less elon-

gated ; wings long, second primary the longest. Page 144
60. Syrnium (Tawny Owl). Nostrils round ; egrets wanting; wings short
and rounded; fourth primary longest. - Page 146

ORDER ACCIPITRES
(EAGLES, HAWKS, ETC.)

Bill short, strong, stout at base, culmen strongly curved. Feet strong,
armed with powerful talons which are capable of being bent under the feet,

inner one stronger and more curved than others. Outer toe usually not
reversible.

FAMILY FALCONID
Head covered with feathers, though sides of face are more or less bare.
SUB-FAMILY BUTEONIN2

Bill rather small and weak, bending from the base; cutting edge of the
upper mandible nearly straight, or but slightly festooned; cere large ;

xvi SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS

nostrils oval; wings long; the first four feathers deeply notched on their
inner webs ; tail not forked. Hinder aspect of tarsus scutellate.

61. Circus (Harriers). Head surrounded by a circle of feathers ; tarsi,
long and slender, feathered a little below the joint; wings long
third and fourth primaries the longest ; tail long, somewhat rounded.

Page 147

62. Butro (Buzzard). Lore without feathers; tarsi short and strong,
naked or feathered ; wings large, the fourth primary the longest.

Page 150

63. PERNIS (Honey Buzzard). Lore without feathers; tarsi short and
strong, naked or feathered ; wings large, the fourth primary the
longest. Page 151

SUB-FAMILY AQUILINZ

Bill stout, convex or slightly angular above, straight at the base, much
hooked at the tip, commissure simply festooned ; cere bristly; nostrils
rounded or oval; wings long. Hinder aspect of tarsus reticulate.

64. AqguiILA (Eagles). Upper mandible with the cutting edge nearly
straight ; tarsi feathered to the toes; claws unequal, grooved
beneath ; wings with the fourth primary longest. Page 152

65. HaritAérus (Sea-eagle). Bill very long; edges of the upper man-
dible slightly prominent near the hook; tarsi half-feathered ;
claws unequal, grooved beneath; wings with the fourth primary
longest ; nostrils transverse, with bony margin all round,

Page 153

66. PANbDion (Osprey). Bill short, cutting edges of the upper mandible
nearly straiglt; tarsi naked; outer toe reversible; claws equal,
rounded beneath; wings with the second primary longest.

Page 154
SUB-FAMILY ACCIPITRINZ
(LONG-LEGGED HAwkKs)

Bill short, strong, curved from the base; edge of the upper mandible
with a prominent festoon beyond the middle; nostrils oval ; wings rounded,
short, reaching only to the middle of the tail; middle toe much the
longest. ‘

67. AccfPITER (Sparrowhawk). Tarsi long and slender ; fourth and fifth
primaries equal in length and the longest. Ridge of bill measured
from margin of cere is less than half middie toe (without claw).

Page 156
SUB-FAMILY MILVINZ

Bill of moderate length, slightly curved from the base, upper mandible
with a slight festoon; nostrils oval, oblique; wings long; tail long and
forked.

68. Mirvus (Kites). Tarsi feathered a little below the knee; fourth

primary the longest. Page 158
SUB-FAMILY FALCONIN

Bill shcrt, strong, curved from the base , upper mandible strongly toothed,
lower notched ; nostrils round ; tarsi strong and short ; hinder aspect reticu-
late; wings long and pointed, with the second primary longest, the first
and third equal in length and having the inner web notched near the
extremity.

69. Fatco (Falcons, Merlin, Hobby and Kestrel), Characters given

above. Page 159

SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS xvii

ORDER STEGANOPODES

Hind toe articulated on the inner surface of the tarsus, united to other
toes by a web.

FAMILY PELECANID2

Bill strong, edges of the mandibles minutely toothed ; wings long; Jegs
short; toes four, all connected by a membrane.

70. PHALACROCORAX (Cormorant). Bill straight, longer than the bead,
compressed ; upper mandible much hooked at the point; face
and throat naked; inner edge of the middle claw serrated; tail
rounded, rigid. Page 165

71. SuLrA (Gannet). Bill straight, longer than the bead, compressed,
tapering to a point, which is but slightly curved ; face and throat
naked ; inner edge of the middle claw serrated ; tail graduated.

Page 168

ORDER HERODIONES

Hallux free, not united to other toes by a web.

FAMILY ARDEIDZ
(HERONS)

Hind toe on same plane as others. Bill rounded or ridged; notched,
with no hook at end. Outer toe with broad basal web, obsolete at base of
inner toe ; middle claw pectinated, loral space bare; ‘powder down patches
present.

72. ARDEA. (Herons). Edges of mandibles distinctly serrated; head
crested; nape feathers elongated and ornamented; plumes of
fore-neck not disintegrated ; no dorsal train. Page 173

73. Nycticorax (Night Heron). Bill scarcely longer than the head,
much compressed ; neck rather thick and short; crest of three
very long tapering feathers. In other respects resembling ARDEA,

Page 173

74. BotTauRus (Bittern). Bull scarcelylonger than the head, much com.
pressed ; neck thick, clothed in front with long and loose feathers
In other respects resembling ARDEA. Page 173

FAMILY CICONIID

(STORKS)

Hind toe elevated above plane of others ; no powder down patches ; bill
not hooked at tip.

75. Ciconta (Stork). Bill much longer than the head, stout, tapering to
a point; nostrils near the base, pierced in the horny substance of
the bill; tarsi very long; claws not pectinated ; wings moderate,
third, fourth, and fifth primaries longest. Page 175

FAMILY PLATALEID/E
(SPOONBILLS)
Bill flattened, narrow in middle, and widening out intoaspoon-shaped end.

76, PLaTALEA (Spoonbill). Head partly bare, auricular orifice covered
with plumes. Nostrils elongated and in a shallow depression,
Page 176

xviii SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS

ORDER ANSERES

Tarsus about length of femur, reticulate at back and generally in front
Bill straight, always with distinct nail at tip of upper mandible. Young
covered with down, and able to run or swim in a few hours after hatching.

FAMILY ANATID/®
(Ducks, GEESE, SWANS, ETC.)

Bill thick, broad, high at the base, covered with a thin membranous skin
and ending in a nail-like horny tip; edges of the mandibles cut into thin
parallel ridges, or toothed ; wings moderate; legs placed not very far be-
hind; feet, four-toed, palmated ; hind toe free, placed high on the tarsus.
Food, grass and aquatic weeds, worms, insects, molluscs, and small fish.

SUB-FAMILY ANSERINZ

77. ANSER (Geese). Bill nearly long as head, elevated and covered with
cere or skin at base; conspicuous nail at tip; under mandible
smaller than upper; nostrils lateral, near middie of bill; tail of
sixteen feathers ; legs under centre of body; hind toe free, articu-
lated upon tarsus. Page 176

78. BERNICLA (Brent and Bernicle Geese). Bill shorter than head, higher
than broad at base; culmen slightly convex, outline of lower man-
dible decidedly so, leaving elliptical space displaying lamelle ;
nostrils sub-basal; neck feathers less furrowed than in Anser; tail
short, rounded ; tibia feathered to joint; hind toe short and ele-
vated. Page 180

79. CycGNnus (Swans). Bill of equal length throughout, furnished with
knob at base; nostrils medial; legs short ; neck exceedingly long.
Page 181

SUB-FAMILY ANATIDZ
Bill of equal width throughout, or broader at the top than at the base, of
‘about the same length as the head ; legs short, placed rather behind the middle
of the body ; hind toe without a pendent membrane ; tarsi somewhat round.

80. Taporna (Sheldrake). Bill with an elevated tubercle at the base,
depressed in the middle; nostrils large, pervious; lower portion
of tarsus in front with a row of transverse scutelle. Page 184

81. AnAs (Mallard, Gadwall). Bill long as head, broad, depressed, sides
parallel, sometimes partially dilated, both mandibles with transverse
lamella on inner edges; nostrils small, oval, lateral, anterior to
base of bill; wings rather long, pointed; tail wedge-shaped ; legs
rather short; hind toe without lobe. Sexes differ in plumage.

~ Page 185

82. SpatuLa (Shoveller). Bill much longer than head, widening towards
end, lamellze projecting conspicuously ; no soft membrane on sides
of bill towards tip; wing pointed, first and second quills longest;
tail short, graduated; legs very short. Page 189

83. DAFILA (Pintail). Bill long as head, edges nearly parallel, widening a
little to end, lamella {not strongly defined; neck long, slender; tail
sharply pointed, central rectrices considerably elongated in male;
margin of web to anterior toes slightly emarginate. Page 190

84. QUERQUEDULA (Teal). Bill longas head, lamella exposed along pro-
jecting edge of upper mandible ; tail of sixteen feathers, short and
rounded; hind toe very small, outer shorter than third, centre
rather long ; interdigital membrane emarginate. Page 191

SYSTEMATIC ANNANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS xix

5. MArecaA (Widgeon). Bill shorter than bead, higher than broad at
base, depressed and narrowed towards point; tail short, pointed ;
tibia bare for short distance ; hind toe with very narrow lobe

Page 192
SUB FAMILY FULIGULINA
Hind toe with lobated membrane; tarsi compressed.

86. FuricuLa (Pochard, Tufted Duck, Scaup). Bill not longer than
head, slightly elevated at base, broader towards tip ; edges of upper
mandible enclosing edges of lower ; nostrils near base. Page 193

87. CLANGULA (Goldeneye). Bill much shorter than head, depressed to-
wards nail, which is elliptical and decurved at tip ; lamelle bidden ;
nostrils near middle of bill. Page 195

88. HaAreEeLpA (Long-tailed Duck). Bill much shorter than head, taper-
ing rapidly to broad, decurved nail at tip. Lamelle slightly ex-
exposed ; nostrils sub-basal. Feathering at base of bill forming
oblique line, advancing furthest forward on forehead. Wings
rather short, pointed ; scapulars elongate and lanceolate in adult
male; tail short, graduated except for two central feathers, which
are long and tapering in adult male. Page 196

89. SOMATERIA(Eider Duck). Bill swollen and elevated at base, extend-
ing up the forehead, there divided by angular projection of feathers ;
nostrils medial. Page 197

go. (EpeEmra (Scoters). Bill short, broad, with an elevated knob at the
base, the tip much flattened ; nail large, flat, obtuse, slightly de-
flected , lamella coarse, widely set ; nostrils oval, medial ; tail short,
graduated, acute. Page 199

SUB-FAMILY MERGANINZ

gt. Mercus (Smew, Merganser, Goosander). Bill straight, slender, nar-
row, approaching to cylindrical; upper mandible hooked ; edges
of both mandibles armed with sharp teeth directed backwards ; legs
short, placed far backward. Page 201

ORDER COLUMB:
(PIGEONS AND Doves)

Bill swollen at tip, convex ; the upper mandible covered at the base with a
soft membrane in which lie the nostrils, with a valve over them; tarsicovered
fore and rear with hexagonal scales.

The birds of this order have considerable powers of flight, and perch freely
on trees or rocks. Their food consists principally of grain, seeds, and the
leaves of herbaceous plants. The young are fed on a milky fluid secreted
in the crop of the old birds.

FAMILY COLUMBID

Tail with twelve feathers ; hind toe with the skin prominently expanded
on the sides.

92. CoLtumBa (Wood-pigeon, Stock-dove, Rock-dove). Bill moderate,
straight at base, compressed, point deflected; tail nearly even ;
first primary much larger than sixth. Page 203

93. TurRtuR (Turtle-dove). Bill rather slender, tip of upper mandible

gently deflected, that of lower scarcely exhibiting the appearance
of an angle; tail rather long, graduated. Page 209

xx SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS

ORDER PTEROCLETES
FAMILY PTEROCLIDZ

94. SYRRHAPTES (Sand-grouse). Bill small, gradually decurved ; nostrils

basal, hidden; wings long, pointed, first primary largest; tail
of sixteen feathers, cuneate, central pair long; tarsi short, strong;
feathered to toes; three toes, all in front; hallux obsolete; soles
rugose ; claws broad and obtuse. Page 211

ORDER GALLINA:

Bil short and stout; culmen arched, and overhanging the mandible.

95-

96.

FAMILY TETRAONID

TETRAO (Black Grouse, Capercaillie). Bill strong ; eyebrows naked,
adorned with scarlet papille ; tarsi feathered, without spurs ; front
toes naked, with pectinated margins; hind toe larger than the
nail. Page 212

Lacépus (Red Grouse, Ptarmigan). Front toes feathered, nearly
smooth at the margins; hind toe shorter than the nail; in other
respects like the last. Page 215

FAMILY PHASIANID

Nostrils never hidden by feathers; toes never pectinated.

97-

98.

99.

100.

Iol.

102.

103.

PuHasIANuS (Pheasant). Cheeks naked, adorned with scarlet papille ;
tail very long, of eighteen feathers. Page 219

PerpDIx (Partridge). Bill strong ; orbits naked ; tarsus naked, male
with a knob on the tarsus behind; tail of sixteen feathers, short,

bent down. Page 222
CaccaBis (Red-legged Partridge). Tail of fourteen feathers; tarsi
armed with blunt spurs in male. Page 225

CoTURNIX (Quail). Bill slender; orbits feathered ; wings with the
first primary longest; tail very short; almost concealed by the
tail-coverts. Page 226

ORDER FULICARIA
(RAILS AND COOTS)

FAMILY RALLID
(RAILS)

Crex (Corn-crake). Bill shorter than the head, thick at the base.
compressed, pointed ; front toes entirely divided, not margined;
second and third primaries longest. Tail pointed, rectrices narrow.

Page 228

PorzANna (Spotted and LittleCrakes). Bill shorter than head ; wings
shorter than in Crex; second quill longest.; secondaries shorter
than primaries by length of hind toe and claw. Page 229

Ratius (Water-rail). Bill longer than head; wings moderate, third
and fourth quills longest. Page 230

SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS xxi

104. GALLiNULA (Moor-hen). Bill shorter than the head, stout, straight,
compressed ; upper mandible expanding at the base and forming
a disc on the forehead ; toes entirely divided, bordered by a narrow
entire membrane, middle toe longer than tarsus. Page 231

105. FUtxLica (Coot). Bull shorter than the head, straight, robust, convex
above, much compressed ; upper mandible dilated at the base,
and forming a naked patch on the forehead ; all the toes united
at the base, and bordered by a scalloped membrane. Page 233

ORDER ALECTORIDES

Angle of the mandible always truncated, hind toe generally raised above
level of others.

FAMILY GRUIDZ

Nasal depression more than half as long as maxilla; rectrices twelve

106. GrRus (Crane). Upper mandible deeply channelled ; nostrils medial ;
wings moderate; third primary longest. Page 234

FAMILY OTIDIDZ
(BuSTARDS)

Bill flattened and obtuse ; no hind toe; tarsi unarmed ; wings very short ;
rectrices sixteen to twenty.

107. Oris (Bustard). Legs long, naked above the knee; wings moderate,
hind quill longest. Page 236

ORDER LIMICOLA
(WADERS)

Leg and tarsus long, the lower portion of the former generally destitute
of feathers; bill long or moderate; toes three or four, more or less con-
nected by a membrane at the base, sometimes lobated. Primaries eleven ;
fifth secondary wanting; after shaft to contour feathers present.

Adapted by structure for feeding |in marshes, on the muddy or sandy sea-
shore, or on the banks of lakes and rivers. Some, which feed on fish, have
unusually long legs and powerful bills; others, owing to their length of bill
and legs, are able to search muddy places for worms and insects, without
clogging their feathers ; and others, again, are decidedly aquatic, and have
considerable swimming powers, thus approaching the next order; the
majority have great power of flight, and lay their eggs on the ground.

FAMILY GLAREOLID/

108. GLAREOLA (Pratincole). Bill short, convex, compressed towards the
point ; upper mandible curved throughout half its length; nostrils
basal, oblique; legs feathered nearly to the knee; tarsus long ;
three toes in front, one behind, the latter joined on the tarsus ;
wings very long; first primary longest. Page 238

FAMILY CHARADRIID/®

Hind toe absent in most species; tarsus usually reticulate, sometimes
scutellate.

Iog. (£picNEmuS (Thick-knee). Bill stout, straight, longer than the head,

xxii SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS

TIO.

BEE.

II2

EL.

II4.

Tals

116.

wig

slightly compressed towards the end; nostrils in the middle of the
bill, narrow, with the aperture in front, pervious ; toes three, united
by a membrane as far as the first joint ; wings asin the last. Page 239

Cursorius (Courser). Bill shorter than the head, depressed at the
base, slightly curved, pointed; nostrils basal, oval, covered by
a little protuberance. Legs long, slender; toes three, very short,
divided nearly to the base, inner toe half the length of the middle
one; its claw serrated; claws very short; wings moderate; first
primary nearly as long as the second, which is the longest in the
wing. Page 240

CHARADRIUS (Plover). Bill shorter than the head, slender, straight,
compressed, somewhat swollen towards the tip; nasal channel
reaching from the base through two-thirds of the bill, covered by a
membrane; nostrils basal, very narrow; tarsi moderate, slender ;
toes three, the outer and middle connected by a short membrane ;
wings moderate; first primary longest. Page 240

SouATAROLA (Grey Plover). Bill shorter than the head, straight,
swollen and hard towards the tip; nostrils basal, narrow, pierced
in the membrane of a long groove ; legs slender ; outer and middle
toe connected by a short membrane, hind toe rudimentary, jointed
on the tarsus, not touching the ground ; wings long, pointed ; first
primary longest. Page 242

Eupromtas (Dotterel). Bill shorter than head, slender, compressed ;
nasal channel reaching about half length of bill. Wings mode-
rate ; inner secondaries much longer than in Charadrius.

Page 244

ZEGIALITIS (Ringed and Kentish Plovers). Bill much shorter than
head, slender, straight to end of nasal channel, which extends be-
yond middle of bill, then slightly raised, but decurved at tip; wings
long, pointed. Page 245

VANELLUS (Lapwing). Wings large, quills broad and rounded, the
fourth and fifth primaries longest. In other respects resembling
Squatarola. Page 247

HamAropus (OysterCatcher). Bill longer than the head, stout, straight,
forming a wedge; legs moderate, stout ; toes three, bordered by a
narrow membrane; wings long; first primary longest. Page 248

STREPSILAS (Turnstone). Bill short, thickest at the base and taper-
_ing; nostrils basal, narrow, pervious; legs moderate; three front
toes connected at the base by a membrane, fourth rudimentary,
jointed on the tarsus, touching the ground with its tip. Page 250

FAMILY SCOLOPACID:
(SNIPES, ETC.)

Bill long and slender ; toes four, the hind one weak and elevated, very
rarely wanting.

118.

119.

120.

RECURVIROSTRA (Avocet). Bill very long, slender, weak, muchcurved
upwards, pointed; legs long, slender ; front toes connected as far
as the second joint; hind toe very small. Page 252

PuHAraropus (Phalarope). Bill as long as the head, slender, weak,
depressed and blunt ; front toes connected as far as the first joint,
and bordered by a lobed and slightly serrated membrane ; hind toe
not bordered. Page 253

ScoLopax (Woodcock). Billlong, compressed, superior ridge elevated

SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS xxiii

at base of mandible, prominent. Legs rather short, anterior toes
almost entirely divided. Page 254

I2I. GALLINAGO (Snipe). Bill very long; legs rather long and slender ;
anterior toes divided to the base. Page 256

122. CALIDRIS (Sanderling). Bill as long as the head, slender, straight,
soft, and flexible, dilated towards the end; nostrils basal, narrow,
pierced in the long nasal groove which reaches to the tip; legs
slender ; toes three, scarcely connected by a membrane; wings
moderate ; first primary longest. Page 260

123. TRINGA (Sandpiper, Knot, Dunlin, Stint). Billaslong as the head ora
little longer, straight or slightly curved, soft and flexible, dilated, and
blunt towards point; both mandibles grooved along sides; nostrils
lateral wings moderately long, pointed, first quill longest; legs
moderately long; three toes in front, divided to origin; one be-
hind, small, articulated upon tarsus. Page 261

124. MAcHETES (Ruff). Bill straight, as long as the head, dilated and
smooth at the tip; nasal channel reaching to nearly the end of
the bill; nostrils basal; first and second primaries longest ; toes
four, the outer and middle connected as far as the first joint ; neck
of the male in spring furnished with a ruff. Page 266

125. Té6raANus (Redshank, Sandpiper). Bill moderate, slender, soft at
the base, solid at the end; both mandibles grooved at the base,
upper channelled through half its length; nostrils pierced in the
groove; legs long, slender; toes four. Page 267

126, Limésa (Godwit). Bill very long, slender, curved upwards, soft and
flexible throughout, dilated towards the tip, and blunt; upper
mandible channelled throughout its whole length; nostrils linear,
pierced in the groove, pervious; legs long and slender; toes
four, the outer and middle connected as far as as the first joint ;
wings moderate; first primary longest. Page 272

127. Numenius (Curlew, Whimbrel). Bill much larger than the head,
slender, curved downwards. Page 273

ORDER GAVL#

Front toes entirely connected by webs. Primaries, ten large and visible,
one minute and concealed.

FAMILY LARIDZ

(GULLS, TERNS, SKUAS)

SUB-FAMILY STERNINZ
Bill straight, rather slender ; mandibles of about equal length.
128. HyDROCHELIDON (Black, White-winged, and Whiskered Terns). Tail
feathers rounded or slightly pointed; tail short, less than half
length of wing. Page 275
129. STERNA (Other Terns). Outer tail feathers longest, pointed ; tarsus

short ; tail at least half length of wing ; bill compressed and slender ;
tarsus never exceeds length of middle toe with claw. Page 27

xxiv SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS

SUB-FAMILY LARIN#&
Bill with upper mandible longer and bent over tip of under one.

130. Larus (Gull). Bill moderate, strong, sharp-edged above, compressed,
slightly decurved ; hind toe high on the tarsus ; first primary nearly
equal to the second, which is longest; tail even, or but slightly
forked. Page 281

131. Russa (Kittiwake). Bill rather short and stout, considerably decurved;
hind toe minute and usually obsolete ; first primary slightly exceed-
ing second ; tail perceptibly forked in young, nearly square in adult.

Page 287

SUB-FAMILY STERCORARIIN£
Bill with a cere; claws large, strong, hooked.

132. STERCORARIUS (Skua). Bill moderate, strong, rounded above, com-
pressed towards the tip, which is decurved ; nostrils far forward,
diagonal, pervious; hind toe very small, scarcely elevated; the
middle tail-feathers more or less elongated. Page 288

ORDER PYGOPODES
Wings short

FAMILY ALCIDA
(AuKs)

Bill much flattened vertically (compressed) ; wings short ; legs placed at
the extremity of the body; feet three-toed, palmated; tail short. Food,
mostly fish, and captured by diving.

133. AtcaA (Razorbill). Bill large, sharp-edged, the basal half feathered,
the terminal part grooved laterally ; upper mandible much curved
towards the point; nostrils nearly concealed by a feathered mem-
brane; tail pointed. Page 291

134. Urta (Guillemot). Bill strong, nearly straight, sharp-pointed, of
moderate length; nostrils basal, partly covered by a feathered
membrane; first primary longest. Page 292

135. Mercuius. (Little Auk). Bill strong, conical, slightly curved,
shorter than the head ; nostrils basal, partly covered by a feathered
membrane; first and second primaries equal. Page 294

136. FRATERCULA (Puffin). Bill shorter than head, higher than long,
ridge of upper mandible higher than crown ; both mandibles much
curved throughout, transversely furrowed, notched at tip; nostrils
basal, almost closed by a naked membrane. Page 295

FAMILY COLYMBIDz
(DIVERs)

Bill slightly compressed, not covered with a membranous skin; edges of
the mandibles unarmed, or but slightly toothed ; wings short; legs placed
far behind ; tarsi very much compressed ; toes four. Food, fish and other
aquatic animal substances obtained by diving. Femalessmaller than males.

137. CoLymBus (Diver). Bill forming a pointed cylindrical cone; front
toes entirely palmated; tail very short. Page 297

SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS xxv

FAMILY PODICIPEDIDZ®
(GREBES)
Hallux raised above level cf other toes ; toes with wide lateral lobes, united
at base. Tail vestigial.

138. Popicrpes (Grebe). Bull forming pointed cylindrical cone; second-
aries, if any, very little shorter than primaries. Page 300

ORDER TUBINARES

External nostrils are produced into tubes; anterior toes fully webbed ;
hallux small or absent.

FAMILY PROCELLARIID/:

Nostrils united exteriorly above culmen.

139. Furmarus (Fulmar). Bill not so long as head ; upper mandible of
four portions divided by indentations, the whole large, strong,
curving suddenly to point; under mandible grooved along sides,
bent at end ; edges of mandibles sharp; nostrils prominent, united,
enclosed, somewhat hidden in tube with single external orifice ; wings
rather long, first quill longest ; tarsi compressed, feet moderate.

Page 304

PurFinus (Shearwaters). Bill rather longer than head, slender ; man-
dibles compressed, decurved; nasal tube low, both nostrils visible
from above, directed forwards and slightly upwards; wings long,
pointed, first quill slightly the longest; tail graduated; tarsi
compressed laterally. Page 305

PROCELLARIA (Storm and Fork-tailed Petrels). Bill small, robust,
much shorter than head, straight to nail, which is decurved; wings
long, narrow, second quill longest, slightly exceeding third, first
shorter than fourth ; tail moderate, slightly rounded ; legs moderate,
claws rather short. Page 307

140.

I4I.

ORDER PASSERES

FAVILEY TURDIDA
Sus-Famity TURDINAE

THE, MISTEE (OR: MISSEL) THRUSH

TURDUS VISCIVORUS

Upper plumage ash brown; space between the bill and eye greyish white ;
wing-coverts edged and tipped with greyish white ; under parts white,
faintly tinged here and there with reddish yellow, marked all over with
deep brown spots, which on the throat and breast are triangular, in other
parts oval, broader on the flanks; under wing-coverts white; three
lateral tail feathers tipped with greyish white. Length eleven inches ;
breadth eighteen inches. Eggs greenish or reddish white spotted with
brownish red. Young spotted on the head and back with buff and black.

THE largest British song bird, distinguished from the Song Thrush
not only by its superior size, but by having white under wing-coverts,
and the whole of the under part of the body buffish-white,
spotted with black. Itis a generally diffused bird, andis known by
various local names ; in the west of England its popular name is
Holm Thrush, or Holm Screech, derived most probably, not, as Yarrell
surmises, from its resorting to the oak in preference to other trees,
but from its feeding on the berries of the holly, or holm ; the title
‘Screech’ being given to it from its jarring note when angry or alarm-
ed, which closely resembles the noise made by passing the finger-nail
rapidly along the teeth of a comb. Its French name, ‘ Draine’,
and German, ‘ Schnarre’, seem to be descriptive of the same harsh
“churr’. In Wales, it has from its quarrelsome habits acquired
the name of Penn y llwyn, or, master of the coppice. Another
of its names, Throstle Cock, expresses its alliance with the Thrushes,
and its daring nature; and another Storm Cock, indicates ‘not
that it delights in storms more than in fine weather, but that
nature has taught it to pour forth its melody at a time of the year
when the bleak winds of winter roar through the leafless trees’.
The song of the Mistle Thrush is loud, wild, and musical. Waterton
calls it ‘plaintive’, Knapp ‘harsh and untuneful’. I must

B.B. ze B

2 THE MISTLE (OR MISSEL) THRUSH

confess that I agree with neither. This note, generally the earliest
of the Spring sounds (for the Redbreast’s song belongs essenti-
ally to winter), is to my ear full of cheerful promise amounting to
confidence—a song of exultation in the return of genial weather.
The bird sings generally perched on the topmost branch of some
lofty tree, and there he remains for hours together out-whistling
the wind and heeding not the pelting rain. This song, however,
is not continuous, but broken into passages of a few notes each,
by which characteristic it may be distinguished alike from that
of the Thrush or the Blackbird, even when mellowed by dis-
tance to resemble either. The Mistletoe Thrush is essentially a
tree-loving bird. During winter its food mainly consists of berries,
among which those of the Mountain Ash and Yew have the pre-
ference, though it also feeds on those of the Hawthorn, Ivy, Juniper,
and the strange plant from which it derives its name.t Towards other
birds it is a very tyrant, selfish and domineering in the extreme ;
to such a degree, indeed, that even when it has appeased its appe-
tite it will allow no other bird to approach the tree which it has
appropriated for its feeding ground. I have seen it take pos-
session of a Yew-tree laden with berries, and most mercilessly
drive away, with angry vociferations and yet more formidable
buffets, every other bird that dared to come near. Day after
day it returned, until the tree was stripped of every berry, when
it withdrew and appeared no more.

As soon as the unfrozen earth is penetrable by its beak, it adds
to its diet such worms and grubs as it can discover ; and, if it
be not belied, it is given to plunder the nests of other birds of
their eggs and young. It may be on this account that Magpies,
Jays, and other large woodland birds, robbers themselves, enter-
tain an instinctive dislike towards it. Certainly these birds are its
better enemies ; but in the breeding season it eludes their animo-
sity by quitting the woods, and resorting to the haunts of man.
Its harsh screech is now rarely heard, for its present object is not
defiance, but immunity from danger. Yet it takes no extraor-
dinary pains to conceal its nest. On the contrary, it usually places
this where there is little or no foliage to shadow it, in a fork between
two large boughs of an apple, pear, or cheery tree, sometimes only
a few feet from the ground, and sometimes twenty feet or more.
The nest is a massive structure, consisting of an external basket-
work of twigs, roots, and lichens, within which is a kind of bowl of
mud containing a final lining of grass and roots. The bird is an
early builder. It generally lays five eggs and feeds its young
on snails, worms, and insects. The range of the Mistle Thrush
extends as far as the Himalayas. In Great Britain it is a resident
species.

‘ That this thrush feeds on the berries of the mistletoe was stated by
Yarrell, but it is not now generally believed to be’ a fact,

Song Thrush

Missel Thrush

Redwing [face p. 2.
Fieldfare

THE SONG THRUSH 3

THE SONG THRUSH
TURDUS MUSICUS

Upper parts brown tinged with olive ; wing-coverts edged and tipped with
reddish yellow; cere yellowish; throat white in the middle, without
spots; sides of neck and breast reddish yellow with triangular dark
brown spots; abdomen and flanks pure white with oval dark brown
spots; under wing-coverts pale orange yellow; bill and feet greyish
brown. Length, eight inches and a half, breadth thirteen inches. Eggs
blue with a few black spots mostly at the larger end.

THe Thrush holds a distinguished place among British birds,
as contributing, perhaps, more than any other to the aggregate
charms of a country life. However near it may be, its song is never
harsh, and heard at a distance its only defect is, that it is not nearer.
It possesses, too, the charm of harmonizing with all other pleasant
natural sounds. If to these recommendations we add that the
Thrush frequents all parts of England, and resorts to the surburban
garden as well as the forest and rocky glen, we think we may
justly claim for it the distinction among birds, of being the last
that we would willingly part with, not even excepting its allowed
master in song himself, the Nightingale. Three notes are often
repeated: Did he do it? Shut the gate, Kubelik.

The food of the Thrush during winter consists of worms, insects,
and snails. The first of these it picks up or draws out from
their holes, in meadows and lawns; the others it hunts for among
moss and stones, in woods and hedges, swallowing the smaller ones
whole, and extracting the edible parts of large snails by dashing
them with much adroitness against a stone. When it has once dis-
covered a stone adapted to its purpose, it returns to it again and
again, so that it is not uncommon in one’s winter walks to come
upon a place thickly strewn with broken shells, all, most probably,
the ‘chips’ of one workman. As spring advances, it adds
caterpillars to its bill of fare, and as the summer fruits ripen, it
attacks them all in succession; strawberries, gooseberries, cur-
rants, raspberries, cherries, and, on the Continent, grapes suit
its palate right well; and, when these are gone, pears and apples,
whether attached to the tree or lying on the ground, bear, too often
for the gardener, the marks of its beak on their ripest side. Dur-
ing all this period it relieves the monotony of its diet by an occa-
sional repast on animal food; as, indeed, in winter it alternates
its food whenever opportunity occurs, by regaling itself on wild
berries. Yet, despite the mischief which it perpetrates in our
gardens by devouring and spoiling much of the choicest fruit—for
your thrush is an epicure, and tastes none but the ripest and best
—the service which it renders as a devourer of insects more than
compensates for all. So the gardener, if a wise man, will prefer the
scare-crow to the gun, the protecting net to that which captures.

I know two adjoining estates in Yorkshire. On one the gar-

4 THE REDWING

dener shoots blackbirds and thrushes in fruit time. On the other
they are protected. The latter yields always more fruit than
the former.

The Thrush holds a high rank, too, among birds as an architect.
Its nest is usually placed in a thorn-bush, a larch or young fir-tree,
a furze-bush, an apple or pear tree, or an ordinary hedge, at no
great elevation from the ground, and not concealed with much
attempt at art. Indeed, as it begins to build very early, it is only
when it selects an evergreen that it has much chance of effectually
hiding its retreat. The nest externally is composed of feather-
moss, intermatted with bents, twigs, and small roots, and termi-
nates above in a thicker rim of the same materials. Thus far
the bird has displayed her skill as basket-maker. The outer case
is succeeded by a layer of cow-dung, applied in small pellets, and
cemented with saliva. The builder, with a beak for her only trowel,
has now completed the mason’s work. But she has yet to show
her skill as a plasterer ; this she does by lining her cup-like chamber
with stucco made from decayed wood, pulverized and reduced to
a proper consistence, kneading it with her beak. With this for
her sole instrument, except her round breast, to give to the whole
the requisite form, she has constructed a circular bowl sufficiently
compact to exclude air and water, as true and as finely finished
as if it had been moulded on a potter’s wheel, or turned on a lathe.

The Thrush lays four or five eggs, and rears several broods in
the season, building a new nest for each brood. During incuba-
tion the female is very tame, and will suffer herself to be approached
quite closely without deserting her post. In the vicinity of houses,
where she is familiar with the human form, she will even take worms
and other food from the hand.

THE REDWING
TURDUS IL{ACUS

Upper plumage olive brown ; lore black and yellow; a broad white streak
above the eye ; lower plumage white, with numerous oblong dusky spots,
middle of the abdomen without spots; under wing-coverts and flanks
bright orange red ; bill dusky ; feet grey. Length eight inches, breadth
thirteen inches. Eggs greenish blue mottled with dark brownish red
spots.

THE Redwing (called in France Mauvis, whence an old name for
the Song-thrush, ‘ Mavis) is the smallest of the Thrushes with
which we are familiar. It is, like the Fieldfare, a bird of passage,
reaching us from the north about the same time with the Wood-
cock, in October. It resembles the Song-thrush more than any
other bird of the family, but may readily be distinguished even at
some distance by the light stripe over the eye, and its bright red
under wing-coverts. In some parts of France it is much sought

THE FIELDFARE 5

after by the fowler, its flesh being considered by many superior to
that of the Quail and Woodcock. It owes perhaps some of this
unfortunate distinction to the fact of its arriving in France in time
to fatten on grapes, for in this country it is often too lean to be
worth cooking. Being impatient of cold, it is less abundant in the
north of England than the south; but even in the mild climates
of Devon and Cornwall, where it congregates in large numbers, it
issomuch enfeebled by unusually severe weather, as to be liable to
be hunted down by boys with sticks, and a Redwing starved to
death used to be no unfrequent sight in the course of a winter’s
ramble. As long as the ground remains neither frozen nor snowed
up, the open meadows may be seen everywhere spotted with these
birds, but when the earth becomes so hard as to resist their efforts
in digging up worms and grubs, they repair to the cliffs which border
the sea-coast, where some sunny nook is generally to be found, to
woods in quest of berries, or to the water-courses of sheltered val-
leys. At these times they are mostly silent, their only note, when
they utter any, being simple and harsh; but in France they are
said to sing towards the end of February, and even in this country
they have been known to perch on trees in mild weather, and execute
a regular song. Towards the end of April or beginning of May,
they take their departure northwards, where they pass the summer,
preferring woods and thickets in the vicinity of marshes. Mr.
Hewitson states that while he was travelling through Norway ‘ the
Redwing was but seldom seen, and then perched upon the summit
of one of the highest trees, pouring forth its delightfully wild note.
It was always very shy, and upon seeing our approach would drop
suddenly from its height, and disappear among the underwood.
Its nest, which we twice found with young ones (although our unceas-
ing endeavours to find its eggs were fruitless), was similar to that of
the Fieldfare. The Redwing is called the Nightingale of Norway,
and well it deserves the name’, and Turdus Iliacus becaus2 it
frequented in such great numbers the environs of Ilion-Troy.

THE FIELDFARE
TURDUS PILARIS

Head, nape, and lower part of the back dark ash colour ; upper part of the
back and wing-coverts chestnut brown ; lore black ; a white rim above
the eyes; throat and breast yellowish red with oblong dark spots ;
feathers on the flanks spotted with black and edged with white ; abdomen
pure white without spots; under wing-coverts white, beak brown,
tipped with black. Length ten inches, breadth seventeen inches.
Eggs light blue, mottled all over with dark red brown spots.

THE Fieldfare is little inferior in size to the Missel Thrush, with
which, however, it is not likely to be confounded even at a distance,
owing to the predominant bluish tinge of its upper plumage. In
the west of England, where the Thrush is called the Greybird, to

6 THE FIELDFARE

distinguish it from its ally the Blackbird, the Fieldfare is known
by the name of Bluebird, to distinguish it from both. It is a
migratory bird, spending its summer, and breeding, in the north
of Europe, and paying us an annual visit in October or November.
But it is impatient of cold, even with us, for in winters of unusual
severity it migrates yet farther south, and drops in upon our mea-
dows a second time in the spring, when on its way to its summer
quarters. Fieldfares are eminently gregarious; not only do they
arrive at ourshores and depart from them in flocks, but they keep
together as long as they remain, nor do they dissolve their society
on their return to the north, but build their nests many together
in the same wood. In this country, they are wild and cautious
birds, resorting during open weather to watercourses and damp
pastures, where they feed on worms and insects, and when frost
sets in betaking themselves to bushes in quest of haws and other
berries ; or in very severe weather resorting to the muddy or
sandy sea-shore. They frequent also commons on which the
Juniper abounds, the berries of this shrub affording them an abun-
dant banquet. Unlike the Blackbird and Thrush, they rarely
seek for food under hedges, but keep near the middle of fields, as
if afraid of being molested by some concealed enemy. When
alarmed, they either take refuge in the branches of a high tree in
the neighbourhood, or remove altogether to a distant field. The
song of the Fieldfare I have never heard : Toussenel doubts whether
it has any; Yarrell describes it as ‘soft and melodious’ ; Bech-
stein as ‘a mere harsh disagreeable warble’; while a writer in
the Zoologist who heard one sing during the mild January of
1846, in Devon, describes it as ‘ combining the melodious whistle
of the Blackbird with the powerful voice of the Mistle Thrush’.
Its call-note is short and harsh, and has in France given it the
provincial names of Tia-tia and Tchatcha. This latter name
accords with Macgillivray’s mode of spelling its note, yack chuck,
harsh enough, no one will deny. ‘Our attention was attracted
by the harsh cries of several birds which we at first supposed must
be Shrikes, but which afterwards proved to be Fieldfares. We
were now delighted by the discovery of several of their nests, and
were surprised to find them (so contrary to the habits of other
species of the genus with which we are acquainted) breeding in
society. Their nests were at various heights from the ground,
from four to thirty or forty feet or upwards; they were, for the
most part, placed against the trunk of the Spruce Fir ; some were,
however, at a considerable distance from it, upon the upper sur-
face and towards the smaller end of the thicker branches: they
resembled most nearly those of the Ring Ouzel; the outside is
composed of sticks and coarse grass and weeds gathered wet,
matted with a small quantity of clay, and lined with a thick bed
of fine dry grass: none of them yet contained more than three

Blackbird J

101m.

Blackbird 2? 3

Ring Ouzel d

THE BLACKBIRD 7

eggs, although we afterwards found that five was more commonly
the number than four, and that even six was very frequent ; they
are very similar to those of the Blackbird, and even more so to
the Ring Ouzel. The Fieldfare is the most abundant bird in Nor-
way, and is generally diffused over that part which we visited,
building, as already noticed, in society ; two hundred nests or
more being frequently seen within a very small space.’ Oddly
enough two hundred was just the number of a colony of nests in
Thiiringen on the estate of Baron von Berlepsch, which were those
of Fieldfares he had induced to come by trimming the trunks of
a long row of Black Poplar trees so as to afford good sites for the nests.
The present editor visited these in 1906. Some few instances are
on record of the Fieldfare breeding in this country, but these are
exceptional. In general they leave us in April and May, though
they have been observed as late as the beginning of June.

1Ds0d Jil NC sjUsdD,
TURDUS MERULA

Male—plumage wholly black ; bill and orbits of the eyes orange yellow ; feet
black. Female—upper plumage sooty brown ;- throat pale brown with
darker spots; breast reddish brown passing into dark ash brown ;_ bill
and legs dusky. Length ten inches; breadth sixteen inches. Eggs
greenish grey, spotted and speckled with light red brown.

WitH his glossy coat and yellow beak the Blackbird is a hand-
somer bird than the Thrush ; his food is much the same : he builds
his nest in similar places; he is a great glutton when gooseberries
are ripe, and his rich mellow song is highly inspiriting. But he
is suspicious and wary ; however hard pressed he may be by hunger,
you will rarely see him hunting for food in the open field. He
prefers the solitude and privacy of ‘the bush’. In a furze-brake,
acoppice, a wooded water-course, or a thick hedgerow, he chooses
his feeding ground, and allows no sort of partnership. Approach
his haunt, and if he simply mistrusts you, he darts out flying
close to the ground, pursues his course some twenty yards and
dips again into the thicket, issuing most probably on the other
side, and ceasing not until he has placed what he considers a safe
distance between himself and his enemy. But with all his cunning
he fails in prudence ; it is not in his nature to steal away silently.
If he only suspects that all is not right, he utters repeatedly a low
cluck, which seems to say, ‘ This is no place for me, I must be off’.
But if he is positively alarmed, his loud vociferous cry rings out
like a bell, informing all whom it may concern that ‘ danger is at
hand, and it behoves all who value their safety to fly’. Most
animals understand the cry in this sense, and catch the alarm.
Many a time has the deer-stalker been disappointed of a shot, who,
after traversing half a mile on his hands and knees between rocks

PLATES TO BLACKBIRD.

5. Male and female with nest.

6. A nest and eggs.

7. The young just emerged from the egg and an egg (June 1).
8. The aay after hatching (June 2).

9. Four days later (June 4).

Io. Sixth day out (June 5s).
11. Ninth day out.

12. Eleventh day out.

13. Twelfth day out.
14. The young birds in July.

We would draw attention to the extraordinary size of the bird just out
as compared with the egg. On the sixth day the feather shafts with the
tips of the encased feathers sticking out of them are quite formed, although
two days earlier they were hardly more than indicated. On the ninth day
feathers nearly cover the whole of the skin—on the eleventh day they do this
completely. In No. 13 the bird was drawn after it had flown from the nest.

Just Hatched. 6th Day.
Blackbirds Nest and Eggs Day after. 9th Day.
Blackbird, 14th day. 4th Day. {1th Day.
{ face p. 8.

THE BLACKBIRD 9

and shrubs, has just before the critical moment of action started
some ill-omened Blackbird. Out bursts the frantic alarum, heard
at a great distance; the intended victim catches the alarm, once
snuffs the air to discover in what direction the foe lies concealed,
and bounds to a place of security. A somewhat similar note, not,
however, indicative of terror, real or imagined, is uttered when the
bird is about to retire for the night, and this at all seasons of the
year. He would merit, therefore, the title of “ Bellman of the woods’.
Neither of these sounds is to be confounded with the true song of
the Blackbird. This is a full, melodious, joyful carol, many of the
notes being remarkable for their flutelike tone—‘ the whistling
of the Blackbird ’—and varying greatly in their order of repetition ;
though I am inclined to believe that most birds of this kind have
a favourite passage, which they repeat at intervals many times
during the same performance.

The song of the Blackbird does not meet the approbation of
bird-fanciers: ‘It is not destitute of melody,’ says Bechstein,
‘but it is broken by noisy tones, and is agreeable only in the open
country’. The art of teaching the Blackbird is of old date, for we
find in Pepys’ Diary, May 22, 1663, the following passage:
‘Rendall, the house carpenter at Deptford, hath sent me a fine»
Blackbird, which I went to see. He tells me he was offered twenty
shillings for him as he came along, he do so whistle. 23d. Waked
this morning between four and five by my Blackbird, which whistled
as well as ever I heard any ; only it is the beginning of many tunes
very well, but then leaves them and goes no further.’

The song of the Blackbird is occasionally heard during the mild
days of winter, but it is not until spring sets in that it can be said
to be in full, uninterrupted song. It then repairs to some thick
bush or hedge, especially at the corner of a pond, and builds its
nest, a bulky structure, the framework of which is composed of
twigs and roots; within is a thin layer of mud lined with small
fibrous roots, bents, and moss. The nest contains four or five
eggs, and the young birds are fed with worms. In the breeding
season Blackbirds are far more venturesome than at any other
time, as they frequently select a garden in which to build their
nest, with the double object, perhaps, of procuring plenty of worms
for their nestlings, and of launching them when fledged where
they will have great facilities for regaling themselves on summer
fruits. In such localities the appearance of a cat near their nest
greatly excites their wrath. From being timid they become
very courageous, scolding with all their might, darting down so
near as almost to dash in her face, and generally ending by compelling
her to beat a retreat.

The female Blackbird differs materially from the male, its plumage
being of a dingy brown hue, the breast light and spotted, the beak
dark brown with yellowish edges. White and pied specimens of

10 THE WHEATEAR (STONE-SMATCH)

both sexes are occasionally met with. In a district of France not
far from Paris they are very numerous, and here the title to a certain
estate used to be kept up by the annual presentation of a white
Blackbird to the lord of the manor. Large flocks from the Continent
visit us in the autumn and winter.

THE RING OUZEL

TURDUS TORQUATUS

Plumage black edged with greyish white ; a large crescent-shaped pure white
spot on the throat ; bill and legs dusky. Female with the gorget smaller
and tinged with red and grey, and the rest of the plumage greyer. Length
ten inches. Eggs greenish white, spotted with reddish brown and grey.
RING OvuZEL is hardly an appropriate name for this bird; for in
reality it does not wear a ring round its neck, but a white gorget
on its breast, the contrast between which and its black plumage
is very striking. It frequents the mountainous parts of Scotland
and hilly parts of Derbyshire, and other wild parts where moors
and hills are. Though never so abundant as the Blackbird and
Thrush are in the plains, it is far from uncommon. It is a migratory
bird, arriving in this country in April, and returning to its southern
winter quarters—Corsica and other islands of the Mediterranean
Seay in autumn; not so early, however, as to miss the vintage
season of the south of Europe. In summer it travels as far north
as Sweden and Norway, where, on the authority of Mr. Hewitson, it
is often seen ‘ enlivening the most bleak and desolate islands with its
sweet song. It shares with the Redwing the name of Nightingale, and
often delighted us in our midnight visits amongst the islands.’
Its habits and food while it remains with us are very similar to
those of the Blackbird, and its nest, generally built among stones
and bushes, near the ground, is constructed of the same materials
with the nest of that bird. Towards the end of their sojourn in
Britain, Ring Ouzels descend to the level countries, and are not un-
frequently met with in gardens, whither they repair for the sake of
feeding on fruit and berries. In form and movements the Ring Ouzel

is a more elegantly shaped bird than the Blackbird.

THE WHEATEAR (STONE-SMATCH)!

SAX{COLA CENANTHE

Upper parts, in autumn reddish browr, in spring bluish grey ; wings and wing-
coverts, centre and extremity of the tail, legs and feet, bill and area which
comprises the nostrils, eyes and ears, black ; base and lower portion of
the side of the tail pure white ; the chin, forehead, stripe over the eyes,
and under parts are also white, and in autumn the tail-feathers are also
tipped with white. Female—upper parts ash-brown, tinged with yellow ;
stripe over the eyes dingy ; all the colours less bright. Length six and a
half inches; breadth twelve inches. Eggs pale bluish green.

DurRING a considerable portion of its stay with us, open downs

1 Stone-smatch in Yorkshire—from the Saxon, Steinschmatzer in German.

THE WHEATEAR (STONE-SMATCH) 11

near the sea are the favourite resort of this lively bird, to which
it repairs from its transmarine winter quarters towards the second
week of March. Here it may be seen for several weeks flitting from
rock to rock, and occasionally soaring to the height of about twenty
yards into the air, warbling from time to time its pleasant song,
now aloft, and now restlessly perched on a rock, or bank, or low stone
wall, calling chack-chack—and making itself all the more welcome
that few others among our summer visitants have as yet recovered
their voices. We need not suppose that Wheatears prolong their stay
on the coast in order to rest after their voyage. More probably
they make marine insects (for these are abundant even in early
spring) the principal portion of their food, and are taught, by the
same instinct which guided them across the sea, to remain where
their wants will be fully supplied until land insects have emerged
from their winter quarters. As the season advances many of
them proceed inland, and repair to barren districts, whether moun-
tainous or lowland, where they may enjoy a considerable expanse
without any great admixture of trees. A wide common studded
with blocks of stone, a rabbit-warren or sloping upland, is likely
to be more or less thickly peopled by these shy birds. Shy we
term them, because, disposed as they are to be social among them-
selves (especially in spring and autumn), they are with respect
to other birds most exclusive. Travelling through the waste lands
of England, one may sometimes go on for miles and see no winged
creatures but an occasional Wheatear, which, with dipping flight,
made conspicuous by the snow-white spot at the base of its tail,
shoots ahead of us some thirty or forty yards, alights on a stone,
and, after a few uneasy upward and downward movements of
its tail, starts off again to repeat the same manceuvre, until we
begin to wonder what tempts it to stray away so far from home.
It does not ordinarily sing during these excursions, but utters its
occasional note, very different from its spring song. It builds
its nest of grass, moss, and leaves, and lines it with hair or wool,
selecting some very secret spot on the ground, a deserted rabbit-
burrow or cavity under a rock, where, beyond the reach of any
but the most cunning marauder, it lays five or six eggs. Early in
August, when the young are fully fledged, the scattered colonies
of Wheatears assemble for emigration on open downs near the
sea. We have seen a good many of them on the sandy coast of
Norfolk and of North Hales; but it is on the extensive downs of
Sussex that they collect in the largest numbers, not in flocks, but
in parties of six or eight ; each party perhaps constituting a family.
They here retain their shy habits of flying off at the approach of
a human being, and are often seen to drop suddenly, where they
may remain concealed from sight behind a stone, furze-bush or
bank. The shepherds and others, whose vocation lies on the
downs, used to take advantage of the habit of these birds to con-

12 THE WHINCHAL

ceal themselves, and construct a multitude of simple but efficacious
traps in which they capture large numbers. The method which
they adopted was to cut out from the sward an oblong piece of
turf about the size of a brick, which they inverted over the hole
from which it was taken so as to form a cross. Beneath this are
placed two running nooses of horsehair, in which the poor bird, when
it takes refuge in one of the open ends of the hole for concealment,
is easily snared. The birds being in fine condition at this season—
having, in fact, fattened themselves previously to undertaking
their long sea voyage—are highly prized as a dainty article of
food. It was formerly the custom for persons who wanted a dish
of Wheatears to supply themselves from the traps, placing a penny
in every hole from which they took a bird ; but afterwards the influx
of visitors to the neighbouring watering-places so much enhanced
their value, that the shepherds allowed no such interference. We
once tried the experiment of releasing a bird and depositing the
penny-piece in the trap, when, from a neighbouring eminence, we
were assailed with such a torrent of abuse, that we declined repeat-
ing the experiment. In September, all who have escaped the
sportsman and fowler wing their way to southern lands. It is
thought that the autumnal flocks are partially composed of birds
on their way from high latitudes, which stop to recruit their strength
on the South-downs previous to final emigration.

THE WHINCHAT
PRATINCOLA RUBETRA

Upper plumage dusky brown, edged with reddish yellow ; over the eye a broad
white streak ; throat and sides of the neck white ; neck and breast bright
yellowish red; a large white spot on the wings and base of the tail ;
extremity of the latter and the whole of the two central feathers dusky
brown ; abdomen and flanks yellowish white. /emale—yellowish white
wherever the male is pure white ; the white spot on the wings smaller ;
the red parts dingy. Length five inches; breadth nine inches. Eggs
bluish green, often minutely speckled with light brownish red.

A GREAT deal that we have said of the Stonechat, will apply equally
to the Whinchat, as the two birds much resemble each other in
character, size, and habits. There is this difference, however,
between them, that a considerable number of Stonechats remain
in Britain during the winter, whereas the Whinchats, almost to
a bird, leave our shores in the autumn. The latter is by no means
so common, and is rarely seen except in wild places where the shrub is
abundant from which it derives its name of Whinchat, or Furzechat.
For a small bird to have black legs is, it seems, considered in France
an indication of peculiar delicacy of flesh. Both of these birds,
therefore, notwithstanding their diminutive size, are much sought
after for the table. Both are of restless habits, delighting to perch
on the summit of a furze-bush, where they keep the tail in constant

Stonechat ? ¢

Whinchat Black Redstart ? 7

Redstart J 9

[p. 12.

THE STONECHAT 13

motion, occasionally spring into the air after an insect, and then
dart off with a dipping flight to another post of advantage. They
repeat the call of ii-tzck! and their short and simple song, both
while at rest and on the wing; but they are not musical, and
‘their flesh is generally more esteemed than their song.’ The
Whinchat may be distinguished at a considerable distance by
the white streak over the eye. Both nest and eggs of the two species
are very similar.

ht STONECHAL
PRATINCOLA RUBICOLA

Head, throat, bill and legs, black; sides of the neck near the wing, tertial
wing-coverts and rump, white ; breast bright chestnut-red, shaded into
yellowish white towards the tail; feathers of the back, wings and tail,
black, with reddish brown edges. Female—feathers of the head and
upper parts dusky brown, edged with yellowish red: throat black, with
small whitish and reddish spots ; less white in the wings and tail; the
red of the breast dull. Length five and a quarter inches ; breadth eight
and a half inches. Eggs pale blue, the larger end often faintly speckled
with reddish brown.

WE can scarcely pass through a furze-brake during the spring
and summer months, without having the presence of the Stonechat
almost forced on our notice. I am acquainted with no small bird
whose habits are more marked, or more easily observed. Not
even does the Skylark build its nest more invariably on the ground,
and ‘soaring sings, and singing soars’, than does the Stonechat
build its nest in a furze-bush, and perch on the topmost twigs of
shrubs. In the breeding season, too, it seems not to wander far
from its home : we know therefore where a pair are to be found at
any time ; and they allow us to approach so close to them, that we
can readily distinguish them by the tints of their plumage.

The nest of the pair may be within a few yards of the spot
on which we are standing; but the exact locality no one knows,
nor is likely to know but itself. The male is a beautiful creature,
with a black head, red breast, and several patches of pure white
on its wings, the female much more sober in her attire. Their
purpose is evidently to distract our attention from their nest.
One is clinging to the top of a Juniper, where he fidgets about
uttering his tw7t-click-click, which you can easily imitate by whist-
ling once sharply and knocking two stones together twice in rapid
succession. The other is perched on the top spine of a furze-bush
—they are aspiring birds and must settle on the tof of whatever
they alight on, be it only a dock. Now one dips down and is lost
for a few seconds, to appear again, however, directly on the summit
of another bush; now they are on our right hand, now on our
left; now before us, and then behind. Are they describing a
circle round their nest for a centre, or are they trying to trick us

14 THE REDSTART

into the belief that they are better worth caring for than their
young ones, and may be caught if we will only be silly enough to
chase them ? I do not know; but whatever their thoughts may
be, we certainly are in them, and as certainly they are not delighted
at our presence. We walk on, and suddenly they are gone; but
presently we encounter another pair of the same birds, who if
we loiter about will treat us in exactly the same way, but, if we
pass on steadily, will take little notice of us.

We have little more to say of the Stonechat. It is not often
heard to sing ; the reason probably being that, when listeners are
in the way, it is too anxious about its nest to be musical. Its
food is principally insects, which it often catches on the wing.
In winter (for they do not all leave us at this season) it feeds on
worms, etc. Its nest is remarkable more from its size and position
(usually in the centre of a furze-bush), than for neatness of structure.
It lays five eggs. Its name Rubicola denotes a dweller among
brambles, and is by no means inappropriate, as it rarely perches
on any bush exceeding a bramble in size. Its names Stonechat,
Stoneclink or Stonechatter,are evidently to be traced to the similarity
between its note of alarm and the striking together of two pebbles.

THE WE DSTARD
RUTICILLA PH@ENICURA

Forehead white ; throat black ; head and upper part of the back bluish grey ;
breast, tail-coverts and tail (except the two central feathers, which are
brown), bright rust-red ; second primary equal to the sixth. Female—
upper parts grey, tinged with red; larger wing-coverts edged with
yellowish red ; throat and abdomen whitish; breast, flanks, and under
tail-coverts, pale red. Length, five inches and a quarter. Eggs uniform
blue.

ALTHOUGH of no great size this summer visitor is pretty sure to

attract attention by its peculiar colouring ; its red tail and white

crown being sufficient to distinguish it from every other British
bird. It is familiar, too, inits habits, commonly resorting to gardens,
and searching for its favourite food, worms and insects, on the
lawn, and in orchards. It is local rather than rare, for while there
are some places to which it regularly resorts every year, there are
others in which it is never seen. Redstarts arrive in this country
about the end of Apri, and soon set about the work of building
their nest. This they generally place in a hole in a wall or hollow
of a tree, but sometimes by the mossy stump or amongst the exposed
roots of a tree. Occasionally they select a quaint domicile, a garden
pot, for example, left bottom upwards, or a sea-kale bed. A still
stranger instance is that of a pair of Redstarts, who, themselves or
their descendants, were for twenty years located in the box of a wooden
pump. On one occasion, the pump being out of order, the owner

TAP SREDSTARD 15

employed workmen to repair it. This proceeding offended the
birds, who deserted it for three years, and then, forgetting or for-
giving the intrusion, returned to their unquiet home. Another
pair constructed their nest for ten successive years in the interior
of an earthenware fountain placed in the middle of a garden. But
though not averse to the haunts of men, the Redstart shows much
anxiety when its nest is approached, flitting about restlessly and
uttering a plaintive cry. I happened once to be walking in a friend’s
garden, and heard what [supposed to be the chirping of two birds
proceed from a large apple-tree close by. As the notes were not
familiar to me, I went round the tree several times in order to
discover whence they proceeded. One of the notes was like the
noise which may be made by striking two pebbles together, the
other a querulous chirp, and they seemed to come from different
parts of the tree. The author of the music, however, allowed
me several times to come very near him, and I satisfied myself
that both sounds proceeded from the same bird, a male Redstart,
whose nest, I afterwards heard, was built in an adjoining shed.
This singular power of ventriloquizing, or making its note
apparently proceed from a distant place, is possessed also by the
Nightingale, as any one may assure himself who will quietly creep
up to within a few yards of one of these birds when singing.
The song of the Red-start is short but pleasing, and it is
emitted both while the bird is at rest and on the wing, princi-
pally in the morning, and only during two months of the year.
Its food consists of small worms and insects, which last it is
very expert at catching on the wing; and in summer, it regales
itself on the soft fruits. Its nest is composed of fibrous roots
and moss, and is lined with hair, wool and feathers. It lays
about six eggs, which closely resemble those of the Hedge-
sparrow, only that they are smaller. In autumn, the Redstarts
retire southwards. On the African shores of the Mediterranean
they are very abundant, and are caught by the Arabs in traps
of the simplest construction. On the continent of Europe,
notably in Italy, in spite of their diminutive size, they are
highly prized for food. The number of Redstarts (both kinds),
Redbreasts Fly-catchers and Nightingales taken in traps is incon-
ceivable. These birds being of about the same size, and equally excel-
lent in delicacy of flesh, are sold together in all the market towns and
are sent to the great cities. Thousands of dozens are thus annu-
ally despatched; but this number is as nothing compared with
that consumed on the spot. In France Bird Protection has done
much to stop this cruel traffic. In the schools there the boys
and girls are now being taught to know and to care for the wild
life about them more than in our English Council Schools,

16 THE REDBREAST, OR ROBIN

THE BLACK REDSTART
RUTICILLA TITYS

Upper plumage bluish grey ; bill, cheeks, throat, and breast, black, passing
into bluish beneath ; tail as in the last ; greater wing-coverts edged with
pure white; second primary equal to the seventh. Female—upper
plumage duller; lower bright ash, passing into white; wings dusky,
edged with grey; red of the tail less bright. Length, five inches and
three quarters. Eggs pure shining white.

A MUCH less frequent visitor to this country than the preceding,
but by no means ranking among our rarest birds, specimens occur-
ring in the winter of every year in some part of England or another,
especially in Devon and Cornwall. Its habits are much the same
as those of its congener ; but it generally chooses a loftier situation
for its nest, which is placed in the walls of buildings, at an eleva-
tion varying from a few feet to eighty or ninety. Its plumage
differs in being much darker in the fore part of the body, while the
tail is of a brighter red. The eggs are white. It generally arrives
in England about the first week in November, and remains with us
all the winter. Its nest has never been found in this country.

THE REDBREAST, OR ROBIN
ERITHACUS RUBECULA

Upper parts brownish grey tinged with olive ; forehead, lore, and breast red,
the red edged with ash-grey ; abdomen white. Female like the male,
except that the upper parts are ash-brown, the red less bright, and the
grey surrounding it less conspicuous. Length, five inches and three
quarters. Eggs yellowish white, spotted with light reddish brown.

Tue Redbreast is everywhere invested with a kind of sanctity
beyond all other birds. Its wonted habit of making its appearance,
no one knows whence, to greet the resting traveller in places the
most lonely—its evident predilection for the society of the out-of-
door labourer, whatever his occupation—the constancy with which
it affects human habitations—and the readiness with which, with-
out coaxing, or taming, or training, it throws itself on human
hospitality engender an idea that there must be some mysterious
connexion between the two—that if there were no men, there
would be no Redbreasts. Trust on one side engenders confidence
on the other, and mutual attachment is the natural result. There
is something, too, beyond the power of explanation in the fact
that the Robin is the only bird which frequents from choice the
homes of men.

The habits of the Redbreast are so well known, that to describe
them would be simply to write down what every one has seen or
may see.

It generally builds its nest in a hole, near the bottom of a hedge
or under the stump of a tree, in an ivy-clad wall, or amidst the

Wheatear ? g

Nightingale
Hedgesparrow Robin
[p. 16,

THE NIGHTINGALE 17

creepers trained round the veranda of a cottage. I have seen it
also placed in a niche in a wall intended for the reception of a vase,
in a bee-hive stored away on the rafters of an outhouse, and under
a wisp of straw accidentally left on the ground in a garden. It is
usually composed of dry leaves, roots, bents, and moss, lined with
hair and wool, and contains five or six eggs. The young birds are
of a brown tint, and have the feathers tipped with yellow, which
gives them a spotted appearance. Until they acquire the red breast,
they are very unlike the parents, and might be mistaken for young
Thrushes, except that they are much smaller. They may be often
observed in gardens for many days after they have left the nest,
keeping together, perching in the bushes, and clamorous for food,
which the old birds bring to them from time to time. It is said,
that only one brood is reared in a year, but this I am inclined
to doubt, having observed in the same locality families of young
birds early in the spring, and late in the summer of the same year.
Towards the end of August, the young birds acquire the distinctive
plumage of their species, and are solitary in their habits until the
succeeding spring. The call-notes of the Redbreast are numerous,
and vary beyond the power of description in written words ; the song
is loud, and it is needless to say, pleasing, and possesses the charm
of being continued when all our other feathered songsters are mute.

The red of the breast often has a brighter tint, it is occasionally
almost a carmine red. The late Lord Lilford told the editor such
were often birds that had been bred on the Continent. Numbers
of young birds come across the sea to us each autumn.

THE NIGHTINGALE
DAULIAS LUSCINIA

Upper plumage russet brown; tail bright rust-red ; under plumage buffish
white; flanks pale as. colour. Length six and a quarter inches ;
breadth nine and a half inches. Eggs uniform olive-brown.

THE southern, eastern, and some of the midland counties of Eng-

land, enjoy a privilege which is denied to the northern and western

—an annual visit, namely, from the Nightingale. It is easy enough

to understand why a southern bird should bound its travels north-

wards by a certain parallel, but why it should keep aloof from

Devon and Cornwall, the climate of which approaches more closely

to that of its favourite continental haunts than many of the districts

to which it unfailingly resorts, is not so clear. Several reasons
have been assigned—one, that cowslips do not grow in these coun-
ties; this may be dismissed at once as purely fanciful ; another
is, that the soil is too rocky: this is not founded on fact, for both

Devon and Cornwall abound in localities which would be to Nightin-

gales a perfect Paradise, if they would only come ; a third is, that

the proper food is not to be found there: but this reason cannot
B.B. Cc

18 THE NIGHTINGALE

be admitted until it is proved that the portions of the island to
which the Nightingale does resort abound in some kind of insect
food which is not to be found in the extreme southern counties,
and that the Nightingale, instead of being, as it is supposed, a
general insect-eater, confines itself to that one; and this is a view
of the question which no one has ventured to take. My own
theory—and I only throw it out for consideration—is that the Night-
ingale is not found in these two counties on account of their
peculiar geographical position. The continental Nightingales are
observed to take their departure in autumn, either eastward through
Hungary, Dalmatia, Greece, and the islands of the Archipelago ;
or southwards across the Straits of Gibraltar, but none by the broad
part of the Mediterranean. Hence we may infer that the bird
dislikes a long sea voyage, and that when in spring it migrates
northward and westward, it crosses the English Channel at the
narrowest parts only,’ spreads itself over the nearest counties in
the direction of its migration, but is instinctively prevented from
turning so far back again to the south as the south-west peninsula
of England. From Scotland it would be naturally excluded by
its northern position, and from Ireland by the Welsh mountains
and the broad sea.

For the dwellers in these unfavoured districts alone is my de-
scription of the Nightingale intended ; for, where it abounds, its
habits are too well known to need any description. Twenty-four
hours of genial May weather spent in the country with a good use
of the eyes and ears, will reveal more of the life and habits of the
bird than is contained in all the ornithological treatises that have
been written on the subject, and they are not a few.

No great amount of caution is necessary in approaching the
Nightingale while singing at night. One may walk unrestrainedly
across the fields, talking in an ordinary tone of voice, and not even
find it necessary to suppress conversation when close to a singing
bird. Either he is too intent on his occupation to detect the presence
of strangers, or he is aware of the security in which he is wrapped
by the shades of night, or he is actually proud of having listeners.
In the neighbourhood of my present residence in Hertfordshire,
Nightingales arenumerous. They arrive about the seventeenth of
April, and for the first few days assemble year after year in the
bushes and hedges of a certain hillside, the position of which it would
be unsafe to indicate particularly,and taking their station two or three
hundred yards apart from each other, set up a rivalry of song which
is surpassingly beautiful. At this season, one may hear five or six
chanting at once ; every break in the song of the nearest being filled
up by the pipings or wailings of the more distant ones. The male
birds arrive several days before the female, and employ the interval,

} This is the opinion of Gilbert White,

THE ‘NIGHTINGALE 19

it is fancifully said, in contending for the prize in a musical contest.
This period is anxiously watched for by bird-catchers, who have
learnt by experience that birds entrapped before they have paired
will bear confinement in a cage, but that those captured after the
arrival of their mates pine to death. The Nightingale being a
fearless bird and of an inquisitive nature is easily snared ; hence,
in the neighbourhood of cities, the earliest and therefore strongest
birds fall ready victims to the fowler’s art.

It must not be supposed that this bird sings by night only. Every
day and all day long, from his first arrival until the young are hatched
(when it becomes his duty to provide for his family), perched in a
hedge or on the branch of a tree, rarely at any considerable height
from the ground, he pours forth hisroundelay, now, however, obscured
by the song of other birds. But not even by day is he shy, for he
will allow any quietly disposed person to approach near enough
to him to watch the movement of his bill and heaving chest. At
the approach of night he becomes silent, generally discontinuing
his song about an hour before the Thrush, and resuming it between
ten and eleven. It is a disputed point whether the Nightingale’s
song should be considered joyous or melancholy. This must
always remain a question of taste. My own opinion is, that the
piteous wailing note which is its most characteristic nature, casts a
shade of sadness as it were over the whole song, even those portions
which gush with the most exuberant gladness. I[ think, too, though
my assertion may seem a barbarous one, that if the Nightingale’s
song comprised the wailing notes alone, it would be universally
shunned as the most painfully melancholy sound in nature. From
this, however, it is redeemed by the rapid transition, just when the
anguish of the bird has arrived at such a pitch as to be no longer
supportable, to a passage overflowing with joy and gladness. In the
first or second week of June he ceases his song altogether. His
cataract of sweet sounds is exhausted, and his only remaining note
is a harsh croak exactly resembling that of a frog, or the subdued
note of a ‘raven, wate-wate or cur-cur. On one occasion only I
have heard him in full song so late as the fourth week in June:
but this probably was a bird whose first nest had been destroyed,
and whose song consequently had been retarded until the hatching
of a second brood. From this time until the end of August, when
he migrates eastward, he may often be observed picking up grubs,
worms, and ants’ eggs on the garden lawn, or under a hedge in
fields, hopping from place to place with an occasional shake of the
wings and raising of the tail, and conspicuous whenever he takes one
of his short flights by his chestnut brown tail-coverts.

The Nightingale’s nest is constructed of dead leaves, principally
of the oak, loosely put together and placed on the ground under
a bush. Internally it is lined with grass, roots, and a few hairs.
It contains four or five eggs of a uniform olive-brown,

20 THE HEDGE SPARROW

Sus-Famity ACCENTORIN/

THE HEDGE SPARROW

ACCENTOR MODULARIS

Crown of the head ash colour with brown streaks ; sides of the neck, throat,
and breast, bluish grey , bill strong and broad at base ; wing-coverts
and feathers on the back reddish brown, with a tawny spot in the centre ;
middle wing-coverts tipped with yellowish white; lower tail-coverts
brown, with a whitish border ; middle of abdomen white. Length five and
ahalfinches. Eggs greenish blue, without spots.

INVETERATE custom has so attached the name of Hedge Sparrow
to this bird, that in spite of all the efforts of ornithologists to con-
vince the world that it is no sparrow at all (a hard-beaked, grain-
eating bird), but a true warbler, it is still more frequently called by
its popular name than by any of those that have been suggested.
The gentle, innocent, confiding, little brown bird, which creeps
like a mouse through our garden flower-beds, picks up a meagre
fare in our roads and lanes, builds its nest in our thorn hedges, and
though dingy itself, lays such brilliant blue eggs, has been known
to us from our infancy as a ‘ Hedge Sparrow’, and we decline
any innovation: the name is a time-honoured one, and no one
will mistake us. Hedge Accentor, Hedge Warbler, and Shuffle-
wing, are names open to those who prefer them, but we adhere
to the old-fashioned designation of Hedge Sparrow. This bird
is a genuine Warbler, and one of the few belonging to the
tribe who remain with us all the winter; we should suppose,
indeed, that he never wandered far from the place of his birth.
At all seasons his habits and food appear to be the same. All
day long he is shuffling about on the ground picking up minute
atoms, whether seeds or insects, who knows ?. Every day, nearly
all the year round, he repairs at intervals to the nearest hedge,
where he sings a song, soft and gentle like himself ; and every even-
ing, when the Blackbird rings his curfew bell, he fails not to respond
with his drowsy cheep, cheep, as he repairs to the bush he has
selected for his night’s rest. Very early in spring, before his brother
warblers have arrived from the south, he has chosen his mate,
built his snug nest, and too probably commenced a second ; for
unsuspicious in nature, he does not retire to solitary places for this
purpose, and the leafless hedges but ill conceal his labours from the
peering eyes of all-destroying ploughboys. Such are nearly all his
‘short and simple annals’’. He quarrels with no one, he achieves
no distinction, throwing no one into ecstasies with his song, and steal-
ing no one’s fruit ; unobtrusive and innocent, he claims no notice,
and dreads no resentment ; and so, through all the even tenor of
his way, he is, without knowing it, the favourite of children, and
of all the good and gentle,

THE WHITETHROAT 21

Sus-Famity SYLVIINZE
THE WHITETHROAT
SYLVIA CINEREA

Head ash-grey ; rest of the upper parts grey, tinged with rust colour ; wings
dusky, the coverts edged with red ; lower parts white, faintly tinged on
the breast with rose colour; tail dark brown, the outer feather white at
the tip and on the outer web, the next only tipped with white. Female
without the rose tint on the breast, but with the upper plumage. more
decidedly tinged with red ; feet brown. Length five inches and a half ;
breadth eight and a half. Eggs greenish white, thickly spotted with
reddish and greenish brown. Young, leaving nest, differ very little from
adult birds.

THE Whitethroat is in England the most common of all the migratory
warblers, and is generally diffused. It is essentially a hedge-bird,
neither taking long flights nor resorting to lofty trees. Early in
May it may be detected in a hawthorn or other thick bush, hopping
from twig to twig with untiring restlessness, frequently descending
to the ground, but never making any stay, and all the while inces-
santly babbling with a somewhat harsh but not unpleasant song,
composed of numerous rapid and short notes, which have but
little either of variety or compass. Occasionally it takes a short
flight along the hedge, generally on the side farthest from the
spectator, and proceeds to another bush a few yards on, where it
either repeats the same movements, or perches on a high twig for
a few seconds. From time to time it rises into the air, performing
curious antics and singing all the while. Its short flight completed,
it descends to the same or an adjoining twig; and so it seems to
spend its days. From its habit of creeping through the lower parts
of hedges, it has received the popular name of ‘ Nettle-creeper ’.
From the grey tone of its plumage, it is in some districts of France
called ‘ Grisette’, and in others, from its continuous song, ‘ Babil-
larde’, names, however, which are popularly applied without distinc-
tion to this species and the next. While singing it keeps the feathers
of its head erected, resembling in this respect the Blackcap and
several of the other warblers. Though not naturally a nocturnal
musician, it does not, like most other birds, when disturbed at
night, quietly steal away to another place of shelter, but bursts
into repeated snatches of song, into which there seems to be infused
a spice of anger against the intruder. Its food consists of insects
of various kinds; but when the smaller fruits begin to ripen, it
repairs with its young brood to our gardens, and makes no small
havoc among raspberries, currants, and cherries. It constructs
its nest among brambles and nettles, raised from two to three feet
from the ground, of bents and the dry stems of herbs, mixed with
cobweb, cotton from the willow, bits of wool, and horsehair. It
usually lays five eggs.

1 Thisnight song is rarely heard except in the months of May and June.

22 THE LESSER WHITETHROAT

THE LESSER WHITETHROAT

SVLVIA CURRUCA
Head and lore dark ash-grey ; rest of the upper parts greyish ash, tinged
with brown; wings brown, edged with ash-grey; tail dusky, outer
feather as in the last, the two next tipped with white ; lower parts pure
silvery white ; feetdeep lead colour. Length five inches and a quarter.
Eggs greenish white, spotted and speckled, especially at the larger end,
with ash and brown.
GILBERT WHITE in his charming history says, ‘‘ A rare, and I think
a new little bird frequents my garden, which I have very great
reason to think is the Pettichaps ; it is common in some parts of
the kingdom; and I have received formerly dead specimens from
Gibraltar. This bird much resembles the Whitethroat, but has a
more white, or rather silvery breast and belly ; is restless and active,
like the Willow-wrens, and hops from bough to bough, examining
every part for food; it also runs up the stems of the crown-im-
perials, and, putting its head into the bells of those flowers, sips the
liquor which stands in the nectarium of each petal. Sometimes
it feeds on the ground like the Hedge-Sparrow, by hopping. about
on the grass plots and mown walks.” The little bird of which the
amiable naturalist gives so interesting a description, was, there is
little doubt, that which is now called the Lesser Whitethroat,
then a ‘new bird’, inasmuch as it had not been made a distinct
species, and necessarily a ‘ rare bird’, not because a few only visited
Britain, but because, until his time set the example, competent
observers of birds wererare. It differs externally from the preced-
ing, in its smaller size, and the darker colour of its beak, upper
plumage, and feet, and resembles it closely in its habits, though I
have never observed that it indulges in the eccentric perpendicular
flights, which have gained for its congener, the Greater Whitethroat,
the quaint sobriquet of ‘ singing skyrocket.’ It feeds, too, on
insects, and is not found wanting when raspberries and cherries
are ripe. But no matter what number of these it consumes, it
ought with its companions to be welcomed by the gardener as one
of his most valuable friends. For it should be borne in mind, that
these birds, by consuming a portion of a crop of ripe fruit, do not
at all injure the trees, but that the countless aphides and cater-
pillars which they devoured at an earlier period of the year, would,
if they had been allowed to remain, have feasted on the leaves and
young shoots, and so not only have imperilled the coming crop,
but damaged the tree so materially as to impair its fertility for some
time tocome. Those birds, therefore, which in spring feed on insects
and nourish their young on the same diet, may be considered as
necessary to protect from injury the trees which are destined to
supply them with support when insect food becomes scarce. Con-
sider what would be the result if the proper food of birds were
leaves, or if insects were permitted to devour the foliage unchecked !
our woods would be leafless, our gardens would become deserts.

Whitethroat ¢ ¢

Lesser Whitethroat 3
Garden Warbler 2
Blackcap 3

ip. 22.

THE BLACKCAP 43

THE GARDEN WARBLER
SYLVIA HORTENSIS

Upper parts greyish brown, slightly tinged with olive ; orbits white ; below
the ear a patch of ash-grey ; throat dull white ; breast and flanks grey,
tinged with rust colour ; rest of the under parts dull white. Length five
inches and three-quarters; breadth eight and a half. Eggs greenish
white, speckled with two shades of greenish brown.

THOUGH tolerably well dispersed throughout England, this bird
is by no means so abundant as the Blackcap, which it resembles
in size and habits, but it arrives later, coming early in May. It
is very local. Its song is little if at all inferior to that of the bird
just named, and it is far from improbable that some of the sweet
strains for which the Blackcap gets credit, particularly late in the
summer, may be produced by the Garden Warbler ; I have heard its
song so late as the fifth of October. Bysomeauthorsit is called the
Greater Pettychaps, by others the Fauvette, which latter name is
by some French ornithologists applied to the group containing this
bird and several allied species. Its nest and eggs are so like those
of the Blackcap as to be discriminated with difficulty.

DHE BLACKCAP

SYLVIA ATRICAPILLA
Top and back of the head black, in the female chocolate colour ; upper parts;
wings, and tail ash-grey, slightly tinged with olive; neck light grey
passing into greyish white ; bill and feet black. Length five inches and
a half; breadth eight anda half. Eggs pale greenish white, variously
mottled with several shades of brown ; sometimes pinkish, mottled with
light purple, and speckled with dark purple.

WHATEVER difference of opinion there may be as to the character.
of the Nightingale’s song—whether it partakes more of joyousness
or of melancholy—the gladsomeness of the Blackcap’s warble is.
beyond all dispute. Conceding to the Nightingale the first place
among the warblers which visit’ England, we do not hesitate to
claim the second for the Blackcap. Its song is inferior in power
and compass to that of the bird of night, but there is about it a
delicious eloquence which makes it irresistibly charming. White
of Selborne describes it as “ full, sweet, deep, loud and wild ” ; high
but not unmerited praise. If there are no vocal efforts to astonish,
there are no piteous wailings to distress, and though the bird retires
to rest at a reasonable hour, it continues its song until a late period
of the season, long after that of the Nightingale has degenerated
to a croak. It has been compared to that of the Redbreast, but
it is more mellow and flute-like ; to that of the Thrush, but it is
softer and of more compass; to that of the Lark, but it is more
varied. A practised ear will confound it with neither of these, though,

24 THE BLACKCAP

strange to say, many persons who have lived all their lives in the
country and who take much interest in its pleasant sights and
sounds, habitually confound it with the song of one or other of
these birds, not knowing to whom they are indebted for one of the
principal charms of their gardens. The Blackcap, like several
other of the migratory warblers, returns again and again to its old
haunts. For six successive years it has been known to build its
nest in a bramble which hung down from a rock in a public garden ;
and for even a longer period my own garden has been annually
visited by a pair who, from unfailingly resorting to the same bushes,
must, I have little doubt, be the same pair, though I cannot say
that I have found or even searched for their nest. On its first
arrival in April, the Blackcap is in the habit of what bird-fanciers
call ‘ recording ’—that is, practising over its song in a low tone.
During this season of rehearsal it does not care to be seen, but
hides away in a thick bush. It is nevertheless by no means shy
of being heard, as it will allow the listener to approach within a few
yards of its hiding-place without stopping its song, and if disturbed
will remove to a very little distance and recommence. After a few
days it acquires its full powers of voice.

Its song is now remarkable among the full choir for sweetness,
loudness, and long continuance. Its food at this time consists of
aphides, caterpillars, and other small insects which infest roses
and fruit-trees; it rarely captures flies on the wing or descends
to feed on the ground. In June it begins to sing shorter strains,
but with no diminished power. It may then be observed flying
from branch to branch of an apple-tree, resting for a few seconds
only in the same spot, and busily occupied in collecting grubs or
aphides, then indulging in a short strain. In July, when the rasp-
berries ripen, the Blackcap becomes chary of its song, and introduces
its young brood to the choicest and juiciest fruit ; in their attentions
to which both old and young birds are exceedingly pertinacious,
holding scarecrows in extreme contempt, and heeding clapping
of hands or the discharge of a gun as little. The young of the fitst
year resemble the adult female in having a chocolate-coloured crown.
The song of the Blackcap may be heard occasionally late in the
summer ; in September or October both old and young take their
departure, and the Redbreast is left without a rival to assert his
superiority as a warbler, until the return of spring. The nest is
usually placed in a hedge or low bush, a few feet from the ground,
and is constructed of bents, and lined with fibrous roots and hair.
The male bird assists the female in performing the office of incuba-
tion, and is said to relieve the monotony of his occupation by singing,
thus often betraying a well-concealed nest.

THE REED WARBLER 25

THE DARTFORD WARBLER

SYLVIA UNDATA

Upper parts blackish brown; under, purplish red ; middle of the abdomen
white; tail long, dark brown, the outer feather tipped with white ;
wings very short ; quills ash-grey on the inner web, dark brown on the
outer ; feet yellowish ; bill yellowish white, with a black tip. Length
five inches and a half. Eggs greenish white, speckled all over, and
especially at the larger end, with brown and ash-grey.

THIS species received its name from having been first shot on Bexley

Heath, near Dartford in 1773. It has since been observed on

furzy commons in several of the southern and western counties,

but is local and nowhere abundant. In its habits it resembles
the Stone and Furze Chats, perching on the upper sprays of the
furze and whitehorn, but never still for a minute, throwing itself into
various attitudes, erecting its crest and tail at intervals, frequently
rising into the air with most fantastic movements, catching
insects on the wing, and either returning to the same twig, or making

a short flight to some other convenient bush. The syllables

‘cha cha cha’ are several times repeated when the bird is irritated.

Its note is commonly Pitchou, hence its French name. It keeps

quite aloof from human habitations, and is so timid that on the

approach of an observer, it creeps into a bush, and remains con-
cealed until the danger is past. The nest of goose grass and soft
bits of furze, wool and moss is placed in the fork of a furze-bush
selected for its thickness and difficulty of access. It is somewhat
wandering, but may be called a resident in the South, gradually
extending northwards. Many specimens have been observed in
mid-winter, and Rennie states that he has seen one as early as the
end of February hovering over furze and singing like a Whitethroat.

THE REED WARBLER
ACROCEPHALUS STREPERUS

Upper parts of a uniform reddish brown, without spots ; wing-feathers brown,
edged with olive ; a white streak between (not over) the eye and bill ;
throat white; under plumage yellowish white, the sides tinged with
reddish ; tail long, rounded. Length five and a half inches; breadth
seven and a half. Eggs dull greenish white, speckled with olive and
light brown, especially towards the larger end.

Boru the Sedge and the Reed warblers are jaseuses, or chatterers, with

rounded tails; but the Sedge Warbler has its upper plumage

spotted with dark brown, and a white line above its eye, while
the upper plumage of the Reed Warbler is of a uniform pale brown,
and the light mark is absent from above the eye. The haunts and
habits of the two birds are precisely similar, but the Reed Warbler
is by far the less common of the two ; for while the Sedge Warbler
is sure to be found wherever the Reed Warbler has been observed,

26 THE REED WARBLER

the converse by no means follows. The parts of England in which
it appears to be most frequent, are East Riding of Yorkshire, Essex,
Surrey, Kent, Suffolk, and Norfolk. In the reed-beds on the banks
of the Thames, between Erith and Greenwich, it is common.

“The nest of the Reed Warbler is often elegantly built, and
generally fixed to three or four reed-stems. It is composed of
slender blades of grass, interwoven with reed-tops, dry duckweed,
and the spongy substance which covers many of the marsh ditches ;
and, here and there, a long piece of sedge is wound securely around
it; the lining is of the finer flowering stems of grass, intermixed
with a little horsehair. It is a deep and solid structure, so that
the eggs cannot easily roll out ; it is firmly fastened to the reeds
in tidal ditches and rivers, at the height of three or four feet from
the water, but in still ditches often not more than a foot. In windy
weather, when wading through the reed-beds, I have seen nests,
with both old and young in them, blown nearly to the surface of
the water ; but the birds fix their claws firmly to the sides of the
nest, with their heads to windward, and thus ride as securely in
their cradle as a sailor does in his cot or hammock.” The Cuckoo
occasionally chooses the Reed Warbler’s nest to lay its eggs in, for
the same writer remarks—‘‘ At the latter end of July, 1829, while
reading in my garden, which adjoins a market garden, I was agree-
ably surprised to see a young Cuckoo, nearly full-grown, alight on
the railings between the two, not more than a dozen yards from
where I was sitting. Anxious to see what bird had reared this
Cuckoo, I silently watched his movements, and had not waited
more than a minute, when a Reed Warbler flew to the Cuckoo,
who, crouching down with his breast close to the rail, and fluttering
his wings, opened wide his orange-coloured mouth to receive the
insect his foster-mother had brought him. This done, the Reed
Warbler flew away for a fresh supply of food. The difference in
the size of the two birds was great ; it was like a pigmy feeding
a giant. While the Reed Warbler was absent, the Cuckoo shuffled
along the rail, and hopped upon a slender post to which it was
nailed, and which projected about eight inches above the rail.
The Reed Warbler soon returned with more food, and alighted
close to the Cuckoo, but on the rail beneath him ; she then began
to stretch herself to the utmost to give him the food, but was unable
to reach the Cuckoo’s mouth, who, like a simpleton, threw his head
back, with his mouth wide open, as before. The Reed Warbler,
by no means at a loss, perched upon the Cuckoo’s broad back,
who, still holding back his head, received in this singular way the
morsel brought for him.” The song of the Reed Warbler is
loudest and at its best during the evening twilight.

1 Mr. W. H. Thomas, in the Zoologist, p. 97.

Reed Warbler
Sedge Warbler g

Marsh Warbler

Dartford Warbler ? g [p. 26.

THE SEDGE WARBLER 27

MARSH WARBLER
ACROCEPHALUS PALUSTRIS
Upper parts olive-green without any reddish tinge ; legs and feet pale brown.

THE Marsh Warbler is local in its occurrence, in the south of England.
It nests in drier places than the Reed Warbler and its song is different,
being much more melodious, and uttered more boldly. Close
to low bushes, or among meadow-sweet, nettles and cow-parsnip,
you may find its nest, which is made of fine rounded stalks of grass
and lined with horsehair. There are five to seven eggs, whiter
in ground colour than those of the Reed Warbler. The Marsh
Warbler comes each spring to the neighbourhood of Taunton, but
it is still a somewhat rare species.

THE SEDGE WARBLER
ACROCEPHALUS PHRAGMITIS

Upper plumage olive-grey, the centre of each feather tinged with brown ;
above the eyes a broad yellowish white stripe ; under, yellowish white,
more or less tinged with red ; throat white; tail rounded, of moderate
length, of a uniform ash-brown. Length four and a half inches ; breadth
seven and a half. Eggs dirty white, mottled all over with dull yellowish
brown.

On the banks of reedy and bushy rivers, in marshes, withy holts,
wherever, in fact, there is fresh water associated with enough
vegetation to shelter and conceal, this bustling little bird is a con-
stant summer visitor; restless in its habits, and courting notice
by its twittering song, from the time of its arrival to that of its
departure. It is usually first detected by its rapidly repeated note,
which it utters while performing its short flights from bush to
bush, and while creeping in and out among reeds and rushes. The
fisherman knows it well, and is often tempted to withdraw his eye
from his fly or float, to watch its movements on the opposite bank.
From its unceasing babble, ploughboys call it a ‘chat’, a name
which exactly answers to the French name of the group to which
it belongs— Jaseuses’. Its note isremarkable neither for volume
nor sweetness, and, like that of unfeathered chatterers, seems to
carry more noise than meaning. To a certain extent the bird is
a mimic, as it imitates such notes of other birds as are within the
compass of its little throat. I was walking one morning in May
by the banks of a canal not far from a village, when I remarked
the exact resemblance between a portion of its song and the chirrup
of a House Sparrow. Intermixed with this, I detected the note
of some other bird; but, familiar though it sounded, I ransacked
my memory in vain to discover from whom it was purloined.
Pursuing my walk towards the houses, I heard the note of some
Guinea-fowls; not the ‘come-back’ cry, but the ‘ click-click ’

28 THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER

which every one knows so well. Of this the Sedge Warbler had
caught exactly both the key and the time ; the two notes were in fact
identical, except that they were performed on instruments of different
calibre. Like other chatterers, who, when they have finished their
song, are easily provoked to begin again, the Sedge Warbler, if he
does occasionally retire toa bed of reeds and there holds his peace,
may be excited to repeat his whole story over again, with variations
and additions, by flinging a stone into his breathing-place. And
not content with babbling all day, he extends his loquacity far
into the night; hence he has been called the Sedge Nightingale,
but with doubtful propriety, for, with all the will perhaps to vie
with that prince of songsters, the z¢nzinare of the Nightingale is
far beyond his powers. Yet in spite of his obtrusiveness, he is an
amusing and a pleasant companion to the wanderer by the river’s
side: his rivalry is devoid of malice, and his mimicry gives no one
pain. While at rest—if he is ever to be detected in this state—he
may be distinguished from all other birds frequenting similar haunts
by his rounded tail, and a light narrow mark over each eye. His
food consists of worms, insects, and freshwater mollusks, for which
he hunts among the stems of aquatic plants. As an architect, he
displays great skill, constructing his nest among low bushes, never
at any great distance from the water, about a foot from the ground.
It is composed of stems and leaves of dead grass, moss and fine
roots, and lined with hair, wool, feathers, and the down of various
marsh plants. The structure is large, compact, and deep, suspended
from, rather than built on, its supports. The eggs are usually five
or six in number, though as many as seven have been sometimes
found.

THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER
LOCUSTELLA N&VIA

Upper parts light brown, with a tinge of green, and presenting a spotted
appearance, owing to the centres of the feathers being darkest ; tail long,
rounded at the extremity and tapering towards the base; under parts
whitish brown, the breast marked with darker spots ; feet and toes light
brown. Length five and a half inches; breadth seven anda half. Eggs
reddish white, closely speckled with darker red.

As long ago as the time when a stroll of five-and-twenty miles

fatigued me less than a journey of ten does now—when I returned

from my botanical rambles with tin boxes, hands and pockets,
laden with stores of flowers, ferns, and mosses, my homeward path
often led me through a certain valley and wood on the skirts of

Dartmoor, known by the names of Bickleigh Vale and Fancy

Wood. It often happened that twilight was fading into gloom

when I reached this stage in my wanderings—the last of the even-

ing songsters had hushed its note; for this county, beautiful as it

THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER 29

is, offers not sufficient attraction to the Nightingale ; yet I never
passed this way under such circumstances without feeling myself
compelled to stop once and again to listen to the monotonous whir
of what I had been told, and what I believed to be the note of the
large green grasshopper, or locust. Monotonous is, perhaps, not
the right word to use, for an acute ear can detect in the long un-

qusical jar a cadence descending sometimes a semitone, and occa-
sionally almost a whole note; and it seemed besides to increase in
loudness for a few seconds and then to subside a little below the
ordinary pitch; this fallis chiefly at the breeding season. Whether
the difference was produced by a rising and lulling of the breeze,
or whether the musician actually altered its note and intensity of
noise (or must I call it music ?), I could never decide. As long as
I fancied the performer to be an insect, I was inclined to believe
that one of the first suppositions was correct ; for it seemed hardly
possible that the purely mechanical action of an insect’s thighs
against its body could produce variety of sound—as well expect
varied intonations from a mill-wheel or saw-pit. Attentive
observation, and the knowledge that the noise in question proceeded
not from the exterior of an insect, but from the throat of a bird,
has led me to form another conclusion. I am not surprised at my
having fallen into the error; for the song of this bird is but an
exaggeration of the grasshopper’s note, and resembles the noise
produced by pulling out the line from the winch of a fishing-rod,
no less continuous is it, nor more melodious. Many years after-
wards, when the memory of these pleasant wanderings had faded
away, I happened one evening in May to be passing across a com-
mon in Hertfordshire, skirted by a hedge of brushwood, when the
old familiar sound fell on my ear like a forgotten nursery melody.
The trees not being in their full foliage, I was not without hope
that I might be able to get a sight of the performer, whom I now
knew to be a bird, and I crept quietly towards the spot whence
the noise proceeded. Had it been singing in a copse-wood instead
of a hedge, I should certainly have failed, for there is the same
peculiarity about its note that there is about that of the imsect—
you cannot make up your mind exactly whereabouts the instrument
which makes the noise is at work. The note, when near, is con-
tinuous, monotonous, and of equal loudness throughout ; it might
be a minute spinning-wheel revolving rapidly, or a straw pipe with
a pea in it blown with a single breath and then suddenly stopping.
But whether the performance is going on exactly before you, a
little to the right, or a little to the left, it is hard to decide. I
approached to within a few yards of the hedge, and peered through
the hazel rods, now decorated with drooping tufts of plaited leaves,
but all in vain. I went a step or two nearer; the sound ceased,
and the movement of a twig directed my attention towards a parti-
cular bush, on which I saw a little bird, about as big as a Hedge

30 THE CHIFF-CHAFF

Sparrow, quietly and cautiously dropping branch by branch to
the ground. Ina few minutes I observed it again a few yards off,
creeping with a movement resembling that of the Nuthatch up
another bush Having reached to nearly the summit it became
motionless, stretched out its neck, and keeping its mandibles
continuously open and slightly elevated, commenced its trill again ;
then it shuffled about for some seconds and repeated the strain.
It now seemed to descry me, and dropping to the ground as before,
reappeared a few yards off. I fancied that while actually singing
its feathers were ruffled; but in the imperfect twilight I could
not decide positively. That it kept its mandibles motionless while
singing, I had no doubt. Half an hour afterwards, at a quarter
to eight, I returned from my walk, and observed it several times
go through precisely the same mancseuvres. On no occasion did
it make a long flight, but even when I scared it by throwing a stone
into the hedge near it, it merely dropped to the ground, and in a
minute or two was piping from another bush. I have not found,
as some authors say, that it resorts only to the vicinity of watery
places. The one which I saw on this occasion had located itself
for the summer several miles from a stream; and others which
I have heard night after night had settled down on the skirts of a
dry common, watered only by the clouds. Its nest I have sought for
in vain.

THE CHIFF-CHAFF
PHYLLOSCOPUS RUFUS

Upper parts olive-green tinged with yellow ; above the eyes a narrow, faint,
yellowish, white streak ; under parts yellowish white ; feathers of the leg
dirty white ; second primary equal to the seventh; third, fourth, fifth,
and sixth with the outer web sloped off at the extremity ; under wing-
coverts primrose-yellow ; feet slender ; legs nearly black. Length four
inches and a half ; breadth seven and a quarter. Eggs white, sparingly
spotted with dark purple.

WHATEVER question there may be whether the name of Willow-

warbler be appropriately applied to the last species, there can

be no doubt that the Chiff-chaff is well named. Let any one be
asked in the month of May to walk into a wood and to hold up his
hand when he heard a bird call itself by its own name, ‘ Chiff-chaff ’,
he could not possibly fall into an error. The bird is so common
that it would be difficult to walk a mile in a woodland district
without passing near one or more, and having little to say, it seems
never weary of repeating its tale, ‘ Chiff, chaff, cheff, chiff, chaff’ :
the syllables have a harsh sound pronounced by human lips,
but when chanted in the silvery notes of a little bird, in the season
of primroses and wild hyacinths, and accompanied by the warble
of the Hay-bird, the full song of the Thrush, and the whistle of the
Blackbird, they contribute not a little to the harmony of the woods.

Wood Warbler J

Grasshopper Warbler

Willow Warbler 9?

THE WILLOW-WARBLER 31

For two successive years a little yellowish bird, scarcely bigger
than a wren, has established himself in my garden about the middle
of April, and sedulously devoted himself to clearing away the
aphides which infested some China roses trained against the walls
of my house. Occasionally he would flutter against the windows,
and give his attention to the spiders and gnats which nestled in
the corners of the panes. The first year I took him for a Haybird,
put, only too grateful for his kind offices, I was careful not to molest
him. When, however, he appeared a second year, exactly at the
same season, and performed a series of manceuvres so precisely
similar that it was impossible to doubt that the bird was not
merely of the same species, but the same individual, I watched
him more closely. The dark colour of his feet, as observed from
within the house, as he was fluttering against the glass, decided
the point that he was not a Hay-bird, and when he retired to an
apple-tree hard by and treated himself to a song after his repast,
no doubt remained that he was a Chiff-chaff. It is not often that
the Chiff-chaff is thus familiar in its habits. More frequently
it makes its abode in woods and groves, resembling the Hay-
bird so closely in size, colour and habits, that to distinguish the
two is very difficult. The difference of note, however, is decisive ;
and the colour of the feet (when the bird is near enough to admit
of being thus distinguished) is another certain criterion. The two
birds frequent the same trees without rivalry or jealousy. The
Chiff-chaff is the earliest of our spring visitors, arriving the middle
of March, and it sings all through the summer ; I have heard it as
late as the thirtieth of September. The nests, popularly called
“wood-ovens ’, are alike and placed in similar situations ; their eggs are
of the same size and shape, but those of the Chiff-chaff are spotted
with very dark purple instead of rust colour. A few occasionally
remain with us all the year, feeding on winter gnats and the pupe
of small insects, but remaining wholly silent. Other names by
which it is known are ‘Chip-chop’ and Lesser Pettichaps.

THE WILLOW-WARBLER
PHYLLOSCOPUS TROCHILUS

Upper parts bright olive-green ; a narrow streak of yellow over the eye ; under
parts yellowish white, palest in the middle; feathers of the leg yellow ;
second primary equal to the sixth; third, fourth, and fifth with the outer
web sloped off at the extremity ; feet stoutish ; legs light brown. Length
nearly five inches; breadth eight. Eggs white, more or less speckled
with rust colour.

THERE seems to be no sufficient reason why this bird should be
named Willow-warbler or Willow-wren, as it shows no special
preference for willows, nor does it frequent watery places. The
popular name, ‘ Hay-bird’, is, I think, the better of the two ; for,

32 THE WOOD-WREN

except in the extreme west of England, wherever there are hay-
fields and trees these birds are to be found; they build their nests
principally of hay, and very frequently place it in the border of
a hay-field. But, by whatever name it is known, it is a cheerful
and active little bird, to which our woods and groves are much
indebted for their melody. It is abundant and generally diffused,
arriving in England early in April, and remaining until the middle
of September. During the greater part of this period, it may be seen
fluttering about the tops of trees, hunting the twigs and leaves for
insects, and occasionally catching flies on the wing. It often, too,
descends to the ground, and picks up insects among the herbage.
I have never heard it sing on the ground; but while employing
itself aloft, it rarely allows more than a few minutes to elapse
without going through its short and sweet song. This, though
very agreeable, possesses no great variety, and is composed of
about twenty or thirty notes, the latter ones of which are repeated
rapidly, and form a natural cadence. For many years this plea-
sant little melody, or the simpler song of the Chiff-chaff, has been
the first sound I have heard to announce the arrival of the summer
birds of passage; perhaps it is on this account that it is with
me, at all seasons, a favourite rural sound.

Ornithologists seem well agreed that the Willow-warbler’ s
food consists entirely of insects. This may be so, but I am much
mistaken if a brood of this species annually hatched in a bank
of furze adjoining my garden, do not, in conjunction with Black-
caps and Whitethroats, pay daily visits to a certain row of red rasp-
berries in my garden. It may be that they come only in quest
of aphides, but I have certainly seen them in dangerous proxi-
mity to clusters of the ripest fruit, which, when they were scared
away, bore evident marks of having been pecked by birds. The
nest of the Hay-bird resembles that of the Wood-warbler, but
it is lined with feathers. The eggs are usually from five to seven,
and of the same size and shape, but the spots are rust-coloured and
limited in number.

THE WOOD-WREN
PHYLLOSCOPUS SIBILATRIX

Upper plumage bright yellowish green ; a broad streak of sulphur-yellow over
the eye; sides of the bead, throat, insertion of the wings and legs bright
yellow ; rest of the under plumage pure white ; second primary equal
to the fourth, third and fourth with the outer web sloped off at the
extremity ; legs pale brown. Length five inches and a half; breadth
eight and three quarters. Eggs white, speckled so thickly with purplish
brown as almost to conceal the ground.

THE Wood-warbler, Willow-warbler, and Chiff-chaff resemble
each other so closely in size, colour, and habits, that except by

THE GOLD-CREST 33

a practised observer, they are likely to be mistaken for one another.
In song, however, they differ materially, and as this is begun early,
and continued till very late in the season, it affords ready means
of discriminating the species. The Wood-warbler, or Wood-wren
as it is now called, arrives in England towards the end of April,
and betakes itself to woodland districts, where it spends the greater
portion of its time among the upper branches of lofty trees, constantly
moving from place to place with rapid irregular flight, and fre-
quently repeating its short and peculiar song. It feeds exclusively
on insects, which it occasionally catches on the wing. Its song is
difficult to describe. The name by which it is popularly known
in some parts of France, Towuite, is derived from the syllable
‘tweet’, which, rapidly and continuously repeated many times,
constitutes its song. These notes are uttered in a sweet tone, and
with a tremulous accent, and are unlike those of any other bird.
Gilbert White, who appears to have been the first who noticed the
bird, describes it as ‘‘ joyous, easy, and laughing’”’. The last notes
of its strain are accompanied bya quivering of the wings and tail,
which accounts for their tremulous sound.

The Wood-warbler is much less frequent than either the Willow-
warbler or Chiff-chaff, and on a close inspection may be distin-
guished by its superior size, by the pure white of its under tail-
coverts, and by the bright yellow line above the eye. The nest
is composed of grass, ferns, and moss, and lined with fine grass and
hair ; it is covered with a dome, an entrance being left sufficiently
large to allow its contents to be seen, and is placed on the ground,
in or near a wood, among thick herbage, or against the stump of
a tree. The eggs are from five to seven in number, almost round,

and so thickly spotted with purple-brown that the ground is almost
invisible,

Sus-Famity REGULIN/A:

THE GOLD-CREST
REGULUS CRISTATUS

Upper parts olive, tinged with yellow; cheeks ash colour, without streaks ;
wing greyish brown, with two transverse white bands; crest bright
yellow, tipped with orange and bounded on each side by a black line ;
under parts yellowish grey. In the female the crest is lemon colour,
and the other tints are less brilliant. Each nostril is covered by one buff
feather. Length three inches and a half. Eggs cream colour, minutely
mottled at one end.

THE Gold-crest, Golden-crested Regulus, or Golden-crested

Wren, though not exceeding in dimensions some of the larger

humming-birds, and though decorated with a crest equalling in
B.B. D

34 THE GOLD-CREST

brilliancy of colour the gay plumage of tropical birds, is a hardy
little fellow, able to bear without shrinking the cold of an English
winter, and to keep his position among the branches of high trees
in the stormiest weather. Even during a heavy gale I have watched
Gold-crests fluttering from branch to branch, and busily hunting
for food, though the trees were waving like reeds. They are most
numerous in winter, as a considerable number migrate-southwards
in October, but a great many remain with us all the year,
preferring those districts where there are fir-plantations. Their
whole life is spent in the air; I at least have never observed
one on the ground. Their food consists of the insects which infest
the leaves and twigs of trees ; and I have seen them capture small
moths on the wing. While hunting for food, which appears to
be all day long, they are never still, fluttering from branch to branch,
hanging in all attitudes, and peering in all directions. From time
to time they utter their thin and wiry call-note, which is by some
compared to the cry of the Shrew. It might be mistaken for the
jarring noise made by two branches which cross one another, or
that of a damp finger rubbed lightly along a pane of glass. Early
in spring the song commences ; it is composed of about fifteen short
notes, rapidly uttered at an exceedingly high pitch, and ending
with a yet more rapidcadence. By the call-note or song the vicinity
of the bird is far more frequently detected than by its actual
appearance ; for the branches of firs in woods are mostly at a
considerable height from the ground, and our ‘little king’ (saving
his majesty) is hard to be distinguished from a fir-cone, except
when he is in motion. Gold-crests are eminently social birds ;
they generally hunt in parties of half a dozen or more, and do not
often change their hunting-ground ; at least I infer as much from
the fact that on various occasions I have observed the same bird
on the same clump of trees, at intervals extending over several
weeks. I could scarcely have been mistaken in the identity of
the bird, as it had lost a leg, by what accident I know not ; but the
loss did not at all interfere with its activity or spirits. Their
sociability extends sometimes to birds of other kinds, as the Creeper
and the Tits of several species have been seen hunting in company
with them. The habits of these birds being similar, they per-
haps associate from a feeling of mutual protection, just as Sparrows,
Buntings, and Finches make common cause, when they invade
our rick-yards. The Gold-crests are, however, naturally less wary
than any of the Tits. These last will at once decamp if disturbed,
but Gold-crests will continue their hunting without taking any notice
of a spectator. In autumn large flocks sometimes arrive on
our east coast extending across England and on into Ireland. In
April areturn migration takes place. Thenest of the Gold-crest is
a beautiful structure. Its external form is nearly that of a globe,
with a contracted opening at the top. It is composed of moss

Great Tit g

Fire Crested Wren g
Long Tailed Tit 3

Lp. 34.

Gold Crest g

THE LONG-TAILED TIT 35

and lichens, interwoven with wool and lined thickly with feathers.
It is usually placed among the boughs of a silver-fir or spruce-fir,
in such a manner as to be partially suspended from one branch
and supported by another. The bird seems neither to court nor
to shun the vicinity of human beings; as I have found nests in
the most lonely woods, and I have seen one in the branches of a
spruce-fir, so close to my house that I could look into the nest
from my bedroom windows, and watch the old birds feeding their
young. The eggs vary in number from five to eight, they are
almost globular, and smaller than those of any other British bird.
This is scarcely surprising, seeing that the weight of a recently
killed adult male which I have before me is eighty-seven grains ;
so that five and a half full-grown birds weigh but an ounce.

THE FIRE-CRESTED WREN
REGULUS IGNICAPILLUS

Upper parts olive-green; a dark streak passing through the eye, and
another white one above and below ; crest brilliant orange, bounded in
front and on each side by a black streak ; in other respects resembling
the last. Female with all the colours less brilliant. Length four inches.
Eggs cream colour, tinged with red and dotted.

THIS species both in size and habits resembles the last, from which
it is best distinguished by three dark lines on each side of its head.
Hence it is called in France ‘ Rottelet a triple bandeau’. It is far
less common than the Gold-crest, and has not been observed in
the winter, when birds of the other species are most abundant—
in fact, it is only a rare straggler. Its call-note is shorter than that
of the Gold-crest, not so shrill, and pitched in a different key.
The nests of the two birds are much alike.

FAMILY PARID/E
THE LONG-TAILED Tit
ACREDULA CAUDATA

Head, neck, throat, breast, and a portion of the outer tail-feathers white ;
back, wings, and six middle feathers of the tail black; a black streak
above the eye; sides of the back and scapulars tinged with rose-red ;
under parts reddish white ; tail very long ; beak very short. Length five
inches and three-quarters; breadth six inches and _ three-quarters.
Eggs white, minutely and sparingly speckled with light red or plain white.

Att the Tits, of whatever species, are more or less sociable in their
habits, hunting about during autumn in parties of half a dozen

36 THE LONG-EAlCE Disa

or more; but some of them are given to be quarrelsome, not
only towards other birds—like the Great Tit, who actually murders
them for the sake of picking out their brains—but among them-
selves, as the Blue Tit, who has been noticed so intently engaged
in combat with another bird of his own kind, that the observer
caught them both in his hat. The Long-tailed Tits, however, are
sociable after another sort. From the time that a young brood
leaves the nest until the next pairing season, father, mother, and
children keep together in irreproachable harmony. Exploring
the same clump of trees in society, perfectly agreed as to whither
their next flitting shall be, no one showing any disposition to
remain when the rest are departing, molesting no one, and suf-
fering as far as it can be ascertained no persecution, they furnish
a charming example of a happy family. | Nomad in their habits,
save that they indulge in no questionable cravings for their neigh-
bours’ property, they satisfy their wants with the natural produce
of any convenient halting-place, when they have exhausted
which they take their flight, in skirmishing order, but generally
in a straight line, and strictly following the lead of their chief, to some
other station; and when overtaken by night, they halt and en-
camp where chance has left them. Their only requisite is, in
summer, the branch of a tree; in winter, some sheltered place
where they can huddle together, and sleep until the next day’s
sun calls them to resume their erratic course.? Their food, during
those journeys, consists of caterpillars, small beetles, and the
pup of insects generally, and this diet they seem never or very
rarely to vary.” The ripest fruits do not tempt them to pro-
long their stay in a garden, and insects that crawl on earth are
in two senses beneath their notice. Their rapid progress from
tree to tree has been compared to a flight of arrows. Singular
as is their flight, they are no less amusing while employed in hunting
for food, as they perform all the fantastic vagaries of the Tits,
and their long straight tails add much to the grotesqueness ot
their attitudes. Seen near at hand, their appearance may be
called comical. Their abundant loose feathers, the prevailing hue
of which is grey, suggest the idea of old age, and, together with
the short hooked beak, might give a caricaturist a hint of an anti-
quated human face, enveloped in grey hair. Many of the provin-
cial names of the bird are associated with the ridiculous; thus,
Long-tailed Mufflin, Long-tail Mag, Long-tail Pie, Poke-pudding,

1 The name proposed for the Long-tailed Tit, by Dr. Leuch, Mecistura
vagans, is most appropriate. “ Long-tailed Wanderer,’ for such is its import,
describes the most striking outward characteristic of the bird, and its unvarying
habit.

2 A young friend informed me that he had once shot one, with a beech-
nut in its mouth. This it must have picked up from the ground, as the season
was winter.

THE GREAT Tit, OX-EYE, OR TomfIT 37

Hack-muck, Bottle Tom, Mum-ruffin, and Long-pod, pet names
though they are, are also whimsical, and prepare one beforehand
for the information that their owner is ‘just a little eccentric ’.
But whatever be their name, I never hear the well-known ‘ zit,
zut’, the pass-word which keeps them together, and which always
accompanies their journeyings, without stopping to watch the little
family on their flight.

The nest of this species is of most exquisite workmanship and
beautiful texture. Its form is that of a large cacoon broadest at
the base, or that of a fir cone. It is sometimes fastened to the
stem of a tree, sometimes placed in a fork, but more frequently
built into the middle of a thick bush, so that it can only be re-
moved by cutting away the branches to which it is attached. The
outer surface is composed principally of the white lichen which
is most abundant in the neighbourhood, and so is least likely to
attract attention. All the scraps are woven together with threads
of fine wool; the dome is felted together, and made rain-proof
by a thick coating of moss and lichen, wool and the web of spiders’
eggs. The wallsare of moss. The interiorisa spherical cell, lined
with a profusion of feathers. A softer or warmer bed it would
be hard to imagine. At the distance of about an inch from the
top is a circular opening scarcely large enough to admit one’s
thumb. In this luxurious couch, which it has cost the female
bird some three weeks of patient industry to complete, she lays
ten or twelve eggs, which all in good time are developed into as
many Bottle Tits; but by what skilful management the ten or
twelve long tails are kept unruffled, and are finally brought to
light as straight as arrows, I can offer no opinion. Nests are
occasionally found containing as many’ as eighteen eggs. In these
cases it has been affirmed that two or more females share a common
nursery, and incubate together. Certainly it is difficult to imagine
how a single pair can manage to supply with food so many
hungry young birds, but there is no direct evidence of their being
two distinct broods.

Pik Ghee At hit OxX<hYE OR TOMTIE
PARUS MAJOR
Head, throat, and a line passing down the centre of the breast, black ; back
olive-green ; cheeks and a spot on the nape white ; breast and abdomen
yellow. Length six inches; breadth nine. Eggs white, speckled with
light rusty.
As this bird is no larger than a Sparrow, its surname ‘ Great ’
must be understood to denote only its superiority in size to other

35 THE GREAT TIT, OX-EYE, OR TOMTIT

birds of the same family. It is, however, great-hearted, as far
as boldness and bravery entitle it to this epithet, being ready
to give battle to birds far its superiors in size, foremost to join
in mobbing an intrusive Owl, and prepared to defend its nest
against robbers of all kinds. Its powers of locomotion are consi-
derable, as it is strong in flight, active on the ground, and as a
climber is surpassed by few rivals. Its stout and much-curved
hind claw gives it great facility in clinging to the twigs and branches
of trees, sides of ricks, and even the walls of houses. Such situations
it resorts to in quest of its favourite food, caterpillars and pupz
of all kinds, and it is most amusing to watch it while thus en-
gaged. Attitude seems to be a matter of no consequence; it
can cling with perfect security to anything but a smooth surface.
On trees it hangs from the branches, with its back either down-
wards, or turned sideways, and explores crevices in walls with
as little regard to the vertical position of the surface to which it
clings, as if it were examining a hole in the level ground. Its
efforts to disengage a chrysalis from its cocoon are very enter-
taining. One scarcely knows which most to admire, the tenacity
of its grasp, the activity with which it turns its head and body, or
the earnestness and determination with which it clears away every
obstacle until it has secured the prize. It does not, however,
limit its food to insects ; itis accused of feeding occasionally on the
buds of fruit-trees, but it is doubtful whether the bird has any other
object in attacking these, than that of hunting out the insects that in-
fest them. It is said also to be very fond of nuts, which it sticks into
crevices in the bark of trees, and cracks by repeated blows of its
beak. Whether it has this power, I do not know ; but that it will
eat nuts of every kind, it is easy to prove by fastening the kernels
of filberts or walnuts to the trunks of trees by means of stout pins.
Tits, great and little, and Nuthatches, if there be any in the neigh-
bourhood, will soon discover them, and if once attracted may thus
be induced to pay daily visits to so productive a garden. <A Great
Tit of unusual intelligence, which frequents my garden at the
present time, has been frequently observed to draw up by its claws
a walnut suspended by a string from the bough of an apple-tree,
and to rifle its contents, being itself all the while leisurely perched
on the twig, and keeping the nut firm by a dexterous use of its
claws. A charge, amounting to a grave accusation against the
Great Tit, and one which cannot be palliated by the plea that he
has accomplices, is, that when driven by hunger and he has the
opportunity, he attacks other small and weakly birds, splits their
skulls by means of his strong, sharp beak, and picks out their
brains. One story in particular I find, of a Great Tit having been
placed in a well-filled aviary. In the course of a single night, he
had killed every one of his companions, with the exception of a
Quail, and when he was discovered, he was in the very act of dealing

tie bLuE wil ASO TCALEE DY LOMiED 39

to this the coup de grace. His skill and discrimination in pecking
holes in the sunniest side of ripe apples and pears are well known ;
but to this reward for his services in destroying caterpillars he is
justly entitled.

The Great Tit builds its nest generally in the hole of a tree,
employing as materials moss and leaves, and, for the lining, hair
and feathers ; but as its habits lead it to our gardens, it comes
into close contact with human beings and becomes familiar with
them. Hence it occasionally builds its nest in quaint places,
which bear ever so distant a resemblance to its natural haunts.
An unused pump affords it an excellent harbour ; and the drawer
of an old table, left in an outhouse, has been found thus occupied.

The notes of the Great Tit are various, but not musical. Its
spring song must be familiar to every ore ; though not every one
who hears it knows who is the musician. It consists of but two
notes, repeated frequently, and sounding as if made by a bird
alternately drawing in and sending out its breath ; both together
give a fair imitation of the sharpening of a saw. Besides this, it
indulges in a variety of chirps, twitters, and cheeps, some angry,
some deprecatory, and some pert, which a practised ear only can
refer to their proper author.

RHE BEVE. Tit, ALSO CALLED TOMTITE
PARUS CCRULEUS

Crown of the head blue, encircled with white ; cheeks white, bordered with
dark blue ; back olive-green ; wingsand tail bluish ; greater coverts and
secondaries tipped with white; breast and abdomen yellow, traversed
by a dark blue line. Length four inches and a half; breadth seven
inches and a half. Eggs as in the preceding, but smaller.

THE Blue or Tom Tit so closely resembles the Great Tit in its

habits, that, with trifling exceptions, a description of one would

be equally applicable to the other. Though much smaller than his
relative, the Tom Tit is equally brave and pugnacious, and is even
more quarrelsome, for he will fight with birds of his own kind ;

and the Great Tit, if obliged to contest with him the possession of a

prize, retires from the field. His food, too, consists principally

of insects, but he is also very partial to meat. This taste leads
him much to the neighbourhood of houses and other places where
he can indulge his carnivorous propensities. A dog-kennel, with
its usual accompaniment of carrion, is a favourite resort, and there
are probably few butchers’ shops in country villages which he Coes
not frequently visit. A bit of bacon suspended from the branch
of a tree is a great attraction. He evinces little fear of man, and
will hunt about the trees in our gardens without seeming to notice
the presence of a stranger. He frequently pays visits, too, to

40 ABEUD, (COVLID, Abit

roses trained against cottages, and will occasionally flutter against
the glass to secure a spider or gnat that he has detected while
passing. @ His power of grasping is very great. I have seen him
cling to the moulding of a window for several minutes, without
relinquishing his hold, though the projecting surface was merely
a smooth beading. All this while he was engaged in tearing to
pieces the cocoon which some caterpillar had constructed in a
crevice ; and so intent was he on his occupation, that he took no
notice of the tenants of the room, though they were only a few
feet distant from him. He is more frequently seen on the ground
than either of the other species, and where it is the custom to
throw out crumbs and the scrapings of plates, for the benefit of
little birds, the Blue Tit rarely fails to present itself among Sparrows
and Redbreasts.

The Tom Tit builds its nest of moss, and lines it with hair, wool,
and feathers. This it places in a hole, either in a wall or tree, and
is at so great pains to combine comfort and security for its brood,
that it has been known to excavate, in a decayed stump, a chamber
large enough for its nest, and to carry away the chips in its beak to
some distant place, lest, we may suppose, they should betray its re-
treat. More frequently, however, it selects a natural hollow, as, for in-
stance, the stump of a small tree in a hedge, of which all the inner
part is decayed ; nor does it despise human appliances if they will
answer its purpose ; a disused pump, a bottle, or a flower-pot, have
all been known to serve its turn. It lays seven or eight eggs,
but a nest containing eighteen is on record; and in defence of
its family, shows great courage. If a nest be molested, the bird,
instead of endeavouring to escape, retains its place and makes an
unpleasant hissing noise, and if this be not enough to deter the
intruder, pecks his fingers with great vigour. Hence it has received
the popular name of ‘ Billy Biter’. As a songster, it does not rank
high: yet it has some variety of notes, which it utters in short
snatches, expressive rather than musical, as if the bird were trying
to talk rather than to sing.

THE COLE. LT
PARUS ATER
Crown of the head, throat, and front of the neck black; cheeks and nape
white ; upper parts grey; wings bluish grey, with two white bands ;
under parts white, tinged with grey. Length four inches and a half ;
breadth nearly eight. Eggs like the last.
Tuis and the following species resemble each other so closely in
size, habits, general hue and note, that at a distance it is difficult
to distinguish them. There are, however, strong points of difference ;
the head and neck of the present species being glossy black, with

Blue Tit o

Crested Tit J Marsh Tit 2
Cole Tit 3 ae

THE MARSH TIT 41

a patch of pure white on the nape of the neck and on the cheeks,
while the head of the Marsh Tit is of a dull sooty black, without any
admixture of white, nor is there a white spot on the cheeks. The
Cole Tit is in many districts a common bird, inhabiting woods and
hedgerows, and feeding on insects, for which it hunts with unceas-
ing activity among the branches and twigs of trees. Its note is
less varied than that of the Blue Tit, but sweeter in tone. It
builds its nest in the holes of trees and walls, of moss, hair, and
feathers, and lays six or seven eggs.

AMSUS WileUecslal INOUE
PARUS PALUSTRIS

Vorehead, crown, head, and nape black ; upper parts grey ; wings dark grey,
lighter at the edges ; cheeks, throat, and breast dull white. Dimensions
and eggs as in the last.

As has been said, the Marsh Tit and Cole Tit are so much alike
that it requires a sharp eye to distinguish them at adistance. On
a closer inspection, however, the characters mentioned in the
preceding paragraph become apparent, and there can be no question
that they are distinct species. The Marsh Tit is a bird of common
occurrence, resident south of the Forth, being in some places less
abundant, in others more so than the Cole Tit, while in others,
again, the two are equally frequent. In those districts with which
I am myself most familiar, it is hard to say which kind preponderates.
Though it freely resorts to woods and plantations remote from
water, it prefers, according to Montagu, low, wet ground, where
old willow-trees abound, in the holes of which it often makes its
nest. Its note, I have already observed, is very like that of the
Cole Tit, being less harsh than that either of the Blue or Great
Tit. The peculiar double note, which I know no other way of
describing than by comparing it to the syllables ‘7/-he’, rapidly
uttered, and repeated in imitation of a sob, characterizes, in a more
or less marked degree, the spring song of all four. Another charac-
teristic of the same species is, that all the members of a brood
appear to keep much together for several months after they are
fledged. At the approach of winter, they break up their societies,
and are for the most part solitary till the return of spring. The Marsh
Tit, like the Tom Tit, has been observed to enlarge the hole which it
has selected for its nest, and to carry the chips in its bill toa dis-
tance, and it is equally courageous in defence of its eggs and young.

42 THE BEARDED REEDLING

THEICGRESPED Tie
PARUS CRISTATUS

Feathers of the crown elongated and capable of being erected, black, edged
with white ; cheeks and sides of the neck white; throat, collar, and a
streak across the temples black ; all the other upper parts reddish
brown ; lower parts white, faintly tinged with red. Length four
inches and three-quarters. Eggs white spotted with blood-red.

‘ THE Crested Tit’, is a solitary retired species, inhabiting only
gloomy forests, particularly those which abound with evergreens.
On the European Continent it is found in Denmark, Sweden, Russia,
Switzerland, and some parts of France. In the large pine tracts
in the north of Scotland, it is said to be not uncommon, and it
used to be found also in the neighbourhood of Glasgow, but has
been seldom observed in England. Its food consists of insects, berries
of the juniper, and seeds of evergreens. It builds its nest in hollow
trees, or in the deserted nests of squirrels and crows, and lays as
many as eight eggs

FAMILY PANURIDZ:

THE BEARDED TITMOUSE OR REEDLING

PANURUS BIARMICUS

Head bluish grey ; between the bill and eye a tuft of pendant black feathers
prolonged into a pointed moustache; throat and neck greyish white ;
breast and abdomen white, tinged with yellow and pink; upper parts
light orange-brown; wings variegated with white, black, and red ;
tail long, orange-brown, the outer feathers variegated with white and
black. In the female the moustache is of the same colour as the cheek,
and the grey on the head is absent. Length six inches. Eggs white,
with a few wavy lines of dark red.

THis pretty bird is of very local occurrence, being found in con-
siderable numbers in several marshy districts where reeds abound,
but in others being totally unknown. Their habits resemble those
of the true Tits, but instead of spending their lives in trees, they
confine themselves to the marshes, and are constantly employed
in running up and down the stems of the reeds, hunting for their
food, which consists of small molluscs (or water-snails) and the
seeds of the reeds. Like the Tits, too, they are sociable, always
being observed in pairs or families ; not congregating like Sparrows
for the sake of mutual protection. but seemingly from the pure love

THE BEARDED REEDLING 43

of each other’s company. A writer in the Magazine of Natural
History gives the following account of their habits :—‘ I was told that
some of these birds had been seen in a large piece of reeds below
Barking Creek; and being desirous of observing them in their
haunts, I went, accompanied by a person and a dog, to the above-
named place, on a cold and windy morning; the reed-cutters
having commenced their operations, I was fearful of deferring my
visit, lest my game might be driven away. Arrived on our ground,
we traversed it some time without success, and were about to leave
it, when our attention was roused by the alarm-cry of the bird.
Looking up, we saw eight or ten of these beautiful creatures on
the wing, just topping the reeds over our heads, uttering, in full
chorus, their forcibly musical note, which resembles the monosyl-
lable ping / pronounced first slow and single, then two or three
times in a more hurried manner, uttered in a clear and ringing,
though soft tone, which well corresponds with the beauty and
delicacy of the bird. Their flights were short and low, only sufficient
to clear the reeds, on the seedy tops of which they alight to feed,
hanging, like most of their tribe, with the head and back down-
wards. After some time, we were fortunate enough to shoot
one, a male, in fine plumage. I held it in my hand when scarcely
dead. Nothing could exceed the beauty of the eye; the bright
orange of the iris, surrounded by the deep glossy black of the
moustaches and streak above, receives additional brilliancy from
the contrast, and struck me as a masterpiece of colour and neatness.’
These specimens were observed in the month of December. To-
wards the end of April the Bearded Tit begins building its nest.
This is composed externally of the dead leaves of reeds and sedges,
and lined with the feathery tops of reed. It is generally placed
in a tuft of coarse grass or rushes near the ground on the margin
of the dikes, in the fen; sometimes among the reeds that are
broken down, but never suspended between the stems. Two nests,
described by Yarrell, were composed entirely of dried bents, the
finer ones forming the lining ; and others, increasing in substance,
made up theexterior. The eggs were fromseven to eight innumber,
rather smaller than those of the Great Tit, and less pointed, white,
and sparingly marked with pale red lines or scratches. The same
author observes that ‘ it is very abundant in Holland ; and numbers
are brought alive from that country to the London markets for sale ;
the birds being attractive in confinement from the beauty of the
plumage, their graceful form and general sprightliness.’ I have seen it
stated that the moustaches, from which the bird takes its name, are
movable, and that their play gives a peculiar animation to the ex-
pression of the bird’s face, but I have never had an opportunity of
verifying this remark. They have been increasing in the Norfolk
Broads of late years.

44 THE NUTHATCH

FAMILY SIP rib”

THE NUTRATCH
SITTA CAiSIA

Upper plumage bluish grey; a black streak across the eye; cheeks and throat
white ; under plumage dull orange red; outer tail-feathers black, with
a white spot near the end, tipped with grey, the two central ones grey ;
beak bluish black, the lower mandible white at the base ; feet light brown.
Length six inches. Eggs white, spotted with two shades of purplish red.

STANDING, one winter’s day, by the side of a pond, near a row of
tall elms, and watching some boys sliding, I heard the few short
twittering notes of a Nuthatch overhead, and it at once occurred
to me how I should describe the note in such a way that it should
be infallibly recognized. It is precisely like the sound made by a
pebble thrown so as to bound along ice. This is the winter note.
On fine sunny days in February it begins to add to its simple call
a more musical sound, approaching a whistle. Further on in the
season, the twitter is heard no more, and is exchanged altogether for
a not unmelodious whistle, several times repeated, rarely protracted
into a bubbling sound, such as it might be supposed to make if it
were rattling a pea in its throat. On these occasions it is usually
perched in the branches of a tree, and may be distinguished by its
bluish grey back, dull red breast, and short tail. The Nuthatch is
not an accomplished musician, and claims, therefore, to be pointed
out by other characteristics. This is no difficult task to undertake ;
for no British bird is more decidedly marked inits habits. In the
first place, it has strong clasping claws, which admirably adapt it for
climbing ; and though it does not possess the rigid tail of the Wood-
peckers to aid it in this operation, it has a short tail which never
comes in the way. In most counties of England where old timber
is (except the extreme western and northern, where it is rare) any
one walking through a woodland district and keeping a sharp look-
out may observe a bluish bird, somewhat larger than a Sparrow,
creeping by starts up the trunk of any rough barked tree. It is so
intent on its occupation—that of searching for insects in the
crevices of the bark—that it takes no notice of the observer, but
pursues its course after a method of its own, but according to no rule
that we can detect. Now it disappears on one side of the trunk
and then shows itself a few inches higher on the other ; now it is
lost to sight for a longer interval—one would think it was hiding, or
had taken its departure—but no, there it is again, creeping, back
downwards, along a horizontal branch ; arrived at the extremity
it utters a double twitter, perhaps, and flies either to a new tree or
to another branch of the same. This time it creeps from the
extremity of a branch towards the bole of the tree, equally at ease
whatever may chance to be its position, and no more affected by

THE NUTHATCH 45

gravity thana fly. Arrived at the main stem it keeps on its course, still
advancing by starts, and accompanying every movement, as, indeed,
it has been doing all along, by an almost imperceptible twinkling of
its wings, something like that which has gained for the Hedge
Sparrow the sobriquet of ‘Shuffle-wing’. That no other bird but
the Nuthatch has the power of creeping down a tree I cannot say,
for I once observed a Tree-creeper descend for a few inches : but no
other British bird does habitually hunt after this method; by
this habit consequently it may be discriminated. Equally com-
fortable in all positions, if it has any choice, or desires to rest, it
clings to the upright trunk of a tree, head downwards.

The Nuthatch is singular, too, in its mode of nidification. The
only nest which I have thoroughly examined was built in the
hollow of an apple-tree, and was composed entirely of scraps of
birch-bark. The Naturalist contains a description of one made
of beech-bark, though probably here, too, bivch is meant ; others
are described as being made of dry leaves and moss: but, what:
ever the materials may be, the nest itself is invariably placed in
the hole of a tree. There are good reasons for believing that in
case of necessity the bird enlarges the cavity to make its dwelling
sufficiently commodious, chips of wood having been sometimes
found in the vicinity; but what makes the Nuthatch singular
among British birds is, that it not only enacts the carpenter when
occasion arises, but adds the vocation of plasterer.

In the case above alluded to I do not know that its powers were
called .out in either of these capacities. As a plasterer it had no
occasion to work, for the opening to the hole was so small that it
required to be cut away in order to admit a boy’s hand, but many
instances are recorded when it selected a hole with a large orifice
which is contracted by lining it with a thick coat of mud and gravel.
This parapet, constructed either to keep out bulky intruders or to
keep in the young birds, if injured or destroyed will be found restored
after a short lapse of time ; and so devoted a mother is the hen bird
that she will suffer herself to be taken rather than desert her brood.
I have rarely noticed a Nuthatch on the ground during winter,
but in spring and summer it adds to its diet terrestrial insects and
worms and is said also to be partial to red currants—not a singular
taste. But the fruit which has an especial charm for the Nuthatch
is that from which it derives its name.t Its keen eye detects the
ripening filbert in the garden or orchard before the hazels in the
wood are beginning to turn brown, and it then despises less dainty
food. One by one the clusters are pecked open and their contents
purloined, carried, perhaps, to some convenient storehouse for future
banquetings. At any rate the owner of filbert trees where these
birds abound has need to keep a daily watch, or his share in the

1 From the French hacher, ‘ to chop’ ; hence also ‘ hatchet ’,

46 THE NUTHATCH

produce will prove exceedingly small. I have seen trees bearing
a fine crop of husks but nearly all empty. The proprietor had
suffered them to remain till they were ripe, the Nuthatches had
taken a different view of the case and preferred them unripe rather
than not at all. But what, it may be asked, can a bird little larger
than a Sparrow find to do with a filbert, or even a hazel-nut ?
Here we have a fresh distinctive feature in the biography of the
Nuthatch. The bird carries off its prey in its beak, and when
in want of a meal wedges the nut in the crevice of some rough-
barked tree, such as an oak, an elm, or a walnut. This done, he
takes his stand, head downwards, above the nut, throws back
his head to gather force for a blow, and then brings it violently
forwards many times in rapid succession, aided, too, by the weight of
his body and a clapping of the wings in exact time with each stroke.
By dint of repeated blows thus dealt by his strong beak, even the
hard shell of a filbert at last gives way ; a small hole is the result,
which is soon enlarged, and the kernel becomes the hardly-earned
prize. Any one who will take the trouble to examine the trunks
of old oaks and elms will be sure to find shells still remaining
wedged into the bark, and if during a ramble in the woods in
autumn or winter, or even in early spring, he should happen to
hear a smart tapping, let him follow the direction of the sound,
and he will stand a fair chance of discovering the clever little nut-
cracker at work. If in the course of his operations the bird happens
to dislodge a nut, so nimble is he that before it reaches the ground
he will have caught it in his beak. Acorns and the nuts of yew-
berries, and probably other hard seeds, are similarly treated by
the Nuthatch; cherrystones, I suspect, are beyond his powers,
yielding only to the massive beak of the Hawfinch. The Nuthatch
may easily be induced to visit gardens by wedging hazel or Spanish
nuts into the bark of trees ; a walnut fastened on by a pin is equally
effectual. But no more enticing bait can be set than a lump of
fat meat, which should be tied tightly by a string to the horizontal
branch of an apple-tree or any other tree, a good view of which can
be commanded from the house. If the weather be severe and the
ground covered with snow, it is surprising what a variety of birds
will come to partake of the unknown food. Robins, Sparrows,
Tits of several kinds, Chaffinches, and others flock for a share, not
without sundry bickerings, alarms, and semblances of fighting.
But should a Nuthatch happen to appear, all retire until his high-
ness is satisfied. He enters upon the scene in a way of his own.
Other birds alight on a bough or twig at some little distance from the
banquet and make gradual advances. Not so the Nuthatch ;
he darts forward in a horizontal line, as if propelled by a missile,
sticks by his claws to whatever part of the branch he happens to
touch, not caring in what attitude he alights, stops for a second as
if to assure himself in what direction his head is pointing, creeps

Nuthatch ¢

Tree Creeper &

Bearded Reedling ¢ Wren 'p. 46,

ADISS, WINDS CMITIDIEI IN 47

nimbly round to the morsel, takes his stand on it and hammers
away until he has separated a large lump. This he then seizes
in his beak and retires to a place of seclusion, leaving the inferior
animals to squabble to their hearts’ content over the crumbs which
he has dislodged, and presently he discomfits them again by a reap-
pearance. What his powers as a combatant may be I cannot say ;
great, it may be supposed, for no one is inclined to do him battle, and
he is not sociably disposed even towards those of his own kind.

FAMILY CERTHIID

THE TREE CREEPER
CERTHIA FAMILIARIS

Upper plumage mottled with yellowish brown, dark brown, and white ; a pale
streak over the eyes; throat and breast buff-white, becoming dusky
towards the tail; wings brown tipped with white and barred with white
brown, and dull yellow ; tail-feathers reddish brown, stiff and pointed.
Length five inches, breadth seven inches. Eggs white, with small
yellowish red spots.

THE Tree Creeper, though a common bird, is less familiarly known
than many others of much rarer occurrence, yet, if once observed,
can be confounded with no other. In size it ranks with the Tits,
Willow Wren, etc., but is less likely to attract notice than any of
these, as it never alights on the ground, nor perches on the small
twig of a tree. Its note, too, is weak, simple, and unpretending,
amounting to no more than an occasional ‘ cheep’, which it utters
from time to time while hunting for food, and while performing
its short flights. Any one, however, who wishes to see the bird,
and knows what to search for, can scarcely fail of success if he looks
well about him during a stroll through almost any wood of full-
grown trees. Half-way up the trunk of a rugged elm or oak he will
observe a small portion of bark, as it were, in motion ; the motion,
and not the colour, betrays the presence of a small brown bird,
which is working its way by a succession of irregular starts up the
trunk. Frequently it stops for a few seconds, and is evidently
pecking at some small insect, quite noiselessly however. Its beak
is not adapted for hammering ; it confines its attention therefore
to such insects as live on the surface of the bark. It utters a low
‘cheep’, and proceeds, not ina straight line up the tree, but turning
to the right or left according as it descries a probable lurking-place
of its prey: presently it disappears on the other side of the trunk,
and again comes in view a few feet higher up. Now it reaches a

oO

48 THE WREN

horizontal branch; along this it proceeds in like manner, being
indifferent whether it clings sideways, or hangs with its back down-
wards. Arrived at the smaller subdivisions of the bough it ceases
to hunt; but, without remaining an instant to rest, flies to the
base of another bough, or more probably, to another tree, alighting
a few feet only from the ground, and at once beginning a new ascent
This mode of life it never varies: from morning to night, in winter
and in summer, it is always climbing up the boles of trees, and
when it has reached the top, flying to the base of others. Onone
solitary occasion I observed one retrace its steps for a few inches,
and stand for a second or two with its head downwards ; but this
is a most unusual position, as indeed may be inferred from the
structure of its tail, the feathers of which are rigid, and more or
less soiled by constant pressure against the bark. It frequently
visits orchards and gardens in the country, displaying little fear
of man, preferring perhaps to hunt on the far side of a tree when
any one is looking on; but not very particular even about this,
and certainly never thinking it necessary to decamp because it is
being watched. To this indifference to the presence of human
beings, it owes its name ‘ familiaris’, and not, as it might be imagined,
to any fondness for their society, which, in fact, it neither courts
nor shuns. It is a quiet inoffensive creature, congregating with
no other birds, and being rarely, except in spring, seen in company
with even its own species. It builds its nest of small roots and
twigs, scraps of bark and grass, and lines it with wool and feathers.
A hole in a pollard willow is a favourite place for a nest ; in default
of this a hollow in any other tree is selected, or the space between
the stump of a tree and a detached portion of bark; and it chooses
the straw eaves of some shed. It lays from six to nine eggs, which
are exceedingly like those of the smaller Tits.

FAMILY TROGLODYTID
THE WREN

TROGLODYTES PARVULUS

Upper plumage reddish brown with transverse dusky bars; quills barred
alternately with black and reddish brown ; tail dusky, barred with black ;
over the eyes a narrow light streak ; under parts light reddish brown ;
the sides and thighs marked with dark streaks. Length three inches
and three-quarters ; breadth six inches and a half. Eggs white with a
few yellowish red spots towards the larger end, sometimes without spots.

THROUGHOUT the whole of England the Wren is invested with a

sanctity peculiar to itself and the Redbreast. In the west of
England I was familiar, as a child, with the doggerel rhymes ;

THE WREN 49

Whoso kills a Robin or a Wran
Shall never prosper boy nor man.

In the north it is protected by a similar shield:

Malisons, malisons, mair than ten,
Who harries the queen of heaven’s Wren.

In the Isle of Man a legend exists that there ‘ once on a time ’ lived
a wicked enchantress who practised her spells on the warriors of
Mona, and thereby stripped the country of its chivalry. A doughty
knight at length came to the rescue, and was on the point of sur-
prising her and putting her to death, when she suddenly transformed
herself into a Wren and flew through his fingers. Every year, on
Christmas Day, she is compelled to reappear in the island under
the form of a Wren, with the sentence hanging over her, that she
is to perish by human hands. On that day, consequently, every
year, a grand onslaught is made by troops of idle boys and men
on every Wren which can be discovered. Such as are killed are
suspended from a bough of holly and carried about in triumph
on the following day (St. Stephen’s Day), the bearers singing a rude
song descriptive of the previous day’s hunt. The song is preserved
in Quiggin’s Guide to the Isle of Man, as it was sung in 1853; and,
strange to say, it agrees almost word for word with a song which
was current twenty years ago, and is so perhaps now, among the
rustic population of Devonshire, though the actual hunt has in the
latter case fallen into disuse.

In several parts of Ireland, especially the south, there still exists
a legend to the effect that a party of Irish soldiers were on the
point of surprising their enemies (either Danes or Royalists, for
the story varies) who lay fatigued and asleep, when a Wren perched
on the drum and awoke the sentinels. An unhappy legend for the
poor bird. For some weeks previous to Christmas, peasants assemble
to revenge the treachery of the offender in the persons of his descen-
dants. Every Wren that is seen is hunted to death, and the bodies
are carefully saved till St. Stephen’s Day, when they are suspended
from a decorated holly-bough and carried from house to house by
the captors, accompanied by a song of which, in Connemara, this
is the burden :

The Wran, the Wran, the king of all birds,
St. Stephen’s Day was caught in the furze ;
Although he is little, his family’s great ;

So come out, kind ladies, and give us a trate.

The version of the song in Hall’s Iveland, as it is sung in the
neighbourhood of Cork, scarcely differs from the above, and a
similar one may be heard on the same day within twenty miles of
Dublin. That a custom so absurdly singular should exist in places
so remote, is in itself evidence that it is of ancient origin, though
whence derived it would be idle to inquire.

B.B,. - E

50 THE WREN

The true story of the Wren is simple enough. It is a minute
bird of unpretending plumage, distinguished easily by its erect
tail and its habit of hiding in bushes and hedges, not clinging like
the Creeper to the perpendicular or horizontal bough of a tree, but
hopping from twig to twig, and occasionally taking a short direct
flight to another place of concealment, but rarely exposing itself
by doing more than this. When hunting for its food, which is
considered to be almost exclusively insects, it searches diligently
holes and crannies of all kinds, and in all substances. I have
known one mike its way habitually through a zinc pipe into a
greenhouse, and do much service there by picking aphides from
the slender stalks of herbaceous plants, which bent into the form
of an arch under even its trifling weight. While thus occupied it
has suffered me to come within arm’s length, but has taken no
notice of me. Generally, it displays little fear of man ; but, though
in winter it resorts to the neighbourhood of houses in quest of
food, it shows no disposition, like the Redbreast, to enter on terms
of intimacy, nor is it sociable either with its own kind or other
birds. Its call-note is a simple ‘ chip, chip’, which often betrays
its vicinity when it is itself concealed from sight. Its proper song
is full, loud, clear, and powerful, rapidly executed and terminating
in a trill or shake, followed by two or three unimportant notes.
This it utters occas:onally in autumn and winter. About the middle
of March the song of the Wren is among the most frequent sounds
of the country. At this season one may often hear in a garden
the roundelay of a Wren poured forth from the concealment of a
low shrub; and, immediately that it is completed, a precisely
similar lay bursts forth from another bush some twenty yards off.
No sooner is this ended than it is answered, and so the vocal duel
proceeds, the birds never interfering with each other’s song, but
uttering in turns the same combinations and arrangement of notes,
just as if they were reading off copies of a score printed from the
same type.

But the season is coming on when the Wren has to be occupied
with other things than singing down a rival. Nest-making is with
this bird something more than the laying of a few sticks across
one another. It is not every one who has at once the time, the in-
clination and the steadiness of purpose to watch, from beginning
to end, the completion of a Wren’s nest. To most people, one or
other of these qualifications is wanting, and to not a few all three.
A friend of Mr. Macgillivray, however, performed the task, and
furnished him with a most satisfactory detailed account of what
passed under his observation. The nest was commenced at seven
o’clock in the morning of the thirtieth of May, by the female bird’s
placing the decayed leaf of a lime-tree in the cleft of a Spanish

1! [ have heard the same musical contest in August,

THE DIPPER SI

juniper. The male took no part in the work, but regaled his busy
partner by singing to her all day long. At one period of the day she
brought in bundles of leaves four, five, and even six times in the
space of tenminutes. At other times, when greater care was needed
in the selection of materials, she was sometimes absent for eight or
ten minutes, but such was her industry that at seven o’clock the
whole of the external workmanship was finished, the materials
being dry leaves, felted together with moss. On the following day
both birds joined in the work, beginning as early as half-past three
o'clock in the morning, the materials being now moss and a few
feathers. So the work proceeded, day after day, until the eighth of
June, when the structure was completed, being a compact ball of
dried leaves felted with moss and thickly lined with finer moss and
feathers, domed over and having a small circular opening on one
side. Dried leaves form the exterior of most Wrens’ nests, unless
they are placed in situations where such an appearance would attract
the attention of a passer-by. Ona mossy bank, the outside would
probably consist of moss ; under the root of a tree, of twigs; in a
hay-stack, of hay, and so on, the bird being guided by its instinct
to select the least conspicuous material. The number of eggs laid
is usually six, but as many as fifteen or sixteen have been observed.
Any one residing in the country, who has given his attention to
birds’ nests, must have remarked what a large proportion of the
Wrens’ nests which he has discovered are in an unfinished state and
contain no eggs. These are called ‘cock’ nests. In winter wrens
resort in numbers to old nests and to holes in walls for mutual
warmth and shelter.

PAWIIEY “CINCLID At

THE DIRPER
CINCLUS AQUATICUS

Upper plumage dark brown, tinged with ash ; throat and breast pure white ;
abdomen brownish red; bill blackish; feet horn-colour. Female
colours nearly the same, but of a dingy hue. Lengthseveninches. Eggs
pure white.

Any one who has wandered by the mountain rivers of Scotland,
North Wales, or Derbyshire, can have scarcely failed to notice a
bird, somewhat less than a Blackbird, black above, with white
throat and breast, dart with rapid and direct flight from a low
rock on the river’s bank, and alight on a wet mossy stone rising
but a few inches above the water, where the stream runs swiftest
and the spray sparkles brightest. But for the roar of the torrent

52 tHE DIRE mk

you might hear his song, a low melodious strain, which he often
carries far on into the winter. His movements while he is thus
perched are peculiar ; a jerking upwards of the tail and dipping
forward of the head remind us of the Wren, a bird with which he
has, however, nothing really in common. Water Thrush is one
of his names; but he is better known by the names, Dipper
and Water Ouzel. Though neither furnished with web-feet like the
Ducks, nor with long legs like the Waders, the Dipper is decidedly
an aquatic bird, for he is never seen at any distance from a stream
or mountain tarn ; in his habits he resembles no other of his tribe
a water bird with a song—a song bird that wades, and swims.
That he should be so far only singular in his habits is not enough.
Although he is a wader he wades differently from other birds ; and he
uses his wings like oars. The Dipper uses both legs and wings in
search of prey, examining the pebbles, feeding on molluscs and the
larvee of insects. Mr. St. John is of opinion that it commits great
havoc among the spawn, ‘ uncovering the eggs, and leaving what it
does not eat open to the attack of eels and other fish, or lable to be
washed away by the current’. Mr. Macgillivray, on the contrary,
states that he has dissected a great number of individuals at all
seasons of the year, and has found no other substances in_ their
stomachs but insects and molluscs; he is therefore of opinion that
the charge of destroying the spawn of fish is unfounded. The latter
opinion obtains now.

I might greatly extend my sketch of this interesting bird, but
I have space only to add, that it builds a compact nest of moss,
felted so as to be impervious to water, and lined with dead leaves,
under a bank overhanging a stream, in the hole of a wall near a
mill-dam, or between two rocks under a cascade, but always in
such a situation that both old and young birds can throw themselves
into the water immediately on being alarmed. I have read of one
instance in which a nest was built under a waterfall in such a posi-
tion, that the bird could not go to and fro without penetrating every
time a vertical sheet of water. The nest is domed, and can be
entered only by a small hole in front. It contains usually five or
six whitish eggs, somewhat smaller than those of the Thrush.

Rése coloured Starling 2
Starling J Dipper 3
, [p. 52.
Golden Oriole 2? Jo

‘
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i
.
’
ra
4
ve P
‘ ahi at mt he
i

THE GOLDEN ORIOLE 53

FAMILY ORIOLIDA

THE GOLDEN ORIOLE
ORIOLUS GALBULA
Plumage golden yellow ; lore, wings and tail black, the tail yellow at the tip.
Female :—olive green above, greyish white tinged with yellow beneath,
and streaked with greyish brown; wings dark brown, the quills edged

with olive grey ; tail olive, tinged with dark brown. Length ten inches,
Eggs white with a few isolated dark brown or black spots.

Tuts brilliant bird, resembling the Thrushes in form and _ habits,
but apparelled in the plumage of the Tropics, would seem to have
no right to a place among British birds, so little is its gorgeous
livery in keeping with the sober hues of our other feathered denizens.
There can, however, be no doubt of the propriety of placing it among
our visitors, though it comes but seldom and makes no long stay.
It is a visitor to the southern seaboard counties and often seen in
Cornwall and the Scilly Isles. Were it left unmolested, and allowed
to breed in our woods, it is probable that it would return with its
progeny, and become of comparatively common occurrence ; but
though there are on record one or two creditable exceptions, when real
naturalists have postponed the glory of shooting and adding to
their collection a British specimen, to the pleasure of watching its
ways on British soil, yet its biography is not to be written from
materials collected in this country. On the European continent
it is a regular visitor, though even there it makes no long stay,
arriving in the beginning of May, and taking its departure early in
autumn. It is most common in Spain, Southern France, and Italy,
but is not unfrequent in many other parts of France, in Belgium,
and the south of Germany, and Hungary.

‘His note’, says Cuthbert Collingwood, ‘is a very loud whistle,
which may be heard at a great distance, but in richness equalling
the flute stop of a fine- toned organ. This has caused it to be called.
Loriot in France. But variety phere is none in his song, as he never
utters more than three notes consecutively, and those at intervals
of half a minute or a minute. Were it not for its fine tone, there-
fore, his song would be as monotonous as that of the Missel Thrush,
which in modulation it greatly resembles.’

The nest of the Oriole is described as a marvel of architectural
skill, excelling in elegance of form, richness of materials, and delicacy
of workmanship combined with strength. It is overlaid externally,
like that of the Chaffinch, with the silvery white lichen of fruit trees,
which gives it the appearance of being a part of the branch which
supports it. But the mansion of the Oriole is more skilfully con-
cealed than that even of the Chaffinch. The latter is placed on a
branch, of which it increases the apparent size, and so attracts

54 THE STARLING

attention. The nest of the Oriole, on the contrary, is suspended
between the two forks of a horizontal branch, which intercept the
side view of it. Thematerials employed are the lichen above men-
tioned, wool, cobwebs, and feathers, but all of a white hue. When
not placed in a fruit tree, it is attached by a kind of cordage to the
twigs of a poplar or birch tree, or even to a bunch of mistletoe,
hanging in mid-air like the car of a balloon. A cradle thus sedu-
lously constructed we should expect to find watched with unusual
solicitude. And such is the case; it is defended most valiantly
against the attacks of marauding birds, and so devoted is the mother
bird that she has been known to suffer herself to be carried away
sitting on her eggs, and to die of starvation. Surely a bird so
beautiful and so melodious, so skilful an architect and so tender
a nurse, deserves rather to be encouraged than exterminated.
Nests have been found in several of our counties, more especially
in Kent. The plumage of the female bird differs considerably from
that of the male in richness of tint, and the young of both sexes
resemble the female.

FAMILY STURNIDA
THE STARLING
STURNUS VULGARIS

Plumage black, with brilliant purple and green reflections, the upper feathers
tipped with cream-colour ; under tail-coverts edged with white ; beak
yellow ; feet flesh-colour, tinged with brown. Female—spotted below
as well as above. Young—uniform ash-brown, without spots. Length
eight and a half inches ; width fifteen inches. Eggs uniform pale greenish
blue.

THE Starling is a citizen of the world. From the North Cape to

the Cape of Good Hope, and from Iceland to Kamtschatka, he is

almost everywhere at home, and too familiar with the dealings of
man to come within a dangerous distance of his arm, though he
fully avails himself of all the advantages which human civilization
offers, having discovered, long ago, that far more grubs and worms
are to be procured on a newly-mown meadow than on the bare hill-
side, and that the flavour of May-dukes and Coroons immeasurably
excels that of the wild cherries in the wood. That dove-cots, holes
in walls, and obsolete water-spouts are convenient resting-places
for a nest, appears to be a traditional piece of knowledge, and that
where sheep and oxen are kept, there savoury insects abound, is

a fact generally known, and improved on accordingly. So, in

suburban gardens, where even the Redbreast and Tits are unknown,

Starlings are periodical visitors and afford much amusement by

THE STARLING 55

their shambling gait, and industrious boring on the lawn for larvee
—in cherry orchards they are regarded with terror, on account of
the amount of mischief they will accomplish in a short space of
time; and in the sheep-fold they are doubtless most cordially
welcomed and their services thankfully received, as they rid the
poor tormented animals of many an evil ‘ tick’.

The Starling is a handsome bird; seen at a distance it appears
to be of a uniform black hue, but on closer inspection its sable coat
is found to be lustrous with reflections of purple and green, and every
feather is tipped with white, or cream-colour—a mantle of shot-
silk garnished with pearls.

Except during the nesting season, a Starling is rarely seen alone ;
most commonly perhaps they are observed in parties of from six to
twelve, hunting in orchards or meadows for whichsoever article of
their diet happens to be in season. Wherever a colony of Rooks,
Jackdaws, or Rock Pigeons has established itself, there most pro-
bably, or somewhere in the neighbourhood, a large party will
assemble to roost, and will attend the others on all their foraging
expeditions. In spring the flocks, small and great, break up into
pairs, each withdrawing to a convenient nesting place, which is
sometimes a hole in a tree, sometimes a building, a cliff, or a cave.
The nest itself is a simple structure, being composed of dry grass
and roots, and contains generally five eggs. At this season the male
bird adds to the chirping and twittering notes of both sexes a soft,
and not unmusical note, which resembles more closely than any
other sound with which I am acquainted the piping of a boatswain’s
whistle, and it is not uncommon to hear a party of choristers
thus engaged, perched meanwhile on some high tree, even while
incubation is going on. Starlings, also, mimic the notes of
other singers. The breeding season over, they become nomad in
their habits. Many families unite into a flock, and explore the
country far and wide for suitable feeding places, their diet being,
up to this time, exclusively worms and insects. But no sooner does
the fruit begin to ripen in the cherry districts, than the flocks, now
assembled in countless multitudes, descend on the trees, and, if not
observed and scared away, appropriate the whole crop.

Newly-fledged Starlings are so different from their parents, that
they might be mistaken fora different species. The plumage is ofa
uniform greyish brown, lighter beneath. It is not till the end of
July or the beginning of August that the adult plumage begins to
show itself, and then the young birds present a singular appear-
ance, as the glossy black feathers, tipped with pearl, appear in
irregular patches on various parts of the body. Starlings do not
usually roost near the scene of their depredations, but from this
season and thence until late in autumn they repair, as if by some
preconcerted scheme, to a rendezvous common to many detach-
ments. A writer in the Zoologist states that there were formerly,

56 THE CHOUGH

near Melbourne in Cambridgeshire, some large patches of reeds,
which were rented at a certain annual sum, and which the tenant
sold to builders to use in making plaster-floors and ceilings of rooms.
Towards autumn, Starlings resorted to them in such numbers to
roost, that unless scared away, they settled upon the reeds, broke
them down and rendered them completely useless. It required a
person to keep watch every evening for some time, and fire at them
repeatedly with a gun as they were settling down ; but as the spot

was a favourite one, they showed considerable reluctance in quitting
it.

THE ROSE-COLOURED STARLING
PASTOR ROSEUS

Head crested ; crest and neck black, lustrous with violet reflections ; back
and lower parts rose-colour ; wings and tail lustrous brown. Length

eight inches.
A very beautiful bird, partaking the characters of the Starlings
and Crows. It is an inhabitant of Syria, Asia Minor, and Africa,
where it is gregarious in its habits, and does much mischief to the
grain crops. It comes as a straggler to our country from spring
to autumn; only, unfortunately, to be shot as a ‘specimen’.

FAMILY CORVID/

THE CHOUGH
PYRRHOCORAX GRACULUS

Plumage black, with purple and green reflections ; beak and feet coral-red ;
claws black. Length sixteen inches; width thirty-two inches. Eggs
yellowish white, spotted with ash-grey and light brown.

CONTINENTAL authors state that the bird which we call the Chough

or Red-legged Crow frequents the highest mountain regions and

the confines of perpetual snow, and that hence it is sometimes
known by the name of ‘ Jackdaw of the Alps’. Like the rest of
its tribe, it is omnivorous, and lives in societies, like the common

Jackdaw and Rook, but rarely deserting, and then only when pressed

by hunger, the place of its birth. With us it is never seen inland,

confining itself to the rocky sea-coast, where it builds its nest in
inaccessible cliffs, and leads the same kind of life with its sable
relatives the Crows and Jackdaws, though it never ventures, as they
do, far from its sea-side strongholds. The name Chough was proba-
bly in ancient times used as a common appellation of all the mem-
bers of the family Corvidee which have black plumage, this one being

THE NUTCRACKER 57

distinguished as the ‘Cornish Chough’, from the rocky district
which it frequented. The famous lines in King Lear—

The Crows and Choughs that wing the midway air

Show scarce so gross as beetles :
point probably to the Jackdaw, which is abundant on the rocky
coast of Kent, where the Chough has not been observed, though
there is a traditional account of a pair which many years ago
escaped from confinement and bred there. By its flight it is
scarcely to be distinguished from the Jackdaw ; but if it comes
near enough to the observer to betray the vermilion colour of
its legs, it may be known at once, and, seen on the ground, its long
curved ball, and more slender form, sufficiently distinguish it from
all others to which it assimilates in colour and size.

Not many years since, the Chough was far from uncommon in
several parts of the coast of Devon and Cornwall. It is now much
less frequent, though it still lingers about the Lizard in the latter
county, and is said to breed in the high cliffs near Combe Martin
in Devonshire, in both of which places I have often looked out
sharply for it, but have never been quite satisfied that I have seen
one. It is said also to haunt the precipitous coast of several other
parts of Great Britain, and to be found also in many parts of Ire-
land; in the Channel, especially in Guernsey, it is fairly common,
but always preferring the least frequented localities. The peculiar
habits of a bird so uncommon and secluded are little known, so far
at least as they are characteristic of the bird in its wild state. In
captivity its ways differ little from those of the rest of its tribe.
It is inquisitive, intrusive, captious in temper, disposed to become
attached to those who treat it well, fond of attracting notice ; ina
word, it surpasses in intelligence most other tribes of birds, ranking
among those members of the brute creation whose instinct amounts
to something more than a formal compliance with certain laws
which the rational creation has arbitrarily set down for their
government. Insects and the vejectamenta of the sea-shore and
occasionally grain form its diet. It builds its nest of sticks, and
lines it with wool and hair, preferring a cleft in a rock, but not
refusing any old ruin conveniently situated forits purpose. It lays
four or five eggs.

THE NUTCRACKER
NUCIFRAGA CARYOCATACTES

Plumage sooty brown, spotted on the back and under parts with white ; tail
black, barred with white at the extremity ; beak and feet horn-colour ;
iris brown. Length thirteen inches. Eggs light buff, with afew greyish
brown spots.

THE Nutcracker Crow, a rare straggler, must not be confounded
with the Nuthatch, which we have already described; the for-

58 THE JAY

mer is a large bird, as big as a Jay, and| is only an occasional
visitor in this country, and whose habits partake of those of the
Crows and Woodpeckers. The propriety of its name is question-
able, according to Yarrell, who says that ‘it cannot crack nuts’.
Here perhaps there may be some little mistake. Its name is
evidently a translation of the French Cassenoix. In England we
mean by ‘nuts’ filberts or hazel-nuts; but the French word
notx is applied exclusively to walnuts, our nuts being no7settes,
or ‘little nuts’; and French authors are agreed that its food
consists of insects, fruits, and walnuts; that is, the ordinary
diet of its relative, the Rook, whose fondness for walnuts is noto-
rious. It lays its eggs in the holes of trees, and, except in the
breeding season, is more or less gregarious in its habits.

THE JAY
GARRULUS GLANDARIUS

Feathers of the crest greyish white, streaked with black ; a black moustache
from the corners of the beak; general plumage reddish grey, darker
above ; primaries dingy black ; secondaries velvet-black and pure white ;
inner tertials rich chestnut; winglet and greater coverts barred
with black, white, and bright blue; upper and under tail-coverts
pure white ; iris bright blue; beak black; feet livid brown. Length
thirteen and a half inches ; breadth twenty-two inches. Eggs dull green,
minutely and thickly-speckled with olive-brown.

THERE exists among gamekeepers a custom of selecting a certain

spot in preserved woods, and there suspending, as trophies of their

skill and watchfulness, the bodies of such destructive animals
as they have killed in the pursuit of their calling. They are gener-
ally those of afew stoats or weasels, a Hawk, a Magpie, an owl, and
two or three Jays. All these animals are judged to be destructive
to game, and are accordingly hunted to the death, the Jay, perhaps,
with less reason than the rest, for though it can hardly resist the
temptation of plundering, either of eggs or young, any nest, whether
of Partridge or Pheasant, that falls in its way, yet it does not sub-
sist entirely upon animal food, but also upon acorns and various
other wild fruits. Its blue feathers are much used in the manu-
facture of artificial flies. Nevertheless, owing to their cautious
and wary habits, there are few wooded districts in which they are
not more or less numerous. Their jarring unconnected note,
which characterizes them at all seasons, is in spring and summer
varied by their song proper, in which I have never been able to
detect anything more melodious than an accurate imitation of the
noise made by sawyers at work, though Montagu states that ‘it
will, sometimes, in the spring utter a sort of song in a soft and
pleasing manner, but so low as not to be heard at any distance ;

Great Grey Shrike ¢

Woodchat Shrike J

Red Backed Shrike ¢ 4
Nutcracker 3 p. 88.

THE MAGPIE 59

and at intervals introduces the bleating of a lamb, mewing of a
cat, the note of a Kite or Buzzard, hooting of an Owl, or even neigh-
ing of a horse. These imitations are so exact, even in a natural
wild state, that we have frequently been deceived.’ The Jay
generally builds its nest in a wood, either in the top of a low tree,
or against the trunk of a lofty one, employing as material small
sticks, roots, and dry grass, and lays five eggs. There seems to
be a difference of opinion as to the sociability of the family party
after the young are fledged, some writers stating that they separate
by mutual consent, and that each shifts for itself ; others, that the
young brood remains with the old birds all the winter. For my own
part, I scarcely recollect ever having seen a solitary Jay, or to have
heard a note which was not immediately responded to by another
bird of the same species, the inference from which is that, though
not gregarious, they are at least social.

When domesticated, the Jay displays considerable intelligence ;
it is capable of attachment, and learns to distinguish the hand and
voice of its benefactor.

THE MAGPIE
PICA RUSTICA

Head, throat, neck, and back velvet-black ; scapulars and under plumage
white ; tail much graduated and, as well as the wings, black, with lus-
trous blue and bronze reflections ; beak, iris, and feet black. Length
eighteen inches; breadth twenty-three inches. Eggs pale dirty green,
spotted all over with ash-grey and olive-brown.

THE Magpie, like the Crow, labours under the disadvantage of an

ill name, and in consequence incurs no small amount of persecution.

Owing to the disproportionate length of its tail and shortness of

its wings its flight is somewhat heavy, so that if it were not cunning

and wary to a remarkable degree, it would probably well-nigh dis-
appear from the catalogue of British Birds. Yet though it is
spared by none except avowed preservers of all birds (like Water-
ton, who protects it ‘on account of its having nobody to stand
up for it’), it continues to be a bird of general occurrence, and
there seems indeed to be but little diminution of its numbers. Its
nest is usually constructed among the upper branches of a lofty
tree, either in a hedge-row or deep in a wood ; or if it has fixed its
abode in an unwooded district, it selects the thickest thorn-bush
in the neighbourhood and there erects its castle. This is com-
posed of an outwork of thorns and briers supporting a mass of
twigs and mud, which is succeeded by a layer of fibrous roots.

The whole is not only fenced round but arched over with thorny

sticks, an aperture being left, on one side only, large enough to

admit the bird. In this stronghold are deposited generally six

60 THE MAGPIE

eggs, which in due time are succeeded by as many young ogres,
who are to be reared to birds by an unstinted supply of the most
generous diet. Even before their appearance the old birds have
committed no small havoc in the neighbourhood ; now, however,
that four times as many mouths have to be filled, the hunting ground
must either be more closely searched or greatly extended. Any
one who has had an opportunity of watching the habits of a tame
Magpie, must have observed its extreme inquisitiveness and skill
in discovering what was intended to be concealed, joined, moreover,
to an unscrupulous habit of purloining everything that takes its
roving fancy. Even when surrounded by plenty and pampered
with delicacies it prefers a stolen morsel to what is legally its own.
Little wonder then that when it has to hunt on its own account for
the necessaries of life, and is stimulated besides by the cravings
of its hungry brood, it has gained an unenviable notoriety as a
prowling bandit. In the harrying of birds’ nests no schoolboy
can compete with it; Partridges and Pheasants are watched to
their retreat and plundered mercilessly of their eggs and young ;
the smaller birds are treated in like manner: hares and rabbits,
if they suffer themselves to be surprised, have their eyes picked
out and are torn to pieces ; rats, mice, and frogs are a lawful prey ;
carrion, offal of all kinds, snails, worms, grubs, and caterpillars,
each in turn pleasantly vary the diet ; and, when in season, grain
and fruit are attacked with as much audacity as is consistent with
safety ; and might, whenever available, give a right to stray
chickens and ducklings. The young birds, nurtured in an impreg-
nable stronghold, and familiarized from their earliest days with
plunder, having no song to learn save the note of caution and alarm
when danger is near, soon become adepts in the arts of their parents,
and, before their first moult, are a set of inquisitive, chattering
marauders, wise enough to keep near the haunts of men because
food is there most abundant, cautious never to come within reach
of the fowling-piece, and cunning enough to carry off the call-bird
from the net without falling themselves into the snare. [ven
in captivity, with all their drollery, they are unamiable.

Magpies, though generally distributed, are far more numerous
in some districts than others. In Cornwall they are very abund-
ant; hence I have heard them called Cornish Pheasants. In
Ireland they are now very common. It is stated that they are,
in France more abundant than in any other country of Europe,
where they principally build their nests in poplar-trees, having
discovered, it is said, ‘that the brittle nature of the boughs of this
tree is an additional protection against climbers!’ ‘In Norway’,
says a writer in the Zoologist + ‘ this bird, usually so shy in this
country, and so difficult to approach within gunshot, seems to have
entirely changed its nature: it is there the most domestic and

1 Vol. viii. p. 3085.

THE JACKDAW 61

fearless bird ; its nest is invariably placed in a small tree or bush
adjoining some farm or cottage, and not unfrequently in the very
midst of some straggling village. If there happens to be a suitable
tree by the roadside and near a house, it is a very favourable locality
for a Norwegian Magpie’s nest. I have often wondered to see the
confidence and fearlessness displayed by this bird in Norway ;
he will only just move out of your horse’s way as you drive by
him on the road, and should he be perched on a rail by the roadside
he will only stare at you as you rattle by, but never think of moving
off. It is very pleasant to see this absence of fear of man in Nor-
wegian birds ; a Norwegian would never think of terrifying a bird
for the sake of sport ; whilst, I fear, to see such a bird as the Magpie
sitting quietly on a rail within a few feet, would be to an English
boy a temptation for assault which he could not resist. I must
add, however, with regard to Magpies, that there is a superstitious
prejudice for them current throughout Norway; they are con-
sidered harbingers of good luck, and are consequently always
invited to preside over the house ; and, when they have taken up
their abode in the nearest tree, are defended from all ill; and he
who should maltreat the Magpie has perhaps driven off the genius
_loct, and so may expect the most furious anger of the neighbouring
dwelling, whose good fortune he has thus violently dispersed.’
Faith in the prophetic powers of the Magpie even yet lingers in
many of the rural districts of England also.

THE JACKDAW
CORVUS MONEDULA

Crown of the head and upper parts black, with violet reflections ; back of the

head and nape grey ; lower parts duller black ; iris white ; beak and feet

black. Length thirteen inches; breadth twenty-seven inches. Eggs

very light blue, with scattered spots of ash-colour and dark brown.
Tuis lively and active bird, inferior in size as well as dignity to the
Rook, yet in many respects resembles it so closely that it might
be fabled to have mace the Rook its model, and to have exercised
its imitative powers in the effort to become the object of its admira-
tion. <A vain effort, however ; for nature has given to it a slender
form, a shriller voice, a partially grey mantle, and an instinct which
compels it to be secretive even in the placing of its nest. Its
note, which may be represented either by the syllable ‘ jack’ or
‘daw ’, according to the fancy of the human imitator, sounds like
an impertinent attempt to burlesque the full ‘caw’ of the Rook ;
it affects to be admitted into the society of that bird on equal
terms; but whether encouraged as a friend, or tolerated as a
parasite whom it is less troublesome to treat with indifference than
to chase away, is difficult to decide. Most probably the latter ;

62 THE JACKDAW

for although it is common enough to see a party of Jackdaws danc-
ing attendance on a flock of Rooks, accompanying them to their
feeding-grounds, and nestling in hollow trunks of trees in close
proximity to rookeries, they are neither courted nor persecuted ;
they come when they like and go away when they please. On
the other hand, no one, I believe, ever saw a flock of Rooks making
the first advances towards an intimacy with a flock of Jackdaws,
or heard of their condescending to colonize a grove, because their
grey-headed relatives were located in the neighbourhood. On
the sea-coast, where Rooks are only casual visitors, the Jackdaw
has no opportunity of hanging himself on as an appendage to a
rookery, but even here he must be a client. With the choice of a
long range of cliff before him, he avoids that which he might have
all to himself, and selects a portion which, either because it is shel-
tered from storms, or inaccessible by climbers, has been already
appropriated by Sea-mews.

The object of the Jackdaw in making church-towers its resort
is pretty evident. Where there is a church there is at least
also a village, and where men and domestic animals congregate,
there the Jackdaw fails not to find food ; grubs in the fields, fruit
in the orchards, and garbage of all kinds in the waste ground.
Here, too, it has a field for exercising its singular acquisitiveness.
Wonderful is the variety of objects which it accumulates in its
museum of a nest, which, professedly a complication of sticks, may
comprise also a few dozen labels stolen from a Botanic Garden, an
old tooth-brush, a child’s cap, part of a worsted stocking, a frill, etc.
Waterton,! who strongly defends it from the charge of molesting
either the eggs or young of pigeons, professes himself unable to
account for its pertinacious habit of collecting sticks for a nest
placed where no such support is seemingly necessary, and, cunning
though it is, comments on its want of adroitness in introducing sticks
into its hole: ‘ You may see the Jackdaw’, he says, ‘ trying for
a quarter of an hour to get a stick into the hole, while every attempt
will be futile, because, the bird having laid hold of it by the middle,
it is necessarily thrown at right angles with the body, and the
Daw cannot perceive that the stick ought to be nearly parallel
with its body before it can be conveyed into the hole. Fatigued
at length with repeated efforts, and completely foiled in its number-
less attempts to introduce the stick, it lets it fall to the ground,
and immediately goes in quest of another, probably to experience
another disappointment on its return. When time and chance
have enabled it to place a quantity of sticks at the bottom of the
hole, it then goes to seek for materials of a more pliant and a softer
nature.’ These are usually straw, wool, and feathers ; but, as we
have seen, nothing comes amiss that catches its fancy. In addition

1 Essays on Natural History, First Series, p. 109.

Ravend
Jay 2 Chough

Magpie 2 [p. 62.

THE RAVEN 63

to rocks, towers, and hollow trees, it sometimes places its nest in
chimneys or in rabbit-burrows, but never, or in the rarest instances,
among the open boughs of a tree. It lays from four to six eggs,
and feeds its young on worms and insects, which it brings home in
the pouch formed by the loose skin at the base of its beak. When
domesticated, its droll trickeries and capability of imitating the
human voice and other sounds are well known. By turns affection-
ate, quarrelsome, impudent, confiding, it is always inquisitive,
destructive, and given to purloining ; so that however popular at
first as a pet, it usually terminates its career by some unregretted
accident, or is consigned to captivity in a wicker cage.

THE RAVEN
CORVUS CORAX

Plumage black with purple reflections ; tail rounded, black, extending two
inches beyond the closed wings ; beak strong, black as well as the feet ;
iris with two circles, the inner grey, the outer ash-brown. Length twenty-
five inches; width four feet. Eggs dirty green, spotted and speckled
with brown.

THE Raven, the largest of the Corvide, and possessing in an emin-

ent degree all the characteristics of its tribe except sociability, is

the bird which beyond all others has been regarded with feelings
of awe by the superstitious in all ages. In both instances in which
specific mention of it occurs in Holy Writ, it is singled out from
among other birds as gifted with a mysterious intelligence. Sent
forth by Noah when the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat,
it perhaps found a congenial home among the lonely crags strewed
with the carcases of drowned animals, and by failing to return,
announced to the patriarch that a portion of the earth, though not one
fit for his immediate habitation, was uncovered by the waters. At

a subsequent period, honoured with the mission of supplying the

persecuted prophet with food, it was taught to suppress its voracious

instinct by the God who gave it. The Raven figures prominently
in most heathen mythologies, and is almost everywhere regarded
with awe by the ignorant even at the present time. In Scandinavian
mythology it was an important actor; and all readers of Shake-
speare must be familiar with passages which prove it to have been
regarded as a bird of dire omen.

The sad presaging Raven tolls

The sick man’s passport in her hollow beak,

And in the shadow of the silent night

Doth shake contagion from her sable wing.

Marlowe.

In the judgment of others, its friendly mission to the Tishbite

invested it with a sanctity which preserved it from molestation.

64 THE RAVEN

Apart from all traditional belief, the Raven derives its ill-omened
character as a herald of death from the rapidity with which it dis-
cerns, in the vicinity of its haunts, the carcase of any dead animal.
In the coldest winter days, at Hudson’s Bay, when every kind of
effluvium is greatly checked if not arrested by frost, buffaloes and
other beasts have been killed when not one of these birds was to
be seen ; but in a few hours scores of them have been found col-
lected about the spot to pick up the blood and offal. ‘In Ravens’,
says a writer in the Zoologist,‘ the senses of smell and sight are
remarkably acute and powerful. Perched usually on some. tall
cliff that commands a wide survey, these faculties are in constant
and rapid exercises, and all the movements of the bird are regulated
in accordance with the information thus procured. The smell of
death is so grateful to them that they utter a loud croak of satisfac-
tion instantly on perceiving it. In passing any sheep, if a tainted
smell is perceptible, they cry vehemently. From this propensity
in the Raven to announce his satisfaction in the smell of death has
probably arisen the common notion that he is aware of its approach
among the human race, and foretells it by his croakings.’ The same
observant author, as quoted by Macgillivray, says again: ‘ Their
sight and smell are very acute, for when they are searching the
wastes for provision, they hover over them at a great height ;
and yet a sheep will not be dead many minutes before they will
find it. Nay, if a morbid smell transpire from any in the flock, they
will watch it for days till it die.’

To such repasts they are guided more by scent than by sight,
for though they not unfrequently ascend to a great height in the
air, they do not then appear to be on the look-out for food. This
duty is performed more conveniently and with greater success by
beating over the ground at a low elevation. In these expeditions
they do not confine themselves to carrion, but prey indiscriminately
on all animals which they are quick enough to capture and strong
enough to master. Hares, rabbits, rats, mice, lizards, game of vari-
ous kinds, eggs, and the larger insects, all of these enter into their
diet, and, wanting these, they resort to the sea-shore for refuse
fish, or ransack dunghills in villages, before the inhabitants are astir,
for garbage of all sorts. Pliny even relates that in a certain district
of Asia Minor they were trained to hawk for game like the noble
Falcons. Few of these qualifications tend to endear them to man-
kind ; and as they are dreaded by shepherds on account of their
being perhaps more than suspected of making away with sickly
lambs when occasion offers, and of plundering poultry yards, Ravens
are become, in populous districts, almost unknown birds. I have
only seen them myself on the rocky sea-shore of Devon and Cornwall,
in the wilds of Dartmoor, and the Highlands of Scotland. There
was for many successive years a nest built on a ledge of granite
near the Bishop Rock, in Cornwall, a huge mass of sticks, and

THE CARRION CROW 55
what appeared to be grass, inaccessible from below, but commanded
by a venturous climber from above. Where it still continues to
breed inland, it places its nest, constructed of sticks and lined
with the wool and fur of its victims, either on an inaccessible rock,
or near the summit of a lofty tree, the ill-omened ‘ Raven-tree ’
of romances. In the north of Scotland, in the Orkneys and Heb-
rides, where it is still abundant, it builds its nest in cliffs which it
judges to be inaccessible, both inland and on the sea-shore, showing
no marked preference for either. Two pairs never frequent the
same locality, nor is any other bird of prey permitted to establish
itself in their vicinity. Even the Eagle treats the Raven with
respect, and leaves it to its solitude, not so much from fear of its
prowess, as worn out by its pertinacious resistance of all dangerous
intrucers. Hence, in some districts, shepherds encourage Ravens,
because they serve as a repellant to Eagles ; while in others, where
Eagles are of unusual occurrence, they allow them to build their
nests undisturbed, but when the young are almost fledged, destroy
them by throwing stones at them from above. Nevertheless the
original pair continues to haunt the same locality for an indefinite
term of years, and it is not a little singular that if one of them
be killed, the survivor will find a mate in an incredibly short space
of time.

The geographical range of the Raven is very extensive. Through-
out all the zones of the Northern Hemisphere it is to be found ;
and having this wide range, its physical constitution is strong, and
it lives to a great age, amounting, so the ancients tell us, to twenty-
seven times the period of a man’s life. The note of the Raven is
well described by the word ‘ croak’, but it is said by those who have
had the opportunity of observing it under various circumstances,
to utter another sound, resembling the word ‘ whii-urv’. With this
cry it very commonly intermixes another, sounding like ‘ clung’,
uttered very much as by a human voice, only a little wilder in the
sound. From the cry croak the Raven no doubt derives its

Latin name Corvus the French Corbeau, and its common Scotch
appellation Corbve.

THE CARRION CROW

CORVUS CORONE
Black, with green and violet reflections ; tail slightly rounded, extending an
inch and a quarter beyond the closed wings ; iris dark hazel ; lower part
of the beak covered with bristly feathers ; beak and feet black.
nineteen inches; breadth three feet.
speckled with ash-grey and olive.

BREEDING early in the year, like the Raven, the Carrion Crow builds

its nest in some tree which, from its loftiness or other reason, is

difficult of ascent, where its young ones are hatched about the
B.B. F

Length
Eggs bluish green, spotted and

66 THE CARRION CROW

time that most other birds are laying their eggs, and when the
lambing season is at its height. Then, too, its habits are most
fully developed. Its young are clamorous for food, and will not
be satisfied with a little. So the old bird sallies forth to scour the
districts least frequented by man, and makes every living thing
its prey, provided that by force or cunning it can overpower it.
If Grouse are plentiful, it is said that one pair, what with stealing
the eggs and carrying off the young, will in a season destroy more
of them than the keenest sportsman. It will pounce on the leveret
and bear it screaming from the side of its mother. It watches
sheep which have strayed from the fold, and mangles the newly-
born or weakly lambs, carrying them piece-meal to the young
ones at home. If mowers are at work, the wary birds alight
on some lofty tree, taking care to keep at a safe distance, and
when a nest has been laid bare by the scythe, their incredibly
sharp eye discerns the prize which, whether it consist of eggs or
callow young, is borne off in triumph. Lest their depredations
should be discovered by the accumulation of egg-shells, feathers
and bones, which are the natural consequence of these raids, they
carefully carry to some distance everything that would tend to
betray them, so that one might pass directly beneath the scene of
these enormities unsuspicious of the evil existing overhead. Keen
as this bird is in pursuit of such delicate fare, he can be, when occa-
sion serves, as unclean a feeder as the Vulture, and he can, on the
other hand, make a meal off corn. Mr. Knox states that in the
Weald of Sussex, where the Raven is common, it resorts to the brooks
and ponds, which abound in fresh-water mussels (Anodon), and
feeds on them most voraciously, especially after floods, when they
lie scattered on the mud. Thesame author states that in winter it
resorts to the sea-shore, and feeds on the oysters, mussels, small
crabs, marine insects, worms, and dead fish which are cast up by
the waves during the prevalent south-westerly storms. It has been
frequently observed, he adds, to ascend to a great height in the
air with an oyster in its claws, and after letting it fall on the beach,
to descend rapidly with closed pinions and devour the contents.
A similar instance of apparent reasoning is recorded of the same bird
by Pliny, but with the substitution of walnuts for oysters.

With such wandering habits, it seems at first sight strange that
the phrase ‘as the Crow flies ’ should be adopted to mark distances
in a straight line across the open country ; yet when it is borne in
mind how many persons confound the Crow with the Rook, and
even talk of the ‘ Crows in a rookery’, the suggestion willat once
occur to the mind that the term owed its origin to its far gentler
and more respectable relation, the Rook, whose evening flights
from the feeding-ground are among the most familiar sights of the
country, and are invariably performed in a line so straight, that
if a whole flock could be tracked through the air on any one evening

THE HOODED CROW 67

it would be found scarcely to deviate from that of the preceding
or the following. It is to be feared that this inaccurate application
of names has done the Rook ill service; yet the two birds are
totally distinct. Crows are solitary birds, rarely being seen
in more than pairs together ; Rooks are eminently sociable. Crows
shun the haunts of men ; Rooks court the vicinity of his dwellings.
Crows are carnivorous ; Rooks feed principally on the grubs of
beetles, worms, and noxious insects, rewarding themselves occa-
sionally for their services by regaling on corn and fruits, but rarely
touching carrion or molesting living animals. In appearance the two
birds are much alike ; the Crow, however, is somewhat smaller, the
beak is stouter at the point and encircled at the base with numerous
short feathers, while the bill of the Rook is encroached on by a
white membrane which is almost bare of feathers. Both are noted
for their intelligence ; the Crow has been known to remove its eggs
from its nest when apprehensive of danger ; it was held in high
consideration in the days of augury, and certain of its movements
were considered to be indicative of changes in the weather. It
builds its nest of sticks, and lines it with moss, straw, hair, and
wool, and lays from four to six eggs. Like the Raven, it is a widely-
diffused bird, and attains a great age, outliving (the ancients said)
nine generations of men, showing great attachment to any spot in
which it has once fixed its home, and suffering neither its own
progeny nor any other large birds to nestle in its vicinity.

This Crow is becoming more numerous of late in the close vicinity
of London. It comes constantly to some of our suburban gardens.

THE HOODED CROW, GREY OR ROYSTON CROW
CORVUS CORNIX

Head, throat, wings and tail black, the rest of the plumage ash-grey ; tail
rounded ; beak and feet black ; iris brown. Length nineteen and a half
inches ; breadth three feet two inches. Eggs bluish green, mottled with
ash-grey and olive.

THE Hooded Crow closely resembles the Carrion Crow, scarcely

differing from it in fact except in colour. They are, however, per-

fectly distinct species, and for the most part exercise their calling
in separate haunts. In Norway Hooded Crows are very abundant,
to the almost total exclusion of the Carrion Crow and Rook, and,
though not congregating so as to form a society like the last-named
bird, they may be seen simultaneously employed in searching for
food in groups which collectively amount to a hundred or
more. Though numerous in the winter at Newmarket Heath
and Royston (where they are sometimes called Royston Crows),
and annually resorting to many parts of the sea-coast, they rarely
breed so far south. In the Isle of Man, the Orkneys, Hebrides,

68 THE ROOK

and in all but the south of Scotland they are of more frequent
occurrence than any other of the tribe, essentially belonging to the
‘Land of the mountain and the flood’. It is on the increase in
Ireland and very unwelcome there. One can scarcely traverse
the shores of the salt-water lochs of Scotland without seeing a
pair, or, in the latter part of the year, a small party of four or five
of these birds, gravely pacing the shingle and sand in quest of food.
As far aS my own experience goes, I should consider the Hooded
Crow as ‘ half sea-bird’, but it is said to be met with, in summer, ©
in the very centre of the Grampians and other inland districts.
Its proper diet consists of the smaller marine animals, such as
crabs, echini, and molluscs, alive or dead, fish and carrion. At
high-water it retires inland, and skulks about the low grounds
in quest of the eggs and young of Moor-fowl, thereby gaining the
execrations of gamekeepers ; takes a survey of any adjacent sheep-
walks, on the chance of falling in with a new-born lamb, or sickly
ewe, Whence it has but an ill name among shepherds ; and returns
when the tide has well ebbed, to finish the day’s repast on food
of a nature light and easy of digestion. It is less wary of man than
the Carrion Crow, and often comes within shot, but, ,being far too
numerous to admit of being exterminated, is but little assailed.
In the comparatively mild climate of the Scottish sea-coast, these
birds find an abundant supply of food all the year round and as there
is no sensible diminution of their numbers in winter, it is supposed that
those which frequent the English coast from October to March
have been driven southwards by the inclement winters of high
latitudes. They are then frequently observed on the coast of
Norfolk and Sussex in parties of thirty or more, and it has been
remarked that the hunting, grounds of the two species are defined
by singularly precise limits, the neighbourhood of Chichester being
frequented by the Carrion Crow, that of Brighton by its congener.
It is abundant on the sea-coast of Norfolk in the winter, where I
have seen it feeding with Gulls, Plovers, etc. In musical capa-
bilities it is inferior even to its relative, its solitary croak being
neither so loud nor so clear. The nest of the Hooded Crow is large,
composed of twigs, sea-weeds, heath, feathers, and straws, and is
placed on rocks, tall trees, low bushes, and elsewhere, accord-
ing to circumstances.

THE ROOK

CORVUS FRUGILEGUS

Plumage black, with purple and violet reflections ; base of the beak, nostrils ;
and region round the beak bare of feathers and covered with a white scurf,
iris greyish white ; beak and feet black. Length eighteen inches ; breadth
three feet. Eggs pale green, thickly blotched with olive and dark-brown.

As the Hooded Crow is essentially the type of the Corvide in

Rook

Jackdaw g
Crow 3

Hodded Crow ? [p. 68

THE ROOK 69

Scandinavia and the Isles of Scotland, where the Carrion Crow
and Rook are all but unknown, so in England the representative
of the tribe is the Rook, a bird so like the Crow that it is called
by its name almost as frequently as by its own, yet so different
in habits that, instead of being under a perpetual and universal
ban, it is everywhere encouraged and indeed all but domesticated.
There are few English parks that do not boast of their rookery,
and few proprietors of modern demesnes pretending to be parks, who
would not purchase at a high price the air of antiquity and respect-
ability connected with an established colony of these birds. Owing
to their large size and the familiarity with which they approach
the haunts of men, they afford a facility in observing their habits
which belongs to no other birds; hence all treatises on Natural
History, and other publications which enter into the details of
country life in England, abound in anecdotes of the Rook. Its
intelligence, instinctive appreciation of danger, voracity, its utility
or the reverse, its nesting, its morning repasts and its evening
flights, have all been observed and more or less faithfully recorded
again and again; so that its biography is better known than that
of any other British bird. It would be no difficult task to compile
from these materials a good-sized volume, yet I doubt not that
enough remains untold, or at least not sufficiently authenticated,
to furnish a fair field of inquiry to any competent person who
would undertake to devote his whole attention to this one bird for
a considerable period of time. Such a biographer should make
himself master of all that has been recorded by various authorities,
and should then visit a large number of rookeries in all parts of
the kingdom, collecting and sifting evidence, making a series of
personal observations, and spreading his researches over all seasons
of the year. Such an inquiry, trivial though it may seem, would
be most useful, for the Rook, though it has many friends,
has also many enemies, and, being everywhere abundant, its
agency for good or evil must have serious results. The following
account being imperfect from want of space, the reader who wishes
to know more about this interesting bird must refer to our standard
works on Ornithology, and, above all, record and compare his
own personal observations.

In the early spring months Rooks subsist principally on the
larve and worms turned up by the plough, and without gainsay,
they are then exceedingly serviceable to the agriculturist, by
destroying a vast quantity of noxious insects which, at this period
of their growth, feed on the leaves or roots of cultivated vegetables.
Experience has taught them that the ploughman either has not the
power or the desire to molest them; they therefore approach
the plough with perfect fearlessness, and show much rivalry in their
efforts to be first to secure the treasures just turned up. During
the various processes to which the ground is subjected in prepara-

70 THE ROOK

tion for the crop, they repeat their visits, spreading more widely
over the field, and not only pick up the grubs which lie on the sur-
face, but bore for such as, by certain signs best known to themselves,
lie concealed. I need not say that in all these stages the wisdom
of the farmer is to offer them every inducement to remain ; all that
they ask is to be let alone. Not so, however, when the seed-crop
is sown. Grain, pulse, and potatoes are favourite articles of diet
with them, and they will not fail to attack these as vigorously as they
did the grubs a few days before. They are therefore undeniably
destructive at this season, and all available means should be adopted
to deter them from alighting on cultivated ground. About the
second week in March they desert the winter roosting places, to which
they had nightly congregated in enormous flocks, leave off their
wandering habits, and repair as if by common consent to their
old breeding places. Here, with much cawing and bustling, they
survey the ruins of their old nests, or select sites for new ones,
being guided by their instinct to avoid all those trees the upper
branches of which are too brittle for their purpose either because
the trees are sickly or in an incipient state of decay. Hence, when
it has occasionally happened that a nestless tree in a rookery has
been blown down, the birds have been saluted as prophets, while
in reality the tree yielded to the blast before its fellows because
it was unsound, the Rooks knowing nothing about the matter
except that signs of decay had set in among the upper twigs while
as yet all seemed solid beneath. How the birds squabble about
their nests, how they punish those thievishly disposed, how they
drive away intruders from strange rookeries, how scrupulously they
avoid, during building, to pick up a stick that has chanced to drop,
how the male bird during incubation feeds his mate with the most
luscious grubs brought home in the baggy pouch at the base of
his bill, how every time that a bird caws while perched he strains
his whole body forward and expands his wings with the effort, all
these things, and many more, I must pass over without further
notice, leaving them to be verified by the reader with the help of
a good field-glass. I must, however, mention, in passing, the
custom so generally adopted by sportsmen, of shooting the
young birds as soon as they are sufficiently fledged to climb
from their nests to the adjoining twigs, or to perform their
first tentative flight over the summits of the trees. It is
supposed to be necessary to keep down their numbers, but this
is a disputed point. I have, however, little doubt that Rooks
during the whole of their lives associate the memory of these
battues with the appearance of a man armed with a gun. Many
people believe that Rooks know the smell of powder: they have
good reason to know it; but that they are as much alarmed at
the sight of a stick as a gun in the hand of a man, may be proved
by any one who, chancing to pass near a flock feeding on the

THE ROOK 71

ground, suddenly raises a stick. They will instantly fly off,
evidently in great alarm.

While the young are being reared, the parent birds frequent
corn-fields and meadows, where they search about for those plants
which indicate the presence of a grub at the root. Such they
unscrupulously uproot, and make a prize of the destroyer concealed
beneath. They are much maligned for this practice, but without
reason ; for, admitting that they kill the plant as well as the grub, it
must be borne in mind that several of the grubs on which they feed
(cockchafer and daddy-long legs) live for several years underground,
and that, during,that period, they would if left undisturbed, have
committed great*ravages. I have known a large portion of a bed
of lettuces destroyed by a single grub of Melolontha, having actually
traced its passage underground from root to root, and found it
devouring the roots of one which appeared as yet unhurt. Clearly,
a Rook would have done me a service by uprooting the first lettuce,
and capturing its destroyer.

I must here advert to a peculiar characteristic of the Rook
which distinguishes it specifically from the Crow. The skin sur-
rounding the base of the bill, and covering the upper part of the
throat, is, in the adult birds, denuded of feathers. Connected
with this subject many lengthy arguments have been proposed
in support of two distinct opinions: one, that the bareness above
mentioned is occasioned by the repeated borings of the bird for its
food; the other, that the feathers fall off naturally at the first
moult, and are never replaced. I am inclined to the latter view,
and that for two reasons : first, if it be necessary (and that is not at
all clear) that the Rook, in order to supply itself with food, should
have no feathers at the base of its bill, I believe that nature would
not have resorted to so clumsy a contrivance, and one so annoying
to the bird, as that of wearing them away bit by bit : and, secondly,
the bare spot is, as far as I have observed, of the same size and
shape in all birds, and at all periods of the year, a uniformity which
can scarcely be the result of digging in soils of various kinds, and
at all seasons. I cannot, therefore, but think that the appearance
in question is the result of a law in the natural economy of the
bird, that the feathers are not rubbed off, but fall off, and that
they are not renewed, because nature never intended that they
should grow there permanently; if not, why is there no
similar abrasion in the Crow ? The number of lambs eaten by
Crows is very small after all, and birds’ eggs are not always in
season, nor is carrion so very abundant; so that, during a great
portion of the year, even Crows must dig for their livelihood, and
the great distinction between a Crow and a Rook is, that the former
has actually no bare space at the base of his bill. But the question
is still open, and the reader may make his own observations, which
in Natural History, as well as in many other things, are far better
than other people’s theories.

72 THE ROOK

In very dry summer weather, Rooks are put to great shifts in
obtaining food. Grubs and worms descend to a great depth to get
beyond the influence of the drought, and the soil is too parched
and hard for digging ; they then retire to the sea-shore, to marshes,
fresh-water and salt, to cabbage and potato gardens, and in the last-
named localities they are again disposed to become marauders.
To fruit gardens they are rarely permitted to resort, or they would
commit great ravages. Asthe season advances, ripe walnuts are a
very powerful attraction, and when they have discovered a tree well
supplied with fruit, a race ensues between them and the proprietor
as to which shall appropriate the greater share, so slily do they
watch for opportunities, and so quick are they in gathering them
and carrying them off in their beaks. In long winter frosts, or
when the ground is covered with snow, they are again reduced to
straits. Some resort to the sea-shore and feed on garbage of all
kinds, some to turnip-fields where they dig holes in the bulbs.
They have also been observed to chase and kill small birds, which,
as near starvation as themselves, have been unable to fly beyond
their reach, and I have even seen a Rook catch a small fish.

I must not conclude this imperfect sketch without noticing a
peculiar habit of Rooks, which is said to portend rain. A flock
will suddenly rise into the air almost perpendicularly, with great
cawing and curious antics, until they have reached a great elevation,
and then, having attained their object, whatever that may be,
drop with their wings almost folded till within a short distance of
the ground, when they recover their propriety, and alight either
on trees or on the ground with their customary grave demeanour.
Occasionally in autumn, as White of Selborne remarks,

Sooth’d by the genial warmth, the cawing Rook

Anticipates the spring, selects her mate,

Haunts her tall nests, and with sedulous care

Repairs her wicker eyrie, tempest torn.
Similar instances of this unseasonable pairing are recorded by
modern ornithologists.

Efforts are sometimes made, and not always unsuccessfully, to
induce Rooks to establish a colony in a new locality. One plan
is to place some eggs taken from a Rook’s nest in that of some large
bird which has happened to build in the desired spot, that of a
Crow for instance, a Magpie, Jackdaw, Jay, or perhaps a Mistle
Thrush. If the young are reared, it is probable that they will return
to breed in the same place in the following year. Another plan
which has been tried with success is to place several bundles of
sticks, arranged in the form of nests, among the highest branches
of the trees which it is desired to colonize. Stray Rooks in quest
of a settlement, mistaking these for ruins of old nests, accept the
invitation and establish themselves if the locality suits them in
other respects.

THE GREAT GREY SHRIKE 73

During 1907-1908 the economic role played by the Rook has been
thoroughly investigated by ornithologists and farmers all over
Hungary, with the results that this bird stands as a friend rather
than a foe to agriculture.

FAMILY LANIID:

DHE GREAT GREY SHRIKE

LANIUS EXCUBITOR
Head, nape, and back, bright ash grey ; a broad black band beneath the eyes ;
under plumage pure white ; wings short, black ; base of the primaries and
tips of the secondaries white ; tail with the two middle feathers black,
and the outer on each side white with a black spot at the base, the rest
black and white; bill and feet black. Female of a more dingy hue
above ; below dull white, the proportion of black in the feathers increas-
ing as they approach the middle ; each feather of the breast terminating
in a crescent-shaped ash grey spot. Length ten inches ; breadth fourteen
inches. Eggs bluish white, spotted at the larger end with two shades of
brown. Sylvan. Young barred below.
THE family of Shrikes, or Butcher-birds, would seem to occupy
an intermediate station between birds of prey and insectivorous
birds. The subject of the present chapter especially, though
little resembling a Hawk in appearance, has, on account of its habits,
some pretension to be ranked among birds of prey ; from which,
however, it differs in the essential particular that, as well as the
rest of the family, it seizes and carries off its prey with its beak
and not with its claws. Although a fairly common visitor from
autumn to spring this Shrike does not breed with us, and is rarer
in Ireland. It derives its name excubitor (sentinel) from its favourite
habit of posting itself on the topmost twig of a poplar or other lofty,
tree, whence it keeps up a watchful look-out, not only for its prey,
but for any bird of the Hawk tribe, against which it wages incessant
and deadly hostility. When it descries one of these birds, which
it does at a great distance, it utters a shriek, as if for the purpose
of giving an alarm, a cry which is instantly repeated by all birds
of the same species which happen to be within hearing. This
antipathy against birds of prey is taken advantage of by fowlers
in France, who, when setting their nets for hawks, take with them
a ‘sentinel’ Shrike and station it near the living bird, which they
employ as a lure. So rapid is the swoop of the Falcon that but for
the warning cry of the Shrike it would descend and carry off its
victim before the fowler had time to close his nets; but the keen
eye of the sentinel detects, and his shrill cry announces, the
approach of his enemy, and the fowler has time to prepare. The
principal food of this bird appears to be mice, frogs, lizards and

74 THE RED-BACKED SHRIKE

insects, especially the stag-beetle and grasshopper, though in its
natural state it will capture and destroy any birds inferior to
itself in strength and courage. Its name Lanius (Latin for
butcher) and Butcher-bird were given to it from its habit
of impaling beetles and small birds on thorns in the vicinity
of its nest. Its flight is peculiar, being composed of a series
of dips, like that of the Wagtail ; and when it quits its perch on
the summit of one tall tree to fly to another, it drops and rises
again so as to form a curve like that of a loose rope hung from two
tall masts. Another peculiarity of the Shrike is a remarkable power
of imitating the song of other birds, which it is said to exercise in
order to obtain its food more easily, by beguiling the nestlings of
the smaller birds into answering it by a chirrup, and so betraying
their retreat. The notes which it has been observed to imitate are
those of the Nightingale, Robin, Swallow, and Stone-chat. Its
proper note is harsh, resembling somewhat that of the Kestrel,
Shake-shake! the call note is truii! Of the Lesser Grey Shrike,
Lanius minor, there have been few occurrences in these Islands.

LESSER GREY SHRIKE
LANIUS MINOR
Grey above: breast and flanks roseate ; wing-bar white.

OF this species only four occurrences recorded until recently
Scilly Islands, Norfolk and Devon.

in

THE RED-BACKED SHRIKE

LANIUS COLLURIO

Head, nape, shoulders and upper tail-coverts ash-grey, a black band reaching
from the gape to beyond the ears; back, scapulars, and wing-coverts
reddish brown; throat white, passing into rose-red on the breast and
flanks ; wings blackish, edged with reddish brown: tail nearly even at
the end, four middle feathers black tipped with reddish grey, the rest
white from the base through two-thirds of their length, the other third
black with a white tip ; second primary longer than the fifth. Pemale—
upper plumage rusty brown, tinged near the nape and tail with ash-
grey ; lower white, the sides barred transversely by narrow curved lines ;
outer webs and tips of the outer tail feathers yellowish white, four middle
ones uniform dusky brown. Length seven inches; breadth eleven
inches. Eggs cream-coloured, greenish, or delicate grey variously
mottled and spotted with light brown and ash-grey.

TuE Red-backed Shrike, though not generally diffused throughout
England, is to certain localities a far from uncommon wanderer,
but for some reason it has been scarce in 1908. In the wooded

THE RED-BACKED SHRIKE 76

districts of the midland and southern counties many specimens
may be annually observed, and the nest is of frequent occurrence.
This is usually placed a few feet from the ground, in the middle
of a thick bush or hedge; and, very unlike that of the rapacious
birds, is a massive, well-built structure of twigs, dry grass, and
moss, lined with hair and fine roots. This bird is called in France
Lécorcheur (the flayer), from the custom ascribed to it of skinning
the bodies of its victims before devouring them. Its habits and
food are similar to those of the last species, and it is said also to
possess the same imitative power. That it impales insects and
even young birds on thorns there can be no doubt as it has been
watched by a competent observer in the very act of thus dealing
with the carcase of a hedge-sparrow.

A professional bird-catcher told how a Red-backed Shrike once
pounced on one of his call-birds (a linnet), and attempted to carry it
off ; but being prevented from doing so by the linnet being fastened to
the ground by a string and wooden peg, the Shrike tore off the head
of its victim, with which it made its escape. The bird-catcher then
drew out from the ground the peg which held down the linnet, and
left the dead bird lying in the net. In about half an hour the
Shrike again appeared, pounced upon the body of the dead linnet,
and carried it off in its beak, with the string and peg hanging to it ;
the weight of the latter was probably the cause of the Shrike not
carrying its prey quite away, as it dropped it after flying about
fifteen yards, when the bird-catcher again picked up the dead
linnet, and replaced it in the net. The Shrike in the meantime
retreated to some neighbouring bushes, from which it soon made
a third pounce upon the nets, this time attacking the second
call-bird, which was a sparrow. On this occasion, however, the
bird-catcher was on the watch, and, drawing his nets, captured the
Shrike, which proved to be an adult female.’ This daring act was
observed late in the month of June, when, perhaps, the courage of
the mother bird was unusually excited by the cravings of her
brood at home, and further stimulated by the impression that the
call-birds were in trouble, and consequently offered an easy prey.

An amiable trait in the character of this Shrike is its attachment
to its mate and young. A female has been known to approach so
close to the cage in which her captured lord was confined, that she
was herself easily taken ; and when a nest of young birds is molested,
both parents defend their offspring with astonishing intrepidity.

The Red-backed Shrike is known to us only as a summer visitor,
departing early in autumn. Its note is a harsh chuck! but the
song of the mate is somewhat pleasant

76 THE WAXWING

WOODCHAT SHRIKE
LANIUS POMERANUS
Forehead and cheeks black ; nape bright rust colour ; back and wings varie-
gated with black, white, and reddish brown; under parts white ; outer
tail feathers white, with a square black spot at the base on the inner web,
the two next with the black spot larger, and on both webs, the two middle
ones wholly black, the rest black tipped with white ; tail slightly rounded ;
second primary equal in length to the fifth. Female—all her colours
dingy ; breast marked transversely with fine brown lines. Length, seven
and a half inches. Eggs bluish white, spotted at the larger end with
brown and ash-grey.
THE habits of this bird, which is a very rare visitant to the British
Isles, differ in no material respect from those of the foregoing
species. On the Continent it is more frequent in the south than
the north, where it frequents trees rather than bushes, and gener-
ally places its nest, which it constructs of twigs, moss, and white
lichen, in the forked branch of an oak. Like the rest of the family
it is migratory, coming and departing at the same time as the other
species.

FAMILY AMPELIDA:

THE WAXWING

AMPELIS GARRULUS

Feathers of the head elongated, forming a crest; upper plumage purplish
red ; lower the same, but of a lighter tint ; throat and lore black ; greater
wing-coverts black, tipped with white ; primaries black, with a yellow
or white angular spot near the extremity, six or eight of the secondaries
and tertiaries having the shaft prolonged and terminating in a substance
resembling red sealing-wax; tail black, tipped with yellow. Length
eight inches. Eggs pale blue, with a few streaks of brown and lilac.

Tue Waxwing is an elegant bird, of about the size of a Thrush.
It visits this country, and in fact every other European country
where it is known at all, at irregular intervals, generally in flocks,
which vary in number from eight or ten to some scores. Thus it
is everywhere a stranger ; and little was known till recently of its
nesting habits. It is perhaps on account of this ignorance of its
natural history, that it has borne a variety of names which are as
inappropriate as possible. Temminck describes it under the name
Bombycivora, or devourer of Bombyx, a large moth, a name quite
unfit for a bird which lives exclusively on fruits and berries. This
was softened into Bombycilla, which means, I presume, a little
Bombyx, though the bird in question is far larger than any known
moth. Its French name /Jaseur, equivalent to the English one,
Chatterer, is quite as inappropriate, as it is singularly silent. In
default of all certain information, then, I venture to surmise that,
coming in parties no one knows whence, and going no one knows

iE SSROME DT ME VGAT GEE: Ti

whither, they may have received the name Bohemian, because
they resemble in their habits the wandering tribes of gipsies, who
were formerly called indifferently Egyptians and Bohemians.
Taken in this sense, the Bohemian or Wandering Waxwing, as it
used to be called, is a name open to no exception. The plumage
of the bird is silky, and that of the head is remarkable for forming
a crest, and being capable of being elevated, as in the Cardinal.
Its black gorget and tiara, the patches of white, yellow, and black
described above, make it very conspicuous for colouring, and the
singularity of its appearance is much increased by the appendages
to its secondaries and tertiaries, which resemble in colour and sub-
stance red sealing-wax. In very old birds these waxen appendages
are also to be found at the extremities of the tail-feathers, being
no more than the shafts of the feathers, condensed with the web.
In its habits the Waxwing resembles the Tits. It feeds on
insects, fruit, berries, and seeds. Its call-note is a twitter, which
it rarely utters, except when taking flight and alighting. The
Waxwing isa northern bird, and Dr. Richardson the Arctic traveller,
informs us that he one day saw a flock, consisting of three or four
hundred birds, alight on one or two trees in a grove of poplars,
making aloud twittering noise. One of its German names, Schnee-
vogel (snowbird), was evidently given in this belief. It is some-
times caught and caged, but has nothing but its beautiful colour-
ing to recommend it. It is a stupid lazy bird, occupied only in
eating and reposing for digestion. Its song is weak and uncertain.

FAMILY MUSCICAPID:

MuscicaPpiIp.£.—Nostri!s more or less covered by bristly hairs.
Dak SPOlMED HEVCATCHEI<

MUSCICAPA GR{SOLA

Upper plumage ash-brown ; feathers of the head marked with a central dark
line ; under parts white, the sides marked with longitudinal brown streaks ;
flanks tinged with red. Length six inches; breadth ten inches. Eggs
bluish white, mottled with reddish spots, which are deepest in colour
towards the larger end.

THERE are few birds with whose haunts and habits we are more
familiar than those of the common Flycatcher. In the wooded
parts of England there is scarcely a country house, perhaps, which
has not in its neighbourhood at least a single pair of these birds,
who, though their stay with us is but short, become as necessary
appendages of the garden during the summer months as the Red-
breast is in winter. They have neither song to recommend them
nor brilliancy of colouring ; yet the absence of these qualities is

78 THE SPODTED] BEMCGATEEHETR

more than compensated by the confidence they repose in the inno-
cent intentions of the human beings whose protection they claim,
by their strong local attachments, and by their unceasing activity
in the pursuit of flying insects. At any time during the months of
June, July, and August, in most country and suburban gardens,
one may observe perched on a railing, standard rose, or the low
branch of an apple-tree, a small brownish bird, with a speckled
breast, about the size of a Sparrow, but more slender in form, taking
no notice of human beings, but nevertheless evidently on the look-
out for something. Suddenly it darts from its position, flies rapidly
forwards for a few yards, performs an evolution in the air, and
returns either to the exact spot which it had previously occupied
or to a similar one hard by. After a rest of a few seconds, it per-
forms the same manceuyre, and always with the same object and
success. Every time it quitted its perch, some ill-fated fly or beetle
was discovered, winging its way through the air, and captured to
be devoured on the spot, or to form part of a pellet of insect food for
a hungry nestling. The nest, composed of moss, straws, and hair, and
lined with feathers, is usually placed either against a wall, hidden
by the leaves of a trained fruit-tree, or on the horizontal bough of
astandard apple-tree. During the year 1859, a pair of these birds
had taken up their quarters in my own garden in a situation such
as that first described, but becoming dissatisfied with the locality
even after the nest had received its complement of eggs—five—
deserted it, and built another nest in an apple-tree a few yards off,
choosing a position on a short branch, where their workmanship
was concealed from the sight of passengers by a cluster of large
apples. The bough overhung a path by which many persons passed
to and fro every day; but the nest was built, and the old birds
hatched their eggs, neither noticed nor noticing, until one day when
I happened to stop underneath, upon which the bird took flight,
and so revealed her place of retreat. [I do not mention this incident
as anything remarkable, but simply to exemplify the habits of the
bird when it has taken up its residence in a frequented garden,
and in contrast with its treatment of intruders when it has chosen
a more secluded spot for a home. <A few days after, I happened
to be fly-fishing on the bank of a stream close to which grew some
tall elm-trees. Under one of these I was pursuing my amusement,
when a flycatcher darted from a tree on the opposite side of the
stream, and flew so close to my face that to dip my head out of the
way was unavoidable. Thesame movement was repeated again and
again, making it impossible for me to persist. Suspecting that
there was a nest somewhere very near me, I looked up and dis-
covered, within a few inches of my head, a nest built against the
bole of the tree, and containing four or five nearly fledged young
ones, whose heads and breasts projected considerably beyond the
edge of their mossy cradle. As I moved away, the parent bird

Pied Flycatcher ¢ imm.d Spotted Flycatcher
Greenfinch 3 young 2 Waxwing J 3S [p. 78.

AMEND) IETDID) TMLNAOYNING BUS IRe 79

hopped about uneasily in a neighbouring tree, uttering its mono-
tonous and unmusical chirrup, but molested me no further. It
would seem then that the garden bird, grown familiar with the
human form, was unsuspicious of danger, while the other, who had
not been accustomed to see her sanctuary approached, immediately
took alarm. It is supposed that the same birds are in the habit of
returning annually to their old resort. Both the above incidents
tend to give weight to this opinion: one of the birds having been
reared, probably in the garden, and so having been accustomed to
the sight of men from the first; the other having been always
a recluse. The fact which fell under my own notice, that a nest
was built, anda brood reared for three successive years in exactly
the same spot, is, I think, conclusive evidence that either the same
birds or their immediate descendants were the architects, it
being scarcely credible that three several pairs of birds should
have- fixed on the same spot by accident. Mr. Denham Weir
has observed that the Spotted Flycatcher consumes only a
day and a half in the construction of its nest, and that a pair of
birds which he watched fed their young no less than five hundred
and thirty-seven times in one day, beginning at twenty-five minutes
before four o’clock in the morning, and ending at ten minutes before
nine in the evening. The young birds assume the adult plumage
in their first year, and soon learn to hawk for their prey as well as
their parents. I have recorded elsewhere an instance in which the
parent birds contrived to feed a disabled young one after it had
left the nest. The Flycatcher arrives in England about the end
of April, and leaves about the end of September.

PEEP Darby CARCI
MUSCICAPA ATRICAPILLA

Upper plumage and tail black, the wings black, with the central coverts white ;

,

scapulars edged with white; under plumage white. In the female the
black is replaced by greyish brown, the white is dingy, and the three
lateral tail feathers are edged with white. Length five inches. Eggs
pale blue, generally without spots.
THE Pied Flycatcher, so called from its feathers being varied with
black and white, is a smaller bird than the preceding, and by no
means so common, being very local as a breeder. It appears, indeed,
to be mainly confined to the northern counties of England, where
it arrives about the middle of April, and builds its nest of dry leaves,
small roots, grass, and a little hair, loosely put together, in the hole
of a tree. There it lays from five to seven pale blue eggs, very
like, both in size and colour, those of the Redstart, which it also
much resembles in habits. It has more claim to be considered a
songster than the Spotted Flycatcher. In places where it is frequent
it is often observed to settle on the decayed stump of a tree, con-

80 THE SWALLOW

stantly repeating its short, little varied, but far from unpleasing
song, every now and then interrupted by the pursuit and capture
of some passing insect. It is said also to be very noisy and clamorous
when its nest is approached. It quits our shores in September.

FAMILY HIRUNDINIDA

THE SWALLOW

HIRUNDO RUSTICA

Forehead and throat chestnut-brown ; upper parts, sides of the neck, and a
bar across the breast black, with violet reflections ; lower parts dull red-
dish white; tail very long and forked. Female—with less red on the
forehead and less black on the breast ; under parts whiter; outer tail-
feathers shorter. Length six inches and a half, width thirteen inches and
a quarter. Eggs white, spotted with brown and dark red.

THERE are many features in the life of the Swallow so prominent,
that no undomesticated bird is more thoroughly known. Like
the Sparrow, it accompanies man wherever he fixes his dwelling ;
» but, unlike the Sparrow, it is hable to be mistaken for no other bird ;

its flight is peculiar and all but ceaseless ; at least, it is rarely seen
except in motion; and it is absent during the greater portion of
the year,so giving to itself a twofold notoriety, being regretted at
the season of its departure and welcomed at its return. These
three circumstances, its migratory habits, its mode of flight, and
attachment to the dwellings of man, have been the cause why, in
all ages, it has been invested with especial interest. Its return is
universally greeted as prophetic of summer weather; the very
proverb that ‘ one Swallow does not make a summer ’, only indicates
a popular belief; and its departure is among the first intimations
of approaching winter. The Swallow consequently is the type of
migratory birds; if the Swallow is come, all take it for granted
that the other summer birds have arrived, and when its twitter is
no longer heard, we know that all the other birds of passage are
gone or going. Of the Swallow, therefore, it is said pre-eminently,
‘God sends us the Swallow in the first days of summer, to relieve
us of the insects which the summer suns are calling into life. The
home of the Swallow is all the habitable earth; it knows nothing
of winter or winter’s cold.” In remote ages the Swallow was con-
sidered to be endowed with supernatural intelligence ; it refused
to build its nest in a certain town because it was polluted with
crime ; in another, because it had been frequently burnt down ; it
foretold tempests ; and, above all, it was noted for having taught
men the healing properties of a certain herb,! by employing it to

1 Chelidonium ; Celandine or Swallow-wort, from xedav, ‘a Swallow’.

THE SWALLOW 81

give sight to its young. Not only was it thus skilled in the healing
art, but was in itself a medicine of no ordinary virtue. Even in
the time of our countryman Ray, not two hundred years ago, its
efficacy in various complaints was seriously believed: the whole
body burnt was considered a specific for weak eyes, quinsy and
inflamed uvula ; the heart was prescribed in epilepsy and in quartan
ague, it was good also for strengthening the memory ; the blood
was good for the eyes, especially if drawn from under the right
wing : a little stone sometimes found in the stomach of young birds,
called chelidonius, tied to the arm, or hung around the neck, was a
remedy against children’s fits. This was to be searched for before
or at the August full moon, in the eldest of a brood. Even the nest
had its virtues, being, if applied externally, good for quinsy, redness
of the eyes, and the bite of a viper.

A century later ‘ good old White’ published his account of the
Swallow, to which the reader is referred as an admirable model
of bird-biography, not only for the age, but as an authentic history
full of fresh interest to the reader in all ages. The only point on
which White had doubts was whether Swallows all migrate, or
whether some of the young do not occasionally stay behind, and
hibernate in hollow trees, holes of rocks, and the banks of pools
and rivers. Individuals are said to occasionally remain, perhaps
in consequence of having been disabled by accident at the season
when the migratory instinct was in its active force, or from some
other cause unknown to us. Several instances of such have been
recorded by authors who, whether accurate observers or not, cer-
tainly believed that they were reporting truly. That they were seen
only on warm days is of course no evidence that they had been
roused from a state of torpor by the unusual warmth. Sunny days
in winter tempt people to walk abroad and to resort to the same
places which winter-gnats would choose for their gambols. Here,
too, the stray Swallow would be found ; but in dark stormy weather
the gnats and the Swallow would stay at home, and the ornithologist
would have little temptation to do otherwise. I happen to be my-
self among the number of those who on personal evidence believe
that individual Swallows do remain in England long after the period
of general migration. I was walking through a limestone quarry
at Saltram on the bank of the Plym, in Devonshire, many years ago,
on the twenty-fourth of December, when I saw a Swallow, whether
a Chimney Swallow or Martin, I cannot positively affirm, wheeling
about, and evidently hawking for gnats near the face of the cliff.
The season was a mild one, the air still, and the sun shining brightly
against the limestone rocks, from which much heat was reflected.
That the bird had been kept in captivity until the migratory season
had passed and then released is not probable. On any other
supposition it must have remained either of its own free will, which
is not likely, or from incapacity to accompany its congeners. Left

B.B G

82 THE SWALLOW

alone it probably found a sheltered retreat in the face of the cliff,
and sallied forth whenever the weather was inviting, making the
most of the short days, and, on the finest, contenting itself with a
scanty meal. The temperature of the west of England in winter
it is quite able to bear; in fact, it is not uncommon there for a
whole winter to pass without any weather so severe as that which
has characterized the whole of the present April (1860), though
Swallows have returned, and contrive to find food enough to keep
themselves alive. If. therefore, the bird which I saw managed to
live on till Christmas Eve, there is no reason why it should not
survive the whole of the winter. But as ‘one Swallow does not
make a spring ’, so neither is one sufficient to upset a theory. There
remains, therefore, the rule with the one exception to prove it, that
Swallows do migrate. A full account of all that has since been learnt
of the Swallow’s history will be found in Yarrell’s British Birds.
For the sake of reference only I will add a short summary of what
I may term its statistics. The Swallow is a migratory bird wherever
it is found, that is in most of the countries of Europe, Asia,
and Africa. The first Swallows arrive in this country about the
eleventh of April, and are followed by others at various intervals,
until the middle or end of May. On their arrival, they resort to
those places which, being most sheltered, abound most in winged
insects, these being frequently the courses of rivers and canals.
As the season advances, they spread themselves more generally
over the country, still, however, being most numerous in the vicinity
of water. In May they build their shallow open nests of mud and
straw lined with feathers, a few feet down a chimney, in an outhouse,
a bell-tower, the shaft of a deserted mine, or any other place which
is at once dry and dark, rarely in more exposed places. They lay
four or five eggs, and rear two or three broods in a season. The
young being, from the usual situation of the nest, unable to leave
their nursery until they are fully fledged, require to be fed a long
time, but they continue to be, partially at least, dependent on the
parent birds for many days after they have learnt to hawk for
themselves. The process of feeding is carried on while both old
and young are on the wing; or the young, perched on the top of
a house or the branch of a tree, receive in turn the morsels which
their more skilful parents have caught for them. In autumn,
many days before migration is actually about to take place, Swal-
lows, old and young, assemble in large flocks, especially towards
evening, and roost on trees in the vincinity of water. At this season
they seem to be more socially disposed, even during the day, than
at any other period of their sojourn withus. In October they take
their departure collectively, and so strongly is the migratory instinct
then in force, that it overcomes parental affection, powerful though
this feeling is in the Swallow ; some of the late broods being left
behind,

THE HOUSE MARTIN 83

THE HOUSE MARTIN

CHEL{DON URBICA

Head, nape and upper part of the back, black with violet reflections ; lower

part of the back, and all the under parts, pure white; feet and toes covered

with downy feathers ; tail forked, moderate. Length five inches and a

half. Eggs pure white.
THE swallows and the Martins are so much alike in their leading
habits, namely, migration, mode of flight, and food, that a descrip-
tion of either will in many respects be applicable to the other. The
House Martin generally arrives a few days after the Swallow, and
resorts to similar localities. In the early part of the season the most
sheltered places are sought out, and the two species may frequently
be seen hawking for flies in company. Later in the season its num-
bers are observed to be greatly increased, and it is joined by the
Swift and Sand Martin. Not that any society is entered into by
the different species, or that they even sport together; but one
may often stand on the bank of a canal, or by the margin of a pond,
and see all four kinds glance by in varied succession, and in pro-
portions which differ according as one or the other is most abundant
in the neighbourhood. Acute listeners can, it is said, hear a snap-
ping noise made by the bird as it closes its beak on a captured insect,
but I must confess that though I have often tried to detect this sound,
I have never succeeded. Swift as their passage is, and similar though
the flight of all the species, no difficulty is found in distinguishing
them. The Chimney-Swallow is sufficiently marked by its long
forked tail and red chin; the House Martin by the snow-white
hue of its abdomen and lower part of the back, and by its shorter
tail, which is also forked ; the Sand Martin by its smaller size, its
greyish brown back and dirty-white under plumage, as well as by
its shorter, slightly forked tail ; and the Swift can be distinguished
at any distance by its shape, which resembles a bent bow, with the
body representing an arrow ready to be shot. On a nearer view,
the Swift is marked by its general black hue relieved only by a spot
of white on the chin, which it requires a sharp eye to detect. All
the species have the power of suddenly, and with the greatest
rapidity, altering their course by a slight movement of the wings
and tail.

Immediately on its arrival in this country, the Martin pays a
visit to its old dwelling, clings to its walls, peeps in or even enters
many times a day. It has been proved by several experiments,
that the same birds return year after year to their old nests, and
it is hard to believe, so thoroughly delighted do they seem, that
they are guided simply by an impassive instinct. If so, why should
they hang about the ‘old house at home’ so many days before
they begin to set in order again the future nursery ? No elaborate
plans of alterations and improvements are to be devised; last

84 THE SAND MARTIN

year’s family are launched on the world, and are quite equal to
building for their own accommodation. No collecting of materials
is requisite. The muddy edge of the nearest pond will provide
plaster enough and to spare to carry out all necessary repairs ;
shreds of straw are to be had for the picking up, and farmyard
feathers are as plentiful as of yore. It would seem then a reasonable
conclusion, that a bird endowed with an instinct powerful enough
to guide it across the ocean, and a memory sufficiently powerful
to lead it to the snug window corner of the same cottage where it
reared its first brood, may live in the past as well as the present,
and that its seeming joyousness is a reality, even mixed perhaps
with hopeful anticipations of the future.

As the reader may, if he will, have ample opportunity of watch-
ing the habits of a bird that probably builds its nest under the
eaves of his own house, whether he dwell in a town, a village, or a
lonely cottage, it is unnecessary to enter into further details of its
biography.

THE SAND MARTIN
COTILE RIPARIA

All the upper parts, cheeks, and a broad bar on the breast, mouse-colour ;
throat, fore part of the neck, abdomen, and under tail-coverts white ;
legs and feet naked with the exception of a few small feathers near the
insertion of the hind toe; tail forked, rather short. Length five inches.
Eggs pure white.

WHILE all the other British species of Swallow resort from choice
to the haunts of man, the Sand or Bank Martin is indifferent about
the matter. Provided that it can find a convenient place for ex-
cavating its nest, other considerations are omitted. It is said to
be partial to the vicinity of water, but even this selection is rather
to be attributed to the accidental circumstance that perpendicular -
cliffs often have rivers running at their base, than to any decided
preference shown by the bird for such situations. Railway cuttings
carried through a sandy district offer, perhaps, equal attraction ;
and it is probable that a majority of the colonies planted within the
last twenty years overlook, not the silent highway of the river, but
the unromantic parallel bars of iron which have enabled man to vie
almost with the Swallow in rapidity of flight. The word colonies
is applicable to few British birds besides the Sand Martin. Others
of the tribe not unfrequently construct their nests in close proximity
with each other, and, when thus associated, are most neighbourly
—hunting in society, sporting together, and making common
cause against an intrusive Hawk ; but still this is no more than a
fortuitous coming together.

It so happens that a certain district offers good hunting-ground,

Swift 9?
Sand Martin 9

Swallow 3 House Martin [face p. 84.

THE SAND MARTIN 85

and the eaves or windows of a certain house are peculiarly well
adapted for sheltering nests; so a number of Window Martins,
not having taken counsel together, but guided each by independent
choice, find themselves established sometimes so close together
that their nests have party walls, like the houses in a street. They
accordingly make acquaintances, and are sociable to a limited
extent. But Sand Martins go beyond this, they are comrades
banded together by municipal laws, which no doubt they under-
stand and obey, inhabiting dwellings which constitute a joint settle-
ment, returning without fail to the familiar haunt after every
annual migration, or if they desert a station, leaving no stragglers
behind, and pitching their camp anew in some locality which
common consent has pronounced to be an eligible one. They are
not, however, exclusive in their fraternization; as they hunt in
society with their relatives the Swifts and Swallows, and even
accompany them in distant flights. I have repeatedly observed
Sand Martins flying about with others of the same tribe many miles
away from their homes. They may readily be distinguished, as I
have stated before, by their dingy mouse-coloured hue, smaller
size, and less forked tails. I have never had an opportunity of
watching a colony engaged in their mining operations at the busy
period of their year, that of nidification ; but from the description
by Professor Rennie (bird Architecture) and that by Mr. R. D.
Duncan, quoted by Macgillivray, the sight must be most interesting.
The task of the older birds must be a light one ; not so, however,
that of the younger members of the flock. The former have neither
walls nor roofs to repair ; the holes which served them as nests the
previous year afford the same accommodation as before. All that
is needed is, that the remains of the old nest should either be re-
moved or receive the addition of a few straws and feathers to protect
the eggs and young from direct contact with the cold sand ; their
labours then are over. But the new colonists have a toilsome work
to perform before they can enjoy the gratification of bringing up
a family. The settlement is fixed probably in the perpendicular
face of a bank of sand, gravel, or clay, at an elevation from the
ground which varies from a few to a great many feet. Their claws
are sharp and well adapted for clinging, the beak short, rigid, and
pointed, no less well suited for excavating. Grasping the perpendi-
cular surface of the bank with their claws, and steadying themselves
by means of their tails, they commence operations by pricking a small
hole with their bills. This hole they gradually enlarge by moving
round and round, and edging off the sand with the side of their
bills, which they keep shut. Their progress is slow at first, but
after they have made room to stand on the excavation, they proceed
rapidly, still working with their bills, and carefully pushing out the
loosened sand with their feet. At one time the male, at another
the female, is the excavator. When their burrowing is impeded

e

86 THE GREENFINCH

by the resistance of a stone, they either dig round it and loosen it,
or, if it prove so large as to defy removal, they desist and begin
another cell. The form of the hole varies both in size and shape,
but it rarely exceeds three or four inches in diameter, and more
or less approaches the circular form. The depth varies from a
few inches to three feet, and the direction seems to depend on the
nature of the soil encountered. In all, however, the extremity
of the hole is enlarged to a diameter of five or six inches, and is
situated above the level of the entrance, so that no rain-water
can lodge. The work is performed only in the mornings, and is
consequently carried over several days. The nest itself consists
of straws of grass and feathers, and is placed in the terminal cham-
ber. The eggs are five or six in number, pure white, and of a rather
long shape.

FAMILY FRINGILLIDA

THE GREENFINCH
LIGURINUS CHLORIS

All the plumage yellowish green, variegated with yellow and ash-grey. Length
six inches. Eggs bluish white, speckled and spotted with purplish grey
and dark brown.

THE Greenfinch, or Green Linnet, is one of our most generally dif-

fused birds. No bird is a more frequent inhabitant of country gar-

dens during the summer than this, being attracted, it would seem,
not so much by the prospect of abundance of food, as by its fond-
ness for building its nest in evergreens and the thick hedges of
shrubberies. The lively greenish yellow tint of the plumage on its
throat and breast sufficiently distinguish it from any other British
bird ; and its note, when once identified, can be confounded with
no other song. Let any one who wishes to obtain a sight of one,
walk anywhere in the country where there are trees, on a bright
sunny day in May or June, and listen for a monotonous long-drawn
croak, trying to pronounce the syllable ‘ fwe-e-e’ or ‘ bree-eze’.

No matter what other birds may be tuning their lays, the harsh

monotone of the Greenfinch, if one be near, will be heard among

them, harmonizing with none, and suggestive of heat and weariness.

In a few seconds it will be repeated, without a shadow of variation

either in tone or duration ; and if it be traced out, the author of the

noise (music I cannot call it) will be discovered perched among the
branches of a moderately high tree, repeating his mournful ditty
with extreme complacency for an hour together. Very often he
takes advantage of the midday silence of the groves, and pipes
away without any other competitor than the Yellow Hammer,
whose song, like his own, is a constant accompaniment of sultry

THE HAWFINCH 87

weather. The Greenfinch has another note which is heard most
frequently, but not exclusively, in spring. This is a single plaintive
chirp which may be easily imitated by human whistling ; it re-
sembles somewhat one of the call-notes of the Canary-bird or Brown
Linnet, and, being full and sweet, harmonizes with the woodland
chorus far better than the monotonous croak described above.
Another of the notes is a double one, and closely resembles that
of the ‘ Pee-wit’, hence it is called in some places ‘ Pee-sweep ’.
The Greenfinch builds its nest, when not among evergreens, in
some tall thick bush either in a hedge or coppice. Less neatly
finished than that of the Chaffinch, it is nevertheless a beautiful
structure. It is composed externally of a framework of light twigs
and roots, interleaved with moss and wool, to which succeeds a
denser layer of the same materials lined with hair. It lays five
eggs, which are of a light grey colour, almost white, variously
speckled with purple, and of a long shape. In winter, Greenfinches
congregate in large numbers, and feed together on the seeds of
various weeds in stubble fields, or not unfrequently they descend
on newly-sown fields of wheat, where they are very troublesome.
If disturbed, they rise simultaneously, fly rapidly only a few feet
from the ground to another part of the field, but before they alight
wheel about several times with singular precision of movement,
disappearing from the sight and reappearing according as the dark
or light portion of their plumage is turned towards the spectator ;
‘and by this peculiarity they may be distinguished from flocks of
of other small birds at a great distance. If repeatedly disturbed,
they alter their tactics, and take refuge in the top branches of the
neighbouring trees until their persecutor has turned his back,
when they return to the charge with the same perseverance which
they display in the repetition of their summer song. These flocks,
probably, are composed of individuals which have banded together
in some more northern climate, and emigrated southwards in quest
of food; for smaller parties, either unmixed, or associated with
Sp. rows, Chaffinches, and Buntings, frequent our farmyards and
gardens in undiminished numbers.

THE HAWFINCH
COCCOTHRAUSTES VULGARIS

Lore, throat, and plumage at the base of the bill black ; crown and cheeks
reddish brown ; nape ash-grey ; back dark reddish brown ; wings black,
great coverts white; some of the quills truncated at the extremity ;
under parts light purplish red ; tail short. Length seven inches. Eggs
light olive-green, with a few brown spots and numerous irregular lines
of a lighter tint.

JupcGINnG from its conformation, one would, without knowing any-
thing of the habits of this bird, pronounce it to be a professor of

88 THE GOLDEINGE

some laborious occupation. Its short tail and wings unfit it for
long aerial voyages, and its thick neck and ponderous bill denote the
presence of great muscular power, and such, indeed, it both has
and requires. It is not a common bird, and was until within the
last few years considered to be migratory ; but so many instances
have occurred in whichits nest has been found, that no doubt is now
entertained of its being a constant resident. In Berkshire I have
several times seen two or three together busily occupied in picking
up the seeds which had fallen from the cones of a spruce fir. On
one occasion a nest was brought to me by a man who had found it
built on some twigs which grew from the trunk of a tall oak-tree ;
it was built of the tangled white lichens which grow on trees, on a
foundation of a few roots, and contained five eggs. I afterwards
discovered another nest of exactly similar structure, which I be-
lieved must have been built by the same bird, but it was empty.
In Hertfordshire a single Hawfinch visited my garden one winter
for several days in succession, and diligently picked up and cracked
the stones of laurel cherries, from which Blackbirds had, a few
months before, as busily stripped the pulp. Inthe cherry orchards
in the neighbourhood they are not uncommon, where, even if not
seen, their visits are detected by the ground being strewed with
halves of cherry-stones, which these birds split with their powerful
beaks as cleverly as a workman with the chisel. Their note I
have never heard, but the proprietor of the orchards assured me that
he had often detected their presence by the low twittering noise which
they made, a description the truth of which a writer quoted by
Yarrell confirms. I have never seen a nest in Hertfordshire, but
on several occasions have observed their eggs among the collections
made by the country boys in the neighbourhood. Besides cherry-
stones, Hawfinches feed on hazelnuts, hornbeam seeds, the kernels
of the fruit of the hawthorn, seeds of various kinds, and, when they
can get them, green peas, for the sake of which they often venture
into gardens. They usually build their nests in trees at an
elevation varying from twenty-five to thirty feet, and the nest is
composed of dead twigs, intermixed with pieces of grey lichen ;
this last material varying much in quantity in different nests, but
being never absent.

THE GOLDFINCH

CARDUELIS ELEGANS

Back of the head, nape, and feathers round the base of the bill black ; fore-
head and throat blood-red ; cheeks, forepart of the neck and lower parts
white ; back and scapulars dark brown ; wings variegated with black,
white and yellow; tail black, tipped with white. Length five inches.
Eges bluish white, speckled with pale purple and brown.

Turs little bird, as sprightly in its habits as it is brilliant in its colour-

THE GOLDFINCH 89

ing, is perhaps a more general favourite than any other British
bird. Though in its natural state less familiar with man than the
Redbreast, and inferior as a musician to the Lark, the Thrush, and
others of our resident birds, it is more frequent as a caged bird than
either, and thus is known to tens of thousands of city folk who
never heard the wild song of the Thrush, nor saw a Redbreast under
any circumstances. In a cage it is attractive from its lively move-
ments, its agreeable song, and yet more from its docility, as it not
only is readily tamed, but may be taught to perform various tricks
and manceuvres utterly repugnant to the nature of birds. Its
affection, too, for its owner is not less remarkable. Of this many
instances are, I doubt not, familiar to the reader ; but the following
is not so well known. There was some years since in a small town,
about twelve leagues from Paris, a tame Goldfinch, which belonged
to a carrier, and which for many years regularly accompanied his
master twice a week to and from the metropolis. At first it used
to content itself with perching on the driver’s seat, and from time
to time flying a short distance ahead, or gambolling with other
birds of the same kind that it encountered on the way. By and
by it seemed to grow dissatisfied with the slow pace of the wagon,
and took long flights in advance, still returning from time to time
to its accustomed perch. At length, becoming more enterprising,
it would leave its master in the lurch, and fly in advance the whole
of the way, and announce his approach at the house in the city
where he put up. If the weather was stormy, it would quietly
await his arrival, taking up its quarters by the fireside ; but if the
weather was fine, it would, after making a brief stay, return to
meet him. At every meeting, caresses and congratulations were
exchanged, as fondly as if they had been separated for years. This
romantic attachment was at length terminated by the disappearance
of the bird, but whether through the instrumentality of a cat, a
Hawk, or some mischievous boy, was never discovered.

Whatever doubt may exist as to the services rendered to man
by the Sparrow and Chaffinch, about the Goldfinch there can be no
difference of opinion. The farmer has no better friend, and yet
an abundance of Goldfinches on an estate is anything but a welcome
sight ; for it denotes abundance of its favourite food, the seeds of
thistles. Where these weeds flourish, there, for the most part,
Goldfinches are to be met with in considerable numbers. The
French name, Chardonneret, denotes ‘a frequenter of thistles’,
and the ancient Greek and Latin name for it, Acanthis, is of similar
import ; the Acanthis, Pliny tells us,t bears animosity against no
living creature but the donkey, a beast which eats the flowers of
thistles, and so deprives it of its food. To this dietary it adds
the seeds of dandelions, centaury and other weeds, but shows a
decided preference for the seeds of the compound flowers. Its

1 Nat. Hist., lib. x., cap. xxiv.

90 THE SISKIN

nest is among the most beautiful that birds construct. One now
before me is placed among the terminal branches cut from the
bough of a Scotch fir which grew at an elevation of about twenty
feet from the ground. It is encircled by upwards of a dozen leafy
twigs which unite beneath its base, and form botha firm support and
effectual shelter. The substance is composed of tufted white lichens
(Usnea and Evernia), and a few fine roots and wiry stems of garden-
thyme, felted together with wool so securely, that it is scarcely
possible to remove one of them without damaging the whole. With
these is intermixed a piece of worsted, and a thread of sewing cotton ;
a few horse-hairs succeed, and the whole of the interior is thickly
matted with the white silky down of the coltsfoot. Other nests
vary in the materials employed, moss being sometimes used instead
of white lichen, and willow-cotton or feathers instead of the down
of the coltsfoot. Thistle-down is sometimes named as the material
of the lining ; but this must be under unusual circumstances, that
substance being generally unattainable in spring. Besides fir-trees,
the apple and elm are often selected by Goldfinches to build their
nests in, and they not unfrequently resort to any low tree in a hedge
or shrubbery, also to young oak-trees. In autumn, Goldfinches
assemble in flocks of from ten to twenty or more, and resort to waste
places, or the borders of fields, where thistles abound, and it is hard
to imagine a prettier sight than a party of these innocent and bril-
liant hunters, perching, all heedless of spines and prickles, on the
thistle heads, plucking out the seeds with the pappus attached,
and cleverly separating the former from their appendage. While
thus employed, they seem to take it for granted that no one will
molest them, but continue their useful labour, twittering pleasantly
all the while, until the spectator comes within a few yards of them,
when they fly off like butterflies to another prickly bed.

Owing to more efficient bird-protection the Goldfinch, which
was decreasing largely in numbers, is now on the increase again.

THE SISKIN
CARDUELIS SPINUS

Crown black ; behind the eye a broad yellow streak ; all the plumage varie-
gated with grey, dusky, and various shades of yellow and yellowish
green ; wings dusky, with a transverse greenish yellow bar, and a black
one above, ‘and another black one across the middle of the tertiaries ;
tail dusky, the base and edge of the inner web greenish yellow. Female—
all the colours less bright, “and no black on the head. Length four and
ahalfinches. Eggs greyish white, speckled with purplish brown.

THE Siskin, or Aberdevine, is best known as a cage-bird, as it is
only a very occasional breeder in Great Britain, and during the

THE SISKIN gI

period of its stay is retiring in its habits. Siskins are more fre-
quently met with in the northern than the southern counties of
England, but they are common in neither, and will only nest where
pine woods abound. They are generally observed to keep together in
small flocks of from twelve to fifteen, and may be heard from a
considerable distance, as they rarely intermit uttering their call-
note, which, though little more than a soft twittering, is as clear
as that of the Bullfinch, to which it has been compared. Their
flight is rapid and irregular, like that of the Linnet. They leave
their roosting-places early in the morning, and usually alight on
the branches of alder-trees, where they remain all day. The seeds
of the alder, inclosed within scales something like those of the
coniferous trees, form the principal food of these pretty little birds,
who are obliged to hang at the extremities of the twigs in order
to explore the seed-vessels on all sides. Occasionally, but less
frequently, they are seen visiting heads of thistles and burdocks,
and not unfrequently they descend to the ground for the sake of
picking up scattered seeds. During the whole of their feeding
time, they never cease twittering and fluttering about joyously from
twig to twig. Now and then, as if by preconcerted signal given
by a leader, they all take flight to another tree or, after a short
evolution, return to the same from which they started. Should
it happen that, while one little band is occupied in despoiling a
tree, another is heard in the air, the latter is immediately invited
by general acclamation to take part in the banquet, and rarely
fails to accept the invitation. Owing to this sociability of character
they are easily entrapped, provided that one of their own species
be employed as a decoy bird. They soon become reconciled to
captivity, and are valued for their readiness to pair with the Canary-
bird, the note of which the joint offspring is thought to improve.
The nest, which in some respects resembles those of the Green-
finch and Chaffinch, is concealed with great care in the fork formed
by two branches of a fir, with which it is so skilfully made to assimi-
late, that it is almost impossible to discern it from below. In
France, Siskins are most numerous from the middle of October to
the beginning of December. They are then supposed to travel
southwards, and appear again, but in greatly diminished numbers,
in spring, at which period they are considered to be travelling
towards their summer quarters in Russia and Scandinavia.

g2 THE HOUSE SPARROW

THE HOUSE SPAKROW
PASSER DOMESTICUS

Crown and back of the head dark bluish ash; lore, throat and front of the
neck black; above the eyes a band of uniform reddish brown, inter-
mixed with a few small white feathers; upper feathers dark brown,

edged with reddish brown ; a single transverse white bar on the wing ;

cheeks, sides of the neck, and under parts greyish white. Female—
head, nape, neck, and breast ash-brown ; above the eve a light yellowish
brown streak ; rest of the plumage less bright. Length five inches and
three-quarters. Eggs white, spotted and speckled with dark grey and
brown.
Wuat were the haunts of the Sparrow at the period when men
dwelt in tents, and there were neither farmhouses nor villages, much
less towns and cities, it were hard to say. Certain it is now that
thoroughly wild Sparrows are not to be met with in districts remote
from human dwellings and cultivation; they have left the hill-
side and forest as if by common consent, and have pitched their
tents where man builds, or ploughs, or digs, and nowhere else. In
the city, the seaport town, the fishing village, the hamlet, the farm-
house, nay, near the cot on the lone waste and by the roadside
smithy, they are always present, varying in the amount of con-
fidence they place in their patrons, but all depending on man to
a certain extent. And not only do they court his society, but
they have adopted his diet. Whatever is the staple food of a
household, the Sparrows that nestle around will be right pleased to
share it; bread, meat, potatoes, rice, pastry, raisins, nuts, if they
could have these for the asking, they would not trouble themselves
to search farther ; but obliged, as they are, to provide for them-
selves, they must be content with humble fare ; and so skilful are
they as caterers, that whatever other birds may chance to die of
starvation, a Sparrow is always round and plump, while not a few
have paid for their voracity by their lives. Much difference of
opinion exists as to whether Sparrows should be courted by man
as allies, or exterminated as enemies. The best authorities on
this point have come to the conclusion that their numbers must
be lessened, and that the most humane way to do this is to tear down
nests before the young are hatched out. The fact that great
efforts are at the present time being made to introduce them into
New Zealand, where the corn crops suffer great injury from the
attacks of insects, which the presence of Sparrows would, it is
believed, materially check, leads to the conclusion that their mission
is one of utility. That Sparrows consume a very large quantity
of corn in summer there can be no doubt ; as soon as the grain has
attained its full size, and long before it is ripe, they make descents
on the standing corn, and if undisturbed will clear so effectually
of their contents the ears nearest to the hedges, that this portion
of the crop is sometimes scarcely worth the threshing. During

THE HOUSE SPARROW 93

harvest they transfer their attention to the sheaves, while the reapers
and binders are occupied elsewhere; as gleaners they are inde-
fatigable ; they participate, too, in the joys of harvest home,
for their food is then brought to their very doors. The most
skilful binder leaves at least a few ears exposed at the wrong end
of the sheaf, and these are searched for diligently in the rick ;
and the barns must be well closed indeed into which they cannot
find admission. At threshings and winnowings they are constant
attendants, feeding among the poultry, and snatching up the
scattered grains under the formidable beak of Chanticleer himself.
At seed-time their depredations are yet more serious, as they now
come in not simply for a share of the produce but undermine the
very foundations of the future crop. I once had the curiosity
to examine the crop of a Sparrow which had been shot as it flew
up from a newly-sown field, and found no less than forty-two grains
of wheat. A writer in the Zoologist, who professes himself a
deadly enemy of the Sparrow, states that he once took 180 grains
of good wheat from the crops of five birds, giving an average of
thirty-six for a meal. Now if Sparrows had the opportunity of
feeding on grain all the year round, they would be unmitigated
pests, and a war of extermination against them could not be waged
too vigorously ; but during the far greater portion of the year
they have not the power of doing mischief, and all this time they
have to find food for themselves. Against their will, perhaps,
they now hunt for the seeds of various weeds, especially the wild
mustard ; and these being smaller than grains of corn and less
nutritive, they consume an immense number of them, varying their
repast with myriads of caterpillars, wireworms, and other noxious
grubs ; also they devour small beetles (called hay-chaffers) when the
hay lies in swathes on the field. They thus compensate, certainly
in part, perhaps wholly, for the mischief they do at other seasons ;
and it is even questionable whether, if a balance were struck
between them and the agriculturists, the obligation would not be
on the side of the latter.

It is scarcely necessary to say much of the habits of a. bird
which stands on such familiar terms with the human race as the
Sparrow. During no period of the year do Sparrows live together
in perfect amity; if half a dozen descend to pick up a handful of
scattered crumbs, each in his turn will peck at any other who comes
too near his share of the feast, and, with a peculiar sidelong shuffle
or hop, will show his intention of appropriating as large a portion
of the feeding-ground as he can. In spring, this bickering assumes
a more formidable character. A duel is commenced among the
branches of a tree, obstinate and noisy ; all the Sparrows within
hearing flock to the scene of combat, joining at first with their
voices, and finally with their beaks ; a general riot ensues, with as
little object seemingly as an Irish ‘row’; for suddenly the outcry

94 THE MOUNTAIN OR TREE SPARROW

ceases, and the combatants return to their various occupations.
A writer in the Naturalist gives an account of a fray of this kind,
during which three male birds fell at his feet one after another
either dead or dying ; but cases of this kind are very rare.

Sparrows build their nests at a considerable elevation from the
ground, but are by no means particular as to the locality. At the
period when most farmhouses and cottages were thatched, the
eaves were their favourite resort, and here they hollowed out for
themselves most comfortable dwellings. The general employment
of tiles or slates has interfered with this arrangement ; but they
will fix upon any projection, niche, crack, or hole which will hold a
nest, and if these are all occupied, content themselves with a tree ;
but, as far as my own observation goes, the number built in trees
far exceeds that to be found in other localities. Very frequently
they appropriate the nest of the House Martin. The nest itself
is a rude structure, composed mainly of straw and hay, and lined
with feathers and any other soft materials which they can find.
Two or three broods are reared every year, the number of eggs
being usually five. The young are fed on worms, caterpillars,
and insects of various kinds.

THE MOUNTAIN OR TREE SPARROW

PASSER MONTANUS

Crown and back of the head chestnut-brown ; lore, ear-coverts, and throat
black; neck almost surrounded by a white collar; upper plumage
resembling the last ; wing with two transverse white bars. The female
scarcely differs from the male. Length five inches and a half. Eggs as
in the last.

THE Mountain Sparrow seems scarcely to deserve its name, as
it is by no means confined to mountainous districts. It is abundant
all over the European continent, and is to be met with here and
there in many parts of England in the east of Scotland and of
late years in Ireland and in the Hebrides; but it is nowhere so
abundant as the House Sparrow, which it resembles in all respects,
except that the head is of a bright chestnut colour, and the neck
wears a white collar. I have never seen it except in society with
the common species, and could never detect any difference either
in flight or note ; but other observers state that the flight is slow
and constrained, and the note assumes more the character of a
song. The nest is placed in soft rotten wood of pollard willows
and other trees, in hollow trees and under the thatch of buildings.

THE CHAFFINCH 95

THE CHAFFINCH
FRINGILLA CELEBS

Forehead black ; crown and nape greyish blue ; back and scapulars chestnut,
tinged with green; rump green; breast wine-red, fading towards the
abdomen into white ; wings black, with two white bands ; coverts of
the secondaries tipped with yellow ; tail black, the two middle feathers
ash-grey, the two outer on each side black, with a broad oblique white
band. Female—head, back and scapulars, ash-brown, tinged with olive ;
lower parts greyish white ; the transverse bands less distinct. Length
six inches. Eggs greenish purple, streaked and spotted with purple-
brown.

“GaI comme Pinson’, as gay as a Chaffinch, is a familiar French
proverb, which describes not only the character of the bird, but
the peculiar temperament which in France is an essential part
of gaiety. The Chaffinch is a smart, lively, active bird, always in a
bustle, flitting here and there incessantly and staying long nowhere,
always wearing a holiday look, so trim and spruce is he, and rattling
through his song with wondrous volubility. It received the name
celebs, bachelor, from Linnzus, who observed that the flocks in
winter are composed for the most part either exclusively of males
or of females. Large flocks arrive on our east coast each year
from the Continent, and others coming from the north spread them-
selves over the country to the southward. During the open
weather of autumn and early winter, Chaffinches frequent stubble
and ploughed fields, where they busily collect grain and the seeds
of various weeds, and are not, I fear, very scrupulous whether
they are engaged as gleaners of what is lost, or robbers of what is
sown. In severe weather they resort to farmyards and home-
steads, where, along with Sparrows, Buntings, and Greenfinches,
they equally consider all they can find as provided for their own
especial use. On the return of spring, they feed upon the young
shoots, and for a few weeks show themselves great enemies to
horticulture. Their visits to our flower-gardens, paid very early
in the morning, are attested by scattered buds of polyanthuses,
which they attack and pull to pieces as soon as they begin to push
from between the leaves. In the kitchen-garden they are yet
more mischievous, showing a strong inclination for all pungent
seeds. Woe to the unthrifty gardener, who, while drilling in
his mustard, or cress, or radishes, scatters a few seeds on the sur-
face! The quick eye of some passing Chaffinch will surely detect
them ; so surely will the stray grains serve as a clue to the treasure
concealed beneath, and so surely will a hungry band of companions
rush to ‘the diggings’, and leave the luckless proprietor a poor
tithe of his expected crop. Yet so large is the number of the seeds

96 THE CHAFFINCH

of weeds that the Chaffinch consumes, in the course of a year,
more particularly of groundsel, chickweed, and buttercup, that
he, without doubt, more than compensates for all his misdeeds ;
and as his summer food partially, and that of his young family
exclusively, consists of caterpillars and other noxious insects, he
is in reality among the gardener’s best friends, who should be
scared away at the seasons when his visits are not welcome, and
encouraged at all other times. The Chaffinch, though a wary bird,
does not stand greatly in fear of man; for if disturbed at a meal, he
is generally satisfied with the protection afforded by the branches of
the nearest tree, on which he hops about until the danger is past, utter-
ing his simple but not unpleasing note, ‘ twink’ or ‘ pink’ or ‘ spink,
spink, spink’ as it is variously translated. To this cry it adds the
syllable ‘¢weet’, frequently repeated in an anxious tone and with a
peculiar restlessness of manner, which always indicate that its
nest is somewhere very near at hand, and by which indeed it is
very often betrayed.

Its proper song commences very early in spring, and is continued
until June or later. This must be the song which the poet had in
view when he sang :—

Then as a little helpless innocent bird,

That has but one plain passage of few notes,
Will sing the simple passage o’er and o’er,
For all one April morning, till the ear
Wearies to hear it.—TENNyYSON.

It consists of. from ten to twelve notes of the same tone, and
about the same length, with the last but one elevated and accented,
uttered rapidly at short intervals, and without the least variation.
In Germany, this bird is so great a favourite that not a single
tone of its voice has escaped the experienced ears of bird-fanciers.
In some parts of Holland and the north of France, the passion
for song Chaffinches amounts to a frenzy. Philharmonic societies
are formed, whose exclusive object is to educate Chaffinches, and
to organize vocal combats. The combatants, each in his cage, are
placed a few yards from each other. One of them utters his strain,
which is replied to by the other; strict silence is imposed on the
spectators, lest the attention of the birds should be distracted by
their remarks or applause. The contest proceeds as long as the
birds continue to utter their notes of defiance, and the victory is
adjudged to the one who has the last word. The price paid for a
bird of mark, and the pains bestowed on the capture of any bird
which in its wild state holds out promise of being an apt pupil, are
past belief, and the cruelty practised in producing a perfect songster
I cannot bring myself to describe. After all, Bechstein’s tran-
slator says that the notes of the wild Chaffinches in England are
finer than any cage ones he has heard in Germany. English bird-

Siskind 2 2
Hawlinch 2 J (p. 96.

THE BRAMBLING 97

fanciers, without going so far as their German brethren, profess
to distinguish three variations of song in the Chaffinch.

The nest of the Chaffinch is an exquisite piece of workmanship,
composed of moss, dry grass, fine roots felted together with wool,
decorated externally with scraps of white lichens, and lined with
hair and feathers. It is placed sometimes in the fork of a tree,
sometimes against the bole, but more frequently than anywhere
else it is built in among the twigs of an apple-tree ; but in every
case it is attached to its support by wool interwoven with the other
materials. The Chaffinch usually lays five eggs.

THE BRAMBLING
FRINGILLA MONTIFRING{LLA

Head, cheeks, nape, and upper part of the back, black, the feathers (in winter)
tipped with light brown or ash-grey; neck and_ scapulars pale
orange-brown ; wings black, variegated with orange-brown and white ;
rump and lower parts white, the flanks reddish, with a few dark spots.
Female—crown reddish brown, the feathers tipped with grey, a black
streak over the eyes; ch»eks and neck ash-grey; all the other
colours less bright. Length six inches and a half. Eggs yellow'sh white,
spotted and streaked with dark red.

In winter this bird occurs over the whole continent of Europe,
and not unfrequently in enormous flocks. Pennant mentions
an instance in which eighteen were killed at one shot—a statement
which I can well believe, having seen in the winter of 1853 by far
the largest flock of small birds I ever beheld, and which was composed
entirely of Bramblings. They were employed in searching for
food on the ground in a beech wood, and, as I approached, flew
up into the branches in thousands. The Brambling, called also
the Bramble Finch and Mountain Finch, is a fairly regular autumn
and winter visitor to many parts of Scotland. Its presence in our
country in any numbers depends on the severity of the weather
on the Continent. Sometimes it is fairly numerous with us.
especially where there are many beech woods. Few visit Ireland.
It resembles the Chaffinch in habits, size, and general tone of colour ;
and as it often feeds in company with it, is probably sometimes con-
founded with it by an inexperienced eye. It arrives in this country
in November, and takes its departure early in spring, never having
been known to breed here. _ Its song is said to be something like
that of the Chaffinch, and its nest, built in fir-trees, to be constructed
with the same marvellous art.

B.B, H

98 THE LINNET

THE LINNET

ACANTHIS CANNABINA

Wintey—heaa ash-brown, the feathers dusky in the middle, those of the
forehead more or less tinged with crimson; back chestnut-brown, be-
coming brighter towards the scapulars and duller towards the tail; tail-
feathers black, edged towards the tip with reddish grey, the outer ones
bordered with white ; primaries black, the first five with very narrow, the
next five with broad, white edges, the rest of the wing-feathers tinged
with red, all tipped with ash-grey; under parts—breast-feathers dull
crimson or brown, edged with yellowish red; abdomen dull white;
flanks reddish yellow ; beak brownish horn colour ; feet and toes brown ;
tail moderate. In summer the beak is of a bluish lead colour; feathers
of the forehead and crown greyish brown, tipped with crimson; upper
plumage uniform rich chestnut-brown ; breast crimson, with a few pale
brown feathers intermixed. Length five inches. Eggs pale bluish grey,
speckled with deep red.

Ir is not unusual in the country to hear mention made of the

Brown, the Grey, and the Rose or Red Linnet, and the Common

Linnet, as if these were all different birds. Such, however, is not

the case. The Linnet is a bird which varies its plumage con-

siderably at different seasons of the year, in consequence of which,
at a period when little attention was paid to Ornithology, the
same individual was known by whichever of these names best
described its characteristic colouring. Even by the earlier ornitho-
logists there were supposed to be two species, one of which was
called Linota, probably from its having been observed feeding
on flax-seed (Linum); the other Cannabina, from having been
seen to feed on hemp seed (Cannabis). Linnets offer themselves
to our notice in the evenings of autumn and winter more than
at any other time. Large flocks of them may then be observed
making their way, with rapid and irregular flight, towards tall trees
which happen to stand in the vicinity of a common or a furzebrake.

On the summits of these they alight, with their heads, in stormy

weather, always turned towards the wind, and after keeping up a

continuous twittering for a few minutes, suddenly drop into their

roosting-places among the furze and thick shrubs. At the return
of dawn, they issue forth to their feeding-grounds, still congre-
gated in large flocks, and spend the whole of the day in hunting
on the ground for food. This consists principally of the seeds of
various weeds, especially wild-mustard or charlock, wild-cabbage,
and other plants of the same tribe, thistle and dandelion ;_ chance
grains of corn no doubt are not passed by, but any injury which may
be done by these birds, either to standing crops or newly-sowed
lands, must be far outweighed by their sevices as destroyers of
weeds and insects, which latter also enter into their dietary. At
this season their only note is a simple call, mellow and pleasant,
which they uttter both while flying and when perched. In spring,
the flocks break up, and the members betake themselves in pairs

THE LESSER REDPOLL 99

to the commons and heaths, which afforded them night-lodging dur-
ing winter. Here they build their nests at a moderate distance
from the ground, more frequently in a furze-bush than anywhere
else, but occasionally in other shrubs or an adjoining hedge. The
nest is constructed of small twigs, moss, roots, and wool; and
is lined with hair, feathers, and sometimes vegetable down. The
Linnet lays four or five eggs. The spring and summer song of the
Linnet is remarkable neither for compass nor power ; it is, however,
very sweet, and on this account the Linnet is a favourite cage-
bird.

THE MEALY .REDPOLL
ACANTHIS LINARIA

Throat and lore black ; forehead and crown blood-red ; breast and rump rose-
red; under parts white; nape reddish white, with dusky streaks;
shoulders and back with dark streaks, edged with white ; quills and tail
feathers greyish brown, edged with white. Length five and a half inches.

A NORTHERN species of Linnet, closely resembling the Lesser Red-

poll, but larger. It visits Great Britain only in the winter and

at irregular intervals, being in some seasons tolerably abundant,
and in others not seen at all. Little appears to be known of its
habits.

THESE SSP Ke REDPOLL
ACANTHIS RUFESCENS

Torchead, throat, and lore black; crown deep crimson; under parts light
crimson tinged with buff, fading towards the tail into white ; upper parts
reddish brown, with dusky streaks ; wings and tail dusky, edged with
pale reddish brown. Female—all the colours less bright. Length five
and a quarter inches. Eggs bluish white, speckled at the larger end
with reddish brown.

THE Lesser Redpoll so closely resembles the Siskin in its habits

and temperament, that a description of either of these birds would

serve well for the other. Like that bird it congregates in small
flocks ; it frequents damp valleys where alder-trees abound ; it
feeds on the seeds of the same trees ; like it, hangs at the extremities
of the twigs to explore the catkins, twitters merrily as it flies, and
is quite as easily reconciled to captivity. But for the yellow
plumage and larger size of the Siskin, they might well be mistaken
one for the other. The Redpoll, however, is a much more frequent
bird, as its annual visits to the southern counties of England in

winter are as regular as those of Swallows in summer. Though a

northern bird, it does not unexceptionally repair to high latitudes,

but in summer remains to breed in Scotland and the northern
counties of England. As far south as Yorkshire it is not unfrequent,

100 THE MOUNTAIN LINNET OR TWITE

and its nest has been occasionally found in the midland counties ;
some eggs were recently brought to me in Hertfordshire. Meyer
relates, that having one confined in a cage he placed it in his garden
in fine weather, in the hope that other birds of the same species
might be attracted by its note to visit it in its confinement. His
expectation was realized, for several wild Redpolls not only came
into his garden and twittered their notes of recognition from the
neighbouring trees, but actually alighted on the bars of the cage.
This took place in the county of Surrey, and during the month
of June, thus proving that some at least of the species remain with
us all the year round. The nest, which is remarkably small, is
described as being placed in the fork of an alder-tree, loosely con-
structed of dry grass and weeds, and lined either with the cotton of
the willow or the pappus of some compound flower, stated by some
to be dandelion, by others, thistle, but perhaps, in reality, coltsfoot.
In captivity, Redpolls are prized for their liveliness and remark-
able affection for each other, and, indeed, for all little birds who
do not disdain their attentions. They can be taught many little
tricks also.

THE MOUNTAIN LINNET, OR TWITE
ACANTHIS FLAVIROSTRIS

Upper plumage dark brown, edged with light brown ; no crimson either on the
forehead or breast ; rump of the male tinged with red; throat tawny
brown, without streaks ; breast and abdomen dull white, streaked on
the flanks with dark brown; beak yellow; feet and claws dark brown ;
tail long. Length five inches and a quarter. Eggs pale bluish white,
speckled with purple-red.

ANOTHER northern bird, inhabiting the Arctic Regions, Scandinavia,

and Russia, and travelling southwards in autumn. In the Orkney

and Shetland Islands it is the most common, if not the only, species,
and builds its nest among the corn or heath. It breeds from

Derbyshire and northwards, but is very local; at one time it was

very common on the Lancashire moors. Yellow-neb Lintie is

a Scotch name given to it. In the countries where it is resident

all the year round, it is very destructive to wheat in winter, and to

turnips in summer. As soon as the latter plants appear above
ground, the bird pulls them up, nips off the seed-leaves, and the
field remains strewn with the fragments of the young plants. In
winter, Mountain Linnets assemble in very large flocks, and in
their habits resemble Common Linnets, from which they are best
distinguished (at a distance) by their longer tails. During severe
weather I have observed them in Norfolk, flocking to the salt
marshes, and feeding on the seeds of saline plants, especially those
of the shrubby sea-blite. At this season their note resembles the

Mealey Redpole 2? 3
Redpole J Twited 3
Bullfinch J

[p. 100.

THE BULLFINCH 101

twitter of the Common Linnet, but is less mellow. The nest is
placed among heath, grass, or young corn, and invariably on the
ground—in this respect differing from all other birds of the same
family. It is constructed of dry grass, moss, and roots, and lined
with various soft substances. The Mountain Linnet is generally called
the Twite, a syllable which its simple note is thought to resemble.
It is more shy as a rule than the Lesser Redpoll.

Lae BULERENCE
PYRRHULA EUROPEA

Crown, throat, plumage round the bill, wings and tail lustrous purple-black ;
upper part of the back bluish ash; cheeks, neck, breast and flanks red
(in the female reddish brown) ; rump and abdomen pure white ; a broad
buff and grey band across the wings. Length six and a quarter inches.
Eggs light greenish blue, speckled and streaked with light red and dark
purple.
‘THE Bullfinch’, said Macgillivray, usually so accurate an observer,
“is not very common anywhere.’ From this last remark I infer
that the author in question was never either proprietor or occupant
of a fruit-garden in a wooded district, or he would have reported
very differently of the frequency of the Bullfinch. During winter
the food of these birds consists exclusively of berries of various
kinds and seeds, especially of such weeds as thistle, rag-wort, duck-
weed, plantains, etc., either picked up from the ground or gathered
from herbs and shrubs. In spring, unfortunately for the gardener,
their taste alters, and nothing will satisfy them but the blossom-
buds of fruit-trees, especially those which are cultivated They
attack, indeed, the buds of the sloe and hawthorn as well; but
of these, being valueless, no one takes note. Still keeping together
in small family parties, all uninvited, they pay most unwelcome
visits to gooseberries, plums, and cherries, and, if undisturbed,
continue to haunt the same trees until all hope of a crop is destroyed.
Gooseberry-bushes are left denuded of flower-buds, which have
been deliberately picked off and crushed between their strong
mandibles, while the leaf-buds, situated principally at the extremi-
ties of the branches, are neglected. Plum and cherry trees
are treated in like manner, the ground being strewed with the
bud-scales and rudiments of flowers. Some persons endeavour
to deter them by whitewashing the trees, and are said to find this
plan effectual. Others wind a straw rope round the gooseberry-
bushes, so disguising their natural appearance. This plan I
found perfectly successful one year, but the next it was entirely

102 PINE GROSBEAK

without effect. A new one which I have adopted this year is
somewhat more complex. In addition to the straw bands, I have
stretched long strings, with feathers attached here and there, so
as to resemble the tail of a paper kite; and, by way of offering
them an inducement to stay away, I have sprinkled peas on the
ground in an adjoining lane, in the hope that they will partially,
at least, satisfy their hunger on these. <A bird with so strong a
beak as that of the Bullfinch is evidently designed to crush its
food, not to swallow it whole ; accordingly, I find my peas disap-
pearing, but the parchment-like rind is left on the ground, a sub-
stance too indigestible even for the gizzard of a Bullfinch. This bird
has, however, justly many friends, who assert that the buds heattacks
are infested with concealed insects, and that the tree he strips one
season will be heavily laden the following year. When not occupied
in disbudding fruit-trees, Bullfinches are most frequently observed
in tall and thick hedges, either in small flocks as described above,
or in pairs. They are rarely met with singly, and yet less fre-
quently associated with birds of another species. Occasionally
a pair may be seen feeding with Sparrows and Chaffinches in the
farmyard ; but this society seems one of accident rather than of
choice. When disturbed in a hedge they are singularly methodical
in their movements : first one flies out, bounds, as it were through
the air in a direction away from the spectator, perches on a twig in
the thick part of the hedge, and is followed by the rest of the party
in single file. When the passenger has approached within what
the bird considers a safe distance, the same manceuvre is repeated,
each bird following, with dipping flight, the line marked out by its
predecessor.

PINE GROSBEAK
PYRRHULA ENUCLEATOR

Head and upper parts of the neck reddish orange, streaked on the back with
dusky ; wings and tail black, the former with two white bars, the pri-
maries and tail-feathers edged with orange, the secondaries with white
under parts orange-yellow. Length seven and a quarter inches. Eggs
white.

A LARGE and handsome bird, inhabiting the Arctic regions during
the summer months, and in winter descending a few degrees to the
south in both hemispheres. It is of very rare occurrence in the
pine-forests of Scotland, and a still more unfrequent visitor to
England. The Pine Grosbeak, or Pine Bullfinch, is a bird of sociable
habits, and an agreeable songster.

ASS, CIROSSIMILIE, 103

THE CROSSBILE

LOXIA CURVIROSTRA.

Bill equalling in length the middle toe, point of the lower mandible extending
beyond the ridge of the upper mandible ; plumage variegated, according
to age and sex, with green, yellow, orange, and brick-red. Length six
and a halfinches. Eggs bluish white, speckled with red-brown.

Tue beak of this bird was pronounced by Buffon ‘an error and
defect of Nature, and a useless deformity’. A less dogmatic, but
more trustworthy authority, our countryman, Yarrell, is of a
different opinion. ‘During a series of observations’, he says,
‘on the habits and structure of British birds, I have never met with
a more interesting or more beautiful example of the adaptation of
means to an end, than is to be found in the beak, the tongue, and
their muscles, in the Crossbill.’ No one can read the chapter
of British Birds devoted to the Crossbill (in which the accom-
plished author has displayed even more than his usual amount
of research and accurate observation) without giving a ready
assent to the propriety of the latter opinion. Unfortunately the
bird is not of common occurrence in this country, or there are
few who would not make an effort to watch it in its haunts, and
endeavour to verify, by the evidence of their own eyes, the interest-
ing details which have been recorded of its habits. I have never
myself succeeded in catching a sight of a living specimen, and am
therefore reduced to the necessity of quoting the descriptions of
others. Family parties of this species visit—1907—a small wood of
pine trees in the valley of the Kennet near Theale some winters, as
well as other scattered pine-forest lands in the southern counties,
and across the Solway and northward it nests in suitable districts.

The Crossbill is about the size of the Common Bunting, and,
like it and the Hawfinch, is a remarkably stout bird, having a
strong bill, a large head, short thick neck, compact ovate body,
short feet of considerable strength, rather long wings, and moderately
large tail. Its plumage, in which green or red predominates,
according to the age of the bird, is much more gaudy than that
of our common birds, and approaches that of the Parrots, a tribe
which it also resembles in some of its habits. Though only occas-
ional visitors with us, Crossbills are plentiful in Germany, Bavaria,
Sweden, and Norway all the year round, and are occasionally mis-
chievous in orchards and gardens, on account of their partiality
to the seeds of apples, which they reach by splitting the fruit with
one or two blows of their stout bills. Food of this kind, however,
they can only obtain in autumn; at other seasons, and, indeed,
all the year round in districts remote from orchards, they feed
principally on the seeds of various kinds of fir, which they extract
from the cone by the joint action of their beak and tongue. The

104 THE CROSSBILL

alder and other trees are also sometimes visited, and they have
been noticed to resort to thistles and pick the seeds from them.
‘In the autumn of 1821’, says Macgillivray, ‘when walking from
Aberdeen to Elgin, by the way of Glenlivat, and along the Spey,
I had the pleasure of observing, near the influx of a tributary of
that river, a flock of several hundreds of Crossbills, busily engaged
in shelling the seeds of the berries which hung in clusters on a
clump of rowan (mountain ash) trees. So intent were they on
satisfying their hunger that they seemed not to take the least heed
of me; and as I had not a gun, [ was content with gazing on them
without offering them any molestation. They clung to the twigs
in all sorts of positions, and went through the operation of feeding
in a quiet and business-like manner, each attending to his own
affairs without interfering with his neighbours. It was, indeed, a
pleasant sight to see how the little creatures fluttered among the
twigs, all in continued action, like so many bees on a cluster of
flowers in sunshine after rain.’ A writer in the Zoologist thus
describes the manceuvres of a flock which he observed in 1849, in the
county of Durham: ‘ On the fifteenth of July when taking a drive
in the western part of the county, where there are many thousand
acres of fir-plantations, I had the good fortune to see a flock of
birds cross my path, which appeared to be Crossbills ; so, leaving
the gig, I followed some distance into a fir-plantation, where,
to my great gratification, I found perhaps thirty or more feeding
on some Scotch firs. The day being fine, and as they were the
first I had seen in a state of wild nature, I watched them for about
twenty minutes. Their actions are very graceful while feeding,
hanging in every imaginable attitude, peering into the cones,
which, if they contain seeds, are instantly severed from the branch ;
clutched with one foot, they are instantly emptied of their contents,
when down they come. So rapidly did they fall, that I could
compare it to nothing better than being beneath an oak-tree in
autumn, when the acorns are falling in showers about one’s head,
but that the cones were rather heavier. No sooner are they on
the wing than they, one and all, commence a fretful, unhappy,
chirl, not unlike the Redpoll’s, but louder.’ Another writer, in
the Magazine of Natural History, thus records his experience :
‘From October, 1821, to the middle of May, 1822, Crossbills were
very numerous in this county (Suffolk), and, I believe, extended
their flight into many parts of England. Large flocks frequented
some fir-plantations in this vicinity, from the beginning of November
to the following April. I had almost daily opportunities of watching
their movements ; and so remarkably tame were they, that, when
feeding on fir-trees not more than fifteen or twenty feet high, I
have often stood in the midst of the flock, unnoticed and unsus-
pected. I have seen them hundreds of times, when on the larch,
cut the cone from the branch with their beak, and, holding it

THE CROSSBILL 105

firmly in both claws, as a hawk would a bird, extract the seeds
with the most surprising dexterity and quickness. I do not mean
to assert this to be their general habit ; but it was very frequently
done when feeding on the larch. I have never seen them adopt
the like method with cones of the Scotch or other species of pine,
which would be too bulky for them to manage. Their method
with these, and, of course, most frequently with the larch, was to
hold firmly on the cone with their claws; and, while they were
busily engaged in this manner, I have captured great numbers ;
many with a horse-hair noose fixed to the end of a fishing-
rod, which I managed to slip over their head when they were feeding,
and, by drawing it quickly towards the body, I easily secured
them ; others I took with a limed twig, fixed in such a manner
in the end of a rod that, on touching the bird, the twig quickly
became disengaged, adhered to the feathers, rendered the wings
useless, and caused the poor bird to fall perfectly helpless on the
ground. In this manner, in windy weather, I have taken several
from the same tree, without causing any suspicion of danger. On
warm sunny days, after feeding a considerable time, they would
suddenly take wing, and, after flying round for a short time, in full
chorus, alight on some lofty tree in the neighbourhood of the
plantations, warbling to each other in low pleasing strains. They
would also fly from the trees occasionally for the purpose of drinking,
their food being of so dry a nature. To captivity they were quickly
reconciled, and soon became very familiar. As, at first, I was not
aware what food would suit them, I fixed branches of the larch
against the sides of the room in which I confined them, and threw
them a quantity of the cones on the floor. I found that they not
only closely searched the cones on the branches but, in a few days,
not one was left in the room that had not been pried into. I gave them
canary and hemp-seed ; but thinking the cones were both amuse-
ment and employment, I continued to furnish them with a plenti-
ful supply. I had about four dozen of them; and frequently,
whilst I have been in the room, they would fly down, seize a cone
with their beak, carry it to a perch, quickly transfer it to their
claws, and in a very short time empty it of its seeds, as I have
very many times witnessed to my surprise and amusement.’ These
accounts are most interesting, yet they are all equally defective in
failing to describe the mode in which Buffon’s ‘useless deformity ’,
the crossed bill, is employed in the work of splitting open a cone.
This defect is supplied partially by Mr. Townson’s description,
quoted by Yarrell, and partly by the latter author in his own
words. ‘Their mode of operation is thus :—They first fix them-
selves across the cone, then bring the points of the mandibles from
their crossed or lateral position, to be immediately over each other.
In this reduced compass they insinuate their beaks between the
scales, and then, opening them—not in the usual manner, but

106 THE CORN (OR COMMON) BUNTING

by drawing the inferior mandible sideways—force open the scales.’
‘““* At this stage’, Yarrell proceeds to say, ‘the end of the tongue
becomes necessary ; and this organ is no less admirably adapted
for the service required. . . . While the points of the beak press
the scale from the body of the cone, the tongue is enabled to direct
and insert its cutting scoop underneath the seed, and the food thus
dislodged is transferred to the mouth; and when the mandibles
are separated laterally in this operation the bird has an uninter-
rupted view of the seed in the cavity with the eye on that side to
which the under mandible is curved.’”’

The beak of the Crossbill then, far from being a defect in the
organization of the bird, is a perfect implement always at its
owner’s command, faultless alike in design and execution, and
exquisitely adapted to its work, not an easy one, of performing,
by a single process, the office of splitting, opening, and securing the
contents of a fir-cone, and he must bea bold man who could venture
to suggest an improvement in its mechanism.

It has been observed that young birds in the nest have not their
mandibles crossed, and at this period such an arrangement would
be useless, as they are dependent for food on the parent birds.
It has also been observed that the side on which the upper mandible
crosses the lower varies in different individuals ; in some it descends
on the right side of the lower mandible, in others on the left. The
bird appears to have no choice in the matter, but whatever direction
it takes at first, the same it always retains.

The nest of the Crossbill is constructed of slender twigs of fir and
coarse dry grass, and lined with fine grass and a few hairs, and
concealed among the upper branches of a Scotch fir.

The Two-barred (or White-winged) Crossbill (Loxia bifasctata) is
only a rare straggler in winter to this country.

THE CORN (OR COMMON) BUNTING
EMBERIZA MILIARIA

Upper parts yellowish brown, with dusky spots; under parts yellowish white,
spotted and streaked with dusky. Length seven inches andahalf. Eggs
dull white, tinged with yellow, or pink, and spotted and streaked with
dark purple brown.

TuHouGH called the Common Bunting, this bird is by no means

so abundant in England as the Yellow Bunting ; its name, however,

is not misapplied, as it appears to be the most generally diffused
of the family, being found all over the European continent, in the
islands of the Mediterranean, in Asia Minor, and the north of

Africa. In the latter district it appears as a bird of passage in

November ; and about Martinmas it is so abundant as to become a

staple article of food. At this season, all the trees in the public

THE YELLOW BUNTING (OR YELLOW HAMMER) 107

roads and squares of the villages are literally covered with these
birds. Macgillivray informs us that it is more abundant in the
outer Hebrides than in any other part of the country he has visited ;
and that it is there generally known by the name of Sparrow. In
England it is a constant resident ; but as it is much more abundant
in autumn and winter than in summer, it probably receives acces-
sions to its numbers from the north. From its habit of congre-
gating in large flocks in the winter and alighting on arable land to
feed, after the manner of the Skylark, it is sometimes called ‘ Lark
Bunting ’, and, from its favourite food, ‘Corn Bunting’. It builds
its nest in a tuft of grass, often under the shelter of briers or a
low bush, constructing it of dry grass with a lining of hair. Its
song, which is harsh and unmelodious, consists of a number of
short repetitions of the same note, terminating with a long one
lower in tone, and is generally uttered by the bird perched the
while on some slight elevation, such as a stone or the topmost twig
of a furze-bush. On first rising, it allows its legs to drop as if
broken.

THE YELLOW BUNTING (OR YELLOW HAMMER)
EMBERIZA CITRINELLA

Head, neck, breast, and lower parts bright yellow, more or less streaked with
dusky ; flanks streaked with brownish red ; upper parts reddish brown
spotted with dusky. Female—the yellow parts less vivid, and spotted
with dull reddish brown. Length six inches and a quarter. Eggs pur-
plish or yellowish white, speckled and lined with dark purple brown.

Tuts familiar and pretty bird appears to be generally diffused

throughout all parts of the country, except the mountains. With

its bright yellow head and breast it can scarcely fail to attract
the attention of those even who are least observant of birds, and

being by no means shy it will allow itself to be examined from a

short distance. It may often be detected by its bright yellow

plumage among the leaves of a hedge, neither fluttering nor hunting
for food, but apparently waiting to be admired. As we approach
within a few yards it darts out into the lane with rapid flight,
displaying the white feathers of its tail, with tawny tail-coverts,
perches on another twig some fifty yards in advance, and, after
one or two such manceuvres, wheels away with rapid flight uttering
two or three short notes as it passes over our head. In summer,
especially during the hot afternoons of July, when most other birds
have closed their concert for the season, it loves to perch on the
top of a furze bush or other shrub, and repeat its simple song.

This consists of about a dozen short notes, rapidly repeated and

closed by a longer note, which I believe to be a musical minor

third below. Sometimes this last note is preceded by another

108 THE CIRL BUNTING

which is a third above. The effect is in some measure plaintive, and
gives the idea that the bird is preferring a petition. In Devon-
shire it goes by the names of ‘ Little-bread-and-no-cheese’, and
‘“Gladdy’. Of the latter name I do not know the origin; that of
the former is clear enough ; for if the words ‘ A little bit of bread
and no cheese’ be chanted rapidly in one note, descending at the
word ‘ cheese, chee-ese’, the performance, both in matter and style,
will bear a close resemblance to the bird’s song. It has been noticed
that the song of the Yellow Hammer may always be heard about
three o’clock in the afternoon.

In winter, Yellow Hammers assemble in large flocks, often mixed
with other hard-billed birds, and resort to ploughed fields, or
rick-yards. Macgillivray describes with singular accuracy their
movements on these occasions. ‘When the ground is covered
with snow, they congregate about houses, and frequent corn-
yards along with other birds, retiring to the trees and hedges in the
vicinity when alarmed. Their flight is undulated, light, strong,
and graceful, and they alight abruptly, jerking out their tail-
feathers. It is indeed surprising to see with what velocity they
descend at once from a considerable height, to settle on the twigs
of a tree which had attracted their notice as they were flying over
it, and with what dexterity all the individuals of a flock perch in
their selected places.’’

The nest and eggs of the Yellow Hammer resemble those of the
Common Bunting, but are smaller. The nest is most frequently
placed close to the ground, or actually on the ground, among grass
on the skirt of a meadow. Yarrell suggested that the name
‘Yellow Hammer’ should be written ‘ Yellow Ammer ’—the
word Ammer being a well-known German term for Bunting.

Collectors of eggs should carefully avoid cleaning the eggs of
the Buntings, as the dark colouring matter with which they are
blotched is easily rubbed off with a damp cloth.

THE CIRL BUNTING
EMBERIZA CIRLUS

Crown dark olive, streaked with black ; gorget and band above and below the
eye bright yellow ; throat, neck, and band across the eye, black ; breast
olive-grey, bounded towards the sides by chestnut ; abdomen dull yellow ;
back brownish red, with dusky spots. &emale—the distinct patches of
black and yellow wanting ; the dusky spots on the back larger. Eggs
greyish, marked with ash-coloured and black blotches and lines.

Wit the exception of its black chin and throat, this bird closely
resembles the Yellow Hammer. Its habits, too, are much the same,

Cirl Bunting Lapland Bunting
Reed Bunting g 9

The Common Bunting ? Snow Bunting g 9 [ face p. 108,

rope ; | Miah

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opium see: ,

THE REED BUNTING 109

so that little can be said of it which does not equally apply to its
congener. It appears, however, to be much less patient of cold,
and is consequently mostly confined to the southern counties of
England, from Cornwall to Kent, and in the valley of the Thames.
In the south of Europe, in the islands of the Mediterranean, and in
Asia Minor, it is said to replace the Yellow Hammer, which is far less
common. It is in the habit of perching higher than the Yellow
Hammer, and is said to be partial to elm-trees. The present
editor knows of its nesting recently in Hertfordshire.

THE REED BUNTING

EMBERIZA SCHa@NICLUS

Head, throat and gorget black (in winter speckled with light brown) ; nape,
sides of the neck, and a line extending to the base of the beak on each
side, white ; upper parts variegated with reddish brown and dusky ;
under parts white, streaked with dusky on the flanks. Female—head
reddish brown, with dusky spots ; the white on the neck less distinct ;
under parts reddish white, with dusky spots. Length six inches. Eggs
purplish grey, blotched and lined with dark purple brown.

WHEREVER there is water, in the shape of a lake, canal, or river,

lined by bushes and rushes, there the Blackheaded Bunting is pretty

sure to be seen at most seasons of the year. The male is strongly
marked by his black head and white collar ; the head of the female
is of the same colour as the body ; but the white collar, of a less
bright hue, she shares with her mate. ‘ Reed Bunting ’ and ‘ Reed

Sparrow ’ are other names for the same bird. In summer it rarely

quits the vicinity of water. At this season its food consists of

various seeds and insects ; but on the approach of winter it either
forms small parties, or joins itself on to flocks of Yellow Hammers,

Sparrows, and Finches, and visits the stack-yards in search of grain.

It builds its nest in low bushes, or among aquatic plants, very near

the ground, employing bents, bits of straw, reeds, etc., and lining

it with hair. The eggs are four or five in number, of a dull, livid

purple colour, marked with irregular curves or blotches of darker

purple, which remind one of the figure of the lines, so often seen on
bramble leaves, made by leaf-eating grubs. Its note resembles that
of the other Buntings, and is pleasant from its association with
walks by the river’s side rather than for tone or melody. In Scot-
land the Reed Bunting is migratory, repairing southwards in October
and returning in March. i

IIO SNOW BUNTING

SNOW BUNTING
PLECTROPHENAX NIVALIS

Head, neck, portion of the wings, and lower parts white ; upper parts black,
tinged here and there with red. Length six inches and three-quarters.
Eggs pale reddish white, speckled and spotted with brown and pale red.

Tuts, though a northern bird also, does not confine itself so closely

to the Arctic regions as the preceding species ; but is of common

occurrence in many parts of Scotland during autumn and winter
and later in the season in various parts of England. Macgillivray,
whose acquaintance with British birds, especially those of Scot-
land, was very accurate, was inclined to the opinion that the Snow
Bunting or Snow-flake breeds on the higher Grampians, having
observed a specimen on a mountain of this range so early as the
fourth of August, while the migratory flocks do not appear until two
months later. ‘About the end of October it makes its appearance
along the coasts or on the higher grounds of the south of Scotland,
and about the same period in the south of England, although it is
there of much less frequent occurrence. Assembled in large
straggling flocks, or scattered in small detachments, these birds may
be seen flying rather low along the shore, somewhat in the manner
of Larks, moving in an undulating line by means of repeated
flappings and short intervals of cessation, and uttering a soft and
rather low cry, consisting of a few mellow notes, not unlike those
of the Common Linnet, but intermixed at times with a sort of
stifled scream or churr. When they have found a fitting place,
they wheel suddenly round, and alight rather abruptly, on which
occasion the white of the wings.and tail becomes very conspicuous.

They run with great celerity along the sand, not by hops, like the

Sparrows and Finches, but in a manner resembling that of the

Larks and Pipits; and when thus occupied, it is not in general

difficult to approach them, so that specimens are easily procured.

At intervals they make excursions into the neighbouring fields,

alight in cornyards, at barn-doors, or even on the roads, where they

obtain seeds of oats, wheat, and weeds, which I have found in
them. In the villages along the coast of Lothian, they are some-
times, in spring, nearly as common as Sparrows, and almost as
familiar. About the middle of April, or sometimes a week later,
these birds disappear and betake themselves to their summer
residence.” Its habits, as observed in England, are similiar ; but
the flocks are generally smaller.In the Arctic regions, it is abundant
from the middle or end of April to the end of September. Its

nest is composed of dry grass, neatly lined with deer’s hair and a

few feathers, and is generally fixed in the crevice of a rock or in a

loose pile of timber or stones. In spring it feeds principally

on the buds of Saxifraga oppositifolia, one of the earliest of the

Arctic plants ; during winter, on grass seeds. Peculiar interest

THE WHITE WAGTAIL III

attaches to the Snow Bunting, from the fact that it is (according to
Linneus) the only living animal that has been seen two thousand
feet above the line of perpetual snow in the Lapland Alps. Mention
of it frequently occurs in books of Arctic travels. I must not
omit to state that the specimens obtained in Great Britain vary
so considerably in the proportions of white and tawny in their
plumage, that there were at one time considered to be three several
species. In Norfolk, I have seen them in severe weather flocking
with Larks, among which they make themselves so conspicuous
by the white portion of their plumage, as to be popularly known
by the name of ‘ White-winged Larks’.

THE LAPLAND BUNTING
CALCARIUS LAPPONICUS

Crown of the head black, speckled with red ; throat and breast black, a broad
white band extending from the eye down the sides of the neck; nape
bright chestnut ; back, wings, and tail variegated with brown, white, and
black ; under parts white, spotted at the sides with dark brown. Length
six inches and three-quarters. Eggs pale ochre-yellow, spotted with
brown,

Tuts bird, as its name denotes, is an inhabitant of high northern

latitudes ; and its occurrence in this country is very rare. A

few only have been shot, in places remote from each other ; and

in the year 1843, a female was captured by a bird-catcher near

Milnthorpe, in Westmoreland, and kept for some time in an aviary,

where it soon became friendly with its companions and took its

daily meal of rape, canary, or hemp seeds, and now and then a

sprinkling of oats, with apparent satisfaction. In the Arctic

regions it inhabits hilly and mountainous districts, and spends
most of its time on the ground, where it runs in the manner of

Larks, and where also it builds its nest. The male is said to have

a pleasing song, combining that of the Skylark and of the Linnet.

FAMILY MOTACILLIDE

THE WHITE WAGTAIL
MOTACILLA ALBA

Summer—head, breast, wings and tail variegated with black and white ; chin,
throat, and neck black ; back and scapulars pearl-grey ; side of the neck
as low as the wings white. Wintey—chin, throat and neck white, with
an isolated black gorget. Length nearly seven inches and a half. Eggs
bluish white, speckled with black. :

Tus species has bred in England more frequently than has been
supposed, It is not uncommon in Cornwall in spring, and indeed

112 THE PIED WAGTAIL

it visits many of our English counties. Its nest has been found in
such odd places as a Sand Martin’s burrow and the middle of a
strawberry bed. The present editor has seen it nesting among the
spraying branches of a Virginian creeper growing over trellis work.
A beautiful little bird it is.

THE PIED WAGTAIL

MOTACILLA LUGUBRIS

Summey—all the plumage variegated with white and black; back and scapulars,
chin, throat, and neck black; a small portion of the side of the neck
white. Wintey—back and scapulars ash-grey; chin and throat white,
with a black, but not entirely isolated, gorget. Length seven inches and
a half. Eggs bluish white, speckled with dark grey.

Tue Pied Wagtail or Dishwasher is a familiar and favourite bird,
best known by its habit of frequenting the banks of ponds and
streams, where it runs, not hops about, picking insects from the
herbage, and frequently rising with a short jerking flight, to capture
some winged insect, which its quick eye has detected hovering in
the air. Its simple song consists of but few notes, but the tone is
sweet and pleasing, and is frequently heard when the bird is cleaving
its way through the air with its peculiar flight, in which it describes
a series of arcs, as if it were every instant on the point of alighting,
but had altered its mind. While hunting for food, it keeps its tail
in perpetual motion. It shows little fear of man, and frequently
approaches his dwelling. It may often be noticed running rapidly
along the tiles or thatch of a country house, and it not unfrequently
takes its station on the point of a gable, or the ridge of the roof, and
rehearses its song again and again. Very frequently, too, it perches
in trees, especially such as are in the vicinity of ponds. Next to
watery places, it delights in newly-ploughed fields, and hunts for
insects on the ground, utterly fearless of the ploughman and his
implements. A newly-mown garden lawn is another favourite
resort ; so also is a meadow in which cows are feeding, and to these
it is most serviceable, running in and out between their legs, and
catching, in a short time, an incredible number of flies. The country
scarcely furnishes a prettier sight than that afforded by a family of
Wagtails on the short grass of a park, in July or August. A party
of five or six imperfectly fledged birds may often be seen scattered
over a small space of ground, running about with great activity,
and picking up insects, while the parent birds perform short aérial
journeys above and around them, frequently alighting, and trans-
ferring from their own mouths to those of their offspring, each in its
turn, the insects they have just captured. They are at all times
sociably disposed, being seen sometimes in small parties, and
sometimes in large flocks. It has been noticed that when one of a

Grey Headed Wagtail ¢ Yellow Wagtail ¢
White Wagtail g
Grey Wagtail Pied Wagtail

[ face p. 112.

- * “i .

Hornthcs

f

1
7

DHE GREY WAGTAIL 113

party has been wounded by a discharge from a gun, another has
flown down as if to aid it, or sympathize with it. Advantage is
taken of this habit by bird-catchers in France. It is the custom to
tie Wagtails by their feet to the clap nets, and make them struggle
violently and utter cries of pain when a flight of the same kind of
birds is seen approaching ; these stop their flight, and alighting are
caught in large numbers for the spit, their flesh, it is said, being
very delicate. They share, too, with Swallows the praise of being
among the first to announce to other birds the approach of a Hawk,
and join with them in mobbing and driving it away.

About the middle of April, the Pied Wagtail begins to build its
nest. This is usually placed in a hole in a bank or hedge, among
stones, or in the hollow of a tree ; it is composed of dry grass and
withered leaves, mixed with moss, and lined with wool, hair, and a
few feathers. It is a compact and solid structure, capable of pro-
tecting the eggs and young from the damp soil, but is not generally
concealed with much art ; and hence perhaps it is frequently selected
by the Cuckoo, to lay an egg in.

Towards autumn, Pied Wagtails for the most part migrate south-
wards. In the midland counties they may be often observed in
large companies, in October, halting for a few days wherever food
is abundant, and then suddenly disappearing ; after which only a
few stragglers are seen until the spring. They return northwards
about the beginning of March. In the extreme south of England
they are numerous all the year round ; but as many instances have
occurred of their alighting on a ship at sea, it is probable that the
majority migrate to some southern climate, where the ponds do not
freeze and gnats gambol at Christmas.

THE GREY WAGTAIL
MOTACILLA MELANOPE

Summer—head and back bluish grey ; a pale streak above the eyes; throat
black ; under parts bright yellow; tail very long. Wuntey—chin and
throat whitish, passing into yellow. Length seven inches and three-
quarters. Eggs bluish white, speckled with dark grey.

GREY Wagtail is not a very happy name for this bird, as the bright

yellow of its neck and breast are far more conspicuous than the

more sober grey of the head and back; yet, as there are other
claimants for the more appropriate names ‘ Yellow’, and ‘ Grey-
headed’, the young observer must be cautious while reading the
descriptions of the several members of the family, or he may
possibly fall into error. The Grey Wagtail is among the most
elegant and graceful of British birds, and in delicacy of colouring
is surpassed by few. Its habits are much the same as those of the

Pied Wagtail, but it is even lighter and more active in its move-
B.B. I

114 THE GREY WAGTAIL

ments. It is less frequently observed away from water than that
species, and though, like it, not altogether a permanent resident in
England, it visits us at the opposite season, coming in autumn, and
retiring northwards in spring. It does not seem often to go
so far north as Inverness-shire, but is regularly seen about Edin-
burgh in winter; and, on the other hand, it breeds yearly in the
southern counties of England during summer, as on the streams
which flow from Dartmoor. This partial migration seems to be
characteristic of the family, and is difficult to account for. Why
out of a certain number of birds of the same species, some should
annually travel southwards, to supply the place of individuals be-
longing to an allied species, who have travelled yet further to the
south, and why, on the reappearance of the latter in spring, the first
should return to their northern haunts, are questions more easily
asked than answered.

The Grey Wagtail has been repeatedly observed to indulge in a
fancy which might well obtain for it the name of ‘ window-bird’.
The first recorded instance occurs in an early number of the Zoologist,
where it is stated, that every morning for a period of between three
and four months, from the beginning of October to the end of
January, a Grey Wagtail came to the window of a country house
as soon as the blinds were drawn up, and darted against the panes
of glass, pecking with its beak as if it saw some object. It would
then retire, and after a pause repeat the operation, but from what
motive no one could conjecture. A lady writes to me from Dewlish
House, Dorsetshire: ‘We are constantly being disturbed by a
yellow-breasted Water-Wagtail, which comes tapping at the windows
or skylights, from the first streak of light till evening. What may
be his object no one can say. It is too cold at present (March)
for flies or spiders, and, had there been any hybernating there
he would have eaten them long ago, he comes so frequently.
When, on going upstairs, or when sitting down in my room, I hear
this loud repeated tapping, it is vain for me to open the window
and try to entice him in with crumbs ; he does not even notice them.
This morning he woke me at about four o’clock. You would have
said, ‘Some one rapping at my window as a signal that I must get
up. An old servant tells me, “Ah, ’twere just the same last
spring, when the family were in London ; they say that it do mean
something.” ’

The Grey Wagtail does not commonly build its nest in the southern
counties of England, although instances have occurred. It prefers
hilly and rocky districts. More frequently it repairs in spring to
the north of England and south of Scotland, and builds its nest on
the ground, or in the hole of a bank, or between large stones, and
never at any great distance from the water. It is composed of
stems and blades of grass, mixed with moss and wool, and lined with
wool, hair and feathers.

YELLOW WAGTAIL ITS

THE BLUE-HEADED (OR GREY-HEADED) WAGTAIL
MOTACILLA FLAVA

Top of the head, lore, and nape lead-grey ; over the eye a white streak
scapulars, back, and upper tail-coverts greenish olive, tinged with yellow ;
chin white, in the young male yellow ; under parts bright yellow. Length
six inches and a half. Eggs mottled with yellow, brown, and grey.

Tuts, one of the common Yellow Wagtails of the Continent, is a

raré visitor in this country. Its habits, nest, and eggs, closely

resemble those of the next species. It is the Bergeronette printamere

(‘ Little shepherdess of the Spring ’) of the French, a pretty name,

suggested by the habit, common to all the genus, of resorting to

sheepfolds for the sake of feeding on the flies with which such places
abound.

YELLOW WAGTAIL
MOTACILLA RAII

Top of the head, lore, nape, back, and scapulars pale Olive ; over the eye a

streak of bright yellow; chin yellow; lower parts of the same colour.

Length six inches and a half. Eggs whitish, mottled with yellow,

brown, and grey.
Ray’s Wagtail, the third of the Yellow Wagtails placed on the list
of British birds, is, next to the Pied, the best known species, being
a regular summer visitor, and everywhere tolerably common. It
is said by most authors to frequent the water rather less than the
other species, and to prefer fields of peas and tares, open downs and
sheep pastures ; but, as far as my own observation goes, I have seen
it far more frequently near water than elsewhere, and if I wished
to observe its habits, I should repair to the nearest canal or river,
in the certain expectation of seeing a pair hunting among the aquatic
weeds for their food, running along the sandy or muddy shore,
perching on the broad leaves of the water-lily, and chasing each
other with dipping flight through the air. I am inclined to believe
that, though it may have often been noticed in dry pastures and
stony places, yet that when so circumstanced, it is only engaged on an
exploring expedition from its watery haunts; for it is scarcely possible
that a bird so thoroughly at home ina weedy pond, can ever be long
absent from such a locality from choice. Its habits are precisely
similar to those of the Pied Wagtail, except that it visits us in the
summer exclusively, retiring southwards in autumn. It may often
also be seen in company with that species. Besides its call-note,
which consists of two shrill notes, the second of which is a musical
tone lower than the first, it has a short and exceedingly sweet song,
something like that of the Redbreast when at its best. This I have
heard it utter whilst it was perched on a low bush overhanging a
pond. Its nest was probably somewhere in the neighbourhood, for
when disturbed it flew to a short distance only, alighted on another

116 THE TREE PIPIT

twig and repeated its warble again. This was in the first week in
May, and is the only occasion on which I ever heard it really sing.
The nest resembles that of the Pied Wagtail, and is placed on
the ground, usually in pea-fields. The popular name Washer-
woman belongs to the whole family. The corresponding term,
Lavandiére, is also found in France, and was given from the fanciful
similarity between the beating of the water with its tail by the
bird while tripping along the leaves of a water-lily, and the beating
of linen in the water by washerwomen, a custom still existing in
France, and some parts of England and Treland.

THE TREE PIPIT
ANTHUS TRIVIALIS

Hind claw shcrter than the toe, and curved so as to form the fourth of a circle ;
upper parts ash, tinged with olive, the centre of each feather dark brown ;
a double band across the wing, formed by the yellowish white tips of the
lesser and middle wing-coverts ; throat and region of the eye dull white ;
breast reddish yellow, spotted, and at the sides lightly streaked with dark
brown. Length six inches. Eggs dull white, variously mottled with
purple brown.
THE name Titlark is popularly applied to three common species of
birds which were formerly placed in the same family with the Sky-
lark. Modern ornithologists now place them in a distinct genus,
the characters of which differ from those of the true Lark in that
the beak is more slender and slightly notched near the point, the
first three quills are nearly of the same length and the outer toe is
united with the middle one as far as the first joint. In colouring,
however, in general form, and, toa slight extent, in habits, namely, in
the mode of feeding and nesting, there is much similarity between the
genera ; but in the power of soaring, the Lark, though imitated by
one species, is unrivalled. The old name Titlark, then, must be
understood to be merged in the more distinctive title, Pipit, given
to three common kinds which severally frequent trees, meadows,
and the seashore. Pipits are more allied to the Wagtail family
than with Larks. The Tree Pipit alone is a migratory species,
arriving in this country towards the end of April, and leaving us
in the autumn. It is common in most of the wooded counties of
England, except the extreme west and north, but attracts little
notice, being unostentatious in size and colour, while its song, except
by the practised ear, is likely to be lost in the general melody of the
woods. Yarrell’s succinct account of its most characteristic habit
is So comprehensive and accurate, that the observer who wishes to
make its acquaintance can scarcely fail by its help to identify the bird
on its very first occurrence. ‘ The male has a pretty song, perhaps
more attractive from the manner in which it is given, than the
quality of the song itself. He generally sings while perched on the

Yellow Hammer 3 Tree Pipit S
Meadow Pipit 3 Rock Pipit F [ face p. 116.

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THE MEADOW PIPIT m7,

top of a bush, or one of the upper branches of an elm-tree standing
in a hedgerow, from which, if watched for a short time, he will be
seen to ascend with quivering wing about as high again as the tree ;
then, stretching out his wings and expanding his tail, he descends
slowly by a half-circle, singing the whole time, to the same
branch from which he started, or to the top of the nearest other
tree ; and so constant is this habit with him, that if the observer
does not approach near enough to alarm him, the bird may be seen
to perform the same evolution twenty times in half an hour, and I
have witnessed it most frequently during and after a warm May
shower.’ Its descent to the ground is generally performed in the
same manner. Its food consists of insects and small seeds, for
which it searches among the grass or newly-ploughed ground, with
the walking and running gait of the Wagtails, but without their
incessant waving movement of the tail. The nest, which is placed
on the ground, under a tuft of grass or low bush, and very frequently
on the skirt of a wood or copse, is composed of dry grass and small
roots, and lined with finer grass and hair. The eggs are usually
five in number, and vary so much, that extreme specimens would
scarcely seem to belong to the same bird. In the predominating
brown hue a tinge of red is, however, always perceptible, and by
this it may be distinguished from the egg of the Meadow Pipit.1_ The
Tree Pipit is not seen in Ireland, or it is as yet unrecorded there.

THE MEADOW PIPIT
ANTHUS PRATENSIS

Hind claw longer than the toe, slightly curved ; upper parts ash, tinged with
olive, especially in winter, the centre of each feather dark brown: under
parts reddish white, streaked with dark brown. Length five inches and
three-quarters. Eggs dull white, variously spotted and mottled with
brown

Ir may be thought at the first glimpse that a difference in the com-

parative length of the hinder claws of two birds so much alike as

the Tree and Meadow Pipits is scarcely sufficient to justify a specific
distinction ; but when it is considered that a short and curved claw
enables a bird to retain a firm grasp of a small twig, while a long and
almost straight one is best adapted for perching on the ground, it
will appear at once that, however similar two birds may be in all
other respects, yet the slight one in which they differ is the point
on which hinges a complex scheme of habits. So the Tree Pipit

+“ Amongst our land birds’, says Hewitson, ‘ there is no species the eggs
of which present so many, or such distinct varieties, as those of the Tree Pipit.

No one would at first believe them to be eggs of the same species ; and it was

not till I had captured the bird upon each of the varieties, and also received

them from Mr. H. Doubleday, similarly attested, that I felt satisfactorily
convinced upon the subject.’

118 THE ROCK PIPIT

frequents wooded districts, and passes a large portion of its time
aloft among the branches, while the Meadow Pipit finds its happi-
ness on the ground. It is not, indeed, confined to the unwooded
country, for no bird is more generally diffused, and the nests of
both species, constructed of similar materials, may frequently be
found in the border of the same field, yet it often finds a home
in wild, barren districts, frequented by no other small birds but
the Wheatear and Ring Ouzel. I have even more than once
seen it alight on a tree, but this was apparently as a resting-
place on which it perched previously to descending to roost among
the heath on a common. Had I not been near, it would most
probably have dropped at once to its hiding-place as some of its
companions did. From its attachment to commons and waste
lands, the Meadow Pipit has received the names of Ling-bird and
Moss-cheeper. In winter it is more abundant in the plains, where
it may often be seen in small parties searching for seeds and insects
in recently-ploughed lands, well marked by its running gait and the
olive tinge of its upper plumage. Its song, which is not frequently
heard, is a short and simple strain, sometimes uttered on the ground,
but more generally, while rising or falling, at no great height in the
air. Its nest is only to be distinguished from that of the Tree Pipit
by the dark brown hue of the eggs which are somewhat similar to
those of the Skylark, only smaller. ‘ The egg of the Cuckoo is more
frequently deposited and hatched in the nest of the Meadow Pipit
than in that of any other bird,’ says Yarrell. It is interesting to
know, now, that this bird—an immoral creature we might call it—
which never keeps to one mate, deposits its eggs in the nests of
about 3145 species, taking the world over.

THE ROCK PIplT
ANTHUS OBSCURUS
Hind claw about equal in length to the toe, much curved; upper plumage
greenish brown, the centre of each feather darker brown ; a whitish streak
over the eye; under parts dull white, spotted and streaked with dark
brown. Length six inches and three-quarters. Eggs dull white, mottled
with dingy brown.
Excepr that it is somewhat larger, the Rock Pipit is very similar
in form and colour to the last species. It is, however, far more
local, being confined exclusively to the seashore, but there of very
common occurrence. Every one familiar with the sea-coast, must
have observed it moving through the air with a jerking flight,
occasionally alighting on a rock or on the beach near the line of
high-water mark, searching busily for marine insects. In spring,
it frequently takes little flights inland, never to a great distance,
repeating its simple song all the while, and chasing as if in sport

THE SKYLARK 119

some one or other of its companions. In winter, it seems to act
as a guide to the smaller land birds, who, finding their supply of
food diminished or altogether cut off by the frost, are attracted
by its movements, and join it in searching for insects among the
unfrozen

‘ridge of all things vile,’

left on the shore by the receding tide. Montagu says, that it has
never been observed to be gregarious ; his editor, however, Rennie,
states that he has noticed it to be, if not quite gregarious, at least
very nearly so, on the wild rocky shores of Normandy ; and, from
my own acquaintance with its habits in Devon and Cornwall, I
am inclined to agree with the latter. If not gregarious, it is at
least sociable, and that too at seasons when the flocks could hardly
have been family gatherings only. The same remark holds good
of the Meadow Pipit. A migration southwards takes place in
October along our east coast.

FAMILY ALAUDIDA:

MES SICVE ARC
ALAUDA ARVENSIS

Upper parts reddish brown, the centre of each feather dark brown; a faint
whitish streak above the eyes ; throat white ; neck and breast whitish,
tinged with yellow and red, and streaked with dark brown ; tail moderate.
Length seven inches and a quarter. Eggs greyish, thickly speckled with
dark grey and brown.

Tue Skylark, a bird whose flight and song are better known perhaps

than those of any other bird, needs but a simple biography. The

favourite bird of the poets, its story might be told in extracts compiled
from various authors whose muse has led them to sing of Nature.

Much, however, that has been written is but an amplification of

the golden line, ‘Hark, the Lark at Heaven’s gate sings!’ and not

a little is an exaggerated statement of the height to which it ascends,

and the time which it remains suspended in mid-air. But the

Skylark needs no panegyrists, so, with all due deference to those

who have struck the lyre in its honour, I will endeavour to describe

its habits and haunts in humble prose.

The Skylark is a generally-diffused bird, adapted by the con-
formation of its claws for perching on the ground, and by its length
and power of wing for soaring high in the air. Accordingly, its
food consists of small insects and seeds, which it collects among the
herbage of stubble-fields, meadows and downs, or in newly-ploughed

120 THE SKYLARK

fields. To this fare, it adds in winter and spring the tender stalk
of sprouting corn. Hence it is regarded with deadly hostility
by farmers, and hence, too, the quiet of the country is much dis-
turbed at these seasons, by boys employed to frighten it away
by screaming and plying a peculiar kind of rattle.1 During autumn
and winter, Larks congregate in large flocks, and occupy their time
principally in searching for food on the ground. If disturbed,
they rise in a scattered manner, wheel about in the air until the
flock is formed again, chirping from time to time, and then with-
draw, not ina compact body, but at unequal distances from the earth
and from each other, to a new feeding-ground, over which they hover
with circling flight for some time before alighting. On trees they never
perch ; though one or two may occasionally be seen settled on a
quickset hedge or a railing. In North Britain, at the approach
of severe weather, they flock together and migrate southwards.
Great numbers also visit England from the Continent, arriving in
November, when they used to be caught in nets and traps for the table.
Early in spring the flocks break up, when the birds pair, and for
three or four months, every day and all day long, when the weather
is fine (for the Lark dislikes rain and high winds), its song may
be heard throughout the breadth of the land. Rising as it were by
a sudden impulse from its nest or lowly retreat, it bursts forth,
while as yet but a few feet from the ground, into exuberant song, and
withits head turned towards the breeze, now ascending perpendicu-
larly, and now veering to the right or left, but not describing circles,
it pours forth an unbroken chain of melody, until it has reached
an elevation computed to be, at the most, about a thousand feet.
To an observer on earth, it has dwindled to the size of a mere
speck ; but, as far as my experience goes, it never rises so high
as to defy the search of a keen eye. Having reached its highest
elevation, its ambition is satisfied without making any permanent
stay, and it begins to descend, not with a uniform downward
motion, but by a series of droppings with intervals of simple hover-
ing, during which it seems to be resting on its wings. Finally,
as it draws near the earth, it ceases its song and descends more
rapidly, but before it touches the ground it recovers itself, sweeps
away with almost horizontal flight for a short distance and dis-
appears in the herbage. The time consumed in this evolution is
at the most from fifteen to twenty minutes, more frequently less ;
nor have I ever observed it partially descend and soar upwards

1 Farmers would effect a great saving if they sowed their wheat deeper
than is the usual practice. The only part of the young plant which the Lark
touches is the white stalk between the grain and the blade. In its effort to
obtain this it frequently destroys the whole plant, if the grain has been lodged
near the surface ; but if the young shoot has sprouted from a depth of an
inch or more, the bird contents itself with as much as it can reach without
digging, and leaves the grain uninjured and capable of sprouting again.

Woodlark g

Shore Lark g
Skylark 3 [face p. 120

DEES Kayak 12!

again. A writer in the Magazine of Natural History maintains
that ‘those acquainted with the song of the Skylark, can tell,
without looking at them, whether the birds be ascending or station-
ary in the air, or on their descent ; so different is the style of the
song in each case’. Mr. Yarrell is of the same opinion, and I have
little doubt that they are correct, though I am not certain that I
have myself attained the skill of discriminating. In July, the
Lark ceases its soarings and song together, but in fine weather, in
October, it receives a new inspiration and is musical again. From
time to time, during winter, if the season be mild, it resumes
its aérial habits, but it neither ascends so high nor sings so long,
two or three minutes becoming now the limits of its performance.
Like most other birds, it sings least about noon and the first two
hours of the afternoon ; but it begins before sunrise, having been
heard at midsummer as early as two o’clock in the morning, and
it sometimes continues its song till late on into the night, having
been heard at ten o’clock when it was quite dark. Occasionally,
too, it sings on the ground ; and, in a cage, as all the world knows,
it pours out its melody with as much spirit, as if its six inches of
turf could be measured by acres, and the roof of its little cage were
the vault of heaven. The following stanza in French is equally
successful in imitating the song of the Skylark and describing its
evolutions :

La gentille Alouette avec son tirelire,

Tirelire, relire et tirelirant, tire

Vers la votte du ciel; puis son vol en ce lieu

Vire, et semble nous dire: Adieu, adieu, adieu.

The Lark builds its nest in a hollow in the ground, the rut of a
cart-wheel, the depression formed by a horse’s hoof, or in a hole
which it scrapes out for itself. The nest is composed of dry grass,
and lined with finer fibres. It lays four or five eggs, and rears two
broods in the year. It displays great attachment to its young,
and has been known, when disturbed by mowers, to build a dome
over its nest, as a substitute for the natural shelter afforded by the
grass while standing, and to remove its young in its claws to another
place of concealment. In a cage, even the male is an excellent
nurse. Mr. Weir mentions one which brought up several broods
entrusted to its care, and a similiar instance has fallen under my
own notice. Larks frequently become the prey of the Hobby
and Merlin, which pounce on them as they are on the point of leaving
the ground, and bear them off with as much ease as they would a
feather. But if an intended victim discovers its oppressor in time,
it instantly begins to ascend with a rapidity which the other cannot
follow, carried on as it is by the impetus of its horizontal flight.
The Hawk, foiled for this time, renews the chase and endeavours
to soar above its quarry ; if it succeeds, it makes a second swoop,
sometimes with deadly effect ; but if it fails a second time, the Lark

122 THE SHORE LARK

folds its wings, drops like lead to the ground, and, crouching among
the herbage, often escapes detection.

THE WOODLARK

ALAUDA ARBOREA
Upper parts reddish brown, the centre of each feather dark brown ; a distinct
yellowish white streak above the eye passing to the back part of the head
lower parts yellowish white, streaked with dark brown; tail short.
Length six inches and a half. Eggs greyish white, speckled and sometimes
faintly streaked with brown.
THE Woodlark is much less frequent than the Skylark, and is
confined to certain districts, also it is only resident northwards
up to Stirling. It is distinguished by its smaller size, short tail,
a light mark over the eye, and by its habit of perching on trees,
where the Skylark is never known to alight. It builds its nest
very early in the season, sometimes so soon as the end of March,
and probably rears several broods in the year, as it has been found
sitting as late as September. It is consequently among the earliest
songsters of the year, and among the last to bid adieu to summer.
It sings on until the occurrence of severe frosts, and its note is
among the sweetest and most touching sounds of nature. The song,
though of less compass and less varied than that of the Skylark,
is superior in liquidness of tone, and is thought to resemble the
syllables ‘ Juluw’, by which name the bird is known in France. When
soaring it may be distinguished from the Skylark not only by its
song, but by its ascending in circles, which it describes, poets tell
us, and perhaps correctly, with its nest for a centre. Sometimes,
especially during sunshine after a summer shower, it alights on
the summit of a lofty tree, to ‘unthread its chaplet of musical
pearls’, and its simpler /u/u notes may be heard as it flies from
place to place while but a few feet above the surface of the ground.
In autumn, Woodlarks assemble in small sociable parties (but not
in large flocks), and keep together during the winter. Early in
spring these societies are broken up into pairs, and the business of
the season commences. The nest is composed of bents and a little
moss, and is lined with finer grass, and, though built on the ground,
is generally concealed with more art than that of the Skylark,
the birds availing themselves of the shelter afforded by a bush or
tuft of grass.

THE SHORE PARK

OTOCORYS ALPESTRIS
Throat, forehead, and ear-coverts yellow; over the forehead a black band ;
lore, moustache, and gorget black ; upper parts reddish brown ; breast
and flanks yellowish white ; abdomen white. Length nearly seven inches,
Eggs greyish white, spotted with pale blue and brown.

THE Shore Lark, like the last, is a very rare visitor of Britain,

THE SWiIET 123

and appears to be equally uncommon in France. A few have
been shot in Norfolk, and in the high latitudes both of the Old and
New Worlds it is a common resident on the rocky coasts. It builds
its nest on the ground, and shares in the great characteristic of the
family, that, namely, of soaring and singing simultaneously. In
colouring, it is strongly marked by its black gorget and crest.

ORDER PICARTZA

RAMEY CYPSELID AL

THE SWIFT
CYPSELUS APUS

General plumage sooty brown; chin greyish white; tarsi feathered ; bill
feet, and claws, shining black. Length eight inches; width seventeen
inches. Eggs pure white.

THE Swift is, perhaps, the strongest and swiftest, not merely of

the Swallow tribe, but of all birds ; hence a voyage from Southern

Africa! to England is performed without overtaxing its strength.

It stands in need of no rest after this prodigious flight, but imme-

diately on its arrival starts with a right good willonits pursuit of

food, as if its journey had been but a pleasant course of training
for its daily vocation. With respect to temperature, however,
its powers of endurance are limited ; it never proceeds far north-
wards, and occasionally even suffers from unseasonably severe
weather in the temperate climates where it fixes its summer residence.

Mr. F. Smith, of the British Museum, related in the Zoologist,”

that, at Deal, on the eighth of July, 1856, after a mild but wet day, the

temperature suddenly fell till it became disagreeably cold. The

Swifts were sensibly affected by the atmospheric change; they

flew unsteadily, fluttered against the walls of the houses, and

some even flew into open windows. ‘Whilst observing these
occurrences ’, he says, ‘ a girl came to the door to ask me if I wanted
to buy a bat ; she had heard, she told me, that I bought all kinds
of bugs, and her mother thought I might want a bat. On her
producing it, I was astonished to find it was a poor benumbed

Swift. The girl told me they were dropping down in the streets,

and the boys were killing all the bats; the church, she said, was

covered with them. Off I started to witness this strange sight and
slaughter. True enough; the children were charging them every-

1 Livingstone mentions his having seen in the plains north of Kuruman a
flock of Swifts, computed to contain upwards of 4,000 individuals.
2 September, 1856, p. 5249.

124 THE SWIFT

where, and on arriving at the church in Lower Street I was astonished
to see the poor birds hanging in clusters from the eaves and cornices ;
some clusters were at least two feet in length, and, at intervals,
benumbed individuals dropped from the outside of the clusters.
Many hundreds of the poor birds fell victims to the ruthless ignor-
ance of the children.’ Being so susceptible of cold, the Swift
does not visit us until summer may be considered to have completely
set in. In the south it is generally seen towards the end of April,
but it generally brings up the rear of the migratory birds by
making its first appearance in the first or second week in May, in
the north.

Early in August it makes itself, for a few days, more than ever
conspicuous by its wheeling flights around the buildings which
contain its nest, and then suddenly disappears. At this period, too,
its note is more frequently heard than during any other part of
its visit, and in this respect it is peculiar. As a general rule, birds
cease their song partially, if not entirely, when their eggs are hatched.
The new care of providing for the wants of a brood occupies their
time too much to allow leisure for musical performance, so that
with the exception of their call-notes, and their cries of alarm or
defiance, they are for a season mute. An early riser, and late
in retiring to roost, the Swift is always on the wing. Thus, whether
hunting on his own account or on behalf of his mate and nestlings, his
employment is unvaried, and the same amount of time is always
at his disposal for exercising his vocal powers. These are not
great ; he has no roundelay; he neither warbles nor carols ; he
does not even twitter. His whole melody is a scream, unmusical
but most joyous; a squeak would be a better name, but that,
instead of conveying a notion that it results from pain, it is full
of rollicking delight. Some compare it to the noise made by the
sharpening of a saw; to me it seems such an expression of pent-
up joy as little children would make if unexpectedly released from
school, furnished with wings, and flung up into the air for a game
of hide-and-seek among the clouds. Such soarings aloft, such
chasings round the pinnacles of the church-tower and the gables
of the farm-houses, no wonder that they cannot contain them-
selves for joy. Every day brings its picnic or village feast, with
no weariness or depression on the morrow.

The nest of the Swift is constructed of any scraps that the bird
may chance to find floating in the air, or brought to it by the
wind, for it literally never perches on the ground, whence it rises
with difficulty. These are rudely pressed together in any convenient
aperture or moulding in a building, and cemented together by
some glutinous secretion from the bird’s mouth. Two eggs are
laid, and the young, as a matter of necessity, remain in the nest
until quite fledged.

Another name for the Swift is Black Martin, and in heraldry

THE NIGHTJAR 125

it is familiarly known as the Martlet, the figure of which is a device
of frequent occurrence in heraldic coats of arms, and denotes that
the original wearer of the distinction served as a crusader pilgrim.
In Arabia it is still known by the name of Hadji, or Pilgrim, to
denote its migratory habits.

FAMILY CAPRIMULGIDA

THE NIGHTJAR
CAPRIMULGUS EUROPEUS

General plumage ash-grey, spotted and barred with black, brown and reddish
brown ; first three primaries with a large white patch, on the inner web ;
two outer tail-feathers on each side tipped with white. Length ten inches
and a quarter; breadth twenty-two inches. Eggs whitish, beautifully
marbled with brown and ash.

Tus bird used to be described as a nocturnal robber who finds
his way into the goat-pens, sucks the dugs of the goats, poisoning
them to such an extent that the animals themselves are blinded,
and their udders waste away. This fable we notice in order to
account for the strange name Goatsucker, by which it was formerly
so wellknown. The bird has, indeed, strangely enough, been known
all over Europe by an equivalent for this name from the earliest
times. The bird itself is perfectly inoffensive, singular in form and
habits, though rarely seen alive near enough for its peculiarities
of form and colour to be observed. Its note, however, is familiar
enough to persons who are in the habit of being out late at night
in such parts of the country as it frequents. The silence of the
evening or midnight walk in June is occasionally broken by a deep
churr-churr-ery which seemingly proceeds from the lower bough of
a tree, a hedge, or paling. And a whirring of the wings comes often
from their being brought in contact as the birds twist in insect-
hunting.t The churring is nearly monotonous but not quite so,
as it occasionally rises or falls about a quarter of a note, and appears
to increase and diminish in loudness. Nor does it seem to proceed
continuously from exactly the same spot, but to vary its position,
as if the performer were either a ventriloquist or were actually
shifting his ground. The bird perches with its feet resting length-
wise on a branch, its claws not being adapted for grasping, and
turns its head from side to side, thus throwing the sound as it
were in various directions, and producing the same effect as if it
proceeded from different places. I have repeatedly worked my

1 Mr. Bell informs me that it is so like the croak of the Natter-Jack Toad,
that he has more than once doubted from which of the two the sound proceeded.

126 THE NIGHTJAR

way close up to the bird, but as I labour under the disadvantage
of being short-sighted, and derive little assistance from glasses
at night, I have always failed to observe it actually perched and
singing. In the summer of 1859 a Nightjar frequented the imme-
diate neighbourhood of my own house, and I had many opportunities
of listening to its note. One evening especially, it perched on a railing
within fifty yards of the house, and I made sure of seeing it, but
when I had approached within a few yards of the spot from whence
the sound proceeded the humming suddenly stopped, but was
presently again audible at the other end of the railing which ran
across my meadow. I cautiously crept on, but with no better
success than before. As I drew near, the bird quitted its perch,
flew round me, coming within a few feet of my person, and, on my
remaining still, made itself heard from another part of the railing
only a few yards behind me. Again and again I dodged it, but
always with the same result ; I saw it, indeed, several times, but
always on the wing. At last a longer interval of silence ensued,
and when I heard the sound again it proceeded from a distant
hedge which separated the meadow from a common. Here pro-
bably its mate was performing the domestic duty of incubation
cheered by the dismal ditty of her partner ; but I never saw her,
though I undertook another nocturnal chase of the musician, hunt-
ing him from tree to tree, but never being able to discover his
exact position, until the cessation of the sound and the sudden
rustling of leaves announced the fact of his having taken his
departure.

In the dusk of the evening the Nightjar may commonly be seen
hawking for moths and beetles after the manner of the Swallow-
tribe, only that the flight is less rapid and more tortuous. I once
saw one on the common mentioned above, hawking seemingly in
company with Swifts and Swallows during the bright glare of a
summer afternoon ; but most frequently it spends the day. either
resting on the ground among heath or ferns or on the branch of a
tree, always (according to Yarrell and others) crouching close down
upon it, in the line of the limb, and not across it. When perched
on the ground it lies very close, ‘not rising (a French author says)
until the dogs are almost on it, but worth shooting in September’.
The poet Wordsworth, whose opportunities of watching the Nightjar
in its haunts must have been numerous, knew that the whirring
note is an accompaniment of the chase:

The busy Dor-Hawk chases the white moth

With burring note——

The burring Dor-Hawk round and round is wheeling :
That solitary bird

Is all that can be heard
In silence, deeper far than deepest noon.

One point in the economy of the Nightjar is still disputed (1908)

THE GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER 127

the use which it makes of its serrated middle claw. Wuite, and
another observer, quoted by Yarrell, have seen the bird while on
the wing capture insects with the claw and transfer them to the
mouth. Wilson, on the other hand, states that the use of this
singular structure is to enable the bird to rid itself of vermin, to
which it is much exposed by its habit of remaining at rest during
the heat of the day. Ashe has actually observed a bird in captivity
thus employing its claw, it would follow that the same organ is used
for a twofold purpose.

The Nightjar is a migratory bird and the last to arrive in this
country, appearing not before the middle of May. It is found more
or less sparingly in all parts of England, especially those which abound
most in woods interspersed with heaths and brakes. In the wooded
valleys of Devonshire it is of frequent occurrence, and here it has
been known to remain so late in the season as November, whereas
from most other localities it migrates southwards about the middle
or end of September. It builds no nest, but lays its singularly
beautiful eggs, two in number, on the ground among the dry
herbage of the common.

Other names by which it is locally known are Fern Ow], Wheeler,
and Nightchurr.

AUWOULSS KOU bse
Sus-Famity PICINA!

DHE GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER
DENDROCOPUS MAJOR

Crown and upper plumage black ; a crimson patch on the back of the head ;
a white spot on each side of the neck ; scapulars, lesser wing-coverts, and
under plumage white ; abdomen and under tail-coverts crimson ; iris
red. &emale—without the crimson on the head. Length nine inches
and a half ; breadth fourteen inches. Eggs glossy white.

In habits this bird closely resembles the Green Woodpecker. It

is of less common occurrence, but by no means rare, especially in the

wooded districts of the southern and midland counties. A writer
in the Zoologist* is of opinion that it shows a decided partiality
to fallen timber. ‘In 1849’, he says, ‘a considerable number
of trees were cut down in an open part of the country near Mel-
bourne, which were eventually drawn together and piled in lots.
These lay for some time, and were visited almost daily by Great

SDVOlS Vill ep sls.

128 THE GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER

Spotted Woodpeckers. Their habits and manners were very
amusing, especially whilst searching for food. They alighted on
the timber, placed the body in a particular position, generally
with the head downward ’ [differing in this respect from the Green
Woodpecker], ‘and commenced pecking away at the bark. Piece
by piece it fell under their bills, as chips from the axe of a woodman.
Upon examining the bark, I found that the pieces were chipped
away in order that the bird might arrive at a small white grub which
lay snugly embedded in the bark ; and the adroitness of the bird in
finding out those portions of it which contained the greatest number
of grubs, was certainly very extraordinary. Where the birds were
most at work on a particular tree, I shelled off the bark and found
nearly thirty grubs in nine squares inches; but on shelling off
another portion from the same tree, which remained untouched,
no grub was visible. Yet how the bird could ascertain precisely
where his food lay was singular, as in both cases the surface of the
bark appeared the same and bore no traces of having been per-
forated by insects. During the day one bird chipped off a piece
thirty inches long and twenty wide—a considerable day’s work
for so small a workman.’ Another observer states that this bird
rarely descends to the ground, and affects the upper branches
of trees in preference to the lower. Its note is like that of the Green
Woodpecker. Both species are charged with resorting to gardens
and orchards during the fruit season, not in quest of insect food ;
but no instance of this has come under my own notice. It is said,
too, that they eat nuts. This statement is most probably correct.
I myself doubt whether there are many birds of any sort which
can resist a walnut ; and I would recommend any one who is hospit-
ably disposed towards the birds which frequent his garden, to
strew the ground with fragments of these nuts. To birds who
are exclusively vegetarians, if indeed there be any such indigenous
to Britain, they are a natural article of diet, and as from their
oily nature they approximate to animal matter, they are most
acceptable to insectivorous birds. They have an advantage over
almost every other kind of food thus exposed, that they are not
liable to be appropriated as scraps of meat and bread are, by prowl-
ing cats and dogs. A walnut, suspended from the bough of a tree
by a string, will soon attract the notice of some inquisitive Tit, and,
when once detected, will not fail to receive the visits of all birds
of the same family which frequent the neighbourhood. A more
amusing pendulum can scarcely be devised. To ensure the success
of the experiment, a small portion of the shell should be removed.

Wryneck J Greater Spotted Woodpecker ?
Green Woodpecker f Lesser Spotted Woodpecker J

[face p, 128

ee ee yy

THE GREEN WOODPECKER 129

THE LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER
DEUDROCOPUS MINOR

Forchead and lower parts dirty white ; crown bright red; nape, back, and
wings black, with white bars; tail black, the outer feathers tipped with
white and barred with black; iris red. Length five inches and a half;
breadth twelve inches. Eggs glossy white.

Tus handsome little bird resembles its congeners so closely, both
in structure and habits, that it scarcely needs a lengthened descrip-
tion. Resident in England but rare in Scotland and Ireland, owing
to its fondness for high trees and its small size it often escapes
notice. It lays its eggs on the rotten wood, which it has either
pecked, or which has fallen, from the holes in trees; they are not
to be distinguished from those of the Wryneck. Lately (1908) a
Scottish newspaper recorded the shooting of ‘‘that rare species,

the Spotted Woodpecker!” ‘The man with the gun” is in-
curable.

THE GREEN WOODPECKER

GECINUS VIRIDIS

Upper plumage green; under, greenish ash; crown, back of the head, and
moustaches crimson; face black. Female—less crimson on the head ;
moustaches black. Length thirteen inches ; breadth twenty-one inches.
Eggs glossy white.

ONE of the most interesting among the natural sounds of the
country, is that of the

Wocdpecker tapping the hollow beech tree :

yet one may walk through the woods many times and hear no tap-
ping at all, and even if such a sound be detected and traced to its
origin, it will often be found to proceed from the Nuthatch, who has
wedged a hazel-nut into the bark of an oak, than from the hammer-
ing of a Woodpecker. Yet often indeed it may be observed ascend-
ing, by a series of starts, the trunk of a tree, inclining now a little
to the right, and now to the left, disappearing now and then on the
side farthest from the spectator, and again coming into view scme-
what higher up. Nor is its beak idle; this is employed sometimes
in dislocging the insects which lurk in the rugged bark, and some-
times in tapping the trunk in order to find out whether the wood
beneath is sound or otherwise. Just as a carpenter sounds a wall
with his hammer in order to discover where the brickwork ends
and where lath and plaster begin, so the Woocrpecker sounds the

wooden pillar to which it is clinging, in order to discover where the
B.B, K

130 THE GREEN WOODPECKER

wood is impenetrable alike by insects and itself, and where the former
have been beforehand with it in seeking food or shelter. Such a
canker-spot found, it halts iff its course, tears off piece-meal a portion
of bark and excavates the rotten wood beneath, either as far as the
fault extends or as long as it can find food. It is, then, by no means
a mischievous bird, but the reverse ; as it not only destroys a num-
ber of noxious insects, but points out to the woodman, if he would
only observe aright, which trees are beginning to decay and conse-
quently require his immediate attention. This aspect of the Wood-
pecker’s operations is the right one and not the old idea that ‘ it
is a great enemy of old trees in consequence of the holes which it
digs in their trunks’, as some old writer states.

But with all his digging and tapping, the sound by which the
vicinity of a Woodpecker is most frequently detected, especially in
spring and summer, is the unmistakable laughing note which has
gained for him the name of ‘ Yaffle.’ No more perhaps than the
mournful cooing of the dove does this indicate merriment ; it is
harsh, too, in tone; yet it rings through the woods with such jovial
earnestness that it is always welcome. On such occasions the bird
is not generally, I think, feeding, for if the neighbourhood from
which the sound proceeded be closely watched, the Yaffle may
frequently be observed to fly away, with a somewhat heavy dipping
flight, to another tree or grove, and thence, after another laugh, to
proceed to a second. It is indeed oftener to be seen on the wing
than hunting for food on the trunks of trees. Very frequently too
it may be observed on the ground, especially in a meadow or com-
mon in which ants abound.

The admirable adaptation of the structure of the Woodpecker
to its mode of life is well pointed out by Yarrell. Its sharp, hooked
toes, pointing two each way, are eminently fitted for climbing and
clinging. The keel of the breast-bone is remarkably shallow ; hence,
when ascending (its invariable mode of progress) a tree, it is enabled
to bring its body close to the trunk without straining the muscles
of the legs. Its tail is short, and composed of unusually stiff
feathers, which in the process of climbing are pressed inwards
against the tree, and contribute greatly to its support. The beak
is strong and of considerable length, and thus fitted either for digging
into an ant-hill or sounding the cavities of a tree ; and the tongue,
which is unusually long, is furnished with a curious but simple
apparatus, by which it is extended so that it can be thrust into a
hole far beyond the point of the bill, while its tip is barbed with
small filaments, which, like the teeth of a rake, serve to pull up the
larva or insect into its mouth. The Woodpecker builds no nest,
but lays five or six glossy white eggs on the fragments of the decayed
wood in which it has excavated its nest.

Other names by which this bird is known are Popinjay, Wood-
sprite, Rain-bird, Hew-hole and Woodweele.

THE WRYNECK {31

Sus-Famity [YNGIN&
THE WRYNECK

IYNX TORQUILLA
Upper plumage reddish grey, irregularly spotted and lined with Lrown and
black ; a broad black and brown band from the back of the head to the
back; throat and breast yellowish red, with dusky transverse rays ;
rest of the under plumage whitish, with arrow shaped black spots ; outer
web of the quills marked with rectangular alternate black and yellowish
red spots; tail-feathers barred with black zigzag bands; beak and feet
olive brown. Length six inches and a half ; breadth eleven inches. Eggs
glossy white.
THE note of the Wryneck is so peculiar that it can be confounded
with none of the natural sounds of the country ; a loud, rapid, harsh
cry of pay-pay-pay from a bird about the size of a lark may be
referred without hesitation to the Wryneck. Yet it is a pleasant
sound after all—‘the merry pee-bird’ a pcet calls it—and the
untuneful minstrel is the same bird which is known by the name
of ‘Cuckoo’s Mate’, and so is associated with May-days, pleasant
jaunts into the country, hayfields, the memory of past happy days
and the hope of others to come. This name it derives not from any
fondness it exhibits for the society of the cuckoo, as it is a bird of
remarkably solitary habits, but because it arrives generally a few
days before the cuckoo. Not less singular than its note is its plum-
age, which, though unmarked by gaudiness of colouring, is very
beautiful, being richly embroidered as it were with brown and black
on areddish grey ground. In habits, it bears no marked resemblance
to the Woodpeckers ; it is not much given to climbing and never taps
the trunks of trees ; yet it does seek its food on decayed trees, and em-
ploys its long horny tongue in securing insects. It darts its tongue
with inconceivable rapidity into an ant-hill and brings it out as
rapidly, with the insects and their eggs adhering to its viscid point.
These constitute its principal food, so that it is seen more frequently
feeding on the ground than hunting on trees. But by far the strangest
peculiarity of the Wryneck, stranger than its note and even than
its worm-like tongue, is the wondrous pliancy of its neck, which
one might almost imagine to be furnished with a ball and socket
joint. A country boy who had caught one of these birds on its
nest brought it to me on a speculation. As he held it in his hand,
I raised my finger towards it as if about to touch its beak. The
bird watched most eagerly the movement of my finger, with no
semblance of fear, but rather with an apparent intention of resenting
the offer of any injury. I moved my finger to the left ; its beak
followed the direction—the finger was now over its back, still the
beak pointed to it. In short, as a magnetic needle follows a piece
of steel, so the bird’s beak followed my finger until it was again in
front, the structure of the neck beivg suchas to allow the head

132 THE KINGFISHER

to make a complete revolution on its axis, and this without any
painful effort. I purchased the bird and gave it its liberty, satisfied
to have discovered the propriety of the name Torquilla.1_ I may here
remark that the name lynx,” is derived from its harsh cry. Besides
this, the proper call-note of the bird, it utters, when disturbed in its
nest, another which resembles a hiss ; whence and partly, perhaps,
on account of the peculiar structure of its neck, it is sometimes called
the Snake-bird. Nest, properly speaking, it has none; it selects
a hole in a decaying tree and lays its eggs on the rotten wood.
Its powers of calculating seem to be of a very low order. Yarrell
records an instance in which four sets of eggs, amounting to
twenty-two, were successively taken before the nest was deserted ;
a harsh experiment, and scarcely to be justified except on the plea
that they were taken by some one who gained his livelihood by
selling eggs, or was reduced to a strait from want of food. A similar
instance is recorded in the Zoologist, when the number of eggs taken
was also twenty-two. The Wryneck is a common bird in the south-
eastern counties of England and to the west as far as Somersetshire ;
but I have never heard its note in Devon or Cornwall ; it is rare also
in the northern counties.

FAMILY ALCEDINIDA:
THE KINGFISHER

ALCEDO {SPIDA

Back azure-blue; head and wing-coverts bluish green, spotted with azure-
blue ; under and behind the eye a reddish band passing into white, and
beneath this a band of azure-green ; wings and tail greenish blue ; throat
white ; under plumage rusty orange-red. Length seven inches and a
quarter ; width ten inches. Eggs glossy white, nearly round.

Hatcyon days, every one knows, are days of peace and tranquillity,
when all goes smoothly, and nothing occurs to ruffle the equanimity
of the most irascible member of a household ; but it may not be
known to all my younger readers that a bird is said to be in any way
concerned in bringing about this happy state of things. According
to the ancient naturalists the Halcyon, our Kingfisher, being especi-
ally fond of the water and its products, chooses to have even a float-
ing nest. Now the surface of the sea is an unfit place whereon to
construct a vessel of any kind, so the Halcyon, as any other skilful
artisan would, puts together on land first the framework, and

1 From the Latin forqgueo, ‘ to twist.’
* Greek lvyé from iv{w, to ‘ shriek,’

THE KINGFISHER 133

then the supplementary portion of its nest, the materials being
shelly matter and spines, whence derived is unknown; but the
principal substance employed is fishbones. During the progress
of the work the careful bird several times tests its buoyancy by
actual experiment, and when satisfied that all is safe, launches
its future nursery on the ocean. However turbulent might have
been the condition of the water previously to this event, thenceforth
a calm ensued, which lasted during the period of incubation ; and
these were ‘ Halcyon days’ (Halcyontdes dies), which set in seven
days before the winter solstice; and lasted as many days after.
What became of the young after the lapse of this period is not
stated, but the deserted nest itself, called halcyoneum, identical,
perhaps, with what we consider the shell of the echinus, or sea-urchin,
was deemed a valuable medicine.!

The real nest of the Kingfisher is a collection of small fish-bones,
which have evidently been disgorged by the old birds. <A portion
of one which I have in my possession, and which was taken about
twenty years since from a deep hole in an embankment at Deepdale,
Norfolk, consists exclusively of small fish-bones and scraps of the
shells of shrimps. A precisely similar one is preserved in the British
Museum, which is well worthy the inspection of the curious. It was
found by Mr. Gould in a hole three feet deep on the banks of the
Thames; it was half an inch thick and about the size of a tea saucer,
and weighed 700 grains. Mr. Gould was enabled to prove that this
mass was deposited, as well as eight eggs laid, in the short space of
twenty-one days. In neither case was there any attempt made by
the bird to employ the bones as materials for a structure ; they
were simply spread on the soil in such a way as to protect the
eggs from damp, possessing probably no properties which made
them superior to bents or dry leaves, but serving the purpose
as well as anything else, and being more readily available, by a bird
that does not peck on the ground, than materials of any other
kind.

The wanderer by the river’s side on a bright sunny day, at any
season, may have his attention suddenly arrested by the sight of a
bird shooting past him, either up or down the stream, at so slight
an elevation above the water, that he can look down on its back.
Its flight is rapid, and the colour of the plumage so brilliant, that
he can compare it to nothing less dazzlingly bright than the richest
feathers of the peacock, or a newly dug specimen of copper ore.
After an interval of a few seconds it will perhaps be followed by a
second, its mate, arrayed in attire equally gorgeous with emerald,
azure, and gold. Following the course of the bird, let him approach
cautiously any pools where small fish are likely to abound, and he
may chance to descry, perched motionless on the lower branch

}-Plins Nats Hast. libl-x. cap. 32. xxxil. cap. 8.

134 THE ROLLER

of an alder overhanging the stream, on some bending willow, or
lichen-covered rail, the bird which but now glanced by him like a
meteor. If exposed to the rays of the sun, the metallic green of its
upper plumage is still most conspicuous ; if in the shade, or sur-
rounded by leaves, its chestnut red breast betrays its position.
Not,a step further in advance, or the fisherman, intent as he is on
his sport, will take alarm and be off to another station. With
beak pointed downwards it is watching until one among a shoal of
minnows or bleaks comes within a fair aim; then with a twinkle
of the wing it dashes head foremost from its post, plunges into the
stream, disappears for a second, and emerges still head foremost
with its struggling booty. A few pinches with its powerful beak,
or a blow against its perch, deprives its prey of life, and the morsel
is swallowed entire, head foremost. Occasionally, where convenient
perches are rare, as is the case with the little pools left by the tide
on the sea-shore (for the Kingfisher is common on the banks of tidal
rivers as well as on inland streams and lakes), it hovers like a Kestrel,
and plunges after small fish, shrimps, and marine insects. It once
happened to me that I was angling by a river’s side, quite concealed
from view by a willow on either side of me, when a Kingfisher flew
down the stream, and perched on my rod. I remained perfectly
still, but was detected before an opportunity had been afforded me
of taking a lesson from my brother sportsman.

The Kingfisher is a permanent resident in this country, and may
be observed, at any season, wherever there is a river, canal, or lake,
those streams being preferred the banks of which are lined with
trees or bushes. Like most other birds of brilliant plumage, it is
no vocalist ; its only note being a wild piping cry, which it utters
while on the wing. Happily the Kingfishers are again on the increase
in our country.

FAMILY CORACIIDA
THE ROLLER

CORACIAS GARRULUS

Head, neck, and under parts tinged with various shades of light blue, varied
with green; back and scapulars reddish brown; tail blue, green, and
black. Length twelve inches and a half. Eggs smooth shining white.

Agsout twenty specimens in all of this bird have been observed
in England, the one of most recent occurrence being, I believe,

Kingfisher g Hoopoe

Roller Bee-eater ¢ ase pags

aan) i ae

THE BEE-EATER 135

one which was shot close to my garden, on the twentieth of
September, 1852. The winter home of the Roller is Africa, and
it is said to be particularly abundant in Algeria. About the
middle of April it crosses the Mediterranean, and seems to prefer
the north of Europe to the south as a summer residence, being more
abundant in Germany and the south of Russia than in France,
though many proceed no further than Sicily and Greece. Its food
consists mainly of caterpillars and other insects. The name Roller,
being derived directly from the French Rollier, should be pronounced
so as to rhyme with ‘ dollar’.

FAMILY MEROPIDA:
THE BEE-EATER

MEROPS APIASTER

Forehead white, passing into bluish green ; upper plumage chestnut ; throat
golden yellow, bounded by a black line; wings variegated with blue,
brown, and green; tail greenish blue. Length cleven inches. Eggs
glossy white.

Tuts bird, which in briliancy of plumage vies with the Humming-
birds, possesses little claim to be ranked among soberly clad British
birds. Stray instances are indeed met with from time to time, but
at distant intervals. In the islands of the Mediterranean, and in
the southern countries of Europe, they are common summer visitors,
and in Asia Minor and the south of Russia they are yet more frequent.
They are gregarious in habits, having been observed, both in Europe,
their summer, and in Africa, their winter residence, to perch together
on the branches of trees in small flocks. They also build their
nests near each other. These are excavations in the banks of rivers,
variously stated to be extended to the depth of from six inches to
as many feet. Their flight is graceful and light, resembling that
of the Swallows. Their food consists of winged insects, especially
bees and wasps, which they not only catch when they are
wandering at large through the air, but watch for near their nests.
The inhabitants of Candia and Cyprus are said to catch them by
the help of a light silk line, to which is attached by a fish-hook a
wild bee. The latter in its endeavour to escape soars into the air,
_and the Bee-eater seizing it becomes the prey of the aérial fisherman.

136 THE HOOPOE

FAMILY UPUPIDA

THE HOOPOE

UPUPA EPOPS

Crest orange-red tipped with black ; head, neck, and breast pale cinnamon ;
back, wings, and tail barred with black and white; under parts white.
Length twelve inches; width nineteen inches. Eggs lavender grey,
changing to greenish olive.

LITTLE appears to be known of the habits of this very foreign-looking
bird from observation in Great Britain. The season at which it is
seen in this country is usually autumn, though a few instances have
occurred of its having bred with us. In the south of Europe and
north of Africa it is of common occurrence as a summer visitor, but
migrates southwards in autumn. Its English name is evidently
derived from the French Huppe, a word which also denotes ‘a
crest’, the most striking characteristic of the bird. It is called also
in France Puput, a word coined, perhaps, to denote the noise of
disgust which one naturally makes at encountering an unpleasant
odour, this, it is said, being the constant accompaniment of its nest,
which is always found in a filthy condition, owing to the neglect of
the parent birds in failing to remove offensive matter, in conformity
with the laudable practice of most other birds. In spite of the
martial appearance of its crest, it is said to be excessively timid, and
to fly from an encounter with the smallest bird that opposes it. It
lives principally on the ground, feeding on beetles and ants. On
trees it sometimes perches but does not climb, and builds its nest
in holes in trees and walls, rarely in clefts of rocks. It walks with
a show of dignity when on the ground, erecting its crest from time
to time. Inspring the male utters a note not unlike the coo of a
Wood-pigeon, which it repeats several times, and at other seasons it
occasionally emits a sound something like the shrill note of the Green-
finch. But it is no musician and is as little anxious to be heard as
seen. The nest is a simple structure composed of a few scraps of
dried grass and feathers, and contains from four to six eggs. It
would breed here annually if not always shot on arrival]

THE CUCKOO 137

PAMIEY (CUCULEID A:

THe CUCKOO
CUCULUS CANORUS

Upper plumage bluish ash colour, darker on the wings, lighter on the neck and
chest ; under parts whitish with transverse dusky streaks ; quills barred
on the inner webs with oval white spots; tail-feathers blackish, tipped
and spotted with white ; bill dusky, edged with yellow ; orbits and inside
of the mouth orange-yellow ; iris and feet yellow. Young—ash-brown,
barred with reddish brown; tips of the feathers white; a white spot
on the back of the head. Length thirteen inches and a half, breadth
twenty-three inches. Eggs varying in colour and markings.

No bird in a state of nature utters a note approaching so closely
the sound of the human voice as the Cuckoo; on this account, perhaps,
partially at least, it has at all times been regarded with especial
interest. Its habits have been much investigated, and they are
found to be unlike those of any other bird. The Cuckoo was a
puzzle to the earlier naturalists, and there are points in its biography
which are controverted still. From the days of Aristotle to those
of Pliny, it was supposed to undergo a metamorphosis twice a year,
appearing during the summer months as a Cuckoo, “a bird of the
hawk kind, though destitute of curved talons and hooked beak, and
having the bill of a Pigeon ; should it chance to appear simultane-
ously with a Hawk it was devoured, being the sole example of a bird
being killed by one of its own kind. In winter it actually changed
into a Merlin, but reappeared in spring in its own form, but with an
altered voice, laid a single egg, or rarely two, in the nest of some other
bird, generally a Pigeon, declining to rear its own young, because it
knew itself to be a common object of hostility among all birds, and
that its brood would be in consequence unsafe, unless it practised a
deception. The young Cuckoo being naturally greedy, monopolized
the food brought to the nest by its foster parents; it thus grew
fat and sleek, and so excited its dam with admiration of her lovely
offspring, that she first neglected her own chicks, then suffered
them to be devoured before her eyes, and finally fell a victim herself
to his voracious appetite.’’ —A strange fiction, yet not more strange
than the truth, a glimmering of which appears throughout. We
know well enough now that the Cuckoo does not change into a
Merlin, but migrates in autumn to the southern regions of Africa ;
but this neither Aristotle nor Pliny could have known, for the com-
mon belief in their days was, that a continued progress southwards
would bring the traveller toa climate too fierce for the maintenance
of animal life. Now the Merlin visits the south of Europe, just at
the season when the Cuckoo disappears, and returns northwards to
> esha, Iie Ueldey, thie, ><, (Cayo 5 sb.<

138 THE CUCKOO

breed in spring, a fact in its history as little known as the migration
of the Cuckoo. It bears a certain resemblance to the Cuckoo, parti-
cularly in its barred plumage, certainly a greater one than exists
between a caterpillar and a butterfly,so that there were some grounds
for the belief in a metamorphosis, strengthened not a little by the
fact that the habits of the bird were peculiar in other respects.
Even so late as the time of our own countrymen, Willughby and
Ray (1676), it was a matter of doubt whether the Cuckoo lay torpid
in a hollow tree, or migrated during winter. These authors, though
they do not admit their belief of a story told by Aldrovandus of a
certain Swiss peasant having heard the note of a Cuckoo proceed
from a log of wood which he had thrown into a furnace, thought
it highly probable that the Cuckoo did become torpid during winter,
and were acquainted with instances of persons who had heard its
note during unusually mild winter weather. A Cuckoo which had
probably been hatched off too late to go away with the rest remained
about the tennis ground of a relative of the present editor
until the middle of November, getting very tame. Then, unfortun-
ately, a cat got it. The assertion again of the older naturalists,
that the Cuckoo is the object of hatred among birds generally, seems
credible, though I should be inclined to consider its habit of laying
its eggs in the nests of other birds as the cause rather than the con-
sequence of its unpopularity. The contrary, however, is the fact,
numerous anecdotes of the Cuckoo showing that it is regarded by
many other birds with a respect which amounts to infatuation,
rather than with apprehension. The statement that it lays but
one egg is erroneous, so also is the assertion of Willughby that it
invariably destroys the eggs found in a nest previously to depositing
its own. Pliny’s assertion that the young bird devours its foster
brothers and sisters is nearer the truth, but his account of its crown-
ing act of impiety in swallowing its nurse, is, I need not say,
altogether unfounded in fact. Having disposed of these errors,
some of which are entertained by the credulous or ill-informed at
the present day, I will proceed to sketch in outline the biography
of this singular bird, as the facts are now pretty generally admitted.

The Cuckoo arrives in this country about the middle of April ;
the time of its coming to different countries is adapted to the time of
the foster-parents’ breeding. During the whole of its stay it leads a
wandering life, building no nest, and attaching itself to no particular
locality. It shows no hostility towards birds of another kind, and
little affection for those of its own. Iftwo males meet in the course
of their wandering they frequently fight with intense animosity. I
was once witness of an encounter between two birds who chanced
to meet in mid-air. Without alighting they attacked each other
with fury, pecking at each other and changing places just as one
sees two barn-door cocks fight for the supremacy of the dunghill.
Feathers flew in profusion, and in their passion the angry birds heeded

Crossbill, im. 2 F White Winged Crossbill d 2
Cuckoo J

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THE CUCKOO 139

my presence so little that they came almost within arm’s length of
me. These single combats account for the belief formerly enter-
tained that the Cuckoo was the only sort of Hawk that preyed on
its own kind. The female does not pair or keep to one mate. It is,
however, frequently accompanied by a small bird of another kind,
said to be a Meadow Pipit.

The Cuckoo hunts for its food both in trees and on the ground.
On its first arrival it lives principally on beetles, but when cater-
pillars become abundant it prefers them, especially the hairy sorts.
In the months of May and June, the female Cuckoo lays her eggs
(the number of which is variously estimated from five to twelve),
choosing a separate locality for each, and that invariably the nest
of some other bird. The nests in which the egg of a Cuckoo has
been found in this country are those of the Hedge Sparrow, Robin,
Redstart, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Wagtail,
Pipit, Skylark, Yellow Bunting, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Linnet,
Blackbird and Wren; the Pipit being the most frequent. It has
now been ascertained that the nests of birds in which the Cuckoo lays
its eggs in different countries number 145 species.' Insome of these
instances, the position and structure of the nests were such that a
bird of so large a size could not possibly have laid an egg in the usual
way. Hence, and from other evidence, it is pretty clear that the
egg is in all cases laid at a distance from the nest and carried by the
bird in her bill to its destination. The bird can have no difficulty in
accomplishing this seemingly hard task ; for the gape of the Cuckoo
is wide, and the egg disproportionately small, no larger in fact than
the egg of the Skylark, a bird only a fourth of its size. The period
during which a nest is fit for the reception of a Cuckoo’s egg is short ;
if a time were chosen between the completion of the nest and the
laying of the first egg by the rightful owner, the Cuckoo could have
no security that her egg would receive incubation in good time, and
again if the hen were sitting there would be no possibility of intro-
ducing her egg surreptitiously. She accordingly searches for a nest
in which one egg or more is laid, and in the absence of the owner
lays down her burden and departs. There are certain grave sus-
picions that the intruder sometimes makes room for her own egg by
destroying those already laid ; but this, if it be true, is exceptional.
If it were very much larger than the rest, it might excite suspicion,
and be either turned out, or be the cause of the nest being deserted ;
it would require, moreover, a longer incubation than the rest, and
would either fail to be hatched, or produce a young Cuckoo at a
time when his foster-brothers had grown strong enough to thwart
his evil designs. As it is, after fourteen days’ incubation, the eggs
are hatched simultaneously, or nearly so, the Cuckoo being generally

' Mr. Wells Bladen, of Stone, wrote an interesting brochure on this point.—
J. ASO;

140 THE CUCKOO

the first. No sooner does the young bird see the day, than he pro-
ceeds to secure for himself the whole space of the nest and the sole
attention of his foster-parents, by insinuating himself under the
other young birds and any eggs which may remain unhatched, and
hurling them over the edge of the nest, where they are left to perish.
‘The singularity of its shape’, says Dr. Jenner, ‘ is well adapted for
these purposes ; for, different from other newly-hatched birds, its
back from the shoulders downwards is very broad, with a consider-
able depression in the middle. To the question which naturally
suggests itself, ‘Why does the young Cuckoo thus monopolize the
nest and the attentions of its foster parents ?’ the solution is plain.
The newly-hatched bird must of necessity be less in size than the
egg from which it proceeded, but a full-grown Cuckoo exceeds the
dimensions of a whole brood of Pipits; its growth therefore must
be rapid and cannot be maintained without a large supply of food.
But the old birds could not possibly with their utmost exertions feed
a brood of their own kind and satisfy the demands made by the
appetite of the voracious stranger as well. The latter consequently
saves them from this impossible task, and, by appropriating to his
single use the nourishment intended for a brood of four or five, not
only makes provision for his own well-being, but helps them out of
a difficulty. So assiduously is he taken care of that he soon becomes
a portly bird and fills his nest ; in about three weeks he is able to
fly, but for a period of four or five weeks more his foster-parents
continue to feed him. It is probable that the young Cuckoo actu-
ually exercises some fascination over other birds. There is a case
on record in which a pair of Meadow Pipits were seen to throw out
their own young ones to make room for the intrucer. In another
instance, a young Cuckoo which had been taken from the nest and
was being reared by hand escaped from confinement.. Having one
of its wings cut, it could not fly, but was found again, at the expira-
tion of a month, within a few fields of the house where it was reared,
and several little wild birds were in the act of feeding it. The
Bishop of Norwich! mentions two instances in which a young
Cuckoo in captivity was fed by a young Thrush which had only just
learnt to feed itself.

In the days when omens were observed, it was considered a matter
of high import to hear the song of the Nightingale before that of
the Cuckoo. Thus Chaucer says : ;

it was a commone tale

That it were gode to here the Nightingale,
Mcche rathir ? than the lewde * Cuckowe singe.

So, when on a certain occasion he heard the Cuckoo first, and was
troubled in consequence, he represents the Nightingale as thus
addressing him :

1 Familiar History of Birds. 2 Farlier. 3 Unskilful.

THE CUCKOO 141

be thou not dismaied
For thou have herd the Cuckow erst than me,
For if I live it shall amendid be
The nexte Maie, if I be not afraied.

More recently Milton thus addresses the Nightingale :

Thy liquid notes that close the eye of day,
First heard before the shallow Cuccoo’s bill,
Portend success in love.

Whether any traces of this popular belief yet linger in our rural
districts, I do not know; but I can recall my childish days in the
west of England (where there are no Nightingales), when I looked
forward with implicit faith to the coming of the Cuckoo, to ‘ eat up
the dirt’, and make the Devonshire lanes passable for children’s
spring wanderings.

The song of the Cuckoo, I need scarcely remark, consists
of but two notes, of which the upper is, I believe, invariably,
FE flat, the lower most frequently C natural, forming, however,
not a perfect musical interval, but something between a minor
and a major third. Occasionally two birds may be heard
singing at once, one seemingly aiming at a minor, the other
a major third; the effect is, of course, discordant. Sometimes
the first note is pronounced two or three times, thus ‘ cuck-cuck-
cuckoo’, and I have heard it repeated rapidly many times in suc-
cession, so as to resemble the trilling note of the Nightingale, but in
a lower key. The note of the nestling is a shrill plaintive chirp,
which may best be imitated by twisting a glass stopper in a bottle.
Even the human ear has no difficulty in understanding it as a cry
for food, of which it is insatiable. Towards the end of June the
Cuckoo, according to the old adage, ‘alters its tune’, which at
first loses its musical character and soon ceases altogether. In July
the old birds leave us, the males by themselves first, and the females
not many days after; but the young birds remain until October.

Referring to the young cuckoo’s manner of ejecting the eggs of
its foster-parents, and the reason for this apparently cruel action,
the editor refers our readers to Mr. W. H. Hudson’s interesting
chapter in Idle Days in Hampshire.

142 THE BARN OWL

ORDER STRIGES

FAMILY STRIGID#
Sus-Famity STRIGIN/E

THE BARN OWL

STRIX FLAMMEA

Beak yellowish white ; upper parts light tawny yellow minutely variegated

with brown, grey, and white ; face and lower plumage white, the feathers

of the margin tipped with brown. Length fourteen inches; breadth

nearly three feet. Eggs white.
RETURNING from our Summer-evening’s walk at the pleasant time
when twilight is deepening into night, when the Thrush has piped
its last roundelay, and the Nightingale is gathering strength for a
flesh flood of melody, a sudden exclamation from our companion
‘What was that ?’ compels us to look in the direction pointed at
just in time to catch a glimpse of a phantom-like body disappearing
behind the hedge-row. But that the air is still, we might have
imagined it to be a sheet of silver paper wafted along by the wind,
so lightly and noiselessly did it pass on. We know, however, that
a pair of Barn Owls have appropriated these hunting-grounds, and
that this is their time of sallying forth; we are aware, too, how
stealthily they fly along the lanes, dipping behind the trees, search-
ing round the hay-stacks, skimming over the stubble, and all with
an absence of sound that scarcely belongs to moving life. Yet,
though by no means slow of flight, the Barn Owl can scarcely be
said to cleave the air; rather, it fans its way onwards with its
down-fringed wings, and the air, thus softly treated, quietly yields
to the gentle force, and retires without murmur to allow it a passage.
Not without meaning is this silence preserved. The nimble little
animals that constitute the chase, are quick-sighted and sharp of
hearing, but the pursuer gives no notice of his approach, and they
know not their doom till they feel the inevitable talcrs in their sides.
The victim secured, silence is no longer necessary. The successful
hunter lifts up his voice in a sound of triumph, repairs to the nearest
tree to regale himself on his prize, and, for a few minutes—that is,
until the chase is resumed—utters his loud weird shriek again and
again. In the morning, the Owl will retire to his private cell and
will spend the day perched on end, dozing and digesting as long as
the sunlight is too powerful for his large and sensitive eyes. Peep
in on him in his privacy, and he will stretch out or move from side
to side his grotesque head, ruffling his feathers, and hissing as

THE BARN OWL 143

though your performance were worthy of all condemnation. Yet
he is a very handsome and most amusing bird, more worthy of being
domesticated as a pet than many others held in high repute. Taken
young from the nest, he is soon on familiar terms with his owner,
recognizes him by a flapping of wings and a hiss whenever he
approaches, clearing his premises of mice, and showing no signs of
pining at the restriction placed on his liberty. Give him a bird,
and he will soon show that, though contented with mice, he quite
appreciates more refined fare. Grasping the body with his talons,
he deliberately plucks off all the large feathers with his beak, tears
off the head, and swallows it at one gulp, and then proceeds to
devour the rest piecemeal. In a wild state his food consists mainly
of mice, which he swallows whole, beetles, and sometimes fish,
which he catches by pouncing on them in the water.

The service which the Barn Owl renders to the agriculturist, by
its consumption of rats and mice, must be exceedingly great, yet
it is little appreciated. ‘‘ When it has young’’, says Mr. Waterton,
‘it will bring a mouse to the nest every twelve or fifteen minutes.
But in order to have a proper idea of the enormous quantity of mice
which this bird destroys, we must examine the pellets which it
ejects from its stomach in the place of its retreat. Every pellet
contains from four to seven skeletons of mice. In sixteen months
from the time that the apartment of the Owl on the old gateway
was cleared out, there has been a deposit of above a bushel of pellets.”’

The plumage of the Barn Owl is remarkable for its softness, its
delicacy of pencilling on the upper parts and its snowy whiteness
below. Its face is perfectly heart-shaped during life, but when the
animal is dead becomes circular. The female is slightly larger than
her mate, and her colours are somewhat darker. The nest of the
Barn Owl is a rude structure placed in the bird’s daily haunt. The
eggs vary in number, and the bird lays them at different periods,
each egg after the first being hatched (partially at least) by the
heat of the young birds already in being. That this is always
the case it would not be safe to assert, but that it is so sometimes
there can be no doubt. The young birds are ravenous eaters and
proverbially ugly; when craving food they make a noise re-
sembling a snore. The Barn or White Owl is said to be the
most generally diffused of all the tribe, being found in almost all
latitudes of both hemispheres, and it appears to be everywhere
an object of terror to the ignorant. A bird of the night, the
time when evil deeds are done, it bespeaks for itself an evil
reputation ; making ruins and hollow trees its resort, it becomes
associated with the gloomiest legends ; uttering its discordant note
during the hours of darkness, it is rarely heard save by the benighted
traveller, or by the weary watcher at the bed of the sick and
dying ; and who more susceptible of alarming impressions than
these ?_ It is therefore scarcely surprising that the common incident

144 LONG-EARED OWL

of a Screech-Owl being attracted by a solitary midnight taper to
flutter against the window of a sick room, and there to utter its
melancholy wail, should for a time shake the faith of the watcher,
and, when repeated with the customary exaggerations, should

obtain for the poor harmless mouser the unmerited title of ‘ harbinger
of death’.

Sus-Famity SYRNIINZ

LONG-EARED OWL
ASIO OTUS

Beak black ; iris orange yellow; egrets very long, composed of eight or ten
black feathers, edged with yellow and white ; upper parts reddish yellow,
mottled with brown and grey; lower parts lighter, with oblong streaks
of deep brown. Length fifteen inches; breadth thirty-eight inches.
Eggs white.

THOUGH not among the most frequent of the English Owls, this

species occurs in most of the wooded parts of England and Ireland,

as indeed it does in nearly all parts of the world where woods are
to be found. It is more common than is usually supposed in France,
where it unites in its own person all the malpractices which have
been popularly ascribed to the whole tribe of Owls. It is there
said to be held in great detestation by all the rest of the feathered
tribe ; a fact which is turned to good account by the bird-catcher,
who, having set his traps and limed twigs, conceals himself in the
neighbourhood and imitates the note of this Cwl. The little birds,
impelled by rage or fear, or a silly combination of both, assemble
for the purpose of mobbing the common enemy. In their anxiety
to discern the object of their abhorrence, they fall one after another
into the snare, and become the prey of the fowler. The Long-eared
Owl is not altogether undeserving of the persecution which is thus
intended for her, her principal food being field-mice, but also such
little birds as she can surprise when asleep. In fact, she respects
neither the person nor the property of her neighbours, making her
home in the old nests of large birds and squirrels, and appropriating,
as food for herself and her voracious young, the carcases of any
that she finds herself strong enough to master and kill.
The cry of this bird is only occasionally uttered—a sort of barking
noise. The note of the young bird is a loud mewing and seems to

be intended as a petition to its parents for a supply of food. A

writer in the Zoologist,1 who has had many opportunities of obsery-

1 Vol, ii. p. 562,

Brown Owl,

Short-eared Owl J Long-eared Ow! J young.
Barn Owl and Egg. [face p. 144.

ae

. THE SHORT-EARED OWL 145

ing this species in its native haunts, says that it does not confine
its flight entirely tothe darker hours, as he has met with it in the woods
sailing quickly along, as if hawking, on a bright summer day. It is
curious to observe, he says, how flat they invariably make their nests,
so much so, that it is difficult to conceive how the eggs retain their
position, even in a slight wind, when the parent bird leaves them.
The eggs are four to six in number, and there are grounds for
supposing that the female bird begins to sit as soon as she has laid
her first egg.

THE SHORT-EARED OWL
ASIO ACCIPITRINUS

Face whitish ; beak black ; iris yellow; egrets inconspicuous, of a few black
feathers ; eyes encircled by brownish black; upper plumage dusky
brown, edged with yellow; lower pale orange, streaked with brown.
Length sixteen inches; breadth thirty-eight. Eggs white.

From the name, Hawk-Owl, sometimes given to this species, we

should expect to find this bird not so decidedly nocturnal in its

habits as the preceding ; and such is the case ; for, though it does
not habitually hunt by day, it has been known to catch up chickens
from the farmyard, and has been seen in chase of pigeons. TH attacked
during daylight, it does not evince the powerless dismay of the last
species, but effects a masterly retreat by soaring in a spiral direction
until it has attained an elevation to which its adversary does not
care to follow it. Unlike its allies, it frequents neither mountains
nor forests, but is found breeding in a few marshy or moorland
districts; later in the year it is met with in turnip fields and
stubbles. As many as twenty-eight were once seen in a single
turnip-field in England ; from whence it has been inferred that in
autumn the Short-eared Owls are gregarious, and establish them-
selves for a time in any place they fall in with, where field-mice or
other small quadrupeds are abundant. In England this bird is not
uncommonly started by sportsmen when in pursuit of game. It
then flies with a quick zig-zag motion for about a hundred yards,
and alights on the ground, never on a tree. By some it is called
the Woodcock-Owl, from its arriving and departing at about the
same time with that bird; it is not, however, invariably a bird of
passage, since many instances are on record of its breeding in this
country, making a rude nest in a thick bush, either on the ground,
or close to it, and feeding its young on mice, small birds, and even
the larger game, as Moor-fowl, a bird more than double its own
weight. The Short-eared Owl affords a beautiful illustration of

a fact not generally known, that the nocturnal birds of prey have

the right and left ear differently formed, one ear being so made as

to hear sounds from above, and the other from below. The opening
B,B, I,

146 THE TAWNY OWL

into the channel for conveying sound is, in the ght ear, placed
beneath the transverse fold, and directed upwards, while in the /eft
ear the same opening is placed above the channel for conveying
sound, and is directed downwards.

In the severe weather of January, 1861, I had the gratification
of seeing three or four of these Owls among the sand-hills of the coast
of Norfolk, near Holkham. I imagined them to be in pursuit of
the Redwings and other small birds which had been driven by the
intense cold to the sea-coast, since they flew about as Hawks do
when hunting for prey, and occasionally alighted among the sand-
hills. I even fell in with several heaps of feathers, showing where
some unhappy bird had been picked and eaten. A few days after-
wards, however, I inquired at another part of the coast whether
there were any Owls there, and received for an answer, ‘ No, be-
cause there are no Rabbits’ ; from which I inferred that these birds
have the reputation of hunting larger game than Thrushes, a charge
which the size and power of their hooked talons seem to justify.

THE TAWNY OWL

SYRNIUM ALUCO

Beak greyish yellow ; irides bluish dusky ; upper parts reddish brown, vari-
ously marked and spotted with dark brown, black, and grey ; large white
spots on the scapulars and wing coverts; primaries and tail feathers
barred alternately with dark and reddish brown ; lower parts reddish
white, with transverse brown._bars and longitudinal dusky streaks ; legs
feathered to the claws. Length sixteen inches; breadth three feet.
Eggs dull white.

Tus bird, the Ulula of the ancients, took its name from the Latin
ululare; the word used to denote, and partially to imitate, the
cry of the wolf; it enjoys also the doubtful honour of giving name
to the whole tribe of ‘ Owls’, whether they howl, hoot, or screech.
This species is much more common than the Barn Owl in many
districts, although it is decreasing in others. Owing to its nocturnal
habits, and dusky colour, it is not so often seen as heard. It has
many a time been my amusement to repair, towards the close of
a summer evening, toa wood which I knew to be the resort of these
birds, and to challenge them to an exchange of greetings, and I
rarely failed to succeed. Their note may be imitated so exactly
as to deceive even the birds themselves, by forming a hollow with
the fingers and palms of the two hands, leaving an opening only
between the second joints of the two thumbs, and then by blowing
with considerable force down upon the opening thus made, so as
to produce the sound hoo-hoo-hoo-o-o-o. I have thus induced a
bird to follow me for some distance, echoing my defiance or greet-

MARSH HARRIER 147

ing, or whatever he may have deemed it ; but I do not recollect
that I ever caught sight of the bird.

Squirrels, rats, mice, moles, shrews, and any small birds that he
can surprise asleep, with insects, form his principal food. These he
hunts by night, and retires for concealment by day to some thick
tree or shrubbery, either in the hill country or the plains. The
nest, composed principally of the dried pellets of undigested bones
and fur, which all the Owls are in the habit of disgorging, is usually
placed in a hollow tree: here the female lays about four eggs, from
which emerge, in due time, as many grotesque bodies enveloped in
a soft plush of grey yarn: destined, in due time, to become Tawny
Owls. The full-grown females are larger than the males, and,
being of a redder tinge, were formerly considered a distinct species.
The old birds utter their loud hoo-how! or to-whit, in-who ! chiefly
in the evening.

ORDERS A CCLIPITREsS

PAVIDEY BALCONIDZAS
Sus-Famity BUTEONIN

MARSH HARRIER

CIRCUS AZRUGINOSUS
Head, neck, and breast yellowish white, with numerous longitudinal brown
streaks ; wing-coverts reddish brown ; primary quills white at the base,
the rest black ; tail and secondaries ash-grey ; lower plumage reddish
brown ; beak bluish black ; cere, irides, and feet yellow ; claws black.
Length twenty inches. Eggs white.
Tue Harriers are bold predatory voracious birds, having somewhat
of the appearance and movements of the Hawks. On a closer
inspection, however, they are seen to approach nearer in character
to the Owls. In the first place, they hunt their prey more in the
morning and evening than at any other time of day. In the next
place, these twilight habits are associated with a large head, and
a somewhat defined face formed by a circle of short feathers ;
while the plumage generally is soft and loose, and their mode of
hunting resembles that of the nocturnal predatory birds, rather
than that of the Falcons. They are remarkable for the great
difference which exists between the plumage of the two sexes, which
has made the task of discriminating the number of species very
difficult. Less active than the Falcons, they yet carry on a for-

148 HEN HARRIER

midable war against small birds, reptiles, and mice. The Harriers
or Harrows are so called from their havrying propensities. Of similar
import is the etymology of the English word ‘ havoc’, which may
be clearly traced to the Anglo-Saxon hafoc, or hawk. The habit
of the Marsh Harrier is not to station itself on a tree or rock, thereon
to explore the country; but while hunting, it is always on the
wing, skimming along the ground, and beating about the bushes
with a noiseless, unsteady flight, and always taking its prey on
the ground. Rabbit-warrens afford this bird a favourite hunting-
ground, where it either pounces on such living animals as it can
surprise, or performs the office of undertaker to the dead bodies
of rabbits killed by the weasels, burying them in the grave of its
craw. In this ignoble office it is said to be sometimes assisted
by the Buzzard, and both birds have been accused of setting to
work before their unhappy victim has breathed its last. On the
seashore, the Marsh Harrier commits great depredations among
young water-fowl, and is often mobbed and driven from the neigh-
bourhood by the assembled old birds. The Partridge and Quail
often, too, fall victims to its voracity, so that the Marsh Harrier
receives no quarter from gamekeepers. It places its nest generally
near water, in a tuft of rushes, or at the base of a bush, constructing
it of sticks, rushes, and long grass, and lays three or four eggs.

The Marsh Harrier is a widely dispersed species, being found,
says Temminck, in all countries where there are marshes. It
occurs now but sparingly in most parts of Great Britain and Ire-
and. It is better known as the Moor Buzzard.

HEN HARRIER
CIRCUS CYANEUS

Tail longer than the wings; third and fourth primaries of equal length ;
upper plumage of the male bluish grey ; lower white. Upper plumage
of the female reddish brown; lower, pale reddish yellow, with deep
orange brown longitudinal streaks and spots. Beak black ; cere greenish
yellow ; irides reddish brown ; feet yellow ; claws black. Length, male,
eighteen inches; female, twenty inches. Eggs white.

THE Hen Harrier and Ringtail were formerly considered distinct

species ; and no wonder; for not only are they different in size,

but dissimilar in colour, one having the upper parts grey, the lower
white ; and the other the upper parts reddish brown, and various
parts of the plumage of a light colour, barred and streaked with
deep brown. The experienced ornithologist, Montagu, suspect -
ing that they were male and female of the same species, under-
took to clear up the matter by rearing a brood taken from the
same nest. The result was that at first there was no great
difference except in size, all having the dark plumage of the Hen

Peregrine Falcon 9? Kestrel 9 g
Montagu’s Harrier 9? Hen Harrier g ace pares:

» a . - 7 . f4 rh
ee — —

MONTAGU’S HARRIER 149

Harrier ; but after the first moult, the males assumed the grey and
white plumage, while the larger birds, the females, retained the
gayer colouring, and the latter was the Ringtail. In habits both
birds resemble the Marsh Harrier, but do not confine themselves
to damp places. They frequent open plains, hillsides, and inclosed
fields, hunting a few feet above the surface of the ground, and
beating for game as skilfully as a well-trained spaniel. The moment
that the Harrier sees a probable victim he rises to a height of twenty
feet, hovers for a moment, and then comes down with unerring
aim on his prey, striking dead with a single blow, Partridge or
Pheasant, Grouse or Blackcock, and showing strength not to be
expected from his light figure, and slender, though sharp talons. Not
unfrequently he accompanies the sportsman, keeping carefully
out of shot, and pouncing on the birds, killing them, and carrying
them off to be devoured in retirement. He preys exclusively
on animals killed by himself, destroying a great quantity of game
small mammals, birds and reptiles. It is a generally-diffused bird,
by no means so common as the Kestrel and Sparrow-hawk, but is
met with occasionally in most countries of Europe and Asia, and
in various parts of the British Isles. It is far from improbable
that this bird may frequently be seen, without being recognized as
belonging to the Hawk tribe; indeed, the beautiful form and
light blue and white plumage, might cause it to be mistaken for a
Gull. It builds a flattish nest of sticks, just raised above the
round, in a heather, or furze-bush, and lays four to six eggs.

MONTAGU’S HARRIER

CIRCUS CINERACEUS

Wings a little longer than the tail; third primary longer than the fourth and
second ; upper plumage bluish grey ; primaries black, secondaries with
three transverse dark bars ; lateral tail-feathers white barred with reddish
orange ; under plumage white, variously streaked with reddish orange.
female—upper plumage brown of various tints; under, pale reddish
yellow, with longitudinal bright red streaks. Beak black; cere deep yellow ;
irides hazel; feet yellow; claws black. Length seventeen inches.
Eggs bluish white.

Tuts bird, which is of rare occurrence in Britain, resembles the
Hen Harrier very closely, both in appearance and habits, although
it is smaller and more slender, and the wings are longer in pro-
portion. On the Continent, especially in Holland, it is more
frequent. It received its name in honour of Colonel Montagu,
who was the first to ascertain the identity of the Hen Harrier
and Ringtail, and to separate the present species from both.

150 COMMON BUZZARD

COMMON BUZZARD

BUTEO VULGARIS

Upper plumage, neck and head, dark brown ; lower, greyish brown, mottled
with darker brown; tail marked with twelve dark transverse bands ;
beak lead-coloured ; cere, iris, and feet yellow. Length twenty to twenty-
two inches. Eggs white, variously marked with pale greenish brown.

THE Buzzard, though ranked very properly among birds belonging
to the Falcon tribe, is deficient in the graceful activity which char-
acterizes the true Falcons. In sluggishness of habits it approaches
the Vultures, and in its soft plumage and mode of flight the Owls ;
but differs from the former in feeding on live prey as well as carrion,
and from the latter in its diurnal habits. In form indeed it resembles
neither, being a bulky broad-winged Hawk, with stout legs and a
short much-curved beak. It can fly swiftly enough when occasion
requires, but its favourite custom is to take its station on some
withered branch, or on the projecting corner of a rock, whence
it can both obtain a good view of the surrounding country, and,
when it has digested its last meal, sally forth in quest of a new
one as soon as a victim comes within its range of observation.
It pounces on this while on the ground, and pursues its chase with a
low skimming flight, keeping a sharp look-out for moles, young
hares and rabbits, mice, reptiles, small birds and insects. At
times it rises high into the air, and, soaring in circles, examines the
surface of the ground for carrion. It has neither the spirit nor
daring of the noble Falcons, submitting patiently to the attacks
of birds much less than itself, and flying from the Magpie or Jack-
daw. As an architect the Buzzard displays no more constructive
skill than other birds of its tribe, building its nest of a few sticks,
either on a rock or in a tree, and not unfrequently occupying the
deserted nest of some other bird. It has, however, a redeeming
point, being a most assiduous nurse. The female sits close, and
will allow the near approach of an intruder before she leaves her
eggs. In captivity, strange to say, though by nature having a
strong inclination for the flesh of chickens, she has been known
to sit on the eggs of the domestic hen, to hatch a brood, and to
rear them with as much solicitude as their natural mother could
have shown, distributing to them morsels of raw meat, not com-
prehending, of course, their repugnance to such fare, and bearing
with extreme patience and good humour their unaccountable pre-
ference for barley and crumbs of bread. The male bird is scarcely
less affectionate as a parent: an instance being recorded of one,
which, on the death of his partner, completed the period of incuba-

Roughlegged Buzzard 9 Kite

Common Buzzard. Honey Buzzard. [p. 150.

THE HONEY BUZZARD 151

tion and reared the young brood by himself. The Buzzard rarely
molests game, and more than compensates for the mischief it does
work, by the destruction of undoubted vermin; yet the hostility
shown by gamekeepers against all birds except those which it is
their business to protect, has so thinned its numbers that the
Buzzard, though once common, is now become rare,

THE HONEY BUZZARD
PERNIS APIVORUS

Lores and spaces between eyes and bill are covered with feathers. The head
of male is ash-grey, his upper parts brown ; three blackish bars cross the
tail; upper parts white-barred and spotted with brown on the breast.
Length twenty-two to twenty-five inches; female slighter the larger..

This species visits us during May and June, and a few stay to
nest, placing the nest upon the remains of that of some other large
bird. Wasps, wild bees and larvee form their food in summer, but
other insects are eaten, and sometimes mice, birds, other small
mammals, worms and slugs. From two to four eggs are laid, both
male and female taking part in the incubation. The sitting bird is
regularly fed by the other.

The Honey Buzzard has bred from the New Forest up to Aber-
deenshire. Unfortunately, as much as £5 having been offered
for a couple of well-marked eggs of this species in the New Forest
by collectors, their numbers have become very few. Nearly £40
has been offered by extravagant collectors for a good pair of the

birds. By the year 1870 nearly all were driven away from that
district.

THE ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD

BUTEO LAGOPUS

Tarsi feathered to the claws ; plumage yellowish white, variegated with several
shades of brown; a broad patch ‘of brown on the breast ; tail white in
the basal half, the rest uniform brown; beak black; cere and irides
yellow ; feathers on the legs fawn-coloured, spotted with brown ; toes
yellow ; claws black. Length twenty-six inches. Eggs whitish, clouded

with reddish brown.
Tuis bird, which is distinguished from the preceding by having
its legs thickly clothed with long feathers, is a native of the colder
countries of both Continents, being only an occasional visitor

152 THE GOLDEN EAGLE

in Great Britain during autumn and winter. It is sometimes seen
in large flights on the Yarmouth Denes in October and November,
at the same time with the Short-horned Owl. It mostly frequents
the banks of rivers, where it feeds on vermin, reptiles, and the
carcases of animals brought down by the floods. In softness of
plumage and mode of flight, it resembles the Owls even more than
the preceding species, and often extends its hunting expeditions
until far into the evening. When not alarmed, it flies slowly and
deliberately, and seemingly has neither the inclination nor the
power to attack living birds, unless they have been previously
disabled by wounds or other cause. The Rough-legged Buzzard
builds its nest in lofty trees, and lays three or four eggs; but
there are no well-authenticated instances of its breeding in this
country.

TEE SPOTTED EAGER
AQUILA NAIVIA

General colour reddish brown ; tail brown abeve ; legs feathered in front of
the toes. Length twenty-six inches.

THIS species is only a rare straggler to Great Britain.

Sus-Famity AQUILIN/

THE GOLDEN EAGLE
AQUILA CHRYSAETOS

Tail longer than the wings, rounded ; plumage of the head, back of the neck
and legs, lustrous reddish brown, of the rest of the body dark brown ;
primaries nearly black; secondaries brownish black; tail dark grey,
barred and tipped with brownish black ; beak bluish at the base, black
at the extremity ; iris brown; cere and feet yellow ; claws bluish black.
Length of the male three feet, that of the female more; breadth eight
feet. Eggs dirty white, mottled with pale reddish brown.

Tue fable of the Eagle soaring to a great height in order to enjoy
a gaze at the sun in his unclouded brilliancy, is founded probably
on a belief of the ancients, thus stated by the naturalist Pliny :—
‘Before its young are as yet fledged, the Eagle compels them to
gaze at the rays of the sun, and if it observes one to wink or show
a watery eye casts it from the nest as a degenerate offspring ; if,
on the contrary, it preserves a steady gaze, it is saved from this
hard fate, and brought up.’

‘The Golden Eagle’, says Macgillivray, ‘seems to prefer live

Osprey Golden Eagle J
Sea Eagle. Spotted Eagle. 5 11.

{p. 152.

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THE WHITE-TAILED (SEA) EAGLE 153

prey to carrion, and easily secures Grouse, in searching for which
it flies low on the moors, sailing and wheeling at intervals. Hares,
roes, and even red deer, it also attacks, but it does not haunt the
shores for fish so much as the Sea Eagle does. There seems very
little probability that Eagles have the sense of smell very acute,
but that their vision is so is evident. I am not, however, inclined
to think that they perceive objects from the vast height to which they
sometimes soar, because I never saw one descend from such an
elevation in a manner indicating that it had observed a carcase or
other eatable object ; whereas, on the other hand, I have very
frequently seen them flying along the sides of the hills, at a small
height, obviously in search of food, in a manner somewhat resem-
bling that of the Sparrow-Hawk, but with much less rapidity.’

The Golden Eagle breeds only in the Highlands, but it is not an
unfrequent visitor to the Lowlands of Scotland in the cold season.
Those birds which have been recorded as visiting England were
generally not this species but the White-tailed or Sea Eagle in
immature plumage. It prefers mountains or extensive forests,
building its eyrie either on rocks or lofty trees. In France, Sweden,
Spain, and Switzerland, it is frequently observed. Its note, called
in the Highlands ‘a bark’, is sharp and loud, resembling at a dis-
tance, as, on the only occasion I ever heard it, it seemed to me, the
croak of a Raven. It lays two or sometimes three eggs, and feeds
its young, which are very voracious, on birds and the smaller
quadrupeds.

THE WHITE-TAILED (SEA) EAGLE
HALIAETUS ALBICILLA

Tail not longer than the wings ; upper plumage brown, that of the head and
neck lightest, lower, chocolate brown ; tail white ; beak, cere, and feet
yellowish white ; claws black. In young birds the tail is dark brown, and
the beak and cere are of a darker hue. Length of the male, two feet four

inches ; of the female, two feet ten inches. Eggs dirty white with a few
pale red marks.

THE White-tailed Eagle, known also by the name of the Sea Eagle,
is about equal in size to the Golden Eagle, but differs considerably
in character and habits; for while the latter has been known to
pounce on a pack of Grouse and carry off two or three from before
the very eyes of the astonished sportsman and his dogs, or to
appropriate for his own special picking a hunted hare when about
to become the prey of the hounds, the White-tailed Eagle has been
observed to fly terror-struck from a pair of Skua Gulls, making
no return for their heavy buffets but a series of dastardly shrieks.
The ordinary food, too, of the nobler bird is living animals, though,

154 THE OSPREY

to tell the truth, he is always ready to save himself the trouble of a
chase, if he can meet with the carcase of a sheep or lamb; but the
White-tailed Eagle feeds principally on fish, water-fowl, the smaller
quadrupeds, and offal, whether of quadrupeds, birds, or fish. On
such fare, when pressed by hunger, he feeds so greedily that he
gorges himself till, unable to rise, he becomes the easy prey of the
shepherd’s boy armed but with a stick or stone. The Eagle is
sometimes seen on the southern sea-board of England in autumn
and winter when the younger birds that have been reared in the
north of Europe are migrating south; but its eyries are now only
on the west and north coasts, and especially the Shetland Islands.
It inhabits Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Scotland, and the
north of England, where it frequents the vicinity of the sea and
large lakes. In winter it appears to leave the high latitudes and
come farther south, not perhaps so much on account of cold as
because its ordinary prey, being driven to seek a genial climate,
it is compelled to accompany its food. Consequently it is more
abundant in Scotland during winter than summer, and when seen
late in autumn is generally observed to be flying south, in early
spring northwards. It builds its nest either in forests, choosing
the summit of the loftiest trees, or among inaccessible cliffs over-
hanging the sea. The materials are sticks, heath, tufts of grass,
dry sea-weed, and it lays two eggs. The young are very voracious,
and are fed by the parent birds for some time after they have
left the nest, but when able to provide for themselves are driven
from the neighbourhood to seek food and a home elsewhere.

THE OSPREY

PANDION HALIAETUS

Wings longer than the tail; feathers of the head and neck white, with dark
centres ; on each side of the neck a streak of blackish brown, extending
downwards ; upper plumage generally deep brown ; under white, tinged
here and there with yellow, and on the breast marked with arrow-shaped
spots ; tail-feathers barred with dusky bands ; cere and beak dark grey ;
iris yellow. Length two feet ; breadth five feet. Eggs reddish white,
blotched and spotted with dark reddish brown.

‘ENDOWED with intense keenness of sight, it hovers high in the
air, and having descried a fish in the sea, it darts down with great
rapidity, dashes aside the water with its body, and seizes its prey
in an instant.’ So says the ancient naturalist Pliny, describing a
bird which he calls Haliaétus, or Sea Eagle. Eighteen centuries
later, Montagu thus described a bird, which, when he first observed

THE OSPREY 155

it, was hawking for fish on the river Avon, near Aveton Gifford, in
Devonshire : ‘ At last’, he says, ‘its attention was arrested, and
like the Kestrel in search of mice, it became stationary, as if examin-
ing what had attracted its attention. After a pause of some time,
it descended to within about fifty yards of the surface of the water,
and there continued hovering for another short interval, and then
precipitated itself into the water with such great celerity as to be
nearly immersed. In three or four minutes the bird rose without
any apparent difficulty, and carried off a trout of moderate size,
and instead of alighting to regale upon its prey, soared to a prodigious
height, and did not descend within our view.’ There can be no
reasonable doubt that the bird thus described at such distant
intervals of time is the same, and that.the Sea Eagle of the ancients
is the Osprey of the moderns. Wilson thus eloquently describes
its habits under the name of the “‘ Fish Hawk’: ‘ Elevated on the
high dead limb of some gigantic tree, that commands a wide view
of the neighbouring shore and ocean, the great White-headed Eagle
seems calmly to contemplate the motions of the various feathered
tribes that pursue their busy vocations below. High over all these
hovers one whose actions instantly arrest all his attention. By his
wide curvature of wing, and sudden suspension in air, he knows him
to be the Fish Hawk settling over some devoted victim of the deep.
His eye kindles at the sight, and balancing himself with half-open
wings on the branch, he watches the result. Down, rapid as an arrow
from heaven, descends the distant object of his attention, the roar
of its wings reaching the ear as it disappears in the deep, making
the surges foam around. At this moment the eager looks of the
Eagle are all ardour ; and, levelling his neck for flight, he sees the
Fish Hawk once more emerge struggling with his prey, and mount-
ing in the air with screams of exultation. These are the signals for
our hero, who, launching into the air, instantly gives chase, soon
gains on the Fish Hawk: each exerts his utmost to mount above
the other, displaying in the rencontres the most elegant and sublime
aérial evolutions. The unincumbered Eagle rapidly advances,
and is just on the point of reaching his opponent, when, with a
sudden scream, probably of despair and honest execration, the
latter drops his fish; the Eagle, poising himself for a moment, as
if to take a more certain aim, descends like a whirlwind, snatches
it in his grasp ere it reaches the water, and bears his ill-gotten booty
silently away to the woods.’

The Osprey has been observed on various parts of the coast of
Great Britain and Ireland, especially in autumn, and in the neigh-
bourhood of the Scottish Lakes, not merely as a stray visitor, but
making itself entirely at home. It is known in Sussex and Hamp-
shire, as the Mullet Hawk, because of its liking for that fish. It
may be considered as a citizen of the world, for it has been found
in various parts of Europe, the Cape of Good Hope, India, and

156 THE SPARROW-HAWK

New Holland. In America, we have already seen, it is abundant.
It builds its nest of sticks on some rock or ruin, generally near the
water, and lays two or three eggs. It has not been known to breed
in Ireland.

Sus-Famity ACCIPITRIN/A:
THE SPARROW-HAWK
ACCIPITER NISUS

Upper plumage dark bluish grey, with a white spot on the nape of the neck ;
lower reddish white, transversely barred with deep brown; tail grey,
barred with brownish black ; beak blue, lightest at the base ; cere, irides,
and feet yellow ; claws black. /emale—upper parts brown passing into
blackish grey; lower, greyish white barred with dark grey. Length,
male twelve inches, female fifteen inches; breadth, male twenty-four
inches, female twenty-eight inches. Eggs bluish white, blotched and
spotted with deep rusty brown.

SINCE the introduction of firearms, the Goshawk and Sparrow-
Hawk have lost much of their reputation, every effort being now
made to exterminate them, for carrying on, on their own account,
the same practices which in bygone days they were enlisted to pur-
sue on behalf of others. For hawking, it must be remembered, was
not exclusively a pastime followed by the high and noble for amuse-
ment’s sake, but was, in one of its branches, at least, a very con-
venient method of supplying the table with game ; and that, too,
at a period when there were not the same appliances, in the shape
of turnips, oil-cake, etc., for fattening cattle and producing beef
and mutton in unlimited quantities, that there are now. The
produce of the fish-ponds, woods, and fields was then a matter of
some moment, and much depended on the training of the Hawks
and diligence of the falconer whether the daily board should be
plentifully or scantily furnished. In recent times, even, some
idea of the intrinsic value of a good Hawk may be gathered from
the fact that, in Lombardy, it was thought nothing extraordinary
for a single Sparrow-Hawk to take for his master from seventy to
eighty Quails in a single day. In the Danubian Provinces and in
Hungary, the practice of hunting Quails with Sparrow-hawks is still
in vogue ; but with us, the agile bird is left to pursue his prey on his
own account. And right well does he exercise his calling. Unlike
the Kestrel, which soars high in air and mostly preys on animals
which when once seen have no power of escape, the Sparrow-Hawk
is marked by its dashing, onward flight. Skimming rapidly across
the open fields, by no means refusing to swoop on any bird or
quadruped worthy of its notice, but not preferring this kind of hunt-

THE SPARROW-HAWK 157

ing-ground, it wings its easy way to the nearest hedge, darts along
by the side, turns sharply to the right or left through an opening
caused by a gate or gap, and woe to any little bird which it may
encounter, either perched on a twig or resting on the ground. Un-
erring in aim, and secure of its holdfast, it allows its victims no
chance of escape: one miserable scream, and their fate is sealed.
And even if the prey detects its coming enemy, and seeks safety in
flight, its only hope is to slip into the thick bushes and trust to con-
cealment : resort to the open field is all but certain death. Nor
is it fastidious in its choice of food—leverets, young rabbits, mice,
partridges, thrushes, blackbirds, sparrows, larks, pipits, and many
others are equal favourites. It resorts very frequently to the home-
stead and farmyard, not so much in quest of chickens, which, by the
way, it does not despise, as for the sake of the small birds which
abound in such places. There it is a bold robber, little heeding the
presence of men, suddenly dashing from behind some barn or corn-
rick, and rapidly disappearing with its luckless prey struggling in
its talons, pursued, perhaps, by the vociferous twitter of the out-
raged flock, but not dispirited against another onslaught. This
coursing for its prey, though the usual, is not the only method of
furnishing his larder pursued by the Sparrow-Hawk. He has been
known to station himself on the branch of a tree in the neighbour-
hood of some favourite resort of Sparrows, concealed himself, but
commanding a fair view of the flock below. With an intent as
deadly as that of the fowler when he points his gun, he puts on the
attitude of flight before he quits his perch, then selecting his victim,
and pouncing on it all but simultaneously, he retires to devour his
meal and to return to his post as soon as the hubbub he has excited
has subsided somewhat. At times he pays dear for his temerity.
Pouncing on a bird which the sportsman has put up and missed, he
receives the contents of the second barrel ; making a swoop on the
bird-catcher’s call-bird, he becomes entangled in the meshes; or
dashing through a glazed window at a caged Canary bird, he finds
his retreat cut off.

As is the case with most predaceous birds, the female is larger
and bolder than the male, and will attack birds superior to herself
in size. Though a fierce enemy, she is an affectionate mother, and
will defend her young at the risk of her life. She builds her nest, or
appropriates the deserted nest of a Crow, in trees, or if they be
wanting, in a cliff, and lays four or five eggs. The young are very
voracious, and are fed principally on small birds, the number of
which consumed may be inferred from the fact that no less than
sixteen Larks, Sparrows, and other small birds, were on one occa-
sion found in a nest, the female parent belonging to which had been
shot while conveying to them a young bird just brought to the
neighbourhood of the nest by the male ; the latter, it was conjec-
tured, having brought them all, and deposited them in the nest

158 THE SRED KITE:

in the interval of nine hours which had elapsed between their dis-
covery and the death of his partner.

The Sparrow-Hawk is found in most wooded districts of Great
Britain and Ireland, and the greater part of the Eastern Continent.

Sus-Famity MILVINAt

THE RED KITE
MILVUS ICTINUS

Upper parts reddish brown ; the feathers with pale edges ; those of the head
and neck long and tapering to a point, greyish white, streaked longitu-
dinally with brown ; lower parts rust coloured, with longitudinal brown
streaks ; tail reddish orange, barred indistinctly with brown ; beak horn
coloured ; cere, irides, and feet yellow; claws black. Female—upper
plumage of a deeper brown; the feathers pale at the extremity ; head
and neck white. Length, twenty-five inches; breadth five feet six
inches. Eggs dirty white, Pere at the larger end with red-brown.

' TuE Kite’ , Pliny informs us, ‘seems, by the movement of its tail,

to have taught mankind the art of steering —nature pointing out

in the air what is necessary in the sea’. The movement of the bird
through the air indeed resembles sailing more than flying. .‘ One
cannot ’ says Buffon, * but admire the manner in which the flight of
the Kite is per formed ; his long and narrow wings seem motionless ;
it is his tail that seems to direct all his evolutions, and he moves it
continuously ; he rises without effort, comes down as if he were
sliding along an inclined plane; he seems rather to swim than to
fly; he darts forward, slackens his speed, stops, and remains sus-
pended or fixed in the same place for whole hours without exhibit-
ing the smallest motion of his wings.’ The Kite generally moves
along at a moderate height, but sometimes, like the Eagle, rises
to the more elevated regions of the air, where it may always be
distinguished by its long wings and forked tail.

In France, it is known by the name ‘ Milan Royal’, the latter title
being given to it not on account of any fancied regal qualities, but
because in ancient times it was subservient to the pleasures of
princes. In those times, hawking at the Kite and Heron was the
only kind of sport dignified with the title of ‘Chase Royal’, and
no one—not even a nobleman—could attack the Kite and Heron
without infringing the privileges of the king.

Though larger than the noble Falcons, it is far inferior to them in
daring and muscular strength ; cowardly in attacking the strong,
pitiless to the weak. It rarely assails a bird on the wing, but takes
its prey on the ground, where nothing inferior to itself in courage
seems to come amiss to it. Moles, rats, mice, reptiles, and partridges,
are its common food; it carries off also goslings, ducklings, and

Marsh Harrier & Hobby

Merlin 3 Sparrow Hawk ? [ face p. 158.

THE PEREGRINE FALCON 159

chickens, though it retires ignominiously before an angry hen.
When pressed by hunger, it does not refuse the offal of animals, or
dead fish; but being an expert fisherman, it does not confine itself
to dead food of this kind, but pounces on such fish as it discerns
floating near the surface of the water—carries them off in its talons,
and devours them on shore.

The Kite is more abundant in the northern than the southern
countries of Europe, to which latter, however, numerous individuals
migrate in autumn. It is of very rare occurrence in the southern
counties of England, where no doubt it has gained discredit for
many of the evil deeds of the Sparrow-Hawk. It builds its nest of
sticks, lined with straw and moss, in lofty trees, and lays three or
four eggs. A few still breed in some districts in Scotland, also in
the wilder parts of Wales, but their eggs are, unfortunately, soon
taken.

Sus-Famity FALCONIN/®

THE PEREGRINE FALCON

FALCO PEREGRINUS

Tail not longer than the wings ; upper plumage dark bluish grey with darker
bands ; head bluish black, as are also the moustaches descending from
the gape ; lower plumage white ; breast transversely barred with brown ;
beak blue, darker at the point; cere yellow; iris dark brown; feet
yellow; claws black. Female—upper plumage tinged with brown,
lower with reddish yellow. Length fifteen inches; female seventeen

inches. Eggs dull light red, spotted and blotched with deep red.

THE Peregrine Falcon occupies among the ‘ noble’ birds of prey a
place second only in dignity to the Gyr Falcon. Indeed, from its
being more generally diffused and therefore more easily obtained,
it is a question whether it was not considered, in England, at least,
the special bird of falconry. In France it appears to have been
used almost exclusively as the Falcon of the country; and as the
number of Gyr Falcons imported to England must have fallen far
short of the demand when the gentle science was in full vogue, here
also the Peregrine must be considered the bird of falconry. The
‘noble’ Falcons were those which flew fearlessly on any birds,
no matter how much larger they were than themselves, and at
once deprived their prey of life by pouncing on a vital part, devour-
ing the head before they lacerated the carcase. The name Peregrine
(foreigner) was given to this bird on account of its wide dispersion
through most regions of the globe, and for the same reason it has
long borne in France the name of Pélerin (pilgrim), and not on
account of its wide range in search of quarry. It is a bird of haughty
aspect and rich colouring, sagacious, powerful, and daring ; a type

160 THE PEREGRINE FALCON

of the chivalry of the Middle Ages, a veritable knight-errant, always
armed, and ready to do battle in any cause against all comers.

In France the Peregrine Falcon is most abundant in the marshy
districts of the north, which are much frequented by Snipes and
Wild Duck; with us it is most commonly seen in those parts of the
sea-coast where sea-fowl abound. The high cliffs of the Isle of
Wight, Beachy Head, North Wales, and the Scottish coast have
been favourite haunts, and there it once reigned supreme among
the feathered tribe, but it becomes more scarce, alas! of late. It
makes its eyrie in the most inaccessible part of the cliff, constructing
no nest, but laying two to four eggs in a cavity of a rock where a
little loose earth has been deposited; sometimes in the deserted
nest of the Raven or Carrion Crow. If either of the old birds
happens to be shot during the period of breeding, it is incredible in
how short a space of time the survivor finds a new mate. Within
a short distance from their nest they establish a larder well sup-
plied with Puffins, Jackdaws, and above all, Kestrels ; while the
immediate neighbourhood is strewed with bones. Remarkable
as are both male and female bird for muscular power and _ high
courage, the latter, which is also considerably larger, is by far the
superior. The female was, consequently, in the days of falconry
flown at Herons and Ducks, and she was the falcon proper among
falconers ; the male, termed a Tiercel or Tiercelet, was flown at
Partridges and Pigeons. In their native haunts they seem to cause
little alarm among the Puffins and Razor-bills by which they are
surrounded, but the sudden appearance of a pair in a part of the
cliff frequented by Jackdaws, causes terrible consternation ; while
any number of intruders on their own domain are driven away with
indomitable courage. When pressed by hunger, or desirous of
changing their diet, they condescend to attack and capture birds
so small as a Lark, and it is remarkable that however puny may be
the prey, the Falcon preserves its instinctive habit of dealing a
deadly blow at once, as if afraid that under all circumstances the
natural impulse of its quarry were to stand on the defensive. Even
in ordinary flight the movement of its wings is exceedingly quick,
but when it stoops on its prey its rapidity of descent is marvellous,
accompanied too, as it is, by a sound that may be heard at a dis-
tance of two hundred yards. Perhaps no bird has had more written
about it than this Falcon, numerous treatises have been composed
on the art of ‘ reclaiming’ it, or training it for hawking, and the
proper method of conducting the sport. We have at present space
only to add a few words on the latter subject. The art of the
falconer is to intercept the Herons when flying against the wind.
When a Heron passes, a cast or couple of Falcons are thrown off,
which dart into the air, flying in a spiral direction to get above the
Heron. As soon as the first has attained the necessary elevation,
she makes a stoop, and if she misses, a second stoop is made by the

THE HOBBY 161

other in her turn. When one has succeeded in striking its prey,
the other joins in the attack, and all three birds come to the
ground together, buoyed in their descent by their expanded wings.
The falconer now comes to the rescue, for though the Heron makes
no resistance in the air, as soon as it reaches the ground it uses
its formidable beak in defence, and unless prevented may work much
mischief to its pursuers.

As when a cast of Faulcons make their flight

At an Heronshaw that lyes aloft on wing,

The whyles they strike at him with heedlesse might

The wary foule his bill doth backward wring.

On which the first, whose force her first doth bring,

Herselfe quite through the bodie doth engore,

And falleth downe to ground like senselesse thing,

But th’ other, not so swift as she before,

Fayles of her souse, and passing by doth hurt no more.
Faerie Queene.

In France the ‘ cast’ consisted of three Falcons, which were trained
to perform particular duties, the first to start the game in the
required direction, the second to keep guard over it, and the third
to deal the fatal swoop.

The ‘ Lanner ’ of Pennant is a young female Peregrine.

THE HOBBY

FALCO SUBBUTEO

Wings longer than the tail; upper plumage bluish black; beneath, reddish
yellow, with longitudinal brown streaks; moustaches broad, black ;
lower tail-coverts and feathers on the leg reddish ; beak bluish, darker
at the tip; cere greenish yellow ; iris dark brown; feet yellow; claws
black. Female—all the colours duller, and the streaks below broader.
Length twelve to fourteen inches; breadth about two feet. Eggs
yellowish white, speckled with reddish brown.

THE Hobby is a less common bird fsEngland than in France, where
it is said to be a constant companion of the sportsman, and to be
endowed with enough discrimination to keep out of shot. Not
satisfied with appropriating to its own use wounded birds, it pur-
sues and captures those which have been fired at unsuccessfully,
and not unfrequently even those which have been put up but have
not come within shot. It is frequently taken, too, in the nets
spread for Larks, or inveigled into the snare of the fowler who pur-
sues his craft with limed twigs and the imitated cry of the Owl.
It is a bird of passage, both on the Continent and in England, arriv-
ing and taking its departure at about the same time withthe Swallow.

In form and colouring it somewhat resembles the Peregrine Falcon,
B.B. M

162 THE MERLIN

but is much smaller and more slender; the wings, too, are larger
in proportion, and the dark stripes beneath are longitudinal instead
of transverse. Its natural prey consists for the most part of Larks
and other small birds, beetles, and other large insects. It is said
also to prey on Swallows; but swift as its flight undoubtedly is,
it is somewhat doubtful whether these birds are not sufficiently
nimble to elude it, unless, indeed, it attacks individuals exhausted
by cold or other cause. It has been trained for hawking small birds ;
but owing, perhaps, to its migratory habits, it was found to be im-
patient of captivity, and was not much prized. Hobbies frequently
hunt in pairs, and an instance has been recorded where one hunted
a Lark in company with a Hen Harrier; but the latter, a bird of
heavier flight, was soon compelled to give up the chase. It builds
its nest, or appropriates a deserted one, in high trees, and lays three
or four eggs.

THE MERLIN
FALCO SALON

Tail longer than the wings; upper plumage greyish blue; lower reddish
yellow, with longitudinal oblong dark brown spots; tail barred with
black ; beak bluish, darker at the tip; cere yellow ; irides dark brown ;
feet yellow, claws black. Female—above tinged with brown; below,
yellowish white. Length eleven to twelve inches; breadth two feet.
Eggs mottled with two shades of dark reddish brown.

THE Merlin, or Stone Falcon (so called from its habit of alighting
on stones to watch the flight of the small birds which it intends to
make its prey), is a beautiful little bird, but notwithstanding its
small body ranks among the ‘noble’ Falcons. Associated with
the Sparrow-Hawk, it was, on the Continent, anciently trained to
hunt Quails—and the old falconers are loud in its praises. In
England, it was accounted especially the Ladies’ Hawk. In a
state of nature, it has been observed to attack the Partridge, Mag-
pie, Starling, Blackbird, etc., but its favourite prey is the Lark ;
and it was to fly at this bird principally, that it was formerly trained.
In hawking with Merlins, three of these birds were assigned to
the Magpie, two to the Lark, and in the chase of the Quail and
Land-rail, the Sparrow-Hawk was associated with it. The Merlin
is more frequent in the northern than in the southern part of
Great Britain, and is seen more frequently in winter than in summer,
but is nowhere common. In Norfolk, many are caught at the
autumnal equinox in the fowlers’ nets. It occasionally, perhaps
generally, breeds in Northumberland, Cumberland, and North
Wales, placing its nest upon the ground amongst the heather, and
laying four or five eggs.

SHBUD, TIS MP Rd de 163

TPHb WEST REL
FALCO TINNUNCULUS

Wings shorter than the tail; upper plumage, neck and breast, dark-lead
grey ; sides, under tail-coverts and thighs, light-yellowish red, with longi-
tudinal narrow dark streaks; beak blue, lighter towards the base ; cere
and feet yellow ; irides brown; claws black. Female—upper plumage
and tail light red, with transverse spots and bars of dark brown ; lower,
paler than in the male. Length fifteen inches ; breadth thirty inches.
Eggs reddish white, blotched and mottled with dark red-brown,

THE Kestrel being the most abundant and by far the most conspicu-
ous in its habits of all the British birds of prey, is probably, in most
instances, the bird which has been observed whenever the appear-
ance of ‘a Hawk’ has been mentioned. Though rapid in flight
whenever it chooses to put forth its full powers, it is more remark-
able for the habit which has acquired for it the name of ‘ Wind-
hover’; and there can scarcely be any one, however unobservant,
who makes even but an occasional expedition into the country, but
has stopped and gazed with delight on its skilful evolutions. Sus-
pended aloft, with its head turned towards the wind, but neither
advancing against the breeze, nor moved by it from its position, it
agitates its wings as regularly and evenly as if they were turned on
a pivot by machinery. Presently, impelled as it were by a spirit
of restlessness, it suddenly darts forwards, perhaps ascending or
descending a few feet, and making a slight turn either to the right or
the left. Then it skims on with extended, motionless pinions, and
once more anchors itself to the air. But on what object is it intent
all this while ? for that some design is present here is indubitable.
Not surely on the capture of birds, for at that slight elevation its
keen eye would detect the movement of a bird at a mere glance ;
nor has it the dashing flight one would expect to see in a hunter after
game furnished with the same organs of motion as itself. But,
if intent on the capture of small animals which creep out of holes
in the earth and hunt for their food among the grass, surely no
method can be conceived of exploring the field so quickly and so
completely. The Kestrel, then, though stigmatized by game
keepers with an evil name, does not merit the reproaches heaped on
it ; while to the farmer it is an invaluable ally, destroying countless
beetles, the grubs of which would gnaw away the roots of his crops ;
caterpillars, which would devour the foliage ; and, above all, mice,
which would fatten on the grain. For such food its appetite is enor-
mous, and its stomach capacious, an instance being recorded of a
specimen having been shot, the craw of which contained no less
than seventy-nine caterpillars, twenty-four beetles, a full-grown
field mouse, andaleech. To this varied bill of fare it adds, as occasion
offers, glow-worms, lizards, frogs, grasshoppers, and earth-worms.
In the winter, indeed, when these animals have withdrawn to their
retreats, it is compelled by hunger to provide itself with what my

164 THE KESTREL

readers would consider more palatable food; for now it preys on
any birds which it is swift enough to overtake, and strong enough to
master. The skill with which it plucks the feathers from birds before
tearing them to pieces, certainly argues in favour of the theory that
a bird-diet is not unnatural to it, or, that the habit, if an acquired
one, came to an apt learner. But in autumn and winter, game-
birds are fully fledged and being quite able to take care of themselves
are by no means lable to fall a prey to the Kestrel. Thus, admitting,
as we fear we must, that if, while hovering for mice, it detects a
young Partridge in the hay-field, it is unable to withstand the
temptation of carrying it off as a delicate repast for its young,
yet an occasional trespass of this kind far from counterbalances
the advantages it confers as a consistent destroyer of vermin.

The Kestrel appears to be generally distributed over the country,
showing no marked predilection for upland or lowland, heath or
marsh. It is very frequently seen near the sea-coast, to which in
winter it habitually resorts, finding there, no doubt, greater facilities
for obtaining food. Like others of its tribe, it possesses little archi-
tectural skill, placing its nest in a hole in a cliff, in ruins, or on lofty
trees, often appropriating the deserted dwelling of some more indus-
trious builder than itself. On the Continent it resorts to buildings
in towns and cities, as, for instance, the Louvre in Paris, and the
towers of cathedrals. During summer it hawks principally in
the gardens and orchards near the town, and when harvest is gathered
in, repairs to the corn-fields to hunt for mice among the stubble.
When taken young from the nest, it is easily tamed, and becomes
one of the most amusing of pets. Even after being fully fledged
and allowed its liberty, it will remain in the neighbourhood of the
place where it was reared, coming regularly to be fed, and recogniz-
ing the presence of its master by repeating its wild note, lee, klee,
klee, and flying to meet him. An anecdote is recorded in the Zoo-
logist of a male Kestrel having, in the second year of his domestica-
tion, induced a female bird to join him in his half-civilized life, and
to assist him in rearing a joint family. ‘ Billy’ still continued to
make himself quite at home at the house where he was brought up,
coming fearlessly into the nursery and making friends with the
children ; but his mate never threw off her wild nature so far as to
do this, contenting herself with waiting outside, and asserting her
right to her fair share of whatever food he brought out. Tame
Kestrels have been observed to have the habit of hiding their food
when supplied with more than they can consume at the time.
I have often noticed, too, in the case of tame Kestrels, that the
Chaffinches and other small birds which frequent gardens show no
instinctive dread of them, as if they were their natural enemies,
but perch on the same tree with them, fearless and unnoticed.

The Kestrel was formerly trained to hunt small birds, and in
the court of Louis XIII was taught to hawk for Bats.

THE COMMON CORMORANT 165

ORDER sl EGANOPODES
FAMILY PELECANIDA

Feet entirely webbed, or all four toes connected by webs.

THE COMMON CORMORANT
PHALACROCORAX CARBO

Tail of fourteen feathers. Waintey—head, neck, and all the under parts,
black, with green reflections ; close to the base of the bill a broad white
gorget ; on the neck a few faint whitish lines ; feathers of the back and
wings bronze-colour bordered with black; primaries and tail black ;
beak dusky ; orbits greenish yellow ; irides green ; feet black. Summer
—feathers of the head elongated, forming a crest ; on the head and neck
numerous long silky white feathers ; on the thighs a patch of pure white.
Young birds brown and grey, the gorget greyish white. Length three
feet. Eggs greenish white, chalky.

PHALACROCORAX, the modern systematic name of the genus Cor-

morant, is given by Willughby as a synonym of the Coot, and with

much propriety, for translated into English it means ‘ Bald Crow’.

Applied to the Cormorant, it must be considered as descriptive of

the semblance of baldness produced by the white feathers of the

head during the breeding season. The Cormorant Willughby
describes under the name of Corvus aquaticus, or Water Raven.

The English name, ‘ Corvorant’, is clearly Corvus vorans, a voracious

Raven ; and ‘ Cormorant’ perhaps a corruption of Corvus marinus,

Sea Raven.

Seaside visitors are pretty sure of seeing more than one specimen
of this bird, if they care to look for them, for the Cormorant fre-
quents all parts of the coast as well as lakes and rivers, and does
not leave us at any period of the year. Often we may see two or
three of these birds flying along together at a slight distance above
the surface of the sea, distinguished by their black hue, long out-
stretched neck, and rapid waving of the wings. They fly swiftly
in a straight line, and seem to be kept from dipping into the water
by making ahead at fullspeed. There is no buoyancy in their flight,
no floating in the air, or soaring; their sole motive for using their
narrow but muscular wings is clearly that they may repair to or
from some favourite spot with greater speed than they can attain
by swimming or diving. Occasionally, while engaged in a boating
expedition, we may encounter a party of three or four occupied
in fishing. They are shy, and will not allow a near approach, but
even at a distance they may be distinguished by their large size,
sooty hue, long necks, and hooked beaks. They sit low in the water,
often dipping their heads below the surface, and in this posture
advancing, in order that their search for food may not be impeded

166 THE COMMON CORMORANT

by the ripple of the water. A sheltered bay in which shoals of
small fish abound is a choice resort, and here they make no long con
tinuous stay in the swimming attitude, but suddenly and frequently
dive, remaining below a longer or shorter time, according to the
depth which they have to descend in order to secure their prey, but
when successful, occupying but a very brief space of time in swallow-
ing it. Not unfrequently they may be discerned from the shore
similarly occupied, floating or diving in the midst of the very
breakers. Sometimes, but rarely, one settles on a rail or stump of a
tree close to the water in a tidal river. The capture of fish is still
its object, and it is quite as expert in securing its prey from such a
station as when roving at large on the open sea.

All along our coast there is at various intervals a rock popularly
distinguished in the neighbourhood by the name of ‘ Shag rock ’.
Such a rock is generally low, isolated, and situated at a safe distance
from land ; or, if near the shore, is close to the base of a steep cliff.
Hither the Cormorants, when their hunger is appeased, repair for
the threefold purpose of resting, digesting their food, and drying
their wings. The process of digestion is soon completed, but
the time consumed in drying their thoroughly drenched wings
depends on the amount of sunshine and air moving. Of these,
whatever they may be, they know how to avail themselves to per-
fection. They station themselves on the highest ridge of the rock,
wide apart, and in a row, so as not to screen one another, raise their
bodies to their full height, and spread their wings to their utmost
extent. No laundress is more cunning in the exercise of her voca-
tion. Indeed, they can hardly fail to recall the idea of so many
pairs of black trousers hung out to be aired.

Cormorants do not confine their fishing expeditions to the sea,
but frequently ascend tidal rivers, and follow the course of streams
which communicate with fish-ponds and lakes, where they commit
great havoc ; for the quantity of fish which they devour at a meal
is very great. Pliny has observed that the Cormorant sometimes
perches on trees ; and the truth of this remark has been confirmed
by many subsequent writers. They have been even known to
build their nest in a tree, but this is a rare occurrence.t They
generally select exposed rocks, where they collect a large quantity
of sticks and rubbish, and lay three or four eggs in a depression on
the summit.

Most people are familiar with a representation of a fishery with
the help of Cormorants conducted by the Chinese ; but it is not so
generally known that a similar method once was practised in Eng-
land. Willughby quoting Faber’s Annotations on the Animals of
Recchus, says: ‘It is the custom in England to train Cormorants

1 A pair hatched two young in the Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park
in 1882.

Shag 3 Brent Goose 9?

=
Bernacle Goose 9? Cormorant J ;
» [face p 166

THE SHAG 167

to catch fish, While conveying the birds to the fishing-ground
the fishermen keep the heads and eyes of the birds covered to pre-
vent them from being alarmed. When they have reached the rivers,
they take off the hoods, and having first tied a leather strap loosely
round the lower part of the neck, that the birds may be unable to
swallow down what fishes they catch, throw them into the water.
They immediately set to work and pursue the fish beneath them
with marvellous rapidity. When they have caught one they
rise to the surface, and, having first pinched it with their beaks,
swallow it as far as the strap permits, and renew the chase until they
have caught from five to six each. On being called to return to
their masters’ fist, they obey with alacrity, and bring up, one by
one, the fish they have swallowed, injured no farther than that
they are slightly crushed. The fishing being brought to an end,
the birds are removed from the neighbourhood of the water, the
strap is untied, and a few of the captured fish, thrown to them as
their share of the booty, are dexterously caught before they touch
the ground.’

THE SHAG

PHALACROCORAX GRACULUS

Tail graduated, of twelve feathers. In winter, general plumage deep greenish
black ; feathers of the back glossy with black borders ; orbits and pouch
greenish yellow ; bill dusky ; irides green ; feet black. In summery, head
crested. Young birds greenish brown above ; light grey below. Length
twenty-eight inches. Eggs greenish blue, chalky.

EXCEPT in the smaller size and differences of plumage mentioned
above, there is little to distinguish the Shag from the Cormorant.
Both, too, are of common occurrence, and frequent the same
localities ; except that the Shag is more disposed to be gregarious : it
does not, however, commonly resort to tidal rivers, and is still more
rarely found on inland lakes ; its food and method of obtaining it are
precisely similar, so that a description of one bird will suit the other
almost equally well. The Shag is called sometimes the Green
Cormorant, from the tint of its plumage; but this name is not in
common use. Another of its names is the Crested Cormorant ;
but this is vague, inasmuch as both species are crested in spring.
In Scotland a common name for it is Scart, applied also to the Great
Cormorant.

168 THE GANNET

THE GANNET
SULA BASSANA

Crown butt-yellow ; general plumage milk-white ; quills black; bill bluish
grey at the base, white at the tip ; orbits pale blue ; membrane prolonged
from the gape and that under the throat dusky blue; irides yellow ;
feet striped with green, the membranes dusky ; claws white. Bzrds of
the fivst year, general plumage dusky brown, beneath greyish. In the
second year, greyish black above, marked with numerous triangular
white spots, whitish below. Length three feet. Eggs dull greenish
white.

Ir would not be difficult to compile, from various sources, a descrip-
tion of the Gannet and its habits which would fill more pages than
my readers, perhaps, would care to peruse. To avoid this contin-
gency, I will limit myself to a statement of my own personal acquaint-
ance with the bird and its ways, and a transcript of notes kindly
furnished me by a friend who visited the Bass Rock, one of its
favourite haunts in the breeding season.

Extract from my own Journal. August 27th. I lay for a long
time to-day on the thick herbage which crowns the splendid cliffs,
‘‘ the Gobbins’’, near the entrance of Belfast Lough,watching through
a telescope the proceedings of some Gannets, or Solan Geese. This
bird, which is allied to the Pelicans rather than the Geese, is of a
large size, much bigger than a Gull, from which, also, it may be
distinguished at a distance by its greater length of neck, the intense
whiteness of its plumage, and the black tip of its wide-spreading
wings. But apart from all these distinguishing characters, its mode
of fishing is, by itself, sufficient to mark it. In flight it is eminently
wandering ; it circles round and round, or describes a figure of
eight, at a varying elevation above the water, in quest of herrings,
pilchards, or other fish whose habit is to swim near the surface.
When it has discovered a prey, it suddenly arrests its flight, partially
closes its wings, and descends head foremost with a force sufficient
to make a jet d’eau visible two or three miles off, and to carry itself
many feet downwards. When successful, it brings its prize to the
surface, and devours it without troubling itself about mastication.
If unsuccessful, it rises immediately, and resumes its hunting. It
is sometimes seen swimming, perhaps to rest itself, for I did not
observe that it ever dived on these occasions. My companion told
me that the fishermen on the coast of Ireland say that, if chased
by a boat when seen swimming, it becomes so terrified as to be un-
able to rise. The real reason may be that it is gorged with food.
He was once in a boat on the Lough, when, a Gannet being seen a
long way ahead, it was determined to give chase, and ascertain
whether the statement was correct. As the boat drew near, the
Gannet endeavoured to escape by swimming ; but made no attempt
either to dive or to use its wings. After a pretty long chase, the

Gannet ?

Whooper Swan Bewick’s Swan 3

[ face pp. 16S

THE GANNETT 169

bowman secured it in spite of a very severe bite which it inflicted
on his hand, and carried it home in triumph. It did not appear
to have received any injury, and when released, in the evening
of the same day, swam out to sea with great composure. A fisher-
man in Islay told me that in some parts of Scotland a singular
method of catching Gannets is adopted. A herring is fastened to
a board and sunk a few feet deep in the sea. The sharp eye of the
Gannet detects the fish, and the bird, first raising itself to an eleva-
tion which experience or instinct has taught it to be sufficient to
carry it down to the requisite depth, pounces on the fish, and in the
effort penetrates the board to which the fish is attached. Being
thus held fast by the beak, and unable to extricate itself, it is
drowned. Gannets are frequently caught in the herring-nets, at
various depths below the surface. Diving after the fish, they be-
come entangled in the nets, and are thus captured in a trap not
intended for them. They perform good service to fishermen, by
indicating at a great distance the exact position of the shoals of
fish.’

Gannets breed in great numbers on several parts of our rocky
coast; from the extreme north to Lundy Island in the Bristol
Channel. The two most important stations are St. Kilda and the
Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth. On this rock stand the ruins of
the once formidable stronghold of the Douglas family, the Castle
of Tantallan. In circumference the island is about a mile; on the
northern side it rises to an elevation of eight hundred feet, whilst
towards the south it shelves almost down to the sea. The isolated
position of this rock, and the difficulty of landing on it, have rendered
it a fit retreat for sea-fowl of various kinds ; and as the proprietor
‘ preserves ’ them, they flourish without sensible diminution. The
discharge of a gun causes the whole of the colony to take wing ;
and as they rise into the air, the eye of the spectator is dazzled by
the mazy intercrossings of white wings, the ear bewildered by the
discord of confused screamings. A visit paid at sunrise, when
flocks of various kinds are wheeling about in all directions, will
more than reward the early riser for his activity, for Scotland scarcely
offers a more interesting sight. Of all the numerous birds which
frequent the rock, the Solan Goose is the most abundant and most
profitable, as almost the only revenue of the island accrues from
the sale of these birds to the country people of the mainland,
and at the Edinburgh market, where they have fetched, for the last
century and a half, the unvarying price of two shillings and four-
pence a head. The size of the Gannet is somewhat larger than
that of the domestic Goose.

‘ The only parts of the island where they can be approached are
on the south and west sides. They sit lazily and stupidly on and
about their nests, which are composed of a mass of weeds and grass,
and will suffer themselves to be stroked, patted, or knocked on the

170 THE COMMON HERON

head, as the case may be, with a most philosophical gravity. They
are frequently shot ; but as they then generally fall into the sea,
a boat has to be on the alert, or they are soon washed away. The
plan of lowering a man by means of a rope held by the others, is
also adopted; but this is most dangerous. The Frigate Pelican
[The Skua ?] often chases a successful Gannet till the terrified bird
disgorges its prey, which the pursuer seizes before it reaches the
water.’

‘A Solan Goose to most people would not afford a delicious meal,
being a rank, coarse, fishy dish; but many of the poorer classes
eat them with a relish—nay, as a delicacy—and during the winter
would fare ill had they not these birds for food.”

The Gannet lays but one egg; and the young bird is nourished
on semi-liquid food disgorged by the parent. On its first exclusion
from the egg its skin is naked, and of a bluish black hue, but is
soon covered with a white down. Through this the true feathers
appear, which are black, the adult plumage being pure white.

For an interesting account of the capture of these birds at St.
Kilda, the reader is referred to Professor James Wilson’s Voyage
vound the Coast of Scotland. From a calculation once made of
the number of Gannets consumed by each family in a year, on this
island, it appeared that the total secured, not taking into account
a large number which could not be reached for various reasons,
was 22,600: and this number was considered to be below the
average, the season being a bad one.

ORDER HERODIONES

FAMILY ARDEID/

THE COMMON HERON
ARDEA CINEREA

A crest of elongated bluish black feathers at the back of the head; similar
feathers of a lustrous white hanging from the lower part of the neck ;
scapulars similar, silver grey ; forehead, neck, middle of the belly, edge
of the wings, and thighs, pure white; back of the head, sides of the
breast, and flanks, deep black; front of the neck streaked with grey ;
upper plumage bluish grey; beak deep yellow ; irides yellow; orbits
naked, livid ; feet brown, red above; middle toe, claw included, much
shorter than the tarsus. In young birds the long feathers are absent ;
head and neck ash-coloured ; upper plumage tinged with brown ; lower,
spotted with black. Length three feet two inches. Eggs uniform sea
green.

THE Heron, though a large bird, measuring three feet in length
from the point of the beak to the extremity of the tail, and four
feet and a half in breadth from the tip of one wing to the other,

THE COMMON HERON 171

weighs but three pounds and a half. Consequently, though not
formed for rapid flight, or endued with great activity of wing, its
body presents so large a surface to the air, that it can support itself
aloft with but a slight exertion. It is thus enabled, without fatigue,
to soar almost into the regions assigned to the Eagle and Vulture ;
and when pursued by its natural enemies, the Falcons, to whom
it would fall an easy prey on account of the largeness of the mark
which its body would present to their downward swoop if it could
only skim the plains, it is enabled to vie with them in rising into
the air, and thus often eludes them.

The Heron, though it neither swims nor dives, is, nevertheless,
a fisher, and a successful one, but a fisher in rivers and shallow
waters only, to human anglers a very pattern of patience and
resignation. Up to its knees in water, motionless as a stone,
with the neck slightly stretched out, and the eye steadily fixed,
but wide awake to the motion of anything that has life, the Heron
may be seen in the ford of a river, the margin of a lake, in a sea-
side pool, or on the bank of an estuary, a faultless subject for the
photographer. Suddenly the head is shot forward with unerring
aim; a small fish is captured, crushed to death, and swallowed
head foremost ; an eel of some size requires different treatment,
and is worth the trouble of bringing to land, that it may be beaten
to death on the shingle; a large fish is impaled with its dagger-
like beak, and, if worth the labour, is carried off to a safe retreat,
to be devoured at leisure. If observers are to be credited, and
there is no reason why they should not, a full-grown Heron can
thus dispose of a fish that exceeds its own weight. <A frog is swal-
lowed whole ; a water rat has its skull split before it discovers its
enemy, and speedily is undergoing the process of digestion. Shrimps,
small crabs, newts, water beetles, all is fish that comes to its com-
prehensive net; but if, with all its watchfulness, the look-out be
unsuccessful, it rises a few feet into the air, and slowly flaps itself
away to some little distance, where perhaps, slightly altering its
attitude, it stands on one leg, and, with its head thrown back,
awaits better fortune. While thus stationed it is mute; but as
it flies off it frequently utters its note, a harsh, grating scream,
especially when other birds of the same species are in the neigh-
bourhood. On these occasions it is keenly on the alert, descrying
danger at a great distance, and is always the first to give notice
of an approaching enemy, not only to all birds feeding near it on
the shore, but to any Ducks which may chance to be paddling in
the water.?

1 A Heron in captivity has been known to perch on an old carriage-wheel,
in the corner of a courtyard, and to lie in wait for Sparrows and Martins.
One of the latter it was seen to pierce while flying, and immediately descend-
ing with outspread wings to run to its trough, and, having several times
plunged in its prey, to swallow it at a gulp.

172 THE COMMON HERON

During a great portion of the year the Heron is a wanderer. I
have frequently seen it at least fifty miles distant from the nearest
heronry ; but when it has discovered a spot abounding in food,
it repairs thither day after day for a long period.

In the month of January, if mild, but as a rule in February,
Herons show a disposition to congregate, and soon after repair to
their old-established breeding-places, called Heronries. These are
generally lofty trees, firs or deciduous trees in parks, or even in
groves close by old family mansions. One at Kilmorey, by Loch
Gilphead, has long been frequented, though within a hundred
yards of the house. The nests, huge masses of sticks, a yard
across, lined with a little grass, and other soft materials, are placed
near each other, as many, sometimes, as a hundred in a colony, or,
more rarely, they are placed among ivy-clad rocks, ruins, or even
on the ground. Each nest contains three to four eggs, on which
the female sits about three weeks, constantly fed by her partner
during the whole period of incubation. Two weeks later a second
clutch of eggs is sometimes laid and hatched off whilst the first
young are in the nest. The power of running would be of little
use toa young bird hatched at an elevation of fifty feet from the
ground ; the young Herons are consequently helpess till they are
sufficiently fledged to perch on the branches of the trees, where
they are fed by their parents, who themselves perch with the
facility of the Rook. Indeed, the favourite position of these birds,
both old and young, is, during a considerable portion of the day,
on the upper branches of a lofty tree, whither, also, they often
repair with a booty too large to be swallowed at once.

By a statute of Henry VIII the taking of Herons in any other
way than by hawking, or the long bow, was prohibited on a penalty
of half a mark; and the theft of a young bird from the nest was
visited with a penalty of ten shillings.

Not to be acquainted with the noble art of Falconry was deemed
degrading : so that the saying, ‘ He does not know a Hawk from a
Heronshaw ’, was a common expression of contempt, now corrupted
into the proverb, ‘ He does not know a Hawk from a handsaw’.

1 Pennant counted eighty in one tree.

THE COMMON BITTERN 173

THE NIGHT HERON
NYCTICORAX GRISEUS.

Head, back, and scapulars, black, with blue and green reflections ; on the
back of the head three very long narrow white feathers ; lower part of
the back, wings, and tail, pearl-grey ; forehead, streak over the eyes, and
all the lower parts, white ; beak black, yellow at the base ; irides red ;
feet yellowish green. Young birds have no crest ; the upper plumage
is dull brown streaked with yellow ; wing-coverts and primaries marked
with fish-shaped streaks, which are yellowish ; under parts dull white,
mottled with brown and ash; bill greenish; irides and feet brown.
Length twenty-one inches. Eggs pale blue.

THE Night Heron is a bird of wide geographical range ;_ but, on
account of its nocturnal habits and the rarity of its occurrence
in this country, it has been little observed. It is, however, not
uncommon on migration. A specimen was brought to me at
Helston, Cornwall, about the year 1836, which had been shot in
the dusk of the evening, on Goonhilly Downs. Its long and delicate
crest had been stupidly tied into a knot, and by the bruised con-
dition of these feathers the specimen, if it still exists in any museum,
may yet be identified.

The Night Heron is said to be not uncommon on the shores of
the Baltic, in the wide marshes of Bretagne and Lorraine, and on
the banks of the Rhone. It passes the day concealed among the
thick foliage of trees and shrubs, and feeds only by night. It builds
its nest in trees, and lays four or five eggs.

THE COMMON BITTERN

BOTAURUS STELLARIS

Moustaches and crown black; upper plumage yellowish rust-red, spotted
with dusky ; the feathers of the neck elongated, marked with brown zigzag
lines ; primaries barred with rust-red and dusky grey ; plumage beneath
paler, marked with oblong dusky streaks ; upper mandible brown, edged
with yellow; lower, orbits, and feet, greenish yellow; irides bright
yellow. Length two feet four inches. Eggs dingy green.

MACGILLIVRAY, who was as well acquainted as most ornithologists
with birds haunting moors and swamps, admits that he never
heard one, and thinks that a brother naturalist, who describes what,
no doubt, he heard, mistook for the booming of the Bittern the
drumming of a Snipe. Lord Lilford tells us that a lady of his
acquaintance told him that as a young wife, living near marshes,
she often was kept awake by the booming of Bitterns,.

174 THE COMMON BITTERN

In Sir Thomas Browne’s time, it was common in Norfolk, and was
esteemed a better dish than the Heron.

Willughby, who wrote about the same time, 1676, says:
‘The Bittern, or Mire-drum, it is said, makes either three or five
boomings at a time—always an uneven number. It begins to
bellow early in February, and continues during the breeding season.
The common people believe that it thrusts its beak into a reed,
and by the help of this makes its booming. Others maintain
that it imitates the lowing of an ox by thrusting its beak into
water, mud, or earth. They conceal themselves among rushes
and reeds, and not unfrequently in hedges, with the head and
neck erect. In autumn, after sunset, they are in the habit of
rising into the air with a spiral ascent, so high that they are lost
sight of. Meanwhile they utter a singular note, but not at all
resembling the characteristic ‘ booming ’.

It is called Botaurus, because it imitates boatum taurt, the bellow-
ing of a bull. Of ‘ Botaurus’, the names ‘ Bitour’ and Bittern
are evident corruptions; and the following names, in different
languages, are all descriptive of the same peculiar note: Butor,
Rordump, Myredromble, Trombone, Rohrtrummel, Rohrdommel,
and Rordrum.

Of late years, so unusual has the occurrence become of Bitterns
breeding in this country, owing to collectors, that the discovery
of an egg in Norfolk has been thought worthy of being recorded
in the transactions of the Linnean Society ; and even the appearance
of a bird at any season finds its way into the provincial newspapers
or the magazines devoted to natural history. Stuffed specimens
are, however, to be seen in most collections, where its form and
plumage may be studied, though its habits can only be learnt, at
least in England, from the accounts furnished by naturalists of a
past generation. It comes now only to be shot.

The Bittern is a bird of wide geographical range, as it resorts,
more or less, to all countries of Europe and Asia. Specimens
are said to differ much in size, some being as large as the Heron,
others considerably less; but there is no reason to suppose that
they are of different species, a similar variation having been
observed in other birds, as in the Curlew, for example, of which I
have had in my possession at once four or five specimens all of
different dimensions.

The Bittern builds its nest on the ground, and lays four brown
eggs, whichare tinged with ash or green. The old bird, if wounded,
defends itself in the same way as the Heron,

THE BLACK STORK 175

RAMIE YI CICONTTDIAS
CEE Wl hE STORK

CICONIA ALBA

General plumage white ; scapulars and wings black ; bill and feet red ; orbits
naked, black; irides brown. Young birds have the wings tinged with
brown and the beak reddish black. Length three feet six inches. Eggs
white tinged with ochre.

Sir THOMAS BROWNE says, in his Account of Birds found in Norfolk -
‘The Ciconia, or Stork, I have seen in the fens; and some have
been shot in the marshes between this [Norwich] and Yarmouth.’
His contemporary, Willughby, says :—‘ The Stork is rarely seen in
England ; never, in fact, but when driven hither by the wind or
some accident. I have received from Dr. Thomas Browne, the
eminent naturalist, a figure drawn to the life, and a short descrip-
tion of one which was captured in Norfolk.’ Yarrell records
instances of a few others which have been killed, at distant inter-
vals, in various parts of England ; but the Stork is so rare a visitor
with us, that I have no scruple in referring my readers, for a full
account of the habits of so interesting a bird, to some more com-
prehensive work on the subject. The White Stork was, over 350
years ago, only an irregular visitor to Great Britain.

TEES BLACK STORK

CICONIA NIGRA

Upper plumage black, with green and purple reflections ; under white ; bill
and orbits red ; irides brown; feet deep red. In young birds the bill,
orbits, and feet, are olive green; and the upper plumage is tinged with
rust-brown. Length nearly three feet. Eggs dull white, tinged with
green, and sometimes sparingly spotted with brown.

A STILL rarer visitor in Great Britain than the White Stork, from
which it differs quite as much in habit as it does in colour; for
whereas the one is eminently sociable with birds of its own kind, and
devoted in its attachment to human dwellings, the other is a solitary
bird, shy and wary, avoiding at all times the sight of men and
their habitations. It is a rare bird in most countries of Europe,
but is common in several parts of Asia and the whole of the known
regions of Africa. It builds a large nest in a lofty tree, and lays
from two to five eggs.

176 THE GREY LAG GOOSE

FAMILY PLATALEIDA

THE SPOONBILL
PLATALEA LEUCORODIA

General plumage white ; a large patch of reddish yellow on the breast ; a crest
of long narrow white feathers pendent over the neck ; lore, orbits, and
naked space on the neck, pale yellow; bill black, tipped with yellow ;
irides red ; feet black. Young birds want the yellow patch on the breast
and the occipital crest ; portions of the wing black. Length thirty-one
inches. Eggs white, spotted with light red.

SPOONBILLS do not appear to have been common at any time ;

for though Sir Thomas Browne enumerates them among the birds of

Norfolk and Suffolk, where they build in heronries, his contem-

porary, Willughby, knew them only as natives of Holland. This

bird is not unfrequent in East Anglia, and it is met with now and
again along the south coast, and has wandered up the Thames
valley.

The Spoonbill is a migratory bird, building its nest and rearing
its young in the north of Europe and Asia, and retiring in autumn to
the shores of the Mediterranean or to Africa. It is remarkable not
only for the singular conformation of its bill, but for ‘ being one
of the very few which have been found to possess no true muscles
of the organ of voice ; and no modulation of a single tone appears to
be possessed by the bird.’ 4

It builds its nest in high trees, or, when these are wanting, among
reeds and rushes; and lays four eggs.

ORDER ANSERES
FAMILY ANATID/A

THE GREY LAG GOOSE
ANSER CINEREUS
Folded wings not reaching to the extremity of the tail; bill strong, orange-
yellow, the nail whitish; upper plumage ash-brown, many of the
feathers bordered with greyish white ; under plumage, in front, light ash-
grey, barred on the flanks and belly with brown, behind pure white ;
irides deep brown; legs dull flesh-colour. Eggs ivory white. Length
two feet ten inches.
Tue Geese clraracterized by having a large, ovate body, a long
neck, a short and stout beak, high at the base and bent down at

1 Yarrell’s British Birds,

THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE 177

the tip, adapted for cropping vegetable food ; the wings are large
and powerful; the legs, placed under the centre of the body,
afford some facility in walking, and the webbed feet are eminently
fitted for paddling, but rarely employed in diving. They spend
the greater portion of the year in high latitudes, where their arrival
is celebrated with great rejoicings, as an indication of returning
summer. They are eminently gregarious, flying generally in the
form of a half-opened pair of compasses, with the angle in front,
or in an irregular wavy line, and uttering a loud harsh cry, which
may often be heard some time before the birds themselves are in
sight.

The present species, which is supposed by some to be the origin
of the domestic Goose, was formerly of common occurrence in
Great Britain, but is now much less frequent. It breeds in northern
Scotland, coming south from autumn to spring. On their arrival
in autumn, they resort to marshes and swamps, meadows, corn-
fields, and turnip-fields, especially such as are remote from human
dwellings. There they feed by day on such vegetable substances
as fall in their way, but they are said to prefer the young shoots of
corn to any other kind of food. So wary are they and difficult
of approach, that a ‘ Wild Goose chase’ is a proverbial expression
for an unsuccessful enterprise. At night they retire to the broad
flats near the sea, or to the mouths of rivers, where they roost on
the ground. Yarrell is of opinion ‘ that the term “ lag’’, as applied
to this Goose, is either a modification of the English word “ lake”’,
the Latin Jacus, or perhaps an abbreviation of the Italian ‘“‘lago’’,
from which latter country it is even probable that we may originally
have obtained this our domesticated race.’

THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
ANSER ALBIFRONS

Folded wings reaching a little beyond the tail; bill orange-yellow, the nai
white ; a large space on the forehead pure white, surrounded by a dusky
band ; upper plumage ash-brown, varied with grey, dull white, and bluish
black ; under plumage in front brownish white, with patches and bars
of black ; behind white ; irides dark brown; feet orange. Length two
feet three inches. Eggs white, tinged with buff.

A REGULAR visitor to the British Isles, coming late in the autumn
to stay till spring, usually seen in small flocks of from eight to twenty
birds ; it is entirely graminivorous, and, when undisturbed, usually
rests at night in any grass-field where it may have been feeding
in the afternoon.
Its habits, during its stay in these latitudes, are similiar to those of
B.B. N

178 THE BEAN GOOSE

the other species, but it is said by Mr. Selby to ‘ vary from the Bean
Goose in preferring low and marshy districts to the upland and
drier haunts of that bird, and in these localities subsists on the
aquatic grasses, being very seldom seen to frequent corn or stubble
fields’. In Norfolk it has frequently been seen associated with the
Bean Goose. It has never been observed to remain with us after
April, when it betakes itself to the regions bordering on the Arctic
circle. In Lapland it is very abundant, and in the fur countries
of North America it was seen in spring by Dr. Richardson in large
flocks travelling northwards. It breeds in the woody districts
skirting Mackenzie’s River, and in the islands of the Arctic Sea.

The white forehead of this bird tends to confirm the opinion
maintained by some authors that the common Domestic Goose owes
its origin to this species.

THE BEAN GOOSE

ANSER SEGETUM

Folded wings exceeding the tail in length ; bill long, orange, the base and nail
black; upper plumage ash-brown; the wings darker, edged with
greyish white ; under plumage in front dirty white, behind pure white ;
irides dark brown ; legs orange; beak yellowish white. Length thirty-
four inches. Eggs white.

THE several species constituting the group to which the Bean
Goose belongs resemble each other very nearly in all respects. All
are gregarious, fly high in the form of a V, or in an undulating line,
uttering repeated cries, whichno one who has heard a domesticated
Goose can fail to recognize ; they pass the night for the most part
on broad flats near the sea, and at early dawn repair inland to their
feeding-grounds. The Bean Goose is, on the authority of Yarrell,
next to the Brent Goose, the commonest and most numerous as a
species among our Wild Geese. In Scotland it is far more abundant
than in England, being seen in large flocks from October to April,
especially at the periods of migration to and from its summer
quarters. But it does not altogether desert the British Isles during
the intervening months. A few are said annually to remain, and
breed in the lakes of Westmoreland, and in the Hebrides. In
Sutherlandshire, also, many remain all the year—a fact thoroughly
ascertained by Mr. Selby, who gives an interesting account of several
young broods which he saw on the lochs, some of which he captured.
They construct their nests among the tussocks of sedge or grass
hillocks on the islands, and lay from three to four eggs, smaller than
those of the Common Goose, but of a similar shape and colour,

White Fronted Goose

Pinkfooted Goose
Grey Lag Goose
Bean Goose 5 [p. 178.

THE PINK-FOOTED GOOSE 179

THE PINK-FOOTED GOOSE
ANSER BRACHYRHYNCHUS

Folded wings not reaching to the extremity of the tail; bill shorter than
the head, narrow and much contracted towards the tip, pink, with the
nail and base black ; head and neck reddish brown; rest of the upper
plumage ash-grey, edged with greyish white ; under plumage in front
fawn-colour, behind white; irides dark brown; feet pink, tinged with
vermilion. Length two feet four inches. Eggs dull yellowish white.

Ir is said that most, if not all the various species of wild Geese
have strong local attachments ; that flocks composed of one particu-
lar kind are in the habit of visiting, year after year, the same
spot, to the exclusion of other species, which may, nevertheless,
be found frequenting places of like character at no great distance.
Of the truth of the statement I met with signal confirmation
in the severe winter of 1860-1. I then spent several days on
the coast of Norfolk, for the purpose of watching the habits
of Waders and sea-fowl. Without indulging in the chase of wild
Geese, I heard and saw a great many flocks, of which some were
unmistakably Brent Geese ; others, of a larger size and a different
colour, I was obliged to include under the comprehensive name of Grey
Geese. The Brents, I found, regularly repaired to the salt marshes
adjoining Thornham Harbour, which, I was told, was their usual
place of resort. The others were known to alight only in the meadows
near Holkham. Having heard that several had been shot at the
latter place, I procured one, and on examination it proved to be the
present species, up to that time entirely unknown to me. On
consulting Yarrell, I found the following passage :—‘In January
of the present year, 1841, I was favoured with a letter from the
Hon. and Rev. Thomas Keppel, of Warham Rectory, near Holkam,
informing me that a Pink-footed Goose had been killed by his
nephew, Lord Coke, at Holkam. This bird was shot out of a flock
of about twenty, but nothing particular was observed in their
flight or habits.’ The bird brought to me had been shot, along with
many others, out of similar flocks, in exactly the same place, at
an interval of twenty years ; and I have no doubt that the many
other specimens which have been shot there between the above
two dates, belonged to the same species, the characters which dis-
tinguish it from the common Bean Goose being not sufficiently
striking to attract the notice of seaside gunners. The habits of
the species appear not to differ from those of its congener ; it arrives
and departs about the same time, and it frequents the marshes
and uplands of Norfolk, and in winter the east coast of Scotland.

180 THE BRENT GOOSE

THE BRENT GOOSE

BERNICLA BRENTA

Head, beak, neck, breast, feet, quills, and tail, black ; on each side of the
neck a patch of white with a few black feathers intermixed ; upper
plumage dingy ; all the tail-coverts white ; belly brownish grey, barred
on the flanks with greyish white. Length twenty-two to twenty-three
inches. Eggs greyish white.

THE Wild Geese which we have hitherto been considering feed on
grass, Clover, and grain, in quest of which they resort to inland
marshes, meadows, and arable land; but the Brent is a decidedly
marine bird. During its annual visits to our shores it stays out
at sea by night, cradled by the billows, and at early dawn repairs
to the muddy flats and sand-banks, where it feeds exclusively on
marine plants, especially laver and zostéra. As soon as these are
left bare by the ebbing tide, the Brents are taught by their instinct
that they have no time to lose, and hasten in ‘ skeins ’ or ‘ gaggles’’
making in their flight a trumpet-like noise, which, heard at a distance,
resembles that of a pack of harriers or fox-hounds in full cry. They
prefer to take their stand cn those parts of the ooze which are
least intersected by creeks, and there, if left undisturbed, they
continue to feed without intermission till the rising tide lifts them
off their feet. Then, away to sea again ! or, if the weather be boister-
ous, they seek for shelter in the rivers and estuaries. They are
local in their attachments, returning annually to the same feeding-
grounds. They do not associate from choice with other species,
for though they may be frequently seen feeding in the vicinity of
various Waders, they form no society with them, and are, indeed,
in quest of different food. Seaside fowlers are well acquainted
with the peculiarity of their habits, and not only know where to
look for them when they are settled, but at what points they can
most easily be intercepted, going and returning. It is the custom
of the fowler to conceal himself behind some lurking-place, natural
or artificial ; or, if this be wanting, to stretch himself on the ground.
Then, as a skein, unconscious of danger, approaches, he suddenly
shows himself; the birds, panic-struck, huddle together before
they alter their line of flight, and the sportsman fires into the midst
of them.

They are the most abundant of all the Geese which frequent
our shores, and are killed in great numbers and sent to market.
They come to us in November and remain till late in February,
when they begin to migrate in successive flights, the youngest bird
staying until April. It is not believed that they ever remain to
breed, but that they repair to the Arctic regions, and make their
nests of withered herbage in marshy ground.

THE WHOOPER SWAN ISI

THE BERNICLE GOOSE
BERNICLA LEUCOPSIS

lorchead, sides of the head, and throat, pure white ; a dark streak between the

eyes and bill; head,'neck, quills, and tail, black ; rest of the upper plumage

undulated transversely with ash-grey, black, and dull white; lower

plumage white, tinged on the flanks with grey; irides dusky-brown ;

bill and feet black. Length two feet one inch. Eggs greenish white.
Turis beautiful bird occurs chiefly on the west side of Great Britain
in winter. ‘It then more frequently retires to the sea than to
the lakes during its periods of repose, or when driven from its feed-
ing-grounds. A large flock then presents a beautiful spectacle,
as the birds sit lightly on the water, and when advancing elevate
their necks. Not less beautiful do they seem when on wing ; now
arranged in long lines, ever undulating ; at one time extending in the
direction of their flight ; at another obliquely, or at right angles
to it, sometimes in an angular figure, and again mingling together.
Their voice is clear, and rather shrill, and comes agreeably on the ear
when the cries of a large flock come from a considerable distance ’.
In England it is far less common, but occasionally resorts to marshes
both on the eastern and western coast. The mythical fragment of
ancient natural history, that the Bernicle is the product of a tree,
is too trite to require repetition here.

THE WHOOPER SWAN
CYGNUS MUSICUS

Whole plumage pure white, the head and nape sometimes slightly tinged with
yellow ; lower half of the bill quadrangular, yellow, upper black ; lore
and a great portion of the edge of the upper mandible yellow ; irides
brown ; legs black; tail of twenty feathers. Young bivds have the
plumage grey ; lore flesh-colour. Length five feet; breadth seven feet
ten inches. Eggs dull white, tinged with greenish.

THE ancient fable that Swans sing most sweetly before their death
did not survive the age which invented it. Pliny disbelieved
it, and, though the assertion may have been resuscitated from
time to time as a poetic fiction, it has found no place in works on
natural history.

The Swan is not musical; it rests its claims to our admiration
on other grounds, unchallenged and indisputable ; the unsullied
white of its plumage is an apt emblem of purity, and the elegance
of its movements in the water has become proverbial. The present
species, which owes its name to its powerful voice, is said to be
not quite so graceful as the tame Swan, but on land it is far
more active. A bird which has been winged by a sportsman.
and has fallen on the land, can only be overtaken by smart running,

182 THE WHOOPER SWAN

In Iceland, the summer resort of these birds, they are much sought
after for the sake of their down. In the month of August, when the
old birds, having cast their quill-feathers, are unable to fly, the
natives assemble in bodies in the places where the Swans collect,
and mounted on small but active horses chase them through the
marshes, and ride many of them down; but the greater number
are caught by the dogs, which always seize the birds by the neck,
and so encumber them that they are then easily overtaken. But
it is not the habit of Swans to remain much on land; the perfect
ease with which they float and swim indicates that the water is their
element, and a glance at their long necks tells at once that their
nature is to feedin shallow water or on the margin of deep lakes,
where with their strong bills they either tear up the stems and
roots of aquatics from the bottom, or crop at their pleasure from
the banks. To this kind of food they add such insects, molluscs
and worms as come within their reach; and (when sailing in salt
water) sea-weeds, and especially the long, ribbon-like leaves of
zostéra. During summer they frequent the most secluded swamps
and lakes in the wooded districts of the north, and build a very large
nest in a spot unapproachable by human feet. A few go no farther
north than the Orkneys and Shetlands, but their headquarters
are Siberia, Iceland, Lapland, and Hudson’s Bay.

After they have recovered from their summer moult, they migrate
southwards, and arrive in Scotland, sometimes in large flocks,
early in October. Mr. St. John, in his Wild Sports of the High-
lands, gives an interesting account of their habits while in this
country. He went in pursuit of a flock which had selected for
their winter feeding-place some fresh-water lochs about half a mile
from the sea. They passed the day mostly on the salt water, and
in the evening came inland to feed. He found them on one of the
smaller lochs, some standing high and dry on the grassy islands
trimming their feathers after their long voyage, and others feeding
on the grass and weeds at the bottom of the loch, which in some
parts was shallow enough to allow of their pulling up the plants
which they fed on as they swam about, while numbers of wild
Ducks of different kinds, particularly Wigeons, swarmed round
them, and often snatched the pieces of grass from the Swans as
soon as they had brought them to the surface, to the great annoy-
ance of the noble birds, who endeavoured in vain to drive away
these most active little depredators, who seemed determined to
profit by their labours. ‘I observed’, he says, ‘that frequently all
their heads were under the water at once, excepting one—but
invariably one had kept his head and neck perfectly erect, and
carefully watched on every side to prevent their being taken by
surprise ; when he wanted to feed, he touched any passer-by,
who immediately relieved him in his guard, and he in his turn
called on some other Swan to take his place as sentinel.’

BEWICK’S SWAN 183

Swans, like wild Geese, are in the habit of returning every year
to the same district of country, and in passing to and from their
feeding-ground keep closely to the same line of flight, a peculiarity
of which fowlers take advantage by lying in ambuscade somewhere
beneath their aérial road.

When disturbed on the water they generally huddle together
and utter a low cry of alarm before they take flight. Owing to
their great weight, they have not the power of rising suddenly into
the air, but flap along the water, beating the surface with their
great wings, some twenty or thirty yards. The flapping nois°
made while this process is going on, may be heard at a great
distance.

In severe winters, flocks of Whoopers, Whistling Swans, or Elks,
as they are variously called, come farther south, and may be
observed from time to time on different parts of the coast.

BEWICK’S SWAN

CYGNUS BEWICKI

Whole plumage pure white; bill black, orange-yellow at the base ; irides
dark ; feet black; tailof eighteen feathers. Young birds greyish brown ;
immature specimens tinged on the head and belly with rust-red. Length
three feet nine inches ; breadth forty-six to fifty. Eggs dull white, tinged
with brown.

BEWICK’s Swan is distinguished from the Whooper, not only by
the characters given above, but by strongly marked anatomical
features, which were first pointed out by Mr. Yarrell, who, with
the modesty and generosity for which he was noted, gave it its
present name; ‘Thus devoting it to the memory of one whose
beautiful and animated delineations of subjects in natural history
entitle him to this tribute.’

In severe winters it is fairly frequent on the coasts of England,
and even abundant in Scotland. In the case of distant flocks the
only criterion is size ; and as this species is one-third less than the
Whooper, there is little probability of -an experienced observer
being mistaken in the identity.

In their habits they closely resemble their congeners, but are
less graceful in their movements on the water, and spend a larger
portion of their time on land.

184 THE COMMON SHELD-DRAKE

THE COMMON SHELD-DRAKE
TADORNA CORNUTA

Head, throat, and upper back black, with green reflections; lower parts
of the neck and back, flanks, rump and tail (except the black tip) white ;
from the shoulders a broad band of bright chestnut, which meets on the
breast, passing into a broad, blotched, black band, which passes down the
abdomen nearly to the tail; under tail-coverts pale reddish yellow ;
scapulars black ; wing-coverts white ; secondaries chestnut ; primaries
black ; speculum bronzed green and purple; bill, and protuberance at
the base, red ; irides brown; feet crimson-red. ‘The female wants the
red protuberance on the bill, and the colours generally are somewhat
less bright. Length twenty to twenty-two inches. Eggs white, tinged
with green.

THE Sheld-drake is the largest and among the handsomest of the
British Ducks, and if easy of domestication would be no doubt a
common ornament of our lakes and rivers. It is, however, in
Great Britain at least; a marine bird; though from one of its
French names, Canard des Alpes, it would seem also to frequent
the large continental lakes. Numerous attempts have been made
to familiarize it with inland fresh-water haunts to which some other
species readily take, but they have rarely succeeded, while to
induce it to breed at a distance from its seaside home has proved
yet more difficult.

It differs from the majority of the Duck tribe in remaining on
the coast of Britain throughout the year. In South Wales, for
example, it is seen in winter and early spring, but about the breed-
ing season it disappears for a few weeks. During this interval it
is employed in incubation, but when its brood is hatched it is seen
again, accompanied by a troop of ducklings, feeding in the creeks
and marshy places. When thus discovered, the young broods
are commonly hunted down by seaside idiers for the sake of being
sold to any one who cares to try the experiment of rearing them.

On the coast of Norfolk it is more usual to search for the nests,
in order to secure the eggs and place them under a tame Duck or
domestic Hen. The male and female keep together, not only
during incubation, but until the young are able to provide for them-
selves. It derives the name ‘Burrow Duck’, by which it is also
known, from its custom of making its nest either in the burrow
of a rabbit or in a hole hollowed out by itself. The nest is con-
structed of such herbage as abounds in the neighbourhood ; it is
lined with down plucked from the breast of the parent bird, and
contains from ten to twelve eggs.

Pennant (vol. ii, p. 257) says of these birds: ‘“‘ They inhabit
the sea-coasts and breed in rabbit-holes. When a person attempts
to take their young, the old birds show great address in diverting
his attention from the brood; they will fly along the ground as if

THE WILD DUCK 185

wounded, till the former can get into a place of security, and then
return and collect them together.’’

From this instinctive cunning, Turner, with good reason, imagines
them to be the chenaldpex, or Tox-Goose, of the ancients ; the natives
of the Orkneys to this day call them the S/y-Goose, from an attribute
of that quadruped.

Sheld-drake are more numerous during the summer in North
Britain than in the South, but in winter they are driven by the
freezing of their feeding-grounds to more temperate climates. Here
numbers of them meet the fate of wild fowl generally, and specimens
are often to be seen exposed in the English markets, though their
flesh is held in little estimation as food.

Sheld means parti-coloured. ‘Shelled’ is still current in the
eastern counties of England. Shelled duck is the more proper
appellation. Howard Saunders calls it Sheld-duck always.

THE WIELD DUCK
ANAS BOSCAS

Head and neck dark green; at the base of the neck a white collar; upper
parts marked with fine zigzag lines of ash-brown and grey; breast
chestnut ; lower parts greyish white, marked with fine zigzag ash-brown
lines ; speculum dark blue with purple and green reflections, bordered
above and below with black and white ; four middle feathers of the tail
curled upwards bill greenish yellow; irides red-brown ; feet orange.
Length twenty-four inches. Female smaller; plumage mottled with
various shades of brown and grey ; throat whitish ; speculum as in the
male ; all the tail-feathers straight. Eggs greenish white.

Its size, abundance, and value as an article of food, have given
to the Wild Duck an importance which belongs to few other British
birds ; and the modes of capturing it are so varied and interesting
that they are often to be met with described in works not exclusively
devoted to natural history. For this reason I shall in great measure
confine my notice of this bird to such particulars in its history as
the reader may probably have an opportunity of verifying by
his own observation in the course of his rambles among places
which it habitually frequents.

The term ‘ Wild Duck’, properly applicable to the female bird
only (‘ Mallard’ being the distinctive name of the male), is generally
employed to include both sexes. The difference in the plumage
of the two is very great, as, indeed, is the case with all those varieties
of the same bird which, under the name of ‘Tame Ducks,’ have
altered the least from their natural wild type. Yet in the summer
months, when both sexes moult,! the Mallard puts off the whole
of his characteristic gay plumage, and appears in the sober brown

1 Formerly spelt ‘ mute ’, from the Latin muto, to change.

186 THE WILD DUCK:

garb of the Duck. It is only, in fact, from October to May that the
Mallard can be distinguished from his partner by his markings.
At this season, too, young birds, so far as they are fledged, are
of the same tone of colouring. Domesticated birds are subject
to the same change ; but a reason for this singular metamorphosis
no naturalist, as far as [ am aware, has ventured to assign.

Wild Ducks hold a prominent place among birds of the most
extensive distribution, being ‘ indigenous to the greater part of the
northern hemisphere ’.4_ In consequence of this wide range they
must of necessity frequent many districts highly favourable to
their preservation ; they are therefore numerous. Equally well
adapted for travelling by sea and through the air, and capable of
enduring great variations of heat and cold, their presence may be
expected wherever a tract of country occurs calculated to supply
them with food and opportunities for nidification. As long as
England abounded in marshes, and her rivers ran through wastes
rarely frequented by man, Wild Ducks were numerous in many
counties where they are now but rarely seen. Many have retired
before draining and civilization, yet they never totally desert us.
In most districts where there are rivers lined with reeds, even not so
very far removed from the sound of the steam-engine, one may,
by cautiously and quietly guiding one’s steps, fall in with a brood
of active ducklings sifting the ooze, with the instinct of their kind,
for minute insects ; flapping along the water in chase of a fly, or
paddling among the reeds on the look-out for anything good to
eat. The matron of the party, with a proud consciousness of her
dignity as sentinel and protector, preserves a more stately demeanour,
but, with this slight difference, is similarly occupied. As you
approach she is the first to descry you; with a homely ‘ quack’,
differing in no respect from the note of the domesticated bird,
she sounds an alarm, and the whole family, mother and children,
are quickly concealed among the reeds. It is possible, by long-
continued persecution, to induce her to rise, but she does so re-
luctantly, and even then, unless you are such a barbarian as to
shoot her, all is yet safe. The young will hide themselves securely
until danger is past, and she, not far off, though unseen, is circling
round her helpless brood. In an islet, probably, of the river; ina
tuft of reeds surrounded by quagmire; among thick bushes near
the bank; under the stump of an alder, or even high up among
the branches, she formerly had her nest, composed of grass, and
lined with down from her own breast ; and at no great distance
from this her offspring are yet lingering. The latter could swim
immediately that they left the egg, but their bodies are large and
heavy in proportion to the size of their wings, so that they will be
unable to fly until nine or ten weeks old, when they will be thoroughly

1 Yarrell, vol. iii. p. 273.

Sheldrake J Shoveler 3
Gadwall d Wild Duck 3 2

[face p. 186.

THE WILD DUCK 187

fledged, and only distinguishable from their parent by their smaller
size.

From the rapidity with which young Ducks ‘ scutter’ along the
surface of the water, using both feet and wings, they are called
by sportsmen, ‘flappers’; and from the same habit, no doubt, the
children’s game of ‘ Ducks-and-drakes ’ was named. The word is
one with which I have been familiar, ike most other people, from
my earliest years, yet I never thought of its etymology until I was
passing, a few weeks since, in a steamer down Loch Tarbet. The
boat disturbed a party of ‘ flappers’ which were feeding near the
shore, and as they half flew, half paddled away at a rapid rate, the
sport and the name suggested themselves to my mind _ together.
It is mostly absent from the northern districts of Scotland in winter.

In marshy districts, both in England and Scotland, these birds
remain all the year round ; but their numbers are greatly augmented
in winter by the arrival of large flocks from the north. These
fly mostly by night, in long lines, and proceed to the fens and salt
marshes, where they feed until daylight. They then put out to
sea, and rest, floating on the water, until dusk ; and it is while they
are on their way to and from these feeding-grounds that the sea-
side gunners do the greatest execution among them. They fly
mostly in small parties, and utter no note; but if after dusk a
shot be fired in the vicinity of a marsh or of a piece of reclaimed
land intersected by ditches, it is followed by a concert of ‘ quacks ’
from all sides, which proves that however small the parties may
have been, the number of Ducks collectively must be very great.

In the neighbourhood of the salt marshes in the eastern counties,
one may meet, in severe winter weather, just before dusk, little
knots of men setting out on ducking expeditions. Each is furnished
with a spade, a bag of straw, and a gun. Experience has taught
these men that the line of flight usually taken by the birds is along a
narrow creek or arm of the sea, which has on either side a high
muddy bank. For sucha point the gunners are making. The use of
the spade is to dig a hole for concealment in the mud, and the straw
is intended to furnish a dry seat. It must be a wearisome occupation
to sit here hour after hour, with nothing to do but to hope that birds
are coming ; and when they come matters are not much mended ;
for if the shot be successful it will never do to leave the hiding-
place in order to pick up the booty, or another chance may be
missed. Three or four hours are thus spent, and on moonlight
nights a longer time. The slain birds are then collected, a few
hours are given to rest, and in the morning twilight the same
scene is re-enacted.

When it is desired to construct a decoy,! a quiet, shallow pond

)

1 Decoy, a corruption of Duck-coy, from the Dutch kooz, a cage or pen.
See Ray and Willughby’s Oritthology, p. 286, where, mention being made of
a method of capturing wild-fowl which had been introduced into England

188 AMSHD. WANED) IDNOKEIE

is selected, edged with reeds, and having an extent of from two to
fifty acres or more. From the edge of this are dug, at various
points, curved creeks, called ‘ pipes’, broad at the mouth, and
contracting till the banks meet. Over each of these pipes is thrown
a net, supported on arches made of hoops; the first about ten
feet high, the others diminishing in size, and the whole ending in a
bag-net, or ‘purse’. On each bank of the pipes are erected screens
made of reeds, high enough to conceal a man. Previously to com-
mencing operations the decoy-man has let loose on the pond a few
tame Ducks, closely resembling wild birds in plumage, who are
familiar with his person and have been trained to come at his call.
Accompanied by a little dog, ‘a piper’, he stations himself behind
a screen, near the mouth of a pipe which faces the wind, choosing
this position because Ducks prefer to swim against the wind and to
feed on a lee shore. When the pond is well stocked with birds he
throws some corn on the water near the mouth of a pipe, and makes
a low whistle. At the familiar sound the ‘ coy-ducks’ hasten to
the spot, and, if all be well, are followed by a portion of the wild
birds. The piper is then let loose, and immediately runs to the
water’s edge. The Wild Ducks, either from curiosity, or some
unknown motive, paddle towards him. The ruse succeeding so far,
the piper is made to appear for a moment beyond the next screen,
and so on until a party of Ducks have been lured so far up the pipe
as to be out of sight of those remaining in the pond. The decoy-
man, who has all the while been lying hid near the first screen, then
shows himself to his intended victims, who, in their flight, hurry
on to the ‘purse’, and are caught and dispatched at leisure. All
this time the coy-ducks, if well trained, have remained at the mouth
of the pipe, feeding, and unconsciously enticing new-comers into
the snare.

That this method of capturing wild-fowl is effective, may be
inferred from the fact that decoys of a precisely similar kind have
been worked ever since the time of Willughby (1676), who describes
them at length. A Son of the Marshes gives a fuller account
of Duck decoys in Wald-Fowl and Sea-Fowl.

from Holland, the following passage occurs: ‘ Piscinas hasce cum allecta-
tricibus et reliquo suo apparatu Decoys seu Duck-coys vocant, allectatrices
Coy-ducks.’

THE SHOVELER 189

THE GADWALL

ANAS STREPERA

Head and neck light grey, speckled with brown ; back and breast dark grey,
the feathers ending in crescent-shaped whitish lines ; belly white, speckled
with brown; small wing-coverts and tip of the wing chestnut; greater
coverts, rump, and tail-coverts black ; speculum white; bill black ; irides
brown; feet orange. Female less distinctly marked. Length twenty
inches. Eggs buffy white, tinged with green.

Tuis species of Duck now breeds in Norfolk and Suffolk. Its food
and habits closely resemble those of the other Ducks; it is active,
and both swims and flies rapidly, preferring fresh-water lakes to
the sea, and resorting principally to such pieces of water as afford
it ready concealment. Meyer states that when flocks of Gadwalls
‘fly about, they keep close together in a ball, but not in a line, and
may therefore be very soon distinguished from the common wild
Duck’. By day they mostly swim about in the open water, and
come near the shore to feed in the evening. They breed in the great
northern marshes of both hemispheres. The Gadwall is a surface
feeder and not a diving duck.

THE-SHOVELER

SPATULA CLYPEATA

Head and neck glossy green ; breast pure white ; belly and flanks chestnut ;
back brown ; lesser wing-coverts pale blue ; scapulars white, speckled
and spotted with black; speculum brilliant green; bill lead colour ;
irides yellow ; feet reddish orange. Female—head pale reddish brown,
streaked with dusky ; upper plumage dusky brown, edged with reddish
white ; under plumage reddish with large brown spots; the blue and
green of the wings less bright. Length twenty inches. Eggs greenish
buff.

THE Shoveler is well distinguished among all the British Ducks

by the form and structure of its bill, which in old birds is dilated

near the extremity into a form approaching that of a spoon, and is
furnished with a fringe of slender lamellae, resembling a comb. To-
wards the end of the bill these are not conspicuous as long as the
mouth of the bird is closed, but along the narrower part they are
prominent under all circumstances. So singular an apparatus
obviously indicates that the habit of the Shoveler is to sift water
and mud for the sake of securing the insects and worms which
they contain. It resorts, therefore, to the margins of fresh-water
lakes, ponds, and ditches, and is rarely seen at sea, nor does it ever
dive after its food in deep water, but frequently comes to Jand in
quest of slugs, snails, and worms. It is met with from time to time

199 THE PIN TAIL DUCK

in many parts of England; a tolerable number remain to breed
with us, especially in the eastern counties. Its distaste for the sea
disqualifies it for inhabiting the Arctic Regions ; consequently it
breeds in temperate countries, and flies farther to the south in
winter, having been observed on both shores of the Mediterranean,
and in some of the warm parts of India. The extensive drainage
of our fens and marshes has made it less frequent in England than
it formerly was ; but in Holland and other continental countries it
is abundant. The nest, usually placed in a tuft of grass, is made of
dry grass mixed with down which the female plucks from her own
body, and contains eight or nine eggs.

The Shoveler is not sufficiently common in this country to claim
any importance as an article of food, but its flesh is said to be superior
in flavour even to that of the famous Canvas-backed Duck of
America.

The male annually undergoes a moult, or change of feathers,
similar to that described as taking place in the Mallard.

THE PINTAIL DUCK
DAFILA ACUTA

Two central tail-feathers much elongated, black ; head and neck rich dark
brown ; back and flanks marked with zigzag black and grey lines ; front
of the neck, and a line on each side, white ; speculum lustrous with green
and purple, bounded above by reddish brown, below by white ; bill lead
colour and black. Female—central tail-feathers scarcely elongated ;
head and neck reddish brown speckled with dusky ; upper feathers dusky
edged with reddish white ; lower plumage reddish yellow spotted with
brown ; speculum dull yellowish brown ; no white line on the side of
the neck. Length twenty-six inches. Eggs dull greenish white.

THE Pintail Duck is a northern bird which visits our shores in small

parties, during severe winters, and it nests sometimes in Ireland.

In form it is the most elegant of all the Ducks, and its movements are

described as being active and graceful. I have never myself had

the good fortune to see one alive, the only specimen I ever possessed
having been sent to me from Newcastle-on-Tyne, near which it was
shot at sea. It is not, however, considered a very rare species,
as the fishermen on the Norfolk coast, and perhaps elsewhere, are
well acquainted with it. Yarrell states, that on the coast of Dorset-
shire and Hampshire it is so well known as to have acquired a local
name, ‘Sea Pheasant ’.! For this it is indebted to the length of its
tail, in which respect it differs from all the common Ducks. It
arrives early in autumn, and remains either on the coast or in the
inland marshes, until the return of spring ; differing, indeed, little

1 Willughby calls it the ‘Sea Pheasant’, or ‘ Cracker ’.

Garganey do

Teal 5 2
Wigeon Jd

Pintail Duck f ,

IMaNe, AMSA, {9I

in its habits from the common wild Duck. It is occasionally taken
in decoys in Norfolk, and has often been observed to associate with
Wigeons. Its note is described by Montagu as being ‘extremely
soft and inward’.

The Pintail Duck has a wide geographical range, as it either
breeds in or pays winter visits to the greater part of the northern
hemisphere. The male annually assumes in summer the plumage
of the female, resembling in this respect the Mallard, to be described
hereafter. The flesh is considered excellent, on which account it
is much sought after by wild-fowl shooters, both on the coast and
in the fens.

Isls WW aANL
QUERQUEDULA CRECCA

Head and neck bright chestnut ; on each side of the head a broad green band
edged with buff, inclosing the eye and extending to the nape; lower
part of the neck, back, and flanks, marked with numerous black and
white zigzag lines; breast reddish white, with roundish black spots
speculum black, green and purple, edged with white ; bill dusky ; irides
brown ; feet ash. Female—upper plumage dusky brown mottled with
reddish grey; throat, cheeks and a band behind the eyes yellowish
white spotted with black ; speculum black and green. Length fourteen
inches and a half. Eggs yellowish white.

THE Teal is the smallest, and by no means the least beautiful, among

the British Ducks. It is decidedly an indigenous species, as it

breeds in many parts both of Great Britain and Ireland, especially
in the eastern counties, in Welsh bogs, and northern mosses. It is
domesticated, too, without difficulty, and is generally to be found
on artificial and other pieces of water where the breed of water fowl
is encouraged. Its favourite summer resorts in England are lakes
which are lined with rushes, boggy places on the moors, and sedgy
rivers. It is an active bird, rising from the water with great facility,
and having a rapid flight. The few Teal which remain all the year
with us pair early in spring. I have observed them in couples on
the Kennet, in Berkshire, before winter had well departed. They
appear to have a strong attachment to any place on which they
have once fixed to build their nest, and return to the same locality
year after year ; and the young brood remain in the neighbourhood
of their birthplace until pairing time in the following year. The
nest is usually placed among coarse herbage by the bank of a lake
or river, and is constructed of decayed vegetable matter, lined with
down and feathers, and contains from ten to fifteen eggs. The
number, however, of these birds to be found with us in summer is
as nothing compared with the immense flocks which visit our inland
lakes and swamps in winter. They are then much sought after for
the table, being considered more delicate eating than any others of

192 THE WIGEON

the tribe. In some parts they repair to salt marshes and the sea-
shore, where they share the fate of the Wild Duck.

Willughby tells us that in his time the Teal and Wigeon, considered
as marketable goods, were classed together as ‘ half-fowl’, their
value being only half that of the Wild Duck. In the fen counties
they are still ranked together as ‘ Half Ducks ’, and for the same
reason.

The Teal has two notes, one a kind of quack, the other, uttered
by the male only during winter, which has been compared to the
whistle of the Plover. Its food consists of water insects, molluscs,
worms, and the seeds of grass and sedge. It is widely distributed
in Scotland.

THE GARGANEY
QUERQUEDULA CIRCIA

Crown dusky ; over the eye a white band extending down the neck ; throat
black ; neck chestnut-brown streaked with white ; breast pale yellowish
brown, with crescent-shaped black bars ; back mottled with dusky grey
and brown; speculum greyish green bordered above and below with
white; bill dark brown; irides brown; feet grey. Length sixteen
inches. Eggs buff.

Tus elegant little bird visits us in March and April, being at that
time, it is supposed, on its way to the south. Though not among
the rarest of the tribe, it is now of unusual occurrence, but was
formerly so regular a visitor in the eastern counties, that it acquired
the provincial name of ‘Summer Teal;. | Young birds are
commonly seen on the Broads of Norfolk in July and August, dis-
tinguishable from young Teal by the lighter colour of their plumage,
more slender habit, and greater length of neck. The nests are built
among the thickest reed beds, and owing now to protection their
numbers are increasing. In Ireland it is the rarest of the well-
known ducks.

THE WIGEON
MARECA PENELOPE

Male—head and upper part of the neck chestnut, the cheeks and crown
speckled with black ; a broad cream-coloured band extending from the
bill to the crown ; throat nearly black ; a narrow collar of white and black
wavy lines extending over the back and flanks ; lower part of the neck and
sides of the breast chocolate colour ; scapulars velvet-black edged with
white ; wing-coverts white ; quills ash-brown ; speculum glossy green,
with a black band above and below; tail wedge-shaped, two middle
feathers pointed, and the longest, dusky ash ; under tail-coverts black ;
bill bluish grey, the tip black ; irides hazel; feet dusky grey. L*emale
head and neck reddish brown, speckled with dusky ; back and scapulars
dusky brown, the feathers edged with rusty red ; wing-coverts brown,
edged with whitish ; speculum without the green gloss; flanks reddish
brown. Length twenty inches. Eggs brownish white.

THE name Whew Duck, or Whewer, by which, this bird is

THE COMMON POCHARD 193

known in some parts of England, was given to it on account of
its emitting a shrill whistle while flying. The name isan old one,
for Ray and Willughby describe it under the name of ‘ Whewer’.
Its French name Szfileur, ‘ Whistler’, has reference to the same
peculiarity, and by this note the bird may often be distinguished
from others of the same tribe, when so far off that the eye fails
to identify it. The Wigeon ranks next to the Teal and Wild Duck
as an article of food, and, being more plentiful than either of these
birds, it is among the best known of all the Ducks which frequent
our shores. It breeds over most of Sutherland, and sparingly
elsewhere in the north; a few pairs are said to nest also in various
parts of Ireland.

Flocks of Wigeons repair to our shores in autumn, and either
betake themselves to inland lakes and morasses, or keep to the coast,
especially where there are extensive salt marshes. In _ winter
their numbers are greatly increased, especially in the south; and
as they feed by day as well as by night, they offer themselves a
ready prey to the fowler. Their food consists of marine and fresh-
water insects, small shell-fish, seaweed, and grass. Their nidifi-
cation differs little from that of the Teal.

THE COMMON POCHARD
FULIGULA FERINA

Head and neck bright chestnut ; breast, upper part of the back, and rump
black ; back, scapulars, flanks, and abdomen greyish white marked
with numerous fine wavy lines; no speculum ; bill black, with a broad
lead-coloured transverse band; irides bright orange; feet lead colour,
the membranes black. Female—smaller ; head, neck, and breast, reddish
brown ; throat white, mottled with reddish ; large brown spots on the
flanks ; wavy lines on the back less distinct. Length nineteen inches.
Eggs greenish white.

A HARDY northern bird of wide geographical range, with consider-
able power of flight, a skilful diver, and not particular as to diet,
the Pochard is an abundant species. It breeds in some districts.
But it is principally as a winter visitant that it is known in the south
of Europe. In Norfolk ‘ Red-Headed’ Pochards are perhaps more
numerous than any other kind of Duck which falls to the gun of the
seaside fowler. Small parties of these birds may frequently be
seen by day flying over the sea, or swimming securely in the offing ;
and in the evening great numbers resort to the fens and salt marshes,
where they feed on various kinds of animal matter, and the roots
and leaves of grasses and aquatic plants. As they are considered
good eating, and command a ready sale, they contribute to the
support of the seaside population, who, when thrown out of work
by the severe weather, wander about the shore by day and lie in
B.B. O

194 DRESS CAUR MDW Ck

wait by night, armed with guns of various calibre, for the chance
of securing in one or two Ducks the substitute for a day’s wages.

They are variously known in different places by the name of
Pochards, Pokers, Dunbirds, and Red-Eyed Pochards. On some
parts of the coast of Norfolk I found that they are included with the
Wigeon under the common name of ‘ Smee-Duck’.

The Pochard builds its nest among reeds, in Russia, Denmark,
and the north of Germany, and lays twelve or thirteen eggs.

The Red-crested is a different species from the ‘ Red-headed.’

THD, TUE PED DUCK
FULIGULA CRISTATA

Feathers on the back of the head elongated ; head, neck, breast, and upper
plumage black, with purple, green, and bronze reflections ; speculum and
under plumage white, except the abdomen, which is dusky ; bill blue, nail
black ; irides bright yellow ; feet bluish, with black membranes. Female
—smaller, the crest shorter; upper plumage dull black, clouded with
brown ; under plumage reddish white, spotted on the breast and flanks
with reddish brown. Length seventeen inches. Eggs greenish white
spotted with light brown.

THE points of difference in habit between this and the preceding
species are so few that it is scarcely necessary to say more than
that it is a regular winter visitor to the British Isles, and is distri-
buted, generally in small flocks, never alone, over our lakes and
marshes, arriving in October and taking its departure in March or
April. Its food is less exclusively of a fishy nature than that of the
Scaup Duck, consequently its flesh is more palatable, being, in the
estimation of French gastronomists, wn rote parfait. The Tufted
Duck now breeds in a good many districts here.

THE SCAUP. DUCK
FULIGULA MARILA

Head and upper part of the neck black, with green reflections ; breast and
rump black; back and scapulars whitish, marked with numerous fine
wavy black lines ; belly, flanks, and speculum, white ; bill blue, the nail
and edges black ; irides bright yellow ; feet ash-grey, with dusky mem-
branes. Female—a broad whitish band round the base of the bill ; head
and neck dusky brown; breast and rump dark brown; back marked
with fine wavy lines of black and white ; flanks spotted and pencilled
with brown, irides dull yellow. Length twenty inches. Eggs clay-
buff.

THE Scaup is so called from its feeding on ‘ scaup’, a northern word
for a bed of shellfish.t It is a northern bird, arriving on our coasts
in October and November, and remaining with us till the following

1‘ Avis hec the Scaup Duck dicta est quoniam scalpam, i.e. pisces testa-
ceos fractos seu contritos, esitat..—WILLUGHBY, Pp. 279.

Pochard d
Seaup ¢

Tufted Duck Jd
Golden Eyed 2

[fac ep. &

THE GOLDEN EYE 195

spring. During this time it frequents those parts of the coast
which abound in shellfish, mostly diving for its food after the
manner of the Scoters. On the coast of Norfolk, where Scaups
often appear during winter in large flocks, they are called ‘ Mussel
Ducks’, a name no less appropriate than Scaup ; for mussels, and
indeed many other kinds of shellfish, as well as insects and marine
plants, seem equally acceptable to them. Selby records a single
instance of the Scaup having bred so far south as Sutherlandshire,
a female having been seen in the month of June, accompanied by
a young one. They have paired on Loch Leven. It is generally
distributed along the shores of Great Britain, excepting on the
south coast of Ireland. In August, 1861, I observed two birds
swimming sociably on a small fresh-water loch in the island of Islay,
which, upon examination through a telescope, appeared to me to
be, one, a kind of Goose, the other decidedly a Duck of some kind.
On inquiry I found that the former was a Bernacle Goose, which had
been caught in a neighbouring island in the previous winter, and
had been given to the laird’s keeper, who pinioned it and turned it
out on the loch to shift for itself. Of the Duck nothing was known,
nor had it been observed before. It eventually proved to be an
adult male Scaup Duck, but what had induced it to remain there
all the summer in the society of a bird of a different tribe, is a
question which I did not attempt to solve.

The Scaup Duck is very abundant in Holland during winter,
covering the inland seas with immense flocks. It is found more
sparingly in other continental countries. It breeds in the extreme
north, both in the eastern and western hemispheres.

HE GORDEN EVE:
CLANGULA GLAUCION

A white patch under the eye; head and neck black, lustrous with violet
and green; back black; scapulars, great wing-coverts, speculum, and
under parts, white ; bill black ; irides golden yellow ; feet orange, with
black membranes. Jemale—all the head and neck dark brown ; feathers
of the back dusky bordered with dark ash; greater wing-coverts white
tipped with black ; speculum and under parts white; tip of the bill
yellowish, irides and feet pale yellow. Length eighteen and a half inches.
Eggs buffy white.

THis pretty, active little Duck is a regular winter visitant to the
British shores, from autumn to spring, resorting to most of the locali-
ties frequented by other species, and frequently falling to the sports-
man’s gun, though little prized for the table. Females and young
birds, called Morillons, are most numerous in England. They are
very strong of flight, and are remarkable for making with their
wings as they cleave the air a whistling sound, thought to resemble

196 THE LONG-TAILED DUCK OR ‘CALLOO”’

the tinkling of bells, whence the German name die Schelle Ente,
Bell Duck, the Norfolk provincial name Rattle-Wing, and the
systematic name Clangula. The young male does not make this
noise, and having also dissimilar plumage from the adult, has been
described by some authors as a distinct species under the name of
Morillon.

The food of the Golden Eye varies with its haunts. In estuaries
it feeds on crustaceous and molluscous animals and small fish, which
it obtains by diving. In rivers and lakes it feeds principally on
the larve and pupz of insects, for which also it dives in clear deep
water. The call-note is an unmelodious quack or croak.

The Golden Eye breeds only in high latitudes, and builds its nest
in holes of trees, often at the height of twelve or fifteen feet from
the water, into which it has been seen to convey its young one by
one, holding them under the bill, and supported on its neck. The
Lapps, in order to supply themselves with eggs, are in the habit
of placing in the trees, on the banks of the rivers and lakes fre-
quented by these birds, boxes with an entrance hole, which, though
invariably robbed, are visited again and again.

The Golden Eye is found in many countries of Europe, in Northern
Asia, and in North America.

THE LONG-TAILED DUCK. (OR *CALLOO-
HARELDA GLACIALIS

Winter plumage—head, neck, elongated scapulars, under parts, and lateral
tail-feathers white; a large patch of chestnut-brown on each cheek ;
flanks ash-grey ; rest of the plumage brownish black ; two central tail-
feathers very long; bill black, with a transverse orange band ; irides
orange ; feet yellow with dark membranes. Length, including the tail,
twenty-two inches. The female wants the white scapulars and elongated
tail; head and neck dark brown and greyish white ; below the ear-coverts
a patch of brown ; neck in front light brown, clouded with darker brown ;
upper plumage generally dark brown, under white. Length sixteen
inches. Eggs greenish white, tinged with buff.

THouGH a few specimens of this beautiful bird are obtained from
time to time in various parts of England, especially on the coast
of the eastern counties, it cannot be considered other than a rarity.
‘Among the northern islands of Scotland, and along the coasts of
the mainland’, Macgillivray tells us, ‘ these birds make their appear-
ance in October, in small flocks, which gradually enlarge by the
accession of new families. In the Bay of Cromarty, where they are
very common, it is pleasant to see them in small flocks scattered
over the water. They are most expert swimmers, and live on
bivalve shellfish and crustacea, which they obtain by diving in
shallow or moderately deep water. The male in swimming raises
his tail obliquely, in rough water almost erects it, and is remarkable

THE EIDER DUCK 197

for the grace and vivacity of his movements. Their flight is
rapid, direct, and generally performed at the height of a few feet.
They rise easily from the water, especially when facing a breeze,
and alight rather abruptly. Sometimes during the day, but
more frequently at night, they emit various loud and rather
plaintive cries, as well as cacklings of shorter guttural notes.’ Mr.
Hewitson, who met with many of them in Norway, considers
their note to be strikingly wild and most interesting. Farther north
the Long-Tailed Duck is yet more abundant. Mr. Dunn says, * This
species (Calloo) is very abundant in both Orkney and Shetland,
arriving about the middle of October, and departing again in the
month of March. It is to be met with in all the inlets or voes,
generally in large flocks, never far from the land, feeding upon small
shellfish and star-fish. When on the wing it utters a musical cry,
something like ‘‘ Calloo”’, which may be heard at a great distance.
From this cry it derives its provincial name.’ ‘In the Arctic regions
of both continents these birds are so numerous as to be known by
the name of ‘ Arctic Ducks’. They build their nests among rushes
near the shore of fresh-water lakes, and line them with down from
their breasts, like the Eider Duck. Iceland appears to be the
extreme southern limit of their breeding-ground.

The Long-Tailed Duck is described by Willughby under the name
of Anas caudacuta Islandica, by the natives called Havelda. Selby
and modern ornithologists have preserved the Iceland name in
Harolda.

THE EIDER DUCK
SOMATERIA MOLLISSIMA

Prolongations of the bill flat; upper part of the head velvet-black, with a
central whitish band, lower greenish white; neck and back white ;
breast ringed with red; lower plumage black; bill and feet greenish
grey; irides brown. Female—general plumage reddish brown, with
transverse black bars; wing-coverts black, bordered with dark reddish
brown ; two whitish bars across the wing; belly brown barred with
black. Length twenty-five inches. Eggs shining greenish grey.

Tue Eider Duck differs from all the birds of the same tribe hitherto

described, in being essentially and absolutely a sea-bird. Rarely

found on inland waters, it does not even visit the fresh-water lochs
which, in many places in the north, are only separated from the
~sea by a bar of sand and shingle. It spends the greater part of its
time on the water, and feeds on fish, molluscs, and other animal
matter which it can obtain by diving. In the latter art it is very
expert, and when pursued by the fowler generally manages to escape,
as it can remain a long time under water, and on rising to the surface
is ready to descend again almost instantly. Though a northern
bird, it is subjected to no privations by the freezing of lakes and

198 THE EIDER DUCK

marshes, since it finds its rest and food on the open sea. Conse-
quently it is not migratory, and stray specimens only visit the
southern shores of England. Where it was bred, there, probably, or
not far off, it remains all the year round. The Farn Islands, off the
coast of Northumberland, are considered to be the extreme southern
limit of its breeding-ground. In the Hebrides, the Orkneys and
Shetland Islands, it is quite at home, but in none of these places is
it found in sufficient numbers to give it importance. It is rare on
the Irish coast.

In the Arctic regions, in Iceland, and on the rocky coasts of
Norway and Sweden, Eider Ducks are very numerous. In Labrador,
Audubon informs us, they begin to form their nests about the end
of May or the beginning of June. ‘ For this purpose some resort
to islands scantily furnished with grass ; others choose a site beneath
the spreading boughs of stunted firs, and, in such places, five, six,
or even eight are sometimes found beneath a single bush ; many are
placed on the sheltered shelvings of rocks a few feet above high-
water mark. The nest, which is sunk as much as possible into the
ground, is formed of sea-weeds, mosses, and dried twigs, so matted
and interlaced as to give an appearance of neatness to the central
cavity, which rarely exceeds seven inches in diameter. In the
beginning of June the eggs are deposited, the male attending upon
the female the whole time. The eggs, which are regularly placed
on the moss and weeds of the nest without any down, are generally
from five to seven. When the full complement of eggs has been
laid, the female begins to pluck some down from the lower part of
the body; this operation is daily continued for some time, until
the roots of the feathers, as far forward as she can reach, are quite
bare. This down she disposes beneath and around the eggs. When
she leaves the nest to go in search of food, she places it over her
eggs to keep up their warmth.’

Sir W. J. Hooker, in his interesting Journal of a Tour in Iceland,
describes the nests as he saw them in the little island of Akaroe,
where, as on other uninhabited islands, the Eider Ducks breed in
great numbers. ‘‘ On our landing on the rocky island, we found
the Eider fowls sitting upon their nests, which were rudely
formed of their own down, generally among the old and _half-
decayed sea-weed, that the storms had cast high up on the beach,
but sometimes only among the bare rocks. It was difficult to make
these birds leave their nests, and so little inclined were many of
them to do it, that they even permitted us to handle them, whilst
they were sitting, without their appearing to be at al] alarmed.
Under each of them were two or four eggs ; the latter is the number
they lay, but from many of them two had been taken for food by
the natives, who prefer those which have young ones in them.
June 24th.” A few days later (June 27,) he visited the island of
Vidée, the residence of the ex-governor, where, he says, ‘ we were

Eider Duck 5 2 Jo

Velvet Scoter 2 J

Common Scoter 5 2

Long Tailed Duck d 2

THE BLACK (OR COMMON) SCOTER 199

shown the immense number of Eider Ducks which lived on Vidée,
and which were now sitting on eggs or young ones, exhibiting a
most interesting scene. The ex-governor made us go and coax
some of the old birds, who did not on that account disturb
themselves. Almost every little hollow place between the rocks
is occupied with the nests of these birds, which are so numerous
that we were obliged to walk with the greatest caution, to avoid
trampling upon them; but, besides this, the ex-governor has a
number of holes cut in the smooth and sloping side of a hill in two
rows, and in every one of these, also, there is a nest. No Norfolk
housewife is half so solicitous after her poultry as the ex-governor
after his Eider Ducks, which by their down and eggs afford
him a considerable revenue ; since the former sells for three rix-
dollars (twelve shillings) a pound. Cats and dogs are, at this season
of the year, all banished from the island, so that nothing may
disturb these birds.’ I need scarcely add that the Eider down of
commerce is taken from these nests, not in a pure state but mixed
with fragments of plants. Pennant says that if the nest and eggs
be taken ‘the Duck lays again, and repeats the plucking of her
breast, if she is robbed after that, she will still lay, but the drakes
must supply the down, as her stock is now exhausted ; if her eggs
are taken a third time, she wholly deserts the place. The quan-
tity of down found in one nest weighs about three-quarters of an
ounce, and may be compressed into a ball two inches in diameter,
but on being shaken out will fill a large hat.

The young brood take to the water immediately on being hatched.
To effect this they are often obliged to travel a considerable distance,
and if difficulties present themselves, insurmountable in any other
way, the parent bird carries the young in her bill. Once clear of the
rocks, they are liable to no further molestation from land robbers.
But the sea is not without its dangers, for the rapacious Black-
backed Gull frequently attacks them, and, but for the self-devotion
and bravery of the mother bird, would commit great havoc among
them. At his appearance the young dive in all directions, while
the mother counterfeits lameness to distract his attention from them
to herself, or springs from the water and attacks the Gull until he
is compelled to retire from the contest.

THE BLACK (OR COMMON) SCOTER
(EDEMIA NIGRA

General plumage deep black; quills dusky brown on the inner web, glossy
grey beneath ; disk of the upper mandible orange-yellow ; protuberance
at the base black ; no speculum on the wings. Female—general plumage
brown of several shades; bill without the protuberance; nostrils, and
a spot towards the tip, yellowish. Length eighteen inches. Eggs pale
buff.

Tuts bird is well known along the eastern.coast of England under

200 THE VELVET SCOTER

the name of Black Duck. Although a few scattered specimens
have been observed from time to time during summer, in most
parts it must be considered as a winter visitant only. Being
the only entirely black Duck which frequents our shores, it is
distinguished among other species by its colour alone. Small
parties of these birds may occasionally be seen on different parts
of the coast, swimming and diving at a short distance outside the
surf, or flying, three or four together, at an elevation of a few feet
above the surface of the sea. Large flocks visit the sea between
us and Holland at times. They fly rapidly in a straight line, and
when diving remain a long time under water. Their food consists
of mussels and other shellfish, in quest of which they often ascend
the creeks and arms of the sea, but they are rarely seen in fresh
water.

The flesh of the Black Duck is said to be oily and fishy ; on this
account it is in some Roman Catholic countries classed with fish,
and allowed to be eaten during Lent. Insome parts of the Continent,
where it is consequently in demand, fishermen take advantage of
its diving propensities, and spread their nets over the mussel banks
to which they have observed that these birds resort, and capture
them in large numbers. The nest of the Scoter is described as
being like that of the Eider Duck, and similarly located. The female
also covers her eggs with down from her own breast, but in smaller
quantities. A few of this species remain to breed in the north of
Scotland.

THE VELEVED SCOOTER

(EDEMIA FUSCA

General plumage velvet black ; below the eyes a white crescent ; speculum
white ; bill orange, protuberance at the base, nostrils and edge of man-
dibles, black; irides and feet red, the membranes of the latter black.
Female smaller ; upper plumage sooty brown; under parts light grey,
streaked and spotted with dusky brown; between the bill and eye a
whitish spot, and another over the ear; bill dusky ash; irides brown;
feet dull red. Length twenty-three inches. Eggs buff.

THE Velvet Scoter, an inhabitant of the extreme northern regions
of Asia and Europe, appears in the British Isles as a winter visitor
only, being sometimes seen on the eastern coast of Scotland, in
large flocks, but not generally extending its migration to our southern
shores except in the severest weather. It may be distinguished
from the Common Scoter by its larger size, and yet more strikingly
by the conspicuous white bar across the wing.

The habits and food of the Velvet Duck differ in no material
respect from those of the Common Scoter, or Black Duck.

THE GOOSANDER 201

THB SURE SCOOTER
(EDEMIA PERSPICILLATA

A bony protuberance on each side of the bill near the base ; no speculum ;
general plumage black; on the forehead and nape a patch of white ;
bill yellow, with a square black spot on each side near the base ; irides
white; feet red, the membranes black. In the female the black is
replaced by dark ash-brown, and the white by light grey; bill dark
olive ; feet brown, with black membranes. Lengthtwentyinches. Eggs
white. =

ONLY a few specimens of this bird have been obtained in Europe,
and these probably had been driven eastward by storms from North
America, where alone they are found in any numbers. In habits
and food the Surf Scoter resembles the common species, deriving
its name from the pertinacity with which it selects, as its feeding-
ground, a sandy beach over which surf rolls. It rarely or never
visits the salt marshes.

THE GOOSANDER

MERGUS MERGANSER

Head and crest greenish black; back black; speculum (not barred with
black), under parts, wing-coverts, outer scapulars, and some of the quills,
buff ; bill red, the ridge and nail black ; feet vermilion. Length twenty-
four to twenty-eight inches. Female and young—head and crest reddish
brown ; breast and flanks pale buff ; upper plumage dark ash ; bill and
feet dull red. Eggs dull white.

THE Goosander is a regular winter visitor to the shores of Great
Britain and Ireland, frequenting bays and estuaries, but preferring
fresh-water rivers and lakes, where it makes great havoc among
trout and other fish. It is far more abundant in the north than
in the south, and, according to Macgillivray, is sometimes seen even
in summer in the Scotch lochs. It has been known to breed in
the outer Hebrides, and of late years in several parts of the High-
lands, but the general summer residence of this species is much
farther to the north, both in the eastern and western hemispheres.
The habits of the Goosander and Merganser are so much alike that
further detail is unnecessary.

The females and young birds of the Goosander and Merganser
are popularly called Dun-divers.

202 THE SMEW

THE RED-BREASTED MERGANSER
MERGUS SERRATOR

Head, crest, and neck black, with greenish reflections ; a white collar round
the neck ; breast reddish brown, spotted with black ; near the insertion
of the wing several white spots, edged with black; speculum white,
divided by two transverse black bars; back black ; belly white, barred
on the flanks and rump with wavy grey lines; bill and irides red;
feet orange. Length twenty-two inches. Female smaller; head and
crest reddish brown; breast mottled with ash and white; upper
plumage and flanks deep ash-colour; speculum with one black bar; bill
and feet dull orange; irides brown. Eggs whitish ash.

Tuts large and handsome bird is not uncommon in the estuaries
and rivers of Great Britain, but is most frequent in the north. It
is resident in Scotland and Ireland. The adult male is less fre-
quently seen than females and young males, which closely resemble
one another in size and plumage, both being inferior to the first in
brilliancy of colouring. Their food consists of fish, especially sand-
eels, and, when they find their way into fresh-water lakes and rivers,
of eels and trout, which they capture by diving, and retain with ease
by the help of their strong bills notched throughout like a saw.

In birds of the first year the tuft of feathers on the head is barely
perceptible, and there is but a slight tinge of red on the lower part
of the neck. Most of the Mergansers which resort to our shores
during winter visit us from high latitudes ; but a few remain to
breed in the Scotch and Irish lakes, making their nests of dry herbage
and moss mixed with down from their own breasts.

The name Merganser, that is, ‘Diving Goose’, has reference to
the size of the bird and its habit of diving for its food. Its flight
is strong and rapid, but differs somewhat from that of the Ducks,
the neck being not stretched out to its full length, but slightly folded
back. After the young are hatched the male deserts the female and
leaves her to bring off her brood without assistance.

THE SMEW
MERGUS ALBELLUS

Crest, neck, scapulars, smaller wing-coverts, and all the under parts white ;
cheeks and back of the head greenish black ; two crescent-shaped marks
advancing from the shoulders on each side to the breast black ; tail ash
coloured ; bill and feet bluish grey, the membranes black ; irides brown.
Length seventeen inches. Female smaller; head and cheeks reddish
brown ; under parts white, clouded on the breast, flanks, and rump, with
ash-grey ; upper plumage and tail greyish black; wings variegated
with black, white, and grey. Eggs whitish.

Tue birds of this genus, though placed among the Anatide, or Duck

tribe, are so strongly marked by the conformation of the bill that
a simple examination of the head alone will enable the student to

Merganser 3 Smew 5 2?
Goosander d Dabchick 2? fo

[ face p. 202,

THE WOOD-PIGEON OR RING DOVE 203

distinguish either of the species from the true Ducks already described.
On the coast of Norfolk the popular name ‘Smee Duck’ includes
several kinds of Ducks, and I presume the present species ; but the
bill, in the form of an elongated and almost cylindrical cone, with
the edges of both mandibles furnished with saw-like teeth pointed
backwards, cannot fail to distinguish the genus Mergus.

The Smew, or Smee, properly so called, is a winter visitor with us,
more impatient of cold than the Duck-tribe generally, and conse-
quently frequenting the southern more than the northern parts of
the island. In open weather it resorts to our rivers and fresh-water
lakes, where it feeds on small fish and other aquatic animals, which
it obtains by diving. In severe frosts it either flies farther south
or repairs to tidal rivers and harbours. Though not a rare bird, it
is sparingly distributed. It is found on many of the continental
rivers, even those which are far distant from the sea. but is not often
killed, as it is shy of being approached, readily takes wing, flies
swiftly, and as a diver is most rapid and expert. It is, however,
little sought after, for, in spite of its relationship, its strong fishy
flavour prevents it from passing muster as a Duck. Of its nesting
little or nothing is known. In the north of Devon it is called,
according to Montagu, ‘ Vare Wigeon’, from the supposed resem-
blance of its head to that of a ‘ vare’ or weasel. I have also heard
it called the ‘ Weasel Duck’ in Norfolk, and on the south coast the
‘ Weasel-headed’.

ORDER COLUMB/:

FAMILY COLUMBID/

THE WOOD PIGEON OR RING DOVE
COLUMBA PALUMBUS

Head, cheeks, neck, and upper part of the tail, bluish grey ; back and wing-
coverts darker ; a white crescent-shaped spot on each side of the neck
surrounded by scale-like feathers with green and purple reflections ;
primaries grey towards the base, white in the middle, and dusky towards
the extremity, with the outer web white; tail barred with black at the
end ; abdomen whitish ; bill orange, powdered with white at the base ;
iris light yellow ; feet blood-red ; claws brown. Length sixteen and a
half inches. Eggs pure white.

Two hundred and fifty years ago the taste for keeping different

sorts of Pigeons was as strong as it is in the present day, and the
popular names of Runts, Croppers, Shakers, Carriers, Jacobins,

204 THE WOOD-PIGEON OR RING DOVE

Turbits, Barbaries, Tumblers, Horsemen, Spots, etc., modern
though they may sound, were then applied to the very same
varieties which are described under these names in recent Guides
to the Poultry-yard. Many of these were of foreign origin, and
were known at a remote period in various eastern countries, so
that there can be no doubt that the custom of keeping tame Pigeons
is of very ancient date.

The Pigeons in some of their habits approach the gallinaceous
birds, with which accordingly they are classed. They are fur-
nished with long and powerful wings, by help of which they can
sustain a rapid and continuous flight. They seek their food mostly
on the ground, but do not scratch with their feet, and are more
given to bathe in water than to flutter in a bath of dust, though
in this habit also they not unfrequently indulge. They are fur-
nished, moreover, with a large crop, in which the food supplied to
their young is partially macerated and reduced to a kind of pulp
before the latter are fed. This process is carried on more by the
agency of the receiver than of the giver, as the young birds, instead
of opening their mouths and allowing the food to be dropped in,
help themselves by inserting their bills into the sides of the old
bird’s mouth. Their mode of drinking differs from that of the
true gallinaceous birds; they do not take short sips, lifting the
head after every draught, but satisfy their thirst by one continuous
immersion of the whole bill. They build their nests of a few sticks,
and lay two white eggs.

Some of the foreign species are distinguished by their brilliant
plumage. Those inhabiting Britain are unmarked by gaudy tints,
but redeemed from plainness by the metallic glossy lustre of their
neck feathers.

The Wood Dove, called also Wood Pigeon and Ring Dove, is
the largest British species, exceeding in dimensions most varieties
of the domestic Pigeon. The summer wanderer through a wood
in almost any part of the country can scarcely fail to have been
disturbed in his meditations by the sudden flapping of wings of
some large bird, which, without uttering any note, dashes through
the foliage of a neighbouring tree, and makes off with hurried
flight for some distant part of the wood. Seen through the open-
ings of the trees, its predominant tint is blue-grey, but a large patch
of white is distinctly perceptible on each wing. It might be mis-
taken for a hawk, so rapidly does it cleave its way through the air ;
but birds of prey are too wary to betray their movements by the
sound of their wings ; they, too, rather launch into the air, than
start with a violent clapping of their pinions. A Jay might make
a similar noise ; but when alarmed it always utters its harsh scream,
and, if it comes in sight, may at once be distinguished by the striking
contrast of its white and black feathers. The bird just disturbed
can scarcely, then, be anything but a Wood Dove, perhaps frigh-

THE WOOD PIGEON OR RING DOVE 205

tened from its nest, perhaps attending on its mate, or it may have
been simply digesting its last meal, or waiting until sent forth
by the cravings of hunger in quest of a new one; for the bird,
though exemplary as a spouse and parent, has a large crop which
is never allowed to remain long empty. The food and habits of
Wood Pigeons vary with the season. In spring and summer they are
most frequently seen alone or in pairs. They then feed principally
on the tender leaves of growing plants, and often commit great
ravage in fields of beans and peas. Spring-sown corn is attacked
by them both in the grain and the blade, and as soon as young
turnips have put forth their second pair of leaves, they, too, come
in for their share of devastation. As the season advances, they visit
the corn-fields, especially those in the vicinity of their native woods,
preferring, above all, those parts where the corn has been Jaid, and
where a neighbouring grove or thicket will afford them a ready
retreat if disturbed. They are very partial also to oily seeds of
all kinds, and it is said that since colza has been extensively grown
in the south of France, Wood Pigeons have become a scourge of
agriculture, and that consequently war is waged on them unspar-
ingly. It has been remarked also, that they have become much
more abundant in Scotland in consequence of ‘the great increase
in the cultivation of turnips and clover, which afford them a con-
stant supply of food during winter, and the great increase of fir
woods, which are their delight, both for roosting and rearing their
young’. At the approach of autumn they assemble in small flocks,
and resort to oak and beech woods, especially the last, where acorns
and beech-mast, swallowed whole, afford them an abundant and
generous diet. They are now in great demand for the table, but,
being very cautious and shy, are difficult of approach. A good many,
however, are shot by men and boys, who discover beforehand in
what particular trees they roost, and, lying in ambush to await their
arrival, fire at them as they drop in in small parties. In winter, the
small flocks unite and form large ones. So large, indeed, are these
sometimes in severe seasons, that it is fair to suppose that their
numbers are considerably augmented by subsidies from colder
climates, driven southwards perhaps by scarcity of food. In dis-
tricts abounding in oak and beech woods, they find abundance of
food during the greater part of the winter; but when this supply
is exhausted, or the ground is covered with snow, they repair once
more to the turnip-fields, and feed on the green leaves. Hunger,
however, does not rob them of their shyness, nor make them con-
fiding ; for let a human figure appear in ever so large a field where
a flock is feeding, the alarm is at once caught and communicated
to the whole party, who lose no time in displaying the white bar
on the wing, and are soon beyond the reach of fowler and gun.
Among the first woodland sounds of spring and the last of
autumn is the note of the Ring Dove, often continued for a long

206 THE WOOD PIGEON OR RING DOVE

time together, always monotonous, but never wearisome. It is
generally considered to be tinged with melancholy, and on this
account the bird itself is supposed to have been named the Queest

or Cushat
Deep toned
The Cushat plains ; nor is her changeless plaint
Unmusical, when with the general quire
Of woodland harmony it softly blends.
GRAHAME,

Wordsworth celebrates it under a name generally given to the
next species :

I heard a Stock Dove sing or say

His homely tale, this very day ;

His voice was buried among trees,

Yet to be come at by the breeze.

It did not cease; but cooed and cooed,
And somewhat pensively he wooed ;
He sang of love with quiet blending,
Slow to begin, and never ending ;

Of sorrows, faith, and inward glee ;
That was the song, the song for me.

And again, still more happily :
Over his own sweet voice the Stock Dove broods.

The note may be imitated by attempting to whistle, in a very
deep tone, the syllables ‘ cooe-coo-roo-o-o-o ’ ; or still more closely
by clasping the hands together, so as to form a hollow, open only
between the second joints of the thumbs, and blowing the same
words over the orifice. With a little practice so close an imitation
may be produced, that a genuine cooer may be beguiled into giving
an answer. I may add, too, that with the same natural instru-
ment and with a greater expenditure of breath the hoot of the
Owl may be imitated; with a gentler effort and a quiver of the
tongue the coo of the Turtle Dove may be nearly approached.

The Wood Dove has never been considered to be the origin of
the domestic Pigeon, nor will it breed in captivity. There is no
difficulty, however, in rearing birds taken young from the nest ;
and birds so brought up will alight with perfect confidence on the
person of their foster nurse, and feed from his hand or mouth.
The nest of the Wood Dove is an unsubstantial structure, com-
posed of sticks so loosely put together that the eggs or young birds
are sometimes visible from below. It is placed in a fork or among
the branches of a tree ; a thick fir is preferred ; but nests are to be
met with in ivy and thorn bushes either in a wood, coppice, or,
more rarely, in a hedgerow. The number of eggs is always two,
The male bird assists in the office of incubation,

THE STOCK DOVE 207

THE, STOCK DOVE

COLUMBA (NAS

Head, throat, wings, and lower parts, bluish grey ; the lower parts of the
neck with metallic reflections, no white spots ; breast wine-red ; a black
spot on the two last secondaries and some of the wing-coverts ; primaries
grey at the base, passing into dusky ; tail grey barred with black at the
extremity, the outer feather with a white spot on the outer web near the
base; irides reddish brown; bill yellow, red at the base; feet red ;
claws dusky. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs white.

Tue Stock Dove is by some persons supposed to be so called from
its having been believed at one time to be the origin of the domestic
Pigeon ; but as it bore the name before the above question was
mooted, it is more reasonable to suppose that it derived its name
from its habit of nestling in the stocks of trees, and not on the
branches like the Ring Dove, nor in caves like the Rock Dove.
Ray and Willughby, who treat the domestic Dove as a dis-
tinct species, gave it the name of CEnas (from the Greek oznos,
wine), and Vinago (from the Latin vinuwm), from the purpled or
wine-red hue of its breast and wings. Temminck does not hesi-
tate to identify the domestic Pigeon with the Rock Dove, with-
out even hinting the possibility of its having derived its origin
from the Stock Dove. Since, therefore, the two birds have no
marked resemblance, it may be reasonably supposed that the rela-
tionship between them rests solely on the narrow foundation that
there exists a wild Pigeon, popularly called a Stock Dove, and that
the word ‘stock’ has among other meanings that of ‘ parentage ’
or ‘origin’. Thus the name gave rise to a theory which, having
a plausible show, was hastily assumed, and was then employed
to prove a fact which will not bear the test of examination.
The Stock Dove in its habits closely resembles the Ring Dove,
from which it cannot easily be distinguished at a distance. When
tolerably near, a sharp eye can detect the absence of the white
patch on the wings and of the ring round the neck. Its flight is
more rapid, and it rarely perches on a slender bough, preferring
to alight on a main branch or stump. Its note is softer, and
approaches that of the tame Pigeon. But the great mark of distinc-
tion is that on which I have supposed its name to be founded ; that
it does not build its nest among the branches of trees, but in the
side of a stump, or other locality, where no one would even think
of looking for a Ring Dove’s nest. Yarrell states that ‘ in the
open counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, this species frequently
makes its nest in holes in the ground, generally selecting a
rabbit’s burrow’. It has greatly increased in the south of
England of late, and it nests along the Moray and Dornock Firths.
White, who had never seen its nest, says that it used to be abundant
at Selborne ‘from November to February’. Yarrell saw two old

208 THE ROCK DOVE

birds exposed for sale with Ring Doves, in London, on January
4. It resorts in spring to the neighbourhood in which it was bred,
as a convenient place for rearing its own young, and at the end of
summer repairs to woods and groves better adapted for supplying
it with its favourite food, acorns and beech-mast. There it flocks
together with Ring Doves, vast numbers of which assemble in
winter in some districts, and when the fowler plies his occupation,
shares their fate. It is, however, by no means so common a bird
as the Ring Dove at any season, nor is it so generally distributed.
In the North it is certainly only a summer visitor; and, on the
other hand, it is most abundant in the south of Europe and in Africa
during winter.

THE ROCK DOVE
COLUMBA LIVIA

Plumage bluish ash, lighter on the wings; rump white ; neck and breast
lustrous with green and purple reflections, without a white spot; two
transverse black bands on the wings; primaries and tail tipped with
black ; rump white; outer tail-feather white on the outer web ; irides
pale orange; bill black; feet red. Length twelve and a half inches.
Eggs white.

Tue Rock Dove, though a bird of extensive range, is less generally

known in its natural condition than either of the other British

species. As its name imports, its favourite place of resort is the
rocky coast; but this it frequents, not because it has any pre-
dilection for the seashore and its productions, but that its instincts
teach it to make lofty rocks its stronghold, just as the natural
impulse of the Ring Dove is to find safety in the forests. If this
species is the original of all the numerous varieties of tame Pigeon,
it must inhabit most countries of the eastern hemisphere ; for a
pigeon-fancier’s dove-cot, to be complete, must contain several
sorts which were first brought from remote regions ; and we know
that in Egypt, Phoenicia, and Persia, Pigeons had a mythological
importance at an early date. It is said that the Pigeons which
have established themselves in various public buildings of con-
tinental cities, as Saint Mark at Venice, and Pont Neuf at Paris,
are exclusively Rock Pigeons ; and I have seen it stated that they
frequent the towers of Canterbury Cathedral; but it is possible
that these may be in all cases derived from tame birds escaped
from domestication, and resuming, to a certain extent, their wild
habits and original plumage. That they resort to ruinous edifices
near the sea in retired districts is beyond question, as I have seen
them flying about and alighting on the walls of an old castle in the
island of Kerrera, near Oban, in the Western Highlands, indif-
ferent, seemingly, whether they nestled in the lofty cliffs on the
mainland, where they are numerous, or on the equally secure ruins

Turtle Dove d 2
Stock Dove ? Rock Dove 3
Wood Pigeon J [face p. 208

Walle, IUwels, ION AS 209

of masonry in the opposite island. That they are truly wild here
there can be no doubt. Indeed, the precipitous shores of Scot-
land, the Hebrides, and Orkneys, afford them exactly the kind
of retreat that suits their habits; and here among inaccessible
rocks they build their nests and on their return from their inland
marauding expeditions, pass their nights. Their attitudes, mode
of flight, progression when on the ground, note, and manner of
feeding, are the same as those of the common tame Pigeon ; and,
as might be expected, both wild and tame birds agree in declining
to perch on trees.

Macgillivray, who had opportunities of watching them in their
native haunts at all seasons, informs us that they leave their caves
in the crags at early dawn, and, proceeding along the shore, unite with
other parties on their way till they reach the cultivated grounds,
where they settle in large flocks, diligently seeking for grains of
barley and oats, seeds of wild mustard and other weeds, picking
up also the small snails ! which abound in sandy pastures near the
sea. In summer they make frequent short visits of this kind,
returning at intervals to feed their young. In winter they form
much larger flocks, and, making the best use of their short
day, feed more intently, thus holding out a temptation to the
fowler, who, if sufficiently wary, can sometimes approach near
enough to kill a large number at a shot. They are supposed to
pair for life; and this, I believe, is generally the case with tame
Pigeons. They lay two eggs, and sit for three weeks. The male
and the female sit, alternately relieving each other. They breed
twice a year, but the number of eggs never exceeds two. Hence
the old Scottish saying, ‘a doo’s cleckin’, for a family of only two
children—a boy and a girl. They may be distinguished from the
other common species while flying, by showing a large patch of
white between the back and the tail.

DHE TURTLE DOVE
TURTUR COMMUNIS

Head and nape ash, tinged with wine-red ; a space on the sides of the neck
composed of black feathers tipped with white; neck and breast pale
wine-red ; back ash-brown; primaries dusky ; secondaries bluish ash ;
scapulars and wing-coverts rust-red with a black spot in the centre of
each feather ; abdomen and lower tail-coverts white ; tail dusky, all but
the two middle feathers tipped with white, the outer feather edged with
white externally; irides yellowish red; feet red; bill brown. Eggs
white.

Nearly three thousand years ago the Turtle Dove had the dis-
tinction of being enumerated among the pleasant things of spring :

1 Helix evicetorum, a flattish, striped shell ; and Bulimus acutus, an oblong,
conical shell, mottled with grey and black.

BB. P

210 MSO MOP a Mi De DLO) aD:

‘Lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers
appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and
the voice of the Turtle is heard in our land.’! Less sweetly, but
to the same effect, sings a poet of the last century :

The cuckoo calls aloud his wand’ring love,

The Turtle’s moan is heard in ev'ry grove;

The pastures change, the warbling linnets sing.

Prepare to welcome in the gaudy spring !

PHILIPS.

There is no melody in the song of the Turtle, as it consists of a
single note, a soft, sweet, agitated murmur, continued without
pause for a long time, called a ‘ moan’? both by Latin and English
poets, not from its being suggestive of pain, but because there is
no other word which describes it so nearly. I have already
had occasion to remark how unsatisfactory are most of the at-
tempts which have been made to represent the songs of birds by
combinations of letters, but the Latin name of the Turtle-dove,
Turtur, is a notable exception. Pronounced ‘tur-r-r tur-r-r’,
it will instantly recall the note to any one who has once heard it.
The French name also, Tourterelle, can belong to this bird alone.

The Turtle Dove is found in all the southern countries of Europe,
in Palestine, and many other parts of Asia, including the islands
south of China. In England it is a visitor in the southern and
midland counties only, arriving in spring and remaining with us
until the end of September. Its favourite places of resort are
groves, belts of trees, and tall hedgerows in cultivated districts.
Here it builds its unsubstantial nest of a few sticks, and lays two
eggs. Its food consists of seeds of various kinds, and it has the
discredit of resorting to fields of green wheat for the sake of feed-
ing on the milky grain. I am doubtful whether this charge can be
sustained. Often enough when walking through a cornfield one
may see two or three Turtle Doves rise suddenly from the thick
corn with a rustle and low cry of alarm, rapidly dart away in the
direction of the nearest grove, disappearing in the shade, all but a
white segment of a circle, formed by the tips of their tail-feathers ;
but on examining the spot from which they rose, I have been
unable to detect any ears of corn rifled of their contents, though
the ground was thickly matted with weeds, which might have
furnished them food. I am informed by a young friend that he
has often shot them while in the act of rising from such situations
and has invariably found their crops distended with the green seed-
vessels of a weed common in cornfields, the corn-spurrey (Spérgula
arvensis). This being the case, the Turtle Dove is more a friend
than an enemy to the farmer, even if it sometimes regales on ripe

4 (Gzhog, wy Ini 12
2«Nec gemere aéria cessabit Turtur ab ulmo.’—VirRGIL.
Nor shall from lofty elm the Turtle cease to moan.

THE THREE-TOED SAND-GROUSE Pet

grain or interferes with the occupation of the gleaner. It is also
very partial to vetches. I have met with an instance where a
Turtle Dove paid daily visits to one particular spot, under a hedge
in a field, and though fired at by the owner of the field many times,
under the idea that it was a rare bird, it soon returned ; and when
at last shot, its crop was found’to be full of vetch seeds which had
been accidentally spilled from a bag.

The Turtle Dove is smaller than any of the other British Doves.
When flying, it seems scarcely larger than a Missel Thrush ;_ but
it is more slender in shape, and its wings are much longer. It beats
its wings, too, more rapidly, and moves through the air with greater
velocity. The tints of its plumage are more varied than in the
other British species, but far inferior in brilliancy to many foreign
ones.

The Turtle Dove so frequently kept in a cage is the Collared
Turtle Dove (Columba risoria), a native of India and China. This
species is distinguished by a black crescent on the back of the neck,
the horns of which nearly meet in front. Turtle Doves are much
kept in Germany, owing to a strange popular superstition that
they are more predisposed than the human species to nervous
disorders and rheumatism, and that when any of these complaints
visit a house, they fall on the birds rather than on their owners.

ORDER PPEROCLETRES

FAMILY PLEROCLIDA
THE THREE-TOED SAND-GROUSE

Legs and toes feathered to the claws; no hind toe. Length sixteen to
twenty inches.

TuIs species was not known with us till 1859. Great flights visited
oes country in 1863, in 1888, and in 1889 when a few pair breed
lere.

212 THE CAPERCAILLIE

ORDER GALLINZZ

FAMILY TETRAONID

THE CAPERCAILETE

TETRAO UROGALLUS

Feathers of the throat elongated, black ; head and neck dusky ; eyes with a
bare red skin above and a white spot below ; wings brown speckled with
black; breast lustrous green ; abdomen black with white spots ; rump
and flanks marked with undulating lines of black and ash colour ; tail
black with white spots; beak horn white; eyebrows naked, red, be-
neath the eye a white spot. Length thirty-six inches. Female—a
third smaller, barred and spotted with tawny red, black, and white ;
throat tawny red, unspotted ; breast deep red ; tail dark red with black
bars, white at the tip; bill dusky. Eggs dull yellowish white speckled
with yellowish brown.

THE Capercaillie, Wood Grouse, or Cock of the Woods, was a rare
bird in Scotland in Pennant’s time (1769), and was found only in
the Highlands north of Inverness. It became extinct in the eigh-
teenth century, but was re-introduced in 1837 in Scotland, and it
is now common in firwoods there, especially in Perthshire. In the
pine forests of Sweden and Norway it is still indigenous, but, being
a large and beautiful bird, is much sought after, and is annually
receding from the haunts of men. It is also found in some of the
central countries of Europe, as Poland and the Jura mountains,
where it is said to be rather common. It is not only an inhabitant
of woods, but passes its time for the most part in trees, and feeds
in great measure on the young shoots of the Scotch fir. In summer
it adds to its dietary berries, seeds, and insects, for which it searches
among bushes or on the ground, returning to the woods to roost.
The male bird has obtained great celebrity for his marvellous per-
formances when serenading the hens during the morning and even-
ing twilight in spring. ‘‘ During his play, the neck of the Caper-
caillie is stretched out, his tail is raised and spread like a fan, his
wings droop, his feathers are ruffled up, and, in short, he much
resembles in appearance an angry Turkey Cock. He begins his
play with a call something resembling the words feller, feller,
peller ; these sounds he repeats at first at some little intervals, but,
as he proceeds, they increase in rapidity, until, at last, and after
perhaps the lapse of a moment or so, he makes a sort of gulp in
his throat, and finishes by drawing in his breath. During the con-
tinuance of this latter process, which only lasts a few seconds, the
head of the Capercaillie is thrown up, his eyes are partially closed,
and his whole appearance would denote that he is worked up into
an agony of passion.” This performance, however attractive it may
be to those for whose benefit it is intended, exercises a fascination

THE BLACK GROUSE 213

over himself which is often dangerous ; for the sportsman, well
acquainted with the sound, is thus guided to his perch, and, shy
though the bird is at other times, is able to get near him unper-
ceived or unheeded, and summarily closes his performances. The
Capercaillie hen makes her nest upon the ground, and lays from
six to twelve eggs. She is said to sit for four weeks. The young
keep with her until towards the approach of winter. The size of the
full-grown bird varies considerably according to the latitude in
which it is found. In Lapland the male weighs about nine or ten
pounds, but in the southern provinces of Sweden as much as seven-
teen pounds. The hen usually weighs from five to six pounds.

| THE BLACK GROUSE
TETRAO TETRIX
Throat-feathers not elongated ; plumage black with violet reflections; a
broad white band on the wings ; secondaries tipped with white ; lower tail-
coverts white ; tail much forked, the outer feathers curved outwards.
Eyebrows naked, vermilion; beneath the eye a white spot. Length
twenty-three inches. Female—smaller; head and neck rust-red barred
with black ; rump and tail-feathers black barred with red ; belly dusky
brown with red and whitish bars ; tail slightly forked. Eggs dull yellow
spotted and speckled with reddish brown.
Tue Black Grouse is a native of the northern countries of Europe
and of the mountainous districts of the central part of the Continent.
In the south it is unknown. Of a hardier nature than the Pheasant,
and less fastidious in its dietary, it braves the most inclement
seasons, and is never stinted in its supply of food. Moreover, as it
rarely wanders far from its heath-clad home, it would probably,
if it enjoyed the privilege of insignificance, be abundant in all the
extensive waste lands of Britain. But its large size, the excellent
flavour of its flesh, and the excitement of the sport which it affords
all tend to keep down its numbers, so that a moor well stocked with
Black Grouse is a possession not to be thought lightly of by the
highest and wealthiest. The male bird is, in sporting phraseology,
a Black Cock, the female a Grey Hen ; and it is the etiquette of the
field to shoot Cocks only, the Hens being left for breeding. The
Black Cock resembles, in one of its most striking peculiarities, its
near relative, the Capercaillie. ‘During the spring’, says Mr. St.
John, ‘ and also in the autumn, about the time the first hoar frosts
are felt, I have often watched the Black Cocks in the early morning
when they collect on some rock or height, and strut and crow with
their curious note, not unlike that of a Wood Pigeon. On these
occasions they often have most desperate battles. I have seen five
or six Black Cocks all fighting at once ; and so violent and eager
were they, that I approached within a few yards before they rose.
Usually there seems to be a master-bird in these assemblages, who

214 THE BLACK GROUSE

takes up his position on the most elevated spot, crowing and strut-
ting round and round with spread-out tail like a Turkey Cock, and
his wings trailing on the ground. The hens remain quietly near
him, whilst the smaller or younger male birds keep at a respectful
distance, neither daring to crow, except in a subdued kind of voice,
nor to approach. If they attempt the latter, the master-bird
dashes at the intruder, and often a short melée ensues, several others
joining in it, but they soon return to their former respectful distance.
I have also seen an old Black Cock crowing on a birch-tree with a
dozen hens below it, and the younger Cocks looking on with fear
and admiration. It is at these times that numbers fall to the share
of the poacher, who knows that the birds resort to the same spot
every morning.’

The food of these birds is abundant in quantity, and though
simple, yet partakes of an extensive assortment of flavours. Twigs
of the fine-leaved heath (Evica cinerea), and heather (Calluna) ;
buds of the willow and birch; the tender shoots of cotton-grass,
sedge, and grass ; and whortleberries, cranberries, and crowberries,
are the principal items of their bill of fare, varied according to the
season. In the months of February, March and April, they do much
mischief to plantations by destroying the tender shoots of Scotch
and Silver Fir. ‘In searching for food, the Black Grouse frequents
the lower grounds of the less-cultivated districts, not generally
removing far from the shelter of woods or thickets, to which it be-
takes itself as occasion requires. It sometimes makes an excursion
into the stubble-fields in search of the seeds of cereal plants, and in
summer and autumn includes those of the grasses and rushes.
While thus employed, it walks and runs among the herbage with
considerable agility, and, when apprehensive of danger, flies off to
a sheltered place, or settles down and remains motionless until,the
intruder passes by. It perches adroitly, and walks securely on
the branches ; but its ordinary station is on the ground, where also
it reposes at night. It may often, especially in spring, be seen
on the turf-top of the low walls inclosing plantations. Its flight is
heavy, direct, and of moderate velocity, and is capable of being
protracted to a great distance.’ 4

The Grey Hen constructs a rude nest of withered grass and a few
twigs in the shelter of some low bush, and lays from five to ten eggs.
The male bird takes no part in the bringing up of the brood, but
leaves the duties of incubation and attention to the wants of his
family to the hen, who devotes herself wholly to the careful nurture
of her little ones. While the poults are in their nonage, she assidu -
ously leads them about where food is most abundant ; and if sur-
prised by an intruder, leaves them to hide among the heath and
ferns, creeps rapidly herself to some distance, and then rises in a
fluttering manner, so that a stranger to her habits would suppose

1 Macgillivray.

Grouse g Redlegged Partridge 9

Black Grouse 3 9 Partridge ¢ [face p. 214.

THE RED GROUSE 215

her to be wounded. By August 20, the young are supposed to be
fully fledged, and the sportsman is expected not only to show his
skill as a marksman, but his quickness of eye in discriminating
between males and females as the covey rises. The former are to be
distinguished by their richer colouring, and by the more strongly
marked white on the wings. At this season the old Black Cocks
club together.

The Black Cock is found in greater or less quantities in the moor-
land districts of many of the English counties, but is most abun-
dant in the north of England and Wales, and in Scotland.

THE RED GROUSE
LAGOPUS SCOTICUS

Plumage chestnut brown, marked on the back with black spots and beneath
with black lines ; a fringe of small white feathers round the eyes, anda
white spot at the base of the lower mandible ; a crimson fringed band
above the eyes ; some of the feathers of the abdomen tipped with white ;
tail of sixteen feathers, the four middle ones chestnut with black bars,
the rest dusky ; feet and toes covered thickly with grey hair-like feathers.
Female—the red eye-lid less conspicuous ; colours not so dark and tinged
with reddish yellow, the black spots and lines more numerous. Length
sixteen inches. Eggs reddish ash colour, nearly covered with blotches
and spots of deep red-brown.

Tue diminution of the number of Pheasants in France, owing to a
relaxation of the efforts formerly made to protect them, and the
abundance of the same birds, in those parts of England where un-
ceasing care is taken of them in severe or protracted winters, tend
to prove the great difficulty of preserving a foreign bird in a country
which is not in every respect adapted to its habits and constitution.
On the other hand, the undiminished abundance of Red Grouse in
Great Britain, in spite of the absence of all artificial protection, and
notwithstanding the vast quantity which annually fall a prey to
vermin, poachers, and sportsmen, proves as satisfactorily that
where a bird has become abundant, in a country in all respects suited
to its constitution and producing an inexhaustible supply of its
natural food, it is impossible to extirpate it. If we ever had occasion
to adopt a bird as a national emblem, the choice might for one
reason fall on the Red Grouse. It is a native of the British Isles,
and is found in no other country. On the moors of Scotland, the
hilly parts of the north of England, the mountains of Wales, and
the wastes of Ireland, it is as wild and free as the Gull on the sea-
cliff. It frequents extensive heaths where man could not protect
it if he would, and finds no stint of food where few living things can
exist but insects and some of the larger rapacious animals which
make it their special prey. Eagles, Falcons, Buzzards, Crows,
Foxes, Martins, and Polecats, all wage against it incessant war Bai

216 THE RED GROUSE

is wholly without armour, offensive or defensive ; yet its numbers
are undiminished. And we may confidently say that, as long as
there are large tracts of land in Great Britain unreclaimed, there
will be Grouse.

Red Grouse must, occasionally, fall in the way of the wanderer
over the Scottish moors, whatever may be the object of his rambles ;
but a sportsman alone is privileged to make the bird his study at
all seasons. My sketch, therefore, of the Grouse is to be considered
as taken, not from the limited observation which I have been enabled
to make, when I have chanced to start a bird on the hills of West-
moreland or the Highlands, but to be compiled from the notes of
others who have had more ample means of observing its habits.

“The Brown Ptarmigan, generally known by the name of Red
Grouse, as compared with the Black Grouse, is met with in Scotland
on all kinds of surface, provided it be covered with heath, whether
Calluna vulgaris (Ling) or Evica cinerea (Common Purple Heath),
from the level of the sea to the height of about two thousand feet.
The low sandy heaths of the eastern counties of the middle division
appear to be less favourable to it than the more moist peaty tracts
of the western and northern districts, where the shrubs on which
it feeds attain a great size.”’

Its food appears to be much the same as that of the Black Grouse,
to which it is similar in many of its habits; but it never perches
on trees. It has, moreover, a decided predilection for the national
grain of Scotland. Hence the cultivation of small tracts of land
with oats in the neighbourhood of moors where it abounds is an
unprofitable labour.

Its name, Lagoépus (Hare-footed), is equally appropriate as descrip-
tive of its thickly-clothed foot and its fleetness as a runner ; bysome
French ornithologists it is enumerated among Velocifedes, for the
latter reason. On ordinary occasions it does not fly much, but keeps
concealed among the heath, seldom choosing to rise unless its enemy
comes very near. Red Grouse pair early in the season, and build
their nests generally on the borders between heath and lea ground,
with a view to providing their young with an open nursery-ground,
on which to learn the use of their legs, as well as a safe retreat on
the approach of danger. The nest is loosely constructed of straws
and twigs which may chance to lie about near the selected spot.
The number of eggs is usually eight to ten ; the hen sits very closely,
allowing the shepherd almost to trample on her before she springs.
The period of hatching is a perilous one for the chicks, for, as they
break the shell, they utter a small but shrill chirp—a certain signal
to some watchful Hooded Crow that a prey is at hand ; he traces up
the sound, drives the mother from her nest, and destroys the whole
brood.

Once fairly hatched, the danger decreases; the young birds,
while still quite small, show great readiness in concealing themselves,

THE PTARMIGAN 217

When disturbed they separate in all directions, crouch on the ground,
squeeze between objects that seem to defy all passage, work their
way through the cover, or, if they fancy that an eye is fixed on them,
lie as motionless as stones When so far grown as to be able to
fly, they still prefer the shelter afforded by the cover ; but if hard
pressed the old cock usually rises first, with a cry which some com-
pare to the quack of a Duck. The hen and young birds show no
hurry in following his example, but take wing singly, and at unequal
intervals—not like Partridges, which always rise in a covey. This
is the period when they afford the easiest shot to the sportsman,
who often puts them up almost beneath his feet, or under the very
nose of his dogs. Later in the season a great change takes place,
and this, it is said, whether the birds have been much harassed or
not. Become cautious and wild, they no longer trust to conceal-
ment or swiftness of foot, but, discovering from a great distance
the approach of danger, they rise most frequently out of shot, so
that it requires skill and patience to get near them. A slight and
early snow sometimes makes it more easy to approach them, at
least for a few hours; but ordinarily, not even extreme cold, or
a covering of snow a foot thick, appears to tame them at all. Under
such circumstances, they collect in enormous ‘packs’, and betake
themselves to some particular part of the moor from which the
snow has been more or less drifted. These packs keep together
during winter, and at the beginning of spring separate and pair,
not, however, without some previous altercations ; but these are
soon over, and they lose much of their shyness, venturing close to
the roads, and being little disturbed by the passage of the traveller.

THE PTARMIGAN
LAGOPUS MUTUS

Winter plumage—pure white, a black line from the angle of the beak through
the eye; outer tail-feathers black; above the eyes a scarlet fringed
membrane ; bill and claws black; tarsi and toes thickly clothed with
woolly feathers. Female—without the black line through the eyes.
Summer plumage—wings, under tail-coverts, two middle tail-feathers,
and legs white; outer tail-feathers black, some of them tipped with
white ; rest of plumage ash-brown, marked with black lines and dusky
spots. Length fifteeninches. Eggs reddish yellow, spotted and speckled
with deep reddish brown.

Tus beautiful bird is the Schneehuhn, ‘ Snow-chick’, of the Ger-
mans, the White Partridge of the Alps and Pyrenees, and the Gaelic
Tarmachan. Whilst most birds shrink from cold, the Ptarmigan,
on the contrary, seems to revel in it, and to fear nothing so much
as the beams of the sun. Not even when the valleys rejoice in the
livery of spring does it desert the snowy regions altogether, and,
when the mist-wreaths clear away, it avoids the rays of the sun by

218 THE PTARMIGAN

seeking the shady sides of the mountains. Only when the northern
regions or lofty mountains are so thickly covered with snow as to
threaten it with starvation does it repair to districts where the cold
is somewhat mitigated, but never lower into the valleys than where
it may quench its thirst with snow. ‘The male bird’, says a field
naturalist, ‘has been seen, during a snow-storm in Norway, to
perch himself on a rock which overtopped the rest, and to sit
there for some time as if enjoying the cold wind and sleet, which
was drifting in his face ; just as one might have done on a sultry
summer’s day on the top of the Wiltshire downs, when a cool air
was stirring there.’ The same writer observes: “I have generally
found the Ptarmigan concealed among the grey, lichen-coloured
rocks on the summits of the fjelds, and so closely do they resemble
these rocks in colour that I could scarcely ever see them on the
ground ; and sometimes when the practised eye of my guide found
them, and he would point out the exact spot, it was not until after
a long scrutiny that I could distinguish the bird within a dozen
yards of me. Frequently we would find them on the snow itself,
and many a time has a large circular depression in the snow been
pointed out to me, where the Ptarmigan has been lying and pluming
himself in his chilly bed. He is a noble bird, free as air, and for the
most part uninterrupted in his wide domain ; he can range over the
enormous tracts of fjeld, seldom roused by a human step, and still
more seldom hunted by man. When the winter clothes his dwelling
in a garb of snow, he arrays himself in the purest and most beautiful
white ; when the summer sun melts away the snow, and the grey
rocks appear, he, too, puts on his coloured dress, and assimilates
himself once more to his beloved rocks. But the young Ptarmigans
are my especial favourites: I have caught them of all ages ; some
apparently just emerged from the egg, others some weeks older ;
they are remarkably pretty little birds, with their short black beaks
and their feathered toes ; and so quickly do they run, and so nimble
and active are they in escaping from you, that they are soon beneath
some projecting stone, far beyond the reach of your arm, where you
hear them chirping and calling out in defiance and derision. The
call of the old Ptarmigan is singularly loud and hoarse ; it is a pro-
longed grating, harsh note, and may be heard at a great distance.’
This has been compared to the scream of the Missel Thrush; but
Macgillivray says it seems to him more like the croak of a frog.
Ptarmigans pair early in spring, and build their nest of grass,
bents and twigs in a slight hollow behind a stone or bush, and lay
from seven to twelve eggs. The young are able to run about as
soon as they are hatched, and, as we have seen, are most expert
and nimble in concealing themselves. The hen bird when surprised
with her young brood counterfeits lameness, and runs about in

1 Rev. A. C. Smith, in the Zoologist, vol. vill. p. 2977.

THE PHEASANT 219

great anxiety, as 1f wishing to draw attention from her chicks to
herself. Their food consists of the fresh green twigs of heath and
other mountain plants, seeds, and berries. While feeding they
run about, and are shy in taking flight even when they have acquired
the use of their wings, but crouch on the approach of danger, and
remain motionless and silent. When at length they do rise, they
fly off in a loose party, and mostly in a direct line, for a distant
part of the mountain, the movement of their wings resembling that
of the Grouse, but being lighter in character. Early in the season,
a long time before Grouse, the coveys of Ptarmigans unite and
form large packs, and it is while thus congregated that they per-
form their partial migrations from the high grounds to what they
consider a milder climate, the Norwegian valleys. There, while
the ground is covered thickly with snow, they, to a certain extent,
modify their habits, and perch on trees, sometimes in such numbers
that the branches seem to be altogether clothed in white. It does
not appear that any of these flocks make long journeys or cross
the sea. In Scotland they are no more numerous in winter than in
summer, nor have they been observed to take refuge in the woods.
In the comparatively mild temperature of Scotland there occurs no
lengthened period during which they cannot find their simple food
somewhere in the open country ; they consequently do not leave
the moors, but only descend lower.

The Ptarmigan is neither so abundant nor so generally diffused
in Scotland as the Grouse. It is resident on high mountains. It is
said to have existed at one time in the north of England and in
Wales ; if so, it has totally disappeared, nor is it known in Ireland.

FAMILY PHASIANID/

THE PHEASANT
PHASIANUS COLCHICUS

Head and neck glossy, with metallic reflections of green, blue, and purple ;
sides of the head bare, scarlet, minutely speckled with black; general
plumage spotted and banded with orange-red, purple, brown, yellow,
green, and black, either positive or reflected ; tail very long, of eighteen
feathers, the middle ones longest. Female—light brown, marked with
dusky ; sides of the head feathered ; tail much shorter. Length three
feet. Eggs olive-brown.

Tus climate suits the Pheasant pretty well, and at most seasons of
the year it finds abundance of food ; but in hard winters the supply
diminishes, or fails altogether ; and were not food specially scat-
tered about for it in its haunts, it would either die off from being

220 THE PHEASANT

unable to withstand cold and hunger together, or become so weak
that it would fall a prey to the smaller rapacious animals, who are
not a match for it when it is strong and active. A healthy cock
Pheasant has been known to beat off a cat ; a sickly one would be
unable to compete with a Magpie or Jay. It is, in fact, an exotic
running wild, and enabled to do so only by the care of those who
help it to surmount the inconveniences of a life spent in a foreign
land.

The Pheasant is said to have been brought originally from Colchis,
a country on the shores of the Black Sea, and to have derived its
name from the river Phasis, the famous scene of the expedition of
the Argonauts, bearing date about 1200 years before Christ. From
this epoch it is said to have been known to the Athenians, who
endeavoured to acclimatize it for the sake of its beauty as well as
the delicacy of its flesh. The Romans received it from the Greeks ;
but it was little known, except by name, in Germany, France, and
England, until the Crusades. The custom was then introduced
from Constantinople of sending it to table decorated with its tail
feathers and head, as a dish for kings and emperors—a special honour
until that time confined to the Peacock. Willughby, in the seven-
teenth century, says of it that, from its rarity, delicacy of flavour,
and great tenderness, it seems to have been created for the tables
of the wealthy. He tells us, too, that the flesh of Pheasants caught
by hawking is of a higher flavour, and yet more delicate than when
they are taken by snares or any other method.

The kings of France greatly encouraged the naturalization of the
Pheasants in the royal forests, both as an object of sport and as an
acquisition to the festive board, and were imitated by the nobles
and superior clergy. In the fourteenth century, all the royal forests,
the parks of Berry and the Loire, all the woods and vineyards of the
rich abbeys, were peopled with Pheasants. The male bird was
protected by the title of ‘ Royal game of the first class’, and the
killing of a hen was forbidden under the severest penalties. During
the period between the reigns of Henry IV and Louis XVI its
estimation increased. During the revolution royal edicts were little
heeded. Pheasants, no less than their owners, forfeited their dig-
nity, which, however, rose again somewhat under the empire.
Waterloo, and succeeding events, brought desolation to the Phea-
santries as well as to the deer-parks of France ; and now the royal
bird, French authors tell us, is likely to disappear from the country.
Already, the space which it occupies is reduced to a thirtieth part of
the national territory. The centre of this privileged province is
Paris ; its radius is not more than five-and-twenty leagues, and is
decreasing every year. Pheasants have disappeared from the dis-
tricts of the Garonne and Rhone, while in Touraine and Berry a few
only are to be found in walled parks.

If the Pheasant should ever, in this country, lose the protection of

Great Bustard ¢

Pheasant d Nightjar 3
Capercaille J

[ face p. 220.

THE PoE ASANA 221

the Game Laws, it will probably dwindle away in like manner.
Under existing circumstances, it offers an inducement to poaching
too tempting to be resisted. Gamekeepers engage in more affrays
with poachers of Pheasants than of all the other game birds taken
collectively ; and if the offence of destroying them were made less
penal than it is at present, they would doubtless diminish rapidly.
Next to Wood Pigeons, they are said to be the most destructive of
all British birds ; so that farmers would gladly do their utmost to
exterminate them ; their large size and steady onward flight com-
bine to make them an ‘ easy shot’ for the veriest tyro in gunnery,
while the estimation in which they are held for the table would
always secure for them a value in the market.

The places best adapted for Pheasants are thick woods in the
neighbourhood of water, where there is abundance of shelter on the
ground, in the shape of furze-bushes, brambles, tall weeds, rushes,
or tussock grass ; for they pass their lives almost exclusively on the
ground, even roosting there, except in winter, when they fly up in
the evening, and perch on the lower boughs of middling-sized trees.
In April or May, the female bird scratches for herself a shallow hole
in the ground under the shelter of some bushes or long grass, and
lays from ten to fourteen eggs; but not unfrequently she allows
might to prevail over right, and appropriates both the nest and eggs
belonging to some evicted Partridge. The situation of the nests
is generally known to the keepers, and all that are considered safe
are left to be attended to by the owner. Such, however, as are
exposed to the depredations of vermin or poachers are more fre-
quently taken, and the eggs are placed under a domestic hen.

Pheasant chicks are able to run about and pick up their own food
soon after they have escaped from the egg. This consists of grain,
seeds, an enormous quantity of wireworms, small insects, especially
ants and their eggs, and green herbage. When full grown, they add
to this diet beans, peas, acorns, beech-mast, and the tuberous roots
of several wild plants. A strip of buck-wheat, of which they are
very fond, is sometimes sown for their special benefit along the skirt
of a plantation. In seasons of scarcity they will enter the farmyard,
and either quietly feed with the poultry, or, less frequently, do
battle with the cocks for the sovereignty. <A story is told, in the
Zoologist, of a male Pheasant, which drove from their perch, and
killed in succession, three fine cocks. The proprietor, with a view
to prevent further loss, furnished a fourth cock with a pair of steel
spurs. Armed with these, the lawful occupant was more than a
match for the aggressor, who, next morning, was found lying dead
on the ground beneath the perch. Another has been known to
beat off a cat ; and a third was in the habit of attacking a labouring
man. The female is a timid, unoffending bird, as peaceful in her
demeanour as quiet in her garb. The tints of her plumage, far less
gaudy than in the male, are a protection to her in the nesting season,

222 THE COMMON PARTRIDGE

as being less likely to attract the notice either of poachers or vermin.
Indeed, were she always to lie close, her nest would not be easily
discovered, for the colour of her feathers so closely resembles that of
withered leaves, that she is, when sitting, less conspicuous than her
uncovered eggs would be.

Common Pheasants are occasionally found having a large portion,
or even the whole, of their plumage white. These, though highly
ornamental when mixed with the common sort, are not prized,
owing to their being a more conspicuous mark for poachers. The
‘Ringed Pheasant’ occasionally shot in English preserves is not,
as some maintain, a distinct species ; it differs from the typical
form of the bird only in that the neck is partially surrounded by a
narrow white collar passing from the back of the neck to the sides,
but not meeting in front.

THE COMMON PARTRIDGE.

PERDIX CINEREA

Face, eyebrows, and throat, bright rust-red ; behind the eye a naked red skin ;
neck, breast, and flanks, ash colour with black zigzag lines, and on the
feathers of the flanks a large rust-red spot ; low on the breast a chestnut
patch shaped like a horseshoe ; upper parts ash-brown with black spots
and zigzag lines; scapulars and wing-coverts darker; quills brown,
barred and spotted with yellowish red; tail of eighteen feathers, the
laterals bright rust-red; beak olive-brown; feet grey. Female—less
red on the face; head spotted with white; upper plumage darker,
spotted with black ; the horseshoe mark indistinct or wanting. Length
thirteen inches. Eggs uniform olive-brown.

VERY few, even of our common birds, are more generally known
than the Partridge. From the first of September to the first of Febru-
ary, in large towns, every poulterer’s shop is pretty sure to be de-
corated with a goodly array of these birds ; and there are few rural
districts in which a walk through the fields will fail,to be enlivened
by the sudden rising and whirring away of a covey of Partridges,
in autumn and winter; of a pair in spring. At midsummer they
are of less frequent appearance, the female being too busily
occupied, either in incubation or the training of her family, to find
time for flight ; and at this season, moreover, the uncut fields of
hay, clover, and corn afford facilities for the avoiding of danger, by
concealment rather than by flight. The habits of the Partridge,
as of the Grouse, are especially terrestrial. It never flies, like the
Lark, for enjoyment ; and as it does not perch in trees it has
no occasion for upward flight. Still, there are occasions when
Partridges rise to a considerable distance from the ground, and_ this
seems to be when they meditate a longer flight than usual.

A friend, to whom I am indebted for many valuable notes on
various birds, tells me that when a covey of Partridges are disturbed

THE COMMON PARTRIDGE 223

by a pack of hounds, they lie close at first, as if terrified by the noise
and bent on concealing themselves ; but when the pack actually
comes on them they rise to a great height, and fly to a distance
which may be measured by miles—at least, so he supposes, as he
has watched them diminish and fade from the sight before they
showed any sign of preparing to alight.

The Partridge, though decorated with no brilliant colours, which
would tend to thwart it in its habit of concealing itself among vegeta-
tion of the same general hue as itself, is a beautiful bird. Its gait 1s
graceful, its feet small and light, its head well raised ; and its plum-
age, though devoid of striking contrasts, is exquisitely pencilled,
each feather on the back and breast being veined like the gauzy
wings of a fly. The most conspicuous part of the plumage of the
male bird, the horseshoe on its breast, is invisible as it walks or
crouches, and the general tone approaches that of the soil.

Partridges pair early in the year ; but the hen does not begin to
lay until May, nor to sit until towards the beginning of June. The
nest is merely a depression in the ground, into which a few straws
or dead leaves have been drawn. It is sometimes placed among
brushwood under a hedge, but more frequently in the border of a
field of hay, clover, or corn, or in the wide field itself. The mowing
season, unfortunately, is not noted in the calendar of Nature ; so
the mother-bird, who is a close sitter, is not unfrequently destroyed
by the scythe, or, at all events, is driven away, and returns to find
her eggs carried off to be entrusted to the care of a domestic hen.
In unusually wet seasons, nests which have been fixed in low
situations are flooded, and the eggs being thus reduced to a low
temperature become addle. When this has taken place, the
Partridge makes a second laying, and a late brood is reared.

Notwithstanding this, however, Partridges are exceedingly pro-
lific, and are said to be increasing in numbers in proportion as new
lands are reclaimed from the waste, although the Red-legged Part-
ridge has lessened its numbers in some districts. It must certainly
be admitted that, in bad seasons, they are treated with a considera-
tion that would scarcely be shown towards them if they were simply
destroyers of grain and had nothing to recommend them as objects
of sport or as delicacies for the table. When abundant, they fall
freely before the sportsman’s gun ; but when the coveys are either
small or few, they are treated with forbearance, and enough are left
to stock the preserves for the ensuing year.

While the hen is sitting, the male bird remains somewhere in the
neighbourhood, and gives timely warning of the approach of danger ;
when the eggs are hatched, he accompanies his mate, and shares in
the work of teaching the young to shift for themselves—a lesson
which they begin to learn at once. The food both of old and young
birds is, to a great extent, insects. The young are especially fond
of ants and their pupe or larve, During the year 1860, in which

224 THE COMMON PARTRIDGE

there were no broods of Partridges, I was much struck by the fact
that stubble-fields abounded, to an unusual degree, with ant-hills.
In ordinary seasons, these are found torn to pieces and levelled.
This year, scarcely one was touched ; and even at the present time,
the end of October, winged ants are far more numerous than they
usually are at this time of the year. Besides insects, Partridges
feed on the seeds of weeds, green leaves, grain spilt in reaping, and
on corn which has been sown. This last charge is a serious one ;
yet, on the whole, it is most probable that Partridges do far more
good than harm on an estate, the insects and weeds which they
destroy more than making amends for their consumption of seed-
corn.

I might fill many pages with anecdotes of the devotion of Part-
ridges to their maternal duties—their assiduity in hatching their
eggs, their disregard of personal danger while thus employed, their
loving trickeries to divert the attention of enemies from their broods
to themselves, and even the actual removal of their eggs from a
suspectedly dangerous position to a place of safety ; but with many
of these stories the reader must be already familiar if he has read
any of the works devoted to such subjects.

The number of eggs laid before incubation commences varies from
ten to fifteen, or more. Yarrell says, ‘ Twenty-eight eggs in one
instance, and thirty-three eggs in two other instances, are recorded
as having been found in one nest ; but there is little doubt, in these
cases, that more than one bird had laid eggs in the same nest.’
This may be; but I find in a French author an instance in which
no less than forty-two eggs were laid by a Partridge in captivity, all
of which, being placed under a hen, would have produced chicks,
but for the occurrence of a thunder-storm accompanied by a deluge
of rain which flooded the nest, when the eggs, which all contained -
chicks, were on the point of being hatched. The average number
of birds in a covey is, I believe, about twelve ; quite enough to
supply the sportsmen and to account for the abundance of the bird.

The character of the Partridge’s flight is familiar to most people.
Simultaneously with the startled cry of alarm from the cock comes
a loud whirr-r-r as of a spinning-wheel : away fly the whole party in
a body, keeping a horizontal, nearly straight line: in turns each
bird ceases to beat its wings and sails on for a few yards with
extended pinions ; the impetus exhausted which carried it through
this movement, it plies its wings again, and if it have so long escaped
the fowler, may, by this time, consider itself out of danger, for its
flight, though laboured, is tolerably rapid.

The call of the Partridge is mostly uttered in the evening, as soon
as the beetles begin to buzz. The birds are now proceeding to
roost, which they always do in the open field, the covey forming a
circle with their heads outwards, to be on the watch against their
enemies, of whom they have many. They feed for the most part

THE RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE 225

in the morning and middle of the day, and vary in size according
to the abundance of their favourite food. In some districts of
France, it is said, the weight of the Partridges found on an estate is
considered as a fair standard test of the productiveness of the soil
and of the state of agricultural skill.
Most people are familiar with the distich :

If the Partridge had the Woodcock’s thigh,

It would be the best bird that e’er did flic;
but every one does not know that the saying was in vogue among
epicures in the reign of Charles IT.

THE RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE
CACCABIS RUFA

Throat and cheeks white, surrounded by a black band, which spreads itself
out over the breast and sides of the neck in the form of numerous spots
and lines, with which are intermixed a few white spots; upper plumage
reddish ash; on the flanks a number of crescent-shaped spots, the con-
vexity towards the tail rust-red, the centre black, bordered by white ;
beak, orbits, and feet, bright red. Length thirteen and a half inches.

Eggs dull yellow, spotted and speckled with reddish brown and ash
colour.

THE Red-legged Partridge, called also the French and Guernsey
Partridge, is a stronger and more robust bird than the common
species, which it also greatly surpasses in brilliancy of colouring.
As some of its names indicate, it is not an indigenous bird, but a
native of the south of Europe, whence it was first introduced into
England in the reign of Charles II. To Willughby, who lived at
that period, it was unknown except as a native of the continent of
’ Europe and the islands of Guernsey and Jersey. Towards the close
of the last century it was re-introduced into Suffolk, where it has
become numerous ; so much so, indeed, in some places, as to have
gained the better of the common species for a time.

Its flight is rapid, but heavier and more noisy than that of the
Common Partridge. It is less patient of cold, and less able to elude
the attacks of birds of prey. It is quite a terrestrial bird, very slow
in taking flight, and never perching except when hard pressed, when,
on rare occasions, it takes refuge among the thick branches of an
oak or pinaster ; here it considers itself safe, and watches the move-
ments of the dogs with apparent unconcern. Sometimes, too, when
closely hunted, it takes shelter in a rabbit’s burrow or the hole of a
tree ; but under ordinary circumstances it runs rapidly before the
dogs, and frequently disappoints the sportsman by rising out of shot.
The Grey or Common Partridge frequents rich cultivated lands ; the
Red Partridge prefers uncultivated plains, ‘ which summer converts
into burning causeways, winter into pools of water—monotonous

landes, where skeletons of sheep pasture without variation on heath
B.B, Q

226 THE QUAIL .

and the dwarf prickly genista. It delights, too, in bushy ravines,
or the steep sides of rocky hills covered with holly, thorns, and
brambles ; and when it resorts to vineyards, it selects those situated
on the sides of steep slopes, where marigolds and coltsfoot are the
principal weeds, rabbits and vipers the most abundant animals.’ +
Red Partridges are consequently most numerous in the least culti-
vated districts of France, especially those between the Cher and the
Loire, and between the Loire and the Seine. Towards the east they
do not extend beyond the hills of Epernay, and do not cross the
valley of the Meuse. The flesh of the Red Partridge is considered
inferior to that of the Grey, and the bird itself is less esteemed by
sportsmen as an object of pursuit. In England it seems to retain
its natural taste of preferring bushy heaths to inclosed land. In
the mode of incubation and rearing the young the two species are
much alike.

THE QUAIL:
COTURNIX COMMUNIS

‘THIS species’, says a French naturalist, ‘is probably the most
productive of all winged creatures ; and it could not well be other-
wise, or it would be unable to withstand the war of extermination
declared against it by human beings and birds of prey. One may
get an idea of the prodigious number of victims which the simple
crossing of the Mediterranean costs the species by two well-known
and often quoted facts. The Bishop of Capri, a wretched islet
scarcely a league in length, which lies at the entrance of the Bay
of Naples, used to clear a net revenue of 25,000 francs a year (£1,000)
by his Quails. This sum represents 160,000 Quails at the lowest
computation. In certain islands of the Archipelago, and parts of
the coast of the Peloponnese, the inhabitants, men and women,
have no other occupation during two months of the year than that
of collecting the Quails which are showered on them from heaven,
picking and cleaning them, salting them (‘they spread them all
abroad for themselves ’) and packing them away in casks for trans-
portation to the principal markets of the Levant ; that is to say,
the migration of Quails is to this part of Greece what the migration
of herrings is to Holland and Scotland. The Quail-catchers arrive
at the shore a fortnight in advance, and every man numbers his
ground to avoid disputes. The Quail arrives in France from Africa
early in May, and takes its departure towards the end of August.’

Another French author says, ‘ Like Rails, Woodcocks, Snipes, and
many of the waders, the Quail, when it travels towards the seashore,
flies only in the night. It leaves the lands, where it has passed the
day, about the dusk of the evening, and settles again with the dawn

1 Toussenel.

Pratincole.
Quail. Ptarmigan.

Three toed Sandgrouse. J 9 [face p. 226

THE QUAIL 227

of the morning.’ Not unfrequently, while performing their transit,
they become weary, and alight on vessels, or fall into the sea, and
are drowned. ‘ Being at a small town on the coast, in the month of
May ’, says M. Pellicot, ‘I saw some boats come in with ten or a dozen
sharks. They were all opened before me, and there was not one
which had not from eight to twelve Quails in its body.’ ‘ Enormous
flights are annually observed at the spring and fall, after crossing an
immense surface of sea, to take a brief repose in the islands of Malta,
Sicily, Sardinia, Crete, in the kingdom of Naples, and about Con-
stantinople, where, on these occasions, there is a general shooting
match, which lasts two or three days. This occurs always in the
autumn. The birds, starting from the Crimea about seven at night,
and with a northerly wind, before dawn accomplish a passage of
above sixty leagues in breadth, and alight on the southern shore to
feed and repose. In the vernal season the direction of the flight is
reversed, and they arrive in similar condition on the Russian coast.
The same phenomena occur in Malta, etc.’ }

On its arrival, the Quail betakes itself to open plains and rich
grassy meadows, especially where the soil is calcareous, and avoids
woody countries. During the early part of summer it frequents
cornfields, saintfoin, andlucern. In September it is found in stubble
and clover fields, and among the weeds growing in dry ponds, or it
finds shelter in any crops which may yet remain standing. In warm
countries it resorts to vineyards, attracted, it is said, not so much
by the grapes as by the numerous small snails with which the vines
are then infested ; for the crops of the late birds are generally found
filled with these molluscs. In locomotion it makes more use of its
feet than its wings, and when put up is never induced to perch on a
tree. Its flight resembles in character that of the Partridge, but it
rarely flies far, and when it alights makes awkward attempts to
conceal itself, but often fails, and may sometimes be captured with
the hand. In June or July, the female lays from eight to fourteen
eggs in a hole in the ground, and brings up her young without the
assistance of the male. Towards the end of August the old birds
migrate southwards, and are followed by the young. Before the
end of October all have disappeared, though instances have occurred
of their being shot during winter, especially in seasons when the
harvest has been a late one.

The flesh of the Quail is considered a great delicacy, and many
thousands are caught, imported to the London markets, for the table.
They are placed in low flat cages, scarcely exceeding in height the
stature of the bird, for the reason that in confinement, the birds,
in their effort to escape, would beat themselves against the upper
bars, and destroy themselves. These are said to be all old males.

Quails inhabit the eastern continent, from China—where they

1 Colonel C, H. Smith.

228 LAND RAIL OR CORN CRAKE

are said to be carried about in winter by the natives, to keep their
hands warm—to the British Isles. With us they are nowhere
plentiful, but are occasionally shot by sportsmen in most parts of
the country. In cornfields, on the shores of Belfast Lough, in the
north of Ireland, they are of frequent occurrence.

In Palestine the Quails still come up in the night, as of old, and
“cover the land,”

ORDER PULICARIE

FAMILY RALLID/A

LAND RAIL, OR CORN CRAKE
CREX PRATENSIS

Upper feathers dusky brown bordered with reddish ash; over the eye and
down the side of the head, a streak of ash ; wing-coverts rust-red ; quills
reddish brown; throat, belly, and abdomen, whitish; breast pale
yellowish brown ; flanks barred with white and rust-red ; upper man-
dible brown, lower whitish ; irides brown; feet reddish brown. Length
ten inches. Eggs yellowish brown spotted and speckled with grey and

reddish brown.

FEw persons can have spent the summer months in the country,
and enjoyed their evenings in the open air, without having grown
familiar with the note of the Corn Crake; yet, strange to say,
among those who have heard it on numberless occasions, not one
in a hundred (leaving sportsmen out of the account) have ever
seen one alive. Its whole life, while with us, seems to be spent
among the long grass and stalks of hay or corn, between which
its long legs and slender body give it peculiar facility of moving,
and it is only when hard pressed that it rises from the ground.
Its flight is low, with its legs hanging down; and it usually drops
into the nearest hedge or cover which presents itself, and from
which it is not easily flushed a second time.

The Corn Crake used to be found, during summer, in all the
counties of England, but is less frequent in Cornwall and Devon-
shire than in the counties farther east, and increases in abundance
as we advance northwards. In the north of Ireland it is to be
heard in every meadow and cornfield, and here its incessant cry
in the evenings is monotonous, if not wearisome ; in many parts
of Scotland it is also very common, and here it is much more
frequently seen. In waste lands, where it can find no continuous
corn, it takes refuge in patches of flags, rushes, or tall weeds, and
if watched for, may be seen leaving its place of concealment, and
quietly walking along the grass, lifting its feet high, and stooping

ANSHS, (SIROMMINISID) (Cleves, 229

from time to time to pick up its food, consisting of worms, insects,
snails, and seeds.

The Land Rail is considered a delicate article of food, and has
long been prized as such. In France it used to be termed, in old
sporting phraseology, ‘King of the Quails’, the Quail being a
bird which it much resembles in colouring.

The Corn Crake places its nest, which is composed of a few
straws, in a hollow in the ground, among corn or hay, and lays
from eight to ten, or rarely, twelve eggs. The young birds are
able to accompany their parents in their mazy travels as soon as
they have left the shell. The note of the old bird is heard much
later in the season than the song of most other birds, and is prob-
ably employed as a call-note to the young, which, but for some
such guidance, would be very likely to go astray. In the still
evenings of August, I have, while standing on the shore of the
island of Islay, distinctly heard: its monotonous crek-crek proceed-
ing from a cornfield on the opposite shore of Jura, the Sound
of Islay which intervened being here upwards of half a mile wide.
On ordinary occasions it is not easy to decide on the position and
distance of the bird while uttering its note; for the Corn Crake
is a ventriloquist of no mean -proficiency.

THE SPOTLED CRAKE

PORZANA MARUETTA

Forehead, throat, and a streak over the eye, lead-grey ; upper plumage olive-
brown, spotted with black and white; breast and under plumage olive
and ash, spotted with white, the flanks barred with white and brown ;
bill greenish yellow, orange at the base; irides brown; feet greenish
yellow. Length nine inches. Eggs yellowish red, spotted and speckled
with brown and ash.

THE Spotted Crake is smaller in size than the Corn Crake, and
far less common. It is shot from time to time in various parts
of Great Britain, especially in the fen countries, to which its habits
are best suited. It frequents watery places which abound with
reeds, flags, and sedges, and among these it conceals itself, rarely
using its wings, but often wading over mud and weeds, and taking
freely to the water, in which it swims with facility. The nest,
which is a large structure, composed of rushes and reeds, is placed
among thick vegetation, near the water’s edge, and contains from
seven to ten eggs.

The drainage and improving of waste lands has driven this
Crake away, but its eggs have been found in Roscommon, and a
nestling in Kerry.

230 THE WATER RAIL

THE LIT EGE CRAKE
PORZANA PARVA

Head brown ; upper plumage olive-ash, the feathers black in the centre ;
middle of the back black, sprinkled with white ; throat, face, and breast,
bluish grey, without spots ; abdomen and flanks indistinctly barred with
white and brown ; wings without spots, reaching to the extremity of
the tail ; bill green, reddish at the base ; irides red ; feet green. Length
seven and a half inches. Eggs yellowish, spotted with olive-brown.

THIS species appears to be generally diffused throughout the
eastern and southern countries of Europe, but is very rare in
England, coming now and again from spring to autumn. It is
a shy bird, like the last species, confining itself exclusively to
reedy marshes, and building its nest close to the water’s edge. It
lays seven or eight eggs.

THE WATER RAIL
RALLUS AQUATICUS

Upper feathers reddish brown, with black centres ; under plumage in front
lead-colour, behind and on the flanks barred with black and white ; bill
red, tinged with red above and at the tip; irides red ; feet flesh-colour.
Length teninches. Eggs yellowish, spotted with ash-grey and red-brown.

THE Water Rail is a generally diffused bird, but nowhere very

common, haunting bushy and reedy places near the banks of rivers

and lakes, and especially the Norfolk Broads, where it feeds on
aquatic insects, worms, and snails. Like the Crakes, it makes
more use of its legs than of its wings, and places its safety in con-
cealment. Rarely does it take flight, and then only when closely
hunted ; still more rarely does it expose itself outside its aquatic
jungle. I recollect on one occasion, during an intense frost, when
every marsh was as impenetrable to a bird’s bill as a sheet of
marble, passing in a carriage near a stream which, having just
issued from its source, was unfrozen; I then saw more than one
Water Rail hunting for food among the short rushes and grass
on the water’s edge. Its mode of walking I thought was very
like that of the Moor-hen, but it had not the jerking movement
of body characteristic of that bird, which alone would have sufficed
to distinguish it, even if I had not been near enough to detect the
difference of colour. Either the severity of the weather had
sharpened its appetite, and made it less shy than usual, or it had
not learnt to fear a horse and carriage, for it took no notice of
the intrusion on its privacy, but went on with its search without
condescending to look up. The Water Rail, then, unlike the

Corn Crake, remains with us all the winter. When forced to rise,

this bird flies heavily straight forwards, at no great elevation above

the rushes, with its legs hanging loose, and drops into the nearest

Little Crake Spotted Crake
Water Rail 3 Corn Crake or Land-Rail 3 [jace p. 230.

THE MOOR-HEN 231

thicket of weeds. A nest and eggs of this bird are thus described
in the Annals of Natural History: ‘The bird had selected for
her nest a thick tuft of long grass, hollow at the bottom, on the
side of the reed pond; the nest, about an inch and a half thick,
was composed of withered leaves and rushes; it was so covered
by the top of the grass, that neither bird, nest, nor eggs could be
seen; the entrance to the nest was through an aperture of the
grass, directly into the reeds, opposite to where any one would
stand to see the nest.’ The number of eggs is about ten or eleven.
Its note during breeding is a loud, groaning cro-0-0-an.

THE MOOR-HEN

GALLINULA CHLOROPUS

Upper plumage deep olive-brown ; under tail-coverts and edge of the wing
white, the former with a few black feathers ; under plumage slate colour,
the flanks streaked with white; base of the bill and a space on the
forehead bright orange, point of the bill yellow; irides red ; feet olive-
brown ; a red ring round the tibia. In females the colours are brighter
than in the males. Young birds have the front of the neck whitish,
the belly grey, the base of the beak and legs olive-brown. Length
thirteen inches. Eggs buff, spotted and speckled with orange-brown.

Or the two common names of this bird, ‘ Moor-hen’ and ‘ Water-
hen’, the former is that which is more generally in use, though
the latter is the more appropriate. The bird frequents moors,
it must be admitted, but only such as are watery; while there is
scarcely a river, lake, canal, brook, or even pond, of moderate
dimensions, which Moor-hens do not either inhabit all the year
round or occasionally visit. The name is objectionable on other
accounts ; the male bird is called a Moor-hen as well as the female,
while the terms Moor-fowl and Moor-cock have long been applied
to the Ptarmigan. For these reasons, I suppose, many recent
ornithologists Anglicize the systematic name, and call it the
Gallinule, which means ‘little fowl’, and is suggestive of the half-
domestic habits of the bird, under certain circumstances.

The Gallinule being a common bird of some size, conspicuous
colours, and active habits, is an interesting appendage of our
rivers and pieces of artificial water. Its note, something b:tween a
bark and a croak, is as well known in watered districts as the note
of the Cuckoo, and is often uttered when the bird has no intention
of being seen. Any one who may happen to be walking on the
bank of a reedy pond may perhaps hear its strange cry and see
the bird itself at some little distance, swimming about with a
restless jerky motion, often dipping its head, and with every dip
turning slightly to the right or the left. If he wishes for a nearer
view, let him advance quietly, concealing himself as much as he
can; for if, he proceeds carelessly, and takes off his eyes for any

232 THE MOOR-HEN

considerable time from the spot where he observed it, when he
looks again it will have disappeared, taken wing, he may imagine,
for some distant part of the water. Not so; the cunning bird,
as Soon as a stranger was perceived within a dangerous proximity,
steered quietly for the nearest tuft of reeds, among which it lies
ensconced till he has passed on his way. Or it rose out of the
water, and, with its feet trailing on the surface, made for a similar
place of concealment ; or dived to the bottom, where it still re-
mains clinging to the weeds. Perhaps it lies close to his feet,
having sunk beneath the water, and, aided by feet and wings,
rowed a subaqueous course to an often-tried thicket of rushes,
where, holding on with its feet to the stems of submerged weeds,
it remains perfectly still, leaving nothing above the surface of the
water but the point of its beak. If the observer suspects the
whereabouts of its concealment, he may beat the rushes with his
stick and produce no effect ; the bird knows itself to be safe where
it is and will make no foolish attempt to better itself. A water
spaniel or Newfoundland dog will be more effective. Very often
an animal of this kind is an overmatch for its sagacity, and seizes
it in his mouth before the poor bird was aware that the water
itself was to be invaded; but more frequently it discovers an
onset of this nature in time to clear itself from its moorings, and
dashing out with a splashing movement of feet and wings skims
across the pond to another lurking-place, and defies further
pursuit.

The Gallinule, though an excellent swimmer and diver, belongs
to the Waders ; it has, consequently, free use of its legs on land,
and here it is no less nimble than in the water. When induced to
change the scene it steps ashore, and, with a peculiar jerking
motion of its tail, showing the white feathers beneath, and very
conspicuous by its bright red bill, which harmonizes pleasantly
with the green grass, it struts about and picks up worms, insects,
snails, or seeds, with unflagging perseverance, making no stay
anywhere, and often running rapidly. If surprised on these
occasions, it either makes for the water, or flies off in a line for
some thick hedge or patch of brush-wood, from which it is very
difficult to dislodge it.

Its mode of life is pretty much the same all the year round ;
it is not a traveller from choice. Only in severe weather, when
its haunts are bound up with ice, it is perforce compelled to shift
its quarters. It then travels by night and searches for unfrozen
' streams. At such times it appears occasionally in pretty large
numbers in places where usually a few only resort. When the
south of Europe is visited by severe frosts it is supposed even to
cross the Mediterranean, it having been observed in Algeria, feeding
in marshes in half-social parties, where a day or two before none
had been seen. To the faculties of swimming and running it

Moor Hen.

Spoonbill F

Bittern d

Coot 2

(face p. 232.

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THE COMMON COOT 233

adds that of perching on trees ; this it does habitually, as it roosts
in low bushy trees ; and it has besides the power of walking cleverly
along the branches.

In the neighbourhood of houses where it has long been undis-
turbed, it loses much of its shy nature, and will not only allow
itself to be approached within a short distance, but, becoming
half-domesticated, will consort with the poultry in the farm-yard,
and come with them to be fed. It is fond also of visiting the
kitchen-garden, where it is apt to make itself unwelcome, by help-
ing itself to the tenderest and best of the vegetables. Bishop
Stanley, in his entertaining Book on Birds, gives some highly
amusing anecdotes of the Gallinule.

It builds its nest on the stump of a tree, or in a bush among
wet places, or in the roots of alders, but often it is placed on the
low-lying branch of a tree overhanging the water. The nest is
a large structure, made of rushes and dry flags, and is easy of
detection. It is very liable, too, to be swept away by any sudden
rise in a river. Added to which, the young frequently fall a prey
to pike. But as the bird has two, and sometimes three, broods
in a year, each consisting of from six to eight, it remains undimin-
ished in numbers. The nest is sometimes placed in a tree at a
distance from the water. When this is the case, as the habits of
the young birds are aquatic, immediately on their breaking the
egg, the old birds convey them in their claws to the water. An
instance is recorded in the Zoologist of a female Gallinule being
seen thus employed carrying a young one in each foot ; it has been
observed, too, that in such cases the male bird builds a second
nest, near the water’s edge, to which the young retire for shelter
during the night, until they are sufficiently fledged to accompany
their parents to their ordinary roosting-places in trees.

THE COMMON COOT

FULICA ATRA
Upper plumage black, tinged on the back with grey ; under parts bluish grey ;
frontal disk large, pure white; bill white, tinged with rose-red ; irides
crimson ; feet grey, tinged with green; part of the tibia orange-yellow.
Length sixteen inches. Eggs brownish, speckled with reddish brown.

THE Coot, seen from a distance, either on land or water, might be
mistaken for a Gallinule, flirting up its tail when it swims, jerking
its head to and fro, and when on land strutting about with a pre-
cisely similar movement of all its members. On a nearer examin-
ation, it is clearly distinguished by its larger size and the white
bare spot above the bill, in front, from which it is often called
the Bald-headed Coot. It is only during the summer season that
the two birds can be compared; for while the Gallinule remains

“234 THE CRANE

in the same waters all the year round, the Coot visits the Azores,
Madeira and the Canaries, North Africa and Egypt in winter, and
gets as far south as the Blue Nile. Their note, in summer, is a
loud harsh cry, represented by the syllable krew, as it would
be uttered by a crazy trumpet. In winter they are nearly mute.
During the latter season, Coots are confined to the southern parts
of the island; but in the breeding season they are more generally
diffused.

When seen on the sea-coast, they are readily distinguished
from Ducks by the different position in which they sit on the water,
with their heads low, poking forwards, and their tails sticking high
above the body. When flying in large coveys, they crowd to-
gether into a mass, but when swimming scatter over a wide space.

They have the same power of concealing themselves by diving
among weeds that has been already said to be possessed by the
Gallinule. I have seen a female Coot and her brood, when
disturbed by a party of sportsmen, paddle for a small patch of
rushes, and defy a long-continued and minute search conducted
by keepers and clever water-dogs. The latter appeared to traverse,
again and again, every square foot of the rush bed; but not a
single bird was dislodged.

Owing to drainage the Coot is less plentiful than it was, although
the late Lord Lilford sa‘d it had increased much on the river Neue
of recent years.

OR DERSALECTORIDES

FAMILY GRU

THE CRANE

GRUS COMMUNIS

General plumage ash-grey ; throat, part of the neck, and back of the head ,
dark blackish grey ; forehead and cere covered with black bristly hairs ;
crown naked, orange red; some of the secondaries elongated, arched,
and having the barbs of the feathers free; bill greenish black, reddish
at the base, horn-coloured at the tip; irides reddish brown; feet black.
Young birds have the crown feathered, and want the dark grey of the neck
and head. Length five feet. Eggs pale greenish ash, blotched and
spotted with brown and dark green.

From the fact of nine Cranes being recorded among the presents
received at the wedding of the daughter of Mr. More, of Loseley, in
1567, it would appear that these birds were tolerably common in
England at that date.

Common Crane. Stork J

Heron ? Night Heron.

[ face p. 234.

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THE CRANE 235

Willughby, whose Ornithology was published about a hundred
years later, says that Cranes were regular visitors in England, and
that large flocks of them were to be found, in summer, in the fens
of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire. Whether they bred in Eng-
land, as Aldrovandus states, on the authority of an Englishman
who had seen their young, he could not say on his own personal
knowledge.

Sir Thomas Browne, a contemporary of Willughby, writes, in
his account of birds found in Norfolk: “Cranes are often seen here
in hard winters, especially about the champaign and fieldy part.
It seems they have been more plentiful ; for, in a bill of fare, when
the mayor entertained the Duke of Norfolk, I met with Cranes
in a dish.’

Pennant, writing towards the close of the eighteenth century,
says: ‘On the strictest inquiry, we learn that, at present, the
inhabitants of those counties are scarcely acquainted with them ;
we therefore conclude that these birds have left our land.’ Three
or four instances only of the occurrence of the Crane took place
within the memory of Pennant’s last editor; and about as many
more are recorded by Yarrell as having come within the notice
of his correspondents during the present century. It would seem,
therefore, that the Crane has ceased to be a regular visitor to
Britain. It is, however, still of common occurrence in many parts
of the Eastern Continent, passing its summer in temperate
climates, and retiring southwards at the approach of winter. Its
periodical migrations are remarkable for their punctuality, it hav-
ing been observed that, during a long series of years, it has invariably
traversed France southward in the latter half of the month of Octo-
ber, returning during the latter half of the month of March. On
these occasions, Cranes fly in large flocks, composed of two lines
meeting at an angle, moving with no great rapidity, and alighting
mostly during the day to rest and feed. At other seasons, it ceases
to be gregarious, and repairs to swamps and boggy morasses, where
in spring it builds a rude nest of reeds and rushes on a bank or
stump of a tree, and lays two eggs. As a feeder it may be called
omnivorous, so extensive is its dietary. Its note is loud and
sonorous, but harsh, and is uttered when the birds are performing
their flights as well as at other times.

The Crane of the Holy Scriptures is most probably not this species,
which is rare in Palestine, but another, Grus Virgo, the Crane
figured on the Egyptian monuments, which periodically visits the
Lake of Tiberias, and whose note is a chatter, and not the trumpet
sound of the Cinereous Crane. In the north of Ireland, in Wales
and perhaps elsewhere, the Heron is commonly called a Crane.

A certain number of Cranes have been noticed in the Shetland
Isles, and some in the Orkneys. The latest seen in Ireland was in
1884, County Mayo.

236 THE GREAT BUSTARD

FAMILY OTIDIDA
No hind toe.

THE GREAT BUSTARD

OTIS TARDA

Head, neck, breast, and edge of the wing ash grey ; on the crown a longitu-
dinal black streak ; bill with a tuft of elongated loose feathers on each
side of the lower mandible; upper plumage reddish yellow, streaked
transversely with black ; lower whitish ; tail reddish brown and white,
barred with black. Female—smaller, without a moustache, the streak on
the crown fainter. Length nearly four feet. Eggs olive-brown, irregu-
larly blotched with dull red and deep brown.

Tue Great Bustard was formerly not unfrequent in Britain, but

of late years it has become so rare that it is now impossible to

describe its habits on the testimony of a living eye-witness. In
several parts of the Continent it is indeed still to be met with;

but I find so many discrepancies in the various accounts which I

have consulted, that it is hard to believe all the writers who de-

scribe it to have had the same bird in view. Some of these the
reader may examine for himself.

The earliest mention of it which I find occurs in the Anabasis of
Xenophon, who describes a plain or steppe near the Euphrates
full of aromatic herbs, and abounding with Wild Asses, Ostriches,
and Bustards (Ous). The latter, he says, ‘ could be caught when
any one came on them suddenly, as they fly to a short distance
like Partridges and soon give in. Their flesh is delicious.’ Pliny’s
description of the Bustard is very brief. He says it approaches
the Ostrich in size; that it is called Avis tarda in Spain, Otis in
Greece ; its flesh is very disagreeable, in consequence of the strong
scent of its bones.’ Our countryman Willughby, who wrote in
the middle of the seventeenth century, gives a longer account.
“The Bustard has no hind claw, which is especially worthy of
notice ; for by this mark and by its size it is sufficiently distin-
guished from all birds of the tribe. It feeds on corn and the seeds
of herbs, wild cabbage, leaves of the dandelion, etc. I have
found in its crop abundance of the seeds of cicuéa, with but a few
grains of barley even in harvest-time. It is found on the plains
near Newmarket and Royston, and elsewhere on heaths and plains.
Bustards are birds of slow flight, and raise themselves from the
ground with difficulty, on account of their size and weight ;_ hence,
without doubt, the name ¢avdu was given to them by the Latins.
By the Scotch, on the authority of Hector Boethius, they are
called Gustarde.’

M. Perrault, who wrote in 1676, gives an account of a tame
Bustard which was kept for a while in summer in a garden, and
died of cold in the winter. ‘ He killed mice and sparrows with

THE GREAT BUSTARD 237

his bill by pinching their heads, and then swallowed them whole,
even when of considerable size. It was easy to observe a large
mouse going down his throat, making a moving tumour till it
came to the turn of the neck ; it then moved backwards, and al-
though out of sight, yet its progress was traced by the feathers
between the shoulders separating, and closing again as soon as it
passed into the gizzard. He was fond of worms, and while the gar-
dener was digging, stood by him and looked out for them. He
ate the buds of flowers, and particularly of roses; also the sub-
stance of cucumbers, but not the outside. From these observa-
tions the Bustard is evidently fitted more particularly to live on
animal food.’

The average number of Bustards annually supplied to Chevet,
the great game-dealer of the Palais Royal, Paris, about fifty years
ago, was six. Its principal place of resort in France was the wild
country between Arcis-sur-Aube and Chalons, in most other dis-
tricts it was as little known as with us.

Several authors of undoubted veracity state that the adult male
Bustard has a capacious pouch, situated along the fore part of the
neck, the entrance of which is under the tongue, capable of hold-
ing several quarts of water—it is said not less thanseven. Montagu,
in his Ornithological Dictionary, expresses his doubt whether the
bird could carry as much as seven quarts, or fourteen pounds,
while flying ; he admits, however, that ‘it is large, as may be seen
in the Leverian Museum’ ; and he adds, ‘ that it is only discover-
able in adults, as it is most likely intended for the purpose of
furnishing the female and young in the breeding with water.’ Of
this pouch a figure is given by Yarrell, copied from Edwards’
Gleanings of Natural History, and there inserted on the authority
of Dr. James Douglas, the discoverer. Some doubts having arisen
in Mr. Yarrell’s mind as to the accuracy of the statement, he took
much pains to ascertain the truth by dissecting several adult
males, and found no peculiarity of structure—a result which was
also arrived at by Professor Owen, who dissected one with a view
of obtaining a preparation of the supposed pouch for the Museum
of the College of Surgeons. A paper by Mr. Yarrell,t read before
the Linnean Society since the publication of his admirable work
on Ornithology, contains many other interesting particulars res-
pecting this bird, to which the reader is referred.

Bustards have been seen in England at various intervals during
the last eighty or a hundred years, sometimes in small flights and
sometimes as solitary specimens, more frequently in Norfolk than
in any other county, but they have ceased to breed in this country.
I lately met a gentleman in Norfolk who well recollected the time
when Bustards were to be met with in that county. On the lands

i Eine Trans,, Vol. xxi. PD: 155.

238 THE PRATINCOLE

near Flamborough Head there used to be droves of them. They
were occasionally seen in the middle of the large uninclosed plains
with which Norfolk formerly abounded, and in such situations he
had himself seen them. When disturbed they move off rapidly,
employing both their feet and wings, rising heavily, but at an
angle so acute that they advanced perhaps a hundred yards
before they attained the height of a man. When once on the
wing, they flew swiftly. They formerly bred in the parish of
Deepdale, and he could himself recollect an instance when an
attempt was made to rear some in captivity from the eggs, but failed.
The Bustard is now only a very rare visitor to Great Britain. Its
last fertile eggs were taken in Norfolk and Suffolk about the year
1838.

ORDER LIMICOLA:
FAMILY GLAREOLIDA

THE PRATINCOLE
GLAREOLA PRATINCOLA

Crown, nape, back, scapulars, and wing-coverts, greyish brown ; throat and
front of the neck white, tinged with red, and bounded by a narrow black
collar, which ascends to the base of the beak ; lore black ; breast whitish
brown ; lower wing-coverts chestnut; under parts white, tinged with
brownish red; tail-coverts, and base of tail-feathers, white; the rest
of the tail dusky, much forked; beak black, red at the base; irides
reddish brown; orbits naked, bright red; feet reddish ash. Length
nine inches and a half. Eggs pale stone colour, spotted with grey and
dusky.

THE Pratincole, called on the Continent, but without good reason,

Perdrix de mer, or Sea Partridge, is a rare visitor to Great Britain,

inhabiting for the most part the northern part of Africa, and the

countries in the vicinity of the Don, the Volga, the Caspian, and
the Black Sea. It has been observed also from time to time in
several of the countries of Europe.

In some of its habits it resembles the Plovers, as it frequents
open plains and runs with great rapidity. In nidification, also,
and in the shape, colour, and markings of its eggs it is associated
with the same tribe ; while in its mode of flight and habit of catch-
ing flies while on the wing, it approaches the Swallows. Hence
it was named by Linneus, Hivundo pratincola, and under this
designation it is figured in Bewick. Its true place in the system
is, however, undoubtedly, among the waders, several of which
not only feed on insects, but are expert in catching them on the
wing.

THE THICK-KNEE OR STONE CURLEW 239

Fave y CAR ADRIUDA;

Tit DiiiCk KNEE OR STONE CURLEW
‘EDICNEMUS SCOLOPAX

Upper parts reddish ash with a white spot in the middle of each feather ;

space between the eye and beak, throat, belly, and thighs, white ; neck
and breast tinged with red, and marked with fine longitudinal brown.
streaks ; a white longitudinal bar on the wing; first primary with a
large white spot in the middle ; second, with a small one on the inner web ;
lower tail-coverts reddish, the feathers, except those in the middle,
tipped with black; beak black, yellowish at the base; irides, orbits,
and feet, yellow. Length seventeeninches. Eggs yellowish brown clouded
with greenish, blotched and spotted with dusky and olive.
THOUGH a citizen of the world, or at least of the eastern hemis-
phere, this bird is commonly known under the name of Norfolk
Plover, from its being more abundant in that county than in any
other. It is also called Thick-knee, from the robust conformation
of this joint ; and Stone Curlew, from its frequenting waste stony
places and uttering a note which has been compared to the sound
of the syllables curlut or turluw. Like the Cuckoo, it is more fre-
quently heard than seen, but that only by night. In some of its
habits it resembles the Bustard, and is said even to associate, in
Northern Africa, with the Lesser Bustard. Its favourite places
of resort are extensive plains ; it runs rapidly when disturbed, and
when it does take wing, flies for a considerable distance near the
ground before mounting into the air. It frequents our open heaths
and chalk downs and breeds in Romney Marsh and in the uplands
of Kent and Sussex.

By day the Thick-knee confines itself to the ground, either
crouching or hunting for food, which consists of worms, slugs, and
beetles, under stones, which it is taught by its instinct to turn over.
After sunset, it takes flight, and probably rises to a great height,
as its plaintive whistle, which somewhat resembles the wail of a
human being, is often heard overhead when the bird is invisible.
It is singularly shy, and carefully avoids the presence of human
beings, whether sportsmen or labourers. Yet it is not destitute
of courage, as it has been seen to defend its nest with vigour against
the approach of sheep or even of dogs. Nest, properly speaking,
it has none, for it contents itself with scratching a hole in the ground
and depositing two eggs. The males are supposed to assist in the
office of incubation. The young inherit the faculty of running at
an early age, being able to leave their birth-place with facility
soon after they are hatched; but the development of their wings
is a work of time, for their body has attained its full size long before
they are able to rise from the ground. Before taking their depar-
ture southwards in autumn, they assemble in small parties, number-
ing from four to six or seven, when they are somewhat more easy

240 THE GOLDEN PLOVER

of approach than in spring. In the chalky plains of La Marne in
France they are very numerous ; and here, by the aid of a light
cart, fowlers in quest of them have little difficulty in shooting
large numbers, the birds being less afraid of the approach of a horse
than of a human being. But when obtained they are of little
value, as their flesh is barely eatable.

The Thick-knee is migratory, visiting us in the beginning of
April to stay till October. His flights are made by night.

THE CREAM-COLOURED COURSER

CURSORIUS GALLICUS

Plumage reddish cream colour; wing-coverts bordered with ash-grey; throat
whitish; behind the eyes a double black bar; lateral tail-feathers black
towards the tip, with a white spot in the centre of the black ; abdomen
whitish. Length nine inches. Eggs unknown.

THOUGH the specific name Europzeus would seem to imply that

this bird is of frequent occurrence in Europe, this is not the case.

Not more than three or four have been observed in Great Britain,

at various intervals, from 1785 to 1827; and on the Continent

it is an equally rare visitor to the plains of Provence and Languedoc.

It is a native of Syria, Egypt, and Abyssinia, frequenting pools
and other moist situations. It is singularly fearless of man, and
when disturbed prefers to run, which it does very swiftly, rather than
to take flight. Its winter residence is supposed to be the central
lakes of Africa, from which it returns to the countries named above
early in autumn, and disappears at the approach of winter. Nothing
is known of its nidification. About the autumn of 1868 one was
shot in Lanarkshire.

THE GOLDEN PLOVER
CHARADRIUS PLUVIALIS

Winter—upper plumage dusky, spotted with yellow, cheeks, neck, and breast
mottled with ash-brown and buff; throat and abdomen white; quills
dusky, white along the shafts towards the end ; beak dusky, feet deep
ash-colour; irides brown. Summev—upper plumage greyish black,
spotted with bright yellow; forehead and space above the eyes white ;
sides of the neck white, mottled with black and yellow; lore, throat,
neck, and lower parts deep black. Length nine inches. Eggs yellowish
green, blotched and spotted with black.

Tue Golden Plover is a common bird in the south of England during
the winter months, and in the mountainous parts of Scotland and
the north of England during the rest of the year; yet so different
are its habits and plumage at the extremes of these two seasons,
that the young naturalist who has had no opportunities of observing
them in their transition stage, and has had no access to trustworthy

Kentish Plover 9 3 Grey Plover 7 (Summer and Winter)
Golden Plover 3

Ringed Plover young and Q [face p. 240.

THE GOLDEN PLOVER 241

books, might be forgiven for setting down the two forms of the
bird as distinct species.

In the hilly districts of the north of Europe, Golden Plovers are
numerous, sometimes being, with Ptarmigans, the only birds which
relieve the solitude of the desolate wastes. Though numerous in
the same localities, they are not gregarious during spring and
summer, and are remarkable for their fearlessness of man. So
tame, indeed, are they that, in little-frequented places, when dis-
turbed by the traveller they will run along the stony ground a few
yards in front of him, then fly a few yards, then stand and stare
and run along as before. On such occasions they frequently utter
their singular cry—the note so often referred to in Sir Walter Scott’s
poems—which, like the Nightingale’s song, is considered simply
plaintive or painfully woe-begone, according to the natural tem-
perament or occasional mood of the hearer. This bird builds no
nest ; a natural depression in the ground, unprotected by bush,
heather or rock, serves its purpose, and here the female lays four
eggs, much pointed at one end, and arranges them in accordance
with this.

At the approach of autumn, no matter where their summer may
have been passed, Plovers migrate southwards in large flights,
those from Scotland to the southern counties of England, where
they frequent wide moist pastures, heaths, and reclaimed marsh-
land. From the northern parts of the continent of Europe they
take their departure in October, either to the European shores of
the Mediterranean, or to the plains of Northern Africa. In these
migrations they are not unfrequently joined by Starlings. They
travel in close array, forming large flocks much wider than deep,
moving their sharp wings rapidly, and making a whizzing sound
which may be heard a long way off. Now and then, as if actuated
by a single impulse, they sweep towards the ground, suddenly alter
the direction of their flight, then wheel upwards with the regularity
of a machine, and either alight or pursue their onward course.
This habit of skimming along the ground and announcing their
approach beforehand, is turned to good purpose by the bird-catcher,
who imitates their note, attracts the whole flight to sweep down
into his neighbourhood, and captures them in his net, a hundred
at a time, or, when they are within range, has no difficulty in killing
from twelve to twenty at a shot. Not unfrequently, too, when
some members of a flock have been killed or wounded, the remainder,
before they remove out of danger, wheel round and sweep just over
the heads of their ill-fated companions, as if for the purpose of
inquiring the reason why they have deserted the party, or of alluring
them to join it once more. This habit is not peculiar to Plovers,
but may be noticed in the case of several of the seaside waders,
as Dunlins and Sanderlings. In severe winter weather they desert
the meadows, in which the worms have descended into the ground

B.B, R

242 ELE GRE YSPEOVER

beyond the reach of frost, and so of their bills, and resort to the
muddy or sandy sea-shore. In the Hebrides it is said that they do
not migrate at all, but simply content themselves with shifting
from the moors to the shore and back again, according to the weather.
In the northern parts of France, on the other hand, they are only
known as passengers on their way to the south. From making
their appearance in the rainy season they are there called fluviers,
whence our name Plover, which, however, is supposed by some
to have been given to them for their indicating by their movements
coming changes in the weather, in which respect indeed their skill
is marvellous.

The Golden Plover, sometimes called also Yellow Plover, and
Green Plover, is found at various seasons in most countries of
Europe ; but the Golden Plovers of Asia and America are considered
to be different species.

THE GREY PLOVER
SQUATAROLA HELVETICA

Wintey—forehead, throat, and under plumage, white, spotted on the neck
and flanks with grey and brown ; upper plumage dusky brown, mottled
with white and ash colour; long axillary feathers black or dusky ; tail
white, barred with brown and tipped with reddish; bill black; irides
dusky ; feet blackish grey. Swmmey—lore, neck, breast, belly, and
flanks, black, bounded by white; upper plumage and tail black and
white. Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs olive, spotted with
black.

Many of the Waders agree in wearing, during winter, plumage in

a great measure of a different hue from that which characterizes

them in summer ; and, as a general rule, the winter tint is lighter

than that of summer. This change is, in fact, but an extension of

the law which clothes several of the quadrupeds with a dusky or a

snowy fur in accordance with the season. The Grey Plover, as

seen in England, well deserves its name, for, as it frequents our
shores in the winter alone, it is only known to us as a bird grey
above and white below. But in summer the under plumage is
decidedly black, and in this respect it bears a close resemblance to
the Golden Plover, with which, in spite of the presence of a rudi-

mentary fourth toe, it is closely allied. My friend, the Rev. W. S.

Hore, informs me that he has seen them in Norfolk wearing the full

black plumage in May. The occurrence of the bird, however, in

this condition, in England, is exceptional; while in the northern
regions, both of the Old and New World, it must be unusual to see
an adult bird in any other than the sable plumage of summer.

The Grey Plover is a bird of extensive geographical range, being
known in Japan, India, New Guinea, the Cape of Good Hope, Egypt,

THE GREY PLOVER 243

the continent of Europe, and North America. In this country, as
I have observed, it occurs from autumn to spring, frequenting the
seashore, and picking up worms and other animal productions cast
up by the sea. Grey Plovers are less abundant than Golden
Plovers ; yet, in severe seasons they assemble in numerous small
flocks on the shores of the eastern counties, and, as Meyer well
observes, they are disposed to be “ sociable, not only towards their
own species, but to every other coast bird. When a party either
go towards the shore, or leave it for the meadows and flat wastes,
they unanimously keep together; but when alighting, they mix
with every other species, and thus produce a motley group.” They
fly in flocks, varying from five to twenty or more, keeping in a line,
more or less curved, or in two lines forming an angle. Their flight
is strong and rapid, rarely direct, but sweeping in wide semicircles.
As they advance they alternately show their upper and under
plumage, but more frequently the latter; for they generally keep at
a height of sixty or a hundred yards from the ground, in this respect
differing from Ringed Plovers, Dunlins, etc. Occasionally one or
two of the flock utter a loud whistle, which seems to be a signal for
all to keep close order. Just as Starlings habitually alight wherever
they see Rooks or Gulls feeding, so the Grey Plovers join themselves
on to any society of birds which has detected a good hunting-ground.
During a single walk along the sands I have observed them mixed
up with Dunlins, Knots, Gulls, Redshanks, and Royston Crows ;
but in no instance was I able to approach near enough to note their
habit of feeding. They were always up and away before any other
birds saw danger impending. In autumn they are less shy.

The people on the coast describe the Grey Plover as the shyest
of all the Waders, and could give me no information as to its habits ;
but Meyer, whose description of this bird is very accurate in other
respects, states that “its general appearance is peculiar to itself ;
it walks about on the ground slowly and with grace, and stops every
now and then to pick up its food ; it carries its body in a horizontal
position on straight legs, and its head very close to its body, conse-
quently increasing the thick appearance of the head.”

The Grey Plover breeds in high latitudes, making a slight hollow
in the ground, and employing a few blades of grass. It lays four
eggs, on which it sits so closely that it will almost be trodden on.
When thus disturbed its ways remind one of the Ringed Plover.

244 THE DOTTEREL

THE DOTTEREL
EUDROMIAS MORINELLUS

Winter—head dusky ash; over cach eye a reddish white band, meeting at
the nape ; face whitish, dotted with black ; back dusky ash, tinged with
green, the feathers edged with rust-red ; breast and flanks reddish ash ;
gorget white ; beak black ; irides brown ; feet greenish ash. Summer—
face and a band over the eyes white; head dusky; nape and sides of
the neck ash; feathers of the back, wing-coverts, and wing-feathers,
edged with deep red ; gorget white, bordered above by a narrow black
line ; lower part of the breast and flanks bright rust-red ; middle of the
belly black ; abdomen reddish white. Young birds have a reddish tinge
on the head, and the tail is tipped with red. Length nine inches and a
half. Eggs yellowish olive, blotched and spotted with dusky brown.

THE Dotterel, Little Dotard, or Morinellus, ‘little fool’, received
both the one and the other of its names from its alleged stupidity.
‘It is a silly bird’, says Willughby, writing in 1676; ‘but as an
article of food a great delicacy. It is caught in the night by lamp-
light, in accordance with the movements of the fowler. For if he
stretch out his arm, the bird extends a wing ; if he a leg, the bird
does the same. In short, whatever the fowler does, the Dotterel
does the same. And so intent is it on the movements of its pursuer,
that it is unawares entangled in the net.’ Such, at least, was the
common belief; and Pennant alludes to it, quoting the following
passage from the poet Drayton:

Most worthy man, with thee ‘tis ever thus,

As men take Dottrels, so hast thou ta’en us
Which, as a man his arme or leg doth set,

So this fond bird will likewise counterfeit.

In Pennant’s time, Dotterels were not uncommon in Cambridgeshire,
Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire, appearing in small flocks of eight or
ten only, from the latter end of April to the middle of June ; and
I have been informed by a gentleman in Norfolk that, not many
years since, they annually resorted also in small flocks to the plains
of that county. Of late years, owing most probably to their being
much sought after for the table, they have become more rare ; and
the same thing has taken place in France.

The Dotterel has been observed in many of the English counties
both in spring and autumn, and has been known to breed in the
mountainous parts of the north of England; but I may remark
that the name is frequently given in Norfolk and elsewhere to the
Ringed Plover, to which bird also belong the eggs collected on the
sea-coast, and sold as Dotterel’s eggs.

THE RINGED PLOVER 245

THE RINGED PLOVER
GIALITIS HIATICULA

lorehead, lore, sides of the face, gorget reaching round the neck, black; a
band across the forehead and through the eyes, throat, a broad collar,
and all the lower parts, white ; upper plumage ash-brown ; outer tail-
feather white, the next nearly so, the other feathers grey at the base,
passing into dusky and black, tipped with white, except the two middle
ones, Which have no white tips ; orbits, feet and beak orange, the latter
tipped with black. | Young—colours of the head dull; gorget incom-
plete, ash-brown ; bill dusky, tinged with orange at the base of the
lower mandible ; feet yellowish. Length seven and a half inches. Eggs
olive-yellow, with numerous black and grey spots.

On almost any part of the sea-coast of Britain, where there is a

wide expanse of sand left at low water, a bird may often be noticed,

not much larger than a Lark, grey above and white below, a patch
of black on the forehead and under the eye, a white ring round the
neck, and a black one below. _ If the wind be high, or rain be falling,
the observer will be able to get near enough to see these markings ;
for sea-birds generally are less acute observers in foul weather than
in fair. Ona nearer approach, the bird will fly up, uttering a soft,
sweet, plaintive whistle of two notes, and, having performed a
rapid, semicircular flight, will probably alight at no great distance,
and repeat its note. If it has settled on the plain sand or on the
water's edge, or near a tidal pool, it runs rapidly, without hopping,
stoops its head, picks up a worm, a portion of shell-fish, or a sand-
hopper, runs, stops, pecks, and runs again, but does not allow any
one to come so near as before. The next time that it alights, it
may select, perhaps, the beach of shells and pebbles above high-
water mark. Then it becomes at once invisible ; or, if the observer
be very keen-sighted, he may be able to detect it while it is in motion,
but then only. Most probably, let him mark ever so accurately with
his eye the exact spot on which he saw it alight, and let him walk
up to the spot without once averting his eye, he will, on his arrival,
find it gone. It has run ahead with a speed marvellous in so small

a biped, and is pecking among the stones a hundred yards off. Its

name is the Ringed Plover, or Ringed Dotterel. Fishermen on

the coast call it a Stone-runner, a most appropriate name ; others
call it a Sea Lark. In ornithological works it is described under
the former of these names.

The Ringed Plover frequents the shores of Great Britain all the
year round. It is a social bird, but less so in spring than at any
other season ; for the females are then employed in the important
business of incubation, and the males are too attentive to their
mates to engage in picnics on the sands. The nest is a simple
hollow in the sand, above high-water mark, or on the shingly beach ;
and here the female lays four large, pointed eggs, which are arranged
in the nest with all the small ends together. The young are able

246 THE KENTISH PLOVER

to run as soon as they break the shell; but, having no power of
flight for a long time, avoid impending danger by scattering and
hiding among the stones. The old bird, on such occasions, uses
her wings ; but not to desert her charge. She flies up to the intruder,
and, like other members of the same family, endeavours to entice
him away by counterfeiting lameness or some injury.

The Ringed Plover sometimes goes inland to rear her young, and
lays her eggs in a sandy warren, on the bank of a river or the margin
ofalake ; but when the young are able to fly, old and young together
repair to the seashore, collecting in flocks, and for the most part
continuing to congregate until the following spring. Their flight is
rapid and sweeping, consisting of a succession of curves, while per-
forming which they show sometimes their upper grey plumage, and
at other times the under, which is of a dazzling white. Occasionally,
too, as they wheel from one tack to another, every bird is lost sight
of, owing to the perfect unanimity with which, at the same instant,
they alter their course, and to the incapacity of the human eye to
follow the rapid change from a dark hue to a light.

Not unfrequently one falls in with a solitary individual which
has been left behind by its companions, or has strayed from the
flock. Such a bird, when disturbed, utters its whistle more fre-
quently than on ordinary occasions, and, as its note is not difficult
of imitation, I have often enticed a stray bird to fly close up to me,
answering all the while. But it has rarely happened that I have
succeeded in practising the deception on the same bird a second
time.

THE KENTISH PLOVER
AAGIALITIS CANTIANA

Forehead, a band over each eye, chin, cheeks, and under parts, white ; upper
part of the forehead, a band from the base of the beak extending through
the eye, and a large spot on each side of the breast, black ; head and nape
light brownish red; rest of the upper plumage ash-brown; two outer
tail-feathers white, the third whitish, the rest brown; beak, irides, and
feet, brown. Female wants the black spot on the forehead, and the other
parts black in the male are replaced by ash-brown. Length six and a
half inches. Eggs olive-yellow, spotted and speckled with black.

THE Kentish Plover differs from the preceding in its inferior size,

in having a narrower stripe of black on the cheeks, and in wanting

the black ring round the neck. It is found from time to time in
various parts of the country, breeding in Kent, Sussex and the

Channel Islands, but is most abundant on the shores of the Mediter-

ranean. Its habits resemble closely those of the allied species.

On the authority of the Greek historian Herodotus, a little bird
is found in Egypt called the Tréchilus, which is noted for the friendly

Curlew 5
Dotterel F Peewit 2

Norfolk Plover 2 [face p. 246.

THE LAPWING, OR PEEWIT 247

and courageous office it performs for the Crocodile. This unwieldy
monster, having no flexible tongue wherewith to cleanse its mouth,
comes on shore after its meals, opens its jaws, and allows the Tro-
chilus to enter and pick off the leeches and fragments of food, which,
adhering to its teeth, interfere, with its comfort. This story was
long believed to be a fable; but the French naturalist Geoffrey
de Saint Hilaire has, in modern times, confirmed the veracity of the
father of history, and pronounces the Tréchilus of the ancients to
be the Pluvier a Collier interrompu, the subject of the present chapter.
The Cayman of South America is also said to be indebted for a
similar service to the kindly offices of a little bird, which, however,
is not a Plover, but a Toddy.

THE LAPWING, OR PEEWIT

VANELLUS VULGARIS

Feathers on the back of the head elongated and curved upwards ; head, crest
and breast, glossy black ; throat, sides of the neck, belly and abdomen
white ; under tail-coverts yellowish red; upper plumage dark green
with purple reflections ; tail, when expanded, displaying a large semi-
circular graduated black patch on a white disk, outer feather on each
side wholly white; bill dusky; feet reddish brown. Young—throat
dull white, mottled with dusky and tinged with red; upper feathers
tipped with dull yellow. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs olive-
brown to stone buff, blotched and spotted with dusky black.

THE Peewit, or Green Plover, as it is sometimes called, is among
the best known birds indigenous to the British Isles. This
notoriety it owes to several causes. The lengthened feathers on
the back of its head, forming a crest, at once distinguish it from
every other British Wader. Its peculiar flight, consisting of a
series of wide slow flappings with its singularly rounded wings,
furnishes a character by which it may be recognized at a great
distance; and its strange note, resembling the word ‘ peweet ’
uttered in a high screaming tone, cannot be mistaken for the note
of any other bird. In London and other large towns of England
its eggs also are well known to most people ; for ‘ Plovers’ eggs’,
as they are called, are considered great delicacies.

Peewits are found in abundance in most parts of Europe and Asia
from Ireland to Japan. They are essentially Plovers in all their
habits, except, perhaps, that they do not run so rapidly as some
others of the tribe. They inhabit the high grounds in open countries,
the borders of lakes and marshes and low unenclosed wastes, and
may not unfrequently be seen in the large meadows, which in
some districts extend from the banks of rivers. They are partially
migratory ; hence they may appear at a certain season in some
particular spot, and be entirely lost sight of for many

248 OYSTER CATCHER

months. Individuals which have been bred in high latitudes are
more precise in their periods of migration than those bred in the
south. In Kamtschatka, for instance, their southern migration
is so regular that the month of October has received the name of
the ‘Lapwing month’. In Britain their wanderings are both more
uncertain and limited ; for, though they assemble in flocks in autumn,
they only migrate from exposed localities to spots which, being
more sheltered, afford them a better supply of food.

In April and May these birds deposit their eggs, making no further
preparation than that of bringing together a few stalks and placing
them ina shallow depression in the ground. The number of eggs is
always four, and they are placed in the orderso common among the
Waders, crosswise. Lapwings are to a certain extent social ,even
in the breeding season, in so far that a considerable number usually
frequent the same marsh or common. It is at this season that
they utter most frequently their characteristic cry, a note which is
never musical, and heard by the lonely traveller (as has happened
to myself more than once by night) is particularly wild, harsh, and
dispiriting. Now, too, one may approach near enough to them to
notice the winnowing movement of their wings, which has given
them the name of Lapwing in England and Vanneau in France
(from van,a fan). The young are able to run as soon as they have
burst the shell, and follow their parents to damp ground, where
worms, slugs, and insects are most abundant. When the young
have acquired the use of their wings, the families of a district unite
into flocks. They are then very wary, and can rarely be approached
without difficulty ; but as they are considered good eating, many
of them fall before the fowler.

OYSTER CATCHER
HEMATOPUS OSTRATEGUS

THE plumage of this species is entirely black and white ; head,
neck, scapulars and terminal half of the tail black ; rump, upper
tail-coverts white ; legs and toes pink ; eyelids crimson. Length,
sixteen inches. The young have the feathers of the back and
wings margined with brown. The Oyster Catcher inhabits the
shores of Great Britain and Ireland throughout the year. The
first time I came upon a flock of these birds I was able to approach
them nearer than on any other occasion. They frequently uttered
a harsh note ina high key which, though unmusical, harmonized
well with the scenery. I had many other opportunities of
observing them on the shores of the Scottish lochs, and I was

OYSTER CATCHER 249

once induced, on the recommendation of a friend, to have one
served up for dinner as an agreeable variation from the bacon and
herrings which mainly constitute the dietary of a Scottish fishing-
village inn. But I did not repeat the experiment, preferring fish
pure and simple to fish served up through the medium of a fowl.
The nature of its food sufficiently accounts for its strong flavour,
Oyster Catchers frequent rocky promontories or the broad banks
of mud, sand, and ooze, which stretch out from low portions of
the coast. Here they feed on mussels and other bivalves, limpets,
worms, crustacea, and small fish; mixing freely with other birds
while on the ground, but keeping to themselves while performing
their flights. In their mode of using their wings they remind the
spectator of Ducks rather than of Plovers, and they advance in
a line, sometimes in single file, one after another, but more fre-
quently wing by wing. When they alight, too, it is not with a
circular sweep, but with a sailing movement. When the mud-
banks are covered by the tide they move to a short distance
inland, and pick up slugs and insects in the meadows, or betake
themselves to salt marshes and rocky headlands. They have also
been observed many miles away from the coast ; but this is a rare
occurrence. Their nest is generally a slight depression among
the shingle above high-water mark; but on rocky shores they
make an attempt at a nest, collecting a few blades of grass and
scraps of sea-weed. They lay three or four eggs, and the young
are able to run soon after breaking the shell.

In high latitudes Oyster Catchers are migratory, leaving their
breeding grounds in autumn, and returning in the spring; con-
sequently, those coasts from which they never depart afford an
asylum in winter to vast numbers of strangers, in addition to their
native population. On the coast of Norfolk, for example, they
are to be seen in small parties all through the summer; but in
winter, especially if it be a severe one, they may be reckoned by
thousands. They here seem to have favourite spots on which to
pass the night. One of these is what is called the “‘ Eastern point ”’
of Brancaster Marsh, a place of perfect security, for it is difficult
of access under any circumstances, and cannot be approached at
all with any chance of concealment on the part of the intruder.
Towards this point I have seen line after line winging their way,
all about the same hour, just before sunset, all following the line
of the coast, but taking care to keep well out at sea, and all ad-
vancing with perfect regularity, every individual in a company
being at the same height above the water. They are very wary
at this season, insomuch that though I must have seen many
thousands, and examined upwards of twenty species of sea-shore
birds, which had been shot in the neighbourhood, not a single
Oyster Catcher was brought to me.

A common name for this bird is Sea-pie, another appropriate

250 THE TURNSTONE

one is ‘ Mussel picker’; and it is thought that ‘Catcher ’ comes
from the Dutch aekster (magpie). The note is a shrill keep, keep.
It swims well, and sometimes it will take to the water of its own
accord. Although the nest is commonly on shingle or among
sand-hills, or a tussock of sea-pink on a narrow ledge of rock, Mr.
Howard Saunders has seen eggs of this bird in the emptied nest of
a Herring-gull and on the summit of a lofty ‘ stack.’

THE TURNSTONE
STREPSILAS INTERPRES

Crown reddish white, with longitudinal black streaks ; upper part of the back,
scapulars, and wing-coverts, rusty brown, spotted with black ; rest of the
plumage variegated with black and white; bill and irides black; feet
orange-yellow. Length nine inches. Eggs greenish-grey, blotched
and spotted with slate and brown.

TuHeETurnstone is a regular annual visitor tothe shores of Great Britain,
and indeed of almost every other country, having been observed
as far north as Greenland, and as far south as the Straits of Magellan ;
but it is rarely inland. It arrives on our coasts about the be-
ginning of August, not in large flocks like the Plovers, but in small
parties, each of which, it is conjectured, constitutes a family. It
is a bird of elegant form and beautiful parti-coloured plumage,
active in its habits, a nimble runner, and an indefatigable hunter
after food. In size it is intermediate between the Grey Plover
and Sanderling, being about as big as a Thrush. The former of
these birds it resembles in its disposition to feed in company with
birds of different species, and its impatience of the approach of
man. For this latter reason it does not often happen that any
one can get near enough to these birds to watch their manceuvres
while engaged in the occupation from which they have derived
their name, though their industry is often apparent from the num-
ber of pebbles and shells found dislodged from their socket on the
sands where a family has been feeding. Audubon, who had the
good fortune to fall in with a party on a retired sea-coast, where
owing to the rare appearance of human beings, they were less fearful
than is their wont, describes their operations with his usual felicity :
‘‘They were not more than fifteen or twenty yards distant, and I
was delighted to see the ingenuity with which they turned over
the oyster-shells, clods of mud, and other small bodies left exposed
by the retiring tide. Whenever the object was not too large, the
bird bent its legs to half their length, placed its bill beneath it, and

Avocet.
Red-necked Phalarope. Grey Phalarope ?
Bar-tailed Godwit 2

[face p. 250.

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THE TURNSTONE 251

with a sudden quick jerk of the head pushed it off, when it quickly
picked up the food which was thus exposed to view, and walked
deliberately to the next shell to perform the same operation. In
several instances, when the clusters of oyster-shells or clods of
mud were too heavy to be removed in the ordinary way, they would
not only use the bill and head, but also the breast, pushing the
object with all their strength, and reminding me of the labour
which I have undergone in turning over a large turtle. Among the
seaweeds that had been cast on shore, they used only the bill,
tossing the garbage from side to side with a dexterity extremely
pleasant to behold.t In like manner I saw there four Turnstones
examine almost every part of the shore along a space of from thirty
to forty yards ; after which I drove them away, that our hunters
might not kill them on their return.’’

A writer in the Zoologist” gives an equally interesting account
of the successful efforts of two Turnstones to turn over the dead
body of a cod-fish, nearly three and a half feet long, which had
been imbedded in the sand to about the depth of two inches.

For an account of the habits of the Turnstone during the
breeding season—it never breeds with us—we are indebted to Mr.
Hewitson, who fell in with it on the coast of Norway. He says,
‘We had visited numerous islands with little encouragement, and
were about to land upon a flat rock, bare, except where here and
there grew tufts of grass or stunted juniper clinging to its surface,
when our attention was attracted by the singular cry of a Turnstone,
which in its eager watch had seen our approach, and perched itself
upon an eminence of the rock, assuring us, by its querulous oft-
repeated note and anxious motions, that its nest was there. We
remained in the boat a short time, until we had watched it behind
a tuft of grass, near which, after a minute search, we succeeded in
finding the nest in a situation in which I should never have expected
to meet a bird of this sort breeding ; it was placed against a ledge
of the rock, and consisted of nothing more than the dropping leaves
of the juniper bush, under a creeping branch of which the eggs,
four in number, were snugly concealed, and admirably sheltered
from the many storms by which these bleak and exposed rocks are
visited. .

1 From this habit, the Turnstone is in Norfolk called a ‘ Tangle-picker ’.—
(Cs INS Me
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THE AVOCET

FAMILY SCOLOPACID/

THE AVOCEr

RECURVIROSTRA AVOCETTA

General plumage white; crown, nape, scapulars, lesser wing-coverts, and
primaries, black; bill black; irides reddish brown; feet bluish ash.
Length eighteen inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched and spotted with
dusky.

Tuts bird has become so rare, that having recently applied to two
several collectors in Norfolk, once the headquarters of the Avocet,
to know if they could procure me a specimen, I was told by one that
they were not seen oftener than once in seven years—by the other,
that it was very rare, and if attainable at all could not be purchased
for less than five pounds. In Ray’s time it was not unfrequent on
the eastern maritime coasts. Small flocks still arrive in May and now
and again in the autumn, but collectors never allow them to breed.
They used to rest on the flat shores of Kent and Sussex. Sir
Thomas Browne says of it: ‘ Avoseta, called shoeing horn, a tall
black and white bird, with a bill semicircularly reclining or bowed
upward ; so that it is not easy to conceive how it can feed; a
summer marsh bird, and not unfrequent in marsh land.’ Pennant,
writing of the same bird, says: ‘ These birds are frequent in the
winter on the shores of this kingdom; in Gloucestershire, at the
Severn’s mouth; and sometimes on the lakes of Shropshire. We
have seen them in considerable numbers in the breeding season near
Fossdike Wash, in Lincolnshire. Like the Lapwing, when disturbed,
they flew over our heads, carrying their necks and long legs quite
extended, and made a shrill noise (¢w7t) twice repeated, during the
whole time. The country people for this reason call them Yelpers,
and sometimes distinguish them by the name of Picarimt. They
feed on worms and insects, which they suck with their bills out of
the sand; their search after food is frequently to be discovered
on our shores by alternate semicircular marks in the sand, which
show their progress.! They lay three or four eggs, about the size of
those of a Pigeon, white, tinged with green and marked with large
black spots.’ Even so recent an authority as Yarrell remembers
having found in the marshes near Rye a young one of this species,
which appeared to have just been hatched; he took it up in his
hands, while the old birds kept flying round him.

The Avocet is met with throughout a great part of the Old World,

1 Tt is not a little singular that the Spoonbill, a bird which strongly con-

trasts with the Avocet in the form of its bill, ploughs the sand from one side
to another, while hunting for its food.

THE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE 253

and is said to be not unfrequent in Holland and France. A writer
of the latter country says that ‘ by aid of its webbed feet it is enabled
to traverse, without sinking, the softest and wettest mud ; this it
searches with its curved bill, and when it has discovered any prey,
a worm for instance, it throws it adroitly into the air, and catches
it with its beak’.

hie GREY PMArAROPRE

PHALAROPUS FULICARIUS

Wintey—plumage in front and beneath white ; back of the head, car-coverts,
and a streak down the nape, dusky ; back pearl-grey, the feathers dusky
in the centre, a white transverse bar on the wings ; tail-feathers brown,
edged with ash; bill brown, yellowish red at the base; irides reddish
yellow; feet greenish ash. Suwmmerv—head dusky; face and nape
white ; feathers of the back dusky, bordered with orange-brown ; front
and lower plumage brick-red. Length eight inches and a half. Eggs
grecnish stone colour, blotched and spotted with dusky.

Tue Grey Phalarope, without being one of our rarest birds, is not
of irregular occurrence. Its proper home is in the Arctic regions,
from whence it migrates southward in winter. It is a bird of varied
accomplishments, flying rapidly like the Snipes, running after the
fashion of the Sandpipers, and swimming with the facility of the
Ducks. In all these respects it does not belie its appearance, its
structure being such that a naturalist would expect, @ priort, that
these were its habits. During the breeding season, the Phalarope
quits the sea, its usual haunt, and repairs to the seashore, where it
builds a neat nest, in a hollow of the ground, with grass and other
weeds, and lays four eggs. The usual time of its appearance in
Great Britain is autumn; sometimes it comes then in numbers ;
but specimens have been obtained in winter. On all these occasions
it has shown itself singularly fearless of man.

THE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE

PHALAROPUS HYPERBOREUS

Head deep ash-grey ; throat white; neck bright rust-red ; under plumage
white, blotched on the flanks with ash ; back black, the feathers bordered
with rust-red ; a white bar across the wing; two middle tail-feathers
black, the rest ash, edged with white; bill black; irides brown; feet
greenish ash. Length seven inches. Eggs dark olive, closely spotted
with black.

Tue Red-necked Phalarope, or Lobefoot, is, like the preceding
species, an inhabitant of the Arctic regions, but extends its circle

254 THE WOODCOCK

of residence so far as to include the Orkney Islands, in which numer-
ous specimens have been obtained. It builds its nest of grass, in
the marshes or on the islands in the lakes, and lays four eggs. The
most marked habit of these birds seems to be that of alighting at
sea on beds of floating seaweed, and indifferently swimming about
in search of food, or running, with light and nimble pace, after the
manner of a Wagtail. They are often met with thus employed at
the distance of a hundred miles from land. They are described as
being exceedingly tame, taking little notice of the vicinity of men,
and unaffected by the report of a gun.

THE WOODCOCK

SCOLOPAX RUSTICOLA

Back of the head barred transversely with dusky ; upper plumage mottled
with chestnut, yellow, ash, and black ; lower reddish yellow, with brown
zigzag lines; quills barred on their outer web with rust-red and black ;
tail of twelve feathers tipped above with grey, below with silvery white ;
bill flesh-colour ; feet livid. Length thirteen inches. Eggs dirty yellow,
blotched and spotted with brown and grey.

THE history of the Woodcock as a visitor in the British Isles is briefly
as follows: Woodcocks come to us from the south in autumn, the
earliest being annually observed about the twentieth of October. On
their first arrival, they are generally found to be in bad condition ; so
weak, in fact, that I recollect many instances of flights having
reached the coasts of Cornwall, only able to gain the land. Their
condition at these times is one of extreme exhaustion ; and they
become the prey, not only of the sportsman, but are knocked down
with a stick, or caught alive. In the course of a very few days
they are enabled to recruit their strength, when they make their
way inland. They have been known even to settle on the deck of
a ship at sea, in order to rest ; or actually to alight for a few moments
in the smooth water of the ship’s wake. Their usual places of
resort by day are woods and coppices in hilly districts, whither they
repair for shelter and concealment. Disliking cold, they select,
in preference, the side of a valley which is least exposed to the wind ;
and though they never perch on a branch, they prefer the conceal-
ment afforded by trees to that of any other covert. There, crouch-
ing under a holly, or among briers and thorns, they spend the day
in inactivity, guarded from molestation by their stillness, and by
the rich brown tint of their plumage, which can hardly be distin-
guished from dead leaves. Their large prominent bead-like eyes
are alone likely to betray them; and this, it is said, is sometimes

THE WOODCOCK 255

the case. So conscious do they seem that their great security lies in
concealment, that they will remain motionless until a dog is almost
on them or until the beater reaches the very bush under which they
are crouching. When at length roused, they start up with a whirr,
winding and twisting through the overhanging boughs, and make
for the nearest open place ahead; now, however, flying in almost a
straight line, till discovering another convenient lurking-place,
they descend suddenly, to be ‘ marked’ for another shot. About
twilight, the Woodcock awakens out of its lethargy, and repairs
to its feeding-ground. Observation having shown that on these
occasions it does not trouble itself to mount above the trees before
it starts, but makes for the nearest clear place in the wood through
which it gains the open country, fowlers were formerly in the habit
of erecting in glades in the woods, two high poles, from which was
suspended a fine net. This was so placed as to hang across the
course which the birds were likely to take, and when a cock flew
against it, the net was suddenly made to drop by the concealed
fowler, and the bird caught, entangled in the meshes. Not many
years ago, these nets were commonly employed in the woods, near
the coast of the north of Devon, and they are said still to be in use
on the Continent. The passages through which the birds flew
were known by the name of ‘cockroads’, and ‘ cockshoots’.
The localities which Woodcocks most frequent are places which
abound in earthworms, their favourite food. These they obtain
either by turning over lumps of decaying vegetable matter and
picking up the scattered worms, or by thrusting their bills into the
soft earth, where (guided by scent it is supposed) they speedily find
any worm lying hid, and having drawn it out, swallow it whole,
with much dexterity. When the earth is frozen hard, they shift
their ground, repairing to the neighbourhood of the sea, or of springs ;
and now, probably, they are less select in their diet, feeding on any
living animal matter that may fall in their way. In March they
change their quarters again, preparatory to quitting the country ;
hence it often happens that considerable numbers are seen at this
season in places where none had been observed during the previous
winter. They now have a call-note, though before they have been
quite mute ; it is said by some to resemble the syllables pztt-pitt-
coor, by others to be very like the croak of a frog. The French have
invented the verb crower, to express it, and distinguish Woodcock
shooting by the name crotile. Some sportsmen wisely recommend
that no Woodcock should be shot after the middle of February ; for it
has been ascertained that increasing numbers of these remain for
the purpose of breeding in this country; and it is conjectured, with
reason, that if they were left undisturbed in their spring haunts,
they would remain in yet larger numbers. As it is, there are few
counties in England in which their nest has not been discovered ;
and there are some few localities in which it is one of the pleasant

256 THE GREAT SNIPE

sights of the evening, at all seasons of the year, to watch the Wood-
cocks repairing from the woods to their accustomed feeding-
ground.

The nest is built of dry leaves, principally of fern, and placed
among dead grass, in dry, warm situations, and contains four eggs,
which, unlike those of the Snipes, are nearly equally rounded at
each end.

There have been recorded numerous instances in which a
Woodcock has been seen carrying its young through the air to
water, holding the nestling between her thighs pressed close to her
body.

During its flight, the Woodcock invariably holds its beak pointed
in a “direction towards the ground. Young birds taken from the
nest are easily reared ; and afford much amusement by the skill
they display in extracting worms from sods with which they are
supplied. The Woodcock is found in all countries of the eastern
hemisphere where trees grow; but it is only metas a straggler
on the Atlantic coast of the United States.

THE GREAT SNIPE

GALLINAGO MAJOR

Crown black, divided longitudinally by a yellowish white band ; a streak of
the same colour over each eye ; from the beak to the eye a streak of dark
brown ; upper plumage mottled with black and chestnut-brown, some
of the feathers edged with straw-colour ; greater wing-coverts tipped
with white ; under parts whitish, spotted and barred with black; tail
of sixteen fedthers; bill brown, flesh-coloured at the base. Length
eleven and a half inches. Eggs brownish olive, spotted with reddish
brown.

THE Great Snipe, Solitary Snipe or Double Snipe, is intermediate
in size between the Woodcock and Common Snipe. Though not
among the rarest of our visitants, it is far from common. It is,
however, an annual visitor, and is seen most frequently in the
eastern counties in the autumn. Its principal resorts are low damp
meadows and grassy places near marshes, but it does not frequent
swamps like its congeners. This difference in its haunts implies a
different diet, and this bird, it is stated, feeds principally on the larvee
or grubs of Tipule (known by the common name of Father Daddy-
Long-legs), which are in summer such voracious feeders on the roots
of grass. It breeds in the northern countries of Europe, and in
some parts of Sweden is so abundant that as many as fifty haye

Great Snipe Jack Snipe g

Common Snipe Woodcock g

(face Pp 256.

THE COMMON SNiPE 2

been shot in a day. When disturbed on its feeding-ground, it rises
without uttering any note, and usually drops in again, at no great
distance, after the manner of the Jack Snipe. It may be distin-
guished by its larger size, and by carrying its tail spread like a fan.
In the northern countries where it breeds it is found most commonly
in the meadows after hay-harvest, and as it is much prized for the
delicacy of its flesh it is a favourite object of sport. It is remarkable
for being always in exceedingly good condition, a remark which
applies to specimens procured in this country as well as those shot
in Sweden. The nest, which has rarely been seen, is placed in a
tuft of grass, and contains four eggs. The Zoologist once mentioned
the fact of four solitary Snipes being killed in the county of Durham
in August, and two of these were young birds, scarcely fledged,

THE COMMON SNIPE

GALLINAGO CA&LESTIS

Upper plumage very like the last ; chin and throat reddish white ; lower parts
white, without spots ; flanks barred transversely with white and dusky ;
tail of fourteen feathers. Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs light
greenish yellow, spotted with brown and ash.

THE Common Snipe is a bird of very general distribution, being
found in all parts of the eastern hemisphere, from Ireland to Japan,
and from Siberia to the Cape of Good Hope. It is common also
in many parts of America, especially Carolina, and is frequent in
many of the American islands. In Britain Snipes are most numer-
ous in the winter, their numbers being then increased by arrivals
from high latitudes, from which they are driven by the impossi-
bility of boring for food in ground hardened by frost or buried be-
neath snow. In September and October large flocks of these birds
arrive in the marshy districts of England, stopping sometimes for
a short time only, and then proceeding onwards ; but being like
many other birds, gregarious at no other time than when making
their migrations, when they have arrived at a district where they
intend to take up their residence, they scatter themselves over
marsh land, remaining in each other’s neighbourhood perhaps, but
showing no tendency to flock together. Their food consists of the
creeping things which live in mud, and to this, it is said by some,
they add small seeds and fine vegetable fibre ; but it is questionable
whether this kind of food is not swallowed by accident, mixed up
with more nourishing diet. The end of their beak is furn‘shed
with a soft pulpy membrane, which in all probability is highly
BB, S

258 THE COMMON SNIPE

sensitive, and enables the bird to discover by the touch the worms
which, being buried in mud, are concealed from its sight. Snipes
when disturbed always fly against the wind, so when suddenly
scared from their feeding-ground, and compelled to rise without
any previous intention on their part, they seem at first uncertain
which course to take, but twist and turn without making much
progress in any direction ; but in a few seconds, having decided on
their movements, they dart away with great rapidity, uttering at
the same time a sharp cry of two notes, which is difficult to describe,
but once heard can scarcely be mistaken. When a bird on such
an occasion is fired at, it often happens that a number of others,
who have been similarly occupied, rise at the report, and after
having performed a few mazy evolutions, dart off in the way
described. At other times they lie so close that beween the sportsman
and the bird which he has just killed there may be others concealed,
either unconscious of danger, or trusting for security to their powers
of lying hid. This tendency to lie close, or the reverse, depends
much on the weather, though why it should be so seems not to have
been decided. But the movements of Snipes generally are governed
by laws of which we know little or nothing. At one season they
will be numerous in a certain marsh; the next year perhaps not
one will visit the spot ; to-day, they will swarm in a given locality ;
a night’s frost will drive them all away, and a change of wind a few
days after will bring them all back again. If very severe weather
sets in they entirely withdraw, but of this the reason is obvious ;
the frozen state of the marsh puts a stop to their feeding. They
then retire to milder districts, to springs which are never frozen,
to warm nooks near the sea, or to salt marshes. Perhaps the
majority perform a second migration southwards; for, as a rule,
they are most numerous at the two periods of autumn and spring—
that is, while on their way to and from some distant winter-
quarters. After March they become far less frequent, yet there
are few extensive marshes, especially in Scotland and the north of
England, where some do not remain to breed. At this season a
striking change in their habits makes itself perceptible. A nest is
built of withered grass, sometimes under the shelter of a tuft of
heath or reeds, and here the female sits closely on four eggs. The
male, meanwhile, is feeding in some neighbouring swamp, and if
disturbed, instead of making off with his zig-zag winter’s flight,
utters his well-remembered note and ascends at a rapid rate into
the air, now ascending with a rapid vibration of wing, wheeling,
falling like a parachute, mounting again, and once more descending
with fluttering wings, uttering repeatedly a note different from his
cry of alarm, intermixed with a drumming kind of noise, which
has been compared to the bleat of a goat. This last sound is pro-
duced by the action of the wings, assisted by the tail-feathers, in his
descents. One of its French names is Chévre volant, flying goat, and

Knot 3.

Wood Sandpiper. Sanderling 3

Whimbrel J (face p. 258.

THE JACK SNIPE 280

the Scottish name ‘ Heather-bleater ’, was also given to it as descrip-
tive of its peculiar summer note. The female sits closely on her
eggs, and if disturbed while in charge of her yet unfledged brood,
endeavours to distract the attention of an intruder from them to
herself by the artifice already described as being employed by others
of the Waders.

‘Sabine’s Snipe’, which was at one time thought to be a distinct
species, is now admitted to be a melanism, a dark variety of the
Common Snipe, recent examination of specimens having proved
that its tail contains fourteen feathers and not twelve only, as was
supposed. It is seldom found outside Great Britain.

ES PACKS SNIPE
GALLINAGO GALLINULA

Crown divided longitudinally by a black band edged with reddish brown ,
beneath this on either side a parallel yellowish band reaching from the
bill to the nape; back beautifully mottled with buff, reddish brown, and
black, the latter lustrous with green and purple ; neck and breast spotted ;
belly and abdomen pure white; tail of twelve feathers, dusky edged
with reddish grey; bill dusky, lighter towards the base. Length eight
and a half inches. Eggs yellowish olive, spotted with brown.

As the Great Snipe has been called the Double Snipe, on account
of its being superior in size to the common species, so the subject
of the present chapter is known as the Half Snipe, from being con-
trasted with the same bird, and being considerably smaller. The
present species is far less abundant than the Common Snipe; yet
still it is often seen, more frequently, perhaps, than the other, by
non-sporting observers, for it frequents not only downright marshes,
but the little streams which meander through meadows, the sides
of grassy ponds, and the drains by the side of canals, where the
ordinary pedestrian, if accompanied by a dog, will be very likely
to put one up. Its food and general habits are much the same as
those of the Common Snipe ; but it rises and flies off without any
note. Its flight is singularly crooked until it has made up its mind
which direction it intends to take ; indeed it seems to decide even-
tually on the one which was at first most unlikely to be its path,
and after having made a short round composed of a series of dis-
jointed curves, it either returns close to the spot from which it was
started, or suddenly drops, as by a sudden impulse, into a ditch a
few gunshots off. I have seen one drop thus within twenty yards
of the spot where I stood, and though I threw upwards of a dozen
stones into the place where I saw it go down, it took no notice of
them. It was only by walking down the side of the ditch, beating
the rushes with a stick, that I induced it to rise again. It then

260 THE SANDERLING

flew off in the same way as before, and dropped into the little stream
from which I had first started it.

From this habit of lying so close as to rise under the very feet of
the passenger, as well as from its silence, it is called in France la
Sourde, ‘deaf’. In the same country it is known also as ‘St.
Martin’s Snipe ’, from the time of its arrival in that country, Novem-
ber 11 ; with us it is an earlier visitor, coming about the second week
in September.

A few instances are recorded of the Jack Snipe having been seen
in this country at a season which would lead to the inference that
it occasionally breeds here ; but no instance of its doing so has been
ascertained as a fact.

THE SANDERLING
CALIDRIS ARENARIA

Winter—upper plumage and sides of the neck whitish ash; cheeks and all
the under plumage, pure white; bend and edge of the wing and quills
blackish grey ; tail deep grey, edged with white; bill, irides, and feet,
black. Swmmeyv—cheeks and crown black, mottled with rust-red and
white ; neck and breast reddish ash with black and white spots; back
and scapulars deep rust-red, spotted with black, all the feathers edged
and tipped with white; wing-coverts dusky, with reddish lines, and
tipped with white; two middle tail-feathers dusky, with reddish edges.
Young in autumn—cheeks, head, nape, and back variously mottled
with black, brown, grey, rust-red and dull white. Length eight inches.
Eggs olive, spotted and speckled with black.

THE early flocks of Sanderlings often consist of old as well as young

birds, which is not the common rule with Waders. They are plenti-

ful on our sandy shores, and they sometimes visit inland waters.

By April the return passage begins. The note is a shrill wick /

They arrive on our shores early in autumn, keeping together in

small flocks, or joining the company of Dunlins, or Ringed Plovers.

In spring they withdraw to high latitudes, where they breed ;

they are not, however, long absent. Yarrell mentions his having

obtained specimens as late as April and June, and I have myself
obtained them as early as the end of July, having shot at Hunstan-
ton, on the coast of Norfolk, several young birds of the year, on the

twenty-third of that month; and on another occasion I obtained a

specimen on the sands of Abergele, in North Wales, in August. This

leaves so very short a time for incubation and the fledging of the
young, that it is probable that a few birds, at least, remain to breed in
this country, or do not retire very far north. Little is known of their
habits during the season of incubation, but they are said to make
their nests in the marshes, of grass, and to lay four eggs.

Like many other shore birds, they have an extensive geographical
range, and are found in all latitudes, both in the eastern and western
hemispheres,

THE KNOT 261

THE CURLEW SANDPIPER
TRINGA SUBARQUATA

Bil curved downwards, much longer than the head. Wintey — upper tail-
coverts and all the under parts white; upper plumage ash-brown,
mottled with darker brown and whitish; breast the same colours, but
much lighter; bill black; iris brown; feet dusky. Swmmer—crown
black, mottled with reddish; under plumage chestnut-red, speckled
with brown and white ; much of the upper plumage black, mottled with
red and ash. Length seven and a half inches. Eggs yellowish, with
brown spots.

Tus bird, called also the Pigmy Curlew, is of about the same size
as the far commoner Dunlin, from which it is distinguished not
only by the difference in the colour of its plumage, but by the greater
length of its beak, which is curved downwards. Pigmy Curlews
are observed from time to time in this country at the periods of
autumn and spring, and it is said that a few remain with us to
breed, but their nest and eggs have never been detected. In their
habits they resemble the Dunlins, from which they may readily
be distinguished, even when flying, by their white upper tail-
coverts. They are of wide geographical range, but nowhere
abundant, and visit us on passage in spring and autumn.

THE KNOT

TRINGA CANUTUS

Beak straight, a little longer than the head, much dilated towards the tip ;
tail even at the extremity ; a small part of the tibia naked. Wéanter
throat and abdomen white; breast and flanks white, barred with ash-
brown; upper plumage ash-grey, mottled with brown; wing-coverts
tipped with white; rump and upper tail-coverts white, with black
crescents ; bill and legs greenish black. | Swmmey—streak over the eye,
nape, and all the under plumage, rusty-red, the nape streaked with black ;
back streaked and spotted with black, red, and grey. The upper
plumage of young birds is mottled with reddish brown, grey, black, and
dull white; legs dull green. Length ten inches. Eggs unknown.

THE Knot, Willughby informs us, is so called from having been
a favourite dish of King Canutus, or Knute. It is a migratory
bird, visiting the coasts of Great Britain early in autumn, and
remaining here till spring, when it retires northwards to breed.
During the intervening months it keeps exclusively to the sandy
or muddy seashore, assembling in small flocks, and mixing freely
with Dunlins, Sanderlings, and Purple Sandpipers. Some authors
state that it feeds principally early and late in the day, and during
moonlight nights; but I have seen it on the coast of Norfolk in
winter feeding at all hours of the day in company with the birds
mentioned above, and differing little from them in the mode of
obtaining its food. But I remarked on several occasions that,

262 THE DUNLIN

when a flock was disturbed, the Knots often remained behind,
being less fearful of the presence of man; in consequence of which
tardiness in rising they more than once fell to our guns after their
companions had flown off. On their first arrival, they are said to
be so indifferent to the vicinity of human beings that it is not difficult
to knock them down with stones. Their provincial name in Nor-
folk is the Green-legged Shank, the latter name, Shank, being
applied for shortness to the Redshank. Dr. Richardson states that
‘ Knots were observed breeding on Melville Peninsula by Captain
Lyon, who tells us that they lay four eggs on a tuft of withered grass,
without being at the pains of forming any nest.’

Flocks of young make their appearance early in August, the
adults arriving a little later.

THE, DUNELN
TRINGA ALPINA

Bill a little longer than the head, slightly bent down at the tip; two middle
tail-feathers the longest, dusky and pointed; a small part of the
tibia naked. Wdanter—throat and a streak between the bill and eye
white ; upper plumage ash-brown streaked with dusky; upper tail-
coverts dusky; lateral tail-feathers ash, edged with white; breast
greyish white, mottled with brown ; bill black; feet dusky. Summer—
most of the upper plumage black, edged with rust-red ; belly and abdo-
men black. Young birds have the upper plumage variously mottled
with ash-brown, dusky, and reddish yellow; the bill is shorter and
straight. Length eight inches. Eggs greenish white, blotched and
spotted with brown.

THE name variabilis, changeable, has been applied to this species
of Sandpiper on account of the great difference between its summer
and winter plumage. It was formerly, indeed, supposed that the
two states of the bird were distinct species ; of which the former
was called Dunlin, the latter Purre. It is now known that the two
are identical, the bird being commonly found to assume in spring
and autumn colours intermediate between the two.

Except during the three summer months, May, June, and July, the
Dunlin is common onall the shores of Great Britain, where there are
extensive reaches of sand or mud. I have obtained specimens on
the coast of Norfolk as early as the twenty-fifth of July ; but, gener-
ally, it is not until the following month that they become numerous.
From this time until late in the winter they are reinforced by con-
stant additions ; and in very severe weather the flocks are increased
to such an extent that, if it were possible to number them, they
would be probably found to contain very many thousands. Such
a season was the memorable winter of 1860-61, when, during the
coldest part of it, I made an excursion to the coast of Norfolk for
the purpose of observing the habits of the seaside Grallatores and
Natatores which, in winter, resort to that coast. Numerous as

Dunlin 2? J

Little Stint. Temminck’s Stint
({ face p, 262
Cream-coloured Courser.

THE DUNLIN 263

were the species and individuals of these birds which then flocked
to the beach and salt-marshes, I have no doubt, in my own mind,
that they were all outnumbered by Dunlins alone. Of nearly
every flock that I saw feeding on the wet sand or mud, fully half
were Dunlins ; many flocks were composed of these birds alone ;
while of those which were constantly flying by, without alighting,
the proportion of Dunlins to all other birds was, at least, three
to one. Added to which, while the parties of other birds were
susceptible of being approximately counted, the individuals which
composed a flock of Dunlins were often innumerable.

At one time, we saw in the distance, several miles off, a light
cloud, as of smoke from a factory chimney: it moved rapidly,
suddenly disappeared, and as suddenly again became visible. This
was an enormous flock of Dunlins, consisting of many thousands
at least. They did not come very near us; but smaller flocks
which flew about in our immediate vicinity presented a similar
appearance. As the upper surface of their bodies was turned
towards us, they were of a dark hue; suddenly they wheeled in
their flight as if the swarm was steered by a single will, when they
disappeared ; but instantaneously revealed themselves again flying
in a different direction, and reflected glittering snowy white.

Dunlins, while feeding, show a devoted attention to their occupa-
tion, which is not often to be observed in land birds. They run
rapidly, looking intently on the ground, now stopping to pick up
some scrap of animal matter which lies on the surface of the sand,
now boring for living prey where they detect indications of such
prey lying hid. Occasionally an individual bird appears to suffer
from lameness, and halts in its progress as if its legs were gouty.
Frequently they chase a receding wave for the sake of recovering
a prize which has been swept from the beach: never venturing
to swim, but showing no fear of wetting either feet or feathers.
While engaged in these various ways, they often keep up a short
conversational twitter, in a tone, however, so low that it can only
be heard at a very short distance. While flying, they frequently
utter a much louder piping note, which can readily be distinguished
from the call of the other seaside birds. I observed that a small
detached flock, when disturbed, generally flew off to a great dis-
ance; but if other birds were feeding in the neighbourhood, they
more frequently alighted near them, as if assured by their presence
that no danger was to be apprehended.

Dunlins have bred in Cornwall and Devon; but in many parts
of Scotland, in the Hebrides and Orkneys ‘ they frequent the haunts
selected by the Golden Plovers, with which they are so frequently
seen in company, that they have popularly obtained the name of
Plovers’ Pages. Sometimes before the middle of April, but always
before that of May, they are seen dispersed over the moors in pairs
like the birds just named, which, at this season, they greatly re-

264 PURPLE SANDPIPER

semble in habits. The nest, which is composed of some bits of
withered grass, or sedge, and small twigs of heath, is placed in a
slight hollow, generally on a bare spot, and usually in a dry place,
like that selected by the Golden Plover. The female lays four eggs,
and sits very assiduously, often allowing a person to come quite
close to her before removing, which she does in a fluttering and
cowering manner.’ +

In a few specimens which I obtained, the bill was considerably
curved downwards throughout its whole length, thus approaching
in form that of the Pigmy Curlew ; but the dusky upper tail-coverts
sufficiently distinguished it from its rarer congener.

PURPLE SANDPIPER

TRINGA STRIATA

Bill longer than the head, slightly bent down at the tip, dusky, the base reddish
orange; head and neck dusky brown, tinged with grey; back and
scapulars black, with purple and violet reflections, the feathers edged
with deep ash; breast grey and white; under plumage white, streaked
on the flanks with grey ; feet ochre-yellow. Length eight and a quarter
inches. Eggs yellowish olive, spotted and speckled with reddish brown.

THE Purple Sandpiper is described as being far less common than
the Dunlin, and differing from it in habits, inasmuch as it resorts
to the rocky coast in preference to sandy flats. The few specimens
of it which I have seen were associated with Dunlins, flying in the
same flocks with them, feeding with them, and so closely resembling
them in size and movements, that a description of the one equally
characterizes the other. It was only, in fact, by the difference of
colour that I could discriminate between them ; and this I did, on
several occasions, with great ease, having obtained my specimens
singly while they were surrounded by other birds. According to
Mr. Dunn, ‘ The Purple Sandpiper is very numerous in Orkney and
Shetland, appearing early in spring, and leaving again at the latter
end of April ; about which time it collects in large flocks, and may
be found on the rocks at ebb-tide, watching each retiring wave,
running down as the water falls back, picking small shellfish off
the stones, and displaying great activity in escaping the advancing
sea., 1t does motvbreed there.

This species has a wide geographical range. It has been often
observed in the Arctic regions, where it breeds. It is well known
in North America, and is found in various parts of the continent of
Europe, especially Holland.

1 Macgillivray.

LITRE STINT 265

TEMMINCK’S STINT

TRINGA TEMMINCKI

Bill slightly bent down at the tip, much shorter than the head ; tail gradu-
ated. Wintey—upper plumage brown and dusky; breast reddish ;
lower plumage and outer tail-feathers white; bill and feet brown.
Summer—All the upper feathers black, bordered with rust-red ; breast
reddish ash, streaked with black. Length five and a half inches. Eggs
unknown.

TEMMINCK, in whose honour this bird was named, states that it
‘inhabits the Arctic Regions, and is seen on its passage at two
periods of the year in different parts of Germany, on the banks of
lakes and rivers ; probably, also, in the interior of France ; never
along the maritime coasts of Holland; very rare on the Lake of
Geneva. Its food consists of small insects. It probably builds
its nest very far north.’ A few have been killed in England, and
it occurs in many parts of Asia and in North Africa, but it is nowhere
abundant, being an irregular visitor, only on migration.

LITTER STINT

TRINGA MINUTA

Bill straight, shorter than the head ; two middle and two outer feathers of
the tail longer than the rest (‘ tail doubly forked ’); tarsus ten lines;
upper plumage ash and dusky; a brown streak between the bill and
the eye; under plumage white; outer feathers of the tail ash-brown,
edged with whitish ; middle ones brown; bill and feet black. Length
five and a half inches. Eggs reddish white, spotted with dark red-
brown.

A RARE and occasional visitant, appearing from time to time in
small flocks on the muddy or sandy sea-coast. My friend, the Rev.
W. S. Hore (to whom I am indebted for many valuable notes,
incorporated in the text of this volume), obtained several specimens
of this bird in October, 1840, on the Laira mud banks, near Plymouth.
In their habits they differed little from the Dunlin. They were at
first very tame, but after having been fired at became more cautious.
In their food and mode of collecting it, nothing was observed to
distinguish them from the other Sandpipers. They come on passage
in spring and autumn.

266 THE RUEF AND REEVE

THE RUFF AND REEVE

MACHETES PUGNAX
Male in spring—face covered with yellowish warty pimples; back of the
head with a tuft of long feathers on each side; throat furnished with a
ruff of prominent feathers ; general plumage mottled with ash, black,
brown, reddish white, and yellowish, but so variously, that scarcely
two specimens can be found alike ; bill yellowish orange. Male in winter
—face covered with feathers ; ruff absent; under parts white ; breast
reddish, with brown spots ; upper plumage mottled with black, brown,
and red; bill brownish. Length twelve and a half inches. Female,
“The Reeve ’—long feathers of the head and ruff absent ; upper plumage
ash-brown, mottled with black and reddish brown ; under parts greyish
white ; feet yellowish brown. Length ten and a half inches. In both
sexes—tail rounded, the two middle feathers barred ; the three lateral
feathers uniform in colour. Eggs olive, blotched and spotted with
brown.
Boru the systematic names of this bird are descriptive of its quarrel-
some propensities: machetes is Greek for ‘a warrior’, pugnax
Latin for ‘ pugnacious’. Well is the title deserved ; for Ruffs do
not merely fight when they meet, but meet in order to fight. The
season for the indulgence of their warlike tastes is spring ; the scene,
a rising spot of ground contiguous to a marsh; .and here all the
male birds of the district assemble at dawn, for many days in suc-
cession, and do battle valiantly for the females, called Reeves, till
the weakest are vanquished and leave possession of the field to
their more powerful adversaries. The attitude during these con-
tests is nearly that of the domestic Cock—the head lowered, the
body horizontal, the collar bristling, and the beak extended. But
Ruffs will fight to the death on other occasions. A basket con-
taining two or three hundred Ruffs was once put on board a steamer
leaving Rotterdam for London. The incessant fighting of the
birds proved a grand source of attraction to the passengers during
the voyage; and about half of them were slain before the vessel
reached London. Ruffs are gluttonously disposed too, and, if
captured by a fowler, will begin to eat the moment they are supplied
with food ; but, however voracious they may be, if a basin of bread
and milk or boiled wheat be placed before them, it is instantly
contended for; and so pugnacious is their disposition, that even
when fellow-captives, they would starve in the midst of plenty if
several dishes of food were not placed amongst them at a distance
from each other.

Many years have not passed since these birds paid annual visits
in large numbers to the fen-countries. They were, however, highly
prized as delicacies for the table, and their undeviating habit of
meeting to fight a pitched battle gave the fowler such an excellent
opportunity of capturing all the combatants in his nets, that they
have been gradually becoming more and more rare. The fowler, in
fact, has been so successful that he has destroyed his own trace.

Green Sandpiper ¢

Common Sandpiper 2 Purple Sandpiper fd
Curlew Sandpiper. [face p. 266.

GREEN SANDPIPER 267

Another peculiarity of the Ruff is, that the plumage varies
greatly in different individuals—so much so, indeed, that Montagu
who had an opportunity of seeing about seven dozen in a room
together, could not find two alike. These birds are now become
rare, but occasional specimens are still met with in different parts
of Great Britain, and at various seasons; but if they are ever
served up at table, they must be consignments from the Continent.

The female builds her nest of coarse grass, among reeds and rushes,
and lays four eggs. The brood, when hatched, remain with her
until the period of migration; but the males take no interest in
domestic affairs. The few that have not been caught become more
amicably disposed during the latter portion of the year. They
lose the feathery shields from whence they derive their English
name, and, assuming a peaceful garb, withdraw to some southern
climate. The Ruff is about one-third larger than the Reeve ;
and the latter is, at all seasons, destitute of a prominent collar.
Formerly these birds bred in the east of England.

GREEN SANDPIPER
TOTANUS OCHROPUS

Upper plumage olive-brown, with greenish reflections, spotted with whitish

and dusky ; lower plumage white ; tail white, the middle feathers barred

with dusky towards the end, the two outer feathers almost entirely

white ; bill dusky above, reddish beneath; feet greenish. Length nine

and a half inches. Eggs whitish green, spotted with brown.
Tuts bird, which derives its name from the green tinge of its plum-
age and legs, must be reckoned among the rarer Sandpipers. In
habits it differs considerably from most of its congeners, in that it
is not given to congregate with others of its kind, and that it resorts
to inland waters rather than to the sea. It is seen for the most
part in spring and autumn, at which seasons it visits us when on
its way to and from the northern countries in which it breeds.
Specimens have been killed late in the summer, from which it has
been inferred that the Green Sandpiper sometimes breeds in this
country ; but the fact does not appear to have been confirmed
by the discovery of its nest. While migrating it flies very high,
but when scared from its feeding-ground it skims along the surface
of the water for some distance, and then rises high into the air,
uttering its shrill whistle. In its choice of food, and habits while
feeding it resembles the Common Sandpiper. It lays its eggs in
deserted nests and old squirrel dreys—and breeds probably in wild
parts of Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire. The Son of the Marshes
considers that it does so.

268 THE COMMON SANDPIPER

THE WOOD SANDPIPER

TOTANUS GLAREOLA

Winter—a narrow dusky streak between the bill and eye; upper parts deep
brown, spotted with white; breast and adjacent parts dirty white,
mottled with ash-brown; under plumage and tail-coverts pure white ;
tail-feathers barred with brown and white; two outer feathers on each
side with the inner web pure white; bill and legs greenish. Swmmer—
head streaked with brown and dull white; the white of the breast
clearer ; each of the feathers of the back with two white spots on each
side of the centre. Length seven and a half inches.

THIS species closely resembles the last both in appearance and habits.

It received its name of Wood Sandpiper from having been observed

occasionally to resort to boggy swamps of birch and alder, and has

been seen even to perch on a tree. Its most common places of

resort are, however, swamps and wet heaths. Like the last, it is a

bird of wide geographical range, nowhere very abundant, and

imperfectly known, coming only on passage in spring and autumn.

THE COMMON SANDPIPER

TOTANUS HYPOLEUCUS

Upper parts ash-brown, glossed with olive; back and central tail-feathers
marked with fine wavy lines of rich dark brown; a narrow white streak
over each eye; under plumage pure white, streaked at the sides with
brown ; outer tail-feathers barred with white and brown; bill dusky,
lighter at the base; feet greenish ash. Length seven and a half inches.
Eggs whitish yellow, spotted with brown and grey.

To this bird has been given not inappropriately the name of Sum-

mer Snipe. In form and mode of living it resembles the Snipe

properly so called, and it is known to us only during summer. Un-
like the last two species, it is a bird of common occurrence. One
need only to repair to a retired district abounding in streams and
lakes, at any period of the year between April and September, and
there, in all probability, this lively bird will be found to have made
for itself a temporary home. Arrayed in unattractive plumage,
and distinguished by no great power of song—its note being simply
a piping, which some people consider the utterance of one of its
provincial names, ‘ Willy Wicket ’—it may nevertheless be pro-
nounced an accomplished bird. It flies rapidly and in a tortuous
course, likely to puzzle any but the keenest shot; it runs with
remarkable nimbleness, so that if a sportsman has marked it down,
it will probably rise many yards away from the spot ; it can swim
if so inclined ; and when hard pressed by a Hawk, it has been seen
to dive and remain under water until all danger had passed away.

It has never been observed to perch on the twigs of trees, but it

has been noticed running along the stumps and projecting roots

of trees. Its favourite places of resort are withy holts (where it

THE COMMON REDSHANK 269

searches for food in the shallow drains), moss-covered stones in
rivers, the shallow banks of lakes, and the flat marshy places inter-
sected by drains, which in low countries often skirt the seashore.
Its food consists of small worms and the larve and pup of the
countless insects which spend their lives in such localities. It may
be presumed, too, that many a perfect winged insect enters into its
dietary, for its activity is very great. Even when its legs are not
in motion, which does not often happen, its body is in a perpetual
state of agitation, the vibration of the tail being most conspicuous.

Sandpipers do not congregate like many others of the Waders ;
they come to us generally in pairs, and do not appear to flock to-
gether even when preparing to migrate. The nest is a slight de-
pression in the ground, most frequently well concealed by rushes
or other tufted foliage, and is constructed of a few dry leaves,
stalks of grass, and scraps of moss. The Sandpiper lays four eggs,
which are large, and quite disproportionate to the size of the bird.
Indeed, but for their peculiar pear-shaped form, which allows of
their being placed so as to occupy a small space with the pointed
ends all together, the bird would scarcely be able to cover them.
The parent bird exhibits the same marvellous sagacity in diverting the
attention of an intruder from the young birds to herself, by counter-
feiting lameness, which has been observed in the Plovers. The young
are able to run within a very short time after exclusion from the
egg, there being an instance recorded in the Zoologist of a gentleman
having seen some young birds scramble away from the nest while
there yet remained an egg containing an unhatched chick. Early,
too, in their life they are endowed with the instinct of self-preserva-
tion, for Mr. Selby states that if discovered and pursued before
they have acquired the use of their wings, they boldly take to the
water and dive.

The Sandpiper is found in all parts of Europe and Asia, but not
in America.

THE COMMON REDSHANK
TOTANUS CALIDRIS

Wintey—upper plumage ash-brown ; throat, sides of the head, streak over
the eye, neck, and breast, greyish white; rump, belly, and abdomen,
white ; tail marked transversely with black and white zigzag bars, tipped
with white; feet and lower half of both mandibles red. Swmmer—
upper feathers ash-brown, with a broad dusky streak in the centre;
under parts white, spotted and streaked with dusky ; feet and lower half
of both mandibles vermilion red. Length ten to eleven inches. Eggs
greenish yellow, blotched and spotted with brown.

Tue Redshank is a bird of frequent occurrence on all such parts
of the coast as are suited to its habits. Nowhere, I suppose, is it
more abundant than on the coast of Norfolk—at least, on those parts

270 THE COMMON REDSHANK

of the coast where it can have access to muddy marshes. It does
not, indeed, confine itself to such places, for it is not unfrequently
to be seen on the seashore, feeding in the neighbourhood of Dunlins,
Knots, Grey Plovers, and other Waders; or, when its favourite
haunts are covered by the tide, a solitary bird or a party of three
or four meet or overtake the stroller by the seaside, taking care
to keep at a respectful distance from him, either by flying high over
his head or sweeping along, a few feet above the surface of the sea,
in the line of the breakers or in the trough outside them. They
may easily be distinguished from any other common bird of the
same tribe by the predominance of white in their plumage, Other
Waders, such as Dunlins and Sanderlings, present the dark and light
sides of their plumage alternately, but the Redshank shows its dark
and white feathers simultaneously, and if seen only on the wing
might be supposed to be striped with black and white. Keen-sighted
observers can also detect its red legs. Its flight, as accurately
described by Macgillivray, ‘is light, rapid, wavering, and as if
undecided, and, being performed by quick jerks of the wings,
bears some resemblance to that of a Pigeon’. During its flight it
frequently utters its cry, which isa wild shrill whistle of two or three
notes, approaching that of the Ringed Plover, but louder and less
mellow. At low water, it frequents, in preference to all other places
of resort, flat marshes which are intersected by muddy creeks, and
in these it bores for food. It is very wary, flying off long before
the fowler can come within shot if it happens to be standing
exposed ; and even if it be concealed under a high bank, where it
can neither see nor be seen, it detects his approach by some means,
and in most cases is up and away before any but the most expert
shot can stop its flight. On these occasions it invariably utters
its alarm note, which both proclaims its own escape and gives warn-
ing to all other birds feeding in the vicinity. Scattered individuals
thus disturbed sometimes unite into flocks, or fly off, still keeping
separate, to some distant part of the marsh. On one occasion only
have I been enabled to approach near enough to a Redshank
to watch its peculiar movements while feeding, and this observation
I was much pleased in making, as it confirms the account of another
observer. A writer in the Naturalist, quoted by Yarrell and Mac-
gillivray, says: ‘I was very much struck with the curious manner
in which they dart their bill into the sand nearly its whole length,
by jumping up and thus giving it a sort of impetus, if I may use
the word, by the weight of their bodies pressing it downwards.’
This account Macgillivray, with an unamiable sneer too common in
his writings when he refers to statements made by others of facts
which have not fallen within his own observation, considers to be
so inaccurate that he pronounces the birds to be not Redshanks
at all, and calls them ‘ Irish Redshanks’. On the occasion to which
I have referred, I saw at a distance a largish bird feeding on a bank

Redshank ¢
Greenshank. Blacktailed Godwit ?
Ruff & Reeve.

[face p. 270.

THE GREENSHANK 27!

of mud close to an embankment. Calculating as nearly as I could
how many paces off it was, I cautiously crept along the other side
of the embankment ; and when I had reached what I supposed
was the right spot, took off my hat and peeped over. Within a few
yards of me was an unmistakable Redshank, pegging with his
long beak into the mud, and aiding every blow with an impetus of
his whole body. In my own mind I compared his movements
with those of a Nuthatch, with which I was quite familiar, and, the
surface of the mud being frozen hard, I imagined that the laborious
effort on the part of the bird was necessitated by the hardness of
the ground. Perhaps this may have been the case; but, whether
or not, it is clear enough that the bird does, when occasion requires
it, lend the weight of his body to the effort of his beak in searching
for food. I should add that I did not know, at the time, that any
similar occurrence had been recorded.

The food of the Redshank consists of worms, marine insects,
and any other animal matter which abounds on the seashore. In
small communities it builds its nest of a few blades of grass in
the marshes, in a tuft of rushes or long grass, never among the shingle
where that of the Ringed Plover is placed, but often under a shrub
(popularly known on the coast of Norfolk by the name of ‘ Rose-
mary’), the Sueda fruticosa, Shrubby Sea Blite, of botanists. It
lays four eggs, which are considered delicate eating.

THE GREENSHANK
TOTANUS CANESCENS

Bill strong, compressed at the base, slightly curved upwards. Wintery—fore-
head, all the lower parts, and lower back, white ; head, cheeks, neck and
sides of the breast, streaked with ash-brown and white; rest
of the upper feathers mottled with dusky and yellowish white; tail
white, middle feathers barred with brown, outer white with a narrow
dusky streak on the outer web; bill ash-brown; legs yellowish green,
long and slender. Swmmeyr—teathers ot the back edged with white,
breast and adjacent parts white, with oval black spots; middle tail-
feathers ash, barred with brown. Length fourteen inches. Eggs olive-
brown, spotted all over with dusky.

AN unusual colour and disproportionate length of leg are characters

which sufficiently distinguish the Greenshank and account for its name.

It is far less common than the Redshank, but seems to resemble

it in many of its habits. It is sociably disposed towards birds of

its own kind and allied species, but utterly averse to any familiarity
with man, insomuch that fowlers rarely come within shot of it. It
frequents low muddy or sandy shores and brackish pools, the oozy
banks of lakes, ponds, and rivers, preferring such open situations
as allow it a clear view of threatening danger while there is plenty
of time to decamp. In the course of feeding it wades unconcernedly

Die. THE BAR-TAILED GODWIT

through pools of shallow water, and, if so minded, hesitates neither
to swim nor to dive.

Its visits to England are paid most commonly in spring and
autumn, while it is on its way to and from the northern climates
in which it breeds. ‘In Scotland it is seen’, says Macgillivray,
“in small flocks here and there along the seashore, by the margins
of rivers, and in marshy places breeding there in the north, but it
is nowhere common, and in most districts of very rare occurrence. By
the beginning of summer it has disappeared from its winter haunts,
and advanced northwards; individuals or pairs remaining here
and there in the more northern parts of Scotland, while the rest
extend their migration.’ The same author describes a nest, which
he found in the island of Harris, as very like those of the Golden
and Lapwing Plovers, with four eggs, intermediate in size between
the eggs of these two birds. Another nest was also found by Selby,
in Sutherlandshire. There can be therefore no doubt that the
north of Scotland is within the extreme southern limit of its
breeding-ground. During the winter it is to be seen in the west of
Ireland only.

THE BAR-TAILED GODWIT

LIMOSA LAPPONICA

Beak slightly curved upwards ; middle claw short, without serratures. Winter
—upper plumage variously mottled with grey, dusky, and reddish ash ;
lower part of the back white, with dusky spots ; tail barred with reddish
white and dusky ; lower parts white. Swmmerv—all the plumage deeply
tinged with red. Young birds have the throat and breast brownish
white, streaked with dusky, and a few dusky lines on the flanks. Length
sixteen inches. Eggs unknown.

On the coast of Norfolk, where I made my first acquaintance with

this bird in the fresh state, it is called a Half-Curlew. In like

manner, a Wigeon is called a Half-Duck. In either case the reason
for giving the name is, that the smaller bird possesses half the market
value of the larger. It resembles the Curlew in its flight and the
colour of its plumage ; but differs in having its long beak slightly
curved upwards, while that of the Curlew is strongly arched down-
wards ; and it is far less wary, allowing itself to be approached so
closely that it falls an easy prey to the fowler. It appears to be
most frequently met with in spring and autumn, when it visits
many parts of the coast in small flocks. In Norfolk it is met with
from May, the twelfth of that month being called ‘Godwit day,’ by
the gunners, although it is almost unknown up north at that season.

The specimens which were brought to me were shot in the very
severe weather which ushered in the year 1861. These birds have
nowhere been observed in England later than the beginning of

THE COMMON CURLEW 273

summer, from which fact the inference is fairly drawn that they
do not breed in this country. Their habits differ in no material
respects from the other seaside Waders, with whom they frequently
mingle while feeding, not, seemingly, for the sake of good fellowship,
but attracted by a motive common to all, that of picking up food
wherever an abundance is to be met with. Their note is a loud,
shrill cry, often uttered while on the wing. The female is much
larger than the male.

This bird is sometimes called the Sea Woodcock. Its flesh is
good eating, but is far inferior in flavour to that of the true
Woodcock.

THE BLACK-TAILED GODWIT

LIMOSA BELGICA

Beak nearly straight ; middle claw long and serrated ; upper parts ash-brown
the shafts of the feathers somewhat deeper ; breast and adjacent parts
greyish white; tail black, the base, and the tips of the two middle
feathers, white; beak orange at the base, black at the point; feet dusky.
Summey—much of the plumage tinged with red. Length seventeen and
a half inches. Eggs deep olive, spotted with light brown.

Tuis bird is, in outward appearance, mainly distinguished from the

preceding by having two-thirds of the tail black, instead of being

barred throughout with white and black. Like its congener, it is
most frequently seen in autumn and spring, while on the way to
and from its breeding-ground in the north; but it does not stay
with us through winter, though occasionally a few pairs used to
remain in the fen-countries to breed. It is by far the less common
of the two, and seems to be getting annually more and more rare.

Its habits, as far as they have been observed, approach those of

the other Scolopacide. In its flight it resembles the Redshank.

Its note is a wild screaming whistle, which it utters while on the

wing. It builds its nest in swamps, among rushes and sedges,

simply collecting a few grasses and roots into any convenient hole,
and there it lays four eggs.

THE COMMON CURLEW

NUMENIUS ARQUATA

General plumage reddish ash, mottled with dusky spots; belly white, with
longitudinal dusky spots; feathers of the back and scapulars black,
bordered with rust-red ; tail white, with dark brown transverse bars ;
upper mandible dusky ; lower, flesh-colour; irides brown; feet bluish
grey. Length varying from twenty-two to twenty-eight inches. Eggs
olive-green, blotched and spotted with brown and dark green.

DweELLeErs by the seaside —especially where the tide retires to a

great distance leaving a wide expanse of muddy sand, or on the
B.B, . iz

274 THE COMMON CURLEW

banks of a tidal river where the receding water lays bare extensive
banks of soft ooze—are most probably quite familiar with the note
of the Curlew, however ignorant they may be of the form or name
of the bird from which it proceeds. A loud whistle of two syllables,
which may be heard for more than a mile, bearing a not over-fanciful
resemblance to the name of the bird, answered by a similar cry,
mellowed by distance into a pleasant sound—wild, but in perfect
harmony with the character of the scene —announces the fact
that a party of Curlews have discovered that the ebb-tide is well
advanced, and that their feeding-ground is uncovered. The stroller,
if quietly disposed, may chance to get a sight of the birds themselves
as they arrive in small flocks from the inland meadows ; and though
they will probably be too cautious to venture within an unsafe
distance, they will most likely come quite close enough to be dis-
criminated. Not the merest novice could mistake them for Gulls ;
for not only is their flight of a different character, but the bill,
which is thick enough to be distinguished at a considerable distance,
is disproportionately long, and is curved to a remarkable degree.
Curlews are in the habit of selecting as their feeding-ground those
portions of the shore which most abound in worms and small crus-
taceous animals; these they either pick up and, as it were, coax
from the tip to the base of the beak, or, thrusting their long bills
into the mud, draw out the worms, which they dispose of in like
manner. When the sands or ooze are covered, they withdraw
from the shore, and either retire to the adjoining marshes or pools,
or pace about the meadows, picking up worms, snails, and insects.
Hay-fields, before the grass is cut, are favourite resorts, especially
in the North; and, in districts where there are meadows adjoining
an estuary, they are in the habit of changing the one for the other
at every ebb and flow of the tide. From the middle of autumn
till the early spring Curlews are, for the most part, seaside birds,
frequenting, more or less, all the coast ; but at the approach of the
breeding season they repair inland, and resort to heaths, damp
meadows, and barren hills. Here a shallow nest is made on the
ground, composed of bents, rushes, and twigs of heath, loosely put
together. The eggs, which are very large, are four in number.
During the period of incubation the male keeps about the neigh-
bourhood, but is scarcely Jess wary than at other seasons. The
female, if disturbed, endeavours to lure away the intruder from
her dwelling by the artifice, common in the tribe, of pretending to
be disabled; and great anxiety is shown by both male and female
if any one approaches the spot where the young lie concealed.
The latter are able to run almost immediately after they are
hatched, but some weeks elapse before they are fledged. It seems
probable that an unusually long time elapses before they attain
their full size, for the dimensions of different individuals vary to
a remarkable degree. Eight or nine specimens were brought to

THE BLACK TERN 275

me in Norfolk in the winter of 1861, and among them about half
seemed full-grown ; of the others some were so small that, at the
first glance, I supposed them to be Whimbrels.

The Curlew is found on the sea-coast over the whole of Europe
and Asia, and along the northern coast of Africa.

The flesh of this bird is said by some to be excellent eating. This,
perhaps, may be the case with young birds shot early in autumn
before they have been long subjected to a marine diet. My own
experience of birds shot in winter does not confirm this opinion. I
have found them eatable, but not palatable.

THE WHIMBREL

NUMENIUS PHAEOPUS

General plumage pale ash-colour, mottled with white and dusky spots ; crown
divided by a longitudinal streak of yellowish white; over each eye a
broader brown streak ; belly and abdomen white, with a few dusky spots
on the flanks ; feathers on the back, and scapulars deep brown, in the
middle bordered by lighter brown ; rump white ; tail ash-brown, barred
obliquely with dark brown; bill dusky, reddish at the base; irides brown ;
feet lead-colour. Length not exceeding seventeen inches. Eggs dark
olive-brown, blotched with dusky.

THOUGH by no means a rare bird, the Whimbrel is of far less com-
mon occurrence than the Curlew, and is seen only at two periods
of the year, in May and August, when performing its migrations.
It resembles the Curlew both in figure and habits, though much
smaller in size ; its note, too, is like the whistle of that bird, but
somewhat higher. It is gregarious, but unsociable with other
birds. The extreme southern limit at which the Whimbrel breeds
is considered to be the Orkney and Shetland Islands. It is known
to visit most of the countries of Europe and Asia in spring and
autumn, but is nowhere very abundant.

ORDER GAVE

FAMILY LARID/
Sus-Famity STERNINZ®

THE BLACK TERN

HYDROCHELIDON NIGRA

Bill black ; feet purple-brown, the membrane short ; head and neck black ;
upper parts lead-colour ; under parts dark ash-grey ; under tail-coverts
white ; tail not much forked, shorter than the wings ; irides brown. In
winter, the lore, throat and breast are white. Length ten and a quarter
inches. Eggs dark olive-brown, blotched and spotted with black.

Tue Black Tern is a common bird in most temperate countries

276 THE SANDWICH TERN

which abound in extensive marshes. In its habits it is scarcely
less aquatic than the preceding species, but differs from them all
in preferring fresh water to salt. It was formerly of frequent occur-
rence in England ; but draining and reclaiming have, within the last
few years, given over many of its haunts to the Partridge and Wood
Pigeon ; and it is now but rarely known to breed in this country.!
A few, however, are not unfrequently seen in spring and autumn,
when on their way from and to their winter quarters, which are
the warmer regions of the globe. In Norfolk its name still lingers
as the ‘ Blue Darr’, a corruption, probably, of Dorr-Hawk (another
name of the Nightjar), a bird which it closely resembles in its mode
of flight. Like the Dorr-Hawk, the Black Tern feeds on beetles
and other insects, which it catches on the wing, but adds to its
dietary small fresh-water fish, which it catches by dipping for them.
While in pursuit of its winged prey, it does not confine itself to the
water, but skims over the marsh and adjoining meadows, sometimes
even alighting for an instant to pick up a worm. Black Terns are
sociable birds among themselves, but do not consort with other
species. They lay their eggs in the most inaccessible swamps, on
masses of decayed reeds and flags, but little elevated above the level
of the water. The nests are merely depressions in the lumps of
vegetable substance, and usually contain three or sometimes four
eggs. They are placed near enough to each other to form colonies ;
and the birds continue to flock together during their absence in
warmer climates. Large flocks have been seen in the Atlantic,
midway between Europe and America. In Holland and Hungary
they are said by Temminck to be numerous. This author states
that the Black Tern commonly lays its eggs on the leaves of the
water-lily.

THE SANDWICH TERN

STERNA CANTIACA

Bill long, black, the tip yellowish ; tarsus short (one inch); tail long; head
and crest as in the last ; nape, upper part of the back, and all the lower
parts brilliant white, tinged on the breast with rose; back and wings
pale ash-grey; quills deeper grey; tail white; feet black, yellowish
beneath. Young bivds—head mottled with black and white ; back, wing-
coverts, and tail-feathers varied with irregular lines of black; bill and
feet dark brown. Length eighteen inches. Eggs greyish green, blotched
with brown and black.

Tue Sandwich Tern, which takes its name from the place where

it was first seen in England, is not uncommon on many parts of the
coast during the summer months. In some places it seems to be

1 The Rev. R. Lubbock states in his Fauna of Norfolk, 1845, that it has
ceased to breed regularly in Norfolk, but that eggs had been recently obtained
at Crowland Wash in Lincolnshire,

Sandwich Tern.
Black Tern. Arctic Tern,

Roseate Tern. [face p. 276

THE ROSEATE TERN 277

abundant. A large colony inhabits the Farne Islands. They breed
as far north as the Findhorn. Upon this coast it is called par
excellence ‘The Tern’, all the other species passing under the general
name of ‘Sea Swallows’. Its habits are so like those of the
Common Tern, to be described hereafter, that, to avoid repetition,
I purposely omit all account of its mode of fishing, and content
myself with quoting, on the authority of Audubon and Meyer,
incidents in its biography which I have not noticed in the Common
Tern. The former author says: ‘Its cries are sharp, grating,
and loud enough to be heard at the distance of half a mile. They
are repeated at intervals while it is travelling, and kept up inces-
santly when one intrudes upon it in its breeding-ground, on which
occasion it sails and dashes over your head, chiding you with angry
notes, more disagreeable than pleasant to your ear.’ Meyer, writing
of the same bird, says: ‘The Sandwich Tern is observed to be
particularly fond of settling on sunken rocks where the waves
run high, and the surf is heavy: this being a peculiar fancy belong-
ing to this species, it is sometimes called by the name of Surf Tern.’

DHE ROSEATE TERN

STERNA DOUGALLI

Bill black, red at the base; feet orange, claws small, black; tarsus three-
quarters of an inch long ; tail much forked, much longer than the wings ;
upper part of the head and nape black; rest of the upper plumage pale
ash-grey ; tail white, the outer feathers very long and pointed ; cheeks
and under plumage white, tinged on the breast and belly with rose.
Length fifteen to seventeen inches. Eggs yellowish stone-colour, spotted
and speckled with ash-grey and brown.

Or this Tern Dr. M’Dougall, its discoverer, says, ‘It is of light
and very elegant figure, differing from the Common Tern in the
size, length, colour, and curvature of the bill; in the comparative
shortness of the wing in proportion to the tail, in the purity of the
whiteness of the tail, and the peculiar conformation and extra-
ordinary length of the lateral feathers. It also differs from that
bird in the hazel-colour and size of the legs and feet.’

Roseate Terns have been discovered on several parts of the coast,
principally in the north, as in the mouth of the Clyde, Lancashire
and the Farne Islands. They associate with the Common Terns, but
are far less numerous. Selby says, ‘ the old birds are easily recog-
nized amidst hundreds of the other species by their peculiar and
buoyant flight, long tail, and note, which may be expressed by the
word crake, uttered in a hoarse grating key.’ They rarely nest in
Great Britain.

278 THE COMMON TERN

THE ARCTIC TERN

STERNA MACRURA

Bill slender, red throughout ; under plumage ash-grey ; tail much forked,

longer than the wings ; legs orange-red, in other respects very like the

last. Length fifteen inches. Eggs as in the last.
Tuis bird, as its name indicates, frequents high northern latitudes,
to which, however, it is not confined; since in the Orkneys and
Hebrides it is the common species. It breeds also on the coast
of some of the northern English counties, but not farther south
than the Humber, though several instances are recorded of large
flocks making their appearance in different places at the season
when they were probably on their way from their winter quarters
~—far away to the south—to their breeding-ground. In the
rocky islands, which they frequent from May to September, they
form colonies and lay their eggs, generally apart from the allied
species. The eggs closely resemble those of the Common Tern,
but are somewhat smaller. In its habits and general appearance
the Arctic Tern comes so close to the last-named species, that
the birds, even when flying together, can only be distinguished by
the most practised eye.

THE COMMON TERN

STERNA FLUVIATILIS

Bill moderate, red with a black tip ; head and long feathers on the back of the
head black ; upper parts bluish ash; quills ash-grey, brown at the tips;
tail much forked, not longer than the wings, white, the two outer fea-
thers on each side dusky on the outer webs; under parts white, tinged
with grey on the breast; irides reddish brown; feet coral-red. Young
birds have a good deal of white about the head, and the feathers on the
back are tipped with white; tail ash-grey, whitish at the tip. Length
fourteen inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched and spotted with ash and
dusky.

On those parts of the coast where the Common Tern is abundant,

no sea-bird is more likely to attract the notice of the visitor than

the Common Tern. It is less in size than any of the common species
of Gull, with which, however, it is often confounded by the unob-
servant. It is more lively and active in its motions, not ordinarily
flying in circles, but, if I may use the expression, ‘rambling ’
through the air, frequently diverging to the right or left, and raising
or depressing itself at frequent intervals. These characters alone
are sufficient to distinguish the Tern from any of the Gulls ;
but it presents yet more striking features. Its tail is elongated
and forked like that of the Swallow, and from this character
rather than from its flight it is commonly known as the Sea
Swallow. Its mode of taking its prey is totally different from

Ng

aS,

Lesser Tern 3
Oyster Catcher 2
{face p. 278.

Common Tern,

Turnstone go wmm.

THE LITTLE (OR LESSER) TERN 279

that of the Gulls. Very frequently a single Tern may be observed
pursuing its course in a line with the breakers on a sandy shore at
the distance perhaps of from fifty to a hundred yards from the beach.
Its beak is pointed downwards, and the bird is evidently on the
look-out for prey. Suddenly it descends perpendicularly into the
water, making a perceptible splash, but scarcely disappearing.
In an instant it has recovered the use of its wings and ascends again,
swallowing some small fish meanwhile if it has been successful, but
in any case continuing its course as before. I do not recollect
ever to have seen a Tern sit on the water to devour its prey when
fishing among the breakers. Often, too, as one is walking along
the shore, or sailing in a boat, when the sea is calm, a cruising party
of Terns comes in sight. Their flight now is less direct than in the
instance just mentioned, as they ‘ beat’ the fishing-ground after
the fashion of spaniels, still, however, making way ahead. Sud-
denly one of the party arrests its flight, hovers for a few seconds
like a Hawk, and decends as if shot, making a splash as before.
If unsuccessful it rises at once, but if it has captured the object on
which it swooped, it remains floating on the water until it has re-
lieved itself of its incumbrance by the summary process of swallow-
ing it. I do not know a prettier sight than a party of Terns thus
occupied. They are by no means shy, frequently flying quite
over the boat, and uttering from time to time a short scream,
which, though not melodious, is more in keeping with the scene
than a mellow song would be.

In rough weather they repair to sheltered bays, ascend estuaries,
or follow the course of a river until they have advanced far inland.
They are harbingers of summer quite as much as the Swallow itself,
coming to us in May and leaving in September for some warmer
coast. They usually breed on flat shores, laying two or three eggs
on the ground, in marshes, or on sandy shingle. The eggs in my
collection were procured on the coast of Norfolk, but I have seen
the birds themselves in the greatest numbers in Belfast Lough and
in Loch Crinan. They have bred as far north as Sutherland.

TEs Lit Ree (OR LESSER) TERN
STERNA MINUTA

Bill orange, with a black tip; feet orange ; forehead, and a streak above
the eye, white; crown black; upper parts pearl-grey ; under, white ;
tail much forked, shorter than the wings. Young bivds have the head
brownish, with darker streaks ; upper plumage yellowish white and dusky ;
bill pale yellow, with a dark tip; legs dull yellow. Length eight and a

half inches. Eggs stone-colour, spotted and speckled with grey and
brown.

On the sandy and marshy shores of Norfolk, the Lesser Tern is a
bird of common occurrence in summer, either single, or in small

280 TEE Ee EeiN

parties of three or four. Not unfrequently, as the seaside visitor
is sauntering about on the sands, one of these birds seems to take
offence at its dominion being invaded. With repeated harsh cries it
flies round and round the intruder, coming quite close enough to
allow its black head and yellow beak to be distinguished. Its
flight is swift, something like that of a Swallow, but more laboured,
and not so rapid. If fired at, it takes little notice of the noise ;
and, knowing nothing of the danger, continues its screams + and
circling till its pertinacity becomes annoying. When feeding it
presents a far pleasanter appearance. Then, altogether heedless
of intrusion, it skims along the surface of the drains in the marshes,
profiting by its length of wing and facility of wheeling, to capture
flying insects. At least, if this be not its object, I can in no other
way account for the peculiar character of its flight. At other
times, either alone or in company with a few other individuals
of the same species, it is seen flying slowly along, some fifteen or
twenty feet above the surface of a shallow tidal pool, or pond, in a
salt marsh. Suddenly it arrests its onward progress, soars like a
Kestrel for a second or two, withits beak pointed downwards. It
has descried a shrimp, or small fish, and this is its way of taking
aim. Employing the mechanism with which its Creator has pro-
vided it, it throws out of gear its apparatus of feathers and air-
tubes, and falls like a plummet into the water, with a splash which
sends circle after circle to the shore; and, in an instant, having
captured and swallowed its petty booty, returns to its aerial
watch-post. <A social little party of three or four birds, who have
thus taken possession of a pond, will remain fishing as long as the
tide is high enough to keep it full. They take little notice of pas-
sengers ; and if startled by the report of a gun, remove to a short
distance only, and there resume their occupation. Sometimes they
may be seen floating about in the open sea, resting their wings,
perhaps, after a long flight, or simply idling, certainly not fishing ; for
although they plunge from a height, with great ease and elegance,
diving proper is not one of their accomplishments.

To the stranger who visits the coast of Norfolk, the Lesser Tern
will, perhaps, be pointed out under the name of ‘Sea Swallow’,
or, more probably, as a ‘Shrimp Catcher’. Either of these names
is appropriate. Its mode of progress through the air is more

1 T have been beset in this manner by a Lesser Tern, so far on in the summer
that I could not attribute its actions to any anxiety about either eggs or young.
I am inclined to think it is, on such occasions, taught by its instinct to accom-
pany a traveller for the sake of the insects disturbed by his movements.
During the summer months, the shingle, on a sunny beach, is haunted by
myriads of sluggish flies, which rarely take wing unless thus disturbed. That
the Chimney Swallow often accompanies the traveller for this object, I have
no doubt; as I have seen them fly to and fro before me, darting in among
the swarming flies, and so intent in their chase, as to pass within a few yards
of my feet every time they crossed my path.

The Common Gull. Glaucous Gull ?
Greater Black-backed Gull F Lesser Black-backed Gull,

[face p. 280.

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THE BROWN-HEADED GULL 281

like a Swallow’s than that of the Common Tern, and in size it does
not so very much exceed the Swift as to make the comparison out-
rageous. <A shrimp it can undoubtedly catch; and it exercises
its vocation in shallow water, such as shrimps alone inhabit or
small fish no larger than shrimps.

Like the other Terns it is migratory, repairing year after year
to low flat shores on various parts of the coast, arriving in May,
and departing in September for some climate subject to no cold
severe enough to banish small marine animals to deep water. The
Lesser Tern makes no nest, but lays its eggs, generally two, among
the shingle.

Sus-Famity LARIN/A®

iit ih hee GUL

LARUS MINUTUS

Summer—head and neck black; lower part of the neck, tail, all the under
plumage, white ; upper plumage pale ash-grey ; primaries white at the
end ; bill reddish brown; irides dark; legs vermilion. Wantey—fore-
head, front and sides of the neck white ; nape and cheeks white, streaked
with greyish black. Length eleven inches.

THis, the smallest of the Gulls, comes sometimes in numbers to the

British coast. It is said to be remarkably active and graceful in

its movements through the air, and to associate with Terns. Its

food consists of marine insects and small fish. Its breeding-place
and eggs are unknown. As a rule it leaves us in September or
early in October.

THE BROWN-HEADED GULL

LARUS RIDIBUNDUS

Summey—head and upper part of the neck deep brown; lower part of the
neck and all the under plumage white, slightly tinged with rose ; upper
plumage bluish ash ; primaries white, edged with ash, and broadly tipped
with black ; irides brown ; bill and feetred, witha purpletinge. In winter
the head and neck are white; bill and feet bright vermilion. * In young
birds the hood is pale brown; the upper plumage dark brown, mottled
at the edges of the feathers with yellowish; bill livid at the base, the
tip black ; feet yellowish. Lengthseventeeninches. Eggs olive, spotted
with brown and dusky.

Biack-HEADED, Black-Cap, Brown-Headed, Red-Legged, and
Pewit, are all common distinctive names of this Gull, to which
may be added that of Laughing Gull. The latter name is, indeed,
often given to the next species, a rare bird, and might with equal
propriety be applied to several other species, whose harsh cry

282 THE BROWN-HEADED GULL

resembles a laugh. The systematic name, v7dibundus, which has
the same meaning, is by general consent confined to this. The
reader, therefore, must bear in mind that though the term r7di-
bundus will bear no translation but ‘laughing’, the name of the
Laughing Gull is Larus atricapilla, which can mean only ‘ Black-
Headed Gull’; a paradoxical statement, perhaps, but one which
it is necessary to make, or the young student will probably fall into
error.

Brown-Headed Gull is the most appropriate of all the above names,
at least in summer, for at this period both male and female are
best distinguished by the deep brown colour of the head and upper
part of the neck.

This is one of the most frequent of the Gulls, to be sought for
in the breeding season not on the rocky shore among cliffs, but on
low flat salt marshes on the coast and in fresh-water marshes far
inland. Early in spring large numbers of Brown-Headed Gulls
repair to their traditional breeding-grounds and wander over the
adjoining country in search of food, which consists of worms and
grubs. From the assiduity with which they resort to arable land
and follow the plough, they have been called Sea Crows. In April
and May they make their simple preparations for laying their
eges by trampling down the broken tops of reeds and sedges, and
so forming a slight concavity. The number of eggs in each nest
is generally three, and as a large number of birds often resort
to the same spot, the collecting of these eggs becomes an
occupation of importance. By some persons they are considered
a delicacy, and, with the eggs of the Redshank, are substituted for
Plovers’ eggs; but to a fastidious palate they are not acceptable,
and far inferior to an egg from the poultry yard. Willughby
describes a colony of Black-Caps on a small island in a marsh or
fish pond, in the county of Stafford, distant at least thirty miles
from the sea. He says that when the young birds had attained
their full size, it was the custom to drive them from the island into
nets disposed along the shore of the lake. The captured birds were
fattened on meat and garbage, and sold for about fourpence or
fivepence each (a goodly price in those days, 1676). The average
number captured every year was 1200, returning to the proprietor
an income of about £{15. In The Catalogue of Norfolk and
Suffolk Birds, it is stated that precisely the same sum is paid
for the privilege of collecting the eggs from Scoulton Mere, in
Norfolk. Towards the end of July, when the young are fully
fledged, all the birds, old and young, repair to the sea, and scatter
themselves in small flocks to all parts of the coast, preferring a low
sandy shore, or the mouth of a tidal river, as the Thames and the
Clyde, where they are of common occurrence. They also accom-
pany shoals of herrings and other small fish, often congregating
with other species in countless numbers.

Herring Gull.
Kittiwake f Little Gull, zmm.
Brown-headed Gull 2 (face p. 282.

=a alate Sihd
ee ee ee ee

THE COMMON GULL 283

Before winter the distinctive character afforded by the brown
plumage of the head and neck has entirely disappeared. These parts
are now of a pure white, and the red legs afford the best distinguish-
ing feature. Persons residing on the coast, who are familiarly
acquainted with the habits of the bird, but are unaware of the peri-
odical change in its colour, consider the two forms of the bird as
distinct species. Thus I have received from a marsh on the coast of
Norfolk the eggs of the ‘Black-Headed Gull’, and have had the
same bird pointed out to me in winter as the ‘ Red-Legged Pigeon-
Mow’ (Mew)... One flock of about thirty thus pointed out to me
presented a very pretty sight. They had detected either a shoal
of small fishes, or a collection of dead animal matter floating among
the breakers, and were feeding with singular activity.

THE COMMON GULL
LARUS CANUS

In spring the head and neck of this species are white and the mantle is a pale
grey, a little darker in summer, the head, tail and under parts white ;
primaries comparatively long, and the three outer pairs dull black on
the lower portions, with large white ‘ mirrors’ near the tips in mature
birds—in the rest the predominant tone is a pale grey, the black only
forming a bar, and all but the first primary broadly tipped with white ;
bill a rich yellow towards the point; legs and feet greenish yellow in
summer, darker in wintery. In wintery the head and neck are streaked
and spotted with ash-brown. ’ Length eighteen inches.

TuIs is a species resident in Great Britain, but it is not known
to breed south of the Solway. It nests, however, in the west of
Ireland; grassy sides and islands of lochs or slopes that face the
sea, not far often above high-water, are its favourite resorts, where
it breeds in colonies, the nest of seaweeds, heather and dry grass
being fairly large. In it will be, as a rule, three eggs, an olive-brown,
spotted and streaked with a blackish tone; but pale blue, light
green and straw-coloured varieties are found often. This Gull is
the first to seek the shore on the approach of ‘coarse’ weather ;
and it may often be studied in the fields as it picks up grubs among
the furrows in the company of Rooks, or by the town-tied Cockney,
from his own standpoint of Westminster Bridge.

The ‘Blue Maa’, as this species is called in the north, breeds in
abundance on the Scottish coasts as well as the moors of the fresh-
water lochs, including the Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetlands.
The Black-Headed Gull is generally the Common Gull of the peasantry
in Ireland, but the underside of the wing in the young of the Com-

284 THE COMMON GULL

mon Gull is mottled with brown, whereas it is greyish-white in the
Black-Headed species.

Gulls are, moreover, of material service, for they perform for the
surface of the sea the same office which crustaceous animals do
for its depths. Most of their time is spent in either flying or swim-
ming about (they are no divers) in quest of food, which is of that
nature that, if suffered to accumulate, more than one of our senses
would be offended. All animal matter which, when life is extinct,
rises to the surface, it is their especial province to clear away. To
perform this necessary work, they have need of a quick eye and a
voracious appetite. That they have the former in an eminent
degree, any one may convince himself who, when taking a sea
voyage, sees the vessel followed, as he often will, by a flock of Gulls.
Let him fling overboard, into the foaming track of the ship, where
his own eye can distinguish nothing, ever so small a portion of bread
or other kind of food. That some one individual at least among
the flock will have seen it fall and be able to descry it is certain ;
now, probably, a general scramble will ensue, and the prize will be
secured by the swiftest. Having tried this several times with
the same result, let him throw over, instead of meat or bread, a bit
of wood. Not a bird will come near even to examine it. I have
often tried this experiment, and have met with but one result. To
prove that the Gull is capable of consuming a large quantity of
food, as well as quick-sighted, a single anecdote will suffice :—“A
man who was shooting on the banks of the river Yare, seeing some-
thing, which had the appearance of an eel half-swallowed, hanging
from the mouth of a Gull which was flying overhead, fired at the
bird, and on taking it up, found, not an eel, but—five tallow can-
dles attached to a piece of thread, to the other end of which was
fastened a sixth, the latter having been almost entirely swallowed.
The candles were about twelve inches in length, with cotton wicks,
such as are used on board the fishing boats, from the deck of which
he had probably taken them”. The Gull, then, is not choice in its
diet ; it is, in fact, omnivorous. It skims the deep for dead animal
matter, follows the ship for offal thrown overboard, paces the shore
in quest of molluscs and marine insects, flies inland in stormy
weather (a specimen was once brought me which had been shot in
Hertfordshire, twenty miles from the nearest navigable river)
in winter and spring, and follows the plough along with Rooks and
Jackdaws, alights on fields which have been manured with decom-
posed fish, resorts to marshes for frogs and worms, and after an
inundation repairs to the lately submersed ground, and picks up
the small quadrupeds which have been drowned. It usually flies
at no great elevation above the water, but when repairing inland
and returning it frequently rises to a very great height.

THE LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL 285

DRE SHERRING GULL
LARUS ARGENTATUS

Head and neck white, streaked in summer with light brown; tail and lower
parts white ; back and wings bluish ash; primaries dusky, passing into
black, the shafts black and extremities white ; secondaries edged and
tipped with white; bill, orbits, and irides, yellow; feet flesh-colour.
In young birds the white is mostly replaced by dark grey, mottled with
brown ; wings and tail brown, the latter reddish yellow towards the
end; bill dusky; irides, orbits, and feet, brown. Length twenty-
three inches. Eggs olive-brown, spotted with dark brown and dusky.

Ir, among a flock of Common Gulls, seen either following a vessel
at sea or attending on the movements of a shoal of fish, one be
observed which greatly surpasses the rest in size, it will probably
be this species, provided that it have a grey and not a black back.
In the latter case it may either be the Great or Lesser Black-Backed
Gull.

The Herring Gull is a large and powerful bird, thoroughly com-
petent to dispose of a herring or even a more bulky fish. It is
common on most parts of the British coast, and remains with us
all the year, building its nest on steep cliffs, or rocky islands. In
the south of England it is very abundant, and is more frequently
seen inland, in newly-ploughed fields, than any other species. Like
the other Gulls, it may easily be tamed if taken young ; and, when
kept in a garden, earns its maintenance by keeping down slugs and
other vermin.

THE TESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL

LARUS FUSCUS

Wings reaching two inches beyond the tail; head and neck white, streaked
(in winter) with brown; lower parts pure white; rest of the upper plumage
blackish grey; primaries black, the first two with an oval white spot
near the tip; secondaries and scapulars tipped with white ; bill, irides,
and feet, yellow; tarsus two and a quarter inches long; orbits red.
In young birds the white plumage is mostly replaced by grey mottled
with brown, and the black by dusky edged with yellowish ; the primaries
have no white spots, and the bill is dusky. Length twenty-three
inches. Eggs brownish grey, spotted with brown and black.

THIS is a generally diffused species, occurring in considerable num-
bers, not only on various parts of our coast, but in the Baltic, the
Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Red Sea, and the northern parts
of America. It repairs in spring either to rocky islands, steep cliffs,
or sometimes to inland lakes, where it builds a rather large nest
of tufts of grass, and lays two or three eggs. When the young are

286 THE GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL

hatched it is very impatient of having its stronghold invaded, and
resents molestation by darting at the head of the intruder. The
Lesser Black-Backed Gull breeds habitually on many parts of the
coast, especially such as are frequented by the Herring Gull. Its
food and habits are much the same as those of the Common Gull.
In the South of England, the nesting-places are confined to Devon
and Cornwall, but there are colonies on the Farne Islands, the Isle
of Man and Wales.

THE GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL
LARUS MARINUS

Wings extending but little beyond the tail; legs pale flesh-colour. Length
thirty inches; breadth about five feet nine inches. In most other
respects resembling the Lesser Black-Backed Gull. Eggs stone-buff,
blotched and spotted with dusky brown.

OF the two Black-Backed Gulls, the Greater, or ‘Cobb’, is by far
the less frequent on our coasts, and when seen generally occurs in
pairs. It remains with us all the year, but is most frequent in
the south during winter. In spring, Great Black-Backed Gulls for
the most part withdraw to cliffs and rocky islands far north, as,
for instance, the Orkneys and Hebrides, where they are numerous,
a few only nesting southwards. Unlike most other Gulls, birds
of this species are unsociable even in the breeding season. They
build their nests on the most inaccessible parts of the rocks, and
reserve the situation entirely to themselves, not even permitting
birds of their own species or any other intruders to settle there.
They are exceedingly wary, and give notice of the approach of
danger to other animals. Consequently, they are held in dislike by
the gunner, whether in pursuit of sea-birds or seals. Like the rest
of the Gulls, they are omnivorous, but are, more than any others,
addicted -to carrion, in quest of which they often wander inland ;
hence, they are sometimes called Carrion Gulls. ‘If a floating
prize presents itself’, says Mr. St. John, “such as the remains of a
large fish or dead bird, it is soon discovered by one of the large
Gulls, who is not, however, allowed to enjoy his prize alone, for
every one of his fellows within sight joins in tearing it to pieces.
When I have winged a Duck, and it has escaped and gone out to sea,
I have frequently seen it attacked, and devoured almost alive, by
these birds.’

Stations occur here and there on the coast of England in which
the Great Black-Backed Gull builds. It sometimes resorts to a
marsh at the breeding season, but retains its habit of driving away
all intruders. Its eggs are prized as dainties, being thought to
resemble Plovers’ eggs,

Twist Tailed or Pomatorhine Skua

Richardson’s Skua
Great Shearwater Great Skua [ face p. 286,

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THE KITIIWAKE GULL 28

GLAUCOUS GULL, OR BURGOMASTER
LARUS GLAUCUS
General plumage white; back and wings bluish grey; tail and termina
portion of the quills white; bill strong, yellow; legs livid flesh-colour.
Young mottled with white, grey, and light brown ; shafts of the quills
white ; in other respects like the last, but the bill is longer and stouter.
Length about twenty-nine inches; breadth five feet two inches. Eggs
as in the last, but of a greener hue.
THE Glaucous Gull, a large, handsome, and powerful bird, resembles
in many of its habits the species last described, but it has not been
known to breed in even the most northerly of the British Isles. It
pays occasional visits to our shores in winter. A few specimens
only have been shot in the southern portion of the island, and no
large number in Scotland; but in the neighbourhood of the whale
fishery it is common enough. It is very voracious, and not only
eats fish, whether dead or alive, and shares with the whale-fisher
in his booty, but pursues other sea-fowl, compels them to disgorge
their prey, robs them of their eggs, and, if they resist, kills and
devours them.t In short, it is the very tyrant of the Arctic Ocean.
Its predatory habits were noticed by the early navigators in these
waters, who gave it the name of Burgomaster ; but as no accurate
description of the bird was brought home, and as some of our other
large Gulls are open to a charge of similar rapacity, the name was
naturally transferred by Willughby to another species, which he
calls the Wagel (probably the Great Black-Backed Gull in immature
plumage). This was in 1676. A hundred years later Brunnich
gave it the name of Glaucous Gull; but it is still called Burgo-
master by the Dutch, and by Arctic voyagers generally.
Mr. St. John gives the name of Wagel to the Great Grey Gull.

NI

THE KITTIWAKE GULL

RISSA TRIDACTYLA

Hind toe represented by a small knob without a claw. Summer plumage
—head and neck pale bluish ash, a few fine dusky streaks before the eyes ;
forehead, region of the eyes, and all the under parts, pure white ; upper
plumage bluish ash; first primary with the outer web black, four first
tipped with black, two or three of them ending in a small white spot,
fifth having the tip white bordered with black; bill greenish yellow ;
orbits red ; irides brown; feet dark olive-brown. In winter, the whole
of the head and neck is white. Young birds have the head white, mottled
with grey and dusky; upper feathers tipped with brown; bend and
upper edge of the wing black; primaries black; tail black, towards the
end tipped with white; bill, orbits, and irides, black; feet pale brown.
Length fifteen and a half inches. Eggs stone-colour, spotted with grey
and two shades of brown. ;

THE Kittiwake Gull takes its name from the cry with which in the

* A specimen shot in Norfolk was found to contain a full-grown Golden
Plover entire,

288 THE GREAT SKUA

breeding season it assails any intruder on its domain. It is a beauti-
ful bird, especially in its variegated immature plumage, remarkable
for its delicacy of colouring and the easy grace of its flight, frequent-
ing high cliffs in summer, while engaged in the duties of incubation,
and at all other times preferring the open sea to estuaries, and feed-
ing on such small fish as swim near the surface. It is very abun-
dant in the Arctic regions of both hemispheres during summer,
and extends its southern limits so far as to include the British Isles,
but is most numerous in the north. Its nest, built of seaweed or -
bents, is placed high up in the face of a precipitous cliff, generally on
a narrow ledge, and in close proximity with others belonging to
birds of the same species. It contains three eggs, and the young
birds remain in their airy nest until fully fledged, when, as
well as their parents, they disperse over the neighbouring seas,
rarely venturing either to perch on land or fly over it. The
young of the Kittiwake, previous to its first moult, is sometimes
called the Tarrock. Colonel Irby says that the Kittiwake is a
partially resident species. Marked birds have been known to
follow vessels across the North Atlantic.

Sus-Famity STERCORARIINZ! (Rosser Gutts)

THE GREAT SKUA

STERCORARIUS CATARRHACTES

Upper plumage brown, of several shades ; shafts of the quills, basal half of
the primaries, and shafts of the tail-feathers, white ; under, reddish grey,
tinged with brown ; two central tail-feathers but slightly elongated, not
tapering; tarsus two and a half inches long, somewhat rough at the back.
Length twenty-five inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched with brown.

TuE Skuas, called also Skua Gulls, are sufficiently distinguished

from the true Gulls by their strong hooked bills and talons, and

by the habits of daring and voracity founded on these characters.

The present species, though called common, is only to be so con-

sidered in high latitudes ; for it is very rarely seen on the coasts of

England, and has become scarce even in the Shetland Islands, where

it was at one time frequent. Mr. Dunn! says: ‘“‘I never saw this

bird in Orkney, and there are only three places in Shetland where
it breeds—viz. Foula, Rona’s Hill, and the Isle of Mist ; in the latte
place it is by no means numerous, and is strictly preserved by the
landlords, on whose property it may have settled, from a superstition
that it will defend their flocks from the attacks of the Eagle. That

} Ornithologist’s Guide to Orkney and Shetland, p. 112,

TWIST-TAILED OR POMATORHINE SKUA 289

it will attack the Eagle if he approaches their nests is a fact I have
witnessed: I once saw a pair completely beat off a large Eagle
from their breeding-place, on Rona’s Hill. The flight of the Skua
is stronger and more rapid than that of any other Gull. It is a
great favourite with the fishermen, frequently accompanying their
boats to the fishing-ground, or Haaf, which they consider a lucky
omen ; and in return for its attendance, they give it the refuse of
the fish which are caught. The Skua Gull does not associate in
-groups; and it is seldom that more than a pair are seen together.
During the breeding season it is highly courageou: ; and will strike
furiously at, and will even pursue, any one who may happen to
approach its nest, which is constructed among the heath or moss ;
the female laying two eggs.’’

Some authors state that the Common Skua obtains its livelihood
by levying contributions on the White Gulls, compelling them to
disgorge their prey, and catching it before it reaches the water ;
but Dr. Edmonston, who had great opportunities of watching the
habits of these birds, says that they do not adopt the practices
correctly attributed to the Arctic Gull, or Richardson’s Skua. The
voice of the Common Skua is said to resemble that of a young Gull,
being sharp and shrill; and it is from the resemblance of its cry
to that of the word Skua, or Skui, that it obtains its popular name.
That it is remarkably courageous and daring, all accounts agree.
Mr. Low says that, when the inhabitants are looking after their
sheep on the hills, the Skua often attacks them in such a manner
that they are obliged to defend themselves with their cudgels held
above their heads, on which it often kills itself ; and Captain Vetch,
in the Memoirs of the Wernerian Society, says that it not only
drives away Ravens and Eagles, but that the larger quadrupeds,
such as horses and sheep, which venture near its nest, are imme-
diately put to flight. Its northern name is Bonxie.

TWIST-TAILED OR POMATORHINE SKUA
STERCORARIUS POMATORHINUS

Upper plumage uniform dark brown; feathers of the nape long, tapering
lustrous ; sides of the face and under plumage white ; a collar of brown
spots on the breast, and similar spots on the flanks ; shafts of the quills
and tail-feathers white, except at the tip; two central tail-feathers
projecting three inches, not tapering; tarsus two inches long, rough at
the back, with projecting scales. Length twenty-one inches. Young
biyrds— upper plumage dusky brown, mottled with reddish yellow ;
under, yellowish white, thickly set with brown spots and bars. Eggs
ash-green, spotted with dusky.

Tue habits of this bird vary but little from those of the other species.

Its home is in the Arctic seas, from which it strays southwards in

winter, and has been occasionally seen on our coasts. The follow-
B.B. U

290 RICHARDSON’S SKUA

ing account of the capture of one of these birds, in 1844, indicates
a bird of unusual daring and voracity: “ About the beginning of
last October, a Pomarine Skua was taken in the adjoining village ©
of Ovingdean. It had struck down a White Gull, which it would
not quit: it was kept alive above a fortnight, and then died. The
very first day of its captivity it (is said to have) devoured twenty-

five Sparrows. Once it escaped, and immediately attacked a Duck,
which it held till recaptured.’ +

RICHARDSON’S SKUA

STERCORARIUS CREPIDATUS

Crown dusky ; cheeks, neck, and under plumage white, tinged with yellow or
brown; rest of the plumage dusky, the wings and tail the darkest.
Two central tail-feathers tapering from the base, pointed, and projecting
six inches; tarsus less than two inches. Length twenty-one inches.
Eggs olive, with a circle of brown spots near the larger extremity, the
rest speckled with the same colour.

Tuis species of Skua, most familiarly known, perhaps, as the Arctic
Gull, received its distinctive name, ‘ Richardson’s’, in honour of
the eminent Arctic naturalist. It is distinguished from the species
already described by its longer tail, but the habits of all are much
alike ; indeed, the names of ‘ Arctic Gull’, “ Boatswain’, ‘and Man-
of-War’, appear to be sometimes employed indiscriminately.
Richardson’s Skua, like the rest, inhabits the Arctic seas, but
extends its wanderings southwards in far greater numbers than
either of the other species, so that its occurrence on the east coast
of England is not unusual. According to Mr. Dunn, ‘numbers of
this bird breed in Orkney and Shetland, appearing regularly in
May and leaving in August: it is confined to a few situations and
is strictly preserved, from the same motive as the Skua Gull. It
constructs its nest on low, not mossy, heaths in exposed situations.
The female lays two eggs, and has recourse to the same stratagems
that the Plover employs to decoy you from the nest ; but when a
person approaches near to the place where the nest is built, becomes
bold and fierce, and strikes severely with the feet and bill.’ The
following account is taken from Mr. St. John’s Wild Sports of
the Highlands: ‘‘I was much amused the other day by the
proceedings of a pair of the Black-toed Gull or Boatswain.
These two birds were sitting quietly on an elevated ridge of
sand, near which a number of other Gulls of different kinds were
fishing, and hovering about in search of what the waves might
cast up. Every bird, indeed, was busy and employed, excepting
these two black robbers, who seemed to be quietly resting, quite
1 Zoologist, vol. iii. p. 880,

Puffin Jd Black Guillemot d 2
Razorbill J Guillemot ? [ face p. 290.

long te
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THE RAZOR-BILL 291
unconcerned. When, however, a Gull had picked up a prize, these
birds seemed instinctively to know it, and darting off with the
rapidity of a Hawk (which bird they much resemble in their manner
of flight), they attacked the unfortunate Gull in the air, and in spite
of his screams and attempts to escape, they pursued and beat him
till he disgorged the fish or whatever he had swallowed, when one
of them darted down and caught the substance before it could reach
the water. The two then quietly returned to their sandbank,
where they waited patiently to renew the robbery, should an
opportunity occur. As the flock of Gulls moved on with the flow
of the tide, the Boatswains moved on also, hovering on their flank
like a pair of plundering freebooters. I observed that, in chasing
a Gull, they seemed perfectly to understand each other as to who
should get the spoil; and in their attacks on the largest Gulls
(against whom they waged the most fearless warfare), they evidently
acted so as to aid each other. If another pair of Boatswains
intruded on their hunting-ground they immediately seemed to send
them further off ; not so much by actual battle, as by a noisy and
screaming argument, which they continued most vigorously till
the new-comers left the neighbourhood.

‘“T never saw these birds hunt for their own living in any other
way than by robbing the other Gulls. Though not nearly so large
as some of the birds which they attack, their Hawk-like swoops
and great courage seem to enable them to fight their way most
successfully. They are neatly and powerfully made, their colour
a kind of sooty dull black, with very little gloss or shining tints on
their feathers.”

ORDER VEYGORODES

FAMILY ALCID/

THE RAZOR-BILL

ALCA TORDA

Wings reaching to the origin of the tail ; head and upper parts black ; a band
across the wing ; an interrupted line from the eye to the base of the bill,
and all the under parts white; bill black, with three or four furrows, of
which the middle one is white; irides hazel; legs dusky. In summery
the line from the eye to the bill is pure white, and the whole of the throat
and neck is black, tinged with red. Length seventeen inches. Eggs
white, blotched and spotted with two shades of brown.

In general habits, the Razor-bill closely resembles the Guillemot

and Puffin. Indeed, in some parts of the coast, the Razor-bill is
called a Puffin, and the latter a Sea Parrot ; and in Cornwall both

292 THE COMMON GUILLEMOT

Guillemotsand Razor-bills are known by the common name of Murre.
At a distance the birds can only be distinguished by a practised
eye ; but on a close inspection they cannot be possibly confounded.

Razor-bills are common on many parts of our coast during the
later summer months. They are more frequently seen swimming
than flying, and if pursued by a boat are little disposed to take
alarm until they are approached to within twenty or thirty yards,
when they dive, but soon reappear not very far off. If two birds
be in company and one be killed by a shot from a gun, its companion,
instead of taking measures to insure its own safety, seems to lose
the power of self-preservation. It paddles round its companion
as if unable to comprehend the reason why it neither dives nor flies,
and if pursued suffers itself to be overtaken and knocked down by
an oar. This sympathetic feeling is not confined to birds which
have paired, or to members of the same family ; for in an instance
which came under my own notice, both birds were only a few months
old, and, as the Razor-bill lays but one egg, the birds could not
possibly have grown up together. Towards winter, Razor-bills
migrate southwards, either to avoid cold or to find waters where
their prey swims nearer to the surface than in our climate. In
spring they return northwards, and repair, like Puffins, to places
of habitual resort for the purpose of breeding. At this season, also,
they are eminently social, laying each an egg in close proximity
on a ledge in the rocks, lower down than the Puffins, but above
the Guillemots, all of which birds flock to the same portion of
coast, often in countless multitudes. The egg differs from that
of the Guillemot not only in colour but in shape, being less
decidedly pear-shaped. It is much sought after as an article of
food, and is said to be very palatable.

The ‘Auk’ of Arctic voyagers is this bird. The Razor-bill is
one of the best known of the Auk family, or Alcide, although less
plentiful than the Guillemot or the Puffin.

THE COMMON GUILLEMOT
URIA TROILE

Bill much compressed, longer than the head, greyish black ; upper plumage
brownish black; the secondaries tipped with white; a whitish patch
behind the eye on each side; under plumage white ; feet dusky ; iris
brown. Length nearly eighteen inches. Eggs greenish or bluish,
blotched and streaked with black.

Tus is one of our common sea-birds during a great portion of the

year, though little known to ordinary seaside visitors, owing to its

habit of keeping well out to sea and having nothing ostentatious
in its habits. Yet, during a cruise in a yacht, on almost any part
of the coast, a practised eye will often discover a few stragglers,

THE COMMON GUILLEMOT 293

distinguished among other sea-birds by their black and white
colours, short neck, and sharp beak. They swim low in the water ;
and when disturbed do not invariably dive like the Grebes and Divers,
but readily take wing. They are essentially marine birds, never
resorting to fresh water, and living exclusively on fish, which they
capture by diving, an art in which they are scarcely less skilful than
the true Divers, and which they practise in the same way—by the
means, namely, of both wings and feet. Occasionally, a small
party may be observed, flying in single file near the surface of the
water. On the eastern coast of England, the Guillemot is best
known by the name of Willock. It is also called Tinker’s Hue,
or, as Yarrell gives it, ‘ Tinkershere ’ ; and in the west of England
it is often called a Murr. The old writers describe it under the
name of Greenland Dove, or Sea Turtle-Dove ; and in Scotland it
has a variety of other names. Tinker’s Hue is, I presume, the
sobriquet of a white bird with a smutty back; Murr is clearly a
corruption of Mergus, or ‘ diver’. Yet more commonly it is known
as the ‘ Foolish Guillemot’, a term of reproach analogous to that
of ‘ Booby’, given to it from the indifference which it evinces, in the
breeding season, to one of its few, but that one the most formidable
of its enemies, man. Early in spring Guillemots throng together
from all parts of the open sea, and repair to some lofty cliff, where,
on a narrow ledge of rock, which in their folly they deem inaccessible,
they lay each a single egg. As the bird holds the egg between her
legs, she could not well cover more than one; and though a con-
cave nest is very needful to keep eggs together when there are
several, no such contrivance is necessary when there is one only ;
so the Foolish Guillemot builds no nest, but lays a solitary egg on
the bare rock. The egg, which is large, is thick-shelled and rough,
so that it receives no detriment from the rock; and it is not likely
to roll off, for at one end it is thick, and at the other tapers almost
to a point; consequently, if accidentally moved by the parent
bird when taking flight, it turns as if on a pivot, but does not fall
off. At this season, the cliffs to which Guillemots resort are fre-
quented also by myriads of other sea-birds, such as Razor-bills,
Puffins, and Gulls, each congregating with its own species, but
never consorting with another. In Iceland, the Faroe Islands, St.
Kilda, the Orkneys, and many parts of the coast of Scotland, the
breeding season of these birds is the harvest-time of the natives.
Either by climbing from below, or by being let down with ropes
from above, the egg-collectors invade the dominions of these literally
feathered ‘tribes’. The Foolish Guillemots, rather than leave
their charge, suffer themselves to be knocked on the head, to be
netted, or noosed. Although stationed so close to each other that
a Foolish Guillemot alone could know its own egg, they learn no
wisdom from the fate of their nearest neighbours. They are
captured in detail for the sake of their feathers; and their eggs

294 THE LEE AUK

are taken for food. In St. Kilda and, perhaps, elsewhere, young
birds are also taken in large numbers, and salted for consumption
in winter. Such as escape this systematic slaughter flounder, as
well as they are able, into the sea when nearly fledged, or are carried
thither by their foolish mothers. There they learn to swim, to dive,
and to fish, and about the middle of August old and young disperse.

Huge baskets of their eggs are sometimes brought to the markets
of seaport towns (I have seen them so far south as Devonport),
and sold for a price exceeding that of domestic fowls, for they are
much larger, and are said to afford good eating. Wilson, in his
Voyage round the Coasts of Scotland, says that the natives of St.
Kilda prefer the eggs of these, and other sea-fowl, ‘when sour ;
that is, when about ten or twelve days old, and just as the incipient
bird, when boiled, forms in the centre into a thickish flaky matter,
like milk.’+ Great quantities are used in the neighbourhood of
Flamborough Head early in the nesting season.

THE BEACK GUILLEMOT

URIA GRYLLE

Upper plumage black ; middle of the wings and under parts white ; iris brown ;

feetred. Length thirteen andahalfinches. Eggs whitish grey, blotched

and speckled with grey and two shades of brown.
THE Black Guillemot, is a resident species breeding on the Isle of
Man, and on the Irish coasts. In Scotland it is common. Its
mode of life, as described by Macgillivray, who was familiarly
acquainted with it, differs in no material respect from that of the
species already described. It is, however, much smaller, and lays
two or sometimes three eggs. Macgillivray says that, on those
parts of the coast which it frequents, attempts are often made to
rear it in captivity; but always unsuccessfully. In summer,
these birds may be readily distinguished from other sea-fowl, by
their black and white plumage and red feet : the predominant tint
of the plumage in winter is white, with a tinge of grey; and in high
latitudes the proportion of white increases.

TRE LITTLE Ak
MERGULUS ALLE

Head and upper parts black ; two bands across the wings ; a spot above the
eye and all the under parts white. In swmmey the throat and front of
the neck are also black. Lengthabout seveninches. Eggs uniform pale
blue. ;

Tue Little Auk is essentially a northern sea-bird, coming to us in

winter, and is described by Arctic voyagers under the name of

PANNE tile 305-215)

Red-throated Diver 2? Winter and ¢ Summer.
Little Auk 2 Black-throated Diver wm. and Jd
Great Northern Diver J [ face p. 294.

rs

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ve A ay i tk 1 are

a

a .
LL 6 “if

THE PUFFIN 295

Rotche. It is an indefatigable swimmer, and has considerable
powers of flight ; but it does not possess the faculty of diving to the
same degree as the Divers and Grebes, as it generally stays but a
short time under water. Henceit must find its food near the surface ;
and this is supposed to consist of the small crustaceous animals which
are so abundant in the Arctic waters. Little Auks are eminently
social birds, and have been observed occasionally in such numbers on
the water and floating masses of ice as almost to hide their resting-
place. They rarely travel far south; and when they visit our
shores, which is in winter, and after tempestuous weather, they are
supposed to have been driven hither against their will. Instances
are recorded of specimens having been found far inland, disabled
or dead. It lays only a single egg.

THE PUFFIN

FRATERCULA ARCTICA

Crown, collar, and upper parts, black ; cheeks, region of the eyes, and throat,
greyish white; under parts pure white; bill bluish grey at the base,
yellow in the middle, bright red at the tip; upper mandible with three
transverse furrows, lower, with two; iris whitish; orbits red; feet
orange-red. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs whitish, with
indistinct ash-coloured spots.

UNLIKE the majority of sea-birds which have been passing under

our notice, Puffins visit the shores of the British Isles in summer,

and even in winter they are not absent. They make their appear-
ance about April or May, not scattering themselves indiscriminately
along the coast, but resorting in vast numbers to various selected
breeding-places, from the Scilly Islands to the Orkneys. Their
home being the sea, and their diet small fish, they possess the
faculties of swimming and diving to a degree of perfection. They
have, moreover, considerable powers of flight ; but on land their
gait is only a shuffling attempt at progress. Their vocation on
shore is, however, but a temporary one, and requires no great amount
of locomotion. Soon after their arrival they set to work about
their nests. Fanciful people who class birds according to their
constructive faculty as weavers, basket-makers, plasterers, and so on,
would rank Puffins among miners. Building is an art of which
they are wholly ignorant, yet few birds are lodged more securely.
With their strong beaks, they excavate for themselves holes in the
face of the cliff to the depth of about three feet, and at the extremity
the female lays a solitary egg—solitary, that is to say, unless another
bird takes shelter in the same hole, which is not unfrequently the
case. Puffins generally show no overweening partiality for their
own workmanship ; sloping cliffs which have been perforated by
rabbits are favourite places of resort ; and here they do not at all
scruple to avail themselves of another’s labour, or, if necessary,
to eject by force of beak the lawful tenant. If the soil be unsuited

295 THE PUFFIN

for boring, they lay their eggs under large stones or in crevices in
the rock. The old bird sits most assiduously, and suffers herself
to be taken rather than desert her charge, but not without wound-
ing, with her powerful beak, and to the best of her ability, the hand
which ventures into her stronghold. Myriads burrow on Lundy
Island. Lunde means Puffin, and ey Island, the name being given
by the old Scandinavian rovers who settled there.

The young are fed by both parents, at first on half-digested fish,
and when older on pieces of fresh fish. At this period they suffer
their colonies to be invaded without showing much alarm, and are
either shot, knocked down with a stick, or noosed without difficulty.
As soon as the young are fully fledged, all the Puffins withdraw to
southern seas, where they pass the winter, and do .not approach
land until the return of the breeding season. ‘‘ A small island near
Skye, named Fladda-huna, is a great breeding haunt of Puffins, a
species which arrives in the earlier part of May, literally covering the
rocks and ledgy cliffs withits feathered thousands. Although these
have no concern with our Grouse-shooting season, they almost totally
disappear on the twelfthof August.” + It was just about this period
(August 7) in the present year (1861) that I observed several large
flocks of Puffins, floating with the tide through the Sound of Islay,
and was told by an intelligent gamekeeper that “‘ these birds habitu-
ally swim through the sound at this season, but always fly when
returning’’. The reason probably is that the young are not at the
former period sufficiently fledged to undertake a long flight, though
they find no difficulty in swimming. By spring they have attained
their full strength, and are able to adopt the more rapid mode of
progress. In Scotland there are many large colonies, also in the
cliffs by Flamborough Head, and on the Farne Islands.

Puffins and some other sea-birds appear to be either liable to a
fatal epidemic or to be surprised by some atmospheric disturbance,
being unable to resist which, they perish in large numbers. I have
seen a portion of the sea-shore in Cornwall strewed for the distance
of more than a mile with hundreds of their remains. All the softer
parts had been apparently devoured by fishes and crustaceous
animals, and nothing was left but the unmistakable parrot-like
beaks. A friend informs me that he witnessed a similar pheno-
menon in Norfolk, in September, 1858; but in this instance the
carcases of the birds were not devoured, and the birds were of different
kinds. He estimated that about ninety per cent. were Guillemots,
and the remainder Puffins, Razor-bills, Scoters, and a sprinkling of
Black Throated Divers. A similar mortality among sea-birds is
recorded in the Zoologist as having taken place on the coast of
Norfolk, in May, 1856. On this occasion they were so numerous
as to be thought worth collecting for manure.

1 Wilson’s Voyage round the Coast of Scotland.

THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER 207

Other names by which the Puffin is known are Sea Parrot, Coul-
terneb, Mullet, Bottlenose ; and, in Scotland, Ailsa Parrot, Tammie-
Norie, and Tammas.

FAMILY COLYMBID/

THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER

COLYMBUS GLACIALIS

Bill, with the upper mandible, nearly straight, upwards of four inches in
length ; head and neck violet-black, with a double gorget white, barred
with black ; upper parts black, spotted with white ; under parts white ;
bill black ; irides brown; feet dusky, the membranes whitish. Young
very like the next, but distinguishable by their superior size and the
direction of the bill. Length thirty-three inches. Eggs dark olive-
brown, with a few spots of purplish brown.

THE name Divers is, on the sea-coast, loosely applied to a ¢ribe

of sea-birds, including the Grebes, Cormorants, and other birds,

which, when pursued, place their safety in diving rather than in
flying. In works on natural history the term is, however, employed
to designate the genus CoLyMBus, and with great propriety ; for,
however skilled any of the above birds may be in this mode of
progression, the true divers surpass them immeasurably. First

among these in size and dignity is the Great Northern Diver, a

native of high latitudes in both hemispheres, never perhaps coming

farther south than the Shetlands for breeding purposes, and
visiting our waters only during winter.1 The Northern Diver,
or Imber or Ember Goose, appears to be tolerably frequent in

British waters. In Scotland it prefers saltwater lochs and sandy

bays to the open sea, though occasionally seen some miles from

land. It swims deep in the water, but advances rapidly. When
in pursuit of prey it sinks beneath the surface without plunge
orsplash, the head disappearing last, and it traverses perhaps
two or three hundred yards of water before it rises again.

Montagu says that it propels itself by its feet alone ; Audubon,

on the contrary, states that it uses the wings under water. The

latter author is most probably correct, for it dives more swiftly
than the Grebes, and these birds undoubtedly make a vigorous
use of their wings. Where shoals of small fish, such as sand-eels

1 Mr. Yarrell, vol. iii. p. 426, quotes Sir Thomas Browne as an authority
for the fact that Divers formerly bred in the Broads of Norfolk. A careful
examination of that author will show, however, that Sir Thomas Browne had
seen only a single specimen of the Northern Diver, his ‘ Divers’, or ‘ Dive-
fowl’, being the Crested and Lesser Grebes, etc., which, as we have seen
above, continue to breed in the Broads.

298 THE BLACK-THROATED DIVER

and sprats, abound, or where fish even of a much larger size are
numerous, the Northern Diver finds a rich harvest. Occasionally
while thus engaged it meets its death by dashing into the herring
nets, and there getting entangled. A fine specimen was recently
shown to me in the island of Islay, which had been thus captured.
Though it has never been known to take wing in attempting to
elude pursuit, it is often seen flying with strength and rapidity,
outstripping even the Grebe, which, in proportion to its size, is
furnished with far larger wings than itself.

The adult male, which is a very handsome bird, is of rare occur-
rence, most of those which visit our shores being young birds.

The nest is usually placed near the edge of a reedy lake or large
river, having a well-beaten track leading to it from the water’s
edge. This is formed by the bird in its clumsy effort to walk, a
feat which it only performs on such occasions. The nest itself is
bulky, and is formed of the vegetable substances found in the
immediate vicinity, such as grasses and other herbaceous plants.
It contains two, and sometimes three, eggs. The young are able
to swim and dive very soon after they are hatched, and are fed
for about a fortnight by their parents, at the expiration of which
time they have to hunt for themselves.

THE BLACK-THROATED DIVER

COLYMBUS ARCTICUS

Bill slightly curved upwards, with the middle of the lower mandible equal in
width to the base, exceeding three inches in length; head ash-grey ;
throat and front of the neck black, lustrous with violet and green; be-
neath the throat a narrow band streaked with white and black; sides and
front of the neck streaked with white and black; back black, with a
longitudinal patch of white and black bars on the upper part ; scapulars
with twelve or thirteen transverse white bars; bill dusky; iris brown ;
feet dusky, with whitish membranes. Young birds have the head and back
of the neck greyer and the upper plumage dark brown, edged with
bluish ash; under plumage white; cheeks white, spotted with ash ;
upper mandible ash-grey, lower dull white. Length twenty-four to
twenty-eight inches. Eggs dark olive-brown, spotted with purplish
brown.

Tuts Diver differs from the preceding species principally in being

of inferior size. The predominant tints of the plumage are the

same, and the habits of the two are so similar that a separate descrip-
tion is unnecessary. The present species is, however, far less
common, though it breeds in the Outer Hebrides and in Scot-
land, where both eggs and young birds have been observed, and
migrates southward in winter. It lays two eggs, near the edge
of a fresh-water loch; and Mr. Selby observed that a visible
track from the water to the eggs was made by the female, whose
progress upon land is effected by shuffling along upon her belly,

Red Necked Grebe.
Slavonian Grebe. Black Necked or Eared Grebe.

Great Crested Grebe 2 Winter od Summer [face p. 298

ag®

THE RED-THROATED DIVER 299

propelled by her legs behind. In the breeding season the old
birds are often seen on the wing, at which time also they have
a peculiar and loud cry, which has been compared to the voice of a
human being in distress.

THE RED-THROATED DIVER

COLYMBUS SEPTENTRIONALIS

Till slightly curved upwards, with the edges of both mandibles much incurved,
not exceeding three inches in length ; head, throat, and sides of the neck
mouse-colour ; crown spotted with black ; neck both above and below
marked with white and black lines ; on the front of the neck a large orange-
coloured patch ; back dusky brown ; lower parts white. Young birds—
upper plumage mouse-colour, darker on the back, where it is marked
by longitudinal white lines ; wings dusky ; feathers on the flanks dusky,
some of them edged with white; all the under plumage pure white
Length twenty-six inches. Eggs chestnut-brown, spotted with darker
brown.

THE name ‘Loon,’ given in some districts to the Crested Grebe, is
elsewhere given to the Red-Throated Diver. The term is an old
one, for our countrymen, Ray and Willughby, quoting yet more
ancient authorities, describe the Northern Diver under the name
of ‘Loon’,and the Black-Throated Diver under that of ‘Lumme’,
the latter being the name of the bird in Iceland and Norway, and
the former probably an English corruption of the same word, which
in the original signifies ‘lame’. :

On no part of our coast must we expect to hear this bird popularly
called by the name of ‘Red-Throated’, for, though common on
many parts of the coast, almost all the specimens observed are
young birds of the year, which have the throat pure white. Several
were brought to me by the seaside gunners on the coast of Norfolk.
In May birds with red throats are noticed. A writer in the
Zoologist! says that they are very numerous in winter off the
coast of the Isle of Wight, passing and repassing in small flocks
and in two lines about a mile apart. Of the hundreds which fell
under his notice one only had a red throat, and this was captured
under singular circumstances. On April 24, 1839, some fishermen
observed an object floating which they imagined was a keg of
spirits, but which proved to be a large fish of the kind known as
the Fishing Frog, or Angler. On hauling it on board with their
boat-hooks, the fishermen discovered that the animal had nearly
choked himself by swallowing, tail foremost, an adult Red-throated
Diver. The head of the bird protruded from the throat into the
mouth of the captor, and, strange to say, it had not only survived
its imprisonment, but was unhurt. It was extricated and pre-
sented to the Zoological Gardens, where it lived for six months.

WON; ath, oh Cy#ic

300 THE GREAT CRESTED GREBE

Another writer in the same magazine? says that he saw a large
number in Norway during the breeding season, but not one without
the dark red throat.

This species, like the rest of the genus, obtains its food by diving ;
when pursued it rarely tries to escape by taking wing, though it
has the power of flying with great rapidity. During the breeding
season especially, it often flies about over the water with its long
neck outstretched, and uttering a wailing scream.

I am informed by a friend, that while fishing in a boat in calm
water off the coast of North Devon, he has many times seen Divers
pass through the water, at a considerable depth below, propelling
themselves by a free and active use of their wings.

From October to May only these Divers frequent our coast.
Towards the end of spring they withdraw northwards and build
their nests, of coarse grass and other herbs, close to the edge of a
fresh-water loch. They lay two eggs, and the male is said to take
his turn in the office of incubation. Many stay to breed in the
Orkneys and Outer Hebrides, and in Ireland.

PODICIPEDIDA:

THE GREAT CRESTED GREBE

PODICIPES CRISTATUS

Bill longer than the head, reddish, the tip white ; distance from the nostril
to the tip seventeen or eighteen lines; cheeks white; crest and ruff
dark brown and chestnut; upper plumage dark brown; secondaries
white; breast and under parts silky white; bill brownish red; irides
red; feet dull green. Female—crest and ruff less conspicuous, colours
generally less bright. Young bivds have neither crest nor ruff. Length
twenty-one inches. Eggs white.

THE Great Crested Grebe is thus described by Sir Thomas Browne,

under the name of Loon: ‘A handsome and specious fowl, cris-

tated, and with divided fin-feet placed very backward. They
come about April, and breed in the broad waters ; so making their
nest in the water, that their eggs are seldom dry while they are set
on.’ Fifty years ago the Loon continued to be so common on
the Broads of Norfolk that eighteen or twenty might be counted
together. It is more or less resident in England and Wales—in
the meres of the Midlands and the lakes of Breconshire, and has
lately bred in the vicinity of the Clyde.

The movements of this bird in the water are described as most
graceful ; in swimming it vies with the Swan, and it is a skilful
diver. As seen perched upin a museum its form is ungainly, but

1 Zoologist, vol. ix. p. 3084.

RED-NECKED GREBE 301

in its native element it might serve as the standard of perfection
among water birds. The legs, compressed so as to present a sharp
edge, cut the water with a minimum of resistance ; the webbed
feet are placed so far backwards that they fulfil at once the office
of propellers and rudder; the body is conical and covered with
satiny plumage, which throws off water as perfectly as the fur of
the otter; the long neck tapers to exceedingly narrow dimensions
and terminates in a small head produced into a slender bill. The
conformation of the greyhound is not better adapted for fleet run-
ning than that of the Grebe for rapid diving. The chase, I need
scarcely add, consists of fish; but the Loon will feed on frogs,
tadpoles, and any other small animals which fall in its way. It
frequents fresh water during the summer months, but on the
approach of winter repairs to the sea, not, it would seem, from
any desire of varying its food, but to avoid being frozen up. It builds
its nest among rushes or decaying weeds, but little above the level
of the water, and lays four eggs, the male assisting his partner in
the office of incubation.

The young can dive and swim immediately that they are hatched ;
but if the mother be suddenly alarmed while they are with her,
she takes them under her wing and dives with them.

The name Loon is supposed to be a corruption of the Finnish
designation, Leomme or Lem, ‘lame’, given to several of the
Colymbidé on account of the awkwardness with which they advance
on land.

The Loon is found in lakes throughout a great portion of both
the eastern and western hemispheres, but not very far to the north.
It rarely flies, except at the period of migration, when it passes
swiftly through the air, with neck and feet extended to their full
length.

RED-NECKED GREBE

PODICIPES GRISEIGENA

Bill as long as the head, black, yellow at the base ; distance from the nostrils
to the tip eleven lines ; crest very short ; head and crest lustrous black ;
cheeks and throat mouse-colour ; a black band along the nape; breast
bright rust-red ; lower parts white; flanks spotted with dusky; feet
black, greenish yellow beneath. Young birds have the head, neck, and
back, dusky ; throat, cheeks, breast, belly, and abdomen, silky white ;
sides of the breast spotted with grey. Length sixteen inches. Eggs
dirty greenish white.

THE Red-Necked Grebe is smaller than the Loon, from which it
differs also in wanting the elongated crest, in having a more robust
bill in proportion to its size, and is further distinguished by the
grey hue of its cheeks, on account of which last character it is
known in France under the name of Grébe Jou-gris. It is a native

302 THE Lilie, GREBE, OR DABCHICGIS

of the north-eastern parts of Europe, and is fairly common along
the eastern coast of Great Britain from autumn to spring. In
habits it differs little from the last described species, but is less
common, occurring both in fresh-water lakes and along the sea-
coast.

SLAVONIAN GREBE
PODICIPES AURITUS

Bill strong, shorter than the head, compressed throughout its whole length,
black, with the tip red ; eyes with a double iris, the inner yellow, the outer
red ; distance from the nostrils to the tip of the bill six or seven lines ;
head and bushy ruff glossy black; two horn-like crests orange-red ;
lore, neck, and breast, bright chestnut ; upper plumage dusky ; second-
aries and under parts white; bill black, rose-coloured at the base and
ted at the tip. Young—crest and ruff wanting; upper plumage and
flanks dusky ash, under parts white; irides white, surrounded by red.
Eggs dirty white.

THE Slavonian, or Horned Grebe, approaches so closely in habits
to the two preceding species that it is unnecessary to say more than
that it inhabits the northern parts of America and Europe, visiting
us from autumn to spring. Audubon describes its nest as a rude
structure of weeds, situated at a distance of about twelve feet
from the water’s edge; but other authors state that though it
constructs its nest of these materials, it disposes it among weeds in
such a way that it rises and falls with every alteration in the level
of the water. It lays from five to seven eggs, and the male is
supposed to assist in the office of incubation.

THE LITTLE GREBE,-OR, DABCHTIEGK
PODICIPES FLUVIATILIS

Bill very short, shining, compressed ; no crest or ruff ; distance from nostrils
to tip of the bill five lines ; tarsus with a double row of serratures behind ;
head black; cheeks bright chestnut ; breast and flanks dusky, mottled
with white ; upper parts dark brown, tinged with green ; primaries ash-
brown ; secondaries white at the base and on the inner web, under parts
dusky ash, tinged on the thighs with reddish ; bill black, whitish at the
tip and base of the lower mandible ; irides reddish brown ; feet externally
greenish brown, beneath flesh-colour. Young birds are ash-brown
above, slightly tinged with red ; breast and flanks reddish white ; belly
pure white ; bill brown and yellowish ash. Length nearly ten inches.
Eggs dirty white.

Tue Lesser Grebe, or, as it is more commonly called, the Dabchick,
is the only species with which it is possible to become familiarly
acquainted in Britain. It frequents rivers, ponds, and lakes, in
all parts of the country, rarely flying, and still more rarely coming
to land.

Rambling by the side of asluggish river, the sides of which are lined

Manx Shearwater 3
Stormy Petrel Fork Tailed Petrel 9?

Fulmar face p. 302.

THE LITTLE GREBE, OR- DABCHICK 303

with reeds or bulrushes, one may often descry, paddling about with
undecided motion, what appears to be a miniature Duck no longer
than a Blackbird. It does not, like the Moor-hen, swim with a jerk-
ing movement, nor when alarmed does it half swim and half fly ina
direct line for the nearest bank of weeds. If you are unobserved,
it swims steadily for a short distance, then suddenly disappears,
making no splash or noise, but slipping into the water as if its
body were lubricated. It is diving for its food, which consists of
water insects, molluscs, small fish and worms. As suddenly as it
dives so suddenly does it reappear, most likely not far from the
spot where you first observed it:
A di-dapper peering through a wave,
Who, being looked on, ducks as quickly in.
SHAKSPEARE,

Another short swim and it dives again ; and so it goes on, the time
spent under the water being far in excess of that employed in taking
breath. Advance openly or make a noise, it wastes no time in
idle examinations or surmises of your intentions, but slips down as
before, not, however, to reappear in the same neighbourhood. Its
motives are different : it now seeks not food, but safety, and this it
finds first by diving, and then by propelling itself by its wings under
water in some direction which you cannot possibly divine ; for it
by no means follows that it will pursue the course to which its bill
pointed when it went down. It can alter its line of flight beneath
the water as readily as a swallow can change its course of flight
through the air. But wherever it may reappear, its stay is now
instantaneous ; a trout rising at a fly is not more expeditious. You
may even fail to detect it at all. It may have ensconced itself
among weeds, or it may be burrowing in some subaqueous hole.
That it has the power of remaining a long while submerged, I have
no doubt. There is in the parish of Stamford Dingley, Berks, a
large and beautiful spring of water, clear as crystal, the source of
one of the tributaries of the Thames. I was once bending over
the bank of this spring, with a friend, watching the water, some
five or six feet down, as it issued from a pipe-like orifice and stirred
the sand around like the bubbling of a cauldron, when there sud-
denly passed between us and the object we were examining a form
so strange that we were at first doubtful to what class of animals
we should refer it. In reality, it was a Dabchick, which, alarmed
probably by the noise of our conversation, was making for a place
of safety. As it passed within two or three feet of our faces, we
could distinctly see that it propelled itself by its wings; but it
appeared not to have observed us, for it kept on in a direct course
towards the head of the spring. We searched long in the hope
of discovering it again, but failed; and as there were no weeds
among which it could possibly hide above water, and we could
examine the bottom of the spring almost as thoroughly as if it

304 THE PUEMARK PETRELE

contained air only, we could but conclude that our apparition had
taken refuge in a hole under the bank.

Early in spring, when Dabchicks leave the small streams and
watercourses for broader pieces of water, they have been observed
to fly ; and during the building season also they have been seen
circling round in the air near the locality of their intended nest.
The nest itself is constructed of weeds of all kinds, forming a thick
mass raised but a few inches above the surface of the water, and
invariably far enough from the bank to be inaccessible except by
wading. The Dabchick lays five or six long-shaped eggs, pointed
at either end, of a chalky white colour. These the bird, when
she leaves the nest, covers with weeds for the purpose of conceal-
ment, and on her return continues the work of incubation without
removing the covering, so that the eggs soon lose their white hue,
and before the period of hatching have become very dirty. The
young birds can swim and dive immediately on leaving the egg.
I have never myself seen a Dabchick fly through the air or walk
on land, neither have I ever heard its note. The latter, a low
clicking and chattering sort of noise, it is said to utter in spring.
It breeds even in St. James’ Park. Females smaller than males.

ORDER -TUBINARES
FAMILY PROCELLARITIDA

THE FULMAR PETREL

PROCELLARIA GLACIALIS

Head, neck, under plumage, and tail, white; wings bluish ash, the primaries
brownish grey ; beak, irides, and feet, yellow. Young of the year grey
tinged with brown, mottled on the back with deeper brown ; bill and feet
yellowish ash. Length nineteen inches. Eggs white.

In some of the Outer Hebrides Fulmars breed ; but the great station:

to which tens of thousands annually resort, is the remote island

of St. Kilda. To the Fulmar indeed, and in a less degree to the

Gannet and two or three other sea-birds, the island is indebted for

its being able to boast of human inhabitants. Eggs and birds,

fresh or salted, furnish them with food; the Fulmar with oil:
and feathers pay their rent. In the Shetlands it is said to be increas-
ing.

— James Wilson says: ‘ The oil is extracted from both
the young and old birds, which, however, they must seize on sud-
denly and strangle, else, as a defensive movement, the desired (and
pungent) oil is immediately squirted in the face and eyes of their
opponent.’ This oil is ejected, not, as it is sometimes said, through
tubular nostrils, but directly through the throat and open mouth.

THE MANX SHEARWATER 305

The flesh of the Fulmar is also a favourite food with the St. Kildans,
who like it all the better on account of its oily nature.

The Fulmar is essentially a sea-bird, and never comes to land
except in the breeding season, when it builds its nest of herbage on
the grassy shelves of the highest cliffs, and lays a single egg, if
which be taken, it lays no more. The young birds are fed with
oil by the parents, and on being molested spurt out through the
throat and open mouth the same fluid, which, being of a rank
smell, infects not only the nest, but the whole neighbourhood. The
young birds, which are taken early in August, are boiled, and made
to furnish a large quantity of fat, which is skimmed off and pre-
served for winter use. The old birds are considered great dainties.

In the Arctic regions the Fulmar is well known for its assiduity
in attending on whale ships, keeping an eager watch for anything
thrown over; and when the operation of cutting up a whale is
going on, helping itself most greedily to stray pieces of offal, and
venturing so near as to be easily knocked down by a boathook or
to be taken by hand.

Owing to the rankness of its food, the smell of the Fulmar is
very offensive. A specimen recently shot was brought to me in
Norfolk, early in January, 1862, and being a great rarity, was
carefully preserved and set up; but on being sent home from the
bird-stuffer’s it was banished to an outhouse, where it has remained
for three months without losing anything of its offensive odour.

THE GREAT SHEARWATER
PUFFINUS MAJOR
Bill two inches long ; tail pointed ; upper plumage dusky ; under, deep ash
grey. Length eighteen inches.

THE Great Shearwater is far less abundant than the preceding
species, and may indeed be considered a rarity. A few solitary
specimens have from time to time been shot on various parts of
the coast, and they have occasionally been noticed in considerable
numbers off the coast of Cornwall. In the Scilly Islands, where
they are called ‘Hackbolts’, they are said to be yet more frequent.
The Great Shearwater differs little in habits, as far as they are
known, from the other species.

THE MANX SHEARWATER

PUFFINUS ANGLORUM

Bill an inch and a half long; tail rounded ; upper plumage brownish black
lustrous ; under white ; sides of the neck barred with grey ; sides spotted
with grey. Length fourteen inches. Eggs nearly round; pure white.

THAT a bird whose generic name is Puffinus should sometimes be

called a ‘ Puffin’ is not surprising; and the reader who meets

B.B, x

306 THE MANX SHEARWATER

with the name in books should satisfy himself whether the subject
of his study be an Auk or a Shearwater, before he admits as facts
any statements about the ‘ Puffin’ which may fall in his way.
Yarrell, for instance, gives the name of Puffin to the bird already
described under the name of Fratercula Arctica, while by Montagu
that bird is described under the name of ‘ Coulterneb’, ‘ Puffin’
being given as a synonym for the Shearwater. Off Cornwall it is
called skiddeu and brew.

The Shearwater is so called from its mode of flight, in which it
‘shears’ or skims the water; and its distinctive name, Manx, it
owes to its having been formerly very abundant in the Calf? of
Man, a small island lying south of the Isle of Man.

The Manx Shearwater is, during the greater portion of the year,
an ocean-bird, and only ventures on shore during the breeding season.
It then repairs to some island, or portion of the coast little frequented
by man, and in society with other birds of the same species there
takes up its summer quarters. A sandy or light earthy soil, scantily
furnished with vegetation, is preferred to any other station. Its
nest is a hole in the ground, either the deserted burrow of a rabbit
or a tunnel excavated by itself, or less frequently it lays its one
egg in the crevice of a rock. During the day Shearwaters, for the
most part, remain concealed in their holes, and lie so close that they
will suffer themselves to be dug out with a spade and make: no
attempt to escape. Towards evening they quit their hiding-places,
and paddle or fly out to sea in quest of food. This consists of small
fish and other marine animals which swim near the surface, and are
caught by the birds either while they are floating or ‘ shearing ’
the water. No nest ever contains more than one egg, but that one
and the chick which it produces are objects of the greatest solicitude.

Unfortunately for the poor Shearwaters, their young, though
fed on half-digested fish oil, are delicate eating ; consequently,
some of the stations of these birds have been quite depopulated,
and in others their numbers have been greatly thinned.

Willughby tells us that in his time ‘ Puffins’ were very numerous
in the Calf of Man, and that fully fledged young birds, taken from
the nests, were sold at the rate of ninepence a dozen. He adds,
that in order to keep an accurate reckoning of the number taken,
it was customary to cut off, and retain, one of each bird’s legs.
The consequence was that the state in which the birds were sent
to market was supposed to be their natural condition, and the
Puffin was popularly believed to be a ‘ monopod’ (one-footed bird).

This station is now nearly, if not quite, deserted ; but colonies
still exist in Annet, one of the Scilly Islands, on the south coast
of Wales, in the Orkneys, and in the Shetlands. In the Scilly

1 ‘Calf’, on many parts of the coast, is a name given to the smaller of two
rocks in proximity, of which the larger is called the ‘Cow’,

THE STORM-PETREL 307

Islands the Shearwater is called a Crew, from the harsh note uttered
by the bird when its burrow is invaded ; in the north, a Lyrie or
Scrabe.

THE STORM-PETREL

PROCELLARIA PELAGICA

General plumage like the last ; tail even at the extremity ; legs moderate ;
membranes black. Length scarcely six inches. Eggs white.

UNDER the name of ‘ Mother Carey’s Chickens’ the Petrels must
be known to all readers of voyages. According to the belief popular
in the forecastle, these birds are invisible during calm or bright
weather; but when the sky lowers, and a storm is impending,
suddenly, no one knows whence, forth come these ill-omened heralds
of the tempest, inspiring more terror than would be caused even
by the hurricane which they are supposed to commence. In reality,
the Petrels are scarcely birds of the day ; they love to hide them-
selves in holes and behind stones. It is not, therefore, surprising
that when the sea is calm, and the sun bright, they lurk in their
hiding-places, if near enough to land ; or, if on the open ocean, le
asleep on the surface of the water, unnoticed, because still and of
small size. An overcast sky, however, awakes them as twilight
would, and they leave their hiding-places, or rise from their watery
bed, not because a storm is impending, but because the cloud which
accompanies the storm brings them the desired gloom. When in
motion they are more conspicuous than when at rest, and they
follow the wake of a ship for the same reason that other sea-fowl
do, for the sake of the offal thrown overboard. They will some-
times accompany a ship for days, showing that they have untiring
power of wing, and to all but the superstitious greatly relieving
the monotony of the voyage.

The Petrel builds its nest, a rude structure of weeds and rubbish,
either in the hole of a cliff or under stones on the beach, and lays
a single egg. It rarely comes abroad by day, and if disturbed ejects
from its mouth an oily matter, after the manner of the Fulmar.
Towards evening it comes forth from its stronghold, and skims the
sea in quest of food, which consists of floating animal matter of all
kinds. Its name, Petrel, or Little Peter, is derived from its habit
of occasionally skimming along so close to the surface of the sea as
to dip its feet in the water, and present the appearance of walking ;
but its ordinary flight is very like that of the Swallow.

The Storm-Petrel breeds in the Orkney, Shetland, and Scilly
Islands and a few on the Welsh coast, also in the Channel Islands,
but a genuine ocean-bird quits the land as soon as its young are
able to accompany it. It is frequently seen in the Atlantic and

308 THE FORK-TAILED PETREL

Mediterranean, and is not an uncommon visitor to our shores,
especially during severe weather.

Its note is only heard during the season of incubation, when its
retreat is often betrayed by a low twittering.

Storm-Petrels are gregarious birds; they breed in colonies,
and skim the sea in small flocks. The French steamers which sail
between Toulon and Algiers are said to be regularly accompanied
by these birds.

THE FORK-TAILED PETREL

_ PROCELLARIA LEUCORRHOA

General plumage like the last ; tail forked ; legs moderate ; membrane dusky
Length seven and a quarter inches. Eggs white, marked with small
rusty spots.

Tue Fork-Tailed Petrel, a native of North America, does not
differ materially in habits from the other species. It is met with
almost annually on our east coast, and is common off Cornwall.
In Ireland it is frequent. This species was first declared to be
a British bird by Bullock, who found it at St. Kilda in 1818.

GLOSSARY OF COMMON AND
BeOVINCIAL NAMES AND OF TECHNICAL

TERMS.
dS: male Q : female
Aberdeen Sandpiper: a name for Bearded Reedling
the Knot Bee-bird: a name sometimes

Aberdevine : name for the
Siskin
Accentor, Hedge : Sparrow, Chan-
ter or Warbler
Alk: the Razorbill
Allamotte: the Petrel
Allan: the Skua
Alp: a name for the Bullfinch
Annet: the Kittiwake Gull
Arctic-bird: the Skua
Arctic Skua
» Tern
Assilag: the Petrel

Awl: the Woodpecker

a

Badock: the Skua

Bankjug: the Chiff-chaff and
Willow Warbler

Bargander: the Sheldrake

Barley-bird : the Siskin and Wry-
neck

Barred or Lesser-spotted Wood-
pecker

Bar-tailed Godwit

Basal: at or near the base
Beam-bird: the Spotted Fly-
catcher
Bean Crake: the Land-Rail
Goose

”?

309

given to the Flycatcher ;
sometimes to the Willow
Warbler
,, ~eater
,, -hawk: the Honey Buzzard
Beech-finch: the Chaffinch
Bergander: the Sheldrake
Bernicle Goose

Billy: the Hedge Sparrow

Billy-whitethroat: the White-
throat

Bittern

Black-a-top : the Stonechat
Black-billed Auk: a name given
to the Razor-bill in the winter
plumage of the first year
Blackcap: a name sometimes
given to the Black-headed Gull,
the Marsh Tit, and Coal Tit
Black Duck: the Scoter
Blacky-top : the Stonechat

Bloodulf : the Bullfinch
Blind Dorbie: the Purple Sand-
piper

Blue-backed Falcon :
grine Falcon
, -bird: the Field-fare
, =cap): the Blue Tit
Darr: the Black Tern
Hawk: the Peregrine Falcon

the Pere-

”

310 i. GLOSSARY

Blue-headed Wagtail :
headed Wagtail

», tailed Bee-eater
» Jit: the Tom Tit, the Blue-

the grey-

cap
,, -=winged Shoveler : the
Shoveler

Boatswain: the Skua

Brake-hopper :
Warbler

Brambling, or Bramble-finch

Bran: the Crow

Brancher: the Goldfinch in its
first year

Brantail: the Redstart

Brent Goose

Broad-bill: the Shoveler

Bronzie: the Cormorant

Brook Ouzel: a name given to
the Dipper, and incorrectly to
the Water-Rail

Brown Owl, or Tawny Owl

the Grasshopper

Pe -Leader Gull: Black-
headed Gull, Red-
headed Gull or Hooded
Gull

» Starling: a name some-
times” fiven! stow ane

young of the Starling
i aabern.c. ¢the Pern am 16s
immature plumage
Budfinch: the Bullfinch
Bullfinch, Common
i Pine, or Pine Grosbeak
Bunting, Lapland, or Finch
Burgomaster: the Glaucous Gull
Burrow Duck: the Sheldrake
Bustard, Great

the Kittiwake Gull
the Jackdaw
the Long-tailed Duck
Cargoose: the Crested Grebe
Carinate: in the form of a keel
Carrion Crow
Car-swallow :

Cackareer :
Caddaw :
Calloo:

the Black Tern

Cere: the wax-like membrane
which covers the base of the bill
in the Falconidae

Chaldrick or Chalder : the Oyster-
Catcher

Chanchider :
catcher

Channel Goose: the Gannet

Chanter, Hedge: Sparrow, Ac-
centor or Warbler

Charlie Miftie: the Wheatear

the Spotted Fly-

Chank, and Chank-daw: the
Chough
Chepster: the Starling

Cherry-finch : the Hawfinch

Cherry-sucker, Cherry-chopper,
and Cherry-Snipe : the Spotted
Flycatcher.

Chevy Lin: the Redpoll

Chickell: the Wheatear

Chickstone: the Stonechat

Chippet Linnet: the Redpoll

Church Owl: the White Owl

Churn Owl: the Nightjar

Churr: the Dunlin

Cirl Bunting

Clack Goose, Clakes: the Bernicle
Goose

Clatter Goose : the Brent Goose

Clee: the Red Shank
Cleff: the Tern
Clinker: the Avocet

Cloven-footed Gull: the Tern
Coal-and-candle-light : the Long-
tailed Duck
Coal Goose :
Coaly Hood:
Coal Mouse
Cob: the male Swan
Cob : the Great Black-backed Gull
Cobble : the Great Northern Diver
Cobbler’s Awl: the Avocet
Cobweb: the Spotted Flycatcher
Cockandy: the Puffin
Cock-winder: the Widgeon
Coddy Moddy: the common Gull
in its first year’s plumage

the Cormorant
the Bullfinch or

GLOSSARY 311

Coldfinch : the Pied Flycatcher

Colk: the King Duck

Colin; a name in New Spain for
Quail

Compressed: flattened vertically

Coot-foot: the Phalarope

Copperfinch: the Chaffinch

Corbie: the Raven

Corndrake: the Land-Rail

Cornish Crow, or Daw: the
Chough
Gannet: the Skua

Cornwall Kae: the Chough

Coulterneb: the Puffin

Crake, Little
» spotted

Crank bird: the Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker

Craw: part of the stomach in

birds
Cream-coloured Plover:
foot or Courser
Courser Gull: the Glaucous Gull
Creeper, Creep-tree, or Tree-
creeper. These names are in
some places given to the Nut-
hatch
Crested Cormorant: the Shag
Heron, Common or Grey
Cricket-bird: the Grasshopper
Warbler
Cricket Teal :

Swift-

the Garganey

Crooked Bill: the Avocet

Crossbill : Common

Cuckoo’s Leader or Mate: the
Wryneck

Culmen: the ridge of the upper

mandible
Cultrate: in the form of a bill-
hook or pruning knife
Curlew-Jack: the Whimbrel
Curwillet: the Sanderling
Cushat: the Ring Dove
Cutty Wren: the Common Wren
Cygnet: the young Swan

Daker Hen: the Land-Rail

Danish Crow: the Hooded Crow

Darr, Blue: the Black Tern

Dertrum

Depressed : flattened horizontally

Deviling : the Swift

Dick Dunnock: the Hedge Spar-
row

Dippearl: the Tern

Dirty Allen: the Skua

Dishwater: the Wagtail

Diving Pigeon: the Guillemot

Dobbler and Dobchick: the
Lesser Grebe
Door Hawk and Dorr Hawk: the

Nightjar.

Dorbie: the Dunlin

Doucker: a popular name for a
Grebe or Diver

Doveky: the Black Guillemot

Dove-coloured Falcon : the Pere-
grine Falcon

Draine: the Missel Thrush
Duck Hawk: the Marsh Harrier
Ducker: a popular name for a

Grebe or Diver
Dulwilly: the Ring Plover
Dunkir and Dunair: the Pochard
Dun Crow: the Hooded Crow
Dundiver: the female and young
of the Merganser

Dung Hunter: the Skua

Dunlin

Dunnock: the Hedge Sparrow

Earl Duck: the MRed-breasted
Merganser

Easterling : the Smew

Ebb: the Bunting

Ecorcheur: the Shrike

Egret: a tuft of long narrow
feathers found on the lower part
of the neck of the Herons. The
name is also sometimes ex-
tended to the two tufts of fea-
thers, resembling ears or horns,
in some of the Owls

312

Elk: the Hooper Swan
Emmer or Ember Goose:
Great Northern Diver
Emmet Hunter: the Wryneck

Erne: the Eagle

the

Falk or Fale x tne Razor-vill
Faller: the Hen Harrier
Fallow Chat, Fallow Finch, Fallow

Lunch, or Fallow Smich: the
Wheatear
Fanny Redtail: the Redstart

Fauvette : the Garden Warbler,
also applied to others of the
Warblers.

Feather-poke: i.e. ‘“‘sack of
feathers’’ is the Chiff-chaff,
so called from the materials

and form of the nest

Felt and Feltyfare: the Fieldfare

Fiddler : the Common Sandpiper

Field Duck: the Little Bustard

Field Lark: the Skylark

Fiery Linnet: the Common Lin-
net

Finch, or Lapland Bunting

Fire-crested Regulus or Wren

Fire-tail: the Redstart

Flapper: a young Duck

Flopwing : the Lapwing

Flusher: the Butcher-bird

Foot: The foot of a bird consists
of four, never less than three,
toes, with their claws, and the
joint next above, called the
tacsus) 5

French Linnet: the Redpoll

Magpie: the Red-backed
Shrike

; Pie: the Great Spotted

Woodpecker.

”

a flight of Wild Geese
the Auk and _ the

Gaggle :
Gairfowl :
Razorbill

GLOSSARY

Gallinule: the Moor Hen; this
name is sometimes applied to
the Crakes

Gallwell Drake :

Garden Ouzel:

,, Warbler

Gardenian Heren :
the Night Heron

Gaunt: the Crested Grebe

Gidd: the Jack Snipe

Gillhowter: the White Owl

Gladdy: the Yellow Hammer

Glaucous Gull

Glead, Gled, or
Kite

Goat Owl and Goat-sucker :
Nightjar

Goldeneye

Golden-crested Regulus, Warbler

or Wren
Oriole or Thrush
*. Plover

Gorcock: the Moor Cock

Gorsehatch : the Wheatear

Gorse-duck: the Corn Crake

Gorse Linnet: the Common
Linnet

Goud Spink: the Goldfinch

Gouldring: the Yellow Ham-
mer

Gourder: the Petrel

Gouk: the Cuckoo

Graduated: a term applied to
the tail of a bird when the
middle feathers are longest
and the outer ones are shorter
in gradation

Greenwich Sandpiper :

Grey: the Gadwall

Grey-bird: the Thrush

Grey-Duck: the Gadwall
,, Coot-footed Tringa:

Phalarope
, Crow: the Hooded Crow
» Falcon: the Hen Harrier
» Heron: common or Crested
Heron

the Land Drake
the Blackbird

the young of

Glade: the

the

the Ruff

the

GLOSSARY 313

Grey Lapwing, or Sandpiper: the

Grey Plover

, Linnet: the Common Linnet

» Owl: the White Owl

» Partridge: the Common
Partridge

,, Ohrike, Lesser:
coloured Shrike

» Skit: the Water-Rail

, lag: Fen, Stubble, or Wild
Goose

the Ash-

Grisette : the Whitethroat
Ground Lark: the Pipit and
Bunting

a Wren: the Willow War
bler
Guldenhead: the Puffin
Gull-tormentor: the Skua
Gunner: the Great Northern
Diver :
Gurfel: the Razorbill
Gustarda: the Bustard

Hackbolt: the Greater Shear-
water

Hadji: the Swift

Hagdown: the Greater Shear-
water

Haggard: the Peregrine Falcon

Hagister: the Magpie
Half-Curlew : the Whimbrel and
Godwit
» -Duck: the Wigeon, Po-
chard, etc.
», -snipe: the Jack Snipe
Harle: the Red-breasted Mer-
ganser
Harpy: the Marsh Harrier
Hawk Owl: this name is some-
times given to the Short-eared
Owl
Hay-bird, or Hay-Tit: the Willow

Warbler
Hay-Jack: the Garden War-
bler and Whitethroat
Heather Bleater: the Snipe

Heath Throstle: the Ring Ouzel

Hebridal Sandpiper: the Turn-
stone

Heckimal: the Blue Tit

Hedge-Chicken: the Wheatear
» Jug, the Long-tailed Tit

Hegrilskip ; the Heron

Helegug: the Puffin

Hellejay: the Razor-bill

Hern, Hernshaw, Heronshaw : che
Heron

Heronsewgh: the Heron

Herring-bar: perhaps a corrup-
tion of Herring-bird, Diver

Herring Gant: the Gannet
5 Gull

Hew-hole: the Woodpecker

Hickwall: the Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker

High-hoo: the Woodpecker

Hiogga: the Razor-bill

Hissing Owl: the White Owl

Hoarse Gowk: the Snipe

Hoddy: the Crow

Holm Cock and Holm Screech:
the Mistle Thrush

Hoop: the Bullfinch

Hornfinch: the Petrel

Horniwinks: the Lapwing

Horra: the Brent Goose

Horsefinch: the Chaffinch

Horsmatch: the MRed-backed
Shrike, the Wheatear and Whin-
chat

Howlet: the Brown Owl

Howster: the Knot

Huckmuck: the Long-tailed Tit

Hullat: the Owl

Icebird: the Little Auk

Imber, or Great Northern Diver

Isle of Wight Parson: the Cor-
morant

Iris (plural, Irides) : the coloured
circle of the eye surrounding
the pupil

314
Isaas: the Hedge Sparrow
Ivy Owl: the Barn Owl

Jack Curlew :
Jackdaw
Jack-nicker: the Goldfinch
» Saw: the Goosander
», snipe
Jar Owl: the Night Owl
Jay, Jay Pie, or Jay Pyet
Jenny: the Wren
Jid or Judcock: the Jack Snipe

the Whimbrel

Kadder and Kae:

Kamtschatka Tern:
Tern

Katabella : the Hen Harrier

Kate: the Hawfinch

Katogle: the Eagle Owl

Kiddaw: the Guillemot

King-Harry: the Goldfinch

Kip) the, @ern

Kirktullock : the Shoveler

Kirmew and Kirmow: the Tern

Knee: a name often given,
though inaccurately, to the
junction of the tarsus and tibia
of a bird.

Knot

the Jackdaw
the Black

Lamhi or Lavy: the Guillemot
Land Curlew: the Great Plover
Lary: the Guillemot
Laughing Goose: the White-
fronted Goose
Lavrock: the Skylark
Leg-bird: the Sedge Warbler
Lesser wing-coverts : the feathers
which overlie the greater wing-
coverts, or those next the quills
Ling-bird: the Meadow Pipit
Linlet: a young Linnet
Lobefoot: the Phalarope
Long-tongue: the Wryneck

GLOSSARY

Loom or Loon: the Diver
Lore: the space between the beak
and the eye
Lough Diver:
Lum, Lungy:
Lumme :
Lyre:

the Smew
the Guillemot
the Diver

the Manx Shearwater

Madge Howlet: the White Owl
Maglowan : a name for the Divers
Magpie Diver: the Smew
Malduck, or Malmarsh: the Ful-
mar
Mallemoke: the Fulmar
Mandibles : upper and under, the
two portions of a bird’s bill
Man-of-war bird: the Skua

Manx Shearwater: the Manx
Petrel

Marketjew Crow: the Chough
Marrot : the Guillemot and
Razorbill

May-bird, or Mayfowl : the Whim-
brel
Mavis: the Thrush
Meadow Crake, or Drake:
Gallinule
si Pipit, Titlark or Titling

the

Meggy-cut-throat: the White-
throat
Merlie: the Blackbird

Mew or Mow: a Gull
Millithrum : the Long-tailed Tit

Minute Gallinule : the Little
Crake
» Merganser: the young
Smew
» <ringa,the Little Stim
Mire Snipe: the Snipe

Mistle Thrush, or MistletoeThrush

Mitty: the Petrel

Mock-bird: the Sedge Warbler
, Nightingale: the Blackcap

and Garden Warbler

Monk: the Bullfinch

Moor Blackbird, or Ouzel:
Ring Ouzel

the

GLOSSARY

Moor Hen, or Water Hen

Morrot: the Guillemot

Moss-cheeper : the Meadow Pipit

Mother Carey’s Chickens: the
Petrels

Mountain Linnet: the Twite
53 Ouzel : the Ring Ouzel
Mouse Hawk or Owl: the Hawk
Owl
Mow: a Gull
Mud-plover: the Grey Plover
Muggy: the Whitethroat
Mullet: the Puffin
Mumruffin : the Long-tailed Tit
Murdering-bird: the Butcher-
bird

Nape: the upper part of the neck
behind
Neck-a-pecker and Nickle:
Woodpecker
Night-crow, or Night-hawk :
Nightjar
» Heron
Nope: the Bullfinch
Norfolk Plover: the Great Plover
Norie: the Cormorant
Northern Crow : the Hooded Crow
Norway Lark: the Snow Bunting

the

the

Nun: the Blue Tit

Oke: the Auk

Olive: the Oyster-catcher

Olive-tufted Duck: the Golden-
eye

Operculum: a lid or covering

Orbit: the skin that surrounds

the eye, and in some birds is
destitute of feathers
Ouzel, Water, or Dipper
Oven-bird: the Chiff-Chaff, Wil-
low Warbler, and Wood Warbler
Owl, Long-eared or Horned
» o9hort-eared or Little-horned
», Tawny or Brown

315

Padge and Padge Owl: the Barn
Owl
Palmipedes : Web-footed Birds
Pandle-whew : the Wigeon
Parasitic Gull: the Skua
Parrot, Ailsa: the Puffin
By Sea: the Puffin
Parson Mew: the Black-backed
Gull
Passerine : belonging to the order
Passeres
, Warbler:
Warbler
Pea-finch : the Chaffinch
Pearl: the Tern
Pease Crow: the Tern
Peck: the Bar-tailed Godwit
Pectinated : cut like a comb
Peese-weep: the Peewit, also
sometimes given to the Green-
finch

the Garden

Peggy: the Wren, Whitethroat
and the Garden Warbler

Peggy cut-throat: the White-
throat

Petrel: the name Petrel is in

some places given to the God-

wit
Pettychaps, Greater: the Garden

Warbler
” Lesser : the Chiff-chaff

Philomel : the Nightingale
Pianet: the Magpie, and Oyster-

catcher

Picarini: the Avocet
Pick-cheese: the Tom-Tit and
Great Tit

Pickmire : the Black-headed Gull
Picktarney and Picket: the Tern
Pictarn: the Black-headed Gull
Pie, Sea: the Oyster-catcher
Pied Diver: the Smew

,, Wagtail

,, Wigeon: the Garganey, and

Goldeye

Pie-finch : the Chaffinch
Pienet and Piet: the Magpie

316

Piet, Water: the Water Ouzel

Pigeon Hawk : the Sparrow Hawk
» Mow, Red-legged: the

Blackheaded Gull in its
winter plumage

Pigmy Curloo, or Sandpiper

Pine Bullfinch, or Pine Grosbeak

Pink: the Chaffinch

Pink-footed Goose

Pinnock: a Tit

Pint: the Laughing Gull

Pintail Duck

Pirenet: the Sheldrake

Plover’s Page: the Purple Sand-
piper

Poke-Pudding :
(the

Pocker, or Poker: the Pochard

Pomarine Skua, or Gull, Twist-
tailed

Poor-willie :

the Long-tailed

the Godwit

Pop: the Redwing

Pope: the Puffin

Popinjay: the Green Wood-
pecker

Port-Egmont Hen: the Common
Skua
Post-bird :
catcher
Provence Furzel:
Warbler
Proud-tailor :
Puckeridge :
Pudding-poke :

Tit
Puffin
Puffinet: the Black Guillemot
Purple Sandpiper
Purre: the Dunlin
Puttock: the Buzzard and Kite
Pywipe: the Lapwing
Primaries: the quills, usually
ten, of the terminal joint of
a bird’s wing.

the Spotted Fly-

the Dartford
the Goldfinch

the Nightjar
the Long-tailed

Que: the Night Heron
Quaketail: the Wagtail

GLOSSARY

Queest or Quest: the Ring-dove

Queet: the Coot and Guillemot

Quills: the large feathers of the
wing, called primary, or digital ;
secondary or cubital; and
tertiary, or humeral; accord-
ing as they arise from the ter-
minal, middle, or inner joint

Quill-coverts: a row of feathers
immediately covering the base
of the quills above and below,
and therefore called upper and
under

Quinck : the Goose

Rafter-bird: the Spotted Fly-

catcher
Rail, Land
Rain-bird: the Green Wood-
pecker
,, -Goose: the Red-throated
Diver
Raptores: Birds of Prey
Rasores: Gallinaceous Birds
Rattle-wings: the Golden-
eye

Redcap: the Goldfinch
Red Godwit: the
Godwit
, Grouse
Red-headed Linnet : the Common
Linnet and Redpoll
Pochard: the Common Po-
chard
, Wigeon : the Common Wigeon
,, Hoop: the Bullfinch
,, elegged Crow: the Chough
Godwit: the Spotted
Sandpiper
Gull, the Black-headed
Gull
rite ee Partridge
,, -necked Coot-foot, Lobe-foot,
or Phalarope
Red Sandpiper: the Knot in its
summer plumage

Bar-ta iled

a) ”

” >?

GLOSSARY 317

Redstart, Common
np Black
Red-throated Diver
Red-winged Blackbird :
bird, or Starling
Reed-bird: the Sedge Warbler
Reed Bunting : the Black-headed
Bunting
Fauvette : the Sedge Warbler
, Pheasant: the Bearded Tit
,, Sparrow: the Black-headed
Bunting
,, Warbler or Wren
Reeve: the female of the Ruff
Richardson’s Skua
Richel Bird: the Lesser Tern
Rind-tabberer : the Green Wood-

Maize-

pecker
Ring Blackbird: the Ring Ouzel
,, Dove
Ringed Dotterel, or Plover
Guillemot
-necked or Great Northern
Diver

Ring-tailed Eagle: the Golden
Fagle in its second year’s
plumage

Rippock: the Tern

Rochie: the Little Auk

Rock -birds : the Auk, Puffin, and

Guillemot
Dove, Rocker Dove, Rockier
Dove
Hawk: the Merlin
Lark, or Pipit
= Ouzel: the King
,, Sandpiper : the
Sandpiper

Rodge: the Gadwall

Rood Goose, or Brent Goose

Rose-coloured Ouzel, Pastor, Star-

ling or Thrush
» Linnet: the Redpoll, and
¥ Common Linnet

Rotck, or Rotcke: the Little
Auk

Rothermuck ;

Ouzel
Purple

the Bernicle Goose

Ruddock: the Redbreast, Robin
Ruddy Goose, or Sheldrake
» Plover: the Bar-tailed
Godwit
Ruff (female Reeve)
Runner: the Water-Rail
» stone: the Ringed Plover

the! Eider
the Jack

St. Cuthbert’s Duck :
St. Martin’s Snipe:
Snipe
Sandcock :
Sanderling

Sandsnipe : a Sandpiper
Sandwich Tern
Sandy-loo : the Ring Plover
» Poker: the Pochard
Sarcelle: the Long-tailed Duck
Saw-bill: the Merganser
Scale Drake: the Sheldrake
Scallop-toed Sandpiper : the Pha-
larope
Scammel: the Bar-tailed Godwit
Scapulars: the feathers which
rise from the shoulders and
cover the sides of the back
Scar Crow: the Black Tern
Scarf and Scart: the Shag
Scaurie: the Herring Gull
Scooper: the Avocet
Scotch Goose: the Brent Goose
Scout: the Common Guillemot
Scurrit: the Lesser Tern
Scrabe : the Manx Shearwater
Scraber : the Black Guillemot
Scraye: the Tern
Screamer and _ Screecher :
Swift
Screech : the Missel-Thrush
» Martin: the Swift
», Owl: the Barn Owi
Scull: the Skua
Scuttock : the Guillemot
Sea Crow: the Cormorant, and
Black-headed Gull
,, Dotterel : the Turnstone
» Hen; the Guillemot

the Redshank

the

318
Sea Lark: the Rock Pipit and
Ring Plover
», Mall, Mew, or Mow: the Gull
7 Parrot: the Putin
,, Pheasant: the Pintail Duck
., Pie: the Oyster-catcher
,, Sandpiper : the Purple Sand-
piper
», Snipe: the Dunlin

, Swallow: the Tern

,, Titling : the Rock Pipit

,, ~Lurtle-dove: the Guillemot

and Rotche

,, Wigeon: the Scaup

,, Woodcock: the Godwit
Seaford Goose : the Brent Bernicle
Secondaries: the quill-feathers

arising from the second joint of

the wing

Sedge-bird, Sedge Warbler, or
Sedge Wren

Selninger Sandpiper: the Purple
Sandpiper

serrator: the Ivory Gull
Serrated : toothed like a saw
Serrula: the Red-breasted Mer-
ganser
Sheldapple: the Crossbill
This name and “Shelly ’”’ are
sometimes given to the Chaf-
finch
Shepster : the Starling
Shilfa : the Chaffinch
Shoeing-horn : the Avocet
Shore-bird: the Sand Martin
3 Pipit: the Rock Pipit
Short-eared or -horned Owl
Shrieker : the Black-tailed Godwit
Shrimp-catcher : the Lesser Tern
Shrite : the Missel Thrush
Silvery Gull: the Herring Gull
Skart : the Cormorant, and Shag
Skein: a flight of Geese
Skiddaw: the Guillemot
Skiddy Cock, Skilty, or Skit: the
Water-Rail
Skite: the Yellow Hammer

GLOSSARY

Skitty : the Spotted Crake
Skrabe : the Black Guillemot
Snake-bird: the Wryneck
Snite: the Snipe
Snow-bird: the Ivory Gull
, -*Bunting: Flake, or Fleck
Snuff-headed Wigeon: the Po-
chard
Solan, or Solent Goose : the Gannet
Solitary Snipe: the Great Snipe
Song Thrush: the Common
Thrush
Sparlm-fowl : the female Mergan-
ser
Spectacle Duck: the Goldeneye
Speculum: the bright feathers
which form a kind of disc of
the wing of the Ducks
Speckled-bellied Goose : the White-
fronted Goose
» Diver: the young of the
Great Northern Diver
Spider-diver : the Dabchick
Speney: the Petrel
Spink: the Chaffinch
Spoonbill, White
Spotted-necked Turtle Dove: the
Turtle Dove
Sprat Loon, the young of the
Great Northern Diver
,, Mew: the Kittiwake Gull
Spurre: the Tern
Standgale, or Stannel: the Kestrel

Starling, Common, Stare, or
Starenil
Staynil: the Starling

Steel Duck, Larger : the Goosander

» » Lesser: the Merganser

Stint : the Dunlin, or any similar
bird, is often so called on the
coast

Stock-Dove

Stonechacker or Stoneclink: Stone-
chat

Stone Curlew: the Great Plover

Stonegale : the Kestrel

Stone Hawk: the Merlin

GLOSSARY

Stone-smirch : the Wheatear
Stork, White
Storm Cock: the Missel Thrush
Petrel, or Storm Finch
the Guillemot
Summer Snipe: the Sandpiper
» Teal: the Garganey
Duck, or Sheldrake: the
Long-tailed Duck
Sweet William : the Goldfinch
Swiftfoot : the Courser
Swimmer, Little: the Phalarope
Swine-pipe: the Redwing

Straney :

Tail-coverts: upper and under,
feathers covering the basal
portion of the tail feathers above
and below

Tailor, Proud: the Goldfinch

Tammie Cheekie and Tammie
Norie: the Puffin

Tang-waup: the Whimbrel

Tangle-picker: the Turnstone

Taring, Tarrot: the Tern

Tarrock: the young of the Kitti-
wake Gull

Tarse : the male Falcon, a name
used in falconry

Tarsus: the bone of a_ bird’s
foot next above the toes. In
a domestic fowl the tarsus is the
portion between what is called
the ‘“‘ drumstick ’’ and the toes ;
the shank

Tatler: a Sandpiper

Teal Cricket: the Garganey

Teaser: the Skua

Teewit : the Peewit

Tertiaries : the quills which spring
from the third or inner joint of
a bird’s wing

Thistlefinch : the Goldfinch

Three-Toed Sandgrouse

Thrice-cock : the Mistle Thrush

Throstle : the Thrush

319

Tibia: the joint of a bird’s leg
next above the tarsus; the
“ drumstick.”’

Tick : the Whinchat

Tidley : the Wren

Tinkershere, or Tinker’s hue:

the Guillemot
Tippet Grebe: the Crested Grebe
Titlark, and Titling : the Meadow
Pipit ,
» seas the Rock Pipit
Tom Pudding: the Dabchick
Tommy Norie: the Puffin

Tomtit : the Blue Tit
Tony Hoop: the Bullfinch
Tope: the Wren

Tom Harry: the Skua
Tor-Ouzel: the Ring Ouzel
Towilly : the Sanderling
Tonite : the Wood Warbler
Tree Pipit, or Lark
» Sparrow
oneeler = the Tree Creeper
Tuchit : the Lapwing Plover
Tufted Duck
Tuliac : the Skua
Turkey-bird : the Wryneck
Turtle, Sea: the Guillemot and
Ricke
Twink: the Chaffinch
Twit Lark: the Meadow Pipit
Tystie : the Black Guillemot

Ulnia: the Tawny Owl

Under tail-coverts: the feathers
which overlap the base of the
tail beneath

Under wing-coverts : the feathers
which cover the wings beneath

Upper tail-coverts: the feathers
which overlap the base of the
tail above

Upper wing-coverts : the feathers
which overlap the base of the
quills

Utick : the Whinchat

320

the Smew
the Water-Rail

Vare Wigeon :
Velvet Runner :

Wagell: the young of the Great
Black-backed Gull
Wall Hick: the Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker
Wash-dish and Washerwoman :
the Pied Wagtail
Water-hen : the Moor-hen
,, Crow, the Dipper
,, Junket : the Common Sand-
piper
,, Ouzel or Dipper
,, Sparrow: the Sedge War-
bler
» Tie: the Wagtail
, Wagtail: the Pied Wagtail
Waxen Chatterer or Waxwing
Wease-alley : the Skua
Weasel Coot: the young Smew
» Duck: the Smew
Weet-weet : the Common Sand-
piper
Wellplum :
chard
Whaup :
Whautie :
Wheel-bird, or
Nightjar
Wheety-why: the Whitethroat
Winthrush: the Redwing
Whit-ile, i.e. Whittle : the Green
Woodpecker
Whewer: the Wigeon
Whey-bird: the Whitethroat
Whilk: the Scoter
Whim: the Wigeon
Whimbrel or May-bird
Whin Linnet: the
Linnet
Whistling Plover :
Plover
Whistling Swan :
Swan
White Baker ;
catcher

the Red-headed Po-
the Curlew

the Whitethroat

Wheeler: the

Common
the Golden
the Whooper

the Spotted Fly-

GLOSSARY

White-breasted Blackbird: the
Ring or Water Ouzel
,, -faced Duck: the Pochard

; Tinch : the Chaffinch

,, sheaded Goosander: the
Smew

,, -cheaded Cormorant: the

Common Cormorant
,, headed Harpy: the Moor
Buzzard
, Nun: the Smew
-spot Cormorant: the
Common Cormorant
-tail: the Wheatear
-Winged Black Duck: the
Velvet Scoter
Whitterick : the Curlew
Whitty-beard: the Whitethroat
Whitwall and Witwall : the Green

Woodpecker

Wierangel: the Ash-coloured
Shrike

Willock and Willy: the Guille-
mot

Willow-biter : the Tomtit

Willywicket : the Common Sand-
piper

Windhover and Windfanner :
Kestrel

Windle,

the

Winnard, and Wind-
thrush: the Redwing

Wing-coverts: several rows of
feathers covering the basal part
of the quills above and below,
and called the upper and under
wing-coverts ; the feathers out-
side these are called the lesser
wing-coverts

Winglet : a process arising from
near the base of the terminal
joint of the wing, answering
to the thumb in the human
hand

Winnel and Windle-Straw :
Whitethroat

Winter-bonnet : the Common Gull

, Duck; the Pintail Duck

the

GLOSSARY 321

Winter-Gull, or Mew: the Com-
mon Gull in its winter
plumage

, Wagtail: the grey-headed
Wagtail

Witch: the Petrel

Witwall: the Green Woodpecker

Woodcock Owl: the Short-eared

Owl
Sea: the Godwit
. -Snipe: the Great Snipe

Woodcracker: the Nuthatch

Wood Grouse: the Capercaillie

Woodpie: the Green Woodpecker

Wood Sandpiper

Shrike Woodchat

Woodspite, Woodwall, and Wood-

wele: the Green Woodpecker

Wood Warbler, or Wren

Writing Lark: the Bunting, so

called from the markings of the
eggs

B.B

Yaffil, Yaffle, Yaffler, Yappingale :
the Green Woodpecker

Yardkeep and Yarwhip: the Bar-
tailed Godwit

Yarwhelp : the Stone Plover and
Godwit

Yeldrin and Yeldrock : the Yellcw
Hammer

Yellow legged Gull: the Lesser

black-backed Gull

» Sandpiper: the young of

the Ruff
i Owl: the White Owl
40 Plover: the Golden
Plover
D Poll: the Wigeon
Warbler : the Willow
Warbler

Yeldock, Yoit, Yoldrin
and Yowley, the Yellow
Hammer

Yelper: the Avocet

INDEX OF BIRDS AND OF ILLUSTRATIONS

The first numeral refers to the text, the second to the illustration

facing the page named.

PU eee 5 264); p. 204.
MVOCEL: 252): p. 250

Bearded Reedling: 42 ;
Bee-eater . 135 5 p. 134!
Bitter +173); ps 232
Blackbird: 7 ;)pp. 6, 8
iBlackcap = 23; p. 22
Brambling : 97; front
Bullfinch : 101; p. 100
Bunting, Cirl: 108; p. 108
,, Corn (or common) :
p-. 108
Es Eaplands) ii rb.) -p:
oe eelxced.s 100); p. 208
wf Snow: I10; p. 108
» Yellow (Yellow Ham-
Mien) = LOZ; Pp. LILO
Burgomaster : see Gull, Glaucous

p- 46

106;

108

Bastard) ‘Great: 236; p._ 220
Buzzard, Common: 150; p. 150
we ELONey <= 151; 9p. 150
Rough-legged : 151; p.
150
Capercaillie: 212; p. 220
Chaffinch : 95; p. 96
Chiffchaff : 30; p. 30
Chough: 56; p. 62
Coot (233% 1p. -232
Cormorant, Common: 165; p.
166
s Green*: 167
Courser, Cream-coloured: 240;
p:. 262

B.B,

Crake Com 225); sps 230
Littler: 3230 5. p. 230
WL SpPOLteds 229); ps 230
Crane 234 3p. 234
Crested Tit: see Titmice
Crossbill; 103,53. p. 138
is Two - barred (White-
winged) : 106 ; p.138
Crow, Carrion: 65; p. 68
i Eloeded::, 67; ps 08
Cuckoo: 137; ps 133
Curlew, Common: 273; p.

”

2406

Dabchick: see Grebe, Little
Dipper 53.5 ps 52
Diver, Black - throated: 298 ; p.
294
Great Northern: 297; p.
294
» Red-throated : 299; p.294
Dotterel\: 244; p. 246
Dove, Ring (Wood Pigeon) :
Ag p. 208
Rock: 208; p. 208
Stock: 207; p. 208
Turtle 20095, p. 208
Duck, Black: see Scoter, Black
Hider 71975, p-.193
Golden-eye : 195; p. 194

”?

203;

Longtailéd? —190);, pa 195
Pintail : 190; p. 199
Scaup: 194

Tufted: 19455 p: 104
ee Waldas 1G5::. p.<1toO
Dunlin : 262; p. 262

324 INDEX

Eagle, Golden: 152; p. 152
», 9ea, or White-tailed :
T5353 P8652
3 spottedi: 15255 preg
Falcon: see Peregrine Falcon
Fern Owl: see Nightjar
Pieldfare!:°s- apa 2
Blycatchers Pied; 705 “p. 78
- spotted = 775. p. 78
Fulmar: see Petrel, Fulmar

Gadwall: 189; p. 186

Gallinule : see Moorhen

Gannet: 168; p. 168

Garganey : 192 p. 190

Godwit, Bar-tailed : 272; p. 250
;, Black-tailed: 2735" p:

270

Gold Crest: see Wren, Gold-

Crested
Goldfinch : 88; p. 96
Goosander: 201; p. 202
Goose, Bean: 178; p. 178

7 ebermicles mon; p. 166

5) eM 1S0}7 p.) 166

3 GcLey ae 170. par 78

\Pinkfooted : 179; p. 178
3) White = fronted™ 177: sip:
178
Grebe: Black-necked : p. 298
Ls Great-crested : 300; p.
208
st eittleSg027) Sps202
ype dxed-necked=. 3057") ip:
298

p slavohian : 3025.4p..298
Greenfinch : 86; p. 78
Greenshank : 271; p. 270
Grosbeak, Pine: 102
Grouse, Black: 213; p.

7 Neds 2156p. 6204.

204

Guillemot, Common: 292; p.
290
; Black : 294; p. 290

Black or Brown-headed :
281%) ps. 202

Gull,

Gull, Common : 283; p. 280
» Glaucous : 287 pazee

» Great Black-backed: 286;
Pp. 280
1» lerting 7285 5 ps 262
» Kittiwake: 287; p.282
,», Lesser Black - backeil :
285; p. 280
» Little: 2380p i282
Harrier, Hien: 148; ps E48
» Martsh + a47 ssp ae
a Montagu’s: 149; p. 148
Hawfinch: 87; p. 96
Hawk, Sparrow: 156; p. 158
Heron, Common: 170; p. 234
ba Night > 2735 ps 234
Hobby ; 16m; p., 158
Eloopoe : 136 57p. 134
Jackdaw: 61; p. 68
Jay: 58; p. 62
Kestrel’: 163, 5 (ps 148
Kingfisher : 132; p. 134
Katecer5 ci; pe 150
Kittiwake: see Gull, Kittiwake
Knot: 261 p. 258
Lapwing: 247; p. 246
Wark, shore? 122); ps 226
5, Sky. L1Q= pagrzo
» Wood :. 1225) pmaaze
Minnet = 98; iromt
» Mountain: 1005) pames

Magpie: 59; p. 62

Martin, House: 83; p. 84
3) wands 845 1p. Ot
Merganser : 202; p. 202
Merlin: 162; p. 158
Moorhen : 231; p. 232

Nettlecreeper : see Whitethroat
Nightingale: 17; p. 16

INDEX 32

Nightjar: 125; p. 220
Nutcracker: 57; p. 58
Nuthatch: 44; p. 46

Oriole: 53; p. 52

Osprey’: 154; p. 152

Owl, Barn or White: 142; p.144
oy eons — eared 2 i445 “p. 144
we SHont-cared:)) 4'5)3° 9p. 144
i lawny or Brown: 1460; p.

ey

Ox-bird : see Dunlin

Ox-eye: see Great Tit

Oystercatcher: 248; p. 278

Partridge, Common: 222; p. 214
5 Ixed-leseed 3" 22555, =p.
214
Penguin: see Razorbill
Peewit : see Lapwing
Peregrine Falcon: 1593 p. 148
Petrel, Fork-tailed: 308; p. 302
eekulmar: 3045 p. 302
Pe ScOE 307.5 sp. 302
Phalarope, Grey: 253 p. 250
5 Red-necked : 253; p.
250
Pheasant : 219; p. 220
Pipit, Meadow: 117; p.
ROCK LESS p: 116
PI WECE -OrLO p- EI6
Pigeon, Wood; 203; p. 208
Plover, Cream - coloured : 240
Ee GOlden)"240°>.p. 240
Py mGteen 247
7 GIey.. 242°> p.. 240
ay Wentish: 24605 p..240
i need = 2445p. 240
, stone or Great Norfolk:
220); (Pp. 240
Pochard (or Dunbird) :
194
Pratineole 238; p: 226
Ptarmigan? 217 ;- p> 226
Putin: 295; p. 200

I16

193; P.-

we

Ouail=" 226 sp. 7226

Raven : 63; p. 62
Razorbill : 291; p. 290
Redbreast: see Robin
Redpoll, Lesser: 99; p. 100
3 Meals 995 p. 100
Redstart; 145) sp. 12
u Black 16) 3p. 12
Redshank : 269; p. 270
Redwing : 2; p. 2
Reedling, Bearded :
Reedling
Reeve, Female of Ruff :
King, @uzel> 1072p. 6
Ringtail: see Hen Harrier
Robin’: 165 p. 16
Rollers 1034: "ps £34
Rook : 68; p. 68
Ruff and Reeve :

see Bearded

266

2005 pa 270
Sanderling : 260; p. 258
Sandgrouse : 211; p. 226
Sandpiper, Common : 268 ; p. 266
Curlew; 261 5) p. 266
Greens, 2677. p> 200
Purple: 264; p. 266
Wood: 268; p. 258

”

”

”

”

Scaup: 194; p. 194
Scoter, Black (or Common):
199; p. 198 ;
Pe SUliehee2 Ok
wu Welvet: 200); jp. LOS
Shas 107-> p. “160

Shearwater, Great: 305; p. 285
. Manx: 305; p. 302
Sheld-drake : 184; p. 186
Shoveler: 189; p. 186
Shrike, Great ‘Grey: 73; ‘p: 58
OMmlEeSSere GLeVvaen 74
,» Red-backed: 74; p. 58
», Woodchat: 76; p. 58
Siskin : 90; p. 96
Skua, Greats 288); —p. 266
» Richardson’s: 290; p.
» Lwist-tailed: 289; p.
Smew : 202; p. 202

286
288

326 INDEX

Snipe, Common; 257; p. 256

a Jacks 250 p."256
» Great or Solitary: 256;
p- 256
Sparrow: House: 92; front

» Hedge :) 20; p. 26
cs cee 2 945 front

Spoonbill, White: 176; p. 232
Starling : 54; p. 52
Stint, Little : 205— p: 262

», Rose-coloured :
52
» Lemminek’s : 265; p.
Stonechat : 13; p. 12
Stork: 175 ; p. 234
Stork, Black: 175
Swallow: 80; p. 84
i Night: see Nightjar
Swan, Bewick’s: 181; p- 168
», Whooper or Wild: 180;
p. 168
Swift : 123; p. 84

SO ioe

Teakser91 > 9. 190
Perm, Arctic: 278°; 3p: 276
o Blacks 275.5, p. 276
Common : 278; p. 278
Little : 279; p.«278
Roseatem 277 ; p: 276
,, Sandwich: 276; p. 276
Thick-knee : see Plover, Great 230
Thrush, Seng: 15 <p. 2
> Mistles, sre: Wpse2
Titmouse, Great: 37; p. 34
a Blue: 39; p. 40
“A Cole: 40; p. 40
» Marsh: 41; p. 40
ee Bearded : 42
oe Crested : 42; p. 40
Pr Long-tailed : 35; p. 34
Titlark : see Pipit, Meadow

Tree-creeper : 47°, p. 40
Turnstone: 250; p. 378
Twite: see Linnet, Mountain

Wagtail, Blue-headed :
112
a (GTEY SES eps tee
Pied 3025 paki
White > 111 ; Spa riz
Yellow: 115 } po Ene
Warbler: Dartford: 25; p. 26
is Garden: 23.5 ps2
Grasshopper : 28; p. 30
Marsh: 27; p. 26
Reed > 25.- pi 26
sedge : 27°; py 20
Willow : 31; p. 30
P Wood 3325 pegs
Waterhen : see Moorhen
Water Rail: 230; p. 230
Waxwing: 76; p. 78
Wheatear: 10; p. 16
Whimbrel : 275; p. 258
Whinchat: 12; p. 12
Whitethroat : 21; p. 22
e IWeSses 22). ae22
Wigeon : 192; p. 190
Windhover : see Kestrel
Woodcock : 254; p. 256
Woodpecker, Green: 129; p. 178

115 Sop.

bs Great Spotted: 127;
p. 128

a Lesser Spotted: 129;
p. 128

Wren, Common: 48; p. 46
,» Gold-erested 3933 pa 8
» Hire-crested : 35 7 pa a4
Wryuneck ? 131 5 p., 126
Yellow Hemmer: see Bunting,
Yellow

. &

Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London,

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