■ ^^^H ■ ^^^^^^^^^^^^HH ■i^ 1 ■ 1 ' '^- i in ' t rm FOR EDVCATION FOR SCIENCE LIBRARY OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY BEITISH BIRDS IN THEIR HAUNTS. BEITISH BIRDS IN THEIR HAUNTS. BY THE EEV. C. A. JOHNS, B.A. F.LS. AUTHOR OF "forest TREES OF BRITAIN ;" "FLOWERS OF THE FIEU), ETC. WITH ILLUSTEATIONS ON WOOD, DRAWN BY WOLF, ENGRAVED BY WHYMPEK. PUBLISHED fNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION, APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. LONDON: SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE SOLD AT THE DEPOSITORIES: 77, GREAT QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS; 4, ROYAL EXCHANGE; 48, PICCADILLY; AND BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. 1862. ON EVERY BOUGH THE BIRDIS HERD I SING WITH VOICE OF ANGELL IN THER HARMONIE, THAT BUSIED 'lIEM THER BIRDIS FORTHE TO BRYNG." CHAUCER PEEPACE. The peculiar geographical position of the British Isles renders them the resort, either permanent or temporary, of a large number of Birds : amongst which are many periodical visitors both from high latitudes, driven southwards in winter by the severity of the cold ; and from Africa, whence they fly northwards at the opposite season, in order to avoid the intense heat of an intertropical summer. Besides these periodic sojourners, many species, which are properly resident on the European Continent, occasionally cross the Channel, and make their ap- pearance amongst us as capricious visitors ; but, whether led hither by choice, or driven by stress of weather, it is impossible to determine. Instances also occur, but at rare intervals, of solitary specimens, which are undoubtedly of American origin. It is possible that some of these may have been transported as captives, and may have escaped from confinement ; or they may have been introduced and intentionally set at liberty. However this may vi PREFACE. 1)0, tlic coiisoqiionce is, tliat the catalof,aie of British r>ir(ls is constantly receiving additions, thoufrh it is by no means clear that every bird admitted into the list has a rit3" MONTAGU'S HAERIER CIRCUS MONTAGU I. Wings a little longer than the tail ; third primary longer than thi 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. Fe- male — upper plumage brown of various tints ; under, pale reddish yellow, with longitudinal briglit red streaks. Beak black ; cere deep yellow ; irides hazel ; feet yellow ; claws black. Length seventeen inches. Eggs bluish white. This bird, which is of rare occurren e in Britain, resembles the Hen Harrier very closely, both in appearance and MONTAGU'S HAEKIER. 43 habits. 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 Eingtail, and to separate the present species from both. EAGLE OWL. BUBO MAXIMUS. Bill bluish black, lighter towards the base ; iris orange ; upper parts mottled with black, brown, and ochre yellow ; under parts ochre yellow, with longitu- dinal dark stripes ; throat white ; claws bluish black. Femole somewhat larger than the male, but wants the white spot on the throat. Length twenty- four inches ; breadth fifty-eight inches. Eggs white. The Owls have in most ages been classed by the igno- rant among birds of evil omen. Yet it is a question whether any one encountering an Owl for the first time, and as an unknown bird, would have any other feeling excited in him save that of the ludicrous. Its upright posture, round flat face, strangely set ears, or horns, as we may choose to call them, large, staring eyes always turned to the spectator with such unmeaning solemnity, are irre- sistibly comical; and one's merriment is increased by the absence of all sympathy in the bird, which, in spite of its human cast of features, is neither angered nor amused by our laughter, but retains the same grave expression, making no sign of response. It was probably on account of its grave looks and seeming power of abstraction that the Owl was dedicated by the Greeks to the goddess Minerva, and honoured as the Bird of Wisdom. Pre-eminent among the European Owls is that which from its superior size and strength is called the Eagle-Owl, and in Erance Grand Due; the latter name been given to it, it is said, from an ancient popular belief that it acted twice a year as leader or guide. Due, to the flocks of Quails at their periods of migration. It must, however, have 44 STRIGID^. been vory ill fitted for such a post, being without doubt an exceedingly rapacious and destructive bird, as may be inferred from the folloAving narrative : — "One day in the month of July, a young bird, having quitted the nest, was caught by the servants. This bird was, considering the season of the year, well feathered ; but the down appeared here and there between those feathers which had not yet attained their full growth. After it was caught, it was shut up in a large hen-coop, when, on the following morning, a fine young Partridge was found lying dead before the door of the coop. It was immediately concluded that this provision had been brought there by the old Owls, which no doubt had been making search in the night-time for their lost young one. And such was indeed the fact ; for night after night, for fourteen days, was this same mark of attention repeated. The game which the old ones carried to it consisted chiefly of young Partridges, for the most part newly killed, but sometimes a little spoiled. On one occasion a Moor-fowl was brought, so fresh that it was actually warm under the wings; and at another time a putrid lamb was deposited." * The Eagle-Owl is not only the strongest and best armed of all the birds of prey next to the Eagle, but its attack is inevitable, because it strikes in the dark, and its flight is so noiseless that its prey has no warning of its approach. Some authors assert that when it has young to feed, it extends its hunting expeditions into the day ; this may well be the case, for even the Earn-Owl, Avhen in captivity, though most active during night, is ready to receive food at all hours when hungry. The favourite food of the Eagle-Owl is the hare, the partridge, and other game. In America, it preys on the Wild Turkey, which, though weighing from ten to tAventy pounds, it finds no difliculty in transporting to a considerable chstance. When * Stanley's British Birds, p. 154. THE EAGLE OWL. 45 assailed by superior strength it makes a vigorous defence. Its sharp talons inflict wounds as severe as those of the fox or wild cat, meeting in the flesh of any animal on which it fastens, and endowed with such power of muscular contraction as to pierce the leathern gaiters, and even the shoes of the hunters. When wounded and attacked by dogs, it turns itself on its back, extends its open talons, and executes a movement with its beak which serves to - guard the whole body. These strange manoeuvres, accom- panied as they are by rolling of the eyes, and a hissing noise like the exaggerated purr of a cat, are so alarming, that the most courageous dog hesitates before making his first onset, and rarely attempts a second. The note of the Eagle-Owl is described as being most discordant and hideous ; by some being compared to the bark of a dog, by others to the neigh of a horse, and by others again to an agonized human shriek ; consequently, it figures in many of the legends connected with the Hartz mountains, where it is of frequent occurrence. In Great Britain it has been rarely met with. It seems to prefer the mountain forests of the North, where it builds its nest among rocks, ruins, or stumps of trees, and lays two or three eggs. SCOPS-EARED OWL. SCOPS ALDROVANDI. Bill black ; iris yellow ; egrets (about three-quarters of an inch long) and head brown, minutely spotted with black ; upper parts, reddish brown mottled with black and dark brown : under parts lighter. Wings equalling the tail in length. Length, seven to eight inches ; Female somewhat larger. Eggs white. A BEAUTIFULLY marked little bird, scarcely bigger than a Thrush, which, though abundant in many parts of the continent of Europe, rarely pays us a visit. It is a bird of passage, arriving in France in May, and taking its de- parture in September. It builds its nest in the trunks of trees, and hides by day among the foUage of the poplars, 46 STRIGID^. limes, &c., wliich line the great roads. There it is heard in the summer evenings and nights, repeating at intervals as regular as the ticking of a pendulum, its melancholy and monotonous cry of " kew, kew," as little melodious as the croak of a frog. It frequents the vicinity of toTVTis, and THE SCOPS-EA.UED OWL. lives exclusively on the larger insects. It is more abundant in the southern countries of Europe than in the northern ; and in autumn migrates to the Mediterranean Islands and Africa. It makes its nest in holes in rocks or trees, and lays from two to five eggs. LOKG-EARED OWL. OTUS VULGARIS. Beak black ; iris orange yellow ; egrets very long, composed of eight or ten black feathers, edged ^vith yellow and white ; upper parts reddish yellow, mottled with brown and grey ; low€r 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. In France, where it is common, it unites in its own person all the mal- practices which have been popularly ascribed to the whole tribe of Owls. It is there said to be held in great detes- tation by all the rest of the feathered tribe ; a fact which is turned to good account by the bird-catcher, who, having 48 STRIGID^. set his traps and limed twigs, conceals himself in the neighbourhood and imitates the note of this Owl. 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 and 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 prolonged and plaintive, though consisting of not more than two or three notes repeated at intervals. The note of the young bird is similar, but is uttered in a higher key, and seems to be intended as a petition to its parents for a supply of food. A writer in the "Zoologist,"* who has had many opportunities of observing this species in its native haunts, says, that it does not confine its flight entirely to the 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 shght wind, when the parent bird leaves them. The eggs are invariably three in number, and there are grounds for supposing that the female bird begins to sit as soon as she has laid her flrst egg. * Vol. ii. p. 562. THE SHOET-EAEED OWL. OTUS BRACHYOTUS. 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 six- teen 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 noc- turnal 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. If attacked during day- light, 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 E 50 STEIGID^. frequents neither mountains nor forests, but prefers the plains, concealing itself, on the Continent, in heaths and vineyards, and in the British Isles, in stuhble-fields or among turnips. In some seasons they are so abundant in France, that the sportsman has no diflficulty in killing a dozen in a day. 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 esta- blish themselves for a time in any place they faU in with, where field-mice or other small quadrupeds are abun- dant. 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 times 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 illus- tration 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 into the channel for conveying sound is in the right ear, placed beneath the transverse fold, and directed upivards, wliile in the left 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 Eedwings and other small birds which had been driven by the intense THE SHORT -EARED OWL. 51 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 afterwards, however, I inquired at another part of the coast whether there were any Owls there, and received for an answer, "■ l!^o, because 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 BARN^ OWL. STKIX FLAMMEA. Beak yellowish white ; upper parts light tawny yeUow 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 plea- sant time when twilight is deepening into night, when the Thrush has piped its last roundelay, and the Nightingale is gathering strength for a fresh 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 E 2 52 STRIGIDiE. 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. Kot 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 THE BARN OWL. his approach, and they know not their doom till they feel the inevitable talons 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 melodious Tciaw again and again. In the morning, the Owl will THE BAEN OWL. 53 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 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, recognises 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 con- tented 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 agricul- turist, by its consumption of rats and mice, must be ex- ceedingly 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 soft- ness, its delicacy of pencilling on the upper parts and its snowy whiteness below. Its face is perfectly heart-shaped 54 STEIGID^. during life, but when the animal is dead becomes circular. The female is 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 there are grounds for supposing that the bird lays them at different periods, each brood 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 resembling a snore. The old birds are considered by Sir W. Jardine to hoot ; and to this statement I am inclined to assent, having heard a hoot proceed from a certain grove which I know to be frequented by White Owls, but where no other kind of Owl has been observed. Most naturalists are, . however, of opinion that they have but two notes : the screech by night, the purring hiss by day. 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 1 It is therefore scarcely surprising that the common incident 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 harm- less mouser the unmerited title of " harbinger of death." THE TAWNY OWL. SYENIUM ALUCO. Beak greyish yellow ; irides bluish dusky ; upper parts reddish brown, variously 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. This bird, the Ulula of tlie 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 by no means so generally diffused as the last, but yet is not uncommon in many of the wooded parts of England, especially the west. But even here, owing to its nocturnal 55 5Q STRTGID^. 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, to a 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 greeting, or whatever he may have deemed it ; but I do not recollect that I ever caught sight of the bird. The Tawny Owl does not prey exclusively on mice and small birds, but makes great havoc among game, and even visits fish-ponds. Young hares, rabbits, rats, mice, moles, and any birds that he can surprise asleep, 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. 0/ THE SNOWY OWL. SURNIA NYCTEA. Plumage snow-white, more or less marked witli brown spots and transverse bars ; beak black ; irides orange yellow ; legs and toes thickly covered with long shaggy feathers. Length two feet ; breadth five feet. Eggs pure white. An Owl that spends its summer in the Arctic regions, must, of necessity, differ in its habits from the Owls which reside in climates where day is succeeded by night at short intervals ; either it must keep a fast of many weeks' duration, or hunt for food while the sun is above the horizon. The Snowy Owl, therefore, a northern bird en- dowed with an appetite as voracious as that generally possessed by other birds of the same tribe, hunts during the day as well as in the dark. With the exception of the Eagle Owl, it is the largest species met with in Britain, and, like that bird, only an occasional visitor. In the Shetland Islands it is not unfrequent, where, however, it rarely comes abroad till dusk, and feeds on rabbits, mice, rats, and small birds, especially sandpipers. Its form is highly elegant ; its flight less buoyant and more rapid than that of other Owls ; and the superior boldness and activity of its disposition, the uncommon size of its talons, and the vigour of its limbs, secure it against danger from all feathered enemies. On the approach of twilight, it quits the elevated stony districts in which it conceals itself during day, and frequents the cultivated fields, prowhng over the low grounds in quest of mice and small birds. When first observed to leave its retreat, it is frequently assailed by crows, and other birds ; but it receives their attacks with indifference, and dashes through the air, despising their hostiUty. In North America, it has frequently been ob- served hunting during the day, as well as in the dark. It passes swiftly over its hunting ground, seizes its prey by instantaneously falling on it, and generally devours it on 58 STRIGIDJE. the spot. It also catches fish, and watches the traps set for musk-rats, devouring the animals caught in them. Little appears to be known about its nest or eggs ; and not much more about its note, which is said by one author to resemble the grunting of pigs ; and by another, the lamentations of a person in distress. In the year 1845, a party of fishermen, belonging to Cullen, in Banffshire, observed a Snowy Owl enter a chasm in the cliff, and climbed up. The most venturesome of the party, scrambling into the hole, discovered two old birds and two young ones, all of which, with some personal risk, he either killed or captured. This appears to be the only authentic evidence on record of their breeding in Great Britain. The plumage is exceedingly beautiful ; pure white, spotted and barred with brownish black. In younger birds, there is a greater proportion of dark markings, while, in very old birds, the spots are either small or entirely obliterated. THE HAWK OWL. SURNIA FUNl'rEA. Head, back of the neck, and shoulders, mottled with dusky black and dull white ; fece bounded by a black, crescent-shaped band ; back and wings dark brown, barred with dull white ; tail barred with .dull white ; under parts dull white, barred with dusky brown ; beak white ; irides straw yellow ; tarsi and toes covered with greyish white feathers. Length seventeen inches. Eggs Avhite. Of this species a single specimen only has been observed in, or rather on, the coast of England, and this is the sole claim which the Hawk Owl can put forward to be con- sidered a British bird. It occurs, but rarely, in the north of Germany, and then only in the great forests or among the mountains. In America it is found in the high north- ern latitudes, and is common throughout the fur countries, from Hudson's Bay to the Pacific, and is more frequently killed than any other by the himters, owing to its bold- THE HAWK OWL. 59 ness and its habit of flying about by day. In the summer season it feeds principally on mice and insects ; but in the snow-clad regions, which it frequents in the winter, neither of these are to be procured, and it then preys principally on Ptarmigans. It is a constant attendant on the flocks of Ptarmigans in their spring migration to the northward. It builds its nest on a tree, of sticks, grass, and feathers, and lays two white eggs. "When the hunters are shooting grouse, this bird is occasionally attracted by the report of the gun, and is often bold enough, on a bird being killed, to pounce do^vn upon it, though unable, from its size, to carry it oil. THE LITTLE OWL. NOCTUA PASSERINA. Upper plumage greyisli brown, spotted with white ; under, yellowish white with longitudinal brown marks, a broad dull white band across the throat ; beak brownish white ; irides very small, yellow ; tarsi feathered, toes sprinkled with a few white hairs. Length nine inches. Eggs white. This grotesque-looking bird, whose physiognomy cannot but remind one of a wizened face furnished with spectacles and a sharp nose, is common in most countries of Europe, resorting by day to ruins and holes in trees. Here it has the dangerous custom of revealing its retreat by repeatedly uttering its wearisome note, which is so incessant and so harsh that " to cry like a little owl," has, in some districts of France, passed into a proverb of reproach. A writer, however, in the " Zoologist," is of a different opinion, and reckons its singidar and plaintive note among the pleasant sounds of the country. I have myself heard it for several consecutive nights in the woods of Somersetshire, if indeed, as I suspected, the repeated cry, "Ftveek, k'week,'' came from this species. Though there was nothing melodious in the sound, I was inclined to consider it as a pleasing (50 STRIGIDiE. change from the silence of night, rather than the reverse. The Little Owl is not generally supposed to be common in England; but as it comes abroad only by night, and offers but an indifferent mark to the prowling game- keeper, it may be more abundant than it is believed to be. .Its food consists of mice, beetles, bats, and such Hh- LITTLE OWL. small birds as it can surprise when roosting. It lays its eggs in its usual hiding-place, making no nest. In cap- tivity it is a most amusing bird, for though quiet and grave by day, towards evening it becomes very animated, twisting its body with strange contortions, and jumping in a peculiarly ludicrous manner. 61 TENGMALM'S OWL. NOCTUA TENGMALMI. Upper parts reddish brown, spotted with white ; the spots on the scapulars and wing-coverts dispersed in lines ; tail interruptedly barred with white ; under- parts yellowish white, spotted with brown ; tarsi and toes thickly clothed with soft feathers. Length eight to nine inches. Eggs pure white. This little Owl takes its name from Dr. Tengmalm, a Swedish naturalist, who first pointed out the difference between it and the foregoing species. It is a pretty bird, scarcely bigger than a Blackbird, and in habits closely resembles the Little Owl, but few specimens have occurred in Britain, though from its close resemblance to the other species, it may be more common than it is generally supposed to be. So impatient is it of light that when accidentally surprised by daylight it becomes so dazzled and confased as to be easily caught by the hand. " Its cry in the night is a single melancholy note repeated at intervals of a minute or two ; and it is one of the super- stitious practices of the Indians to whistle when they hear it. If the bird is silent when thus challenged, the speedy death of the inquirer is augured ; hence its Cree name of 'Death-bird."^* THE GREAT GREY SHRIEJE. LANIUS EXCu'bITOR. 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 v>^hite, the proportion of black in the feathers increasing 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. 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 * Dr. Richardson. (j2 LANID^. ospecially, thougli 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 lamily, it seizes and carries off its prey with its beak and not with its claws. Though rarely seen in this country, it is not uncommon on the Continent, where its characters have been accurately observed. It derives its name excu- hitor (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, wliich 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 insects, especially the stag-beetle, 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. The latter it has even been said to flay before dismembering ; but this assertion rests on insufiicient evidence. Its fhght is peculiar, being com- posed of a series of dips, like that of the Wagtail ; and THE GREAT GREY SHRIKE. 68 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 nesthngs 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 JSTightin- gale, Kobin, Swallow, and Stone-chat. Its proper note is harsh, resembling somewhat that of the Kestri]. THE EED-BACKED SHEIKE. LANIUS COLLUEIO. 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. Female : 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. The Eed-backed Shrike, though not generally diffused throughout England, is in certain localities far from un- common. In the wooded districts of the midland and southern counties many specimens may be annually ob- served, 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 Vecorcheur (the flayer), from the custom ascribed to it of skinning the bodies of its victims 64 LANID^. 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 does impale 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 ; but that it flays its victims, and suspends their skins as -^ THE RED-BACKKD SHRIKE. trophies is questionable ; nor less so, that it lures little birds to their destruction by mimicking the call-notes of their parents. Its courage and voracity may be gathered from the following anecdote recorded in the Zoologist : * — " This morning a bird-catcher was following his vocation near I^orwich, when a Ked-backed Shrike pounced on one * Vol. XI. page 3981. THE EED-BACKED SHEIKE. 65 of his call-birds (a linnet), and attempted to carry it off ; bnt 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 mean time retreated to some neighbour- ing 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 Eed-backed Shrike is known to us only as a sum- mer visitor, departing early in autumn. ^=:^v^ WOOD SHRIKE, WOOD-CHAT. LANIUS RUFUS. Forehead and cheeks black ; nape bright rust colour ; back and wings varie- gated with black, white, and reddish brown ; tinder 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 bro-s\Ti and ash-gi"ey. The habits of this bird, which is a very rare visitant to the British Isles, differ in no material respects from those of the foregoing species. On the Continent it is more fre- quent in the south than the north, where it frequents trees rather than bushes, and generally 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. ^t. THE SPOTTED FLYCATCHEE. MUSCICAPA GKfSOLA. Upper plumage ash-brown ; feathers of the head marked with a central dark line ; under paiis 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 Elycatcher. 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 Eedbreast is in winter. They have neither song to recommend them nor brilliancy of colouring ; yet the absence of these quali- ties is more than compensated by the confidence they repose in the innocent intentions of the human beings whose protection they claim, by their strong local attach- ments, and by their unceasing activity in the pursuit of p 9 68 muscicapidtE. 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 performs the same manoeuvre, and always with the same object and success. Every time it quitted its perch, some ni-fated fly or beetle was discovered, winging its way through the air, and captured to be de- voured 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 a standard apple- tree. During the year 1859, a pair of these birds had taken up their quarters in my own garden in a situation su(;h 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 ofi", 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 re- markable, but simply to exemplify the habits of the bird when it has taken up its residence in a frev][uented garden. THE SPOTTED FLYCATCHEK. 69 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. The same 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 discovered, ^T^thin a few inches of my head, a nest built against the boll of the tree, and contain- ing 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 hopped about uneasily in a neighbouring tree, uttering its monotonous 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 sup- posed 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 fbst ; the other having been always a recluse. The fact which fell under my own notice, that a nest was built, and a 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 70 I^IUSCICAPIDiE. 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 else- where 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 May, and leaves about the end of September. THE PIEP FLYCATCHER MUSCICAPA LUCTUOSA. Upper plumage and tail black, the vfings black, Avith 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 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. 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, constantly repeating its short, little varied, but far from unpleasing song, every now and then inter- rupted 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. * "Birds and Birds' Nests" S.P.C.K. THE DIPPEE. 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. Length seven inches. Eggs pure white. Ajsty one who has wandered by the mountain rivers of Scotland, !N'orth Wales, or Derbyshire, can have scarcely failed to notice a bird, somewhat less than a blackbird, black above and white below, 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 you might hear his songj a low melodious strain, which he often carries far on into the mnter. His movements while he is thus perched 72 MEEULTD^. are peculiar; a jerking upwards of the tail and dipping forward of the head remind us of the Wren, a bird Avith which he has, however, nothing really in common. Orni- thologists place him between the Flycatchers and Thrushes. 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, and dives. That he should be so far only singular in his habits is not enough. Although he is a wader and diver, he wades and dives differently from other birds ; but the precise method of his subaqueous feats is a disputed point. Some observers maintain that the Dipper actually walks under water, setting his feet on the bottom as other birds do on the ground ; that he leisurely perambulates the bed of the river, examining the pebbles, feeding on molluscs and the larvae of insects, and that, while thus occupied, his body is studded with bubbles of air like so many pearls. Others maintain that the bird employs no other organ of locomotion beneath the water than its wings, and that it flies after the manner of the Grebes. Another controverted point in the habits of the same bird is, whether or not it feeds on the spawn of the trout and salmon. In the Highlands it is generally accused of committiug great depredations in this way, and is consequently shot by gamekeepers whenever observed. Mr. St. John is of opinion that it does commit 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 liable 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 ; THE DIPPER. io he is, therefore, of opinion, that the charge of destroying the spawn of fish is unfounded. 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 position, 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. THE MISSEL THEUSH. TURDUS VISCIVORUS. Upper plumage ash broAvn ; 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, tn 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. 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 white spotted with black. It is a generally diffused bird, and is 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 74 MERULTD.^. holly, or holm ; the title " Screech " being given to it from its jarring note when angry or alarmed, 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 "c/«trr." 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, ex- presses its aUiance with the Thrushes, and its daring nature ; and Storm Cock, which Waterton informs us is THE MISSEL THRUSH. ]tS delights in popular name in Yorkshire, indicates "not that it 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 Missel Thrush is loud, wild, and musical, Waterton calls it " plaintive," Knapp, " harsh, and untuneful." I must confess that I agree with THE MISSEL THEUSH. 75 neither. This note, generally the earliest of the Spring sounds (for the Eeclbreast's song belongs essentially to winter), is to my ear full of cheerful promise amounting to confidence — a song of hopeful praise, thanking God for preservation during the chills of winter, and exulting in the return of g*enial weather. What though it be not so flute- like as the Blackbird's song, nor so varied as that of the Thrush ; it is a loud, hearty pouring forth of natural melody, which may, for aught I knoAv to the contrary, serve to stimulate its silent kinsfolk to tune up their instruments of praise. While thus employed, the bird is 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 distance 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 preference, though it also feeds on those of the Hawthorn, Ivy, Juniper, Holly, and the strange plant from which it derives its name. At this season it is very wild, and only ventm^es to approach the haunts of man in order to satisfy its hunger. 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 appetite it will allow no other bird to approach the tree which it has appropri- ated for its feeding ground. I have seen it take possession of a Yew-tree laden with berries, and most mercilessly drive away, with angry vociferations and yet more formid- able 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, 76 MEKULIDvE. it adds to its diet suck worms and grubs as it can discover ; and, if it be not belied, it is much, 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 wood- land birds, robbers themselves, entertain an instinctive dislike towards it. Certainly these birds are its bitter enemies ; but in the breeding season it eludes their ani- mosity by quitting the woods, and resorting to the haunts of man. Its harsh screech is now xarely heard, for its present object is not defiance, but immunity from danger. Yet it takes no extraordinary 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 cherry 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, and is too often doomed to see its labour become the prey of the keen-eyed village boy, against whom, while engaged in his work of depredation, though all-powerless to save, it fre- quently directs a volley of agitated screams. It generally lays five eggs, and feeds its young on snails, worms, and insects. THE FIELDFAEE. 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 con- THE FIELDFARE. 77 founded even at a distance, owing to tlie predominant bluish tinge of its upper plumage. In the west of England, where the Thrush is called the Greybird, to 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 THE FIELDFARE. 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 meadows a second time in the spring, wiien on its way to its summer quarters. Fieldfares are eminently gregarious ; not only do they arrive at our shores 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, 78 MERULID^. 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 abundant banquet. UnUke the Black- bird 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;" Bechstein, as "a mere harsh disagreeable warble;" while a writer in the "Zoologist,"* who heard one sing during the mild January of 1846, in Devon, de- scribes it as "combining the melodious whistle of the Blackbird with the powerful voice of the Missel 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 wiD. deny. For a description of it in its summer haunts we must refer to Hewitson, who visited Norway mainly with the object of observing the habits of the Fieldfare and Eedwing. " 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 * Vol. IV., page 1297. THE PIELDFAEE. 79 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 surface 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 eggs, although we afterwards found that five was more com- monly 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 iJ^orway, and is generally dif- fused 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." 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. THE SOXG 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. Its mellow, sweet, and eloquent song awakens the first primrose, and salutes the earliest verdure that adorns the lithe twigs of Woodbine. More inspiriting and scarcely less melodious than that of 80 MEKULID^. the Nightingale, it rings tlu-ough the woods a month at least before the foreign minstrel has arrived, and retains its brilliancy for an equal period after the autumn voice of that songster has degenerated into a croak. However near it may be, it is never harsh, and heard at a distance its only defect is, that it is not nearer. It possesses, too, the charm of harmonising with all other pleasant natural sounds. If to these recommendations we add that tlie THE SONG THRUSH. Thrush frequents all parts of England, and resorts to the suburban 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 liimself, the Nightingale.* * Though I cannot pretend to trace much similarity between the songs of certain birds and the combinations of letters by which some THE SONG THRUSH. 81 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 ail in succession ; strawberries, gooseberries, currants, 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. During all this period it relieves the monotony of its diet by an occasional repast on animal food; as, indeed, in winter it alternates its food whenever opportunity occurs, by regaling itself on wild berries. Yet, despite of 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- authors have endeavoured to express them, I think it will be found that many persons, especially children, hearing the Thrush sing, may detect passages which may be imitated by the human voice and in articulate words. Different birds of the same species vary considerably in tone and compass ; but the reader will be able to detect in the song of the Thrush an approach to such sounds as the following : Judy, Judy, Judy : Bopeep, Bopeep, Bopeep, Bopeep : How d'ye do ? How d'ye do ? To discover the song by reading the words is another matter. ' _ .^i_ ^ , 82 MERUiilD^. crow to the gun, the protecting net to that which captures. 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 saUva. 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 incubation the female is very tame, and will suffer herself to be approached quite closely mthout 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. 83 WHITE'S THRUSH. TURDUS WHITEI. Upper plumage variegated with black and several shades of yellow and brown ; under, white, all the feathers tipped with a black crescent-shaped spot ; imder wing-coverts white tipped with black. Beak and toes brown. Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs unknown. Of this bird, a native of Japan, about seven or eight speci- mens have been obtained in Europe, and among these one was shot in England, and another in Ireland. It possesses, therefore, little claim to be considered a British species. It received its name in honour of White of Selborne. THE GOLD-VENTED THRUSH. TURDUS AURIGASTER. Upper parts umber brown ; throat and neck clove brown shaded oflF to a dull white on the abdomen and then passing into brilliant yellow ; under wiug- coverts brilliant yellow ; beak, feet, and claws black. Eggs unknown. A SINGLE specimen of this bird was shot in Ireland in 1838. It is a native of Africa, but nothing appears to be known of its habits. THE REDWING. TURDUS ILIACUS. 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 witliout spots ; under wing-coverts and flanks bright orange red ; biU dusky ; feet grey. Length eight inches, breadth thirteen inches. Eggs gi-eenish 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 G 2 84 MERULID^. about the same time with the AYoodcock, 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 after by the fowler, its flesh being considered by many superior to that of the Quail and Woodcock. It /^^ %&..^-?. ^^-rH^ THE REDWING. owes jjerhaps 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, Avhere it congregates in large numbers, it is so much enfeebled by unusually severe weather, as to be liable to be hunted down by boys with sticks, and a Eedwing starved to death is no unfrequent sight in the course of a winter's ramble. As long as the THE REDWING. 85 ground remains neither frozen nor snowed up, the open meadows may be seen every where spotted Avith 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 valleys. 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 iTorway " the Eedwing was but seldom seen, and then perched upon the summit of one of the highest trees, pouring forth its delightfully wild note. It was alw^ays very shy, and upon seeing our approach would drop suddenly from its height, and dis- appear among the underwood. Its nest, which we twice found with young ones (although our unceasing endeavours to find its eggs were fruitless), was similar to that of the Fieldfare. The Eedwing is called the Mghtingale of Norway, and well it deserves the name." THE BLACKBIED. 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 gi'ey, spotted and speckled with light red brown. Much that has been said in praise of the Thrush will apply equally well to the Blackbird. With his glossy 86 MERULID^. coat and yellow beak he is tlie handsomer bird of the two ; 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 oi " the bush." In a furze-brake, a coppice, a wooded water- THE BLACKBIRD. 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 pro- bably 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 aU is not right, he utters THE BLACKBIRD. 87 repeatedly a low cluck, wMcli seems to say, "This is no place for me, I must be off." But if lie 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 and shrubs, has just before the critical moment of action started some ill-omened Black- bird. 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 some- what 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 merits, therefore, the title of "Bellman of the woods," though I am not aware that it has been conferred on him. !N"either 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 flute- like tone — "the whisthng 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 Blackbhd does not meet the appro- bation 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." Education, it seems, will remedy this defect, for " its memory is so good, that it retains, Avithout mixing them, several airs at once." The art of teaching the Blackbird is of old date, for we find in Pepys's Diary, 22d May, 1663, the following passage : " Eendall, the house carpenter at Deptford, hath sent mo S8 MEEULID^. a fine Blackbird, wliich I went to see. He tells me lie was offered twenty shillings for him as lie came along, he do so whistle. 23d. Waked this morning between four and live by my Blackbird, which wbistled 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 beard 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; mthin 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 pro- curing plenty of worms for their nesthngs, 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 Ught and spotted, the beak dark brown with yellowish edges. White and pied specimens of 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 certaiu estate is kept up by the annual presentation of a white Blackbird to the lord of the manor. THE EING OUZEL. TURDUS TORQUATUS. Plumage black edged with greyish white ; a large crescent-shaped pure white spot on the tliroat ; 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. Rii^G Ouzel 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 Great Britain, where, 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 Mediter- ranean — early 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 I^Torway, where, on the 90 MERTJLIDiE. authority of Mr. Hewitson, it is often seen "enlivening the most bleak and desolate islands with its sweet song. It shares with the Eedwing 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 unfre- quently met with in gardens, whither they re23air for the sake of feeding on fruit and berries. THE GOLDEI^ 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 grejish brown ; wings dark brown, the quills edged with olive grey ; tail olive, tinged with dark broAvn. Length ten inches. Eggs white with a few isolated dark brown or black spots. This brilliant bird, resembling the Thrushes in form and habits, but appareled 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 keej)ing 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. We can learn little of its habits, therefore, from personal observation. 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 com- mon occurrence ; but though there are on record one or two creditable excejDtions, when real naturalists have postponed the glory of shooting and adding to their collection a British sj)ecimen, to the j)leasure of watching its ways on British soil, yet its biography is not to be written from THE GOLDEN ORIOLE. 91 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 unfre- quent in many other parts of France, in Belgium, and the south of Germany. " 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. But variety there 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, therefore, 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 worlananship 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 concealed than that even of the Chaf- finch. The latter is placed on a branch, of which it increases the apparent size, and so attracts 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. The materials employed are the lichen above mentioned, 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 sedulously 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 92 MEKULlb^. the mother bird that she has been known to suffer herself to be carried away sitting on her eggs, and to die of starva- tion. Surely a bird so beautiful and so melodious, so skilful an architect and so tender a nurse, deserves rather to be encouraged than exterminated. Yet of two well authenticated instances on record of its nest being found in Britain — one, in Suffolk, was taken with the eggs ; the other, in Kent, was also taken after the eggs were hatched : "the young ones," we are told, "were taken every care of, but did not long survive their captivity." It is not untn the end of the third moult that the Oriole appears in his full blaze of gold and black. The plumage of the female bird differs considerably from that of the male in richness of tmt, and the young of both sexes resemble the female. THE EOCK THRUSH. PETROCINCLA SAXATILIS. Head, neck, and upper part of the back bluish grey ; scapulars brown ; lower part of the back white varied with a few greyish feathers ; tail chestnut brown, the two central feathers darker ; wings dark brown ; greater wing-coverts and secondaries tipped with white ; under plumage light chestnut brown. Length seven inches and a half. But two specimens of this bird are known to have been seen in Britain. It inhabits high rocky mountains in Switzerland, Hungary, Turkey, and the three great moun- tain ranges of the Continent, feeding on beetles and grasshoppers, and building its nest of moss in the clefts of rocks or among loose stones. 93 THE ALPIKE ACCENTOR ACCENTOR ALPINUS. Head, breast, neck, and back ash-grey, the back marked with large brown spots ; throat white, with small brown spots ; under plumage reddish, mixed with white and grey ; wings and tail dusky brown, variegated with ash colour ; lesser and middle wing-coverts tipped with white ; bill yellow at the base, black at the point. Length, six and a tialf inches. Eggs greenish blue, without spots. Only a few specimens of this bird have been observed in England. It frequents the mountainous districts of the Continent, repairing in summer to elevations where birds are almost as scarce as human inhabitants, and there doubtless it is prized, not for its rarity alone, but for its fearlessness of man. What circumstances can have induced so decided a mountaineer, not migratory in habits, to visit the lowlands of England, is difficult to conjecture; but being here, we may account for its resorting to the towers of Cambridge and Wells (where it has been shot) as the best representatives it could find of Alpine crags. THE HEDGE SPAEEOW. ACCENTOR MODULARIS. Crown of the head ash colour, with brown streaks ; sides of the neck, throat, and breast, bluish grey; 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 a half inches. 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 convince 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, inno- cent, 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 94 SYLVIAD^. 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 Accen- tor, Hedge Warbler, and Shuffle-wing, are names open to those who prefer them, but we adhere to the old-fasliioned 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 THE HEDGE SPARROW. birth. At all seasons his habits and food appear to be the same. All day long he is sliuffling 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 evening, 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, THE HEDGE SPAEEOW. 95 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, thi-owing no one into ecstasies with his song, and stealing 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 REDBEEAST. ERYTHACA RUBECULA, Upper parts brownish grey tinged with olive ; forehead, lore, and breast red, the red edged with ash-grey ; abdomen white. Female like the inale, except that the upper parts are asli-brown, the red less bright, and the grey sur- rounding it less conspicuous. Length, five inches and three quarters. Eggs yellowish white, spotted with light reddish brown. The Eedbreast is everywhere invested with a kind of sanctity beyond all other birds. Its wonted habit of making i|is 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 halbitations — and the readiness with which, without coaxing, or taming, or training, it throws itseK 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 Eedbreasts. Trust on one side engenders confidence on the other, and mutual attachment is Ijie natural result. There is some- thing, too, beyond the power of explanation in the fact that the Eobin is the only bird which frequents from choice 96 SYLVIAD^. the inside of churches. Jackdaws resort to the towers, but that is for safety ; Owls harbour in the belfry, but that is for concealment ; other birds are sometimes shut into a church and remain there just because they cannot find the way out ; but to the Redbreast a church is a home, he perches on the columns, roosts on the pillars, and pipes with the organ. He knows his way out, but he is content to stay. Would he do so if the church were shut THE REDBREAST. up and deserted ? I think not. To the Owl and Jackdaw, their place of resort would be all the more attractive from the absence of their common enemy ; but to Robin the solitude would be distasteful, owing to the departure of his friends. In spite of his admitted orthodoxy, it is doubtful whether, under such circumstance^, he would not find the loneliness intolerable, and attach himself to some other congregation. THE KEDBEEAST. 97 The habits of the Eedbreast 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 bot- tom of a hedge or under the stump of a tree, in an ivy-clad wall, or amidst the creepers trained round the verandah 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, hned 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 mis- taken 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 succeed- ing 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. 98 THE BLUE-THEOATED WARBLER PH(ENICURA SUECICA. Upper parts ash-brown ; throat and neck azure-blue, with a central white spot, beneath the blue a black border, then a narrow white band, succeeded by a broader band of red ; under parts white ; basal half of the tail rust-colour, the other half black ; length, six inches. Eggs uniform greenish blue. So very few specimens of this bird (three or four) have been observed in England, that to describe its habits it is necessary to refer to continental authors, who pronounce it to be the most beautiful of all the Warblers. It takes its name from a magnificent bright blue escutcheon on its breast, the centre of which is marked by a disk of pure white. The plumage undergoes great modifications with age. The white disk seems to be a distinctive character of young birds, as it disappears with age. The orange-red border of the escutcheon encroaches on the white and black after each moult, and finally absorbs them. This Warbler, in the movement and colour of its tail, as well as in habits, resembles the Redstarts more than the Redbreast. It fre- quents streams and thickets more than the last species. Its favourite resorts are withy-holts and bushy places in the plains, especially in the neighbourhood of ponds and streamlets. It constructs its nest in hollow willows, and under roots. It leads mostly a solitary life, and attracts little notice. Its song is sweet, but low. Its food consists of insects, and in the autumn of berries, especially black- berries. It would seem to be abundant in many parts of the Continent, as it is said to make a " delicious roast." It is a migratory bird, arriving in Europe from the south early in spring, and though rarely visiting Britain, it penetrates as far as the north of Russia, Finland, Lapland, and Sweden. 99 THE EEDSTART. PHCENICURA RUTICILLA. Forehead white ; throat black ; head and upper part of the back bluish grey ; breast, taU-coverts and tail (except the two central feathers, which are brown), bright rust-red; second primary equal to the sixth. Female— up-per parts grey, deeply 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 in its habits, com- monly resorting to gardens, and searching for its favourite food, worms and insects, on the lawn. 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. Eedstarts arrive in this country about the end of April, 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 Eedstarts, 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 employed workmen to repair it. This proceeding offended the birds, who deserted it for three years, and then, forgetting or forgiving the intrusion, re- turned 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 Eedstart 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 I supposed to be the chirping of two birds proceed from a h2 100 SYLVIAD^. large apple-tree close by. As the notes were not familiar to me, I went round tlie tree several times in order to dis- cover 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 TUli UEDSTAHT. him, and I satisfied myself that both sounds proceeded from the same bird, a male Redstart, whose nest, I after- wards 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 THE EEDSTAET. 101 birds when singing. Its proper song I have never myself succeeded in distinguishing. It is said to be short but pleasing, and to be emitted ' both while the bird is at rest and on the wing, principally 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 Eedstarts retire southwards. On the African shores of the Mediter- ranean they are very abundant, and are caught by the Arabs in traps of the simplest construction. On the continent of Europe too, especially in France, in spite of their diminutive size, they are highly prized for food. In Lorraine, the number of Redstarts (both kinds), Redbreasts and Fly-catchers taken in traps is inconceivable. These birds being of about the same size, and equally excellent in delicacy of flesh, are sold together in all the market towns under the name of petites betes (or, as we should say, " small deer"), and are sent to the great cities. Blackbirds and Thrushes are dignified with the title of grosses betes (" cattle of a larger breed "). Thousands of dozens are thus annually despatched ; but this number is as nothing com- pared with that consumed on the spot. For a period of about six weeks in every year, one may see every day at certain hours whole families in the small towns, gravely occupied on their door-steps picking the birds captured the day before. At this season the air is filled with savoury odours, and the passenger cannot take a step without trampling on the red feathers of the Eobin and Eedstart, contrasting with the sable plumage of the Blackbird. These are all caught in traps set in the woods and forests ; in every place, in short, where birds resort either for shelter or food. 11 F- ll'lll THE BLACK EEDSTAET. PH(ENICURA TITHYS. 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 occurring in the winter of every year in some part of England or another. 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 elevation 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. Both species are THE BLACK EEDSTART. 103 equally prized in France for the delicacy of their flesh ; and, as I have mentioned above, are commonly exposed for sale in the markets. 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 STOI^ECHAT. SAXICOLA 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, mngs and tail, black, with reddish brown edges. JfcmaZe— 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 there- fore 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 before us is probably within a few yards of the spot on which we are standing ; but title exact locahty no one knows, nor is likely to know but itseK. 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 104< SYLVIADtE. clinging to the top of a jtmiper, where he fidgets about uttering his twit-click-click, which you can easily imitate by whistling 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 top 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 THE STONECHA.T. 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 into the belief that they are better worth caring f§r than their young ones, and may be caught if we will only be silly enough to chase them 1 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 THE STONECHAT. 105 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, &c. Its nest is re- markable 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 Eubicola 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 WHINCHAT. SAXICOLA RUB^TRA. 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. J^emaZe— 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 well to the Whinchat, as the two birds much resemble each other in characters, size, and habits. There is this difference, however, between them, that a con- siderable 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, lOG SYLVIAD^. 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 motion, occasionally spring into the air after an insect, and then dart off mth a dipping flight to another post of advantage. THE WHFNCHAT. They repeat 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 Wliinchat 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. 107 THE WHEATEAE. SAXICOLA (ENANTHJ^. Upper parts, in autumn reddish bro-WTi, 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 wliite ; the chin, forehead, stripe over the eyes, and under parts are also white, and in autumn the tail-feathers are also tipped with white, i^emc'ie— 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. During a considerable portion of its stay with, us, open downs near the sea are the favourite resort of this lively- bird, to which it repair's from its transmarine winter quarters towards the end 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, and making itself all the more welcome that few others among our summer visitants have as yet recovered their voices. We need not sup- pose that Wbeatears 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 pro- ceed 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, as they are to be social among themselves 108 SYLVIAD.E. (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 Wheat- ear, 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 manoeuvre, 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 an occasional twitter 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 cavfity under a rock, where, beyond the reach of any THE WHEATEAR. 109 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 emigra- tion on open downs near the sea. We have seen a good many of them on the sandy coast of Norfolk and of North Wales ; 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, take advan- tage of the habit of these birds to conceal themselves, and construct a multitude of simple but efiicacious traps in which they capture large numbers. The method which they adopt is, to cut out from the sward an oblong piece of turf about the size of a brick, which they invert over the hole from which it was taken so as to form a cross. Be- neath this are plac-ed 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 of late years the influx of visitors to the neighbouring watering-places has so much enhanced their value, that the shepherds vnll allow no such interference. We once tried the experiment of releasing a bird and de- positing the penny-piece in the trap, when, from a neigh-' bouring eminence, we were assailed with such a torrent of abuse, that we declined repeating the experiment. In September, all who have escaped the sportsman and 110 SYLVIAD^. fowler, wiug 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 previously to final emigration. THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. SALICARIA LOCUSTELLA, Upper parts light brown, with a tinge of green, and presenting a spotted appear- ance, 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 and a 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 Yale and Fancy "Wood. It often happened that twilight was fading into gloom when I reached this stage in my wanderings — the last of the evening songsters had hushed its note ; for this county, beautiful as it 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, per- haps, not the right word to use, for an acute ear can detect in the long unmusical jar a cadence descending sometimes a semitone, and occasionally 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 ; but whether this was the eff'ect of the imagination, whether THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. Ill 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 THE GKASSHOPPER WARBLER. 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 pro- duced by pulling out the line from the winch, of a fishing- 112 SYLVIADxE. rod; DO less continuous is it, nor more melodious. Many- years afterwards, when the memory of these pleasant wanderings had faded away, I happened one evening in May to be passing across a common in Hertfordshire, skirted by a hedge of brushwood, w^hen the old familiar sound fell on my ear hke 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, wdiom I now knew to be a bird, and I crept quietly to- wards the spot Avhence the noise proceeded. Had it been singing in a copse-wood instead of a hedge, I should cer- tainly have failed, for there is the same peculiarity about its note that there is about that of the insect — 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 perform- ance 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 particular bush, on which I saw a little bird, about as big as a Hedge-sparrow, quietly and cautiously dropping branch by branch to the ground. In a few minutes I observed it again a few yards off, creeping wdth a movement resembling that of the ISTuthatch up another bush. Having reached to nearly the summit it became motionless, stretched out its neck, and keepin its mandibles continuously open and slightly elevated, com- menced 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 THE GEASSHOPPEK WARBLEE. 113 few yards off. I fancied that while actually singing its feathers were ruffled; but in the imperfect twHight I could not decide positively. That it kept its mandibles motion- less while singing, I had no doubt. HaK an hour after- wards, at a quarter to eight, I returned from my walk, and observed it several times go through precisely the same manoeuvres. 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. SAVrS WAEBLEE. SALICARIA LUSCINOIDES. Upper plumage reddisli brown ; tail indistinctly marked with darker bands ; chin and throat whitish ; breast pale brown, becoming darker towards the tail. Length five and a half inches. A VERT few specimens of this bird have been observed in the British Islands, though, from the similarity of its habits to those of the Grasshopper "Warbler, it is possible that it may have escaped the notice of unskilled observers. It has been found in Italy, France, Malta, and Sicily ; but appears to be nowhere common. The Rev. James Brown, who obtained one in the marshes near IN'orwich, states that his specimen was sitting on the upper part of a reed^ uttering its note, which was not unlike that of the Grass- hopper Warbler, and that when disturbed it ceased to sing, and dropped down among the thick herbage, but soon reascended to its former station and recommenced its song. I 114 SYLVIAD^. Three nests have been found in Britam, all near Cambridge. " These nests, in each instance, were on the ground. They are cup-shaped, compactly formed of the long narrow leaves of the common reed {Arundo Phragmitis) wound round and interlaced, but without any other lining." The eggs are of a whitish pink colour, covered all over with minute specks of two colours, pale red and light ash-grey. The eggs in one nest were thought to resemble those of the Grasshopper Warbler ; in another those of the Dart- ford Warbler. THE SEDGE WARBLER SALICAEIA PHRAGMITIS. Upper plumage olive-gi-ey, the centre of each feather tinged with lirown ; 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 uni- form 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 constant 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, plough- boys call it a " chat," a name which exactly answers to the French name of the group to which it belongs — '' Jaseuses.^' Its note is remarkable 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 THE SEDGE WAEBLEE. 115 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 THE SEDGE WARBLER. was purloiaed. Pursuing my walk towards the houses, I heard the note of some Guinea-fowls ; not the " come- back " cry, but the " click-click " 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 instru- ments of different cahbre. Like other chatterers, who, I 2 116 SYLVIAD^. when they have finished their song, are easily pro- voked to begin again, the Sedge Warbler, if he does occasionally retire to a 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 zinzinare 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 fresh- water 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 line 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. 117 THE GEEAT SEDGE WAEBLER SALICARIA TURDOIDES. Upper plumage and tail reddish brown ; under, yellowish white, passing to a deeper hue behind ; throat white ; a yellowish white streak above the eyes ; bill yellow at the base, brown towards the tip. Length eight inches. Eggs greenish, spotted with ash and dingy brown. The capture of a single specimen of this the largest of the European Warblers, near J^ewcastle-on-Tyne, gives it a right to a place among British birds. It inhabits the banks of ponds and rivers where reeds and rushes abound ; in Holland it is common, as it is also in many parts of France, and in Piedmont. Its food consists of insects and worms, rarely of berries, and that only when insect food fails. It constructs its nest with great skill among reeds, and lays from three to five eggs. A nest, supposed to be that of this bird, has been found in E"orthamptonshire. It is sometimes called the Thrush Mghtingale, and was at one time associated by Temminck with the true Thrushes, under the name of Turdus arundinaceus. THE EEED WAEBLER salicAria arundinAcea. 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 ohve and light brown, especially towards the larger end. The botanical name of the common reed is Arundo Phrag- mitis; from the former of which terms the Eeed Warbler takes its name, from the latter the Sedge Warbler. A reed is a tall grass growing by the water side ; a sedge is a tall grass-like plant affecting similar places. What special reason there may have existed for naming the two birds 118 SYLVIADJE. from the same plant, except that of puzzling young students, I do not know ; nor do the popular names much help them, for the plants, though botanically distinct, often grow side by side, and require a botanist's eye to dis- tinguish them ; and the birds are so much alike, that they are sufficiently liable to be confounded one with another, apart from this additional help to confusion. Let the --^^^^-#'- ^ THE REED WARBLER. reader, then, thus forewarned, take care to remember that the common River-chat, described above, is the Sedge Warbler, surnamed " phragmitis," while our present bird is the Eeed Warbler, surnamed "arundinacea." Both are jaseMses^ or chatterers, with rounded tails ; but the Sedge WaTbler. has its upper plumage spotted with dark brown, and a white line above its eye, while the upper plumage of THE EEED WARBLEE. 119 the Eeed 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 Eeed Warbler is by far the less common of the two ; for while the Sedge Warbler is sure to be found wherever the Eeed Warbler has been observed, the converse by no means follows. The parts of England in which it appears to be most frequent, are Essex, Surrey, Kent, Suffolk, and I^or- folk. In the reed-beds on the banks of the Thames, between Erith and Greenwich, it is common. " The nest of the Eeed 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 aroiind it; the lining is of the finer flowering stems of grass, inter- mixed with a little horsehair. It is a deep and solid structure, so that the eggs cannot easily roU 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 Eeed 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 agreeably 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 reered this Cuckoo, I silently watched * Mr. W. H. Thomas, in the Zoologist, p. 97. 120 SYLVIAD^. his movements, and had not waited more than a minute, when a Eeed 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 Eeed 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 Eeed 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 Eeed Warbler soon returned with more food, and ahghted 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 Eeed 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 NIGHTmCALE. PHILOMELA LUSCINIA. Upper plumage brown, tinged with red ; tail bright rust-red ; under plumage dingy white; flanks pale ash 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 England, enjoy a privilege which is denied to the northern and western — an annual visit, namely, from the l^ightingale. It is easy enough to understand why a southern bird should bound its travels northwards 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 THE NIGHTINGALE. 121 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 counties : this may be dis- missed 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 Nightingales a perfect Paradise, if they would only come ; a third is, that the proper food is not to be found there : THE NIGHTINGALE. but this reason cannot be admitted until it is proved that the portions of the island to which the Mghtingale 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 itseK 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, 122 SYLVIAD^. that the Nightingale is not found in these two counties on account of their peculiar geographical position. The con- tinental ^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 migi'ation, 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 moun- tains and the broad sea. For the dwellers in these unfavoured districts alone is my description 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 con- versation 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 are numerous. They arrive about the 1 7th of April, and for the first few days assemble * This is the opinion of Gilbert White. THE NIGHTINGALE. 123 year after year in the bushes and hedges of a certain hill- side, 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 to. 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 females, and employ the interval, 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 JN'ightingale 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 his roundelay, 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 Mghtingale'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 12-4 SYLVIAD^. think, too, though my assertion may seem a barbarous one, that if the JN'ightingale'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. 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 red 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. THE BLACKCAP. CURRUCA ATRICAPILLA. Top and back of the head black, in the female chocolate colour ; upper parts, wings, and taU 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 and a 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 reason- 126 SYLVIAD^. able 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 Red- breast, 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, 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 in- debted 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 suc- cessive 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 Ajitril, 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 hstener 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 cap- tures flies on the wing or descends to feed on the ground. In June it begins to sing shorter strains, but with no THE BLACKCAP. 127 diminislied power. It may then be observed flying from brancli to branch of an apple-tree, resting for a few seconds only in the same spot, and busily occupied in collect- ing grubs or aphides, then indulging in a short strain. In July, when the raspberries 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 first 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 Eedbreast 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 incu- bation, and is said to relieve the monotony of his occu- pation by singing, thus often betraying a well-concealed nest. THE OEPHEAN WAEBLEE. CURRUCA ORPHEA. Head dusky; upper parts dark, tinged with ash-grey; mngs dusky, edged with asli-brown ; outer tail-feather on each side white, except the extremity of the inner web, which is ash, and the quill, which is black, the other feathers of the tail dusky, with white tips ; under parts white, tinged at the sides with rose ; lower tail-coverts rust colour. The female has no black on the head, and the other colours are less decided. Length six inches and a half. Eggs nearly white, spotted with yellow and brown. Very abundant in Italy, especially in Piedmont and Lombardy ; equally common in some of the southern departments of France ; occasionally met with in Switzer- land. A single specimen only has been shot in England. 128 THE RUFOUS SEDGE WAEBLER CURRUCA GALACTOTES. Upper plumage reddish brown ; all the lateral feathers of the tail with a large black spot near the extremity, which is white; wings brown, edged with reddish ; under parts whitish, tinged at the sides with red ; feet yellowish. Length six inches and a half. Eggs unknown. Of this rare bird, wliich inhabits the southern pro- vinces of Spain, a single specimen only has been seen in England. THE GARDEN WARBLER. THE GARDEN WARBLER. CURRUCA 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 THE GARDEN WAEBLEE. 129 resembles in size and habits. Its song is little if at all inferior to tbat of tbe 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. By some authors it is called the Greater Pettychaps, by others the Fauvette, which latter name is by some French ornithologists ap- plied to the group containing this bird and several allied species. Its nest and eggs are so like those of the Black- cap as to be discriminated with difficulty. THE WHITETHEOAT. CURUUCA 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. 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 incessantly babbling with a somewhat harsh but not un- pleasant 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, gene- rally 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 K 130 SYLVIAD^. 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. Prom its habit of creeping through the lower parts of hedges, it has received the popular name of " ^N'ettle-creeper." From the grey- tone of its plumage, it is in some districts of "France called ^'Grisettej' and in others, from its continuous song, n j^^^. THK WHlTETHKOAf. '' Bahillarde," names, however, which are popularly applied without distinction 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 THE WHITETHEOAT. 131 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, cur- rants, 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. THE LESSER WHITETHROAT. CURRUCA SYLVIELLA. Head and lore dark ash-grey ; rest of the upper parts greyish ash, tinged with broAvn ; 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 ; feet deep 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 "VATiitethroat, 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-imperials, 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 * This night song is rarely heard except in the months of May and June. J32 SYLVIAD^. 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 he had himself set the example, competent observers of birds were rare. It differs externally from the preceding, 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 per- TtlE LESSER WHITETHROAT. pendicular flights which have gained for its congener, the Greater Whitethroat, the quaint sobriquet of '' singing sky- rocket." 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 THE LESSER WHITETHROAT. 133 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 to come. Those birds, therefore, which in spring feed on insects, and nourish their young on the same diet, may be looked on as instruments employed by the providence of God to protect from injury the trees which are destined to supply them with support when insect food becomes scarce. But consider 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. Not without reason then did the Psalmist exclaim, " Lord, how manifold are Thy works ! in wisdom hast Thou made them all." THE WOOD-WAEBLEK SYLVIA SYLVICOLA. UpiDer plumage bright yellowish gi-een ; a broad streak of sulphur-yellow over the eye ; sides of the head, 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 re- semble each other so closely in size, colour, and habits, that except by 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 discrimi- nating the species. The Wood-warbler, or Wood- wren as it is sometimes called, arrives in England towards the end of April, and betakes itself to woodland districts, where it 134 SYLVIADyE. spends the greater portion of its time among the upper brandies of lofty trees, constantly moving from place to place with rapid irregular flight, and frequently 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, Toiiite, is derived from the syllable " tweet,'' which, rapidly and continuously repeated THE \VOOP-WARHLi:i: 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." Sweet and others have observed, that the last notes of its strain are accompanied by a quivering of the wings, which accounts for their tremulous sound. THE WOOD-WARBLER. -^35 The Wood-warbler is much less frequent than either the Willow-warbler or Chiff-chafF, and on a close inspec- tion may be distinguished 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. THE WILLOW-WAEBLEE. SYLVIA 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 live inches ; breadth eight. Eggs white, more or less speckled with rust colour. There seems to be no sufiicient 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, except in the extreme west of England, wherever there are hay-fields and trees these birds are to be found ; they build their nests princi- pally 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 abun- dant and generally diffused, arriving in England about the middle of April, and remaining until October. During the greater part of this period, it may be seen fluttering about the tops of trees, hunting the tAvigs and leaves for insects, 136 SYLVIADvE. 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 with,out 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 pleasant little niK WILLOW-WARBLKU. 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 * I heard it this year, 1859, which was remarkable for its mild winter and spring, so early as the 19th of March. THE WILLOW- WAEBLEE. 137 in a bank of furze adjoining my garden, do not, in con- junction with Blackcaps and Whitethroats, pay daily visits to a certain row of red raspberries in my garden. It may be that they come only in quest of aphides, but I have certainly seen them in dangerous proximity 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 MELODIOUS WILLOW- WARBLER SYLVIA HIPPOLAIS OF CONTINENTAL AUTHORS. Upper parts ash-gi-ey, tinged with green ; lore and orbit yellow ; larger wing- coverts dark brown, edged with dull white ; primaries and tail-feathers brown, edged with greenish grey ; under parts pale yeUow ; lower mandible white. Length nearly five inches and a half. Eggs pale pink, irregularly spotted with deep scarlet or crimson. A WARBLER closely allied to the three last species is com- mon in the gardens and hedgerows of the Continent, and being larger and stro.nger than these, might be expected to visit England. It was not, however, until the year 1848 that it was observed in this country, when a specimen in its most perfect plumage was shot in Kent by a person who was attracted by its loud and melodious song, which is said to be far superior to that of either of the three other species, and to be equalled only by those of the Blackcap and Nightingale. The nest is generally placed pretty high up in the hedges and thickets, and in form most resembles that of the Chaffinch, but is somewhat smaller. The framework is thick, made of dry grass and the fine white shavings of the bark of the birch-tree, mixed with white lichens and cobweb. The eggs are of the size of those of the Linnet ; four or five in number. Its popular name in France is Grand Fouillet. THE CHIFF-CHAFF. SYLVIA RUPA OF CONTINENTAL AUTHORS. SYLVIA HIPPOLAIS OF BRITISH AUTHORS. Upper parts olive-green tinged with yellow ; cabove the eyes a narrow, faint, yellowish white streak ; iinder 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, dark brown. Length four inches and a half ; breadth seven and a quarter. Eggs white, sparingly spotted with dark purple or black. 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 138 THE CHIFF-CHAFF. 139 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. 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 Hay-bird, but, 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 manoeuvres 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, resem- bling 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 distin- guished) is another certain criterion. The two birds frequent the same trees without rivalry or jealousy. They arrive in England about the same time — I have heard the Chiff-chaff 140 SYLVIAD.^. as earl}' as the 11th of April — and sing all through the summer ; I have heard it as late as the 30th of September. Their 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. The Chiff-chaff has been observed in England before the 1st of April ; a few have been seen even in mid-winter, and it is supposed that some habitually remain with us all the year, feeding on winter gnats and the pupae of small insects, but remaining wholly silent. Other names by which it is known are " Chip-chop " and Lesser Pettichaps. THE DAETFORD WAEBLEE. MELIZOPHILUS DARTFORDIENSIS. Upper parts dark greyish 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 smce 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 Eurze Chats, perch- ing on the upper sprays of the fui'ze and whitethorn, but never still for a minute, throwing itself into various atti- tudes, 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 makiQg a short flight to some other convenient bush. Its song is simple and shrill, consisting of the syllables " cha cha cha " several times repeated. This it utters in- differently when perched or on the wing. It keeps quite aloof from human habitations, and is so timid, that on the THE DAETFOED WAEBLEE. 141 approach of an observer, it creeps into a bush, and remains concealed until the danger is past. The nest as described by Montagu and Meyer is a flimsy structure, very like that of the Lesser Whitethroat, placed in the fork of a furze-bush selected for its thickness and difficulty of access. Whether it is migratory in its habits, seems to be not THE DAKTKOB.U WARBLER. clearly ascertained. Many specimens have been observed in mid-winter, and Rennie states that he has seen one hovering over furze and singing like a Whitethroat, as early as the end of February. Perhaps, as is the case with Stonechats, some individuals migrate, while others remain with us all the vear. 142 DALMATIAN REGULUS. REGULUS MODESTUS. Upper parts greenish yellow ; a lighter streak passing from the base of the upper mandible through the crown to the back of the head, a lemon-coloured streak over each eye, a nari-ow dusky band through the eye, and a short lemon- coloured streak below the eye ; two lemon-colour bands across the wing ; quills dusky, edged with pale yellow ; under parts pale yellow. Length four inches ; breadth six and a half. Eggs unknown. The right of this bird to be considered British, rests on the fact, that a single specimen was shot in Northumber- land, in 1838. 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. Length three inches and a half. Eggs cream colour. 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 brilliancy of colour the gay plumage of tropi- cal 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 ; THE GOLD-CREST. 143 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 THE GOLD-CREST. 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 rapid cadence. 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 144 SYLVIADiE. Avoods 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 some- times to birds of other kinds, as the Creeper and the Tits of several species have been seen hunting in company witli 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. Several instances are recorded in which large flocks, consisting of several hundreds of these birds, have been observed at once ; these, it is supposed, must have migrated from higher latitudes, and not broken up into smaller parties after their arrival. The nest 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 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 GOLD-CREST. 145 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 surpris- ing, 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 FIEE-CEESTED EEGL'LUS. REGULUS IGNICAPILLUa. Upper parts olive-green ; a dark streak passing tlirough the eye, and anotlier 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. 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 Erance ^^ Roitelet ct 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. 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. THE GEEAT TIT. 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 the other 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 146 PARID^. 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 considerable, 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 situa- tions it resorts to in quest of its favourite food, caterpillars THE OREAT T[T. and pupse of all kinds, and it is most amusing to watch it while thus engaged. 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, Avith its back either downAvards, 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 examininsj a hole in tlie level ground. Its efforts to dis- THE GEEAT TIT. 147 engage a ckrysalis from its cocoon are very entertaining. One scarcely knows which, most to admire, th.e 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 ; it is accused of feeding occasionally on the buds of fruit-trees, but it is doabtful whether the bird has any other object in attack- ing these, than that of hunting out the insects that infest 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 neighbourhood, 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 G-reat 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 birds, splits their skulls by means of his strong, sharp beak, and picks out their brains. The evidence in this case is, I fear, too strong to be rebutted. 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 dis- covered, he was in the very act of dealing to this the coup L 2 148 PARID^. de grdce. 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 one ; 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 with a file. Besides this, it in- dulges in a variety of chirps, twitters, and cheeps, some angry, some deprecatory, and some pert, which a practised ear only can refer to their j^roper author. THE BLUE TIT. PARUS CCERULEUS. Crown of the head blue, encircled with white ; cheeks white, bordered with dark blue ; back olive-green ; wings and 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 THE BLUE TIT. 149 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 accompani- ment of carrion, is a favourite resort, and there are THE BLUE TIT. probably few butchers' shops in country villages which he does 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 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 150 PARID^. 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 Eedbreasts. 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 retreat. More frequently, how- ever, it selects a natural hollow, as, for instance, the stump of a small tree in a hedge, of which all the inner part is decayed ; nor does it despise human appli- ances 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 six or seven eggs, and if some state- ments are to be credited, above twelve ; 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 CRESTED TIT. PAEUS 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. Egg.s white, spotted with blood-red. "The Crested Tit," Montagu tells ns, "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, Eussia, Switzerland, and some parts of Erance. In the large pine tracts in the north of Scotland, it is said to be not uncommon, and it is found also in the neighbourhood of Glasgow, but has not been 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 ten eggs. THE COLE TIT. PARUS ATER. Crown of the head, throat, and front of the neck black ; cheeks and nape white ; upper parts grey ; wings bluish gi-ey, with two white bands ; under parts white, tinged with grey. Length four inches and a half ; breadth nearly eight. Eggs like the last. This 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 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 unceasing activity among the branches and twigs of trees. Its note is less varied than that joi 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. THE MAESH TIT. PARUS PALUSTRIS. Forehead, crown, head, and nape black ; upper parts grey ; wings dark grey, lighter at the edges ; cheeks, thi'oat, and breast dvll white. Ditnensions and eggs as in the last. As has beeu said, the Marsh Tit and Cole Tit are so much alike that it requires a sharp eye to distinguish them at a distance. On a closer inspection, however, the characters mentioned in the j)receding paragraph become apparent, and there can be no question that they are distinct species. The Marsh Tit is a bird of common occurrence, 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 pre- ponderates. Though it freely resorts to woods and planta- tions remote from water, it prefers, according to Mon- tagu, low, wet ground, where old willow-trees abound. 154 PARID^. in the holes of which it often makes its nest. Its note, I have ah-eady 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 " if-he,'^ rapidly uttered, and repeated in imitation of a sob, characterises, in a more or less marked degree, the spring song of all four. Another characteristic 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 to a distance, and it is equally courageous in defence of its eggs and young. THE LOl^G-TAILED TIT. PARUS CAUDATUS. 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. All the Tits, of whatever species, are more or less sociable in their habits, hunting about during autumn in parties of half a dozen 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 themselves, 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 THE LONG-TAILED TIT. 155 time that a young brood leaves the nest until the next paii'ing season, father, mother, and children, keep together in irreproachable harmony. Exploring the same clump of trees in society, perfectly agreed as to M^hither their next flitting shall be, no one showing any disposition to remain when the rest are departing, molesting no one, and suffering as far as it can be ascertained no persecution, THE LONG-TAILED TIT. they furnish a charming example of a " happy family." Xomad in their habits, save that they indulge in no questionable cravings for their neighbours' 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 156 PARIDiE. of their chief, to some other station ; and when overtaken by night, they halt and encamp 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 these jour- neys, consists of caterpillars, small beetles, and the pupa^ of insects generally, and this diet they seem never or very rarely to vary.f The ripest fruits do not tempt them to prolong 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 of their attitudes. Seen near at hand, tlreir 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 antiquated human face, enveloped in grey hau\ Many of the provincial names of the bird are associated with the ridiculous : thus, Long-tailed Mufflin, Long-tail Mag, Long-tail Pie, Poke-pudding, Huck-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, zit," the pass-word which keeps them together, and * The name proposed for the Long-tailed Tit, by Dr. Leach, Mecistura vagans, is most appropriate. " Long- tailed Wanderer," for such is its import, describes the most strikmg outward charac- teristic of the bird, and its unvarying habit. t 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 LONG-TAILED TIT. 157 which always accompanies their journeyings, without stop- ping 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 cocoon broadest at the base, or that of a iir-cone. It is sometimes fastened to the stem of a tree, sopietimes placed in a fork, but more frequently built into the middle of a thick bush, so that it can only be removed 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 walls are of moss. The interior is a 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 aU in good time are deve»loped 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 off'er no opinion. Nests are occasionally found containing as many as eighteen or twenty eggs. In these cases it is affirmed that two or more females share a common nursery, and incubate together. Several males have also been observed feeding together during the breeding season ; so it may be that the close society, which had been preserved so strictly during the preceding winter, in some instances is con- tinued to a certain extent for another year. Certainly it is difficult to imagine how a single pair can manage to supply with food eighteen or twenty hungry young birds. M^-^^«v. THE BEAEDED TIT. CALAMOPHILUS BIARMICUS. Head bluish gi-ey ; between the bill and eye a tuft of pendant black feathers pro- longed 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 minute specks and streaks of dark red. This pretty bird is of 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 THE BEARDED TIT. 159 from the pure love 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. Look- ing 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 monosyllable 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 corre- sponds 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 ahght 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. IS'othing 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 spe- cimens were observed in the month of December. Towards 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 160 AMPELID^. 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 the exterior. The eggs were from four to six in number, 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 anima- tion to the expression of the bird's face, but I have never had an opportunity of verifying this remark. THE BOHEMIAN WAXWING. BOMBYCILLA GARRULA. Feathers of the head elongated, forming a orest ; 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 resem- bling red sealing-wax; tail black, tipped with yellow. Length eight inches. Eggs pale blue, with a few streaks of grey and black. The 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 nothing is known of its nesting or summei 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 THE BOHEMIAN WAX WING. 161 exclusively on fruits and berries. This has been 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 Enghsh one, Chatterer, is quite as inapjDropriate, as it is singu- larly silent. Why again it should be called Bohemian, no one seems to know ; for it is no more a resident in Bohemia, nor even more frequent there, than in England. In default of all certain information, then, I venture to surmise that, coming in parties, no one knows whence, and going no one knows whither, they may have received the name Bohemian, because they resemble in their habits the wandering tribes of gipsies, who were formerly called in- differently Egyptians and Bohemians. Taken in this sense, the Bohemian or Wandering Waxwing is a name open to no exception. The plumage of the bu'd 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 re- semble in colour and substance 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 tlie web. In its habits the Waxwing resembles the Tits. It feeds on fruit, berries, and seeds. Its call-note is a twitter, which it rarely utters, except when taking flight and alighting. It is generally considered that the Waxwing is a northern bird, and Dr. Eichardson, 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 *As the silkworm belongs to the genus Bombyx, the name Bombycilla may have been given as descriptive of the plumage, which is remarkably silky in texture. M 162 MOTACILLID^. poplars, making a loud twittering noise. One of its Ger- man names, Schnee-vogel (snow-bird), was evidently given in this belief. It is sometimes caught and caged, but has nothing but its beautiful colouring to recommend it. It is a stupid lazy bird, occupied only in eating and reposing for digestion. Its song is weak and uncertain. THE PIED WAGTAIL. MOTACILLA YARRELLII. Summer— all the pliimage variegated with white and black ; back and scapulars, chin, throat, and neck black ; a small portion of the side of the neck white. Winter — 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. Until the publication of Yarrell's admirable " History of British Birds," the family of the Wagtails were in a state of great confusion. The three species which were known to inhabit Great Britain had been considered identical with continental species-. The observations of Mr. Gould led him to another conclusion ; this, namely, that our common White and Yellow Wagtails are almost unknown on the Continent, and that their con- tinental representatives are as little known here, while the species distinguished by the name of the " Grey Wagtail" has a wider range. It became necessary there- fore to define the several species by the imposition of new names. This task was gracefully performed by Mr. Gould's naming the British Pied Wagtail, after his "friend, W. Yarrell, Esq., as a just tribute to his varied acquire- ments as a naturalist." The specific name alha he re- tained, but applied exclusively to the continental species. The name "Kayi" was given to the British Yellow Wagtail, having been first described by our " countryman and naturalist, John Eay ; " and the Yellow Wagtail of the Continent, or rather one of them, retained the name THE PIED WAGTAIL. 168 Motacilla Jlava, or Grey-headed Wagtail. This last must be distinguished from the Grey Wagtail, which is a species common to Great Britain and the Continent, and of which the specific name is Bodrida. I am not prepared to admit that either " Grey," or '' Grey-headed," are the best names that could have been found, inasmuch as the more con- spicuous colour of both is yellow ; but the reader, having had his attention drawn to the nomenclature of the family, will, I doubt not, after reading the following notices of the several birds, and reperusing the above remarks, have gained a tolerably clear view of the whole. The Pied Wagtail or Dishwasher is a familiar and favou- rite bird, best known by its habit of frequenting the banks of ponds and streams, where it runs, not hops about, pick- ing insects from the herbage, and frequently rising with a short jerking flight, to capture some winged insect, which M 2 164 MOTACILLID^-. 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 un- frequently takes its station on the point of a gable, or the ridge of the roof, and rehearses its song again and again. Yery 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 afibrded 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 aerial journeys above and around them, frequently alighting, and transferring 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 party has been wounded by a discharge from a gun, another has flown down as if to aid it, or sympathise with it. Advantage is taken of this habit by bird-catchers in France. It is the custom to tie Wagtails THE PIED WAGTAIL. 165 by their feet to the clap nets, and make them struggle violently and ntter 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 vv'ith 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 protecting the eggs and young from the damp soil, but is not gene- rally 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 mi- grate southwards. 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. 1G6 THE WHITE WAGTAIL. MOTACILLA ALBA. Summer — head, breast, wings and tail variegated with black and white ; chin, throat, and neck black ; back and scapulars j)earl-gi'ey ; side of the neck as low as the wings white. Winter — chin, throat and neck white, with an isolated black gorget. Length nearly seven inches and a half. Eggs bluish white, speckled with black. The Wagtail called Motacilla alba by British orni- thologists previously to Gould and Yarrell, has been already described under the name of M. Yarrellii. The former name is now applied exclusively to a continental species, only a few sj)ecimens of which have been observed in this country, though it is far from improbable that it may visit us much more frequently than is supposed, as the two birds are precisely similar in habits and size, while there is no striking difference in the general tone of colour in the plumage. The Wliite Wagtail is considered to be only a summer visitor with us ; but many of the other species remain in Britain all the year. THE GREY WAGTAIL. MOTACILLA BOARULA. Summer — head and back bluish grey ; a pale streak above the eyes ; throat black ; under jjarts bright yellow ; tail very long. Winter — chin and throat wliitish, 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 de- scriptions of the several members of the family, or he may possibly fall into error. The Grey Wagtail is among THE GREY WAGTAIL. 167 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 movements. 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 THE GREY WAGTAIL. appear, however, to go so far north as Inverness-shire, but is occasionally seen about Edinburgh in winter ; and, on the other hand, it is yearly met with 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 168 MOTACILLID^. the place of individuals belonging 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 * Vol. i. pp. 136, 231, 360. THE GKEY WAGTAIL. 169 have occurred. 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. THE GEEY-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 yeUow ; chin white, in the young male yellow ; under parts bright yellow. Length six inches and a half. Eggs mottled with yellow, brown, and grey. This, one of the common Yellow Wagtails of the Con- tinent, is a rare visitor in this country. Its habits, nest, and eggs, closely resemble those of the next species. It is the Bergeronette printani^re (" Little shepherdess of the Spring") of the Erench, 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. EAY^S WAGTAIL. MOTACILLA RATI. 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. Eay'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 every- where 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 pas- tures; but, as far as my own observation goes, I have seen it far more frequently near water than elsewhere, and if I- 170 MOTACILLIDiE. 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 dip- ping 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 circum- stanced, it is only engaged on an exploring expedition ray's wagtail. from its watery haunts; for it is scarcely possible that a bird so thoroughly at home in a 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 com- pany with that species. Besides its call-note, which con- sists of two shrill notes, the second of which is a musical lone lower than the first, it has a short and exceedingly KAY'S WAGTAIL. 171 sweet song, something like that of the Eedbreast when at its best. This I have heard it utter whilst it was perched on a low hush overhanging a pond. Its nest was probably somewhere in the neighbourhood, for when disturbed it flew to a short distance only, alighted on another 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 Washerwoman belongs to the whole family. The corresponding term, Lavandiere, 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 Ireland. THE TEEE PIPIT. ANTHUS ARBOREUS. Hind claw shorter 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 Skylark. 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, how- ever, in general form, and, to a shght 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. 172 ANTHID^. 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. 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 unostenta- tious in size and colour, while its song, except by the prac- tised 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.* * Vol. i. p. 432. THE TREE PIPIT. 173 " 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 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 tliis 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 con- sists 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 be- long 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.* * "Amongst our land birds," says Hewitson, "there is no species the eggs of which present so many, or snch 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." 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 eaqj^ feather dark brown ; under parts reddish white, streaked with dark brown. Length live inches and three-quarters. Eggs dull white, variously spotted and mottled with brown. It may be thought at the first glimpse that a difference in the comparative 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 wlien 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 frequents wooded districts, and passes a large portion of its time aloft among the branches, while the Meadow Pipit finds its happiness on the ground. It is not, indeed, confined to the unwooded country, for no THE MEADOW PIPIT. 175 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 descend- ing 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 jair. 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."* THE ROCK PIPIT. ANTHUS PETROSUS. 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. Except that it is somewhat larger, the Rock Pipit is very similar in form and colour to the last species. It is, how- ever, far more local, being confined exclusively to the sea- * Yarrell's "British Birds," vol. i. p. 429. 176 ANTHID^. shore, 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 dis- tance, repeating its simple song all the while, and chasing as if in sport some one or other of its companions. In :'HE ROCK PIPIT. winter, it seems to act as a guide to the smaller land birds, who, finding their supply of food diminished or altogether cut ofi" by the frost, are attracted by its move- ments, 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 THE EOCK PIPIT. 177 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 .l!^ormandy ; 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. EICHAED'S PIPIT. ANTHUS EICHARDL Bill strong ; tarsus very long ; hind claw much longer than the toe, slightly curved ; upper plumage light brown, the centre of each feather dark brown ; a broad white streak above the eye ; lower parts white, streaked with dark brown. Length six inches and a half. Eggs unknown. Of this rare bird very few specimens have been observed in England, and it is equally uncommon on the Continent. It cannot be confounded with either of the other Pipits, being much their superior in size. THE SKYLARK. 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 gi-ey and brown. The 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 E'ature. Much, how- ever, 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 178 ALAUDID^. to which it ascends, and the time wliich it remains sus- pended 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 conformation of its claws for perching on the ground, and by its length and power of wing for soaring high in the ^ 1. '' THE SKYLARK. 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 fields. To this fare, it adds in winter and spring the tender stalk of sprouting corn. Hence it is regarded with deadly hos- tility by farmers, and hence, too, the quiet of the country is much disturbed at these seasons, by boys employed to frighten it away by screaming and plying a peculiar THE SKYLARK. 179 kind of rattle.* During autumn and winter, Larks congregate in large flocks, and occupy their time princi- pally 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 withdraw, not in a 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 raihng. 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 Novem- ber, when they are 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. Eising 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 with its head turned towards the breeze, now ascend- ing perpendicularly, 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 com- puted to be, at the most, about a thousand feet. To an observer on earth, it has dwindled to the size of a mere * Farmers would effect a great saving if they sowed their wheat deeper than is the usual pi'actice. 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 shoob have sprouted from a depth of an inch or more, the bird contents itseK with as much as it can reach without digging, and leaves the grain uninjured and capable of sprouting again. N 2 180 ALAUDID^. 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 Avith a uniform downward motion, but by a series of droppings with intervals of simple hovering, 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 itsel:^ sweeps away with almost horizontal flight for a short distance and disappears 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 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 stationary 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 aerial 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 mid summer 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 THE SKYLAEK. 181 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 de- scribing its evolutions : La gentille Alouette avec son tirelire, Tirelire, relire et tirelirant, tire Vers la voute clu ciel ; puis son vol en ce lieu Vire, et semble uous 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 itseK. 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 attacliment 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, the male even is an excellent nurse. Mr. Weir men- tions one which brought up several broods entrusted to its care, and a similar 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 folds its wings, drops like lead to the ground, and, crouching among the herbage, often escapes detection. /^6^'> THE WOODLARK. ALAUDA ARBOREA. Upper parts reddish brown, the centre of each feather dark brown ; a distinct yallowish 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 faintJy streaked with brown. The Woodlark is miicli less frequent than the Skylark, and is confined to certain districts. It is distinguished by its smaller size, short tail, a light mark over tlie 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 natui-e. The song, though of less compass and less varied than that of the Skylark, is superior 182 THE WOODLARK. 183 in liquidness of tone, and is thonght to resemble the syllables " lulu" 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 ahghts on the summit of a lofty tree, to "unthread its chaplet of musical pearls," and its simpler lulu 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 CEESTED LAEK, ALAUDA CEISTATA. Feathers of the crown black, edged with reddish brown and elongated into a crest ; upper parts reddish brown, with narrow dark streaks ; over the eye a yellowish white streak ; under parts dull yellowish white, with dusky streaks. Length six inches and three-quarters. Eggs greyish white, spotted with dark brown. The Crested Lark, a rare visitor in Britain, is not uncom- mon in many parts of the Continent, where it principally frequents the high roads, quarries, and the uncultivated country. It is often seen perched on walls and the roofs of low cottages, and its song is said to be very sweet. Its nest and eggs resemble those^of the Skylark. 184 THE SHOEE LARK. ALAUDA 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, and appears to be equally uncommon in France. A few have been shot in IS'orfolk, and in the high lati- tudes both of the Old and I^ew 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. THE SHORT-TOED LARK. ALAUDA BRACHYDACTYLA. Upper parts yellowish brown, the centre of each feather darker ; a whitish yellow streak above the eye ; under parts yellowish white, ahnost without spots ; bill stout ; hind claw and toe short. Length five inches and a half. Eggs buff, without spots. Yet rarer than either of the preceding, as a single speci- men only has been obtained in Britain. It is not un- frequent in many parts of France, where it is remarkable for its habit of running along the furrows in advance of the sportsman's dogs ; and is sometimes shot by mistake for a Quail. Its song is melodious, and, like the rest of the Larks, it sings while soariftig. 185 THE LAPLAI^D BUNTI:N^G. PLECTROPHANES LAPPONICA. 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 This bird, as its name denotes, is an inhabitant of high northern latitudes ; and its occurrence in tliis country is very rare. A few only have been shot, in places remote from each other ; and in the year 1843, a female was cap- tured 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. sintow Buii^Tma PLECTROPHANES 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. This, 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 Scotland, was very 186 EMBERIZID^. accurate, was inclined to the opinion that the Snow Bunting or Snow-flake breeds on the liigher Grampians, having observed a s]3ecimen on a mountain of this range so early as the 4th 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 THE SNOW BUNTING. 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 chuiT. When they have found a fitting place, they wheel suddenly round, and alight rather abruptly, on which occasion the THE SNOW BUNTING. 187 white of the wings acd 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, ahght in corn- yards, 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 sometimes, in spring, nearly as common as Sparrows, and almost as familiar. About the middle of April, or some- times a week later, these birds disappear and betake them- selves to their summer residence." * Its habits, as observed in England, are similar ; 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 com- posed 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 earhest of the arctic plants ; during winter, on grass seeds. PecuHar interest attaches to the Snow Bunting, from the fact that it is (according to Linnaeus) 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 I^orfolk, 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." * Macgillivray's "British Birds," vol. i. p. 404. THE COMMON BUNTING. EMBERIZA MILIARIA. Upper parts yellowish brown, with dusky spots ; under parts yellowish while spotted and streaked with dusky. Length seven inches and a half. Eggs dull white, tinged with yellow or pink, and spotted and streaked with dark purple brown. Though 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 diflPused 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 roads and squares of the villages are literally covered with THE COMMON BUNTING. 1S9 these birds. Macgillivray informs us that it is more abun- dant 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 resi- dent; but as it is much more abundant in autumn and winter than in summer, it probably receives accessions to its numbers from the north. From its habit of congregating in large flocks in the winter and ahghting 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 BLACK-HEADED BU:N^TING. EMBERIZA SCHCENICLUS. 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 dvisky ; tinder 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, bned by bushes and rushes, there the Black- headed 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. " Eeed Bunting " and " Keed Sparrow" are other- names for the same bird. 190 EMBERIZID^. 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, &c., and lining it with hair. The eggs are four or five in num- THU BLACK-HiLAUKi) BUNTING ber, 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 Scotland the Black-headed Bunting is migratory, re- pairing southwards in October, and returning in March. THE 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 browTi, spotted with dusky. Female— the yeUow parts less vivid, and spotted "with dull reddish brown. Length six inches and a quarter. Eggs purplish or yellowish white, speckled and lined with dark purple brown. This 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 191 192 EMBERIZID^. advance, and, after one or two such manceuvres, wheels away with rapid flight uttering two or tliree 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 which is a third above. The effect is in some measure plaintive, and gives the idea that the bird is preferring a petition. In Devonshire 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, descendmg at the word " cheese," 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. MacgiUivray 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 ahght 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 THE YELLOW HAMMER. 193 most frequently placed close to the ground, or actually on the ground, among grass on the skirt of a meadow. Yarrell has suggested that the name " Yellow Hammer" should be written "Yellow Ammer" — the word Animer being a well-known German term for Bunting; but as it is doubtful whether it be possible to alter a mode of spelling which has been in common use for two hundred years at least, I have retained the name applied to the species by our earliest ornithologists, Eay and Willughby. 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 OETOLAN BUNTING. EMBERIZA HORTULANA. Head and neck olive-grey, spotted with brown; throat, orbits, and ar narrow band stretching downwards from the gape, greenish yellow ; feathers of the back black, with reddish edges ; those of the lower parts broAvnish red, edged with ash-grey. Length six inches and a half. Eggs reddish white, spotted and lined with dark red-brown. The Ortolan is so rare a visitor in England, that all our knowledge of its habits and haunts is derived from foreign sources. In France, where it is an object of " distinguished consideration," from the delicate flavour of its flesh, it is a migratory bird, arriving about the second week of April, and departing in autumn. The males appear first, and are soon afterwards followed by the females ; their favourite haunts being dry places planted with vines. Soon after their arrival, the female hollows out for herseK a small hole at the foot of a vine by scratching and fluttering, after the manner of the domestic Hen. The sides of this hole she overlays with a thick bed of dry bents, and lines the interior with a soft mat of hair. She lays four 19-i EMBERIZIDiE. or five eggs, which are very large in proportion to her own size. During the whole time of incubation, the male, perched on some dead twig in the neighbourhood, repeats with little intermission his monotonous song. The young are fed on caterpillars, grasshoppers, small beetles, and other insects ; the destruction of which is considered, and with reason, to be most beneficial to the vines, as each pair of birds rears two, and sometimes three broods in the year. The breeding season ended. Ortolans keep together, in small family parties of five or six, until the end of August and beginning of September, when they prepare to migrate. They are now fit to be caught for the table, and are cap- tured in vast quantities by the fowler's net. But the Or- tolan of the epicure is a creation of art ; so before the poor creatures are immolated they are submitted to a process of fattening. They are shut up in a room lighted by lamps kept constantly burning, and are plentifully supplied with a paste made of millet, flour, and water. The wretched birds, unable to distinguish day from night, have nothing to do "but to eat and drink, and thus, in about a fortnight, become so fat, that to anticipate their dyiiig from repletion it becomes necessary to kill them : they are then packed in small casks and sent to Paris. ^N'umbers of these birds are annually sent to Leadenhall Market from Spain, twenty or thirty in a cage. The Ortolan, when captured, weighs about an ounce and a half ; but when fattened, three ounces. In appearance, the Ortolan most resembles the Girl Bunting, but may be distinguished by its tail, the two outer feathers of which are white, the rest black ; and by the greenish tint of its head and throat, from which it is sometimes called the Green-headed Bunting". ■W^' ^^s ■%.. ^*\' THE CIEL BUNTI:NtG. EMBERIZA CIRLUS. Crown dark olive, streaked with black ; gorget and band above and below the ej'e bright yellow ; throat, neck, and band across the eye, black ; breast olive-gi-ey, iDOunded towards the sides by chestnut; abdomen dull yellow; back brownish red, with dusky spots. Fevude — the distinct patches of black and yellow wanting ; the dusky spots on the back larger. Eggs greyish, marked with ash-colom-ed and black blotches and lines. With the exception of its black chin and throat, this bird closely resembles the Yellow Hammer. Its habits, too, are much the same, 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, especially Devon and Cornwall. It is frequent also in some parts of Surrey and Wiltshire. 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. o2 THE CHAFFmCH. FRINGILLA CCELEBS. 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 pvirple-brown. " Gat comrae 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 coelebs, bachelor, from Linnseus, who observed that the flocks in winter are composed for the most part either exclusively of males or of females; and it has since his time been remarked that flocks of THE CHAPFINCH. 197 males are, in winter, more frequent in northern countries, of females in southern ; and it having been noted, more- over, that in midland countries there is, besides these flocks, the usual sprinkling of males and females who do not separate, it has been inferred that the females, and perhaps the young birds with them, migrate from high latitudes southwards in winter, while the males merely- collect in flocks and find a feeding-ground nearer home. 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 homesteads, 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 surface ! The quick eye of some passing Chafi&nch wiU 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 of weeds that the Chaffinch consumes in the course of a year, more particularly of groundsel, chick- weed, and buttercup, that he, without doubt, more than compensates for all his misdeeds ; and as his summer food 198 FEINGILLID^. 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 afiforded by the branches of the nearest tree, on which he hops about until the danger is past, uttering his simple but not unpleasing note, " tivinF^ or ^^ imik'" as it is variously translated. To tliis cry it adds the syllable " tweet," frequently re23eated 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." — Tennyson. 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 with- out 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 THE CHAFFINCH. 199 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 j^erfect songster I cannot bring myself to describe. After all, Bechstein's translator says that the notes of the wild Chaffinches in England are finer than any cage ones he has heard in Germany. English bird-fanciers, without going so far as their German brethren, profess to dis- tinguish three variations of song in the Chaffinch. The nest of the Chaffinch is an exquisite piece of work- manship, composed of moss, dry grass, fine roots felted together with wool, decorated externally with scraj)s 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 BRAMBLmC. PRINGILLA MONTIFRINGILLA. Head, cheeks, nape, and upper part of the back, black, the feathers Cin 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— cvovm reddish brown, the feathers tipped with grey, a black streak over the eyes ; cheeks and neck ash-grey ; all the other colours less bright. Length six inches and a half. Eggs yellowish white, spotted and streaked with dark red. Little is known of the summer habits of this bird, though in the northern countries, in which it breeds, it must be very abundant, as in winter it occurs over the whole con- 200 FRINGILLID^. tinent 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 search- ing 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, resembles the Chaffinch in habits^ size, and general tone of colour ; and as it often feeds in company with it, is probably sometimes confounded with it by an inex- perienced eye. It arrives in this country in Il^ovember, 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. THE HOUSE SPAEEOW. 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 unifonn reddish brown, intermixed with a few small white feathers ; upper feathers darlc 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 eye 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. What 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 farmhouse, nay, near the cot on the lone waste and by the roadside smithy, they 202 FIIINGILLID^. are always present, varying in the amount of confidence 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 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 utiHty. 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 c^rn, 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 harvest they transfer their attention to the sheaves, while the reapers and binders are occupied elsewhere ; as gleaners they are indefatigable ; 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, THE HOUSE SPAKROW. 203 feeding among the poultry, and snatching njD 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 extermina- tion 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 ] and these being smaller thaii 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. 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 * Vol. vi. p. 2299. 204 FRINGILLID^. of the feeding-ground as he can. In spring, this bickering assumes a more formidable character. A duel is com- menced 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 ceases, and the combatants return to their various occupa- tions. 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 observa- tion 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; but the story often told of a colony of Martins having walled up a Sparrow who had thus treated a member of their family is not worthy of credit.* 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, cater- pillars, and insects of various kinds. * See p. 279. THE MOUNTAIN OR TREE SPARROW. PASSER MONTANUS. Crown and back of the head chestnut-hrown ; 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 Tnale. 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 tbe European continent, and is to be met with bere and tbere in many parts of England ; 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 coUar. 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 that the note assumes more the character of a song. The nest is variously stated to be 206 FKINGILLID^. placed ill hollow trees, under the thatch of houses, in the holes of walls, and in deep wells ; a discrepancy which would lead one to suppose that the Tree Sparrow is as capricious in selecting a dwelling as his congener. THE GREENFmCH. COCCOTHRAUSTES 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 diffused birds. Its systematic name, Cocco- thraustes, "grain-crusher," would seem to have been given to it with reference to its habit of husking the barley and other seeds on which it feeds. No bird is a more frequent inhabitant of country gardens during the summer than this, being attracted, it would seem, not so much by the prospect of abundance of food, as by its fondness 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 iden- tified, 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 "twe-e-e." jSTo 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 THE GREENFINCH. 207 branches of a moderately high tree, repeating his mourn- ful ditty with extreme complacency for an hour together. Yery 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 weather. The Green- finch has another note which is heard most frequently, but not exclusively, in spring. This is a single plaintive c^m.-. ~) / THE GREENFINCH. chirp which may be easily imitated by human whistling ; it resembles somewhat one of the call-notes of the Canary- bird or Brown Linnet, and, being full and sweet, harmo- nizes 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 Green- finch builds its nest, when not among evergreens, in some 208 FRLNGILLID^. tall thick Lush 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 Ught grey colour, almost white, variously speckled with purple, and of a long shape. In winter. Greenfinches con- gregate 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 simultane- ously, 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 tOAvards the spectator ; and by this peculiarity they may be distinguished from flocks 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 Sparrows, Chaffinches, and Buntings, frequent our farmyards and gardens in un- diminished numbers. THE HAWFIN^CH. 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. Judging from its conformation, one would, without know- ing anything of the habits of this bird, pronounce it to be a professor of 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 mus- cular 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 which its nest has been found, that no doubt is now entertained of its being a constant resident. In Berkshire T have several times seen two or three to- 210 FEINGILLID^. gether busUy 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 believed 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. In the cherry orchards in the neighbourhood they are not un- common, 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 cle- verly 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 twit- tering 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. A writer in the Maga- zine of Zoology and Botany, vol. i., who has had many opportunities of watching them, states that they usually build their nests in trees at an elevation varying from twenty-five to thirty feet, and that the nest is composed of dead twigs, intermixed with pieces of grey lichen ; this last material varying much in quantity in different nests, but beincf never absent. THE GOLDFINCH. CARDUELIS ELEGANS. Back of the head, nape, and feathers round the base of the bill black ; forehead 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 ; taU black, tipped with white. Length five inches. Eggs bluish white, speckled with pale purple and brown. This little bird, as sprightly in its habits as it is brilliant in its colouring, 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 resi- dent 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 Red- breast under any circumstances. In a cage it is attractive p2 212 FRINGILLID^. from its lively movements, 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 manoeuvres 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 man}^ 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 gamboling 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 attach- ment 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 Chaffimch, about the Goldfinch there can be no diff'erence 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 abun- dance of its favourite food, the seeds of thistles. Where these weeds flourish, there, for the most part, Goldfinches THE GOLDFINCH. 213 are to be met with iu 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,* 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, cen- taury and other weeds, but shows a decided preference for the seeds of the compound flowers. Its 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 flr 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 both a 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 do^\Ti 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 gene- rally 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. 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 * Nat. Hist. lib. x. cap. Ixxiv. 214 FRINGILLIDiE. than a party of these innocent and brilliant hunters, perch- ing, all heedless of spines and prickles, on the thistle heads, plucking out the seeds with the pappus attached, and cleverly separatiag the former from their appendage. While thus employed, they seem to take it for granted that no one will molest them, but continue their u§eful labour, twittering pleasantly all the while, until the spec- tator comes within a few yards of them, when they fly off like butterflies to another prickly bed. THE SISKIK CARDU^LIS SPINUS. Crown black ; behind the eye a broad yellow streak ; all the plumage variegated 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 a half inches. Eggs greyish white, speckled with purplish brown. The Siskin, or Aberdevine, is best known as a cage-bird, as it is only a winter visitor in Great Britain, and during the period of its stay is retiring in its habits. Siskins are more frequently met with in the northern than the southern counties of England, but are common in neither. 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 THE SISKIN. 215 of the tmgs in order to explore the seed-vessels on all sides. Occasionally, but less frequently, they are seen visit- ing 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 V _'J/ TUE SISKIN. 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 216 FKINGILLID^. become reconciled to caj)tivity, and are valued for their readiness to pair with the Canary-bird, the note of which the joint offspring is thought to improve. A few instances are on record of the Siskin remaining in this country to breed. The nest, which in some respects resembles those of the Greenfinch 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 assimilate, 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 dimi- nished numbers, in spring, at which period they are considered to be travelling towards their summer quarters in Eussia and Scandinavia. THE COMMON LINNET. LINOTA CANNABINA. Winter— hesid ash-brown, the feathers dusky in the middle, those of the forehead more or less tinged with crimson ; back chestnut-bro^vn, becoming 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 ; imder parts— breast-feathers dull crimson or brown, edged with yellow- ish 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 grejish 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. It is not unusual in the country to hear mention made Ol the Brown, the Grey, and the Eose or Eed Linnet, the Greater Eedpole 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 considerably at difterent 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 THE COMMON LINNET. 217 earlier Ornithologists there were supposed to be two species, one of which was called Linota, probably from its having been observed feeding on tlax-seed [Linum) ; the other Cannabina, from having been seen to feed on hemp- seed (Cannabis). The two latter names are now associated to designate the " Common Linnet " in all its phases, lannets 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 furze- brake. 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 218 FRINGILLID^ return of dawn, they issue forth to their feeding-grounds, still congregated 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 services 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 utter both while flying and when perched. In spring, the flocks break up, and the members betake themselves in pairs to the com- mons and heaths, which afforded them night-lodging during 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 EEDPOLE. LINOTA CANESCENS. 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 Eedpole, 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. THE LESSER REDPOLE. LINOTA LINARIA. Forehead, throat, and lore black ; crown deep crimson ; under parts light crim- son 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 Redpole 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 reconciJed to captivity. But for the 220 FRINGILLID^. yellow plumage and larger size of the Siskin, they might well be mistaken one for the other. The Redpole, how- ever, 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 bii^d, 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 York- shire it is not unfrequent, and its nest has been occasion- ally 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 Redpoles not only came into his garden and twittered their notes of recognition froui the neigh- bouring trees, but actually alighted on the bars of the cage. This took place in the county of Sui-rey, 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 constructed 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, Redpoles are prized for their liveli- ness and remarkable affection for each other, and, indeed, for all little birds who do not disdain their attentions. * Illustrations of British Birds, vol. iii. p. 120. ,^f.'S'^^''^r^: THE mou]s^tai:n^ linnet, oe twite. LINOTA MONTIUM. Upper plmnage dark brown, edged with light brown ; no crimson either on the forehead or breast ; rump of the Tnale 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 also in Scotland, and has been noticed during the summer months in the northern counties of England. 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 222 FRINGILLID^. 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 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 often called the Twite, a syllable which its simple note is thought to resemble. THE BULLFINCH. PYRRHULA VULGARIS. 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, speclded and streaked with light red and dark purple. Though I have not proposed to myself the ungracious task of directing the reader's attention to errors existing in other works, yet I cannot pass over one committed by the accu- rate observer, Macgillivray. "The Bullfinch," he says, " is generally distributed in Britain, occurring in most of our wooded and cultivated districts, but avoiding bare maritime tracts, as well as the northern islands, which are destitute of wood." So far, I have not a word to say ; but he proceeds : "It is not, however, very common any- where." From this last remark I infer that the author in question w^as never either proprietor or occupant of a fruit-garden in a wooded district, or he would have THE BULLFINCH. 223 reported very diflferently of the frequency of tlie Bull- finch. During muter the food of these birds consists exclusively of seeds of various kinds, 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 ; THE BULLFINCH. 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 224 FRINGILLID^. extremities of the branches, are neglected. Plum and cherry trees are treated in like manner, the ground being strewed ^dth the bud-scales and rudiments of flowers. Some persons endeavour to deter them by whitewashing the trees, and are said to find this j^lan effectual. Others wind a straw rope round the gooseberry-bushes, so dis- guising their natural appearance. This plan I found perfectly successful one year, but the next it was entirely 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, T 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 disappearing, but the parchment-like rind is left on the ground, a substance too indigestible even for the gizzard of a Eullfinch. 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 frequently associated with birds of another species. Occa- sionally a pair may be seen feeding with Sparrows and Chafiinches 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 manoeuvre is repeated, 'each bird following, with dipping flight, the line marked out by it?: predecessor, and all THE BULLFINCH. 225 equally conspicuous with the white upper tail-coverts. They sometimes continue advancing in this way by easy stages for several hundred yards, until they either reach a hedge running in a cross direction, which they follow, or else double back on their pursuer on the opposite side of the hedge. These tactics are pursued so invariably as to be quite enough to distinguish the bird, even if the characteristic call-note be suppressed. The natural song of the Bullfinch is nothing more than the plaintive whistle described above, uttered at distant intervals, some- times slightly prolonged, or, very rarely, doubled. In captivity the Bullfinch is greatly prized for the facility with which it learns to sing little melodies, and even to repeat articulate words, but it is rarely able to commit to memory more than a single tune or sentence. Many pleasing anecdotes are told of the docility and affec- tion of these birds. They soon grow accustomed to captivity, and if confined with birds of the same species seem indiff'erent to the recovery of their liberty. The Bullfinch, as if conscious of the ill-will borne against it by gardeners on account of its depredations, generally keeps out of their reach in the breeding season, and builds its nest in some secluded copse or thick hedge, employing as materials small twigs and dry grass, with a lining of fibrous roots. It usually lays five eggs. Less frequently, it places its nest in a shrubbery or garden hedge. PINE GROSBEAK. PTRRHULA 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 primaries and tail-featherg 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 Eegions during the summer months, and in winter descending a Q 226 FRINGILLID^E. few degrees to tlie 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. THE COMMON CEOSSBILL. 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 half inches. Eggs bluish white, speckled with red-brown. The beak of this bird is 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 obser- vations," 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 accomplished 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 interesting 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 descrip- tions of others. * Vol. ii. p. 22. THE COMMON CEOSSBILL. 227 The Crossbill is about the size of the Common Bimting, and, like it and the Hawfinch, is a remarkably stout bird, having a stroug bill, a large head, short thick neck, com- pact 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 ^/v-^v^ THE COMMON CROSSBILL. also resembles in some of its habits. Though only occa- sional visitors with us, Crossbills are plentiful in Germany, Bavaria, Sweden, and Norway all the year round, and are said to be mischievous 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 q2 228 FEINGILLID^. 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 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, I was content with gazing on them, without offering them any molestation. They clung to the twigs in all sorts of posi- tions, 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 manoeuvres of a flock which he observed in 1849, in the county of Durham : " On the 15th 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-planta- tion, where, to my great gratification, I found perhaps thirty or more feeding on some Scotch £Lrs. 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 * British Birds, vol. i. p. 425. + Vol. vii. p. 2527. THE COMMON CROSSBILL. 229 every imaginable attitude, peering into the cones, wMch, if tliey 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 Eedpole's, but louder." Another writer, in the Maga- zine of natural History,^ thus records his experience : "From October, 1821, to the middle of May, 1822, Cross- bills 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 ISTovember to the following April. I had almost daily opportunities of watching their move- ments j and so remarkably tame were they, that, when feed- ing on fir-trees not more than fifteen or twenty feet high, I have often stood in the midst of the flock, unnoticed and un- suspected. I have seen them hundreds of times, when on the larch, cut the cone from the branch with their beak, and, holding it 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 feed- ing 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 mth 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 * Number for January, 1834. 230 FEINGILLID^. 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 wiugs useless, and caused the poor bird to fall perfectly helpless on the ground. In this manner, in windy wealiier, I have taken several from the same tree, vsdthout causing any suspicion of danger. On warm sunny days, after feed- ing 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 amusement and employment, I continued to furnish them with a plentiful supply. I had about four dozen of them ; and frequently, whilst I havo 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 spHtting 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 THE COMMON CROSSBILL. 231 themselves across the cone, then bring the points of the mandibles from their crossed or lateral position, to be im- mediately over each other. In this reduced compass they insinuate their beaks between the scales, and then, opening them — not in the usual manner, but 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 trans- ferred to the mouth; and when the mandibles are separated laterally in this operation, the bird has an uninterrupted 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 be a 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 what- ever direction it takes at first, the same it always retains. The Crossbill is not believed to be generally a continuous resident in this country, though several instances are on record of its breeding with us. From the fact, too, that 232 FRINGILLID^. young birds have often been observed imperfectly fledged, it may be surmised that such instances are not rare. Its nest, constructed of slender twigs of fir and coarse dry grass, and lined with fine grass and a few hairs, is concealed among the upper branches of a Scotch fir.* THE PAEROT CROSSBILL. LOXIA PITYOPSITTACUS. Bill very stout, shorter than the middle toe ; point of the lower mandible not reaching so high as the ridge of the upper. Length seven inches. Eggs gi-ey- ish white, marked at the larger end with large blood-red spots, the rest thinly speckled with the same colour. This bird, which resembles the Common Crossbill in colour and habits, frequents the Arctic regions, where the majority remain to breed. In summer it occasionally visits Prussia and Germany, resorting to the great pine- forests, and returning to the I^ortli at the approach of Spring. In France and Holland it is a yet rarer visitor, and in this country only a few specimens have been observed. THE WHITE-WmCED CROSSBILL. LOXIA LEUCOPTERA. Bill longer than the middle toe ; upper mandible much compressed towards the tip ; plumage crimson, variegated with yellow ; tad black ; wings black, with two white bars. Length six and a quarter inches. Eggs white, marked with yellowish spots. This, like the last, is a northern bird, and of yet rarer occurrence in this country. In habits it resembles the Common Crossbill. * The name, " Sheldapple," supposed by Yarrell to be given to this bird on account of the habit ascribed to it of rifling the con- tents of apples, has reference perhaps to the varied tints of its plumage, as is undoubtedly the case veith the Sheldrake, to be described hereafter. 233 THE EED-WmGED STAELIXG. AGELAIUS PHCENICEUS. General plumage black ; bend of the wing red, lesser wing-coverts orange-yellow. Length nine inches. Eggs pale bluish white, spotted and streaked with dark brown. The Red- winged Starling, or American Blackbird, is a rare straggler in this country. In the United States, where it congregates in enormous flocks, it commits serious ravages on the corn and rice crops, and in many of its habits resembles its European namesake. THE STAELING. STURNUS VULGARIS. Pluuiage 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. Fotf ngr— 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 l!^orth Cape to the Cape of Good Hope, and from Iceland to Kamtschatka, he is 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 waUs, 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 ou 234 STUKNIDtE. accordingly. So, in suburban gardens, where even the Eedbreast and Tits are unknown. Starlings are periodical visitors, and afford much, amusement by their shambling gait, and industrious boring on the lawn for larvae — in cherry orchards they are regarded with terror, on account of the amount of mischief they will accompHsh in a short space of time ; and in the sheep-fold they are doubtless most cordially welcomed and their services thankfully received, THE STARLING. though there can be as little doubt that the visits are paid not for the benefit of the uncomfortable animals on whom they perch, but to indulge their own partiality for an occasional diet of ticks. The Starling is a handsome bird ; seen at a distance it appears to be of a uniform black hue, but on closer inspec- tion its sable coat is found to be lustrous with reflections of THE STARLING. 235 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 Eooks, Jackdaws, or Eock Pigeons has established itself, there most probably, 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 clif^ 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 ac- quainted 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 incuba- tion is going on. 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 iu countless multitudes, descend on the trees, and, if not observed and scared away, appropriate the whole crop. ^ewly-fledged Starlings are so diiferent from their parents, that they might be mistaken, and indeed have been described by Montagu, Bewick, Knapp, and others, under the name of the Solitary Thrush. The plumage is of a uniform greyish brown, lighter beneath. It is not till the end of July or the beginning of August that the adult 236 STUENID^. plumage begins to show itself, and then the young birds present a singular appearance, 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 detachments. A writer in the Zoologist states, that there were formerly, 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. Similar accounts are to be found in most books on ornithology ; that given by Bishop Stanley in his familiar " History of Birds," is one of the most striking passages in his admirable little book, and though too long for quotation, is well worthy of perusal. THE ROSE-COLOUEED PASTOE. 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 VERT 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. In Europe it is of uncommon occurrence. THE CHOUGH. FRl^GILUS GRaCULUS. Plumage black, with purple and green retiections ; 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 Eed-legged Crow frequents the highest moun- tain 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 Eook, 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 Jack- daws, though it never ventures, as they do, far from its sea-side strongholds. The name Chough was probably in 238 CORVID^. ancient times used as a common appellation of all tlie members of the family Corvidse which have black plumage, this one being distinguished as the "Cornish Chough," from the rocky district which it frequented. The famous lines in " Eling 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 biU, and more slender form, sufficiently distinguish it from all others to which it assimilates in coloui* and size. l^ot many years since, the Chough was far from un- common 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 clifi"s near Combe Martin in Devonshii-e, 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 Ireland, 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 weU, fond of attracting notice ; in a word, it surpasses in intelli- gence most other tribes of birds, ranking among those THE CHOUGH. 239 members of the brute creation whose instinct amounts to something more than a formal compliance with certain laws which the rational creation has arbitr£trily set down for their government. In mountainous districts, its food probably consists mainly of berries ; on our sea-coast, where such fare is of rare occurrence, insects and the rejectamenta of the sea-shore enter largely into 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 for its purpose. It lays four or five eggs. THE EAVEK CORVUSCORAX. Plumage black wltli 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 Eaven, the largest of the Corvidae, and possessing in an eminent 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 !N"oah when the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat, it 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 Eaven figures prominently in most heathen mythologies, and is almost everywhere regarded 240 CORVIDiE. with awe by the ignorant even at the present time. In Scandinavian mythology it was an important actor ; and all readers of Shakespeare must be familiar with passages THE HAVL^ 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." Marloive. In the judgment of others, its friendly mission to the Tish- bite invested it with a sanctity which preserved it from molestation. THE RAVEN. 241 Apart from all traditional belief, the Eaven derives its ill-omened character as a herald of death from the rapidity with which it discerns, 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 collected 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 power- ful. Perched usually on some tall cliff that commands a wide survey, these faculties are in constant and rapid exercise, 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 satisfaction instantly on perceiving it. In passing any sheep, if a tainted smell is perceptible, they cry vehe- mently. From this propensity in the Eaven 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,t 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. JSTay, 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 * Vol. i. p. 215. t British Birds, vol. i. p. 510. R 242 CORVIDiE. elevation. In these expeditions they do not confine them- selves 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 various 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 mankind ; 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 j)oultry -yards, Ravens are become, in popu- lous 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 Bishojj Rock, in Cornwall, a huge mass of sticks and 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 Hebrides, where it is still abundant, it builds its nest in cliffs which it judges be inaccessible, both inland and on the sea-shore, showing no marked preference for either. Tavo pair 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 intruders. Hence, in some districts, shepherds encourage Ravens, THE RAVEN. 243 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 Eaven is very exten- sive. Throughout all the zones of the E'orthern Hemi- sphere it is to be found ; and having this wide range, its physical constitution is strong, and it lives to a great age, amounting, as the ancients tell us, to twenty-seven times the period of a man's life. The note of the Eaven 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-ur." 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 Eaven no doubt derives its Latin name " Corvus," the French " Corbeau," and its common Scotch appellation " Corbie." THE CAEEIO^" CEOW. COEVUS COEONE. 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. Length nineteen inches ; breadth three feet. Eggs bluish green, spotted and speckled with ash-grey and olive. Breeding early in the year, like the Eaven, the Carrion Crow builds its nest in some tree which, from its lofti- ness or other reason, is diflicult of ascent, where its young ones are hatched about the time that most other r2 244 CORVID^. 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 THE CARRION CROW. 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 lambs, and even the ewes themselves, carrying them piecemeal 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 THE CARKION CKOW. 245 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 accu- mulation 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 dehcate fare, he can be, when occasion 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 Eaven is common, it resorts to the brooks and ponds, which abound in fresh-water muscles (Anodon), and feeds on them most voraciously, especially after floods, when they lie scattered on the mud. The same author states that in winter it resorts to the sea-shore, and feeds on the oysters, muscles, 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 will at once occur to the mind that the term owed its origin to its far gentler and more respectable relation, the Eook, whose evening flights from the feeding ground are among the most famihar sights of the country, and are invariably performed in a line so 246 coRViD^. straight, that if a whole flock could be tracked through the air on any one evening 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 Eook 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 : Eooks court the vicinity of his dwellings. Crows are carnivorous ; Eooks feed principally on the grubs of beetles, worms, and noxious insects, reward- ing themselves occasionally 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 Eook 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 con- sideration in the days of augury, and certain of its move- ments 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 Eaven, 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. THE HOODED CEOW. 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 perfectly distinct species, and for the most part exercise their calling in separate haunts. In Norway Hooded Crows are very abundant, to the almost total exclu- sion of the Carrion Crow and Eook, and, though not con- gregating 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. They do not appear to be constant residents in 248 CORVID^. any part of England ; for though numerous in the winter at ^Newmarket Heath and Royston (whence they are some- times called Eoyston Crows), and annually resorting to many parts of the sea-coast, they rarely breed so far south. In the Orkneys, Hebrides, 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." 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 OAvn 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 diet consists of the smaller marine animals, such as crabs, echini, and mollusks, 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 N'orfolk and Sussex in parties of thirty or more, and it has been remarked that the hunting THE HOODED CROW. 249 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 Il^orfolk: in the winter, w^here I have seen it feeding with Gulls, Plovers, &c. In musical capabilities it is inferior even to its relative, its solitary croak being neither so loud nor so clear. The nest of the Hooded Crow, according to Macgillivray, is "large, composed of twigs, sea-weeds, heath, feathers and straws, and is always placed on a rock." It usually contains five THE EOOK. 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 Corvidse in Scandinavia and the Isles of Scotland, where the Carrion Crow and Eook are all but unknown, so in England the representative of the tribe is the Eook, 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 respectability 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 JSTafcural History, and other publications which enter into the details 250 CORVID^. 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 THK ROOK. from these materials a good-sized volume, yet I doubt not that enough remains untold, or at least not sufficiently authenticated, to furnisli a fair field of inquiry to any com- petent 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 aU that has been recorded by various authorities, and should THE ROOK. 251 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 not be without utihty, for the Eook, 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 Eooks subsist principally on the larvae and worms turned up by the plough, and with- out 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 preparation for the crop, they repeat their visits, spreading more widely over the field, and not only pick up the grubs which lie on the surface, 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, j^ot 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 252 CORVID^. ground. About tlie second week in March they desert the winter roosting places, to which they had nightly con- gregated 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 wliich are too brittle for their purpose, either because the trees are sickly or in an in- cipient 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 Eooks 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 mth 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 bo verified by the reader with the help of a spy-glass, or, what is far better, a good double opera-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 ad- joining twigs, or to perform their first tentative flight over the summits of the trees. It may be necessary to keep down their numbers, and Eook pie may be a dainty dish ; but I should be glad if some other means could be devised of destroying supernumeraries. I have, however, little THE EOOK. 253 doubt that Eooks 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 Eooks 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 ground, suddenly raises a stick. They will instantly fly off, evi- dently in great alarm. While the young are being reared, the parent birds fre- quent 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 ma- ligned 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 [Melolontha and Tipula) live for several years under- ground, 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 un- derground from root to root, and found it devouring the roots of one which appeared as yet unhurt. Clearly, a Eook 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 Eook which distinguishes it specifically from the Crow. The skin surrounding the base of the bill, and covering the upper part of the throat, is, in the adult birds, de- nuded 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 ofl" naturally at the first monlt, and are never replaced. I am inclined to the 254 coRVib^. latter view, and that for two reasons : first, if it be necessary (and that is not at all clear) that the Eook, 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 ques- tion 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, wliy is tliere 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 l!^atural History, as well as in many other things, are far better than other people's theories. 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. As the season advances, ripe walnuts are a very powerful attraction, and when they have discovered a tree well supplied with fruit, a race ensues THE ROOK. ^^rirt between them and the proprietor as to which shall appro- priate the greater share, so slily do they watch for oppor- tunities, 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 fiy beyond their reach, and I have even seen a Eook catch a small fish. I must not conclude this imperfect sketch without noticing a peculiar habit of Eooks, which is said to portend rain. A flock will suddenly rise into the air almost per- pendicularly, 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 witliin 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 unsuccess- fully, to induce Eooks to establish a colony in a new locality. One plan is to place some eggs taken from a Eook'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 Missel- thrush. If the young are reared, it is probable that they will return to 256 coRviD.s. breed Id 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 JACKDAW. CORVUS MON^DULA. 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 This lively and active bird, inferior in size as well as dignity to the Eook, yet in many respects resembles it so closely that it might be fabled to have made the Eook its model, and to have exercised its imitative powers in the effort to become the object of its admiration. 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 imper- tinent attempt to burlesque the full "caw" of the Eook ; 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 indiffererice than to chase away, is difficult to decide. Most probably the latter ; for although it is common enough to see a party of Jackdaws dancing attendance on a flock of Eooks, accompanying them to their feeding-grounds, and nestling in hollow trunks of THE JACKDAW. 257 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 Eooks 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 neighbour- hood. . On the sea- coast, where Rooks are only casual THE JACKDAW. visitors, the Jackdaw has no opportunity of hanging liiniself 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 sheltered from storms, or inaccessible by climbers, has been already appropriated by Sea-mews. The object of the Jackdaw in making church-towers its s 258 COKVTD^. 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, &c. 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 efibrts, and completely foiled in its numberless attempts to introduce the stick, it lets it fall to the ground, and immediately goes in quest of another, probably to ex- perience 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 to rocks, towers, and hollow trees, it sometimes places its nest in chimneys or in rabbit-burrows, but * ''Essays on Natural History," First Series, p. 109. THE JACKDAW. 259 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 affectionate, 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 acci- dent, or is consigned to captivity in a wicker cage. THE MAGPIE. PICA CAUDATA. Head, throat, neck, and back velvet-black ; scapulars and under plumage white ; tail much graduated and, as well as the wings, black, with lustrous 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 dis- advantage of an ill name, and in consequence incurs no small amount of persecution. Owing to the dispro- portionate 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 pro- bably weh-nigh disappear from the catalogue of British Birds. Yet though it is spared by none except avowed preservers of all birds (like Waterton, who protects it "on account of its having nobody to stand up for it"), it con- tinues to be a bird of general occurrence, and there seems indeed to be but little if any 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 un wooded district, it selects the thickest thorn-bush in the neighbourhood and there s2 260 CORVTD^. erects its castle. This is composed of an outwork of thorns and briers suj^porting 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 eggs, which in due time are succeeded by as many young ogres, who are to be reared to birds by an unstinted suiiply of the most generous diet. Even before their appearance the old birds have committed no small havoc in the neigh- bourhood ; 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. THE MAGPIE. 261 joined, moreover, to an unscrupulous habit of purloining everything that takes its roving fancy. Even when sur- rounded 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 mer- cilessly of their eggs and young ; the smaller birds are treated in lilve 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 cater- pillars, 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, gives a right to stray chickens and ducklings. The young birds, nurtured in an impregnable 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. Even in capti- vity, 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 abundant ; hence I have heard them called Cornish Pheasants. In Ireland they are said to be of comparatively recent introduction.* It is stated that they are in France * See Yan-ell's "British Birds," vol. ii. p. 113. 262 coEVib^. 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 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 favour- able 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 Norwegian 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 temp- tation for assault which he could not resist. I must add, however, with regard to Magpies, that there is a super- stitious prejudice for them current throughout Norway : they are considered harbingers of good luck, and are con- sequently 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 loci, 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. * Vol. viii. p. 3085. 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 tliere 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 generally those of a few stoats or weasels, a Hawk, a Magpie, a cat, 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, wliether of Partridge or Pheasant, that 264 CORVID^. falls in its way, yet it does not subsist entirely upon animal food, but also upon acorns and various other wild fruits. The prevailing fashion among ladies of wearing in their hats the wings of ornamental birds, has given a stimulus to the ardour with which Jays are sought out. 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 ; 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 neighing 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 in- teUigence ; it is capable of attachment, and learns to distinguish the hand and voice of its benefactor, accom- THE JAY. 265 panying liim in Ms walks, making occasionally short ex- cursions on its own account, but returning home to roost. Education, however, does not alter its tliievisli nature, which appears in its fondness for purloining and secreting pens, knitting needles, and trinkets of all kinds. It will learn to imitate any noise that it hears frequently, the bark of a dog, the neigh of a horse, the call of chickens to be fed, and even a tune on a flageolet, modulating its harsh cry into a soft whistling. It may be taught, too, to imitate the human voice, and will catch, not merely the words, but the tone of voice in which they are uttered, holding an imaginary conversation between a child and an adult. There is little difference between the plumage of the male and female birds, both being equally marked by the brilliant blue of the wing-coverts. The male nestling may be distinguished from the female, so it is said, by having five or six of the feathers of the crest darker than in the other sex ; such a bird should therefore be selected for rearing in captivity. THE II^UTCRACKER. NUCIPRAGA CARYOCATACTES. Plumage sooty bro\vii, 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 bufif, with a few greyish brown spots. The Nutcracker Crow must not be confounded with the Nuthatch ; the latter is a familiarly known little bird, whose skill in reaching the contents of hazel-nuts wiU come under our notice hereafter; the former is a large bird, as big as a Jay, which 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 266 MEROPID^. questionable, according to Yarrell, who says that " it can- not crack nuts." Here perhaps there may be some little mistake. Its name is evidently a translation of the French Casse-noix. In England we mean by " nuts " fil- berts or hazel-nuts ; but the French word noix is applied exclusively to walnuts, our nuts being noisettes, 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 Eook, whose fondness for walnuts is notorious.* It lays its eggs in the holes of trees, and. except in the breeding season, is more or less gregarious in its habits. THE EOLLEE. COKACIAS GARRULA. 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. About twenty specimens in all of this bird have been observed in England, the one of most recent occurrence being, I believe, one which was shot close to my garden, on the 20th of September, 1852. The winter home of the EoUer is Africa, and it is said to be particularly abundant in Algeria. About the middle of April it crosses the Mediterranean, and seems to j)refer the north of Europe to the south as a summer residence, being more abundant in Germany and the south of Eussia than in France, though many proceed no further than Sicily and Greece. Its food consists mainly of caterpillars and other insects. The name Eoller, being derived directly from the French Rollier, should be pronounced so as to rhyme with "dollar." * The Latin nux, and Greek Kapvov, from which the systematic names of the bird are derived, point also to the walnut. 267 THE BEE-EATER MEROPS APIASTER. Forehead white, passing into bluish green ; npper plumage chestnut ; throat golden yellow, bounded by a black line ; wings variegated with blue, brown, and green; tail greenish blue. Length eleven inches. Eggs glossy white. This bird, whicli in brilliancy of plumage vies with the Humming-birds, possesses little claim to be ranked among soberly clad British birds. Stray parties 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 Eussia they are yet more frequent. They are gregarious in habits, having been observed, both in Europe, their summer, and in Africa, their Avinter resi- dence, 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. Then 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 aerial fisherman. THE KINGFISHER ALCJ^DO ISPIDA. Back azure-blue ; head and wing-coverts bluish green, spotted with azure-blue ; under and behind the ej^e a reddish band passing into white, and beneath this a band of azure-green ; wings and taU greenish blue ; throat white ; under plumage rusty orange-red. Length seven inches and a quarter, width ten inches. Eggs glossy white, nearly round. Halcyon 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 in any way concerned in bringing about this happy state of things. According to the ancient naturalists the Halcyon, our Kingfisher, being especially fond of the water and its products, chooses to have even a floating nest. ISTow the surface of the sea is an unfit place whereon to construct a vessel of any kind, so the THE KINGFISHER. 269 Halcyon, as any otlier skilful artisan would, puts together on land first the framework, and then the supplementary portion of its nest, the materials being shelly matter and spines, Avhence derived is unknown ; though some main- tain that 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 con- dition of the water previously to this event, thenceforth a (3alm ensued, which lasted during the period of incubation \ and these were " Halcyon days " (Halcyonides 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 posses- sion, and which was taken about twenty years since from a deep hole in an embankment at Deepdale, Norfolk, con- sists 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 Avorthy the inspection of the curious. It was fomid 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 * Plin. Nat. Hi.st. lib. x. cap. 32. xxxii. cap. 8. 270 ALCEDINID^. 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 coui'se of the bird, let him approach cautiously any pools where small fish are likely to abound, and he may chance to descry, perched motion- less on the lower branch 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 surrounded by leaves, its orange coloured 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 down- wards 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. THE KINGFISHER 271 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. THE SWALLOW. HIRUNDO RUSTIC A. Foretead and throat chestnut-brown ; upper parts, sides of the neck, and a bar across the breast black, with violet reflections ; lower parts dull reddish white ; tail very long and forked. Fema.Ie—v>'ith less red on the forehead and less black on the breast ; under parts whiter ; outer taU-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 liable to be mistaken for no other bii'd; 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 272 IllKUNDINID^:. twofold notoriety, being regretted at the season of its departure, and welcomed at its return. These three circum- stances, its migratory habits, its mode of flight, and attach- ment to the dwellings of man, have been the cause why, in all ages, it has been invested with especial interest. Its re- turn 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 depar- THK SWALLUW. ture 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 sununer birds have arrived, and when its twitter is no longer heard, we know that all the other birds of pas- sage 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 THE SWALLOW. 273 suns are calling into life. The home of the Swallow is all the habitable earth; it knows nothing of winter or winter's cold ; its whole life is a continued festivity, and its song an eternal hjonn in praise of summer and liberty." In remote ages the Swallow was considered 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 give sight to its young. l!^ot only was it thus skilled in the healing art, but was in itself a medi- cine of no ordinary virtue. Even in the time of our countryman Eay, 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 some- times found in the stomach of young birds, called cheli- donius, 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," as Mr. Bell hap- pily calls him, 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 * Chelidonium : Celandine or Swallow-woi-t, from xe^'Swi^, " a Swallow." 274? HlKUNDINIBuE. young do npt occasionally stay beliind, and hibernate in hollow trees, holes of rocks, and the banks of pools and rivers. Mr. Bell considers the question as settled in the affirmative, namely, that they do all migrate; and such, no doubt, is the rule ; but with all respect for so high an authority, I am inclined to the opinion that individuals occasionally remain, perhaps in consequence of having been disabled by accident at the season when the migratory instiQct was in its active force, or from some other cause unknown to us. Such stragglers would, if the succeeding winter proved severe, perish of hunger (that they become torpid I cannot suppose), but if it turned out to be mild they might survive till the following spring. This sup- position will account for the appearance of Swallows late on in winter; several instances of which have been recorded by authors who, whether accurate observers or not, certainly 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 myself 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 24th 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 THE SWALLOW. 275 kept in captivity until the migratory season had passed, and then released, is certainly possible, but not probable. On any other supposition it must have remained either of its o^v^l free will, which is not likely, or from incapacity to accompany its congeners. Left 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. I have devoted to this question more space than the subject would seem to require, on the ground that th/e reader will find in White's " Selborne " a far more enter- taining and accurate description of the Swallow and its habits than I could hope to give, unless I were to tran- scribe what that author has said, A full account of all that has since been learnt of its history will be found, and no less pleasantly told, 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 11th 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 t2 276 HIEUNDINIDJ3. 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 de- serted 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, Swallows, old and young, assemble in large flocks, especi- ally towards evening, and roost on trees in the vicinity of water. At this season they seem to be more socially dis- posed, even during the day, than at any other period of their sojourn with us. 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 beine; left behind. THE HOUSE MAETLN". HIRUNDO LRBICA. Head, nape and upper part of the back, black with \iolet 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 wWte. EoR a detailed history of the House-Martin or Window- Swallow, and its habits, I cannot do better than again refer my readers to White's " Selborne," which contains so admirable an account of the Swallow. The two birds indeed 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 apphcable 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 278 HIRUNDINID^. are sought out, and the two species may frequently be seen hawking for flies in company. Later in the season its numbers are observed to be greatly increased, and it is joined by the Swift and Sand-Martin. N"ot 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 propor- tions which differ according as one or the other is most abundant in the neighbourhood. Acute listeners can, it is said, hear a snapping 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 suffi- ciently 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. One might fancy that there throbbed withi]^ its snowy bosom some pulse akin to that which kindles in the human traveller a longing for home and the. familiar haunts of his early days. It has THE HOUSE MARTIN. 279 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? ISTo elaborate plans of alterations and improve- ments are to be devised; last 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 farm- yard feathers are as plentiful as of yore. It would seem then a reasonable conclusion, that a bird endowed mth 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 biood, 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 watching the habits of a bird that probably builds its nest under the eaves of liis 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. I must, however, say a few words on the often repeated story of the entombment of the Sparrow who had unfairly appropriated the nest of a Martin. The intruder, so say the authorities (and several instances are recorded), having successfully resisted the endeavours of a dozen or twenty Martins to dislodge him, was walled up with plaster by the aggrieved party, who made common cause against him, and was~ sub- sequently taken out dead by the person who observed the incident. Some of the earlier naturalists relate instances of this without expressing any doubt of its accuracy ; some 280 HIRUNDINID^. modern naturalists agree with them ; others, and I must confess that I am among them, suspect a flaw in the evidence. Macgillivray's witnesses, "on whose veracity he depended," and I doubt not with sufficient reason — "a tackle-maker, a slater, a nailor, a miller, the engineer of the mill, and a grazier" — were I make no question trust- worthy men in all matters connected with the ordinary business of life, and in this case asserted what they believed they had seen; but they were none of them naturalists, and no one but a student of nature is aware of the exact precision required both in observing and recording a passage in the life of an animal. In a case of this kind extraordinary precaution is requisite, for if it be true, the theory that man is the only reasoning animal, tumbles to the ground. Here we have in a bird — and if in one why not in all? — an application of the natural laws of property; a sense of injury; a conspiracy among the kindred tribe; an attempt to recover a right, out of which, on its failure, springs a spirit of revenge. Then must come a consultation, or, what is even more wonderful, an instinctive spontaneous agreement as to the proper mode of taking revenge ; and to crown the whole, a knowledge of the natural effect of plas- tering up an enemy in a cave without air, that is, that death would ensue ; and what can an animal devoid of reason know about death 1 It is necessary then I think either to con- sider the evidence insufficient, or, admitting the accuracy as well as the veracity of the observers, to break down the waU which separates instinct from reason. I prefer the former alternative.